By Lambert Strether of Corrente
Bird Song of the Day
Northern Mockingbird, 138 Captains Dr, West Babylon, Suffolk, New York, United States. “Singing from a rooftop. Mimicry includes Black-capped Chickadee, Killdeer, Carolina Wren, Northern Flicker, American Robin (call), Blue Jay, and possibly a few others of lesser fidelity.”
In Case You Might Miss…
(1) Impeachment articles against Harris (frivolous).
(2) How Harris grabbed Biden’s war chest.
(3) Only Google can search Reddit.
Politics
“So many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital.” –Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles
The Constitutional Order (Immunity)
“What’s Going On in Footnote 3?” [Lawfare]. “In practical terms, the matter is important because it might—and we must stress might—open up a loophole in the Court’s opinion that Special Counsel Jack Smith could exploit on remand to one degree or another.” • I’ve gotta admit, my eyes glazed over on this one. However, if Lawfare is signaling Smith, we can expect the issue to come up. For now, just remember the words “Footnote 3.”
The Constitutional Order (Twenty-Fifth Amendment)
“Tennessee Republican files articles of impeachment against Harris” [The Hill]. “Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) filed articles of impeachment against Vice President Harris on Tuesday, as Republicans ramp up attacks while she launches a presidential campaign…. The filing expands on previously introduced articles that target Harris’s record on immigration… He added a second article in the new filing, which claims Harris covered up President Biden’s mental well-being, constituting a ‘breach of public trust.'” • I don’t the immigration stuff is impeachable, so I’ll skip that part. But here are Ogle’ articles of impeachment, and here is the Twenty-Fifth Amendment section, which I have helpfully annotated:
[1] I don’t think failing to act upon a putative “moral obligation” is an impeachable offense “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors”).Here once again is the relevant part of the Twenty Fifth Amendment:
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
The Twenty Fifth Amendment gives the Vice President (Kamala) the power to “declare” “that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” but it imposes no duty to do so. “Moral obligation” or no, there’s no Constitutional obligation.
[2] So what?
[3] “Breaches of public trust”, “failing basic expectations,” and “lack of integrity” are not high crimes and misdeameanors either. Nor are they rare in Our Nation’s Capital. “Use every man after his desert, and who shall ‘scape whipping?” –William Shakespeare, Hamlet.
This is frivolous, and it’s no wonder the leadership doesn’t support it.
2024
Less than four months to go!
Friday’s RCP Poll Averages:
Virginia and North Carolina added to the list. NC was never going for
BidenHarris, but Virginia? Yikes!* * * “Biden was deathly pale… Air Force One was flying so fast I felt sick: Daily Mail’s reporter on board reveals the incredible inside story of the mad rush to get Joe to Covid isolation – and why she feared for him” [Daily Mail]. “When [Biden] finally stepped through the door, his appearance was shocking. He looked pale, weak, exhausted and shuffled slowly across the room. ‘He looks bad,’ one reporter muttered. We all agreed. [Unmasked,] Biden greeted [and potentially infected] the patrons, shaking hands with families at three different tables and posing for selfies. Finally, a colleague got wind of a tip. The president’s next scheduled event at UnidosUS had been canceled. ‘Biden has COVID,’ my colleague shouted. Moments later, we could see Karine Jean-Pierre and other senior Biden staff piling into their vans. Once he was on board, we reporters rushed to find our seats in the back of the plane. And nearly from the moment we lifted off the runway, the fuselage began to shake. It’s not entirely uncommon for Air Force One pilots to drop the hammer. President Trump routinely asked his crew to cut down flight times by going faster. But this break-neck speed was unusual for President Biden…. The normal flight time from Vegas to Delaware is around four and a half hours. We made the trip in three hours and 48 minutes.” • Hmm. Makes you wonder if there were any sequelae from his previous two infections (that we know of).
“Joe Biden’s COVID Hubris is the Nail in His Re-Elect Coffin” [Julia Doubleday, The Gauntlet (PI)]. “The truth is that to the DC machine, Joe was, just like the rest of us, ultimately disposable. He served his purpose by serving capital; his maskless face as an elderly man in public was the ultimate propaganda for the disappearance of the virus that ended his career as surely as he claimed to have ended it. He gave his career, his body and his mind to advance the interests of the ruling class, to the detriment of us all. They say life’s a beach, Joe. I guess it is for you, now.” • He claimed to have ended Covid. Then Covid ended him.
Trump (R): “Biden dropped his reelection plans. What happens to his campaign war chest?” (interview) [Sean Cooksey, NPR]. Cooksey is the Republican Chair of the Federal Election Commission (FEC). “Well, I think it’s really complicated, is the short answer. I mean, we take a step back to consider the situation – this is really unprecedented in terms of modern political history, and certainly in terms of campaign finance law. We have a presidential nominee or a presumptive nominee dropping out just weeks before his party convention. And he’s – what he’s attempting to do is to give his entire committee, the cash and all the assets…. [o]ver to another person.” Q: We get that. So can she use that money? Well, again, I think it’s going to have to go through a process through the FEC. I think I expect there’s going to be probably challenges to that at the agency and probably in the courts, as well… Yeah. I think there’s a number of different avenues that I could expect different parties to challenge this attempted transfer, this attempted change to the presidential committees. There’s a process in which private parties can file complaints with the Federal Election Commission. There’s also a process in which they prospectively ask for advisory opinions. One of the problems with those processes is they can take a lot of time, and we don’t have a lot of time until the election, I think we’re at 106 days out. And so I think there’s going to be a lot of challenges in the courts as well.” • Whether or not there are grounds for injunction, I don’t know. (Though now I wonder if redirecting Biden’s site to ActBlue immediately upon his defenestration is one of the moving parts here.) Cooksey tweeted the relevant campaign finance law:
11 C.F.R. § 110.1(b)(3):
"If the candidate is not a candidate in the general election, all contributions made for the general election shall be either returned or refunded to the contributors or redesignated …, or reattributed …, as appropriate."
— Sean Cooksey (@SeanJCooksey) July 21, 2024
And got a nastygram in return:
House Democrats are now trying to silence me as @FEC Chairman for raising questions about President Biden giving VP Harris all of his campaign cash. All I did was quote federal regulations.
Why are Democrats afraid of the law? pic.twitter.com/pYPJOSkPbh
— Sean Cooksey (@SeanJCooksey) July 23, 2024
We don’t actually have even the sketchiest sort of evidence of Biden “giving” Harris “all his campaign cash.” Would a digitally signed Tweet be sufficient? Surely not. It seems that Harris just took it; the process did seem a bit brusque. I think the matter turns on the two words “redesignated” or “reattributed” in 11 C.F.R. § 110.1. I am not a campaign finance law maven, but if either implies a process at the FEC, potential litigants might have a point (based on strict textual reading):
The Biden-Harris campaigns could have asked for an expedited legal advisory opinion from the FEC before acting. Given the unprecedented nature of the situation, that would have been the ethical thing to do. Instead, they took advantage of the slow timeline to resolve complaints…
— Laura Powell (@LauraPowellEsq) July 24, 2024
And now–
Trump (R): “Trump campaign files complaint with FEC seeking to keep Biden from transferring campaign funds to Harris” [CBS]. “The Trump campaign’s general counsel, David Warrington, accuses them of “filing fraudulent forms with the Commission purporting to repurpose one candidate’s principal campaign committee for the use of another candidate,” claiming that Harris simply replaced Biden’s name with her own rather than filing her own Statement of Candidacy. ‘There is no provision in federal campaign finance law for Kamala Harris to take over Joe Biden’s candidacy now by quite literally attempting to become him via an amendment of his Form 2, assuming control of his campaign by amending Form 1, and making off with all of his cash,’ wrote Warrington.” Scratch out “cat” and write in “dog.” More: “Hans von Spakovsky, a former member of the Federal Election Commission, said in a Fox News op-ed published Sunday that if Harris becomes the presidential nominee, she would get access to the campaign cash. ‘When the Biden for President Committee filed its registration statement with the FEC, it registered itself as the ‘principal campaign committee’ for both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,’ he wrote.” • But surely that’s stupid? Biden and Harris were running for diffferent offices!
Trump (R): “Secret Service urging Trump campaign to stop holding outdoor rallies: Report” [Anadolu Agency]. “… or we can do it the hard way”?
