Month: January 2023

Sorry, I'm running out of different headlines to use.

I am busting a gut. By the time this auto-de-fé is over, I might even feel sorry for McCarthy.¹

¹No I won't.

Good news!

I just got a call that I've been approved for the next Carvykti spot at City of Hope. I don't know a lot yet, but as long as all the pre-procedure tests are positive (they should be) I'll go in for leukopheresis in February and then receive the transfusion of genetically-modified plasma in March. After that the killer T cells do their thing and I have an 80% chance of full remission. Recovery takes a while, but I should be back in good shape by summer.

Hooray!

Hiring is down by nearly 800,000 since its peak in February. Quits are also generally down, but they went up in November. Here's the difference:

Note that this is "hires minus quits"—and to be honest, I'm not sure what it means. But it generally seems to indicate less economic activity, with workers having not yet caught on that they might be wise to stay put in their jobs at the moment.

Mainly, though, this post is a celebration of the return of BLS charts after a multi-week vacation. More charts! Hooray!

These two charts show crime rates in the United States over the past five years. The estimates for 2022 are the best I could find, but obviously they aren't official numbers yet.

The main takeaway from this is obvious: we've had a surge in homicide, but no surge in crime generally.

This time 20 Republicans voted against him.

....And that's it for the day.

Here it is, the first photograph of 2023. That is, the first photograph taken in 2023. This is Charlie's favorite bird bath, so I had to kick him off, then clean out all the crud, and then pick a few flowers to toss in. Voila! Instant bird bath art.

The headline says it all. But there's been no movement: 19 Republicans voted against him in the first round and 19 in the second round. There's still no clear substitute for McCarthy, since his supporters are maintaining their loyalty so far. But someone's ambition is going to break through soon and then we'll have another candidate to rally around.

Kevin McCarthy has fallen short on the first vote for Speaker. No worries, though. It was totally expected, his flacks say. Just wait, and he'll win later in the day.

Uh huh.

The vote is beginning for Speaker of the House. Will Kevin McCarthy lose and be completely humiliated? I sure hope so. No spineless toady could ever deserve it more.

Some other lunatic will step up to take his place, so this is hardly a national crisis. And it doesn't matter who it is since House Republicans will prevent even the slightest thing from getting done over the next two years. What difference does it make which one of them officially becomes Dr. No?