'Toontime: Smoke on the Water

credit: NY Daily News

Now that Individual One's appointees inside the Justice Department are out of the way, the Manhattan feds descended on Rudy Ghouly's apartment and office with a search warrant. Former senior appointees had been blocking approval of a warrant for the searches. Under DOJ policy, seizure of a lawyer's records requires approval from the Washington central office. Investigators seized records and electronic devices related to Ghouly's lobbying for shady Ukrainians on Wednesday beginning at 6am. The investigation of the former New York Mayor and US District Attorney has been underway for two years. Federal prosecutors also executed a search warrant for Victoria Toensing, a lawyer close to Ghouly who had interactions with Ukrainians seeking negative information on Joe and Hunter Biden. She has also represented Dmitry Firtash, a Ukrainian oligarch under indictment in the United States whose help Ghouly sought.

A recent US intelligence report addressing 2020 election interference had this to say: “A key element of Moscow’s strategy this election cycle was its use of people linked to Russian intelligence to launder influence narratives…through US media organizations, US officials, and prominent US individuals” As a major purveyor of the "Big Lie', after seizure of his records and devices, the clear implication is that Ghouly is one of those "prominent US individuals". Search warrants have to be based on probable cause that evidence relevant to an investigation may be found. Where there is smoke, there is fire.

"It's a witch hunt!"

DDT Dump Found Off S. Cal Coast

Scientists mapping the sea floor off Catalina Island and Los Angeles have found a long suspected dumping ground 3,000 feet beneath the surface. Drone images show more than 27,000 barrels resting on the seafloor. Historic ships logs reveal that industries in LA used the region as a dumping ground until 1972 when the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (Ocean Dumping Act) was passed. The logs record 2,000 barrels of DDT-laced sludge were dumped in the deep ocean each month from 1947 to 1961 off Catalina by one major company. Based on these records, all the barrels are thought to contain the toxic pesticide, DDT.

Exact location of the dumping ground was not known until now. It covers a staggering 56 square miles; an estimated 350 to 700 tons of DDT were dumped. The nation's largest manufacturer of DDT was located in Los Angeles. An epic Superfund legal battle showed that the company disposed of DDT laden waste through sewer pipes pouring into the ocean. The barges of waste dumped at sea for decades were largely ignored in that case. When the barrels were too buoyant to sink on their own, one report said, the crews simply punctured them. The survey took place after the LA Times published an investigative report about DDT being dumped into the ocean.

Other investigators will attempt to take samples of the seafloor to determine the degree of contamination. The effects of long term exposure to the chemical on marine life is not entirely known; the chemical has been linked to cancer in sea lions, and high levels have been detected in the region's mammals. Multi-generation effects on humans and terrestrial wildlife caused the pesticide's use to be banned in the United States. Recovery and safe disposal of the waste will be complicated by the ocean depth, container condition, and their numbers.  The San Pedro basin has been used as an industrial dump since the 1930's according to researchers, who found  other debris scattered over a wide area.

COTW: Down for the Count

The US Census Bureau released the results of the 2020 Census this week. Conducted under the most adverse conditions in modern history, it confirms a declining growth rate (the slowest since the Depression Era) and continued movement of population out of the northeast and midwest to the sunbelt:

The political implications of these trends are significant. Some see an aging population as a liability in the economic competition against China, which has a huge population. The U.S. still has a higher fertility rate than Japan and Germany. Historically as countries become wealthier and more educated, fertility rates decline. It may be more difficult for Democrats to hold a majority in the House of Representatives since red states like Texas and Florida gained seats, while blue state like California and New York lost seats.

New York's loss of one seat is particularly frustrating for Democrats. The state failed to hold on to its 27 seat delegation by 89 people. Some New Yorkers blamed the state government for not being behind the counting. The New York Times commented: "The announcement raised other questions about just how close New York came to retaining the House seat. The census was supposed to be a snapshot of the United States’ population on a specific date: April 1, 2020. That happened to be right as the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic swept through New York. On March 31 alone, a New York Times database showed there were 417 deaths in the state." The Census Bureau stands behind the accuracy of its counting even during a global pandemic. Oregon, a reliably blue state with the state legislature iunder the control of Democrats, gained a seat. It fell short of gaining a seat in 1970 by 231 residents. Now, the highly politicized process of redistricting based on the census results will begin after the Census Bureau releases more count details in August. Repugnants control a majority of state legislatures in which redistricting takes place.

