\n<\/p>\n
By Lambert Strether of Corrente.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nBird Song of the Day<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Brown Thrasher, Powhatan State Park, Powhatan, Virginia, United States. \u201cThis bird was singing from the same perch at 7:00 when I arrived; this recording was made at 10:00. It was still singing when I left.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/strong> <\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#zeitgeist\">LA Palisades Fire<\/a>: This is fine.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#trump\">Trump\u2019s pivot<\/a> to the Northern Hemisphere.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#vegas\">More weirdness<\/a> with the Vegas Tesla explosion.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"helper\"\/><strong>Look for the Helpers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This has happened to me:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"5.2429906542056\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"13.345794392523\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">My wife said some unidentified rando paid for her order at Starbucks (didn’t see the person).<\/p>\n<p>Her: I love when that happens!<br \/>Me: \u2047<br \/>Her: It happens sometimes<br \/>Me: No it does not, at least not to me or anyone I know<br \/>Her: It’s a random good deed thing<\/p>\n<p>Chat is this real? Do people\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jon Stokes (@jonst0kes) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jonst0kes\/status\/1876778036672237916\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>And then I paid it forward as well. Readers?<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>My email address is down by the plant; please send examples of there (\u201cHelpers\u201d in the subject line). In our increasingly desperate and fragile neoliberal society, everyday <em>normal<\/em> incidents and stories of \u201cthe communism of everyday life\u201d are what I am looking for (and not, say, the Red Cross in Hawaii, or even the UNWRA in Gaza).<\/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>Trump Transition<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"98.985048725137\">\n<p>\u201cTrump Imagines New Sphere of U.S. Influence Stretching From Panama to Greenland\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/PAWJS#selection-5689.0-5692.0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wall Street Journal<\/a>]. Trump\u2019s presser: \u201cPresident-elect Donald Trump\u2019s calls to take control of Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal reflect his fascination with a 21st-century version of an old idea\u2014that great powers should carve out spheres of influence and defend their economic and security interests by imposing their will on smaller neighbors. In a press conference Tuesday, Trump outlined a second-term foreign policy agenda that rests not on global alliances and free trade but on economic coercion and unilateral military might, even against allies. With the Panama Canal and Greenland, he suggested he could use force to take them over. With Canada, he suggested he would hit the U.S.\u2019s northern neighbor with extreme tariffs, leaving it no choice but to submit to annexation. \u2018Canada and the United States, that would really be something,\u2019 Trump said. \u2018You get rid of that artificially drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like and it would also be much better for national security.\u2019 Taking control of Greenland, Canada, and the Panama Canal through military or economic force would be a dramatic departure from decades of U.S. foreign policy as pursued by presidents of both parties.\u201d \u2022 This leaves out Mexico, oddly. I\u2019ll have more in a bit, but at first glance, I would speculate that Trump knows he\u2019s got to feed his rabid dog \u2014 the national security establishment \u2014 some meat. Otherwise, <em>he<\/em> will be its meat. Where is the meat to be found? Europe? Clearly not; Ukraine is lost. The Middle East? Letting them kill each other is one thing; boots on the ground are another. The pivot to Asia? With what? That leaves \u2014 and this would make James Monroe very happy \u2014 the north American hemisphere. Also, it may even be that Trump doesn\u2019t like to get people killed, and (modulo Mexico), seizing one vassal\u2019s territory (Greenland), invading Panama (we\u2019ve done it once), and working on splitting the Canadian Federation looks a lot less gruesome than a war on the Pacific Rim, say. Who knows? Could be just a headfake, though Trump did mention Greenland in 2020. Commentary:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6875\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.140625\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">If you wanted to destroy NATO, the most successful alliance in human history , threatening to invade 2 of your allies would be a good way to start.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Michael McFaul (@McFaul) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/McFaul\/status\/1876820982129676685\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>[TRUMP, thinking]: \u201cMcFaul says \u201cdestroy NATO like that\u2019s a bad thing. They don\u2019t pay their bills, do they?\u201d]<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo Avoid Fighting Large Conflicts Trump Is Creating Smaller Ones\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.moonofalabama.org\/2025\/01\/to-avoid-fighting-large-conflicts-trump-is-creating-smaller-ones.html#more\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Moon of Alabama<\/a>]. Trump\u2019s presser: \u201cTrump has thereby rejected the three potential conflicts, with Russia, China and Iran, that were long leading the headlines. He likely perceives that there is nothing to win in these. But as he has to provide some fodder for the media as well as for his MAGA followers he is instead coming up with new conflicts which might even turn out to be winnable.\u201d See above; I agree that the media and MAGA need \u201cfodder,\u201d but I think the national security establishment \u2014 The Blob \u2014 needs \u201cfodder\u201d most of all. More: \u201cIt reminds of Ronald Reagan who created minor conflicts, like in Grenada, to be free to make deals with the Soviet \u2018evil empire\u2019 Union\u2026. Trump wants to avoid the larger potential conflicts as they are too difficult to manage and win. He is instead creating his own small conflicts right next to the U.S. backyard. It is a nice trick and it may even see some success.\u201d \u2022 I don\u2019t love Trump, and I didn\u2019t like Reagan either. But at least Reagan didn\u2019t get into a proxy war with a nuclear power. <\/p>\n<p>Handy map:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.6163793103448\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"5.1724137931034\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Welcome to The Gulf Of America \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FVLo03SHJL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/FVLo03SHJL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bennyjohnson\/status\/1876674245809393775\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>To be fair, neither I nor b give an account of where an invasion of Mexico fits into this picture (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2025\/01\/nyt-lays-groundwork-for-trump-administrations-long-telegraphed-intervention-in-mexico.html\">see Nick\u2019s useful post here<\/a>). Here, I would speculate that Trump has to \u201cbig stick\u201d <em>some<\/em>body for credibility\u2019s sake, and Mexican Drug Lords are an unsympathetic target. A proper invasion of Mexico would look like the Philippine-American War of 1898. Or Vietnam. No doubt there are plenty of Blobbists who would enjoy that, but I don\u2019t think Trump needs to throw them meat\u2026 <\/p>\n<p>\u201cFetterman compares Trump\u2019s Greenland talk to Louisiana Purchase\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/international\/5073218-fetterman-compares-trumps-greenland-talk-to-louisiana-purchase\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hill<\/a>]. \u201c\u2018There\u2019s a lot of talk about Greenland, for example, and \u2026 there\u2019s a lot of freak-outs and of course, I would never support taking it by force,\u2019 Fetterman said. He continued, noting it would be a \u2018responsible conversation\u2019 to discuss acquisition, including \u2018just buying it out.\u2019 \u2018If anyone thinks that\u2019s bonkers, it\u2019s like, well, remember the Louisiana Purchase?\u2019 Fetterman said.\u201d \u2022 Is he wrong?<\/p>\n<p>The tech bro angle:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.8429487179487\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"5.8974358974359\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">2\/ This is a reply to Dryden\u2019s post (above). Note Dryden\u2019s response. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0Fo5P8J9Mq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/0Fo5P8J9Mq<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 JennyCohn \u270d\ud83c\udffb \ud83d\udce2 (@jennycohn1) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jennycohn1\/status\/1877052206311993720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center><br \/>\n<center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>O Canada! I shouldn\u2019t really post this\u2026<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.0357142857143\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.3142857142857\">\n<p lang=\"qme\" dir=\"ltr\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FJ8KeGRhFA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/FJ8KeGRhFA<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jared (@Nsfwacct739014) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Nsfwacct739014\/status\/1876681631681151239\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u2026 but frame 4 made me laugh out loud (though is there some local color I should be aware of here? Canadian readers?)<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cDonald Trump shares video of Jeffrey Sachs accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of warmongering\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jfeed.com\/news-israel\/sprotr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">JFeed<\/a>]. Certainly not on my Bingo card! And: \u201cTrump\u2019s decision to post this video, assuming he listening to the video rather than just reading the text, which makes no mention of Netanyahu, points to some possibly serious tensions between Israel and the incoming administration regarding whether or not to use military force against Iran for fear it would lead to a general war.\u201d \u2022 Or maybe it\u2019s simpler. Perhaps \u201cNever sh*t a sh*tter\u201d is a motto Trump knows and believes. Anyhow, here\u2019s Trump\u2019s post from Truth Social:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.5418994413408\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.7402234636872\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Trump just reposted a video explaining that the wars in Iraq and Syria were manufactured by Netanyahu and had nothing to do with democracy. <br \/>\u201cNetanyahu is still trying to get us to fight Iran to this day. He is a deep dark son of a bitch because he’s gotten us into endless wars\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VfiI2UPD8p\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/VfiI2UPD8p<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Talha Ahmad (@talhaahmad967) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/talhaahmad967\/status\/1876824140520276232\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Haaretz, though later, has the better headline\u2013<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018A Deep, Dark Son of a Bitch\u2019: Trump Posts Video of Historian Criticizing Netanyahu\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/zfhRy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Haaretz<\/a>]. \u201d U.S. President-elect Donald Trump shared a video of contentious economics professor Jeffrey Sachs describing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as \u201ca deep, dark son of a bitch\u201d responsible for orchestrating U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Trump\u2019s sharing of the video on Truth Social highlights the President-elect\u2019s questionable sources of information on policy matters and his role in amplifying contentious historical interpretations via his unprecedented platform.\u201d \u2022 What an idiotic comment by Haaretz, throwing Jeffrey Sachs into the \u201cquestionable sources of information\u201d bucket, code for anti-semitic, though Haaretz leave it to others to unpack the code: \u201cSachs, an outspoken critic of the Israeli government, recently earned criticism from senior Israeli officials like Diaspora Affairs Minister, Amichai Chikli, following his appearance on the Tucker Carlson Show. Chikli implied that Sachs was part of a guest roster including \u2018fringe Holocaust deniers, conspiracy theorists, and blood libel enthusiasts who oppose the State of Israel.’\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.israelnationalnews.com\/news\/401053\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Chikli is a real piece of work<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Lawfare<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"10.861743912019\">\n<p>\u201cJustice Department says it plans to release only part of special counsel\u2019s Trump report for now\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.seattletimes.com\/nation-world\/nation\/justice-department-says-it-plans-to-release-only-part-of-special-counsels-trump-report-for-now\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>]. \u201cThe Justice Department said Wednesday that it intends to release special counsel Jack Smith\u2019s findings on Donald Trump\u2019s efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election but will keep under wraps for now the rest of the report focused on the president-elect\u2019s hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate\u2026 The announcement lessens the likelihood that the report on the classified documents investigation, which of all inquiries against Trump had once seemed to carry the greatest legal threat, would ever be released given that the Trump Justice Department almost certainly will not make the document public even after the case against Nauta and De Oliveira is resolved.\u201d And the norms: \u201cSmith\u2019s team abandoned both cases in November after Trump\u2019s presidential victory, citing Justice Department policy that prohibits the federal prosecutions of sitting presidents. Justice Department regulations call for special counsels appointed by the attorney general to submit a confidential report at the conclusion of their investigations. It\u2019s then up to the attorney general to decide what to make public.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Democrats <em>en d\u00e9shabill\u00e9<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"13.535228677379\">\n<p>One more reason to hate the Democrats:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.4383561643836\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"7.3150684931507\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It’s increasingly difficult to claim that the Democratic Party is merely incompetent and not actively malevolent. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0G4YvkNfN1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/0G4YvkNfN1<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Holding Dems Accountable (From the Left!) (@PushBidenLeft) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PushBidenLeft\/status\/1876767996389007774\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Khanna is wrong, absurdly wrong. This is in no sense an \u201cunforced error\u201d by Democrats (who, as Thomas Frank reminds us in <em>Listen, Liberal!