March 31, 2021

Portraits from the past come alive (April 2021 edition)

March 31, 2021

The Way We Were: Trump vs the Soup Nazi

March 30, 2021

A reminder: The UK has been in full lockdown since January 4.

Think of what the Brits have been going through, next time you hear a UK news story.

Stay at home; No visitors; No shopping other than essentials; Schools* and churches closed; Allowed to leave home for medical assistance, 1 hour of exercise, and also in cases of domestic violence.

That's how they dealt with the B.1.1.7 SARS-Cov-2 UK variant.

*Schools reopened March 8.
The opening of schools was followed by cases new infections flatlining/rising after falling steadily.
https://www.ft.com/content/e8b89c28-c36b-4a32-b4c7-4ebd39328473

People will be allowed to meet outside in no more than groups of six from today.

Meanwhile: Michigans COVID Number Some of the Nation's Worst
The B.1.1.7 variant has been identified in more than 1,000 cases and 42 counties in Michigan.

According to the latest numbers Michigan is getting hit hard by another wave of the coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control ranks Michigan second in the nation for the most reported cases of the B.1.1.7 variant. This strain ,was first discovered in the United kingdom, is spreading very quickly among those who have not been vaccinated. The variant has been identified in more than 1,000 cases and 42 counties in Michigan. The newest surge in our state is tied to high school and youth sports. Hospitalizations in Michigan have seen a surge of 800% in the 40-49 age group.

https://wbckfm.com/michigans-covid-numbers-some-of-the-nations-worst/

Michigan's hospitalizations for the Coronavirus have risen 53% in one week:

The Good News: No one who has been fully or partially vaccinated is reported to be have been admitted to hospital with COVID.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215283049

All Michigan resident's 16 years and over will be eligible for the vaccines from April 5.

March 30, 2021

QAnon wonders, what happen to the children in containers on the Ever Given Suez Canal ship?

QAnon Claims Stuck Suez Canal Ship Used by Hillary Clinton to Traffic Children

Followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory trying to find meaning behind the blocking of the Suez Canal by a cargo ship claim that the vessel is being used by Hillary Clinton for child sex trafficking.

https://www.newsweek.com/qanon-ship-suez-canal-hillary-clinton-1578428
https://twitter.com/Shayan86/status/1376587835919249416

March 30, 2021

'Captain Underpants' Book Pulled Off Shelves for 'Passive Racism' and Asian Stereotypes

Publishers might as well do a complete assessment of their children's books, and get this over with.

Captain Underpants' Book Pulled Off Shelves for 'Passive Racism' and Asian Stereotypes
https://news.yahoo.com/captain-underpants-book-pulled-off-202946496.html

A spin-off book of the highly successful Captain Underpants franchise will no longer be distributed due to its “passive racism” and Asian stereotypes. “The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future,” a graphic novel by children’s author Dav Pilkey, was first published in 2010. The book follows cavemen Ook and Gluk as they time travel to the year 2222 and meet a martial arts instructor named Master Wong.

According to an official statement issued by Scholastic -- the publisher of Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants books -- “Ook and Gluk” will be pulled off shelves. It had an initial print run of one million copies, according to the BBC. Scholastic acknowledged that the book “perpetuates passive racism” and has received “full support” from Pilkey to halt its distribution. This decision comes in the midst of an increase in anti-Asian attacks in the States.

“Scholastic has removed the book from our websites, stopped fulfillment of any orders (domestically or abroad), contacted our retail partners to explain why this book is no longer available, and sought a return of all inventory,”

Scholastic wrote. “We will take steps to inform schools and libraries who may still have this title in circulation of our decision to withdraw it from publication.”

March 30, 2021

George R.R. Martin may be unable to finish his Game of Thrones books.

George RR Martin signs five-year, eight-figure deal for more HBO projects
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/mar/29/george-rr-martin-signs-five-year-eight-figure-deal-hbo-projects-game-of-thrones

Hollywood Reporter has revealed that the author, who won four Emmys for his work on the adaptations of his bestselling A Song of Ice and Fire series, has signed a contract “worth mid-eight figures” spanning five years.
...

