

Discover more from βοΈ Coffee & Covid 2023 π¦
Happy Thursday, C&C! Well, well, well. Chief Covid Administrator Biden previewed the State of the Union in draft form at a blockbuster, record length press conference yesterday; other world leaders gave press conference consistent with Narrative 2.0; Starbucks gets its head right; and more.
π *THE C&C ARMY POST* π
πͺ Yesterday, after nearly a week of improvement to the point he was being weaned off life support, Dan Pisano experienced a sudden, devastating setback and all hope for his recovery blew away, like tufts gently parachuting off a dandelion after a sudden gust. Last I heard late yesterday, the family was gathering to make those end-of-life decisions that arenβt decisions, not really, and to say goodbye.
My reaction on hearing the new was, mostly, a white-hot righteous anger. These hospitals really have no idea at all how their bad short-term decisions WILL have long-term consequences. There are systemic problems in our corporate hospital system that must be addressed. Like a bunch of things.
Dan is in his reward now; we celebrate that fact. His labors are complete. But it is for us the living, rather, to ensure that Danβs passing was not in vain, not an unfinished work, that it means something, something that protects our children and their children, as well as all those others like Dan who have struggled and died needlessly in hospitals over the last two years, while hospital administrators dithered and made decisions lifting up money and political expediency, while casting aside life and morality.
I intend to make sure that the loss of all our fellow citizens has meaning. How about you? Are you in?
πͺ For those of you who follow such things, Dr. Joseph Mercola published an article this week highlighting C&Cβs Narrative 2.0 theory. [Pandemic Narrative Undergoes Radical U-Turn](https://tinyurl.com/2p8zk6kj).
πͺ Yesterday I was notified I was in Facebook jail, again β this time for seven days. I appealed, and it looks like Iβm out.
πͺ Finally β a lot of folks are, understandably, expressing apprehension and doubt about whether the global governments will actually end the pandemic. I think they will, but it is absolutely fair to believe that they are going to take what theyβve learned and roll it into another bigger effort later. Itβs now our job to stay awake, to not go back to sleep, not back into our comfortable pre-pandemic lives, but rather to march irresistibly toward re-setting our national foundations to ENSURE this can never happen again. Or at least, make it ten times harder. We shouldnβt rest β we cannot rest β until that job is complete.
π*COVID NEWS AND COMMENTARY* π
π₯π₯π₯ I told you so! Yesterday afternoon, proving that Coffee & Covid readers are the most thoughtful and well-informed group in the world, Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. slowly took his victory lap in what can best be described as a draft version of the State of the Union address scheduled for March 1.
Bidenβs prior press conference was advertised five days in advance. But for some reason, yesterdayβs announcement β scheduled on the one-year anniversary of his inauguration (offset one day) β seemingly sprang up out of nowhere, was described by the WaPo as βa record-long news conference,β and lasted for nearly two hours, which is totally unprecedented for the fledgling Biden Adminstration.
Biden first built a brick-veneer wall of excuses around the administrationβs failures. As I pointed out yesterday about the Economistβs septic-tank of a lead story, βItβs not Bidenβs fault,β Biden repeatedly blamed Republicans for his failure, even oddly referring to himself as a victim in the THIRD PERSON at one point: βI did not anticipate that there would be such a stalwart [GOP] effort to make sure President Biden didnβt get anything done,β he said.
That was so dumb that even the radically leftwing Nation called it out, observing, βOn that point, heβs either posing politically, or heβs hopelessly naive.β
Biden artfully teed up Narrative 2.0, acknowledging his bad polling numbers but saying that his drop in popularity was partly because β thanks to Covid β Americans were used to seeing him acting more like a lawmaker and less like a commander in chief. Well. Heβs not wrong. And predictably, Biden attributed his political kryptonite β inflation β to the virus. The Mercury News reported, βBiden blamed the virus for the rising prices that also have bedeviled his first year in office.β
SOMETHING bedeviled his first year in office. Iβm not sure it was the virus.
But it was THIS line β the line that CNN identified as the #1 most important line out of Bidenβs top seven βbest linesβ β this is the line his speech will be remembered for β Biden said, and I am not making this up:
βI didnβt overpromise. I have probably outperformed what anybody thought would happen.β
Outperformed? What? What on earth could he be talking about? Even CNN didnβt buy that nonsense, albeit focusing on Bidenβs failure to pass Build Back Better or the odious bill to federalize elections.