Oregon Wolf Report 2021

The state of Oregon is now fully responsible for wolves living in the state since the US Fish and Wildlife Service delisted the species in the western half of the state in January. Wolves have been off the endangered list in the eastern half since 2011. The state has established a wolf plan with reproductive goals for two areas established under the plan [see map]. Wolves in the western zone receive more protection since wolves have not established four breeding pairs for three years. A breeding pair is defined as a male and female who produce at least two pups that survive to the end of the year. Currently there is only one (1) such breeding pair in the entire western two-thirds of the state. In the more rural east, the situation is more encouraging for wolves were seven breeding pairs are documented, exceeding the plan goal for the area. Unfortunately wolves living in this zone receive less protection under the state plan They can be killed if they are determined to be preying on livestock.

Oregon reports a direct count of wolves in the state each year. The minimum number of wolves living in Oregon during last year is 173, an increase of 9.5% over the previous year. The number represents 17 packs containing a successful breeding pair. Most of these packs live in the northeast corner of the state, a region of mountains and forested upland, most of which is under federal jurisdiction. Only four packs are known to inhabit the area west of Hwy 395, which more or less bisects the state. Seven human caused death were reported by the Fish & Wildlife Department. One of these was pursuant to lethal removal: a rancher shot and killed a yearling wolf from the Middle Folk Pack that was chasing livestock. Under Oregon rules a wolf caught in the act of preying on livestock may be shot without a permit, but non-lethal control options remain a priority. This rancher had previously hazed wolves interested in his cattle and had lost two calves in preceding days.

During 2020 the Department investigated four packs accused of chronic depredation, the Rogue Pack in Klamath County (Western Zone) being the most active, but decided not to authorize lethal removal. Chronic depredation is defined as three or more confirmed attacks within nine months. ODFW authorized entire pack removals in 2009 and 2016 and incremental lethal removals in 2011, 2017, 2018 in the Eastern Zone, which has led to a small, steady rate of confirmed depredation events there despite a marked increase in wolf numbers. The agency conducted overnight hazing operations in the Wood River valley of Klamath County for four months with mixed results. The Oregon Department of Agriculture disbursed $251,529 in block grants to twelve counties requesting assistance with wolf management. Of that amount $30,600 was paid directly to livestock owners for dead, injured and lost livestock considered due to wolf predation. The gray wolf is “an integral component of the ecosystems to which it typically belongs”, according to the US Fish & Wildlife Service.

AP: a member of the Snake River Pack in 2014

Paraquat Papers

UK's Greenpeace organization has unearthed corporate documentation showing that the chemical giant Syngenta resisted efforts to make its toxic herbicide less dangerous to use for decades. Memos reveal that corporate officials discussed the matter repeatedly but refused to act on grounds of cost. Paraquat was synthesized in 1882, but not widely used until the middle of the 20th century. The herbicide became notorious when the US government paid for the substance to be sprayed on Mexico's marijuana fields during the late 70's. Today it is used in 120 countries including the United States on more than 100 crops. 

