Category: Uncategorized

Bill Otis Cannot Accept That Just Because 51% Might Want It — That Doesn’t Make It… Moral, Or Right.

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Bill Otis is angry that we’ve put too few people to death in America — for crimes over the last two decades, minimum. [Never mind that we are the last post industrial Democratic nation to do so, at all.]

He’s mostly mad that Mr. Biden is morally opposed to the death penalty — and has chosen to use power we the people conferred upon him, to give 37 convicts… natural life without parole.

Note here that all his other would be arguments in favor of capital punishment fall to the wayside in these circumstances.

You see, any argument about “preserving deterrence”, in the handing down of the penalty still stands, because it will only ever be Democratic presidents who might commute what were otherwise capital sentences. So it would be preposterous to argue that murderers bank on ending up in front of a Democratic President after committing murder.

Bill lives in an amoral world, where if the people want it, by Gum, Tangerine 2.0 will give it to them, good and hard.

So apparently Bill’s political philosophy has defaulted to the point where all that matters to him is what does the least common denominator want.

Personally, I expect more of my elected leaders. And Tangerine 2.0 (like his boy Matt Gaetz) falls well short of the minimal mark. I strongly suspect Bill knows it, but is too much a coward to say that he would cross Tangerine about this.

That may be the saddest part of all of his essay today. He also failed to mention that Mr. Biden explicitly did not commute three other convicts, of the 40 awaiting death in the federal ststem, believing that their sentence of death… probably represents justice. I suspect that those three will ultimately not be put to death, even under Tangerine 2.0.

But we shall see.

This Past Week The ‘24 Marburg Outbreak Was Declared… OVER.

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And that is some very good news (and highly contrasting — news, to the latest DRC Mpox updates). Marburg is considered far more lethal (on a par with the dread Ebola virus) — taking the lives of up to 88% of those who contract it.

And Rwanda’s top-flight public health response to this latest outbreak is in large measure the reason it was so quickly abated. Here’s the official “all clear“, from WHO, early last week:

…The World Health Organization and the Rwandan government on Friday declared the outbreak in Rwanda of the Ebola-like Marburg fever — over after no new cases were registered in recent weeks.

The country first declared the outbreak on Sept. 27 and reported a total of 15 deaths and 66 cases, with the majority of those affected healthcare workers who handled the first patients.

Without treatment, Marburg can be fatal in up to 88% of people who fall ill with the disease. Symptoms include fever, muscle pains, diarrhea, vomiting and, in some cases, death through extreme blood loss….

And… now you know. Be excellent to one another. Onward.

नमस्ते

Congo’s Kinshasa — Home To 17 Million Souls (Essentially Like NYC/Triborough), Is Under Siege From Mpox Clade 1b — Over 70,000 Cases Suspected…

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This is particularly poignant news, at Christmas-time.

The Mpox outbreak is showing scant signs of abating — and even where vaccine stock is available, some contacts of contacts shy away from coming in to get it — for fear of neighbors’ stigma. All of which creates a very dangerous situation, for this regional outbreak — becoming a… full-scale pandemic — in Africa. Here’s the NYT on the latest:

…Mireille Efonge got sick a few months ago, with a fever and painful blisters on her groin. She became too weak to move, so neighbors carried her to a health center with walls of plastic sheeting in Pakadjuma, a crowded, poor community in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

There, a nurse called an ambulance to take her to a hospital. Soon lesions broke out on her head and the rest of her body, each one a hard nub of throbbing pain.

Finally she was given a diagnosis: mpox. “I’d never heard of it,” Ms. Efonge said.

This was back in August, when the mpox virus — closely related to smallpox — was still almost unknown in Kinshasa, a city of 17 million people.

Some researchers now recall that time almost wistfully, because it might still have been possible back then to fence in the mpox virus, to fend off disaster….

The virus is taking hold in crowded camps home to millions of displaced Congolese, who live crammed into rough shelters with limited access to water. And it has reached Congo’s cities, including its enormous, congested capital.

Belated efforts to control mpox in Kinshasa — by isolating patients and vaccinating their contacts — have been halting and haphazard, far outpaced by the speed of the virus’s spread and change….

