JustOneMinute

Omicron What?

Omicron, schmomicron! The WaPo presents the obvious - the public has no more appetite for lockdowns. Fortunately, after a one-day Black Friday wobble, Wall Street has no further appetite for bad news:

Stock futures climbed in overnight trading on Monday following a rebound on Wall Street as investors reassessed risks associated with the new omicron Covid variant.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 75 points. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures both ticked up 0.2%.

The overnight action came after a broad-based comeback that saw the S&P 500 jump 1.3% with all 11 sectors registering gains. Major averages rose to session highs on Monday after President Joe Biden said economic lockdowns are currently off the table and there will be no new travel restrictions. The blue-chip Dow ended the day up more than 200 points.

Then again, tomorrow is another day...

Safe Travels, Happy Holidays

Spring into action!

Sunday Morning!

Away we go!

More "Surprising No One Who Was Paying Attention"

OK, Kyle Rittenhouse was found Not Guilty on all the major charges as well as all the minor ones. One more Team Blue show trial ends up in rubble and Robby Soave of Reason pokes at the wreckage (Yes, I am having a George Zimmerman flashback.) Do these people think self-defense should be illegal if the attacker fails to bring a gun to what turns into a gunfight? Not how it works.

PILING ON: I am having a hard time picking my favorite quote from the Times wishcasting. I love this from the DA:

“Certainly, issues regarding the privilege of self-defense remain highly contentious in our current times,” said Mr. Graveley..."

"Privilege" of self-defense?!? Well, maybe-ish, in the sense that there are restrictions on self-defense rights. But most rights have some limits. Eg, we don't talk about the 'privilege' of a free press even though we have laws against libel.

Well. I thought that comment would take the prize but this was strong competition:

But some prosecution witnesses gave complex accounts that were not wholly favorable to the prosecution’s case.

Do tell. C'mon, Times readers have seen the verdict - now the reporter is easing them out of the cocoon!

Richie McGinniss, a videographer for a conservative news and opinion site, witnessed the first shooting, when Mr. Rittenhouse shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum, who had chased him into a parking lot and was rushing at him.

Mr. McGinniss gave the defense a crucial piece of testimony: He said he saw Mr. Rosenbaum lunge at Mr. Rittenhouse and reach for the barrel of Mr. Rittenhouse’s rifle.

“He threw his momentum toward the weapon,” Mr. McGinnis said of Mr. Rosenbaum.

That appeared to support Mr. Rittenhouse’s emotional testimony about his state of mind on Aug. 25, 2020, the night of the shooting. “If I would have let Mr. Rosenbaum take my firearm from me, he would have used it and killed me with it, and probably killed more people,” Mr. Rittenhouse said on the stand.

Other prosecution witnesses also gave testimony that helped the defense.

Gaige Grosskreutz, the only one of the three men Mr. Rittenhouse shot who survived, testified that he chased Mr. Rittenhouse after Mr. Rosenbaum was shot because he “thought that the defendant was an active shooter.” Mr. Grosskreutz, an emergency medical technician, was armed with a handgun, which he took out.

Mr. Grosskreutz described the encounter as he was shown photos that captured him pointing his gun at Mr. Rittenhouse, who shot him in the arm.

“It wasn’t until you pointed your gun at him, advanced on him with your gun — now your hands down, pointed at him — that he fired, right?” Corey Chirafisi, a defense lawyer, asked.

“Correct,” Mr. Grosskreutz replied.

The jurors saw video showing the third victim, Anthony Huber, hitting Mr. Rittenhouse with a skateboard before Mr. Rittenhouse shot and killed him. The video gave the defense added fodder for the self-defense argument.

 

File Under "Surprising No One"

The CBO estimates that the Biden Build Back Better bill is not fully paid for. On the other hand, the key dispute is the likely revenue from enhanced IRS enforcement, and per the (totally non-partisan!) Treasury estimates used by the White House, the CBO estimate is too low. Time may tell, if this bill doesn't perish in the Senate.

Meanwhile, in what seems to have been a surprise to some, House Minority Leader McCarthy staged a one-man filibuster, speaking on the House floor for over eight hours and pushing the BBB vote to Friday.

This could have been predicted since we've seen it before, and recently. Its a quirk of House rules:

McCarthy was able to hold the floor indefinitely under the procedures of the House, which say the majority leader and the minority leader get what's called a "Magic Minute" at the end of floor debate, meaning they can speak for as long as they want. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi used a similar tactic as minority leader in 2018, speaking for more than eight hours on the House floor in a speech about young undocumented immigrants, the previous record for a floor speech.

Who knew?

 

If You Can Keep Your Head...

Thomas Edsall does NOT title his latest essay "What's The Matter With The Democrats?". He prefers an air horn:

Democrats Shouldn’t Panic. They Should Go Into Shock.

No surprises here - 2022 looks like a Red Storm Rising / Blue Wave Goodbye election. Both history and current events are against the Dems:

The rise of inflation, supply chain shortages, a surge in illegal border crossings, the persistence of Covid, mayhem in Afghanistan and the uproar over “critical race theory” — all of these developments, individually and collectively, have taken their toll on President Biden and Democratic candidates, so much so that Democrats are now the underdogs going into 2022 and possibly 2024.

But a year is a long time and there is still a lot of football to be played. And then basketball, and then a World Series.

Saturday Morning

Jonah Goldberg is irritated and alienated. Since you ask, yes, I can relate...

Away We Go

Grr: 'Effing Aaron Rodgers cost his team a game and may be costing people their lives.

NFL COVID protocols strongly push towards vaccination, not whatever Rodgers homeopathic whirligig did to obtain "immunization":

"Unvaccinated players who test positive must isolate at least 10 days, even if they are asymptomatic. Vaccinated players, however, can return following a positive test as soon as they produce two negative tests with 24 hours in between, as long as they are asymptomatic. In other words, Rodgers would at least have a chance to play Sunday if he were vaccinated."

THROWING IT DOWN: Kareem dunks on Rodgers. More in the Times.

Grr II: Rule of law, anyone?!? A Federal court has stayed the dubious Biden-OSHA vaccine mandate pending review but Team Biden exhorts companies to ignore the court and soldier on. The distinction between "good idea" and "within the scope of Executive Branch authority" seems to baffle the Bidenauts. OK, Bidenuts.

Grr III: Erik Wemple of the WaPo once again bashes credulous lefties for their unwavering faith in the Steele dossier. As a bonus, Matt Taibbi piles on Rachel Maddow.

Despite their efforts I doubt this will redeem the left-wing media in many eyes on the right.

Big Night In Virginia. And Houston.

We're rooting for the Republican upset and the Braves upset.