\n<\/p>\n
Bird Song of the Day<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Brown Thrasher, May 2024 Rondeau PP\u2013South Point Trail East, Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada. Same location as yesterday, but different birds and even more lively.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/strong> <\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#january6\">January 6<\/a> pardons.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#doge\">DOGE<\/a> Executive orders.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#mask\">Improving surgical masks <\/a> (many methods).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/strong> <\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#january6\">January 6<\/a> pardons.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#doge\">DOGE<\/a> Executive orders.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#mask\">Improving surgical masks <\/a> (many methods).<\/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>Capitol Seizure<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"28.565098841172\">\n<p><a name=\"january6\"\/>\u201cTrump pardons roughly 1,500 criminal defendants charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/justice-department\/trump-set-pardon-defendants-stormed-capitol-jan-6-2021-rcna187735\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NBC News<\/a>]. \u201cPresident Donald Trump on Monday issued roughly 1,500 pardons and commuted the sentences of 14 of his supporters in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when thousands of them stormed the building amid his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against him. Trump commuted the sentences of individuals associated with the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, who were convicted of seditious conspiracy [despite being riddled with informers]. He then issued \u2018a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021,\u2019 a category that included people who assaulted law enforcement officers.\u201d \u2022 This from Julie Kelly was something I didn\u2019t know:<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/kelly_raindrop.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"484\" height=\"1022\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285890\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/kelly_raindrop.png 484w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/kelly_raindrop-142x300.png 142w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 484px) 100vw, 484px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Here is the raindrop theory\u2013<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. JOHN DOUGLAS WRIGHT\u201d (PDF) [Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, Criminal Action No. 21-341, United States District Court for the District of Columbia]. <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Colleen_Kollar-Kotelly\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Kollar-Kotelly<\/a> was \u201cpreviously presiding judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.\u201d From page 24:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/kelly_raindrop_case.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"314\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285891\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/kelly_raindrop_case.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/kelly_raindrop_case-300x157.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>It would have been interesting to apply the \u201craindrop\u201d theory of the case to the banksters who \u201ccollectively\u201d caused the Great Financial Crash, causing \u201cthe unnecessary expenditure of substantial government resources.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a name=\"trump\"\/>Trump Transition<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"75.391222639841\">\n<p>Lambert here: Patient readers, Trump just signed a hundred exective orders (EOs) [apparently only 26? Yes] and held a presser. I don\u2019t have the capacity to synthesize all that material, which is doubtless creating \u201cShock and Awe\u201d in the political class. The links that follow seem the most salient <em>now<\/em>, but that may change in the coming weeks. What I will say is that I have skimmed several of the orders, and this latest rollout is an amazing feat of staffwork (hat tip Susie Wiles) that the previous Trump administration couldn\u2019t even have considered. (Some clever people will also have to lay the Executive Orders against Project 2025 and look for overlaps. My guess is that the Trump administration will have put its own distinction twists on a lot of it. Also, I\u2019ll often scatter the EOs under the usual category headings (\u201cDOGE\u201d under \u201cDOGE\u201d) because consolidating 100 EOs in one place would be unwieldy.<\/p>\n<p>Patient readers, I\u2019ll return with a list of the executive orders \u2014 I\u2019m frustrated because I don\u2019t know how many have really been signed \u2014 after I handle some administrativia. \u2013lambert<\/p>\n<p>UPDATE Here is the list. I took it from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">the Whitehouse.gov page on \u201cPresidential Actions.\u201d<\/a> There are four buckets: Executive Orders, Proclamations, Memoranda, and Announcements. (I did this because all the sources I could find were <em>explainers<\/em>, a level of abstraction away from a simple list of the documents Trump signed, which seems to me to be the obvious base for any further analysis.)<\/p>\n<p>Executive Orders:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness (order)<\/li>\n<li>Designating Cartels And Other Organizations As Foreign Terrorist Organizations And Specially Designated Global Terrorists (order)<\/li>\n<li>Reforming The Federal Hiring Process And Restoring Merit To Government Service (order)<\/li>\n<li>Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing (order)<\/li>\n<li>Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government (order)<\/li>\n<li>Establishing And Implementing The President\u2019s \u201cDepartment Of Government Efficiency\u201d (order)<\/li>\n<li>America First Policy Directive To The Secretary Of State (order)<\/li>\n<li>Protecting The United States From Foreign Terrorists And Other National Security And Public Safety Threats (order)<\/li>\n<li>Unleashing Alaska\u2019s Extraordinary Resource Potential (order)<\/li>\n<li>Protecting The American People Against Invasion (order)<\/li>\n<li>Reevaluating And Realigning United States Foreign Aid (order)<\/li>\n<li>Declaring a National Energy Emergency (order)<\/li>\n<li>Restoring The Death Penalty And Protecting Public Safety (order)<\/li>\n<li>Securing Our Borders (order)<\/li>\n<li>Protecting The Meaning And Value Of American Citizenship (order)<\/li>\n<li>Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program (order)<\/li>\n<li>Unleashing American Energy (order)<\/li>\n<li>Clarifying The Military\u2019s Role In Protecting The Territorial Integrity Of The United States (order)<\/li>\n<li>Holding Former Government Officials Accountable For Election Interference And Improper Disclosure Of Sensitive Governmental Information (order)<\/li>\n<li>Restoring Accountability To Policy-Influencing Positions Within the Federal Workforce (order)<\/li>\n<li>Withdrawing The United States From The World Health Organization (order)<\/li>\n<li>Application Of Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act To TikTok (order)<\/li>\n<li>Putting America First In International Environmental Agreements (order)<\/li>\n<li>Ending The Weaponization Of The Federal Government (order)<\/li>\n<li>Restoring Freedom Of Speech And Ending Federal Censorship (order)<\/li>\n<li>Initial Rescissions Of Harmful Executive Orders And Actions (order)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Proclamations:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Guaranteeing The States Protection Against Invasion (proclamation)<\/li>\n<li>Declaring A National Emergency At The Southern Border Of The United States (proclamation)<\/li>\n<li>Granting Pardons And Commutation Of Sentences For Certain Offenses Relating To The Events At Or Near The United States Capitol On January 6, 2021 (proclamation)<\/li>\n<li>Flying The Flag Of The United States At Full-Staff On Inauguration Day (proclamation)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Memoranda:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Global Tax Deal (Global Tax Deal) (memorandum)<\/li>\n<li>Organization of the National Security Council and Subcommittees (memorandum)<\/li>\n<li>Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government\u2019s Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects (memorandum)<\/li>\n<li>Restoring Accountability for Career Senior Executives (memorandum)<\/li>\n<li>Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture (memorandum)<\/li>\n<li>Putting People Over Fish: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Provide Water to Southern California (memorandum)<\/li>\n<li>America First Trade Policy (memorandum)<\/li>\n<li>Memorandum to Resolve the Backlog of Security Clearances for Executive Office of the President Personnel (memorandum)<\/li>\n<li>Delivering Emergency Price Relief for American Families and Defeating the Cost-of-Living Crisis (memorandum)<\/li>\n<li>Hiring Freeze (memorandum)<\/li>\n<li>Regulatory Freeze Pending Review (memorandum)<\/li>\n<li>Return to In-Person Work (memorandum)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Announcements:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>President Trump Designates Chairmen and Acting Chairmen (announcement)<\/li>\n<li>President Trump Announces Acting Cabinet and Cabinet-Level Positions (announcement)<\/li>\n<li>President Trump Announces Sub-Cabinet Appointments (announcement)<\/li>\n<li>President Trump Announces Cabinet and Cabinet Level Appointments (announcement)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>So this is the scope of the work for today; Trump was busy. Perhaps a connoisseuer of Federal document types can explain why an Executive Order in one case and a Memorandum in another. I did skim some of the EOs; they seem to be of varying quality, some quite specific as to statute and regulation, others more like \u201cgood things are good\u201d handwaving. For example, in \u201cRestoring Freedom Of Speech And Ending Federal Censorship\u201d, this:<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"6\">\n<p>Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to: (a) secure the right of the American people to engage in constitutionally protected speech;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>and:<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"12\">\n<p>Sec. 3. Ending Censorship of Protected Speech. (a) No Federal department, agency, entity, officer, employee, or agent may act or use any Federal resources in a manner contrary to section 2 of this order.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Constitutional lawyers in the readership please correct me, but am I right that this is a little thin? Not even a citation to a court case? And \u201cconstitutionally\u201d is doing a lot of work. Is there speech that is <em>not<\/em> constitutionally protected?