{"id":89797,"date":"2025-01-17T02:31:10","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T02:31:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/17\/200pm-water-cooler-1-16-2025-naked-capitalism\/"},"modified":"2025-01-17T02:31:10","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T02:31:10","slug":"200pm-water-cooler-1-16-2025-naked-capitalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/17\/200pm-water-cooler-1-16-2025-naked-capitalism\/","title":{"rendered":"2:00PM Water Cooler 1\/16\/2025 | naked capitalism"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div wp_automatic_readability=\"559.80653894664\">\n<p><em><strong>By Lambert Strether of Corrente.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Patient readers, brunch ran disgracefully late today, and so I will try to deliver a not-disgracefully thin Water Cooler, but it won\u2019t be immediately. In the meantime, talk amongst yourselves! \u2013lambert<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bird Song of the Day<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/macaulaylibrary.org\/asset\/616134308\/embed\" height=\"431\" width=\"640\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Brown Thrasher, Sully Woodlands, Fairfax, Virginia, United States. I swear I hear an airplane, somewhere in the mix.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/strong> <\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#bessent\">Treasury nominee Bessent<\/a> under fire?<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#rednote\">RedNote\u2019s moment<\/a> to pass?<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#wired\">Infantry<\/a> in battle.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital.\u201d \u2013Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Biden Administration<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"23.824726134585\">\n<p>\u201cWhy Biden May Matter\u201d [David Leonhardt, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/15\/briefing\/joe-biden-legacy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York Times<\/a>]. \u201cone major part of Biden\u2019s agenda has a decent chance of surviving. It was the idea that animated much of the legislation he signed \u2014 namely, that the federal government should take a more active role in both assisting and regulating the private sector than it did for much of the previous half-century. This idea has yet to acquire a simple name. The historian Gary Gerstle has called it the end of the neoliberal order. Felicia Wong and her colleagues at the Roosevelt Institute, a liberal think tank, have used the term \u2018a new economics.\u2019 Jake Sullivan, a top Biden adviser, has referred to it as a new consensus. I\u2019ve described it as part of a new centrism. The philosophy didn\u2019t originate with Biden, but he meaningfully shifted the country toward it, first as a candidate in 2020 and then as president. He moved the Democratic Party away from decades of support for trade liberalization and imposed tariffs on China. He pursued an industrial policy to build up sectors important to national security (like semiconductors) or future prosperity (like clean energy). And his administration was more aggressive about restraining corporate power than any in decades, blocking mergers, cracking down on \u2018junk fees\u2019 and regulating drug prices\u2026. Trump will surely undo major parts of the Biden agenda, especially on climate change and some aspects of corporate regulation. In other ways, though, Trump is part of the shift away from neoliberalism. He romped through the 2016 Republican primaries partly because he was more hostile to trade, China and cuts to Medicare and Social Security than other Republican politicians. Some of Trump\u2019s second-term nominees, including for labor secretary and head of the Justice Department\u2019s antitrust division, are hardly small-government neoliberals. Neither is Vice President-elect JD Vance.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a name=\"trump\"\/>Trump Transition<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"41.644444444444\">\n<p><a name=\"bessent\"\/>\u201cTreasury pick Scott Bessent and Trump transition team deny allegations that he avoided taxes\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/congress\/live-blog\/senate-confirmation-hearings-trump-transition-live-updates-rcna186869#rcrd68705\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NBC News<\/a>]. That makes him smart. More: \u201cIn a new memo obtained by NBC News, Senate Finance Democratic tax staff found that Scott Bessent avoided over $950,000 of self-employment taxes. In a review of the Treasury Secretary nominee\u2019s tax returns from 2021, 2022, and 2023 and his financial disclosure form, the committee found that Bessent avoided paying $950,182 of SECA taxes (a tax on net earnings from self-employment as part of financing the social security and medicare trust funds) and SALT taxes (state and local). Despite IRS and Tax Court rulings that would require Bessent to pay SECA taxes, Bessent told the committee he maintains his position, which is that he was not liable for SECA taxes on income earned through his hedge fund, Key Square Group LP, since he was a \u2018state law limited partner.\u2019 The committee argued Bessent was \u2018actively involved\u2019 in his partnership at the hedge fund, and therefore, violated the Department of Treasury\u2019s own policies.\u201d \u2022 I can\u2019t speak to the tax issues involved. But surely this is for the IRS to decide, not the Committee?<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018Everyone\u2019s trying to kiss the ring\u2019: Trump\u2019s inauguration devours corporate cash, smashing records\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/01\/16\/trump-inauguration-corporate-donors-004242\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Politico<\/a>]. \u201cNot only are companies giving far larger amounts than they did to Trump\u2019s first inauguration \u2014 when they didn\u2019t have a firm grasp of how to handle misgivings about the mercurial politician \u2014 they\u2019re doing so in a far more public fashion, announcing the donations months before they have to be reported to federal regulators. \u2018The stigma of a Trump donation, which was out there to some degree eight years ago, is no longer there,\u201d said Brian Ballard, a longtime fundraiser for Trump who\u2019s raised money for the Presidential Inaugural Committee. \u2018Who knows what\u2019s going to happen two months from now? But for today, up and down, corporate America is solidly pro-Trump.