\n<\/p>\n
By Lambert Strether of Corrente.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nBird Song of the Day<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>House Wren (Northern). Frog Hollow, Walla Walla, Washington, United States. \u201cThis bird was singing every morning before dawn, outside my home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/strong> <\/p>\n<p>(1) <a href=\"#swing\">Swing states<\/a> update.<\/p>\n<p>(2) <a href=\"#stats\">employment situation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>(3) <a href=\"#knitters\">Crocheting and knitting<\/a>, with musical accompaniments.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital.\u201d \u2013Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>2024<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Less than a year to go!<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/free.timeanddate.com\/countdown\/i8ubjj5e\/n179\/cf100\/cm0\/cu1\/ct0\/cs1\/ca0\/cr0\/ss0\/cac000\/cpc000\/pcfff\/tcfff\/fs100\/szw320\/szh135\/tatTime%20left%20to%20Election%20Day%2C%202024\/tac000\/tptTime%20since%20Event%20started%20in\/tpc000\/mac000\/mpc000\/iso2024-11-05T00:00:00\/bo2\/pd2\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"322\" height=\"137\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"swing\"\/>RCP Poll Averages, April 5<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/rcp_poll_4-5.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"454\" height=\"746\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-269567\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/rcp_poll_4-5.png 454w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/rcp_poll_4-5-183x300.png 183w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 454px) 100vw, 454px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Here is Friday\u2019s RCP poll. Trump is still up in all the Swing States (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/03\/introduction-to-swing-states-in-the-presidential-election-of-2024-general-survey.html\">more here<\/a>), but still leading with one exception: PA. I\u2019ve highlighted it again, (1) because BIden is now up there, and (2) it\u2019s an outlier, has been for weeks. Why isn\u2019t Trump doing well there? (I\u2019ll 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! <\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"trump\"\/>Trump (R): \u201cWhen Trump needs cash, a California bank and one of its top shareholders have come to the rescue\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-axos-bank-don-hankey-loans-ethics-37846dca8056962bee4973105e51e045\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>]. Don Hankey and Axos bank once more. \u201cOver the past two years, Axos Bank, as well as its largest individual shareholder, California billionaire Don Hankey, have collectively extended more than $500 million in financing that has benefited Trump, records show. The cash influx has helped Trump to pay off debts and pocket a tidy profit while escaping from a lease on his money-losing former hotel in Washington. It also covered a $175 million down payment he made this week on an eye-popping civil fraud penalty. Axos Bank officials as well as Hankey have said that the deals offer them a financial upside. But as Trump again pursues the White House, ethics and legal experts question what the lenders may ask in return if there\u2019s a future Trump presidency, considering even small regulatory changes can translate into millions of dollars in earnings.\u201d \u2022 As usual Trump deals direct, instead of working through straws\u2026.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>Trump (R): \u201c\u2018The nuclear button\u2019: Special counsel could seek removal of judge in Trump classified docs case, attorneys warn\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/justice-department\/-nuclear-button-special-counsel-seek-removal-judge-trump-classified-do-rcna146507\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NBC<\/a>]. \u201cSpecial counsel Jack Smith could soon seek to have the judge presiding over former President Donald Trump\u2019s classified documents case recused, prosecutors and defense attorneys warn, describing Smith as being pressed to the \u2018breaking point\u2019 over arguments his office said could taint a trial irrevocably. Smith faulted Judge Aileen Cannon in a scathing rebuke for seeming to take at face value Trump\u2019s \u2018fundamentally flawed\u2019 claim around a president\u2019s official and personal records when she asked both sides to put forth competing versions of instructions for jurors in the case and said her request would \u2018distort\u2019 the trial. Smith indicated in that filing that if Cannon ruled against federal prosecutors, this could be a trigger for an appeal to the 11th Circuit that could remove her from the case. \u2018He is close to pushing the nuclear button,\u2019 said Palm Beach County State Attorney David Aronberg. \u2018It is a high burden to reach, and it is rarely done, but her proposed jury instructions may have pushed him to the breaking point.’\u201d \u2022 Another way of saying \u201cbreaking point\u201d is \u201cover-reach,\u201d as Smith did when trying McAuliffe. (And since when does a prosector determine what does and does not \u201cdistort\u201d a trial?)<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>Trump (R): \u201c1 in 5 GOP primary voters keep bucking Trump. What does it mean?\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/TWT8B\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">WaPo<\/a>]. \u201cNearly 1 in 5 GOP primary voters across four contests Tuesday voted for an option other than the presumptive nominee. That\u2019s about the same proportion that voted against him on the last big primary day, March 19\u2026. If you exclude low-turnout caucuses and deep-red Southern states, Trump is ceding an average of 20 percent since Super Tuesday.\u201d \u2022 Handy map (the states are laid out as they would be on a map of the United States, though it takes a minute to see that):<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/anti-trump.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"540\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-269573\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/anti-trump.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/anti-trump-300x270.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>I have highlighted the swing states in yellow. I don\u2019t think people who don\u2019t vote for the Republican on primary day necessarily vote Republican on election day, but if I were the Trump campaign, I\u2019d be concerned about MI (32% (!!)), and NC (26%). PA and NV are yet to come.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"biden\"\/>Biden (D): \u201cThe Economy Is OK. Biden\u2019s Economy, Not So Much\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/prospect.org\/blogs-and-newsletters\/tap\/2024-04-04-economy-is-ok-bidens-not-so-much\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The American Prospect<\/a>]. \u201cBy a 20-point margin (54 percent to 34 percent), the [Wall Street Journal] swing-staters [polled] preferred Trump to Biden on the question of handling the economy. Where this really becomes interesting, though, is in their responses to their own states\u2019 economies. Asked to assess the condition of the economy in their own state and then in the nation as a whole, respondents in each of the seven states replied that their own state\u2019s economy was in far better shape than the nation\u2019s. Those who rated their own state\u2019s economy as \u201cnot so good\u201d or \u201cpoor\u201d did so at rates that ranged from 11 points to 33 points lower than their assessments of the nation\u2019s overall economy. At one level, this shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise: It somewhat echoes other recent polls in which Americans have rated their own families\u2019 economic condition to be notably better than the nation\u2019s. Neither the swing states\u2019 actual economic conditions nor the partisan makeup of state government seems to have had much effect on the respondents\u2019 answers. \u2026 But when all that discounting is done, it\u2019s still apparent that the association of Biden with economic conditions brings down the assessment of those conditions. Biden may yet be able to mitigate this by stressing his support for popular progressive economic policies, and the continuation of the recovery (in which his actual record is nothing short of stellar) may help some, too. But looking at this polling suggests that if he\u2019s to defeat Trump, abortion and Trump himself are the themes he most needs to sound.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>PA: \u201cDemocrats should be jittery about Pennsylvania voter registration trends\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/2954573\/democrats-should-be-jittery-about-pennsylvania-voter-registration-trends\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Washington Examiner<\/a>]. \u201cBlue-collar voters became willing to leave the party altogether, especially after Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) made it efficient when he implemented a new measure that allowed residents getting driver\u2019s licenses and ID cards to be opted into their voter registration. Despite Republican lawmakers bellyaching about Shapiro\u2019s move, in the first month alone, 3,194 Democrats, 4,052 independents, and a whopping 7,657 Republicans have registered. If you are doing the math, as many Republicans registered in the state as Democrats and independents together, and even independent registration outpaced the Democrats by nearly 900. In July of last year, Democrats held a 480,000 voter registration advantage over Republicans, but by Oct. 10, that margin had fallen to 446,467. And the trend has continued in the six months since then.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo Labels officially drops out of the 2024 race. The truth is they were never in it.\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/opinion\/columnist\/2024\/04\/04\/no-labels-leaves-election-presidential-candidate\/73207242007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">USA Today<\/a>]. \u201cNo Labels <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2024\/04\/04\/no-labels-says-it-will-not-challenge-joe-biden-and-donald-trump\/73207044007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dropped plans Thursday<\/a> for a so-called unity ticket, which was expected to be a moderate Republican running for president with an equally moderate Democrat as vice president.\u201d That\u2019s a damn shame. More: \u201cThe animosity for No Labels was often rooted in the group\u2019s secrecy, operating as a nonprofit with millions of dollars from donors it refused to identify.\u201d \u2022 Maybe the names of the donors are in the pocket of Joe Lieberman\u2019s funeral suit, in his coffin. Still, they kept the grift going for fourteen years, and that\u2019s something. Anyhow, they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2024\/04\/04\/no-labels-no-presidential-ticket-00150627\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">are said to have ballot access in 21 states<\/a>, and now all that\u2019s all wasted. Sad.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>\u201cInside a G.O.P. Plan to Encourage Early Voting Despite Trump\u2019s Attacks\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/04\/us\/politics\/trump-turning-point-action-chase-vote.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York Times<\/a>]. \u201cInside a sprawling compound in Phoenix, leaders of the influential conservative group Turning Point Action were hatching plans to fix what they see as a mortal threat to the Republican Party: its voters\u2019 avoidance of early voting, especially by mail, since the 2020 election.\u201d \u2022 IMNSHO, \u201cearly voting\u201d is wrong for three reasons: (1) It reinforces party loyalty, the last thing we need; (2) it makes it impossible for voters to change their minds having voted early, in response to a gaffe, a policy change, or \u201cevents, dear boy, events\u201d; (3) in principle, the entire electorate should vote based on the same set of information, and that\u2019s only possible when the vote takes place at one time.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Our Famously Free Press<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe Washington press corps doesn\u2019t have a freaking clue\u201d [Dan Froomkin, <a href=\"https:\/\/presswatchers.org\/2024\/04\/the-washington-press-corps-doesnt-have-a-freaking-clue\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Press Watch<\/a>]. \u201cBeing the lead writer for the New York Time\u2019s signature On Politics newsletter is one of the most influential jobs in the industry these days, and the email that popped up in my inbox announcing the latest hire for that job \u2013 a Boston Globe reporter named Jess Bidgood who had previously worked for the Times \u2014 made it painfully clear that she is absolutely clueless about the topic she is now covering, and intentionally so. Offered an opportunity to explain what she found particularly compelling about the coming election, Bidgood didn\u2019t talk about how the Republican Party has succumbed to the extreme Christian far-right. She didn\u2019t talk about how Trump was a hateful, dangerous demagogue. She didn\u2019t even mention the fate of democracy or the rule of law. Let me be very clear here: Whether or not the country succumbs to fascism is a helluva political story no matter how you feel about it. A Trump victory would profoundly change how government and justice are practiced. If you don\u2019t understand that, you are a wildly incompetent political reporter.\u201d \u2022\u00a0Froomkin was one of the original bloggers at WaPo, back in the day, and they dinged him for it, so I\u2019m reluctant to just utterly trash the guy. But I don\u2019t see how anyone can look at the Censorship Industrial Complex and not see <em>elements<\/em> of fascism. Fascism is not noted for ideological consistency; rather, it is an enormous smorgasbord of badness, from which <em>both<\/em> parties can pick and choose (I don\u2019t much like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/investigates\/section\/campaign-of-fear\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">threatening<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/election-workers-threats-justice-department-trump-f17df44d63156a28eaa0862b0aa08f0b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">election<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2024\/02\/03\/threats-against-election-workers\/72328609007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">workers<\/a>, for example). It\u2019s also perfectly reasonable to see the post-Reconstruction South as fascist \u2014 the Nazis came to study Jim Crow, after all \u2014 or, for that matter, some of the nastier elements of the Wilson Administration (like, say, the Espionage Act). This vision is, in fact, bleaker than the view that electing one party solves the problem. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Pandemics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am in earnest \u2014 I will not equivocate \u2014 I will not excuse \u2014 I will not retreat a single inch \u2014 AND I WILL BE HEARD.\u201d \u2013William Lloyd Garrison<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>Covid Resources, United States (National): Transmission (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#county-view?list_select_state=all_states&list_select_county=all_counties&data-type=Risk&null=Risk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>); Wastewater (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/biobot.io\/data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Biobot<\/a>; includes many counties; <a href=\"https:\/\/data.wastewaterscan.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wastewater Scan<\/a>, includes drilldown by zip); Variants (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/businesssolutions\/covid-19-index.jsp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a>); \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/iowacovid19tracker.org\/hospitals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Iowa COVID-19 Tracker<\/a>\u201d (in IA, but national data). \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/icemsg.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts<\/a>\u201d (especially on hospitalization by city).<\/p>\n<p>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 \u201cCOVID\u201d in the subject line. Thank you!<\/p>\n<p>Resources, United States (Local): AK (<a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/af2efc8bffbf4cdc83c2d1a134354074\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AL (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/6d2771faa9da4a2786a509d82c8cf0f7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AR (<a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/633006d0782b4544bd5113a314f6268a\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AZ (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.azdhs.gov\/covid19\/data\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); CA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdph.ca.gov\/Programs\/CID\/DCDC\/Pages\/COVID-19\/CalSuWers-Dashboard.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.marinhhs.org\/surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Marin, dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/healthalerts.stanford.edu\/covid-19\/wastewater-dashboard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Stanford, wastewater<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/publichealth.verily.com\/?v=SC2_N&l=Oakland%2C+CA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Oakland, wastewater<\/a>); CO (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.colorado.gov\/data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/cdphe.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/d79cf93c3938470ca4bcc4823328946b#utility=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); CT (<a href=\"https:\/\/data.ct.gov\/stories\/s\/COVID-19-data\/wa3g-tfvc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); DE (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.delaware.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); FL (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/5b9d75ba683849928dc1a49c39ab0b1c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); GA (<a href=\"https:\/\/dph.georgia.gov\/ga-nwss-wastewater-surveillance-reports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); HI (<a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronavirusdisease2019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); IA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmmwra.org\/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=57\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater reports<\/a>); ID (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.idahopublichealth.com\/district-2\/novel-coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, Boise; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.idahopublichealth.com\/district-2\/novel-coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/data.wastewaterscan.org\/?plantId=1056f05c-0e46-4e3d-b007-c0453ba7dc0d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Central Idaho; <a href=\"https:\/\/publichealth.verily.com\/#:SARS-CoV-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Coeur d\u2019Alene; dashboard, <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.srhd.org\/topics\/spokane-county-case-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Spokane County<\/a>); IL (<a href=\"https:\/\/iwss.uillinois.edu\/wastewater-treatment-plants\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); IN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coronavirus.in.gov\/indiana-covid-19-dashboard-and-map\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); KS (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov\/160\/COVID-19-in-Kansas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/4456bae8a38f4b6180e008477382fff9\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Lawrence); KY (<a href=\"https:\/\/louisville.edu\/envirome\/thecoimmunityproject\/dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, Louisville); LA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ldh.la.gov\/coronavirus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mass.gov\/info-details\/covid-19-wastewater-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MD (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.maryland.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); ME (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.maine.gov\/dhhs\/mecdc\/infectious-disease\/epi\/airborne\/coronavirus\/data.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MI (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/coronavirus\/stats\/wastewater-surveillance\/dashboard\/sentinel-wastewater-epidemiology-evaluation-project-sweep\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/gisportal.state.mi.us\/portal\/apps\/insights\/index.html#\/view\/52bbb104ed574887918f990af9f3debe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.state.mn.us\/diseases\/coronavirus\/stats\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MO (<a href=\"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/stories\/f7f5492486114da6b5d6fdc07f81aacf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MS (<a href=\"https:\/\/msdh.ms.gov\/page\/14,0,420.html#Mississippi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); <del>MT (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/MapSeries\/index.html?appid=7c34f3412536439491adcc2103421d4b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>)<\/del>; NC (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.ncdhhs.gov\/dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard)<\/a>; ND (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.nd.gov\/health\/coronavirus\/cases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.nd.gov\/health\/coronavirus\/cases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); NE (<a href=\"https:\/\/atlas-dhhs.ne.gov\/Atlas\/Respiratory_Illness\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NH (<a href=\"https:\/\/wisdom.dhhs.nh.gov\/wisdom\/dashboard.html?topic=covid-19&subtopic=recurring-updates&indicator=covid-19-wastewater#tabnavbarid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); NJ (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.nj.gov\/forms\/datadashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NM (<a href=\"https:\/\/cvprovider.nmhealth.org\/public-dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NV (<a href=\"https:\/\/nvhealthresponse.nv.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/empower.unlv.edu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Southern NV); NY (<a href=\"https:\/\/mbcolli.shinyapps.io\/SARS2EWSP\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); OH (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.ohio.gov\/dashboards\/other-resources\/wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); OK (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/51657c21386d4f1a962b1853c76ec589\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); <del>OR (<a href=\"https:\/\/public.tableau.com\/app\/profile\/oregon.health.authority.covid.19\/viz\/OregonsCOVID-19DataDashboards-TableofContents\/TableofContentsStatewide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>)<\/del>; PA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.pa.gov\/topics\/disease\/coronavirus\/pages\/Cases.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); RI (<a href=\"https:\/\/ri-department-of-health-covid-19-data-rihealth.hub.arcgis.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); SC (<a href=\"https:\/\/scdhec.gov\/index.php\/covid19\/covid-19-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); SD (<a href=\"https:\/\/doh.sd.gov\/COVID\/Dashboard.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); TN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tn.gov\/health\/cedep\/ncov\/data.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); TX (<a href=\"https:\/\/txdshsea.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/4ae43eefd0f641d59d35c3df82ee59cc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); UT (<a href=\"https:\/\/udwq.shinyapps.io\/sarscov2_surv\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); VA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/coronavirus\/see-the-numbers\/covid-19-in-virginia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); VT (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthvermont.gov\/disease-control\/covid-19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); WA (<a href=\"https:\/\/doh.wa.gov\/emergencies\/covid-19\/data-dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.bfhd.wa.gov\/cases-and-roadmap-to-recovery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); WI (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dhs.wisconsin.gov\/covid-19\/wastewater.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); WV (<del><a href=\"https:\/\/oehs.wvdhhr.org\/news\/oehs-coivd-19-information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a><\/del>); WY (<del><a href=\"https:\/\/covidwastewatermonitor.wyo.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a><\/del>).<\/p>\n<p>Resources, Canada (National): Wastewater (<a href=\"https:\/\/health-infobase.canada.ca\/covid-19\/wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Government of Canada<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.publichealthontario.ca\/en\/Data-and-Analysis\/Infectious-Disease\/COVID-19-Data-Surveillance\/Wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); QC (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.inspq.qc.ca\/covid-19\/donnees\/eaux-usees\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><em>les eaux us\u00e9es<\/em><\/a>); BC (<a href=\"https:\/\/bccdc.shinyapps.io\/respiratory_wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); BC, Vancouver (<a href=\"https:\/\/metrovancouver.org\/services\/liquid-waste\/testing-for-the-covid-19-virus-in-wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>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). <\/p>\n<p>Stay safe out there!<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>H5N1<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBird flu dairy cow outbreak widens in Ohio, Kansas, New Mexico\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/bird-flu-dairy-cow-outbreak-194941562.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Reuters<\/a>]. \u201d Bird flu has infected a dairy herd in Ohio for the first time and was detected in additional herds in Kansas and New Mexico, according to the U.S. government, expanding an outbreak in cows that has raised concerns about possible risks to humans\u2026. The spread to an increasing number of species and its widening geographic reach have raised the risks of humans being infected, the head of the World Organization for Animal Health said on Thursday. Texas officials reported on Monday that a farm worker tested positive, and the only symptom was eye inflammation. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers the risk of bird flu for humans to be low.\u201d \u2022 I don\u2019t enjoy this, and I hope it sputters out. That said, we\u2019re dealing with the CDC here, which emerged from Covid the same, or worse, as it went in to Covid. No presumption of competence or honesty is reasonble.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p><strong>TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>LEGEND<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1) <span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> for charts new today; all others are not updated.<\/p>\n<p>2) For a full-size\/full-resolution image, Command-click (MacOS) or right-click (Windows) on the chart thumbnail and \u201copen image in new tab.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>NOTES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[1] (Biobot) Our curve has now flattened out at the level of previous Trump peaks. Not a great victory. Note also the area \u201cunder the curve,\u201d besides looking at peaks. That area is larger under Biden than under Trump, and it seems to be rising steadily if unevenly.<\/p>\n<p>[2] (Biobot) Backward revisions, I hate them.<\/p>\n<p>[3] (CDC Variants) As of May 11, genomic surveillance data will be reported biweekly, based on the availability of positive test specimens.\u201d \u201cBiweeekly: 1. occurring every two weeks. 2. occurring twice a week; semiweekly.\u201d Looks like CDC has chosen sense #1. In essence, they\u2019re telling us variants are nothing to worry about. Time will tell.<\/p>\n<p>[4] (ER) CDC seems to have killed this off, since the link is broken, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/surveillance\/resp-lens\/dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">I think in favor of this <em>thing<\/em><\/a>. I will try to confirm. UPDATE Yes, leave it to CDC to kill a page, and then <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.cdc.gov\/#\/details?url=https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/ncird\/surveillance\/respiratory-illnesses\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">announce it was archived a day later<\/a>. And heaven forfend CDC should explain where to go to get equivalent data, if any. I liked the ER data, because it seemed really hard to game\u2026 <\/p>\n<p>[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Looks like a very gradual leveling off to a non-zero baseline, to me.