The President's Daily Brief - November 23rd, 2022. Tony Fauci to Retire, Leaves Behind More COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation on His Way Out

Episode Date: November 23, 2022

It’s November 23rd. You’re listening to the President’s Daily Brief. Your morning intel starts now. ------ A good day to you, ladies and gentlemen. I’ve got five briefs for you this morning that are shaping America — and the world. First, Dr. Tony Fauci delivered his final remarks at the White House before retirement, talking about COVID-19 booster shots. I’ll share what he said, to include some misinformation about COVID vaccines.  Second, some sobering news out of Los Angeles. That city is now one of the leading distribution centers for Chinese and Mexican fentanyl. Third, some good news out of California. A new-clear power plant just got a second life with a billion-dollar investment. Fourth, the wildfire season is officially over in the Western United States. I’ll explain why it was such a good year for landowners and loggers alike. Finally, more kids are graduating high school from West Virginia and Alabama, which both had struggled for years. I’ll share why it’s gotten better. And we later close out the podcast with some listeners who are upset with me / for sometimes calling solar and wind power Dirty Green Energy. I have a response. ------ Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of the President's Daily Brief. Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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I'm your host and former CIA officer Brian Dean Wright. Your morning intel starts now. A good day to you, ladies and gentlemen. I've got five briefs for you this morning that are shaping America and the world. First, Dr. Tony Fauci delivered his final remarks to the White House before retirement, talking about COVID-19 booster shots. I'll share with you what he said to include some misinformation about those COVID vaccines. Second, some sobering news out of Los Angeles.

That city is now one of the leading distribution centers for Chinese and Mexican fentanyl. Third, some good news out of California. A nuclear power plant just got a second life with a billion dollar investment. Fourth, the wildfire season is officially over in the western United States. I'll explain why it was such a good year for landowners and loggers alike. Finally, more kids are graduating high school from West Virginia and Alabama. both of which had struggled for years. I'll explain why it's gotten better. And we later close out the podcast with some listeners who are upset with me for sometimes calling solar and

wind power, dirty green energy. I've got a response. But before we get to that, we got to get started with this. Dr. Tony Fauci, the Biden administration's chief COVID-19 officer, well, he delivered what are likely to be his final comments yesterday at the White House. Fauci plans on retiring in the coming months, and this was his last scheduled time at the White House to speak. So during those final remarks, he delivered a plea for Americans to get updated booster shots against COVID-19, explaining that, quote, immunity and protection from previous shots wanes over time, end quote. So he explained, you might need to get boosted a third, fourth, or even fifth time. He added that, quote, as a physician, it pains me that people,

aren't getting boosted because I don't want to see anybody getting infected, sick or die, which of course suggests that vaccines can prevent infection from COVID-19, and that's not true. We have known that now for a while. By the way, Fauci was trying to encourage folks to get boosted because the latest data show that Americans simply aren't doing it. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 31 million Americans have been boosted. That's despite the U.S. government purchasing 170 million doses that actually are supposed to work quite well against the latest COVID-19 variants. Yet, there's some

studies that doubt that that's even true. For instance, data from Columbia University and Harvard University suggest that the old vaccines perform just as well as the new. But data from Pfizer and Moderna say, no, actually the new ones are much better. Well, we're going to. We're going. Regardless, public health officials are frustrated that more people aren't getting the latest boosters, saying it's probably due to COVID fatigue. But according to the Department of Health and Human Services, it's actually because there's not enough money from Congress to promote the vaccines. Although that same department confirmed yesterday that they are running ads on radio stations, especially in rural areas and on social media too, like Facebook and Twitter and Snapchat.

but when asked how much money they're spending on promotion, the Biden administration refused to answer. That's according to the Wall Street Journal. So folks, I've got no real analysis to offer you on this one, although I would say that by now, the American people are pretty well informed about COVID-19 risks and, of course, the benefits of and problems with vaccination. For better or worse, you all have made your choice. You are largely just not interested in getting boosted.

So apologies to Mr. Fauci, but you're making it pretty clear, your body, your risk, your choice. And with that, we move on to our second brief of the morning. A sobering update on America's battle against fentanyl, which as PDB listeners know, is the drug that originates in China, gets manufactured in Mexico by their cartels, and then sold in the United States. And it's that distribution network in the U.S. that the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice spoke about yesterday, saying that Mexican cartels have turned the city of Los Angeles into the nation's fentanyl distribution hub.

