On Biden, McAuliffe and Covid

 Biden – No Room Under the Bus

The View from the Middle

 

It didn’t take long for our top military leaders to start throwing people under the Afghan withdrawal bus, including our President Joe Biden.  Remember, back on August 18^th, George Stephanopoulos asked President Biden a very straight forward question.  George asked, “So no one told – your military advisors did not tell you, ‘No, we should keep 2,500 troops.  It’s been a stable situation for the last several years.  We can do that.  We can continue to do that?”  And the President answered, “No!  No one said that to me that I can recall.”

But in front of both the Senate and House Arm Services Committees all three of Joe Biden’s top military advisors testified that they had not only given the President that advice, but that he had heard it.  Generals Milley and McKenzie swore they had given that advice, and Secretary of Defense Austin confirmed that the President had heard it.  I’m sure Joe will stay in the Whitehouse basement until his staff comes up with a plausible, market tested line of BS to explain his answer, but it will not be easy given the nature of the question and answer.

Then, all three leaders basically admitted that all of the really tragic, poor decisions in Afghanistan were driven by troop level limitations that had been forced upon them by Joe Biden.  They said that Biden had limited them to 650 troops which wouldn’t allow them to keep control of the Bagram air base.  That was a huge strategic and tactical mistake.  General McKenzie also confirmed that the Taliban offered to give us complete control of the entire city of Kabul during the evacuation.  This would have made it American checkpoints that evacuees had to pass through and would have eliminated the chaos that resulted under Taliban control.  He, however, didn’t even consider it because it couldn’t be accomplished with the troop limitations given to him by the President.

Finally, when asked why they didn’t consider starting the civilian evacuation sooner, Secretary Austin threw the State Department under the bus to keep Joe company.  Austin simply said that the timing of the civilian withdrawal was a State Department decision.  Maybe this was all a way to avoid any accountability for the colossal failure that the withdrawal for Afghanistan was, but it certain is getting crowded under that bus!

 

McAuliffe – Parents, Shut Up and Get in Line!

The View from the Middle

 

The new definition for a “Freudian Slip” is when a politician accidently tells the truth to the public.  Well, Terry McAuliffe made a huge “foot-in-mouth” – “Freudian Slip” during Tuesday night’s gubernatorial debate in Virginia.  He actually said, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.”  There are several problems with that statement.  First, almost all parents in this country and particularly in Virginia, disagree with that idea.  The second problem is that McAuliffe sent his four kids to a $40,000 a year private school, where his wife chaired the trustee board AND he vetoed three bills that would have expanded school choice in the state of Virginia when he was last governor.

So, let me get this right.  McAuliffe has a “choice” as to where his kids go to school, and he and his wife have a huge impact on what is taught there, but he doesn’t want those same rights to apply to you and me or any other parent in Virginia.  That sounds a lot like “Rules for Thee, But Not for Me”.  My fear is that this is what the entire Democrat Party believes.  So, if you vote for these guys, get ready to “shut up and get in line!”

 

Politicians Will Take Credit for Covid Trends

The View from the Middle

 

Here’s some good news on the Covid-19 front.  According to the Washington Post daily Covid tracker, cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all going down across the country.  Through yesterday’s results, cases are down 12.7%, hospitalizations are down 9.4% and deaths are down 4.7%.  Cases have been going down steadily for almost a month now. 

I tell you this for three reasons.  First, all the college football games have not turned out to be the “super-spreader” events that fearmongers have promised, so be responsible, but go out and enjoy life.  Second, these results could not have been caused by the vaccine mandates that are being forced on the public by our politicians.  This positive direction began before any vaccine mandate was issued.

Finally, I want to warn you that politicians will try to take credit for this recent (and I hope final) decline by claiming that the vaccine mandates caused it.  You need to remember that is NOT true.  This decline predates any mandate.  However, here is the politicians’ plan.  If they are always doing something – anything, then when this virus finally goes away (nothing lasts forever) then they can claim credit for something that was going to happen anyway.  That’s a very sophisticated form of lying, but then again, that’s what they are really good at!

