SHAPING THE NARRATIVE Dr. Fauci’s role in ‘Proximal Origin’ By Jeff Carlson & Hans Mahncke
Fighting for Alternative Treatments
Right to Vote
Professionally Prepared
Two families lost their loved ones while fighting the health system. p.18
The progressive left aims to change the definition of “citizen,” an expert says. p.26
How to get ahead in developing a smooth career trajectory. p.67
JAN. 28–FEB. 3, 2022 | $6.95
NO. 4
Editor’s Note
Shaping the Narrative Since the outbreak of the pandemic, legitimate questions have been raised about its origins. From the start, it was clear that the epicenter of the outbreak was in Wuhan, China, but conflicting information surrounded its source. An option that was derided early on by some influential health officials and media organizations was the possibility that the virus was accidentally leaked from a P4-level laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. One key scientific paper that formed the basis for denying this possibility was called "The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2." Newly released emails, however, reveal that key U.S. health officials, including Director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci and then-Director of the National Institutes of Health Francis Collins, were involved in crafting the paper. While Fauci has publicly cited the paper as evidence for the virus's origins, his own involvement in the paper had remained a secret up to this point. Furthermore, emails released under Freedom of Information Act requests reveal that the key scientists behind the paper had privately—during a non-public conference call with Fauci and other top officials—relayed their personal belief that the virus likely originated from a lab. Read more in this week's cover story of Insight. Jasper Fakkert Editor-in-chief
2 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
JASPER FAKKERT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF CHANNALY PHILIPP LIFE & TRADITION, TRAVEL EDITOR SHAPING THE NARRATIVE
CHRISY TRUDEAU MIND & BODY EDITOR
Dr. Fauci's role in ‘Proximal Origin’ By Jeff Carlson & Hans Mahncke
CRYSTAL SHI HOME, FOOD EDITOR Fighting for Alternative Treatments
Right to Vote
Professionally Prepared
Two families lost their loved ones while fighting the health system. p.18
The progressive left aims to change the definition of "citizen," an expert says. p.26
How to get ahead in developing a smooth career trajectory. p.66
JAN. 28–FEB. 3, 2022 | $6.95
NO. 4
ON THE COVER Top U.S. health officials have cited the key scientific paper "The Proximal Origin of SARSCoV-2" as evidence to rule out a lab leak for the virus that causes COVID-19, while hiding from the public that they had an influence on the paper’s contents. AL DRAGO - POOL/GETTY IMAGE
SHARON KILARSKI ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR BILL LINDSEY LUXURY EDITOR FEI MENG, BIBA KAJEVICH & JUNHAO SU ILLUSTRATORS SHANSHAN HU PRODUCTION CONTACT US THE EPOCH TIMES ASSOCIATION INC. 229 W.28TH ST., FL.7 NEW YORK, NY 10001 ADVERTISING ADVERTISENOW@EPOCHTIMES.COM SUBSCRIPTIONS, GENERAL INQUIRIES, LETTERS TO THE EDITOR HELP.THEEPOCHTIMES.COM (USPS21-800)IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY THE EPOCH MEDIA GROUP, 9550 FLAIR DR. SUITE 411, EL MONTE, CA 91731-2922. PERIODICAL POSTAGE PAID AT EL MONTE, CA, AND ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO THE EPOCH TIMES, 229 W. 28TH STREET, FLOOR 5, NEW YORK, NY 10001.
vol. 2 | no. 4 | jan. 28–feb. 3, 2022
28 | IndividuWhale
49 | Chinese Economy
38 | NPR Doubles
50 | Morning Best
A new website profiles unique gray whales along Oregon’s coast.
China eases monetary policy as economic realities set in.
Down An article challenged by three Supreme Court justices triggers a flood of criticism.
Starting the day off right takes some preparation.
52 | Love of Learning Hillsdale College’s Larry Arnn on big government and education.
40 | Trump Rally
An estimated 50,000 supporters heard the former president speak in Arizona.
42 | Substitute
Teachers Amid a shortage, Michigan schools are allowing support staff to substitute teach.
44 | Build Back Better
The scaled-down family plan would wreck neighborhood child care.
45 | CCP Influence
America is weak on the CCP’s forced technology acquisition and theft.
46 | Bitcoin
Will the cryptocurrency become substantive or remain a shiny object?
47 | Business
The Biden administration is waging a war on business.
48 | Energy Policies
How the U.S. shale revolution saved Europe from a Great Blackout.
56 | Villa With a View
Features
12 | Chinese Spies As the DOJ cracks down on Chinese espionage, critics are seeking to abolish the initiative, saying it’s racist. 18 | Treatment Options Two families fought hospitals to allow alternative COVID treatments, but now their loved ones have died. THE LEAD 30 | Virus Origins New emails reveal Fauci actively shaped a highly influential academic paper that excluded the possibility of a lab leak.
America’s economy expanded at an annualized pace of 6.9 percent in the fouth quarter of 2021—sharply higher than consensus forecasts of 5.5 percent—fueled in part by a buildup of inventories and solid consumer spending. U.S. gross domestic product for the full year of 2021 grew by 5.7 percent compared to the year prior, marking the strongest whole-year performance since 1984. BRANDON BELL/GETTY IMAGES
Timeless design and charming elegance characterize Villa Daedalus.
58 | Sail in Croatia Chartering a yacht for island-hopping is more affordable than you think.
60 | The Perfect
Backyard Let us inspire you to transform your yard into a fun zone.
63 | Craving Caffeine A collection of the rarest coffees from around the world.
66 | High-Tech Health These devices monitor your wellness to help you keep fit.
67| Steps for Success
How to develop a plan to continue advancing your career.
I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 3
SPOTLIGHT IN A TRENCH A UKRAINIAN SOLDIER WALKS ALONG a snow-covered trench on the frontline with Russia-backed separatists, near the village of Zolote, on Jan. 21. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has slammed Germany for its refusal to supply weapons to Kyiv, urging Berlin to stop “undermining unity” and “encouraging Vladimir Putin” amid fears of a Russian invasion. PHOTO BY ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
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NAT ION • WOR L D • W H AT H A P P E N E D T H I S W E E K
No. 04
The Week
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and President Joe Biden arrive at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on July 14, 2021. PHOTO BY DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES
Schumer Pledges to Hold ‘Prompt Hearing’ After Breyer Steps Down Top Senate Democrat promises to quickly hold a hearing on President Joe Biden’s nominee to replace Justice Stephen Breyer
✒
SUPREME COURT JUSTICE Stephen Breyer plans to step down in mid-2022 after the nation’s highest court finishes its current term, paving the way for Biden to appoint his first Supreme Court justice, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). BIden’s nominee “will receive a prompt hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, and will be considered and confirmed by the full United States Senate with all deliberate speed,” Schumer said in a statement. I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 7
The Week in Short US
“EHTFOKN IMHTELPO TS T A H T ,E I W D N A K C L B S A W L E H T U B R. E W S N A ’ E R H T N F E O T R H , S T I Y LE A R ” R. E W S N A R L C ’ TN S I
22 hours Per Day
— Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor
“Society has been so terrorized for two years. ... It’s time now to end this pandemic emergency.” — Dr. Paul Alexander, expert in evidence-based medicine and clinical epidemiology
Dr. Ben Marble, who has been offering free telehealth services and early treatment for COVID19 during the pandemic, said that his organization has treated COVID-19 patients with a 99.99 percent survival rate, at a roundtable discussion hosted by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) on Jan. 24.
29th
Democrat Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) has become the 29th House Democrat to announce he’s not seeking reelection.
“[It’s] up to the people in the several states to determine the legal status and regulatory treatment of abortion.” — Jason Miyares, Virginia attorney general, urging the Supreme Court to overturn its 49-year-old ruling in Roe v. Wade and return the regulation of abortion to the states
11 PRISONERS—U.S. lawmakers and advocates have condemned the sentencing of 11 Chinese citizens, all Falun Gong practitioners, who were imprisoned by Chinese authorities after they supplied materials to The Epoch Times shedding light on the toll of the pandemic in China. 8 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
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99.99%
Unvaccinated inmates in Pennsylvania’s state prisons are being held in lockdown conditions indefinitely, unless they submit to vaccination, a document obtained by Insight shows. This means they must stay in their cells 22 hours a day.
The Week in Short US ELECTION 2022
Nancy Pelosi Says She’s Running for Reelection in 2022 ANSWERING MONTHS OF
People pass by a sign for a COVID-19 testing site in New York on Jan. 21. PANDEMIC
CDC Should Track All Breakthrough COVID-19 Cases: Experts THE U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE Control and Prevention (CDC) in May 2021
stopped tracking all breakthrough cases of COVID-19, or those that occur in vaccinated people, and has since only tracked breakthrough cases that lead to hospitalization or death. While the agency has published several studies in the past year as part of an effort to better understand the effectiveness of vaccines, some critics say not having a national tally of breakthrough cases is limiting that effort. “Lack of complete and representative data on breakthrough cases means that it is not possible to estimate the risk of breakthrough cases among vaccinated people,” Dr. Harvey Risch, professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, told Insight in an email. “[Without the data on breakthroughs,] the benefit of the vaccines for risk of infection cannot be estimated accurately during the Delta and Omicron waves,” Risch said. POSTAL SERVICE
Postal Inspectors Have Used iPhone Hacking Tools Hundreds of Times THE U.S. POSTAL INSPECTION SERVICE ( USPIS) owns sophisticated hacking
tools that can breach iPhones, and has used them hundreds of times over the past several years, according to USPIS records. The use of such tools by the USPIS, the law enforcement arm of the Postal Service, is disclosed in its 2019 and 2020 annual reports, but has gone largely unpublicized until now. Insight has also reviewed an internal Postal Service letter, which shows that one technician in the USPIS digital evidence unit used GrayKey to crack more than 150 iOS devices—iOS being the mobile operating system for the iPhone. “The Cellebrite and GrayKey tools acquired in FY 2019 and 2018 allow the Digital Evidence Unit to extract previously unattainable information from seized mobile devices. During FY 2020, 331 devices were processed, and 242 were unlocked and/or extracted by these services,” the USPIS 2020 annual report says.
speculation on her future in Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced she’s running for reelection. In a video posted online, Pelosi said, “I am running for reelection to Congress and respectfully seek your support,” adding that she believes her reelection could bolster Democrats’ and President Joe Biden’s agenda. TECH
US Semiconductor Chip Shortage Poses Risks: Commerce Dept. THE UNITED STATES is facing
a chronic shortage of semiconductor chips, and a long-term solution is desperately needed to avoid economic and national security risks to the nation, according to a new report by the U.S Department of Commerce. A government survey of more than 150 companies that produce and buy chips found that urgent action needs to be taken to resolve the crisis as soon as possible, as demand for chips could exceed supply for the next six months. Specifically, the survey found that the median inventory held by chip consumers, which includes automakers and medical device manufacturers, has fallen from 40 days in 2019, prior to the pandemic, to less than five days in 2021. Meanwhile, demand for semiconductors has increased by as much as 17 percent in 2021 compared to 2019. I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 9
The Week in Short World TECH
Flying Car Certified to Fly A HYBRID CAR-AIRPLANE
Passengers wearing protective masks walk at the Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport in Santiago, Chile, on Mar. 3, 2020. CHILE
Chile Records Massive Spike in CCP Virus Cases CHILE HAS WITNESSED a significant increase in CCP (Chinese Communist
Party) virus cases since the beginning of the year. Cases increased by 84 percent during the week ending Jan. 3, followed by another 145 percent increase during the subsequent week through Jan. 10. Unlike most countries grappling with post-holiday case spikes, however, Chile boasts the highest CCP virus immunization levels in Latin America, at 88.9 percent. The small South American nation has joined the list of the top five most vaccinated countries in the world.
IMF Urges El Salvador to Drop Bitcoin as Official Currency THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY
Fund (IMF) has urged El Salvador to drop the status of Bitcoin as the country’s legal tender, citing a series of risks, including to financial stability. IMF directors “stressed that there are large risks associated with the use of Bitcoin on financial stability, financial integrity, and consumer protection, as well as the associated fiscal contingent liabilities.” El Salvador President Nayib Bukele speaks El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, at the closing ceremony of the Latin however, has been a vocal advocate Bitcoin conference at Mizata Beach, of Bitcoin and led the charge on its El Salvador, on Nov. 20, 2021. adoption as El Salvador’s legal currency. In September 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to start using Bitcoin as legal tender, and, to encourage adoption, it launched the Chivo e-wallet that came preloaded with $30 worth of Bitcoin. 10 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
INDIA
COVID Pandemic Crippling India’s Tourism Industry THE TR AVEL AND TOURISM
industry in the world’s second-most populous country is in crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a crippling blow to the industry, which accounts for around 9 percent of India’s gross domestic product (GDP). India’s GDP in 2020 was estimated at $2.66 trillion, making it the sixth-largest economy in the world. The Confederation of Indian Industry, a nongovernmental trade association and advocacy group, said the entire value chain linked to travel and tourism is likely to lose around $65.57 billion, with the organized sector alone likely to lose $25 billion. It noted in a report that the slowdown, which is mainly due to pandemic lockdowns, was initially expected to affect revenue streams until October 2021. The arrival of Omicron has changed those expectations, with many visitors canceling bookings.
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CRYPTOCURRENCY
known as AirCar has been issued a certificate of airworthiness by the Slovakian civil aviation authority, potentially paving the way for the future of flying vehicles. The dual-mode car-aircraft vehicle, which looks like a sports car, was created by a team of eight specialists at the Slovakian company Klein Vision. It was awarded the certificate by the Slovak Transport Authority after successfully completing 70 hours of “rigorous flight testing compatible with European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) standards,” Klein Vision said in a statement.
World in Photos
World in Photos
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1. A farmer fights a wildfire that has destroyed dozens of hectares of native vegetation, in Guatavita, Colombia, on Jan. 22. 2. The Parthenon after a heavy snowfall in Athens on Jan. 25. 3. Children participate in the Dhafra Camel Festival, which celebrates the Bedouin tradition and culture of the United Arab Emirates through many popular events, including races and a beauty contest for camels, in the desert near the city of Madinat Zayed, UAE, on Jan. 23. 4. French Prime Minister Jean Castex, delegates, and representatives visit the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau on the site of the former Nazi concentration camp, in Oswiecim, Poland, on Jan. 27—International Holocaust Remembrance Day, marking the 77th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
3.
2.
4. I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 11
PHOTO BY SAMIRA BOUAOU/THE EPOCH TIMES
CHINESE SPIES
CRITIC S TRY T O S T OP
DOJ CR ACKDOWN ON CHINE SE SPIE S
Citing racism, Congress members and Stanford University faculty try to shut down spy investigations By Philip Lenczycki 12 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 13
US National Security
A S OF J A N. 18, T HER E W ER E 24 C ONF UCIU S IN S T I T U T E S IN T HE UNI T ED S TAT E S , DO W N F ROM MOR E T H A N 100 IN 2017.
A
14 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
Students walk on campus at the University of Washington in Seattle on March 6, 2020. Between 2018 and 2019, the University of Washington received millions of dollars from Chinese companies.
In September 2021, Winds of Freedom, the Stanford faculty group, sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland seeking the termination of the initiative. “Most prosecutions are for misconduct such as failure to disclose foreign appointments or funding,” it stated. “While such problems should be addressed, they should not be confused with national security concerns.”
Vera Zhou Rachelle Peterson, a senior research fellow at the National Association of Scholars, shared an alternative perspective with Insight. “Transparency of foreign gifts and contracts is crucial to public accountability. The public should know what foreign parties are buying influence over the colleges and universities that they attend, send their children to, or donate to.” She cited the story of a University of Washington student named Vera Zhou as “one of the most poignant stories showing the power of foreign funding.” “On a trip back to China to visit family, Vera used a virtual private network to access her homework,” Peterson said. “For this, she was arrested, sent to a reeducation camp, and then
FROM TOP: KAREN DUCEY/GETTY IMAGES, KATHERINE TAYLOR/REUTERS
S T H E J U S T I C E D E P A R T M E N T ’ S ( D O J ) crackdown on Chinese-state-sponsored theft of intellectual property nets the high-profile conviction of Harvard University’s former chemistry department chairman, Charles Lieber, a growing list of critics of the DOJ’s “China Initiative” seeks to abolish the program, which they say unfairly targets Chinese academics. Notable opponents of the China Initiative include Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Judy Chu (D-Calif.); a Stanford University faculty group named Winds of Freedom; and the Chinese American organization Committee of 100. Established in 2018, the initiative was billed by the DOJ as seeking to stem China’s rampant theft of U.S. intellectual property and as an “enforcement strategy” for “individuals whose primary profession is not intelligence collection, but who collect sensitive U.S. technologies and information on behalf of Chinese government entities”—that is, “non-traditional collectors.” Lieber is among a series of U.S. academics charged or convicted under the initiative. Many of these academics have been charged for failing to disclose their ties to Chinese funding sources. According to prosecutors, “from at least 2012 through 2015,” Lieber served as a “High-Level Foreign Expert” in the Thousand Talents Program for the Wuhan University of Technology, receiving “up to $50,000” per month in pay and “approximately $158,000” for living expenses. At the same time, Lieber was also supplied with “more than $1.5 million to establish a research lab” in China. On Dec. 21, 2021, Lieber was convicted on two counts of failing to report foreign bank and financial accounts to the IRS, two counts of filing fraudulent income tax returns, and two counts of making false statements to federal authorities. Prosecutors argued that Lieber was motivated by the desire to conceal his undisclosed connections with the Thousand Talents Program, which U.S. authorities say is a Chinese Communist Party recruitment plan that facilitates the transfer of foreign technology and know-how to China. Critics, however, maintain the China Initiative betrays its original charter, claiming the government pursues “process offenses” and “research integrity issues,” which they allege aren’t crimes related to economic espionage.
