newyorker--2020-03-16--The View of the Pandemic from Milan

The View of the Pandemic from Milan

During the past several weeks , Italy has been overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic , with more than eighteen hundred deaths and thirteen times that many cases .
The health system has been forced to ration care—especially in the north , which has seen the majority of infections .
“ The outbreak has put hospitals under a stress that has no precedents since the Second World War , ” Massimo Galli , the director of infectious diseases at the Sacco University hospital , in Milan , told the Times .
Quarantines have now been implemented across the entire country , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vision of what might be coming .
Italy was already in the midst of several crises , including a long period of anemic economic growth and a political system shaken by the rise of Matteo Salvini , a far-right , anti-immigrant demagogue whose party , the Lega Nord , captured regions across Northern Italy in the 2018 general election .
He was likely only kept out of the Prime Minister ’ s office by a coalition between the center-left Democratic Party and the populist Five Star Movement , which were becoming increasingly unpopular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the state of the country , I recently spoke by phone with Tito Boeri , a professor of economics at Bocconi University , in Milan , and the former president of the Italian Social Security Administration ( I.N.P.S. )
.
During our conversation , which has been edited for length and clarity , we discussed the situation in Milan , what this catastrophe is likely to mean for Italian workers , and why the coronavirus might actually be political trouble for Salvini and his party .
Where are you right now , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last several days ?
I am practically locked in at home with my wife .
This is something Italy has done right .
My wife is disabled , so I have to take care of her , and can not receive much help , because I decided that the people who were coming to take care of her shouldn ’ t come .
They work in offices , and outside , and the risk of contagion is very high .
So there is just one person living with us and helping me out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the apartment in very rare cases because I really don ’ t want to get—if my wife gets the coronavirus I don ’ t think she will be treated , because of the comorbidity .
So I have to be extremely careful because of that .
And I am working .
I am teaching , which is also time-consuming , because teaching entirely online seems to be easy , but it is not .
You have to prepare way more things than in teaching in the presence of the students .
But so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working well with the students .
How old are you and your wife ?
I am sixty-one , and my wife is sixty-two .
Who is the other person living with you ?
She is a person helping me out , a caretaker .
And my son is a doctor .
He was living with us until a few days ago .
Given that he works in a hospital , we decided together that it was better for him not to stay with us .
He has taken a room close to here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because of the contagion .
I know that you said you are limiting your trips outside , but what can you even do if you want to leave the house ?
I do as little as I can , but there are very few things .
The other day , I had to go to the university because I had to do an interactive lesson .
Today , I had to get some medical exams , but I go out as little as I can .
Italy is a country that has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economically , so— More than a decade .
[ Laughs . ]
For the last twenty-five years , the economy has been extremely weak and stagnant .
We are still below our G.D.P .
levels from before the Great Recession .
What is this pandemic likely to do to the economy ?
I think we are going to have a serious fall in G.D.P .
for the first semester of the year .
That is unavoidable , because everything has been stopped in the most important regions—Lombardy , Piedmont , and Veneto together @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Italian G.D.P .
Everything has been stopped for almost three weeks , so that will have a major impact in the first quarter .
But if this goes away the economy could recover for the rest of the year .
It depends on the duration of this damned thing , and nobody knows how long it is going to be with us .
Nobody knows how it will react to a change in the weather conditions .
The impression is that it is going down in the northern part of Italy , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And the southern regions are also way less equipped than the northern ones in terms of the health system , so the death toll may be higher .
Italy now has a coalition government , with opposing parties joining forces to keep out the far right , but it was shaky before this crisis , and it was unclear how long it would last .
Salvini ’ s party was rising .
How has the government responded to this crisis ?
I don ’ t think the government has done badly .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ beginning—for instance , in closing all the direct trips from China , while not taking into account that people coming from China would also come from other European capitals or somewhere else .
They did other things that weren ’ t well done , and there were some contradictions in their messaging .
But mostly they have done the right things , which I think people understand .
So , to some extent , Salvini and the populists are in the doldrums now , and are losing ground in the polls .
There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that make it not so friendly to the populists .
First of all , they resort to conspiracy theories and look for people to blame for bad things that happen .
And , in this case , there is nobody to blame , or it is not easy .
Salvini is always criticizing the government for what it does , but there is not so much else that can be done right now .
So I think he is losing a lot of credibility .
He is very against foreigners and migrants and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are closing borders with respect to Italians .
He wanted to close the borders to migrants , and now it is others who are closing the borders to us .
That ’ s a problem for his propaganda .
Can you explain that more ?
At a surface level , it seems like this might be helpful for propaganda , because not only can he say that the border should be closed but he can blame it on a foreign country where the people don ’ t look like Italians .
I agree @ @ @ @ @ @ @ put it in a context .
The idea of closing the border was closing the border to everybody coming from North Africa and Turkey , and other refugees .
And now the issue is others closing the borders to Italians .
Salvini was always campaigning about people coming from the south , and refugees importing illnesses .
And now it is just the opposite .
It is us who are considered to be like that .
I think it has had an impact on people .

During the past several weeks, Italy has been overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic, with more than eighteen hundred deaths and thirteen times that many cases. The health system has been forced to ration care—especially in the north, which has seen the majority of infections. “The outbreak has put hospitals under a stress that has no precedents since the Second World War,” Massimo Galli, the director of infectious diseases at the Sacco University hospital, in Milan, told the Times. Quarantines have now been implemented across the entire country, giving the rest of the world a vision of what might be coming.
Italy was already in the midst of several crises, including a long period of anemic economic growth and a political system shaken by the rise of Matteo Salvini, a far-right, anti-immigrant demagogue whose party, the Lega Nord, captured regions across Northern Italy in the 2018 general election. He was likely only kept out of the Prime Minister’s office by a coalition between the center-left Democratic Party and the populist Five Star Movement, which were becoming increasingly unpopular before the pandemic. To talk about the state of the country, I recently spoke by phone with Tito Boeri, a professor of economics at Bocconi University, in Milan, and the former president of the Italian Social Security Administration (I.N.P.S.). During our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity, we discussed the situation in Milan, what this catastrophe is likely to mean for Italian workers, and why the coronavirus might actually be political trouble for Salvini and his party.
Where are you right now, and what has your life been like the last several days?
I am practically locked in at home with my wife. This is something Italy has done right. My wife is disabled, so I have to take care of her, and cannot receive much help, because I decided that the people who were coming to take care of her shouldn’t come. They work in offices, and outside, and the risk of contagion is very high. So there is just one person living with us and helping me out in this undertaking. I only leave the apartment in very rare cases because I really don’t want to get—if my wife gets the coronavirus I don’t think she will be treated, because of the comorbidity. So I have to be extremely careful because of that.
And I am working. I am teaching, which is also time-consuming, because teaching entirely online seems to be easy, but it is not. You have to prepare way more things than in teaching in the presence of the students. But so far we are coping with that and working well with the students.
How old are you and your wife?
I am sixty-one, and my wife is sixty-two.
Who is the other person living with you?
She is a person helping me out, a caretaker. And my son is a doctor. He was living with us until a few days ago. Given that he works in a hospital, we decided together that it was better for him not to stay with us. He has taken a room close to here but is no longer living with us because of the contagion.
I know that you said you are limiting your trips outside, but what can you even do if you want to leave the house?
I do as little as I can, but there are very few things. The other day, I had to go to the university because I had to do an interactive lesson. Today, I had to get some medical exams, but I go out as little as I can.
Italy is a country that has been going through a very difficult last decade economically, so—
More than a decade. [Laughs.] For the last twenty-five years, the economy has been extremely weak and stagnant. We are still below our G.D.P. levels from before the Great Recession.
What is this pandemic likely to do to the economy?
I think we are going to have a serious fall in G.D.P. for the first semester of the year. That is unavoidable, because everything has been stopped in the most important regions—Lombardy, Piedmont, and Veneto together are more than forty per cent of Italian G.D.P. Everything has been stopped for almost three weeks, so that will have a major impact in the first quarter. But if this goes away the economy could recover for the rest of the year. It depends on the duration of this damned thing, and nobody knows how long it is going to be with us. Nobody knows how it will react to a change in the weather conditions. The impression is that it is going down in the northern part of Italy, but, unfortunately, it is spreading south. And the southern regions are also way less equipped than the northern ones in terms of the health system, so the death toll may be higher.
Italy now has a coalition government, with opposing parties joining forces to keep out the far right, but it was shaky before this crisis, and it was unclear how long it would last. Salvini’s party was rising. How has the government responded to this crisis?
I don’t think the government has done badly. They made a few mistakes at the beginning—for instance, in closing all the direct trips from China, while not taking into account that people coming from China would also come from other European capitals or somewhere else. They did other things that weren’t well done, and there were some contradictions in their messaging. But mostly they have done the right things, which I think people understand.
So, to some extent, Salvini and the populists are in the doldrums now, and are losing ground in the polls. There are a few characteristics of the virus that make it not so friendly to the populists. First of all, they resort to conspiracy theories and look for people to blame for bad things that happen. And, in this case, there is nobody to blame, or it is not easy. Salvini is always criticizing the government for what it does, but there is not so much else that can be done right now. So I think he is losing a lot of credibility. He is very against foreigners and migrants and so on, and now other countries are closing borders with respect to Italians. He wanted to close the borders to migrants, and now it is others who are closing the borders to us. That’s a problem for his propaganda.
Can you explain that more? At a surface level, it seems like this might be helpful for propaganda, because not only can he say that the border should be closed but he can blame it on a foreign country where the people don’t look like Italians.
I agree with you, but you have to put it in a context. The idea of closing the border was closing the border to everybody coming from North Africa and Turkey, and other refugees. And now the issue is others closing the borders to Italians. Salvini was always campaigning about people coming from the south, and refugees importing illnesses. And now it is just the opposite. It is us who are considered to be like that. I think it has had an impact on people.


