Despite the huge implications of the government shutdown for the economy, for research, for healthcare, and the environment, I'm getting a sense that it's no longer the story of the day. It's being bumped down the list by U.S. military operations in Africa, the new Supreme Court docket, and even the baseball playoffs.
I suppose that's understandable, considering that the situation has remained unchanged for a week. How many times can political reporters write about defunding Obamacare before they suffer a breakdown (for which even freelancers with pre-existing conniptions can now get coverage).
But the shutdown malaise has not bothered bloggers are still covering the shutdown's implications for science, as Tabitha M. Powledge found out in her weekly online tour. She begins with a nod to Jimmy Kimmel's video in which people on the street are asked what they think of Obamacare (they don't like it) and the Affordable Care Act (they like it). Abandon all hope, ye who enter here!
Powledge reviews the polls, the performance of the online healthcare exchanges, and the psychology of risk perception, among other things. The bad news, she discovered, is that science writers are beginning to feel the shutdown's effects, according to a post by Matt Shipman. Pub Med is open, but a lot of others things are not.
-Paul Raeburn
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