US National Security
outrageous,” adding that they had “no idea what ‘multimillion-dollar deal’ [was] being referenced.” However, DOE records that document the receipt of foreign gifts note that between 2018 and 2019, the University of Washington received millions of dollars from Chinese companies Huawei, Origincell Technology Group, Shanghai De Novo Pharmatech, and Futurewei. In addition, the University of Washington was also receiving money from its on-campus Confucius Institute, a Beijing-funded language center that has been criticized for promoting Chinese propaganda, and maintaining an exchange program with Tsinghua University. Fu, the CEO of the Christian nonprofit organization China Aid, advocated on behalf of Zhou’s mother with the University of Washington before working with State Department officials to secure Zhou’s release. Fu told Insight that he believes the University of Washington’s decision not to assist Zhou was “1,000 percent” influenced by the university’s Chinese entanglements. “The timeline tells clearly there’s a link, there’s a relationship,” Fu said. “There are thousands of students from China at the University of Washington campus, and China pretty much controls them.” At a DOE press conference in October 2020, Zhou recalled her ordeal, describing the national security threat posed by undisclosed foreign money. “Donors can hold power over U.S. universities and influence actions. ... I spent my Thanksgiving, Christmas, and 2018 New Year in that cell. ... It makes me wonder, as a prestigious university, what do you really care [about]?”
China Funding
held under house arrest. Bob Fu, a Chinese dissident and pastor, advocated for her release. The State Department worked, too, to free Vera. The University of Washington did nothing.” From October 2017 to March 2018, Zhou was held in a reeducation camp in Xinjiang, according to Department of Education (DOE) records and State Department officials. After March 2018, Zhou was remanded to “house arrest” and remained under the watch of Chinese authorities until the State Department secured her release and return to the United States in September 2019. “When the State Department approached the University of Washington about asking for Vera’s release, the university refused, saying it was in the middle of negotiating ‘a multimillion-dollar deal’ with China and didn’t want anything to jeopardize that,” Peterson said. “Shortly afterward, the University of Washington brokered a deal with Huawei, the Chinese tech firm designated by the FCC as a national security threat.” In December 2020, University of Washington officials published a letter in response to the allegations, writing, “the insinuation that the University allowed financial interests of any kind to interfere with its handling of this situation is
A 2019 letter sent by then-DOE Acting General Counsel Reed Rubinstein to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations announced the government’s intention to correct “historically lax oversight” regarding the reporting of foreign money by universities. Rubinstein’s letter recounted Chinese Communist Party (CCP) national security threats discovered from an investigation into six universities: Cornell University, Georgetown University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Rutgers
Charles Lieber leaves federal court after he and two Chinese nationals were charged with lying about their alleged links to the Chinese regime, in Boston on Jan. 30, 2020. I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 15
US National Security
$1.5 MILLION Ac ordingtp secutor ,“f omatle s201 throug2051,”Har v dUnierst yf’ormechaif chemistr,Cya lesLiwbrupledth“more than$1.5milotes ablihresa chlb”inCa .
University, Texas A&M, and the University of Maryland. While the name of the given institution responsible for each of the entanglements was withheld, the letter reported: One university accepted funds from a foundation suspected of serving communist Chinese propaganda and influence operations, one university received funds from a Chinese conglomerate to “develop new algorithms” and “biometric security techniques” for “crowd surveillance capabilities,” while another university had “multiple contracts” with the CCP’s Central Committee. In addition, as with the University of Washington, five of the six universities investigated had contracts with Huawei, which Rubinstein’s letter characterized as “a company that has been the subject of U.S. national security and trust concerns and banned from access to federal broadband subsidies for posing a national security risk.” Furthermore, while Rubinstein’s 2019 letter detailed how between 2012 and 2019, the six universities collectively failed to report $1.3 billion from foreign sources, a 2021 follow-up letter to the subcommittee expanded upon the original investigation, revealing $6.5 billion in unreported foreign money accepted by universities.
Racial Profiling?
16 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
faculty group’s letter states. Meanwhile, Thomas E. Wheeler, who is a member of the Alliance for Asian American Justice as well as a former assistant attorney general for civil rights, responded to critics’ concerns of discrimination, racism, and racial profiling in China Initiative cases. “The Thousand Talents Program, as articulated by the Chinese Communist Party, targets individuals of either Chinese nationality or with Asian connections. It’s designed to pressure those Chinese individuals who have come to the United States and been educated in the United States, who have chosen to stay and work in the United States to engage in espionage,” he said. “The reason that a disproportionate number of Asians are implicated in the China Initiative is because China itself targets Asian Americans—and, in particular, Chinese nationalities.”
Confucius Institutes In August 2021, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita opened an investigation into Valparaiso University’s Confucius Institute to determine “the true intent of any relationships between
FROM TOP: KREEDER13 VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, JENNIFER ZENG/THE EPOCH TIMES
While there is documentation of ethnically Chinese victims resulting from China’s operations on U.S. campuses, such as Zhou, and of ethnically non-Chinese academics, such as Charles Lieber, being targeted by federal prosecutors, critics assert that the China Initiative promotes racial discrimination. A September 2021 white paper produced by the Committee of 100, a business organization of Chinese Americans, states, “The China Initiative launched by the Department of Justice is clearly racial profiling and injustice.” Fu, the Chinese American pastor who advocated on behalf of Vera Zhou, calls such claims “ridiculous.” “The Communist Party’s threat, their agent’s skin color happens to be yellow—that does not have anything to do with race, racial discrimination, or racism,” Fu said. “China’s Communist Party is a Chinese Communist Party.” Nevertheless, critics such as Winds of Freedom view the number of ethnically Chinese academic defendants in China Initiative cases as evidence of the program’s discriminatory nature. “We believe the China Initiative raises concerns of racial profiling. The investigations have been disproportionately targeting researchers of Chinese origin,” the 2021 Stanford
The Confucius Institute building on the Troy University campus in Troy, Ala., on March 16, 2018. In recent years, dozens of American universities have closed their Confucius Institutes.
Valparaiso University’s programming and the Chinese Communist Party.” In recent years, dozens of U.S. universities have closed their Confucius Institutes amid heightened criticism of the center’s role in hampering academic freedom and promoting CCP propaganda. As of Jan. 18, there are 24 Confucius Institutes in the United States, down from more than 100 in 2017, according to the National Association of Scholars. The Trump administration in August 2020 designated the Confucius Institute U.S. Center, which is a nonprofit that supports Confucius Institutes and Classrooms across the United States, as a foreign mission, in recognition of its role in “advancing Beijing’s global propaganda and malign influence campaign on U.S.
“ T HER E A R E T HOU S A ND S OF S T UDEN T S F ROM CHIN A AT T HE UNI V ER SI T Y OF WA SHING T ON C A MPU S , A ND CHIN A PR E T T Y MUCH C ON T ROL S T HEM.” Bob Fu, CEO, China Aid
campuses and K–12 classrooms.” While Rokita refrained from commenting on the “active investigation” into Valparaiso University, he told Insight: “Illegal conduct doesn’t know any specific border or kind of person. We go where the facts take us, it’s as simple as that. “What other attorneys general should do is recognize this soft power, this propaganda, is real. And it’s going on in their states.” It’s unclear whether officials such as Rokita will succeed in convincing colleagues to be more cognizant of potential Chinese government clandestine operations. Likewise, it remains unclear whether critics of the China Initiative will succeed in persuading Attorney General Garland to abolish the program. I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 17
TREATMENT OPTIONS
LOVED ONES DIE After Families Lose Fight With Hospitals Two families fought hospitals to allow alternative COVID treatments. Now their loved ones have died. By Nanette Holt
18 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
Vials of the drug remdesivir at a press conference in Hamburg, Germany, on April 8, 2020 PHOTO BY ULRICH PERREY/POOL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 19
In Focus Health System
T
wo men on ventilators—one in Florida and one in Arizona— died within 24 hours of each other, even as their families were still fighting with hospitals for the chance to try alternative treatments. AFTER ALL TREATMENTS offered by
the hospitals failed, both families begged to try ivermectin and other alternative treatments for COVID-19, as outlined in a protocol by the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance. Daniel Pisano, 71, had been fighting for his life at Mayo Clinic Florida since Dec. 11. His battle ended late on Jan. 19. Stephen Judge, 69, had struggled to overcome his illness at Banner Ironwood Medical Center in Queen Creek, Arizona, since Nov. 27. He died on Jan. 20. Pisano had been on a ventilator for 36 days; Judge was on a ventilator for 44 days. Both hospitals repeatedly refused the families’ requests for alternative treatments, and have not responded to repeated requests for comment by Insight. Mayo Clinic vigorously fought the
Pisano family’s efforts in court and won, then won again when the family appealed the first judge’s decision. The family had filed a lawsuit requesting an emergency injunction ordering Mayo Clinic to allow treatment prescribed by an outside doctor they trusted. In court filings the company had asked to have sealed, attorneys and a doctor for the hospital said it wasn’t clear what would happen to Pisano if the treatment requested by the family was used. The family had offered to sign a waiver releasing the hospital from all liability related to Pisano’s treatment. The Judge family consulted with an attorney but didn’t file a lawsuit because Arizona doesn’t have a provision for expedited emergency hearings, and the family felt Stephen Judge didn’t have time to wait, said
THE 2018 LEGISLATION “is another
Banner Ironwood Medical Center in Queen Creek, Ariz. The medical center refused requests by Stephen Judge’s family to use the drug ZYESAMI to treat him. 20 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
way for patients who have been diagnosed with life-threatening diseases or conditions who have tried all approved treatment options and who are unable to participate in a clinical trial to access certain unapproved treatments,” according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) informational page about the law. But Banner Ironwood refused the family’s requests to initiate the process to obtain the drug for Stephen Judge.
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his daughter, Caitlin Judge Treister. Even on the last day of her father’s life, Treister was fighting to try a new drug for serious COVID-19 cases such as his. The drug, ZYESAMI, is now in Phase 3 clinical trials and is more widely available under the federal Right to Try Act, NRx Pharmaceuticals announced on Jan. 18.
In Focus Health System
is no emergency use authorization for Aviptadil in a patient with this clinical condition at this time.” THAT SEEMED TO contradict NRx’s
Jan. 18 announcement that ZYESAMI now could be used by any COVID-19 patient with respiratory failure for whom all other treatments had failed.
“The lungs have started to malfunction, such that they’re no longer able to transmit the oxygen from the air to the blood. That’s how COVID kills people.” Jonathan C. Javitt, chairman and CEO, NRx Pharmaceuticals
(L–R) Linda and Stephen Judge with Stephen’s daughter, Caitlin, and her husband, Jeff, at their 2016 wedding. Stephen had been on a ventilator for 44 days before passing away. Under Right to Try, NRx, the company that makes ZYESAMI, will now provide the drug for just the cost to overnight it to the patient. Requests can be made through the form on the company’s website. The only catch is that the request must be made by the patient’s doctor, said NRx spokesman Jack Hirschfield. “A family member or friend cannot make the official request to a Right to Try Program,” he said. In case the company is flooded with requests, “we’re ready for that,” Hirschfield said. “The goal is to save lives.” Upon their initial request to try the drug, the family of Stephen Judge was first told by a hospital representative that Banner Ironwood Medical Center “does not participate in clinical trials,” his daughter said. But using a drug under
Right to Try is an option for patients who don’t qualify for clinical trials. TR EISTER SUBMITTED AN urgent
request in writing, formally asking for the hospital’s cooperation in initiating the Right to Try process. “We are immediately requesting this treatment for my father and expect an expedited response as my father’s death without further treatment is imminent,” she wrote. Hours later, the hospital responded with a letter stating, “We are unable to meet your request.” The letter, signed by the hospital’s chief medical officer, George Figueroa, M.D., described Stephen Judge’s condition as “extremely critical” and stated, “Avidptadil [sic] is not FDA approved and there
The drug’s clinical trials, being conducted by the National Institutes of Health, are testing it as an intravenous treatment for “Critical COVID-19 with Respiratory Failure” and an inhaled treatment for “Severe COVID-19,” according to a January corporate document. The Radnor, Pennsylvania-based drugmaker’s report gives a comprehensive description of how the new drug works, and gives details on the development timeline. Before her father died, Treister told Insight that she was “questioning whether we did everything we could. It’s hard navigating a system that’s stacked against us.” “This drug sounds like something that could really benefit him, if it’s not too late. I wish we would have known about it earlier, but that won’t stop me from fighting until the bitter end. Only my dad and God decide when it’s his time. Not this hospital.” About five hours later, she told Insight, “My dad has officially gone to Heaven. Heaven just got a lot more fun.” The drug she’d begged to try has already been used to cure critically ill COVID-19 patients. In December 2020, a 47-year-old Florida physician told WSVN-TV Channel 7 News his story of recovery using the I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 21
In Focus Health System
new drug. Early in the pandemic, Jacobo Elgozy, D.O., was caring for COVID-19 patients at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, he told the news station. He became infected with the virus himself, developing one of the worst cases his doctor had ever seen, and eventually landing him on the schedule for a double-lung transplant, the news station reported. JACOBO WAS GR ANTED access to the
drug through a clinical trial on the drug, NRx confirmed. “In a matter of two weeks plus, I recovered like this,” Elgozy said, snapping his fingers. “My lungs started responding like there was no tomorrow. Everybody thinks it was related to the RLF-100 [now known as ZYESAMI] that was given to me, that protected my lungs from any injury or scarring.” He no longer needed a lung transplant and has gone back to work as a doctor, NRx founder, Chairman, and CEO Jonathan C. Javitt, MD, MPH, told Insight. For now, ideally, a patient would take ZYESAMI as soon as remdesivir and other therapies approved for use against COVID-19 proved ineffective, Hirschfield said. The company is working hard to gain approval for emergency use from the FDA as quickly as possible, he said. Pisano didn’t improve after the use of remdesivir, his family said. Judge refused remdesivir. Developed to help patients with advanced COVID-19, ZYESAMI is the brand name of aviptadil, a synthetic version of a natural chemical made in the human body called human vasoactive intestinal polypeptide.
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“THERE’S ONE CELL in the lung called
the Type II cell that makes all the surfactant, and that’s exactly the cell that’s attacked by the COVID virus. The virus targets that cell, because” of the chemical makeup of its surface, Javitt said. “The virus enters that cell. It knocks out the surfactant production, and it also liberates some very inflammatory toxic molecules called cytokines. In fact, the reason COVID kills people and doesn’t kill other air-breathing animals is because the virus specifically binds” to those cells in human lungs, but not in the lungs of animals, he said. His company’s drug binds to that important cell in the human lung “and when it when it enters the cell, it increases surfactant production, it prevents cytokine production, and it actually keeps the virus from replicating,” Javitt said.
Daniel and Claudia Pisano. Daniel had been on a ventilator for 36 days before passing away.
FROM L: COURTESY OF CHRIS PISANO, TONY WEBSTER VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
After developing one of the worst COVID19 cases his doctor had seen, a physician said he recovered in a matter of about two weeks using the new drug ZYESAMI.
“We didn’t invent it—nature invented it,” Javitt said. “With 28 amino acids, you can make it in a factory.” What results from the manufacturing process is a bio-identical chemical, Javitt said, meaning it’s exactly the same as what’s made naturally in the human body. The company has shared a document on its website explaining the technicalities of how the drug works. Javitt shared a simplified explanation with Insight: “Air goes into your lungs, and that’s how oxygen gets into your bloodstream. “People hear about COVID respiratory failure or respiratory distress, and they think it has something to do with not being able to breathe. And that’s just not true. “What it means is that the lungs have started to malfunction such that they’re no longer able to transmit the oxygen from the air to the blood. That’s how COVID kills people. “So the way the lungs work—it’s really just a collection of hundreds of thousands of air sacs called alveoli, where you have air on the inside and blood vessels on the outside. That’s where the oxygen is exchanged. “The alveoli stay open because they’re lined with a fluid called surfactant. It’s kind of like soap in a soap bubble. Without the soap, you’ve just got a drop of water, and without the surfactant in the lungs, the lungs collapse.
In Focus Health System
The Mayo Clinic repeatedly refused the Pisano family’s requests for alternative treatments. The family never thought that “they would lose all control over medical decisions when they went to the Mayo Clinic.”
