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3 Things You Should Know About The COVID-19 Vaccine
In all honesty, some level of skepticism about the COVID-19 vaccine is warranted. As a country, we've never experienced a situation such as this. In recent history, there has never been a virus as deadly and contagious as COVID-19. Moreover, there has never been a vaccine developed at such a swift rate.
That's why we're here to break down all of the pros and cons of the COVID-19 vaccine to help you make the most informed decision. It's your health we're talking about, after all, it shouldn't be taken lightly.
1. It doesn't contain the actual virus
First off, let's discuss what's inside of the COVID-19 Vaccine. As it stands, all COVID-19 Vaccines that currently exist are messenger RNA vaccines, or mRNA vaccines. mRNA vaccine technology has been studied for decades with a focus on other viruses such as the flu, rabies, and even Zika.
One benefit of mRNA vaccines is that scientists have the ability to apply a standardized mRNA "template" to new vaccines as new viruses are discovered. This means that scientists can tailor the mRNA vaccine to an individual virus to create vaccines at a rapid pace!
But how does it work? First off, mRNA vaccines contain strands of mRNA that function as a sort of instruction manual within the body. In the instance of COVID-19, these instructions tell the body how to create a fragment of the "spike protein" unique to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Since mRNA encodes only for spike protein (which is a harmful protein found on the surface of the actual virus), the vaccine itself cannot cause a COVID-19 infection.
2. There are very few side effects if any, and the ones reported are extremely mild
Generally, any side effects reported as a result of taking the COVID-19 vaccine were reactogenicity symptoms. This means that nearly all symptoms were mild to moderate and would dissipate after only a few days. These side effects include pain, swelling, and redness in the area where you are vaccinated (common for any shot), as well as chills, fatigue, and headaches which should also go away in a day or two. It's important to note that these side effects are more common after the second dose of the vaccine.
But what about the more severe side effects that have popped up in the news cycle? Each of these can be considered one-off occurrences as they are not above the rate expected in the general population. In fact, many of these reported side-effects are simply unrelated to the vaccine as these cases tend to pop up sporadically every single year. When comparing the rate of these cases over the last month to the same period last year, there is no data that suggests that these cases are statistically significant. As such, there is no scientific link between the COVID-19 vaccine and any of these harmful side-effects.
3. The development process was not rushed as it went through full regulatory and safety review
One of the biggest fears behind the COVID-19 vaccine comes from the rapid pace at which it was developed and tested in clinical trials. However, relative to previous vaccine R&D, the COVID-19 vaccine was actually developed at a controlled pace. Right from the get-go, several of the biggest pharmaceutical companies signed a pact that stated that corners wouldn't be cut in an effort to be first to market. But if we're being honest, people don't really trust Big Pharma companies, and for good reason. There's an extensive history of big Pharma cutting corners and exploiting others to make a profit.
The important thing to note here is that you don't necessarily have to trust Big Pharma to trust the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine. First off, all results from clinical trials are available online and show comprehensive testing for each stage of the development process. In reality, the fast-tracking of the vaccine was the sole result of upfront financing provided by the federal government to ensure that no shortcuts were taken.
In essence, the government paid for vaccines to be mass-produced without knowing whether or not they worked. While this can be interpreted as a waste of funds, it also means that the time between final trials and the first delivery of a vaccine (which can often take months from production to distribution) was basically cut out of the equation. This accounts for why the vaccine was able to be developed, tested, manufactured, and distributed at an unparalleled rate.
SPONSORED
3 Things You Should Know About The COVID-19 Vaccine
In all honesty, some level of skepticism about the COVID-19 vaccine is warranted. As a country, we've never experienced a situation such as this. In recent history, there has never been a virus as deadly and contagious as COVID-19. Moreover, there has never been a vaccine developed at such a swift rate.
That's why we're here to break down all of the pros and cons of the COVID-19 vaccine to help you make the most informed decision. It's your health we're talking about, after all, it shouldn't be taken lightly.
1. It doesn't contain the actual virus
First off, let's discuss what's inside of the COVID-19 Vaccine. As it stands, all COVID-19 Vaccines that currently exist are messenger RNA vaccines, or mRNA vaccines. mRNA vaccine technology has been studied for decades with a focus on other viruses such as the flu, rabies, and even Zika.
One benefit of mRNA vaccines is that scientists have the ability to apply a standardized mRNA "template" to new vaccines as new viruses are discovered. This means that scientists can tailor the mRNA vaccine to an individual virus to create vaccines at a rapid pace!
But how does it work? First off, mRNA vaccines contain strands of mRNA that function as a sort of instruction manual within the body. In the instance of COVID-19, these instructions tell the body how to create a fragment of the "spike protein" unique to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Since mRNA encodes only for spike protein (which is a harmful protein found on the surface of the actual virus), the vaccine itself cannot cause a COVID-19 infection.
2. There are very few side effects if any, and the ones reported are extremely mild
Generally, any side effects reported as a result of taking the COVID-19 vaccine were reactogenicity symptoms. This means that nearly all symptoms were mild to moderate and would dissipate after only a few days. These side effects include pain, swelling, and redness in the area where you are vaccinated (common for any shot), as well as chills, fatigue, and headaches which should also go away in a day or two. It's important to note that these side effects are more common after the second dose of the vaccine.
But what about the more severe side effects that have popped up in the news cycle? Each of these can be considered one-off occurrences as they are not above the rate expected in the general population. In fact, many of these reported side-effects are simply unrelated to the vaccine as these cases tend to pop up sporadically every single year. When comparing the rate of these cases over the last month to the same period last year, there is no data that suggests that these cases are statistically significant. As such, there is no scientific link between the COVID-19 vaccine and any of these harmful side-effects.
3. The development process was not rushed as it went through full regulatory and safety review
One of the biggest fears behind the COVID-19 vaccine comes from the rapid pace at which it was developed and tested in clinical trials. However, relative to previous vaccine R&D, the COVID-19 vaccine was actually developed at a controlled pace. Right from the get-go, several of the biggest pharmaceutical companies signed a pact that stated that corners wouldn't be cut in an effort to be first to market. But if we're being honest, people don't really trust Big Pharma companies, and for good reason. There's an extensive history of big Pharma cutting corners and exploiting others to make a profit.
The important thing to note here is that you don't necessarily have to trust Big Pharma to trust the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine. First off, all results from clinical trials are available online and show comprehensive testing for each stage of the development process. In reality, the fast-tracking of the vaccine was the sole result of upfront financing provided by the federal government to ensure that no shortcuts were taken.
In essence, the government paid for vaccines to be mass-produced without knowing whether or not they worked. While this can be interpreted as a waste of funds, it also means that the time between final trials and the first delivery of a vaccine (which can often take months from production to distribution) was basically cut out of the equation. This accounts for why the vaccine was able to be developed, tested, manufactured, and distributed at an unparalleled rate.
This Haunts Me: Dave Rubin's Bizarre Interviews with Larry King
This week, Larry King was hospitalized with COVID-19. Back in May, he argued with Dave Rubin about the necessity of lockdowns.
Update 1/23/2021: It was announced on Saturday that the 87-year-old broadcasting legend died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. No cause of death was given, but the timeline strongly suggests that COVID-19 was a contributing factor.
So sad to hear about the passing of my friend, my mentor and my bonus grandfather. There’s only one true King of in… https://t.co/uiCKljy8Pz— Dave Rubin (@Dave Rubin)1611417207.0
In response, Dave Rubin tweeted what would seem to be a heartfelt memorial to his "mentor" and "bonus grandfather," if not for the fact that Dave Rubin pushed for the lax policies that likely led to Larry King being exposed to COVID-19 in the first place. As such, we can only recall Larry's words: "David, that sounds ridiculous."
Update 1/5/2021: Larry King has been moved out of the ICU, and is reportedly breathing on his own in an LA hospital.
Larry King is a legend of broadcasting.
For more than six decades he has worked in radio and television, developing his signature interview style. His nightly CNN show Larry King Live ran for 25 years — into his late 70s. But even after it ended in 2010, King was far from ready to retire.
