HELLO, 

Covid is taking a break in our area. Have a nice weekend but remain cautious.

NOTE FROM A VERY EXPERIENCED PRIVATE INTERNIST REGARDING NEW ANTIVIRAL (COVID) ORAL DRUGS USE:

‘’Tests for Covid are likely most sensitive on day 4 of symptoms for a pill that needs to be given by day 3.

‘’Not enough people have immediate access to rapid PCR tests for Covid to see if they are infected, so these pills cannot change a Covid epidemic. Quick antigen tests are great when positive but often falsely negative, especially in that first three-day window.

“THEREFORE: if the pill is going to change the game it will need to be “allowed” to be given the same way that flu medicine (Tamiflu) is given, which is if Dr. Harris or Dr. X  think you have the infection right now, test or no test,  they will prescribe the antiviral medication… (Office flu tests perform with very similar low sensitivity/high specificity that Covid antigen, does so use a few early in the season then just make clinical diagnosis because Tamiflu also must be given early to help.)

“TAKE HOME: The antiviral oral drugs must be affordable and, more importantly, if doctors must be freed up to prescribe the drugs early, based on clinical grounds,  without a test to prove it is definitely Covid.  If doctors are not allowed by the government to treat early without waiting for positive tests, there will not be enough of the medicine prescribed to change the epidemic — even though it helps those patients fortunate enough to have been treated with it early, positive test or not.

‘’(The Tamiflu analogy is fine but this pill works different and better than Tamiflu and the bad part of the analogy is it lulls us into thinking the two diseases are comparable and they are not–one of ’em can kill you, the other, grievously hurts your feelings but usually not forever.”

With COVID cases spiking, no end in sight ( My doctor friend also sent this article)

”…We want control,” Fauci said. “And I think the confusion is, at what level of control are you going to accept it in its endemicity?”

A virus becomes endemic when it is no longer spreading at pandemic levels but is also impervious to actual eradication. Downgrading the coronavirus to an endemic pathogen would in effect concede that we will live with it for the foreseeable future, but without the disruptions caused by pandemic spread….The goal isn’t quite as modest as it seems, since only one virus — smallpox — has ever been eradicated. If the coronavirus became endemic, it would be relegated to a seasonal problem, similar to the influenza that invariably shows up with the cold weather…”

Could oral antiviral pills be a game-changer for COVID-19? An infectious disease physician explains why these options are badly needed

 ( J. Harris: News Summary today from Yahoo that discusses the need for almost immediate use of the oral drugs to get any benefit from them:)

Molnupiravir reduced the risk of death or hospitalization by about 50% in non-hospitalized adult patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 when treated within five days of symptom onset. Paxlovid reduced this risk by about 89% for patients treated within three days of symptoms and 85% for patients treated within five days. Importantly, no patients who took either drug died in the studies. Because the drugs were not studied head to head, it’s difficult to say whether one will be better than the other in the real world. In early November, Britain became the first country to approve molnupiravir for use…Molnupiravir did not help hospitalized patients [who are generally already sick for several days] recover faster from COVID-19. It is likely that Paxlovid would also not be useful at the point of hospitalization. Most patients who are in the hospital with COVID-19 are sick because of unregulated inflammation and not because the virus is still replicating in their bodies….Researchers are also working on repurposing existing drugs to treat COVID. Inhaled steroids like budesonide and an antidepressant called fluvoxamine are particularly promising…

While it’s exciting to see new treatments for COVID-19, prevention is still the best strategy. The COVID-19 vaccines continue to be the most effective tool for helping to end the pandemic.”

FROM HOPKINS:

1. F.D.A. Authorizes Coronavirus Booster Shots for All Adults (New York Times) The Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized booster shots of both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for everyone 18 and older, opening up eligibility to tens of millions more fully vaccinated adults. The move simplifies eligibility, fulfills a pledge by President Biden to offer the shots to every American adult and formally allows a practice already in place in at least 10 states. Fearful that waning protection and the onset of winter will set off a wave of breakthrough infections, a growing number of governors had already offered boosters to everyone 18 and older ahead of the holidays.