<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrump signs order to end \u2018government censorship\u2019 of social media\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.md\/8QTai\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">WaPo<\/a>]. \u201cPresident Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order intended to \u2018immediately stop all government censorship,\u2019 a sweeping action that could chill years of efforts to combat the proliferation of false information online. The order bans federal officials from any conduct that \u2018would unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of any American citizen.\u2019 It also prohibits taxpayer resources from being used to \u2018unconstitutionally abridge the free speech\u2019 of Americans\u2026. Trump\u2019s order could have an immediate impact on years of efforts to bolster coordination between Silicon Valley and the government to combat misinformation about elections, natural disasters and public health.\u201d \u2022 But: <\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.8224299065421\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"5.4672897196262\">\n<p lang=\"et\" dir=\"ltr\">TikTok is dead, free Palestine <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hQKK0trAlW\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/hQKK0trAlW<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ozymandias (@martianmarxist) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/martianmarxist\/status\/1881784759153754164\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 21, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>However:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.7409638554217\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.9759036144578\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">so my tiktok didn\u2019t seem the same when i got back on, so i went and muted all ads and turned off personalized ads, and now i can actually see things about Palestine and fascism <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/mwLLfs7shl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/mwLLfs7shl<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 jess (@jesstechnician) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jesstechnician\/status\/1881755113422995552\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 21, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Eight hours down not long enough to implement the algo changes properly?<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cNeo-Nazis Love the Nazi-Like Salutes Elon Musk Made at Trump\u2019s Inauguration\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.md\/doYyi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wired<\/a>]. \u201cAt this point, Musk put his right hand on his chest before extending it straight out with his palm facing down and his fingers touching, a gesture widely recognized as the \u2018Roman salute.\u2019 Adopted by the fascist movement a century ago, it was most famously used by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany, and is to this day associated with the fascist right, especially in Italy. After he first made the gesture, Musk then turned around to members of the crowd who were seated behind him and, with his back to the camera, repeated the gesture. \u2018My heart goes out to you,\u2019 Musk added\u2026 One of many examples: \u201c\u201dWE ARE FUCKING BACK\u201d the administrator of a Nazi meme channel on Telegram wrote under a clip of Musk giving the salute.’\u201d \u2022 I must confess that when I first saw this take I filed under symbol manipulators looking for symbols and then making leaps in reasoning based on the symbols (which is a very bad habit in the idpol space). I also felt that Musk has been awfully herky jerky lately (and there is the preliminary hand-on-heart gesture, which forms no part of the Nazi salute. But now, apparently, it does:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.6322314049587\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"5.2231404958678\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cIt was an accident!! He\u2019s autistic!!\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/eOCgJ4cPBr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/eOCgJ4cPBr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 evan loves worf (@esjesjesj) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/esjesjesj\/status\/1881716580876497257\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 21, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>File this, at the very minimum, under \u201cSomebody needs to get this dude under control.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>DOGE<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"33.709288767975\">\n<p><a name=\"doge\"\/>\u201cESTABLISHING AND IMPLEMENTING THE PRESIDENT\u2019S \u2018DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT’\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/establishing-and-implementing-the-presidents-department-of-government-efficiency\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Whitehouse.gov<\/a>]. I normalize all-caps to title caps but in this case I\u2019m not, because all the EOs have this formatting. I hope readers can give this a close reading, but while the pre-inaugural DOGE set a horrid precedent, this version seems not so bad. The EO hijacks the United States Digital Service (USDS), which Obama put in place after Silicon Valley techies saved his bacon my making the ObamaCare website work. That\u2019s a clever idea! \u201d The United States Digital Service is hereby publicly renamed as the United States DOGE Service (USDS) and shall be established in the Executive Office of the President.\u201d And: \u201cIn consultation with USDS, each Agency Head shall establish within their respective Agencies a DOGE Team of at least four employees, which may include Special Government Employees, hired or assigned within thirty days of the date of this Order. Agency Heads shall select the DOGE Team members in consultation with the USDS Administrator. Each DOGE Team will typically include one DOGE Team Lead, one engineer, one human resources specialist, and one attorney. Agency Heads shall ensure that DOGE Team Leads coordinate their work with USDS and advise their respective Agency Heads on implementing the President \u2018s DOGE Agenda.\u201d \u2022 This shows, at least, somebody was thinking about process. (\u201cSpecial Government Employees\u201d were what the the pre-inaugural DOGE operatives \u2014 the dudes going around interviewing civil servants \u2014 <em>should<\/em> have been.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018Everyone wants him out\u2019: How Musk helped boot Ramaswamy from DOGE\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/01\/20\/doge-musk-helped-eject-ramaswamy-00199487\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Politico<\/a>]. \u201cMusk, the tech tycoon and Donald Trump confidant, made it known that he wanted Ramaswamy out of DOGE in recent days, according to three people familiar with Musk\u2019s preferences who, like others for this article, were granted anonymity to discuss them. An ill-received holiday rant on X by Ramaswamy about H-1B visas apparently hastened his demise\u2026. Ramaswamy maintained to confidants as late as Saturday evening that he was actively involved in DOGE, saying he was at work writing executive orders, according to six people who had spoken with him. But a person familiar with the arrangement said he had done almost no DOGE-related work since early December. As recently as last week, Ramaswamy was hoping to achieve some early wins at DOGE before leaving to pursue a gubernatorial bid. Now Ramaswamy and his allies are laboring to put a positive spin on his departure, coming just as Trump takes office.\u201d \u2022 <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>2024 Post Mortem<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"26.49726177437\">\n<p>\u201cThe Sad Tale of Moderate Joe Biden\u201d [Ruy Teixeira, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.liberalpatriot.com\/p\/the-sad-tale-of-moderate-joe-biden\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Liberal Patriot<\/a>]. The interesting part of this article is at the end: \u201cEditor\u2019s note: This is a slightly longer version of an essay that originally appeared in The Free Press, where Ruy is now a contributing writer.\u201d \u2022 This dude is <em>nimble<\/em>!<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBiden Was Just That Bad\u201d [Caitlyn Johnstone, <a href=\"https:\/\/consortiumnews.com\/2025\/01\/20\/caity-johnstone-biden-was-just-that-bad\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Consortium News<\/a>]. \u201cFrom what we are seeing so far, Trump is just returning things to their horrible standard baseline. Trump will go on to do many evil things as president, just as he did during his first term, but none of this will reverse the fact that Biden just spent four years advancing genocide, nuclear brinkmanship and authoritarianism. The Democratic Party plays just as crucial a role in promoting the tyranny and abuses of the U.S. empire as the Republican Party does, and it is nonsensical to think of either of them as a lesser evil. The empire itself must end. It\u2019s possible that Trump\u2019s term will constitute another swing from Bush-level depravity to Obama-level depravity. It isn\u2019t normal for the U.S. empire to be as openly depraved as it has been in Gaza. Normally its evils are much more well-disguised, because it is in the empire\u2019s interests to preserve its image in the eyes of the western public. You only see the really in-your-face acts of monstrosity when a coalition of forces within the swamp are able to seize on a rare opportunity to shove them through, as we saw in the wake of 9\/11 and again in the wake of Oct. 7. The rest of the time, the empire likes to be a lot subtler about its abuses, like it was during the Obama administration and the first Trump administration.\u201d \u2022 One could, I suppose, consider engulfing Greenland as \u201csubtle\u201d compared to a full-blown war with China. And it\u2019s certainly subtle for Trump!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Realignment and Legitimacy<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"12.968949044586\">\n<p>\u201cTrump rescinds Biden\u2019s census order, clearing a path for reshaping election maps\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/01\/20\/nx-s1-5268958\/trump-order-census-citizenship-question-apportionment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NPR<\/a>]. \u201cAmong the dozens of Biden-era executive orders that President Trump revoked on Monday was one that had reversed the first Trump administration\u2019s unprecedented policy of altering a key set of census results. Since the first U.S. census in 1790, no resident has ever been omitted from those numbers because of immigration status. And after the Civil War, the 14th Amendment has called for the population counts that determine each state\u2019s share of U.S. House seats and Electoral College votes to include the \u2018whole number of persons in each state.