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After 26 years, the US has lost its measles elimination status (www.cnn.com)
submitted 10 hours ago by to c/news@lemmy.world
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Thanks to widespread vaccination, measles had been considered “eliminated” as a continually transmitting illness in the United States since 2000 – but not anymore.

An independent commission of experts that reports to the director of the Pan American Health Organization determined that the US no longer qualified as having eliminated measles, a source close to the process told CNN on Friday. The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The decision was widely expected after years of falling vaccination levels and surging case counts, but it’s still a black mark on the nation’s public health policy.

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[–] 5 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago) (7 children)

If the law in the US was just, so much of what's happening there would be illegal, so many people would have to face consequences. I truly hope this will happen one day. Start from the top, and those two guys are certainly up there.

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  • [–] 4 points 7 hours ago* (6 children)

    This is absolutely the crux of the issue. RFK Jr. likely, at least from a policy standpoint, hasn't done anything illegal in this role. Our agencies and their administration were built with a level of trust that those appointed would work for the common good. It was believed that even if the president was insane that Congress would never approve an incompetent person to head a department. Yet here we are.

    I'm sure he's taking illegal bribes that could lead to some charges, but stuff like the constant food recalls and allowing these terrible diseases to come back likely isn't illegal.

    There's also probably a lot of crimes in his personal life, but causing children to die of preventable disease is perfectly legal. Very messed up situation

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  • [–] 1 point 6 hours ago* (5 children)

    Our agencies and their administration were built with a level of trust that those appointed would work for the common good.

    Germany needed one Third Reich to learn from that mistake, and its current legal apparatus is very focused on not relying on Trust Me Bro. It's called Gewaltenteilung, which is sometimes translated as checks and balances, but I find the German term to be less ambiguous. It means Separation of powers.

    I mean most other countries also have that but Germany's goes a few steps further, and also served as a blueprint for others. And last but not least, Americans also had a hand in the post-war process there, so ... America used to be better?

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  • [–] 3 points 6 hours ago (4 children)

    We also have checks and balances/seperation of powers, it was just assumed that all 3 branches would never be compromised at the same time.

    Basically imagine the AFD controls every power in the government. If I recall Germany has some more rigidity in the constitution with certain provisions that can never be changed. Which helps a lot, but overall the German system is strikingly similar to the American one. It is a bit more refined though

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  • [–] 1 point 5 hours ago (1 child)

    Or that Congress would cede its power to the executive. The president is supposed to be a fairly weak position.

    The longer this goes on, the more I think we should dump the current system and adopt a full parliamentary system. Proportional representation and ranked choice voting. Make the president ceremonial again.

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  • [–] 1 point 5 hours ago

    Theoretically Congress still has the power to reclaim anything they gave to the executive branch, but it's too much about party politics now. Congress isn't interested in its own power.

    I agree a parliamentary system would be significantly better though

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  • [–] 1 point 6 hours ago (1 child)

    We also have (...) seperation of powers

    Not so much since the Patriot Act

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  • [–] 1 point 5 hours ago

    Large portions of the act expired in 2020 and it didn't erase seperation of powers. It did allow the executive branch to do more but Congress still retained the ability to stop it with a 2/3rds vote or a simple majority if the executive branch agreed. The normal legislative process was still in effect.

    While I disagree with the act in many ways, claiming it entirely removed seperation of powers is just demonstrably false.

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