* * * Lambert here: I remember all those kids in 2008, “fired up and ready to go,” scripts memorized, knocking on doors. Sixteen years later, those kids are drowning in college debt, can’t buy their starter home, and are seeing their paychecks shrink, mostly because the object of their adoration put the banksters back in charge after the Great Financial Crash. Here we go again, except some of those listed below should know better:
Harris (D) Liberalgasm (1):
Switching to Kamala has, for some reason, allowed every Democrat to just focus solely on the fact that they fucking hate Donald Trump, intraparty differences don’t matter, he must lose again no matter what, and its unleashed an energy I’ve just never seen in politics.
— Conor Rogers (@conorjrogers) July 23, 2024
Harris (D) Liberalgasm (2):
I’m ugly crying. I love her so much. #Harris2024
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) July 23, 2024
Harris (D) Liberalgasm (3):
Watching Kamala speak just now with my young daughter gave me goosebumps and made me tear up. I can't think of a more perfect human being who would be more perfect for POTUS at this exact time. I'm so fuckin proud. I am so excited for my baby to have this role model. 😊
— Kimmy 📚📓💙🗳️🌊🟦 (@KimKimmmmay) July 22, 2024
Harris (D) Liberalgasm (4), “Things that did not happen”:
— Daniel (@growing_daniel) July 24, 2024
Harris (D) Liberalgasm (5):
I remember hearing some white corporate lady on Clubhouse back in the day, just in absolute ecstasy cheering on some black lady letting off steam about the Current Thing — "you tell it, sister!" "I'm here for it!" and realized this phenomenon is totally real.
It was one of the… https://t.co/mTNgY367qS
— Wesley Yang (@wesyang) July 24, 2024
Harris (D) Liberalgasm (6):
Holy cow. Completely packed stadium for VP Kamala Harris on her first campaign stop as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee in Wisconsin right now. People are so fired up, energized, and ready to support Kamala Harris.
— Victor Shi (@Victorshi2020) July 23, 2024
This is not a “stadium.” It’s an auditorium. And “always hire a hall that’s too small” (meaning Kamala has a good advance team (as long as she can keep them)).
* * * And then there’s TikTok:
This has a million likes on TikTok pic.twitter.com/1OmAWVge1w
— umichvoter 🏳️🌈🥥🌴 (@umichvoter) July 23, 2024
But remember TikTok is absolutely not organic:
Very interesting that TikTok is aggressively laundering and rehabilitating Kamala Harris’s image.
Remember that anything that trends on that platform is essentially “allowed” to trend. Nothing really is organic.
If TikTok can transform Kamala’s image from cringe to cool in 24… pic.twitter.com/bcoNorRsrD
— Melissa Chen (@MsMelChen) July 23, 2024
* * * “Surprise Lilies” [Sarah Kendzior’s Newsletter]. I don’t think much of Kendzior, for reasons the rest of the article would show, but this rings true: “Many Americans have spent the past eight years joining political cults: a common phenomenon in flawed democracies turning into autocracies. Americans must reject cult logic if we want our nation to survive. This includes not building a political cult around Kamala Harris. A campaign is different than a cult. It is one thing to back a candidate and cheer them on. It is another to submit to a mindset of fear, deference, and servitude; to browbeat fellow voters offering constructive criticism; and to proclaim a politician’s every puzzling move either an Act of God or evidence of a Secret Noble Plan. Americans created cults around Trump, Mueller, Garland, Pelosi, Garland, Fauci, “Q”, and Biden, among others, to the detriment of our nation’s health and to the benefit of grifters’ wallets.” • Remember when liberal Democrats were naming their dogs after Mueller? The Fauci votive candles?
Non-cult member (1):
Beyoncé went from having black panther dancers at the superbowl to licensing her music to a cop. https://t.co/Wa6aeIeJNv
— Briahna Joy Gray (@briebriejoy) July 24, 2024
Non-cult member (2):
OH WELL
— Joseph N. DiStefano (@PhillyJoeD) July 23, 2024
NOTE: Exclusive: Former attorney general Holder to vet Harris’ potential running mates Reuters.
* * * MI: Well, so much for Muslim vote:
Tonight on the @MichiganDems presidential endorsement call, I was speaking up for the 101k Michigan Uncommitted voters who want our Party to adopt a more humane Gaza policy when a fellow DNC delegate unmuted to say "shut up, asshole."
— Abbas Alawieh (@AZAlawieh) July 24, 2024
The Michigan Uncommitted voters are now demanding a meeting with Harris.
Our Famously Free Press
That was then, this is now:
2021: Media reports on Biden asking Kamala to be border czar
2024: Media says Biden never asked Kamala to be border czar pic.twitter.com/jdlAQSB8vz
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) July 24, 2024
Pack journalism:
Remarkable.
Two different AP News streams, both on the same day, with radically different results.
After Joe Biden dropped out of the race, Robert F. Kennedy immediately scheduled a press conference to reassure the American people.
Joe Biden did not.
However, AP News DID… pic.twitter.com/NTn27YAWRT
— Lauren Lee (@sheislaurenlee) July 23, 2024
Syndemics
“I am in earnest — I will not equivocate — I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD.” –William Lloyd Garrison
Covid Resources, United States (National): Transmission (CDC); Wastewater (CDC, Biobot; includes many counties; Wastewater Scan, includes drilldown by zip); Variants (CDC; Walgreens); “Iowa COVID-19 Tracker” (in IA, but national data). “Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts” (especially on hospitalization by city).
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 “COVID” in the subject line. Thank you!
Resources, United States (Local): 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 reports); 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).
Resources, Canada (National): Wastewater (Government of Canada).
Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (wastewater); QC (les eaux usées); BC (wastewater); BC, Vancouver (wastewater).
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, LL, Michael King, KF, LaRuse, mrsyk, MT, MT_Wild, otisyves, Petal (6), RK (2), RL, RM, Rod, square coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3).
Stay safe out there!
Transmission: Covid
“Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 virus in saliva, stool, and urine samples of COVID-19 patients in Bihar, India Open Access” [Microbiology Research]. From the Abstract: “Besides inhalation as a route for transmission, feco-oral has also been proposed. Its transmission to sewage systems is a growing public health issue…. This cross-sectional observational study was conducted from January 2021 to March 2022 on human non-respiratory samples. A total of 345samples including saliva (116), stool (97), and urine (132) were collected from 143 COVID-19 cases. Samples were analysed for SARS-CoV-2 by multiplex RT-PCR targeted against E, ORF 1ab, and RdRp genes. In this study, out of 143cases, a total of 107 (74.8%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA in at least one of the nonrespiratory samples. There is a high prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 virus in non-respiratory samples.” And: “The presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the faeces of COVID-19 patients indicates potential feco-oral transmission of SARS-CoV-2. In addition to this, the excretion of SARS-CoV-2 in human stool and saliva is a concern of public health importance, especially in developing countries like India where open defecation and spitting in public is a rampant practice. Also, stray animals may get infected and might serve as a source of infection for humans. The sewage system might also be a potential source of viral outbreaks, community spread, and a future surveillance strategy. However, these potential routes of transmission need further investigation.”
Maskstravaganza
Masks while swimming (!), a thread:
It’s pool and beach season! Will a respirator work for swimming and water parks (or shower sans hair washing)?
Using my PortaCount 8020A, I tested the most accessible & affordable water-resistant respirator, 3M Aura 1870+, after 6 and 8 hours of wear at the pool (1.5hrs total of… pic.twitter.com/xwx00hGI8V
— Stealthy Jess 🇨🇦 💜 (@AdvancedTweaker) July 24, 2024
Celebrity Watch
Winning gold in the FAFO Olympics:
Yesterday: Australia's Olympic team chief said one water polo player had covid but they were 'treating covid no differently to other bugs….this isn't Tokyo."
Today: pic.twitter.com/4uHwfWHG34
— Nate Bear (@NateB_Panic) July 24, 2024
Elite Maleficence
Another sure-to-be maskless conference, coming up:
Please tell me the pandemic preparation community has learnt something from the disastrous WHO AIRBORNE disinformation response to SARS-CoV-2??
Is the focus still just on vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics, and surveillance?
Is no one discussing the lesson about the vital… https://t.co/jnjR8KgarD pic.twitter.com/AgkRAAPJgw
— John Johnston (@JOHNJOHNSTONED) July 24, 2024
“Is no one discussing the lesson about the vital role of transmission mitigation strategies and the fundamental importance of getting the mode of transmission right?” Until the powers-that-be can figure out how to charge rent for the air, the “mode of transmission” will not be of “fundamental importance,” no.
* * * Where do pediatricians get this?
And when I follow up and ask if their pediatrician informed them about covid safety precautions, all of them said they got no advice, no information.