<\/p>\n<p>[6] (Hospitalization: CDC) Still down. \u201cMaps, charts, and data provided by CDC, updates weekly for the previous MMWR week (Sunday-Saturday) on Thursdays (Deaths, Emergency Department Visits, Test Positivity) and weekly the following Mondays (Hospitalizations) by 8 pm ET\u2020\u201d. <\/p>\n<p>[7] (Walgreens) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[8] (Cleveland) Flattening.<\/p>\n<p>[9] (Travelers: Posivitity) Now up, albeit in the rear view mirror.<\/p>\n<p>[10] (Travelers: Variants) JN.1 dominates utterly.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stats Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"stats\"\/>Employment Situation: \u201cUnited States Unemployment Rate\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/unemployment-rate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cThe unemployment rate in the United States dipped to 3.8% in March 2024 from the previous month\u2019s two-year high of 3.9% and surprising market expectations, which had forecasted the rate to remain unchanged. The number of unemployed individuals decreased by 29,000 to 6.4 million, while employment levels saw a significant surge, rising by 498,000 to reach 161.5 million. Additionally, the labor force participation rate increased to 62.7% from a near one-year low of 62.5% in the preceding periods, and the employment-population ratio climbed to 60.3% from 60.1%. Despite recent policy tightening measures by the Federal Reserve, the unemployment rate has remained within a narrow range of 3.7% to 3.9% since August 2023, suggesting the labor market remains strong.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>Finance: \u201cA Lego Model of Financial Capitalism\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.asomo.co\/p\/a-lego-model-of-financial-capitalism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">ASOMOCO<\/a>]. \u201cThis type of exchange, in which we exchange money for promises-for-future-money, is called financial exchange, and the financial markets are where it happens.\u201d Final paragraph: \u201cMix it all up! Perhaps that investment bank can take the other side of that credit default swap, and place it \u2013 alongside other CDS contracts \u2013 into a new offshore vehicle. Now they can sell the tranches of that new SYNTHETIC CDO! This is highly recommended if you wish to trigger a global financial crisis.\u201d \u2022 I reall wanted more Lego, and the post is really above my paygrade. But the last paragraph gives me some confidence. Readers?<\/p>\n<p>Tech: \u201cInside Big Tech\u2019s underground race to buy AI training data\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/technology\/inside-big-techs-underground-race-buy-ai-training-data-2024-04-05\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Reuters<\/a>]. \u201cTech giants like Google (GOOGL.O), opens new tab, Meta (META.O), opens new tab and Microsoft-backed (MSFT.O), opens new tab OpenAI initially used reams of data scraped from the internet for free [stolen] to train generative AI models like ChatGPT that can mimic human creativity. They have said that doing so is both legal and ethical, though they face lawsuits from a string of copyright holders over the practice\u2026. Reuters spoke to more than 30 people with knowledge of AI data deals, including current and former executives at companies involved, lawyers and consultants, to provide the first in-depth exploration of this fledgling market \u2013 detailing the types of content being bought, the prices materializing, plus emerging concerns about the risk of personal data making its way into AI models without people\u2019s knowledge or explicit consent.\u201d \u2022 What risk? Why not just legalize it?<\/p>\n<p>Tech: \u201cMicrosoft blamed for \u201ca cascade of security failures\u201d in Exchange breach report\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/arstechnica.com\/information-technology\/2024\/04\/microsoft-blamed-for-a-cascade-of-security-failures-in-exchange-breach-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Ars Technica<\/a>]. \u201cA federal Cyber Safety Review Board has issued its report on what led to last summer\u2019s capture of hundreds of thousands of emails by Chinese hackers from cloud customers, including federal agencies. It cites \u201ca cascade of security failures at Microsoft\u201d and finds that \u201cMicrosoft\u2019s security culture was inadequate\u201d and needs to adjust to a \u2018new normal\u2019 of cloud provider targeting\u2026. \u2018Throughout this review, the board identified a series of Microsoft operational and strategic decisions that collectively points to a corporate culture that deprioritized both enterprise security investments and rigorous risk management,\u2019 the report reads.\u201d \u2022 What is it with these Seattle firms\u2026..<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 61 Greed (previous close: 48 Neutral) [<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/data\/fear-and-greed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. One week ago: 69 (Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Apr 5 at 1:38:51 PM ET.<\/p>\n<p><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"knitters\"\/> A propos of H5N1:<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"The Call of the Wreckin' Ball\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hjqyUvO_nQc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaking crochet cacti\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/jvns.ca\/blog\/2024\/04\/01\/making-crochet-cacti\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Julia Evans<\/a>]. \u201cI\u2019ve been modifying all of the patterns I make in a somewhat chaotic way, often just because I made a mistake somewhere along the way and then decide to move forward and change the pattern to adjust for the mistake instead of undoing my work.\u201d \u2022 Hmm. Is this a typical procedure?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Sound of Knitting\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/kottke.org\/24\/04\/the-sound-of-knitting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Kottke.org<\/a>]. \u201cIn addition to featuring knitting-friendly music, the video includes a tour of the Norwegian municipality of Selbu, famous for its gorgeous mittens, as well as a virtual class on how to knit those mittens. It all seems lovely, although I confess I was slightly disappointed that \u2018the sound of knitting\u2019 wasn\u2019t an ASMR video of needles clicking, although I\u2019m sure that\u2019s out there, too. I mean, I know it is because I\u2019ve seen it. Plus, as a recent NY Times story outlined, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/28\/well\/mind\/hands-mindfulness-typing-writing.html?unlocked_article_code=1.hE0.LuV6.XlsLoVE-vXci&smid=url-share\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">handwork is good for the brain<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p><strong>Contact information for plants<\/strong>: Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, to (a) find out how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal and (b) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi, lichen, and coral are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/04\/200pm-water-cooler-4-4-2024.html\">here<\/a>. From TH:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/cowslip.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-269571\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/cowslip.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/cowslip-300x200.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>TH writes: \u201cYou may have noticed that the last few photos that I have sent were from my early January morning at the Sherman Library and Gardens in Corona Del Mar (a division of Newport Beach), California. I\u2019m always surprised at the large variety of flowers blooming in January. Yes, even though I\u2019m a native of the state and should be used to it. I didn\u2019t see any identification signs on most of the plants there, but I think this one is Cowslip.\u201d Readers? (Wow, that blue!)<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"donate\"\/><strong>Readers<\/strong>: Water Cooler is a standalone entity <em>not<\/em> covered by the annual NC fundraiser. So if you see a link you especially like, or an item you wouldn\u2019t see anywhere else, please do not hesitate to express your appreciation in tangible form. Remember, a tip jar is for tipping! <em>Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know I\u2019m on the right track with coverage<\/em>. When I get no donations for five or ten days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals<\/p>\n<p>Here is the screen that will appear, which I have helpfully annotated:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-226891\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"606\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution.png 606w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution-300x190.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 606px) 100vw, 606px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>If you hate PayPal, you can email me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I will give you directions on how to send a check. Thank you!<\/p>\n<div class=\"printfriendly pf-alignleft\"><a href=\"#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF & Email\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"border:none;-webkit-box-shadow:none; -moz-box-shadow: none; box-shadow:none; padding:0; margin:0\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.printfriendly.com\/buttons\/print-button-gray.png\" alt=\"Print Friendly, PDF & Email\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/04\/200pm-water-cooler-4-5-2024.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Bird Song of the Day House Wren (Northern). Frog Hollow, Walla Walla, Washington, United States. \u201cThis bird was singing every<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":79514,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153,183],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-spotlight"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79513\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Bird Song of the Day<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>House Wren (Northern). Frog Hollow, Walla Walla, Washington, United States. \u201cThis bird was singing every morning before dawn, outside my home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/strong> <\/p>\n<p>(1) <a href=\"#swing\">Swing states<\/a> update.<\/p>\n<p>(2) <a href=\"#stats\">employment situation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>(3) <a href=\"#knitters\">Crocheting and knitting<\/a>, with musical accompaniments.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital.\u201d \u2013Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>2024<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Less than a year to go!<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/free.timeanddate.com\/countdown\/i8ubjj5e\/n179\/cf100\/cm0\/cu1\/ct0\/cs1\/ca0\/cr0\/ss0\/cac000\/cpc000\/pcfff\/tcfff\/fs100\/szw320\/szh135\/tatTime%20left%20to%20Election%20Day%2C%202024\/tac000\/tptTime%20since%20Event%20started%20in\/tpc000\/mac000\/mpc000\/iso2024-11-05T00:00:00\/bo2\/pd2\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"322\" height=\"137\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"swing\"\/>RCP Poll Averages, April 5<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/rcp_poll_4-5.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"454\" height=\"746\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-269567\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/rcp_poll_4-5.png 454w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/rcp_poll_4-5-183x300.png 183w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 454px) 100vw, 454px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Here is Friday\u2019s RCP poll. Trump is still up in all the Swing States (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/03\/introduction-to-swing-states-in-the-presidential-election-of-2024-general-survey.html\">more here<\/a>), but still leading with one exception: PA. I\u2019ve highlighted it again, (1) because BIden is now up there, and (2) it\u2019s an outlier, has been for weeks. Why isn\u2019t Trump doing well there? (I\u2019ll 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! <\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"trump\"\/>Trump (R): \u201cWhen Trump needs cash, a California bank and one of its top shareholders have come to the rescue\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-axos-bank-don-hankey-loans-ethics-37846dca8056962bee4973105e51e045\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>]. Don Hankey and Axos bank once more. \u201cOver the past two years, Axos Bank, as well as its largest individual shareholder, California billionaire Don Hankey, have collectively extended more than $500 million in financing that has benefited Trump, records show. The cash influx has helped Trump to pay off debts and pocket a tidy profit while escaping from a lease on his money-losing former hotel in Washington. It also covered a $175 million down payment he made this week on an eye-popping civil fraud penalty. Axos Bank officials as well as Hankey have said that the deals offer them a financial upside. But as Trump again pursues the White House, ethics and legal experts question what the lenders may ask in return if there\u2019s a future Trump presidency, considering even small regulatory changes can translate into millions of dollars in earnings.\u201d \u2022 As usual Trump deals direct, instead of working through straws\u2026.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>Trump (R): \u201c\u2018The nuclear button\u2019: Special counsel could seek removal of judge in Trump classified docs case, attorneys warn\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/justice-department\/-nuclear-button-special-counsel-seek-removal-judge-trump-classified-do-rcna146507\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NBC<\/a>]. \u201cSpecial counsel Jack Smith could soon seek to have the judge presiding over former President Donald Trump\u2019s classified documents case recused, prosecutors and defense attorneys warn, describing Smith as being pressed to the \u2018breaking point\u2019 over arguments his office said could taint a trial irrevocably. Smith faulted Judge Aileen Cannon in a scathing rebuke for seeming to take at face value Trump\u2019s \u2018fundamentally flawed\u2019 claim around a president\u2019s official and personal records when she asked both sides to put forth competing versions of instructions for jurors in the case and said her request would \u2018distort\u2019 the trial. Smith indicated in that filing that if Cannon ruled against federal prosecutors, this could be a trigger for an appeal to the 11th Circuit that could remove her from the case. \u2018He is close to pushing the nuclear button,\u2019 said Palm Beach County State Attorney David Aronberg. \u2018It is a high burden to reach, and it is rarely done, but her proposed jury instructions may have pushed him to the breaking point.’