The Tomorrow No One Thought Of
August 10, 2026 Leave a comment
“Roy, some ivory tower guy will say that the gun violence problem of big cities like Central City is due to the inequality between the rich and poor and to housing and education and guns and blah blah blah. But the Good Book says that evil intentions come from inside and those include stupidity. Any copper worth his salt will tell you that big city gun violence is due to someone without a lifeline playing fast and loose with forever by doing unbelievably stupid and vile things within seconds.”
After another day working the mean streets of Central City and a half hour of listening to Desk Sargent Grasso Il filosofo di strada, I was on my way to have a dinner of pork chops with my best girl. But then Sarge stops me in the parking lot. He wants me to check on a domestic disturbance in my neighborhood. Neighbors are calling the station.
I get to the Lopez place, walk up the steps, and find the door open. I poke my head inside. That was a mistake.
I come around half-conscious and curled up on the floor. Something like a sledge hammer wacked the back of my head. I look up and see a woman holding a cast iron frying pan
“Sorry, señor . . . Winder. I thought you are my soon-to-be ex.”
She had taken the ID out of my coat pocket. Does she have my service weapon? I check. It’s in the holster. I check the back of my head. There is a lump the size of an Easter egg. But no blood.
“I feel soon-to-be ex.”
Someone walks in the door and steps over me.
“Who’s this?”
“It’s policía.”
“You hit policía?”
“I thought Manny come back.”
The man helps me to my feet. I bring the swirling room up with me. He tells the woman to get some ice.
“Sorry, señor, it was mistake. No feelings hurt, OK?”
“You’ll get a raincheck on that, pal.” My knees crumble.
The guy walks me to the sofa and I lay down. He places a bag of ice behind my head.
“Why are you here, señor? The man asks this with ‘r’s rolling.
“The neighbors. The neighbors called saying there was a disturbance going on here.”
“I see. Manny was here. Matty and Manny they don’t get along.”
“Who are you?” I ask trying to remain conscious.
“Eduardo. Matty call me and say Manny outside. She throw him out last night. She no want him here.”
“I wish he’d been here a half hour ago.”
Eduardo laughed. “Yeah, me too señor.”
I open my eyes and see the frying pan woman standing at the foot of the sofa. She is holding a pocket mirror up to her face and putting on red lipstick. She looked like one of those femme fatales in the el cine negro movies my father-in-law likes to watch when he visits – a dangerous combination of beauty and vice. Her large dark eyes would bring men to their knees. Those two wrecking balls would make sure of it.
She turns away from the mirror. “Are . . . you . . . OK . . . señor . . . Winder?” Her deep voice purred out each word.
“I need to call my wife. She must be worried.”
She gives me a once over and says, “Lucky girl.”
I didn’t ask what she meant. Eduardo didn’t like what she meant. He narrowed his eyes and stared back at her.
Not with me I tell her.
A small boy peeks out from behind her wide hips and then hides again.
“Te veo hombrecito. Hi. Holá.”
The boy peeks out again. This time with a toothless smile.
¿Cómo te llamas?
He comes out from behind the woman with a hold on her silky dress.
“Miguel.”
“Mucho gusto Miguel. ¿Cuántos años tienes?
The boy holds up four fingers.
“Ah, no tan poco.” The boy let go of the dress ready to grab it again.
Eduardo helps me to my feet. My head is throbbing like a vodka toast hangover after a Polish wedding. I ask for my ID back and tell Matty to get a protection order if she feels threatened by Manny. “You don’t want to go from the frying pan into the cooler.”
What I said doesn’t make any sense to me or to them. So I say “I don’t want to come back here unless I am forced to. ¿Entiendes? Adios Miguel.”
The boy bites his lower lip and tugs on the dress as he watches me go out the door. I step out into the oppressive August heat and feel my heartbeat in my head. I call Laci and tell her I’m on my way.
~~~
Three AM Saturday morning the phone rings. It’s Sarge.
“How did things pan out for you at the Lopez place?”
“Who told you?”
“Laci. She knew you wouldn’t say anything.”
“Yeah. She’s right. I’m not down for the count if that’s what you’re wondering. And I’m guessing this isn’t a welfare check at three in the morning.”
“I need you to go over to Baila Escena over on fifth street. There’s been a shooting. One dead. CSI are headed over there now. Get going. And watch where you stick your head, Roy. Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
I hung up wondering what spirit Il filosofo di strada was imbibing at 3 AM. Was it the spirit of Hemmingway or Donne or of port wine?
Before I head over to the Zona Roja part of the city, I stop at Nighthawk Diner for a black coffee to go. Max, the owner, hands me the coffee and tells me that there is a full moon tonight. Of course there is, I say.
Baila Escena is on a rundown backstreet along with a pawn shop, a loan shop, a tattoo parlor, a package liquor store, and a smoke shop – each with bars on the windows.
There are two neon signs on the front of Baila Escena. One says it’s a dance studio during the week and the other says it’s a nightclub at night.
I go inside. The place has the wet cardboard smell of stale beer. And it is dark even with the house lights on. The walls, the small tables, the chairs, the dee jay booth, and the bar – everything is black. The windows are painted black. The only relief from the colorless setting are the liqueur bottles behind the bar and a few posters.
Behind the bar there is a dia del los muertos poster. Male and female skeletons are dancing in colorful outfits. A poster by the tables has a lively couple doing what is called “rumba caliente.”
I walk up to the bar. On the floor are three yellow evidence markers next to 9mm casings. The dead guy is seated on a bar chair and slumped against the bar. He’d been shot three times in the back. On the bar in front of him is an almost empty bottle of Salvadores Anejo and a shot glass. Shots in back. Shots in front.
The CSI guy is taking photos. I ask him who the dead guy is.
“Manny Lopez. He and his wife Matilda own the joint.”
