\n<\/p>\n
By Lambert Strether of Corrente.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nBird Song of the Day<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Northern Mockingbird, Southeast Greenway, Mueller, Travis, Texas, United States. \u201cAll sang.\u201d A lot going on!<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/strong> <\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#rural\">The urban-rural divide<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#frank\">Thomas Frank on populism <\/a> (video).<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#blue\">Blue periods <\/a>\u2026. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/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>Biden Administration<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"6.5130434782609\">\n<p>\u201cHere are the times that Biden, the White House said they wouldn\u2019t pardon Hunter\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/5017190-hunter-biden-pardon-white-house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hill<\/a>] \u2022 Dear Hunter!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Trump Transition<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"31.24162802679\">\n<p>\u201cPete Hegseth\u2019s Secret History\u201d [Jane Meyer, <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/nWn9p\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The New Yorker<\/a>]. The deck: \u201cA whistle-blower report and other documents suggest that Trump\u2019s nominee to run the Pentagon was forced out of previous leadership positions for financial mismanagement, sexist behavior, and being repeatedly intoxicated on the job.\u201d More: \u201d A trail of documents, corroborated by the accounts of former colleagues, indicates that Hegseth was forced to step down by both of the two nonprofit advocacy groups that he ran\u2014Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America\u2014in the face of serious allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety, and personal misconduct. A previously undisclosed whistle-blower report on Hegseth\u2019s tenure as the president of Concerned Veterans for America, from 2013 until 2016, describes him as being repeatedly intoxicated while acting in his official capacity\u2014to the point of needing to be carried out of the organization\u2019s events. The detailed seven-page report\u2014which was compiled by multiple former C.V.A. employees and sent to the organization\u2019s senior management in February, 2015\u2014states that, at one point, Hegseth had to be restrained while drunk from joining the dancers on the stage of a Louisiana strip club, where he had brought his team.\u201d \u2022 And much else. \u201cPreviously undisclosed\u201d is delicately put. From whom did Meyer get the report?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrump and His Team Are \u2018Laughing\u2019 at Biden\u2019s Commitment to Decorum\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/politics\/politics-features\/trump-biden-harris-transfer-power-laughing-1235188028\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rolling Stone<\/a>]. \u201c\u2018Some of us have been laughing about it,\u2019 an incoming Trump administration official tells Rolling Stone. \u2018[Democrats] spend all this time calling Donald Trump a Nazi and Hitler, and now it\u2019s just: \u2018Smile for the camera!’\u201d \u2022 Indeed. Liberal Democrats can really turn on a dime. It\u2019s amazing!<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan Bhattacharya rescue the reputation of the scientific establishment?\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/columnists\/3245620\/can-bhattacharya-rescue-reputation-scientific-establishment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Washington Examiner<\/a>] \u2022 By Betteridge\u2019s Law, no.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Campaign Finance<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"12.100609756098\">\n<p>\u201cA Chinese national, charged with fraud by the SEC, just sent Donald Trump $18 million\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/popular.info\/p\/a-chinese-national-charged-with-fraud\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Popular Information<\/a>]. \u201cChinese Crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun paid <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/11\/20\/arts\/design\/cattelan-banana-sothebys-auction.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">$6.2 million for a banana<\/a> \u2014 sold by Sotheby\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/hong-kong-banana-art-justin-sun-eat-cryptocurrency-ea246755028e74b87a2ecd8a27af16bf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">as conceptual art<\/a> \u2014 and then ate it last Friday. The banana is not Sun\u2019s most notable recent purchase. On November 25, Sun purchased <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2024-11-25\/trump-crypto-project-gets-30-million-investment-from-justin-sun\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">$30 million in crypto tokens<\/a> from World Liberty Financial, a new crypto venture backed by President-elect Donald Trump. Sun said his company, TRON, was committed to \u201cmaking America great again\u2026.. Sun\u2019s decision to buy $30 million in WLF tokens has direct and immediate financial benefits for Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a name=\"resistance\"\/>The #Resistance<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"23.887587822014\">\n<p>\u201cWill the 2025 Women\u2019s March galvanize or repel?\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/civil-rights\/5014949-trump-women-march-dissatisfaction\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hill<\/a>]. \u201cMultiple women leaders of left-leaning or non-profit women\u2019s organizations who I have reached out to since the election have said they have no interest in participating in the next women\u2019s march, scheduled for Jan. 18, 2025, nor did they know others who planned to participate. All asked for anonymity for fear of alienating funders or colleagues, but responses ranged from a declarative \u2018f-that\u2019 to a more thoughtful take that marching would be \u201cperformative.\u2019\u2026 There appear to be three central issues as to why some women leaders who otherwise have been at the forefront of the contemporary women\u2019s movement for so long are now turning away from the 2025 march. [(1)] While millions took to the streets and the event inspired a flurry of civic activity in the immediate term, it was not sustained, especially in this year\u2019s election cycle\u2026 [(2)] [F]issures in the leadership and strategy of the first march have never been addressed. The 2017 event, which sprung from a call by activist Bob Bland on Facebook, was complicated and divisive from the start, despite the massive show of unity on the march day\u2026. [(3)] Finally, marching does not, in this case, advance the real work that needs to be done to organize and transform electoral politics over the long term.\u201d \u2022 Hmm. I think the possibility of \u201cschooling behavior,\u201d as with the instant and overwhelming support for Kamala when she was blessed by authority, is being underestimated here. Further, that marching \u201cdoes not advance the real work\u201d is so unsurprising it sounds like a rationalization. Since when did an NGO do \u201creal work,\u201d anyhow?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Spook Country<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"29.992288818787\">\n<p>\u201cNote on the FBI\u201d [Matt Taibbi, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.racket.news\/p\/note-on-the-fbi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Racket News<\/a>]. \u201cThe transformation of the FBI back into a J. Edgar Hoover-style domestic spy service with sweeping political ambition has been a long-developing story, obscured by a political anomaly. In the first phase of this nightmare, between 2001 and 2016, the post-9\/11 Bureau used the pretext of an enhanced counterintelligence mandate to throw off some mild restraints that had been placed on it the last time it had to be slapped down, i.e. after the Church Committee hearings in the 1970s. The second phase of its transformation took place after the election of Donald Trump, when the Bureau remade itself on the fly as a kind of government-in-exile, empowered by an outpouring of public and media support to view itself as a counterweight to the Trump government. This dichotomy has probably helped prevent a full portrait of the FBI\u2019s makeover from appearing. The more troubling aspects to phase one were mostly found in reports by a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/documents\/aclu-challenges-fisa-amendments-act\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">then-adversarial<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/documents\/national-security-letters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">ACLU<\/a> or in testimonials of agents and investigators who spoke out in places like Democracy Now! or the Southern Poverty Law Center, with examples being people like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.democracynow.org\/2005\/8\/19\/f_b_i_whistle_blower_colleen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Colleen Rowley<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.splcenter.org\/fighting-hate\/intelligence-report\/2006\/fbi-agent-mike-german-discusses-years-undercover-investigating-skinheads-aryans-and-more\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Mike German<\/a>. The post-Trump exposes of FBI excess meanwhile often appeared in places like <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/videos\/hemingway-fbi-being-hoisted-with-its-own-classified-doc-petard-as-scandals-grow\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Mollie Hemingway\u2019s<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2018\/05\/25\/ridiculous-say-fbis-spying-trying-protect-trump-campaign\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Federalist<\/a> or broadcasts by the likes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/tucker-carlson-reason-publics-confidence-fbi-plummeted\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Tucker Carlson<\/a> or even sites like <a href=\"https:\/\/theconservativetreehouse.com\/blog\/category\/fbi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Conservative Treehouse<\/a>, and the signature FBI whistleblowers of this period were agents like <a href=\"https:\/\/noticias.foxnews.com\/politics\/fbi-whistleblower-calls-house-gop-soulless-demons-voting-give-agency-new-300-million-hq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Steve Friend<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/committee-activity\/hearings\/hearing-weaponization-federal-government-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Garrett O\u2019Boyle<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carolinajournal.com\/nc-whistleblower-tells-congress-fbi-weaponized-security-process-to-destroy-me-financially\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Marcus Allen<\/a>, testifying in front of Republican elected officials like Jim Jordan. They were all really talking about the same subject, but their complaints were broadcast to different audiences at different stages of the Bureau\u2019s evolution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo Background Checks, No Problem?\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/magazine\/2024\/12\/02\/can-washington-do-without-the-background-check-00191931\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Politico<\/a>]. \u201cThe potential end of the formal vetting process will be front and center when the Senate considers Trump\u2019s nominees in January. So will an even more attention-getting question raised by Trump\u2019s selections: Should we move past the expectation that presidential appointees should have squeaky-clean personal records? But a quieter conversation is going on already among insiders who work on the often infuriating background-check ritual: What would such a transformation mean for how the capital does business? \u2018Right now, it would seem to me that if you\u2019ve got a significant problem, you probably don\u2019t apply for these jobs in the first place,\u2019 said Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney and current University of Michigan law professor who has written about the clearance process. But \u2018if you know that the background check is no longer very rigorous, you might give it a shot.’\u201d \u2022 Lincoln on Grant, pilloried as a drunk: \u201cI need this man. He fights.\u201d Would Grant have made it through our current process? Probably not!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Democrats <em>en d\u00e9shabill\u00e9<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"14.594594594595\">\n<p><a name=\"frank\"\/>\u201cWhy Democrats FEAR Populism (And Keep Losing)\u201d (video) [Nathan J. Robinson, Current Affairs, <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/AL6AnlhwUyk?si=aHpufVCKc_svAHoN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">YouTube<\/a>]. <\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Why Democrats FEAR Populism (And Keep Losing)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AL6AnlhwUyk?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>Normally, I don\u2019t link to Current Affairs, because Nathan J. Robinson union-busted his own magazine, but for Thomas Frank, I will make an exception.l<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Realignment and Legitimacy<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"28.860759493671\">\n<p><a name=\"rural\"\/>\u201cThe Political Economy of the Urban-Rural Divide\u201d (PDF) [Keith Orejel, <a href=\"https:\/\/lpeproject.org\/blog\/the-political-economy-of-the-urban-rural-divide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">LPE Project<\/a>]. \u201cBut something fundamentally new occurred in the mid-to-late 1990s. A yawning gap opened between urban and rural voters, with rural Americans voting in ever larger margins for the Republican Party and their metropolitan counterparts doing the same for Democrats. While political strategists and commentators tended to point to cultural interpretations for this divide\u2014everything from Christian Nationalism to White Rural Rage\u2014such explanations fail to account for the fact that this transformation occurred simultaneously across the entire nation, and indeed, in many other advanced industrial countries as well. As I will lay out in this post, the urban-rural divide was first and foremost a product of political economy. Starting in the 1990s, the Democratic Party emerged as the champion of a new globalized, knowledge economy, whose centralizing tendencies concentrated the most sophisticated and profitable enterprises in metropolitan areas. As a result, the historic party of industrial workers morphed into the home of highly educated metropolitan professionals. Meanwhile, rural areas struggled to adapt to the global era, becoming a repository for slow growth sectors\u2014manufacturing, retail, construction, agriculture, and gas and oil\u2014that provided mostly low paying, unskilled jobs. The Republican Party capitalized on this decline, arguing that their economic agenda of low taxes, minimal government spending, and weak regulations was critical to the well-being of rural industries and their largely non-college educated employees. By examining the emergence of the urban-rural divide in detail, we can see that the results of last week\u2019s election were by no means inevitable. The Democratic Party\u2019s collapse in the countryside was the predictable consequence of decisions to prioritize certain constituencies to the neglect of others. If the party is ever again to capture a sufficient governing majority to enact the social and economic agenda our country needs, it won\u2019t be through eking out 2% higher turnout in the suburbs. It will be through transforming the Democratic Party into an organization that once again can compete in both urban and rural counties.