Jennifer Rubin:
McClatchy:
Michael Hiltzik/LA Times:
AP:
Matt Dixon/Politico:
Miami Herald:
Céline R. Gounder/Atlantic:
Bradley P Moss and Joanne Molinaro/Atlantic:
John Stoehr/Editorial Board:
Jill Lawrence/USA Today:
Biden tells some hard truths few want to hear
The United States has transported roughly 120,000 Afghans and American citizens to safety at great human cost. That miraculous feat is a tribute to the humanity and bravery of the U.S. military and civilian personnel and volunteers. But any hope of depopulating a war-torn country, and ending the suffering there (including the dismal future for millions of women and girls) after our defeat is not grounded in reality. It belongs with the magical thinking that the United States could create a nation state in Afghanistan.
America’s focus on getting bars and restaurants open, rather than getting schools open safely, remains one of the worst public policy prioritizations I’ve ever seen. Fans and air filters—which was easily doable by fall 2021 if started summer 2020—wasn’t even seriously discussed. https://t.co/y8vgqjkTB0
— Nicholas Grossman (@NGrossman81) August 28, 2021
McClatchy:
Afghanistan, COVID, infrastructure: Biden enters pivotal stretch amid polling dip
In the coming weeks, Biden is aiming to complete a tumultuous withdrawal from Afghanistan, rein in the latest wave of the coronavirus and shepherd his multi-trillion-dollar economic agenda through Congress. And those efforts come as his approval ratings have fallen to the lowest point of his presidency.
Democratic strategists and officials acknowledge Biden has taken a hit politically over the past month, but say that he can reverse his fortunes this fall if he is able to successfully navigate these issues. If not, his party will likely face even stiffer headwinds in trying to protect slim majorities in the House and Senate in 2022.
I will never understand why people are so against children being fed for free at school.
— Coldy Squares, Ph.D. bka "Openly Black" (@sgbuggs) August 27, 2021
Michael Hiltzik/LA Times:
Should the unvaccinated pay more for healthcare? That’s an easy call
“People who don’t vaccinate are imposing costs on the community that they’re not paying for,” says Dorit Rubinstein Reiss, an expert in vaccine policy at UC Hastings College of the Law. She equates them with environmental polluters, who are often charged for cleaning up the messes they’ve created.
“This is not a new idea or a new question,” Reiss told me. She identifies three rationales for making the unvaccinated pay — to internalize the cost of their behavior, extract retribution for creating costs to their neighbors, and deterrence, i.e., to prompt them to get vaccinated.
Respectfully, we’re in this situation now because for 20 years, politicians and military leaders arrogantly consigned America & American troops to a mistaken & unwinnable war. https://t.co/40LUgWXzF6
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) August 29, 2021
AP:
How much impact could Sturgis rally have on COVID caseload?
Virus cases were already on the rise when the rally started, and it’s difficult to measure just how much the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is to blame in a region where local fairs, youth sports leagues and other gatherings have resumed.
However, Meade County could be a harbinger of things to come for the Upper Midwest as infections ripple from those events, said Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.
“This coronavirus forest fire will keep burning any human wood it can find,” he said. “It will find you, and it’s so infectious.”
Health officials in North Dakota, Wyoming, Minnesota and Wisconsin all reported cases among people who attended the rally, with North Dakota also reporting two hospitalizations. Some health officials noted people could have caught the virus elsewhere.
A team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined last year’s rally looked like a “superspreader event.” The team said the event offered a lesson: Such large gatherings can result in “widespread transmission” of infections and attendees should follow precautions like getting vaccinated, wearing masks and social distancing.
the most correctly predicted outcome this year https://t.co/HcMmQuG7F1
— Greg Dworkin (@DemFromCT) August 28, 2021
Matt Dixon/Politico:
Florida starts turning on DeSantis
It’s new terrain for a Republican governor who defied dire expectation during the first wave of Covid-19 but has continued his hands-off approach as the more contagious Delta variant infects large swaths of Florida’s unvaccinated population.
The most recent defeat came Friday when Leon County Circuit Court Judge John Cooper ruled DeSantis can’t punish school districts for passing mask mandates, as his administration had threatened after instituting emergency rules aimed at banning mask mandates in schools. The DeSantis administration has said those districts are breaking the law, an assertion directly refuted in a blistering ruling from Cooper read from the bench during a nearly two hour hearing.
The multi-front Covid-19 battle is becoming inextricably linked to DeSantis’ 2022 re-election bid, and more broadly his future White House aspirations. The governor remains popular with conservatives across the country and in Florida, but his steadfast refusal to implement Covid-related restrictions amid hundreds of virus-related deaths in the state and rising infection numbers has the potential to threaten his electability.
‘I don’t know how much longer we’re going to be able to do this’: #Alabama State Health Officer emotional over #COVID19 crisis https://t.co/rt9MdlrHkl
— Amanda Glassman (@glassmanamanda) August 28, 2021
Miami Herald:
Doctor who promoted ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment has advised Florida’s governor
The surge of interest in the parasite drug, ivermectin, prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday to issue a national alert advising against its use to treat coronavirus. The maker of the drug, Merck, has also said there is “no scientific basis” to claim that ivermectin is effective against COVID-19.
Dr. Mark McDonald of Los Angeles is among a fringe group of outspoken medical professionals who have pushed ivermectin as an alternative to widespread vaccination against coronavirus. McDonald called ivermectin an “effective, safe, inexpensive treatment” in a Aug. 5 Twitter post, and he shared an article by the Jerusalem Post citing a recent study of the drug in Israel.
