David Weir

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

It Happens All the Time

“You don’t need drugs when you have a kid. You’re awake and paranoid anyway. Who needs anything else?” -- Robin Williams

***

I miss Robin Williams being in the world with us. An interview with him that first appeared in Interview (the magazine co-founded by Andy Warhol) in 1986 resurfaced this week, and it is packed with his unique brand of wisdom.

One of my favorites is this monologue on relationships : “[Women are] wonderful—they’re amazing creatures. You can never learn enough! They’re addicting in the most amazing sense. They have so many levels. There’s the physical level, which is a lot of fun.

"There’s this emotional level, which is extremely mercurial. Every 28 days you have that massive mood swing, where nature’s going, 'Check, please.' It turns your body into an Etch-a-Sketch, and then you start over.

"Men may have wars, but women have their period. Men go off and kill each other, but women say nasty things, which is even better. Women are incredibly intuitive. If anybody on the planet is going to evolve to the next level, that telekinetic thing, women will.”

***

Women might be surprised that when men talk among themselves about women how much of the conversation is not complaining, or 'locker room jokes' or anything of that nature.

No, a lot of times it's sharing sense of powerlessness at dealing with creatures who have more empathy and intuition than us, plus the emotional roller-coaster our relationships seem to become. Many of the men I know tell me they feel they can't compete on these levels, and they find that disorienting.

These conversations are most intense when the men are either just getting involved with a woman or just breaking up. I've had exchanges recently with men in both stages and the content was remarkably similar.

In a way they both were asking me advice and my advice, not especially profound, was to not try and control the situation, as that can't be done. You cannot control who you are attracted to and you cannot control what happens when a woman wants you out of her life.

Either time, you're essentially powerless over the outcome, but there is one thing you *can* do and that is work on yourself. Honestly, the therapy business should give me a plaque for how many men I've encouraged to seek out counselors.

And some men find that women counselors are best for them, I suppose for obvious reasons. One guy told me recently that he insisted his health insurance let him return to a therapist he had seen before, because "she understands me best."

Another told me he had recently called his therapist from a period when he was deeply depressed just because he wanted her to know he was doing better now.

I suppose all of this is coming up because there have been so many articles about depression, anxiety, and mental health problems during the pandemic. As we've gone over many times in these pages, isolation is bad for all human beings, regardless of gender.

Essentially we need each other -- we *all* need each other, but finding one another and staying together is difficult and everyone can use just a little bit of help along the way.

***

The Headlines:

* Shaken U.S. Capitol on high alert for Biden’s first address to Congress Wednesday (Reuters)

* Facebook Stopped Employees From Reading An Internal Report About Its Role In The Insurrection. You Can Read It Here. (BuzzFeed)

* U.S. population grew at the second-slowest pace in history, census reveals -- Demographers attributed the slowing growth rate over the last decade to an aging population, lower birth rates and lower rates of immigration. The effect of the pandemic is not apparent in the data because the count was concluded before much of the related displacement and deaths occurred. (WaPo)

* Breaking Point: How Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook Became Foes -- The chief executives of Facebook and Apple have opposing visions for the future of the internet. Their differences are set to escalate this week. (NYT)

* Google Poised to Smash Sales Records -- Google’s parent company is expected to shatter sales records with its largest-ever increase in quarterly revenue, fueled by a surge in digital ad spending. (WSJ)

* According to the census, over the past decade the U.S. population rose to 331,449,281, a 7.4% increase that was the second-slowest ever. [AP]

* To lead ICE, Biden picks Texas sheriff who criticized Trump’s immigration policies (WaPo)

* Fox News Again Urges N.Y. Court To Dismiss Smartmatic's $2.7 Billon Lawsuit -- Fox News says its coverage of bogus election-fraud claims was "accurate and disinterested" and is protected by the First Amendment. (NPR)

* Florida’s state Senate has passed a bill that includes a number of voter suppression initiatives, following Georgia’s lead in chipping away at voting rights. The bill criminalizes giving food and water to voters in line and restricts ballot drop boxes, among other measures. The GOP-led Florida House is expected to pass a similar bill this week. [HuffPost]

* Marine scientists say they have found what they believe to be as many as 25,000 barrels that possibly contain DDT dumped off the Southern California coast near Catalina Island, where a massive underwater toxic waste site dating back to World War II has long been suspected. (AP)

