By Lambert Strether of Corrente.
Hen Track of the Day
Northern Mockingbird, Quitman Farm, Brooks, Georgia, United States.
In Case You May Miss…
- DOGE.
- Kamala’s future. If any.
- The state of tech: like industrial chemical accident.
- Covid wastewater: Excellent news.
I suppose that is serving to:
Man warms up chicken’s toes to unfreeze! pic.twitter.com/ngz9uposfi
— Nature is Superb ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) December 16, 2024
Will the opposite birds reject this chicken, because it’s been held by a human?
My electronic mail tackle is down by the plant; please ship examples of there (“Helpers” within the topic line). In our more and more determined and fragile neoliberal society, on a regular basis regular incidents and tales of “the communism of on a regular basis life” are what I’m on the lookout for (and never, say, the Purple Cross in Hawaii, and even the UNWRA in Gaza).
Politics
“So lots of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in actual fact a rational administration of symbolic capital.” –Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles
Biden Administration
Good ol’ Scranton Joe:
Michael Conahan took $2,800,000 in bribes from a non-public jail in change for locking up 2300 children, one in all whom dedicated suicide.
Biden commuted his sentence.
Steven Donziger gained a $9 bn lawsuit towards Chevron & received locked up for 3.5 in retaliation.
He was not pardoned. pic.twitter.com/jR1G9Br0gx
— Local weather Defiance (@ClimateDefiance) December 16, 2024
Trump Transition
“Bernie Sanders Warns U.S. Is Turning into an Oligarchy” [Rolling Stone]. “Turning into?” “‘We’re shifting quickly into an oligarchic type of society. By no means earlier than in American historical past have so few billionaires, so few folks, have a lot wealth and a lot energy,’ the senator mentioned. ‘By no means earlier than has there been a lot focus of possession, sector after sector, energy of Wall Avenue,’ he continued. ‘And by no means earlier than in American historical past — and we higher speak about this — have the folks on high had a lot political energy. We are able to’t go all over the world saying, ‘Oh, effectively, , in Russia Putin has an oligarchy.’ Nicely, we received our oligarchy right here too.’ … In a video launched Friday, Sanders mentioned, ‘In 2024, simply 150 billionaire households spent practically $2 billion to buy candidates.’” • If solely Sanders weren’t the loine voice saying this. If solely he had performed himself such that he wasn’t the one voice saying this. It’s tragic.
* * * “Dr. Oz Uncovered for Colossal, Multimillion-Greenback Battle of Curiosity” [The New Republic]. “Dr. Mehmet Oz, the daytime tv host Donald Trump has picked to run the Facilities for Medicare and Medicaid Companies, or CMS, could have a direct monetary stake in three corporations that might do enterprise with the company he intends to run. A overview of Oz’s 2022 tax disclosure by Accountable.US revealed that the Trump ally owned as much as $26 million stake in Sharecare, a digital well being firm co-founded by Oz that operates CareLinx, the “unique in-home care supplemental profit program” utilized by 1.5 million Medicare Benefit enrollees. The corporate went non-public in 2024, so it’s unknown whether or not Oz nonetheless owns a stake within the firm. Novo Nordisk, which produces Ozempic and Wegovy amongst different medication, can also be a shopper of Sharecare. As head of CMS, Oz has appreciable influence on the pharmaceutical trade—however with enterprise ties like these, it’s equally doubtless that these drug corporations might have a profound influence on him.” • $26 million? Oz is a patzer. Certainly the identical logic applies to each single billionaire in Trump’s cupboard? In spite of everything, what’s an oligarchy however battle of curiosity on the grand scale?
“Trump’s CDC decide wouldn’t let go of false principle vaccines trigger autism” [WaPo]. “A Washington Put up overview of Weldon’s public feedback, media appearances and congressional letters together with accounts of those that labored with him reveal a portrait of a politician and doctor who emphasised the experiences of people whereas dismissing dozens of research primarily based on knowledge from lots of of 1000’s of sufferers that confirmed no hyperlink between vaccines and autism…. And but, Weldon has additionally expressed assist for coronavirus and flu vaccines in media interviews and personal conversations — providing each photographs to sufferers who need them. His blended stances on vaccines point out a willingness to agree with some mainstream public well being steering, some political opponents say…. ‘I give photographs, I consider in vaccination,’ Weldon advised the New York Occasions in a current interview. He mentioned each his grownup kids are absolutely immunized however declined to say whether or not he nonetheless believes a hyperlink exists between autism and vaccines.” • Hmm. Headline a bit misleading then.
