Tuesday, November 30, 2021
Comment
Today is another type of day when it requires a deep breath and a great deal of patience when reading through some of today's headlines. It's a harsh day.
Recapping a few stories, we see that Omicron is causing a fractured and uneven global response. Japan has closed its borders to all countries, masks in public rules are being reinstated in other countries, the right in America is calling Omicron a hoax perpetrated by Democrats, and the head of Moderna is suggesting that our present vaccines may not stand up to Omicron. The latter is setting off a global stock market meltdown.
If all of the above wasn't bad enough, The Supreme Court is likely poised to throw out Roe vs. Wade this week. The U.S. is about to become even more fractured across political lines as a result of this action. Topping it all off and dancing on top of this mess, we are learning more and more about Trump's twisting and turning to overthrow the election, while Republican congresspeople presently go about the business of turning themselves into hate mongering vigilantes, cruder, more violent, and much uglier.
One might become upset about all of this, yet the key is to remember that reactions are your choice. You can always react to harsh circumstances with more compassion, more patience, and more understanding. In fact in times like these, we have an opportunity to react in this way with more wisdom. Do that.
Humankind
Washington Post: Opinion: Lauren Boebert is what George W. Bush called the ‘worst of humankind’ By Dana Milbank
I’m old enough to remember when Republican leaders still had souls.
Dark Times
Washington Post: Opinion: If the Supreme Court throws out ‘Roe v. Wade,’ it will tear the country apart by Eugene Robinson
Roe will never please everyone, but it has served the country well. I fear this Supreme Court is foolish enough to throw it away.
Japan
Japan has gone further than most other countries so far, announcing on Monday that the world’s third-largest economy would be closed off to travelers from everywhere.
The Market On Tuesday
Good morning. At 7:20 a.m. ET DOW futures are -354; the market will tank at the opening bell.
CNN: Cyber Monday: Brisk sales, fewer discounts and plenty of out-of-stock problems By Jordan Valinsky
Monday, November 29, 2021
Happiness
Happiness is like a butterfly
the more you chase it
the more it will elude you
but if you turn your attention to other things
it will come and sit softly on your shoulder
Henry David Thoreau
Best
NY Times: You Can Make Any Day the Best Day of the Year By Lindsay Crouse
“Often we’ll remember the things that are more emotionally loaded as opposed to the neutral, the flat, the boring,” Dr. Waldinger told me. “That’s why you probably can’t remember what you had for dinner last Monday night — unless it was something special. That’s because our brains have to screen out a whole bunch of stuff. So when we look back, we tend to remember the things that were more emotional.”
So Far
“This is the most concerning variant we’ve seen since delta,” Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, said in an interview. “It’s going to take a really high bar for something to take over for delta, and we don’t know whether this is going to do it.”
If Only
Asked if he was “confident you did help Donald Trump commit crimes”, Cohen told NBC’s Meet the Press: “I can assure you that Donald Trump is guilty of his own crimes. Was I involved in much of the inflation and deflation of his assets? The answer to that is yes.”
The Market On Monday
Good morning. At 6:45 a.m. ET DOW futures are +244; the market is poised to open significantly higher. It looks like investors' nerves have been slightly calmed for the time being after being rattled by the news of the new Omicron Covid strain on Friday.
CNN: Global markets brace for a nervous week over Omicron concerns By Michelle Toh and Mark Thompson
Friday, November 26, 2021
Weekend!
Comment
I'm sure you may have experienced something similar to this. Last night I had a real twisting and turning sleep, waking frequently, and I attributed it to the Thanksgiving feast that had me eating way outside my lane so to speak. Reading through the news outlets this morning, my twisting and turning fear as it were, was explained. It's hard to ignore the new variant coming out of South Africa. The BBC News clip posted below is probably the more sensible with a lot of - let's not get alarmed about this until we know more.
The variant has only very recently been discovered. Clearly the world is rattled with flights being canceled and the stock market precipitously falling. In my reading through this information, the line that caught my attention is the possibility that this new variant can find it's way around the human immune system. That's the line that got my attention. All I can say is please be safe, wear a mask if you go into a store, and just make sure your antenna is up, it can't hurt. We will no doubt be learning a lot more about this variant over the next few days and weeks. Hopefully it can die off quickly, as other alarming variants have done in the recent past.
Surge
It would not surprise me if we are back into lockdown soon. I have to be honest, the new variant out of South Africa has me worried, just reading about it this morning. Until there's a better handle on it, please wear your mask in stores and keep the solid 6 feet distance. Be smart.
Washington Post: As cases climb in Americas, health agency warns Europe’s covid surge could be ‘window into the future’ By Paulina Villegas and Paulina Firozi
Very Depressing
NY Times: Hong Kong records two cases of the new variant detected in South Africa.
The infections were detected in a man who had returned to Hong Kong from South Africa this month, and later in another man staying across the hall in the same quarantine hotel. (Hong Kong requires almost all overseas arrivals to quarantine in hotels for two to three weeks.) The virus’s genetic sequence was identical in both men, suggesting airborne transmission, according to the city’s Center for Health Protection. Both men were vaccinated.
Terrible News
NY Times: What scientists know about the new variant, B.1.1.529.
“All these things are what give us some concern that this variant might have not just enhanced transmissibility, so spread more efficiently, but might also be able to get around parts of the immune system and the protection we have in our immune system,” Dr. Lessells said.
The Market On Friday
Good morning. At 6:35 a.m. ET DOW futures are -776! It's going to be a blood bath, hold onto your hats.
