FEATURED INSIGHTS
INSIGHTS
Embracing Workplace Vaccination Mandates
Workplaces struggling to marry up a mandatory vaccine policy with HPPA privacy laws got good news last Wednesday when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled that employers are entitles—and required—to ensure a safe workplace “in which an individual shall not pose a direct threat to the health or safety of individuals in the workplace.”
The Pending Housing Crisis
Feds Obstruct Vaccine Delivery
Pfizer says the administration stopped providing it with destinations for millions of COVID vaccine doses sitting in warehouses. Multiple states, including Virginia, report cuts to promised allotments by up to 50%. This represents an unfathomable level of cruelty and neglect in the midst of America’s worst-ever accumulated mass casualty event. There are only a limited number of possible reasons…
Vaccine Messaging: What does leadership look like?
Is it better for the head of a company to get vaccinated last after their employees, or first in a demonstration of behavior-modeled leadership? Many businesses and organizations around the country are grappling with this very chicken-or-egg situation now that a vaccine is within sight. Nationwide, nearly 40 percent of Americans remain hesitant to take the coronavirus vaccine, and while many leaders and celebrity influencers will be part of a $50M PR campaign, some large organizations like businesses and school systems should consider internal messaging and advocacy to reduce the percent of vaccine hesitant individuals...
Virginia: The Dr. is Out to Lunch
With these new measures, Northam reveals that he, a doctor who should know better, is simply reacting to events. Early, decisive action with a justifiable basis in epidemiological science would yield better public health outcomes and political results. The Governor would be better served by taking proactive actions and standing firm on the justifiable science with clear and consistent public messaging…
5 Steps to Survive Until A COVID Vaccine is Available
Public health experts don’t expect a coronavirus vaccine to become widely available until around April 2021. Even once a viable vaccine candidate is approved, the government must manage an unprecedented fill-and-finish campaign and launch PSAs to combat misinformation that could depress vaccination rates. Until such time, society will have to survive through abiding by published health guidance, which we reiterate here:
Cult Exit Counseling: A post-Trump social framework
Undoubtedly, Donald Trump is a fascist destroying American society. Such mediocre results In the year when Democrats expected to win nationally in a landslide, makes it clear the party needs to invest more resources reaching out to voters enthralled by an authoritarian strongman. This partisan environment has torn many families apart—and many individuals are programmed by conservative media to believe conspiracy theories and propagate misinformation.
SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIES FOR COLLEGE REOPENING
Nearly all of America’s colleges are experiencing COVID outbreaks. However, through a combination of science-based health policy and good luck, 35 colleges have not experienced an outbreak. Here are strategies those schools had in common
A Resolute Framework: 5 Questions to Evaluate CDC Political Interference
President Trump exerts undue influence on the CDC through politicized political appointments that undermine public trust in the institution. They are reportedly exerting pressure to issue guidance contradictory to established public health science. This interference is the latest in a series of politicized reports based on questionable science reminiscent of regimes like Brazil or North Korea.
We know that in countries where politics trumps sound public health guidance, fatalities increase, and health outcomes decrease overall. As the quality of CDC guidance is inconsistent, RSG developed a framework to analyze new CDC decisions to determine whether they are likely to result from sound policy or bad politics…
COVID Accelerates Multiple Pending Crises
High rents, inadequate food and housing subsidies, and scarce good-paying jobs will easily consume over 60 percent of the American household budget, setting families back generations and preventing them from building multigenerational wealth.
K-12: 60 Days Until Disaster
Reopening K-12 schools is a prerequisite to reopening the economy, as many working adults cannot return to work until their children are back in school being educated by teachers. Schools generally failed to prepare adequately for digital solutions over their summer off. The result is that students mostly receive substandard educational content and inadequate teacher interaction.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM VIRGINIA’S SPECIAL SESSION
Virginia state legislators returned to the Capitol this week to meet for a special legislative session on coronavirus. One member on the House Appropriations Committee privately likened the session to the General Assembly, "coming back to turn on the 'un-allotted' lights." The pandemic forced the Commonwealth to pause $2.7 billion of new spending on Democratic priorities. The legislature also plans to approve new language on criminal justice reform that will relive systemic pressure after months of protests.
POLITICAL COMMUNICATIONS IN A MULTIPOLAR SOCIETY
The evolution from one-way mass communication into two-way mass communication makes transformational policy changes not just possible, but inevitable. How well gatekeepers can adapt and respond to the newly popular policy desires will determine whether that policy change has a positive or negative impact on society.
POLICY BRIEF: Virginia Criminal Justice Reform
The Virginia General Assembly directed its State Crime Commission (SCC) to undertake an emergency review of its criminal justice policies and identify opportunities for reform. Most legislative activity will center around policies supported by the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, mainstream Democratic activists, and the Black Lives Matter protestors. This augments those discussions.
Blockchain Could Transform Public Utilities
Blockchain is the cornerstone needed to transition from analog utilities, like electricity and water, to digital utilities that address politically-challenging modern societal needs for basic income, housing, vehicles, secure transmission of healthcare records, secure elections and even social media networks. Blockchain use by utility companies solves more than just their own industry problems and opens new markets to stagnate fossil fuel companies. Moreover, no specialized equipment is necessary beyond current practices.
What I Learned About Unions in Two Years Lobbying for One
During my two years as the Virginia lobbyist for a major building-trades union, I got an inside look at how unions work, what they do right, how they can help business and what they do wrong.
Reform in Virginia Means Dashing the Specter of Byrd
Many high-profile, liberal state laws became effective in Virginia on July 1 that begin to unravel generations of systemic injustice faced by the Commonwealth’s minority residents. The Commonwealth of Virginia elected its first liberal legislature in 2019 since Reconstruction ended in 1880, completing a centuries-long ideological transition of the state Democratic Party from conservative to liberal.
Is TikTok a Dangerous App?
Do you remember your childhood telephone number? Chances are that you can because seven digits is the average amount of numbers that humans can memorize without needing to reference written notes. Now what about the words to your favorite song? Chances are you remember the words and that there are far more than seven. This is because music hacks our brain and memory by making it easier to remember things like words, emotions, passions, places, and people.