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cRep. Rick Crawford expected to serve as House Intelligence chair\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/live-updates\/2025\/01\/16\/congress\/crawford-to-be-named-house-intel-chair-00198644\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Politico<\/a>]. \u201cJohnson on Wednesday removed former Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio) in a move that stunned even some Republicans on the panel. Now he has told people that he intends to replace him with [Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.)], a low-key veteran of the Intel panel\u2026 Crawford is the most senior Republican on the committee and viewed as a less hawkish pick than Turner. He also holds more MAGA-friendly credentials \u2014 representing a deep red district in Arkansas and voting against Ukraine aid last year\u2026. But Turner enraged the hard right over the chaotic reauthorization of a sweeping surveillance bill last year\u2026. Johnson, who has sole discretion in choosing the panel\u2019s chair, cited Trump as a reason for the ouster.\u201d \u2022 Hmm.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Realignment and Legitimacy<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"14.195402298851\">\n<p><a name=\"rednote\"\/>[sigh]:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.4728033472803\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"7.418410041841\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">allegedly they&#8217;re dividing the rednote servers into mainland and foreigner next week and people are making really sad posts about it \ud83d\ude41 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/668O9Yfd6b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/668O9Yfd6b<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 \ud83e\udd49 Pipkin Pippa \ud83d\udd0c\ud83d\udc30 Phase-Connect (@pipkinpippa) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/pipkinpippa\/status\/1879620307088187482\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 15, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>For a brief shining moment, two hitherto entirely unmixed social media populations \u2014 American, Chinese \u2014 spontaneously interacting was the biggest story going (and gave me some hope for humanity). It couldn\u2019t last, sadly. (How unfortunate that there was no major American politician with the ability to interpret \u2014 maybe for the strategic purposes of the Democrat party, if any \u2014 the interactions between Chinese and American teenagers on social media for a wider audience, based on repeated, direct experience. Oh, wait\u2026.) <\/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&amp;list_select_county=all_counties&amp;data-type=Risk&amp;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&amp;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&amp;subtopic=recurring-updates&amp;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>Look for the Helpers<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"7\">\n<p>CR box makers:<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/cr_boxes-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"1062\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/cr_boxes-1.png 500w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/cr_boxes-1-141x300.png 141w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/cr_boxes-1-482x1024.png 482w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Though it\u2019s amazing we\u2019re still making CR boxes by hand, five years into the pandemic. What a market failure!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a name=\"mask\"\/>Maskstravaganza<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"4.4964028776978\">\n<p>They recommend when they should mandate. Nevertheless:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"5.7458563535912\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"14.14364640884\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Maryland Department of Health is re-recommending universal masking among other precautions due to rising hospitalizations for COVID and flu.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re in MD and have trouble with doctors masking you can inform them of this new recommendation. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/QYsN840epg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/QYsN840epg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Covid Caution \u2013 XEC, KP.3.1.1, LP.8.1, MC.1, LF.7 (@CovidCaution) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CovidCaution\/status\/1879714482395693110\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Vaccines<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"41.139254385965\">\n<p><del>I think<\/del>[T]hese arrows are moving in the wrong direction (except for Alaska, Connecticut, and Maine, good job):<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.848275862069\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.262068965517\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Just incredibly depressing that humans spent so long trying to invent cures to diseases, succeeded against the odds, and that progress is now being erased by a small number of people spreading misinformation. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Fq0Jn5AiI3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/Fq0Jn5AiI3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Michael Thomas (@curious_founder) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/curious_founder\/status\/1879238730621636873\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 14, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Measles are the \u201cM\u201d in MMR. In other words, the basics are under assault, not exotics recently added to the schedule.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey were warned; Picks and Shovels Chapter One\u201d [Cory Doctorow, <a href=\"https:\/\/pluralistic.net\/2025\/01\/13\/wanting-it-badly\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Pluralistic<\/a>]. \u201c[I]t\u2019s natural and right that in the world, there will be people who want to revisit the received wisdom and best practices for how we live our lives, regulate our economy, and organize our society. But not a license to simply throw out the systems we rely on. Sure, maybe they\u2019re outdated or unnecessary, but maybe not. That\u2019s where \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/G._K._Chesterton#Chesterton's_fence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Chesterton\u2019s Fence<\/a>\u201d comes in:<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"14\">\n<p>Let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, \u201cI don\u2019t see the use of this; let us clear it away.