A Truly Wonderful Child

I just loved this article. This thoughtful little girl can certainly teach adults a thing or two about being kind and respectful to senior citizens --- not to mention showing teenagers how important reading can be! Her parents sure brought her up right.

This excerpt will make your day:

First-grader goes door to door with offer to read to seniors. Maggie Kuznia works on her reading while seniors get a visit.

"'Hi Patti,' Maggie says as she enters the senior apartment of Patti Griggs.

"'Hello there, honey,' Patti answers in return.

 "Maggie, who recently turned 7, unzips her backpack adorned with Elsa from 'Frozen.'

"'This one, Maggie says as she pulls out the book for which she was searching.

"Then, Maggie sits down on the couch next to Patti and reads.

"Over the next couple hours, the process will be repeated multiple times. Maggie walks from apartment to apartment, knocking on doors, as residents of Good Samaritan Society Heritage Grove senior living invite her in to read to them. 

"'Mamma llama red pajama,' Maggie reads to 95-year-old Eileen Baird who is seated at her side."

COVIDIOTS 2023: Better Vain Than Sorry

This very good article is from MarketWatch and is titled "‘COVID isn’t done with us’- So why have so many people started rolling the dice? Fewer than a quarter of Americans said they were ‘definitely’ planning to get the latest vaccine"

Here's an excerpt:

"Hersh Shefrin, a mild-mannered behavioral economist at Santa Clara University, still wears a mask when he goes out in public. In fact, he wears two masks: an N95 medical-grade mask, and another cloth mask on top. 'I’m in a vulnerable group. I still believe in masking,' Shefrin, 75, told MarketWatch. It’s worked so far: He never did get COVID-19. Given his age, he is in a high-risk category for complications, so he believes in taking such precautions.

"But not everyone is happy to see a man in a mask in September 2023. 'A lot of people just want to be over this,' Shefrin, who lives in Menlo Park, Calif., said. 'Wearing a mask in public generates anger in some people. I’ve had people come up to me and set me straight on why people should not wear masks. I’ve had people yell at me in cars. It might not match with where they are politically, or they genuinely feel that the risks are really low.'

"His experience speaks to America in 2023. Our attitude to COVID-related risk has shifted dramatically, and seeing a person wearing a mask may give us anxiety. But how will we look back on this moment —  3½ years since the start of the coronavirus pandemic? Will we think, 'There was a mild wave of COVID, but we got on with it'? Or say, 'We were so traumatized back then, dealing with the loss of over 1.1 million American lives, and struggling to cope with a return to normal life'?

------------------------

I can empathize with Hersh Shefrin. I'm immunocompromised, over 65, and I've been wearing masks since 2020, Now I wear a protective N95 when I'm at crowded public places, such as medical offices and supermarkets.

But I don't care one bit if anyone else is unhappy to see me wearing a mask. I don't care that my mask may give someone anxiety. If they are unhappy and anxious, it's their problem, not mine.  I used to wear a mask to protect myself and everyone else. But now I wear it just for myself, because I really no longer care about  unmasked people who are so vain, they'd rather have every organ affected by COVID than put on a mere mask. I've also gladly had every COVID vaccine that's been offered.

They weren't traumatized by a million deaths. They were "traumatized" by not being able to go to bars and restaurants! It was all about them and their selfish needs. It still is.

My advice to them? If you like getting COVID, keep at it! Don't get vaccinated, and don't wear a mask.  Personally, I don't want or need to get sick, and I've managed to avoid the disease AND you!

Conspiracy Crackpots & The Oct.4 FEMA Test of the National Emergency System

Here's a reminder about the FEMA emergency system nation-wide test next week:

"FEMA, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a national test of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) on Oct. 4, 2023, at 2:20 pm. 

"The test will reach millions of mobile phones across the country via Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), radio and television via the Emergency Alert System (EAS), and other communication pathways.

"Test will take place at at approximately 2:20 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023.

"Backup testing date is Oct. 11.

About the National Test:

---

"The national test will help ensure that Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) and the Emergency Alert System (EAS) continue to be effective ways to warn the public about emergencies, particularly those on the national level.

"All major U.S. wireless providers participate in Wireless Emergency Alerts and will transmit the national test to their subscribers.

"If your mobile phone is on and within range of an active cell tower from a participating wireless provider, you should receive the national test. Wireless providers will transmit the national test for 30 minutes, but your phone should only receive it once."

---------------

This all sounds great to me, to know that in case of an actual national emergency, we would be alerted in this way.  Most of us grew up with these tests, and  it's always been comforting to know about. 

