By Lambert Strether of Corrente<\/p>\n
Bird Song of the Day<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Common Nightingale, Punta Camorro, C\u00e1diz, Andaluc\u00eda, Spain.<\/p>\n
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\nIn Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/p>\n
(1) Democrat Inner Party considered as a wretched hive of scum and villainy.<\/p>\n
(2) New RCP polling averages.<\/p>\n
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Look for the Helpers<\/p>\n
\u201cBook Review: Dream! Hack! Build! \u2013 Unleash Citizen-Driven Innovation with the Power of Hackathons\u201d [Dotneteers]. \u201c\u2018Dream! Hack! Build!\u2018 by Ann Molin, Love Dager, Mustafa Sherif, Carolina Emanuelson, and Dr. Kristofer Vernmark is an inspiring and practical guide to leveraging hackathons for fostering innovation and addressing societal challenges. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in driving impactful change through collaborative efforts\u2026. The book emphasizes the importance of engaging citizens in the innovation process. It provides practical examples, such as the Dream for Sweden campaign, which invited citizens to share their dreams and ideas for a better future. This approach ensures that the solutions developed are more inclusive and aligned with the needs of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
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My email address is down by the plant; please send examples of there (\u201cHelpers\u201d in the subject line). In our increasingly desperate and fragile neoliberal society, everyday normal incidents and stories of \u201cthe communism of everyday life\u201d are what I am looking for (and not, say, the Red Cross in Hawaii, or even the UNWRA in Gaza).<\/p>\n
Politics<\/p>\n
\u201cSo many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital.\u201d \u2013Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles<\/p>\n
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2024<\/p>\n
Less than four months to go!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s RCP Poll Averages:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/rcp_2024-07-19.png\")
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Virginia and North Carolina added to the list. NC was never going for Biden, but Virginia? Yikes! <\/p>\n
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Unelecting Biden:<\/p>\n
\u201cSome way he make himself all soft like a blob of jelly and surround me so nasty. Then he gets wet all over like with green slime. So I guess he come to some kinda awful climax.\u201d \u2013William Burroughs, Naked Lunch<\/p>\n
Lambert here: I don\u2019t have a dog in this fight, as I\u2019ve said. After all, Biden, on my Covid beat, slaughtered hundreds of thousands of people with his policy of mass infection without mitigation. And that\u2019s before we get to brinkmanship with nuclear powers (but yes, Lina Khan). On the other hand, the Democrats seeking to defenestrate Biden \u2014 and who, three years ago, in one of life\u2019s little ironies, installed him, optimized the primary to elect him, and who, until a few days ago, serviced and defended him \u2014 are absolutely a wretched hive of scum and villainy, and the Democrat Party would be far better off if a cleansing fire from Heaven burnt away these podcasters, pundits, strategists, intelligence assets, donors, Flexians, and ice cream connoisseurs, along with the Wizard of Kalorama\u2122 and his entourage. Perhaps \u2014 to shift metaphors \u2014 if these barnacles and parasites were scraped off the hull, the good ship Democrat could make some headway.<\/p>\n
Lambert still here: Yesterday, I questioned Pelosi\u2019s strategic genius, based on questions of the calendar. However, \u201cThe purpose of a system is what it does,\u201d says Stafford Beer, designer of the Cybersim system for Allende (\u201cThere is \u2018no point in claiming that the purpose of a system is to do what it constantly fails to do’\u201d). If the outcome of the past few week\u2019s machinations is Kamala coronated, and not elected, then that was the system\u2019s purpose and Pelosi\u2019s intent (as well as Obama\u2019s), and probably has been a long time (note that pushing the calendar to the breaking point optimizes for a coronation, because there\u2019s no time to put together an open convention).<\/p>\n
Lambert here, ordering up strong drink: For a long time, I\u2019ve examined the structure of the Democrat Party (without coming to a definitive conclusion, along with the many political scientists over the years who have also not come to a conclusion). However, one constant slogan\/maxim\/nugget of wisdom is that \u201cthe party decides\u201d (and not, say, the donors). Should the \u201cWretched Hive\u201d (see above) succeed in defenestrating Biden, we might revise that slogan to read \u201cThe Inner Party\u201d decides; it is not at all clear to me that the ground troops \u2014 the precinct captains, the election officers, the organizers, loyalists generally \u2014 want to replace Biden. The anecdotes I have seen argue the reverse, as does the fact that only 36% of House electeds were willing to sign on to the letter that Wretched Hive was privately circulating. So we would have a wonderfully clarifying operational defintion of \u201cour democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lambert, pounding one back: If I were Biden, I\u2019d be in Gotterdammer\u00fcng mode, and if I wanted to cut a deal with these backstabbing weasels, this would be it: The convention will nominate me (\u201cI have done the state some service, and they know \u2018t\u201d), at which point I will graciously refuse the nomination, opening the convention. Presumably the Wretched Hive will have wired everything up by that point, so the convention won\u2019t be open at all, and so be it.<\/p>\n