\u201d \u2022 Yep!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Syndemics<\/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>, <del><a href=\"https:\/\/biobot.io\/data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Biobot<\/a><\/del>; 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:\/\/avrpublic.dhhs.utah.gov\/uwss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); VA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/coronavirus\/sars-cov-2-in-wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/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, KF, KidDoc, 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>Sequelae: Covid<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"12.787658802178\">\n<p>\u201cNearly half of NYC\u2019s aspiring drivers failed their DMV road tests this year\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/gothamist.com\/news\/nearly-half-of-nycs-aspiring-drivers-failed-their-dmv-road-tests-this-year\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Gothamist<\/a>]. \u201c: Nearly half the Big Apple\u2019s would-be motorists have failed their driving tests so far this year. That failure rate \u2014 48% \u2014 is higher than the statewide average of 43%, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles. The odds of flunking the test within the city has risen steadily since the COVID-19 pandemic: In 2021, the failure rate in the city was 41%, the data shows.\u201d \u2022 Odd!<\/p>\n<p>I wonder why these Google Trends results:<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/google-trends_LC.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"404\" height=\"2172\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-283198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/google-trends_LC.png 404w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/google-trends_LC-56x300.png 56w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/google-trends_LC-381x2048.png 381w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 404px) 100vw, 404px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u2018Tis a mystery!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Elite Maleficence<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"21.985527222605\">\n<p>I guess we have our answer on why the teacher\u2019s unions were silent on school ventilation and masking:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/weingarten_gbd.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"490\" height=\"1080\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-283197\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/weingarten_gbd.png 490w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/weingarten_gbd-136x300.png 136w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/weingarten_gbd-465x1024.png 465w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 490px) 100vw, 490px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/12\/jay-bhattacharya-trumps-pick-to-head-the-nih-is-a-eugenicist-charlatan.html\">For more on the Great Barrington Declaration, see here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA look back at what COVID was really like\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/jabberwocking.com\/a-look-back-at-what-covid-was-really-like\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Kevin Drum<\/a>]. \u201cEpidemiologists initially said that COVID was spread by droplets. That\u2019s because the evidence pointed that way[1]. When evidence piled up that aerosol transmission was also important, they changed their public statements[2]. But their safety guidance didn\u2019t change, because in most cases it didn\u2019t matter how the virus was spread[3]. Standard epidemic hygiene was mostly the same either way[4].\u201d \u2022 I rarely see so much error crammed into a single paragraph. Links on request, but I think readers know all this stuff. [1]. No. There was never any evidence for droplet dogma in general, or for Covid in particular. The epidemiologists spoke from ideology, not science. [2]. No. They fought changing public statements tooth and nail, as the recent UK hearings showed; at least one wrong WHO tweet is still up (last I checked, and I\u2019ve been checking for years. [3] Of course it matters how the virus is spread. If the virus does <em>not<\/em> \u201cspread like smoke\u201d you don\u2019t have to open the windows! Or use a Corsi-Rosenthal box. [4] No. In the beginning, and in the more beknighted facilities still, handwashing is recommended against Covid. But Covid is not transmitted by fomites. Somebody tell Drum to stay in his lane.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"table\"\/><strong>TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Lambert here: Even though the Covid numbers seem low, please remember that the data is not nearly as good as it once was, that it lags, and that the downside risks of catching Covid are considerable. For those who have developed their own personal protocols, I wouldn\u2019t relax them. Maybe next year.<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody wp_automatic_readability=\"10.904255319149\">\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Wastewater<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6417910447761\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span>This week[1] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 25<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Last week[2] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> (until next week):<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283191\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-300x185.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" style=\"align: left; margin-left: 0px !important; padding: 9px 0 9px 0;\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282925\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4-300x202.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6666666666667\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong> Variants<\/strong> [3] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 23<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span>Emergency Room Visits<\/strong>[4] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#trends_select_7dayeddiagnosed_00\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 23<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282662\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-2-300x214.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282310\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1-300x171.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Hospitalization<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.9240506329114\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> New York[5] <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.health.ny.gov\/daily-hospitalization-summary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York State<\/a>, data November 29:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> National [6] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/covidnetdashboard\/de\/powerbi\/dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 28:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283192\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-300x189.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-3.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-3-300x258.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Positivity<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"2.6842105263158\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> National[7] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/healthcare-solutions\/covid-19-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a> November 25:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Ohio[8] <a href=\"https:\/\/clevelandcliniclabs.com\/respiratory-virus-surveillance-statistics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cleveland Clinic<\/a> November 23:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-walgreens-positivity-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283193\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-walgreens-positivity-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-walgreens-positivity-natl-300x167.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282982\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2-300x192.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Travelers Data<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.5862068965517\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> Positivity[9] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 4:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Variants[10] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 4:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282923\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-2-300x167.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282924\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-3.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-3-300x187.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Deaths<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.76\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> Weekly Deaths vs. % Positivity [11] <a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronavirusdisease2019\/what-you-should-know\/current-situation-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 2:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Weekly Deaths vs. ED Visits [12] <a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronadisease2019\/what-you-should-know\/current-situation-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 2:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-death-positivity-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282309\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-death-positivity-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-death-positivity-natl-300x175.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ed-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283190\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ed-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-300x192.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<td wp_automatic_readability=\"129.65378670788\">\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] (CDC) Good news!<\/p>\n<p>[2] (CDC) Last week\u2019s wastewater map.<\/p>\n<p>[3] (CDC Variants) KP.* still popular. XEC has entered the chat. That WHO label, \u201cOmmicron,\u201d has done a great job normalizing successive waves of infection.<\/p>\n<p>[4] (ED) Down.<\/p>\n<p>[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Steadily down.<\/p>\n<p>[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Actually improved; it\u2019s now one of the few charts to show the entire course of the pandemic to the present day.<\/p>\n<p>[7] (Walgreens) Down.<\/p>\n<p>[8] (Cleveland) Down.<\/p>\n<p>[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Down.<\/p>\n<p>[10] (Travelers: Variants). Now XEC.<\/p>\n<p>[11] Deaths low, positivity down.<\/p>\n<p>[12] Deaths low, ED down.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stats Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cUnited States ISM Manufacturing PMI\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/business-confidence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cThe ISM Manufacturing PMI for the US increased to 48.4 in November 2024 from 46.5 in October, beating forecasts of 47.5. The reading pointed to another albeit softer contraction in the manufacturing sector.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>The Bezzle: \u201cTrump\u2019s Return Heralds Litigation Peace for Crypto\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/ttyOf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wall Street Journal<\/a>]. \u201cThe Securities and Exchange Commission sued crypto exchanges Binance, Coinbase and Kraken last year, accusing the platforms of dealing assets that are illegal to trade without regulatory supervision. Crypto executives had refused to comply with financial rules that they said were a bad fit for digital currencies.<\/p>\n<p>The SEC, under the leadership of Chair Gary Gensler, mounted the legal campaign in lieu of the industry\u2019s request to craft new crypto-specific regulations that embraced a lighter touch. Had the commission won in court, the victories would have compelled the freewheeling market to follow longstanding agency rules that protect investors who buy securities. But litigation can take many years to resolve, and with Donald Trump\u2019s election to a second term, Gensler has run out of time before his biggest cases reach the finish line.<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s return to the White House will mean a new era for crypto\u2014with fewer government hurdles. The president-elect, shedding previous skepticism of crypto, has pledged support for the digital-asset industry [sic].\u201d \u2022 Lordie. Cf. Veblen\u2019s distinction between business and industry; crypto is <em>all<\/em> business.<\/p>\n<p>The Bezzle: \u201cEnter the \u2018ether,\u2019 where scammers weaponize your emotions\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/interactive\/2024\/scammer-method-weaponize-emotions-steal-victims\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">WaPo<\/a>]. \u201c[Fraud prevention experts] Shadel and Pratkanis said the levers used to swindle Judith out of nearly $600,000 followed a template of sorts; a three-part strategy that swindlers customize to each potential victim\u2026. The first step is to gain their trust\u2026. To build this level of intimacy, scammers spend hours on the phone with their victims or bombard them with email or texts. The exchanges are intended to extract personal details to build rapport ahead of any request for money\u2026. The second step of the fraud playbook is to get victims \u201cunder the ether,\u201d the frenzied state in which they suspend reason\u2026. Lastly, the impostors try to create a sense of urgency. For example, they might tell a victim that if they don\u2019t move their money out of their accounts, the people who stole their Social Security number will take it all, or the funds will be frozen as part of a criminal prosecution. \u2018It\u2019s baked into our brains to respond to threats,\u2019 Shadel said. \u2018You\u2019ve got to create a reason for them to do something now.\u2019 Criminals construct a wonderland of the mind, a reality that appears authentic to the scam target. This is why the oft-used maxim, \u2018If it\u2019s too good to be true, it probably is,\u2019 isn\u2019t the most effective way to fight fraud.\u201d \u2022\u00a0Seems like these methods are more universal than fraud.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 67 Greed (previous close: 66 Greed) [<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/data\/fear-and-greed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. One week ago: 64 (Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Dec 2 at 1:53:27 PM ET.<\/p>\n<p>Rapture Index: Closes unchanged [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.raptureready.com\/rapture-ready-index\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rapture Ready<\/a>]. Record High, October 10, 2016: 189. Current: 183. (Remember that bringing on the Rapture is good.) \u2022 Hard to believe the Rapture Index is going <em>down<\/em>. Do these people know something we don\u2019t?