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16 Dec, 6 tweets, 2 min read
The quoted tweet here is a glimpse into an alternate and saner world we could have made for ourselves I would totally keep a drawer of these tests and take one before meeting people, if I had any idea where to get them. I bought tests for my mom online but they're ten bucks each.
People harp on how covid deniers and antivaxxers are ruining everything, but the status quo stymies even the most well-meaning. Home tests are an expensive hassle, there's a long wait for boosters in places, mask quality is all over the map.
The country is not split between good people who follow all the pandemic rules and evil deniers, but a patchwork that runs the whole gamut of beliefs and habits. And in the face of a big new wave, our government is not doing much to help people level up from wherever they're at.
Biden said he's pulling out all the stops to fight the pandemic, but I can't think of even one countermeasure that's easier today than it was this summer.
To the people giving advice about how to bulk order tests from Europe or something: I don't really want to structure my life around covid, but I'd take simple precautions if available. I bet a lot of people feel like this, which is why our government's inaction is such a travesty
Another perspective from someone who feels like he has to treat home tests like a monkey's paw, to be used only in the most extreme circumstances:

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Pinboard Profile picture
19 Dec
Is there interest in a good faith technical explanation of this? I feel like a lot of those exist, but if smart people like Jay Rosen are not getting their minds around it then there is something amiss. What's the missing piece? I like to write and would gladly take a swing.
A recurring problem in blockchain exposition is that people from outside tech see the trillions of dollars and growing mountain of cryptocurrency projects and reasonably assume some useful substantive core must exist under the hype, while those of us in tech know the awful truth.
In its current form cryptoworld makes contact with some legitimately interesting theoretical areas (like zero-knowledge proofs), but the part where it connects to real applications is missing, except for a casino. It's like if PT Barnum and Bugsy Siegel had invented string theory
Read 7 tweets
Pinboard Profile picture
19 Dec
The story here is that the party in power wasted its first year unwilling to pare down a bill to something that would pass its caucus, sent itself home for the holidays, and now blames the senator by some miracle we still have from WV for why people's child tax credit got cut off
The theme here, with the praiseworthy exception of the infrastructure bill, is a failure to lead. You use the materials you're given to achieve what you realistically can, you keep disagreements private, and you don't sleep on a pandemic you promised to make your top priority.
People who blame Manchin for this debacle of misgovernance are giving an out to a party and leadership team that has shown itself incapable of wielding power. They didn't even fail in a way that made Republicans look bad. It's our World Cup team that can only score own goals.
Read 8 tweets
Pinboard Profile picture
17 Dec
We're now days away from New York City being overwhelmed by its biggest covid wave, and one or two weeks out from it happening nationally. I'm starting to fear that the President is too old or out of touch to do his vital job as a public communicator, and that there is no plan. ImageImage
We need a national leader to step up and tell people:

1. It's going to get bad, we'll get through it
2. You're not fully vaxxed with two shots, get a third
3. We take these measures to protect our fellows, not ourselves. Wave the flag a bit, cite Normandy, whatever you need.
Explain the burden on healthcare workers and how having so many nurses get sick, even if they get mild symptoms, will be a crisis for hospitals. Do the Presidential job of telling a compelling national story that makes people feel part of a larger effort and patriotic plan to win
Read 9 tweets
Pinboard Profile picture
16 Dec
They've had a year to prepare this legislation. The only part of it that hasn't been constantly changed is the contention that it's urgent. If two senators are obstructing the bill, then let them write it themselves, and pass that. Don't just go home on another vacation.
Put it off just a little longer and you can run on Build Back Better again!
The reason the political press is suddenly full of stories about the Senate delaying Build Back Later into 2022 is not because Joe Manchin grew horns, but because we're already one week into what was supposed to be three weeks of Christmas vacation, and Senators want to go home. Image
Read 4 tweets
Pinboard Profile picture
16 Dec
What the deep fried fuck kind of public messaging is this? The booster is not Xanax, it's an integral part of getting vaccinated.
More importantly, you don't just get vaccinated to ease your worries, you do it to help everyone in your family and community who might otherwise get sick.
We're weeks away now from a massive covid wave and the President is saying, if you're neurotic, go get a booster, otherwise tough it out with old Uncle Joe
Read 7 tweets
Pinboard Profile picture
16 Dec
Imagine if we covered hurricanes like we do the pandemic. There would be massive headlines when a new one formed, then the nation's chief meteorologist would say (based on no evidence) that it looks mild to him, and we'd have no further mention of the storm until it made landfall
Right now we know from looking at data in South Africa, Scandinavia and the UK that we're headed for a very large wave of illness that will swamp the medical system in many states even if (as we all hope) the variant is relatively mild. We even know roughly when to expect it.
But the Federal response is... nothing. People are urged to get boosters that remain unavailable in many parts of the country and reassured that vaccines still work. The President is invisible. There's no effort to bring people together to mitigate the coming wave, and no energy
Read 7 tweets

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