2:00PM Water Cooler 3/14/2024 | bare capitalism

By Lambert Strether of Corrente.

Beneficiant readers, we are actually at 307 231 204 177 donors, or 76% 57%51%44% of our aim of 400 donors (25 greater than final 12 months). I’ll have the ultimate 2024 Fundraiser submit up in a short time, however yuou have moved the needle out of the “Catastrophically Dangerous” zone into the “Let’s Make This a Success!” zone [lambert sighs in relief], for which I’m very grateful. In case you have not already performed so, please assist Water Cooler (or donate to offer the assist that the unfortunate can not). And now to search out some chicken songs. –lambert

Chook Track of the Day

Kashmir Nuthatch, Yousmarg Forest Space, Budgam, Jammu and Kashmir, India.

In Case You Would possibly Miss…

(1) Cooperation Jackson.

(2) Ibogaine (and Hunter Thompson).

(3) Proper to Restore in Oregon.

Search for the Helpers

“Actually, Actually Free Market” [Cooperation Jackson (judy2shoes)]. Saturday, March 23, 2024, 9:00 AM-2:00 PM, 939 W Capitol St., Jackson, MS 39203. “Be a part of Cooperation Jackson and native allies and companions on Saturday, March 23, 2024 for this mutual help alternate to satisfy the fabric wants of our households and group.” judy2shoes writes:

I’ve been following this group for plenty of years now, and regardless of the top winds they’ve encountered, they’ve persevered. My coronary heart is with them, and I hope they reach what they’re attempting to perform.

Lambert right here: I hope readers will ship in additional examples just like the above (“brighten the nook the place you might be“). The helper(s) don’t have to be heroic, not to mention dramatic, or ego-driven, and positively not institutional. To quote, of all folks, the American Enterprise Institute, writing on Occupy, and citing to David Graeber:

Along with trucking, bartering, and knocking one another over the top, Graeber argues that human beings additionally interact in an entirely totally different type of financial exercise: We frequently share issues we now have with others. When Graeber says that we’re already communists, he’s referring to these fairly acquainted conditions through which we actually do function by the maxim “From every in line with his skill, to every in line with his want.”

Individuals of all cultures, together with our personal, invariably apply the communism of on a regular basis life when coping with their household and shut associates. A mom doesn’t anticipate her baby to pay her for her baby-sitting providers. A brother doesn’t hire out his baseball glove to his brother on an hourly foundation. If a buddy is sick and desires one thing from the shop, we choose it up for her and would by no means consider asking for gasoline cash in return.

As Graeber factors out, this type of habits comes out most conspicuously throughout a disaster, resembling a pure catastrophe. At such instances, folks will voluntarily, even cheerfully, prolong a serving to hand to those that are most in want of 1. Much less dramatically, the identical precept is at work every time we’re at a retailer that has a field on the counter that claims “Go away a penny, take a penny,” meant to assist out those that don’t have the precise change. In all these instances we’re witnessing the spontaneous utility of the communist maxim, “From every in line with his skill, to every in line with his want.”

In our more and more determined and fragile neoliberal society, on a regular basis regular incidents and tales of “the communism of on a regular basis life” are what I’m on the lookout for (and never, say, the Purple Cross in Hawaii, and even the UNWRA in Gaza). My e mail handle is down by the plant; please ship examples of “Helpers” there. (Sure, that is the type of standing factor I purged within the editorial redesign, however I’m going to go away it up for a bit to let the concepts sink in.)

Politics

“So lots of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in reality a rational administration of symbolic capital.” –Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles

Biden Administration

“Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is placing collectively an investor group to purchase TikTok” [NBC]. “The Home of Representatives on Wednesday handed a bipartisan invoice that if signed into legislation would power ByteDance to both divest its flagship international app or face an efficient ban on TikTok throughout the U.S. ‘I believe the laws ought to go and I believe it ought to be bought,’ Mnuchin informed CNBC’s ‘Squawk Field’ on Thursday. ‘It’s an awesome enterprise and I’m going to place collectively a gaggle to purchase TikTok.’” • In order that’s one motivation: A compelled sale. Commentary:

The TikTok ban shouldn’t be about nationwide safety. It’s about closing a channel that the Deep State can’t management as a result of it isn’t owned by one in all their huge tech puppets. You discover fact on TikTok that has lengthy been banned on Fb and Google. That’s why it has to go and X is subsequent.

— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) March 13, 2024

2024

Lower than a 12 months to go!

I suppose I kinda need to:

Fascinating for the swing (toss-up) states, however I don’t suppose value all that a lot. A map of the 5-way race could be much more helpful, provided that Kennedy isn’t doing badly in any respect.

* * *

Trump (R): “Cell information contradicts Fani Willis’ testimony, courtroom paperwork recommend” [Scripps News]. “A courtroom submitting in Atlanta raised new questions on Fulton County District Legal professional Fani Willis’ relationship with the particular prosecutor she employed to supervise the election interference case towards former President Donald Trump. Cellphone information obtained by Trump’s authorized group reveals Nathan Wade, the particular prosecutor, visited Willis’ neighborhood no less than 35 instances within the 11 months earlier than Willis employed him in late 2021. Twice, Wade arrived late at evening and left early the next morning. The information reveals about 2,000 calls and 12,000 textual content messages between Wade and Willis from January 2021 to November 2021. The information appears to contradict testimony by Wade and Willis in regards to the timeline of their relationship. They’re underneath scrutiny by protection legal professionals who say a battle of curiosity ought to disqualify Willis’ workplace from the election case. Willis and Wade stated their romantic relationship started in 2022 after a grand jury indicted Trump and 18 different folks for attempting to overturn Georgia’s election leads to 2020.” • Whoops. I ponder if their case is put collectively as sloppily as their timeline?

Trump (R): “Kemp indicators Georgia legislation reviving prosecutor sanctions panel. Democrats worry it’s geared toward Fani Willis” [Associated Press]. “Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a legislation Wednesday that lets a state fee start working with powers to self-discipline and take away prosecutors, probably disrupting Fulton County District Legal professional Fani Willis’ prosecution of former President Donald Trump. ;This laws will assist us guarantee rogue and incompetent prosecutors are held accountable in the event that they refuse to uphold the legislation,’ Kemp stated earlier than signing the invoice, flanked by Republican legislative leaders. ‘As we all know all too nicely, crime has been on the rise throughout the nation, and is very prevalent in cities the place prosecutors are giving criminals a free go or failing to place them behind bars because of lack {of professional} conduct.’ Although Kemp signed laws final 12 months creating the Prosecuting Attorneys {Qualifications} Fee, it was unable to start working after the state Supreme Court docket in November refused to approve guidelines governing its conduct. The justices stated that they had ‘grave doubts’ about their skill to manage the duties of district attorneys past the apply of legislation. Tuesday’s measure removes the requirement for Supreme Court docket approval. The measure is prone to face renewed authorized challenges. 4 district attorneys dropped their earlier lawsuit difficult the fee after the Supreme Court docket set it apart.” • Georgia politics…

Trump (R): “Fulton County ethics board drops Fani Willis complaints from listening to” [The Hill]. “The Fulton County Board of Ethics was anticipated to listen to two complaints towards Willis after her romance with a particular prosecutor on the election interference case involving former President Trump raised considerations of a battle of curiosity. The board decided it doesn’t have jurisdiction over Willis, who’s a state constitutional officer in her function.”

* * *

Trump (R): “Trump “floods the zone” as basic election assessments desensitized voters” [Axios]. “For eight years, the hurricane of stories conjured by Trump’s unprecedented habits and rhetoric has enraged, exhilarated and ultimately numbed a lot of the American public…. Many citizens have tuned out — or priced in — Trump’s baggage and authorized points… Monetary Occasions columnist Ed Luce calls this phenomenon ‘the banality of chaos.’ Trump’s candidacy is ‘thus far off the charts it’s nearly paranormal,’ Luce writes, however many of the former president’s controversies now not break by way of to the general public.” • To be honest, simply because Democrats are experiencing aghastitude over one thing Trump stated doesn’t essentially imply you or I ought to not be aghast…. But it surely’s definitely onerous to type.