newyorker--2020-03-16--The Pandemic Is Remaking What Performance Can Be

As social-distancing measures begin to take hold in the United States , we study images from around the world , where iconic public streets and squares have sat mostly vacant for weeks .
Some of these sites were fodder for artists and writers for centuries , but their total emptiness and silence had almost never been contemplated .
In the Piazza San Marco , in Venice , even the pigeons and seagulls had mostly moved on .
The ancient space seemed incomplete , its scale uncertain , without the bustle of cavorting dogs , venders , pilgrims , couples , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ depicted by Bellini and Francesco Guardi or described by Edith Wharton and Henry James .
Where were the herds of tourists ?
The Instagram influencers ?
Similar views of the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps began to circulate .
At the Prang Sam Yod Temple , in Bangkok , troops of monkeys who scavenge their food from tourists brawled with one another over scraps .
One such fracas , apparently over yogurt , made the news , and the frightening image of a city square overrun by hungry , testy monkeys made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quarantine becomes the rule , though , tentative new forms of performance appear to have sprung up .
The Berlin Philharmonic played to an empty hall and a worldwide audience of isolated music lovers .
The Met Opera announced that it would stream live performances for free , and many other companies followed .
( This is almost surely a temporary and doomed form , since the performers will soon need to distance themselves from one another . )
When Pete Buttigieg , the former Presidential candidate , filled in as the host @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he looked right at home in front of a deserted studio , where he monologued for an audience of one : his husband , Chasten .
For now , the White House press conferences are full of supporting players , in a bid by President Trump to present a strong team of “ new stars.
” But even these performances will soon , no doubt , become smaller affairs .
In Boston , a priest read the morning prayer from the magnificent altar of Trinity Church , to loud echoes of his own @ @ @ @ @ @ @ entirely new terms for previously unthinkable kinds of ceremonies .
On college campuses , impromptu faux-mencements ( or “ fomencements ” ) were thrown together by seniors who might not be able to return for graduation .
At Wellesley , where I teach , students wearing bright red—the class color—and black gowns approached a makeshift podium , set against a hedge of evergreens , one by one and said their names , and majors , and whatever else needed saying .
What did it mean for students to confer degrees upon themselves , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for witness ?
“ I loved all my friends and enemies , ” one student said , in a clip from the ceremony posted on Twitter .
“ I will remember you all as you were , which is very hot and interesting.
” As performers adjusted to empty halls and crowdless ceremonies , the newly silenced world provided opportunities for—and , amazingly , instruments for—performance , abetted by the Internet and social media .
In Wuhan , where the new coronavirus started , citizens chanted and sang in unison , out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ citizens of a deserted street leaned out their windows and sang a local song , “ Canto della Verbena , ” using the echoing façades to amplify their voices .
All across Italy , the old associations of balconies and courtyards with performance and spectacle were refreshed when citizens , coördinating on social media , sang and performed patriotic songs .
Balconies seemed less like places to smoke and grow tomatoes and more like proscenium stages , as they had been for centuries , before life turned its face away from the public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the empty streets and concert halls before them , became integral to performance : a condition of its power .
On Friday , in perhaps the most dramatic gesture yet , the Italian Air Force staged a fighter-jet ballet in which a single aircraft , representing the new coronavirus , was metaphorically subdued by a fleet of planes ascending the sky and trailing colored smoke .
The sky was the stage ; it was also a blank canvas against which the colors of the Italian flag , painted in jet trails , became @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a recording of Pavarotti singing “ Nessun Dorma.
” Again , the audience for this performance was worldwide , but what we were watching was an enormous medium , the empty sky , created from local conditions of weather , light , and quiet , and a work of art made expressly for it , which asserted not some abstract message about humanity but a distinct region and culture ’ s imagination of itself .
It seemed to feed , among the rapt audience , a new hunger for metaphor , as weapons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This was the weekend when local places began to seem more local , and real things more real , despite the fact that everything was happening online .
In fact , as these and other gestures piled up , you could feel the Internet and social media beginning to change .
Stars of Broadway took to their feeds , inviting high-school kids to perform songs from their cancelled shows .
Where wombat videos had been , suddenly distinct acoustics took shape , as kids sang to an audience of their heroes—Lin-Manuel Miranda , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , basements , and living rooms .
To perform in that way , under those conditions , is different from cooking up a viral TikTok in front of your bathroom mirror .
The performances , while online , represented in powerful symbolic form the irreplaceable value of real experiences that were available just a week ago .
And the songs , like the Italian songs broadcast from balconies and apartments , were well known , part of the American cultural memory bank .
We could , if we chose to , sing along @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as we sat inside and waited .
How people cope and create new customs amid a pandemic .
What it means to contain and mitigate the coronavirus outbreak .
How much of the world is likely to be quarantined ?
Donald Trump in the time of coronavirus .
The coronavirus is likely to spread for more than a year before a vaccine could be widely available .
We are all irrational panic shoppers .
The strange terror of watching the coronavirus take Rome .

As social-distancing measures begin to take hold in the United States, we study images from around the world, where iconic public streets and squares have sat mostly vacant for weeks. Some of these sites were fodder for artists and writers for centuries, but their total emptiness and silence had almost never been contemplated. In the Piazza San Marco, in Venice, even the pigeons and seagulls had mostly moved on. The ancient space seemed incomplete, its scale uncertain, without the bustle of cavorting dogs, venders, pilgrims, couples, card players, and priests, as depicted by Bellini and Francesco Guardi or described by Edith Wharton and Henry James. Where were the herds of tourists? The Instagram influencers? Similar views of the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps began to circulate. At the Prang Sam Yod Temple, in Bangkok, troops of monkeys who scavenge their food from tourists brawled with one another over scraps. One such fracas, apparently over yogurt, made the news, and the frightening image of a city square overrun by hungry, testy monkeys made its way across the Internet.
As quarantine becomes the rule, though, tentative new forms of performance appear to have sprung up. The Berlin Philharmonic played to an empty hall and a worldwide audience of isolated music lovers. The Met Opera announced that it would stream live performances for free, and many other companies followed. (This is almost surely a temporary and doomed form, since the performers will soon need to distance themselves from one another.) When Pete Buttigieg, the former Presidential candidate, filled in as the host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” he looked right at home in front of a deserted studio, where he monologued for an audience of one: his husband, Chasten. For now, the White House press conferences are full of supporting players, in a bid by President Trump to present a strong team of “new stars.” But even these performances will soon, no doubt, become smaller affairs. In Boston, a priest read the morning prayer from the magnificent altar of Trinity Church, to loud echoes of his own voice.
Meanwhile, there are now entirely new terms for previously unthinkable kinds of ceremonies. On college campuses, impromptu faux-mencements (or “fomencements”) were thrown together by seniors who might not be able to return for graduation. At Wellesley, where I teach, students wearing bright red—the class color—and black gowns approached a makeshift podium, set against a hedge of evergreens, one by one and said their names, and majors, and whatever else needed saying. What did it mean for students to confer degrees upon themselves, with only the robins and one another for witness? “I loved all my friends and enemies,” one student said, in a clip from the ceremony posted on Twitter. “I will remember you all as you were, which is very hot and interesting.”
As performers adjusted to empty halls and crowdless ceremonies, the newly silenced world provided opportunities for—and, amazingly, instruments for—performance, abetted by the Internet and social media. In Wuhan, where the new coronavirus started, citizens chanted and sang in unison, out of their high-rises. In Siena, the citizens of a deserted street leaned out their windows and sang a local song, “Canto della Verbena,” using the echoing façades to amplify their voices. All across Italy, the old associations of balconies and courtyards with performance and spectacle were refreshed when citizens, coördinating on social media, sang and performed patriotic songs. Balconies seemed less like places to smoke and grow tomatoes and more like proscenium stages, as they had been for centuries, before life turned its face away from the public square. The resounding courtyards, like the empty streets and concert halls before them, became integral to performance: a condition of its power.
On Friday, in perhaps the most dramatic gesture yet, the Italian Air Force staged a fighter-jet ballet in which a single aircraft, representing the new coronavirus, was metaphorically subdued by a fleet of planes ascending the sky and trailing colored smoke. The sky was the stage; it was also a blank canvas against which the colors of the Italian flag, painted in jet trails, became visible. Speakers on the beach blasted a recording of Pavarotti singing “Nessun Dorma.” Again, the audience for this performance was worldwide, but what we were watching was an enormous medium, the empty sky, created from local conditions of weather, light, and quiet, and a work of art made expressly for it, which asserted not some abstract message about humanity but a distinct region and culture’s imagination of itself. It seemed to feed, among the rapt audience, a new hunger for metaphor, as weapons of war were turned into paintbrushes.
This was the weekend when local places began to seem more local, and real things more real, despite the fact that everything was happening online. In fact, as these and other gestures piled up, you could feel the Internet and social media beginning to change. Stars of Broadway took to their feeds, inviting high-school kids to perform songs from their cancelled shows. Where wombat videos had been, suddenly distinct acoustics took shape, as kids sang to an audience of their heroes—Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jennifer Garner, Laura Benanti—from American bedrooms, basements, and living rooms. To perform in that way, under those conditions, is different from cooking up a viral TikTok in front of your bathroom mirror. The performances, while online, represented in powerful symbolic form the irreplaceable value of real experiences that were available just a week ago. And the songs, like the Italian songs broadcast from balconies and apartments, were well known, part of the American cultural memory bank. We could, if we chose to, sing along together—whatever “together” now meant, as we sat inside and waited.
A Guide to the Coronavirus
How people cope and create new customs amid a pandemic.
What it means to contain and mitigate the coronavirus outbreak.
How much of the world is likely to be quarantined?
Donald Trump in the time of coronavirus.
The coronavirus is likely to spread for more than a year before a vaccine could be widely available.
We are all irrational panic shoppers.
The strange terror of watching the coronavirus take Rome.
How pandemics change history.


