{"id":90133,"date":"2025-01-25T02:45:06","date_gmt":"2025-01-25T02:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/25\/200pm-water-cooler-1-24-2025-naked-capitalism\/"},"modified":"2025-01-25T02:45:06","modified_gmt":"2025-01-25T02:45:06","slug":"200pm-water-cooler-1-24-2025-naked-capitalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/25\/200pm-water-cooler-1-24-2025-naked-capitalism\/","title":{"rendered":"2:00PM Water Cooler 1\/24\/2025 | naked capitalism"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div wp_automatic_readability=\"779.29107820715\">\n<p><strong>Bird Song of the Day<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/macaulaylibrary.org\/asset\/219695\/embed\" height=\"419\" width=\"640\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Brown Thrasher, Langford Creek Road, Tompkins, New York, United States.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/strong> <\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#road\">Trump on the road<\/a> in North Carolina and California.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#hegseth\">Hegseth advances<\/a> to floor vote.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#mask\">Smile Nazis<\/a> in action.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#snow\">Snow in the South<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"helper\"\/><strong>Look for the Helpers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cPractice Your Cursive as a Citizen Archivist and Preserve Thousands of Historic Documents\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/2025\/01\/national-archives-citizen-archivist-program\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Colossal<\/a>]. \u201cIn 2010 [thanks, Obama!], the newly established Common Core State Standards program, which outlines skills and knowledge students should acquire between kindergarten and high school, did not include cursive in its English requirements. As a result, many young people can no longer read or write in cursive. But if you can\u2014or are willing to learn\u2014a wealth of historical documents await you in the U.S. National Archives. The federal organization\u2019s Citizen Archivist program is recruiting volunteers to help transcribe thousands of documents in its collection. Records in need of review are categorized into \u2018missions,\u2019 like paperwork relating to women in the First World War or submarine patrol reports during the Second World War\u2026. The National Archives also needs people to tag photographs and other materials to help identify people, events, or places. By improving searchability, the archives become more accessible to historians, genealogists, students, and the public. It\u2019s easy to get started: just register and select a document to begin transcribing. There\u2019s no application, and you can contribute as much or as little as you\u2019d like. National Parks Service interpretation planner Joanne Blacoe says, \u2018We wanted something that was going to last beyond an anniversary, not just in our own archives but in a place that everybody could access.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>My email address is down by the plant; please send examples of there (\u201cHelpers\u201d in the subject line). In our increasingly desperate and fragile neoliberal society, everyday <em>normal<\/em> incidents and stories of \u201cthe communism of everyday life\u201d are what I am looking for (and not, say, the Red Cross in Hawaii, or even the UNWRA in Gaza).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital.\u201d \u2013Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"trump\"\/>Trump Administration<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"151.48038524783\">\n<p><a name=\"road\"\/>Trump on the road:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLive updates: Trump floats possible FEMA elimination during Western North Carolina visit\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsobserver.com\/news\/politics-government\/article299094265.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">News &amp; Observer<\/a>]. \u201cTrump said at a storm briefing in Fletcher that FEMA needs an \u2018overhaul\u2019 and to potentially be eliminated. Instead, Trump said he prefers emergency response delegated to states. \u2018That\u2019s what we have states for \u2026 A governor can handle something very quickly,\u2019 he said.\u201d Except for the printing money part. And: \u201cHe repeatedly said he wants Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley to lead Helene recovery efforts and pledged additional federal assistance to North Carolina. The president also repeated false claims about FEMA\u2019s work in North Carolina.\u201d Which were: \u201cTrump repeated false claims of FEMA giving support to migrants instead of North Carolina residents. FEMA does distribute funding to some migrant service programs, but those <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsobserver.com\/news\/politics-government\/article293780549.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">programs are funded by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, not FEMA\u2019s disaster fund<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrump\u2019s two asks from California: voter ID laws and water flow\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/trumps-two-asks-california-voter-id-laws-water-flow-2025-01-24\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Reuters<\/a>]. \u201cU.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he wanted to secure two things from a visit to California later in the day: voter identification laws and changes to water policy in the wake of massive wildfires. \u2018I just want voter ID to start, and I want the water to be released, and they\u2019re going to get a lot of help from the U.S.,\u2019 Trump said during a visit to North Carolina.\u201d \u2022 Well, that\u2019s why we have a Federal system, no?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNews Analysis: Stakes are high for Newsom and California when Trump visits L.A. wildfires\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2025-01-23\/trump-high-stakes-visit-for-newsom-and-california\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Los Angeles Times<\/a>]. \u201d California Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Trump shared a surprisingly symbiotic relationship during the Republican\u2019s first term in the White House, with their public sparring and ability to work together in times of crisis elevating both politicians. Whether the two men can overcome an ugly 2024 election cycle and resume a respectful rapport for the benefit of Californians should become clearer when Trump surveys wildfire damage in Los Angeles County\u2026.\u201d Those two demands don\u2019t seem \u201csymbiotic\u201d to me. More: \u201cThe Democratic governor could end the day with a presidential example of acting like a level-headed leader capable of putting politics \u2014 and personal feelings \u2014 aside to help his state. Or, Newsom could walk away more vulnerable to criticism that his political gamesmanship and thirst for the national spotlight compromised his ability to deliver for Californians.\u201d \u2022 I think Trump senses weakness. We\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n<p>Energy in the executive:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrump moves to revoke clearances of ex-intel officials who signed letter on Hunter Biden laptop\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/politics\/trump-moves-to-revoke-clearances-of-ex-intel-officials-who-signed-letter-on-hunter-biden-laptop\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">PBS<\/a>]. \u201cPresident Donald Trump says his administration will move to revoke the security clearances of the more than four dozen former intelligence officials who signed a 2020 letter saying that the Hunter Biden laptop saga bore the hallmarks of a \u2018Russian information operation.