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/WwdI-gbm5kE?si=CXua2J699NWsnA6Y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Musical interlude<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.0373134328358\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"6.1119402985075\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Pablo Picasso, The Roofs of Barcelona in the Moonlight <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/c3aRz3UYDX\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/c3aRz3UYDX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Impressions (@impression_ists) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/impression_ists\/status\/1862785385723527248\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">November 30, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"wired\"\/><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cFish Have a Brain Microbiome. Could Humans Have One Too?\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.quantamagazine.org\/fish-have-a-brain-microbiome-could-humans-have-one-too-20241202\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Quanta<\/a>]. \u201cRecently, a study published in Science Advances provided <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/sciadv.ado0277\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">the strongest evidence yet<\/a> that a brain microbiome can and does exist in healthy vertebrates \u2014 fish, specifically. Researchers at the University of New Mexico discovered communities of bacteria thriving in salmon and trout brains. Many of the microbial species have special adaptations that allow them to survive in brain tissue, as well as techniques to cross <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quantamagazine.org\/how-the-brain-protects-itself-from-blood-borne-threats-20230620\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">the protective blood-brain barrier<\/a>. Matthew Olm, a physiologist who studies the human microbiome at the University of Colorado, Boulder and was not involved with the study, is \u2018inherently skeptical\u2019 of the idea that populations of microbes could live in the brain, he said. But he found the new research convincing. \u2018This is concrete evidence that brain microbiomes do exist in vertebrates,\u2019 he said. \u2018And so the idea that humans have a brain microbiome is not outlandish.’\u201d \u2022 How little we know about anything\u2026 <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHandwriting but not typewriting leads to widespread brain connectivity: a high-density EEG study with implications for the classroom\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/journals\/psychology\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2023.1219945\/full\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Frontiers in Psychology<\/a>]. \u201cAs traditional handwriting is progressively being replaced by digital devices, it is essential to investigate the implications for the human brain. Brain electrical activity was recorded in 36 university students as they were handwriting visually presented words using a digital pen and typewriting the words on a keyboard. Connectivity analyses were performed on EEG data recorded with a 256-channel sensor array. When writing by hand, brain connectivity patterns were far more elaborate than when typewriting on a keyboard, as shown by widespread theta\/alpha connectivity coherence patterns between network hubs and nodes in parietal and central brain regions. Existing literature indicates that connectivity patterns in these brain areas and at such frequencies are crucial for memory formation and for encoding new information and, therefore, are beneficial for learning. Our findings suggest that the spatiotemporal pattern from visual and proprioceptive information obtained through the precisely controlled hand movements when using a pen, contribute extensively to the brain\u2019s connectivity patterns that promote learning.\u201d \u2022 Interesting. IIRC, KLG doesn\u2019t think much of \u201cFrontiers in\u201d Whatever; perhaps a reader would like to take a crack at the methodology.<\/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\/11\/200pm-water-cooler-11-29-2024.html\">here<\/a>. From TH:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/hibiscus_2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"661\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-283187\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/hibiscus_2.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/hibiscus_2-272x300.jpeg 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>TH writes: \u201cWe have about 4 or 5 hibiscus bushes lining our driveway. Sadley, I don\u2019t recall their names, so I just call this the \u2018pink one.’\u201d Composition!<\/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. Material here is Lambert\u2019s, and does not express the views of the Naked Capitalism site. 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 three or four 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<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- .entry-content --><\/p>\n<footer class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t\tThis entry was posted in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/category\/water-cooler\" rel=\"category tag\">Water Cooler<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/12\/200pm-water-cooler-12-1-2024.html\" title=\"2:00 pm\" rel=\"bookmark\"><time class=\"entry-date updated\" datetime=\"2024-12-02T14:00:14-05:00\">December 2, 2024<\/time><\/a><span class=\"by-author\"> by <span class=\"author vcard\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/author\/lambert-strether\" title=\"View all posts by Lambert Strether\" rel=\"author\">Lambert Strether<\/a><\/span><\/span>.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"author-info\" wp_automatic_readability=\"20.197005056398\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- .author-avatar --><\/p>\n<div class=\"author-description\" wp_automatic_readability=\"35.467911318553\">\n<h2>About Lambert Strether<\/h2>\n<p>Readers, I have had a correspondent characterize my views as realistic cynical. Let me briefly explain them. I believe in universal programs that provide concrete material benefits, especially to the working class. Medicare for All is the prime example, but tuition-free college and a Post Office Bank also fall under this heading. So do a Jobs Guarantee and a Debt Jubilee. Clearly, neither liberal Democrats nor conservative Republicans can deliver on such programs, because the two are different flavors of neoliberalism (\u201cBecause markets\u201d). I don\u2019t much care about the \u201cism\u201d that delivers the benefits, although whichever one does have to put common humanity first, as opposed to markets. Could be a second FDR saving capitalism, democratic socialism leashing and collaring it, or communism razing it. I don\u2019t much care, as long as the benefits are delivered. <br \/>\n <br \/>\nTo me, the key issue \u2014 and this is why Medicare for All is always first with me \u2014 is the tens of thousands of excess \u201cdeaths from despair,\u201d as described by the Case-Deaton study, and other recent studies. That enormous body count makes Medicare for All, at the very least, a moral and strategic imperative. And that level of suffering and organic damage makes the concerns of identity politics \u2014 even the worthy fight to help the refugees Bush, Obama, and Clinton\u2019s wars created \u2014 bright shiny objects by comparison. Hence my frustration with the news flow \u2014 currently in my view the swirling intersection of two, separate Shock Doctrine campaigns, one by the Administration, and the other by out-of-power liberals and their allies in the State and in the press \u2014 a news flow that constantly forces me to focus on matters that I regard as of secondary importance to the excess deaths. What kind of political economy is it that halts or even reverses the increases in life expectancy that civilized societies have achieved? I am also very hopeful that the continuing destruction of both party establishments will open the space for voices supporting programs similar to those I have listed; let\u2019s call such voices \u201cthe left.\u201d Volatility creates opportunity, especially if the Democrat establishment, which puts markets first and opposes all such programs, isn\u2019t allowed to get back into the saddle. Eyes on the prize! I love the tactical level, and secretly love even the horse race, since I\u2019ve been blogging about it daily for fourteen years, but everything I write has this perspective at the back of it.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- .author-link\t-->\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><!-- .author-description -->\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><!-- .author-info --><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/footer>\n<p><!-- .entry-meta --><br \/>\n\t<!-- #post --><\/p>\n<nav class=\"nav-single\">\n<h3 class=\"assistive-text\">Post navigation<\/h3>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"nav-previous list-posts-older\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/12\/make-america-healthy-again-an-unconventional-movement-that-may-have-found-its-moment.html\" rel=\"prev\"><span class=\"meta-nav\">\u2190<\/span> Make America Healthy Again: An Unconventional Movement That May Have Found Its Moment<\/a><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"nav-next list-posts-newer\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/nav>\n<p><!-- .nav-single --><\/p>\n<p>\t<!-- #comments .comments-area --><\/p>\n<p>\t<!-- #content --><br \/>\n<!-- #primary --><\/p>\n<p>\t<!-- #secondary --><\/p>\n<footer id=\"colophon\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t\t<!-- .site-info --><br \/>\n\t\t<\/footer>\n<p><!-- #colophon --><br \/>\n\t\t<!-- #main.wrapper --><br \/>\n<!-- #page --><br \/>\n<!-- .mobile-menu-wrap --><\/p>\n<p><!-- Blog Reader Pooling - removed 09\/16\/2015 by M. Lacourse --><br \/>\n<!-- <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"nc-hide\" src=\"http:\/\/t.blogreaderproject.com\/t.gif?c9a0f3c0f2425bc76f3b4c3baf750ea8\" alt=\"\" width=\"0\" height=\"0\"> --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp footer --><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/12\/200pm-water-cooler-12-1-2024.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Bird Song of the Day Northern Mockingbird, Southeast Greenway, Mueller, Travis, Texas, United States. \u201cAll sang.\u201d A lot going on!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":87939,"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-87938","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\/87938","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=87938"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87938\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Bird Song of the Day<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Northern Mockingbird, Southeast Greenway, Mueller, Travis, Texas, United States. \u201cAll sang.\u201d A lot going on!<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/strong> <\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#rural\">The urban-rural divide<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#frank\">Thomas Frank on populism <\/a> (video).<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#blue\">Blue periods <\/a>\u2026. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/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>Biden Administration<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"6.5130434782609\">\n<p>\u201cHere are the times that Biden, the White House said they wouldn\u2019t pardon Hunter\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/5017190-hunter-biden-pardon-white-house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hill<\/a>] \u2022 Dear Hunter!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Trump Transition<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"31.24162802679\">\n<p>\u201cPete Hegseth\u2019s Secret History\u201d [Jane Meyer, <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/nWn9p\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The New Yorker<\/a>]. The deck: \u201cA whistle-blower report and other documents suggest that Trump\u2019s nominee to run the Pentagon was forced out of previous leadership positions for financial mismanagement, sexist behavior, and being repeatedly intoxicated on the job.\u201d More: \u201d A trail of documents, corroborated by the accounts of former colleagues, indicates that Hegseth was forced to step down by both of the two nonprofit advocacy groups that he ran\u2014Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America\u2014in the face of serious allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety, and personal misconduct. A previously undisclosed whistle-blower report on Hegseth\u2019s tenure as the president of Concerned Veterans for America, from 2013 until 2016, describes him as being repeatedly intoxicated while acting in his official capacity\u2014to the point of needing to be carried out of the organization\u2019s events. The detailed seven-page report\u2014which was compiled by multiple former C.V.A. employees and sent to the organization\u2019s senior management in February, 2015\u2014states that, at one point, Hegseth had to be restrained while drunk from joining the dancers on the stage of a Louisiana strip club, where he had brought his team.\u201d \u2022 And much else. \u201cPreviously undisclosed\u201d is delicately put. From whom did Meyer get the report?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrump and His Team Are \u2018Laughing\u2019 at Biden\u2019s Commitment to Decorum\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/politics\/politics-features\/trump-biden-harris-transfer-power-laughing-1235188028\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rolling Stone<\/a>]. \u201c\u2018Some of us have been laughing about it,\u2019 an incoming Trump administration official tells Rolling Stone. \u2018[Democrats] spend all this time calling Donald Trump a Nazi and Hitler, and now it\u2019s just: \u2018Smile for the camera!’\u201d \u2022 Indeed. Liberal Democrats can really turn on a dime. It\u2019s amazing!<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan Bhattacharya rescue the reputation of the scientific establishment?\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/columnists\/3245620\/can-bhattacharya-rescue-reputation-scientific-establishment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Washington Examiner<\/a>] \u2022 By Betteridge\u2019s Law, no.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Campaign Finance<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"12.100609756098\">\n<p>\u201cA Chinese national, charged with fraud by the SEC, just sent Donald Trump $18 million\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/popular.info\/p\/a-chinese-national-charged-with-fraud\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Popular Information<\/a>]. \u201cChinese Crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun paid <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/11\/20\/arts\/design\/cattelan-banana-sothebys-auction.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">$6.2 million for a banana<\/a> \u2014 sold by Sotheby\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/hong-kong-banana-art-justin-sun-eat-cryptocurrency-ea246755028e74b87a2ecd8a27af16bf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">as conceptual art<\/a> \u2014 and then ate it last Friday. The banana is not Sun\u2019s most notable recent purchase. On November 25, Sun purchased <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2024-11-25\/trump-crypto-project-gets-30-million-investment-from-justin-sun\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">$30 million in crypto tokens<\/a> from World Liberty Financial, a new crypto venture backed by President-elect Donald Trump. Sun said his company, TRON, was committed to \u201cmaking America great again\u2026.. Sun\u2019s decision to buy $30 million in WLF tokens has direct and immediate financial benefits for Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a name=\"resistance\"\/>The #Resistance<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"23.887587822014\">\n<p>\u201cWill the 2025 Women\u2019s March galvanize or repel?