— The Babel Fish (@TheBabelFish1) July 23, 2024
Lambert here: Looks like the holiday travel dumped accelerant on the pre-existing surge; see especially the growth in wastewater “hot spots.” Stay safe out there!
TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts
| Wastewater | ||
| This week[1] CDC July 15: | Last Week[2] CDC July 8 (until next week): | |
|
| |
| Variants [3] CDC July 20 | Emergency Room Visits[4] CDC July 13 | |
|
|
|
| Hospitalization | ||
| ★ New York[5] New York State, data July 23: | National [6] CDC June 29: | |
|
|
|
|
| Positivity | ||
| National[7] Walgreens July 22: | Ohio[8] Cleveland Clinic July 13: | |
 |
 |
|
| Travelers Data | ||
| Positivity[9] CDC July 1: | Variants[10] CDC July 1: | |
|
 |
|
| Deaths | ||
| Weekly Deaths vs. % Positivity [11]CDC July 13: | Weekly Deaths vs. ED Visits [12]CDC July 13: | |
|
 |
LEGEND
1) ★ for charts new today; all others are not updated.
2) For a full-size/full-resolution image, Command-click (MacOS) or right-click (Windows) on the chart thumbnail and “open image in new tab.”
NOTES
[1] (CDC) This week’s wastewater map, with hot spots annotated. Keeps spreading.
[2] (CDC) Last week’s wastewater map.
[3] (CDC Variants) KP.* very popular.
[4] (ER) Worth noting Emergency Department use is now on a par with the first wave, in 2020.
[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Keeps up steady increase. (The New York city area has form; in 2020, as the home of two international airports (JFK and EWR) it was an important entry point for the virus into the country (and from thence up the Hudson River valley, as the rich sought to escape, and then around the country through air travel.)
[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). The visualization suppresses what is, in percentage terms, a significant increase.
[7] (Walgreens) An optimist would see a peak.
[8] (Cleveland) Still going up!
[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Up. Those sh*theads at CDC have changed the chart so that it doesn’t even run back to 1/21/23, as it used to, but now starts 1/1/24. There’s also no way to adjust the time rasnge. CDC really doesn’t want you to be able to take a historical view of the pandemic, or compare one surge to another. In an any case, that’s why the shape of the curve has changed.
[10] (Travelers: Variants) Same deal. Those sh*theads.
[11] Deaths low, but positivity up.
[12] Deaths low, ED up.
Stats Watch
There are no statistics of interest today.
Tech: “CrowdStrike offers a $10 apology gift card to say sorry for outage” [TechCrunch]. “CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity firm that crashed millions of computers with a botched update all over the world last week, is offering its partners a $10 Uber Eats gift card as an apology, according to several people who say they received the gift card, as well as a source who also received one…. ‘To express our gratitude, your next cup of coffee or late night snack is on us!'”
Tech: “Google Is the Only Search Engine That Works on Reddit Now Thanks to AI Deal” [404 Media]. “Google is now the only search engine that can surface results from Reddit, making one of the web’s most valuable repositories of user generated content exclusive to the internet’s already dominant search engine. If you use Bing, DuckDuckGo, Mojeek, Qwant or any other alternative search engine that doesn’t rely on Google’s indexing and search Reddit by using “site:reddit.com,” you will not see any results from the last week. DuckDuckGo is currently turning up seven links when searching Reddit, but provides no data on where the links go or why, instead only saying that ‘We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us.’ Older results will still show up, but these search engines are no longer able to crawl’ Reddit, meaning that Google is the only search engine that will turn up results from Reddit going forward. Searching for Reddit still works on Kagi, an independent, paid search engine that buys part of its search index from Google. The news shows how Google’s near monopoly on search is now actively hindering other companies’ ability to compete at a time when Google is facing increasing criticism over the quality of its search results. And while neither Reddit or Google responded to a request for comment, it appears that the exclusion of other search engines is the result of a multi-million dollar deal that gives Google the right to scrape Reddit for data to train its AI products. They’re [Reddit] killing everything for search but Google,’ Colin Hayhurst, CEO of the search engine Mojeek told me on a call.” • And of course, as usual, Google “scraping” Reddit means stealing the labor of hundreds of thousands of users. “Original accumulation,” as the Bearded One calls it. All for a power-hungry bullshit generator nobody ever asked for, but the Bros thought would be a great idea!
Tech: Hat tip, Silicon Valley:
CVS is going to stop all phone customer service. Not just that, but calls from patients will now be transcribed via generative AI and routed to pharmacists. Hope there are no errors here's your medicine!
Efficiency! pic.twitter.com/UhuJQktgst
— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) July 24, 2024
Today’s Fear & Greed Index: 43 Fear (previous close: 55 Neutral) [CNN]. One week ago: 58 (Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Jul 24 at 12:37:17 PM ET.
Zeitgeist Watch
Geoffrey Roberts's emotional word wheel helps describe emotions. pic.twitter.com/2m5Lx9R3km
— Prof Lennart Nacke, PhD (@acagamic) July 23, 2024
Interesting idea but I’m not sure I accept the categories or the method (Spinoza distinguishes between emotions and feelings, though without the text to hand I can’t say why. But I’m not sure this wheel does). Meanwhile, a fraction within the Democrat Party is clearly feeling strong emotions, collectively, after Kamala’s annunciation. I don’t know where to place them on this wheel (nor do I understand them in the first place).
Class Warfare
“Extreme wealth has a deadening effect on the super-rich – and that threatens us all” [George Monbiot, Guardian]. “Extreme wealth can severely hamper enjoyment. As Michael Mechanic documents in his book, Jackpot, there are two groups of people who have to think about money all the time: the very poor and the very rich. Immense wealth possesses you just as much as you possess it: managing it becomes a full-time job. You don’t know whom to trust; you can start to imagine your friends aren’t friends at all; it can dominate and poison your family relationships. It can hollow you out, socially, intellectually and morally. But I think there might be a further corroding aspect of wealth that hasn’t been widely discussed. Great wealth flattens the world. If you can go anywhere and do anything, everything is over the horizon. You speed past the local and the particular, towards an endlessly escalating ideal of luxury: the better marina, the bigger yacht, the private jet, the super-home. The satisfaction horizon can retreat before you. Place has no meaning, other than as a setting that might impress the friends you no longer trust. But anyone who is impressed by money is not worth impressing.”
News of the Wired
“Relationships are coevolutionary loops” [Escaping Flatland]. “This is what I infer when I see someone who is comfortable in their unique strangeness, too. There probably exists someone who enabled that evolution of personality. A parent, a friend group, a spouse. It is rare for people to come into themselves if no one is excited and curious about their core, their potential. We need someone who gives us space to unfold…. For me, this is Johanna. We first met when she was 21 and I was 22 and later became a couple. What is me in me has unfolded primarily in her company. This has been a mutual unfolding; we spoke each other into being. This essay is about how we made our first home together. By home I don’t mean just the physical structure, but the emotional space in which the coevolutionary loop plays out.” • Hmm.
Nevertheless, progress still does occur:
A comparison of Wisconsin's occupied bald eagle nests in 1974 and 2019. The increase is attributed to the Clean Water Act pic.twitter.com/S0IS3UDghT
— Amazing Maps (@amazingmap) July 23, 2024
Contact information for plants: 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) here. From timotheus:
Timotheus writes: “Tobacco as decoration.”
Readers: Water Cooler is a standalone entity not covered by the annual NC fundraiser. So if you see a link you especially like, or an item you wouldn’t see anywhere else, please do not hesitate to express your appreciation in tangible form. Remember, a tip jar is for tipping! Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know I’m on the right track with coverage. 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:
Here is the screen that will appear, which I have helpfully annotated:
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!
140 comments
Comments are closed.
Taibbi’s latest, paywalled, the short public excerpt makes the point.
In Final Kick in the Pants, Departing Biden Denounced as Another Trump
When Joe Biden failed to immediately assume the position when party bigwigs called for his head, Beltway insiders lumped him in with the Orange One
https://www.racket.news/p/in-final-kick-in-the-pants-departing
People have been asking who is really running the country.
I don’t know. Meyer Lansky? / joke ;)
Well, not Edith Wilson, at least.
/ heh. Is Dr. Jill still going to lead the US delegation to the Paris Olympics and host a fund raiser?
Roy Cohn? (He and Epstein are probably sharing a pit of despair in the Inferno.)
Cohn was Trumps lawyer and introduction to power politics.
Trump never got on Epsteins plane because he knew what was going on there.
I suspect Trump Hotels serve a similar purpose.
