2:00PM Water Cooler 1/9/2025 | naked capitalism

By Lambert Strether of Corrente.

Affected person readers, I’m now going to take a nap. Take pleasure in!

Fowl Track of the Day

Brown Thrasher, Theodore Roosevelt Nationwide Park – Higher Talkington Path, Billings, North Dakota, United States.

In Case You Would possibly Miss…

1. Trump’s pivotto the Northern Hemisphere.
2. LA Palisades Hearth: That is advantageous.
3. Pictures: Employees working.

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

Trump Transition

“Scoop: Trump’s 100 government orders” [Axios]. “President-elect Trump and high advisers previewed formidable plans for 100 government orders throughout a gathering with Senate Republicans on Wednesday night time, Axios has discovered. Whereas Congress debates the following strikes on their very own aggressive legislative plans, Trump allow them to know he is able to roll — particularly on immigration. Senators got previews of a few of what they have been informed could be 100 government orders, two sources who have been within the room informed Axios. Stephen Miller, Trump’s longtime immigration adviser, dove into how they intend to make use of government energy to deal with the border and immigration beginning Day 1. It’s unclear if all will probably be technical government orders, or extra broadly government actions taken by Trump or federal businesses.” • “A preview,” “100.” Pure advertising! The distinction between 2016 and 2020 is night time and day.

* * *

“Elon Musk says DOGE most likely gained’t discover $2 trillion in federal finances cuts” [NBC News]. “Musk informed political strategist Mark Penn in an interview broadcast on X that the $2 trillion determine was a ‘best-case final result’ and that he thought there was solely a ‘good shot’ at chopping half that. ” So a “good shot” to Mars could be getting midway there? Extra: “Musk’s lowered estimate is a major downgrade from his earlier view. At a rally for Trump at Madison Sq. Backyard in New York on Oct. 27, Musk stated he’d be capable of lower the federal finances by ‘not less than $2 trillion.’…. Musk, together with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, is co-leading the DOGE budget-slashing effort, which Trump named in reference to an web meme. The advisory panel has no official authority and is predicted to make suggestions to the White Home after Trump is sworn in for a second time period. Consultants have stated Musk and Ramaswamy would wish to suggest cuts to obligatory applications comparable to Medicaid, the well being care program for the poor, to attain vital financial savings. Musk himself has warned that cuts may imply ‘hardship’ for some.” • However no one who’s anyone!

* * *

“Kremlin, on Trump remarks on Greenland and Canada, says Russia has Arctic pursuits” [Reuters]. “When asked about Trump’s comments about Greenland and Canada, the Kremlin said that Russia, which has the largest Arctic coastline, was closely watching the ‘dramatic development’ of the situation. ‘The Arctic is a zone of our national interests, our strategic interests,’ Peskov said. ‘We are interested in preserving the atmosphere of peace and stability in the Arctic zone.’ ‘We are watching the rather dramatic development of the situation very closely, but so far, thank God, at the level of statements.’”

“Danish officials fear Trump is much more serious about acquiring Greenland than in first term” [CNN]. “When President-elect Donald Trump mused about buying Greenland from Denmark during his first administration, the Danish prime minister called the idea “absurd” and rebuffed him outright. Now, Danish officials are being warned by Trump allies and advisers that he is serious, multiple Danish officials told CNN. And they’re carefully weighing how to respond without sparking a major rupture with a close ally and fellow NATO member…. Trump said on Tuesday that ‘we need Greenland for national security purposes.’ ‘People really don’t even know if Denmark has any legal right to it, but if they do, they should give it up, because we need it for national security,’ he said at a news conference at Mar-a-Lago.” • “We need it.”

“Canadian leaders say Trump’s talk about Canada becoming the 51st state isn’t funny anymore” [Associated Press]. “Dominic LeBlanc, the country’s point person for U.S-Canada relations, said Trump was smiling when he first made the comment during a dinner at Mar-a-Lago with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in late November. ‘The joke is over,’ said LeBlanc. ‘It’s a way for him, I think, to sow confusion, to agitate people, to create chaos knowing this will never happen.’ Trump keeps floating the idea that Canada should join the United States as the 51st state, saying Tuesday he would not use military force to invade the country, which is home to more than 40 million people and is a founding NATO partner. Instead, Trump said he would rely on ‘economic force’ as he erroneously cast the U.S. trade deficit with Canada — a natural resource-rich nation that provides the U.S. with commodities like oil — as a subsidy.”

