2:00PM Water Cooler 10/3/2024 | naked capitalism

By Lambert Strether of Corrente.

Extremely patient readers, I’m afraid brunch got utterly out of control. So this is quite skeletal, although I will add in as much as I can, as fast as I can! In the meantime, talk amongst yourselves! –lambert

Bird Song of the Day

Blue Mockingbird, along the canal, Oaxaca, MX (17,2, -96,751), Etla, Oaxaca, Mexico.

In Case You Might Miss…

1. Boeing and Longshoremen strikes.
2. UCLA tools up.

Politics

“So many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital.” –Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles

Trump Assassination Attempts (Plural)

Less than forty days to go!

Friday’s RCP Poll Averages:

This week’s crop of flag-of-convenience Democrat celebrities and generals didn’t turn the tide either. Despite the micturition and lamentation (very much including my own) about the Trump campaign dogging it when the election is theirs to win (see Gallup, “2024 Election Environment Favorable to GOP” on the issues) do note the steady deterioration in Kamala’s position in the (aggregated) top battlegrounds. (Of course, we on the outside might as well be examining the entrails of birds when we try to predict what will happen to a subset of voters (undecided; irregular) in a subset of states (swing), and the irregulars especially might as well be quantum foam, but presumably the campaign professionals have better data, and have the situation as under control as it can be _{MR SUBLIMINAL Fooled ya. Kidding!}.

* * *

Kamala (D): “Opinion: Vance is right. Harris and Walz are a threat to Americans’ free speech” (Jonathan Turley, USA Today). On “fire in a croweded theatre: “(Walz) cited a case in which socialists Charles Schenck and Elizabeth Baer were arrested and convicted of violating the Espionage Act of 1917. Their ‘crime’ was to pass out flyers in opposition to the military draft during World War I. Schenck and Baer called on their fellow citizens not to ‘submit to intimidation’ and to ‘assert your rights.’ They argued, ‘If you do not assert and support your rights, you are helping to deny or disparage rights which it is the solemn duty of all citizens and residents of the United States to retain.’ They also described the military draft as ‘involuntary servitude.’ Holmes used his ‘fire in a theater’; line to justify the abusive conviction and incarceration. At the House hearing, when I was trying to explain that the justice later walked away from the line and Schenck was effectively overturned in 1969 in Brandenburg v. Ohio, (Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y.) cut me off and said, ‘We don’t need a law class here.’ In the vice presidential debate, Walz showed that he and other Democratic leaders most certainly do need a class in First Amendment law.”

* * *

Trump (R): “Trump calls Jack Smith filing ‘pure election interference’ ” (NewsNation). “Former President Donald Trump called the unsealing of documents in his election interference case by special counsel Jack Smith a “weaponization of the government” during an exclusive interview with NewsNation on Wednesday in Houston, Texas. The Republican nominee was at a private fundraiser when he told NewsNation’s Ali Bradley that Smith is a ‘deranged person’ following the dismissal of his separate classified documents case in July. ‘This was a weaponization of the government … and released 30 days before the election,’ Trump said of Wednesday’s developments. ‘My poll numbers have gone up instead of down. It is pure election interference.’ The interview came after prosecutors, in a court filing unsealed Wednesday, said Trump “resorted to crimes” after losing the 2020 election by disregarding the advice of his vice president and other aides.”

Realignment and Legitimacy

Syndemics

“I am in earnest — I will not equivocate — I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD.” –William Lloyd Garrison

Covid Resources, United States (National): Transmission (CDC); Wastewater (CDC, Biobot; includes many counties; Wastewater Scan, includes drilldown by zip); Variants (CDC; Walgreens); “Iowa COVID-19 Tracker” (in IA, but national data). “Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts” (especially on hospitalization by city).

Lambert here: Readers, thanks for the collective effort. To update any entry, do feel free to contact me at the address given with the plants. Please put “COVID” in the subject line. Thank you!

Resources, United States (Local): AK (dashboard); AL (dashboard); AR (dashboard); AZ (dashboard); CA (dashboard; Marin, dashboard; Stanford, wastewater; Oakland, wastewater); CO (dashboard; wastewater); CT (dashboard); DE (dashboard); FL (wastewater); GA (wastewater); HI (dashboard); IA (wastewater reports); ID (dashboard, Boise; dashboard, wastewater, Central Idaho; wastewater, Coeur d’Alene; dashboard, Spokane County); IL (wastewater); IN (dashboard); KS (dashboard; wastewater, Lawrence); KY (dashboard, Louisville); LA (dashboard); MA (wastewater); MD (dashboard); ME (dashboard); MI (wastewater; wastewater); MN (dashboard); MO (wastewater); MS (dashboard); MT (dashboard); NC (dashboard); ND (dashboard; wastewater); NE (dashboard); NH (wastewater); NJ (dashboard); NM (dashboard); NV (dashboard; wastewater, Southern NV); NY (dashboard); OH (dashboard); OK (dashboard); OR (dashboard); PA (dashboard); RI (dashboard); SC (dashboard); SD (dashboard); TN (dashboard); TX (dashboard); UT (wastewater); VA (wastewater); VT (dashboard); WA (dashboard; dashboard); WI (wastewater); WV (wastewater); WY (wastewater).

Resources, Canada (National): Wastewater (Government of Canada).

Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (wastewater); QC (les eaux usées); BC (wastewater); BC, Vancouver (wastewater).