\u201d To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: \u201cIf you don\u2019t see the use of it, I certainly won\u2019t let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In other words, it\u2019s not enough to say, \u201cThis principle gets in the way of something I want to do, so let\u2019s throw it out because I\u2019m pretty sure the inconvenience I\u2019m experiencing is worse than the consequences of doing away with this principle.\u201d You need to have a theory of how you will prevent the harms the principle protects us from once you tear it down\u2026. When RFK Jr kills your kids with measles or permanently disables them with polio, he doesn\u2019t get to say \u201cI was just inquiring as to the efficacy of a longstanding measure, as is right and proper.\u201d He was told why the vaccine fence was there, and he came up with objectively very stupid reasons why that didn\u2019t matter, and then he killed your kids. He was warned.\u201d\u00a0And the same with Bill Clinton and Glass-Steagall. Ditto crytpo.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Transmission: Covid<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"11\">\n<p>About models:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/safety.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"982\" height=\"1360\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285601\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/safety.png 982w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/safety-217x300.png 217w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/safety-739x1024.png 739w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/safety-768x1064.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/safety-624x864.png 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 982px) 100vw, 982px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>This is why I give preference to data series that have run a long time, ideally since the beginning of the pandemic: They make the baseline clear. But more importantly, with Gregory, I deprecate being reactive (this goes for personal practice and for infection control). Establish your protocol and stick to it. If \u2014 and by \u201cif\u201d I mean \u201cwhen\u201d \u2014 <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Infection Control<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"11.264150943396\">\n<p>HOCL sounds really interesting; I wasn\u2019t aware:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.8957746478873\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"12.461971830986\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I just learned some cool facts:<\/p>\n<p>Old news:<br \/>Hypochlorous acid (HOCl) is a highly effective antimicrobial agent with a neutral to slightly acidic pH (4-6), making it safer for skin and surfaces while maintaining broad-spectrum activity. In contrast, bleach is highly alkaline (pH\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dOLmDqQVxW\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/dOLmDqQVxW<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Dr. Sean Mullen (@drseanmullen) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/drseanmullen\/status\/1879709343630885347\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>And this long thread:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/hocl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"485\" height=\"1902\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285603\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/hocl.png 485w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/hocl-261x1024.png 261w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/hocl-392x1536.png 392w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 485px) 100vw, 485px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>See the highlighted portion. Nukit is a good account, and granted, they are quoting the claims of another, but aren\u2019t some of the highlighted claims a little over-enthusiastic? Like \u201ctumor suppression\u201d?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\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=\"10.843373493976\">\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Wastewater<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6190476190476\">\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> January 10<\/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-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285430\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-1-300x200.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\/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><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6417910447761\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong> Variants<\/strong> [3] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/?utm_medium=email&amp;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> January 4<\/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\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-ed-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285314\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-ed-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-300x159.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Hospitalization<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.8961038961039\">\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 14:<\/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 9:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\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-ny-hospitalization-nyc-7.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"340\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285605\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-7.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-7-300x170.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (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-hospitalizaiton-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285315\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-hospitalizaiton-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-hospitalizaiton-natl-287x300.png 287w\" 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=\"2.5507246376812\">\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 13:<\/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-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285429\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-walgreens-positivity-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-walgreens-positivity-natl-300x189.