Until a vaccine or another protective measure emerges, there is no scenario, epidemiologists agreed, in which it is safe for that many people to suddenly come out of hiding. If Americans pour back out in force, all will appear quiet for perhaps three weeks.
Then the emergency rooms will get busy again.
I heard the author of this article on The Daily, the New York Times’ podcast, and what he said was sobering. We’re not out of the woods yet—this is going to continue for months. There is no vaccine coming soon. And it’s going to take careful, intelligent government to help us through the pandemic with as little pain as possible—something we haven’t gotten at all.
You didn’t see people in masks standing in the rain risking their lives to vote. Not in America. You didn’t see the leader of the free world push an unproven miracle drug like a late-night infomercial salesman. That was a crisis update. You didn’t see homeless people dead on the street. You didn’t see inequality. You didn’t see indifference. You didn’t see utter failure of leadership and systems.
Jen found this article and read it aloud a couple of days ago, and it really struck home. In Prepare for the Ultimate Gaslighting, Julio Vincent Gambuto makes the case that this strange reality is the best opportunity we’ve ever had to stop, look, and evaluate our lives, our country, and our future, and prepare to make changes for the better right now before we are lulled back to sleep.
“Dr. Redfield,” she said, “you don’t need to do any work to ‘operationalize.’ You need to make a commitment to the American people so they come in to get tested. You can operationalize the payment structure tomorrow.”
And with that, the doctor waved a white flag.
“I think you’re an excellent questioner,” he said, “so my answer is yes.”
“Excellent,” Porter responded. “Everybody in America hear that? You are eligible to go get tested for coronavirus and have that covered regardless of insurance.”
Rep. Katie Porter grilled the head of the Centers for Disease Control until he agreed to provide free Coronavirus testing for all Americans. This shit happened yesterday and the first time I’m seeing it appear anywhere in the mainstream news is this morning. Instead, I had to read about how they shut down pro basketball and that Tom Hanks has the virus. Of course, there’s no word on how that free testing will actually happen; Trump disbanded the NSC’s global health security team two years ago, and the CDC has been pretty fucking useless to this point.
Mainstream news is still our only check against an increasingly amoral and unequal government, but they are blowing it. And while our elected representatives have our best interests in mind for roughly 3% of their day, it’s somewhat heartwarming to know there are still a few out there fighting for us.
Cortellessa reports that Hogan, who ostensibly left his brother in charge of his real estate brokerage firm when he was elected, has, in fact, maintained ownership and control while serving as governor; the trustees he handpicked to run his company have continued to keep him apprised of its business dealings. And as governor, he has advanced highway and road construction projects that directly boosted the value of land owned by his company.
I don’t know how to feel about this. Outraged that my governor is so corrupt, or disgusted that he just doesn’t give a fuck about hiding it. Call it another symptom of Trump status quo. The New Republic wraps up a longer piece by the Washington Monthly detailing the whole story.
According to this article, the U.S. has been at war for 46.9% of my entire lifespan, and a quarter of Americans have never experienced a time of peace (ahem, Afghanistan).
On a related note, from the always excellent McSweeneys, The Case for War, by Someone Whose Kids Won’t Die Fighting in It:
I, and I can’t stress this enough, don’t have any skin in the game. Your kids quite literally have skin in the game, some of it no doubt to be melted off by napalm.
I grew up listening to Howard Stern on the radio, and when he made the switch to satellite I lost track. Sometime in the intervening years he embraced his ability to be an excellent interviewer. He had Hillary Clinton on last week, and the whole thing is fascinating: he’s empathetic and insightful, and she’s a human being. It’s depressing how much of the current political process strips the personality and warmth from our candidates; I like this Hillary and I wish we’d seen more of this side of her on the campaign trail four years ago.
Trump Immigration Official Leaves Bar After He’s Berated by Former Presidential Candidate.
A couple of things about this caught my eye: Martin O’Malley used to be my governor, and before that, mayor of my city. Ken Cuccinelli is an ethically corrupt fuckstick. And the Dubliner is just around the corner from my office.
It’s pretty clear that I lean leftward when it comes to politics; however, with the flood of Democratic candidates out there to choose from, it’s hard to know where they all stand on things. The Washington Post has put together a handy guide to learn who aligns with your particular politics. Looks like I agree most with Joe Biden and Jerry Yang. Sobering, because I wasn’t that impressed with either of them.
Our Velveeta Baby-in-Chief doesn’t like the coverage he’s getting in print journalism, so he instructs all federal agencies to cancel their subscriptions to the Washington Post and the New York Times. I don’t know whether to laugh or be gravely concerned for his mental health. I give him another 3 months before he’s holed up in a room pissing in jars and collecting his own fingernail clippings.
I read with sadness this morning that my representative in Congress, Elijah Cummings, died this morning in hospice care. He was a strong voice in the House and held truth to power wherever and whenever he was present. As a strong opponent of our current administration, I was proud to see him stand up for his (and our) principles. He will be missed. Tyler Tynes wrote a great article about him over at The Ringer.