Paraquat in the US is died blue and has a sharp smell warning of its extreme toxicity. It also includes an emetic to induce vomiting if swallowed to prevent  fatal poisonings. Still, deaths due to paraquat poisoning are estimated to be in the thousands worldwide annually with seventeen deaths in the US due to poisoning occurring over the last twenty years. In Switzerland, where Chinese-owned Syngenta has its headquarters, the herbicide has been banned since 1989; fifty other countries have banned the herbicide. Gramoxone brand paraquat is manufactured in the north of England where it is also banned from use. Several studies have linked Paraquat exposure to Parkinson's disease in agricultural workers. The most common cases of Paraquat exposure come from inhalation, prolonged skin contact, or entry into the body through a wound. As little as 10ml--a tablespoon--can be fatal if swallowed. Many children have died from a sip of the chemical improperly stored in an innocuous bottle.

a warning from 1983

Although Syngenta is just one of 377 companies worldwide that have registered the product for sale, its records show that a former head of toxicology told the company that it needed to change its formulation of Gramoxone to reduce toxicity by increasing the amount of emetic additive.. The company ignored his advice to add more emetic to the product and shelved formula alterations that could have made Gramoxone less toxic. The former company toxicologist alleges the emetic concentration used by the company is based on a single “fabricated” internal report from 1976, in which an now-dead Imperial Chemical Industries [a corporate predecessor] toxicologist named Michael Rose manipulated data from a small-scale clinical trial to wrongly suggest humans were ten times more sensitive to the emetic additive than any of the three tested animal species.

Documents going back to 1968 detail how the subject of reducing the product's toxicity, including dilution or granulation, was repeatedly discussed internally because the number of deaths from paraquat poisoning put company profits at risk. In 1986 the company estimated there were 2,000 deaths a year, with more than 95% thought to be suicides. However, the agrochemical giant and its predecessor corporate entities rejected or resisted many different options for changes to the formulations of Gramoxone on cost grounds and the desire to protect profits. It resisted regulatory efforts to ban or restrict sales including attention from the EPA prompted by the lack of an antidote or effective emergency treatment. Ultimately, EPA approved the herbicide for use in the US in 1982 convinced by its distributor, Chevron Chemical Company, that the emetic content made the poison less deadly. 

However, the company stated in a internal review memo of 1981 that "the conclusion that emerges from this scrutiny is that, at best, only a few people have survived paraquat poisoning because of the inclusion of the emetic. Even in these cases we cannot be certain that the emetic has contributed to saving life."  Syngenta denies the allegations against it claiming their former employee did not raise safety concerns with the company until after his company contract had ended and began collaboration with Greenpeace. It also characterizes the argument that increasing the level of emetic improves the safety of their product is "overly simplistic". The product liability case against Syngenta in the US goes to trial in the coming months.

Got Junk?

Man's disposable culture has reached space. The space of near earth orbit is becoming overcrowded with debris ranging from expired rocket boosters and obsolete satellites to nano-particles. {13.12.18} After six decades of exploration and now commercial use, space is no longer space, but a junkyard full of dangerous objects traveling at thousands of mile per hour capable of destroying a manned capsule or expensive satellite. A defunct Cosmos satellite took out a commercial Iridium spacecraft creating even more debris in 2009. The International Space Station (ISS) regularly adjusts its orbit to avoid dangerous objects.

The problem is about to get worse as communication companies get set to launch entire "constellations" of thousands of orbiting satellites. Amazon’s Project Kuiper is seeking to create a mega constellation of up to 3,200 satellites in the near future. So what is being done about cleaning up space? Not much is the short answer according to Scientific American. Removing junk from space is not easy and up until now an avoidable problem. NASA scientist Donald Kessler predicted in the 1970's the junk problem would reach a "tipping point" where debris collisions increase even if all space launches were stopped in a type of chain reaction. Kessler told Scientific American that this critical point has already been reached with smaller, less noticeable collisions taking place all the time.

Technological fixes are being suggested, but none have reach the operational deployment stage. Japan has launched a two satellite demonstration system that utilizes magnets to attract debris and take them out of orbit. Such demonstration systems are fine, but they do not address the basic problem: the proliferation of more detritus as space launches increase over time. A few decades ago, there were only two space faring nations, now there are more than five and counting as the costs of space flight decreases. One obvious solution to the problem is to stop leaving expired missions in orbit. Reusable boosters such as those pioneered by SpaceX is one approach to reducing dangerous space junk. A SpaceX Falcon 9 provided a spectacular light show over Seattle recently as it fortunately burned up in the atmosphere before hitting the ground. A tractor size chunk of burning booster crashing into your corn field is one thing, crashing through your roof is another. 