However, fans are still waiting for Martin to finish writing the books Game of Thrones was based on – the sixth book, The Winds of Winter, has been anticipated since the previous instalment was published in 2011. Martin has repeatedly cited both his workload and travel as preventing him from finishing what will be the penultimate book in the series.

Martin is also working on a Game of Thrones Netflix film, and Broadway play. The last Game of Thrones book, A Dance with Dragons, was published in July, 2011. Martin has promised the sixth, The Winds of Winter, would be published next year, every year since 2015.

March 30, 2021

Senior Australian politician jokes she'd 'kill' to be sexually harassed... and no, it's not funny

A senior Australian politician has suffered a furious backlash for reportedly making a tasteless and insensitive joke about wanting some male attention.

Liberal Party federal vice-president Teena McQueen allegedly said: “I would kill to be sexually harassed at the moment,” during a meeting with three colleagues.

The women, fellow liberals, joined McQueen to discuss a new code of conduct when she made the tasteless comments, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

However, though the 76-year-old grandmother has since admitted to making a self-deprecatory quip, she insists she didn’t utter those exact words.

“What I said was, at my age — and it was a joke — every woman ages and I’m no longer sexually harassed, which is a fair comment considering I’m a grandmother,” McQueen told news.com.au.

https://www.indy100.com/news/teena-mcqueen-kill-sexually-harrassed-joke-b1824372

What sort of Australian woman jokes about wanting to be sexually harassed? The Vice President of their conservative party, who goes to CPAC and wears a MAGA hat.

March 30, 2021

The way we were: Lockdown one year ago.

A reminder that Andrew Cuomo was light in the darkness - a source of science, information, and empathy when there was none in the Oval Office.

March 30, 2021

Michigan: 53% surge in hospitalizations BUT none who were fully / partially vaccinated.

Across Michigan, hospitalizations of people infected with coronavirus rose 53% last week


https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/03/29/michigan-covid-hospitalizations-rising-faster-than-fall/7052373002/

The good news

The very good news is that vaccinations are proving to be hugely successful for those who have been immunized so far.

[Michigan Health & Hospital Association] officials say they’ve heard no reports of hospitalizations among people who are fully or partially vaccinated.

In fact, COVID-19 cases among residents in Michigan’s skilled nursing facilities have dropped 96% since the start of the federal vaccination program for long-term care facilities in late December, according to the Health Care Association of Michigan. ...

(COVID-19 cases in Michigan nursing homes dropped 96%, deaths dropped 99% since late December)

Coronavirus cases among senior citizens in the general population also are plummeting, the data shows. Even as case numbers skyrocket among other age groups, the average number of daily new cases per capita is down 54% this month for ages 80 and older and down 26% for those in their 70s compared to the average rate for the first year of the pandemic. ...

Michigan's hot spot for new cases has been the conservative counties north of Detroit, an area known as the Thumb, a bastion of Trump voters that has been especially resistant to pandemic restrictions and mask mandates.

https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2021/03/michigans-covid-19-numbers-increasing-at-troubling-pace-whats-going-on.html

The surge has been related to the UK B.1.1.7 strain and re-opening of schools, gyms, movie theaters, and indoor dining .

March 29, 2021

RW economists have been warning about 'Big Inflation' each time

... each time a Democrat is in the White House. They remain strangely silent when Republicans blow up the deficit.

Friedman-lite, Larry Summers, is the latest example.
https://www.businessinsider.com/larry-summers-inflation-fears-biden-stimulus-infrastructure-federal-reserve-recovery-2021-3?op=1

There was 'Big Inflation' in the 1970s, and I remember those debates well.

The monetarists were lying through their teeth. It was not deficits and government spending that ramped up inflation. There was the little matter of oil prices rising from $3.25/barrel in 1973, to $33/barrel in 1980. And that had nothing to do with the free-market. It was OPEC.

Biden should not give small government economists 1 minute of his time.