newyorker--2020-03-16--Trump Tests Negative For Empathy

Trump Tests Negative For Empathy

WASHINGTON ( The Borowitz Report ) —Donald J. Trump has tested negative for empathy , the White House doctor confirmed @ @ @ @ @ official statement , Dr. Sean Conley said that Trump submitted to the empathy test even @ @ @ @ @ ’ s opinion , “ it was not really necessary.
” “ I expected him @ @ @ @ @ Conley said .
“ Empathy-wise , he has been entirely asymptomatic.
” The White House @ @ @ @ @ empathy-free status to his established practice of social distancing from anyone showing even the faintest @ @ @ @ @ , or humanity .
“ At the first indication that someone is about to open @ @ @ @ @ emit an expression of concern for others , he is careful to move as far @ @ @ @ @ possible , ” the physician said .
Instead , Conley said , Trump has been @ @ @ @ @ who have also tested negative for empathy , such as Stephen Miller , Mitch McConnell @ @ @ @ @ adult Trump children except Tiffany .

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Donald J. Trump has tested negative for empathy, the White House doctor confirmed on Monday.
In an official statement, Dr. Sean Conley said that Trump submitted to the empathy test even though, in the physician’s opinion, “it was not really necessary.”
“I expected him to test negative,” Conley said. “Empathy-wise, he has been entirely asymptomatic.”
The White House doctor attributed Trump’s empathy-free status to his established practice of social distancing from anyone showing even the faintest sign of compassion, kindness, or humanity.
“At the first indication that someone is about to open his or her mouth to emit an expression of concern for others, he is careful to move as far away from that person as possible,” the physician said.
Instead, Conley said, Trump has been spending time exclusively with people who have also tested negative for empathy, such as Stephen Miller, Mitch McConnell, and all of the adult Trump children except Tiffany.


newyorker--2020-03-16--The Ghost of Robert the Bruce and the Scottish Independence Movement

There are no surviving portraits of Robert the Bruce , the Scottish king , that were created during the dark and mud-strewn era of his rule .
All the drawings and paintings and sculptures and key chains and papier-mâché renderings in existence today were made after his death , and carry with them the tastes and peculiarities of their own ages .
Sometimes he looks like a Neanderthal ; sometimes like a monk , or a common soldier , or a polished king .
Sometimes he wears a feather in his helmet , or a crown , or sports a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Netflix , he looks like Chris Pine .
Everyone agrees , however , that he was ambitious .
One night , in 1306 , when he was only a contender for the throne , he met a rival named John Comyn at a church in Dumfries , and stabbed him .
He was crowned king six weeks later .
In Robert the Bruce ’ s day , battles were short but wars were long .
The First War of Scottish Independence , with England , lasted thirty-two years , from 1296 until @ @ @ @ @ @ @ understood itself as independent , kept having to repel the English , who disagreed .
The Second War of Scottish Independence , still with England , ran for another twenty-five years .
During these decades , the Pope served as a mediating figure , handing out punishments for unruly rulers .
Pope John XXII would have liked the two kingdoms to stop fighting and to join him on the Crusades .
( Did he have to do everything ? )
In 1317 , he imposed a shaky truce on Scotland and England : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t last .
In 1318 , Bruce recaptured a Scottish trading town that had been held by the English .
The Pope—not angry , just disappointed—excommunicated him .
By 1320 , things were not looking good for Bruce at home , either .
His brother Edward , briefly—and bloodily—the king of Ireland , had been killed in battle , leaving Bruce without an adult heir .
( His grandson , next in line , was four years old , and rubbish with a sword . )
Making matters worse , there were rumors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ son of John Balliol , a former king of Scotland , was drumming up support for his claim to the throne .
Meanwhile , both the Pope and England still refused , for various reasons , some of them murder , to recognize Bruce as the legitimate king of Scotland .
Under mounting pressure at home and abroad , with his rivals circling , Bruce felt compelled to act .
He wanted recognition , respect , and for England to back off .
So he did what many of us might under duress @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The letter that Bruce wrote to the Pope—the Declaration of Arbroath , as it is known today—has existed for a staggering seven centuries , and it looks its age .
Physically , it resembles something a child might draw if she were asked to imagine an important document from a long , long time ago .
It is written on sheepskin parchment , now the color of dust , with ink made from oak apples .
There are two large holes , obscuring portions of the text , damage inflicted in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” a curator told me .
The Declaration is conventionally broad and rectangular until the signature portion , which , instead of signed names , consists of long strips of parchment bearing the wax stamps of each signatory .
( They didn ’ t sign in Bruce ’ s day—they sealed . )
The effect is of a document that went into a giant paper shredder and jammed halfway through .
For most of its lifetime , the Declaration has been held and cared for by the National Records of Scotland , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The version we know today is a file copy of the letter sent in 1320 , which has since been lost .
It is kept in an undisclosed storage site , one of five around the country , “ in a storeroom , within a storeroom , in a secure store , which is very securely monitored with restricted access , ” Linda Ramsay , the head of conservation at the National Records , told me .
In the storage area , the temperature is kept between thirteen and nineteen degrees Celsius , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fifty per cent .
There are no windows .
The document is sensitive to light and vibrations ; it is rarely moved , even to be studied .
Optimal conditions , Ramsay said , are “ cool , dark , and temperate.
” Later this month , however , the Declaration will make a rare appearance in honor of the seven hundredth anniversary of its signing .
It will be displayed beneath a glass case alongside the medieval holdings of the National Museum of Scotland , in Edinburgh .
The last time it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ago , at the Scottish Parliament ; before that , it was fifty years ago .
Because the document has a specific “ light budget , ” which refers to the amount of light it can safely be exposed to over a given number of years , it will be shown for just four weeks .
“ I saw it for the first time yesterday , ” Alice Blackwell , a curator at the museum , told me with excitement over the phone the other day .
“ It feels a bit like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Arbroath is best understood as an official letter to Pope John XXII from Robert the Bruce ’ s government .
Between forty and fifty Scottish barons and freeholders added their seals as signature , but the sentiment , if not the exact wording , is widely believed to have come from Bruce ’ s office .
( Some historians have wondered whether the Scottish noblemen who added their names did so under pressure , as proof of loyalty . )
It ’ s around a thousand words long and written in Latin , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pope ( “ devout kisses of his blessed feet ” ) , with an overview of Scotland ’ s glorious past .
It tells of how the Scottish people journeyed from Scythia through Spain and made their way to their “ home in the west.
” It recounts battles with Norwegians , Danes , and the English , and counts “ one hundred and thirteen kings of their own royal stock , the line unbroken by a single foreigner.
” Most of that was not , strictly speaking , true .
“ It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a quite exotic origin myth for the Scots , ” Blackwell , the curator , said .
It was written to bolster the idea of a strong and independent Scotland , which existed long before England ’ s interference .
The letter goes on to detail the sins of England , which it characterizes as a greedy bully .
The King of England “ ought to be satisfied with what belongs to him , ” it reads .
Let England “ leave us Scots in peace , who live in this poor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no dwelling-place at all , and covet nothing but our own.
” Scotland would love to go crusading , the letter implies , but it can ’ t because England won ’ t leave them alone .
It ends with a threat to the Pope : if the situation does not change , the Pope will be accountable to God .
Ballsy .
The letter seems to have dispelled a little of the tension , though England and Scotland went on fighting .
The Pope declared another truce , and another truce was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to its independence , but eventually formed a political union with England , in 1707 .
The most famous passage in the document , where much of its enduring power comes from , is one that many Scots know by heart .
It is a stirring and potent declaration of Scottish independence , one that has resurfaced through the centuries at critical junctures .
“ As long as a hundred of us remain alive , never will we on any conditions be subjected to the lordship of the English , ” the passage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not for glory , nor riches , nor honours that we are fighting , but for freedom alone , which no honest man gives up but with life itself.
” I learned about the upcoming display of the Declaration of Arbroath from Andrew Wilson , an organizer for All Under One Banner , an activist group that supports the movement for Scotland ’ s independence from the United Kingdom .
Wilson is a fifty-year-old tech worker who organizes on the side .
He was born in the north of Scotland , but has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ life .
Wilson believes that support for a new referendum on Scottish independence is growing , following the U.K. ’ s departure from the European Union , at the end of January .
In 2014 , after a long national debate over its place in the world , Scotland narrowly voted not to leave the U.K. , with fifty-five per cent of the population voting to stay .
But , in 2016 , Scots voted overwhelmingly to remain in the E.U .
One of the key selling points in deciding against leaving the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s ties to the E.U .
With those ties no longer present , Wilson says he has seen the grassroots organizations that sprang up during the first Yes campaign rising again .
“ There ’ s a definite groundswell and a definite reawakening of that movement , ” he told me recently .
He understands Scottish independence as inevitable .
“ And I think if you speak privately to most Union supporters , they will say the same thing , ” he said .

