July 14, 2020

In the OC, Masks Are Out for Schoolkids

This is Orange County.Kevin Drum

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Here in Orange County, the Board of Education has recommended that children should go back to school next year. This is a defensible position. As the board’s white paper says, the science on this is unresolved, and there are good arguments that the benefits are worth the risk as long as proper precautions are—

The document states that since children represent the “lowest risk cohort for COVID-19 … social distancing of children and reduced census classrooms is not necessary and therefore not recommended.”

….The document also states that requiring children to wear masks was not recommended given that it “is not only difficult — if not impossible to implement — but [is] not based on science” and “may even be very harmful.”

The Ed Board is not just recommending that everyone do their own thing, which would be bad enough. They are specifically recommending that social distancing not be done and that masks not be worn. According to the board, this is a way for adults to “model courage and persistence in the face of uncertainty and fear.” I live among idiots.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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