\u2019 The action is an early indication of the president\u2019s determination to exact retribution on perceived adversaries and is the latest point of tension between Trump and an intelligence community of which he has been openly disdainful.\u201d Implementation: \u201cThe president has a lot of authority when it comes to security clearances. The problem the White House will run into is, if they depart from their existing procedures, they could set up a judicial appeal for these 51 people \u2014 and it will probably be a class-action suit since they\u2019re all in alike or similar circumstances,\u201d said Dan Meyer, a Washington lawyer who specializes in the security clearance and background check process.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow the truth comes out: Reporters admit Politico snuffed out Hunter Biden laptop story to protect Joe in 2020\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/01\/23\/opinion\/reporters-admit-politico-snuffed-out-hunter-biden-laptop-story-to-protect-joe-in-2020\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York Post<\/a>]. \u201c\u2018Politico did that terrible, ill-fated headline: 51 intelligence agents, or former intelligence agents, say that the Hunter Biden laptop was disinformation,\u2019 recalled [reporter Neil] Caputo. \u2018Turns out that story was closer to disinformation, because the Hunter Biden laptop appeared to be true.&#8217;\u201d And: \u201cCaputo told his editor the outlet needed to \u2018write about the Hunter Biden laptop\u2019 but was instructed, per orders from \u2018on high\u2019 at Politico, not to: \u2018Don\u2019t write about the laptop. Don\u2019t talk about the laptop. Don\u2019t tweet about the laptop,\u2019 he was told. So \u2018the only thing Politico wound up writing was that piece that called it disinformation.&#8217;\u201d More: \u201cThe 51 Spies Who Lied \u2014 ex-intel officials who signed an open letter that trashed The Post\u2019s laptop scoop as a \u2018Russian information operation\u2019 \u2014 gave the media cover.\u201d More likely they \u201cbriefed\u2019 the editors and publishers. And: \u201cIf these intel veterans weren\u2019t sure about Russia\u2019s involvement, and weren\u2019t trying to mislead the public, they could\u2019ve checked with their sources at the FBI, which had already verified the laptop\u2019s authenticity. Or just kept their mouths shut. Brennan &amp; Co. knew exactly what they were doing.\u201d \u2022 To the extent that the FBI can \u201cverify\u201d anything\u2026 <\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrump\u2019s First Shot in His War on the \u2018Deep State&#8217;\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/politics\/archive\/2025\/01\/trump-executive-order-security\/681423\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Atlantic<\/a>]. \u201cIn response, the 51 former officials signed a letter asserting that \u201cthe arrival on the US political scene of emails purportedly belonging to Vice President Biden\u2019s son Hunter \u2026 has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.\u201d Mind you, the signatories offered no evidence of a hidden Russian hand in all of this. They supplied no digital trails leading to Russian spies, no confidential sources claiming a connection. And they were up-front about this: \u2018We want to emphasize that we do not know if the emails \u2026 are genuine or not and that we do not have evidence of Russian involvement\u2014just that our experience makes us deeply suspicious that the Russian government played a significant role in this case.\u2019 That\u2019s it. They were suspicious. Maybe with good reason. At the time, current officials, with access to classified information, believed that Russian intelligence operatives were trying to feed misinformation about the Bidens to Giuliani, as my colleagues at The Washington Post and I reported at the time. The signatories argued that, based on their long experience doing battle with Russia in the arena of international espionage, people should take their suspicions seriously. If this all sounds like what op-ed writers or self-professed experts on social media or talking heads on TV routinely do, that\u2019s because it is. Indeed, several of the signatories were regular \u201cNever Trump\u201d commentators on cable talk shows, political podcasts, and Twitter.\u201d \u2022\u00a0IOW, it\u2019s free speech.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cExclusive \u2014 CIA Director Ratcliffe: \u2018Day-One Thing\u2019 to Get to Bottom of Chinese \u2018Origins of COVID,\u2019 Wuhan Lab Leak\u201d (interview) [John Ratcliffe, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2025\/01\/24\/exclusive-cia-director-ratcliffe-day-one-thing-chinese-origins-covid-wuhan-lab-leak\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Breitbart<\/a>]. I <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Breitbart_News#Notable_events\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">tend not to cite to Breitbart<\/a>, but here we are: \u201c[RATCLIFFE:] You have people who have been at the different intelligence agencies for so long and focused on the Russia threat \u2014 and, as you said, legitimately because [Vladimir] Putin is a bad guy and a regime with a huge nuclear stockpile that we need to talk about \u2014 but yeah, the Intelligence Community has been slow to adjust to the fact that China is the primary geopolitical threat we face,\u201d Ratcliffe said. \u201cIt\u2019s the second largest economy, and they compete with us across the board on a peer-to-peer basis in a way that Russia can\u2019t, and I think there are reasons for that that are unfortunately \u2014 there\u2019s a financial aspect to that. From Washington, DC, to Wall Street to Silicon Valley to Hollywood, there has been a desire to keep China from being labeled a bad guy because a lot of people make a lot of money from China and in China, and China has a lot of influence in all of those places. But our intelligence is clear \u2014I saw that as DNI and now it\u2019s inescapable for people to not see \u2014 on how sinister and nefarious the People\u2019s Republic of China and its various arms of the Chinese Communist Party have been. So, we\u2019ve been slow to adjust the focus, and it\u2019s one of the things that the president needs and wants from us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"hegseth\"\/>\u201cSenate advances Pete Hegseth as Trump\u2019s defense secretary, despite allegations\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/pete-hegseth-defense-secretary-pentagon-trump-confirmation-79d38a3d821eda7e03789e857b417a7f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>]. \u201cRarely has a Cabinet choice encountered such swirling allegations of wrongdoing. The outcome provides a measure of Trump\u2019s power and a test for the Senate as it considers the president\u2019s other outsider Cabinet picks, including Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., for Health and Human Services, Kash Patel at the FBI and Tulsi Gabbard for Director of the Office of National Intelligence. Republican senators, and some Democrats, appear ready to give the president his team. Only Matt Gaetz, the former congressman who was Trump\u2019s initial choice for attorney general, was met with enough resistance that his nomination was withdrawn.