Trump (R): “Unique: Trump launched CIA covert affect operation towards China” [Reuters]. • “ informed Reuters that the CIA created a small group of operatives who used bogus web identities to unfold adverse narratives about Xi Jinping’s authorities whereas leaking disparaging intelligence to abroad information retailers. The hassle, which started in 2019, has not been beforehand reported.” • And I wager it was simply as efficient as RussiaGate. How do you say “we are going to beat it collectively” in Mandarin?

Trump (R): “CNBC Transcript: Former President of america Donald Trump Speaks with CNBC’s “Squawk Field” At the moment” [CNBC]. As a result of I do know from lengthy expertise that the press by no means, ever quotes Trump precisely, the transcript:

Have you ever modified your, your outlook on easy methods to deal with Social Safety, Medicare, Medicaid, Mr. President? .

[TRUMP:] So to start with, there’s a lot you are able to do by way of entitlements by way of chopping and by way of additionally the theft and the dangerous administration of entitlements, super dangerous administration of entitlements [B]. There’s super quantities of issues and numbers of issues you are able to do. [A] So I don’t essentially agree with the assertion. [C] I do know that they’re going to finish up weakening social safety as a result of the nation is weak.

So, [A] Trump disagrees with the softball query on entitlements and debt, and [B] emits the usual Republican trope on waste and fraud, [C] as a result of that weakens the applications. The proof of the pudding is that after eight years of the Obama administration in search of a Grand Cut price that basically would have lower Social Safety and Medicare, Trump didn’t strive to do this in his first time. (After all, the Democrats could have thought they had been denying Trump a political winner, who is aware of.)

* * *

Biden (D): “The Fruits of the American Rescue Plan” [Democracy Journal]. Case for the protection: “Working-class adults and their kids every acquired $2,000 $1,400 stabilization checks. The unemployed acquired $300 in enhanced weekly advantages, which purchased them further time and monetary flexibility to discover a good job as companies reopened. An expanded baby tax credit score supplied mother and father with younger kids with as a lot as $1,600 extra per baby. Billions of {dollars} for lower-income owners and renters helped preserve folks of their houses at the same time as foreclosures and eviction moratoria expired.”

Biden (R): “Biden’s Finest Shot Towards Trump Lies in ‘Blue Wall’ States” [Bloomberg]. “In Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, his marketing campaign sees indicators for optimism, at the same time as latest polling reveals Biden trailing presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump in these key battlegrounds…. The Biden marketing campaign says it ranks no swing state above one other — and is specializing in all of them to maintain open a number of paths to get to 270 Electoral Faculty votes. It has ramped up sharply, doubling its battleground state staffing this month. However distinctive elements in these one-time Blue Wall bastions – from demographics to the presence of well-placed allies – place them as his greatest shot at holding the White Home. Biden can clinch a victory with their electoral votes even when he loses 4 different essential swing states – Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina. are dotted with the sorts of small cities and manufacturing facilities that Biden has lengthy begged his occasion to not neglect. Michigan and Pennsylvania particularly are additionally organized labor strongholds the place the president – who appeared on an autoworker picket line final 12 months – can hammer his oft-repeated message that unions constructed the center class.”

Biden (D): “How unpopular is Joe Biden?” [FiveThirtyEight]. Helpful chart:

No pop from the SOTU.