* * *

“Hawaii Gov: RFK Jr.’s Anti-Vax Misinformation Left Dozens Of Kids Dead In Samoa” [HuffPo]. I wish RFK was straightening out the food supply; that is what I hoped MAHA would do, and it’s worth doing. But there we are: “[Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D)] traveled to Washington this week specifically to meet with Republican and Democratic senators to urge them to oppose Kennedy’s nomination — the same week Kennedy is on Capitol Hill making his case to Democratic senators about why they should support him. He’s offering his perspective on a well-known ‘tragedy’ that took place in Samoa in 2019, after two children died due to human error on the part of nurses administering their vaccinations for measles, mumps and rubella. The mistake led to some people losing confidence in vaccines, and right around this time, Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccination activist, visited the Pacific island state and campaigned against vaccines on social media…. As Kennedy pushed his anti-vaccination campaign… the inoculation rate plummeted to 31% and the measles virus spread. Samoan leaders asked the Hawaii governor for help, so he went to their island with dozens of health care providers to help vaccinate as many people as possible. By this time, there were approximately 5,000 confirmed cases of measles, Green said, and the outbreak would lead to more than 80 deaths, most of them among children…. Ultimately, Green and other medical professionals helped vaccinate 37,000 people throughout the country. They staved off more deaths, but he said thousands of people suffered and countless others likely developed encephalopathy, a condition that can cause inflammation in the nervous system that can lead to hearing loss, blindness or intellectual disability. At the time, Kennedy blamed the dozens of measles deaths on the vaccine itself. There was no evidence for his claim…. Green urged President-elect Donald Trump to rethink Kennedy’s nomination and instead consider him for a different post. ‘There may be a very good place for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,’ he said. ‘This is not partisan. This is not political. This is medical.’” • But–

“Watchdog group accuses RFK Jr. of voter fraud” [Politico]. “A complaint filed by the left-leaning watchdog group Accountable.US on Wednesday morning and shared exclusively with POLITICO, alleged that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. committed felony election fraud when he voted in the 2024 election…. The complaint states that Kennedy voted by mail and his ballot was received by the Westchester County board of elections on Nov. 2. The primary residence listed on the ballot was to a home in Katonah — an address about 45 miles outside of New York City that has been central to previous court challenges from Democratic-leaning groups arguing Kennedy did not actually live there and should not be eligible to be on the ballot in the state when he ran as an independent candidate.” In a previous case “Kennedy had argued he’d been renting a room from a childhood friend in Katonah, but that friend’s spouse testified that Kennedy had only spent one night at the residence.” • More lawfare, though. Seems to me this undercuts Green’s effort, which is far more important.

Sharing a laugh with Hitler:

We need to get Jackie G to do some lip reading here.

What did Trump say to make Obama laugh. pic.twitter.com/lKRGgd36rt

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) January 9, 2025

Democrats en déshabillé

“With Bass overseas, even Democrats are slamming LA mayor over wildfires” [Politico]. “[M]oderate Democrat Rick Caruso, an actual property mogul who misplaced his mayoral bid to Bass in 2022, spent the morning making native TV appearances blasting Bass for touring to Ghana, regardless of reviews as early as final week about an impending wind storm…. Bass’ choice to not return from Ghana sooner drew criticism Wednesday from even the left flank of political media…. Bass continues to be flying again to Los Angeles, and her spokespeople didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark about her present location.” • Oopsie.

Republican Funhouse

“Falsehoods across the L.A. fires are proliferating on the appropriate” [Philip Bump, WaPo]. “We must always start by noting that a lot of the criticisms — concerning the hydrants or water diversion or the LAFD itself — don’t have anything to do with why the fires erupted and unfold so rapidly. As an alternative, hurricane-force Santa Ana winds rapidly unfold small fires throughout areas that have been unusually dry. Wildfires have lengthy been a problem in California; what’s unfolding in Los Angeles is an overlap of things that improve the dangers of wildfires spreading… It’s 2020 election denialism sporting a special outfit.” • I believe Bump has the politics flawed, or not less than not utterly proper. California is a one-party state, run by Democrats. On the Democrat facet, that results in corruption, backscratching, and regardless of the political occasion equal of inbreeding is. As for the Republicans, they’re determined to regain energy. Every little thing will get seen via that lens, and therefore the acute show of “any keep on with beat a canine” on show this week. For instance:

NEW: The Los Angeles Hearth Division has resorted to utilizing purses to throw water on the fires.

Los Angeles is the 2nd largest metropolis within the wealthiest nation on this planet and their fireplace division is preventing fires with ladies’s purses.

Wild.pic.twitter.com/nUxcgCal2o

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 9, 2025

I like Rugg effectively sufficient, however that is flawed and worse, lazy. Plus “purse” is apparent feminization, designed to induce… Nicely, I’m having a tough time integrating “knee-jerk” and “knuckle-dragging” into the identical sentence, so I’ll simply transfer alongside. This complete California Republican discourse forgets, or represses, that Los Angeles was constructed on a desert, so that you anticipate dry tinder filling the canyons, water issues, wind…

Realignment and Legitimacy

“The Luigi Mangione impact could supercharge the necessity for safety guards, which simply made LinkedIn’s fastest-growing jobs record for the primary time” [Fortune]. “LinkedIn’s 2025 Jobs on the Rise report particulars the fastest-growing positions within the U.S. over the previous three years. As anticipated with the A.I. increase, superior know-how roles have been the most well-liked. However surprisingly, safety guards have ranked because the tenth fast-growing job within the U.S. proper now…. Andrew Seaman, information editor for jobs and profession growth at LinkedIn, tells Fortune this might replicate diminished police forces, the hashish business’s want for guards, and an increase of in-person actions…. ‘We’re getting calls from all people,’ Glen Kucera, president of enhanced safety providers at Allied Common, informed Fortune final month. ‘Demand for the safety enterprise follows occasions. If there’s a selected incident, then firms say, ‘I want to guard my executives. I want to guard my workers from this occurring once more.’”

“Unique: Younger People sympathize extra with CEO taking pictures suspect than sufferer” [Axios]. “When requested with whom they sympathize extra, 45% of respondents selected suspect Luigi Mangione, 17% selected Thompson, and 37% stated neither. 48% stated they view the killing as completely or considerably justified. These findings chime with an Emerson School ballot which discovered that 41% of voters beneath 30 discovered the killing ‘acceptable,’ excess of in another age group.” • Hmm.

Syndemics

“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

Covid Sources, United States (Nationwide): Transmission (CDC); Wastewater (CDC, Biobot; consists of many counties; Wastewater Scan, consists of drilldown by zip); Variants (CDC; Walgreens); “Iowa COVID-19 Tracker” (in IA, however nationwide knowledge). “An infection Management, Emergency Administration, Security, and Common Ideas” (particularly on hospitalization by metropolis).

Lambert right here: Readers, thanks for the collective effort. To replace any entry, do be happy to contact me on the handle given with the vegetation. Please put “COVID” within the topic line. Thanks!

Sources, United States (Native): AK (dashboard); AL (dashboard); AR (dashboard); AZ (dashboard); CA (dashboard; Marin, dashboard; Stanford, wastewater; Oakland, wastewater); CO (dashboard; wastewater); CT (dashboard); DE (dashboard); FL (wastewater); GA (wastewater); HI (dashboard); IA (wastewater reviews); ID (dashboard, Boise; dashboard, wastewater, Central Idaho; wastewater, Coeur d’Alene; dashboard, Spokane County); IL (wastewater); IN (dashboard); KS (dashboard; wastewater, Lawrence); KY (dashboard, Louisville); LA (dashboard); MA (wastewater); MD (dashboard); ME (dashboard); MI (wastewater; wastewater); MN (dashboard); MO (wastewater); MS (dashboard); MT (dashboard); NC (dashboard); ND (dashboard; wastewater); NE (dashboard); NH (wastewater); NJ (dashboard); NM (dashboard); NV (dashboard; wastewater, Southern NV); NY (dashboard); OH (dashboard); OK (dashboard); OR (dashboard); PA (dashboard); RI (dashboard); SC (dashboard); SD (dashboard); TN (dashboard); TX (dashboard); UT (wastewater); VA (wastewater); VT (dashboard); WA (dashboard; dashboard); WI (wastewater); WV (wastewater); WY (wastewater).

Sources, Canada (Nationwide): Wastewater (Authorities of Canada).

Sources, Canada (Provincial): ON (wastewater); QC (les eaux usées); BC (wastewater); BC, Vancouver (wastewater).

Hat tricks to useful readers: Alexis, anon (2), Art_DogCT, B24S, CanCyn, ChiGal, Chuck L, Festoonic, FM, FreeMarketApologist (4), Gumbo, hop2it, JB, JEHR, JF, JL Joe, John, JM (10), JustAnotherVolunteer, JW, KatieBird, KF, KidDoc, LL, Michael King, KF, LaRuse, mrsyk, MT, MT_Wild, otisyves, Petal (6), RK (2), RL, RM, Rod, sq. coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, thump, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3).

Keep protected on the market!

TABLE 1: Each day Covid Charts

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) Seeing more red and more orange, but nothing new at major hubs.

[2] (CDC) Last week’s wastewater map.

[3] (CDC Variants) XEC takes over. That WHO label, “Ommicron,” has done a great job normalizing successive waves of infection.