A DHS official said that in L.A. County, his office is on track to seize double the amount of fentanyl this year than he seized in the past four years combined. And that's because fentanyl is becoming increasingly cheap to manufacture, about 13 cents a pill. And it's being disguised as other drugs like oxy-gris. codone. So users think that they're getting high with one pill, but in fact, it's something far more deadly. And as PDB listeners know, that helps explain why we are seeing a record number of deaths from

this drug. Of the 107,000 or so deadly overdoses last year, most of them, over 70,000 were from fentanyl. With that, ladies and gentlemen, let's take a quick break. And when we come back, I've got three more critical pieces of news for you. All good news, actually. We'll be right back. Exema is unpredictable. But you can flare less with ebbglis. A once-monthly treatment for moderate

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medicine used to treat adults and children 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 88 pounds or 40 kilograms with moderate to severe eczema. Also called atopic dermatitis that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin or topicals or who cannot use topical topical topical cortic steroids. Don't use if you're allergic to ebbglis. Allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. Eye problems can occur. Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems. You should not receive a live vaccine when treated with ebbglis. Before starting ebbglis, tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. Ask your doctor about Ebglis and visit Ebglis.com or call 1800 LilyRX or 1800 545-5979.

Kayak gets my flight, hotel, and rental car right, so I can tune out travel advice that's just plain wrong. Bro, Skycoin, way better than points. Never fly during a Scorpio full moon. Just tell the manager you'll sue. Instant room upgrade. Stop taking bad travel advice. Start comparing hundreds of sites with kayak and get your trip. Right. Kayak. Got that right. Welcome back to the PDB. I've got three more critical pieces of news for you this morning. First up, some good news for America's supply of reliable energy. The Biden administration has granted a little over $1 billion to the nuclear power plant in Diablo Canyon, California. Now, it was slated to shut down in 2025, largely because of demands by environmentalists and the cost of running that facility. But with these new funds,

it'll remain open for at least another five years, probably much longer. Now, the reason, folks, that this story is so important for not just California, but the entire nation, is that it is a very clear statement that nuclear energy will continue to be an important part of our energy mix. And that's good, because it's both reliable and for folks worried about climate change, it produces 100% carbon-free energy. Now, to be fair, critics highlight possible nuclear contamination in the event of a natural disaster or accident. And while that's fair to highlight and study, it's also true that according to the Department of Energy, America has safely operated 92 nuclear reactors for decades, resulting in the production of about 50%

of the country's energy and no accidents. So all in all, this is pretty good news that this nuclear plant in California was saved from the scrap heap. And kudos to the Biden administration, at least in this case, for understanding how important nuclear power is in providing reliable energy to America's homes and businesses. And that, folks, takes us to our next brief of the morning, and we're going to stay in America's West for this one. I've got some good news, especially for my loggers and ranchers listening out there this morning. According to an assessment by the Wall Street Journal,

the wildfire season has officially ended out west, and it was far less damaging than compared to previous years. So let's talk some examples. In California, there were about 360,000 acres that burned this year, but that's compared to a five-year annual average of 2.2 million acres. In Arizona, around 160,000 acres burned this year, but that's compared to over 500,000 acres last year. Finally, in an area that covers Nevada, Utah, and parts of Idaho and Wyoming,

there were around 400,000 acres that burned this year, but that's compared to a five-year average of 1.2 million acres. The reason for this regional good news, by the way, is that we had cooler than normal temperatures in many of those states, plus some pretty well-timed rain that put those fires out when they did happen. But, of course, that doesn't mean that the many years-long drought is over in the West. According to the U.S. drought monitor, about 70% of the American West is still experiencing drought conditions,

although that's down from 91% last year at this time. One final note here. It may seem odd to say this, but having some fires out west is actually good. In fact, it's part of the natural ecosystem. Forest fires and wildland fires are mother nature's way of clearing out underbrush and noxious weeds and giving new life to soil. And that's largely what happened this year. But when we humans drop ourselves into those fires and put them out quickly and year after year, well, what happens is that more brush and weeds build up.

