Sidebar – Questions and Answers

Q: During the past three and a half years, since the sexual assault by Dr. Kelehan, what has been your state of mind?

A: Reflective. When life slows down, especially when one puts down alcohol and drugs after years of using them as a means of emotional support and “medication”, you’re left with a very raw “you”.

I have had to concentrate on looking at the harm I’ve done to others as a result of entertaining such an extremely selfish view of life.

That’s what drugs and alcohol do. They demand you remain selfish in an effort to keep you dependent and willing to do anything to obtain them. But, it must be noted that examining the harm you’ve done to others includes moments that you must also consider the harm that you may have done to yourself. That sort of reflection involves examining the person that I would or could have been without alcohol and drugs. That’s not easy.

That reflection, in order to be effective, requires me to divorce myself from regret. As I write this, I’m still plagued by this regret. But, I’m told that this will pass.

Q: After the no bill decision by the grand jury in 2018, what kept you going to seek justice?

A: I don’t think I was seeking “justice” after the no-bill. I don’t know if that can be had considering the politics involved.

I’m not even sure if there is such a thing as justice in this situation. I wrote a letter to the medical board as a cathartic exercise. It was suggested, by a therapist, that I write myself a letter forgiving myself for placing myself in that position. Also, as a “message in a bottle” exercise,

I was asked to write a letter to a governing body and, after mailing the letter, forget about it. I did forget about it. The medical board didn’t.

Q: When you contacted the Texas Medical Board to file charges, did you think you had a chance of vindication or were you just going through the motions, trying anything to get justice.

A: I had no expectations. And, after the political (situation)in East Texas, I was jaded and carried around the idea that no one would care.

Q: What were your thoughts during the hearing? At the time the board announced its decision?

A: I was relieved to have been given the opportunity to tell my story and have it behind me. I wasn’t too anticipatory concerning the verdict. It was almost a non-issue in my mind. I truly felt better after simply testifying and that’s all I was seeking to begin with.

Q: There will be a followup hearing by the medical board to determine if Dr. Kelehan is permanently suspended from practicing medicine, but the decision to forbid him or any physicians assistants from seeing patients, administering any prescriptions for drugs or do telemedicine consults is pretty crippling for a practicing physician.

Your thoughts?

A: I believe the whole affair is sad. There is no “gain” in this situation. I’ve never said Dr. Kelehan is a bad person or a bad physician.I don’t think there’s anyone on this earth who can say that.

Conversely, there’s not many people who can say I lived a “good” life. There’s plenty of people that can rightly claim that I was a “bad” person by all the normal standards of society. Even so, I don’t know when I stopped being a “person”, even with the adjectives, and should simply be okay with being drugged and taken advantage of. That never sat right with me.

In a way, that’s the kind of attitude that contributed to keeping me intoxicated over all those years. I always discounted my worth as a human and accepting that behavior from another human is nothing but an exercise in self loathing.

I simply needed to talk about what happened and find a way of releasing myself from my past surrounding that time of my life.

Q: Watching your mother Sandy Dunham testify for Dr. Kelehan must have been hard. Thoughts about watching that?

A: I was only disturbed when my mother testified. I knew that was a possibility. In fact, I would have been surprised if they’d not called her as a character witness.

I was only disturbed because she looked very tired and I knew, once again, I was partly responsible for that. You see, it’s been some years since I’ve seen my mother and not many kind words were passed between us in the prior years.

I didn’t disagree with anything she said about my prior dishonesty. And, knowing her well, I knew she was fine with relaying all the dirty inter-family secrets that would discredit me. That’s never been a problem for her.

My problems with addiction and alcohol have always been something that she refused to look at from a logical perspective. Just as she refused to ever review the evidence in this situation, my mother refused to acknowledge alcohol as an issue beyond, “just don’t drink”.

In 20 years of multiple rehabs and visits to ICU surrounding alcohol, she never once visited me or called me.

