Fauci

Six years later – six years after the initial onslaught of the Covid pandemic – I never thought we'd still be talking about Dr. Anthony Fauci.

And if we were still talking about him, surely it would be about the millions of lives he helped save promoting the mRNA Covid vaccine while serving as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) (1984 to 2022) and as Chief Medical Advisor to the President (2021 to 2022).

Nope. Instead, we were presented with a sham Senate hearing, headed up by Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, designed to try, prosecute and condemn Fauci, 85, for the role Fauci played during the pandemic. You know, where he advised convicted felon president Trump to do the right thing. Trump appreciated Fauci's advice so much that he awarded the physician the Presidential Commendation medal for his role in Operation Warp Speed.

But Dr. Trump often contradicted Fauci's advice. I guess Dr. Trump's medical training got in the way. (I might need to note for some of you when I'm being sarcastic. I'm being sarcastic).

I'm not quite sure what happened next. Paul, a nonpracticing opthalmologist by training and who happens to be the chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, has been on a six-year rampage in an effort to at least embarrass, if not imprison Fauci. That's why Fauci was in Paul's Senate hearing Wednesday, knowing full well that he was appearing before a Republican-constructed perjury trap. It's also why Fauci pled his constitutionally guaranteed Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.

You know, the way Trump did 440 times in a four-hour deposition in 2020.

Paul has been trying for years to question and prosecute Fauci over the origins of Covid and gain of function research. In other words, trying to pin the pandemic on Fauci. It's a Republican conspiracy theory that won't go away. As somebody recently wrote, there's no theory like a conspiracy theory.

Fauci is being blamed for mask mandates, vaccination requirements, small business failures, closure of schools, random social distancing, the deaths of millions of people through rushed vaccine research and anything else that annoyed people (Republicans) during the pandemic 

It's interesting to note here – and perhaps important, too – that Fauci served only as an advisor to the president, not as someone with authority to actually put those measures into effect. Those decisions were left to state governors and others on up to the convicted felon president himself.

So Wednesday's hearing was about, what? Giving advice? Show time?

What was the end result of the vaccine?

Well, no. The vaccine doesn't prevent Covid. Nothing will. Not horse wormer ivermectine. Not malaria medicine hydroxychoroquin. But the vaccine, in the face of an ever mutating virus, helped diminish the lethality of the disease. Death rates dropped. A kind of herd immunity developed. Even if you proudly proclaimed that you never took the vaccine, you're still here. Lives were saved, not taken. That's the empirical evidence.

Here are some things to think about. There are about eight billion people on the planet. A little more than five billion people took at least one jab, and more than 13 billion shots were administered. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 67 percent of the Earth's total population was vaxxed.

In the United States, with a population of 349 million, at least 676.7 million doses were given with 230.6 million people becoming fully vaccinated. That's 77 percent of the population. That's herd immunity.

I've heard the arguments: Fauci created the virus; Fauci did it for the money; Fauci did it for the glory; Big Pharma did it to keep people sick; Democrats did it to create votes; the vaccine killed millions.

I'm pretty sure Fauci, a dedicated scientist who earlier in his career helped in treating the HIV AIDS epidemic and spent more than 40 years in service to the country, suddenly went rogue and decided it was more profitable to become another Dr. Josef Mengele. That makes no sense.

Paul said he will consider filing contempt of congress charges against Fauci this week for pleading the Fifth while enjoying a preemptive pardon from President Biden. Paul said the pardon prevents Fauci from invoking the Fifth, which is a novel legal theory that is still to be litigated.

We're hearing a lot of complaining about witch hunts from the Trump administration these days. I guess we're seeing what one really looks like. 

Oh, yeah. And release the completely unredacted Epstein files. It's the law. 

 

 

Welcome back, measles

The other day I was casually listening to the news as background noise when I thought I heard the commentator say that the current measles outbreak now has reached a 35-year high in the United States.

Wha...?

Furthermore, this country is on the verge of losing its measles-free status after having virtually eliminated the viral disease in 2000, when it was officially declared eradicated in this country by the Centers for Disease Control.

But then something happened. Many people stopped getting measles vaccinations, even in the face of decades of evidence proving the shots work. 

Why?

Covid-19 made its appearance in 2019 and a vaccine was quickly developed (under Operation Warp Speed, the only initiative where I can find any reason to give convicted felon president Trump any positive credit) and introduced to the population.