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=\"310\" height=\"428\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285157\"\/><\/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 23:<\/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 23<\/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-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285316\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-1-300x183.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-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285317\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-1-300x211.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=\"3.7551020408163\">\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> January 4:<\/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> January 4:<\/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\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285313\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl-300x182.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-deaths-ed.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285312\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-deaths-ed.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-deaths-ed-300x184.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<td wp_automatic_readability=\"147.31058665691\">\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 rose by 14,000 from the previous week to 217,000 in the period ending January 11th, 2024, firmly above market expectations of 210,000 to mark a sharp bounce from the upwardly revised, 11-month low touched in the first week of January.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cUnited States Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/philadelphia-fed-manufacturing-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cThe Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index in the US climbed to 44.3 in January 2025, its highest since April 2021, from a revised reading of -10.9 in December and better than market forecasts of -5. This is the index\u2019s largest monthly increase since June 2020\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Retail: \u201cU.S. Retail Sales\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/retail-sales\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cRetail sales in the US increased 0.4% month-over-month in December 2024, the least in four months, compared to an upwardly revised 0.8% rise in November and below forecasts of 0.6%. Despite the slowdown, the figures continue to point to a robust consumer spending.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Tech: I guess Boeing\u2019s guy wasn\u2019t available?<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.4101123595506\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"11.466292134831\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Suchir Balaji worked as an engineer for Sam Altman building AI, until he decided that Altman was committing crimes. Balaji became a whistleblower, and soon after was found dead in his apartment. California authorities claim it was suicide. Crime scene photos clearly show a\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bVbiP8zShy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/bVbiP8zShy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TuckerCarlson\/status\/1879656459929063592\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 15, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s so hard to find decent help these days!<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear &amp; Greed Index: 30 Fear (previous close: 29 Fear) [<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/data\/fear-and-greed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. One week ago: 30 (Fear). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Jan 16 at 1:44:27 PM ET.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Musical Interlude<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Prince?!<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"5\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"12.5\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Prince performing a Led Zeppelin classic, Whole Lotta Love, live At The Aladdin, Las Vegas, in 2002. <\/p>\n<p>He was an incredible musician and a very underrated guitar player! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fMhhYkRfQi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/fMhhYkRfQi<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rock&#8217;n Roll of All (@rocknrollofall) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rocknrollofall\/status\/1879287989727273423\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 14, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"zeitgeist\"\/><strong>Zeitgeist Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Governance Failures That Fed the Los Angeles Wildfires\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/opinion\/the-governance-failures-that-fed-the-los-angeles-wildfires-ebfafdf3?st=HxLzK3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wall Street Journal<\/a>]. \u201cThere\u2019s no disputing Mother Nature\u2019s primary role in the devastation. The Santa Ana winds responsible for the wildfires begin north and east of Los Angeles in the Great Basin, which includes large sections of Utah and Nevada. As those winds travel south and west, coursing through the canyons and arroyos of Southern California, they drop in elevation and become warmer and dryer. This is nature, not man-made climate change, at work. It\u2019s been happening since long before Los Angeles was settled. What\u2019s changed isn\u2019t the predictability of the fires but rather the priorities and competence of those responsible for keeping people safe. Has the underbrush that fuels the fires been cleared? Have the forests been thinned? Are the reservoirs full and operational?\u2026 By Mr. Simon\u2019s estimates, there are two schools of thought on what\u2019s playing out in his state right now. \u201cOne is that this was really unusual, and nobody could have foreseen it. And the other school of thought, which I\u2019m a member of, is that you can\u2019t have a whole reservoir that is completely dry in a highly populated area with a long history of fires. There\u2019s a public-policy failure somewhere here. There\u2019s a direct connection between the negligence at the governmental level\u2014state, local, whatever\u2014and a lot of human suffering.