Day: July 16, 2020

Dr. Anthony Fauci A True Hero, And Should Be Time Magazine’s Person Of The Year For Upholding Science And Health!

Ronald 8 Comments

Dr, Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, is being mostly sidelined and ignored by President Donald Trump, who does not want to hear his insights and expertise on the infectious disease which has killed nearly 140,000 Americans in less than five months.

The CoronaVirus Pandemic is the greatest health crisis in the sense of deaths that we have seen in a century. While Fauci does not claim to have no imperfections, which we all do, he is certainly someone to be relied upon and respected, although many Americans who ignore science think he is a threat to Donald Trump’s reelection.

Fauci has served American public health in various capacities for more than a half century, and still has total energy as he nears 80 years of age this coming December. He has been an adviser to every President in the past forty years, and played a major role in dealing with the AIDS crisis, when it arose in the 1980s and after.

Fauci has been one of the most cited scientists in scientific journals for much of his career. He graduated first in his class at Cornell University Medical School in the mid 1960s. He has received over 30 honorary doctorates at universities in the United States and foreign nations. He has been the author, coauthor or editor of more than one thousand scientific publications, including several textbooks.

Sadly, he has had the need for a security detail, due to death threats and strong criticism from extremist right wing critics, including many on Fox News Channel. They do not have a clue on science or health, but promote the Trump agenda of ignoring the pandemic, as their only goal is to reelect Trump, despite his incompetence and lack of concern about the pandemic!

Dr. Fauci is a truly inspirational figure, and should be chosen as the Person of the Year by Time Magazine in December, and Joe Biden should utilize him in 2021 in a more respectful way than Donald Trump has displayed!

The Supreme Court Might See Massive Change In Next Presidential Term

Ronald 1 Comment

It seems likely that the Supreme Court might see massive change in the next Presidential term.

The automatic thought is that of course, the odds of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer leaving by one method or another, either death or retirement, seems likely as they are now 87 and 82 respectively.

If this happens with Joe Biden as President, the seats will remain in the liberal camp, so the news of Ginsburg again in the hospital, but supposedly recovering well, makes one’s heart skip a beat.

The thought of another Donald Trump appointment before the election is a horrible thought, but likely would happen if she were to leave the Supreme Court in the months before the election.

But beyond Ginsburg and Breyer, there are four other potential changes that could occur.

Both Clarence Thomas (age 72) and Samuel Alito (age 70) have been rumored to be thinking of leaving the Court, but no sign they would leave right now. But if they did in 2021 or after, with Joe Biden in office, these two most reliably conservative members would be likely replaced by nominees more to the left in their constitutional views.

Additionally, it is well known that Sonia Sotomayor (age 66) has a strong case of diabetes, and there is some speculation she might leave for health reasons at some point.

Finally, Chief Justice John Roberts (age 65) has had seizure issues, and could have died when he collapsed in 2007 on a deck while fishing, but fortunately did not fall into the water with no one nearby, and was instead found after the event. But he now has had a concussion, and one can wonder if it is related to his seizure issues, for which he takes medication. So it is possible to imagine him leaving the Court at some point.

So with the uncertainties of life, the six longest serving members of the Court could end up leaving the Court sometime between now and 2025. This would affect the balance of the Court on many cases that will come up in the future.

Senator Doug Jones Of Alabama A True Asset Who Democrats Need to Keep Seat

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Senator Doug Jones of Alabama is a rarity.

Other than Virginia’s two Senators, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, there are no other Democrats in the Senate from the states that made up the Confederate States of America in the Civil War, except for Doug Jones.

Jones is a true asset, as when he was the US Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama under President Bill Clinton from 1997-2001, he successfully prosecuted two Ku Klux Klan members for the 1963 church bombing in Birmingham which killed four African American girls, a major accomplishment after nearly four decades of no justice in that case.

In the Senate, where he won over former Judge Roy Moore, a truly horrendous Republican nominee to replace former Senator Jeff Sessions, he has conducted himself as a moderate Democrat, who has demonstrated his willingness to work with opposition Republicans, and to split with his party on certain issues.

While he is not a liberal Democrat by any means, he offers a better alternative than Republican nominee Tommy Tuberville, the former Auburn University football coach.

Jones has supported some gun control legislation; backs gay marriage; endorses protection of DACA immigrants; is pro choice on abortion; opposes repeal of ObamaCare; and comes across as reasonable and decent.

There is no perfect choice in any Southern election, with such strong Republican and conservative dominance, but it is hoped that Jones will win a full term, as he deserves it, and is a step forward in a state where no Democrat had won state wide for a generation!

His hoped for victory would help to make the Democrats the majority in the US Senate, which is essential for the future advancement of the party agenda in the next four years!