* * * “How Quick Can Trump Enact His 2025 Agenda?” [Ed Kilgore, New York Magazine]. “The important thing to implementing Trump’s legislative agenda would be the budget-reconciliation course of that permits Congress to bypass the Senate filibuster and enact a giant bundle of latest legal guidelines on an up-or-down party-line vote. That is how Trump received his tax cuts in 2017 and the way he tried to repeal Obamacare. Gadgets in a budget-reconciliation invoice should be centered on fiscal issues, however it’s nonetheless an enormous asset to a celebration that controls the White Home and each chambers of Congress. It’s starting to appear like Crew Trump needs two budget-reconciliation payments, one centered on authorizing the large buildup in border-security assets mandatory for Trump’s mass deportation of undocumented immigrants and one other geared toward extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts. There’s growing discuss of a really fast begin on the primary invoice. For the reason that 119th Congress shall be sworn in on January 3, Congress might get shifting on a finances decision organising this invoice even earlier than Trump takes workplace.” • This put up gives a helpful timeline for Trump’s first 12 months.
“Behind the Curtain: Creators & destroyers” [Axios]. “Consider President-elect Trump’s high Cupboard and West Wing officers in two large buckets: The Creators are charged with stoking a booming, AI-enabled financial system, together with a low jobless price — the ‘golden age of America’ that Trump promised after he gained. The Destroyers are the extra controversial picks — wired to disrupt present establishments, and performing on smoldering grievances towards the organizations they’ve been picked to guide. This creators-plus-destroyers dynamic dominates the behind-the-scenes jockeying for jobs and affect. Anticipate jarring swings between widespread, pro-growth strikes and ruthless authorities gutting and payback. It’s the Trump Method.” Fascinating binary. Extra: “The Creators are targeting Trump’s financial staff, together with Treasury nominee Scott Bessent, a hedge-fund veteran with Wall Avenue cred.” And: “The Destroyers are out for revenge — generally for Trump, generally for themselves, generally born of ideology. Then they’ll rebuild in MAGA’s picture. These are picks the place Trump has gone with this intestine. Trump is hellbent on retribution towards the FBI for investigating him. Thus the aggressive decide of hardliner Kash Patel for FBI director. Trump can be completely satisfied to return the Pentagon, the most important forms of all of them, to its roots — middle it across the wants of warfighters, and tear down and rebuild a damaged procurement system. A transition supply says Trump advised Pete Hegseth, his selection for SecDef: ‘I anticipate you to do extra with much less. They’re spending an excessive amount of cash, and we’re not getting something for all that cash.’” The place’s the lie? Extra: “So Trump fought again when Hegseth’s affirmation possibilities regarded shaky after a collection of damaging articles final month. However a ferocious operation by Trump’s internal circle now has Hegseth on observe for affirmation, barring damaging new data. You may see Trump’s deep distrust of the intelligence group in his choice of former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for director of nationwide intelligence. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would convey radically new instincts and priorities to HHS — and, some public-health critics contend, undermine the mission.” • Nicely price a learn.
* * * “Bringing Elon to a knife battle” [Jennifer Pahlka, Eating Policy]. “Quite a lot of the federal government tech group is skipping the hand wringing; they’ve principally simply grabbed a bag of popcorn and are watching in actual time as Elon and Vivek study all of the issues they’ve identified, lived, and completely hated for his or her whole time in public service. They don’t see DOGE as their savior, however they’re feeling vindicated after years of shouting into the void. I’m struck by how completely different the tone of the DOGE dialog is between political leaders on the left and the individuals who’ve been preventing within the implementation trenches. One group is terrified they’ll succeed. The opposite is beginning to ask a shocking query (or no less than I’m): What if even billionaires can’t disrupt the system we now have constructed?” • Up to now, DOGE is a only a volunteer group. I might volunteer to reform authorities too, and even get associates to affix the “effort.” So what? However DOGE is so much like what Hyman Minksy mentioned about cash: “Everybody can create cash; the issue is to get it accepted.” How does DOGE get “accepted?” How, precisely, is DOGE going to transition from handwaving potential to kinetic pressure inside (or no less than affecting authorities? No person appears to ask. Jawboning? Govt orders?
