Shortcut to the full report for Saturday:

The USA’s national indicators are still looking much better than they were before this week:

  • New cases are down about 8% from last Saturday. That is the fourteenth consecutive day of declines, and the 17th decline in the past 20 days.
  • Fatalities are also down, about 13% less than last Saturday. That’s the fifth decline in the past six days.
  • The first decline in new cases began twenty days ago, and the first decline in new deaths began six days ago, precisely 14 days later.
  • Hospitalizations dropped again, and are at the lowest point since July 9.

It is important to note that these current declines are not happening because we ARE doing so well, but because we WERE doing do poorly. Even after that short-term improvement, the USA is still one of only four countries in the world in the red zone for both its new case rate and its new death rate. The four countries are Peru, Colombia, Brazil and the USA. This is not a list we want to be on. We have to do better.

There is also a major negative to consider, America’s testing rate. Positive tests are now more than 8% of all results. Ten states in the USA were above 12% on Saturday.

Note further than five states in the USA are in deep trouble because ALL of the following are true: (1) their new cases rate is higher than any country in the world; (2) their new fatality rate is higher than any country in the world; (3) their rate of positive tests is above 12%. Those states are Mississippi, Florida, Nevada, Georgia and South Carolina.

Per the site:

In a new theoretical study appearing in Nature Scientific Reports, a pair of statistical researchers have warned that rampant human consumption has sent us on a tailspin towards a rapid catastrophic collapse — which could happen in the next two to four decades. Forest density, or the current lack thereof, is considered the cataclysmic canary in the coal mine, according to the report.

Frankly I don’t know how seriously I should take this, and I don’t have the time to study it, but this and the recent “covid could last for decades” news, with its corollary implications for our new normal routines, lead me to wonder if my generation was the one to experience “peak human life” and that it will never be as easy again.

“An outbreak has spread throughout their clubhouse and brought the total cases in recent days to at least 14

Although life can feel normal some days, this serves as a reminder of just how far we really are from returning to life as usual.

For example, Fauci says he won’t go in a plane or eat in a restaurant. (Nor will I!)

Attorney General William P. Barr will nominate Jay Clayton to serve as the new U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

There is a criminal investigation into Deutsche Bank currently occurring in SDNY. Deutsche Bank is Trump’s principal lender and possesses all of his financial data. Jay Clayton counted Deutsche Bank as a client and defended them in a massive money laundering scandal.

There is also an ongoing criminal investigation into Rudy Giuliani, which will presumably disappear when a Trump sycophant takes over the office.

So … usual corrupt shenanigans.

Except for one thing. The current guy did not actually step down!

So … usual chaos.

UPDATE:

UPDATE #2:

Berman has cleaned out his desk. Barr and Berman seem to have reached a compromise. Berman’s trusted deputy will continue in the US Attorney position until the Senate can confirm a replacement. I assume the Democrats will delay the confirmation of Jay Clayton as long as possible

Nothing to it. He’ll snap his fingers like Thanos, and …

racism … gone
bigotry … gone
police brutality … gone

Just as he made the coronavirus go away “like a miracle.”

President Trump praised the use of tear gas and other force to disperse Minneapolis protesters, calling it a ‘beautiful scene’ and describing the National Guard’s actions ‘like a knife cutting butter.'”

This is a joke that starts with the punchline.

Yes, this guy. The one on the left. (The one on the right was not available.)

I just became aware of this today. I looked it up after having seen it used without any clarification in several internet articles. The fact that it is used without explanation seems to indicate that I missed the memo.

“In dozens of YouTube videos, they promise armed rebellion if the government tries to take their guns – a civil war, or Civil War 2: Electric Boogaloo.” The name is spun off a Golan/Globus movie from about 35 years ago, Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo. That I remember. It’s basically a multi-cultural “slobs vs snobs” movie about street dancing. The plot is the usual cliche: girl’s dad wants her to study dance in Paris, but she opts instead to help some street dancers save a community center from an evil developer.

Florida beaches are OPEN (with rules and limitations)

Residents can go for a walk, swim, surf, run or fish, as long as they are adhering to social distancing guidelines. However, sunbathing, camping overnight and gatherings of more than 10 people will be banned.

UPDATE: they corrected the story to read 10 people, not 50! Either the Daily Mail made a typo or Florida backed down. I don’t know which.

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Texas to begin softening COVID-19 restrictions next week

State parks in Texas will be open starting Monday. One of the governor’s executive orders that he signed on Friday allows the state’s retailers to start using a temporary “Retail-To-Go” starting next Friday.