November 27, 2021
Darlene Superville of the AP: President "Biden spent more than an hour walking around downtown Nantucket's cobblestone streets, popping unannounced into quaint mom-and-pop shops, appearing to make purchases and posing for photos with surprised business owners.... He stopped in at a leather goods store and several clothing, gift and home goods stores before the family reunited to participate in another one of their traditions: attending Nantucket's annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony."
Matthew Daly of the AP: "The Biden administration on Friday recommended an overhaul of the nation's oil and gas leasing program to limit areas available areas for energy development and raise costs for oil and gas companies to drill on public land and water. The long-awaited report by the Interior Department stops short of recommending an end to oil and gas leasing on public lands, as many environmental groups have urged. But officials said the report would lead to a more responsible leasing process that provides a better return to U.S. taxpayers.... Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement ... that the new report's recommendations will mitigate worsening climate change impacts 'while staying steadfast in the pursuit of environmental justice.'″ The Washington Post's story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) called for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to take 'appropriate action' against Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) Friday after Boebert shared an anti-Muslim story about Omar during Thanksgiving break. During an event in her Colorado district, Boebert told the audience about an encounter with Omar in the Capitol, describing another encounter with Omar as 'not my first "Jihad Squad" moment,' according to a video posted on Twitter. 'I was getting into an elevator with one of my staffers,' Boebert told the laughing crowd. '... and I see a Capitol police officer running to the elevator. I see fret all over his face, and he's reaching, and the door's shutting, like I can't open it, like what's happening. I look to my left, and there she is. Ilhan Omar. And I said, "Well, she doesn't have a backpack, we should be fine."' 'Saying I am a suicide bomber is no laughing matter,' Omar tweeted. '...normalizing this bigotry not only endangers my life but the lives of all Muslims. Anti-Muslim bigotry has no place in Congress.' Omar had, earlier on Thursday, said the story was made up.... In a statement, Democratic congressional leaders -- including Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (Md.) -- said Boebert has repeatedly made targeted Islamophobic comments against Omar and she should retract her latest story, which they said is fictionalized."
Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "Since he was acquitted of homicide and other charges last Friday, Kyle Rittenhouse has said he wanted to stay out of politics, and that he was disturbed by how his case became politicized.... Yet Rittenhouse ... has emerged as a symbolic figure for the pro-Trump right wing.... Rittenhouse made the comments about politics and polarization on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show, which had a crew embedded with the Rittenhouse team during his trial. He has appeared alongside Republican operatives in photos, and he met with Donald Trump himself at the former president's private Mar-a-Lago club in Florida." Schwatz names some of the Trump acolytes who have associated themselves with Rittenhouse. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Lay Your Head Upon My Pillow. S.V. Date of the Huffington Post: "Despite months of promising to file an explosive lawsuit that would 'pull down' the 2020 presidential election results and reinstate Donald Trump to the White House, pillow-monger Mike Lindell has instead turned his election-fraud-athon into a four-day sales promotion.... 'o lawsuit has been filed, and the show, which featured the same lies about the election Lindell has been spreading for a year, prominently featured Lindell's pillow ads with its own 'promo code.'... In recent days, Lindell has been claiming that the attorneys general who were going to sign on to his suit were pressured out of doing so by Republican National Committee chair Ronna [Romney] McDaniel. 'Ronna McDaniel better resign today,' he said Thursday." She didn't.
Mary Papenfuss of the Huffington Post: "Donald Trump erupted Friday about Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa's book 'Peril' ― more than two months after it was published and its revelations about the former president filled the media.... Trump appeared to be particularly incensed about revelations that the U.S. may have edged dangerously close to war with China amid his unpredictability after his 2020 election loss -- and the subsequent Jan. 6 violence at the U.S. Capitol.... When anecdotes from the book were first revealed, Trump called Milley a 'dumbass.' In his statement Friday, Trump referred to him as 'one of the dumber generals' and repeated a previous comment that if Milley actually called China, he 'should be tried for treason.' 'I never had even a thought of going to war with China, other than the war I was winning, which was on TRADE,' he wrote.... The Phase One trade deal finally eked out by his administration in 2019 is largely regarded as a failure." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Right before Trump initiated his "winning" war on TRADE, I bought a stainless steel sink for $277. I had to get the specs on it for my plumber the other day, upon which I learned that the current price for that exact same sink is $399. Yes indeed, Donaldo, we are, as you predicted, tired of so much winning.