The vaccine didn't prevent Covid – it still doesn't – but, consequently, all of those atrocious early Covid death rates began to diminish. Refrigerated trailer trucks no longer served as temporary morgues and hospitals were no longer running out of ventilators.

The Covid vaccine was enough to create something of a herd immunity to the point where now for many of us, getting Covid isn't much worse than the common cold.

But something else happened again. The Covid vaccine became politicized. Republicans said the vaccine was rushed and we didn't know what was in it. It would alter our genetic RNA. Do you know what you're putting in your body? It would kill us. And the fear seemed to spread. But why stop with Covid? What about flu shots? What about measles vaccines? What about all vaccines, period?

So what happened?

Measles, almost predictably, made a comeback. In 2025, there were an astonishing 2,289 confirmed cases of measles. As of July 23 of this year, there are an additional 2,318 confirmed cases across 45 states.

So, yeah, we're about to lose our status as a measles-free nation because some people don't believe the science or the evidence. But they seemingly will gobble up any conspiracy theory that aligns with the narrative they want to push.

I guess that explains why we have uniquely unqualified Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the head of the Health and Human Services Department. You know, the vaccine denier who swims in polluted creeks and dines on road kill.

Unbelievable. 

Footnote: Last year, the Journal of the American Medical Association's (JAMA) Network Open released the findings of a landmark four-year study in France to answer the question: Are Covid-19 mRNA vaccines associated with the long-term risk of all-cause mortality?

The findings revealed that among the 22.7 million vaccinated people in France versus the 5.9 million unvaccinated individuals, vaccinated individuals had a 74 percent lower risk of death from severe Covid-19 and no increased risk of all-cause mortality in a median follow-up of 45 months.

A whole nation was involved in this study, which ultimately supported the safety of mRNA vaccines currently being used worldwide.

And, in another footnote from several years ago, researchers from Yale University published a study in JAMA Internal Medicine analyzing excess Covid deaths of registered voters in Ohio and Florida. The study found that registered Republicans had an excess death rate 15 percent higher than Democratic voters between March 2020 and December 2021.

In addition, after Covid vaccines were free to all adults in April 2021, the gap widened even more. Republicans had a 43 percent higher excess death rate than Democrats. Hit me with a feather.

C'mon, people. Covid. Measles. Flu. Whatever. Take your damn vaccine shots, both you and your children. The evidence is clearly smacking you right between the eyes. 

 

 

It' getting darker

Originally, I planned to discuss the current debate between Eastern Standard Time (EST) and Daylight Savings Time (DST), hence the title of today's blog.

And I will in a minute.

But the deaths of two American military personnel Friday in Jordan by Iranian drones and missiles are not only saddening, but abhorrent and unnecessary. This country has now suffered 16 military deaths and a startling 430 wounded since adjudicated rapist and 34-time convicted felon president Donald Trump began his war of choice against Iran in February.

And he doesn't know how to end what he began. His response to the recent deaths is to launch more airstrikes against Iranian infrastructure and military capability in an effort to send Iran "back to the stone ages," whatever that means. It sounds a whole lot like the rhetoric of a war crime. Kind of like blowing up motorboats in the Caribbean with survivors clinging to debris. And without due process.

Furthermore, increased airstrikes increase the chances of losing more American personnel. 

Since Trump is a convicted felon, why is the military obeying his psychopathic orders anyway? Isn't this the time to invoke the Uniform Code of Military Justice? What am I missing here? The current assault on Iran – which has raised gas and food prices back home – has made the United States the aggressor nation. How do you feel about owning that title?

How is he still our president? 

•   •   •

 The hostilities with Iran underline the administration's "manosphere" train of thought where men are in control. That misogynist muscle-flexing philosophy was illustrated earlier last week when clueless Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that the U.S. military will test service members' testosterone levels. A service member will be advised to take hormone therapy, if needed.

But flu shots are optional. So are covid shots. So are most shots.

This kind of paints a picture of hyper-masculine men bearing arms who are coughing and wheezing their way to war. Only manly men need apply.

Government-sanctioned drugging also brings to mind the German armies of World War II, who were given generous amounts of Pervitin methamphetamine tablets to the point of addiction in order to help them stay awake and alert in wartime combat conditions. Many of those who became addicted to the stimulant also became over-aggressive, to the point of charging blindly into artillery and machine gun fire.

The manosphere. Pfft. Where do you park your paranoia?

•   •   •

This should be simple enough, but if the Trump administration is involved, it's anything but.