My mother’s take on alcoholism was always an emotional one. And a regurgitation of my past in that hearing was possibly emotionally soothing for her. My past is low hanging fruit and I really take no offense to it being used.

I truly hope she felt better afterwards. I certainly owe her any amount of latitude she needs in an effort to “feel” better.

Q: Any other thoughts?

A: Life is hard. People are strange. Tragedy is the dirt… while joy is the diamond

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Dr. Shaun Bobbi Kelehan of Marshall Practice of Medicine Curtailed

By George S. Smith
Retired Editor and Publisher

Dr. Shaun Bobbi Kelehan of Marshall had his practice of medicine severely curtailed Wednesday, October 28 by the Texas Medical Board following an 11-hour disciplinary hearing. Kelehan was accused of administering drugs to a male patient and then sexually abusing him in March of 2017.

Specifically, according to a release by the board, Kelehan’s “continuation in the unrestricted practice of medicine poses ‘a continuing threat to the public welfare.’”

The board further found Kelehan “engaged in nonconsensual sexual encounters with a patient and administered medications to the patient during these encounters.” The board determined that no “record of treatment” was provided to the patient.

Based on a complaint from Marshall native Steven Trey Wood, which was backed up by video and audio recordings, Marshall Police Department investigation documents and a months-long investigation by Samer Shobassy, board litigation staff attorney, Kelehan was handed an initial harsh punishment. The board decreed:

Kelehan could no longer administer medical treatment to male patients;
He can not prescribe prescription drugs to male patients.
The doctor’s Physician Assistants (PA) at his clinics could not see male patients;
Female patients can only be seen at his clinics; and
Kelehan cannot provide telemedicine sessions.

Additionally, the board will meet within a few weeks, after an evaluation of medical needs in the communities in which he has clinics to determine whether to permanently suspend his license to practice medicine.

Kelehan is owner of Marshall’s Access Family Health clinic on Alamo Boulevard. He is also listed on the internet as an owner and a physician at a clinic by the same name on Judson Road in Longview, a third clinic on Fifth Street in Tyler and another one on Wells Branch Parkway West in Pflugerville.

He is a 2000 graduate of the University of Texas School of Medicine in Houston. He also is listed as a co-owner of Wellness Properties of America, a property owner and management company that buys and builds commercial buildings.

In mid-2017, charges brought against Kelehan following an investigation by Marshall Police Department’s Det. Rob Farnham . Harrison County District Attorney Coke Solomon, recused himself for the case, citing the fact Kelehan was his personal physician.

A special prosecutor from Longview was appointed and a grand jury was called. The grand jury declined to bring charges, delivering a nolle proseui ruling (will not prosecute). Wood was not called to testify, nor did the grand jury members hear or see the recordings of Kelehan the medical board heard of him admitting the acts.

During the police investigation of the charges, Wood was requested to meet with Kelehan and make, first, audio recordings, which he did. He was later requested to make video recordings, and secured two videos, with Kelehan admitting the sexual encounter. In one of the recordings, Kelehan admitted a previous sexual encounter, which Wood did not remember taking place.

Wood is a graduate of Marshall High School, a former Maverick football player and a former student at Texas Tech. He is also a former blogger for the Marshall News Messenger, winning two first place awards in state press association contests for his articles.

Wood will be the first to admit that for most of his life, he has gone out of his way to get into trouble. While he said it would be an “easy out” to blame myriad circumstances in his life for “wasting big part of his life,” he blames no one but himself. “I chose to do what I did at the time I did it,” he said. ‘Me. All the misfortunes in my life fall right back on me.”

In addition to trying every addictive substance he could obtain, he spent more than two years in a Texas prison for “robbing a drug dealer.” He makes no excuses for his actions – “Whatever trouble I got into, I deserved it.”