\u201d \u2022 Well, <a href=\"https:\/\/ny1.com\/nyc\/all-boroughs\/news\/2023\/05\/03\/aoc--gaetz-forge-alliance-to-ban-lawmakers-from-trading-stocks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Gaetz was trying to interfere with Congressional stock trading<\/a>. So no wonder. Now to the Senate floor\u2013<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018Mitch McConnell Is In\u2019: Fox News Reports On Ex-Host Pete Hegseth Clearing Key Vote Ahead of Likely Confirmation\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsbreak.com\/mediaite-520570\/3774562712415-mitch-mcconnell-is-in-fox-news-reports-on-ex-host-pete-hegseth-clearing-key-vote-ahead-of-likely-confirmation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Mediaite<\/a>]. \u201cSo that\u2019s the two senators [Murkowski, Collins] that are out. Mitch McConnell is in as is all as are all the other senators in the conference. Roger Wicker, the Armed Services Committee chairman, had told me right before this vote I\u2019d asked him, do you think you still have the 50? That was when Lisa Murkowski came out as she was a no and he said yes. So they walked into the room here feeling confident. They had whipped the votes for quite some time. And they knew that they had these votes and they would not need JD Vance to come in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cRFK Jr. applauds Trump\u2019s order to declassify RFK, JFK assassination files\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/5104616-robert-f-kennedy-jr-supports-trump-executive-order-jfk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hill<\/a>]. \u201c\u2018I think it\u2019s a great move because they need to have more transparency in our government and he\u2019s keeping his promise to have the government tell the truth to the American people about everything,\u2019 Kennedy, President Trump\u2019s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, told reporters. Kennedy has claimed that the CIA was involved in his uncle\u2019s death. \u2018There is overwhelming evidence that the CIA was involved in his murder,\u2019 Kennedy said in a 2023 interview with John Catsimatidis on New York City radio station WABC 770. \u2018I think it\u2019s beyond a reasonable doubt at this point.\u2019 RFK Jr. said his uncle was targeted due to his refusal to commit U.S. forces to Vietnam.\u201d \u2022 No doubt there will be redactions galore and key documents will have gone mysteriously missing. Nevertheless, such an enormous mass of material ought to be enough to make such judgments as historians make, if not the courts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRFK Jr.\u2019s allies have a plan to upend childhood vaccination\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/01\/24\/rfk-jr-allies-child-vaccinations-00200364\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Politico<\/a>]. \u201c\u2018The people [RFK] really trusts are people that obviously are trying to execute a plan to totally take away vaccines,\u2019 said one of the people with knowledge of the discussions. \u2018The risk of overreach, I don\u2019t think is zero.&#8217;\u201d And: \u201c\u2018They\u2019re deadly serious,\u2019 said another person with knowledge of the deliberations. \u2018He\u2019s going to move on vaccines and I think he feels he has a mandate.&#8217;\u201d \u2022 As I\u2019ve said, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s possible to have discussion on vax policy, because RFK\u2019s anti-vaxers are coming for MMR. <a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/health\/measles-cases-us-dg\/index.html#:~:text=Measles%20was%20eliminated%20in%20the,elimination%20status%20in%20the%20US.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">With measles cases already going up<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cProject 2025 parallels in Trump\u2019s executive order avalanche\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2025\/01\/23\/trump-executive-orders-list-project-2025-policies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Axios<\/a>]. \u201cA review of Trump\u2019s early executive orders shows clear parallels with Project 2025 on key proposals, such as dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; loosening environmental regulations; and ending certain international agreements. Trump also took steps Project 2025 did not explicitly mention, like declaring an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/declaring-a-national-energy-emergency\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">energy emergency<\/a> and attempting to end <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2025\/01\/21\/trump-birthright-citizenship-lawsuit-states\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">birthright citizenship<\/a>. There are scores of recommendations in the Heritage Foundation plan, like outlawing pornography, that Trump hasn\u2019t touched so far.\u201d \u2022 The question for me is whether Heritage is <em>driving<\/em> the Trump Administration, or whether its proposals were already \u201cin the air\u201d in conservative circles, and so one would expect to see them in Trump executive orders whether Project 2025 existed or not. My sense is the latter (\u201cin the air\u201d). I would be persuaded of the former by extensive verbal parallels, on the order of plagiarism, and overlap in communication <em>by topic<\/em> (i.e., it\u2019s not enough to say this reactionary dude wrote this screed on Topic A for Heritage, and then got a job with Trump; actual influence on Topic A in executive orders should be shown). Moar reporting, please!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>DOGE<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"21.883520847121\">\n<p>\u201cWarren sends Musk 30 ideas for DOGE to cut government spending\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/5104016-warren-sends-musk-30-ideas-for-doge-to-cut-government-spending\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hill<\/a>]. \u201cWarren\u2019s Thursday letter to Musk, President Trump\u2019s close ally and the commission\u2019s chair, recommended that he consider numerous progressive policy proposals, including allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, renegotiating Department of Defense (DOD) contracts and curbing tax loopholes for large corporations and the highest earners. \u2018With regard to policy, I am disturbed by the dangerous proposals you have discussed and released to date: proposals from you and your allies to cut Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, veterans\u2019 benefits, and other programs that tens of millions of Americans count on and rely on are unrealistic and cruel,\u2019 Warren wrote in a 21-page letter. \u2018It would be outrageous to cut these programs in the name of government thriftiness while handing out trillions of dollars in tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations,\u2019 she added, but she also said the notion that the \u2018federal government spends trillions of dollars on wasteful spending is correct. And if you are serious about working together in good faith to cut government spending \u2014 in a way that does not harm the middle class \u2014 I have proposals for your consideration.\u2019 Warren\u2019s prime proposal when it comes to slashing spending is renegotiating DOD contracts, arguing contractors often price-gouge the department.\u201d \u2022 \u201cLiberal Democrat writes fascist a strongly worded letter, film at 11:00.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>2028<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"9.5697074010327\">\n<p>\u201cKamala Harris provides a big signal about her next move\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/01\/23\/kamala-harris-pioneer49-future-00200305\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Politico<\/a>]. \u201cKamala Harris hasn\u2019t made any public decisions about what her political future is going to be \u2014 but she has already created the organization that will help fuel it. The former vice president established an LLC called Pioneer49 last month in her home state of California, according to her presidential campaign\u2019s final financial disclosure that was filed last week and confirmed by a person familiar with the organization\u2019s plans. The disclosure form described the organization as an \u2018entity to assist the former vice president\u2019 and is likely to help fuel Harris\u2019 next political move. There are essentially three options for Harris: run for governor of California in 2026, run for president again in 2028 or decline to run for office and be a leader of the party from the sidelines.