\n<\/p>\n
By Lambert Strether.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nBird Song of the Day<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>American Robin, Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge; Deadman Lake. Alaska, United States.<\/p>\n<p>Readers, I\u2019m going to close out with the American Robin, because it\u2019s always such a lift to the spirits to hear them burbling after a rainstorm. So, robins until Friday. \u2013lambert<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#trump\">Trump and patrimonialism<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#bullets\">Elon\u2019s \u201cfive bullets\u201d<\/a> email debacle.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#spooks\">Spooks stirring from slumber<\/a>?<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#hp\">HP performs minor act of de-enshittification<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital.\u201d \u2013Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Trump Administration<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"29.825834542816\">\n<p><a name=\"trump\"\/>\u201cOne Word Describes Trump\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/ZIeJK\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Atlantic<\/a>]. \u201cWeber wondered how the leaders of states derive legitimacy, the claim to rule rightfully. He thought it boiled down to two choices. One is rational legal bureaucracy (or \u201cbureaucratic proceduralism\u201d), a system in which legitimacy is bestowed by institutions following certain rules and norms. That is the American system we all took for granted until January 20. Presidents, federal officials, and military inductees swear an oath to the Constitution, not to a person. The other source of legitimacy is more ancient, more common, and more intuitive\u2014\u2019the default form of rule in the premodern world\u2019 [Stephen E. Hanson, a government professor at the College of William & Mary, and Jeffrey S. Kopstein, a political scientist at UC Irvine] write. \u2018The state was little more than the extended \u2018household\u2019 of the ruler; it did not exist as a separate entity.\u2019 Weber called this system \u2018patrimonialism\u2019 because rulers claimed to be the symbolic father of the people\u2014the state\u2019s personification and protector\u2026. In his day, Weber thought that patrimonialism was on its way to history\u2019s scrap heap. Its personalized style of rule was too inexpert and capricious to manage the complex economies and military machines that, after Bismarck, became the hallmarks of modern statehood. Unfortunately, he was wrong. Patrimonialism is less a form of government than a style of governing. It is not defined by institutions or rules; rather, it can infect all forms of government by replacing impersonal, formal lines of authority with personalized, informal ones. Based on individual loyalty and connections, and on rewarding friends and punishing enemies (real or perceived), it can be found not just in states but also among tribes, street gangs, and criminal organizations. In its governmental guise, patrimonialism is distinguished by running the state as if it were the leader\u2019s personal property or family business.\u201d \u2022 Hmm. Patrimonialism seems akin to the Schmittian friend\/enemy distinction.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>DOGE<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"58.735882352941\">\n<p>Elon out over his skis:<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"bullets\"\/>\u201cEmail starts power clash between Musk and agency leaders \u2014 even the Trump loyalists\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/02\/23\/musk-guidance-conflict-agency-leaders-00205640\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Politico<\/a>]. \u201cElon Musk\u2019s weekend threat to federal workers triggered panic and confusion Sunday as administration officials rushed to issue sometimes conflicting guidance, setting in motion a power struggle between Musk and agency heads appointed by President Donald Trump to lead the federal government. The guidance varied by agency\u2026. It\u2019s the latest episode of Musk\u2019s \u2018move fast and break things\u2019 philosophy clashing with the layers of rules and laws that fortify the bureaucracy he hopes to hobble. And it\u2019s the first sign that even staunch Trump loyalists are beginning to flex their political muscle against Musk, an unelected \u2018special government employee,\u2019 whose power stems primarily from his proximity to the president.\u201d \u2022 Hmm. Here is the letter:<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/letter.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"460\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287828\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/letter.png 500w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/letter-300x276.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>I have seen three explanations for this letter, besides sheer harassment (most employees I know of work in a chain of command; they certainly don\u2019t need to report to Elon). (1) The letters will be fed into an AI, and keywords found will be used for firing; (2) the letters are a sorting device for stupid or loyal people, a la the Nigerian 419 fraud; (3) based on the request for that the worker\u2019s managed be cc\u2019ed, results would enable a more accurate, granular org chart of the Federal government to be constructed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOPM\u2019s Own Guidance Says Fed Employees Never Have to Respond to the Elon Emails\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/edblog\/opms-own-guidance-says-fed-employees-never-have-to-respond-to-the-elon-emails\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Talking Points Memo<\/a>]. \u201cNotwithstanding that what amounts to a prank email has had the entire federal government debating with itself over the last 48 hours, Musk\u2019s own Office of Personnel Management says that federal employees never have to respond to any of these emails. After landing at the Office of Personnel Management in January, DOGE operatives first order of business was to set up a new email system through which all federal employees could be emailed through a single distribution list. They built it on a new server system outside of the established government email system. But emails it sends come to civil servants from the email address HR at OPM dot gov. This new system was given the name Government-Wide Email System (GWES). On February 5th, 2025 \u2014 in other words, well after the Trump and more specifically Musk was in charge of OPM \u2014 OPM published this document, Privacy Impact Assessement for GWES. As you can see here, most specifically in sections 4.2 and 4.3, federal government employees are never obligated to respond to any GWES emails and are under no obligation to share any information. Indeed, section 4.3 says that to mitigate the risk that the federal employees may not realize this, every GWES email should \u2018explicitly stat[e] that the response is voluntary.’\u201d \u2022 BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!!<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few of the better \u201cfive bullets\u201d letters, culled from the Intertubes:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.3684210526316\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.2631578947368\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Here’s one creative way <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SecretService\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">@SecretService<\/a> managers told agents to respond to Elon Musk’s surprise email demanding hat fed employees list their 5 accomplishments last week. Sources said it was designed to avoid agents sharing sensitive and classified details of their work protecting\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3dSx9n0ayi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/3dSx9n0ayi<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Carol Leonnig (@CarolLeonnig) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CarolLeonnig\/status\/1893762820619096069\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>And:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.1623376623377\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"6.487012987013\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I\u2019m going to need five bullets on what you did this past week by morning. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SFR3bkU3Hg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/SFR3bkU3Hg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Katie Mehnert (@katiemehnert) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/katiemehnert\/status\/1893869031951659505\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>And (NSFW):<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"0.96428571428571\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.0857142857143\">\n<p lang=\"zxx\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1YNJMXkizS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/1YNJMXkizS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Josh Ellis (@jzellis) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jzellis\/status\/1893918147129889048\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center><br \/>\n<center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"spooks\"\/>\u201cHow Trump\u2019s government-cutting moves risk exposing the CIA\u2019s secrets\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2025\/02\/24\/politics\/cia-security-risks-trump\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. \u201cThe CIA is conducting a formal review to assess any potential damage from an unclassified email sent to the White House in early February that identified for possible layoffs some officers by first name and last initial and could\u2019ve exposed the roles of people working undercover, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. That\u2019s just one of multiple aftershocks from President Donald Trump\u2019s push to take a jackhammer to the federal government \u2013 including the CIA. The administration\u2019s efforts to cut the workforce and audit spending at the CIA and elsewhere threaten to jeopardize some of the government\u2019s most sensitive work, current and former US officials familiar with internal deliberations say. And on the CIA\u2019s 7th floor \u2014 home to top leadership \u2014 some officers are also quietly discussing how mass firings and the buyouts already offered to staff risk creating a group of disgruntled former employees who might be motivated to take what they know to a foreign intelligence service. Taken together, those actions highlight the depth of unease among career officials that Trump\u2019s efforts to speedily slim down the US government may be putting American secrets within the grasp of foreign spies and hackers.\u201d \u2022 So far, Trump \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/holding-former-government-officials-accountablefor-election-interference-and-improper-disclosure-of-sensitive-governmental-information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">except for slapping those \u201c50 intelligence officials\u201d around for election interference<\/a> \u2014 has left the spooks alone (presumably the generation of spook-related cover stories formerly undertaken by USAID will be moved to State). So is this story a message? A warning shot? What?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDespite the hype, DOGE hasn\u2019t found a shred of fraud\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicnotice.co\/p\/despite-the-hype-doge-hasnt-found\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Public Notice<\/a>]. \u201cDOGE has claimed it\u2019s rooted out $55 billion worth of spending, a dollar amount that appears to be <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2025\/02\/19\/doge-says-saved-55-billion-itemized-data-show-far-less\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wildly inaccurate<\/a>: As of Sunday, DOGE\u2019s website claims it has saved or cancelled $55 billion worth of government contracts. But that same website only accounts for $16 billion in contracts. Half of that comes from an $8 million government contract that DOGE <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/18\/upshot\/doge-contracts-musk-trump.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">incorrectly<\/a> identified as being worth $8 billion. Additionally, DOGE has been in some cases simply cancelling contracts that the government <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/stphnfwlr\/status\/1892929278242705685\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">has already paid for<\/a>. Some $325 million in supposed savings are simply contracts that have been repeated in DOGE\u2019s reporting, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/02\/22\/doge-data-errors-inconsistencies-00002576\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Politico found<\/a>. But actual fraud? DOGE has found nothing. None of this has stopped Trump, Musk, congressional Republicans, and their allies in rightwing media from breathlessly highlighting millions of dollars\u2019 worth of spending as examples of fraudulent government programs. Nowhere in those lists of programs \u2014 like the USAID initiatives that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicnotice.co\/p\/usaid-destruction-marco-rubio-soft-power\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">lambasting for weeks<\/a>, including the tortured and incorrect claim that US taxpayers funded \u2018condoms for Gaza\u2019 \u2014 is anything that even Musk or Trump themselves have identified as \u2018fraud.\u2019 Instead, the goalposts for DOGE have silently moved from finding fraud and corruption to simply pointing out and cancelling government programs that Trump and Republicans simply don\u2019t support.\u201d \u2022 I kinda turned off following the detail on this story after Musk went all \u201cGhost of COBOL\u201d on Social Security\u2026. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a name=\"democrats\"\/>Democrats <em>en d\u00e9shabill\u00e9<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"48.22392725206\">\n<p>\u201cAI video of Trump kissing Musk\u2019s feet plays on TVs in HUD building\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/5160998-trump-kissing-musk-feet-video-hud\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Register<\/a>]. \u201cA video produced using artificial intelligence (AI) showing President Trump rubbing and kissing Elon Musk\u2019s feet played on television screens in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) building Monday in an apparent mocking of the relationship between the two men. The words \u2018Long live the real king\u2019 were displayed over the top of the computer-generated video, a reference to Trump\u2019s Truth Social post last week in which he wrote, \u2018Long Live the King!\u2019 The Hill obtained a photo of the screens in the HUD building as the video was playing.\u201d \u2022 Here\u2019s the video:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.9320388349515\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.223300970874\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">On Monday morning, TV sets at the headquarters of the Department of Housing and Urban Development played the seemingly AI-generated video on loop, along with the words \u201cLONG LIVE THE REAL KING.