Insight has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the FDA for details about when drugs in clinical trial for the treatment of COVID-19—including ivermectin and ZYESAMI—might be approved for emergency use. The FDA hasn’t indicated when that information will be provided. The FDA maintains an informational page about why not to use ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19, citing “multiple reports” of injuries from people self-medicating with a formulation of the drug used in animal care. The page says there are ongoing clinical trials testing the safety and efficacy of the human
formulation of ivermectin in the treatment of COVID-19. A spokeswoman for the FDA told Insight that a FOIA request would need to be filed in order to receive information about the injuries mentioned on the agency’s page. That request also has been filed. After fighting so hard to obtain alternative treatments for Daniel Pisano, attorneys representing his family said they were stunned by his death. “After nearly a week of improvement to the point he was being weaned off life support, Dan Pisano experienced a sudden, devastating setback and all hope for his recovery blew away,” Jeff Childers, of Childers Law, wrote in his coffeeandcovid.com blog on Jan. 20. “MY REACTION ON hearing the news
was, mostly, a white-hot righteous anger. These hospitals really have no idea at all how their bad short-term decisions WILL have long-term consequences. There are systemic problems in our corporate hospital system that must be addressed.” He later told Insight: “We are analyzing the deficiencies in the law that prevented us from saving Dan, and we will be pursuing a legislative strategy, including activists, thought-leaders, influencers,
and lawmakers from around the state. “The problem is he was trapped [at Mayo Clinic Florida]. They wouldn’t let him leave. They wouldn’t let them bring in a doctor to treat him, the only doctor who expressed hope he could be saved. Madness.” The family’s other attorney, Nick Whitney, of the AndersonGlenn law firm, said: “Mr. Pisano and his family never suspected that they would lose all control over medical decisions when they went to the Mayo Clinic. No one should find themselves facing that brutal reality. “If the courts got it right here, the law is sadly undeveloped and woefully behind. If there is a bright side to this tragedy, it is that many more people now know what they are up against.” Chris Pisano said he doesn’t regret sharing the details of the battle surrounding his father’s final days. “I take great comfort in knowing people all around this world have read my father’s story and have chosen an alternate path in care that has saved their lives,” he told Insight just hours after his father’s death. “As of today, I know of three [patients’] stories that will continue because my father’s has ended. What a great legacy this is.” I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 23
SPOTLIGHT WILDLIFE RESCUE A STAFF MEMBER (C) OF THE AZAD JAMMU and Kashmir wildlife department rescues an injured leopard in the Neelum Valley, an area administered by Pakistan, on Jan. 22. An X-ray of the animal revealed five to six pellets from a shotgun inside the body, with one pellet causing paralysis. The leopard later passed away during an operation. Reports reveal more than 60 common leopards have been killed in Azad Jammu and Kashmir in the past seven years, despite a ban. PHOTO BY SAJJAD QAYYUM/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
24 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 25
CITIZENSHIP
Agenda to Rid America of Citizenship Election expert says the push for noncitizens to vote is aimed at diluting citizenship and gaining power
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By Charlotte Cuthbertson h e r e c e n t n e w yor k city law to allow at least 800,000 noncitizens to vote in municipal elections is unconstitutional and likely to be overturned in court, said Hans von Spakovsky, manager of the Heritage Foundation’s Election Law Reform Initiative and former member of the Federal Election Commission. “It’s actually pretty clear that it violates the New York state Constitution—it has a provision that specifically says that you have to be a citizen to vote in all elections in the state of New York, and that includes local elections,” Spakovsky told Insight on Jan. 19. “I also think it is bad from a policy point of view, because it basically cheapens and diminishes the concept of citizenship. “It ought to be something that makes American citizens mad, particularly because of the potential number of aliens that’s involved.” NEW YOR K CITY Mayor Eric Adams
26 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
The recent law includes the provision that voting noncitizens must be in the city for 30 days or more and have authorization to work.
FROM L: STEPHANIE KEITH/GETTY IMAGES, THE EPOCH TIMES
allowed the measure to become law on Jan. 9, which includes the provision that voting noncitizens must be in the city for 30 days or more and have authorization to work. “I believe that New Yorkers should have a say in their government, which is why I have and will continue to support this important legislation,” Adams said in a statement. “I believe allowing the legislation to be enacted is by far the best choice, and look forward to bringing millions more into the democratic process.” The following day, the Republican
National Committee filed a suit in the New York Supreme Court along with City Council Minority Leader Joseph Borrelli, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), and other Republicans. The law applies to legal aliens, but Spakovsky said New York City’s sanctuary policies that shield illegal aliens would open the floodgates. “Does anybody really believe that the election department is going to investigate the lawful status of any alien who registers to vote?” he said. “And so that means, of course, that lots and lots of illegal aliens will also get registered to vote.” Although he doesn’t think any states will try to change their election laws to include voting rights for noncitizens,
Hans von Spakovsky, manager of the Election Law Reform Initiative at The Heritage Foundation, at an immigration event in Washington, in this file photo.
“This is being pushed by the progressive left today because they believe that aliens will vote for them ... and keep them in power.” Hans von Spakovsky, manager, Election Law Reform Initiative, The Heritage Foundation
People wait in line to vote at the Queens Public Library in New York on Oct. 24, 2020.
Spakovsky said there’s a push from the progressive left to change the concept or definition of “citizen.” “The whole point of the open borders crowd is to do two things: one, extinguish the line between legal and illegal aliens in this country. And second, to frankly get rid of the whole concept of citizenship,” he said. NEW YORK CITY Councilwoman Mar-
garet Chin, a Democrat, told colleagues before the recent vote that many noncitizens struggle to become citizens but should still be able to vote in the meantime because they pay taxes and live and work in the city. “They want to be citizens, they want to be able to vote for the president, but at
least we have the opportunity to allow them to vote for the elected officials that are representing them in the city,” Chin said. However, Spakovsky said paying taxes doesn’t make someone a citizen. “My response to that is that first of all, the vast majority of illegal aliens do not pay taxes. In fact, they get free rides from many jurisdictions,” he said. “This is being pushed by the progressive left today because they believe that aliens will vote for them ... and keep them in power.” SPAKOVSKY SAID THE inability of the
Trump administration to get a question placed on the 2020 Census about citizenship status was a major win for the
progressive left to blur the lines between citizen and noncitizen. “One of the main reasons they wanted that done is for apportionment purposes, they did not want congressional seats apportioned based on citizen population—if they did, places like California would lose congressional seats,” he said. “That’s why California probably has four or five more congressional seats than they should have, because of the huge population of illegal aliens in the state.” The Biden administration supports the creation of a citizenship pathway for millions of illegal immigrants in the United States. A decade-old estimate puts the number of illegal aliens at 11 million, and since then, millions more have crossed the southern border. I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 27
Marine Life Tracking Whales
A group of tourists watches a gray whale emerge from the water at the San Ignacio Lagoon in Mexico on Feb. 28, 2010. PACIFIC NORTHWEST
Marine ecologists launch IndividuWhale site to introduce Scarlett, Solé, and other whales they’ve named and tracked
28 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
O
regon state university marine ecologist Leigh Torres has studied gray whales along the Oregon coast for more than six years. That naturally raises a question: Does she have a favorite? “I like that one whale, Solé,” Torres told Insight. “She has a really distinct place she likes to be and foraging style.” Solé, a female first identified in 1999, has been spotted 70 times since 2015, all within a very limited section of the ocean. “She must like the prey on the menu here and be very good at catching it,” states IndividuWhale, a website that Torres and her scientific collaborators created to showcase the gray whales that they track. The website profiles Solé alongside a handful of other whales in the Pacific
Coast Feeding Group (PCFG), a subpopulation of roughly 250 gray whales that spend their summers in the waters off the Pacific Northwest, rather than the Arctic or Russia’s Sakhalin Island. Torres told Insight that her team’s website was inspired by the unique personalities and experiences of the whales that they’ve encountered. “We see these whales over and over again,” she said. “They’ve kind of become like friends to us. We thought that sharing these stories with the Oregon community and the whole world would be pretty fun—that other people would want to know that these whales have interesting and cool lives.” While IndividuWhale highlights just a few PCFG gray whales, Torres says she can identify 30 to 40 whales by sight. “When you’re in the field with them and you’re on a boat, the whale only surfaces for a second, so you only get a sec-
FROM L: OMAR TORRES/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES, COURTESY OF INDIVIDUWHALE
Website Profiles Unique Whales on Oregon Coast
By Nathan Worcester
Marine Life Tracking Whales
250 WHALES
A SUBPOPULATION OF roughly 250 gray whales spend their summers in the waters off the Pacific Northwest.
ond to see those markings,” she said. “You have to train yourself to really quickly hone in on a few distinctive markings, and then you’ve got to go through your memory bank and be like, ‘OK, where have I seen that whale before?’” Gray whales are baleen whales, vacuuming up shrimp and other tiny organisms from the shallow coastal seafloor. The PCFG whales migrate thousands of miles each year to their winter breeding grounds in Baja California.
In 1994, the eastern North Pacific gray whale became the first marine mammal taken off the Endangered Species Act’s list.
Torres and her colleagues use a range of methods to study the subpopulation. Aerial drones allow them to capture overhead images of whales. By applying a formula to a whale’s physical dimensions in those images, the scientists can assess its body condition at a given point in time. They also scoop up whale feces, which the IndividuWhale website describes as “a goldmine” of information on everything from a whale’s genes to its hormonal profile. Gray whale feces contains cortisol, a stress hormone. By correlating levels of cortisol with potential stressors, such as the noise from human vessels, Torres and her team can assess whether and to what extent those factors are affecting the animals. “We have hydrophones down in the study area that record different noise levels and different sources. And then we look at those noises relative to their stress levels,” she said. “But as we know, we get stressed out for all sorts of reasons. So we’re also trying to control for those other things that can stress an animal out—whether it has an injury or whether it’s really hungry and skinny, or whether it’s pregnant, and so forth. That’s part of why we’re collecting all that other demographic and life history information—so that when we do that comparison between different noise levels and their stress hormones, we can account for those other factors that might also be stressing the whale out.” Torres is also interested in “whale culture”—distinctive patterns of behavior among groups of gray whales that seem to be learned, rather than transmitted through genes or another more mechanistic route. She cited the example of the PCFG itself. Those in the PCGF migrate to Oregon rather than going to the Alaskan Arctic like most other gray whales. “That is a culture, that they develop different ways of feeding and different habitat use patterns,” she said.
This past summer, her team watched as an important lesson was apparently imparted to one young whale, Pacman (the calf of Scarlett, or “Scarback,” one of the animals featured on IndividuWhale). An older whale used a distinctive feeding technique—the “bubble blast”—at a particular spot. Moments later, Pacman swam over to the same location and issued a bubble blast of his own. “I don’t know for sure, but it sure looked like the whale was learning and trying to replicate what this older whale was doing,” Torres said. IndividuWhale emphasizes that gray whales still face threats, including entanglement in fishing gear, increased ocean noise, and declines in the kelp forests where their prey live. In recent years, the gray whale population along the West Coast has declined by roughly 25 percent, according to research from NOAA Fisheries. Yet there’s also reason for optimism. While gray whales were nearly hunted to extinction by the 1950s, they subsequently recovered after federal protections were put in place. In 1994, the eastern North Pacific gray whale became the first marine mammal taken off the Endangered Species Act’s list. “They have rebounded well from whaling better than many other populations,” Torres said. “It’s one of the great success stories of the Endangered Species Act.” She said scientists are still uncertain as to why gray whale populations have occasionally cratered in the past few years. “It’s probably down to low prey availability for them and changing habitats and ecosystems,” Torres said. “They’re a really good sentinel species about how our oceans are doing, but they’re also resilient.”
The whale Solé off the Oregon coast. I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 29
FAU CI ’ S R‘PROXIM OL EA L ORIGIN’ IN New emails reveal Dr. Anthony Fauci helped shape an influential academic paper that set the natural origin narrative By Jeff Carlson & Hans Mahncke
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, attends a hearing in Washington on June 30, 2020. PHOTO BY AL DRAGO - POOL/GETTY IMAGES
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NEWS ANALYSIS
N
E W E V IDEN CE H A S EMERG ED
32 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
The P4 laboratory (center L) on the campus of the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, on May 27, 2020. funds for virologists. At least three virologists involved in the drafting of “Proximal Origin” have seen substantial increases in funding from the agency since the paper was first published. Any interference by Fauci in the paper’s narrative would present a serious conflict of interest.
Emails Show That Fauci, Collins Exerted Influence Newly released notes taken by House Republican staffers from emails that still remain largely redacted clearly point to Fauci having been actively engaged in shaping the article and its conclusion. The GOP lawmakers gained limited access to the emails after a months-long battle with Fauci’s parent body, the Department of Health and Human Services. The new emails reveal that on Feb. 4, 2020, one of the article’s co-authors, virologist Edward Holmes, shared a draft of “Proximal Origin” with Farrar. Like Fauci, Farrar controls the disbursement of vast amounts of funding for virology research. Holmes prefaced his email to Farrar with the note that the authors “did not mention other anomalies as this will
make us look like loons.” It isn’t known what other anomalies Holmes was referring to, but his statement indicates that the paper’s authors may have omitted certain anomalies of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, suggesting that the paper may have been narrative-driven from the start. During Fauci’s teleconference, participants had discussed at least two anomalies specific to the virus: the virus’s furin cleavage site, which has never been observed in naturally occurring SARS coronaviruses, and the pathogen’s unusual backbone, which fails to match any known virus backbone. Farrar almost immediately shared Holmes’s draft with Fauci and Collins via email, while excluding other participants of the teleconference. The ensuing email thread containing discussion among the three suggests that the reason for the secretiveness may have been that they were shaping the content of the paper itself, something that has never been publicly acknowledged. It’s notable that the email thread included only the three senior members of the teleconference. Using Farrar as a conduit to communicate with the au-
FROM L: HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES, GREG NASH- POOL/GETTY IMAGES
that suggests that Dr. Anthony Fauci not only initiated efforts to cover up evidence pointing to a lab origin of SARS-CoV-2 but actively shaped a highly influential academic paper that excluded the possibility of a laboratory leak. Fauci’s involvement with the paper wasn’t acknowledged by the authors as it should have been under prevailing academic standards. Neither was it acknowledged by Fauci himself, who denied having communicated with the authors when asked directly while testifying before Congress earlier this month. The article “The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2” was co-authored by five virologists, four of whom participated in a Feb. 1, 2020, teleconference that was hastily convened by Fauci, who serves as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and Jeremy Farrar, who heads the UK-based Wellcome Trust, after public reporting of a potential link between the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China and the COVID-19 outbreak. The initial draft of “Proximal Origin” was completed on the same day the teleconference, which wasn’t made public, took place. Notably, at least three authors of the paper were privately telling Fauci’s teleconference group both during the call and in subsequent emails that they were 60 to 80 percent sure that COVID-19 had come out of a lab. Until now, it wasn’t known what role, if any, Fauci played in shaping the contents of the paper, which formed the primary basis for government officials and media organizations to claim the “natural origin” theory for the virus. While the contents of emails previously released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) show the paper clearly conflicts with the authors’ private views on the virus’s origin, it was unclear whether the authors had preemptively reshaped their views to please Fauci, or whether Fauci himself had an active role in shaping the article. As the head of NIAID, Fauci controls a large portion of the world’s research
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add further comments on the glycans.” paper argued aggressively for a natural The reference to glycans is notable as origin of SARS-CoV-2. they are carbohydrate-based polymers An immediate observation from an produced by humans. The push by Fau- examination of the Feb. 16 version of ci, Collins, and Farrar to have the paper’s the paper is that “glycans,” the term authors expand on the issue of glycans that Farrar, Fauci, and Collins wanted appears to confirm that they were exerting to emphasize, is cited 12 times. We don’t direct influence on the paper’s content. know to what extent glycans were disAccording to Rossana Segreto, a mi- cussed in the Feb. 4 draft, as it remains crobiologist and member of the virus concealed by National Institute of Health origins search group DRASTIC, empha- (NIH) officials. sizing the presence of glycans in SARSAn item of particular significance CoV-2 might suggest that Fauci and his is that the Feb. 16 version omits any group were looking to add arguments mention of the ACE2-transgenic mice against serial pasthat Fauci had sage in the lab. A initially flagged study later found in his Feb. 4 email that the paper’s to Collins and prediction on the Farrar. While the presence of the Feb. 16 version At least three of the five authors of O-linked glycans of the paper ac“The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2,” wasn’t valid. knowledges that while initially drafting the paper, The newly rea furin cleavage privately told Fauci that there was a 60 leased emails site could have to 80 percent chance that COVID-19 don’t revea l been generated came out of a lab. what additional through serial discussions may passage using have taken place among Fauci, Collins, animals with ACE2 receptors, the citand Farrar in the ensuing days. Perhaps ed animals in the Feb. 16 version were that’s partly because Farrar had noted ferrets—not transgenic mice. on another email thread addressed to The authors’ use of ferrets is peculiar Fauci’s teleconference group that scien- not only because the term “transgenic tific discussions should be taken offline. mice” was almost certainly used in the Feb. 4 version, but also because it was Online Version Appears to known at the time that the Wuhan InIncorporate Fauci’s, Collins’s stitute of Virology was conducting serial Suggestions passage experiments on coronaviruses Eleven days later, on Feb. 16, 2020, “Prox- using ACE2 transgenic mice. imal Origin” was published online. The Even more conspicuously, the ref-
60–80%
thors may have been seen by Fauci and Collins as adding a layer of deniability.