\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/civil-rights\/5014949-trump-women-march-dissatisfaction\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hill<\/a>]. \u201cMultiple women leaders of left-leaning or non-profit women\u2019s organizations who I have reached out to since the election have said they have no interest in participating in the next women\u2019s march, scheduled for Jan. 18, 2025, nor did they know others who planned to participate. All asked for anonymity for fear of alienating funders or colleagues, but responses ranged from a declarative \u2018f-that\u2019 to a more thoughtful take that marching would be \u201cperformative.\u2019\u2026 There appear to be three central issues as to why some women leaders who otherwise have been at the forefront of the contemporary women\u2019s movement for so long are now turning away from the 2025 march. [(1)] While millions took to the streets and the event inspired a flurry of civic activity in the immediate term, it was not sustained, especially in this year\u2019s election cycle\u2026 [(2)] [F]issures in the leadership and strategy of the first march have never been addressed. The 2017 event, which sprung from a call by activist Bob Bland on Facebook, was complicated and divisive from the start, despite the massive show of unity on the march day\u2026. [(3)] Finally, marching does not, in this case, advance the real work that needs to be done to organize and transform electoral politics over the long term.\u201d \u2022 Hmm. I think the possibility of \u201cschooling behavior,\u201d as with the instant and overwhelming support for Kamala when she was blessed by authority, is being underestimated here. Further, that marching \u201cdoes not advance the real work\u201d is so unsurprising it sounds like a rationalization. Since when did an NGO do \u201creal work,\u201d anyhow?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Spook Country<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"29.992288818787\">\n<p>\u201cNote on the FBI\u201d [Matt Taibbi, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.racket.news\/p\/note-on-the-fbi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Racket News<\/a>]. \u201cThe transformation of the FBI back into a J. Edgar Hoover-style domestic spy service with sweeping political ambition has been a long-developing story, obscured by a political anomaly. In the first phase of this nightmare, between 2001 and 2016, the post-9\/11 Bureau used the pretext of an enhanced counterintelligence mandate to throw off some mild restraints that had been placed on it the last time it had to be slapped down, i.e. after the Church Committee hearings in the 1970s. The second phase of its transformation took place after the election of Donald Trump, when the Bureau remade itself on the fly as a kind of government-in-exile, empowered by an outpouring of public and media support to view itself as a counterweight to the Trump government. This dichotomy has probably helped prevent a full portrait of the FBI\u2019s makeover from appearing. The more troubling aspects to phase one were mostly found in reports by a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/documents\/aclu-challenges-fisa-amendments-act\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">then-adversarial<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/documents\/national-security-letters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">ACLU<\/a> or in testimonials of agents and investigators who spoke out in places like Democracy Now! or the Southern Poverty Law Center, with examples being people like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.democracynow.org\/2005\/8\/19\/f_b_i_whistle_blower_colleen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Colleen Rowley<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.splcenter.org\/fighting-hate\/intelligence-report\/2006\/fbi-agent-mike-german-discusses-years-undercover-investigating-skinheads-aryans-and-more\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Mike German<\/a>. The post-Trump exposes of FBI excess meanwhile often appeared in places like <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/videos\/hemingway-fbi-being-hoisted-with-its-own-classified-doc-petard-as-scandals-grow\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Mollie Hemingway\u2019s<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2018\/05\/25\/ridiculous-say-fbis-spying-trying-protect-trump-campaign\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Federalist<\/a> or broadcasts by the likes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/tucker-carlson-reason-publics-confidence-fbi-plummeted\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Tucker Carlson<\/a> or even sites like <a href=\"https:\/\/theconservativetreehouse.com\/blog\/category\/fbi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Conservative Treehouse<\/a>, and the signature FBI whistleblowers of this period were agents like <a href=\"https:\/\/noticias.foxnews.com\/politics\/fbi-whistleblower-calls-house-gop-soulless-demons-voting-give-agency-new-300-million-hq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Steve Friend<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/committee-activity\/hearings\/hearing-weaponization-federal-government-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Garrett O\u2019Boyle<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carolinajournal.com\/nc-whistleblower-tells-congress-fbi-weaponized-security-process-to-destroy-me-financially\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Marcus Allen<\/a>, testifying in front of Republican elected officials like Jim Jordan. They were all really talking about the same subject, but their complaints were broadcast to different audiences at different stages of the Bureau\u2019s evolution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo Background Checks, No Problem?\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/magazine\/2024\/12\/02\/can-washington-do-without-the-background-check-00191931\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Politico<\/a>]. \u201cThe potential end of the formal vetting process will be front and center when the Senate considers Trump\u2019s nominees in January. So will an even more attention-getting question raised by Trump\u2019s selections: Should we move past the expectation that presidential appointees should have squeaky-clean personal records? But a quieter conversation is going on already among insiders who work on the often infuriating background-check ritual: What would such a transformation mean for how the capital does business? \u2018Right now, it would seem to me that if you\u2019ve got a significant problem, you probably don\u2019t apply for these jobs in the first place,\u2019 said Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney and current University of Michigan law professor who has written about the clearance process. But \u2018if you know that the background check is no longer very rigorous, you might give it a shot.’\u201d \u2022 Lincoln on Grant, pilloried as a drunk: \u201cI need this man. He fights.\u201d Would Grant have made it through our current process? Probably not!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Democrats <em>en d\u00e9shabill\u00e9<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"14.594594594595\">\n<p><a name=\"frank\"\/>\u201cWhy Democrats FEAR Populism (And Keep Losing)\u201d (video) [Nathan J. Robinson, Current Affairs, <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/AL6AnlhwUyk?si=aHpufVCKc_svAHoN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">YouTube<\/a>]. <\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Why Democrats FEAR Populism (And Keep Losing)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AL6AnlhwUyk?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>Normally, I don\u2019t link to Current Affairs, because Nathan J. Robinson union-busted his own magazine, but for Thomas Frank, I will make an exception.l<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Realignment and Legitimacy<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"28.860759493671\">\n<p><a name=\"rural\"\/>\u201cThe Political Economy of the Urban-Rural Divide\u201d (PDF) [Keith Orejel, <a href=\"https:\/\/lpeproject.org\/blog\/the-political-economy-of-the-urban-rural-divide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">LPE Project<\/a>]. \u201cBut something fundamentally new occurred in the mid-to-late 1990s. A yawning gap opened between urban and rural voters, with rural Americans voting in ever larger margins for the Republican Party and their metropolitan counterparts doing the same for Democrats. While political strategists and commentators tended to point to cultural interpretations for this divide\u2014everything from Christian Nationalism to White Rural Rage\u2014such explanations fail to account for the fact that this transformation occurred simultaneously across the entire nation, and indeed, in many other advanced industrial countries as well. As I will lay out in this post, the urban-rural divide was first and foremost a product of political economy. Starting in the 1990s, the Democratic Party emerged as the champion of a new globalized, knowledge economy, whose centralizing tendencies concentrated the most sophisticated and profitable enterprises in metropolitan areas. As a result, the historic party of industrial workers morphed into the home of highly educated metropolitan professionals. Meanwhile, rural areas struggled to adapt to the global era, becoming a repository for slow growth sectors\u2014manufacturing, retail, construction, agriculture, and gas and oil\u2014that provided mostly low paying, unskilled jobs. The Republican Party capitalized on this decline, arguing that their economic agenda of low taxes, minimal government spending, and weak regulations was critical to the well-being of rural industries and their largely non-college educated employees. By examining the emergence of the urban-rural divide in detail, we can see that the results of last week\u2019s election were by no means inevitable. The Democratic Party\u2019s collapse in the countryside was the predictable consequence of decisions to prioritize certain constituencies to the neglect of others. If the party is ever again to capture a sufficient governing majority to enact the social and economic agenda our country needs, it won\u2019t be through eking out 2% higher turnout in the suburbs. It will be through transforming the Democratic Party into an organization that once again can compete in both urban and rural counties.\u201d \u2022 Yep!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Syndemics<\/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>, <del><a href=\"https:\/\/biobot.io\/data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Biobot<\/a><\/del>; 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:\/\/avrpublic.dhhs.utah.gov\/uwss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); VA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/coronavirus\/sars-cov-2-in-wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/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, KF, KidDoc, 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>Sequelae: Covid<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"12.787658802178\">\n<p>\u201cNearly half of NYC\u2019s aspiring drivers failed their DMV road tests this year\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/gothamist.com\/news\/nearly-half-of-nycs-aspiring-drivers-failed-their-dmv-road-tests-this-year\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Gothamist<\/a>]. \u201c: Nearly half the Big Apple\u2019s would-be motorists have failed their driving tests so far this year. That failure rate \u2014 48% \u2014 is higher than the statewide average of 43%, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles. The odds of flunking the test within the city has risen steadily since the COVID-19 pandemic: In 2021, the failure rate in the city was 41%, the data shows.\u201d \u2022 Odd!<\/p>\n<p>I wonder why these Google Trends results:<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/google-trends_LC.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"404\" height=\"2172\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-283198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/google-trends_LC.png 404w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/google-trends_LC-56x300.png 56w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/google-trends_LC-381x2048.png 381w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 404px) 100vw, 404px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u2018Tis a mystery!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Elite Maleficence<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"21.985527222605\">\n<p>I guess we have our answer on why the teacher\u2019s unions were silent on school ventilation and masking:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/weingarten_gbd.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"490\" height=\"1080\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-283197\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/weingarten_gbd.png 490w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/weingarten_gbd-136x300.png 136w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/weingarten_gbd-465x1024.png 465w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 490px) 100vw, 490px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/12\/jay-bhattacharya-trumps-pick-to-head-the-nih-is-a-eugenicist-charlatan.html\">For more on the Great Barrington Declaration, see here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA look back at what COVID was really like\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/jabberwocking.com\/a-look-back-at-what-covid-was-really-like\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Kevin Drum<\/a>]. \u201cEpidemiologists initially said that COVID was spread by droplets. That\u2019s because the evidence pointed that way[1]. When evidence piled up that aerosol transmission was also important, they changed their public statements[2]. But their safety guidance didn\u2019t change, because in most cases it didn\u2019t matter how the virus was spread[3]. Standard epidemic hygiene was mostly the same either way[4].\u201d \u2022 I rarely see so much error crammed into a single paragraph. Links on request, but I think readers know all this stuff. [1]. No. There was never any evidence for droplet dogma in general, or for Covid in particular. The epidemiologists spoke from ideology, not science. [2]. No. They fought changing public statements tooth and nail, as the recent UK hearings showed; at least one wrong WHO tweet is still up (last I checked, and I\u2019ve been checking for years. [3] Of course it matters how the virus is spread. If the virus does <em>not<\/em> \u201cspread like smoke\u201d you don\u2019t have to open the windows! Or use a Corsi-Rosenthal box. [4] No. In the beginning, and in the more beknighted facilities still, handwashing is recommended against Covid. But Covid is not transmitted by fomites. Somebody tell Drum to stay in his lane.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"table\"\/><strong>TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Lambert here: Even though the Covid numbers seem low, please remember that the data is not nearly as good as it once was, that it lags, and that the downside risks of catching Covid are considerable. For those who have developed their own personal protocols, I wouldn\u2019t relax them. Maybe next year.