<p>At 87 years old, the Emmy and Peabody winner has continued making great TV, and his straightforward, conversational tone has not diminished. Rather, age has refined his skills.</p><p><script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
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</script></p><p>His <a href="https://www.nickiswift.com/244380/the-untold-truth-of-larry-king/" target="_blank">aversion to researching the subjects of his interviews</a> — which he has touted as making for a more casual and natural flow — is emblematic of the attitude that makes him so compelling. While many people may claim that they "don't give a ****," Larry King lives that ethos as only an old man can.</p><p>He will interrupt his guests, contradict them, talk over them, and just generally say what's on his mind. These tendencies come across as rude, and sometimes his musings make it clear how out of touch he is — after decades of wealth and fame.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-145"></div>
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Larry, I'm on DuckTales.</small>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76HijAoXi6k" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
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</p><p>But more often than not, King's approach seems to cut through pretense and formality and produce genuinely interesting conversations. This week, as it was reported that <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/02/media/larry-king-covid-19/index.html" target="_blank">Larry King contracted COVID-19, and was subsequently hospitalized</a>, two conversations in particular have remained on my mind.<br></p><p>Both were conversations between King and BlazeTV's resident "former liberal" Dave Rubin. And in both conversations it becomes clear both that Rubin has a sincere admiration for Larry King, and that the feeling is not mutual.</p><p>Rubin has made a name for himself out of his one-time tenure at Cenk Uygur's progressive news outlet The Young turks — before he made the move to Glenn Beck's Blaze Media. Branding himself variously as either a "classical liberal," or a "former lefty," Rubin is noted for his rejection of contemporary "regressive Left" politics, and for his willingness to have open discussions with people whom others might find "unsavory" or "Nazis."</p><p>The fact that Rubin is married to a man also gives him cover to platform people who believe that same-sex marriage should be outlawed and that "conversion therapy" should be encouraged. But it's all okay, because they're just "talking about ideas" — hateful, ignorant ideas — and because Dave Rubin is making a lot of money as a result.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-147"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent4 - longest_content --></p><p>Still, despite valid <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/sep/18/report-youtubes-alternative-influence-network-breeds-rightwing-radicalisation" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">criticisms of Rubin</a> as the passive, presentable entrée into the depths of far-Right ideology, he seems to see himself as part of a venerable tradition of impartial interviewers — with Larry King as one of its progenitors. He has referred to King as a mentor, and whenever they get together, the only thing more obvious than Dave Rubin's fawning reverence is King's lack of respect for Rubin.</p><p></p><p>The two have conversed on a number of occasions, and there are always hints at this dynamic — as when King seems to think that "Rubin" is Dave's first name — but the moment that truly crystallized their sad relationship dynamic came in Larry King's appearance on <em>The Rubin Report</em> back in February of 2020.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Larry King Ruins A Live Interview By Taking A Call</small>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPH9B0GyFn4" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
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</p><p>While in the middle of a live-streamed discussion about moderate politics, an assistant delivered Larry King's cell phone, ostensibly for King to explain something about Samsung and this flip phone in particular. But almost as soon as the phone is in King's hand, it starts ringing, and he briefly makes a face as though he's embarrassed and uncertain of what to do, before flipping it open and answering the call.<br></p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-163"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent_5 - incontent_5 --></p><p>Maybe Larry is so used to taking phone calls during live broadcasts that it just felt natural. But the more likely explanation is that he just doesn't think much of Dave Rubin.</p><p>On the other end of the call, the voice of King's college athlete son, Cannon, can be made out enthusing over some recent baseball games. Meanwhile, Rubin silently gawps and gestures, whispers to Larry to remind him of the live audience of thousands who were watching it play out, and looks in disbelief at both Larry and the camera.</p><p>At some point King explains to his son that he is "doing a podcast," and says, "while talking to you, the audience is watching me talk to you," and somehow that isn't the end of the phone call. For more than three minutes the show is at a standstill while Larry King and his son discuss batting averages, their plans for the week, and the LA Dodgers latest trades.</p><p>When the call finally ends, Larry King doesn't even hint at apologizing. Why would he? What has Dave Rubin done to deserve his respect?</p><p>To make that point more clear, we need to skip forward to May, when the first wave of the COVID pandemic in the US was just beginning to subside in New York City and a few other hot spots. Dave Rubin was among the conservative commentators who were already arguing that the spotty, insufficient lockdown had gone on long enough, and that it was time to give governors the leeway to reopen their state economies.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Dave Rubin takes on the progressive movement</small>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9KurIbwT4A&t=308" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
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</p><p>During an appearance on Larry King's show <em>PoliticKING</em> to promote his self-victimizing tome <em>Don't Burn This Book</em>, Rubin acknowledged that King "might be right," that people returning to their lives and congregating in public spaces was bound to cause a lot of new cases of COVID. But then he argued that we had to "decide what level of sickness are we willing to live with."</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-164"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent_6 - incontent_6 --></p><p>And how else could Larry King respond to an incredulous Rubin but to say, "David, that sounds ridiculous. 'What level of sickness can we live with,' come on! You've got a worldwide pandemic."<br></p><p>What King might have added if Rubin hadn't then interrupted is that at the time — and to this day — the long term consequences of COVID-19 are little understood. Cognitive impairment and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02598-6" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">lasting damage to heart and lung tissue</a> have been reported long after more obvious symptoms have subsided. And a small but worrying number of children have developed severe and <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/children/mis-c.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">frightening inflammatory symptoms that are not yet understood</a>.</p><p>We may not know for years how the novel coronavirus has affected the tens of millions of Americans who have contracted it so far — with hundreds of thousands of new cases reported every day, and <a href="https://ktla.com/news/local-news/bodies-pile-up-patient-care-falters-at-l-a-county-hospitals-amid-unprecedented-covid-19-surge/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">hospitals and morgues overflowing</a>. But even the little bit we knew about the highly contagious virus at the time made it obvious what a bad idea it was to rush reopening before even a basic standard for a lockdown had been met.</p><div id="931d4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1591a2123fa2f55c5dc0af72153f6d65"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1343767540393070592" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Dave Rubin believes that trusting scientists is a silly notion: "Have you ever seen a science fiction movie? There… https://t.co/pMxmG52yZK</div> — Dave Rubin Clips (@Dave Rubin Clips)<a href="https://twitter.com/DaveClips/statuses/1343767540393070592">1609214122.0</a></blockquote></div><p>And while the threat for people like Dave Rubin, 44, may not have looked so serious, for someone of Larry King's age, the situation couldn't be handled lightly. As King sarcastically put it to Rubin at the time, "At whose risk? … It's okay if you die, right?"</p><p>But measures like paying people and businesses for a more serious, enforced interruption — which worked beautifully in a number of <span></span><a href="https://fortune.com/2020/12/17/new-zealand-covid-lockdown-economy-recovery/" target="_blank">countries where economies are recovering rapidly</a> — were not even deemed worth discussing by people like Dave Rubin. Which meant that the only question was how long people could be expected to get by with nothing. And with that narrow consideration, it's hardly surprising that most of the country reopened to one extent or another.<br></p><p>Looking back at the conversation now, you can either view Larry King as a prophetic scion who foresaw the chaos and the death that neoliberal intransigence was about to unleash upon the country — the 350,000 dead Americans and counting. Or you can view Dave Rubin as a callous and willfully ignorant tool of wealthy interests, denying reality for his paycheck.</p><p>What if people like Dave Rubin had considered the possibility of helping average Americans through a time of unavoidable crisis — without first helping massive corporations and investors a great deal more. How many hundreds of thousands might have been saved?</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTE4MDYyMy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMjg2NjM2OX0.qefmuKvQNFKPY5LQ24pjt52gMRe13nHB7ZI4tKI99AE/img.jpg?width=980" id="fadaa" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c79163b22a6a751a824d2e7df9ac4d8d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Temporary COVID field hospital in Atlanta" data-width="1120" data-height="629">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Atlanta Journal-Constitution</small></p><p>If Donald Trump hadn't downplayed the virus, refused a mask mandate, pushed to reopen, and used <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/10/politics/trump-allies-treatment-coronavirus/index.html" target="_blank">his unparalleled access to advanced and experimental treatments</a> to say "<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/dueling-florida-rallies-trump-biden-paint-different-pictures-covid-america-n1245333" target="_blank">if I can get better, anyone can get better</a>," back in October, would Larry King be in the hospital today?<br></p><p></p><p>Perhaps — unlike more than 100,000 Americans who have died miserable, horrific COVID deaths since our soon-to-be-former president made that absurd statement — Larry King will receive some of the same special treatment, and will quickly pull through. He is, after all, a wealthy celebrity, and he has previously <a href="https://www.today.com/popculture/larry-king-how-heart-attack-snuck-nearly-killed-me-wbna5152241" target="_blank">survived a heart attack</a>. Maybe it will be enough to save his life...</p><p>In either case, the blame for the current horrific state of affairs lies unequivocally with people like Dave Rubin. So if you ever get the chance to talk to him, please remember to show him all the respect he deserves — or at least take a phone call.</p>
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Operation Warp Speed, while necessary, does not come without its concerns. While it is an amazing feat that pharmaceutical companies were able to facilitate the production of multiple vaccines within ten months (as opposed to five years), there are many consequences that many reveal themselves without long-term testing. Let's not forget that each of these pharmaceutical companies are competing with each other. They want to be the first to market with a vaccine, so what's stopping them from cutting corners in the process? Even in the short-term, four Pfizer vaccine patients developed Bell's palsy as a side effect, resulting in paralysis in half of their face.