Covid-19 vs The Spanish Flu - No Contest

 The View from the Middle 

Recently, I have seen some talking heads, including Geraldo Rivera on Fox, compare Covid-19 to the Spanish Flu in 1918 and suggest that Covid-19 is now worse than that historic pandemic.  Anyone who makes this comparison is either uninformed, lying or deliberately misleading their audience. They also care more about ratings and clicks than telling the truth.  Let me share some actual truth with you so that you can refute any charlatan that tries to suggest that Covid-19 is worse than the Spanish Flu.

If you want a big dose of the truth about the Spanish Flu, I recommend that you read the book The Great Influenza, written by John Barry in 2005, well before Covid-19.  It will help you understand the massive differences between the 1918 pandemic and Covid-19.  To do a fair comparison, we must consider two adjustments to the death tolls of both pandemics.  First, we must adjust for population differences between 1918 and today.  Second, we must adjust for how the government and media handled the two pandemics.  In 1918, our government and media tried to minimize (Barry suggests they lied about) The Spanish Flu.  Today, our politicians and media are actually exaggerating the death toll of Covid-19. 

In 1918 the total population in the US was only 105 million, and The Spanish Flu supposedly killed 675,000 of our citizens.  I think that number is very conservative, and I will explain why later.  Today, the population of the US is 333 million.  Adjusting for the population difference, that 675,000 deaths in 1918 would translate to over 2.1 million deaths today.  This comparison alone demonstrates the duplicity in trying to suggest that Covid-19 is worse than the 1918 Spanish Flu, but there is more.

The treatment of these two pandemics by the government, the media and the medical community has been absolutely diametrical.  In 1918, the US government and the press intentionally tried to minimize the threat of the Spanish Flu to the public.  We were in the midst of WWI and President Wilson wanted to send troops over to Europe.  Today, the government is actually incenting hospitals to classify virtually any death as a Covid death by offering significant monetary bonuses.  Even Dr. Deborah Birx, from Trump’s original Coronavirus advisory team, suggested that the CDC death count was overstated by at least 25%.

Let me try to demonstrate the pathetic but opposite methodologies used to inform the US public of the severity of these two pandemics.  According to The Great Influenza, The Spanish Flu killed between 50 and 100 million people worldwide, and that is when the world population was only 1.8 billion.  Even using the lowest number in that range, the 675,000 reported deaths in the US would have only accounted for 1.4% of global deaths while the US represented almost 6.0% of the world’s population.  And that is for a virus the John Barry suggests may have even begun in the US, but at a minimum ravaged us as terribly as it did the rest of the world.

Today, according to CNN’s Health Webpage, Covid-19 has killed 4.7 million people around the globe.  While all these deaths are tragic, that 4.7 million is a tiny fraction of the worldwide death toll from the Spanish Flu. And that is despite the fact that the world’s population today is over four times larger than it was in 1918 (7.9 billion to be exact).  So, the 678,000 deaths in America from Covid not only places us #1 in the world, but suggests that we represent 14.4% of total global deaths, despite the fact that we now represent only 4.2% of the world’s population.

So, our government wants us to believe that in 1918, we accounted for only 1.4% of the world’s deaths from the Spanish Flu, which ravaged our country and may have even emanated from here – AND – that today we represent 14.4% of global Covid deaths, which probably originated in China.

Let me propose another theory.  We were lied to in 1918 and we are being lied to today.  Our government and media lied in 1918 to minimize the real threat that the Spanish Flu posed to our country and the world to allow us to send our troops to Europe for WWI (read the book).  And today, our government and media are lying to us in order to distract us with fear as they advance a far-left political agenda. 

For the hundredth time, however, let me reiterate that I am not suggesting that Covid-19 is not a serious disease.  And I am not saying that we should not do what we can to mitigate its spread.  However, most of what we have done (masks, social distancing, shutdowns, etc.) have not worked and are only creating more problems that we will have to confront in the years to come.  Wash your hands frequently.  Don’t go to work when you are sick, and get vaccinated if your doctor gives you the OK.  If you have already had Covid and survived, get the antibody test and then all of us need to get on with our lives.