“Industrial and enterprise teams ship Trump a deregulatory want checklist” [Los Angeles Times]. “Greater than 100 industrial commerce teams and chambers of commerce are urging President-elect Donald Trump to weaken or eradicate quite a few Biden administration rules on vitality, air air pollution, recycling, employee warmth protections, shopper safeguards and company financing, claiming that the foundations are ‘strangling’ the nation’s financial system. In a 21-page letter addressed to Trump and his presumptive Cupboard, the teams requested modifications to dozens of ‘burdensome rules which might be stifling funding, making us much less aggressive on the earth, limiting innovation and threatening the very jobs we’re all working to create proper right here in America.’ Amongst different actions, the Dec. 5 letter urges Trump to renew exports of liquefied pure fuel, assist laws boosting the usage of nuclear vitality, repeal new emission requirements for coal- and gas-fired energy crops, chill out newly proposed requirements for soot and PFAS ‘endlessly’ chemical substances, pause implementation of employee warmth requirements, restrict the Meals and Drug Administration’s meals traceability necessities and battle efforts to impose ‘right-to-repair’ guidelines, which offer customers with instruments and directions to repair their broken electronics as an alternative of throwing them away.” • What a bizarre image of themselves these folks will need to have. Does any CEO sit down and ask themselves, very first thing, “What number of jobs can I create?”
* * * “Clashes Are Coming for Trump Officers Eating Out in DC” [Washingtonian]. “This time round, with a full Republican sweep of presidency, an excellent bigger solid of divisive characters, and no Trump Lodge by which to congregate, the MAGA crowd is more likely to really feel much more omnipresent [(?)] once they swagger into DC. Inevitably, that may result in clashes in a fiercely blue, politically engaged metropolis the place Dwelling Rule is beneath risk, numerous jobs are in danger, and fewer than 7 % of voters picked Trump within the first place. ‘The shift in politics shall be visceral throughout a number of elements of each day life. You anticipate the plenty to simply ignore RFK consuming at Le Diplomate on a Sunday morning after a number of mimosas and to not throw a drink in his face?,’ says Zac Hoffman, a DC restaurant veteran who’s now a supervisor on the Nationwide Democratic Membership (however has by no means labored at Le Diplomate). Hoffman is worried that it gained’t simply be a security threat or disruption for the officers focused, but additionally for restaurant workers and fellow diners. ‘Should you’re simply going out for a pleasant dinner or it’s your anniversary or birthday and, God forbid, RFK Jr. is sitting subsequent to you, now you’re going to be coping with no matter repercussions occur from that.’ Eating decorum and ‘civility’ had been already sizzling button points over the last Trump administration. In 2018, when information about household separations on the border had reached a fever pitch, Democratic congresswoman Maxine Waters known as on the general public to ‘push again’ on Trump Cupboard members they encountered in eating places, department shops, or fuel stations and inform them ‘they’re not welcome anymore, wherever.’ Extra not too long ago, liberal activists tried to enlist hospitality staff in aiding with public disruptions. Within the wake of the Supreme Court docket overturning Roe v. Wade, a liberal advocacy group known as ShutDownDC—which interrupted Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s dinner at Morton’s steakhouse—supplied $250 to DC service staff who shared real-time sightings of different justices concerned within the abortion choice.” • Democrats can’t set up DC into in the present day’s equal of Parisian sans culottes, oh no no. However they’ll get some poor waitstaff in hassle in order that they’ll harass some demon determine or different. Pathetic.
2024 Put up Mortem
“Kamala Harris grapples together with her future in a wounded Democratic Occasion” [WaPo]. “Within the wake of her personal 2024 loss, Vice President Kamala Harris and her allies are grappling with what her political future holds and debating whether or not the unofficial rule nonetheless applies — particularly, whether or not her first shot on the White Home because the Democratic nominee also needs to be her just one, given the extraordinary circumstances of Harris’s 107-day dash to Election Day.” And: “A few of her donors and supporters, significantly these in her residence state, hope she’s going to run for governor of California in 2026. However in 2015, when she was state legal professional basic and a rising star deciding on her subsequent transfer, Harris determined to not search that job after in depth discussions with advisers. She listed the professionals and cons of operating for governor versus senator on a authorized pad, aides mentioned, concluding that the Senate was a greater match for her pursuits and her strengths as a former prosecutor. However as quickly as she misplaced to Trump on Nov. 5, some Harris supporters seized on the concept of a gubernatorial run, together with rich donors desirous to see her take a management position in such a robust put up. ‘,’ one Harris confidante mentioned.”• Lol. Musical interlude.
