Of coups and covid

 Two things today. First, read the latest post from Heather Cox Richardson. As usual, her summary and analysis of what is happening with the January 6 Committee is spot on. As more and more records come to the fore, the scope of the coup conspiracy is increasingly clear. There was a coordinated effort by Donald John Trump and numerous people in his thrall to overthrow the government and our Constitution on January 6th. This is a criminal conspiracy and needs to be dealt with as such. No “let’s forget this and move on” and no whataboutisms and no convoluted excuses soaked with right-wing propaganda. If you honestly believe that this was not a full-scale attempt to overturn an election and install a sociopathic grifter as dictator, I have no words for you that are printable. Over the next few weeks, I am certain the pieces will fit together. 

The second problem is the Omicron variant of Covid 19. The data remain fuzzy but there are some harder edges appearing. In today’s CDC/IDSA webinar, a researcher from South Africa reported on their experience with covid reinfections (including Omicron). Caveats are that the population is a younger population with a much lower vaccination rate – but they are seeing people who now have been infected three times with SARS-CoV-2. That tells me that there is not likely much immunity generated by infection and to suppose that massive numbers of people infected is the path out of this pandemic, think again. Vaccines at the moment do appear to be holding up to prevent severe infection and death but note what Denmark is reporting. And the outbreaks at restaurants in Europe and at Cornell University tell us that the bang produced by the Omicron firecracker is loud. At our retirement facility, we still see lots of people who want to party for the holidays. I will not be among them and hope to escape, but it is looking grim. 

The cure for topic One is indict, prosecute, and convict those who want to overturn our democracy. The cure for topic Two is to get fully vaccinated (three doses, not two), don’t go into crowded indoor spaces, wear at least a KN95 mask, test whenever you have symptoms, and ventilate the spaces you must be in.