2:00PM Water Cooler 12/23/2024 | naked capitalism

Republican Funhouse

“EXCLUSIVE: Where is Congresswoman Kay Granger?” [The Dallas Express]. “According to Ms. Granger’s roll call vote page, Grangers last vote was on July 24th, 2024… The Dallas Express attempted to reach her district and D.C. offices but calls went directly to voicemail where a recorded message from Congresswoman Granger plays…. We then visited her office in person hoping to understand how Congresswoman Granger planned to vote on the continuing resolution this afternoon. Upon arrival, we found the door locked, front door glass window covered, no one inside, and no sign of the office continuing to be occupied…. We then received a tip from a Granger constituent who shared that the Congresswoman has been residing at a local memory care and assisted living home for some time after having been found wandering lost and confused in her former Cultural District/West 7th neighborhood. The Dallas Express team visited the facility to confirm whether Granger was residing there and to inquire about how she planned to vote on the spending bill. Upon arrival, two employees confirmed that Granger is indeed living at the facility. However, we were not permitted to conduct an interview regarding the current spending debate in the House of Representatives and how or if Ms. Granger planned to vote.” • Good for a scrappy local paper. Sounds like another one of the many, many Washingtont stories everybody knows about, but nobody talks about.

“Rep. Kay Granger says she’s had ‘unforeseen health challenges,’ but not in memory care” [The Hill]. “Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) says she’s had ‘unforeseen health challenges,’ with her office denying that she’s in memory care…. On Sunday, the 81-year-old congresswoman’s son, Brandon Granger, told The Dallas Morning News that she has been ‘having some dementia issues late in the year.’ Brandon Granger said his mother is living at Tradition Senior Living in Fort Worth and also confirmed that she is not in a memory care facility.” • Oh.

Democrats en déshabillé

“Not A Democrat” [Joe Klein, Sanity Clause]. “The Party Left Me.” So, our long national nightmare is over? In any case: ” First thing in politics, you need a candidate. And if you want to accomplish something more than business as usual, especially within the party, you need a great candidate. You need a candidate who accurately describes the state of the union and more, is willing to say ‘unpopular’ things—it’s the surest path to credibility, just ask Donald Trump. You need a politician who sounds like he or she is speaking English that hasn’t been strained through the consultant-pollster Cuisinart. You need a candidate who answers questions directly, as Kamala Harris never seemed to do…. Now, such a candidate might be available to the Democrats in 2028. But I don’t see any obvious choices right now.” • One can only wonder if there was a Democrat candidate like that. One who ran twice, say.

“Ocasio-Cortez faces uncertain political future” [The Hill]. “Her centrist colleagues’ promotion of Connolly sent a clear message that Democrats want to suppress left-wing ideology as they look to rebrand their image, challenging Ocasio-Cortez’s place in the party, which has lost considerable power in Washington.” • All that opportunism, and yet opportunity never knocked. Sad.

Realignment and Legitimacy

“Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to N.Y. state charges in killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO” [NBC]. “Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty Monday to New York state charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. And “[Defense lawyer Karen Agnifilo] placed the blame for these ‘perp walks’ on Mayor Eric Adams, calling these public parades of Mangione ‘absolutely unnecessary’ and ‘perfectly choreographed, utterly political.’” The tenor of the defense? And in  response: “‘Mayor Adams’ priority is — and always has been — public safety, and he has repeatedly spoken about how social media is fueling the radicalization of our youth. Critics can say all they want, but showing up to support our law enforcement and sending the message to New Yorkers that violence and vitriol have no place in our city is who Mayor Eric Adams is to his core.’” • Adams stepped right into it, since alll that “showing up to support” pollutes the jury pool.

“Luigi Mangione Judge Married to Former Healthcare Executive” [Ken Klipperstein]. “Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker, who is overseeing pre-trial hearings for Luigi Mangione, is married to a former Pfizer executive and holds hundreds of thousands of dollars in stock, including in healthcare companies and pharmaceutical companies, according to her 2023 financial disclosures. The judge’s ties to the healthcare business are a stark reminder of how pervasive the for-profit industry is in American life — a point made by Mangione himself.”

