Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
We have tentative plans for two Balloon Juice to celebrate the new year.
– New Year’s Eve on 12/31/2020 – 7-9 pm (Eastern)
– New Year’s Day on 1/1/2021 – 3:30 – 5:30 pm (Eastern)
Is there interest? Let us know in the comments.
If you want to attend, please also send me an email that includes both your name and your BJ nym, and I will reply with the link and other info.
Open Thread: New Year’s Zooms for Balloon JuicePost + Comments (92)
I was going to write a post about entitled while male economists and found this while googling for pictures of Jeffrey Epstein and Larry Summers (which exist, btw). Open thread.
VP-Elect Harris got hers today:
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris receives her first dose of the coronavirus vaccine https://t.co/vAgQ7xCufl
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) December 29, 2020
Coincidentally, so did my sister (a nurse-anesthetist), who is a huge Kamala Harris fan and was delighted to learn they’d been jabbed on the same day. It’s a load off my mind; I’ve worried about sis and her wife, who is also a frontline healthcare worker. Anyone here get the shot yet?
I reckon my husband and I are way down on the list since we’re middle-aged, in good health and in non-healthcare, naturally socially distanced jobs. That’s as it should be. I hope our elderly relatives are able to get shots relatively soon. It’s been tough keeping them in check.
Open thread!
President-elect Joe Biden said many of America’s security agencies were ‘hollowed out’ under President Trump and the lack of information being provided to his transition team by the outgoing administration was an ‘irresponsibility’ https://t.co/40yc4okBEU pic.twitter.com/krODqgJ1GY
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 29, 2020
Per the Washington Post:
… With less than a month before Inauguration Day, Biden has been laying the groundwork for how to tackle the gargantuan twin challenges that he will face as soon as he assumes the presidency — ending the coronavirus pandemic and rebuilding the economy. He has steadily filled vacancies in his Cabinet and in senior positions in his government, which will take over at noon on Jan. 20.
He has been met with remarkable resistance from Trump, who has refused to concede the election and has continued attempting to overturn the results. Trump blocked any transition efforts outright for more than two weeks before relenting, at least initially. He has declined to say whether he will attend Biden’s inauguration, and the incoming team planning the event assumes he will not…
On Monday, Trump continued to tweet conspiracy theories about the election — at one point retweeting a view that opponents were guilty of “treason” — and spent much of the day at his private golf club in Florida.
Meanwhile, Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala D. Harris attended a virtual briefing with 15 national security and foreign policy advisers, including several would-be Cabinet nominees. In comments that followed, Biden said the advisers told him that many of the agencies critical to national security have sustained “enormous damage” during the Trump administration.
Vaccines are the way out.
Correction: Vaccinations are the way out.
Shots in a freezer or in a distribution center are merely potential. Shots in arms with the spike proteins provoking T-cells and making B-cells remember stuff is the key indicator.
The December goal was 20 million people getting at least their first shot.
That is unlikely to happen.
Latest CDC vaccine distribution and administration numbers are out.
Doses Distributed: 11,445,175
Doses Administered: 2,127,14318.6% of the doses distributed have been administered.
Track vaccine allocations and administrations here:https://t.co/Y9GkUb5syt pic.twitter.com/BbDWm75yuT
— Benjy Renton (@bhrenton) December 28, 2020
Let’s give a warm welcome to a first-time submitter this morning! ~WaterGirl
Here are some California photos from as far down as Laguna Beach all the way up to San Fransisco, and everywhere in between!
On The Road – Kody Kastel – California PhotosPost + Comments (26)
Coastline arial view of Laguna beach.
Joe Biden plans to invoke the Defense Production Act after he takes office next month to boost production of coronavirus vaccines. https://t.co/nBHRMlfDEx
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 28, 2020
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Monday/Tuesday, Dec. 28-29Post + Comments (41)