Evaluation of the BNT162b2 Covid-19 Vaccine in Children 5 to 11 Years of Age

”...This study describes immunization against SARS-CoV-2 infection with an mRNA vaccine in children younger than 12 years of age and documents the safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of a Covid-19 vaccine in this population; trials of other vaccines are under way.…Direct benefits of preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection in children include protection against severe disease, hospitalizations, and severe or long-term complications, such as MIS-C. Indirect benefits include the likelihood of reduced transmission in the home and in school settings, including transmission affecting vulnerable persons, and safer in-person learning.26-29 Without effective Covid-19 vaccines for this age group, children could potentially become ongoing reservoirs of infection and sources of newly emerging variants.26,30 Covid-19–associated school closures and quarantines also have social and economic costs for families and caregivers.16-19 Widespread vaccination across age groups is therefore essential in ongoing efforts to curtail the pandemic….A Covid-19 vaccination regimen consisting of two 10-μg doses of BNT162b2 administered 21 days apart was found to be safe, immunogenic, and efficacious in children 5 to 11 years of age…. The robust virus-neutralizing response observed in 5-to-11-year-olds was similar to that seen in 16-to-25-year-olds from the pivotal trial, which demonstrated 95% vaccine efficacy among persons at least 16 years of age from 7 days to approximately 2 months after the second dose.3 Immunobridging…”

AND LAST BUT NOT LEASED:

***********************************

GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK.  CLICK ON “COMMENT” TO TELL US WHAT YOU THINK or use one of the alternative methods for providing feedback.

Click here to submit feedback.  Let us know what you think.

click here to CLOSE THIS PAGE

—————————————————————–

Click here to go to the iExposed.us youtube channel

Click here to go to the iExposed.us website

—————————————————————–

iExposed Us 

P.O. Box 721

Scottsville Texas

72688

Ringing of church bells and brief musical commemoration

of a carillon of bells to take place in downtown Marshall 

at the traditional 11 o’clock hour on Veterans Day, November 11

In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day in the United States of America. The date of November 11 marked the armistice which was signed in 1918 between the Allies of World War I—which included France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, and the United States—and the Central Powers, which included Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria.

The Armistice between the Allies and the Central Powers was signed in Compiegne, France to proclaim the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front which would take place that morning, November 11, 1918. That was how the tradition of the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” began.

In 1954, U.S. Representative Edward Rees of Kansas proposed a bill that would change Armistice Day to Veterans Day. That year, Congress passed the bill which President Dwight Eisenhower signed, proclaiming November 11 as Veterans Day.

This year, on Veterans Day, Thursday, November 11, the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” will be commemorated in downtown Marshall with the ringing of church bells at 11:00am, in coordination with the 11:00am chimes of the restored 1901 Harrison County Courthouse.

The ringing of the bells will be done by three downtown churches—Trinity Episcopal Church, St. Joseph Catholic Church, and First United Methodist Church. 

Following the ringing of the bells, the newly-installed, beautiful carillon of bells of the First United Methodist Church of Marshall, located one block east of the Courthouse Square, will play patriotic music to pay tribute to the brave service and sacrifice of all veterans, as well as those who currently serve in the military.

Following the playing of the patriotic music, “Taps” will be played to end the brief commemoration. 

Christina Anderson, the volunteer who has headed the coordination of the Marshall-Harrison County Community Veterans Day program for many years, shared: “As our veterans and community members may know, we usually have a program at the traditional 11 o’clock hour on Veterans Day to honor and express appreciate to our local veterans for their brave service and sacrifice to protect our nation.”

This is the service that had originally been held at the Marshall Mall and more recently at Memorial City Hall. Last year, due to COVID-19 restrictions, an outdoor procession of county, city, and community vehicles around the Courthouse Square was held at the 11 o’clock hour.

Ms. Anderson added: “When we received the news that the Marshall Elks Lodge was planning a wonderful Veterans Parade for the Saturday after Veterans Day on November 13, I contacted the veterans and veteran organizations with whom I coordinate each year for the annual program and the consensus was they felt that a full program would not be necessary this year on Veterans Day since the Elks Lodge was sponsoring a Veterans Parade on Saturday, November 13.”  

But, Ms. Anderson went on to explain that, even though there would not be the full Veterans Day program this year, they still wanted to honor our veterans and commemorate the traditional “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.” 

So, she shared that, to honor and pay tribute to our veterans on Veterans Day, there will be a large sign of appreciation displayed on the lawn west of The Marshall Grand, in addition to the American flags provided by the Rotary Club of Marshall and, at 11:00am, the very brief bell and musical commemoration, described above, would take place.

Ms. Anderson added, “Though brief, this musical commemoration at the 11 o’clock hour on Veterans Day is designed to convey the profound and abiding gratitude that our community wishes to express to all veterans for their courageous service and sacrifice for our nation. There are not enough words to convey the deep appreciation we feel—not just on Veterans Day, but every day—on behalf of all Americans.”

Special thanks to the all our veterans and veteran organizations. Thank you also to the members of Trinity Episcopal Church, St. Joseph Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus, and First United Methodist Church for collaborating on the ringing of bells with the Harrison County Courthouse.

Also, an additional thank you to Reverend David Luckert, Pastor of the First United Methodist Church (FUMC), for graciously coordinating the playing of patriotic music for the commemoration with the church’s new, beautiful carillon of bells.

