Rational Thought Wins in California

Rational Thought Worked, This Time

According to the NY Times this morning, Governor Newsom's approach to vaccinations and COVID-19 restrictions turned out to be his strength. His approach to the virus was the reason for the recall to begin with. His opponents were loud and crude, bordering on irrational. But the word got out there that his approach based on science and reasonable thought saved his governorship.

"But Newsom’s overall approach to the pandemic helped save him."

It aligned very closely with what public-health experts were urging, including the mandates for indoor masks and vaccinations, notes Soumya Karlamangla, a Times reporter based in Los Angeles. Initially, those measures hurt Newsom’s popularity, because they were cumbersome and did not seem to be making much difference. In the spring, California’s case numbers were not so different from those in Florida or Texas.

“It feels a little like he’s the perfect example of the conundrum public health officials often face,” Soumya says. “How do you get people to do something before they can see the risk is there?”

More recently, the connection has become clearer. Vaccination rates have risen high enough in much of California — and the Delta variant is contagious enough among the unvaccinated — that the state now looks very different from much of the Southeast and Mountain West, where hundreds of people are dying each day and hospitals are running out of room.

In California, COVID caseloads and hospitalizations, which were already well below the national average, have been falling for about two weeks. “Panic levels feel much lower than they did even a month ago,” Soumya says."  NY Times

Only One Battle

Attacks on rationality and truth are not over. A lie on the internet spreads so rapidly, it is hard to counter the forces behind it. The radical fringes in this country understand this all too well. So do the Russians. 

I saw a US Senator on PBS NewsHour repeat falsehoods and distortions over and over last night, while dodging substantive questions. It makes me wonder why he wasn't called out. If, as a journalist, you think you shouldn't have to challenge responses like his because it's just your job to present the interview, please rethink your stance, or find a different line of work.