* More than half of Americans approve of President Joe Biden after nearly 100 days on the job, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling, a level of support that his Republican predecessor Donald Trump never achieved and one that should help Democrats push for infrastructure spending and other big-ticket items on Biden’s agenda. (Reuters)

* Swift action to cut methane emissions could slow the Earth’s warming by 30 percent, study finds (WaPo)

* One of the world's best-known human rights groups, Human Rights Watch, said that Israel is guilty of the international crimes of apartheid and persecution because of discriminatory policies toward Palestinians within its own borders and in the occupied territories. (AP)

* As Opioid Deaths Surge, Biden Team Moves To Make Buprenorphine Treatment Mainstream -- With the deadly opioid fentanyl pushing overdose deaths to record levels, federal officials hope buprenorphine will save lives in parts of the country where the drug is rarely prescribed. (NPR)

* Congress must decide: Will it protect social media profits, or democracy? (WaPo)

* Homeland Security Will Assess How It Identifies Extremism in Its Ranks -- The department that works to prevent domestic terrorism threats will conduct an internal review as part of a larger effort to combat extremist ideology in the federal government. (NYT)

* A project to overhaul the Constitution is much closer to fruition than most people realize. The Convention of States Project and other conservative groups have been laying the groundwork to pass resolutions calling for a new constitutional convention. [HuffPost]

* Five states have passed laws or implemented executive orders this year limiting the ability of transgender youths to play sports or receive certain medical treatment. There’s been a vehement outcry from supporters of transgender rights – but little in the way of tangible repercussions for those states. (AP)

* In the Bay Area, an unprecedented “baby bust” took place during the pandemic (SFC)

* Biden’s climate change plan may not nix cheeseburgers, but science says beef should be on the chopping block (WaPo)

* Supreme Court to Rule on Whether C.I.A. Black Sites Are State Secrets -- A Guantánamo detainee is seeking information from two former government contractors in connection with a Polish criminal inquiry into a facility there. (NYT)

* Biden signs an executive order to increase the minimum wage for workers under federal contracts from $10.95 per hour to $15 per hour next year. It's a significant pay increase to employees of private firms that hold government contracts for concessions, janitorial work, personal care and other lower-wage services. [HuffPost]

* Life Lessons from Robin Williams (Interview)

* The Challenges of Animal Translation -- AI may help us decode animals, but how much will we really be able to understand? (New Yorker)

* Tree Outside Window Upset Man Just Changed Channel (The Onion)

***

"With a Little Help From my Friends" (The Beatles)

[Verse 1: Ringo Starr]
What would you think if I sang out of tune?
Would you stand up and walk out on me?
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song
And I'll try not to sing out of key

[Chorus: Ringo Starr & Lennon/McCartney]
Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends
Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends
Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends

[Verse 2: Ringo Starr & Lennon/McCartney/Harrison]
What do I do when my love is away?
Does it worry you to be alone?
How do I feel by the end of the day?
Are you sad because you're on your own?

[Chorus: Ringo Starr & Lennon/McCartney]
No, I get by with a little help from my friends
Mm, get high with a little help from my friends
Mm, I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends

[Bridge: Ringo Starr & Lennon/McCartney/Harrison]
Do you need anybody?
I need somebody to love
Could it be anybody?
I want somebody to love

-30-

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Let Kids Speak

So fourteen-year-old cheerleader Brandi Levy had had the kind of day where she wanted to scream and she did, in in an F-word-laced posting on Snapchat that four years ago has ended up before the Supreme Court as potentially the most important case on student speech in more than 50 years.

Brandi's school suspended her from the cheerleading squad for a year due to the rant, so the issue now is whether public schools can discipline students over the things they say off-campus.

I don't know how many fourteen-year-olds you know these days, but trust me, this is *not* a good use of the court's time.

Having raised six people who were once that age, as well as having been fourteen myself a while back, my impression is that that is an age when anyone might tend to blow off steam now and then.

And what better way in the English language than using the F-bomb? I never intervened when my kids used it since they usually seemed to have a pretty good reason and probably they learned it from me anyway.

Of course I worked in newsrooms all of my career, where the language traditionally was at least as profanity-laced as on ships, though that has been lessening a bit in modern times as more women have joined the journalism profession.

Not that women journalists couldn't swear with the best of the men -- our dear departed Molly Ivins proved that many times over. Speaking of Molly, my co-founder Dan Noyes recently unearthed a videotape of her keynoting a fundraiser for us at the Center for Investigative Reporting in the 80s.