The names had an all too familiar and painful ring. I guess no man is an island.
A short mustachioed man with a Guayabera Shirt pops up from behind the bar.
“We call her Matty.”
The CSI guy points while taking pictures. “That’s the guy who called 9-1-1.”
The little man hadn’t popped up. Was four foot six was all he had to offer?
“Who are you?”
“Emilio Estrada Ramírez. I am barback.” The little man began wiping the counter and I tell him to stop.
“What did you see?”
“Nothing, señor. I was in back when I hear shots. I stay there and call 9-1-1.”
“Who else was working last night?”
“Milana. She is bartender.”
“What’s her last name?”
“Kharinova. She is Russian.”
“Anyone else?”
“The bouncer.”
“What’s his name?”
“Ron. I don’t know his other name.”
“Milana and Ron – were they around when this happened?”
“Everybody go home. They go home. We close at two.”
“So, Emilio, was it just you and Mr. Lopez?”
“Yes. Me and him. Manny alway have drink when close. I stay with him to he close.”
“Was Matty here?”
“Oh no. She leave with Eduardo . . . I say about five when dance class is close.”
“Was anything taken? Anything from the cash drawer?”
“No sir.”
There are no CCTV cameras inside or outside. I have nothing and no one showing me who entered and shot Manny. I need to question Milana Kharinova and Ron the bouncer. I bring Emilio to the station for his statement.
I found out from Emilio that Milana goes to MMAclass on Saturdays. “She wants to be UFC fighter.”
~~~
I track down Central City MMA Academy in an industrial park outside city limits.
The Academy is in an industrial use space with high ceilings and a loading dock. There are mats on the floor and on the walls. Kids, teens, and adults are going at each other, some wrestling, some Muay Thai Kickboxing, and some with Jiu Jitsu. I ask an instructor if Milana Kharinova is training today. He calls her over.
Milana looks to be about five eight and a flyweight. Her short chestnut brown hair, gray eyes, and sharp jaw line give her a sophisticated and confident look. That she is training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu told me that under her disarming beauty was a dynamo looking to take on all comers.
I take Milana outside and show her my ID. The first thing she says: “Is Miguel OK?”
“Miguel? Is he four years old?”
“Yes. Miguel is four. Have you seen him?”
“I saw Miguel over at the Lopez house. He’s OK. Was he supposed to be there?”
“Yes. Matty watch him so I can train.”
“Milana, I am here to ask about the shooting last night at Baila Escena. You’re the bartender, right?”
“Yes. Wait. There was a shooting? Last night?”
“Yes. Manny Lopez was murdered.”
“Oh my God! I say goodnight to Manny and go to Matty to pick up Miguel.”
“What time was that?”
“Last call at one-thirty. I leave at two.”
“Did you see anyone go in around closing time?”
“No. Everyone go out.”
“Were there any cars parked out front.”
“No. No cars. Just homeless people. I take taxi to Matty.”
I tell her that I am going to see Matty and check on Miguel. I tell her that I need her to come to the station to make a statement after her class.
~~~
I drive over to the Lopez place. I want to have a talk with the woman who didn’t want Manny around.
This time I ring the doorbell, stand back about four feet, and wait for her to answer.
“Well helloooo detective. May I help you?”
“I’m sure you could, but I’m married. Ms. Lopez, I need to ask you a few questions.”
“Come in.”
I walk in and notice Miguel watching cartoons. He turns to look at me and turns back to the TV. I walk over to him and pull something out of my coat pocket. It’s a box of licorice pastilles. I offer one to Miguel. He takes one, puts it in his mouth, begins to screw up his face, and then asks for another.
“What did you give him, detective?”
“Licorice.”
“Are you trying to take him from me?”
“I was just talking to his mother over at MMA class. Now, I want to talk to you about last night. Privately.”
We walk into the kitchen. I keep an eye on the frying pan.
“You talk to her about what? What about last night?” She had dropped the smooth sultry voice and began using sharp tones.
“Where were you last night Ms. Lopez?”
“I was here. With Miguel and Eduardo.”
“All evening?”
“Yes.”
“Manny was murdered about ten hours ago.”
“Oh. I see. Who knows what he’s been up to. What’s that got to do with me?”
“That’s what I’m here to find out. With your husband and business partner out of the picture, you get Baila Escena all to yourself. And the other day when you conked me on the head, you thought it was Manny that you were smacking with that frying pan over there. You don’t want him around. You have motive. And you don’t seem at all bothered by his death.”
“I don’t want him around, detective, but no that way.”
Eduardo walked into the kitchen wearing only pajama bottoms.
“Oh señor. You are back. How is your head?”
“My cabeza is fine. But things are not fine at Baila Escena.”
“What do you mean?”
“Manny Lopez was murdered last night.”
“¡Dios mío.”
“Let’s talk privately.” I bring Eduardo to another room and out of earshot from Matty.
“Where were you last night, Eduardo?”
“I was here. With Matty and Miguel.”
“The whole night?”
“Yes. The dance studio close at five. I leave with Matty and Miguel.”
“When did Manny arrive?”
“Manny he come in at four to ready the club.”
“You leave with Miguel?”
“Yes. Miguel come to the club with Milana the bartender.”
“What time does she start?”
“Five. She brings Miguel to the club and we take him home with us. When Milana leave club at two she come pick him up.”
“This is Saturday. Miguel is here with you and Matty this morning.”
“Matty and I watch him in the dance studio when Milana goes to class on Tuesday and Saturday here.
“Is Milana in class right now?”
“Yes señor.”
“What is Matty’s relationship with Miguel?”
“She loves him very much. She wants to adopt him. She say she can’t have children.”
“I need you to come to the station right now and make a full statement. I’ll get Matty’s statement later today. I don’t want to leave Miguel alone.”
