War of the Viruses

If you're the kind of person who looks for good news amidst the bad you'll be glad to hear that the flu has essentially disappeared this winter. Health experts believe that some of the preventive measures against SARS-CoV-2 may be responsible, such as masking, social distance, hand sanitizing, reduced travel, closed schools, as well as widespread flu shots.

 But there is also another, more intriguing theory:

That the coronavirus may have "muscled aside" the flu this time around. I sort of liken it to a War of the Worlds scenario -- Covid v. Flu -- or like that King Kong remake, where the monsters try to kill each other before taking on us humans.

Meanwhile, more good news is the evidence building daily that the Covid vaccines are effective in preventing both serious illness and also the spread of new infections. So although it may be premature to do so, I am readying myself to celebrate the end of this pandemic one fine day to come.

When the time is right we can proclaim that humans, with all of our defects, have defeated a common enemy. Then we can smoke cigars like they did in "Independence Day."

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As much as I would like to focus on the good it would be irresponsible to ignore the stupidity prevalent in our pubic life. Especially when it involves cruelty. 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) mocked her neighbor at the U.S. Capitol — Rep. Marie Newman (D-Ill.) -- by making a scene out of erecting an anti-transgender sign outside their offices on Wednesday. 

This may have been a political statement but it also was personal. Newman's daughter is transgender.

Any of us who are blessed to have family members and friends raising children who don't fit into conventional sexual and gender stereotypes -- frankly any human being who has feelings -- knows that Greene's action was unspeakable. It is this kind of behavior that causes deep hurt and also violence against people we love and treasure.

Greene's smirk recorded by her videographer as she unveiled her sign is precisely what the combination of hate and ignorance looks like. And a reminder that this is the face of those who worship Trump.

It is also a reminder that we need to remain vigilant about what is happening in this country. Our better instincts as an electorate prevailed in the last election, but the monster is not dead yet and his minions like Greene remain unrepentant, yearning for his return.

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The headlines:

* Amid COVID-19 pandemic, flu has disappeared in the U.S. (AP)

* Release of Report on Killing of Jamal Khashoggi Soon (NPR)

* Atlantic Ocean circulation is weaker than it has been in 1,000 years, scientists say (WashPo)

* Behind the Nashville Bombing, a Conspiracy Theorist Stewing About the Government (NYT)

* President Joe Biden nominated three postal experts to the governing board of the U.S. Postal Service. If confirmed by the Senate, Democrats would control the Board of Governors, which has the authority to fire Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a major GOP donor and Trump supporter whose tenure has been mired by slow service and politicization. [AP]

* “The president (Biden) has been clear to all of us — words matter, tone matters and civility matters,” said Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary. (NYT)

* Many of Biden’s nominees of color run into turbulence in the Senate (WashPo)

* Biden is having trouble holding the progressive/moderate Democratic coalition that elected him together. (CNN)

* Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene mocked her neighbor at the U.S. Capitol — Rep. Marie Newman — by erecting an anti-transgender sign outside her office. Newman, whose daughter is transgender, is an advocate of the Equality Act, a bill that would ban discrimination against people based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The House is expected to vote on the bill this week. [HuffPost]

* House passes Equality Act -- The legislation would amend federal civil rights laws to ensure protections for LGBTQ Americans in employment, education, housing, credit, jury service and other areas. (WashPo)

* Police officers who defended the Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection did not properly lock down the building and were unsure of the rules for using deadly force against the rioters, according to the acting chief of the Capitol Police. In a statement submitted for a House hearing today, Yogananda Pittman provides new details about the problems that hobbled the police’s response. [AP]

* ‘If not us, then who?’: After battling covid at work, doctors and nurses fight misinformation online (WashPo)

*Claudette Colvin: the woman who refused to give up her bus seat – nine months before Rosa Parks (The Guardian)

* On Wednesday, California surpassed 50,000 known coronavirus deaths, the first state to reach that chilling milestone. (California Today)

* Senate confirms former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm to head Energy Dept. (WashPo)

* Facebook Fight Over Media Payments Shifts to Europe (WSJ)

* Australia passes law to make Google, Facebook pay for news (AP)

* India tightens regulatory grip on Facebook, WhatsApp with new rules (Reuters)

 * Ghana on Wednesday became the first country to receive a shipment of coronavirus vaccines through the World Health Organization’s Covax distribution program. (Reuters)

* Philadelphia 76ers guard Seth Curry has quietly become the most accurate 3-point shooter in the league—and his own family. (WSJ)

* In college basketball, #3 Michigan (17-1) routed #9 Iowa (17-7), 79-57 in a Big Ten matchup of two of the country's best teams. (ESPN)

* NASA Welcomes Litter Of Mars Rovers After Successful Breeding Of Perseverance, Curiosity (The Onion)

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"Different Kind of Love"

Sometimes the only solace I can find
Is my old faded dreams
Can I get unstuck?
Is it worth too much?
I need a different kind of love

-- Songwriter: Mason Hickman

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