November 28, 2021

Marie: So far, this is not a slow-news day; it's a no-news day, unless you consider it news that looming death & destruction, in the form of a microscopic virus, is coming your way.

Alanne Orjoux & Veronica Stracqualursi of CNN: "First lady Jill Biden will reveal the theme and decor for the White House holiday trimmings on Monday, her office announced. Biden will be joined by a National Guard family in honor of the National Guard's role in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, a statement from her office said Saturday. The presence of the National Guard family also honors all the Guard families spending their holidays away from loved ones." MB: Oh, please, Dr. Jill, let it be trees covered in blood-red plastic tinsel again.

Will Sommer of the Daily Beast: "Former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn has embraced his position as a hero to QAnon conspiracy theorists. He took the QAnon oath, sold QAnon T-shirts, and even auctioned off a QAnon quilt. He appeared at a QAnon convention and signed books with a QAnon slogan. Some QAnon followers even believe that Flynn is 'Q,' the mysterious figure behind QAnon. But a recording released late Saturday night by a one-time Flynn ally suggests that the retired three-star general privately believes QAnon to be 'total nonsense.'... [In a phone call between Flynn & loony Trumpy lawyer Lin Wood & recorded by Wood,] Flynn attempts to disown QAnon, claiming it's a 'disinformation campaign' created by the CIA [... and the left]." Firewalled. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So even when Flynn claims not to hold to a crazy potpourri of conspiracy theories, he comes up with a new one: that QAnon conspiracies are part of some kind of plot in which CIA agents & leftists got together to make up & disseminate a bunch of coocoo stuff. Yeah, Mike, I can see where that probably happened. No doubt that's where the idea arose that JFK, Jr. would be Donald's new veep.

Matthew Cappucci of the Washington Post: "The first images of Earth from Landsat 9 have been released this month, ushering in a new chapter in the longest-running continuous satellite program dedicated to Earth observation. The satellite, launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Sept. 27, is in the midst of a 100-day test period and will offer an ultra-detailed glimpse at changes in land use and natural resources.... 'The incredible first pictures from the Landsat 9 satellite are a glimpse into the data that will help us make science-based decisions on key issues including water use, wildfire impacts, coral reef degradation, glacier and ice-shelf retreat and tropical deforestation,' said USGS acting director David Applegate in a news release." MB: But can they tell if you're growing a marijuana crop in the back yard?

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here.

Pan Pylas of the AP: “The new potentially more contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus popped up in more European countries on Saturday, just days after being identified in South Africa, leaving governments around the world scrambling to stop the spread. The U.K. on Saturday tightened its rules on mask-wearing and on testing of international arrivals after finding two cases. New cases were confirmed Saturday in Germany and Italy, with Belgium, Israel and Hong Kong also reporting that the variant has been found in travelers. In the U.S., Dr. Anthony Fauci ... said he would not be surprised if the omicron variant was already in the United States, too. 'We have not detected it yet, but when you have a virus that is showing this degree of transmissibility ... it almost invariably is ultimately going to go essentially all over,' Fauci said on NBC television." A related Washington Post story is here.

Charley Locke in the New York Times Magazine: "Covid-19 put American infrastructure to the test -- and by most measures, it failed.... Students without access to the internet tried to get by on once-a-week printed packets. Nurses wore trash bags as medical equipment. Nobody could buy toilet paper. But these failures, along with so many more, may also have provided the impetus -- in the form of unprecedented federal funding -- for the United States to modernize itself, filling cracks and bridging gaps in our technological, medical and manufacturing capabilities that have been widening for decades. To date, the federal government has allocated $4.52 trillion in response to Covid-19 -- a staggering figure, one that exceeds the entire federal budget in 2019. Most of that funding comes from just two bills: the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act, passed in March 2020 ($2.2 trillion), and the American Rescue Plan Act, or A.R.P., from March 2021 ($1.9 trillion). These bills covered a huge range of funding, much of it focused on short-term recovery: Together, they allocated more than $1 trillion in direct aid to Americans in economic need.... But the two bills also made huge investments in the future.... The Covid funds are functioning as a one-time injection to compensate for what has been a trend toward disinvestment in recent years."