Now, the usual crackpots have come out of their holes to tell us what this test is really for.  Read this article  from the Associated Press, and have a good laugh:

"THE FACTS: Social media users are raising dire warnings about upcoming tests of the national emergency warning system.

"Many are imploring their followers to shut off their cellphones on the day of the test because they believe it’s part of a broader conspiracy to exert control over the population.

"One popular video shows a woman claiming the test will somehow switch on technology that has been introduced into people’s bodies.

“'The emergency broadcasting system under FEMA is going to be activated,' the woman explains, speaking directly into the camera. 'It’s not a test. It’s going to be sending these high frequency signals into cell phones, radios, TVs. The intention of activating nanoparticles, including graphene oxide.'

"In another widely shared video, a man issues a similar warning, adding that graphene oxide and other nanoparticles have been inserted into billions of human beings around the world 'through obvious mediums.'"

 ----------------------------

You just know these are the same types who are against vaccines as well. I say let them turn off their TVs, phones, Wi-Fi's and so forth. When a real emergency comes (COVID, terrorism, or otherwise), these are the people who will ignore it while the rest of us sane Americans act to protect ourselves.

Priorities Gone Wild

We may have a government shutdown if funding ceases on September 30.   Many parts of the government would be affected, including paying U.S. troops.  No big deal, right?

However, you will be thrilled to know that  "the Pentagon will exempt its Ukraine operations from a potential shutdown if lawmakers can’t agree on a deal to fund the government by the end of the month, allowing key training and other activities in support of Kyiv’s forces to move ahead uninterrupted, according to a Defense Department spokesperson."

Just think about this for a minute.  As usual, the Biden Administration has its priorities all wrong, and we should all be outraged.

Dr. Ruth's Newsletter for 9/23/23

Here's the latest issue of COVID News and More by Dr Ruth Ann Crystal.  As always, she always has a lot of helpful information, and if you are COVID-cautious, you'll appreciate it.  

Here's just some of it:

"COVID hospitalizations have continued to rise over the last 10 weeks, with an increase of 7.7% this week. However, Emergency Department (ED) visits for COVID decreased by 19% over the last week when looking at the entire United States. Overall, respiratory illness seen in the ED has continued to be mostly for COVID infections, although there is a slight increase in influenza. In the southeastern United States, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) season has started. Also in the Southeast, SARS-CoV-2 levels have started to decrease in wastewater, although viral levels continue to increase in the rest of the U.S. and especially in the Northeast. Here in California, San Francisco Oceanside has had a huge jump in virus levels in wastewater in the last 2 days, followed by high levels in Hollister, Lompoc and Pacifica.

"Variants EG.5 and FL.1.5.1 continue to dominate, but HV.1 and some FLip mutations are starting to increase as well and may have a growth advantage. Per Federico Guele, the FLip mutations have a much faster doubling time. FLip variants have a double mutation in the spike (F456L and L455F).  “Watch out for HK.3, EG.5.1.3 and XBB.1.16.6, all of which contain this FLip that are on the move in the US.” Although many variants are neutralized by antibodies from the fall XBB.1.5 COVID vaccines, the FLip mutations are not. Shan-Lu Liu, however, noted that the monoclonal antibody S309 can neutralize FLip variants."

 

Also, check out the Walgreen's COVID-19 Index COVID-19 Positivity Tracker.

A Rough Rollout

It looks like obtaining a COVID vaccine back in 2021 was easier and more efficient than this latest distribution.  You'd swear the government and the insurers had never heard of COVID before. Of course, Biden did say that COVID was over.

 From The Hill: 

"New COVID vaccine campaign off to a bumpy start."

"The launch of the newly approved COVID-19 vaccines, the first campaign since the federal pandemic emergency ended, is off to a bumpy start. 

"Reports are piling up of insured Americans being stuck with the nearly $200 bill for shots, which were approved last week. The new vaccines are designed to protect against new strains of the coronavirus and are recommended for everyone older than 6 months. 

"While the Biden administration has scrambled to make the shots accessible to uninsured Americans, it’s unclear whether current supply will meet demand. 

"Anyone with health insurance — either through private insurers or federal programs like Medicare and Medicaid — should be able to receive the new COVID vaccines for free. 

"But that’s not always happening, according to news reports and complaints on social media. As CBS News reported, the vaccines have new billing codes, and insurers are still updating their plans to cover the shots."

------------

I'm still waiting for my independent pharmacy to receive its shipment, and I was already told the supply would be "limited".  

Good luck to those of us who have gladly taken every shot and who remain COVID-cautious to this day.

