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By Lambert Strether of Corrente.
Fowl Track of the Day
American Goldfinch, Rocky Rill Farm; Black Walnut Grove, Whitfield, Georgia, United States.
Politics
“So most of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are actually a rational administration of symbolic capital.” –Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles
2024
Lower than a yr to go!
RCP Ballot Averages, April 5
Right here is Friday’s RCP ballot. Trump continues to be up in all of the Swing States (more here), but still leading with one exception: PA. I’ve highlighted it again, (1) because BIden is now up there, and (2) it’s an outlier, has been for weeks. Why isn’t Trump doing well there? (I’ll work out a better way to do this, but for now: Blue dot = move toward Biden; red dot = move toward Trump. No statistical signficance to any of it, and state polls are bad anyhow!)
* * * Trump (R): “Trump sues NY judge overseeing hush money case in effort to delay trial” [The Hill]. “Judge Juan Merchan’s gag order bars Trump from attacking witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and the judge’s family… Weeks later, the judge expanded his order to include attacks against his family and Bragg’s family following a series of posts Trump made about the judge’s daughter, who works at a progressive political consulting firm. Merchan’s daughter, Loren, is an executive at the digital agency Authentic, which boasts clients including prominent Democrats President Biden and Vice President Harris. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y) is a past client. Loren Merchan is also the subject of the former president’s efforts to recuse the judge from the case — an effort he has mounted twice. The most recent bid came Friday, when Trump asked the judge to recuse because his daughter has a ‘direct financial interest’ in the former president’s case, given the firm’s work for his 2024 presidential election opponents.”
Trump (R): “Appeals court judge denies Trump’s bid to delay next week’s hush money trial” [NBC]. “Justice Lizbeth González of the state Appellate Division issued the ruling after attorneys for the former president argued the trial needed to be halted because ‘an impartial jury cannot be selected right now based on prejudicial pretrial publicity.’ González rejected the request in a one-line ruling late Monday afternoon with no explanation.” Can’t blame a guy for trying! But: “González’s ruling affects only Trump’s request for a delay, not his underlying change-of-venue motion.”
* * * Trump (R): “Trump favorabilty among Latinos rising as Biden’s falls: Survey” [The Hill]. “The Axios/Ipsos survey shows Biden’s favorability among Latinos has fallen 6 points since last summer — 47 percent in June 2023 to 41 percent last month. Trump’s favorability among Latinos in the same time period rose from 29 percent to 32 percent.” • That’s a lot.
Trump (R): “Donald Trump crashes out of the Bloomberg rich list due to his meme stock nosediving” [Business Insider]. “Donald Trump has crashed out of the ranks of the world’s 500 wealthiest people after the value of his meme stock nosedived. The former president has fallen off the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as his net worth has dropped below the $5.8 billion required to make the cut. Forbes’ rich list pegs Trump’s total wealth at $4.8 billion, ranking him 659th in the world. Trump held a top 300 spot on Bloomberg’s index only a few days ago, ahead of the likes of George Soros, Mark Cuban, Giorgio Armani, Reed Hastings, and Bernie Marcus.” • ONly #659. “There are not very many of the Shing.” –Ursula LeGuin
Trump (R): “GOP senators, hopefuls fall in line with Trump’s abortion stance” [WaPo]. “GOP candidates running for Senate in swing states are largely embracing the states’ rights message on abortion that Donald Trump outlined yesterday. The former president tried to defang the issue by neither endorsing nor explicitly ruling out a 15-week federal abortion ban, instead saying in a video message that states should determine their own abortion laws. It’s the latest evolution of Republicans’ shifting position on abortion, as they have worked to find a message palatable for voters who have bucked Republican candidates’ antiabortion positions since Roe v. Wade was overturned nearly two years ago. Trump has adopted what the National Republican Senatorial Committee has been encouraging Republican candidates to do for months: avoid calling for a national abortion ban and support exceptions for rape, incest and when the life of the mother is at risk. That message has been received and adopted by most GOP Senate candidates who have softened previously strict antiabortion stances and moved away from backing a national ban.”
