Showing posts with label COVID-19. Show all posts
Showing posts with label COVID-19. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Trump, Hydroxychloroquine, and Hope (UPDATE)

For the past two days, people have been absolutely losing their minds since President Trump revealed that, as prescribed by his personal physician, he began taking a combination of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and zinc ten days prior to the announcement, in order to protect him against the Wuhan virus.

Many believe that he’s lying about it. Others speculate that he has some financial stake in a drug that has been officially sanctioned by the FDA for several conditions – including other coronaviruses -- since the 1950s and costs about 5 cents per pill.

Still others ignore the many trials, studies, and the divergent results and conclusions which have been conducted using HCQ alone, HCQ plus zinc, and HCQ + zinc + the antibiotic azithromycin.

And, emblematic of the insanity, we have Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi opining that the president should not be taking HCQ because he is “morbidly obese.” That and the silly paper tearing stunt at the end of this year’s State of the Union address makes me think that there’s some non-political history between Mr. Trump and Mrs. Pelosi – one which left Pelosi with a severely bruised ego.

But, leaving my catty musings aside, I must explicitly point this out: from the time that the president first mentioned HCQ until this very moment, there seem to be a widespread concerted effort to discredit the drug. Fox News commentator Neil Cavuto even said that anyone taking the drug would die! That’s news to millions, possibly billions, of people who have taken the drug to ease the symptoms of lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and for malaria, both as treatment and for prophylactic purposes.

As I have observed continuously during this pestilence, certain corners of our republic – usually governmental and media-related -- don't want the people to have hope and will say and do anything squash and quash even the whispers of it.

And if that hope comes from Orange Man Bad, those corners will lie repeatedly, even when the truth is right in front of all our faces.


Considering all this, I was given permission to post the following from my good friend Dave P. Disclaimer: I am not a doctor either.
Since it appears that almost every journalist got his MD over the weekend, I might as well chime in. I am not a doctor and I don’t even play one on the Internet, but I can read and remember things and I know this —
The primary antiviral agent in the concoction that Trump is taking is actually zinc. A virus is not a complete, living cell like a bacterium, but rather it is a capsule with a short string of [RNA] in it. It cannot replicate itself, as a cell does when it divides. So, what it does is, it attaches to human cells and paste its RNA into theirs... so that when [the cells] replicate, they replicate the virus instead of themselves. That’s how a virus replicates, by hijacking the replication mechanism of a human cell.
Zinc is an interrupter of the virus attempting to attach itself to the replication engine of a cell. That is why we have cold medicines that are zinc-based, like Zicam, because the cold is a virus, and the zinc helps slow the replication of the virus so that your symptoms are lesser and shorter.
With all that, it is still true that zinc has a very hard time penetrating the cell walls in order to interrupt viral replication. Hydroxychloroquine opens up channels in the cell walls that allow the zinc to enter the cell and do its thing.
The third part of Trump’s cocktail is an antibacterial, azithromycin, to knock out opportunistic bacterial lung infections that may take hold while the lung is inflamed and vulnerable.
HCQ makes it easier for zinc to get into cells and block viral replication. Another way to make it easier is to add zinc [to your diet]. You need a prescription for HCQ, but zinc is over-the-counter, as a cold medicine and a supplement. Up to a certain amount, the more zinc that is in your system, the more successful it will be at penetrating the cell walls and blocking viruses. Again, that is why zinc is used as cold medicine, because it stops viruses from hijacking the cellular reproduction mechanism to reproduce themselves.
There is no reason for us not to take HCQ. Anyone who says it’s risky or unproven or should be tested is someone with an anti-Trump agenda, or a pro Bill Gates agenda, which are, more or less, the same thing. But boosting your zinc level is a way to help the HCQ work better and boosting your zinc level is a good idea even if you’re not taking the prescription.
The fact that we have zinc-based cold medicines is all I need to hear to know that increasing your zinc level is good for anti-viral action. The medicine says it reduces the length and severity of a cold. It also says that the sooner you start taking zinc, the better off you will be in those terms.
(…)
Lots of people are on television talking about this and demonstrating they know nothing about it with every word they say. The key is the zinc.
But don’t take Doctor Dave's or Doctor Baldilocks' word for it. Go out and read things. Here. I’ll help you get started.

Zn Inhibits Coronavirus and Arterivirus RNA Polymerase Activity ...
French researcher Dr. Didier Raoult has now treated 1000 coronavirus patient with 99.3% success rate

I'll even offer a naysayer -- the VA, no less.

VA spent $200,000 on controversial anti-malaria drug touted as coronavirus 'game-changer'

Read, analyze, reflect and come to informed conclusions.

God provides and, as I have mentioned before, sometimes he provides the solution to problems before we even know about those problems. That seems to be the case here.

God also provided us with sentience and the will to survive. Most of you have a working brain, should you choose to use it.

Look up and have hope.

UPDATE: The VA did not use zinc in its HCQ trial.

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Tuesday, March 24, 2020

How to Defend Yourself

Enterprise = you. Shield = Psalm 91.
Sell your cloak. Buy a sword.