I didn’t want Matty and Eduardo alone together. I needed to find a hole big enough in someone’s story to crawl through and find the killer.
Before I go, I offer Miguel another pastille. He takes it and says thank you.
¿Estás bien, Miguel?
“Yes, sir.”
Miguel spoke with a raspy throat. His nose was running and his eyes were bloodshot. He’d been rubbing them.
“Cats bother you?” I point to the three cats that had the run of the place.
“Yes, sir. I like dogs better.”
“I like dogs, too. I’ll talk to your mother about the cats. I’ll check on you again, Miguel.”
Miguel smiled and rubbed his eyes.
~~~
At the station I walk in with Eduardo. Detective Smoltz is waiting in the hallway.
“Need any help with that hot tamale Matty, Roy?”
Eduardo lunges at Smoltz and unloads a punch to his jaw. Smoltz tries to return the blow, but I put myself in between him and Eduardo. The Sarge walks up. “You will not press charges, Smoltz. Go back to work.”
I interview Eduardo and he repeats the same things he tells me at the house. Then I ask “Eduardo, what is your relationship with Ms. Lopez?
“We teach dancing together.”
“And what else?”
“What else?”
“You were in pajama bottoms this morning. Is Matty divorcing Manny?”
“She want to but business is problem. She love dance studio but need club business to pay bills. They business together but no live together now.”
“Why does Matty want to divorce Manny?
“Matty say Manny cheat on her. But I do not think it was true.”
“Why?”
“Manny a good man. He help people. He help Milana. I tell Matty Manny good but it no matter.”
“So why are you taking a good man’s place?”
Eduardo didn’t answer.
“Did you kill Manny to have Matty and the business to yourself?”
“No señor.
“Would Ms. Lopez be crazy enough to have someone kill Manny?”
“No señor. She can be crazy in her blood but the boy make her less crazy.”
I finish the interview and have an officer take Eduardo home and bring Matty to the station.
If those two had anything to do with Manny’s death, they would alibi each other. I needed more to go on.
~~~
Milana arrives at the station. I bring her to Interview Room 1.
“Milana, I saw Miguel this morning. He is allergic to cats. He’s having a hard time breathing. Matty has three cats.”
“I find better place.”
“Milana, how many nights do you work at Baila Escena”
“Six nights.”
“You said you left Baila Escena at two last night?
“Yes. At two. Everyone leave.”
“You saw no one come in?”
“No.”
“Did you ever see Manny cheat on Matty?”
“No. I never saw him cheat. He talk to women every night but I never see him do anything else.”
“Has he ever come on to you?”
“No. He knows what I can do to him if he did.”
“Do you know anyone who wanted to kill Manny?”
“No.”
“What do you know about Eduardo?”
“Eduardo is a friend. Maybe father.”
“Miguel’s father?”
“Maybe. Maybe father Jasper my MMA instructor. I see him when Eduardo stop with me. Eduardo is afraid of Ron.”
“Ron? Is he the bouncer at Baila Escena?
She nodded her head.
“What’s Ron’s last name?”
“Laverty.”
“What’s the story? Why is Eduardo afraid of Ron.”
“Ron watch me all the time. Ron is big man. That why Eduardo is afraid of him.”
“Why does Ron watch you?”
“I meet Ron online what they call mail-order service. In Russia I live with someone but he drink a lot and hurt me. I want to be MMA fighter. Take care of myself. But he says no.
“Ron pay for me to come to America. He want to marry me. I come to America with my friend Daria. I come stay with him. He talk to Manny get bar job for me. He keep eye on me. But I no want to marry him. He drink a lot and get mean. I stay maybe two week with him. No more. Manny help me get apartment.
“I meet Eduardo at club. He nice to me help me with rent but Ron scare him. I meet Jasper at MMA class. He nice to me. Give me free classes. Then I with child. Manny help me when baby come.
“Is Ron the father?”
“Ron think maybe is father but Ron say he had snip job. You know snip job?”
“Yes, I know.”
“Is the guy in Russia the father?”
“Maxim? I don’t know. He rape me and I leave.”
At this point, there are at least four paternal lines of inquiry into a dead man with no say in the matter, a mother and a boy who don’t know who the father is, and a tomorrow no one thought of.
“Does Matty know that you and Eduardo were together?”
“No. We careful.”
“Does Eduardo think Miguel is his son?”
“I think yes.”
“Does Matty know Miguel could be Eduardo’s son by you?
“I don’t know what Eduardo say to Matty.”
“Here’s what I heard you say, Milana: you come to America to get away from a drinking and abusive guy who raped you. You stay with Ron, who paid your way to America, maybe two weeks because he drinks and is mean to you. He got you a job at Baila Escena maybe to keep an eye on you.
“Your boss Manny gets you an apartment. You hook up with dance studio Eduardo who helps pay the rent. But Eduardo is afraid of Ron and leaves you. Then you hook up with Jasper who gives you free MMA classes. You find out that you are pregnant. All in less than a month. Is that right?”
“Yes.”
“And now, after four years, there are four men who think that Miguel may be their son: a Russian, one who shoots blanks, and two who help you in exchange for God knows what.
“Detective, men use me and I use them.”
“I am not here to judge you, Milana. I am working for the dead man. And the boy.”
There is a scuffle and shouting in the hallway. Orbits colliding? I get up to see.
~~~
Five officers are having trouble restraining two guys. One of the guys is huge. He had to be six foot five and two-hundred-fifty pounds. The other is a scrappy looking guy with dirty blond hair, mustache and goatee.
One of the officers says, “These two were going at it outside the Lopez house.”
“Who’s the big lug?”
“Ron Laverty.”
“The other guy?”
“Maxim Chernykh. He shot some guy named Eduardo.”
“Is Eduardo OK?”
“He took a bullet to the gut. He’s in ER right now.”
