Althouse: "Colin Powell, military leader and first Black US secretary of state, dies after complications from Covid-19."

October 18, 2021

"Colin Powell, military leader and first Black US secretary of state, dies after complications from Covid-19."

CNN reports.

119 comments:

gilbar said...: Fully Vaxed!
Tell me, again, about the need for Vax mandates?; 10/18/21, 8:24 AM
DLNE said...: For the life of me, I can't understand why the family (or public relations agency) released the cause of death at the time of General Powell's announcement. He had a historic career and it would be nice if perhaps for at least 24 hours that would be the central discussion point. Instead, due to a PR malpractice, there will be too much COVID talk. As used to be said way back when, "Can't anybody here play this game?"; 10/18/21, 8:30 AM
Mrs. X said...: From CNBC: “Powell had multiple myeloma, according to NBC News. It is a type of blood cancer that hurts the body’s ability to fight infections.”
So what killed him again?
Do vaccines work or do they weaken fragile immune systems against anything other than one specific, no longer prevalent spike protein of the original covid virus?
Be great if someone decided to study this, but why do anything besides say shut up and vax? It’s working so well.; 10/18/21, 8:33 AM
tim maguire said...: Fully vaccinated--so this will get ugly fast. My condolences to his family, who hopefully will be able to shield themselves from the politics enough to mourn in peace.; 10/18/21, 8:33 AM
Fernandinande said...: He's about as "black" as Biden, Bush or Trump.; 10/18/21, 8:33 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: FULLY VACCINATED former Secretary Powell has died from COVID. Can we admit the efficacy of this vaccine is waning in inverse proportion to the vehemence with which it is being forced on the few reluctant unvaccinated? Like I predicted over a year ago the C-19 vaccine will eventually be folded into the annual flu shot I get or abandoned altogether. Face it: we rushed the process and long-term trials per regular FDA order would have revealed the efficacy and durability before we embarked on this present fascist path. We should rethink and correct our path now or when a truly dangerous pandemic comes no one will trust the Public Health authorities: they have pissed away all their good will and professionalism by making political decisions instead of medical decisions. This is a perilous place for a free society and lack of faith in leaders and experts is very difficult to overcome except by brute force and Joe is more brutal with each new mandate.; 10/18/21, 8:35 AM
Gunner said...: I can already hear the Antifa Party: How dare you not mourn the guy who badmouthed your side except for the four years you gave him a job!; 10/18/21, 8:37 AM
madAsHell said...: I really thought we would be done with this COVID nonsense last November.

It's really telling that they need to continue this charade of fear, uncertainty, and doubt.; 10/18/21, 8:38 AM
Owen said...: Sorry to hear it. He fit the age demographic where Covid hits hardest. I imagine his case will be used to cudgel the public into getting their shots: especially the younger demographics where an adverse event signal of carditis may be emerging, and where the virus causes very few fatalities. See the recent paper by Ioannidis.; 10/18/21, 8:40 AM
wendybar said...: Fully vaccinated Colin Powell. Still getting a booster shot?? Why?? I think the unvaccinated had the right idea. Why are they still enforcing this mandate when MANY people who have had it, have died?? Any other drug would be taken off the market.; 10/18/21, 8:40 AM
Joe Smith said...: The first affirmative action general...or at least the most famous.

Also the most-loved 'republican' in the liberal universe.

I wonder why he didn't have the courage to resign once he's been duped by the intelligence agencies?

Silly rabbit...the money, power, and adulation, of course.; 10/18/21, 8:42 AM
Jersey Fled said...: Apparently multiple myeloma is a complication of Covid.; 10/18/21, 8:59 AM
Chris said...: A vaccine that works so well, it MUST be forced on everyone.; 10/18/21, 9:02 AM
rehajm said...: 'From'...'With'...all the same diff...; 10/18/21, 9:02 AM
Iman said...: The man seldom - if ever - gave a straight answer to a question.; 10/18/21, 9:10 AM
Uncle Pavian said...: De mortuis,nil nisi bonum.; 10/18/21, 9:12 AM
mccullough said...: So an 84-year-old is classified as a Covid death.

Faulty intelligence.; 10/18/21, 9:12 AM
Achilles said...: He was fully vaccinated.; 10/18/21, 9:20 AM
Achilles said...: Oh wait I forgot.

Colin Powell died of COVID because of unvaccinated people.

Somehow.

This is how stupid you have to be to be a Biden Supporter.; 10/18/21, 9:21 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: For contrast look at Japan, which the DNC-Media mocked as “toothless” policies when the Olympics garnered press attention to the COVID then apparently ascendant. Now Western “experts” are stumped that the virus is waning there. Just like Florida’s freedom and personal responsibility tack was misunderstood and misrepresented by the DNC-Media bent on scoring points for Team Blue rather than doing actual journalism. Just imagine what a hands-off approach could have done for Americans! If businesses had NOT shut down for “fifteen days to slow the spread” and schools had stayed open! No economic hole to dig out of, fewer overdose deaths and suicides, no “rent moratorium,” cheap effective therapies allowed, herd immunity reached without second and third waves caused by lockdown, people accepting reasonable balanced approaches. Public Health authorities would have gained respect instead of losing it. Without Federal overreach, governors and mayors would be far less likely to take drastic tyrannical measures as they have in Democrat led regions.; 10/18/21, 9:22 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: Ack! Sorry I meant to furnish a link about Japan!
https://hotair.com/jazz-shaw/2021/10/18/the-mystery-of-japans-disappearing-covid-crisis-n423032; 10/18/21, 9:25 AM
DanTheMan said...: Rest in peace, General Powell.

