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from The Atlantic Magazine
How the Pandemic Will End
The U.S. may end up with the worst COVID-19 outbreak in the industrialized world. This is how it’s going to play out. Three months ago, no one knew that SARS-CoV-2 existed. Now the virus has spread to almost every country, infecting at least 446,000 people whom we know about, and many more whom we do not. It has crashed economies and broken health-care systems, filled hospitals and emptied public spaces. It has separated people from their workplaces and their friends. It has disrupted modern society on a scale that most living people have never witnessed. Soon, most everyone in the United States will know someone who has been infected. Like World War II or the 9/11 attacks, this pandemic has already imprinted itself upon the nation’s psyche.
from Business Insider
LEFT-CENTER BIAS, HIGH, business news site in New York CityDr. Fauci warns coronavirus can come back in 'cycles' and the US needs to be prepared for it to return seasonally
The novel coronavirus "very well might" become cyclical and the US needs to be prepared for it to return seasonally, Dr. Anthony Fauci said at the White House on Wednesday. "I know we'll be successful in putting this down now, but we really need to be prepared for another cycle," Fauci, the nation's top expert on infectious disease, told reporters at the daily coronavirus briefing. Fauci said this emphasizes the need to rapidly develop and test a vaccine for the novel coronavirus.
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THE GHOST OF CLASSICAL LIBERALISM
Matthew Schmitz: In America, most right-leaning pundits espouse some form of “classical liberalism,” a theory that stresses free markets, individual rights, and the inviolability of private property. The more libertarian defenders of this theory stress its individualistic aspects, while the more traditional seek to reconcile it with faith and family. As ingenious and coherent as the various defenses of it may be, classical liberalism has ceased to correspond to reality. It is not so much wrong as obsolete.
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from Foreign Policy
Magazine; owned by Graham Holdings Company (Washington Post)
The Coronavirus Is the Worst Intelligence Failure in U.S. History
It’s more glaring than Pearl Harbor and 9/11—and it’s all the fault of Donald Trump’s leadership. Last week, the Washington Post reported on the steady drumbeat of coronavirus warnings that the intelligence community presented to the White House in January and February. These alerts made little impact upon senior administration officials, who were undoubtedly influenced by President Donald Trump’s constant derision of the virus, which he began on Jan. 22: “We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.” Given that Trump concluded early on that the coronavirus simply could not present a threat to the United States, perhaps there is nothing that the intelligence community, medical experts employing epidemiological models, or public health officials could have told the White House that would have made any difference. Former National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger is reputed to have said after an intelligence community warning went unrecognized, “You warned me, but you didn’t convince me.” Yet, a presidential brain trust wholly closed off to contrarian, though accurate, viewpoints is incapable of being convinced.
It’s more glaring than Pearl Harbor and 9/11—and it’s all the fault of Donald Trump’s leadership. Last week, the Washington Post reported on the steady drumbeat of coronavirus warnings that the intelligence community presented to the White House in January and February. These alerts made little impact upon senior administration officials, who were undoubtedly influenced by President Donald Trump’s constant derision of the virus, which he began on Jan. 22: “We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.” Given that Trump concluded early on that the coronavirus simply could not present a threat to the United States, perhaps there is nothing that the intelligence community, medical experts employing epidemiological models, or public health officials could have told the White House that would have made any difference. Former National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger is reputed to have said after an intelligence community warning went unrecognized, “You warned me, but you didn’t convince me.” Yet, a presidential brain trust wholly closed off to contrarian, though accurate, viewpoints is incapable of being convinced.
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Nonprofit Organization in Stanford, California
Embracing de Gaulle
Oooh la la! The news that a new biopic movie about General Charles de Gaulle is about to be released showing him making love to his wife Yvonne shortly before the Germans invaded France in 1940 has left the normally-relaxed French all of a fluster. French people who usually regard “Le Général”—who is in many ways the founder of modern France—as an aloof, even austere, figure are about to get a jolt from the new film De Gaulle, which shows the passionate man beneath the tall kepi. The director, Gabriel Le Bomin, has clearly taken the decision to personalize de Gaulle, but as the film’s excellent trailer shows, not to trivialize him—although he has been accused of doing just that by some French critics.