Border Thwarters

I had to laugh out loud during the White House press conference when Karine Jean-Pierre said with a straight face that Biden has taken "historic action" at the border.

She must have misread her notes on the page and meant to say he has taken a historic lack of action at the border.  If anything, he has been aiding and abetting the illegal aliens by cutting the barbed wire to let them in; welding open the floodgates at the Arizona border so they can just walk in; and threatening DOJ action against Greg Abbott for his attempts to stop the crossings.

Does this sound like historic action to you?

Per CBS News:

"Border Patrol agents apprehended roughly 140,000 migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization during the first 20 days of September, an average of about 6,900 each day, according to the internal agency data. That represents a 60% increase from the daily average of 4,300 in July.

"The agency is on track to record more than 210,000 migrant apprehensions this month, which would be the highest level since December and May 2022, when Border Patrol reported over 220,000 apprehensions, the current all-time monthly highs. During those record-setting months, Border Patrol apprehended more than 7,000 migrants each day, a level September's average is close to matching.

"On Wednesday alone, Border Patrol processed nearly 9,000 migrants, the data show, a daily apprehension level not seen since 10,000 migrants crossed into the U.S. illegally per day during several days in May, before the Biden administration discontinued the Title 42 pandemic-era limits on migration."

Maybe Biden ought to run for President of Ukraine or Mexico, since he is helping their people more than he's helping his own citizens. We can't even afford to pay our own bills, and I would rather not pay for theirs.

Here's the really historic action the Biden Administration can take:

Close the border!

Tough on Crime in Washington DC

"Congressional lawmakers, staffers told how to avoid becoming a victim in D.C.’s crime wave"

"Remove jewelry on public transportation to avoid attracting thieves. Keep phone calls short to limit distractions while walking. Leave room at red lights in case a getaway becomes necessary. Police shared those tips and more Monday with Capitol Hill lawmakers and staffers at a briefing on surviving the District’s ongoing crime wave.

"Rep. Bryan Steil, chairman of the House Administration Committee, hosted the informal safety meeting in the U.S. Capitol’s Longworth Building with representatives from the Capitol Police and the union for the District’s Metropolitan Police."

---------------

Doesn't this make you feel safer already? 

"Don't wear jewelry and don't get distracted".  Giving tips to potential victims & putting the burden on them, instead of saying "We're going to have more police on the streets, we're going to have extra lighting in many areas, we're going to arrest and prosecute the thugs who are carjacking you, robbing you, attacking you, and killing you."

I'm sure the all the brazen psychopath criminals were happy to hear about this meeting. Look for crime to continue to rise.

COVID Vaccine Rollout Snafus

I guess we shouldn't have been surprised at this after Biden ended the COVID emergency back in May. Now we are on our own, with disappointing results, as seen in this CNN article:  "Supply and insurance issues snarl fall Covid-19 vaccine campaign for some. Many people say they've run into roadblocks that didn’t exist before the government commercialized the Covid-19 vaccines this year."

When I think back to the first COVID vaccine distributions back in 2021, it was easy compared to this. This late rollout will only give more ammunition to the "COVID is a cold-and-we-won't-wear-masks-or-get-vaccinated" crowd. They will use this as an excuse to continue avoiding any vaccinations for themselves and for their children, and that's a disaster.

Get Aboard the Illegal Alien Express!

Why walk when you can take a train?

"Migrants cheer as they pack into train heading to the US from Mexico: video ":

"Hundreds of migrants were filmed cheering triumphantly as they packed out a cargo train heading toward the US amid record numbers of illegal border crossings.

"Footage posted by Fox News on Sunday showed a FerroMex train passing through the central Mexican city of Zacatecas as it made its way northbound on a 750-mile journey to the US.

"Each cargo carriage was packed with people cheering, clapping and whistling in apparent triumph — with some even hanging from the sides and waving at the camera.

"The footage quickly went viral after being tweeted by Fox News’ Griff Jenkins, who wrote that the migrants were 'clearly not heeding the message: ‘do not come.'

He was referring to Vice President Kamala Harris who told Guatemalan migrants in June: 'Do not come. Do not come. The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our borders.'"

-------------

Yeah -- right! That Border Czar of ours is doing a great job stopping "migrants" from coming here, isn't she?  

Since we all know there's a train full of them on the way, why don't we stop that train?  Don't tell me we're just going to do nothing and allow it to come here!  We're just supposed to let them come in and continue to pay to support them? No thanks!

This has got to stop. The American freebie-faucet for illegal aliens needs to be shut off immediately.

No More Years!