November 27, 2021

Darlene Superville of the AP: President "Biden spent more than an hour walking around downtown Nantucket's cobblestone streets, popping unannounced into quaint mom-and-pop shops, appearing to make purchases and posing for photos with surprised business owners.... He stopped in at a leather goods store and several clothing, gift and home goods stores before the family reunited to participate in another one of their traditions: attending Nantucket's annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony."

Matthew Daly of the AP: "The Biden administration on Friday recommended an overhaul of the nation's oil and gas leasing program to limit areas available areas for energy development and raise costs for oil and gas companies to drill on public land and water. The long-awaited report by the Interior Department stops short of recommending an end to oil and gas leasing on public lands, as many environmental groups have urged. But officials said the report would lead to a more responsible leasing process that provides a better return to U.S. taxpayers.... Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement ... that the new report's recommendations will mitigate worsening climate change impacts 'while staying steadfast in the pursuit of environmental justice.'″ The Washington Post's story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) called for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to take 'appropriate action' against Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) Friday after Boebert shared an anti-Muslim story about Omar during Thanksgiving break. During an event in her Colorado district, Boebert told the audience about an encounter with Omar in the Capitol, describing another encounter with Omar as 'not my first "Jihad Squad" moment,' according to a video posted on Twitter. 'I was getting into an elevator with one of my staffers,' Boebert told the laughing crowd. '... and I see a Capitol police officer running to the elevator. I see fret all over his face, and he's reaching, and the door's shutting, like I can't open it, like what's happening. I look to my left, and there she is. Ilhan Omar. And I said, "Well, she doesn't have a backpack, we should be fine."' 'Saying I am a suicide bomber is no laughing matter,' Omar tweeted. '...normalizing this bigotry not only endangers my life but the lives of all Muslims. Anti-Muslim bigotry has no place in Congress.' Omar had, earlier on Thursday, said the story was made up.... In a statement, Democratic congressional leaders -- including Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (Md.) -- said Boebert has repeatedly made targeted Islamophobic comments against Omar and she should retract her latest story, which they said is fictionalized."

Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "Since he was acquitted of homicide and other charges last Friday, Kyle Rittenhouse has said he wanted to stay out of politics, and that he was disturbed by how his case became politicized.... Yet Rittenhouse ... has emerged as a symbolic figure for the pro-Trump right wing.... Rittenhouse made the comments about politics and polarization on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show, which had a crew embedded with the Rittenhouse team during his trial. He has appeared alongside Republican operatives in photos, and he met with Donald Trump himself at the former president's private Mar-a-Lago club in Florida." Schwatz names some of the Trump acolytes who have associated themselves with Rittenhouse. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Lay Your Head Upon My Pillow. S.V. Date of the Huffington Post: "Despite months of promising to file an explosive lawsuit that would 'pull down' the 2020 presidential election results and reinstate Donald Trump to the White House, pillow-monger Mike Lindell has instead turned his election-fraud-athon into a four-day sales promotion.... 'o lawsuit has been filed, and the show, which featured the same lies about the election Lindell has been spreading for a year, prominently featured Lindell's pillow ads with its own 'promo code.'... In recent days, Lindell has been claiming that the attorneys general who were going to sign on to his suit were pressured out of doing so by Republican National Committee chair Ronna [Romney] McDaniel. 'Ronna McDaniel better resign today,' he said Thursday." She didn't.