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read the full article: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TYHyCUUqvV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/TYHyCUUqvV<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dHRjnmVes6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/dHRjnmVes6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 WIRED (@WIRED) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WIRED\/status\/1894075952545563036\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>I fail to understand the extraordinary hold this trope has on the liberal Democrat mind; it began, or at least was normalized, in a series in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/06\/25\/opinion\/trump-bites-putin-love-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The New York Times back in 2018<\/a>. Liberals seem to believe that the trope is an enormous \u201cown\u201d of conservatives. In fact, it shows that for liberalism \u2014 hold onto your hats, here, folks \u2014 tribalism trumps principle. In what other context would the \u201cIn this house\u2026.\u201d rainbow-flag crowd treat gay lovers as anything other than worthy of praise, indeed emulation? But bring in a demon figure, and the deep triggers go off\u2026. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAngry Democratic donors turn off the flow of money\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/campaign\/5158323-democrats-struggle-rebuild-party\/?email=de6397e348baed3cf38db52c4c8540710e88014f&emaila=631dfdfffba4e214671dbfa72d020b8a&emailb=571727e434add056ae72e0b64860723d83c4dd2a8a3297ce87280bff9a58c400&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=02.24.25%20News%20Alert%20AP%20HT%20KB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hill<\/a>]. \u201cDemocratic donors \u2014 from bundlers to small dollar donors \u2014 say they are still angry about the election results and uninspired by anything their side has put forward since then. \u2018I\u2019ll be blunt here: The Democratic Party is f\u2011\u2011\u2011ing terrible. Plain and simple,\u2019 one major Democratic donor said. \u2018In fact, it doesn\u2019t get much worse.\u2019 A second donor was equally as pointed. \u2018They want us to spend money, and for what? For no message, no organization, no forward thinking. \u2026 The thing that\u2019s clear to a lot of us is that the party never really learned its lesson in 2016. They worked off the same playbook and the same ineffective strategies and to what end?’\u201d \u2022 The party did great in 2016 and 2020. They crippled the left, and that\u2019s their main goal as a party, right? Stop whining, donors! You never had it so good!<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCarville suggests Trump admin will \u2018collapse\u2019 within 30 days\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/5160376-carville-suggests-trump-admin-will-collapse-within-30-days\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hill<\/a>]. \u201cDemocratic strategist James Carville suggested the Trump administration will \u2018collapse\u2019 within 30 days as the public reacts to the sweeping actions from the executive branch. \u2018I believe that this administration, in less than 30 days, is in the midst of a massive collapse and particularly a collapse in public opinion,\u2019 Carville said during a conversation with Mediaite\u2019s Dan Abrams about the Trump administration\u2019s unprecedented recent actions. Abrams asked Carville to clarify what he meant, to confirm that Carville believes the administration will crumble shortly. \u2018It\u2019s collapsing right now. We\u2019re in the midst of a collapse,\u2019 Carville replied. \u2018This is the lowest approval, not even close, that any president has ever had at a comparable time.’\u201d \u2022 This is cope. Not buying it. And if I did, it would be bad: The Democrats must suffer much, much more before there is any change, inside or outside the party.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Republican Funhouse<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"5.758865248227\">\n<p>Maybe:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.739263803681\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"12.322085889571\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Voters are mostly liking what they see in the first month of the new presidency. By 57\/43 voters say Trump doing a better job than Biden in advance look at poll coming out Monday. <\/p>\n<p>Job approval at 52 but closing the border, cutting waste are hugely popular. So is resetting merit\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Mark Penn (@Mark_Penn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Mark_Penn\/status\/1893486848091267197?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d certainly give the Trump administration more than Carville\u2019s thirty days, though. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Realignment and Legitimacy<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"21.954198473282\">\n<p>\u201cMonopoly Round-Up: The Populist Revolt Against Oligarchy Begins\u201d [Matt Stoller, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebignewsletter.com\/p\/monopoly-round-up-the-populist-revolt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">BIG<\/a>]. why choose to focus on Bernie Sanders giving speeches on how he doesn\u2019t like the superrich? I mean, yawn. Right? But something about this campaign is different. It\u2019s not so much what Bernie is saying, it\u2019s that he is doing it to overflow crowds in Nebraska and Iowa. And it\u2019s not just event crowds, his videos are getting tens of millions of views, and his online campaign metrics are performing remarkably well. I got a note from a contact in Bernie-world, who told me that \u2018The level of engagement is higher than the last presidential.\u2019 Democratic operatives who have traditionally disliked Bernie are noting what he\u2019s doing, approvingly. Even billionaire Mark Cuban, who hates populism, is calling Bernie\u2019s approach \u2018really smart.\u2019 \u2026. This anti-big business vibe isn\u2019t necessarily channeling itself through the Democrats, who are deeply loathed and distrusted\u2026. What\u2019s important about what Bernie is doing, and these other signals, is he might be showing that fear of oligarchy is the dominant view of a large swath of the public. If that\u2019s the case, a lot of things could change, and quicker than we might imagine.\u201d \u2022 (Readers; Please keep the Bernie grousing to a minimum. We know all those points by heart.) What I want to know is why Sanders is the only one at the podium. Let\u2019s get some new faces up there!<\/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>Measles<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"13.896583564174\">\n<p>\u201cFormer FDA chief \u2018very concerned\u2019 about Texas measles outbreak spreading\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/healthcare\/5160089-former-fda-chief-very-concerned-about-texas-measles-outbreak-spreading\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hill<\/a>]. \u201cFormer Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said he is \u2018very concerned\u2019 about the measles outbreak in Texas spreading\u2026. He noted that he believes it \u2018will spread.\u2019 \u2018There\u2019s been 100 cases that have been identified so far,\u2019 Gottlieb said. \u2018There\u2019s probably many more than that. \u2018So, I think that this is going to get into the hundreds of cases and could take many months to try to fully snuff out,\u2019 he added. The Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed at least 90 cases of measles and said 16 patients were hospitalized. Just five of the patients were vaccinated\u2026. Gottleib also noted that there could be economic impacts from the spread of measles, as other countries could place the U.S. under a travel advisory. \u2018The risk to the United States right now is that a virus that has been largely extinguished from circulation in the U.S. could return and just continue to spread, even at a low level,\u2019 Gottlieb said.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Treatment: Covid<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"10.941176470588\">\n<p>\u201cDemographic Variation In US Outpatient Hydroxychloroquine And Ivermectin Use During The COVID-19 Pandemic\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rand.org\/pubs\/external_publications\/EP70874.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">RAND<\/a>]. \u201cUsing insurance claims from the MedInsight Emerging Experience Research Database for 8.1 million patients from all fifty US states, we evaluated COVID-19-associated outpatient hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin use and spending throughout the public health emergency (January 30, 2020-May 11, 2023) versus pre-public health emergency rates. \u2026. The combined overall hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin utilization rate was threefold higher in older versus younger adults. Ivermectin use was greater among patients with the highest versus the lowest degree of social vulnerability and in the southern US versus other regions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Origins Debate<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"14.3867120954\">\n<p>\u201cWhat sparked the COVID pandemic? Mounting evidence points to raccoon dogs\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/eEN9T\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Nature<\/a>]. \u2022 Readers know I take the strong form position that any argument from the structure of SARS-CoV-2 to a claim of human-made creation is the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Watchmaker_analogy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Watchmaker Analogy<\/a>, beloved of creationists, and to be rejected by Darwinians. That said, for Nature to be recycling the \u201cauthorities\u201d who have been on this topic since before the beginning (e.g. Andersen, Pekar, Rasmussen, Worobey) just isn\u2019t a good look. If indeed Nature wishes to \u201cdepoliticize\u201d this issue, they should broaden their sourcing.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> Celebrity Watch<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"4.3614457831325\">\n<p>Hilarity ensues:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.7154605263158\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.9078947368421\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Jamie Lee Curtis: “And the Actor goes to\u2026the man who gave me covid at the Golden Globes: Colin Farrell”<\/p>\n<p>Colin: “Guilty as charged. But Brendan Gleeson fucking gave it to me! So I was just spreading the love”<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SAGAwards?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">#SAGAwards<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BzNgtXiPG2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/BzNgtXiPG2<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SpencerAlthouse\/status\/1893842919292879204\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s probably something similar in Bocaccio (though not in <em>The Masque of the Red Death<\/em>).<\/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=\"10.907335907336\">\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Wastewater<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.625\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> This week[1] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 17<\/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\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4-300x197.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\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-3.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-3-300x190.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6521739130435\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong> Variants<\/strong> [3] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 15<\/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> February 15 <\/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\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1-300x230.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\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287665\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-3.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-3-300x159.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=\"3.9240506329114\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> New York[5] <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.health.ny.gov\/daily-hospitalization-summary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York State<\/a>, data February 21:<\/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> February 20:<\/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\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-9.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287822\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-9.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-9-300x170.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\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287666\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-3.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-3-300x297.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Positivity<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"2.6842105263158\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> National[7] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/healthcare-solutions\/covid-19-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a> February 24:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Ohio[8] <a href=\"https:\/\/clevelandcliniclabs.com\/respiratory-virus-surveillance-statistics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cleveland Clinic<\/a> February 15:<\/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\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287823\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-2-300x189.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287668\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2-300x196.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Travelers Data<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6307692307692\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> Positivity[9] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 3:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> <span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> Variants[10] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 3 <\/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\/02\/covid-cdc-positity-travelers.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287820\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positity-travelers.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positity-travelers-300x165.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\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287821\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-3.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-3-300x230.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 25:<\/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 25:<\/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\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286757\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl-300x202.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<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286972\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1-300x186.