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Affected person readers, comfortable Friday the Thirteenth! I obtained caught up in just a little administrativia, so what follows is a bit mild. Keep tuned. –lambert
Hen Music of the Day
Grey Catbird, Carman Valley, Sierra, California, United States. A symphony! And 28 minutes lengthy! The whirring percussion within the background is particularly good.
In Case You Would possibly Miss…
- New polling averages (it’s a tie) and new Covid tables (some encouragement).
- Taibbi on debate protection.
- Boeing strikes, may result in rankings downgrade.
- Dying in Hamburg, by Richard Evans.
Politics
“So most of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in actual fact a rational administration of symbolic capital.” –Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles
2024
Lower than sixty days to go!
Friday’s RCP Ballot Averages:
A number of polls post-debate, however as of this studying little change. To be honest, it would take a while for sentiment to settle; and the successful margins might at this level be so minute as to be undetectable. Nonetheless, the Democrats should be very puzzled to have digital unanimity throughout the political spectrum that “Harris is the one” — it was a tidal wave, after the controversy — and but the election is a digital tie. How can this be? Maybe just a few extra Republicans, generals, or celebrities will flip the tide.
* * * Kamala (D): “Harris Marketing campaign Takes Lobbyist Donations Regardless of Saying It Doesn’t” [Sludge]. “The Kamala Harris marketing campaign says it doesn’t take donations from registered federal lobbyists, however Sludge discovered that it acquired donations from a minimum of 20 of them from the day it took over the Biden marketing campaign account on July 21 by July 31, the final date for which marketing campaign contributions information is presently obtainable. The donations weren’t refunded as of essentially the most present information from the Federal Election Fee. The Harris marketing campaign declined to touch upon its lobbyist donations or its coverage for screening them out. The marketing campaign’s report masking September might be filed on or earlier than Oct. 20 and can present in the event that they refunded the donations in September after Sludge inquired about them. A number of of the Harris marketing campaign’s lobbyist donors had beforehand given to the Biden marketing campaign, which Harris took over. The Biden marketing campaign additionally stated it was not accepting donations from lobbyists, however none of those donations have been refunded.” • Boeing, Walmart, Merck, and Google….
Kamala (D): “Harris’s Working-Class Drawback” [Ruy Teixeira, The Liberal Patriot]. “However the race continues to be exceedingly tight….and appears more likely to stay so. And there’s one other a part of her recreation plan—or what ought to be her recreation plan—that doesn’t look like understanding so properly. I check with the necessity to enhance assist among the many working class, which stays a critical weak spot for the Democrats and Harris. The most recent New York Instances/Siena ballot has Harris trailing Trump amongst working-class (noncollege) voters by 17 factors. That’s similar to Biden’s working-class deficit within the final NYT ballot earlier than he dropped out and means worse than Biden’s deficit amongst these voters in 2020—a mere 4 factors.” Could possibly be the occasion, not the candidate. Extra: “There’s no sugarcoating it—this can be a significant issue for the Democrats. School-educated America could also be delighted with candidate Harris however working-class America clearly shouldn’t be. And there are much more working-class than college-educated Individuals. Do not forget that they would be the overwhelming majority of eligible voters (round two-thirds) and, even permitting for turnout patterns, solely barely much less dominant amongst precise voters (round three-fifths). Furthermore, in all seven key swing states—Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—the working-class share of the voters, each as eligible voters and as projected 2024 voters, might be larger than the nationwide common….. The Democratic Achilles’ heel stays and will nonetheless ship a second time period for Trump.” • Yep.
* * * Trump (R): “Trump says he would finish all taxes on time beyond regulation pay at first post-debate rally” [NBC]. • When Trump proposed now not taxing suggestions, Kamala adopted his proposal straight away. I’m wondering how lengthy it’ll take her this time? (Not that optimizing America for tipping tradition and time beyond regulation is essentially a superb factor.)
Trump (R): “Trump says he received’t do one other debate with Harris” [The Hill]. “‘When a prizefighter loses a combat, the primary phrases out of his mouth are, ‘I WANT A REMATCH,’ Trump posted on Reality Social, asserting that he received Tuesday’s debate with Harris regardless of some polls displaying in any other case.”