\u201d I suppose this entity is funding this timeline clutter:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.8608695652174\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"8.1739130434783\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BREAKING: Kamala Harris is out and about killing it, interacting with normal people in a way that Donald Trump could never. America messed up. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7JuE8s8Ti3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/7JuE8s8Ti3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Democratic Wins Media (@DemocraticWins) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DemocraticWins\/status\/1882602845389848934\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a name=\"democrats\"\/>Democrats <em>en d\u00e9shabill\u00e9<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"17.053537284895\">\n<p>\u201cEveryone Who Was Supposed to Protect You From This Failed Miserably\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/politics\/politics-features\/trump-inauguration-2024-win-democrats-failed-1235241327\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rolling Stone<\/a>]. The deck: \u201cTrump is president again. It was a top-to-bottom collapse and failure by every major institution that got us here.\u201d I don\u2019t see how that can be possible; everyone who was at \u201cthe top\u201d before the election still is. Anyhow: \u201cThis Rolling Stone reporter tried to cover the rally as best he could, but he kept involuntarily scribbling \u2018<em>this is hell, we live in hell, I\u2019m in Hell<\/em>\u2018 over and over.\u201d \u2022 This is the best line in the piece, which is pedestrian, if pedestrians can be said to screech.<\/p>\n<p>DNC race continues wonderful:<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/ben_wikler.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"398\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-286058\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/ben_wikler.png 500w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/ben_wikler-300x239.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Well, where were you?<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.7470119521912\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.99203187251\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">AOC criticizing Biden: \u201cit was only on his way out where he was like this country is controlled by Oligarchs, bye !<\/p>\n<p>We could have used that energy years ago\u201d. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PtBQUr7ZTI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/PtBQUr7ZTI<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Winters Politics \ud83d\udda4 (@WintersPolitics) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WintersPolitics\/status\/1882554725838856416\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Watching with the sound down: AOC needs some coaching on how to look serious (unless she wants to just stay as a represenative).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Republican Funhouse<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"7\">\n<p>Transparency in government:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/cassidy_hutchinson.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"1132\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-286057\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/cassidy_hutchinson.png 500w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/cassidy_hutchinson-133x300.png 133w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/cassidy_hutchinson-452x1024.png 452w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Where could they have gotten this sense of impunity? <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Realignment and Legitimacy<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>[Sigh]:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.8923512747875\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"12.453257790368\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Every Democrat including Bernie voted to confirm Rubio as Secretary of State because Rubio is a life-long adherent to GOP establishment foreign policy, which Dems agree with or tolerate.<\/p>\n<p>What they hate are anti-establishment views, and that (Tulsi\/RFK) is who they want to sink. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Ez912PRn7w\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/Ez912PRn7w<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ggreenwald\/status\/1882511586184860075\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Syndemics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am in earnest \u2014 I will not equivocate \u2014 I will not excuse \u2014 I will not retreat a single inch \u2014 AND I WILL BE HEARD.\u201d \u2013William Lloyd Garrison<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Covid Resources, United States (National): Transmission (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#county-view?list_select_state=all_states&amp;list_select_county=all_counties&amp;data-type=Risk&amp;null=Risk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>); Wastewater (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>, <del><a href=\"https:\/\/biobot.io\/data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Biobot<\/a><\/del>; includes many counties; <a href=\"https:\/\/data.wastewaterscan.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wastewater Scan<\/a>, includes drilldown by zip); Variants (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/businesssolutions\/covid-19-index.jsp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a>); \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/iowacovid19tracker.org\/hospitals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Iowa COVID-19 Tracker<\/a>\u201d (in IA, but national data). \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/icemsg.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts<\/a>\u201d (especially on hospitalization by city).<\/p>\n<p>Lambert here: Readers, thanks for the collective effort. To update any entry, do feel free to contact me at the address given with the plants. Please put \u201cCOVID\u201d in the subject line. Thank you!<\/p>\n<p>Resources, United States (Local): AK (<a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/af2efc8bffbf4cdc83c2d1a134354074\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AL (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/6d2771faa9da4a2786a509d82c8cf0f7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AR (<a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/633006d0782b4544bd5113a314f6268a\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AZ (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.azdhs.gov\/covid19\/data\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); CA (<a href=\"https:\/\/skylab.cdph.ca.gov\/calwws\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.marinhhs.org\/surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Marin, dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/healthalerts.stanford.edu\/covid-19\/wastewater-dashboard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Stanford, wastewater<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/publichealth.verily.com\/?v=SC2_N&amp;l=Oakland%2C+CA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Oakland, wastewater<\/a>); CO (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.colorado.gov\/data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/cdphe.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/d79cf93c3938470ca4bcc4823328946b#utility=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); CT (<a href=\"https:\/\/data.ct.gov\/stories\/s\/COVID-19-data\/wa3g-tfvc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); DE (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.delaware.