Last night, I wrote a Twitter thread about how the Democrats and the mainstream media are stoking fear and hopelessness during this season of rest.
I don’t think I conveyed how much it infuriated me, but instead of simmering in anger, I’d like to provide a counterpoint.

While everyone else talks about the China Virus/Wuhan Flu/coronavirus/COVID-19 and its effects on the world, I’ve been trying to keep my mind focused on Jesus the Christ, as has been so for the last 20+ years and specifically so since about 2008. Looking back to that year, I’d say that God has been drawing me closer to Him through personal tribulation.

I began calling myself a Christian in the mid-1990s but during the time period mentioned, God has been using tough times and tears to shape me and mold me; to change me into something that I was not prior to that (borrowing a concept from my pastor).

And that’s what He always does for those who He draws to Himself. Jesus the Christ said that no one is drawn to Christ unless the Father flips the drawing switch. However, I submit that this drawing business isn’t a one-time good deal, but something that happens continually throughout the life of the believer.

Trouble is a primary tool for the drawing, especially trouble of the seemingly insurmountable variety. But the thing is that God provides solutions to all problems. Sometimes the solution consists of only one thing, the assurance that He is God. That’s always the starting point, and, ultimately, the end point. But, more often than not, there is a lot of action between the beginning and the end.

I’ve faced permanent loss – of persons and things. I’ve felt like a trapped animal before. I’ve had radically reduced circumstances before. And then I remembered that God was with me and that He kept me. Each situation was a drawing to Him.

And now …

The fear of pestilence and the shadow of death – that’s what we all are facing.

God is drawing this world to Himself.

Several years ago, my pastor preached a series of sermons on Psalm 91. Simply, it is a prayer composed by David requesting protection from God. At the time of the composition, David was on the run from King Saul. I made it my business to memorize the psalm and after I did that, I personalized it.

Here’s the King James version.
1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation
And here’s my personalized version.
When I dwell in the secret place of you, Most High
I will abide under the shadow of you, Almighty.
I will say of you, Lord, you are my refuge and my fortress. My God.
In you will I trust.
Surely, you will deliver me from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence.
You will cover me with your feathers and under your wing will I trust.
Your truth is my shield and my buckler.
I will not be afraid for the terror by night,
Nor for the arrow that flies by day,
Nor for the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor for the destruction that wastes at noon day.
A thousand shall fall at my side and 10,000 at my right hand, but it shall not come nigh me.
Only with my eyes will I behold and see the reward of the wicked.
Because I have made you, Lord, you who is my refuge, even you, Most High, my habitation.
There shall no evil befall me, nor shall any plague come near my dwelling.
For you have given your angels charge over me to keep me in all my ways.
They shall bear me up in their hands, lest I dash my foot against the stone.
I will tread on the lion and adder; the young lion and the dragon will I trample under feet.
Because I have set my love upon you, therefore you will deliver me.
You have set me on high because I have known your name.
I will call upon you and you will answer me.
You will be with me in trouble. You will deliver me and honor me.
With long life will you satisfy me and show me your salvation.
I’ve been praying this to God almost every day since I memorized it. While doing so, I try to keep in mind that I’m talking to a person and when I find myself merely reciting the psalm, I stop and begin again.

Notice that the request has conditions; notice that pestilence and deliverance are mentioned twice and plague once. And be advised that dwelling has many connotations. Your body, your house/apartment and your country are all dwellings.

And note the exhortations about fear.

The psalm can be dissected much more, but that's not my purpose here.

This is: to go on spiritual offense against the forces of fear and darkness and the human agents thereof.

I've used these weapons and God's other weapons before; they work. But only if you pick them up.

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Friday, March 20, 2020

Going Nowhere

Fresh Air
Downtown Los Angeles. Gavin Heffernan. Undated.


Of course, I’m at home and I plan to mostly stay inside. I wanted to step outside for a bit when it gets dark just to see the effect of a nearly smog-free LA sky. But it looks like there will be cloud cover for the next week at least.

Recently, I was worried about getting evicted and/or having my electricity service shut off, but that danger has passed for two reasons: God has provided through private donors, one of which is Code of Vets.

The other reason is obvious.

There is a lot of fear out there, like unto my own. But I wonder …

Is God giving this nation --this world -- a season of rest and an opportunity to refocus on Him? He did that with me a few years back. Stripped me of almost every material thing and it seemed that He turned me into a beggar.

Let me rephrase that. He showed me that I and all the rest of us are beggars, whether we ask Him for things or not.

Many American Christians have been begging Him to cleanse our country and I submit that this is what’s happening. I know from experience, however, that, sometimes, when God answers our prayers in the affirmative, the answer will often come in a very unexpected manner. God likes radical solutions.

Is that not what this is? If it is, I think He's being merciful.

I plan on driving to church on Sunday, so if you want to get me some gasoline, that’d be great. But don’t feel obligated. God will provide one way or another.

And it will be to His glory.

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