Choose a Side
Like many, I became familiar with Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, when he was brought onboard the Coronavirus Task Force during the Trump administration, and from the minute the man began speaking up until the present, he impressed me with the vast range and depth of his knowledge. Unfortunately, Trump’s Task Force ultimately fell apart as the merciless COVID-19 continued to devour the United States and the rest of the world like so many blips on a Pac-Man screen, and Fauci finally was free from Trump to speak his mind.
Anyone who watched those daily White House press briefings could see how the strain of being a part of them was wearing Fauci down, and yet he continued trying to share his wisdom whenever he had the chance. But when the Task Force ultimately dissolved, Fauci was set free to serve an incoming president who gave him the respect he deserved. Given this newly found freedom, Fauci has been quite visible in attempting to educate the masses about the virus and what they must do to combat it. Sadly, however, the masses don’t seem to be listening because Fauci’s latest plea is for people to get fully vaccinated. It’s incredibly hard to understand why people won’t step up and do their part in helping to eliminate the virus.
With the impressive credentials Fauci has (Check him out on Wikipedia.), I can’t imagine anyone’s questioning him on anything, but somewhere along the line the good doctor has aroused the ire of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky). Last Tuesday during a Senate Health Committee hearing Paul said the National Institutes of Health (NIH) donated money to pay for illegal gain-of-function research conducted in China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology. Gain-of-function is a highly controversial type of research in which the scientists create a manmade virus so deadly that it can attack human beings. Paul made this accusation back in May, and of course, Fauci denied it just as he did last Tuesday. But then the gloves came off and Paul implied Fauci had lied to Congress by saying NIH absolutely had not conducted such research. Paul also threw out the possibility that Fauci and the NIH might share some of the blame for both the pandemic and the 4 million deaths throughout the world. Fauci, who normally is unflappable, understandably lost it.
“Senator Paul, you do not know what you’re talking about, quite frankly, and I want to say that officially.” Fauci said. “You do not know what you’re talking about.”
In referring to the virus, Paul said, “We don’t know that it did come from the lab, but all the evidence is pointing that it came from the lab, and there will be responsibility for those who funded the lab, including yourself.”
“I totally resent the lie that you are now propagating, Senator, because if you look at the viruses that were used in the experiments that were given in the annual reports that were published in the literature, it is molecularly impossible,” Fauci responded.
“This is a pattern that Senator Paul has been doing at multiple hearings based on no reality. I have not lied. Case closed.”
Step right up! Pay your money and take your choice.
I’m betting on Dr. Fauci!
Beat the Scammers
If you have an Amazon account, beware of a scam trending right now. I received a phone call the other morning, and the party on the other line told me he was with Amazon and asked me whether I had recently submitted an order for more than $1,000. He then gave me a number to call to cancel. Fortunately for me, the number he gave was busy, and so I called the number I have for Amazon. I reached a very sympathetic and helpful agent who assured me the call was a scam because Amazon never calls its customers. Lesson learned. If you get a call purporting to be from Amazon, hang up immediately. Or better yet, don’t answer a call from an unfamiliar number. Out scam the scammers!
Olympic Games Begin Without Fans
Well, the Olympic games got under way in Tokyo with nobody in the stands. What a shame it is to think about all the work that went in to building the various venues for the games, and they will not be used because of COVID-19. And the women’s U.S. gymnastics team didn’t even participate.
Star gymnast Simone Biles cited fear of contracting the virus as one of the reasons for opting out of the opening festivities. She also told reporters that because the teams are lined up alphabetically, the United States is always last, and so the athletes must stand for an extra-long time, and that might impact their performance because theirs is one of the early competitions. If you’ve never seen Biles perform, you shouldn’t miss this opportunity to watch her. What she can do defies description.
Ponder This:
Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don’t have film.
~Steven Wright