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); FL (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/5b9d75ba683849928dc1a49c39ab0b1c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); GA (<a href=\"https:\/\/dph.georgia.gov\/ga-nwss-wastewater-surveillance-reports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); HI (<a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronavirusdisease2019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); IA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmmwra.org\/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=57\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater reports<\/a>); ID (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.idahopublichealth.com\/district-2\/novel-coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, Boise; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.idahopublichealth.com\/district-2\/novel-coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/data.wastewaterscan.org\/?plantId=1056f05c-0e46-4e3d-b007-c0453ba7dc0d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Central Idaho; <a href=\"https:\/\/publichealth.verily.com\/#:SARS-CoV-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Coeur d\u2019Alene; dashboard, <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.srhd.org\/topics\/spokane-county-case-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Spokane County<\/a>); IL (<a href=\"https:\/\/iwss.uillinois.edu\/wastewater-treatment-plants\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); IN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coronavirus.in.gov\/indiana-covid-19-dashboard-and-map\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); KS (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov\/160\/COVID-19-in-Kansas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/4456bae8a38f4b6180e008477382fff9\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Lawrence); KY (<a href=\"https:\/\/louisville.edu\/envirome\/thecoimmunityproject\/dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, Louisville); LA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ldh.la.gov\/coronavirus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mass.gov\/info-details\/covid-19-wastewater-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MD (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.maryland.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); ME (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.maine.gov\/dhhs\/mecdc\/infectious-disease\/epi\/airborne\/coronavirus\/data.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MI (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/coronavirus\/stats\/wastewater-surveillance\/dashboard\/sentinel-wastewater-epidemiology-evaluation-project-sweep\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/gisportal.state.mi.us\/portal\/apps\/insights\/index.html#\/view\/52bbb104ed574887918f990af9f3debe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.state.mn.us\/diseases\/coronavirus\/stats\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MO (<a href=\"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/stories\/f7f5492486114da6b5d6fdc07f81aacf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MS (<a href=\"https:\/\/msdh.ms.gov\/page\/14,0,420.html#Mississippi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); <del>MT (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/MapSeries\/index.html?appid=7c34f3412536439491adcc2103421d4b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>)<\/del>; NC (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.ncdhhs.gov\/dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard)<\/a>; ND (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.nd.gov\/health\/coronavirus\/cases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.nd.gov\/health\/coronavirus\/cases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); NE (<a href=\"https:\/\/atlas-dhhs.ne.gov\/Atlas\/Respiratory_Illness\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NH (<a href=\"https:\/\/wisdom.dhhs.nh.gov\/wisdom\/dashboard.html?topic=covid-19&amp;subtopic=recurring-updates&amp;indicator=covid-19-wastewater#tabnavbarid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); NJ (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.nj.gov\/forms\/datadashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NM (<a href=\"https:\/\/cvprovider.nmhealth.org\/public-dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NV (<a href=\"https:\/\/nvhealthresponse.nv.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/empower.unlv.edu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Southern NV); NY (<a href=\"https:\/\/mbcolli.shinyapps.io\/SARS2EWSP\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); OH (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.ohio.gov\/dashboards\/other-resources\/wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); OK (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/51657c21386d4f1a962b1853c76ec589\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); <del>OR (<a href=\"https:\/\/public.tableau.com\/app\/profile\/oregon.health.authority.covid.19\/viz\/OregonsCOVID-19DataDashboards-TableofContents\/TableofContentsStatewide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>)<\/del>; PA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.pa.gov\/topics\/disease\/coronavirus\/pages\/Cases.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); RI (<a href=\"https:\/\/ri-department-of-health-covid-19-data-rihealth.hub.arcgis.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); SC (<a href=\"https:\/\/scdhec.gov\/index.php\/covid19\/covid-19-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); SD (<a href=\"https:\/\/doh.sd.gov\/COVID\/Dashboard.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); TN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tn.gov\/health\/cedep\/ncov\/data.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); TX (<a href=\"https:\/\/txdshsea.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/4ae43eefd0f641d59d35c3df82ee59cc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); UT (<a href=\"https:\/\/avrpublic.dhhs.utah.gov\/uwss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); VA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/coronavirus\/sars-cov-2-in-wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); VT (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthvermont.gov\/disease-control\/covid-19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); WA (<a href=\"https:\/\/doh.wa.gov\/emergencies\/covid-19\/data-dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.bfhd.wa.gov\/cases-and-roadmap-to-recovery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); WI (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dhs.wisconsin.gov\/covid-19\/wastewater.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); WV (<del><a href=\"https:\/\/oehs.wvdhhr.org\/news\/oehs-coivd-19-information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a><\/del>); WY (<del><a href=\"https:\/\/covidwastewatermonitor.wyo.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a><\/del>).<\/p>\n<p>Resources, Canada (National): Wastewater (<a href=\"https:\/\/health-infobase.canada.ca\/covid-19\/wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Government of Canada<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.publichealthontario.ca\/en\/Data-and-Analysis\/Infectious-Disease\/COVID-19-Data-Surveillance\/Wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); QC (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.inspq.qc.ca\/covid-19\/donnees\/eaux-usees\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><em>les eaux us\u00e9es<\/em><\/a>); BC (<a href=\"https:\/\/bccdc.shinyapps.io\/respiratory_wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); BC, Vancouver (<a href=\"https:\/\/metrovancouver.org\/services\/liquid-waste\/testing-for-the-covid-19-virus-in-wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Hat tips to helpful readers: Alexis, anon (2), Art_DogCT, B24S, CanCyn, ChiGal, Chuck L, Festoonic, FM, FreeMarketApologist (4), Gumbo, hop2it, JB, JEHR, JF, JL Joe, John, JM (10), JustAnotherVolunteer, JW, KatieBird, KF, KidDoc, LL, Michael King, KF, LaRuse, mrsyk, MT, MT_Wild, otisyves, Petal (6), RK (2), RL, RM, Rod, square coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, thump, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3). <\/p>\n<p>Stay safe out there!