I remember that time all too well. I was the only one in my extended family to express skepticism of the official government response, and much of my family thought that I was at best a fool. Yet the official narrative has crumbled at multiple points throughout the last several years, and to at least some extent I have a sense of vindication.
For me it was a surreal situation, in part because I have done disaster response and crisis management many times over the course of my career. For me it wasn't simply a question of skepticism —I knew the lockdowns were the wrong thing to do. I knew the narratives were hogwash and horse hockey
It wasn't just the data. It was a quarter century of experience telling me that the government was making the situation vastly worse with their tactics.
That experience was telling me the response to COVID was harmful, and the people doing the harm had a duty of care to know better.
Fauci's diary entries tell us they did know better...and they just didn't care.
"This stretch of history will be seen as a time of great madness or the harbinger of a much greater evil"
The COVID Pandemic Panic was both a time of great madness AND the harbinger of a much greater evil.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it cannot be stressed often enough that the COVID Pandemic Panic Narrative was never "just" a lie. It was a lie that blatantly denied the data that was publicly available for everyone to see. It was a lie that blatantly denied the evidence of ordinary people's ordinary observations. We cannot even call it a cover up, because it attempted to conceal nothing; it simply ignored everything and said it didn't exist.
Only it did exist. It does exist. And I am proud of the work I did documenting that it did and does exist. I was not the only independent journalist showcasing the indisputable empirical and epidemiological evidence, but I was one of them—and history is showing that I was indeed on the right side of that history.
But the COVID Pandemic Panic was also the harbinger of a much greater evil. Authoritarianism took several leaps forward in this country, and at all levels of government. Faucism spawned fascism everywhere in this country, and around the world. People were told their freedom was expendable, that liberty was no longer the most precious thing in a man's life. Those who opposed government diktat had their lives destroyed. Careers were ruined. Reputations were tarnished. Characters were smeared.
In a wave of media-amplified, propaganda-driven hysteria, the authoritarian power of the State advanced by the largest amount since 9/11 and the passage of the odious Patriot Act.
There was no actual threat. SARS-CoV-2 was never a plague upon our houses—at most COVID was a severe flu season. All the lunatic lockdowns, the problematic PCR tests, the insane social distancing requirements, the mask mandates, were never necessary, never backed by actual evidence and honest scientific research, and never anything but harmful.
It was all a lie. It was a ruthless, shameless, blatant grab for power by every government toady who saw the opportunity. It was naked authoritarianism.
Hopefully Fauci being too cowardly and too lacking in integrity to actually answer questions about the lies he admitted in his diary to telling will force more people to realize the enormity of the lies that were told, and the severity of the damage that was done to our society.
Interestingly (as I’ve pointed out in other comments) Congress missed the opportunity to have excerpts from Fauci’s diary read directly into the Congressional record for all the world to see. Even the brilliant John Kennedy somehow overlooked the most basic prosecutorial technique of asking “isn’t it true that on blah-blah date you wrote [excerpt quote] in your diary?” No matter whether Fauci confirms it or pleads the fifth, the quote itself from the diary is now entered into the Congressional record.
Fauci turned the entire thing into a clown show— but those Congresspeople fell right into it.
One positive result of today’s hearing is that millions of ordinary people, the compliant ones who don’t pay much attention and just follow government orders, will suddenly think, “Fauci got pardoned? Why did he need a presidential pardon? And why is he pleading the Fifth? Doesn’t that mean he’s got something to hide? Is he guilty of something?What’s going on?”
And another big crack splits open in the dam holding back the deluge of Truth!
Love your work. But if you are going to quote strong sources that have been the basis of the truth vector during this mess, in addition to yourself, Berenson, etc. I think it is important to note that Brownstone Institute (brownstone.org) has been a major driver, publisher, and consolidator of the truth since the very beginning. (It came out of the Great Barrington Declaration, so was there early on.). Thanks for all you do.
Citing all the independent resources that have been reporting the facts even just about COVID would be an article unto itself. The Brownstone Institute is one, but there are many more besides.
And that is also a point that bears mentioning over There are numerous alternative media outlets and news resources. Corporate media is not the only game in town. There are choices, and there are better choices available.