This is a good summary of what "Bidenomics" is doing to our country, Biden's boasts to the contrary: "'Bidenomics' Gaslighting Reveals POTUS's Impotence in Lead-Up to 2024."

In his column from 2 weeks ago, Josh Hammer writes:

"The 2024 Joe Biden presidential campaign, which has thus far been essentially nonexistent, is now out with a crisp 30-second TV ad titled, 'Got to Work.' The ad, which targets local Michigan broadcasts and other national battleground states during this week's NFL season opener, touts the 46th president's first-term track record on such economic issues as 'fixing supply chains' and 'mak(ing) us more energy-independent.' The fact that this is the subject of Biden's first major post-Labor Day advertising barrage confirms what was already fairly obvious: The president and his team intend to make so-called Bidenomics the focal point of their reelection campaign messaging.

"There is just one glaring problem: It is all a lie. Biden can try to gaslight the American people and retcon the past few years to his heart's content, but the evidence is simply overwhelming. The ruse will not work."

Read the whole column, and you'll be nodding in agreement.

Energy-independent?  He's actually made us energy dependent! This green obsession of his is killing us.  Crime is out of control, and so is the constant surge of illegal aliens.  COVID doesn't seem to matter to him at all.  And has he seen the prices of food and gasoline lately? The thought of 4 more years of anti-American Joe Biden and his harmful policies makes me ill.

I May Be Wrong, But It Doesn't Sound like COVID Is "Just a Cold"

This headline is from Fortune magazine's Fortune Well section:  "COVID levels are so high, they’re hovering near 2020’s initial peak, as the WHO urges those at high risk to take any booster they can get their hands on."

This sure doesn't sound like "it's mild" to me.

"'Vaccinating and boosting with any available version “remains vitally important to saving people’s lives now,' officials said."

"While the United States’ 'variant soup' remained largely unchanged Friday, according to new data released by the CDC, experts continued to sound alarm bells about a rising proportion of variants that share the same concerning mutations."

"Once again this fall and winter, no one variant may gain a major advantage over others, experts say. But variants with the 'flip combo' likely to become dominant and pose this season’s largest issue." 

I don't know about anyone else, but I'd much rather be safe than sorry.

Sanctuary State of Denial

This excellent column is from the UK Guardian, but it may as well have been written about America's own non-response, minimization, and denial of COVID.

Frances Ryan's headline is:  "Covid’s back, you say? As disabled and vulnerable people know all too well, it never went away. The government’s policy is to pretend we’re getting ‘back to normal’. The result is millions of us live in fear of losing our lives."

She starts out this way: "It is 1.35pm and I’m having to explain coronavirus transmission to a nurse. I am due an appointment at 2.30, and I’ve been phoned because I say I’m clinically vulnerable. I ask whether the nurse has an N95 mask (as they’re proved to be most effective). She does not. I ask whether she and the team are taking weekly lateral flow tests, like her colleague said. She is not, and is unsure why that was promised.

“'We don’t need to do that any more,' she says breezily. What she means is: she has no official duty to do so any more. Clinically vulnerable (CV) patients still 'need' the Covid-19 protections. They just don’t get them.

"We don’t really talk about this. We don’t really talk about coronavirus at all. More than three years on from the start of the pandemic, there’s understandably a desire to 'move on', to bury painful memories of lockdowns and watching loved ones dying on iPads. This has only been encouraged by the government, which has honed the message 'Covid is over', as if saying this somehow makes it so."

If you've been COVID-cautious from the start of the  pandemic in 2020, please keep reading.. If you think COVID is a hoax & just a cold, and that smart people wearing masks are mentally ill  fearmongers, stop reading, because you know it all.

They ought to make Florida a sanctuary state for COVID-deniers, since their useless Surgeon General is telling  everyone not to wear masks or get the vaccines. Good luck to them.

September 11, 2001: A Day of Evil & Heartbreak

 

(This tribute courtesy of Cap’n Bob)

 

Some of the things I will never forget:

* Congress singing "God Bless America" on the steps of the Capitol, which was the intended target of Flight 93.  Sadly, we'll never see that spirit of unity again.

*"The Falling Man"

* The shocking collapse of the seemingly invincible World Trade Towers

* The wonderful people of Gander, Newfoundland

* America's Mayor Rudy Giuliani keeping us informed and giving us confidence all during that day while President Bush was in flight

* Ted Olson's phone conversation with Barbara Olson, who was on Flight 77

* How every day for a year when I arrived at work after September 11, it was always 8:46 on my clock

* At a stunned, silent gathering in my office, someone spontaneously recited The Lord's Prayer,

* The heroes of Flight 93: "Let's roll"

* The brave firemen rushing into those buildings

* The shortage of American flags in the stores in the days after 9/11, as everyone rushed to display one

* The emotional singing of  "God Bless America" during the 7th inning stretch at NY Yankees games

* The revolting conspiracy theories that started almost immediately 

* The solemn & incredibly moving ceremony marking the removal of that last steel beam from Ground Zero

In Case You've Forgotten What Happened on September 11...