<\/em>, hate the working class). Instead, it is elegant and successful maneuvering to evade accountability, rather like ObamaCare writ small. Sirota comments:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.2549019607843\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"11.062745098039\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">So\u2026Kamala Harris coulda broken the tie on the NLRB vote, but she wasn’t there to cast the vote, and her brother-in-law is the chief counsel of Uber, which has tangled with the NLRB. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/CwYJlnedeo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/CwYJlnedeo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 David Sirota (@davidsirota) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/davidsirota\/status\/1876808691044831445\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Realignment and Legitimacy<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"14.861440291705\">\n<p><a name=\"vegas\"\/>About Shawn Ryan, the \u201cwhistleblower\u201d who released Livelsberger\u2019s email manifesto:<\/p>\n<p>Shot:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.4984756097561\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.3292682926829\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The only fraud here is you <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SebGorka\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">@SebGorka<\/a> <br \/>FBI has confirmed the email sent to my podcast was from Matthew Livelsberger.<\/p>\n<p>Ladies and Gentleman I present you with your new \u201cDirector of Counter Terrorism\u201d who seems to lack discernment. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LIdmcEfOgn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/LIdmcEfOgn<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/96AiIcjnes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/96AiIcjnes<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Shawn Ryan (@ShawnRyan762) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnRyan762\/status\/1876768148629704932\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Chaser:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.21875\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"6.3392857142857\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Shawn Ryan is a cia contractor <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ByGonJ05Yd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/ByGonJ05Yd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Dr.Ahmed A.,MD,ABPsych (@Ah_Magus) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Ah_Magus\/status\/1876792469590786477\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Saying \u201cthe FBI confirmed\u2026\u201d is a lot like saying \u201cA Ukrainian spokesman confirmed\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cNation\u2019s anger at insurance \u2018injustice’\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/global.chinadaily.com.cn\/a\/202501\/08\/WS677de2c3a310f1265a1d9a12.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">China Daily<\/a>]. \u201c[Rosemary:] \u201c\u2018My generation has discussed about not just what violence looks like when somebody comes up at you with a gun and shoots you, but more about economic violence. If you\u2019re dying at the hands of somebody else according to a company policy, that doesn\u2019t make it any less violent,\u2019 she said.\u201d \u2022 Interestingly, I can\u2019t find the \u201cRosemary\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?client=opera&q=%22looks+like+when+somebody+comes+up+at+you+with+a+gun+and+shoots?%22&sourceid=opera&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">quote<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/search?q=%22economic%20violence%22&src=typed_query&f=live\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">anywhere<\/a>.<\/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:\/\/skylab.cdph.ca.gov\/calwws\/\" 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, thump, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3). <\/p>\n<p>Stay safe out there!<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"table\"\/><strong>TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody wp_automatic_readability=\"11.314341846758\">\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Wastewater<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.625\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> This week[1] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> December 30<\/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\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284945\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-300x187.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\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284797\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4-300x211.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6521739130435\">\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> December 21<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> <strong>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> December 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-cdc-variants-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284307\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1-300x177.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-er-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284672\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-er-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-er-natl-1-300x172.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=\"4.7560975609756\">\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 January 7:<\/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> Janurary 2, 2005:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"344\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285202\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-2-300x172.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/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\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284942\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-296x300.png 296w\" 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=\"2.5294117647059\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> National[7] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/healthcare-solutions\/covid-19-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a> January 6:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Ohio[8] <a href=\"https:\/\/clevelandcliniclabs.com\/respiratory-virus-surveillance-statistics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cleveland Clinic<\/a> January 4:<\/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\/2025\/01\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"340\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285160\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1-300x170.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"428\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285157\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-1-300x214.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (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=\"3.5932203389831\">\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> December 16:<\/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> December 16<\/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\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284943\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-300x184.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\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284944\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-300x212.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=\"3.7647058823529\">\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 20:<\/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 20:<\/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-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284304\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl-1-300x161.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-deaths-ed-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284303\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-ed-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-ed-natl-1-300x183.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<td wp_automatic_readability=\"150.79001542999\">\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) Seeing more red and more orange, but nothing new at major hubs. <\/p>\n<p>[2] (CDC) Last week\u2019s wastewater map.<\/p>\n<p>[3] (CDC Variants) XEC takes over. That WHO label, \u201cOmmicron,\u201d has done a great job normalizing successive waves of infection.<\/p>\n<p>[4] (ED) A little uptick.<\/p>\n<p>[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Definitely jumped.<\/p>\n<p>[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[7] (Walgreens) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[8] (Cleveland) Continued upward trend since, well, Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n<p>[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[10] (Travelers: Variants). Positivity is new, but variants have not yet been released.<\/p>\n<p>[11] Deaths low, positivity leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[12] Deaths low, ED leveling out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stats Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Employment situation: \u201cUnited States Initial Jobless Claims\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/jobless-claims\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cInitial jobless claims in the US decreased by 10,000 from the previous week to 201,000 in the week ending January 4, the lowest in eleven months and contrasting with the expected increase to 218,000.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vehicle Sales: \u201cUnited States Total Vehicle Sales\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/total-vehicle-sales\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cTotal Vehicle Sales in the United States increased to 16.80 Million in December from 16.65 Million in November of 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cChecks find no issues with Boeing 737-800 jets in S\u2019pore after fatal Jeju Air crash\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/politics\/checks-find-no-issues-with-boeing-737-800-jets-in-spore-after-fatal-jeju-air-crash\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Straits Times<\/a>]. \u201cChecks by the Singapore authorities in the wake of the deadly Jeju Air crash in December have found no anomalies or reliability issues in the fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft here, said Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat on Jan 8. This is the same aircraft model as the plane that smashed into a concrete structure housing navigational equipment at the end of a runway at Muan International Airport in South Korea, on Dec 29, 2024, killing 179 people on board.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cProblematic parts discovered in several Boeing passenger planes\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.king5.com\/article\/tech\/science\/aerospace\/boeing\/problematic-parts-discovered-boeing-passenger-planes-renton\/281-ffeec885-aa8d-4c37-9d6b-bb1507a518a1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">KING5<\/a>]. \u201cOn Wednesday, internal Boeing sources told KING 5 there was a slowdown in Renton\u2019s 737-MAX assembly line because of defective electrical junction boxes. Executive Director of Boeing\u2019s engineering union Ray Goforth confirmed in a statement that there was a problem with the junction boxes and it slowed or stopped production. However, he was unaware of how significant the slowdown was. The MAX passenger plane has miles of electrical wiring and while it\u2019s unclear which junction box is impacted, Aviation Expert John Nance said fixing the problem is imperative. \u2018If it is a generic situation with a number of these boxes being found to be less than they should then it has to be addressed, there\u2019s no question about it,\u2019 said Nance. Boeing describes the items as non-conforming components and said despite this problem, production continues in the Renton factory.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"ai\"\/>Tech: \u201cThe AI hype bubble is the new crypto hype bubble\u201d [Cory Doctorow, <a href=\"https:\/\/pluralistic.net\/2023\/03\/09\/autocomplete-worshippers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Pluralistic<\/a>]. \u201cAs [Emily M Bender, a computational linguistics specialist at UW] says, we\u2019ve made \u2018machines that can mindlessly generate text, but we haven\u2019t learned how to stop imagining the mind behind it.\u2019 One potential tonic against this fallacy is to follow an Italian MP\u2019s suggestion and replace \u2018AI\u2019 with \u2018SALAMI\u2019 (\u2018Systematic Approaches to Learning Algorithms and Machine Inferences\u2019). It\u2019s a lot easier to keep a clear head when someone asks you, \u2018Is this SALAMI intelligent? Can this SALAMI write a novel? Does this SALAMI deserve human rights?\u2019 Bender\u2019s most famous contribution is the \u2018stochastic parrot,\u2019 a construct that \u2018just probabilistically spits out words.\u2019 AI bros like Altman love the stochastic parrot, and are hellbent on reducing human beings to stochastic parrots, which will allow them to declare that their chatbots have feature-parity with human beings. At the same time, Altman and Co are strangely afraid of their creations. It\u2019s possible that this is just a shuck: \u2018I have made something so powerful that it could destroy humanity! Luckily, I am a wise steward of this thing, so it\u2019s fine. But boy, it sure is powerful!’\u201d \u2022\u00a0This is long, and fun, and worth a read, but I don\u2019t think it lives up to the headline. <\/p>\n<p>Tech: Khan is so fearless:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.9831932773109\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.621848739496\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">FTC Chair Khan discussing Meta’s rollback on fact-checking: Calls out the problem with a “single company or single executive” making decisions about everyone’s speech as a market issue and warns of “sweetheart deals” by execs w\/ Trump, especially ahead of Meta’s antitrust case <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LXKQt1OWYN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/LXKQt1OWYN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Zamaan Qureshi (@zamaan_qureshi) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/zamaan_qureshi\/status\/1876690600365301880\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>No doubt the Democrats will find a way to bury her.<\/p>\n<p>Tech: Enshittification proceeds apace:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.4864864864865\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"7.4594594594595\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It is utterly insane to me that waivers of the right to a jury trial and the right to participate in a class action have not been banned already. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DBg1KmLWEF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/DBg1KmLWEF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Basel Musharbash (@musharbash_b) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/musharbash_b\/status\/1876700090435305954\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center><br \/>\n<center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 33 Fear (previous close: 35 Fear) [<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/data\/fear-and-greed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. One week ago: 27 (Fear). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I wonder why the front page does not have the look of print:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.5172413793103\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"4.8551724137931\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Desire Dehau Reading a Newspaper in the Garden <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/artbots?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">#artbots<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/lautrec?