Random Thoughts (Political Edition)

 
Meh. They either need to rethink the weighting of concerns or just make it a full-hour clock if they kept it there since 2020 and we're counting seconds now.

You're going to be fine.
 
So, how are the prospects of Mancin and Sinema messing up Biden's upcoming SCOTUS nomination...?
 
Since we had quite a debate about politicizing the COVID thread, let me put some political thoughts here:
I am observing a weird (but sadly not unexpected) consequence of the massive politicization of pandemic mitigation efforts in some countries, namely the US and Germany. In both countries, being against covid measures has been a trademark of the extreme/loonie fringe right, and an either/or dynamic unfolded: Either you were for massive, intrusive pandemic mitigation efforts, up to advocating a "Zero Covid" approach in the midst of Omicron, or you are against all measures, embracing anti-vaccine, "plandemic", and other conspiratorial narratives. A middle ground of "well, we have to protect people and manage the virus, but we can't put our lives on hiatus indefinitely" sadly had little room in the public debate*.

Now that mostly thanks to vaccines and partly due to the changed nature of Omicron we are in a situation that containment measures will hopefully no longer be needed, partisans can't adapt: The New York Times is running a long article why Denmark's lifting of restrictions is reckless. The German press tried the same in the beginning ("Has Denmark capitulated before Omicron?"). But since now all neighboring countries including "tough on covid" restriction hardliners like France and Spain are ending restrictions, they changed tone to full-blown doomsday predictions. Germany's public broadcaster runs an op-ed explicitly titled "Politics have capitulated [before the virus]: This can not go well!" while the largest liberal newspaper asks whether Germans have unlearned liberty and warns before the "disappointment" if restrictions return in fall (which they see as a given).
I can not observe similar tonality in other countries, not even in the legendarily partisan UK. And it makes me worry, not only about the US, which is in a shocking downward spiral of self-destruction and political incompetence on both sides of the partisan divide, but also about Germany...

*As I had to experience on this very board.
 
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