Fauci, Collins Express Concern Over ‘Serial Passage’ During a Feb. 4, 2020, email exchange among the men, Collins pointed out that the paper argued against an engineered virus, but that serial passage was “still an option” in the draft. Fauci appeared to share Collins’s concerns, noting in a one-line response: “?? Serial passage in ACE2-transgenic mice.” Serial passage is a process whereby a virus is manipulated in a lab by repeatedly passing it through human-like tissue such as genetically modified mice, which mimic human lung tissue. This is notable given that during the Feb. 1 teleconference, at least three of the paper’s authors had advised Collins and Fauci that the virus may have been manipulated in a lab through serial passage or by genetic insertion of certain features. One day after Fauci and Collins shared their comments, on Feb. 5, 2020, Farrar emailed Fauci and Collins stating: “The team will update the draft today and I will forward immediately—they will
Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, at a hearing on pandemic response, in Washington on Sept. 9, 2020. I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 33
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erence to ferrets was removed entirely from a March 17 updated version of the paper. In its place, a passage was added that stated “such work [serial passage experiments with ACE2 animals] has also not previously been described” in academic literature—despite the fact that the Wuhan Institute’s work with ACE2 transgenic mice has been extensively described in academic papers.
Published Version of ‘Proximal Origin’ Was Altered Following the online publication of “Proximal Origin” on Feb. 16, 2020, the article was published in the prominent science journal Nature on March 17. In addition to the changes surrounding the transgenic mice, a number of other notable edits were made to strengthen the natural origin narrative. On March 6, 2020, the paper’s lead
The most often publicly cited passage from the March 17 version of the paper—which states, “We do not believe that any type of laboratorybased scenario is plausible” —doesn’t appear in the Feb. 16 version.
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This scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (round blue objects), the virus that causes COVID19, emerging from the surface of cells cultured in a lab. The cells were isolated from a patient in the United States.
Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, and Fauci hastily convened a teleconference after public reporting of a potential link between the Wuhan Institute and the CCP virus.
FROM TOP: NIAID-RML/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS, RUBEN SPRICH/REUTERS, ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES
author, Kristian Andersen, appeared to acknowledge the inputs from Collins, Farrar, and Fauci, when he emailed the three to say, “Thank you again for your advice and leadership as we have been working through the SARS-CoV-2’ origins’ paper.” Perhaps most strikingly, the most often publicly cited passage from the March 17 version of the paper—which states, “We do not believe that any type of laboratory-based scenario is plausible”—doesn’t appear in the Feb. 16 version. Additionally, while the Feb. 16 version states that “genomic evidence does not support the idea that SARS-CoV-2 is a laboratory construct,” the March
17 version was altered to read that “the evidence shows that SARS-CoV-2 is not a purposefully manipulated virus.” Similar changes in language are evident in various parts of the March 17 version. For example, a section that stated that “analysis provides evidence that SARS-CoV-2 is not a laboratory construct” was amended to read that “analyses clearly show that SARS-CoV-2 is not a laboratory construct.” The March 17 version also omits an entire section from the Feb. 16 version that centered around an amino acid called phenylalanine. According to Segreto, a similarly situated amino acid in the original SARS virus had “mutated into phenylalanine as result of cell passage in human airway epithelium.” Segreto surmises that the “Proximal Origin” authors might have deleted this section so as not to highlight that the phenylalanine in SARS-CoV-2 might have resulted from serial passage in a lab. Segreto’s analysis is backed up by the fact that another section in the Feb. 16 version—which states that “experiments with [the original] SARS-CoV have shown that engineering such a site at the S1/ S2 junction enhances cell–cell fusion”— was reworded in the March 17 version to leave out the word “engineering.” Indeed, while the Feb. 16 version merely downplayed the possibility of the virus having been engineered in a lab, in the March 17 version, the word “engineered” was expunged from the paper altogether. Another sentence omitted from the March 17 version noted that “interestingly, 200 residents of Wuhan did not show coronavirus seroreactivity.” Had the sentence remained, it would have suggested that, unlike other regions in China, no SARS-related viruses were circulating in Wuhan in the years leading up to the pandemic. That makes natural spillover less likely. The director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Shi Zhengli, herself admitted that she never expected a SARS-related virus to emerge in Wuhan. When viruses emerged naturally in the past, they emerged in southern China. Shi’s credibility already was coming under fire for failing to disclose that she had the closest known relative of SARS-CoV-2 in her possession for seven years—a point noted early on by Segreto. Additionally, the Wuhan Institute took
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Close scrutiny of the email discussions by the three scientists also suggests that there was no legal justification for redacting any of the newly released information in the first place.
As the head of NIAID, Fauci controls a large portion of the world’s research funds for virologists. At least three virologists involved in the drafting of the paper have seen substantial increases in funding from the agency since it was first published.
its entire database of viral sequences offline on Sept. 12, 2019. Despite the Wuhan Institute’s documented deletion and concealment of data, “Proximal Origin” ’s central argument is that SARS-CoV-2 had to be natural since its backbone didn’t match any known backbones. However, even before the March 17 version was published, Segreto had stated publicly that the paper’s central backbone argument was inherently flawed, precisely because there was no way of knowing whether the Chinese lab had published the relevant viral sequences.
Fauci, Collins, Farrar Roles Improperly Concealed The email exchange among Fauci, Farrar, and Collins presents clear evidence that the three men took an active role in shaping the narrative of the paper. Indeed, a careful comparison of the Feb. 16 and March 17 versions shows that the changes made fail to reflect any fundamental change in scientific analysis. Instead, the authors employed linguistic changes and wholesale deletions that appear to have been designed to reinforce the natural origin narrative.
Science journals require that contributions to scientific papers need to be acknowledged. According to Nature’s publishing guidelines, “Contributors who do not meet all criteria for authorship should be listed in the Acknowledgements section.” The newly revealed sections of the still-redacted emails appear to confirm that Fauci, Farrar, and Collins met the criteria for acknowledgment, yet their names have never appeared on any published version of the paper, suggesting that the three didn’t want their involvement in its creation to be known.
Collins Asked Fauci ‘to Help Put Down’ Fox News Story A final email released by the House Republicans shows that Collins wrote Fauci several months later on April 16, 2020, telling him that he had hoped that “Proximal Origin” would have “settled” the origin debate, but that it apparently hadn’t, since Bret Baier of Fox News was reporting that sources were confident the virus had come out of a lab. Collins asked Fauci whether the NIH could do something “to help put down
this very destructive conspiracy” that seemed to be “growing momentum.” Collins also suggested that he and Fauci ask the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) to weigh in. As was revealed in previous emails released under FOIA, Fauci’s group had pushed NASEM in early February 2020 to promote the natural origin narrative. Fauci told Collins that the lab leak theory was a “shiny object” that would go away in time. However, the next day, Fauci took responsive action when he categorically dismissed the the possibility of a lab origin for COVID-19 during at a White House press conference on April 17, 2020. the “Proximal Origin” paper as corroboration of his claims. Notably, Fauci feigned independence, telling reporters that he couldn’t recall the names of the authors. Unbeknownst to reporters and the public at the time, four out of the five authors had participated in Fauci’s Feb. 1, 2020, teleconference. Now, we know that Fauci had involvement in shaping the very article that he cited. Fauci’s intervention at the April 17 White House briefing was effective, since media interest in the lab leak theory quickly waned. It didn’t resurface until May 2021, when former New York Times science writer Nicholas Wade published an article discussing the likelihood of a lab leak. Wade noted that “[a] virologist keen to continue his career would be very attentive to Fauci’s and Farrar’s wishes.” Notably, Segreto had raised a similar concern after “Proximal Origin” was first published in February 2020, asking whether certain virologists were scared that if the truth came out, their research activities would be curtailed.
Fauci dismissed the the possibility of a lab origin for COVID-19 during at a White House press conference on April 17, 2020. I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 35
SPOTLIGHT SNOW BLANKETS ATHENS A NEWLYWED AMERICAN COUPLE enjoys the snow during a photoshoot near the Acropolis in Athens on Jan. 24. Greece was hit by a cold front that brought heavy snowfalls and very low temperatures. PHOTO BY LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
36 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 37
CONFLICTING STORIES
NPR Refuses to Correct Supreme Court Story Article challenged by a trio of Supreme Court justices triggers a flood of criticism
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By Zachary Stieber
38 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
Chief Justice John Roberts (C) and (L–R) Associate Justices Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, Stephen Breyer, Amy Coney Barrett, and Elena Kagan. form.’ NPR stands by its reporting,” Totenberg wrote in a follow-up story. Ask and request are synonyms that mean essentially the same thing. The only change to the initial piece was the addition of a hyperlink to the follow-up story. An NPR spokesman told Insight via email that the outlet "continues to stand by Nina Totenberg’s reporting." Jeffrey McCall, a communications professor at DePauw University, said the decision not to correct the story means that NPR is calling the justices liars, “which, frankly, comes off as unseemly.” “The justices have made a public statement and, if NPR wants to dispute it, they
need to do more to provide context and even identify their source. The general public knows NPR is a largely agenda-driven news outlet, and they will lose in a credibility contest with Supreme Court justices,” McCall said. The NPR spokesman and Totenberg declined to answer or didn’t respond to several sets of questions, including whether any other NPR employees verified the sources cited by Totenberg, who was previously fired from the National Observer for plagiarism. While Totenberg said Roberts had “asked” other justices to wear masks in her story, during an appearance on NPR’s
FROM L: ERIN SCHAFF-POOL/GETTY IMAGES, SAUL LOEB/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
ational public radio (NPR) is refusing to correct a story that has been challenged by a trio of Supreme Court justices, triggering a flood of criticism. Citing anonymous sources, reporter Nina Totenberg said Chief Justice John Roberts had recently “asked the other justices to mask up” because Justice Sonia Sotomayor had expressed concerns for her safety amid the recent surge in COVID-19 cases. Totenberg said that because Justice Neil Gorsuch refused the request—Gorsuch hasn’t worn a mask on the bench recently—Sotomayor started attending oral arguments from her chambers. In rare public statements made a day later, all three justices responded to the report. Sotomayor and Gorsuch said Sotomayor didn’t ask Gorsuch to wear a mask. “While we may sometimes disagree about the law, we are warm colleagues and friends,” the two justices said in a joint statement. Even worse for NPR, which is partially funded by taxpayer money, Roberts said in a separate statement that “I did not request Justice Gorsuch or any other Justice to wear a mask on the bench.” Despite the direct challenges to the story, NPR hasn’t issued a correction. “The chief justice issued a statement saying he ‘did not request Justice Gorsuch or any other justice to wear a mask on the bench.’ The NPR report said the chief justice’s ask to the justices had come ‘in some
Nation Media
An NPR spokesman told Insight via email that the outlet “continues to stand by Nina Totenberg’s reporting.”
Clarence Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor, Neil Gorsuch, “All Things Considered,” prior to the justices’ statements, she said Roberts had “suggested” that the other justices don face coverings. NPR Public Editor Kelly McBride said the different descriptions mean the story “merits a clarification, but not a correction.” “After talking to Totenberg and reading all justices’ statements, I believe her reporting was solid, but her word choice was misleading,” McBride wrote. “In the absence of a clarification, NPR risks losing credibility with audience members who see the plainly worded statement from Roberts and are forced
“The justices have made a public statement and, if NPR wants to dispute it, they need to do more to provide context and even identify their source.” Jeffrey McCall, professor, DePauw University
to go back to NPR’s story and reconcile the nuances of the verb ‘asked’ when in fact, it’s not a nuanced word,” McBride said. Readers and listeners have apparently contacted the media outlet expressing concern over the issue. “In order for the story to be true as NPR first reported, Roberts would’ve had to have asked ‘in some form,’ but he said he didn’t, full stop,” one said. Joe Concha, a media critic at The Hill, wrote on Twitter that “NPR couldn’t have handled this any worse,” linking to McBride’s piece. The Society of Professional Journalists stated that ethical journalism should be “accurate and fair” and recommended that reporters largely stick to sources that are clearly identified. Reporters should also “respond quickly to questions about accuracy, clarity, and fairness,” the group said, noting that mistakes should be acknowledged and corrected promptly and corrections and clarifications should be explained “carefully and clearly.” Totenberg later spoke to the Daily Beast, criticizing McBride for the column. “She can write any [expletive] thing she wants, whether or not I think it’s true. She’s not clarifying anything!” Totenberg said. “I haven’t even looked at it, and I don’t care to look at it because I report to the news division, she does not report to the news division.” Responding to Justice Roberts’s direct challenge to her reporting, she claimed that “I did not say that he requested that people do anything, but ‘in some form’ did.” I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 39
TRUMP RALLY
Trump Supporters in Arizona Look to 2024
An estimated crowd of 50,000 Trump supporters turned out in Arizona to hear the former president speak
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By Allan Stein
40 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
Tammy Mann, Christine Miller, Bobbi Bart, Tim Grubaugh, and Nancy Grubaugh of Tucson, Ariz., drove up in a camper van covered in anti-Joe Biden signs for the rally in Florence, Ariz., on Jan. 15.
50,000
or more came to hear former President
Donald Trump deliver his 2022 message at a rally in Arizona. hear his remarks on the Jan. 6, 2021, political protest in Washington, though she wasn’t sure the former president would talk about COVID-19 vaccines, whose use he supports. “I know that he has mentioned the vaccine. I am not vaccinated. I don’t know if he’s going to mention anything about it,” said Mann, who’s also concerned about unvaccinated migrants crossing Arizona’s southern border. The policy of the current administration is “come on in,” she told Insight. “We’re suffering because of it. It’s very frustrating.” Bobbi Bart of Tucson, who also arrived with Miller and Mann in the camper, said she has no doubt Trump is the right candidate for president in 2024.
“When’s he’s going back to Washington?” Bart said. “I think he’s got it. I know they’re going to have to do something because people have no faith in the system.” As for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis? “That’d be the only other [presidential candidate] I’d be happy with. Trump or DeSantis,” Bart told Insight. Like Mann, she, too, is concerned about uncontrolled immigration and the drain on the state’s resources. “Any kind of medical need they have,
ALLAN STEIN/THE EPOCH TIMES
lorence, ariz.—from all parts of the country, they arrived in cars, in campers, on motorcycles, and even in a few dune buggies to hear President Donald Trump deliver his 2022 message of hope for America. To be sure, the kick-off “Save America” rally on Jan. 15 was no less “yuge” than the former president’s previous political gatherings. Some estimates place the overall attendance at 50,000 or more, while hundreds were turned away due to a lack of parking. Even before the gates opened at 2 p.m., the Country Thunder festival grounds in Florence, Arizona, were filling up with loyal Trump supporters eager to get a front-row seat. “I’m just in awe to be here,” said Tammy Mann of Tucson, Arizona, who arrived in a large recreational vehicle plastered with pro-Trump signs, including a flag bearing a not-so-flattering message for President Joe Biden. Camper owner Christine Miller of Tucson said the signs drew a lot of attention on the way up from Tucson. “We got quite a few honks. People pulled over and showed us their flags. I really just wanted to come up and be with fellow patriots,” Miller told Insight. Mann said she hopes to see Trump run for president in 2024 to correct the mistakes of the 2020 election. She said she was especially eager to
Presidential Race
Trump supporters snap pictures as the president’s helicopter arrives just minutes before the kick-off of the “Save America” rally.
Trump supporter Petra Partello says Trump “absolutely” is the right person to become president in 2024, at the rally in Florence.
Trump supporters wearing MAGA hats applaud a guest speaker at the 2022 “Save America” rally.
A group of teens their support for President Donald Trump in 2024 during the rally in Florence.
there they are” getting it for free, Bart said. Sitting on the grass waiting for the start of Trump’s speech, Petra Partello, wearing an American flag cowgirl hat, said the message from Trump is “that he gives us a lot of hope, and to keep on fighting.” “Absolutely, he’s our president. There’s no doubt,” Partello said. State Rep. Mark Finchem (R) asked the crowd to look behind them to the west at the radiant orange sunset, which he de-
scribed as a “gift from God” for the rally. “Is that not a beautiful Arizona sky?” he said to cheering and applause. Finchem then dove into the issue of widespread irregularities in the 2020 election, calling it a “suspicious election that has since been proven to be irremediably compromised.” “Ladies and gentleman, they know it, and we know it—Donald Trump won,” he said. Trump later carried the theme of electoral theft, an inept Biden admin-
istration, political persecution of Jan. 6 protesters, and a rapidly failing economy as reasons for a conservative sweep in 2022. “We’ve had more destruction than five presidents put together in the last year,” Trump said. “On top of it all, people are being persecuted for using freedom of speech to talk about the election, but more and more information is coming out, and it’s coming out far worse than anyone ever thought it could be.” I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 41
80%
OF PUBLIC SCHOOL STAFF respondents to a 2020 national survey reported leaving some classes uncovered due to a shortage of substitutes to cover teacher absences.
