By Lambert Strether of Corrente.
Some readers requested for one thing desk of contents-like, so listed here are just a few highlights:
Highlights:
(1) Victoria Nuland, baker of cookies, retires.
(2) What if Congress decides to not rely Trump’s electors?
(3) On the extraordinary and sudden drop in Walgreens Positivity numbers;
(4) Taylor Swift has a cough.
Chook Music of the Day
Mountain Mouse-Warbler, 1 km N Warili Lodge, under Tari Hole, Southern Highlands, Papua New Guinea. I assume close to a waterfall… However a reasonably music!
Politics
“So most of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in truth a rational administration of symbolic capital.” –Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles
The Constitutional Order (Riot)
“Supreme Courtroom guidelines states can’t take away Trump from poll for rebellion” [SCOTUSblog]. “Of their six-page joint opinion, Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson agreed with the consequence that the per curiam opinion reached – that Colorado can’t disqualify Trump – however not its reasoning. The three justices acknowledged that allowing Colorado to take away Trump from the poll ‘would … create a chaotic state-by-state patchwork.’ However the majority mustn’t, of their view, have gone on to determine who can implement Part 3 and the way. Nothing in Part 3 signifies that it have to be enforced by means of laws enacted by Congress pursuant to Part 5, they contended. And by resolving ‘many unsettled questions on Part 3,’ the three justices complained, ‘the bulk goes past the requirements of this case to restrict how Part 3 can bar an oathbreaking insurrectionist from turning into President.’” • And–
“Takeaways from Trump’s Supreme Courtroom win: He stays on poll, however his authorized peril is simply beginning” [Associated Press]. “However one other potential nightmare is that if Congress is the one entity that may decide whether or not a presidential hopeful is certainly disqualified for participating in ‘rebellion,’ that it makes that willpower on Jan. 6, 2025, when required to certify a attainable Trump victory within the presidential election. The excessive courtroom shut down the primary chance, however might have left the door open to the second. The five-justice majority — all from the courtroom’s conservative wing — stated Congress can implement Part 3 by means of laws, ‘topic after all to judicial assessment.’ (Meaning the courtroom reserves for itself the suitable to have the ultimate say.) That triggered a dissent from the courtroom’s three liberals, who complained that that ‘shuts the door on different potential technique of federal enforcement.’ That would seem to incorporate a rejection of Trump’s electors ought to he win the election — however a number of authorized consultants stated Monday that it wasn’t that clear, and the one method to know could also be for Congress to strive.’” • Usually, successful each Homes along with the Presidency is taken into account supreme, however for Republicans this 12 months, it’s actually supreme. And–
“The obvious omissions and telling fractures within the Trump poll ruling” [Politico]. “Think about a situation wherein Trump prevails within the November election and no less than one department of Congress finally ends up beneath Democratic management. On Jan. 6, 2025, the newly elected Congress will meet to certify the outcomes of the Electoral Faculty. And in that situation, Democrats — a few of whom have already declared that they consider Trump is ineligible to serve — must determine whether or not to rely Trump’s electoral votes and certify the election. It’s not troublesome to think about a motion to refuse to rely Trump’s electors by citing the 14th Modification and the Supreme Courtroom’s resolution empowering Congress to implement it.” • And naturally, the Democrats may attempt to create “faithless electors,” as in 2016. Talking of the switch of energy in “our democracy.”