Trump (R): “Trump Moderating on Abortion Is Biden’s Worst Nightmare” [Newsweek]. “If Trump continues to position himself on the middle of this issue, he will find himself in a great place heading to the 2024 presidential election. With a less-than-ideal record on immigration, crime, and the economy, Democrats have been banking on abortion to attract independents and mobilize their base. The game is changing now. If Democrats don’t attempt to move to the middle, allowing Trump to be seen as the one who is willing to moderate, they will lose. Screaming “liar” is a bad strategy. For all of his troubles, one issue that Trump does not have is appearing disingenuous. His desire to move the Republican Party away from political fights on abortion is a real one. Denying can work to some extent, but when social conservative factions express their disgruntlement and Trump doubles down, it’s bad news for Biden’s strategy.”
Trump (R): “Trump’s “moderation” on abortion is a lie” [VOX]. “[Biden] enjoyed a double-digit advantage on only one issue: by 47 points to 35 points, voters said they trusted the president over Trump to handle abortion policy…. Trump’s presidency left relatively few lasting marks on American public policy. But as he has repeatedly boasted since the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, it was his judicial appointments that enabled the overturning of Roe v. Wade — and thus, the avalanche of abortion restrictions that followed its demise… Trump understands that all this is a major political liability… Taken as a whole, Trump’s statement constitutes a sound political gambit. Given the constraints imposed by his coalition and record, “I think abortion policy should be left up to the states, although rape victims should always be able to get an abortion, and newborn babies shouldn’t be executed” is about the most expedient stance that Trump could take…. Once in office, Trump will face no binding political constraints, as he will be ineligible to run for another term. In the event that Republicans find a way to get a federal abortion ban through Congress, there is every reason to believe Trump will reward the Christian right’s loyalty.” But: “Long rendered a dead-letter statute by Roe, Comstock bans the delivery of ‘every article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion.’ Conservative legal scholar Jonathan F. Mitchell — who represented Trump before the Supreme Court last year — has suggested that Comstock bans not only the delivery of abortion pills, but of all the equipment required to conduct an abortion procedure. ‘We don’t need a federal ban when we have Comstock on the books,’ Mitchell told the Times. Mitchell went on to say that he hoped Trump ‘doesn’t know about the existence of Comstock, because I just don’t want him to shoot off his mouth. I think the pro-life groups should keep their mouths shut as much as possible until the election.’” • Well.
* * * Biden (D): “Boomers deliver surprise strength for Biden” [Axios]. “Baby boomers are on track to make President Biden the first Democrat to carry the senior vote since Al Gore in 2000.” And: “Old people vote at high rates. Younger ones don’t.”
* * * Kennedy (I): “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Qualifies for Nebraska Ballot” [KLIN]. “Nebraskans will be able to cast their vote for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as an Independent Candidate for President, as the Kennedy campaign announced they have collected the necessary 2,500 signatures needed to qualify for the 2024 November general election ballot. In fact, according to the Kennedy campaign, they have nearly double the required amount — collecting more than 4,800 signatures from Nebraska voters.” • Double the required amount of ballots is absolutely necessary, since Democrat lawyers will challenge every single one.
Kennedy (U): “RFK Jr. ballot consultant on Trump voters: Biden is our ‘mutual enemy’” [The Hill]. “Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign is pushing back on comments made by one of their consultants, in which she said his supporters share with former President Trump’s supporters a ‘mutual enemy’ in President Biden. In a video, Rita Palma, who is working on ballot access strategies to get Kennedy on as many state ballots as possible as an independent, was giving a talk to non-Biden voters about Kennedy’s path…. Kennedy campaign director Amaryllis Fox moved to clarify the comments as they circulated on the internet. Fox said in a statement that while Palma was brought on recently as a ‘ballot access consultant,’ she emphasized that ‘she has no involvement in — or access to — electoral strategy, nationally or in New York.’ ‘The video circulating was not taken at a campaign event. Palma was speaking as a private citizen and her statements in no way reflect campaign strategy, the sole aim of which is to win the White House with votes from former Trump and Biden supporters alike,’ Fox said.” • Sounds like a “Kinsley gaffe” to me.