“Was a guy named Jasper there?”
Both handcuffed guys growled, “Who’s Jasper?”
“No. No Jasper, Roy.”
“Was the boy in any danger?”
“Not that we could see. He stayed behind his mother.”
“Put the big lug in holding and put the shooter into Interview Room 2. Is the gun 9mm?”
One of the officers said it was.
“Before you send the gun to ballistics have it fingerprinted and check the serial number.”
“One other thing, Roy.” Sarge walked up to show me the two Russian passports found on Chernykh. One was for Maxim Chernykh and the other for Mikhail Chernykh. The boy’s picture looked like a cut-and-paste job.
“Sarge, send this one to Immigration. It looks fake.”
I return to Interview Room 1. I tell Milana that a guy named Maxim Chernykh was picked up outside the Lopez place. I tell her that he was threatening Ron with a gun and shot Eduardo.
Milana jumped out of the chair ready to fight. She looked at the door and back at me.
“Miguel . . . is Miguel . . .?
“Miguel is safe. You’re safe here, Milana. Ron is in holding and Mr. Chernykh is waiting for me to interview him. Please sit down.”
~~~
Before I talk to the Russian, I go to holding to interview Ron.
“Ron, what were you doing at the Lopez place?
“I followed Milana this morning. I wanted to see where she goes with Miguel. If he is my son, I have a right to see him. I pay fifteen thousand dollars for Milana to come here. Fifteen thousand dollars! And she stays away from me. She keeps the boy from me. I try not to be difficult but difficult people try my patience.”
“What happened over there?”
“I’m in my car and see this guy go to the door. He looks like the homeless guy I blocked from the club last night. I wonder what he is doing here.
“He starts yelling “I vant ze boy come out now!” A man opens the door and tells him to go away but the nutcase pulls a gun out and starts waving it around. So, I get out of the car and start yelling for him to back off. The guy points the gun at me and I tell him I’ll break his neck. The guy is in a hurry to get the boy. He turns the gun back on the man at the door and shoots him. I rush the nutcase and take him down and hold him for the police.”
“Ron, the situation could have been a lot worse if you hadn’t been there. You protected Miguel and saved lives. Now it’s time for hard words and hard choices. You need to go your own way and leave Milana and the boy alone. From what Milana tells me, Miguel is not your son. And she left you because in the short time she’s known you, she thinks of you as no different than the same drinking mean guy she left in Russia who is the nutcase you took down today. But you showed me better than that today.”
“I know I’m a big galoot. I paid big money not to be lonely and I’m still lonely.”
“I’m no Dr. Phil, Ron, or a Sargent Grasso, but maybe find a focus outside yourself.”
~~~
I walk into Interview Room 2. Chernykh is pacing with clenched fists.
“Sit down Mr. Chernykh.”
He scraps the chair back, sits down, throws both arms on the table, leans in, and scowls at me with an open mouth and wolfish green eyes.
“Mr. Chernykh why were you are the Lopez house?”
“Mikhail.”
“Mikhail?”
“Milana call him Miguel to hide him from me. But I find out from Daria.”
“Milana’s friend?
“She is my friend, too. I send her money.”
“You came to America because you believe four-year-old Miguel is your son because four years ago you raped Milana and she left Russia with Daria?”
“Detektiv, you tupoy? You do not know how vomen are?”
“You’re not as smart as you think, yobik.”
“Oh, yes. I get Mikhail take him to home to Russia. Daria come, too.”
“You shot Eduardo. Why?”
“He tupoy problema.”
“The gun. How did you get it?”
“Daria has friends.”
“I hope Eduardo makes it. You better hope so too, Mr. Chernykh. There are several charges pending including assault with a gun, attempted kidnapping and passport fraud. No Russia for you, pal. No Daria. No Mikhail. Yesli ti dyéystvooyesh’ kak doorák, ti boodyesh’ traktovat’sya tak.”
~~~
I return to Milana with a bottle of water.
“I talked to Ron. He followed you to the Lopez house this morning. He saw Miguel go in there and he saw Chernykh trying to take the boy from Eduardo. Chernykh shot Eduardo and Ron took him down and held until police arrived. Ron saved Miguel from being kidnapped.
“He isn’t happy, Milana, that he paid for you to come to America and that you and the boy stay away from him. I told him that Miguel is not his son and to let you and Miguel be.
“I talked to Chernykh and found out that Daria is not your friend. She’s been helping Chernykh so he can take Mikhail back to Russia. She told Chernykh where to find Mikhail. Chernykh said Daria was going with him.”
Milana’s face turned fierce. “I tell her everything. I tell her I leave Ron. I tell her I have baby. I tell her that Manny help me get apartment and help me with baby. Maxim kill a good man because good man help me and Miguel.”
“Chernykh shot another good man because Eduardo wouldn’t let him get near Mikhail. Ballistics is looking at the gun Maxim used on Eduardo. If it matches the gun used on Manny, he will be charged with first degree murder. And, if Daria is involved in Mikhail’s attempted kidnapping, in supplying a gun for Manny’s murder, and in passport forgery I will bring her down.
“There are several charges pending against Chernykh including assault with a gun, attempted kidnapping and passport fraud. I told him that if he was going to be an idiot he would be treated like an idiot. He will be locked up for a long time.”
Before I send Milana on her way, I tell her to find a place for Miguel that has no cats. I give her my card and tell her to call me when she finds it. I’ll come and check on Miguel. Milana’s been to the mat several times and not for Jiu Jitsu. I hope the boy comes out on top.
It’s been a long day. I head toward the parking lot hoping Sarge doesn’t see me. But he does.
“Roy, I’ve been aware for many decades that most murderers are morons. Aristotle said that actions are consistent with character.”