And from the longer Taibbi article:
‘Florida canceled a primary for him; North Carolina, Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Wisconsin submitted only his name to ballots; and New Hampshire chose delegates through a “nominating event” that didn’t include voters. Under a new vision in which “the DNC [was] not something separate” from the Biden campaign, the party refused to schedule debates with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Dean Phillips, or Marianne Williamson. Proof that “America’s beleaguered system still functioned” would have involved a competitive primary through which Democratic voters could discover Biden’s infirmities early enough for them to have a say in choosing a fitter candidate. Instead, the public was only confronted with the truth a few weeks ago, by which time only internal party power brokers were positioned to make a change. That’s a failure of democracy, unless you think choosing a candidate without voter input is a systemic improvement.
Remember: the same people think a dictator who canceled elections, among many other heinous misdeeds, is a paragon of “democracy ™.” If it’s good enough for foreigners, why not at home?
Yes! I would prefer someone like Lansky, Luciano, Castellano… the old-school Cosa Nostra to run things, at least it would be more honest and transparent.
Well, we do have a Teflon Don, so it’s not all discouraging.
Luciano also fought fascists in Italy via his mob organization on behalf of US government (or so they say, anyways.) These guys are cheering fascists abroad.
• He claimed to have ended Covid. Then Covid ended him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your country doesn’t need you anymore
Lame Duck days before they end
Throw caution to the wind
The Presidency won’t be near you any more
Maskless moments when you fly
Despite hundreds daily that seem to die
Covid doesn’t want you anymore
It’s over
Long Covid breaks your heart in two, to know what you used to be able to do
But oh what will you do? When its through with you
There’s always someone new
We’re through
We’re through
It’s over
It’s over
It’s over
All the grieved of those who died
Start to weep, then say goodbye
Loved ones won’t be seeing rainbows any more
Setting suns before they fall, a dirt nap-not amore
But you’ll wont see them after all
It’s over
It’s over
It’s over
It’s over
It’s Over, by Roy Orbison
I get the GOP trying to contest Harris getting the money. It’s part of the game. But reality is the guy is wrong and probably knows it. All money given for the primary which is most of it right now does not have to be offered for return. Biden hadn’t set up a general election fund yet although some might have contributed with that stipulation. Harris by virtue of her name being on the donations is entitled to it. Regardless, they money could just be moved around as well. Biden sends it to the DNC. The DNC has limitations on its use but can just rearrange its books and send money back from its general account. It’s a nonissue ultimately.
Can we call it:
‘Demgeld’
So, is the District of Colombia now the “Demlaw?”
Er, something rotten in the state of Dem mark to model there, are we talking in regards to Cali or the Columbian Cartels in DC?
Hmmm…. I’m leaning towards thinking that the appearance of Bankers Ghost in the ‘moveable feast’ is a portent of toil and trouble to follow. Will Dr. Jill be able to wash away the stain? Will Hillary summon her sister witches to ensorcell the Super Delegates? Does “Creepy” Joe end up in the wilderness attended to by his Foole?
As the Bard put it: “All the World’s a casino….”
Oh, and I almost forgot to add. Please forefend from obloquy, for I still suffer from a lingering case of Dem-mentia.
To paraphrase: “…if once you have paid him the Dem-geld, you never get rid of the Dem”.
After that time that Hillary literally bought the Democratic party and left the states with pennies, I am surprised that this is even an issue. The DNC told a judge that they can do anything they want behind closed doors, apportioning money is one of those things that corporations do, ergo moving money around is legal per some judge in South Florida who was never challenged on his judgment.
If anyone, including those people at the FEC, thought that they were getting “democracy” for their donations they were sorely mistaken. Corporations are now people, and actual people should not be surprised when they are outvoted by them.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/all-animals-are-equal–but-some-animals-are-more-equal-than-others
Why is he wrong?
If your point is she would get the money anyway, I agree.
But that is not the issue at hand. Or should laws only be followed when convenient? And considering how the democrats have gone after Trump, this type of behavior is very hypocritical.
Hypocrisy is a valuable skill set for a politico to possess.
Care to cite the section of the law that makes it a “nonissue”? And those fundraisers like the one attended by Clooney were for the general election since the primaries, such as they were, are long past.
The Washington Post just did an article on this and the decision on legality will indeed be made by the FEC and the courts if there’s a challenge by the opposition and the GOP just challenged.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/21/biden-harris-campaign-dollars-legal-challenge/
And on principle those contributors who gave money to a Biden for president campaign are perfectly right to object if it’s now instead a person named by Biden campaign. Biden is not a king who gets to choose his successor even if he did get to choose his understudy for the past four years (and even that had to be validated by the previous Democratic convention)..
Of course the FEC (evenly split Dem and Repub) may disagree with this but it is up to them, not you.
The section of the CFR quoted in the tweet appears to be taken out of context in a way that is (maybe deliberately). misleading. 11 CFR 110.1(b)(3)(i) is about “a contribution designated in writing for a particular election but made after that election . . . .” The quoted language in the tweet is from 110.1(b)(3)(i)(C). Given this position as a subsection, it is an elaboration on the topic in (i), which appears to have nothing to do with the scenario in which we find ourselves, i.e., we are not dealing contributions “made after that election.”
I invite others to correct my interpretation:
Disclaimer: I am a lawyer; I have no election law expertise; this was a quick read. CFR = super dense.
The section of the CFR appears to be quoted out of context in a way that is (maybe deliberately) misleading. 11 CFR 110.1(b)(3)(i) is about contributions “designated in writing for a particular election, but made after that election.” The quoted language is from subsection 11 CFR 110.1(b)(3)(i)(C). As a subsection, it relates to the topic in (i), which is not the scenario in which we find ourselves. That is, we are not dealing with contributions “made after an election.”
11 CFR 110.1
Disclaimer: I am a lawyer; I have no election law experience. The CFR is very dense and this was a quick curiosity read. I invite others to validate or correct my interpretation.
Well I’m definitely not a lawyer but the Post story suggests that the campaign funds only automatically go to the Veep if the president quits after the convention and party selection of both candidates. After all the party could have rejected Biden’s choice for VP and picked someone else. It’s not just up to him no matter what name he puts on his committee.
But the Post story also says this is a murky area that has never been tested in court.
Taibbi has suggested that the Dem rush to endorse Kamala might be about trying to finesse this issue but presumably it’s now up to the FEC.
<"Harris by virtue of her name being on the donations is entitled to it."
Sure about that? My understanding is that donations are given (in this case) to a candidate committee (unless it is instead a PAC , non-candidate committee, or something, but that's not the impression I get). The committee treasurer is responsible for the FEC reports on donations and expenditures. Seems to me to depend on how the committee was registered with the FEC.
I think about anyone can file a complaint with the FEC. No idea what it takes to get it into district court.
> Harris by virtue of her name being on the donations is entitled to it
That just seems really, really weird.
Sam and Dave run for President and Vice President respectively. Then Dave decides to be VP, and Sam takes over as President.
If the money is given to the ticket, it’s not the same ticket.
If the money is given to Sam + the office he’s running for, and Dave + the office he’s running for, then those aren’t the same either.
If the money is given to “The Committee to Elect Sam and Dave,” regardless of how the ticket is structured, are we really arguing that candidates are fungible? Electors for example (Article II) vote for “persons,” which suggests that candidates are not fungible.
One thing we’ve learned from how the Democrat Party handled the issue of Biden’s diminished cognitive capacity is that treating all public-facing Democrats as liars until proven otherwise is the best heuristic.
So I don’t care what the Democrat lawyers say; and that’s why an advisory opinion would have been the best route, assuming the FEC could have acted with dispatch.
not fungible,lol…maybe more of a ship of theseus thing…
and expanding…since biden is now known to not be the same guy as when these finacial(*) vehicles were created…
(* spellcheck wants this to be rendered as “farcical”—-which leads me to Uncle Ernest…”the world’s a fine place, and worth fighting for.”)
* Looks like AI is getting smarter.
As for Uncle Ernest, well, that was then. Nowadays, I can barely fight off my Valyrie sisters.
One thing we’ve learned from how the Democrat Party handled the issue of Biden’s diminished cognitive capacity is that treating all public-facing Democrats as liars until proven otherwise is the best heuristic.
Indeed. And the money involved is not couch change.
Depends on the system in question. An analogous situation might be Jacinda Ardern in NZ, who was made Labour leader in 2017 just seven weeks before the election after Andrew Little stepped down (on his own initiative due to poor poll results). Nobody suggested any donations should be returned, since in NZ parties have always picked their own leaders and voters expressed their approval (or lack thereof) through the polls.