Unfortunately, too many Americans have forgotten, the same way they've forgotten about COVID. Most of us will mourn the victims and remember the heroes, and we will stay vigilant to prevent the horror of this infamous day from ever happening again.

Dr Ruth's News

Here is Dr Ruth Ann Crystal's latest COVID news and more newsletter for 9/9/23. Read it, and pass it on.

Even though I read the COVID news every day,  I was frankly shocked by JP Weiland's chart, below, because it shows how thoroughly we have been gaslighted by the CDC and the White House.  Because they've stopped tracking and surveilling, we knew they were under-counting COVID cases. But I never realized the actual count would be this high. Thanks to Dr Ruth's newsletter, and JP Weiland's information which I first saw on Twitter last night, we can get the real story of what's going on in our country. 

And knowing that despite this information, so many Americans refuse to mask up, get vaccinated, and even acknowledge that COVID is not over,  it doesn't bode well for the future.

"JP Weiland is a mathematical modeler who is able to calculate the true number of current COVID infections based on wastewater data. His calculations show that the current wave of infection is high. In fact, COVID infections are almost as high as peaks seen from the original virus wave in 2020, the Alpha wave and the Delta wave."

Consequences of September 11

From the New York Post:  "NYC officials identify remains of two 9/11 victims days before 22nd anniversary of attack." 

"The two are the 1,648 and 1,649th victims identified by the ME through a meticulous process using DNA sequencing on human remains recovered from the rubble of the Lower Manhattan attack that claimed the lives of 2,753 people.

"They are the first victims positively identified since 2021.

"'More than 20 years after the disaster, these two new identifications continue to fulfill a solemn pledge that OCME made to return the remains of World Trade Center victims to their loved ones,'  Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jason Graham said in a statement."

I'm relieved for the families, but it's so sad and so tragic, and it shows that those terrorist savages did their jobs all too well. Remember, "a shocking 40% of those who died remain unidentified."

We can't afford to let our guard down, ever.

COVID News Roundup

Here are just a few of the many COVID-related headlines I've seen this week, and some of the information shows once again the ignorance of our citizens.

 

* From Forbes: "Where Have All the Masks Gone",  a very good article by Judy Stone, Senior Contributor & an Infectious Disease specialist and author of Resilience: One Family's Story of Hope and Triumph

There's a concerted effort to continue to demonize masks and vaccines during a public health crisis. I don't get it and have never understood it, and it makes me very angry.

 

*  "It's Time to "Cancel" Covid Minimizing Doctors", another great piece by Jessica Wildfire.  

 

* And speaking of COVID-minimizing doctors,  here's the latest "advice" from the so-called Surgeon General of Florida, Joseph Lapado, a "doctor" who is actually warning people NOT to get the new COVID vaccine, despite the fact that there are a lot of elderly people living in Florida.  He ought to have his license revoked for spreading disinformation.

* I definitely wouldn't want to end up in this hospital: "B.C. hospital sees fast spread of COVID-19, but no outbreak declared due to 'negative connotations'.  Health authority instead using 'enhanced measures' for infection control such as masking and extra cleaning." 

* This woman should win an award for most moronic anti-mask excuse of the year:  "COVID spike has GOP fighting over mask mandates and bans. The White House wants no part of it."
"WASHINGTON − Jennifer Kaiser has had COVID-19 four times. But with cases on the rise across the country, the Florida Panhandle resident says she has no intention of masking up even if that means risking a fifth infection. 

"'We live in a free country, and I think people have the free will to choose,' Kaiser told USA TODAY.
'If I choose to go and be around other people, and I know that COVID is out there, then that's my choice,' said Kaiser, a registered Republican and mother of seven who lives in Santa Rosa County, Florida."

Somehow, I doubt it is the choice of the COVID-cautious people who end up catching the disease from her while she shows off her free will! These anti-maskers all sound like robots as they parrot the same lines about their freedom.

*  Last, but not least, here's a very good reason you should wear a mask, if you're not already one of the smart minority that has always done so:  "COVID patients exhale up to 1,000 copies of virus per minute during  first eight days of symptoms." If these patients are anything like the above-mentioned Jennifer Kaiser, I would want to be as protected and as far away from them as I could be.

