Quarantine Diaries: Day 252
I posted a few days ago about an Aldi near me that was well-stocked with just about everything. That was then.
But today, a report on more empty and sparsely-populated shelves. I’m a bit of a skinflint. One of the places I shop at is Dollar Tree, the antithesis of upscale. But they’ve got some good bargains on basics like cleaning supplies, soaps and shampoos, some generic OTC meds, and other odds and ends. But where they usually have a bazillion toothbrushes, tubes of toothpaste, and other dental supplies, lots of empty shelf space:
Also a whole lot of nothing for sandwich bags, gallon freezer bags, and the like:
I’ve noticed a lack of storage bags in other stores too.
And the Cub grocery nearest me which was very well stocked with toilet paper a few weeks ago, now has lots of empty shelf space in that part of the store. Meh, I’m stocked for that. If panic buying starts up again, I’m set.
Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:
A devastating surge is here. Unless Americans act aggressively, it will get much larger, very quickly.
Iowa governor, who disparaged mask mandates as ‘feel-good’ measures, reverses course
The Horror of El Paso’s Latest COVID Surge
I think we’ve become something of unwitting guinea pigs in an experiment on herd immunity, and the price we’re going to pay for that—we’ve already lost, by my best estimates, about 1,100 people. We’re going to lose another thousand or more between now and Christmas.
”This can't be happening. It's not real.”
Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, and Debt:
Bitcoin up 375% since Peter Schaffer’s accidentally called the exact bottom
Lots of FUD in this article about the spread of Bitcoin ATMs in Greece.
Politics:
4 more years: Trump freezes 2024 presidential field. Did Kamala Harris just win the 2024 election?
Trump Fires DHS Official Who Debunked False Claims About The Election
Trump’s New Attorney Admitted Biden Won
Of Course We Should Scorn Trump’s Sleazy Election Lawyers
Indeed, all criminal defendants deserve a lawyer, which is why the Constitution guarantees them one. Presidential campaigns, by contrast, do not have a right to counsel. Lawyers have independent ethical obligations and also binding federal rules that prohibit them from filing lawsuits before they have undertaken a thorough investigation of the claims. When market pressure, threats of sanctions, and public opprobrium from clients and other lawyers discourage the filing of such half-baked lawsuits, that isn’t “bullying.” That is democracy in action.
No lawyer should be subject to doxing, harassing phone calls, or threats of bodily harm. But that doesn’t mean there should be no consequences for lawyers and law firms, especially elite lawyers and law firms, that participate in fundamentally abhorrent legal enterprises.
Biden Jabs Scott Atlas For Attacking MI Gov: ‘What The Hell Is The Matter With These Guys?’
Trump Fumes That Biden Will Get the Praise He Craves for a COVID Vaccine
Serendipity:
Teraanga: The word that defines Senegal
Characterised by generosity, hospitality and warmth, teraanga is everywhere in Senegal, and has helped shape the nation’s identity.
These supply chain disruptions may be knock-on effects from Covid-19 and the responses to it. IIRC, Taskmaster suggested that the empty food shelves may have been caused by the absence of agricultural labor from across the south of the border. That's probably true because American farms probably employ migrant workers in that sector in larger numbers than Northern European countries. But the other product categories should not be affected by this.
Good thing working vaccines already exist. The acute situation should be over in at most 6-12 months.
After not being able to find paper towels at a few stores, I finally gave in and bought a six-pack (which was all they had at the store I was at), which will last me for probably the next year, as I really don't use them much, I just like to have them around for icky jobs like cleaning up litter box messes. It is WEIRD what they run out of. Like, I understood (though I wished people could have kept their cool) that people were running on cleaning supplies at the start because they wanted to clean and sanitize everything. Lysol wipes, hand sanitizer, etc., OK, I get it. But toilet paper? Meat? Milk? It's a pandemic, not a blizzard.
I is disconcerting when you see supply trends like that at the stores that provide basic needs. We haven't seen too much of that up here thankfully.
It is like Iowa had the fog lifted from its mind with the awesome election choice and now the governor is making sense. Like magic!
Stay safe and sane down there!