\u201d \u2022 Another way of saying \u201cbreaking point\u201d is \u201cover-reach,\u201d as Smith did when trying McAuliffe. (And since when does a prosector determine what does and does not \u201cdistort\u201d a trial?)<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>Trump (R): \u201c1 in 5 GOP primary voters keep bucking Trump. What does it mean?\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/TWT8B\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">WaPo<\/a>]. \u201cNearly 1 in 5 GOP primary voters across four contests Tuesday voted for an option other than the presumptive nominee. That\u2019s about the same proportion that voted against him on the last big primary day, March 19\u2026. If you exclude low-turnout caucuses and deep-red Southern states, Trump is ceding an average of 20 percent since Super Tuesday.\u201d \u2022 Handy map (the states are laid out as they would be on a map of the United States, though it takes a minute to see that):<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/anti-trump.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"540\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-269573\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/anti-trump.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/anti-trump-300x270.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>I have highlighted the swing states in yellow. I don\u2019t think people who don\u2019t vote for the Republican on primary day necessarily vote Republican on election day, but if I were the Trump campaign, I\u2019d be concerned about MI (32% (!!)), and NC (26%). PA and NV are yet to come.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"biden\"\/>Biden (D): \u201cThe Economy Is OK. Biden\u2019s Economy, Not So Much\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/prospect.org\/blogs-and-newsletters\/tap\/2024-04-04-economy-is-ok-bidens-not-so-much\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The American Prospect<\/a>]. \u201cBy a 20-point margin (54 percent to 34 percent), the [Wall Street Journal] swing-staters [polled] preferred Trump to Biden on the question of handling the economy. Where this really becomes interesting, though, is in their responses to their own states\u2019 economies. Asked to assess the condition of the economy in their own state and then in the nation as a whole, respondents in each of the seven states replied that their own state\u2019s economy was in far better shape than the nation\u2019s. Those who rated their own state\u2019s economy as \u201cnot so good\u201d or \u201cpoor\u201d did so at rates that ranged from 11 points to 33 points lower than their assessments of the nation\u2019s overall economy. At one level, this shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise: It somewhat echoes other recent polls in which Americans have rated their own families\u2019 economic condition to be notably better than the nation\u2019s. Neither the swing states\u2019 actual economic conditions nor the partisan makeup of state government seems to have had much effect on the respondents\u2019 answers. \u2026 But when all that discounting is done, it\u2019s still apparent that the association of Biden with economic conditions brings down the assessment of those conditions. Biden may yet be able to mitigate this by stressing his support for popular progressive economic policies, and the continuation of the recovery (in which his actual record is nothing short of stellar) may help some, too. But looking at this polling suggests that if he\u2019s to defeat Trump, abortion and Trump himself are the themes he most needs to sound.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>PA: \u201cDemocrats should be jittery about Pennsylvania voter registration trends\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/2954573\/democrats-should-be-jittery-about-pennsylvania-voter-registration-trends\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Washington Examiner<\/a>]. \u201cBlue-collar voters became willing to leave the party altogether, especially after Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) made it efficient when he implemented a new measure that allowed residents getting driver\u2019s licenses and ID cards to be opted into their voter registration. Despite Republican lawmakers bellyaching about Shapiro\u2019s move, in the first month alone, 3,194 Democrats, 4,052 independents, and a whopping 7,657 Republicans have registered. If you are doing the math, as many Republicans registered in the state as Democrats and independents together, and even independent registration outpaced the Democrats by nearly 900. In July of last year, Democrats held a 480,000 voter registration advantage over Republicans, but by Oct. 10, that margin had fallen to 446,467. And the trend has continued in the six months since then.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo Labels officially drops out of the 2024 race. The truth is they were never in it.\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/opinion\/columnist\/2024\/04\/04\/no-labels-leaves-election-presidential-candidate\/73207242007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">USA Today<\/a>]. \u201cNo Labels <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2024\/04\/04\/no-labels-says-it-will-not-challenge-joe-biden-and-donald-trump\/73207044007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dropped plans Thursday<\/a> for a so-called unity ticket, which was expected to be a moderate Republican running for president with an equally moderate Democrat as vice president.\u201d That\u2019s a damn shame. More: \u201cThe animosity for No Labels was often rooted in the group\u2019s secrecy, operating as a nonprofit with millions of dollars from donors it refused to identify.\u201d \u2022 Maybe the names of the donors are in the pocket of Joe Lieberman\u2019s funeral suit, in his coffin. Still, they kept the grift going for fourteen years, and that\u2019s something. Anyhow, they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2024\/04\/04\/no-labels-no-presidential-ticket-00150627\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">are said to have ballot access in 21 states<\/a>, and now all that\u2019s all wasted. Sad.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>\u201cInside a G.O.P. Plan to Encourage Early Voting Despite Trump\u2019s Attacks\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/04\/us\/politics\/trump-turning-point-action-chase-vote.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York Times<\/a>]. \u201cInside a sprawling compound in Phoenix, leaders of the influential conservative group Turning Point Action were hatching plans to fix what they see as a mortal threat to the Republican Party: its voters\u2019 avoidance of early voting, especially by mail, since the 2020 election.\u201d \u2022 IMNSHO, \u201cearly voting\u201d is wrong for three reasons: (1) It reinforces party loyalty, the last thing we need; (2) it makes it impossible for voters to change their minds having voted early, in response to a gaffe, a policy change, or \u201cevents, dear boy, events\u201d; (3) in principle, the entire electorate should vote based on the same set of information, and that\u2019s only possible when the vote takes place at one time.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Our Famously Free Press<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe Washington press corps doesn\u2019t have a freaking clue\u201d [Dan Froomkin, <a href=\"https:\/\/presswatchers.org\/2024\/04\/the-washington-press-corps-doesnt-have-a-freaking-clue\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Press Watch<\/a>]. \u201cBeing the lead writer for the New York Time\u2019s signature On Politics newsletter is one of the most influential jobs in the industry these days, and the email that popped up in my inbox announcing the latest hire for that job \u2013 a Boston Globe reporter named Jess Bidgood who had previously worked for the Times \u2014 made it painfully clear that she is absolutely clueless about the topic she is now covering, and intentionally so. Offered an opportunity to explain what she found particularly compelling about the coming election, Bidgood didn\u2019t talk about how the Republican Party has succumbed to the extreme Christian far-right. She didn\u2019t talk about how Trump was a hateful, dangerous demagogue. She didn\u2019t even mention the fate of democracy or the rule of law. Let me be very clear here: Whether or not the country succumbs to fascism is a helluva political story no matter how you feel about it. A Trump victory would profoundly change how government and justice are practiced. If you don\u2019t understand that, you are a wildly incompetent political reporter.\u201d \u2022\u00a0Froomkin was one of the original bloggers at WaPo, back in the day, and they dinged him for it, so I\u2019m reluctant to just utterly trash the guy. But I don\u2019t see how anyone can look at the Censorship Industrial Complex and not see <em>elements<\/em> of fascism. Fascism is not noted for ideological consistency; rather, it is an enormous smorgasbord of badness, from which <em>both<\/em> parties can pick and choose (I don\u2019t much like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/investigates\/section\/campaign-of-fear\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">threatening<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/election-workers-threats-justice-department-trump-f17df44d63156a28eaa0862b0aa08f0b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">election<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2024\/02\/03\/threats-against-election-workers\/72328609007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">workers<\/a>, for example). It\u2019s also perfectly reasonable to see the post-Reconstruction South as fascist \u2014 the Nazis came to study Jim Crow, after all \u2014 or, for that matter, some of the nastier elements of the Wilson Administration (like, say, the Espionage Act). This vision is, in fact, bleaker than the view that electing one party solves the problem. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Pandemics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am in earnest \u2014 I will not equivocate \u2014 I will not excuse \u2014 I will not retreat a single inch \u2014 AND I WILL BE HEARD.\u201d \u2013William Lloyd Garrison<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>Covid Resources, United States (National): Transmission (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#county-view?list_select_state=all_states&list_select_county=all_counties&data-type=Risk&null=Risk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>); Wastewater (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/biobot.io\/data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Biobot<\/a>; includes many counties; <a href=\"https:\/\/data.wastewaterscan.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wastewater Scan<\/a>, includes drilldown by zip); Variants (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/businesssolutions\/covid-19-index.jsp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a>); \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/iowacovid19tracker.org\/hospitals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Iowa COVID-19 Tracker<\/a>\u201d (in IA, but national data). \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/icemsg.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts<\/a>\u201d (especially on hospitalization by city).<\/p>\n<p>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 \u201cCOVID\u201d in the subject line. Thank you!<\/p>\n<p>Resources, United States (Local): AK (<a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/af2efc8bffbf4cdc83c2d1a134354074\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AL (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/6d2771faa9da4a2786a509d82c8cf0f7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AR (<a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/633006d0782b4544bd5113a314f6268a\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AZ (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.azdhs.gov\/covid19\/data\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); CA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdph.ca.gov\/Programs\/CID\/DCDC\/Pages\/COVID-19\/CalSuWers-Dashboard.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.marinhhs.org\/surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Marin, dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/healthalerts.stanford.edu\/covid-19\/wastewater-dashboard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Stanford, wastewater<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/publichealth.verily.com\/?v=SC2_N&l=Oakland%2C+CA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Oakland, wastewater<\/a>); CO (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.colorado.gov\/data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/cdphe.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/d79cf93c3938470ca4bcc4823328946b#utility=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); CT (<a href=\"https:\/\/data.ct.gov\/stories\/s\/COVID-19-data\/wa3g-tfvc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); DE (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.delaware.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); FL (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/5b9d75ba683849928dc1a49c39ab0b1c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); GA (<a href=\"https:\/\/dph.georgia.gov\/ga-nwss-wastewater-surveillance-reports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); HI (<a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronavirusdisease2019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); IA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmmwra.org\/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=57\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater reports<\/a>); ID (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.idahopublichealth.com\/district-2\/novel-coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, Boise; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.idahopublichealth.com\/district-2\/novel-coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/data.wastewaterscan.org\/?plantId=1056f05c-0e46-4e3d-b007-c0453ba7dc0d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Central Idaho; <a href=\"https:\/\/publichealth.verily.com\/#:SARS-CoV-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Coeur d\u2019Alene; dashboard, <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.srhd.org\/topics\/spokane-county-case-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Spokane County<\/a>); IL (<a href=\"https:\/\/iwss.uillinois.edu\/wastewater-treatment-plants\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); IN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coronavirus.in.gov\/indiana-covid-19-dashboard-and-map\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); KS (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov\/160\/COVID-19-in-Kansas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/4456bae8a38f4b6180e008477382fff9\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Lawrence); KY (<a href=\"https:\/\/louisville.edu\/envirome\/thecoimmunityproject\/dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, Louisville); LA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ldh.la.gov\/coronavirus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mass.gov\/info-details\/covid-19-wastewater-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MD (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.maryland.