\u2019 Biden\u2019s now-revoked 2021 order affirmed the longstanding practice of including the total number of persons residing in each state in those census results. It was issued in response to Trump\u2019s attempt during the national tally in 2020 to exclude millions of U.S. residents without legal status\u2026. Though it had an opportunity during the first Trump administration, the Supreme Court has yet to rule on whether the president can exclude people who are in the country without legal status from the tally that determines political power in the United States.\u201d \u2022 Well, when you frame it <em>that<\/em> way\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&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>Transmission: Nasal Sprays<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"13.786440677966\">\n<p>\u201cToward a Radically Simple Multi-Modal Nasal Spray for Preventing Respiratory Infections\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1002\/adma.202406348\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Advanced Materials<\/a> (DougieD). September 2024. \u201cThis report introduces the Pathogen Capture and Neutralizing Spray (PCANS), which utilizes a multi-modal approach to enhance efficacy. PCANS coats the nasal cavity, capturing large respiratory droplets from the air, and serving as a physical barrier against a broad spectrum of viruses and bacteria, while rapidly neutralizing them with over 99.99% effectiveness. The formulation consists of excipients identified from the FDA\u2019s Inactive Ingredient Database and Generally Recognized as Safe list to maximize efficacy for each step in the multi-modal approach. PCANS demonstrates nasal retention for up to 8 hours in mice. In a severe Influenza A mouse model, a single pre-exposure dose of PCANS leads to a >99.99% reduction in lung viral titer and ensures 100% survival, compared to 0% in the control group. PCANS suppresses pathological manifestations and offers protection for at least 4 hours. This data suggest PCANS as a promising daily-use prophylactic against respiratory infections.\u201d \u2022\u00a0Maybe one day it will be on sale\u2026 <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a name=\"mask\"\/>Maskstravaganza<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"8.6051188299817\">\n<p>If you are only permitted a surgical mask:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.3205128205128\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.4871794871795\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">here is a non-exhaustive thread on the various modifications you can apply to surgical masks to increase their efficacy at preventing airborne illness (95% effective like N95 masks). combining these modifications will increase your mask’s efficacy \ud83e\uddf5<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 a southern souliloquoy (@niggasippian) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/niggasippian\/status\/1880437952729518482\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Here is one modification:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.3205128205128\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.4871794871795\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">here is a non-exhaustive thread on the various modifications you can apply to surgical masks to increase their efficacy at preventing airborne illness (95% effective like N95 masks). combining these modifications will increase your mask’s efficacy \ud83e\uddf5<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 a southern souliloquoy (@niggasippian) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/niggasippian\/status\/1880437952729518482\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Here is another:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.3205128205128\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.4871794871795\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">here is a non-exhaustive thread on the various modifications you can apply to surgical masks to increase their efficacy at preventing airborne illness (95% effective like N95 masks). combining these modifications will increase your mask’s efficacy \ud83e\uddf5<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 a southern souliloquoy (@niggasippian) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/niggasippian\/status\/1880437952729518482\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>There are a lot more techniques; the thread is worth reading in full.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Vaccines<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"38.784688995215\">\n<p>\u201cFormer surgeon general: Vaccine-preventable diseases are still a major threat\u201d [Jerome Adams, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/2025\/01\/20\/surgeon-general-warning-childhood-vaccinations-public-health-security\/?utm_campaign=twitter_organic&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">STAT<\/a>]. The Biden Administration vaccine rollout was fantastically destructive, as we see here. \u201cWhile there\u2019s much to celebrate about the current focus on improving overall health \u2014 particularly the incoming administration\u2019s emphasis on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/2024\/11\/07\/who-to-know-series-maha-movement-trump-rfk-jr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">MAHA agenda<\/a>, which promotes better food safety, nutrition, and physical activity \u2014 it\u2019s crucial that we remember these must be priorities in addition to addressing vaccine-preventable diseases, not in place of them. As I\u2019ve said before, you can\u2019t die of early heart disease at 50 if you already died from polio at 5. The reality is that vaccine-preventable diseases are still a major threat, even in the 21st century, and we ignore that at our peril. I hear from pediatricians and health officials across the country on a near-daily basis about their growing concerns over declining vaccination rates. Parents who would have once trusted their health care providers\u2019 recommendations are now questioning vaccines that should be routine, like MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella). What\u2019s even more troubling is that even the parents of long-term patients \u2014 children who have received all their vaccines in the past \u2014 are increasingly opting to delay or forgo these essential shots due to new doubts, often fueled by misinformation. What\u2019s worse is that the default response to health provider recommendations has shifted. For many parents, the idea of questioning, deferring, or outright rejecting vaccines has become the norm, rather the exception. This undermines the trust that has been built over generations between health care providers and families, and presents a serious challenge for those of us trying to protect the health of all Americans, especially our children. The impact of this growing vaccine hesitancy will, of course, be felt most acutely by children whose parents are trying, in deeply misguided ways, to protect them. While we\u2019re unlikely to see a dramatic rise in deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases in the U.S. in the near term, the personal costs are immense. A single case of measles can lead to weeks of missed school, sporting events, family gatherings, and other milestones. These are costs many Americans felt were unbearable and inexcusable during the Covid-19 pandemic, yet we\u2019re now putting our children at risk of suffering the same disruptions \u2014 disruptions that are both preventable and unnecessary.\u201d \u2022 As I said, it\u2019s MMR that\u2019s under-assault. Of course, we have already been induced to abandon our children to Covid \u2014 thanks, Great Barrington dudes \u2014 so everything\u2019s going according to plan.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Elite Maleficence<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"5.9095477386935\">\n<p>Perhaps the CDC\u2019s normalization of wasterwater data isn\u2019t as bad as I thought:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"mastodon-embed\" data-embed-url=\"https:\/\/federate.social\/@jik\/113853120817754652\/embed\" style=\"background: #FCF8FF; border-radius: 8px; border: 1px solid #C9C4DA; margin: 0; max-width: 540px; min-width: 270px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0;\" wp_automatic_readability=\"5\">\n<p>Post by @jik@federate.social<\/p>\n<p>View on Mastodon<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Violet Blue\u2019s correction here:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.2118644067797\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"6.635593220339\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">New information that OP is misunderstanding the change. Further info is here: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PXobBA9CAg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/PXobBA9CAg<\/a> That CDC has eroded public trust on C19 hasn’t helped at all. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TVZhOVdLmA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/TVZhOVdLmA<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Violet Blue\u00ae (@violetblue) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/violetblue\/status\/1881118843051143215\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"table\"\/><strong>TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Lambert here: I don\u2019t like a lot of this week\u2019s charts. In wastewater, too many red dots concentrated in the Midwest and the Atlantic coast, so I started circling areas in red, again. New York\u2019s weirdly persistent higher hospitalization rate continues. Traveler positivity is up, and worse, the dominant traveler variants are JN* and KP*, which, while present in the national variants, are very low. And in the two death charts, the projected deaths seem to have leveled out, when in the past they decreased. Nothing earth-shattering, but it does make me queasy, and it\u2019s well after the holiday bump.<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody wp_automatic_readability=\"10.853293413174\">\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-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285678\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-2-300x209.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-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><\/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&utm_source=govdelivery#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> January 18<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><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\"\/><\/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 11<\/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-variants-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285677\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-variants-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-300x230.