December 28, 2021

HBO's "And Just Like That..." a microcosm of why our culture is at a breaking point.

My wife and I have watched "Sex And the City" for many years. Seen every episode multiple times. My wife adores the first movie so much she's watched it DOZENS of times. She'd probably tell you that Big leaving Carrie at the altar was the most tragic moment in cinematic history!!

Sex and the City is a classic story of empowered independent women in the greatest city on the planet.

You have the bold and cocky New Yorker writing a relationship column... a powerful PR Exec with a strong, unashamed libido, a hard working attorney with a heart and a NYC debutante dealing with life's challenges of marriage, motherhood and professional success.



Fast forward a decade to "And Just Like That..."

The new series is a mess. It's like the writers/producers/director took EVERY complaint about the series for the last 2 decades and wrote story lines to apologize/compensate/make up for past transgressions.

What were previously strong independent women now come across as weak, unsure and pathetic... struggling to "fit into" the new "woke" world.

It's poorly done... Miranda Hobbs is illustrated falling all over herself "fangirling" over her new Black Professor but then committing faux pas after faux pas breaking all the "no-nos" like "White Knighting" and a dreadfully long scene where Miranda babbles on about the Professor's braids.

The series is horrible.

Oh and yeah they killed off Mr. Big. Too much toxic masculinity, I guess...



How does this translate to culture and politics today? Because nominally moderate and progressive people are feeling pressured to accept change that's coming at them hard and fast.

But it's more than just requesting acceptance... it seems as though some are not satisfied with mere acceptance and desire "forced celebration" of change...

In some circles, color blindness and acceptance aren't enough any more...



And Just Like That... the Right is on the march again.



Note: Instead of hitting the alert button... let's discuss it!

December 28, 2021

Gallup Approval poll... EDIT: delete text

Nevermind...

I was warned that this thread was being alerted as "Right Wing Meme" or some nonsense...

So, not worth the risk even though I just cut/paste the poll findings.

December 25, 2021

WHO says Covid booster programs limit vaccine supply for poor countries, could prolong pandemic

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/22/who-says-covid-vaccine-booster-programs-will-prolong-pandemic.html

World Health Organization officials on Wednesday criticized blanket Covid-19 vaccine booster programs as poor countries struggle to obtain initial doses, warning that the unequal access to immunizations could lead to more mutated variants that drag out the crisis.

“Blanket booster programs are likely to prolong the pandemic, rather than ending it, by diverting supply to countries that already have high levels of vaccination coverage, giving the virus more opportunity to spread and mutate,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news briefing.

December 24, 2021

COVID-19 Tests are the new Toilet Paper

I was at the grocery store last night picking up Christmas Dinner supplies and saw a sign "All COVID-19 Tests Out of Stock"

Thought hmmm...

Went to the corner store to grab a few bottles of wine this morning and a sign "No More COVID-19 Tests. Check back tomorrow"

I've been staring at stacks of C19 test kits all over the place for several months...

December 23, 2021

Maybe I watch too many movies... why don't the rich ever go on the run?

The sole exception I can think of is Roman Polanski.

Why didn't Maxwell hop on a G750 around the time Epstein was arrested with Swiss bank account info and a thumb drive with a few hundred bitcoin on it?

A direct flight from Teterboro to Moscow.

No extradition with the USA and Moscow is one of the best cities in the world to live in... provided you're RICH, that is.




And Rush Limbaugh... knowing that tens of millions hated him, why didn't he disappear?

The cool thing to do would have been for him to say GoodBye to all friends and relatives except for a few of his closest... and disappear to some shadowy destination to live out his last weeks?

When he passed, no reporting in public... pre-record tons of sound bites that could be fed out to the public any time the handlers wanted the world to believe he was still alive. For example... he can pre-record a dozen different bites talking about the 2023 Super Bowl... record it with a dozen different matchups. Release the bites for years, lol... political endorsements, etc...

People would think he's alive for years!

I know if I were rich... I'd be more creative than these clowns.

December 20, 2021

No need to despair... just because BBB is toast

Start writing Bills on individual proposals.

Like EV credits... write a Bill extending EV credits, resetting the "counter" on ALL automakers. An extra credit if you trade in a gas guzzler.