* * * “Colorado officials warn of new frontier in election denial as more Republicans refuse to certify vote totals” [Gazette Xtra]. “Since 2020, a small but growing number of county canvass boards have had Republican members refuse to sign off on vote tallies, according to state records. Those objections haven’t jeopardized the actual certification of elections, and Colorado’s system has additional processes in place to stop rogue canvass boards from preventing the finalizing of results. But it serves as an ill omen of potential efforts to sow distrust in voting heading into this year’s primary and general elections, several state and county election officials said in interviews with The Denver Post. The canvass, completed after each election by a bipartisan county board made up of the clerk and the appointees of the local Republican and Democratic party chairs, largely serves as a check that there weren’t more ballots counted than cast. Following the state’s March 5 presidential primaries, Republican board members in Boulder, El Paso and Jefferson counties along the Front Range refused to sign off on the canvass.” • The issue seems to be signature verification for mail-in ballots.
Our Famously Free Press
“Behind the Curtain: America’s reality distortion machine” [Axios]. “[T]here’s compelling evidence we’ve been trapped in a reality distortion bubble — social media, cable TV and tribal political wars — long enough to warp our view of the reality around us. Yes, deep divisions exist on some topics. But on almost every topic of monthly outrage, it’s a fringe view — or example — amplified by the loudest voices on social media and politicians driving it. No, most Christians aren’t white Christian nationalists who see Donald Trump as a God-like figure. Most are ignoring politics and wrestling with their faith. No, most college professors aren’t trying to silence conservatives or turn kids into liberal activists. Most are teaching math, or physics, or biology…. This new poll by the AP and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows a striking amount of agreement on some very big topics. Roughly 90% or more of Americans — Republicans and Democrats — agree the following rights and freedoms are extremely or very important to a functioning America:
And: “The acceptance of former President Trump’s language and tactics by so many Republicans can be partly explained by this reality distortion phenomenon. His base often feasts off edge-case outrages — wacky liberal professors saying wacky things, illegal immigrants committing brutal but isolated crimes, surges in shootings in specific cities.” • And the reverse, for different outrages, by Democrats. Meanwhile, most of the truly significant outrages — climate, Covid, dominance of finance capital — remain happily and silently bipartisan and not “divisive” at all. Although I must confess that poll is a massive political achievement. “Equal protection under he law” wasn’t even a shibboleth for most of human history.
Clinton Legacy
“Hillary Clinton to students on Gaza: Can we talk with, not shout at, each other?” [Boston Globe]. Clinton: “I feel strongly that I have a voice and I am going to keep using it.” • Swell.
Republican Funhouse
“The FISA Fight and What it Means for Johnson’s Speakership” [The American Conservative]. “Section 702 of FISA, which was originally intended to permit the foreign surveillance of foreign persons overseas, is the specific provision of FISA set to expire in just over a week’s time. House Speaker Mike Johnson, under immense pressure from the right of his conference given Georgia’s Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene already has a motion to vacate waiting in the hopper, will need to thread the needle between yet another divide between the House GOP to get this piece of legislation across the finish line. FISA has come under increasing scrutiny from the right wing of the GOP conference as it was an integral player in the Russiagate hoax and the Biden administration’s investigations into Americans at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Nevertheless, Section 702 still has its defenders among the House GOP ranks. The dynamic at play across the conference is well encapsulated by the two House committees warring over what a FISA reauthorization bill might entail. The House Intelligence Committee, led by Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio wants few reforms if any and has the backing of the intelligence and national security agencies. Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee, headed by a different Ohioan, Rep. Jim Jordan, wants to seize the rare opportunity to reform FISA in its renewal.” And: “Johnson could either let FISA expire, which is highly unlikely, or bring a clean FISA reauthorization to the floor under suspension of the rules. Bringing a clean FISA reauthorization would likely pass, but conservatives like Davidson who are upset with the Speaker’s handling of FISA renewal might tell Greene it’s time to take the motion to vacate out of the hopper.”