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\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) Down, 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) Weird plateau without exponential growrht<\/p>\n<p>[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[7] (Walgreens) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[8] (Cleveland) <\/p>\n<p>[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Uptick.<\/p>\n<p>[10] (Travelers: Variants). Don\u2019t know what the dominance of XEC is all about,<\/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>Manufacturing: \u201cFAA calls for testing on Boeing 757 freighter cargo doors after incidents\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aerotime.aero\/articles\/faa-boeing-757-cargo-doors-safety-bulletin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Aerotime<\/a>]. \u201cThe Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has recommended that all worldwide operators of certain Boeing 757-200 converted freighters carry out a series of safety checks on the main deck cargo doors of these aircraft. The calls come after an incident in 2021 where the main cargo door of a DHL-operated Boeing 757 converted freighter opened mid-flight. In the incident in question, the aircraft failed to pressurize following a routine departure from DHL\u2019s European hub located at Leipzig-Halle Airport (LEI) in Germany. Although the crew onboard was aware of the pressurization issue, it was only later discovered that the main deck cargo door had failed to latch correctly, leading to its uncommanded opening in flight.\u201d \u2022 Since 2021\u2026. Nevertheless, one door closes, another opens!<\/p>\n<p>Tech: \u201cAI-designed chips are so weird that \u2018humans cannot really understand them\u2019 \u2014 but they perform better than anything we\u2019ve created\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.livescience.com\/technology\/computing\/humans-cannot-really-understand-them-weird-ai-designed-chip-is-unlike-any-other-made-by-humans-and-performs-much-better\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">LiveScience<\/a>]. \u201cAlthough the findings suggest that the design of such complex chips could be handed over to AI, Sengputa was keen to point out that pitfalls remain \u2018that still require human designers to correct.\u2019 In particular, many of the designs produced by the algorithm did not work\u2013 equivalent to the \u2018hallucinations\u2019 produced by current generative AI tools. \u2018The point is not to replace human designers with tools,\u2019 said Sengputa. \u2018The point is to enhance productivity with new tools.’\u201d \u2022 That\u2019s what management always says. At first.<\/p>\n<p>Tech: A classic \u201cSmiley\u2019s People\u201d scene, but with a AI slop added:<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Smiley's People (1982) - Alec Guinness - Chat with Toby\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Oer2LoXYusY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Always worth watching. But take a look:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/smiley.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"611\" height=\"917\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287825\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/smiley.png 611w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/smiley-200x300.png 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 611px) 100vw, 611px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Every day, in every way, AI makes us more stupid. (Sure, there are use cases. But civilizationally, the trend is down.)<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 31 Fear (previous close: 35 Fear) [<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/data\/fear-and-greed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. One week ago: 44 (Fear). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Feb 24 at 2:04:38 PM ET.<\/p>\n<p>Rapture Index: Closes unchanged [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.raptureready.com\/rapture-ready-index\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rapture Ready<\/a>]. Record High, October 10, 2016: 189. Current: 180. (Remember that bringing on the Rapture is good.) \u2022 This is a tough crowd. Surely Trump\u2019s first month brought the Rapture closer?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Seems on-point:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.8418803418803\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"12.324786324786\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Credulous dupe distracted by trickster\u2019s cups-&-ball trick is vomiting a frog, as his purse is being stolen by man in friar\u2019s habit (Bosch, The Conjurer c 1502). Note also inquisitive child with whirlygig, the owl peeping out of basket, & costumed trick dog <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0KqhwoX9vd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/0KqhwoX9vd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Journal of Art in Society (@artinsociety) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/artinsociety\/status\/1887387880731123749\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 6, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"class\"\/><strong>Class Warfare<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMeasuring the Income Gap from 1975 to 2023\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rand.org\/content\/dam\/rand\/pubs\/working_papers\/WRA500\/WRA516-2\/RAND_WRA516-2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">RAND<\/a>]. \u2022 Handy chart:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/income.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"322\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287673\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/income.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/income-300x161.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>I realize the data stops 2019-2020, when Trump\u2019s CARES Act lifted millions out of poverty, at least temporaily.<\/p>\n<p><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"hp\"\/>\u201cWe bullied HP into a minor act of disenshittification\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/pluralistic.net\/2025\/02\/22\/ink-spattered-pitchforks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cory Doctorow<\/a>]. Well worth reading in full, but here is the heart of the matter: \u201cHP\u2019s enshittificatory impulses run wild. They hunt relentlessly for ways to make things worse for their customers in order to make things better for themselves. Last week, they came up with a humdinger, even by their own standards. They announced that people who called their customer service line would be subject to mandatory 15-minute waits, even if there was a rep who was free to talk with them\u2026. During this mandatory 15-minute wait, customers would be bombarded with a recorded voice demanding that they solve their problems by consulting HP\u2019s website and its awful chatbots. In a competitive market, businesses can contain their customer service costs by making better products. In a monopolistic market like the printer racket, companies can deliberately introduce maddening antifeatures to their products, and then fob off the customers who reach such a peak of frustrated rage that they resort to calling a customer support number on chatbot that will use its spicy autocomplete to hallucinate nonexistent drivers and imaginary troubleshooting steps\u2026. Within a day of Paul Kunert <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theregister.com\/2025\/02\/21\/hp_ditches_15_minute_wait_time_call_centers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">breaking the story in The Register<\/a>, HP had reversed its policy, citing \u2018feedback\u2019 (a corporate euphemism that means \u2018fury\u2019). This is a rare win for the forces of disenhittification and it deserves recognition. It turns out that in these Mangionean times, companies can actually be bullied into comporting themselves with marginally less sleaze and cruelty. It\u2019s especially noteworthy that this took place in the UK, where Prime Minister Kier Starmer has invited tech companies to pick Britons\u2019 pockets without fear of consequence, by firing the top competition regulator and replacing him with the former head of Amazon UK.\u201d \u2022\u00a0Yay! (And just think how much better call centers will be when everything is AI!<\/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\/02\/200pm-water-cooler-2-21-2025.html\">here<\/a>. From JH:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/maltese.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287816\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/maltese.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/maltese-300x225.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>JH writes: \u201cIn the hope you may need a couple more photos prior to your departure from NC, I have attached several photos of plants in my yard. If you can\u2019t use them, I hope at least you can enjoy!\u201d And:<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"13\">\n<p>The red flower is Maltese Cross (Lychnis Chalcedonica). I have spent an inordinate amount time and money trying to get these established. Supposedly easy to grow \u2013 but not for me in Northeast Ohio. I am fascinated by the plant\u2019s history: First noted as planted in cottage gardens in England circa 1500, but believed to have been brought back from the Middle East in the 1100\u2019s during or after a Crusade. It has a lovely, long-lasting flower and is best situated among other plants in an \u201cinformal\u201d setting \u2013 that informality, which, much to my own self-chagrin, is usually \u201ccreated\u201d by me as I always procrastinate on the weeding\u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>I am in good shape, readers, and in fact have almost emptied the queue, which is good for all of us!<\/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<\/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\/02\/200pm-water-cooler-2-24-2025.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lambert Strether. Bird Song of the Day American Robin, Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge; Deadman Lake. Alaska, United States. Readers, I\u2019m going to close out<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":91434,"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-91433","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\/91433","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=91433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Bird Song of the Day<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>American Robin, Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge; Deadman Lake. Alaska, United States.<\/p>\n<p>Readers, I\u2019m going to close out with the American Robin, because it\u2019s always such a lift to the spirits to hear them burbling after a rainstorm. So, robins until Friday. \u2013lambert<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#trump\">Trump and patrimonialism<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#bullets\">Elon\u2019s \u201cfive bullets\u201d<\/a> email debacle.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#spooks\">Spooks stirring from slumber<\/a>?<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#hp\">HP performs minor act of de-enshittification<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital.\u201d \u2013Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Trump Administration<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"29.825834542816\">\n<p><a name=\"trump\"\/>\u201cOne Word Describes Trump\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/ZIeJK\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Atlantic<\/a>]. \u201cWeber wondered how the leaders of states derive legitimacy, the claim to rule rightfully. He thought it boiled down to two choices. One is rational legal bureaucracy (or \u201cbureaucratic proceduralism\u201d), a system in which legitimacy is bestowed by institutions following certain rules and norms. That is the American system we all took for granted until January 20. Presidents, federal officials, and military inductees swear an oath to the Constitution, not to a person. The other source of legitimacy is more ancient, more common, and more intuitive\u2014\u2019the default form of rule in the premodern world\u2019 [Stephen E. Hanson, a government professor at the College of William & Mary, and Jeffrey S. Kopstein, a political scientist at UC Irvine] write. \u2018The state was little more than the extended \u2018household\u2019 of the ruler; it did not exist as a separate entity.\u2019 Weber called this system \u2018patrimonialism\u2019 because rulers claimed to be the symbolic father of the people\u2014the state\u2019s personification and protector\u2026. In his day, Weber thought that patrimonialism was on its way to history\u2019s scrap heap. Its personalized style of rule was too inexpert and capricious to manage the complex economies and military machines that, after Bismarck, became the hallmarks of modern statehood. Unfortunately, he was wrong. Patrimonialism is less a form of government than a style of governing. It is not defined by institutions or rules; rather, it can infect all forms of government by replacing impersonal, formal lines of authority with personalized, informal ones. Based on individual loyalty and connections, and on rewarding friends and punishing enemies (real or perceived), it can be found not just in states but also among tribes, street gangs, and criminal organizations. In its governmental guise, patrimonialism is distinguished by running the state as if it were the leader\u2019s personal property or family business.\u201d \u2022 Hmm. Patrimonialism seems akin to the Schmittian friend\/enemy distinction.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>DOGE<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"58.735882352941\">\n<p>Elon out over his skis:<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"bullets\"\/>\u201cEmail starts power clash between Musk and agency leaders \u2014 even the Trump loyalists\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/02\/23\/musk-guidance-conflict-agency-leaders-00205640\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Politico<\/a>]. \u201cElon Musk\u2019s weekend threat to federal workers triggered panic and confusion Sunday as administration officials rushed to issue sometimes conflicting guidance, setting in motion a power struggle between Musk and agency heads appointed by President Donald Trump to lead the federal government. The guidance varied by agency\u2026. It\u2019s the latest episode of Musk\u2019s \u2018move fast and break things\u2019 philosophy clashing with the layers of rules and laws that fortify the bureaucracy he hopes to hobble. And it\u2019s the first sign that even staunch Trump loyalists are beginning to flex their political muscle against Musk, an unelected \u2018special government employee,\u2019 whose power stems primarily from his proximity to the president.\u201d \u2022 Hmm. Here is the letter:<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/letter.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"460\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287828\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/letter.png 500w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/letter-300x276.