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-ccd-ed-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285672\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-ccd-ed-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-ccd-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=\"3.9102564102564\">\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 16:<\/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 16:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-9.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285888\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-9.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-9-300x169.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-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285675\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-1-288x300.png 288w\" 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 30:<\/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 30<\/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-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285676\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-2.png 608w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-2-300x161.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 608px) 100vw, 608px\"\/><\/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-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285681\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-2-300x210.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Deaths<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.76\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> Weekly Deaths vs. % Positivity [11] <a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronavirusdisease2019\/what-you-should-know\/current-situation-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> January 11:<\/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 11:<\/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-death-positivity.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285674\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-death-positivity.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-death-positivity-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-death-ed.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285673\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-death-ed.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-death-ed-300x174.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<td wp_automatic_readability=\"119.88859207357\">\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>There are no official statistics of interest today.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 41 Fear (previous close: 37 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). Last updated Jan 21 at 2:00:37 PM ET.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Architecture<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Lost Towers of the Guelph-Ghibelline Wars\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.exurbe.com\/the-lost-towers-of-the-guelph-ghibelline-wars\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Ex Urbe<\/a>]. \u201cLooks fake, doesn\u2019t it? This implausible Medieval forest of towers, as dense as Manhattan skyscrapers, is our best reconstruction of the town of Bologna at its height, toward the end of the Medieval Guelph-Ghibelline wars. Wealthy families built these as mini-fortresses within the city, where they could defend against riots, enemy families (think Montagues and Capulets) and invasion. Signs of wealth and prestige, these all-stone buildings were also fireproof, leading to a terrible but effective tactic: take your family, treasures & goods up into your tower then set fire to enemies\u2019 homes and let the city burn around you while you sit safe above. This was VERY BAD for cities.\u201d Like this:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/BolognaReconstruction.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285889\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/BolognaReconstruction.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/BolognaReconstruction-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Caption: \u201cLooks fake, doesn\u2019t it? This implausible Medieval forest of towers, as dense as Manhattan skyscrapers, is our best reconstruction of the town of Bologna at its height, toward the end of the Medieval Guelph-Ghibelline wars. We don\u2019t see many such towers today\u2026 or think we don\u2019t, but actually their remnants are all over Italy.\u201d \u2022 Neat blog.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"zeitgeist\"\/><strong>Zeitgeist Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn what women want\u201d [Kat Rosenfeld, <a href=\"https:\/\/katrosenfield.substack.com\/p\/on-what-women-want\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Usual Palm Tree<\/a>]. Reflections prompted by the Neil Gaiman case. \u201cThere\u2019s a moment in the Gaiman expos\u00e9 where the main accuser, Scarlett Pavlovich, sends him a text message asking him how he\u2019s doing. Gaiman says he\u2019s struggling: he\u2019s heard from people close to him that Pavlovich plans to accuse him of rape. \u2018I thought that we were a good thing and a very consensual thing indeed,\u2019 he writes. \u2018It was consensual (and wonderful)!\u201d she replies. Except: she doesn\u2019t mean it.\u201d But: \u201c[I]n the article we\u2019ve been instructed, explicitly and repeatedly, that you can\u2019t assume a relationship was consensual just because all parties involved gave consent.\u201d And: \u201cThe thing is, if women can\u2019t be trusted to assert their desires or boundaries because they\u2019ll invariably lie about what they want in order to please other people, it\u2019s not just sex they can\u2019t reasonably consent to. It\u2019s medical treatments. Car loans. Nuclear non-proliferation agreements. Our entire social contract operates on the premise that adults are strong enough to choose their choices, no matter the ambient pressure from horny men or sleazy used car salesmen or power-hungry ayatollahs. If half the world\u2019s adult population are actually just <a href=\"https:\/\/phoebemaltzbovy.substack.com\/p\/smol-bean\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">smol beans<\/a> \u2014 hapless, helpless, fickle, fragile, and much too tender to perform even the most basic self-advocacy \u2014 everything starts to fall apart, including the entire feminist project. You can\u2019t have genuine equality for women while also letting them duck through the trap door of <em>but I didn\u2019t mean it<\/em>, like children, when their choices have unhappy outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"class\"\/><strong>Class Warfare<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cNew \u2018oligarchy\u2019 under fire as elites descend on Davos\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/oligarchy-under-fire-elites-descend-010319460.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Agence France Presse<\/a>]. Of course, the elite of the elite are at the Inaugural. \u201cThe World Economic Forum kicks off in the Swiss Alpine resort on the same day as the presidential inauguration of Trump, who will not be in Davos but will make an online appearance later in the week\u2026. Some 3,000 participants are expected at the Swiss ski village for the forum ending Friday \u2014 including 60 heads of state or government and more than 900 CEOs \u2014 for days of schmoozing and behind-the-scenes dealmaking.\u201d A dissenting voice: \u201c\u2018I don\u2019t want to live in a country with a few rich people and lots of poor people,\u2019 said Morris Pearl, a former managing director at investment giant BlackRock. He is now a member of Patriotic Millionaires, a group that backs raising taxes on the rich. \u2018I\u2019m afraid that we\u2019re going to have civil unrest if we don\u2019t change things,\u2019 Pearl told AFP.\u201d \u2022 So are they, Morris. So are they.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"wired\"\/><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yikes:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.5747663551402\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"11.644859813084\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Take a moment to look at this image.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time in recorded history, the immediate GULF COAST is under a blizzard warning.<\/p>\n<p>This is likely a once-in-a-lifetime event\u2014a generational storm we may never witness again.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WinterStorm?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">#WinterStorm<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Qu1as9i2DH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/Qu1as9i2DH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Andrew Austin-Adler (@weatherman_aaa) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/weatherman_aaa\/status\/1881668131573407908\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 21, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>These states aren\u2019t exactly set up for blizzard conditions.<\/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-1-20-2025.html\">here<\/a>. From MV:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/fort_worth.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"486\" height=\"1080\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285886\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/fort_worth.jpeg 486w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/fort_worth-135x300.jpeg 135w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/fort_worth-461x1024.jpeg 461w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 486px) 100vw, 486px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>MV writes: \u201cLast spring I visited the Fort Worth Botanic Garden. Attached you will find some photos. I can only send 2 photos at a time.\u201d And this is the one I am using. What an inviting prospect!<\/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-1-21-2025.html\" title=\"2:00 pm\" rel=\"bookmark\"><time class=\"entry-date updated\" datetime=\"2025-01-21T14:00:06-05:00\">January 21, 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\/how-los-angeles-can-fireproof-communities-not-just-houses.html\" rel=\"prev\"><span class=\"meta-nav\">\u2190<\/span> How Los Angeles Can Fireproof Communities, Not Just Houses<\/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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Same location as yesterday, but different birds and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":90012,"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-90011","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\/90011","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=90011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Brown Thrasher, May 2024 Rondeau PP\u2013South Point Trail East, Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada. Same location as yesterday, but different birds and even more lively.