Bits and Pieces

Bill and Melinda: Heavy heart watching the failure of their marriage, Bill and Melinda Gates are my heroes. Together they have learned how to build a better social order, solve enormous problems, research, and broaden understanding, push forward the boundaries of science and medical practice. All on a global scale. All focusing on the quality of life starting with the poorest among us.

Their task has been watched and enjoined by many who wish to solve some of humankind’s largest problems. They have the money to make a difference, and the organizational strength to follow through. More importantly, they have the will and heart to continue to do really big things. Why? Because this work needs to be done and they have the commitment to keep at it. And a lot of resources they are willing to share.

We can only hope that their divorce will not lessen their dedication to continue their work together.

A failed marriage is a tragic happening. It need not destroy the lives of the two people and their family. Done right, divorce can build strength to face the future. We can hope this is true for Bill and Melinda.

Liz Cheney and GOP Credibility: Liz Cheney is a Wyoming republican who has proven her courage and independent mind. She has questioned those who still claim the 2020 presidential election was a fraud. She questions the veracity of donald trump. And the wrath of her fellow GOP leaders is aiming to punish Liz Cheney for that. This has been the trouble with the GOP for many decades now. People with diverse thoughts are excluded from the GOP Big Tent. Gays. Women. Abortion. History. Truth.

Punishing Cheney is a self-inflicted wound to the GOP itself. Its credibility has long suffered. Now it lowers to new depths of fiction and fake leadership. When will republicans learn that to be mainstream, they must be part of the mainstream. Liz is showing the way how to do that. But no; the GOP continues to play deaf for other reasons.  I wonder what those reasons are?

Building the future of their party on the shifting sands of propaganda and make-believe is folly. Liz Cheney knows that. What about the others? Why don’t they get it?

Mandatory Vaccinations: Public health and safety concerns over the years have required children to be vaccinated prior to enrolling in school. This was true for diphtheria, measles, mumps, polio and more. Flu shots have not been mandated because the disease mutates rapidly, and the vaccine must change annually. Vaccinations were required from the public to build a healthy nation and lessen suffering, disability, and death for so many. It worked in the main. Many common diseases in the past are now history. The others are not as serious a threat as they once were.

The same trajectory of public policy needs to be implemented for COVID-19. Require vaccinations prior to kids returning to school in the fall. Require proof of vaccination for admission to public events with large crowds. Same with other large gathering spaces; have vaccination proof or stay away.

That policy provides the motivation for broad scale vaccination of the public. Is this constitutional? I am not a lawyer let alone a constitution lawyer. Let the courts battle out the details. Meanwhile let’s require vaccinations as a strong measure of protecting the public. All its generations.

May 7, 2021