* * *

“Democrats put together to go to conflict towards third-party candidates” [NBC]. “The Democratic Nationwide Committee is constructing its first group to counter third-party and unbiased presidential candidates, folks concerned informed NBC Information, because the occasion and its allies put together for a possible all-out conflict on candidates they view as spoilers. The DNC has employed veteran Democratic operative Lis Smith, greatest identified for her work guiding the 2020 presidential marketing campaign of Pete Buttigieg, to assist oversee an aggressive communications part of its technique, which additionally contains opposition analysis and authorized challenges. Underscoring how vital Democrats view the hassle, it’s being overseen by Mary Beth Cahill and Ramsey Reid, two veteran DNC insiders, who’ve already began issuing uncommon public statements rebuking Robert F. Kennedy Jr.” • Smith is sweet; she truly parleyed that homunculus into excessive workplace as Secretary of Transportation. It’s not her fault that after that, Buttigieg vanished mysteriously.

Democrats en Déshabillé

“Have Democrats lastly stopped wimping out?” [Los Angeles Times]. “‘One among us is taking part in with a rolling pin, and the opposite is preventing with a gun,’ an aide to Senate leaders as soon as informed me, pissed off that Democrats had been adhering to Marquess of Queensberry guidelines as Republicans busted norms to pack the federal courts. ‘We all the time convey a butter knife to a gunfight,’ longtime Democratic strategist Brian Fallon equally groused not way back.’” • Holy Lord! Ask a Sanders supporter if Democrats play by “Marquess of Queensberry guidelines.” And RussiaGate? Having the spooks plant an operative within the Trump marketing campaign? Lawfare scheme like Part Three?

“The Excessive Worth of Democrats’ Anti-Trump Lawfare” [Wall Street Journal]. “The argument on behalf of this actually fairly unprecedented authorized offensive boils down to 1 thought: Nobody is above the legislation. True. That view is usually referred to as making certain respect for the legislation. My single-sentence reply is that the Democrats’ use of lawfare on this scale makes it possible that respect for the legislation will decline, and dangerously so, amongst a lot of the American public…. That the lawsuits have backfired politically, boosting Mr. Trump into a straightforward victory within the primaries, is incontestable. The media recently has been writing that the Trump authorized group’s technique of ‘delay’ is working, implying that Mr. Trump was speculated to take all of it passively within the neck.”

“Don’t” order me round:

Realignment and Legitimacy

“Our Democracy”:

As I’ve identified many instances, Brazil’s inhabitants is 215 million folks: not a lot smaller than the US’s.

Voting is obligatory for everybody above 16. It occurs on Sunday. The complete vote tally is launched inside hours of ballot closing.

The entire mess within the US is a alternative: https://t.co/cYiydfZvZS

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) March 14, 2024

America shouldn’t be a critical nation.

“Anti-Israel protesters swarm The Publish, NY Occasions printing plant, accuse Occasions of producing ‘consent for genocide’” [NY Post]. • Fascinating tactic. It might be nice if the unions contained in the constructing had been in solidarity with the protesters exterior (most likely doable, with a degree of effort).

#COVID19

“I’m in earnest — I can’t equivocate — I can’t excuse — I can’t retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD.” –William Lloyd Garrison

Sources, United States (Nationwide): Transmission (CDC); Wastewater (CDC, Biobot; contains many counties; Wastewater Scan, contains drilldown by zip); Variants (CDC; Walgreens); “Iowa COVID-19 Tracker” (in IA, however nationwide information). “An infection Management, Emergency Administration, Security, and Common Ideas” (particularly on hospitalization by metropolis).

Lambert right here: Readers, thanks for the collective effort. To replace any entry, do be at liberty to contact me on the handle given with the crops. Please put “COVID” within the topic line. Thanks!

