So much is happening, my commentary will cover several widely different subjects. Hopefully, I can give a different slant from what you’re hearing.

 Ukraine is on the verge of being another disaster overseen by the Biden regime. The media is already setting out a covering narrative to protect the administration. Wednesday’s (1/26) New York times “The Morning” was mainly devoted to this theme. Other media followed. It’s Trump’s fault. Who would’ve guessed?

The case against Trump is straightforward. Everyone knows of his affection for Putin and Russia. He attacked our NATO allies. Chancellor Merkel of Germany was his particular target driving a wedge between our countries. No wonder the Germans are showing reluctance to help. This discord has prevented a united front. 

Even a cursory look at the facts reveals a narrative riddled with holes. You can’t revive the thoroughly debunked Russian collusion story. In any case, Trump’s actions hardly show warmth toward the Russians. Unlike President Obama, he sent Ukraine lethal weapons, resulting in dead Russians. The front stabilized. More Russians died when they got too aggressive in Syria. Contrasting Trump’s Russian actions against Obama leaves no illusions about who was more formidable.

When Trump took office, he found Chancellor Angela Merkel already allowed one million Muslim immigrants. Germany was closing its nuclear plants. It also signed on to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to replace the lost energy, making Germany heavily dependent on Russia. Though Germany as a NATO member pledged to spend two percent of GDP on its military, it was closer to one percent. These are strange actions for ta NATO lynchpin. 

Looking at 35,000+ US military in Europe to protect against aggressors, mainly Russia, Trump rightly questioned Merkel about what Germany was doing. The result was friction between the two, but Germany’s actions or lack caused the strain. Rick Grennell Trumps, ambassador to Germany, continued to press that nation on where it stood. Merkel let her dislike of Grennell be well known. Not surprisingly, our media supported Merkel. 

One can’t realize how badly the administration had failed us in this pandemic until it hits you personally. According to Biden’s chief medical spokesman, Dr. Anthony Fauci, “just about everybody” will eventually be infected with the omicron variant of the coronavirus.” This fact is of little importance to some, but it can be a death sentence to others.

We have known almost from the beginning Covid hits age groups very differently. The New York Times shows us graphically the great danger to octogenarians versus the less than flu for children. Unless you have some co-morbidity, people under 50 have little likelihood of hospitalization, much less dying from covid. For a person in their 80s, the chance of dying from the disease multiplies. The daily covid death toll is dominated by those over 65. While vaccination cuts your risk from the disease, the elderly show evidence of waning protection. Common sense: those over 65 and at-risk need more help.

The solution to the problem exists. A person in a high-risk group evidencing covid symptoms takes a rapid home test. Upon confirmation by the second swab, a telemedicine call results in an antibody prescription. Whether pills or infusion, the person has reduced the risk of hospitalization and death by up to 90%. We don’t have to invent the tests or therapeutics; we’ve already done that. Combined with the fact we’re fully vaccinated, including a booster, happy days, we’ve minimalized the problem.

Unfortunately, I’ve found this program doesn’t exist under the Biden administration and won’t for quite a while. This week, our daughter woke up with some covid symptoms. She tried to find a place to buy a rapid home test, but none were available. She asked us if we had some. In a sane world, all the highly at risk would have them. We have hope Amazon will deliver our order before the end of the month.

It’s the time of year to assess where I was right and wrong. When you have a blog where everything you’ve written since 2014 is available, you have no place to hide.  

To a large extent, Trump’s election loss appeared to me to have been self-inflicted. A bizarre debate performance coupled with tirades against early voting showed a lack of balance. He was the one ranting while Biden remained cool. Discouraging his supporters from early voting meant they had to show up on election day. That’s not always possible. Uncast votes could turn the results. In the crucial states, 2020 was close.

What I didn’t foresee was the degree of his derangement. Even in the face of recounts conducted by his party showing he lost, Trump refused to accept the outcome. Bill Barr, his attorney General, found nothing to change the results. His inability to accept defeat led directly to the loss of the two Georgia Senate seats and the 1/6 Capital Riot.  

As an octogenarian, I’ve seen how age affects one’s perception. Where Trump previously avoided significant errors, reality and those recognizing it became his enemy. Maybe, I should’ve been more aware of possible age-related changes. Biden has lost several steps; why not Trump? As we can see. not realizing our limitations can be dangerous.

I predicted Covid would reach its apogee in early January. The 10th of the month marked the pandemic high point. Even with variations, including Delta, we haven’t yet come close. With so many people already having Covid, infusions, and new vaccines coming online, the data looked favorable for a topping out. To date, that is the case:

Early on in the Biden administration, I observed its comprehension of Operation Warp Speed, and indeed the pandemic was lacking. This absence raised the issue of overall competence—the multitude of the undocumented crossing our border without an answer confirmed my suspicion. 

As is our Saturday habit, we settled in to watch Michael Smerconish’s CNN show. Compared to other CNN hosts, he appeared thoughtful and knowledgeable. We found he sometimes had a different take on things and out-of-the-ordinary guests. He heightened our interest by being poised to take over the fired Chris Cuomo’s CNN primetime hour for a week or longer.

Smerconish started the show by informing us that Germany was locking down everyone not vaccinated or naturally immune. He was astonished Germany equated natural immunity with vaccinations. He also found almost all of Europe, Israel, and many other nations treated prior infection the same as vaccinations.

Genuinely surprised, he ventured excusing the naturally immune from mandates might lessen the strife over Covid regulations. His weekly online poll question was, “Should prior COVID infection count when it comes to vaccine mandates?” His first guest was a medical expert who explained the studies behind the other nations’ actions. The guest doctor came down on their side because they had the better science.

Opening up new ground for discussion is always welcome. Tweets Smerconish read on the show indicated surprise by his viewers. The problem is it may be a surprise to Michael and his CNN audience, but natural immunity has been at the center of how the world deals with Covid virtually from the pandemic beginning. As I wrote at the time, Israel issued the world’s first Covid passport last March. Following the data, it required either proof of vaccination or previous infection. Most other nations followed suit.