Why Greene needs to be shunned
The worst thing to happen in my lifetime was the massacre of 20 children almost a decade ago. The current controversy of the Capitol riots, the Antifa uprisings this summer, the Oklahoma City bombing and even 9/11 don’t carry that same, crushing weight. The other tragedies were political reckonings, making us face the terror within, and without.
But Sandy Hook was what happened when we thought there was a bottom, a basement, a level beyond which we could not sink -- and then the floor crumbled. Disappeared. Evaporated like the tears of children when comforted by their parents.
Sandy Hook was the unimagined nightmare, in our waking hours. I still shake when I think of it. I weep, and see the gap-toothed smiles blocking out the words on my screen when I try and write about it. I am crying now.
Newtown will never fail to pierce the heart, because children died that day, babies really.
That is why anyone who denies that this happened to us, who mocks the pain of parents who know with that inner compass how to locate the inches of earth over their babies’ graves, is a vile creature, that deserves to be shunned.
But a creature like that sits in Congress, and her name is Marjorie Taylor Greene. She did not steal an election. She won by a huge margin of constituents who supported her. She earned her place in Congress the way that Joe Biden earned his place in the White House. That’s an important point.
And yet, there is strong, credible evidence that-among other things -- she denied that Newtown ever occurred. She denied that babies lie in graves. She suggested that it was a conspiracy to take our guns from us, and thwart the mandate of the Second Amendment. She did that, and she sits, lawfully, in Congress.
One single representative can neither elevate or destroy the House. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is a lightning rod for anger from the right, but she is just a very young woman with exceptional skills at self-promotion and a huge cult following. Rashida Tlaib shows anti-Semitism with every sneered attack against Israel, but she is also just one person among many. Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and those second string members of the Squad are separately irrelevant, although in company and in union they make their mark. They are as hated on the right as Marjorie Taylor Greene is on the left.
But Marjorie Taylor Greene is different for me, because of Newtown.
And while her sometime devotion to Qanon is bizarre, considering the group’s participation in the Capitol riots, the majority of people who believe in crazy stuff don’t do crazy things. Qanon is bad, but generally, the First Amendment protects crazy beliefs as long as they remain trapped safely in the mind.
But the thing you cannot sanction, or ignore, is the willingness to suggest that dead children are figments of a politician’s imagination. Greene has backtracked and even tried to deny that she said Newtown was a myth. Too little, too late.
No one should be defending her. That there are some Republicans who are, in fact, doing so is abhorrent. That they allegedly gave her a standing ovation in secret committee is repellent. That they themselves refused to strip her of committee positions is almost incomprehensible.
I say “almost,” because I know what it’s like to feel as if the world is coming for you, and you need to fight back. The GOP has circled the wagons around this freshman congresswoman because of the attacks against the party in general from both Democrats, their allies in the media, and some disaffected members of their own party. Fight or flee are the responses people have when assaulted, and they have decided to fight. In many ways, I can’t blame them.
But there are limits to selfdefense, and when they cause you to lose the thing worth fighting for-your soul-you have to stop.
Any woman who has been credibly accused of slandering dead children and their parents does not deserve to be in a position of authority. It is ultimately up to the voters to cast her out, just as I hope the same is done with the toxic sisters on the left. But while she is in Congress, her voice, a voice that was raised in support of devilish and indecent conspiracy, must be muted.
I am only saddened that it took the Democrats to do the heavy moral lifting. But when faced with dead babies, political considerations should evaporate as quickly as those tears on my keyboard.
The U.S. has entered a tricky phase of the COVID-19 vaccination effort as providers try to ramp up the number of people getting first shots while also ensuring a growing number of others get second doses just when millions more Americans are becoming eligible to receive vaccines.
The need to give each person two doses a few weeks apart vastly complicates the country’s biggestever vaccination campaign. And persistent uncertainty about future vaccine supplies fuels worries that some people will not be able to get their second shots in time.
In some cases, local health departments and providers have said they must temporarily curb or even cancel appointments for first doses to ensure there are enough second doses for people who need them.
Nola Rudolph said she struggled to book appointments for her 71-year-old father and 68-year-old mother, who live in rural upstate New York. Everywhere she looked within driving distance was booked.