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from HumanProgress.org Education Website
Technology Makes Social Distancing Easier
It has become increasingly clear that social distancing should more aptly be called physical distancing, because those practicing it can still be social. Not long ago, many people decried screen time as an epidemic. But now that humanity finds itself in the midst of an actual disease pandemic, screens are proving to be a boon to the species. Progress in digital technology has perhaps never been more evident than in this moment of widespread social distancing measures. Without today’s technology, "social distancing” would have meant isolation. From work, education and errands to leisure activities and socializing, technology is making “social distancing” possible with minimal sacrifice compared to what previous generations would have had to endure to achieve the same degree of physical separation.
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from NPR (& affiliates)
Nonprofit Broadcasting & Media Production Company
White House, Senate Agree To $2 Trillion Coronavirus Rescue Package
The Trump administration and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced early Wednesday that the White House and Senate had reached a deal for an unprecedented $2 trillion spending package aimed at propping up individuals, businesses and the nation's health care system amid the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic.
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White House, Senate Agree To $2 Trillion Coronavirus Rescue Package
The Trump administration and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced early Wednesday that the White House and Senate had reached a deal for an unprecedented $2 trillion spending package aimed at propping up individuals, businesses and the nation's health care system amid the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic.
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from Orthodox Christianity – orthochristian.com
Religious Organization in Moscow, Russia
As many countries throughout the world continue to issue increasingly stringent guidelines during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, limiting the size of or completely shutting down public gatherings, in many places where the parishes remain open and the services continue, the Orthodox Church is being attacked by those who are ill-disposed towards it.
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from Plough
The isolation built into mainstream American life is bad for the soul.
As we learn how to live in community and how to retain our dependence on one another, we learn inadvertently how to navigate a world that will never be completely safe but is full of people bearing an innate light that shines like the sun – if only we have eyes to see.
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from Reuters
International news agency headquartered in London, UK
Defense Secretary Mark Esper has issued a stop movement order to the U.S. military halting travel and movement abroad for up to 60 days in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus through the ranks, the Pentagon chief told Reuters on Wednesday.
Residents of China’s Xianning city eager to travel after a two-month lockdown faced an unexpected hurdle only hours after the borders were opened — they needed to pass a new rapid detection test to show they didn’t have the coronavirus.
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from The Spokesman-Review
Newspaper in Spokane, Washington
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Fact check: Pets will not spread the coronavirus to their owners
Several Facebook posts have circulated in recent days claiming that pet owners are dropping off their pets at shelters in fear the animals could spread the coronavirus. One post from a Facebook page called "Santa Paws Little Helper" had more than 265,000 shares as of March 23. It has since been taken down. “Pets carry no threat and do not spread the virus,” the post said. "Fake news is causing stupid people to drop off pets at shelters." Another post, shared by several social media accounts including Lifebridge for Animals, a nonprofit animal advocacy organization in Kentucky, offers similar claims. "You cannot, I repeat you CANNOT get coronavirus from your pets," the post shared by Lifebridge said. "People are dumping their animals at shelters out of ignorance and fear." Lifebridge director Jeanie Petrik told USA TODAY that she has seen guidance from medical professionals she trusts, including the American Veterinary Medical Association, that backs up the claim.
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from USA Today
Several Facebook posts have circulated in recent days claiming that pet owners are dropping off their pets at shelters in fear the animals could spread the coronavirus. One post from a Facebook page called "Santa Paws Little Helper" had more than 265,000 shares as of March 23. It has since been taken down. “Pets carry no threat and do not spread the virus,” the post said. "Fake news is causing stupid people to drop off pets at shelters." Another post, shared by several social media accounts including Lifebridge for Animals, a nonprofit animal advocacy organization in Kentucky, offers similar claims. "You cannot, I repeat you CANNOT get coronavirus from your pets," the post shared by Lifebridge said. "People are dumping their animals at shelters out of ignorance and fear." Lifebridge director Jeanie Petrik told USA TODAY that she has seen guidance from medical professionals she trusts, including the American Veterinary Medical Association, that backs up the claim.
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