Democrats en déshabillé
“Progressives ought to defend Biden’s legacy to guard their future” [E.J. Dionne, WaPo]. “He modified the paradigm of financial coverage from a view that prosperity stems from rewarding ‘job creators’ on the high to what he known as a ‘middle-out’ and ‘bottom-up’ technique. It wasn’t only a slogan. In recent times, wage development amongst low- and middle-income staff has outpaced that of higher-income teams.” However: “[T]he administration’s [failed] to advertise the president’s achievements whereas responding successfully to discontent.” • Appears to be a full courtroom press:
We expect that this detailed have a look at what the president did and why shall be of curiosity as we head into the longer term. We’re happy to convey it to you.https://t.co/ZAr6IdDPT7
— David Dayen (@ddayen) December 16, 2024
I’d actually reasonably see Biden at The Prospect than with these weasels over on the Heart for American Progress. That mentioned, I’m with James Galbraith:
On the identical time, jobs had been starting to return again—however what jobs? In financial mythology, American life facilities on work—on character-building, strength-testing, skill-demanding engagement with the bodily world, on the farm, the vary, the manufacturing facility, the development web site or the open highway. However most jobs in the present day aren’t like that; virtually all new jobs in America for the previous 60 years have been in providers—in retailers, places of work, eating places; in accounting, bookkeeping, upkeep, and different minor professions. Most such jobs are neither safe nor well-paid, and it usually takes two or extra to maintain a middle-class family. Prices of commuting and little one care make many secondary jobs barely worthwhile to carry. Covid reduction and enforced unemployment gave many Individuals a break, which they used to reassess their relationship to work. Many determined to not return, which is why the jobless price fell and remained low, despite the fact that the employment-to-population ratio by no means absolutely recovered.
Because the financial system started to open up once more, employers wanted staff. Vacancies rose. What to do? The choice of elevating wages (and enhancing working circumstances) is rarely enticing, because the beneficial properties should be given to all staff, not merely these newly employed or rehired. The choice is to place a squeeze on those that have left the labor pressure till they really feel the pinch and are available again, hat in hand, looking for a job. And this may very well be finished, with the complicity of the Biden staff, by letting Covid advantages expire, and by mountaineering rates of interest. Worth will increase, instantly boosting income, additionally added to the stress on the not-employed. Is it a shock that individuals don’t like being pressured to take “bullshit jobs”?
Or as Quartz summarizes:
Galbraith comes from the left to counsel the issue with Bidenomics is just not what it achieved, however what it didn’t do: It didn’t generate significantly better pay for low-wage service jobs, it didn’t put to relaxation the worry many Individuals have that their jobs are usually not safe, and it didn’t reverse the decline in actual buying energy.
Regardless of all of the stimulus cash, regardless of all of the funding in infrastructure and development jobs, and all of the assist — now ended — to offer folks healthcare and housing help — the wealthy had been merely getting richer whereas the common Joe or Jane was nonetheless only one paycheck away from catastrophe.
Syndemics
“I’m in earnest — I cannot equivocate — I cannot excuse — I cannot retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD.” –William Lloyd Garrison
Covid Assets, United States (Nationwide): Transmission (CDC); Wastewater (CDC, Biobot; consists of many counties; Wastewater Scan, consists of drilldown by zip); Variants (CDC; Walgreens); “Iowa COVID-19 Tracker” (in IA, however nationwide knowledge). “An infection Management, Emergency Administration, Security, and Common Ideas” (particularly on hospitalization by metropolis).
Lambert right here: Readers, thanks for the collective effort. To replace any entry, do be at liberty to contact me on the tackle given with the crops. Please put “COVID” within the topic line. Thanks!