<\/p>\n<p>Airborne Transmission<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"4.3053173241852\">\n<p>Malign neglect vs. ruthless elimination:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.4084507042254\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"11.461971830986\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The White House site has removed its pledge for the Clean Air In Buildings Challenge. This initiative encourages companies to reduce the spread of airborne illnesses.<\/p>\n<p>However, Biden never promoted this and repurposed money for ASHRAE 241 HVAC upgrades in schools to give to cops. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LohkB4tHYc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/LohkB4tHYc<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 paulypandemic (@we_are_ssd) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/we_are_ssd\/status\/1882450839216001046\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center><br \/>\n<center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Air purifiers:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.2909090909091\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"6.8727272727273\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Another helpful spreadsheet comparing the specs of TONS of air purifiers across brands:<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/oah8vGytEX\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/oah8vGytEX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Clean Air Club (@Clean_Air_Club_) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Clean_Air_Club_\/status\/1882516379288633450\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Transmission: H5N1<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"4.7568389057751\">\n<p>Since we\u2019re not getting Federal data:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.7785467128028\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.391003460208\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Minnesota\u2019s Department of Health has issued an urgent health advisory calling for hospitals and clinics to test hospitalized patients with respiratory illness for bird flu A (H5N1) <\/p>\n<p>Mandatory subtyping within 24 hours of admission.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Outbreak Updates (@outbreakupdates) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/outbreakupdates\/status\/1882770255954821181\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a name=\"mask\"\/>Maskstravaganza<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"16.824380165289\">\n<p>\u201cBoyd Gaming Prohibits Employees from Wearing COVID Masks\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-casino-company-forbid-employees-to-wear-covid-masks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Casino.org<\/a>]. \u201cBoyd Gaming just updated its grooming policy, and it now forbids employees from wearing face masks without first establishing an ADA-recognized disability with the company\u2019s human resources department\u2026. The memo [to employees] adds that \u2018in September 2024, the CDC took the position that masks are not usually recommended in non-healthcare settings.\u2019\u2026 As Boyd explained in an addendum to the memo, face coverings \u2018impair our ability to provide a warm and welcoming atmosphere for our guests and to provide experiences that exceed their expectations.\u2019 According to the addendum, the use of face coverings \u2018dampens sound, restricts clarity of verbal communications, (and) precludes brightening a guest\u2019s day with (a) warm friendly, and genuine [oh, totally] smile.&#8217;\u201d \u2022 Ah, smile Nazis. But who wouldn\u2019t smile when they were gambling with their life in the workplace?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"table\"\/><strong>TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody wp_automatic_readability=\"10.840040241449\">\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&amp;utm_source=govdelivery#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> January 18<\/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=\"3.8513513513514\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> 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=\"150.44614673446\">\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>Real Estate: \u201cUnited States Existing Home Sales\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/existing-home-sales\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cExisting home sales in the US rose by 2.2% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 4.38 million units in December of 2024, the most since February 2024. \u2018Home sales in the final months of the year showed solid recovery despite elevated mortgage rates,\u201d said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cBoeing came close to running out of cash in 4th quarter\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/leehamnews.com\/2025\/01\/23\/boeing-came-close-to-running-out-of-cash-in-4th-quarter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Leeham News<\/a>]. \u201cThe Boeing Co. nearly ran out of cash in the fourth quarter, the company said today as it previewed earnings that will be announced next week. Boeing\u2019s fourth-quarter cash flow was negative at $3.5bn, in part due to a strike that overlapped the third and fourth quarters.\u201d \u2022 But fortunately, Wall Street came to the rescue!<\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cThe \u2018DEI Theory\u2019 of Boeing\u2019s Undoing\u201d [Maureen Tkacik, <a href=\"https:\/\/prospect.org\/infrastructure\/transportation\/2025-01-24-dei-theory-of-boeings-undoing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The American Prospect<\/a>]. \u201cLike so many superficially inane right-wing ideas, the DEI theory of the collapse of American aviation contained a kernel of accuracy. Over the past quarter-century, Boeing had devolved from a deeply meritocratic organization into an explicitly anti-meritocratic organization. Engineers and quality officials are repeatedly chastised by their superiors for having too much \u201cknowledge.\u201d I recently interviewed a former quality manager who told me she was mocked and ridiculed for having graduated from aviation school. She said her bosses at Boeing in Charleston, South Carolina, made rude and racist comments about her Black inspectors even as they explicitly encouraged her to hire minorities over white men with aviation experience. That\u2019s because Boeing views its employees as fundamentally disposable and has been for decades now at war with employees who know enough about planes to resist their constant and unrelenting orders to move faster and cut corners.\u201d And of course: \u201cEveryone who knows anything about Boeing understands that the \u201croot cause\u201d of its institutional decline was its 1996-1997 merger with McDonnell Douglas, a failed plane maker with a toxic, diabolical culture and a C-suite with an illustrious track record of fomenting distrust, plotting coups, insinuating itself into power vacuums, and bankrupting airplane manufacturers.\u201d \u2022 Tkacik is always worth a read. <\/p>\n<p>Tech: \u201cAs a 3rd-party, curious observer, I have several naive, unanswered questions about the Stargate project\u201d [Bill Gurley, <a href=\"https:\/\/threadreaderapp.com\/thread\/1882497153165341166.html?utm_campaign=topunroll\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">ThreadReader<\/a>]. \u201cObviously understand that they have no obligation to disclose. Here is list with responses wide open. I would love to be able to aggregate the best answers at some point. 1. Corporate Structure The OpenA press release says that Stargate is \u201ca new company.