By Dale Glading
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Since the pandemic hit in late January, a number of new phrases have been added to the American lexicon. Among them are “social distancing”, “flatten the curve”, and “shelter-in-place.” Personally, I long for the days before Americans knew what PPEs were; and I can’t wait until we are no longer talking about face masks, quarantines, and lockdowns on a regular basis.
One other phrase that was been used ad nauseum – especially by Joe Biden and the Democrats in Congress – is “follow the science.” Purportedly, medical experts know all the answers and if we would just follow their lead in lockstep, everything would be all right.
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Except they don’t know all the answers and even though we did largely follow their lead, everything is not all right.
At the top of America’s coronavirus response pyramid has been Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) since 1984. Yep, I said 1984. For those with short memories, that was the year that Ronald Reagan – despite being called “too old” at age 73 – was running for re-election and Ghostbusters was packing them in at your local cineplex.
The lowlight (until now) of Dr. Fauci’s 36-year tenure was his complete mismanagement of America’s response to the H1N1 pandemic in 2009 that resulted in 60.8 million cases… 274,304 hospitalizations… and 12,469 deaths in the U.S. alone. Medical experts have since admitted that they dodged a bullet because the Swine Flu was far less lethal than COVID-19. Had it been, Dr. Fauci’s 2009 debacle would have resulted in millions, perhaps tens of millions, of American deaths.
And yet, somehow the good doctor still has a job. Not only that, but unless you have a shrine in your home dedicated to Dr. Fauci that includes a life-size picture and incense-burning candles, you are labeled a science denier.
Follow the science, they keep telling us… except the scientific goal posts erected by Dr. Fauci and the CDC keep moving.
On January 21st, Fauci gave an interview to Greg Kelly on Newsmax TV. Here are his exact words: “Obviously, you need to take it seriously and do the kind of things the CDC and the Department of Homeland Security is doing. But this is not a major threat to the people of the United States and this is not something that the citizens of the United States right now should be worried about.”
Five days later, Fauci gave a second interview to John Catsimatidis, a syndicated radio host in New York. When Catsimatidis asked if the American people should be scared, Fauci replied, “I don’t think so. The American people should not be worried or frightened by this. It’s a very, very low risk to the United States, but it’s something we, as public health officials, need to take very seriously.”
In case you’re keeping score at home, that’s two swings and two misses. Ready for strike three?
Throughout the early spring, Dr. Fauci practically scolded Americans who were wearing face masks, repeatedly saying that they were unnecessary and ineffective. Surgeon General Jerome Adams also chimed in via Twitter: “STOP BUYING MASKS! They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!”
Since then, both doctors have tried to walk back their comments, saying that their medical advice was misinterpreted. So, in other words, we – the American people – were too stupid to read between the non-existent lines. Thanks for the clarification, gentlemen.
This isn’t the first time that scientists and the media have gotten it wrong. Way wrong. As in about 100 degrees Celsius wrong.
Although the Time magazine cover featuring a penguin and titled, “The Coming Ice Age”, has since been proven a fake, there were many scientists back in the 1970s who forecast an extended cooling period due to – among other things – aerosols and orbital tilting. And they were not alone, as the following excerpts from the Washington Post and the New York Times demonstrate…
Washington Post, January 11, 1970: “Colder Winters Herald Dawn of New Ice Age / Scientists See Ice Age In the Future”
“Get a grip on your long johns, cold weather haters – the worst may be yet to come. That’s the long-range weather forecast being given out by ‘climatologists,’ the people who study very long-term world weather trends….
“Some of them [climatologists] say the world is in a ‘cold snap’ that started in 1950 and which could last hundreds of years, even bringing on the start of another Ice Age.
“In the meantime, it could mean more snow, and more arctic freezes like the one Washington is now shivering through.
“Ice floes will continue to close in around Iceland; glaciers in the Pacific northwest will grow; there will be major changes in farming patterns – and colder late season football games.”
New York Times, May 21, 1975: “Scientists Ask Why World Climate Is Changing; Major Cooling May Be Ahead”
“Sooner or later a major cooling of the climate is widely considered inevitable. Hints that it may already have begun are evident. The drop in mean temperatures since 1950 in the Northern Hemisphere has been sufficient, for example, to shorten Britain’s growing season for crops by two weeks. . .”
Not to be left out, the Boston Globe, the Chicago Tribune, the L.A. Times, and the Christian Science Monitor all ran stories about the possibility – and in some cases, the inevitability – of a coming Ice Age.
All of which begs two questions? First, why should we believe anything that comes out of their mouths? Second, who are the REAL science deniers?
After all, since the beginning of recorded time, science has been telling us that there are two distinct genders: male and female. But now, in the span of a few short years, scientists have somehow discovered more than 100 additional gender identities and sexual orientations. Today, you can be lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or any combination thereof. Or you can bounce back and forth from one to another and call yourself gender fluid. You can even be “none of the above” and declare yourself to be asexual or nonbinary.
Pity the poor person who is cisgender, meaning that they identify with the gender they were “assigned” at birth.
Of course, the point at which you “choose” your gender can be anytime from preschool through adulthood. Seemingly every day, the news reports a story about yet another 5-year old “deciding” his or her sex… for the moment anyway. Back in my day, we used to call such parenting “child abuse”, but what do I know? After all, last week Joe Biden, a candidate for President of the United States, sat on the stage at a televised Town Hall and reassured a mother who was raising two daughters – one biologically female and one transgender – that, if elected, he would do everything in his power to protect and reaffirm her decision.
Did I mention that the child in question is 8-years old? Good heavens!
Apparently, the only place and time when a child cannot choose his or her (or yes, their) gender is in the womb because, as we have been told by “doctors”, globs of tissue don’t have that ability. Despite the FACT that these “globs” have distinct DNA and a separate circulatory system, they are considered part of a woman’s body, to do with as she pleases.
Follow this logic if you will. When the police are investigating a crime, they make extensive use of both fingerprints and DNA to identify the perpetrator. And yet, precious unborn babies – whose fingerprints and DNA are different than their mothers’ – can’t be identified as separate and distinct human beings. Is it just me or does something not add up here?
So, for the record, Joe, I think I will keep my faith and you can keep your misguided lies. As Mike Pence said in the vice-presidential debate, “You are entitled to your own opinion; but you are not entitled to your own facts.” And the facts say that you, sir, are the real science denier… not me.
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Dale Glading is an ordained minister and former N.J. Republican candidate for Congress.
