Tag Archives: Pfizer vaccine

Wake Me When It’s Over

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary

With 39 days left until Joe Biden takes the Oath of Office, the unspeakably ignorant Sean Hannity of Fox News is already calling for his impeachment!  I have cussed more in the last month or two than in all my 69 years before.  In this age of frivolous lawsuits, my case against the Republican Party and Donald Trump for loss of sanity should be able to make it onto the docket of the Supreme Court, don’t you think?  This morning I have good news/bad news …

America’s biggest bully

Donald Trump ordered Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to either approve the Pfizer vaccine yesterday or else submit his resignation.  This, my friends, goes entirely against all good sense, goes against the entire purpose of having the FDA in the first place!  This is unconscionable!

It is not … I repeat NOT up to the Oaf in the Oval Office to decide whether the vaccine is safe or not … that is why we have experts like Stephen Hahn, Dr. Fauci and others who actually know what they are doing, unlike Donald Trump!

At this point, I have decided that I will NOT take the vaccine within the next six months, for it has not gone through the full approval process and is approved only by Donald Trump, who I wouldn’t let within 50 yards of my person for fear of contamination.

Isn’t it funny that Trump has completely ignored the fact that the U.S. is now seeing right around 3,000 deaths per day from the coronavirus, but yet he’s hellbent and determined to force approval of the vaccine before the FDA is confident of both its safety and its efficacy?

Yes, a reliable, proven vaccine is part of the solution, but it is not the entire solution.  First, the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK has warned against the Pfizer vaccine for people who are prone to serious allergic reactions, which means about 20% of the population.  Second, the vaccine will not be available to the average person until mid-to-late 2021, and many people have said they will not take it, for one reason or another.  Meanwhile, we could all wear masks, stay home as much as possible, forego such things as dining out and unnecessary shopping, and wash our hands or use sanitizer frequently whenever we are outside our home.  GASP!  What simple things, yes?  And yet, approximately half the population of the United States are stubbornly refusing to wear a mask because they say it goes against their civil rights.  Never mind that the fools don’t understand that by going maskless, they are taking away OUR rights!

But back to my point … this was unconscionable on the part of Donald Trump, the person who will leave the Oval Office in just 39 days.  I wish I could report that Hahn and the entire staff of the FDA resigned and walked off the job last night, but no … he caved to Trump’s wishes and now we are all a little bit less safe than we might otherwise have been.  Another one of Trump’s crimes against the people of this nation.

toon-2

On a brighter note …

The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit I told you about yesterday, the one filed by Ken Paxton and supported by far too many republican officials at both the state and federal level.  The court’s unsigned order was short, and it denied Texas’s request to sue Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin over how they conducted their elections.  Texas has not shown it has a legal interest “in the manner in which another state conducts its elections,” the order said. It dismissed all pending motions about the case.

“The State of Texas’s motion for leave to file a bill of complaint is denied for lack of standing under Article III of the Constitution. Texas has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another State conducts its elections. All other pending motions are dismissed as moot.”

Justices Alito and Thomas were the only two who did not think the court had the authority to simply reject a state’s filing, but they said they would not have granted Texas the remedy it sought, which was to disallow the electors from those four states.  When I first heard the news, I let out a bit of a WHOOP!!! What surprised me the most was that there was no dissent from any of the three Justices appointed by Trump – Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and what’s-her-name Barrett.

Interestingly, Trump did not immediately take to tweeting, but instead apparently stayed in his room and pouted, refusing to even make an appearance at the White House Christmas party last night.  Good ‘nuff … let him pout … maybe he’ll pack his bags and run away from home.

Our Lives, Or A Game Of Golf?

Posted on by under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Global Issues, Political commentary

On Friday, the U.S. recorded 204,179 new cases of the coronavirus, and 1,998 deaths in a 24-hour period.  This is tragic, appalling, frightening.  Well, to most of us, it is, though to Donald Trump, the ‘man’ who calls himself ‘president’, it’s just another statistic … ho-hum … where are my golf clubs?

This weekend, the G20 summit, attended by world leaders from across the globe, is being held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has now killed more than 260,000 Americans – by far the largest total in the world. Based on that, one might think that Donald Trump, the outgoing ‘president’, would be extremely interested in the proceedings, but yesterday morning, as the summit was starting at 8:00 a.m., Trump was too busy tweeting to be bothered logging on.  He did, at some point, appear via video link, but not to discuss the pandemic.  Instead, he tooted his own horn, boasting about the US economy and military, and repeated false claims that his government’s Operation Warp Speed was behind both the first two successful coronavirus vaccines, which was a blatant lie. Warp Speed provided funding for development of the vaccine produced by Moderna, but not the Pfizer vaccine, which was developed without US government help. And he also made a strange remark, given that his term of office will end in just 59 days …

“It’s been a great honour to work with you, and I look forward to working with you again for a long time.”

Throughout the short time he spent online with the summit, he was intermittently busily tweeting about the election.  And then, after opening remarks, when it was time to begin the session on pandemic preparedness and response, Trump left and went to play golf.  When questioned about the impropriety of his behaviour and obvious lack of concern, Press Secretary and resident bimbo Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement …

“During his remarks, President Trump highlighted how the United States marshaled every resource at its disposal to respond to the crisis, as well as the unprecedented economic recovery of the United States on a foundation of tax and regulatory cuts, energy independence, and fair trade deals. He spoke about the aggressive actions and safety measures the United States took to protect the vulnerable, pioneer groundbreaking treatments, and develop vaccines and therapies at record-setting speed, which will save millions of lives. President Trump also reaffirmed the importance of the G20 working together for future economic growth and prosperity.”

He may have said all that, but it’s a pack of lies … not one bit of it is true!  Had he actually done any of that, perhaps the U.S. wouldn’t have the highest number of infections and the highest death toll of any nation on the planet.

Worse yet … Trump said that he wants U.S. citizens to be the first to receive vaccinations against coronavirus — a position that is in keeping with his crappy ‘America First’ ideology but contradicts the position of public health experts and other world leaders, who have urged giving priority to front-line health workers and vulnerable populations such as the elderly.  Trump’s is an unconscionably selfish viewpoint and one that I, as a citizen, voter and taxpayer do not support!  I’m sure his rabid base, however, will love him for being willing to allow people to die in other countries.

A lot of good can come from international summits such as this … it is an opportunity to work cooperatively to solve problems such as the pandemic and climate change.  The U.S. needs to be a part of these groups, we need to participate in the international community!  Yet, Donald Trump would sooner isolate us, make us the pariah.  The other nations will move forward with or without us, and the other nations will be more prepared, more organized, and better able to deal with what comes next.  The U.S. will continue to have the highest number of infections and the highest death rate.  It is my hope that once Joe Biden assumes office in 59 days, he will be able to mend some of the fences that Donald Trump has destroyed.

It speaks volumes, my friends, when as our friends and family members are becoming ill, some even dying, the ‘man’ who could help is out on the golf course playing a game.  This is how much our lives mean to him … less than a game of golf.