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/strong> <\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#january6\">January 6<\/a> pardons.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#doge\">DOGE<\/a> Executive orders.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#mask\">Improving surgical masks <\/a> (many methods).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/strong> <\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#january6\">January 6<\/a> pardons.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#doge\">DOGE<\/a> Executive orders.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#mask\">Improving surgical masks <\/a> (many methods).<\/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>Capitol Seizure<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"28.565098841172\">\n<p><a name=\"january6\"\/>\u201cTrump pardons roughly 1,500 criminal defendants charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/justice-department\/trump-set-pardon-defendants-stormed-capitol-jan-6-2021-rcna187735\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NBC News<\/a>]. \u201cPresident Donald Trump on Monday issued roughly 1,500 pardons and commuted the sentences of 14 of his supporters in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when thousands of them stormed the building amid his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against him. Trump commuted the sentences of individuals associated with the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, who were convicted of seditious conspiracy [despite being riddled with informers]. He then issued \u2018a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021,\u2019 a category that included people who assaulted law enforcement officers.\u201d \u2022 This from Julie Kelly was something I didn\u2019t know:<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/kelly_raindrop.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"484\" height=\"1022\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285890\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/kelly_raindrop.png 484w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/kelly_raindrop-142x300.png 142w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 484px) 100vw, 484px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Here is the raindrop theory\u2013<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. JOHN DOUGLAS WRIGHT\u201d (PDF) [Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, Criminal Action No. 21-341, United States District Court for the District of Columbia]. <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Colleen_Kollar-Kotelly\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Kollar-Kotelly<\/a> was \u201cpreviously presiding judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.\u201d From page 24:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/kelly_raindrop_case.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"314\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285891\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/kelly_raindrop_case.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/kelly_raindrop_case-300x157.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>It would have been interesting to apply the \u201craindrop\u201d theory of the case to the banksters who \u201ccollectively\u201d caused the Great Financial Crash, causing \u201cthe unnecessary expenditure of substantial government resources.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a name=\"trump\"\/>Trump Transition<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"75.391222639841\">\n<p>Lambert here: Patient readers, Trump just signed a hundred exective orders (EOs) [apparently only 26? Yes] and held a presser. I don\u2019t have the capacity to synthesize all that material, which is doubtless creating \u201cShock and Awe\u201d in the political class. The links that follow seem the most salient <em>now<\/em>, but that may change in the coming weeks. What I will say is that I have skimmed several of the orders, and this latest rollout is an amazing feat of staffwork (hat tip Susie Wiles) that the previous Trump administration couldn\u2019t even have considered. (Some clever people will also have to lay the Executive Orders against Project 2025 and look for overlaps. My guess is that the Trump administration will have put its own distinction twists on a lot of it. Also, I\u2019ll often scatter the EOs under the usual category headings (\u201cDOGE\u201d under \u201cDOGE\u201d) because consolidating 100 EOs in one place would be unwieldy.<\/p>\n<p>Patient readers, I\u2019ll return with a list of the executive orders \u2014 I\u2019m frustrated because I don\u2019t know how many have really been signed \u2014 after I handle some administrativia. \u2013lambert<\/p>\n<p>UPDATE Here is the list. I took it from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">the Whitehouse.gov page on \u201cPresidential Actions.\u201d<\/a> There are four buckets: Executive Orders, Proclamations, Memoranda, and Announcements. (I did this because all the sources I could find were <em>explainers<\/em>, a level of abstraction away from a simple list of the documents Trump signed, which seems to me to be the obvious base for any further analysis.)<\/p>\n<p>Executive Orders:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness (order)<\/li>\n<li>Designating Cartels And Other Organizations As Foreign Terrorist Organizations And Specially Designated Global Terrorists (order)<\/li>\n<li>Reforming The Federal Hiring Process And Restoring Merit To Government Service (order)<\/li>\n<li>Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing (order)<\/li>\n<li>Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government (order)<\/li>\n<li>Establishing And Implementing The President\u2019s \u201cDepartment Of Government Efficiency\u201d (order)<\/li>\n<li>America First Policy Directive To The Secretary Of State (order)<\/li>\n<li>Protecting The United States From Foreign Terrorists And Other National Security And Public Safety Threats (order)<\/li>\n<li>Unleashing Alaska\u2019s Extraordinary Resource Potential (order)<\/li>\n<li>Protecting The American People Against Invasion (order)<\/li>\n<li>Reevaluating And Realigning United States Foreign Aid (order)<\/li>\n<li>Declaring a National Energy Emergency (order)<\/li>\n<li>Restoring The Death Penalty And Protecting Public Safety (order)<\/li>\n<li>Securing Our Borders (order)<\/li>\n<li>Protecting The Meaning And Value Of American Citizenship (order)<\/li>\n<li>Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program (order)<\/li>\n<li>Unleashing American Energy (order)<\/li>\n<li>Clarifying The Military\u2019s Role In Protecting The Territorial Integrity Of The United States (order)<\/li>\n<li>Holding Former Government Officials Accountable For Election Interference And Improper Disclosure Of Sensitive Governmental Information (order)<\/li>\n<li>Restoring Accountability To Policy-Influencing Positions Within the Federal Workforce (order)<\/li>\n<li>Withdrawing The United States From The World Health Organization (order)<\/li>\n<li>Application Of Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act To TikTok (order)<\/li>\n<li>Putting America First In International Environmental Agreements (order)<\/li>\n<li>Ending The Weaponization Of The Federal Government (order)<\/li>\n<li>Restoring Freedom Of Speech And Ending Federal Censorship (order)<\/li>\n<li>Initial Rescissions Of Harmful Executive Orders And Actions (order)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Proclamations:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Guaranteeing The States Protection Against Invasion (proclamation)<\/li>\n<li>Declaring A National Emergency At The Southern Border Of The United States (proclamation)<\/li>\n<li>Granting Pardons And Commutation Of Sentences For Certain Offenses Relating To The Events At Or Near The United States Capitol On January 6, 2021 (proclamation)<\/li>\n<li>Flying The Flag Of The United States At Full-Staff On Inauguration Day (proclamation)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Memoranda:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Global Tax Deal (Global Tax Deal) (memorandum)<\/li>\n<li>Organization of the National Security Council and Subcommittees (memorandum)<\/li>\n<li>Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government\u2019s Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects (memorandum)<\/li>\n<li>Restoring Accountability for Career Senior Executives (memorandum)<\/li>\n<li>Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture (memorandum)<\/li>\n<li>Putting People Over Fish: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Provide Water to Southern California (memorandum)<\/li>\n<li>America First Trade Policy (memorandum)<\/li>\n<li>Memorandum to Resolve the Backlog of Security Clearances for Executive Office of the President Personnel (memorandum)<\/li>\n<li>Delivering Emergency Price Relief for American Families and Defeating the Cost-of-Living Crisis (memorandum)<\/li>\n<li>Hiring Freeze (memorandum)<\/li>\n<li>Regulatory Freeze Pending Review (memorandum)<\/li>\n<li>Return to In-Person Work (memorandum)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Announcements:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>President Trump Designates Chairmen and Acting Chairmen (announcement)<\/li>\n<li>President Trump Announces Acting Cabinet and Cabinet-Level Positions (announcement)<\/li>\n<li>President Trump Announces Sub-Cabinet Appointments (announcement)<\/li>\n<li>President Trump Announces Cabinet and Cabinet Level Appointments (announcement)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>So this is the scope of the work for today; Trump was busy. Perhaps a connoisseuer of Federal document types can explain why an Executive Order in one case and a Memorandum in another. I did skim some of the EOs; they seem to be of varying quality, some quite specific as to statute and regulation, others more like \u201cgood things are good\u201d handwaving. For example, in \u201cRestoring Freedom Of Speech And Ending Federal Censorship\u201d, this:<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"6\">\n<p>Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to: (a) secure the right of the American people to engage in constitutionally protected speech;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>and:<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"12\">\n<p>Sec. 3. Ending Censorship of Protected Speech. (a) No Federal department, agency, entity, officer, employee, or agent may act or use any Federal resources in a manner contrary to section 2 of this order.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Constitutional lawyers in the readership please correct me, but am I right that this is a little thin? Not even a citation to a court case? And \u201cconstitutionally\u201d is doing a lot of work. Is there speech that is <em>not<\/em> constitutionally protected?