Orbiting junk like the European Space Agency's Envisat, which is the size of a double-decked bus, is another category of hazard. Blowing it up would only create more debris. Towing it into the atmosphere over an ocean seems to be a possible solution. Even nano-sized particles can perforate the thin skin of a manned spacecraft or damage an expensive satellite. So there is no universal solution to the problem of space debris. In addition, any technology that can remove entire satellites or parts of one from orbit presents the possibility of using it for an anti-satellite weapon. That possibility requires earth-bound diplomacy and cooperation.

As long as major collisions like Cosmos-Iridium [artist impression above] are relatively rare, private space ventures will be loath to address the problem because it is complex, expensive, and technically challenging. As the rate of space launches exceed the re-entry of space objects, the problem will grow worse. A space debris expert at the University of Texas-Austin thinks space faring nations will have to agree that near-Earth space is an ecosystem like land, air and the ocean. “It’s not infinite, so we need environmental protection,” he says. US Person [burning] eyes it the same way.

Down By the River

If you say "Los Angeles River" to most left coasters, they think of a an overlarge, concrete-lined storm drain that makes an exotic background for Hollywood chase scenes. NOT. It is an actual fifty-one mile river that is bound up in concrete since 1938 when the last major flood killed 98 people and destroyed 1500 homes. In fact local Indians (Gabrieliño-Tongva tribe) fished for steelhead in the sparkling waters of Paayme Paxaayt once upon an alternate universe. No more; Southern California steelhead have been on the endangered species list since 1997. But some Angelenos still fish the river for carp and large mouth bass, species adapted to slow moving, silt-laden water. Some are concerned that the river is too polluted, making the fish unfit for human consumption. A 2019 water quality report concluded that the river is clean enough to allow a person to consume 8 ounces of fish--common carp, bluegill, and green sunfish--up to three times a week. There are ambitious plans to rejuvenate the river, restoring some of its natural habitat and water quality. 

Concerns are however, that the plans leave out the homeless who depend on the river for sustenance. According to some observers up to a thousand unhoused supplement their diets with fish and crustaceans from the Los Angeles River. Along its concreted banks 9,000 people live in camps and shelters, some with small gardens. The LA River Master Plan is set to be made public soon. Critics say the plan makes no provision for the people who already call the river home and depend on it as a food source. The Plan admits many will be ousted in a process of 'green gentrification' after the planned green spaces and law enforcement raise housing prices in marginal neighborhoods. No homeless advocacy organizations were involved in the planning process. The Plan does prioritize a healthy ecosystem, compatible with fishing. [photo credit: Getty Images]

An unnamed resident of the river for ten years who eats its carp and bathes in its water told a journalist, “I don’t know where I would go if [the master plan] swept me away from my home. The river keeps me alive.”

New Pipeline Threat to East African Wildlife

Funded by the Chinese, Total's new pipeline will carry heavy crude through some of the most diverse and protected habitats remaining on the continent. Governments of Uganda and Tanzania have signed off on the $3.5 billion project subject to ratification by those nation's parliaments. The proposed pipeline runs from the Lake Albert basin in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda to Tanzania's Port Tanga on the Indian Ocean. Plans are to heat the pipeline to facilitate transportation of the viscous crude oil from 130 wells. Both Tanzania and Uganda are minority shareholders in the project, primarily funded by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and French Total, SA. 

Murchison Falls is Uganda's largest national park and home to elephants, lions, Nile River crocodiles, chimpanzees and 400 bird species. Consevationists say the pipeline will disrupt the ecosystem but will also contribute to global warming. Total officials maintain they are committed to responsible development and transparent process. However, a coalition of NGOs opposing the pipeline says the planning process has been opaque throughout, disregarding judicial and parliamentary procedures. The text of the international agreement has not been made public. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who has led Uganda since 1986, said of his challengers in the country’s 2016 presidential election that, “They are targeting my oil."

