Folks, someone has to speak up when an elected official tries to politicize data about a public health crisis.
America's Disinformer-in-Chief continues to do so with tragic consequences: coronavirus is sweeping across this country like a brush fire.
While America sickens, the Trumperor flouts his government's public health guidelines: he refuses to wear a mask in public, holds mask-free rallies, plans a yuge indoor nominating convention. Such public scorn for the CDC's guidelines on mitigating virus spread has turned a public health crisis into a partisan loyalty test. Who you gonna believe? Me or those sissy Democrats? And that's the tyrant's magic trick: politicize objective data-- make your opponents own it-- thus discrediting the data.
Discredited data can be mocked, ignored, rejected. That is how Drumpf manipulated sycophantic GOP governors to open their states far too soon, while death tolls mounted in New York and New Jersey.
As we have seen in the raging virus in states like Arizona, Texas and Georgia, rejecting science-based public health data in favor of a political ideology is extremely dangerous. And stupid.
That is why yuge red flags should go up when Hoboken's 2nd Ward Councilwoman embarks on a reckless social media disinformation campaign to undermine public trust in the City's data on COVID-19 spread.
It may be obvious to most that Riverside Medical and the New Jersey Department of Health provide COVID-19 data to the City of Hoboken and not the other way around. So for Tiffanie Fisher- or any elected official- to sow public doubt in the City's coronavirus information, to re-brand it as political spin- is as dangerous as anything that spews from Trump's proboscis. Why is Fisher injecting politics into our City's communication on coronavirus?
The City's data is instructive. It is information that residents need to reduce their risk of infection with coronavirus.
How Trumpy that Fisher uses social media to attack objective data on a public health crisis as "not true" and "lying." She did not even vet the veracity of her allegations before dumping them online.
From Riverside's Chief Medical Officer's June 25 interview:
WPIX-11: Tell me a little bit about who you're seeing...
WESTSIDE MEDICAL: We're essentially testing everybody. Anybody who wants to get a test gets a test. Yeah, I would say the top three types of people who are getting tested are number one, individuals who are returning to work because their work requires it or they just want to make sure they're extra safe, um, anyone who attended the peaceful protest in Hoboken recently-I think it was about two weeks ago and then lastly children going back to daycare... and now moreso people who are returning from out of state.
Fortunately, Riverside Medical Associates has published their Chief Medical Officer's full 4 minute interview with WPIX-11. The doctor goes into some description of Riverside's methodology, and how Hoboken residents can reduce risk of infection. The full video is below for your convenience.
It may be obvious to most that Riverside Medical and the New Jersey Department of Health provide COVID-19 data to the City of Hoboken and not the other way around. So for Tiffanie Fisher- or any elected official- to sow public doubt in the City's coronavirus information, to re-brand it as political spin- is as dangerous as anything that spews from Trump's proboscis. Why is Fisher injecting politics into our City's communication on coronavirus?
The City's data is instructive. It is information that residents need to reduce their risk of infection with coronavirus.
How Trumpy that Fisher uses social media to attack objective data on a public health crisis as "not true" and "lying." She did not even vet the veracity of her allegations before dumping them online.
From Riverside's Chief Medical Officer's June 25 interview:
WPIX-11: Tell me a little bit about who you're seeing...
WESTSIDE MEDICAL: We're essentially testing everybody. Anybody who wants to get a test gets a test. Yeah, I would say the top three types of people who are getting tested are number one, individuals who are returning to work because their work requires it or they just want to make sure they're extra safe, um, anyone who attended the peaceful protest in Hoboken recently-I think it was about two weeks ago and then lastly children going back to daycare... and now moreso people who are returning from out of state.
Fortunately, Riverside Medical Associates has published their Chief Medical Officer's full 4 minute interview with WPIX-11. The doctor goes into some description of Riverside's methodology, and how Hoboken residents can reduce risk of infection. The full video is below for your convenience.
RIVERSIDE'S CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER'S UPDATE ON HOBOKEN'S COVID-19 SPIKE
Councilwoman Fisher's negative spin on the facts is understandable if not excusable as we head into an Mayoral and City Council at Large election where Mayor Bhalla is very well viewed and credited at taking a proactive and effective response to the Covid-19 pandemic and re-opening in Hoboken. Voters usually chose to continue to vote for incumbents they think are doing good job. She will be faced with choosing between Councilmen DeFusco and Ramos if both decide to challenge Mayor Bhalla or chose to try to run or support a spoiler campaign to force a runoff. Whatever her final choice, casting negative aspersions on and trying to degrade the incumbent mayor and his administration is basic SOP factionalized self-serving politics.
ReplyDeleteThe 64 thousand dollar question is does Fisher not understand that she is being used or is she totally complicit Ramos and DeFusco and already made a deal for herself ?
ReplyDeleteShe's not being used as much as sidelined. "Let's Make A Deal" happens in the runoff period. Trying to steal the mayor's thunder is common, more common in their cases, but doing this during an existential threat is really bad form, even for them.
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