Trump (R): “Trump tells The Publish why he received’t debate Harris once more: ‘Simply don’t suppose that there’s any want for it’” [New York Post]. “‘We simply don’t suppose that there’s any want for it,’ the forty fifth president solely advised The Publish Thursday after asserting on Reality Social he wouldn’t take the stage towards Vice President Kamala Harris once more. ‘We’ve executed two.’”
Trump (R): “Paycheck-to-paycheck voters will ‘consider their mendacity eyes’ and vote towards Harris” [The Hill]. “After the controversy, I performed my very own snap ballot of family and friends members residing paycheck-to-paycheck whereas getting battered every day by the tough realities of life — harsh realities that everybody I spoke with believed have gotten worse underneath the Biden-Harris administration…. we come to some much less standard so-called polls. First, at a small bakery in blue Montgomery County in swing-state Pennsylvania, now we have the ‘cookie ballot.’ As reported by Fox Information, 4,228 cookies have been offered expressing assist for Trump, whereas solely 369 have been offered expressing assist for Harris. Is that this remotely scientific? After all not. Does it have some actual which means? Sure. In a blue suburban county, a overwhelming majority of cookie consumers ‘voted’ for Trump with their cookie purchases. To make sure, one of many causes they did so was as a result of it was an nameless vote. In some methods, that offers it extra weight than an ‘official’ ballot. Again in 2016, I got here throughout an analogous meals ‘ballot’ at a restaurant in blue Boca Raton, Florida. Clients may ‘vote’ by both ordering a ‘Hillary’ burger or a ‘Trump’ burger. Strolling into that institution in early October 2016, I used to be shocked to see the Trump vote dramatically forward. To me, that foolish, nameless vote in a blue stronghold represented a ‘canary within the coal mine’ warning for the Clinton marketing campaign. That warning was confirmed appropriate when Trump shocked the world by successful the presidency one month later.” • Anecdotes, however at this level… Commentary:
There’s one thing to this.
It seems like Harris clearly carried out higher, what are the undecideds actually in search of?
If it was in any respect “which candidate cares about my issues?” then all they obtained from Harris was “all the pieces’s nice” or “I’ll repair it” – however they know she hasn’t.
— Scott Pfister (@goneflyin) September 12, 2024
Trump (R): “Choose narrows election interference case towards Trump in Georgia” [NBC News]. “The decide overseeing the election interference case towards Donald Trump and a number of other co-defendants in Georgia has thrown out three counts within the indictment — together with two counts introduced towards the previous president. The unique 41-count indictment accused Trump and a number of other of his allies of a broad scheme to overturn the outcomes of the 2020 election in Georgia, however the case has been stalled for months as an effort to disqualify the highest prosecutor stays on enchantment.” • There are nonetheless loads of counts, nevertheless.
* * * Kennedy (I): “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Has Sabotaged Early Voting in a Essential Swing State” [Slate]. “Kennedy v. North Carolina State Board of Elections, Monday’s resolution, is precisely what you’d anticipate from a courtroom managed by elected Republican justices. The details are damning: After working for months as a third-party candidate, RFK Jr. “suspended” his marketing campaign and endorsed Trump on Aug. 23. Kennedy then sought to selectively take away his title from the poll, however solely in swing states the place it would assist Trump. By the point Kennedy dropped out, the North Carolina State Board of Elections had knowledgeable candidates and events that the deadline for changing nominees could be Aug. 22. Kennedy didn’t file his request for removing till Aug. 27, 5 days after the deadline and 4 days after he withdrew. By that time, county election boards have been already printing ballots. Below state regulation, the board of elections might refuse a “late” request to take away a candidate from the poll when removing is now not “sensible.” One other state regulation compels election officers to mail ballots to service members and others residing abroad by Sept. 6. North Carolina’s state elections director testified that redesigning the poll would take 18 to 23 days. So eradicating Kennedy’s title from the poll—then designing and printing substitutes—would require election officers to violate state regulation. Even when these officers had begun eradicating Kennedy’s title the second that he suspended his marketing campaign, they may not have met the authorized deadline. But the North Carolina Supreme Courtroom nonetheless sided with Kennedy. A naked majority ordered election officers to work across the clock to destroy 3 million ballots, redesign new ones for each locality, and mail them out as shortly as doable.”
