Legislative gridlock is a myth

+ debunking common coronavirus vaccine myths US Edition - Today's top story: Debunking the myth of legislative gridlock [View in browser]( US Edition | 18 February 2021 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair Congress never gets anything done. Partisanship causes legislative gridlock. Things are at a standstill in Washington. It’s all a myth. “Laws and policy are being made in the nation’s capital,” writes Jeb Barnes, a political scientist at USC Dornsife. The number of bills passed demonstrates that fact – not to mention the speedy progress of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan. While legislative stalemates do exist, the real risk isn’t that they lead to policy paralysis [but that they shift power to bureaucrats and judges]( who are not accountable to the public, he says. Also today: - [Americans are still struggling despite trillions in aid]( - [US isn’t alone in seeing spike in election-related violence]( - [The legend of the flying African]( A note about viewing our articles on Facebook. Facebook yesterday started to block Australians from sharing and accessing news content, the result of an ongoing dispute over proposed legislation in Australia to have tech companies pay news media outlets for journalism linked to from social media and search engines. The blocked content includes articles produced by The Conversation Australia. The result in the U.S. is that you will not be able to share articles from The Conversation U.S. on Facebook either, as The Conversation was founded in Australia and all our national editions run off a common web site. We are seeking ways to address this situation and urge you to continue reading our work on our website and sharing through email or other social media in the meantime. Naomi Schalit Senior Editor, Politics + Society Laws and policy are being made in Washington – both inside Congress and out. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images [Debunking the myth of legislative gridlock]( Jeb Barnes, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences The idea that Washington, DC, is paralyzed by gridlock rests on half-truths about the legislative process and a basic misunderstanding of how contemporary policymaking works. Arts + Culture - [How a mass suicide by slaves caused the legend of the flying African to take off]( Thomas Hallock, University of South Florida The myth has become a symbol of the traumatizing legacy of trans-Atlantic slavery. It also serves as a form of resistance and healing. Economy + Business - [I interviewed 48 bankrupt Americans – here’s who they blame for their financial troubles]( Tess Wise, Amherst College Few middle-class Americans undergoing Chapter 13 bankruptcy blame the government. They portray themselves as hardworking victims and resent others for taking more than their fair share. - [Americans still need a lifeline despite trillions in coronavirus aid]( Mary G. Findling, Harvard University; John M. Benson, Harvard University; Robert J. Blendon, Harvard University A survey of the impact of the first few rounds of coronavirus aid shows that most of those who lost jobs or wages due to the pandemic were facing severe economic hardship. Politics + Society - [What belief in extraterrestrial visitors to Earth reveals about trust in elections]( Joshua Lambert, University of Central Florida; Anthony Licciardi Jr., University of New Orleans Americans who believe aliens have visited Earth are more likely than disbelievers to say that Joe Biden is not the legitimate winner of the 2020 presidential election. - [Election violence spiked worldwide in 2020 – will this year be better?]( Clayton Besaw, University of Central Florida Elections are getting less safe in democracies and nondemocracies alike. Last year was the bloodiest year for elections in decades, with 54% of all national votes marred by some kind of violence. Health - [Air filters can scrub out pollutants near highways, reduce blood pressure]( Doug Brugge, University of Connecticut Living next to a highway is not great for health, but a new study shows that running air filters indoors can remove tiny particles of pollution and lower blood pressure. Education - [Black sororities have stood at the forefront of Black achievement for more than a century]( Tamara L. Brown, University of North Texas Members of the nation's four Black sororities, including Vice President Kamala Harris, commit to lifelong acts of service for their communities. Science + Technology - [6 important truths about COVID-19 vaccines]( Sarah Lynch, Binghamton University, State University of New York; Kanneboyina Nagaraju, Binghamton University, State University of New York With the vaccines now being administered at sites around the US, it is important to address misinformation surrounding the effort. Podcast - [Coronavirus vaccine: what’s getting in the way of the global rollout? – The Conversation Weekly podcast]( Gemma Ware, The Conversation; Daniel Merino, The Conversation Plus new research on why China is closing down coal-fired power stations. Listen to episode 3 of The Conversation Weekly. Trending on site - [Power outages across the Plains: 4 questions answered about weather-driven blackouts]( Michael E. Webber, University of Texas at Austin Heat waves, droughts and deep freezes can all strain the electric grid, leading utilities to impose rolling blackouts. Climate change is likely to make these events more common. - [The $4 trillion economic cost of not vaccinating the entire world]( Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan, University of Maryland The world's most advanced economies will incur half the total costs associated with a failure to vaccinate poorer nations, which could exceed $4 trillion if only half their citizens are inoculated. - [Bringing Mars rocks back to Earth – Perseverance Rover lands on Feb. 18, a lead scientist explains the tech and goals]( Jim Bell, Arizona State University NASA's Mars 2020 mission arrives at the red planet on Feb. 18. On the rocket is the Perseverance Rover. The rover's goal is to collect rock and soil samples to be brought back to Earth in the future. You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation](. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe](. 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451