Let's just say I'm glad the Supreme Court didn't have a hand in regulating *that* event.

But returning to the issue here, student speech off-campus, seriously the courts need to stay as far away from that as they can. Nobody on the right or the left wants black-robed justices telling us how to raise our kids.

On-campus free speech is a different matter; I have to grant grade school and high school administrators some leeway in regulating what kids can say in classes or even in the student publication. But I'd urge them to go easy there too, especially with the student newspaper.

I've been an advisor to school newspapers on occasion and quite frankly I found the kids involved to be almost as responsible, adjusting for age, as their adult counterparts in professional settings. Basically my belief is free speech is a very good thing -- even when it causes all sorts of trouble.

Actually, especially when it causes trouble.

Therefore, I hope reason prevails and the court reaffirms that Brandi Levy had the right to have her rant on Snapchat free from school official's interference.

All of this said, I realize that a corollary issue here is bullying. Throwing a fit out of frustration is fine; bullying other people is not. I realize that schools, courts and parents are all trying to take on this important issue, which to me is separate from the issue of free speech.

Here is a link to an insightful analysis of *that* issue:

<https://www.theregreview.org/2020/12/19/saturday-seminar-cyberbullying-free-speech-limits/>

(Thanks to Jay Hirschman for alerting me as they issue broke into the news flow when I was asleep.)

***

The headlines:

* Pressure on Mexico to reverse its intended ban on glyphosate and phaseout of genetically engineered (GE) corn has been coming from its neighbor to the north… us. A series of emails obtained via the Freedom of Information Act indicated, unsurprisingly, that the pesticide industry asked U.S. government officials to interfere with Mexico’s planned glyphosate ban — and U.S. officials said yes. (Pesticide Action Network)

* The vast and empty Chernobyl Exclusion Zone around the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident is a baleful monument to human mistakes. Yet 35 years after a power plant reactor exploded, Ukrainians also look to it for inspiration, solace and income. Reactor No. 4 at the power plant 110 kilometers (65 miles) north of the capital Kyiv exploded and caught fire deep in the night on April 26, 1986, shattering the building and spewing radioactive material high into the sky. Soviet authorities made the catastrophe even worse by failing to tell the public what had happened — although the nearby plant workers’ town of Pripyat was evacuated the next day, the 2 million residents of Kyiv weren’t informed despite the fallout danger. The world learned of the disaster only after heightened radiation was detected in Sweden. (AP)

* Ukraine vows not to repeat Chernobyl tragedy (NHK)

* Census data shows political power shifting south to GOP strongholds (WaPo)

* Supreme Court to Hear Case on Right to Carry Concealed Guns -- It is the first major Second Amendment case the Supreme Court has heard since 2010 and one that could lead to a loosening of gun laws nationwide. (WSJ)

* Texas (2), Florida, Colorado, Montana, Oregon and North Carolina will gain seats, while California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia will lose one seat each in Congress due to the 2020 Census. (CNN)

* 1st-Time Gun Buyers Help Push Record U.S. Gun Sales Amid String Of Mass Shootings (NPR)

* Michigan’s Covid Wards Are Filling Up With Younger Patients (NYT)

* New U.S. cases still at a ‘precarious’ level, Fauci says, amid slowing vaccination rates (WaPo)

* Oklahoma governor signs near-total abortion ban into law (CNN)

* Before Jan. 6, FBI collected information from at least 4 Proud Boys (Reuters)

* Study: Body-Worn Camera Research Shows Drop In Police Use Of Force (NPR)

* If the nation is in the midst of a historic reckoning on racism, most leaders of the Republican Party are not participating. (AP)

* European Union officials will send "rapid" assistance to help India combat its latest, devastating COVID-19 outbreak. In the U.S., a National Security Council spokesperson said they would send aid to India as well. (HuffPost)

* How ICE’s Mishandling of Covid-19 Fueled Outbreaks Around the Country (NYT)

* A cheerleader’s Snapchat rant leads to ‘momentous’ Supreme Court case on student speech (WaPo)

* Cyberbullying and the Limits of Free Speech (The Regulatory Review)

* Virus surge in crowded Gaza threatens to overwhelm hospitals (AP)

* Biden's administration is set to push to make community college tuition-free, a potentially revolutionary policy that could nonetheless disappoint progressives who would like to see four-year public colleges be tuition-free. There's "no political downside" to making community college free, according to a moderate Democratic think tank. [HuffPost]