I tell him that Mrs. Sarge called. I tell him she has some pasta e fagioli and a bottle of chianti waiting for a character like him at home. I tell him I’m going home to Laci, and to some Pozole that my father-in-law made, and to watch Ninón Sevilla in Víctimas del Pecado with him. I pop a licorice pastille in my mouth and walk out the door.
~~
©J.A. Johnson, Kingdom Venturers, 2026, All Rights Reserved
Cindy Wity 
When Trust Goes Bust
August 24, 2026 Leave a comment
Public trust. Is it engendered or eroded when elites, experts, and egos generate and double down on “dead right” narratives that distort and even deny reality leading to deception, disorder, dysfunction, and even destruction of life and do so for dubious and decidedly power-hungry and vainglorious ends?
You know the answer but here are few recent examples that answer this question:
Public trust in higher education eroded when Claudine Gay, the first black woman to become a (DEI-hire) president of Harvard, was forced out over plagiarism allegations after only seven months in the post.
And again, public trust in higher education eroded when elites at Cambridge University failed to do its due diligence and DEI-hired the youngest Black professor in the university’s history and described the plagiarist as a “respected scholar.”
Public trust in the Supreme Court eroded when the Joe Biden-nominated and DEI-hired Ketanji Brown “black girl magic” Jackson, a woman who would not define what a woman is and does not understand the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, was seated on the highest court in the land.
Public trust in the Supreme Court eroded when the Barack Obama-nominated Sonia “wise Latina” Sotomayor, a vocal political partisan and a woman who “gruesomely compared babies in the womb to being brain dead during oral arguments,” was seated on the highest court in the land.
Public trust in major institutions and professions, and especially the legal profession meant to support the rule of law, erodes as female participation increases and feminine patterns of behavior are applied: “prioritizing the feminine over the masculine: empathy over rationality, safety over risk, cohesion over competition.”
Public trust in a brand eroded when a company’s female marketing executive ignored customers and partnered with a trans-activist to suit a woke agenda and almost single-handedly destroyed the brand.
Public trust in a brand eroded when a company’s female CEO ignored customers and redesigned the company’s logo to suit a woke agenda causing shares of the company’s stock to drop like a rock as customers vowed to never step foot in the store again.
Public trust in the church and church leadership eroded when Sarah Mullally, another preachy Progressive who is a self-declared feminist and supporter of LGBTQ+ rights and activism and who has strongly backed asylum and migration, was elected Archbishop of Canterbury on January 28, 2026.
Public trust in the church and church leadership and the transcendent eroded when The Church of England covered the interior of the oldest cathedral in England in graffiti in order to represent the world to the world.
Public trust in climate experts eroded with the climate alarmism claims of Al Gore and with the scientific consensus predictions of climate doomsdays that never happened.
Public trust in the media and journalism eroded with the fawning over the DEI picks Claudine Gay, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and fabulist Jason Arday, and with the whack-a-doodle nonsense of climate experts.
Public trust in the MSM erodes every day with its talking heads calling people “election deniers,” (nee “COVID science deniers” and “climate science deniers”) for questioning the integrity of the 2020 election – “the most secure election in history” – and for questioning anything that comes out of their mouth.
Public trust in scientific authority has gone bust with the exposure of a public health official with a God complex – the man, the myth, and the legend who calls himself “the science” . . . the vainglorious Anthony Fauci.
~~~
The misanthropic handling of COVID by public health “experts” caused public trust to go BUST . . .
When medical freedom was ignored. . .
When Americans weren’t fully informed about natural immunity. . .
When Americans weren’t allowed fully informed consent about the COVID vaccine. . .
When Americans weren’t fully informed about adverse events from COVID vaccinations from each of the three vaccines— Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. . .
When siblings who had received the COVID jab to keep their jobs now have serious physical issues and the siblings who hadn’t received the jab have none. . .
When pregnant women weren’t fully informed about the possibility of a miscarriages following the COVID vaccination. . .
When Americans weren’t informed about the prophylactic benefits of hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin so that an mRNA vaccine with a spike protein could be rolled out and tested on the public . . .
When the FDA and the media ridiculed the use of Ivermectin for treating COVID by saying “You are not a horse” . . .
When the unvaccinated were made social pariahs and scapegoats and their livelihoods threatened for not taking the mRNA vaccine for a flu-like virus that has over a 98% survival rate . . .
When service members in all branches of the military who refused the vaccine were discharged and lost pensions, military housing and medical benefits for their families. . .
When, during lockdowns, Black Lives Matter was OK’d to gather and march for a political social justice cause but churches could not gather. . .
When anyone – especially Jennifer Nuzzo, a Johns Hopkins epidemiologist – thought that a mass protest would bring an end to “systemic racism” . . .
When schools, businesses, and churches closed but not liquor stores and cannabis shops during the 14 days “to flatten the curve” . . .
When “two weeks to flatten the curve” extended into months during the spring of 2020, and schools remained closed for the following year and most students had to endure virtual learning as teachers’ unions demanded that schools remain closed . . . (See PDF below.)
When children, who have a 99%+ COVID survival rate, were made to take the untested vaccine . . .
When the “science was settled” and science shapeshifter “Fauci routinely replaced one narrative with another, contradicting what he had previously insisted was true” . . . (See PDF below.)
When the highfalutin Anthony Fauci “became the “’infallible leader’ whose words could never be questioned and whose lies were turned into a functioning reality” . . . (See PDF below.)
When a man so full of himself – a Mao of a man with a diary instead of a Little Red Book – was given totalitarian authority over science and public health . . .
When Mao’s mass murder legacy based on “political power grows out of the barrel of a gun” became Fauci’s gain-of-function mass murder legacy based on “personal power grows out of the needle of a syringe.”