Caving in to Anti-Vaxxers

This TIME Magazine column made me angry. It's titled "The Anti-Vax Movement Isn’t Going Away. We Must Adapt to It." and I immediately thought: No.  We don't have to adapt to the anti-vaxxers. They have to adapt to us, the vaxxers, the cautious ones, the unselfish ones!

Some disturbing excerpts:

"The near future likely portends escalating disputes about immunization policy, lower vaccination rates, and a resurgence of diseases once tamed by vaccines. Our response should be to adapt to widespread vaccine refusal rather than to nurture naïve hopes of overcoming it. If we can’t prevent outbreaks, we will need to learn to live with them.".  

"Given the prospect of uneven state and institutional support for vaccination, individuals and families must also brace themselves for more frequent disease outbreaks. Some new parents already prevent unvaccinated relatives from visiting their babies. Families will need to consider extending these forms of private immunization governance when states can no longer protect them."

"We are not talking about “giving up.” Governments should continue to promote vaccine acceptance and enforce vaccine mandates. The right kinds of outreach can sway some people who are on the fence about vaccinating. But these efforts alone are unlikely to be sufficient to prevent future outbreaks. Adapting to the times we live in is the only way forward."

Yes - they are talking about giving up. And they are also putting the burden on the rest of us. Why should be "learn to live with" and "brace for more frequent disease outbreaks" rather than insist that people get vaccinated? This is really unfair, and I for one have no intention of caving in and "just living" with more disease.

September 11, Recorded by People Who Were There

 

A beautiful sight we will never see again.

The History Channel has always had some of the most powerful and moving documentaries about September 11, and I watch them every year.  

On their website, you can see videos recorded by ordinary people that terrible day, which are taken from the History Channel program "9/11: I Was There", when they spoke years later of the experience.  Americans who were too young that day, or have never cared to learn about that day, or who think life today is too hard, ought to watch these videos.

September 11: The Longest Day

It wasn't just one day in 2001 that resulted in such unimaginable death and destruction. As you can see,  the impact to people's lives has continues. We will never forgive the Islamic terrorists, and we will never forget the sacrifice of the victims.

 ----------------

From ABC News: 'No words': 9/11 death toll continues to rise 22 years later

"The FDNY continues to feel the impact of that day," the fire commissioner said.

"As the nation prepares to mark the 22nd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the New York City Fire Department has added 43 new names to its World Trade Center Memorial Wall commemorating firefighters, paramedics and civilian support staff members who have died from illnesses related to the rescue and recovery efforts in the aftermath of one of the darkest days in U.S. history.

"The additions to the memorial wall bring the total number of FDNY members who have succumbed to post-9/11 illnesses to 331, which is nearly equal to the number of firefighters killed in the Twin Towers on the day of the attacks.

"The new names were unveiled at a ceremony on Wednesday and represent the second largest group to be added to the memorial wall since it was created 12 years ago with 55 names."

Experts Speak About Their COVID Precautions

I have read this Washington Post column every year they've published it, and it's interesting to learn how the medical expects deal with COVID.  That doesn't mean I'm going to eat in restaurants or go about in public without a mask, because I trust my gut instinct more.

"Do they mask? Are they eating out? How covid experts are living now."

"They’re keeping an eye on covid numbers, looking forward to a new booster — and continuing to live their lives

"The Washington Post has interviewed numerous medical experts several times over the past three years to learn what precautions they were taking as the coronavirus circulated. With so much news swirling about, we’ve done this once again, and here’s what they have to say today. Responses have been edited for space and clarity."

-------------------

I usually read some of the reader comments to Washington Post articles to see what the average person thinks.  This one, from Michael1978, made me shake my head in disbelief:

"After getting vaccinated multiple times, and having COVID previously, I'd honestly prefer getting COVID again to having to wear a mask in public all the time again. Which I did in 2020/2021."

If that's the current mentality, we're in big trouble.

Joe "COVID Precautions Are Over" Biden

With COVID still here and hospitalizations rising, Biden has sure picked a lousy time to set a bad example:

From Politico: "Biden appears to be over Covid protocols"

"After the first lady’s illness, the president has contradicted precautions the White House insists remain in place.

"For two days straight, the White House told anyone who would listen that President Joe Biden was taking his Covid exposure seriously by following a strict set of public health precautions.

"Then Biden strode into a room full of people on Wednesday and reduced those precautions to a punchline.

"'I’ve been tested again today, I’m clear across the board,' Biden said, smiling as he held up his face mask. 'They keep telling me, because it has to be 10 days or something, I gotta keep wearing it. But don’t tell them I didn’t have it when I walked in.'