The House of Representatives recently passed the oddly-named Sunshine Protection Act by an overwhelming vote of 308-117 to make daylight savings time permanent nationwide. The bill is now in the hands of the Senate, where it is finding difficulty moving forward.

Under DST, you get an hour more of daylight in the evening. That's good. More daylight for outdoor recreation, retail shopping and mood.

Under EST, you are more likely aligned with the sun as well as human circadian rhythms. That means there's a chance for better overall sleep, as well as lower rates of obesity and stroke. Yay. I raise my hand for EST.

Plus, about two-thirds of the planet's nations do not adjust for daylight savings. Neither does Hawaii or most of Arizona. We can't even get the whole country to agree on this.

And with our current Health and Human Services department bringing back measles, downplaying vaccinations and failing to clean our lettuce, why worry about strokes and obesity?

Dark times indeed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commie scum

Alright, children. Settle down.

Today's civic lesson lesson will be to tell the difference between communism and democratic socialism. 

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of communism is: "a system where goods are owned collectively and are available to all members of society."

Democratic Socialism seeks to move away from capitalism through a multi-party democratic process.

The difference? Communism is based on the Marxist theory that seeks to establish a classless, stateless and moneyless society through the collective ownership of all economic production. 

Democratic socialism, on the other hand, embraces a highly regulated, capitalist free-market economy with high taxes to fuel a robust social safety net. It seeks universal healthcare in a single-payer system, living wages, free college education and wealth distribution

We need to discuss this because in the heat of the current political atmosphere, some ill-informed pundits and politicians are conflating communism with democratic socialism. For some reason, the convicted felon and adjudicated rapist President Trump thinks a resurrected 2026 version of McCarthy era Red Scare tactics will help the Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections.

That is sooo 1950s of him. But then, as he has shown us daily, he's a confused old man who is out of touch with the reality of the times. While he's calling Democrats communists, his closest international friends are Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un. Go figure.

While assailing the Democratic Party as dangerous communists, Trump has yet to identify a single communist.

Meanwhile, he is projecting again.

In the past year or so, the Trump administration has converted federal grants into direct equity stakes in private companies in such sectors as semiconductors, critical minerals and quantum technology. Wait, what? Government ownership of private businesses? Isn't that something like comm...???

Take a look. Some notable government equity holdings feature a 10 percent equity stake in semiconductor giant Intel, turning previously unspent  CHIPS Act subsidies into direct ownership. The government also holds an equity share in MP Materials, which deals in rare earth mining and processing. Then there is the U.S. Commerce Department making equity investments in several quantum technology companies.

Most telling of all, perhaps, is the government's "golden share" in U.S. Steel. Get this: the government now has veto power over specific corporate and supply-chain decisions made by the company.

In all, the government has spent $27 billion in equity stakes so far. 

What do you think farm subsidies are? Social Security actually has the word "social" in it. Where does Medicare come from?

Democratic socialism is in the fabric of American democracy. I once made an argument that Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase was a form of socialism whereby the government made a real estate purchase for the betterment of its people. It was so dicey even Jefferson had his doubts about the deal. But he made it anyway.

The Nordic states are the modern model for social democracy. They feature free trade, strong property rights, a business-friendly regulatory environment, labor protection with high unionization rates and collective bargaining and state-provided healthcare and childcare along with universal education.

It must be working pretty good. Nobody is calling each other "comrade." 

 

 

 

 

I declare...

Both Kim and I were having a little trouble getting cranked up for this year's Fourth of July celebration. It should have been easy. After all, this is the country's 250th birthday. That's pretty special.

But too much Donald Trump was getting in the way:

An unforced war with Iran. The detention and deportation of human beings – some, if not many of them legal citizens. But, hey, when you ignore due process, what does it matter? Inflation. Rogue police (ICE). The physical gutting of Washington DC landmarks, including the destruction of the East Wing of the White House for a grandiose ballroom that nobody asked for. A proposed arch that nobody asked for. An assault of voting rights with the incredibly stupid SAVE America Act.

It's all pretty embarrassing and it virtually sucks whatever pride you have in your country right out from the marrow of your bones.

So Kim and I wondered how we could celebrate with a joy we can't quite find.

Then Kim had a brainstorm.

Let's read the Declaration of Independence. Out loud. To each other. 

So we did. We got up Saturday morning, and a couple hours later, me made some time for ourselves. Kim lit a candle and placed it in the middle of our coffee table. Then I read the first of the document's 1,458 words: "In Congress, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another..."

I kept reading to the part that famously said, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness..."

