Tag: Good News

No Big Deal, Then

Illegal immigrants, Lies and Untruths, Plagues and Poxes

Speaking of those manky ICE detainment centers, it seems that some illegal aliens have been dying of Covid.  Of course, that’s just terrible, according to the Usual Suspects, but some smart guy at Blueberry Town has taken a look at the actual numbers, applied some appropriate statistical methods and inferences, and sucked the air right out of the narrative:

The upshot is that ICE has been testing the heck out of the detainees in its facilities. As of September 11, there are only 20,138 detainees in ICE facilities (down from an average of >50,000 in 2019), and ICE has administered more than 35,000 Covid-19 tests. Recognizing that people cycle through these facilities at varying rates, it is safe to assume that ICE has tested a solid majority of its detainees during the last six months, and possibly the vast majority.

The agency has found 5,810 cases of Covid-19, for a “positivity rate” from testing at an ugly 16.6%. That is the sort of rate that gets journalists screaming at governors, fun banned, and schools firmly virtual.

Sounds horrible, right?  Nazzo fast, Guido:

But only 6 detainees have died of the Covid. That is a case-fatality ratio of… 0.1%. Compare that number to the observed case fatality rates in various countries, which are massively higher. The Covid-19 case fatality rate in ICE detention centers is right in line with the seasonal flu. That made us curious.

There might be several explanations for this. ICE facilities might have excellent health care. Well, maybe, but that would be a narrative-buster of the first order. Indeed, a recent whistleblower has contended that at least one ICE facility has under-reported Covid-19 cases, which would suggest an even lower case-fatality rate than indicated by the dashboard.

Through the same link, there seems to be data that says that the median age of people deported from ICE facilities is 30. By comparison, the median age in the United States is about 38. The population in ICE facilities, therefore, is almost certainly significantly younger than the United States in general.

Furthermore, eyeballing that chart above, the ICE facilities seem to have very few people over the age of 70, which represents the preponderance of Covid-19 fatalities in the general US population.

There’s all sorts of other geeky goodness in the article, and I would earnestly recommend that you read all of it.  But the executive summary?

There’s not a whole lot to panic about — not on this topic anyway.

Sorry, Commies.  Find another issue to care about.

Miracle Pill?

Health

Most vitamins are useless — at least, they’re at best harmless (unless overdosed, of course) — because most of it is just passed through urine.  It must be true because I read that in an encyclopedia (my Junior Readers can ask their grandparents to explain how the Internet was once all contained on paper, in leather-bound books — also ask for an explanation of “books”).

Where was I?  Oh yeah, vitamins.

Turns out that some are actually quite useful, at least until next week, when another group of “scientists” will tell us that Vitamin D gives us congenial herpes or something.

As you can probably guess from the above, I don’t set much store by vitamins;  the only one I do take religiously is the aforesaid Vitamin D, because I don’t go out into the sunshine a lot (I can get sunburned walking to the mailbox, hello Texas), and my doctor said I should or else Bad Things would most certainly happen to me.  In fact, when I go for my annual checkup, it’s the one thing he’s most careful to ask me about.  “Still taking that Vitamin D 1000u each day?  Good.  Keep doing that.”

Turns out that’s a Good Thing, for all the reasons explained in this little piece (via Insty once more;  thankee, Squire).

Of course, there’s a catch.  No, not the herpes thing, I just made that up.  Turns out that for my age, a daily 800-1000u is just the ticket;  but too much can make the telemores too long, which is a Bad Thing.

No, I don’t have the foggiest either;  you’ll just have to read it all for yourself.

Back To Basics

Elections

I always like it when a sports team has completely screwed up and lost the plot — Dallas Cowboys and Manchester United, take a bow — and then when the new coach/manager joins the organization, the statement is pretty much always the same:  “We’re going to go back to the basics”, as in the wisdom in the words of the old manager in baseball’s Bull Durham:  “You hit the ball, you catch the ball, you throw the ball.”

So given that our current method of voting in the United States is a hopelessly corrupted process, completely open to fake voters, system hacking and the outright fraud made so easy in “mail-in voting”, anyone with a brain should welcome this pronouncement from POTUS:

“Voter I.D. Must Be Part of Every Single Vote. NO EXCEPTIONS!  Will Be Doing An Executive Order To That End!!!  Also, No Mail-In Voting, Except For Those That Are Very Ill, And The Far Away Military.  USE PAPER BALLOTS ONLY!!!”

So who could possibly object to so simple, basic and open system?  Don’t be silly.

Critics of Trump’s election plans (take a wild guess who they are – K.) argue that such decisions should be left up to the states.

Yes of course.  By all means let’s leave federal elections in the hands of such honest and decent states like Illinois, Michigan and all the Usual Suspects.

I find it interesting that when the United States sets up a system in foreign countries to ensure that the process is free, open and not easy to corrupt, it involves such artifacts as paper ballots and dyed fingers (to prevent repeat voting) in one-day elections conducted only in official, supervised polling places for registered and verified voters only, with ballots tabulated by hand and all results published by the following morning.

