Saturday, December 31, 2022

It’s all too easy to get sick right now. Here’s how to protect yourself

“Keep in mind as humorless, self-righteous, insufferable and mediocre corporate journalists are, they still fare better in all those metrics than academics.” 

-Michael Malice


Preparing for the Final Collapse of the Soviet Union Hudson Institute. Lambert: “What they really believe. We’ll see how it works out.”


The 2022 Prize Winners of the Worst Opening Sentences to Novels


The name of the contest is in honor of Edward Bulwer-Lytton, a British writer and politician who was active in the mid-19th century. He’s typically roasted for having the worst opening line in an actual novel: “It was a dark and stormy night.” But Bulwer-Lytton also came up with several pithy and memorable turns of phrase, like “the pen is mightier than the sword”.



Elon Musk’s Finances Complicated by Declining Wealth, Twitter Pressures Wall Street Journal


How Protecting Trees Can Fight GentrificationMother Jones


Release of Select Committee Materials – Additional Witness Testimony Transcripts

Dec 22, 2022 – Washington —”Today, the Select Committee made public additional transcripts of witness testimony that was gathered over the course of the Select Committee’s investigation into the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol These records can now be found on the Select Committee’s website:


Vox: “Right now, the US is in the middle of an infectious disease trifecta. The “tripledemic” of the coronavirus, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has led New York Cityand Los Angeles County, among others, to “strongly recommend” masking indoors. Officials in Oakland and Sacramento may follow suit soon. 

The CDC, which has barely spoken about masking for the past year, now advises wearing one based on Covid-19 community levels — a recommendation that considers hospital admissions, beds available, and the number of case rates. Look, I’m not trying to freak you out with this objectively scary information. The data simply speaks to how crucial it is to prepare to weather this season. There’s a sense of fatigue especially when it comes to Covid: It’s been almost three years since that particular pandemic started, and the recommendations from officials have remained confusing. 

It’s overwhelming; I totally get that. But addressing the emotional reality of navigating these illnesses can go a long way toward protecting you and your loved ones. Covid-19 cases have increased by 26 percent over the two weeks preceding December 19, while hospitalizations and deaths have seen a 14 percent and 63 percent jump, respectively. And this flu season is on trend to be one of the worst in recent years. The CDC estimates that 15 million people have contracted the flu this season. 

As of December 16, at least 150,000 people have been hospitalized, and 9,300 have died from flu rates higher than average. And even though RSV is beginning to trend downward, infection rates remain high. These high rates of illness are also putting a major strain on hospitals and pharmacies. So how can we best navigate this icky viral chaos? I asked Elizabeth Stuart, a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health professor, and James Conway, a physician specializing in pediatric infectious disease at the University of Wisconsin. Here’s their advice, edited for length and clarity…”

Vox It’s all too easy to get sick right now. Here’s how to protect yourself