In support of outperforming, Biden touted β¦ his response to the pandemic! He said that his administration had succeeded in vaccinating nearly 75 percent of all adults, while allowing that he wished he had βmoved a month earlierβ to ramp up testing capacity. Maybe, maybe not. A month from now, at the State of the Union in March, Biden can claim that his free test program put the bow on the box that the pandemic will be buried in. That reference to a βmonth earlierβ was a signal of some kind, providing the basis for his claim of success in March.
He repeatedly stressed that people are βfrustratedβ about Covid-19 mandates and restrictions. The Wall Street Journal also noticed that, highlighting it in an article headlined, βBiden Concedes Covid-19 Frustrations, Sees Path for Stalled Bill, Warns Russia on Ukraine.β At one point, he said:
βAfter almost two years of physical, emotional and psychological impact of this pandemic, for many of us, itβs been too much to bear. Some people may call whatβs happening now βthe new normal.β I call it a job not yet finished. It will get better.β
It will get better! Forget about that βnew normalβ stuff. Never mind!
MSN referenced that quote in its headline about the press conference: ββIt will get betterβ: Biden says US headed toward time when virus wonβt be a disruption.β The first line of MSNβs article described, βJoe Biden highlighted the progress his administration has made in the fight against COVID-19 and assured Americans the pandemic would come under control as it approaches two full years of upending daily life.β MSN then quoted Biden assuring everybody it was almost over:
βWeβre moving toward a time when COVID-19 wonβt disrupt our daily life, when COVID-19 wonβt be a crisis, but something to protect against and a threat. Look, weβre not there yet, but we will get there.β
Yes, we will get there. Probably by March 1. MSN reported that Biden β in the midst of an Omicron surge! β bottom-lined it for Americans, assuring us that the worst is now over:
βThe bottom line on COVID-19 is that weβre in a better place than weβve been and have been thus far, clearly better than a year ago. Weβre not going back to lockdowns. Weβre not going back to closing schools β¦ Weβre in a very different place now. We have the tools β vaccines, boosters, masks, tests, pills β to save lives and keep businesses and schools open.ββ
Biden also defended his faithful hound-like CDC Director Walensky, who at this point could be fairly compared to that hilarious news chief Saddam Hussein used in the final days of his reign, or maybe just a talking parrot β saying:
βTo the extent [her mixed messaging is] confusing, itβs because the scientists are learning more,β Biden said. βShe came along and said, βLook Iβm a scientist and Iβm learning, learning how to deal with stating the case for what weβve learned.β β
It wasnβt confusion. It was Science! The old fallback.
Donβt hallucinate that all this means the injection battles are over. Biden doubled-down on jabs: βWeβre going to stick with our vaccination efforts because vaccinations work.β But do not worry. Narrative 2.0 is directly opposed to mandates. You canβt have an ended pandemic and also a desperate emergency need for jab mandates at the same time. Itβs going to give us a vast swath of new rhetorical tools to push back with.
In summary, the whole speech was designed to tee-up the State of the Union in about a month. If you read all the myriad headlines and see all the wide-ranging topics that Biden touched on, it looks exactly like a little pre-State of the Union speech. In other words, it was a warm-up. This lets them test the messages, find out what critics will say, adjust talking points to fit the criticism, and polish up the final points to perfection. In other words, his speech yesterday WAS Narrative 2.0, just in draft form.
To further confirm this, check out what was happening at the same time all over the world.
π₯ The president of the Czech Republic also held a press conference yesterday and ashcanned plans for a national jab mandate that would have switched on March 1. βThis does not change our stance on vaccination. It is still undoubtedly the best way to fight COVID-19 β¦ however, we do not want to deepen fissures in society,β Czech president Petr Fiala said. He also announced shortened quarantine and isolation times.
It is NOT a reversal. Itβs an ADAPTATION. Itβs Science. Science plus a new narrative. Good boy! Now maybe that foreign aid will show up on time in the Czech Republic.
π₯ The prime minister of Great Britain, Boris Johnson, also held a press conference yesterday. Guess what? He announced that Englandβs Covid restrictions and vaccine passports would be terminated in March β at the latest. βPeople in England will no longer be required to wear face masks anywhere or work from home from next week,β Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. Zoom! That was fast.
Becker News reported that Boris Johnsonβs current assessment is that the nationβs plummeting Omicron infection numbers and stabilizing hospital rates indicate that the UK can βsafely live with Covid.β We can live with it! No need to get all hot and bothered. Itβs fine. Nothing to worry about.
π₯ The leader of Irelandβs lower house, TΓ‘naiste Leo Varadkar, told his party leaders yesterday that it was time to wrap up the pandemic. βI think itβd be really good if we could set March 31 as our target for ending all legal restrictions, the legislation around masks and Covid passes and all the rest of it expires on March 31,β he told Irish lawmakers. He said that the Irish people have done all they can as a society and there should be a dividend for that. So β¦ itβs not our fault after all! Weβve done all we can. And we should get a nice reward.
