“I think it’s become clearer that fairness is overrated,” so said Lester Holt, the anchor of the NBC Nightly news. “Before you run off and tweet that headline, let me explain a bit. The idea that we should always give two sides equal weight and merit does not reflect the world we find ourselves in. That the sun sets in the west is a fact. Any contrary view does not deserve our time or attention.” Sounds right until you put his statement in perspective. Even sunrises and sunsets are viewed differently at the South Pole than in New York. 

The problem of this kind of statement from a journalist (The nightly News is a news show, not an opinion) is who chooses what and who to exclude. Most things in the news aren’t as straightforward as 2 & 2=4. Providently, we have a test case of the “Holt Doctrine” in CCN’s recent news special, “COVID WAR: The Pandemic Doctors Speak Out.” The six doctors responsible for the previous Administration’s COVID-19 response reflect on the past year with CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. 

This group of doctors formed Trump’s medical team, and he initially relied on their information and advice. Given billions of dollars annually, the federal medical establishment is there to protect us against epidemics. These were the “experts” to use “science” to guide us safely through a crisis.  

On the special, the doctors informed Gupta Trump thwarted them from doing their job. The President gave mixed messages and put the economy before deaths. After the initial lockdowns, Trump called for re-opening. Instead of relying on this team, “there were too many parallel streams of data,” Birx said. 

“These parallel data streams, you think they originated with Scott Atlas?” Gupta asked. Dr.Atlas, a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, joined the Administration as an advisor in August 2020. Supposedly misleading information coming from Atlas was enough for Birx to refuse to attend meetings with him. I told people I would not be in a meeting with Dr. Atlas again,” she said. “I felt very strongly that I didn’t want an action that legitimized in any way his position.”

There you have it; these doctors setting forth the “science” but were foiled by Trump and his Rasputin, Dr. Atlas. This alliance, according to Dr. Birx, lead to tens of thousands of additional deaths. Thank goodness for Dr. Fauci. “The decision we made on January 10 to go all-out and develop a vaccine, may have been the best decision that I’ve ever made with regard to intervention as the director of the institute,” claimed Dr. Fauci.

My last few posts are highly critical of the Biden administration. As I pointed out, it failed to understand Project Warp Speed, leaving it with policies unsuited for a rapidly improving situation. A $1.9 Trillion Covid Relief Bill isn’t needed to improve an economy with massive pent-up demand and plenty of cash to spend. Instead, this significant expenditure threatens the economy with rising inflation and higher interest rates. Biden’s labor union allies preclude joining The Trans-Pacific Partnership and getting children quickly back to school. Labor unions historically oppose trade pacts. The Teacher’s Unions always put their interests before the student’s needs. The border is just a bleeding self-inflicted wound. On all fronts, the Biden Administration will lose ground from here on out. 

Arresting the downtrend won’t come from a virtual climate change summit with China and Russia. More likely, our foes will push us into concessions for promises neither have any intention of keeping. We can only appear to the World as weak supplicants. At best, Biden will get a worthless agreement like Chamberlain at Munich. Claiming “Green in Our Time” will work about the same as “Peace in Our time” did for the British Prime Minister.  

Of course, it’s easy to be critical. Rather than waiting for somebody to ask what you would do, I’ll tell you. Instead of a Climate Change virtual Summit, I’d get everyone to zoom on something of widespread, immediate interest; the International need begging for leadership. 

When Jimmy Carter ran for re-election against Ronald Reagan, he came across as a downer. Mr. Malaise didn’t uplift the people. He lost to Reagan in a landslide. On the Covid pandemic, Biden is making the same mistake. He and his chief spokesman, Dr. Anthony Fauci, instead of recognizing the miracle of Project Warp speed and getting out in front of the recovery, both have been bummers. While trying to steal credit for the vaccines and rollout, they’ve failed to realize people are increasingly participating in the return to normal. Telling people to wait until July 4th to have a small barbecue when they’re already having the gatherings is just out of touch.

Two masks Fauci is saying we should wear coverings well into 2022. This utterance begs the question if nothing changes, why bother to get the vaccine. In any case, his claim Operation Warp Speed was “his best idea” should get him fired for being a lying creep. 

The point of this blog has been to find and promote a better life for our people. Individual liberty is the foundation of this quest. But what if I failed to notice we have already lost much of this underpinning? Instead of liberty, is fear is ruling the day? This fear may seem overwrought, but it is beginning to keep me up at night.

If you think I’m just foolish, please ask yourself some questions. You might find you’re in the same boat. 

Are you afraid something you said, wrote, or was pictured in the past will surface and cost you big? We hear about someone losing their job or forced to resign because they uttered a single word. Still, it was the wrong one: a photo or video wearing something not in line with today’s dominant culture—a teenage tweet with no intent to hurt costs a young girl her cheer leading scholarship. A reality host is stepping down for a gracious comment about a young lady who once went to an antebellum party. 

Are you worried about a reduced local police force will make you a victim of a crime? Almost all big-city police forces are having trouble filling their ranks. Police are retiring or leaving for suburban or smaller town forces in record numbers is resulting in rising crime in the cities

Are you afraid to express your opinions in all social settings or color them for fear of offending? Many people are avoiding social interactions where people with different political, race, or ethnicity are present.

Do you feel no matter where you get your information, you’re not getting the whole story? More and more, it seems the news is more about telling you what to think rather than helping you understand.

Over 100,000 unaccompanied children will arrive at our border this year. We have no place to put them. When the new administration dumped Trump’s border actions, including our agreements with Mexico, did they take a moment to consider what might happen? Whatever the Biden brain trust calls it, a crisis has developed out of nowhere. A solution won’t come quickly without backtracking to what worked under Trump. Instead of taking things slow and sure, Biden reversed the safeguards, inviting a tidal wave of people on our Southern border.  

This calamity was foreseeable. Much of the new administration’s problems arise from the same flaw, lack of preparation. One of the primary reasons put forth for electing Biden was competence. Joe and those around him knew what they were doing. It appears they don’t.

The first indication of lack of Biden bunch homework is the ignorance of Project Warp Speed. Biden, his crew, and media allies were relentless in their criticism of the Trump vaccine rollout. Proudly declaring they would get 100 million doses in people’s arms in their first hundred days. The Trump administration reached the Biden rate by inauguration Day. This week we’ll have administered 100 million doses from the standing start December 14th. A quick check of the calendar shows this is well under 100 days. Embarrassed, the new administration quickly upped its aspirations to 1.5 million shots a day. Our average for the last seven days is north of 2 million. Biden can’t get a handle on what’s going on.

As I pointed out in the last post, the U.S. and U.K. are way out in front of vaccinating people (see chart below) among larger nations. Former assistant HHS Secretary in the Trump administration, Adm. Brett Giroir, pointed out that this success is 99% due to the Warp Speed Program’s initiated before the administration change. 

Asked at a press briefing whether the Trump White House deserves credit for our vaccine success, press secretary Jan Psaki replied, “I don’t think anyone deserves credit when half a million people in the country have died of this pandemic,” According to Psaki, the multitude working tirelessly bringing about life-saving vaccines in record time and getting them into peoples arms at world-class speed deserves no praise only blame for every death.