3 ms·

I guess I primarily mean the people on the ground. Not the politicians - the best that can be said about them is that they're getting out of the way (in some, n

by _bxg1 7y ago

I guess I primarily mean the people on the ground. Not the politicians - the best that can be said about them is that they're getting out of the way (in some, not all cases) - but the doctors and nurses, the scientists, the grocery store workers, the companies converting their factories to make medical supplies, and yes, even the bureaucrats who are pushing this stuff through. There are still lots of people out there to be disappointed in, but we're also seeing those who do care about the greater good coming out of the woodwork and really taking real action, and it's inspiring.

DrAwdeOccarim 7y ago
Not to bail Trump out because I have found his reactive leadership bad (all he had to do was get out of the way of the experts), but America--in my humble opinion--has always been bottom up. The idea that >300 million people can agree on anything always amazes me, and the design of the country is to allow as much autonomy to localities as possible while maintaining broad collaboration and cohesion. This is already shining where the US testing capacity has gone from basically zero to the highest in the world (>40k per day) in a matter of 2 weeks. Yes, the Federal government dropped the ball (tapping Scott Gottlieb instead of Pence would have made a big difference), but the private sector stepped up big. Two weeks from now I expect N95 masks, other PPE, and vents all being made in huge capacities. So back to your "people on the ground" comment. I totally agree. It's the bottom up Americanism that will get us through this, as usual. It reminds me of the famous Abba Eban quote often misattributed to Churchill, "Americans Will Always Do the Right Thing — After Exhausting All the Alternatives". This totally holds true right now, and likely always will. The really amazing thing is going to be three American companies proving through clinical trials in the next 6-8 months that we invented a new technology (genetic-based vaccines) that produced a functional vaccine by the end of the year (Moderna), that we have a potent anti-viral compound ready to use in two months (Giliad), and antibody therapy ready 8 months (Regeneron). That's nuts. If we go through the motions this time, we will be prepared to dramatically increase the speed of approvals and testing when the the next viral pandemic comes.
- LMYahooTFY 7y ago
  >This is already shining where the US testing capacity has gone from basically zero to the highest in the world (>40k per day) in a matter of 2 weeks. Do you have any sources/links for this? I've struggled to find credible info.
  - DrAwdeOccarim 7y ago
    I found it here: https://twitter.com/johnrobb/status/1241555048540372992 https://twitter.com/johnrobb/status/1241555048540372992 But now that I look more closely, I can't find source data. Let me know if you find any more details.

by _bxg1 7y ago

DrAwdeOccarim 7y ago

Not to bail Trump out because I have found his reactive leadership bad (all he had to do was get out of the way of the experts), but America--in my humble opinion--has always been bottom up. The idea that >300 million people can agree on anything always amazes me, and the design of the country is to allow as much autonomy to localities as possible while maintaining broad collaboration and cohesion. This is already shining where the US testing capacity has gone from basically zero to the highest in the world (>40k per day) in a matter of 2 weeks. Yes, the Federal government dropped the ball (tapping Scott Gottlieb instead of Pence would have made a big difference), but the private sector stepped up big. Two weeks from now I expect N95 masks, other PPE, and vents all being made in huge capacities. So back to your "people on the ground" comment. I totally agree. It's the bottom up Americanism that will get us through this, as usual. It reminds me of the famous Abba Eban quote often misattributed to Churchill, "Americans Will Always Do the Right Thing — After Exhausting All the Alternatives". This totally holds true right now, and likely always will. The really amazing thing is going to be three American companies proving through clinical trials in the next 6-8 months that we invented a new technology (genetic-based vaccines) that produced a functional vaccine by the end of the year (Moderna), that we have a potent anti-viral compound ready to use in two months (Giliad), and antibody therapy ready 8 months (Regeneron). That's nuts. If we go through the motions this time, we will be prepared to dramatically increase the speed of approvals and testing when the the next viral pandemic comes.

LMYahooTFY 7y ago
>This is already shining where the US testing capacity has gone from basically zero to the highest in the world (>40k per day) in a matter of 2 weeks. Do you have any sources/links for this? I've struggled to find credible info.
- DrAwdeOccarim 7y ago
  I found it here: https://twitter.com/johnrobb/status/1241555048540372992 https://twitter.com/johnrobb/status/1241555048540372992 But now that I look more closely, I can't find source data. Let me know if you find any more details.