Then $300/child monthly tax credits...

Break the BBB into individual parts and bring them up for votes.

Get people on the record.

After the break, Congress needs to get busy.

December 19, 2021

COVID-19 infections likely much more prevalent. 40%+ Asymptomatic.

https://www.studyfinds.org/covid-patients-no-symptoms/

BEIJING, China — Four in 10 COVID-19 patients are asymptomatic carriers of the virus responsible for over 800,000 deaths in the United States, a new study warns. Researchers from China say a global study of almost 30 million people found “silent” cases of the virus are twice as prevalent than previous estimates feared.

The results show 40.5 percent of the confirmed cases of the illness are among people who show no symptoms of the infection at all. Rates rose among certain groups including pregnant women (54%), air and cruise travelers (53%), and care home residents or staff (48%).

“The high percentage of asymptomatic infections highlights the potential transmission risk of asymptomatic infections in communities,” corresponding author Professor Min Liu of Peking University writes in the journal JAMA Network Open.




The good news is... COVID-19 is likely far less lethal than most have predicted... possibly under 1% fatality rate.

The bad news is... COVID-19 may infect 5 Billion people.



Think about it... 40% of people who test positive had no symptoms. How many people walk around with it and DIDN'T get tested?

Asymptomatic people are far less likely to run out and get a test for no reason...

December 19, 2021

Student Loan Forgiveness... how to make it fair.

It's obviously and politically dangerous to pick a narrow band of the population and give them $10,000, $25,000 or $50,000??

The other 93% of the population won't be thrilled.

Some paid off their loans prior to today. Some worked their way through college to pay tuition. Some skipped the fancy college and went to Community College.

So do you send a check to EVERY American for the amount of the largest loan forgiveness amount?

Maybe issue Gov't bonds with full redemption value in X years?

Maybe issue a 15% increase in your Social Security payments when you start receiving?

Offer Gov't subsidies for housing?

There can be some flexibility, you can get benefits to all Americans... with an income cap of course.

December 15, 2021

Pelosi rejects stock-trading ban for members of Congress

https://www.businessinsider.com/we-are-free-market-economy-pelosi-rejects-stock-ban-congress-2021-12

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday rejected the idea of banning members of Congress and their spouses from holding and trading individual stocks while in office.

"This is a free market, and people — we are a free market economy. They should be able to participate in that," Pelosi said when asked by Insider at her weekly press conference.

Insider also asked Pelosi about "Conflicted Congress," a 5-month-long investigation by Insider that found 49 members of Congress and 182 senior congressional staffers have violated the STOCK Act, a law to prevent Insider trading.






Wow.

Discuss?

Related story:

https://www.npr.org/2021/09/21/1039313011/tiktokers-are-trading-stocks-by-watching-what-members-of-congress-do

Among a certain community of individual investors on TikTok, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's stock trading disclosures are a treasure trove. "Shouts out to Nancy Pelosi, the stock market's biggest whale," said user 'ceowatchlist.' Another said, "I've come to the conclusion that Nancy Pelosi is a psychic," while adding that she is the "queen of investing."

"She knew," declared Chris Josephs, analyzing a particular trade in Pelosi's financial disclosures. "And you would have known if you had followed her portfolio."

Last year, Josephs noticed that the trades, actually made by Pelosi's investor husband and merely disclosed by the speaker, were performing well.

Josephs is the co-founder of a company called Iris, which shows other people's stock trades. In the past year and a half, he has been taking advantage of a law called the Stock Act, which requires lawmakers to disclose stock trades and those of their spouses within 45 days.

December 14, 2021

I don't always agree with AOC... but she's right on this.

Congress critters and their staffs shouldn't be trading directly in the stock market...

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/09/should-lawmakers-own-individual-stock-some-members-of-congress-say-no.html

And more:

https://www.businessinsider.com/congress-staff-violated-stock-act-conflicts-of-interest-possible-2021-12

At least 182 high-ranking congressional staffers have violated a federal conflict-of-interest law with overdue disclosure of their personal stock trades

https://www.businessinsider.com/congress-members-are-trading-defense-stocks-while-shaping-military-policy-2021-12

At least 15 lawmakers who shape US defense policy have investments in military contractors

https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1468398015161552899?s=20