“Notes on the State of Politics: March 28, 2024” [Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball]. “Once Gallagher resigns on April 19, the Republican House edge will be just 217-213. And based on the sequencing above, Democrats will cut that to 217-214 assuming Kennedy wins on April 30. That will leave a period of a few weeks of that tiny GOP majority until the three other Safe Republican seats are filled from late May to late June. The danger for Republicans would be if there are several additional resignations between now and the end of April—. The current rules stipulate that a single member can force a vote to overthrow the speaker—the same tactic that resulted in McCarthy being deposed. If the House supported that motion, there would then be a subsequent speaker vote where Democrats, assuming full attendance and party unity, could elect a speaker. Republicans, assuming they got the majority back and were unified (a big assumption these days, although the prospect of a Democratic speaker taking over could spur unity), could take the speakership back once they themselves have the majority. Or, a split 214-214 House could fail to produce a speaker if a motion to vacate passed—we have already seen the majority party, the Republicans, have difficulty electing a speaker in both January and in October, and whenever the House does not have a speaker, the first order of business is electing a speaker (as we also saw last year). A newly-formed majority could also change the rules to make it harder to force a motion to vacate the speakership—although a new majority could change the rules again later on. As congressional expert Matt Glassman of the Government Affairs Institute reminded us as we bounced some of these scenarios off of him: ‘The House, after all, is a majoritarian institution. Nothing can stop a hellbent majority from getting its way.’ … The ‘what ifs’ here are almost endless, and that doesn’t even mention the possibility that there could be another revolt initiated by a Republican member against Speaker Mike Johnson (R, LA-4) even if Republicans remain in the majority—just last week, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R, GA-14) filed a motion to vacate the speakership last week, although she is not following through on forcing a vote at the moment.” • Entertaining!
Realignment and Legitimacy
“The Left Cannot Make Use of the Gaza War” [Sublation Media]. “The American left has been drifting aimlessly since Bernie Sanders’ defeat in 2020. All the major issues of the 10s have dropped off the political agenda. There is no longer any serious talk of Medicare-For-All or Tuition-Free-College. Healthcare and higher education remain prohibitively expensive. And meanwhile, the housing market has become an absolute nightmare. The price of a typical home has increased more than twice as fast as inflation since the 1960s, and higher interest rates during the Biden years have pushed mortgages beyond the reach of millions. We are quickly approaching a breaking point, where a home will no longer be a plausible part of the American dream, even for many college-educated professionals. But the left has very little to say about any of this. Instead, it has a great deal to say about Gaza…. The American left is not in position to help the Gazans, and it is not in position to help the Gazans precisely because of the litany of strategic mistakes it has made over the past decade… The nation-state system is a contingent feature of a particular historical moment in capitalism. Increasingly, nation-states are unable to solve irreducibly global problems. They cannot manage flows of capital and people. They cannot sustain robust public services or strong consumer bases, because they constantly compete with one another on tax rates and wages. These problems will not be solved by returning to 20th century notions of national liberation. They will intensify and deepen, with grim consequences for people all around the world.”
Pandemics
“I am in earnest — I will not equivocate — I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD.” –William Lloyd Garrison
Covid Resources, United States (National): Transmission (CDC); Wastewater (CDC, Biobot; includes many counties; Wastewater Scan, includes drilldown by zip); Variants (CDC; Walgreens); “Iowa COVID-19 Tracker” (in IA, but national data). “Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts” (especially on hospitalization by city).
Lambert here: Readers, thanks for the collective effort. To update any entry, do feel free to contact me at the address given with the plants. Please put “COVID” in the subject line. Thank you!
Resources, United States (Local): AK (dashboard); AL (dashboard); AR (dashboard); AZ (dashboard); CA (dashboard; Marin, dashboard; Stanford, wastewater; Oakland, wastewater); CO (dashboard; wastewater); CT (dashboard); DE (dashboard); FL (wastewater); GA (wastewater); HI (dashboard); IA (wastewater reports); ID (dashboard, Boise; dashboard, wastewater, Central Idaho; wastewater, Coeur d’Alene; dashboard, Spokane County); IL (wastewater); IN (dashboard); KS (dashboard; wastewater, Lawrence); KY (dashboard, Louisville); LA (dashboard); MA (wastewater); MD (dashboard); ME (dashboard); MI (wastewater; wastewater); MN (dashboard); MO (wastewater); MS (dashboard); MT (dashboard); NC (dashboard); ND (dashboard; wastewater); NE (dashboard); NH (wastewater); NJ (dashboard); NM (dashboard); NV (dashboard; wastewater, Southern NV); NY (dashboard); OH (dashboard); OK (dashboard); OR (dashboard); PA (dashboard); RI (dashboard); SC (dashboard); SD (dashboard); TN (dashboard); TX (dashboard); UT (wastewater); VA (dashboard); VT (dashboard); WA (dashboard; dashboard); WI (wastewater); WV (wastewater); WY (wastewater).
Resources, Canada (National): Wastewater (Government of Canada).
Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (wastewater); QC (les eaux usées); BC (wastewater); BC, Vancouver (wastewater).
Hat tips to helpful readers: Alexis, anon (2), Art_DogCT, B24S, CanCyn, ChiGal, Chuck L, Festoonic, FM, FreeMarketApologist (4), Gumbo, hop2it, JB, JEHR, JF, JL Joe, John, JM (10), JustAnotherVolunteer, JW, KatieBird, LL, Michael King, KF, LaRuse, mrsyk, MT, MT_Wild, otisyves, Petal (6), RK (2), RL, RM, Rod, square coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3).
Stay safe out there!
Immune Dysregulation
See also at “Stellate Ganglion” under “Treatment: Covid.”
Sequelae: Covid
It’s not normal for kids to be sick all the time (1):
I’ve never heard this. Anyone with kids that can confirm? pic.twitter.com/ymt9rOk7YI
— Philip Marks🆘🆘 (@Philipmarks87) April 5, 2024
It’s not regular for youths to be sick on a regular basis (2):
Do not get me incorrect, it’s regular to your youngsters to get just a few snot-related issues throughout their first yr in daycare. It’s NOT regular to your youngster to be hospitalized repeatedly, to get a number of extreme viruses, or to be continuous on antibiotics. That’s covid immune injury.
— Sharon Astyk (@SharonAstyk) April 8, 2024
I ought to in all probability exit on the Mommy blogs or on Reddit to examine the pervasiveness of this “sick on a regular basis” sentiment, however on the Twitter, it will get talked about at so much. Readers?
* * * “Plasma-based antigen persistence within the post-acute section of COVID-19” (Correspondence) [The Lancet]. From the Summary: “Persistent signs amongst some people who develop COVID-19 have led to the speculation that SARS-CoV-2 would possibly, in some kind or location, persist for lengthy durations following acute an infection…. To handle these limitations, we evaluated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antigens in once-thawed plasma from a effectively characterised group of 171 adults… In contrast with these not hospitalised, members who required hospitalisation for acute COVID-19 have been almost twice as more likely to have SARS-CoV-2 antigens detected… Amongst members not hospitalised, these with worse self-reported well being throughout acute COVID-19 had higher post-acute antigen detection … These findings recommend the affect of the acute section of an infection in establishing a persistent SARS-CoV-2 reservoir. Coupled with a 2024 research of replication-competent virus in blood throughout acute an infection, our findings recommend that SARS-CoV-2 would possibly seed distal websites by way of the bloodstream and set up protected reservoirs in some websites. Alternatively, extra extreme acute an infection might be a marker of upper inoculum in websites of main an infection, which then have a higher probability of evading immune clearance…. To mitigate considerations that vaccination towards SARS-CoV-2 or current reinfections may have an effect on interpretation of constructive outcomes,1 we studied specimens largely collected earlier than these occurrences. Most samples have been collected earlier than the emergence of the Delta and Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variants, when reinfections grew to become widespread.” • I don’t very similar to the Disclosures, although.
Therapy: Covid
“Stellate Ganglion Block to Deal with Lengthy COVID-19 Syndrome, A 41 affected person Retrospective Cohort Examine” (preprint) [medRxiv (DG)]. N = 41. “Because of the evolving nature of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, remedy protocols for the sickness are in a continuing state of evolution. The early stage of lengthy COVID-19 syndrome contributes to a dearth of remedy protocols based mostly on empirical proof, whereas the absence of a conclusive pathophysiological understanding additional complicates the event of such protocols…. On this 41-patient cohort research from a power ache administration apply, the usage of both unilateral or bilateral stellate ganglion block (SGB) was explored to handle signs related to lengthy COVID-19 syndrome. Outcomes indicated {that a} substantial proportion of sufferers (86%) skilled a discount of their signs following SGB remedy.” And: “Within the context of lengthy COVID-19, an overactive sympathetic system mixed with an underactive vagus nerve may disrupt the stability between these programs, probably permitting unchecked irritation to persist. This continued irritation may be a central ingredient in signs attribute of lengthy COVID-19, autonomic dysfunction with the power irritation leading to dysregulation of the stability between the sympathetic and parasympathetic programs.” • Here’s a press launch on the identical remedy restoring the sense of odor. (FWIW, the vagus nerve could also be related postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS), so this account has some narrative plausibility, not less than.
