I've disagreed with James on a lot of stuff in these threads in the past but on this I agree wholly. No issue these days can ever processed sanely without it becoming a black and white issue as part of a left/right culture war. I'd personally argue this started with the "right" but the the left are now sucked into it and feed the machine. The only stuff where I think this kind of thing is unavoidable is social issues around race and LGBT+, with all stuff like that throughout history it has been "bumpy" to put it mildly. But a global pandemic is not and should not have become a hyper political issue like that.

It blows my mind that Covid became so Red V Blue politicised in the USA. The fact that the discussion over there still seems to be about masks and social distancing is madness. Over here the big issue at the moment is testing capacity and efficiency - I don't see a peep about that in the US news yet see reports of +20% positivity rates in some States.

This outbreak by the sounds of things took hold in the GOP top brass and the admin on Fri 25th September, and possibly Trump gave it to Hicks not the other way around. This situation is a mess and if there is any sanity left, this display of incompetence and disregard for public safety will see them voted out of office. Not an election I can participate in but one that the whole world is watching.