"He is Everywhere." The True Origin of SPECTRE

On vacation in Altaussee in the Austrian Alps, I have been thinking about the SPECTRE crime syndicate that James Bond contended with, starting in Ian Fleming’s 1961 novelThunderball.Fleming introduced SPECTRE—the Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion—to replace the earlier SMERSH (a real Soviet counter-intelligence organization) because he feared the Cold War might thaw, thereby making state-sponsored villains obsolete.The 2015 Bond filmSPECTREfeatured a key scene shot at the Jagdhaus Seewiese here in Altaussee. I found this satisfying, as I have many fond memories of having lunch at the Jagdhaus.For those who don’t rememberSPECTRE, the film reboots the character of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, whose real name is Franz Oberhauser. Following of the death of Bond’s parents when he was eleven, he was raised by Franz’s father, Hannes, and the two boys grew up together in the Austrian Alps. Upon reaching maturity, Franz embarked on a lifelong path of evil, while Bond joined the Royal Navy and later MI6.After infiltrating a SPECTRE meeting in Rome, Bond realizes that his foster brother is running the crime syndicate.He then tracks down his old opponent Mr. White at the Jagdhaus, who has apparently developed a conscience and attempted to leave SPECTRE to no avail. The long arm of the organization has caught up with him and clandestinely poisoned him with thallium.In the following pivotal scene at the Jagdhaus, Mr. White tells Bond that “he” (meaning Oberhauser and SPECTRE) is everywhere.”Bond promise’s to protect Mr. White’s daughter, Dr. Madeleine Swann — a psychiatrist who works at the Hoffler Clinic (also in the Austrian Alps) in exchange for revealing SPECTRE’s workings.With Swann’s help, Bond discovers that SPECTRE is behind numerous global tragedies and isorchestrating terrorist attacks to legitimize the “Nine Eyes” global surveillance program, which would grant the organization unchecked access to the world’s intelligence.Contemplating the global, lockstep pandemic response that ruthlessly crushed any and all dissidents in every country reminded me of SPECTRE. Last night we had dinner at a restaurant across the lake from the Jagdhaus with Dr.Andreas Sönnichsen—former Professor of General Medicine and Head of the Department ofGeneral and Family Medicine at the Medical University of Vienna.In 2020-2021, ProfessorSönnichsen publicly questioned many elements of the official (global, lockstep) pandemic response, especially the rationale and safety the COVID-19 mass vaccination program. As a result, he was—exactly like Dr. Peter McCullough at his major university medical center in Dallas—fired, sued, and relentlessly persecuted. In the following video, they speak about their eerily similar experience, even though they were in different countries, 5,000 miles apart.The globalist Bio-Pharmaceutical Complex iseverywhere. It has infiltrated every medical university, hospital system, state health authority, and mainstream media corporation. It is an organized crime syndicate that strongly resembles SPECTRE.Subscribe nowShare

Summary: The world is run by a globalist oligarchy that resembles Ian Fleming's crime syndicate, as evidenced by the global, lock-step pandemic response.


BREAKING: Peer-Reviewed Study Finds mRNA, SV40, and Spike Protein Can Persist in Humans for At Least 3.5 Years After COVID-19 "Vaccination"

byNicolas Hulscher, MPHFor years, the public was falsely told that COVID-19 mRNA “vaccine” components rapidly degrade within days to weeks. Ournew peer-reviewed studyterminates that assumption.Our study,Persistence of Vaccine mRNA, Plasmid DNA, Spike Protein, and Genomic Dysregulation Over 3.5 Years Post-COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination, was just published inMedical Research Archives, the flagship journal of the European Society of Medicine.The paper describes a 55-year-old man who developed progressive multisystem illness after three Pfizer-BioNTech injections and underwent one of the most extensive post-vaccination evaluations ever reported: >40 emergency department visits, >200 specialty consultations, >100 laboratory investigations, and >100 imaging studies over a 3.7-year period.Key findings included:•Detectable circulating spike protein 1,173 days post-vaccination•Vaccine-derived spike mRNA detected in circulating exosomes 1,284 days post-vaccination•Pfizer vaccine plasmid DNA elements—including spike gene fragments (S1–S3), replication-origin sequences (ori1/ori2), and the SV40 enhancer—detected in skin tissue 1,364 days post-vaccination•Pfizer vaccine plasmid replication-origin DNA sequences (ori1/ori2) detected in peripheral blood mononuclear cells 1,284 days post-vaccination•Persistent spike protein deposition in serial skin biopsies obtained at 1,160, 1,249, and 1,364 days post-vaccination•Persistently negative SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibodies across five separate time points spanning 809–1,433 days post-vaccination, effectively ruling out infection.•Multi-omic analyses at 1,277–1,364 days post-vaccination revealed ongoing immune dysregulation, transcriptomic abnormalities, and genomic instabilityThis represents the longest reported in vivo persistence of vaccine-derived mRNA, plasmid DNA fragments, and spike protein following COVID-19 mRNA “vaccination”.Large-scale investigations must be launched immediately to determine how many of the billions of COVID-19 mRNA injection recipients continue to harbor residual vaccine-derived mRNA, plasmid DNA, and spike protein years after injection.Nicolas Hulscher, MPHEpidemiologist and Foundation Administrator, McCullough FoundationSupport our mission:mcculloughfnd.orgPlease consider following both theMcCullough Foundationandmy personal accountonX(formerly Twitter) for further content.FOCAL POINTS (Courageous Discourse™) is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Summary: We report the longest documented persistence of COVID-19 vaccine-derived material to date following YEARS of investigation spanning 200+ specialist evaluations and 200+ advanced lab/imaging tests.


American COVID-19 Vaccine Debacle: 31 Million Booster Shots in 2025, Three Layers of Immunity, and Zero Accountability

By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHI was terrific to join Chief Patient Officer of The Wellness Company, Dr Drew Pinsky, for this update.🎙 Dr. Drew Interviews Dr. Peter McCullough: EUA Termination, Vaccine Injury, and Medical Freedom📋 EUA Termination: More Symbolic Than Substantive?Dr. Drew opens by asking for clarification on the EUA (Emergency Use Authorization) termination. McCullough explains the regulatory timeline: the national health emergency ended March 2023 and the public health emergency on May 11, 2023 — yet EUAs persisted. Vaccine companies pivoted from EUAs to fullBiological Licensing Agreements (BLAs), making the EUA termination largely symbolic. The last product to actually receive an EUA wasPemGarda, a monoclonal antibody for pre-exposure prophylaxis in transplant patients, authorized as late as March 2024.McCullough notes that vaccines carrythree layers of liability protection: the PREP Act, EUA regulatory rules, and the 1986 Vaccine Injury Compensation Act. The EUA termination, he argues, doesn’t meaningfully change the liability landscape.💉 Who’s Actually Taking Boosters?The CDC stopped reporting actual booster numbers in 2023, relying instead on robocall surveys (National Immunization Survey). McCullough’s foundation analyzedPfizer and Moderna sales datawith standard wastage calculations and arrived at31 million boosters administered — just 8.9% of the population. His gravest concern: the majority of those 31 million may bechildren, given that 29 states mandate ACIP vaccine schedules for school attendance, starting as early as six months. Meanwhile, his own mother’s senior home in Dallas hasn’t discussed boosters in three to four years — the most vulnerable aren’t getting them while the lowest-risk populations are.🧬 Vaccine Injury: Late-Emerging PatternsMcCullough reports the acute myocarditis and cardiac arrest wave has subsided, but he’s now seeinglate neurologic injuries, venous/arterial damage, Guillain-Barré syndrome, strokes, and unusual coronary disease patterns— including single-artery advanced disease with otherwise clean vessels. He links late clotting events (2024-2025) almost exclusively tounderlying genetic predispositionslike Factor V Leiden and other coagulopathies. This underscores his point: many people tolerate the shots without issue, but those who don’t suffer catastrophic outcomes — and with proper risk stratification (spike antibody levels, genetic screening), these could have been predicted and certainly should be managed now withMcCullough Protocol Base Spike Detoxification.Dr. Drew shares his own harrowing J&J experience: full-body chills, raccoon-eye bruising, and transverse sinus thrombosis, vaccine induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) — a syndrome with a30% mortality rate. The J&J and AstraZeneca adenoviral vector vaccines were particularly thrombogenic.🔬 The Czech Data and VA Study Cherry-PickingThe only country to trackvaccinated vs. unvaccinated all-cause mortalityis analysis by Hulscher et al, and McCullough notes the data “doesn’t look good” for the vaccinated. He and Drew dissect a recent VA study claiming boosters reduced heart attacks — a study McCullough dismantled for cherry-picking (fourth booster only, flu shot comparisons, narrow follow-up windows, PCR-positive gating). The French pulled similar tricks with cancer signals. McCullough warns readers to scrutinize these conclusions carefully.💊 The Wellness Company Emergency KitsMcCullough presents data on TWC’s medical emergency kits:over 70% of owners use them, of those,96%+ derive benefit,82% improvedtheir condition within three days while adverse events were near zero, and the kits successfully prevent ER and urgent care visits.He highlightsZofranas the highest-impact drug for preventing unnecessary hospital visits by controlling intractable nausea. Dr Drew also advocates for broader doxycycline use — for tick bites, STI prophylaxis, and other indications — pushing back against antibiotic resistance concerns by noting thatlivestock antibiotics dwarf human use.🌾 Glyphosate and the Supreme CourtOn the Supreme Court blocking certain Roundup lawsuits, McCullough notes that81% of Americans have glyphosate in their urineper NHANES data citing Ospina:  “Glyphosate weighted detection frequency was81.2%“ in urine samples from a representative U.S. population aged 6 years and older (2,310 participants in NHANES 2013–2014).” He distinguishes between workers with massive occupational exposure (relative lymphoma risk ~1.4) and the general public’s dietary exposure, which he considers likely trivial.  The Donato meta-analysis Dr McCullough cited:  “The meta-relative risk (RR) of NHL for highest category of exposure was 1.49 (95% CI 0.37–2.61; 3 studies).”  Dr. Drew adds a constitutional law perspective: the Court rules on what the law says, not on what’s good or bad.Thanks for reading FOCAL POINTS (Courageous Discourse™)! This post is public so feel free to share it.SharePlease subscribe toFOCAL POINTSas a paying ($5 monthly) or founder member so we can continue to bring you the truth.AlterAImay be used to assist in searches, synthesis, and review.Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHChief Scientific Officer, The Wellness Companyhttps://www.twc.health/pages/focal-points📚 ReferencesMcCullough Foundation: mcculloughfnd.orgThe Wellness Company:twc.health/focalpointsMcCullough on X: @P_McCulloughMDBook:Vaccines, Mythology, Ideology, and RealityOspina M, Schütze A, Morales-Agudelo P, et al.Exposure to glyphosate in the United States: Data from the 2013–2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.Environment International. 2022;170:107620.Donato F, Pira E, Ciocan C, Boffetta P.Exposure to glyphosate and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma: an updated meta-analysis.La Medicina del Lavoro. 2020;111(1):63–73.N Hulscher, M Bowden, PA McCulloughCalls for Market Removal of COVID-19 Vaccines Intensify as Risks Far Outweigh Theoretical BenefitsSci. Public Health Policy Law 6, 1-17VA COVID booster cardiovascular outcomes study (critiqued by Dr McCullough)

