Supreme Court Decisions

There were three big decisions over the last two days.

First, as expected, the Supreme Court shot down Affirmative Action at least with respect to using race as a criterion for college admission. The decision only affects race and not things such as socio-economic class or geography.

I think this was a good decision. Using race as a criterion strikes me as dangerous. If colleges can use race as a criterion for admission then why can't companies use it as a criterion for hiring? If colleges really want "diversity" then I would think that socio-economic class would be a better criterion anyway.

The second had to do with a web designer that didn't want to do websites for LGBTQ+ clients because it (1) violated her freedom of religion and (2) violated her freedom of speech because it would force her to "say" things that she didn't believe.

The whole case was a bit of a stretch in my opinion but the court ruled that she could decline based upon freedom of speech. I don't know about this one. It seems to me that it opens the door for all sorts of abuse.

The third case was the long awaited decision on Biden's student loan forgiveness program. I thought the court might let this stand but apparently not. They ruled that the Department of Education exceeded its authority and shut the program down. 

Biden immediately announced an alternate legal avenue for doing the same thing. I suppose they had Plan B waiting in the wings just in case. I'm sure this will also be challenged so we shall see. 

Juneteenth

Juneteenth as a holiday upsets my sense of order. People keep calling it the day slavery ended and that's just not true.

Slavery hadn't ended in the entire US by June 19th, 1865. Only in the states of the Confederacy in areas not under Union control. Slavery didn't end until December 6th, 1865 when the 13th Amendment was ratified. June 19th, 1865 is simply the date when some random group of slaves found out they had been freed by presidential order two years previously. The only "holiday" that made less sense than "Juneteenth" was "Columbus Day" which celebrated some Italian dude, working for Spain, who accidentally bumped into Hispaniola, while trying to find India and proceeded to treat the indigenous people there terribly. Dates which might make more sense would be December 6th as explained above, September 22nd which was the date on which Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862 or April 3rd which was the date that black regiments (some say the first was the 5th Massachusetts Cavalry and others that it was the 29th Connecticut Infantry) entered Richmond and insured that the Confederacy, and by extension slavery, were doomed. Oh, by the way, the freed slaves were not citizens in June of 1865 because the Dred Scott decision was still in force. The 14th Amendment fixed that so June 9th, the date that the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868 and the former slaves became citizens, might make more sense as well.

Some may call this petty but I find it annoying that those who whine about the distortion of history have no problem with distorting it themselves when it serves their purpose.

Why I'm no Longer "Woke"

When "woke" simply meant an awareness to realizing that some people weren't treated equally it was a positive thing. But over the last couple of years it has become toxic. Suddenly everything is racist or sexist or some other sort of oppression.

- There's a morbidly obese woman on TicTok with a petition demanding that the FAA force the airlines to give obese people free extra seats because obese people are oppressed. That's insanity.

- There's a black woman with a video claiming that fat phobia is equivalent to racism and therefore being thin and working out are forms of white supremacy. That's even more insane.

- In California they're trying to introduce "equity based" mathematics whatever the hell that is. That sounds insane as well because anything associated with "equity" rather than "equality" tends to be insane.

When justified demands for equality morph into unjustified demands for equity or special privilege then we have a problem.

Apparently I have male privilege, white privilege and something called thin privilege so I should be coming up with ways to atone for all of this privilege. The first step apparently is to ask people what their preferred pronouns are before I can speak to them. Why I would need to know someone's third person pronouns when I'm speaking to them directly I haven't figured out yet.

All of this would be comical if it didn't result in a backlash even among people that would normally be sympathetic. The race card has been played so often and so wrongly that I no longer care if someone thinks I'm a racist. I saw an article this morning calling the SNAP work requirements included in the debt ceiling deal "racist." Regardless of what you think of those work requirements how can something that applies to everyone, and in this applies to more white people, be "racist?"

The Republicans know they have a winning story here because way too many people are fed up with this bullshit.

Medicare for All

I think Medicare for All would be a good thing but I think people are underestimating how hard it would be to implement.

People keep talking about the defense budget as if a hefty cut in the defense budget would pay for all of the progressive wish list.

The defense budget is peanuts compared to what Medicare for All would cost. In 2022 the defense budget was $747 billion. Medicare was $709 billion, Medicaid/CHIP was $695 billion. That's a total of $1.4 trillion for health coverage for 158 million people (93 million Medicaid, 65 million Medicare). There are 334 million people in the US so a simple extrapolation implies that Medicare for All would cost about $2.9 trillion. Note that this includes the estimated $600 billion in administrative costs saved by eliminating the insurance middle men. So that's a shortfall of about $1.5 trillion. The total revenue of the federal government in 2022 was $4.9 trillion including payroll taxes so MFA would cost something like 60% of current revenues and the shortfall would represent over 30% of current revenues. There's no way this is being funded without a broad new tax such as a Value Added Tax on non-essential items including cars and electronic devices. Food, clothing and other essentials would have to be exempt. Try negotiating this in our current political climate. But that's not the big problem. The big problem is that our current medical infrastructure in many places around the country might be incapable of handling the increased demand. That would mean we would also have to invest in additional medical infrastructure including, most importantly, more trained personnel. Note that neither of these two things is a reason not to have Medicare for All but it's going to take a lot more will power than a lot of people would like to admit.

The Debt Ceiling II

 The clowns in Washington can't seem to get their act together. Biden after months of saying that he wasn't going to negotiate is negotiating but, at least so far, there is no agreement. I can't even say with any certainty what, if anything, has been agreed to or what the current proposals are.

Reportedly the wok requirements for Medicaid are a major sticking point. 

A group of Democratic Senators led by Bernie Sanders have proposed that Biden invoke the 14th Amendment. A group of 210 Democratic House Members have proposed the same thing. But Biden appears loathe to do so without a previous OK from the courts which of course he's not going to get.