Veterans and community members are encouraged to attend or participate in the Veterans Parade, sponsored by the Marshall Elks Lodge #683. The parade will take place on Saturday, November 13 at 10:00am.  

The deadline for entries into the parade is November 8. For more information about the Veterans Parade, please call Melanie Valdez at (903) 407-5251 or Kelly Baker at (903) 472-3306 or Jackie Degner (903) 407-8840.  ##

***********************************

GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK.  CLICK ON “COMMENT” TO TELL US WHAT YOU THINK or use one of the alternative methods for providing feedback.

Click here to submit feedback.  Let us know what you think.

click here to CLOSE THIS PAGE

—————————————————————–

Click here to go to the iExposed.us youtube channel

—————————————————————–

iExposed Us 

P.O. Box 721

Scottsville Texas

75688

 Opinion: National Naming Stuff Consortium

By George Smith  — November 4, 2021

Again, the National Naming Stuff Consortium did a lousy job.

The term Critical Race Theory buys nothing but ridicule and constant consternation, just like the phrases “Defund the Police”, “Global Warming”, and “Black Lives Matter”.

“Black Lives Matter”, while accurate, was an Immediate flashpoint for racists and conservatives in general. That could have been avoided from Day 1 by adopting “All Lives Matter” as a universal truth.

“Defund the Police” is s stupid, knee jerk slogan for a movement that needed no controversy; “Evaluate Policing Priorities” is a less explosive term.

While “Global Warmjng” is technically accurate, the term just feels wrong when one gets a 19.5 inch snow dump in SW Arkansas in January.

“Climate change” is a phrase with which it is hard to argue.

Branding! Think before speaking and learn from past mistakes.

***********************************

GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK.  CLICK ON “COMMENT” TO TELL US WHAT YOU THINK or use one of the alternative methods for providing feedback.

Click here to submit feedback.  Let us know what you think.

click here to CLOSE THIS PAGE

—————————————————————–

Click here to go to the iExposed.us youtube channel

—————————————————————–

iExposed Us 

P.O. Box 721

Scottsville Texas

75688

 Opinion: We know this on our heart

By George Smith  — October 2, 2021

***********************************

GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK.  CLICK ON “COMMENT” TO TELL US WHAT YOU THINK or use one of the alternative methods for providing feedback.

Click here to submit feedback.  Let us know what you think.

click here to CLOSE THIS PAGE

http://iEXPOSED.us

PO Box 721

Scottsville TX 75688

 

By George Smith  — September 19, 2021

A close friend, one I’d trust with my life, is a Trump supporter. We pledged to not talk politics and he broke the pledge in a typical Trumpuppet fashion, lamenting our ”senile” president, the immigrant problem, the price of gas and how the country is doomed. Then he started in on

As an off-the-wall rant, it was a good one; this friend is an excellent writer.

I didn’t have to respond but did so after he foisted “.your liberal party” upon my head.

My screed at 5 a.m.:

Wow! You are worked up.

Please remember this: I am not a Democrat. I am an independent.

I vote for (but mainly against, since real change is impossible without true campaign finance reform and, in my opinion, term limits) a candidate on issues. I voted for Reagan and both Bushes…once. At the time, I liked them better than the Democratic candidates.

I’m concerned that Republicans care more about big business, tax breaks for the wealthy, high drug prices, the success of military equipment manufacturers, and throwing up scare tactics about antifa and BLM than they are about the ordinary citizen.

GOPers, like all militia groups, scream about personal freedom — “My body, my choice!” Is a popular theme right now — but demand that women and girls do not have that same right when it comes to personal health care in consultation with their doctor and their god.

Your comment about Democrats and education was, really, beneath you and I took it as a statement made out of exasperation and mental anguish.

Two areas — national security and education — should be the primary concerns of this country. As a teacher and a one-time history major, I rever the historical truisms of this world and our nation — ALL of the stories, not just those that are pleasant and sanitized.

Due to greed and a belief that the white race was superior to all others, early settlers and would-be land barons, with the help of the military (after “buying” Manhattan in the worst/best land deal in history) took the whole of the U.S. from Native Americans. Of course they paid Spain for the Louisiana Purchase and Alaska from Russia (both “dream” real estate deals), after those countries stole it from various tribes and indigenous folk.

Slavery, abhorrent treatment of Native Americans (who, themselves, were immigrants) and the history of immigrant-bashing are part of the nation’s historical fabric.

It is impossible to unweave the cloth and create a new narrative without presenting a phony and superfluous picture of the past.

History is history. Trying to change it to fit a certain political philosophy, ease guilty consciences or just to assure that sensitive feelings are spared is NOT history.

