Tag Archives: pandemic

medical news

Joe Rogan: medical expert?

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Joe Rogan has become a medical expert in the eyes of those who are defending pro football quarterback Aaron Rodgers’s decision to take Ivermectin to ward off infection from the COVID-19 virus.

Hmm. Let’s ponder that.

Rogan is a talk-show host. He also is a promoter of mixed martial fights and fighters. He talks a good game. He isn’t trained as a medical professional. Rogan just, oh, talks on subjects about which he knows nothing.

I guess Rogan is friends with Rodgers, who plays QB for the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers told the world he had been “immunized” against the pandemic. Turns out he wasn’t.

The Ivermectin is known generally as a de-worming agent used on horses and cattle. OK. You got that?

A critic of this blog informs me that medical doctors prescribed the drug to Rodgers and Rogan. I get it. They found docs who would prescribe something that other docs say isn’t worth a damn in fighting the virus. Big deal.

None of this makes Aaron Rodgers’s deception any more palatable. Nor does it give Joe Rogan any standing as a medical expert who is qualified to talk about things of which he is ignorant.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

medical news

What’s wrong with mandates?

For the ever-lovin’ life of me I do not understand the resistance by many of us to government “mandates” issued to encourage us to protect ourselves against a disease that can kill us.

I see it all the time. I hear it just as often. “The government shouldn’t tell me what to do!” the anti-mandate crowd bellows at rallies. Really?

Then why do you drive the speed limit? Why do you refuse to drink and drive? Why do you buckle up when you get into your car? Why do you purchase insurance when you get a driver’s license? Why do you refuse to yell “fire!” in crowded theater? Why do you refuse to rob banks, or the grocery store, or steal candy from the shelf?

Because every one of those actions is regulated by government mandate. The government tells us to do certain things and we do them.

We are still fighting a killer pandemic. The government is telling us we need to get vaccinated against the virus. Business owners are asking us to wear masks when we enter; some of them are demanding it. Yet we hear yammering from so-called American “patriots” that they fear a civil war is going to break out if the government keeps issuing these orders.

This is nonsense. It is trash. It is utterly un-American, un-democratic, dangerous, reckless, feckless and, oh yeah, stupid!

You may count me as one American patriot — and I consider myself to be the real thing — who does not object to the government seeking to protect me, my family and assorted loved ones.

The more of those who think as I do climb aboard the sensible bandwagon, the sooner we will be free of this pandemic.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news, medical news

Vaccines make me smug

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I am feeling a bit smug these days.

It’s all because of the vaccines I have received. Both doses of the anti-COVID vaccine have been injected into my left arm. I also have received the booster shot. They’re all Pfizer medications.

So, I am fully vaccinated … and then some!

It’s the smugness I am resisting with all my might. I am still masking up when I walk into strange indoor venues. This afternoon, for example, we walked into a church lobby to cast our votes for Princeton city council, school board and Texas constitutional amendment issues. We didn’t see masks on too many other voters but, by golly, we are taking no chances.

We keep hearing about “fully vaccinated” individuals testing positive for the COVID virus. Neither of us wants that to occur in our house. So, we are taking measures to avoid exposure to a potentially killer virus.

Still, the smugness I am feeling is a tough obstacle to overcome.

I will stay vigilant against the virus. Smugness be damned!

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

State news

Legislature showed a bit of courage

Texas legislators surely did not distinguish themselves during their three special sessions. The abortion ban, the voter suppression bill and redistricting are among the low points legislators played out.

It wasn’t all bad, though. I want to offer this example of a bit of political courage.

The Texas Legislature did not act on Gov. Greg Abbott’s demand that it approve a bill that would have given Abbott authority to tell businesses they cannot issue vaccine mandates for employees.

The Legislature dug in on that one. To which I offer a hand-clap, albeit it’s a bit muted … more like a golf clap.

Abbott is supposed to be a pro-business Republican. His effort to ban business owners from issuing vaccine mandates is about as anti-business as it gets. The vaccines are aimed at preventing human beings from being struck down by the COVID-19 coronavirus, which has killed more than 700,000 Americans.

Happily, the rate of infection and death are decreasing. Abbott is likely now to join his pal in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis, in taking a victory lap for the result.

I am just glad to see the Legislature exhibit a touch of courage in standing up to Abbott’s goofy notion that government can tell private business owners how to run their businesses … and protect the people who work for them.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

medical news

What’s in that aspirin tablet?

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I want to pose a question to those who are reluctant to take a COVID vaccine because they “don’t know what’s in it.”

Do you know what your run-of-the-mill aspirin tablet contains when you swallow it to cure a headache? Or what about any prescription ordered by your doctor? Do you know what it contains?

We keep hearing from the anti-vaxxer crowd that they are uncertain about the contents of the vaccine. They express a sort of faux fear of an issue that really does not exist.

Can you say “canard”? This is what is at play here.

The anti-vaccine cabal has concocted a phony issue to help spread the disinformation that has plagued the distribution of the various vaccines that are getting approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. The CDC and the FDA are subjecting these vaccines through rigorous testing to ensure their safety. I happen to have faith in the medical pros who run these agencies and believe they are faithful to the oath they take to “first, do no harm.” 

I have to admit I have members of my extended family who are declining to vaccinate themselves or their children. They actually say out loud and without a hint of embarrassment they are doing so because of politics. Amazing, yes!