\u201d Is Stargate established as a standard C-corp, LLC, a joint venture, or something else entirely? 2. CEO Leadership Will Stargate have an independent CEO? Who will lead Stargate on a daily basis, and how is that person chosen? Will they be as operationally intense as the XAI team that launched Memphis? 3. Customer Exclusivity Is OpenAI the sole customer, or will Stargate yearn to serve other businesses? Does Microsoft\u2019s deal with OpenAI impose any exclusivity constraints (the Microsoft release suggests it may)?\u201d \u2022 And so on up to 10;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/bgurley\/status\/1882497153165341166?s=12\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> a very good thread<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear &amp; Greed Index: 50 Neutral (previous close: 46 Fear) [<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/data\/fear-and-greed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. One week ago: 37 (Fear). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Jan 24 at 1:11:54 PM ET,<\/p>\n<p><strong>Civil War Studies<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cA brief literary linguistic analysis of the Gettysburg Address\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=68009\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Language Log<\/a>]. \u201cThe Gettysburg Address is notable for its use of powerful rhetorical devices like anaphora (repetition of words at the beginning of sentences), alliteration (repetition of consonant sounds), antithesis (contrasting ideas), allusion (references to other texts), and parallelism (similar sentence structures), all contributing to its concise and impactful delivery, emphasizing themes of sacrifice, democracy, and the ideal of equality\u2026. The above is not an exhaustive account of the rhetorical aspects and literary virtues of the Gettysburg Address, but I trust that it is sufficient to vouch for the verbal and mental power that is concentrated in this concise text\u2026 The <em>raison d\u2019\u00eatre<\/em> for this post is to answer the question I raised in \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=67838\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Machine translators vs. human translators<\/a>\u201d (1\/7\/25) about whether LLMs can ever do nuanced, sensitive literary translation. When I raised that question, I already felt that the answer was \u2018no.\u2019 Having completed this exercise, I\u2019m all the more convinced that that will never happen.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Musical Interlude<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Isaac Hayes with a conductor\u2019s baton:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.7222222222222\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"7.7777777777778\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Isaac Hayes in the studio crafting pure funk magic with the iconic \u2018Shaft\u2019<\/p>\n<p>A legend at work\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AacHkuxs40\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/AacHkuxs40<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Melodies &amp; Masterpieces (@SVG__Collection) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SVG__Collection\/status\/1882529780576170096\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>Photo Book<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"snow\"\/>Winter (1):<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.2950819672131\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"6.5573770491803\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Elegant snow umbrella, St Peter street, New Orleans <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bm5TMD9dCY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/bm5TMD9dCY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Marco (@marcorasi1960) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/marcorasi1960\/status\/1882569376743702677\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Winter (2):<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.9230769230769\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"8.0384615384615\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Meanwhile in Pensacola, Florida, snow covered orange trees. \ud83c\udf4a\u2744\ufe0f\ud83e\udd76 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dO3j8q4f0I\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/dO3j8q4f0I<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 DK\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83e\udd85\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@1Nicdar) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/1Nicdar\/status\/1882064323629216032\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 22, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"zeitgeist\"\/><strong>Zeitgeist Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt a Deluxe Dining Room on the 100th Floor, a Chef Toils in Obscurity\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/dnyuz.com\/2025\/01\/22\/at-a-deluxe-dining-room-on-the-100th-floor-a-chef-toils-in-obscurity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York Times<\/a>]. \u201cThe towers that have sprouted along Billionaires\u2019 Row and elsewhere in New York are in competition for buyers among the top slice of the wealthiest 1 percent. Each building tries to outdo the others with spas, cold plunge pools, infinity pools, fleets of Pilates Reformer machines, steam rooms and other amenities tacked onto the cost of apartments that already are in the tens of millions of dollars\u2026. In these buildings, offering a private restaurant where residents can pick from menus developed by Michelin-starred chefs is becoming de rigueur.\u201d But: \u201cBrokers who buy and sell units in the luxury buildings say these restaurants are often empty. That\u2019s largely because their wealthy residents are busy zipping between apartments in other cities and countries. When they do breeze into New York, one of the great restaurant cities of the world, who wants to eat at home?\u201d \u2022 Personally, I think wonderful food should be a perk of being a citizen.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"class\"\/><strong>Class Warfare<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAutomation in Retail Is Even Worse Than You Thought\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/society\/retail-grocery-automation-esl-kroger\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Nation<\/a>]. \u201c[E]lectronic shelf labels or ESLs [are] digital displays [that] allow companies to change prices automatically from a mobile app. [Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan] warned that this so-called \u2018dynamic pricing\u2019 permits retailers to adjust prices based on their whims. \u2026 Several people interviewed for this article stressed that they were not against all forms of automation but that the innovations should be put in context. They pointed to the pandemic, when retailers blamed price spikes on chaotic supply chains and higher production costs. But studies have uncovered a different culprit: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kansascityfed.org\/Economic%20%20Review\/documents\/9329\/EconomicReviewV108N1GloverMustredelRiovonEndeBecker.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">A 2021 report<\/a> by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City attributed 50 percent of pandemic-era price increases to profiteering. And in 2024, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/21\/us\/politics\/grocery-prices-pandemic-ftc.html?smid=nytcore-android-share&amp;ugrp=c&amp;pvid=4d361984-36c9-4983-89a9-f621a865f477\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">the Federal Trade Commission concluded<\/a> that companies had \u2018accelerated and distorted\u2019 supply chain problems to reap a windfall during the crisis. Joe Mizrahi believes that store automation may be another racket. Price gouging \u2018is totally in line with what we have seen them do during the pandemic. They are increasing prices having nothing to do with inflation,\u2019 he said.