Assets, United States (Native): AK (dashboard); AL (dashboard); AR (dashboard); AZ (dashboard); CA (dashboard; Marin, dashboard; Stanford, wastewater; Oakland, wastewater); CO (dashboard; wastewater); CT (dashboard); DE (dashboard); FL (wastewater); GA (wastewater); HI (dashboard); IA (wastewater reviews); ID (dashboard, Boise; dashboard, wastewater, Central Idaho; wastewater, Coeur d’Alene; dashboard, Spokane County); IL (wastewater); IN (dashboard); KS (dashboard; wastewater, Lawrence); KY (dashboard, Louisville); LA (dashboard); MA (wastewater); MD (dashboard); ME (dashboard); MI (wastewater; wastewater); MN (dashboard); MO (wastewater); MS (dashboard); MT (dashboard); NC (dashboard); ND (dashboard; wastewater); NE (dashboard); NH (wastewater); NJ (dashboard); NM (dashboard); NV (dashboard; wastewater, Southern NV); NY (dashboard); OH (dashboard); OK (dashboard); OR (dashboard); PA (dashboard); RI (dashboard); SC (dashboard); SD (dashboard); TN (dashboard); TX (dashboard); UT (wastewater); VA (wastewater); VT (dashboard); WA (dashboard; dashboard); WI (wastewater); WV (wastewater); WY (wastewater).
Assets, Canada (Nationwide): Wastewater (Authorities of Canada).
Assets, Canada (Provincial): ON (wastewater); QC (les eaux usées); BC (wastewater); BC, Vancouver (wastewater).
Hat tricks to useful 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, sq. coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3).
Keep secure on the market!
Symbols aren’t instruments?
Masks / Respirators are *instruments* to drastically cut back the chance of an infection from airborne pathogens. Their transformation into political and sociological *symbols* has been an enormous hindrance to addressing threat. Demonising *people* who do or don’t masks simply makes this worse.
— Conor Browne (@brownecfm) December 13, 2024
Image manipulators absolutely consider symbols are instruments.
TABLE 1: Each day Covid Charts
| Wastewater | |
| ★This week[1] CDC December 9 | Final week[2] CDC (till subsequent week): |
|
|
|
| Variants [3] CDC December 7 | Emergency Room Visits[4] CDC December 7 |
|
|
|
| Hospitalization | |
| ★New York[5] New York State, knowledge December 13: | Nationwide [6] CDC December 12: |
|
|
|
| Positivity | |
| Nationwide[7] Walgreens December 9: | Ohio[8] Cleveland Clinic December 7: |
|
|
|
| Vacationers Knowledge | |
| Positivity[9] CDC November 25: | Variants[10] CDC November 25: |
|
|
|
| Deaths | |
| Weekly Deaths vs. % Positivity [11] CDC November 20: | Weekly Deaths vs. ED Visits [12] CDC November 20: |
|
|
|
LEGEND
1) ★ for charts new in the present day; all others are usually not up to date.
2) For a full-size/full-resolution picture, Command-click (MacOS) or right-click (Home windows) on the chart thumbnail and “open picture in new tab.”
NOTES
[1] (CDC) Up usually, seeing a bit of extra pink, however nothing new on the main worldwide hubs. Apparently, Calculated Threat is watching wastewater too.
[2] (CDC) Final week’s wastewater map.
[3] (CDC Variants) XEC takes over. That WHO label, “Ommicron,” has finished an amazing job normalizing successive waves of an infection.
[4] (ED) Just a little uptick.
[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Leveled out.
[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Leveling out.
[7] (Walgreens) Leveling out.
[8] (Cleveland) Up!
[9] (Vacationers: Positivity) Leveling out.
[10] (Vacationers: Variants). Positivity is new, however variants haven’t but been launched.
[11] Deaths low, positivity leveling out.
[12] Deaths low, ED leveling out.
Stats Watch
Manufacturing: “United States NY Empire State Manufacturing Index” [Trading Economics]. “The NY Empire State Manufacturing Index fell to 0.20 in December 2024 from 31.2 in November which was the very best studying since December 2021, and effectively beneath forecasts of 12. The studying confirmed enterprise exercise within the NY state held regular, following a giant rise within the earlier month.”