I teared up at that point. My voice cracked. For a brief, sterling moment, I felt myself channeling Thomas Jefferson, hearing my own voice give provenance to his words.  "That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed..."

Wow. For the first time in world history, a true democracy (and a republic) was being formed. The declaration was personally directed at England's King George III – and not the British Parliament because the colonies didn't recognize Parliament's legal authority.

In other words, treason.

Kim continued our session. She was into the second half of the DOI (not DEI, although it is a document heavy with diversity, equity and inclusion. Consequently, it subsequently becomes one of the most un-American government policies ever for the Trump administration to disparage DEI. At least, that's what I think), which listed their grievances against the king and providing their reasons for declaring independence.

Here are some of those grievances. See if they don't apply in today's world. Maybe it'll help illustrate what today's protesters mean when they shout "No Kings!" in their righteous resistance:

• "He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good."

Trump refuses to sign into law the an affordable housing bill until his voter suppressive SAVE America act is passed. He's holding legislation hostage.

• "He has erected a multitude of New Offices and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance."

DOGE? ICE?  Holy cow, the founders saw this 250 years ago?

• "He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the consent of our legislatures."

And...

• "He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power." 

Sounds like calling out the National Guard and the Marines to quell constitutionally permitted protests.

• "For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world."

What have Trump's tariffs done?

• "For depriving us in many cases, the benefits of Trial by Jury."

How many immigrants have been deported by ICE without due process?

• "He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us..."

Jan. 6.

• "He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States, for the purpose of obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners, refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands."

The recent suspension of Temporary Protective Status comes to mind. So does the attack on the 14th Amendment and birthright citizenship.

Kim and I read on, both amazed at how current the 250 year old document had become. What goes around comes around? I don't know.

Kim finished with the inspiring "We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the Good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right, ought to be FREE and INDEPENDENT STATES (the use of all caps emphasizes their voice and determination); that they are absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right to do. And for that support of this Declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

That takes my breath away.

Kim and I then read, alternately, the names of each of the signers. There were 56 of them. One of them, Benjamin Franklin, was the only one who signed all four definitive documents that established the United States: The Declaration of Independence (1776); the Treaty of Alliance with France (1778); the Treaty of Paris (1783) and the United States Constitution (1787).

Kim and I looked at each other. In that singular moment, I don't think we ever had a better Fourth of July. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a week

I suppose nothing exemplifies the current stench of Trump administration racism in this country more than Thursday's Supreme Court ruling that removes the Temporary Protective Status (TPS) of perhaps 350,000 Haitian immigrants living and working legally – legally, in case you missed it the first time – in the United States.

Also affected by the ruling are nearly 6,000 Syrian immigrants. 

The common denominator is that both nationalities are predominantly dark skinned. The ruling could be effective immediately, meaning a whole new crop of non-Whites could be targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and deported. As if we haven't had enough of ICE.

On the same day, SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) ruled that people seeking asylum in the United States can legally be turned away at the US-Mexican border by physically preventing them from setting foot on US soil.

These are people mostly seeking escape and refuge from murderous regimes in their own countries. 

What the holy hell...

So much for "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breath free..." 

"This is a victory 10 years in the making," said Steve Miller, the deputy chief of staff for the Trump administration.

Meanwhile, you know who gets all the asylum they need? White South Africans, who represent 6 percent of the South African population but own 50 percent of the land. Tell me again how are they being persecuted? 

Whites in, brown-skin out. Now tell me that we are not a country that has lost its way. 

Next target: the 14th amendment and birthright citizenship. SCOTUS is trying its best to rewrite the Constitution in its own image.

•   •   •

On Wednesday, the out-of-touch-with-reality Trump cancelled a bipartisan vote that aims to lower costs for homeowners and home buyers.

He's using that cancellation as a tactic to force Congress to pass his SAVE America Act, which is essentially a voter suppression scheme he wants to implement before the oncoming blue wave strikes the mid-term elections.

The SAVE America Act does not have enough votes to pass in the Senate, and it never will. Recent polling shows that 89 percent of Americans support the hosing bill, compared to 52 percent of voters who support requiring proof of citizenship in order to vote.

If Trump doesn't sign the housing bill within a 10-day period – he's already on the clock – it automatically becomes law. 

•   •   •

On Wednesday, Trump opened the Great America State Fair on the National Mall in Washington DC. Trump declared 45,000 people attended the event, which may or may not have been true. But videos show streams of people leaving while he was spouting one of his tiresome list of grievances.