* * * Stein (G):
🚨BREAKING: The Muslim American Public Affairs Council proudly broadcasts its official endorsement of Dr. Jill Stein for President. pic.twitter.com/Z613TcoRiU
— 𝓙𝓲𝓶𝓶𝔂 𝓙 🫒🔑🇵🇸 (@JimmyJ4thewin) September 12, 2024
Stein (G): Therefore, the Democrat loyalist hit job:
So now you could have some combat in you? However with ethnic cleaning in Gaza, youngsters in cages on the border underneath Biden, and local weather disaster, no a lot?
Bought it.
— Adam McKay (@ZombiePanther2) September 13, 2024
Our Famously Free Press
“DNC Speaking Factors Develop into Immediate Publish-Debate Headlines” [Matt Taibbi, Racket News (Thanks to alert readers WZAPanga, tennesseewaltzer, and sporble)]. As Taibbi exhibits, the headline is nothing extra nor lower than the reality. The deck: “Within the Trump-Harris debate, actuality proved simple to fabricate. Was it all the time like this?” I can reply that:
‘Twas ever thus. Within the 12 months of our Lord 2000, Bob Somerby (“The Every day Howler” was maybe America’s first political weblog) adopted protection of a Bush v. Gore debate, and confirmed how the press transformed public notion of a Gore win to a Bush win in about two days, by specializing in Gore “sighing,” versus the content material of the controversy. (Again then, the metric for candidates was “Would you wish to have a beer with them?”, and the press famously didn’t wish to have a beer with Gore. Gore was the mind genius who gave Joe Lieberman his spot on the nationwide stage as VP; Lieberman then went on to get the DHS arrange after 9/11, and did a whole lot of different harm, oh properly.) Oh, and again then we within the blogosphere used to joke concerning the “blast fax” when suspiciously comparable speaking factors spontaneously, but concurrently, appeared. And to Taibbi, who’s in high type–
Final night time, Vice President Harris commanded the stage,” started mailing listing entry this morning.
“Kamala Harris commanded the controversy,” analyst John Heileman stated on Morning Joe. “Kamala Harris commanded the primary debate towards Donald J. Trump,” learn the opening line of the New York Instances high debate story. “Harris commanded the room from the second she walked on stage,” California governor Gavin Newsom advised the Los Angeles Instances. The sample continued:
Individuals noticed that Harris “will flip the web page as soon as and for all on the darkness and division of Donald Trump,” the DNC “Talkers” continued.
“Trump introduced darkness; Harris introduced mild,” wrote Charles Blow on the New York Instances. “Trump paints darkish image at debate,” learn this morning’s Maggie Haberman, decrying a “darkish portrait of an America ravaged by crime.” The Washington Publish home editorial added, “No extra wallowing doubtful and division.”
“Donald Trump was completely incoherent,” the DNC wrote, including that he was “offended and rattled.” The Guardian pronounced: “Rambling, incoherent.” MSNBC declared: “Clashes, conspiracies, and a rattled Trump.” The Sacramento Bee summed up: “Previous, offended, incoherent, and loopy.”
The “Talkers’ Toplines” mailers function a piece referred to as CONTENT TO AMPLIFY.
And “AMPLIFY” they do! Taibbi writes:
However the DNC or RNC simply backing as much as the commentariat, dumping a great deal of phrases, and seeing them immediately transformed to traditional knowledge, that’s new. Isn’t it? I really feel decreased to writing this stuff down in an effort to maintain from going loopy.