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>I have seen three explanations for this letter, besides sheer harassment (most employees I know of work in a chain of command; they certainly don\u2019t need to report to Elon). (1) The letters will be fed into an AI, and keywords found will be used for firing; (2) the letters are a sorting device for stupid or loyal people, a la the Nigerian 419 fraud; (3) based on the request for that the worker\u2019s managed be cc\u2019ed, results would enable a more accurate, granular org chart of the Federal government to be constructed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOPM\u2019s Own Guidance Says Fed Employees Never Have to Respond to the Elon Emails\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/edblog\/opms-own-guidance-says-fed-employees-never-have-to-respond-to-the-elon-emails\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Talking Points Memo<\/a>]. \u201cNotwithstanding that what amounts to a prank email has had the entire federal government debating with itself over the last 48 hours, Musk\u2019s own Office of Personnel Management says that federal employees never have to respond to any of these emails. After landing at the Office of Personnel Management in January, DOGE operatives first order of business was to set up a new email system through which all federal employees could be emailed through a single distribution list. They built it on a new server system outside of the established government email system. But emails it sends come to civil servants from the email address HR at OPM dot gov. This new system was given the name Government-Wide Email System (GWES). On February 5th, 2025 \u2014 in other words, well after the Trump and more specifically Musk was in charge of OPM \u2014 OPM published this document, Privacy Impact Assessement for GWES. As you can see here, most specifically in sections 4.2 and 4.3, federal government employees are never obligated to respond to any GWES emails and are under no obligation to share any information. Indeed, section 4.3 says that to mitigate the risk that the federal employees may not realize this, every GWES email should \u2018explicitly stat[e] that the response is voluntary.’\u201d \u2022 BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!!<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few of the better \u201cfive bullets\u201d letters, culled from the Intertubes:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.3684210526316\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.2631578947368\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Here’s one creative way <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SecretService\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">@SecretService<\/a> managers told agents to respond to Elon Musk’s surprise email demanding hat fed employees list their 5 accomplishments last week. Sources said it was designed to avoid agents sharing sensitive and classified details of their work protecting\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3dSx9n0ayi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/3dSx9n0ayi<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Carol Leonnig (@CarolLeonnig) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CarolLeonnig\/status\/1893762820619096069\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>And:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.1623376623377\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"6.487012987013\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I\u2019m going to need five bullets on what you did this past week by morning. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SFR3bkU3Hg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/SFR3bkU3Hg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Katie Mehnert (@katiemehnert) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/katiemehnert\/status\/1893869031951659505\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>And (NSFW):<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"0.96428571428571\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.0857142857143\">\n<p lang=\"zxx\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1YNJMXkizS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/1YNJMXkizS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Josh Ellis (@jzellis) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jzellis\/status\/1893918147129889048\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center><br \/>\n<center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"spooks\"\/>\u201cHow Trump\u2019s government-cutting moves risk exposing the CIA\u2019s secrets\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2025\/02\/24\/politics\/cia-security-risks-trump\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. \u201cThe CIA is conducting a formal review to assess any potential damage from an unclassified email sent to the White House in early February that identified for possible layoffs some officers by first name and last initial and could\u2019ve exposed the roles of people working undercover, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. That\u2019s just one of multiple aftershocks from President Donald Trump\u2019s push to take a jackhammer to the federal government \u2013 including the CIA. The administration\u2019s efforts to cut the workforce and audit spending at the CIA and elsewhere threaten to jeopardize some of the government\u2019s most sensitive work, current and former US officials familiar with internal deliberations say. And on the CIA\u2019s 7th floor \u2014 home to top leadership \u2014 some officers are also quietly discussing how mass firings and the buyouts already offered to staff risk creating a group of disgruntled former employees who might be motivated to take what they know to a foreign intelligence service. Taken together, those actions highlight the depth of unease among career officials that Trump\u2019s efforts to speedily slim down the US government may be putting American secrets within the grasp of foreign spies and hackers.\u201d \u2022 So far, Trump \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/holding-former-government-officials-accountablefor-election-interference-and-improper-disclosure-of-sensitive-governmental-information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">except for slapping those \u201c50 intelligence officials\u201d around for election interference<\/a> \u2014 has left the spooks alone (presumably the generation of spook-related cover stories formerly undertaken by USAID will be moved to State). So is this story a message? A warning shot? What?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDespite the hype, DOGE hasn\u2019t found a shred of fraud\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicnotice.co\/p\/despite-the-hype-doge-hasnt-found\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Public Notice<\/a>]. \u201cDOGE has claimed it\u2019s rooted out $55 billion worth of spending, a dollar amount that appears to be <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2025\/02\/19\/doge-says-saved-55-billion-itemized-data-show-far-less\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wildly inaccurate<\/a>: As of Sunday, DOGE\u2019s website claims it has saved or cancelled $55 billion worth of government contracts. But that same website only accounts for $16 billion in contracts. Half of that comes from an $8 million government contract that DOGE <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/18\/upshot\/doge-contracts-musk-trump.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">incorrectly<\/a> identified as being worth $8 billion. Additionally, DOGE has been in some cases simply cancelling contracts that the government <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/stphnfwlr\/status\/1892929278242705685\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">has already paid for<\/a>. Some $325 million in supposed savings are simply contracts that have been repeated in DOGE\u2019s reporting, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/02\/22\/doge-data-errors-inconsistencies-00002576\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Politico found<\/a>. But actual fraud? DOGE has found nothing. None of this has stopped Trump, Musk, congressional Republicans, and their allies in rightwing media from breathlessly highlighting millions of dollars\u2019 worth of spending as examples of fraudulent government programs. Nowhere in those lists of programs \u2014 like the USAID initiatives that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicnotice.co\/p\/usaid-destruction-marco-rubio-soft-power\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">lambasting for weeks<\/a>, including the tortured and incorrect claim that US taxpayers funded \u2018condoms for Gaza\u2019 \u2014 is anything that even Musk or Trump themselves have identified as \u2018fraud.\u2019 Instead, the goalposts for DOGE have silently moved from finding fraud and corruption to simply pointing out and cancelling government programs that Trump and Republicans simply don\u2019t support.\u201d \u2022 I kinda turned off following the detail on this story after Musk went all \u201cGhost of COBOL\u201d on Social Security\u2026. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a name=\"democrats\"\/>Democrats <em>en d\u00e9shabill\u00e9<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"48.22392725206\">\n<p>\u201cAI video of Trump kissing Musk\u2019s feet plays on TVs in HUD building\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/5160998-trump-kissing-musk-feet-video-hud\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Register<\/a>]. \u201cA video produced using artificial intelligence (AI) showing President Trump rubbing and kissing Elon Musk\u2019s feet played on television screens in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) building Monday in an apparent mocking of the relationship between the two men. The words \u2018Long live the real king\u2019 were displayed over the top of the computer-generated video, a reference to Trump\u2019s Truth Social post last week in which he wrote, \u2018Long Live the King!\u2019 The Hill obtained a photo of the screens in the HUD building as the video was playing.\u201d \u2022 Here\u2019s the video:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.9320388349515\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.223300970874\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">On Monday morning, TV sets at the headquarters of the Department of Housing and Urban Development played the seemingly AI-generated video on loop, along with the words \u201cLONG LIVE THE REAL KING.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read the full article: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TYHyCUUqvV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/TYHyCUUqvV<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dHRjnmVes6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/dHRjnmVes6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 WIRED (@WIRED) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WIRED\/status\/1894075952545563036\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>I fail to understand the extraordinary hold this trope has on the liberal Democrat mind; it began, or at least was normalized, in a series in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/06\/25\/opinion\/trump-bites-putin-love-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The New York Times back in 2018<\/a>. Liberals seem to believe that the trope is an enormous \u201cown\u201d of conservatives. In fact, it shows that for liberalism \u2014 hold onto your hats, here, folks \u2014 tribalism trumps principle. In what other context would the \u201cIn this house\u2026.\u201d rainbow-flag crowd treat gay lovers as anything other than worthy of praise, indeed emulation? But bring in a demon figure, and the deep triggers go off\u2026. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAngry Democratic donors turn off the flow of money\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/campaign\/5158323-democrats-struggle-rebuild-party\/?email=de6397e348baed3cf38db52c4c8540710e88014f&emaila=631dfdfffba4e214671dbfa72d020b8a&emailb=571727e434add056ae72e0b64860723d83c4dd2a8a3297ce87280bff9a58c400&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=02.24.25%20News%20Alert%20AP%20HT%20KB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hill<\/a>]. \u201cDemocratic donors \u2014 from bundlers to small dollar donors \u2014 say they are still angry about the election results and uninspired by anything their side has put forward since then. \u2018I\u2019ll be blunt here: The Democratic Party is f\u2011\u2011\u2011ing terrible. Plain and simple,\u2019 one major Democratic donor said. \u2018In fact, it doesn\u2019t get much worse.\u2019 A second donor was equally as pointed. \u2018They want us to spend money, and for what? For no message, no organization, no forward thinking. \u2026 The thing that\u2019s clear to a lot of us is that the party never really learned its lesson in 2016. They worked off the same playbook and the same ineffective strategies and to what end?’\u201d \u2022 The party did great in 2016 and 2020. They crippled the left, and that\u2019s their main goal as a party, right? Stop whining, donors! You never had it so good!<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCarville suggests Trump admin will \u2018collapse\u2019 within 30 days\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/5160376-carville-suggests-trump-admin-will-collapse-within-30-days\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hill<\/a>]. \u201cDemocratic strategist James Carville suggested the Trump administration will \u2018collapse\u2019 within 30 days as the public reacts to the sweeping actions from the executive branch. \u2018I believe that this administration, in less than 30 days, is in the midst of a massive collapse and particularly a collapse in public opinion,\u2019 Carville said during a conversation with Mediaite\u2019s Dan Abrams about the Trump administration\u2019s unprecedented recent actions. Abrams asked Carville to clarify what he meant, to confirm that Carville believes the administration will crumble shortly. \u2018It\u2019s collapsing right now. We\u2019re in the midst of a collapse,\u2019 Carville replied. \u2018This is the lowest approval, not even close, that any president has ever had at a comparable time.’\u201d \u2022 This is cope. Not buying it. And if I did, it would be bad: The Democrats must suffer much, much more before there is any change, inside or outside the party.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Republican Funhouse<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"5.758865248227\">\n<p>Maybe:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.739263803681\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"12.322085889571\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Voters are mostly liking what they see in the first month of the new presidency. By 57\/43 voters say Trump doing a better job than Biden in advance look at poll coming out Monday. <\/p>\n<p>Job approval at 52 but closing the border, cutting waste are hugely popular. So is resetting merit\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Mark Penn (@Mark_Penn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Mark_Penn\/status\/1893486848091267197?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d certainly give the Trump administration more than Carville\u2019s thirty days, though. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Realignment and Legitimacy<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"21.954198473282\">\n<p>\u201cMonopoly Round-Up: The Populist Revolt Against Oligarchy Begins\u201d [Matt Stoller, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebignewsletter.com\/p\/monopoly-round-up-the-populist-revolt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">BIG<\/a>]. why choose to focus on Bernie Sanders giving speeches on how he doesn\u2019t like the superrich? I mean, yawn. Right? But something about this campaign is different. It\u2019s not so much what Bernie is saying, it\u2019s that he is doing it to overflow crowds in Nebraska and Iowa. And it\u2019s not just event crowds, his videos are getting tens of millions of views, and his online campaign metrics are performing remarkably well. I got a note from a contact in Bernie-world, who told me that \u2018The level of engagement is higher than the last presidential.\u2019 Democratic operatives who have traditionally disliked Bernie are noting what he\u2019s doing, approvingly. Even billionaire Mark Cuban, who hates populism, is calling Bernie\u2019s approach \u2018really smart.\u2019 \u2026. This anti-big business vibe isn\u2019t necessarily channeling itself through the Democrats, who are deeply loathed and distrusted\u2026. What\u2019s important about what Bernie is doing, and these other signals, is he might be showing that fear of oligarchy is the dominant view of a large swath of the public. If that\u2019s the case, a lot of things could change, and quicker than we might imagine.\u201d \u2022 (Readers; Please keep the Bernie grousing to a minimum. We know all those points by heart.) What I want to know is why Sanders is the only one at the podium. Let\u2019s get some new faces up there!<\/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>Measles<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"13.896583564174\">\n<p>\u201cFormer FDA chief \u2018very concerned\u2019 about Texas measles outbreak spreading\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/healthcare\/5160089-former-fda-chief-very-concerned-about-texas-measles-outbreak-spreading\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hill<\/a>]. \u201cFormer Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said he is \u2018very concerned\u2019 about the measles outbreak in Texas spreading\u2026. He noted that he believes it \u2018will spread.\u2019 \u2018There\u2019s been 100 cases that have been identified so far,\u2019 Gottlieb said. \u2018There\u2019s probably many more than that. \u2018So, I think that this is going to get into the hundreds of cases and could take many months to try to fully snuff out,\u2019 he added. The Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed at least 90 cases of measles and said 16 patients were hospitalized. Just five of the patients were vaccinated\u2026. Gottleib also noted that there could be economic impacts from the spread of measles, as other countries could place the U.S. under a travel advisory. \u2018The risk to the United States right now is that a virus that has been largely extinguished from circulation in the U.S. could return and just continue to spread, even at a low level,\u2019 Gottlieb said.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Treatment: Covid<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"10.941176470588\">\n<p>\u201cDemographic Variation In US Outpatient Hydroxychloroquine And Ivermectin Use During The COVID-19 Pandemic\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rand.org\/pubs\/external_publications\/EP70874.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">RAND<\/a>]. \u201cUsing insurance claims from the MedInsight Emerging Experience Research Database for 8.1 million patients from all fifty US states, we evaluated COVID-19-associated outpatient hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin use and spending throughout the public health emergency (January 30, 2020-May 11, 2023) versus pre-public health emergency rates. \u2026. The combined overall hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin utilization rate was threefold higher in older versus younger adults. Ivermectin use was greater among patients with the highest versus the lowest degree of social vulnerability and in the southern US versus other regions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Origins Debate<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"14.3867120954\">\n<p>\u201cWhat sparked the COVID pandemic? Mounting evidence points to raccoon dogs\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/eEN9T\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Nature<\/a>]. \u2022 Readers know I take the strong form position that any argument from the structure of SARS-CoV-2 to a claim of human-made creation is the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Watchmaker_analogy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Watchmaker Analogy<\/a>, beloved of creationists, and to be rejected by Darwinians. That said, for Nature to be recycling the \u201cauthorities\u201d who have been on this topic since before the beginning (e.g. Andersen, Pekar, Rasmussen, Worobey) just isn\u2019t a good look. If indeed Nature wishes to \u201cdepoliticize\u201d this issue, they should broaden their sourcing.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> Celebrity Watch<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"4.3614457831325\">\n<p>Hilarity ensues:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.7154605263158\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.9078947368421\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Jamie Lee Curtis: “And the Actor goes to\u2026the man who gave me covid at the Golden Globes: Colin Farrell”<\/p>\n<p>Colin: “Guilty as charged. But Brendan Gleeson fucking gave it to me! So I was just spreading the love”<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SAGAwards?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">#SAGAwards<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BzNgtXiPG2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/BzNgtXiPG2<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SpencerAlthouse\/status\/1893842919292879204\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s probably something similar in Bocaccio (though not in <em>The Masque of the Red Death<\/em>).<\/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=\"10.907335907336\">\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Wastewater<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.625\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> This week[1] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 17<\/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\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4-300x197.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\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-3.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-3-300x190.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6521739130435\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong> Variants<\/strong> [3] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 15<\/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> February 15 <\/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\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1-300x230.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\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287665\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-3.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-3-300x159.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=\"3.9240506329114\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> New York[5] <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.health.ny.gov\/daily-hospitalization-summary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York State<\/a>, data February 21:<\/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> February 20:<\/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\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-9.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287822\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-9.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-9-300x170.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\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287666\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-3.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-3-300x297.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Positivity<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"2.6842105263158\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> National[7] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/healthcare-solutions\/covid-19-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a> February 24:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Ohio[8] <a href=\"https:\/\/clevelandcliniclabs.com\/respiratory-virus-surveillance-statistics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cleveland Clinic<\/a> February 15:<\/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\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287823\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-2-300x189.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287668\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2-300x196.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Travelers Data<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6307692307692\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> Positivity[9] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 3:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> <span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> Variants[10] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 3 <\/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\/02\/covid-cdc-positity-travelers.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287820\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positity-travelers.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positity-travelers-300x165.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\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287821\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-3.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-3-300x230.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 25:<\/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 25:<\/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\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286757\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl-300x202.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<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286972\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1-300x186.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\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) Down, 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) Weird plateau without exponential growrht<\/p>\n<p>[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[7] (Walgreens) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[8] (Cleveland) <\/p>\n<p>[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Uptick.<\/p>\n<p>[10] (Travelers: Variants). Don\u2019t know what the dominance of XEC is all about,<\/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>Manufacturing: \u201cFAA calls for testing on Boeing 757 freighter cargo doors after incidents\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aerotime.aero\/articles\/faa-boeing-757-cargo-doors-safety-bulletin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Aerotime<\/a>]. \u201cThe Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has recommended that all worldwide operators of certain Boeing 757-200 converted freighters carry out a series of safety checks on the main deck cargo doors of these aircraft. The calls come after an incident in 2021 where the main cargo door of a DHL-operated Boeing 757 converted freighter opened mid-flight. In the incident in question, the aircraft failed to pressurize following a routine departure from DHL\u2019s European hub located at Leipzig-Halle Airport (LEI) in Germany. Although the crew onboard was aware of the pressurization issue, it was only later discovered that the main deck cargo door had failed to latch correctly, leading to its uncommanded opening in flight.\u201d \u2022 Since 2021\u2026. Nevertheless, one door closes, another opens!<\/p>\n<p>Tech: \u201cAI-designed chips are so weird that \u2018humans cannot really understand them\u2019 \u2014 but they perform better than anything we\u2019ve created\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.livescience.com\/technology\/computing\/humans-cannot-really-understand-them-weird-ai-designed-chip-is-unlike-any-other-made-by-humans-and-performs-much-better\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">LiveScience<\/a>]. \u201cAlthough the findings suggest that the design of such complex chips could be handed over to AI, Sengputa was keen to point out that pitfalls remain \u2018that still require human designers to correct.\u2019 In particular, many of the designs produced by the algorithm did not work\u2013 equivalent to the \u2018hallucinations\u2019 produced by current generative AI tools. \u2018The point is not to replace human designers with tools,\u2019 said Sengputa. \u2018The point is to enhance productivity with new tools.’\u201d \u2022 That\u2019s what management always says. At first.<\/p>\n<p>Tech: A classic \u201cSmiley\u2019s People\u201d scene, but with a AI slop added:<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Smiley's People (1982) - Alec Guinness - Chat with Toby\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Oer2LoXYusY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Always worth watching. But take a look:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/smiley.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"611\" height=\"917\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287825\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/smiley.png 611w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/smiley-200x300.png 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 611px) 100vw, 611px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Every day, in every way, AI makes us more stupid. (Sure, there are use cases. But civilizationally, the trend is down.)<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 31 Fear (previous close: 35 Fear) [<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/data\/fear-and-greed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. One week ago: 44 (Fear). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Feb 24 at 2:04:38 PM ET.<\/p>\n<p>Rapture Index: Closes unchanged [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.raptureready.com\/rapture-ready-index\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rapture Ready<\/a>]. Record High, October 10, 2016: 189. Current: 180. (Remember that bringing on the Rapture is good.) \u2022 This is a tough crowd. Surely Trump\u2019s first month brought the Rapture closer?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Seems on-point:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.8418803418803\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"12.324786324786\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Credulous dupe distracted by trickster\u2019s cups-&-ball trick is vomiting a frog, as his purse is being stolen by man in friar\u2019s habit (Bosch, The Conjurer c 1502). Note also inquisitive child with whirlygig, the owl peeping out of basket, & costumed trick dog <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0KqhwoX9vd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/0KqhwoX9vd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Journal of Art in Society (@artinsociety) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/artinsociety\/status\/1887387880731123749\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 6, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"class\"\/><strong>Class Warfare<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMeasuring the Income Gap from 1975 to 2023\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rand.org\/content\/dam\/rand\/pubs\/working_papers\/WRA500\/WRA516-2\/RAND_WRA516-2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">RAND<\/a>]. \u2022 Handy chart:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/income.