Of the sexual assault, Wood said, “I am an alcoholic who has been clean for almost two years.” A regular at Austin Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, he said, “I know what hitting rock bottom means. But, nothing in my life led me to deal with a situation like this.”

Wood said, “I was betrayed at the hands of a friend. A homosexual encounter … no, apparently two encounters … that I have never thought about on any level, was pushed on me by a person I knew was gay but who also implicitly knew I was not gay. I had derailed previous attempts at ‘gay play.’ When he previously tried to put his hands down my pants, I would tell him to stop, that I didn’t think it was funny. He had always complied.”

In March of 2017, when Wood readily admitted he was at rock-bottom during a breakup of a personal relationship. He went to Kelehan residence in Marshall for help and drugs to deal with the pain, emotional and physical. Kelehan let him stay in his guest house.

Wood said, “He decided to do what he wanted to do to me, to take advantage of my self-destructive condition by lying to me and administering drugs that incapacitated me; the drugs basically paralyzed me.”

After the incident, this writer, a longtime friend drove to Marshall, picked up Wood and took him to his home in Southwest Arkansas almost a week, until a visit to a Texas rehab facility could be arranged.

A surprise witness at the medical board hearing was Sandy Durham of Marshall, Wood’s mother. She testified for the defense. When asked by Shobassy if she had seen the video of Kelehan admitting he had sexually assaulted her son, she said she had not. She was then asked if she did view the video that showed Kelehan admitting the abuse, if Kelehan then told her that he did not commit the act, would she believe her son or Kelehan. She replied she would believe Kelehan.

Shobassy had no further questions for Dunham.

The Texas Medical Board is the state agency mandated to regulate the practice of medicine by Doctors of Medicine (MDs) and Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DOs) in Texas. The Board consists of 12 physician members and seven public members appointed for a six-year term by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate.

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Wonderland of Lights Outdoor Christmas Market

The Wonderland of Lights Outdoor Christmas Market vendor registration is open for both weekends of Dec. 5 and Dec. 12 from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

A booth space is $30 per space for approximately 10×10 for one day. Electricity is not available. Tables, chairs and canopies are the sole responsibility of the vendor. Merchandise should be limited to holiday decor, crafts/homemade goods, stocking stuffers, and gifts items. Only one consultant per brand.

There is no admission cost for shoppers.

*** COVID- 19 Safety Precautions ***

– We are committed to the safety of our merchants, citizens, and guests. We will continue to stay informed on the most recent regulations in place and will further adapt any events as needed.

– Vendor booths will be spaced a minimum 10 feet apart from one another.

– Social distancing will be observed by shoppers and vendors.

– A capacity limit on each block may be established.

– There will be no food product sampling.

– This event is subject to cancellation depending on the condition of COVID-19 in our community. In the event of cancellations, vendors will be fully refunded.

To register, please visit https://form.jotform.com/202546381487158

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The Ginocchio Is Re-opening

The Ginocchio would like to introduce its General Manager, Brantley Price. Welcome aboard Brantley!

Brantley brings years of food, beverage and management experience to the re-opening of The Ginocchio. There are a number of unique challenges in operating a restaurant like The Ginocchio in these very unusual times. We are confident that Brantley and Chef Reynaldo can lead the charge in overcoming these challenges and can guide The Ginocchio back to the highest levels of excellence in dining, cocktails and service.

Some have asked – why not reopen The Ginocchio, just as it was? While we are very proud of what Chef Reynaldo and The Ginocchio team were able to achieve in our first run, we also recognize that providing that special Ginocchio experience while also maintaining the highest standards of safety for our customers and our staff requires a great deal of fresh thinking. The times have changed, but our Mission has not. Brantley and The Ginocchio will find a way to adapt and evolve and achieve that Mission.

For those of you who were predicting our demise, sorry – The Ginocchio is reloading and relaunching with every intention of serving our loyal customers for years and decades to come. Positive things are happening in Marshall, and we are proud to be part of this historic community. Pandemic, social unrest, polarization – let’s work together to address these challenges, while respecting all members of our community, regardless of ethnicity, background, gender or religion. Our Mission requires no less.