Sources, United States (Native): AK (dashboard); AL (dashboard); AR (dashboard); AZ (dashboard); CA (dashboard; Marin, dashboard; Stanford, wastewater; Oakland, wastewater); CO (dashboard; wastewater); CT (dashboard); DE (dashboard); FL (wastewater); GA (wastewater); HI (dashboard); IA (wastewater reviews); ID (dashboard, Boise; dashboard, wastewater, Central Idaho; wastewater, Coeur d’Alene; dashboard, Spokane County); IL (wastewater); IN (dashboard); KS (dashboard; wastewater, Lawrence); KY (dashboard, Louisville); LA (dashboard); MA (wastewater); MD (dashboard); ME (dashboard); MI (wastewater; wastewater); MN (dashboard); MO (wastewater); MS (dashboard); MT (dashboard); NC (dashboard); ND (dashboard; wastewater); NE (dashboard); NH (wastewater); NJ (dashboard); NM (dashboard); NV (dashboard; wastewater, Southern NV); NY (dashboard); OH (dashboard); OK (dashboard); OR (dashboard); PA (dashboard); RI (dashboard); SC (dashboard); SD (dashboard); TN (dashboard); TX (dashboard); UT (wastewater); VA (dashboard); VT (dashboard); WA (dashboard; dashboard); WI (wastewater); WV (wastewater); WY (wastewater).

Sources, Canada (Nationwide): Wastewater (Authorities of Canada).

Sources, Canada (Provincial): ON (wastewater); QC (les eaux usées); BC (wastewater); BC, Vancouver (wastewater).

Hat tricks to useful readers: Alexis, anon (2), Art_DogCT, B24S, CanCyn, ChiGal, Chuck L, Festoonic, FM, FreeMarketApologist (4), Gumbo, hop2it, JB, JEHR, JF, JL Joe, John, JM (10), JustAnotherVolunteer, JW, KatieBird, LL, Michael King, KF, LaRuse, mrsyk, MT, MT_Wild, otisyves, Petal (6), RK (2), RL, RM, Rod, sq. coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3).

Keep secure on the market!

TABLE 1: Every day Covid Charts

LEGEND

1) ★ for charts new immediately; all others usually are not up to date.

2) For a full-size/full-resolution picture, Command-click (MacOS) or right-click (Home windows) on the chart thumbnail and “open picture in new tab.”

NOTES

[1] (Biobot) A bit “modified rapture” (“may very well be worse”) however we our falling curve has now reached the extent of earlier Trump peaks. Not an awesome victory. Be aware additionally the realm “underneath the curve,” apart from taking a look at peaks. That space is bigger underneath Biden than underneath Trump, and it appears to be rising steadily if inconsistently.

[2] (Biobot) Regional separation re-emerges.

[3] (CDC Variants) As of Could 11, genomic surveillance information might be reported biweekly, based mostly on the provision of optimistic take a look at specimens.” “Biweeekly: 1. occurring each two weeks. 2. occurring twice every week; semiweekly.” Seems like CDC has chosen sense #1. In essence, they’re telling us variants are nothing to fret about. Time will inform.

[4] (ER) “Charts and information supplied by CDC, updates Wednesday by 8am. For the previous 12 months, utilizing a rolling 52-week interval.”

[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Not flattening. (Date for information corrected; it was a glitch.)

[6] (Hospitalization: CDC) Nonetheless down. “Maps, charts, and information supplied by CDC, updates weekly for the earlier MMWR week (Sunday-Saturday) on Thursdays (Deaths, Emergency Division Visits, Take a look at Positivity) and weekly the next Mondays (Hospitalizations) by 8 pm ET†”.

[7] (Walgreens) Leveling out.

Employment State of affairs: “United States Preliminary Jobless Claims” [Trading Economics]. “The variety of folks claiming unemployment advantages within the US fell by 1,000 to 209,000 within the week ended March 8, 2024, beneath market expectations of 218,000.”

Inflation: “United States Producer Worth Inflation MoM” [Trading Economics]. “The Producer Worth Index for ultimate demand in america rose by 0.6% month-over-month in February 2024, marking the most important enhance since final August and surpassing market expectations of a 0.3% advance. Items costs rose by 1.2%, essentially the most in six months, primarily pushed by a 4.4% surge in power prices and a 1.0% uptick in meals costs.”

Retail Gross sales: “United States Retail Gross sales YoY” [Trading Economics]. “Retail Gross sales in america elevated 1.50 p.c year-on-year in February of 2024, following a flat studying in January.”

