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Coronavirus Criminals and Pandemic Profiteers: Accountability for Those Who Caused the Crisis
A furious denunciation of America’s coronavirus criminalsHundreds of thousands of deaths were caused not by the vicissitudes of nature but by the callous and opportunistic decisions of powerful people, as revealed here by John Nichols. On March 10, 2020, president Donald Trump told a nation worried about a novel coronavirus, “We’re prepared, and we’re doing a great job with it. And it will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away.” It has since been estimated that had Trump simply taken the same steps as other G7 countries, 40 percent fewer Americans would have died. And it was not just the president. His inner circle, including Mike Pence and Jared Kushner, downplayed the crisis and mishandled the response. Cabinet members such as Betsy DeVos and Mike Pompeo undermined public safety at home and abroad to advance their agendas. Senators Ron Johnson and Mitch McConnell, governors Kristi Noem and Andrew Cuomo, judges such as Wisconsin Supreme Court justice Rebecca Bradley all promulgated public policies that led to suffering and death. Meanwhile, profiteer Pfizer (and anti-government propagandists such as Grover Norquist) fed at the public trough, while the billionaire Jeff Bezos added pandemic profits to a grotesquely bloated fortune. John Nichols closes with a call for a version of the Pecora Commission, which took aim at what Franklin Delano Roosevelt called the “speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, and profiteering” that stoked the Depression. There must be accountability.
337 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 25, 2022
19 people are currently reading
253 people want to read
About the author
John Harrison Nichols
20 booksJohn Harrison Nichols (born February 3, 1959) is a liberal and progressive American journalist and author. He is the Executive Editor of The Nation Magazine and Associate Editor of The Capital Times.
He’s the author of several books, including The Death and Life of American Journalism, The Genius of Impeachment and The "S" Word, & Coronavirus Criminals.
He’s the author of several books, including The Death and Life of American Journalism, The Genius of Impeachment and The "S" Word, & Coronavirus Criminals.
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March 10, 2022I'm replying to a rant with a rant. If you're prone to nausea, skip it. I won't write a book, forcing my views on anyone. You choose to read this. It's just an opinion.
John Nichols in a pugnacious state of mind:
Conclusion: The United States of Impunity
Hunting the Guilty Men
The guilty must be named and shamed—not merely defeated at the polls but defeated in the memory of a country that can ill afford to forgive and forget. They cannot be allowed to exit into a comfortable retirement. Those whose actions filled refrigerator trucks with the bodies of Americans who did not need to die, who stood by as small businesses and farms were driven into insolvency, who stole the last shred of dignity from the jobless, cannot be permitted the revisionist’s renewal. They must be marked as the beasts they are, immediately and permanently.
John Nichols wrote this well-documented, well-researched, as well as subjective rant from his radical left, openly biased enclosure. I knew from paging through it, that between us there's going to be somewhat of an ire brewing. Just because I strongly believe that a pancake always has two sides, no matter how thin it is. At least that's how I was trained to handle history in the making.
Nichols tried his 'bestest' to blame Donald Trump. I couldn't help laughing. Astounding! Any president at the time had to rely on 'experts', such as Dr. Fauci, to handle the pandemic. How it was handled, and who profiteered is the premise of Nichols' opinion. And while we must go after the culprits, why not include everyone, and not only the ones so deeply despised by Nichols?
The origin of the virus, which destroyed millions of lives on so many levels, are not properly blamed, or even discussed. It's not the purpose of the book. The latest Pfizer reports are conveniently ignored by the very same media represented by Nichols. So where do we start finding the culprits?
For instance, no mention of Dr. Fauci & Co who funded the gain of function research, and the numerous allegations that the virus 'escaped' from a far-away land where the laboratory was visited by several high-profile American politicians and role players. including Dr. Fauci, long before the crises came about.
Blame politicians. Blame the profiteers such as Bizos. He fails to mention that politician rely heavily on experts. It doesn't really matter who the president was at the time. Chaos was upon the world.
Nichols does not mention that both 'vaccinated' ... and ... 'unvaccinated' ... are both still getting infected, AND BOTH GROUPS STILL INFECT OTHERS. That was not known in the beginning at all. Neither does he mention, to add perspective, that several countries used a cocktail of Ivermectin and other medicines for the successful treatment of early symptoms. If you did not know this, continue reading.
As of March 09, 2022, more than 10.9 billion shots have been given worldwide, of which 556 million doses have been administered in the USA. However, the least wealthy nations, only received 7.5% of the shots, including India which accommodates 17.5 % of the world's population and only administered 16.4% of the world's vaccinations. China, with 18% of the world's population, administered 29% of the vaccinations. Good news, Cuba leads the world with 310 doses administered per 100 people. (source: https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/co...)
Then he threw in a condescending introduction of Ron Johnson, oh well, he did that to everyone marked for his wrath, and proceeded further to call out Dr. Paul Rand, which in my humble opinion, had somewhat more experience of medicine and patients as the author.
Where knowledge is a duty, ignorance is a crime ~Thomas Paine, Public Good, 1780.
