One in a Million
The J&J pause makes very little sense. Plus America's policing problem, Amazon's union battle and the great infrastructure debate.
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Yes, I decided to go with NeYo instead of Aaliyah. And yes, these paint skills are off the chain. Don’t @ me.
One in a Million
On Tuesday, the CDC and FDA recommended a pause in the J&J vaccine “out of an abundance of caution”. Among the nearly 7 million shots of J&J delivered in the US, there have been six confirmed cases of severe blood clots. The six cases occurred in women between ages 18 and 48 within 2 weeks after vaccination. The US will continue to administer Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna in the meantime.
Apparently, this is how classic public health policy is supposed to work. Federal agencies want to show they’re examining issues as they come up. There may be cases we still don’t know of. And if there are significant issues with J&J that get swept under the rug, the public could lose trust in vaccines generally. Long-term credibility and all that.
Of course, that also doesn’t stop the pause from being excessive and rather dumb in the meantime. The phrase “one in a million” literally describes an absurdly low risk. And this at a time when we should be vaccinating as many people as possible and we’re battling vaccine skepticism. As NYTimes columnist Ezra Klein wrote in a Twitter thread, there are options between a screeching halt to J&J and doing nothing (e.g. briefly limiting vaccinations based on age, gender, etc.). There are real costs to regulators being too cautious. They should trust the public with information and let us weigh risks too.
You can read Ezra’s thread here: on Ideacracy or on Twitter.
Who Polices the Police?
Also on Tuesday, the prosecution rested in Derek Chauvin’s case. Right now, this seems to be a rare example where an officer will be held accountable for the murder of a black man. The defense have tried victim-blaming George Floyd by pointing to opiates as his cause of death. But the prosecution has shown that (surprise, surprise) just about anyone could die from having their neck kneeled on for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. Also, other police officers - including Minneapolis’s very own police chief - testified that Derek Chauvin’s use of force was uncalled for and violated police rules and ethics.
Sadly, less than 10 miles away from that court house, another police killing occurred and it’s led to a wave of protests. Police officers conducted a traffic stop of Daunte Wright for an expired tag and/or because of an air freshener. You read that right - in some states, it’s illegal to hang objects like air fresheners from a rear view mirror. You also may be SHOCKED to learn that it’s often a pretext to pull over people of color.
During the stop, police realized Daunte Wright had an outstanding gross misdemeanor warrant. When they tried to arrest him, Daunte broke away and re-entered his car. Based on body camera footage, police then claim that Kim Potter - a 26 year veteran of the force - mistook her gun for a taser and shot him.
It’s very hard to believe that an officer would make this mistake. Even if it was an accident though, that doesn’t mean no accountability - mistakes of this magnitude are simply not ok. And as Trevor Noah described in a Daily Show episode, police shouldn’t be conducting these traffic stops in the first place. They also shouldn’t be prone to drawing their weapons. Our system needs to hold officers accountable for reckless deaths. Only then will they change their conduct.
You can watch Trevor’s episode here: on Ideacracy or on YouTube.
The State of Unions
The results are in and Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama have voted against forming a union. A testament to the enduring popularity of no bathroom breaks.
As Berkeley professor and commentator Robert Reich described in a Facebook post, Amazon pulled out all the stops in its anti-union blitz. They hired high-priced consultants, forced employees to attend anti-union meetings, messed with the efforts to organize on-site and sent waves of texts and fliers “advising” against the union. Least to say, the union was outmatched.
This is of course disappointing news. But we may lose the battle and still win the war. As Professor Reich went on to say, Bessemer workers were the first to even organize a union election at Amazon. Their efforts have now inspired people across the country. Other workers at Amazon and at companies nationwide have contacted unions about how to organize at their workplaces. Public support for unions is also at its highest in decades. It is high past time that we dignify essential work.
You can read Robert’s post here: on Ideacracy or on YouTube.
The Great Infrastructure Debate
We’re back with the latest in the infrastructure debate! And you guessed it - in typical Democratic (emo) fashion, there is a very introspective and soul-searching debate on what is infrastructure anyway. Are we infrastructure? For a very quick summary, there are two sides to the debate:
Politicians like Bernie Sanders are saying we need a more expansive definition of infrastructure. Infrastructure is not just brick and mortar. It’s also not just climate change investments. It’s also the people powering our economy. So should we should treat investments in education and elderly care as infrastructure as well.
Commentators like the guys from Pod Save America are saying we shouldn’t debate what infrastructure means. The word itself makes people’s eyes glaze over. And it’s fine for the bills to contain things that are not technically infrastructure. Our message should instead be that these investments are good for everyone and create jobs.
In my opinion, neither side is wrong. And investing in infrastructure (no matter how we define it) is very right. The important thing is to ensure that these investments, when passed, are implemented in a way that makes sense and improves people’s lives.
You can Bernie’s video on his position here: on Ideacracy or on Facebook. You can listen to the Pod Save America episode on this debate here: on Ideacracy or on your podcast app.
And now for our high note:
That’s it for this second issue. Catch you next week everyone. Stay safe and healthy. To those who celebrate, Ramadan Mubarak.