Warp Speed’s failures, other things we know | Editorial Columnists

It was part of the poor decision-making at the Trump White House that also resulted in paying $15,000 each for respirators that the Obama Administration bought for $3,000. It is unknown whether any of the gloves were used. The purchase of the dirty gloves was reported to the Food and Drug Administration early this year by a hospital that received gloves with visible blood stains.

Trump’s “Operation Warp Speed” also gave a $1.2 billion contract to Apiject to produce syringes for COVID-19. Apiject promised 100 million syringes by the end of 2020. To date, land has been cleared to build a plant, but no syringes have been produced.

• Rick Perlstein, author of multiple books about modern conservatism, says politically reactionary white supremacists who had always considered themselves on top socially had an ally in Trumpism. Those who had considered themselves culturally, socially and economically above the Blacks and the other of people of color were facing an onslaught of liberation movements that were all about giving others a fair slice of the pie. Angst over that happening is what Trump tapped into. It’s what the insurrection was really about. It’s why the insurrectionists and their ilk continue to support the twice-impeached, dictator-wannabe Donald Trump.

But now that some of those same insurrectionists have been arrested and tried for their participation in the attempted coup, they are recognizing — and admitting — that their faith in Trump was misplaced. They were duped by his rhetoric. He called them “patriots” and they believed that he would protect them for participating in the insurrection and their support of his “Big Lie.” Too late, they have learned that they are not patriots but instead patsies.

• The Centers for Disease Control has recognized racism as a “serious threat” to public health. The COVID-19 pandemic, like other serious diseases, has disproportionately affected communities of color. Members of Congress are also calling for racism to be recognized as a public health crisis. The CDC says lack of opportunity is the cause of higher infant mortality rates, higher maternal mortality rates, and higher rates of obesity. Lack of accessible and affordable medical facilities means that many expectant mothers have no access to pre-natal care. That translates into higher maternal death rates and higher infant mortality rates.

• So-called “Critical Race Theory” is not and has never been taught in American elementary schools or high schools. It is a theory discussed in law schools by law…