Elite Maleficence
“The USDA Isn’t Inspiring Confidence With Its Fowl Flu Response” [Newsweek]. “[T]he USDA mentioned, “There continues to be no concern concerning the security of the industrial milk provide as a result of merchandise are pasteurized earlier than coming into the market.” That is true generally—however not on a regular basis. Normal business apply is to pasteurize milk by heating it to 161 levels Fahrenheit for not less than 15 seconds. However these requirements have been designed to kill recognized micro organism, and it could take for much longer to kill viruses. Analysis into coronaviruses discovered that it took 3 minutes at temperatures above 160 levels Fahrenheit to kill the virus on surfaces. It’s not secure to imagine pasteurized milk is secure from H5N1and once more, there isn’t a point out by both the USDA or FDA that they’re testing it to search out out…. Moreover, the USDA mentioned, “Dairies are required to ship solely milk from wholesome animals into processing for human consumption; milk from impacted animals is being diverted or destroyed.” Once more, it seems that the USDA is anticipating farms to adjust to this voluntarily, with no further inspections or oversight. … The USDA ends by saying farmers are “urged” to make adjustments to cut back the unfold of illness. However as a longtime watchdog of the business and a veterinary epidemiologist, we’ve seen again and again how giant agricultural firms sacrifice well being, security, and the humane remedy of animals within the pursuit of revenue. There is no such thing as a cause they’ll change now. However this time, the stakes are too excessive to disregard. The USDA must make it clear that they’ve a deal with on this downside earlier than it’s too late.” • Oh pricey. One other Federal company we’ll must burn to the bottom…..
“AABP Decides to Reference Cattle Illness as Bovine Influenza A Virus (BIAV)” [Bovine Veterinarian]. “On Sunday night, the American Affiliation of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) [@AABP2015], launched a letter to its media companions to replace them on how the group will reference the rising cattle illness, presently confirmed in dairy herds in six states, transferring ahead. ‘As a result of this an infection in cattle isn’t the identical as extremely pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), after considerate consideration and dialogue with many specialists, the AABP will now consult with this as Bovine Influenza A Virus (BIAV), which extra precisely depicts it,’ wrote Geni Wren, director of promoting and communications for the group, in an e-mail accompanying the letter… Gingrich and Capel are asking different organizations, state animal well being officers, diagnostic labs, and state and federal companies to make use of Bovine Influenza A Virus (BIAV) ‘so we may be per our messaging and higher distinguish the illness syndrome in cattle from the pathogenesis in birds. We imagine it’s important for the general public to grasp the distinction to take care of confidence within the security and accessibility of beef and dairy merchandise for shoppers,’ they wrote.” • Cool, cool, each time H5N1 jumps species we give it a distinct title. That ought to assist us get a deal with on the state of affairs!
TABLE 1: Day by day Covid Charts
LEGEND
1) ★ for charts new immediately; all others are usually not up to date.
2) For a full-size/full-resolution picture, Command-click (MacOS) or right-click (Home windows) on the chart thumbnail and “open picture in new tab.”
NOTES
[1] (Biobot) Our curve has now flattened out at a degree far above valleys beneath Trump. Not a fantastic victory. Be aware additionally the world “beneath the curve,” apart from peaks. That space is bigger beneath Biden than beneath Trump, and it appears to be rising steadily if erratically.
[2] (Biobot) No backward revisons….
[3] (CDC Variants) As of Could 11, genomic surveillance knowledge will likely be reported biweekly, based mostly on the provision of constructive take a look at specimens.” “Biweeekly: 1. occurring each two weeks. 2. occurring twice per week; semiweekly.” Seems to be like CDC has chosen sense #1. In essence, they’re telling us variants are nothing to fret about. Time will inform.
[4] (ER) CDC appears to have killed this off, for the reason that hyperlink is damaged, I believe in favor of this factor. I’ll attempt to affirm. UPDATE Sure, go away it to CDC to kill a web page, after which announce it was archived a day later. And heaven forfend CDC ought to clarify the place to go to get equal knowledge, if any. I appreciated the ER knowledge, as a result of it appeared actually arduous to sport…
[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Seems to be like a really gradual leveling off to a non-zero baseline, to me.