Sure, “I really feel like I’m takin’ loopy tablets!” However, “‘Twas ever thus!” What’s new, I believe, is the rapidity and quantity of the amplication has elevated, as has the stupidity of the speaking factors, and the servility of the press (although to be honest, the press has been a lot broken by the assault from Silicon Valley). Taibbi concludes:
We simply lived by a exceptional succession of memory-holed occasions, from lockdowns to Nord Stream to the beautiful developments surrounding the tip of the Biden marketing campaign, by which actuality was briefly allowed to floor earlier than shortly being wallpapered over with a brand new face. Earlier manipulations already taxed the mind, however memory-holing a presidency?… They surrounded Trump with inflexible consensus framing and watched him flail towards it, which did make him look annoyed, outdated, and at occasions like a candidate for the political glue manufacturing facility. However loopy? Unsure about that. If standard knowledge says you’re loopy, that doesn’t make it true. What if it’s the opposite means round?
Lambert right here: I’ll have extra to say about this later right now. However I believe Taibbi’s notion right here is appropriate, and reinforces one thing I wrote yesterday: Trump might (in an act of political self-harm) focus an excessive amount of on his grievances. However then Trump has quite a bit to be aggrieved about; nearly getting whacked whereas the Biden Administration’s Secret Service failed of their obligation to guard him, for instance. Or RussiaGate (keep in mind the Steele File). Extra importantly, so do his voters (and the anodyne polling questions concerning the “path of the nation” are a proxy for grievance). The median earnings in Springfield, OH, for instance, dropped 20% in ten years, after which there was Huge Pharma’s Oxycontin democide. In keeping with PMC social norms, that’s not a motive to indicate present anger. Or be aggrieved. As a result of that will be loopy. However memory-holing a pandemic? Genocide? Threatening nuclear struggle? Completely sane!
“Is the Total World Conspiring to Make It Look Like Trump Misplaced the Debate? An intriguing concept by Matt Taibbi” [Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine]. “Why did so many journalists who witnessed the identical occasion describe it so equally? To Matt Taibbi, a well-liked commentator who has migrated from liberal-hating leftist to liberal-hating Trump apologist, there might be just one clarification: The whole information media was taking orders from the Democratic Get together.” No, not the “whole media”; simply the natioal press that covers the horse race (which if course Chait would establish with “your complete media”). Extra: “Taibbi’s concept suffers from two critical flaws. The primary lies within the linear nature of time. Taibbi seizes on a Democratic Get together press launch summarizing reactions to the controversy and concludes that the reactions have been implanted by the occasion into the media. However the information launch got here after the reactions. That’s the way it was in a position to quote them.” Taibbi — and the Democrat “Talkers’ Toplines” says “AMPLIFY” (caps in unique). No timeline paradox there (though to be honest, I might have most popular a timeline-style presentation). That stated, a Democrat home organ and the nationwide political press utilizing just about similar wording in case after case after case isn’t problematic in any respect? Chait appears to suppose not, however I don’t suppose you want an “implanting” mannequin of how political communication works to suppose agree with Taibbi and disagree with Chait. Class concsciousness and sophistication pursuits will give completely affordable accounts. Extra: “The second flaw with Taibbi’s evaluation is that the assumption Trump appeared horrible was shared by many individuals who couldn’t probably be managed by the Democratic message machine” (that machine being the entity Chait simply described, however what of that). Chait is appropriate. It is usually true that everyone quoted by Chait is one type of political operative or one other, they usually may properly be extra attuned to one another than the voters. Flip Chait’s argument round: The whole political class thinks and says Trump “appears to be like horrible.” But the race continues to be just about tied, so clearly there are a lot of, many individuals whose voices aren’t reaching Chait and the political class usually….
Syndemics
“I’m in earnest — I cannot equivocate — I cannot excuse — I cannot retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD.” –William Lloyd Garrison
Covid Assets, United States (Nationwide): Transmission (CDC); Wastewater (CDC, Biobot; consists of many counties; Wastewater Scan, consists of drilldown by zip); Variants (CDC; Walgreens); “Iowa COVID-19 Tracker” (in IA, however nationwide information). “An infection Management, Emergency Administration, Security, and Normal Ideas” (particularly on hospitalization by metropolis).
Lambert right here: Readers, thanks for the collective effort. To replace any entry, do be at liberty to contact me on the deal with given with the crops. Please put “COVID” within the topic line. Thanks!
