'Toontime: Deregulated 'Merika

US citizens at large got a close-up reality view of what a deregulated 'Merika looks and feels like from the disastrous winter storm that hit Texas. The Texas electric utility market is essentially deregulated. What that produced was freezing customers with thousand dollar electric bills, fleeing politicians, water shortages from lack of electric power, and private utility plants that shutdown because they are not equipped for freezing temperatures in an era of climate change. Texas could not even call on sister states to provide power missing from off-line generators within the state because they unhooked themselves from the regional electric grid. (There are three main grids in the US: western, eastern and Texas) Storms intensified by anthropomorphic global heating are bad enough, but they really suck when they are compounded by deluded politicians still living in the 19th century, who insist on drowning the government in the 'free market' bathtub. Enjoy your capitalistic purity, Texans, while you take a handout from AOC.

Speaking of dysfunctional politics, the Senate appears to be ready to reject $15 an hour because an obscure, non-elected minion ruled that the provision could not be part of the COVID relief bill waiting to be passed by arcane Senate reconciliation rules. Alleged angry Marxist, US Person, told you {06.02.21; Give Em the Byrd!) that the parliamentarian opines on whether a provision violates the "Byrd Rule". Well, she gave the substantial majority of us (76%) 'the byrd', by ruling against inclusion yesterday evening. This, despite CBO figures showing a substantial impact on the federal budget within ten years.

This is not the end. Democrats know the people who elected them want an increase in the federal minimum wage, which has not been raised in more than a decade, despite inflation and extreme wealth disparity. If they fail to deliver they will loose their one vote majority in the next election only two years away. The key here is that the parliamentarian's ruling is only advisory. VP Harris can overrule any "out of order" objection. That appears unlikely, since her boss immediately endorsed the parliamentarian's ruling. Once again, Democrats are caught hiding behind their corporate-sponsored fig leaf.

The same arguments against the raise--fewer workers, less poverty-level income, business ruination--by socially enlightened organizations such as the US Chamber of Commerce were used two centuries ago when child labor laws were finally passed (US beginning in 1836) against capital's fierce resistance. Not all small businesses are engaged in interstate commerce. Besides, an adverse parliamentary ruling did not stop the Repugnants when they wanted to overturn the Affordable Care Act. Erratic/lazy/hot-headed/playboy minds ask, what to do? Absent eliminating the filibuster, which is obviously the rational thing to do, pass the relief bill without the federal minimum wage increase because relief is desparately needed, and insert $15/hr. into a later "must pass" bill--defense appropriations, agriculture price supports or other sacred cow legislation, or in another reconcilliation bill with a new parliamentarian. In the House, driven by majority rule, Democrats appear ready to pass the COVID bill including the $15/hr. minimum wage provision. If the difference remains after the Senate acts, presumably a joint conference will be convened to resolve the issue.

racing downhill, no problem...

Wolf Slaughter in Wisconsin

Wolf advocates predicted that wolves would be slaughtered when the federal protections for the species ended. On cue, the Wisconsin Natural Resources Department was forced to end the state's wolf hunting season after just three days when viscious hunters exterminated 178 wolves, exceeding the established quota by 53%. The number is expected to rise because hunters have 24 hours to report kills. Killer Trump removed protection for the wolf under the Endangered Species Act before be removed from office in November. In January management of wolves was turned over to the states.  Wisconsin law requires an annual hunt. Hunters in Wisconsin are allowed to hunt at night, use dogs, and set traps. The Center for Biological Diversity issued a statement calling the hunt a "reckless slaughter".

Wolf hunting has many supporters in the state who view the current population of an estimated 1,000 wolves to be too many. The current target population is set at just 350. Clearly available habitat can support more than that, and a such a low figure may not be enough to support a viable population in the state. None of the state wildlife board members expressed any reaction to the news that the hunting quota had been exceeded in 72 hours. The board's chairman, Fred Prehn, said the target was "too low" given the population goal of 350 wolves. The Department plans to hold the next hunt in November.