* Millions Are Skipping Their Second Doses of Covid Vaccines (NYT)

* Study finds Lyme-carrying ticks next to beaches and ‘pretty much wherever we looked’ (WaPo)

* Beavers have been blamed after a town in the Canadian province of British Columbia lost their internet service for some 12 hours. (BBC)

* Man Reminds Self Woman On Chiquita Banana Sticker Only Smiling At Him Because That’s Her Job (The Onion)

***

"You Don't Own Me"

(Sung by Leslie Gore; Songwriters: David White / John Madara)

You don't own me
I'm not just one of your many toys
You don't own me
Don't say I can't go with other boys

And don't tell me what to do
Don't tell me what to say
And please, when I go out with you
Don't put me on display 'cause

You don't own me
Don't try to change me in any way
You don't own me
Don't tie me down 'cause I'd never stay

I don't tell you what to say
I don't tell you what to do
So just let me be myself
That's all I ask of you

I'm young and I love to be young
I'm free and I love to be free
To live my life the way I want
To say and do whatever I please

And don't tell me what to do
Oh, don't tell me what to say
And please, when I go out with you
Don't put me on display

I don't tell you what to say
Oh, don't tell you what to do
So just let me be myself
That's all I ask of you

I'm young and I love to be young
I'm free and I love to be free

-30-

Monday, April 26, 2021

No Going Back

It's time to begin spreading the wealth, Robin Hood style. Take from the rich and give to the poor.

If that sounds like communism to you, it isn't, it's capitalism.

As one who reads the business press seven days a week, I cannot begin to count the number of articles published recently supporting the government stimulus checks -- not because business people like government giveaways generally (except in the form of no-bid contracts) but because it doesn't take an MBA to know what people are going to do with those checks.

They're going to buy stuff.

That's how our system works. The hapless consumer is merely a passthrough as the $1400 makes its way from Uncle Sam to Wall Street.

We are just temporary hosts to the newly-minted dollars, much like our bodies are temporary hosts to the SARS-CoV-2. Back during the brief moment that the term "corporate welfare" was in vogue, this might have been controversial, but not now.

If more check recipients would use the money to pay down debts, they'd be doing something more constructive than acquiring more goods.

In fact, a policy that would actually affect people in a meaningful way would be debt relief, especially college loan forgiveness. It's in our collective interest to produce well-educated young adults who can move into the economy as productive workers free of a sharecropper's burden, but no one's had the political will to do that yet.

Bernie Sanders is right -- college should be free to anyone from a family earning under $125,000/year. You can quibble with the price point, but the principle is valid. Even if his ideas become reality, we'll need to do something for the generations now carrying debt -- they must be grandfathered in.

I like that phrase -- grandfathered -- it has a nice ring to it. I'm especially embracing my decision to turn that noun into a verb these days any chance I get. The entire advance of human civilization took a quantum leap once we figured out how to treat the diseases that previously confined most lifespans to 40 years or so because that allowed grandparents to enter the picture.

But you don't reach the point where you can actually advise people honestly until the decisions they face are similar to those you made far enough in the past that you won't be passing that way again yourself.

Now I know I specialize in ridiculously long sentences, but please read that one again. I'll help:

You don't reach the point where you can actually advise people honestly until the decisions they face are similar to those you made far enough in the past that you won't be passing that way again yourself -- this time around.

I think I've probably made my point now.

Within our extended family, we have a member who is the head of one of Europe's soccer teams. He has Covid, as do 28 of the 29 players on his roster. While we hope he recovers completely and soon, we also are asking -- Le seul gars qui reste libre de Covid peut-il jouer les 11 positions?

Finally, and amazingly, the only film I saw this past year among the Oscar nominees,"My Octopus Teacher," won last night. Congratulations on a lovely documentary that reminds us that all life -- and all love -- is sacred.