Varadkar spent most of his time explaining the costs and bad effects of Covid policies and lockdowns. He just discovered them and it was alarming, or something. βI think about a particularly negative impact on younger people, and young adults who havenβt had a normal youth,β he said. Ireland has been particularly strict in the lockdowns.
π₯ Mega-coffee-chain Starbucks Corporation announced yesterday that it will no longer mandate that its U.S. workers be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing. The policy was to take effect next month. The coffee giant attributed the change to the Supreme Courtβs recent blocking of the OSHA Mandate.
π₯ Yesterday, Corporate Media giant and administration mouthpiece Bloomberg ran an article headlined, βEarly Omicron Breakthroughs Show MRNA Vaccinesβ Weakness.β The headline is even more blunt on Bloombergβs news feed: βMRNA Boosters Donβt Block Omicron, South African Study Shows.β The first sentence of the article said boosters are basically useless at controlling spread of the virus:
βBooster shots with messenger RNA vaccines such as those made by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE failed to block omicron in a study of some of the first documented breakthrough cases caused by the highly contagious variant.β
Failed. And the study wasnβt buried immediately beneath a coal mine where radioactive waste is stored. No. Instead of being deep-sixed and cancelled, it was highlighted in the headline and first sentence of a major article published by a media source that most likely confers daily with the White House about messaging. So.
The study was very small β just a handful of German tourists β and could have easily been swatted aside and disregarded by the usual suspects. Just anecdotal! Instead, Bloomerg said the tiny study βshowsβ that boosters donβt block the dominant variant. Shows.
π₯ Fauci seems, more and more, like a little old man on an island. While all of THAT other stuff was going on, the press conferences and announcements, the diminutive medical advisor told media that Pfizerβs vaccine βmight beβ approved by the FDA for kids UNDER FIVE next month. At least he HOPES it will be: βMy hope is that itβs going to be within the next month or so and not much later than that, but I canβt guarantee that,β Fauci said.
And, guess what? Since early studies have shown that young kids donβt produce ineffective antibodies from the shots, Fauci suggests a solution: INCREASE THE DOSE. According to CNBC, Fauci said younger children will likely need THREE doses, because two shots did not induce an adequate immune response in 2- to 4-year-olds in Pfizerβs clinical trials.
Good luck selling THAT to parents of young kids. CNBCβs report on Fauciβs comments cited Walensky, who IS up to speed with Narrative 2.0, as saying thereβs no indication that the omicron variant causes more severe illness in children. So. Fauci vs. Walensky. Who wins?
π₯ Remember how China has been the media darling this whole time with its βaggressive approachβ to controlling the virus? Maybe not so much, not anymore. CNBC ran an article this week headlined, βChinaβs zero-Covid policy could deal another blow to global supply chains, Moodyβs says.β See how it works? Media giveth and Media taketh away.
But it gets worse. CNBC cited an economist who said that Chinaβs policy will have βimportant ramifications for inflation.β Inflation is Chinaβs fault! Because of its stupid zero-Covid policies! And supply chain problems. Dumb China.
πΊ Okay, okay, at some point Iβm going to have to stop doing all these Narrative 2.0 stories. What can I tell you? Itβs a target-rich environment. Letβs just make sure it sticks first.
Have a terrific Thursday! Just to get everybody prepared, given an aggressive travel schedule to get me to the wintery-wonderland of Washington DC to speak at the March for Freedom this weekend β and back β I may have to cancel weekend posts and possibly even Mondayβs post, since we have an early return. Just saying. Donβt cancel me!
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Help us spread optimism and hope! https://www.coffeeandcovid.com/p/-learn-how-to-get-involved-
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βοΈ Coffee & Covid β Thursday, January 20, 2022 β OUTPERFORMING π¦
I completely agree that the hospitals need consequences. I am determined to do all I can to get grand juries empaneled in Texas to investigate them.
First of all, my sincere condolences to Dan's family and you. I know how hard you worked on this. I'm with you about needed changes and ensuring his death isn't in vain. I'm in, not sure how that's going to look but I'm reading and researching and trying to figure out where to get involved. There are SO. MANY. FIGHTS!
Second, I read a lot of covid related blogs, and while there's lots of good information to be had, you win HANDS DOWN for the writing. Despite the narrative nonsense you're writing about, which is sometimes seriously depressing to be sure, you make me snicker or even lol at least once every day!
thank you so much.