More COVID Minimizing -- and HMPV, Too

From Axios today, this headline: America's COVID-free summer mindset, with a picture of a mask that says "The End", like a movie screen.

"Americans who've long wanted to put COVID in the rearview mirror are actively embracing the idea the pandemic is over. For the first time, the majority of the public agrees the crisis has passed, according to the Axios-Ipsos American Health Index.

"Why it matters: Increasingly booked restaurants, packed bars and crowded fitness centers in some areas are a testament to how routines influenced by COVID are gradually returning to pre-pandemic norms."

Well, nobody asked me, and I strongly disagree that "the pandemic is over" and "the crisis has passed." I find articles like this irritating and misleading.

"Booked", "packed", and "crowded places" only mean that Americans don't care about protecting themselves and others from COVID.  They mean that these are the places you should avoid unless you want to get COVID or Long COVID.

Do Americans think for themselves any more, or do they just read articles like this and go back to their 2019 lives?

These same people might want to read this CNN article from today titled Doctors say this is the most important virus you’ve never heard of.  Of course the people who have shrugged off COVID will shrug off this virus as well:

"The past winter was a heavy one for respiratory viruses, dominated by surges of RSV, influenza and Covid-19. But just as it was winding down, a little-known virus that causes many of the same symptoms – a lower lung infection, hacking cough, runny nose, sore throat and fever – was just picking up steam.

Cases of human metapneumovirus, or HMPV, spiked this spring, according to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s respiratory virus surveillance systems. It filled hospital intensive care units with young children and seniors who are the most vulnerable to these infections. At its peak in mid-March, nearly 11% of tested specimens were positive for HMPV, a number that’s about 36% higher than the average, pre-pandemic seasonal peak of 7% test positivity".

And no, it's not a hoax, or "just a cold".  

Good luck, minimizers! You're going to need it.

Memorial Day 2023

Remembering and thanking our brave military men and women who fought and died for our country, and thinking of their families today.

The poppy became the symbol of the American Legion after this poem's publication. I can remember as a child learning this poem in school and buying the poppies from the Legionnaires.

In Flanders Fields by John McCrae, 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

COVID: Still A Long Way From Being Over

Here's an excerpt from a Guardian interview with immunologist Akiko Iwasaki:

"Earlier this month, the World Health Organization downgraded Covid-19 from the status of 'emergency of international concern', while the Biden administration has officially declared an end to the Covid-19 public health emergency. What is your perspective on this – could the pandemic still have some twists to come?"

"I understand why the emergency declaration had to be ended, because of the economic impact and other things. But at the same time, we are not done with Covid, not even close. The virus is here to stay with us and that’s why we do need to think about future booster vaccines that match with the circulating variants, as well as the potential of new variants that further evade our existing immunity.

I get that people want to move on from the pandemic, but the virus is still out there, people are getting infected, and there’s the possibility of developing long Covid. I’m still wearing masks and following preventive practices as much as possible."

China in Denial

Reading this New York Times article about COVID in China, I found it obvious that the Chinese people are either believing the propaganda or are in as much denial as the Americans are:

The authorities say that cases are up, and one doctor estimates that there could soon be 65 million cases a week. But China appears determined to move on.

65 million cases per week! But here are some of the reactions of the people: “Many of my friends got infected last year and got infected again this year,” Mr. Lin said. “Personally, I’m pretty calm about the virus and pandemic.” and “Most people have recognized from their own experience that Covid is not a monster and is not so terrifying, and that’s actually positive,” [Professor Jin] said. “But it is not true that Covid is gone and will never come again, so this message also has to be made clear to the public.”

Obviously that message has not been clear to the public, or the public just doesn't care -- just like the American public. And as in America, it's the elderly and ill who are concerned the most, and who have had to sacrifice the most.

Jew-Hater Roger Waters' Disgraceful Display Gets Standing O in Germany

If they had a Most Wanted list for antisemites, the vile Roger Waters would have to be on it.  If Hitler were alive today,  Waters would be the perfect opening act at his raving speeches.  

