A reminder of how that kind, gentle old man restored decency and truth to the White House
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(I notice that the critic of this dreadful White House Christmas card, Olivia Nuzzi, is the author of the article attacking Biden’s staff for hiding their puppet’s infirmities, “The Zombie Wars” that was discussed here yesterday. Strengthens her creds, for myself.)
Tierney vs Fauci; Tierney wins, of course
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John’s 1996 article for the NYT Sunday Magazine, “Recycling is Garbage”, still holds the title for generating the most hate mail directed at the Times’ editors, ever. He was right, then, and he’s right now:
I’VE READ ALL 480 PAGES SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO: Fauci’s Master Class in Deception. Some excerpts of my book review in the Wall Street Journal:
At the end of his memoir, “On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service,” Anthony Fauci laments: “We are living in an era in which information that is patently untrue gets repeated enough times that it becomes part of our everyday dialogue and starts to sound true.” He’s right about that, and he has inadvertently produced a 480-page master class in how to get away with it.
The memoir chronicles Dr. Fauci’s rise in Washington from an obscure researcher to his fame during the Covid-19 pandemic, when he became, as he writes, a “hero to the millions of Americans who saw me as a physician bravely standing up for science, truth, and rational decision-making.” This image bore no relation to reality, given the evidence that the lockdowns and school closures accomplished little or nothing while causing unprecedented social and economic damage.
So how did Dr. Fauci spin it into a personal triumph? The memoir chronicles the development of his techniques. He tells how, after becoming director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in 1984, one of his first “crucial lessons” was “how important it was to cultivate relationships with people who are in a position to make things happen.” These people included politicians in the White House and the Capitol, activists demanding bigger budgets, and, especially, journalists eager for stories that would terrify their audiences.
In the memoir, Fauci proudly details the budget increases he received as a result of the false alarms he helped spread: the AIDS “heterosexual breakout,” the bioterrorism attack on America supposedly imminent after 9/11, the doomsday pandemics of bird flu and swine that never arrived.
He went on seeking more funding to prepare for a future catastrophic flu pandemic, a threat he considered so dire that it justified “generating a potentially dangerous virus in the laboratory,” as he argued in a 2011 article in the Washington Post.
In retrospect, given the mounting evidence that Covid-19 was created by just that sort of gain-of-function research in China, does Dr. Fauci have any second thoughts about advocating such a risky endeavor? None worth mentioning in this memoir. In dismissing the “smear campaign” to link him to a lab-created virus, he ignores the obvious possibility that the Wuhan virologists exploited knowledge acquired in the lab’s previous bat-virus research funded by his agency.
Nor does he regret his pandemic guidance, despite the vast collateral damage of lockdowns and the evidence that nations and U.S. states that shunned Dr. Fauci’s advice fared as well or better than the ones that locked down. Sweden experienced one of the lowest rates of excess mortality in Europe while keeping businesses and schools open and urging its citizens not to wear masks. Nowhere in Dr. Fauci’s memoir is there a mention of Sweden or other such counter-evidence.
The glaring omissions confirm the criticisms of Dr. Fauci in Dr. Scott Atlas’s pandemic memoir, A Plague Upon Our House.
At the White House Coronavirus Task Force meetings, Dr. Atlas recounts, Dr. Fauci never presented scientific evidence in favor of his policies, refused to respond to the contrary evidence that Dr. Atlas presented, and never considered the collateral damage from the policies.
In fall 2020 there was ample evidence that schools could reopen safely, but Dr. Fauci kept offering reasons to keep them closed. When Dr. Atlas argued that Americans were irrationally frightened, he writes, Dr. Fauci replied: “They need to be more afraid.” Dr. Fauci’s determination to panic the public astounded Dr. Atlas, but it’s understandable after reading “On Call.” For Anthony Fauci, fearmongering was always an excellent career move.
And never mind at what cost to everyone else.
Impressive, but not unprecedented
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Justin Bieber reportedly [was] paid $10M to perform at pre-wedding celebration in Mumbai for billionaire heir
Justin Bieber reportedly just earned a major payday.
The "Love Yourself" singer performed at a pre-wedding event for Indian billionaire heir Anant Ambani and his bride, Radhika Merchant.
Bieber traveled to Mumbai, India, on Friday for the celebration, and treated the audience to a full performance.
