Voters grapple with political motivations driving COVID-19 response as deadly pandemic hits home

It is what it is, eh?

New England Journal of Medicine: 'Dangerously incompetent' politicians must go
By Denise Chow
4-5 minutes
The New England Journal of Medicine, one of the most prestigious medical journals in the world, on Wednesday broke with a nearly two-century tradition of avoiding politics to lambast U.S. politicians for their handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a first for the journal, the editors called for Americans to vote out leaders who have not done enough to address the pandemic.

“When it comes to the response to the largest public health crisis of our time, our current political leaders have demonstrated that they are dangerously incompetent,” the editors wrote. “We should not abet them and enable the deaths of thousands more Americans by allowing them to keep their jobs.”

While the 35 editors who signed the editorial did not call out President Donald Trump by name, the article is filled with allusions to his actions.

"The response of our nation’s leaders has been consistently inadequate," they wrote. "The federal government has largely abandoned disease control to the states. Governors have varied in their responses, not so much by party as by competence. But whatever their competence, governors do not have the tools that Washington controls."

The editorial is the latest condemnation of the Trump administration from a respected scientific publication. Last month, Scientific American endorsed Joe Biden for president, the first time the venerable publication has backed a presidential candidate in its 175-year history.

The New England Journal of Medicine editorial, titled “Dying in a Leadership Vacuum,” does not endorse Biden, it offers an unsparing critique of Trump and his administration.

The editors wrote that while Covid-19 is a global crisis, the United States government has “failed at almost every step” to contain the pathogen’s spread.

“This crisis has produced a test of leadership,” they wrote. “With no good options to combat a novel pathogen, countries were forced to make hard choices about how to respond. Here in the United States, our leaders have failed that test. They have taken a crisis and turned it into a tragedy.”

The U.S. leads the world in the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases and deaths. The country has recorded over 7.3 million infections and more than 208,000 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

The editorial points to early blunders such as testing shortages and a lack of personal protective equipment for health care workers, but adds that the country continues to fall short today.

“While the absolute numbers of tests have increased substantially, the more useful metric is the number of tests performed per infected person, a rate that puts us far down the international list, below such places as Kazakhstan, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia, countries that cannot boast the biomedical infrastructure or the manufacturing capacity that we have,” they wrote.

The editors called other public health interventions, such as social distancing measures, “lackadaisical at best,” and criticized moves to lift restrictions before the virus’ spread was brought under control.

The editorial also pointed out that mask wearing has been inconsistent across the country, “largely because our leaders have stated outright that masks are political tools rather than effective infection control measures.”

The journal editors also called out several governmental agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, that they say have been undermined by the federal government.

The CDC, they wrote, “has been eviscerated and has suffered dramatic testing and policy failures,” and the FDA “has been shamefully politicized, appearing to respond to pressure from the administration rather than scientific evidence.”

 

had a party...i got sick...tons got sick ..2 people died due to my party...voting for trump

 

But most people who absorb all these unfiltered are older arent they?

People who grew up before the information age, in an age with credible journalism without such an avalance of voices.

For a voice to reach the available platforms to reach the public then it had some credentials and a known source.
Not sharks and wolves wearing sheep clothes posing as a suburban neighbour while they are russian bots or raging lunatics.

At least in my personal experience most people who have fallen victims to unhindered misinformation are people before our era who lack the necessary skill of filtering out the garbage. People in their 50s 60s and 70s.
We will see what happens with the new generations when they grow up.

 

i agree on some aspects but i also think you are seeing this through your bubble. those kinds of people are good at getting attention. it is human nature to look..

the sharing of world information is overall gaining that traction. some of the way you and i feel is our own bias and seeking this news.
i do agree facebook instagram reddit tik tok youtube are having their influence but much of that is just pop culture self promotion. its easy to have it impact you but there are many taking advantage of the internet while not letting the input side overwhelm them. who those people are im not sure yet lol.. (ok i mostly agree haha)

i also think folks are wising up a bit and names like kardashian are become as much niche as my curiosity stream. so not as many "stars" anymore. its diluted is my point.. and that ends up being a good thing.