Mary Papenfuss of the Huffington Post: "Donald Trump erupted Friday about Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa's book 'Peril' ― more than two months after it was published and its revelations about the former president filled the media.... Trump appeared to be particularly incensed about revelations that the U.S. may have edged dangerously close to war with China amid his unpredictability after his 2020 election loss -- and the subsequent Jan. 6 violence at the U.S. Capitol.... When anecdotes from the book were first revealed, Trump called Milley a 'dumbass.' In his statement Friday, Trump referred to him as 'one of the dumber generals' and repeated a previous comment that if Milley actually called China, he 'should be tried for treason.' 'I never had even a thought of going to war with China, other than the war I was winning, which was on TRADE,' he wrote.... The Phase One trade deal finally eked out by his administration in 2019 is largely regarded as a failure." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Right before Trump initiated his "winning" war on TRADE, I bought a stainless steel sink for $277. I had to get the specs on it for my plumber the other day, upon which I learned that the current price for that exact same sink is $399. Yes indeed, Donaldo, we are, as you predicted, tired of so much winning.

Tali Arbel & Anne D'Innocenzio of the AP report on Black Friday activity.

The Pandemic, Ctd., Brought to You by the Unvaccinated

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here.

Perry Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "A new, possibly more infectious coronavirus variant, with an unusual number of mutations, had scientists sounding the alarm and countries including the United States moving to impose travel restrictions as the world feared another setback on the long road out of the pandemic. Senior Biden administration officials announced Friday that starting Monday, travel to the United States will be restricted from South Africa and seven other countries -- Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe. The new policy, which does not affect U.S. citizens and permanent residents, was enacted 'out of an abundance of caution,' officials said, as public health officials work to learn more about the new variant." The AP's story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update: More info on the new variant from Victoria at the top of today's Comments. ~~~

~~~ A related Washington Post story, by Annie Linskey, covers travel restrictions implemented as a result of the new coronavirus variant. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ President Biden's statement on the new variant is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Eshe Nelson of the New York Times: "Stocks around the world fell on Friday and oil prices plunged, after evidence of a new coronavirus variant in South Africa prompted another round of travel restrictions and reignited concerns about the economic toll imposed by the pandemic. The S&P 500 logged its worst day since February as a growing list of nations, including the United States, moved to prohibit travel from half a dozen or so African countries. The uncertainty shook a stock market that had been performing robustly, and market watchers said the heightened volatility might continue as countries assessed the risks of the variant. The number of mutations in this new variant has raised fears that it could be especially contagious and render current vaccines less effective. But scientists haven't come to firm conclusions yet." CNBC's report is here.

Rebecca Robbins of the New York Times: "The pharmaceutical company Merck said on Friday that in a final analysis of a clinical trial, its antiviral pill reduced the risk of hospitalization and death among high-risk Covid patients by 30 percent, down from an earlier estimate of 50 percent. The lower efficacy is a disappointment for the drug, known as molnupiravir, which health officials around the world are counting on as a critical tool to save lives and reduce the burden on hospitals. It increases the importance of a similar, apparently more effective, offering from Pfizer that is also under review by the Food and Drug Administration."

Beyond the Beltway

Debra Kahn, et al., of Politico (Nov. 23): "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants half a billion dollars to protect his state from the ravages of 'extreme weather events.' Texas Gov. Greg Abbott devoted $1.6 billion toward preparing communities for increasingly devastating hurricanes. But they still won't say if they believe in climate change. Even if conservative politicians can't stomach the words, they're spending money to combat the fallout hammering their states and cities. Bracing for global warming is the rare climate issue that appeals to both Republicans and Democrats, and 34 states have done some sort of climate-adaptation planning, according to Georgetown University's state policy tracker.... Conservative Republicans still refuse to explicitly connect global warming with what's happening at home."

Missouri. Lindsey Bever & Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "Kevin Strickland was exonerated in a 1978 triple murder, but under Missouri law, he is not eligible for any compensation from the state for the 43 years he spent behind bars -- one of the longest-standing wrongful convictions in the nation's history. That hasn't stopped his supporters from stepping in instead, raising more than $1 million through a GoFundMe campaign to help him start a new life.... Taken into custody as a teenager, Strickland has no retirement savings, no work history to help him get Social Security benefits -- and no compensation from the state of Missouri, which by law only grants people compensation when they are proven innocent through DNA testing."

Way Beyond

Ukraine/Russia. David Stern of the Washington Post: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asserted Friday that a group of Russians and Ukrainians planned to attempt a coup in Ukraine next month and that the plotters tried to enlist the help of the country's richest man, Rinat Akhmetov. Zelensky, speaking at a 'press marathon' for local and international media, said that audio recordings, obtained by Ukraine's security services, caught plotters discussing their plans and mentioning Akhmetov's name." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

November 26, 2021

Afternoon Update:

Matthew Daly of the AP: "The Biden administration on Friday recommended an overhaul of the nation's oil and gas leasing program to limit areas available areas for energy development and raise costs for oil and gas companies to drill on public land and water. The long-awaited report by the Interior Department stops short of recommending an end to oil and gas leasing on public lands, as many environmental groups have urged. But officials said the report would lead to a more responsible leasing process that provides a better return to U.S. taxpayers.... Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement ... that the new report's recommendations will mitigate worsening climate change impacts 'while staying steadfast in the pursuit of environmental justice.'″ The Washington Post's story is here.

Perry Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "A new, possibly more infectious coronavirus variant, with an unusual number of mutations, had scientists sounding the alarm and countries including the United States moving to impose travel restrictions as the world feared another setback on the long road out of the pandemic. Senior Biden administration officials announced Friday that starting Monday, travel to the United States will be restricted from South Africa and seven other countries -- Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe. The new policy, which does not affect U.S. citizens and permanent residents, was enacted 'out of an abundance of caution,' officials said, as public health officials work to learn more about the new variant." The AP's story is here. ~~~