Summary: EUA Charade, Kids Getting mRNA Shots While Nursing Homes Are Forgotten, Vaccine Mortality Data No One Wants to Discuss, Late-Emerging Vaccine Carnage, and Emergency Medical Kits Liberate


CDC Study Finds 24% of Adults Carry Alpha-Gal Antibodies Linked to Meat Allergies in Hard-Hit States

byNicolas Hulscher, MPHAnewly published CDC studyhas found extraordinarily high rates of alpha-gal antibodies linked to meat allergies among adults living in several hard-hit U.S. states, suggesting that alpha-gal sensitization is far more widespread than previously recognized.Researchers analyzed 3,000 blood samples collected from donors across 10 states between November 2024 and April 2025. Each sample was tested for alpha-gal-specific IgE antibodies, and the CDC used population-weighting methods to estimate state-level prevalence.The results were alarming:• Arkansas: 31.2%• Missouri: 26.0%• Virginia: 22.8%• Kentucky: 22.7%• Tennessee: 21.5%Across these five hardest-hit states, the average prevalence reached 24.0%, meaning nearly one in four adults tested positive for alpha-gal antibodies.While not all antibody-positive individuals have clinically diagnosed Alpha-Gal Syndrome, these findings strongly suggest that millions of Americans have already been biologically affected by alpha-gal exposure.Most concerning is that this explosion in alpha-gal sensitization is occurring alongside arecent peer-reviewed paperarguing that it is “morally obligatory” to use genetically modified ticks to intentionally spread Alpha-Gal Syndrome. Given the enormous public health implications and the scale of sensitization now documented by the CDC, an immediate FBI investigation into all possible bioterrorism-related activities involving alpha-gal dissemination is warranted.Lone-star ticks are widely recognized as a major source of alpha-gal sensitization. However, they should not automatically be assumed to be the only contributor. Another source that deserves serious attention is widespread exposure to bovine gelatin through mass vaccination programs. Vaccines such as MMR and others contain bovine-derived gelatin, and because alpha-gal is a mammalian carbohydrate associated with mammalian-derived products, the possibility that repeated exposure through widely administered vaccines contributes to sensitization can not be ruled out.The CDC’s own data now indicate that alpha-gal sensitization likely affects millions of Americans—far more than previously recognized.Nicolas Hulscher, MPHEpidemiologist and Foundation Administrator, McCullough FoundationSupport our mission:mcculloughfnd.orgPlease consider following both theMcCullough Foundationandmy personal accountonX(formerly Twitter) for further content.FOCAL POINTS (Courageous Discourse™) is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Summary: New data suggest alpha-gal sensitization linked to meat allergies is far more widespread than previously recognized.