The Ginocchio will be announce its reopening schedule very soon. Bear with us as we work to get things right for you. We look forward to serving you again soon!

The Ginocchio

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CDC’s Halloween Guidelines Warn Against Typical Trick-Or-Treating

In a year that’s been plenty scary, this much is clear: Pandemic Halloween will be different than regular Halloween. Many traditional ways of celebrating are now considerably more frightful than usual, because now they bring the risk of spreading the coronavirus.

Accordingly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued new guidelines on how to celebrate Halloween safely. No big surprise: Classic door-to-door trick-or-treating and crowded, boozy costume parties are not recommended.

The CDC’s guidelines group Halloween activities into lower-risk, moderate-risk and higher-risk buckets.

The higher-risk category includes both door-to-door trick-or-treating and events where kids get treats from the trunks of cars in a big parking lot.

Also no-nos: indoor haunted houses where people will be crowded and screaming, which could send infectious particles flying. Going on hayrides with people who aren’t in your household or fall festivals in rural areas also carry a risk of spreading the virus that causes COVID-19. And using alcohol and drugs “can cloud [judgment] and increase risky behaviors,” the CDC warns — though that’s equally true in any season.

How to get your thrills instead?

The agency says this way of trick-or-treating poses a moderate risk (compared with the higher risk of the traditional style): Kids could pick up individually wrapped gift bags at the end of a driveway or yard while still preserving social distance.

You could also organize a small outdoor costume parade where everyone is 6 feet apart. An outdoor costume party would also be considered moderate risk, if people wear masks and stay 6 feet away from each other.

Haunted houses are out, and haunted forests are in. The CDC says an open-air scare-fest is moderately risky, so long as the route is one-way, people wear masks appropriately and stay 6 feet apart. But there’s a caveat: “If screaming will likely occur, greater distancing is advised.”

What about apple picking and pumpkin patches? Risks can be reduced if people use hand sanitizer before touching pumpkins or apples, wear masks and maintain social distance.

Also on the moderate-risk list: an outdoor scary movie night with local friends who are socially distanced. Again: The more screaming there is, the more space is needed for safe social distancing.

If you want to be really safe? Then you need to plan for either virtual activities or ones that you do largely with your own household.

The CDC’s lower-risk activities include carving pumpkins with your household, or outdoors with friends while socially distanced. It also suggests a Halloween scavenger hunt: looking for witches, spiderwebs and black cats outside houses while walking around — or a scavenger hunt for treats in your own home.

And what about masks? A costume mask is no substitute for a cloth mask, according to the agency, but don’t double up with one over the other because that can make it hard to breathe. Instead, consider a Halloween-themed cloth mask, the CDC suggests.

A costume mask can protect against spreading the coronavirus if it’s like a regular cloth mask: two or more layers of breathable fabric covering the nose and mouth, without gaps around the face.

And remember this, friendly neighbors: If you think you might have COVID-19 or have been exposed to someone who does, don’t attend in-person Halloween activities — and certainly don’t hand out candy to trick-or-treaters.

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CORONAVIRUS INFO PROVIDED BY DR. JIM HARRIS – 10/16/2020

October 16, 2020

(TOMORROW, ONLY ONE GREAT ARTICLE )
Friday Harrison County had 3 new Covid cases; Gregg had 16 and Smith 18.

White House Outbreak Is Not a Failure of Testing
But rapid tests have an important limitation. They can accurately detect Covid-19 once a person has symptoms and is highly infectious, but unlike PCR tests, they are not sensitive enough to detect most infections earlier on, when a person has a relatively small amount of the virus, or does not have symptoms but could be infectious.

