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Open thread Dec. 14, 2021

Dan Crawford | December 14, 2021 3:46 am

Comments (19) | Digg Facebook Twitter |
19 Comments
  • Fred C. Dobbs says:
    December 14, 2021 at 9:47 am

    A never ending battle? A rocky journey as US enters third year fighting COVID.

    Many remain unvaccinated, rapid tests are hard to find, and a new report says the country is unprepared for future emergencies. 

    Two years ago, when a mysterious respiratory illness appeared in China, the danger to American shores seemed remote. Much of the world was preoccupied with holiday plans and resolutions of good intentions for 2020.

    Now, as COVID-19 enters its third year of upending life around the globe, the United States is still not applying hard-earned lessons from the pandemic as it continues to fight what seems like a never-ending battle.

    Amid an onslaught of misinformation and political sparring over vaccines, roughly40 percentof the population remains without even a single shot, leaving millions vulnerable to serious illness and death. …

    Access to rapid COVID tests is scarce in many places. Vaccine mandates are contentious and all three of President Biden’s attempts— targeting federal contractors, health care workers, and employers with more than 100 workers — remain mired in legal challenges. Meanwhile, a centralized system for verifying vaccinations is elusive and many are relying on dog-eared paper vaccination cards.

    But the country has made significant strides on other fronts: It can morequickly detectand monitor dangerous shifts in COVID and future viral invaders; and it haspledged roughly $1 billionto shore up a patchwork public health system, which was vital in educating those infected and tracing their contacts.

    Anew report, the Global Health Security Index, concludes that while the United States and many countries were able to rapidly develop capacities to address COVID-19, all nations remain dangerously unprepared for future epidemic and pandemic threats.

    “We are really worried about political leaders deciding whether they want to maintain these [advances], because without that, these things could easily evaporate,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. …

    Over the past two years, the ability of government leaders in the United States to “react in a coordinated, functional, non-corrupt, and humane manner” to a major health crisis declined, the Global Health Security Index report found, ranking the country 69th among 194 other nations. 

    The report’s authors considered several factors, including the public’s perception of corruption in the government, as well as vested interests and cronyism, and the accountability of public officials.

    “If you have low public confidence in government, the best plan in the world probably won’t overcome that,” Nuzzo said.

    In access to health care, the United States is ranked 183rd in the world, nearly dead last in the index. That measure takes into account the United States’ balkanized system of health coverage that leaves many citizens unable to afford to see a doctor for preventive care or when they’re ill.

    “The inability to guarantee free access to health care has been crippling in our [COVID] response,” Nuzzo said.

    That system also undermines the United States’ ability to track COVID trends across the country. That’s why, for information on such crucial questions as the effectiveness of vaccines and boosters, the United States has had to rely on Israel and the United Kingdom, countries with much more robust health care systems that can swiftly mine data and trends, Nuzzo said.

    And yet COVID keeps crashing down on the United States in waves. Every time that it appears to be waning, a new, more transmissible variant roars to life. So that now, as the Omicron variant bears down, federal health officials are once again having to urge people to get vaccinated and receive a booster shot. …

    Global Health Security Index

     

     

  • Fred C. Dobbs says:
    December 14, 2021 at 10:02 am

    A never ending battle? A rocky journey as US enters third year fighting COVID.

    (Text has been submitted. Will it be ‘approved’?)

  • Fred C. Dobbs says:
    December 15, 2021 at 8:39 am

    Republicans Who Assailed Biden’s Stimulus Bill Are Embracing the Money

    GOP governors who criticized the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill as wasteful are championing state projects funded by the money.

    … Republican leaders across the country have been engaged in a similarly awkward dance over the past few months as they accept — and often champion — money from the $350 billion bucket of state and local aid included in the stimulus bill, which passed Congress without a single Republican vote. In some states, like Ohio and Arizona, Republican governors are spending the funds while attempting to undercut the law that allowed the money to flow. Other governors are faulting Congress for not giving their state enough money.

    And, like their counterparts in Congress, many Republicans have blasted Mr. Biden’s stimulus bill for fueling inflation, even as they take the funds, and criticized Democrats for pushing for additional government spending plans. …

  • Fred C. Dobbs says:
    December 15, 2021 at 9:05 am

    (Thinking of ‘1984’… This is where Eurasia & Eastasia gang up on Oceania.)

    Political geography of Nineteen Eighty-Four

     

    Putin and Xi Show United Front Amid Rising Tensions With U.S.

    President Biden may have his alliance of democracies, but Russia and China still have each other.

    Xi Jinping addressed Vladimir V. Putin as his “old friend,” and the Russian president called his Chinese counterpart both his “dear friend” and “esteemed friend” as the two leaders held a video summit on Wednesday — a display of solidarity in the face of Western pressure over Ukraine, Taiwan and other disputes.