And I hope they bury your "Pottery Barn rule", too.; 10/18/21, 9:28 AM
Wince said...: "I want the Martians to be treated like foreign dignitaries."; 10/18/21, 9:31 AM
Narayanan said...: I heard Pottery Barn Rule for first time when he mentioned during UN session prior to sending troops into Iraq; 10/18/21, 9:45 AM
Michael K said...: Fully vaccinated by reports.; 10/18/21, 9:46 AM
mezzrow said...: This Saturday, I attended the funeral of a long time friend who also died from complications of COVID. Like Powell, she was fully vaccinated.

My lived experience is in a process of coping with this.; 10/18/21, 9:56 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: I have mixed feelings about his man.
RIP, Colin Powell.

His funniest quote is very telling. regarding Hillary running top money whore position.
She is a...-> “A 70-year person with a long track record, unbridled ambition, greedy, not transformational, with a husband still dicking bimbos at home.; 10/18/21, 10:01 AM
Robert Marshall said...: CNN naturally uses the occasion to bang the Covid vaccine drum, despite the fact that Powell was vaccinated himself. Gotta stick to the narrative.

He had multiple myeloma and he was 84, and yet we are told that he died of "complications from Covid" while mentioning the cancer as if it was a side-story.

If we are to treat "deaths from Covid" as a meaningful statistic, this seems wrong.

I wonder if cause-of-death stats from the 1918 Spanish flu were handled the same way. It appears to have caused far more "struck-down in the prime of life" cases than Covid has, so maybe there was less ambiguity about cause than there is today, with so many foot-in-the-gravers getting the Covid nudge.; 10/18/21, 10:01 AM
My name goes here. said...: I never was a fan. In some ways I think he embodied the worst traits of DC.

But I will say this, I think he understood why Ameeica was a truly great place.

Rest In Peace.; 10/18/21, 10:01 AM
SteveM said...: And it’s being reported that Powell was fully vaccinated at the time he contracted Covid. Maybe Powell’s unfortunate passing will provide an opportunity for a full and balanced reporting on the efficacy of the vaccines (and their side effects). Not holding my breath though.; 10/18/21, 10:04 AM
J. D. Canals said...: Extremely intelligent and a great communicator, but became a Washington political insider that later in life got every policy decision wrong.; 10/18/21, 10:04 AM
Mikey NTH said...: Perhaps there were other health issues he had? Such as being 84 years old?; 10/18/21, 10:12 AM
Chuck said...: Powell was fully vaccinated.

But he was immunosuppressed as a result of earlier medical treatment.

Almost 10 million Americans are immunosuppressed or otherwise immune compromised.

I am waiting to see how many commenters jumped on this news to proclaim that COVID vaccines are not efficacious. When in fact, the sad and terribly unfortunate death of General Powell only serves to illustrate the warnings that Dr Fauci and the other real experts have been issuing all along. It is necessary to public health for everyone to get vaccinated regardless of weird quirky notions of personal liberty. Because some in our population need the rest of us to be as protected as possible, to provide the vulnerable with as much protection as possible.; 10/18/21, 10:18 AM
Chuck said...: OMFG; as usual, I underestimated the time it would take this blog’s commenters to go from zero-to-stupid.

It is fantastic to behold; the level of vaccine idiocy here.; 10/18/21, 10:38 AM
Chuck said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/18/21, 10:45 AM
Chris said...: HEY CHUCK YOU FUCKING IDIOT, HE WAS FULLY VAX'D. MEANING IF THE VACCINE WORKED HE WOULD HAVE BEEN PROTECTED BUT IT DIDN'T AND HE WASNT. HE DIED WITH OR FROM COVID INSPITE OF BEING FULLY VACCINATED.; 10/18/21, 10:50 AM
Richard said...: I read his autobiography. It was pretty good until he got to the part where he excused his and Les Absent's decision not to send armor to Somalia.; 10/18/21, 10:51 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Chuck thinks Fauci is a "REAL expert."
LOL.

Fauci is a fraud. Then, frauds tend to gravitate together.; 10/18/21, 10:54 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: I'm fully vaccinated and I fully expect to get covid at some point.

Fuck Fauci... and his illegal gain of function money whoring with the corrupt chi coms.; 10/18/21, 10:55 AM
God of the Sea People said...: Personally, I think of civil rights as something more than a quirky notion.; 10/18/21, 11:04 AM
Michael K said...: "Chuck," my wife has High IGE immunodeficiency and had Covid in June 2020. She was, however, taking HCQ and never needed ICU. She was home in three days.

Any comment, "Chuck?"; 10/18/21, 11:05 AM
Sebastian said...: Key point: "vaccinations" are not all alike. Old and sick people are different. Check for actual antibodies and immune response. In reporting on people dying "with" Covid or from Covid, specify actual health condition. The virus differentiates, and so should recording of its impact and the focus of public policy.; 10/18/21, 11:07 AM
John Althouse Cohen said...: A lot of the commenters are emphasizing that Colin Powell was fully vaccinated when he died at age 84.

The covid-19 vaccines are highly effective, but less than 100% effective. As a result, some people die of covid-19 even though they're fully vaccinated.

When people seem confused about this and suggest that getting vaccinated is pointless because it's less than 100% effective, I assume they're also confused about condoms and think it's pointless to ever use a condom.

Oh wait, what's that you say? You know that condoms are very effective and worth using even though they're less than 100% effective? Great! Then you can also understand that getting vaccinated is worth it because it has the power to prevent most covid-19 deaths. And the vaccines would prevent even more covid-19 deaths if everyone were fully vaccinated.; 10/18/21, 11:09 AM
NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...: CNN is doubling down on the Covid angle since Sanjay Gupta screwed the pooch with his appearance on Joe Rogan. Got to keep their base viewership happy.