Tali Arbel & Anne D'Innocenzio of the AP report on Black Friday activity.
The Pandemic, Ctd., Brought to You by the Unvaccinated
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here.
Perry Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "A new, possibly more infectious coronavirus variant, with an unusual number of mutations, had scientists sounding the alarm and countries including the United States moving to impose travel restrictions as the world feared another setback on the long road out of the pandemic. Senior Biden administration officials announced Friday that starting Monday, travel to the United States will be restricted from South Africa and seven other countries -- Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe. The new policy, which does not affect U.S. citizens and permanent residents, was enacted 'out of an abundance of caution,' officials said, as public health officials work to learn more about the new variant." The AP's story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Update: More info on the new variant from Victoria at the top of today's Comments. ~~~
~~~ A related Washington Post story, by Annie Linskey, covers travel restrictions implemented as a result of the new coronavirus variant. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ President Biden's statement on the new variant is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Eshe Nelson of the New York Times: "Stocks around the world fell on Friday and oil prices plunged, after evidence of a new coronavirus variant in South Africa prompted another round of travel restrictions and reignited concerns about the economic toll imposed by the pandemic. The S&P 500 logged its worst day since February as a growing list of nations, including the United States, moved to prohibit travel from half a dozen or so African countries. The uncertainty shook a stock market that had been performing robustly, and market watchers said the heightened volatility might continue as countries assessed the risks of the variant. The number of mutations in this new variant has raised fears that it could be especially contagious and render current vaccines less effective. But scientists haven't come to firm conclusions yet." CNBC's report is here.
Rebecca Robbins of the New York Times: "The pharmaceutical company Merck said on Friday that in a final analysis of a clinical trial, its antiviral pill reduced the risk of hospitalization and death among high-risk Covid patients by 30 percent, down from an earlier estimate of 50 percent. The lower efficacy is a disappointment for the drug, known as molnupiravir, which health officials around the world are counting on as a critical tool to save lives and reduce the burden on hospitals. It increases the importance of a similar, apparently more effective, offering from Pfizer that is also under review by the Food and Drug Administration."
Beyond the Beltway
Debra Kahn, et al., of Politico (Nov. 23): "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants half a billion dollars to protect his state from the ravages of 'extreme weather events.' Texas Gov. Greg Abbott devoted $1.6 billion toward preparing communities for increasingly devastating hurricanes. But they still won't say if they believe in climate change. Even if conservative politicians can't stomach the words, they're spending money to combat the fallout hammering their states and cities. Bracing for global warming is the rare climate issue that appeals to both Republicans and Democrats, and 34 states have done some sort of climate-adaptation planning, according to Georgetown University's state policy tracker.... Conservative Republicans still refuse to explicitly connect global warming with what's happening at home."
Missouri. Lindsey Bever & Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "Kevin Strickland was exonerated in a 1978 triple murder, but under Missouri law, he is not eligible for any compensation from the state for the 43 years he spent behind bars -- one of the longest-standing wrongful convictions in the nation's history. That hasn't stopped his supporters from stepping in instead, raising more than $1 million through a GoFundMe campaign to help him start a new life.... Taken into custody as a teenager, Strickland has no retirement savings, no work history to help him get Social Security benefits -- and no compensation from the state of Missouri, which by law only grants people compensation when they are proven innocent through DNA testing."