Nothing can reach the heart that is steeled with prejudice. ~Thomas Paine, The Crisis, 1776
These quotes, used so enthusiastically by the author, apply, or should apply, to himself too. He should not forget that.
For instance, why are so many millions of people skeptical? More millions all over the world don't trust neither the media nor the injection. Massive protests are taking place worldwide.
Take Prof. Luc Montagnier, 2008 Nobel-Winning Co-Discoverer of H.I.V and world-renowned virologist.
In the new Hold-Up film series, ‘retour sur un chaos‘ (Robbery: Reflections on Chaos), the filmmakers ask the famous scientist: “Tomorrow [if] you are forced to get vaccinated [against the coronavirus]. What do you say and what do you do? “
“I refuse to be vaccinated. My conscience told me not to get vaccinated ,” the Nobel laureate replied.
Professor Montagnier was the first to warn the world community in the spring of 2020 about the laboratory origin of the coronavirus.
So, shouldn't we decide for ourselves who we want to believe: A journalist with no medical, virology, or any other scientific knowledge whatsoever who rely heavily on his own choice of experts, or the esteemed professor?
When Dr. Robert Malone, one of the developers of the mRNA gene therapy technology questions the content as well as results of the injections, who should be believed? The aforementioned journalist? - Don't fret, the gate-keepers, the so called fact-checkers will safe your soul from this man, even though none of them can claim the same expertise, knowledge or qualifications. And neither you, me, or the journalist.
Or what about Dr. Robert Hodkinson: the former Chairman of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons committee in Ottawa and once CEO of a large private medical laboratory in Edmonton, Alberta, and for the past 20 years has held the position as Chairman of a Medical Biotechnology company based in North Carolina currently tasked with selling a COVID-19 test. He is a medical specialist in pathology, which includes virology, who trained at Cambridge University in the UK. He called Covid a hoax. (Don't despair, just read on, there's hope! At least if you need it.)
Nichols mentioned that Dr. Fauci was believed by both political parties, (and every other world leader), including Donald Trump. Fauci was the hero of the moment.
Fauci said everyone should wear a mask. Businesses(selected) should be closed, the world economy crashed for millions of people, cutting off their livelihoods, while government officials, medical staff, researchers and all other 'essential workers' still got paid; children should be kept out of schools, etc. People died in old age homes under Dr. Fauci's watch, remember New York?
Then some months later said masks aren't working.
He first said the 'vaccines' were 100% safe, then later, 80%, then much later 50%, and after another try, declared a booster was needed. Oh, and then maybe an annual booster, but now it seems it will have to be more than one booster per year. Even Dr. Fauci made serious 'mistakes' as became clearer as the months passed. New Zealand, with the world's most severe lock-downs are now battling with the highest infection rates in the same world. People did not know what the result would be.
I'm fully vaccinated. But that does not mean that I accept everything a journalist would like me to believe. Opinions and rants are so okay. So pardon me my own outrageously ignorant rant about this book. Bear in mind that confidence in the media is at a record low. I wonder why.
In the PREFACE he writes: Accountability Is A Dish Best served Fresh, and Hot, with Ron Kim, the 'hero of this book'.
I agree. Yes, get those who closed down family businesses as though those places were the only hubs for infections. What a tragedy.
Yours truly: Bear in mind, at the next pandemic, there will be different political leaders on the forefront. Easy targets. Easy solution for a much deeper problem. Who is the real culprits when it is obvious that two very different opposing hemispheres exist, each drive their own narrative with their own evidence to back-up their allegations? Most of the allegations attributed to McCarthy in the 1950's were proven untrue by two Jewish authors in their books Blacklisted by History and The Venona Papers decades later. It seems like, according to Nichols, Donald Trump should be blamed for everything. For now. It will allow the rest of the culprits who patented the virus and financed the gain of function research go free.
Are we talking about a witch hunt here? Just asking. Given the list of names the author chose to include in the book (or on his black list), it is clear who it must be. Donald Trump (his 'killing presidency'); Mike Pence ( 'the Yes-Man of the Apocalypse'); Jared Krushner ('The Grounding of Jared Krushner'); Mark Meadows ('The Unmasking of Mark Meadows'); Mike Pompeo ('Mike Pompeo's Cold War against Science And Solidarity'); Betsy DeVos ('How Betsy DeVos Tried to Leverage a Pandemic to Privatize Public Education'); Elliane Chao ('Let Them Die'); Rand Paul (Got Covid Wrong, Wrong, and Wrong Again') - my edition: physician Dr. Rand Paul - for those who did not know.
But really, what about Dr. Fauci? Wasn't he the one who closed down businesses? Forced masks on everyone, and suggested social distancing? The expert. The hero. He took the lead. His word was the law. People still got infected and many died. Wordlwide!
Then there is Ron Johnson, Kristi Noem, Ron De Santis, Andrew Cuomo( He has a broken halo according to the author), Justice Rebecca Bradley; Rahm Emanuel, Pfizzer, Grover Norquist, Jeffrey Preston Bezos.
THIS BOOK IS A CALL TO ARMS. BE READY. HOWEVER, THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE YOU NEED TO CONSIDER, IN MY HUMBLE OPINION.