“There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.” – John Adams
~~~
If I had one-trillionth the ego of Princess-Diaries Anthony Fauci and one-trillionth the gall of the talking heads of legacy media and of the politicians and celebrities who worshipped Fauci and themselves worshipping him, I would say “I told you so” about that pompous ass. But I’ll let the record speak for itself.
In a December 29, 2020 post My Unmasked Hero, I wrote
“Are you angry yet?
“Why is Anthony Fauci, a media hog, goal post mover, and dangerous buffoon, telling us how we should live our lives?
“Why are hydroxychloroquine and alternative COVID19 treatments blacklisted? Do you think Big Pharma and Big Tech oligarchs and their foundations have something to do with that?
“Did you know that “the country’s lockdowns were meant to emulate those carried out by the Chinese Communist Party – modeled to strip civil liberties and exert authoritarian control over citizens?
“Why are all deaths reclassified as COVID-19 deaths?
“Why are healthy people being masked and locked down?
“No more studies are required. I am angry (and mask less)!”
My Unmasked Hero does not refer to Anthony Fauci.
My Unmasked Hero refers to a woman who stands her ground in a CVS store when being confronted by an employee and customer about being maskless. The woman adamantly declares that she is “done” with being a sheep and blindly following COVID-19 orders that restrict her freedom:
“I am a healthy person. I am not crazy.”
“I’m not saying COVID’s not real. I’m just saying, I’m not sick. I’m not sick and asymptomatic spread has been shown to be a myth, so why am I going to be treated like a sick person?
“Do you know that there have been fewer deaths in [2020] than in [2019]? All they’ve done is recategorize all the deaths. This is not what they’re telling us it is. It’s a lie. This is a lie, I’m telling you.
“It’s a lie and everyone’s buying it. And it will go on, and on, and on as long as they feed us this lie and we comply with it, and I am done. Tonight, I’ve reached a breaking point, I’m done. I know I’m not reaching any of you in here, I don’t care.”
~~~
Thousands of people from all over the world read my posts during COVID. With dozens of posts I warned readers about the fiendish Dr. Faustus Fauci and about his scientism sorcery.
I warned readers in dozens of posts and short stories about the authoritarian ways people were being dealt with under Fauci’s flip-flopping-keep-the public-on-the hook public health decrees.
I warned readers about the effects of lockdowns, mask mandates, social distancing, and about vaccination requirements that included vaccine passports and a possible roll out of a digital social credit system to control the public.
In my April 11, 2021 post Are We to Be Their Playthings? I noted the disdain for the unvaccinated in a NYT article (White Evangelical Resistance Is Obstacle in Vaccination Effort): “Distrust of scientists has become part of cultural identity, of what it means to be white and evangelical in America.”
And, I asked
“So, we are to trust Anthony Fauci, who with Francis Collins of the NIH, was behind the gain of function experiments gone awry in Wuhan China? Are we to trust scientism – scientific claims devoid of empirical evidence and debate and derived from ideology?”
I warned readers in an October 17, 2021 post about the adverse effects of the COVID vaccine. Here’s an updated summary: (UPDATED) Exclusive Summary: Covid-19 Vaccine Concerns | Sharyl Attkisson
In my September 26, 2020 post Tales from the Lockdown Crypt I warned about the increase of suicides and opioid overdoses due to COVID lockdown policies. And I posted The Great Barrington Declaration:
“As infectious disease epidemiologists and public health scientists we have grave concerns about the damaging physical and mental health impacts of the prevailing COVID-19 policies, and recommend an approach we call Focused Protection.”
I warned readers about good people being canceled on social media and in MSM for speaking out.
I warned readers about the CDC-planned quarantine camps (for a flu-like virus!).
I warned readers about the NIH’s devious Dr. Francis Collins colluding with Fauci to create the gain-of-function virus and to hide its Wuhan lab origins.
I warned readers about the untested COVID vaccine and the suppression of any talk of natural immunity by public health officials under the back-room direction of the self-enamored Fauci. We now know that lockdowns were enforced and any talk about natural immunity was delayed so that the vaccine might be rolled out.
I wasn’t alone in my warnings about the dangerous effects of the untested vaccine:
Fauci Privately Said Covid Shot Could Be Associated With Miscarriage Before Publicly Claiming “No Red Flags” | Evie Magazine
Fauci Privately Flagged Miscarriage Risk Before Telling Pregnant Women There Were ‘No Red Flags’ | ZeroHedge
Fauci privately raised miscarriage risk from mRNA vaccine dose two | Fox News
‘Error in Judgment’: Former CDC Director Says it Was ‘Mistake’ to Recommend Covid Vaccine to Pregnant Women
On November 7, 2021 I provided a document which says . . .
We conclude that the claims made using these data on the safety of exposure of women in early pregnancy to mRNA-based vaccines to prevent COVID-19 are unwarranted and recommend that those policy decisions be revisited.
In my January 2, 2022 post Mysteries of the Known Knowns I asked
“Why are we being used as lab rats?
“How is it that government entities demand our accountability about all things COVID BUT the manufacturers of the vaccines are NOT held accountable for what they dispense? If the risks are not discussed, how can there be informed consent?”
And
“If it can’t be questioned, is it science?
Bureaucrat overlord Anthony Fauci has effectively declared “I am the Way, the Science and the Life. No one comes to COVID freedom except by me.””
And
“Is COVID Absolutism behind the Current Psychic Epidemic?
“How is it that countries with the majority of their populations vaccinated are in panic mode? Why are there calls for more panic, lockdowns, passports, and mandates? Is science, logic or even altruism behind this? OR, is the desire to create a new social order under totalitarian control behind creating a fear-based populism?
“Why are people going along with the manufactured panic? Why do “the masses whole-heartedly accept everything that Dr. Fauci or other national and global health officials proclaim”?
“Why the collective psychosis?”