“Seeing they were eligible, I was elated,” she said. “Seeing they were in a dead zone, I went from very hopeful to hopeless again.”
She was able to arrange a second dose for her father but has not yet been able to find a slot for her mother. “It’s like going around in a circle.”
For about the past month, the U.S. has administered an average of 900,000 first doses each day, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed by The Associated Press. Now many of those people are due for second doses, and the average number of Americans getting second shots hit an all-time high Tuesday — 539,000 per day over the past week.
The increasing demand for second doses comes as the Biden administration is taking steps to boost the supply of doses.
White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients announced Tuesday that states will see their allocation of doses rise to 11 million per week beginning next week, up more than 2 million weekly doses since President Joe Biden took office.
Since the vaccine was authorized in late December, about 33 million people in the U.S. have received shots.
“It’s really important and critical to recognize that there are still not enough doses to go around,” said Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
So far, about 10% of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of the vaccine. About 3% has
received both doses, the AP analysis showed.
Across Los Angeles County, health officials say limited supplies mean the majority of vaccinations this week will be for second doses. In the state’s Napa County, some appointments for first doses were canceled last week to ensure there would be enough for second doses.
“We’re getting a lot of the questions from community members asking, ‘Is my second dose in jeopardy?’ And right now, we don’t have an answer because it’s all dependent on the inventory that comes in from the
state,” said Alfredo Pedroza, a county supervisor.
Both COVID-19 vaccines being distributed in the U.S. require two shots a few weeks apart to maximize protection. For Pfizer, the doses are supposed to be three weeks apart. For Moderna, it’s four weeks. But if needed, the booster be delayed for up to six weeks, according to the CDC, which updated its guidance late last month.
State and local health officials now emphasize that extended time frame in public messaging to alleviate worries that people might not get their second
shots on time.
Federal officials have said they are confident there will be enough doses to ensure people get their second shots.
Fueling the concerns in some places is the difficulty of booking the second dose. Although many places schedule the booster when the first shot is given, others ask people to schedule them later on because of logistical issues.
Tanny O’Haley is 64 and has Parkinson’s, but he isn’t eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in Los Angeles County, where he lives. He was able to get a first dose when he accompanied his 69-year-old wife to her vaccination because the site had a leftover shot.
O’Haley has not been able to schedule his second dose despite numerous calls to local officials and the county health department. He plans to try again when he brings his wife to her second appointment on Wednesday.
“The whole experience was pretty awful,” O’Haley said.
In New Hampshire, officials are ditching the current scheduling system after thousands of people struggled to book their boosters within the recommended time — with some being given appointments for two months later. People will now get appointments for their second shots when they get their first.
New Hampshire is one of several local jurisdictions that had signed up to use the CDC’s Vaccine Administration Management System, or VAMS.
At the Las Vegas Convention Center in Nevada, another type of scheduling problem popped up last week when the site opened as a clinic dedicated only to second doses. When appointments were made available online, people eager for their first doses snapped up slots.
“We had enough vaccine — we just need to control the crowd somehow,” said JoAnn Rupiper of the Southern Nevada Health District.
Not playing in a “bubble” this season is having an increasingly negative impact on the NHL. As much as Gary Bettman and Co. patted themselves on the back late last summer for a Stanley Cup tournament that they claimed didn’t incur any positive COVID tests, trying to do the same through a semi-regular season, even with limited travel, has not stemmed a virus tide.
While teams across the league, including the Flyers, have seen COVID-19’s impact, the New Jersey Devils are feeling the weight of it now, with as many as 17 players on the COVID list late last week, including rookie standout Jack Hughes and top-line star Taylor Hall.
The Buffalo Sabres are also dealing with players on the COVID list and haven’t played since, not so coincidentally, a game against the Devils on Jan. 31. Other teams have been similarly impacted this week. And things aren’t getting better fast for the Devils, as their scheduled games of Thursday and Saturday this week against the Flyers have been postponed.
The Flyers are not scheduled to play again until Sunday evening at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers. That Valentine’s Day matchup was moved up from its original Feb. 16 date. After that game the Flyers will next cuddle up with the Rangers on the following Thursday, leaving a few days for perhaps at least one of the Devils games to be played.
Of course, that’s just healthy speculation at this point.