Gulf Stream Weakens

Scientists say that the Atlantic Ocean's circulation is at its lowest ebb in a millenium. Part of that circulation is the warm Gulf Stream, responsible for bringing mild winter weather to the northeast Atlantic coast and northern Europe. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is braking down probably caused by global warming according to new data. AMOC will further weaken if global heating is not reduced, expected to reach a 34% to 45% reduction by the end of the century. That level is close to a tipping point of irreversable instability, that would cause an increase in severe storms and heatwaves in Europe. Sealevels on the US east coast would also rise. The AMOC is Earth's biggest ocean circulatory system. This north-south circulation is accompanied by winds which bring mild, wet weather to Ireland, Great Britain, and western Europe in winter. A scientist with the British Antarctic Survey said the AMOC has a "pofound influence" on global weather making evidence of its weakening significant.

Predictions that the AMOC would be weakened by global warming are longstanding. The new data confirms that hypothesis, and indicates the circulation has been reduced by 15% so far. Researchers responsible for the latest study of the AOMC say the tipping point of collapse will not happen soon, but the chances it could occurr this century without a reduction of global heating are increasing.

Creature Feature: Male Spyder Gives Empty Gift

It is the human equivalent of a zircon engagement ring. The South American male spider, Paradossenus longipes, gives an empty nuptial gift to his prospective mate. This behavior of giving a silk wrapped gift is shared with three other spider species, but P. longipes is the only one observed that gift wraps an empty gift. Watch this video of the deceiver in action:

 

Scientists are not sure how this empty gift giving improves the male's chances of successful breeding. Nuptial gifts are a subject of on-going research. Maria Albo, assistant professor at Uruguay’s University of the Republic and the Clemente Estable Biological Research Institute, and a lead researcher of the study told Mongabay Bay “As far as I know, there is a single example [of empty gift-giving] in insects and, in spiders, this is the first.” Since the fake bling does not obviously benefit the female, is the male communicating his reproductive fitness in another way? One theory is deception: a male gives a worthless gift, saving time and energy, to trick a female into mating without expending effort. Another more altruistic explanation is that the female can consume the silk and its valuable proteins.

The research team ran mating trials, a sort of spider speed dating, giving the male spiders a choice between a nutritious and a worthless gift, then pairing them with females. They performed the trials until a male was caught on video giving a silk-wrapped nada to his paramour. P. longipes, which is Latin for long legs, could be easily overlooked in its habitat being small, brown, and hanging out on the underside of stream-side leaves. Its claim to fame however, are its long front legs and its peculiar habit of giving his mate something to think about and nothing else.

credit: M. Albo; arrow indicates silk packet

'Toontime: Too Lazy to Convict

credit: M. Davies, Newsday

Remember that word from the first impeachment of 'Killer' Trumpillini? The Party of Sedition (POS) is a prime example of what the word means. From McConnell's mind bending double-think, to Cruz's craven venality, the variety of excuses Repugnants used to vote against the Constitution and the Republic are sickening to contemplate. The POS has degenerated into a personality cult loyal to a Russian intelligence asset that undermines the continued existence of representative government in this country. US Person is sorry, but not sorry, for the acrid language he uses to describe their mockery of democracy. Give Hillary some credit--the "vast right-wing conspiracy" is alive and well lving in 'Merika!

To my Supremes: WHAAA! OR, What do I do now, Al?