There are no surviving portraits of Robert the Bruce, the Scottish king, that were created during the dark and mud-strewn era of his rule. All the drawings and paintings and sculptures and key chains and papier-mâché renderings in existence today were made after his death, and carry with them the tastes and peculiarities of their own ages. Sometimes he looks like a Neanderthal; sometimes like a monk, or a common soldier, or a polished king. Sometimes he wears a feather in his helmet, or a crown, or sports a red beard and muttonchops. Sometimes, on Netflix, he looks like Chris Pine. Everyone agrees, however, that he was ambitious. One night, in 1306, when he was only a contender for the throne, he met a rival named John Comyn at a church in Dumfries, and stabbed him. He was crowned king six weeks later.
In Robert the Bruce’s day, battles were short but wars were long. The First War of Scottish Independence, with England, lasted thirty-two years, from 1296 until 1328. Scotland, which had long understood itself as independent, kept having to repel the English, who disagreed. The Second War of Scottish Independence, still with England, ran for another twenty-five years. During these decades, the Pope served as a mediating figure, handing out punishments for unruly rulers. Pope John XXII would have liked the two kingdoms to stop fighting and to join him on the Crusades. (Did he have to do everything?) In 1317, he imposed a shaky truce on Scotland and England: no more fighting. It didn’t last. In 1318, Bruce recaptured a Scottish trading town that had been held by the English. The Pope—not angry, just disappointed—excommunicated him.
By 1320, things were not looking good for Bruce at home, either. His brother Edward, briefly—and bloodily—the king of Ireland, had been killed in battle, leaving Bruce without an adult heir. (His grandson, next in line, was four years old, and rubbish with a sword.) Making matters worse, there were rumors of a conspiracy against him: the son of John Balliol, a former king of Scotland, was drumming up support for his claim to the throne. Meanwhile, both the Pope and England still refused, for various reasons, some of them murder, to recognize Bruce as the legitimate king of Scotland. Under mounting pressure at home and abroad, with his rivals circling, Bruce felt compelled to act. He wanted recognition, respect, and for England to back off. So he did what many of us might under duress: he wrote a strongly worded letter.
The letter that Bruce wrote to the Pope—the Declaration of Arbroath, as it is known today—has existed for a staggering seven centuries, and it looks its age. Physically, it resembles something a child might draw if she were asked to imagine an important document from a long, long time ago. It is written on sheepskin parchment, now the color of dust, with ink made from oak apples. There are two large holes, obscuring portions of the text, damage inflicted in the eighteenth century, “possibly from damp,” a curator told me. The Declaration is conventionally broad and rectangular until the signature portion, which, instead of signed names, consists of long strips of parchment bearing the wax stamps of each signatory. (They didn’t sign in Bruce’s day—they sealed.) The effect is of a document that went into a giant paper shredder and jammed halfway through.
To modern eyes, the Declaration of Arboath, with its appended wax-seal signatures, resembles a document that jammed halfway through a paper shredder. Source: National Records of Scotland
For most of its lifetime, the Declaration has been held and cared for by the National Records of Scotland, or its predecessors, in Edinburgh. The version we know today is a file copy of the letter sent in 1320, which has since been lost. It is kept in an undisclosed storage site, one of five around the country, “in a storeroom, within a storeroom, in a secure store, which is very securely monitored with restricted access,” Linda Ramsay, the head of conservation at the National Records, told me. In the storage area, the temperature is kept between thirteen and nineteen degrees Celsius, with a humidity level of forty-five to fifty per cent. There are no windows. The document is sensitive to light and vibrations; it is rarely moved, even to be studied. Optimal conditions, Ramsay said, are “cool, dark, and temperate.”
Later this month, however, the Declaration will make a rare appearance in honor of the seven hundredth anniversary of its signing. It will be displayed beneath a glass case alongside the medieval holdings of the National Museum of Scotland, in Edinburgh. The last time it was out in public was fifteen years ago, at the Scottish Parliament; before that, it was fifty years ago. Because the document has a specific “light budget,” which refers to the amount of light it can safely be exposed to over a given number of years, it will be shown for just four weeks. “I saw it for the first time yesterday,” Alice Blackwell, a curator at the museum, told me with excitement over the phone the other day. “It feels a bit like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
The Declaration of Arbroath is best understood as an official letter to Pope John XXII from Robert the Bruce’s government. Between forty and fifty Scottish barons and freeholders added their seals as signature, but the sentiment, if not the exact wording, is widely believed to have come from Bruce’s office. (Some historians have wondered whether the Scottish noblemen who added their names did so under pressure, as proof of loyalty.) It’s around a thousand words long and written in Latin, and begins, after flattery for the Pope (“devout kisses of his blessed feet”), with an overview of Scotland’s glorious past. It tells of how the Scottish people journeyed from Scythia through Spain and made their way to their “home in the west.” It recounts battles with Norwegians, Danes, and the English, and counts “one hundred and thirteen kings of their own royal stock, the line unbroken by a single foreigner.”
Most of that was not, strictly speaking, true. “It reaches back into mythology and comes up with a quite exotic origin myth for the Scots,” Blackwell, the curator, said. It was written to bolster the idea of a strong and independent Scotland, which existed long before England’s interference. The letter goes on to detail the sins of England, which it characterizes as a greedy bully. The King of England “ought to be satisfied with what belongs to him,” it reads. Let England “leave us Scots in peace, who live in this poor little Scotland, beyond which there is no dwelling-place at all, and covet nothing but our own.” Scotland would love to go crusading, the letter implies, but it can’t because England won’t leave them alone. It ends with a threat to the Pope: if the situation does not change, the Pope will be accountable to God. Ballsy.
The letter seems to have dispelled a little of the tension, though England and Scotland went on fighting. The Pope declared another truce, and another truce was broken. Scotland managed to hang on to its independence, but eventually formed a political union with England, in 1707. The most famous passage in the document, where much of its enduring power comes from, is one that many Scots know by heart. It is a stirring and potent declaration of Scottish independence, one that has resurfaced through the centuries at critical junctures. “As long as a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be subjected to the lordship of the English,” the passage goes. “It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.”
I learned about the upcoming display of the Declaration of Arbroath from Andrew Wilson, an organizer for All Under One Banner, an activist group that supports the movement for Scotland’s independence from the United Kingdom. Wilson is a fifty-year-old tech worker who organizes on the side. He was born in the north of Scotland, but has lived in Edinburgh for most of his life. Wilson believes that support for a new referendum on Scottish independence is growing, following the U.K.’s departure from the European Union, at the end of January. In 2014, after a long national debate over its place in the world, Scotland narrowly voted not to leave the U.K., with fifty-five per cent of the population voting to stay. But, in 2016, Scots voted overwhelmingly to remain in the E.U. One of the key selling points in deciding against leaving the U.K. in 2014 had been the U.K.’s ties to the E.U. With those ties no longer present, Wilson says he has seen the grassroots organizations that sprang up during the first Yes campaign rising again. “There’s a definite groundswell and a definite reawakening of that movement,” he told me recently. He understands Scottish independence as inevitable. “And I think if you speak privately to most Union supporters, they will say the same thing,” he said.
In December, the Scottish National Party, or S.N.P., swept the general election, winning forty-eight of Scotland’s fifty-nine seats. A week later, Nicola Sturgeon, the S.N.P.’s leader, wrote to Boris Johnson to formally request the power to hold another referendum on Scottish independence, calling the election result “an unarguable mandate by any normal standard of democracy.” In mid-January, in his own strongly worded letter, Johnson refused, writing, “Another independence referendum would continue the political stagnation that Scotland has seen for the last decade, with Scottish schools, hospitals and jobs again left behind because of a campaign to separate the UK.” Sturgeon has vowed to try again, with the ultimate aim of taking Scotland back into the E.U., and has called Johnson’s position “not politically sustainable.”
Recent polls have suggested that the Scottish people are about evenly split on the question of breaking from the U.K, but that could change in the course of the year. All Under One Banner has organized seven marches, to take place across Scotland in 2020. They’ll be held in large cities like Edinburgh and Glasgow, but also in smaller and medium-sized towns, including Elgin, Kirkcaldy, and Stirling. Before the outbreak of COVID-19, the first march was to take place in Arbroath on the first Saturday of April, two days before the seven hundredth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath. Organizers have postponed the march, but a series of commemorative events will still be held in the town.
Arbroath is a traditional fishing village of around twenty-three thousand people on Scotland’s far eastern coast, northeast of Dundee. It is known for Arbroath Abbey, where the Declaration was drawn up, and for Arbroath smokies, a smoked-haddock delicacy. The upcoming anniversary has the town buzzing. There are plans for a musical night, “A Brief History of Scotland in Song,” and a local theatre will host “The 700 Concert,” an evening of comedy and music “to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the signing of the most significant document in Scottish history.” A nonpolitical cultural festival, Arbroath2020, has planned six months of concerts, talks, and exhibitions around town. (These plans are subject to change, the organizers noted.) When I spoke recently to Eddie Cairney, a singer-songwriter and a pro-independence organizer, he was working, with Mike Gibb and Mairi Warren, on a short musical featuring Robert the Bruce, titled “As Long as But a Hundred of Us.” “It’s all centered around the Declaration,” he said.
Cairney has lived in Arbroath for twenty years; he lives a short walk from Arbroath Abbey and has raised his three children in the town. Like many others in the independence movement, Cairney believes Scotland has the right to hold another vote. “We really shouldn’t have to ask, you know?” he said. He likened the relationship between Scotland and England to a marriage. “One party says, ‘I would like a divorce,’ and the other party says, ‘I’m not even going to hear about it; that’s the end of the story; I don’t even want to talk about that.’ What do you say? Do you say, ‘In that case, fine, I won’t ask again’? Or do you say, ‘No, to hell with you—that’s my entitlement. I’m quite entitled to a divorce if I want it.’ ”
Tony Dunlop, a committee member for YesBikers, a motorcycle group that supports independence, also plans to attend the march in Arbroath when it happens. Dunlop is a forty-year-old software developer based in Edinburgh, who has organized around fifteen pro-independence motorcycle rides a year for the last several years. He rides a Suzuki GSX-R1000. At a march in Edinburgh, in 2018, the YesBikers had their biggest turnout yet: two hundred and ninety-seven bikes. The rides have a carnival-like atmosphere, he said. “There’s a sort of camaraderie and everyone’s doing something for a real cause, for a real purpose.” The bikes are decorated with Scottish flags and stickers. “Some guys dress up,” Dunlop said. “We had Robert the Bruce last year.”
One of the songs Cairney is writing for “As Long as But a Hundred of Us” is called “Moan.” In the song, the Pope tells Scotland that he’s seen tributes from all the other European countries, but all Scotland does is moan about England. Another has Robert the Bruce trying to explain that what he did to be excommunicated was not really all that bad. “The music’s quite upbeat,” Cairney said. He wanted to keep the anniversary positive, while still getting the message across. He spoke about Scotland’s close ties with the Continent. “Scotland has always been a fully functioning part of Europe,” he said. “For some reason, England has a problem with Europe, and always has. They never really got over this.”
Wilson, from All Under One Banner, told me, “We have a long economic history, but also a long cultural history of free trade across Europe. Stopping that is anathema to Scots because we’ve been doing it for hundreds of years.” Scottish people have always ventured abroad, he said. “It’s partly because we are a small country on the edge of the North Atlantic, in the middle of nowhere, so we do go out and seek our fortune. We have a history of doing that, and so to be told that we can’t doesn’t sit well with Scottish people at all.”
While preparing for the anniversary, Wilson has occasionally thought of his primary-school teacher, who had her pupils memorize the key passages of the Declaration word for word. He can still remember it, and, when we spoke, he recited it to me quickly, without missing a beat.


