Originally published on July 6, 2020
From Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists:
Hear, See, Speak No COVID: Why the Trump Administration Is Bungling the Response to the Pandemic
The Trump administration has turned the gap between science and policy into a chasm. As Congress and the next administration consider reforms in the wake of COVID-19, rebuilding the federal government’s scientific expertise and integrity must be at the top of the agenda. Bridging the gap between science and policy will be necessary to prevent the next pandemic from becoming a public health catastrophe like COVID-19
—Saskia Popescu and Gregory D. Koblentz
From the Hill:
Why Joe Biden Should Pledge to Serve Just One Term
Public trust is hard to achieve but easy to lose, especially now in our 24/7 digital disinformation age. Public perceptions of political ambition and financial self-interest have long undercut efforts to achieve Dr. [Martin Luther] King’s dream. However unfair, if elected, Joe Biden will inherit it all. Given this reality, we believe the one-term pledge offers the best hope to address those perceptions.
—Mark J. Rozell and Paul Goldman
From the Hill:
Our Lockdowns Are Not Deadlier Than the Disease
The authors said that the shutdown was costing more than $1 trillion a month, and would kill 7,200 of us each month from the economic effects alone. But as we examined their assumptions, the model collapsed like a house of cards.
—Jeremey Mayer and epidemiologist Tracy Mayne
From the Atlantic Council:
Putin and the ‘Real Lessons’ of World War II
And it came as part of Putin’s multi-year campaign to justify what many regard as Moscow’s most notorious foreign-policy action ever: the signing of the Nazi-Soviet pact in 1939, which divided most of Eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence. Predictably, though, in purporting to set the record straight, Putin pins the blame for this agreement on the West and distorts the historical record.
—Mark N. Katz
From the Hill:
Trump’s Hard Line on Protests Over Race Put Himself, GOP in a Tight Spot
Trump plows belligerently ahead, playing to his base, unaware or unconcerned at how significantly American attitudes on treatment of black people have changed.
—Mark J. Rozell
From Inside Higher Ed:
Of Bondholders, Bankers, and Burgeoning Debt
But the size of the industry isn’t the only reason that colleges are feeling the pressure to reopen in the fall. One of the not-so-openly-discussed motivations may be the nearly $250 billion of debt these institutions have amassed in recent years.
—Jim Finkelstein