Texans in the Dark

According to former governor Rick Perry, Texans would rather shiver in the dark cold than subject themselves to federal utility regulation. Well, that thesis got a try out this week as Arctic cold slammed the go-it-alone state, disrupting the entire state's exclusive power grid administered by ERCOT. It was so cold in the normally balmy state that it froze wind turbines, which caused the blackouts. That's a joke, dear reader. The polar vortex, made more severe by climate change, {30.01.19} did knock out natural gas and coal power plants, and even a nuclear generating station (South Texas) tripped off line. The surge in demand for power caused by extreme cold was enough to overwhelm the system. ERCOT planned for a load of about 67,000 megawatts with a maximum capacity of 80,000. The shortfall in power is thought to be in the neighborhood of 30,000 megawatts, but the exact amount is unknown due to rolling blackouts that affected the entire state. [photo credit: AP; Austin in snow]

Back to the alleged frozen windmills. Texas has about 20,000 megawatts of installed wind power capacity. Since it is available intermittently, planners concluded that 6,000 megawatts would be available in February, or only 10% of projected ERCOT daily capacity. Only 4,000 megawatts showed up to reap insanely high wholesale prices, enough to payoff a large portions of capital investments in wind farms. WHOHOO!

The wind failed planners by about 2,000 megawatts. A big deal? NOT! What ERCOT got colossally wrong was the availability of their fossil fuel fleet. Fossil fuel generating plants account for 75% of Texas' electrical generating capacity. When the polar vortex hit, the state agency could only cobble together abut 40,000 megawatts from their combustion plants, causing a near total overload that put Texas in the dark. A portion of their gas-fired facilities were off-line for maintenance in the normally quiet winter season. Their coal plants were put out of action by cold freezing fuel stockpiles into unusable, frozen boulders of carbon. Bottom line: ERCOT got wrong-footed by the extreme weather, and people paid the price. The state’s government, controlled by 'small g' politicians, have repeatedly refused to modernize their power system, or to stray from their unwavering deregulation agenda to bring the state’s energy infrastructure up to modern standards.

Part of ERCOT's remit is to plan ahead for the state's energy needs. Climate change causing weird weather is not news anymore. It has been noticeably occurring for at least two decades. Thermal plants can work well in cold climates--just ask Minnesotans. Clearly, Texas' private utilities are not equipped to deal with extreme cold weather. Another truth is that oil and gas rich Texas has a built-in electrical power grid fragility: it depends heavily on natural gas for both heating and electrical generation. In an arctic weather event, the system is easily overloaded as people unaccustomed to frigid temperatures heat their homes and businesses to tropical levels, causing a dearth of fuel to generate electrical power that also distributes natural gas for heating: a definite negative feedback loop.

Correcting this grid fragility would be expensive and discomforting for vested state interests. Instead, the distraction offered by venal politicians like Ted Cruz, who jumps the nearest jet to Cancun to get warm while poor people and his puppy freeze and go hungry, is more "hippie punching"--criticizing progressive initiatives like alternative power in the go-it-alone state.  Texans, ask yourselves this question: are you suffering because you are just lazy?

COTW: Attaboys!

US Person wants to spotlight these states for doing a good job battling the plague virus that is on its way to be as deadly as the 1918 H1N1 flu virus:

Washington and Vermont have kept their death rates low during the three 3 waves of infection. Both states have been quick to implement targeted public health measures when cases flare up, while benefiting from high levels of public compliance. Speaking of bleach and chloroquinine, US Person provides a friendly tip based on science, not witchcraft or stock investments. Vitamin D, often found to be deficient in people living in northern latitudes and who spend a lot of time indoors, has reduced the level of mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Two studies in Spain, have seen positive results from mega doses of Vitamin D. The larger study has been accepted for publication in the prestigious British medical journal, The Lancet. Vitamin D is readily available, does not require a prescription, and does not cost an arm and a leg. Is that why big pharma has ignored it for so long?  You decide.

US COIVID-19 DEATHS (est.): 553,824

Jaguars Loose Habitat in US

A federal judge in New Mexico has sided with ranchers and miners in ruling that 765,00 acres of land could no longer be protected as critical habitat for the jaguar. The US Fish & Wildlife Service designated the area in southeaswtern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico in 2914 in the hopes that Mexican jaguars in search of territory would migrate north across the border. At least six males have been documented in the US borderlands in the last two decades. No females have been recorded in the US range since 1963. Consequently the legal decision agreed with conservation opponents that the protections were "arbitrary and capricious". For years ranchers complained that the protections made it harded to obtain grazing permits and build infrastructure such as corrals and fencing.