A substitute teacher works from home due to the pandemic, in Arlington, Va., on April 1, 2020. NATIONAL SHORTAGE
Critical Shortage of Substitute Teachers Michigan schools allow school support staff to substitute teach in classrooms By Steven Kovac
42 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
Twenty-one percent said they could fill less than 25 percent of teacher absences. Eighty percent of the survey’s respondents reported leaving some classes uncovered. So that no classroom is ever unattended, the general practice has been to ask other teachers to give up their planning and preparation hour to cover for absent colleagues. Principals and vice principals are often also called upon to fill in. The Frontline Education survey found Michigan among the hardest-hit states. Since the start of the current academic year, many Michigan schools have been forced to close for the day due to staff shortages. As a temporary fix, the Republican-controlled state legislature recently passed a bill that allows any school employee with a high school diploma—including school secretaries, paraprofessionals, library
THIS PAGE: OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
substitute teachers are in critically short supply, and America’s schoolchildren may be short-changed because of it. Burbio, a service that tracks school websites, reported numerous school closings across Texas last week due to staff absences and substitute shortages. Many other states are experiencing similar problems. A 2021 national survey of 1,200 school district administrators and principals conducted by Frontline Education found that 67 percent experienced a shortage of substitute teachers. A nationwide survey taken in November 2020 by the Education Week Research Center found that of the 913 public school administrators, principals, and teachers questioned, one-third said they couldn’t find a substitute to cover half of teacher absences.
aides, janitors, bus drivers, and cafeteria workers—to fill in for absent teachers. The law, which applies only to previously vetted school employees, was approved on a near party-line vote. It will sunset at the end of the current school year. Normally to substitute teach in Michigan, a person must pass a criminal background check, be fingerprinted, and have at least 60 hours of college credits, which is the equivalent of an associate’s degree. In a Dec. 23, 2021, letter notifying the legislature that she had signed the bill into law, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, wrote: “Everything we have learned from the last year and a half demonstrates that our kids need to be in school, in person, every day. As a temporary stopgap, HB 4294 will help meet that goal during these incredibly challenging times.” Some opponents of the new law worry that allowing less qualified support staff to substitute teach will further undermine the quality of education in a system already challenged by too few in-person school days during the pandemic. Democratic state Rep. Laurie Pohutsky wrote on Twitter: “I had a number of constituents reach out to me opposing this bill. ... Educators are highly trained professionals and I’m deeply disappointed this bill is now law.” Paula Herbart, president of the Michigan Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union, said in a Jan. 12 statement, “Stopgap measures—like allowing support staff to be substitute teachers—are not the answer.” Herbart said her union opposed the recent legislation “because it doesn’t put students or school employees in a position to succeed.” According to the National Council on Teacher Quality, Missouri and Iowa have also passed laws lowering education requirements for substitute teachers.
P OL I T IC S • E C ONOM Y • OPI N ION T H AT M AT T E R S
No. 04
Perspectives
DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES
Children drawing a mural at the KU Kids Deanwood Childcare Center in Washington on July 14, 2021.
Wrecking Neighborhood Child Care The Biden administration’s push for a massive spending agenda would leave faith-based child care providers out of the picture. 44
✒
CFIUS: ACT TOUGHER ON CHINA 45
THE QUESTION OF BITCOIN 46
BIDEN’S WAR ON BUSINESS 47
HOW US SAVED EUROPE FROM BLACKOUT 48
I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 43
THOMAS MCARDLE was a White House speechwriter for President George W. Bush and writes for IssuesInsights.com.
Thomas McArdle
Attacking Private Child Care
The new plan increases ‘reliance on less personal, less local child-care options’
O
ne of the takeaways of President Joe Biden’s marathon press conference on Jan. 19 was his declaration that he was confident that the Democrats could “get pieces, big chunks, of the Build Back Better law signed into law.” One possible big chunk is some version of the bill’s $270 billion-plus new federal child care program. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who, with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), is blocking Biden’s massive spending agenda, reportedly supported federal funding for universal preschool in the course of ill-fated negotiations on the bill last year. The less-than-progressive Manchin and Sinema might be persuaded to get on board a possibly less expensive incarnation of the program in the 50–50 Senate whose tied votes are decided by Vice President Kamala Harris. But if they do, they will upend the lives of millions of working parents by destroying thousands of existing modestly sized day care businesses and facilitating a needless Washington intrusion into the home life and daily work routine of ordinary Americans. Though seldom prominent in the public discourse, the federal government has, with bipartisan support, been funding child care, including care administered by religious institutions, since 1990 through the Child Care and Development Block Grant. As the Department of Health and Human Services describes it, the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) block grant “made $9.5 billion available to states, territories, and tribes in fiscal year 2021.” COVID relief added to that with “$10 billion in supplemental CCDF monies.” The American Rescue Plan Act then added “about $15 billion in supplemental discretionary CCDF monies and about $24 billion for child care stabilization grants.” Under the program, parents are given child care certificates supporting indi-
44 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
vidual families rather than particular child care systems, giving them choice on what variety of child care their children will receive. Consequentially, the day care centers they use aren’t subject to the avalanche of federal regulations so often attached to money coming from Washington. The result is a diversity of competent private care providers.
The federal government has, with bipartisan support, been funding child care, including care administered by religious institutions, since 1990 through the Child Care and Development Block Grant. As Frederick Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, warns, however, the federal child care program within the Build Back Better bill passed by the House of Representatives last year contained “rules that would cut faith-based providers out of the picture”—in an environment in which faith-based providers serve 53 percent of the working-parent households who use center-based care, according to a national poll by Bipartisan Policy Center conducted in December 2020. Those parents “cited trust as the leading factor for why they selected their child care program.” According to Hess, under the Biden scheme, “even tiny neighborhood providers and those that operate in accord with a faith tradition would be subjected to a raft of new rules and complex reporting requirements—including costly renovations required to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which many of these providers would be unable to afford.” It would mean “a
rapid concentration of child care in a few larger, more impersonal, and less localized centers.” And despite its hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending, funds earmarked for remodeling, renovation, or repair could not be used for “buildings or facilities that are primarily used for sectarian instruction or religious worship.” Hess is concerned that such a new program could “decimate the more trusted, local, and faith-based parts of the child-care ecosystem,” resulting in “a dramatically increased reliance on less personal, less local child-care options.” Moreover, despite all these billions already being spent on child care by the federal government, only a fraction of those eligible get the help—a primary reason for this failure, not unexpectedly, being bureaucratic red tape. Naturally, child welfare advocacy groups argue that the solution is more taxpayer money. Whatever does or doesn’t work in federal funding of child care, however, its very existence for so long begs a huge question: If there can be bipartisan support—and constitutional backing from the Supreme Court—for Washington funding religious-oriented businesses that care for young children, then why not the same when it comes to older children’s education? Even left-leaning Justice Stephen Breyer, in his concurrence in the 7–2 Trinity Lutheran decision in 2017, concedes that the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause doesn’t preclude a religious entity benefiting from “a general program designed to secure or to improve the health and safety of children.” Is education any less important to children’s lives? If these anti-religious chains were removed, thousands of private schools and day care centers alike could be improving the lives and futures of low-income American children via federally provided school choice and vouchers, as they also provide employment to teachers, caregivers, and others.
ANDERS CORR is a principal at Corr Analytics Inc., publisher of the Journal of Political Risk. He is an expert in political science and government.
Anders Corr
CFIUS: Act tougher on China
US Treasury is weak on PRC’s purchase of US aircraft manufacturer
C
hina is vacuuming up a U.S. amphibious aircraft company that produces sophisticated airplanes with foldable carbon-fiber wings. While Icon Aircraft Inc.’s planes are recreational, their transformation into militarized drones that could target U.S. and allied forces is a distinct possibility that has the Americans who used to lead the company up in arms and complaining to our own apparently indifferent government in Washington. The FBI and other U.S. entities are finally upping their inquiries, but apparently only after heroes in the California company cried foul and pointed to “obvious” attempts by the China-backed shareholders to hollow it out. For national security reasons, Congress, the FBI, and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), led by the Treasury Department, should take immediate and much tougher action to unwind the sale and return the aircraft maker to full U.S. ownership. On Jan. 18, Kate O’Keeffe at The Wall Street Journal reported the takeover attempt. She wrote that the largest shareholder of Icon is a “Chinese government-backed investment company” that owns 46.7 percent of the U.S.-based manufacturer. CFIUS lacks sufficient investigatory capability and drive to catch such deals before they clinch, and so the initial investment by the Beijing-backed company, Shanghai Pudong Science and Technology Investment Co. (PDSTI), went unnoticed in 2015. It isn’t the first such China-backed takeover of an American or allied aircraft manufacturer in the 2010s. In 2011, the China Aviation Industry Corp. (AVIC) purchased Minnesota-based Cirrus Industries Inc. Cirrus, and therefore potentially AVIC, then gained access to material science development at Oak
Ridge National Laboratory. In 2015, AVIC acquired AIM Altitude, a British company that specializes in military and aerospace composites; there were at least a half-dozen similar situations.
CFIUS lacks sufficient investigatory capability and drive to catch such deals before they clinch. The U.S.–China Economic and Security Review Commission finally advised Congress in 2016 to “amend the statute authorizing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to bar Chinese state-owned enterprises from acquiring or otherwise gaining effective control of U.S. companies.” As I wrote at the time, Congress should go further and “reverse prior sales of U.S. technology firms to China, especially those in critical industries like aviation and semiconductors,” and mandate reviews for all Chinese companies. That was apparently a pipe dream. PDSTI was already using small investments to gradually acquire control of Icon. PDSTI started in 2015, and by 2017, it had a dominant stake. It could then install a majority of the company’s executives and board members, pressure others, and pave the way for the transfer of Icon technology to China. The company’s leadership, stretching back years, has military and high-technology experience, including a former Air Force pilot, a Stanford product-design expert, and former executives of General Atomics and Boeing. In 2018 and 2019, two former executives resigned in protest over the Chinese takeover. In May 2020 one senior executive wrote, “It is obvious that PDSTI’s plan for ICON is to reduce its operations to a minimum and destroy any potential
for the US business until they can move it to China to serve their own interest,” according to the Journal. In March 2021, PDSTI allegedly shipped Icon’s only plane model, the A5, to China. Then a month later, it started to seek licenses of Icon’s IP for the unrestricted transfer of technology to China. CFIUS has been characteristically slow to stop the deal, only starting a review in November after some of the company’s U.S. shareholders raised the alarm. The Treasury, influenced as it is by large corporations doing business in China, is usually loath to act against Chinese investment, even in key U.S. technologies. While the FBI is probing possible criminal violations related to the Icon deal and alleged technology transfer, progress is glacial and the bureau is already under fire for its investigation of academia’s tech transfers. This must change now. According to a memo produced by the U.S. shareholders, “ICON’s aircraft technology and advanced materials and aerospace manufacturing capabilities should not be allowed to fall into the hands” of China. “Without expeditious CFIUS intervention, this may occur within months.” The U.S. government must go beyond its weak approach to the Chinese Communist Party’s forced technology acquisition and theft. The Treasury is singularly incapable of stopping technology loss to China; replace it as the chair of CFIUS with the Pentagon or the National Security Council. We need leaders who put America’s national security above corporate greed. And those “cheap” toys and electronics in your home? They are actually quite expensive, purchased with the dollars that buy the U.S. and allied technologies being used against us, and ultimately against our sovereignty and democratic systems. I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 45
MILTON EZRATI is chief economist for Vested, a contributing editor at The National Interest, and author of "Thirty Tomorrows" and "Bite-Sized Investing.”
Milton Ezrati
The Question of Bitcoin
Talk of Bitcoin’s triumph is premature, to say the least
T
a l k of b i t c oi n ’s triumph is premature, to say the least. Bitcoin and its cryptocurrency cousins seem always in the headlines. Sometimes the interest is simply because the price has skyrocketed. Sometimes the headlines chronicle a sudden price crash. Either way, there is interest. And sometimes the story under the headline talks of how Bitcoin will supplant the dollar and somehow “free” people by offering a truly international currency. These “freedom” stories seldom connect all the dots, but they create excitement by offering the promise of something better. What’s interesting is how the stories about massive price moves are forcefully, if unintentionally, explaining why the international dominance stories make dubious forecasts. To be sure, claims that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are money have an element of truth to them. One of the essential characteristics of money is that it facilitates the settlement of contracts. And Bitcoin has something of this character, since people can buy cars with it and use it to pay for holidays. The new mayor of New York takes his pay in Bitcoin. Some governments, though not yet in the United States, let taxpayers meet their obligations with it. True, Bitcoin is a cumbersome way to buy a meal at the local cafe, but all the hype has increased the number of buyers and sellers who will accept it for payment. Of course, any commodity could acquire this character, if you could get others to accept it in payment for debts. But on this aspect of money, the cryptos are making progress at becoming money.
46 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
In one crucial way, however, Bitcoin fails miserably as money and certainly as a dollar substitute: Its value is highly unstable. One crucial requirement of money is that it offers people a stable store of value. People can plan with a reasonably good idea of what a given amount will get them next year or the year after.
Bitcoin fails miserably as money and certainly as a dollar substitute. Its value is highly unstable. True, the dollar’s value fluctuates. Its worth in terms of foreign currencies changes by the minute on currency exchanges, and inflation over time has eroded its real buying power, sometimes faster and sometimes slower. But by comparison to Bitcoin, the dollar is a model of stability, even considering today’s disturbing inflation. Consider Bitcoin’s value record. It surged from late 2017 to early 2018, rising rapidly in terms of dollars (as well as real goods and services) from about $1,000 a coin to a high of about $20,000. Over the balance of 2018, the price fell so that by January 2019, it had given back more than 80 percent of its earlier gain. Then, in late 2020, it surged again, rising to about $58,000 a coin in early 2021. It then fell by almost half into the middle of the year, at which time it surged again to new highs of more than $61,000 a coin last October. Since then, it has lost about a third of its value. These are wild swings. They make Bitcoin wonderfully attractive to speculators and headline
writers. People can make a lot of dollars if they can time the price swings right. But this record hardly presents the world with a stable store of value around which ordinary people can build their savings, plan to buy a house, or fund their retirement. No one can have any sense of what Bitcoin-denominated assets will be worth next year or even next month. If the dollar is less stable than people would like it to be in terms of real goods and services, it has a much better track record and a much better basis for planning. Bitcoin has something else to consider, something vaguely sinister, which may in fact have contributed to its sex appeal. It allows people to do their transactions anonymously, the way you can with, say, suitcases full of $100 bills. The attraction is especially great when buyers and sellers want to hide their dealings from the legal authorities. This particular appeal may be why the governments that accept bitcoin for taxes—one is a Swiss canton and the other is a Central American “republic”—are places well known for allowing anonymous transfers of funds with no questions asked. Perhaps someday, Bitcoin will become widely accepted and acquire a stable value in terms of the many real things about which people care. Then it might challenge the dollar and become an independent international standard. For now, Bitcoin remains a volatile commodity better suited to speculation than serving as money, and certainly no way to undergird an economic system, national or global.
ANDREW MORAN has been writing about business, economics, and finance for more than a decade. He is the author of "The War on Cash."
Andrew Moran
Joe Biden’s War on Business
The Biden administration scapegoats the private sector for inflation
JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES
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i g m e at, b i g o i l , and Big Business are conspiring against consumers and raising prices for food and energy. This is the message President Joe Biden, his administration, and prominent Democrats are sending to the American people as they attempt to scapegoat the private sector for price inflation surging to its highest level since June 1982. Food prices are up more than 6 percent. Beef and veal have increased 18.6 percent, chicken has advanced 10.4 percent, and eggs by the dozen have risen 11.1 percent. A whole host of issues have contributed to this inflationary environment at the supermarket: a labor shortage, surging energy prices, the worldwide supply chain crisis, backlogs, and strengthening consumer demand. The White House thinks there’s something else going on. The administration insists that pork and ham prices skyrocketing 15.1 percent and 10.1 percent, respectively, is because four companies control most of the beef, pork, and poultry markets. The solution? The president wants to expand the supply chain by subsidizing smaller businesses. He will be moving ahead with a deficit-financed $1 billion that includes supporting independent food processors that will likely need further taxpayer-funded support in the future since they cannot emulate the efficiency and cost savings of their larger counterparts. Energy prices have been on a tear to start 2022. U.S. crude oil futures have climbed 15 percent year-to-date, while natural gas has jumped 14 percent. Motorists are paying $3.31 for a gallon of gasoline, up from $2.39 last year. In some parts of the United States, such as California, consumers are paying about $4.65 per gallon. Like food inflation, energy prices
The administration insists that pork and ham prices skyrocketing 15.1 percent and 10.1 percent, respectively, is because four companies control most of the beef, pork, and poultry markets. trading at their highest levels since 2014 is due to a combination of factors: increasing demand, tepid output, falling inventories, and geopolitical tensions. Despite these sky-high prices, U.S. oil and gas firms have also been apprehensive about ramping up production due to regulatory uncertainty and Biden’s green agenda. Rather than encouraging U.S. oil and gas firms to “drill, baby, drill,” Biden and his team pleaded with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, OPEC+, to turn on the taps. What’s more, the administration is homing in on possible collusion between gasoline stations and energy giants, something industry experts have dismissed. Employers are struggling to fill positions, as there are about 10.5 million job openings. This past summer, the president urged
companies, from fast food to retailers, to “pay them more.” At the same time, the U.S. government was sweetening pandemic-era jobless benefits by $300 a week. These unemployment payments mirrored the paychecks for many people, dissuading them from returning to the workforce until absolutely necessary. Companies have ostensibly taken the president’s advice. Over the past year, average hourly earnings have advanced 4.7 percent to $31.31. There are now two problems happening: Businesses are still finding it challenging to find workers, and real wage growth has been eviscerated by a soaring consumer price index. All these developments have led to a sour note for Biden: Many Americans are no longer confident in the administration. In addition to his approval rating hovering around 41 percent, consumer and business surveys don’t portray the president in a positive light. The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index for January eased to 68.8, down from 70.6 in December 2021. One- and five-year inflation expectations rose to 4.9 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively. A recent CNBC–Momentive Small Business Survey highlighted waning confidence in the White House among entrepreneurs. Should these tough economic challenges persist, the Biden administration might continue scapegoating everyone else rather than take responsibility for present conditions. When pump prices fell by a nickel in December 2021, Biden cheered the news by crediting his efforts to increase supply after tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserves. But now that this relief has essentially vanished, he has rejected any culpability. This is perhaps the core of Bidenomics: Blame everyone else when things aren’t going well and take credit when the economy improves. I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 47
DANIEL LACALLE is chief economist at hedge fund Tressis and author of “Freedom or Equality,” “Escape from the Central Bank Trap,” and “Life in the Financial Markets.”
