Shhh! The FBI Report Came Out

While the Taliban's dizzying advance upon Kabul dominated the news last weekend, the FBI quietly released the results of their investigation into the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. They were largely hunting for evidence that this had been a planned, coordinated attack on the Capital by far-right groups, with the goal of overturning the 2020 election results or otherwise taking control of the U.S. Government. 

 What did they discover? The FBI "at this point believes the violence was not centrally coordinated" and found "no evidence that [President Trump] or people directly around him were involved."

To quote the Reuters report:

"Ninety to ninety-five percent of these are one-off cases," said a former senior law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation. "Then you have five percent, maybe, of these militia groups that were more closely organized. But there was no grand scheme with Roger Stone and Alex Jones and all of these people to storm the Capitol and take hostages."

So much for the loud cries of Insurrection! and Domestic Terrorism! that have been flung by authorities, politicians, and rank and file liberals at all those who were peacefully present near the Capitol on that date or anyone who questioned the validity of the highly questionable election results that put Joe Biden in office. 

This report will be a blow to Democrats, for whom characterizing that event as an unprecedented act of terrorism by Trump supporters was key to painting their opposition as a dangerous force that must be put down by any means necessary. After the event, this alleged crisis justified erecting fencing and posting a large military force outside the Capitol building to protect it from the imaginary mob to come, as well as deplatforming and censoring conservative voices on the Internet--including former President Trump himself--that mentioned election fraud or any number of topics that got stamped as "misinformation." After all, this was war. The nation was at stake! 

William Moloney, writing for The Hill, provided an insightful analysis of the impact of the FBI report. He raises a question about the many Americans arrested in connection with January 6, still waiting for a trial. Why is that? Is the prosecution uncomfortable with what would come out at a trial, such as evidence of culpability but not on the part of defendants?

If such evidence does indeed emerge and make clear the events of that day, in contrast to the broadcast narrative, I wonder how much news coverage it will get. Probably no more than the FBI report got, a mere whisper beneath the booming cannons of the latest calamity.

Covid: Prevent It or Treat It?

Update 8/27/2021: A study just released in Israel demonstrates the huge advantage people have who have recovered from Covid versus those who have been vaccinated, in terms of resisting new infection. This is another argument for putting energy into properly treating Covid patients rather than trying to inoculate everyone. Study details are here. 

New waves of fear are sweeping the country over the rising number of positive Covid tests. (Note that I did not say "cases" since that word has in the past always meant actual sick people and still should.)

These rising numbers have propelled a variety of governors, medical professionals, and our own family members to urge us to, for heaven's sake, get the shot. Putting the vaccine into the arms of every citizen is our only hope! they cry.

But is it? An article today in the Epoch Times reveals that in Israel more than half of current Covid hospital patients were fully vaccinated. Indeed, Israel has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world (around 78 percent), but is suffering mightily in this latest wave.

And here in Florida, the data graphs from our own Department of Health seem to give the lie to the "more vaccinating, less Covid" mantra (see those graphs here and go to "Weekly Florida Covid-19 Data").

It is also instructive to look at Florida's Covid mortality numbers. These show a roughly 6-month pattern in the virus fatality spikes. For the current spike, many will point to the arrival of the Delta variant for explanation. I wonder.*

 But let's suppose the Delta variant is driving more infection, which in turn is sending more people to the hospitals and even to their deaths. It's an established fact that viruses mutate. How many variants of Covid-19 will we be faced with? How can we possibly keep up with the vaccine development needed for the variants to come? 

On the other hand, we could focus on treatment. Instead of trying to inject a controversial serum into everyone's arm, even those who are unwilling, we could use known therapies to treat patients with Covid. Most of these proven approaches have been forcefully repressed (hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin) to the point that doctors do not dare prescribe them for fear of losing their jobs. Aggressive vitamin mixtures have also seen good results. However, since these do not appear in the CDC's official protocol for treating in-hospital Covid patients, they are not being used. This defies all medical sense and even simple logic, but we have seen such unexplainable behavior a lot during the course of this pandemic.

My advice: Know what your choices are should you fall ill with this virus, and stand your ground. Here is a revealing account of one woman's effort to get her husband effective treatment for what a hospital labeled "Covid pneumonia," and how she succeeded--to the hospital staff's great surprise.

And there are resources and more information at: America's Frontline Doctors. 

______

*Note: Florida is making available monoclonal antibody treatments for people at high risk who have contracted Covid or been exposed to it. More info here.

Report from Italy

At a sandwich shop recently, I approached a customer in a well-fitting athletic outfit. I had overheard him mention that he was from Italy. I wanted to know a little about whether Italy was really open to travelers now since my son wants to go there in September to see a specialist for some back problems.

The man--we'll call him Paolo--was in his 40s, I'd say, a strapping fellow with a winning smile and an eagerness to talk about his home country. Yes, he said, your son could go there for medical care, but he will need to take PCR tests. And there are some curfews.

