Column was propaganda

To the Editor:

I am a resident of Oregon, but not of Sisters. I obtained a copy of The Nugget from my motel.

I appreciated the letter to the editor from Russ Flavel. He expressed my political view regarding the current status of politics in our great country. Simply put: patriots versus leftist, socialist liberals. In contrast, I was disturbed by the guest columnist, Monica Tomosy. No doubt she is a professional columnist. Her treatise on politics is well-prepared although distorts the truth. The lengthy diatribe against the GOP and the January 6 fractured rally (now politically labeled an insurrection) is simply propaganda. The column is an assault on truth and a clever, devious attempt to project radical, leftist ideology as “a call to action.”

As Russ said, be aware folks, they walk among us.

Scott Kinder

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Public sector key to vaccines

To the Editor:

A recent article in The New York Times dealt in depth with the remarkable story of the development of the mRNA (Messenger RNA) technology.

This is the medical advance that yielded highly effective COVID vaccines, in record time.

I read the article in part to track through the series of breakthrough discoveries that enabled this success story, in particular to understand to what extent the discoveries were made by the pharmaceutical industry in their research efforts, and how important were government labs, or government funded research grants at independent labs or universities.

To quote from the article, “The breakthroughs behind the vaccines unfolded over decades, little by little, as scientists across the world pursued research in disparate areas, never imagining their work would one day come together to tame the pandemic of the century.”

The article mentions Dartmouth, Penn, Harvard, and U of Texas; Scripps Research Institute, a Hungarian immigrant researcher, and a Chinese post-doctoral researcher. Probably the most important institution mentioned is the Vaccine Research Center, part of National Institute of Health (NIH). Their role in coordinating research efforts, and then expediting testing and trials, was crucial. The only obvious private sector player in this 60-year development history, is a small firm in Vancouver, BC, and even there, the primary researcher was employed by University of British Columbia before starting the private research firm.

The private sector was instrumental in manufacturing; as the article describes their role: “The pharmaceutical companies harnessed these findings and engineered a consistent product that could be made at scale, partly with the help of Operation Warp Speed.”

I find this article informs a few interesting aspects of our current political debates:

•?Immigration, especially of highly educated researchers, is important, and should be encouraged.

•?Government-sponsored, funded, and coordinated research is important, and something the private sector has little or no incentive to provide.

•?The U.S. has the highest pharmaceutical prices in the world. One of the justifications often put forward is that we need profitable companies, to keep a steady stream of new drugs in the pipeline. In the development of mRNA vaccines, their role is very far downstream, with the research heavy-lifting done by others.

•?International cooperation is vitally important, and is probably best performed by government.

•?Dr. Fauci played an important role in the AIDS research that helped develop the mRNA process, and also in proposing the establishment of the Vaccine Research Center. He, along with several others, is an American hero.

John Adamson

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People’s Rights

To the Editor:

I wanted to thank you for your reporting on this recent Tuesday meeting (“Sheriff warns of effects of drug policy, The Nugget, January 26, page one; “Venue of Sheriff’s presentation stirred controversy,” The Nugget, January 26, page 7). I found it very accurate.

I was surprised when I had an email from The Bend Bulletin (that I get everyday) on an article by G. Andrews dated January 17, on Sheriff Nelson’s acceptance of a meeting with People’s Rights. I was shocked and extremely concerned at the quote from Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel. (Editor’s note: The quote in question is published below.)

I admit I really didn’t know much about our DA, but his comments inspired me to write to him. His response was very alarming.

I wasn’t planning on going to this particular meeting until I got the response from John Hummel. I didn’t understand all the commotion. I, like you, was in attendance because I wanted to record what took place for my own notes.

As I said before, your article was very accurate. The one thing I believed I missed was the loud applause and standing ovation the spectators gave as Sheriff Nelson was introduced. He was treated with great dignity and respect.

One of the questions that surprised me was the increase of surveillance cameras. Sheriff Nelson didn’t seem to know the specifics of the increase. That question left me curious; however, after hearing interviews with truckers involved in the convoy going to Ottawa, Canada, this week, I’m deeply concerned. A trucker said the surveillance camera had recorded his information from his cell phone data and knew of his vaccine passport and other information as he was going through a checkpoint.

I realize that our governor is trying her best to implement extreme measures as forced mandates, permanent mandates, and wants to implement vaccine passports to [engage in commerce].

As you can tell in your communication from this community, there are many that believe what Governor Brown is doing regarding her response to COVID is unconstitutional, and possibly illegal.

I would like to request further reporting on the issues coming up and whether our elected officials are honest and forthright in their agendas.

I’ve already written on my years of personal experience in not being allowed to access public records and not getting anyone to enforce the laws on tampering with public records. Not only in our state, but FOIA requests as well. I will be trying again to get accurate public records to answer some of my questions.

Valerie J. Troyer

Editor’s note: The quote from DA John Hummel Ms. Troyer refers to is: “I tell you what though, if I were invited, I would show up and tell them what I think of them, candidly and directly. I wouldn’t tailor my message to appease them. I would tell them that they’re an anti-American, dangerous group that repulses me, and we’d go from there.”

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COVID testing woes

To the Editor:

I went to the Bend drive-through COVID-testing site on Saturday and was told by a National Guardsman that my test results would be available in 24 to 48 hours.

Monday morning, I received a text saying I could go to “My Chart” in the St. Charles system to get results. As usual the password I had received about two months ago and carefully saved did not work, and I then attempted to reset my password and was given a code three times that did not work.

Finally, I called the doctor’s office in Sisters and after a long wait where they advised me to go to “My Chart” on a recording, I was able to speak with a nurse, who said that “I would have received a call if my test was positive.” Surprise!

Surely folks that run the COVID testing in Bend could ask a National Guardsman to say “If you test positive, you will receive a phone call!” Sounds simple, right?

This is just a heads-up for anyone wondering if their test is positive and a way to circumvent St. Charles’ beloved “My Chart” system.

I now have a note in my files that says, “Do not post any results to ‘My Chart’ for this patient!”

Good health and good luck,

Linda Chaney