And Finally, if you only remember one thing from this article, let it be this – 99.8% of US citizens did not die from Covid-19.  That is a fact that no one else is telling you!

Natural Immunity - Follow the Science

The View from the Middle

 

Today there is an absolute and disgusting war on the unvaccinated people in the United States.  Politicians, particularly our President, are actually condoning and even encouraging a hatred of unvaccinated people by those who have chosen to be vaccinated.  The President is even suggesting that the vaccinated people in this country should fear those who have not been vaccinated.  

For the record, I have had Covid-19 and obviously survived, and I have been vaccinated, but I do not hate nor fear the unvaccinated. I don’t fear them because I am immune.  A Johns Hopkins study has shown the fully vaccinated people are 30 times less likely to get infected than an unvaccinated person and those that do are 58% less likely to even suffer fever or chills as a result.  At some point in time, the risk of getting Covid-19 by a vaccinated person is so low that we can’t continue to disrupt the lives of everyone in America to prevent such an unlikely occurrence.  People get struck by lightning every year, but are we going to mandate that everyone in America wear human lightning rods to avoid it?

I also, for the record, don’t hate those who have chosen not to get vaccinated.  I understand that there are many reasons not to do so.  Some have religious beliefs that are inconsistent with vaccinations.  They understand the risks and are virtually no threat to me, so they have the right to make that choice.  It is still America, right?  

Then there are some that are choosing not to get the vaccine because they mistrust the government.  This seems the most likely explanation for why the black community continues to lag far behind the rest of the country in their vaccination levels.  Just a month ago, the CDC reported that only 25% of black Americans were fully vaccinated.   That was less than half the rate of white Americans.  Does this mean we should hate, scorn, exile or fear black people?  I don’t.

Finally, what percent of the unvaccinated people in the United States are resistant to getting the vaccine because they have already had Covid-19, survived and have the antibodies.  According to a huge, recent study in Israel, natural immunity provides 6 to 13 times more protection against Covid-19 than any of the vaccines. 

The CDC has reported over 40 million cases of Covid-19 where those infected survived and have natural immunity.  Add to that number the cases that presented with very mild symptoms or were asymptomatic and weren’t even tested.  Estimates bring the total of the naturally immune to 100 million people in the US alone.  What percentage of the 80 million unvaccinated are already naturally immune to this disease?  Shouldn’t the naturally immune be treated the same as the vaccinated when it comes to access to restaurants, gyms, theatres and even employment? 

Until the government starts giving us a number that includes vaccinated people plus unvaccinated but immune, it is misleading the American people and reinforcing the mistrust many have in it.  Our governments (federal, state and local) need to provide the American people with accurate information (the truth) and even direction, and then allow them to manage the risks as they see fit.

The Biden Administration’s current strategy of fear, shame, division and coercion will not work in a free America.  It will only bring out the worst in us.  This strategy will cause our people to divide into groups instead of uniting into one great country.  It will cause people to pull back instead of reaching out.  It instills hatred instead of respect, and will make us, as a country, weak instead of strong.

Arguably one of our greatest Presidents once said that, “all we have to fear is fear itself” in an effort to strengthen and unite our country, and it clearly worked.  We need that kind of strong, positive, uniting message today to unleash the ingenuity that comes with freedom and the will to constantly do what’s right.   America’s ingenuity will not only create treatments for Covid-19 to defeat this virus but it will also give us the will to defeat terrorism in all of its forms.  Without the freedom to create and the will to risk, America will slide from superpower and a force for good to just another impotent, needy nation fighting for scraps to eke out a meager existence on a global stage.

 

Let me leave you with a message from the bible in this world that seems to want to control us and diminish us through a spirit of fear.  God tells us “do not fear” but to place our trust in him:

 

Isaiah 41:10

 

So, do not fear, for I am with you;

Do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you; 

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Biden - The "BUT" Starts Here!