Sadly, this book feeds into a dumbed-down echo-chamber.
Why do I say that?
Republicans, anti-vaccers, and everyone else who have been kicked off and permanently banned, scrubbed and cancelled from social media accuse the 'powers to be' of denying them their freedom of speech. Let history remember how doctors, scientists, and whistle-blowers got jailed, fired, named and shamed for an alternative viewpoint.
IMHO it might be more sinister than that. By denying freedom of speech to dissenting voices, the echo chamber is denied the right to think, discover, choose, like the Apartheid supporters, the North Koreans, the Russians from the Communist era. The 'banned, scrubbed and cancelled' wall is not to keep the dissenters out. It is to keep the followers safely secluded in the group think!
Where did we observe this before? In South Africa, where a moratorium on the press, for many years, denied the supporters of Apartheid the information of what was really happening. The supporters had no cookin' clue. Access to opposing voices were viciously denied to them. When the moratorium was finally lifted, people by the hundreds committed suicide. They could not handle the new information. They felt betrayed by their haloed leaders.
In Russia, China, North Korea (even now), people were skillfully fed anti-western ideology. They had, and still have, no idea what is really happening around them and no access to a big world out there. So yes, quoting Thomas Paine, applies to the people who are not suppose to think, not to those who already took roads less traveled and discovered the real world. Yes, the ill-informed people in the echo chamber are the real victims. The surprises await those who did not know and were denied information.
These 'approved' sentiments allow the author to write whatever he wants. He has a right to follow his passion. However, serious scientists and experience doctors are denied to express their own opinions. This is what should be focused on. How was this epidemic handled? Everything that is happening forms part of the conversation, as well as history of this worldwide event. Yet, he calls for more aggressive witch hunts on those who differ from his opinion and believes. Tragic, really.
I think it's time for journalists, such as the author, to realize how laughable his prejudice towards the real experts is. It's like his own political flatulence hitting him harder in the nose than anyone around him. It is a real possibility. One example: he is accusing businesses and people of cashing in on the pandemic. But so, is he, with this book. Oh, the irony. Scale of success does not matter. It's the principle.
This history is not this author's to write. This book is a call to action. But of course he is welcome to his own opinion. And so am I.
For readers who would like some insight and a better understanding of the division of opinions, this rant is a duh. Reheated bleh. There is just too much information not included.
This book is premature and grossly incomplete. The readers deserve better.
So by the way, if accountability will be forced on all the 'culprits' - the numbers not yet determined - how many years and how many court cases will it take? Or, will social justice be enough? There are a few hundred people currently held for the J6 events - no trials, no lawyers, no indictments yet. How many months now? Just wondering. Perhaps it is the answer.
Remember this quote:
It counts for all of us, including the author and the ever-humble yours truly.
John Nichols in a pugnacious state of mind:
Conclusion: The United States of Impunity
Hunting the Guilty Men
The guilty must be named and shamed—not merely defeated at the polls but defeated in the memory of a country that can ill afford to forgive and forget. They cannot be allowed to exit into a comfortable retirement. Those whose actions filled refrigerator trucks with the bodies of Americans who did not need to die, who stood by as small businesses and farms were driven into insolvency, who stole the last shred of dignity from the jobless, cannot be permitted the revisionist’s renewal. They must be marked as the beasts they are, immediately and permanently.
John Nichols wrote this well-documented, well-researched, as well as subjective rant from his radical left, openly biased enclosure. I knew from paging through it, that between us there's going to be somewhat of an ire brewing. Just because I strongly believe that a pancake always has two sides, no matter how thin it is. At least that's how I was trained to handle history in the making.
Nichols tried his 'bestest' to blame Donald Trump. I couldn't help laughing. Astounding! Any president at the time had to rely on 'experts', such as Dr. Fauci, to handle the pandemic. How it was handled, and who profiteered is the premise of Nichols' opinion. And while we must go after the culprits, why not include everyone, and not only the ones so deeply despised by Nichols?
The origin of the virus, which destroyed millions of lives on so many levels, are not properly blamed, or even discussed. It's not the purpose of the book. The latest Pfizer reports are conveniently ignored by the very same media represented by Nichols. So where do we start finding the culprits?
For instance, no mention of Dr. Fauci & Co who funded the gain of function research, and the numerous allegations that the virus 'escaped' from a far-away land where the laboratory was visited by several high-profile American politicians and role players. including Dr. Fauci, long before the crises came about.
Blame politicians. Blame the profiteers such as Bizos. He fails to mention that politician rely heavily on experts. It doesn't really matter who the president was at the time. Chaos was upon the world.
Nichols does not mention that both 'vaccinated' ... and ... 'unvaccinated' ... are both still getting infected, AND BOTH GROUPS STILL INFECT OTHERS. That was not known in the beginning at all. Neither does he mention, to add perspective, that several countries used a cocktail of Ivermectin and other medicines for the successful treatment of early symptoms. If you did not know this, continue reading.