Thursday, November 25, 2021
Thanksgiving
I'm trying to keep Thanksgiving posts away from the political and such, trying to take a respite from that stuff for the holiday. I hope you have an excellent Thanksgiving and I will get back to the political tomorrow.
Sleeping
Historian A. Roger Ekirch's book At Day's Close: Night in Times Past describes how households at this time retired a couple of hours after dusk, woke a few hours later for one to two hours, and then had a second sleep until dawn.
During this waking period, people would relax, ponder their dreams, or have sex. Some would engage in activities like sewing, chopping wood, or reading, relying on the light of the moon or oil lamps.
Ekirch found references to the first and second sleep started to disappear during the late 17th century. This is thought to have started in the upper classes in Northern Europe and filtered down to the rest of Western society over the next 200 years.
Wednesday, November 24, 2021
Seth Meyers - Mike Lindell Fails To File Big SCOTUS Case He Promised By Thanksgiving
S.O.B.
The Daily Beast: Jan. 6 Planners Spoke Directly to Eric Trump Using Cash-Bought Burner Phones, Says Report - NOT AT ALL SUSPICIOUS - by Jamie Ross
Sanity
Washington Post: Opinion: Be thankful that sanity has returned to America — for now By Dana Milbank
In this season of thanksgiving, let us be grateful that some measure of calm and sanity has returned to the White House. The United States, at least for now, has a stable, functioning government. The president is not making everything about himself, nor creating chaos for its own sake.
The Market On Wednesday
Good morning. At 6:50 a.m. ET DOW futures are -109; the market is poised to open significantly lower.
CNN: Samsung will create 2,000 jobs in Texas with $17 billion chip factory By Yoonjung Seo
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
Texas
NY Times: Everyone’s Moving to Texas. Here’s Why. By Farhad Manjoo With Gus Wezerek and Yaryna Serkez
If you’re looking for an affordable, economically vibrant city that is less likely to be damaged by climate change than many other American cities, our data shows why Texas is a new land of plenty.
The Market On Tuesday
Good morning. At 6:45 a.m. ET DOW futures are -6; the market is poised to open slightly lower.
Monday, November 22, 2021
Target
...former president Donald Trump’s California golf club, for which he valued the same parcel of land at $900,000 and $25 million depending on the intended audience, and an estate in suburban New York, for which Trump’s valuations ranged from $56 million up to $291 million.
Checkup
Washington Post: The friendship checkup: How to reevaluate relationships and take steps to repair them By Stacey Colino
“The mark of a good friendship is it makes us feel good about ourselves and we get a sense of belonging,” says Richard Slatcher, a professor of psychology at the University of Georgia in Athens.
Tobacco
In 1965, 42 percent of Americans smoked cigarettes. By 2018, that number had fallen to 14 percent. Still, cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease, disability and death, according to the C.D.C.
Immigration
Guardian UK: Climate denial is waning on the right. What’s replacing it might be just as scary by Oliver Milman
This wrapping of ecological disaster with fears of rampant immigration is a narrative that has flourished in far-right fringe movements in Europe and the US and is now spilling into the discourse of mainstream politics.
Tragedy
“He was going from side to side, targeting people,” Mr. Kotlarek said. “The car bombed through. He was flying through there going intentionally from left to right.”
The Market On Monday
Good morning. At 7:15 a.m. ET DOW futures are +104; the market is poised to open significantly higher.
Friday, November 19, 2021
Morning Joe - Sen. Kennedy Questions If Pick For Bank Regulator Has Communist Loyalty
Africa
If you can gain access to this article please do. It is mind blowing. This is way way beyond any sense of a dystopian nightmare that you've ever seen in an apocalyptic movie. We're talking about cities that will have populations around 100,000,000 people by the end of this century and that is just this century. We're talking about cities where present physical deterioration is beyond our worst ghettos. Humanity is in trouble.
Washington Post: Africa’s rising cities How Africa will become the center of the world’s urban future By Max Bearak, Dylan Moriarty and Júlia Ledur
Several recent studies project that by the end of this century, Africa will be the only continent experiencing population growth. Thirteen of the world’s 20 biggest urban areas will be in Africa — up from just two today — as will more than a third of the world’s population.
Despicable
Washington Post: Opinion: Are your fellow Republicans mad at your despicable behavior? A handy guide. By Alexandra Petri
Why, as recently as Jan. 6, a whole bunch of individuals whom Donald (President Until Proven Otherwise) Trump said he loved and thought were very special came rushing into the Capitol wreaking havoc and making threats. Which it turns out was just a joke, or metaphor, depending on which Republican member you ask. Just like your (Gosar) anime video!
Finally, A Good Biden Article!
NY Times: Joe Biden Is Succeeding by David Brooks
The Biden $1.9 trillion stimulus package passed and has been tremendously successful. It heated the overall economy. The Conference Board projects that real G.D.P. growth will be about 5 percent this quarter. The unemployment rate is falling. Retail sales are surging. About two-thirds of Americans feel their household’s financial situation is good.
The Market On Friday
Good morning. At 7:05 a.m. ET DOW futures are -203; the market is poised to open significantly lower.
Thursday, November 18, 2021
'American Assassin'
Eclipse
Completely cloudy and raining in my area, unfortunately we will miss it.
NPR: How you can see the nearly total lunar eclipse Friday morning by Joe Hernandez
Privilege
The kicker? Roughly three-quarters of these applicants would have been rejected if it weren’t for having rich or Harvard-connected parents or being an athlete.
Empathy
Washington Post: Opinion: Biden’s empathy should take center stage again By Karen Tumulty
Yet the delicate balance between reassuring the country and acknowledging its fears is a tricky one for any president who is trying to steer a nation through a series of difficult challenges.
