American Politics Discussion Thread

[T-hawk]

The difference between the green and red states on that map is easy. It's not partisan. It's the states where everybody already had the thing before the lockdowns ever started to come to some semblance of herd immunity. Every place where that didn't happen never had a real first wave and now they are.

[DaveV]

Except: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/from-our-exp...conception

It's an article from April, but you can cut the Rush Limbaugh irony with a knife.

[Cyneheard]

Or it's just an A/C map. Outside of NY (anomalous in general), the worst places in the spring were where people were sticking inside because it was still cold. Those areas are now nice, thus more outdoor time, and the places where it gets very hot and people pack into air conditioned indoors see an uptick.

That talk of a novel respiratory virus gets put into a politics thread tells you all you need to know about the hyper-politicization of the current era.

Then again there's Alaska and Hawaii.

I think the most important thing that the Americans forget in this pandemic is that the virus itself does not know and care for any politics. You are all in this together and you fall or stand up together.

Alaska and Hawaii can be pretty isolated. Hawaii can pull off a variation of the New Zealand strategy - quarantine visitors, lock down early and get this under control, and then basically get back to normal. Being an island makes that a lot easier.

Alaska hasn't been as successful, and part of that may be weather - that they basically have to live inside all the time.

[Mjmd]

I'm kind of afraid that if we get a vaccine before elections that Trump will somehow someway still get reelected. Democrats are focusing a lot of ads on his handling of the virus, but there is SOOOOO MUCH to choose from.

I HATE politics. I've voted none of the above more than for either party. However, Trump is the most dangerous president we've ever had. We expect politicians to be liars, but he is on another planet. He HAS stretched the bounds of presidential power and immunity. He has abused and misused US alliances to an appalling degree. I'm pretty sure America first means America alone and that isn't how the world works. Also, diplomacy via twitter at a whim of his mind at that moment......(shudders) He only allows yes men around him and doesn't listen to anyone besides the echo box of Fox news. And on top of all that he has probably the most dangerous attribute of having 0 shame. Catch him in a lie, doesn't matter. Catch him doing something shady, doesn't matter. And evidently it doesn't matter to Republicans as long as they hold the presidency..... (mind I'm sure if democrats had a president like this they would would be just as power hungry)

Trump exemplifies the dangers of blind politics and nationalistic fervor.

[Gustaran]

Also, this is what a central government is SUPPOSED TO DO: coordinate supplies, manage the messaging, convince people that today's sacrifice will pay off in the future. Why were the equally politicized European countries able to pull this off, while the US failed miserably? You have to start wih Mr. "I take no responsibility for that."

I think a major point is the the different way people in Europe and the US view science.

To quote Isaac Asimov:
"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."

To give you an example: During the early critical phase, one of the world's leading experts on Coronaviruses, Prof. Drosten from the Charite in Berlin was asked to start a daily 45 minute podcast about current coronavirus developments on national public radio (and of course iTunes/Spotify/etc.). Some of the episodes had millions of listeners and were quoted throughout the media. And believe me: That podcast was not pure entertainment, but a professor talking with a journalist about the newest coronavirus trials published on pre-print servers.
If any German politician had come out and suggested the things Trump did, it would have been political suicide, regardless of party. Just imagine Fauci having a 45 minute daily podcast and Trump has to be careful not to directly contradict Fauci, because his approval rating would drop by 5%!

In my opinion, there is a portion of the US population that has no respect for science (unless it brings in a lot of money) and thinks "I don't need to listen to those fancy elitist scientists, because I watched a 5 minute video on youtube" and "it's not complicated, we just need to use common sense".

Somebody like Fauci has dealt with infectious diseases since 1968 and is a world leading expert. Why don't people just shut up and listen to his advise? It's because there is no "culture" of calling out anti-intellectual idiots in the US.
Instead there is this strange idea that everybody has an "opinion" and all these opinions are equally valid. But people don't understand that a valid opinion would be "my favourite ice cream is strawberry" not "I failed high school biology, but I feel we don't need to wear masks and socially distance to stop a new coronavirus pandemic."

(For the record, once cases started to drop in Germany, discussion about necessary restrictions began as well ("is this country run by virologists or politicians?") and there was - and is - a lot of criticism and debate still going on. But we are sitting at around 400 cases per day and it would be unthinkable that the police decide not to enforce rules and fines.)

[darrelljs]

No egghead is going to tell *me* what to do! Neck & neck with our willful ignorance, the insular nature of our ‘news’ feeds makes even the wildest of conspiracy theories seem credible.

Darrell

[Cyneheard]

No egghead is going to tell *me* what to do!  Neck & neck with our willful ignorance, the insular nature of our ‘news’ feeds makes even the wildest of conspiracy theories seem credible.  

Darrell

That, and the fact that this year’s news would absolutely shock anyone who came in a time machine from, say, 2019, much less 2015.

[DaveV]

From the New Yorker:



I especially liked the Chapter 11 bit, because that's the real history of this "successful" businessman.

[Charriu]

Draw a clock is actually a very creative solution and not totally wrong

They even used an iPhone, which is the phone that he uses mostly.

[Rusten]

Draw a clock is actually a very creative solution and not totally wrong

They even used an iPhone, which is the phone that he uses mostly.

Careful, you're going to make him ask for extra points again.