Invoking the 14th Amendment would be better than defaulting so I hope that someone is explaining the to Biden. 

The Corona Virus, May 21, 2023

President Biden has lifted the Covid emergency in the US. The World Health Organization has ended it worldwide and New Jersey is no longer reliably updating its website.

So, after three years I'm signing off on my Covid updates. I will continue to monitor what information is available but unless things start to go to hell I'm done publishing any numbers.

On the personal front, my root is out and I'm still a tad sore. My care has been serviced and the Generator has been fine.

The Corona Virus, May 8, 2023

 US Cases

Both the WHO and the US have declared the emergency over so Covid case numbers are getting harder to find. New Jersey, so far, is still posting but who knows for how long. If this isn't the final post then it's close. Thank goodness.

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  471,548

Jan 7- Jan 13 - 430,045

Jan 14-Jan 20-331,401

Jan 21-Jan 27-323,428

Jan 28-Feb 3- 284,798

Feb 4 -Feb 10-277,984

Feb 11-Feb 17-260,120

Feb 18-Feb 24-241,626

Feb 25-Mar  3-237,986

Mar 4-Mar 10-206,486

Mar 11-Mar 17-161,476

Mar 18-Mar 24-133,520

Mar 25-Mar 31-138,481

Apr 1 - Apr 7 -   120,530

Apr 8 - Apr 14- 101,145

Apr 15 - Apr 21- 94,140

Apr 22 - Apr 28-88,210

Apr 29 - May 5 - Unavailable

'New Jersey Cases

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  15,562

Jan 7- Jan 13 -  13,735

Jan 14-Jan 20- 10,529

Jan 21-Jan 27- 10,150

Jan 28-Feb 3-   8.910

Feb 4 -Feb 10-  8,326

Feb 11-Feb 17-  6,690

Feb 18-Feb 24- 5,545

Feb 25-Mar  3- 4,590

Mar 4-Mar 10- 3,772

Mar 11-Mar 17-3,334

Mar 18-Mar 24-2,996

Mar 25-Mar 31-2,626

Apr 1 - Apr 7 -   2,285

Apr 8 - Apr 14- 2,548

Apr 15 - Apr 21-2,170

Apr 22 -Apr 28-1,323

Apr 29 - May 5 -1,019

New Jersey almost got below a thousand case. It just missed.

Bergen County Cases

Dec 31-Jan 6 -   1,759

Jan 7- Jan 13 -   1,517

Jan 14-Jan 20-  1,074

Jan 21-Jan 27-  1.046

Jan 28-Feb 3-     903

Feb 4 -Feb 10-    884

Feb 11-Feb 17-    604

Feb 18-Feb 24-  525

Feb 25-Mar  3-  448

Mar 4-Mar 10-  375

Mar 11-Mar 17- 376

Mar 18-Mar 24-381

Mar 25-Mar 31-202

Apr 1 - Apr 7 -   205

Apr 8 - Apr 14- 378

Apr 15 - Apr 21-315

Apr 22 -Apr 28-283

Apr 29 - May 5 -133

The blip in Bergen County appears to have resolved itself as the numbers are playing with going under 100.

The Oral Surgeon will take out the root on the 11th. After that we'll see. He's good so I'm going to listen to what he says.

The technician looked at the generator and couldn't find any problem. It's been behaving since then (knock on wood). So go figure.

More on Reparations

 I'm opposed to reparations. It probably violates the equal protection clause. Citizens of the United States are entitled to "equal protection of the laws."

Reparations would punish white, Hispanic and Asian citizens for things they didn't do in order to compensate black people for things they didn't suffer. If you can find an ex-slave feel free to compensate him or her.

It would also probably violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which "prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin."

You would be discriminating against white, Hispanic and Asian citizens by using their taxes to give money to black citizens simply because they may have descended from a slave.

If they had been slaves that might be different. But no black person alive today was a slave.

I'll tell you something else that I would argue it might violate. Article 1, Section 9, Clause 3 of the Constitution which prohibits Bills of Attainder. A bill allocating reparations would be punishing white, Hispanic and Asians citizens without a judicial trial and so may be a Bill of Attainder.

Here's the bottom line. We are either a nation of laws or we're not. We can't pick and choose what laws to follow simply because we want to do something and that goes double for the Constitution.

I contend that reparations would require a Constitutional Amendment and a repeal or modification of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The Debt Ceiling

This is starting to get serious. Kevin McCarthy has put a proposal on the table which Biden and company have called not serious.

If these two guys were serious about actually governing the country then I think there's a reasonable compromise here.

McCarthy wants to roll back to 2022 Discretionary Spending. The Discretionary Spending budget in 2022 was $1.722 trillion. The President's 2023 proposal is $1.748 trillion. That's a difference or $26 billion or 1.5% of the new budget proposal. Are these people seriously telling me that they can't resolve 1.5% in Discretionary Spending?

The biggest chunk of Discretionary Spending is Defense which was $751 billion in 2022. Other than that there really isn't a single big chunk of money but we're only talking 1.5%.

Note that Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and SNAP are not part of Discretionary Spending and wouldn't be affected by this part of McCarthy's proposal. All of these items are part of Mandatory Spending. Some of McCarthy's other proposals are more questionable. - Stricter work requirements. McCarthy wants to raise the age limit for SNAP recipients from 49 to 55. I don't see a problem with this considering most people work well into their 60s and many are forced to work into their 70s because Social Security doesn't provide enough to live on.

- Take back unspent Covid-19 relief funds. Offhand I don't see a problem with this either.

