This is a deep, deep problem. I hope it’s not intractable. Jay Battacharya has a heavy lift. The way so many used the pandemic to seize power over the lives of others reminds me a lot of the climate scam.
[Afternoon update]
A thing we don't talk about enough is how bad the CDC guidance was for opening things up during Covid
— PoIiMath (@politicalmath) April 27, 2025
Read the details! It was insanely unrealistic but was used by states to act in very insane wayshttps://t.co/Ona38iTQXI
A word has been coined to describe our public health bureaucracy: idiocracy. I’ll leave it at that.
I often forget about Covid beginning under Trump. His actions were an overreach but seemed consistent for trying to manage a global pandemic. However, things got out of hand quickly, and the leadership in blue state and local areas got absurd, and more absurd as they gained control at the federal level. Even today, Covid is used by some to demand isolation. It is no longer a physical threat to a person as it is a psychological threat to a person.
I think it was all a fascinating look at policy and human nature colliding. Also a misunderstanding of the threat and the risk. But the biggest takeaway is that relying on a bureaucracy to make good decisions in a time of crisis is a recipe for disaster and that when the next round comes along (and it will) we should have a better planning option in place, like yesterday.