<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrump signs order to end \u2018government censorship\u2019 of social media\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.md\/8QTai\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">WaPo<\/a>]. \u201cPresident Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order intended to \u2018immediately stop all government censorship,\u2019 a sweeping action that could chill years of efforts to combat the proliferation of false information online. The order bans federal officials from any conduct that \u2018would unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of any American citizen.\u2019 It also prohibits taxpayer resources from being used to \u2018unconstitutionally abridge the free speech\u2019 of Americans\u2026. Trump\u2019s order could have an immediate impact on years of efforts to bolster coordination between Silicon Valley and the government to combat misinformation about elections, natural disasters and public health.\u201d \u2022 But: <\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.8224299065421\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"5.4672897196262\">\n<p lang=\"et\" dir=\"ltr\">TikTok is dead, free Palestine <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hQKK0trAlW\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/hQKK0trAlW<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ozymandias (@martianmarxist) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/martianmarxist\/status\/1881784759153754164\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 21, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>However:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.7409638554217\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.9759036144578\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">so my tiktok didn\u2019t seem the same when i got back on, so i went and muted all ads and turned off personalized ads, and now i can actually see things about Palestine and fascism <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/mwLLfs7shl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/mwLLfs7shl<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 jess (@jesstechnician) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jesstechnician\/status\/1881755113422995552\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 21, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Eight hours down not long enough to implement the algo changes properly?<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cNeo-Nazis Love the Nazi-Like Salutes Elon Musk Made at Trump\u2019s Inauguration\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.md\/doYyi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wired<\/a>]. \u201cAt this point, Musk put his right hand on his chest before extending it straight out with his palm facing down and his fingers touching, a gesture widely recognized as the \u2018Roman salute.\u2019 Adopted by the fascist movement a century ago, it was most famously used by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany, and is to this day associated with the fascist right, especially in Italy. After he first made the gesture, Musk then turned around to members of the crowd who were seated behind him and, with his back to the camera, repeated the gesture. \u2018My heart goes out to you,\u2019 Musk added\u2026 One of many examples: \u201c\u201dWE ARE FUCKING BACK\u201d the administrator of a Nazi meme channel on Telegram wrote under a clip of Musk giving the salute.’\u201d \u2022 I must confess that when I first saw this take I filed under symbol manipulators looking for symbols and then making leaps in reasoning based on the symbols (which is a very bad habit in the idpol space). I also felt that Musk has been awfully herky jerky lately (and there is the preliminary hand-on-heart gesture, which forms no part of the Nazi salute. But now, apparently, it does:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.6322314049587\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"5.2231404958678\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cIt was an accident!! He\u2019s autistic!!\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/eOCgJ4cPBr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/eOCgJ4cPBr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 evan loves worf (@esjesjesj) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/esjesjesj\/status\/1881716580876497257\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 21, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>File this, at the very minimum, under \u201cSomebody needs to get this dude under control.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>DOGE<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"33.709288767975\">\n<p><a name=\"doge\"\/>\u201cESTABLISHING AND IMPLEMENTING THE PRESIDENT\u2019S \u2018DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT’\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/establishing-and-implementing-the-presidents-department-of-government-efficiency\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Whitehouse.gov<\/a>]. I normalize all-caps to title caps but in this case I\u2019m not, because all the EOs have this formatting. I hope readers can give this a close reading, but while the pre-inaugural DOGE set a horrid precedent, this version seems not so bad. The EO hijacks the United States Digital Service (USDS), which Obama put in place after Silicon Valley techies saved his bacon my making the ObamaCare website work. That\u2019s a clever idea! \u201d The United States Digital Service is hereby publicly renamed as the United States DOGE Service (USDS) and shall be established in the Executive Office of the President.\u201d And: \u201cIn consultation with USDS, each Agency Head shall establish within their respective Agencies a DOGE Team of at least four employees, which may include Special Government Employees, hired or assigned within thirty days of the date of this Order. Agency Heads shall select the DOGE Team members in consultation with the USDS Administrator. Each DOGE Team will typically include one DOGE Team Lead, one engineer, one human resources specialist, and one attorney. Agency Heads shall ensure that DOGE Team Leads coordinate their work with USDS and advise their respective Agency Heads on implementing the President \u2018s DOGE Agenda.\u201d \u2022 This shows, at least, somebody was thinking about process. (\u201cSpecial Government Employees\u201d were what the the pre-inaugural DOGE operatives \u2014 the dudes going around interviewing civil servants \u2014 <em>should<\/em> have been.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018Everyone wants him out\u2019: How Musk helped boot Ramaswamy from DOGE\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/01\/20\/doge-musk-helped-eject-ramaswamy-00199487\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Politico<\/a>]. \u201cMusk, the tech tycoon and Donald Trump confidant, made it known that he wanted Ramaswamy out of DOGE in recent days, according to three people familiar with Musk\u2019s preferences who, like others for this article, were granted anonymity to discuss them. An ill-received holiday rant on X by Ramaswamy about H-1B visas apparently hastened his demise\u2026. Ramaswamy maintained to confidants as late as Saturday evening that he was actively involved in DOGE, saying he was at work writing executive orders, according to six people who had spoken with him. But a person familiar with the arrangement said he had done almost no DOGE-related work since early December. As recently as last week, Ramaswamy was hoping to achieve some early wins at DOGE before leaving to pursue a gubernatorial bid. Now Ramaswamy and his allies are laboring to put a positive spin on his departure, coming just as Trump takes office.\u201d \u2022 <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>2024 Post Mortem<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"26.49726177437\">\n<p>\u201cThe Sad Tale of Moderate Joe Biden\u201d [Ruy Teixeira, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.liberalpatriot.com\/p\/the-sad-tale-of-moderate-joe-biden\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Liberal Patriot<\/a>]. The interesting part of this article is at the end: \u201cEditor\u2019s note: This is a slightly longer version of an essay that originally appeared in The Free Press, where Ruy is now a contributing writer.\u201d \u2022 This dude is <em>nimble<\/em>!<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBiden Was Just That Bad\u201d [Caitlyn Johnstone, <a href=\"https:\/\/consortiumnews.com\/2025\/01\/20\/caity-johnstone-biden-was-just-that-bad\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Consortium News<\/a>]. \u201cFrom what we are seeing so far, Trump is just returning things to their horrible standard baseline. Trump will go on to do many evil things as president, just as he did during his first term, but none of this will reverse the fact that Biden just spent four years advancing genocide, nuclear brinkmanship and authoritarianism. The Democratic Party plays just as crucial a role in promoting the tyranny and abuses of the U.S. empire as the Republican Party does, and it is nonsensical to think of either of them as a lesser evil. The empire itself must end. It\u2019s possible that Trump\u2019s term will constitute another swing from Bush-level depravity to Obama-level depravity. It isn\u2019t normal for the U.S. empire to be as openly depraved as it has been in Gaza. Normally its evils are much more well-disguised, because it is in the empire\u2019s interests to preserve its image in the eyes of the western public. You only see the really in-your-face acts of monstrosity when a coalition of forces within the swamp are able to seize on a rare opportunity to shove them through, as we saw in the wake of 9\/11 and again in the wake of Oct. 7. The rest of the time, the empire likes to be a lot subtler about its abuses, like it was during the Obama administration and the first Trump administration.\u201d \u2022 One could, I suppose, consider engulfing Greenland as \u201csubtle\u201d compared to a full-blown war with China. And it\u2019s certainly subtle for Trump!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Realignment and Legitimacy<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"12.968949044586\">\n<p>\u201cTrump rescinds Biden\u2019s census order, clearing a path for reshaping election maps\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/01\/20\/nx-s1-5268958\/trump-order-census-citizenship-question-apportionment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NPR<\/a>]. \u201cAmong the dozens of Biden-era executive orders that President Trump revoked on Monday was one that had reversed the first Trump administration\u2019s unprecedented policy of altering a key set of census results. Since the first U.S. census in 1790, no resident has ever been omitted from those numbers because of immigration status. And after the Civil War, the 14th Amendment has called for the population counts that determine each state\u2019s share of U.S. House seats and Electoral College votes to include the \u2018whole number of persons in each state.