<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody wp_automatic_readability=\"10.904255319149\">\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Wastewater<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6417910447761\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span>This week[1] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 25<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Last week[2] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> (until next week):<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283191\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-300x185.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" style=\"align: left; margin-left: 0px !important; padding: 9px 0 9px 0;\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282925\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4-300x202.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6666666666667\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong> Variants<\/strong> [3] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 23<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span>Emergency Room Visits<\/strong>[4] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#trends_select_7dayeddiagnosed_00\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 23<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282662\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-2-300x214.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282310\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1-300x171.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Hospitalization<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.9240506329114\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> New York[5] <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.health.ny.gov\/daily-hospitalization-summary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York State<\/a>, data November 29:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> National [6] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/covidnetdashboard\/de\/powerbi\/dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 28:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283192\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-300x189.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-3.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-3-300x258.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Positivity<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"2.6842105263158\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> National[7] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/healthcare-solutions\/covid-19-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a> November 25:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Ohio[8] <a href=\"https:\/\/clevelandcliniclabs.com\/respiratory-virus-surveillance-statistics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cleveland Clinic<\/a> November 23:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-walgreens-positivity-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283193\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-walgreens-positivity-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-walgreens-positivity-natl-300x167.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282982\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2-300x192.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Travelers Data<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.5862068965517\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> Positivity[9] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 4:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Variants[10] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 4:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282923\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-2-300x167.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282924\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-3.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-3-300x187.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Deaths<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.76\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> Weekly Deaths vs. % Positivity [11] <a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronavirusdisease2019\/what-you-should-know\/current-situation-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 2:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Weekly Deaths vs. ED Visits [12] <a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronadisease2019\/what-you-should-know\/current-situation-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 2:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-death-positivity-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282309\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-death-positivity-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-death-positivity-natl-300x175.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ed-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283190\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ed-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-300x192.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<td wp_automatic_readability=\"129.65378670788\">\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] (CDC) Good news!<\/p>\n<p>[2] (CDC) Last week\u2019s wastewater map.<\/p>\n<p>[3] (CDC Variants) KP.* still popular. XEC has entered the chat. That WHO label, \u201cOmmicron,\u201d has done a great job normalizing successive waves of infection.<\/p>\n<p>[4] (ED) Down.<\/p>\n<p>[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Steadily down.<\/p>\n<p>[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Actually improved; it\u2019s now one of the few charts to show the entire course of the pandemic to the present day.<\/p>\n<p>[7] (Walgreens) Down.<\/p>\n<p>[8] (Cleveland) Down.<\/p>\n<p>[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Down.<\/p>\n<p>[10] (Travelers: Variants). Now XEC.<\/p>\n<p>[11] Deaths low, positivity down.<\/p>\n<p>[12] Deaths low, ED down.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stats Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cUnited States ISM Manufacturing PMI\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/business-confidence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cThe ISM Manufacturing PMI for the US increased to 48.4 in November 2024 from 46.5 in October, beating forecasts of 47.5. The reading pointed to another albeit softer contraction in the manufacturing sector.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>The Bezzle: \u201cTrump\u2019s Return Heralds Litigation Peace for Crypto\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/ttyOf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wall Street Journal<\/a>]. \u201cThe Securities and Exchange Commission sued crypto exchanges Binance, Coinbase and Kraken last year, accusing the platforms of dealing assets that are illegal to trade without regulatory supervision. Crypto executives had refused to comply with financial rules that they said were a bad fit for digital currencies.<\/p>\n<p>The SEC, under the leadership of Chair Gary Gensler, mounted the legal campaign in lieu of the industry\u2019s request to craft new crypto-specific regulations that embraced a lighter touch. Had the commission won in court, the victories would have compelled the freewheeling market to follow longstanding agency rules that protect investors who buy securities. But litigation can take many years to resolve, and with Donald Trump\u2019s election to a second term, Gensler has run out of time before his biggest cases reach the finish line.<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s return to the White House will mean a new era for crypto\u2014with fewer government hurdles. The president-elect, shedding previous skepticism of crypto, has pledged support for the digital-asset industry [sic].\u201d \u2022 Lordie. Cf. Veblen\u2019s distinction between business and industry; crypto is <em>all<\/em> business.<\/p>\n<p>The Bezzle: \u201cEnter the \u2018ether,\u2019 where scammers weaponize your emotions\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/interactive\/2024\/scammer-method-weaponize-emotions-steal-victims\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">WaPo<\/a>]. \u201c[Fraud prevention experts] Shadel and Pratkanis said the levers used to swindle Judith out of nearly $600,000 followed a template of sorts; a three-part strategy that swindlers customize to each potential victim\u2026. The first step is to gain their trust\u2026. To build this level of intimacy, scammers spend hours on the phone with their victims or bombard them with email or texts. The exchanges are intended to extract personal details to build rapport ahead of any request for money\u2026. The second step of the fraud playbook is to get victims \u201cunder the ether,\u201d the frenzied state in which they suspend reason\u2026. Lastly, the impostors try to create a sense of urgency. For example, they might tell a victim that if they don\u2019t move their money out of their accounts, the people who stole their Social Security number will take it all, or the funds will be frozen as part of a criminal prosecution. \u2018It\u2019s baked into our brains to respond to threats,\u2019 Shadel said. \u2018You\u2019ve got to create a reason for them to do something now.\u2019 Criminals construct a wonderland of the mind, a reality that appears authentic to the scam target. This is why the oft-used maxim, \u2018If it\u2019s too good to be true, it probably is,\u2019 isn\u2019t the most effective way to fight fraud.\u201d \u2022\u00a0Seems like these methods are more universal than fraud.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 67 Greed (previous close: 66 Greed) [<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/data\/fear-and-greed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. One week ago: 64 (Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Dec 2 at 1:53:27 PM ET.<\/p>\n<p>Rapture Index: Closes unchanged [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.raptureready.com\/rapture-ready-index\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rapture Ready<\/a>]. Record High, October 10, 2016: 189. Current: 183. (Remember that bringing on the Rapture is good.) \u2022 Hard to believe the Rapture Index is going <em>down<\/em>. Do these people know something we don\u2019t?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/WwdI-gbm5kE?si=CXua2J699NWsnA6Y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Musical interlude<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.0373134328358\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"6.1119402985075\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Pablo Picasso, The Roofs of Barcelona in the Moonlight <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/c3aRz3UYDX\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/c3aRz3UYDX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Impressions (@impression_ists) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/impression_ists\/status\/1862785385723527248\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">November 30, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"wired\"\/><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cFish Have a Brain Microbiome. Could Humans Have One Too?\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.quantamagazine.org\/fish-have-a-brain-microbiome-could-humans-have-one-too-20241202\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Quanta<\/a>]. \u201cRecently, a study published in Science Advances provided <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/sciadv.ado0277\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">the strongest evidence yet<\/a> that a brain microbiome can and does exist in healthy vertebrates \u2014 fish, specifically. Researchers at the University of New Mexico discovered communities of bacteria thriving in salmon and trout brains. Many of the microbial species have special adaptations that allow them to survive in brain tissue, as well as techniques to cross <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quantamagazine.org\/how-the-brain-protects-itself-from-blood-borne-threats-20230620\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">the protective blood-brain barrier<\/a>. Matthew Olm, a physiologist who studies the human microbiome at the University of Colorado, Boulder and was not involved with the study, is \u2018inherently skeptical\u2019 of the idea that populations of microbes could live in the brain, he said. But he found the new research convincing. \u2018This is concrete evidence that brain microbiomes do exist in vertebrates,\u2019 he said. \u2018And so the idea that humans have a brain microbiome is not outlandish.’\u201d \u2022 How little we know about anything\u2026 <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHandwriting but not typewriting leads to widespread brain connectivity: a high-density EEG study with implications for the classroom\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/journals\/psychology\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2023.1219945\/full\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Frontiers in Psychology<\/a>]. \u201cAs traditional handwriting is progressively being replaced by digital devices, it is essential to investigate the implications for the human brain. Brain electrical activity was recorded in 36 university students as they were handwriting visually presented words using a digital pen and typewriting the words on a keyboard. Connectivity analyses were performed on EEG data recorded with a 256-channel sensor array. When writing by hand, brain connectivity patterns were far more elaborate than when typewriting on a keyboard, as shown by widespread theta\/alpha connectivity coherence patterns between network hubs and nodes in parietal and central brain regions. Existing literature indicates that connectivity patterns in these brain areas and at such frequencies are crucial for memory formation and for encoding new information and, therefore, are beneficial for learning. Our findings suggest that the spatiotemporal pattern from visual and proprioceptive information obtained through the precisely controlled hand movements when using a pen, contribute extensively to the brain\u2019s connectivity patterns that promote learning.\u201d \u2022 Interesting. IIRC, KLG doesn\u2019t think much of \u201cFrontiers in\u201d Whatever; perhaps a reader would like to take a crack at the methodology.<\/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\/11\/200pm-water-cooler-11-29-2024.html\">here<\/a>. From TH:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/hibiscus_2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"661\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-283187\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/hibiscus_2.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/hibiscus_2-272x300.jpeg 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>TH writes: \u201cWe have about 4 or 5 hibiscus bushes lining our driveway. Sadley, I don\u2019t recall their names, so I just call this the \u2018pink one.’\u201d Composition!<\/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. Material here is Lambert\u2019s, and does not express the views of the Naked Capitalism site. 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 three or four 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<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- .entry-content --><\/p>\n<footer class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t\tThis entry was posted in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/category\/water-cooler\" rel=\"category tag\">Water Cooler<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/12\/200pm-water-cooler-12-1-2024.html\" title=\"2:00 pm\" rel=\"bookmark\"><time class=\"entry-date updated\" datetime=\"2024-12-02T14:00:14-05:00\">December 2, 2024<\/time><\/a><span class=\"by-author\"> by <span class=\"author vcard\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/author\/lambert-strether\" title=\"View all posts by Lambert Strether\" rel=\"author\">Lambert Strether<\/a><\/span><\/span>.