Hope you’ll make the time to read this story. It’s not just about density. It is also a reflection of our deeply segregated country in along racial, economic, religious and ideological divides. https://t.co/lb8OyRUrYt
— Jennifer Medina (@jennymedina) May 25, 2020
Category: Coronavirus
Right-wing politicizes wearing masks
They’re wrong
“This is not the hill to die on, Americans, I promise you. This is not it. Sacrifice is pretty easy. It’s uncomfortable but I do it all day long every day.” —@Supermansings on the politicization of wearing masks in public. pic.twitter.com/l8hLKpmoTI
— Ana Cabrera (@AnaCabrera) May 23, 2020
“A person walking around without a mask isn’t telegraphing that they don’t care about their own life; they’re shouting that they don’t care about yours.” https://t.co/Sh91Oi49zD
— Mara Gay (@MaraGay) May 21, 2020
Lol 1) Disney doesn’t give a crap about people who are threatening not to go bc of masks because 2) all these complainers are totally going to wear a mask and still go 😂 https://t.co/s91QZmRmL3
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) May 17, 2020
Be a real man, brave enough to admit your breath smells like ass, then break out the listerine and put on a mask https://t.co/wgi3bv1fhu
— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) May 14, 2020
News media is enthralled with the 16% https://t.co/BMsA8HhISm
— Greg Dworkin (@DemFromCT) May 13, 2020
Having read threads from @davidfrum and @KeithNHumphreys respectively about the right-wing virtue signaling of not wearing masks and the political/cultural challenges of getting Americans to act like civic-minded adults, there's an unforeseen complication here for Trumpers. /1
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) May 13, 2020
One of the weirder things about Trump and co trying to make masks come kind of culture war symbol of weakness, is that univeral, normalized mask-wearing is almost certainly a key aspect of reducing aggregate risk when people engage in social/economic activity!
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) May 13, 2020
Mike Pence traveled to Iowa to make a show of meeting food industry leaders, but all 5 of them were wearing masks. So before he came out, they were instructed to remove them, and they all did. https://t.co/XbEgnSC1Bf https://t.co/ihzsxuhkn4
— Robert Mackey (@RobertMackey) May 9, 2020
More on extremist right-wing reopening rallies
Many of these people are not wearing masks or social distancing. They could get sick and get other people sick.
Remember the huge anti-stay-at-home protest in Wisconsin? 72 people have now tested positive here after indicating that they attended a “large event.” Hard to think of many others. https://t.co/PQl5NdyMsg
— Ben Wikler (@benwikler) May 9, 2020
Here’s who’s behind ‘reopen’ rallies planned for Friday at Philadelphia City Hall https://t.co/QQxAwUztyI
— The Philadelphia Inquirer (@PhillyInquirer) May 6, 2020
Can we just fence off that area and let them live there? https://t.co/S0bb4YKCIu
— W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) May 1, 2020
So much of the coverage of these “re-open” events makes them look big.
— Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) May 1, 2020
Here’s the “re-open” New York protest today.
pic.twitter.com/jIBb3WQhIi
Welcome to the nightmare world of Donald Trump. https://t.co/78Q6r1KraB
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) April 30, 2020
If the United Stares had a responsible president who cared about public health and safety—and who set an example by wearing a mask—shit like this just might not happen. https://t.co/I9SCPWDaOE
— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) May 23, 2020
The dangers of conspiracy theories
Excellent column
It doesn’t much matter if someone thinks that UFOs landed at Roswell— but it matters greatly if someone thinks that the coronavirus isn’t real or that a vaccine may be more dangerous than the disease. Such beliefs pose a danger to public health. https://t.co/reOUvSuOog
— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) May 23, 2020
If the United Stares had a responsible president who cared about public health and safety—and who set an example by wearing a mask—shit like this just might not happen. https://t.co/I9SCPWDaOE
— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) May 23, 2020
Americans who “often” use social media to get COVID-19 news reported higher levels of exposure to the conspiracy theory that the pandemic was intentionally planned & were more likely to have watched some of the conspiracy “Plandemic” video. https://t.co/3yWNs1prTp pic.twitter.com/ImiC5MNklh
— Pew Research Journalism (@pewjournalism) July 10, 2020
Reopening won’t go well if people behave like this
Every time there's a large gathering like this, stories circulate about a new cluster of cases. I doubt this will be any exception. https://t.co/a9Tk3UP63i
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) May 23, 2020
FFS… boardwalk today in Ocean City, Md. No one has any self-control and we will all be in quarantine forever. pic.twitter.com/NzCWWZbnPm
— Patricia Zengerle (@ReutersZengerle) May 23, 2020
Bots are pushing for reopening America
Roughly half of the Twitter accounts pushing to 'reopen America' are bots, researchers found https://t.co/hjTqh8N28W
— John Haltiwanger (@jchaltiwanger) May 22, 2020
Nearly half of the Twitter accounts discussing 'reopening America' may be bots, researchers say. https://t.co/13RwLI2j4R
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 23, 2020
Bots account for nearly half of Twitter accounts spreading coronavirus misinformation, researchers say https://t.co/NwF3lu862d pic.twitter.com/j6xxIKJ4Tp
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 23, 2020
We face numerous challenges in addressing the health and economic crisis caused by COVID19. We don’t need the added burden of outside interference deliberately dividing Americans and spreading false information. https://t.co/QjlRpDsH1H
— Christy Smith (@ChristyforCA25) May 23, 2020
More on why cutting the payroll tax is a bad idea
- It undermines Social Security by reducing contributions. The economic crisis will already accelerate the time frame for when Social Security will not be able to pay all benefits.
- It only helps people who are working and paying the tax. It doesn’t help the massive amount of unemployed people who need the money the most.