\u2019 Biden\u2019s now-revoked 2021 order affirmed the longstanding practice of including the total number of persons residing in each state in those census results. It was issued in response to Trump\u2019s attempt during the national tally in 2020 to exclude millions of U.S. residents without legal status\u2026. Though it had an opportunity during the first Trump administration, the Supreme Court has yet to rule on whether the president can exclude people who are in the country without legal status from the tally that determines political power in the United States.\u201d \u2022 Well, when you frame it <em>that<\/em> way\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&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>Transmission: Nasal Sprays<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"13.786440677966\">\n<p>\u201cToward a Radically Simple Multi-Modal Nasal Spray for Preventing Respiratory Infections\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1002\/adma.202406348\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Advanced Materials<\/a> (DougieD). September 2024. \u201cThis report introduces the Pathogen Capture and Neutralizing Spray (PCANS), which utilizes a multi-modal approach to enhance efficacy. PCANS coats the nasal cavity, capturing large respiratory droplets from the air, and serving as a physical barrier against a broad spectrum of viruses and bacteria, while rapidly neutralizing them with over 99.99% effectiveness. The formulation consists of excipients identified from the FDA\u2019s Inactive Ingredient Database and Generally Recognized as Safe list to maximize efficacy for each step in the multi-modal approach. PCANS demonstrates nasal retention for up to 8 hours in mice. In a severe Influenza A mouse model, a single pre-exposure dose of PCANS leads to a >99.99% reduction in lung viral titer and ensures 100% survival, compared to 0% in the control group. PCANS suppresses pathological manifestations and offers protection for at least 4 hours. This data suggest PCANS as a promising daily-use prophylactic against respiratory infections.\u201d \u2022\u00a0Maybe one day it will be on sale\u2026 <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a name=\"mask\"\/>Maskstravaganza<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"8.6051188299817\">\n<p>If you are only permitted a surgical mask:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.3205128205128\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.4871794871795\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">here is a non-exhaustive thread on the various modifications you can apply to surgical masks to increase their efficacy at preventing airborne illness (95% effective like N95 masks). combining these modifications will increase your mask’s efficacy \ud83e\uddf5<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 a southern souliloquoy (@niggasippian) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/niggasippian\/status\/1880437952729518482\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Here is one modification:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.3205128205128\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.4871794871795\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">here is a non-exhaustive thread on the various modifications you can apply to surgical masks to increase their efficacy at preventing airborne illness (95% effective like N95 masks). combining these modifications will increase your mask’s efficacy \ud83e\uddf5<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 a southern souliloquoy (@niggasippian) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/niggasippian\/status\/1880437952729518482\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Here is another:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.3205128205128\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.4871794871795\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">here is a non-exhaustive thread on the various modifications you can apply to surgical masks to increase their efficacy at preventing airborne illness (95% effective like N95 masks). combining these modifications will increase your mask’s efficacy \ud83e\uddf5<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 a southern souliloquoy (@niggasippian) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/niggasippian\/status\/1880437952729518482\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>There are a lot more techniques; the thread is worth reading in full.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Vaccines<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"38.784688995215\">\n<p>\u201cFormer surgeon general: Vaccine-preventable diseases are still a major threat\u201d [Jerome Adams, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/2025\/01\/20\/surgeon-general-warning-childhood-vaccinations-public-health-security\/?utm_campaign=twitter_organic&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">STAT<\/a>]. The Biden Administration vaccine rollout was fantastically destructive, as we see here. \u201cWhile there\u2019s much to celebrate about the current focus on improving overall health \u2014 particularly the incoming administration\u2019s emphasis on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/2024\/11\/07\/who-to-know-series-maha-movement-trump-rfk-jr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">MAHA agenda<\/a>, which promotes better food safety, nutrition, and physical activity \u2014 it\u2019s crucial that we remember these must be priorities in addition to addressing vaccine-preventable diseases, not in place of them. As I\u2019ve said before, you can\u2019t die of early heart disease at 50 if you already died from polio at 5. The reality is that vaccine-preventable diseases are still a major threat, even in the 21st century, and we ignore that at our peril. I hear from pediatricians and health officials across the country on a near-daily basis about their growing concerns over declining vaccination rates. Parents who would have once trusted their health care providers\u2019 recommendations are now questioning vaccines that should be routine, like MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella). What\u2019s even more troubling is that even the parents of long-term patients \u2014 children who have received all their vaccines in the past \u2014 are increasingly opting to delay or forgo these essential shots due to new doubts, often fueled by misinformation. What\u2019s worse is that the default response to health provider recommendations has shifted. For many parents, the idea of questioning, deferring, or outright rejecting vaccines has become the norm, rather the exception. This undermines the trust that has been built over generations between health care providers and families, and presents a serious challenge for those of us trying to protect the health of all Americans, especially our children. The impact of this growing vaccine hesitancy will, of course, be felt most acutely by children whose parents are trying, in deeply misguided ways, to protect them. While we\u2019re unlikely to see a dramatic rise in deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases in the U.S. in the near term, the personal costs are immense. A single case of measles can lead to weeks of missed school, sporting events, family gatherings, and other milestones. These are costs many Americans felt were unbearable and inexcusable during the Covid-19 pandemic, yet we\u2019re now putting our children at risk of suffering the same disruptions \u2014 disruptions that are both preventable and unnecessary.\u201d \u2022 As I said, it\u2019s MMR that\u2019s under-assault. Of course, we have already been induced to abandon our children to Covid \u2014 thanks, Great Barrington dudes \u2014 so everything\u2019s going according to plan.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Elite Maleficence<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"5.9095477386935\">\n<p>Perhaps the CDC\u2019s normalization of wasterwater data isn\u2019t as bad as I thought:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"mastodon-embed\" data-embed-url=\"https:\/\/federate.social\/@jik\/113853120817754652\/embed\" style=\"background: #FCF8FF; border-radius: 8px; border: 1px solid #C9C4DA; margin: 0; max-width: 540px; min-width: 270px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0;\" wp_automatic_readability=\"5\">\n<p>Post by @jik@federate.social<\/p>\n<p>View on Mastodon<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Violet Blue\u2019s correction here:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.2118644067797\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"6.635593220339\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">New information that OP is misunderstanding the change. Further info is here: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PXobBA9CAg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/PXobBA9CAg<\/a> That CDC has eroded public trust on C19 hasn’t helped at all. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TVZhOVdLmA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/TVZhOVdLmA<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Violet Blue\u00ae (@violetblue) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/violetblue\/status\/1881118843051143215\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"table\"\/><strong>TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Lambert here: I don\u2019t like a lot of this week\u2019s charts. In wastewater, too many red dots concentrated in the Midwest and the Atlantic coast, so I started circling areas in red, again. New York\u2019s weirdly persistent higher hospitalization rate continues. Traveler positivity is up, and worse, the dominant traveler variants are JN* and KP*, which, while present in the national variants, are very low. And in the two death charts, the projected deaths seem to have leveled out, when in the past they decreased. Nothing earth-shattering, but it does make me queasy, and it\u2019s well after the holiday bump.<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody wp_automatic_readability=\"10.853293413174\">\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-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285678\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-2-300x209.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-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><\/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&utm_source=govdelivery#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> January 18<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><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\"\/><\/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 11<\/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-variants-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285677\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-variants-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-300x230.