The. Welcome to the Commentary Magazine Daily podcast today is Tuesday April twelfth, two thousand and twenty two. I John Pub Horse the editor of magazine with me, as always: executive editor editor, a Greenwald Jump, eight we're Christine Rose and hyper steam icon an associate editor no Rossman, some Noah. You have told me something that I had did not know for forty more than forty years I have been a a serious idiot, logical opponent, of the of the f.

All subsidies and the F in all games played by the federal government. when all being there, some corn based gas additive additives to gas. That was disproportionately something of benefit to the Archer Daniels Midland Corporation, and it was the it was, the brilliant lobbying efforts of Dwayne Andreas, the head of the of Archer Daniels Midland that kept ethanol in the center of even in the Reagan administration, this kind of a completely deranged government prop up for hundred and agribusiness, here. We are forty years later and you tell me, as we hear about the Biden, illustrations are White House's decision to lower the.

Amount of ethanol necessary. I am not quick, but I'm I'm alright, but they're going to do whatever they're going to lower gas prices using ethanol and that this is going be? Ruinous for you in a lot of other people in ways that I did not know, can you please explain shore? So yet the Bite administration announces today, yet another stunt to try to stop what's inevitably coming their way in November to allow producers in and guest gasoline manufacturers to sell ethanol gas. Fifteen percent of no gas in the summer months usually are only allowed to sell it in the winter months and they do. At because in the winter months colder and the particulate freezes thanks so effing all has the chance of you are creating smog, and if you live in an urban environment, that's a menace, but it's not. You know and the world. It's and it's midnight hurt you if you have a particular sensitivity to air quality, but otherwise it's not a big deal. It's a lot

for an if you live in the countryside. New have system or than acre of land that you have to maintain. I do and I have to buy a tractor today, because I have to mow my lawn on top of that. I have, gas, powered, weed, whackers, cuz power, chainsaw gas, powered with blowers and all that stuff and ethanol kills. Small engines ethanol is really bad for small engines that can cause filter, plugging, can seize the engine up, it could create a no star condition, so you think you're, your engines that, and maybe it is dead. You gotta, go replace the thing by a whole piece of equipment is are not small expenses, and this is sort of thing that you would do if you had absolutely no interest in or knowledge of what it's like to live on more than an acre. When you only live in the city, then you're all well smog but it's not going to ruin my life. If you live in a in a in a suburb or God forbid, someplace that's rural, rainy days actual of farm equipment, as can be a really big deal. So

after the fact that we already use forty percent of the corn, we grow in this country for ethanol, which is itself of a scheme. Now we're also going to be using it to kill the equipment. That spend a lot of money on and need in order to maintain your property. So terrible stunt that won't have any of its desired effects. Make it seriously backlash female desired effect? It's according to every story. I'm reading this could lower gas prices by ten cents, a gallon, zero dollars and ten cents. I filled up my tank three times this weekend and at various price points in various New England States, and you know the cheapest price point was like dollars and nine cents right so great. This will lower the price to three dollars and ninety nine cents boy and I granted right if you fill fifteen Right and zero dollars and ten cents, that's a whole dollar. Fifty you're going to save

you can put towards the new lawnmower you'll have to buy when the engineer and by the other ass they get just as yet bake. It makes sense to please Biden is electric at least gonna. I would today, you know I was as it did not in love our people- that we would only have a question on this, and I were. well in Iowa, they they grow court. He did so we can go to Iowa and take a victory lap, because it's an agricultural state and agricultural states are why the ethanol subsidies the ethanol standards and all that still exist, but you have a meanwhile happy Frank now. I can't even get on the ballot, because there's not enough get em signatures for Democrats, and I ll any more That's an amazing story. We should. We should explain that Abby fucking an hour who is who is the one of the surf gold, two thousand and eighteen Congress members who won a seat and in Iowa when those forty seats flip to democratic control and isn't attractive candidate

was going to run for Senate against Joni Ernst? Nobody really thinks that I mean that Hail Mary play for her to run for Senate the you know, I become a much more reliably republican state over the last time. You know x, X, here but her bid was invalidated because Republicans as as conventionally every he does like sued, claiming that her you know whatever you need fifty thousand signatures. I've got all around me there and I were that she didn't get. A sufficient number of signatures or that a lot of the signatures that she got were in a were invalid, because knowing when you send out these people to get the bowed signatures to get you on, the ballot is often happens. You know peoples, you know