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); ME (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.maine.gov\/dhhs\/mecdc\/infectious-disease\/epi\/airborne\/coronavirus\/data.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MI (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/coronavirus\/stats\/wastewater-surveillance\/dashboard\/sentinel-wastewater-epidemiology-evaluation-project-sweep\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/gisportal.state.mi.us\/portal\/apps\/insights\/index.html#\/view\/52bbb104ed574887918f990af9f3debe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.state.mn.us\/diseases\/coronavirus\/stats\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MO (<a href=\"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/stories\/f7f5492486114da6b5d6fdc07f81aacf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MS (<a href=\"https:\/\/msdh.ms.gov\/page\/14,0,420.html#Mississippi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); <del>MT (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/MapSeries\/index.html?appid=7c34f3412536439491adcc2103421d4b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>)<\/del>; NC (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.ncdhhs.gov\/dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard)<\/a>; ND (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.nd.gov\/health\/coronavirus\/cases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.nd.gov\/health\/coronavirus\/cases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); NE (<a href=\"https:\/\/atlas-dhhs.ne.gov\/Atlas\/Respiratory_Illness\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NH (<a href=\"https:\/\/wisdom.dhhs.nh.gov\/wisdom\/dashboard.html?topic=covid-19&subtopic=recurring-updates&indicator=covid-19-wastewater#tabnavbarid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); NJ (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.nj.gov\/forms\/datadashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NM (<a href=\"https:\/\/cvprovider.nmhealth.org\/public-dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NV (<a href=\"https:\/\/nvhealthresponse.nv.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/empower.unlv.edu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Southern NV); NY (<a href=\"https:\/\/mbcolli.shinyapps.io\/SARS2EWSP\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); OH (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.ohio.gov\/dashboards\/other-resources\/wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); OK (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/51657c21386d4f1a962b1853c76ec589\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); <del>OR (<a href=\"https:\/\/public.tableau.com\/app\/profile\/oregon.health.authority.covid.19\/viz\/OregonsCOVID-19DataDashboards-TableofContents\/TableofContentsStatewide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>)<\/del>; PA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.pa.gov\/topics\/disease\/coronavirus\/pages\/Cases.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); RI (<a href=\"https:\/\/ri-department-of-health-covid-19-data-rihealth.hub.arcgis.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); SC (<a href=\"https:\/\/scdhec.gov\/index.php\/covid19\/covid-19-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); SD (<a href=\"https:\/\/doh.sd.gov\/COVID\/Dashboard.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); TN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tn.gov\/health\/cedep\/ncov\/data.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); TX (<a href=\"https:\/\/txdshsea.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/4ae43eefd0f641d59d35c3df82ee59cc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); UT (<a href=\"https:\/\/udwq.shinyapps.io\/sarscov2_surv\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); VA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/coronavirus\/see-the-numbers\/covid-19-in-virginia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); VT (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthvermont.gov\/disease-control\/covid-19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); WA (<a href=\"https:\/\/doh.wa.gov\/emergencies\/covid-19\/data-dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.bfhd.wa.gov\/cases-and-roadmap-to-recovery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); WI (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dhs.wisconsin.gov\/covid-19\/wastewater.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); WV (<del><a href=\"https:\/\/oehs.wvdhhr.org\/news\/oehs-coivd-19-information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a><\/del>); WY (<del><a href=\"https:\/\/covidwastewatermonitor.wyo.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a><\/del>).<\/p>\n<p>Resources, Canada (National): Wastewater (<a href=\"https:\/\/health-infobase.canada.ca\/covid-19\/wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Government of Canada<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.publichealthontario.ca\/en\/Data-and-Analysis\/Infectious-Disease\/COVID-19-Data-Surveillance\/Wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); QC (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.inspq.qc.ca\/covid-19\/donnees\/eaux-usees\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><em>les eaux us\u00e9es<\/em><\/a>); BC (<a href=\"https:\/\/bccdc.shinyapps.io\/respiratory_wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); BC, Vancouver (<a href=\"https:\/\/metrovancouver.org\/services\/liquid-waste\/testing-for-the-covid-19-virus-in-wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>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). <\/p>\n<p>Stay safe out there!<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>H5N1<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBird flu dairy cow outbreak widens in Ohio, Kansas, New Mexico\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/bird-flu-dairy-cow-outbreak-194941562.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Reuters<\/a>]. \u201d Bird flu has infected a dairy herd in Ohio for the first time and was detected in additional herds in Kansas and New Mexico, according to the U.S. government, expanding an outbreak in cows that has raised concerns about possible risks to humans\u2026. The spread to an increasing number of species and its widening geographic reach have raised the risks of humans being infected, the head of the World Organization for Animal Health said on Thursday. Texas officials reported on Monday that a farm worker tested positive, and the only symptom was eye inflammation. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers the risk of bird flu for humans to be low.\u201d \u2022 I don\u2019t enjoy this, and I hope it sputters out. That said, we\u2019re dealing with the CDC here, which emerged from Covid the same, or worse, as it went in to Covid. No presumption of competence or honesty is reasonble.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p><strong>TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>LEGEND<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1) <span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> for charts new today; all others are not updated.<\/p>\n<p>2) For a full-size\/full-resolution image, Command-click (MacOS) or right-click (Windows) on the chart thumbnail and \u201copen image in new tab.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>NOTES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[1] (Biobot) Our curve has now flattened out at the level of previous Trump peaks. Not a great victory. Note also the area \u201cunder the curve,\u201d besides looking at peaks. That area is larger under Biden than under Trump, and it seems to be rising steadily if unevenly.<\/p>\n<p>[2] (Biobot) Backward revisions, I hate them.<\/p>\n<p>[3] (CDC Variants) As of May 11, genomic surveillance data will be reported biweekly, based on the availability of positive test specimens.\u201d \u201cBiweeekly: 1. occurring every two weeks. 2. occurring twice a week; semiweekly.\u201d Looks like CDC has chosen sense #1. In essence, they\u2019re telling us variants are nothing to worry about. Time will tell.<\/p>\n<p>[4] (ER) CDC seems to have killed this off, since the link is broken, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/surveillance\/resp-lens\/dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">I think in favor of this <em>thing<\/em><\/a>. I will try to confirm. UPDATE Yes, leave it to CDC to kill a page, and then <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.cdc.gov\/#\/details?url=https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/ncird\/surveillance\/respiratory-illnesses\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">announce it was archived a day later<\/a>. And heaven forfend CDC should explain where to go to get equivalent data, if any. I liked the ER data, because it seemed really hard to game\u2026 <\/p>\n<p>[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Looks like a very gradual leveling off to a non-zero baseline, to me.<\/p>\n<p>[6] (Hospitalization: CDC) Still down. \u201cMaps, charts, and data provided by CDC, updates weekly for the previous MMWR week (Sunday-Saturday) on Thursdays (Deaths, Emergency Department Visits, Test Positivity) and weekly the following Mondays (Hospitalizations) by 8 pm ET\u2020\u201d. <\/p>\n<p>[7] (Walgreens) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[8] (Cleveland) Flattening.<\/p>\n<p>[9] (Travelers: Posivitity) Now up, albeit in the rear view mirror.<\/p>\n<p>[10] (Travelers: Variants) JN.1 dominates utterly.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stats Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"stats\"\/>Employment Situation: \u201cUnited States Unemployment Rate\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/unemployment-rate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cThe unemployment rate in the United States dipped to 3.8% in March 2024 from the previous month\u2019s two-year high of 3.9% and surprising market expectations, which had forecasted the rate to remain unchanged. The number of unemployed individuals decreased by 29,000 to 6.4 million, while employment levels saw a significant surge, rising by 498,000 to reach 161.5 million. Additionally, the labor force participation rate increased to 62.7% from a near one-year low of 62.5% in the preceding periods, and the employment-population ratio climbed to 60.3% from 60.1%. Despite recent policy tightening measures by the Federal Reserve, the unemployment rate has remained within a narrow range of 3.7% to 3.9% since August 2023, suggesting the labor market remains strong.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>Finance: \u201cA Lego Model of Financial Capitalism\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.asomo.co\/p\/a-lego-model-of-financial-capitalism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">ASOMOCO<\/a>]. \u201cThis type of exchange, in which we exchange money for promises-for-future-money, is called financial exchange, and the financial markets are where it happens.\u201d Final paragraph: \u201cMix it all up! Perhaps that investment bank can take the other side of that credit default swap, and place it \u2013 alongside other CDS contracts \u2013 into a new offshore vehicle. Now they can sell the tranches of that new SYNTHETIC CDO! This is highly recommended if you wish to trigger a global financial crisis.\u201d \u2022 I reall wanted more Lego, and the post is really above my paygrade. But the last paragraph gives me some confidence. Readers?<\/p>\n<p>Tech: \u201cInside Big Tech\u2019s underground race to buy AI training data\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/technology\/inside-big-techs-underground-race-buy-ai-training-data-2024-04-05\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Reuters<\/a>]. \u201cTech giants like Google (GOOGL.O), opens new tab, Meta (META.O), opens new tab and Microsoft-backed (MSFT.O), opens new tab OpenAI initially used reams of data scraped from the internet for free [stolen] to train generative AI models like ChatGPT that can mimic human creativity. They have said that doing so is both legal and ethical, though they face lawsuits from a string of copyright holders over the practice\u2026. Reuters spoke to more than 30 people with knowledge of AI data deals, including current and former executives at companies involved, lawyers and consultants, to provide the first in-depth exploration of this fledgling market \u2013 detailing the types of content being bought, the prices materializing, plus emerging concerns about the risk of personal data making its way into AI models without people\u2019s knowledge or explicit consent.\u201d \u2022 What risk? Why not just legalize it?<\/p>\n<p>Tech: \u201cMicrosoft blamed for \u201ca cascade of security failures\u201d in Exchange breach report\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/arstechnica.com\/information-technology\/2024\/04\/microsoft-blamed-for-a-cascade-of-security-failures-in-exchange-breach-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Ars Technica<\/a>]. \u201cA federal Cyber Safety Review Board has issued its report on what led to last summer\u2019s capture of hundreds of thousands of emails by Chinese hackers from cloud customers, including federal agencies. It cites \u201ca cascade of security failures at Microsoft\u201d and finds that \u201cMicrosoft\u2019s security culture was inadequate\u201d and needs to adjust to a \u2018new normal\u2019 of cloud provider targeting\u2026. \u2018Throughout this review, the board identified a series of Microsoft operational and strategic decisions that collectively points to a corporate culture that deprioritized both enterprise security investments and rigorous risk management,\u2019 the report reads.\u201d \u2022 What is it with these Seattle firms\u2026..<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 61 Greed (previous close: 48 Neutral) [<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/data\/fear-and-greed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. One week ago: 69 (Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Apr 5 at 1:38:51 PM ET.