The Speech

 So, nite three of the RNC and the big feature was the national debut of JD Vance.  I think it was...good?  Started a bit slow, but improved as time went on.  He certainly stressed the Midwest -- have to crack that blue wall here -- and his hardscrabble beginnings, and I think hit the main points.  Certainly the speech got better as he went on, though it will be hard not to be accused of being an Ivy League lawyer elitist.  I think the anti-Trump screeds will be an asset -- if they can be explained (and not like the press will let him).  Will it move the needle?  I doubt it, but only because the matter is so settled as it is.  Alas.  Tomorrow of course is the big speech, and I wonder what he will exactly say...

‘One Handsome Son-of-a-Bitch’: How Donald Trump Fell for J.D. Vance - POLITICO
Interesting; hard to believe that we could have had Senator Mandel.  One can say, of course, that Vance is a shameless opportunist, but if Kamala Harris can impugn Joe Biden with a rape charge -- and demonstrate her feminist virtues by running as his veep -- that is hardly a mark against him.

Can a Medicaid plan that requires work succeed? First year of Georgia experiment is not promising | AP News
This could be me, but could not the issue be that the stick is not strong enough?  We do have a problem with labor force participation in this country, and some people will have to work to fill it (especially as we do not want more immigration, it would appear).  Yes, it is a pain to sign up, but in some ways it is not painful enough.  I guess, in my years of food pantry experience, I find it that many people are able to able to work, but choose not to, and until they are brought into the system... well, we have immense generational poverty, and the only way to stop it is to force it from happening again.

The Secret, Magical Life Of Lithium - NOEMA (noemamag.com)
interesting, particularly the case of the missing lithium in the universe...

I finally watched the two archived episodes of J! (Monday and Tuesday) and today's... I had no idea as to the "Performative" question, and some of the categories (opera, folk singers) were not exactly my powerhouses, and hence I had to hustle to get 42 each night.  It almost felt like I was watching the Masters Tournament once again.  Hard to believe in a few weeks they will be on winter break and my mental stimulation will come from elsewhere... though it does some flexibility to my schedule.