2:00PM Water Cooler 11/18/2024 | bare capitalism

By Lambert Strether of Corrente.

Fowl Music of the Day

Northern Mockingbird, Cape Island – Crewe Home, Cape Could, New Jersey, United States. “Evening-singing from a single perch within the neighbor’s hedge at evening; I walked proper up and recorded it from only a few meters away.” Numerous selection!

“Fowl mind from the age of dinosaurs reveals roots of avian intelligence” (press launch) [University of Cambridge]. “Researchers have recognized a remarkably well-preserved fossil chook, roughly the dimensions of a starling, from the Mesozoic Period. The entire cranium has been preserved virtually intact: a rarity for any fossil chook, however significantly for one so historic, making this probably the most important finds of its form. The extraordinary three-dimensional preservation of the cranium allowed the researchers, led by the College of Cambridge and the Pure Historical past Museum of Los Angeles County, to digitally reconstruct the mind of the chook… Navaornis had a bigger cerebrum than Archaeopteryx, suggesting it had extra superior cognitive capabilities than the earliest bird-like dinosaurs. Nonetheless, most areas of its mind, just like the cerebellum, have been much less developed, suggesting that it hadn’t but developed the complicated flight management mechanisms of recent birds… ‘Fashionable birds have among the most superior cognitive capabilities within the animal kingdom, comparable solely with mammals,’ stated Professor Daniel Discipline from Cambridge’s Division of Earth Sciences, senior writer of the analysis. ‘However scientists have struggled to grasp how and when the distinctive brains and noteworthy intelligence of birds developed—the sector has been awaiting the invention of a fossil precisely like this one.’” • Neat! (The unique from Nature, which I can not translate into English.)

In Case You Would possibly Miss…

1. About these camps…
2. Blame Cannons: Biden staffers, Axelrove, Fetterman unload.
3. Boeing’s administration challenges., layoffs.

Politics

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

Trump Transition

“Home Probe Into Matt Gaetz Depends On Witnesses DOJ Discovered Lacked Credibility” [Mollie Hemingway, The Federalist]. The deck: “A convicted felon stated he was paying the authorized charges of Matt Gaetz’s accuser and controlling her.” Extra: “Among the many many highly effective figures in Washington, D.C. against the Gaetz nomination are some who’re trying to thwart it by releasing a report from the Home Ethics Committee that may try and tie Gaetz to salacious allegations involving little one intercourse trafficking. The report comes years after DOJ dropped its investigation into the identical claims on the grounds that the 2 central witnesses had critical credibility points. But these are the identical two central witnesses the Home Ethics Committee has relied on for its important report of Gaetz—the identical report it’s leaking to compliant reporters as a part of a coordinated effort to thwart his nomination as President-elect Donald Trump’s subsequent legal professional common…. The politicized workers at DOJ have proven themselves prepared to discover novel authorized theories and bend federal guidelines to the breaking level in pursuit of their most reviled political opponents, most notably former and future President Trump. Gaetz has a popularity as probably the most tenacious cross-examiners of DOJ officers from his perch on the Home Judiciary Committee. But even the DOJ was unwilling to take advantage of Greenberg’s unsubstantiated claims — other than leaking them to the press to harm Gaetz’s popularity. They introduced their closure of the investigation in 2022.” • Price studying in full for element on the accuser.

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“Right here Come Trump’s Focus Camps” [The Tyee]. From Canada. “[T]he shares of personal jail companies have risen because the election, signalling that buyers anticipate a flood of federal cash to pay for constructing migrant detention centres. No matter they may be known as, focus camps shall be crucial beneath this new administration. Venture 2025, the file of coverage proposals to considerably overhaul the American federal authorities authored by Trump’s supporters, has a chapter on homeland safety and border management. It requires a ‘important enhance in detention area,’ noting about 100,000 beds could be wanted every day — up from round 60,000 at current. Even when 100,000 deportees might be arrested day-after-day and flown out the subsequent day, it will take 110 days to ship 11 million folks out of the USA. (And with maybe 200 passengers per flight, that may require 500 passenger jets each day, or their equal in trains and buses.) They’d keep in camps till their flight was known as.” • Let’s assume, as immigrants do, that solely undocumented immigrants who’re responsible of getting dedicated crimes (apart from being undocumented) are focused. “In 2018, the unlawful immigrant felony conviction price was 782 per 100,000 unlawful immigrants.” Assuming we have now 11,000,000 immigrants, that price implies 86,020 deportees (430 flights in complete, not 500 each day for 110 days). Now, I personally don’t suppose our authorities needs to be making a three-ring binder for tips on how to spherical folks up and put them in detention amenities, as a result of as soon as we use that binder for one goal, we’ll pull it out and use it for different functions; I think about any small-government conservative would agree (“Of all of the works of Sauron, the one truthful”). It appears to me that this situation could be higher addressed by means of regulation enforcement on the agency, not regulation enforcement on the streets, regardless of any squawking from the American gentry who are likely to do such hiring. Yves takes a take a look at our operational capability for this challenge, and has different recommendations right here. All the situation is an effective litmus check not just for Trump, however for his employees. Flaky pie-crust loons or nah? NOTE The “13,099 Unlawful Immigrant Murderers” speaking level that’s operating round is a large number, per Cato.

