Florida COVID hospitalizations spike: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/nowhere-to-go-hospitalizations-surge-in-florida-as-desantis-administration-advises-those-under-65-to-avoid-newly-approved-boosters/ss-AA1i9IM7?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=59fcf291018d40999979f4e09566afec&ei=38 . DeMentis sticks to his anti-science recommendation to those under 65 to avoid the COVID boosters.
2024 Medicare Part B premiums: https://www.aol.com/medicare-part-b-premiums-2024-175939123.html . The premium increase of 6% is not as bad as some expected, because utilization of the new Alzheimer’s drug has not been as high as feared. However, Leqembi was only fully approved in July, so we may see greater utilization in the coming 12 months. Also, note that the Part A premium (which most of us don’t pay) is $505, down $1 from 2023.
Tentative deal in Kaiser strike: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kaiser-permanente-labor-unions-reach-tentative-deal-rcna120266 . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/kaiser-permanente-unions-reach-deal-on-new-contracts-b2e8e999 .
WSJ: China’s overbuilding extends to local government projects: https://www.wsj.com/finance/chinas-teetering-local-debt-mountain-in-six-charts-d050700f .
Gaza prepares for Israeli invasion: https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/u-n-urges-israel-to-rescind-gaza-evacuation-order-81d2947 .
WSJ: Ukraine’s 2023 offensive grinds forward: https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/ukraine-alliespush-to-avoid-stalemate-as-headwinds-grow-db0a7f24 .
House GOP to vote on Speaker race Friday afternoon, between Jim Jordan and Austin Scott: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/scalise-eyes-jim-jordan-house-143800908.html . My eyes are on Austin Scott, not Jim Jordan. Austin Scott represents a rural district in southern Georgia. His only apparent qualification for Speaker is that he is not Jim Jordan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Scott_(politician) . I would think that qualification is enough to defeat Jordan. The number of votes Scott gets in my mind equates to the number of “moderate” Republicans left in the House, so that’s what I’m watching.
UPDATE: Jim Jordan is “nominated”, 124 to 81 for Austin Scott: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/scalise-eyes-jim-jordan-house-speaker-race/story?id=103956663 . But apparently everyone except Jordan is clear he will not get to 217 votes. The “moderates” did speak, and they are much bigger in number than the Freedom Caucus. Meanwhile, WSJ is completely clueless: https://www.wsj.com/politics/house-republicans-pursue-new-speaker-plans-after-steve-scalise-exits-race-8ec48b57 .
I hope the 81 say the following behind closed doors: We need someone more moderate than Jim Jordan to lead the conference. That could be Austin Scott, Steve Scalise, Kevin McCarthy or someone else. But we need to figure that out over the weekend, because we are cementing our reputations as morons, and all of this is a disservice to the country. And if that doesn’t work, y’all, 7 of us with the most secure seats will cut a power-sharing deal with Hakeem Jeffries and get this done. So freaking figure this out!
FURTHER UPDATE: Jim Jordan will not be able to secure the 217 votes needed: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-adjourns-disarray-support-jordan-looks-weaker-than-expected . Um, duh! Pass the cement …
Why Orange Julius lashed out at Bibi Netanyahu and Israel: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trump-netanyahu-biden-rcna120078 . OJ’s angry at Netanyahu because he praised Biden, and because Netanyahu was one of the first to congratulate Biden after the 2020 elections. Readers will recall that “lashed out” commonly followed OJ’s name during his presidency. OJ remains a small-minded and mentally unbalanced narcissist.
Meanwhile, OJ calls Hezbollah “very smart”: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-criticized-calling-hezbollah-smart-talked-potential-risk/story?id=103941138 . Yes, it’s a smart group attacking Israel. Hamas wrote up a document proving the war crimes they are committing came from the top of the organization, and then gave copies to every invader: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/top-secret-hamas-documents-show-terrorists-intentionally-targeted-elem-rcna120310 . This way, if Israel kills even one invader, they have proof of Hamas’ orders. Hard to know how anyone can be this stupid.
GOP rep wears his Israeli military uniform to Capitol Hill: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4254384-brian-mast-israeli-military-uniform-capitol-hill/ . As Mr. Mast is a former member of the Israeli Defense Force, he has a right to wear the uniform. However, this is not appropriate on Capitol Hill. He is there based on his oath to support the Constitution of the United States.
Joe Manchin’s Senate seat is in serious jeopardy: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4254039-manchin-justice-west-virginia-senate-poll/ .
DeMentis screws up everything he touches: https://www.aol.com/dropout-rate-college-florida-skyrockets-143614872.html . In some polls, Nikki Haley leads him for second place, for which of course there is no prize.
The Rude Dude suffers major legal setback: https://www.meidastouch.com/news/breaking-rudy-giuliani-suffers-big-loss-in-court . As I’ve said many times, the courts have considerable powers to order asset seizures to pay judgments.
WSJ: Why the actors’ strike continues: https://www.wsj.com/business/media/the-sticking-point-thats-keeping-actors-on-strike-f8088002 .
International college student fails the homework test: https://www.aol.com/news/student-excited-move-florida-college-125417714.html . And now she’s paying the price.
WSJ: A significant step for space mining: https://www.wsj.com/science/space-astronomy/nasa-psyche-mission-launch-asteroid-metal-fd23fca .
Baseball playoffs continue with less-than-thrilling baseball: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/oct/13/philadelphia-phillies-atlanta-braves-nlds-report . The Phillies eliminate the Braves 3-1. The Rangers and the Diamondbacks have already advanced to the league championships by winning their series 3-0. As this article notes, the five teams with the best records in baseball have already been eliminated, with many being swept out of the playoffs. What is the point of the regular season?
MLB Commissioner responds to criticism: https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb-commissioner-rob-manfred-defends-playoff-format-amid-criticism-164305806.html . However, some of the managers apparently agree that the extended time off has hurt the quality of play.
One in 8 Americans have worked at Macdonalds: https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/national-international/1-out-of-8-americans-have-worked-at-mcdonalds-including-astronauts-and-best-selling-authors/3359463/ . This statistic seems dubious to me. There are 331 million Americans; 13.7% of them is over 45 million. Also, only 3% of them will admit to working there … Another 8% can be identified because they still smell like fryer oil.
WSJ: Louise Gluck, former US Poet Laureate, passes at 80: https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/nobel-laureate-louise-gluck-dies-at-80-595d0fb4 . She also won the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Pulitzer Prize.