This NYT story on the administration's COVID fiasco reads like a gang attack on Deborah Birx. Political officials who made bad decisions looking for a scapegoat, backed by quotes from doctors and scientists who think she didn't stand up enough to Trump. /1 nyti.ms/30odYB3
The article is full of claims attributed to Birx, saying in April that the numbers were heading in the right direction. Maybe that's because ... they were? "Mitigation was working." “All metros are stabilizing.” The US "was on the same trajectory as Italy." That was all true. /2
But the article says Birx "failed to account for a vital variable: how Mr. Trump’s rush to [reopen] would help undercut the social distancing," etc.
Wait, what? We're holding the mitigation-advocating scientist responsible for the president who trampled her recommendations? /3
"Unlike Dr. Fauci, Dr. Birx is a strong believer in models," says NYT. "Fauci has cautioned that ... real-world outcomes depend on how people respond to calls for changes in behavior."
This distinction is bogus. Birx has said EXACTLY the same thing about models and behavior. /4
As the article notes, Birx focused on a "constant stream of updated data." Data, not models. In early June, officials realized the virus was "spreading with invisible ferocity during the weeks in May when states were opening up." How? By "digging into new data from Dr. Birx." /5
The administration certainly botched COVID. And you can argue that Birx should rebut Trump more in public or in private. But in this article, other officials are trying to blame her for Trump's malpractice and theirs. And the evidence they're peddling doesn't make the case. /END
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Several weeks ago, I learned that @Citibank locks some customers out of their accounts and refuses to release their money even if they show up with ID.
This week, @Citi sent an email explicitly affirming its right to do this "without cause."
If so, I strongly recommend that you find an alternative. Citibank has procedures that will lock you out of all your accounts without consultation — and will bar you from regaining access for 45 days, even if you show up in person with ID. (1/9)
This happened to my son. He went to another US city and tried to use his debit card. Card was declined, account was blocked.
This happens. But what happened next was Kafkaesque: @Citibank refused to accept any method of proving his identity, including showing up in person. (2/9)
His first notice wasn't a text or email alerting him to fraud. It was an email announcing that all his accounts were blocked, immediately, and would automatically close, so he had no access to any funds.
Since he was traveling and was relying on @Citibank, he was screwed. (3/9)
Ted explains how needlessly explicit pledges to appoint based on race (e.g. Biden on KBJ) reinforce the "asterisk" that unfairly haunts promoted women and minorities. bit.ly/3vn9wSy
Ted's alternative model: the NFL rule that teams must interview, not necessarily hire, a minority candidate for head coach.
Biden could do this for court and cabinet jobs, "so whoever he ends up choosing feels less like an affirmative-action hire or a racial quota fulfillment."
"Biden just nominated a woman to lead the Coast Guard. First time ever, a women will lead an armed service. No fanfare. He didn’t say ... 'I’m going to make sure a woman leads our armed forces.' He just did it."
Result: "No one’s talking about whether this woman is qualified."
New ISW report: "Russian General Officers are reportedly instructi[ng] commanders to severely restrict internet access among Russian personnel ... to combat low morale."
The problem: "Ukrainian influence over the information consumed by Russian soldiers." bit.ly/3jeaRWg
"Ukrainian Military Intelligence reported increasing Russian censorship...to combat growing morale problems among Russian troops. Ukraine’s GUR reported that Russian officers are intensifying censorship of their troops and restricting access to the internet due to low morale." /2
"The GUR claimed that Russian commanders complain about increasing Ukrainian influence over the information consumed by Russian soldiers. The GUR claimed to have intercepted an extract from an order ... which blamed low Russian morale on the internet and social media." /3
Fox News segment against booster requirements imposed by private colleges. Quote: "We now know that the vaccines do not prevent infection and transmission, so any community-spread benefit is negligible."
That is an absolute lie. This network is a menace. bit.ly/33qIn7s
Antivaxers are responding to this tweet by quoting @CDCDirector in an August interview, saying vaccines don't "prevent transmission."
These people are misleading you. By "prevent," she meant 100% prevent. Vaccines strongly reduce your risk of infection. Here's what she said ...
"the breadth and depth of your immune response is far expanded when you get the vaccine"
"your rates of getting COVID again are higher if you have not been vaccinated"
"our job now is ... decreasing chains of transmission through vaccination and masking" cnn.it/33Ru0ZG