If alternative and independent media sources can get more recognition, more PR, and more reader support, corporate media can finally be consigned to the trashcan of history.
Honest journalism would have kept the COVID Pandemic Panic Narrative from getting started, and stopped Fauci in his tracks—or rather the honest journalism that was done would have with a higher profile.
We may have to wait for a Supreme Court ruling on presidential pardons vs pleading the Fifth, but we MUST get justice on this! We can’t tolerate any excuses, such as, “Fauci’s an old man; let him be”. Young people need to understand that justice under the law is absolutely crucial in order to have civilization!
We are all indebted to you, Peter, for being one of the courageous souls who spoke the truth, at great cost to yourself. Thank you, thank you!
My hope in all of this is that people will give alternative and independent media outlets greater attention and greater respect. Corporate media was completely in the tank with the whole COVID Pandemic Panic Narrative. Alternative media made the effort and put in the work to get the story right.
It would be beyond wonderful if independent media became a broadly viable business model. Nothing would please me more than for All Facts Matter to be my full time occupation!
As I’ve said, watch for your opportunity. It is a verifiable fact that most forms of corporate media have lost customers, including those consuming media and the advertising that supports it. Your writing is first-rate quality, Peter, and that stands out!
Part of my exuberance yesterday in sending you a post showing that the Democratic Party is broke is what this implies for corporate media. Nobody’s donating to the Left, in part because nobody is able to believe anymore what corporate media is spewing at us. It’s all propaganda. A consistent pattern throughout American history is one where ordinary folks get hornswoggled, eventually figure things out by themselves, and turn against the false narrative. It takes awhile, but people figure out what the robber barons are up to, what Tammany Hall is up to, and they switch to more truthful sources. You are one of the admirable, factual writers, and that’s priceless to America!
Great chronology Peter. Thanks
I remember that time all too well. I was the only one in my extended family to express skepticism of the official government response, and much of my family thought that I was at best a fool. Yet the official narrative has crumbled at multiple points throughout the last several years, and to at least some extent I have a sense of vindication.
For me it was a surreal situation, in part because I have done disaster response and crisis management many times over the course of my career. For me it wasn't simply a question of skepticism —I knew the lockdowns were the wrong thing to do. I knew the narratives were hogwash and horse hockey
It wasn't just the data. It was a quarter century of experience telling me that the government was making the situation vastly worse with their tactics.
That experience was telling me the response to COVID was harmful, and the people doing the harm had a duty of care to know better.
Fauci's diary entries tell us they did know better...and they just didn't care.
Good article Peter and one for the books. This stretch of history will be seen as a time of great madness or the harbinger of a much greater evil
"This stretch of history will be seen as a time of great madness or the harbinger of a much greater evil"
The COVID Pandemic Panic was both a time of great madness AND the harbinger of a much greater evil.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it cannot be stressed often enough that the COVID Pandemic Panic Narrative was never "just" a lie. It was a lie that blatantly denied the data that was publicly available for everyone to see. It was a lie that blatantly denied the evidence of ordinary people's ordinary observations. We cannot even call it a cover up, because it attempted to conceal nothing; it simply ignored everything and said it didn't exist.
Only it did exist. It does exist. And I am proud of the work I did documenting that it did and does exist. I was not the only independent journalist showcasing the indisputable empirical and epidemiological evidence, but I was one of them—and history is showing that I was indeed on the right side of that history.
But the COVID Pandemic Panic was also the harbinger of a much greater evil. Authoritarianism took several leaps forward in this country, and at all levels of government. Faucism spawned fascism everywhere in this country, and around the world. People were told their freedom was expendable, that liberty was no longer the most precious thing in a man's life. Those who opposed government diktat had their lives destroyed. Careers were ruined. Reputations were tarnished. Characters were smeared.
In a wave of media-amplified, propaganda-driven hysteria, the authoritarian power of the State advanced by the largest amount since 9/11 and the passage of the odious Patriot Act.
There was no actual threat. SARS-CoV-2 was never a plague upon our houses—at most COVID was a severe flu season. All the lunatic lockdowns, the problematic PCR tests, the insane social distancing requirements, the mask mandates, were never necessary, never backed by actual evidence and honest scientific research, and never anything but harmful.