As of March 09, 2022, more than 10.9 billion shots have been given worldwide, of which 556 million doses have been administered in the USA. However, the least wealthy nations, only received 7.5% of the shots, including India which accommodates 17.5 % of the world's population and only administered 16.4% of the world's vaccinations. China, with 18% of the world's population, administered 29% of the vaccinations. Good news, Cuba leads the world with 310 doses administered per 100 people. (source: https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/co...)
Then he threw in a condescending introduction of Ron Johnson, oh well, he did that to everyone marked for his wrath, and proceeded further to call out Dr. Paul Rand, which in my humble opinion, had somewhat more experience of medicine and patients as the author.
Where knowledge is a duty, ignorance is a crime ~Thomas Paine, Public Good, 1780.
Nothing can reach the heart that is steeled with prejudice. ~Thomas Paine, The Crisis, 1776
These quotes, used so enthusiastically by the author, apply, or should apply, to himself too. He should not forget that.
For instance, why are so many millions of people skeptical? More millions all over the world don't trust neither the media nor the injection. Massive protests are taking place worldwide.
Take Prof. Luc Montagnier, 2008 Nobel-Winning Co-Discoverer of H.I.V and world-renowned virologist.
In the new Hold-Up film series, ‘retour sur un chaos‘ (Robbery: Reflections on Chaos), the filmmakers ask the famous scientist: “Tomorrow [if] you are forced to get vaccinated [against the coronavirus]. What do you say and what do you do? “
“I refuse to be vaccinated. My conscience told me not to get vaccinated ,” the Nobel laureate replied.
Professor Montagnier was the first to warn the world community in the spring of 2020 about the laboratory origin of the coronavirus.
So, shouldn't we decide for ourselves who we want to believe: A journalist with no medical, virology, or any other scientific knowledge whatsoever who rely heavily on his own choice of experts, or the esteemed professor?
When Dr. Robert Malone, one of the developers of the mRNA gene therapy technology questions the content as well as results of the injections, who should be believed? The aforementioned journalist? - Don't fret, the gate-keepers, the so called fact-checkers will safe your soul from this man, even though none of them can claim the same expertise, knowledge or qualifications. And neither you, me, or the journalist.
Or what about Dr. Robert Hodkinson: the former Chairman of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons committee in Ottawa and once CEO of a large private medical laboratory in Edmonton, Alberta, and for the past 20 years has held the position as Chairman of a Medical Biotechnology company based in North Carolina currently tasked with selling a COVID-19 test. He is a medical specialist in pathology, which includes virology, who trained at Cambridge University in the UK. He called Covid a hoax. (Don't despair, just read on, there's hope! At least if you need it.)
Nichols mentioned that Dr. Fauci was believed by both political parties, (and every other world leader), including Donald Trump. Fauci was the hero of the moment.
Fauci said everyone should wear a mask. Businesses(selected) should be closed, the world economy crashed for millions of people, cutting off their livelihoods, while government officials, medical staff, researchers and all other 'essential workers' still got paid; children should be kept out of schools, etc. People died in old age homes under Dr. Fauci's watch, remember New York?
Then some months later said masks aren't working.
He first said the 'vaccines' were 100% safe, then later, 80%, then much later 50%, and after another try, declared a booster was needed. Oh, and then maybe an annual booster, but now it seems it will have to be more than one booster per year. Even Dr. Fauci made serious 'mistakes' as became clearer as the months passed. New Zealand, with the world's most severe lock-downs are now battling with the highest infection rates in the same world. People did not know what the result would be.
I'm fully vaccinated. But that does not mean that I accept everything a journalist would like me to believe. Opinions and rants are so okay. So pardon me my own outrageously ignorant rant about this book. Bear in mind that confidence in the media is at a record low. I wonder why.
In the PREFACE he writes: Accountability Is A Dish Best served Fresh, and Hot, with Ron Kim, the 'hero of this book'.
Ron Kim: 'There's not justice without accountability'.
Author: The legislator was not merely suggesting that accountability for coronovirus criminals and pandemic profiteers equaled justice. Rather, he was explaining that the systematic change that might assure a more humane and equitable response to the next catastrophe will never come if the wrongdoers of this epoch are left off the hook. Ron Kim: We need accountability at the front end, we can't get to any of the changes.
Kim's reference to getting accountability at the front end reminds us of an essential premise in the struggle for social progress. It is best to demand change when memories of callousness and cruelty are fresh...
I agree. Yes, get those who closed down family businesses as though those places were the only hubs for infections. What a tragedy.
Yours truly: Bear in mind, at the next pandemic, there will be different political leaders on the forefront. Easy targets. Easy solution for a much deeper problem. Who is the real culprits when it is obvious that two very different opposing hemispheres exist, each drive their own narrative with their own evidence to back-up their allegations? Most of the allegations attributed to McCarthy in the 1950's were proven untrue by two Jewish authors in their books Blacklisted by History and The Venona Papers decades later. It seems like, according to Nichols, Donald Trump should be blamed for everything. For now. It will allow the rest of the culprits who patented the virus and financed the gain of function research go free.