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"author-info\" wp_automatic_readability=\"20.197005056398\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- .author-avatar --><\/p>\n<div class=\"author-description\" wp_automatic_readability=\"35.467911318553\">\n<h2>About Lambert Strether<\/h2>\n<p>Readers, I have had a correspondent characterize my views as realistic cynical. Let me briefly explain them. I believe in universal programs that provide concrete material benefits, especially to the working class. Medicare for All is the prime example, but tuition-free college and a Post Office Bank also fall under this heading. So do a Jobs Guarantee and a Debt Jubilee. Clearly, neither liberal Democrats nor conservative Republicans can deliver on such programs, because the two are different flavors of neoliberalism (\u201cBecause markets\u201d). I don\u2019t much care about the \u201cism\u201d that delivers the benefits, although whichever one does have to put common humanity first, as opposed to markets. Could be a second FDR saving capitalism, democratic socialism leashing and collaring it, or communism razing it. I don\u2019t much care, as long as the benefits are delivered. <br \/>\n <br \/>\nTo me, the key issue \u2014 and this is why Medicare for All is always first with me \u2014 is the tens of thousands of excess \u201cdeaths from despair,\u201d as described by the Case-Deaton study, and other recent studies. That enormous body count makes Medicare for All, at the very least, a moral and strategic imperative. And that level of suffering and organic damage makes the concerns of identity politics \u2014 even the worthy fight to help the refugees Bush, Obama, and Clinton\u2019s wars created \u2014 bright shiny objects by comparison. Hence my frustration with the news flow \u2014 currently in my view the swirling intersection of two, separate Shock Doctrine campaigns, one by the Administration, and the other by out-of-power liberals and their allies in the State and in the press \u2014 a news flow that constantly forces me to focus on matters that I regard as of secondary importance to the excess deaths. What kind of political economy is it that halts or even reverses the increases in life expectancy that civilized societies have achieved? I am also very hopeful that the continuing destruction of both party establishments will open the space for voices supporting programs similar to those I have listed; let\u2019s call such voices \u201cthe left.\u201d Volatility creates opportunity, especially if the Democrat establishment, which puts markets first and opposes all such programs, isn\u2019t allowed to get back into the saddle. Eyes on the prize! I love the tactical level, and secretly love even the horse race, since I\u2019ve been blogging about it daily for fourteen years, but everything I write has this perspective at the back of it.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- .author-link\t-->\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><!-- .author-description -->\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><!-- .author-info --><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/footer>\n<p><!-- .entry-meta --><br \/>\n\t<!-- #post --><\/p>\n<nav class=\"nav-single\">\n<h3 class=\"assistive-text\">Post navigation<\/h3>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"nav-previous list-posts-older\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/12\/make-america-healthy-again-an-unconventional-movement-that-may-have-found-its-moment.html\" rel=\"prev\"><span class=\"meta-nav\">\u2190<\/span> Make America Healthy Again: An Unconventional Movement That May Have Found Its Moment<\/a><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"nav-next list-posts-newer\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/nav>\n<p><!-- .nav-single --><\/p>\n<p>\t<!-- #comments .comments-area --><\/p>\n<p>\t<!-- #content --><br \/>\n<!-- #primary --><\/p>\n<p>\t<!-- #secondary --><\/p>\n<footer id=\"colophon\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t\t<!-- .site-info --><br \/>\n\t\t<\/footer>\n<p><!-- #colophon --><br \/>\n\t\t<!-- #main.wrapper --><br \/>\n<!-- #page --><br \/>\n<!-- .mobile-menu-wrap --><\/p>\n<p><!-- Blog Reader Pooling - removed 09\/16\/2015 by M. Lacourse --><br \/>\n<!-- <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"nc-hide\" src=\"http:\/\/t.blogreaderproject.com\/t.gif?c9a0f3c0f2425bc76f3b4c3baf750ea8\" alt=\"\" width=\"0\" height=\"0\"> --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp footer --><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/12\/200pm-water-cooler-12-1-2024.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Bird Song of the Day Northern Mockingbird, Southeast Greenway, Mueller, Travis, Texas, United States. \u201cAll sang.\u201d A lot going on!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":87939,"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-87938","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\/87938","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=87938"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87938\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Northern Mockingbird, Southeast Greenway, Mueller, Travis, Texas, United States. \u201cAll sang.\u201d A lot going on!<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/strong> <\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#rural\">The urban-rural divide<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#frank\">Thomas Frank on populism <\/a> (video).<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#blue\">Blue periods <\/a>\u2026. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/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>Biden Administration<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"6.5130434782609\">\n<p>\u201cHere are the times that Biden, the White House said they wouldn\u2019t pardon Hunter\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/5017190-hunter-biden-pardon-white-house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hill<\/a>] \u2022 Dear Hunter!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Trump Transition<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"31.24162802679\">\n<p>\u201cPete Hegseth\u2019s Secret History\u201d [Jane Meyer, <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/nWn9p\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The New Yorker<\/a>]. The deck: \u201cA whistle-blower report and other documents suggest that Trump\u2019s nominee to run the Pentagon was forced out of previous leadership positions for financial mismanagement, sexist behavior, and being repeatedly intoxicated on the job.\u201d More: \u201d A trail of documents, corroborated by the accounts of former colleagues, indicates that Hegseth was forced to step down by both of the two nonprofit advocacy groups that he ran\u2014Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America\u2014in the face of serious allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety, and personal misconduct. A previously undisclosed whistle-blower report on Hegseth\u2019s tenure as the president of Concerned Veterans for America, from 2013 until 2016, describes him as being repeatedly intoxicated while acting in his official capacity\u2014to the point of needing to be carried out of the organization\u2019s events. The detailed seven-page report\u2014which was compiled by multiple former C.V.A. employees and sent to the organization\u2019s senior management in February, 2015\u2014states that, at one point, Hegseth had to be restrained while drunk from joining the dancers on the stage of a Louisiana strip club, where he had brought his team.\u201d \u2022 And much else. \u201cPreviously undisclosed\u201d is delicately put. From whom did Meyer get the report?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrump and His Team Are \u2018Laughing\u2019 at Biden\u2019s Commitment to Decorum\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/politics\/politics-features\/trump-biden-harris-transfer-power-laughing-1235188028\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rolling Stone<\/a>]. \u201c\u2018Some of us have been laughing about it,\u2019 an incoming Trump administration official tells Rolling Stone. \u2018[Democrats] spend all this time calling Donald Trump a Nazi and Hitler, and now it\u2019s just: \u2018Smile for the camera!’\u201d \u2022 Indeed. Liberal Democrats can really turn on a dime. It\u2019s amazing!<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan Bhattacharya rescue the reputation of the scientific establishment?\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/columnists\/3245620\/can-bhattacharya-rescue-reputation-scientific-establishment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Washington Examiner<\/a>] \u2022 By Betteridge\u2019s Law, no.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Campaign Finance<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"12.100609756098\">\n<p>\u201cA Chinese national, charged with fraud by the SEC, just sent Donald Trump $18 million\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/popular.info\/p\/a-chinese-national-charged-with-fraud\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Popular Information<\/a>]. \u201cChinese Crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun paid <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/11\/20\/arts\/design\/cattelan-banana-sothebys-auction.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">$6.2 million for a banana<\/a> \u2014 sold by Sotheby\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/hong-kong-banana-art-justin-sun-eat-cryptocurrency-ea246755028e74b87a2ecd8a27af16bf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">as conceptual art<\/a> \u2014 and then ate it last Friday. The banana is not Sun\u2019s most notable recent purchase. On November 25, Sun purchased <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2024-11-25\/trump-crypto-project-gets-30-million-investment-from-justin-sun\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">$30 million in crypto tokens<\/a> from World Liberty Financial, a new crypto venture backed by President-elect Donald Trump. Sun said his company, TRON, was committed to \u201cmaking America great again\u2026.. Sun\u2019s decision to buy $30 million in WLF tokens has direct and immediate financial benefits for Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a name=\"resistance\"\/>The #Resistance<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"23.887587822014\">\n<p>\u201cWill the 2025 Women\u2019s March galvanize or repel?\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/civil-rights\/5014949-trump-women-march-dissatisfaction\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hill<\/a>]. \u201cMultiple women leaders of left-leaning or non-profit women\u2019s organizations who I have reached out to since the election have said they have no interest in participating in the next women\u2019s march, scheduled for Jan. 18, 2025, nor did they know others who planned to participate. All asked for anonymity for fear of alienating funders or colleagues, but responses ranged from a declarative \u2018f-that\u2019 to a more thoughtful take that marching would be \u201cperformative.\u2019\u2026 There appear to be three central issues as to why some women leaders who otherwise have been at the forefront of the contemporary women\u2019s movement for so long are now turning away from the 2025 march. [(1)] While millions took to the streets and the event inspired a flurry of civic activity in the immediate term, it was not sustained, especially in this year\u2019s election cycle\u2026 [(2)] [F]issures in the leadership and strategy of the first march have never been addressed. The 2017 event, which sprung from a call by activist Bob Bland on Facebook, was complicated and divisive from the start, despite the massive show of unity on the march day\u2026. [(3)] Finally, marching does not, in this case, advance the real work that needs to be done to organize and transform electoral politics over the long term.\u201d \u2022 Hmm. I think the possibility of \u201cschooling behavior,\u201d as with the instant and overwhelming support for Kamala when she was blessed by authority, is being underestimated here. Further, that marching \u201cdoes not advance the real work\u201d is so unsurprising it sounds like a rationalization. Since when did an NGO do \u201creal work,\u201d anyhow?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Spook Country<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"29.992288818787\">\n<p>\u201cNote on the FBI\u201d [Matt Taibbi, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.racket.news\/p\/note-on-the-fbi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Racket News<\/a>]. \u201cThe transformation of the FBI back into a J. Edgar Hoover-style domestic spy service with sweeping political ambition has been a long-developing story, obscured by a political anomaly. In the first phase of this nightmare, between 2001 and 2016, the post-9\/11 Bureau used the pretext of an enhanced counterintelligence mandate to throw off some mild restraints that had been placed on it the last time it had to be slapped down, i.e. after the Church Committee hearings in the 1970s. The second phase of its transformation took place after the election of Donald Trump, when the Bureau remade itself on the fly as a kind of government-in-exile, empowered by an outpouring of public and media support to view itself as a counterweight to the Trump government. This dichotomy has probably helped prevent a full portrait of the FBI\u2019s makeover from appearing. The more troubling aspects to phase one were mostly found in reports by a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/documents\/aclu-challenges-fisa-amendments-act\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">then-adversarial<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/documents\/national-security-letters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">ACLU<\/a> or in testimonials of agents and investigators who spoke out in places like Democracy Now! or the Southern Poverty Law Center, with examples being people like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.democracynow.org\/2005\/8\/19\/f_b_i_whistle_blower_colleen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Colleen Rowley<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.splcenter.org\/fighting-hate\/intelligence-report\/2006\/fbi-agent-mike-german-discusses-years-undercover-investigating-skinheads-aryans-and-more\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Mike German<\/a>. The post-Trump exposes of FBI excess meanwhile often appeared in places like <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/videos\/hemingway-fbi-being-hoisted-with-its-own-classified-doc-petard-as-scandals-grow\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Mollie Hemingway\u2019s<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2018\/05\/25\/ridiculous-say-fbis-spying-trying-protect-trump-campaign\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Federalist<\/a> or broadcasts by the likes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/tucker-carlson-reason-publics-confidence-fbi-plummeted\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Tucker Carlson<\/a> or even sites like <a href=\"https:\/\/theconservativetreehouse.com\/blog\/category\/fbi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Conservative Treehouse<\/a>, and the signature FBI whistleblowers of this period were agents like <a href=\"https:\/\/noticias.foxnews.com\/politics\/fbi-whistleblower-calls-house-gop-soulless-demons-voting-give-agency-new-300-million-hq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Steve Friend<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/committee-activity\/hearings\/hearing-weaponization-federal-government-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Garrett O\u2019Boyle<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carolinajournal.com\/nc-whistleblower-tells-congress-fbi-weaponized-security-process-to-destroy-me-financially\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Marcus Allen<\/a>, testifying in front of Republican elected officials like Jim Jordan. They were all really talking about the same subject, but their complaints were broadcast to different audiences at different stages of the Bureau\u2019s evolution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo Background Checks, No Problem?