Another strong argument against taking the COVID-19 vaccine is the possibility of losing our freedom—"medical tyranny," some call it. As we begin to reopen, what's to stop certain governors, the travel industry, or even private businesses from mandating that everyone show proof of vaccination? With Biden set to be inaugurated in January, who's to say that he won't instate a federal vaccine mandate?
Thomas Jefferson once said, "If the people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medication they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." Freedom in this country is quickly dissipating and the quicker we give in, the quicker we let our government know that we are no longer willing to fight.
That being said, COVID-19 presents overwhelming challenges and must be dealt with accordingly. But we urge those considering the vaccine to think about the many serious risks that the vaccine may possess. Everyone wants to "get back to normal," but is this really the best way?
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Has The COVID-19 Vaccine Been Rolled Out Too Quickly?
On December 11th, 2020, the United States Food and Drug Administration issued the first emergency use for a vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19. While the vaccine is currently only available for front-line workers, the elderly, and those with auto-immune disorders, the approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine has spiked a conversation regarding its safety.
Vaccines are definitely a touchy subject. Just look at The Cutter Incident in 1955 where a polio vaccine ended up containing the live virus and caused an outbreak. What about the link between the swine flu vaccine and cases of Guillain-Barre? We often make fun of the anti-vaxxer sentiment, but in reality, much of it is warranted. Vaccines are much more complicated than we realize. That's why many Americans are skeptical of the lightning fast production of a COVID-19 vaccine.
According to a recent survey by Pew Research, only 29% of American adults say they "definitely" plan to get a vaccine. But where does that leave the remaining 71% of the population? Similarly, in an AP-NORC poll in mid-May, fewer than 50 percent of Americans surveyed said they would commit to getting a coronavirus vaccine whenever it becomes available.
Operation Warp Speed, while necessary, does not come without its concerns. While it is an amazing feat that pharmaceutical companies were able to facilitate the production of multiple vaccines within ten months (as opposed to five years), there are many consequences that many reveal themselves without long-term testing. Let's not forget that each of these pharmaceutical companies are competing with each other. They want to be the first to market with a vaccine, so what's stopping them from cutting corners in the process? Even in the short-term, four Pfizer vaccine patients developed Bell's palsy as a side effect, resulting in paralysis in half of their face.
Another strong argument against taking the COVID-19 vaccine is the possibility of losing our freedom—"medical tyranny," some call it. As we begin to reopen, what's to stop certain governors, the travel industry, or even private businesses from mandating that everyone show proof of vaccination? With Biden set to be inaugurated in January, who's to say that he won't instate a federal vaccine mandate?
Thomas Jefferson once said, "If the people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medication they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." Freedom in this country is quickly dissipating and the quicker we give in, the quicker we let our government know that we are no longer willing to fight.
That being said, COVID-19 presents overwhelming challenges and must be dealt with accordingly. But we urge those considering the vaccine to think about the many serious risks that the vaccine may possess. Everyone wants to "get back to normal," but is this really the best way?
Do you plan to get the COVID-19 Vaccine as soon as it is available to you?
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Is The COVID-19 Vaccine Safe?
Last week, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was approved by the FDA for emergency use. Americans knew this day was going to come, but now that it's here, many are not sure how to react. Under Operation Warp Speed, the COVID-19 vaccine was developed and tested at an unprecedented pace, leaving many skeptical about it's safety. While national health experts such as Dr. Anthony Faucci has reassured the public about the diligence of all research and development, it's safe to say that many Americans are not convinced.
The anti-vaccine movement has only grown stronger in recent years. In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) named vaccine hesitancy one of the top ten threats to global health. A growing vaccine hesitancy movement has contributed to decreasing vaccination rates in the US, especially among cloistered communities who are more vulnerable to misinformation campaigns.
However, skeptics of the COVID-19 vaccine aren't often an "anti-vaxxer," but just vaccine hesitant. What's the difference? The anti-vaxxer movement is largely misinformed by outdated studies that touted false claims about the side-effects of vaccines. The most well-known argument from this movement is that vaccines can cause autism, which has been extensively debunked since a bogus study linked the MMR vaccine to an autism diagnosis in 1998.
In this case, arguments against vaccines largely go against scientific evidence. With the vaccine-hesitant, however, are people who are reserved about being vaccinated, but are still open to being assured that the treatments are safe. According to a IPSOS Mori poll published earlier this year, only 53% of respondents said they were likely to take the vaccine. This means that many Americans are most likely hesitant towards a vaccine due to potential side effects that may result from the rushed development process.
Still, there are many strong science-backed arguments that reinforce the safety of the vaccine. For example, while it might appear that the vaccine was developed in record time, ongoing research behind mRNA vaccines have been studied for more than two decades. The recent application to the COVID-19 virus is the result of many years of testing and development.
Moreover, receiving the mRNA vaccine will not alter your DNA or genetic makeup in any way. There is a fear that vaccines can interfere with human genetics, when in reality, this is unfounded as the vaccine is not able to reach the area of your cell where DNA is stored. Similarly, the vaccine will not give you COVID-19 as there is no live virus used. If you do get any side effect like fever or chills, it's simply a sign that your body is generating an immune response to the virus.
Other distrust in the vaccine is tied to a larger distrust in big pharma companies among the general public. Big pharma is not exactly one to be trusted between controversies such as the legacy of Martin Shkreli and the infamous opioid crisis. However, nine organizations have signed a pledge to only seek approval for a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. It's obvious that these companies are desperately vying to be first to market with a vaccine, but they're also under intense scrutiny from the Food and Drug Administration.
As the first vaccines are rolled out across the country, only time will tell how effective they are and what the potential side-effects may be. Still, we need to remember that this virus didn't just come out of nowhere. It is the result of an intensive and rigorous testing and development process that is predicated on accountability and trust. While fostering trust is no easy feat, it is the only way we can survive this public health crisis.
Do you plan to get the COVID-19 Vaccine as soon as it is available to you?
Is the COVID-19 Vaccine Safe?
This is an extraordinary scientific achievement, but is it safe?
The average vaccine takes approximately 10 years to develop. There are currently two COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna) that will likely be authorized and released to the public within a year of the discovery of the virus. How can a safe vaccine possibly be developed so fast?
These will be the fastest vaccines ever developed, by a margin of years. The next fastest vaccine ever approved for public use was the mumps vaccine, and that took 4 years.
Unfortunately, that speed has made a lot of people nervous. Will the vaccine be safe? Are they skipping steps? How is this process moving so fast?