- Cancel the IRS budget increase. This would be just dumb. It will pay for itself and McCarthy should be embarrassed to make such a demand. I suspect that this is here to appease the Freedom Caucus.

- Cancel Green Energy incentives. This also sounds to me like it's a foolish thing to do. Green Technology is the future and even the oil companies should have figured that out by now.

- Cancel the $400 billion loan forgiveness program. Biden will never do this. Why not just let the SCOTUS have its say? If someone can convince them that the plaintiffs actually have standing I suspect they'll kill it. But it's not clear the court is convinced they have standing so this is a good gamble for both sides. This is also probably in there to make the Freedom Caucus happy. So negotiate. Work out the 1.5% reduction, accept the raised age requirement and taking back the Covid funds in exchange for letting the IRS budget increase and Green Energy incentives stay. Let the loan forgiveness plan play out in the courts. With Democratic support McCarthy doesn't need the Freedom Caucus.

The Corona Virus, April 24, 2023

 US Cases

OK, so I've been really lazy and busy so I have three weeks worth of data but I don't have national numbers for last week. I've also cut back to listing  just 2023.

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  471,548

Jan 7- Jan 13 - 430,045

Jan 14-Jan 20-331,401

Jan 21-Jan 27-323,428

Jan 28-Feb 3- 284,798

Feb 4 -Feb 10-277,984

Feb 11-Feb 17-260,120

Feb 18-Feb 24-241,626

Feb 25-Mar  3-237,986

Mar 4-Mar 10-206,486

Mar 11-Mar 17-161,476

Mar 18-Mar 24-133,520

Mar 25-Mar 31-138,481

Apr 1 - Apr 7 -   120,530

Apr 8 - Apr 14- 101,145

Apr 15 - Apr 21-Unavailable

 The National numbers have steadily dropped first by 13% and then by 16.1%.

'New Jersey Cases

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  15,562

Jan 7- Jan 13 -  13,735

Jan 14-Jan 20- 10,529

Jan 21-Jan 27- 10,150

Jan 28-Feb 3-   8.910

Feb 4 -Feb 10-  8,326

Feb 11-Feb 17-  6,690

Feb 18-Feb 24- 5,545

Feb 25-Mar  3- 4,590

Mar 4-Mar 10- 3,772

Mar 11-Mar 17-3,334

Mar 18-Mar 24-2,996

Mar 25-Mar 31-2,626

Apr 1 - Apr 7 -   2,285

Apr 8 - Apr 14- 2,548

Apr 15 - Apr 21-2,170

New Jersey had a bit of a wiggle there but overall continues to drop.

Bergen County Cases

Dec 31-Jan 6 -   1,759

Jan 7- Jan 13 -   1,517

Jan 14-Jan 20-  1,074

Jan 21-Jan 27-  1.046

Jan 28-Feb 3-     903

Feb 4 -Feb 10-    884

Feb 11-Feb 17-    604

Feb 18-Feb 24-  525

Feb 25-Mar  3-  448

Mar 4-Mar 10-  375

Mar 11-Mar 17- 376

Mar 18-Mar 24-381

Mar 25-Mar 31-202

Apr 1 - Apr 7 -   205

Apr 8 - Apr 14- 378

Apr 15 - Apr 21-315

I'm not sure what happened with that big jump Apr 8 - Apr 14. There is a pool of cases not allocated to counties so maybe they've been allocating them.

My dentist has finished doing his thing. I see the oral surgeon on May 1 about that root. My tongue feels better now that the permanent crowns are in.

I got the CT scan. My pulmonologist looked at it and said nothing appears to have changed although the official report wasn't available yet. The Thoracic say one of the larger nodules appears to have shrunk. He didn't have the official report either but said everything else looked the same. I get to this again in three months.

My generator is acting up. About a week ago it shut itself off and sent me a E2800 error code. There was a tech here the week before to do yearly maintenance so maybe there's a connection? Anyway, I checked and the code is triggered when someone turns off one of the two emergency switches, I went out to check and reset the unit but the tech had locked the top.

So, I went to look for the key. I found what I thought was the key but it didn't fit. I spent the next half hour looking around. Finally, I thought about it and decided this had to be the key. I went out with a flashlight this time and discovered that you had to push down on the front of the lock in order to get the key in. Both emergency switches looked closed so I reset the unit and it came back up. It ran its weekly maintenance check two days later and seemed OK.

Unfortunately last night it happened again. I reset the unit but then three hours later it happened again. So I left it off and called the electrician this morning. They're sending someone to check tomorrow.

The Corona Virus, April 9, 2023

 US Cases

Yes I've been lazy and I have two weeks of updates as a result.

Sep 5  -Sep 11- 463,113

Sep 12 Sep 18- 431,984

Sep 19 Sep 25- 379,673

Sep 26 Oct 2-   327,481

Oct 3 - Oct 9-  284,417

Oct 10-Oct 16-263,879

Oct 17-Oct 23-264,187

Oct 24-Oct 30-258,083

Oct 31-Nov 6- 279,769

Nov 5-Nov 11-279,503

Nov 12-Nov 18-282.037

Nov 19-Nov 25-298,683

Nov 26-Dec 2 -359,499

Dec 3-Dec 9 -  459,157

Dec 10-Dec 16-458,297

Dec 17-Dec 23-493,563

Dec 24-Dec 30-409,633

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  471,548

Jan 7- Jan 13 - 430,045

Jan 14-Jan 20-331,401

Jan 21-Jan 27-323,428

Jan 28-Feb 3- 284,798

Feb 4 -Feb 10-277,984

Feb 11-Feb 17-260,120

Feb 18-Feb 24-241,626

Feb 25-Mar  3-237,986

Mar 4-Mar 10-206,486

Mar 11-Mar 17-161,476

Mar 18-Mar 24-133,520

Mar 25-Apr 1-  138,481

 The National numbers dropped by 17.3% but then went up slightly the following week by 3,7%

