Events

The City of Chicago has moved into Covid-19 response Tier 1, meaning bars and restaurants can sort-of open: In a Saturday morning announcement, as expected, the Illinois Department of Public Health said its latest data indicates both the city and suburban Cook—Regions 10 and 11 in the state’s COVID-19 matrix—have reached the metrics needed to allow reopening at 25 percent of  normal capacity, to a maximum of 25 people per room. Whether restaurants and bars actually open this time no one can predict. But...

In just four years, the XPOTUS lied over 30,000 times: “We also built the greatest economy in the history of the world…Powered by these policies, we built the greatest economy in the history of the world.” FACT CHECK: This is Trump’s favorite false claim, so there should be no surprise he said it twice in his farewell address. (In this database, we only count a falsehood once per venue.) By just about any key measure in the modern era, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson and Bill Clinton presided...

Even though things have quieted down in the last few days (gosh, why?), the news are still newing: President Biden has signed a pack of executive orders, including a national mask mandate and others designed to get his Covid-19 plan running. James Fallows, himself a former presidential speechwriter, explains "why Biden's inaugural address succeeded." Of course, and who could have predicted?, the Republican Party have twisted their panties into (fake) knots over President Biden's call for unity. The...

I woke up this morning, as I usually do, to Chicago's NPR affiliate WBEZ. Yet for the first time in about four years, I didn't dread the top stories. Something seems to have changed. Well, let's take a look at two White House events, side by side. Both were the first press briefings of the incoming administration on their respective Inauguration Days: Yeah, I can't quite put my finger on it...

President Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., and Vice President Kamala Devi Harris started their terms at noon Eastern today. It's the 59th time that the United States has transferred executive authority according to law. Let's hope for at least 59 more times.

The VSTBXPOTUS* has by now arrived in Palm Springs, where in just a few minutes he'll cease to matter and instead become the ultimate Florida Man. I would like to draw attention to something he said today (and wow, am I never going to write those words about that person again) as he stopped briefly at Joint Base Andrews while a very big door swung towards his ass: As Trump concluded his remarks, he vowed, “We will be back in some form,” and he told his supporters, “Have a good life.” Yes, you will....

With only 18 hours to go in the worst presidency in American history—no, really this time—I have a few articles to read, only two of which (directly) concern the STBXPOTUS. Author John Scalzi looks forward to "President Boring:" "Biden is boring, in point of fact, and never has boring felt so good. We’re not settling for boring. Boring is what we’re hoping for." CNN publishes a shocking poll showing that most Americans do not think the STBXPOTUS will be remembered well. One reason: "Operation Warp...

The US Constitution, Amendment XX, section 1, says point blank that the STBXPOTUS will be XPOTUS in less than 24 hours. Between now and then, I have no doubt he'll shit the bed (possibly even literally) on his way out the door. Just a few minutes ago the Times reported that the outgoing administration has declared China's treatment of Uighurs "genocide," which may complicate President Biden's plans to pressure the country diplomatically. (Biden apparently supports this designation, however.) From...

Aditya Singh never left O'Hare after arriving on October 19th: Singh, 36, lived in the secure area with access to terminals, shops and food at O’Hare International Airport until his arrest Saturday after two United Airlines employees asked to see his identification, prosecutors said. He showed them an airport ID badge that an operations manager had reported missing on Oct. 26. Police said Singh told them that the coronavirus pandemic left him too afraid to fly and so he instead remained in the airport...

The Consumer Electronics Show went virtual this year, but it still had some interesting toys, like these: Air Safety Virus Monitors It's well-known that things like ventilation and humidity affect how well coronavirus spreads indoors. But how do you know how much ventilation is enough? Airthings sensors pair with a smartphone to monitor indoor air quality for temperature, humidity and number of people in the room (it makes a guess based on the amount of carbon dioxide present). If quality dips and virus...