One of my favorite classic sci-fi novels is HG Wells’s First Men in the Moon. Written in 1900 and published as a novel in 1901, it tells the story of a businessman and a scientist who take a trip to the moon, thanks to the invention of a new substance that acts as an anti-gravity shield. Not only do I find the premise of an anti-gravity shield delightful, the reactions of the two characters, stereotyped although they may be, rings true, especially now as we see the pandemic play out. The pair encounters a new civilization on the moon and while the scientist promotes cautious study, the businessman can think of nothing but exploitation. As I contemplate coerced returning to work, as a teacher, even though scientists warn against it, I am struck by the lack of moral leadership in education these days. The reason for this is simple: schools are expected to be run as businesses. And some of that push, from the outgoing secretary of education, who never went to a public school in her life, is that they must remain open, pandemic be damned.

The trouble with education as a business is that education is not a business. It’s meant to be a form of philanthropy for the good of society. As we move away from that ideal, into perversions such as public-private partnerships, we burden our education system with private agendas. Some of these agendas are simple things such as workforce development and career academies teaching things like welding, culinary arts, and nursing assistant skills. My college even got a grant for some of this, called Talent Pipeline, meant to aid coronavirus relief. Ironically, you can click the link and see our “only business matters” governor smiling at young people. There is nothing wrong with any of the aforementioned careers. The problem comes when college and universities are hamstrung by them to the point where they cannot afford to provide any moral leadership. The money could have been used to improve ventilation in classrooms or help those with no access to the technology needed for remote learning. Instead, we teach welding because local companies want welders. Your tax dollars will do this for them.

Currently, doctors and hospitals have seen a surge in cases and have urged people to shelter this holiday season. We know that young people (not little kids) are spreading the virus. They are the main spreaders. Many people now filling the hospitals have been traced to young people congregating. Some colleges are doing the right thing. Extreme testing has kept rates nar 0.1 % at some colleges. Yet many secondary schools and colleges, especially in the grain belt, have not taken steps to do anything because they are run like businesses and abdicate their moral responsibility to be leaders. Even worse, many religious organizations have also abdicated this responsibility. Instead of modeling selflessness, selfishness abounds. Scientists have had to take on the role of telling people what they should do morally to protect other people. Not schools, not churches–scientists. Guess what–that very scenario played out in First Men in The Moon. And, not to spoil it for you, but the businessman learns nothing from it. Nothing.

The president’s COVID treatment seems to have worked, or so he claims.

At its heart, it was made from Designer antibodies from humans who have recovered from Covid and from mice who have been designed to have a human immune system.

What are antibodies? To understand them we need to review how viruses work.

Viruses are bits of genetic material that come in coatings that are covered with protein bits with a unique shape. These protein bits are called antigens. Antigens are how scientists identify viruses. They are like the calling card of a virus. Each one is unique to that type of virus. Technically anything that produces an immune response is an antigen. In COVID-19, the “spike protein” sticking out all over like a crown is considered the antigen. Proteins elicit an immune response, unlike the fatty lipid blob that contains the rest of the virus. The spike protein allows the virus to interact with our cells, penetrate them, and inject the viral material into our cells where it uses our cell mechanisms to reproduce itself. Yes, the viral infection is a lot like our cells getting raped and impregnated with a virus.

Antibodies may also be able to treat cancer. Image from cancer.gov

White blood cells recognize a virus as dangerous and cover the anitigens with antibodies to neutralize them. Other white blood cells can then eat the virus. Antibodies have to be tailored for each virus. Vaccines work by teaching white cells how to make the right antibody so they can leap into action without the learning curve. Keeping away from the virus and wearing a mask is like an abstinence only class while a vaccine is more like sex education with a pregnancy prevention compoenent.

In general, antibodies look like Ys under a microscope and you can buy antibody pins, lanyards, phone grips and facemasks. In the latter, the antibodies are shown with weapons–an axe, an arrow, and magic.

The president got a dose of these antibodies equal to three to four times the amount a human needs. Should the rest of us expect such treatment to be available soon? In a word, NO.

Supplies are limited because, in part, because Operation Warp Speed is more show than go when it comes to investment. Yes, it is a cheaply funded program which means most of us won’t able to afford this treatment.

The cost of monoclonals, especially for the higher doses needed for treatment, could split the world into the haves and have-nots. “It’s unlikely that that treatment will get down to a price point in the near future that it would be easily affordable globally,” says Seth Berkley, who leads Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and also heads an international COVID-19 vaccine effort.

A deadly virus which may cause sterility in males and a cure only available to some. Doctors are stuck saving the very person who got us into this mess, a man they condemn. I guess for most of us, it’s going to be abstinence only.

I was surprised that a friend recently didn’t know what the UAW sticker on my car meant. Sadly, there are many people who probably don’t appreciate what organized labor has done for us. The UAW, or United Auto Workers, has been around since 1915. Its president had this to say in a recent statement :

“Labor Day is the day that we celebrate and recognize the spirit, strength and life-changing contributions of working men and women across this nation. It is the voice, the sacrifice and the unwillingness to give up that defines our labor movement and our union.

So, I would like to remind all of us that it is labor that built America and America’s middle class. It is labor that has brought us fair wages, health care benefits, retirement, health and safety standards, a voice in the workplace and so much more. It is labor that stands up to social and civil injustice and it was the working men and women of this nation that stepped up when our country was in need of critical life-saving Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

Our brothers and sisters were among the first to go to work to make PPE, to make ventilators, to staff food banks and help out in countless ways in communities from coast to coast. But then, that is what we do — and what we have always done.”

Organized labor has always been there for the working class.

In 1961, the UAW at GM, union won the” first fully paid hospitalization and sick benefits, and agreement for no discrimination on basis of race, creed, color or national origin.”

The UAW has lobbied for a Civil Rights Law, formation of OSHA, an Election Day paid holiday for auto workers, and to protect workers in numerous industries.

Before the labor movement gained steam in the 1800s, workers were overworked, underpaid, and not protected from workplace dangers. Children labored beside adults and were often victims of workplace safety lapses.

Strikes, protests, and riots were effective in getting organized labor some concessions from the rich overlords. Wealthy women such as Jane Addams supported the labor movement in its infancy. Child labor was ended in 1881, although not for farm workers. In 1938, the work week was dropped from 100 hours to 40 and a minimum wage was established.

President Reagan was a notorious union-buster and closed down OSHA offices to make conditions less safe. Since his election in 1980, wages have remained stagnant except for the wealthy. The decline of unions has been cited as a contributing factor for flat wages. Inequality and deregualtion, especially in other countries, also take a share of the blame for our huge wage gap, where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. A more progressive tax structure would help solve the problem of income inequality.

Meanwhile, “labor unions have proven to be the only consistently effective mechanism for enabling workers to express their concerns and exert significant influence in the workplace..unions have benefited not only members, but the workforce as a whole.”

Labor Unions and workers have been significantly beaten up by politicians as of late. Even if, like most of us, you aren’t in a labor union, it’s time to give them, and workers, respect and to pay attention to the damaging policies enacted over the past few years by politicans who claim to represent the working class but favor the wealthy instead. President Trump even indicted Ronald Reagan into the Department of Labor’s Hall of Fame. We workers have paid the price for one bad president long ago. Let’s hope there isn’t more price to be paid.

Meanwhile, we can thank the UAW for providing protective equipment such as masks and gowns and equipment such as ventillators for healthcare professionals and workers during the pandemic when our elected officals couldn’t seem to get it done because, they didn’t want to.

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