The Axis is down to two members, Dr. Osterholm having removed himself by displaying some humility in his predictions. The Axis was formed because certain people with some influence seemed determined to impose measures on the country that caused far more harm than good and based their recommendations on a bad understanding of data and research. Neel Kashkari, a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minnesota is undoubtedly very smart, but also very stupid at the same time. He is completely clueless about anything related to the epidemic but was advocating for complete lockdowns. Probably was short the economy at the time. Now he is requiring employees at the bank to be vaccinated. This is illegal in my view and discriminatory and probably not even necessary. Just another government hack who lets politics and ideology get in the way of facts and common sense.
But the ongoing prize winner has been Andy Slavitt, an unredeemable failure at getting anything right for the entire course of the epidemic and a person who actually tried to profit from his position by shilling for a supposedly superior mask. Andy has unfortunately displayed zero humility or self-awareness in regard to his abysmal performance. And now he has shared his vast store of epidemic wisdom with us in the form of a book called Preventable. If it reflected his actual knowledge, the tome would consist of a title page and nothing else. Unfortunately for some people arrogance and ignorance abound in equal and great quantities. (Here is a hilarious side note, the book’s proceeds will be donated to charity. What will they ever do with all those pennies?)
Our local paper, which has been a reliable source of uninformed cheerleading for the Incompetent Blowhard, published a lead editorial today heralding the book and Mr. Slavitt. It was hard for me to read the full editorial as I regurgitated copiously on the page after reading a sentence or two. It is difficult to imagine a less appropriate person to promote as the epitome of epidemic knowledge, but then given the limited intellect of the Strib’s editors, we should not expect more.
The biggest lesson of the epidemic, which fortunately many Americans seem to have taken to heart, is that you can’t trust experts or politicians, and you can’t believe anything they tell you about the data or science. YOU NEED TO TRUST YOUR OWN ABILITY TO GET THE FACTS AND REASON OUT THE TRUTH.
Our supposed public health experts, most of whom are lifetime government bureaucrats who couldn’t get or keep a job in private industry (yes, this means you Dr. Fauci) have repeatedly promoted suppression measures which anyone who looked at the research and who was thoughtful would reject. Build and be guided by models that aren’t close to representing reality. Close schools, when there is no risk to children and they are minor transmitters. Recommend massive testing programs that don’t slow spread but do generate false and low positives that force people to wrongly quarantine. Use PCR testing results that are essentially worthless in determining who is actually infectious. Over-attribute hospitalizations and deaths to CV-19 and terrorize the population about how scary this virus is. Close businesses and cause enormous and disruptive unemployment. Push social distancing that makes no difference, endorse plastic barriers that make no difference, and most of all, turn masking into a religion when the only actual research shows masks make no difference to community spread. And on and on, with one stupid, incredibly destructive recommendation after another.
Mr. Slavitt claims that a big problem in management of the pandemic was selfishness, that we all should accept whatever nonsense comes from the experts like him, wear our pointless masks, lose our jobs, watch our kids go backwards socially and educationally and endure mental illness, miss needed health care, watch frail loved ones die alone. All while Mr. Slavitt and his millions sit in a lovely home in a lovely neighborhood and worry about nothing. He says “the pandemic showed us some of our ugly and we should think about starting there”. He must have been looking in the mirror when he wrote those words. What is really repulsive is self-important know-nothings trying to lecture the rest of us.
Instead of a hagiography, Andy Slavitt and his ilk should be pilloried and banned from the public forum. I pray that someday there will be a real investigation into how the epidemic was handled and that these hectoring merchants of doom and ruination get what they so richly deserve–a good tarring and feathering.
Well said!
“If it reflected his actual knowledge, the tome would consist of a title page and nothing else.”
That’s a great line! Hope to use it myself if I ever need it.
That was a good laugh. Thanks Kevin.
I’m just glad Angry Andy and his hairplugs are no longer in an Exec Advisory position. And that he is leaving MN for Idiot Island.
I think there were 7 or 8 men hung as a result of the Nuremberg trials. Not for the direct killing of anyone, but for the coordinated and supported roles they played in orchestrating the atrocities in the camps. Unfortunately, the world’s ‘leaders’ have decided that the lessons learned and codified requirements have been ignored thus far. Hopefully in the near future, new courageous leadership will have the courage to reinstate them and pursue Fauci, Gates, Schwab, et al … maybe even the mindless useful idiot Slavitt ! It would be a bright day for humanity …
Interesting that in Slavitt’s accusations of “selfishness” he never mentions the “I have not left my home in 16 months” crowd. These heroes refused to study real world data of suppression methods and outcomes and honestly analyze their own personal risk. Instead they cowered in the home, sustained by the daily efforts of hundreds of thousands working class individuals toiling throughout the supply chain so that they could be watered and fed. Yes, these were the true heroes, according to Slavitt. The ones that benefited from local utilities workers, amazon warehouse and delivery drivers, and a variety of food delivery options so they could “stay home, stay safe.” Nothing selfish about these folks.