newyorker--2020-03-16--The Biden-Sanders Debate and the Virtual End of the 2020 Democratic Primary

On Sunday , as the number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. continued to climb and whole regions of the country began to shut down , Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders—the two remaining contenders for the Democratic Party ’ s Presidential nomination—had a one-on-one debate .
Over the previous week , heeding public-health warnings about the deadly virus , their campaigns had gone virtual .
Staff and volunteers began working remotely—door-knocking was out , texting was still O.K.—and both candidates participated in digital town halls .
The debate ’ s venue was a product of this new reality , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Phoenix , Arizona , in front of a live audience , it was instead held in a CNN television studio in Washington , D.C. Two podiums had been set up six feet away from each other—a nod to social-distancing etiquette .
When the candidates appeared , they greeted each other with an elbow-bump .
It was impossible not to think , with some disbelief , that the two men had last been on a debate stage less than a month ago , in Las Vegas , alongside four other candidates .
At @ @ @ @ @ @ @ verge of running away with the nomination , and the virus was a remote topic of concern .
Nothing that happened Sunday night is likely to change what the race is now : a contest to fill the leadership vacuum in the White House , and Biden ’ s to lose .
Last week , both candidates gave speeches following President Trump ’ s disastrous Oval Office address , trying to let people see just how different they would be .
On Sunday , that posture took up much of the first half @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden addressed a fact that the Trump Administration seems so far unwilling to reckon with : Americans are already dying of the virus .
“ First of all , my heart goes out to those who already lost someone , ” Biden said .
This was a small gesture , but the contrast with the self-involved , self-aggrandizing statements being issued by the current President was obvious .
Biden and Sanders then debated the government ’ s response to COVID-19 in terms not so different from those they use to describe the current @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an emergency , and demanded an emergency response .
Sanders said emergency measures weren ’ t enough , because the virus has exposed the systemic problems in the country ’ s health-care apparatus .
What the country should do , Sanders said , is guarantee health care for everyone .
“ This is a national crisis , ” Biden responded .
“ I don ’ t want to get this into a back and forth in terms of our politics here.
” After discussing the health implications of the pandemic , the moderators @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that quarantines , bans on public gatherings , and travel restrictions are beginning to deliver .
Again Sanders tried to move the conversation to issues that transcend this single moment .
“ Half of our people are living paycheck to paycheck , ” he said .
“ What is going to happen to them ?
” Biden again tried to argue that the emergency took precedence .
“ Right now , what do we do ?
” he said .
Drawing a contrast with Trump was in many ways the easier of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In his recent ascendence , he has had to think about how he might court voters on the left who support Sanders ’ s agenda .
Before the debate , Biden announced that he was adopting two progressive ideas originally put forward by Sanders and Elizabeth Warren : the first was to make public college tuition free for children of families that make less than a hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars a year ; the second was to support Warren ’ s bankruptcy-overhaul proposal .
But Sanders wasn ’ t having it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this debate , where they argued voters would get to see the full contrast between the two candidates .
Sanders began to challenge Biden ’ s record on Social Security , the bank bailout , the Iraq War , and trade deals .
Biden has trouble reconciling his past positions on these issues with the current mood of the Democratic Party—there ’ s no question he ’ s more comfortable talking about the emergency than systemic problems .
“ We disagree on the detail of how we do it , but we don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Biden said , discussing climate change .
Again , Sanders pushed back .
“ Details make a difference , “ he said .
“ We need to have the courage to take on the greed of the fossil-fuel industry.
” Biden didn ’ t help matters by declaring onstage that he ’ d support no more new fracking , only to have his campaign walk the statement back afterward .
And yet , as the debate wore on , the dynamic became more and more reminiscent of Sanders ’ s sparrings with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lost the role of front-runner , he was back to the role of foil—pushing for the establishment figure to make more progressive commitments , trying to get him to own up to his record .
“ He ’ s making it hard for me right now , ” Biden said , at one point , gesturing at Sanders .
“ I was trying to give him credit for some things.
” Biden made news by pledging to pick a woman as his running mate if he ’ s the nominee .
But otherwise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ things right now , a glimpse of a normal we won ’ t see again for some time .
Sanders had wanted to expose Biden ’ s record , but Democrats have been hammering Biden ’ s record for over a year , and the voters have now started to come out for him anyway .
The left has been caught short—the energy and broad enthusiasm of new voters that Sanders promised hasn ’ t materialized .
The turnout surge , as Biden pointed out Sunday , has been for him .
Meanwhile @ @ @ @ @ @ @ threatening to take tens of thousands of lives and making the problems of the current Administration all the more obvious .
On Tuesday , Florida , Illinois , Arizona , and Ohio will vote .
Biden could cement his lead .
COVID-19 has arrived just as the race is ending , and , one way or another , things will look very different soon .
Georgia and Louisiana have already pushed back their upcoming primaries .
Who knows when we ’ ll be able to go to vote again ?
How people cope @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
What it means to contain and mitigate the coronavirus outbreak .
How much of the world is likely to be quarantined ?
Donald Trump in the time of coronavirus .
The coronavirus is likely to spread for more than a year before a vaccine could be widely available .
We are all irrational panic shoppers .
The strange terror of watching the coronavirus take Rome .
How pandemics change history .