***

The headlines:

* Bolstered by popular support, U.S. President Joe Biden plans to take from the rich to give to the poor, aided by advisers keen to address economic disparities and stop companies from avoiding paying taxes. Biden on the campaign trail in 2019 first signaled that he hoped to hike taxes on investment gains paid by the wealthy as a way to fund social programs, in that case healthcare.The then-candidate relied on research from economists with roots in academia and at think tanks. As president, he brought these advocates of progressive taxation, or a system where tax rates increase as income goes up, into the White House. (Reuters)

* Americans give Biden mostly positive marks for first 100 days, Post-ABC poll finds (WaPo)

* Michigan became hotspot as variants rose and vigilance fell (AP)

* As Covid-19 Devastates India, Deaths Go Undercounted -- Fatalities have been overlooked or downplayed, understating the human toll of the country’s outbreak, which accounts for nearly half of all new cases in a global surge. (NYT)

* India ‘shaken’ by new coronavirus surge, says prime minister, urging everyone to get vaccinated (WaPo)

* U.S. Is Under Pressure to Release Vaccine Supplies as India Faces Deadly Surge -- The Biden administration is blocking the export of supplies that Indian vaccine makers say they need to expand production. (NYT)

* The Latest: Fauci says US considering virus aid to India (AP)

* The Post-Pandemic Office Is Already Here—in Australia -- Australia, where Covid-19 cases are low, is at the vanguard of world-wide efforts to reopen offices. The country provides a window into what office life might look like elsewhere in the coming months. (WSJ)

* Biden’s Bet on a Climate Transition Carries Big Risks -- The president’s plans to cut emissions in half by 2030 relies heavily on a government effort to steer the development of new industries, but business leaders are fretting over the rapid timeline. (NYT)

* A churning Golden State on the eve of new population numbers (WaPo)

* Tower Of Babble: Nonnative Speakers Navigate The World Of 'Good' And 'Bad' English (NPR)

* The big Pentagon internet mystery now partially solved -- A very strange thing happened on the internet the day President Joe Biden was sworn in. A shadowy company residing at a shared workspace above a Florida bank announced to the world’s computer networks that it was now managing a colossal, previously idle chunk of the internet owned by the U.S. Department of Defense. That real estate has since more than quadrupled to 175 million addresses — about 1/25th the size of the current internet. (AP)

* Maxine Waters’s Long History of Reckless Rhetoric (Opinion/WSJ)

* In Poland, an L.G.B.T.Q. Migration As Homophobia Deepens -- An escalation in verbal attacks by the Polish government, with the support of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the threat of physical violence on the streets of many cities, has triggered an exodus of gay people. (NYT)

* Indonesia says 53 crew of lost sub are dead, wreckage found (AP)

* Fire from oxygen tank blast in Baghdad COVID-19 hospital kills 82 (Reuters)

* Terrorism Fears Feed the Rise of France’s Extreme Right -- The far-right leader Marine Le Pen called for “hundreds of thousands of illegals” to be deported. Her message resonates after the fatal stabbing of a police officer on Friday. (NYT)

* Elon Musk to Add ‘Saturday Night Live’ Host to His Résumé -- The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX is scheduled to headline the long-running NBC late-night comedy show on May 8. (WSJ)

* Report: U.S. Still Leads World With Highest Density Of Kevins (The Onion)

***

"The One I Loved Back Then (The Corvette Song)," written by G Gentry, sung by George Jones

I stopped off at the Quicksack
For some beer and cigarettes
The old man took my money
As he stared at my Corvette
He said, I had one just like her son,
A 1963
'Til the man down at the
Bank took her from me

[Chorus:]
Oh, She was hotter than a two dollar pistol
She was the fastest thing around
Long and lean, every young man's dream
She turned every head in town
She was built and fun to handles, son
I'm glad that you dropped in
She reminds me of the one I loved back then.

Then, I handed him my keys and said,
Here take her for a spin
The old man scratched his head, and said
Then he looked at me and grinned
He said son you just don't understand
It ain't the car I want
It's the brunette in your 'vette that turns me on.

[Chorus:]
I had one that was hotter than a two dollar pistol
She was the fastest thing around
Long and lean, every young man's dream
She turned every head in town
She was built and fun to handles, son
I'm glad that you dropped in
She reminds me of the one I loved back then.

[Chorus:]
Lord, she was hotter than a two dollar pistol
She was the fastest thing around
Long and lean, every young man's dream
She turned every head in town
She was built and fun to handles, son
I'm glad that you dropped in
She reminds me of the one I loved back then.

She reminds me of the one I loved back then...

-30-

Sunday, April 25, 2021

Welcome Back, Germs!

In talking with other vaccinated friends, several variations are emerging. Some get sick after the first shot but are fine after the second; for others the second shot makes them sick but the first one was fine.