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">#lautrec<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cUB37XRBZN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/cUB37XRBZN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Toulouse-Lautrec (@artistlautrec) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/artistlautrec\/status\/1875430231135113349\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Every so often I purchase a (paper) Financial Times and luxuriate in reading it. The experience is far, far superior to anything online, and the layout of the pages \u2014 something we\u2019ve had centuries of experience doing, after all \u2014 moves the eye to serendipitous encounters in a way that the web does not.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"zeitgeist\"\/><strong>Zeitgeist Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/this-is-fine.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"302\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285203\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/this-is-fine.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/this-is-fine-300x151.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Yikes (1):<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.4676258992806\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"7.0503597122302\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Palisades Fire from a flight arriving at LAX. <\/p>\n<p>Credit: Mark Viniello <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tN31WP5CFI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/tN31WP5CFI<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Nahel Belgherze (@WxNB_) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WxNB_\/status\/1876883139475161192\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Yikes (2):<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.5406091370558\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"7.258883248731\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">INFERNO: Terrifying new footage shows two men and a dog trapped in their home, as massive flames surround them.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PalisadeFire?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">#PalisadeFire<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/N2VomUGURY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/N2VomUGURY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Frum TikTok (@FrumTikTok) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FrumTikTok\/status\/1876848426391920956\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>If the fire makes it down off the mountain:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.2391304347826\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"11.021739130435\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">When homes are densely packed in alignment with the direction of strong fire-season winds, it is nearly almost impossible to cut enough brush to make the homes defensible. Fire burns from house to house, no longer a ‘brush fire’.<br \/>A neighborhood in the path of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PallisadesFire?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">#PallisadesFire<\/a>. 1\/4 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FrATUA37eH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/FrATUA37eH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Zeke Lunder ~ The Lookout (@wildland_zko) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wildland_zko\/status\/1876756672116334623\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Not a parking lot:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.0406976744186\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"6.1220930232558\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">LAFD is using a BULLDOZER to clear abandoned cars off Palisades Drive. Unreal. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PalisadesFire?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">#PalisadesFire<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/sM93Zud3q9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/sM93Zud3q9<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Scott Murphy (@ScottMurphyInLA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ScottMurphyInLA\/status\/1876763323615608995\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>My first thought is that people took their car keys with them, so their cars couldn\u2019t be moved, hence the bulldozer; but maybe there are no car keys anymore, just plastic fobs that would melt in the heat. Readers? (Shows you how much I drive, or am driven.)<\/p>\n<p>The sharing economy does its part:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"5.2477064220183\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"13.357798165138\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">To clarify, I called Airbnb to request help with rebooking accommodations farther from the danger zone. As always, their policies failed to account for context. The fires keep getting worse, and unfortunately, many others are probably stuck explaining bushfires to someone in\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ana Mostarac (@anammostarac) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/anammostarac\/status\/1876933238184419761\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Class warfare:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.4434389140271\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"7.3303167420814\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Thinking of the hundreds of incarcerated firefighters putting their bodies on the front lines of this Palisades fire and getting paid around $5 a day. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/WvFwFXQhGq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/WvFwFXQhGq<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Zara Rahim (@ZaraRahim) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ZaraRahim\/status\/1877005785424674964\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/despite-orders-free-prisoners-officials-cling-cheap-inmate-200148253.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Blast<\/a> from the past:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.9078947368421\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.421052631579\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Kamala Harris herself argued against releasing low-risk people from prison because, she said, it would reduce the firefighter workforce. (The only people eligible are basically people who are so low-risk they should be going home.) <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AO1MobbFGy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/AO1MobbFGy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jessica Pishko (@JessPish) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JessPish\/status\/1858342490207596806\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">November 18, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Just in case anybody thinks Democrats don\u2019t hate the working class.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"class\"\/><strong>Class Warfare<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSki patrollers reach deal to end strike at Utah\u2019s Park City Mountain Resort\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.seattletimes.com\/business\/ski-patrollers-reach-deal-to-end-strike-at-utahs-park-city-mountain-resort\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>]. \u201cSki patrollers at the biggest U.S. ski resort have reached a deal with Utah\u2019s Park City Mountain Resort to end a strike that put a wrench in operations during the busy holiday season and into the new year. A joint statement released by the executive board of the ski patrollers\u2019 union said a vote was scheduled for Wednesday on an agreement \u2018that addresses both parties\u2019 interests and will end the current strike. Everyone looks forward to restoring normal resort operations and moving forward together as one team,\u2019 it said. The deal would run through April 2027. No other details about it were released. About 200 ski patrollers went on strike on Dec. 27 over wages they said were too low for high living costs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"wired\"\/><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Evaporative Cooling Effect in Social Network\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.cornell.edu\/info2040\/2015\/10\/14\/the-evaporative-cooling-effect-in-social-network\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Bumblebee Labs<\/a>]. From the Abstract: \u201cThe Evaporative Cooling Effect describes the phenomenon that high value contributors leave a community because they cannot gain something from it, which leads to the decrease of the quality of the community. Since the people most likely to join a community are those whose quality is below the average quality of the community, these newcomers are very likely to harm the quality of the community. With the expansion of community, it is very hard to maintain the quality of the community.\u201d \u2022 Hmm.<\/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\/2025\/01\/200pm-water-cooler-1-2-2025.html\">here<\/a>. From SV:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/squirrel_2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"525\" height=\"1080\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/squirrel_2.jpeg 525w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/squirrel_2-146x300.jpeg 146w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/squirrel_2-498x1024.jpeg 498w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 525px) 100vw, 525px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>SV writes: \u201cEven a nearsighted Squirrel finds a pumpkin once in a while.\u201d<\/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\/guest-post\" rel=\"category tag\">Guest Post<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/category\/water-cooler\" rel=\"category tag\">Water Cooler<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2025\/01\/200pm-water-cooler-1-8-2025.html\" title=\"2:00 pm\" rel=\"bookmark\"><time class=\"entry-date updated\" datetime=\"2025-01-08T14:00:10-05:00\">January 8, 2025<\/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\/2025\/01\/chinas-government-bond-market-sounding-loud-deflationary-alarm-is-the-japanification-china-has-warded-off-finally-arriving.html\" rel=\"prev\"><span class=\"meta-nav\">\u2190<\/span> China\u2019s Government Bond Market Sounding Loud Deflationary Alarm. Is the Japanification China Has Warded Off Finally Arriving?<\/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. 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Bird Song of the Day Brown Thrasher, Powhatan State Park, Powhatan, Virginia, United States. \u201cThis bird was singing from the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":89440,"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-89439","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\/89439","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=89439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Bird Song of the Day<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Brown Thrasher, Powhatan State Park, Powhatan, Virginia, United States. \u201cThis bird was singing from the same perch at 7:00 when I arrived; this recording was made at 10:00. It was still singing when I left.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/strong> <\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#zeitgeist\">LA Palisades Fire<\/a>: This is fine.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#trump\">Trump\u2019s pivot<\/a> to the Northern Hemisphere.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#vegas\">More weirdness<\/a> with the Vegas Tesla explosion.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"helper\"\/><strong>Look for the Helpers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This has happened to me:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"5.2429906542056\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"13.345794392523\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">My wife said some unidentified rando paid for her order at Starbucks (didn’t see the person).<\/p>\n<p>Her: I love when that happens!<br \/>Me: \u2047<br \/>Her: It happens sometimes<br \/>Me: No it does not, at least not to me or anyone I know<br \/>Her: It’s a random good deed thing<\/p>\n<p>Chat is this real? Do people\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jon Stokes (@jonst0kes) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jonst0kes\/status\/1876778036672237916\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>And then I paid it forward as well. Readers?<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>My email address is down by the plant; please send examples of there (\u201cHelpers\u201d in the subject line). In our increasingly desperate and fragile neoliberal society, everyday <em>normal<\/em> incidents and stories of \u201cthe communism of everyday life\u201d are what I am looking for (and not, say, the Red Cross in Hawaii, or even the UNWRA in Gaza).<\/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>Trump Transition<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"98.985048725137\">\n<p>\u201cTrump Imagines New Sphere of U.S. Influence Stretching From Panama to Greenland\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/PAWJS#selection-5689.0-5692.0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wall Street Journal<\/a>]. Trump\u2019s presser: \u201cPresident-elect Donald Trump\u2019s calls to take control of Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal reflect his fascination with a 21st-century version of an old idea\u2014that great powers should carve out spheres of influence and defend their economic and security interests by imposing their will on smaller neighbors. In a press conference Tuesday, Trump outlined a second-term foreign policy agenda that rests not on global alliances and free trade but on economic coercion and unilateral military might, even against allies. With the Panama Canal and Greenland, he suggested he could use force to take them over. With Canada, he suggested he would hit the U.S.\u2019s northern neighbor with extreme tariffs, leaving it no choice but to submit to annexation. \u2018Canada and the United States, that would really be something,\u2019 Trump said. \u2018You get rid of that artificially drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like and it would also be much better for national security.\u2019 Taking control of Greenland, Canada, and the Panama Canal through military or economic force would be a dramatic departure from decades of U.S. foreign policy as pursued by presidents of both parties.\u201d \u2022 This leaves out Mexico, oddly. I\u2019ll have more in a bit, but at first glance, I would speculate that Trump knows he\u2019s got to feed his rabid dog \u2014 the national security establishment \u2014 some meat. Otherwise, <em>he<\/em> will be its meat. Where is the meat to be found? Europe? Clearly not; Ukraine is lost. The Middle East? Letting them kill each other is one thing; boots on the ground are another. The pivot to Asia? With what? That leaves \u2014 and this would make James Monroe very happy \u2014 the north American hemisphere. Also, it may even be that Trump doesn\u2019t like to get people killed, and (modulo Mexico), seizing one vassal\u2019s territory (Greenland), invading Panama (we\u2019ve done it once), and working on splitting the Canadian Federation looks a lot less gruesome than a war on the Pacific Rim, say. Who knows? Could be just a headfake, though Trump did mention Greenland in 2020. Commentary:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6875\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.140625\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">If you wanted to destroy NATO, the most successful alliance in human history , threatening to invade 2 of your allies would be a good way to start.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Michael McFaul (@McFaul) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/McFaul\/status\/1876820982129676685\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>[TRUMP, thinking]: \u201cMcFaul says \u201cdestroy NATO like that\u2019s a bad thing. They don\u2019t pay their bills, do they?