OK, we knew it was spreading but c'mon, man:
Omicron now the dominant U.S. Covid strain at 73% of cases, CDC data shows
Omicron is so Twenty Twenty-New; Delta is so Twenty Twenty-Done.
The rapidly spreading omicron variant is now the dominant Covid strain in the U.S., representing 73% of sequenced cases, according to data published Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Omicron has displaced the previously dominant delta variant, which the CDC says is now an estimated 26.6% of sequenced cases for the week ending December 18. Just one week earlier, delta made up 87% of cases to omicron’s 12.6%, the data shows.
The CDC also has cool graphics showing Omicron's emergence over time and current geographic spread.
I want to dig up their depiction of The Ascent of Delta last summer.
Here is the current Omicron spread:
And let's close with some thoughts from Clint Eastwood, Frontier Doctor, when asked about how transmissible Omicron is.
I CAN QUIT ANYTIME: The vaccine-hesitant Gene Hackman bemoans his choices.
Tornado watch this morning!
Posted by: Marlene | December 21, 2021 at 08:06 AM
Hubby got a text from a sibling the other day warning his sisters who live up north to keep their Mom away from groups of people this week-end. Duh. We've kept Nana healthy for 18 months. We don't need lectures, thank you very much. Sorry if I'm not running around with my hair on fire.
Posted by: Marlene | December 21, 2021 at 08:23 AM
Substitute salami, ham or pepperoni for the fungus. No. Should read as well as.
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 08:34 AM
Marlene. Best wishes on the tornado watch.
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 08:38 AM
Calling all mediocre males [This reminded me of a Communist bloc poster. Well, the woaman does]:
http://ace.mu.nu/headlines/archives/callingmediocremales.jpg
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 08:42 AM
Woman.
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 08:42 AM
Yep, there goes Omicron.
Ripping through those vaxxed and boosted people like there’s no tomorrow.
Posted by: Buckeye | December 21, 2021 at 08:46 AM
Three Retired Generals Loudly Demand a Military Coup in 2024 C:omments by Ace
"The Three assert that those unarmed Americans who, on January 6, did nothing more than quite innocently enter Congress, walk around, and then leave voluntarily, were all insurrectionists. They spout this deadly canard although no one arrested has been charged with 18 U.S.C. #8239;2381 (Treason), #8239;2383 (Rebellion or insurrection), 2384 (Seditious conspiracy), or 2385 (Advocating overthrow of Government). The Three stick to their risible narrative because only through lies can they scare people enough to accept their unconstitutional and illegal recommendations that, if accepted, will put the final nail in our national coffin. . .
. . . the Three utter a sentence I never expected to come out of the mouths of our military leadership: "[T]he military cannot wait for elected officials to act...."
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2021/12/three_retired_generals_loudly_demand_a_military_coup_in_2024.html
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 08:52 AM
PS. These generals, even retired, are covered by elements of military law.
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 08:54 AM
I mean! how many Trumpists are still in the military.
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 08:54 AM
Silly Davod "PS. These generals, even retired, are covered by elements of military law."
If we have learned anything in the last decade, it is that the law applies only to some of us, some of the time.
Posted by: Old Lurker | December 21, 2021 at 08:57 AM
Just a reminder of the quality of commercial sources of information::
Ivory Hecker
@IvoryHecker
In their own words, the truth of how far FOX corporate bosses will go to lock down the narrative and the reporter.
Full video —> youtu.be/cf6q55akmZw
https://twitter.com/IvoryHecker/status/1405570053202972675
Posted by: Melinda | December 21, 2021 at 09:12 AM
Moar:
Clay Travis
@ClayTravis
CNN health analyst who has been one of the foremost proponents of draconian covid restrictions says, “Cloth masks are little more than facial decorations.” pic.twitter.com/STae5CM6ro
https://twitter.com/ClayTravis/status/1473295030240563205
Posted by: Melinda | December 21, 2021 at 09:13 AM
Said Khatibzadeh, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, announced this morning the death of Hassan Arlo, his country's ambassador to the Houthis in Yemen, due to "complications of contracting the corona virus."
Khatibazadeh said Arlo contracted corona in Yemen "but returned to Iran in poor health because some countries refused to cooperate to bring him back to Iran for treatment."