~~~
On March 5, 2023 I posted this video:
In a May 19, 2024 post I wrote:
“As we saw during COVID, the collusion of science and state powers forms a dangerous mix. We were told and made to “trust the science” about masks, lockdowns, social distancing, and the COVID vaccine for a flu virus that was 99.9 % survivable for healthy adults who were not very elderly.
“The elites of public health central planning lied to us about immunity so that the vaccine could be pushed by the medical-industrial complex. They told us lies about hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin so that the vaccine could be pushed by the medical-industrial complex. They told us lies about the origins of COVID to protect the medical-industrial complex that created a gain-of function virus.”
~~~
I warned readers about scientism – the deadly admixture of science and politics to produce the transfer of power into the hands of a few elites. And now that Anthony Fauci’s diaries and emails and texts have been exposed, COVID scientism can be described as the deadly witches’ brew of science and egotism.
Anthony Fauci epitomizes what the elites and experts of the Ruling Class, of Progressivism, of socialism and communism are capable of: draconian measures to ensure compliance to massive egos
Long time readers will know that I have warned against the totalitarian impulse so prevalent in misanthropic group above. For, they deem the public as eggs for their glorious omelets.
As a reminder, the nature of totalitarian ideologies include
Simple, Irrefutable Beliefs (the “science is settled”)
Promise of Utopia (“two weeks to fatten the curve” & “vaccinations will stop COVID”)
Blame and Persecution (“the unvaccinated are the cause of increased cases and the need for continued lockdowns”)
Concentration of Power (Fauci: “I am the science.”)
The Means Displace the Ends (the Big Pharma-sponsored Pravda media censoring opposing voices and posting daily death counts to produce mass fear and compliance with COVID scientism)
The Illusion of Perfecting Humanity (“We’re all in this together.”)
The above is taken from Totalitarian Ideologies 101: We need to start teaching students to recognize totalitarianism so they can resist it. (See PDF below.)
With this post and the many I’ve written, I am pointing out that there is information that the Pravda media (MS NOW, CNN, NYT, etc.) never gave the public, information that would have engendered public trust and saved lives.
History and current events reveal that anything can be rationalized when politics is everything and power its ultimate goal. Public trust erodes when elites, experts, and egos generate and double down on “dead right” narratives that distort and even deny reality leading to deception, disorder, dysfunction, and even destruction of life and do so for dubious and decidedly power-hungry and vainglorious ends.
“All persons possessing any portion of power ought to be strongly and awfully impressed with an idea that they act in trust, and that they are to account for their conduct in that trust to the one great Master, Author, and Founder of society.” – Edmund Burke
~~~
Claremont Institute Senior Fellow Angelo Codevilla had this to say about America’s Ruling Class — And the Perils of Revolution:
“This dismissal of the American people’s intellectual, spiritual, and moral substance is the very heart of what our ruling class is about. Its principal article of faith, its claim to the right to decide for others, is precisely that it knows things and operates by standards beyond others’ comprehension . . .
“Because ordinary people will pervert reason with ideology, religion, or interest, science is “science” only in the “right” hands. Consensus among the right people is the only standard of truth. Facts and logic matter only insofar as proper authority acknowledges them . . .
“That is why the ruling class is united and adamant about nothing so much as its right to pronounce definitive, “scientific” judgment on whatever it chooses . . .
“The fact that the “hockey stick” conclusion stands discredited and Mann and associates are on record manipulating peer review, the fact that science-by-secret-data is an oxymoron, the very distinction between truth and error, all matter far less to the ruling class than the distinction between itself and those they rule.”
https://spectator.org/americas-ruling-class
~~~
“When the anointed say that there is a crisis this means that something must be done —and it must be done simply because the anointed want it done.”
― Thomas Sowell, The Vision Of The Annointed: Self-congratulation As A Basis For Social Policy
~~~
“Despotism has so often been established in the name of liberty that experience should warn us to judge parties by their practices rather than their preachings.”
—Raymond Aron, The Opium of the Intellectuals
(Replace “liberty” with the Left’s “crisis of Democracy!” and you will understand what they are after.)
~~~
/
Doc>>> Totalitarian Ideologies 101
~~~
I Read 1000 pages of Fauci Diaries. It’s Bad. | Dr. Vinay Prasad
In late July, Senator Rand Paul publicly released over 1,000 pages of notes that Fauci had kept—on a government server—during his time as Covid-19 czar, between 2019 and 2022. Shortly thereafter, Fauci was forced to testify before the Senate, on July 29. Then in early August, Paul and fellow Republican senator Ron Johnson released a set of texts, obtained from Fauci’s government-issued cell phone, between him and other health officials. In the following weeks, the “Fauci Diaries” sparked a new debate over Dr. Fauci’s legacy.
The pages, as well as Fauci’s testimony and subsequently released text messages, revealed an alarming gap between what Fauci told the public and what he told others privately and admitted to himself—about the virus’s possible origins, concerns over vaccine safety for pregnant women, the effectiveness of boosters, the efficacy of school closures, and more.
Dr. Vinay Prasad is a hematologist-oncologist who broke early with conventional wisdom on how to handle the pandemic and later became the FDA’s top vaccine regulator. He has also read the Fauci diaries in full, and he’s here to break down every revelation.
I Read 1000 pages of Fauci Diaries. It’s Bad. | Dr. Vinay Prasad – YouTube
COVID: The Cover-Up & Crimes Against Humanity with Sen. Ron Johnson
~~~
Nothing to hide . . . but the truth.
Damning clip of Fauci that makes Swiss cheese of his ‘Fifth Amendment’ scheme… – Revolver News
Chaos Agent: Anthony Fauci Represents A System That Needs To Be Cleansed | ZeroHedge
Tim Robbins tells Joe Rogan — ‘Ivermectin cured me during Covid.’