NOAA hurricane hunter "Miss Piggy" flew into the eye of Hurricane Ida as a Category 4 storm while off the coast of Louisiana. The storm has made landfall in the state, with maximum sustained winds of 150 MPH. https://t.co/UaGP6XJzn8 pic.twitter.com/2eRe5Mgl7q
— ABC News (@ABC) August 29, 2021
Céline R. Gounder/Atlantic:
Americans Are Losing Sight of the Pandemic Endgame
Entirely eliminating infections is an unrealistic goal, but successful vaccines will avoid the worst outcomes.
Doctors and scientists need to have an honest conversation with the American people about what the goals of COVID-19 vaccination are and how the pandemic will end.
Even without the rise of the Delta variant, no one should be surprised to see some people develop infections a few months after vaccination. Though there may be value in eventually giving an additional dose or two to strengthen protection against disease, we’re unlikely to prevent all infections with booster shots. But the key message is that if you’re vaccinated, you’re well protected against life-threatening disease.
“Professor Bernstein said, ‘That's it. I’m retired,’ and we watched him pack all of his papers into his bag and walk out of the classroom.” Absolute legend. https://t.co/n3co3zpXBO via @redandblack
— Chip Stewart (@MediaLawProf) August 27, 2021
Bradley P Moss and Joanne Molinaro/Atlantic:
The Sanctioning of Trump’s Lawyers Is Exactly What Is Supposed to Happen
Those who represented the president in his frivolous election lawsuits should have known better.
Trump himself has yet to suffer any legal consequences. This is not entirely unusual for him. It was Michael Cohen, not Trump, who got into trouble for the Stormy Daniels payoff. Trump does not do his own dirty work: He outsources it, usually to his lawyers. Trump is also not bound by any ethical obligations or requirements: He can espouse whatever comes to his mind and push for it however far he wants.
But Trump’s ability to evade liability (for now) does not extend to his lawyers, particularly in a court of law.
I have been writing about this hard truth issue for weeks now w/strong denial and critique that I’ve “conflated” infections and they’re without symptoms. That’s false. The vaccinated need to know about vulnerability to breakthrough infections. Truth bolsters confidence and trust.
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) August 28, 2021
John Stoehr/Editorial Board:
America’s elites are inherently vulnerable to bad-faith arguments. So the pandemic is getting worse, not better
USA Today’s editor-in-chief claims to be answering "a higher calling."
After knocking down each and every one of Chris’s “reasons” [to not get vaccinated] with empirical facts, Nicole Carroll ends the interview with Chris saying the CDC has been wrong, so why trust it?
And that, in the end, is his biggest problem. Trust.
“It’s hard to believe anything,” he said. “There is so much information out there, and so much bad information out there. There is so much distrust. For me, I try to read everything I can, pray for wisdom, and make the choice I feel is best for myself and my family.”
Implied is the belief that public institutions with more and greater commitment to integrity, transparency and accountability would elicit more and greater public trust. If the CDC hadn’t been wrong (whatever “wrong” means), Chris would have trusted it. As the EIC of a major national newspaper, Nicole is acutely sensitive to this. She concludes, saying USA Today works hard at “fact checking statements in the news, giving you original sources so you can see the evidence for yourself.” She said there is “no higher calling in journalism than to give people accurate information to help them make decisions that can save lives.”
Before I discuss that higher calling a bit more, let me just say this: Her brother [Chris, who refused vaccination] doesn’t care. If the CDC had gotten everything right, right from the start, he would have told his sister the very same thing. Neither does it matter how hard Nicole or other editors at other major national newspapers try to earn his trust. They’re never going to get it. This is clear from the interview itself. As I said, she knocks down each and every one of his “reasons,” yet the empirical facts she offers do not elicit trust. Why? There’s always another “reason.” When this one doesn’t work, Chris goes to the next one. When that one doesn’t work, he goes to the next one. And so on. In theory, the interview between Nicole and Chris could go on forever like this, because his “reasons” are not reasons, but rationalizations for a decision he’s already made.
New #COVID19 report out from @ncdhhs again highlights disparity in outcomes and conditions between vaccinated and unvaccinated in #NC pic.twitter.com/xQbtdGb3nE
— Paul Johnson (@HPEpaul) August 28, 2021
Jill Lawrence/USA Today:
COVID and wildfires gave us an education instead of a vacation. We'll never be the same.
We were looking forward to beautiful scenery and celebrating birthdays with our sons. But the delta variant and climate change had other plans for us.
Each town brought new reasons to study COVID responses. In Newport, a motel clerk was behind plastic but not masked (fine with me, but not my husband). In Fortuna, motel clerks were masked and so was our waiter at a brewery where we ate outdoors. The inevitable happened at a Bandon bakery, as we waited with a dozen others to order or pick up breakfast: An unmasked young man walked in, an employee offered him a mask, he looked annoyed, and he stalked back out the door.
Our first stop in California was Crescent City in Del Norte County, the hottest COVID hotspot on the West Coast. We picked a table far from other diners in a large airy restaurant and my husband noted to our waiter that he was unmasked. The adorable teen-ager offered to wear one, but he also reminded us of what we’d forgotten: We were no longer in Oregon, so there was no mandate.
Halfway through our meal, we heard an older waiter tell our waiter that a party of 14 was expected in 15 minutes. Unnerved by the prospect of 14 unmasked strangers at tables the staff was pushing together right next to ours, we gulped a few last bites, paid up and fled.