<p>According to Pew Research, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2020/09/17/u-s-public-now-divided-over-whether-to-get-covid-19-vaccine/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">77% of Americans</a> think it's very or somewhat likely a COVID-19 vaccine will be approved in the United States before its safety and effectiveness are fully understood.</p><p>But regardless of the fear and doubt, we need a vaccine. We are now losing <a href="https://covidtracking.com/data/charts/us-daily-deaths" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">over 2,000</a> American lives per day to COVID-19. Numerous health experts have warned that this pandemic will not truly be over until we have a vaccinated population. </p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-143"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent2 - long_content --></p><p>Part of the fear is related to the mystery surrounding the process of vaccine creation. Almost no one who isn't integrally involved in vaccine development understands how long it takes to create a vaccine or why it takes so long. So to most Americans speed doesn't seem like a feat of modern science, it seems like cutting corners. Here are all the (genuinely not scary) reasons why this vaccine is being developed so much faster than any in history.</p><h3>Operation Warp Speed</h3><p>Operation Warp Speed (OWS) is a coordinated government effort to defeat this virus as quickly as possible. It is a partnership between the Department of Defense and the Department of Health and Human services to make resources available to the private companies involved in creating vaccines, testing, and therapeutics for COVID-19. In practice, OWS has focused primarily on the creation of vaccines and has already spent billions ensuring that the vaccine development, manufacturing, and distribution process can move as efficiently as possible.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-145"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent3 - longer_content --></p><p></p><center><script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><!-- Popdust Mobile Banner 320x100 --><ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:320px;height:100px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-4301469008561137" data-ad-slot="6952751205"></ins><script>
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</script></center><p></p><p>The US program is bankrolling the development and production of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/leading-us-coronavirus-vaccines-how-they-work-compare-2020-10" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">six promising coronavirus vaccine candidates</a>. This has already sped up the process significantly and will likely play an even larger role in the manufacturing process. Medical research of any kind often moves slowly because it's expensive and risky. </p><p>Funding is hard to secure, because in order to prove a vaccine is successful (and therefore profitable) you have to have tests, and to do tests, you need money. It's sort of a catch-22 that is only ended when someone decides to make a risky bet. </p><p>Betting on vaccines is risky, because if it ends up being unsuccessful (the <a href="https://www.acsh.org/news/2020/06/11/clinical-trial-success-rates-phase-and-therapeutic-area-14845" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">majority</a> of vaccines never make it to market), that money is just gone. The US government chose to take the gamble.</p><p>The US has spent <a href="https://www.defense.gov/Explore/Spotlight/Coronavirus/Operation-Warp-Speed/Operation-Warp-Speed-FAQ/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">$10 billion</a> through OWS on the most promising vaccine candidates, ensuring they don't have to wait for private funding to move through each phase of the process. </p><h3>Combining Steps</h3><p>Many people are concerned that these drug companies are skipping steps in the race to create a vaccine, but what's actually happening is that multiple steps in the process are being done simultaneously. </p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-147"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent4 - longest_content --></p><p>Steps that are usually done sequentially are being done at the <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/coronavirus/explaining-operation-warp-speed/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">same time</a>. For example, some labs are running combined Phase 1 and Phase 2 human trials or having vaccine development manufacturing facilities ready even before a vaccine is finalized. This increases the financial risk, but not the product risk.</p><p>Typically, clinical trials set up their own independent panels of scientists, known as a data safety monitoring board or DSMB, to watch out for safety concerns or early signs of success. But all of the vaccine trials in Operation Warp Speed are sharing a <a href="https://www.fiercepharma.com/vaccines/who-decides-when-vaccine-studies-are-done-internal-documents-show-fauci-plays-a-key-role" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">common DSMB</a>. This allows the DSMB to review the data from all the trials from the various vaccines concurrently. That shared data expedites the process and quickly identifies which vaccines are effective and which aren't without wasting time and resources.</p><p>Saad Omer, director of the Yale Institute of Global Health, <a href="https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/covid-19-vaccine-safety" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">explains</a> that this is not a huge difference. "There's really just a subtle difference in how the trials are run. If the trials were separate, you would publish the full data, and then recruit a new set of participants. For a combined trial, the data and safety monitoring board would look at the interim data and determine whether it's still worth continuing the trial." This continuous monitoring cuts the inefficiencies out of the process without changing the safety standards.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-163"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent_5 - incontent_5 --></p><h3>Years of Prior Research</h3><p>The research stage of vaccine development is often one of the longest. The College of Physicians of Philadelphia <a href="https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/vaccine-development-testing-and-regulation" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">states</a> that this exploratory phase "often lasts 2-4 years." Thankfully, much of the research needed for the COVID-19 vaccine had already been done before the novel coronavirus even appeared.</p><p>The term "coronavirus" includes a family of several known viruses that cause respiratory tract illnesses that range from the common cold to such potentially deadly illnesses as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), <a href="https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/2019-novel-coronavirus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">which killed almost 800</a> people during an epidemic that occurred in 2002 and 2003. After the SARS outbreak, research on coronaviruses increased significantly. So when SARS-Cov-2 or COVID-19 appeared, vaccine work on some of its relatives had already been underway. This gave scientists a significant head start.</p><p>Another way in which scientists weren't exactly starting from scratch on this vaccine is thanks to the messenger RNA or mRNA technology. mRNA technology is a completely new vaccine technology that is being used in both the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and the Moderna vaccine. Both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccine use mRNA to trigger the immune system to produce protective antibodies without using actual samples of the virus. </p><p>While this mRNA science hasn't created a successful vaccine before now, the ideas behind an mRNA vaccine have been studied and tested extensively for over <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2020/11/10/the-story-of-mrna-how-a-once-dismissed-idea-became-a-leading-technology-in-the-covid-vaccine-race/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">30 years</a>. </p><p>In the natural world, the body relies on millions of tiny proteins to keep itself alive and healthy, and it uses mRNA to tell cells which proteins to make. The concept behind an mRNA vaccine is simple: If you can design your own synthetic mRNA, you could tell the body to create whatever proteins you want, including antibodies to vaccinate against infection. </p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-164"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent_6 - incontent_6 --></p><p>Messenger RNA vaccines are a game-changer in terms of speed. The mRNA vaccines produced by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna are <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-19-vaccines-were-developed-in-record-time-but-are-these-game-changers-safe-150249" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">faster to develop</a> as they don't require companies to produce protein or weakened pathogens for the vaccine.</p><p>Traditional vaccines typically use a weakened version of the disease or a protein piece of it, but because these are grown in eggs or cells, developing and manufacturing vaccines takes a long time. In contrast, the genetic material mRNA is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41541-020-0159-8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">efficient to make</a>, and highly customizable.</p><h3>Short but Large Phase 3</h3><p>When a new vaccine is tested on humans, it is tested in three phases. Each phase increases in size and scope. The length of study for phase 3 clinical trials is <a href="https://www.clinicaltrialsandme.com/resources/how-long-do-clinical-trials-take.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">usually 1 to 4 years</a> and normally involves 300 to 3,000 patients.</p><p>COVID-19 is killing over 2,000 Americans a day, so we don't have time to wait for a lengthy trial. To resolve this issue, they have increased the trial size significantly. Pfizer's phase 3 trial had <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/pfizer-moderna-covid-vaccines-clinical-trials/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">43,000</a> volunteers, and Moderna's had <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/pfizer-moderna-covid-vaccines-clinical-trials/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">30,000</a>.</p><p>These are what are called "<a href="https://media.tghn.org/articles/Vaccine_Efficacy_V1.0_7_May_20.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">event-driven trials</a>." Basically an event in this case is when one of the volunteers gets sick with COVID-19. Once a trial reaches a previously decided on number of events, they check how many of the people that got sick were given the real vaccine and how many were given the placebo. This shows how effective the vaccine actually was.</p><p>The incredibly large trial size and the prevalence of the disease has allowed the "events" to occur quickly, making it easy to test the efficacy of the vaccine. Normally clinical trials can be held back by low volunteer numbers and low disease prevalence. However, COVID-19 spreads rapidly and pretty much all adults seem to be susceptible, which makes these problems irrelevant. </p><p>The only downside of a shorter but larger trial is that you don't get to see what long-term effects the vaccine will have. But scientists agree that the chances of long-term complications are extremely unlikely because of how vaccines work. Deborah Fuller, Ph.D, who is a vaccine scientist with UW Medicine, <a href="https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/long-term-side-effects-developed-too-quickly-covid-vaccine-concerns-answered/VKH2JZ7JBJGKJJF2LMQTYQ4VSU/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">explains</a>, "Most of their job is done in the first few days, then the vaccine is gone from your body. So what's left is that immune response to the vaccine." </p><h3>Emergency Use Authorization</h3><p>At the end of the vaccine making process, when the trials are finished and the research is done, companies submit a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the FDA. The BLA usually takes<a href="https://www.americanconference.com/fda-boot-camp-661l15-bos/wp-content/uploads/sites/155/2016/08/ware.donald_nature_approval_ppt.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> about a year</a> to gain approval. To speed up the process, COVID-19 vaccines are seeking an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) before they are even done collecting data.</p><p>Under an EUA, a company can produce and distribute a vaccine that hasn't officially been <a href="https://agencyiq.com/the-basics-of-emergency-use-authorizations-why-an-authorization-isnt-the-same-as-approval/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">approved</a>. This is a process meant for one purpose: to save lives. The FDA will only grant an EUA if they believe that the expected benefits outweigh the possible risks of the vaccine. </p><p>Early in the pandemic, the FDA issued a list of <a href="https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/vaccines/emergency-use-authorization-vaccines-explained" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">requirements</a> they would need from a company before they would consider issuing an EUA for a vaccine. Those guidelines included information about how many people had to be involved in trials, how long the follow up with them had to be, and what information had to be included in their reports. </p><p>To ensure that this EUA isn't about cutting corners, the FDA has appointed an independent advisory board to aid them in their decision about the vaccine. On Thursday this week the FDA is scheduled to convene a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/07/covid-vaccine-fda-may-authorize-pfizers-this-week.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">meeting</a> of that advisory board, known as VRBPAC, to review <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=PFE" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pfizer'</a>s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use authorization.</p><p>This vaccine is coming, and it's coming quickly. At first that might seem scary, but in reality it's just a perfect confluence of events that have allowed scientific minds to do the impossible. Operation Warp Speed, years of usable research, combining steps, a differently designed phase 3, and emergency use authorizations have all come together to create the perfect situation to make a safe and effective vaccine—in record time. </p><h4>For more well-researched, unbiased information on today's biggest issues, follow Alexandra's Instagram account <a href="https://www.instagram.com/the_factivists/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Factivists</a>.</h4><p><br></p><div id="0ef23" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f73db1d926eafb625a90e3dd26a38f92"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0;
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Joe Biden Won the Election by Fewer than 50,000 Votes
Our broken electoral system makes the endless stress and confusion of razor-thin margins inevitable. But we can fix it.