\u201d]<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo Avoid Fighting Large Conflicts Trump Is Creating Smaller Ones\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.moonofalabama.org\/2025\/01\/to-avoid-fighting-large-conflicts-trump-is-creating-smaller-ones.html#more\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Moon of Alabama<\/a>]. Trump\u2019s presser: \u201cTrump has thereby rejected the three potential conflicts, with Russia, China and Iran, that were long leading the headlines. He likely perceives that there is nothing to win in these. But as he has to provide some fodder for the media as well as for his MAGA followers he is instead coming up with new conflicts which might even turn out to be winnable.\u201d See above; I agree that the media and MAGA need \u201cfodder,\u201d but I think the national security establishment \u2014 The Blob \u2014 needs \u201cfodder\u201d most of all. More: \u201cIt reminds of Ronald Reagan who created minor conflicts, like in Grenada, to be free to make deals with the Soviet \u2018evil empire\u2019 Union\u2026. Trump wants to avoid the larger potential conflicts as they are too difficult to manage and win. He is instead creating his own small conflicts right next to the U.S. backyard. It is a nice trick and it may even see some success.\u201d \u2022 I don\u2019t love Trump, and I didn\u2019t like Reagan either. But at least Reagan didn\u2019t get into a proxy war with a nuclear power. <\/p>\n<p>Handy map:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.6163793103448\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"5.1724137931034\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Welcome to The Gulf Of America \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FVLo03SHJL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/FVLo03SHJL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bennyjohnson\/status\/1876674245809393775\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>To be fair, neither I nor b give an account of where an invasion of Mexico fits into this picture (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2025\/01\/nyt-lays-groundwork-for-trump-administrations-long-telegraphed-intervention-in-mexico.html\">see Nick\u2019s useful post here<\/a>). Here, I would speculate that Trump has to \u201cbig stick\u201d <em>some<\/em>body for credibility\u2019s sake, and Mexican Drug Lords are an unsympathetic target. A proper invasion of Mexico would look like the Philippine-American War of 1898. Or Vietnam. No doubt there are plenty of Blobbists who would enjoy that, but I don\u2019t think Trump needs to throw them meat\u2026 <\/p>\n<p>\u201cFetterman compares Trump\u2019s Greenland talk to Louisiana Purchase\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/international\/5073218-fetterman-compares-trumps-greenland-talk-to-louisiana-purchase\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hill<\/a>]. \u201c\u2018There\u2019s a lot of talk about Greenland, for example, and \u2026 there\u2019s a lot of freak-outs and of course, I would never support taking it by force,\u2019 Fetterman said. He continued, noting it would be a \u2018responsible conversation\u2019 to discuss acquisition, including \u2018just buying it out.\u2019 \u2018If anyone thinks that\u2019s bonkers, it\u2019s like, well, remember the Louisiana Purchase?\u2019 Fetterman said.\u201d \u2022 Is he wrong?<\/p>\n<p>The tech bro angle:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.8429487179487\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"5.8974358974359\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">2\/ This is a reply to Dryden\u2019s post (above). Note Dryden\u2019s response. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0Fo5P8J9Mq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/0Fo5P8J9Mq<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 JennyCohn \u270d\ud83c\udffb \ud83d\udce2 (@jennycohn1) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jennycohn1\/status\/1877052206311993720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center><br \/>\n<center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>O Canada! I shouldn\u2019t really post this\u2026<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.0357142857143\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.3142857142857\">\n<p lang=\"qme\" dir=\"ltr\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FJ8KeGRhFA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/FJ8KeGRhFA<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jared (@Nsfwacct739014) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Nsfwacct739014\/status\/1876681631681151239\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u2026 but frame 4 made me laugh out loud (though is there some local color I should be aware of here? Canadian readers?)<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cDonald Trump shares video of Jeffrey Sachs accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of warmongering\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jfeed.com\/news-israel\/sprotr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">JFeed<\/a>]. Certainly not on my Bingo card! And: \u201cTrump\u2019s decision to post this video, assuming he listening to the video rather than just reading the text, which makes no mention of Netanyahu, points to some possibly serious tensions between Israel and the incoming administration regarding whether or not to use military force against Iran for fear it would lead to a general war.\u201d \u2022 Or maybe it\u2019s simpler. Perhaps \u201cNever sh*t a sh*tter\u201d is a motto Trump knows and believes. Anyhow, here\u2019s Trump\u2019s post from Truth Social:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.5418994413408\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.7402234636872\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Trump just reposted a video explaining that the wars in Iraq and Syria were manufactured by Netanyahu and had nothing to do with democracy. <br \/>\u201cNetanyahu is still trying to get us to fight Iran to this day. He is a deep dark son of a bitch because he’s gotten us into endless wars\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VfiI2UPD8p\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/VfiI2UPD8p<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Talha Ahmad (@talhaahmad967) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/talhaahmad967\/status\/1876824140520276232\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Haaretz, though later, has the better headline\u2013<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018A Deep, Dark Son of a Bitch\u2019: Trump Posts Video of Historian Criticizing Netanyahu\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/zfhRy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Haaretz<\/a>]. \u201d U.S. President-elect Donald Trump shared a video of contentious economics professor Jeffrey Sachs describing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as \u201ca deep, dark son of a bitch\u201d responsible for orchestrating U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Trump\u2019s sharing of the video on Truth Social highlights the President-elect\u2019s questionable sources of information on policy matters and his role in amplifying contentious historical interpretations via his unprecedented platform.\u201d \u2022 What an idiotic comment by Haaretz, throwing Jeffrey Sachs into the \u201cquestionable sources of information\u201d bucket, code for anti-semitic, though Haaretz leave it to others to unpack the code: \u201cSachs, an outspoken critic of the Israeli government, recently earned criticism from senior Israeli officials like Diaspora Affairs Minister, Amichai Chikli, following his appearance on the Tucker Carlson Show. Chikli implied that Sachs was part of a guest roster including \u2018fringe Holocaust deniers, conspiracy theorists, and blood libel enthusiasts who oppose the State of Israel.’\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.israelnationalnews.com\/news\/401053\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Chikli is a real piece of work<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Lawfare<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"10.861743912019\">\n<p>\u201cJustice Department says it plans to release only part of special counsel\u2019s Trump report for now\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.seattletimes.com\/nation-world\/nation\/justice-department-says-it-plans-to-release-only-part-of-special-counsels-trump-report-for-now\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>]. \u201cThe Justice Department said Wednesday that it intends to release special counsel Jack Smith\u2019s findings on Donald Trump\u2019s efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election but will keep under wraps for now the rest of the report focused on the president-elect\u2019s hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate\u2026 The announcement lessens the likelihood that the report on the classified documents investigation, which of all inquiries against Trump had once seemed to carry the greatest legal threat, would ever be released given that the Trump Justice Department almost certainly will not make the document public even after the case against Nauta and De Oliveira is resolved.\u201d And the norms: \u201cSmith\u2019s team abandoned both cases in November after Trump\u2019s presidential victory, citing Justice Department policy that prohibits the federal prosecutions of sitting presidents. Justice Department regulations call for special counsels appointed by the attorney general to submit a confidential report at the conclusion of their investigations. It\u2019s then up to the attorney general to decide what to make public.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Democrats <em>en d\u00e9shabill\u00e9<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"13.535228677379\">\n<p>One more reason to hate the Democrats:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.4383561643836\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"7.3150684931507\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It’s increasingly difficult to claim that the Democratic Party is merely incompetent and not actively malevolent. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0G4YvkNfN1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/0G4YvkNfN1<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Holding Dems Accountable (From the Left!) (@PushBidenLeft) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PushBidenLeft\/status\/1876767996389007774\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Khanna is wrong, absurdly wrong. This is in no sense an \u201cunforced error\u201d by Democrats (who, as Thomas Frank reminds us in <em>Listen, Liberal!<\/em>, hate the working class). Instead, it is elegant and successful maneuvering to evade accountability, rather like ObamaCare writ small. Sirota comments:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.2549019607843\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"11.062745098039\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">So\u2026Kamala Harris coulda broken the tie on the NLRB vote, but she wasn’t there to cast the vote, and her brother-in-law is the chief counsel of Uber, which has tangled with the NLRB. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/CwYJlnedeo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/CwYJlnedeo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 David Sirota (@davidsirota) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/davidsirota\/status\/1876808691044831445\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Realignment and Legitimacy<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"14.861440291705\">\n<p><a name=\"vegas\"\/>About Shawn Ryan, the \u201cwhistleblower\u201d who released Livelsberger\u2019s email manifesto:<\/p>\n<p>Shot:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.4984756097561\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.3292682926829\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The only fraud here is you <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SebGorka\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">@SebGorka<\/a> <br \/>FBI has confirmed the email sent to my podcast was from Matthew Livelsberger.<\/p>\n<p>Ladies and Gentleman I present you with your new \u201cDirector of Counter Terrorism\u201d who seems to lack discernment. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LIdmcEfOgn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/LIdmcEfOgn<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/96AiIcjnes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/96AiIcjnes<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Shawn Ryan (@ShawnRyan762) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnRyan762\/status\/1876768148629704932\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Chaser:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.21875\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"6.3392857142857\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Shawn Ryan is a cia contractor <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ByGonJ05Yd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/ByGonJ05Yd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Dr.Ahmed A.,MD,ABPsych (@Ah_Magus) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Ah_Magus\/status\/1876792469590786477\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Saying \u201cthe FBI confirmed\u2026\u201d is a lot like saying \u201cA Ukrainian spokesman confirmed\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cNation\u2019s anger at insurance \u2018injustice’\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/global.chinadaily.com.cn\/a\/202501\/08\/WS677de2c3a310f1265a1d9a12.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">China Daily<\/a>]. \u201c[Rosemary:] \u201c\u2018My generation has discussed about not just what violence looks like when somebody comes up at you with a gun and shoots you, but more about economic violence. If you\u2019re dying at the hands of somebody else according to a company policy, that doesn\u2019t make it any less violent,\u2019 she said.\u201d \u2022 Interestingly, I can\u2019t find the \u201cRosemary\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?client=opera&q=%22looks+like+when+somebody+comes+up+at+you+with+a+gun+and+shoots?%22&sourceid=opera&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">quote<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/search?q=%22economic%20violence%22&src=typed_query&f=live\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">anywhere<\/a>.<\/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:\/\/skylab.cdph.ca.gov\/calwws\/\" 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, thump, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3). <\/p>\n<p>Stay safe out there!<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"table\"\/><strong>TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody wp_automatic_readability=\"11.314341846758\">\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Wastewater<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.625\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> This week[1] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> December 30<\/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\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284945\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-300x187.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\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284797\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4-300x211.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6521739130435\">\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> December 21<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> <strong>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> December 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-cdc-variants-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284307\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1-300x177.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-er-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284672\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-er-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-er-natl-1-300x172.