This is a severe blow to Iran, this man has waged an entire campaign in Yemen and not only, for a little over a year since arriving secretly he has changed many moves of Iran including Hezbollah activities.
https://www.newsrael.com/posts/n4ttoye67ds
Sounds a bit like Soleimani's replacement.
Posted by: Neo | December 21, 2021 at 09:14 AM
Now do paper masks.
Do they do more than kill trees? Who recycles that paper?
Posted by: henry | December 21, 2021 at 09:30 AM
as i pointed out, paul eaton had one job, training iraqi army, he failed at it, taguba made 'abu ghraib' his few good man moment, anderson I hot nothin
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 09:50 AM
I thought he was the matrix guy
https://www.americansecurityproject.org/about/consensus/members/brig-general-steven-m-anderson/
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 09:51 AM
I was giving foghorn leghorn, too much credit, manchin is perfectly willing to sell out his state to the skydragon,
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 09:54 AM
Marlene we have 39 mph winds with gusts up to 70. My lanai is going crazy!
Posted by: Jane | December 21, 2021 at 09:57 AM
leanna wren, isn't a health analyst, she's like one of the ten rings assistant sorcerers
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 09:57 AM
indeed
https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/the-simplest-way-to-understand-the
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 10:01 AM
so is this some kind of chain letter,
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10330777/Joe-Biden-announce-federal-government-send-500-million-free-home-covid-tests.html
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 10:04 AM
https://twitter.com/Orwells_Ghost_/status/1473078674454941698
Natural immunity adjust for age and comorbidity is 27X more effective than the vaccines.
Posted by: Neo | December 21, 2021 at 10:06 AM
terrifying
https://legalinsurrection.com/2021/12/traumatized-d-c-third-graders-say-school-forced-them-to-reenact-holocaust/
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 10:13 AM
definitely merited
https://twitter.com/JordanSchachtel/status/1473278171483103234
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 10:20 AM
The only immunity offered by the vax is to the drug companies.
Posted by: Neo | December 21, 2021 at 10:24 AM
they should just seal them in a tomb
https://www.reddit.com/r/Cornell/comments/rgjyyg/an_unpopular_opinion_about_covid/
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 10:29 AM
you bastards:
https://twitter.com/ING2Firebrand/status/1473244950389219331
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 10:38 AM
Jane Marlene, The houses under construction around the corner from me have 3 of 5 of the port a potties on their sides this morning. Pretty good wind gusts to knock over a shitter!
Yikes!
Posted by: Stephanie Nene Not Your Normal Granma | December 21, 2021 at 10:44 AM
i guess it's not that windy over on this coast
https://dailycaller.com/2021/12/20/indianapolis-administrator-fired-after-leaking-school-districts-social-justice-initiatives/
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 10:53 AM
speaking of wasting plagues
https://www.breitbart.com/crime/2021/12/21/radical-san-francisco-d-a-chesa-boudin-opposes-mayors-crackdown-on-crime/
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 10:57 AM
Charlotte County Sheriff's Office
·
Folks, this weather is no joke. Please do NOT go outside. It is not safe. The Rt. 41 Peace River bridges are shut down at this time (both directions), several roads are closed or obstructed, and many traffic lights are out.
Once the storm has passed, it will take some time to clean up debris and get traffic lights operational again. Please stay inside and off the roads until further notice.
Posted by: Stephanie Nene Not Your Normal Granma | December 21, 2021 at 11:05 AM
Oh great Stephanie! I certainly didn’t see this coming. Is it supposed to last 3 days? Marlene, where is the tornado?
Posted by: Jane | December 21, 2021 at 11:43 AM
tornado WATCH Jane. All up and down central FL and the West Coast.
Just today, Jane
Posted by: Stephanie Nene Not Your Normal Granma | December 21, 2021 at 11:47 AM
Steph, the only wind incident here is a toppled plant on the lanai. The sky still looks weird.
Posted by: Marlene | December 21, 2021 at 11:50 AM
The CDC needs to engage Pornhub to provide advice regarding new methods of providing the graphical representation of Wuflu panicporn. They should have picked a better name for the new variant as well. Alpha and Delta have the proper connotation but Omicron? C'mon guys, what's scary about Omicron? At least they could liven things up with NEW!!! Improved!!.
Doctors are going to have to resort to ventilators again to get a decent kill rate with this one.