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"322\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287673\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/income.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/income-300x161.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>I realize the data stops 2019-2020, when Trump\u2019s CARES Act lifted millions out of poverty, at least temporaily.<\/p>\n<p><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"hp\"\/>\u201cWe bullied HP into a minor act of disenshittification\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/pluralistic.net\/2025\/02\/22\/ink-spattered-pitchforks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cory Doctorow<\/a>]. Well worth reading in full, but here is the heart of the matter: \u201cHP\u2019s enshittificatory impulses run wild. They hunt relentlessly for ways to make things worse for their customers in order to make things better for themselves. Last week, they came up with a humdinger, even by their own standards. They announced that people who called their customer service line would be subject to mandatory 15-minute waits, even if there was a rep who was free to talk with them\u2026. During this mandatory 15-minute wait, customers would be bombarded with a recorded voice demanding that they solve their problems by consulting HP\u2019s website and its awful chatbots. In a competitive market, businesses can contain their customer service costs by making better products. In a monopolistic market like the printer racket, companies can deliberately introduce maddening antifeatures to their products, and then fob off the customers who reach such a peak of frustrated rage that they resort to calling a customer support number on chatbot that will use its spicy autocomplete to hallucinate nonexistent drivers and imaginary troubleshooting steps\u2026. Within a day of Paul Kunert <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theregister.com\/2025\/02\/21\/hp_ditches_15_minute_wait_time_call_centers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">breaking the story in The Register<\/a>, HP had reversed its policy, citing \u2018feedback\u2019 (a corporate euphemism that means \u2018fury\u2019). This is a rare win for the forces of disenhittification and it deserves recognition. It turns out that in these Mangionean times, companies can actually be bullied into comporting themselves with marginally less sleaze and cruelty. It\u2019s especially noteworthy that this took place in the UK, where Prime Minister Kier Starmer has invited tech companies to pick Britons\u2019 pockets without fear of consequence, by firing the top competition regulator and replacing him with the former head of Amazon UK.\u201d \u2022\u00a0Yay! (And just think how much better call centers will be when everything is AI!<\/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\/02\/200pm-water-cooler-2-21-2025.html\">here<\/a>. From JH:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/maltese.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287816\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/maltese.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/maltese-300x225.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>JH writes: \u201cIn the hope you may need a couple more photos prior to your departure from NC, I have attached several photos of plants in my yard. If you can\u2019t use them, I hope at least you can enjoy!\u201d And:<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"13\">\n<p>The red flower is Maltese Cross (Lychnis Chalcedonica). I have spent an inordinate amount time and money trying to get these established. Supposedly easy to grow \u2013 but not for me in Northeast Ohio. I am fascinated by the plant\u2019s history: First noted as planted in cottage gardens in England circa 1500, but believed to have been brought back from the Middle East in the 1100\u2019s during or after a Crusade. It has a lovely, long-lasting flower and is best situated among other plants in an \u201cinformal\u201d setting \u2013 that informality, which, much to my own self-chagrin, is usually \u201ccreated\u201d by me as I always procrastinate on the weeding\u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>I am in good shape, readers, and in fact have almost emptied the queue, which is good for all of us!<\/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<\/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\/02\/200pm-water-cooler-2-24-2025.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lambert Strether. Bird Song of the Day American Robin, Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge; Deadman Lake. Alaska, United States. Readers, I\u2019m going to close out<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":91434,"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-91433","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\/91433","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=91433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>American Robin, Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge; Deadman Lake. Alaska, United States.<\/p>\n<p>Readers, I\u2019m going to close out with the American Robin, because it\u2019s always such a lift to the spirits to hear them burbling after a rainstorm. So, robins until Friday. \u2013lambert<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#trump\">Trump and patrimonialism<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#bullets\">Elon\u2019s \u201cfive bullets\u201d<\/a> email debacle.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#spooks\">Spooks stirring from slumber<\/a>?<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#hp\">HP performs minor act of de-enshittification<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital.\u201d \u2013Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Trump Administration<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"29.825834542816\">\n<p><a name=\"trump\"\/>\u201cOne Word Describes Trump\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/ZIeJK\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Atlantic<\/a>]. \u201cWeber wondered how the leaders of states derive legitimacy, the claim to rule rightfully. He thought it boiled down to two choices. One is rational legal bureaucracy (or \u201cbureaucratic proceduralism\u201d), a system in which legitimacy is bestowed by institutions following certain rules and norms. That is the American system we all took for granted until January 20. Presidents, federal officials, and military inductees swear an oath to the Constitution, not to a person. The other source of legitimacy is more ancient, more common, and more intuitive\u2014\u2019the default form of rule in the premodern world\u2019 [Stephen E. Hanson, a government professor at the College of William & Mary, and Jeffrey S. Kopstein, a political scientist at UC Irvine] write. \u2018The state was little more than the extended \u2018household\u2019 of the ruler; it did not exist as a separate entity.\u2019 Weber called this system \u2018patrimonialism\u2019 because rulers claimed to be the symbolic father of the people\u2014the state\u2019s personification and protector\u2026. In his day, Weber thought that patrimonialism was on its way to history\u2019s scrap heap. Its personalized style of rule was too inexpert and capricious to manage the complex economies and military machines that, after Bismarck, became the hallmarks of modern statehood. Unfortunately, he was wrong. Patrimonialism is less a form of government than a style of governing. It is not defined by institutions or rules; rather, it can infect all forms of government by replacing impersonal, formal lines of authority with personalized, informal ones. Based on individual loyalty and connections, and on rewarding friends and punishing enemies (real or perceived), it can be found not just in states but also among tribes, street gangs, and criminal organizations. In its governmental guise, patrimonialism is distinguished by running the state as if it were the leader\u2019s personal property or family business.\u201d \u2022 Hmm. Patrimonialism seems akin to the Schmittian friend\/enemy distinction.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>DOGE<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"58.735882352941\">\n<p>Elon out over his skis:<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"bullets\"\/>\u201cEmail starts power clash between Musk and agency leaders \u2014 even the Trump loyalists\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/02\/23\/musk-guidance-conflict-agency-leaders-00205640\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Politico<\/a>]. \u201cElon Musk\u2019s weekend threat to federal workers triggered panic and confusion Sunday as administration officials rushed to issue sometimes conflicting guidance, setting in motion a power struggle between Musk and agency heads appointed by President Donald Trump to lead the federal government. The guidance varied by agency\u2026. It\u2019s the latest episode of Musk\u2019s \u2018move fast and break things\u2019 philosophy clashing with the layers of rules and laws that fortify the bureaucracy he hopes to hobble. And it\u2019s the first sign that even staunch Trump loyalists are beginning to flex their political muscle against Musk, an unelected \u2018special government employee,\u2019 whose power stems primarily from his proximity to the president.\u201d \u2022 Hmm. Here is the letter:<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/letter.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"460\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287828\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/letter.png 500w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/letter-300x276.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>I have seen three explanations for this letter, besides sheer harassment (most employees I know of work in a chain of command; they certainly don\u2019t need to report to Elon). (1) The letters will be fed into an AI, and keywords found will be used for firing; (2) the letters are a sorting device for stupid or loyal people, a la the Nigerian 419 fraud; (3) based on the request for that the worker\u2019s managed be cc\u2019ed, results would enable a more accurate, granular org chart of the Federal government to be constructed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOPM\u2019s Own Guidance Says Fed Employees Never Have to Respond to the Elon Emails\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/edblog\/opms-own-guidance-says-fed-employees-never-have-to-respond-to-the-elon-emails\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Talking Points Memo<\/a>]. \u201cNotwithstanding that what amounts to a prank email has had the entire federal government debating with itself over the last 48 hours, Musk\u2019s own Office of Personnel Management says that federal employees never have to respond to any of these emails. After landing at the Office of Personnel Management in January, DOGE operatives first order of business was to set up a new email system through which all federal employees could be emailed through a single distribution list. They built it on a new server system outside of the established government email system. But emails it sends come to civil servants from the email address HR at OPM dot gov. This new system was given the name Government-Wide Email System (GWES). On February 5th, 2025 \u2014 in other words, well after the Trump and more specifically Musk was in charge of OPM \u2014 OPM published this document, Privacy Impact Assessement for GWES. As you can see here, most specifically in sections 4.2 and 4.3, federal government employees are never obligated to respond to any GWES emails and are under no obligation to share any information. Indeed, section 4.3 says that to mitigate the risk that the federal employees may not realize this, every GWES email should \u2018explicitly stat[e] that the response is voluntary.’\u201d \u2022 BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!!<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few of the better \u201cfive bullets\u201d letters, culled from the Intertubes:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.3684210526316\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.2631578947368\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Here’s one creative way <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SecretService\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">@SecretService<\/a> managers told agents to respond to Elon Musk’s surprise email demanding hat fed employees list their 5 accomplishments last week. Sources said it was designed to avoid agents sharing sensitive and classified details of their work protecting\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3dSx9n0ayi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/3dSx9n0ayi<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Carol Leonnig (@CarolLeonnig) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CarolLeonnig\/status\/1893762820619096069\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>And:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"2.1623376623377\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"6.487012987013\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I\u2019m going to need five bullets on what you did this past week by morning. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SFR3bkU3Hg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/SFR3bkU3Hg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Katie Mehnert (@katiemehnert) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/katiemehnert\/status\/1893869031951659505\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>And (NSFW):<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"0.96428571428571\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.0857142857143\">\n<p lang=\"zxx\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1YNJMXkizS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/1YNJMXkizS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Josh Ellis (@jzellis) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jzellis\/status\/1893918147129889048\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center><br \/>\n<center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"spooks\"\/>\u201cHow Trump\u2019s government-cutting moves risk exposing the CIA\u2019s secrets\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2025\/02\/24\/politics\/cia-security-risks-trump\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. \u201cThe CIA is conducting a formal review to assess any potential damage from an unclassified email sent to the White House in early February that identified for possible layoffs some officers by first name and last initial and could\u2019ve exposed the roles of people working undercover, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. That\u2019s just one of multiple aftershocks from President Donald Trump\u2019s push to take a jackhammer to the federal government \u2013 including the CIA. The administration\u2019s efforts to cut the workforce and audit spending at the CIA and elsewhere threaten to jeopardize some of the government\u2019s most sensitive work, current and former US officials familiar with internal deliberations say. And on the CIA\u2019s 7th floor \u2014 home to top leadership \u2014 some officers are also quietly discussing how mass firings and the buyouts already offered to staff risk creating a group of disgruntled former employees who might be motivated to take what they know to a foreign intelligence service. Taken together, those actions highlight the depth of unease among career officials that Trump\u2019s efforts to speedily slim down the US government may be putting American secrets within the grasp of foreign spies and hackers.