'New Jersey Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11-   9,895

Sep 12 Sep 18-  10,371

Sep 19 Sep 25-  13,288

Sep 26 Oct 2-   11,477

Oct 3 - Oct 9-   10,159

Oct 10-Oct 16-  9,034

Oct 17-Oct 23-  8.767

Oct 24-Oct 30- 9,538

Oct 31-Nov 6-   9,498

Nov 5-Nov 11-9,327

Nov 12-Nov 18-8,942

Nov 19-Nov 25-7,696

Nov 26-Dec 2 -11,437

Dec 3-Dec 9 -  12,519

Dec 10-Dec 16-14,246

Dec 17-Dec 23-14,424

Dec 24-Dec 30-13,241

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  15,562

Jan 7- Jan 13 -  13,735

Jan 14-Jan 20- 10,529

Jan 21-Jan 27- 10,150

Jan 28-Feb 3-   8.910

Feb 4 -Feb 10-  8,326

Feb 11-Feb 17-  6,690

Feb 18-Feb 24- 5,545

Feb 25-Mar  3- 4,590

Mar 4-Mar 10- 3,772

Mar 11-Mar 17-3,334

Mar 18-Mar 24-2,996

Mar 25-Apr 1-   2,626

New Jersey were down both weeks. The first around 10.1% and the second by 12.3%.

Bergen County Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11-   1,107

Sep 12 Sep 18-   1,109

Sep 19 Sep 25-  1,486

Sep 26 Oct 2-    1,328

Oct 3 - Oct 9-    1,104

Oct 10-Oct 16-  1.019

Oct 17-Oct 23-  1,116

Oct 24-Oct 30- 1,161

Oct 31-Nov 6-   1,263

Nov 5-Nov 11-1,256

Nov 12-Nov 18-1,186

Nov 19-Nov 25-1,103

Nov 26-Dec 2 - 1,551

Dec 3-Dec 9 -   1,570

Dec 10-Dec 16-1,722

Dec 17-Dec 23-1,806

Dec 24-Dec 30-1,733

Dec 31-Jan 6 -   1,759

Jan 7- Jan 13 -   1,517

Jan 14-Jan 20-  1,074

Jan 21-Jan 27-  1.046

Jan 28-Feb 3-     903

Feb 4 -Feb 10-    884

Feb 11-Feb 17-    604

Feb 18-Feb 24-  525

Feb 25-Mar  3-  448

Mar 4-Mar 10-  375

Mar 11-Mar 17- 376

Mar 18-Mar 24-381

Mar 25-Apr 1-   202

Bergen County had another slight rise of 1.3% but then had a big drop of 47%

I suspect the temp that my dentist put in has been chewing up my tongue and its been quite annoying. It's not worth calling about and I go back a week from Monday. I have an appointment with the oral surgeon on May 1.

My taxes are done. I had to pay less than last year but still a decent amount.

I've been taking my blood pressure for the hell of it. The highest its been is 126/73. The rest of the time its been right around 115/70 so I don't get it. Actually most of the time its been more like 105/65.

Bad news coming up over the next two weeks. We do the CT scan on Wednesday, I see the pulmonologist on Thursday and then next Tuesday I get to see the Thoracic surgeon. Yuck. The best I can hope for here is no news.

Reparations for Slavery

I am utterly opposed to reparations for slavery. In San Francisco a group is recommending paying $5 million to each black citizen. This is absurd.

I have never voted Republican and that's saying a lot since I cast my first vote in 1969. However, I see so many fundamental things wrong with the reparations movement being pushed by Democrats that I don't see how I can stay with the party. I may have cast my last ballot.

-- It punishes people who didn't do anything wrong. People living today are not liable for slavery. This violates a fundamental tenet of justice. You do not punish one person for the sins of another.

-- It rewards people that were never slaves. This violates another fundamental tenet of justice. You do not reward one person for the suffering of another.

-- The amounts being considered in places such as San Francisco are ludicrous.

-- Reparations at the national level would result in a massive flow of wealth from Blue States, who mostly weren't slave states, to Red States, many of whom were slave states, because that's where most Black people live.

-- If one thing based upon race is OK then anything based upon race is OK. This is opening the Pandora's box that the 14th Amendment was meant to close. This is a greater danger to democracy than all the Trumps and DeSantis's ever spawned.

The Corona Virus, March 24, 2023

 US Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11- 463,113

Sep 12 Sep 18- 431,984

Sep 19 Sep 25- 379,673

Sep 26 Oct 2-   327,481

Oct 3 - Oct 9-  284,417

Oct 10-Oct 16-263,879

Oct 17-Oct 23-264,187

Oct 24-Oct 30-258,083

Oct 31-Nov 6- 279,769

Nov 5-Nov 11-279,503

Nov 12-Nov 18-282.037

Nov 19-Nov 25-298,683

Nov 26-Dec 2 -359,499

Dec 3-Dec 9 -  459,157

Dec 10-Dec 16-458,297

Dec 17-Dec 23-493,563

Dec 24-Dec 30-409,633

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  471,548

Jan 7- Jan 13 - 430,045

Jan 14-Jan 20-331,401

Jan 21-Jan 27-323,428

Jan 28-Feb 3- 284,798

Feb 4 -Feb 10-277,984

Feb 11-Feb 17-260,120

Feb 18-Feb 24-241,626

Feb 25-Mar  3-237,986

Mar 4-Mar 10-206,486

Mar 11-Mar 17-161,476

The National numbers were 21.8%.