“It is what it is, and you’ve got to deal with it,” Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said Monday about playing in a pandemic.
Doing so has also impacted the Flyers from a personnel standpoint, with Shayne Gostisbehere at the start of the season, and now fellow defenseman Travis Sanheim, sidelined due to COVID protocols.
Gostisbehere is healthy again and playing that way, while Sanheim’s situation is unclear, with Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher reportedly indicating he might
be listed as day-to-day.
“That’s all we can say,” Vigneault sort of said Monday.
The Sanheim shutdown apparently came Saturday while the team was in Washington, forcing the Flyers to undergo a team-wide rapid testing program early Sunday, ahead of a noon start against the Capitals. That forced a 6:15 a.m. wakeup call, according to Vigneault.
“We didn’t know going to bed (the previous night) we’d have to do that,” the coach said. “Everybody had wakeup calls at 6:15 in the morning ... to come down to get
rapid testing and to take our normal COVID testing. We had to do it earlier than expected but it is what it is and you have to deal with it.”
That probably didn’t sit well with some of the younger players. As Travis Konecny, 23, put it: “I think in the first couple of minutes (of the game), there was some waking up that needed to be done. It was an early morning wakeup, so we got the rust out and then started playing.”
Indeed, the Flyers fell behind early as Alex Ovechkin went nuts for a while. But the Flyers got better as the day went on, and after dominating the third period, they emerged with a 7-4 win.
You can presume they slept soundly on the trip
home.
“I think it’s the first time, at least in the NHL, that I’ve ever been up at 6:15 for a hockey game,” Konecny said. “Obviously, things are a little bit different this year, and we’re not the only team going through some of these tests and protocols and stuff, so there’s no excuses. But definitely. a new experience.”
Philosophical as ever, 35-year-old goalie Brian Elliott added, “It was an early game and so a lot of us were getting up at a similar hour. So I don’t think it was that crazy of a wakeup for most guys. It’s unique, but you’ve got to roll with the punches a little bit. If you get hung up on those little things and let those things bother you, that’s the wrong path to go down.”
ELEANOR C. RUTH, 88, joined the celestial choir on Saturday, February 6, 2021.
Born in Harleysville, Eleanor was the middle child of the late Paul L. and Naomi (Clemens) Ruth and grew up on the Ruth Road homestead along with her three brothers and sister.
The last charter member of the Spring Mount Mennonite Church community, Eleanor was baptized in 1945 and through the years served as church treasurer, elder, song leader, Sunday and Vacation Bible school teacher, and on other church related committees.
Growing up in a singing family, music was important in her life. In her childhood she attended area singing schools and took piano lessons - all resulting in her interest in music. She sang with the Franconia-Lancaster Chorale Singers for over 60 years and served on the executive board of Lansdale Community Concerts.
In addition to music, Eleanor enjoyed reading and travel, having visited Russia, Middle East, Europe, South America, Mexico, Costa Rico, Ireland, and the Caribbean.
Eleanor was employed as administrative assistant at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School for 40 years, then part time for 12 additional years. In her retirement, she volunteered for Living Branches, Care and Share Shoppes, and the Mennonite Heritage Center.
She also served one year in voluntary service and three monthly volunteer assignments in other areas.
Eleanor will be remembered by her many friends and family members for her cheerful welcome, her lovely alto voice, her gifts of organization, her interest in the lives of all she met, and her faithful following the way of Jesus. Her nieces and nephews dearly loved Eleanor as the aunt who invested time in each of their lives and also nurtured the extended Ruth family relationships.
She is survived by a sister, Cleta (Daniel) Reinford; brothers, Vernon (Janet) Ruth, and Leonard (Esther) Ruth; 15 nieces and nephews, 36 great and 27 great, great nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her brother Walton and his wife Ruth.
Due to restrictions on public gatherings, a private graveside service will take place for immediate family at Salford Mennonite Cemetery, with a Celebration of Life service to be scheduled at a later date.
Memorial gifts may be made in her memory to Dock Mennonite Academy, 1000 Forty Foot Road, Lansdale, Pa, 19446.
Arrangements are by Williams-Bergey-Koffel Funeral Home, Inc. of Franconia, Pa. Online condolences may be made to the family at www. WilliamsBergeyKoffel.com.