On Sunday, as the number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. continued to climb and whole regions of the country began to shut down, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders—the two remaining contenders for the Democratic Party’s Presidential nomination—had a one-on-one debate. Over the previous week, heeding public-health warnings about the deadly virus, their campaigns had gone virtual. Staff and volunteers began working remotely—door-knocking was out, texting was still O.K.—and both candidates participated in digital town halls. The debate’s venue was a product of this new reality, as well. Originally scheduled to take place in Phoenix, Arizona, in front of a live audience, it was instead held in a CNN television studio in Washington, D.C. Two podiums had been set up six feet away from each other—a nod to social-distancing etiquette. When the candidates appeared, they greeted each other with an elbow-bump. It was impossible not to think, with some disbelief, that the two men had last been on a debate stage less than a month ago, in Las Vegas, alongside four other candidates. At the time, Sanders looked on the verge of running away with the nomination, and the virus was a remote topic of concern.
Nothing that happened Sunday night is likely to change what the race is now: a contest to fill the leadership vacuum in the White House, and Biden’s to lose. Last week, both candidates gave speeches following President Trump’s disastrous Oval Office address, trying to let people see just how different they would be. On Sunday, that posture took up much of the first half of the debate. Early on, Biden addressed a fact that the Trump Administration seems so far unwilling to reckon with: Americans are already dying of the virus. “First of all, my heart goes out to those who already lost someone,” Biden said. This was a small gesture, but the contrast with the self-involved, self-aggrandizing statements being issued by the current President was obvious. Biden and Sanders then debated the government’s response to COVID-19 in terms not so different from those they use to describe the current Administration. Biden said the virus was an emergency, and demanded an emergency response. Sanders said emergency measures weren’t enough, because the virus has exposed the systemic problems in the country’s health-care apparatus. What the country should do, Sanders said, is guarantee health care for everyone. “This is a national crisis,” Biden responded. “I don’t want to get this into a back and forth in terms of our politics here.”
After discussing the health implications of the pandemic, the moderators prompted a discussion of the economic shock that quarantines, bans on public gatherings, and travel restrictions are beginning to deliver. Again Sanders tried to move the conversation to issues that transcend this single moment. “Half of our people are living paycheck to paycheck,” he said. “What is going to happen to them?” Biden again tried to argue that the emergency took precedence. “Right now, what do we do?” he said.
Drawing a contrast with Trump was in many ways the easier of the two tasks Biden took on Sunday night. In his recent ascendence, he has had to think about how he might court voters on the left who support Sanders’s agenda. Before the debate, Biden announced that he was adopting two progressive ideas originally put forward by Sanders and Elizabeth Warren: the first was to make public college tuition free for children of families that make less than a hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars a year; the second was to support Warren’s bankruptcy-overhaul proposal. But Sanders wasn’t having it. His campaign had been waiting for this debate, where they argued voters would get to see the full contrast between the two candidates. Sanders began to challenge Biden’s record on Social Security, the bank bailout, the Iraq War, and trade deals. Biden has trouble reconciling his past positions on these issues with the current mood of the Democratic Party—there’s no question he’s more comfortable talking about the emergency than systemic problems. “We disagree on the detail of how we do it, but we don’t disagree on the principle,” Biden said, discussing climate change. Again, Sanders pushed back. “Details make a difference,“ he said. “We need to have the courage to take on the greed of the fossil-fuel industry.” Biden didn’t help matters by declaring onstage that he’d support no more new fracking, only to have his campaign walk the statement back afterward.
And yet, as the debate wore on, the dynamic became more and more reminiscent of Sanders’s sparrings with Hillary Clinton four years ago. Having lost the role of front-runner, he was back to the role of foil—pushing for the establishment figure to make more progressive commitments, trying to get him to own up to his record. “He’s making it hard for me right now,” Biden said, at one point, gesturing at Sanders. “I was trying to give him credit for some things.”
Biden made news by pledging to pick a woman as his running mate if he’s the nominee. But otherwise the debate felt, like so many things right now, a glimpse of a normal we won’t see again for some time. Sanders had wanted to expose Biden’s record, but Democrats have been hammering Biden’s record for over a year, and the voters have now started to come out for him anyway. The left has been caught short—the energy and broad enthusiasm of new voters that Sanders promised hasn’t materialized. The turnout surge, as Biden pointed out Sunday, has been for him. Meanwhile, a deadly pathogen has appeared, threatening to take tens of thousands of lives and making the problems of the current Administration all the more obvious. On Tuesday, Florida, Illinois, Arizona, and Ohio will vote. Biden could cement his lead. COVID-19 has arrived just as the race is ending, and, one way or another, things will look very different soon. Georgia and Louisiana have already pushed back their upcoming primaries. Who knows when we’ll be able to go to vote again?
A Guide to the Coronavirus
How people cope and create new customs amid a pandemic.
What it means to contain and mitigate the coronavirus outbreak.
How much of the world is likely to be quarantined?
Donald Trump in the time of coronavirus.
The coronavirus is likely to spread for more than a year before a vaccine could be widely available.
We are all irrational panic shoppers.
The strange terror of watching the coronavirus take Rome.
How pandemics change history.