if the people who are hired and they miss their quoted like they write it and you don't. They write in fake names because they're being paid by the name anyway, she's not going to be on the ballot. So there's not going to be a credible democratic candidate for Senator IN in Iowa, in November. Twenty twenty two. It is a mark of the bizarre, desperate, of the biomass reason that he is doing what he is doing in Iowa, a state that you that you may remember has has been the graveyard of his hopes for four decades. It was a debate in Iowa, one thousand nine hundred and eighty eight that she tore was an Iowa somewhere at the state, fair, something where he plagiarized Neil Kenig. and said you know pay he. He gave a speech about how his family had been playing football for us as it is, and I this came out and then he had to leave, leave the race and nineteen eighty eight,

If you remember in twenty twenty, he came in either fourth or fifth in the Iowa caucuses, and that was the moment at which there was this real sense that maybe the race was running away from him. That's a real! You know, that's a real nightmare for him, and so that's, where he's going to take the victory lap on lowering ethanol prices, to the state that that that has rejected him time and time and time again. Well at least I'll, be out of town when the consumer price index numbers land in about fifteen minutes as we are right as we are. As we are recording this. It is right now, eight hundred and fourteen a dot m. The consumer price inflation numbers for March come out in fifteen minutes, we'll talk about it, fifteen minutes, but they were bracing yesterday at the White House for shock, because you know of the Putin TAT potent pricing

the Putin price I price, but yes, yeah. I am now remember inflation. I believe the last number was seven point ampersand is that right was either six point, nine or seven point nine percent, and this is be worse. This is the only really seen small business sales expectations falling native eighteen in March, which is the lowest levels they ve been since the pandemic began This is where these are recessionary. Signals were getting a lot of them and it's in part, because the cure for the if high prices are high prices right. So it is April twelfth. The Let's count April, the may made of June Google July a lot of us never seen seven months at six months and three weeks until election, twenty twenty two

as we keep saying you look at the issue, sap that people say that they care about right. It's the economy, inflation, crime and immigration, all of which he is spectacularly underwater with or in or whatever you want to call it Biden and the my craft and the news, the the the worm has turned, or the effort to both put a smiley face on everything has vanished in the mainstream media. There is just a cascade of articles over the last four or five days about Democrats, panicking about November notes, interesting because careful, conventional wisdom peddlers Charlie Cook for who who no longer owns or runs the cook political report, but it's still named for him. A political prognosticator said that he is

Confident in saying that the over, under on a republican pickups in the house, is twenty seats. That's the over! Under twenty seats, I mean the over. Everybody take the over. That is the easiest over in history. You know, that's that's like saying that you know that the nineteen eighty Lakers playing a high school basketball team. You know that the over under there was nine points I mean this is not a rash. the calculation, it's just the kind of effort to create a soft landing, because the horrors in the cake of the question, is just how serious a threat everything is you can see this I mean it's like

going hysterical desperation ape right. I mean we have we have, after all, we have You know there's like six or seven other things where it's like. No, no, no tell your good economic story. Well, what good economic story? It's it's it's hysterical flailing, because. the administration hasn't moved to do anything substantive to to change what's happening. So it's it's. Excuse me. It's all aimed at perception, not policies aimed at the actual problem and it's just transparent. I mean this is this is why the bidens on numbers are, are where they are. No one buys any of it. I mean we've said this before their stunts fall flat. They die on the spot,

It is policy, though, to the extent that they're saying you know this use it or lose it nonsense. Where you're sitting on leases and you dont, you have developed the land like that's pat, that's policy, but it's also your populist demagoguery. Similarly, sicking we have to see and the Agriculture Department on me Packers and gasoline producers. Those are policies, but there also in a row. Irresponsible. I was going to say when he does propose policies. That's exactly right. I mean also. He cannot like seventeen. This idea that the student loan- you know we talked about student loans last week, but but moratoriums on things like student loans and whatnot. That's that's a policy that you know him and that is a peel, with certain demographic of of democratic voters, but it actually is harmful to economic health. A lot of what they're doing on the margins still with covert, is harmful to economic health, and I know we're going to talk about mass mandates coming back cause. That's certainly here on the east coast. That's a worry for a lot of US