 The View from the Middle 

“The Buck Stops Here”!!  If Harry Truman wasn’t the first person to utter that axiom, he certainly popularized it.  He famously had a plaque with that principle inscribed on it and placed on his desk in the oval office as a reminder that he needed to take responsibility for the decisions he made.  Not surprisingly, our “Plagiarist in Chief” has recently appropriated that phrase to describe his decision-making process in Afghanistan.  Unfortunately, while it was obvious that President Biden understood how principled that maxim sounded, nobody bothered to explain what those words actually meant.  Every time he has invoked that truism, he has added a big “BUT”, and then he goes on to blame everybody but himself for the catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The first person he blames after his “buck stops here” statement is Trump, which is ludicrous for three reasons.  First, Joe says he was locked into Trump’s agreement with the Taliban despite the fact that he has nixed virtually every other deal and program that Trump put in place despite the fact that they are working.  Second, Joe didn’t stick with Trump’s agreement which was conditions based and would have allowed him to move the May 31^st withdrawal to whatever date made sense for The United States.  Third, Trump’s deal was way better than the train wreck that Biden crafted.  Trump’s deal clearly pointed out that the US would NOT recognize the Taliban as a governing body in Afghanistan and required the Taliban to work with the current Afghan government to create a new intra-Afghan governing body.  Don’t take my word for it, or CNN’s or MSDNC, because they totally misrepresent it.  It is only three and a half pages long, and a link to it is provided below.  Read it for yourself.

 

https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Signed-Agreement-02292020.pdf

 

Next, President Biden blames the Afghan military for the disastrous withdrawal.  They certainly aren’t the professional fighting force that the American military is, but the Afghan security forces have lost over 30,000 men in this war.  That’s over ten times the number of American losses.  The two things that the Afghan military needed from the Americans were leadership and air support, both of which were taken from them in the dead of the night.  As the President evacuated Bagram air base without notifying the Afghan President or their military leaders it sent a chilling message to the Afghan government.  After that move the President of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, and the incompetent and corrupt Afghan military leadership fled the country.  After being abandoned by the US military, the Afghan President and the Afghan military leadership, what did Joe Biden expect from the rank and file of the Afghan military.  This was as predictable as the sunrise in the morning.

Finally, the President tries to blame previous administrations for getting us into Afghanistan in the first place and keeping us there for 20 years.  This is disingenuous in at least a couple of ways.  First, the question is not how or why we went to Afghanistan, it is how we chose to get out.  Why did we withdraw in such a rushed and unorganized fashion after a 20-year presence in that country.  He also fails to remind the American people that the Obama-Biden administration was in charge for eight of those 20 years.

Unfortunately for Joe Biden, while he doesn’t understand the meaning of “The Buck Stops Here”, the American people do.  He can’t dodge his responsibility for the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan and the impact it will have on our country and the world for years to come.  Here are just a few of the universally accepted mistakes that Joe made during the cataclysmic withdrawal:

1.      He decided to withdraw our troops before he evacuated American citizens from Afghanistan.

2.    He abandoned the highly fortified airbase at Bagram, just 30 miles from Kabul, with its two runways and easily defensed position.

3.    We left $85 billion in military equipment (trucks, planes, rifles, ammunition, etc.) for the Taliban to use and or sell to promote their terroristic ideology around the world.

4.    The Taliban actually offered to give us control of the entire city of Kabul during the evacuation, but we declined that offer and decided to just control the Kabul airport.

 

I believe that the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to America’s vulnerability to terrorism.  Joe Biden might think that the war on terror is over, but the Taliban, Isis, al-Qa’ida, Boko Haram, Hamas, The Haqqani Network, Hezbollah and many other terrorist groups have not surrendered.  They still hate us and Israel and they now have an entire country to train their jihadists and to develop and launch their murderous plans.  The war is not over, it has just entered a new phase.  Hopefully, we can rise to this new challenge.  Yes, the buck does stop here, Joe, and America will not forget.