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=\"4.7560975609756\">\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 January 7:<\/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> Janurary 2, 2005:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"344\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285202\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-2-300x172.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/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\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284942\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-296x300.png 296w\" 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=\"2.5294117647059\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> National[7] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/healthcare-solutions\/covid-19-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a> January 6:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Ohio[8] <a href=\"https:\/\/clevelandcliniclabs.com\/respiratory-virus-surveillance-statistics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cleveland Clinic<\/a> January 4:<\/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\/2025\/01\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"340\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285160\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1-300x170.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"428\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285157\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-1-300x214.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (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=\"3.5932203389831\">\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> December 16:<\/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> December 16<\/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\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284943\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-300x184.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\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284944\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-300x212.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=\"3.7647058823529\">\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 20:<\/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 20:<\/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-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284304\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl-1-300x161.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-deaths-ed-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284303\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-ed-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-ed-natl-1-300x183.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<td wp_automatic_readability=\"150.79001542999\">\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) Seeing more red and more orange, but nothing new at major hubs. <\/p>\n<p>[2] (CDC) Last week\u2019s wastewater map.<\/p>\n<p>[3] (CDC Variants) XEC takes over. That WHO label, \u201cOmmicron,\u201d has done a great job normalizing successive waves of infection.<\/p>\n<p>[4] (ED) A little uptick.<\/p>\n<p>[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Definitely jumped.<\/p>\n<p>[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[7] (Walgreens) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[8] (Cleveland) Continued upward trend since, well, Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n<p>[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[10] (Travelers: Variants). Positivity is new, but variants have not yet been released.<\/p>\n<p>[11] Deaths low, positivity leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[12] Deaths low, ED leveling out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stats Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Employment situation: \u201cUnited States Initial Jobless Claims\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/jobless-claims\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cInitial jobless claims in the US decreased by 10,000 from the previous week to 201,000 in the week ending January 4, the lowest in eleven months and contrasting with the expected increase to 218,000.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vehicle Sales: \u201cUnited States Total Vehicle Sales\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/total-vehicle-sales\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cTotal Vehicle Sales in the United States increased to 16.80 Million in December from 16.65 Million in November of 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cChecks find no issues with Boeing 737-800 jets in S\u2019pore after fatal Jeju Air crash\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/politics\/checks-find-no-issues-with-boeing-737-800-jets-in-spore-after-fatal-jeju-air-crash\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Straits Times<\/a>]. \u201cChecks by the Singapore authorities in the wake of the deadly Jeju Air crash in December have found no anomalies or reliability issues in the fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft here, said Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat on Jan 8. This is the same aircraft model as the plane that smashed into a concrete structure housing navigational equipment at the end of a runway at Muan International Airport in South Korea, on Dec 29, 2024, killing 179 people on board.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cProblematic parts discovered in several Boeing passenger planes\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.king5.com\/article\/tech\/science\/aerospace\/boeing\/problematic-parts-discovered-boeing-passenger-planes-renton\/281-ffeec885-aa8d-4c37-9d6b-bb1507a518a1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">KING5<\/a>]. \u201cOn Wednesday, internal Boeing sources told KING 5 there was a slowdown in Renton\u2019s 737-MAX assembly line because of defective electrical junction boxes. Executive Director of Boeing\u2019s engineering union Ray Goforth confirmed in a statement that there was a problem with the junction boxes and it slowed or stopped production. However, he was unaware of how significant the slowdown was. The MAX passenger plane has miles of electrical wiring and while it\u2019s unclear which junction box is impacted, Aviation Expert John Nance said fixing the problem is imperative. \u2018If it is a generic situation with a number of these boxes being found to be less than they should then it has to be addressed, there\u2019s no question about it,\u2019 said Nance. Boeing describes the items as non-conforming components and said despite this problem, production continues in the Renton factory.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"ai\"\/>Tech: \u201cThe AI hype bubble is the new crypto hype bubble\u201d [Cory Doctorow, <a href=\"https:\/\/pluralistic.net\/2023\/03\/09\/autocomplete-worshippers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Pluralistic<\/a>]. \u201cAs [Emily M Bender, a computational linguistics specialist at UW] says, we\u2019ve made \u2018machines that can mindlessly generate text, but we haven\u2019t learned how to stop imagining the mind behind it.\u2019 One potential tonic against this fallacy is to follow an Italian MP\u2019s suggestion and replace \u2018AI\u2019 with \u2018SALAMI\u2019 (\u2018Systematic Approaches to Learning Algorithms and Machine Inferences\u2019). It\u2019s a lot easier to keep a clear head when someone asks you, \u2018Is this SALAMI intelligent? Can this SALAMI write a novel? Does this SALAMI deserve human rights?\u2019 Bender\u2019s most famous contribution is the \u2018stochastic parrot,\u2019 a construct that \u2018just probabilistically spits out words.\u2019 AI bros like Altman love the stochastic parrot, and are hellbent on reducing human beings to stochastic parrots, which will allow them to declare that their chatbots have feature-parity with human beings. At the same time, Altman and Co are strangely afraid of their creations. It\u2019s possible that this is just a shuck: \u2018I have made something so powerful that it could destroy humanity! Luckily, I am a wise steward of this thing, so it\u2019s fine. But boy, it sure is powerful!’\u201d \u2022\u00a0This is long, and fun, and worth a read, but I don\u2019t think it lives up to the headline. <\/p>\n<p>Tech: Khan is so fearless:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.9831932773109\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.621848739496\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">FTC Chair Khan discussing Meta’s rollback on fact-checking: Calls out the problem with a “single company or single executive” making decisions about everyone’s speech as a market issue and warns of “sweetheart deals” by execs w\/ Trump, especially ahead of Meta’s antitrust case <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LXKQt1OWYN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/LXKQt1OWYN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Zamaan Qureshi (@zamaan_qureshi) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/zamaan_qureshi\/status\/1876690600365301880\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>No doubt the Democrats will find a way to bury her.<\/p>\n<p>Tech: Enshittification proceeds apace:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.4864864864865\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"7.4594594594595\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It is utterly insane to me that waivers of the right to a jury trial and the right to participate in a class action have not been banned already. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DBg1KmLWEF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/DBg1KmLWEF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Basel Musharbash (@musharbash_b) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/musharbash_b\/status\/1876700090435305954\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center><br \/>\n<center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 33 Fear (previous close: 35 Fear) [<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/data\/fear-and-greed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. One week ago: 27 (Fear). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I wonder why the front page does not have the look of print:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.5172413793103\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"4.8551724137931\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Desire Dehau Reading a Newspaper in the Garden <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/artbots?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">#artbots<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/lautrec?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">#lautrec<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cUB37XRBZN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/cUB37XRBZN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Toulouse-Lautrec (@artistlautrec) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/artistlautrec\/status\/1875430231135113349\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Every so often I purchase a (paper) Financial Times and luxuriate in reading it. The experience is far, far superior to anything online, and the layout of the pages \u2014 something we\u2019ve had centuries of experience doing, after all \u2014 moves the eye to serendipitous encounters in a way that the web does not.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"zeitgeist\"\/><strong>Zeitgeist Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/this-is-fine.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"302\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285203\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/this-is-fine.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/this-is-fine-300x151.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Yikes (1):<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.4676258992806\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"7.0503597122302\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Palisades Fire from a flight arriving at LAX. <\/p>\n<p>Credit: Mark Viniello <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tN31WP5CFI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/tN31WP5CFI<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Nahel Belgherze (@WxNB_) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WxNB_\/status\/1876883139475161192\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Yikes (2):<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.5406091370558\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"7.258883248731\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">INFERNO: Terrifying new footage shows two men and a dog trapped in their home, as massive flames surround them.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PalisadeFire?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">#PalisadeFire<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/N2VomUGURY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/N2VomUGURY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Frum TikTok (@FrumTikTok) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FrumTikTok\/status\/1876848426391920956\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>If the fire makes it down off the mountain:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.2391304347826\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"11.021739130435\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">When homes are densely packed in alignment with the direction of strong fire-season winds, it is nearly almost impossible to cut enough brush to make the homes defensible. Fire burns from house to house, no longer a ‘brush fire’.<br \/>A neighborhood in the path of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PallisadesFire?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">#PallisadesFire<\/a>. 1\/4 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FrATUA37eH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/FrATUA37eH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Zeke Lunder ~ The Lookout (@wildland_zko) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wildland_zko\/status\/1876756672116334623\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Not a parking lot:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.0406976744186\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"6.1220930232558\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">LAFD is using a BULLDOZER to clear abandoned cars off Palisades Drive. Unreal. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PalisadesFire?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">#PalisadesFire<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/sM93Zud3q9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/sM93Zud3q9<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Scott Murphy (@ScottMurphyInLA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ScottMurphyInLA\/status\/1876763323615608995\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>My first thought is that people took their car keys with them, so their cars couldn\u2019t be moved, hence the bulldozer; but maybe there are no car keys anymore, just plastic fobs that would melt in the heat. Readers? (Shows you how much I drive, or am driven.)<\/p>\n<p>The sharing economy does its part:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"5.2477064220183\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"13.357798165138\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">To clarify, I called Airbnb to request help with rebooking accommodations farther from the danger zone. As always, their policies failed to account for context. The fires keep getting worse, and unfortunately, many others are probably stuck explaining bushfires to someone in\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ana Mostarac (@anammostarac) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/anammostarac\/status\/1876933238184419761\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Class warfare:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.4434389140271\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"7.3303167420814\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Thinking of the hundreds of incarcerated firefighters putting their bodies on the front lines of this Palisades fire and getting paid around $5 a day. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/WvFwFXQhGq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/WvFwFXQhGq<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Zara Rahim (@ZaraRahim) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ZaraRahim\/status\/1877005785424674964\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/despite-orders-free-prisoners-officials-cling-cheap-inmate-200148253.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Blast<\/a> from the past:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.9078947368421\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.421052631579\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Kamala Harris herself argued against releasing low-risk people from prison because, she said, it would reduce the firefighter workforce. (The only people eligible are basically people who are so low-risk they should be going home.) <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AO1MobbFGy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/AO1MobbFGy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jessica Pishko (@JessPish) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JessPish\/status\/1858342490207596806\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">November 18, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Just in case anybody thinks Democrats don\u2019t hate the working class.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"class\"\/><strong>Class Warfare<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSki patrollers reach deal to end strike at Utah\u2019s Park City Mountain Resort\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.seattletimes.com\/business\/ski-patrollers-reach-deal-to-end-strike-at-utahs-park-city-mountain-resort\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>]. \u201cSki patrollers at the biggest U.S. ski resort have reached a deal with Utah\u2019s Park City Mountain Resort to end a strike that put a wrench in operations during the busy holiday season and into the new year. A joint statement released by the executive board of the ski patrollers\u2019 union said a vote was scheduled for Wednesday on an agreement \u2018that addresses both parties\u2019 interests and will end the current strike. Everyone looks forward to restoring normal resort operations and moving forward together as one team,\u2019 it said. The deal would run through April 2027. No other details about it were released. About 200 ski patrollers went on strike on Dec. 27 over wages they said were too low for high living costs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"wired\"\/><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Evaporative Cooling Effect in Social Network\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.cornell.edu\/info2040\/2015\/10\/14\/the-evaporative-cooling-effect-in-social-network\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Bumblebee Labs<\/a>]. From the Abstract: \u201cThe Evaporative Cooling Effect describes the phenomenon that high value contributors leave a community because they cannot gain something from it, which leads to the decrease of the quality of the community. Since the people most likely to join a community are those whose quality is below the average quality of the community, these newcomers are very likely to harm the quality of the community. With the expansion of community, it is very hard to maintain the quality of the community.\u201d \u2022 Hmm.<\/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\/2025\/01\/200pm-water-cooler-1-2-2025.html\">here<\/a>. From SV:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/squirrel_2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"525\" height=\"1080\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/squirrel_2.jpeg 525w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/squirrel_2-146x300.jpeg 146w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/squirrel_2-498x1024.jpeg 498w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 525px) 100vw, 525px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>SV writes: \u201cEven a nearsighted Squirrel finds a pumpkin once in a while.\u201d<\/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\/guest-post\" rel=\"category tag\">Guest Post<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/category\/water-cooler\" rel=\"category tag\">Water Cooler<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2025\/01\/200pm-water-cooler-1-8-2025.html\" title=\"2:00 pm\" rel=\"bookmark\"><time class=\"entry-date updated\" datetime=\"2025-01-08T14:00:10-05:00\">January 8, 2025<\/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\/2025\/01\/chinas-government-bond-market-sounding-loud-deflationary-alarm-is-the-japanification-china-has-warded-off-finally-arriving.html\" rel=\"prev\"><span class=\"meta-nav\">\u2190<\/span> China\u2019s Government Bond Market Sounding Loud Deflationary Alarm. Is the Japanification China Has Warded Off Finally Arriving?<\/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\/2025\/01\/200pm-water-cooler-1-8-2025.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Bird Song of the Day Brown Thrasher, Powhatan State Park, Powhatan, Virginia, United States. \u201cThis bird was singing from the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":89440,"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-89439","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\/89439","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=89439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Brown Thrasher, Powhatan State Park, Powhatan, Virginia, United States. \u201cThis bird was singing from the same perch at 7:00 when I arrived; this recording was made at 10:00. It was still singing when I left.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/strong> <\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#zeitgeist\">LA Palisades Fire<\/a>: This is fine.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#trump\">Trump\u2019s pivot<\/a> to the Northern Hemisphere.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#vegas\">More weirdness<\/a> with the Vegas Tesla explosion.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"helper\"\/><strong>Look for the Helpers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This has happened to me:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"5.2429906542056\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"13.345794392523\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">My wife said some unidentified rando paid for her order at Starbucks (didn’t see the person).<\/p>\n<p>Her: I love when that happens!<br \/>Me: \u2047<br \/>Her: It happens sometimes<br \/>Me: No it does not, at least not to me or anyone I know<br \/>Her: It’s a random good deed thing<\/p>\n<p>Chat is this real? Do people\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jon Stokes (@jonst0kes) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jonst0kes\/status\/1876778036672237916\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>And then I paid it forward as well. Readers?<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>My email address is down by the plant; please send examples of there (\u201cHelpers\u201d in the subject line). In our increasingly desperate and fragile neoliberal society, everyday <em>normal<\/em> incidents and stories of \u201cthe communism of everyday life\u201d are what I am looking for (and not, say, the Red Cross in Hawaii, or even the UNWRA in Gaza).<\/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>Trump Transition<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"98.985048725137\">\n<p>\u201cTrump Imagines New Sphere of U.S. Influence Stretching From Panama to Greenland\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/PAWJS#selection-5689.0-5692.0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wall Street Journal<\/a>]. Trump\u2019s presser: \u201cPresident-elect Donald Trump\u2019s calls to take control of Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal reflect his fascination with a 21st-century version of an old idea\u2014that great powers should carve out spheres of influence and defend their economic and security interests by imposing their will on smaller neighbors. In a press conference Tuesday, Trump outlined a second-term foreign policy agenda that rests not on global alliances and free trade but on economic coercion and unilateral military might, even against allies. With the Panama Canal and Greenland, he suggested he could use force to take them over. With Canada, he suggested he would hit the U.S.\u2019s northern neighbor with extreme tariffs, leaving it no choice but to submit to annexation. \u2018Canada and the United States, that would really be something,\u2019 Trump said. \u2018You get rid of that artificially drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like and it would also be much better for national security.\u2019 Taking control of Greenland, Canada, and the Panama Canal through military or economic force would be a dramatic departure from decades of U.S. foreign policy as pursued by presidents of both parties.\u201d \u2022 This leaves out Mexico, oddly. I\u2019ll have more in a bit, but at first glance, I would speculate that Trump knows he\u2019s got to feed his rabid dog \u2014 the national security establishment \u2014 some meat. Otherwise, <em>he<\/em> will be its meat. Where is the meat to be found? Europe? Clearly not; Ukraine is lost. The Middle East? Letting them kill each other is one thing; boots on the ground are another. The pivot to Asia? With what? That leaves \u2014 and this would make James Monroe very happy \u2014 the north American hemisphere. Also, it may even be that Trump doesn\u2019t like to get people killed, and (modulo Mexico), seizing one vassal\u2019s territory (Greenland), invading Panama (we\u2019ve done it once), and working on splitting the Canadian Federation looks a lot less gruesome than a war on the Pacific Rim, say. Who knows? Could be just a headfake, though Trump did mention Greenland in 2020. Commentary:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6875\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.140625\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">If you wanted to destroy NATO, the most successful alliance in human history , threatening to invade 2 of your allies would be a good way to start.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Michael McFaul (@McFaul) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/McFaul\/status\/1876820982129676685\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>[TRUMP, thinking]: \u201cMcFaul says \u201cdestroy NATO like that\u2019s a bad thing. They don\u2019t pay their bills, do they?\u201d]<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo Avoid Fighting Large Conflicts Trump Is Creating Smaller Ones\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.moonofalabama.org\/2025\/01\/to-avoid-fighting-large-conflicts-trump-is-creating-smaller-ones.html#more\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Moon of Alabama<\/a>]. Trump\u2019s presser: \u201cTrump has thereby rejected the three potential conflicts, with Russia, China and Iran, that were long leading the headlines. He likely perceives that there is nothing to win in these. But as he has to provide some fodder for the media as well as for his MAGA followers he is instead coming up with new conflicts which might even turn out to be winnable.\u201d See above; I agree that the media and MAGA need \u201cfodder,\u201d but I think the national security establishment \u2014 The Blob \u2014 needs \u201cfodder\u201d most of all. More: \u201cIt reminds of Ronald Reagan who created minor conflicts, like in Grenada, to be free to make deals with the Soviet \u2018evil empire\u2019 Union\u2026. Trump wants to avoid the larger potential conflicts as they are too difficult to manage and win. He is instead creating his own small conflicts right next to the U.S. backyard. It is a nice trick and it may even see some success.\u201d \u2022 I don\u2019t love Trump, and I didn\u2019t like Reagan either. But at least Reagan didn\u2019t get into a proxy war with a nuclear power. <\/p>\n<p>Handy map:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.6163793103448\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"5.1724137931034\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Welcome to The Gulf Of America \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FVLo03SHJL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/FVLo03SHJL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bennyjohnson\/status\/1876674245809393775\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>To be fair, neither I nor b give an account of where an invasion of Mexico fits into this picture (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2025\/01\/nyt-lays-groundwork-for-trump-administrations-long-telegraphed-intervention-in-mexico.html\">see Nick\u2019s useful post here<\/a>). Here, I would speculate that Trump has to \u201cbig stick\u201d <em>some<\/em>body for credibility\u2019s sake, and Mexican Drug Lords are an unsympathetic target. A proper invasion of Mexico would look like the Philippine-American War of 1898. Or Vietnam. No doubt there are plenty of Blobbists who would enjoy that, but I don\u2019t think Trump needs to throw them meat\u2026 <\/p>\n<p>\u201cFetterman compares Trump\u2019s Greenland talk to Louisiana Purchase\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/international\/5073218-fetterman-compares-trumps-greenland-talk-to-louisiana-purchase\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hill<\/a>]. \u201c\u2018There\u2019s a lot of talk about Greenland, for example, and \u2026 there\u2019s a lot of freak-outs and of course, I would never support taking it by force,\u2019 Fetterman said. He continued, noting it would be a \u2018responsible conversation\u2019 to discuss acquisition, including \u2018just buying it out.\u2019 \u2018If anyone thinks that\u2019s bonkers, it\u2019s like, well, remember the Louisiana Purchase?\u2019 Fetterman said.\u201d \u2022 Is he wrong?<\/p>\n<p>The tech bro angle:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.8429487179487\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"5.8974358974359\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">2\/ This is a reply to Dryden\u2019s post (above). Note Dryden\u2019s response. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0Fo5P8J9Mq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/0Fo5P8J9Mq<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 JennyCohn \u270d\ud83c\udffb \ud83d\udce2 (@jennycohn1) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jennycohn1\/status\/1877052206311993720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center><br \/>\n<center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>O Canada! I shouldn\u2019t really post this\u2026<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.0357142857143\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.3142857142857\">\n<p lang=\"qme\" dir=\"ltr\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FJ8KeGRhFA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/FJ8KeGRhFA<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jared (@Nsfwacct739014) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Nsfwacct739014\/status\/1876681631681151239\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u2026 but frame 4 made me laugh out loud (though is there some local color I should be aware of here? Canadian readers?)<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cDonald Trump shares video of Jeffrey Sachs accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of warmongering\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jfeed.com\/news-israel\/sprotr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">JFeed<\/a>]. Certainly not on my Bingo card! And: \u201cTrump\u2019s decision to post this video, assuming he listening to the video rather than just reading the text, which makes no mention of Netanyahu, points to some possibly serious tensions between Israel and the incoming administration regarding whether or not to use military force against Iran for fear it would lead to a general war.