Bird Song of the Day<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Sage Thrasher, Sierra Valley\u2013Marble Hot Springs Rd., Plumas, California, United States. \u201cSong including mimicry. Bird singing from a fencepost at roadside.\u201d Eight minutes so grab a cup of coffee<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
In Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/p>\n
Pollsters and polling.
\nGetting to know Kamala.
\nElection Trump\u2019s to lose: Is that what he\u2019s doing?
\nBoeing\u2019s \u201cabsurd litany of self-inflicted crises\u201d plus brutal Senate report on whistleblower reports.<\/p>\n
* * *<\/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
* * *<\/p>\n
Trump Assassination Attempts (Plural)<\/p>\n
\u201cAileen Cannon set to oversee apparent Trump assassination attempt case in Florida\u201d [Politico]. \u201cU.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon \u2014 a Trump appointee \u2014 was randomly assigned the attempted assassination case Tuesday after a grand jury in Miami returned a five-count indictment against Ryan Routh in connection with the Sept. 15 incident at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla.\u201d \u2022 Life\u2019s little ironies!<\/p>\n
2024<\/p>\n
Less than fifty days to go!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s RCP Poll Averages:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/rcp_2024-09-20.png\")
<\/p>\n
Once again, the Democrats must be very puzzled to have virtual unanimity across the political spectrum that \u201cHarris is the one\u201d \u2014 no doubt there will be another liberalgasm after Oprah \u2014 and yet the election is a virtual tie. How can this be? Perhaps a few more Republicans, generals, or celebrities will turn the tide.<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
\u201cKey things to know about U.S. election polling in 2024\u201d [Pew Research]. \u201cAdjusting on more variables produces more accurate results, according to Center studies in 2016 and 2018. A number of pollsters have taken this lesson to heart. For example, recent high-quality polls by Gallup and The New York Times\/Siena College adjusted on eight and 12 variables, respectively. Our own polls typically adjust on 12 variables. In a perfect world, it wouldn\u2019t be necessary to have that much intervention by the pollster. But the real world of survey research is not perfect.\u201d And: \u201cPreelection polls face one crucial challenge that routine opinion polls do not: determining who of the people surveyed will actually cast a ballot. Roughly a third of eligible Americans do not vote in presidential elections, despite the enormous attention paid to these contests. Determining who will abstain is difficult because people can\u2019t perfectly predict their future behavior \u2013 and because many people feel social pressure to say they\u2019ll vote even if it\u2019s unlikely. No one knows the profile of voters ahead of Election Day. We can\u2019t know for sure whether young people will turn out in greater numbers than usual, or whether key racial or ethnic groups will do so. This means pollsters are left to make educated guesses about turnout, often using a mix of historical data and current measures of voting enthusiasm. This is very different from routine opinion polls, which mostly do not ask about people\u2019s future intentions.\u201d And finally: \u201cWhen major news breaks, a poll\u2019s timing can matter. Public opinion on most issues is remarkably stable, so you don\u2019t necessarily need a recent poll about an issue to get a sense of what people think about it. But dramatic events can and do change public opinion.\u201d \u2022 Which is why \u201cearly voting\u201d in any form, including mail-in ballots, is morally wrong in a democracy. <\/p>\n
\u201cPolling Error in 2016-2020: Look Out for Wisconsin\u201d [Larry Sabato\u2019s Crystal Ball]. \u201cTo be clear, we have no idea whether the polls will be biased consistently one way or the other in 2024. Maybe Trump will be understated again: if so, he is almost certainly going to win the election given how close the polls are now. Maybe Harris will be understated: if so, she is in a great position to win given that she appears to already lead in enough states to win 270 electoral votes, albeit barely. Or there might be little bias either way, or inconsistent bias depending on the state, in which case this election will be very hard to confidently predict based on the current numbers. Polling error is not necessarily consistent from year to year\u2014while polls understated Trump in 2016 and 2020, the longer-term history of polling errors is a bit more mixed, per this helpful chart from the Pew Research Center based on American Association for Public Opinion Research data. Our best guess is that because Trump\u2019s