Lambert, slamming the glass down: After Biden\u2019s debate debacle, I introduced the framing that it was \u201ctime to take the car keys away.\u201d This was valid (a) in that it removed all the medical jargon and online diagnosis from the discourse, and (b) reframed the discourse in terms that many, many families could understand. What I did not consider was the larger context: The car keys still have to be given to somebody, but who? The airheaded daughter among whose skills are not numbered actually driving? Any one of the sludge-brained sons who consistently drive 45 mph in the left lane? Some Junior High schooler with a learner\u2019s permit? Who, exactly? Let\u2019s remember that this is the stupidest timeline, and that it\u2019s always possible to make things worse\u2026. <\/p>\n
The DNC<\/p>\n
\u201cDemocrats in Turmoil as Party Leaders Call for Biden To Step Aside\u201d [Democrats in Turmoil as Party Leaders Call for Biden To Step Aside\u201d [RealClearPolitics]. \u201cIn a letter to \u2018Fellow Democrats,\u2019 Biden cited many reasons for remaining in the race, placing particular emphasis on the argument that he was the choice of Democratic primary voters, and that it would be wrong to disregard their voice. \u2018The voters of the Democratic Party have voted. They have chosen me to be the nominee of the party. Do we now just say this process didn\u2019t matter?\u2019 \u2026 the Democratic National Committee has taken unprecedented measures to guarantee a Biden-Harris ticket comes to fruition. There was the reorganization of the primary calendar, a historic change that slated Biden-friendly South Carolina as the first Democratic primary of the year\u2026. There were no primary debates this year, either.\u201d \u2022 And every single member of the Wretched Hive supported the DNC\u2019s actions, vociferously,<\/p>\n
Biden Circle<\/p>\n
\u201cBiden\u2019s family starts discussing his possible exit plan from the 2024 race\u201d [NBC]. \u201cMembers of President Joe Biden\u2019s family have discussed what an exit from his campaign might look like, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The overall tone of the conversations has been that any exit plan \u2014 should Biden decide to take that step, as some of his closest allies increasingly believe he will \u2014 should put the party in the best position to beat former President Donald Trump while also being worthy of the more than five decades he has served the country in elected office, these people said. Biden\u2019s family members have specifically discussed how he would want to end his re-election bid on his own timing and with a carefully calculated plan in place. Considerations about the impact of the campaign on his health, his family and the stability of the country are among those at the forefront of the discussions, the people familiar with those discussions said. The prospect of Biden\u2019s considering stepping aside, much less that his family is gaming out a possible exit plan, is an extraordinary development that comes after he has repeatedly said he would not relinquish his position as the presumptive nominee of the party.\u201d \u2022 Who are the \u201ctwo people familiar\u201d? Jill? Hunter? Unlikely.<\/p>\n
\u201cBiden campaign, White House deny report Biden discussing with family exit plan from 2024 race\u201d [Just the News]. \u201cThee White House and the Biden campaign on Friday denied a news report that President Biden is having discussions with family members about a possible exit plan from the 2024 presidential race against GOP nominee Donald Trump. \u2018That is not happening, period,\u2019 said White House spokesperson Andrew Bates. \u201cThe individuals making those claims are not speaking for his family or his team \u2013 and they will be proven wrong. Keep the faith.\u201d\u2026 Jen O\u2019Malley Dillon, Biden\u2019s re-election campaign chair, said on Friday that Biden isn\u2019t leaving the race and he has \u201cmultiple pathways to victory\u201d in November.<\/p>\n