“Luigi Mangione Pleads Not Guilty to State Murder Charges” [Wall Street Journal]. “Agnifilo had previously said she was surprised by the federal charges. The state and federal prosecutions were in conflict with one another, she said. The state case is based on his allegedly terrorizing and intimidating a group of people, she said, while the federal case accuses him of stalking an individual.”

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 Sequelae

“COVID-19 may Enduringly Impact cognitive performance and brain haemodynamics in undergraduate students” [Brain, Behavior, and Immunity]. From the Conclusion: “The present study found evidence suggesting that COVID-19 infection is associated not only with subjective cognitive impairment but also with prolonged objective cognitive impairment, especially in executive functioning, in some but not all undergraduate students. Moreover, we found novel evidence of distinct task-related anterior prefrontal haemodynamic responses in students reporting a past COVID-19 infection relative to those reporting no past infection, and exploratory analyses suggested this may be particularly true for those who reported experiencing brain fog due to COVID-19. This new information may prove important as we move forward towards developing interventions in response to the mounting evidence that COVID-19 has prolonged influences on brain health. In closing, we call for scientists to respond urgently to the rapidly increasing prevalence of long covid symptoms pertaining to the brain.”

“Persistence of spike protein at the skull-meninges-brain axis may contribute to the neurological sequelae of COVID-19” [Cell]. The Highlights: “SARS-CoV-2 spike protein persists in the skull-meninges-brain axis in COVID-19 patients. Spike protein is sufficient to induce brain pathological and behavioral changes in mice. Spike protein enhances brain vulnerability and exacerbates neurological damage in mice. mRNA vaccines reduce, but do not eliminate, the spike burden.”

Stats Watch

Manufacturing: “United States Durable Goods Orders” [Trading Economics]. “New orders for manufactured durable goods in the US decreased 1.1% month-over-month to $285.1 billion in November 2024, following an upwardly revised 0.8% rise in October and much worse than market forecasts of a 0.4% decline.”

Manufacturing: “American Airlines is cutting international flights next year — and blaming Boeing” [Quartz]. “American Airlines (AAL) will be doing a little less international travel next year, apparently because it won’t have the planes it needs to do so. The airline said it will be putting off a number of new routes thanks to Boeing (BA) fulfilling jetliner orders more slowly than expected.”

Manufacturing: “COMAC courts airlines in Cambodia, Kazakhstan, and Indonesia for C919 orders” [Aerotime]. “COMAC (the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China) has been making moves to attract airlines based in Indonesia, Cambodia, and Kazakhstan, to place orders for its C919 narrowbody 158-192 seat aircraft. The move comes as the Chinese planemaker seeks its first orders for the jet outside of mainland China, say sources close to the Shanghai-based company…. COMAC’s opportunity to attract more airlines to its C919 jet (which competes in the market with the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX) has improved throughout 2024 as quality issues at Boeing plus supply chain bottlenecks and delayed deliveries have plagued the other two manufacturers. Notwithstanding these issues and compounding the situation for airlines is that both Airbus and Boeing narrowbody production lines are sold out until beyond 2030.”

Tech: “Bluesky finds with growth comes growing pains — and bots” [Associated Press]. “But with growth comes growing pains. It’s not just human users who’ve been flocking to Bluesky but also bots, including those designed to create partisan division or direct users to junk websites…. Little data has emerged to help quantify the rise in impersonator accounts, artificial intelligence-fueled networks and other potentially harmful content on Bluesky. But in recent weeks, users have begun reporting large numbers of apparent AI bots following them, posting plagiarized articles or making seemingly automated divisive comments in replies.” 

Today’s Fear & Greed Index: 29 Neutral (previous close: 28 Fear) [CNN]. One week ago: 54 (Neutral). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Dec 23 at 1:15:00 PM ET.

Xmas Pre-Game Festivities

“Santa Confirms Everyone Getting Bag Of Glitter Labeled ‘Fairy Dust’ His Sister-In-Law Sells On Etsy” [The Onion]. • But as so often with this decade’s Onion, the headline is all you really need to read… 

Holiday cheer:

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