<\/p>\n<p><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"knitters\"\/> A propos of H5N1:<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"The Call of the Wreckin' Ball\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hjqyUvO_nQc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaking crochet cacti\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/jvns.ca\/blog\/2024\/04\/01\/making-crochet-cacti\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Julia Evans<\/a>]. \u201cI\u2019ve been modifying all of the patterns I make in a somewhat chaotic way, often just because I made a mistake somewhere along the way and then decide to move forward and change the pattern to adjust for the mistake instead of undoing my work.\u201d \u2022 Hmm. Is this a typical procedure?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Sound of Knitting\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/kottke.org\/24\/04\/the-sound-of-knitting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Kottke.org<\/a>]. \u201cIn addition to featuring knitting-friendly music, the video includes a tour of the Norwegian municipality of Selbu, famous for its gorgeous mittens, as well as a virtual class on how to knit those mittens. It all seems lovely, although I confess I was slightly disappointed that \u2018the sound of knitting\u2019 wasn\u2019t an ASMR video of needles clicking, although I\u2019m sure that\u2019s out there, too. I mean, I know it is because I\u2019ve seen it. Plus, as a recent NY Times story outlined, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/28\/well\/mind\/hands-mindfulness-typing-writing.html?unlocked_article_code=1.hE0.LuV6.XlsLoVE-vXci&smid=url-share\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">handwork is good for the brain<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p><strong>Contact information for plants<\/strong>: Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, to (a) find out how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal and (b) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi, lichen, and coral are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/04\/200pm-water-cooler-4-4-2024.html\">here<\/a>. From TH:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/cowslip.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-269571\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/cowslip.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/cowslip-300x200.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>TH writes: \u201cYou may have noticed that the last few photos that I have sent were from my early January morning at the Sherman Library and Gardens in Corona Del Mar (a division of Newport Beach), California. I\u2019m always surprised at the large variety of flowers blooming in January. Yes, even though I\u2019m a native of the state and should be used to it. I didn\u2019t see any identification signs on most of the plants there, but I think this one is Cowslip.\u201d Readers? (Wow, that blue!)<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"donate\"\/><strong>Readers<\/strong>: Water Cooler is a standalone entity <em>not<\/em> covered by the annual NC fundraiser. So if you see a link you especially like, or an item you wouldn\u2019t see anywhere else, please do not hesitate to express your appreciation in tangible form. Remember, a tip jar is for tipping! <em>Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know I\u2019m on the right track with coverage<\/em>. When I get no donations for five or ten days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals<\/p>\n<p>Here is the screen that will appear, which I have helpfully annotated:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-226891\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"606\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution.png 606w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution-300x190.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 606px) 100vw, 606px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>If you hate PayPal, you can email me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I will give you directions on how to send a check. Thank you!<\/p>\n<div class=\"printfriendly pf-alignleft\"><a href=\"#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF & Email\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"border:none;-webkit-box-shadow:none; -moz-box-shadow: none; box-shadow:none; padding:0; margin:0\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.printfriendly.com\/buttons\/print-button-gray.png\" alt=\"Print Friendly, PDF & Email\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/04\/200pm-water-cooler-4-5-2024.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Bird Song of the Day House Wren (Northern). Frog Hollow, Walla Walla, Washington, United States. \u201cThis bird was singing every<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":79514,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153,183],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-spotlight"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79513\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>House Wren (Northern). Frog Hollow, Walla Walla, Washington, United States. \u201cThis bird was singing every morning before dawn, outside my home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/strong> <\/p>\n<p>(1) <a href=\"#swing\">Swing states<\/a> update.<\/p>\n<p>(2) <a href=\"#stats\">employment situation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>(3) <a href=\"#knitters\">Crocheting and knitting<\/a>, with musical accompaniments.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital.\u201d \u2013Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>2024<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Less than a year to go!<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/free.timeanddate.com\/countdown\/i8ubjj5e\/n179\/cf100\/cm0\/cu1\/ct0\/cs1\/ca0\/cr0\/ss0\/cac000\/cpc000\/pcfff\/tcfff\/fs100\/szw320\/szh135\/tatTime%20left%20to%20Election%20Day%2C%202024\/tac000\/tptTime%20since%20Event%20started%20in\/tpc000\/mac000\/mpc000\/iso2024-11-05T00:00:00\/bo2\/pd2\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"322\" height=\"137\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"swing\"\/>RCP Poll Averages, April 5<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/rcp_poll_4-5.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"454\" height=\"746\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-269567\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/rcp_poll_4-5.png 454w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/rcp_poll_4-5-183x300.png 183w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 454px) 100vw, 454px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Here is Friday\u2019s RCP poll. Trump is still up in all the Swing States (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/03\/introduction-to-swing-states-in-the-presidential-election-of-2024-general-survey.html\">more here<\/a>), but still leading with one exception: PA. I\u2019ve highlighted it again, (1) because BIden is now up there, and (2) it\u2019s an outlier, has been for weeks. Why isn\u2019t Trump doing well there? (I\u2019ll 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! <\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"trump\"\/>Trump (R): \u201cWhen Trump needs cash, a California bank and one of its top shareholders have come to the rescue\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-axos-bank-don-hankey-loans-ethics-37846dca8056962bee4973105e51e045\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>]. Don Hankey and Axos bank once more. \u201cOver the past two years, Axos Bank, as well as its largest individual shareholder, California billionaire Don Hankey, have collectively extended more than $500 million in financing that has benefited Trump, records show. The cash influx has helped Trump to pay off debts and pocket a tidy profit while escaping from a lease on his money-losing former hotel in Washington. It also covered a $175 million down payment he made this week on an eye-popping civil fraud penalty. Axos Bank officials as well as Hankey have said that the deals offer them a financial upside. But as Trump again pursues the White House, ethics and legal experts question what the lenders may ask in return if there\u2019s a future Trump presidency, considering even small regulatory changes can translate into millions of dollars in earnings.\u201d \u2022 As usual Trump deals direct, instead of working through straws\u2026.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>Trump (R): \u201c\u2018The nuclear button\u2019: Special counsel could seek removal of judge in Trump classified docs case, attorneys warn\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/justice-department\/-nuclear-button-special-counsel-seek-removal-judge-trump-classified-do-rcna146507\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NBC<\/a>]. \u201cSpecial counsel Jack Smith could soon seek to have the judge presiding over former President Donald Trump\u2019s classified documents case recused, prosecutors and defense attorneys warn, describing Smith as being pressed to the \u2018breaking point\u2019 over arguments his office said could taint a trial irrevocably. Smith faulted Judge Aileen Cannon in a scathing rebuke for seeming to take at face value Trump\u2019s \u2018fundamentally flawed\u2019 claim around a president\u2019s official and personal records when she asked both sides to put forth competing versions of instructions for jurors in the case and said her request would \u2018distort\u2019 the trial. Smith indicated in that filing that if Cannon ruled against federal prosecutors, this could be a trigger for an appeal to the 11th Circuit that could remove her from the case. \u2018He is close to pushing the nuclear button,\u2019 said Palm Beach County State Attorney David Aronberg. \u2018It is a high burden to reach, and it is rarely done, but her proposed jury instructions may have pushed him to the breaking point.’\u201d \u2022 Another way of saying \u201cbreaking point\u201d is \u201cover-reach,\u201d as Smith did when trying McAuliffe. (And since when does a prosector determine what does and does not \u201cdistort\u201d a trial?)<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>Trump (R): \u201c1 in 5 GOP primary voters keep bucking Trump. What does it mean?\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/TWT8B\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">WaPo<\/a>]. \u201cNearly 1 in 5 GOP primary voters across four contests Tuesday voted for an option other than the presumptive nominee. That\u2019s about the same proportion that voted against him on the last big primary day, March 19\u2026. If you exclude low-turnout caucuses and deep-red Southern states, Trump is ceding an average of 20 percent since Super Tuesday.\u201d \u2022 Handy map (the states are laid out as they would be on a map of the United States, though it takes a minute to see that):<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/anti-trump.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"540\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-269573\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/anti-trump.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/anti-trump-300x270.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>I have highlighted the swing states in yellow. I don\u2019t think people who don\u2019t vote for the Republican on primary day necessarily vote Republican on election day, but if I were the Trump campaign, I\u2019d be concerned about MI (32% (!!)), and NC (26%). PA and NV are yet to come.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"biden\"\/>Biden (D): \u201cThe Economy Is OK. Biden\u2019s Economy, Not So Much\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/prospect.org\/blogs-and-newsletters\/tap\/2024-04-04-economy-is-ok-bidens-not-so-much\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The American Prospect<\/a>]. \u201cBy a 20-point margin (54 percent to 34 percent), the [Wall Street Journal] swing-staters [polled] preferred Trump to Biden on the question of handling the economy. Where this really becomes interesting, though, is in their responses to their own states\u2019 economies. Asked to assess the condition of the economy in their own state and then in the nation as a whole, respondents in each of the seven states replied that their own state\u2019s economy was in far better shape than the nation\u2019s. Those who rated their own state\u2019s economy as \u201cnot so good\u201d or \u201cpoor\u201d did so at rates that ranged from 11 points to 33 points lower than their assessments of the nation\u2019s overall economy. At one level, this shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise: It somewhat echoes other recent polls in which Americans have rated their own families\u2019 economic condition to be notably better than the nation\u2019s. Neither the swing states\u2019 actual economic conditions nor the partisan makeup of state government seems to have had much effect on the respondents\u2019 answers. \u2026 But when all that discounting is done, it\u2019s still apparent that the association of Biden with economic conditions brings down the assessment of those conditions. Biden may yet be able to mitigate this by stressing his support for popular progressive economic policies, and the continuation of the recovery (in which his actual record is nothing short of stellar) may help some, too. But looking at this polling suggests that if he\u2019s to defeat Trump, abortion and Trump himself are the themes he most needs to sound.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>PA: \u201cDemocrats should be jittery about Pennsylvania voter registration trends\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/2954573\/democrats-should-be-jittery-about-pennsylvania-voter-registration-trends\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Washington Examiner<\/a>]. \u201cBlue-collar voters became willing to leave the party altogether, especially after Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) made it efficient when he implemented a new measure that allowed residents getting driver\u2019s licenses and ID cards to be opted into their voter registration. Despite Republican lawmakers bellyaching about Shapiro\u2019s move, in the first month alone, 3,194 Democrats, 4,052 independents, and a whopping 7,657 Republicans have registered. If you are doing the math, as many Republicans registered in the state as Democrats and independents together, and even independent registration outpaced the Democrats by nearly 900. In July of last year, Democrats held a 480,000 voter registration advantage over Republicans, but by Oct. 10, that margin had fallen to 446,467. And the trend has continued in the six months since then.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo Labels officially drops out of the 2024 race. The truth is they were never in it.