Anthony Fauci’s Fifth Amendment Strategy May Not End the Investigation | The American Spectator | USA News and Politics
The Princess Diaries of Anthony Fauci – The American Conservative
~~~
Jeffrey Tucker interviews Dr. Naomi Wolf, author and early public intellectual who first raised the alarm in May 2021 about COVID injections and severe menstrual disruptions in women. They discuss her rapid cancellation, the Missouri v. Biden discovery showing CDC and Biden administration officials circulating her tweet as an example to suppress, the FDA’s attempt to seal Pfizer documents for 75 years, and the crowdsourced work of 3,500+ doctors and scientists through Daily Clout that uncovered high miscarriage rates, ovarian and placental damage, and drops in sperm counts buried in those documents. (Emphasis mine.)
Sounding the Alarm on Women’s Health: Naomi Wolf on the COVID Shots & Cancellation
~~~
Republicans make their first move against Fauci… – Revolver News
~~~
Flattening the Fauci Ego Curve:
Legal Experts Explain How States Can Hold Fauci Accountable
Anthony Fauci and the Collapse of Scientific Authority
Fauci’s Personal Diary Just Got Released and It’s Brutal – Self-Absorbed, Fame-Seeking, Celeb Worshiping, Power Mad Liar
Anthony Fauci Celebrated ‘Flattering’ Press Stories in Diary
Check out some of these Fauci quotes, incredible.
Rand Paul has everything organized here, including Dr. Baric.
This entire diary thread is wild.
BOOM: Ugly truth about Jake Tapper just revealed, thanks to Fauci’s private diary entries… – Revolver News
Journalists Are Still Defending Fauci Because They Spent Years Dehumanizing Covid Dissidents Based On His Lies
Fauci’s Diary-Uh: ‘Science’s’ Biggest COVID-Era Lies Thus Far – PJ Media
Vinay Prasad: Anthony Fauci’s Vaccine Deceptions
Watters: Fauci knew he BLEW IT
BREAKING: Dr. Anthony Fauci pleads the Fifth Amendment in Senate hearing bombshell…
The Rise and Fall of Anthony Fauci › American Greatness
Watch: Fauci shakes uncontrollably while reading his opening statement…
Dr. Anthony Fauci testifies at Senate hearing on COVID-19 origins…
Rand warns Fauci he’s playing with fire…
The Ivermectin Question Heard ‘Round The World…
Fauci told on himself…
Never forget what this man did…
Revolvers 5-year-old investigation on Fauci still holds today…
The Ivermectin Question Heard ‘Round The World…
Never forget what this man did…
Mike Benz explains why Fauci pleaded the Fifth and how it can’t save him…
These Newly Released Texts Prove What a Monster Fauci Really Is – PJ Media
A Romp through the Fauci Diaries: Fame Turns to Shame
Top 27 Revelations in the Fauci Diaries | The Epoch Times
Fauci In Hiding As ABC Censorship Bombshell Explodes | ZeroHedge
Ex-ABC News Reporter: Fauci Whined and Killed Our COVID Story
An unanswered first-order question from the COVID-19 pandemic is this: Why was America’s pandemic doctrine in 2020 apparently so lacking after nearly forty years under Dr. Anthony Fauci’s leadership and after spending more than $60 billion preparing for the next inevitable outbreak? (Emphasis mine.)
Fauci And The Pandemic Playbook That Wasn’t – American Thinker
In May 2021, Janet Woodcock, the Acting Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), sent an email to Dr. Anthony Fauci, then director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and Dr. Francis Collins, then director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director, expressing concern about the large number of adverse events she was hearing about following COVID vaccinations. . .
Woodcock said she had personally received reports from people, including many healthcare professionals, experiencing hard to classify adverse events that were not being captured by existing surveillance systems like VAERS.
She said all three of the vaccines— Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson—were resulting in these injuries. (Emphasis mine.)
In May 2021, Acting FDA Commissioner Emailed Fauci With Concerns About COVID Vaccine Injuries, Said ‘No One Takes Them Seriously’ › American Greatness
[David] Morens and his co-conspirators also used his Gmail account to share nonpublic information from the NIH about COVID-19 and “back-channel” information to an unidentified senior NIAID official, who appears to be Anthony Fauci, the institute’s former director, according to court filings.
David Morens, former NIAID adviser, pleads guilty in COVID-19 records scheme – CBS News
Fauci diaries, released by Sen. Rand Paul, touch on COVID origins and tense relationship with Trump – CBS News
~~~
“That’s the difference between governments and individuals. Governments don’t care, individuals do.”
-Mark Twain, A Tramp Abroad
“The mania for giving the Government power to meddle with the private affairs of cities or citizens is likely to cause endless trouble, through the rivalry of schools and creeds that are anxious to obtain official recognition, and there is great danger that our people will lose our independence of thought and action which is the cause of much of our greatness, and sink into the helplessness of the Frenchman or German who expects his government to feed him when hungry, clothe him when naked, to prescribe when his child may be born and when he may die, and, in fine, to regulate every act of humanity from the cradle to the tomb, including the manner in which he may seek future admission to paradise.”
-Mark Twain, Official Physic
Day of Reckoning
We do not need more intellectual power; we need more moral power. We do not need more knowledge; we need more character. We do not need more government; we need more culture. We do not need more law; we need more religion. We do not need more of the things that are seen, we need more of the things that are unseen. . .. If the foundation be firm, the superstructure will stand.
Calvin Coolidge, Vice presidential address at Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts, June 19, 1923
~~~
Jane Austen’s Fight Club
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Filed under 2026 Current Events, COVID-19, Culture, Political Commentary, Politics, Progressivism, Public Health, totalitarianism Tagged with Anthony Fauci, COVID, COVID-19, culture, health, politics, progressivism, Public Health, Ruling Class, Science, totalitarianism