Daniel Lacalle
How the US Saved Europe From Blackout Many European energy policies have been ideologically directed
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48 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
The United States has plenty and competitive supplies thanks to the shale oil and gas revolution, which has made the country almost energy independent. hold bills are 65 percent higher than in 2006, according to the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) and the Energy Ministry. What has the European policy mistake been? To eliminate or ban cheap and reliable baseload energy (nuclear and development of domestic natural gas) and offset it with intermittent and volatile sources of energy—wind and solar—too early into a technology transition. This, when demand rises or solar and wind output declines, puts security of supply and competitiveness at risk because prices rise to all-time highs. European power prices have risen to record-highs also because the cost of CO2 emissions—a hidden tax—has soared from 20 euros per metric ton to more than 80. Due to this hidden tax, European governments are collecting tens of billions of euros in tax receipts, and the burden falls on businesses and families.
Residential electricity prices in the European Union between 2010 and 2014 averaged near $240 per megawatt-hour, while the United States averaged nearly $120 per MWh, or less than half of EU prices, according to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce report. Gasoline and diesel prices were also twice as expensive in the European Union on average compared with the United States. This trend hasn’t improved at all. In 2021, wholesale electricity prices in Europe reached a record high. Europe must understand that technology and competition achieve more in terms of reducing carbon emissions while improving competitiveness than implementing rigid and expensive political mandates. The energy sector is key in decarbonization but won’t achieve it through constant intervention. To decarbonize, the best technological tool is a combination of natural gas, nuclear, hydro, and renewable energy. But renewables are intermittent, while consumption is continuous. Now that renewable technologies are competitive, the solution can’t come from central planning, restricted markets, subsidies, and regulatory patches. It must come, as in the United States, from tax credits that are gradually phased out, and competition in an open market, with transparent bilateral contracts. Europe can develop its domestic resources and accelerate clean energy investment with rapid technology innovation. The word to achieve it is competition. It was a mistake to ban the development of natural gas resources, but an even bigger mistake to blame global gas producers for not selling cheaply a product that some governments have rejected. Europe can promote competitiveness, lower bills, and advances in clean energy. All it must do is allow industries to find realistic and durable solutions and let markets work.
DAVID MCNEW/GETTY IMAGES
n october, the governments of Austria and The Netherlands warned of the risk of a “great blackout.” Soaring natural gas prices, lack of security of supply, and a challenging outlook for pipeline deliveries from Russia made the governments exceedingly nervous about the chances of providing cheap and reliable energy for homes in winter. However, an unexpected ally prevented an energy crisis in Europe and, ironically, it’s an ally that was banned in most European nations: shale gas. Reuters reports that about half of the record U.S. liquefied natural gas volumes shipped in December 2021 went to Europe, up from 37 percent earlier in 2021, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. While most European nations banned the exploration and development of domestic natural gas resources many years ago, the United States has plenty and competitive supplies thanks to the shale oil and gas revolution, which has made the country almost energy independent. Domestic natural gas production has exceeded U.S. demand by about 10 percent, according to Reuters. There’s a lesson for the United States here. Many European energy policies have been ideologically directed, and massive energy subsidies and political intervention haven’t strengthened the competitiveness of the economy, secured energy supply, or even significantly reduced carbon emissions. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck recently told Zeit, “We will probably miss our [CO2 emissions] targets also for 2022, even for 2023 it will be difficult enough.” Germany will miss its climate targets for 2021 as the use of coal increased dramatically while the use of renewable energies remained almost stagnant, according to Politico. After hundreds of billions in renewable subsidies, house-
Fan Yu
FAN YU is an expert in finance and economics and has contributed analyses on China's economy since 2015.
Hard Realities Set In for CCP
After a round of key interest rate cuts, Beijing clearly seems concerned about growth
TEH ENG KOON/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
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n the face of mounting economic troubles, Beijing finally blinked. As the country enters a key month that includes Chinese New Year and the Winter Olympic Games, while faced with an economic slowdown and persistent consumption and property sector issues, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) decided to bite the bullet and cut interest rates to spur growth. The People’s Bank of China on Jan. 17 said it would cut the interest rate on one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans—the central bank’s one-year loans to commercial banks—by 10 basis points to 2.85 percent. The move was the first time China’s central bank cut the MLF rate since the beginning of the pandemic. It also cut the seven-day reverse repo rate for the first time in almost two years. A few days later on Jan. 19, it cut the one-year and five-year loan prime rates, the key benchmark rates behind residential mortgage loans. China’s easing measures are a stark monetary policy divergence from the United States and many of the Western economies, which are grappling with economic overheating, excess demand, and inflationary pressures. But China has been on a different track. Consumption is a worry and consumer pricing has been stable. While the policy easing isn’t a surprise—we’ve said that the country’s economy is weaker than the CCP has let on—it does show that authorities are increasingly concerned about economic growth. The rate cuts were concurrent with the release of economic data for 2021. The National Bureau of Statistics said that official GDP growth in 2021 was 8.1 percent on a year-on-
China’s easing measures are a stark monetary policy divergence from the United States and much of the Western economies, which are grappling with economic overheating, excess demand, and inflationary pressures. year basis, while the growth during the fourth quarter rose 4 percent, the weakest official growth rate since the beginning of 2020. Following a slew of tightening measures during much of 2021, the CCP’s recent efforts in December to ease certain restrictions on real estate funding and land deals have yielded little result in boosting the property market. As of early January, sentiment is still deteriorating. Consumer spending has declined as virus controls tightened, while the property market is still largely frozen. Developers are suffering from a lack of financing and weak consumer demand for housing. After a round of key interest rate cuts, the CCP clearly seems concerned about growth. While
the pendulum may be swinging toward policy easing, the degree of stimulus may not be as forceful as some may think. The debt-fueled wild wild west days of the 2010s are effectively over. The new solution is tighter control by the Xi Jinping-led CCP. Skyrocketing home price gains and credit-fueled homebuilding are unlikely to return. They’re replaced by government-directed real estate developments at a rate of growth carefully dictated by Beijing. The goal is to achieve two of Xi’s near-term goals—a stable financial system and a smaller gap between the rich and the poor. China’s overleveraged real estate development industry will need to be reformed and restructured through this process. A few financially weak firms may be sacrificed. On Jan. 19, China Aoyuan became the latest property developer to default on offshore dollar bonds. The entire sector is plagued by mismanagement and pockets of corruption. We shouldn’t be surprised if a few real estate executives are swept up in China’s anti-graft, anti-corruption proceedings. Already, the CCP is preparing for its state-owned enterprises (SOE) to take over. In Evergrande’s home province of Guangdong, Cailian Press reported that government officials have been facilitating meetings between struggling developers and SOEs. The goal? To encourage privately held developers to merge or partner with SOEs to manage existing projects or obtain financing to continue future developments. It’s a subtle change. But it’s a sign that decades after the Beijing regime left real estate in the hands of the private sector, Xi has decided that the CCP needs more control. I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 49
JEFF MINICK lives and writes in Front Royal, Va. He is the author of two novels, “Amanda Bell” and “Dust on Their Wings,” and two works of nonfiction, “Learning as I Go” and “Movies Make the Man.”
Jeff Minick
Starting Off on the Right Foot To avoid rude awakenings, preparation is key
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ou open your eyes, stretch a couple of times, and lie in bed a few moments, lazily contemplating the day: the conference call at 9:15 a.m. and the meeting with Ms. Jamison in accounting at 10 a.m., followed by the Zoom session with the Atlanta office. And then you look at the bedside clock. 8:22 a.m. You glance at your watch to confirm the time, and the next moment you’re kicking free of the sheets and covers. You stumble around the bedroom looking for clothes; decide instantly to forego the morning shower—you can use the electric razor to shave on the drive to work— skip the leisurely morning cup of coffee; throw papers, your laptop, and an orange into your satchel; run a comb through your hair and a toothbrush around your mouth; and dash toward the car before you remember leaving the keys on your desk in the den. Most of us have experienced—suffered might be the better word— mornings like this one. We forget to set the alarm or that we have an appointment, and the next thing we know, we’re pinging around from wall to wall, blood pressure skyrocketing and lungs out of breath before the day has scarcely begun. So here are some tips I—and others—have learned the hard way about preparing for tomorrow.
Evening Prep Get all of your stuff ready to go before you hit the sheets. Pack what you’re going to need in your briefcase or backpack, along with all of your necessities, such as pens or your computer, and have them ready to go. The same holds true for your kids. 50 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
In Shakespeare’s “Henry V,” the king says, “All things are ready, if our minds be so.” Have them gather everything for the morning sprint: books, notebooks, and other accoutrements. Quiz them before bedtime: “So all of your homework and tests are by the front door?” Ditto on lunches. If possible, prepare school lunches as well as your own in the evening. The same rule holds for clothing. Lay out—or at least know—what you intend to wear in the morning. If you have small children, this step is vital. What parent ready to dart out of the house hasn’t been brought to a grinding halt by a 4-year-old who can only find one shoe? Long ago, a lieutenant in the Navy SEALs told me that he could get his men on board an aircraft bound from San Diego to the Philippines faster than he could get his two young daughters into the car to go to church. We both laughed—I felt the same about my kids—but I realize now that the difference was preparation.
Morning Routine Load up the coffee machine before going to bed so that when you wake up all you have to do is hit the button, and two minutes later you’re sipping the magical elixir. Get up 15 minutes early to recollect yourself, meditate on your obligations, and find a few moments of peace in silence. This one step can make or break the rest of the day. Know what you’re preparing for breakfast and plan accordingly. Double-check everything before leaving the house to make sure you have what you need. I’ve reached the age where I tap each item in my pockets—billfold, phone, keys, and so on—before I head out the door. That step may seem extreme, but you don’t want to get to work and suddenly discover that you’ve left your glasses at home. Preparation is key. In Shakespeare’s “Henry V,” the king said, “All things are ready, if our minds be so.” That’s true to an extent, but it also helps if the lunches are packed, the necessities for the day are ready to be toted to the car, and we ourselves have had sufficient time for a shower and a shave. Oh, yes—remember to set the alarm clock. Two of them, if necessary.
Profile After War Veterans Volunteer on Mission to Help Each Other By Patrick Butler
COURTESY OF LONESTARWARRIORSOUTDOORS.ORG
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he seeds of his volunteering were sown at the foot of Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan, said Chris Gill, who served as a staff sergeant with the U.S. Army’s 95th Infantry Division. A rocket attack in 2005 left Gill with injuries to his knees and shoulders, a painful reminder of his service at a forward operating base. “It’s difficult to explain if you haven’t been there,” he said, “but the thought of dying is present in the background every day. “My job in-country was to train Afghan soldiers in combat tactics,” Gill said. “It’s not nice what soldiers have to do. To say, ‘We’re going in and eliminate the targets,’ really means, ‘Kick in the door and kill everyone inside.’” Habits learned in war die hard, he said. “Every time there is a mission outside the wire [off base], you are scanning to the right and left for people who are on a cellphone calling to arrange a trap ahead, or raising their hands in a window with maybe a rifle or a rocket. “When you come home, you find yourself still doing that. That survival skill is hard to break. That’s one of the things people at home don’t understand and why vets need to talk to each other. They know.” The subtext of life at a forward operating base is possible sudden death, he said. “Even in your tent, you know a single rocket can end it all. If you let it get to you, you’re not going to sleep at night. You have to keep going.” One day, a rocket did hit nearby and Gill became a statistic in the name of freedom. He’s rated at 100 percent disabled by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). “The emotions, adrenaline, and heightened awareness of fighting in combat zones are foreign to most
U.S. Army veteran Ben Eberly (L) lost his legs and right arm serving in action overseas. Volunteer Aaron Worthan guided Eberly and his team on a deer hunt in San Angelo, Texas, in 2013. civilians,” he said. “Once you’ve been there, finding someone to talk to about it who knows what it felt like is hard.” Enter Lone Star Warriors Outdoors. Gill started the nonprofit in 2011 so combat veterans with a VA post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) rating could have a place to meet others who knew what they had experienced. “My goal was to get guys together to help one another through what they did and saw. “To that end, we have several big events each year—hunting trips—specifically designed to get guys to bond with each other over a course of five days.” Hunting lodges generously donate normal fees to help the veterans. But hunting for deer, duck, or even alligators isn’t the primary mission, Gill said. “Ours is PTSD recovery and suicide prevention. I always tell the guys: ‘I hope you come home loaded with harvest, but the real goal is that every man comes home with the phone numbers of the guys he hunted with. And that you’d use that number at 2 in the morning when you need to.”
As on the military battlefield, the “war zone” at home can lead to depression or death. “Most of the vets we work with, like Jose Martinez, are helped,” he said, “but there are some who can’t take it and don’t make it. “Suicide after service is not unheard of. When that happens, it’s hard on all of us. But it’s a risk we are willing to take.” Martinez lost both legs, his right arm, and most of his remaining fingers when he stepped on a land mine in Iraq. “Jose didn’t know if he could fire a rifle again,” Gill said. “We helped him do that and he bonded with the guys. Success!” Even now, Gill is an unpaid, full-time volunteer. His wife, Melissa, is a Mary Kay director. Gill has retired military pay from the U.S. Army to live on and a 401(k) from a civilian job. “All of our 35 to 40 volunteers are unpaid,” said Gill, “and we help 75 to 100 former professional combat soldiers a year.” For more information, visit LoneStarWarriorsOutdoors.org. I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 51
Nation Profile
THOUGHT LEADERS
For the Love of Learning: An Educator’s Passion for Truth and Joy Larry Arnn on science, big government, and the nature of learning
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he trouble with tyranny,” says Larry Arnn, “is it takes the best in us, and interferes with it. Whereas better to let our best flourish, and then we can be happy.” In a recent episode of “American Thought Leaders,” host Jan Jekielek spoke with Larry Arnn, president of Hillsdale College and a professor of history and politics. They discussed such topics as the past, the meaning of education, the role of experts in government, and tyranny. Recently, Hillsdale College launched a new Academy for Science and Freedom to pursue the free exchange of scientific ideas. Its fellows include Dr. Scott Atlas, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, and Dr. Martin Kulldorff. JAN JEKIELEK: You’ve launched this new ini-
52 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
tiative, the Academy for Science and Freedom. All of the members are also American Thought Leaders like you’ve become here. Give me a sense of why this is important. What’s going on? LARRY ARNN: I have
a particular responsibility. I’m supposed to operate a college, and for the first time in our 177 years, there were disruptions to that goal. The pandemic hit in spring break, and most colleges announced there were no more classes. The Ivy League colleges announced no more classes until Christmas. I thought, I should figure out if we can have college. Would it be safe for the students? We thought urgently about this—night and day during spring break.
Nation Profile
And I found out about these three guys [Dr. Scott Atlas, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, and Dr. Marin Kulldorff], and I discovered their writing and that they’re very serious academics. They’re like the best teachers you’ve ever had. They’re also restrained and good at not saying more than they know.
“Churchill said that science has taken over the world. We’ve been conscripted into its ranks, put to work according to its principles, and educated by it.”
Larry Arnn, President of Hillsdale College, in Washington on Dec. 10, 2021.