And eventually, they will burn. And when they do, there's so much old material built up that the fires burn much hotter and they move much faster. And that leaves trees and their natural protective bark more vulnerable to heat and the flames. The soil suffers too. it gets scalded by the much hotter temperatures. Anyway, I'm simplifying this issue here, and I probably could do a big brief on this,

how our federal forest policies have these unintended consequences, and how that leaves a terrible cost to our environment, wild animals, and the logging families and communities out west. And, you know, maybe I should do that brief, although I would have to divulge that my father logs in Oregon, and I probably would be a bit biased. on that brief, but we'll see. More to come. And that takes us to our last brief this morning, some good news in the world of education with data from West Virginia and Alabama on how to help

our most vulnerable kids. As any parent knows, graduating our children from high school is a really important goal. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, high school dropouts earn just under half of the national average in terms of salary as compared to high school graduates. Plus, there are some pretty big personal and social costs, too, if you don't graduate from high school, especially when you're trying to build a strong family. But the point is that getting high school education is pretty critical. Now, historically, West Virginia and Alabama have struggled to do that with their kids. Data from 10 years ago showed that they both ranked in the middle to bottom of the country in terms of student graduation rates.

But now they're ranked number two and number three in the nation. So how did they do it? Well, a skeptic might first wonder if, well, maybe they're cooking the books down there, lowering standards and just graduating kids like some sort of puppy mill to get them out the door. But in an analysis done by the Washington Post and a slew of universities and think tanks, shows that that's not the case here. Instead, West Virginia and Alabama embrace what most of us call common sense. They came to understand why most students eventually dropped out. And for them,

that was usually because that those kids had fallen behind academically and just gave up. And then school administrators discovered that academic failure usually starts around the ninth grade. Finally, they also discovered that there were two early warning signals of sorts that they were about to lose these kids, which, as it turns out, is first school attendance and second grades. So once those two states came to understand that, teachers and administrators just started tracking students more closely. And when the data in the ninth grade indicated that a student was in trouble, well, they intervened. As one scholar at the Johns Hopkins University told the Washington Post, it was, quote, nothing dramatic, just lots of problem solving and small efforts that

helped put students back on track, end quote. So there's the good news. And, frankly, it's kind of common sense. Engage and intervene early and often. And that provides the rest of us a pretty simple pathway to improve schools all across the country. Now, notice, I didn't say it was easy, just modestly simple in terms of understanding the problem. Now, as ever, the devil is in the details and implementation.

But it's still nice to know that at least these two states have figured out somewhat of a solution, one that most of us can get behind, no matter your party affiliation. And with that, ladies and gentlemen, we conclude your morning brief. But I've got one more thing before I let you go. We'll be right back. This is a Bose moment. It's 10 blocks from the train to your apartment door. 10 basic, boring city blocks until the beat drops in Bose clarity.

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Service is not available in all areas. Welcome back to the PDB folks. I've got one more thing before I let you go. During yesterday's brief, we talked about countries around the world looking to form cartels for the production of key minerals. Those minerals, like nickel and lithium,

are necessary for the solar, wind, and electric vehicle revolution that we are all living in, plus, of course, the batteries to power it all. Now, sometimes on the PDB, I refer to that industry and that revolution as dirty green energy. And it's that phrase that has made some listeners pretty upset. They think that that demonstrates my bias, or it's just simply offensive. And in fact, a couple of listeners even said that they're going to stop downloading this podcast because of that phrase.

So let me give you some examples. First was Matt from Madison, Wisconsin. He said, quote, the detailed coverage of the downside to renewable energy, it's amongst the most important topics discussed on the PDB, but please stop using the term dirty green in every reference to renewable energy. It undermines your credibility. I also heard from Scott in Colorado saying, quote,

what's the other option? Are we supposed to go back to oil and gas? No. The immediate focus is curbing the global warming that we alone are to blame for. Finally, I got an email from Marjorie from somewhere in America who said, quote, over the past few months, you've talked more and more about dirty green energy. Now, to be clear, I feel it was treasonous for Joe Biden to give away our energy independence,

but I also support our prudent expansion into more forms of energy. For instance, I have solar panels and I drive an electric car. Your representation of these alternative forms of energy has been, so obviously biased and emotional that I no longer trust you to address it. Your podcast was a breath of fresh neutral air, at least for a while, and I miss that, end quote. So folks, let me respond by saying this. Thank you. I am honored that people would both disagree and take the time to write me about it. I also appreciate and welcome constructive feedback. So for instance, with Matt in Wisconsin, we had a great productive adult exchange about this very difficult issue.