~~~ A related Washington Post story, by Annie Linskey, covers travel restrictions implemented as a result of the new omicron variant. ~~~

~~~ President Biden's statement on the new variant is here.

David Stern of the Washington Post: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asserted Friday that a group of Russians and Ukrainians planned to attempt a coup in Ukraine next month and that the plotters tried to enlist the help of the country's richest man, Rinat Akhmetov. Zelensky, speaking at a 'press marathon' for local and international media, said that audio recordings, obtained by Ukraine's security services, caught plotters discussing their plans and mentioning Akhmetov's name."

Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "Since he was acquitted of homicide and other charges last Friday, Kyle Rittenhouse has said he wanted to stay out of politics, and that he was disturbed by how his case became politicized.... Yet Rittenhouse ... has emerged as a symbolic figure for the pro-Trump right wing.... Rittenhouse made the comments about politics and polarization on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show, which had a crew embedded with the Rittenhouse team during his trial. He has appeared alongside Republican operatives in photos, and he met with Donald Trump himself at the former president's private Mar-a-Lago club in Florida." Schwatz names some of the Trump acolytes who have associated themselves with Rittenhouse.

~~~~~~~~~~

Marie: Many thanks to all the well-wishers who remarked in yesterday's Comments. I am so thankful for all of your contributions over the years. I agree that the Comments are the best part of Reality Chex.

Kathryn Watson of CBS News: "President Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited the Coast Guard Brant Station on Nantucket Thursday, thanking the service members for their service and sacrifice. The Bidens are spending Thanksgiving on the Massachusetts island as part of their annual family tradition. Mr. Biden and the first lady spoke with service members and snapped pictures with them."

Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post (Nov. 24): "The Pentagon has created a new intelligence division exclusively dedicated to investigating unidentified objects that breach sensitive U.S. airspace, to understand both their origin and whether they could threaten national security. Announced late Tuesday night, the new division -- which the Defense Department will call its Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group -- is a direct response to more than 140 reports of 'unidentified aerial phenomena,' or UAP, dating back nearly two decades and documented in a government study issued this past summer. That inquiry, intended to determine whether such sightings were signs of foreign threats, atmospheric anomalies, faulty sensors or even extraterrestrial life, yielded a report with few firm conclusions."