\u201d \u2022\u00a0Are readers seeing any of these \u201celectronic shelf labels (ESLs)? If you\u2019ve got nothing to do during the day, can you stand around and watch the labels change?<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"wired\"\/><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Dad.<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.2080291970803\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"7.0656934306569\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Just went to the Oreo website and hit \u201caccept all cookies\u201d \u2026 and now we wait<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Cooper Lawrence (@CooperLawrence) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CooperLawrence\/status\/1882436536832274850\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">January 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center><br \/>\n<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-1-22-2025.html\">here<\/a>. From varnel:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/willow_trees.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"337\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-286054\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/willow_trees.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/willow_trees-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Varnel writes: \u201cTook a drive today to Ashland, WI. Took this shot at the local artesian well.  Doesn\u2019t seem like winter without snow on the ground. Black Willows on Chequamegon Bay, Lake Superior.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"donate\"\/><strong>Readers<\/strong>: Water Cooler is a standalone entity <em>not<\/em> covered by the annual NC fundraiser. Material here is Lambert\u2019s, and does not express the views of the Naked Capitalism site. If you see a link you especially like, or an item you wouldn\u2019t see anywhere else, please do not hesitate to express your appreciation in tangible form. Remember, a tip jar is for tipping! <em>Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know I\u2019m on the right track with coverage<\/em>. When I get no donations for three or four days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals:<\/p>\n<p>Here is the screen that will appear, which I have helpfully annotated:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-226891\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"606\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution.png 606w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution-300x190.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 606px) 100vw, 606px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>If you hate PayPal, you can email me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I will give you directions on how to send a check. Thank you!<\/p>\n<div class=\"printfriendly pf-alignleft\"><a href=\"#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"border:none;-webkit-box-shadow:none; -moz-box-shadow: none; box-shadow:none; padding:0; margin:0\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.printfriendly.com\/buttons\/print-button-gray.png\" alt=\"Print Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- .entry-content --><\/p>\n<footer class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t\tThis entry was posted in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/category\/water-cooler\" rel=\"category tag\">Water Cooler<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2025\/01\/200pm-water-cooler-1-24-2025.html\" title=\"2:00 pm\" rel=\"bookmark\"><time class=\"entry-date updated\" datetime=\"2025-01-24T14:00:44-05:00\">January 24, 2025<\/time><\/a><span class=\"by-author\"> by <span class=\"author vcard\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/author\/lambert-strether\" title=\"View all posts by Lambert Strether\" rel=\"author\">Lambert Strether<\/a><\/span><\/span>.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"author-info\" wp_automatic_readability=\"20.197005056398\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- .author-avatar --><\/p>\n<div class=\"author-description\" wp_automatic_readability=\"35.467911318553\">\n<h2>About Lambert Strether<\/h2>\n<p>Readers, I have had a correspondent characterize my views as realistic cynical. Let me briefly explain them. I believe in universal programs that provide concrete material benefits, especially to the working class. Medicare for All is the prime example, but tuition-free college and a Post Office Bank also fall under this heading. So do a Jobs Guarantee and a Debt Jubilee. Clearly, neither liberal Democrats nor conservative Republicans can deliver on such programs, because the two are different flavors of neoliberalism (\u201cBecause markets\u201d). I don\u2019t much care about the \u201cism\u201d that delivers the benefits, although whichever one does have to put common humanity first, as opposed to markets. Could be a second FDR saving capitalism, democratic socialism leashing and collaring it, or communism razing it. I don\u2019t much care, as long as the benefits are delivered.&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\nTo me, the key issue \u2014 and this is why Medicare for All is always first with me \u2014 is the tens of thousands of excess \u201cdeaths from despair,\u201d as described by the Case-Deaton study, and other recent studies. That enormous body count makes Medicare for All, at the very least, a moral and strategic imperative. And that level of suffering and organic damage makes the concerns of identity politics \u2014 even the worthy fight to help the refugees Bush, Obama, and Clinton\u2019s wars created \u2014 bright shiny objects by comparison. Hence my frustration with the news flow \u2014 currently in my view the swirling intersection of two, separate Shock Doctrine campaigns, one by the Administration, and the other by out-of-power liberals and their allies in the State and in the press \u2014 a news flow that constantly forces me to focus on matters that I regard as of secondary importance to the excess deaths. What kind of political economy is it that halts or even reverses the increases in life expectancy that civilized societies have achieved? I am also very hopeful that the continuing destruction of both party establishments will open the space for voices supporting programs similar to those I have listed; let\u2019s call such voices \u201cthe left.\u201d Volatility creates opportunity, especially if the Democrat establishment, which puts markets first and opposes all such programs, isn\u2019t allowed to get back into the saddle. Eyes on the prize! I love the tactical level, and secretly love even the horse race, since I\u2019ve been blogging about it daily for fourteen years, but everything I write has this perspective at the back of it.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- .author-link\t-->\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><!-- .author-description -->\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><!-- .author-info --><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/footer>\n<p><!-- .entry-meta --><br \/>\n\t<!-- #post --><\/p>\n<nav class=\"nav-single\">\n<h3 class=\"assistive-text\">Post navigation<\/h3>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"nav-previous list-posts-older\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2025\/01\/how-much-will-trumps-bark-exceed-his-bite-doubts-about-whether-disruptive-federal-hiring-and-spending-pauses-will-produce-lasting-changes.html\" rel=\"prev\"><span class=\"meta-nav\">\u2190<\/span> How Much Will Trump\u2019s Bark Exceed His Bite? Doubts About Whether Disruptive Federal Hiring and Spending Pauses Will Produce Lasting Changes<\/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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