with the with the new variant of overcrowding, but those things will also be bad for the economic health of of a lot of places. It's just incoherent. They have spent the campaign and the first half of this presidency touting themselves as environmentalists. This is doing their best to curtail and truncate energy production and then pivot. Hundred and eighty degrees in November last year to demonizing fossil fuel. just for not producing enough, and then they expect everybody to just accept this pivot, as though It's a natural evolution of this presidency and not a response to a flailing, as you say, response to a series of crises. No, but I I want to defend aid here, because what I think, what What he means by policy is okay. There is a massive crisis, there's going to be disruptions in in you bureau, in in worldwide oil production. Oddly enough, by the way, disruptions and problems that benefit Russia right, which is going to actually make more money on its gas exports, as prices go up because of the way

why atmosphere than it would have made otherwise, so so that at that part of the less punish Russia isn't working. So what would work? What would we would be a policy pivot where it's a. It is too dangerous for the world for us to be in a position where a major gas producers are, you know outside the United States, can hold us hostage. Our economies, create inflation. All that so we are just take an example going to allow the construction of the Keystone pipeline we're going to allow drilling on on federal lands. All of that now I understand that science fictional, because the Democratic Party is an environmentalist party, but that would be the policy that would be like looking the abyss in the face and the and the economic crisis in the face, think we have to change gears and that would force people to take seriously a

the restoration that has gripped the sense of crisis and has responded to it with a it'll change in direction- and the only thing I could sort of it too was what did George W Bush run on in nineteen, ninety nine and two thousand modesty and foreign policy like it's enough. We can't be the world policeman. You know I'd, I don't know, I'm a little uncomfortable with what happened where we allowed ourselves to be part of the Un Air Force and Serbia that a we got to be modest. We got to be modest, we got to be modest, I want to focus on education, and I want to be this. You know I worried about the thing: other who works in the diner and all of that and the nine eleven happened and he was like. Ok, the. Why well just change them, as as, as we put in our. With my deal, I lakes, peace, the world is changing and we must change with it and he will not make those

what he will do with gimmicks. You release some gas from the truth from the strategic oil reserves you lower gas prices, zero dollars and ten cents by by changing ethanol rules, and you walk and you and you sue me Packers because supposedly there are, I want to make one other point. About about what's going on and why the the horror, so You know we are watching as a city of twenty five million people is under complete, lock do more. People are allowed to go out of their apartments people do in Shanghai, they run the supply chain. Shanghai his supply chain city? That is where it's, where things fly out of and fly into to get or you know where, where things are staged on ships in order to get out and get into the you get into the world economy there is going to be. There are going to be down when the facts of the of the locked out of Shanghai on the supply chain, and prices and worldwide supplies of things for the next

I no one is even talking about that, because everybody is jaw dropped by the fact that people are I had to leave their homes to get food in Shanghai and their kidnapping die. then killing them so they have something to eat so anyway, I'm defending you is what I'm saying appreciate I can I can. I add to that which is this is this. Is why and VE said, this many times, but I think it's that the chickens are really coming home to roost here. This is why the Biden administration would have benefited a more adversaries media because a lot of this size, would have been challenged at the get go. The gimmicks wouldn't have been, you know, basically promoted by an enthusiastic but way media but but critically assessed, and they could have seen some of the earth and some of the logical conclusions and one of the one of the little videos making the rounds last night and this morning was a is a parody that appeared saudi arabian television completely mocking the vitamin astray,

and it shows Bide NET, a kind of press conference, doddering confused being literally propped up by Kamala Harris at some point whom he refers to. You know as it as the first lady, like just a bumbling fool, the kind of thing used to see on Saturday. Night live whenever there is a republican president, but you never see now, because how dare we ever market and ministries in that so serious and an propping up democracy or what not, but that he is missing, that that element of critique he's missing a kind of constant pressure to prove what these gifts

they're, doing or just say what he's actually intending to do. You know six months from now vs six days from now, and that's the it's too bad that press has not done their job may be, as you say, John they're just now, starting to because we can't avoid this, and they certainly won't be able to avoid it in the midterm elections, but that's harmed by the ministration help them. I think that you have this horrible conflict for them, which is they have to pivot away from left wing nostrums in order to capture the centre which they manage, do in twenty eighteen and which it appears they managed to do in twenty twenty, the Trump lost in of the centre, which it moved right, Trump, Alien,