Panathera onca is now primarily a tropical species. About 4,000 of the 15,000 estimated number are thought to remain in Mexico's southernmost states. But once jaguars roamed as far north as the Grand Canyon and Arizona's Gila Wilderness. Today, the closest breeding population in Sonora's Sierra Madre about 125 miles south of Douglas, Arizona. A non-profit, the Northern Jaguar Project, has been successful in creating a reserve with the cooperation of surrounding ranches. As many as 120 jaguars roam there. Going north is perilous--fraught with dangers from drug smuggling and habitat destruction. The impact of a partially built human immigration barrier will also have an adverse effect on any northward migrations. The terrain is difficult with little water, and jaguar females tend to state close to their mother's territory. Still, the males have showed up across the border. It may be a only a matter of time before and intrepid female crosses the line in search of a home. A female black bear did the same thing in Texas' Big Bend in the seventies. Now there is a breeding population of bears in Texas once again. If a female bear can do this, so can a female jaguar. For northward jaguar migration to happen naturally may take 60-85 years. Consideration should be given to relocating several females from the Sonoran group to suitable habitat across the boarder. Relocation would make it more difficult to oppose any future critical habitat designation as well as improve genetic diversity.

The Arizona Game & Fish Department opposed the critical habitat designation, claiming the presence of males in the state was incidental, not worthy of a conservation response. Conservationists think otherwise. The federal wildlife agency lost three lawsuits, forcing it to formulate a recovery plan and designate critical habitat, despite the opinion of conservationist Alan Rabinowitz, former CEO of Panthera, who expressed in a 2010 essay, that funds were better spent preserving the species in Latin America. The Center for Biological Diversity said it will ask the Biden Administration to "carefully redesignate the jaguar's critical habitat so it can withstand the livestock industry's cynical lawsuits."Because after all, jaguar lives matter. [photo credit: Northern Jaguar Project; Sonoran female named Ali Lopes]

'Toontime: Denial for Fun and Profit

More: The Senate voted the most bipartisan margin in US history for Killer's conviction, but ten votes short of the two-thirds majority needed. House Minority leader Mitch McConnell, despite voting to acquit as a loyal member of the party of sedition (POS), issued a scathing denunciation of the former president calling his conduct "criminal". The Senate vote may not be the end of the search for his accountability as Killer once again gets away with killing democracy on Capitol Hill. He still faces two state criminal investigations, in New York and Georgia, as well as a raft of civil law suits related to his business practices. Running the country like a business--only if its a RICO!

{13.02.21}After the Senate surprisingly voted to hear witnesses, House managers struck a deal to admit Rep. Herrera-Beutler's (R-WA) notes of her conversation with Rep. Kevin McCarthy in which he described his January 6th telephone call to Killer pleading for him to stop his supporters storming the Capitol. In the January 6th phone call, the former president blamed Antifa for the insurrection taking place. A furious McCarthy told the President the rioters were breaking into his office through the windows, and asked Trump, "'Who the f*ck do you think you are talking to?' according to a Republican lawmaker [Herrera-Beutler] familiar with the call," CNN reported. The overtly partisan impeachment defense will be wrapped up this weekend with an acquittal vote expected.

credit: K. Siers; Wackydoodle axes: Does that shot contain bleach?