America has a different system, not proportional and with all sorts of systemic disadvantages to candidates outside the two party system. A disgruntled voter in NZ can vote Green, ACT, NZ First or other alternatives (of all ideological stripes) and help to force a coalition government if their side ‘wins’. Disgruntled voters in the US can… vote Trump? Not much of a choice.
All these arguments about the (un-) democratic nature of candidate selection seem to amount to an assertion that real democracy in the US happens in the primaries, with most opportunity for effecting change gone by the time it’s narrowed down to one candidate from each party. In that framing, America is less like a democracy and more like the CCP, where the party and the government are one and the same and any meaningful change is accomplished by power brokers behind the scenes. I happen to think that’s fairly accurate, but I wonder whether people making the argument recognize the implications. (Obviously in this case it’s just lawfare, but voters and observers will doubtless weigh in on one side or another, as we are doing).
and now that the dems have removed the whole “primaries as where democracy actually obtains” thing from the mix…well..thats why i aint voting anymores.
of course, on top of 30 years of dems abrogating and fudging and leaving us no good choices…let alone all the mindf&ckery(most important election evah!”…)
ive been cross with them since clintontimes, of course…but i kept injecting the hopium, until a week after obama got in.
came down from the hills for bernie in the primaries, twice…but no more.
all of this sound and fury is a distraction from much more important work…like finishin pressing the grapes this mornin…or migrating all my birds(geese and new mucovy ducks to Across the Road, chckens, guinns, turkeys to This Side of Road).
i remain very interested in what kind of shenanigans they’ll get up to next, of course…i do have an interest in what Our Betters(sic) do, after all…but ive resigned myself to the fact that i have no say in the matter…and will not, unless my opinion comes with a very large check.(and on that,lol…Joe biden has stopped texting me with offers of winning a meet and greet with him and Barack, if i send in $10…so i guess repeatedly answering with “go f&ck yerself, you genocidal corpse” does have some effect…altho i expect kamal to start in on me, soon.)
Given the stakes, even were it an issue, how much you wanna bet the Democrats simply spend the money, consequences be damned.
RE: Crowdstrike.They’ve already pulled the offer. People trying to actually use the $10 getting a “this deal is expired” message. So they can’t even do this right.
https://www.engadget.com/crowdstrike-offers-a-10-uber-eats-card-to-say-sorry-before-pulling-the-offer-172605510.html?src=rss
When you can’t figure out how to do a $10 gift card, it doesn’t give you a warm and fuzzy feeling about their core business.
Unless their core business is fraud.
Their role in Russiagate was fraud.
Cheap sons-a-somethings. / ;)
Pizza. Come on people, every American loves a good pizza.
I hope their general counsel has recently, since this horrid debacle of “customer support” updated any trips overseas or vacation plans. “so sorry babe we gotta cancel that two week safari”
CrowdStrike anit-virus thingy works at the kernel level – the core level – of the operating system, ergo it does more or is capable doing more than simple virus detection. Anything, any app that works at the kernel level of an operating system, outside the original operating system manufacture, is a bit worrisome to me. / my 2 cents
Your last words should be “… is totally unacceptable”. Why would anybody install something like that?
Campaign finance? Unlimited political bribery is now legal.
Compared to the corrupt freak show we have now, I still think it would be much more efficient, transparent and honest, if we just had a live-streamed and televised auction of political seats to the highest bidder. This would also provide some emotionally-charged entertainment for the Plebs.
It wouldn’t be so-called democracy, but it would be far better than the sham we have now.
Candidates could sell space on their persons, like race cars.
It would be like something out of Idiocracy, or maybe a David Foster Wallace novel: “President JD Vance, brought to you by Raytheon(TM)”.
They could fight for offices like in Gladiator or maybe The Hunger Games if on TV.
That’s a great idea, but most Congress crooks are too old, overweight, in poor physical shape, medical conditions etc to put on an entertaining show. At the same time, it would be more of a comedy to see the pathetic “tough talking” cowards get their asses beat (or more likely fall and injure themselves) in real time. That’s a great image…
I have to wonder how secure Miriam Adelson’s hundred million dollar investment in buying the West Bank is going to fare now that the ICJ has explicitly declared that Trump’s recognition of Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem is illegal under international law. How badly does he want to buck the UN and world opinion? He can read the room, and I wonder how much political capital he is willing to invest in that particular failing enterprise.
The Kushners can still build condos on Gaza beaches whether it is a Zionist state or a Palestinian one. This is going to test a lot of idealogues with transnational interests, and he may provide the first inkling of where they will fall.
But we don’t recognize international law except when convenient to us.
And it looks like Jared and Ivanka are out of the picture this time after being such a pain in the a** last time. A re-elected Trump may not be as married to the Lobby as some think although admittedly that’s not a very good bet.
Maybe for her presidential campaign, Harris could tap into the money seized from Russia?
RE: frivolous Harris impeachment
Frivolous to be sure, but I would argue that so was the first impeachment of Trump for making a telephone call to a clown. What’s good for the gander is surely good for the cackling goose.
Personally I’d rather Congress waste its time on frivolities than passing legislation that inevitably makes life worse for those not part of the donor class. Impeach them all I say, and pass the dolmades! (don’t like popcorn and not sure I could stomach that Italian dish DLG favors)
Renaming post offices and Federal buildings are about the only bipartisan laws that get enacted these days, you see-Congress really does have a purpose.
> I would argue that so was the first impeachment of Trump for making a telephone call to a clown.
Absolutely; I’ve never said otherwise. Third world stuff, all of it.
Oh yes, I know you personally didn’t take the earlier one seriously either. Just bringing it up because I am a fan of Congressional gridlock too.
What gridlock? Omnibus 1,000 page lobbyist-drafted, unread before “passage,” secret giveaways slide through on a thick film of palm grease. Trillions for war (including huge chunks of pure grift and graft, billions for cocaine and portable sold-in-euro-and-MENA-arms bazaars? Not an effing problem for Our Democracy ™. So no gridlock except in tiny sideshows that manufacture red meat for feeding the Culture Wars.
high crimes and misdemeanors, seem to me to be intentionally vague on purpose, you will know it when you see it. it seems public trust was on the minds of a lot of the founders.
so how can we trust kamala, when she knew the president was unfit for office?
https://aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/What-Does-High-Crimes-and-Misdemeanors-Mean.pdf?x91208
> Extreme wealth has a deadening effect on the super-rich
I live on quiet lane in a verdant, tranquil rural area where the vineyards and apple orchards meet the redwoods. Most of our neighborhood are retired middle class boomers and a smattering of newer, younger PMC families (us included). During covid the super rich swooped into our area.
Our new neighbors in particular are the type of super rich where no one has had to work in generations. Grandpa controlled SF politics for decades and made a killing in Bay Area real estate (interested if anyone can swing a guess as to his identity…). His bozo son, a trust fund boomer who has never had reason to work, bought the property next door to our house, along with his two sons who are in my millennia aged cohort. Since owning the property they’ve had non stop construction on their property, including the installation of a golf course that came at the expense of many very old trees. They rarely ever visit their country property, and when they do they are playing golf and driving around on their atv. You never see them gardening, or tending their property. This is a resort for them, that they have clearly grown bored of.
I have nothing but contempt for them, and we haven’t been shy about it. It’s been so interesting to see that the super wealthy are dopamine slaves like the rest of us, but sadly for them they have no limits. I thank god every day for the boundaries that help me stay happy.
aye…one of my biggest fears is that my neighbor the rancher will die and his kids will sell off the big field behind my place and some wealthy a$$hat will descend on the place and turn it into a subdivision or a giant ugly mansion compound.
wife and i’s plan for this was open naked debauchery with shotguns whenever the property were being shown.
short of suddenly inheriting large $ out of nowhere, what else can we do?
Raise some really smelly livestock right on the border of his/your land, pigs for instance?
Plan ahead and plant a hedgerow along that borderline? Do like my Dad did once when the local tearaways started using a corner of our back yard as a regular pathway between streets; plant a big clump of Spanish Dagger, one of the Yuccas, in that corner. The next year, no one dared go near that spot, much less through it.
I can visualize the Amfortas Ranch hedgerow now. A mix of yuccas, saguaro cacti, barrel cacti, mesquite bushes and Texas Red Oaks. Plant the oaks now and give them time to grow into a proper barrier. The other plants can be understory to the oaks.