Now for the center, that Biden could get eighty one million votes. The Democrats could win forty seats, all of that right and and so much so that Trump lost and Republicans gain gain seats in the house right, so in two thousand and twenty, so they need the center. The center is more powerful than the left, but going into a midterm election. If you don't have your base willing to go out and do what you needed to do and then build from there, you are screwed and they are screwed because They have been so keenly worried about losing the left that they, they haven't, the the and how you describe the the conflict or this from existential difference between what the left wants and what the centre wants. Has

never been this vast I mean. Maybe maybe in the seventies it was this faster. You know sort of nineteen eighty or something like that. But it's really really big. You know gingers the left, hates cops and the respond responds by saying we need more funding for cops. There's a crime surge like there is no way to two to bridge that divide, sorry out of it kind of puts the lie, to that or not the lie, but it sort of deflates or or or explodes this very popular idea. You hear from people when they say, and I'm socially liberal, but economically conservative- and You can't can't be both been at least not in the crisis, because you, because you, U resources and funds and focuses. You have to divert certain things to get the economy going and you end in you know,

definite moratoriums on on rent and things of that nature, don't aren't going to cut it. You know it's interesting, because the only thing that anybody can see on the horizon changing potentially changing democratic fortunes, which is a Hino open question. Whether would or wouldn't is a Supreme court decision. and then the abortion case of effectively overturns Roby way till you then have this bizarre thing where you have a democrat word about twenty twenty, two, probably somewhere secretly in their heart of hearts, wanting where we wait to be overturned, so they can create this out soon, Ami supposedly, that will

that will trigger America's best, socially liberal, but economically conservative people to not look over it there at some Republicans, were going to take it with abortion rights or have taken away of worship whatever you want to say and turn turn toward them. So when you get people rooting against their own policy interest, because their political interests need to be served that way, you are in very, very deep, deep trouble, and I know I know it some ways. The sounds we're are cheering the van and I think, from the from the beginning, the maceration from the earliest signs of inflation. Nothing would have made me Beer than to know that the that Biden and those people woke up in the morning and said we can't do this. We can't do this two billion in is four billion and then and then of trillion

We can't do this. You know two trillion dollar relief package and then turn around and try to spend four trillion dollars. What a we create like, we can't do that the inflation Harry effects are just going to be too horrible. Let's, like let's, let's tack to the center that imagine a world in which that had happened. Even if you know what you want is Republicans to win office of Control, things like new political realities would have been established. The Democrat Party would have looked, it's crazy, looked crazy in the face and looked despite their that he could be at new after your new l b J or something in the face and said nothing, got to be realistic. Here we got to like look at reality as it is and play into it. What would be best for the country in the long term and what's best for the country long term, with the best for us

a long term and work. This is how we're gonna play this, but either they were too short sighted. There two factors: are there too stupid to do that, and we are all going to suffer here I mean we're all going to if there's and there is going to be in Oida. No, seventy Five percent of a major recession in the next two years, yeah, it's going to mean Republicans win in two thousand and twenty four we're all going to suffer. Housing values are going to crash You know our our you know our our economic holdings are going to crash and and take a long time for the inflationary spiral to quiet itself, even when a recession hits so nobody would should want any of this and and so, but I do think that you're in a weird position where Democrats now must be hoping, as I say, that that that the Supreme Court overturns

I'm okay! So the inflation numbers are in awe and they're, not as bad. Oh, so they played they. They played it well, they're, not as bad as they could have been right. A year to year, eight and a half percent expected eight point four percent, so it's up half a percent but like they were making us think it was going to be ten. so it's not that bad monthly month, the forty year high it's a forty year high, but it. But

like they'll, just make sure you as it show any more than like this year, like they like to do that. Make that chart. That's I see no, it's a forty year high, but really let yesterday I thought, my god there really you have there really gonna try to cushion, because that would describe t like I mean it's bad gave me half percent inflation year, two years extremely bad, but you know I don't know anyway. I don't know it too, but we will see we'll see what people will see what people say about it. and I guess that's the thing now- you have this kind of desperate game where people are going to go well, you know, wasn't so bad, etc.