[6] (Hospitalization: CDC) Nonetheless down. “Maps, charts, and knowledge supplied by CDC, updates weekly for the earlier MMWR week (Sunday-Saturday) on Thursdays (Deaths, Emergency Division Visits, Take a look at Positivity) and weekly the next Mondays (Hospitalizations) by 8 pm ET†”.
[7] (Walgreens) Leveling out.
[8] (Cleveland) Flattening.
[9] (Vacationers: Posivitity) Now up, albeit within the rear view mirror.
[10] (Vacationers: Variants) JN.1 dominates completely.
[11] Seems to be just like the Occasions isn’t reporting loss of life knowledge any extra? Perhaps I want to return to The Economist:
The pandemic’s true loss of life toll is 4x the formally reported quantity. 28.2 million lifeless. The magnitude of this human tragedy is troublesome to understand. A lot of this carnage was preventable however for the laissez faire perspective of our leaders. https://t.co/asiTYR8YvT
— Dr. Dick Zoutman (@DickZoutman) February 1, 2024
Stats Watch
Sentiment: “United States NFIB Enterprise Optimism Index” [Trading Economics]. “The NFIB Small Enterprise Optimism Index within the US fell for a 3rd consecutive month to 88.5 in March 2024, the bottom since December 2012 and effectively under forecasts of 90.2. “Enterprise house owners proceed to handle quite a few financial headwinds. Inflation has as soon as once more been reported as the highest enterprise downside on Primary Avenue and the labor market has solely eased barely”, mentioned NFIB Chief Economist Invoice Dunkelberg. Twenty-five p.c of householders reported that inflation was their single most necessary downside in working their enterprise (larger enter and labor prices), up two factors from February. Additionally, the online p.c of householders who anticipate actual gross sales to be larger decreased eight factors from February to a internet unfavourable 18%. Moreover, house owners’ plans to fill open positions proceed to gradual.”
Tech: “OpenAI prepares to combat for its life as authorized troubles mount” [WaPo]. “As OpenAI’s high executives huddled with world leaders this previous summer season — touting the advantages of its ChatGPT with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron — comic Sarah Silverman was making ready to take the corporate to court docket. Silverman’s swimsuit, which alleged the corporate stole her work when it used her memoir, ‘The Bedwetter,’ to coach its synthetic intelligence merchandise, was on the bleeding fringe of a authorized blitz that has exploded in current months. OpenAI has been hit with greater than a dozen high-profile lawsuits and authorities investigations since Silverman’s criticism. Prime authors together with Jodi Picoult and media corporations together with the New York Occasions have additionally alleged that the corporate violates copyright legislation by coaching the algorithms that energy widespread providers like ChatGPT on their work. Billionaire Elon Musk sued OpenAI for diverging from its authentic nonprofit mission. And authorities companies in the US and Europe are investigating whether or not the corporate ran afoul of competitors, securities and client safety legal guidelines in a number of regulatory probes….. Beneath siege, OpenAI is popping to a number of the world’s high authorized and political human minds. It has employed about two dozen in-house legal professionals since March 2023 to work on points together with copyright, based on a Washington Publish evaluation of LinkedIn. The corporate has posted a job for an antitrust lawyer — with a wage of as much as $300,000 — to deal with the growing scrutiny in the US and Europe of its partnership with Microsoft. It has additionally retained a number of the high U.S. legislation companies, together with Cooley and Morrison Foerster, to symbolize it in key circumstances.” • That’s good.
Tech: “Worth of zero-day exploits rises as corporations harden merchandise towards hackers” [TechCrunch]. “On Monday, startup Crowdfense printed its up to date value record for these hacking instruments, that are generally referred to as ‘zero-days’ as a result of they depend on unpatched vulnerabilities in software program which might be unknown to the makers of that software program. Corporations like Crowdfense and considered one of its opponents, Zerodium, declare to accumulate these zero-days with the purpose of reselling them to different organizations, normally authorities companies or authorities contractors, which declare they want the hacking instruments to trace or spy on criminals. Crowdfense is now providing between $5 million and $7 million for zero-days to interrupt into iPhones; as much as $5 million for zero-days to interrupt into Android telephones; as much as $3 million and $3.5 million for Chrome and Safari zero-days, respectively; and $3 million to $5 million for WhatsApp and iMessage zero-days. In its earlier value record, printed in 2019, the very best payouts that Crowdfense was providing have been $3 million for Android and iOS zero-days.mThe improve in costs comes as corporations like Apple, Google, and Microsoft are making it more durable to hack their units and apps, which suggests their customers are higher protected.”