I guess we should be grateful that this "concert" was performed in Germany (how fitting!) and not in the UK or USA, although he might get applause there too.

Here's Melanie Phillips' description of his latest indecencies:

"Jew-hatred struts the stage in Berlin 

"The unspeakable performance by Roger Waters in Berlin last week crossed a number of new red lines, even for him.

"The former Pink Floyd guitarist has long been infamous for his venomous attacks on Israel and antisemitic remarks. Few, though, could ever have imagined that he would be allowed to stage the obscene performance he put on at Berlin’s Mercedes-Benz arena.

"As described on the German website Bell Tower, Waters displayed the names of people supposedly killed because of their identity. In an odious comparison Anne Frank, who was indeed murdered because she was a Jew, was displayed as equivalent to Shireen Abu Akleh, the Al Jazeera journalist who was shot dead while covering clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen in Jenin.

"Dressed in a Waffen SS uniform under fascist-style banners hanging from the roof, Waters pretended to fire on the audience with a dummy rifle. When he exchanged this for a keffiyeh in an unsubtle reference to Israel and the Palestinian Arabs, the giant LED screen flashed up: 'F*** bombing people in their homes. F*** the occupation. You can't have occupation and human rights.'

In a speech bubble displayed on that screen, a fragment of dialogue channelled Jewish conspiracy theory by suggesting that the world was controlled by a cabal of wealthy individuals who were secretly pulling all the strings.

This diabolical spectacle of Jew-hatred received a standing ovation from the audience. And this happened in Berlin, the very epicentre of the Shoah."

Argus Hamilton Quips

Here's Argus Hamilton's latest column full of amusing takes on the news, including these:

"Speaker McCarthy battled President Biden to cut spending in debt ceiling talks on Monday. It’s bound to become a 2024 campaign issue. This week every actress over eighty in Hollywood is up on Mulholland Drive being pushed off the cliff in a wheelchair, rehearsing for the commercial audition."

"South Carolina Senator Tim Scott announced he’s running for the GOP presidential nomination Monday. He called for a renewal of patriotism and religion and free enterprise and opportunity for all. The next morning, Scott was tried and convicted by the Women of the View for Anti-Soviet Agitation."

Refuting Claims That Wearing a Face Mask is Harmful

Bruce V. Lee, a Senior Contributor at Forbes,  has written an excellent article in favor of face masks. The title is "Journal Retracts Flawed Study That Claimed Face Masks May Cause Covid-19 Symptoms", which anyone with brains would know is preposterous.

As he says, in an inimitable writing style:

"You could not mask the fact that this face mask study probably didn’t deserve to be published in a scientific journal in the first place. On May 12, 2023, a journal named Frontiers in Public Health issued a retraction of a very flawed publication that had made a bunch of unsupported claims about wearing face masks. This article was initially published on April 5, 2023 but over the ensuing month faced a lot of criticism from scientists and public health experts, you know the kind of people who can tell a good quality study from garbage. This thing formerly known as a publication had claimed that face mask wearing could somehow cause what the authors had dubbed as “mask-induced exhaustion-syndrome (MIES) and down-stream physio-metabolic disfunctions.” Not only that. This publication-no-more had also asserted that “several mask related symptoms may have been misinterpreted as long Covid-19 symptoms.” That may sound alarming, except for one itty-bitty-gigantic-how-did-this-thing-even-get-past-editorial-review-in-the-first-place problem: the article did not really provide that little thing called sound scientific evidence to support its claims."

To me, a face mask is only harmful to the COVID minimizers, deniers, and antivaxxers, who would do anything, and find any ridiculous excuse, to keep from putting a mask on their own face.

Read the whole thing, and continue to proudly wear your mask to prevent transmission of COVID.