The Lost Art of Not Knowing and the Role of Empiricism

By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHFor many of Scottish descent around the globe there is something soothing about the burr.  Ellie McKay, host of the On a Mission 2.0 podcast, is Scottish. She was raised in Scotland and currently lives in Doncaster, England.🎙 Interview Summary: Dr. Peter McCullough onOn A Mission 2.0Host:Ellie McKay (Doncaster, England)Guest:Dr. Peter McCullough, NBPAS board-certified internist and cardiologist, Dallas, TexasDate:June 27, 2026🩺 Introduction and BackgroundMcKay opens by noting McCullough remains her most popular guest across over 400 episodes. McCullough outlines his credentials: training in internal medicine, cardiology, and epidemiology at the University of Michigan, with prior work focused on chronic heart and kidney disease. He’s testified before Congress, the FDA, and the European Medicines Agency.💊 The McCullough Protocol and Early TreatmentMcCullough describes developing his namesake protocol — a home-based early treatment regimen — published in theAmerican Journal of Medicinein August 2020. He argues that waiting until hospitalization was a catastrophic error. By March 2020, after participating in NIH calls where doctors described gruesome hospital outcomes, he recognized the need for day-one intervention. The protocol incorporated generic medications, nasal sprays, gargling, and monoclonal antibodies.  The protocol was not based on “certainty” it relied on clinical judgement and signals of benefit observed in 2020 and acceptable safety of well-understood products. It became the most widely used COVID treatment protocol globally, credited with saving tens of millions of lives.  The protocol became the basis of theContagion Emergency Kit offered by The Wellness Company.He recounts his own father’s case: a nursing home patient with dementia and a pelvic fracture who tested PCR positive for COVID-19 17 times over six months despite recovery. This experience exposed the PCR test duplication problem that inflated case counts.📊 Death Statistics and Data ManipulationMcCullough challenges official COVID death figures. He explains death certificates take approximately six weeks to finalize, yet media death counters updated minute-by-minute — an impossibility he questioned immediately. He asserts that a “COVID death” was simply anyone dyingwitha positive PCR test at any time, notfromCOVID. NCHS data from mid-2023 showed only half of recorded COVID deaths even mentioned pneumonia. When properly adjudicated, he estimates only 10% of reported COVID deaths in the US — roughly 120,000 out of 1.2 million — were truly due to COVID. Italian studies, he notes, suggest as low as 3%. He testified in Congress that approximately 85% of those deaths could have been prevented with early treatment.💉 Vaccine Harms and Institutional Cover-UpMcCullough reports 19,500 deaths officially attributed to COVID vaccines in VAERS, with over 1,000 occurring on the same day as injection. Citing FDA testimony from Dr. David Wiseman, he estimates underreporting at 30-fold, putting total American vaccine deaths around half a million — exceeding COVID deaths themselves.He describes myocarditis as a leading cause of vaccine death, with the first clear fatal case published in theNew England Journal of Medicinein August 2021. Despite this, Biden subsequently instituted mandates. He distinguishes acute myocarditis from subclinical myopericarditis — a subtler condition causing palpitations and dizziness that can culminate in sudden cardiac arrest, which he links to many young public figures’ unexplained deaths.Regarding RFK Jr., McCullough expresses deep disappointment. Despite writing a book about Fauci and previously recognizing vaccine dangers, Kennedy now refuses to acknowledge vaccine deaths while in office. McCullough states Kennedy told him, “I serve at the pleasure of the president, and the president wants them on the market.” McCullough argues that as a non-physician, Kennedy lacks the medical authority to make the call himself, but should have done so anyway.🧬 The Spike Protein and Long COVIDMcCullough explains that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein — a 1,200-amino-acid structure containing an HIV-like glycoprotein insert — persists in the body and cannot be eliminated naturally. Everyone who had COVID received some spike protein; everyone vaccinated received large amounts. His spike protein detoxification protocol uses high-dose nattokinase, bromelain, and curcumin, with treatment continuing until anti-spike antibody levels drop below 1,000 units/mL. McCullough and The Wellness Company developed this protocol to be generalizable and low cost to people around the globe.🔬 Origins, Propaganda, and Ongoing Cover-UpMcCullough traces the term “misinformation” to 16th-century English, its extensive use in Nazi Germany, and its modern deployment as a medical propaganda tool. He identifies six propaganda terms: misinformation, disinformation, malinformation, anti-science, anti-vaxxer, and conspiracy theorist. He describes coordinated global media campaigns — “No one is safe” (2020) and “Crisis of the Unvaccinated” (2021) — disseminated simultaneously worldwide, likely through WHO’s National Focal Points network.On lab origins, he implicates Anthony Fauci, Ralph Baric (UNC Chapel Hill), Peter Daszak (EcoHealth Alliance), and Shi Zhengli (Wuhan). He notes Tulsi Gabbard and her predecessor Avril Haines both refused to release Wuhan documents despite a unanimous congressional vote.  TheCOVID‑19 Origin Act of 2023is a bipartisan U.S. law aimed at increasing transparency about how the COVID‑19 pandemic began. It moved quickly through Congress, passing the Senate on March 1, 2023, and the House on March 10, 2023, with little to no opposition, before being signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 20, 2023. The law directs U.S. intelligence agencies to declassify and release as much information as possible about the origins of COVID‑19, including any potential links to China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology, while still protecting sensitive national security information.[congress.gov],[nbcnews.com]Finally on her last day of office, Gabbard released the goods on Fauci and his co-conspirators.🛡 Prevention and ClosingMcCullough recommends twice-daily nasal sprays and 30-second gargles as superior prevention to vaccines, citing dozens of randomized trials.  The next pandemic will almost certainly be handled by the Chief Medical Board at The Wellness Company as no one will be looking to HHS or government agencies to save them.  TWC has the expertise, alacrity, and scale to respond to outbreaks and pandemics that is unmatched in the health and wellness space.He promotes his bookVaccines, Mythology, Ideology, and Reality— a New York Times bestseller — and announces the“Healing Beyond COVID” conference on Guernsey, February 8, 2026.FOCAL POINTS (Courageous Discourse™) is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Please subscribe toFOCAL POINTSas a paying ($5 monthly) or founder member so we can continue to bring you the truth.AlterAImay be used to assist in searches, synthesis, and review.Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHChief Scientific Officer, The Wellness Companyhttps://www.twc.health/pages/focal-pointsReferencesMcCullough PA, Kelly RJ, Ruocco G, Lerma E, Tumlin J, Wheelan KR, Katz N, Lepor NE, Vijay K, Carter H, Singh B, McCullough SP, Bhambi BK, Palazzuoli A, De Ferrari GM, Milligan GP, Safder T, Tecson KM, Wang DD, McKinnon JE, O’Neill WW, Zervos M, Risch HA. Pathophysiological Basis and Rationale for Early Outpatient Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Infection. Am J Med. 2021 Jan;134(1):16-22. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2020.07.003. Epub 2020 Aug 7. PMID: 32771461; PMCID: PMC7410805.McCullough, P. (2025).Vaccines, Mythology, Ideology, and Reality.McCullough, P. (2025). Subclinical myopericarditis.European Society of Medicine Medical Archives.Verma AK, Lavine KJ, Lin CY. Myocarditis after Covid-19 mRNA Vaccination. N Engl J Med. 2021 Sep 30;385(14):1332-1334. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc2109975. Epub 2021 Aug 18. PMID: 34407340; PMCID: PMC8385564.Kennedy, R.F. Jr. (2021).The Real Anthony Fauci. Skyhorse Publishing.US Senate Hearing:  Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations--The Corruption of Science and Federal Health Agencies: How Health Officials Downplayed and Hid Myocarditis and Other Adverse Events Associated with the COVID-19 Vaccines.  Chairman Senator Ron Johnson, Ranking Member Senator Richard Blumenthal, witnesses for the majority Dr. Peter A. McCullough, Dr. Jordan Vaughn, Dr. James Thorp, Dr. Joel Wallskog, Aaron Siri, JD, and minority witness Hawaii Governor Dr. Josh Green.  Dirksen Senate Building May 21, 2025.

Summary: Real science admits uncertainty. Propaganda never does. How we forgot the difference — and what it cost us. Dr McCullough & Ellie McKay On a Mission 2.0


The Curated Evening: A Dinner Date Designed for What Comes After

By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHEasily a half of men in my office have some degree of erectile dysfunction.  Many are otherwise in the prime of their lives, travelling, and enjoying the rewards of a long arduous career.  At The Wellness Company, we had this man in mind when we designed this product.🍬 TWC Tadalafil Gum: A Chewable Revolution for Spontaneous IntimacyErectile dysfunction isn’t some rare affliction—it’s the elephant in the bedroom for a staggering number of men. By age 40, roughly 40% of men experience some degree of ED. That number climbs to 50% by 50, 60% by 60, and nearly 70% of men in their 70s. Yet the standard pharmaceutical response has remained stubbornly stuck in the past: a tablet you need to plan around, swallowed an hour before anything can happen, killing spontaneity dead in its tracks.TWC’s Tadalafil Gumflips that script entirely.The genius here is the delivery system. Chewing the gum bypasses first-pass liver metabolism, meaning the active ingredients—tadalafil and vardenafil—hit your bloodstream significantly faster than any pill ever could. We’re talking minutes, not hours. A man can actually respond to his partner’s cues in real time. She gives you that look across the dinner table? Pop a piece of gum. By the time the waiter has your check, you’re ready. No awkward clock-watching. No “sorry honey, give me 45 minutes.” Just genuine, natural-feeling responsiveness that preserves the psychological flow of intimacy—which is half the battle with ED anyway.The dual-action formulation is particularly clever. Tadalafil provides the long runway (that famous 36-hour window), while vardenafil delivers a faster onset and, for many men, a subjectively firmer response. Together they cover both dimensions of the problem: preparednessandacute responsiveness.And here’s something nobody talks about:sex at bedtime is a sleep hack. Orgasm triggers a cascade of prolactin, oxytocin, and a parasympathetic nervous system shift that results in the ideal sleep pattern. Men who engage in satisfying nighttime intercourse fall asleep faster, spend more time in deep sleep, and wake up genuinely refreshed. That morning-after clarity and energy? It’s real, it’s biochemical, and it turns a good night into a great next day. Your partner notices. Your coworkers notice. You’re sharper, more present, less irritable.  Your edge is back!TWC’s gum format also eliminates the “pill bottle on the nightstand” stigma. It’s discreet, it’s portable, and frankly it’s a better user experience than choking down a tablet with water right when you’re trying to set a mood.For men who’ve been sidelined by ED—or who simply want to trade pharmaceutical clunkiness for something that matches how real intimacy actually unfolds—this product is a genuine upgrade.FOCAL POINTS (Courageous Discourse™) is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Please subscribe toFOCAL POINTSas a paying ($5 monthly) or founder member so we can continue to bring you the truth.AlterAImay be used to assist in searches, synthesis, and review.Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHChief Scientific Officer, The Wellness Companyhttps://www.twc.health/pages/focal-pointsReferencesThe Wellness Company. (2025).Tadalafil Gum.https://www.twc.health/products/tadalafil-gumDisclaimer: This review is for informational purposes only. Consult your physician before starting any new medication, particularly if you take nitrates or have cardiovascular conditions.

Summary: When every detail is intentional—including the confidence to follow her lead


