Contributors at Freedom Pub
Nancy Thorner and Ed Ingold write for Illinois Review.
Latest posts by Nancy Thorner and Ed Ingold (see all)
- THORNER/INGOLD: DISTORTION AND TWISTING COVID-19 FACTS LINKED TO POLITICS - September 11, 2020
- THORNER & INGOLD: US POST OFFICE AS A POLITICAL FOOTBALL - August 28, 2020
- Where’s the Beef (Spike)? - June 17, 2020
Any news which would lessen the fear of Covid-19 that still affects many American six months after its inception is being dismissed by the Democrats, with full cooperation of Social Media. This includes anything which mentions the use hydroxychloroquine to lessen the effects of COVID-19, despite considerable evidence of its benefits.
According to a study published by the Henry Ford Health System on July 2, 2020, treatment with hydroxychloroquine cut the death rate significantly in sick patients hospitalized with COVID-19 – and without heart-related side-effects.
For Illinois, of the 7,175 total COVID-19 related deaths the CDC reported through Aug. 15, the Illinois Department of Public Health said 94 percent of the deaths, or 6,779, COVID-19 was a contributing cause of death among other comorbidities. COVID-19 was the only cause listed in only 6 percent, or 396 of the deaths.
The politicization of the Covid-19 vaccine has also begun. As Democrat vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris said on September 5, 2020, President Donald Trump’s word alone on any potential coronavirus vaccine is not enough, because she believes Trump would pressure the FDA to lie about it. Dr. Fauci on September 9, 2020 agreed with Harris throwing Cold Water on Trump’s Claim of a vaccine by year’s end. This is more an opinion on timing than efficacy.
On Tuesday, September 8, 2020, the Washington Post reported that Trump was “intentionally misleading” Americans regarding the pandemic, as was referenced in Bob Woodward’s new book. The following day Anthony Fauci defended President Donald Trump’s coronavirus response after claims that he had lied about the virus. Fauci said, “I don’t recall anything that was any gross distortion in things that I spoke to him about.”
This didn’t stop Biden on the campaign trail in Michigan telling members of the United Auto Workers that Trump had “lied” about the coronavirus pandemic, calling Trump’s admission “a life and death betrayal of the American people.”
Trump responded to these accusations, in person and on tape during the Woodward interview, that he understated the seriousness of COVID-19 in order to calm the population, and not incite fear and panic. That’s what leaders do, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. At the same time the President was calming the nation, he was taking aggressive and effective action to slow the spread of the disease. That too is leadership.
The advancement of false narrative is contrived to sow seeds of doubt about the safety of a new and effective vaccine into its psyche, and that Trump “lied” about the coronavirus pandemic, are desperation moves filled with hatred and treachery timed to hurt Trump’s re-election bid.
In fact, anything touched by President Trump has now become gold for the opposition. “Science” is cited in the context of religious dogma, rather than the search for knowledge. For this group, Dr. Fauci is the new Messiah, despite his steady stream of mistakes and exaggerations, many based on faulty or incomplete knowledge. For example, COVID-19 is far less deadly than feared at first, based on its spread through assisted living facilities. We find that 9 out of 10 persons testing positive show no symptoms, alone reducing the mortality by 90%. We didn’t know that in March.
Instead of honest and unbiased reporting, the mainstream media prefers to twist and distort the numbers to scare the public into believing that their lives are at risk every time they leave their homes to shop, to go to work, to exercise, and for their children’s if they send their children to school, and that President Donald Trump is responsible for the more than 5 million reported cases of COVID-19 and the 175,000 deaths that have been attributed to it.
Obama administration’s H1N1 Swine Flu response
How did the Obama administration deal with the Swine Flu epidemic of 2009? Mostly the same as the current president, only to a fraction of the extent. The first deaths were reported in mid-April 2009, however there were no shutdowns or significant government involvement until late May when a 2 week shutdown of public schools was recommended. Obama make H1N1 a national emergency in October.
In contrast, the first deaths from COVID-19 occurred in late February 2020, with nearly universal shutdowns beginning March 15, when declaring it a national emergency.
Under Obama all tests were confirmed by the CDC and the practice continued until Trump changed the policy so that hospitals and private labs could report tests. The CDC was perpetually backlogged, delaying test results for up to two weeks.
Trump also built many hospital rooms in public buildings and sent hospital ships to California and New York (neither of which was used). Obama stood blinking at the swine flu, eloquently however.
Development of H1N1 vaccines proceeded quickly, since it is closely related to existing flu strains. The first doses were administered in November 2009, but supplies were low – about 40,000 doses, until late Winter in 2010. Congress was reluctant to spend money to produce vaccines which might not work. By the time enough vaccine was available for widespread vaccination, H1N1 had nearly disappeared – April 2010.
President Trump, on the other hand, assigned a high priority to vaccine development, for a totally new type of infection. Rapid progress can be attributed to his support, as well as new genetic technology which is able to pinpoint ways in which the virus can be neutralized. There are at least 6 vaccines in process, of which the three most promising are already in production. There will be at least 100 million doses which will be available the moment approval is given to proceed. Equally important, supplies and strategies for distribution and administration of the vaccine are in place.
Trump as a doer
The experience President Trump brings to the table is significant. He’s not much of a talker (unless you’re from the Bronx), but definitely a doer.
When you build a skyscraper, a lot of things have to work in parallel before the lights can come on. The permitting process alone is daunting, taking up to 10 years (before Trump eliminated or consolidated many regulations and agencies).
Steel and other building supplies must be ordered, and can take months to fulfill, plus you need space to store them until ready for use. Contracts must be issued to multiple trades so that nobody has to wait on the job for others to finish. No matter how much planning, there are always “surprises” which must be dealt with effectively and efficiently.
A big part of Trump’s skill involves balancing risks and benefits, which are part and parcel of completing a job on time and under budget. Politicians are averse to risk, as obvious from their speeches and late-to-the-party responses. Even worse, professional politicians are unable or unwilling to plan ahead. Spend first then hope to pay the bills later on.
With Congress, the lack of planning is evident in the state of Medicare, veterans’ administration and Social Security to name a few. In Illinois, years of contributions to public employee retirements were neglected. This future debt was enrolled in the State Constitution, as though to reassure those employees they wouldn’t be neglected. Now the retirement debt is larger than the state’s gross annual production, and it’s not going away.
In brief, the President is hated by both sides of the aisle because he gets things done and isn’t beholden to anyone but the American people.
Furthermore, when the President solves problems politicians on both sides of the aisle would rather blame on their opponents, they resent you for stealing their campaign fodder.
Who would you rather have representing you for the next four years, a doer who puts America first or one who would resort to changing the precepts under which this nation was founded when being fed the pablum of the Democrat/Socialist Left?
[Originally posted on Illinois Review]