Fighting Over The Definition of Antisemitism

From United With Israel: "Left-wing Groups Push White House to Weaken Recognized Anti-Semitism Definition."

"J Street, Americans for Peace Now, and other left-wing activists are pushing Biden officials to exclude the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism from its designation, Jewish Insider reported last week. Contrary to the left wing activists, the IHRA deems some anti-Israel rhetoric—such as equating Israel to Nazi Germany and denying the legitimacy of a Jewish homeland—antisemitic."

 Here is the IRHA working definition of antisemitism:

“Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

"To guide IHRA in its work, the following examples may serve as illustrations:
 
"Manifestations might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. However, criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic. Antisemitism frequently charges Jews with conspiring to harm humanity, and it is often used to blame Jews for 'why things go wrong.' It is expressed in speech, writing, visual forms and action, and employs sinister stereotypes and negative character traits.
 
"Contemporary examples of antisemitism in public life, the media, schools, the workplace, and in the religious sphere could, taking into account the overall context, include, but are not limited to:

• Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist view of religion.
• Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.
• Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews.
• Denying the fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g. gas chambers) or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of National Socialist Germany and its supporters and accomplices during World War II (the Holocaust).
• Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust.
• Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations.
• Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.
• Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.
• Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis.
• Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.
• Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.

"Antisemitic acts are criminal when they are so defined by law (for example, denial of the Holocaust or distribution of antisemitic materials in some countries).
 
"Criminal acts are antisemitic when the targets of attacks, whether they are people or property – such as buildings, schools, places of worship and cemeteries – are selected because they are, or are perceived to be, Jewish or linked to Jews.
 
"Antisemitic discrimination is the denial to Jews of opportunities or services available to others and is illegal in many countries."

                                                                 ______

What's wrong with any of that?  So they actually think that equating Israel to Nazi Germany ISN'T antisemitic? They need their heads examined -- and so does Biden, if he is persuaded to change that definition.

COVID Is Definitely Not Over in China

"China’s Post-Reopening Second Covid Wave Could Peak in Late June, Expert Says"

"What’s new: A prominent infectious disease expert said China’s post-reopening second Covid wave that’s currently sweeping through the country could peak in June, with around 65 million cases detected every week by the end of next month, official media reported.

"Zhong Nanshan, director of the National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, said at a forum Monday that he made the prediction based on a predictive modeling analysis. Zhong said this wave of infections was triggered by the omicron subvariant XBB, which is spreading rapidly in parts of the world, according to a report from Nanfang Daily, the official newspaper of the Guangdong provincial committee of Communist Party of China.

Covid cases began to surge in China in April and could reach 40 million per week by the end of May, he said in the report."

America should ignore this at its own peril.

Crime Scene at Sobibor

The Times of Israel has a fascinating and infuriating article about the Nazis' attempts to cover up its atrocities, predicting the Holocaust-denial to come. Read "At Sobibor, a filmmaker unearths Nazi Germany’s attempts to cover up its crimes; Producer Gary Hochman’s ‘Deadly Deception at Sobibor’ depicts how gas chamber ruins and 70,000 artifacts were found at the death camp where approximately 250,000 Jews were murdered."

“'This is one of the first examples of Holocaust denial and distortion perpetrated by the Nazis,' said Hochman, a veteran documentary filmmaker for public television and managing director of Changing Minds Productions, based in Connecticut. 'There is a good reason why most people never heard of Sobibor,' Hochman told The Times of Israel."

“'Each object found represents a voice silenced by the Nazi factory of death that states, ‘I was here’ and ‘this is what happened.’ That is what’s important about video documentation,' said Hochman."

I can just hear today's anti-semites and Holocaust-deniers claiming that not only the Holocaust, but the results of this archeological work are just a hoax.

These evil, hate-filled Nazis will haunt our lives forever.

A Remarkable Doctor

Inspiring story of the day: "Doctor, 102, who still works and has a 10-year plan offers simple tips for long life."