The project is intended to cross numerous waterways including the Kagera River in Uganda. In Tanzania, it is planned to cross seven protect forest areas, and the Wembere Steppe, a recognized area of high biodiversity. Port Tanga abuts two ecologically sensitive marine areas. An estimated 12,000 families will be displaced by the project. Despite these and other adverse impacts governments in developing nations see these mega development projects as a means of securing their nation's economic future. Falling crude prices in recent years have created anxiety among project backers, but hopes have remained high in Uganda over the potential for oil exports to lift the East African country into upper middle-income status by 2040. Annual per capita income in Uganda was less than $800 in 2019. 

Total has offered to limit the amount of its production from the basin to less than 1% of protected areas and fund a 50% increase in the number of rangers protecting the park. Opponents have rebuffed these concessions as insufficient to address concerns about global warming and habitat loss. In attempting to stop the project from gong forward at warp speed, conservation advocates are lobbying banks, insurance companies and investors to block funding. An open letter signed by 250 civil society organizations called on 25 commercial banks to not fund the project. The effort caused two of Total’s key financiers, Barclays and Credit Suisse, to deny any intention of funding the project. The letter emphasized that the economics of continuing to burn fossil fuels are not favorable, which is causing the price of oil to plummet. The first export of Ugandan crude is planned for 2025.

COTW: A Political Plague

The chart from the New York Times captures the political nature of inoculation in the United States. People in blue states seem more ready to participate in achieving so-called herd immunity.  This pattern is generally consistent with the ideological bent of conservative and libertarian supporters of the former guy.  Vaccinations are struggling to keep up with new infections and virus variants for which existing vaccines may be less effective.  A Wyoming health department official commented,  “I just never in a million years ever expected my field of work to become less medical and more political. It’s terrifying to think that this may never end. So much hinges on these vaccinations.”   Welcome to the new reality of a divided 'Merica.

US COVID DEATHS (est.): 759,055

'Toontime: Still At Large

credit: B. Englehart

This week the government admitted in public that there was, in fact, collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russian intelligence agents. The experience of impeaching Individual One twice proved one thing: impeachment does not work when a committed cult of personality is willing to sacrifice democracy to protect its anointed. Apparently, Robert Mueller could not access this information at the time, or he simply considered it too unreliable to include it in his investigative report. Mueller’s team said it couldn’t “reliably determine” Paul Manafort’s purpose in sharing confidential polling date with Killimnik, nor assess what Killimnik may have done with it. Robert Mueller was a classic bureaucrat in a tight situation: he made credible efforts to investigate Killer, but stopped short of producing a smoking gun. The belated revelation by the Biden administration establishes a direct link to Russian intelligence that was missing in the first impeachment effort and the Senate Intelligence Committee investigation of 2016 election interference afterwards.

In announcing sanctions against Russia for meddling in the 2020 election, including the expulsion of Russian diplomatic officials suspected of spying, the Treasury Department said Konstantine Killimnik, a known Russian agent according to the Senate Intelligence Committee, turned over polling data to Russian intelligence. The GRU, Russian military intelligence, was conducting an agitprop operation during the 2016 election. Polling data would have helped Russian agents target receptive audiences in swing states. A business associate of Manafort’s who worked closely with him, even managing his firm’s office in Kyiv, Kilimnik is mentioned by name more than 150 times in the Mueller report. He was indicted alongside Manafort on obstruction of justice allegations, but was never tried. Killimnik was one of 32 people and entities sanctioned by the U.S. government for attempting to influence the 2020 election. Manafort was later pardoned for his crimes by 'Killer', who remains at large. How do you spell collusion?

US Covid-19 Deaths (est.): 654,372

What the Unicorn of the Sea Tells Us

Scientists are not sure how the narwhal, Monodon monocerosuses uses the impressive tusk that emerges from its head. US has a preference for the sexual selection theory, as in size matters. Male tusks can grow up to eight feet long! A recent study of 245 narwhal off the coasts of Greenland showed the largest male narwhals have disproportionately long tusks, a common feature of sexually selected traits such as the male peacock's extravagant tail feathers.