Posted by: Rick Ballard | December 21, 2021 at 12:02 PM
its definitely super bassomatic 76, Rick,
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 12:09 PM
so general anderson, (I loved him in the matrix) is a skydragon worshiper, that explains a lot,
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 12:21 PM
surprise:
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/12/21/independent-california-redistricting-map-boosts-democrats-hurts-republicans-los-angeles-again/
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 12:40 PM
Narciso,
When CDC produces age and BMI stratified mortality charts with five year buckets, I'll take a look. Otherwise, the CDC panicborn just isn't worth the pixels.
The South Africans, Danes (with an older popultaion) and Quebec (most draconian covidiot policies) all provide better information with higher quality.
Omicron is in bad cold/flu territory. The fact the US pays hospitals a Covid bounty (with a bonus for a clean kill) makes US stats rather ambiguous in the first place.
Posted by: Rick Ballard | December 21, 2021 at 12:43 PM
its terribly weak, not even worth getting the goggles, to see past the blank pages,
it's like overdrawn at the memory bank, a b movie cyber noir with raul julia,
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 12:47 PM
they do give it the college try
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/coronavirus/os-ne-coronavirus-adventhealth-centra-care-omicron-command-center-20211221-aybu3x7gezdmpjvfp2tav64adq-story.html#nt=pf-double%20chain~hp-top-stories~flex%20feature~curated~advent-health-1221-10am~AYBU3X7GEZDMPJVFP2TAV64ADQ~1~2~2~12~art%20yes
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 12:49 PM
rather striking:
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/12/already-know-capitol-police-killed-2-female-trump-supporters-jan-6-now-video-shows-third-dead-trump-supporter-killed-police-fired-crowd-video/?utm_source=Gab&utm_campaign=websitesharingbuttons
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 12:59 PM
.New rapid test kits:
https://i.postimg.cc/dQf0xSQ4/ECD37-AE3-336-B-46-F6-9-EAA-E56-DB1-B8-A92-E.png
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 01:07 PM
Correct use of flash bangs [page down for the videoo - 32 secs]?
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/12/already-know-capitol-police-killed-2-female-trump-supporters-jan-6-now-video-shows-third-dead-trump-supporter-killed-police-fired-crowd-video/?utm_source=Gab&utm_campaign=websitesharingbuttons
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 01:11 PM
Protestor in Germany gets arrested after calling policeman a fascist [Well, he should have realized the policeman was a Socialist].
https://twitter.com/i/status/1472702152573440007
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 01:27 PM
The Wuhan Xi variant death rate is still quite low from what I understand, so what's the fuss?
As to California redistricting, the Dems were teaching their minions how to beat the system and infiltrate the redistricting system as independents years ago. No surprise there.
In a way we really want them to fail spectacularly as they seem to be doing. They will have no-one to blame but themselves. Gauleiter Gavin has repeatedly demonstrated his complete incompetence while Oakland, San Francisco and LA trundle like spavined hyenas into anarchy.
Posted by: matt - deplore me if you must | December 21, 2021 at 01:48 PM
Matt "so what's the fuss?"
The fuss, dear Matt, is that the midterms are but 11 months away.
Posted by: Old Lurker | December 21, 2021 at 02:19 PM
This might work for half the population:
http://elevendayempire.com/JOM2/download/file.php?id=570
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 02:23 PM
Kamala adds most likeable VP to resume [28 secs]
https://twitter.com/i/status/1473273598940962818
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 02:31 PM
A response to the new 40 mpg rule:
"My V8 identifies as getting a million miles per gallon."
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 02:34 PM
Kamala Harris "The Most Powerful VP Since Nixon
https://twitchy.com/samj-3930/2021/12/19/only-cuz-shes-second-fiddle-to-a-chunk-of-firewood-salon-calls-kamala-harris-the-most-powerful-vp-since-richard-nixon-and-omg-lol/
Posted by: Neo | December 21, 2021 at 02:48 PM
Democrats riled by Spanish-language radio attacks on Kamala Harris
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/12/21/democrats-riled-by-spanish-language-radio-attacks-on-kamala-harris-525787
seems like something Hillary might try
Posted by: Neo | December 21, 2021 at 02:51 PM
que es mas macho??
Kamala Harris o Joe Biden?
Didn't Kamala get pretty much the same reception from Central American leaders as Nixon did in South America?