polling position is better than 2016 and 2020, it\u2019s likelier that he\u2019s at least not being as underestimated as much as he was in previous elections, if he is being underestimated at all. For one thing, other indicators do not really suggest that we\u2019re in the midst of an electoral environment that is much stronger for Republicans than the past two elections (those indicators include special elections in 2023 and 2024 and the recent Washington state top-two primary). While Democrats have now nominated three different opponents against Donald Trump, Trump himself will be on the ballot for a third straight time. It just doesn\u2019t seem likely to us that he will do markedly better than he did in either 2016 or 2020, which is what would happen if the polls were biased against him again. The third installment of the Trump trilogy will likely look a fair amount like the first two installments as opposed to being dramatically different; this is why we\u2019ve long expected a close and competitive election, with only the last few weeks of Joe Biden\u2019s candidacy really making us seriously consider the possibility of Trump doing substantially better than his previous presidential runs. The close polls suggest a close election: That seems realistic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPolling Whiplash\u201d [Robert Kuttner, The American Prospect]. \u201c[The indispensable Michael Podhorzer] astutely points out that all polling is \u2018opinion journalism.\u2019 Why? Because pollsters make assumptions about who is a likely voter and how to weigh or overweigh different demographic groups. \u2018The \u2018opinions\u2019 are not about issues or ideology, but about methodological approaches,\u2019 Podhorzer writes.\u201d<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Kamala (D): Kamala\u2019s mother wearing the sari typical of Black women of that generation:<\/p>\n
I grew up a middle-class kid. I was raised by a hardworking mother, who like so many people across our nation, had big dreams and aspirations for her children. As president, it will be my top priority to bring down costs for working families.<\/p>\n
Under my plan, more than 100 million\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/Wz0ElwGbtv<\/p>\n
\u2014 Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) September 25, 2024<\/p>\n
(To anyone new: I have no objection to Kamala\u2019s identity, whatever it may be. I do object to Kamala morphing her perceived identity to meet the needs of the political campaign du jour.)<\/p>\n
Kamala (D): \u201cKamala Harris Needs To Get Out More\u201d [Ross Barkan, Persuasions]. \u201cStill missing from Harris is any sort of formal press conference or the regular television appearances that J.D. Vance, Trump\u2019s running mate, still makes. She has not allowed for an extended interview with any newspaper or magazine reporter, either. If she\u2019s visited a local Philadelphia TV station, she hasn\u2019t sat down with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, or any major print-based organization in a crucial swing state. It goes without saying she won\u2019t subject herself to a grilling from the New York Times editorial board. Oddly, she has even dodged friendly outlets like MSNBC and pundits like Ezra Klein, who would ask probing questions but is fundamentally sympathetic to her project\u2026. Part of the reason the election continues to be close is that too many Americans feel they know too little about Harris. In a recent New York Times\/Siena poll that revealed a dip in her standing since the sugar high of the Democratic convention, 28 percent of likely voters said they felt they needed to know more about Harris, while only 9 percent said they needed to know more about Trump. \u2018I don\u2019t know what Kamala\u2019s plans are,\u2019 Dawn Conley, a 48-year-old small-business owner and undecided voter in Knoxville, Tenn. told the Times. \u2018It\u2019s kind of hard to make a decision when you don\u2019t know what the other party\u2019s platform is going to be.\u2019.. Really, Harris should be everywhere. The Sunday morning talk shows, the newspaper sitdowns, and formal press conferences are a start. Podcasts, ethnic media, alternative media, and regional outlets should be added to the mix. If she doesn\u2019t crave the mass heterodox audience of a Joe Rogan, she can spend extended time with the aforementioned Klein or Alex Cooper, who has become something of the young millenial\/Gen Z Howard Stern.\u201d \u2022 In my view, people do not know Harris because there is nobody there to be known. <\/p>\n
Kamala (D): Get out more, but not like this:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/kamala_rally.png\")
<\/p>\n