Scientists are learning something about climate change from the narwhal's tusk.  The Arctic, where the narwhal makes its home, is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet.  We know this from numerous scientific surveys and researches including studies of ice core samples dating back hundreds of thousands of years taken from the Greenland ice cap.  Researchers writing in the journal Current Biology, have found narwhal tusks contain an increasing amount of mercury over the period 1962 to 2010.  Reading the tusks growth patterns like tree rings, mercury increased an average of 0.3% per year, but between 2000 and 2010, a period of marked warming in the Arctic region, mercury content increased 1.9% per year.

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that bio-accumulates over time--tt stays in the food chain and top predators  accumulate the toxin like polar bears.  Bears are able to sequester it in their thick fur, but narwhals cannot do so.  A narwhal can live for fifty years, so the toxic can reach very high levels that might have cognitive or reproductive effects.

Tusks also reveal that diets have changed over time.  Prior to 1990 whales fed on ice-cold water fish--Arctic cod and halibut. There is a shift to open ocean species like capelin indicating a loss of sea ice.  Arctic species are more nutritious for narwhals who need to pack on fat to survive their habitat. Dietary changes to lower energy food coupled with increasing mercury levels presents a threat to any predator.

Another troubling signal of changing ocean environments has emerged from the waters off the west coast of northern California. Satellite imagery shows the dense kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) forests that dominated the near shore for hundreds of miles have been wiped out by a series of environmental impacts since 2013. The kelp forests were home to numerous species including abalone. A new study by UC Santa Cruz shows that the kelp canopy along the Sonoma and Mendicino coasts has declined by 95%. Two factors have been identified in the decline of this productive ecosystem: the purple sea urchin and two marine heat waves referred to as a warm water "blob". The purple urchin which feeds on kelp has exploded in numbers due to the demise of the sunflower sea star because of a wasting disease. What is left as a result of the imbalance are "urchin barrens"--rocky areas completely covered with the spiky purple invertebrates over hundreds of kilometers of the North Coast--where once thrived an entire marine community created by the kelp. Scientist are not sure kelp will rebound any time soon, Manually removing the purple kelp eater is not easy; unless the sunflower sea star or another predator returns, the purple sea urchin shows no sign of budging.

The loss of valuable marine habitat has had economic effects, too. The state was forced to close recreational diving for abalone for five years in 2018. The last dive shop in the area closed about a year ago. Purple urchins are not as commercially valuable as red urchins, but that could change if a market is developed for them. Some efforts are going forward to create kelp farms and spore banks for replantation when and if conditions improve.

Drought in the West Worsens

A major government study shows that during the last half century of climate change, droughts in the arid West last much longer and rainstorms are more erratic. Most dramatically, the Southwest's average dry period lengthened from 20 days in the 70's to 45 days now. Because most of the west is now dryer, wildfires are more intense. cropland is parched, and there is not enough vegetation to feed livestock and wildlife. Climate scientists are calling the drought that started in 1999 and continues a "megadrought".

The new study, published in the journal, Geophysical Research Letters, is based on data from 337 weather stations accross the western United States since 1976. Researchers focused on when rain occurrs as well as total amounts. The pattern of rainfall shows longer periods of dry weather with rainfall coming in a few large storms. This has implications for agriculture since growing corps depend on regular rainfall. The next few months could develop into the worst spring drought in a decade, bad news for farmers.

"Toontime: Lunatic Fringe

The former guy is like a poltergeist--he just will not go away. The Party of Sedition is so enthralled by the arrogant bully, it cannot pull itself out of his orbit. The simple fact is they got no one else who appeals to the racist remnant that make up the current and formerly 'grand old party'. Too bad for them--Matt Gaetz is headed to a captive audience behind bars. Democrats should not waste valuable time attempting to cajole POS fellow-travelers and representatives like the "dumb SOB" Mitch McConnell, whose only reaction to legislative proposals is. NO!  Individual One is on the verge of a psychological breakdown as the dissonance with reality he experiences daily becomes overwhelming. His speech to desperate donors in Mar-a-lago, Florida is a good example--a freestyle rant full of delusion, personal attacks, and vulgarity. The deep pockets have lost their appetite for his toxic brand of red meat.