newyorker--2020-03-16--My Old Nemesis: Plastic Bags

My Old Nemesis: Plastic Bags

On Earth Day , 2019 , when New York ’ s Governor , Andrew Cuomo , signed a bill banning single-use plastic bags , he said , “ You see plastic bags hanging in trees , blowing down the streets , in landfills , and in our waterways , and there is no doubt they are doing tremendous damage.
” It is true that nowadays people do see plastic bags in trees .
But they didn ’ t used to—not because the bags weren ’ t there but because the people didn ’ t see them .
I believe I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bags in trees—that is , noticed them in any official way .
Twenty-seven years ago , I wrote a short article for this magazine about plastic bags and other debris in the trees of New York City .
Once I started noticing the bags , I couldn ’ t stop , and I soon passed the affliction on to my friends Bill McClelland and Tim McClelland .
Noticing bags in trees changed our lives .
“ In dreams begin responsibilities , ” the poet Delmore Schwartz wrote .
The same can be said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is combined with noticing .
Once we ’ d seen and noticed the bags , the responsibility part kicked in .
We ( mostly Tim , who ’ s a jeweller , and a genius of design ) came up with a device we called a bag snagger .
It ’ s a kind of grappler that has tines extending from a central rod which ends in a sharpened hook , like a pruning hook .
There are no moving parts .
You attach the bag snagger to the end of a long @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use , you lift the pole into the tree so the snagger is touching the bag , you rotate the pole so the tines engage the bag and wrap it around the snagger , and then you pull down and cut the bag free with the pruning hook .
Tim made test versions of the snagger , and they worked well .
In the nineties and the early two-thousands , we went throughout the city removing bags from trees , and eventually received a U.S. patent for our invention .
Expanding our range @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out of trees not only in New York but in seven or eight other states , in four time zones .
We founded a company to manufacture the snagger , and sold a few , though never enough to make money .
NPR did a story on us .
I appeared in a movie , Jim Jarmusch ’ s “ Blue in the Face , ” talking about bags in trees and our snagger .
The Times ran a short item about our invention .
I wrote a lot of magazine articles about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the amount of bag-snagging we do has dwindled to almost none .
Lifting thirty-odd feet of fibreglass up into a tree and wrangling out a bag from uncoöperative branches is work .
We were in our forties when we started ; Bill and I are almost seventy now , and Tim is pushing sixty-four .
We dissolved the company , Bag Snaggers , Inc. , a few years ago .
Stopping the bags at the source , by legislative action , is obviously the sane solution to the problem .
I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but I guess we were thinking artistically—removing the eye-blight , creating a beautiful ( by comparison ) tree—rather than civically .
The bill that the governor signed last year went into effect this month .
It says that stores can ’ t give out film-plastic bags of a thickness of a thousandth of an inch or less , a definition that covers a lot of bags .
The worst is the white , almost-see-through “ deli bag , ” which has a well-known tendency to blow all over and minutely entangle itself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
These are the orneriest bags , and , with the new law , there should be fewer of them .
( The law also allows an option for jurisdictions to place a five-cent fee on paper bags to discourage people from simply switching to paper . )
There are exceptions .
Other kinds of bags are still permitted .
The in-store clear-plastic bags that you put produce in are still O.K.
, as are food-delivery bags from restaurants and takeout places , and the filmy plastic bags that dry-cleaning comes in .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a sizable number of all these kinds .
And , of course , the law says nothing about the mylar balloons , plastic tarps , drop cloths , etc.
, that fall outside the plastic-bag phylum entirely .
Even with the new law there will still be plenty of airborne debris .
Right now , in late winter , when strong winds blow through branches with no leaves on them , is the prime season for bags in trees .
I don ’ t want to tell you how many bags in trees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I write—an infinite number .
I haven ’ t stopped seeing them , but I feel less responsibility .
I mean , hey , we tried .
Bill , who was the company ’ s C.E.O.
, still gets calls from landfill managers and others who want to buy a bag snagger , and he has to disappoint them .
The snagger costs too much to manufacture for it to be practical , unless some rich person wants to come along and subsidize it for the common good , and to defy the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will continue to flap in the trees , flag-like , in triumph .
They have won .
Let ’ s not go too far down that road .
They endure only for the moment .
To give them the total victory is a step toward despair , which , as I keep reminding myself and the world , is an aspect of the mortal sin of sloth .
Simply seeing and noticing the bags is a start .
There ’ s no way , twenty-seven years ago , that any public official would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plastic bags hanging from trees .
The problem was invisible then .
So , maybe a better bag law will come along .
Maybe someone will make a better , cheaper bag snagger .
Or maybe someone will find a cheaper way of making our snagger .
Our patent has lapsed , but the copyright on the name Bag Snagger is still ours , so they ’ ll have to call it the Bag Snatcher , or something .
Go for it , millennials !
Nil desperandum !
We ’ ll beat those @ @ @

On Earth Day, 2019, when New York’s Governor, Andrew Cuomo, signed a bill banning single-use plastic bags, he said, “You see plastic bags hanging in trees, blowing down the streets, in landfills, and in our waterways, and there is no doubt they are doing tremendous damage.” It is true that nowadays people do see plastic bags in trees. But they didn’t used to—not because the bags weren’t there but because the people didn’t see them. I believe I am the first person who actually saw bags in trees—that is, noticed them in any official way. Twenty-seven years ago, I wrote a short article for this magazine about plastic bags and other debris in the trees of New York City. Once I started noticing the bags, I couldn’t stop, and I soon passed the affliction on to my friends Bill McClelland and Tim McClelland. Noticing bags in trees changed our lives.
“In dreams begin responsibilities,” the poet Delmore Schwartz wrote. The same can be said of seeing, provided that the seeing is combined with noticing. Once we’d seen and noticed the bags, the responsibility part kicked in. We (mostly Tim, who’s a jeweller, and a genius of design) came up with a device we called a bag snagger. It’s a kind of grappler that has tines extending from a central rod which ends in a sharpened hook, like a pruning hook. There are no moving parts. You attach the bag snagger to the end of a long fibreglass pole like the ones window washers use, you lift the pole into the tree so the snagger is touching the bag, you rotate the pole so the tines engage the bag and wrap it around the snagger, and then you pull down and cut the bag free with the pruning hook. Tim made test versions of the snagger, and they worked well. In the nineties and the early two-thousands, we went throughout the city removing bags from trees, and eventually received a U.S. patent for our invention. Expanding our range, we took bags and other debris out of trees not only in New York but in seven or eight other states, in four time zones. We founded a company to manufacture the snagger, and sold a few, though never enough to make money. NPR did a story on us. I appeared in a movie, Wayne Wang and Paul Auster’s “Blue in the Face,” talking about bags in trees and our snagger. The Times ran a short item about our invention. I wrote a lot of magazine articles about us and trees and bags.
Recently, the amount of bag-snagging we do has dwindled to almost none. Lifting thirty-odd feet of fibreglass up into a tree and wrangling out a bag from uncoöperative branches is work. We were in our forties when we started; Bill and I are almost seventy now, and Tim is pushing sixty-four. We dissolved the company, Bag Snaggers, Inc., a few years ago. Stopping the bags at the source, by legislative action, is obviously the sane solution to the problem. I’m surprised it never occurred to us, but I guess we were thinking artistically—removing the eye-blight, creating a beautiful (by comparison) tree—rather than civically. The bill that the governor signed last year went into effect this month. It says that stores can’t give out film-plastic bags of a thickness of a thousandth of an inch or less, a definition that covers a lot of bags. The worst is the white, almost-see-through “deli bag,” which has a well-known tendency to blow all over and minutely entangle itself in branches and flutter by its handles. These are the orneriest bags, and, with the new law, there should be fewer of them. (The law also allows an option for jurisdictions to place a five-cent fee on paper bags to discourage people from simply switching to paper.)
There are exceptions. Other kinds of bags are still permitted. The in-store clear-plastic bags that you put produce in are still O.K., as are food-delivery bags from restaurants and takeout places, and the filmy plastic bags that dry-cleaning comes in. When we were snagging, we encountered a sizable number of all these kinds. And, of course, the law says nothing about the mylar balloons, plastic tarps, drop cloths, etc., that fall outside the plastic-bag phylum entirely. Even with the new law there will still be plenty of airborne debris.
Right now, in late winter, when strong winds blow through branches with no leaves on them, is the prime season for bags in trees. I don’t want to tell you how many bags in trees are out there in the city as I write—an infinite number. I haven’t stopped seeing them, but I feel less responsibility. I mean, hey, we tried. Bill, who was the company’s C.E.O., still gets calls from landfill managers and others who want to buy a bag snagger, and he has to disappoint them. The snagger costs too much to manufacture for it to be practical, unless some rich person wants to come along and subsidize it for the common good, and to defy the bags. Failing that, the bags will continue to flap in the trees, flag-like, in triumph. They have won.
Let’s not go too far down that road. They endure only for the moment. To give them the total victory is a step toward despair, which, as I keep reminding myself and the world, is an aspect of the mortal sin of sloth. Simply seeing and noticing the bags is a start. There’s no way, twenty-seven years ago, that any public official would have said what the governor did about plastic bags hanging from trees. The problem was invisible then. So, maybe a better bag law will come along. Maybe someone will make a better, cheaper bag snagger. Or maybe someone will find a cheaper way of making our snagger. Our patent has lapsed, but the copyright on the name Bag Snagger is still ours, so they’ll have to call it the Bag Snatcher, or something. Go for it, millennials! Nil desperandum! We’ll beat those bags yet.
A previous version of this article misidentified the director of “Blue in the Face.”


newyorker--2020-03-14--The Anxious Hands of New York’s Subway Riders in the Face of the Coronavirus

A few days ago , while I was waiting on the platform at Times Square , to catch an express train to Brooklyn , flickers of lavender caught my eye , a brightness breaking the dark monotone of the crowd : nitrile gloves , obscuring the hands of perhaps one in every dozen commuters .
The color is its own safety precaution : a vivid purple unlikely to be mistaken by a nurse or a doctor for any of the hues of the human body , or by a food-service worker for anything edible—a vivid distinction between object and barrier @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out from cuffs and shopping bags , like warning signs .
I watched an older woman peel off her pairs and apply a dose of sanitizer to her palms .
She scrubbed her hands together and then waved them in the air , to speed the drying of the alcohol , which glistened under the fluorescent lights .
In “ Subway Hands , ” through the eye of a camera , the sheen of rubbing alcohol is imperceptible—hands scrub and flutter in dry choreography .
The movements seem both neurotic and prayerful , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a mystical ritual .
They ’ re a warding off of the evil eye , another superstition of the mass-transit age : hold your breath when you pass a cemetery , lift your feet when you drive over train tracks , clasp and twist and rub your hands when someone coughs nearby in the subway car .
What we do with our hands in the coming weeks and months is , in fact , a matter of urgent public health : according to many experts , the virus ’ s spread throughout the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the more we can do to slow it down the better equipped our already strained systems will be to provide treatment and care to those who need it .
Looking through La Follette Ryan ’ s catalogue can prompt an unsettling feeling of solitude : even in the throng of public transit , each of our bodies is only our own .
But her new images , captured on the edge of a pandemic , also subtly upend that solipsism .
Each frame focusses on just one individual , or maybe two—but their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a collective caution , and a collective care .

