| Letters
to the editor from this week's Chronicle
To the Editor: James Rockwell, in his Letter to the Editor about communists last week, failed to note an important fact in history that James is too young, at his age 56, to remember. I’m talking about the era of Senator Joseph McCarthy, a “Republican” from Wisconsin, who initiated a fear campaign against alleged communists from the period of 1950-1954. (Rockwell was born in 1964). During that era, conservative politicians in the U.S. referred to progressive reforms such as child labor laws and the women’s right to vote as “communist,” and tried to raise fears in voters over such issues. Now it seems the Republicans are trying to initiate another fear campaign, trying to convince voters that “we should be very afraid” because "communists" and liberals are bent on destroying America. I don’t know about you, but I’m not buying it. Joan Kopczynski To the Editor CDC,
(Center for Disease Control) calls on Americans to wear masks to
prevent COVID-19 spread, JAMA editorial reviews latest science, while
case study shows masks prevented COVID spread
This headline is from July 14, 2020
CDC press release. It would have you believe a scientific study had
been conducted by the CDC to support mask-wearing. The press release is
based on a case study with no scientific basis and a survey saying a
majority of adults support wearing face masks outside the home. This is
not science. It is a subjective analysis by career technocrats with
political intent.Two major scientific studies have been conducted which concluded that the wearing of cloth masks and surgical masks have no significant effect in reducing the spread of clinical respiratory illness (CRI), influenza-like illness (ILI), and laboratory-confirmed respiratory virus infection. A study published in 2015 by PubMed Central (PMC) / U.S. National Library of Medicine / National Institutes of Health, concluded: “This study is the first random clinical trial (RCT) of cloth masks, and the results caution against the use of cloth masks. This is an important finding to inform occupational health and safety. Moisture retention, reuse of cloth masks and poor filtration may result in increased risk of infection. Further research is needed to inform the widespread use of cloth masks globally. However, as a precautionary measure, cloth masks should not be recommended for hospital healthcare workers (HCWs), particularly in high-risk situations, and guidelines need to be updated.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4420971/ More recently, a Danish Study from April/May 2020 published Nov 18, 2020, in the Annuls of Internal Medicine reached a similar conclusion. “The recommendation to wear surgical masks to supplement other public health measures did not reduce the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate among wearers by more than 50% in a community with modest infection rates, some degree of social distancing, and uncommon general mask use. The data were compatible with lesser degrees of self-protection.” https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-6817 In September the CDC pointed out that only six percent, or 9,642 of the reported 161,392 deaths as of August 22 had Covid-19 as the only cause of death. The remaining 94% of deaths had two to three co-morbidities in addition to Covid-19. In a country of 327 million people, that’s a mortality rate of .0000296. Another interesting fact was that the average age of Covid-19 death was 80 while life expectancy in the U.S. is 77. These figures got scant coverage because they did not fit the political narrative. I am not making light of anyone who has died with Covid-19. I know the reality all too well because my father passed away in May. He had contracted Covid-19 and had gotten past the infection and then contracted pneumonia and passed when his heart could not keep up with his lungs. They tried to list my father’s death as Covid-19; this was not the case. It bothers me that we seem to be politicizing the death of our loved ones. I am also not saying you should not wear a mask and I respect anybody’s decision to do so. I also hope with the analysis of facts and utilizing the available science at our disposal we can have a mutual understanding for those who do not wish to wear a mask. Mask wearing should be a personal decision. If our local leaders wish to lead then maybe they should lead with the facts and let the facts lead us to a mutual understanding of respect for one another. Jim Chmelik Former Idaho County Commissioner Cottonwood Dear Editor, I generally do no write letters to the editor, but I read one last week that criticized our local doctors for encouraging the wearing of masks. I found this troubling. Rather than criticize perhaps we should be thankful and supportive of such qualified and caring doctors who put their lives at risk for us. If wearing a mask in public could save a life, wouldn’t it be worth it? Janet Richardson Letter to the Editor: To all the 35-year-old Margaret Frei’s in Cottonwood who laugh and don’t take this pandemic seriously, please know the corona virus is not “a contagious flu” like she wrote in her letter to the editor. It is much worse. Even people who recover from it are left with debilitating symptoms. This is a fact, not an opinion. You were too young and (your family) did not live in Cottonwood during the time of the 1918 flu epidemic. Ask Beth Nuxoll Forsmann, who likes to visit cemeteries, to check the graves in the Cottonwood Cemetery to find out how many people of Cottonwood died as a result of the 1918 flu epidemic. There were several. A face mask mandate is not a conspiracy for government control. You said in your letter: “It is time to use more common sense.” I agree. Common sense dictates that you wear a face mask to protect your and others’ health. Maybe the Cottonwood Hospital should ask you the following question: “Have you been wearing a mask the past 14 days when