The guilt of Killer for inciting an insurrection is not rationally disputable*--except for politicos bent on preserving what they see as their future careers in national politics. These supremely arrogant, selfish placeholders do not care if not disqualifying a seditionist from holding public office further degrades an already undemocratic Republic. Using a risible jurisdictional argument to cover purely partisan denial. reveals just how depraved the party of sedition is. Killer's partisan exoneration in the Senate risks placing the reigns of national government in the hands of virulent white supremacists. This is a conflict that goes back to the Civil War and beyond. America's enlightened founding is forever tarnished by the original sin of slavery, compounded by 150 years of racist insistence on white supremacy. The twice impeached leader of the forces of reaction and now the party of sedition (POS) will be back soon to haunt the body politic and unleash the Kraken!

*New reporting makes it perfectly clear that Killer was culpable of sedition. House minority leader Kevin McCarthy got into a shouting match with him when he pleaded in a phone call to the President on January 6th that he publicly instruct his mob to cease the attack on the Capitol. He refused to do so for two hours, while he impassively watched events unfold on television and his mob threatened the Vice-President's safety. This evidence of his intent is, in US Person's opinion, conclusive that he was not merely an innocent observer. McCarthy must be summoned to testify at trial to this pivotal confrontation before witnesses, if House mangers hope to obtain his conviction so obviously deserved. Congresswoman Herrera-Beutler (R-WA) took contemporaneous notes of her conversation with McCarthy on January 10th in which he informed her of his plea to the President.

COTW: Death Makes a Retreat

This chart from the New York Times shows new COVID-19 deaths are declining. This trend should continue if residents continue to receive vaccinations on a mass scale. So far an estimated 110 million people in the US have contracted the virus, and another 33 million have been vaccinated at least once. Those numbers account for about 43% of all residents, which may be enough to slow the virus spread. Achieving herd immunity is generally thought to be in the 70-80% range

 US COVID-19 Deaths (est.): 527,566

Chernobyl: Wild Resurrection

This video follows a cat family living in the exclusion zone that has become an unexpected wildlife sanctuary since the Chenobyl reactor 4 meltdown in April, 1986. Nature triumphs over the disaster as wild plants and animals thrive in a radioactive landscape abandoned by man. PNG does not endorse any of the advertisements displayed during this sensitive portrayal with a happy ending.

WHO Says Virus Lab Cleared of Possible Leak

Authorities from the World Health Organization investigating the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Wuhan, China say that the novel corona virus originated in bats, but it is extremely unlikely that a virology lab operating in Wuhan allowed the virus to escape into the community. Wuhan Virology Institute was experimenting with a strain of corona virus at the time the virus responsible for the pandemic entered the human population at large. Since Wuhan is not near likely bat habitat, the scientists hypothesize that the bat virus was present in an animal host first. The location for the jump to humans was probably made in the Huanan Seafood Market, an open air market that also sells and processes wild animals. The market, now closed, displayed meat in the open air in close proximity to workers and customers who crowded into narrow allies to purchase food products including civet cats, bamboo rats, rabbits, and pangolins. Some of these animal products can be traced to regional farms that bats inhabit. Possibly the virus infected frozen seafood products since it can survive for long periods in freezing temperatures.

A fact inconsistent with the market infection route is that COVID-19 infections also circulated in clusters beyond the market at the same time, indicating community transmission as early as December 8, 2020, and possibly earlier. Huanan seafood market could have been infected by a person already carrying the virus. Chinese national health authorities did not declare a health emergency until some fifty days later. By that time, the virus has already spread across the country and overseas to neighboring countries. The exact location of the animal resevoir in not yet known, but researchers are focusing on Southeast Asia. Chinese health authorities may be relieved that the search is shifting away from China, which has officially maintained that it was not the source, and has cooperated fully and transparently with international health authorities, a claim disputed by international experts.

Call These Witnesses

Update: Senate voted today to uphold the constitutionality of trying the former president after leaving office. His defenders relied on the argument that the Senate did not have the authority to try a former official, a position rejected by numerous scholars of constitutional law.  Despite the widely held opinion of legality, forty-four Repugnants voted against trying Killer for inciting insurrection.

