Oxford vaccine dosing error success: https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-astrazeneca-oxford/decades-of-work-and-half-a-dose-of-fortune-drove-oxford-vaccine-success-idUKKBN2832NG . Wondering how Oxford vaccine got to the half-dose/dose approach? Me, too. Turns out they screwed up the first dose – a happy accident that raised the effectiveness. With time of the essence, Oxford had to admit their mistake to use the data. Ain’t science great? I like their shoes, though. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/astrazeneca-defends-dosing-error-in-covid-19-vaccine-trial-11606358805 .
Severe COVID-19 cases do not benefit from plasma treatment: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-science-idUSKBN2852ZI . And COVID-19 may impair male fertility. Less than 10% of the US population shows antibodies in their blood. So, herd immunity is not happening without mass vaccinations. Not the happiest of science round-ups today …
WSJ: US vaccine roll-out: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-covid-19-vaccine-when-will-it-be-available-for-you-11606339361 .
60 million cases globally: https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-global-cases/global-coronavirus-cases-surpass-60-million-infections-reuters-tally-idUSKBN2852S8 . The article is wrong to equate cases and infections. Infections are much higher. Cases are those infections diagnosed and reported by medical authorities. Even estimating infections at 5 to 10 times cases, worldwide infection rates have not yet reached 10% of the population.
US COVID-19 hospitalizations are 89,954 as of November 25: https://covidtracking.com/data/charts/us-currently-hospitalized . This chart will help you if you’re looking for real-time hospitalization data. Today’s number is a record and demonstrates the nationwide stress hospitals are under.
WSJ: US COVID-19 nursing home deaths pass 100,000: https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-deaths-top-100-000-in-u-s-long-term-care-facilities-11606333186 .
The pandemic results from choice: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/11/25/coronavirus-covid-increase-risky-decisions-pandemic-440522 . We bought time with lockdown measures in the spring. We pissed it away by not using the time to implement effective contact tracing, broad testing, and so on.
What the pandemic teaches the world: https://www.ft.com/content/7fb55fa2-4aea-41a0-b4ea-ad1a51cb415f . Or, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.
WSJ: The European learning curve: https://www.wsj.com/articles/europe-covid-surge-holidy-travel-11606238690 . The lesson is that measuring success by relative performance over a short time period is a stupid model.
Congress awaits a Biden national COVID-19 plan: https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-bills-coronavirus-pandemic-8ddbfaf9ee01879ce290243041be9f31 .
A review of 9 governors’ plans: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/25/governors-coronavirus-next-wave-438821 . A powerful case as to why we need Biden.
WSJ: The status of stimulus: https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-aid-whats-expiring-soon-and-whats-in-the-works-11606311697 . Do something.
El Paso pain increases: https://www.usnews.com/news/cities/articles/2020-11-25/el-paso-battles-mounting-covid-19-death-toll-as-thanksgiving-celebrations-loom . This disaster continues to build.
California reports record daily COVID-19 cases: https://apnews.com/article/public-health-los-angeles-coronavirus-pandemic-thanksgiving-california-f00cce87efef6623df91da97ebcc97b6 . More: https://deadline.com/2020/11/californias-new-coronavirus-cases-number-jumps-17-percent-18350-record-1234622028/ . “Deadline” is an unfortunate choice of name for this type of reporting.
WSJ: Competition for traveling nurses: https://www.wsj.com/articles/soaring-covid-19-hospitalizations-again-put-traveling-nurses-in-demand-11606326781 .
WSJ: Purdue pleads guilty to criminal charges: https://www.wsj.com/articles/purdue-pharma-pleads-guilty-to-felonies-over-oxycontin-sales-11606243071 . All of this is an orchestrated charade to let the Sacklers keep their ill-gotten billions. The opioid victims are being abandoned.
Elon Musk now worth over $100 billion: https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/elon-musk-leapfrogs-over-bill-gates-become-second-richest-man-n1248791 . Between Musk and Bezos, the planet’s richest people have gotten a lot weirder over the past few years.
For perspective, Worldometers shows the GDP of 189 countries. Only 62 (less than 1/3) have a GDP exceeding $100 billion, and that’s output, not savings: https://www.worldometers.info/gdp/gdp-by-country/ . Adding together the billions of Bezos (181.3), Musk (110.5), Gates (118.5), Buffett (86.7) and Bezos’ ex (58.7), the resulting $555.7 billion sits between the GDP’s of Sweden ($535.6, number 22) and Argentina ($637.4, number 21). Think there’s a wealth concentration problem in the US and the world?
WSJ: Vaccines for poor countries: https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-covid-19-vaccines-stir-hope-for-the-worlds-poor-11606309201 .
Remote work helps the West: https://www.axios.com/remote-work-geopolitics-covid19-pandemic-cd2699ed-691c-4e5f-adb0-2accd6a5f548.html . While the production of products helped the Asian economies, this is the West’s counterbalance.
Dow 30,000: https://cheddar.com/media/stocks-stock-markets-11-24-2020 . One guess is as good as another here. But if the market goes up every time Biden fixes a Trump mistake, we’re looking at Dow 100,000. I still think the fundamentals are not there and won’t be there for at least 18 months. The market has never priced future earnings hope in this way. The WSJ take: https://www.wsj.com/articles/dow-30-000-and-the-problem-with-long-term-capitalism-11606298569 . Mike assumes a market rationality that I don’t think is there.