YORK DU/THE EPOCH TIMES
They helped us on a weekly basis for months and wouldn’t let me pay them anything. We had college, and we were threatened a fair amount by the government. But we had lawyers and thought we could defend ourselves, and we had a case that they helped us assemble. Anyway, these guys were very helpful to me, and I developed a deep respect for them and friendship with them. They called me three or four months ago and they had this idea. I said, “So you want to start an institution?” They said, “Yes,” and I said, “I know how to do that, and I’ll help you.” They said, “We want to do it with you.” These guys are all faculty
members. They’re pretty shrewd. So yes, we’re going to do this thing. Science is a way of knowing. It proceeds at its own rate, takes time to find out. On the other hand, decisions are an exercise of power that has to be done all the time. It’s just foolish to say that scientists can rule. I study Winston Churchill a lot. In 1901, when Churchill was 27, he wrote to H.G. Wells. Churchill loved the novels Wells wrote about the future. But he said: “I can’t agree that a future society can be governed by experts. Because expert knowledge is necessarily limited knowledge.” Anthony Fauci may know a lot about infectious diseases. But he doesn’t know about subjects that are relevant to these lockdowns, like teen suicide, unemployment, bankruptcy, and third-world starvation. Churchill asks, “How do you make those decisions?” You consult the experts. You consult those from whom you get your authority, which in the case of a democratic country is the people. And you make practical judgments from day to day, because the facts are changing all the time. MR . JEKIELEK: How is
it that we suddenly have accepted this idea of rule by experts? MR . ARNN: Churchill said
that science has taken over the world. We’ve been conscripted into its ranks, put to work according to its principles, and educated by it. No generation has ever been handled like this before.
We’ve delivered ourselves into the hands of people who have distorted their own art or discipline. In totalitarian regimes— the big one is China now— they’re just like ancient tyrannies, except they have the tools of science, which are very powerful tools. In Book Five of “Politics,” Aristotle explains how these tyrants sustain themselves. No one is to have high thoughts or privacy. People are not to have trust and friendship among one another. Nothing is higher than the rule and the ruler. That’s why you have to spread the power around. The reason I like these three scientists, the reason I like your newspaper, is you don’t think you can tell everybody in the world what to do. MR . JEKIELEK: It seems
so simple, doesn’t it? MR . ARNN: It is simple. In
the education system today, we’re not to read anything outside this time, and that means we wipe out human history. That was all slavery and oppression. In Book One of Aristotle’s “Politics,” he condemns slavery. Isn’t that interesting? He condemns it on just the ground that you condemn it, the same ground Abraham Lincoln condemned it. It’s taking from somebody something that is naturally theirs. Thomas Jefferson also condemned slavery. He’s the single most important reason there was no slavery in the Old Northwest Territory where I happen to live— Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois.
I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 53
Nation Profile
“What tyranny can’t do is make people happy. China is richer than it’s ever been today. Are the people happy there?” What was his argument? “Men are not born with saddles on their backs nor others booted and spurred to ride them.” Men are not horses, and they shouldn’t be governed the same way that horses are governed. In Orwell’s “1984,” Winston Smith’s job is to rewrite every encyclopedia article, every news account, every book—to make them say what the Party says. He’s changing history. And that’s the destruction of reality. MR . JEKIELEK: How did
we end up assuming that experts get to rule? MR . ARNN: There’s some-
Students walk on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Aug. 18, 2020. there? I know some people in Hong Kong and Taiwan who are very unhappy— Hong Kong because they’ve been taken over; Taiwan because they fear communist China. And in mainland China, people surely don’t like to be scored and rated and their compliance constantly measured. And that’s possible now in America, too. The trouble with tyranny is it takes the best in us and interferes with it. Whereas better to let our best flourish, and then we can be happy. MR . JEKIELEK: What mo-
tivated the interest in K–12 education for Hillsdale? MR . ARNN: The first line of
MR . JEKIELEK: There’s
also this ideology that reality is whatever we say or believe it is. Hence our acceptance of a whole lot of rules and dictates over the past couple of years. MR . ARNN: Force can do a
lot. What tyranny can’t do is make people happy. China is richer than it’s ever been today. Are the people happy
54 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
Aristotle’s “Metaphysics” is, “The human being stretches himself out to know.” We want to know and we can know. Everybody at some point falls in love with learning. Something strikes you and all of a sudden, you’re in a different place. There’s a great kindergarten teacher in Leander, Texas. She’s in one of the
charter schools we sponsor. I’ve turned her into a tourist attraction. If you go in there on a given day, there’ll probably be three or four adults sitting there. They want to see the show. And those little wigglers, they want to learn from her. They learn amazing things right away. That classroom is joyful. We forget that learning is a fulfillment and exercise of our nature and not an engineering project. I like to say, we’ve got to stop thinking that education is making something. Instead, you’re helping something grow, and things that grow have the principle and energy of growth inside themselves. At Hillsdale, my favorite sport is eating in the dining hall with the students. They’re all in there, and I’m the old guy who sits and talks with them. And they put cartoons in the paper about it. If they don’t have class, they’ll sometimes sit there talking for three hours, and so will I. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
THIS PAGE: MELISSA SUE GERRITS/GETTY IMAGES
thing powerfully attractive about that idea. It’s not some plot that nobody believed in. Imagine the American government in 1900. It consumes 6 to 8 percent of the gross domestic product. That money is distributed in a pyramid and the big bit at the bottom is in counties and towns. Then the second thinner bit is in the states, and the federal government is a little bit at the top. Now the government is 52 percent of the gross domestic product, and there’s a system of centralized control up and down the line.
It turns the whole thing upside down and makes it much bigger. In the Progressive Era in the 19th century, these ideas came into America from Germany. People like Woodrow Wilson, John Dewey, and Frank Goodnow started gathering power into a permanent class of experts now known as the administrative state, and that has become a force of its own. They believed that if you took a group of trained people and gave them a guaranteed position and a salary, then they wouldn’t have any personal interest than to serve. Come to find out, those people are still human. The old laws of human nature can’t be repealed. We don’t get to create heaven here on earth.
T R AV E L • F O O D • L U X U R Y L I V I N G
Issue. 04
Unwind
Goolets offers fully crewed charter yachts in Croatia. COURTESY OF GOOLETS
Smooth Sailing
Chartering a yacht to sail the crystalline Adriatic waters off Croatia is a surprisingly affordable proposition. 58
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IF YOU LOVE COFFEE, pour yourself a steaming mug and prepare to be amazed by this collection of the world’s most unusual and expensive beans. 63 TECHNOLOGY AFFECTS every area of our lives, from our workplaces to home appliances and vehicles. We’ve found devices that help monitor your wellness. 66 CHARTING A CAREER PATH is like planning a journey. You can avoid wrong turns by knowing where you want to go and how to get there. 67 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 55
GRECIAN GRACE
Set on a remote bluff, Villa Daedalus offers stunning views of Mirabello Bay By Phil Butler
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56 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
tion to its own sea-view balcony or terrace. At the center of the home, a fabulous living room with a 600-year-old original fireplace affords unbelievable views of the sea. The home also has a gourmet kitchen, formal and casual dining areas, a game room, a library/music room, and a media room. Set on an isolated bluff, the villa has slightly more than six acres of sculpted grounds blending into the island’s rugged landscape. The villa offers a commanding view of the Mirabello Bay and the Cretan Sea beyond. The spacious grounds feature a stunning outdoor pool, tennis courts, a BBQ and dining area, an area for boules, a racquetball court, jogging/bike paths, a private dock, a sun deck by the sea, and even a private chapel on the hillside below. A two-bedroom guest house and private parking spaces complete this one-of-a-kind property on the beautiful island of Crete. Phil Butler is a publisher, editor, author, and analyst who is a widely cited expert on subjects ranging from digital and social media to travel technology.
VILLA DAEDALUS CRETE, GREECE $14,262,894 • 8 BEDROOMS • 8 BATHROOMS • 1,115 SQUARE METERS (23,842 SQUARE FEET) • 25,000 SQUARE METERS (6.18 ACRES) KEY FEATURES: • WATERFRONT • PRIVILEGED VIEWS • LUXURIOUS INTERIORS AND FIXTURES • ACCESS TO THE SEA WITH PRIVATE DOCK • TENNIS AND RACQUETBALL COURTS AGENT GREECE SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY DESPINA LAOU, HEAD OF PRIVATE OFFICE +30 695 169 0565
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF GREECE SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY
n the my thology of ancient Crete, Daedalus was the famously skilled architect, artist, and inventor who designed the fabled labyrinth of King Minos. With such epic stories in mind, Villa Daedalus in Elounda, Greece, just outside of picturesque Agios Nikolaos, Greece, is a reminder that stunning architecture and beauty are still alive on Greece’s largest island. On the market for slightly less than $14.3 million (12.5 million euros), this stunning estate offers exclusivity, views to die for, and direct access to the sea. Daedalus features 12,000 square feet of living spaces, eight bedrooms, and eight baths— as well as uncompromising luxury. The interiors of the villa’s main residence are a flawless combination of timeless design and charming elegance. The graceful decor blends elements such as terracotta tiles, wooden flooring, and paneled doors and windows, as well as meticulously selected art and fine furnishings. Each of the six bedrooms of the main residence has its own en-suite bathroom, in addi-
Villa Daedalus is located in Elounda, on the north shore of the island of Crete. The property affords its owners an incomparable panorama of Mirabello Bay, the Cretan Sea, and the stunning mountains at the heart of the island.
Each of the six bedrooms in the main house has in-suite features and its own balcony or terrace overlooking the Cretan Sea.
Outside, there are entertainment, dining, and activity areas galore. A barbecue area, dining areas, walking paths, sunning areas, and the pool area offer almost unlimited experiential possibilities.
The villa’s pool is right out of a Hollywood movie. It’s difficult to imagine a more luxurious casual space anywhere.
Inside, the graceful conveyance of the past into the present is revealed through the living room’s 600-year-old original fireplace.
I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 57
Travel Sailing
The Venetian influence— four centuries of rule— can be seen on the beautiful island of Hvar.
Island Time
Exploring Croatia’s islands by yacht charter cruise By Janna Graber
T
58 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
1,244 ISL ANDS,I LES,
and inlets make Croatia a great place for sailing.
FROM TOP L: ROSTISLAV_SEDLACEK/SHUTTERSTOCK, SHUTTERSTOCK, THE EPOCH TIMES, LKONYA/SHUTTERSTOCK, COURTESY OF GOOLETS
he sun is just beginning to rise as the Freedom of Croatia pulls away from port and the sleeping town of Split. Standing on the ship’s top deck, I watch the sun’s rays reflected in the clear turquoise waters. Within minutes, we’re cruising along Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast. Croatia has more than 1,200 islands, and one of the best ways to see them is on a private charter yacht cruise. This week, a group of friends and I are doing just that on the Freedom of Croatia, a 50-meter yacht with 19 cabins. The yacht is operated by Goolets, a leading agency for crewed charter yachts in Croatia. I’ve always loved cruising, but exploring the Croatian islands on a private yacht charter is something quite different. The main difference is that we are the only passengers on board, and the itinerary, meals, and plans have been made just for us.
In my mind, yachting was always reserved for those with hefty incomes, but you don’t have to be rich to charter a yacht in Croatia. Many charters cost about the same per person as a luxury consumer cruise. There are vessels of all sizes. Fully crewed yachts include a captain, crew, and even a chef so you can sit back and relax. The Freedom of Croatia holds up to 20 guests and has two onboard chefs, a large dining room, and comfortable staterooms. My friends and I plan to visit four Croatian islands on our fourday cruise. On the way, we’ll stop in quiet bays to snorkel, swim, and enjoy the water. Brac is the largest island in central Dalmatia, and it’s our first stop. Home to 1,400 residents, its tidy cobblestone streets are lined with outdoor cafes and small shops. Many of its structures were built with radiant white limestone, the same material used to build Diocletian’s Palace in Split. Zlatni Rat is the island’s top beach. Like most Croatian beaches, it’s lined with smooth pebbles and has clear, warm waters.
Travel Sailing Croatia’s Mediterranean climate is perfect for vineyards, lavender fields, and olive groves. We sample local wines at Stina Winery, which has a beautiful tasting room lined with ancient stone walls. In between ports, I enjoy cruising. The ship feels luxurious and has a gym, spa, and plenty of room to relax on the top deck. Dining on the Freedom of Croatia quickly becomes one of our favorite experiences. Even with a small galley, the chefs whip up tasty dishes of fresh produce and local fish. Hvar is the most popular island, and it’s easy to see why. Walking through its ancient streets is like stepping back in time. Greeks, Romans, and four centuries of Venetian rule have left their mark on its well-preserved architecture. As day turns to dusk, we walk to Fortica, a fortress built by the Venetians in 1278. The illuminated fortress stands grandly on a hill overlooking the town. For dinner, we head to Gariful, a luxury restaurant along the waterfront that’s popular with locals and visitors alike. Hollywood celebrities have been known to cruise in by speedboat from Dubrovnik just to dine at the waterside restaurant. Croatian cuisine revolves around fresh seafood and produce, and our meal at Gariful is a three-course delight. Even from the water, I find our next stop, the island of Korcula, picturesque. Sailing along its
In Split, don’t miss Diocletian’s Palace, where the Roman emperor retired in 305. ZAGREB
CROATIA
Croatia is blessed with 1,100 miles of coastline.
stories of famous residents, including Marco If You Go Polo, who some biographers believe was born When to Go: on the island when it Summer is high season due to was part of the Venesummer holidays tian Republic. and the festival Part of the fun in season, but the best cruising in Croatia is time to visit Croatia is late spring or enjoying the sea, from early fall, when the snorkeling to standweather is warm up paddle boating to but there are fewer diving. The water is a crowds and prices warm 70 degrees are lower. (Note, however, that even in early Octosome businesses ber, so one mornmay close, come ing, our captain October.) finds a protected cove Chartering a Yacht: and drops anchors. The Goolets (Goolets. crew pulls out snorkels, net) offers crewed yacht charters for standup paddleboards, various budgets and and a jet ski. The water group sizes. Their is so clear, I can see 20 trip advisers can feet down. design a yacht trip according to your Later, we visit the group’s needs and Blue Cave. On a motorbudget. boat, we enter the cave through a small opening in the rock. Light streaming through an underwater opening in the cave gives a luminous blue light to the water. It’s an otherworldly experience that delights all aboard. The island of Vis is our last stop. As we walk along the harbor, it looks vaguely familiar. Then I learn that the movie “Mama Mia! Here We Go Again” was filmed on this tiny island. Our local guide takes us in four-wheel-drive cars up into the hills. From the peak, I can see the island’s quiet villages and meandering coastline. I stand and soak in one last Croatian sunset, knowing that I’ll be back. Janna Graber is the editor of three travel anthologies and the managing editor of Go World Travel Magazine.
Tourists gather in Hvar’s main square near the Cathedral of St. Stephen, which is dedicated to the town’s patron saint. coast, we view its ancient town walls and then pass quiet coves, pebbly beaches, and hills covered in olive groves and vineyards. Some of the best Croatian white wines are produced on this tiny island. Our local guide entertains us with historical tales and her delightful sense of humor. Walking through Korcula is a walk through the 13th to the 16th centuries, she says. She tells
HVAR
is the most popular island, and it’s easy to see why. A yacht charter can be more affordable than you might think. Above, the Freedom of Croatia. I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 59
HOME
Posh Backyards If a home is your castle, the backyard should be pretty magnificent as well. We’ve got suggestions for every budget on ways to spend more quality time in your yard. By Bill Lindsey
60 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
Lifestyle Home
Y
our hom e is l ik ely to be the most valuable asset you own, in addition to serving as the center of family activity. When it comes time to plan upgrades, think outside the box, literally, by considering what outdoor upgrades you might want to add. Many upgrades are made with an eye toward increasing property value, which makes sense, but another perspective is to improve your quality of life now and in the coming years. All of the suggestions below can be done by experienced DIYers at costs ranging from maybe $1,000 to many thousands, but bringing in a licensed contractor is always worth considering to help prevent any “Uh oh, how’d that happen?” moments.
Putting Green: MAKE TIGER WOODS JEALOUS
Backyard cookouts are popular among everyone, but having a dedicated gas-powered grill takes you several steps above the charcoal briquet and rolling grill level. A gourmet-quality outdoor kitchen or barbecue setup opens many opportunities for entertaining friends and family. It can be as simple as a barbecue grill and a food prep table. Or you can create a true kitchen, outdoors, complete with a sink, food prep areas, refrigerator, grill, and a range. Stainless steel and tile are the preferred materials in order to survive exposure to the elements. Because you’ll need electricity, water, and possibly a source of natural gas, it’s best to consult with a licensed contractor who will abide by all local building codes for safety and longevity purposes. Combine the outdoor kitchen with a pool, putting green, or observatory, and you may find it getting used for every meal. Add a table and chairs to make your backyard cookouts the envy of the neighborhood.
Playing 18 holes requires a big commitment of time and effort, driving to and from the course, but a backyard putting green lets you practice when it suits your schedule. You’ve got a small lot? Not a problem, as you can transform a neglected side yard into a small but fully functional putting green with one or two holes. The larger the available area, the more holes and the more challenging you can make the “course.” If you have enough room and a big budget, there are firms that can create a PGA-level short course for you. For smaller areas, you could install greens that include a few holes and hazards using either real grass or synthetic grasses that provide a bounce just like that of your favorite course. DIY kits are an option, but due to the need to usually move a lot of dirt and ensure proper drainage, you may want to consult with any of the many firms that specialize in home courses and greens. Best of all, you don’t even need to be a hardcore golfer to enjoy having your own putting green
CLOCKWISE FROM L: DEREK LIANG/UNSPLASH, DAYSO/UNSPLASH, COURTESY OF ENVYSCAPES, LYNX GRILLS
Outdoor Kitchen: FIRE UP THE GRILL!