Then there are the people like me who experience a general improvement in their health after the vaccinations. This seems to be happening with people who had had Covid and suffered long-term issues. Some of them report improvements after getting the shots.

In my case, there's no evidence I ever had Covid but I did effectively lose my sense of smell and taste a couple years ago. Eating has been reduced to a bland experience ever since -- until I got the Moderna vaccine.

Nothing much changed after the first shot but after the second, within a day or two, I noticed that my sense of taste was returning. It's been long enough now that this feels like a permanent change -- one of many this spring.

So if you've been wondering how our pandemic compares with the great Flu Pandemic of a century ago, the data are in. There were more "excess deaths" last year than at the height of the plague in 1918. That makes this one definitively worse.

I'm glad that you and I were not among those excess deaths, but it is tragically clear than many of people need not have died had we had functional national leadership last year such as the Biden administration is now providing. The virus-deniers misled roughly half the population into believing the whole thing was a fake news conspiracy -- with tragic consequences.

But now, ]thanks to the vaccination initiatives, we can start living in a more normal manner again, which means, as a nice essay in the Times puts it, it's time to learn to "live with germs again."

Pathogens are, of course, just as often really good for us as they are bad for us, something germaphobes may dispute to no avail.

Me? I'm saving the one bottle of hand sanitizer I own as a momento of the pandemic. I never actually used it because I have this thing about hand sanitizers -- I don't believe in them. But it's a cute bottle given to me on a worker on the ferry from San Francisco to Alameda one night, and now it is a treasured relic.

Even as things return to normal here, the pandemic is raging in India at tragic proportions. Bodies are piling up at sites that are running out of wood to burn them. Patients are dying because they can't get access to the oxygen that would save them.

It's a reminder that the virus knows no borders, so what is good here now and bad there may exchange places before much more time passes. Thus as much assistance as the U.S. can muster at this time is what we should be providing.

We've got the vaccines, the oxygen, even the wood if it comes to that. This is what "foreign. aid" should be used for, not what our dollars are funding in the Middle East. Supremacist groups are as unacceptable there as here -- there's no place for them in civil societies.

***

Headlines:

* It’s Going to Be Weird, but We Need to Learn to Live With Germs Again -- The health of our bodies and microbiomes may depend on society’s return to lifestyles that expose us to bacteria, despite the risks. (NYT)

* Indian hospitals turn away patients in COVID-19 ‘tsunami’ (Reuters)

* U.S. vaccine abundance gives rise to global envy, anger -- As new coronavirus cases soar in India and other countries, the United States has raced ahead with vaccinations, even as the Biden administration shares few doses and bans the export of vaccines and vaccine materials. (WaPo)

* Israelis and Palestinians Clash Around Jerusalem’s Old City -- The violence broke out as an extremist Jewish supremacy group marched in the city, chanting “Death to Arabs.” (NYT)

* Confronting a shifting climate, how will California grow? (WaPo)

* ASEAN leaders demand Myanmar coup leaders end killings (AP)

* Indonesian Navy Says Missing Submarine Sunk, Crew Of 53 Dead (NPR)

* ‘Excess Deaths’ in 2020 Surpassed Those of 1918 Flu Pandemic -- The pandemic brought a record uptick in deaths, interrupted a downward trend in death rates and spurred the highest death rate above normal ever recorded in the country. (NYT)

* Md. officials to review cases handled by ex-chief medical examiner who testified in Derek Chauvin’s defense (WaPo)

* San Francisco Contends With a Different Sort of Epidemic: Drug Deaths -- More people died from overdoses than from the coronavirus in San Francisco last year. Some think the toll, tied to homelessness, should force the city to re-examine its approach to illicit drugs. (NYT)

* A Malaysian artist was detained by police for allegedly insulting the country's queen by making a Spotify playlist that mocked comments on the queen's Instagram account, an arrest condemned by rights groups as a clampdown on free speech. (Reuters)

* Tribes Want Medals Awarded for Wounded Knee Massacre Rescinded -- Native Americans are stepping up efforts to pressure Congress to revoke Medals of Honor awarded for the killings of Sioux, including unarmed women and children, at Wounded Knee. (NYT)

* Tens of millions of Brazilians are facing hunger or food insecurity as the country’s Covid-19 crisis drags on, killing thousands of people every day. (NYT)

* Those who got covid between vaccine doses urge caution: ‘We were so close’ (WaPo)

* Breaking Up With Your First Credit Card (WSJ)

* U.K. Far Right, Lifted by Trump, Now Turns to Russia (NYT)

* Stephen Curry, Warriors welcome back fans and beat Nuggets (AP)

* Match’s Dating App in Japan Gives Women Control, Makes Men Pay (WSJ)

* Baby Emerges From Game Of Peekaboo Wiser, More Reflective (The Onion)

***

And I'm so sick of love songs
So tired of tears
So done with wishing
You were still here
Said, I'm so sick of love songs
So sad and slow
So why can't I turn off the radio?