    China and Russia, once adversaries, have formed an ever-tighter economic, military and geopolitical partnership under Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin — one that increasingly looks like a bloc against American influence as both countries’ confrontations with the United States deepen. …

     

     

    • Fred C. Dobbs says:
      December 15, 2021 at 7:29 pm

      Both Putin and Xi plan to remain in charge of their respective realms for another twenty-five years or so, it would seem.

  • Michael Smith says:
    December 15, 2021 at 11:48 am

    Checking the pulse of the 20-40 Democrat voters (my people) has been an upsetting, frustrating look into the potential future that is 2022 House and Senate elections followed by 2024 Presidential elections. 

    Based on feedback from that group both online and anecdotal personal conversations, it seems as though there is high likelihood of Republicans taking a majority in both bicameral 2022 elections, as well as Trump potentially getting the reelect in 2024. It’s boils down to two issues:

    Student loan debt & marijuana

    The future is still uncertain, but current sentiment with the current actions, signals, or the lack thereof is going to potentially lead a good amount of the 41 million student loan borrowers to either not show up at the polls at all, or vote Republican. 

     

    • Joel says:
      December 15, 2021 at 1:02 pm

      ” It’s [sic] boils down to two issues:

      Student loan debt & marijuana

      Seriously? You don’t believe that the end of Roe v Wade, and the implications for the future of birth control and gay marriage will be issues? You appear to be talking to the wrong people.

      • Michael Smith says:
        December 15, 2021 at 1:51 pm

        Those are statutorial in nature, being decided by an unelected bench of judges. The two listed are both most likely controllable by the executive branch only. Delisting pot from the schedule would do wonders. Same hoods true if the DOE was instructed to write down $10k per borrower.

        What you are talking about needs more of a push and would require suspension if the filibuster to bring about changes in healthcare/coverage, social welfare, title 7 changes, voting protection/enhancements. We should absolutely fight to make changes.

        The two listed seem like low hanging fruit that could have serious advantages for millions of all creeds.

         

  • Fred C. Dobbs says:
    December 15, 2021 at 7:25 pm

    Congress Approves $2.5 Trillion Debt Limit Increase, Sending It to Biden

    The measure would allow the government to continue borrowing to finance its obligations without further action by Congress until after the 2022 midterm elections. 

    Congress gave final approval early Wednesday to legislation that would raise the debt ceiling by $2.5 trillion, moving over nearly unanimous Republican opposition to stave off the threat of a first-ever federal default until at least early 2023.

    Democrats were united in support of the measure, which passed the Senate 50 to 49 along party lines on Tuesday afternoon and then cleared the House in a 221-to-209 vote shortly after midnight on Wednesday. Republicans opposed the legislation en masse, with only one, Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, voting in favor. The bill now heads to President Biden, who was expected to quickly sign it.

    The swift action came a week after party leaders announced a deal to establish a one-time fast-track process to increase the debt ceiling with a simple majority vote, instead of the 60 votes needed to move most legislation through the Senate. …

  • Fred C. Dobbs says:
    December 16, 2021 at 9:02 am

    Why Jerome Powell Pivoted on Inflation

    NY Times – Neil Irwin – December 15

    A surge in wages and benefits got his attention. Other data soon confirmed his concern. 

    Inflation has been building for months. But it was over 13 days this fall that Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, decided the central bank needed to get more serious about trying to choke it off.

    The story of the latest Powell pivot — the abrupt move toward tighter monetary policy announced Wednesday — shows a great deal about the decision-making approach of the man President Biden has nominated for a second term as the nation’s top central banker.

    In short: He may stick to his chosen policy path in the face of public pressure as long as evidence doesn’t undermine his assumptions, but he’s willing to change course quickly when data emerges that suggests the world is different. …

    • Fred C. Dobbs says:
      December 16, 2021 at 9:05 am

      The Fed’s policy committee announced Wednesday that it would speed up the end of the central bank’s bond-buying program and was likely to raise interest rates sooner than had been envisioned as recently as early November. The mantra of Fed officials through the summer months that inflation was likely to be transitory is now, officially, history. 

      More than usual in a Federal Reserve news conference, Mr. Powell narrated the events that caused his policy pivot.

      Complaints about high inflation have been surging since the spring, but Mr. Powell and the Fed stuck to their view that it would fade and that they needed to move gingerly in pulling back on stimulative policies. That started to change with a piece of economic data on Oct. 29 that is closely followed by economists but gets relatively few headlines — a surge in the employment cost index.

      That surprisingly high number suggested that employers’ spending on wages and benefits was rising faster in the summer months than economists had thought. It put Mr. Powell on alert that inflationary pressures had the potential to be broader and longer lasting than the Fed had been expecting. …

       

  • Fred C. Dobbs says:
    December 16, 2021 at 9:23 am

    Expand the Supreme Court

    Boston Globe – Senator Liz Warren – December 15

    I don’t come to this conclusion lightly or because I disagree with a particular decision; I come to this conclusion because I believe the current court threatens the democratic foundations of our nation. 