Are we talking about a witch hunt here? Just asking. Given the list of names the author chose to include in the book (or on his black list), it is clear who it must be. Donald Trump (his 'killing presidency'); Mike Pence ( 'the Yes-Man of the Apocalypse'); Jared Krushner ('The Grounding of Jared Krushner'); Mark Meadows ('The Unmasking of Mark Meadows'); Mike Pompeo ('Mike Pompeo's Cold War against Science And Solidarity'); Betsy DeVos ('How Betsy DeVos Tried to Leverage a Pandemic to Privatize Public Education'); Elliane Chao ('Let Them Die'); Rand Paul (Got Covid Wrong, Wrong, and Wrong Again') - my edition: physician Dr. Rand Paul - for those who did not know.
But really, what about Dr. Fauci? Wasn't he the one who closed down businesses? Forced masks on everyone, and suggested social distancing? The expert. The hero. He took the lead. His word was the law. People still got infected and many died. Wordlwide!
Then there is Ron Johnson, Kristi Noem, Ron De Santis, Andrew Cuomo( He has a broken halo according to the author), Justice Rebecca Bradley; Rahm Emanuel, Pfizzer, Grover Norquist, Jeffrey Preston Bezos.
THIS BOOK IS A CALL TO ARMS. BE READY. HOWEVER, THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE YOU NEED TO CONSIDER, IN MY HUMBLE OPINION.
Sadly, this book feeds into a dumbed-down echo-chamber.
Why do I say that?
Republicans, anti-vaccers, and everyone else who have been kicked off and permanently banned, scrubbed and cancelled from social media accuse the 'powers to be' of denying them their freedom of speech. Let history remember how doctors, scientists, and whistle-blowers got jailed, fired, named and shamed for an alternative viewpoint.
IMHO it might be more sinister than that. By denying freedom of speech to dissenting voices, the echo chamber is denied the right to think, discover, choose, like the Apartheid supporters, the North Koreans, the Russians from the Communist era. The 'banned, scrubbed and cancelled' wall is not to keep the dissenters out. It is to keep the followers safely secluded in the group think!
Where did we observe this before? In South Africa, where a moratorium on the press, for many years, denied the supporters of Apartheid the information of what was really happening. The supporters had no cookin' clue. Access to opposing voices were viciously denied to them. When the moratorium was finally lifted, people by the hundreds committed suicide. They could not handle the new information. They felt betrayed by their haloed leaders.
In Russia, China, North Korea (even now), people were skillfully fed anti-western ideology. They had, and still have, no idea what is really happening around them and no access to a big world out there. So yes, quoting Thomas Paine, applies to the people who are not suppose to think, not to those who already took roads less traveled and discovered the real world. Yes, the ill-informed people in the echo chamber are the real victims. The surprises await those who did not know and were denied information.
These 'approved' sentiments allow the author to write whatever he wants. He has a right to follow his passion. However, serious scientists and experience doctors are denied to express their own opinions. This is what should be focused on. How was this epidemic handled? Everything that is happening forms part of the conversation, as well as history of this worldwide event. Yet, he calls for more aggressive witch hunts on those who differ from his opinion and believes. Tragic, really.
I think it's time for journalists, such as the author, to realize how laughable his prejudice towards the real experts is. It's like his own political flatulence hitting him harder in the nose than anyone around him. It is a real possibility. One example: he is accusing businesses and people of cashing in on the pandemic. But so, is he, with this book. Oh, the irony. Scale of success does not matter. It's the principle.
This history is not this author's to write. This book is a call to action. But of course he is welcome to his own opinion. And so am I.
For readers who would like some insight and a better understanding of the division of opinions, this rant is a duh. Reheated bleh. There is just too much information not included.
This book is premature and grossly incomplete. The readers deserve better.
So by the way, if accountability will be forced on all the 'culprits' - the numbers not yet determined - how many years and how many court cases will it take? Or, will social justice be enough? There are a few hundred people currently held for the J6 events - no trials, no lawyers, no indictments yet. How many months now? Just wondering. Perhaps it is the answer.
Remember this quote:
Where knowledge is a duty, ignorance is a crime ~Thomas Paine, Public Good, 1780.
It counts for all of us, including the author and the ever-humble yours truly.
January 29, 2022
John Nichols is angry. He has good reasons for being angry and he would like you to read all about them. He has organized his good reasons for anger in chapters focused on individuals who deliberately or ignorantly mis-managed their positions of responsibility during the COVID-19 pandemic. These chapters are remarkably punchy, but not particularly deep.
Is it readable? Yes. Is it condusive to reading? Not particularly - it's too close to a long-form rant to be really informative or well-researched, even, but there's still value there if you have the patience and interest. However, I would argue that this book is hardly going to preach to anyone other than the choir, for all its virtues.
As a Verso book club selection... it was okay.
Is it readable? Yes. Is it condusive to reading? Not particularly - it's too close to a long-form rant to be really informative or well-researched, even, but there's still value there if you have the patience and interest. However, I would argue that this book is hardly going to preach to anyone other than the choir, for all its virtues.
As a Verso book club selection... it was okay.
February 4, 2023
There was opportunity here to explore how the structures of capital created and fed the crisis and its profiteers. The book misses the forest for the trees by choosing to focus instead on individual bad actors. The chapters are repetitive and the individualist analysis fails especially given the scale and severity of the crisis.