WSJ: More on Dow 30,000: https://www.wsj.com/articles/dow-30000-covid-economy-market-buy-and-hold-11606238819 . A “self-perpetuating upward spiral”? This is market analysis? We also have “self-congratulations” from 24-year-old Michael Da Silva. His success helped him make payments on his 2-door Toyota. This would be poor writing even if it was just a stock tout.
WSJ: Weekly jobless claims rise to 778,000: https://www.wsj.com/articles/weekly-jobless-claims-coronavirus-11-25-2020-11606249439 .
Trump pardons Flynn: https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-flynn/trump-pardons-former-adviser-flynn-who-pleaded-guilty-in-russia-probe-idUSKBN28536B . The circus is packing its tents, but still shoveling elephant manure. This brings us, of course, to Groucho Marx: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ru_R2OwjsY . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-says-he-has-pardoned-former-national-security-adviser-michael-flynn-11606339532 .
Top Republicans praise Flynn pardon: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/527643-top-republicans-praise-trumps-flynn-pardon . So you were thinking Congressional Republicans were just cowering in fear of Trump? Time to rethink.
Schiff: Trump acting “like organized crime figure”: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/527491-schiff-on-possible-flynn-pardon-trump-is-acting-like-an-organized-crime-figure . So, this is not exactly turning down the temperature. Problem is, Schiff is exactly right. The way out? Have Biden turn Trump pursuit over to the DOJ (as Biden’s said he will do), and have Congress pass a legislative understanding of the pardon power. It won’t hold water, except as a reference document for Congress and courts in the future, but it’s all that can be done legislatively. The Constitutional pardon power is very broad.
The National Review weighs in: https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/11/implications-of-the-flynn-pardon/ . So this is utter lunacy (with a capital Yoo). There is no “three branches balance” argument here. Flynn committed a crime, and admitted to it. The president is overriding the courts with this pardon on behalf of one of his co-conspirators. This is not the intent of the pardon power. Suppose Nixon had pardoned everyone involved in Watergate. This is the same appalling situation, 48 years later.
So who am I to say John Yoo is a lunatic? Nobody. But it’s unquestionably true. You may already know this if you recognize Yoo’s name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torture_Memos . Now you know: a disgraced, and disgraceful, boil on the butt of American law and politics. I would bet that William F. Buckley would think the same of the now-unrecognizable National Review.
Washington Examiner: The conservative sun will come out tomorrow: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/huge-court-win-lets-trump-present-ballot-evidence-could-overturn-nevada-result . I see no possibility of success here. The powerful result of reversal would be to reduce Biden’s winning margin from 306 electoral votes to 301. The Trump case is being led by the firm of Diddly & Squat: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/beyond-embarrassment-legal-experts-say-trump-giuliani-s-floundering-efforts-n1248667 . Rudy’s apparently doing his own hair now. $20,000 a day and no stylist?
There are less than 2 months to go in the Trump Conspiracy. Don’t think this is the last pardon.
Whither GOP?: https://www.newsweek.com/never-trumpers-admit-trump-has-taken-over-gop-theyre-staying-fight-1549982 . Or is it, GOP withers? The Grand Old Party became Grumpy Old People some time ago, and it’s getting uglier …
Pentagon knife fight: https://news.yahoo.com/trump-loyalist-pushed-out-of-white-house-now-leading-a-shakeup-at-the-pentagon-155750076.html . Across the spectrum, we see the Trump administration burning bridges as they retreat across the Rhine. Another indicator of how full the plate is that Biden is being served. More: https://www.yahoo.com/now/the-long-knives-are-out-the-pentagon-purge-may-be-less-about-a-trump-plan-than-endofpresidency-chaos-and-revenge-203348087.html .
Trump is losing Twitter followers: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/us-elections-government/ny-trump-losing-twitter-followers-by-the-day-20201125-cablgzp2cbf6pb3mjzmxvtcgbm-story.html . The bot disablement is an interesting angle. What happens when Trump loses protected status?: https://techcrunch.com/2020/11/18/trump-will-lose-protected-twitter-status-after-his-presidency/ .
On the Georgia Senate race, the strategy of Warnock and Ossoff to team up seems wise. For one thing, it parallels Biden’s message of Unity (ironically, perhaps). For another, Georgia’s two sitting senators, one appointed (Loeffler) and the other a first-termer (Perdue), both made stock trades in advance of last year’s market dip. This was allegedly based on confidential hearings they attended on the hill. That’s not a good thing to be united on.
How gratitude improves your brain: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/11/27/20983850/gratitude-altruism-charity-generosity-neuroscience . There is a lot of science behind “Tis better to give than to receive”. Still, this is an important concept to remember at this time of year, and especially THIS year.
Diego Maradona passes: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8986821/Diego-Maradona-died-suffering-cardiac-arrest-according-reports.html . After Pele, Maradona is perhaps the most famous soccer player of all time. The “Hand of God” goal in the 1986 World Cup, Argentina against England (yes, he illegally used his hand): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ccNkksrfls . And his goal later IN THE SAME GAME, voted “Goal of the Century”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wVho3I0NtU . Argentina wins, 2-1, and Maradona passes into history. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/diego-maradona-soccers-flawed-genius-dies-at-60-11606326745 .