US cancer screenings drop during pandemic: https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2022-11-17/cancer-diagnoses-lag-after-screenings-fall-during-pandemic-u-s-study-finds . The study documents the widely held belief that diagnostic visits dropped during the pandemic.
Superbug infections rose in Europe during pandemic: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-11-17/covid-pandemic-led-to-surge-in-superbug-infections-eu-agency-says .
WSJ: Weekly jobless claims drift lower to 222,000: https://www.wsj.com/articles/jobless-claims-fall-slightly-in-tight-labor-market-11668693603 .
Mortgage rates drop: https://news.yahoo.com/mortgage-rates-drop-170024003.html . But the market realizes the Fed will not immediately pivot: https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-markets-dow-update-11-17-2022-11668687278 . There is much “irrational enthusiasm” in the market right now.
Mid-Atlantic manufacturing activity drops: https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2022-11-17/philadelphia-fed-factory-activity-index-drops-unexpectedly .
WSJ: Berkley follows Harvard and Yale in withdrawing from US News’ law school rankings: https://www.wsj.com/articles/uc-berkeley-joins-yale-harvard-in-withdrawing-from-u-s-news-law-school-ranking-11668710094 . Chemerinsky is highly regarded as a law school dean and Supreme Court commentator. A huge green light is blinking for other law schools to withdraw.
Nancy Pelosi will remain in Congress but step down from Democratic leadership role: https://apnews.com/article/nancy-pelosi-house-future-plans-updates-3839ff31c605efa0ec1ee4ff004b72d2 . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/nancy-pelosi-to-address-future-after-democrats-lose-house-11668690502 . Given the attack on her husband and the loss of the Democratic majority, this seems like the right move. However, Pelosi has been one of the most effective Speakers of my lifetime. She is in my view much more effective than Chuck Schumer, so this is a loss for Biden and the Democrats generally.
Who will succeed her? Hakeem Jeffries?: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/04/secret-meeting-hakeem-jeffries-pelosi-00065078 . Jeffries would be a less confrontational choice than Schiff. More: https://news.yahoo.com/hakeem-jeffries-succeed-pelosi-first-black-party-leader-congress-181559713.html .
Nancy takes parting shot at Orange Julius: https://news.yahoo.com/pelosi-trump-dig-final-speech-house-speaker-184545019.html . As to OJ’s comments about Nancy, between the two of them there is one animal. He’s Orange and oinks incessantly.
Respect for Marriage Act supported by 12 GOP Senators: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3739118-these-12-gop-senators-voted-for-same-sex-marriage-bill/ . Oddly, the article lists only 11 Senators. The 12th is Joni Ernst of Iowa, an Army veteran who herself had a 27-year same-sex marriage: https://www.thegazette.com/national-politics/joni-ernst-chuck-grassley-split-on-vote-about-same-sex-marriage-legislation/ ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joni_Ernst .
WSJ: Ukraine grain deal renewed: https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-agrees-to-renew-ukraine-grain-deal-u-n-says-11668673937 .
WSJ: Meanwhile, Russia launches fresh attacks on Ukrainian civilians: https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-launches-fresh-missile-strikes-on-ukraine-11668685300 .
Orange Julius – GOP rift widens: https://news.yahoo.com/republicans-trump-georgia-runoff-race-walker-warnock-162924989.html . This is a Democratic win-win. The author is unduly deferential to OJ and to Walker. Walker does not stay on message, if you’ve heard his story on the trail about the bull in the pasture being most interested in the cows on the other side of the fence. He is OJ’s hand-picked loser. If Walker loses (which he should), the GOP will heap blame on OJ. If he wins, it will be a 6 year reminder of what crap the GOP will throw into the fan to retain power. Winning this race is all about motivating turnout, and nothing else.
Is OJ responsible for the GOP midterm performance?: https://news.yahoo.com/is-trump-really-to-blame-for-the-go-ps-lackluster-midterms-140337217.html . Of course OJ is responsible. Mehmet Oz, Herschel Walker and almost all of the election deniers lost. The GOP does also bear responsibility, but primarily because they swallowed (and repeated) OJ’s BS hook, line and sinker. Next.
Speaking of election deniers, guess who in Arizona: https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-arizona-phoenix-government-and-politics-bcea98345ee81ec1b8fa6a5364bc296f . Spreading disinformation creates problems. Take responsibility, Kari. Your 15 seconds of fame are over. Do you remember that OJ’s 61 lawsuits went nowhere? So what evidence do you have of voter disenfranchisement? Right.
Musk’s ultimatum results in mass resignations: https://www.engadget.com/twitter-hit-with-mass-resignations-after-elon-musk-hardcore-ultimatum-004304057.html . This was eminently foreseeable. Musk and his advisors live in LaLa Land to think capable high tech employees need to take this crap. Musk’s style is questionable in a start-up, but with stock options there is massive potential for people willing to take the risk. That was not the culture or the deal at Twitter. The “much higher” link in the article suggests (via Twitter employee chatter) that up to 75% took the severance package. If anything like that is correct, the company will not be able to function. More: https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-sports-d9217e91f876794bd7816013fbbc8cbb .
WSJ: Meanwhile, 8 SpaceX employees take legal action against Musk: https://www.wsj.com/articles/eight-fired-spacex-employees-allege-company-violated-labor-law-11668716597 . The union movement should gain additional strength after the widespread abuse salaried employees at the hands of the new billionaires. Also, Musk’s Tesla compensation trial nears closing arguments: https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musks-tesla-compensation-trial-turns-to-financial-experts-in-closing-days-11668659923 .
WSJ: FTX had “unprecedented”, “complete failure of corporate controls”: https://www.wsj.com/articles/ftxs-new-chief-says-complete-failure-of-oversight-contributed-to-firms-downfall-11668696069 . This does not bode well for crypto. Look at the string of crypto firms who put substantial percentages of their assets with FTX. Apparently due diligence was nonexistent for many of these players. More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/ceo-overseeing-ftx-restructuring-calls-it-an-unprecedented-mess-11668707836 .
Aaron Judge American League MVP for 2022: https://sports.yahoo.com/yankees-aaron-judge-wins-2022-004914465.html . This should have been unanimous. Meanwhile, Justin Verlander wins the Cy Young Award: https://sports.yahoo.com/sandy-alcantara-justin-verlander-marlins-astros-cy-young-234732462.html . This was unanimous, and deservedly so.
Update on the newsletter feed: I have been working with my Internet Service Provider daily this week to resolve the delivery problem. We know rather specifically what the problem is, but the ISP must solve the programming problem. I expect to have a response tomorrow, however the last attempt (which they were certain would work) did not. Stay tuned – and in the meantime you might want to bookmark the site for easy access to the newsletter. My apologies for this – BlueHost is a huge ISP, and we’ve had very few problems over the last 2½ years.