The elephantine pace of the pandemic waning – A Capitol raider’s eulogy – The Ukrainian invasion continues – Evening statistics
Fairfax County has a ranking of “low-risk,” meaning that masks are worn on the basis of personal preference. Yet when I was out doing a few errands today, virtually all store employees and the overwhelming majority of customers were wearing masks. This behavior is a dramatic contrast to that of various counties which are still rated as high-risk, where as often as not people decline to wear masks in defiance of the mandates that still exist there.
In the State of the Union address, Biden outlined the strategy that the government will be pursuing towards ending COVID-related restrictions. Shutdowns are no longer in place and “most Americans in most of the country can now be mask free.” The fact remains, however, that while the pandemic began at a steady relentless pace, the wind-down is occurring in fits and starts. We are still losing several hundred per day and, although mask mandates are being lifted in many areas, masks are still required for public transport and for airplanes. Several experts have been saying for weeks that we are “going” to enter the endemic phase shortly, but no one will venture to give a firm date as to when this will happen.
“Matthew Lawrence Perna died on February 25, 2022 of a broken heart,” his family said in an obituary. “His community (which he loved), his country, and the justice system killed his spirit and his zest for life.”
Who exactly was the man who inspired such a touching tribute? Why, he was one of the rioters who vandalized the Capitol on January 6th of last year, and who was afterwards charged with witness tampering, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, and two counts of disorderly conduct. He pleaded guilty to all charges and was awaiting sentence for them, when he decided to take matters into his own hands by committing suicide. Video footage showed that he was in the Capitol for 20 minutes that day. Afterwars he posted claims on his Facebook page that individuals with Antifa were “chiefly” responsible for breaking the doors and windows at the Capitol and then added, “It’s not over, trust me. The purpose of today was to expose Pence as a traitor.” If these are typical results of his “zest for life,” it is just as well that this enthusiast is no longer with us.
Russia has captured the first major Ukrainian city since it began its invasion last week: Khersov, a city of nearly 300,000 residents on the Black Sea. Its heavy shelling and missile attacks have hit residential buildings, an orphanage, kindergartens, and a children’s hospital.
The International Criminal Court has opened an investigation into possible war crimes committed by Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. Even if Putin were tried and convicted, it would have little immediate effect. But it would discourage other senior Russian figures from participating in Putin’s crimes. If convicted, he would have to avoid traveling outside of Russia afterwards, at any rate if he wishes to avoid the fate of Charles Taylor, former president of Liberia, who is now in prison for life as a result of his arrest in Nigeria in 2006 for his crimes against civilians in Sierra Leone.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 440,114,577; # of deaths worldwide: 5,992,054; # of cases U.S.: 80,760,362; # of deaths; U.S.: 979,637.