The panic that enveloped the world on November 3, 2020 already feels like a bad dream.
Despite the best efforts of Bernie Sanders and others to prepare us for the inevitable chaos, the partisan divide between mail-in and in-person voting had the predictable effect last Tuesday.
As the in-person votes accumulated in several key states where mail-in totals were always going to be delayed, the sense that Donald Trump was outperforming expectations—and was likely to secure reelection—was pervasive.
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Sen. Bernie Sanders Predicts How Trump Will React On Election Night</small>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyGr_huFMh4" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
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</p><p>The president's rhetoric—deriding mail-in voting and downplaying the threat of the deadly coronavirus pandemic—meant that his supporters were much more likely to turn out to polling places. Democratic voters, on the other hand, were more inclined to avoid the crowded public spaces of election day voting.<br></p><p>Considering the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/09/us-coronavirus-cases-cross-10-million.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ongoing, unprecedented spike in COVID-19 cases in the US</a>, that caution was well-placed. Nonetheless, it gave President Trump leeway to pretend that his apparent victory had somehow been tampered with.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-143"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent2 - long_content --></p><p><script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
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</script></p><p><strong>That strategy may turn out to work, and <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020-presidential-election/2020/11/7/21554114/trump-election-2020-voter-fraud-challenge-recount-biden" target="_blank">Donald Trump could snatch a "legal" coup</a> from the jaws of a clear electoral defeat.</strong> But if the election had been closer, this game would have been much easier for him to play. The uncertainty and the potential for a court case to disrupt the results—as happened <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/11/bush-v-gore-and-the-2000-election-never-ended.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">in Florida in the 2000 election</a>—could have taken over the country for weeks without any projected winner.</p><p>Instead, victory was declared for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and we got to experience the pristine beauty of Donald Trump's desperate legal team scrambling to give a <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2020/11/how-did-trumps-team-land-on-four-seasons-total-landscaping.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">press conference outside Philadelphia's Four Seasons…Total Landscaping</a>.</p><p>The image of Rudy Giuliani spreading lies about fraudulent votes in front of a garage door in a random, grungy parking lot was priceless. The only thing better is the way he and his team unconvincingly pretended to have booked that spot—rather than the similarly-named luxury hotel—on purpose.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-145"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent3 - longer_content --></p><div id="987b5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4bc268938aadc56cc64ae3f33c469233"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1325274318218035201" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">I could write jokes for 800 years and I'd never think of something funnier than Trump booking the Four Seasons for… https://t.co/HoNzSpDrlt</div> — Zack Bornstein (@Zack Bornstein)<a href="https://twitter.com/ZackBornstein/statuses/1325274318218035201">1604804994.0</a></blockquote></div><p>And that absurd, hilarious fumbling is all thanks to the fact that Joe Biden earned a resounding and unambiguous victory. Except… Did he?<br></p><h4>The Election Results</h4><p>At current count Joe Biden has received around 5 million more votes than Donald Trump, and that margin is likely to grow as millions of remaining votes are tallied.</p><p>His popular vote lead puts him roughly in line with Barack Obama's unequivocal defeat of Mitt Romney in 2012. Biden is also projected to win as many as 306 electoral college votes—the same number Donald Trump won in 2016, and well in excess of the 270 needed to secure the presidency.</p><p>While these figures fall short of most of the polling in the lead-up to the election—which <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/national/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">predicted Biden securing closer to an 8% lead</a>—it still sounds like a decisive result. Sadly that shortfall hurt down-ballot Democrats, who failed to take control of the Senate or strengthen their caucus in the House. That points to at least two years of divided, ineffectual governance while Americans face down multiple generation-defining crises.</p><p><strong>Still, the fears of a Trump victory that loomed large as the first results came in now seem a little silly. </strong>Trump didn't really stand a chance, right?</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-147"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent4 - longest_content --></p><div id="fc565" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4c98c39762afc8c5e44485d8799363dc"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1326042000949469185" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">I woke up this morning with a sense of dread that I can't shake. So I'm gonna put my doom spiral out there in hopes… https://t.co/nTkVxyJVbt</div> — Natalie Wynn (@Natalie Wynn)<a href="https://twitter.com/ContraPoints/statuses/1326042000949469185">1604988024.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Sadly, no. While the number of Americans who turned out to reject Trump's hateful politics and failures of leadership outnumber their pro-Trump counterparts by a respectable margin, the growing sense that Biden's victory was inevitable and comfortable does not hold up to scrutiny.<br></p><p>As 2016 taught us, "millions more votes" is a meaningless achievement in our bizarre, antiquated system. In that presidential race Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes, but the way electoral votes are apportioned to favor rural states resulted in Donald Trump winning <a href="https://www.cnn.com/election/2016/results/president" target="_blank">306</a> electoral votes and the presidency (later finalized as 304 due to faithless electors).</p><h4>The Decisive States</h4><p>At the time, a great deal of attention was paid to the fact that three states—Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan—had narrowly handed Trump his win. Worth a total of 46 electoral votes (enough to flip the whole election), Trump's margin of victory in those states was less than 1%.</p><p>From a cohort of 138 million, <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/12/hillary-clinton-margin-loss-votes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">79,316 voters in those three states ended up making the decision for the entire country</a>. It seemed like a slap in the face to the notion of Democratic elections. But it turns out that things were even more narrow in 2020.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-163"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent_5 - incontent_5 --></p><p>While there are still votes being counted—and the specific figures could change as the final tallies come in—it looks likely that four states will go to Biden with a margin of less than 1%. And in the three states where counts are currently closest—Georgia, Arizona, and Wisconsin—Biden is ahead by a total of fewer than 50,000 votes.</p><p>If those three states had gone the other way—Arizona could still flip—Donald Trump would have secured their 37 electoral votes and been handed a second term as president. And that's exactly what would have happened if 0.03% of the 160 million Americans who voted had decided to stay home—or if half that number flipped to voting for Trump instead of Biden.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDc2ODAxMi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3MTIwMDQwM30.LB-P5Lzh24P5OTUM0FbLQqSSJyUdUjfp8Ym3dzCMvKE/img.jpg?width=980" id="69624" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ed7c16b485dc2754ce3ef63f2a878fb2" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Projected final election results" data-width="655" data-height="418">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Projected final Electoral College Tally, with current vote counts in the four closest states.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">AP</small></p><p><strong>And Donald Trump only needs to assemble enough <a href="https://www.factcheck.org/2020/11/thin-allegations-of-dead-people-voting/" target="_blank">flimsy evidence</a> to cast substantial doubt on that tiny fraction of votes in order to conduct a coup.</strong><br></p><p>To put things in perspective, the voters who ensured Joe Biden's victory are outnumbered by the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/disneyland-park-closing-had-long-wait-times-as-coronavirus-spreads-2020-3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">average daily visitors to Disneyland</a> (pre-COVID). Back in the '90s, all the voters who were decisive in expelling Trump from the White House could have fit inside <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/apr/08/atlantic-city-trump-ghost-town-gambling-brian-rose-photographer" target="_blank">Donald Trump's Atlantic City casinos</a>—before those were all either shuttered or rebranded.</p><p>The number of voters who determined our leader during a pandemic are dwarfed by the number of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">people who have been killed by that pandemic in New York and Texas alone</a>...</p><p>Even if you add Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes to the mix, around 95,000 voters could have delivered Donald Trump a comfortable victory—with 292 electoral votes—just by staying home. Then <a href="https://www.collegegridirons.com/stadiums/beaver-stadium/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">they all could have gone to a game at Penn State's Beaver Stadium</a>, with 10,000 seats left to spare.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-164"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent_6 - incontent_6 --></p><h4>The Problem With the Electoral College</h4><p>Why is it possible—let alone familiar and expected—for the most powerful position on Earth, leading a nation of 330 million, to be assigned according to the will of a number of people who couldn't fill the seats at a college football game?