Notice that she still works! You can bet there have never been any "bare minimim Mondays" or "quiet quitting" for HER!

"At 102, she’s a little bit older but is still working as a consulting doctor, exercising daily and living mostly independently at her home in Scottsdale, Arizona.

"As a physician and holistic medicine pioneer, McGarey has plenty of wisdom to share after a long life that’s provided lots of joy, but also many setbacks along the way.

"She’s a cancer survivor, endured the death of a daughter and went through a divorce when she was almost 70.

That breakup happened after her husband of 46 years and clinic partner left her to be with another woman — one of the hardest phases of her life, she writes in her new book, 'The Well-Lived Life: A 102-Year-Old Doctor’s Six Secrets to Health and Happiness at Every Age.'"

Shoplifters: Having the Last Laugh in New York

Here is Mayor Adams' new plan to thwart shoplifters in New York:

Well, this will certainly stop them!  Instead of prosecuting criminals, just coddle them even more with ideas that won't work.  The only people who think this is a good idea are the shoplifters themselves.

Undercounting COVID

From cleveland.com:  CLEVELAND, Ohio — "The number of new COVID-19 cases in Ohio was down this week once again, with 2,770 being reported in comparison to 3,836 the week before.

"However, there is uncertainty over the trends, the Ohio Department of Health warned, because it is catching up on a 'backlog of positive COVID-19 cases reported.'"

Now multiply Ohio's backlog by 49, because all the other states have also not been reporting their cases. So whatever we are being told about the "pandemic being over" in the United States is simply not true. 

Protect yourself, get your COVID vaccines and boosters, and continue to wear a KN95 or N95 mask.

Clothes Make the Man (Unless the Man is Pretending to be a Woman)

If you're a real woman (as opposed to a man) who looks at women's clothing ads, you do so to see if you like that style, those colors, and that outfit for yourself.

You do NOT expect to see, or want to see, a delusional & unattractive man wearing a swimsuit that you like, and you definitely would rather unsee that nauseating ad entirely.  And after seeing the ad, you certainly are not going to rush out to the store to buy the outfit for yourself.

What bizarre level has this country stooped to when a company like Adidas (or Bud Light, or Maybelline) has its marketing and advertising departments go ahead with such a campaign?

Just stop with this idiotic propaganda and insanity. Stop pretending this is somehow normal. Real women have had it.  Enough's enough!

Why Don't They Re-Open the Randall's Island Shelter in NY?

Remember that brand new tent city for illegals that was opened in October 2022 and then closed in November 2022, because it was too "out of the way"? 

Why don't they just reopen it, instead of kicking Americans out of hotels and kicking schoolchildren out of their gyms?

Americans should always come first, not last.

The West: It's Always Israel's Fault

As always, Melanie Phillips has written a great column: "As Gaza’s rockets are fired at Israel, so are media missiles. Behind western hostility to Israel and indifference towards Iran lies a baleful explanation"

Here are some excerpts.

"We know it’s coming. We can write the script in advance. Yet it never fails to sicken and to shock.

"This week, Israel was once again forced to take military action to defend itself against increasingly deadly attacks. As ever, western media presented this as if Israel wakes up in the morning and decides to bomb Gaza through some insatiable lust for violence.

"Once again, such media outlets omitted or downplayed the crucial context for this military action. Once again, questions asked by some interviewers were framed through a maliciously distorted prism.

"The most notable element of Israel’s Gaza strikes this week has been their pinpoint accuracy and limited collateral civilian deaths.

"Targeted Israeli air raids killed three senior members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in simultaneous strikes on their apartments. Hundreds of rockets were subsequently fired from Gaza at southern Israel.

"sraeli bombers then targeted PIJ rocket and mortar launch sites. Another strike killed the head of the PIJ rocket launching force in his apartment, along with two other PIJ operatives. Later in the day, a further strike killed his deputy.