January 23, 2023
Skimmed this. It's as objective & neutral as vomit or diarrhea. Does this discuss the origins of C-19? Nope. Does it discuss gain of function research. Nope. Does it regurgitate vitriol? Yes. Does it use sensationalized language, and selective, stark stats to stir up your emotions? Every other sentence. Is it basically an extended rant against Trump? Yawn, yep. This whole book is shoddy, biased, and wholly dependent on mainstream media. Basically, just watch CNN and adopt whatever & whichever stance they present as unerring & indisputable. Who needs to read a book or entertain an alternate view & perspective on things when you have the news? It feels like instead of priests, we've now white lab coats & glasses. A class of 'experts' who are infallible and must be obeyed unquestioningly. This would all be cool & sound but the realities are much more complex. Experts are ubiquitous, and can sit on two different sides of an issue, like, being on the team that produces a controversial drug, and then being on the team that approves (regulates) that drug. Conflicts of interest. But alas, I think folks are so worked up & foaming at the mouth over Trump that this has clouded our perceptions. Think: Does the news gives us updates on the discovery of the type of ANIMAL that caused C-19? Nope, b/c it leaked from a lab, and this would signify bioweaponry and much more grim prospects, way too much heavy info for folks that merely grip their smartphones in anxiety and imbibe every sentence from their news outlets. Too much critical thinking. Too much cognitive dissonance to consider that such corruption could pervade media outlets & international health agencies. But when profit & profiteering are considered...but nah, let's deliver the largest & most sensationalized number of death statistics every other paragraph and blame it at ONE person, easy & simple homework. This whole book should just be titled, "I Hate Trump." Don't bother with research or stats 'cause all that's selective anyway--just repeat sentence after sentence, "I Hate Him." Make paragraphs of this and fill up 260 pages with it. Book done. Publish for my one-sided, echo chamber folks. And then immediately turn my smartphone back on for the latest updates on the most recent surging variant. On this dude's gravestone he'll probably included Trump's name somewhere in it--that's how deep this is. It'll read, "Here lies father, author, blah blah blah, and he dedicated his life to healing the world, and blah blah, and he would still be alive today if Donald Trump weren't elected. Rest in peace. Blah blah blah."
February 12, 2022
It's a decent read that covers some of the key bad actors, but there was a lot of lower level exploitation (condoned or even encouraged by the administration) that wasn't touched. Conservative media also got a relatively big pass for exploiting the pandemic in their ever expanding culture war.
January 28, 2022
Subtitle: Accountability for Those Who Caused the Crisis
I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
This book attempts to call out the 18 individuals with the most harmful behavior during the coronavirus pandemic. Below is a brief summary of first nine of those covered in the book and the reason(s) for their inclusion in it. You’ll need to read the book yourself to find out the other nine.
Donald J. Trump – for downplaying and distorting the seriousness of the crisis for political ends, politicizing the crisis, and ignoring scientific advice
Mike Pence – for amplifying Trump’s lies and for abandoning the opportunity to provide true leadership while heading the coronavirus task force
Jared Kushner – for botching the jobs of ramping up production of testing supplies, PPE, and ventilators
Mark Meadows – for single-handedly killing a national mask mandate at a time when Trump was actually in favor of it
Mike Pompeo – for denying American medical aid to foreign countries he didn’t approve of
Betsy DeVos – for unwisely pushing for schools to re-open, endangering students and school staff
Elaine Chao – for refusing to act to protect transportation personnel by requiring masks and social distancing on mass transit
Mitch McConnell – for delaying the Heroes Act simply for a liability shield to solely benefit his donors
Rand Paul – for his distortion of the truth and attacks on Dr. Anthony Faucci during Senate hearings
Another thing that fascinated me about this book was a brief review of the story of Ferdinand Pecora. Pecora was a New York City prosecutor who was hired by a Senate committee chair to investigate the causes of the 1929 stock market crash and it’s connection to the Great Depression. Pecora publicly exposed so much corruption that he came to be known as The Hellhound of Wall Street. I’m going to see if I can locate any books relating to his investigation.
I gave Coronavirus Criminals and Pandemic Profiteers five stars on Goodreads. Although I didn’t get a great deal of new information from it, it was a surprisingly quick and enjoyable read.
I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
This book attempts to call out the 18 individuals with the most harmful behavior during the coronavirus pandemic. Below is a brief summary of first nine of those covered in the book and the reason(s) for their inclusion in it. You’ll need to read the book yourself to find out the other nine.
Donald J. Trump – for downplaying and distorting the seriousness of the crisis for political ends, politicizing the crisis, and ignoring scientific advice
Mike Pence – for amplifying Trump’s lies and for abandoning the opportunity to provide true leadership while heading the coronavirus task force
Jared Kushner – for botching the jobs of ramping up production of testing supplies, PPE, and ventilators
Mark Meadows – for single-handedly killing a national mask mandate at a time when Trump was actually in favor of it
Mike Pompeo – for denying American medical aid to foreign countries he didn’t approve of
Betsy DeVos – for unwisely pushing for schools to re-open, endangering students and school staff
Elaine Chao – for refusing to act to protect transportation personnel by requiring masks and social distancing on mass transit
Mitch McConnell – for delaying the Heroes Act simply for a liability shield to solely benefit his donors
Rand Paul – for his distortion of the truth and attacks on Dr. Anthony Faucci during Senate hearings
Another thing that fascinated me about this book was a brief review of the story of Ferdinand Pecora. Pecora was a New York City prosecutor who was hired by a Senate committee chair to investigate the causes of the 1929 stock market crash and it’s connection to the Great Depression. Pecora publicly exposed so much corruption that he came to be known as The Hellhound of Wall Street. I’m going to see if I can locate any books relating to his investigation.