Since the appearance is for an interview, I can\u2019t really fault Kamala\u2019s campaign for requiring invitations, but maybe a public rally on-campus too?<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Trump (R): \u201c2024 Election Environment Favorable to GOP\u201d [Gallup]. The lead: \u201cNearly all Gallup measures that have shown some relationship to past presidential election outcomes or that speak to current perceptions of the two major parties favor the Republican Party over the Democratic Party. Chief among these are Republican advantages in U.S. adults\u2019 party identification and leanings, the belief that the GOP rather than the Democratic Party is better able to handle the most important problem facing the country, Americans\u2019 dissatisfaction with the state of the nation, and negative evaluations of the economy with a Democratic administration in office.\u201d \u2022 Handy chart:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/gallup_measures.png\")
<\/p>\n
Trump (R): \u201c\u2018He should be doing better\u2019: Even some Trump allies see him veering off course\u201d [Politico]. \u201cDonald Trump was meeting privately in mid-September with one of his oldest friends, Steve Wynn, when the casino mogul and Republican mega-donor delivered the former president a blunt warning: You\u2019re off message, and it isn\u2019t helping\u2026. To drive home his point, Wynn showed Trump polling and suggested the former president would be better off focusing on policy issues where Republicans see his opponent, Kamala Harris, as vulnerable, according to two people briefed on the meeting and granted anonymity to describe it. The meeting underscored a key point of tension inside the Trump campaign. While polls show the race is incredibly close, some of Trump\u2019s allies are concerned that his impulses and coarse approach to campaigning are undermining him against Harris, a rival who has proved far stronger than his previous opponent, Joe Biden. In interviews, more than a dozen Trump allies described the former president as reaching a crossroads \u2014 faced with the choice of continuing with the missteps that have overtaken the past several weeks of his campaign or embracing a more calculated approach aimed at appealing to a small subset of undecided voters who are likely to sway the outcome of the election. In recent weeks, he has brought into his fold destabilizing forces like social media provocateur Laura Loomer and his controversial former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, plugged commemorative Trump coins, and asserted that if he loses, Jews would be partly to blame. \u2018It\u2019s not that he\u2019s going backwards,\u2019 said one Trump ally granted anonymity to speak freely. \u2018But he should be doing better.’\u201d \u2022 False dichotomy, to me. It\u2019s not (media-driven) mis-steps vs. calculated approach; it\u2019s populist vs. non-populist. If Trump gives the populist approach the oomph only he can give, he wins (and yes, deep six Laura Loomer and the effing cats immediately. Work the grill at MacDonalds. I mean, does anybody think those Undecideds are PMC?).<\/p>\n
Trump (R): \u201cHaitian group in Springfield, Ohio, files citizen criminal charges against Trump and Vance\u201d [Associated Press]. \u201cThe leader of a nonprofit representing the Haitian community invoked a private-citizen right to file charges Tuesday against former President Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, over the chaos and threats experienced by Springfield, Ohio, since Trump first spread false claims about legal immigrants there during a presidential debate. The Haitian Bridge Alliance made the move after inaction by the local prosecutor, said their attorney, Subodh Chandra of the Cleveland-based Chandra Law Firm. Charges brought by private citizens are rare, but not unheard of, in Ohio\u2026. State law requires a hearing to take place before the affidavit can move forward. As of Tuesday afternoon, none had been scheduled. Trump and Vance, a U.S. senator from Ohio, are charged with disrupting public services, making false alarms, telecommunications harassment, aggravated menacing and complicity. The filing asks the Clark County Municipal Court to affirm that there is probable cause and issue arrest warrants against Trump and Vance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump (R): \u201cDonald Trump Has a Plan to Make America\u2019s Children Healthy Again. It\u2019s a Good One\u201d [Robert Redfield, Newsweek]. \u201cIn 2019, the Trump Administration set a course to address chronic disease, funding earlier interventions to curb the growing crisis. Five years later, this issue is exactly where it needs to be: at the center of the presidential debate, now in a unique partnership. To heal our children, a president must see the possible and lead our nation to act. After more than 40 years in the public health arena, it might surprise some