This is deeply troubling. We have the tools and tech… but human nature is a tough nut to crack. Onward, just the same.

नमस्ते

In Sunday’s [Unintended] Hilarity: Giuliani Edition…

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I won’t link the 15 page filing Hizzoner’s new lawyer made in Manhattan — it was a largely irrelevant, and repetitive of prior arguments he’s lost — but the able USDC Judge Liman struck it without reading it, as the rules limit such a response to three pages — he was 5X over the limit. Flawless.

Next, it seems Hizzoner is going to call what he styles as a Catholic Monsignor to testify about the bona fides of his residency in a “homestead” in Florida — to blunt an attempt to foreclose on that condo, in favor of the defamation plaintiffs.

However, that “monsignor” has apparently been defrocked by the church, and it was apparently for sexual improprieties with young boys.

You literally could not make this stuff up, if you tried. Onward, to a swim workout at the club… grin.

नमस्ते

What Mandate?! Trump Thwarted By 38 House Republicans — On Debt Ceiling.

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Hinderaker keeps burping about “resounding victories” and “MAGA mandates”.

Except… that none of it… ever happened.

These mandates? They are nowhere in evidence.

In fact, twice in the last 48 hours up to 38 GOP US House Reps… disobeyed Daddy Tangerine 2.0.

He wanted a shut down; then he wanted to waive the debt ceiling.

In both cases, he couldn’t find a simple majority to support his wishes.

This is going to be four years of… sideways.

Not much else.

Y A W N.

No big shakes there John.

He’s already… impotent.

Out.

Hinderaker: Check Florida, Miss., And Ala… Damn.

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Overnight, John asked the rhetorical question of what might happen if more than half of us were getting more government benefits that we were putting in in taxes.

He went on a rant about Great Britain.

It thus seems an appropriate moment to note that it is primarily the deepest red/MAGA states… That withdraw from the federal trough far more than they put in — in taxation / contribution revenues.

See my graphic at right, from over a year ago, and so… we might ask John to ask his MAGA governors to explain what happens when “we are all on the dole”…

I gather that these charlatans admit that California, Illinois, NY, NJ and Colorado (all blue states) should pay Texas, and Florida’s welfare doles — that’s some serious… irony right there.

Hilarious.

Out.

Hinderaker Agrees: Musk Is Already Acting As A Non-Compliant Lobbyist!

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Here’s John’s money quote, on the continuing resolution (Plan C) that just cleared the House:

“…This whole story is another instance of jtjthow Donald Trump and his team — here, Musk and Ramaswamy — are wielding extraordinary influence even though they are not in office….”

This of John’s, is proof they are violating the Lobby Disclosure Act, without serious doubt.

Thanks, John.

And because they won’t comply with the federal laws on government hires (and they are refusing employment roles!), they will remain in open violation of federal law even after the inaugural.

Hilarious — that’s a five year felony, man.

Scott Johnson Again Confirms That He Doesn’t Understand The Free Exercise/Free Expression Clauses…

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Dopey old Scott Johnson has been yammering on for two days now, to complaint about a “Satanists'” display at the Minnesota State Capitol.

He’s angry that there are no written “substantive” standards in Minnesota laws and regs, that would allow him to sue, and exclude the display from public view.

Silly Scott — regulating speech, on its “substantive content” — is precisely what the unbroken line of 100 years of Supreme Court cases has found violates the Free Exercise clause.

Whether Scott or I like it or not, a Satanists’ display is… a good faith religious display, and if a Baby Jesus and/or a Menorah may be found on State grounds, then of course a Muslim or Sikh or Hindu or Buddhist or Satanic one must be allowed, too.

That’s “One L” stuff, buddy. Damn.

Take a seat… you’ve forgotten what you were taught about 60 years ago, at a minimum.

Out.

Merck Buys Its Way Into The Weight-Loss Pill Wars: China’s Hansoh Pharma Now A “Partner”…

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I realize that I probably make this observation a lil’ too often here, but… whenever any US multinational partners on a commercial matter, with a domestic Chinese company… there is always an added layer of geo-political risk. Not so much from any “hot” war, but more from creeping “state actor” control — as both Tesla and Apple have seen, over decades. Even so, this is a race well-worth running.

