A dramatic example of our aging infrastructure – Sarah Palin’s COVID test – Donald Trump’s pending photo book – A new food study – An endangered nation – Evening statistics
As part of President Biden’s plan to promote his drive to rebuild the U.S. infrastructure, he has scheduled a visit to various cities to give a public speech on the matter, starting with an arrival at Pittsburgh today. As if on cue, a two-lane bridge in Pittsburgh abruptly collapsed at 6:00 this morning, injuring ten people and caused a massive natural gas leak, which prompted the temporary evacuation of several families from their homes until it was brought under control. This country certainly has many aging bridges, whose support will become increasingly precarious. Pennsylvania alone has 3,198 bridges rated as being in poor condition.
Sarah Palin has tested positive for COVID and has been spotted dining indoors at least two restaurants after learning of the test results. Mayor Eric Adams’ office urged people who had come across her to get tested – for, as everyone knows, stupidity can be extremely contagious.
The publication of Donald Trump’s upcoming photo book has hit a snag. Winning Team Publishing, its publisher, has encountered difficulties in obtaining sufficient ink, paper, and leather for the number of copies already ordered. During an interview on Fox News Trump publicly bewailed the incompetence of the publisher in mismanaging such matters – as well he might, considering that one of the firm’s co-founders is . . . Donald Trump Jr. I am bound to say that it is a great satisfaction to learn that Trump is as ready to abuse his immediate relatives as he does his subordinates, his employees, his business associates, his ex-wives, his discarded mistresses, his friends, his acquaintances, his political allies, and just about anyone else who crosses his path in the long term.
Researchers at the University have conducted a study that found that eating large amounts of cheese did not lead to elevated levels of LDL cholesterol, as has been previously thought. The study found those who ate low-fat dairy products actually had higher cholesterol than those who didn’t. In fact, the results showed that higher dairy intake was linked with having lower body mass index, lower percentage of body fat, lower waist size, and lower blood pressure. It may be recalled that a few months ago the Mayo clinic warned seniors over 65 to avoid soft cheeses such as Brie, camembert, and so on. But that is the reassuring thing about studies such as these; if one sort of food is declared to be harmful, or to be beneficial for that matter, a new study emerges to contradict such a finding sooner or later. It is possible, on account of the perpetual confusion as to what to ingest and what to avoid, that there may even be a reaction of favor of eating food that is flavorful and appetizing, a phenomenon that this country has not known for decades.
A group of Mormon missionaries recently landed in the remote archipelago of Kiribati and there they proceeded, if not to spread the faith, at any rate to spread the disease. Kiribati closed its borders in early 2020 and thereby was able to prevent the occurrence of any COVID cases during the entirety of the pandemic up to this time. Kiribati finally began reopening this month, allowing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to charter a plane to bring home 54 of the island nation’s citizens. Many of those aboard were missionaries who had left Kiribati before the border closure. More than half the passengers tested positive for the virus, which has now slipped out into the community and prompted the government to declare a state of disaster. An initial 36 positive cases from the flight has ballooned to 181 cases today, a substantial number for a nation that contains about 120,000 people. Only about a third of the population are fully vaccinated and the islands contain few intensive care beds at the most. This outbreak could easily prove to be the end of Kiribati as a viable nation. However, one must remember the Monty Python motto, “Always look on the bright side of life.” The sea has already engulfed two of the archipelago’s islets and is projected to rise 20 inches by 2100, which would subject its entire amount of arable land to soil salination and to be largely submerged. The government has already purchased land in the Fiji islands (about 1250 miles distant) so that the inhabitants will have a place to migrate to once the islands become unlivable. So it is unlikely that Kiribati could have survived long in any case – and that, you know, is a consolation, as Sheridan’s Mrs. Candour would say.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 370,145,784; # of deaths worldwide: 5,667,199; # of cases U.S.: 75,235,644; # of deaths; U.S.: 905,466.