“Eissenberg: Why a booster might be necessary,” Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, Washington University, Linda Eissenberg, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 26, 2021. Professor Linda Eissenberg has spent over two decades studying microbial pathogens and has worked over 13 years on immunotherapies for cancer. _____________ Even people who were vaccinated are expressing anxiety these days which […]

As others have said in print and in the Fox broadcasts; “everything is going terrible.” Yeah kinda, there are issues. I do not believe anyone thought about the rapid collapse of Afghanistan happening. The die was cast when Trump and Pompeo bumbled their way through conversations with the Taliban. Someone was laughing afterwards. In spite […]

“Do Your Research” Is it my imagination, or do vax- and mask-hesitant people, reported in news stories about the Covid Divide, almost always say they “have done their research” or something like that?  The medical people and public health advocates that get interviewed rarely seem to use this phrase, at least not in the first […]

Prof. Joel Eissenberg: “Zoonotic origin for SARS-CoV-2 remains the most plausible hypothesis” There’s a saying in research science: extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Given what we know about the origins of nearly all viral pandemics — that they resulted from a virus jumping from an animal to a human host (zoonotic infection)–the null hypothesis for […]

by David Zetland Review: Shop Class as Soulcraft I can’t remember who recommended this 2009 book (subtitle an inquiry into the value of work) by Matthew B. Crawford, but I have been recommending to many people — whether they have rough or soft hands. The hook: Crawford got a PhD in political philosophy (U Chicago). After […]

This is a picture of the beaver pond behind my old family home in western Massachusetts: You can’t tell from the picture, but the pond is at least a mile long and 1/4 mile wide, I think considerably bigger.  The land under the pond had been farmed and then forested before being flooded by beavers.  […]

EconoSpeak: K-12 Schools Opening In July, Econospeak, Barkley Rosser, July 31, 2021 I long knew it was coming, but it has arrived.  I learned of this because some have closed due to heat and or the pandemic surging, K-12 schools.  This happened in Arizona.  They opened in July.  Really.  People in those districts may think […]

Professor Heather Cox Richardson, A history professor interested in the contrast between image and reality in American politics. I believe in American democracy, despite its frequent failures. “Letters from An American“ On Friday, as President Joe Biden signed “An Executive Order Promoting Competition in the American Economy,” he echoed the language of his predecessors. “[C]ompetition […]

In a comment on my earlier post, Bill H. (run75441) mentioned that he thought at first this series on socially necessary labour time (SNLT) would be about Sydney Chapman’s theory. That comment stopped me short because I hadn’t thought about the connection between Marx’s analysis of SNLT and Chapman’s theory of hours. Recall that Chapman […]

“Getting to Yes: COVID Vaccine Edition,” Ken Haller, June 25, 2021 Pediatrician Dr. Ken Haller comes by way of AB Commenter and blogger Professor Joel Eissenberg. You can find Ken’s commentary on his site “Ken Haller.” Just follow the article title link or click on his name. If you have not been vaccinated yet, you […]