Er, um, plant a big hedgerow of Spanish Dagger, or a row of barbarie bushes. / :) Lemme tell ya, an erstwhite whatever persones thinking to jump a barbarie bushes line will be so…um… incapacitated… heh… that no political dialogue will matter. / ;)
Tis to laugh! I googled “barabarie bush” and Google returned nothing but links to Barbara Bush articles! Is this a Sign of the End of Days?
There’s a nip of Frost in the air? “Good fences make good neighbours.”
Continue safely.
Thanks, ambrit. That’s hilarious. Barabarie bushes are thorn thick and dangerous to try to jump. / ;)
mesquites grow readily around here…as do prickly pear(opuntia)…and we have a small tree…known to old timers as “blue thorn” that is downright wicked.
has short little curved purpley thorns…maybe 1/8″…but literally all over it.
one cannot go anywhere near the damned thing to trim.
makes berries that the wild birds love…and spread,lol.
i pull it up even inside the shop on the regular.
then theres the turkey pear…a kind of pencil cactus…the mexicans call it “jumpin cactus”….leaves a 3” sheath in you…with some kind of neurotoxin that is incredibly painful(its also barbed, so you pull it out and it hurts even worse).that one is my fave for hedgerows…breaks apart easily with a big brushhook, drag onto old tarp, and drag it off with the Falcon to where you actually want it(along the fences)…and like with the opuntia, any lil bit will make more,lol.
ive spent 30 years tryin to get rid of all that on my side of the place,lol….or as above move it to where i want it.
let it thrive in the rest of the wilderness, and all(like rattlesnakes and coyotes and wild pigs and mountain lions(almost that time for them to start nosin around))
so performative insanity is my go-to method of new neighbor deterrence.
i’m rather good at it, since im nekkid for 3/4 of the year anyways….add a lil jamesons and ill get all dionysian, to boot.
good thing is that all that land…a mile between me and the mountain out back…is old family property…original adelsverein german settlers who kept peace with the natives, until the anglos arrived, at least….so the family is unlikely to let it go so easily.(and they all have $)…still the stuff of Amfortas’ nightmares.
Any good older oaks out back there? If you can, get some mistletoe growing in one, preferably on a hill top. (We have mistletoe in some oaks around here.) Then claim it as a prehistoric Druid “Sacred Grove.” Use the organs of the State to your benefit and petition for the “Texas Druid Grove” to be designated a religious site and thus protected. The boys and girls from UT Archaeology Department will be all over the site. Oh boy! Proof of long range ‘Cultural Diffusionism!’ The Meso-americans had contacts with early Celts! {I’ve seen stranger ‘things’ believed before.} It could become a cottage industry.
Think big!
part of the Plan me and Tam cooked up is for…after moms demise…me to become an ordained druid(easy, peasy) and to declare the whole place a druid sanctuary.
more or less true already,lol.
but for tax and protection purposes, as well.
make it official, and all….i, however, am reluctant, given my deep-seated preference for “avoiding any Imperial entanglements…”
Get peacocks…
You’ll grow to despise their schlocky 1950’s horror film soundtrack sound they make, and that watery shit of theirs you can’t help step in, but nobody will want to live next to you.
ive wanted peacocks for a long time…keep a couple of hens and a dude, and eat the rest.
tailfeathers sell rather easily, too(never gon get rich with all that, tho,lol)
but of all the birds on offer…they are the most expensive.
sometimes i see eggs for sale at McMurrays, etc…but always when i have no $.
like the geese…and my 2 male turkeys(all the girls died as chicks)…and the dern guinneas…i dig all the raucous chaos of sounds they all make.
i really wish i could send y’all some of the vids of the 2 turkeys(Tom and Jerry) and their entourage of 2 guinneas(hatched from eggs) that think that they are turkeys…drinking from this ancient mop pail right by my barstump…filled by a hole drilled in the gutter above from the big bar sprinkler….turkeys think im Momma…but if i move, those guinneas will go to yellin.
frellin hilarious.
and if theres a male human with high testosterone…the turkeys will sense a challenge for their nonexistent females and incessantly do their circle dance.
only way to get them to stop for a time in that situation is for said high T male human to chase them away with their johnson out and waving,lol.
that way, theyll be chastened for a bit ere returning to start all over.
if one just shoos them, theyll follow you back immediately.
all of this is on fone video…mine, of course…but also likely all over the net, by now…because its a big frelling deal to people who live in town, and dont generally interact intimately with farm animals.
I think Im gonna stick with the cat ranch, lol.
oh, there are cats, as well.lol.
started with one…Bob…whos is pretty much a dick…and cut balls from early on…
now i have maybe 30.
came up out of the woods.
as top predator, its my responsibility to thin them.
i do not like that task, but its necessary.
usually do it in winter.
I would not enjoy that task. I guess you could rent one of those Swiss death pods, send them out with a big bud of catnip, lol.
My b-i-l’s formerly secluded wooded property now has, on an adjacent rise, a three-story horse barn towering over his trees. We walked the house when it was under construction. You can imagine. Ironically, b-i-l built houses in a gated community where ‘golf houses’ were constructed for a few days respite for spring and fall commuting northeast to Florida and return. As well, an uncle was City Manager for a CT town where he said the new wealthy residents amused themselves by suing each other.
I know how fun non-stop neighbor construction is; my sympathies!
I’ll take a stab, Blue Duck. Burton family?
That was my guess, too.
The bald eagle nest graphic was a needed positive in this strife-torn era.
I live near a bald eagle nest in the PNW and see my friend ‘Larry’ flying once a week or so. It’s always the highlight of my day when it happens. Glad to hear about the good news as well.
Somebody is trying to give the EPA credit for that, but that’s the same period all the factories left Wisconsin and the Midwest for foreign places. Something tells me the bald eagle population in China is pretty sketchy these days.
Obviously bald eagles don’t live in China because of the lack of freedoms
re Google search engine:
I actually fine tuned the settings to keep Quora and Reddit off the first page of results. Have zero interest in those as some sort of “authority”.
Basically the article is letting people know that DuckDuckGo is a bit of an “AI” detector by what it can’t access.
Seeing the glass half full…
I tried Reddit for a couple of mundane DIY questions and there were a lot of answers with disclaimers amounting to “I have no idea what I’m talking about but I would speculate blah, blah, blah.” ‘Nuff said, never went back.
I’ve never gotten much out of it myself.
I never use Google any more and find DDG good enough for routine searches. And that includes putting a few words from an article title on the search line and getting a result. Instead of relying on “intuitive” search engines it may be more productive to know how to frame the search terms and filters. O’Reilly once had an entire book on how to do this with Google.
Reddit has a place r/Stupidpol that is like us but younger and cruder.
Yall are really the only two commenting sections I pay attention to.
Reddit is garbage and should be Nationalized for the good of the online public.
I had no idea reddit was even a thing for the past 15 or whatever years, but it’s just a bunch of community forums, more or less moderated, on different topics. As always with these, you have to separate the wheat from the chaff. Some comments are useful and insightful, some are people trolling or otherwise posting nonsense, and some comments are downright useless or harmful.
As it is often the case, some small percentage of commenters have valuable insights, and much of it is just noise or unhelpful. This would certainly be true of blogs as well, with some having useful information, and some nonsense. I found a definitive sounding post from someone adamant that seasoning cast iron with flax seed oil was the superior solution, was the number one hit on Google, very authoritative. Another person in a comment elsewhere on reddit I found years later described in no uncertain terms how complete bollocks that blog was, and of all the questions it brought to the forum on why someone’s cast iron seasoning was flaking off. I had this problem as well; it seemed legit at the time.
So, yeah, I don’t generally reddit. But there is valuable content floating around in there. And Google’s gotten so bad, there is a reason people are putting “reddit” as part of the search query. Otherwise it’s just garbage barge stuff in Google Search results.
Remember, Google Search is an advertising platform, not a search engine. Google’s goal is to sell ad inventory. Whatever Kagi’s faults, for $10 a month I don’t see any ads. And their claim to not sell my data either. It just uses Google’s search feed, among others, so the results aren’t better, but I’m not the product.
RE: progress still does occur
Encouraging! I hear from a buddy that bald eagles are so numerous in Alaska these days, people consider them like seagulls. I see them very often in Maine, too. There is a nest I’ve visited for a few years in a row located on a small island in a state park. I didn’t see any eagles on it this year, but then I looked at the next little island over and there was a newer nest there with either a very large bald eagle baby or an adult of another eagle species sitting on it. Maybe they just moved next door.