\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/magazine\/2024\/12\/02\/can-washington-do-without-the-background-check-00191931\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Politico<\/a>]. \u201cThe potential end of the formal vetting process will be front and center when the Senate considers Trump\u2019s nominees in January. So will an even more attention-getting question raised by Trump\u2019s selections: Should we move past the expectation that presidential appointees should have squeaky-clean personal records? But a quieter conversation is going on already among insiders who work on the often infuriating background-check ritual: What would such a transformation mean for how the capital does business? \u2018Right now, it would seem to me that if you\u2019ve got a significant problem, you probably don\u2019t apply for these jobs in the first place,\u2019 said Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney and current University of Michigan law professor who has written about the clearance process. But \u2018if you know that the background check is no longer very rigorous, you might give it a shot.’\u201d \u2022 Lincoln on Grant, pilloried as a drunk: \u201cI need this man. He fights.\u201d Would Grant have made it through our current process? Probably not!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Democrats <em>en d\u00e9shabill\u00e9<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"14.594594594595\">\n<p><a name=\"frank\"\/>\u201cWhy Democrats FEAR Populism (And Keep Losing)\u201d (video) [Nathan J. Robinson, Current Affairs, <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/AL6AnlhwUyk?si=aHpufVCKc_svAHoN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">YouTube<\/a>]. <\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Why Democrats FEAR Populism (And Keep Losing)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AL6AnlhwUyk?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>Normally, I don\u2019t link to Current Affairs, because Nathan J. Robinson union-busted his own magazine, but for Thomas Frank, I will make an exception.l<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Realignment and Legitimacy<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"28.860759493671\">\n<p><a name=\"rural\"\/>\u201cThe Political Economy of the Urban-Rural Divide\u201d (PDF) [Keith Orejel, <a href=\"https:\/\/lpeproject.org\/blog\/the-political-economy-of-the-urban-rural-divide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">LPE Project<\/a>]. \u201cBut something fundamentally new occurred in the mid-to-late 1990s. A yawning gap opened between urban and rural voters, with rural Americans voting in ever larger margins for the Republican Party and their metropolitan counterparts doing the same for Democrats. While political strategists and commentators tended to point to cultural interpretations for this divide\u2014everything from Christian Nationalism to White Rural Rage\u2014such explanations fail to account for the fact that this transformation occurred simultaneously across the entire nation, and indeed, in many other advanced industrial countries as well. As I will lay out in this post, the urban-rural divide was first and foremost a product of political economy. Starting in the 1990s, the Democratic Party emerged as the champion of a new globalized, knowledge economy, whose centralizing tendencies concentrated the most sophisticated and profitable enterprises in metropolitan areas. As a result, the historic party of industrial workers morphed into the home of highly educated metropolitan professionals. Meanwhile, rural areas struggled to adapt to the global era, becoming a repository for slow growth sectors\u2014manufacturing, retail, construction, agriculture, and gas and oil\u2014that provided mostly low paying, unskilled jobs. The Republican Party capitalized on this decline, arguing that their economic agenda of low taxes, minimal government spending, and weak regulations was critical to the well-being of rural industries and their largely non-college educated employees. By examining the emergence of the urban-rural divide in detail, we can see that the results of last week\u2019s election were by no means inevitable. The Democratic Party\u2019s collapse in the countryside was the predictable consequence of decisions to prioritize certain constituencies to the neglect of others. If the party is ever again to capture a sufficient governing majority to enact the social and economic agenda our country needs, it won\u2019t be through eking out 2% higher turnout in the suburbs. It will be through transforming the Democratic Party into an organization that once again can compete in both urban and rural counties.\u201d \u2022 Yep!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Syndemics<\/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>, <del><a href=\"https:\/\/biobot.io\/data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Biobot<\/a><\/del>; 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:\/\/avrpublic.dhhs.utah.gov\/uwss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); VA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/coronavirus\/sars-cov-2-in-wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/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, KF, KidDoc, 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>Sequelae: Covid<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"12.787658802178\">\n<p>\u201cNearly half of NYC\u2019s aspiring drivers failed their DMV road tests this year\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/gothamist.com\/news\/nearly-half-of-nycs-aspiring-drivers-failed-their-dmv-road-tests-this-year\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Gothamist<\/a>]. \u201c: Nearly half the Big Apple\u2019s would-be motorists have failed their driving tests so far this year. That failure rate \u2014 48% \u2014 is higher than the statewide average of 43%, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles. The odds of flunking the test within the city has risen steadily since the COVID-19 pandemic: In 2021, the failure rate in the city was 41%, the data shows.\u201d \u2022 Odd!<\/p>\n<p>I wonder why these Google Trends results:<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/google-trends_LC.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"404\" height=\"2172\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-283198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/google-trends_LC.png 404w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/google-trends_LC-56x300.png 56w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/google-trends_LC-381x2048.png 381w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 404px) 100vw, 404px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u2018Tis a mystery!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Elite Maleficence<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"21.985527222605\">\n<p>I guess we have our answer on why the teacher\u2019s unions were silent on school ventilation and masking:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/weingarten_gbd.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"490\" height=\"1080\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-283197\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/weingarten_gbd.png 490w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/weingarten_gbd-136x300.png 136w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/weingarten_gbd-465x1024.png 465w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 490px) 100vw, 490px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/12\/jay-bhattacharya-trumps-pick-to-head-the-nih-is-a-eugenicist-charlatan.html\">For more on the Great Barrington Declaration, see here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA look back at what COVID was really like\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/jabberwocking.com\/a-look-back-at-what-covid-was-really-like\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Kevin Drum<\/a>]. \u201cEpidemiologists initially said that COVID was spread by droplets. That\u2019s because the evidence pointed that way[1]. When evidence piled up that aerosol transmission was also important, they changed their public statements[2]. But their safety guidance didn\u2019t change, because in most cases it didn\u2019t matter how the virus was spread[3]. Standard epidemic hygiene was mostly the same either way[4].\u201d \u2022 I rarely see so much error crammed into a single paragraph. Links on request, but I think readers know all this stuff. [1]. No. There was never any evidence for droplet dogma in general, or for Covid in particular. The epidemiologists spoke from ideology, not science. [2]. No. They fought changing public statements tooth and nail, as the recent UK hearings showed; at least one wrong WHO tweet is still up (last I checked, and I\u2019ve been checking for years. [3] Of course it matters how the virus is spread. If the virus does <em>not<\/em> \u201cspread like smoke\u201d you don\u2019t have to open the windows! Or use a Corsi-Rosenthal box. [4] No. In the beginning, and in the more beknighted facilities still, handwashing is recommended against Covid. But Covid is not transmitted by fomites. Somebody tell Drum to stay in his lane.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"table\"\/><strong>TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Lambert here: Even though the Covid numbers seem low, please remember that the data is not nearly as good as it once was, that it lags, and that the downside risks of catching Covid are considerable. For those who have developed their own personal protocols, I wouldn\u2019t relax them. Maybe next year.<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody wp_automatic_readability=\"10.904255319149\">\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Wastewater<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6417910447761\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span>This week[1] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 25<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Last week[2] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> (until next week):<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283191\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-300x185.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" style=\"align: left; margin-left: 0px !important; padding: 9px 0 9px 0;\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282925\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4-300x202.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6666666666667\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong> Variants<\/strong> [3] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 23<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span>Emergency Room Visits<\/strong>[4] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#trends_select_7dayeddiagnosed_00\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 23<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282662\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-2-300x214.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282310\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1-300x171.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Hospitalization<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.9240506329114\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> New York[5] <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.health.ny.gov\/daily-hospitalization-summary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York State<\/a>, data November 29:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> National [6] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/covidnetdashboard\/de\/powerbi\/dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 28:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283192\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-300x189.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-3.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-3-300x258.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Positivity<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"2.6842105263158\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> National[7] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/healthcare-solutions\/covid-19-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a> November 25:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Ohio[8] <a href=\"https:\/\/clevelandcliniclabs.com\/respiratory-virus-surveillance-statistics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cleveland Clinic<\/a> November 23:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-walgreens-positivity-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283193\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-walgreens-positivity-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-walgreens-positivity-natl-300x167.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282982\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2-300x192.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Travelers Data<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.5862068965517\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> Positivity[9] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 4:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Variants[10] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 4:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282923\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-2-300x167.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282924\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-3.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-3-300x187.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Deaths<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.76\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> Weekly Deaths vs. % Positivity [11] <a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronavirusdisease2019\/what-you-should-know\/current-situation-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 2:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Weekly Deaths vs. ED Visits [12] <a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronadisease2019\/what-you-should-know\/current-situation-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> November 2:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-death-positivity-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-282309\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-death-positivity-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/covid-cdc-death-positivity-natl-300x175.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ed-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-283190\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ed-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-300x192.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<td wp_automatic_readability=\"129.65378670788\">\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] (CDC) Good news!<\/p>\n<p>[2] (CDC) Last week\u2019s wastewater map.<\/p>\n<p>[3] (CDC Variants) KP.* still popular. XEC has entered the chat. That WHO label, \u201cOmmicron,\u201d has done a great job normalizing successive waves of infection.<\/p>\n<p>[4] (ED) Down.<\/p>\n<p>[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Steadily down.<\/p>\n<p>[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Actually improved; it\u2019s now one of the few charts to show the entire course of the pandemic to the present day.<\/p>\n<p>[7] (Walgreens) Down.<\/p>\n<p>[8] (Cleveland) Down.<\/p>\n<p>[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Down.<\/p>\n<p>[10] (Travelers: Variants). Now XEC.<\/p>\n<p>[11] Deaths low, positivity down.<\/p>\n<p>[12] Deaths low, ED down.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stats Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cUnited States ISM Manufacturing PMI\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/business-confidence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cThe ISM Manufacturing PMI for the US increased to 48.4 in November 2024 from 46.5 in October, beating forecasts of 47.5. The reading pointed to another albeit softer contraction in the manufacturing sector.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>The Bezzle: \u201cTrump\u2019s Return Heralds Litigation Peace for Crypto\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/ttyOf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wall Street Journal<\/a>]. \u201cThe Securities and Exchange Commission sued crypto exchanges Binance, Coinbase and Kraken last year, accusing the platforms of dealing assets that are illegal to trade without regulatory supervision. Crypto executives had refused to comply with financial rules that they said were a bad fit for digital currencies.<\/p>\n<p>The SEC, under the leadership of Chair Gary Gensler, mounted the legal campaign in lieu of the industry\u2019s request to craft new crypto-specific regulations that embraced a lighter touch. Had the commission won in court, the victories would have compelled the freewheeling market to follow longstanding agency rules that protect investors who buy securities. But litigation can take many years to resolve, and with Donald Trump\u2019s election to a second term, Gensler has run out of time before his biggest cases reach the finish line.<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s return to the White House will mean a new era for crypto\u2014with fewer government hurdles. The president-elect, shedding previous skepticism of crypto, has pledged support for the digital-asset industry [sic].\u201d \u2022 Lordie. Cf. Veblen\u2019s distinction between business and industry; crypto is <em>all<\/em> business.<\/p>\n<p>The Bezzle: \u201cEnter the \u2018ether,\u2019 where scammers weaponize your emotions\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/interactive\/2024\/scammer-method-weaponize-emotions-steal-victims\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">WaPo<\/a>]. \u201c[Fraud prevention experts] Shadel and Pratkanis said the levers used to swindle Judith out of nearly $600,000 followed a template of sorts; a three-part strategy that swindlers customize to each potential victim\u2026. The first step is to gain their trust\u2026. To build this level of intimacy, scammers spend hours on the phone with their victims or bombard them with email or texts. The exchanges are intended to extract personal details to build rapport ahead of any request for money\u2026. The second step of the fraud playbook is to get victims \u201cunder the ether,\u201d the frenzied state in which they suspend reason\u2026. Lastly, the impostors try to create a sense of urgency. For example, they might tell a victim that if they don\u2019t move their money out of their accounts, the people who stole their Social Security number will take it all, or the funds will be frozen as part of a criminal prosecution. \u2018It\u2019s baked into our brains to respond to threats,\u2019 Shadel said. \u2018You\u2019ve got to create a reason for them to do something now.\u2019 Criminals construct a wonderland of the mind, a reality that appears authentic to the scam target. This is why the oft-used maxim, \u2018If it\u2019s too good to be true, it probably is,\u2019 isn\u2019t the most effective way to fight fraud.\u201d \u2022\u00a0Seems like these methods are more universal than fraud.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 67 Greed (previous close: 66 Greed) [<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/data\/fear-and-greed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. One week ago: 64 (Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Dec 2 at 1:53:27 PM ET.<\/p>\n<p>Rapture Index: Closes unchanged [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.raptureready.com\/rapture-ready-index\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rapture Ready<\/a>]. Record High, October 10, 2016: 189. Current: 183. (Remember that bringing on the Rapture is good.) \u2022 Hard to believe the Rapture Index is going <em>down<\/em>. Do these people know something we don\u2019t?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/WwdI-gbm5kE?si=CXua2J699NWsnA6Y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Musical interlude<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.0373134328358\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"6.1119402985075\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Pablo Picasso, The Roofs of Barcelona in the Moonlight <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/c3aRz3UYDX\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/c3aRz3UYDX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Impressions (@impression_ists) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/impression_ists\/status\/1862785385723527248\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">November 30, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"wired\"\/><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cFish Have a Brain Microbiome. Could Humans Have One Too?\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.quantamagazine.org\/fish-have-a-brain-microbiome-could-humans-have-one-too-20241202\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Quanta<\/a>]. \u201cRecently, a study published in Science Advances provided <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/sciadv.ado0277\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">the strongest evidence yet<\/a> that a brain microbiome can and does exist in healthy vertebrates \u2014 fish, specifically. Researchers at the University of New Mexico discovered communities of bacteria thriving in salmon and trout brains. Many of the microbial species have special adaptations that allow them to survive in brain tissue, as well as techniques to cross <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quantamagazine.org\/how-the-brain-protects-itself-from-blood-borne-threats-20230620\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">the protective blood-brain barrier<\/a>. Matthew Olm, a physiologist who studies the human microbiome at the University of Colorado, Boulder and was not involved with the study, is \u2018inherently skeptical\u2019 of the idea that populations of microbes could live in the brain, he said. But he found the new research convincing. \u2018This is concrete evidence that brain microbiomes do exist in vertebrates,\u2019 he said. \u2018And so the idea that humans have a brain microbiome is not outlandish.’\u201d \u2022 How little we know about anything\u2026 <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHandwriting but not typewriting leads to widespread brain connectivity: a high-density EEG study with implications for the classroom\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/journals\/psychology\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2023.1219945\/full\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Frontiers in Psychology<\/a>]. \u201cAs traditional handwriting is progressively being replaced by digital devices, it is essential to investigate the implications for the human brain. Brain electrical activity was recorded in 36 university students as they were handwriting visually presented words using a digital pen and typewriting the words on a keyboard. Connectivity analyses were performed on EEG data recorded with a 256-channel sensor array. When writing by hand, brain connectivity patterns were far more elaborate than when typewriting on a keyboard, as shown by widespread theta\/alpha connectivity coherence patterns between network hubs and nodes in parietal and central brain regions. Existing literature indicates that connectivity patterns in these brain areas and at such frequencies are crucial for memory formation and for encoding new information and, therefore, are beneficial for learning. Our findings suggest that the spatiotemporal pattern from visual and proprioceptive information obtained through the precisely controlled hand movements when using a pen, contribute extensively to the brain\u2019s connectivity patterns that promote learning.\u201d \u2022 Interesting. IIRC, KLG doesn\u2019t think much of \u201cFrontiers in\u201d Whatever; perhaps a reader would like to take a crack at the methodology.<\/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\/11\/200pm-water-cooler-11-29-2024.html\">here<\/a>. From TH:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/hibiscus_2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"661\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-283187\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/hibiscus_2.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/hibiscus_2-272x300.jpeg 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>TH writes: \u201cWe have about 4 or 5 hibiscus bushes lining our driveway. Sadley, I don\u2019t recall their names, so I just call this the \u2018pink one.’\u201d Composition!<\/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. Material here is Lambert\u2019s, and does not express the views of the Naked Capitalism site. 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 three or four 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<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- .entry-content --><\/p>\n<footer class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t\tThis entry was posted in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/category\/water-cooler\" rel=\"category tag\">Water Cooler<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/12\/200pm-water-cooler-12-1-2024.html\" title=\"2:00 pm\" rel=\"bookmark\"><time class=\"entry-date updated\" datetime=\"2024-12-02T14:00:14-05:00\">December 2, 2024<\/time><\/a><span class=\"by-author\"> by <span class=\"author vcard\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/author\/lambert-strether\" title=\"View all posts by Lambert Strether\" rel=\"author\">Lambert Strether<\/a><\/span><\/span>.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"author-info\" wp_automatic_readability=\"20.197005056398\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- .author-avatar --><\/p>\n<div class=\"author-description\" wp_automatic_readability=\"35.467911318553\">\n<h2>About Lambert Strether<\/h2>\n<p>Readers, I have had a correspondent characterize my views as realistic cynical. Let me briefly explain them. I believe in universal programs that provide concrete material benefits, especially to the working class. Medicare for All is the prime example, but tuition-free college and a Post Office Bank also fall under this heading. So do a Jobs Guarantee and a Debt Jubilee. Clearly, neither liberal Democrats nor conservative Republicans can deliver on such programs, because the two are different flavors of neoliberalism (\u201cBecause markets\u201d). I don\u2019t much care about the \u201cism\u201d that delivers the benefits, although whichever one does have to put common humanity first, as opposed to markets. Could be a second FDR saving capitalism, democratic socialism leashing and collaring it, or communism razing it. I don\u2019t much care, as long as the benefits are delivered. <br \/>\n <br \/>\nTo me, the key issue \u2014 and this is why Medicare for All is always first with me \u2014 is the tens of thousands of excess \u201cdeaths from despair,\u201d as described by the Case-Deaton study, and other recent studies. That enormous body count makes Medicare for All, at the very least, a moral and strategic imperative. And that level of suffering and organic damage makes the concerns of identity politics \u2014 even the worthy fight to help the refugees Bush, Obama, and Clinton\u2019s wars created \u2014 bright shiny objects by comparison. Hence my frustration with the news flow \u2014 currently in my view the swirling intersection of two, separate Shock Doctrine campaigns, one by the Administration, and the other by out-of-power liberals and their allies in the State and in the press \u2014 a news flow that constantly forces me to focus on matters that I regard as of secondary importance to the excess deaths. What kind of political economy is it that halts or even reverses the increases in life expectancy that civilized societies have achieved? I am also very hopeful that the continuing destruction of both party establishments will open the space for voices supporting programs similar to those I have listed; let\u2019s call such voices \u201cthe left.\u201d Volatility creates opportunity, especially if the Democrat establishment, which puts markets first and opposes all such programs, isn\u2019t allowed to get back into the saddle. Eyes on the prize! I love the tactical level, and secretly love even the horse race, since I\u2019ve been blogging about it daily for fourteen years, but everything I write has this perspective at the back of it.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- .author-link\t-->\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><!-- .author-description -->\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><!-- .author-info --><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/footer>\n<p><!-- .entry-meta --><br \/>\n\t<!-- #post --><\/p>\n<nav class=\"nav-single\">\n<h3 class=\"assistive-text\">Post navigation<\/h3>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"nav-previous list-posts-older\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/12\/make-america-healthy-again-an-unconventional-movement-that-may-have-found-its-moment.html\" rel=\"prev\"><span class=\"meta-nav\">\u2190<\/span> Make America Healthy Again: An Unconventional Movement That May Have Found Its Moment<\/a><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"nav-next list-posts-newer\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/nav>\n<p><!-- .nav-single --><\/p>\n<p>\t<!-- #comments .comments-area --><\/p>\n<p>\t<!-- #content --><br \/>\n<!-- #primary --><\/p>\n<p>\t<!-- #secondary --><\/p>\n<footer id=\"colophon\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t\t<!-- .site-info --><br \/>\n\t\t<\/footer>\n<p><!-- #colophon --><br \/>\n\t\t<!-- #main.wrapper --><br \/>\n<!-- #page --><br \/>\n<!-- .mobile-menu-wrap --><\/p>\n<p><!-- Blog Reader Pooling - removed 09\/16\/2015 by M. Lacourse --><br \/>\n<!-- <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"nc-hide\" src=\"http:\/\/t.blogreaderproject.com\/t.gif?c9a0f3c0f2425bc76f3b4c3baf750ea8\" alt=\"\" width=\"0\" height=\"0\"> --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp footer --><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2024\/12\/200pm-water-cooler-12-1-2024.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Bird Song of the Day Northern Mockingbird, Southeast Greenway, Mueller, Travis, Texas, United States. \u201cAll sang.\u201d A lot going on!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":87939,"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-87938","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\/87938","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=87938"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87938\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}