The Constitutional Order (Eighth Modification)
“‘Clear’ property, non-public lenders may very well be Trump’s greatest choice to get $540 million for authorized judgments” [CNBC]. “Additionally they say Trump can’t merely publish a money deposit — no less than not in his New York civil enterprise fraud case, the place he’s dealing with $454 million in fines and curiosity alone. ‘Nobody, together with Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Donald Trump, has 5 hundred million laying round,’ Trump’s legal professional Chris Kise informed an appeals courtroom decide final week. However authorized consultants say there’s an alternative choice that Trump’s attorneys haven’t talked about within the courtroom filings: Trump may supply up a few of his properties as collateral to borrow what he wants — doubtlessly from non-public fairness sources. There are ‘numerous non-public lenders on the market within the debt markets and personal fairness markets that would lend’ to Trump, stated Columbia College regulation professor Eric Talley. ‘In all circumstances, the loans would in all probability must be secured with Trump properties, but when there’s sufficient fairness in a few of them, he ought to have the ability to get hold of secured credit score, even on a compressed timeline,’ Talley stated. Any loans ‘would themselves contain making declarations of the worth of the property — and that after all is what acquired him into this mess to start with,’ stated Talley. However , and didn’t rely solely on the claims at challenge in his monetary statements. A extra essential issue may very well be whether or not Trump’s actual property property are already mortgaged, stated regulation professor John Espresso. ‘He must give you clear actual property property that’s not already securing one thing that another financial institution has a lien on,’ Espresso stated. ‘Does he have that property? I can’t inform you.’” • Hmm.
Biden Administration
“White Home lifting its COVID-19 testing rule for individuals round Biden, ending a pandemic vestige” [Associated Press]. • “Vestige.” One should admire BIden’s dedication to the bit, and the (pre-SOTU) timing, oddly coincident with CDC’s “someday” isolation steerage. One can solely hope that nothing horrible occurs, though….
And likewise earlier than the SOTU:
It’s notable that Blinken selected the phrase “retirement.” It has a hoop of finality to it, which might be not a notion Nuland would have wished to challenge. Maybe this example shouldn’t be as voluntary as it might appear. pic.twitter.com/tyciGE49QJ
— Hans Mahncke (@HansMahncke) March 5, 2024
What a disgrace. It couldn’t occur to a nicer Ukrainian irredentist. Did she fall, or was she pushed?
2024
Lower than a 12 months to go!
* * * Trump (R): “Takeaways from Trump’s Supreme Courtroom win: He stays on poll, however his authorized peril is simply beginning” [Associated Press]. The state of play: “Few observers anticipated the Supreme Courtroom to maintain Trump off the poll. However he’s dealing with much more perilous authorized street forward. The primary of Trump’s legal trials, for allegedly falsifying enterprise information to pay hush cash to an grownup movie actress through the 2016 presidential marketing campaign, is scheduled to start out in New York later this month. The previous president can be interesting a New York decide’s ruling that he pay $355 million for fraud dedicated by his companies, and verdict that he pay a author $83 million for defaming her after she sued him for sexual assault. Relying on how and the way shortly the excessive courtroom guidelines on Trump’s immunity declare, he may nonetheless face expenses for attempting to overturn the 2020 election in Washington DC earlier than this November’s election. Two extra circumstances usually tend to come later – in Atlanta the place Trump faces state expenses for his 2020 election plot, and in Florida the place he’s tentatively scheduled for a Could trial on improper retention of categorised paperwork after leaving the presidency, however the trial date is anticipated to be postponed. Monday was a win Trump wanted to proceed his marketing campaign, however his days in courtroom are removed from over.”
Trump (R): “The Supreme Courtroom simply crushed any hope that Trump may very well be faraway from the poll” [Vox]. “Because of this any try and disqualify Trump is sort of definitely lifeless. Even when particular counsel Jack Smith can amend his indictment to deliver expenses beneath the rebellion statute [and why would he do that, if he has not already done it?], the Courtroom’s resolution to slow-walk Trump’s trial implies that the election will probably be over earlier than that trial takes place. The courts, it’s now crystal clear, usually are not going to do a lot of something to forestall an insurrectionist former president from occupying the White Home as soon as once more. And the Supreme Courtroom seems to be actively working interference on Trump’s behalf.”
Trump (R): “Regardless of win, Supreme Courtroom strikes blow to Trump’s central marketing campaign theme” [ABC]. “The Trump playbook is nicely established. When authorized proceedings don’t go his method, he lashes out at judges, prosecutors, courtroom staff, witnesses and even potential juries. The Supreme Courtroom, together with the justices he nominated to the courtroom, have been the goal of Trump’s wrath once they have proven independence previously.” • I believe the headline overstates the case. The argument, insofar as I can parse it out, is that since a Courtroom resolution went Trump’s method, none of Trump’s previous complaints about bias have been justified. The argument may be made that Trump has lastly instilled concern within the Courtroom.