Manufacturing: “Boeing’s Yr of Disaster Leaves Traders Cautious of Crushed-Up Inventory” [Bloomberg]. ” What was alleged to be a comeback 12 months for Boeing Co. has become its worst stock-market plunge since 2008, and if Wall Avenue is true, the plane-maker’s shares could have solely a modest restoration in retailer in 2025…. The inventory is down 35% this 12 months, putting it among the many 20 greatest decliners within the S&P 500 Index. The shares have stabilized over the previous month, however buyers stay cautious. They level to the string of crises in 2024 that shook their confidence in Boeing’s prospects and the chance that it’s going to undergo ought to commerce friction construct anew beneath President-elect Donald Trump. ‘Simply staying out of the information can be a win for Boeing at this level,’ mentioned Eric Clark, portfolio supervisor of the Rational Dynamic Manufacturers Fund.” • And talking of public relations–
Manufacturing: “Pig Stench Causes KLM Boeing 787-9 To Divert To Bermuda” [Simple Flying]. “KLM Flight 685 was diverted to Bermuda after the odor of a herd of swine from beneath decks wafted by way of the cabin…. The crew reported an “obnoxious odor from cargo coming from pigs in all probability, which can have one thing to do with the oxygen surroundings within the cockpit.’…. The diversion was not an emergency. There was no Mayday name, no PAN name, and no emergency providers had been required. The pigs had been unloaded and brought to a “safe location on the island throughout their impromptu vacation stayover.” • Clearly not Boeing’s fault, however they’ll’t catch a break, can they?
Manufacturing: “Boeing Delays Imply Trump Received’t Fly on a New Air Power One” [Wall Street Journal]. “President-elect Donald Trump didn’t get to fly on a brand new Air Power One throughout his first time period. He doubtless gained’t get to fly on a brand new presidential airplane in his second time period, both. The long-delayed challenge has fallen up to now delayed that Boeing has advised the Air Power that it expects to ship the brand new jets after Trump leaves the White Home, based on folks aware of the matter. Which means the airplanes wouldn’t be prepared till 2029 or later. Pissed off with the delays, Trump raised the challenge with Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg when the 2 males had a telephone dialog in November. As he prepares to return to the White Home, Trump has repeatedly requested advisers in regards to the standing of Boeing’s work.Boeing was once an amazing American firm, he has advised aides, based on folks briefed on the discussions. What occurred to them? Trump has requested.”
The Bezzle: Why don’t we now have a Strategic Baseball Card Reserve?
Charles Schwab says Bitcoin might hit $500,000 – $1 million if Trump establishes a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. pic.twitter.com/BLKN2STIqb
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) December 15, 2024
Can anyone clarify to me what’s “Strategic” a couple of “Strategic Bitcorn Reserve,” and why it’s not merely an outright subsidy to those crooks and fraudsters?
At present’s Concern & Greed Index: 56 Greed (earlier shut: 50 Impartial) [CNN]. One week in the past: 48 (Impartial). (0 is Excessive Concern; 100 is Excessive Greed). Final up to date Dec 16 at 1:19:55 PM ET.
Rapture Index: Closes down one on Plagues. “The dearth of exercise has downgraded this class” [Rapture Ready]. Report Excessive, October 10, 2016: 189. Present: 182. (Keep in mind that bringing on the Rapture is sweet.) • Exhausting to consider the Rapture Index goes down. Doesn’t the collapse of Syria convey the Third Temple nearer? Do these folks know one thing we don’t?
Gallery
David with the pinnacle of Goliath:
Caravaggio pic.twitter.com/vA3No66R05
— Artwork Gallery (@X_ArtGallery) December 15, 2024
Chairoscuro!
Healthcare
“The best believes the healthcare CEO taking pictures suspect is a ‘liberal wacko’. The reality is difficult” [Guardian]. “Trump, along with his simple knack for tapping into the anger and issues of his supporters, has noticeably been silent on Thompson’s killing…. It’s revealing that Trump, the arch-populist, has stayed silent. The incoming president, so good at driving the waves of public opinion, has at instances been a fierce critic of healthcare corporations himself…. ‘For years, sufferers have been shocked to obtain surprising payments for 1000’s of {dollars} in medical providers they by no means agreed to. The primary America First Healthcare Plan bans this deeply unfair apply. We are going to finish shock medical billing. The times of ripping off American sufferers are over,’ Trump mentioned in North Carolina in 2020, asserting an finally doomed effort to rein within the likes of UnitedHealthcare…. ‘President Donald J Trump could be very shrewd, and he understands what is going on right here. He understands that it’s his base too. So he’s going to be very calculated,’ [Nina] Turner mentioned.”