-- Tor Erik Hermansen / Mikkel Eriksen / Hazel Smith

-30-

Saturday, April 24, 2021

California: At a Loss for Words

When East Coast commentators report on some development out here with the barb "Only in California," those of us on the Left Coast tend to wince.

"There they go again."

But I have to admit just this once that it seems unlikely that anywhere *other* than California would you have a popular governor facing a recall election opponent who is a 71-year-old transgender activist/reality TV star/former Olympian and a staunch Republican.

Before you dismiss this as another quirky one-day story, I've got two words for you: Arnold Schwarzenegger.

This kind of thing does happen out here from time to time and maybe it should. Where else in America can you transform yourself publicly and become a celebrity in the process, have utterly no experience but assume you are qualified for the state's top job? Plus we like to be first in everything.

So, given the state of our body politic, I'm not betting against her chances. Californians get tired of the status quo even before it shows up and after all, Gavin Newsom has been governor for at least a New York minute.

Caitlyn Jenner's announcement that she is entering the race notes that California has become a one-party state. That happened a while back actually, so I wouldn't call that a "news" release. And most of us haven't met an actual Republican in decades, unless you count Kevin McCarthy, who is a special kind of nut created by breeding an almond tree with a kidney stone.

Now, that doesn't mean a Republican can't win out here, they just need to have a good back story.

And I'll grant you that Jenner's is a doozy.

And despite our reputation, we're fond of Republicans out here. After all, we gave you Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.

So welcome to the modcast we call California, Ms. Jenner. May you not be at a loss for words. Because, alas, when it comes to your candidacy, I am.

***

Speaking of DNA, which we weren't but are now, I watched my grandson and his study partner attempt to replicate the DNA of a tomato on Friday. Not wanting to interrupt, I didn't ascertain whether they were doing this simply as an academic exercise or to create a new line of tomatoes.

That's how it is to live here smack on the edge of Silicon Valley: You can never tell which odd moment will evolve into the founding myth of the next hot startup, and who better to launch one than a blood relative?

You're forgiven if you've never had to sign an NDA -- non-disclosure agreement -- but many of us keep them in the top drawer of our file cabinets. They're more common than parking tickets in the financial district, but only theoretically as enforceable.

BTW, have you ever noticed how similar the initials of DNA and NDA are? Dyslexia is quite common in Silicon Valley so I'm not sure I'll ever be able to let you know how those tomatoes turn out.

***

As part of my research for this essay, I unearthed California's official state song, which to the best of my knowledge almost never gets played. I've lived here 50 years, raised 6 kids in many different schools, attended official events with state officials, including in Sacramento, and I've never heard this stinker.

With all due respect to late Francis Beatty Silverwood and Abraham Franklin Frankenstein, but is this the best you could come up with?

It sounds like a fourth-grade music class version of what an official song might sound like for Topeka with the kids dancing in tutus and top hats.

***

The headlines, including the one I've covered:

* Caitlyn Jenner, the former Olympian and reality TV star, announced she plans to run to replace California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in an expected recall election later this year. "I'm in! California is worth fighting for," she tweeted Friday morning. Jenner, a longtime Republican, filed paperwork in Los Angeles County and announced her intent on her website. Her bid is one of the most high profile campaigns by a transgender person in the the country. "California has been my home for nearly 50 years. I came here because I knew that anyone, regardless of their background or station in life, could turn their dreams into reality," Jenner said in a news release. "But for the past decade, we have seen the glimmer of the Golden State reduced by one-party rule that places politics over progress and special interests over people. Sacramento needs an honest leader with a clear vision." (CNN)

* Although there's a growing sense that normalcy is within reach after the devastating Covid-19 pandemic, experts are continuing to push for more vaccinations -- particularly as new research details the long-term consequences for those who are diagnosed with the virus. In what the authors say is the largest study to date of the long-term impact, researchers from Washington University in St. Louis found that people who had Covid-19 seem to face a much greater risk of death and need more medical care in the six months after their diagnosis, even if they had a milder form of the disease. (CNN)