    This month, a majority of justices on the United States Supreme Court signaled their willingness to gut one of the court’s most important decisions over the past century, threatening to eliminate Roe v. Wade and a person’s right to choose.

    This is not the first time this extremist court has threatened, or outright dismantled, fundamental rights in this country. For years, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority — recently supercharged to 6-3 — has issued decision after decision that veers away from both basic principles of law and widely held public opinion.

    With each move, the court shows why it’s important to restore America’s faith in an independent judiciary committed to the rule of law. To do that, I believe it’s time for Congress to yet again use its constitutional authority to expand the number of justices on the Supreme Court. I don’t come to this conclusion lightly or because I disagree with a particular decision; I come to this conclusion because I believe the current court threatens the democratic foundations of our nation. …

    • Fred C. Dobbs says:
      December 16, 2021 at 9:32 am

      (The Globe is also running some op-eds about how the Constitution should be changed, A.S.A.P. As if…)

      EDITING THE CONSTITUTION

      REDO THE FIRST TWO AMENDMENTS

      #1: Every person has the right to freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, and petition of the government for redress of grievances, consistent with the rights of others to the same and subject to responsibility for abuses. All conflicts of such rights shall be resolved in accordance with the principle of equality and dignity of all persons.

      Both the freedom of religion and the freedom from religion shall be respected by the government. The government may not single out any religion for interference or endorsement, nor may it force any person to accept or adhere to any religious belief or practice.

      #2: All people have the right to bodily autonomy consistent with the right of other people to the same, including the right to defend themselves against unlawful force and the right of self-determination in reproductive matters. The government shall take reasonable measures to protect the health and safety of the public as a whole.

      • Fred C. Dobbs says:
        December 16, 2021 at 9:48 am

        LOWER THE STAKES OF THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE

        Make it so that a candidate who wins the most electoral votes but loses the popular vote gets only a two-year term.

        If a president elected in that manner gained broader support and won reelection in both the popular vote and the Electoral College, as George W. Bush did in 2004, they’d be rewarded with a traditional four-year term. If they couldn’t appeal to more of the country and again won just the Electoral College, they’d get another two-year term and would have to be done after that. …

        (More realistically, just do away with the two extra electoral votes each state gets corresponding to their Senate seats.)

        MAKE CONGRESS BIGGER

        …  One model from the state governments might be the New Hampshire House of Representatives, which has 400 members despite the state’s relatively small population. If the Granite State can work with 400 in its House, surely the United States can make do with 500 or more.

        This would make the House more reflective of the vast diversity of our nation, reduce the pernicious effects of gerrymandering, and make the Electoral College more equitable between large and small states. …

  • Fred C. Dobbs says:
    December 16, 2021 at 10:04 am

    (So much for ‘Peace in our time!’

    UK PM Neville Chamberlain, after Munich, September 193.)

    Peace in our time!

    (OK, he actually said ‘Peace for our time.’)

    NATO Signals Support for Ukraine in Face of Threat From Russia

    The military alliance stood by its promise to open a path to Ukrainian membership amid warnings from Western intelligence agencies that Moscow could soon begin a military incursion. 

    Facing a building threat from Russia, Ukraine’s president sought security guarantees from NATO’s chief in a meeting on Thursday and came away with a renewed commitment that his country could eventually join the military alliance despite stiff objections from its Russian neighbors.

    While the timing of the statement by the chief, Jens Stoltenberg, sent an unmistakable message of support, it did not come with the commitments of military assistance that Ukrainian officials have been pleading for to deter, or possibly defend themselves against, a Russian military incursion.

    Standing next to the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Mr. Stoltenberg denounced the Russian military buildup but said nothing about providing Ukraine with the additional weaponry or troops it was seeking. …

    Ukraine has been locked in a grinding war with Russian-backed separatists since 2014 that has cost more than 13,000 lives. Though there is no indication it would be ready to join NATO anytime soon, Russian leaders argue that the prospect alone is a threat to Moscow’s national security, and have indicated they would be prepared to use force to stop it. …

    • Fred C. Dobbs says:
      December 16, 2021 at 10:10 am

      This will be turned into a motive to re-elect Trump in 2024, to keep US out of yet another European War that would not suit his friend Vlad Putin the least little bit.

      • Fred C. Dobbs says:
        December 16, 2021 at 11:02 am

        However, in ‘1984’, Europe and much of Asia had become a single entity, Eurasia. How might that have happened?

  • Fred C. Dobbs says:
    December 16, 2021 at 10:05 am

    after Munich, September 1938.

  • Fred C. Dobbs says:
    December 16, 2021 at 11:03 am

    However, in ‘1984’, Europe and much of Asia had become a single entity, Eurasia. How might that have happened?

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