in public?” If no, they should reply, “I’m sorry, but we are not able to admit you at this time.” NO MASK, NO SERVICE. It’s as simple as that. Joan Kopczynski To the Editor Margaret Frei’s 11/26/20 letter to the editor concerning the St. Mary’s pro-masking article hit the nail on the head: “Every premise they put forth as fact could be disputed.” Indeed, I will go a step further; every premise they put forth as fact is contradicted by actual science. This was reemphasized by the recent publication of a Danish randomized controlled trial concerning the efficacy of masking in protecting healthy individuals from the SARS CoV 2 (“Effectiveness Of Adding A Mask Recommendation To Other Public Health Measures To Prevent SARS-CoV-2 Infection In Danish Mask Wearers”). The study determined, “the recommendation to wear a surgical mask when outside the home ...did not reduce ...the incidence of SARS CoV 2 infection in mask wearers.” In short, the study found no statistical difference in COVID-19 infection rates between mask wearers and non-mask wearers. This finding is in line with the conclusions reached by other researchers. In May of 2020, the CDC published a study titled, “Nonpharmaceutical measures for pandemic influenza in non-healthcare settings – personal protective and environmental measures” that “found no significant effect of face-masks on transmission of laboratory confirmed influenza.” Significantly, the study also declared, “we did not find evidence that surgical type face-masks are effective in reducing laboratory confirmed influenza transmission, either when worn by infected persons (source control) or by persons in the general community to reduce their susceptibility.” In other words, face masks are not effective no matter who wears them. On June 5, 2020, the World Health Organization published a paper titled “Advice on the use of masks in the context of COVID-19” that concluded “there is no direct evidence (from studies on COVID-19 and in healthy people in the community) on the effectiveness of universal masking of healthy people in the community to prevent infection with respiratory viruses including COVID-19.” A September 2020 study published in the Frontiers In Medicine journal reported a meta-analysis assessing research drawn from “a total of 23,892 participants between 7 and 89 years old ...across 15 studies from 11 countries.” The conclusion was, “surgical mask wearing among individuals in non-healthcare settings is not significantly associated with reduction in acute respiratory illnesses (according to the) meta-review.” As I’ve mentioned before, it would be easy to fill an entire edition of the Cottonwood Chronicle with quotes from studies refuting the claim that masking is effective in mitigating the spread of virus caused diseases. It simply is not true that masking helps stop the spread of the SARS CoV 2. Emotional appeals and the citation of organizational authorities do not change that fact. If I had to give a reason for the constant claim that masking will stop the spread of the COVID-19 I would suggest it is fear. People are afraid and the reason they are afraid is because our civil authorities and many medical professionals have portrayed the SARS CoV 2 as a deadly plague. Here again we find a dearth of data to back this up. In fact, information on excess deaths in the USA contradicts the pandemic narrative (see: John Hopkins Professor, Genevieve Briand’s Presentation, “The Covid-19 Deaths: A Look at U.S. Data” found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TKJN61aflI). I encourage each of you to reject the COVID-19 hysteria. Do not mindlessly embrace the politically correct point of view. Instead, do your own research (see 403forbidden.us for instance) and use your God-given common sense. Don’t let the “experts” mislead you. D. Eric Williams, Cottonwood To the Editor, Laura Smith, representing Syringa Hospital (Progress 11/19/20) advocates continued widespread use of masks to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 due to its alarming spread. If the masks are effective, why the alarming increase in cases? The truth is that masks are not effective! This is known information. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) does not consider cloth masks PPE (personal protective equipment). It's website states that masks “will not protect the wearer against airborne transmissible infectious agents.” Why is the Hospital, media and government telling us the opposite? Laura goes on to site several reasons for complying with wearing masks, all of which are poor excuses given that mask wearing is not effective. Her last reason, number 8, takes the cake with “to embrace the new normal”. This constant reciting of the number of new cases and deaths does only one thing- instill fear and compliance. New cases are determined by the PCR test. This test was developed 40 years ago and was not designed to detect viruses. Then why use it? Here is why. The test sample is “cycled”, that is doubled. Each “cycle” magnifies the sample. Dr. Fauchi said that any PCR test cycled 35 or more times is of no value, as the sample becomes so polluted with artifacts (basically background noise). Lowering the number of cycles leads to more false negatives and increasing the cycles leads to more false positives. So, any desired results can be obtained by just adjusting the number of cycles. In addition, hospitals are being paid thousands for each “Covid” diagnosis and many more thousands for listing “Covid” as cause of death. Non-disclosure of this conflict of interest is criminal. Who else benefits from all of these lies and unnecessary mandates? Billionaires of the world have seen a 27% increase in their net worth since this all started. Big-Box and Mega online businesses, with low interest loans from the government, have been able to step in and take over market share of all the small businesses who have been closed or shut down. Embrace the new normal? I don't