Indy Digest: Nov. 23, 2023
Happy Thanksgiving! Here are some things for which I’m thankful today.
• I’m thankful for everyone who played a part in this year’s Best of Coachella Valley. We are sending the issue to press as I type this. We received a record-number of votes, and this is the best issue the Independent has ever had in terms of revenue. (Expenses are also as high as they’ve ever been, but I won’t get into that, because it’s definitely not something for which I’m thankful.) I greatly appreciate all of this issue’s writers and contributors, our advertisers, and our friends at KESQ News Channel 3. I especially want to thank Dennis Wodzisz, our amazing designer who made everything look so spiffy—and finally, a hearty thanks to you, our readers, for voting in the poll, and making this issue so fun.
• I am thankful for the California Legislature, which funded the California Local News Fellowship program. Because of that, the Independent and the Coachella Valley have a fantastic new reporter, Haleemon Anderson, for at least the next two years.
• I am thankful that President Joe Biden, just a couple of days before Thanksgiving, finally issued a major disaster declaration regarding the damage done in the Coachella Valley (and some other parts of the state) by Tropical Storm Hilary. Anyone who’s driven through the areas that sustained serious damage, such as the northeastern portion of Cathedral City’s Panorama neighborhood—which was devastated by a shocking mud flow—knows this declaration should have been made weeks ago. But it’s much, much better late than never.
• I am thankful to the conservatives who are speaking out against the horrifying rhetoric and threats being made by former President Donald Trump. We mentioned this recently in this space, but it’s worth saying again: During a Veterans Day speech, he actually said: “We pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country that lie and steal and cheat on elections. They’ll do anything, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America and to destroy the American Dream.” It was just one the latest fascism-tinged remarks he’s made, while riling up his supporters against everyone from elections officials to judges to, of course, journalists. While far too many Republicans are feebly going along with his hate, afraid of losing power, some brave souls have chosen to call Trump what he is: an anti-freedom, anti-democratic bully. Speaking out against Trump has nothing to do with political stances at this point; it has to do with protecting peace and our democracy.
• Finally … even though I’ve already thanked Independent readers above, it bears repeating: I am so very thankful for the tens of thousands of people each month who read us online and/or here in print. While I am thankful to you all, I’m especially thankful to everyone who has contributed financial support, chipping in to help us continue producing quality independent local journalism—and making it free to everyone, with no paywalls, subscription fees or per-copy charges. I am full of gratitude for you all.
—Jimmy Boegle
From the Independent
The Weekly Independent Comics Page for Nov. 23, 2023!
By Staff
November 23rd, 2023
Topics touched this week include pilgrims, being pro-puppy, forever stamps, sewer rats—and a whole lot more!
Drive-Thru Revelry: Magic of Lights Returns to the Empire Polo Club for Its Second Year
By Cat Makino
November 21st, 2023
Last year’s inaugural Magic of Lights attracted more than 100,000 visitors, organizers say.
Jetta King Takes the Mic: The Local Songstress Lets Go of Perfectionism During a McCallum Performance
By Maria Sestito
November 21st, 2023
Jetta King is a little bit punk, a little scene and a little metal. Her voice is big and beautiful—but she does not have any songs to download (yet), a manager or a label. Why?
More News
• The likely star of your Thanksgiving dinner probably cost less this year than last. Time magazine explains: “The cost of your Thanksgiving turkey will be slightly lower this year, with the centerpiece of your holiday dinner table down 5.6% from the year prior, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 38th annual survey. The drop in turkey prices—which rests at about $27 for a 16-pound frozen whole turkey—is due to the decrease in poultry affected by the bird flu outbreak that began in 2022. … Birds that are infected with the avian influenza have to be killed, causing more than 4.5 million birds to be slaughtered so far this year. That statistic is steep, but still much lower than the 58 million birds that were impacted in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Experts say that they are glad to see that the number of impacted animals has reduced, but fear that the virus’s persistence through the summer signals that poultry will ‘likely always be at risk of the disease.’”
• Related: CNBC reports that customers are demanding lower prices in many areas—and they may just get them: ““Yes, it’s true—the cost of a 10-person meal is down 4.5% from a year ago, according to the American Farm Bureau. But it’s still 25% more expensive than it was four years ago, as Deutsche Bank points out. This is a nice way into the recent debate over what matters more: the level of consumer prices, or their rate of change. I’d put it this way: You need both going down for consumers to show meaningful signs of relief. The fact that consumer sentiment has fallen for four straight months even as gasoline prices have declined is evidence enough of that. Consumers are basically demanding more price cuts across the economy. And they’re starting to get them. ‘It’s not just energy prices that have already declined,’ notes Piper Sandler’s Nancy Lazar. ‘2024 could see more and more deflation.’ Several categories have already seen prices decline to their pre-COVID trend. Household appliances, for instance, are only 3% above ‘normal’ now, to the detriment of companies like Whirlpool, whose shares now trade at just over $100 versus $250 at their 2021 peak. And it’s not just ‘physical’ items. Hotel prices are down sharply from their highs, and only 7% above their pre-Covid trend. Similar story for airlines.”
• Streaming services are censoring content in India due to government pressure. The Washington Post says: “When the U.S. streaming giants, Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video, entered India seven years ago, they promised to shake up one of the world’s most important entertainment markets, a film-obsessed nation with more than 1 billion people and a homegrown moviemaking industry with fans worldwide. In the last four years, however, a chill has swept through the streaming industry in India as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party tightened its grip on the country’s political discourse and the American technology platforms that host it. Just as the BJP and its ideological allies have spread propaganda on WhatsApp to advance their Hindu-first agenda and deployed the state’s coercive muscle to squash dissent on Twitter, they have used the threat of criminal cases and coordinated mass public pressure to shape what Indian content gets produced by Netflix and Prime Video. Today, a culture of self-censorship pervades the streaming industry here, manifesting in ways both dramatic and subtle.”
• A Politico expose reveals that the products of forced labor are making their way to U.S. school lunches: “The investigation found that more than $50 million worth of salmon was supplied to federally funded soup kitchens and programs to feed low-income elders by importers that source from plants using Uyghur labor. This wasn’t the only species produced by forced labor that ended up on plates in the U.S. Over $20 million worth of pollock, mostly as fish sticks, was shipped to the National School Lunch Program and other federal food assistance programs. The National School Lunch Program feeds kids in over 100,000 public schools in the country. More than $140 million worth of cod, salmon and halibut was delivered to commissaries and cafeterias at hundreds of U.S. military bases domestically and abroad. Thousands of dollars’ worth of fish patties went to federal inmates in Wisconsin. The U.S. government even donated over $300,000 worth of canned pink salmon to Ukraine to support the war effort, some of it supplied by an American company named OBI Seafoods, which, the investigation found, sources from a Chinese plant using Uyghurs.”
• And finally … it was around two years ago that we first heard the word “omicron” used in reference to COVID-19. Today, that lineage is still the dominant strain of SARS-COV-2—and its evolution is fascinating scientists: “In the two years since its emergence, Omicron has proved to be not only staggeringly infectious, but an evolutionary marvel, challenging many assumptions virologists had before the pandemic. It has given rise to an impressive number of descendants, which have become far more adept at evading immunity and finding new victims. ‘It was almost like there was another pandemic,’ said Adam Lauring, a virologist at the University of Michigan.”
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