Yet they also are fabricating the notion that they are concerned about the vaccine’s contents. And yet … they’ll shell out good money for an over-the-counter medical dose not giving a moment of thought as to its contents.

It is as phony an argument as those who proclaim they oppose “dictatorial mandates,” yet they buckle up in their car because the government orders them to do so.

Incredible.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

medical news

Fox News dude joins vaccine crowd

You go, Neil Cavuto.

The Fox News correspondent has come down with the COVID-19 virus. He is feeling OK, but he has joined a growing list of news and opinion pundits in calling for the rest of us to get vaccinated.

He put out a message that in effect said, “forget about all that crap you’re hearing on the political side of this matter. Get your vaccine.”

Yes, Neil. You are so right You have a wide audience of viewers who otherwise might not be inclined to get vaccinated. They are listening to those on the right and the far right about so-called side effects created by the vaccine, whether it’s from Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson&Johnson.

Spoiler alert: My wife and I have taken both Pfizer vaccines and the booster … and neither of us grown a third eye. Honest, man! We’re good!

So it is with gladness that I welcome an influential journalist to the ranks of vaccine supporters.

Get well, Neil.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

economic news

Supply chain woes: Who saw this coming?

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Could anyone on this good Earth have foreseen that “supply chain” trouble that has gripped us as we seek to recover from the pandemic?

I recall hearing not a single thing looking forward about it as we struggled to come to grips with the COVID virus that has killed more than 700,000 Americans. I recall no analysis. No crystal ball-gazing. No suggestion that this would await us as we fought to restore some normal activity to our lives.

Yet here come the recriminations. President Biden is getting hammered over this latest issue, not to mention the other matters that have plagued him.

I won’t blame the current president. I won’t lay any blame on his predecessor, Donald Trump. There were enough crises occurring in real time that no one could have predicted with any semblance of certainty that we would have trouble receiving goods and services once we started our way back from the peril.

The criticism now seems cheap and unnecessary.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

medical news

Dictatorship? Hardly!

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When did requiring children to be vaccinated become a symptom of a dictatorial regime?

Oh, wait! It’s the tenor of this contentious time when everything becomes challenged … even for no good reason!

I am an old man in my early 70s. I recall vividly getting vaccinated every year before the start of school. I would sit in the school nurse’s office and get my shots for whatever was on the table at the time: measles, whooping cough, TB, you name it. Mom and Dad never bitched about my sisters and me needing to get shots.

We just did it, started school and went about doing whatever it was we were doing when we were kids.

Now, though, our children are threatened by a potentially fatal virus. It’s killing Americans each day. The COVID-19 virus is still a part of our lives and, sadly, part of many Americans’ deaths.

However, the push to get our children vaccinated, along with their elders, is running into resistance from those who are yapping and yammering about government “overreach,” about how the feds are dictating how we must conduct our affairs.

“It’s my choice to get vaccinated,” we hear from some of the dipsh**s out there. Yeah, it’s their choice, but only when it doesn’t threaten others’ lives. When they refuse to get vaccinated, they threaten everyone else around them.

CNN anchor John King spoke eloquently the other day about the unknown and unseen threats posed by those who refuse to take precautions to protect themselves against the killer virus. They expose themselves and potentially others to mortal threats. That ain’t right!

So, let’s all stop the carping and griping about a “government overreach” that is nothing of the sort.

The numbers don’t lie. Those who are vaccinated against the COVID virus are much more secure than those who refuse.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

media news

Stand tall, John King

CNN anchor John King has revealed a secret he kept hidden for 13 years.

The veteran broadcaster/journalist suffers from multiple sclerosis. He made the admission on the air this week and became an instant spokesman for those of us who are concerned about the disinformation that continues to be spread about the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said he wanted to let it be known publicly about his MS because his immune system is compromised. He thanked his CNN colleagues for seeking the COVID vaccines and is now pleading with Americans within earshot of his voice to do the same.

He said this morning that one does not know whether the stranger sitting on any side of you is vaccinated, or whether they have the virus that could kill them … or you! Thus, it becomes imperative to get vaccinated and to take all measures necessary to protect one’s self and others.

John King is my new hero. May he continue to spread his message far and wide.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news, political news

If only he could rise above the bitterness

There are times when one can wish that even the most venal and vile politicians among us can rise to some level of dignity and decorum.

The death of noted statesmen, such as Colin Powell, easily qualifies as a motive to rise above pettiness and petulance. Powell, the nation’s first black secretary of state, died Monday of COVID complications.

Four of the five living former presidents managed to offer heartfelt salutes and tributes to the former general, as did the current president, Joe Biden.

Then came this bit of bullsh** from the 45th president of the United States. Donald Trump issued a brief statement that reads:

“Wonderful to see Colin Powell, who made big mistakes on Iraq and famously, so-called weapons of mass destruction, be treated in death so beautifully by the Fake News Media. Hope that happens to me someday. He was a classic RINO, if even that, always being the first to attack other Republicans. He made plenty of mistakes, but anyway, may he rest in peace!”

There. Isn’t that just the kind of cheap shot, the trash, the rhetorical crap we have come to expect from Trump? Yes. It is.

To think that the King of RINO World would exhibit the chutzpah to call Colin Powell a Republican In Name Only speaks to the utter worthlessness of Donald Trump as a political public figure.

I would say “shame on Trump” … except that he has no shame.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com