credit: S. Sack, Star Tribune

Activists Block Loggers on Vancouver Island

counting the rings

Activists calling themselves the "Rainforest Flying Squad" are blocking loggers attempting to fell old growth trees in the Fairy Creek and Caycuse watersheds. The protests are reminecent of the "War in the Woods" in 1993 when 1,000 protesters were arrested in what is the largest act of civil disobedience in Canada's history. Several dozen activists are camping out and vowing to block any logging in small area of remaining rainforest at the island's southern end. They have erected shelters, a kitchen tent and fortifications as well as an outhouse made of discarded old growth cedar.  The bloickaders have vowed to remain until the old growth trees are protected from felling. [photo credit: J. Winter, UK Guardian]

A recent government report made fourteen recommendations to the provincial government concerning old growth logging that includes a moratorium on cutting in high-risk ecosystems. Critics say the government is overstating the amount of old-growth remaining and is moving too slow to protect what is left. The government is caught between its election promises to protect old-growth forests and what it says is an undue risk to jobs in the forestry industry. Timber companies say some logging must go on to protect jobs that are rapidly disappearing. Giant trees are the skeleton of a rain forest, supporting a myriad of organisms within their moss-covered canopy.

'Toontime: Biting the Hand

credit: J. Ohman, Sacremento Bee

Need US point out the hypocrisy of McConnell & Co that knows no bounds? After decades of accepting and encouraging corporate funding, culminating in a Supreme Court decision that equates money with free speech, Citizens United, he has the gall to tell CEOs to stay out of politics because they opposed unwanted and unnecessary voting restrictions. McConnell: “I found it completely discouraging to find a bunch of corporate CEOs getting in the middle of politics. My advice to the corporate CEOs of America is to stay out of politics. Don’t pick sides in these big fights.” As usual in the Swamp, policy depends on whose ox is being gored.

credit: M. Wuerker, Politico

McConnell has received over $4 million in individual contributions from CEOs during his last few campaigns.

COTW: The Dirty Little Secret

Biden has rejected Sen. Warren's direct wealth tax as a means of paying for his massive infrastructure investment. He has proposed a return to the level of corporate taxation prior to Individual One's 'yuge' giveaway. That proposal is in effect a wealth tax because it is the wealthy who own corporations through their stock investments. In the 50's, 60's and 70's corporations paid about half of their income to the federal government in taxes. Corporate tax rates have been reduced to the point that fifty-five large companies paid zero federal income tax last year. LOOK....at this chart:

The alleged justification for this inequitable largess is that cutting corporate taxes will produce more economic growth. That myth has been exploded for all time, hopefully. Most of the previous regime's tax cuts allowed more company stock buybacks, thereby further enriching corporate executives. What the cuts have produced is more wealth inequity in the US. The dirty little secret is billionaires who own companies do not have income through a salary or bonus; their income is from the returns on their wealth:

charts credit: NY Times

Right Whales Increase

Critically endangered North Atlantic right whales have reproduced the largest number of calves since 2015, an encouraging sign for the highly endangered species (Eubalaena glacialis) Researchers spotted 17 calves swimming with their mothers between Florida and North Carolina this season. One calf was killed in a collision with a boat, a reminder of the continuing survival hazards the whales confront. The count is greater than the previous three years combined; in 2018 no calves were produced. The whales need to continue their current robust pace if their numbers are to increase from the estimated 360.