 

He then shared with us details on the situation in Italy. He himself had just moved his business (he is a biologist) from Italy to Florida. He declared that the whole virus panic was "bulls---" and was done to advance the agenda of socialism. He agreed that it had nothing to do with science and pointed to the deliberate suppression of known medicines that could have treated coronavirus patients.

 

Paolo said the situation in Italy is much worse than we know. People, especially journalists and lawyers whom he knows, are scared. They are afraid that what they write, or whom they choose to defend in court, will land them in jail. They are afraid that if they wait much longer their passports may be taken from them and they will not be able to leave Italy. So, many are making the move to the U.S., especially to Florida, now. (This description immediately reminded us of the terrible decisions good people in Germany had to make in the 1930s.)

 

He said that he believes the government is heading toward declaring another lockdown this summer on any pretext and believes it is all engineered to bring about socialism across Europe. I said we had similar problems here in the U.S. with the current Administration, but he replied, looking at me solemnly, "In Italy it is much worse. All of Europe is almost lost." He mentioned Spain in particular, and how there is still a strong fascist vein that runs through the country. He said that policemen there had struck women, even older ones, whom they found not wearing masks, and bystanders applauded. 

 

We thanked him for the conversation, welcomed him to America, and after a handshake, left him on the bench outside the shop to continue studying his Florida driver's manual.

 

I had not heard this level of detail even in alternative news sources, and I walked to the car more shaken than ever. 

Should I Get the Shot?

Many of my acquaintances have told me how relieved they are to have gotten their Covid shots. A look of rejoicing comes over their faces. I tell them that I hope that goes very well for them. Why say more? The deed is done. 

Indeed, the so-called vaccines (not true vaccines but something that in fact functions very differently) may prove to be benign. These shots do not claim to render people immune to the corona virus, one of the many differences between them and traditional vaccines, but maybe they will make people no worse off than the control group--all those who chose not to take them.

Today I came upon the best collection of reasons I have yet seen for hesitating to take the Covid shot. This young writer spells out all 18, stating in a simple way the many facts that give many great pause regarding this procedure. Like the up-front pardon for any liability that the pharmaceutical companies got who are supplying the shot, and the spectacular failure of previous efforts to develop a corona virus vaccine. You won't find this discussion on the news or on Big Tech's social media platforms because they don't allow it. 

If you're considering the "vaccine," however, this article will make profitable reading. Then you decide. We should all get to decide for ourselves. The article.

Whose Insurrection Is It?

Three days ago my next door neighbor intercepted me in my driveway as I returned from a walk. She presented my house key to me, which she was returning. This trusted neighbor had kept it at her house for several years in case I needed her to water my indoor plants while I was away, or if I realized the stove was left on, that sort of thing. I was puzzled. She pointed to my small, legacy Trump sign beside my front door and declared that every time she sees it she sees "insurrection!" and "white supremacy!" 

I was, of course, almost dumbstruck, but managed to ask a few questions like did she think I was an insurrectionist or a white supremacist, and what evidence was there that Trump is. No, she did not think I was those things, but I supported one, and then she quoted the usual assortment of inaccurate quotes from the man. 

So, I then asked, "Even though I have always been a good neighbor to you, and polite and friendly, you can't have anything to do with me now and you are giving me back my key?" That's right, was the reply.

Two days later I finished watching a very long movie about the French Revolution. It got me thinking about insurrections, and what usually follows them, as was the case in France--years of armed upheaval, corruption, and abuse of power.

Wait a minute, I said to myself. If you engineer widespread fraud sufficient to tip an election in your favor, then during your first month in the seat of power you ignore the elected legislative body and issue 32 executive orders (leaving all previous Presidents in the dust), refuse to answer questions from the press, and maintain fencing with barbed wire and National Guardsmen around the nation's Capitol building, this looks a lot more like an insurrection--or if you will, a revolution--than the intrusion into the Capitol by an assortment of unarmed people on January 6.

In the years following 1789, when the French officially kicked off their revolution with the brutal storming of the Bastille, life did not go well in their country. The guillotine was kept very busy lopping off the heads of anyone who did not fully embrace even the most extreme measures of the revolution's leadership. 

We are far too civilized for that sort of thing here and now, of course, but it did call to mind the massive amount of deplatforming and censoring of opinion (and often fact) that we have seen lately when those opinions run contrary to narratives approved by the ruling party. Online censorship has become the guillotine of today. 

For those who don't operate a Big Tech company, shunning (including giving back your neighbor's house key and refusing to talk to your parents) has emerged as the favored weapon, and a powerful one it is.

But hold on. Why are they so angry? Didn't they "win" the election and come out with an effective majority in Congress? Aren't they transported by all the great things their leaders can get done now? Why should they still be so upset with their opponents? Unless they suspect that maybe they actually did not win . . .

_______________
For those interested in seeing the detailed evidence collected on what went awry in the 2020 election, see the very interesting Navarro Report.