Posted by: matt - deplore me if you must | December 21, 2021 at 03:05 PM
To be installed in Biden’s empty head in 3, 2, …
team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in Australia and the U.K. has taught a small mass of human brain cells to play the video game Pong. Their paper is available on the bioRxiv preprint server.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-12-mass-human-brain-cells-petri.html
Posted by: henry | December 21, 2021 at 03:10 PM
Uh.Oh. Angry Joe. Someone get the hook.
Posted by: Marlene | December 21, 2021 at 03:11 PM
OL,
Somebody at the WH is not even doing basic arithmetic for SloJo. We know he can't do it but can't his brainiacs figure out that the home test casedemic is going to fully expose the rather porous protection offered by the vax +booster shield?
I have a very low opinion of the intelligence of the electorate but I do believe the socialists have made a basic math error here.
Posted by: Rick Ballard | December 21, 2021 at 04:02 PM
Michael Smith
·
Twitchy captured this tweet from author Walter Kirn, predicting what the Democrats would register as the next crime against them:
“Your next crime — the offense they’ll never forgive — will be witnessing and recalling their utter failure.”
This is pretty good.
Not just because it aligns with a conversation in which I participated yesterday (maybe a little) but mostly because it is true.
A friend and I were talking about what happens when half of America can no longer deny the sham that was the responses to the Rona and the other half finally begins to pull back on the stick and bring America out of its Democrat-induced kamikaze nosedive.
A logical answer would seem to be the beginning would be when the GOP makes VP Kama Sutra Harris even more useless than she is now by eliminating her role as the Senate tie-breaker by retaking control of the Senate and sending Pelosi back to the fetid streets of San Fran without her gavel (although it looks like she is moving to Florida).
But you might be wrong.
I’m not down with McCarthy as speaker and his announcement of who and what the GOP will begin investigating immediately after the hammer drops. As much as I want to see several Dems slow roasted over an open pit, I don’t want a bunch of interminable investigations that discover nothing and punish no one. Huge waste of time and resources. I want to see the Obama/Biden agenda taken apart, nut and bolt, and sent to the scrap yard.
Will that happen?
My guess is that it won’t – and for a couple of reasons.
First – you have met the GOP, haven’t you?
With damn few exceptions, the GOP are paper tigers. You know, Lindsey Graham types who go on Maria Bartiromo’s show and talk big but never do anything. Linds was going to put all the Russia collusion conspirators under the jail but somehow, that never happened.
So, that probably won’t be happening any time soon.
The second reason is the Democrat are very good at slithering away to dark places when the lights get too hot and bright, and hanging out until the dark comes again.
There are several who have already announced they are going to be “spending more time with their families” as the midterms near, but the true reptilians like Adam Schiff, Eric Swallowell and the whole House leadership, will just find a dark hole and hunker down until they get back in power.
Normally, one wouldn’t think of consequences coming from a bunch of out of power losers, but we decided that they, like their role models in the old Soviet Union will not only count your sins, they will commit them to paper. Like the Soviets (and the current ChiComs) the greatest penalties will be reserved for those who remember how much the Democrats sucked, how bad they failed and are willing to talk about both in public.
Collectivists have never been big on being questioned, mostly because they have no answers.
I always come back to something F.A. Hayek wrote in “Road to Serfdom” about how this worked in the Soviet Union:
“It is not difficult to deprive the seat majority of independent thought. But the minority who will retain an inclination to criticize must also be silenced. Public criticism or even expressions of doubt must be suppressed because they tend to weaken support of the regime. As Sidney and Beatrice Webb report of the position in every Russian enterprise: “Whilst the work is in progress, any public expression of doubt that the plan will be successful is an act of disloyalty and even of treachery because of its possible effect on the will and efforts of the rest of the staff.”
The Dems are like the Soviets in that they book no dissent, and they never forget.
They will try very hard to even the score.
Republicans would do well to remember that because until they do, it will always be one step forward and two steps back.
Posted by: Stephanie Nene Not Your Normal Granma | December 21, 2021 at 05:10 PM
Nice, Stephanie.