"As The Spectator noted, the BBC World Service Newsday show omitted crucial context. On Wednesday morning, it reported Palestinian officials saying, “Two young men have been killed during an overnight Israeli army raid near Jenin … hours after Israel carried out air strikes on Gaza, targeting militant commanders. Fifteen people were killed, including ten civilians. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Palestinian militants that any retaliation would be met with a crushing response”.

"As Israeli journalist Lahav Harkov pointed out to the Newsday presenter, the report failed to say that the operation in Jenin followed the start of the rocket barrage from Gaza and that the 'two young men' had been shooting at Israeli soldiers.

"Worse, however, was to follow. If the operation was to target PIJ and ten civilians were now dead, said the presenter, did this reveal 'where the thought process of Mr. Netanyahu and the coalition government and the leadership is at the moment?'

"From that question, we could see this presenter’s assumption that Israel’s prime minister and his coalition partners were motivated by a lust for killing innocent Palestinian Arab civilians. This was not only a malevolent and twisted prejudice —from a supposedly objective BBC journalist — but directly contradicted by the remarkable precision of the Israeli air strikes.

.....

"And here’s the most terrible thought of all. The prospect of widespread carnage in Israel doesn’t concern the west because, to its way of thinking, the historic role of Jews is to die in large numbers.

"Then the west will eulogise them, weep crocodile tears over them and sentimentalise their memory. While the west refuses to tolerate the idea of Jewish power — and so will always demonise Israel for using it to defend Israeli lives — what it loves is dead Jews.

"Harsh? Certainly. But harsher and more terrifying by far for Israel."

COVID: On Our Own

From the New York Times: Covid Cautions Continue for Some, Even as Federal Emergency Ends
While mandates and lockdowns are long gone, the virus isn’t and, for some Americans, neither are masks.

"For millions of Americans, the Covid-19 emergency, that disorienting stretch of lockdowns, mandates, free-floating anxiety and exhaustion came to a muted end sometime during the past couple of years, brought about by vaccines and antiviral drugs.

"The expiration of the federal public health emergency on Thursday was a barely noticed formality.

"But signs remain everywhere of a changed country: in the many thousands of families quietly grieving a loss, in the struggles of those suffering from long Covid and in the continued reliance by many Americans on one of the pandemic’s most hotly debated tools: the humble mask.

"'This is my new norm,'  said Nicole Uhing , who was masked and shelving books at a branch of the Des Moines Public Library. Ms. Uhing, who said wearing a mask made her more comfortable in her workplace, was unmoved by the government’s decision. 'It doesn’t seem like Covid is going to go away. It keeps changing and evolving.'

"In interviews around the country on Thursday, most people took in the news about the government’s decision with neither relief nor alarm, but with a sense of resignation. Many described being newly attuned to lurking risks to public health, and also to ways in which they could defend against these risks, often with the help of the government. Now, they were largely on their own."

 

It's my norm too, and it has been since 2020.  Anyone who's elderly, immunocompromised, or who cares about others should continue to wear a mask and stay COVID-conscious.  And to those NYT commenters implying that wearing a mask is somehow a sign of mental illness (!),  I say it's better to be cautious than severely ill, or dead.

Multitasking Fun & Chores!

I was sent this hilarious LinkedIn video about multitasking, and it made me laugh out loud -- especially the part about ironing!  

Yiddish Vinkl, by Harold Ticktin

The Yiddish word for May 5 was maynung, which  means "opinion". 

For example, "'Dray meynungen'/three opinions: What you get when you ask two Jews about anything."

Rewarding Terrorism Against Israel

Good news from Reuters: "JERUSALEM, May 9 (Reuters) - Israel killed three Islamic Jihad commanders in Gaza and at least 10 civilians including several children in surprise pre-dawn air strikes on Tuesday, drawing threats of reprisals and warnings of a further escalation in fighting.

The strikes, targeting senior militant commanders Israel said had planned attacks from Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, were the latest in an extended period of Israeli-Palestinian violence stretching back more than a year."

