[aggregation-styles] The New York Times Subscription Reporting on the White House’s herky-jerky coronavirus response, Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman has a quotation from Jared Kushner that should make all Americans, and particularly all New Yorkers, dizzy with terror. According to Sherman, when New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, said that the state...
This Is Just the First in a Series of Cascading Crises
[aggregation-styles] The Washington Post Subscription Even as we are just beginning to confront the magnitude of the shock caused by the covid-19 pandemic, we need to wrap our minds around a painful truth. We are in the early stages of what is going to become a series of cascading crises,...
Here’s What Happens if We 'Reopen America'
[aggregation-styles] The New York Times Subscription We created this interactive model with epidemiologists to show why quickly returning to normal could be a historic mistake that would lead to an explosion of infections, hospitalizations and deaths. Instead, health experts advise giving current business closures and social distancing a month to...
The US Is Still Exceptional — but Now for Its Incompetence
[aggregation-styles] The Washington Post Subscription When a crisis hits the United States, the country’s general instinct is to rally around the flag and wish the best for its leaders. That’s probably why President Trump has seen his approval ratings rise, even though he has had a delayed and fitful approach...
Opinion: Forget Coronavirus. In Israel, the Democracy Virus Will Be Defeated
[aggregation-styles] Haaretz “They’re stealing democracy from us,” the demonstrators protesting via their computer screens charged. The real theft of democracy, the prime minister’s defenders retort, is the High Court of Justice’s intervention in the Knesset’s work by delivering an ultimatum to Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein. This intervention will “undermine the...
Democrats Try to Hijack Coronavirus Stimulus for Liberal Christmas in March
[aggregation-styles] USA Today You never let a serious crisis go to waste, as Rahm’s Rule says. Never was there a more concise summary of both the promise and dysfunction of American politics. Every time the country faces a crisis, real or perceived, there is a rush in Congress to pass...
To Solve the Economic Crisis, We Will Have to Solve the Health-Care Crisis
[aggregation-styles] The Washington Post Subscription In Washington, the focus has now turned to the economic response to the coronavirus pandemic, with experts and politicians proposing their preferred policy tools — ranging from tax cuts to corporate bailouts to direct payments of cash. Each is worth debating, but the focus is...
COVID-19 and the Court Crisis: Action Needed Now
In California, we have now been ordered by the governor to shelter-in-place. Our government is requiring individuals to give up rights, asking businesses to give up income, and asking our fellow community members to do our part to halt this crisis. Yet, our courthouses are still compelling hundreds of community...
The Immoral Cruelty of the Trump Administration’s Refusal to Grant Iran Sanctions Relief Amid Its COVID-19 Crisis
[aggregation-styles] Responsible Statecraft There is a growing consensus that — to prevent Iran from spiraling out of control from the coronavirus epidemic and causing untold harm to the Iranian people — the Trump administration must immediately relent in its use of sanctions and allow Iran the ability to combat the...
Ventilator Maker: We Can Ramp Up Production Five-Fold
[aggregation-styles] Forbes The German government just placed an order for 10,000 mechanical ventilators. What’s the U.S. government doing about a potential shortage here? Not much, it seems. President Trump alluded to the matter in a press conference but did not spell out any plans. Ventilators pump oxygen into the lungs...