* * * Biden (D): “Joe Biden’s Final Marketing campaign” [The New Yorker]. “Unsurprisingly, Biden’s aides reject the concept the White Home is insular or dismissive of actuality. Zients, who succeeded Ron Klain as chief of workers final 12 months, pointed to Biden’s repute for soliciting opinions from critics. ‘Simply the opposite day, he picked up the cellphone and referred to as Larry Summers,’ Zients stated. As outreach goes, it was comparatively secure; Summers, regardless of his vital feedback, is a longtime adviser to Presidents. Biden’s different occasional calls vary from the columnist Thomas Friedman to the Senate Republican chief Mitch McConnell. ‘,’ Zients stated.” • Wowsers.
* * * “Will Biden or Trump win ‘double haters’? Sad voters might determine 2024 election.” [USA Today]. “One essential voting group we will probably be watching is voters who’re unfavorable towards each Biden and Trump. These ‘double haters’ or ‘double unfavorables’ present vital volatility, questionable turnout and a eager curiosity in third-party candidates…. The newest Marquette College Legislation College nationwide survey pegs this group as 17% of the voters, which is sort of an identical to the share of voters in 2016 who disliked each Hillary Clinton and Trump. Trump ended up successful this group, which broke towards him within the late phases of the marketing campaign and should have been a key consider his victory. In 2020, nonetheless, simply 3% of voters had an unfavorable opinion of each Biden and Trump, in response to exit polling. Trump has managed to win votes amongst individuals who say they don’t like him as an individual, however successful amongst individuals who dislike him is new terrain for Biden…. Who will win these double haters in November? Effectively, it’s not sure that both Biden or Trump will. Actually, within the newest nationwide polls from Quinnipiac College, Marquette College and Morning Seek the advice of, Robert Kennedy Jr. wins a plurality amongst those that dislike each Biden and Trump.”
“How Democrats Can Win Wherever and In every single place” [Frank Bruni, New York Times]. Despite the fact that it’s Frank Bruni, it’s not dangerous! “The specificity and element with which state-level Democrats, engaged on a smaller canvas, can painting issues, sketch options and describe successes make me marvel if Democrats could be clever to pitch extra of their insurance policies and focus extra of their energies outdoors Washington. They usually discover higher traction and make readier connections that method. I consider Shapiro’s livestreaming of the fleet work on I-95.” Which was spectacular! Extra: “I consider many key strains from Beshear’s State of the Commonwealth remarks in January, when he superior measures concerning local weather change, financial improvement and job creation with out dwelling on scientific phrases like ‘local weather change,’ ‘financial improvement’ and ‘job creation.’ He gave shout-outs to a number of corporations ‘constructing the 2 largest electrical automobile battery crops on planet Earth, in Glendale, Ky.’ He famous that ‘roughly 400 Kentuckians’ had been employed. This was no fancy coverage seminar. It was a simple report card.” • Concrete materials advantages; “potholes.” This might drive the identification politics NGOs nuts, not a nasty factor. And so they have been weakened by layoffs. However I don’t assume it’s within the nationwide Democrats to do, and I don’t assume voters would consider them in the event that they tried it.
* * * “Pollsters are pranking us, proper?” [Yahoo Finance]. “The American doom loop deepens…. However sorry, this isn’t Venezuela or Zimbabwe. Inflation has come down remarkably quick, and most economists assume it is going to be again close to the popular degree of two% or so later this 12 months. Inflation is painful for households on a funds, however there’s no method an 18-month spate of worth hikes explains why half of all People say they’re dwelling in distress. One thing’s off.” Extra: “There are a lot of different polls and surveys that counsel People are much more bummed out than a comparatively strong financial system ought to warrant. Economists have puzzled over the seeming breakdown between confidence and employment. Possibly inflation is a much more traumatic phenomenon [not to mention a million Covid deaths] than understood. Possibly individuals are apprehensive about different issues — crime, wars, cultural decay — that they specific as concern in regards to the financial system. Possibly People simply hate their leaders and wish to punish them by telling pollsters every part sucks.” Appears believable! And: “The true reply could also be that lots of people assume they deserve extra they usually’re pissed off they’re not getting it. It doesn’t actually matter if our general numbers are higher than anyone else’s or if this or that group is doing simply tremendous. We’re simply not doing adequate.” • Kudos for coming spherical to class warfare, which “economists” have a tendency to not do, even when puzzled.