Bug in the pot right in the water gets always turned up. That metaphor: that's cause you're gonna, wear a rare at a pretty rapid simmer right now so yeah because of yeah. If we go up half a percent inflation month to month every month, you know that sooner or later that's real money right or you go from seven point: nine to eight point: four, five lights real money right now. What's going to happen and what's going to happen in May, you know, illustration that that is in line with expectations. Expectations were really bad. The conventional wisdom really bad. So it wasn't as bad exploitation. Patients expectations were for pain like it's, not a so it's good we're good and Damn and you know when considering the future and you if you run a small business and you gotta make plans. Hr is one of those horrible conundrum that you got to deal with

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The o dot c, o slash commentary. The sign for free, Novo, DOT C, o slash I'm Terry, no apply for make. As a Finn, TAT Mount a bank banking services right about Middlesex Federal Savings are Faye member after I see terms and conditions apply, let's Agua Philadelphia and Steve Moore and dumb. What is the Carey, Mulligan of of the University of Chicago and their findings about states and their and their reactions to Covid. So Philadelphia has announced its read. It's re, I re upping the mask mandate that it lifted off next Monday and just coincidentally my birthday. So it's a real birthday present, though, for me that I don't don't celebrate in Philly. so they're doing this cuz cuz case numbers are up in Philadelphia. You want to know how much case numbers are up.

They were somewhere in the fifth? There were like a fifty seven and three weeks ago and now they're, one hundred and forty eight. So as a result, the city of two million. people into which, by the way, people are commute right from the main line and stuff like that, their their they're. Putting on the mask mandate again and can I add that in a lot of cities, including my own, the universities that had complied with the local municipal mask mandate. Lifting are real city them, so Georgia University is reinstate mass mandate. American universities, reinserting Massillon beheld universes hotter, get your is to get it. Yeah said, that's that that's the Tipp of his spear in cities, where there is still no indoor public mandate. These a lot of institutions are still coming back with masking it's it's coming. I could feel it in the air there

is this. There is going it in New York. Shockingly people are going to be clamoring for it. I who okay. So this is the thing one hundred and forty eight cases, so your masking upright the new caseload nationally is up ten percent over two weeks ago, because omicron dot, if could be eighty two is very. very contagious and you can get it even if you're not vaccinated hospitalizations continue to go down desk continue to go down. Cases are up

As I said yesterday, we have now a complete disjunction between case numbers and consequences. What the hell like these are. The people are supposed to be able to make these distinctions. Am I wrong the only me out here, but it's, but but for too long, there has been a conflation with cases and outcomes you know. Were there hasn't been that we haven't teased, apart from the other and and focused on the important one, which is outcomes, cups, it's it's been, it's been In parallel, the the official line from public health officials has been to panic about cases case caesareans right, but that's crazy matters if it matters. If there is a if there is a correlation which of course,

as I'm not there is, but if there's a correlation between case rates leading to hospitalizations leading to death, if you have a disjunction between rising case numbers and falling hospitalization numbers and falling death rates then use in case numbers to be as your as your as your watchword. is literally nonsensical. I mean you know, unless you believe, is, I think, as a Beu say, people are going to say: well, you do with the lagging indicator. That's are going to go up, possible stations are going to go up because they're all it, but it In two months that we ve had all mccrone or three months that we ve had the summer cron surge in I'm so at an end. Hospital assessments have continued to fall, not not rise, and I mean I think we may

finally be getting to the point that Noah has been predicting for a long time about the more kind of mild civil disobedience if they try to bring this stuff back I've, I've talked to people in Dc. Who said that people who were super bass, you know until it got dropped. I you know the fact that divide President, wasn't wearing a mask the other day when in a setting where she was supposed to, and the answer was supposed to very emotional- and you know historic day, she couldn't wear masks my great when I get on a plane or a bus. That's what I'm going to say it's historic emotional day for me: I'm not gonna, wear a mask today, I'm just too emotional or people can start doing things like showing up place that requires mask and if they require mass, they have to be provided with one like don't carry mask around anymore, just but I'm not sure there was a reason: tax dot. You Axios Ipsos poll that showed once again even Democrats are not seeing covid us as a as a serious threat like the serious dangerous threat that that we all understood it to be two years ago. So if they bring these mask mandates back on