How the GOP will respond on return to power:
@WSJ
From @WSJopinion: Sen. Joe Manchin’s "no" is a chance for Biden to return to his campaign promise of bipartisan reconciliation, writes @BobbyJindal
Posted by: henry | December 21, 2021 at 05:26 PM
Hmmm
@WSJ
The NHL and its players’ union struck a deal to drop out of the Beijing 2022 Olympics amid a hugely disruptive Covid-19 outbreak
Posted by: henry | December 21, 2021 at 05:40 PM
mccarthy is canadian turtle, it's a shame nunes won't be to press the attack, with they return greene to her committee, doubtful
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 05:52 PM
stark raving lunacy
https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1473395013472112641
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 05:58 PM
yep
https://twitter.com/ianmSC/status/1472993109378174979
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 06:00 PM
but of course
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-justice-dept-says-inmates-sent-home-due-to-covid-19-will-not-be-returned-to-prison/ar-AAS2aWz?ocid=uxbndlbing
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 06:14 PM
The sad part is people believe this. Some random Stanford prof making models. Cut Stanford off the grid and tell us how it goes.
@cnbc
A roadmap for clean energy in the U.S. with 100% wind, water, solar power and zero nuclear
Posted by: henry | December 21, 2021 at 06:22 PM
but of course,
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2021/12/click-get-punished-under-pentagons-new-anti-extremism-policy/359999/
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 06:45 PM
sure you were toots
https://mobile.twitter.com/DeAngelisCorey/status/1472917261480509442
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 06:48 PM
au contraire:
https://twitter.com/AnthonySabatini/status/1473383580491411459
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 07:05 PM
shirley
https://dailycaller.com/2021/12/21/youngkins-education-secretary-aimee-guidera-founded-organization-collects-data-26-million-bill-gates/
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 07:19 PM
Cat pets bird:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1472967531010875394
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 07:48 PM
Different cat protects chicks from predatory bird:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1472227776518262796
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 07:51 PM
I thought the days of the Daredevil pilot was over [It was the Red Bull - 56 secs]:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1472024006299688961
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 07:57 PM
Hmmm
@WSJ
A jury on Tuesday found Harvard professor Charles Lieber guilty on six counts related to payments he received from a Chinese government talent program
Posted by: henry | December 21, 2021 at 08:04 PM
The post Manchin tantrum is accelerating. Anyone age 5 or older must have vaxx papers. (For whatever “full vax”means to Fauci at that moment).
@chiiium
The City of Chicago has joined the growing LIST of Democrat-owned cities who will now demand to see a five-year-old’s papers for entry.
https://twitter.com/chiiium/status/1473439381021237250?s=21
Posted by: henry | December 21, 2021 at 08:09 PM
Henry,
Just an oversight, I’m sure.
Posted by: MissMarple2 | December 21, 2021 at 08:10 PM
Finding six bald eagles at your front door:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FHGOvRsXIAkKDXz?format=jpg&name=small
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 08:16 PM
All I need is my coffee and -
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0402/7852/4065/products/e262e273-dd59-4d5d-a023-97aabb4bccc1_1000x.jpg?v=1637390580
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 08:37 PM
MM and Henry. Even the WHO doesn't recommend children getting the vaccine.
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 08:41 PM
that's why that scene in airplane 2, was so true to form, when they run out of coffee,
Posted by: Narciso | December 21, 2021 at 08:43 PM
Narciso:
Here it is [1:11]:
https://youtu.be/Bbv5B71KmkA
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 08:59 PM
PS. One of my bosses in the air force was fond of saying Don't Paniiiic.
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 09:00 PM
A mass of human brain cells in a petri dish has been taught to play Pong
Tell me again .. when does life start ?
Posted by: Neo | December 21, 2021 at 09:13 PM
Mind you, he flew Hueys in Vietnam and then C130s, and he didn't panic over anything.
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 09:14 PM
Joel Pollak@joelpollak·
You must now show a vaccine card before committing murder in Chicago
Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot@chicagosmayor ·
To put it simply, if you have been living vaccine-free, your time is up. If you wish to live life as w/the ease to do the things you love, you must be vax'd.
This health order may pose an inconvenience to the unvaccinated, and in fact it is inconvenient by design.
Posted by: Dave (in MA) | December 21, 2021 at 10:09 PM
--This health order may pose an inconvenience to the unvaccinated, and in fact it is inconvenient by design.--
So's the barbed stick I pray gets shoved up your bug-eyed, alien ass Lori.
Posted by: Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki | December 21, 2021 at 10:41 PM
Christmas scene
http://ace.mu.nu/archives/Snow%20NE.jpg
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 11:57 PM
The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live.