I've seen headlines about Gen. Powell's death on a number (but not all) of news websites. Everyone of them mentioned his race, with the exception of the UK Daily Mail. Good example of why we'll never achieve racial equality in America, the elitist bien pensant just can't help themselves and believe that Black people are magical creatures.

IMO, Powell was a good CJCS, but not that good of a SecState.; 10/18/21, 11:12 AM
Jersey Fled said...: Vaccines do not provoke as strong a response in people with autoimmune diseases (like multiple myeloma) as they do in those with normal immune systems. Therefore they are not as effective in preventing disease. The vaccines are generally recommended for people with multiple myeloma because some protection is better than none. But we should not draw conclusions about the benefits of the covid vaccinations for the general population based on General Powell's case.; 10/18/21, 11:36 AM
Anonymous said...: Joe Smith said...
The first affirmative action general...or at least the most famous.

A bit harsh.

I served, at a much lower grade, under Powell.

I think his immigrant success story is much stronger than any assertition he was an AA hire.

He was smart, smooth, the consumate staff officer. A "political General" not in a bad way. Don't remember him as a highly motivating combat commander type.

A good to great NSA. an above average Sec State. His view of Hillary is enlightening.

Does anybody think that Powell, as Sec State would have gone to bed leaving our Mission in Benghazi under fire and denied help?

RIP.

PS: could have been a better POTUS than that Obama guy. Powell actually was a uniter; 10/18/21, 11:36 AM
tim maguire said...: Leave it to Chuck to make the dumbest arguments of all just so he can congratulate himself for standing up to the mob.

The reality of COVID is that it hits the old far far harder than it hits the young. It's not that vaccines don't work, but that a vaccinated 80 year old is in basically the same boat as an unvaccinated 30 year old. Which is a much better boat to be in.

The argument for the 30 year old to get vaccinated is to limit community spread--an argument that gets weaker by the day as break-through cases increase. It would still be a decent argument if the vaccine were completely safe, but it's not, is it? We don't hear much about side-effects anymore (and at least some on the left are pretending side-effects are a right-wing conspiracy), but prior to mandates becoming a thing, concern about side-effects was all the rage.

Vaccine mandates are like good Samaritan laws--they sound nice so long as you don't think about them too much. They require innocent bystanders to put themselves at personal risk to protect strangers. Free enlightened societies don't do that.; 10/18/21, 11:38 AM
rehajm said...: Because some in our population need the rest of us to be as protected as possible, to provide the vulnerable with as much protection as possible.

Natural immunity is many multiples stronger than 'immunity' from the vaccine. If you want 'the rest of us to be as protected as possible' you need the young, healthy, not overweight to contract the disease and recover, leaving the most people with strong, powerful natural immunity and the ability to fight off variants, not just the single spike protein targeted by vaccines...; 10/18/21, 11:43 AM
Kai Akker said...: ---When in fact, the sad and terribly unfortunate death of General Powell only serves to illustrate the warnings that Dr Fauci and the other real experts have been issuing all along. It is necessary to public health for everyone to get vaccinated regardless of weird quirky notions of personal liberty. Because some in our population need the rest of us to be as protected as possible, to provide the vulnerable with as much protection as possible.

Do you do stand-up?; 10/18/21, 11:43 AM
rcocean said...: Damn. Reminds me of My Uncle, was 90 and got hit by a bus yesterday. Died. But he wasn't vaccinated. So that explains it. Damn this pandemic.; 10/18/21, 11:44 AM
rcocean said...: Powell was a uniparty hack, who got us into the useless and deadly Iraq war. He had a lot of blood on his hands. But he was black. SO there's that.; 10/18/21, 11:45 AM
Owen said...: Chuck @ 10:18: “… It is necessary to public health for everyone to get vaccinated regardless of weird quirky notions of personal liberty…”

How does this follow from the fact that Colin Powell was fully vaccinated but died anyway? I suppose you are struggling to tell us that unvaccinated people are disease vectors and need to be eradicated, whether by mandatory vaccination, quarantine or exile. But in fact we find that vaccinated people are disease vectors as well. So your argument, even if properly framed, would fail.

Change my mind.; 10/18/21, 11:51 AM
Pianoman said...: Blacks are the largest demographic to refuse the jab. The main reason given was Tuskegee.

This news will only make that situation worse.

Various government critters have been making threats, and there's been a few minor flare-ups of people getting fired. But mostly what we're seeing is civil disobedience on a large scale.

I don't think the government has the guts to follow through. Escalation at this point could lead to fatalities.; 10/18/21, 11:53 AM
Vance said...: Here comes Chuck, banging the "You must be forced to get government injections, Comrade, for your own good!" drum.

We see vaccination did General Powell no good. He still caught Covid, and according to CNN it was covid that killed him.

People who are vaccinated still spread Covid, right? That's why we are told we must wear masks all the time, regardless of vaccination.

So what, precisely, would everyone around General Powell being vaccinated have done? They still could have infected him. His vaccination did nothing to protect him.

Chuck, your logic is faulty. How does vaccinating others with a vaccine that does not prevent transmission of Covid help the immuno-compromised again? As for masking up, only certain masks will work, but we aren't mandating those masks, so the mask mandate is useless too.

I am sorry that one of your heroes died, Chuck, but truthfully: he was sick, and dying, apparently, from plasma cancer. Covid if it did anything merely hurried along a fait accompli.

Still: Powell voted for and campaigned for Obama against McCain and Romney. He didn't join the Democrats because of Trump, he was already there.

So while General Powell may not endorse any more Democrats, you don't need to worry Chuck: no doubt he will still vote for plenty more Democrats.; 10/18/21, 11:54 AM
Pianoman said...: @Chuck: "It is necessary to public health for everyone to get vaccinated ..."