I gave Coronavirus Criminals and Pandemic Profiteers five stars on Goodreads. Although I didn’t get a great deal of new information from it, it was a surprisingly quick and enjoyable read.
February 27, 2022
"The shadow of a pandemic that killed hundreds of thousands who should never have died, that sickened millions who should never have fallen ill, that impoverished tens of millions who should never have been dislocated will not lift until there has been a full accounting." (p.267) This book is an essential contribution to that accounting. "The guilty must be named and shamed — not merely defeated at the polls but defeated in the memory of a country that can ill afford to forgive and forget." (p.251). The author names 18 of those who bear the most guilt — starting with Donald J. Trump and including his vice president, son-in-law, cabinet members, senators, governors, and a judge, as well as Rahm Emanuel, Grover Norquist, Jeff Bezos, and the Pfizer corporation. He lays out in detail how each contributed to the enormous human toll, and along the way, pays respects to some of those who died as a result of their negligence.
The book should be read now, before any more time has passed. The upcoming election is just one of the opportunities for holding these people to account. "They must be marked as the beasts they are, immediately and permanently." If you weren't already convinced, this book will persuade you.
The book should be read now, before any more time has passed. The upcoming election is just one of the opportunities for holding these people to account. "They must be marked as the beasts they are, immediately and permanently." If you weren't already convinced, this book will persuade you.
May 7, 2022
This is a damnable book. It contains a rogues gallery of assholes who took it upon themselves to inflict pain and death because of the urges of avarice. All through the pandemic there were vestiges of what was happening all around us. This book documenta everything . Nobody escapes the fickle finger of fate. The Coumo story is presented in all of its despicable mannerism. The only thing unsaid is the Chris Cuomo's involvement. This is a unsettling and nauseating book. Be prepared. Will the guilty one prosecuted to the fullest extant of the law. We'll see.
April 25, 2022
Poorly written crap. I’d call it propaganda, but that would be giving it undeserved credit.
January 8, 2022
https://www.deviantquill.com/post/cor...
Before I start, I must mention that I don't have any political orientation. I can't say I'm apolitical, because I have an interest in general politics, but whoever picks this book up must do it with an open mind. I see how it has the potential to create controversy and that's not always a bad thing. This is a book that will make us discuss, share opinions, and think twice about what we think we know.
John Nichols doesn't shy away from honesty when it comes to his political affiliation and that can be seen all over the book. However, I appreciated he focused on the people, not on the politicians right from the start. Stories of real people, with real lives are sprinkled throughout the book, serving as examples of what can happen when a country is governed wrong or by corrupt authorities. In my opinion the author doesn't come to unmask Donald Trump, Pence, Mark Meadows, or dear Mr. Kushner, but he compiles a history of terrible policies adopted during the pandemic, policies that have cost hundreds of thousands of people their lives. Current events are skillfully mirrored by historical facts.
While reading I almost got upset by the lack of footnotes and I was wondering how a veteran journalist such as Mr. Nichols forgot to add his sources, the number one rule of true journalism. Well, the end of the book didn't just offer sources, but whole explanations. I'm very thankful for that.
USA is the Nr. 1 most affected country in the world when it comes to the Coronavirus Pandemic. This book shows us why.
Review copy provided by Verso Books @ Edelweiss+
Before I start, I must mention that I don't have any political orientation. I can't say I'm apolitical, because I have an interest in general politics, but whoever picks this book up must do it with an open mind. I see how it has the potential to create controversy and that's not always a bad thing. This is a book that will make us discuss, share opinions, and think twice about what we think we know.
John Nichols doesn't shy away from honesty when it comes to his political affiliation and that can be seen all over the book. However, I appreciated he focused on the people, not on the politicians right from the start. Stories of real people, with real lives are sprinkled throughout the book, serving as examples of what can happen when a country is governed wrong or by corrupt authorities. In my opinion the author doesn't come to unmask Donald Trump, Pence, Mark Meadows, or dear Mr. Kushner, but he compiles a history of terrible policies adopted during the pandemic, policies that have cost hundreds of thousands of people their lives. Current events are skillfully mirrored by historical facts.
While reading I almost got upset by the lack of footnotes and I was wondering how a veteran journalist such as Mr. Nichols forgot to add his sources, the number one rule of true journalism. Well, the end of the book didn't just offer sources, but whole explanations. I'm very thankful for that.
USA is the Nr. 1 most affected country in the world when it comes to the Coronavirus Pandemic. This book shows us why.