- George Carlin
Posted by: Davod | December 21, 2021 at 11:59 PM
Let the children have their night of fun and laughter, let the gifts of Father Christmas delight their play. Let us grown-ups share to the full in their unstinted pleasures.
-- Winston Churchill
He wasn't all business.
Posted by: Davod | December 22, 2021 at 12:00 AM
[Supposedly Twain was offered stock in Alexander Graham Bell's fledgling company, but he declined. He was a famously awful businessman!]
But he looked after President Grant, and helped him write his memoirs while Grant was dying of cancer.
"Twenty years after Appomattox, stricken by cancer and facing financial ruin, Ulysses S. Grant wrote his Personal Memoirs to secure his family’s future. in doing so, the Civil War’s greatest general won himself a unique place in American letters.
His character, intelligence, sense of purpose, and simple compassion are evident throughout this vivid and deeply moving account, which has been acclaimed by readers as diverse as Mark Twain, Matthew Arnold, Gertrude Stein, and Edmund Wilson.
Annotated and complete with detailed maps, battle plans, and facsimiles reproduced from the original edition, this volume offers an unparalleled vantage on the most terrible, moving, and inexhaustibly fascinating event in American history. included are 174 letters, many of them to his wife, Julia, which offer an intimate view of their affectionate and enduring marriage."
Posted by: Davod | December 22, 2021 at 12:07 AM
I highly recommend Chernow's Grant bio. While reading it I couldn't help think of parallels to Trump. Grant was a DC outsider, hated by the establishment insiders. His main flaw was being a bit naive and trusting, so there was some petty corruption that his enemies tried to make a big deal of, and then he himself got swindled by a Madoff type.
Posted by: jimmyk | December 22, 2021 at 12:18 AM
I should add, he also comes off as a truly great President. He handled Reconsruction as well as anyone could have, his economic policies brought about a big industrial boom, and though there was a financial panic in 1873 he refused to debase the currency in response.
Posted by: jimmyk | December 22, 2021 at 12:25 AM
Davod,
That looks like a real life Grandma Moses painting.
Posted by: Dave (in MA) | December 22, 2021 at 12:27 AM
Yup.
Posted by: Davod | December 22, 2021 at 12:43 AM
https://www.quantamagazine.org/radio-telescope-reveals-how-lightning-begins-20211220/
Detailed Footage Finally Reveals What Triggers Lightning
Scientists have never been able to adequately explain where lightning comes from. Now the first detailed observations of its emergence inside a cloud have exposed how electric fields grow strong enough to let bolts fly.
Fascinating animation. I'm not sure I understand it though.
Posted by: jim nj | December 22, 2021 at 01:10 AM
Mark from LI@markfromLI·
Biden will deploy 2 hospital ships to Colorado and Nevada.
Posted by: Dave (in MA) | December 22, 2021 at 01:50 AM
https://spectatorworld.com/topic/inside-omicron-variant-fear-factory-new-york-covid/
Inside the Omicron fear factory
Public health chiefs and the media are working overtime to gin up hysteria
Heather MacDonald
Rather perfectly describes my local TV news reports.
Listening to clueless reporters talking to random people on the street who have earlier been scared to death by the same reporters.
And the politicians who participated in that by telling people to test before visiting significant others over the holidays and then closed up shop after Thanksgiving.
So all of a sudden testing is in short supply, because demand was ginned up again while supply was removed.
"I think I might have been exposed, because this is more contagious,so I want to know to be sure I don't infect someone else."
One realist was interviewed who said something similar, but added, "I've been outside in the cold for three hours now waiting for a test and have probably caught a cold while waiting."
Posted by: jim nj | December 22, 2021 at 02:20 AM
Mark from LI@markfromLI·
Biden will deploy 2 hospital ships to Colorado and Nevada.
Posted by: Dave (in MA)
Too funny. Lake Havasu, or is that in Arizona?
Posted by: jim nj | December 22, 2021 at 02:22 AM
I see the “Manchin sold out to business” narrative is in full swing.
Just the teaser for act II where Manchin turns into Santa Claus and gives them an even bigger PPP?
I trust Manchin to do Chuckie’s bidding after maximizing cash intake from fools (the aforementioned businesses).
Posted by: henry | December 22, 2021 at 08:08 AM
Henry I worry about the canonization of Manchin as the sole savior of the world killing BBB dead, dead, dead. As a West Virginian, I have never trusted him much. And I trust Republicans even less.