Also, I mentioned a couple weeks ago I hadn’t seen any monarchs yet, and then that I did spot one in the neighborhood. Since then I have seen them in my yard. Also encouraging!
I don’t think butterflies are particularly territorial, but if I’m wrong, it would be nice if the monarchs would push out the other little cute white butterflies that lay the eggs that turn into fat green worms that eat my broccoli plants.
Saw a Bald Eagle on the Hudson this morning, fishing off 95th Street.
It’s the third time I’ve spotted one from the apartment.
Enjoy the clean water while it lasts!
Spent ten years as a youth on 98th and RSD, ’60-’70. Never saw anything bigger than a pigeon. Then again, there weren’t any bears at Bear Mtn. until the last 10+ yrs. When we were little an elder neighbor used to regale us with tales of seeing one as a child.
We’re in western Michigan on holiday for a few more weeks, but haven’t seen the BE family we’ve watched the last few decades. They don’t show when the jet skis and fireworks show up, but even on the quiet days they’ve not flown by. Used to watch them catch fish and eat them on the beach in front of the house. Seagulls too…
I thought bald eagles began to proliferate again once lead pellets were outlawed in shotgun shells. Eagles had been eating the carcasses of critters felled with lead pellet shotgun shells.
There are several different Emotions Wheels out there, with different lists and categorizations. The wikipedia article has a number of variants and does a good job covering the topic from what I can tell. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotion_classification)
If you’re trying to understand and work with your emotions, it’s helpful to have a name even if it isn’t perfect, it gives a handle you can start pulling on. So charts like this can be a useful starting point for people who may have difficulty identifying them otherwise; and can lead to more personalized lists as they get comfortable.
and, fitting into that same bucket…the Henrick Karlson thing led me to the first in the trilogy:
https://www.henrikkarlsson.xyz/p/looking-for-alice
which reminds me of how my wife and i got together…and how i hope certain textaffair with another woman goes, now that wife’s 2 years gone.
well worth a read….i nearly wept.
(“scratch a cynic, find a hopeless romantic”)
Best of luck to the two of you, as you certainly deserve it.
I have my fingers crossed for you!
I’ve been thinking a lot about the things we hold that we might not even let ourselves know, and what a tragedy that is. It’s worth scratching a bit, finding that hopeless romantic and making friends with them.
And I doubt that many of the democrats could articulate what they’re really feeling, I’d be surprised if it wasn’t just a great unrefined outpouring. So maybe they’d find that chart or a similar one useful around now.
Makes me think of the quote from Macbeth: “It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing.
I’ve realized that some people really do have no ability to recognize their own emotions (I know some of them) so I can see the utility of something like this. It definitely contains implied value judgements, though. For example, I would personally put Skeptical under Interested/Inquisitive, which would move it from the ‘Angry’ to the ‘Happy’ category. (Skepticism without anger is practically my current job description).
“Remember, TikTok is absolutely not organic…”
Wait a minute…there are people that think there’s anything organic about social media?
Thank you for the Harris liberalgasms. They were all hilarious in their different ways, and sometimes it is best just to laugh at the absurdity of it all. I loved the one from Texas; let’s see if ‘Hardhat Harris’ can fill the Cowboys’ (AT&T) stadium for a rally.
The one that affected me most, though, was the Van Jones quote from the “Cringe to Cool” TicTok tweet. I forced myself to watch Jones’ slobbering, tearful tribute to the valiant sacrifice made by his hero Joe Biden on Sunday. At least I managed to watch five minutes of it before I started feeling nauseous and had to turn it off. Believe me, Van knows “cringe” – at least he knows how to make one cringe while watching him. Glad to see he also knows “cool,” recognizing that Kamala’s quest “is not a campaign” but “a movement”! Let’s get going kids. Start making those TikTok ‘Hardhat Harris’ videos, or is it ‘Hip Hop Harris? Make it the KDH Challenge. I predict a movement that’s going to fill AT&T stadium!
If anyone is interested…
The Washington Post is sponsoring a live session tomorrow:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2024/07/25/looming-public-health-challenge-long-covid/
The looming public health challenge of long covid
Influential policymakers and medical researchers explore the causes, prevalence and long-term impacts of long covid four years after the pandemic.
Featuring Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly Chief of Research, VA St. Louis Health Care System.
I don’t know if we will learn anything new, but I am glad to see the mainstream media drawing attention to the issue.
In case it has not already been noted here at NC: RIP John Mayall. Musical interlude.
The Maker, source of spice.
Sad news indeed. My favorite: “California” from The Turning Point:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCp8o3t-3v8
Thanks for that. Johnny Almond’s performance was fine indeed.
Here is John Almond with Jon Mark from the 1971 Mark-Almond album in a song called The City.
Yes an amazing solo that! It’s stamped in my mind from hearing it so much as a young enthusiast and I can sing every note of it (with some octave displacement) to this day.
An icon of my youth! His power and talent were unmistakeable. RIP John.
Eric is showing his age.
https://youtu.be/9cujG_O4KA4?si=qVwuJIjjLDloc6Z9
I resemble that remark.
Whoa. Is this true? (English translation)
https://blogs.mediapart.fr/volontaires-inquiets-paris-2024/blog/150724/we-are-volunteers-paris-2024-and-we-resign-due-lack-covid-19-measures
We are Volunteers for Paris 2024 and we resign due to the lack of COVID-19 measures
h/t @CoronaHeadsUp
That nastiness is coming to LA in 2028. Already talk of people possibly being displaced.
I don’t know much about Jim Rickards but suspect most here would find him disagreeable. I also do not know who Julia La Roche is. Still, this talk is interesting for his suggesting that:
The Dems could put Obama (B not M) for VEEP on the Harris ticket since he isn’t disallowed to take that seat for having been POTUS twice. Then, if Kamalamadingdong wins, they could figure a way to get rid of her and he could ascend to a third term in the WH because the constitution only says someone can not be “elected” more than twice. He would not, in that instance, have been elected.
It’s an interesting theory, although I can’t really take it seriously. Then again, wierder things have happened… and the Dems are capable of anything.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2R6XAhc-Tg
sounds awesome.
then id get to endure the collective freakout of a hybrid creature…teaparty + maga.
those two shouldnt give the dems ideas like this…having never seen a bad idea they didnt immediately fall in love with…at least since the early 90’s…
We must use this technicality to circumvent term limits so we can save democracy!
To really put the Democrat stamp on it, though, they would need to half-ass it somehow and fail, only to have Trump pick up the idea and use it successfully four years later.
Rumblings on the early morning on CNBC, an interview with a polling analyst, two names were popping on to the proverbial short list.
Pete Buttigieg. No, would a serious person think he is an option?
Mark Kelly. This I would accept as a more serious VP potentially.
If i recall correctly Kamala Harris had a full time staff working on he Wiki page in 2019, I wonder how big it is now?
She polled at less than 2% in her home state when she tested the waters to see if she had a chance, Andrew Yang got a multiple of that and he was a complete Political unknown.
I gather that she’s the now the new Eleanor Roosevelt, but prettier and straight…
Although I would note vote for either of them unless you put a gun to my head and told me I had to choose between Trump and Harris or die right there.
I would choose Trump without hesitation based on Character.
And yes, I have watched Trump closely for 9 years, I have also watched Harris’ career for decades.
It wouldn’t be close, Harris is that bad.
Im with you in Rockland, .human.
I hear Tam’s voice, more than 2 years after she died…and like ive said, the dog sleeps in her easy chair…and i hear Osadog shift, and immediately and automatically jump as if its Tam.
we grew into each other…26 years together…25 married.
she literally completed me…where i am a curmudgeon, and a perpetual outsider…she was gregarious, and has reached local sainthood around here, since her passing.
she tied me to the world, off-farm.
and i miss it.
reading that guy really brought it all home, again…
how insanely fortunate ive been, to have her in my life, for all those years….even the last almost 4 years of managing her death….which, weirdly…or perhaps not so weirdly…brought us even closer.
this giant fucking hole…
“CVS is going to stop all phone customer service. Not just that, but calls from patients will now be transcribed via generative AI and routed to pharmacists. Hope there are no errors here’s your medicine!
Efficiency! pic.twitter.com/UhuJQktgst”
Anybody smart is going to call the doctor after pickup and read back what they were given.
Don’t let the hagiography begin.
https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/do-not-let-the-media-lie-about-joe
https://consortiumnews.com/2024/07/24/patrick-lawrence-the-wreckage-biden-leaves/
The once distinguished New Yorker describes Biden’s “decision” as “selfless” even though running again was totally selfish and he was seemingly forced to quit, like Nixon–no selflessness involved. And he hasn’t even quit. Lawrence says the damage done by Genocide Joe will take years to undo but Berenson points out his condition was obvious from 2021 so who knows who was making all those decisions in any event?