Republican Funhouse
“The Stunning Takeaway From My Survey on How Trump Obtained a Grip on the GOP Grassroots” [Politico]. “County chairs are influential in native GOP circles, get together leaders who can supply the sort of endorsements that candidates are keen to gather. They’re additionally nonetheless near the rank-and-file grassroots, and their shifts, I imagined, would sign the place the remainder of the get together was going. However as an alternative, I discovered that the county chairs didn’t lead their voters. For probably the most half, they adopted them — to Donald Trump.”
#COVID19
“I’m in earnest — I can’t equivocate — I can’t excuse — I can’t retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD.” –William Lloyd Garrison
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 information). “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 handle 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 stories); 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 (dashboard); 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, 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!
Movie star Watch
“Taylor Swift live performance assessment in Singapore: A near-perfect celebration of the singer’s legacy to this point” [Channel News Asia]. “Swift was working at 110 per cent from the get-go. Her vitality was infectious and it was actually arduous to look away from her iconic bedazzled Versace bodysuit that has since grow to be a calling card of The Eras Tour…. As one would anticipate from Swift, her vocals have been on level. Actually, they have been unwavering. Not as soon as through the three-and-a-half-hour present did Swift’s voice present any weak point.” • That is typical hagiographical protection. However “not as soon as” is unfaithful–
“TAYLOR SWIFT FANS CONCERNED OVER COUGH …” [TMZ]. “Taylor Swift followers are apparently apprehensive about her well being as a result of she occurred to cough onstage — which, whereas candy, speaks to how hyper-focused these loyalists actually are.” • “Occurred to” appears to not be true both–
“Fan fears for Taylor Swift after she struggles by means of Singapore present” [News.com]. “In a video shared on social media, Swift is seen repeatedly coughing and clearing her throat as she sang the music Delicate for a 55,000-strong crowd at Singapore’s Nationwide Stadium. ‘Hope she’s OK, she’s been coughing,’ the social media consumer captioned their video. Others who had been on the live performance shared that they have been involved about Swift…. After watching the video from Singapore, one fan famous that Swift even seemed a bit ‘clammy’, with a number of questioning if she may need COVID. ‘That’s numerous coughing,’ the fan wrote…. ‘Most individuals that went to the Sydney reveals caught COVID, poor Tay Tay in all probability did too,’ wrote one other. One other fan stated she was already beginning to sound a bit ‘raspy’ on the remaining Sydney live performance. ‘Are you able to think about having the tickle cough and having to sing?’ they wrote. ‘I don’t even like coughing in my cubicle at work.’” • S-o-o-o…. Might be PM2.5, I suppose, of which Southeast Asia has lots. See “Adele vs. Taylor Swift, Covid, and Leisure Business Pandemic Insurance coverage.”
TABLE 1: Day by day Covid Charts
LEGEND
1) ★ for charts new right now; all others usually are 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] (Biobot) Biobot drops, conformant to Walgreen positivity information (if that’s certainly not an information artifact). Be aware, nonetheless, the realm “beneath the curve,” apart from taking a look at peaks. That space is bigger beneath Biden than beneath Trump, and it appears to be rising steadily if inconsistently.
[2] (Biobot) Regional separation re-emerges.
[3] (CDC Variants) As of Could 11, genomic surveillance information will probably be reported biweekly, primarily based on the provision of optimistic check specimens.” “Biweeekly: 1. occurring each two weeks. 2. occurring twice every week; semiweekly.” Appears to be like like CDC has chosen sense #1. In essence, they’re telling us variants are nothing to fret about. Time will inform.