The Perimenopause Reset

By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHThe perimenopausal and menopausal times for women to say the least, are complicated.  So I brought in an expert to give us an update.🩺 Perimenopause and Menopause — A Hormone-Focused SummaryDr. Peter McCullough hostsDr. Jennifer Pfleghaar, a board-certified DO in Emergency Medicine and Integrative Medicine, for a deep dive into the hormonal architecture of perimenopause and menopause. Dr. Pfleghaar, author ofThePerimenopause Reset,practices virtually outside Nashville and brings both clinical rigor and hard-won personal experience — she achieved remission from Hashimoto’s thyroiditis after conventional medicine told her nothing could be done.🔬 The Physiology: What’s Actually HappeningPerimenopauseis the transitional window before full menopause (defined as complete cessation of menstrual cycles for 12 months). During this phase, the hormonal landscape becomes chaotic:Progesteroneundergoes a slow, steady decline. This is the hormone dominant in the luteal phase (second half of the cycle), responsible for calming GABA receptor binding, sleep quality, and mood stabilization.Estradiol (estrogen)does not decline smoothly — it becomeserratic and spiky. Feedback signaling from the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis degrades, producing what Dr. Pfleghaar likens to “static” in the system.The widening gap between declining progesterone and fluctuating estradiol creates a state offunctional estrogen dominance, even when absolute estrogen levels are falling.Dr. Pfleghaar emphasizes that women entering perimenopause with pre-existing metabolic dysfunction — insulin resistance, impaired estrogen clearance via liver/gut pathways — will experience more severe symptoms. She considers the menstrual cycle avital sign: heavy bleeding, severe cramping, and disabling PMS in younger years are warning signals of trouble ahead.💊 The Three-Hormone ApproachProgesterone — First LineProgesterone replacement is typicallythe starting pointin perimenopause. Dr. Pfleghaar strongly prefersoral bioidentical progesterone, taken at night, because first-pass hepatic metabolism converts it into allopregnanolone — a neurosteroid that binds GABA receptors and produces calming, sleep-promoting effects.Timing: Cyclical administration only — taken during the luteal phase (approximately days 15–28 of the cycle), not continuously.Dosing: Typically 100–200 mg compounded extended-release. Younger women may start at 50 mg while root causes are addressed.Exceptions: About 5% of women experience paradoxical agitation or excessive sedation from oral progesterone. For these patients, topical application bypasses the allopregnanolone pathway.Safety note: Oral progesterone doesnotproduce toxic hepatic metabolites, unlike oral estrogen.For women earlier in perimenopause with milder deficiency, Dr. Pfleghaar may trialVitex(chaste tree berry), contained inVenus from TWC, to support endogenous progesterone production before committing to bioidentical replacement.Testosterone — Adrenal-First, Then ReplaceTestosterone in women derives predominantly from theadrenal glands, not the ovaries. Therefore, low testosterone often reflects adrenal depletion from chronic stress or cortisol dysregulation rather than a primary gonadal failure.Workup priority: Optimize adrenal function and stress management first. Labs often show testosterone rebounding once cortisol is controlled — without any exogenous hormone.When to replace: Roughly one-third of perimenopausal women and a higher fraction of postmenopausal women ultimately need supplementation — but only after ruling out stress-driven deficiency.Administration: Topical only. Dr. Pfleghaar starts at0.25 mg topically per day, compounded in a VersaBase cream, applied to inner thigh or arm for 60–90 seconds. She rarely exceeds 0.75 mg.Why not oral: First-pass hepatic metabolism produces toxic metabolites. Oral testosterone is contraindicated.Why not pellets: Dr. Pfleghaar is unequivocally opposed to hormone pellets. They deliver supraphysiologic, uncontrolled doses, cannot be removed, and produce a crash cycle. They are, she notes, typically administered after minimal training at med spas.Monitoring: Serum testing is unreliable with topical administration. Dr. Pfleghaar usessaliva testingto assess tissue-level hormone load and correlates with symptom resolution.She highlights a critical safety point: high-dose testosterone in the absence of adequate estradiol creates cardiovascular risk — a phenomenon observable in the transgender population receiving testosterone with estrogen suppression.Estrogen — Topical, Bioidentical, and Metabolically AwareEstrogen replacement enters the picture primarily inlate perimenopause and postmenopause. Dr. Pfleghaar’s approach is shaped by the estrogen metabolism pathway framework:Pathway OutcomeGoodSafe excretion, no DNA damageBadInflammatory metabolitesUglyGenotoxic metabolites — cancer riskRoute: Topical (transdermal) is preferred. Oral bioidentical estrogen undergoes first-pass hepatic metabolism, stressing the liver and producing the “ugly” metabolites associated with DNA damage and carcinogenesis. Sublingual/troche routes are second-line because some is inevitably swallowed.Monitoring: Serum levels often fail to reflect tissue load with transdermal administration. Saliva testing reveals cases of significant overdosing — Dr. Pfleghaar describes postmenopausal patients with painful, tender breasts from excessive estrogen that serum labs missed entirely.Duration: Indefinite. Women who discontinue lose bone, cardiovascular, and cognitive protection. Dr. Pfleghaar frames this as a lifelong commitment to health preservation, not a temporary intervention.She draws a sharp distinction betweenbioidentical hormones(estradiol, progesterone) andsynthetic hormones(conjugated equine estrogens, progestins). The Women’s Health Initiative’s adverse outcomes — thrombosis, breast cancer, cardiovascular events — reflect the use of synthetics and progestins, which bind receptors but produce opposing physiological effects (e.g., progestins constrict blood vessels where bioidentical progesterone relaxes them).🔑 Core PrinciplesHormone replacement is not one-size-fits-all.Every woman’s “oven” preheats and cooks differently. Treatment must be individualized based on labs, symptoms, and metabolic context.Root cause must precede replacement.Metabolic health, stress, and liver/gut function determine how well a woman tolerates hormonal fluctuations and clears estrogen metabolites.Synthetic is not bioidentical.The distinction is not semantic — it determines cardiovascular, thrombotic, and oncologic risk profiles.Route matters.Topical estradiol and testosterone avoid first-pass hepatic toxicity. Oral progesterone uniquely delivers neurosteroid benefits.Monitoring requires the right tool.Saliva testing captures tissue-level hormone activity that serum testing misses with transdermal preparations.FOCAL POINTS (Courageous Discourse™) is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Please subscribe to FOCAL POINTS as a paying ($5 monthly) or founder member so we can continue to bring you the truth.AlterAImay be used to assist in searches, synthesis, and review.Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHPresident, McCullough FoundationFOCAL POINTS has partnered withPiqueto promote your optimal health. To learn more aboutPiqueproducts and get 20% off and free gifts today,https://www.piquelife.com/DRPETER📚 ReferencePfleghaar, J.The Perimenopause Reset. Available at:AmazonWebsite:https://www.integrativedrmom.com/

Summary: What Every Woman Needs to Know About Progesterone, Estrogen, and Testosterone Before, During, and After the Change


Spiked: How the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Turned Millions of Mast Cells and Basophils into Twitchy Histamine Bombs

By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHOne of the most common post-pandemic syndromes I encounter in the office is mast-cell activation syndrome (MCAS).The ubiquitous nature of SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein and its ability to trigger mast cells is fundamental to understanding how long-COVID and COVID-19 vaccination can make a victim far more sensitive to many different environmental toxins (Lyme, mold, etc).🧬 Spike Protein and Mast Cell Sensitization: The MCAS Connection We’re Finally AcknowledgingZhang S, Xu C-L, Wang J, Xiong X, Wang J-H. Spike proteins of coronaviruses activate mast cells for degranulation via stimulating Src/PI3K/AKT/Ca2+intracellular signaling cascade. J Virol. 2025 May 20;99(5):e0007825. doi: 10.1128/jvi.00078-25. Epub 2025 Apr 30. PMID: 40304504; PMCID: PMC12090780.🔬 The Mechanism: How Spike Protein Hijacks Mast Cells and BasophilsMast cells and basophils are the body’s frontline sentinels — granular leukocytes packed with histamine, tryptase, heparin, and a cocktail of inflammatory mediators. Under normal conditions, they degranulate in response to genuine threats. But the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein — whether from natural infection or the lipid-nanoparticle-delivered products — fundamentally alters this threshold.The spike protein’s S1 subunit binds not only to ACE2 receptors but also toheparan sulfate proteoglycansabundantly expressed on mast cell surfaces. This primes the mast cell through several pathways:Surface-bound spike proteinacts as a persistent antigenic irritant, clustering IgE receptors (FcεRI) even without allergen cross-linking, lowering the activation threshold dramatically.Intracellular spike protein— documented in circulating monocytes and tissue-resident immune cells months after exposure — interacts with mitochondrial membranes and the NLRP3 inflammasome, keeping mast cells in a state of chronic, low-grade activation.The spike protein’s fusion peptide domain directly triggersMRGPRX2, the Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor that mediates pseudo-allergic degranulation independent of IgE. This explains why patients with no prior allergic history suddenly develop multi-system reactivity.The result is a mast cell that’shair-triggered— releasing histamine, prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and cytokines in response to stimuli that previously caused no reaction: temperature changes, foods, fragrances, exercise, emotional stress.🩺 The Clinical PictureMast Cell Activation Syndrome presents with protean symptoms because mast cells reside in virtually every vascularized tissue. Skin flushing and urticaria. GI bloating, diarrhea, and unpredictable food intolerances. Tachycardia, blood pressure instability, presyncope. Brain fog, headache, anxiety that feels “chemical” rather than psychological. Throat tightness without bronchoconstriction. The spike protein’s dual residence — anchored externally AND internalized — means standard antihistamines often fail, blocking downstream receptors while upstream degranulation continues unchecked.💊 The Solution: HistaCalm from The Wellness CompanyTheWellness CompanydevelopedHistaCalmspecifically for this pathophysiology. Rather than simply competing for histamine receptors, HistaCalm takes a multi-target approach to mast cell stabilization:Component MechanismQuercetinInhibits FcεRI-mediated degranulation; stabilizes mast cell membranes; downregulates leukotriene synthesisLuteolinSuppresses MRGPRX2-mediated pseudo-allergic activation; crosses the blood-brain barrier to address neuroinflammationPine Bark ExtractPotent antioxidant (OPCs); reduces histamine release; stabilizes capillary integrity against spike-induced vascular permeabilityButterburNatural leukotriene inhibitor and mast cell stabilizer; well-studied for allergic rhinitis via petasin-mediated suppression of histamine and cysteinyl leukotrienesApigeninFlavonoid that inhibits IgE-mediated degranulation; suppresses CD40 ligand expression on mast cells; anxiolytic properties through GABAergic modulation — directly relevant to the neuropsychiatric component of MCASThe formulation addressesboththe external spike protein anchored to mast cell surfaces (quercetin, luteolin, and apigenin prevent the clustering that triggers degranulation)andthe internalized spike driving chronic inflammasome activation (pine bark extract’s OPCs and butterbur’s anti-leukotriene effects). For the millions navigating post-infection and post-vaccination MCAS, HistaCalm represents a rationally designed intervention targeting the actual mechanism rather than chasing symptoms.Thanks for reading FOCAL POINTS (Courageous Discourse™)! This post is public so feel free to share it.SharePlease subscribe toFOCAL POINTSas a paying ($5 monthly) or founder member so we can continue to bring you the truth.AlterAImay be used to assist in searches, synthesis, and review.Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHChief Scientific Officer, The Wellness Companyhttps://www.twc.health/pages/focal-points📚 ReferencesTheoharides TC, et al. Mast cells and inflammation.Biochim Biophys Acta. 2012;1822(1):21-33.Afrin LB, et al. Characterization of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome.Am J Med Sci. 2017;353(3):207-215.McNeil BD, et al. Identification of a mast-cell-specific receptor crucial for pseudo-allergic drug reactions.Nature. 2015;519(7542):237-241.Weng Z, et al. Quercetin is more effective than cromolyn in blocking human mast cell cytokine release.PLoS One. 2012;7(3):e33805.Kritas SK, et al. Luteolin inhibits mast cell-mediated stimulation of activated T cells.Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol. 2013;26(1):13-19.Schapowal A. Butterbur for allergic rhinitis.Phytother Res. 2002;16(5):446-448.Rohdewald P. Pine bark extract in cardiovascular health.Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2002;40(4):158-168.Kang OH, et al. Apigenin inhibits mast cell degranulation.Biol Pharm Bull. 2011;34(5):748-753.HistaCalm — The Wellness Company.https://www.twc.health/products/histacalmZhang S, Xu C-L, Wang J, Xiong X, Wang J-H. Spike proteins of coronaviruses activate mast cells for degranulation via stimulating Src/PI3K/AKT/Ca2+intracellular signaling cascade. J Virol. 2025 May 20;99(5):e0007825. doi: 10.1128/jvi.00078-25. Epub 2025 Apr 30. PMID: 40304504; PMCID: PMC12090780.