Trump’s a bad choice but the Dems deserve to lose and to lose big. They are themselves the creeping menace they are always talking about.
It’s rather fitting that the most “moving” hagiographies come from those who are hiding bloodied knives behind their backs.
Well! )))))))
Watching Biden’s address to the nation. I slur and drop syllables like that after 3 or more IPAs (I’m a relatively cheap date). Never mind the car keys somebody, please, take away the launch codes.
Silly of me, but I really thought he’d give us something straight. Like, “I’m up to to finish the job here at the White House, but the rigors of campaigning are not something my health is ready for.” I don’t know, something that threads the needle of “can still work from a desk, but I’m not going to be flying across the country every day.”
Instead we got a wishlist of stuff he maybe thinks he did or stuff he wished he did. Not-so-famous last words. And we’re still left asking if he’s mentally and/or physically up for the job!
yet another method of falsifying the whole “Market Knows Best, Uber Alles!” bullshit:
i note that the colorado pot growers havent gotten around to growing some good old fashioned Mexican Brick for all us old timers down here in the texas hinterlands….
and believe me, i’ve asked.
its all about the superhigh, it seems.
shit makes me cough and snort for an hour.
(well…it might na be an hour,lol…since im superhigh when it occurs…)
this has obtained since colorado legalised, and the mexican brick dried up.
post hoc, ergo propter hoc, and all…but still.
ive emailed(yes, Lambert i do use email, once in a while) and called.
Mr Market has not responded.
It sounds like a case of too much being not enough.
I wonder sometimes, Cynic that I am, whether the present industrialized cannabis growers are being tasked with the cognitive incapacitation of the ‘Youth of America?’
ima jes wantin the option, is all…i mean “Markets!”…
i grow most of my own, but i’m in that uncomfortable in-between time.
Mexican Brick is still my fave weed.
known quality, more or less…l knew exactly how much tobacco to mix in…half a joint would do ya, at 5am, another at noon…easy peasy…glide through the place, doin thangs….(and here im showing my learned and wendell berryish small-c conservatism,lol)
and the damned seed would grow true.
The seeds… I grew some back in the day. We all did back then. I always think of the 1974 song by Jim Stafford – Wildwood Weed.
Sittin there on that sack of seeds. The guy was a hoot.
You tube link to the song
“Take a trip without even leaving the farm!”
Grow your own, Brother. They don’t call it “weed” for nothin’. I got a couple growing in my back yard; but then, I live in California. Maybe the local law enforcement down your way are more persnickety and punitive regarding such horticultural endeavors.
i go all around and look every six months or so…heirloom potseeds for the home grower(where its legal)…havent seen it yet.
theres a niche,lol.
when Johnny’s is selling potseeds, i’ll know that things have really changed.
We can legally buy clones here in CA, so far as state and local gendarmes are concerned. I’d send you some but they are in the beginning such fragile little things that I doubt they’d ship well.
As for seeds, I’m not sure that pot plants throw true. Apples sure don’t.
mexican brick did grow true.
cartells were freaks about heirlooms and saving seeds,,,autarky, you see…cutting dependencies.
even though a few brave weirdos might plant their own…didnt matter in the grand scheme of things.
and that lack of competition, before various states legalised…was essential to their(cartels) profit margin.
one might even argue, that this partial legalisation thing we’ve been doing has driven the cartels into the hard drugs market(ie:fentanyl)…and in the highest of ironies, via Market Forces(holy, holy).
Re: markets, here’s a timeline of BTCUSD with two recent events:
https://www.tradingview.com/x/jmPnxHhS/
BTC had been going sideways for a while, but suddenly started trending up when Trump was shot at on the 13th (from the green candle lurching up) and the “iconic photo” quickly hit the intertubes. This was followed by a run-up on the 19th, as BTC was groping towards another swipe at 70k. Strong resistance was to be expected, natch. Then, Biden announced that he’d dropped out of the race and 30 mins later anointed Harris. At that moment, BTC started moving sideways again, then pivoting to trend downward, and right now the price has just dropped sharply.
As always correlation is not causation, but if I had to read this chart, I’d opine that following the failed assassination attempt, there was a feeling that Trump was unstoppable, and the election was basically over. Of course, BTC could be considered a poor indicator, because Trump will give an address at a big Bitcoin conference on the 28th, and the Donald has evidently flipped from saying its “a scam” to searching for donors amongst the monied crypto bros. For this reason, I also peeked at NASDAQ and S&P 500 indices, and while they seemed to go up slightly on the news about Harris, they both then pivoted to begin trending down.
My take-away atm is that “markets” may be more favorable to Trump, cooling somewhat as Harris is now the presumptive nominee and that introduces a heightened uncertainty factor that wasn’t present with “Fight!” DJT vs. “HODL” Dementia Joe.
yes, Ambrit.
i do think that theres widespread cognitive dysfunction among our youth.
combination of covid sequelae, fondleslabs, an all around overly digital interaction with the world, and…hugely from what i can tell…absent parents…also lost in their fondleslabs.
this dysfunction likely also is due to the giant fucking generator of cognitive dissonance that were all(well, most of y’all) living with.
inviting into our lives, etc.
Oh yes. The idea you put forward reminds me of the Nordic fellow who does the ‘illustrated’ dystopias. The ones with the clusters of dead people all wearing VR headsets. The “Electric Apocalypse” or somesuch.
Add to the “lost parents” the demise of the multi-generational family unit. My Mom acted as “live in” parental surrogate for Little Sister’s wee bairns because, after Dad died, she lived with Little Sister’s family unit.
I can see you standing on top of a hill outside of the college town with your son.
“Mos Austin spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.”
Upon entering the town. A checkpoint.
Homeland Security Droid: “How long have you had these ideas?”
Son: “Three or four election cycles.”
You: “They are free to all who want them.”
Droid: “Let me see your identification.”
You: “You don’t need to see his identification.” Makes mystical hand gesture.
Droid: “We don’t need to see his identification.”
You: “These aren’t the ideas you are looking for.”
Droid: “These aren’t the ideas we are looking for.”
You: “He can go about his business.”
Droid: “You can go about your business.”
You: “Move along.”
Droid: “Move along. Move along.” Waving the travelers by.
The Power of Thought is strong in this one.
Van Jones: “This is not a campaign, it’s a movement.”
Movements ain’t what they used to be. This should be filed under ‘The ongoing crapification of everything. ‘
How can it be a movement? It’s not about Alice or a restaurant, AFAICT — and it’s darn sure not anti-massacree. . . .
Re: Texas RagePoop “Things that did not happen”
No idea whut “a cold Shiner” is at McShlucks, but it made me lol.
Shiner is a local beer in central Texas. Never been to McShlucks. Sounds like a honkey tonk.
RE “Extreme wealth has a deadening effect on the super-rich – and that threatens us all” [George Monbiot, Guardian].
Ah yes, Monbiot, the upper class twit Guardian columnist on the environment beat. He was all in on the media pile-on against Corbyn, silent on Assange, and totally in favour of military intervention in Iraq and elsewhere, including most recently Putin very bad man who must be stopped.
Incidentally, the Guardian is also all-in on the isn’t Kamala the most wonderful and perfect candidate to defeat orange man bad bandwagon.
Now that Bibi has given his ‘Sermon on the Hill,’ has the war against the Philistines begun yet?
A new motto for a certain Middle East faction: “From the Temple Mount to the grave.”
I have been thinking a bit about 1984.
For those who like me read the book a long time ago: In addition to the Inner Party, you have the Outer Party and the proles. The Inner Party has the actual power, but is mostly invisible in the novel, except if I recall one visit to the house of O’Brien were we learn that the Inner Party can turn of there television screens.
Winston Smith is in the Outer Party. The members of the Outer Party are both the main producers of the propaganda that 1984 has made so famous, and its main targets.
To return to today, I would say the strong emotions among the Outer Party is both mandatory to show loyalty with the party and heart fealt as upon recieving word from the Inner Party, the members of the Outer Party are relivied that they finally know who they should show their undying loyalty to. Must have been a couple of confusing weeks when repeating the lines they had been thaught – Biden is the most progressive since FDR! It is just a stutter! If you don’t support Biden you support Trump! – were suddenly called into question. Now they have a new set of lines and can sincerely express that they always support Harris. Must be a relief.