Now that the second trial of the man who instigated an insurrection has started in the Senate, House managers should consider calling two witnesses. A former White House aide has told the press that Killer was “loving watching the Capitol mob” storm the Capitol on television. There are indications that he also rebuffed calls from senior officials aksing him to intervene in the violent events. Such testimony under oath would go a long way towards proving his malicious state of mind and rebut claiims that the mob acted independently of his weeks of unfounded, public claims that the election was being stolen, so "fight[ing] like hell" was necessary to reclaim the country from a usurper. (Several rioters have stated in their prosecutions they were summoned by the President to assault the capital building )

The other witness should be William Barr, the former Attorney General, who told Killer at one point in the lead up to the January 6th Insurrection that there was no evidence of election fraud sufficient to overturn the election results. The basis and circumstances of that advice should be revealed to the public and senators to rebut the BIG LIE of a fraudulent election. Useless US Person is aware of the pressure to wrap up an impeachment trial that many consider a foregone conclusion quickly, but is not the future of this Republic worth another day or even two to present the entire story to those sitting in judgment and sworn to protect the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic? US Person thinks so.

Ooooh, the pain!

A "Uniquely American" Whale

In the time of the Sixth Great Extinction, new species are discovered regularly, which is a good thing. Without knowing they exist we cannot hope to protect them from extinction. A new species of whale, named the Rice whale, after American biologist Dale Rice, lives in the north eastern Gulf of Mexico. Previously believed to be Bryde's whales, genetic analysis and morphological studies reveal they are a separate species that feeds in the great depths of the DeSoto Canyon, about 60 miles south of Mobile, Alabama. Consequently they are rarely seen at the surface. Only 100 individuals are estimated to exist, so they are already endangered. [photo credit: NOAA]

Researchers have long known that a group of whales inhabited this corner of the Gulf of Mexico. Drs. Patricia Rosel and Keith Mullen began studying this species baleen whale in the 90's. Significantly, their subject did not mingle with other Bryde's whales, and their feeding habits were different. Bryde's are found all over the planet, whereas these whales tend to stay at home in the Gulf. Because they look very similar, their distinctiveness was unconfirmed by genetic analysis. Prompted by signs of uniqueness, NOAA scientists began collecting tissue samples in 2000, eventually obtaining samples from 36 individuals. In January 2019, an eleven meter specimen washed ashore on an Everglade key. Examination of the skull revealed differences in structure from both Bryde's and Eden's whales, another close relative. Although some in the taxonomic community might want more genetic evidence of a new species, enough evidence exists already to warrant the designation according to researchers involved in the study.

Rice's whales have been protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Act since they were listed as a unique population of Bryde's whale in 2019. Living in the Gulf of Mexico, these whales face threats from oil spills, ship strikes, ocean noise and entanglement in fishing gear. It is unknown whether the massive deep water oil spill by the Deepwater Horizon platform affected the population. The species is also subject to ship strikes since it has an unfortunate habit of sleeping at night just under the surface. Ships would have a difficult time seeing the sleeping giants in time to avoid a collision.

Give 'Em the Byrd!

One of the conundrums in the Swamp that annoys US Person is why the Senate is so loath to discard a rule that is clearly anti-democratic. Reconciliation is a kludge--a desperate work-around of gridlock caused by the required super-majority of sixty votes--that only makes current legislative process a Rube Goldberg device of inane complexity. The plain fact is that the Senate can eliminate the filibuster with a majority vote, and they have done that before. You would think that vote would be high on the priority list of tasks for the new majority, given that the COVID relief bill and other progressive legislation do not have Repugnant support. But NOT! The Senate worked into the early morning hours jimmying the reconciliation budget bill to set up passage of the rescue plan. Vice President Harris exercised her raison d'être around 5:30am EST, Friday. The joint budget bill passed after defeating hundreds of amendments in a fifteen hour "vote-a-rama" marathon, 51-50. Good thing the esteemed lawmakers held the votes in the middle of the night because such an arcane process is simply too embarrassing for a "great democracy".