Summary: When your cells won't stop screaming — and why TWC HistaCalm's five-compound stack works when antihistamines fail


"That Government is Best Which Governs Least"

Happy Independence Day! I hope that all of our readers enjoy a fun and relaxing Saturday with friends and family, celebrating the many blessings that “We the People” still enjoy, despite our garbage government in Washington.The second Trump administration has revealed the vanity of placing our hope in a “better” federal government. If “We the People” are going to retain what remains of our liberty, we must focus on ways to reduce the power of the federal government to harm us.Federal power should be regarded as something akin to sewage — it cannot be improved, only contained and prevented from spilling into the healthy political ecosystems of states whose residents are allowed to flourish with minimal government interference in their lives.Prudent adults don’t want a “better” government; we want government to leave us alone and quit stealing our money and giving it to its creepy friends at home and abroad.In other words, the second Trump administration confirms the veracity of Thomas Jefferson’s famous assertion: “That government is best which governs least.”In 1775, the British MP Edmund Burke understood that there was no sense in quarreling with the North American colonies, and that the relationship could be repaired if the Crown and Parliament would go back to leaving the colonies alone.In his March 22, 1775, speech “On Conciliation with the Colonies,” he introduced the term “salutary neglect” to characterize Britain’s earlier policy. He recommended this policy marked by lax enforcement of trade laws and minimal interference. In his view, the colonies were able to achieve remarkable growth and prosperity preciselybecausethey were left alone.Burke pointed out that the colonies had expanded commerce with Britain twelve-fold since 1700, driven by the “spirit of liberty” among their inhabitants rather than by “the constraints of watchful and suspicious government.” The colonies “owe little or nothing to any care of ours,” he argued.As he put it (in his elegant, 18th century style) “through a wise and salutary neglect, a generous nature has been suffered to take her own way to perfection.” At the same time the colonies flourished, they supplied raw materials and markets that enriched the empire. The lesson was clear — leave the colonists alone and they will look after themselves and make a valuable contribution to British prosperity.Facing the Coercive Acts and the drift toward war, Burke urged Parliament to repeal punitive measures, restore the “former unsuspecting confidence,” and return to indulgence instead of coercion.Exceptionally wise man that he was, he advocated preserving what experience had shown to work. He saw no empirical grounds for believing that exerting force on the colonies would yield a constructive outcome.  A policy of coercion would cause the colonists to resent the government in London and form a “jealous” — that is, hyper vigilant—attachment to liberty.Burke’s idea of salutary neglect resembled Thomas Jefferson’s famous proposition that “that government is best which governs least” —a sentiment he expressed in his First Inaugural Address emphasizing a “wise and frugal Government” that leaves people “free to regulate their own pursuits.”Both Burke and Jefferson recognized that state overreach often backfires, while wise restraint fosters productive and creative enterprise. Burke applied this insight to try to avert crisis in 1775; Jefferson offered it as a foundational American creed.And so, while you are burning burgers and “hoisting ice-cold lagers to your laughing tackle” (as an old Zimbabwe friend describes drinking beer) spare a thought for Edmund Burke and Thomas Jefferson. The wisdom they bequeathed to us in their political writings is as applicable as ever.Subscribe nowShare

Summary: Not "better" government, but less government is the only way forward for the U.S. Republic.