A similar event took place up on Rogues Hill Road back in 2007 — I have this on very, very good authority — when, to celebrate his 50th birthday, Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam paid Kenny Rogers to come to Greenwich and perform Raj’s favorite song, “The Gambler”, and only The Gambler, for three-full hours. Rogers came, and, I’m told, he and his band got through ten cycles before he said disgustedly, “fuck this”, and quit. Raj paid him anyway.
Admittedly, a million ain’t ten, but neither is Greenwich Mumbai, so there’s that.
Raj went on to a certain infamy two years later when he was indicted and convicted of insider trading and sentenced to 11 years. He got out after 7 or so, and I believe he sold his house here and went back to NYC. His legacy lives on: between him, (now, the late) Walter Noel, Frederick Bourke, and a handful of other Round Hill residents who were embroiled in scandal during the 2008-2009 years (“when the tide goes out, you discover who’s been swimming naked” — Warren Buffet), Round Hill Road was renamed — at least here at FWIW — Rogues Hill Road.
Ah, memories.
33 Breezemont is under contract, again
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33 Breezemont Avenue, Riverside, currently priced at $1.895 million, reports a contract. The property started at $2.195 in September ‘23 and had a buyer under contract by December 8th, but that deal fell through at the end of January of this year, and it was put back on the market.
It’s a 1/2 acre in the R-12 zone, but though the listing claims that “Owner/seller believes the property can be subdivided” (a neat trick: the owner’s dead), my guess is that that possibility was ruled out, and the first contract failed because of it. That, however, is pure speculation on my part, based on the length of time between the signing of the contract and its termination; contracts fail for lots of reasons.
Still, you could build a nice house here on what in Riverside passes for a big lot.
A total re-do up in Sabine farm
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248 Round Hill Road, $11.950 million. Pretty snazzy, and it at least looks like it ought to command something in this price range, unlike some other houses I’ve seen sell in the $9-$12 bracket. But $12 million is still suspiciously like real money, so we’ll see.
Anti-disirregardless, it’s certainly an improvement over the original 1982 house the builder bought last May for $3.5
showering for 12
2023 version
Even with such a detailed list, this Tweeter still missed a bunch: field geology and backpacking are two I remember being denounced recently. (UPDATED)
/A sociologist has discovered what you didn’t know: The Great Salt Lake is racist.
Here’s one guy’s reply:
And : Recent previous episodes have included such racist behaviors as tanning, fitness, and enjoying peace and quiet.
UPDATE Geeze, how could I have forgotten the Smithsonian Institution’s Guidelines for racists?
I was going to say, "well, of course she does — she’s been there, done that; still does, come to that", but then she said it herself.
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Whoopi Goldberg: I Don't Care If Biden Has 'Pooped His Pants' or 'Can't Put a Sentence Together'
Continuing her strange attempt at empathizing with Biden, Goldberg admitted "I have poopy days all the time" and steps "in so much poo you can't even imagine. Now, I'm not running the world, but I don't know anyone who doesn't step in 'stuff' at some point," she continued.
Poopi Whoopi might claim she was speaking metaphorically, but then, why else would she have sought treatment from that “hell of a doctor”, Dr. Jill?
Greenwich sales data – June
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July 2, 2024 (Greenwich, CT) - The Greenwich Association of REALTORS® announces the statistics for home sales for the month of June 2024 according to figures provided by the Greenwich Multiple Listing Service, Inc. The Greenwich MLS and greenwich.realestate is the most accurate and comprehensive resource of active inventory and property listing data across all five zip codes of the Town of Greenwich.
Single-Family Home Sales
There were 64 single-family residential closings reported across all areas of Greenwich during the month of June 2024. This figure decreased compared to June 2023 when there were 77 closings.
The Median Sale Price for a single-family home increased 0.39% to $2,560,000 from the median sales price in June 2023, which was $2,550,000.
The average Days On Market (DOM) for residential homes was 44 days; which was a 50% decrease from 88 days in June 2023.
There were 66 new single-family listings brought to the market in June 2024, which is a 13.79% increase in New Listings when compared to June 2023 when there were 58. At month-end, Active single-family inventory totaled 187 units, which is a 4.5% increase from June 2023 when there were 179 units available.
For what it’s worth, I’ve been seeing quite a number of houses that were purchased in 2021 and being resold now at a 20% increase over that ‘21 price.