US approaches vaccination cliff: https://news.yahoo.com/new-yahoo-news-you-gov-covid-poll-the-us-is-about-to-run-out-of-adults-who-are-eager-to-get-vaccinated-144955321.html . This is quite depressing news. Two hundred deaths a day equates to over 70,000 US deaths annually. The virus load will remain relatively high in the US population. Together with existing variants, future variants and variants from abroad, we remain susceptible to COVID. Despite the positive tone of this article, the pandemic is not over.
Another issue is the lack of any vaccination in school children. High school spring sports have lead to numerous outbreaks. Hopefully, the vaccination of children will begin in the next few months. Should vaccination be required for school attendance in the fall? The answer should be yes. The risks of long COVID and multi-inflammatory syndrome in children (MISC) remain.
As expected, the J&J pause has led to increased (and unwarranted) skepticism about the vaccine. So the government should embark on a public education campaign to raise the numbers of the vaccine willing. As suggested above, the tone should compare the risks of the disease against the risks/safety of the vaccines.
I remain appalled that Orange Julius is regarded by anyone as anything other than a self-centered mass murderer. The evidence is irrefutable.
101 million American adults fully vaccinated: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-19-fully-vaccinated-more-than-101-million-americans-cdc/ . With the remaining adults and the children, we should ultimately reach 150 million vaccinated Americans. My guess is in the fall, unless the surges in the virus convince people to get vaccinated.
The long COVID risk: https://www.deseret.com/coronavirus/2021/5/1/22409450/covid-vaccine-young-people-long-coronavirus-symptoms . In the effort to convince people to get vaccinated, this is well done.
Drop the mask, Joe: https://news.yahoo.com/projecting-hope-experts-suggest-biden-stop-wearing-a-mask-outdoors-203229197.html . The late Jake Stein was a well-known DC attorney who represented Monica Lewinsky among many others. In his excellent monthly column for the DC bar magazine, he observed that we share many characteristics with our closest genetic relative, the chimpanzee. He then compared lawyers squabbling in the courtroom to troops of chimpanzees screeching at each other for territory. The reporters covering the White House seem to suffer a similar comparison.
Vaccine patent controversy: https://www.wsj.com/articles/indias-covid-19-crisis-raises-pressure-to-waive-vaccine-patents-11619861401 . There are many thorny issues here. Certainly there is a humanitarian concern. But the patent waiver could jeopardize the basis on which companies invested in vaccine development in the first place. There are also quality control issues, and consider a product described as Company X vaccine manufactured by Company Y.
DC statehood: https://apnews.com/article/politics-government-and-politics-28d6130991528d96986e4926099d6b01 . So, this article has the politics right but doesn’t get to the factual issues properly. Eleanor Holmes Norton is mostly correct, and Manchin is mostly wrong. But she doesn’t have a vote (in the House), and he does (in the Senate). Norton is correct that the 37 “new states” were all admitted by Congressional action, and Manchin is wrong in suggesting the people ever vote on the admission of states.
The problem is, DC is a special situation because it is the “district” which the Constitution contemplates as the seat of government (Article 1), under the control of Congress (Section 8). The legislation seeks to get around this by carving out a small federal enclave and making the rest of DC into a state. But it is not clear whether this will work. That is why Manchin suggests this would end up in the Supreme Court. However, since the district’s creation and operation is exclusively a Congressional power, the courts would have to give enormous deference to any legislation.
India’s daily case numbers pass 400,000: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/india-reports-a-record-breaking-400000-new-cases-fauci-says-crisis-is-like-a-war/ar-BB1gfwB6?li=BBnb7Kz . We really don’t know where India is in the current surge because these numbers are believed to be severely underreported.
Modi criticism grows louder: https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/30/india/covid-second-wave-narendra-modi-intl-hnk-dst/index.html . This once again looks like politics over public health.
AccuWeather is not AccuCOVID: https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/coronavirus-cases-surge-across-india-as-seasonable-heat-persists/939539 . What are these people talking about? India has hot weather and a massive surge right now. The people who wrongly claim COVID is seasonal argue that the surges occur in winter because people are indoors. So no one thinks hot weather causes seasonal COVID surges.
India surge spreads to Nepal: https://thehill.com/policy/international/551333-nepalese-hospitals-run-out-of-beds-as-india-coronavirus-outbreaks-spills .
WSJ: More on US restriction of travel from India: https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-will-restrict-travel-from-india-starting-may-4-11619807095 .
WSJ: Doublespeak on the GOP blue-collar “plan”: https://www.wsj.com/articles/gops-blue-collar-agenda-still-a-work-in-progress-11619874000 . The GOP had NO PLATFORM at their 2020 convention. Their plan remains “loyalty to Orange Julius”, which is a sure loser. Their offering to blue-collar voters is anger.