Assets, United States (Native): AK (dashboard); AL (dashboard); AR (dashboard); AZ (dashboard); CA (dashboard; Marin, dashboard; Stanford, wastewater; Oakland, wastewater); CO (dashboard; wastewater); CT (dashboard); DE (dashboard); FL (wastewater); GA (wastewater); HI (dashboard); IA (wastewater stories); ID (dashboard, Boise; dashboard, wastewater, Central Idaho; wastewater, Coeur d’Alene; dashboard, Spokane County); IL (wastewater); IN (dashboard); KS (dashboard; wastewater, Lawrence); KY (dashboard, Louisville); LA (dashboard); MA (wastewater); MD (dashboard); ME (dashboard); MI (wastewater; wastewater); MN (dashboard); MO (wastewater); MS (dashboard); MT (dashboard); NC (dashboard); ND (dashboard; wastewater); NE (dashboard); NH (wastewater); NJ (dashboard); NM (dashboard); NV (dashboard; wastewater, Southern NV); NY (dashboard); OH (dashboard); OK (dashboard); OR (dashboard); PA (dashboard); RI (dashboard); SC (dashboard); SD (dashboard); TN (dashboard); TX (dashboard); UT (wastewater); VA (dashboard); VT (dashboard); WA (dashboard; dashboard); WI (wastewater); WV (wastewater); WY (wastewater).
Assets, Canada (Nationwide): Wastewater (Authorities of Canada).
Assets, Canada (Provincial): ON (wastewater); QC (les eaux usées); BC (wastewater); BC, Vancouver (wastewater).
Hat tricks to useful readers: Alexis, anon (2), Art_DogCT, B24S, CanCyn, ChiGal, Chuck L, Festoonic, FM, FreeMarketApologist (4), Gumbo, hop2it, JB, JEHR, JF, JL Joe, John, JM (10), JustAnotherVolunteer, JW, KatieBird, KF, LL, Michael King, KF, LaRuse, mrsyk, MT, MT_Wild, otisyves, Petal (6), RK (2), RL, RM, Rod, sq. coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3).
Keep secure on the market!
Airborne Transmission
Elite Maleficence
For apparent causes, I just lately bought Dying in Hamburg, by Richard Evans (creator of the magisterial Third Reich trilogy; see NC commenters right here). Right here is the primary web page of the ebook, from the Preface:
The person can write! I haven’t felt myself in such good palms with a historian since I learn E. P. Thompsons The Making of the English Working Class, years and years in the past. I suppose I’m going to need to self-discipline myself to learn it; he describes his methodology within the Preface, and it’s very thrilling.
TABLE 1: Every day Covid Charts
Lambert right here: First time in a very long time I’ve seen nationwide traits downward for each positivity and hospitalization. Even when wastewater nonetheless appears to be like fairly ugly, that’s excellent information. I assume that what’s happening is the tip of the Summer season Trip cycle of an infection, and there might be a brief lull till the start of the Again to College cycle. If not, that might be an excellent signal.
| Wastewater | |
| ★ This week[1] CDC September 9 | Final Week[2] CDC (till subsequent week): |
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| Variants★ [3] CDC August 31 | Emergency Room Visits[4] CDC September 7 |
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| Hospitalization | |
| ★ New York[5] New York State, information September 12: | ★ Nationwide [6] CDC August 24: |
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| Positivity | |
| Nationwide[7] Walgreens September 9: | ★ Ohio[8] Cleveland Clinic September 7: |
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| Vacationers Knowledge | |
| ★ Positivity[9] CDC August 26: | ★ Variants[10] CDC August 26: |
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| Deaths | |
| ★ Weekly Deaths vs. % Positivity [11]CDC September 7: | ★ Weekly Deaths vs. ED Visits [12]CDC September 9: |
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LEGEND
1) ★ for charts new right now; all others aren’t up to date.
2) For a full-size/full-resolution picture, Command-click (MacOS) or right-click (Home windows) on the chart thumbnail and “open picture in new tab.”
NOTES
[1] (CDC) This week’s wastewater map, with scorching spots annotated. Retains spreading. NOTE The date appears to be flawed, however the variety of websites has modified so that is new.
[2] (CDC) Final week’s wastewater map.
[3] (CDC Variants) KP.* extremely popular. XDV.1 flat.