\u201d \u2022 So far, Trump \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/holding-former-government-officials-accountablefor-election-interference-and-improper-disclosure-of-sensitive-governmental-information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">except for slapping those \u201c50 intelligence officials\u201d around for election interference<\/a> \u2014 has left the spooks alone (presumably the generation of spook-related cover stories formerly undertaken by USAID will be moved to State). So is this story a message? A warning shot? What?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDespite the hype, DOGE hasn\u2019t found a shred of fraud\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicnotice.co\/p\/despite-the-hype-doge-hasnt-found\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Public Notice<\/a>]. \u201cDOGE has claimed it\u2019s rooted out $55 billion worth of spending, a dollar amount that appears to be <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2025\/02\/19\/doge-says-saved-55-billion-itemized-data-show-far-less\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wildly inaccurate<\/a>: As of Sunday, DOGE\u2019s website claims it has saved or cancelled $55 billion worth of government contracts. But that same website only accounts for $16 billion in contracts. Half of that comes from an $8 million government contract that DOGE <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/18\/upshot\/doge-contracts-musk-trump.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">incorrectly<\/a> identified as being worth $8 billion. Additionally, DOGE has been in some cases simply cancelling contracts that the government <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/stphnfwlr\/status\/1892929278242705685\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">has already paid for<\/a>. Some $325 million in supposed savings are simply contracts that have been repeated in DOGE\u2019s reporting, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/02\/22\/doge-data-errors-inconsistencies-00002576\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Politico found<\/a>. But actual fraud? DOGE has found nothing. None of this has stopped Trump, Musk, congressional Republicans, and their allies in rightwing media from breathlessly highlighting millions of dollars\u2019 worth of spending as examples of fraudulent government programs. Nowhere in those lists of programs \u2014 like the USAID initiatives that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicnotice.co\/p\/usaid-destruction-marco-rubio-soft-power\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">lambasting for weeks<\/a>, including the tortured and incorrect claim that US taxpayers funded \u2018condoms for Gaza\u2019 \u2014 is anything that even Musk or Trump themselves have identified as \u2018fraud.\u2019 Instead, the goalposts for DOGE have silently moved from finding fraud and corruption to simply pointing out and cancelling government programs that Trump and Republicans simply don\u2019t support.\u201d \u2022 I kinda turned off following the detail on this story after Musk went all \u201cGhost of COBOL\u201d on Social Security\u2026. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a name=\"democrats\"\/>Democrats <em>en d\u00e9shabill\u00e9<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"48.22392725206\">\n<p>\u201cAI video of Trump kissing Musk\u2019s feet plays on TVs in HUD building\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/5160998-trump-kissing-musk-feet-video-hud\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Register<\/a>]. \u201cA video produced using artificial intelligence (AI) showing President Trump rubbing and kissing Elon Musk\u2019s feet played on television screens in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) building Monday in an apparent mocking of the relationship between the two men. The words \u2018Long live the real king\u2019 were displayed over the top of the computer-generated video, a reference to Trump\u2019s Truth Social post last week in which he wrote, \u2018Long Live the King!\u2019 The Hill obtained a photo of the screens in the HUD building as the video was playing.\u201d \u2022 Here\u2019s the video:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.9320388349515\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.223300970874\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">On Monday morning, TV sets at the headquarters of the Department of Housing and Urban Development played the seemingly AI-generated video on loop, along with the words \u201cLONG LIVE THE REAL KING.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read the full article: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TYHyCUUqvV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/TYHyCUUqvV<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dHRjnmVes6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/dHRjnmVes6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 WIRED (@WIRED) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WIRED\/status\/1894075952545563036\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>I fail to understand the extraordinary hold this trope has on the liberal Democrat mind; it began, or at least was normalized, in a series in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/06\/25\/opinion\/trump-bites-putin-love-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The New York Times back in 2018<\/a>. Liberals seem to believe that the trope is an enormous \u201cown\u201d of conservatives. In fact, it shows that for liberalism \u2014 hold onto your hats, here, folks \u2014 tribalism trumps principle. In what other context would the \u201cIn this house\u2026.\u201d rainbow-flag crowd treat gay lovers as anything other than worthy of praise, indeed emulation? But bring in a demon figure, and the deep triggers go off\u2026. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAngry Democratic donors turn off the flow of money\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/campaign\/5158323-democrats-struggle-rebuild-party\/?email=de6397e348baed3cf38db52c4c8540710e88014f&emaila=631dfdfffba4e214671dbfa72d020b8a&emailb=571727e434add056ae72e0b64860723d83c4dd2a8a3297ce87280bff9a58c400&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=02.24.25%20News%20Alert%20AP%20HT%20KB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hill<\/a>]. \u201cDemocratic donors \u2014 from bundlers to small dollar donors \u2014 say they are still angry about the election results and uninspired by anything their side has put forward since then. \u2018I\u2019ll be blunt here: The Democratic Party is f\u2011\u2011\u2011ing terrible. Plain and simple,\u2019 one major Democratic donor said. \u2018In fact, it doesn\u2019t get much worse.\u2019 A second donor was equally as pointed. \u2018They want us to spend money, and for what? For no message, no organization, no forward thinking. \u2026 The thing that\u2019s clear to a lot of us is that the party never really learned its lesson in 2016. They worked off the same playbook and the same ineffective strategies and to what end?’\u201d \u2022 The party did great in 2016 and 2020. They crippled the left, and that\u2019s their main goal as a party, right? Stop whining, donors! You never had it so good!<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCarville suggests Trump admin will \u2018collapse\u2019 within 30 days\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/5160376-carville-suggests-trump-admin-will-collapse-within-30-days\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hill<\/a>]. \u201cDemocratic strategist James Carville suggested the Trump administration will \u2018collapse\u2019 within 30 days as the public reacts to the sweeping actions from the executive branch. \u2018I believe that this administration, in less than 30 days, is in the midst of a massive collapse and particularly a collapse in public opinion,\u2019 Carville said during a conversation with Mediaite\u2019s Dan Abrams about the Trump administration\u2019s unprecedented recent actions. Abrams asked Carville to clarify what he meant, to confirm that Carville believes the administration will crumble shortly. \u2018It\u2019s collapsing right now. We\u2019re in the midst of a collapse,\u2019 Carville replied. \u2018This is the lowest approval, not even close, that any president has ever had at a comparable time.’\u201d \u2022 This is cope. Not buying it. And if I did, it would be bad: The Democrats must suffer much, much more before there is any change, inside or outside the party.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Republican Funhouse<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"5.758865248227\">\n<p>Maybe:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.739263803681\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"12.322085889571\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Voters are mostly liking what they see in the first month of the new presidency. By 57\/43 voters say Trump doing a better job than Biden in advance look at poll coming out Monday. <\/p>\n<p>Job approval at 52 but closing the border, cutting waste are hugely popular. So is resetting merit\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Mark Penn (@Mark_Penn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Mark_Penn\/status\/1893486848091267197?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d certainly give the Trump administration more than Carville\u2019s thirty days, though. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Realignment and Legitimacy<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"21.954198473282\">\n<p>\u201cMonopoly Round-Up: The Populist Revolt Against Oligarchy Begins\u201d [Matt Stoller, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebignewsletter.com\/p\/monopoly-round-up-the-populist-revolt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">BIG<\/a>]. why choose to focus on Bernie Sanders giving speeches on how he doesn\u2019t like the superrich? I mean, yawn. Right? But something about this campaign is different. It\u2019s not so much what Bernie is saying, it\u2019s that he is doing it to overflow crowds in Nebraska and Iowa. And it\u2019s not just event crowds, his videos are getting tens of millions of views, and his online campaign metrics are performing remarkably well. I got a note from a contact in Bernie-world, who told me that \u2018The level of engagement is higher than the last presidential.\u2019 Democratic operatives who have traditionally disliked Bernie are noting what he\u2019s doing, approvingly. Even billionaire Mark Cuban, who hates populism, is calling Bernie\u2019s approach \u2018really smart.\u2019 \u2026. This anti-big business vibe isn\u2019t necessarily channeling itself through the Democrats, who are deeply loathed and distrusted\u2026. What\u2019s important about what Bernie is doing, and these other signals, is he might be showing that fear of oligarchy is the dominant view of a large swath of the public. If that\u2019s the case, a lot of things could change, and quicker than we might imagine.\u201d \u2022 (Readers; Please keep the Bernie grousing to a minimum. We know all those points by heart.) What I want to know is why Sanders is the only one at the podium. Let\u2019s get some new faces up there!<\/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>Measles<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"13.896583564174\">\n<p>\u201cFormer FDA chief \u2018very concerned\u2019 about Texas measles outbreak spreading\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/healthcare\/5160089-former-fda-chief-very-concerned-about-texas-measles-outbreak-spreading\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hill<\/a>]. \u201cFormer Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said he is \u2018very concerned\u2019 about the measles outbreak in Texas spreading\u2026. He noted that he believes it \u2018will spread.\u2019 \u2018There\u2019s been 100 cases that have been identified so far,\u2019 Gottlieb said. \u2018There\u2019s probably many more than that. \u2018So, I think that this is going to get into the hundreds of cases and could take many months to try to fully snuff out,\u2019 he added. The Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed at least 90 cases of measles and said 16 patients were hospitalized. Just five of the patients were vaccinated\u2026. Gottleib also noted that there could be economic impacts from the spread of measles, as other countries could place the U.S. under a travel advisory. \u2018The risk to the United States right now is that a virus that has been largely extinguished from circulation in the U.S. could return and just continue to spread, even at a low level,\u2019 Gottlieb said.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Treatment: Covid<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"10.941176470588\">\n<p>\u201cDemographic Variation In US Outpatient Hydroxychloroquine And Ivermectin Use During The COVID-19 Pandemic\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rand.org\/pubs\/external_publications\/EP70874.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">RAND<\/a>]. \u201cUsing insurance claims from the MedInsight Emerging Experience Research Database for 8.1 million patients from all fifty US states, we evaluated COVID-19-associated outpatient hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin use and spending throughout the public health emergency (January 30, 2020-May 11, 2023) versus pre-public health emergency rates. \u2026. The combined overall hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin utilization rate was threefold higher in older versus younger adults. Ivermectin use was greater among patients with the highest versus the lowest degree of social vulnerability and in the southern US versus other regions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Origins Debate<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"14.3867120954\">\n<p>\u201cWhat sparked the COVID pandemic? Mounting evidence points to raccoon dogs\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/eEN9T\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Nature<\/a>]. \u2022 Readers know I take the strong form position that any argument from the structure of SARS-CoV-2 to a claim of human-made creation is the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Watchmaker_analogy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Watchmaker Analogy<\/a>, beloved of creationists, and to be rejected by Darwinians. That said, for Nature to be recycling the \u201cauthorities\u201d who have been on this topic since before the beginning (e.g. Andersen, Pekar, Rasmussen, Worobey) just isn\u2019t a good look. If indeed Nature wishes to \u201cdepoliticize\u201d this issue, they should broaden their sourcing.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> Celebrity Watch<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"4.3614457831325\">\n<p>Hilarity ensues:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.7154605263158\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"9.9078947368421\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Jamie Lee Curtis: “And the Actor goes to\u2026the man who gave me covid at the Golden Globes: Colin Farrell”<\/p>\n<p>Colin: “Guilty as charged. But Brendan Gleeson fucking gave it to me! So I was just spreading the love”<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SAGAwards?