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Dispatches From the Culture Wars - April 14, 2020

The virus in our heads - and Trump's - and more as the culture churns.

Il Manifesto Global

The Psychological Pandemic

By Donatella Di Cesare
March 30, 2020
Il Manifesto Global

We may be protecting ourselves from a terrible infection by self-quarantining at home. But the longer we spend in isolation, the greater the risk to our mental health. No one is immune.

Shrinking Trump’s Head

Chauncey DeVega interviews Dr. Lance Dodes
April 9, 2020
Salon

When he makes these claims about ventilators and the coronavirus, they need to be understood as delusional beliefs that he summons from his imagination to protect himself, and which he is incapable of altering when presented with reality. 

Coronavirus Property Values

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By Claudia Morell
April 7, 2020
NPR

Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi is planning to reevaluate every single property in the county in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Right Reckons with Decadence

By Nick Burns
April 7, 2020
The New Statesman

In Washington and New York, it is increasingly common to hear people say they are enemies of neoliberalism. These people are not Bernie Sanders supporters. Meet the new American right. 

BlackRock Takes Command

By Joyce Nelson
April 8, 2020
CounterPunch

With $27 trillion under various forms of its management, BlackRock towers over the finance, insurance and real estate sectors. 

Violence Against Asian Americans

By Sheng Peng
April 10, 2020
NBC News

The nonprofit group Stop AAPI Hate has logged more than 1,100 reports of coronavirus discrimination against Asian Americans since it established a reporting center was established on March 19. 

Seniors Fall Through the Cracks

By Michelle Bocanegra 
April 10, 2020
Politico

Throughout New York City, many of its most vulnerable residents are trapped at home, wondering when their next meal will come.

Blaming the Public

By Siobhán McGuirk
April 10, 2020
Red Pepper

As ministers needlessly delay announcement of an imminent lockdown extension, the people of the UK are being primed to blame each other for the consequences of repeated government missteps.

Bernie's Parting Gift

By Sam Chung
April 11, 2020
The Hill

Despite coronavirus fears, voter turnout in the election in Wisconsin was high. The biggest driver of turnout may have been Sanders's persistence in the presidential race, which may have moved hundreds of thousands to the polls — and could potentially swing a key judicial race.