'New Jersey Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11-   9,895

Sep 12 Sep 18-  10,371

Sep 19 Sep 25-  13,288

Sep 26 Oct 2-   11,477

Oct 3 - Oct 9-   10,159

Oct 10-Oct 16-  9,034

Oct 17-Oct 23-  8.767

Oct 24-Oct 30- 9,538

Oct 31-Nov 6-   9,498

Nov 5-Nov 11-9,327

Nov 12-Nov 18-8,942

Nov 19-Nov 25-7,696

Nov 26-Dec 2 -11,437

Dec 3-Dec 9 -  12,519

Dec 10-Dec 16-14,246

Dec 17-Dec 23-14,424

Dec 24-Dec 30-13,241

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  15,562

Jan 7- Jan 13 -  13,735

Jan 14-Jan 20- 10,529

Jan 21-Jan 27- 10,150

Jan 28-Feb 3-   8.910

Feb 4 -Feb 10-  8,326

Feb 11-Feb 17-  6,690

Feb 18-Feb 24- 5,545

Feb 25-Mar  3- 4,590

Mar 4-Mar 10- 3,772

Mar 11-Mar 17-3,334

New Jersey was down about 11.6%.

Bergen County Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11-   1,107

Sep 12 Sep 18-   1,109

Sep 19 Sep 25-  1,486

Sep 26 Oct 2-    1,328

Oct 3 - Oct 9-    1,104

Oct 10-Oct 16-  1.019

Oct 17-Oct 23-  1,116

Oct 24-Oct 30- 1,161

Oct 31-Nov 6-   1,263

Nov 5-Nov 11-1,256

Nov 12-Nov 18-1,186

Nov 19-Nov 25-1,103

Nov 26-Dec 2 - 1,551

Dec 3-Dec 9 -   1,570

Dec 10-Dec 16-1,722

Dec 17-Dec 23-1,806

Dec 24-Dec 30-1,733

Dec 31-Jan 6 -   1,759

Jan 7- Jan 13 -   1,517

Jan 14-Jan 20-  1,074

Jan 21-Jan 27-  1.046

Jan 28-Feb 3-     903

Feb 4 -Feb 10-    884

Feb 11-Feb 17-    604

Feb 18-Feb 24-  525

Feb 25-Mar  3-  448

Mar 4-Mar 10-  375

Mar 11-Mar 17- 376

Bergen County has flattened out and even picked up an extra case. Bergen County is often a bell weather so we shall see how things go in the next couple of weeks.

My wife feels better and my dentist tells me that I have an infected root under a bridge which is causing the discomfort. I have to have the root extracted by my favorite oral surgeon but first he has to take apart the bridge. This sound like it's goin to be a joy.

We hit a speed bump on the taxes as well. H&R Block called me to say they were missing a 1099R from LPL. I tried to log on to LPL but it looks like someone had mangled the log on information. After the technician verified that I got sent to account support. They provided the 1099R data so my accountant could proceed and promised to mail me another 1099R.

Luckily my account exec at LPL called me and he had someone straighten out the web site access debacle and I managed to download and print a copy of the 1099R. I have an appointment to finish things up at H&R Block on Monday.

My physical sort of went not that great. I have a couple of blood work numbers that are always high or low and they were high or low again. One in particular seemed to have gone up a lot. We shall see. 

My blood pressure has also been higher than usual and was 134/70. The mask? Nerves? Who knows? I started taking it at home again and it's typically 115/70 so I don't know. In other news people would kill for my cholesterol numbers.

What is 'Woke?"

There's been lot of flak recently about people being asked to define "woke" and being unable to do so. The problem with that question is that "woke," like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

To some people it means something akin to being sensitive to injustice while to others it's akin to political correctness run amok. I tend to lean toward the later definition.

So, what is "woke" to me?

- Woke is seeing racism or sexism where it doesn't exist.

- Woke is worrying about race or gender ahead of merit or fairness.

- Woke is favoring equity over equality.

- Woke is thinking feelings matter more than facts.

If one can justify using race as a criterion for diversity then one can justify using race as a criterion for anything. It never ceases to amaze me that so-called progressives don't realize how dangerous it is to use race as a criterion.

Medicare for All - 2023

Marianne Williamson was on Fox and pitching Universal Healthcare. Now I think Universal Healthcare would be a really good but I don't think we're being realistic about the cost.

Williamson's response to the inevitable question of how do we pay for this was that a University of Massachusetts study showed that we would save $5.1 trillion over 10 years in healthcare costs with Universal Healthcare.

We'll save money is really not a good answer. Who will save money? We would be shifting healthcare costs from employers and individuals to the government. In the long run that would probably be a good thing but people who are currently paying for health insurance aren't going to turn that money over to the government so that money has to be replaced somehow.

$5.1 trillion over 10 years is $510 billion per year which is less than what we're spending for Medicaid today. it certainly isn't going to cover healthcare for over 300 million people.

What we spend as of 2021: Medicare $901 billion, Medicaid $734 billion, Private Health Insurance Spending $1,211 billion, out of pocket $433 billion and other public health activity $596 billion. That's a total of almost $3.9 trillion.

The savings she's talking about, if the University of Massachusetts study is accurate, is about 13% of what we're spending. Then there's the question of would there be a larger demand for health services if they were free? Basic economic theory says that there would be and it would be foolish not to take that into account. Another problem is that our current medical infrastructure may be inadequate to handle the increased demand and some money needs to be allocated to shore that up as well.

She then went off about how no one asked how to pay for Afghanistan or Iraq which is true. But the fact that no one asked how to pay for Afghanistan and Iraq doesn't address the question of how to pay for Medicare for All. It just says that our priorities are screwed up. 

Then she started talking about fairer taxation for the rich including possibly a wealth tax Now, fairer taxation for the rich is at least addressing the question. Unfortunately the wealth tax is probably unconstitutional since it is neither an income tax nor a direct tax.