Not if you've had COVID. Natural immunity is stronger than vaccinated immunity.

Follow the Science, Chuck.; 10/18/21, 11:54 AM
Yancey Ward said...: Chuck,

The vaccinated catch and transmit the virus, too, you dumb shit. If everyone had been vaccinated, it is likely Colin Powell would still have caught it and died. Indeed, it is all but certain that he caught the disease from another vaccinated person given his political leanings.; 10/18/21, 12:10 PM
Robert Cook said...: "I really thought we would be done with this COVID nonsense last November."

Why? It's not necessarily done with us. In less than two years, it has killed more Americans than were killed in combat in both World Wars and Vietnam combined.; 10/18/21, 12:13 PM
Maynard said...: the sad and terribly unfortunate death of General Powell only serves to illustrate the warnings that Dr Fauci and the other real experts have been issuing all along. It is necessary to public health for everyone to get vaccinated regardless of weird quirky notions of personal liberty.

This post is so bereft of logic that it is hard to comment. I am wondering if this poster is actually Little Tater (aka Brian Stelter).; 10/18/21, 12:23 PM
Butkus51 said...: Another swamp creature who worshipped the big wooden owl in the forests of California.; 10/18/21, 12:29 PM
LA_Bob said...: I completely agree with DLNE. We need to knock off this "pandemic" stuff for a bit and recognize Powell, the man.

An imperfect man, for sure, as are all others, but an important man who made important contributions. He was, of course, a politician with all the baggage that entails. You have to be to rise to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. That doesn't make him "bad".

Powell's career spans the disaster of Vietnam to the triumph of the Gulf War. I recall he said he nearly fainted as he watched on TV with trepidation an airman on a carrier walking toward the camera then walking away then turning to the camera and saying, "God Bless the United States of America".

Quite a turnaround from the Vietnam years. The US had its mojo back. Powell was a part of that.; 10/18/21, 12:42 PM
Drago said...: Pro-marxist pro-CRT Biden voter LLR Chuck: "...that Dr Fauci and the other real experts have been issuing all along."

How does Fauci even have time to comment at all given how busy he is and has been for years funneling US taxpayer dollars to his Chinese Communist General allies in their bio-warfare/bio-weaponization gain of function development and then lying to the US public about that?; 10/18/21, 12:43 PM
Drago said...: Pro-marxist pro-CRT Biden voter LLR Chuck: "...the sad and terribly unfortunate death of General Powell..."

What, specifically, makes the death of this 84 year old particularly "unfortunate"?

You have repeatedly laughed and laughed at the deaths of other Americans over the last 5 years and especially over the last 18 months so there must be something qualitatively different about this death for you to lament so.

Spoiler: I'm guessing its because Powell is a proud democratical, like you, and that alone accounts for the difference.; 10/18/21, 12:46 PM
Drago said...: Pro-marxist pro-CRT Biden voter LLR Chuck: "It is necessary to public health for everyone to get vaccinated regardless of weird quirky notions of personal liberty."

Just. Let. That. One. Sink. In.

The "conservative case for unrestrained governmental power over every aspect of life and destruction of individual rights"

No doubt to be followed up by another girly rhetorical slapfight between Tom Nichols and Jonah Goldberg (of the renowned Goucher college) over whether or not a hot dog is actually a sandwich.; 10/18/21, 12:50 PM
Drago said...: Antifa now calling for stricter government action re: COVID lockdowns/restrictions/firing of employees, etc.

Who else is calling for that?

Pro-marxist pro-CRT Biden voter LLR Chuck.

I've got to hand it to Chuck. His political and policy alignment with the far left for the last 5 years remains at a pitch perfect 100%.

To "conserve conservatism", doncha know!; 10/18/21, 1:21 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: Chuck,

So . . . you are blaming Gen. Powell's death on whoever gave COVID to him? Who is presumably some unvaccinated hick who nonetheless was allowed to get close to the 84-year-old man we're talking about? I find this not quite thought through, don't you know.

As for "weird quirky notions of personal liberty," it is interesting how rapidly you ditch them here. I had an idea that in the American tradition they were a bit more salient than that. But it seems that you, at least, would trade those "weird, quirky notions" for a modicum of safety, which unfortunately isn't always there in the end anyway. Gen. Powell, I'd wager, was about as well looked after as anyone can well be in this country or any other, and this bug apparently got him anyway (though, frankly, since the man was suffering from cancer, the "of/with" distinction ought to be observed).; 10/18/21, 1:22 PM
Christy said...: R.I.P. Colin Powell. I liked and respected the man and was devastated when I realized he wasn't perfect.

FWIW, I have Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, have always been encouraged to get my flu and pneumonia shots, to get the Covid
vaccine, but NOT to get the shingles shot. I guess there are vaccines and then there are vaccines. But it does point up how important it is to fully test all vaccines.; 10/18/21, 1:27 PM
Amadeus 48 said...: With? or Of?

I am pretty sure that if I had a blood condition (like multiple myeloma) that reduces the body's ability to fight infections, I would not want to get Covid-19.; 10/18/21, 1:30 PM
cubanbob said...: Chuck what would you have said if he died with the flu or RSV instead of with Covid? Those viruses are out throughout the country and kill people just as well. Or if Powell's immediate cause of death was hospital born sepsis due to failure to maintain the proper levels of sterility? You have this confusion that Covid vaccines provide one hundred percent sterilizing immunity when they don't. They will protect otherwise relatively healthy people from from the more severe effects of the disease. Any virus that has non human host reservoirs will never be fully eradicated. In case you haven't understood, Powell was immunocompromised and almost any viral or bacterial infection could have also killed him. In the meantime go get your flu shot and your pneumonia shot.; 10/18/21, 1:34 PM
cubanbob said...: Christy the shingles vaccine is live but attenuated chickenpox virus vaccine. That is why you should NOT get it. The others are not live virus or bacteria vaccines.; 10/18/21, 1:43 PM
Drago said...: LA_Bob: "Quite a turnaround from the Vietnam years. The US had its mojo back. Powell was a part of that."