Give Americans who can't work a tax break on the money they can't earn. Brilliant https://t.co/pTAqKoABh2
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) May 19, 2020
Trump wants 7.6% payroll tax cut to help staunch coronavirus economic pain: Kudlow https://t.co/ik0XTmVh9f
— Heather Timmons (@HeathaT) May 19, 2020
30M people have lost their jobs & a payroll tax cut won't do a damn thing to help them. https://t.co/stOJ15n7Ou
— Jesse Lehrich (@JesseLehrich) May 4, 2020
Reminder that payroll tax cuts don't help the tens of millions of people who no longer have a job. Not to mention that this would also deplete the Social Security funds that our seniors rely on.https://t.co/oimjmzutRF
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) May 7, 2020
Trump pushes payroll tax suspension unlikely to help unemployed, experts say https://t.co/YncZmiUzTk pic.twitter.com/W0xgxvny5Z
— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) May 3, 2020
[narrator] economists don't actually agree with him.
— Justin Wolfers (@JustinWolfers) April 28, 2020
Payroll tax cuts are too slow and poorly targeted. https://t.co/fxMjNPsvt1
More on lies about Bill Gates
A Yahoo News and YouGov survey found that over 40% of Republicans believe Bill Gates will use COVID-19 vaccines to implant microchips https://t.co/BSoBBAtc2o
— CNET (@CNET) May 29, 2020
A new poll shows a huge amount of Americans (44% of Republicans, 19% of Democrats) believe Bill Gates created the coronavirus so he could use a vaccine to track us. The irony is this would be a considerable downgrade on how we're tracked now, through our phones & internet usage.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) May 23, 2020
.@BillGates may end up saving more lives than anybody since Pasteur or Jenner, while giving away more money than anybody ever, so the conspiracy theories about him offer a window into the hold that irrationality and conspiracy theories have on the American psyche. https://t.co/yZBkZnWDiz
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) May 23, 2020
If you really think @BillGates is trying to put a microchip in your body to track you…
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) May 23, 2020
you are a fucking idiot and all I can say is please do not have sex without protection. https://t.co/q00tYfLL8m
"44% of Republicans think Bill Gates is working on a coronavirus vaccine so he can plant a microchip in them."
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) May 23, 2020
These folks are gone and never coming back to reality:
"False claims targeting billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates are gaining traction online since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, with experts warning they could hamper efforts to curb the virus." https://t.co/MsNyqzxE16
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) May 19, 2020
Trump plays golf while death total approaches 100,000
He’s doing what he attacked Obama for doing. What a hyprocrite! Trump is a terrible role model.
Trump golfs while more Americans die https://t.co/H8elwl2w2w
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) May 23, 2020
Trump is golfing today.
— andrew kaczynski🤔 (@KFILE) May 23, 2020
In 2014 on Fox and Friends he criticized Obama for golfing when there were *two cases* of Ebola in the United States saying, "it sends the wrong signal" and he should have given up golf as president "to really focus on the job." https://t.co/br8jLwVLts pic.twitter.com/Jmh5CSt2mp
“There are times to play and times that you can’t play and it sends the wrong signal.” – @realDonaldTrump
— Andrew Weinstein (@Weinsteinlaw) May 23, 2020
We’ve lost almost 100,000 Americans.
What signal are you trying to send here Mr. President? pic.twitter.com/9SGlSC8uj3
President Donald Trump golfing today https://t.co/UFgLUpbXXs
— Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) May 23, 2020
As US deaths approach 100,000, Trump disputes the numbers and plays golf.
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) May 23, 2020
This isn't leadership. It's criminal negligence. https://t.co/s6rKq2Qfm2
“I don't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander-in-chief playing golf. I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think, you know, playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal.”
— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) May 23, 2020
George W. Bush.
As Trump approaches the golf ball, we mournfully approach 100,000 dead. https://t.co/Eiqr4D7DlY
— Lawrence O'Donnell (@Lawrence) May 23, 2020
Sad but serious question: How much of Trump’s push to reopen has been motivated by him knowing he couldn’t play golf until everyone else could? https://t.co/I0EEP9KBSo
— Jason Kander (@JasonKander) May 23, 2020
I wrote about Trump getting an all-clear to head to a problematic coronavirus region to play golf. https://t.co/NxK5jIRuRw
— Philip Bump (@pbump) May 23, 2020
Trump isn’t just playing golf today. He’s funneling US tax dollars into a private club that he owns. He overcharges Secret Service for the golf carts. No grift is too small or petty for Trump. He will steal as much as he can between now and November. @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/eXPxwZEjfc
— NoelCaslerComedy (@CaslerNoel) May 23, 2020
In Dec 2015, candidate Trump criticized Obama for playing "250 rounds of golf" in 7 years.
— Robert Maguire (@RobertMaguire_) May 23, 2020
Today, 3.5yrs into his presidency, during a pandemic that has killed almost 100,000 Americans, Trump is making his 271st taxpayer-funded visit to a golf club he still profits from pic.twitter.com/4ylnw1u42h
Polls on masks
We've got a new set of HuffPost/YouGov polling on masks. If this was supposed to be the new front in a culture war…someone apparently forgot to tell most of the public.https://t.co/FyfceHGs05
— Ariel Edwards-Levy (@aedwardslevy) May 20, 2020
On April 1st, 27% of Americans said they had worn a mask or other face covering in the last 7 days.
— Alexander Podkul (@apodkul) May 20, 2020
Today, it's up to 83%.
(Data: @USCDornsife) pic.twitter.com/bimJiDI7YA
don't let cable/Twitter focus on extreme views and controversy fool you about what Americans believe https://t.co/NRVAYsdzyt
— Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) May 20, 2020
Sad! 