So here's what I offered these folks, and it's what I would offer to you all this morning. Do me a favor. Pull up your favorite internet browser and type in solar, wind, energy, and then do a search. What results do you see? And by that, I mean, what words do you see describing solar and wind? What do the headlines say? because I know the answer, because I've spent a ton of time on this. What you'll see is an avalanche of reporting and opinion pieces,

labeling solar, wind, and batteries with words like clean or green and renewable. And, I mean, truly, it is virtually all that you will see in both mainstream press and otherwise. But, folks, that's just weird. And to understand why, let's just remind ourselves about solar panels. And what we know, what the facts tell us, not what Brian is coming up with, is that solar panels in America are largely manufactured in China, using coal power and assembled with slave labor of folks living in concentration camps. And then when a solar panel's life cycle is over,

which is about 10 to 20 years, depending on the quality of the panel, well, they get thrown into America's dumps, where they leach the chemicals that are inside of them. Now, maybe that dump is properly sealed, and maybe it's not. And if not, those chemicals leach into the groundwater. California is dealing with this issue right now, and that's according to the LA Times. There's virtually no recycling of these panels. And of course, every writer of all those articles that you saw when you did your internet search, they all know that these are truths about solar panels,

or they should know, and yet they and their editors still choose to call it clean and green and renewable. But folks, all of those terms are marketing buzzwords, the political slogans, or an expression of personal values. They have nothing to do with facts or data on either the costs of solar and wind power or how they actually work. So folks, in a media environment like the one in which we live, in which virtually no one is being honest about the environmental, political, and national security costs of these industries? Well, how does one respond? How do I, as someone who's trying to provide facts and data on this, speak to you all? Knowing that most every day, of every week, of every month, you are being told by virtually every media

outlet that this is a form of clean, renewable, or green energy. Again, when in fact, it's none of those things. Chinese solar panels made by slave labor, leaching and dumps is not clean, green, or renewable. So what I've chosen to do, perhaps incorrectly, and that's fair to critique me on this, well, I coined a phrase, dirty green energy. It's a rhetorical device to jar our attention, to cause our ears and brains to perk up and listen. It's a play on words, stealing from the phrase green energy. And for a writer and a presenter, I think it helps me more accurately frame the story and the facts when I present the hidden or unspoken or impolite costs of solar, wind, and batteries.

And to emphasize from what I have said from the beginning, the goal wasn't, isn't, nor will ever be to demand that you ought to do certain things or buy certain things or think in certain ways. Nor is the goal to say that we can't or shouldn't embrace solar or wind power or even those batteries. In fact, I've shared with you all that my family uses solar pumps on our pastures to put water in our cattle troughs. So the goal then is to remind us that all forms of energy come with pros and cons. All forms of energy are dirty. They all come with costs. But rarely, if ever, do we hear or see that said about solar, wind, or batteries. And that's suspicious to me.

Why is it that our media and our government try to just ignore that or even sweep it under the rug? Why can't we be honest and say that it's dirty? It's just weird and it tells me that something else is going on. So I'm going to keep talking about this issue and maybe some days I'll just say solar and wind. And other days maybe I'll say intermittent energy. Or maybe sometimes I'll refer to it as dirty green energy. But no matter what phrase I use, I'll continue to earnestly pull. data and facts for you. I'll continue to elevate a conversation that very few others want to.

Now, I hope you stick around for that conversation. And if you think I'm being unfair, I know that you will email me. I truly know it. And I'll tell you what, I absolutely love it when you do. Because engaging with you all has been one of the great joys of hosting this podcast. And so of all weeks to be thankful and express that to you, this is the week. And that is why I say with great sincerity, thank you. And that, ladies and gentlemen, concludes your morning brief. As always, we close out the show reminding each other of why we are here, talking about our country and our world. It's the creed of every good spy and every smart American. It's from John chapter 8, verse 32. And you shall know the truth. And the truth shall make you free. Good day.

Thank you.