</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.popdust.com/if-wikipedia-were-honest-american-democracy-2648608050.html" target="_self">Our system, as it currently exists</a>, makes these razor-thin margins unavoidable.</strong></p><p>If the decision were between two disappointing moderates, that might not be such a terrifying prospect, but political polarization has made each election an inevitable battle between a far-right zealot and… a disappointing moderate.</p><p>States with more rural populations lean strongly Republican, while more urban states lean strongly Democratic. With the already swift rate of cultural progress in cities being amplified by the Internet's tendency to intensify everything, the backlash in rural areas that are more resistant to change is stark, and <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2014/06/12/political-polarization-in-the-american-public/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the divide is only growing</a>.</p><p>Of course the populous in Democratic states significantly outnumber Republican states. In a democratic system that would mean that Republicans would have to shift their policies and their rhetoric to appeal to more people. But the electoral college cancels out the population difference—giving smaller states proportionally more sway.</p><p>As a result, Republicans can play more and more to their relatively small base of support, while Democrats attempt to build broad enough support to overcome their disadvantage. And this struggle ends up playing out in just a handful of "swing states" where opinions are fairly mixed.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDc2ODA5Ni9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMDQ0NjU4NH0.d-kw37poDeOm6afe541-GrqzezI0WDe0Sdt6Hg61a4A/img.png?width=980" id="de02a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c05afe799013e800d07f2412384bd2e2" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Election Spending Increases over time" data-width="754" data-height="345">
</p><p>That's where candidates spend <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/05/20/858347477/money-tracker-how-much-trump-and-biden-have-raised-in-the-2020-election" target="_blank">hundreds of millions of dollars</a>, bombarding residents with attack ads, trying to sway the slim percentage of voters who aren't devoted to one side or the other. <strong>And t</strong><strong>he effect is to leave</strong><strong> an increasing number of people disgusted with the whole political process.</strong><br></p><p>This makes it exceedingly easy for misinformation or voter suppression efforts to become decisive. What if <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/05/07/851976464/new-postmaster-general-is-top-gop-fundraiser" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Trump donor Louis DeJoy</a> had been even better at <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/01/politics/usps-mail-in-ballots-2020-election/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">slowing down the mail in the lead up to the election</a>? What if <a href="https://www.popdust.com/deepfake-facebook-2644438124.html" target="_blank">a "satirical" deepfake video</a> of Hunter Biden had spread on Facebook, bolstering <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/hunter-biden-laptop-qanon-conspiracy-theories-2020-election-1540173" target="_blank">false claims of pedophilia</a>? Would it have been enough to shift the vote by 1% in Arizona, Georgia, and Wisconsin?</p><p>In either case, as awful and as stressful as this election was, we shouldn't take <a href="https://www.popdust.com/election-results-2648624369.html" target="_self">the less-than-horrifying result</a> as a sign that things are okay, or that the next election will be any better. As a nation we walk on a political knife's edge that's controlled by a fraction of the population of a few states.</p><h4>The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact: A Possible Solution </h4><p>If you don't live in one of those battleground states, you will never be in that tiny group of voters whose decision to vote or stay home determines the next four years for the rest of America. As long as we continue to allow the confusing, undemocratic, and <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/03/13/a-majority-of-americans-continue-to-favor-replacing-electoral-college-with-a-nationwide-popular-vote/" target="_blank">unpopular Electoral College system</a> to determine the outcome of presidential elections, candidates will ignore the needs of your state, because your vote won't count.</p><p></p><p>The good news is: There is a way out that doesn't avoids the nearly impossible process of passing a constitutional amendment.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9597a9d3026d5476912a62114746cf99"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N2Keak7cguE?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">The Electoral College and the National Popular Vote | One Detroit Clip</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2Keak7cguE" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
</small>
</p><p>States have the power to determine how their electoral votes are awarded. If a few more state legislatures in places like Texas—where each vote has roughly ⅓ the power of a vote in Vermont—signed onto <a href="https://www.nationalpopularvote.com/state-status" target="_blank">the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact</a>, we could render the Electoral college moot.<br></p><p>A winning number of electoral votes would go to whoever won the popular vote. Our next president would be determined by millions of Americans, rather than a few thousand people in Wisconsin.</p><h2></h2><h2></h2><p>Until then, we will keep walking the razor's edge.</p>
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Let's Unpack This: Is Biden's New Website Hot or Am I Just Desperate?
Biden's new website is...nice.
It's been said many times: Leaving Trump behind feels like emerging from an abusive relationship, or perhaps renewing one's relationship with a former BFF (America) after she leaves her sh*tty man.
After all, Trump is a classic abuser. He gaslights, he lies, he cheats, and he is leaving behind an America with 200,000 people dead and more dying every day. He never admits his mistakes, creating a vicious cycle wherein he does something atrocious, gets a tan, and then shows up smiling with flowers (or in his case, a last-minute attempt to curry favor with the Black community by befriending several aging rappers).
Many Americans are still under his spell, and there's not much a lot of us can do about it. People in abusive relationships are often in denial about what's happening to them, and they often won't leave until they decide to. Shaming someone in an abusive relationship is rarely an effective way to get them out of it, as they've likely already been shamed many times.
<p>Concerned friends and family can get into as many Facebook arguments with Trumpets as we want, but until they decide they deserve better and it's time to leave, there's really not too much we can do for them. All we can do is offer a safe place where they can run to, should they choose to escape. (Of course, we must remember that many Trumpers can be abusive as well).</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-143"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent2 - long_content --></p><p>Anyway, all this is to say that now we're finally kicking Trump out. America, we have decided to free ourselves. And we have the next few months to prepare for a new man to move in: Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.</p><h4>Settling for Joe, Dreaming of Bernie</h4><p>I know I'm not alone in saying that Joe Biden isn't my dream man. For a long time, I was hoping that Bernie Sanders would sweep me off my feet on an elderly white horse, a joint billowing from his hand. He would take me to the hospital where I would finally get my wisdom teeth removed for free thanks to Medicare For All, and then we would go to Jeff Bezos's house, demand a few billion dollars (just hand it over, Jeff, it'll save you a lot of time in court), and make a couple large donations to community organizers. </p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-145"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent3 - longer_content --></p><p><script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
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</script></p><p>But alas, that was always a fantasy—and much like my childhood fantasy of dating Joe Jonas during his <em>Camp Rock </em>years, some things are simply not meant to be. </p><p>Now we have Joe Biden. I still don't know <em>all</em> that much about the man, relatively speaking, but I know he's not nearly as dangerous as Donald Trump. When I heard he was the nominee, I thought that if anything, he might just be a do-nothing type of politician who would have to be bullied by mass movements into taking any sort of action at all. </p><p>But at least, I hoped, he would clean up some of the mess Trump made during one of his many fits of rage. At least there would be no more 5 AM tweet storms. At least his gang of weird friends from Fox News would stop stealing from my fridge and <a href="https://www.popdust.com/trump-the-end-of-american-leadership-2648566620.html" target="_self"><u>destroying America's stature in the rest of the world's eyes</u></a>. </p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-147"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent4 - longest_content --></p><p>But upon seeing <a href="https://buildbackbetter.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>Joe Biden's new website</u></a>, I'm feeling something strange and unfamiliar. It's not quite butterflies, but it's close—perhaps the faint buzzing of the <u><a href="https://nypost.com/2020/10/12/pence-addresses-fly-on-his-head-during-vp-debate/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">fly that ended Mike Pence.</a></u></p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CGEcyZVB2R7/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CGEcyZVB2R7/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"> View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div></a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CGEcyZVB2R7/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Usually wouldn't post in between seasons but was just so proud of the whole team ❤️</a><br> A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jtfirstman/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Jordan Firstman</a> (@jtfirstman) on Oct 7, 2020 at 9:45pm PDT<br></div></blockquote> <script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></div><p>The website looks...nice. It's been so long since a political platform showed up wearing a suit and holding flowers instead of brandishing a gun at me and threatening to demolish gay rights.<br></p><h4>COVID-19 </h4><p>Scrolling through, I actually agree with most of what the website says. I mean, first of all, there's the COVID-19 plan. A COVID plan. A plan! It's not an Elizabeth Warren-level plan, sure, but it's still an actual plan with steps.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDc2ODA1My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1ODMwNjgzNX0.wBTaIbk2WD85P-2og1qDNzkhZhyBhbfYE5IQezjhdsk/img.png?width=980" id="910ac" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="88ad9cd26db43c1016e3d73b48d0dbc6" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="840" data-height="282">