Texas special election appears to be going to a run-off election between two Republicans: https://www.vox.com/2021/5/2/22415802/texas-sixth-district-special-election-susan-wright (link replaced 5/31/21). Admittedly, these seats typically go to the widow if she runs. However, with 23 candidates running (!), anything can happen. Of these candidates, 10 polled less than 2% apiece (!!) and had no business in the race. The group included 5 Democrats, 3 Republicans, an independent and a libertarian. It looks like this group cost the third-place finisher (a Democrat) a place in the run-off. As Will Rogers said, “I don’t belong to an organized political party, I’m a Democrat.” That was 1935, and the Democrats STILL DO NOT GET IT. More: https://www.vox.com/2021/5/2/22415802/texas-sixth-district-special-election-susan-wright (link replaced 5/31/21).
Utah Republicans boo Utah senator (and the party’s 2012 presidential nominee) and call him “traitor”: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/02/mitt-romney-booed-and-called-traitor-at-utah-republican-convention . Admittedly, the most conservative activists show up at these conventions. Still, this seems extraordinarily disrespectful.
Meanwhile, Ted Cruz draws a cartoon of himself: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/wokeness-is-trying-to-destroy-america-ted-cruz-goes-off-on-the-lefts-agenda/vi-BB1ggvwB . This is absolutely laugh-out-loud stuff. Ted Cruz criticizes “Wokeness” after falling asleep during the State of the Union. To quote Bugs Bunny, What a maroon!
Nuts go down with guns blazing: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/29/gaetz-greene-national-tour-rinos-485061 . If these are the new leaders of the far right, it’s time to retrench. Lorena Boebert under the space blanket (her immigration protest at the State of the Union) starts to look sane. Starts to …
Matt Gaetz’ career chances go to pot: https://apnews.com/article/health-business-government-and-politics-48a3df69635f27dcba31e2339c066a91 . Gaetz illustrates plenty of no-no’s for contentious public figures. When the prosecutors come for you, they look for the easiest case to prosecute. This isn’t going to end well for Gaetz. However, he could probably get re-elected after a conviction because his panhandle district (Pensacola) is so conservative . But the Republicans would likely put up an ex-military candidate in the primary.
More on Gaetz: https://www.thedailybeast.com/joel-greenberg-letter-written-for-roger-stone-says-matt-gaetz-paid-for-sex-with-minor .
Bill Maher on the Biden “juice cleanse”: https://thehill.com/homenews/media/551303-maher-on-bidens-6-trillion-plans-thank-god-we-got-mexico-to-pay-for-that-wall . Maher can be more accurately classified as a libertarian, not a liberal (whatever the hell these labels mean anymore).
Liz Cheney as a contrarian: https://www.nationalreview.com/news/top-republicans-suggest-liz-cheney-could-be-removed-from-leadership-role/ . The only hard fact in this article (Cheney easily withstood prior test vote) disputes the headline. Even the elected nuts in this former party must admit that closing ranks behind a lazy ex-president carries dangers in national elections. They need an option when the criminal charges start flowing. W seems to agree: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/george-w-bush-says-the-republican-party-has-a-shot-at-future-elections-if-it-curbs-its-white-anglo-saxon-protestantism/ar-BB1gfWUH?li=BBnb7Kz . More: https://www.mediaite.com/news/george-w-bush-torches-marjorie-taylor-greenes-proposed-caucus-pushing-anglo-saxon-traditions-gop-acting-like-it-wants-to-be-extinct/ .
Did the FBI “double dip” on Nancy Pelosi’s laptop?: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/an-alaska-woman-says-the-fbi-barged-into-her-home-searching-for-nancy-pelosis-laptop/ar-BB1ggjsV?li=BBnb7Kz . What’s going on here? The FBI already arrested an Alaska woman for this crime. They would need pretty compelling evidence for a search warrant for another woman’s home.
Rudy story retracted by major news outlets: https://thehill.com/homenews/media/551349-new-york-times-wapo-nbc-retract-reports-about-giulianis-contact-with-fbi . Retractions by multiple news organizations are extremely rare. This situation suggests they were all misled by an assumedly reliable source. Was this intentional behavior on the part of the source or sources involved? Again, this is a very unusual occurrence. The original reporting was described in yesterday’s newsletter in a WSJ article.
The problem with “Fox” and “News” is now national news: https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/news/jim-acosta-calls-fox-news-a-bulls-factory-on-live-tv/ar-BB1ggx2m?li=BBnb7Kz .
WSJ: Olympia Dukakis passes: https://www.wsj.com/articles/olympia-dukakis-oscar-winning-moonstruck-star-has-died-11619903807 . It was amusing to learn that she called 1988 “the year of the Dukakii”.