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Category: Politics

How a U.S. plan to address a shortage of ventilators failed

How a U.S. plan to address a shortage of ventilators failed

The New York Times reports: Thirteen years ago, a group of U.S. public health officials came up with a plan to address what they regarded as one of the medical system’s crucial vulnerabilities: a shortage of ventilators. The breathing-assistance machines tended to be bulky, expensive and limited in number. The plan was to build a large fleet of inexpensive portable devices to deploy in a flu pandemic or another crisis. Money was budgeted. A federal contract was signed. Work got…

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As Americans face virus threat to respiratory health, EPA eases restrictions on air pollution

As Americans face virus threat to respiratory health, EPA eases restrictions on air pollution

The Guardian reports: The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has suspended its enforcement of environmental laws during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, signaling to companies they will not face any sanction for polluting the air or water of Americans. In an extraordinary move that has stunned former EPA officials, the Trump administration said it will not expect compliance with the routine monitoring and reporting of pollution and won’t pursue penalties for breaking these rules. Polluters will be able to ignore environmental…

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How Covid-19 spread undetected across America because of a failure to implement large-scale testing

How Covid-19 spread undetected across America because of a failure to implement large-scale testing

The New York Times reports: Early on, the dozen federal officials charged with defending America against the coronavirus gathered day after day in the White House Situation Room, consumed by crises. They grappled with how to evacuate the United States consulate in Wuhan, China, ban Chinese travelers and extract Americans from the Diamond Princess and other cruise ships. The members of the coronavirus task force typically devoted only five or 10 minutes, often at the end of contentious meetings, to…

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Trump suggests he can gag inspector general for stimulus bailout program

Trump suggests he can gag inspector general for stimulus bailout program

The New York Times reports: When President Trump signed the $2 trillion economic stabilization package on Friday to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, he undercut a crucial safeguard that Democrats insisted upon as a condition of agreeing to include a $500 billion corporate bailout fund. In a signing statement released hours after Mr. Trump signed the bill in a televised ceremony in the Oval Office, the president suggested he had the power to decide what information a newly created inspector…

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As Congress pushes a $2 trillion stimulus package, the ‘how will you pay for it?’ question is tossed in the trash

As Congress pushes a $2 trillion stimulus package, the ‘how will you pay for it?’ question is tossed in the trash

Stephanie Kelton writes: Throughout the Democratic presidential primary, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren offered a slew of robust proposals to reshape the American economy. Yet the Democratic presidential primary hardly engaged with questions of whether that restructuring was wise, who would benefit, and who would lose. Instead, the debate was dominated in no small part by a single question: “How will you pay for it?” On Friday, the House of Representatives, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi…

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How the world’s wealthiest country ran out of 75-cent face masks

How the world’s wealthiest country ran out of 75-cent face masks

Farhad Manjoo writes: Why is the United States running out of face masks for medical workers? How does the world’s wealthiest country find itself in such a tragic and avoidable mess? And how long will it take to get enough protective gear, if that’s even possible now? I’ve spent the last few days digging into these questions, because the shortages of protective gear, particularly face masks, has struck me as one of the more disturbing absurdities in America’s response to…

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Coronavirus modelers factor in new public health risk: Accusations their work is a hoax

Coronavirus modelers factor in new public health risk: Accusations their work is a hoax

The Washington Post reports: In the one month since the first U.S. coronavirus death, America has become a country of uncertainty. New cases of infection and casualties continue multiplying. New York and Louisiana hospitals are grappling with a flood of patients that threatens to overwhelm their health-care systems. Meanwhile, the president and political conservatives are increasingly agitating to end drastic restrictions meant to buy time and save lives. Running beneath it all, in a continuous loop through our national psyche,…

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The road to coronavirus hell was paved by evangelicals

The road to coronavirus hell was paved by evangelicals

Katherine Stewart writes: Donald Trump rose to power with the determined assistance of a movement that denies science, bashes government and prioritized loyalty over professional expertise. In the current crisis, we are all reaping what that movement has sown. At least since the 19th century, when the proslavery theologian Robert Lewis Dabney attacked the physical sciences as “theories of unbelief,” hostility to science has characterized the more extreme forms of religious nationalism in the United States. Today, the hard core…

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DJT is no FDR

DJT is no FDR

Jamelle Bouie writes: The coronavirus pandemic may plunge the United States into its worst social and economic crisis since the Great Depression. But our response — from the president’s blame-shifting rhetoric to the Senate’s inadequate relief package — has yet to rise to the scale and scope of the challenge. I’ve written before about why Congress needs to do far more than it has if it wants to save the economy from disease-induced depression. Here, I want to focus on…

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Poll finds universal lifestyle changes, rising stress and growing fears about catching coronavirus

Poll finds universal lifestyle changes, rising stress and growing fears about catching coronavirus

The Washington Post reports: The spreading coronavirus pandemic has brought massive and sudden disruption to the daily lives of most Americans amid rapidly rising fears that they could become ill with the covid-19 disease, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll. Almost overnight, the threat from the virus has changed habits and lifestyles. Roughly 9 in 10 say they are staying home “as much as possible” and are practicing social distancing to lessen the risk of getting the virus. Nearly…

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Sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden ignites a firestorm of controversy

Sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden ignites a firestorm of controversy

Vox reports: Last year, several women came forward publicly to say Joe Biden had kissed or touched them in ways that made them uncomfortable. One of them was Tara Reade, who said Biden used to “put his hand on my shoulder and run his finger up my neck” when she worked in his Senate office in 1993. Reade now says there was more to her experience with Biden. In an interview with podcast host Katie Halper, which aired Wednesday, Reade…

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As U.S. struggles to stem coronavirus, China asserts itself as global leader

As U.S. struggles to stem coronavirus, China asserts itself as global leader

NBC News reports: With Italy in dire need of medical equipment, an economic superpower stepped in to help. No, not the United States. It was China. Beijing last week promised Rome a thousand ventilators and 2 million masks, part of a global outreach effort that includes massive donations across Africa and a $20 million gift to the World Health Organization earmarked to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The Trump administration, meanwhile, proposed slashing the U.S. contribution to the WHO last month…

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America first: U.S. now leads the world in confirmed coronavirus cases

America first: U.S. now leads the world in confirmed coronavirus cases

The New York Times reports: Scientists warned that the United States someday would become the country hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. That moment arrived on Thursday. In the United States, at least 81,321 people are known to have been infected with the coronavirus, including more than 1,000 deaths — more cases than China, Italy or any other country has seen, according to data gathered by The New York Times. With 330 million residents, the United States is the world’s…

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Trump wants to ‘reopen America.’ Here’s what happens if we do

Trump wants to ‘reopen America.’ Here’s what happens if we do

Nicholas Kristof and Stuart A. Thompson write: President Trump says he wants the United States “raring to go” in two and a half weeks, on Easter, with “packed churches all over our country.” He and many other political conservatives suggest that we are responding to something like the flu with remedies that may be more devastating than the disease. We created this interactive model with epidemiologists to show why quickly returning to normal could be a historic mistake that would…

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Bonanza for rich real estate investors, tucked into stimulus package

Bonanza for rich real estate investors, tucked into stimulus package

The New York Times reports: The federal government’s planned $2 trillion economic rescue package includes financial aid for individuals and industries that are struggling to survive the coronavirus pandemic. It also includes a potential bonanza for America’s richest real estate investors. Senate Republicans inserted an easy-to-overlook provision on page 203 of the 880-page bill that would permit wealthy investors to use losses generated by real estate to minimize their taxes on profits from things like investments in the stock market….

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