The Corona Virus, March 18, 2023

 US Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11- 463,113

Sep 12 Sep 18- 431,984

Sep 19 Sep 25- 379,673

Sep 26 Oct 2-   327,481

Oct 3 - Oct 9-  284,417

Oct 10-Oct 16-263,879

Oct 17-Oct 23-264,187

Oct 24-Oct 30-258,083

Oct 31-Nov 6- 279,769

Nov 5-Nov 11-279,503

Nov 12-Nov 18-282.037

Nov 19-Nov 25-298,683

Nov 26-Dec 2 -359,499

Dec 3-Dec 9 -  459,157

Dec 10-Dec 16-458,297

Dec 17-Dec 23-493,563

Dec 24-Dec 30-409,633

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  471,548

Jan 7- Jan 13 - 430,045

Jan 14-Jan 20-331,401

Jan 21-Jan 27-323,428

Jan 28-Feb 3- 284,798

Feb 4 -Feb 10-277,984

Feb 11-Feb 17-260,120

Feb 18-Feb 24-241,626

Feb 25-Mar  3-237,986

Mar 4-Mar 10-206,486

The National numbers were down by about 13.2%.

'New Jersey Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11-   9,895

Sep 12 Sep 18-  10,371

Sep 19 Sep 25-  13,288

Sep 26 Oct 2-   11,477

Oct 3 - Oct 9-   10,159

Oct 10-Oct 16-  9,034

Oct 17-Oct 23-  8.767

Oct 24-Oct 30- 9,538

Oct 31-Nov 6-   9,498

Nov 5-Nov 11-9,327

Nov 12-Nov 18-8,942

Nov 19-Nov 25-7,696

Nov 26-Dec 2 -11,437

Dec 3-Dec 9 -  12,519

Dec 10-Dec 16-14,246

Dec 17-Dec 23-14,424

Dec 24-Dec 30-13,241

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  15,562

Jan 7- Jan 13 -  13,735

Jan 14-Jan 20- 10,529

Jan 21-Jan 27- 10,150

Jan 28-Feb 3-   8.910

Feb 4 -Feb 10-  8,326

Feb 11-Feb 17-  6,690

Feb 18-Feb 24- 5,545

Feb 25-Mar  3- 4,590

Mar 4-Mar 10- 3,772

New Jersey was down about 17.8%.

Bergen County Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11-   1,107

Sep 12 Sep 18-   1,109

Sep 19 Sep 25-  1,486

Sep 26 Oct 2-    1,328

Oct 3 - Oct 9-    1,104

Oct 10-Oct 16-  1.019

Oct 17-Oct 23-  1,116

Oct 24-Oct 30- 1,161

Oct 31-Nov 6-   1,263

Nov 5-Nov 11-1,256

Nov 12-Nov 18-1,186

Nov 19-Nov 25-1,103

Nov 26-Dec 2 - 1,551

Dec 3-Dec 9 -   1,570

Dec 10-Dec 16-1,722

Dec 17-Dec 23-1,806

Dec 24-Dec 30-1,733

Dec 31-Jan 6 -   1,759

Jan 7- Jan 13 -   1,517

Jan 14-Jan 20-  1,074

Jan 21-Jan 27-  1.046

Jan 28-Feb 3-     903

Feb 4 -Feb 10-    884

Feb 11-Feb 17-    604

Feb 18-Feb 24-  525

Feb 25-Mar  3-  448

Mar 4-Mar 10-  375

Bergen County is down 16.2%.

So, my wife got sick after I did and she was really sick. She went to the doctor and it turned out she had the flu so I wonder if that's what I had? Honestly, she seemed sicker than I was.

Now my mouth is sore on my lower left side. It comes and goes but I'm going to have my dentist take a look Tuesday just in case. My physical is Monday and H&R Block says my taxes should be done Thursday so a busy week.

The Corona Virus, March 6, 2023

This is a two week update because I've been sick. I have a cold. I can survive massive damage to my body and brush off most stuff but colds get to me. I'm a real baby when I have a cold and I'm surprised my wife and daughter didn't kick me out of the house.

US Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11- 463,113

Sep 12 Sep 18- 431,984

Sep 19 Sep 25- 379,673

Sep 26 Oct 2-   327,481

Oct 3 - Oct 9-  284,417

Oct 10-Oct 16-263,879

Oct 17-Oct 23-264,187

Oct 24-Oct 30-258,083

Oct 31-Nov 6- 279,769

Nov 5-Nov 11-279,503

Nov 12-Nov 18-282.037

Nov 19-Nov 25-298,683

Nov 26-Dec 2 -359,499

Dec 3-Dec 9 -  459,157

Dec 10-Dec 16-458,297

Dec 17-Dec 23-493,563

Dec 24-Dec 30-409,633

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  471,548

Jan 7- Jan 13 - 430,045

Jan 14-Jan 20-331,401

Jan 21-Jan 27-323,428

Jan 28-Feb 3- 284,798

Feb 4 -Feb 10-277,984

Feb 11-Feb 17-260,120

Feb 18-Feb 24-241,626

Feb 25-Mar  3-237,986

The National numbers continue to slowly drop.

'New Jersey Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11-   9,895

Sep 12 Sep 18-  10,371

Sep 19 Sep 25-  13,288

Sep 26 Oct 2-   11,477

Oct 3 - Oct 9-   10,159

Oct 10-Oct 16-  9,034

Oct 17-Oct 23-  8.767

Oct 24-Oct 30- 9,538

Oct 31-Nov 6-   9,498

Nov 5-Nov 11-9,327

Nov 12-Nov 18-8,942

Nov 19-Nov 25-7,696

Nov 26-Dec 2 -11,437

Dec 3-Dec 9 -  12,519

Dec 10-Dec 16-14,246

Dec 17-Dec 23-14,424

Dec 24-Dec 30-13,241

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  15,562

Jan 7- Jan 13 -  13,735

Jan 14-Jan 20- 10,529

Jan 21-Jan 27- 10,150

Jan 28-Feb 3-   8.910

Feb 4 -Feb 10-  8,326

Feb 11-Feb 17-  6,690

Feb 18-Feb 24- 5,545

Feb 25-Mar  3- 4,590

New Jersey is dropping faster than nationally.