people are actually gonna comply the politeness and it has always been hanky, there's always been. If you didn't, I consume each and every one of these things and all of them to a certain degree. the mask is, is that mitigation measures generally masking among them are popular. With a narrow majority, if you now, if not the plurality of the public and yet a majority, also saying that they ve gone back to their life as normal, indicating that they're not necessarily being honest these posters. We have to go back to February long ago in February, when all the democratic governors rush for the exits and all of them lifted their masks mandate simultaneously. That was at a time when we had daily pick case rates of two hundred and twenty thousand people new cases on a daily basis and was not tethered to cases it wasn't tethered to pollen. It was tethered to an assumption about their general political prospects member and lobbying from a constituent groups, local constituent groups, who said

asking and mitigation measures generally were a drag. Their ability to make a living that it was it reducing the return on their investment in their business and they needed to get rich, tomorrow in order for democratic prospects to improve and that's what Democrats did now. If they return, they will return schools I believe too, dark blue urban environments. Much like the ethanol thing at the x pensive everybody in the suburbs and in rural areas, because in Philadelphia it's not just philadelphians are going to experience. This is John said: it's commuters from bucks, Montgomery, Delco, Chester, North then, all these places that you remember hearing about in two thousand and sixteen and two thousand and twenty and two thousand and twelve, because they are core key counties. Bellwether counties to watch where the nation goes and they are the ones who are going to experience this first and boy. Are they gonna, resent it ok in terms of public opinion in those deep blue places. I

when there is a spike and every on starts. Knowing some people or have people their family who have now got infected, even if the outcomes are are not severe, it's sort of their very they get. all over again. It's like they go right back to two, twenty twenty you know, and and suddenly they they want to be protected again. Ok, so again, I just wanna just one some some data cause. You know me, you know me, I'm a stout station as you know, and it happened to me I'll just and all things that you can be, even if you can't do math, but I'm looking here at the cases hospitalizations and in to use okay. So the cases are up ten percent over fourteen days ago, as as as no

said in February, when all these mass mandates were lifted, there were two hundred thousand cases a day. Thirty two thousand cases on April eleventh so we're actually down. You know I don't know eighty percent from the from the Omicron peak, even though that's up right up ten percent from fourteen days ago, hospitalized can they change seventeen percent down and here's the key number in C use twenty six percent down. So let's extrapolate- from this cases are weighed down, though their up relative to where they were two weeks ago, but real we have to where they were two weeks ago. Hospitalization numbers are down. Seventeen percent and really sick people in the hospital meeting. People in Icu's with Covid are down twenty six percent.

This is the circumstance in which we are looking at people. We looking at people reinstituting mass mandates. It is, it is almost as though the people who are tasked with the job of looking at this stuff and and being a rational about it. Have abandoned rationality for that that his area is now the new rationality, isn't this, why we have experts, we have experts because they are supposed to be able to look beyond fear and figure out what the real order of battle is- and I can do this by looking at this and the only thing that could marry possibly justified. Is this idea that there's going to be back in everybody's limit. I accept that we now have months

Omicron Data Ba2 is a variant of omicron that is weaker but more contagious, and so therefore extrapolating the idea that, if case numbers go up from you know twenty seven thousand to thirty two thousand over fourteen days that we are about to have a death surge or hospitalization surge. That is not what ADA suggest they suggest the opposite. They suggest but this thing is becoming endemic. That people who are vaccinated are getting it and are not getting sick, but for some reason find it necessary to test, because

they're going somewhere they're doing something, or maybe they have a cold or whatever. So this is hard to to pinpoint the political effect of it, but you know for probably the second half of the pandemic on it. I'm declaring the pandemic over, so the second half of the pandemic before it ended and was over and is over and most most people didn't experience mitigation measures. Most people, maybe not most people but most of the country, a graphic like didn't, experienced mitigation measures, but they were present as particularly in urban environments may. Maybe they didn't even have much experience with those environments, but they still felt it. They used the term. lockdown as sort of a general expression of antipathy towards mitigation, wherever they exist in whatever venue they exist, even if they don't experience them personally, and it's an end so there's a political backlash here that I think is broader, potentially broader, then, where its being implemented, because the centre