The Rimes of the Youngish Mariners. Ian Duncan of the Washington Post: "A congressionally ordered review of the federal sailors academy concluded the school was beset with problems including aging facilities, a striking lack of diversity, and a curriculum that was failing to keep up with the needs of an evolving shipping industry. The National Academy of Public Administration said that widespread problems at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy had festered for years, with school leaders lacking the wherewithal to solve them. The school, the group said, had 'lost its way.'... The Merchant Marine school is part of the Department of Transportation. The review's authors issued 67 recommendations and said it was up to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to launch a task force and overhaul the Kings Point, N.Y., school.... The Transportation Department said it has already taken steps to start modernizing facilities at the academy and to revamp sexual assault protections."

Jacqueline Alemany of the Washington Post: "Stephen K. Bannon, the former Trump White House adviser, has filed an opposition to the U.S. district court's standard protective order for discovery, which prohibits either side from releasing documents or evidence publicly. Bannon, 67, pleaded not guilty last week to contempt-of-Congress charges, and his legal team previously argued that the case would be more complicated by agreeing to the prosecution's protective order for discovery.... Bannon's legal team argued that the government offered little reason the documents should be withheld from public view, adding that many of the documents that would be restricted by the proposed protective order in this case are already public." MB: So he's for full disclosure of documents he won't disclose. Makes sense.

Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "A Scottish judge won't order the government to investigate Donald Trump's golf courses for possible money laundering, although the country's top prosecutor may decide to pursue the case. Lord Sandison issued a 44-page judicial decision Thursday siding with the government, which argued against investigating financial irregularities at the Trump golf courses, and leaving the matter up to Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain, who is essentially Scotland's attorney general, reported The Daily Beast." The Beast story is subscriber-firewalled.

The Pandemic, Ctd., Brought to You by the Unvaccinated

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here: "Scientists in South Africa on Thursday identified a concerning new coronavirus variant with mutations that one scientist said marked a 'big jump in evolution,' prompting several countries to quickly limit travel from the region. Within hours, Britain, Israel and Singapore had restricted travel from South Africa and some neighboring countries, citing the threat of the new variant. By Friday, markets were down in Japan in response to the discovery, and officials in Australia and in New Zealand said that they were monitoring the new variant closely. The European Commission will also propose restricting air travel to the bloc from southern Africa...."

Canada. Mack Lamoureux of Vice: "Earlier this week, the so-called QAnon Queen of Canada opened up 'duck-hunting' season in the Great White North.... These 'duck hunters' are'soldiers' of Roman Didulo -- a Canadian woman who has convinced thousands of QAnon adherents that she's the secret ruler of Canada -- targeting health care workers administering COVID-19 vaccines to children, politicians, journalists, and others who make up the cabal at the heart of the QAnon conspiracy.... in a post on Sunday to her over 70,000 followers on Telegram, Didulo ... demanded the mass arrests of those they consider opposition, and wanted her soldiers to take control of newspapers and seize the border. 'Shoot to kill anyone who tries to inject Children under the age of 19 years old with Coronavirus19 vaccines/ bioweapons or any other Vaccines,' she wrote." MB: Nothing in the article suggests either Telegram or Canada is doing anything about Didulo's incitement to murder.

Beyond the Beltway

Georgia. AP: "The former prosecutor charged with misconduct for her handling of the Ahmaud Arbery case was booked at a Georgia jail on Wednesday and released. Former Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson turned herself in Wednesday morning at the Glynn County jail, county Undersheriff Ron Corbett said. Jail records show she was released on her own recognizance.... A grand jury indicted Johnson, 49, last week on a felony charge of violating her oath of office and a misdemeanor count of obstructing police. Johnson was the area's top prosecutor when three white men chased and fatally shot Arbery last year. The indictment alleges she used her position to discourage police from making arrests in the 25-year-old Black man's killing." Via the Raw Story.