2024 Publish Mortem

Deploy the Blame Cannons!

“EXCLUSIVE’It’s a blood bathtub’: Contained in the White Home blame sport as backstabbing staffers and score-settling pundits rock a Democratic Celebration in disaster” [Daily Mail]. Enjoyable stuff. This caught my eye: “As that very same former Biden staffer put it: ‘[Obama’s staffers were] signed up because the saviors of the marketing campaign solely to run outdated Obama-era playbooks for a candidate that wasn’t Obama.’” And: “In the long run, irrespective of who finally ends up with the blame, the Democratic Celebration should transfer on to [hopefully not] survive. A brand new technology of formidable Democrats are already stated to be plotting their 2028 campaigns – governors resembling California’s Gavin Newsom, Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer and Maryland’s Wes Moore.” • That’s the bench for 2028? Actually? “Stature” shouldn’t be a phrase that involves thoughts.

“John Fetterman says Democrats have to cease ‘freaking out’ over all the pieces Trump does” (interview) [NBC]. “‘I’ve stated this earlier than, it’s like, clutch these pearls tougher and scold louder — that’s not going to win,’ Fetterman, D-Pa., stated. ‘And that’s been demonstrated on this cycle.’” Fascinating to see “clutch these pearls” make it into mainstream, idiomatic English; “clutch your pearls and head for the fainting sofa” was a trope I encountered as a blogger c. 2003 (on the Democrat facet. I don’t suppose Republicans clutch their pearls, however what do they do as an alternative? Seize their weapons?). Fetterman on the Democrat loss in PA: “[FETTERMAN:] I pointed on the market have been two very extremely distinctive conditions, and one among them was the assassination [attempt]. … [T]his by no means occurred when it’s the 12 months of an election and when the person survived. And he responded in a really distinctive manner of ‘combat, combat, combat,’ and it created very highly effective type of imagery. And I felt, ‘Hey, that’s undoubtedly going to make issues much more tough.’ After which [Elon] Musk. Surrogates are widespread in our enterprise, however somebody like that’s totally different, and I’ve maintained that he can transfer the needle, and I do imagine he did … that’s why we’ve misplaced two of our colleagues within the Home, and we’ve misplaced each row workplace statewide, as effectively.” • I don’t like Fetterman a lot on coverage, however he’s price listening to for the marketing campaign he ran. (Fetterman tactfully doesn’t point out the Shapiro v. Walz controversy, however I feel Shapiro would have gone down within the face of ‘combat, combat, combat’ additionally. There was completely no manner the Pennsylvania Republicans have been going to lose that race.

* * *

“From New Jersey to Hawaii, Trump made inroads in shocking locations in his path to the White Home” [Associated Press]. “Widespread themes emerged within the AP VoteCast information. Voters have been most certainly to see the economic system and immigration as high points going through the nation. Extra voters stated their household’s monetary state of affairs was ‘falling behind,’ in contrast with 2020. Once they voted, Trump supporters have been eager about excessive costs for gasoline, groceries and different items and the state of affairs on the U.S.-Mexico border.”