Bergen County Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11-   1,107

Sep 12 Sep 18-   1,109

Sep 19 Sep 25-  1,486

Sep 26 Oct 2-    1,328

Oct 3 - Oct 9-    1,104

Oct 10-Oct 16-  1.019

Oct 17-Oct 23-  1,116

Oct 24-Oct 30- 1,161

Oct 31-Nov 6-   1,263

Nov 5-Nov 11-1,256

Nov 12-Nov 18-1,186

Nov 19-Nov 25-1,103

Nov 26-Dec 2 - 1,551

Dec 3-Dec 9 -   1,570

Dec 10-Dec 16-1,722

Dec 17-Dec 23-1,806

Dec 24-Dec 30-1,733

Dec 31-Jan 6 -   1,759

Jan 7- Jan 13 -   1,517

Jan 14-Jan 20-  1,074

Jan 21-Jan 27-  1.046

Jan 28-Feb 3-     903

Feb 4 -Feb 10-    884

Feb 11-Feb 17-    604

Feb 18-Feb 24-  525

Feb 25-Mar  3-  448

Bergen County is dropping at about the same rate as New Jersey.

Colds suck, I can't remember the last time I had one but I have one now. We also got the first Shingles vaccine shot. I wonder if the two things are somehow related?

The Corona Virus, February 24, 2023

  US Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11- 463,113

Sep 12 Sep 18- 431,984

Sep 19 Sep 25- 379,673

Sep 26 Oct 2-   327,481

Oct 3 - Oct 9-  284,417

Oct 10-Oct 16-263,879

Oct 17-Oct 23-264,187

Oct 24-Oct 30-258,083

Oct 31-Nov 6- 279,769

Nov 5-Nov 11-279,503

Nov 12-Nov 18-282.037

Nov 19-Nov 25-298,683

Nov 26-Dec 2 -359,499

Dec 3-Dec 9 -  459,157

Dec 10-Dec 16-458,297

Dec 17-Dec 23-493,563

Dec 24-Dec 30-409,633

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  471,548

Jan 7- Jan 13 - 430,045

Jan 14-Jan 20-331,401

Jan 21-Jan 27-323,428

Jan 28-Feb 3- 284,798

Feb 4 -Feb 10-277,984

Feb 11-Feb 17-260,120

The National numbers continue to slowly drop and went down by another 6.4%.

'New Jersey Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11-   9,895

Sep 12 Sep 18-  10,371

Sep 19 Sep 25-  13,288

Sep 26 Oct 2-   11,477

Oct 3 - Oct 9-   10,159

Oct 10-Oct 16-  9,034

Oct 17-Oct 23-  8.767

Oct 24-Oct 30- 9,538

Oct 31-Nov 6-   9,498

Nov 5-Nov 11-9,327

Nov 12-Nov 18-8,942

Nov 19-Nov 25-7,696

Nov 26-Dec 2 -11,437

Dec 3-Dec 9 -  12,519

Dec 10-Dec 16-14,246

Dec 17-Dec 23-14,424

Dec 24-Dec 30-13,241

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  15,562

Jan 7- Jan 13 -  13,735

Jan 14-Jan 20- 10,529

Jan 21-Jan 27- 10,150

Jan 28-Feb 3-   8.910

Feb 4 -Feb 10-  8,326

Feb 11-Feb 17-  6,690

New Jersey is dropping a bit faster with a drop of 19.6%

Bergen County Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11-   1,107

Sep 12 Sep 18-   1,109

Sep 19 Sep 25-  1,486

Sep 26 Oct 2-    1,328

Oct 3 - Oct 9-    1,104

Oct 10-Oct 16-  1.019

Oct 17-Oct 23-  1,116

Oct 24-Oct 30- 1,161

Oct 31-Nov 6-   1,263

Nov 5-Nov 11-1,256

Nov 12-Nov 18-1,186

Nov 19-Nov 25-1,103

Nov 26-Dec 2 - 1,551

Dec 3-Dec 9 -   1,570

Dec 10-Dec 16-1,722

Dec 17-Dec 23-1,806

Dec 24-Dec 30-1,733

Dec 31-Jan 6 -   1,759

Jan 7- Jan 13 -   1,517

Jan 14-Jan 20-  1,074

Jan 21-Jan 27-  1.046

Jan 28-Feb 3-     903

Feb 4 -Feb 10-    884

Feb 11-Feb 17-    604

Bergen County dropped even faster going down 31.7%.

It was official, I didn't have to go to jury duty. That means I'll never have to go because I'm good for three years and that will out me over 75 and I can declare due to age. The next thing on the agenda is my yearly physical on March 20th.

The Corona Virus, February 17, 2023

 US Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11- 463,113

Sep 12 Sep 18- 431,984

Sep 19 Sep 25- 379,673

Sep 26 Oct 2-   327,481

Oct 3 - Oct 9-  284,417

Oct 10-Oct 16-263,879

Oct 17-Oct 23-264,187

Oct 24-Oct 30-258,083

Oct 31-Nov 6- 279,769

Nov 5-Nov 11-279,503

Nov 12-Nov 18-282.037

Nov 19-Nov 25-298,683

Nov 26-Dec 2 -359,499

Dec 3-Dec 9 -  459,157

Dec 10-Dec 16-458,297

Dec 17-Dec 23-493,563

Dec 24-Dec 30-409,633

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  471,548

Jan 7- Jan 13 - 430,045

Jan 14-Jan 20-331,401

Jan 21-Jan 27-323,428

Jan 28-Feb 3- 284,798

Feb 4 -Feb 10-277,984

The National numbers dropped by 2.4% which is pretty much flat.

