Daily Digest |  |
- New Years News You Can Use—In Pics!
- A year in reading
- The Geek in Pictures: Year-End Roundup
- “You only Fang twice”
- Coronavirus in one state (146)
| New Years News You Can Use—In Pics! Posted: 31 Dec 2020 01:12 PM PST (Steven Hayward) By the time the regular TWiP is posted Saturday morning, New Year’s eve and New Year’s Day will be receding in the rear view mirror already. So in the spirit of this quasi-holiday, here’s some news you can use today:
And for breakfast tomorrow morning: Cheers!     |
| Posted: 31 Dec 2020 12:36 PM PST (Paul Mirengoff) I always look forward to Tevi Troy’s annual summary of his year in reading. This year’s edition is here. Tevi read 80 books this year which puts me to shame. Among his favorites are Amity Shlaes's Great Society, about the miscalculations and misguided ideas behind the War on Poverty in the 1960s; Craig Fehrman's Author in Chief, about our presidents as writers, but also a history of the evolution of the written word in American life; and America in the World, Robert Zoellick's history of American foreign policy. On the baseball front, there’s Jon Pessah's Yogi: A Life Behind the Mask. Tevi’s book Fight House ranks very high on my list of 2020 favorites. It’s a history of White House infighting from the Truman administration through Obama’s. I reviewed it here. Another favorite, Robert Novak’s The Prince of Darkness, covers some of the same territory. I received a free copy of the book at an event in which Novak and I participated more than a decade ago. I never intended to read it because Novak was not my cup of tea. His “you’re a source or you’re a target” journalism left too much collateral damage and too much room for distortion. But this year, it was difficult for me to get my hands on books, given the pandemic and my unwillingness to buy from Amazon. So I turned to books that had been sitting unread on my bookshelves for years. I’m glad I read Novak’s autobiography. Novak might have been a bad guy, but bad guys often have good insights, especially if they are around as long as Novak was, and work as hard. Novak’s insights into the presidents he covered — from JFK to Obama — are well supported by the first-hand evidence he supplies. Only Ronald Reagan comes off well. Jimmy Carter comes off worst. Novak has plenty to say about his fellow D.C. journalists, too. Here, we must allow for the possibility of score settling and perhaps even jealousy. Again, though, Novak seems to be mostly on the mark, at least directionally. John McLaughlin probably comes off worst among the media personalities he discusses. In the end, Novak’s book tends to confirm Michael Barone’s hierarchy of the integrity of the three professions he has worked in: lawyer, political consultant, and journalist in that descending order. Bad guys tend not to be insightful when discussing themselves, but that’s not really the case in Novak’s autobiography. A seriously flawed man, Novak confesses to some his shortcomings and weaknesses in the book. Others can easily be inferred. This means that Novak’s book works not only as a kind of political history of 50 years, but also as an autobiography.   |
| The Geek in Pictures: Year-End Roundup Posted: 31 Dec 2020 11:44 AM PST (Steven Hayward) Time for another round of miscellaneous charts and graphs that do a lot of work. First up, more embarrassing news for California and New York (with a side order of Illinois). I wonder what these states have in common? It’s a total mystery.
Who needs rent control?
This said, consumer confidence isn’t looking so good:
Way back in 1980, Congress actually passed something called the “Paperwork Reduction Act.” It worked so well that Congress has passed two more “Paperwork Reduction Acts” since then. Judging from the COVID relief and omnibus spending mashup just passed, Congress isn’t in the paperwork reduction spirit.
Trump is being reckless with his pardons! Oh, wait:
Mexico, with ample oil and gas reserves, seems to be following Venezuela’s track:
So we’re supposedly going to all-electric cars in the next 15 years. I wonder if that edict will apply to pickup trucks, too:
Interesting graphic of news cycles in 2020:
Remember: Trump is against science, and only favors fossil fuels!
Meanwhile:
This decline in population growth is driven by falling illegal immigration and a decline in the US fertility rate:
Bonus: If you have 15 minutes to kill, this side-by-side comparison of “Zero Hour” and the parody it inspired—the great “Airplane”—is totally worth it.
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| Posted: 31 Dec 2020 08:45 AM PST (Scott Johnson) Filling in for Tucker Carlson last night, Mark Steyn was in rare form as he reviewed the matter of Eric Swalwell’s enmeshment with the Chinese spy. Bearing as it does on China and the Democrats and national security, it’s an important story. We have attended to the story several times, but without the epic mockery of Steyn’s classic style. Via Doug P./Twitchy.
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| Coronavirus in one state (146) Posted: 31 Dec 2020 05:00 AM PST (Scott Johnson) The Minnesota Department of Health held its first and only press briefing of the week yesterday morning. It was also the last briefing of 2020. It is difficult to overstate the servility and compliance of the press in toeing the lines peddled by MDH throughout the epidemic. Yesterday’s briefing serves as a good example. One would have to be a fool to miss the obvious fact that the virus has waxed and waned on its own rhythm regardless of the various approaches imposed (or not) by the authorities. Governor Walz imposed the current lockdown regime as we reached the other side of the current wave. Kevin Roche made the case in his December 1 Star Tribune column when the issue was in doubt, but he knew what he was talking about. Kevin’s hypothesis is now confirmed by all the relevant data. Minnesota Public Radio includes several graphs depicting the recession of the Minnesota wave in its current update. The same pattern obtains in North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. One has to adopt a willfully obtuse attitude to resist the conclusion that stares us in the face. At about 34:00 of the briefing CBS Minnesota’s Marielle Mohs asked whether the authorities might not be able to reduce the “current restrictions” in light of the data. According to Commissioner Malcolm, the answer is no, although her answer was neither that direct nor that brief. That was the only question on the topic. Neither Mohs nor any other reporter followed up. At about 38:45 Star Tribune editorial writer Jill Burcum posed a question in a vehement tone. She asked about the analysis of death data compiled by state Rep. Mary Franson that I wrote about in part 145. Rep. Franson has appeared on FOX News with state Senator Scott Jensen to discuss the analysis suggesting some deaths are misattributed to the disease. Without naming Franson or Jensen, Burcum sounds angry about their cable appearances this week. They seem to have committed an offense against majesty. Malcolm, Infectious Disease Director Kris Ehresmann, and state epidemiologist Ruth Lynfield all respond that they are following CDC guidance in classifying deaths. In my own exchange with her on Sunday morning Rep. Franson commented to me: “What I find very interesting — not one [member of the] MN mainstream media has reached out to me. Not. One." I have texted Rep. Franson to confirm that this observation applies to Burcum. I have emailed Burcum to ask as well. I will update this post with their responses when received. UPDATE: I spoke with Rep. Franson this morning. She is not difficult to reach. Her contact information is posted on her state legislative page. That is how I was able to contact her this past Sunday. I understand from Rep. Franson that additional information was sought from her via a Twitter thread including Burcum following the briefing. As of mid-morning Burcum herself has not responded to my email inquiry. NOTE for Minnesota readers: Much of the briefing was devoted to the rollout of the vaccine in Minnesota. Following the briefing MDH posted a vaccine update with related guidance/resources summarizing the information here.   |
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