ActRight

A new letter bearing the names of 235 retired U.S. military leaders supports President Trump in what is described as arguably "the most important election since our country was founded."

When President Donald Trump began talking to the public about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in February and March, scientists were stunned at his seeming lack of understanding of the threat. We assumed that he either refused to listen to the White House briefings that must have been occurring or that he was being deliberately sheltered from information to create plausible deniability for federal inaction. Now, because famed Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward recorded him, we can hear Trump’s own voice saying that he understood precisely that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was deadly and spread through the air. As he was playing down the virus to the public, Trump was not confused or inadequately briefed: He flat-out lied, repeatedly, about science to the American people. These lies demoralized the scientific community and cost countless lives in the United States. Over the years, this page has commented on the scientific foibles of U.S. presidents. Inadequate action on climate change and environmental degradation during both Republican and Democratic administrations have been criticized frequently. Editorials have bemoaned endorsements by presidents on teaching intelligent design, creationism, and other antiscience in public schools. These matters are still important. But now, a U.S. president has deliberately lied about science in a way that was imminently dangerous to human health and directly led to widespread deaths of Americans. This may be the most shameful moment in the history of U.S. science policy. In an interview with Woodward on 7 February 2020, Trump said he knew that COVID-19 was more lethal than the flu and that it spread through the air. “This is deadly stuff,” he said. But on 9 March, he tweeted that the “common flu” was worse than COVID-19, while economic advisor Larry Kudlow and presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway assured the public that the virus was contained. On 19 March, Trump told Woodward that he did not want to level with the American people about the danger of the virus. “I wanted to always play it down,” he said, “I still like playing it down.” Playing it down meant lying about the fact that he knew the country was in grave danger. It also meant silencing health officials who tried to tell the truth. On 25 February, Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), said, “It’s not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness.” She was right and Trump knew it. But he shut her down. He also tried to control messaging from Anthony Fauci, the nation’s foremost leader on infectious diseases. Trump’s supporters insisted that Fauci and Messonnier were not being muzzled, but now we have clear evidence in emails that they were. Trump also knew that the virus could be deadly for young people. “It’s not just old, older,” he told Woodward on 19 March. “Young people, too, plenty of young people.” Yet, he has insisted that schools and universities reopen and that college football should resume. He recently added to his advisory team Scott Atlas—a neuroradiologist with no expertise in epidemiology—who has advocated for a risky and misguided course: somehow isolating the older and more vulnerable while allowing the virus free rein among young people. The opening of colleges and schools has accelerated the spread of the virus and will mean untold suffering among both students and the people to whom they are now spreading the virus. Monuments in Washington, D.C., have chiseled into them words spoken by real leaders during crises. “Confidence,” said Franklin Roosevelt, “thrives on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection and on unselfish performance.” We can be thankful that science has embraced these words. Researchers are tirelessly developing vaccines and investigating the origins of the virus so that future pandemics may be prevented. Health care workers have braved exposure to treat COVID-19 patients and reduce the death rate; many of these frontline workers have become infected, and some have died in these acts of courage. These individuals embody Roosevelt’s call to faithful protection and unselfish performance. They have seen neither quality exhibited by their president and his coconspirators. Trump was not clueless, and he was not ignoring the briefings. Listen to his own words. Trump lied, plain and simple.

U.S.—Astronomers claiming to have detected signs of life on Venus were forced to walk back their claims after it was revealed that the supposed "life" was actually just an unborn human baby in an incubation pod left there by an unknown civilization."False alarm, everybody -- it's just a fetus. No life here," said one NASA research …

Two high school football players in Ohio – one the son of a cop and the other the son of a firefighter – carried first responder flags onto the field before their game on Sept. 11 to honor the fallen heroes who died that day 19 years ago – then got suspended, briefly.

Capitalism must be abolished in order for black lives to matter, Alicia Garza, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter, said at a conference in 2015.

This has a rather Third World aroma about it

Joe Biden is now scrambling to show he cares about the destruction of millions of American jobs and the erosion of our industrial base.

Re-entering a deal with a repressive regime would put America on the wrong side of Iranian history.

Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Alejandro Villanueva decided to break with his teammates at their first game of the season Monday night by replacing Antwon Rose Jr.'s name on the back of

The current demand for guns in America is so great that the FBI is granting its background check system more delays.

President Trump’s nomination of economist Judy Shelton to the Federal Reserve’s board of governors lacks enough votes for confirmation, said Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 GOP leader in the Senate.

Facebook flagged an ad attacking Joe Biden on the Equality Act, claiming it was "misleading" to say trans activism will destroy women's sports.

American actor Jeffrey Wright explains how even if Joe Biden wins in November, an “illnesses” in America that has “flared up hard during these last four years” may never disappear. “Even if Biden wins and he must our, country is hurting culturally, politically, economically, spiritually. We devour ignorance hungrily,” the actor stated during an interview …

77-year-old Joe Biden on Tuesday made no sense during his roundtable event with veterans in Tampa, Florida. Biden wore a mask while he spoke even though only 6 others participated and they were all several feet away from each other. At one point Biden began to ramble about the ladies department…you know, the thing! “Cause…

The case preparations come after the Federal Trade Commission has spent more than a year investigating concerns that Facebook has been using its powerful market position to stifle competition.

The rest of the Steelers wore an Antwon Rose Jr. decal on Monday night

An Oregon woman held an alleged arsonist at gunpoint until police arrived to the scene after the man claimed he was going to start a fire on her property.

The Chamber of Commerce endorses Democrats to try to rebuild a weak center.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — With concerns rising in Pennsylvania that tens of thousands of mail-in ballots will be discarded in the presidential election over technicalities, officials in the...

The country is put at risk when the narrative gets in the way of the facts.

The campaign decided to tweet out the rare action shot of Joe Biden using his legs.

He won’t win without broadening his base of support, but that doesn’t seem to interest him.

For the second time in less than a week, CNN has ignored the firestorm over the movie Cuties while interviewing Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings.

Trump was willing to break with a failed conventional wisdom.

Trump doesn’t need a virus relief bill. Democratic House backbenchers want one.