In short: Rapid tests produce a high rate of false negatives….“Testing will never stop somebody from getting the virus…To stop yourself from getting the virus, you need to not come in contact with the virus or you need to protect yourself through wearing a mask… Testing does not substitute for avoiding crowded indoor spaces, washing hands, or wearing a mask when you can’t physically distance,” Adm. Brett Giroir, the official at the Department of Health and Human Services who is in charge of the administration’s testing effort, said in a September 28 statement. “Further, a negative test today does not mean that you won’t be positive tomorrow.”

The COVID-19 Fall Surge Is Here. We Can Stop It.
(J. Harris: Excellent, readable Covid update covering the US and Europe. They are using a statistic to which I haven’t previously paid any attention, “Deaths/million residents for individual countries.)
MASKS DO WORK AND SHOULD BE WORN (U. of Washington)

“…Our model predicts that moderately efficacious masks will lower exposure viral load 10-fold among people who get infected despite masking, potentially limiting infection severity. Because peak viral load tends to occur pre-symptomatically, we also identify that antiviral therapy targeting symptomatic individuals is unlikely to impact transmission risk. Instead, antiviral therapy would only lower Re if dosed as post-exposure prophylaxis and if given to ~50% of newly infected people within 3 days of an exposure. These results highlight the primacy of masking relative to other biomedical interventions under consideration for limiting the extent of the COVID-19 pandemic prior to widespread implementation of a vaccine.”
(J. Harris: Despite all of the deficiencies with masks like discomfort, poor fit, unsightliness, sissy wear, they are are our first, most accessible, most affordable, and most practical defense against Covid).

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Marshall Wins Texas Municipal League Excellence Award

Click here to see a video of the presentation

[Marshall, Texas] The 2020 Texas Municipal League Municipal (TML) Excellence Awards seeks out merit annually in five categories: City Spirit, management innovations, communication programs, public safety, and public works. An independent panel of judges with considerable municipal government experience reviewed all applications on the innovation, achievement of the goal, long-term value to the city, and the project utilized in other cities.

On October 14, 2020, TML hosted the Opening Ceremony to their 2020 Virtual Annual Conference. Mayor Brown and a small group of city employees viewed the announcement of the City of Marshall taking home the state-wide 2020 TML Excellence Award for City Spirit with a population under 25,000. The award highlights any citywide effort to address a city need and supported by broad-based city efforts. In 2020, TML recognized the historic restoration of Memorial City Hall Performance Center.

In 1907, Marshall City Hall was an architectural wonder designed by Page Brothers of Austin, Texas, and built by J.H. Reddick of Fort Smith, Arkansas, for $42,000. According to the Texas Historical Commission, the building “is an excellent example of an early 20th century Italian Renaissance Revival government building.” Due to faulty wiring beneath the stage, a massive fire swept through the building on November 4, 1923. It would take a bond issue and five years before the building would stand again. Since World War I had recently ended, the Marshall City Commissioners renamed the building “Memorial City Hall.” They dedicated the four-story building to those who served in World War I.

With the city’s growth, Commissioners recognized the need for more space for the Police Department, Fire Department, and City Hall. Following the relocation of these departments in 1994 to more spacious buildings coupled with the completion of a modern convention center near significant thoroughfares and local hotels, Memorial City Hall eventually fell into disrepair.

City leaders and community members recognized Memorial City Hall could once again have a role in daily community life. Under the direction of the City Commission, city management, and city committees, a funding plan used significant community donations, HOT funds, and multiple fundraisers. Today, Memorial City Hall is an ornate and historically accurate 552-seat auditorium with meeting spaces and conference rooms.

A partnership developed between the City of Marshall and the Harrison County Historical Museum for a new museum within the Memorial City Hall Performance Center. The museum’s 2,900 square foot “Service and Sacrifice: Harrison County at War” exhibit uses the museum’s collection to tell the vivid stories of Harrison County residents who served in the military and the support they received at home. The museum exhibit spans from the Texas Revolution to the Wars on Terror. The exhibit’s masterpiece is a dog tag chandelier in the entryway to the building to honor those who have served.

