FEATURED INSIGHTS
INSIGHTS
COVID Infections Hit New Highs
The United States now regularly reports over 100,000 new coronavirus infections daily, and many states are discussing the possibility of new lockdowns. Greece and Britain have already locked down again, while Italy, France, and Germany announced regional lockdowns for areas suffering from severe COVID outbreaks. The U.S. now faces the uncontrolled community spread, and it has made no serious effort to mitigate the virus going into the winter months.
Our New Reality: Unmitigated COVID Spread
The U.S. will soon report 100,000 new cases of coronavirus daily, with that figure rising as long as states keep schools open. Unless the nation takes collective vigilant action, American families are in store for devastation never before experienced in the United States. The White House coronavirus task force is warning states in the middle and western regions that they require aggressive measures to curb the virus’ spread.
Pre 2020 Election Politics
The Trump Administration did more to erode government credibility and the public trust than any President since Watergate, and these crimes are far more severe. The reality is that every Supreme Court decision made is now illegitimate. Every government bureaucratic order from a Trump appointee is illegitimate and stymied public reforms, and efforts to roll back healthcare and other welfare protections will make violent revolution inevitable.
Vaccines Progress, FDA Approves Useless Treatment
There is good news out of Oxford, which said that the vaccine it developed with Astra Zeneca worked well and triggered a robust immune response in volunteers. Despite the good news, the UK government is warning that a widespread rollout of a coronavirus vaccine is unlikely before Christmas. The government added that the possibility of wider spread use of vaccines isn't going to happen until the spring of next year at the earliest. We would have enough doses and enough understanding of the medical infrastructure to distribute them effectively by that time.
Should Americans Prepare for Civil War?
Donald Trump has set America on a path to bloodshed and catastrophe. According to the FBI, white supremacists and other rightwing extremists are responsible for over two-thirds of the domestic terrorist attacks and plots this year, with over half that violence targeting protestors. By contrast, only a single deadly “far-left” attack occurred in 2020 in Portland, according to the centrist think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies has studied domestic terror attacks since 1994.
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…
Flocking Toward Herd Immunity
Governments are anxious to avoid returning to economically damaging lockdowns and mass quarantines, so getting ready for winter should mean the U.S. works to get COVID infection numbers as low as possible. Instead, it is exploring a dangerous path to herd immunity—unmitigated viral spread that has young, non-disabled workers resuming their daily lives as usual while vulnerable populations continue their isolation
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.
Colleges & Universities: More COVID Cases, Fewer Games
The nation’s leading infection disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, also warned American academic administrations last week not to send infected students home, stating that the students could take the highly transmittable virus with them.
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.
Transparent COVID Vaccine Key to Public Confidence
There is little question in the scientific community now that Pfizer and Moderna are the two most likely companies to develop viable vaccines — at least at this juncture.
Pinellas, Florida: The Ultimate Bellwether
Any political strategist, pollster, or political operative will tell you to watch Pinellas County, Florida on election night this November. Why? Because this Florida county, just east to Tampa, and home to St. Petersburg, is one of the most important swing counties in one of the most critically important swing states.
COVID Strategy Guide: Analyzing College Reopening Policies
Absent uniform or scientifically-accurate federal standards, American colleges and universities are charting their own courses to varying degrees of success. Those institutions already face known economic pressures and implemented an array of strategies to mitigate the pandemic.
Every sound reopening strategy has four common elements: Widespread testing and contact tracing; Quarantines and social distancing measures; Transparent communication of data/policy; and Innovation
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.
STRATEGY GUIDE: VACCINE GEOPOLITICS WILL DESTABILIZE
If it was unclear clear that the Cold War is back on, Russia named its vaccine program “Sputnik V.” Clear political messaging from an autocratic oligarchy populated with the former Soviet officials.
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.
COVID STRATEGY GUIDE: Work (and Learn) from Home
Experts believe that the coronavirus will "ping-pong" around the United States, infecting "reopened" communities and decreasing in places as they lockdown. The 18-25 demographic is the least compliant with public health measures, so we assume that students everywhere will flout campus security and rules meant to protect public health. Dormitories also present a challenge as increased housing density can contribute to worse outcomes, as indicated by the viral spread in large cities, nursing homes, and jails.
COVID STRATEGY GUIDE: Two Races - Vaccines & the Election
We have learned that a safe, effective vaccine against COVID-19, the infection caused by the coronavirus, most likely won’t be available for large segments of the world’s population until 2022 at the earliest.
COVID STRATEGY GUIDE: Emerging Crises
The eviction crisis is the severest looming economic issue. It portends an America with a dispossessed populace equal to or higher than that of the Great Depression. With the COVID pandemic threatening to worsen as summer cools into autumn, there is every worry we are facing an economic nightmare of unprecedented proportion — unless we act fast.
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.