Biden address on Omicron Tuesday: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/biden-to-address-nation-about-omicron-on-tuesday/ar-AARXhNt?li=BBnb7Kz . More: https://fox8.com/news/coronavirus/biden-speaking-on-new-covid-measures-tuesday-as-omicron-surges-in-us/ .
Access to COVID oral antivirals: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/covid-19-pills-game-changer-doctors-worry-early/story?id=81750392 .
Latest Omicron status: https://www.yahoo.com/now/know-don-t-know-omicron-154838191.html . This summary may be of assistance to you, although the reporter hedges practically everything. Regular readers of the newsletter are already clear on the range of opinions out there. The most worrisome recent opinion is the British study discussed here yesterday.
WSJ: Why Omicron spreads so rapidly: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-science-behind-omicrons-rapid-spread-11639823405 . Along with its rapid reproduction in human airways, Omicron is able to more efficiently invade those cells.
Another conservative lemming commits COVID suicide: https://apnews.com/article/washington-state-senator-doug-eriksen-dies-4d0ded4b0501683c2e6f834b54d51ba1 . Knowledge is power. But between power and ignorance, ignorance wins.
COVID surge in upper Midwest continues: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-hospitals-struggle-as-covid-beds-fill-5e98f09c578a231be1411516e9dfff58 .
NHL shuts 5 teams until after Christmas: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-nhl-sports-health-hockey-3d9cf52935f8fd7ebd5ab0589b1c0ff2 . COVID is currently having considerable impact on major league sports.
WSJ: NFL relaxes testing protocols: https://www.wsj.com/articles/nfl-covid-testing-omicron-11639841439 . This strikes me as eminently stupid. Between Delta and Omicron, COVID is almost certain to continue to invade the NFL. The league will then look incompetent for relaxing COVID precautions.
WSJ: CNN requires nonessential employees to work remotely as COVID cases rise: https://www.wsj.com/articles/cnn-closes-offices-as-covid-19-cases-spike-11639876526 .
Ex-Olympian charged with COVID relief fraud: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ex-olympian-accused-illegally-securing-millions-covid-aid-investing-te-rcna9229 .
WSJ: Growing COVID restrictions globally as cases spike: https://www.wsj.com/articles/cities-cancel-holiday-events-tighten-covid-restrictions-to-fight-omicrons-spread-11639855512 .
UK Omicron daily cases on Saturday nearly double news cases on Friday: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-12-18/london-declares-major-incident-to-help-covid-hit-hospitals .
WSJ: Australia turns COVID fight to disinformation: https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-covid-19-cases-multiply-australia-tries-to-change-public-perception-of-the-virus-11639742544 . This can only reduce trust in government.
Social Security might see another significant COLA increase for 2023: https://news.yahoo.com/retirement-expert-social-security-benefits-could-see-big-increase-next-year-154442647.html . The facts in this article are interesting. What this expert seems to miss is that inflation is the enemy of people on fixed incomes. Yes, Social Security’s indexing feature is good protection for those who rely solely on Social Security. However, those people are often at or near the poverty level.
Additionally, virtually everyone on Social Security has the expense of Medicare premiums. That expense is rising rapidly, eating into their net Social Security benefit. And the Medicare trust fund is projected to run dry in 2026. That is the more immediate problem for current retirees – the Social Security trust fund will just pile onto their worries in 2034. Actuaries have been warning of these problems for decades. This mess is directly traceable to our dysfunctional and short-sighted political system.
Will 2022 US interest rate increases be larger than currently expected?: https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/586336-get-ready-for-a-larger-than-expected-interest-rate-spike-in-2022 . If the previous article is correct that inflation will persist for a while, the Fed is likely to more aggressively increase interest rates.
Colorism in India: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/evolution-international-indian-beauty-queen-rcna8934 . This article is troublingly naïve. Suppose the British had never dominated India. The people there would still show a variety of skin colors. Isn’t it entirely possible that beauty could have been defined in this group to prefer lighter skin? Spike Lee’s second major film was School Daze, which focuses on exactly these issues in the American black community: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_Daze . The movie reflected Lee’s personal college experience. Readers can decide for themselves whether this colorism is a legacy of slavery or a true preference. The movie is certainly worth seeing.