Not really. The biggest factor in the military regaining its "mojo" as you put it, was ditching the draft. An all volunteer force that didnt have to deal with hypothetical loser draftees, such as anti-american types like LLR Chuck, guaranteed greater success.

Particularly in those parts of the services that are at the tip of the spear.; 10/18/21, 1:46 PM
rcocean said...: The covid-19 vaccines are highly effective, but less than 100% effective. As a result, some people die of covid-19 even though they're fully vaccinated.

Yes, especially when they are 84 and have a compromised immune system. I'm beginning to wonder if people understand old age, death, and statistics. Right now, the median age of death is 84-85. That means 1/2 the people 62, will die BEFORE they are 84-85.

Nobody lives forever. I don't know how many people get to 90, but I doubt its more than 20% of people aged 62. If you make it to 80, chances are you're going to be dead by 90.; 10/18/21, 1:46 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: He could have been president, but, he didn't have the fire in the belly.; 10/18/21, 1:48 PM
Drago said...: I will give Colin Powell this: unlike the dems/left/LLR-lefties, he would not have allowed American hostages to be taken in Afghanistan the way Biden's Earpiece and his lefty/LLR-lefty minions did.; 10/18/21, 2:08 PM
Chuck said...: The idiocy of this commentariat is so pervasive, so multilayered and so profound, I think that the first thing I want to do is to hold up the example of FNC anchor John Roberts. Roberts honed his reporting skills in journalism’s big leagues, mostly at CBS, before jumping to Fox. And while FNC’s news coverage of the Trump Administration was mostly laughable, I thought that Roberts was a credible White House correspondent. Now he’s in some other space-filling role at Fox.

As such, he sent an ill-conceived Tweet upon hearing the news of Powell’s death. He jumped to the FoxNewsy conclusion that, “Oh, we’re just asking questions...”

Like most of the dumbass comments above.

The difference with Roberts was that he is a smart guy, and someone whose credibility matters to his employer as well as himself, and so (presumably upon finding out about General Powell’s complicating myeloma) he quickly deleted the Tweet.

But the internet doesn’t forget; here is the price Roberts (unlike many of you, with no one much caring what you write) is paying for his reckless jump to a stupid conclusion today:

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/foxs-john-roberts-slammed-for-deleted-tweet-claiming-death-of-colin-powell-raises-new-concerns-about-vaccines/; 10/18/21, 2:19 PM
Howard said...: Pottery barn rules; 10/18/21, 2:21 PM
XWL said...: Regarding the notion that maybe a similar conflation of deaths from other causes happened in the Spanish Flu epidemic, heavy use of aspirin may have contributed to a significant degree.

(and was pushed by, and profited a major pharma company)

This potential malpractice wasn't seriously investigated until 2009, and the the lessons that could have been applied to future pandemics seems ignored.

Regarding Powell, I choose to remember him thusly.; 10/18/21, 2:23 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: cubanbob, I actually want the shingles vaccine, but although it's "available" in OR past age 50, Kaiser isn't supplying it until 55. So, almost exactly a year to go yet.

Shingles is super-nasty; my husband's sister had it (she was immunocompromised, btw) and it was horrifically painful. I'm hoping to avoid it.; 10/18/21, 2:33 PM
Chuck said...: Honestly, this comments page reminds me of one of the anniversaries of September 11, when I posted this comment:
"I would like to extend my best wishes to all, even the haters and losers, on this special date, September 11th."

That was it; I posted it without any other context or explanation. I just waited to see what happened. And of course it was fantastic. Amazing attacks on me for my insensitivity, and inhumanity and ignorance. Really great, for a while. Until one semi-literate commenter recalled (as I had, which inspired my posting) that my comment was a 100% quote of a Donald Trump tweet from September 11 of 2015. I had just quoted Trump without saying so, to see how these readers would think about the words if they came from me instead of PDJT.

https://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/donald-trump-9-11-sept-11-tweet-disappears-213546; 10/18/21, 2:38 PM
rehajm said...: Giancarlo Sopo
@GiancarloSopo
·
2h
Looking at the coverage of the deaths of:

Colin Powell
Fidel Castro
Hugo Chavez
Qasem Soleimani

Guess whose obituary had the most unflattering headline?; 10/18/21, 2:43 PM
Richard said...: So being eighty four, having multiple myeloma and Parkinsons are complications of Covid. Who knew?; 10/18/21, 2:51 PM
Lars Porsena said...: I guess his blood is on Biden's hands. This being Biden's watch and all.; 10/18/21, 3:53 PM
Readering said...: Not on point, but I see several advising against shingles shots. Old fashioned inertia has kept me from getting them but what are the arguments?; 10/18/21, 3:54 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: “I am pretty sure that if I had a blood condition (like multiple myeloma) that reduces the body's ability to fight infections, I would not want to get Covid-19.”

I wouldn’t either. The multiple myeloma indicates a seriously compromised immune system. There is some evidence that the COVID-19 vaccines also compromise immune systems. And, yes, the cytokine storm that is often the killer with COVID-19 is an immune system response. Maybe these vaccines crash some immune system components that get overactive in the cytokine storms. But maybe they don’t play well together. We don’t know.