Fauci Under Oath: Where the Risk Actually LivesRand Paul has set the date. Anthony Fauci testifies on July 29 before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (The Hill 2026). Most coverage frames this as a reckoning for what he did during the pandemic. That framing misses the mechanics. The pardon and the expired statute of limitations have already closed the door on his past conduct. The only conduct still exposed is what he says in the chair.Biden pardoned Fauci for any federal offense from 2014 through January 2025 (CNN 2026). Paul concedes the statute of limitations on the gain-of-function testimony has run (Everett 2026). Past perjury, if it happened, cannot be charged. A new false statement can. Pardons do not reach future crimes. That single fact defines the entire hearing.Thanks for reading Malone News! This post is public so feel free to share it.ShareThe Fifth Amendment cuts against himThe instinct is to assume Fauci can take the Fifth and end the problem. The pardon makes that harder, not easier. The privilege against self-incrimination protects a witness from answers usable in a prosecution. Remove the prosecution and the privilege dissolves for that subject. The Supreme Court settled this in Brown v. Walker. A witness who cannot be charged cannot refuse to answer on self-incrimination grounds.For conduct inside the pardon window, Fauci is likely compellable. He cannot decline on the ground that a truthful answer would incriminate him. He also cannot lie. A false statement on July 29 is a fresh offense, unpardoned and prosecutable. The shield built to protect him now pushes him toward the one place he remains exposed.The residual room is narrow. He keeps the privilege where a truthful answer would expose him to something outside the pardon. Post-2025 conduct qualifies. State offenses qualify. A skilled lawyer will hunt for that hook. Absent it, the pardon operates as a compulsion to speak.What the pardon does not reachThe pardon closes federal criminal exposure. It closes nothing else. It reaches offenses against the United States and stops there. State crime and civil liability sit outside it. Both are already moving.Seventeen state attorneys general, led by South Carolina’s Alan Wilson, asserted in February 2025 that the pardon does not preclude state-level investigations or proceedings (South Carolina Attorney General 2025). They asked Congress for evidence usable at the state level. Idaho’s legislature resolved that the pardon confers no immunity from state crimes. The threshold claim is correct. A federal pardon cannot bar a state prosecution.The obstacle is Supremacy Clause immunity. The Constitution makes federal law supreme over state law. A state cannot punish a federal officer for doing his federal job. The Supreme Court settled this in In re Neagle in 1890. A federal marshal, assigned to guard a Justice, killed a man who lunged at him. California charged the marshal with murder. The Court threw the charge out. An officer acting within his federal duty answers to federal law, not to a state prosecutor.That doctrine shields Fauci’s official conduct. His grant decisions and his statements as a federal official are the core of the job he held. A state that charged him over them would not keep the case. Federal law lets a federal officer move such a prosecution into federal court, where the immunity is decided (28 U.S.C. 1442). Finding a state crime that survives is harder still. Testimony to Congress is federal. Grant administration is federal. The conduct has no natural home in a state penal code. The state track is leverage and an evidence operation. It is not a likely conviction path for official acts.Civil liability is different. The pardon never touched it. Clemency erases criminal liability alone. A civil suit seeks money, not prison, and it proves its case by a lower standard. It also opens discovery, which can pry loose documents a closed criminal file never would. Plaintiffs find that route attractive for exactly those reasons.Federal officials still carry heavy civil armor for official acts. Three layers do the work. The Westfall Act, passed in 1988, is the first. When a federal employee is sued for a wrong committed on the job, the United States steps in and takes his place as defendant. The employee drops out of the case. The claim then proceeds, if at all, against the government under its own restrictive rules. The second layer is the Bivens doctrine. A 1971 Supreme Court case once let citizens sue federal officers in person for violating their constitutional rights. The Court has since narrowed that route almost to nothing (Egbert v. Boule 2022). The third layer is qualified immunity. It protects an official from personal liability unless he broke a clearly established legal rule. Together these make personal damages against Fauci for official pandemic conduct hard to win.Every layer turns on one hinge. Scope of employment. The armor covers acts done within the job and only those. Show that Fauci acted outside his official role and the Westfall substitution falls away. He then stands in court as a private man. This is the seam plaintiffs aim at. The April 2026 indictment of David Morens, Fauci’s senior adviser, for concealing records is the wedge. So is the alleged instruction to delete an email that Paul surfaced. Both are offered to argue that Fauci stepped outside his lawful duties into a private scheme. That link is unproven.The largest numbers rest on a further theory. Civil conspiracy with joint and several liability. Under it, every member of a proven conspiracy can be charged with the entire harm, not merely his own share. Stack the claimed pandemic damages across fifty states and the figure reaches into the trillions. No court has come near that number against a single person. It is a ceiling lawyers prepare against, not a verdict anyone has won.State exposure reopens the Fifth Amendment. The privilege protects against any prosecution, state included. It applies wherever a truthful answer could be a link in the chain. Seventeen attorneys general are openly seeking state-law theories. That gives Fauci a genuine basis to invoke the Fifth on July 29. The campaign meant to increase his jeopardy hands him his strongest reason to say nothing.The civil risk runs through the record, not through a new claim. His 2022 Murthy v. Missouri deposition is already permanent, cross-usable evidence. Every answer on July 29 joins it. It becomes impeachment material and admission evidence in any case where he is a party or witness. It is usable against co-actors and institutions even where he is not liable. The hearing’s largest civil consequence is the sworn record it locks in. That record survives every immunity he holds.Gain of function and the regulatory linePaul’s loudest charge is his weakest legal ground. The federal definition of gain-of-function research runs through the P3CO Framework, adopted by HHS in December 2017 (HHS 2017). It regulates a narrow category. The pathogen must be a potential pandemic pathogen, meaning plausibly transmissible and virulent in humans. Enhancement of such a pathogen triggers review. Nothing else does.The EcoHealth grant funded chimeric work at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Researchers placed bat coronavirus spike proteins on a WIV1 backbone and tested binding to human ACE2 in engineered mice. The chimeras replicated at 1,000 to 10,000 times the level of WIV1 (PolitiFact 2021). NIH ruled the work outside P3CO. Its stated reason was that the bat viruses had not been shown to infect humans, so they were never potential pandemic pathogens (FactCheck.org 2021). The Tabak letter never uses the phrase gain of function.That reading holds on the text. It is also the definition of playing semantics. The grant carried a clause requiring EcoHealth to report enhanced growth beyond a set threshold. The chimeras cleared it by orders of magnitude. The clause existed because someone anticipated this result. Independent scholars reject NIH’s narrow application. David Relman of Stanford and Marc Lipsitch of Harvard, neither a Paul ally, have said an enhanced-replication result is exactly what oversight should capture.The legal consequence inverts the political heat. House investigators concluded Fauci’s testimony was, at a minimum, misleading (Moffit 2026). Misleading is not perjury. A no defended under the regulatory definition survives cross-examination. On gain of function, the exposure is reputational, not criminal.The 2024 testimony is softer than advertisedThe claim that Fauci already perjured himself in 2024 rests on six words. Asked whether he spoke to intelligence agencies about COVID, he said, Not to my knowledge about Covid (CNN 2026). Gabbard’s team isolated that line. The rest of the same hearing complicates it. Under questioning from Chairman Comer minutes later, Fauci corrected the record and affirmed he was briefed by the intelligence community multiple times (U.S. House 2024).He did not deny contact. He conceded it. A perjury theory cannot rest on a denial he never made. CNN, no friend of the lab-leak thesis, found the isolated answer did not clearly amount to a lie. The pardon covers it regardless. There is no clean past offense here for Paul to ratify on July 29.Erdman closes the ambiguityThe dangerous strand is the one with dates. James Erdman III, a CIA operations officer, testified on May 13, 2026 under subpoena and against his agency’s wishes (Fox News 2026). He served on Gabbard’s Director’s Initiatives Group reviewing COVID origins. His claim is specific. Fauci inserted himself into intelligence deliberations twice, on February 3, 2020 and June 4, 2021, to push a natural-origins narrative (New York Post 2026). Fauci supplied a curated list of experts mirroring the Proximal Origin authors. Six of seven technical experts favored a lab leak. Management changed the analytic line.Erdman is a contested witness. He carries advocacy ties from the vaccine-mandate fights. The CIA rejected his framing and called the hearing political theater (New York Post 2026). That same CIA assessed in 2025 that a lab leak is the most likely origin. Erdman’s charge concerns the corruption of the historical process, not the agency’s current position. The leap from recommending experts to orchestrating a cover-up is what remains disputed.None of that rescues Fauci on the narrow question. Dated meetings are not fundamentally ambiguous. A yes-or-no about a June 4, 2021 discussion cannot hide behind the definitional fog that shelters him on gain of function. This is where the vise closes.Fauci’s choiceFauci’s two risks pull in opposite directions. Concede and reframe, and he is legally safe. I offered scientific input when the intelligence community asked is defensible and probably true. It also abandons the passive-recipient posture his public account has leaned on. Protect the narrative, insist he was only briefed and never steered, and he stays consistent with his reputation. If the documents and Erdman contradict that, the minimization becomes a new false statement. The trap is not any single question. It is that the safe answer and the consistent answer are not the same answer. Erdman forces the choice.Objective reporting or propaganda?Press framing is part of this story. The Hill’s report on the subpoena inserted two judgments in the reporter’s own voice. It called Paul’s claims unsupported by hard evidence, applied to the whole bundle rather than the unresolved origins question alone (The Hill 2026). It stated Fauci is blamed for tens of millions of deaths, a figure reachable only under the broadest excess-mortality modeling and far above the confirmed count. Both cut one direction. Both sit in the outlet’s voice, not in a quote.That is bias, and it is demonstrable from the text. Intent is not. The same output follows from house habit, from a newsroom that codes lab-leak claims as fringe and never updated as the CIA, FBI, and Department of Energy shifted. Why the spin was designed this way cannot be read off a page. The honest charge stays with what is printed. The Hill slanted its own reporting in Fauci’s favor. The background, purpose, and intent of that bias is unprovable and beside the point.AccountabilityThe hearing will not resolve the origin of SARS-CoV-2. The pardon still stands. The record of what Fauci did is largely fixed. One variable is open. Whether Fauci, under oath, repeats a denial that the record can now falsify. His federal criminal exposure is closed. State prosecutors and civil plaintiffs are still building, and every sworn answer feeds them. His words are the last variable he controls. Accountability, if it comes, will come from his own mouth.Malone News is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.ReferencesBivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents. 1971. 403 U.S. 388.CNN. 2026. “Why the Covid-19 Documents Gabbard Released Don’t Prove Her Claims About Fauci.” June 23. https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/23/politics/covid-19-gabbard-fauci-claims.Egbert v. Boule. 2022. 596 U.S. 482.Everett, Burgess. 2026. “Why Rand Paul Subpoenaed Fauci.” Semafor, June 23. https://www.semafor.com/article/06/23/2026/why-rand-paul-subpoenaed-fauci.FactCheck.org. 2021. “Republicans Spin NIH Letter About Coronavirus Gain-of-Function Research.” October. https://www.factcheck.org/2021/10/scicheck-republicans-spin-nih-letter-about-coronavirus-gain-of-function-research/.Federal Employees Liability Reform and Tort Compensation Act of 1988 (Westfall Act). Pub. L. No. 100-694, 102 Stat. 4563.Fox News. 2026. “Who Is James Erdman III? CIA Whistleblower Who Went from COVID Mandate Fights to Senate Spotlight.” May 13. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/who-james-erdman-iii-cia-whistleblower-who-went-from-covid-mandate-fights-senate-spotlight.HHS (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). 2017. Framework for Guiding Funding Decisions About Proposed Research Involving Enhanced Potential Pandemic Pathogens. December. https://aspr.hhs.gov/S3/Pages/Enhanced-Potential-Pandemic-Pathogen-Oversight-Framework.aspx.In re Neagle. 1890. 135 U.S. 1.Moffit, Robert. 2026. “Fauci Will Testify, but the CIA Needs More Scrutiny.” Daily Signal, June 25. https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/06/25/fauci-testify-senate-cia/.New York Post. 2026. “CIA Whistleblower James Erdman Reveals Anthony Fauci ‘Influenced’ COVID Origins Intel Probe as Part of Lab Leak ‘Cover-Up.’” May 13. https://www.aol.com/news/cia-whistleblower-james-erdman-reveals-160502741.html.PolitiFact. 2021. “Ask PolitiFact: What Does an NIH Letter Say About Gain-of-Function Research, What Fauci Knew?” October 28. https://www.politifact.com/article/2021/oct/28/ask-politifact-what-does-nih-letter-say-about-gain/.South Carolina Attorney General. 2025. “Attorney General Alan Wilson Leads Coalition of AGs Investigating Dr. Anthony Fauci’s COVID-19 Response.” February 5. https://www.scag.gov/about-the-office/news/attorney-general-alan-wilson-leads-coalition-of-ags-investigating-dr-anthony-fauci-s-covid-19-response/.The Hill. 2026. “Rand Paul Issues Subpoena for Anthony Fauci.” June 23. https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5936032-rand-paul-subpoena-anthony-fauci-covid-19/.U.S. House. 2024. “A Hearing with Dr. Anthony Fauci.” Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, June 3. https://www.congress.gov/event/118th-congress/house-event/LC72977/text.U.S. Senate. 2026. “Written Testimony of James E. Erdman III Before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.” May 13. https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/letter-and-testimomy.pdf.