Some Senate Democrats, including the lone socialist, Bernie Sanders, do not want to eliminate the filibuster. Instead he has a plan to blow up the Byrd Rule in order to allow passage of more progressive legislation such as the the Fifteen An Hour bill, which was tossed during the early morning law-making. What is the Byrd Rule you ask--a good question. Former Senator Byrd of West Virginia suggested the rule to prevent abuse of the reconciliation process--using it as a means to avoid the filibuster for legislation that is only tangentially related to fiscal issues--such as immigration reform, and federal voting standards. Byrd sets two basic requirements for items to be included in a joint budget resolution: it changes the overall level of spending or revenue where such a change is not merely ‘incidental,’” and it does not “increase deficits outside the 10-year budget window.” Who decides what is proper legislation under the rule--the Senate parliamentarian. But the parliamentarian only makes recommendations to the Senate's presiding officer, the Vice President. Ordinarily, the VP follows the parliamentarian's advisory. So, here is the clever part: Bernie would want Ms. Harris to reject any challenge to legislation under the Byrd Rule, something within her discretion under the Senate's arcane procedure. This strategy has been floated before—Ted Cruz and Rand Paul proposed using it during the debate over Obamacare repeal—but never actually used, because encouraging unchecked discretion could be dangerous in all sorts of other situations perhaps less appropriate.

Perhaps the underlying reason for not wanting to simply eliminate the filibuster and make passage of legislation subject only to majority vote is fear of being in the minority at some point. Senators do not call it the "nuclear option" for nothing. But there is little doubt the current rule is a fundamental roadblock to democratic action. A collective lack of conviction among senators creates an arcane, Frankenstein process giving disproportionate power to self-styled "moderates" who freeze the institution into dysfunction. There is nothing moderate about the modern Senate, as one observer said, "it is radical in its inanity, a legislative chamber designed by Dadaists." No wonder Mr. Smith was confused!

Killer Goes Ahead With Gutting Migratory Bird Act

Update: The Biden administration has delayed the immplementation of the last minute rule change exempting incidental "takes" of migratory birds from the MBTA. The new rule was set to go into effect Monday. The Department of Interior said the pause would allow the agency to determine the next steps to take. A department spokesperson said the rollback by the previous regime "sought to overturn decades of bipartisan and international precedent in order to protect corporate polluters,” Environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit to block implementation of the regime's rollback. Conservationists want to see a new rule making to make legal protection of migratory birds stronger.

{28.11.20}The regime announced its final environmental impact findings on the rollback of the 1918 Act, which protects migrating birds. The US Fish and Wildlife Service said the changes would negatively impact many species previously protected. The new rules would limit federal enforcement actions to those instances when harm to birds is intentional. Millions of migrating birds are killed each year by passive hazards such as buildings, power lines oil field waste pits and wind turbines. Industry operations kill an estimated 450 million to 1.1 billion birds annually, out of an estimated total population of 7 billion. Two days after his election defeat by Joe Biden, his minions sent the treaty changes to the Very White House for Killer's approval. The president of the National Audubon Society said he was in a "frenzy to finalize his bird-killing policy" Bird advocates called for the immediate restoration of the law by the Biden administration should the changes become law. Bird population declines that have swept North America since the 1970s. A federal judge in New York rejected the administration’s legal rationale for the changes in August.

'Toontime: The G-Man Cometh

credit: M. Wuerker, Politico

Next week in the Swamp is all about accountability. Killer goes on trial in the Senate because he was impeached WHILE IN OFFICE. The Constitution says that the Senate "shall have the power to try all impeachments", with no exception for those trials occurring after a term of office expires. Democratic prosecutors have drolly referred to this puerile strategy as the "January exception". The Repugnants are fixating on this to excuse their jarring, partisan denial of conspicuous facts on record because they cannot plausibly endorse Killer's BIG LIE that the election was fraudulent. The Russian asset will not testify under oath because to do so would expose him to charges of perjury. Meanwhile™ the FBI is knocking on the doors of violent insurrectionists* who stormed the Capitol as they are rounded up to answer for various federal offenses.