Tech: “Oregon Passes Proper To Restore Regulation Apple Lobbied To Kill” [TechDirt]. “Oregon has formally develop into the seventh state (behind New York, California, Massachusetts, Colorado, Maine, and Minnesota) to go “proper to restore” laws, making it simpler and extra reasonably priced for customers to independently restore their very own electronics. The invoice, which handed the Oregon Senate final month 25-5 and the Home on Monday 42-13, is a little more strong than the variations handed in earlier states. Amongst different issues, the invoice requires that machine producers make elements, instruments and restore manuals out there to customers and third-party restore outlets on ‘honest and cheap phrases.’ But it surely additionally takes intention at ‘elements pairing,’ or the apply of stopping you from changing machine elements with out the approval of an organization or its restrictive software program. Apple, which routinely makes use of this apply to attempt to monopolize restore, lobbied extensively towards the Oregon invoice. As ordinary, underneath the (false) declare that eliminating elements pairing would put public security and safety in danger… In actuality, Apple is anxious that the crackdown on ‘elements pairing’ will additional erode the corporate’s profitable efforts to monopolize restore and decelerate the speed of shiny new telephone gross sales. Apple has usually tried to faux than its performed an entire 180 on proper to restore, when it’s usually been extra of a 40 diploma flip towards barely extra cheap insurance policies.”

At the moment’s Concern & Greed Index: 73 Greed (earlier shut: 73 Greed) [CNN]. One week in the past: 74 (Greed). (0 is Excessive Concern; 100 is Excessive Greed). Final up to date Mar 14 at 12:27:54 PM ET.

The 420

“Psychedelic drug ibogaine hailed as therapeutic. U.S. sufferers ask why it’s unlawful” [WaPo]. “[A] Stanford College research printed in January displaying that ibogaine dramatically improved signs of hysteria, melancholy and post-traumatic stress dysfunction in 30 Particular Operations veterans recognized with traumatic mind accidents. For advocates, that research affords the newest proof that sufferers ought to have entry to the drug in america, the place it stays unlawful regardless of many years of encouraging findings, principally to be used treating habit. Whilst momentum may very well be shifting in ibogaine’s favor, considerations persist in regards to the risk the drug poses to the guts, reflecting a risk-reward calculation that frames research of different psychedelic brokers. The elevated curiosity in ibogaine arrives amid pressing efforts to ease the nation’s lethal habit disaster and comes as corporations race to develop psychedelics to deal with psychological well being illnesses.” • That, plus a population-wide of cognitive operate, for some extraordinarily unknown purpose? (I’m so outdated I bear in mind when Hunter Thompson wrote that ibogaine was the supply of Ed Muskie’s mind paralysis.)

Information of the Wired

“Voyager 1 begins making sense once more after months of babble” [The Register]. The flight group despatched a poke, acquired a reminiscence dump (!!), in response. “The time lag is an issue. A command from Earth takes 22.5 hours to succeed in the probe, and the identical interval is required once more for a response. This implies a 45-hour wait to see what a given command may need performed. The supply of abilities can also be a difficulty. Most of the engineers who labored on the mission – Voyager 1 launched in 1977 – are now not round, and the group that continues to be is confronted with trawling by way of reams of decades-old paperwork to cope with unanticipated points arising immediately.” • Like a lot else? Actually and metaphorically?

Contact info for crops: Readers, be at liberty to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, to (a) learn the way to ship me a verify if you’re allergic to PayPal and (b) to learn the way to ship me pictures of crops. Greens are positive! Fungi, lichen, and coral are deemed to be honorary crops! If you need your deal with to seem as a credit score, please place it at first of your mail in parentheses: (thus). In any other case, I’ll anonymize by utilizing your initials. See the earlier Water Cooler (with plant) right here. From No Spam:

No Spam writes: “Up the peninsula us cleaner water, these guys hanging out. Apparently the are a leaning indicator for polluted water, and given one sees ‘bazillions of cargo carriers and tankers each time you have a look at the ocean, in a couple of minutes I depend greater than a dozen. Twenty-four hrs a day so the consumers can rework.”

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