of my colleagues to know I think President Trump chose the right man for the job: Robert Kennedy, Jr\u2026. Kennedy is right: All three of the principal health agencies suffer from agency capture. A large portion of the FDA\u2019s budget is provided by pharmaceutical companies. NIH is cozy with biomedical and pharmaceutical companies and its scientists are allowed to collect royalties on drugs NIH licenses to pharma. And as the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), I know the agency can be influenced by special interest groups. But it doesn\u2019t stop in the health agencies: the U.S. Department of Agriculture is a captive of industry, too. Created to help the family farmer and to ensure a wholesome food supply, today the agency often favors large corporations over the interests of small farmers and the public\u2019s health. To cure our children, we must reevaluate our food choices and the underlying practices of the agricultural sector. We must prioritize wholesome and nutritious food.\u201d \u2022 A populist opportunity here, too.<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Kennedy (I): Asking for my vote again:<\/p>\n
Zelensky\u2019s only strategy for victory is to embroil us in World War III. And VP Harris is all for it <\/p>\n
\u2014 Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) September 25, 2024<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
NY: \u201cTrump sets his sights on deep-blue New York\u201d [The Hill]. \u201cWhile Trump\u2019s hopes of flipping New York seem lofty, Republicans point to other underlying reasons for his visits there, namely to boost four House Republicans in the state whose results may decide which party controls the House: Reps. Mike Lawler, Anthony D\u2019Esposito, Marc Molinaro and Brandon Williams.\u201d \u2022 \u201cLofty\u201d doesn\u2019t begin to describe it.<\/p>\n
PA: \u201cPennsylvania poll reveals tight presidential race, inflation a key concern\u201d [The Hill]. \u201cVice President Harris narrowly leads former President Trump in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, according to a new poll released by Monmouth University Wednesday. Data showed that 40 percent of voters in the Keystone State said they will definitely vote for Harris, compared to 38 percent who said the same of Trump. Eight percent said they would probably vote for the vice president, while seven percent said they would probably vote for the former president, according to the poll.\u201d<\/p>\n
PA: Oopsie:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/harris_pa_ad.png\")
<\/p>\n
With bit more time, I\u2019d authenticate the screen dumps. Nevertheless\u2026 <\/p>\n
Realignment and Legitimacy<\/p>\n
Firesign Theatre as scorching as ever:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Hat tip to alert reader justme. <\/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
* * *<\/p>\n
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 (wastewater); 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, KidDoc, 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
* * *<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/p>\n
Wastewater<\/p>\n
This week[1] CDC September 16<\/p>\n
Last Week[2] CDC (until next week):<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-2.png\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-1.png\")
<\/p>\n
Variants [3] CDC September 14<\/p>\n
Emergency Room Visits[4] CDC September 14<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-variants-natl.png\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-2.png\")
<\/p>\n
Hospitalization<\/p>\n
\u2605 New York[5] New York State, data September 23:<\/p>\n
National [6] CDC August 31:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-14.png\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-2.png\")
<\/p>\n
Positivity<\/p>\n
National[7] Walgreens September 23:<\/p>\n
Ohio[8] Cleveland Clinic September 7:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-3.png\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh.png\")
<\/p>\n
Travelers Data<\/p>\n
Positivity[9] CDC September 2:
\n Variants[10] CDC September 2:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-2.png\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-2.png\")
<\/p>\n
Deaths<\/p>\n
Weekly Deaths vs. % Positivity [11]CDC September 14:<\/p>\n
Weekly Deaths vs. ED Visits [12]CDC September 14:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-death-positivity.png\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-death-ed.png\")
<\/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. Keeps spreading. NOTE The date seems to be wrong, but the number of sites has changed so this is new.<\/p>\n
[2] (CDC) Last week\u2019s wastewater map.<\/p>\n
[3] (CDC Variants) KP.* very popular. XDV.1 flat.<\/p>\n