“The Democrats’ Defeat” [Adam Tooze, London Review of Books (AG)]. Let me pull out some salient paragraphs: “The defining function of US politics within the present period is how small the margins are. This election noticed giant actions in particular teams: Latino males to Trump; faculty graduates to Harris; better-off voters to the Democrats; working-class Individuals to the Republicans. Nevertheless it stays a matter of some share factors, with the overwhelming majority of the voters entrenched in two camps and a lot of the nation barely contested. What strikes these voters who do change their minds from election to election stays obscure.” And: “However when it comes to defending present rights and energy positions, when it comes to retaining the potential for additional change, when it comes to stopping the worst, what was at stake on 5 November have been the 270 seats within the electoral faculty. And to have an honest probability of successful them, it was not crucial to construct a historic progressive bloc. It was essential to run a reliable marketing campaign and to area candidates able to presenting America’s actuality, each its guarantees and its challenges, in language that was compelling and reassuring on the identical time. Biden and Harris each failed to do this, and Biden’s outrageous refusal to step apart till the final second robbed the get together of any probability of discovering a stronger candidate.” • I all the time get pleasure from Tooze, however for some purpose this text jogged my memory of no one a lot as David Brooks (and his Irish setter, “Ethical Hazard”). The trope that popped into my head was “‘You’ll be able to’t buff a turd’ is fractal.” Is any type of problem-solving on this surroundings actually doable?

“Democratic turnout plummeted in 2024 — however solely in protected states” [Semafor]. “The overwhelming majority of votes from this election have been counted, with only a few million ballots excellent in western states. Complete turnout is on monitor to fall simply wanting 2020, effectively forward of some observers’ expectations on Election Evening, when conspiracy theories about greater than 10 million “lacking Biden voters” flourished amongst Democrats. Harris will win fewer votes than President Joe Biden did 4 years in the past — however the decline was considerably steeper in safely pink or blue states than in swing states. The place there was no nationwide marketing campaign spending on turnout, and the place voters knew that they have been unlikely to alter the result, Harris ran additional behind Biden.”

Marketing campaign Finance

“Political Advertisements Can’t Purchase the Presidency” [Bloomberg]. The deck: “Democrats outspent Republicans by greater than $300 million within the run-up to the 2024 presidential election. But Harris received not one of the swing states the place the overwhelming majority of spending went.” Extra: “Cash doesn’t win US elections, nevertheless it usually helps. In bids for the Senate, the candidate who spends essentially the most is often the victor. That sample held this 12 months: In 21 of 33 Senate races, the candidate who spent essentially the most on promoting—typically the main expenditure for a marketing campaign—was the winner…. The hyperlink between spending and successful has all the time been weaker in presidential contests…. On condition that turnout had a big affect on election outcomes in 2024, [Adam Bonica, a professor of political science at Stanford University] means that, sooner or later, each events ought to take into account rethinking their spending. ‘Possibly it’s not promoting they should do,’ he says. ‘Possibly they need to be placing extra of the assets into mobilization and registration and get together constructing.’” • Cash can’t win an election if you happen to set it on fireplace and throw it into the air!

“Oprah city corridor price Harris marketing campaign way over initially claimed: report” [FOX]. “A brand new report revealed Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential marketing campaign paid greater than double what was beforehand reported for the Oprah Winfrey city corridor occasion. FEC filings, first reported by the Washington Examiner, present the Harris marketing campaign made two $500,000 funds to Winfrey’s Harpo Productions on Oct. 15, a month after Winfrey’s city corridor with Harris and weeks earlier than the pair appeared at a Harris Philadelphia rally. Now, two sources have informed The New York Occasions the complete value of the occasion with Winfrey was nearer to $2.5 million…. The majority of the extravagant spending reportedly went to movie star appearances and performances and influencer partnerships meant to spice up marketing campaign occasions.” And: “Winfrey, a billionaire, insisted she was ‘paid nothing’ when confronted by TMZ. A Harpo Productions spokesperson acknowledged to Selection that the corporate took cash from the marketing campaign however claimed it was for ‘manufacturing prices.’… ‘Oprah Winfrey was at no level through the marketing campaign paid a private payment, nor did she obtain a payment from Harpo,’ the spokesperson stated.” • I don’t understand how Hollywood accounting works, however that assertion appears rigorously engineered to me.

Republican Funhouse

“An Attraction to Democratic Voters” [Patria with Steve Cortes]. “[H]ere are the three most compelling causes to at the very least take into account becoming a member of our America First trigger — and to vote Republican into the long run. (1) The Democrat Management Disrespects You…. (2) The GOP Is Now the Celebration of Staff; (3) The Democratic Celebration Obsesses with Social Radicalism.” • I feel “of employees” is telling. “Of,” versus “of, by, and for,” which might indicate fairly a unique get together.