\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/opinion\/columnist\/2024\/04\/04\/no-labels-leaves-election-presidential-candidate\/73207242007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">USA Today<\/a>]. \u201cNo Labels <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2024\/04\/04\/no-labels-says-it-will-not-challenge-joe-biden-and-donald-trump\/73207044007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dropped plans Thursday<\/a> for a so-called unity ticket, which was expected to be a moderate Republican running for president with an equally moderate Democrat as vice president.\u201d That\u2019s a damn shame. More: \u201cThe animosity for No Labels was often rooted in the group\u2019s secrecy, operating as a nonprofit with millions of dollars from donors it refused to identify.\u201d \u2022 Maybe the names of the donors are in the pocket of Joe Lieberman\u2019s funeral suit, in his coffin. Still, they kept the grift going for fourteen years, and that\u2019s something. Anyhow, they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2024\/04\/04\/no-labels-no-presidential-ticket-00150627\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">are said to have ballot access in 21 states<\/a>, and now all that\u2019s all wasted. Sad.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>\u201cInside a G.O.P. Plan to Encourage Early Voting Despite Trump\u2019s Attacks\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/04\/us\/politics\/trump-turning-point-action-chase-vote.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York Times<\/a>]. \u201cInside a sprawling compound in Phoenix, leaders of the influential conservative group Turning Point Action were hatching plans to fix what they see as a mortal threat to the Republican Party: its voters\u2019 avoidance of early voting, especially by mail, since the 2020 election.\u201d \u2022 IMNSHO, \u201cearly voting\u201d is wrong for three reasons: (1) It reinforces party loyalty, the last thing we need; (2) it makes it impossible for voters to change their minds having voted early, in response to a gaffe, a policy change, or \u201cevents, dear boy, events\u201d; (3) in principle, the entire electorate should vote based on the same set of information, and that\u2019s only possible when the vote takes place at one time.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Our Famously Free Press<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe Washington press corps doesn\u2019t have a freaking clue\u201d [Dan Froomkin, <a href=\"https:\/\/presswatchers.org\/2024\/04\/the-washington-press-corps-doesnt-have-a-freaking-clue\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Press Watch<\/a>]. \u201cBeing the lead writer for the New York Time\u2019s signature On Politics newsletter is one of the most influential jobs in the industry these days, and the email that popped up in my inbox announcing the latest hire for that job \u2013 a Boston Globe reporter named Jess Bidgood who had previously worked for the Times \u2014 made it painfully clear that she is absolutely clueless about the topic she is now covering, and intentionally so. Offered an opportunity to explain what she found particularly compelling about the coming election, Bidgood didn\u2019t talk about how the Republican Party has succumbed to the extreme Christian far-right. She didn\u2019t talk about how Trump was a hateful, dangerous demagogue. She didn\u2019t even mention the fate of democracy or the rule of law. Let me be very clear here: Whether or not the country succumbs to fascism is a helluva political story no matter how you feel about it. A Trump victory would profoundly change how government and justice are practiced. If you don\u2019t understand that, you are a wildly incompetent political reporter.\u201d \u2022\u00a0Froomkin was one of the original bloggers at WaPo, back in the day, and they dinged him for it, so I\u2019m reluctant to just utterly trash the guy. But I don\u2019t see how anyone can look at the Censorship Industrial Complex and not see <em>elements<\/em> of fascism. Fascism is not noted for ideological consistency; rather, it is an enormous smorgasbord of badness, from which <em>both<\/em> parties can pick and choose (I don\u2019t much like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/investigates\/section\/campaign-of-fear\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">threatening<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/election-workers-threats-justice-department-trump-f17df44d63156a28eaa0862b0aa08f0b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">election<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2024\/02\/03\/threats-against-election-workers\/72328609007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">workers<\/a>, for example). It\u2019s also perfectly reasonable to see the post-Reconstruction South as fascist \u2014 the Nazis came to study Jim Crow, after all \u2014 or, for that matter, some of the nastier elements of the Wilson Administration (like, say, the Espionage Act). This vision is, in fact, bleaker than the view that electing one party solves the problem. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Pandemics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am in earnest \u2014 I will not equivocate \u2014 I will not excuse \u2014 I will not retreat a single inch \u2014 AND I WILL BE HEARD.\u201d \u2013William Lloyd Garrison<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>Covid Resources, United States (National): Transmission (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#county-view?list_select_state=all_states&list_select_county=all_counties&data-type=Risk&null=Risk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>); Wastewater (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/biobot.io\/data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Biobot<\/a>; includes many counties; <a href=\"https:\/\/data.wastewaterscan.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wastewater Scan<\/a>, includes drilldown by zip); Variants (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/businesssolutions\/covid-19-index.jsp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a>); \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/iowacovid19tracker.org\/hospitals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Iowa COVID-19 Tracker<\/a>\u201d (in IA, but national data). \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/icemsg.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts<\/a>\u201d (especially on hospitalization by city).<\/p>\n<p>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 \u201cCOVID\u201d in the subject line. Thank you!<\/p>\n<p>Resources, United States (Local): AK (<a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/af2efc8bffbf4cdc83c2d1a134354074\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AL (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/6d2771faa9da4a2786a509d82c8cf0f7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AR (<a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/633006d0782b4544bd5113a314f6268a\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AZ (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.azdhs.gov\/covid19\/data\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); CA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdph.ca.gov\/Programs\/CID\/DCDC\/Pages\/COVID-19\/CalSuWers-Dashboard.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.marinhhs.org\/surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Marin, dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/healthalerts.stanford.edu\/covid-19\/wastewater-dashboard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Stanford, wastewater<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/publichealth.verily.com\/?v=SC2_N&l=Oakland%2C+CA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Oakland, wastewater<\/a>); CO (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.colorado.gov\/data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/cdphe.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/d79cf93c3938470ca4bcc4823328946b#utility=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); CT (<a href=\"https:\/\/data.ct.gov\/stories\/s\/COVID-19-data\/wa3g-tfvc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); DE (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.delaware.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); FL (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/5b9d75ba683849928dc1a49c39ab0b1c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); GA (<a href=\"https:\/\/dph.georgia.gov\/ga-nwss-wastewater-surveillance-reports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); HI (<a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronavirusdisease2019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); IA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmmwra.org\/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=57\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater reports<\/a>); ID (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.idahopublichealth.com\/district-2\/novel-coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, Boise; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.idahopublichealth.com\/district-2\/novel-coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/data.wastewaterscan.org\/?plantId=1056f05c-0e46-4e3d-b007-c0453ba7dc0d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Central Idaho; <a href=\"https:\/\/publichealth.verily.com\/#:SARS-CoV-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Coeur d\u2019Alene; dashboard, <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.srhd.org\/topics\/spokane-county-case-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Spokane County<\/a>); IL (<a href=\"https:\/\/iwss.uillinois.edu\/wastewater-treatment-plants\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); IN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coronavirus.in.gov\/indiana-covid-19-dashboard-and-map\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); KS (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov\/160\/COVID-19-in-Kansas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/4456bae8a38f4b6180e008477382fff9\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Lawrence); KY (<a href=\"https:\/\/louisville.edu\/envirome\/thecoimmunityproject\/dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, Louisville); LA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ldh.la.gov\/coronavirus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mass.gov\/info-details\/covid-19-wastewater-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MD (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.maryland.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); ME (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.maine.gov\/dhhs\/mecdc\/infectious-disease\/epi\/airborne\/coronavirus\/data.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MI (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/coronavirus\/stats\/wastewater-surveillance\/dashboard\/sentinel-wastewater-epidemiology-evaluation-project-sweep\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/gisportal.state.mi.us\/portal\/apps\/insights\/index.html#\/view\/52bbb104ed574887918f990af9f3debe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.state.mn.us\/diseases\/coronavirus\/stats\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MO (<a href=\"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/stories\/f7f5492486114da6b5d6fdc07f81aacf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MS (<a href=\"https:\/\/msdh.ms.gov\/page\/14,0,420.html#Mississippi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); <del>MT (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/MapSeries\/index.html?appid=7c34f3412536439491adcc2103421d4b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>)<\/del>; NC (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.ncdhhs.gov\/dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard)<\/a>; ND (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.nd.gov\/health\/coronavirus\/cases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.nd.gov\/health\/coronavirus\/cases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); NE (<a href=\"https:\/\/atlas-dhhs.ne.gov\/Atlas\/Respiratory_Illness\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NH (<a href=\"https:\/\/wisdom.dhhs.nh.gov\/wisdom\/dashboard.html?topic=covid-19&subtopic=recurring-updates&indicator=covid-19-wastewater#tabnavbarid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); NJ (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.nj.gov\/forms\/datadashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NM (<a href=\"https:\/\/cvprovider.nmhealth.org\/public-dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NV (<a href=\"https:\/\/nvhealthresponse.nv.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/empower.unlv.edu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Southern NV); NY (<a href=\"https:\/\/mbcolli.shinyapps.io\/SARS2EWSP\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); OH (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.ohio.gov\/dashboards\/other-resources\/wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); OK (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/51657c21386d4f1a962b1853c76ec589\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); <del>OR (<a href=\"https:\/\/public.tableau.com\/app\/profile\/oregon.health.authority.covid.19\/viz\/OregonsCOVID-19DataDashboards-TableofContents\/TableofContentsStatewide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>)<\/del>; PA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.pa.gov\/topics\/disease\/coronavirus\/pages\/Cases.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); RI (<a href=\"https:\/\/ri-department-of-health-covid-19-data-rihealth.hub.arcgis.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); SC (<a href=\"https:\/\/scdhec.gov\/index.php\/covid19\/covid-19-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); SD (<a href=\"https:\/\/doh.sd.gov\/COVID\/Dashboard.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); TN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tn.gov\/health\/cedep\/ncov\/data.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); TX (<a href=\"https:\/\/txdshsea.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/4ae43eefd0f641d59d35c3df82ee59cc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); UT (<a href=\"https:\/\/udwq.shinyapps.io\/sarscov2_surv\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); VA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/coronavirus\/see-the-numbers\/covid-19-in-virginia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); VT (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthvermont.gov\/disease-control\/covid-19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); WA (<a href=\"https:\/\/doh.wa.gov\/emergencies\/covid-19\/data-dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.bfhd.wa.gov\/cases-and-roadmap-to-recovery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); WI (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dhs.wisconsin.gov\/covid-19\/wastewater.