For over a century, this building has been known by several names, faced complete demolition in a fire, and been rebuild to stand over historical events. With the recent preservation, Memorial City Hall Performance Center is again here to serve our citizens and visitors as a vibrant expression of our arts community in downtown Marshall for current and future generations.

““We have been able to take a project that early on experienced some challenges, made some tough decisions, pushed a little and ultimately complete it in a relatively short amount of time. It is now an award-winning effort that will now be an asset for residents and visitors alike for years to come,” shared City Manager Mark Rohr.

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Letter To The Editor

To the Editor:

In the upcoming election, city voters will be asked to vote on referendums A through Q Referendum A is renewal of the current street maintenance tax, which provides a needed source of funds for street maintenance. Referendum proposals B through Q are amendments to the city charter. Each referendum item is carefully worded to encourage and lead the voter into voting yes, by presenting the item with favorable language, and doesn’t completely or fully explain the consequences if passed.

I’ll be the first to admit that our current charter is dated and needs improvement, or even replacement, and proposals B and C are improvements to the current charter. However, the charter revisions proposed, D through Q, are not what we need.

The Charter to the city, is like the Constitution to the U.S. The Charter is our city’s most important document. It sets forth how our government works, and establishes how city government operates and is managed. It basically authorizes and governs how essential city services are provided, such as how police and fire protection, ambulance, water, and sewer, streets, parks, zoning and other ordinances are managed and funded through fees and taxation.

More importantly, the Charter sets forth how the elected governing body (commissioners or council members) and city management interact. The purpose of the city commission (city council) is to serve as a legislative body and to exercise oversight of city government.

This is why I, along with others, have strong reservations about the charter amendment proposals. It’s not just what the proposed charter amendments say, but also what they don’t say, and what hasn’t been plainly told to the public.

Much of the amended charter defers to what is allowed by state law, which can be very liberal in terms of what is permitted. This is so that home rule cities, like Marshall, can adopt their own guidelines and criteria of what is permissible.

In this case, the referendum amendments essentially create a strong city manager – weak council form of governance, and eliminate certain checks and balances in our current charter. Our current charter has a commission – city manager form of governance, with greater oversight authority resting in the commission, and therefore citizen voters. This leads to more transparency and accountability, an important check and balance on city governance.

Below are a few key points of concern that I have with the charter amendment proposals. My concerns are based upon experience and problems encountered in serving twelve years as a mayor and commissioner.

1. The new charter amendments change the city form of organization from a commission to a city council. In so doing, it unnecessarily takes away some of the oversight functions, and limits the authority of the newly formed city council.

2. Under the present charter, department heads are hired by the city manager, with the consent of the city commission. Under the new charter amendments, consent of the council is not required. This eliminates a key oversight function that voters expect of their elected officials. Under the proposed amendments, this important check and balance is eliminated.

3. Under our present charter and by precedent and tradition, the city secretary and finance director are one and the same, and are hired by the commission. Under the new proposed charter amendments, the city secretary is hired by the council, and the finance director is hired by the city manager, without approval of the council. This means all financial information presented to council and to the public, will flow through the filter of the city manager. This presents an untenable situation in terms of oversight, transparency and accountability. Under the proposed amendments, this important check and balance is eliminated.

4. Under the proposed amended charter, the public will expect the elected council to be able to exercise fiscal and managerial oversight of the city, but the council will not have the direct authority to effectively exercise that oversight. And, with a non-cooperative city management, council members would essentially be relegated only to the limited and untimely type of information they could get through a FOIA request.

5. The term limits of city council members will change from two years to four years. This is bad, because too often members of the commission pass through office unqualified for the position, or simply aren’t interested in investing the time required to make good decisions. Four years is too long for them to hold office. Our present charter limits them to two years. Further, the proposed amendments undo the eight year term limits imposed by voters, and restarts the eight year term limits for every sitting commissioner. Those who are about to be term limited, will get another eight year run on the council.