Hat tips to helpful readers: Alexis, anon (2), Art_DogCT, B24S, CanCyn, ChiGal, Chuck L, Festoonic, FM, FreeMarketApologist (4), Gumbo, hop2it, JB, JEHR, JF, JL Joe, John, JM (10), JustAnotherVolunteer, JW, KatieBird, KF, KidDoc, LL, Michael King, KF, LaRuse, mrsyk, MT, MT_Wild, otisyves, Petal (6), RK (2), RL, RM, Rod, square coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3).

Stay safe out there!

TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts

Employment Situation: “United States Initial Jobless Claims” (Trading Economics). “The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the US rose by 6,000 from the previous week to 225,000 on the period ending September 28th, surpassing market expectations of 220,000 to mark a new three-week high. The rise in claims kept initial counts above the averages recorded earlier this year, reinforcing the trend of a softening labor market and supporting predictions that the Federal Reserve will implement rate cuts in each remaining decision this year.”

Employment SItuation: “United States Challenger Job Cuts” (Trading Economics). “US employers announced 72,821 job cuts in September 2024, slightly down from 75,891 in August, but 53% higher than 47,457 a year earlier. Technology announced the most job cuts….”

Manufacturing: “United States Factory Orders” (Trading Economics). “New orders for US manufactured goods eased by 0.2% from the previous month to $590.4 billion in August of 2024, trimming the downwardly revised 4.9% jump in the previous month, and missing forecasts that it would have remained unchanged.”

“Everyone Is Getting the Dockworkers Strike All Wrong” (Salon). “Yes, it’s a story about modern-day labor anxieties and union leverage—but it’s also about something far more complex than your typical workers-vs.-bosses toss-up…. But the dockworkers of today have to be skilled, knowledgeable, and dexterous enough to ensure that the incoming freight trucks, the hefty equipment, the potentially hazardous cargo, and the boats themselves operate safely and smoothly throughout all steps of the process… That premium on skill and labor, added to the union’s historic strength, makes these dockworkers ‘the highest-paid blue-collar workers in the country,’ as the American Prospect notes… The main sticking point, however, is displacement. The business interests in charge of the ports want to embed more self-propelling technology within dock work, whether that constitutes automated trucks, gates, or cranes. This trend has taken off at dozens of ports across the world. Still, multiple studies and real-world examples have shown that full or semi-automation does not actually do much to reduce costs or increase efficiency at the docks, although in certain applications, it can help to ensure human safety. And therein lies another primary conflict about tech at the docks: The Maritime Alliance is interested in leaving some leeway for automation, but the dockworkers want absolutely none. The work may be grueling, but it’s among the few organized blue-collar professions that can offer its employees a solid lifestyle and dignity.”

Manufacturing: “Boeing Jet Catches Fire Before Takeoff, Prompting Airport Closure” (Men’s Journal). “Almost 200 travelers were evacuated from a Boeing jet as walls of flames spewed from one of the engines, video shared to X (formerly Twitter) shows. The incident occurred early on Wednesday morning at Italy’s Brindisi Airport shortly before a Boeing 737 operated by Ryanair was scheduled to take off. Smoke filled the cabin as crews quickly responded and evacuated the jet, but not before one passenger captured footage of the flames licking the plane’s window.” • Whoops. (Reuters mentions “fumes.”)

Manufacturing: “Boeing’s Frail Finances Give Strikers All the Power” (Bloomberg). “The company is in a dire financial position, burning through billions of dollars of cash and teetering at the edge of having its credit rating cut to junk. The company has floated the idea of raising $10 billion or more by selling shares, which wouldn’t happen until the strike is resolved. The approximately 33,000 machinists on strike know this. Time is on their side. … Boeing needs to reach a deal with its striking workers and crank up aircraft production. The backlog of aircraft orders is piling up. This is cash and financial relief just waiting to be unlocked. No doubt a hefty pay raise will squeeze future profit margins, but it’s unlikely the company, being in such as weakened state, can outlast the determination of its workers…. It’s time for new Chief Executive Officer Kelly Ortberg to settle this strike and begin to repair labor relations. Without buy-in from its workforce, the company can’t begin to change a factory-floor culture that had eroded on safety and quality to the point where the Federal Aviation Administration had to intervene.”

Today’s Fear & Greed Index: 67 Greed (previous close: 68 Greed) (CNN). One week ago: 68 (Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Oct 3 at 1:53:13 PM ET.

Zeitgeist Watch

Gallery

For Alma-Tadema stans, thread worth reading in full:

Groves of Academe

“Students and faculty object to UCLA’s purchase of more military hardware” (Los Angeles Public Press). “The University of California Regents approved the purchase of military equipment at September’s UC Regents meeting at UCLA. The unanimous vote took place behind closed doors while the UCLA Police Department (UCPD), dressed in riot gear, forced those who came to give public comment outside of the building. The approved purchases include 3,000 rounds of pepper munitions, 500 rounds of 40mm impact munitions, 12 drones, and nine less-lethal launchers across six University of California campuses.” • Oh.

News of the Wired

Make that holder coin-operated, and you’ve got a rentier’s cup.

Contact information for plants: Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert (UNDERSCORE) strether (DOT) corrente (AT) yahoo (DOT) com, to (a) find out how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal and (b) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi, lichen, and coral are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. From TH:

TH writes: “This is one of those that might drive you crazy. Vertical lines are correct and even the horizontal railing is good, but the breakwater just above it gives an illusion of off-kilterness (word?).” Readers?

Readers: Water Cooler is a standalone entity not covered by the annual NC fundraiser. Material here is Lambert’s, and does not express the views of the Naked Capitalism site. If you see a link you especially like, or an item you wouldn’t see anywhere else, please do not hesitate to express your appreciation in tangible form. Remember, a tip jar is for tipping! Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know I’m on the right track with coverage. When I get no donations for three or four days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals: