Month: August 2021

Back last year I asked the same question as many are asking now. Namely, why did Joe Biden choose Kamala Harris as his running mate? 

She directly attacked Mr. Biden during the first Democratic debate … So, of course, the logical thing for him to do was to choose her to be his running mate? Duh!!

The most obvious answer is that he did not choose her, but rather she was chosen for him. But that answer merely begs the question … why did the unknown “they” choose her as his running mate? 

Was it because she was so popular during the primaries? Hmmm.

Recall that Julian Castro, Cory Booker, Deval Patrick, Tulsi Gabbard, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Andrew Yang, Tom Steyer, and Michael Bennet had more staying power than Harris in the 2020 primaries.

Perhaps it was because everybody likes her. A true quandary as it appears that hardly anybody likes her, and in her few public appearances as V.P. she does not come off as likable.  Recall her speech at Annapolis earlier this year.

From the N.Y. Post

“Not since President Obama’s speech to graduating cadets of the class of 2014 at West Point have there been remarks to a military academy as atonal as those Vice President Harris just delivered to the midshipmen at Annapolis. Ms. Harris talked to our midshipmen trained for naval warfare of the perils of climate change and the niftiness of solar panels. Not a peep about how Russia, Iran, and Red China are maneuvering for conquest.”

Perhaps she was chosen because of her excellent administrative abilities. Err … not so much as it appears that those under her purview are jumping ship faster than they were on the Titanic. Politico alleges that there is a cone of silence that insulates the VP, built by her top staffers who often ignore input from others or cruelly dismiss it. Two advance staffers bolted reportedly over this dynamic in what appears to be a toxic office environment. Thus far her main duty has been to administer to the border, and thus far it’s a challenge to see how she could be doing any worse.

Occasionally a VP candidate is chosen because he/she would most like secure the electoral college in his/her home state. Not so here, as Mickey Mouse could have been Biden’s VP pick, and he still would have won the state with perhaps the most ill-informed voting bloc in all the US – namely California.

But she was a Senator! True, but a Senator with a totally nondescript record … perhaps reminiscent of BHO.

Could it be that she was chosen so that the Dems would have a black female presidential candidate going into 2024 … but she is not black.

A recent Politico poll released on 7/21/21, demonstrates how Harris is clicking with Americans. Just 45 percent of respondents have a favorable view of Harris, compared to 47 percent who have an unfavorable view. 

More men, at 48 percent, have a favorable view of Harris, compared to the 47 percent who have an unfavorable view. Women, however, are not fans of the vice president, with 43 percent having a favorable view, compared to the 47 percent who have an unfavorable view.

A new Rasmussen poll released on 8/19/21 showed that a majority of Americans, 55%, said that Harris was “not qualified” or “not at all qualified” to assume the duties of the presidency.

As Sonny and Cher sang in 1967, “and the beat goes on,” and I continue to wonder, “OMG! … Why KH?”

8/21/21

As a retired physician who had close to forty years of practicing medicine, I can affirm that medicine is both an art and a science. I had proclaimed many times that often the “art” was just as important as the “science.” However the “science” part is essential as far as understanding the underlying way the human body works. Just as a car mechanic needs to understand not only the parts of a carburetor, but also how these parts interact with each other, similarly a physician needs to know not only the parts of the human body (anatomy) but also how they interact with each other in health (physiology) and with disease (pathophysiology).

If a mechanic does not understand the basics of a carburetor, it would be of no surprise to anyone that his work would be shoddy and hit-and-miss. Can we extend this metaphorical comparison to physicians?

If a physician does not understand the basic science of the human body, would it be surprising that he/she might be hit-and-miss when it comes to an accurate diagnosis? If the group that portends to the representative of physicians in general does not seem to understand basic science, how likely is it that the same group will be anything but hit-and-miss in just about anything they do? 

Hmmm!

This group is the AMA. No, I was never a member of the AMA, because they were about as useful as the appendix. However, here recently they demonstrated the epitome of “wokeness” when they proclaimed that the sex of a newborn should not be entered as M or F on a birth certificate. Balderdash! Poppycock! Insanity! Nonsense! 

Now what is the AMA is really saying? 

Are they saying that no one should be able to tell M from F, or are they saying that it is of no importance? Are they telling us that the science is not important, or are they telling us that they are incapable of discerning the obvious? 

Think for a second about the mechanic who cannot tell the difference between a Ford carburetor and a Volkswagen carburetor … would you trust him with your car? An obviously rhetorical question, but the obvious answer is “not on a bet!” Similarly, why would anyone ever place any faith in an organization that cannot distinguish M from F?  Perhaps also a somewhat rhetorical question. However rhetorical or not, let’s say that I am happy and proud to say that in the past I never contributed to and in the future will never contribute one dime to that woke group! 

8/20/21

“In every life we have some trouble

But when you worry you make it double

Don’t worry, be happy

Don’t worry, be happy now”

These lyrics are from the 1988 song by Bobby McFerrin, and seem amazingly apropos in view of recent events.

First we have the border crisis that has been going on for months and is getting worse. The response of the Biden administration seems to be Bobby McFerrin-esque … “don’t worry, be happy.” However, those in south Texas are worried, and not happy with the deluge of illegals that are positive for Covid.

Next we have the rise in gas prices. In response, our esteemed President asked OPEC to increase the supply … they refused. Biden’s response to this snub was again Bobby McFerrin-esque, “don’t worry, be happy,” However, this is not going to make the 95%  that do not own electric cars very happy, as this rise in gas prices hits those in the lower socioeconomic levels the hardest.

Although these Bobby McFerrin-esque responses are nothing compared to what happened on 8/18/21. Despite that everybody is aware there is a worsening major crisis going on in Afghanistan, the following was the response of the Biden administration … oy-vey … the pinnacle of a Bobby-McFerrin-esque response:

The Biden administration on Tuesday, 8/17/21, released a “back-to-school” video that ensured transgender students that “discrimination will not be accepted on our watch” and that the federal government aims to crack down on Republican states that ban transgender students from girls’ sports and bathrooms.

“Don’t worry” all of you who are trying to escape from the chaos in Afghanistan … “be happy,” as the Biden administration is focusing on transgenderism!

And then on 8/18 when the headlines everywhere, including the liberal MSM, were on the tragedy of what is happening in Afghanistan, our esteemed President stood up to talk about masks in schools. Did he take any questions about anything? … No! At some point is someone going to tell him what to say about the embarrassing chaos in  Afghanistan? 

Perhaps eventually his message to those thousands trapped by the Taliban is going to sound something like this. … “Don’t worry, the U.S. will be providing face masks to all of your children, and if any transgender is not allowed to use the bathroom of his/her choice, write down the name of that offensive bearded gentleman with the gun, and let us know. But most of all, ‘Be happy,’ as I have successfully carried out our withdrawal before the anniversary of 9/11.”

8/19/21

Ben Franklin said, “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

Was Mr. Franklin prescient as to what is happening today with the “vaccine mandates?,” or was he merely a wise man.

At this point United Airlines has mandated that it’s 67,000 employees get vaccinated, whereas three other major airlines have said that they would not dictate that their employees be vaccinated. Is it legal for United to make this demand? As is becoming more typical, the Supreme Court is again ducking major issues … this time Judge Coney Barrett in a case involving mandatory vaccinations at Indiana University.

Before I go any further, let’s be clear … I am fully vaccinated and am not anti-vaccine, but rather I am, like Ben Franklin … pro freedom.

Today I read an article titled, “Fight Back: Here’s How People Are Legally Resisting Dystopian Diktats to Get a Covid Shot or Be Fired.”

The following excerpts are from that article:

“At this point nobody really knows what role this virus will take in American life from here on out. The only thing we do know is that Democrat Party elected officials believe the best way to deal with it is by authoritarian diktats. Their reflexive reaction is to bury freedom in the name of safety.

A civil rights attorney, Robert Barnes, has the ideas on how to legally fight these vaccine mandates. They include the following:

-Challenges to the FDA

-Religious exemptions

-Experimental Vaccines Cannot be Compelled

-The Americans With Disabilities Act 

-What If You’ve Already Had Covid?

-Civil Rights Violations

This Aug. 10th article from PJ Media by Victoria Taft  is long and detailed on each of the above legal options to mandated vaccine policies. In addition there are many sample letters that can be written to bosses, CEOs, etc. to back up one’s individual reason for refusing to be vaccinated.

To close I want to reemphasize what Ben Franklin said, “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

(FYI: This wise saying by Ben Franklin is spoken to his law clerks by Judge Anthony Keneally in The Keneally Chronicles, a fictional novella available on Amazon.)

8/18/21

Robert Gates, who served as the secretary of defense under George W. Bush and Barack Obama, wrote in his 2014 memoir that Biden “has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.” 

(To that some would respond, “Well, at least he is consistent.”)

Last year, Gates reiterated his concerns. “I think that the vice president had some issues with the military,” he declared on CBS’s Face the Nation.

(Okay, but his issues are at least consistent.)

The following is from The Atlantic, June 2020 article entitled “Biden’s Bad Foreign-Policy Idea” (FYI, not a conservative publication):

“Joe Biden has been wrong a lot on foreign and defense policy.”

(“A lot!” … well consistency should count for something.)

Still from The Atlantic:

“In the past he voted against the 1991 Gulf War, in which the United States and a broad multinational coalition quickly achieved their goals, and in favor of the 2003 Iraq War, and regretted both votes.” (Perhaps the fact that his regrets are consistent should count for something.)

“Years into hostilities, he opposed the troop surges that brought some stability to both Iraq and Afghanistan and even insisted that “the Taliban per se is not our enemy.” (Well at least he is consistent in his views of the Taliban.)

Still from the Atlantic:

“Biden argued for carving Iraq into sectarian statelets even as Iraqis voted for cross-sectarian political lists. And he opposed the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. These stances suggest not only that he lacks a philosophy of how to use military force effectively, but also that his instincts on when to use it are often faulty.” (Yes, but let’s be honest: the fact ‘that he lacks a philosophy of how to use the military effectively,’ is a consistent lack. Something positive should be said about consistency!)

On July 8, President Biden held a press conference in which he said: “There’s going to be no circumstances where you’re going to see people being lifted off the roof of a U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan.” (Oops! Wrong again, but nonetheless consistent as images have shown helicopters taking people from the roof of the U.S. embassy in Kabul.)

President Joe Biden reportedly “overruled” top United States military commanders when he authorized the full withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan. The Wall Street Journal reiterated that in ordering the full withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Afghanistan, Biden was ignoring the advice of top military commanders, who suggested retaining a nominal force in Afghanistan to help maintain security.

In conclusion, whether or not you agree with or disagree with Mr. Biden’s past and now present multiple foreign policy faux pas, at least you have to admit that he is consistent. 

When giving a statement at a 8/16 press conference, President Biden said that ‘he stands by his decision.’  Well bully for you, Joe! Even when obviously woefully wrong, you stand by your decision. Again … consistency!

The main question now is how many innocents will die because of it.

8/17/21

I did not read about the following story in my local “newspaper.” (Not a fictional story as I watched the video.) I wonder why the MSM did not report on this story?

Teacher Laura Leanne tearfully tells the Loudon County School Board in Virginia “I quit. I quit your policies. I quit your training. And I quit being a cog in a machine that tells me to push highly politicizes agendas on our most vulnerable constituents: the children. I will find employment elsewhere. I encourage all parents and staff in this county to flood the private schools…” and at that moment, they apparently cut her microphone.

5th grade teacher Laura Leanne just resigned on the spot. She alleges that the school board forced her to sign a contract promising to snitch on other faculty who are caught voicing disagreements with their progressive policies.

Hmmm! A public school teacher who not only told her progressive “masters” to shove it, but who also put in a plug for private schools. I wonder how many more times a similar thing will happen? (N.B. It will not be written about in the Main Stream Media.)

From the Daily Wire:

An Atlanta public elementary school principal told a Catholic couple that their child would need to leave the district to avoid learning about LGBTQ+ issues at the age of five.

An Atlanta couple — who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of retribution — obtained a copy of their child’s incoming teacher’s Amazon classroom wish list. The parents were startled by several of the books, many of which reference sexual orientation, transgenderism, and progressive ideology. 

The family opted to reach out to Morningside Elementary School principal Audrey Sofianos in hopes of switching their child to a classroom that would not present progressive topics to five-year-olds.

Sofianos said that if the Catholic parents wish to uphold their traditional values, switching classrooms will not quell their fears as the district promotes this agenda in every classroom.

As one might imagine, this story and any stories like this were not written about in my local MSM “newspaper.” 

It is stories like these that convince me that a turning point is on the horizon. How many more similar stories are out there? How many more teachers and how many more parents are finally beginning to understand what woke school principals and woke school boards are attempting to do? In my opinion this is the optimal time for private schools to capitalize on the growing discontent with the increasingly woke public schools. As a Catholic, I would happily contribute to expanding our local Catholic school enrollments, and dollars to doughnuts, I am not alone.

8/16/21

I suppose that only an egotist would continue to stress how often he was right in the past. In that case, perhaps you would just call him,”Mr. E!” 

Last December my neighbor had Covid – confirmed by a positive PCR test and significant clinical symptoms that lasted for over a week. Upon recovery, I told him to look on the good side of his malady, namely that he was now immune to a further Covid infection, and would probably not need the vaccine when it became available. At that time I said that because it made sense. I have repeated that same phraseology multiple times since then, despite the fact that just about everyone is being vaccinated, irrespective of whether or not they have had documented Covid.

Recently a few things have surfaced that lead credence to my logical supposition.

First a study conducted on 52,238 employees in the Cleveland Clinic:

A positive RT-PCR test was considered to define SARS-CoV-2 infection. 

A participant who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 at least 42 days before the vaccination initiation was considered previously infected.

The results:

A practical and useful message would be to consider symptomatic COVID-19 to be as good as having received a vaccine, and that people who have had COVID-19 confirmed by a reliable laboratory test do not need the vaccine.

(“Individuals who have laboratory-confirmed symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection are unlikely to benefit from COVID-19 vaccination, and vaccines can be safely prioritized to those who have not been infected before.”)

On 8/11/21 on Fox Dr. Nichole Saphire saiid:

“We have ample data showing that natural immunity provides effectiveness against severe disease from SARS-CoV-2. In fact, Israel showed that reinfection following prior infection is about seven times less likely than if you are fully vaccinated. So I find it to be very myopic that the CDC continues to discount the protection of natural immunity. They only do it for SARS-CoV-2. They acknowledge natural immunity for measles, chickenpox, and many other viruses, but they are so myopic right now in trying to encourage vaccination that they are truly actually not following the science.”

Hmmm!

From Israel (as referenced above):

The recent data from Israel Health Ministry on the wave of COVID outbreaks which began this May show that Israelis with immunity from natural infection were far less likely to become infected again in comparison to Israelis who only had immunity via vaccination.

“More than 7,700 new cases of the virus have been detected during the most recent wave starting in May, but just 72 of the confirmed cases were reported in people who were known to have been infected previously – that is, less than 1% of the new cases.

Roughly 40% of new cases – or more than 3,000 patients – involved people who had been infected despite being vaccinated.”

Therefore at this point my egotistical conclusion remains the same as it was last December …

If you have proof of a prior Covid infection, your natural immunity is probably as good, if not better than that from the vaccines.

Signed,

Mr. E

For a long time now I have questioned the effectiveness of face masks in preventing Covid or in stopping the spread of the coronavirus. There are many reasons for my skepticism mostly based on my personal observations. If the masks in question were N-95s, preferably fitted N-95s, then my feelings would be different … but in common day usage when anyone speaks about face masks, they are referring to a potpourri of garden variety face masks purchased at Walgreen’s or from some unknown entity on the Internet. Granted some of these random face masks may be wonderful, but as I have queried before how come there has not been any standardized evaluation and grading of different face masks?

In fact, I will go a step further on face masks and Covid. Again based solely on my personal observations, I think that face mask use has prolonged and perpetuated this epidemic, because wearing a face mask, no matter how poorly made or how sloppily worn gives individuals a false sense of security. A feeling that because of their face mask, they are invincible to an attack by the Covid virus, when in fact they are not. I predict that the mandatory forced wearing of face masks by school children will soon serve to prove my point.

At best I can tell there are no randomized, peer-reviewed studies proving the effectiveness of garden variety face masks in preventing the spread of Covid. In fact, almost just the opposite as exemplified by Senator Rand Paul’s YouTube ban because he referenced two recent peer reviewed studies that showed the opposite. As most of you know, Rand Paul is a physician, and until proven otherwise the reviewers at YouTube are not. Senator Paul was not shy at expressing his opinion concerning his being censored.

“Leftwing cretins at Youtube banned me for 7 days for a video that quotes 2 peer reviewed articles saying cloth masks don’t work.”

Good for Senator Paul who continued:

“Saying cloth masks work, when they don’t, actually risks lives, as someone may choose to care for a loved one with COVID while only wearing a cloth mask. This is not only bad advice but also potentially deadly misinformation.”

Interesting that here Rand Paul M.D. is actually making a comment similar to what I said earlier in this piece.

As Dr. Paul also commented that it was an honor to be banned by YouTube for spreading the truth, he is now one of my heroes. My goal is to be similarly banned  … !

For those interested there is an amazing video by immunologist  Byram Bridle talking about the sizes of different viral particles related to the pore sizes in face masks. At the end of his video there is an amazing demonstration of how ineffectual face masks really are.

8/14/21

On the same day I saw the following two stories from two different states. Each seems to underscore what I have asked many times before … “why do liberals do things which will inevitably hurt the poor and less educated the most?”

Each of these true stories can only hurt those who need an education the most, namely those on the lower rungs of the socioeconomic ladder. The basic gist here in both of these is … instead of holding steady or actually toughening standards in education, liberals want to make it easier for students to pass, even though they may actually know less. That way, you see, when these students get out into the real world, they will inevitably fail. To me the question has always been: Are they purposefully making it impossible for those who are getting screwed over by these liberal policies to ever succeed?

First off:

From Nevada’s Clark County School District (CCSD) which recently announced it would be lowering its standards, no longer penalizing tardiness, and offering a minimum score of 50% even for work the district would previously have scored lower. 

“The lowest grade is 50%. Grades won’t be influenced by attendance, participation, & late assignments. CCSD says this creates equity,” which is the quality of being fair and impartial. Fair to whom? If someone doesn’t go to class or chronically shows up late, and CCSD gives that individual a passing grade, who benefits … certainly not the student who doesn’t learn anything. Let’s be honest here. By CCSD lowering its standards for the poor, the black, and the brown students because CCSD doesn’t think that these students have what it takes to meet minimal standards is overly racist … in fact it is RACIST in capital letters!

Next let’s move on to Oregon. From the Washington Examiner:

“Oregon Gov. Kate Brown privately signed a bill last month ending the requirement for high school students to prove proficiency in reading, writing, and arithmetic before graduation.

Backers argued the existing proficiency levels for math and reading presented an unfair challenge for students who do not test well, and Boyle, a spokesman for the governor, said the new standards for graduation would aid Oregon’s “Black, Latino, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, Tribal, and students of color.”

Well the best I can say here is that even though it appears that Governor Brown did not want anyone to hear about her signing this into law, at least her spokesman, Charles Boyle, was honest when he insulted people of color with a wide brush in a truly racist put down. So in Oregon, all of these different groups will graduate without being proficient in math and reading, apparently because they just can’t do it. Another obvious RACIST statement? Hmmm! 

Again this softening of standards benefits whom? What kind of future can these individuals look forward to if they cannot read or write proficiently?

Two states with a liberal racist policy to lower education standards only portends more of this sort of liberal nonsense, perhaps coming soon to a  state near you.

8/13/21

Just like with many things the cream rises and the sludge sinks. Are things associated with Megan Rapinoe rising or sinking? You be the judge.

In July 2019, Ms. Rapinoe took heat for allegedly stomping on the American flag. Weeks earlier, she created headlines when she said she was not going to the “f**king White House” if invited to visit President Trump. Keep in mind that she envisions herself as a spokesperson for women’s soccer, and so right there back in 2019, she basically insulted fifty percent of Americans … rather let’s make that she alienated about fifty percent of those who would be potentially buying tickets to a women’s professional soccer franchise. Smart ? You be the judge.

Women’s soccer was supposed to be “a cinch to win the gold in Tokyo,” however almost immediately, led by Rapinoe, they made it a point to alienate a whole bunch of potential Olympic TV viewers by disrespecting America during the National Anthem. Smart? You be the judge.

NBC had invested a whole lot in its Olympic coverage, and the T.V. ratings for NBC were brutally horrible. The disinterest in women’s soccer played a role in the total disinterest displayed by the country in general. But let’s be clear, the sponsors played a definite role in the poor ratings. After starting to watch the Olympics, I initially found the commercials obnoxiously interesting. I guess that I was not aware that about ninety percent of the couples in the U.S. were mixed race couples, and that the remaining ten percent were gay. As that is not what I see in my ordinary day to day life, at that point I stopped watching all NBC Olympic commercials, and thus, I stopped watching the Olympics. We’re the sponsors smart? You be the judge.

The Summer Games drew an average of 15.5 million prime-time TV viewers over their 17-day run; the lowest audience for the Summer Games since NBC started broadcasting them in 1988 and a 42% decline from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.

I do not feel sorry for NBC or their woke sponsors, and I certainly do not feel sorry for US Women’s soccer. In my opinion, they all got what they deserved. You be the judge.

The latest woke company to put its faith in Rapinoe is also now getting a lot of static. That company is Subway which for some unknown woke reason aligned with Rapinoe.

From Yahoo:

Subway franchisees are in discussions to drop Team USA soccer star Megan Rapinoe from a new ad amid her National Anthem protests at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Rapinoe, who signed with the company as a spokeswoman this spring, regularly pushes her political views — usually calls for equal rights and an end to the gender pay gap. These views are getting in the way of the company’s reputation and sales, some of the store owners argued during a discussion forum last month.

The Subway company doesn’t own any of its nearly 22,000 stores but charges franchisees 4.5% of their revenue for the use of its brand and national advertising campaigns.

At the event hosted by the North American Association of Subway Franchisees, franchisees discussed removing Rapinoe from a new ad where she kicks a soccer ball at a person holding a burrito, citing complaints they have received from their customers about her. For example from Wisconsin:

“Boycott Subway until Subway fires the anti-American … Megan Rapinoe, the creep who kneels for our beloved National Anthem!” a store operator read from a note a customer taped to the glass door of his restaurant.

Is woke Subway smart? You be the judge.

As for me, I will not be eating at Subway in the near future.

And finally … and this makes me laugh … In a departure for the lingerie company, Victoria Secret, Rapinoe has become one of the faces of its VS Collective, alongside other “accomplished women” including actress Priyanka Chopra and trans model Valentina Sampaio. Imagine that! Rapinoe … a brand ambassador! 

Any further comments I make here will just get me in trouble.

Suffice it to say, if I were now eating cereal, milk would be coming out my nose! 

Is Victoria Secret being business smart? You be the judge.

Personally, to Victoria Secret I say, “Go woke, go broke.”

8/12/21