</p><p>Trump had no plan. If anything, his plan was to keep golfing as he let COVID-19 keep raging across the country. States across the nation probably would've shut down again, over and over again each winter for years, because not every state is willing to just...let everyone catch COVID-19. This disease would have continued for another four years to forever. The death toll, the overcrowded hospitals…The nightmare would have gone on, and on, and on.<br></p><p>It's unclear as to whether Joe Biden will effectively stop COVID-19, but dammit, it's nice to know there is a plan–one that's comprised of actual words, to boot.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-163"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent_5 - incontent_5 --></p><p>It's also incredibly relieving to hear someone say they will "ensure public health decisions are informed by public health professionals." This is like if you were dating some guy who's willing to let you lie on the couch bleeding out because he didn't feel like driving you to the ER, but then Joe Biden popped in and said the Uber is on its way. (Yeah, we can't quite expect affordable ambulances with a Biden healthcare plan, but I'll take what I can get). </p><p>Biden has promised to set up a Pandemic Testing Board and a U.S. Public Health Jobs Corps to mobilize community contract tracing. He's going to use the Defense Production Act. He's going to call on Congress to pass an emergency relief package and a "restart package" that helps businesses cover COVID-19 related costs. He's going to build infrastructure to prevent future pandemic threats. He's going to fund schools and small businesses. </p><p>And, incredibly, Biden's COVID-19 plan involves science. (How beautiful it is to hear that word: "science"...used correctly…)</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDc2ODAwNC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2OTYwMjk1OX0.obRlMfovXjISCHjsjoHshr1Z0s2fs_c8fmUS-eIuVeA/img.png?width=980" id="8e006" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="53c17ea8385c3073710faab3993aa734" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="456" data-height="259">
</p><p><br></p><h4>Climate Change</h4><p>I've always had a type, and that type is musicians and/or climate activists. I didn't think Joe Biden was either, but his climate plan is music to my ears. </p><p>Biden knows climate change is an existential threat. He knows that the "current COVID-19 pandemic reminds us how profoundly the energy and environmental policy decisions of the past have failed communities" and "at this moment of profound crisis, we have the opportunity to build a more resilient, sustainable economy—one that will put the United States on an irreversible path to achieve net-zero emissions, economy-wide, by no later than 2050." </p><p>An irreversible path to net-zero emissions. Rejoining the Paris Climate Accord—and vamping them up. Creating millions of green jobs. Environmental Justice. Talk. Clean. Energy. To. Me.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-164"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent_6 - incontent_6 --></p><p>True, these are fairly logical, necessary steps to that must be taken if we are to combat climate change, the paramount existential threat of our time, and it will take even more radical action to prevent irreparable destruction. It's sad that we have to celebrate someone doing the bare minimum, using basic logic, and practicing public decency, but here we are. </p><p>Maybe I've just gotten so used to preparing for hurricanes and wildfires and being treated like sh*t that I've lowered my expectations to subterranean bunker-levels. And maybe I am too naive.</p><p>It's probably naive to believe any of this will be possible or that any real change will happen with Biden. But given that the ex-president mostly communicated through all-caps rage-tweets, this is a nice change. </p><h4>Economic Recovery</h4><p>Biden also has an economic recovery plan. "The pandemic has also laid bare some unacceptable truths. Even before COVID-19, too many families were struggling to make ends meet and too many parents were worried about the economic future for their children," writes whoever wrote the copy for Biden's website.</p><p>"Laid bare": That's the phrase that every single one of my favorite journalists has used to describe the effects of COVID-19. Biden steals phrases from reputable journalists rather than from cracked-out Floridian moguls paying for rooms at Mar-A-Lago in order to gain favors from the president. </p><p>Wow, my expectations are really, really, really low. I mean, goddammit, the ex-president has <a href="https://www.cheatsheet.com/money-career/donald-trump-business-failures-complete-guide.html/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>failed at countless business ventures</u></a> and has been <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/watch-inside-the-bailout-that-saved-a-collapsing-trump-organization/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>bailed out time and time again</u></a>. He's like Pete Davidson in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M43Oukqr2Rw" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>this recent SNL sketch</u></a>, who claims he's working on a "start-up" only for you to later find out that his "angel investor" is ghosting him.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1816062d16e6d06ad2a681916026c5f1"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M43Oukqr2Rw?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Visiting Grandma - SNL</small>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M43Oukqr2Rw" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
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</p><p>Trump is a criminal who didn't even pay his taxes. He's literally Keith from this other SNL sketch (a not-so-subtle metaphor for Trump), and America is Ego Nwodim, somehow considering actually taking him back (until the cops show up).<br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1957fec45377bf3257559572b5657a3f"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pWR1wimuQic?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Take Me Back - SNL</small>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWR1wimuQic" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
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</p><p>Biden's economic plan promises to "provide state, local, and tribal governments with the aid they need so educators, firefighters, and other essential workers aren't being laid off." The plan also promises to "mobilize American talent and heart to build a 21st century caregiving and education workforce." He included carework and education—traditionally undervalued and under-recognized forms of essential work—in his economic plan.<br></p><p>Hopefully, with Jill Biden at the helm rather than <a href="https://www.ajc.com/education/get-schooled-blog/bye-bye-betsy/ICLAMIUXNRHGVKTYVBZO432ZTM/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>Betsy DeVos</u></a>, America's education and caregiving systems will improve so that more people of all genders have equal opportunities to ascend to the highest office in the land.</p><p>At the very, very least, there will be a dog back in the White House.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDc2ODAxOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NjEwMzk2NX0.4ZhHuk6xY9Srg9aAu3jJHu189hcXueYY-25hH1P5SHI/img.jpg?width=980" id="4abaf" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f7714d71fdf5305285b9ab380483b7c1" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Joe Biden Shelter Dog" data-width="1200" data-height="630">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Joe Biden and his shelter dog, Champ</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit..."><a href="https://mymodernmet.com/biden-shelter-dog/" target="_blank">mymodernmet.com</a></small></p><p><br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDc2ODAyOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NTAyNTg3NX0.sEFXYI1mNcF_R2Bdi5kUeCfHwur-F-f0hyW47a-DaPo/img.jpg?width=980" id="ff098" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="171ab0c3e5893271173dd41675f09a49" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Joe and Jill Biden Dog" data-width="1000" data-height="560">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Joe and Jill Biden with their German Shepard, Major</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit..."><a href="https://fashionmodelsecret.com/celebrities/the-truth-about-joe-bidens-dogs-major-and-champ/" target="_blank">Fashion Model Secret</a></small></p><h4>Racial Equality</h4><p>Biden also has a plan to "mobilize across the board to advance racial equity in America." That's right: No more creepy, covert-but-kind-of-overt white supremacy implicit in the presidential platform.</p><p>Now, we have Kamala Harris, <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/black-women-and-girls-cry-and-cheer-over-a-historic-victory-for-vice-president-elect-kamala-harris/ar-BB1aNs0X" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>a Black and South Asian woman</u></a>, as our VP! Sure, she might have a background in criminal prosecution, and representation doesn't equal reparations, but you know...it's still way, way better than that really disturbing "stand back and stand by" stuff we dealt with for four years. </p><p>There's an entire section on racial equality. There's a plan for police reform. We're doing the bare minimum rather than regressing at an exponential pace.</p><p>Let's not forget that racism is deeply ingrained in the fabric of America, and <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/11/7/21551364/white-trump-voters-2020" target="_blank">white people overwhelmingly voted for Trump</a>. Also, this kind of change has been promised before, and we have been let down many times. There's a lot of work to do.