That actually should read "were the latest retaliation by Israel to the never-ending attacks by Palestinians on Israel".

Meanwhile, per RedState, "The Biden administration has confirmed that it will send $100,000 in U.S. taxpayer funds to Palestinian groups promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, amidst a new wave of terrorism in Israel."  What a disgrace.  Yes, by all means promote political correctness and reward killers and antisemites! You can bet that our money will used for weapons.

How Do We Know It's Not Terrorism?

From ABC7 Eyewitness News: "'It was nonstop': Survivors describe horror of Allen, Texas mall shooting that killed 8, injured 7. Shooting in Texas involved children, officials said."

Another day, another random killing spree, and endless hours talking about it on the news, giving the next killer the opportunity to see the nonstop coverage HE will get.

There have been been mass killings in a bank, a medical center, a mall,  a school, at parties, on campus, and on and on.  Has anyone considered that this is deliberate terrorism rather than "just" mentally ill or angry people? This is also what terrorists do: target random people in places where they gather in numbers.  Why isn't there a task force to at least address the possibility?

COVID Still Is Not Over

From The Guardian: "Is Covid really over? WHO’s announcement sounds more like surrender than victory."

Observer Science Editor Robin McKie writes, "Most researchers welcomed the decision because it reflects the fact that the acute phase of the Covid-19 outbreak is now over. At its peak, in January 2021, the global death rate reached more than 100,000 people a week. Last week it had dropped to about 3,500.

"However, health officials and scientists also pointed out that immunity to the disease remains short-lived, while there has been considerable slackening in restrictions previously imposed to prevent people from infecting each other. Future waves of infections are therefore inevitable, they warned."

So get vaccinated, and don't throw that mask away just yet.

COVIDIOT of the Year: Denial, Lies, & Disinformation

I can't get over some of the ignorant articles I've come across lately in regards to our COVID pandemic, vaccinations, and face masks. Take a tranquilizer and read this article by Terry Paulding in disbelief. Here's an excerpt full of just some of the lies and disinformation:

"Memo to all: WHO has ended the Pandemic. You are now free to take off your mask and leave the darn thing off. Unless, like so many here in the sunny Bay Area, you’re (a) going to commit a crime and don’t want your face showing, or (b) are among the 'vaccinated and multi-boosted' who seem to cling to the mask as a talisman, perhaps the better not to worry what ill health will befall them next.

"I know the rest of the country isn’t necessarily like this, but here we seem stuck in a twilight zone of willful masking, most notably among our large Asian population, but also very strikingly among the heavily indoctrinated teenage population. I see people struggling to breathe behind cloth or paper/plastic nosebags in stores, offices, in their cars, in the gym, and walking on the street. Will this latest news flash from WHO change that? I can only hope!

"The talisman aspect can’t be denied. The sad fact is that the 'vaccinated' and 'boosted' are far more susceptible to COVID (and death, and so many other ills, small and large) than those of us who eschewed the jab.

...

"This brings up the other reason people just ought to stop. Masks are not just useless; they are 100% not healthy. Some medical posts posit that 'long covid' is actually respiratory fatigue from breathing through a mask and inhaling particles on the math. Cloth or paper, they’re all bad.

"Finally, I will say that I’ve made it a rule (in most cases, and yeah, rules are there to break occasionally) not to engage with masked people. I act as if they don’t exist. That’s partly because any interaction would be stilted by their mask, and partly because I figure the odds are that they are either totally ignorant, mired in fear, or mindless lefties making yet another stupid holier-than-thou statement." 

Well, Terry, with that attitude, you don't have to worry about engaging with anyone unless they are as utterly stupid as you are!

"WHO Declares End to COVID Global Health Emergency -- NOT to the Pandemic

Per STAT: "The World Health Organization ended the Covid-19 global health emergency on Friday, saying it was time for countries to transition from treating Covid as an emergency to dealing with it as a disease that is here to stay.

