In the News
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June 3, 2020
“Even at a time when doctors offices are closed and elective procedures are not going on … even being able to pay for your prescriptions is where having insurance versus not having insurance is going to make a big difference,” said Sarah Miller, assistant professor of business economics and public policy. “You want a social safety net that gives you things when you lose your job — that’s why we have unemployment insurance.”
HuffPost -
June 3, 2020
“Under the law of the First Amendment, the president has things exactly backward. The First Amendment protects private parties from actions by the government that limit their free speech. When Twitter commented on the president’s tweets, it engaged in conduct that the Constitution protects. In contrast, when the president retaliated against that speech by issuing an executive order intended to punish Twitter, he engaged in conduct that the Constitution protects against,” said Len Niehoff, professor from practice at the Law School.
Forbes -
June 3, 2020
“If you have someone who needs help getting out of bed and you send two people to the room to assist them, the staff may be almost hugging that person to roll them over,” said Sheria Robinson-Lane, assistant professor of nursing, on the prevalence of COVID-19 among nursing home residents and workers. “Nursing homes are already challenged with staffing concerns, and we’ve seen a chance of 15 percent reduction in staff after COVID patients come in.”
U.S. News & World Report -
June 3, 2020
Twitter’s assumption of a stronger referee role in its approach to President Trump’s tweets reflects a “pretty radical change,” said Josh Pasek, associate professor of communication and media, and political science. “We really haven’t been at a place where social media companies were willing to take on this role,” although it may heighten polarization. “When you can’t agree on the state of the world, you open up opportunities for people to question the motives of others.”
The Associated Press -
June 3, 2020
“Every federal, state or local official in American history, when faced with protests that turn particularly chaotic, always say that this is not really a protest. That these are ‘thugs,’ that these are ‘troublemakers,'” said Heather Ann Thompson, professor of history, Afroamerican and African studies, and in the Residential College. “Promises have been made that people in charge are gonna address something that’s wrong and they clearly are not addressing it, so the protests explode.”
ABC News -
May 27, 2020
“Most government activity in the United States rests on a simple idea: that it’s okay for the legislature to authorize the executive branch to regulate basically anything the legislature itself could reach — working conditions, pollution, elections, financial products, mask wearing, you name it. … Relying on a so-called nondelegation doctrine, conservative originalists insist that the Founders never intended for government to work this way. … For those suspicious of agency authority and centralized government, it makes for a comforting story. But it’s just not true,” co-wrote law professors Julian Davis Mortenson and Nicholas Bagley.
The Atlantic -
May 27, 2020
Research conducted by Bhramar Mukherjee, professor of biostatistics and epidemiology, and colleagues estimates that between 630,000 and 2.1 million people in India — out of a population of 1.3 billion — will become infected by the coronavirus by early July: “The increasing trend has not gone down. We’ve not seen a flattening of the curve.”
Reuters -
May 27, 2020
“It’s pretty clearly not a thing that he’s allowed to do. The president doesn’t just get to decide that he’s not going to spend appropriated funds because he doesn’t like what states are doing. The federal government can impose conditions on states who receive federal funds, but it’s Congress who does that,” said Samuel Bagenstos, professor of law, on whether President Trump has the authority to unilaterally hold up federal funding to states.
CNN -
May 27, 2020
Susan Douglas, professor of communication and media, said gender-based attacks on Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other female political leaders are rooted in fear. “This certainly stems from a fear and hatred of women; an anxiety and anger that a woman might be able to tell you what to do and have control over government policies,” she said. “It violates the notion that men and only men can be decision-makers and leaders.”
MLive -
May 27, 2020
“The large numbers of ‘don’t know,’ especially if you have to volunteer it, is huge. That’s a red flag — that this is just not something about which there’s agreement, even within political ideologies,” said Fred Conrad, professor of psychology and research professor at the Institute for Social Research, on polls that show 40 percent of Democrats and nearly half of independents aren’t sure whether to believe sexual assault claims against presumptive Democratic president nominee Joe Biden.
The New York Times