This global weight loss market is going to mushroom, to be well over $100 billion in just a few years. And as compared to 30 plus years of thrice weekly dialysis, the cost advantage seems clear to insurers and other payors. Here’s the latest, from CNBC, as Novo stumbles:

…[Merck] on Wednesday said it has snagged the rights to an experimental weight loss pill from Chinese drugmaker Hansoh Pharma, in a deal worth up to $2 billion.

The oral drug has not yet entered human trials, and Merck did not specify which diseases it plans to test the drug on first. Still, it boosts the pharmaceutical company’s chances of winning a slice of the booming obesity drug market, which some analysts expect to be worth more than $100 billion a year by the early 2030s….

This pill route will be pricey, but still cheaper in the long run — given that many people with other illnesses, exacerbated by obesity, are living longer and longer in the US.

And, an all oral delivery route has the distinct advantage of being easier for “needle-adverse” patients to warm up to. So we will watch and see — but a smart move, out of Rahway. Be excellent to one another!

नमस्ते

In Which We See Bat-Guano Crazy Stories, As We Sit In The Sun, Under Azure Skies: Louisiana Edition

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Let’s start at the top: all governmental policies must be both public and in writing, once adopted, so that we the people may evaluate whether we wish for these governmental agents to remain in charge — should we disagree with their “policies”. But the State of Louisiana just told state health workers that a “secret policy” now exists, post the 2024 elections — one which prevents state health authorities from promoting or even announcing the availability of COVID, flu and other vaccines for the public — in the State. So this “policy” is plainly unlawful — as a matter of process. And it is shockingly unwise, as a substantive matter.

Indeed, there can be no reasonable doubt that this “policy” is going to get kids… killed in Louisiana — and lots of senior citizens, too. What is happening to my country?! Secret, anti-science health gags? A loon as the possible Sec’y. of HHS?! WTAH?! Here’s NPR on it, this morning:

…According to the employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they fear losing their jobs or other forms of retaliation, the policy would be implemented quietly and would not be put in writing.

Staffers were also told that it applies to every aspect of the health department’s work: Employees could not send out press releases, give interviews, hold vaccine events, give presentations or create social media posts encouraging the public to get the vaccines. They also could not put up signs at the department’s clinics that COVID, flu or mpox vaccines were available on site.

The new policy in Louisiana was implemented as some politicians have promoted false information about vaccines and as President-elect Donald Trump seeks to have anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. And some public health experts are concerned that if other states follow Louisiana, the U.S. could face rising levels of disease and further erosion of trust in the nation’s public health infrastructure. . . .

Staff at Louisiana’s health department fear the new policy undermines their efforts to protect the public, and violates the fundamental mission of public health: to prevent illness and disease by following the science.

“I mean, do they want to dismantle public health?” one employee at the health department said.

“We’re really talking about deaths,” said another. “Even a reduction in flu and COVID vaccines can lead to increased deaths.”

In a statement, the Louisiana Department of Health told NPR it has been “reevaluating both the state’s public health priorities as well as our messaging around vaccine promotion, especially for COVID-19 and influenza….”

Every health department staff member, former staff member, public health official and vaccine expert contacted by NPR repeated the scientific consensus that vaccines are safe, effective, and essential for preventing illness, hospitalizations, and deaths….

In the Nov. 14 meeting, a staff member asked whether the ban on promoting vaccines applied to children’s immunizations, but the answer was noncommittal, according to an employee with knowledge of the meeting’s details.

“My understanding was it’s not clear to what extent we might be able to promote childhood vaccinations,” the staff member said.

But it’s the kind of policy the nation could see if Kennedy is confirmed as secretary for Health and Human Services, Hodge added….

Meanwhile an autistic-spectrum guy with a four-hundred billion dollar war chest (as an agent of chaos) is pushing to shut down our federal government (by midnight, tonight), without even bothering to register as a lobbyist. This too will get more children… killed. Damnation.

नमस्ते