THE BIGGEST CLASS THEFT IN THE HISTORY OF THE COUNTRY

The New York Times is reporting today that a doctor, Dr. Rick Bright , who was Director of the Department of Health and Human Services Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, was removed from his position because he insisted on rigorous vetting of treatments for the Coronavirus, specifically those touted by the Trump administration.

Bright led a federal agency involved in developing a vaccine for the Coronavirus.  He was abruptly dismissed.  He commented in a statement to the NYT:

“I believe this transfer was in response to my insistence that the government invest the billions of dollars allocated by Congress to address the Covid-19 pandemic into safe and scientifically vetted solutions, and not in drugs, vaccines and other technologies that lack scientific merit.”

Bright maintains that doing his job responsibly caused clashes with “HHS political leadership.”  He was, according to his statements, criticized for his “proactive efforts to invest early into vaccines and supplies critical to saving American lives.”  He also, “…resisted efforts to fund potentially dangerous drugs promoted by those with political connections.”

Bright was talking about efforts to make chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, which, he said “clearly lack scientific merit.”

One of the risks, Bright pointed out of these drugs in clinical trials, was “increased mortality.”  That means the drugs are likely to kill you.

The political people have “politicized the work of BARDA” he says and  pressured him to “fund companies with political connections and efforts that lack scientific merit.”

This is where we are folks.  This Coronavirus effort on the part of the Republican Party and the Trump administration is just one huge feeding frenzy, a free-for-all of profiteering.  This is one point of corruption among countless others across the system where the con artists and grifters Trump and the Republicans have put in place are having the time of their financial lives.

The real question is whether we are going to let them get away with it.