The Runback: The COVID Chronicles

I had COVID last week. It wasn't great, but it could have been worse.

Welcome to another week of The Runback. Have you been enjoying The Duckpin? Do you have comments or suggestions? Do you want to write for us? Let me know at theduckpin@gmail.com. And please be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Thanks in advance.

2022 Candidate Information

We have launched a one-stop-shop for candidate information for the 2022 Election. Bookmark this page, as it will be updated through the 2022 Election. This includes our first round of candidate surveys, which include Kim Mills for the House of Delegates, Gregory Holms for Congress, and more.

News and Politics

• "Shall Issue" Finally Lands in Maryland: It's a good day for gun owners and public safety

• July 2022 Republican Presidential Power Rankings: The Rankings Get Scrambled

• Can't We Take a Break? Maybe Two Days After the Highland Park Tragedy is not the time to talk about "Shooting Libs"?

• A Disturbing Picture: Why Dan Cox is an existential threat to the safety of our kids

• The Gathering of the Snowflakes: "I Hate The Duckpin" is a Facebook group that actually exists. It's a cross between QAnon and the Bar in Star Wars. And it exists because people dare question their God, Dan Cox

• Tarantin Promotes Voting....in Nevada: Nevadans can't vote in Maryland, but that's not stopping James Tarantin from encouraging them to vote for some reason.

Sports

• The Brittney Griner Conundrum: Guilty Plea Makes Griner Supporters Look Foolish

• Baltimore Stadium Proposal Isn't Quite What It Seems: Brandon Scott wants to build a taxpayer-funded soccer stadium for a multibillion-dollar Egyptian conglomerate. Why?

Something More Important Than Politics

Jeff Passan @JeffPassan

The Baltimore Orioles just finished a four-game sweep of the Angels and have won eight straight. They are one game under .500. They are 2.5 games back of Toronto, 3.5 behind Tampa Bay and trail Boston by 4. And they are doing it with a payroll lower than Max Scherzer's salary.

The Monday Thought

Not too long after last Tuesday’s email was sent out, I tested positive for COVID. The world’s worst game of Temple Run had come to an end.

Since then things have not been too bad, for me at least. It has hit the rest of the family a little harder than it did me. Other than a few continued sniffles and the dreaded loss of taste and smell, I’m pretty much over it. The fatigue and sniffles hit more than two days before I ever realized it might be COVID. Palaxovid has, of course, helped (though may have been the cause of the loss of taste and smell. We’ll see in a few days)

So why am I doing ok right now? Science, obviously.

In less than two years, scientists were able to not only create multiple effective vaccines to make COVID less severe but also create treatments to treat COVID. Yes, those things continue to be under emergency use authorities. But considering the length of time it takes to go from the discovery of some illnesses to creating effective treatments or vaccines, the scientific COVID response has in fact been at warp speed.

Certain segments of the right, of course, continue to refuse to want anything to do with the vaccine for reasons both real and imagined. But what is most interesting about that refusal and the reluctance to take something under emergency use authority.

After all, it was Republicans who sponsored and implemented the Right to Try Act in 2018:

President Donald Trump signed the “Right to Try Act” Wednesday, a measure aimed at helping terminally ill patients access drug treatments that are yet to be fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Trump, at a White House ceremony surrounded by patients and families who will be affected by the legislation, said his administration “worked hard on this” but said repeatedly he didn’t understand why it hadn’t been done before.

The bill will give terminally ill patients the right to seek drug treatments that remain in clinical trials and “have passed Phase 1 of the Food and Drug Administration’s approval process” but have not been fully approved by the FDA. Some opponents of the bill argue that the legislation won’t change much but could have a detrimental effect on how the FDA safeguards public health.

Trump said he thinks “hundreds of thousands” could be saved as a result of the legislation.

“With the passage of this bill, Americans will be able to seek cures,” Trump said adding they will finally be given “the right to try.”

And yet, four years later, it is the same President who signed Right to Try into law who stands at the forefront of an anti-vaccine movement that has killed countless Americans.

I, for one, am glad that the vaccines and treatments for COVID were available. I’m glad that we had the right to try.