In The Shadow Of Mt Hollywood

It was noted during Biden's visit to Boise yesterday that at the point where he began, "Can I ask you a question? . . . One of the things that, ah . . . I've been workin' on with some others . . . is . . ." his handlers cut his feed. By now, this isn't new. On one had, there was a story last week about how his handlers cringe and mute the volume on their own screens when the boss goes off script. On the other, everyone who's had to put up with Uncle Ted knows this signals the start of a ponderous and rambling discourse that's meant to display in tedious detail what a genius he is. But once again, I disagree with the people who think this is a sign of mental decline. I knew Uncle Ted. He was like that all his life. The main thing that got him going that way was a few too many Old Fashioneds. This actually reminds me of the story that went around during the 2020 campaign that began with the quote from Obama, "Don't undere...

I haven't seen much discussion about what the actual COVID mandate that Biden announced last Thursday will actually look like. For instance, various groups, unions, and states have announced they'll file suit against the mandate, but they can't even start until OSHA publishes the actual rules -- so far, I've seen nothing about when this will take place. But let's say the rules go in, and they turn out to be fully constitutional, no problem, the Supreme Court refuses to intervene in any of the cases that come out. What could go wrong? We really don't have solid numbers on exactly how many people would be affected by the current mandate. Anywhere from 60 to 80 million in the US are unvaxxed. We don't know how many work for companies that come under the mandate and would need to fire unvaxxed employees. Nor do we know how firm the unvaxxed will be when faced with getting the shots or losing their jobs. But we're starting to get a taste of how thi...

Two data points over the past week bought to mind the image above, which is explained on this site : [Nelson] Rockefeller, then vice-president of the United States, was on a campaign swing through upstate New York on Sept. 16, 1976, with Sen. Bob Dole, who had been selected to be President Gerald Ford’s running mate for the 1976 election. When someone in a group of heckling leftie SUNY Binghamton students gave Rockefeller the finger, Rockefeller gave it right back, much to the delight of Dole in the background. At the time, Rockefeller’s finger flashing was scandalous and the gesture was referred to thereafter as “The Rockefeller Salute”. Rockefeller refused to apologize for his outburst. “I was just responding in kind”, he said, neatly avoiding the point that the apology was not expected to go to the hecklers but to the general public. Bob Dole was asked by a reporter why he didn’t join Rockefeller in “the salute”. He replied, “I have trouble with my right arm”. This was a depart...

After I put up yesterday's post, something kept bothering me. I quoted an official UK source that said, in part: An estimated 94.1% of the adult population in England, 92.0% in Wales, 90.4% in Northern Ireland and 93.6% in Scotland tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies in the week beginning 9 August 2021. The presence of antibodies suggests a person previously had COVID-19 or has been vaccinated. Given at least the conventional wisdom we've heard from the public health establishment, shouldn't this mean that the UK is at, or very close to, "herd immunity"? For instance, according to the Mayo Clinic, on a page specifically discussing COVID, Herd immunity occurs when a large portion of a community (the herd) becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. As a result, the whole community becomes protected — not just those who are immune. Often, a percentage of the population must be capable of getting a disease i...

The commentary I've seen on yesterday's speech mandating shots for 80 million people in the US has so far missed a key point. First, the numbers are at best confusing. The UK is one of the countries experiencing a major surge in cases, as shown at right. But according to the Office for National Statistics , An estimated 94.1% of the adult population in England, 92.0% in Wales, 90.4% in Northern Ireland and 93.6% in Scotland tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies in the week beginning 9 August 2021. The presence of antibodies suggests a person previously had COVID-19 or has been vaccinated. Estimated vaccination rates continued to increase in the week beginning 2 August 2021. Across the four UK countries, 90.5% to 92.4% had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 76.8% to 82.5% were fully vaccinated. By contrast, in the US, At least 208,024,209 people or 63% of the population have received at least one dose. Overall, 1...

As I noted yesterday, Biden had a very stressful Tuesday, which led to stumbling, gaffes, and fabulation. This continued into yesterday, when according to Fox News President Biden continued his bizarre habit of implying his handlers call the shots from behind the scenes on Wednesday when he concluded remarks in honor of labor unions by saying what he was "supposed" to do. "I‘m supposed to stop and walk out of the room," Biden said after finishing prepared comments in the East Room of the White House. Is this a symptom of cognitive decline? Again, I don't think so. I certainly agree it's bizarre and counterproductive, since it does entitle reasonable observers to conclude he's not in charge and is controlled by his handlers. Not only that, but as the story says, it's become a habit, which is also not good. But I think the reason for it lies in the parallel I drew yesterday with the disastrously incompetent neurosurgeon Dr Christopher Dent...

My family lived, for a time, in the Washington, DC area, where my mother worked for the Republican National Committee. (She's pictured on the left in the photo with then-President Nixon and a co-worker). One of her jobs was to, escort visiting Republican constituents through the Capitol to greet their elected representatives. According to my mother, one problem issue was Sen Everett Dirksen, at the time the Republican Minority Leader. Dirksen had a permanent mint julep in his hand. She was told to explain to the constituents at every meet-and-greet that the glass was in fact iced tea. President Biden was first elected to the Senate in 1972, not long after Dirksen's death in 1969. A senator with a drink in his hand all day would have been part of the culture then, if it's not in fact still like that. This bit of information popped into my head as I thought again about my principal theory of Biden's bumbling, which I outlined on August 27 , that his patterns of spee...