The decision was made on the advice of a panel of independent experts, the so-called Covid-19 emergency committee, which met Thursday. Though a couple of members of the committee were reportedly hesitant about the move, the majority agreed Covid no longer meets the criteria of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

...

Tedros and other WHO officials emphasized that while they were ending the PHEIC, the pandemic is not over. The WHO does not declare the start of a pandemic and it will not declare an end to it either. Still, a Covid-weary world will likely interpret this announcement that way."

Oh, you just know Americans will interpret it that way, just like they've been interpreting Biden's assertion from last year that "the pandemic is over."  There are fewer masks and more mitigations now than ever, and hardly any COVID data being published, so we don't even have an accurate picture of what's truly happening in this country.  

Brace yourself!

Returning to the Dark Ages

Enough already with this Biden Administration "green energy" obsession with banning coal, oil, gas, electricity, and seemingly everything else lately! (I notice he isn't banning their high prices, however.)

At the rate he's going, we'll soon be relying on candles for light and heat, and using the horse & carriage!

Stephen Moore writes,  

"Most of the electric power supply in America and around the world comes from fossil fuels. Coal, gas and oil power plants account for more than 60% of the electric power we use in the United States today. Only about 20% comes from wind and solar power.

Hold that thought. Because the Biden administration has announced what The Washington Post calls a plan to 'drastically reduce (power plant) greenhouse gas emissions.' These cuts are so stringent that most of our gas- and coal-fired plants would be technologically incapable of complying. But here’s what’s sinister: That’s the point of these rules — to wrench fossil fuels from our energy supply altogether.

...

Biden thinks his legacy will be as the president who fought global warming.

Wrong. He will go down in history as the president who turned the lights out on the U.S. economy."

Keep DEI Insanity Out of Our Military!

"'This will certainly strike fear into our enemies': Fury over Navy's first 'digital ambassador' - non-binary drag queen Harpy Daniels who was appointed to attract new recruits amid crisis."

We have gone from this:

To this:

Meet Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley, AKA Harpy Daniels. HE won't help attract and recruit more servicemen -- if anything,this will scare them away from the military and create an even larger crisis!

What an embarrassment.  Our enemies are laughing at us, and rightfully so.

Our COVID Emergency Unfortunately Will Expire May 11; COVID Itself Won't Expire.

This is a good article by Danny De Gracia at the Honolulu Civil Beat: The War Against Covid Is About To Get Personal

Here's an excerpt:

"The American Hospital Association has a great summary sheet of what the end of the emergency will mean for fiscal reimbursement and health care operations related to the pandemic, but the long and the short is, if you live in an isolated, far off place like Hawaii, you’d better strive from this day forward to save all your money and be as healthy as possible – just in case you get Covid.

If Covid had a human voice and could somehow speak to us about the policy pivot, I’m pretty sure it would be like the fictional Soviet Col. Alexi Zaysen of the movie “Rambo 3,” who mockingly boasts to his American prisoners, “You are alone here, abandoned by your government!”

We’ve already talked to the point of exhaustion about how this disease is a biological forest fire looking for human wood to burn. As someone who suffered immensely from post-Covid conditions, I can tell you that a “mild infection” can still set you up for a wild hammering of painful after effects. You don’t ever want to get this disease if you haven’t already, and if you had it before, there’s a possibility that the next time you get it, you won’t be as lucky in recovering as you were in the previous infection."

Better Late Thank Never -- I Suppose

Where has Biden and Mayorkas been all this time other than saying there is no crisis at the border and blaming Trump for the crisis they say isn't happening? They have all but welcomed in thousands of illegal aliens.

What happened to change things? Oh right -- Biden announced he's running for a second term that will be as incompetent and destructive as the first term! And Title 42 expires next week - as does our COVID emergency and the end of vaccine mandates. 

What could possibly go wrong?

From CNN: Biden admin to send 1,500 troops to southern border for support roles ahead of expected migrant surge