sent in Philadelphia, probably more for than against something like this right. But I don't think that sentiment prevail. in all of Pennsylvania and all of Pennsylvania and Western New Jersey will experience this. Because of their proximity to it. It'll be ok, just part of the background radiation of this election, which in What selection was very much a backlash against covid policies, so even if they don't feel it they'll be aware of it to two things, though eleven is that why people didn't experience, mitigation measures, you say and most of the country everybody did expire It's been engaged measures in some fashion or other like, for example. If you have to do visit somebody in a hospital anywhere in the United States, you had to wear a mask probably. If you went to your doctor's office, even in Montana, you had to wear a mask. There were places the man

was not invisible and Anne and unnecessary in part of the country and necessary mothers. There were. It was never It was never obliterated from the national consciousness anywhere so and people at so it's not that you know people had to wear they're everywhere in stores and restaurants at, but that but There was somewhere that meant that they sort of had to have one in their pocket or in their or in their car, something like that in case they had to go somewhere visit someone in a hospital whatever. So that's number, so in that sense it never went away, and it was it's always been a reminder. It's always somewhere in the back of your brain. Even if you live very rural place. I think number two. Let's talk Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, has a Senate race. It is a key Senate race right, I mean fifty fifty Senate every vote counts

There is a pretty good, interesting democratic candidate Pennsylvania, Lieutenant Governor Futterman. He is like a weird working class, fun, interesting character right and there's this kind of crazy, interesting republican primary. That's now between the former head of the large hedge fund in the world, who is now IRAN around trying to look like in that, that's Dave, Mccormick and then Doctor OZ from TV and Mccormick is sort of The rational businessman candidate, who you know, is playing Trumpy to some extent his wife work for the Trump administration, DINA Powell and then there's Dr Dot Oz, who is Dr Dot Oz. Let's say that this is going to be a close. It may not be, it may be the robins run away with that because of everything else. But let's say it's: gonna be a really close election. So

Philadelphia. The city of I said it was two million, maybe it's less, but whatever ok, you think that stuff like this isn't going to make fifteen thousand people say: oh the hell with these people enough, I'm not That's fifteen thousand out of two million, like I'm, not saying it's hundreds of thousands of people in a close election, doing something highly controversial and emotional and dramatic, like reimposing mass mask mandates, it's a long time before the election, but it just re keeps it at the forefront of consciousness, and this is like that's the last straw, This is not only bucks County and Montgomery County and the and the counties around around. You know when, on the mainline, where people- maybe like- oh the hell with this, like I'm, not even going to go into the city, to go to a concert, if I have to wear a mask, could be people in Philadelphia

the city that votes eighty per cent democratic. So let's say it votes. Seventy seven per cent democratic! That's it that goodbye goodbye Senate seat. I mean you know it doesn't take much in an atmosphere like this to five people crazy and to drive a small there. The words like the people who, like the mask Mandy, aren't are: Going to change their vote or do anything like that, but we don't know what other people are going to be like. The signalling also is very confusing from the elite in the democratic parties. On thinking now is of two things. One is that we, why is it still a new story? When someone tests positive for covered it shouldn't, be we still treat it as a new story. In the last two weeks we ve had the series of stories about you know the gridiron

club dinner and the upcoming White House correspond cessation dinner and lots of elite people in DC got covert again, including Nancy Pelosi, who just issued a press statement saying. Oh, I've now tested negative, I'm coming out of quarantine, hooray for me, she's pretty high risk given her age, but she was boxed and boosted, and- and so it's not news, but the fact that it's still being treated as newsworthy is another part of this problem and it it's part of a puzzle piece along with bringing back mitigation measures that are that are citing case rates, vs hospitalization and death some people just aren't over it like they really do, need a radical re shift and how they're thinking about this they're still in pandemic mode- and I agree with Noah we're an endemic moat, but they are not, and a lot of the media still has an incentive to continue in pandemic mode talking about it. Using these stories. Using these numbers in this way- and it's until we get past that I fear this is going to be a constant back and forth. Until I mean I'm fearing the future flu season next fall like this is going to be a whole thing. Seasonal thing it's going

drive us all crazy, okay. So here's my. I'm enjoying the gridiron club dinner story because remember the Amy Coney Barrett Super Spreader event at the White House. Trump is a super spreader. The Trump rallies that were super spreader events, the Brian Kemp, the guy Georgia's experiment in human sacrifice by lifting certain types of lockdown restrictions and then, of course, RON Rhonda, Santas. Oh, the gridiron dinner is the ultimate Washington establishment event. There is nothing comparable to it. It's a it's a at the desired ticket. It's a very weird, kind of an anachronistic event, people wear white tie and tails,