"The joke earned muted laughter from the audience. But outside the State Dining Room, it served as further confirmation of what many public health officials and outside experts have long come to believe: The president who once pledged to eliminate Covid altogether has grown significantly less worried about it. And may be all but over it on a personal level.

“'It’s unfortunate,' said Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist and former Covid adviser to the Biden transition. 'Because as we begin to see the number of deaths rise in the country, Covid is still with us.'"

And that's no joke at all.

Nazi Guard Charged

Good! "98-year-old German charged in thousands of Holocaust deaths at Nazi camp"

"BERLIN — A 98-year-old man has been charged in Germany with being an accessory to murder as a guard at the Nazis’ Sachsenhausen concentration camp between 1943 and 1945, prosecutors said Friday.

"The German citizen, a resident of Main-Kinzig county near Frankfurt, is accused of having 'supported the cruel and malicious killing of thousands of prisoners as a member of the SS guard detail,' prosecutors in Giessen said in a statement. They did not release the suspect’s name.

"He is charged with more than 3,300 counts of being an accessory to murder between July 1943 and February 1945. The indictment was filed at the state court in Hanau, which will now have to decide whether to send the case to trial. If it does, he will be tried under juvenile law, taking account of his age at the time of the alleged crimes."

The prosecutors should have named this Nazi and used stronger language in their statement. This wasn't just "killing" and "murder", it was systematic extermination, genocide, starvation, beatings, and gassing of Jews.

"Decide whether to send the case to trial"??  What's there to decide? Of course he should be tried!

Don't dare feel sorry for him because of his age.  If he was 18 when he started exterminating Jews, then he should be tried as an adult, not a juvenile. He has lived an unfortunately long life, much longer than he afforded his victims, and now he deserves to pay with what's left of his own miserable life.

Two Anti-Israel Idiots

Headline of the day, from World Israel News: "Top NY Times Columnist to Biden: Don’t be Netanyahu’s ‘useful idiot’"

Joe Biden is already an idiot and has done nothing to benefit the U.S. in  the 2 long  years he's been President.  Thomas Friedman has always shown his antipathy to Israel and should give up his American citizenship and go work for the "Palestinians".

Some excerpts from his infuriating column:

"In his newest anti-Israel op-ed Tuesday, influential New York Times journalist Thomas Friedman begged U.S. President Joe Biden not to support any Saudi Arabian-Israeli normalization agreement which receives the backing the current Israeli government.

Calling Israel’s democratically elected government 'not normal,' and charging that it is 'led by far-right Jewish supremacists,' the columnist gave the dire warning that 'four years of such an Israeli coalition in power and you can kiss goodbye the notion that Israel will ever again be a reliable U.S. ally.'

Thus, he wrote that the only deal 'that is in American interests' is one 'on terms that would almost certainly cause the breakup of the current Israeli ruling coalition.'

Friedman referred to suggestions that a possible deal between Riyadh and Jerusalem would include Israeli concessions to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in exchange for normalization with Saudi Arabia.
Friedman accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of not wanting to give 'anything of significance' to the Palestinians and appealed to both Saudi and American leaders not to let Israel’s leader 'make you his useful idiots' by agreeing to any sleight-of-hand.

As a firm supporter of the 'two-state solution,'  Friedman instead suggested that the White House should demand that 'in return for normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Israel must freeze all settlement building in the West Bank in the areas earmarked for a Palestinian state, if it can one day be negotiated; not legalize any more illegal wildcat Israeli settlements; and, most important, insist that Israel transfer territory from Area C in the West Bank, as defined by the Oslo accords, to Areas B and A under more Palestinian control.'

”Friedman made no mention of the thousands of terrorist attacks each year that Israel has suffered with the full support of the PA since giving up territorial control of the Gaza Strip and Areas A and B after signing of the Accords."

9/11 & COVID Conspiracy Theorists: One of a Kind

I remember a year or two after the horror of the September 11 terrorist  attacks, when people would tell me that I talked about it too much.and that they just wanted to get back to normal.  They say the same thing now, about COVID.

Sounds familiar, because COVID deniers and minimizers behave the same way that September 11 deniers do.  COVID & 9/11 were both hoaxes; the U.S. government was involved in bringing down the planes & buildings; it's "Islamophobia" and it's "fearmongering".  Somehow, I doubt the antimaskers/antivaxxers will even think about the dead this September 11, since the day has been turned into a day to volunteer rather than strictly a memorial day for the victims of that atrocity.

