Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Apoora Mandavilli warns about the looming prospect that the U.S. will be unable to reach herd immunity through vaccination due to right-wing cultural resistance to public health. Andrew Nikiforuk writes that Alberta's place as the COVID hotspot of North America is the result of the choices made by Jason Kenney and the UCP - both in stoking distrust of science generally, and refusing to protect the public as coronavirus variants have run amok. Dave Cournoyer contrasts Kenney's bluster against his utter ineffectiveness as he shuts down the Legislature while insisting that other workers in far less safe environments continue to put themselves at risk. And CBC reports on the call from Alberta's previous chief medical officer of health James Talbot for a province-wide lockdown to get the current outbreak under control.

- Alex Hemingway observes that the lack of public policy action on sick leave is all about the desire of the corporate sector to hold power over vulnerable employees. But James Dunne discusses how employers are better off ensuring their employees can take paid sick leave. 

- Jamie Swift and Elaine Power note that the supports developed in response to COVID-19 offer at least a hint of what a basic income could accomplish. And Michele Girash points out how our social safety net still has unacceptable holes, including for people suffering from long COVID. 

- Ellen Hoen argues that the arguments to privilege intellectual property monopolies over public health in the face of a pandemic simply don't add up. 

- Andre Picard laments the fact that even a myriad of preventable deaths doesn't seem to be enough for Ontario to fix its long-term care system.

- Finally, Adolph Reed Jr. writes that decades of concerted attacks on government have left far too little understanding of the importance of the public good.