[4] (ED) Down, however value noting that Emergency Division use is now on a par with the primary wave, in 2020.
[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Positively down.
[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). The visualization suppresses what’s, in proportion phrases, a major enhance.
[7] (Walgreens) Huge drop continues!
[8] (Cleveland) Dropping.
[9] (Vacationers: Positivity) Down. These sh*theads at CDC have modified the chart in order that it doesn’t even run again to 1/21/23, because it used to, however now begins 1/1/24. There’s additionally no technique to regulate the time vary. CDC actually doesn’t need you to have the ability to take a historic view of the pandemic, or examine one surge to a different. In an any case, that’s why the form of the curve has modified.
[10] (Vacationers: Variants) What the heck is LB.1?
[11] Deaths low, however positivity up.
[12] Deaths low, ED up.
Stats Watch
There are not any official statistics of curiosity right now.
Manufacturing: “Rankings businesses warn of downgrade if Boeing strike prolongs” [Reuters]. “Fitch and Moody’s on Friday joined S&P World Rankings in warning {that a} extended strike at Boeing’s (BA.N), opens new tab factories in U.S. West Coast might result in a rankings downgrade, a headache for the planemaker that’s saddled with large debt. ‘If the present strike lasts per week or two, it’s unlikely to strain the score. Nevertheless, an prolonged strike may have a significant operational and monetary influence, growing the chance of a downgrade,’ Fitch Rankings stated.” • So give the employees what they need.
Tech: “Meta fed its AI on nearly all the pieces you’ve posted publicly since 2007” [The Verge]. “Meta has acknowledged that each one textual content and photographs that grownup Fb and Instagram customers have publicly revealed since 2007 have been fed into its synthetic intelligence fashions.” • Thereby massively skewing them, little question.
At this time’s Concern & Greed Index: 49 Impartial (earlier shut: 43 Concern) [CNN]. One week in the past: 39 (Concern). (0 is Excessive Concern; 100 is Excessive Greed). Final up to date Sep 13 at 1:58:23 PM ET.
Gallery
Talking of geese:
The Poultry Yard https://t.co/RQ0qwLFXmd pic.twitter.com/aP0FjeJEPD
— Henri Rousseau (@artrousseau) September 13, 2024
Information of the Wired
“Why can we crumble underneath strain? Science has the reply” [Nature]. “Have you ever ever been in a high-stakes scenario by which you wanted to carry out however fully bombed? You’re not alone. Experiments in monkeys reveal that ‘choking’ underneath strain is linked to a drop in exercise within the neurons that put together for motion…. The staff arrange a pc job by which rhesus monkeys acquired a reward after shortly and precisely shifting a cursor over a goal. Every trial gave the monkeys cues as as to whether the reward could be small, medium-sized, giant or ‘jackpot’. Jackpot rewards have been uncommon and unusually huge, making a high-stakes, high-reward scenario. Utilizing a tiny, electrode-covered chip implanted into the monkeys’ brains, the staff watched how neuronal exercise modified between reward situations. The chip was located on the motor cortex, an space of the frontal lobe that controls motion. The researchers discovered that, in jackpot situations, the exercise of neurons related to motor preparation decreased. Motor preparation is the mind’s means of creating calculations about the right way to full a motion — just like lining up an arrow on a goal earlier than unleashing it. The drop in motor preparation meant that the monkey’s brains have been underprepared, and they also underperformed.” • Jackpot, eh?
Contact info for crops: Readers, be at liberty to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, to (a) learn how to ship me a examine in case you are allergic to PayPal and (b) to learn how to ship me pictures of crops. Greens are high-quality! Fungi, lichen, and coral are deemed to be honorary crops! If you would like your deal with to seem as a credit score, please place it in the beginning of your mail in parentheses: (thus). In any other case, I’ll anonymize through the use of your initials. See the earlier Water Cooler (with plant) right here. From AG:
AG writes: “To flee the warmth right here in Grass Valley, CA, we generally go ‘up the hill’. At 6,000 ft elevation on the way in which to Lake Tahoe, we discover the amazingly aromatic Washington lilies.”