[4] (ED) Down, but worth noting that Emergency Department use is now on a par with the first wave, in 2020.<\/p>\n
[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Definitely down.<\/p>\n
[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). The visualization suppresses what is, in percentage terms, a significant increase.<\/p>\n
[7] (Walgreens) Big drop continues!<\/p>\n
[8] (Cleveland) Dropping.<\/p>\n
[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Down. 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 range. 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) What the heck is LB.1?<\/p>\n
[11] Deaths low, but positivity up.<\/p>\n
[12] Deaths low, ED up.<\/p>\n
Stats Watch<\/p>\n
There are no statistics of interest today.<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Manufacturing: \u201cBoeing gives striking Machinists union more time to vote on latest offer\u201d [Seattle Times]. \u201cBoeing Co. backed down from a Friday night deadline for striking workers to approve its latest contract offer after union leaders refused to schedule a vote\u2026. The sparring has injected new tension into the talks at a time when the cash-strapped plane-maker can\u2019t afford a long, drawn-out strike. Boeing\u2019s tactics have also puzzled some longtime observers of the planemaker\u2019s labor relations. \u2018It doesn\u2019t make any sense,\u2019 Leon Grunberg, an academic who\u2019s tracked Boeing labor relations for a quarter-century. \u2018I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s a misstep from the CEO or people further down.\u2019\u2026 Boeing on Tuesday said that it had offered the union more time and \u2018logistical support\u2019 for a vote. It removed the Sept. 27 deadline, without imposing any new time frame for acceptance of the offer. \u2018This strike is affecting our team and our communities, and we believe our employees should have the opportunity to vote on our offer that makes significant improvements in wages and benefits,\u2019 Boeing said in an emailed statement. Union officials have said they wouldn\u2019t schedule a vote on the company\u2019s latest proposal, describing it as unrealistic and disrespectful in a fiery statement posted late Monday.\u201d \u2022 Our \u201cteam.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manufacturing: \u201cStriking Boeing workers would like the company to stop negotiating in public\u201d [Quartz]. \u201c\u2018Our members stand strong, and we remain ready to continue mediated or direct negotiations with Boeing,\u2019 [IAM] said in an update to members on Tuesday. \u2018This has been made clear to both the company and our membership. The only way to resolve this strike is through negotiations, and rest assured, your Union will not bargain through the media.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Manufacturing: \u201cAnother unforced error by Boeing is souring the new boss\u2019 good vibes\u201d [CNN]. \u201cThere\u2019s an old saying for labor relations, says Art Wheaton, director of labor studies at Cornell University\u2019s School of Industrial and Labor Relations: \u2018You never want to negotiate in the press.\u2019 \u2018The bargaining team is responsible for negotiating with management,\u2019 Wheaton said. \u2018And what Boeing did is it say, \u2018yeah, I don\u2019t care.\u2019 \u2026 They just sent it out to everybody.\u2019 He added: \u2018I don\u2019t know what their game plan is. I think they were just not very bright on how they did that.\u2019 It\u2019s also not clear what role Ortberg played in the decision to take the offer directly to union members and the media. But it\u2019s a clear departure from the diplomatic approach the CEO had signaled early on.<\/p>\n
\u2018Everybody thinks unions strike over money,\u2019 Wheaton notes. But often, it\u2019s also about respect. \u2018Obviously Boeing did not respect the union in this setup.\u2019 Ortberg came into the top job with a big advantage: His predecessors were so openly hostile toward labor, even small gestures seemed to buy him some credibility. It\u2019s not too late, according to Richard Aboulafia, a managing director at aerospace consulting firm AeroDynamic Advisory, who told me he is \u2018still hopeful\u2019 Ortberg can right Boeing\u2019s course, even with an absurd litany of self-inflicted crises playing out at the same time. \u2018Diplomacy matters in situations like this,\u2019 Aboulafia said, adding: \u2018It\u2019s hard to tell what\u2019s Ortberg\u2019s mistakes \u2026 and what\u2019s just Boeing institutional arrogance.’\u201d \u2022 Could be both!<\/p>\n