Here is the problem: so much of what we hear about the efficacy and safety of these vaccines appears more political than medical. Despite hundreds of millions of dosages given worldwide, we really don’t know how safe the vaccines are. The original control groups were breached fairly early, so that those in them could get vaccinated. There is a lot of anecdotal evidence of numerous significant side effects, but are apparently often ignored in the recording system, based on only recording possible side effects starting two weeks after the second hab, when it appears that many occurs w/I 72 hours of such, or even after the first jab. Because of the very possible heart issues (and a Delya pilot falling over dead in the cockpit soon after being vaccinated) one Army flight surgeon has grounded all of her vaccinated flight crews until their hearts can be checked by MRI. She worried about killing 20 people if a pilot were to drop dead behind the controls, so no surprise that a lot of commercial airline pilots are similarly worried -except that they could kill hundreds if they dropped dead behind the controls at an inconvenient time.

We pretty much know that it is mostly political when the far better natural immunity is ignored in vaccination mandates, or when they are demanding that kids, most facing negligible danger from the virus, be vaccinated and/or masked. Both appear to be more dangerous to their health than the virus itself. Doesn’t matter to the governmental bureaucrats. We don’t know if the vaccines are actually that safe, despite all of the assurances we get. Those trusting in the governmental bureaucrats, and those they fund, just think that they do. Maybe they are right. But, for me, they haven’t come close to earning my trust.

Disclose: I got vaccinated as early as I could (shots 2/15 and 3/15),at least partly to see a friend of mine who turned 100 last week. But right now I am inclined to skip a booster.; 10/18/21, 3:54 PM
Michael K said...: When people seem confused about this and suggest that getting vaccinated is pointless because it's less than 100% effective, I assume they're also confused about condoms and think it's pointless to ever use a condom.

How about 50%? Would you rely on condoms that fail 50% of the time ? The numbers are approaching 50%.; 10/18/21, 3:56 PM
rehajm said...: Scott Adams
@ScottAdamsSays
·
8h
Watch social media today to discover how many people are just learning that an 84-year old who is fully vaccinated still has COVID-19 risks.

If they are learning they aren’t posting about it. It’s more of a cognitive dissonance reaction…; 10/18/21, 4:15 PM
Jim at said...: Good thing he was vaccinated or else it could've been worse.; 10/18/21, 4:28 PM
Valentine Smith said...: I am still convinced the ChiComs concocted this virus to target and kill off as much of their elderly population as possible. And any collateral damage is all to the good.; 10/18/21, 4:31 PM
Drago said...: cubanbob: "Chuck what would you have said if he died with the flu or RSV instead of with Covid?"

He would have accused Trump of murder and demanded the District Attorney call Trump before a Grand Jury and, while there, also get to the bottom of the Great Pecan Pie Caper.; 10/18/21, 4:33 PM
Chuck said...: And of course, as to the life of General Powell, apart from his final illness, let’s remember how it is that every living President can genuinely praise Powell’s service and be grateful for their personal relationships with him. We’re seeing that in a variety of personalized public statements.

That is, every living President except one.; 10/18/21, 5:12 PM
Inga said...: “OMFG; as usual, I underestimated the time it would take this blog’s commenters to go from zero-to-stupid.

It is fantastic to behold; the level of vaccine idiocy here.”

Nothing has changed.

‘When people seem confused about this and suggest that getting vaccinated is pointless because it's less than 100% effective, I assume they're also confused about condoms and think it's pointless to ever use a condom.

Oh wait, what's that you say? You know that condoms are very effective and worth using even though they're less than 100% effective? Great! Then you can also understand that getting vaccinated is worth it because it has the power to prevent most covid-19 deaths. And the vaccines would prevent even more covid-19 deaths if everyone were fully vaccinated.”

Hear, hear, thanks for a logical comment mixed in this thread I won’t describe.; 10/18/21, 5:13 PM
Inga said...: ‘In case you haven't understood, Powell was immunocompromised and almost any viral or bacterial infection could have also killed him. In the meantime go get your flu shot and your pneumonia shot.”

Exactly right.; 10/18/21, 5:26 PM
Balfegor said...: The morning had been golden; the noontide was bronze; and the evening lead. But all were solid, and each was polished till it shone after its fashion.; 10/18/21, 6:07 PM
Drago said...: Pro-marxist pro-CRT Biden voter LLR Chuck: "The difference with Roberts was that he is a smart guy, and someone whose credibility matters..."

Said the #StrongDefender of...(wait for it) ... (wait for it) .... Brian Stelter and Rachel Maddow!

Our fully exposed FakeCon LLR Chuck literally went to bat for Brian Stelter this very day and then lectures on "credbility"!

Feel free to point and laugh.; 10/18/21, 6:53 PM
Chris Lopes said...: "When in fact, the sad and terribly unfortunate death of General Powell only serves to illustrate the warnings that Dr Fauci and the other real experts have been issuing all along."

The term unfalsifiable hypothesis comes to mind.; 10/18/21, 6:57 PM
Christy said...: @cubanbob, thanks for explaining.; 10/18/21, 7:01 PM
Chris Lopes said...: "Chuck said...
And of course, as to the life of General Powell, apart from his final illness, let’s remember how it is that every living President can genuinely praise Powell’s service and be grateful for their personal relationships with him. We’re seeing that in a variety of personalized public statements."

And in most cases that praise is deserved. On the other hand, it was he who sold the weapons of mass destruction argument for invading Iraq, and it was his undersecretary (Richard Armitage) who blew Valery Plame's cover. So no, I am not ready to make him Saint Colin just yet. And you can hardly blame Trump for not praising him as his (Trump's) presidential dick is the only one Powell refused to suck.; 10/18/21, 7:10 PM
M Jordan said...: I wonder if he has found WMD in wherever he is now. Maybe he can ask Saddam.