think so. Jay Maxner, Kooskia Be Not Afraid Having lived 7 years in Vietnam, I know communism. Communism tells its citizens if they can go to church, or assemble for political meetings. It tells them who they can associate with. It tells them what news they can read, what programs they can watch, what music they can listen to, and what opinions they can have. It tells its citizens when to turn off the lights, when to go home, and when to get off the streets. Communism rewards those who rat out their neighbors for noncompliance. Communism forbids its people from questioning any action of that government. Billboards and loudspeakers blare: "Trust your Government! Government knows best!" Your government does not know best. It serves you. You do not serve it. We are a free people. In 2020 we Americans forgot we were free. We took on the classic characteristics of communism. We complied, when told not to question our government. We complied when told not to read analysis from doctors who disagreed with the government. We complied when told not to post opinions contrary to government policy. We were told not to go to church, not to go to restaurants, not to see family. Too risky, we were told. We complied. But we are a people who take risk, aren't we? We make those decisions ourselves. Always have. We go to restaurants, even in flu season. We go to bars, even with someone who has a cold. We go to weddings, knowing there may be some in attendance who are sick. We board airplanes and buses equipped with barf bags. We race cars. We bungie jump and we sky dive. Who decided we weren't capable of making those decisions about risk? We Americans are, in fact, defined by our fearlessness, and our appetite for risk. Yet, in 2020, your government told you to be afraid. You complied. Your government then debased every right listed in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, namely the right to free exercise of religion, the freedom of speech, or of the press, and the right of the people peaceably to assemble. We are a free people. Be not afraid. Be American. Question your government. James Rockwell, Chairman And the Idaho County Republican Central Committee No. 292 - 11/30/2020 "I (still) await your answer!" So closed RNR #291 last week after a beginning plea: "Hello out there! Someone! Anyone!" Has "the world gone crazy...or have I lost my mind!" Then cited was the Declaration of Independence's: "All...are created equal, are endowed by their Creator...with unalienable rights...Life, LIBERTY, the Pursuit of Happiness." Then came this author's dismay over how things have changed in one lifetime! Referenced then was the respect expected for neighbors of every kind, because of a common brotherhood under God. Examples of our Christian heritage were cited even in public school systems. Added next, our Constitution's First Amendment, part of a "Bill of Rights" added to the original document before the colonists would agree to adopt the new government. Note that it says: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or PROHIBITING the free exercise of, or denying FREEDOM of speech,...and ASSEMBLY." Real students of history know that many of the original 13 states did have ESTABLISHED RELIGIONS. So the drafters of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, added as a condition for passage, that no NATIONAL RELIGION would be tolerated or required! Finally, a summary of the system set up by our founders was reviewed. In diagram form: God-->People-->States...>National Government. People who deny their belief in God do so at their own risk, evidence is overwhelming! So too is the evidence that people created the state governments. The states in turn reluctantly gave up 18 limited powers to the national government, listed in Article One, Section 8. Note also, the STATES, in Article five, have the power to amend the Constitution, thus they could further restrict, or add to, those original powers, as has been done 27 times. But the bottom line is, the national government in our system is a FEDERAL one, meaning that it must share powers with the states, their creators! So why the frustration of many Americans over the subtle changes which have taken place over the years, and have come to a head during these "Covid" times? Because this nation which has been the envy of the world, based on the system illustrated: God-->P-->St-->Gov, has slowly slipped back first into the old democracy model; P-->G, People-->Government, notice no real dependence on God, then back into the model most found in history! G-->P, which my friends, is Government-->People! Ouch! Our chains have been forged, and we are now slaves of our national government which has become the dictator to both states and the people who created it! We, the PEOPLE, have become sheep and are being SHORN! We allow our government to SHUT US DOWN, implemented by the states, who should be the boss, destroying businesses, families, livelihoods in the process! We cannot even watch our own offspring engage in sports... why even the pro's tolerate being told they can have only a few people in their million $ gyms! In small communities where the Covid sickness is nearly non-existent people are threatened if they choose not to wear an irritating mask, even when far beyond the so-called magic 6' of "social distancing!" At a local ballgame the other night, the only legal observers were the ONE PARENTS, asked to wear masks, even though so far apart they almost needed cell phones to communicate! What in blazes has happened to the America we used to know, where vigorous people ran all kinds of risks to cross dangerous seas, to starve in cold winters, to fight against overwhelming odds? Folks, it is time we take back our freedom, and start making decisions at the local level. Otherwise we are DOOMED! (Maybe one reason no one has responded to my "explain" plea is, my system is down!) Jake Wren |
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