Tag: POC

Vaccine Passports Can Help the US Reopen—or Further Divide Us

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Vaccine Passports Can Help the US Reopen—or Further Divide Us

A very appealing vision for some could turn into a dystopian nightmare for millions. Such restrictive passports could mean being locked out of your job, education, or even the ability to shop for food. At a moment when vaccine distribution is highlighting inequalities both locally and internationally, when communities of color and lower-income communities are being systematically underserved, vaccine passports would amplify our medical segregation.

Will the New U.S. Trade Rep Be Hobbled by Lobbyists?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Will the New U.S. Trade Rep Be Hobbled by Lobbyists?

Tai could represent a new era in Democratic trade policy, replacing both “free trade” scams on one flank, and the incoherent economic nationalism of Donald Trump on the other, with careful, substantive policy that serves America’s economic interest.

But the way these things work, Tai is at risk of having corporate types imposed just below her, in the key deputy USTR slots. There is a revolving door between USTR and powerful corporations, notably Big Tech companies, which have much to gain or lose from trade deals. As I’ve written, the next round of trade deals will resolve significant questions about e-commerce, privacy, the use of algorithms, and much more.

Related:

Joe Biden’s US trade chief pick ‘unmatched’ on China issues, would not be soft on Beijing

[Clete] Willems said she would “share Lighthizer’s hawkishness on China and has a tonne of direct background on China’s industrial policy from her days at USTR”, adding that “having someone who can directly converse with China in their own language is going to command respect”.

Wisconsin recount confirms Biden’s win over Trump, cementing the president’s failure to change the election results

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Wisconsin recount confirms Biden’s win over Trump, cementing the president’s failure to change the election results

In Wisconsin, the president’s campaign sought to use the recount process to invalidate tens of thousands of otherwise legal ballots. Among other things, Trump’s lawyers argued that a form signed by voters who cast a ballot during in-person voting before Election Day was insufficient under state law. They said all those ballots — totaling about 180,000 votes in the two counties — should be tossed out.

…

Further undermining the Trump campaign’s argument, experts said, is the fact that it raised only objections in two predominantly Democratic counties.

The practices that Trump lawyers criticized are in place statewide and have been in place for years, including before to the 2016 election — which Trump won and did not contest.