Throw out Todd Zywicki’s lawsuit and throw him in prison

Afghanistan

Ehsanullah Amiri, Alan Cullison, and Saeed Shah, “Taliban Seize Capital of Afghanistan’s Nimroz Province and Kill Official in Kabul,” Wall Street Journal, August 6, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/taliban-seize-capital-of-afghanistans-nimroz-province-11628259499


Pandemic, Pennsylvania

Todd Zywicki is a capitalist libertarian law professor at a capitalist libertarian-very-friendly school. The former is suing the latter over the latter’s vaccine mandate, claiming he has “natural immunity.” His claimed claims about the risks of the vaccines[1] seem exaggerated and alarmist. I am profoundly suspicious that his lawsuit is not so much about fear of the vaccine as it is to score a capitalist libertarian ideological point and thereby to embolden those who refuse the vaccine for whatever reason.

As I’ve previously argued, when people are dying, it’s way past time to stop with the bullshit.[2] I’m not saying what the courts will do, in part because I’m not a lawyer, but what they should do is throw out Zywicki’s lawsuit and throw him in prison. Because this bullshit is killing people. And when the law fails to address that very fundamental harm, that people are dying from misinformation and a dangerously and maliciously misguided sense of “freedom,”[3] it is the law that is at fault rather than my understanding of what the law should be.

Associated Press, “U.S. now averaging 100,000 new coronavirus infections a day,” Los Angeles Times, August 6, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-08-06/u-s-now-averaging-100-000-new-coronavirus-infections-a-day

Annie Linskey, “Biden officials weigh using regulatory powers to spur vaccine mandates,” Washington Post, August 6, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-regulate-vaccine-mandates/2021/08/06/aa9bf73c-f6e2-11eb-9068-bf463c8c74de_story.html

Andrew Nikiforuk, “Alberta Joins Team ‘Just Give Up,’” Tyee, August 6, 2021, https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2021/08/06/Alberta-Joins-Team-Just-Give-Up/

Todd Zywicki, “Why I’m Suing Over My Employer’s Vaccine Mandate,” Wall Street Journal, August 6, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/vaccine-mandate-natural-immunity-lawsuit-covid-19-coronavirus-11628281507

Rowena Mason and Jessica Elgot, “JCVI ‘largely opposed’ to Covid vaccination for children under 16,” Guardian, August 7, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/aug/07/jcvi-largely-opposed-to-covid-vaccination-for-children-under-16

Erin McCarthy and Justine McDaniel, “Pa., N.J., and Del. leaders weigh vaccine-verification options, but largely hold off on mandates,” Philadelphia Inquirer, August 7, 2021, https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/vaccine-mandate-philadelphia-pennsylvania-state-employees-20210807.html


Walmart

I don’t even remember the name of the bank—oh, I recognize the name Woodforest in the article—to be found inside my local Walmart. It’s not to be found anywhere else that I know of. But there it is, conveniently for some, I’m sure, in that Walmart.

Sam Knight, “Predatory Banks at Walmarts Made Over 100 Percent of Profits From Overdraft Fees,” Truthout, August 5, 2021, https://truthout.org/articles/predatory-banks-at-walmarts-made-over-100-percent-of-profits-from-overdraft-fees/


Academia

Oh look! Here’s a positive psychology[4] connection![5]

Notably, [the Master of Applied Positive Psychology] is not offered by [the University of Pennsylvania’s] highly ranked psychology department. “Positive Psychologist” isn’t an actual job. The program mostly seems to teach people who already have jobs the tenets of Professor Martin Seligman’s extremely popular and controversial theories about the power of positive thinking, which have been described by critics as closer to a religion or self-help regime than a legitimate academic field.[6]

Oh, and “positive psychology” is a complete crock of shit. Naturally, Martin Seligman disagrees, but it is.[7]

Kevin Carey, “The Great Master’s-Degree Swindle,” Chronicle of Higher Education, August 5, 2021, https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-great-masters-degree-swindle


Student loans

It seems that the student loan system is still[8] a hot mess.[9]

Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, “Biden administration extends pause on federal student loan payments through January,” Washington Post, August 6, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/08/06/biden-extends-student-loan-repayment-suspension/


Climate politics

Kieran Andrews, Oliver Wright, and Ben Webster, “Backlash after Boris Johnson says Thatcher’s coal mine closures were eco-friendly,” Times, August 6, 2021, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/backlash-after-boris-johnson-says-thatchers-coal-mine-closures-were-eco-friendly-bcsz9sswb


  1. [1]Todd Zywicki, “Why I’m Suing Over My Employer’s Vaccine Mandate,” Wall Street Journal, August 6, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/vaccine-mandate-natural-immunity-lawsuit-covid-19-coronavirus-11628281507
  2. [2]David Benfell, “Lock up the anti-vaxxers,” Not Housebroken, July 31, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/07/27/lock-up-the-anti-vaxxers/
  3. [3]David Benfell, “On ‘freedom,’” Not Housebroken, March 14, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/09/13/on-freedom/; David Benfell, “Messaging against malice,” Not Housebroken, July 28, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/07/28/messaging-against-malice/
  4. [4]Jesse Singal, “Positive Psychology Goes to War,” Chronicle of Higher Education, June 7, 2021, https://www.chronicle.com/article/positive-psychology-goes-to-war; Jesse Singal, “Magical Thinking on Positive Psychology,“ Chronicle of Higher Education, July 22, 2021, https://www.chronicle.com/article/magical-thinking-on-positive-psychology
  5. [5]Kevin Carey, “The Great Master’s-Degree Swindle,” Chronicle of Higher Education, August 5, 2021, https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-great-masters-degree-swindle
  6. [6]Kevin Carey, “The Great Master’s-Degree Swindle,” Chronicle of Higher Education, August 5, 2021, https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-great-masters-degree-swindle
  7. [7]Jesse Singal, “Positive Psychology Goes to War,” Chronicle of Higher Education, June 7, 2021, https://www.chronicle.com/article/positive-psychology-goes-to-war; Jesse Singal, “Magical Thinking on Positive Psychology,“ Chronicle of Higher Education, July 22, 2021, https://www.chronicle.com/article/magical-thinking-on-positive-psychology
  8. [8]Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, “Biden administration extends pause on federal student loan payments through January,” Washington Post, August 6, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/08/06/biden-extends-student-loan-repayment-suspension/
  9. [9]Alexis Gravely, “Major Student Loan Servicer Leaving Federal Loan Program,” Inside Higher Ed, July 9, 2021, https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2021/07/09/major-student-loan-servicer-leaving-federal-loan-program; Robert Hildreth, “The time is right to restructure student debt,” Hill, August 1, 2021, https://thehill.com/opinion/education/565671-the-time-is-right-to-restructure-student-debt; Michael Stratford, “Education Department urges Biden to extend student loan relief,” Politico, July 9, 2021, https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/09/student-loan-relief-extension-498942

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