The 20th anniversary of 9/11 brings forth a wealth of speakers. The sadness of the occasion is relieved by tales of heroism. Maybe it’s just me, but two of the speakers were of place. It wasn’t because of the positions they occupied. The Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are fixtures at these events. It just struck me the two people presently occupying these posts didn’t belong where we honored courage. In their younger days, Sec. Llyod Austin and Chairman Mark Milley wore the uniform of our armed forces with distinction. But that was then. Their character hasn’t aged well.

With our possible involvement in World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt took the bold step of appointing a junior officer Chief of staff over many senior Generals. Roosevelt realized in peacetime; military men owe their rise to top positions more to political connections than to being warriors. With war on the horizon, we needed warriors, not soft politicians.

Marshall, in turn, cashiered 600 officers, clearing the way for the likes of the then colonels Eisenhower, Bradley, Patton, and many others to lead us to victory. When asked why he dumped “the brains” of the Army, Marshall said, “I was eliminating considerable arteriosclerosis.” I fear Austin and Milley are no longer fighters. People shouldn’t stay past their expiration date. Not when they forget who and what they represent for political considerations.

How else can you explain their actions or lack thereof in the Afghan pullout? The lowest second lieutenant knows better than agree to a plan where the military leaves before the civilians. No trained military person with a clear mind could okay Biden’s plan. Did our top military people agree to this dishonorable and stupid plan? If so, they need to leave in shame. They’ve stained the services they represent.

If they opposed this despicable plan, why didn’t we know their objections? Leaks to some news organizations cover your butt. It does nothing to stop a program that results in a significant loss.

It’s not that they weren’t aware of how to act honorably. Facing similar circumstances, Trump’s Sec. of Defense Jim Mattis loudly opposed troop pullouts in the Middle East and Afghanistan as he resigned. As I’ve pointed out, the fact that we still have troops in Syria shows that doing the right thing can change minds.

Goodness knows, Biden’s disastrous Afghan plan needed changing. The two might not agree with their President, but they failed in their duty to speak up even if it cost them. They’ve stained the services they represent. They need to leave in shame.

Seeing these two at a celebration of courage and bravery makes me ill. 

One might think leaving hundreds of American citizens, and green card holders along with the thousands we promised to save to the tender mercies of the Taliban was terrible enough. At best, these are hostages. A worse outcome I leave to your imagination. Now we’re back to a pre-9/11 level of safety. You’d think Biden and his merry group of dishonorable sycophants had done enough damage, but you’d be wrong.

In a blatant attempt to change the subject from their monumental Afghan blunder, the Biden administration has moved to mandate vaccines for everyone. Claiming the Delta Covid variety is out of control, they are going from endangering thousands in Afghanistan to threatening the livelihood of millions of Americans. Instead of heeding the old maxim of “when you’re stuck in a hole, stop digging,” Biden daily goes deeper with dangerous actions.

The idea is the estimated 75 million eligible unvaccinated are a threat to everyone and must take the shot. The truth is unvaccinated, if a risk at all, is an only significant risk to the unvaccinated. Fostering the idea that unvaccinated are a threat to the vaccinated only makes getting the shots to appear ineffective. This thinking is simply counterproductive.

Either take the vaccine or face barriers to employment. This plan can only contribute to our already rising inflation and the absence of products. At a time we’re facing a significant labor shortage, we’re pushing millions off the job. We’re headed out of the frying pan and into the fire.

The problems of implementing this program in a reasonable length of time are daunting. We have only a little cardboard card to prove we’re vaccinated. Super easy to counterfeit, quality fake copies is widely available on the internet. If these are accepted, it will result in mockery of the program. We turn people into crooks to put food on the table. 

The alternative is to follow some other nations and New York State and issue fraud-resistant “passports.” Washington Post’s medical Columnist, Leana Wen, proposes we follow Israel and the E.U. in requiring them. Only France and Israel presently have functional systems. Wen calls them vaccine passports, but this isn’t true. These “Passports” aren’t proof of vaccinations. They’re proof of immunity. In addition to vaccination, both recognize natural immunity conferred by a previous infection. Wen and indeed, our government continues to ignore this protection.

A highly respected recent Israeli study reports natural immunity is superior to vaccines in providing Covid protection, yet the Biden Administration and Dr. Wen ignore this fact. Other significant studies support the Israeli conclusions while nothing much if anything underpins the Administration position. If we require massive testing for employment, why not support anti-body testing to see who is immune?

How does ignoring “the Science” affect the Biden mandates? According to a new study, close to 1/3 of Americans had Covid by the end of 2020. After eight-plus months featuring the even faster spreading Delta variant, this translates into close to half of the unvaccinated are likely to have equal or more superior immunity than the vaccinated. 

Yet, we’re impeding these millions from making a living. We’re demeaning the immune for passing on shots that might better serve the highly susceptible here and abroad. An administration is acting superior while being unethical.

This Administration has never evidenced it ever had a handle on the battle against Covid. It never understood Operation Warp Speed. Instead of anticipating a point where the pervasive vaccine demand by the highly at risk, especially older people, would give way to lesser enthusiasm by younger people. Israel saw a possible vaccine falloff in demand. It needed a solid and convenient to use proof of immunity as both a carrot and a stick. Their Green Passport dates back to February. 

The U.S. just now is starting to come up with rules and maybe a passport. So far no acknowledgment of natural immunity and how to handle it. You can see the stampede of lawyers in the distance. Already a law professor having recovered from Covid defeated his University’s vaccine mandate. It could be months, if ever before the Administration’s rules have any effect. 

I and others have predicted the Delta variant would peak before fall. We also foretasted the previous variants would peak no later than May. Totaling those vaccinated and naturally immune and factoring in the variant’s ability to spread led to a correct call then, and it appears we’ll be right again. From the Wall Street Journal:

This calculation means the Administration will impose draconian rules on the nation if it prevails in court after the need has passed. People quitting jobs on principle, worker shortages, and little kids masked all day in schools. Biden destroys the Holidays for no purpose.

Back in March, in my post, “The Dog Ate Biden’s Homework,” I cast doubt on the Administration’s capabilities. Nothing but confirmation has followed. When people become aware of the mandates’ destruction, the Biden bunch will need something else to distract us. Each of their moves has moved us closer and closer to ruin. The hole gets deeper. Sleep gets harder.