\u201cBiden left feeling angry and betrayed by top Democratic leaders wavering on his campaign\u201d [NBC News]. I can\u2019t think why. \u201cPresident Joe Biden feels personally hurt and betrayed by the way so many Democrats, including some of the party\u2019s top leaders, have left him hung out to dry as he faces the biggest crisis of his political career, according to two sources familiar with his thinking. And privately, many of those leaders have expressed doubts about his path forward. Former President Barack Obama\u2019s only public comment came the day after Biden\u2019s disastrous debate last month, when he tweeted \u201cBad debate nights happen\u201d and talked about his former vice president\u2019s virtues. Privately, however, Obama has concerns. Bill and Hillary Clinton have done nothing publicly other than each putting out a tweet shortly after the June 27 debate. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, both of New York, as well as Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former House speaker, have spent weeks listening to their members\u2019 concerns and relaying them to Biden and his campaign. Publicly, all three have said they support whatever decision Biden makes, but even behind closed doors, they haven\u2019t told congressional Democrats to get behind Biden or given them any guidance about what they should do.\u201d \u2022 Even if you\u2019re a big dog, nobody cares how loudly you bark from your kennel\u2026. <\/p>\n
The Campaign Trail:<\/p>\n
Biden (D): \u201cBiden Campaign Schedules an All-Hands as Defections Grow\u201d [NOTUS]. \u201cDemocratic leaders signaled in their most direct terms this week that they\u2019re prepared to leak their private conversations with President Joe Biden until he drops out of the 2024 race. And, as of Thursday, the pressure \u2014 and the leaks \u2014 were only mounting\u2026 Democrats told NOTUS on Thursday that members are holding back from an all-out jailbreak from the president, but enough lawmakers are preparing to call on Biden to step aside in the coming days so that the president gets the point. \u2018It is building to a head this weekend, and we should have movement,\u201d one House Democrat told NOTUS on Thursday. \u201cSo I think many members, out of respect for Biden, will likely wait, but a few will not because, you know, I think what they don\u2019t want is to create any perception by Biden that the opposition is over.\u2019 This lawmaker noted that Biden has seemed to get the message before that he has to step down as the Democratic nominee \u2014 only to ignore the opposition and forge ahead. That is why more lawmakers are preparing to go public in the coming days unless Biden indicates he will drop out. \u2018We could get some signal from the White House that, you know, they\u2019re preparing a major announcement or something like that, and then everything would freeze,\u2019 this Democrat said. \u2018But, you know, short of that, I think there will continue to be some forward motion by members of Congress who want to maintain pressure.’\u201d \u2022 So, the pressure is leaks? That\u2019s where we are? That\u2019s what we know how to do?<\/p>\n
Republican Funhouse<\/p>\n
\u201cThe GOP\u2019s Big Working-Class Bet\u201d [Ruy Teixiera, The Liberal Patriot]. \u201cDemocrats seem inclined to believe that the GOP\u2019s big bet on the working class\u2014of which the Vance nomination is surely a part\u2014cannot possibly pay off due to the party\u2019s obvious hypocrisy, incoherent policy ideas, and traditional business-oriented commitments. Therefore, the GOP\u2019s latest moves will be of little consequence. Here\u2019s the problem: not only could the GOP\u2019s big bet on the working class pay off\u2014it already is paying off. Let\u2019s go to the tape. In the July New York Times\/Siena poll, Biden is losing to Trump by 23 points among working-class likely voters. In their June poll, which was closer to the running average of the polls, Trump led by 17 points among working-class likely voters. Either way, this is a massive shift from the 2020 election where Trump carried these voters by only 4 points and mostly explains why Trump is running ahead this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Syndemics<\/p>\n
\u201cI am in earnest \u2014 I will not equivocate \u2014 I will not excuse \u2014 I will not retreat a single inch \u2014 AND I WILL BE HEARD.\u201d \u2013William Lloyd Garrison<\/p>\n
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Covid Resources, United States (National): Transmission (CDC); Wastewater (CDC, Biobot; includes many counties; Wastewater Scan, includes drilldown by zip); Variants (CDC; Walgreens); \u201cIowa COVID-19 Tracker\u201d (in IA, but national data). \u201cInfection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts\u201d (especially on hospitalization by city).<\/p>\n
Lambert here: Readers, thanks for the collective effort. To update any entry, do feel free to contact me at the address given with the plants. Please put \u201cCOVID\u201d in the subject line. Thank you!<\/p>\n
Resources, United States (Local): 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 reports); ID (dashboard, Boise; dashboard, wastewater, Central Idaho; wastewater, Coeur d\u2019Alene; 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).<\/p>\n
Resources, Canada (National): Wastewater (Government of Canada).<\/p>\n
Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (wastewater); QC (les eaux us\u00e9es); BC (wastewater); BC, Vancouver (wastewater).<\/p>\n
Hat tips to helpful 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, KF, LL, Michael King, KF, LaRuse, mrsyk, MT, MT_Wild, otisyves, Petal (6), RK (2), RL, RM, Rod, square coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3). <\/p>\n
Stay safe out there!<\/p>\n
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TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/p>\n