Manufacturing: \u201cBoeing Workers Felt Schedule Pressure Even After Midair Blowout\u201d [Bloomberg]. \u201cAccording to the survey conducted with about 2,100 Boeing workers in May \u2014 four months after a fuselage panel blew off a 737 Max aircraft shortly after takeoff \u2014 less than half of frontline manufacturing personnel stated that schedule pressures didn\u2019t cause their team to lower standards. The revelation shows that workers continued to feel pressure to cut corners even after Boeing\u2019s campaign to overhaul its safety culture was well underway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manufacturing: \u201cPreliminary Information from the Subcommittee\u2019s Inquiry into Boeing\u2019s Safety and Quality Practices\u201d (PDF) [United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations]. \u201cWhistleblower reports spanning more than a decade raise questions about Boeing\u2019s ability to timely source and track aircraft parts and ensure that damaged or inadequate parts (\u2018nonconforming parts\u2019) are not used in aircraft production. The tracking and disposition of aircraft parts that do not conform to their quality or design specifications is heavily regulated, and criminal penalties apply to knowing or intentional falsification, concealment, or materially fraudulent misrepresentation in connection with records documenting the disposition of aircraft parts.3 Aircraft manufacturers are required to maintain a written quality system that includes \u201c[p]rocedures to ensure that only products or articles that conform to their approved design are installed on a type-certificated product\u2026. In May 2024, Sam Mohawk, a current [i.e., still alive] Boeing Quality Assurance investigator at the MRSA in Renton, Washington, informed the Subcommittee that he has witnessed systemic disregard for documentation and accountability of nonconforming parts at Boeing\u2019s Renton facility, where the 737 MAX is manufactured. On June 11, 2024, Mr. Mohawk filed a claim with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (\u2018OSHA\u2019), which is attached as Attachment 1. This complaint has not been previously released publicly. Mr. Mohawk\u2019s current role at MRSA includes handling nonconforming parts, work that he alleges became significantly more complex and demanding following the resumption of 737 MAX production when the FAA authorized the aircraft to return to service following two crashes in 2018 and 2019. Mr. Mohawk alleges that \u2018[c]ompared to pre-grounding, MRSA was experiencing a 300% increase [of nonconformance reports]\u2019 and that \u201cthe 737 program was losing hundreds of non-conforming parts.\u2019 Mohawk feared that non-conforming parts were being installed on the 737s and that it could lead to a catastrophic event.\u201d \u2022 Yikes!<\/p>\n
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Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 67 Greed (previous close: 65 Greed) [CNN]. One week ago: 60 (Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Sep 25 at 1:55:41 PM ET.<\/p>\n
News of the Wired<\/p>\n
\u201cHow We Sort the World: Gregory Murphy on the Psychology of Categories\u201d [The MIT Press Reader]. \u201cWe put an awful lot of effort into trying to figure out and convince others of just what kind of person someone is, what kind of action something was, and even what kind of object something is. We often feel that once we determine the thing\u2019s category, then all questions will be answered about it: The person is qualified or unqualified; it\u2019s the right thing to do or the wrong thing; the object must be made out of wood. But division into categories is often arbitrary \u2014 not completely, but in some respects. And every category is a simplification to some degree; it throws away information about the thing. If you call me an academic, that is no doubt true, but that doesn\u2019t include a lot of other information about me, nor do I correspond exactly to your stereotype of an academic. (OK, I actually do, but a lot of academics don\u2019t.) There are a number of different ways to make categories, and they don\u2019t always agree with one another. At some point, we have to make a principled decision about what the category is and why that is the best way to think about it, because the world isn\u2019t pre-divided into nice categories that we simply have to notice.\u201d \u2022 Hmm.<\/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 ST:<\/p>\n
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ST writes: \u201cKind of an \u2018anti-plantidote,\u2019 but still a rather striking looking tree. Probably a western hemlock. Don\u2019t fear the reaper, I guess.\u201d Whatever its species, that tree looks a little droopy.<\/p>\n
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Readers: Water Cooler is a standalone entity not covered by the annual NC fundraiser. Material here is Lambert\u2019s, and does not express the views of the Naked Capitalism site. 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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