What? Too soon?; 10/18/21, 7:33 PM
rcocean said...: "He could have been president, but, he didn't have the fire in the belly."

And thank God for that.; 10/18/21, 8:01 PM
grog said...: "When people seem confused about this and suggest that getting vaccinated is pointless because it's less than 100% effective, I assume they're also confused about condoms and think it's pointless to ever use a condom."

Why would you assume that? Do you really think the two are equivalents?

"Oh wait, what's that you say? You know that condoms are very effective and worth using even though they're less than 100% effective? Great! Then you can also understand that getting vaccinated is worth it because it has the power to prevent most covid-19 deaths. And the vaccines would prevent even more covid-19 deaths if everyone were fully vaccinated.”

To the best of my knowledge, condoms do not have the possible repercussions (like death) that the COVID vaccines have...

...except for perhaps if your teenage girlfriend's father finds out that you have a condom in your pocket/wallet, in which case that could prove quite deadly...; 10/18/21, 8:10 PM
doctrev said...: Yes, I'm sure George the Lesser is profoundly grateful that Powell didn't humiliate him and completely destroy his presidency with a resignation. That would have taken actual courage.

We know the Obamas and the Bushes are part of the same team- it's why we're happy to shovel the whole rotten roster into their graves. Meanwhile, enjoy some Jimmy Dore- War Criminals Stick Together.

https://twitter.com/jimmy_dore/status/1450248161197318145; 10/18/21, 8:12 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: “So being eighty four, having multiple myeloma and Parkinsons are complications of Covid. Who knew?”

Not complications really, but rather comorbidities.; 10/18/21, 8:13 PM
doctrev said...: I'm mildly disappointed in Inga: I imagined that medical ethics would at least leave you silent on the not-vax. Now that even the least observant can see MORE pandemic cases during a period in which vaccines exist, the case for "99% efficacy" has never been weaker. Particularly with high-profile cases like Powell's, and especially when cases of mysterious heart disease are frantically swept under the rug. No matter your talent or diligence as a nurse, if you can't be honest with your patients they'll happily string you up. How fortunate you're retired.

I'd be more amused by the fact you think a vaccine focused on a specific protein would be less threatened by mutations than traditional attenuated or inactivated vaccines: but I never believed you were competent to understand the science.; 10/18/21, 8:32 PM
Narr said...: IMO Powell was a fairly decent guy, but you can only be decent to a certain point if you want to succeed in politics.

I'd say he made three big mistakes. 1) he let himself be the shill for the Bush-Cheney neocon cabal of chickenhawk wogsmiters. 2) he got old. 3) he got leukemia.

Ok 4) he got COVID.; 10/18/21, 8:42 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: Yeah, the condoms/AIDS comparison to vaccine/COVID is pretty lame. Because of cases like this one. Bruce Hayden, among others, has been pointing out over and over that the mRNA vaccines aren't conventional vaccines, "sterilizing" vaccines. For every other illness, being vaccinated basically means being risk-free for reinfection for a long, long time. That is not the case with the COVID remedies. "Breakthrough" cases are said to be a tiny fraction of all cases, and indeed they seem to be; but a tiny fraction here is still a lot of people.

IMO the single most important question I want to see answered is whether natural immunity (i.e., having had COVID) is stronger or weaker than vaccine immunity. All the MSM coverage says that the vaccines are better than having had the disease and survived it. But this doesn't make sense, given what we know about other diseases and other vaccines, and at this point we have, at minimum, a population in the high tens of millions that has had COVID and survived it. It's ridiculous that we have no idea whether these people are protected or not.; 10/18/21, 9:07 PM
Drago said...: Chris Lopes: "And in most cases that praise is deserved. On the other hand, it was he who sold the weapons of mass destruction argument for invading Iraq, and it was his undersecretary (Richard Armitage) who blew Valery Plame's cover."

And we know that Powell himself knew right away that it was his State Dept flunky Armitage who gave away the Plame info to Robert Novak....and Powell kept his establishment mouth shut while Scooter Libby was railroaded by Andy McCarthy's beloved and respectful and above reproach DOJ.

Yeah, that Powell. What a "stand up" guy..........; 10/18/21, 9:12 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: Readering,

I think one person here has reported being advised not to get the shingles vaccine; a second explained why; and then I chimed in to express my bummedness that I can't get it yet. The general argument is that the shingles vaccine involves live, but weakened or attenuated chickenpox, and that might be dangerous if you are immunocompromised. It's supposed to jerk your immune response into gear, but if said response itself is greatly weakened, it might backfire.; 10/18/21, 9:12 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: I detest analogies most of the time.

Vaccine mandates are creepy - big government creepy. Especially when the government is forcing people already recovered from covid, who have natural immunity, to get the jab. creepy creepy creepy. on top of that you have the Potemkin fraud named Joe Biden and his band of corruptocrats insulting everyone. Yeah - insulting and threatening everyone is a great way to encourage behavior.; 10/18/21, 9:22 PM
LA_Bob said...: doctrev, nice comment.; 10/18/21, 9:29 PM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: Being intimately familiar with Multiple Myeloma I read the news of Powell passing quite closely. Our resident right-leaning fascist was delighted to see the focus on the fact Powell was fully vaccinated so he could pounce (even fake republicans pounce of course) on those comments and mock them. Always the compassionate asshole our LLR is! But it bears repeating: HE WAS FULLY VACCINATED and it did not help him. It might have hurt him even. Our oncologist said the same: a vaccine may not work well because T-cell memory that gives our immune system lasting immunity beyond the initial antibody boost is the very same sub-system damaged by MGUS, the precursor condition. Once one has Multiple Myeloma the only effective treatment is chemotherapy. But in this stage, in which we wait and watch and test frequently to see what the numbers show, there is no treatment. But the vaccine can cause clotting issues. Yet few of the rigid COVID diktats allow for an opt out for this condition. So my take on Powell is that intelligent people should look at him and ask why was an immunocompromised 80-something man forced into a risky vaccination that offered no hope of lasting immunity? If America had chosen the Swedish fork in the road it’s very possible the first wave of COVID would have been the only wave and children and other low risk people would have had and recovered with strong lasting natural immunity further protecting the weak and vulnerable. Instead almost 60% were talked into or forced into a half-assed rushed vaccine that doesn’t even “stop the spread.”