[4] (ER) Doesn’t help Biobot information. “Charts and information supplied by CDC, updates Wednesday by 8am. For the previous 12 months, utilizing a rolling 52-week interval.”
[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Not flattening.
[6] (Hospitalization: CDC) Nonetheless down. “Maps, charts, and information supplied by CDC, updates weekly for the earlier MMWR week (Sunday-Saturday) on Thursdays (Deaths, Emergency Division Visits, Check Positivity) and weekly the next Mondays (Hospitalizations) by 8 pm ET†”.
[7] (Walgreens) That’s a giant drop! It could be attention-grabbing to survey this inhabitants typically; these are individuals who, regardless of a tsunami of official propaganda and massive peer strain, went and acquired examined anyhow. UPDATE Given the extraordinary and sudden drop-off, I assumed I’d verify to see if the inhabitants being examined modified in a roundabout way. Listed here are absolutely the numbers on February 14, on the fringe of the cliff:
And listed here are absolutely the numbers on March 3:
As you’ll be able to see, there’s an order of magnitude lower in these testing between these two dates. Was there an occasion on or about February 14 that may be a candidate suggesting an account of this large shift in conduct? Why sure, sure there’s:
“CDC plans to drop five-day covid isolation pointers” [WaPo] (February 13, 2024).
[8] (Cleveland) Flattening, per Biobot information.
[9] (Vacationers: Posivitity) Now up, albeit within the rear view mirror.
[10] (Vacationers: Variants) Backward revisions take away NV.1 information. JN.1 dominates completely.
Stats Watch
Banking: “If One Megabank Collapses, the US Financial system Goes With It. Ought to We Have Extra?” [Politico]. “How huge ought to American banks be, and the way a lot monetary energy ought to be concentrated within the largest ones? It’s an essential query — maybe much more so now than when Wall Avenue crashed the financial system 15 years in the past. Since then, the 4 common megabanks that now dominate the financial system — JPMorgan Chase, Financial institution of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo — have grown considerably.” • Thanks, Obama!
At the moment’s Worry & Greed Index: 79 Excessive Greed (earlier shut: 77 Excessive Greed) [CNN]. One week in the past: 75 (Excessive Greed). (0 is Excessive Worry; 100 is Excessive Greed). Final up to date Mar 4 at 12:37:23 PM ET.
Zeitgeist Watch
Preserve the gravy prepare rolling:
Not all that totally different from droplet dogmatists; the identical drive applies throughout all of the professions, I’d say, though with totally different levels of corruption.
Class Warfare
“Unmasking a Nurse’s Journey By Lengthy COVID Gaslighting” [MedPage Today]. “I met with a pulmonologist for additional analysis just a few weeks later, however it didn’t go nicely. After explaining my signs and considerations about my scan, I shared my principle that I had COVID-19 in February. He instantly downplayed the scan outcomes by shrugging and saying, ‘eh, it’s simply irritation.’ Then, in an offhanded tone, virtually jokingly, he replied, ‘Yeah, I’m within the ICU all day lengthy, intubating sufferers with sputum flying in every single place, and I haven’t caught it but, so I doubt you bought it. However we will do an antibody check if that can make you are feeling higher.’ I used to be speechless. He didn’t ask how I used to be uncovered. He simply took this infallible and condescending tone that one way or the other what he did was a lot extra vital and that if he hadn’t caught it, I definitely couldn’t have. Right here I used to be, regardless of my medical information, scared about what was occurring with my physique. Not figuring out if I used to be ever going to get better or if this harm was everlasting. There was so little identified about COVID at this level, it felt completely reckless to make assumptions about what it was and wasn’t doing within the physique. It was extremely irritating to me that my well being was within the palms of a supplier who acted so nonchalantly about one thing that, to me, he clearly knew so little about. And for my considerations and fears to be minimized as in the event that they weren’t essential.” • And it’s nonetheless occurring.
Information of the Wired
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Carla doesn’t remark, however this captures December mild fantastically. And for me, brings again so many reminiscences of the Midwest. All the things screams Midwest, from the roofline of the home reverse, to the sidewalks, to the bushes, to the window show itself.
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