A few days ago, while I was waiting on the platform at Times Square, to catch an express train to Brooklyn, flickers of lavender caught my eye, a brightness breaking the dark monotone of the crowd: nitrile gloves, obscuring the hands of perhaps one in every dozen commuters. The color is its own safety precaution: a vivid purple unlikely to be mistaken by a nurse or a doctor for any of the hues of the human body, or by a food-service worker for anything edible—a vivid distinction between object and barrier. In the subway, they flashed out from cuffs and shopping bags, like warning signs. I watched an older woman peel off her pairs and apply a dose of sanitizer to her palms. She scrubbed her hands together and then waved them in the air, to speed the drying of the alcohol, which glistened under the fluorescent lights. In “Subway Hands,” through the eye of a camera, the sheen of rubbing alcohol is imperceptible—hands scrub and flutter in dry choreography. The movements seem both neurotic and prayerful, less a mass act of containment than a mystical ritual. They’re a warding off of the evil eye, another superstition of the mass-transit age: hold your breath when you pass a cemetery, lift your feet when you drive over train tracks, clasp and twist and rub your hands when someone coughs nearby in the subway car.
What we do with our hands in the coming weeks and months is, in fact, a matter of urgent public health: according to many experts, the virus’s spread throughout the United States is now inevitable, but the more we can do to slow it down the better equipped our already strained systems will be to provide treatment and care to those who need it. Looking through La Follette Ryan’s catalogue can prompt an unsettling feeling of solitude: even in the throng of public transit, each of our bodies is only our own. But her new images, captured on the edge of a pandemic, also subtly upend that solipsism. Each frame focusses on just one individual, or maybe two—but their hands’ focussed, conscientious actions express a collective caution, and a collective care.


newyorker--2020-03-17--A Kindergarten Teacher Tries to Answer Students’ Questions About Her Marital Status

Well , class , now that I ’ ve finished reading “ Knuffle Bunny ” aloud , does anyone have thoughts about the book ?
I see that Emily is quietly raising her hand .
Yes , Emily ?
What was that ?
You want to know if I ’ m married ?
Hmm !
What an unrelated yet familiar question .
My marital status has been a subject of inquiry every year , not only in this classroom but also at my childhood home , when I visit for Thanksgiving , and sometimes in my own mind , especially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s O.K.—let ’ s dive in !
After all , you ’ re showing interest in another person ’ s perspective , a trait I ’ m always hoping to cultivate in young minds .
I will answer your query as well as I can , in a confident way , so that I might inspire you to take charge of your destiny , just like me .
Whole-body listening , everyone !
I am what is known as “ single.
” That means that I live by myself and am a very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ somewhat high voice and dress mostly in striped cottons from the Boden catalogue , I am an adult who supports herself independently , almost most of the time , pretty much .
But rest assured that , even as an independent grownup , you can talk to your parents on the phone or on Gchat , sometimes many times a day in an emergency , such as a termite infestation or when someone has not responded to your text message .
One day you , too , will be independent !
The journey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is why I do not put your socks on for you after dance class but instead teach you to put your own socks on , because , as a single adult , should you choose that path , like I have , there will not be another person to put on your socks .
You will need to put on socks all by yourself .
Emma Watson refers to my state of being as “ self-partnered.
” Put up a thumb if you know who Emma Watson is .
Excellent , Jake !
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , so I ’ m glad we ’ re having this discussion .
Emma Watson is a very important actor , U.N .
Goodwill Ambassador , and book-club leader .
When you grow up , you can partner with another person in a special , loving way , or , as Emma reminds us , you can partner with yourself .
Yes , Ava , it ’ s like when you hold hands with a partner when you walk down the hall .
Except that , as a self-partnered individual , you would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , you would be clasping your own hands in front of you as you walk .
Except that we ’ re not actually going to do that—we ’ re still going to walk to the cafeteria with our line partners .
I was just trying to make Emma ’ s concept relatable to your personal experience .
Yes , you can go to the bathroom .
Think about it like this : You know how you go to the dramatic-play center and play family ?
And how you have to share the cups @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if you are a single grownup , at least for the time being , all those cups can be yours .
And guess what ?
At my apartment , I have so many cups !
Can you believe it ?
If you can hear me , clap once !
I sense that you all are experiencing what the psychologist Jean Piaget would call “ disequilibrium ” —that ’ s a graduate-school way of saying “ confused.
” Until this impromptu Q .
& A. session with me about being a single person , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your parents , or grownups on Nickelodeon shows .
But let ’ s think together : Is SpongeBob SquarePants married to anyone ?
Or is he a sponge with a passion for cooking who has actively chosen to focus on his friendships and procuring a boating license ?
Probably the latter , in fact—yes , Joaquin , we are having muffins for snack—I ’ m pretty sure that SpongeBob is what we might call a self-partnered adult sponge !
Isn ’ t that great ?
Eyes on me !
Now I see Assistant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a face that means I have to pause this emergent extension of our Community Helpers curriculum .
Class , I wish to honor your curiosity and follow your lead , but I understand that we only have the recess yard for a certain period of time .
So let ’ s continue this exploration after lunch .
Time to line up , everyone—no self-partnering , please !

Well, class, now that I’ve finished reading “Knuffle Bunny” aloud, does anyone have thoughts about the book? I see that Emily is quietly raising her hand. Yes, Emily? What was that? You want to know if I’m married?
Hmm! What an unrelated yet familiar question. My marital status has been a subject of inquiry every year, not only in this classroom but also at my childhood home, when I visit for Thanksgiving, and sometimes in my own mind, especially on my birthday.
But that’s O.K.—let’s dive in! After all, you’re showing interest in another person’s perspective, a trait I’m always hoping to cultivate in young minds. I will answer your query as well as I can, in a confident way, so that I might inspire you to take charge of your destiny, just like me. Whole-body listening, everyone!
I am what is known as “single.”
That means that I live by myself and am a very good friend. Though I have a somewhat high voice and dress mostly in striped cottons from the Boden catalogue, I am an adult who supports herself independently, almost most of the time, pretty much. But rest assured that, even as an independent grownup, you can talk to your parents on the phone or on Gchat, sometimes many times a day in an emergency, such as a termite infestation or when someone has not responded to your text message.
One day you, too, will be independent! The journey begins here in this classroom. That is why I do not put your socks on for you after dance class but instead teach you to put your own socks on, because, as a single adult, should you choose that path, like I have, there will not be another person to put on your socks. You will need to put on socks all by yourself.
Emma Watson refers to my state of being as “self-partnered.” Put up a thumb if you know who Emma Watson is. Excellent, Jake! I see that no one else does, so I’m glad we’re having this discussion. Emma Watson is a very important actor, U.N. Goodwill Ambassador, and book-club leader. When you grow up, you can partner with another person in a special, loving way, or, as Emma reminds us, you can partner with yourself.
Yes, Ava, it’s like when you hold hands with a partner when you walk down the hall. Except that, as a self-partnered individual, you would be holding hands with yourself. Like, you would be clasping your own hands in front of you as you walk. Except that we’re not actually going to do that—we’re still going to walk to the cafeteria with our line partners. I was just trying to make Emma’s concept relatable to your personal experience. Yes, you can go to the bathroom.
Think about it like this: You know how you go to the dramatic-play center and play family? And how you have to share the cups and plates with everyone? Well, if you are a single grownup, at least for the time being, all those cups can be yours. And guess what? At my apartment, I have so many cups! Can you believe it? If you can hear me, clap once!
I sense that you all are experiencing what the psychologist Jean Piaget would call “disequilibrium”—that’s a graduate-school way of saying “confused.” Until this impromptu Q. & A. session with me about being a single person, your main model for adulthood was probably your parents, or grownups on Nickelodeon shows. But let’s think together: Is SpongeBob SquarePants married to anyone? Or is he a sponge with a passion for cooking who has actively chosen to focus on his friendships and procuring a boating license? Probably the latter, in fact—yes, Joaquin, we are having muffins for snack—I’m pretty sure that SpongeBob is what we might call a self-partnered adult sponge! Isn’t that great? Eyes on me!
Now I see Assistant Principal McLelland in the doorway, making a face that means I have to pause this emergent extension of our Community Helpers curriculum. Class, I wish to honor your curiosity and follow your lead, but I understand that we only have the recess yard for a certain period of time. So let’s continue this exploration after lunch. Time to line up, everyone—no self-partnering, please!