You know something like that: the only time time, the the anyone one rental, you know, no one owns white, tiny more so like some of the go rented at a store, and then they do stupid. Skits that are on funny and everything is just embarrassing. It's like I've been, I went to it once and then it was cringe inducing like when went to see the capital steps or something or read an art, Buchwald Kamel column, and we're supposed to find those funny right. So bad like bad stuff, and it is an Though they all go because they have it so exciting in their having it again, and and I'm not saying, that every irresponsible responsible for the Atlantic calling Joe Just relaxation of of mitigation measures that human sacrifice, but it is basically you have

He perceived the media with a brilliant media that event neighbours on the media, of course voted democratic and all of that, and and are supportive of the idea that Trump was actively doing things that we're going to kill people dead at his rallies at his I had that at his announcement of Amy Coney, Barrett nomination and all of that and hear guess what we have an action. super spreader event, fifteen or twenty percent of the People at the dinner have now tested positive for covid. it's what I also really appreciate. It's it's it's irony, but I also appreciate how are the conspiracy of interests has relegated, to a non story, because it is a non story because super spread prevents don't matter anymore especially idolizes remove activation rights is announced story. Outside of conservative media events, no no It's not true. That is not true, read Punchbowl,

said, like people are mentioning this, because it's a Washington gossips and one of the reasons that it would actually it would be an interesting story. I think this is what Christine got to is guest what everybody got covid and you know what they're fine, the thing I hold it in their fine. You know, I guess they're all vaccine boasted or their backs they're fine. You dont get sick from being too if your backs period you don't get em if you get maybe get a little sick, your throat sore whatever. That would be a good message if people Pelosi said you know what I've learned from this we're out of the pandemic. That would be a good thing, not a bad thing. She can't say it because they're all crazy. What does also this aspect of where you keep reading the virus is getting closer and closer to

Will they argue the immediate there's still that concern right? He was masked up walking across the White House LAW on the other. Damn people like, why is he wearing a mass been theirs? They put pictures up it, it's a sort of game of telephone, but with covered exposure right they like. Will this person had Camelot, who hugged this person who is standing within to feed a binding? Oh, don't you remember the map of the of the that there was that the enemy corny buried as prescribed as they actually know what it was a graph on which a graphic of who got it and who was sitting next to whom? Yes, and was October of twenty twenty before vaccines were distributed, but yeah wrong, but the number of bad outcomes from that in those infections where the exact same amount of bad outcomes. We're going to see from the gridiron I was really them down as it out allegations that all yes precisely well, no, I mean trumpets Hospitalized

sure he muttered. I was after man, yet it was from that of your. I do we know we don't know who knows how anyone gets will who knows? Only one got anything. That's part of the point here. But that how did everyone and Shanghai get it, but that moral lies in tone, though right now is right. That then prove acceleration. There was a girl, broader acceptance of the idea that if you ve got it, you somehow did something wrong, and that is completely eliminated. from the elite that have been getting it lately, it's like! Oh, how terrible for them. I hope they're. Ok, good luck, Nancy and sending like somebody. She. She thanked people for sending her chicken soup, if it was a Sturgis like event, a conservative event dominated by righties. It wouldn't be a Washington gossip story. It would be on my radar Verona, okay. Well, you know here's the thing about covered we're not out of the pandemic, because we're still talking about it three days a week for twenty minutes at a time

so keep dragging us back in charge. Yeah they keep pulling us back in and and and and we're not. We are people like us and the people who believe the sorts of things we believe are not going to be punished for this, that is my ultimate message, which is that every minute that we talk about this this way is a vote against the Democrats in November twenty twenty and every reimposition of mass mandate mandate in a in a swing state with a swing, stay swing, state with a it with a with a Senate. Race is like that guy You should save his energy because you know absent that wheel, psychotic, break on the campaign trail or something like that. He is probably toast, because of this we'll see, I mean you can write that down I'll I'll either take a victory. Lap will be shamed on election day, though I've course won't play or the day after election day, though, of course I won't remember. Having said this so

Does the river have to remind me, or what can I say anyway? We will. We will call a halt until tomorrow. Tomorrow we will have our may issue up, and we will talk a lot about that. Then. So forty eight Christine and know I'm jump aboard to keep the candle burning.