[4] (ED) A little uptick.

[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Definitely jumped.

[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Leveling out.

[7] (Walgreens) Leveling out.

[8] (Cleveland) Continued upward trend since, well, Thanksgiving.

[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Leveling out.

[10] (Travelers: Variants). Positivity is new, but variants have not yet been released.

[11] Deaths low, positivity leveling out.

[12] Deaths low, ED leveling out.

Stats Watch

Employment Situation: “United States Challenger Job Cuts” [Trading Economics]. “US employers announced 38,792 job cuts in December 2024, the least in five months.”

Manufacturing: “Boeing 747 Wing Panel Was Found At Heathrow Months After Falling Off” [Simple Flying]. “A wing panel that fell off a Boeing 747 freighter upon landing was discovered in a grass area next to the runway at London Heathrow Airport (LHR). After inquiries were made, it was discovered that the panel had been there for over two months, having detached from a One Air 747-400 freighter that landed in early January 2024. London Heathrow has a sophisticated FOD radar detection system that is capable of picking up debris as small as a screw. However, this system only scans the hard runway surface, not the grass areas surrounding the runways, which explains why this piece was missed for two months. LHR’s operator, Heathrow Airport Holdings, added that because it was winter, the grass areas were not mown as frequently, but if they had been, then the missing part would have been discovered sooner.” • Makes you wonder how many other aircraft parts there are, scattered about.

Today’s Fear & Greed Index: 32 Fear (previous close: 32 Fear) [CNN]. One week ago: 26 (Fear). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Jan 8 at 8:59:48 PM ET.

Poetry Nook

“All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace” (facsimile) [Richard Brautigan] (1967):

But that’s not going to happen, is it? It’s the very last thing that would happen…

Photo Book

“The Honorable Parts” [Scope of Work]. “[Christopher Payne] will apparently return to the same factory dozens of times, waiting for the moment when a production run lines up just right, or the material being processed is just the right color, or — I don’t know — his subject finally lifts their hand in a particularly elegant way. Payne is an artist, and his art documents, explains, and valorizes manufacturing, fabrication, and maintenance work. Aspects of Payne’s work might be categorized as genre art. He captures moments in everyday time; he captures human intention and effort; he captures the infrastructure required to make stuff. His subjects are often highly engineered (he has photographed ASML’s EUV machines, Boeing’s 787 assembly line, and NASA’s Space Launch System), but just as often they’re highly soulful (Payne published a book about Steinway pianos; he has also photographed Martin’s guitar factory and Zildjian’s cymbal production process). Regardless of what he’s shooting, Payne’s photographs often feel just as carefully assembled as the objects in them.” • I don’t like all of it, but some of it I really like (Image courtesy of Christopher Payne):

“Historic Los Angeles wildfires are anything but ‘unprecedented’” [Wildfire Today]. “These fires may well be the most destructive for L.A., but are only considered unprecedented by those who have forgotten the past history of fire in the area – or forgotten the precedents of the Camp Fire of 2018 or the Australian Black Summer Fires of 2019-20 or Greece of 2023, and others. The wildfire risks for these parts of L.A. have been well documented over many years, and a similar conflagration happened in the city less than two decades earlier. One of the most read articles on Wildfire Today this week – possibly mistakenly due to their similarities – is a round-up of the 2019 fires around L.A.” And: “Apart from the ‘perfect storm’ scenarios of the Palisades and Sayre, experts have known for decades that much of California’s land is dependent on fire. Nearly 10 years ago, researchers concluded that : ‘adequate planning of the changes in the built environment…is going to be vital for managing risk from fire under future climates.’ Almost 20 years ago, experts drew on studies from the early 1970s on ways to specifically stop conflagrations from burning in Southern California, saying ‘Through strategic fuel management planning, we could influence the total number and size of the (conflagration) occurrences as well as their geographic distribution and thereby mitigate the impacts of too much of the ‘wrong kind of fire.’” • Well, yeah, but that woiuld interfere with real estate development, and who wants that? (See also Are the Canadian Wildfires Really “Natural” Disasters? and Are the Californian Wildfires Really “Natural” Disasters? at NC.

“Scientists uncover how the brain washes itself during sleep” [Science]. “Scientists think sleep is the brain’s rinse cycle, when fluid percolating through the organ flushes out chemical waste that accumulated while we were awake. But what propels this circulation has been uncertain. A study of mice, reported today in Cell, suggests regular contractions of blood vessels in the brain, stimulated by the periodic release of a chemical cousin of adrenaline, push the fluid along.” • Not that kind of brainwashing!