Transportation: “Norfolk Southern Agrees To Pay $600 Million In Settlement Over Ohio Train Derailment” [Associated Press]. “[R]esidents worry the money not only won’t go far enough to cover future health needs that could be tremendous but also won’t amount to much once divvied up. ‘It’s not nowhere near my needs, let alone what the health effects are going to be five or 10 years down the road,’ said Eric Cozza, who lived just three blocks from the derailment and had 47 family members living within a mile (1.61 kilometers)…. The settlement, which doesn’t include or constitute any admission of liability, wrongdoing or fault, represents only a small slice of the $3 billion in revenue Norfolk Southern generated just in the first three months of this year. East Palestine resident Krissy Ferguson called the settlement a ‘heart-wrenching day.’ ‘I just feel like we’ve been victimized over and over and over again,’ she said. ‘We fought and we’re still fighting. And contamination is still flowing down the creeks. People are still sick. And I think people that had the power to fight took an easy way out.’… Jami Wallace, too, worries about having a settlement without knowing the long-term impact of the derailment. ‘I would really like to see the numbers because in my opinion, taking a plea deal only is in the best interest of the attorneys,’ she said. ‘They’re all going to get their money. But we’re the residents that are still going to be left to suffer.’ Consider that Cozza said he spent about $8,000 to move out of town and that along with medical bills from tests and the cost of replacing all his contaminated belongings exhausted what little savings he had. And he can’t put a price on the 10-year relationship he lost or the way his extended family was scattered after the derailment.” And: “The NTSB’s full investigation into the cause of the derailment won’t be complete until June, but the agency has said that an overheating wheel bearing on one of the railcars, which wasn’t detected in time by a trackside sensor, likely caused the crash.” • On the bearing, I was correct; see here and here [lambert blushes modestly]. (It’s also interesting that the coverage from Canton (fifty miles away from East Palestine) basically consists of the reporter emptying his Rolodex of lawyers, while the AP talks to the locals. Discouraging, because on a story like this, I get so tired of reading The Hill, The Guardian, and the other approved sources, and try to track down local reporting. Oh well.)
Today’s Fear & Greed Index: 57 Greed (previous close: 66 Greed) [CNN]. One week ago: 62 (Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Apr 9 at 1:51:14 PM ET.
Zeitgeist Watch
“Zzzzzzz” [London Review of Books]. “Why do we sleep?The habit is pretty much universal among animals, though it takes a wide variety of forms…. Yet there is still no scientific consensus on exactly what function sleep fulfils, why it’s so universal, or why it’s important enough to outweigh the obvious evolutionary disadvantage of rendering animals temporarily defenceless against danger…. The most basic questions’ about sleep, [author Kenneth] Miller concludes, ‘still lack definite answers.’ As I have urged here! But concluding: “There is much more consensus on the question of why we don’t sleep. Modern life has mounted what Miller describes as ‘an ongoing, and ever escalating, assault on sleep’: our always-on work culture, with its shifts and double jobs, ubiquitous sound and light pollution, and the blue light from screens and digital devices which throws our circadian rhythms into confusion. The ever expanding market for sleep optimisation is a response to this ever escalating assault, but consumer and lifestyle remedies remain least available to those who need them most: working people, particularly those who are also parenting, in low-quality housing and noisy urban environments across the globe. It’s hard not to notice that all these modern anxieties and pressures are essentially no different from those that led to the birth of sleep science more than a hundred years ago, in the glare of the electric light.” • Worth a read for the potted history of sleep science.
News of the Wired
Dad.
— Desomag (@Desomag) April 9, 2024
Contact data for vegetation: Readers, be happy to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, to (a) learn the way to ship me a examine if you’re allergic to PayPal and (b) to learn the way to ship me pictures of vegetation. Greens are tremendous! Fungi, lichen, and coral are deemed to be honorary vegetation! If you would like your deal with to seem as a credit score, please place it initially of your mail in parentheses: (thus). In any other case, I’ll anonymize by utilizing your initials. See the earlier Water Cooler (with plant) right here. From TH:
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