home archives last week feedback

Rolla Peace News

December 29, 2020
Dear Friends:
Editor's note: Please consider writing for our newsletter. It's always very exciting to be able to publish submissions from our readers.

Webperson's note: If you are having trouble reading this, it is posted at
http://tomsager.org/Peaceletters/peaceletter122920.html

In this newsletter is:

1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2020
2. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org)
          a) From Our Readers: Dr. Jill Biden
          b) Vaccination Campaign Off to a Shaky Start

==================

1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2020

We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office, THIS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, FROM NOON TO 1:00 PM (and most subsequent Thursdays until Peace is established). Please join us this Thursday in saying NO WAR AGAINST IRAN or any other country. The temperature is predicted to be in the 30s. If you do not feel comfortable standing with us in front of the Post Office, please consider driving by and showing your support for our message by honking your horn and flashing a peace sign.

Note 1: Since there are so few of us, generally 2 or 3, no need to cancel; but let's maintain social distancing.

Note 2: In case of inclement weather, vigils will end early.

2. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org)
          a) From Our Readers: Dr. Jill Biden
          b) Vaccination Campaign Off to a Shaky Start

From Our Readers: Dr. Jill Biden

A reader writes:
“I didn't follow much of the news in this election cycle---I don't have a tv---but one story I saw tickled me silly. You probably saw this. Biden with his wife alongside was making a speech somewhere when some shouting animal rights demonstrator tried to get on the stage and take over the mike. Jill Biden confronted this woman and forcefully pushed her off the podium. A newspaper interviewed people in the audience about this incident. One guy's comment cracked me up. ‘Whatever you think about Joe Biden,’ he said, ‘Jill Biden's a bad ass.’”
My response:

You are very fortunate not to have a tv.

Here's a definition of “badass:”:
badass, (?bæd?æs) noun, slang, a tough, competent, strong, courageous, independent, unyielding person. Don't mess with her; she's a real badass. (Sometimes written as two words: bad ass)
And here's a link to an article about this incident.

The more I learn about Dr. Jill Biden, the more I am impressed.

Vaccination Campaign Off to a Shaky Start

Seems like the vaccination campaign is way behind schedule. Surprised? Well, we could have been mass producing and stockpiling vaccines while trials were still in progress. As Dean Baker explains, even if the vaccines turned out to be worthless, we would only have wasted a few hundred million dollars; far less than the cost of the latest tax-breaks for the rich like the “three martini lunch” tax write-off.

And the rich are now cutting to the front of the line and getting their vaccine before front-line healthcare workers. The problem is probably far greater than what has come to light so far at Stanford and New York.

And why are young healthy “law-makers” getting vaccine ahead of the aged who are far more at risk? Congress-member Tulsi Gabbard called out her colleagues and refused vaccine until every elder who wants vaccine gets it. Hooray for Tulsi! Tulsi's another “badass.”

And in spite of the shortage of trained doctors, a for-profit hospital in Indiana has just killed off a doctor, sending her home while sick with COVID-19, almost certainly because she was black. And we are killing off our frontline healthcare workers like flies to the tune of 2,900, largely though failure to provide adequate protective equipment.

And we're not even sure that these vaccines will work against some new COVID strains, such as the new strain that is now devastating Britain. These viruses are tough. They mutate as I write.

With all these shenanigans, how are we to trust a public health establishment that has mounted by far the worst response to the COVID-19 pandemic of all wealthy nations?

Consider: if the wealthy and well-connected are able to buy their way to the front of the line; what's to stop some clever entrepreneur from replacing the real vaccine with something else, say bleach, and selling the real stuff on the black market?

We continue to violate the most important rule of public health: — Gain the trust of the public.

Nevertheless, I have written a jingle for the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. It's to be sung to the tune of “Cod Liver Oil” as performed by the Dubliners.
Doctor Anthony Fauci, now don't be so mean;
Please give me a shot of your powerful vaccine.
They call it pandemic; it's the worst we have seen;
And I don't want to catch any COVID-19.

==================

Rolla Peace News is distributed by email once a week on Tuesday evenings (except on rare occasions) and is posted on the web at http://tomsager.org (click on Rollaites for Peace: near the top of rightmost column).

If you don't wish to get notices of peace events in the Rolla area, let me know and I'll take you off this list.

If you want to be added to this list, let me know.

Wage peace,

Tom
yushasager (at) yahoo.com

###