Massachusetts. Gillian Brockell of the Washington Post has more on Squanto (Tisquantum), including his mysterious death (murder??) about a year after the First Thanksgiving & his possible burial under a Toney Chatham golf course.

New Jersey. Mike Ives & Alyssa Lukpat of the New York Times: "A Newark police officer was charged with reckless vehicular homicide, prosecutors said on Wednesday, accusing the man of hitting a pedestrian with his personal car and briefly taking the body home, where he discussed with his mother what to do with it. The officer, Louis Santiago of the Newark Police Department, was off duty when his Honda Accord drifted into the northbound shoulder of the Garden State Parkway around 3 a.m. on Nov. 1, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said in a news release issued on Wednesday. His car struck Damian Z. Dymka, 29, a nurse from Bergen County. Neither Mr. Santiago nor the passenger in his car, Albert Guzman, both 25, called 911 or rendered aid to Mr. Dymka, the prosecutor's office said. Instead, Mr. Santiago drove away and returned to the scene multiple times before loading the victim into the Honda and driving to the home he shared with his parents in Bloomfield, N.J.... Mr. Santiago's father, Lt. Luis Santiago of the Newark Police Department, called 911 at some point to report that his son had been in an accident.When the state police arrived, they found Mr. Dymka's body in the Honda's back seat." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: There are lessons to be learned here, including one about the perils of nepotism. When I read stories like this, I often hark back to the marvelous Tom Paxton's 1963 song "What Did You Learn in School Today?". a song about the Great American Lesson Plan. One of those lessons: "I learned that policemen are my friends."

New York. Sarah Nir of the New York Times: The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade returned to New York City.

Way Beyond

Canada. NPR: "Canada taps into strategic reserves to deal with massive shortage ... of maple syrup.... The Canadian group Quebec Maple Syrup Producers recently announced it was releasing about 50 million pounds of its strategic maple syrup reserves -- about half of the total stockpile. Quebec produces nearly 70% of the world's maple syrup, with the US being its biggest client for the sweet stuff. However, this year producers weren't able to keep up with worldwide demand, which jumped 21%, according to Bloomberg."

Russia. Ivan Nechepurenko of the New York Times: "A gas buildup and explosion in a Siberian coal mine on Thursday killed at least 52 people -- including six rescuers -- in the country's worst mining disaster in over a decade, Russian officials said. The accident occurred early in the morning at the Listvyazhnaya mine in the Kemerovo region of Russia, about 2,200 miles east of Moscow, after a ventilation shaft began filling with gas, Russia's Investigative Committee reported. Rescue efforts at the mine, which plunges 1,300 feet into the earth, continued throughout the day even as the death toll kept rising.... Interfax, the Russian news agency, reported that there appeared to be no hope of finding anyone else alive.... Coal mine accidents have been common in Russia since Soviet times, with some attributed to the sporadic enforcement of regulations."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Stephen Sondheim, one of Broadway history's songwriting titans, whose music and lyrics raised and reset the artistic standard for the American stage musical, died early Friday at his home in Roxbury, Conn. He was 91. His lawyer and friend, F. Richard Pappas, announced the death. He said he did not know the cause but added that Mr. Sondheim had not been known to be ill and that the death was sudden. The day before, Mr. Sondheim had celebrated Thanksgiving with a dinner with friends in Roxbury, Mr. Pappas said." ~~~

~~~ "In an interview [with Michael Paulson of the New York Times] on Sunday, the revered composer and lyricist, 91, contentedly discussed his shows running on Broadway and off, as well as new movie about to be released."

New York Times: "Dr. Zena Stein, a South African-born epidemiologist whose influential work encompassed the effects of famine on children, the health of entire communities afflicted by poverty and the impact of the AIDS crisis on women in Africa, died on Nov. 7 at her home in Coatesville, Pa. She was 99."