In DC, the worse an idea is, the less dead it is ever rendered.
Posted by: Old Lurker | December 22, 2021 at 09:23 AM
Michael Smith
·
It certainly seems the glorious people’s revolution promised by the progressives will require one little thing – a complete inversion of the values and traits traditionally admired by Americans.
As a child, traits and values like bravery, honesty, strength, resilience, determination, and independence were at the top of the list of things to which we should aspire. The radio and TV serials of the late 50’s and early 60’s (my Saturday afternoon staples) like Sky King, The Amazing Adventures of Superman, Tarzan, the Lone Ranger, all reinforced these characteristics in simple, straightforward 30-minute vignettes.
Cartoons were, for the most part, based on the good vs. evil dichotomy where the good guy always won.
Movies from the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s featured strong men (and women) as heroic, swashbuckling, yet often stoic and tragic figures who braved dangers and sacrificed of themselves to save the day for others. Computers and software were not part of the toolbox then, so the dangers were created in the minds of the audience rather than displayed for them on the screen. These movies required imagination and intellect rather than just visual participation and reaction. Rather than suspension of disbelief, those movies required an activation of belief.
But today, things have changed.
The pandemic has been an excuse to reverse all our veneration for those traditional traits and values.
Bravery has been replaced by cowardice. It certainly seems that if you are not afraid, you are not considered part of society. Certainly, it is not only me who has noticed how fear has become the central theme of the vaccine arguments – Biden’s Christmas message of a “winter of severe illness and death for the unvaccinated” is a simple example of inducing fear to accomplish a policy goal.
Honesty has gone the way of the dodo. Honesty has been replaced by official “science” and whatever you need to say or do to support the desires of the regime. The best examples of this are the denizens and pundit of the leftist mainstream media. They have resorted to full time production of propaganda and agitprop; any incident of honest reporting is purely accidental.
Strength? Forget it. Weakness and compliance are the order of the day. You are more likely to be praised for giving in and giving up than standing your ground. Stand your ground, state your beliefs and you will be cancelled – shunned, de-platformed and denied participation in society.
Getting back up after getting knocked down is resilience. Standing up in the face of a gale force wind and holding your position is something Americans have always done. Facing risks and bad time without giving up has always been an American trait – but today, we are supposed to just give in, retreat to our homes and hide behind the furniture because we aren’t strong enough.
Determination just gets you in trouble. You are supposed to bend like a reed in the wind, swaying and conforming to the ever-changing fad of the day. Just follow the “science” they say, without a shred of recognition of how many times “the science” has changed.
If you assert your independence, you are treated as a pariah because the protection of the collective is more valued than your own individual freedom. Get vaccinated to protect others, not yourself – because they have a newly created right not to be infected by a disease (wonder how far they are going to take this new “right”? Will people with the flu be required to quarantine?) Quoth Saint Anthony of Fauci, “…there comes a time when you do have to give up what you consider your individual right of making your own decision for the greater good of society.”
When these inversions are considered in light of the failures of their dire predictions that the resumption of collegiate and professional sporting events would become super-spreader events (they didn’t) and the totally unfounded fear the Omicron variant would prove to be a death sentence worthy of more lockdowns and restrictions (it is the weakest variant so far), rational people would be correct to wonder just what the hell is going on here.
Because there simply has to be more than a public health issue at work here.
Rest assured, there is.
Ronald Reagan, in his famous 1961 speech about socialized medicine, warned about the use of health issues to institute wider collectivist policies
This is all about weakening a people to pave a path to technocratic and authoritarian control over the population.
You can’t have technocracy when smart people make their own decisions. You can’t have authoritarianism while strong, independent, resilient people exist. You can’t have either when people are brave enough to stand in your way.
Many people recoil at the use of the word “communism”, but this is exactly where this inversion process is leading. Technocracy and authoritarian control have always been the main features of Marxist theory since day one.
The only real question is whether this current process is accidental, intentional or some opportunistic mix of both.
The answer to that question is largely moot, I suppose. Even accidentally stumbling toward a shared goal is the same as intentionally doing working toward it.
We know how to stop this process – it begins by reestablishing the veneration of traditional American traits and values.
Posted by: Stephanie Nene Not Your Normal Granma | December 22, 2021 at 09:29 AM