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">#SAGAwards<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BzNgtXiPG2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/BzNgtXiPG2<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SpencerAlthouse\/status\/1893842919292879204\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s probably something similar in Bocaccio (though not in <em>The Masque of the Red Death<\/em>).<\/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=\"10.907335907336\">\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Wastewater<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.625\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> This week[1] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 17<\/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\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-4-300x197.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\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-3.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-3-300x190.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6521739130435\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong> Variants<\/strong> [3] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 15<\/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> February 15 <\/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\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1-300x230.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\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287665\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-3.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-3-300x159.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=\"3.9240506329114\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> New York[5] <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.health.ny.gov\/daily-hospitalization-summary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York State<\/a>, data February 21:<\/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> February 20:<\/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\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-9.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287822\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-9.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-9-300x170.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\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287666\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-3.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-3-300x297.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Positivity<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"2.6842105263158\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> National[7] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/healthcare-solutions\/covid-19-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a> February 24:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Ohio[8] <a href=\"https:\/\/clevelandcliniclabs.com\/respiratory-virus-surveillance-statistics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cleveland Clinic<\/a> February 15:<\/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\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287823\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-2-300x189.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287668\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-2-300x196.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Travelers Data<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6307692307692\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> Positivity[9] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 3:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> <span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> Variants[10] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 3 <\/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\/02\/covid-cdc-positity-travelers.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287820\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positity-travelers.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positity-travelers-300x165.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\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287821\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-3.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-3-300x230.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 25:<\/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 25:<\/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\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286757\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl-300x202.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<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286972\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1-300x186.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\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) Down, 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) Weird plateau without exponential growrht<\/p>\n<p>[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[7] (Walgreens) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[8] (Cleveland) <\/p>\n<p>[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Uptick.<\/p>\n<p>[10] (Travelers: Variants). Don\u2019t know what the dominance of XEC is all about,<\/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>Manufacturing: \u201cFAA calls for testing on Boeing 757 freighter cargo doors after incidents\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aerotime.aero\/articles\/faa-boeing-757-cargo-doors-safety-bulletin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Aerotime<\/a>]. \u201cThe Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has recommended that all worldwide operators of certain Boeing 757-200 converted freighters carry out a series of safety checks on the main deck cargo doors of these aircraft. The calls come after an incident in 2021 where the main cargo door of a DHL-operated Boeing 757 converted freighter opened mid-flight. In the incident in question, the aircraft failed to pressurize following a routine departure from DHL\u2019s European hub located at Leipzig-Halle Airport (LEI) in Germany. Although the crew onboard was aware of the pressurization issue, it was only later discovered that the main deck cargo door had failed to latch correctly, leading to its uncommanded opening in flight.\u201d \u2022 Since 2021\u2026. Nevertheless, one door closes, another opens!<\/p>\n<p>Tech: \u201cAI-designed chips are so weird that \u2018humans cannot really understand them\u2019 \u2014 but they perform better than anything we\u2019ve created\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.livescience.com\/technology\/computing\/humans-cannot-really-understand-them-weird-ai-designed-chip-is-unlike-any-other-made-by-humans-and-performs-much-better\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">LiveScience<\/a>]. \u201cAlthough the findings suggest that the design of such complex chips could be handed over to AI, Sengputa was keen to point out that pitfalls remain \u2018that still require human designers to correct.\u2019 In particular, many of the designs produced by the algorithm did not work\u2013 equivalent to the \u2018hallucinations\u2019 produced by current generative AI tools. \u2018The point is not to replace human designers with tools,\u2019 said Sengputa. \u2018The point is to enhance productivity with new tools.’\u201d \u2022 That\u2019s what management always says. At first.<\/p>\n<p>Tech: A classic \u201cSmiley\u2019s People\u201d scene, but with a AI slop added:<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Smiley's People (1982) - Alec Guinness - Chat with Toby\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Oer2LoXYusY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Always worth watching. But take a look:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/smiley.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"611\" height=\"917\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287825\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/smiley.png 611w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/smiley-200x300.png 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 611px) 100vw, 611px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Every day, in every way, AI makes us more stupid. (Sure, there are use cases. But civilizationally, the trend is down.)<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 31 Fear (previous close: 35 Fear) [<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/data\/fear-and-greed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. One week ago: 44 (Fear). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Feb 24 at 2:04:38 PM ET.<\/p>\n<p>Rapture Index: Closes unchanged [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.raptureready.com\/rapture-ready-index\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rapture Ready<\/a>]. Record High, October 10, 2016: 189. Current: 180. (Remember that bringing on the Rapture is good.) \u2022 This is a tough crowd. Surely Trump\u2019s first month brought the Rapture closer?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Seems on-point:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"4.8418803418803\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"12.324786324786\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Credulous dupe distracted by trickster\u2019s cups-&-ball trick is vomiting a frog, as his purse is being stolen by man in friar\u2019s habit (Bosch, The Conjurer c 1502). Note also inquisitive child with whirlygig, the owl peeping out of basket, & costumed trick dog <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0KqhwoX9vd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/0KqhwoX9vd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Journal of Art in Society (@artinsociety) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/artinsociety\/status\/1887387880731123749\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 6, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"class\"\/><strong>Class Warfare<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMeasuring the Income Gap from 1975 to 2023\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rand.org\/content\/dam\/rand\/pubs\/working_papers\/WRA500\/WRA516-2\/RAND_WRA516-2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">RAND<\/a>]. \u2022 Handy chart:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/income.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"322\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287673\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/income.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/income-300x161.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>I realize the data stops 2019-2020, when Trump\u2019s CARES Act lifted millions out of poverty, at least temporaily.<\/p>\n<p><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"hp\"\/>\u201cWe bullied HP into a minor act of disenshittification\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/pluralistic.net\/2025\/02\/22\/ink-spattered-pitchforks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cory Doctorow<\/a>]. Well worth reading in full, but here is the heart of the matter: \u201cHP\u2019s enshittificatory impulses run wild. They hunt relentlessly for ways to make things worse for their customers in order to make things better for themselves. Last week, they came up with a humdinger, even by their own standards. They announced that people who called their customer service line would be subject to mandatory 15-minute waits, even if there was a rep who was free to talk with them\u2026. During this mandatory 15-minute wait, customers would be bombarded with a recorded voice demanding that they solve their problems by consulting HP\u2019s website and its awful chatbots. In a competitive market, businesses can contain their customer service costs by making better products. In a monopolistic market like the printer racket, companies can deliberately introduce maddening antifeatures to their products, and then fob off the customers who reach such a peak of frustrated rage that they resort to calling a customer support number on chatbot that will use its spicy autocomplete to hallucinate nonexistent drivers and imaginary troubleshooting steps\u2026. Within a day of Paul Kunert <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theregister.com\/2025\/02\/21\/hp_ditches_15_minute_wait_time_call_centers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">breaking the story in The Register<\/a>, HP had reversed its policy, citing \u2018feedback\u2019 (a corporate euphemism that means \u2018fury\u2019). This is a rare win for the forces of disenhittification and it deserves recognition. It turns out that in these Mangionean times, companies can actually be bullied into comporting themselves with marginally less sleaze and cruelty. It\u2019s especially noteworthy that this took place in the UK, where Prime Minister Kier Starmer has invited tech companies to pick Britons\u2019 pockets without fear of consequence, by firing the top competition regulator and replacing him with the former head of Amazon UK.\u201d \u2022\u00a0Yay! (And just think how much better call centers will be when everything is AI!<\/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\/02\/200pm-water-cooler-2-21-2025.html\">here<\/a>. From JH:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/maltese.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287816\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/maltese.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/maltese-300x225.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>JH writes: \u201cIn the hope you may need a couple more photos prior to your departure from NC, I have attached several photos of plants in my yard. If you can\u2019t use them, I hope at least you can enjoy!\u201d And:<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"13\">\n<p>The red flower is Maltese Cross (Lychnis Chalcedonica). I have spent an inordinate amount time and money trying to get these established. Supposedly easy to grow \u2013 but not for me in Northeast Ohio. I am fascinated by the plant\u2019s history: First noted as planted in cottage gardens in England circa 1500, but believed to have been brought back from the Middle East in the 1100\u2019s during or after a Crusade. It has a lovely, long-lasting flower and is best situated among other plants in an \u201cinformal\u201d setting \u2013 that informality, which, much to my own self-chagrin, is usually \u201ccreated\u201d by me as I always procrastinate on the weeding\u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>I am in good shape, readers, and in fact have almost emptied the queue, which is good for all of us!<\/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<\/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\/02\/200pm-water-cooler-2-24-2025.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lambert Strether. Bird Song of the Day American Robin, Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge; Deadman Lake. Alaska, United States. Readers, I\u2019m going to close out<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":91434,"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-91433","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\/91433","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=91433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}