Yet when it comes to the United States itself… oh no, let’s use vulnerable and corruptible machines to collate and tabulate votes electronically, let’s allow the process to take place over weeks and months, and let’s likewise drag out the actual reporting of results over weeks and months, with no controls as to who was qualified to vote, and no guarantee of the integrity of the ballot papers trickling in from unprotected collection boxes.

Let’s just ask ourselves:  who could possibly object to simplifying and protecting the integrity of the voting process for the most consequential elections in the whole world?  Silly rabbit:

To ask the question is to answer it:  it would be those groups and parties whose policies are unpopular, clearly destructive (to the country, its economy and its institutions) and cannot pass even the most simple and casual scrutiny for efficacy and common sense.

By the way, the only thing I don’t like about DJT’s announcement (apart from all those stupid exclamation marks) is that he made no mention of dyed fingers.

We need them too.  And I don’t care how “primitive” it looks.

As with sports teams, the basics are critical — and none so critical as our elections.

U-Turn

Corporate Fuckery, Marketing / Advertising

…as Cracker Barrel turns away from the Bud Light precipice:

Cracker Barrel will bring back its old logo after days of ruthless criticism and a plummeting stock price following its botched rebranding.

The company’s board, led by CEO Julie Felss Masino, ignored warning signs and criticism for months ahead of the announcement last week that the restaurant chain would ditch its old logo and give its stores a modern look. The company appears to have walked back part of that decision on Tuesday.

Which part, I wonder?  One commenter shared my doubts:

If they don’t change their support for all the weird sexual politics and attendant shenanigans, none of that matters. In fact, focusing on the logo, etc., just drives publicity and brand awareness up for them. Lose the CB-sponsored drag queens and maybe I’ll care about the decor.

As with the Bud Light “fegeleh” and New Coke episodes, companies seem to forget that if your ethos is traditionalist, you mess with your brand positioning at your peril, and chasing new customers is a fool’s game if you alienate your existing base.

I haven’t eaten by myself at Cracker Barrel for years because their prices have become just outrageous — but when I get an overseas visitor to entertain, it’s a must-see experience (along with Buc-ees and rodeo).

Even The Donald weighed in, telling Cracker Barrel not to be idiots and go back to what has, after all, been their basic positioning since forever.

Kudos to them for acknowledging their mistake.

Unlike Jaguar.  [#Morons]

Miss America

Beauty, Drive Time, The Gun Thing

I have to say that I’ve been somewhat dismissive of young Sydney Sweeney before (here and here, scroll down to see).

But then came the American Eagle jeans/genes commercial:

…which had this effect on the Left:


(because rayyyycisssm or something)

…and which had an even-more interesting effect on American Eagle’s stock price:

American Eagle’s stock soared 20 percent this week, sending its market value close to $400 million after a viral backlash from the Left over its “good jeans” ad featuring actress Sydney Sweeney. The iconic American retailer got a significant sales boost after President Donald Trump publicly praised Sweeney, following revelations that she’s a registered Republican.

Wait…she’s a Republican?  Hubba hubba.

Then, just to add to the good stuff, it turns out that young Sydney restores classic cars:

Sydney Sweeney is far from your typical Hollywood star. With global fame and expensive roles under her belt, she’s invested much of that into restoring classic Fords. Like her cherry‑red 1969 Bronco and a Brittany Blue ’65 Mustang dubbed Britney. Unlike most celebrity car stories, hers begins with a floor jack, welding torch, and grease‑caked knuckles. Growing up in a mechanic family in Spokane taught her to dismantle an axle before memorizing lines. She documents these builds on TikTok as Syd’s Garage, blending Hollywood glam with wrench turns.

Sweeny’s not stopping at two Fords. She also owns a 1956 Ford F100, gifted by her grandfather, with original patina and plans for a mild restoration, as well as a Sky‑Blue Fiat 500 Jolly, acquired for $68,500.

What’s most compelling is how she marries Hollywood charm with shop-floor humility. She could easily pay others to source chrome parts, but instead she makes tools vintage co-stars: torque wrenches, sanders, and degreasers. With 1.8 million TikTok followers, she’s not playing dress-up but instead teaching thousands to pick up a socket and learn.

Sweeney’s garage is louder than any red carpet, and her fame is fueled by fuel injectors and vintage shine. She’s not preserving history. She’s reviving it with her own two hands, proving that classic muscle cars, and women, can roar in harmony.

Anyone getting interested by now?  Republican, hot, works on classic cars… what could possibly make her more attractive?

Well, there’s this.

Yup, the young lady is a shooter, and a good one (judging by her times and accuracy).

As one commenter put it, that moves her up from a 10 to a 10,000.

Not being much of a jeans aficionado, I don’t know if American Eagle jeans are any good;  but if they are, be my guest — because the better the company does, the more it’ll make liberal heads explode.

Do it for Sydney.

Quote Of The Day

QOTD, Taxes and Theft

“Losing two experienced officials will make it even harder for the IRS to administer and enforce the tax code.” — Caroline Ciraolo (ex-somebody at the IRS)

Good.  No, excellent.

Now all we have to do to help these pore IRS souls is simplify the tax code — e.g. flat tax of 8% on gross earnings, no brackets, no exemptions and no deductions for individuals;  and 1% corporate rate on gross sales, no deductions.
#PostcardTaxReturns