Our President won't even be observing the memorials at the sites in New York, Pennsylvania, or Virginia, which tells you how little people care as time goes by.  

No longer is it "Remember the Alamo" or "Remember Pearl Harbor". Now it's "It Was The Jews", and "It's Only a Cold".

Ingrates Riot in Tel Aviv

So this is how refugees thank Israel for saving them!  

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced Saturday night that he and a team of ministers would look into the possibility of deporting Eritrean migrants who behaved violently during the day’s intense rioting in Tel Aviv.

"The violent afternoon clashes in southern Tel Aviv between Eritrean migrants supporting and opposing the government in Asmara saw over 150 injured, including some 15 in serious condition. Around 30 policemen were hurt."

--and--

A real threat’: PM backs widespread arrests, eyes deportations in migrant crackdown.

"A special ministerial committee convened Sunday in the wake of intense rioting between Eritrean groups on Tel Aviv’s streets over the weekend okayed widespread arrests, allowing police to use an administrative procedure that lowers the evidentiary bar for detention.

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued that migration from African countries constituted “a real threat to Israel’s character and future as a Jewish and democratic state.”

"Some 30,000 migrants, mostly from Sudan and Eritrea, are thought to be in the country, with many of them contending they are refugees from war and oppression. Most African migrants arrived in Israel through Egypt in 2007-2012, before Israel built a barrier along the desert border. Few migrants have arrived since that time."

-------------

Deport them at once!  Of course it will be considered "racist", and excuses will be made for the rioters, the violence, and the damage, but better to keep Israel safe.  They have enough enemies to deal with as it is. You don't need illegal aliens pouring in the way they do in America, and you don't have to listen as Joe Biden condemns you.

The Color of The Sky

This morning I looked at the blue, sunny sky and of course I thought about the color of the sky on September 11th.  Today's sky isn't quite so blue yet, but I'll recognize it when it comes. 

Since then, I've referred to that particular shade of blue as a "September 11th sky"

That blue color made the terror attacks on September 11th seem so incongruous.  How could such horror occur on such a beautiful day?

That day showed that evil can happen at any time, no matter how gorgeous the surroundings.

22 years later, the 5 terrorists who planned the attack are still alive, unlike their nearly 3,000 innocent victims who suffered so unimaginably. It would be justice for the death penalty to finally be applied this year, so that the families -- and all Americans -- can have some small measure of peace.

He Deserves a Medal!

Iranian weightlifter given lifetime ban for shaking hands with Israeli competitor"

"Mostafa Rajaei banished from sport after gesture on podium with Israeli Maksim Svirsky at a championship in Poland Saturday, which ‘crossed the red lines of the Islamic Republic’"'

Of course it did. Iran's hatred of Jews and Israel is more important to them than recognizing the good sportsmanship of their own weightlifter.  The caption on this picture could have been "Diplomatic relations".

COVID: It's Every Man For Himself

I like Arwa Mahdawi's column at the Guardian titled "Covid cases are surging. We need more from government than ‘Keep coughing and carry on’"

She ends by saying:

"There is a general sense of deja vu. Vaccines are a hot topic again: an updated version is expected to roll out in mid-September in the US. How many people will actually get that jab, however, is unclear. In the UK, it will be available only to those over 65, select vulnerable groups and frontline health and social care workers. In the US, it will be available to everyone but, unlike previous vaccines, it won’t automatically be free and costs will vary according to your health insurance status. A lot of people will probably not get a booster.

"I know this is an evolving situation, and we are all still figuring out this virus, but a little clear guidance from the governments on either side of the Atlantic would be nice. 'The pandemic is over,' Joe Biden declared during a television interview last September, so how come the World Health Organization still views it as a 'global health risk'? This is its current status, having been downgraded in May from a 'public health emergency'.  Covid is still here, and will be for a very long time. Yet it seems we are just being told to keep coughing and carry on.'"

It's because of the lack of real messaging. Instead we hear that it's just a cold; that this is an uptick, not a surge; and that people will not comply with any mask mandates. So we're at a big disadvantage already, and it's "you do you" all over again, with disgraceful results like this:

"1 in 4 nursing homes in NJ report outbreak as COVID-19 cases slowly rise again".
"As COVID-19 cases slowly rise in New Jersey and across the country, one in four nursing homes and assisted living facilities in the state have reported outbreaks in the past week. State Department of Health data. But since neither Governor Murphy’s administration nor the Biden administration have released recent policy changes, don’t expect a return to lockdowns or other draconian measures from the early days of the pandemic."  

No, just let the elderly residents die instead.