South African variant is in community spread in the US: https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2021-04-29/cdc-details-first-known-clusters-of-south-african-variant-in-us-without-travel-link . This is not good news. Vaccinated people will face this test, with others to come. Note that (1) one person was reinfected by the variant (which raises a question about the extent of natural immunity); (2) one person died from the variant; and (3) two people with one dose of a two-dose vaccine were infected by the variant. These clusters were found in Maryland.
WSJ: Data compilation problems delay AstraZeneca’s filing for approval in the US: https://www.wsj.com/articles/astrazeneca-struggles-with-data-needed-for-covid-19-vaccines-approval-11619721317 . Here is yet another misstep from AstraZeneca. These glaring self-forced errors just keep coming.
Navajo Nation has vaccinated more than half of its adults, more than the US: https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/04/26/990884991/outpacing-the-u-s-hard-hit-navajo-nation-has-vaccinated-more-than-half-of-adults .
WSJ: Vaccination lags in rural areas: https://www.wsj.com/articles/vaccinating-america-means-convincing-skeptics-in-rural-nebraska-11619706865 . In pre-woke language, these last two articles mean the Indians are beating the cowboys.
WSJ: Moderna aims to produce 3 billion doses in 2022: https://www.wsj.com/articles/moderna-to-boost-covid-19-vaccine-production-to-meet-rising-global-demand-11619672403 .
India pandemic continues to worsen: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/04/29/coronavirus-covid-live-updates-us/ . A crime against humanity: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/indias-covid-19-crisis-is-a-crime-against-humanity-says-prizewinning-author-as-nation-sets-new-case-record-11619705835 .
India, world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, couldn’t distribute vaccines to its citizens: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/how-indias-vaccine-drive-crumbled-and-left-a-country-in-chaos/ar-BB1gb54k?li=BBnb7Kz . I criticize the US government for its failure to implement basic public health principles beyond vaccination. However, India does show how important Biden’s focus on vaccination execution is in saving us from a worse fate. But we still need genomic sequencing as a protection against the variants. Biden has built up production capacity which is now beginning to help the world. But the need to also produce booster shots leaves production capacity challenges ahead for us.
WSJ: Modi’s party eyes election gains despite COVID crisis: https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-covid-19-cases-surge-in-india-modis-party-is-poised-for-gains-11619723469 .
COVID leads to increased stroke risk: https://www.jpost.com/health-science/coronavirus-might-lead-to-strokes-major-study-shows-666738 .
WSJ: More on banning menthol cigarettes: https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-administration-to-seek-ban-on-menthol-cigarettes-11619628317 .
WSJ: FAA to audit Boeing after latest production missteps: https://www.wsj.com/articles/boeings-latest-737-max-problem-spurs-faa-audit-11619719132 . Why is the company unable to return to smooth production of airplanes?
WSJ: Biden’s next steps: https://www.wsj.com/articles/bidens-challenge-pushing-his-agenda-in-congress-as-window-narrows-11619688603 . The Journal and Republican politicians are just lost in space here. Governance and socialism are two really different things. These programs are popular with voters. The most important comments in this article are from Joe Manchin, which tell us he will help Biden pass something. And Manchin rightly focuses on the economic rebound, which Democrats need to own. That is why Biden is doing.
And how the hell is the window narrowing when Biden has been in office 100 days? He has, at a minimum, the rest of this year. Biden is off to a roaring start, and it’s not just the pandemic progress. If he continues, the last 3 years of his term will also be meaningful because gridlock will be broken. The Journal needs to return to this planet.
Joe visits Jimmy: https://apnews.com/article/politics-georgia-health-coronavirus-voting-rights-0940cfedf2e7d58612ff58f4ca9a04f4 . Remind yourself that nice people can live powerful lives, and that Biden will be one helluva ex-president.
USA Today does not understand “fact”: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2021/04/29/president-biden-cites-study-saying-55-big-u-s-firms-paid-no-fed-taxes/4889916001/ . Research demonstrated that (at least) 55 major companies paid no federal income taxes. Republicans are not going to do this research because they know what the answer is, and they don’t want to publicize it. In this context, “left-leaning” is an ad hominem attack on an organization that proved a fact.
The case against Reaganomics: https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/29/politics/biden-speech-congress-sotu/index.html . C’mon, Chris. This sentence was only important if you want to relitigate the past. No one does. Reaganomics was always BS. It started the flood of deficit spending. Trickle-down economics does not make logical sense, because the rich hang on tightly to their money. We don’t need to discuss this further. The historical record is crystal clear.
Morgan Stanley predictions on tax increases: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/biden-wont-get-all-his-tax-increases-through-congress-heres-what-morgan-stanley-thinks-is-possible/ar-BB1gbxPO?li=BBnb7Kz . I agree that not all of Biden’s tax proposals will pass. However, Republicans are in an ugly bind. If they are the party of fiscal responsibility (hah), they have to at least propose tax increases to pay for any counter-package they offer. Biden has run a lot of campaigns. He is setting up the 2022 issues on the Democrats’ terms.
Here’s a writer who agrees: https://money.yahoo.com/biden-has-shown-his-reelection-plan-165845359.html . This is not the Biden reelection plan – as the writer says, it’s the 2022 Democratic majority retention/expansion plan. Biden saw what happened to Obama in being too timid out of the gate.
Jobless claims continue slow decline: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-health-jobless-claims-business-03fdd296dd580d90c51e08806d171b83 . This is still double historical levels. Biden is pressing his program at the right time. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/weekly-jobless-claims-coronavirus-04-29-2021-11619647721 .
Gunman kills two family members and two deputies before he dies: https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/deputy-killed-shot-north-carolina-standoff-77392404 . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/two-deputies-killed-in-north-carolina-standoff-suspect-and-two-family-members-also-dead-11619731869 . In a country with 330 million people and 350 million guns, this will be a mind-numbingly constant occurrence until Congress acts decisively. That won’t occur until the Republican Party suffers a back-breaking national defeat. Many people want two functioning political parties. We don’t have that, and haven’t for many years (a lot more than 5).
We should also accept that this call would not have gone any better without armed officers on the scene. You cannot send out unarmed social workers alone.
Military tosses a neo-Nazi: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/peter-cytanovic-seen-in-viral-neo-nazi-charlottesville-rally-photo-thrown-out-of-military/ar-BB1gbAvj?li=BBnb7Kz . Um, there are a lot of strange details in this article, including these regarding the London School of Economics: According to “The Beaver, the LSE student newspaper, Cytanovic said he had been harassed by students, including by being asked if he was a Nazi and having tampons thrown at him.” You can write your own jokes here – there are plenty of them …
The Rude Dude has no defenders: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/former-speechwriter-for-rudy-giuliani-calls-feds-raid-tragic-third-act-to-his-legal-career/ar-BB1gbHqI?li=BBnb7Kz . Tragedies do not have a fourth act. You are seeing the operation of “probable cause”: https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/legal-experts-say-doj-likely-had-significant-evidence-to-execute-search-warrant-on-giuliani-hes-in-deep-deep-st/ .
Flyin’ Ted continues on the path to oblivion: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/550953-cruz-responds-to-footage-of-him-dozing-off-during-biden-speech . You moron, we saw your eyes roll back in your head in real time, and the video lives forever. And this is still better press than trying to decertify the election. Many millions will never forget.