An Eventful Week

September eleven, 2001, was 21 years ago. Many of those events are still fresh in my mind and in the minds of many others. I saw a documentary a while ago about members of one of the NYFD companies involved in trying to rescue people from the towers. The losses by the rescuers that day were striking and their sacrifices should not be forgotten. The nearly 3000 deaths and the costs to families also should not be forgotten. The unity shown by our country then should not be forgotten even though we have moved so far away from being a unified nation. This shows us that in times of turmoil, such as now, we can again seek common ground for the greater good of all. Do you remember the motto of those days- United we stand!

Recent polls showed that the further we get away from that date, the more we find that younger people seem to have moved on. Younger people are also more likely to speak out against the unfair challenges to residents of Mislim backgrounds from that day forward, which culminated in the unfair Muslim travel ban of 2017 imposed by the former president. Do you remember the disarray at airports and the American lawyers and others who volunteered for the confused people caught up in these sudden draconian restrictions? I was proud of Americans then.

This week saw the United Kingdom choose a new Prime Minister-a woman; their third female leader, Liz Truss. She presented her credentials to a very frail-looking queen, who did her duty until the end.

It saw the long-time Queen (Elizabeth ll) who had reigned for 70 years pass away at her summer home, Balmoral Castle, in Scotland and her eldest son declared King Charles ll. From what I see on TV, the networks have gone bonkers over this and are running saga after saga and discussing everything from Elizabeth's clothing, her tiaras, her diet, and her dogs. I respect her as a woman ruler and the steadfast attention to duty that kept her country intact even as the British Empire was crumbling. I understood the public fascination with Diana, who was a beautiful young woman, treated badly by circumstances, and who died tragically before she ever had a chance to drive her own destiny. The anniversary of her death was also recent. I do not understand the discord between her two sons and their spouses, especially since the older, William, will one day become king, like his father. But who can understand the family dynamics of other families?

Meanwhile, the United States, which has yet to elect a female leader, found itself still dealing with the debris left by its former leader. The overly solicitous judge, hand-picked by the former president, ruled that the court should appoint a Special Master to review the documents seized recently from Mar-a-Largo. This was appealed promptly by the Department of Justice (DOJ), which claimed the classified documents should be carved out and not seen by those who do not have the proper security clearances. As of now, these issues are still being litigated. The judge seems to believe that somehow the former president has executive privilege over the documents he stole and secreted away at his beach resort. She did not seem to understand that she could allow the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to look at documents, but could not prohibit the FBI from investigating their use, since the CIA cannot investigate domestic issues. So far, there is a standstill with neither side accepting the Special Masters selected by the other. (One of the selections by the DJT team is a lawyer whose wife is a judge on the Appeals Court; how is that not a conflict?) The DOJ wants a ruling by midweek or it states it will go to the Court of Appeals.

News reports from the Washington Post this week claimed some documents found by the FBI addressed the assessment of another country’s nuclear capabilities. That information should only be reviewed in a secure setting without copying or phone access and otherwise kept under lock and key, secured in a safe place. It should not be lying around a resort, unguarded.

Meanwhile, the Grand Juries in Washington, DC, and Atlanta, Georgia keep requesting testimony from those closer and closer to the former president. His attorneys and some former members of the White House (WH) staff have been called in to testify before the Department of Justice Grand Jury. There are also reports that the January 6^th committee is looking at the “Election Defense Fund” created after the election when lies were rampant, but no funds ever went to election defense; the money went instead to the Save America PAC controlled by the former president. According to a committee member, Zoe Lofgren, this was a grift worth millions. In Georgia, Senator Graham lost his appeal to not testify, and the judge commanded him to appear before the Grand Jury. Governor Kemp could delay his testimony until after the election; a judge ruled in answer to his appeal to not have to testify. Former Mayor Giuliani tried to delay his testimony and travel for medical reasons, but was denied and had to appear. Surprisingly, after the raid on Mar-a-largo, former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, suddenly found that he had some documents that needed to go to the National Archives and facilitated their transfer. Quite interesting!

New York State just indicted former WH advisor, Steve Bannon, for the “Build the Wall” scheme where he promised donors that their contributions would go to facilitate the building of the MAGA Wall, but, instead, they kept the money. The Federal authorities had indicted, but not yet tried him when DJT pardoned him on the last day of his term, so this indictment is not double jeopardy. In his trademark fashion, he arrived for the court hearing looking like an unmade bed and shouting about persecution and witch hunts. This is another example of members of that outlaw gang that almost destroyed our country, not respecting any authority or the Rule of Law on which the founding fathers built our nation.

The new Washington football team, (The Commanders-dumb name!) won its opening game today. Way to start the season, guys! Maybe a new name signifies a new beginning. Despite missed catches and interceptions, they still pulled off a win in the last two minutes!

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COVID is still with us, folks. The U.S. has seen over 95 million reported cases and over one million deaths. It continues to count over 60,000 fresh cases each day and reports around 400 deaths daily according to the NY Times stats. Numbers are going down as vaccinations rise. The country as a whole is only 68% vaccinated, although many states are above 80% now and no state is below 50% so the numbers are looking better. Maryland is now 77% vaccinated. This week the government announced the availability of yet another booster. Dr. Ashish Jha, a WH advisor, described this vaccine as more like an annual flu shot. He indicated he hoped that this vaccine, a combination of several of the latest variants, would become an annual vaccine, barring any new variants. Both Pfizer and Moderna have released this type of vaccine, which should be easy to obtain. But, don’t forget the regular flu shot either.

New York state health authorities and Governor Hochul have announced a polio emergency, as they have found several warning signs in multiple counties in and around New York City. The authorities assume that there are actual cases they have just not found out about. There are several religious populations and anti-vaxers in that area that do not accept the need for vaccinations. A patient who had been traveling in Eastern Europe contracted polio, because he was not vaccinated, and returned to the U.S. before symptoms developed. Subsequently, health investigators found the polio virus in the sewage system, so it was a matter of time before known cases happened. The United States eradicated this disease a generation ago because of vigorous vaccination programs. The U.S. does not use a live virus for vaccinations, but other countries do, but with disruptions because of the Ukraine war, there may have been interruptions to some vaccination programs, allowing for disease spread. As you know, I am a nurse. I believe in vaccinations. They work for the benefit of us all and those who do not believe in vaccinations are, in my opinion, being selfish and endangering others, such as children receiving chemo or adults with transplants who are immunocompromised.

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Reminder, the mid-terms are less than two months away; make a plan to vote and VOTE!

And, finally, gas prices are really down! I paid $4.62 for regular in the spring; I paid $3.35 today! Thanks, Joe!

“Til next week, peace!