6. The new charter proposals permit the filling of vacancies on the commission by appointment of the commission, in lieu of waiting for a special election to fill the vacancy. This politicizes the appointment of council members, – something our present charter doesn’t permit.

7. The proposed amendments have a newly added feature. It provides for removal of a commissioner for unexcused absences. We’ve never had a problem with multiple absences, unless it involved a health issue. This provision is overreaching and harsh for a part time unpaid office. It politicizes determination of what is an excused absence, by giving the council the power to remove a council member on subjective grounds as to what is excused, and appoint a successor without benefit of a public election, effectively thwarting a previous public election.

8. The proposed charter amendments give broad authority to the new council to create debt, and levy any associated tax or fee increases, without voter approval – eliminating another important check and balance.

9. The new charter removes commission oversight authority of the police department, and places it solely under the city manager’s oversight. In the past we had a police investigation being stifled by city management, which never would have come to light but for the police chief’s ability under the current charter to bring it to the attention of the commission, without fear of losing his job. Under the proposed amendments, this important check and balance is eliminated.

10. For ordinances, including changes in zoning ordinances, the time for public notice is shortened. Ordinances will be passed on the first reading instead of the currently required second reading. Second readings are usually two weeks later, giving more time for public awareness and response. Under the proposed amendments, this important check and balance is eliminated.

There is a difference between micromanaging and exercising simple oversight. These are some of the key points, which I feel make this a bad charter, in terms of the council’s ability to exercise adequate oversight, and to hold government accountable to the voters. We need to scrap these proposals, go back and invest the time, with qualified charter commission members, to carefully and thoughtfully write a new charter.

Vote “No” D through Q.

In the meantime – an old charter is better than a bad charter.

Sincerely,

Ed Smith

Former mayor and commissioner

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CORONAVIRUS INFO PROVIDED BY DR. JIM HARRIS – 10/9/2020

October 9, 2020

On Thursday Harrison County reported 2 new cases, Gregg 3 and Smith 1. Covid Testing will again be available today and tomorrow at theCivic/Convention Center.
FROM JOHNS HOPKINS SELECTIONS:1. A Global Data Effort Probes Whether Covid Causes Diabetes(Wired) From Mohammad Shafi Kuchay, an endocrinologist who consulted on the cases, told WIRED via email that he and the other doctors assigned to the cases assumed the virus had somehow knocked out these patients’ insulin-making cells, giving them type 1 diabetes. And so the doctors put the men on a regimen of insulin injections. But as the months went by, they needed the injections less and less. They were shifted to oral antidiabetic drugs, and have been managing like this for more than two months now.
2. Global Shortage of Key Covid Drug Leads to NHS Rationing (The Guardian) A global shortage of remdesivir, one of the key Covid-19 drugs given to Donald Trump since he tested positive for the virus, is leading to rationing in the UK and pressure on the manufacturer to allow other companies to supply it. Remdesivir, made by the US company Gilead, is one of only two drugs proven to work against Covid-19. It has been shown to help patients recover faster from the disease and shorten the length of hospital treatment but is not a cure.
3.Eli Lilly Says its Monoclonal Antibody Cocktail is Effective in Treating Covid-19 (STAT News) Eli Lilly said Wednesday a monoclonal antibody treatment is effective in reducing levels of the virus that causes Covid-19 in patients, and also appears to prevent patients from visiting the emergency room or hospital.(J. Harris: Don’t buy stock yet; the results were barely significant statistically. However, it’s early yet; they will continue to improve their products.)
4. Analysis of Genomic Characteristics and Transmission Routes of Patients With Confirmed SARS-CoV-2 in Southern California During the Early Stage of the US COVID-19 Pandemic(JAMA) This case series of 192 patients found that 82% of SARS-CoV-2 isolates from Los Angeles shared closest similarity to those originating in Europe vs those from Asia (15%). Using the variation signature of the viral genomes, 2 main clusters were identified, with the top variants sharing genomic features from European SARS-CoV-2 isolates, and several subclusters of SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks represented trackable community spread in Los Angeles. These findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 genomes in Los Angeles were predominantly related to the isolates originating from Europe, which are similar to viral strain distributions in New York, New York; a smaller subgroup of SARS-CoV-2 genomes shared similarities to those from originating from Asia, indicating multiple sources of viral introduction within the Los Angeles community.
5. Science Is Needed to Rescue the Nation From COVID-19, but Not Just Traditional Biomedical Science (JAMA) As the US pushes rigorous education in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), it is worth reflecting on this global pandemic and what kind of science society is not effectively using. So far, the greatest unmet need in successfully fighting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the US relates to the insights provided by the social sciences rather than by the traditional biomedical sciences. Sociologists and psychologists are as important in this crisis as virologists and epidemiologists. In the US, people are comfortable with and accustomed to scientists rescuing them or helping them avoid disaster. But when that does not work perfectly, or leaves temporary gaps, people are left to rely on something less predictable—the human psyche and human interaction—to prevent the spread of the virus.
‘SNL’ Nixes Morgan Wallen Appearance After Singer Violates COVID-19 Safety Protocols