Conservationists think right whales are dying as deaths primarily caused by man are exceeding their rate of reproduction. The federal government is expected to issue new rules for fishing in areas inhabited by right whales to reduce deaths by entanglement. The changes were bitterly opposed by the fishing industry, but the final regulations should be issued by this summer. Their has been an improvement in compliance with speed limits imposed to limit collisions, but still lag for large commercial vessels at four ports in the the south. Right whales migrate along the east coast between their calving grounds off Florida and their summer feeding grounds off New England, traversing some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. [mother and calf, photo credit: AP}

'Toontime: Vaccinoramous

credit: P Byrnes

Hard enough logistically to vaccinate 230,000 million people without psychodrama and politics. Like most other things in this country the vaccine program is mired in distrust, political priorities*, mistakes, and religious non-cooperation.  Meanwhile™, the virus mutates and continues to kill.  Three months after vaccine approvals only an estimated 100 million have received a single dose of a two dose regimen.

credit: J. Darkow

US Person is all about making didactic comparisons. Let's look at Cuba.  Cuba is the only Latin American country to produce a COVID-19 vaccine.  In fact, it has produced five that are in clinical trials, two of which are in Phase III.  By the end of the year, the island nation of 11.2 million should be able to produce 100 million doses. That fact alone is impressive for a small nation. But wait--it has one of the western world's lowest infection rates and death rates too.; In 2020 Cuba confirmed a total of 12,225 coronavirus cases and 146 deaths. Of course it is aided by geography, but the nation has gone on the offensive against the virus mobilizing its community-based public healthcare system to carry out daily house visits to actively detect and treat cases. 57 brigades of medical specialists from Cuba’s Henry Reeve International Contingent have treated 1.26 million Covid-19 patients in 40 countries; they joined 28,000 Cuban healthcare professionals already working in 66 countries.

The short explanation for this success is: Cuba is a socialist country that puts human welfare ahead of profits. Thank you, Dr. Che Guevera! So what is the predictable capitalist response to Cuba's remarkable achievements in medicine and public health? WAPO says it all: a “public relations coup for an isolated country that was added back to the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism in the final days of the Trump administration.” Cue the British poodle: Prime Minister Boris Johnson told a group of Conservative Party backbenches: ‘The reason we have the vaccine success is because of capitalism, because of greed, my friends." Cuba has accomplished a similar feat without greed. Cuba's death rate is 35 per million and the fatality rate is just 0.59% in 2021 (2.2% worldwide; 2.9% in Britain). Its biomedical infrastructure was developed despite a half century of punishing economic boycott by a giant near neighbor, which should be a natural trading partner, not an implacable enemy. It is informative to note that the capitalist colony next door, Puerto Rico, lost it only claim to scientific claim when the Arecibo Radio Telescope collapsed and was completely distroyed due to neglect. By the end of August 2021, six million Cubans, over half the population, will have been covered and by the end of the year, Cuba will be among the world’s first countries to fully vaccinate its entire population. VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN!

*For example, the state of Oregon with a greater population is receiving fewer doses than Kansas and Wyoming. The disparate treatment prompted state officials to contact the White House about this inequity. One explanation offered by the federal government on its vaccine website is that doses for tribe members and military personnel are sent directly to those organizations. Alaska, which has high numbers of indigenous and military personnel, has the highest number of vaccine doses sent to it per capita. Of the 34 states with higher vaccinatiuon rates than Oregon, 30 have received more doses.

COTW: Bubble Up!

This chart of the Case-Shiller housing index speaks for itself:

The green line is the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which uses rental values, not house price inflation, as a parameter. So it is not related to the reality of the purchasing power of labor or the inflated asset values reflected in the redline "going to the moon". The C-S index was set as zero in 2000; the index shows house prices have increased 136% since then.

This story is related to the cost of living--in another country. New Zealand, which has managed to squash the COVID-19 pandemic under the leadership of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, is raising its minimum wage to $20/hr while increasing the top rate for high earners to 39%. New Zealand already was in the top five of nations having the highest minimum wage according to OECD data. In 2019, the annual real minimum wage in the island nation was $22, 476 compared to the US, which paid only $15,080. But the cost of living in New Zealand is high. For example, housing costs in Auckland are among the most unaffordable in the world, about eleven times average income. Waiting lists for public housing have hit a new record with 22,800 households wanting a space. Meanwhile, the US closes in on the country's 1918 flu pandemic death toll. COVID-19 US Deaths (est.): 566,255.