It was all a lie. It was a ruthless, shameless, blatant grab for power by every government toady who saw the opportunity. It was naked authoritarianism.
Hopefully Fauci being too cowardly and too lacking in integrity to actually answer questions about the lies he admitted in his diary to telling will force more people to realize the enormity of the lies that were told, and the severity of the damage that was done to our society.
Interestingly (as I’ve pointed out in other comments) Congress missed the opportunity to have excerpts from Fauci’s diary read directly into the Congressional record for all the world to see. Even the brilliant John Kennedy somehow overlooked the most basic prosecutorial technique of asking “isn’t it true that on blah-blah date you wrote [excerpt quote] in your diary?” No matter whether Fauci confirms it or pleads the fifth, the quote itself from the diary is now entered into the Congressional record.
Fauci turned the entire thing into a clown show— but those Congresspeople fell right into it.
One must wonder: why???
An excellent point, and an even better question.
One positive result of today’s hearing is that millions of ordinary people, the compliant ones who don’t pay much attention and just follow government orders, will suddenly think, “Fauci got pardoned? Why did he need a presidential pardon? And why is he pleading the Fifth? Doesn’t that mean he’s got something to hide? Is he guilty of something?What’s going on?”
And another big crack splits open in the dam holding back the deluge of Truth!
There is that. Pleading the Fifth is never a good look.
I had mostly given up on corporate media around then and was introduced to Substack in 2022, long after these articles were published.
Thank you for your work!
So. He’s pleading the Fifth. Peter, in terms of legal procedures, what comes next?
If the questions cover what is within the scope of the pardon Rand Paul should be telling Fauci "wrong answer. Try again."
Love your work. But if you are going to quote strong sources that have been the basis of the truth vector during this mess, in addition to yourself, Berenson, etc. I think it is important to note that Brownstone Institute (brownstone.org) has been a major driver, publisher, and consolidator of the truth since the very beginning. (It came out of the Great Barrington Declaration, so was there early on.). Thanks for all you do.
Citing all the independent resources that have been reporting the facts even just about COVID would be an article unto itself. The Brownstone Institute is one, but there are many more besides.
And that is also a point that bears mentioning over There are numerous alternative media outlets and news resources. Corporate media is not the only game in town. There are choices, and there are better choices available.
If alternative and independent media sources can get more recognition, more PR, and more reader support, corporate media can finally be consigned to the trashcan of history.
Honest journalism would have kept the COVID Pandemic Panic Narrative from getting started, and stopped Fauci in his tracks—or rather the honest journalism that was done would have with a higher profile.
He's doing nothing but pleading the 5th. Must be worried about the validity of his pardon by Auto-pen.
No one has done more to discredit the medical profession more than Anthony Fauci.
Certainly not in recent years.
We may have to wait for a Supreme Court ruling on presidential pardons vs pleading the Fifth, but we MUST get justice on this! We can’t tolerate any excuses, such as, “Fauci’s an old man; let him be”. Young people need to understand that justice under the law is absolutely crucial in order to have civilization!
We are all indebted to you, Peter, for being one of the courageous souls who spoke the truth, at great cost to yourself. Thank you, thank you!
My hope in all of this is that people will give alternative and independent media outlets greater attention and greater respect. Corporate media was completely in the tank with the whole COVID Pandemic Panic Narrative. Alternative media made the effort and put in the work to get the story right.
It would be beyond wonderful if independent media became a broadly viable business model. Nothing would please me more than for All Facts Matter to be my full time occupation!
As I’ve said, watch for your opportunity. It is a verifiable fact that most forms of corporate media have lost customers, including those consuming media and the advertising that supports it. Your writing is first-rate quality, Peter, and that stands out!
Part of my exuberance yesterday in sending you a post showing that the Democratic Party is broke is what this implies for corporate media. Nobody’s donating to the Left, in part because nobody is able to believe anymore what corporate media is spewing at us. It’s all propaganda. A consistent pattern throughout American history is one where ordinary folks get hornswoggled, eventually figure things out by themselves, and turn against the false narrative. It takes awhile, but people figure out what the robber barons are up to, what Tammany Hall is up to, and they switch to more truthful sources. You are one of the admirable, factual writers, and that’s priceless to America!