Thinking Clearly about “Long COVID” Confusion

September 20, 2021 By Jennifer Fitz

This is a rebuttal of Michael Fumento’s “The Myth of ‘Long COVID'” at The American Spectator. Per his author bio, he’s a guy who studies the phenomenon of epidemic hysterias; I absolutely agree that there exist some documented cases of localized symptom-outbreaks that fit that definition, so I don’t categorically dismiss the possibility. I further agree that there is a cultural aspect to disease-naming and disease-categorizing. Finally, as this lengthy essay will affirm, I agree that there is no doubt a... Read more

Thinking About Images of Mary

September 19, 2021 By Jennifer Fitz

In my goofing off today: “The First Instagram Filter” from Jeff Miller at The Curt Jester. He jokes about the popular meme that depicts the Shroud of Turin and the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe as the original selfies, saying, “Today I realized Mary used the first Instagram filter with ‘indigenous women’ mode.” And of course that’s one point of view. As Catholics we’re free to not believe in the miraculous nature of either image. Approved apparitions and miracles... Read more

The Other Religious Objection to the Vaccine Mandate

September 17, 2021 By Jennifer Fitz

Crux reports on a group of Christian healthcare workers fighting New York’s COVID vaccine mandate because there is no religious exemption. The article observes, as others have elsewhere in this debate (including some friends whose opinions I value greatly), that multiple states don’t offer religious exemptions for vaccination in general, and that this lack of such protection has been held up in court. Well, okay, there we are. And yet . . . I’m still an American of a certain... Read more

What You’re Doing When You Vaccine-Shame Priests, and What to do Instead

September 14, 2021 By Jennifer Fitz

At Catholic Vote this morning: “Bishop Orders Unvaccinated Priests Not to Minister to the Sick.” I’m not going to comment on the details of that case, which others know far more about than I ever will. What I want to discuss is the concept in general, and why it deserves serious scrutiny. To do that though, let me tell you about my parish priest. Who are we talking about when we say “unvaccinated priests”? I have no idea whether my... Read more

The Moral Case Against Biden’s Vaccine Mandate

September 13, 2021 By Jennifer Fitz

My daughters’ friend lost her father to COVID this week. 50-something, father of five children, two teens still at home . . . I am very aware of how serious this disease is. I have been urging people to take this seriously since it first came on the radar in early 2020, I have supported a wide range of public policy initiatives to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, and I am in favor of vaccination. I am myself vaccinated. My... Read more

Gosh, Jen, How do You Really Feel About the Federal Vaccine Mandate?

September 10, 2021 By Jennifer Fitz

Three things wrong with the announced COVID vaccine mandate, and a fourth I despise: No recognition that individuals who’ve already had COVID have immunity. No recognition that individuals who are vaccinated can still be infected and contagious. No recognition that the vaccines work. Seriously, y’all: I am fully vaccinated. I don’t need you to be vaccinated in order for me to be protected from serious disease.* The announced mandates are a punitive, coercive measure that is fake public health policy. It completely ignores the... Read more

Not a Fitness Blog, but . . .

September 6, 2021 By Jennifer Fitz

PSA and then a personal update at the bottom, hope you are enjoying the holiday weekend. So here’s an interesting study on blood sugar (glucose) levels and COVID outcomes. Finding: We conclude that elevation in glucose levels can facilitate the progression of the disease through multiple mechanisms and can explain much of the differences in disease severity seen across the population. Super good news, if it holds up to further scrutiny, because getting your blood sugar down is much more... Read more

Hyperventilating Over Gender Roles – And Harming Women While We’re at It

August 12, 2021 By Jennifer Fitz

Gender Problems in Medieval Finland? In my goofing off today someone pointed me towards this study, “A Woman with a Sword? – Weapon Grave at Suontaka Vesitorninmäki, Finland”. The actual research is pretty interesting, if you can get past the tiresome obsession with desperate searches for ancient cultures that affirm contemporary gender ideology. The authors hypothesize the interred individual may have had Klinefelter syndrome. If you’d like to think up a genetic hypothesis of your own, here’s Wikimedia’s list of... Read more

Bacon Famine 2022?

August 12, 2021 By Jennifer Fitz

Those of us who lean conservative have a knee-jerk tendency to ask, “Can anything good come out of California?” Hence a recent spate of gloating over the prospect of that state waking up New Year’s Day 2022 to a bleak, bacon-less dystopia caused by 2018’s Proposition 12 ballot initiative. If you aren’t familiar with the law, here are three articles that provide varying perspectives. If you only have time to read one, go with the piece from Civil Eats, as... Read more

Points of View on COVID Policy Making

July 30, 2021 By Jennifer Fitz

Domenico and Melanie Bettinelli are high on my shortlist of people whose opinions I respect immensely, so I wanted to comment on Dom’s post today, “I Will Not Go Underground.” He provides important background to his comments: We have followed the general recommendations for keeping us safe from the coronavirus COVID-19: wearing masks in public before a vaccination, hand sanitizer, limiting trips out, and so on. In April of this year, Melanie and I got our vaccinations as soon as... Read more