Speaking of mendacity and delusion: the Repugnant party in its slavish support of a malignant narcissist is loosing its soul, if it ever had one. The party of principled conservatism, of Lincoln, Eisenhower and Reagan, has descended to the level of a lunatic personality cult. It even refused to penalize a House member who spouts crazy conspiracies, bigoted memes, and white hate for profit. So the Democrats did the job for them. Repugnants have one last chance to redeem themselves from the Faustian bargain they struck with Killer by convicting him of incitement and barring him from future public office.

credit: P. Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune

*Interestingly, the feds are tracking some of these miscreants via metadata from their own cell phones. Eric Snowden is cooling his heels in Russia because he warned US of the dangers of mass digital surveillance. Personal data is being used to find the insurrectionists, which is a good thing. But what about innocent bystanders observing the events unfold before them? Are they being tracked too? You betcha. So the next time you bloviate about the 1st and 2nd Amendment or plan to attend a political rally, think about the sophisticated tracking device you carry in your pocket almost all the time. US Person does not carry one, and if he can help it, he never will.

COTW: Mutant Viruses

These charts from the science journal, Nature, show the number of genetic sequences of the SARS-CoV-2 virus provided to a global database. The South African varient (501.Y.V2) is more virulent that the original, able to reinfect persons who have recovered from a previous COVID-19 infection and presumably have antibodies still in their circulatory system. There are also indications that avaiable vaccines are less effective agains this strain.

This discovery of this variant underscores the important role genomic sequencing plays in monitoring virus mutations. Only a few mutations of a virus infecting humans prove problematic, so some surveilance mechansim must be set up to categorize variants. When researchers at Eastern Cape noticed a suspiciously high number of COVID-19 infections in South Africa they created a database of genomic sequences on a random basis. Combing through their data, they discovered a variant that accounted for 90% of the new infections in some regions. The variant has eight mutations of the spike protein that unlocks several types of human cells and allows the virus to take control and replicate itself.

British virologists used a similar but much larger database of mutations set up in a few weeks to uncover B.1.1.7, a variant that has increased infection rates alarmingly in the UK. Coronaviruses mutate slowly compared with influenza, so it was a tough sell to convince public health authorities to fund a program that could end up collecting a lot of useless information. But the investment of $27 million has proved worthwhile as vaccine manufacturers are modifying their vaccines* to better counteract the new virus mutations.

Because of the Untied States' capitalistic adherence to for-profit, private health care, its efforts to set up a national database of virus variants has been less successful. There is a program called SPHERES, which hopes to enlist the aid of private organizations to report gene sequencing, but that voluntary system has not evolved into a national database available to all medical establishments. Most gene sequencing in the US is done at academic institutions for research purposes, not public health emergencies. Genomic coverage overall is low and varies from state to state. The number of SARS-CoV-2 genomes that the United States has shared on GISAID is less than 0.3% of its total number of COVID-19 infections. That compares with nearly 5% for the United Kingdom, 12% for Denmark, and almost 60% for Australia, all countries with robust socialized healthcare systems.

USCOVID-19 DEATHS (est.): 450,000

 

 

*The British medical journal, Tne Lancet, announced that the Russian developed vaccine, Sputnik 5, has proven 92% effective in clinical trials. Russia received criticism from western authorities for administering its vaccine before clinical trials were completed. High profile individuals including Putin's daughter received the vaccine without serious incident. The Russian vaccine, which does not require extreme refrigeration and is popular in Latin America and Asia, is the fifth effective vaccine to be developed in a short period of time.