\u201d \u2022 Or maybe it\u2019s simpler. Perhaps \u201cNever sh*t a sh*tter\u201d is a motto Trump knows and believes. Anyhow, here\u2019s Trump\u2019s post from Truth Social:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.5418994413408\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.7402234636872\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Trump just reposted a video explaining that the wars in Iraq and Syria were manufactured by Netanyahu and had nothing to do with democracy. <br \/>\u201cNetanyahu is still trying to get us to fight Iran to this day. He is a deep dark son of a bitch because he’s gotten us into endless wars\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VfiI2UPD8p\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/VfiI2UPD8p<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Talha Ahmad (@talhaahmad967) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/talhaahmad967\/status\/1876824140520276232\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Haaretz, though later, has the better headline\u2013<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018A Deep, Dark Son of a Bitch\u2019: Trump Posts Video of Historian Criticizing Netanyahu\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/zfhRy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Haaretz<\/a>]. \u201d U.S. President-elect Donald Trump shared a video of contentious economics professor Jeffrey Sachs describing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as \u201ca deep, dark son of a bitch\u201d responsible for orchestrating U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Trump\u2019s sharing of the video on Truth Social highlights the President-elect\u2019s questionable sources of information on policy matters and his role in amplifying contentious historical interpretations via his unprecedented platform.\u201d \u2022 What an idiotic comment by Haaretz, throwing Jeffrey Sachs into the \u201cquestionable sources of information\u201d bucket, code for anti-semitic, though Haaretz leave it to others to unpack the code: \u201cSachs, an outspoken critic of the Israeli government, recently earned criticism from senior Israeli officials like Diaspora Affairs Minister, Amichai Chikli, following his appearance on the Tucker Carlson Show. Chikli implied that Sachs was part of a guest roster including \u2018fringe Holocaust deniers, conspiracy theorists, and blood libel enthusiasts who oppose the State of Israel.’\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.israelnationalnews.com\/news\/401053\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Chikli is a real piece of work<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Lawfare<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"10.861743912019\">\n<p>\u201cJustice Department says it plans to release only part of special counsel\u2019s Trump report for now\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.seattletimes.com\/nation-world\/nation\/justice-department-says-it-plans-to-release-only-part-of-special-counsels-trump-report-for-now\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>]. \u201cThe Justice Department said Wednesday that it intends to release special counsel Jack Smith\u2019s findings on Donald Trump\u2019s efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election but will keep under wraps for now the rest of the report focused on the president-elect\u2019s hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate\u2026 The announcement lessens the likelihood that the report on the classified documents investigation, which of all inquiries against Trump had once seemed to carry the greatest legal threat, would ever be released given that the Trump Justice Department almost certainly will not make the document public even after the case against Nauta and De Oliveira is resolved.\u201d And the norms: \u201cSmith\u2019s team abandoned both cases in November after Trump\u2019s presidential victory, citing Justice Department policy that prohibits the federal prosecutions of sitting presidents. Justice Department regulations call for special counsels appointed by the attorney general to submit a confidential report at the conclusion of their investigations. It\u2019s then up to the attorney general to decide what to make public.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Democrats <em>en d\u00e9shabill\u00e9<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"13.535228677379\">\n<p>One more reason to hate the Democrats:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.4383561643836\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"7.3150684931507\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It’s increasingly difficult to claim that the Democratic Party is merely incompetent and not actively malevolent. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0G4YvkNfN1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/0G4YvkNfN1<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Holding Dems Accountable (From the Left!) (@PushBidenLeft) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PushBidenLeft\/status\/1876767996389007774\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Khanna is wrong, absurdly wrong. This is in no sense an \u201cunforced error\u201d by Democrats (who, as Thomas Frank reminds us in <em>Listen, Liberal!<\/em>, hate the working class). Instead, it is elegant and successful maneuvering to evade accountability, rather like ObamaCare writ small. Sirota comments:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.2549019607843\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"11.062745098039\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">So\u2026Kamala Harris coulda broken the tie on the NLRB vote, but she wasn’t there to cast the vote, and her brother-in-law is the chief counsel of Uber, which has tangled with the NLRB. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/CwYJlnedeo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/CwYJlnedeo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 David Sirota (@davidsirota) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/davidsirota\/status\/1876808691044831445\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Realignment and Legitimacy<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"14.861440291705\">\n<p><a name=\"vegas\"\/>About Shawn Ryan, the \u201cwhistleblower\u201d who released Livelsberger\u2019s email manifesto:<\/p>\n<p>Shot:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.4984756097561\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.3292682926829\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The only fraud here is you <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SebGorka\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">@SebGorka<\/a> <br \/>FBI has confirmed the email sent to my podcast was from Matthew Livelsberger.<\/p>\n<p>Ladies and Gentleman I present you with your new \u201cDirector of Counter Terrorism\u201d who seems to lack discernment. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LIdmcEfOgn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/LIdmcEfOgn<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/96AiIcjnes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/96AiIcjnes<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Shawn Ryan (@ShawnRyan762) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnRyan762\/status\/1876768148629704932\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Chaser:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.21875\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"6.3392857142857\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Shawn Ryan is a cia contractor <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ByGonJ05Yd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/ByGonJ05Yd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Dr.Ahmed A.,MD,ABPsych (@Ah_Magus) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Ah_Magus\/status\/1876792469590786477\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Saying \u201cthe FBI confirmed\u2026\u201d is a lot like saying \u201cA Ukrainian spokesman confirmed\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cNation\u2019s anger at insurance \u2018injustice’\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/global.chinadaily.com.cn\/a\/202501\/08\/WS677de2c3a310f1265a1d9a12.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">China Daily<\/a>]. \u201c[Rosemary:] \u201c\u2018My generation has discussed about not just what violence looks like when somebody comes up at you with a gun and shoots you, but more about economic violence. If you\u2019re dying at the hands of somebody else according to a company policy, that doesn\u2019t make it any less violent,\u2019 she said.\u201d \u2022 Interestingly, I can\u2019t find the \u201cRosemary\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?client=opera&q=%22looks+like+when+somebody+comes+up+at+you+with+a+gun+and+shoots?%22&sourceid=opera&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">quote<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/search?q=%22economic%20violence%22&src=typed_query&f=live\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">anywhere<\/a>.<\/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:\/\/skylab.cdph.ca.gov\/calwws\/\" 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, thump, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3). <\/p>\n<p>Stay safe out there!<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"table\"\/><strong>TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody wp_automatic_readability=\"11.314341846758\">\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Wastewater<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.625\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> This week[1] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> December 30<\/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\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284945\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-300x187.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\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284797\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4-300x211.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6521739130435\">\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> December 21<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> <strong>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> December 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-cdc-variants-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284307\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1-300x177.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-er-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284672\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-er-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-er-natl-1-300x172.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=\"4.7560975609756\">\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 January 7:<\/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> Janurary 2, 2005:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"344\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285202\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-2-300x172.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/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\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284942\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-296x300.png 296w\" 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=\"2.5294117647059\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> National[7] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/healthcare-solutions\/covid-19-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a> January 6:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Ohio[8] <a href=\"https:\/\/clevelandcliniclabs.com\/respiratory-virus-surveillance-statistics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cleveland Clinic<\/a> January 4:<\/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\/2025\/01\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"340\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285160\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1-300x170.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"428\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285157\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-1-300x214.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (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=\"3.5932203389831\">\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> December 16:<\/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> December 16<\/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\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284943\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-300x184.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\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284944\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-300x212.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=\"3.7647058823529\">\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 20:<\/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 20:<\/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-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284304\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl-1-300x161.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-deaths-ed-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-284303\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-ed-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/covid-cdc-deaths-ed-natl-1-300x183.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<td wp_automatic_readability=\"150.79001542999\">\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) Seeing more red and more orange, but nothing new at major hubs. <\/p>\n<p>[2] (CDC) Last week\u2019s wastewater map.<\/p>\n<p>[3] (CDC Variants) XEC takes over. That WHO label, \u201cOmmicron,\u201d has done a great job normalizing successive waves of infection.<\/p>\n<p>[4] (ED) A little uptick.<\/p>\n<p>[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Definitely jumped.<\/p>\n<p>[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[7] (Walgreens) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[8] (Cleveland) Continued upward trend since, well, Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n<p>[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[10] (Travelers: Variants). Positivity is new, but variants have not yet been released.<\/p>\n<p>[11] Deaths low, positivity leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[12] Deaths low, ED leveling out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stats Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Employment situation: \u201cUnited States Initial Jobless Claims\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/jobless-claims\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cInitial jobless claims in the US decreased by 10,000 from the previous week to 201,000 in the week ending January 4, the lowest in eleven months and contrasting with the expected increase to 218,000.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vehicle Sales: \u201cUnited States Total Vehicle Sales\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/total-vehicle-sales\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cTotal Vehicle Sales in the United States increased to 16.80 Million in December from 16.65 Million in November of 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cChecks find no issues with Boeing 737-800 jets in S\u2019pore after fatal Jeju Air crash\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/politics\/checks-find-no-issues-with-boeing-737-800-jets-in-spore-after-fatal-jeju-air-crash\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Straits Times<\/a>]. \u201cChecks by the Singapore authorities in the wake of the deadly Jeju Air crash in December have found no anomalies or reliability issues in the fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft here, said Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat on Jan 8. This is the same aircraft model as the plane that smashed into a concrete structure housing navigational equipment at the end of a runway at Muan International Airport in South Korea, on Dec 29, 2024, killing 179 people on board.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cProblematic parts discovered in several Boeing passenger planes\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.king5.com\/article\/tech\/science\/aerospace\/boeing\/problematic-parts-discovered-boeing-passenger-planes-renton\/281-ffeec885-aa8d-4c37-9d6b-bb1507a518a1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">KING5<\/a>]. \u201cOn Wednesday, internal Boeing sources told KING 5 there was a slowdown in Renton\u2019s 737-MAX assembly line because of defective electrical junction boxes. Executive Director of Boeing\u2019s engineering union Ray Goforth confirmed in a statement that there was a problem with the junction boxes and it slowed or stopped production. However, he was unaware of how significant the slowdown was. The MAX passenger plane has miles of electrical wiring and while it\u2019s unclear which junction box is impacted, Aviation Expert John Nance said fixing the problem is imperative. \u2018If it is a generic situation with a number of these boxes being found to be less than they should then it has to be addressed, there\u2019s no question about it,\u2019 said Nance. Boeing describes the items as non-conforming components and said despite this problem, production continues in the Renton factory.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"ai\"\/>Tech: \u201cThe AI hype bubble is the new crypto hype bubble\u201d [Cory Doctorow, <a href=\"https:\/\/pluralistic.net\/2023\/03\/09\/autocomplete-worshippers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Pluralistic<\/a>]. \u201cAs [Emily M Bender, a computational linguistics specialist at UW] says, we\u2019ve made \u2018machines that can mindlessly generate text, but we haven\u2019t learned how to stop imagining the mind behind it.\u2019 One potential tonic against this fallacy is to follow an Italian MP\u2019s suggestion and replace \u2018AI\u2019 with \u2018SALAMI\u2019 (\u2018Systematic Approaches to Learning Algorithms and Machine Inferences\u2019). It\u2019s a lot easier to keep a clear head when someone asks you, \u2018Is this SALAMI intelligent? Can this SALAMI write a novel? Does this SALAMI deserve human rights?\u2019 Bender\u2019s most famous contribution is the \u2018stochastic parrot,\u2019 a construct that \u2018just probabilistically spits out words.\u2019 AI bros like Altman love the stochastic parrot, and are hellbent on reducing human beings to stochastic parrots, which will allow them to declare that their chatbots have feature-parity with human beings. At the same time, Altman and Co are strangely afraid of their creations. It\u2019s possible that this is just a shuck: \u2018I have made something so powerful that it could destroy humanity! Luckily, I am a wise steward of this thing, so it\u2019s fine. But boy, it sure is powerful!’\u201d \u2022\u00a0This is long, and fun, and worth a read, but I don\u2019t think it lives up to the headline. <\/p>\n<p>Tech: Khan is so fearless:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.9831932773109\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.621848739496\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">FTC Chair Khan discussing Meta’s rollback on fact-checking: Calls out the problem with a “single company or single executive” making decisions about everyone’s speech as a market issue and warns of “sweetheart deals” by execs w\/ Trump, especially ahead of Meta’s antitrust case <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LXKQt1OWYN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/LXKQt1OWYN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Zamaan Qureshi (@zamaan_qureshi) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/zamaan_qureshi\/status\/1876690600365301880\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>No doubt the Democrats will find a way to bury her.<\/p>\n<p>Tech: Enshittification proceeds apace:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.4864864864865\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"7.4594594594595\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It is utterly insane to me that waivers of the right to a jury trial and the right to participate in a class action have not been banned already. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DBg1KmLWEF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/DBg1KmLWEF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Basel Musharbash (@musharbash_b) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/musharbash_b\/status\/1876700090435305954\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center><br \/>\n<center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 33 Fear (previous close: 35 Fear) [<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/data\/fear-and-greed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. One week ago: 27 (Fear). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I wonder why the front page does not have the look of print:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.5172413793103\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"4.8551724137931\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Desire Dehau Reading a Newspaper in the Garden <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/artbots?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">#artbots<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/lautrec?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">#lautrec<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cUB37XRBZN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/cUB37XRBZN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Toulouse-Lautrec (@artistlautrec) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/artistlautrec\/status\/1875430231135113349\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Every so often I purchase a (paper) Financial Times and luxuriate in reading it. The experience is far, far superior to anything online, and the layout of the pages \u2014 something we\u2019ve had centuries of experience doing, after all \u2014 moves the eye to serendipitous encounters in a way that the web does not.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"zeitgeist\"\/><strong>Zeitgeist Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/this-is-fine.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"302\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285203\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/this-is-fine.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/this-is-fine-300x151.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Yikes (1):<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.4676258992806\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"7.0503597122302\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Palisades Fire from a flight arriving at LAX. <\/p>\n<p>Credit: Mark Viniello <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tN31WP5CFI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/tN31WP5CFI<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Nahel Belgherze (@WxNB_) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WxNB_\/status\/1876883139475161192\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Yikes (2):<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.5406091370558\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"7.258883248731\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">INFERNO: Terrifying new footage shows two men and a dog trapped in their home, as massive flames surround them.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PalisadeFire?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">#PalisadeFire<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/N2VomUGURY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/N2VomUGURY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Frum TikTok (@FrumTikTok) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FrumTikTok\/status\/1876848426391920956\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>If the fire makes it down off the mountain:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.2391304347826\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"11.021739130435\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">When homes are densely packed in alignment with the direction of strong fire-season winds, it is nearly almost impossible to cut enough brush to make the homes defensible. Fire burns from house to house, no longer a ‘brush fire’.<br \/>A neighborhood in the path of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PallisadesFire?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">#PallisadesFire<\/a>. 1\/4 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FrATUA37eH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/FrATUA37eH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Zeke Lunder ~ The Lookout (@wildland_zko) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wildland_zko\/status\/1876756672116334623\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Not a parking lot:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.0406976744186\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"6.1220930232558\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">LAFD is using a BULLDOZER to clear abandoned cars off Palisades Drive. Unreal. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PalisadesFire?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">#PalisadesFire<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/sM93Zud3q9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/sM93Zud3q9<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Scott Murphy (@ScottMurphyInLA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ScottMurphyInLA\/status\/1876763323615608995\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>My first thought is that people took their car keys with them, so their cars couldn\u2019t be moved, hence the bulldozer; but maybe there are no car keys anymore, just plastic fobs that would melt in the heat. Readers? (Shows you how much I drive, or am driven.)<\/p>\n<p>The sharing economy does its part:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"5.2477064220183\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"13.357798165138\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">To clarify, I called Airbnb to request help with rebooking accommodations farther from the danger zone. As always, their policies failed to account for context. The fires keep getting worse, and unfortunately, many others are probably stuck explaining bushfires to someone in\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ana Mostarac (@anammostarac) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/anammostarac\/status\/1876933238184419761\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Class warfare:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.4434389140271\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"7.3303167420814\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Thinking of the hundreds of incarcerated firefighters putting their bodies on the front lines of this Palisades fire and getting paid around $5 a day. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/WvFwFXQhGq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/WvFwFXQhGq<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Zara Rahim (@ZaraRahim) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ZaraRahim\/status\/1877005785424674964\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/despite-orders-free-prisoners-officials-cling-cheap-inmate-200148253.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Blast<\/a> from the past:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.9078947368421\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.421052631579\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Kamala Harris herself argued against releasing low-risk people from prison because, she said, it would reduce the firefighter workforce. (The only people eligible are basically people who are so low-risk they should be going home.) <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AO1MobbFGy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/AO1MobbFGy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jessica Pishko (@JessPish) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JessPish\/status\/1858342490207596806\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">November 18, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Just in case anybody thinks Democrats don\u2019t hate the working class.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"class\"\/><strong>Class Warfare<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSki patrollers reach deal to end strike at Utah\u2019s Park City Mountain Resort\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.seattletimes.com\/business\/ski-patrollers-reach-deal-to-end-strike-at-utahs-park-city-mountain-resort\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>]. \u201cSki patrollers at the biggest U.S. ski resort have reached a deal with Utah\u2019s Park City Mountain Resort to end a strike that put a wrench in operations during the busy holiday season and into the new year. A joint statement released by the executive board of the ski patrollers\u2019 union said a vote was scheduled for Wednesday on an agreement \u2018that addresses both parties\u2019 interests and will end the current strike. Everyone looks forward to restoring normal resort operations and moving forward together as one team,\u2019 it said. The deal would run through April 2027. No other details about it were released. About 200 ski patrollers went on strike on Dec. 27 over wages they said were too low for high living costs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"wired\"\/><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Evaporative Cooling Effect in Social Network\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.cornell.edu\/info2040\/2015\/10\/14\/the-evaporative-cooling-effect-in-social-network\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Bumblebee Labs<\/a>]. From the Abstract: \u201cThe Evaporative Cooling Effect describes the phenomenon that high value contributors leave a community because they cannot gain something from it, which leads to the decrease of the quality of the community. Since the people most likely to join a community are those whose quality is below the average quality of the community, these newcomers are very likely to harm the quality of the community. With the expansion of community, it is very hard to maintain the quality of the community.\u201d \u2022 Hmm.<\/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\/2025\/01\/200pm-water-cooler-1-2-2025.html\">here<\/a>. From SV:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/squirrel_2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"525\" height=\"1080\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/squirrel_2.jpeg 525w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/squirrel_2-146x300.jpeg 146w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/squirrel_2-498x1024.jpeg 498w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 525px) 100vw, 525px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>SV writes: \u201cEven a nearsighted Squirrel finds a pumpkin once in a while.\u201d<\/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\/guest-post\" rel=\"category tag\">Guest Post<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/category\/water-cooler\" rel=\"category tag\">Water Cooler<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2025\/01\/200pm-water-cooler-1-8-2025.html\" title=\"2:00 pm\" rel=\"bookmark\"><time class=\"entry-date updated\" datetime=\"2025-01-08T14:00:10-05:00\">January 8, 2025<\/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\/2025\/01\/chinas-government-bond-market-sounding-loud-deflationary-alarm-is-the-japanification-china-has-warded-off-finally-arriving.html\" rel=\"prev\"><span class=\"meta-nav\">\u2190<\/span> China\u2019s Government Bond Market Sounding Loud Deflationary Alarm. Is the Japanification China Has Warded Off Finally Arriving?<\/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. 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Bird Song of the Day Brown Thrasher, Powhatan State Park, Powhatan, Virginia, United States. \u201cThis bird was singing from the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":89440,"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-89439","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\/89439","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=89439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}