Review copy provided by Verso Books @ Edelweiss+
April 28, 2023
"Nothing should be off the table in this country's response to coronavirus criminals and pandemic profiteers."
Rounding up from 3.5
This is an important archive of a handful of individual actors that explicitly promoted policy they knew would result in tremendous death in order to maximize profits and consolidate power. I appreciate this book as such and its contributions to justice for the victims of COVID-19, wholly preventable, their families, and those living with life-altering conditions from this pandemic. Having said that, I think there was real opportunity here for a deeper structural analysis of our political economy and its underlying logic that will inevitably produce leaders like this, but a lot of the material comes off really restricted by that. It's a short read and still holds some importance nonetheless!
Rounding up from 3.5
This is an important archive of a handful of individual actors that explicitly promoted policy they knew would result in tremendous death in order to maximize profits and consolidate power. I appreciate this book as such and its contributions to justice for the victims of COVID-19, wholly preventable, their families, and those living with life-altering conditions from this pandemic. Having said that, I think there was real opportunity here for a deeper structural analysis of our political economy and its underlying logic that will inevitably produce leaders like this, but a lot of the material comes off really restricted by that. It's a short read and still holds some importance nonetheless!
January 11, 2022
This book really centers on the greed and the science deniers. Top officials globally still deny what is happening when there is proof in front of their eyes. And of course there is a lot of discussion about masking mandates. The profiteers? Big pharma which will always be an issue. But thank goodness, it has streamlined the process of getting vaccines, it should be for everyone, including those under 5, with the exception of neonates; JMO.
If this book does not make you made, you are not paying attention.
Thanks to Netgalley, John Nichols and Verso Books USA for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Available: 1/25/22
If this book does not make you made, you are not paying attention.
Thanks to Netgalley, John Nichols and Verso Books USA for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Available: 1/25/22
March 28, 2022
Excellent summary of those who flagrantly and irresponsibly made things worse for people and communities to combat the coronavirus epidemic. There were conscious choices made to prioritize politics or monetary gain over people's lives. The problems are continuing as the epidemic is still not under control. Effects affect the world since there has not be a sharing of vaccinations with the international communities. Disregard of science and common sense by individuals of high influence have been consequential; they will probably go unpunished for their misdeeds.
February 5, 2023
This was such an easy to understand account of criminal politics at work during the pandemic. I thought I would learn more about companies that literally profited off of the pandemic specifically, but I ended up learning more about specific people in power that took advantage of the pandemic, made money, and allowed people to be killed in various ways and legislations. Very informative read and some really good points made about impeachment and accountability for politicians and government. Very US centric of course.
July 20, 2022
There was not a whole lot of information in this book that was hugely revelatory to anyone who watched the news and monitored the progress of the coronavirus pandemic as it happened. It was well written, but does contain a fair bit of bias in how it talks about people and events (rightfully so, but I think it is important to acknowledge this).
April 30, 2023
John Nichols plainly modeled this hastily-written book on the book "Guilty Men," written in 1940 and naming the names of British politicians and leaders who appeased Hitler and made World War 2 possible. And, Nichols certainly does name names. The book, again, feels hastily written and gets a bit monotonous, but good for him for at least making the attempt to call out many of the guilty.
June 27, 2024
The book is enjoyable, moves quickly, and effectively excoriates its targets. It's a bit one sided politically, so it deserves to be expanded with a second edition.
The author makes an excellent point in the book's summation that learning from history requires personal investigation and accountability.
The author makes an excellent point in the book's summation that learning from history requires personal investigation and accountability.
February 11, 2024
Shocking and eye opening expose. Investigative journalists are just incredible. But saddening that no actions or investigations have been taken against the perpetrators despite such comprehensive evidence. Once again, the rich and powerful escape scrutiny or consequences. A great read
December 1, 2024
Coronavirus Criminals and Pandemic Profiteers by John Nichols book is not what I expected it to be. I chose the book to read from a genre that I don’t normally read. It was the title that drew me in. I was unable to read past the first few chapters as it was too political for me to understand.
April 16, 2022
Wow!
I recommend this book to everyone who cares at all about the disparities revealed during the pandemic. Extremely readable. Just wow!
I recommend this book to everyone who cares at all about the disparities revealed during the pandemic. Extremely readable. Just wow!
July 6, 2022
A must-read for navigating the political corruption of COVID-19.
February 12, 2024
Another book that should be read before voting in 2024. I agree with the author thy should all be held accountable, starting with the lead liar, Trump. So many deaths could have been avoided.
October 17, 2024
Such a sad reminder of what we went through as a nation.
February 4, 2025
Written for a US readership detailing the record of 16 politicians and other public figures and one corporation - Pfizer - in the public health disaster which led to the deaths of 400,000 people during the coronavirus pandemic. The subtitle covers the book's ambition to hold these people to account, but in truth it really served to underscore how difficult it is under the US system to ensure accountability, short of not electing the individuals concerned next time around. The problem there is that as soon as politics goes into election mode a communication infrastructure sets to work that doesn't scruple to generate false facts and fake news to cover the tracks of its favoured sons and daughters. Can't say the situation is much different in my country (the UK), so there's no smugness on my part on that score.
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