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); WV (<del><a href=\"https:\/\/oehs.wvdhhr.org\/news\/oehs-coivd-19-information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a><\/del>); WY (<del><a href=\"https:\/\/covidwastewatermonitor.wyo.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a><\/del>).<\/p>\n<p>Resources, Canada (National): Wastewater (<a href=\"https:\/\/health-infobase.canada.ca\/covid-19\/wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Government of Canada<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.publichealthontario.ca\/en\/Data-and-Analysis\/Infectious-Disease\/COVID-19-Data-Surveillance\/Wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); QC (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.inspq.qc.ca\/covid-19\/donnees\/eaux-usees\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><em>les eaux us\u00e9es<\/em><\/a>); BC (<a href=\"https:\/\/bccdc.shinyapps.io\/respiratory_wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); BC, Vancouver (<a href=\"https:\/\/metrovancouver.org\/services\/liquid-waste\/testing-for-the-covid-19-virus-in-wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>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). <\/p>\n<p>Stay safe out there!<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>H5N1<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBird flu dairy cow outbreak widens in Ohio, Kansas, New Mexico\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/bird-flu-dairy-cow-outbreak-194941562.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Reuters<\/a>]. \u201d Bird flu has infected a dairy herd in Ohio for the first time and was detected in additional herds in Kansas and New Mexico, according to the U.S. government, expanding an outbreak in cows that has raised concerns about possible risks to humans\u2026. The spread to an increasing number of species and its widening geographic reach have raised the risks of humans being infected, the head of the World Organization for Animal Health said on Thursday. Texas officials reported on Monday that a farm worker tested positive, and the only symptom was eye inflammation. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers the risk of bird flu for humans to be low.\u201d \u2022 I don\u2019t enjoy this, and I hope it sputters out. That said, we\u2019re dealing with the CDC here, which emerged from Covid the same, or worse, as it went in to Covid. No presumption of competence or honesty is reasonble.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p><strong>TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>LEGEND<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1) <span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> for charts new today; all others are not updated.<\/p>\n<p>2) For a full-size\/full-resolution image, Command-click (MacOS) or right-click (Windows) on the chart thumbnail and \u201copen image in new tab.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>NOTES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[1] (Biobot) Our curve has now flattened out at the level of previous Trump peaks. Not a great victory. Note also the area \u201cunder the curve,\u201d besides looking at peaks. That area is larger under Biden than under Trump, and it seems to be rising steadily if unevenly.<\/p>\n<p>[2] (Biobot) Backward revisions, I hate them.<\/p>\n<p>[3] (CDC Variants) As of May 11, genomic surveillance data will be reported biweekly, based on the availability of positive test specimens.\u201d \u201cBiweeekly: 1. occurring every two weeks. 2. occurring twice a week; semiweekly.\u201d Looks like CDC has chosen sense #1. In essence, they\u2019re telling us variants are nothing to worry about. Time will tell.<\/p>\n<p>[4] (ER) CDC seems to have killed this off, since the link is broken, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/surveillance\/resp-lens\/dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">I think in favor of this <em>thing<\/em><\/a>. I will try to confirm. UPDATE Yes, leave it to CDC to kill a page, and then <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.cdc.gov\/#\/details?url=https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/ncird\/surveillance\/respiratory-illnesses\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">announce it was archived a day later<\/a>. And heaven forfend CDC should explain where to go to get equivalent data, if any. I liked the ER data, because it seemed really hard to game\u2026 <\/p>\n<p>[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Looks like a very gradual leveling off to a non-zero baseline, to me.<\/p>\n<p>[6] (Hospitalization: CDC) Still down. \u201cMaps, charts, and data provided by CDC, updates weekly for the previous MMWR week (Sunday-Saturday) on Thursdays (Deaths, Emergency Department Visits, Test Positivity) and weekly the following Mondays (Hospitalizations) by 8 pm ET\u2020\u201d. <\/p>\n<p>[7] (Walgreens) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[8] (Cleveland) Flattening.<\/p>\n<p>[9] (Travelers: Posivitity) Now up, albeit in the rear view mirror.<\/p>\n<p>[10] (Travelers: Variants) JN.1 dominates utterly.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stats Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"stats\"\/>Employment Situation: \u201cUnited States Unemployment Rate\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/unemployment-rate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cThe unemployment rate in the United States dipped to 3.8% in March 2024 from the previous month\u2019s two-year high of 3.9% and surprising market expectations, which had forecasted the rate to remain unchanged. The number of unemployed individuals decreased by 29,000 to 6.4 million, while employment levels saw a significant surge, rising by 498,000 to reach 161.5 million. Additionally, the labor force participation rate increased to 62.7% from a near one-year low of 62.5% in the preceding periods, and the employment-population ratio climbed to 60.3% from 60.1%. Despite recent policy tightening measures by the Federal Reserve, the unemployment rate has remained within a narrow range of 3.7% to 3.9% since August 2023, suggesting the labor market remains strong.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>Finance: \u201cA Lego Model of Financial Capitalism\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.asomo.co\/p\/a-lego-model-of-financial-capitalism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">ASOMOCO<\/a>]. \u201cThis type of exchange, in which we exchange money for promises-for-future-money, is called financial exchange, and the financial markets are where it happens.\u201d Final paragraph: \u201cMix it all up! Perhaps that investment bank can take the other side of that credit default swap, and place it \u2013 alongside other CDS contracts \u2013 into a new offshore vehicle. Now they can sell the tranches of that new SYNTHETIC CDO! This is highly recommended if you wish to trigger a global financial crisis.\u201d \u2022 I reall wanted more Lego, and the post is really above my paygrade. But the last paragraph gives me some confidence. Readers?<\/p>\n<p>Tech: \u201cInside Big Tech\u2019s underground race to buy AI training data\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/technology\/inside-big-techs-underground-race-buy-ai-training-data-2024-04-05\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Reuters<\/a>]. \u201cTech giants like Google (GOOGL.O), opens new tab, Meta (META.O), opens new tab and Microsoft-backed (MSFT.O), opens new tab OpenAI initially used reams of data scraped from the internet for free [stolen] to train generative AI models like ChatGPT that can mimic human creativity. They have said that doing so is both legal and ethical, though they face lawsuits from a string of copyright holders over the practice\u2026. Reuters spoke to more than 30 people with knowledge of AI data deals, including current and former executives at companies involved, lawyers and consultants, to provide the first in-depth exploration of this fledgling market \u2013 detailing the types of content being bought, the prices materializing, plus emerging concerns about the risk of personal data making its way into AI models without people\u2019s knowledge or explicit consent.\u201d \u2022 What risk? Why not just legalize it?<\/p>\n<p>Tech: \u201cMicrosoft blamed for \u201ca cascade of security failures\u201d in Exchange breach report\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/arstechnica.com\/information-technology\/2024\/04\/microsoft-blamed-for-a-cascade-of-security-failures-in-exchange-breach-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Ars Technica<\/a>]. \u201cA federal Cyber Safety Review Board has issued its report on what led to last summer\u2019s capture of hundreds of thousands of emails by Chinese hackers from cloud customers, including federal agencies. It cites \u201ca cascade of security failures at Microsoft\u201d and finds that \u201cMicrosoft\u2019s security culture was inadequate\u201d and needs to adjust to a \u2018new normal\u2019 of cloud provider targeting\u2026. \u2018Throughout this review, the board identified a series of Microsoft operational and strategic decisions that collectively points to a corporate culture that deprioritized both enterprise security investments and rigorous risk management,\u2019 the report reads.\u201d \u2022 What is it with these Seattle firms\u2026..<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 61 Greed (previous close: 48 Neutral) [<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/data\/fear-and-greed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. One week ago: 69 (Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Apr 5 at 1:38:51 PM ET.<\/p>\n<p><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"knitters\"\/> A propos of H5N1:<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"The Call of the Wreckin' Ball\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hjqyUvO_nQc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaking crochet cacti\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/jvns.ca\/blog\/2024\/04\/01\/making-crochet-cacti\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Julia Evans<\/a>]. \u201cI\u2019ve been modifying all of the patterns I make in a somewhat chaotic way, often just because I made a mistake somewhere along the way and then decide to move forward and change the pattern to adjust for the mistake instead of undoing my work.\u201d \u2022 Hmm. Is this a typical procedure?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Sound of Knitting\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/kottke.org\/24\/04\/the-sound-of-knitting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Kottke.org<\/a>]. \u201cIn addition to featuring knitting-friendly music, the video includes a tour of the Norwegian municipality of Selbu, famous for its gorgeous mittens, as well as a virtual class on how to knit those mittens. It all seems lovely, although I confess I was slightly disappointed that \u2018the sound of knitting\u2019 wasn\u2019t an ASMR video of needles clicking, although I\u2019m sure that\u2019s out there, too. I mean, I know it is because I\u2019ve seen it. Plus, as a recent NY Times story outlined, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/28\/well\/mind\/hands-mindfulness-typing-writing.html?unlocked_article_code=1.hE0.LuV6.XlsLoVE-vXci&smid=url-share\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">handwork is good for the brain<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p><strong>Contact information for plants<\/strong>: Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, to (a) find out how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal and (b) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi, lichen, and coral are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/04\/200pm-water-cooler-4-4-2024.html\">here<\/a>. From TH:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/cowslip.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-269571\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/cowslip.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/cowslip-300x200.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>TH writes: \u201cYou may have noticed that the last few photos that I have sent were from my early January morning at the Sherman Library and Gardens in Corona Del Mar (a division of Newport Beach), California. I\u2019m always surprised at the large variety of flowers blooming in January. Yes, even though I\u2019m a native of the state and should be used to it. I didn\u2019t see any identification signs on most of the plants there, but I think this one is Cowslip.\u201d Readers? (Wow, that blue!)<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"donate\"\/><strong>Readers<\/strong>: Water Cooler is a standalone entity <em>not<\/em> covered by the annual NC fundraiser. So if you see a link you especially like, or an item you wouldn\u2019t see anywhere else, please do not hesitate to express your appreciation in tangible form. Remember, a tip jar is for tipping! <em>Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know I\u2019m on the right track with coverage<\/em>. When I get no donations for five or ten days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals<\/p>\n<p>Here is the screen that will appear, which I have helpfully annotated:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-226891\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"606\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution.png 606w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution-300x190.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 606px) 100vw, 606px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>If you hate PayPal, you can email me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I will give you directions on how to send a check. Thank you!<\/p>\n<div class=\"printfriendly pf-alignleft\"><a href=\"#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF & Email\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"border:none;-webkit-box-shadow:none; -moz-box-shadow: none; box-shadow:none; padding:0; margin:0\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.printfriendly.com\/buttons\/print-button-gray.png\" alt=\"Print Friendly, PDF & Email\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/04\/200pm-water-cooler-4-5-2024.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Bird Song of the Day House Wren (Northern). Frog Hollow, Walla Walla, Washington, United States. \u201cThis bird was singing every<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":79514,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153,183],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-spotlight"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79513\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}