THIS JUST IN: Dr. Jim Harris has been selected as the official doctor of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. Jerry Jone says that Harris is a natural fit.

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Bad-mistake-bad-BAD-BAD-mistake

By George Smith

Bad-mistake-bad-BAD-BAD-mistake headline of the day:

“Democrats unveil bill creating panel to gauge president’s ‘capacity’”

I said almost four years ago that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi should step aside and let a newer-generation Democrat run the House and its Democrat caucus.

Today, she and her cohorts handed the Republicans an “election eve” gift that could swing the election.

Like Hillary Clinton, Pelosi is a lightning rod that energizes conservatives and their wacko alt-right kin. Energizing an opponent’s base and those undecideds this close to an election that will determine the future path of America is abject stupidity.

Today, 25 days until the General Election, it was a time to stay low and let the president and his demented political kinfolks in Washington-on-the-Deficit continue to play the part of jester/fool/joker. She would have let Joe Biden and Kamala Harris do what they do best: Show that politicians can be strong and empathetic at the same time. And, after all, Trump, by his crazy clown coronavirus act, has been doing a great job of moving undecideds off the GOPer rolls into the Dem camp.

But Peliso could not just leave well enough alone as it was gaining the upper hand in nation polls.

Enter, state left, the dumbest idea since Bill Clinton decided to lie in a deposition.

House Democrats unveiled legislation creating a panel to gauge a president’s capacity to perform the job – and potentially remove the commander in chief from office in cases of decided debility.

Dumb move, Madame Speaker. How dumb? It sounds like something Trump would come up with if the situation were reversed.

Other than getting “likes” and
“

️s” from never-Trumpers in social media, what.’s the point? It’s political asshattery of the highest order; it will to nothing positive for the get-rid-of-Trump cause and just further solidifies his base and gives them a good talking point about “obsessed left-wingers” that will do anything — ANYTHING — to bring down the president.

Creating a commission to explore the mental capacity of the president at this time is abjectly stupid: 1. It cannot pass due to the Senate political make up; 2. It just widens the political gap between ejected officials and the electorate and will bring charges of the Democrats piling on the president after the impeachment party-line impeachment snafu.

Bad timing. Bad policy. Bad politics.

And, as Democrats May well find out, bad for the party and the November election.

Trump needs to thank Pelosi in his next rambling tweet. She just handed him a lifeline that, if exploited to the fullest, could give him a second term.

Am I overstating the case? Gosh, I sure hope so!

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