Randall Munroe on the Greenhouse Effect
Matt Yglesias advocates for NRC Reform
• Matt Yglesias presents a what I think is a good case for bipartisan Nuclear Regulatory Commission Reform in order to reduce the cost (and increase the presence) of nuclear electricity sources in the U.S.
Online tool to check for COVID Rx related drug interactions
The University of Liverpool Drug Interaction Group has created a free online tool to check for drug interactions with nirmatrelvir-ritonavir and other COVID-19 drugs.
Pueyo on Why Nuclear
• Tomas Pueyo writes an extensively researched article on nuclear power here; it’s worth reading.
Ladapo, Wrong Again
Perhaps a study should be undertaken of the number of Floridian lives lost due to its Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo’s ill-informed advice re. mRNA Covid vaccines. Katelyn Jetelina , Edward Nirenberg, and Kristen Pagnathi offer an excellent rebuttal in Jetelina’s Your Local Epidemiologist Substack post here. Perhaps the most trenchant argument offered was this one:
“Producing vaccines requires us to use cells, and cells contain DNA. This is why DNA fragments are found in all vaccines. DNA fragments aren’t limited to vaccines, either. Insulin, for example, also contains small amounts of DNA from the bacteria used to make it.
Regardless, we try to limit the number because it can impact the immune response. We aim for the purest form of vaccines so they work as intended and consistently. The FDA requires less than 10 ng/dose of residual DNA fragments in any vaccine for full approval.
Multiple regulators across the globe have consistently found vaccines to have acceptable levels of DNA fragments. Even the flawed preprint confirms Covid-19 vaccines’ DNA content is far below any levels indicating a safety or manufacturing concern (see below).”
As for the referenced preprint’s attempt to correlate the DNA levels found with VAERS morbidity stats, that’s junk science exemplified.
David French on the Case for Disqualifying Trump
• An excellent essay by David French on why there is a legitimate case for disqualification based on the 14th amendment appears in the NYT here. An excerpt:
“This is where we are and have now been for years: The Trump movement commits threats, violence and lies. And then it tries to escape accountability for those acts through more threats, more violence and more lies. At the heart of the “but the consequences” argument against disqualification is a confession that if we hold Trump accountable for his fomenting violence on Jan. 6, he might foment additional violence now.
Enough. It’s time to apply the plain language of the Constitution to Trump’s actions and remove him from the ballot — without fear of the consequences. Republics are not maintained by cowardice.”
Another good one from Krugman
• Krugman on the current state of things, writing in the NYT:
“You may have heard about the good economic news. Labor force participation — the share of adults in today’s work force — is actually slightly higher than the Congressional Budget Office predicted before the pandemic. Measures of underlying inflation have fallen more or less back to the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target even though unemployment is near a 50-year low. Adjusted for inflation, most workers’ wages have gone up.
For some reason I’ve heard less about the crime news, but it’s also remarkably good. F.B.I. data shows that violent crime has subsided: It’s already back to 2019 levels and appears to be falling further. Homicides probably aren’t quite back to 2019 levels, but they’re plummeting.
None of this undoes the Covid death toll or the serious learning loss suffered by millions of students. But overall both our economy and our society are in far better shape at this point than most people would have predicted in the early days of the pandemic — or than most Americans are willing to admit.
For if America’s resilience in the face of the pandemic shock has been remarkable, so has the pessimism of the public.”
On Israel-Gaza
I’m definitely in agreement with both Ezra Klein in his podcast here and with Tom Friedman today in the NY Times. At this point, the Israeli response is disproportionate and not likely to yield any long term benefits.
Vaccines and Childhood Mortality
• From Bill Gates’ end-of-year Gates Notes newsletter:
“My favorite innovation story, though, starts with one of my favorite statistics: Since 2000, the world has cut in half the number of children who die before the age of five.
How did we do it? One key reason was innovation. Scientists came up with new ways to make vaccines that were faster and cheaper but just as safe. They developed new delivery mechanisms that worked in the world’s most remote places, which made it possible to reach more kids. And they created new vaccines that protect children from deadly diseases like rotavirus.”
Musk descends further (though I thought he’d already bottomed out)
Elon Musk continues his descent into less-than-complete sanity, though I had hoped he’d learned a lesson from his most recent ill-advised antisemitic tweet. Alas, wrong again. He’s reached new lows by reinstating Alex Jones’ X account despite Jones previously being permanently banned for his horribly egregious Sandy Hook actions. Musk this time hiding behind his “the people have spoken” poll results (which apparently confirm what a cesspool X has become). I don’t know if Musk is mentally ill, or simply completely amoral and grasping for any new users to prop up what’s left of Twitter. Either way, it’s sickening. See the December 11 Joy of Tech…