If we do not actively and persistently acknowledge the mistakes of our ancestors, how on God’s green earth can we ever learn from them?

***********************************

GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK.  CLICK ON “COMMENT” TO TELL US WHAT YOU THINK or use one of the alternative methods for providing feedback.

Click here to submit feedback.  Let us know what you think.

click here to CLOSE THIS PAGE

http://iEXPOSED.us

PO Box 721

Scottsville TX 75688

By George Smith  — September 18, 2021

This is not a rant against women. It is a rant against certain women, prominent GOP shrews, a gaggle of ill-tempered, nagging and argumentative politicians whose sole purpose seems to be to promote the Donald Trump Irrational Theory of MAGA.

(Note to readers: The adjectives used above are the clinical definition of a shrew. Blame Funk and Wagnall’s, not me.)

Shrew 1: Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina and ambassador to the U.N. and, at one time, a possible future presidential contender.

Haley, before she opted to be a kiss-hiney suck-up to Trump, stood alone on the distaff side of rational Republican politicians. She was dynamic, engaging, charming, a politician/chameleon that fit the mold of one bound for future greatness within her party.

As an astute minority politician, Haley, whose full name is Nimrata “Nikki”  Randhawa Haley, the GOP offered her a place in history. That place is assured, now that her name will always be associated with the only president to be impeached twice.

Now, Haley’s stock has tumbled, as she has to hold the female-side of the GOP banner with two other Trumpettes.

Shrew 2: introducing the Queen of Snark; Majorie Taylor Green. Green, who represents Georgia’s 14th District, is a slash-and-burn politician, a born-again Trumpuppet who is interested in only two things, how many times can she be in the headlines or on TV and how much hell she has to raise to be interviewed on Fox News or  NewsMax.

Green is so annoying and disliked on The Hill that she was removed from committees by House leaders.

Greene has promoted numerous far-right, white supremacist, and antisemitic conspiracy theories including the white genocide conspiracy theory, anything in QAnon sites, and Pizzagate, as well as other disproven conspiracy theories such as false mass shootings, the Clinton body count, and those related to 9/11.

In other words, she’s a nut.

Shrew 3: Lauren Opal Boebert is a businesswoman and gun-rights activist, now serving as the U.S. Representative for Colorado’s 3rd congressional district.

When deciding to run for Congress, she thought it might be good if she had a high school diploma, so she got her GED.

Boebert owns Shooters Grill, a restaurant in Rifle, Colorado, where staff members are encouraged to openly carry firearms.

If that does not tell you all you need to know, Boebert was a leader in trying to get Antifa, a non-organization railing against fascism, as a terrorist organization.

A QAnon advocate, Boebert, to quote an opinion piece in a national newspaper, is “caught in a cacophony of crazy.”

These are the leaders of the women’s’ movement in the Republican Party.

Too bad. So sad.

***********************************

GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK.  CLICK ON “COMMENT” TO TELL US WHAT YOU THINK or use one of the alternative methods for providing feedback.

Click here to submit feedback.  Let us know what you think.

click here to CLOSE THIS PAGE

http://iEXPOSED.us

PO Box 721

Scottsville TX 75688

Imagine an exchange that’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can buy and sell everything from stocks to cryptocurrency to art. Trades happen almost instantly, without the need for middlemen or gatekeepers. Profits can turn to losses in the wink of an eye.  A blockchain-based exchange is less far-fetched than ever. This week, the WSJ’s Paul Vigna reports on a number of pilot programs and other experiments investigating how to create digitized markets that can keep up with changing times. 💵The article is part of our latest issue, which looks at what’s ahead for money and finance. Elsewhere, we round up innovative credit-card rewards headed to your wallet, as well as four investments about to go mainstream. We question the speed of stimulus payments, meet the next generation of financial chatbots, dig into the European Union’s roll out of sustainability reporting metrics and look at the potential role of satellite networks in high-frequency trading. Last but not least, we examine how connected devices are learning to buy and sell goods and services. 📰Read the full report here or in today’s paper. Or keep scrolling. 👇And, as always, send me your thoughts, questions and predictions by hitting “reply” to this email.

🚀 The Future of Everything Festival takes place online May 11-13. Together, we’ll look around the corner at the ideas triggering seismic shifts in how we live, work and play. You’ll collaborate with entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, scientists and thinkers so that you can plan for what’s next with informed projections—not predictions. The Wall Street Journal will deliver all of this and more, so join us and experience the future as it takes shape. Register here for your 3-Day Pass (complimentary for WSJ members).   *********************************** GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK.  CLICK ON “COMMENT” TO TELL US WHAT YOU THINK or use one of the alternative methods for providing feedback.  Click here to submit feedback.  Let us know what you think. click here to CLOSE THIS PAGE