'New Jersey Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11-   9,895

Sep 12 Sep 18-  10,371

Sep 19 Sep 25-  13,288

Sep 26 Oct 2-   11,477

Oct 3 - Oct 9-   10,159

Oct 10-Oct 16-  9,034

Oct 17-Oct 23-  8.767

Oct 24-Oct 30- 9,538

Oct 31-Nov 6-   9,498

Nov 5-Nov 11-9,327

Nov 12-Nov 18-8,942

Nov 19-Nov 25-7,696

Nov 26-Dec 2 -11,437

Dec 3-Dec 9 -  12,519

Dec 10-Dec 16-14,246

Dec 17-Dec 23-14,424

Dec 24-Dec 30-13,241

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  15,562

Jan 7- Jan 13 -  13,735

Jan 14-Jan 20- 10,529

Jan 21-Jan 27- 10,150

Jan 28-Feb 3-   8.910

Feb 4 -Feb 10-  8,326

New Jersey had a drop of 6.6%.

Bergen County Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11-   1,107

Sep 12 Sep 18-   1,109

Sep 19 Sep 25-  1,486

Sep 26 Oct 2-    1,328

Oct 3 - Oct 9-    1,104

Oct 10-Oct 16-  1.019

Oct 17-Oct 23-  1,116

Oct 24-Oct 30- 1,161

Oct 31-Nov 6-   1,263

Nov 5-Nov 11-1,256

Nov 12-Nov 18-1,186

Nov 19-Nov 25-1,103

Nov 26-Dec 2 - 1,551

Dec 3-Dec 9 -   1,570

Dec 10-Dec 16-1,722

Dec 17-Dec 23-1,806

Dec 24-Dec 30-1,733

Dec 31-Jan 6 -   1,759

Jan 7- Jan 13 -   1,517

Jan 14-Jan 20-  1,074

Jan 21-Jan 27-  1.046

Jan 28-Feb 3-     903

Feb 4 -Feb 10-    884

Bergen County stayed below with a drop of 2.1%

I got a text saying that I don't have to report for jury duty. The text is a little strangely worded and we're all sort of scratching our heads over whether of not it's legit because you never know these days.

The Corona Virus, February 11, 2023

 US Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11- 463,113

Sep 12 Sep 18- 431,984

Sep 19 Sep 25- 379,673

Sep 26 Oct 2-   327,481

Oct 3 - Oct 9-  284,417

Oct 10-Oct 16-263,879

Oct 17-Oct 23-264,187

Oct 24-Oct 30-258,083

Oct 31-Nov 6- 279,769

Nov 5-Nov 11-279,503

Nov 12-Nov 18-282.037

Nov 19-Nov 25-298,683

Nov 26-Dec 2 -359,499

Dec 3-Dec 9 -  459,157

Dec 10-Dec 16-458,297

Dec 17-Dec 23-493,563

Dec 24-Dec 30-409,633

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  471,548

Jan 7- Jan 13 - 430,045

Jan 14-Jan 20-331,401

Jan 21-Jan 27-323,428

Jan 28-Feb 3- 284,798

The National numbers dropped by 11.9%,

'New Jersey Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11-   9,895

Sep 12 Sep 18-  10,371

Sep 19 Sep 25-  13,288

Sep 26 Oct 2-   11,477

Oct 3 - Oct 9-   10,159

Oct 10-Oct 16-  9,034

Oct 17-Oct 23-  8.767

Oct 24-Oct 30- 9,538

Oct 31-Nov 6-   9,498

Nov 5-Nov 11-9,327

Nov 12-Nov 18-8,942

Nov 19-Nov 25-7,696

Nov 26-Dec 2 -11,437

Dec 3-Dec 9 -  12,519

Dec 10-Dec 16-14,246

Dec 17-Dec 23-14,424

Dec 24-Dec 30-13,241

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  15,562

Jan 7- Jan 13 -  13,735

Jan 14-Jan 20- 10,529

Jan 21-Jan 27- 10,150

Jan 28-Feb 3-   8.910

New Jersey fell below 10,000 cases for the first time November with a drop of 12.2%.

Bergen County Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11-   1,107

Sep 12 Sep 18-   1,109

Sep 19 Sep 25-  1,486

Sep 26 Oct 2-    1,328

Oct 3 - Oct 9-    1,104

Oct 10-Oct 16-  1.019

Oct 17-Oct 23-  1,116

Oct 24-Oct 30- 1,161

Oct 31-Nov 6-   1,263

Nov 5-Nov 11-1,256

Nov 12-Nov 18-1,186

Nov 19-Nov 25-1,103

Nov 26-Dec 2 - 1,551

Dec 3-Dec 9 -   1,570

Dec 10-Dec 16-1,722

Dec 17-Dec 23-1,806

Dec 24-Dec 30-1,733

Dec 31-Jan 6 -   1,759

Jan 7- Jan 13 -   1,517

Jan 14-Jan 20-  1,074

Jan 21-Jan 27-  1.046

Jan 28-Feb 3-     903

Bergen County dropped below 1,000 for the first time since April of 2022 with a drop of 13.7%

Both my daughter and I got jury duty notices. I go at the end of February and she goes near the end of March, Great, just great. I bought the Hogwart's Legacy video game and it's pretty good. It's not Witcher III but it's close and more G-Rated while Witcher III is definitely R-Rated.