<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div dir="ltr">Courtesy of today’s <i>Moscow-Pullman Daily News</i> with special thanks to Nick Gier.<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><br></div><div>—————————————————</div><div><br></div><div><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">The Old Tricks</span></b></p></div><div><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">Dale Courtney is up to his old tricks again (column, Feb. 2). He claims that COVID-19 is “becoming less lethal,” but that is only the case in countries that practice the precautions that he rejects. The U.S still has the most overall deaths, and our omicron fatalities are currently 63 percent more than Western Europe.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">Australia and New Zealand were in lockdown the longest, and one day omicron fatalities were 134 and 53 on Jan. 28 and Feb. 1 respectively. On Jan. 26, U.S. deaths were 3,434. That computes to 104 per million Americans dead versus 5.2 Aussies and 10.8 Kiwis.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">Many assume that lockdowns ruined economies, but Australia’s unemployment rate is 4.6 percent, its budget deficit is 4.5 percent, and its economy is expected to grow 3.1 percent for 2022. Ours is 3.9, 7.8, and 3.3 respectively.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">Not surprising, Courtney’s data for natural immunity sounds fishy, so let’s rely on the experts at Johns Hopkins: “For all these reasons (low full vaccinations and low mask wearing), it will be very challenging to get to the level of population immunity.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">Courtney supports the Barrington Declaration which would have let the virus run its course unhindered and without regard for the risk of hundreds of thousands more deaths. In a previous column Courtney recommended, incredibly enough, that parents throw “pox” parties for their kids.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">When Courtney falsely claims that Biden has “blocked therapeutics,” he must have the dewormer ivermectin in mind. The FDA, however, has approved a number of safe drugs for use.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); background-color: white;">Courtney also contends that Biden has fired all sorts of people. As commander-in-chief, he has a responsibility to protect the combat readiness of the troops, so anti-vax soldiers will not be allowed to infect their units. When the Pullman hospital required vaccines, a few employees fired themselves for not complying.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); background-color: white;"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); background-color: white;">Nick Gier</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); background-color: white;">Moscow</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); background-color: white;"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;"><font color="#444444" face="Arial, sans-serif" size="4"><span style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">———————-</span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;"><font color="#444444" face="Arial, sans-serif" size="4"><span style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;"><font color="#444444" face="Arial, sans-serif" size="4"><span style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Dale Courtney</span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/Dale_Courtney.jpg">http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/Dale_Courtney.jpg</a></p></div><div><br></div><div>—————————————————<br><br><div dir="ltr"><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">http://www.MoscowCares.net</span></div><div><br></div><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tom Hansen</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Moscow, Idaho</span></div></div><div><br></div><div>“A stranger is just a friend you haven’t met.”</div><div>- Roy E. Stolworthy</div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>