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-ccd-ed-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285672\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-ccd-ed-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-ccd-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=\"3.9102564102564\">\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 16:<\/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 16:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-9.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285888\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-9.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-9-300x169.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-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285675\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-1-288x300.png 288w\" 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 30:<\/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 30<\/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-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285676\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-2.png 608w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-2-300x161.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 608px) 100vw, 608px\"\/><\/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-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285681\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-2-300x210.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Deaths<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.76\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> Weekly Deaths vs. % Positivity [11] <a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronavirusdisease2019\/what-you-should-know\/current-situation-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> January 11:<\/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 11:<\/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-death-positivity.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285674\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-death-positivity.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-death-positivity-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-death-ed.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-285673\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-death-ed.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/covid-cdc-death-ed-300x174.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<td wp_automatic_readability=\"119.88859207357\">\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>There are no official statistics of interest today.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 41 Fear (previous close: 37 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). Last updated Jan 21 at 2:00:37 PM ET.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Architecture<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Lost Towers of the Guelph-Ghibelline Wars\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.exurbe.com\/the-lost-towers-of-the-guelph-ghibelline-wars\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Ex Urbe<\/a>]. \u201cLooks fake, doesn\u2019t it? This implausible Medieval forest of towers, as dense as Manhattan skyscrapers, is our best reconstruction of the town of Bologna at its height, toward the end of the Medieval Guelph-Ghibelline wars. Wealthy families built these as mini-fortresses within the city, where they could defend against riots, enemy families (think Montagues and Capulets) and invasion. Signs of wealth and prestige, these all-stone buildings were also fireproof, leading to a terrible but effective tactic: take your family, treasures & goods up into your tower then set fire to enemies\u2019 homes and let the city burn around you while you sit safe above. This was VERY BAD for cities.\u201d Like this:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/BolognaReconstruction.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285889\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/BolognaReconstruction.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/BolognaReconstruction-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Caption: \u201cLooks fake, doesn\u2019t it? This implausible Medieval forest of towers, as dense as Manhattan skyscrapers, is our best reconstruction of the town of Bologna at its height, toward the end of the Medieval Guelph-Ghibelline wars. We don\u2019t see many such towers today\u2026 or think we don\u2019t, but actually their remnants are all over Italy.\u201d \u2022 Neat blog.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"zeitgeist\"\/><strong>Zeitgeist Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn what women want\u201d [Kat Rosenfeld, <a href=\"https:\/\/katrosenfield.substack.com\/p\/on-what-women-want\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Usual Palm Tree<\/a>]. Reflections prompted by the Neil Gaiman case. \u201cThere\u2019s a moment in the Gaiman expos\u00e9 where the main accuser, Scarlett Pavlovich, sends him a text message asking him how he\u2019s doing. Gaiman says he\u2019s struggling: he\u2019s heard from people close to him that Pavlovich plans to accuse him of rape. \u2018I thought that we were a good thing and a very consensual thing indeed,\u2019 he writes. \u2018It was consensual (and wonderful)!\u201d she replies. Except: she doesn\u2019t mean it.\u201d But: \u201c[I]n the article we\u2019ve been instructed, explicitly and repeatedly, that you can\u2019t assume a relationship was consensual just because all parties involved gave consent.\u201d And: \u201cThe thing is, if women can\u2019t be trusted to assert their desires or boundaries because they\u2019ll invariably lie about what they want in order to please other people, it\u2019s not just sex they can\u2019t reasonably consent to. It\u2019s medical treatments. Car loans. Nuclear non-proliferation agreements. Our entire social contract operates on the premise that adults are strong enough to choose their choices, no matter the ambient pressure from horny men or sleazy used car salesmen or power-hungry ayatollahs. If half the world\u2019s adult population are actually just <a href=\"https:\/\/phoebemaltzbovy.substack.com\/p\/smol-bean\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">smol beans<\/a> \u2014 hapless, helpless, fickle, fragile, and much too tender to perform even the most basic self-advocacy \u2014 everything starts to fall apart, including the entire feminist project. You can\u2019t have genuine equality for women while also letting them duck through the trap door of <em>but I didn\u2019t mean it<\/em>, like children, when their choices have unhappy outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"class\"\/><strong>Class Warfare<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cNew \u2018oligarchy\u2019 under fire as elites descend on Davos\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/oligarchy-under-fire-elites-descend-010319460.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Agence France Presse<\/a>]. Of course, the elite of the elite are at the Inaugural. \u201cThe World Economic Forum kicks off in the Swiss Alpine resort on the same day as the presidential inauguration of Trump, who will not be in Davos but will make an online appearance later in the week\u2026. Some 3,000 participants are expected at the Swiss ski village for the forum ending Friday \u2014 including 60 heads of state or government and more than 900 CEOs \u2014 for days of schmoozing and behind-the-scenes dealmaking.\u201d A dissenting voice: \u201c\u2018I don\u2019t want to live in a country with a few rich people and lots of poor people,\u2019 said Morris Pearl, a former managing director at investment giant BlackRock. He is now a member of Patriotic Millionaires, a group that backs raising taxes on the rich. \u2018I\u2019m afraid that we\u2019re going to have civil unrest if we don\u2019t change things,\u2019 Pearl told AFP.\u201d \u2022 So are they, Morris. So are they.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"wired\"\/><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yikes:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.5747663551402\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"11.644859813084\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Take a moment to look at this image.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time in recorded history, the immediate GULF COAST is under a blizzard warning.<\/p>\n<p>This is likely a once-in-a-lifetime event\u2014a generational storm we may never witness again.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WinterStorm?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">#WinterStorm<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Qu1as9i2DH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/Qu1as9i2DH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Andrew Austin-Adler (@weatherman_aaa) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/weatherman_aaa\/status\/1881668131573407908\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 21, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>These states aren\u2019t exactly set up for blizzard conditions.<\/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-1-20-2025.html\">here<\/a>. From MV:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/fort_worth.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"486\" height=\"1080\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-285886\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/fort_worth.jpeg 486w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/fort_worth-135x300.jpeg 135w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/fort_worth-461x1024.jpeg 461w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 486px) 100vw, 486px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>MV writes: \u201cLast spring I visited the Fort Worth Botanic Garden. Attached you will find some photos. I can only send 2 photos at a time.\u201d And this is the one I am using. What an inviting prospect!<\/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-1-21-2025.html\" title=\"2:00 pm\" rel=\"bookmark\"><time class=\"entry-date updated\" datetime=\"2025-01-21T14:00:06-05:00\">January 21, 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\/how-los-angeles-can-fireproof-communities-not-just-houses.html\" rel=\"prev\"><span class=\"meta-nav\">\u2190<\/span> How Los Angeles Can Fireproof Communities, Not Just Houses<\/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-1-21-2025.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bird Song of the Day Brown Thrasher, May 2024 Rondeau PP\u2013South Point Trail East, Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada. Same location as yesterday, but different birds and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":90012,"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-90011","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\/90011","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=90011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}