* Biden Wants to Slash Emissions. Success Would Mean a Very Different America. -- Hitting the targets could require a rapid shift to electric vehicles, the expansion of forests nationwide, development of complex new carbon-capture technology and many other changes, researchers said. (NYT)

* Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, said the Biden administration views climate change as an “urgent national security threat” that will be at the “center” of the country’s foreign policy. (HuffPost)

* As economy spikes, GOP still awaits ‘Biden depression’ -- Trump’s claims of an imminent depression have complicated Republican efforts to craft an economic message. (WaPo)

* California public schools experienced a sharp decline in enrollment this year as the pandemic pushed millions of students into online learning. (AP)

* Capital-Gains Tax Hike Is on Biden’s Radar -- Raising the top rate on investment income and other tax changes would help pay for President Biden’s efforts to address poverty and education. (WSJ)

* Japan Declares 3rd State Of Emergency, 3 Months Ahead Of Olympics (NPR)

* With Derek Chauvin's guilty verdict secured, the state of Minnesota will turn its attention to the three other former police officers facing charges in George Floyd's murder. J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao will stand trial together in August for aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. (HuffPost)

* The American Family Plan, which the president wants to pay for by increasing the capital gains tax and the top marginal income tax rate, currently doesn’t include an effort to expand health coverage. (NYT)

* FDA: N95 masks, now plentiful, should no longer be reused (AP)

* How Electric, Self-Driving Cars and Ride-Hailing Will Transform the Car Industry -- The era launched by Henry Ford more than a century ago is coming to an end, and the big question is whether the U.S. can keep up with China in the new race. Welcome to the world of AutoTech. (WSJ)

* In the 1970s, the EPA allowed chemical companies to dump toxic waste into the deep sea, seemingly thinking that the ocean was a bottomless pit, too vast for human pollution to leave a mark. Now, oil giants are drilling right on top of it. (HuffPost)

* As pandemic relief funds flood in, cities see a chance to transform (WaPo)

* Data from a Boston hospital showed that Latino patients who did not speak English well had a 35% greater risk of death from COVID-19. The hospital has added interpretation capacity. (NPR)

* University of California and California State University, two of the largest university systems in the U.S., will require COVID-19 vaccinations for all students, faculty and staff on their campuses this fall. The mandate is the largest of its kind in American higher education. [HuffPost]

* Britain Apologizes for Racism in World War I Memorials (NYT)

* Overdose Deaths Surged In Pandemic, As More Drugs Were Laced With Fentanyl (NPR)

* In the tombs of Saqqara, new discoveries are rewriting ancient Egypt’s history (WaPo)

* Baseball in the Bay Area: After a bad start (0-6), the Oakland A's have a 12-game winning streak and the best record in the American League (13-7). The San Francisco Giants are also 13-7, which is the second-best record in the National League. (DW)

* Biden Sends In Troops To Liberate Afghanistan From U.S. (The Onion)

***

"I Love You, California"

I.
I love you, California, you're the greatest state of all.
I love you in the winter, summer, spring and in the fall.
I love your fertile valleys; your dear mountains I adore.
I love your grand old ocean and I love her rugged shore.

Chorus
When the snow crowned Golden Sierras
Keep their watch o'er the valleys bloom,
It is there I would be in our land by the sea,
Every breeze bearing rich perfume.
It is here nature gives of her rarest. It is Home Sweet Home to me,
And I know when I die I shall breathe my last sigh
For my sunny California.

II.
I love your red-wood forests – love your fields of yellow grain.
I love your summer breezes and I love your winter rain.
I love you, land of flowers; land of honey, fruit and wine.
I love you, California; you have won this heart of mine.

III.
I love your old gray Missions – love your vineyards stretching far.
I love you, California, with your Golden Gate ajar.
I love your purple sun-sets, love your skies of azure blue.
I love you, California; I just can't help loving you.

IV.
I love you, Catalina, you are very dear to me.
I love you, Tamalpais, and I love Yosemite.
I love you, Land of Sunshine, half your beauties are untold.
I loved you in my childhood, and I'll love you when I'm old.

lyrics: Francis Beatty Silverwood

music: Abraham Franklin Frankenstein

-30-