In addition to Trump's presence, the so-called State Fair was hindered by numerous difficulties, including power outages that melted 200 gallons of ice cream. There were overpriced concessions and a Ferris Wheel as the only ride. Some fair.

There was also a Confederate flag in the North Carolina state booth that had to be removed. No matter how you feel about the Confederacy, it was a failed attempt at being a sovereign nation that never achieved recognition from other countries. The Confederate flag, consequently, has acquired status as representing White supremacy in the South's effort to expand chattel slavery into the newly-admitted Western states. Not a particularly good look for the country's 250th birthday.

•   •   •

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool debacle should be nothing more than an absurd joke, but it's become more than that.

Trump spent $14 million renovating the pool and then patted himself on his back for how great it looked – until pieces of blue liner started separating from pool. The job was done by a contractor who received a no-bid contract, which should tell yo something right there.

Consequently, people are being arrested for vandalism if they stick their hand in the 18-inch deep pond. Also, the area is being patrolled by the National Guard while a wire-mesh fence separates visitors from the pool they paid for.

The pool supposedly will be drained again, repaired and reopened in time for the 250th celebration.

Is this any way to run a country? 

 

 

 

 

White House cage fight

I don't know which plague from heaven I am rooting for the most during the Presidential desecration at the White House this evening: the line of severe thunderstorms predicted for Washington DC, or perhaps the arrival of "extreme" clouds of pesky gnats that could possibly disrupt the event.

The Claw.*

 If the American judicial system can't put a stop to the UFC Freedom 250 mixed martial arts cage match on the South Lawn, maybe God can.

I'm always rooting for God. Maybe He'll throw in an earth tremor or two, just for effect.

I'm not kidding, you know. This unnecessary spectacle is the latest brain fart from convicted felon president and adjudicated rapist Donald Trump. He thinks it's the perfect way to kick off the celebration of the 250th birthday of our country, although I suspect he really thinks it's the perfect way to celebrate his 80th birthday (which is today). 

An attempt to block the cage fight was denied by a Federal judge Saturday, ruling that the plaintiffs – a retired political organizer and an Air Force veteran –  failed to show legal standing or "irreversible harm" from the match.

So now it's up to God. 

Anyway, in case you just beamed in from Alpha Centuri and missed all the excitement, Trump has built a cage-fighting monstrosity on the South Lawn of the White House (you know, where they usually land the presidential helicopters of Marine One).

Nitro Circus with Marine guard.*

 The complex features a massive 92-foot-tall overhead lighting structure dubbed "The Claw", which dominates the local landscape. Trump says he might make it permanent because he thinks it's as grand as the Eiffel Tower. Combined with the razing of the nearby East Wing and the subsequent construction of a controversial $400 million ballroom, it all stands as the perfect metaphor for the destruction of the concept we have of ourselves as a nation and our constitutional government.

Oh, yeah. And it cost $60 million to build. At least seven government agencies have been involved in the construction of the complex, even though the White House says no taxpayer money is involved. Yeah, right. You bet'cha. Because, you know, this is what I voted for. Not.

On Saturday, there was a pre-UFC Freedom event featuring motorcyclists doing trick jumps in the Nitro Circus under Marine guard at the White House. I wonder if there's a ribbon for that duty? I guess it's a blessing these Marines weren't deployed to Iran.   

And, as with anything Trumpian, you know there's got to be a profit somewhere for Trump and his family. Isn't it a bit curious that he is a key-player stockholder in the UFC? He owns stock in TKO Holdings, the parent company of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) and WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment). Financial disclosures show that he purchased between $15,000 and $50,000 (your annual salary?) in TKO shares, which could increase exponentially after tonight.

Unless the gnats arrive.

I'm pretty sure somewhere there's a law forbidding presidents to enrich themselves while in office, but like everything else in the Trump administration, who cares? More cybercurrency! Trump needs to get richer! This is what I voted for! Not.

Meanwhile, the circus continues. Algae has returned to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, just days after its $14.2 million renovation was completed. Raise your hands if you want an arch to block your view of Arlington National Cemetery? Is there enough gold-plated decor in the White House? Do you like 4.3 percent inflation as much as Trump says he does? How about never-ending wars?

We have become a dysfunctional family as a nation. We no longer believe in science. We don't see value in empathy. Entitlements that helped us to rise above are now considered evil socialism. We've become neurotic over gender and paranoid over race.

Go gnats. 

*AP photo by Alex Brandon.