I think it's good that Schumer is going to take the filibuster fight more public, but I think he should consider also focussing on issues that would put more specific pressure on Manchin (e.g. issues white rural people like), such as prescription drug pricing + Medicare
Manchin being a roadblock in prescription drug costs and/or even slightly lowering the Medicare age would get press in West Virginia. It would also likely get press in Arizona. Make at least part of the fight about what will create heat in Manchin & Sinema's home states.
Prescription drug costs are one of the #1 issues among voters. The House passed a bill on Medicare negotiations, but the gloriously bipartisan Senate sat on it under McConnell. Schumer should elevate this & similar battles.
I don't have confidence GOPers will get in line for a nice bill on prescription drug costs, but Dems should be sure to make it just progressive enough to repel them. Make the fight high-profile. Force a vote. Say, "Well, if it weren't for that damn filibuster, you'd be saving $$"
Lowering the Medicare age to 60 or 55 would also be a good strategy. Of course *I* want to go farther, but that small step would play well w/ WV + AZ voters. It would be hard for the GOP to pull off "socialism," given it's already a popular program & you're just changing the age
And I should say, for the record, I am not arguing that Dems throw fights for social justice under the bus. I absolutely do not believe that. I am saying that, in terms of the filibuster strategy, they need to choose issues that will bring local pressure on Manchin & Sinema.

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More from @magi_jay

7 Jun
This is just how scientists talk. "It is inconsistent with evolutionary theory" *only* entails 1. they have a theoretical model concerning viral evolution & 2. there are features of this virus that did not match that theory. This happens in biology & other sciences *all* the time
Andersen went on to research the unique features of the virus and then their theory evolved. There is no conspiracy here. Andersen's letter to Nature Medicine explains their thought process. nature.com/articles/S4159…

Go onto google scholar. Read some of the articles on viruses, genomes, classification, etc. Scholars are tweaking their models & their data analyses *all the time*. Researchers spend their entire careers arguing about the classification of specific viruses & evolutionary models ImageImageImageImage
Read 8 tweets
6 Jun
We live in a society that is permeated with racism and sexism. If you do something that is perceived as racist or sexist, it's not on POC or women to prove your intent.

Bias is not extraordinary.

It is ordinary.

If you transcend it, it's on you to prove you are an exception.
I'm not saying that every accusation of sexism is true. But folks need to stop acting as if these are extraordinary claims. If you ask "How dare you accuse me of sexism?" you are basically asking "How dare you accuse me of participating in a system that everyone participates in?"
POC don't need to prove you are subtly racist in a racist society, nor do women need to prove you are subtly sexist. Identifying behavior as subtly racist or sexist is identifying an *ordinary* behavior. One that happens all the time. Not an extraordinary behavior.
Read 5 tweets
5 Jun
This Chomsky passage is kind of funny, but it's also pretty offensive. Chomsky will happily use the genocide of indigenous people w/in current U.S. borders to "whatabout" other genocides, but is apparently unconcerned about the history of indigenous people w/in Mexican borders
"recognize it. recognize what we did."

Dude, you just listed a bunch of cities that are not in Arizona & have *Spanish* names. What does that tell you?

Also gotta wonder what happened to the indigenous population of Arizona when the Mexican government placed bounties on scalps
Anyway, I'm not trying to offer any defense of the United States. I'm trying to say there seems to be a very selective concern about genocide and oppression here. The Spanish were terrible & it's not like the Mexican state was known for its humanitarianism in the 19th century.
Read 5 tweets
5 Jun
I'm as frustrated by Sinema & Manchin's position on the filibuster as anyone. At the same time, I try to remind myself that it's a good thing most Senate Democrats--including the majority leader--are on board with the idea. I don't think this would have been the case a decade ago
This doesn't really make the current situation less frustrating, but it is a sign of progress for the party as a whole. It also means that even if we don't succeed in persuading Sinema or Manchin, we just need to flip a few more seats to make it possible.
I'm not saying flipping a few more seats while guarding our current territory will be easy. I *am* saying that the distance we have to travel to make it a possibility is shorter than it once would have once been. That's not nothing. Even Tester has expressed openness to reform
Read 4 tweets
4 Jun
This piece is atrocious
1. the author conflates bioengineering w/ unintentional lab-leaking of a natural virus
2. the author misrepresents Fauci's email exchange as conspiratorial when, in fact, it's just scientists spit-balling wsj.com/articles/fauci…
1. Fauci sent an article about origins to Kristian Andersen, an immunologist. The article discusses direct animal-human transmission, as well as a possible intermediate host. It doesn’t entirely dismiss a lab-leak theory, but contains criticism of intentional bio-engineering
2. Andersen responds. Says they’re working on figuring out unusual aspects of the virus. “Not entirely consistent with evolutionary theory” does *not* entail the virus "has to be man-made," as the WSJ claims. Only that there are features of the virus that models don't quite fit.
Read 8 tweets
4 Jun
Here are some data to keep in mind when you see headlines about rising violent crime. Homicides + aggravated assaults both appear to have risen in 2020. Importantly, though, both began to decline, after spiking in the summer. Here are homicides: cdn.ymaws.com/counciloncj.or…
People often see headlines about rising crime between 2 years & assume a continuous trajectory, i.e. that crime is continuing to climb upwards. That's not what the data show.
-2020 homicides broadly followed the same patterns as previous years. Violent crime tends to peak in the summer then decline
-That said, the peak in 2020 was especially steep & also higher than previous years
-The decline was also steep, tho #'s didn't return to pre-2020 baseline
Read 12 tweets

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