“By no means Forgive Them” [Ed Zitron, Where’s Your Ed At?] A formidable rant, price studying in full. This caught my eye: “I’m not penning this to complain, however as a result of I consider — as I hinted at a number of weeks in the past — that we’re within the midst of the largest-scale ecological catastrophe of our time, as a result of virtually each single interplay with know-how, which is required to stay in trendy society, has change into actively adversarial to the consumer. These points hit all the pieces we do, on a regular basis, a continuing onslaught of interference, and I consider it’s a lot larger than simply social media and algorithms — although they’re a giant a part of it, after all. In plain phrases, everyone is being fucked with continuously in tiny little methods by most apps and providers, and I consider that billions of individuals being fucked with without delay in all of those methods has profound psychological and social penalties that we’re not meaningfully discussing. The typical individual’s expertise with know-how is one so aggressive and violative that I consider it leaves billions of individuals with a constant low-grade trauma. We appear, as a society, able to understanding that social media can harm us, unsettle us, or make us really feel crazed and indignant, however I believe it’s time to just accept that the remainder of the tech ecosystem undermines our wellbeing in an equally-insidious means. And most of the people don’t realize it’s occurring, as a result of everyone has accepted deeply shitty circumstances for the final ten years.” And: “Why wouldn’t folks really feel insane? Why wouldn’t the web, the place we’re largely compelled to stay, drive most individuals loopy? How are we not discussing the truth that a lot of the web is riddled with poison? How are we not treating the present state of the tech trade like an industrial chemical accident? Is it as a result of there are too many individuals at fault? Is it as a result of fixing it might require us to actually interrogate the material of a capitalist loss of life cult?”• He’s not unsuitable, is he?
“How Silicon Valley is disrupting democracy” [MIT Technology Review]. “One factor [Rob Lalka’s The Venture Alchemists] is especially efficient at is deflating the parable that these entrepreneurs had been someway gifted seers of (and buyers in) a future the remainder of us merely couldn’t comprehend or predict. Positive, somebody like Thiel made what turned out to be a savvy funding in Fb early on, however he additionally made some very pricey errors with that stake. As Lalka factors out, Thiel’s Founders Fund dumped tens of hundreds of thousands of shares shortly after Fb went public, and Thiel himself went from proudly owning 2.5% of the corporate in 2012 to 0.000004% lower than a decade later (across the identical time Fb hit its trillion-dollar valuation). Throw in his objectively horrible wagers in 2008, 2009, and past, when he successfully shorted what turned out to be one of many longest bull markets in world historical past, and also you get the impression he’s much less oracle and extra ideologue who occurred to take some large dangers that paid off.” • And that’s earlier than we get to Marc Andreessen.
“A Blind Beetle Named Hitler?” [JSTOR]. “Naming species isn’t any easy process: a scientist doesn’t simply assign a reputation and name it a day. Taxonomy is a fastidiously structured course of ruled by strict worldwide guidelines such because the Worldwide Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and crops.” Dang. Algae must be honorary crops, too. Extra: “One instance is Anophthalmus hitleri, a blind beetle. The species was named by novice Austrian entomologist Oskar Scheibel as a tribute to Adolf Hitler… At present the beetle is critically endangered, partly due to its enchantment to those that gather Nazi memorabilia. The enduring legacy of racist, offensive phrases in scientific nomenclature raises vital questions on ethics in naming and the facility of language in sustaining or dismantling colonial legacies.” • Go away the title. It’s karma.
Contact data for crops: Readers, be at liberty to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, to (a) learn how to ship me a verify if you’re allergic to PayPal and (b) to learn how to ship me pictures of crops. Greens are advantageous! Fungi, lichen, and coral are deemed to be honorary crops! If you need your deal with to seem as a credit score, please place it initially of your mail in parentheses: (thus). In any other case, I’ll anonymize by utilizing your initials. See the earlier Water Cooler (with plant) right here. From WB:
WB writes: “Our garlic chives are preparing for winter.”
Readers: Water Cooler is a standalone entity not lined by the annual NC fundraiser. Materials right here is Lambert’s, and doesn’t specific the views of the Bare Capitalism web site. Should you see a hyperlink you particularly like, or an merchandise you wouldn’t see wherever else, please don’t hesitate to precise your appreciation in tangible kind. Keep in mind, a tip jar is for tipping! Common optimistic suggestions each makes me really feel good and lets me know I’m heading in the right direction with protection. After I get no donations for 3 or 4 days I get nervous. Extra tangibly, a continuing trickle of donations helps me with bills, and I consider that trickle when setting fundraising targets:
Right here is the display that may seem, which I’ve helpfully annotated:
Should you hate PayPal, you may electronic mail me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I provides you with instructions on tips on how to ship a verify. Thanks!