“League of American Staff President: ‘Arizonans notice that the American Dream has turn into out of attain’” [Grand Canyon Times]. “Steve Cortes, president and founding father of the League of American Staff (LAW), at the moment stated that ballot outcomes launched by his group present Arizona voters now not really feel the American Dream is reachable. That ballot confirmed 84% of Arizona voters say households within the state can not dwell on a single earnings.” • Extra on the League of American Staff.

Spook Nation

“CISA Director Jen Easterly to depart on Inauguration Day” [NextGov]. “Jen Easterly, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Safety Company’s stalwart champion and a figurehead amongst cybersecurity and intelligence neighborhood practitioners, will go away her publish Jan. 20 subsequent 12 months when President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated again into the White Home, folks accustomed to her plans stated… The way forward for CISA in an incoming Trump administration stays unsure, as GOP allegations of censorship stemming from CISA’s interactions with social media firms — claims that Easterly has adamantly refuted — performed a outstanding function in a current Supreme Courtroom case, which the Biden administration finally received.” • Extra on Easterly right here.

Democrats en Déshabillé

“Axelrod: Democrats Can’t Method ‘Working Individuals’ Like Missionaries And Say, ‘We’re Right here To Assist You Turn out to be Extra Like Us’” [RealClearPolitics]. “”I do have considerations about the way in which the Democratic Celebration pertains to working-class voters on this nation. The one group that Democrats gained throughout the election on Tuesday was White faculty graduates, and amongst working-class voters, there was a major decline. The one group they received amongst– Democrats received have been individuals who make greater than 100 thousand {dollars} a 12 months. You’ll be able to’t win nationwide elections that manner, and it actually shouldn’t be that manner for a celebration that fashions itself because the get together of working folks.” • Not “fashions itself.” “Fancies itself.”

Syndemics

“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

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

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

Assets, 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 (wastewater); VT (dashboard); WA (dashboard; dashboard); WI (wastewater); WV (wastewater); WY (wastewater).

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

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

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Keep protected on the market!

TABLE 1: Day by day Covid Charts

Manufacturing: “Boeing’s Current High quality Points: 5 Key Developments” [Simple Flying]. (1) “Government resignation amid manufacturing restarts”; (2) “FAA mandates a complete high quality enchancment plan”; (3) “High quality defects found in undelivered 787 Dreamliners”; (4) “Whistleblowers expose systemic security violations”; (5) “Ongoing high quality points have an effect on the 737 MAX program.” • That’s so much.

Manufacturing: “Boeing strike publish mortem: Ortberg has work to do” (excerpt) [Leeham News and Analysis]. “Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg’s efficiency through the IAM strike is getting low marks from the women and men who will do the work that turns Boeing around-–the mechanics, techs, and engineers within the factories, in accordance with these LNA has spoken with. Ortberg got here in speaking a couple of “reset” within the firm’s relationship with its unionized workforce. He took a very good symbolic step by asserting he’d relocate to Seattle and work from there. However whereas Wall Avenue hailed the transfer, it didn’t land in addition to it might have. Ortberg spent sooner or later within the Renton manufacturing facility earlier than the strike. ” Ouch! Extra: “Likewise, it’s unclear how a lot Ortberg was concerned in one of many greatest crises his new firm confronted when he took over: the Machinists Union negotiations.” • Sadly, the fabric about Ortberg is usually behind the paywall; nonetheless, it seems that he “went with Calhoun’s plan” (Calhoun being the earlier CEO who was compelled out).

Tech: “Possibly Bluesky has ‘received’” [Gavin Anderegg]. “When writing about Bluesky, I’ve seen of us point out that it’s both federated or decentralized. I’m right here to inform you that it’s presently neither. This one actually irks me as a result of the service is getting the credit score for work it hasn’t finished….. All this to say: the Bluesky workforce looks as if they’re earnestly working towards a decentralized platform, however they’ve a whole lot of work forward of them. Years of effort, in my estimation. Within the meantime, Bluesky is barely extra decentralized than, say, Fb — however not by a lot. Sure, you may host your personal information. Sure, you may scrape the entire content material on the community. However you may’t do something with it until you’re connected to the Bluesky service. I imagine this can change with time, however it is going to be prohibitively costly and we’re not there but.” • With dialogue of the benefits of Mastodon’s easy ActivityPub protocol, vs. Bluesky’s sophisticated AT Protocol (“atproto”). I haven’t tried Bluesky, as a result of I’m not sympathetic to liberal Democrats making themselves much more embubbled than they already are. I’ve tried Mastodon, however in comparison with Twitter it appears like a provincial backwater. That stated, the PMC migrating to a Silicon Valley-centric, not open-source, and enshittifiable platform (yet one more platform) is moderately telling. Possibly it’s the “Blue” in “Bluesky” that triggers them.