LEGEND<\/p>\n
1) \u2605 for charts new today; all others are not updated.<\/p>\n
2) For a full-size\/full-resolution image, Command-click (MacOS) or right-click (Windows) on the chart thumbnail and \u201copen image in new tab.\u201d<\/p>\n
NOTES<\/p>\n
[1] (CDC) This week\u2019s wastewater map, with hot spots annotated. Worse than two weeks ago.<\/p>\n
[2] (CDC) Last week\u2019s wastewater map.<\/p>\n
[3] (CDC Variants) LB.1 coming up on the outside.<\/p>\n
[4] (ER) This is the best I can do for now. At least data for the entire pandemic is presented.<\/p>\n
[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Now acceleration, which is compatible with a wastewater decrease, but still not a good feeling .(The New York city area has form; in 2020, as the home of two international airports (JFK and EWR) it was an important entry point for the virus into the country (and from thence up the Hudson River valley, as the rich sought to escape, and then around the country through air travel.)<\/p>\n
[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). This is the best I can do for now. Note the assumption that Covid is seasonal is built into the presentation, which in fact shows that Covid is not seasonal. At least data for the entire pandemic is presented.<\/p>\n
[7] (Walgreens) Still going up! (Because there is data in \u201ccurrent view\u201d tab, I think white states here have experienced \u201cno change,\u201d as opposed to have no data.)<\/p>\n
[8] (Cleveland) Still going up!<\/p>\n
[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Up. Those sh*theads at CDC have changed the chart so that it doesn\u2019t even run back to 1\/21\/23, as it used to, but now starts 1\/1\/24. There\u2019s also no way to adjust the time rasnge. CDC really doesn\u2019t want you to be able to take a historical view of the pandemic, or compare one surge to another. In an any case, that\u2019s why the shape of the curve has changed.<\/p>\n
[10] (Travelers: Variants) Same deal. Those sh*theads. <\/p>\n
[11] Deaths low, but positivity up.<\/p>\n
[12] Deaths low, ED up.<\/p>\n
Stats Watch<\/p>\n
There are no official statistics of interest today,<\/p>\n
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Tech: \u201cCrowdStrike fixes start at \u2018reboot up to 15 times\u2019 and get more complex from there\u201d [Ars Technica]. \u201cAirlines, payment processors, 911 call centers, TV networks, and other businesses have been scrambling this morning after a buggy update to CrowdStrike\u2019s Falcon security software caused Windows-based systems to crash with a dreaded blue screen of death (BSOD) error message.\u201d \u2022 Fifteen times? That\u2019s a lot.<\/p>\n
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Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 48 Neutral (previous close: 50 Neutral) [CNN]. One week ago: 54 (Neutral). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Jul 19 at 1:57:39 PM ET.<\/p>\n
News of the Wired<\/p>\n
\u201cWant to spot a deepfake? Look for the stars in their eyes\u201d [Royal Astronomical Society]. \u201cAI-generated fakes can be spotted by analysing human eyes in the same way that astronomers study pictures of galaxies. The crux of the work, by University of Hull MSc student Adejumoke Owolabi, is all about the reflection in a person\u2019s eyeballs. If the reflections match, the image is likely to be that of a real human. If they don\u2019t, they\u2019re probably deepfakes.\u201d \u2022 Until somebody fixes the algorithm?<\/p>\n
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Contact information for plants: Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, to (a) find out how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal and (b) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi, lichen, and coral are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. From TH:<\/p>\n
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TH writes: \u201d his is a rose at the Sherman Library and Gardens in Corona Del Mar (Newport Beach, California). There was no identifying label on the rose to tell me what I should order to get this pretty color combination\u2014but then, it\u2019s probably just as well. I\u2019ve had roses and am not sure I\u2019m up to the battle against aphids, rust, mildew, and the like.\u201d The only roses I\u2019ve ever had were Beach Roses, which are invasive and tough, but even they got Japanese beetles, yech.<\/p>\n
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Readers: Water Cooler is a standalone entity not covered by the annual NC fundraiser. So if you see a link you especially like, or an item you wouldn\u2019t see anywhere else, please do not hesitate to express your appreciation in tangible form. Remember, a tip jar is for tipping! Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know I\u2019m on the right track with coverage. When I get no donations for three or four days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals:<\/p>\n
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If you hate PayPal, you can email me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I will give you directions on how to send a check. Thank you!\n<\/p>\n
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