The Cost of Convenience

Jessica’s essay below is a gentle reminder that the greatest things in life are rarely the most efficient. A machine can organize our calendars, answer our questions, and even mimic our words, but it cannot replace the quiet satisfaction of learning a skill with our own hands, the wisdom gained through struggle, or the love that grows from caring for another person. In our pursuit of convenience, we risk surrendering the very experiences that shape character, purpose, and joy. Humanity was never meant to be optimized like a factory floor.We were made to wonder, to create, to fail, to forgive, and to grow. The challenge before us is not whether we can automate more of our lives, but whether we will still choose the beautifully imperfect path of being fully human. Whether society, or at least a portion of it, can recognize that greater ambition and more money to create more automation do not necessarily equate to a fulfilling or happy life.Jessica’s essay is ultimately a hopeful one. It reminds us that while technology may become ever more capable, our humanity remains a choice, one renewed every day in the simple acts of thinking for ourselves, making something with our own hands, sharing a meal, tending a garden, comforting a friend, and choosing presence over convenience.JGMAudio Version:Has Automation Stolen What It Means to Be Human?By Jessica RoseI want to begin this article by reminding everyone reading it of the old parable of the man fishing alone on a beach. It goes something like this, more or less.There’s a man fishing alone on a beach with a single, simple fishing pole. Another man walks up to him and asks him why he doesn’t buy a boat to fish because then, he could catch more fish. The fisherman responds by saying: “Then what?” The passer-by then says in a matter-of-fact way: “Well then, you could buy an even bigger boat and catch even more fish with the money from selling all of that fish!”. The fisherman responds by saying: “Then what?” The passer-by confounded that the fisherman does not seem to understand what he is telling him balks: “Then you could retire and hire others to do the fishing for you!” The fisherman responds by saying: “Then what?” Even more confounded, the passer-by says: “Then you could have more time to spend doing what you love!”The fisherman looks at him. And waits. For understanding. The passer-by then comprehends perhaps for the first time in his life that the long and often exploitative path to simplicity is pointless. The fisherman, even with all of the money in the world would be doing precisely what he already was doing.Here’s a more “well-known” version if you like.One day, a wealthy businessman (or investment banker, in some tellings) was vacationing in a small coastal village in Mexico. He watched as a lone fisherman rowed his little boat back to shore with just a few large fish. The businessman complimented the fisherman on the quality of the catch and asked,“How long did it take you to catch those?”“Only a little while,” the fisherman replied.“Why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?” the businessman asked.“I caught enough for my family’s needs today,” the fisherman said.The businessman pressed on:“But what do you do with the rest of your time?”The fisherman smiled and answered, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.”The businessman scoffed. “I’m a Harvard MBA – I can help you. You should spend more time fishing. With the extra money, buy a bigger boat. With the bigger boat, catch even more fish, then buy several boats and build a fleet. Cut out the middleman, sell directly to processors, open your own cannery. Control production, processing, and distribution. You’d eventually move to the city, expand to other locations, run a growing enterprise.”The fisherman listened patiently, then asked, “And how long would all that take?”“Fifteen, maybe twenty years,” the businessman replied.“And then what?” the fisherman asked.The businessman laughed. “That’s the best part! When the time is right, you announce an IPO, sell your company stock to the public, make millions – become very rich!”“Millions… and then what?” the fisherman repeated.“Then,” the businessman said triumphantly, “you could retire! Move to a small coastal village where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings to sip wine and play guitar with your friends.”The fisherman looked at him quietly for a moment, then smiled and said, “But that’s exactly what I’m already doing.”The businessman stood there, speechless, as the simple truth sank in: the fisherman was already living the very life the ambitious man dreamed of achieving – after decades of grinding pursuit…I was walking today and knew that I had to write up some of the thoughts I had about automation being the key to the demise of what it means to be human.To be connected. To work hard. To truly earn. To truly learn.It got me thinking about one of the first examples of automation that was actually a really neat idea: the water wheel. Water wheels and similar devices appeared as early as the 1st century BC (or possibly earlier in rudimentary forms) among the Greeks and Romans, used for grinding grain. These harnessed flowing water to drive machinery continuously without constant human input, representing early power automation in industry. Similar water-powered trip-hammers existed in ancient China over 2,000 years ago.The most commonly cited earliest true example of automated control – a self-regulating feedback mechanism – is the improved water clock (clepsydra– comes from Ancient Greek meaning to pipette…) invented by the Greek engineer Ctesibius around 270–250 BC in Ptolemaic Egypt (Alexandria)…Automatic devices can be divided into subdivisions based on function. Some devices help and are “non-invasive” in terms of imposing on the human part of humanity. Some devices are quite “invasive” in this same way.Many – if not all – devices made in the last century fall into the latter subdivision. I think of these as inflictions upon humanity masquerading as “convenience”, as opposed to devices that make our human lives better. Many examples exist and play a daily role in our human lives today.(Some examples)Single-serve pod coffee makers: Ah yes! The promise of instant coffee without that brewing hassle! Only problem is what you actually get is mediocre taste, generation massive plastic waste, ingestion of microplastics and likely forever chemicals, high cost per cup relative to traditional methods, and most importantly, the removal of the simple ritual of making coffee that many find relaxing orsocial.Smartphones: How many times a day does someone on one of these dumb devices almost bump into you? How many people do you see on a daily basis who are literally in phone-land – more akin to zombies – than engaged with nature or others? With constant notifications and app ecosystems, they automate communication, information access, navigation, and entertainment into one device for seamless convenience! The only catch is that they contribute to addiction, reduced attention spans,social isolation, anxiety, poorer sleep, and less presence in real-life andsocialinteractions.Robotic vacuum cleaners: Why vacuum or sweep when you can off-shore that duty to a robot! They handle floor cleaning autonomously so you “don’t have to”. But guess what? They require more setup/maintenance than promised, miss spots, create noise/annoyance, and don’t replace the satisfaction or light exercise of manual vacuuming, perhaps even as a family activity, eliminating yet anothersocialinteraction. But hey, you get yet another gadget to charge and repair.Microwave ovens: Ah yes. Where would we all be without being able to speed up heating of forever plastic/endocrine disrupting nightmares that are TV dinners? But hey, isn’t that the ultimate convenience? Guess again! This encouragement of ingesting ultra-processed ready meals to save you time also reduces home cooking skills/pleasure, altersocialfamily meal rituals, and shift food prep away from shared or mindful preparation toward solitary, rushed eating. Not very social or human-like behavior.And now we get to the real winners in our list.Smart home devices and always-on assistants: Oh man, where do I start with these? Automation of climate control, lighting, music, shopping lists, etc., for effortless living! Why wouldn’t you want to not take the time to get up off your ass and turn the thermostat yourself when a computer can do it for you! I am being sarcastic, of course, because all of these so-called smart devices foster dependency, privacy erosion (constant listening), increased screen time fragmentation, and a subtle loss of basic self-reliance or analog comforts. Loss ofself-reliance. Isolation. Loss ofsocialstructure.Automatic/self-checkout kiosks and app-based ordering: Welcome to the new world where all you have to be able to do is use your index finger to have all of your shopping needs fulfilled! No more actually having to walk to the grocery store or market! No more talking to other people at the market! No need to go slow! Ingest! Ingest! Ingest! Consume! Consume! Consume! They’re so awesome, aren’t they? Speeding up transactions by removing cashiers andhuman interaction.Stupid humans: so error-prone and slow! But hey, guess what? These apps and self-checkouts also increase frustration (computers never make mistakes – wait, is the printer not printing again?),reducejobs/social contact, and turn routine errands into impersonal, glitch-prone experiences that feel more alienating, than efficient.I could go on… but these examples are sufficient for now.Notice how in every single example, there is an inherent de-socialization component baked in. Hmm. Is this to ensure that our lives are made more convenient, or is this something more insidious? Having said that, I want to stress how deeply disturbed I am every single day that these things are beingdemandedby humans.No demand; no supply.Why are we demanding these things? Do people really and truly believe that these idiotic things make their lives easier/better? Where does the line get drawn between convenience and relinquishing self-sovereignty? Does this line get drawn? Have we not opted into slavery?Why are supply chains even a thing? The only supply chain that any human used to need is the line from their own goat to fresh cheese.This automation of human work, to me, poses a real existential crisis that is the root reason why we are “where we are”today as a society.Giving up these wonderful ritualistic habits that translate to being able to eat that day, or being with our loved ones, or sleeping well after a day of hard work, has led us nowhere butisolatedanddependent.I want to end this short pokey piece on a positive and inspiring note. I would love it if everyone would watch Maynard J. Keenan’s 4-part mini-movie series called: The Art of Work. It speaks deeply to what I am writing about here…I simply hope that this article is shared profusely and that perhaps, even one person will wake up from their digital slumber as a result of reading it.Notice that I didn’t even touch on AI or human-replacing robots: the ultimate automation enforcing a permanent vacation from human-ation.Be like the man alone fishing on the shore and never succumb to the lie that the act of DOING is something that needs to be sped up or removed from the human equation.DOING is not far from BEING.Love and light.Thanks for reading Malone News! This post is public so please share it.ShareThe essay above was lightly abbreviated. The full essay was was first published onJessica’sSubstackand then republished at theBrownstone Institute.  Republished here via a creative commons license.To Conclude, by JGM:The older I get, the more convinced I am that the richest parts of life cannot be outsourced. They are found in the work of our own hands and hearts: domestic chores, tending a garden, caring for animals, sharing a meal with family, comforting a friend, reading a good book, or simply sitting quietly with our thoughts.These moments are not interruptions to life; they are our lives. Technology can save us time, but it cannot tell us how to spend it well. In the end, our humanity is not defined by what we produce, but by what we nurture, what we create, and the love we invest in the people and places entrusted to our care.The more our world races toward automation, the more precious these simple acts become. They remind us that being human has never been about doing everything faster. It has always been about living our lives as to the fullest.Malone News is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.