Way Beyond
Ukraine/Russia. David Stern of the Washington Post: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asserted Friday that a group of Russians and Ukrainians planned to attempt a coup in Ukraine next month and that the plotters tried to enlist the help of the country's richest man, Rinat Akhmetov. Zelensky, speaking at a 'press marathon' for local and international media, said that audio recordings, obtained by Ukraine's security services, caught plotters discussing their plans and mentioning Akhmetov's name." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
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The new covid variant, B.1.1.529 (omicron), was identified in both Egypt and Johannesburg at the beginning of November - this month. There was probably only one person who first spread the virus. The day before yesterday, there were approximately 1200 cases in Jo'burg. Yesterday there were about 2400 cases.
There is NO reason to believe that this variant will be stopped by any of the vaccines, because the spike protein (of omicron) which binds to tissue has 32 variants, whereas the delta variant has only 4. The vaccine would simply not recognize the new spike and ignore it. The estimated time to develop any sort of new vaccine is about 2 months.
From the few cases so far, it appears that the incubation time is about 11 days.
It's still November and the world has changed - again.
Looks like we're in for stormy weather.
Thank you once again, Victoria, for your expertise in all things medical. And yes, looks a lot like stormy weather just when we thought we had some sun shining through.
I've spent a good portion of the morning reading about Stephen Sondheim, who died yesterday at 91. I have loved this man's work from the very beginning. One of the reasons being "What most distinguished Mr. Sondheim’s lyrics, however, was that they were by and large character-driven, often probing explorations into a psyche that expressed emotional ambivalence, anguish or deeply felt conflict."
And I've always been fascinated by his biography––Oscar Hammerstein as surrogate father (his own parents separated when he was 10 and he lived with a mother who sexually toyed verbally with him on one hand while berating him on the other and told him in a letter she wrote "The only regret I have in life is giving you birth."
Just when I'd stopped opening doors
Finally knowing the one that I wanted was yours
Making my entrance again with my usual flair,
sure of my lines
No one is there.
Reading about the new covid variant from Africa gives new
meaning to 'black friday.'
Not being a shopper myself I'm going to remember it as 'covid friday'
from now on. Shoppers gotta' shop. Deniers gotta' deny. Such is life.
Watching the Macy's parade, all I could think about was all of those
people standing shoulder to shoulder, no masks, breathing out who
knows what. It kinda makes a person so paranoid as to never leave
the house again. Fortunately I and mine work outdoors when we
work. What a relief after 25 years in an office and 5 years as a buyer
for a local gift shop.
I suppose the new variant will be Biden's fault because he left the
White House for a vacation and didn't spend every waking moment
working for the betterment of the USA like the malignant narciccist
claimed to be doing.
@ Marie, replying to your comment from late yesterday.
As a product of conception during the mid-50s, I remember the time when colored margarine was verboten (as were other colored items/people.) I remember as a kid being loaded into the family station wagon, driving south on what was then US 41 from Milwaukee to the Illinois border. As soon as you crossed the state line, stores were present where people could buy pre-dyed margarine. ( Kinda like a reverse Rittenhouse.) We'd snag a case of Imperial for storage in our freezer to retrieve as needed. I never liked margarine as it had a greasy appearance and texture. It's butter or nothing for me.
I don't know how much of the food supplied to residence halls was actually provided by campus and research-farm stock and student involvement. UW did and still continues to have "Short Courses" for advanced education of farm individuals. However, they're 16-week programs that take place during the off season from late fall to early spring. Not generally a good time for Ag production.
I went to UW and received a degree from the Ag school. Every day I would stop by the Babcock Dairy Hall to get an ice cream cone. They had/have the best ice cream ever with the highest butterfat content. Didn't matter the weather or temperature. Strawberry was my favorite.
I seem to recall that you once mentioned living in the Liz Waters dorm along the Lake Mendota frontage. It had long been a female-only dorm. Funny, though, that my father (male) was housed there the summer before it officially opened when he attended a 4H competition on campus. That would have been about the summer of 1939.
The thing I remember most about Bill Proxmire was his Golden Fleece Awards for government waste. My father hated him, which I consider to have been a good thing. Not to mention Gaylord Nelson who was an impetus behind Earth Day at the time.