Right this moment’s Worry & Greed Index: 51 Impartial (earlier shut: 50 Impartial) [CNN]. One week in the past: 68 (Greed). (0 is Excessive Worry; 100 is Excessive Greed). Final up to date Nov 18 at 1:23:03 PM ET.

Rapture Index: Closes up one on Drought. “A really giant space of the nation is beneath common drought situations” [Rapture Ready]. Report Excessive, October 10, 2016: 189. Present: 183. (Do not forget that bringing on the Rapture is sweet.) • Onerous to imagine the Rapture Index goes down. Do these folks know one thing we don’t?

Permaculture

“The Manner of Mushrooms: Russula, the Trickster Mushroom” [The Meaning of Water]. “It was early October on a heat light day after I selected to stroll a unique path within the Trent Nature Sanctuary forest. And there, within the cedar-birch-poplar forest, I found lovely fanned-shaped saprotrophic mushrooms organized like road timber on a boulevard and stitching a fascinating community of crisscrossing strains of creamy ‘flowers’ on the forest ground. I observed that they have been organized in near what regarded like a fairy circle within the thick duff amid lifeless logs and branches of a number of fallen poplar and birch timber; little doubt acquiring their nourishment from the decaying wooden.” • However tips on how to establish them?

Gallery

So few strains:

Class Warfare

“Remark: Was Boeing contract unions’ final large win for now?” [Everett Herald]. “But these contract wins at Boeing, UPS, Normal Motors and the opposite two large Detroit automakers, and past, expose the boundaries of organized labor’s energy at the moment. These employees belong to unions organized many years in the past, and so they’ve obtained greater pay and a lot better advantages by means of collective bargaining on new contracts. However growing the variety of U.S. employees represented by unions stays tough. The proportion of U.S. employees belonging to a union continues to shrink, declining to 10 % of the labor drive in 2023. As Joe Biden, arguably essentially the most pro-labor president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, departs the White Home, and Donald Trump’s workforce will get prepared to maneuver again in, I imagine that prospects for the expansion in union members within the close to future seem exceedingly bleak.”

Information of the Wired

“Train Your self to Echolocate” [Atlas Obscura]. “fter shedding his imaginative and prescient as an toddler, Kish taught himself to maneuver round with the assistance of echolocation. Like bats, Kish makes use of his mouth to supply a sequence of brief, crisp clicking sounds, after which listens to how these sounds bounce off the encompassing panorama. (Our winged neighbors are likely to emit these clicks at frequencies people can’t hear, however Kish’s clicks are completely audible to human ears.) From there, Kish makes a psychological map of his surroundings, contemplating all the pieces from broad contours—like partitions and doorways—right down to textural particulars. Kish now teaches echolocation, largely to college students who’re blind…. No matter your sightedness, there’s one thing to be stated for studying to hear extra attentively to sonic surroundings. Kish believes that imaginative and prescient has a manner of blunting the opposite senses until folks work to essentially flex them. Deft echolocators, he says, are capable of understand advantageous variations—distinguishing, say, between an oleander bush (“one million sharp returns”) and an evergreen (“wisps intently packed collectively, which sound like a bit like a sponge or a curtain”). They’re discovering sonic surprise wherever they go. We requested Kish to tailor a lesson for first-timers simply studying to take heed to the panorama.” • Fascinating! And I think about it will work at nighttime…

Contact data for vegetation: Readers, be happy to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, to (a) learn how to ship me a examine if you’re allergic to PayPal and (b) to learn how to ship me photographs of vegetation. Greens are advantageous! Fungi, lichen, and coral are deemed to be honorary vegetation! In order for you your deal with to seem as a credit score, please place it in the beginning of your mail in parentheses: (thus). In any other case, I’ll anonymize through the use of your initials. See the earlier Water Cooler (with plant) right here. From Wukchumni:

Wukchumni writes: “Dusty the Journey Canine having fun with fall colours in Mineral King.” Plus the expanse of dry grass.

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