</p><p>We aren't out of the woods yet—far from it. But for this one glowing weekend, the dense pines cleared and we saw a sky full of shooting stars. It didn't actually help anyone pay for their kids' food or clear their astronomical healthcare bills; but it's a promise and a chance to imagine that one day, we might make it out. </p><h4>America Deserves Better</h4><p>Joe Biden is not the patron saint of hope, equality, and change. In all honesty, it completely makes sense that a lot of people all along the political spectrum aren't excited about him. He's not exactly the guy of our dreams. And America does deserve better. </p><p>But hopefully, Joe Biden will be there over the next few years as we bind our wounds and heal the burns from our terrible spray tans. He'll give us time to get a couple makeovers, <a href="https://www.popdust.com/borat-movie-2648503139.html" target="_self"><u>a la Tutar in the Borat sequel</u></a>. He'll help us rebuild, and hopefully next time the election rolls around, we'll have found our footing as a strong, powerful nation that doesn't need a man at all. </p><p>Of course, many powerful villains remain. There's America's resident zombie-ghoul, Mitch McConnell, who has <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mitch-mcconnell-blocks-obama-laughs_n_5df32430e4b0deb78b517322" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>long been blocking Democrats' every effort to make real change</u></a>. Even though the man is <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2020/10/whats-going-on-with-mitch-mcconnells-hands.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>rotting from the inside out</u></a>—perhaps his hatred has at last calcified into a visible plague?—we haven't been able to exorcise that particular demon yet. (Kentucky...<a href="https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/11/03/ky-elections-people-say-charles-booker-would-have-stood-chance/6153610002/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>we'll be ready to elect Charles Booker</u></a> when you need us, but we can't help you until you help yourself). </p><p><strong>And in truth, <em>we</em> will never heal until we learn to love ourselves, America. We can't rely on another old white man to fix us. We have to turn to our people, our communities, and mass movements. We have to decide what we want our future to look like, and go get it.</strong> </p><p>It's clear that it will take a lot more than a president-elect to wring out some of America's lingering, ongoing traumas. We'll need therapy, certainly, and a lot of it. Hopefully all those <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tanyachen/drugs-are-the-real-winner-of-the-elections" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>freshly legalized drugs</u></a> will help with our collective depression. </p><p>At some point, we'll actually have to engage with the deep traumas and early childhood wounds that led us into these kinds of relationships in the first place. We have to confront the mistakes of our forefathers and foremothers, the slavery and colonization and colonialism that created the attachment issues and socio-psychological defects that drew us to men like Trump. We have to be the ones that change our lives in order to change our nation. </p><p>But that's a tall order, and we're all tired. So for now, I'm just going to keep gazing lovingly at the work of Biden's excellent web designer, who clearly knows how to pick a font and lay out an escape plan. I look forward to being mildly uninspired by Biden's administrative staff picks rather than openly horrified. </p><p>It's been a terrible time, America. For many of us, life has always been this way. But it's late-stage 2020; the status quo is no more, and anything is possible. If you told me I'd be writing a thirsty essay about Joe Biden's website in February 2020 I would have thrown my beer in your face then gone back to my awesome free concert (just kidding, I probably would've been right here on the Internet protected <a href="https://www.aclu.org/issues/free-speech/internet-speech/what-net-neutrality" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>by net neutrality</u></a>, but I digress).</p><p>Yes, I am pretty desperate right now, and I don't think I'm alone in that. But I have faith in the organizers that have been working tirelessly to get us here, and I believe if we keep fighting, organizing, and working towards change, we'll see a new world come to be.</p><p> For now, love is love, so I will continue to feel vaguely attracted to this website until climate change ends or I finally get my goddamned stimulus check. </p><h2></h2><p></p>
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Follow the Science - Accepting The Temporary During COVID-19
And how do we apply the principle of "the temporary" not only to science but to our daily lives?
On a daily basis, we hear that we should "follow the science" with regard to COVID-19. What does that mean in the context of COVID, exactly? Moreover, based on humanity's lived experience of "following the science" what does that mean in general?
By definition, "science" consists of establishing and testing falsifiable hypotheses. Once tested, a hypothesis becomes established as fact until some new element of the testing environment finds it wanting in some respect.
As a result, scientists - or, more likely, a lonely iconoclastic scientist - test a new hypothesis that refines, or even explodes, the previous hypothesis resulting in a new hypothesis. That new hypothesis becomes the latest established fact and subsequent generations marvel at their benighted ancestors who accepted the previous hypothesis.
In other words, "following the science" means accepting the temporary positions of constantly evolving human knowledge. Such knowledge has been historically disproven when more refined measurement, better information, or a genius insight comes along. Given the shortening interval required to double the total sum of human knowledge, these positions become ever more temporary.
In terms of the development of geocentric astronomy, consider the millennium that passed from the ancients to Ptolemy. A mere 500 years passed before Copernicus revolutionized the field with heliocentrism. Only 200 years elapsed before Newton elucidated the laws of motion and gravitation.
True, it was the same 200-year interval that lapsed before Einstein's quantum leap to his theory of relativity. But less than 30 years later Fr. Lemaitre posited the Big Bang theory. Since then our knowledge of physics has evolved at such a dizzying pace that every few years there are groundbreaking discoveries that change our conception (or at least scientists' conceptions) of the universe.
Here's the point: when we "follow the science" we are correct for increasingly short intervals of time. This is because we are continually learning that fundamental elements of our understanding are wrong, or woefully incomplete.
Systems we use to describe the world have gaping holes that render a system such as geo-centrism obsolete with the introduction of heliocentrism. It was inevitable that heliocentrism would be usurped by the concept of an infinite ever-expanding universe - revealing our previous understanding to be at a preschool level compared to a doctoral program.
Following the science has long been the refuge of totalitarians. How did White Supremacists in the antebellum South justify their critical race theory? With science - carefully reasoned studies and tracts that they claimed to demonstrate the genetic inferiority of Blacks.
How did the Nazi party justify its version of critical race theory? With science - carefully controlled experiments on supposed genetic deficient populations carried out by the likes of Mengele.
How did the 20th-century Marxists justify wiping out millions in the Ukraine, the Cultural Revolution, or the Killing Fields - just to name a few? With science - as they touted the revealed truth of Social Science that requires the inevitability of class struggle.
Even the Catholic Church - a supposed "enemy of science" - actually suppressed Galileo in the name of science. The real charge against him was not disagreement with his theories, but that he presented the theories as fact in the face of established science at the time.
Pick your bugaboo authoritarian regime at random and you'll find that each and every one bases its authority on "science".
So, let's bring this back to COVID.
The very same authorities have told us to "follow the science" all along. Not surprisingly, that science is constantly changing. COVID seemed nothing more than a nuisance until it turned into an existential threat to humanity that required shutting down our economy.
That shutdown was supposed to be two weeks so that we could flatten the curve. But then it turned into the oxymoron of eradicating an unstoppable, communicable virus.
Wearing masks was unnecessary until it turned out to be necessary. The virus wasn't transmitted person-to-person until we realized it was transmitted person-to-person.
The Swedish approach to minimizing economic lockdown was a grossly negligent mistake that put lives at risk. But then we realized that lockdowns themselves caused more human harm and suffering than the actual virus. This goes on and on, with breathless anxiety-inducing instructions as to what we should do as responsible citizens.
If we give this a charitable reading, we can assume people are acting in good faith who realize that their "science" changes rapidly as human knowledge of COVID expands. If true, then we should take their revealed science with a healthy dose of salt and wait for it to change in short order.
If we give it a less than charitable reading, then we can assume that this is an agenda propagated by authoritarians seeking power. In an election year during which so much power is at stake, this notion isn't at all far-fetched.
As for me, I go back to simple scientific discussions about diet. During my lifetime I've seen amusing swings in scientific opinion in this regard.
Are eggs good or bad for you? Sometimes eggs have been viewed as a death sentence by cholesterol consumption - guaranteed to give you a heart attack. At other times, eggs have been touted as an essential part of your diet that promotes brain health.
Is red meat good or bad for you? Sometimes red meat lurks as a killer. At other times red meat leads the way to weight loss and energy.
As it happens, I like both eggs and red meat. Indeed, I find myself to be more energetic, happier, and more productive when I include both in my diet. Others may disagree based on a different lived experience. Fine by me, but I suspect a scientist won't convince either one of us one way or the other. After all, we have our actual experience.
So, when people tell you to "follow the science" my recommendation would be to study this rapidly changing and evolving body of knowledge and get to understand what science actually means.
Further, I'd suggest that you question the agenda of anyone who presents "science" as a settled matter that only supports their own conclusions.
Finally, I'd suggest that the practicality of your own lived experience counts for much more than esoteric theory. After all, whether explained by Ptolemy, Copernicus, Newton, or Einstein, we find our feet firmly on the ground.
Margaret Caliente is a professional athlete turned internet entrepreneur and Manhattan-based journalist.
