“Are you a communist?”
“No, I am an anti-fascist”
“For a long time?”
“Since I have understood fascism.”

– Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls

Funny how quick "I need guns to resist a fascist government" turns into "She'd be alive if she'd followed cops' orders."

Pediatric healthcare workers: "We can't wear masks because it's so, so, so important babies see our faces, even if it exposes them to dangerous viruses."

STUDY: "Findings suggest that masked and unmasked static faces equally attract newborns' attention and that surgical masks do not disrupt their face configuration processing."

Medical professionals need to start admitting they're just being selfish, not altruistic, by not masking around at-risk patients.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/infa.70064

Trivia question: How many nations has the UB bombed in 2025 under Donald Trump's (“the peace president”) leadership?

Bonus points if you can name them.

Answer in comment below.

I don't normally ask for this, but if you are concerned about #COVID19, please share my latest post with others. I'd like it to reach folks who AREN'T already COVID-aware.

I’ve Read 3,000 Studies About COVID: Here’s What You’re Ignoring That Could (Still) Harm You or a Loved One

I share some simple conclusions, along with over 100 links to research. My goal is to urge more awareness and commonsense caution.

https://medium.com/@augieray_66704/ive-read-3-000-studies-about-covid-here-s-what-you-re-ignoring-that-could-still-harm-you-or-a-accafe0f7c66

When was a child, I lay in bed Christmas Eve, wondering at the magic elf who'd deliver gifts that night.

When I was a young man, I'd count down the seconds to welcome a new year.

Now, I'm old. Christmas is another day on the calendar, and midnight on December 31 is no different than the other 31,536,000 seconds in a year.

Magic comes from the care we have for one another, not calendars or myths. Create magic in 2026: The love you take is equal to the love you make.

A former writer for South Park foresaw Trump's takeover of the Kennedy Center and had the foresight to register the domain names trumpkennedycenter dot org and dot com back in August. JFK's niece thanked him for doing so. Of course, the Trump-controlled board now wants their domain name and threatened legal action. His response is brilliant.

COVID-19 infection was associated with significantly increased hypertension incidence. (COVID damages cardiovascular system!)
https://academic.oup.com/aje/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/aje/kwaf283/8385313?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false

Surely, taking just a bit of care, such as putting on a mask while traveling or skipping a crowded event, is worth protecting yourself and those you love this holiday season.

5/6

Persistent risk of neurological and psychiatric conditions in COVID-19 survivors up to 4 years post-infection. Dementia was nearly 4x higher among COVID-19 cohort compared to the control cohort. Five neurological and psychiatric outcomes had odds ratios (OR) significantly higher than 1 for people who had COVID-19: cognitive deficit, nerve plexus disorder, substance use disorder, mood disorder, and anxiety disorder. (COVID damages brains!)
https://www.wjgnet.com/2220-3206/full/v15/i12/109680.htm

4/6

Infected pregnancies showed lower gestational age at delivery, higher cesarean rate, and lower neonatal Apgar scores. (COVID puts fetuses at risk!)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0143400425007672?via%3Dihub

This study suggests a higher seroprevalence of autoantibodies in COVID-19 patients compared to control subjects. (COVID damages immune systems!) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12879-025-12407-y

3/6

Moderate-to-severe COVID-19 symptoms were associated with an increased likelihood of poor executive function performance (OR = 1.507). (COVID damages brains!)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/07334648251409916

Long COVID was prospectively associated with unhealthy sleep outcomes 3 years after onset. Long COVID was also associated with a 1.53 times higher risk of moderate-to-severe sleep disturbance (95% CI: 1.23, 1.91). (COVID damages sleep!)
https://academic.oup.com/sleep/advance-article/doi/10.1093/sleep/zsaf405/8382906?login=false

2/6

The next two weeks will probably be the peak of respiratory virus season, with #COVID19, flu, & other viruses surging.

If you're traveling or seeing friends and family, do a little to protect yourself and them!

Studies published the past week:

STUDY: Non-hospitalized COVID-positive patients had a 47 to 56% higher risk of various thyroid diseases. Hospitalized patients risks were higher: 2 to 2.3x higher. (COVID damages thyroids!)
https://academic.oup.com/jcem/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1210/clinem/dgaf688/8403187?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false 1/6

#COVID19 gives some people Long COVID symptoms but leaves many others with subclinical damage that shortens lives and harms well-being. Repeated injury to our blood vessels, brains, immune systems, hearts & other organs accumulate damage, slowly raising risks of neuro, cognitive and mental health issues, cardiac events, and cancer. Because people can't see and feel their health slipping away, they act normal, but things aren't normal--the sneaky even-worse scenario is a slow-motion disaster. 2/2

I think that between the worst-case scenario and the best-case scenario is a sneaky even-worse scenario. If COVID had been a worst-case scenario and simply killed 5% of people who got reinfected, we'd all be in masks, avoiding crowds, and have incredibly safe air in airports, event spaces, and workplaces. But, neither is #COVID19 a best case--it isn't "just the flu or a cold." Instead, we're caught in that sneaky even-worst place. The even-worst-case scenario is exactly what we have: (1/2)