Hiking in Shenandoah River State Park – Joyful return to Rappahannock Cellars – The Bannon trial begins – Fauci’s imminent retirement – Evening statistics
It was hot and sultry today, more typical of July than it’s been for the past two weeks. Nonetheless several of us hiked in Shenandoah River State Park for 6-7 miles. In the morning the temperature was not as oppressive and for the most part we stayed in the shade, sometimes even getting an occasional breeze from the river. I actually felt more tired after this relatively brief hike on account of the heat than I did after the adventures of Saturday, which resulted in my hiking well over twice the distance. And at that, it seems somewhat faint-hearted to complain about the heat, when at this juncture over 20% of Americans are enduring temperatures in the triple digits.
And afterwards we went to a winery: none other than Rappahannock Cellars, the same winery where LM, MM, and LH met for our first indoor social occasion together after the beginning of the pandemic. Already it is nearly two years since that meeting! Matters are certainly better now. We are able to meet with people under covered roofs without thinking twice (at least, most of us are), to take journeys on public transit without trepidation, to travel on buses and trains and airplanes, even to take international trips. Yet COVID is still casting a shadow on us. Although the term “endemic” is repeatedly slung about, we simply are not at that stage yet. The virus is still unpredictable: new variants are continually emerging and, unlike variants of, for instance, influenza, we have no idea as to whether or not any new variant will prove to be as severe as the original virus. Currently the BA 5 variant is accounting for the majority of the cases and its mortality rate is somewhat higher than its predecessors, although much less than the strains that prevailed a year ago or even last winter. And a new variant of interest, BA 7, has been detected. During the hike, LH remarked that a majority of people with whom she is acquainted have come down with the disease in one form or another. I’m not certain that the same is true in my case, but certainly the proportion of those with whom I meet or correspond who have been infected is much higher than, say, a year ago.
At all events, we enjoyed ourselves as much as we had done that memorable occasion in July, 2020. Rappahannock Cellars on this afternoon had more customers than it had had during the 2020 visit, but the staff was as pleasant and welcoming as ever, the wines were all of good quality, and the eight of us had the large area upstairs all to ourselves. And there we sat for two hours, as we had done before, feasting on hummus and prosciutto and gorgonzola and nuts and bread and guacamole and various salty snacks and chocolate and babka and cake, all accompanied by the four bottles of wine (one red, one rosé, and two white) that we shared between us, as we conversed comfortably about past trips and plans for future ones and hiking excursions and simple gossip.
As before, I felt in no great hurry to read the headlines after so enjoyable a meeting, but in the evening I scanned the Internet to find that there is no dearth of news of interest. Steve Bannon will be on trial for two criminal charges concerning his failure to comply with the House’s January 6, 2021, investigation 10 months after receiving subpoenas. Jury selection at the federal courthouse in Washington began today. Twenty-two potential jurors have been found, and the 12 that make up the jury and two alternates will be selected tomorrow. Opening arguments will begin soon after. No one knows how extensive Bannon’s defense will be, or whether he will want to take the stand in his own defense. He will not be able to force House members to testify. Already his defense attorney David Schoen has complained, “What’s the point of going to trial here if there is no defense?”
If convicted, Bannon faces a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail and a fine ranging from $100 to $100,000 for each of the two contempt charges. The fines are negligible for a man of his worth (financial worth, not moral worth – which is a very different criterion), but jail time for this charlatan is a highly desirable outcome. One year, of course, is grossly insufficient, but if he is found guilty in this instance it may pave the way for more substantial penalties later on, when other, more weighty charges are brought against him.
Anthony Fauci has announced his plans to retire by the end of Biden’s term in office. In his own words: “We’re in a pattern now. If somebody says, ‘You’ll leave when we don’t have COVID anymore,’ then I will be 105. I think we’re going to be living with this.” He has steered the nation well through an epidemiological crisis, enduring personal attacks of extraordinary virulence in the process. Already he is 81 years old and I earnestly hope that he gets the opportunity to enjoy some years of quiet retirement. He has earned them.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 568,155,306; # of deaths worldwide: 6,388,817; # of cases U.S.: 91,359,299; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,049,005. I wish I could see how the U.S. is faring in comparison to other countries with respect to infection rate and mortality rate. But for several days running the websites have no longer been publishing these for the U.S. If my calculations are correct, we rank about 58th among nations for infection rate and 15th among the nations for mortality rate. But these estimates probably need to be adjusted, because the latest population count I could obtain dates back to 2020.