Fluid ImaginationThe problem, though, is that Democrats in Washington are not just passively failing to mount a strong opposition to Donald Trump – they are actively helping Republicans try to fortify the obstacles to long-term progressive change well after this emergency subsides.
The Guardian, Democrats Are Fueling a Corporate Counter-Revolution Against Progressives
We Live in a Patchwork Pandemic Now:
Prevention is physically rewarding in the long term, but not emotionally rewarding in the short term. People who stay home won’t feel a pleasant dopamine kick from their continued health. Those who flock together will feel hugs and sunshine. The former will be tempted to join the latter. The media could heighten that temptation by offering…“disparity in spectacle.” Fringe exceptions like anti-lockdown protests and packed restaurants…are more dramatic and telegenic than people responsibly staying at home, and so more likely to be covered. The risk is that rare acts of incaution will seem like normal behavior.
Trump to Withdraw U.S. From ‘Open Skies’ Treaty:
Mr. Trump’s decision [to withdraw from Open Skies] may be viewed as more evidence that he is preparing to exit the one major arms treaty remaining with Russia: New START, which limits the United States and Russia to 1,550 deployed nuclear missiles each. It expires in February, weeks after the next presidential inauguration.
Great. Let’s add “The increased potential for a nuclear winter” to our list of reasons not to re-elect this president in November.
We Cannot Return to Campus this Fall:
Parents: No matter how exhausted or confused you are after a few months of helping your child with distance learning, I hope you are horrified at the mortal danger these politicians’ ideas pose to you, your children, and the professionals who teach them. Educators: I hope you’re ready to fight for what many of us already know to be true. We cannot return to campus this fall. We must use the time we have to build the best alternative we can: robust distance learning, universal computer and internet access, and community services for students and families throughout fall semester and, if necessary, spring semester too.
Daring Fireball on the Department of Justice reopening a spat with Apple over iPhone Encryption:
Saying you want technology companies to make a backdoor that only “good guys” can use is like saying you want guns that only “good guys” can fire. It’s not possible, and no credible cryptographer would say that it is. You might as well say that you want Apple to come up with a way for 1 + 1 to equal 3.
Experts Knew a Pandemic Was Coming. Here’s What They’re Worried About Next.:
Every year, the intelligence community releases the Worldwide Threat Assessment—a distillation of worrisome global trends, risks, problem spots and emerging perils. But this year, the public hearing on the assessment, usually held in January or February, was canceled, evidently because intelligence leaders, who usually testify in a rare open hearing together, were worried their comments would aggravate President Donald Trump. And the government has not yet publicly released a 2020 threat report.
Must not aggravate Dear Leader.
The Coronavirus Shows the Failure of Trump’s Empty Cabinet:
Trump never took staffing the federal workforce seriously. The executive branch is riddled with vacancies, especially at the top. Vice President Mike Pence may speak about a “whole-of-government approach” to the pandemic, but what we truly have is a government of holes.