thependulumswings

The last thing you need after four days of overindulgence is more.  We’re air frying the nuggets again today to keep them light.

1.  Black Friday really was.  The world learned of yet another unwelcomed foe.  Omicron.  It’s been said that it’s anywhere from 2x to 10x times more contagious. Maybe it has different symptoms.  And, supposedly it’s milder in its attack on the body.  The stock market didn’t react too mildly.
2.  Joe Biden shut down travel to/from eight African nations due to this new variant.  This measure is 100% opposite of the position Biden had as a candidate when then President Trump did the exact same.  Biden said then, “this new ‘African Ban’ is designed to make it harder for black and brown people to immigrate to the US.  It’s a disgrace, and we cannot let him succeed.”
3. Maybe we should just follow the science? The trouble with that is we can’t figure out exactly what the science is.  Dr. Anthony Fauci seems to know more than any skeptics.  He said Sunday, “But if they get up and really aim their bullets at Tony Fauci they’re really criticizing science because I represent science.”  When people talk about themselves in the third person they usually have a high opinion of themselves.  Tony “Science” Fauci.
4.  Well, will the “vaccines” which maybe aren’t vaccines work against this latest round of virus mutation?  National Institute of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins said Sunday that current coronavirus vaccines will “most likely” be effective against the newly-discovered omicron variant, but that it is too soon to tell for sure.  Sounds like a yes, a no, and a maybe if you follow the science.
5. Down under in Australia where no one without a vaccine is allowed to enter nor leave the country, Omicron has been detected in multiple cases.  Either their border is leakier than they would like or the vaccine may not be all that they think it is.  If you follow the science it sounds like science fiction.
6. Speaking of leaky borders, we assume that the Biden Administration feels like the variant can travel by air, hence the ban, but not by land, hence the continued policy of allowing illegal aliens (we’re pretty sure that you can’t use that term anymore, but we didn’t feel like looking it up in the new rulebook) into the US without a jab or two.   It’s hard to follow some of the science.
7. Did you know that the White House and Congress have no vaccination mandates in place?  Working for the government must create some form of natural immunity.  At least all employees in companies of 100 or more have to get the poke. That includes the USPS, though the employee union is fighting it.
8. Levi Strauss has well over 100 employees.  And, some might have concerns in addition to ole Omicron.  They are offering employees the opportunity to engage in a “fireside chat and Q&A” with a “racial trauma specialist” following the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse on November 19.  The email stated, “pain and trauma of race, identity, and belief-based tragedies is a reality that many of us are struggling with on an ongoing basis. It can feel physically, mentally, and emotionally draining to continue to relive these moments and I want you to know, it’s okay not to be okay.”
9. Making matters worse, the jean maker is headquartered in San Francisco, home of the homeless, the addicted, and flash mobs that steal lots of Levi Strauss jeans.  Maybe a corporate name change to reset is needed?  How about Levi Stress?
10. On an only slightly lighter note, did Lincoln Riley run from the SEC competition, or does he see a golden opportunity to do at USC what three coaches since Pete Carroll have failed to do?  Ole Petey got out of the City of Angels just ahead of the probation police crackdown on giveaways to parents.  In a dozen years since, coaches Kiffin, Sarkesian, and Helton led the once very proud program to three Holiday, one Cotton, and one Rose Bowl, and little else.

Post-holiday Mondays are always stressful.  We hope that our fireside chat helped.