when we were kids celebrity and news came from 3 or 4 networks and a few magazines. the message could be controlled and that is why it will be hard to have another guy like michael jackson or elvis..granted those guys were good ..we were force fed them by 3 or 4 channels.

now its so much choice and niche we are going through a period where it is easy to be annoying and get the most attention within a niche.

thats how youtubers become famous. in fact my sons favorite youtuber is a dude named flamingo that screams a lot..

he seems ok and when i was his age i was reading hustler and watching revenge of the nerds.

to be fair he can google dinosaurs 69ing so yeah its different now lol

i think we are still in a transitionary stage i expect to normalize as we get past the next 10 years. i feel like if we have this same conversation in 2030 it will be about how the things you are saying had finally improved and there was an element of understanding.

 

yes these are boomers that were already in their jobs and cant use a computer..
its a specific group of people in the 45-65 range

also they just got on facebook and computers in last 6-9 years..think about that

 

It is sad that the media wanted trump to call it a hoax for political gain. He didn't say that. People believe the media.

https://www.politifact.com/article/2020/oct/08/ask-politifact-are-you-sure-donald-trump-didnt-cal/

Why was the media so loud on the Russia scandal when it made Trump look like poo, but silent now that news is coming out indicating a set up?

Yes, trump has dumb voters on his side, but parties do. Get past the headlines.

 

we need more parties, more people getting sick, and more people dying, only Trump can deliver that

 

When this came up in feb or whenever, a common comment was that you just don’t ever use the word hoax around this. Trump said it’s the Dem hoax, and I almost knew what he meant (can’t read mind after all). At least this one supporter of him also knew what he meant - the coronavirus is a hoax. There are many more like him.

President’s words and actions carry weight and as president you must be very mindful and careful of what you said and how it can be interpreted.

The coronavirus is the Dem new hoax. Wait, if it’s the Dem new hoax does it also mean that the coronavirus is a hoax? Easy for many to think, yes it does.

 

Darwin Award

 

i like the way the link says "are you sure"
lol are you sure your lying ears didnt hear that?

dude is on stage calling it a hoax and skipping february. no amount of gaslighting is going to change this..
smh
please stop lol

 

If you keep interpreting his quote that way it will stick in your mind. He didnt say it. Just like the good guys on both sides quote, there is context. It is just not true.

You hear what you want to hear. At the end of the day, context matters.

 

Russia is a Dem hoax -> russian thingy didn’t happen. Fake driven by politic.

Covid is the Dem new hoax -> covid thing isn’t happening. Fake driven by politic.

That’s the context and how many see it, especially his supporters. I have first hand experience with relatives that think this way. And once politic was inserted, it was an uphill battle to explain the seriousness of this virus. Still is today.

 

Just remember folks, people like Tony will go vote in every election and vote Republican no matter what. When people say that they don't need to vote in every election...you're leaving your fate in the hands of people like Tony.

 

There are good people on both sides.

 

Orange turd. Good.....good. I can feel your anger. Let the hate flow through you and your journey to the dark side will be complete!

Maybe it's Putin's plan to give 64% of the country (those who won't ride or die with the orange turd)* heart disease. I should get checked but I'm afraid my systolic / diastolic can't improve until Trump Jong Un is out.

* I know I've been using colors too much lately. It's a phase. I'll get bored with it, even before you will.

 

@Astrodome - misinterpreted pro-Somali advert?

 

The ideal consumer:
--spends more money than they have: check
--eats more food than is necessary: check
--is never satisfied/always wants more: check
--self-programs with continual media consumption: check
--is stupid AF: check

Americans are the "best" consumers in the world: fat, in debt, and dumb AF.

 

45?

That's not boomer age and anybody 45 knows how to operate a computer pretty well.

Just got on computers in the last 6-9 years?

Thems fighting words

Meet me in Temecula dude!

 

+1. 45 is not a Boomer. Get your age discrimination right, at least




I will agree, Trumper idiocy is centered around Boomers (aptly also referred to as the 'Me' generation) but not exclusive. One of my best friends, who is a Millennial, is a full on Trumper/OAN cultist now. It's sad because every conversation is bent towards politics with him.