I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 61
Lifestyle Home
Outdoor Sauna: FEEL THE HEAT Those who have experienced a sauna at a hotel, spa, or gym know the bliss of dry heat loosening muscles and creating a pore-cleansing sweat that leaves your skin radiant. The good news is you can enjoy the health benefits anytime by adding a sauna to your home. Dry saunas are the type most commonly chosen for home use; these use heated stones to produce heat, and by pouring water on the stones, steam is created. A steam sauna uses a steam boiler to produce steam in a tiled room; this type can be a bit daunting for a home installation.
Swim Spa: COME ON IN, THE WATER’S GREAT! A backyard, in-ground pool always seems like a great idea at first, but all too often these pools tend to be under-used, especially in an area with cold winters. Another obstacle can be a small lot or one that doesn’t allow easy access to construction equipment. A possible alternative is a ready-to-install pool with features such as powerful jets to provide swimming resistance, bio-magnetic therapy systems, or heated spa sections that can be used even if it’s snowing. Another plus to these pools is the relative ease of installation compared to traditional in-ground pools, and smaller size, which allows installation even on a small lot and translates into easier maintenance.
Standing outside using a portable telescope to look at the moon and planets—and scan for UFOs—is OK a few times, but in the winter, stargazing sessions will probably become less frequent. Before you think of a huge, hulking building on a mountaintop, there are actually smaller, much more approachable options. There is a variety to choose from, but the basic setup is a fiberglass standalone dome with a motorized, rotating telescope mount and a motorized dome opening. Add your own telescope, and you’ll have the best seat in town for a cosmic light show. 62 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
USE THE YARD A neglected backyard can become an oasis
1 Why Upgrade the Backyard? The family that plays together stays together. By creating your own spa or restaurant or observatory or golf experience, you can encourage more family time. Your friends will like it, too.
2 Size the Upgrade to Fit the Yard When considering an upgrade, keep the overall scale in mind to make sure the upgrade doesn’t end up overwhelming the home. For example, don’t try to jam a 4-hole putting green onto a 50-foot lot.
3 Check HOA Regs First! If your home is regulated by a homeowners association or is subject to strict building codes, check the regulations before you start a project to ensure it doesn’t violate any rules or laws.
FROM TOP: COURTESY OF MEDICAL SAUNA, COURTESY OF MASTER SPAS, COURTESY OF OBSERVATORY SOLUTIONS
Home Observatory: STARRY, STARRY NIGHT
LIFESTYLE
Bold Beans:
Extraordinary Coffee to Wake Up Your Morning Routine By Bill Lindsey
The coffee cognoscente turns their nose up at “mall coffee,” seeking instead to identify and enjoy the ultimate brew. We accepted the challenge to collect a sampling of the most unusual javas.
The First Coffee of Colombia
OSPINA COFFEE DYNASTY, GRAN CAFE, GRAND CRU CLASSE, PREMIER GRAND CRU
$790 for 8.8 ounces Colombia’s first coffee plantation was established in 1835 by Don Mariano Ospina, who later also served as the country’s president. Five generations and another president later, the plantation produces flavorful Arabica beans, grown in volcanic soil at altitudes between 7,700 feet and 7,900 feet, delivering an orchestra of flavors including chocolate, orange, and jasmine.
Thank a Civet
The Ultimate Hand-Picked Beans
BLACK IVORY COFFEE
FROM TOP: COURTESY OF OSPINA COFFEE, BLACK IVORY COFFEE, VOLCANICA COFFEE, LIFEBOOST COFFEE, VIENNA COFFEE CO., PASSENGER COFFEE & TEA
$120 for a single 1.23-ounce pack (makes four espresso-sized cups) After a small herd of elephants in Thailand enjoy a meal of Thai Arabica coffee cherries and fruit, the undigested cherries are extracted from their dung, and the beans are washed and prepared. This rare coffee, mostly sold to five-star hotels, is said to have a delicate yet earthy flavor.
An Old-School Approach
LIFEBOOST YIRGACHEFFE ETHIOPIAN LIMITED COLLECTION
$50 for 10 ounces A traditional, natural processing method gives this coffee its distinctive flavor. Most growers separate the coffee cherries from the beans prior to drying, but in this case, the cherries are left intact with the beans to ferment during the drying process. The beans absorb sweet, fruity flavors from the pulp and skin before they’re removed.
VOLCANICA COFFEE FREE-RANGE KOPI LUWAK
MSRP: $399.99 for 16 ounces This coffee delivers a complex flavor and lingering aftertaste, thanks to Asian palm civets, which roam Indonesian coffee plantations eating and excreting coffee cherries that they’re unable to fully digest. The partially fermented cherries are collected from the ground, and the beans are separated, washed, dried, and roasted. To prevent animal abuse, these beans are sourced only from uncaged civets.
Volcanic Eruptions of Flavor
VIENNA COFFEE CO. GUATEMALA GEISHA COFFEE
$46 for 12 ounces Using a varietal of beans developed in Ethiopia’s Gori Gesha region, this coffee offers floral, peach-like notes. Grown in the rich soil on the slopes of Guatemala’s Volcán Atitlán, these beans command a high price, as they require a very extensive cultivation process.
Capturing the 5th Taste
PASSENGER MONTECARLOS PACAMARA
$31.20 for 10 ounces In addition to the four basic tastes—sweet, salty, sour, and bitter—there’s a fifth: umami, a rich, deeply savory taste. The Montecarlos plantation in El Salvador was the first in the world to cultivate pacamara beans, known for their relatively large size and umami flavor.
I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 63
Epoch Booklist
RECOMMENDED READING NONFICTION
This week, we cover an important book for understanding critical race theory, and another on how to resist totalitarianism.
the social credit system). Offering advice for resisting totalitarianism, Dreher bases his model on a priest in post-World War II Europe who prepared Christians for the communist takeover. SENTINEL, 2020, 256 PAGES
‘Race Marxism: The Truth About Critical Race Theory and Praxis’
By James Lindsay
Power and Race Lindsay’s in-depth work delves into the Marxist nature of critical race theory. The reader comes to understand that CRT is not about protecting minorities; it’s a power grab over institutions. It’s a must-read for anyone who cares about family or society. NEW DISCOURSES, FEB. 15, 2022, 239 PAGES
‘Live Not by Lies’
By Rod Dreher
How to Resist Totalitarianism Through interviews with émigrés from the old Soviet bloc who recognize the familiar signs of totalitarianism in the United States, Dreher disabuses readers of the notion that it only applies to gulags. Rather, “soft” totalitarianism takes hold in any situation where only one way of thinking becomes acceptable (think cancel culture or
Are there books you’d recommend? We’d love to hear from you. Let us know at features@epochtimes.com
‘The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth About Extraordinary Results’
By Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
Hello Focus, Goodbye Multitasking “The One Thing” calls on the reader to identify the one thing that should take the highest priority in every facet of life. The authors implore readers to ask themselves a very specific question: “What’s the one thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?” A dose of clarity and a sigh of relief, the book is a quick and worthwhile read. If you feel overwhelmed, this perspective may be just what you need. BARD PRESS, 2013, 240 PAGES
‘Mooncakes & Milk Bread: Sweet & Savory Recipes Inspired by Chinese Bakeries’
By Kristina Cho
Chinese Bakery Treats Made at Home Cho, whose grandparents moved from Hong Kong to Cleveland in the late 1960s, offers this tribute to Chinese bakeries in America, and the connection that food brings to family and culture. Recipes adapted to modern bakers and cooks mean that sweet treats such as pineapple buns, matcha and jasmine rolls, and mooncakes, of course, as well as savory bites like dumplings and barbecue pork buns, are now within reach of us all. HARPER HORIZON, 2021, 304 PAGES
FICTION
‘A Soldier of the Great War’
By Mark Helprin
FOOD
64 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
A Dazzling Tale of Love, Art, and War Alessandro Giuliani finds himself on a long walk with Nicolo, a factory worker. During their time together, Alessandro shares many of
the revelations brought to him by life: the art he studied, the violence he experienced in World War I, the love he shared with his wife. Here is a novel rich with insights into human nature.
FOR KIDS
MARINER BOOKS, 2005, 880 PAGES
‘Good Night Little Bunny’
CLASSICS
‘Dead White Guys: A Father, His Daughter and the Great Books of the Western World’
By Emily Hawkins, ill. by John Butler
A Book for Bedtime This picture book shows how Little Bunny overcomes his fear of the dark with the help of his forest friends. The sweet illustrations feature baby animals gently transforming with the lift of a flap or by simply turning the page. TEMPLAR, 2011, 14 PAGES
By Matt Burriesci
An Exploration of the Great Books After his daughter’s birth, Burriesci wrote this book as a gift for her 18th birthday. Here he examines 26 great books and their authors, and why they are important to the world and to him. Plato, Aristophanes, St. Augustine, Montaigne, Shakespeare, Edward Gibbon, Adam Smith— Burriesci’s insights, humor, and use of personal examples, along with his tender regard for his daughter Violet, make for a great introduction to all such authors. “These writers,” he tells her and us, “can teach you how to think, not what to think.” VIVA EDITIONS, 2015, 288 PAGES
‘Fairy Tale Feasts’
By Jane Yolen, Heidi Stemple, ill. by Philippe Béha
A Great Literary Cookbook for the Young Here Yolen and Stemple along with illustrator Béha combine fairy tales and recipes for young people. For Cinderella, for example, they include a recipe for pumpkin tartlets: “What else would you do after midnight with a retired coach?” CROCODILE BOOKS, 2006, 200 PAGES
Ian Kane is a U.S. Army veteran, filmmaker, and author. He enjoys the great outdoors and volunteering.
MOVIE REVIEWS
Epoch Watchlist
This week, we check out an uplifting film about living out one’s dreams, as well as a racially charged movie that does not take sides.
NEW RELEASE
FAMILY PICK
‘The Bucket List’ (2008)
‘A Shot Through the Wall’ (2022 ) When Chinese-American police officer Mike Tan (Kenny Leu) accidentally discharges his service weapon and kills an innocent black man in New York, his life is thrust into turmoil. Tan not only has to deal with his own guilt, but also the multidimensional worlds of racial politics, justice, and the media at large. This fantastic film avoids the tired and wornout “bad cop” narrative that Hollywood typically uses, and humanizes its main character. It shows multiple perspectives that give insight into many modern-day issues.
CRIME | DR AMA | THRILLER
Release Date: Jan. 21, 2022 Director: Aimee Long Starring: Kenny Leu, Ciara Renée, Fiona Fu Running Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes MPAA Rating: Not Rated Where to Watch: Theaters
UNDERRATED WORLD WAR II GEM best aerial combat scenes at the time it was made. A little over the top, but great fun.
DRAMA | HISTORY | WAR
‘633 Squadron’ (1964)
An international task force is ordered to destroy a target that is vital to the German war effort. Unfortunately, things
don't go according to their plans. With plenty of wellpaced action and drama, mixed with bits of comic relief, this outstanding World War II film featured some of the
Release Date: June 24, 1964 Director: Walter Grauman Starring: Cliff Robertson, George Chakiris, Maria Perschy Running Time: 1 hour, 42 minutes MPAA Rating: Approved Where to Watch: Vudu, Tubi, Amazon Prime
Two men who are terminally ill leave everything behind to live out their ultimate bucket list before they pass away. While it’s no surprise that a pairing of uber-talented actors such as Jack Nicolson and Morgan Freeman would impress, they went above and beyond in this heartfelt film. It's a masterful concoction of scenes that pivot naturally from riveting drama to hilarious comedy; viewers can enjoy the deeper messages without being hit
over the head with them. This uniquely uplifting film is perfect for these murky modern times. COMEDY | ADVENTURE | DR AMA
Release Date: Jan. 11, 2008 Director: Rob Reiner Starring: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes Running Time: 1 hour, 37 minutes MPAA Rating: PG-13 Where to Watch: Redbox, Vudu, DirectTV
SWASHBUCKLING ADVENTURE ON THE HIGH SEAS
‘Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World’ (2003) Captain Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe) is tasked with chasing down a large French privateer across the high seas with his smaller British one. Outmatched, Aubrey must utilize shrewd tactics if he and his men are to survive. A paragon of masculinity, Aubrey leads his men with a combination of intellect, unwavering spirit, and martial expertise. This
incredible naval adventure is beautifully filmed and well-written. A mustsee nautical movie. ACTION | ADVENTURE | DR AMA
Release Date: Nov. 4, 2003 Director: Peter Weir Starring: Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, Billy Boyd Running Time: 2 hours, 18 minutes MPAA Rating: PG-13 Where to Watch: Redbox, Epix, Hulu
I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 65
STAY WELL: HIGH-TECH GEAR TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE Staying healthy has become a lot more challenging in the past few years, so we have several suggestions of high-tech gadgets to help you keep well. By Bill Lindsey
A SMILING SCALE
2 4 / 7 H E A LT H M O N I T O R I N G
QuardioBase 2 Scale
Oura Ring Generation 3
$149.99
FROM $299
This elegant scale goes far beyond displaying weight. It helps multiple users meet and maintain fitness goals. Tracking BMI, muscle, bone, body fat, and water mass, it uses smiley faces and haptic vibration to provide feedback based on goals set in the Bluetooth- and WiFi-enabled Qardio App. It even has a pregnancy mode to keep mothers-to-be healthy.
The problem with annual physical exams is the 12 months between each one, making it difficult to track overall wellness. This ring changes all that. By tracking sleep patterns, body temperature, and heart rate variability, wearers can monitor their overall health on a daily basis. The stylish ring can also be used to assist with meditation sessions.
SLEEP WELL
HiAm Bed FROM $28,200
BRIGHT IDEA
Puripot L1 Lamp $249
This system uses two filtration processes to remove fine dust as well as bacteria and harmful VOCs from the air, in the discrete form of a very practical lamp. Rather than a traditional HEPA filter, the system utilizes titanium dioxide photocatalyst technology for the washable filter. 66 I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022
HE AT OR COL D ON THE GO
Hyperice Hot/Cold Knee Therapy
$449
Knee injuries are among the most common ailments, with ice and heat an effective treatment. This device provides both, using contrast therapy to constrict and expand, improving blood flow while alternating between heated and chilled treatment. The portable unit can be used to warm up before exercise and anywhere pain relief is needed.
FROM TOP L: COURTESY OF QUARDIO, OURA, HI-INTERIORS, PURIPOT, HYPERICE
A good night’s rest is ensured in this high-tech, four-poster oasis of wellness and tranquility. Controlled via an iOS app, it tracks and rates sleep to create a more restful experience. Overhead lights facilitate reading in bed while the retracting screen, side screens, and integrated audio-video system transform it into a delightfully comfortable movie theater.
Careers
How to Get Ahead at Work Very few career paths flow in a straight line. Embrace the curves and stay open to new opportunities. By Bill Lindsey The journey begins the moment you start your first job. How smoothly and quickly it progresses is subject to many factors, several of which are within your control. Helping others can play a large role in your own success.
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Choose Your Goals
In every workplace, there are those who are content to show up and hope that 5 p.m. arrives soon. There are also those who set career advancement goals and develop a plan to accomplish them. Honestly assess the potential for advancement in your current position. If it exists, develop a plan to rise to the next level. However, if you don’t see any chance to move up, start working on moving on to a job that allows for growth.
CSA IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES
2
Networking can lead to unexpected opportunities. Attend live and online networking events and create your own informal network of current and former co-workers, friends, and neighbors. These work by members sharing information, being in the right place, and knowing the right person to discover new opportunities. It’s important that you actively share ideas and suggestions with other members: If your focus is only “help me find a job,” you’ll be tuned out by the others.
Be Indispensable
Completing every task correctly, completely, and on time is the bare minimum performance level for any job. Being able to assist with additional tasks without negatively affecting your primary responsibilities can lead to career advancement opportunities. Be professional and focused in order to avoid coming across as fawning or obsequious to your boss or co-workers. The goal is to be recognized as an asset who can be relied upon to get the job done as part of a team.
Be a Contributing Member of a Network
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Continue to Learn
Regardless of what you do, from waiting tables to running a department, there are opportunities to expand your skill set or prepare for a new career. You can attend in-person or online classes at colleges or classes that are offered by industry-specific organizations such as realtors, nurses, accountants, chefs, and pretty much any other position. It sounds outdated, but reading is another time-honored way to obtain knowledge. The internet also offers many ways to learn, including related articles, tutorials, seminars, and YouTube videos.
Ask for More Responsibilities
Let your boss know that you’re ready to take on more duties. However, before asking for additional responsibilities, make 100 percent certain that you’re completing your current tasks, using a to-do list to finish every assignment on time or sooner. It’s OK to tell your boss no if you feel you aren’t quite ready to take on the new task and explain to them why that’s the case. Failing at the new task and neglecting your primary duties can be tough to overcome.
I N S I G H T Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2022 67
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