So I blame Fauci and the creepy hacks at FDA and CDC for all those mistakes and Powell’s death. MM was going to kill him eventually but bad COVID policy hastened his end.; 10/18/21, 10:05 PM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: Yes Inga the vaccines are like condoms, condoms with several pinholes in them.; 10/18/21, 10:07 PM
Bunkypotatohead said...: Maybe it was the vaccine that killed him.; 10/18/21, 10:22 PM
Drago said...: doctrev: "I'm mildly disappointed in Inga: I imagined that medical ethics would at least leave you silent on the not-vax."

Inga is also the buffoon who spent weeks claiming Trump "abandoned our Kurdish allies" and would get them all killed (Spoiler: He didn't, and they didn't, and it was only 50 troops anyway that were simply moved away from being in between warring factions).

Meanwhile, Biden abandons men, women and children and allies in Afghanistan and Inga is........silent.

In other words, she's just another LLR Chuck.; 10/18/21, 10:56 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: “That is not the case with the COVID remedies. "Breakthrough" cases are said to be a tiny fraction of all cases, and indeed they seem to be; but a tiny fraction here is still a lot of people.”

It very much appears that Breakthrough cases are significant, and, indeed, appear to be quite common. We have known this since all the vaccinated deep kissing infections resulting from the P Town festivities. We have states now where there are more vaccine Breakthrough cases than other types of cases. That doesn’t mean that you are more likely to get infected after having been vaccinated, but it still requires that a large percentage of those having been vaccinated being capable of being infected.

“ IMO the single most important question I want to see answered is whether natural immunity (i.e., having had COVID) is stronger or weaker than vaccine immunity. All the MSM coverage says that the vaccines are better than having had the disease and survived it. But this doesn't make sense, given what we know about other diseases and other vaccines, and at this point we have, at minimum, a population in the high tens of millions that has had COVID and survived it. It's ridiculous that we have no idea whether these people are protected or not”

We don’t “know” because they don’t want us to know, which means that we really do know - that natural immunity is much more effective than vaccinated immunity. As, it logically would be. Think about it for a minute - if you catch the virus and survive it, it is because your body’s immune system has figured out how to successfully fight the virus and win. That will likely give you decent immunity for quite some time, thanks to your immune system’s several level memory function. When your body discovers proteins from the virus, it will remember them, and generate the appropriate responses to combat the virus. But with the vaccines, only a couple proteins from the virus’ spike are recognized (and not most of them) and the immune system memory is never really triggered. How is that going to ever be more effective than natural immunity? I don’t see how it possibly could be.; 10/19/21, 2:41 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: "Newsom is now asking a Court of Appeals to remove the vaccine mandate for a union that gave him $1.75 million."

REally?; 10/19/21, 7:49 AM
Lurker21 said...: Biden said "This is a guy, and we talk about it, who had teachers who looked at this African American kid and said, “You can do anything."

I'm pretty sure they didn't say "African-American" and they may not have said anything of the kind, but Powell's West Indian identity gets left out of the picture. Obviously, Powell was Black (though it's hard to see that in photos of Powell with Bush or Biden), but in him our two favorite stories, the Black narrative and the son of immigrants narrative don't necessarily reinforce each other. I understand that he does have a place in African-American (and American history), but the descendant of Sir Eyre Coote doesn't necessarily fit into mainstream African-American life much better than Barack Obama or Kamala Harris.

If you are in your eighties and have a compromised immune system you should worry more about getting COVID than about getting the shot. Same thing with overweight radio talk show hosts: that's not the hill you want to die on.; 10/19/21, 8:56 AM
TheOne Who Is Not Obeyed said...: Wasn't Powell one of the men who decided Desert Storm had to stop before Schwarzkopf's troops destroyed Hussein's Revolutionary Guard? That one bad decision led to everything that happened after, including the 2003 invasion of Iraq that Powell had to sell to the UN.; 10/19/21, 12:09 PM
Drago said...: TheOne Who Is Not Obeyed: "Wasn't Powell one of the men who decided Desert Storm had to stop before Schwarzkopf's troops destroyed Hussein's Revolutionary Guard?"

Yes.; 10/19/21, 2:29 PM
Stephen St. Onge said...: John Althouse Cohen said...
The covid-19 vaccines are highly effective, but less than 100% effective.

And why is that? Most vaccines, the effect may wear off eventually, but shortly after receiving it, you are immune to the disease?

Why does this vaccine not give immunity?; 10/19/21, 3:35 PM
Narayanan said...: TheOne Who Is Not Obeyed said...
Wasn't Powell one of the men who decided Desert Storm had to stop before Schwarzkopf's troops destroyed Hussein's Revolutionary Guard? That one bad decision led to everything that happened after, including the 2003 invasion of Iraq that Powell had to sell to the UN.
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that is quite accurate on the saying : Generals are always figting the last war : so why not turn that into job continuity and security!; 10/19/21, 4:17 PM