Live Free Or Die

            “Live free or die.” May be the New Hampshire state motto, but it could also be applied to the logic of many staunch anti vaxxers. In characteristic analytic gallows humor fashion, Analysis wonders if, at the funerals of anti vaxxers who have succumbed to Covid 19 (recently Caleb Wallace in addition to the previous passing of Marc Bernier, Dick Farrel, David Parker, et al.), attendees didn’t casually remark that the deceased died doing what they loved – being free. Liberty IS an oft repeated core rationale of those opposed to vaccines. “Mitt Romney to unvaccinated: ‘Your liberty affects my health.’” By Bryan Schott for The Salt Lake Tribune (8-27-21) gives one pro vax rebuttal by a former presidential candidate: “The most vocal anti-vaccine and anti-mask citizens like to point to individual liberty to justify their choices, Romney said. “People say, ‘I want my liberty.’ Well, your liberty affects my health. When that occurs, we have to come to some sort of agreement,” he said. Romney also favors vaccine mandates for private businesses. If he was still in the private sector, he said he would require his employees to be vaccinated or be responsible for getting tested every week.”CNN EXCLUSIVE ‘Something has to be done’: After decades of near-silence from the CDC, the agency’s director is speaking up about gun violence by Elizabeth Cohen, John Bonifield and Justin Lape, CNN (8-28-21) “For the first time in decades, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — the nation’s top public health agency — is speaking out forcefully about gun violence in America, calling it a “serious public health threat.” “Something has to be done about this,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in an exclusive interview with CNN. “Now is the time — it’s pedal to the metal time.” This summer alone has seen a spree of gun injuries and deaths, and the weekends have been especially violent, with an average of 200 people killed and 472 injured by guns each weekend in the United States, not including suicides, according to an analysis done by the Gun Violence Archive for CNN. That’s nearly 3.4 people shot every hour every weekend.”The scope of the problem is just bigger than we’re even hearing about, and when your heart wrenches every day you turn on the news, you’re only hearing the tip of the iceberg,” Walensky said. “We haven’t spent the time, energy and frankly the resources to understand this problem because it’s been so divided.” Kinda sounds like Walensky is talking about the same subject that Romney is. Not. Romney is on a slippery slope. He is cognizant of the rational basis of public health regulations and licensing (everything from air quality to machine safety to beauty shops) which is why he unabashedly states “your liberty affects my health.” But he is oblivious to the inadvertent kinship he forms with Walensky. After all, accounting for gun related deaths/hospitalizations, regulating ownership as well as availability, etc. is very much akin to keeping tabs on Covid deaths/hospitalization, requiring masking, vaccines and/or tests, etc. Then, again, Walensky’s low key “it’s been so divided” keeps the Republican Romney ever ready to jettison reason for the sake of maintaining ties with “live free or die.” 

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Loopholes, Not For Everyone

            Warren Buffet is quoted (somewhere) as claiming his secretary pays taxes at a higher rate than he does (though she certainly is less wealthy than he if Capitalism is as Capitalism does).  As our former president pointed out, Buffet is smart and takes advantage of all the loopholes legitimately available to him. According to conventional capitalist wisdom, all perfectly reasonable. To paraphrase a popular TV drug advertisement: “Loopholes, not for everyone…” Speaking of taxes, the Licking County Treasurer, Roy Van Atta, recently mailed out the semi-annual real estate tax bill. Along with the bill was a separate sheet headlined: “To limit in-person payments and potential exposure to Covid-19, we encourage payments to be made by one of the below options.” One of the payment options is the use of a drop box. In addition to the one located at the Newark South Second Street Administration Building, there is a drop box in Pataskala. America is notable for its collective amnesia with regard to all things cultural or historical. Prior to the recent 2020 election, Ohio’s Secretary of State, Frank LaRose, ruled that counties could only have one drop box for ballot collection (ostensibly for the sake of security!). Both Roy and Frank are Republicans. “Loopholes, not for everyone…”  While on the subject of collective amnesia with American history and culture, how about that Rand Paul? The GOP’s Kentucky Senator argues that since the insurrection against the Electoral College procedure took place on January 6, 2021 and the impeachment trial is to take place in February, 2021, it is unconstitutional as the impeached one, whose guilt or innocence is on trial, is a private citizen and no longer president. Analysis finds the implication to be that the president committed the crime (for which he was impeached), not American citizen Donald Trump. Elected public officials are not citizens. Jimmy Stewart’s Mr. Smith left for Washington as just another citizen but became…? Analysis finds it ironic that both citizen Jimmy and elected official Rand share the same party affiliation. “Loopholes, not for everyone…” While on the subject of irony, the 1-29-21 online Newark Advocate comes to mind. “Ohio House committee leader’s call to ‘stop this vaccine s***’ featured in new video” by Jackie Borchardt (1-29-21) is notable for the buried lead, located waaay at the end of the report: “Meanwhile, Ohio has administered just under half of the vaccine doses sent to the state. Ohio ranks 41st in administering doses on a per capital basis, giving 6,384 shots per 100,000 residents as of Thursday, the CDC reported. At least 682,705 initial doses – about 5.8% of the state’s population – have been given in Ohio, the state reported Wednesday.” Same day, same online Newark Advocate, Michaela Sumner headlined “Limited by COVID-19 vaccine supply, Licking County pauses registrations for next week.” Need more be said? “Loopholes, not for everyone…”