\u201d The bigger problem, however, might be the insularity of the state\u2019s political establishment. Mr. Newsom and Ms. Bass are liberal Democrats, as are most of the lawmakers in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Republicans haven\u2019t won a statewide race in California since 2006\u2033 \u2022\u00a0Reading this carefully, I can agree with all of it <em>except<\/em>. This is nature, not man-made climate change. First, the real estate industry, which sites and soecs the houses, isn\u2019t part of \u201cnature\u201d (modulo an extremely holistic definition of nature). Second, I don\u2019t think <em>anything<\/em> is exempt from \u201cman-made climate change\u201d, which might, for example, cause an out-of-season Santa Ana. But at least we\u2019ve gor some thinking in layers, even if from the son of William Simon (Nixon\u2019s Treasury secretary). This seems not to be paywalled, and it\u2019s worth a read.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"guillotine\"\/><strong>Guillotine Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cNeil Gaiman denies sexual assault allegations: \u2018I don\u2019t accept there was any abuse&#8217;\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment-arts\/books\/story\/2025-01-15\/neil-gaiman-sexual-assault-abuse-response-denial\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Los Angeles Times<\/a>]. \u201cEight women accused the 64-year-old British scribe of assault, abuse and coercion in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vulture.com\/article\/neil-gaiman-allegations-controversy-amanda-palmer-sandman-madoc.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">article<\/a> published Monday\u201d (posted here). Gaiman: \u201d I\u2019m far from a perfect person, but I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever.\u201d \u2022 On reconsideration, the angle I came away with from the Monday article was how very badly the rather rich Gaiman and his wife Amanda Palmer treated the servants; withheld payment, prpmises not kept\u2026. \u201cThey were careless people, Tom and Daisy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBillionaire Robert Miller accused of being secret pedophile who preyed on girls as young as 11\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-14290287\/Billionaire-Robert-Miller-accused-pedophile.html?ns_mchannel=rss&amp;ns_campaign=1490\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Daily Mail<\/a>]. \u201cRobert Miller, 81, allegedly paid minors for sex between 1994 and 2006 and recruited them with the assistance of employees from his company, Future Electronics. This week, Quebec Superior Court Judge Catherine Pich\u00e9 ruled that a class action launched by three of Miller\u2019s alleged victims could proceed. \u2018These extremely serious acts allegedly took place over several years, when they were between the ages of 11 and 17,\u2019 she wrote in her decision, according to CBA. \u2018The court should not, at this stage, consider the merits of the dispute and it should take the facts as proven, unless they appear improbable or manifestly inaccurate.\u2019 The class action has been launched by three women who allege they were victims of Miller, and also targets Future Electronics. If the class action is successful, Miller could be ordered to hand over up to $150million in damages. Lawyer for the plaintiffs Jeff Orenstein told the court he\u2019d been approached by 51 alleged victims.\u201d \u2022 51? That\u2019s a lot. So is 8.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"wired\"\/><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Thread from historian <a href=\"https:\/\/kabinettskriege.blogspot.com\/p\/about-author.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Alexander Burns<\/a> on his new book, <em>Infantry in Battle<\/em>, 1733-1783:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/burns.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"487\" height=\"1336\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285604\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/burns.png 487w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/burns-109x300.png 109w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/burns-373x1024.png 373w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 487px) 100vw, 487px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>See the highlighted portion at the end. I wonder if that\u2019s true in Ukraine today? Or, for that matter, Gaza?<\/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-1-14-2025.html\">here<\/a>. From mrsyk:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/plum_tomato.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1440\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285598\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/plum_tomato.jpeg 1080w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/plum_tomato-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/plum_tomato-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/plum_tomato-624x832.jpeg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Mrsyk writes: \u201cThis plum tomato has been frozen through a couple times now. What a color.\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 &amp; 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 &amp; Email\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- .entry-content --><\/p>\n<footer class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t\tThis entry was posted in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/category\/water-cooler\" rel=\"category tag\">Water Cooler<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2025\/01\/200pm-water-cooler-1-16-2025.html\" title=\"2:00 pm\" rel=\"bookmark\"><time class=\"entry-date updated\" datetime=\"2025-01-16T14:00:20-05:00\">January 16, 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.&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<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\/evaluating-the-risks-of-engineered-viruses-and-bacteria-aka-mirror-life.html\" rel=\"prev\"><span class=\"meta-nav\">\u2190<\/span> Evaluating the Risks of Engineered Viruses and Bacteria, aka  \u2018Mirror Life\u2019<\/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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Patient readers, brunch ran disgracefully late today, and so I will try to deliver a not-disgracefully thin Water Cooler, but<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":89798,"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-89797","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\/89797","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=89797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}