Ozone rectal insufflation instructions

Ozone rectal insufflation instructions
YouTube video by Dr. Frank Shallenberger (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjdNl_d2FC8). Transcript is the auto-caption track — verbatim ASR, not a certified transcript.

okay go yeah this is dr. Conrad limited be giving you some instructions on the ozone generator for rectal insulation so you'll receive your ozone generator box like this and just how you don't be intimidated this is the generator here it's very simple oh to in that's where the oxygen comes in and ozone and you have a plug for your electrical connection we have everything here and we also get some tubing so now we have to go to the next stage now you need oxygen it either has to be medical grade oxygen or industrial grade the first thing you have to determine is if you can purchase medical grade or industrial grade there are some patients who have difficulty getting a prescription for the medical grade the industrial grade is just as fine now the reason for that there's two different types of valves we have one for the industrial type and we have one for a medical tank so you have to determine the first step is to get the right tank for your equipment and then let us know and then we'll ship the right connector for you this at this happens to be a medical grade tank and this is the regulator and it's very simple to connect even a retired eye surgeon can do this and when you connect it you probably want to make sure that your control valve is here until you see it like that next you'll get some tubing to connect the regulator to your ozone generator it's very easy to slide it and then it's clearly marked Oh - OH - in so you're all set for this arm next you'll connect your electrical supply and it plugs in right here plug it into an outlet now you do have some indicator lights here you have the power and you have the ozone so when I do click this on you hear some noise then you hear the ozone lightness on that means it's generating goes up now you do have to be careful because those own gas is toxic to breathe it's wonderful for therapeutic treatments for rectal insulation or mixing it with blood mixing it with water to drink or making eye drops but we do not want to breathe the Ozone's and you have to take precautions with this don't run it excessively if you do smell something funny make sure there's plenty of ventilation in the room ok now we're finished with that now we're going to go into the nuts and bolts of the treatment you also have it also comes with a installation kit and this is all the material you're going to get you have two bags and two syringes so let me this is your rectal insulation back we also have several catheters these are the rectal catheters and you also have a couple of syringes the syringes are used for cleaning you do not have to replace these catheters after every use you can simply rinse them with water there's some fecal material inside you can fill this syringe with water and irrigate the catheter by connecting if you're irrigating ok now we're all set for our first rectal insufflation twist now that connects right here to the machine very simple and you also have a safety valve here you may want to make sure it's open to make sure if you can slide it that means it's open if it's locked you're not going to be able to put any ozone into the bag get off on if you also notice there's a little thumb little hand mark right here for different levels so if your fingers right here and you fill this bag up you're going to get 200 cc's if your fingers here you're going to get 400 if there's nothing the whole bag fills up so I recommend is you begin with 200 CCS 200 cc's I put in your fader here now you also see it's important that you use the right concentration the ozone comes in different gamma it's recommended that you use 37 to 40 gamma for rectal insufflation and if you look over on the chart the settings should be 1/8 now what this one eighth-inning well 1/8 means the setting on your valve what eighth is the setting right there you want to make sure the valve is set right now it's interesting the faster the oxygen flows the less the oxygen is going to be ozonate the slow flow you get much more ozonation that's why we're using 1/8 that's one eighth liter per minute which is slow so we get the maximum elucidation okay so we have our bag connected then you turn on your oxygen when you turn on the oxygen you should see the needle in the green area which indicates full this is an empty tank so I have no oxygen in here so imagine the needles by Green then you're set to go what you do is you just hit the button here the green light comes on put your finger here and you wait until this side becomes full of ozone when it's done you shut off the button now then what you do is you lock it so the ozone doesn't escape then you just connect this it's very simple and you have your ozone in the bag now it's going to be really full with your finger here but once I take my finger white it's going to leak in the back so don't think that oh my goodness of the ozone disappear no it's still in the back there you're going to get your rectal catheter connect this then you're going to use olive oil you don't use Vaseline you're going to use olive oil and I recommend a good grade of Italian olive oil the Y olive oil ozone will interact with petrol chemical products and it will make harmful byproducts so you don't want to use Vaseline you want to use olive oil olive oil is very Safety's with as a matter of fact some companies actually making ozonated olive oil for your skin so then you just put dip the end of this then go into the bathroom or lay on the side you insert this rectally once it's you're certain that's inserted rectally and you don't only have to go maybe one or two inches you don't have to worry about going in too far because when the doctors do a colonoscopy I mean they go up a cup of feet sit up where you can hurt yourself going a couple inches then when you're ready open up the valve and then you're going to roll this to get all these and gas pushing into I'm not pushing it hold it now if you let go with this the ozone is going to go right back into the battery count so you put it in you bear down your sphincter and you pull out the catheter then hold it for about 10 minutes the ozone is very quickly absorbed through the rectum you cos'è so even if you lose some within the first couple of minutes you're still getting an effective treatment as you do the ozone you become more and more comfortable when I first started to do it I would lose gas instantly after a while I've had more control then I would recommend after you do 200 for a while you're comfortable you may go up to 400 I also recommend that you do this five days a week Monday through Friday take a break on the weekend and this is probably one of the most powerful treatments you can do is oxygen uptake it's very powerful for regenerating tissue and it's quickly absorbed into your bloodstream going to your eye your optic nerve parts of the body that's needed so many people will fill in crease some health vitality or energy so

Summary: okay go yeah this is dr. Conrad limited be giving you some instructions on the ozone generator for rectal insulation so you'll receive your ozone generator box like this and just how you don't be intimidated this is the generator here it's very simple oh to in that's where the oxygen comes in and ozone and you have a plug for your electrical connection we have everything here and we also get some tubing so now we have to go to the next stage now you need o…


The New World Order Nobody Expected

Audio Version:The New World Order Nobody ExpectedFornearly three decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the world’s political and economic elites believed they knew where history was headed. The nation-state would gradually give way to international institutions. Markets would become global. Borders would matter less. International courts would become more influential. Decisions once made in national capitals would increasingly be made by multinational organizations, trade bodies, international courts, and public-private partnerships. Ironically, the new world order that is emerging bears little resemblance to the one so confidently predicted after the Cold War.This was the great post-Cold War consensus, apost-war internationalist vision that holds that many of humanity's greatest challenges transcend national borders and therefore require international cooperation, shared institutions, and expert-informed policymaking.Whether one called it globalization, global governance, the rules-based international order, stakeholder capitalism, or even the New World Order, the philosophy was remarkably consistent.The underlying assumption was that nations would prosper by surrendering a measure of sovereignty to a growing network of international institutions designed to manage an increasingly interconnected world. They even gave this future a name. Heck, their leaders even wrote books about how the COVID-19 pandemic would rewrite world politics to reflect a one world government based on socialist principles.  A new, more woke ethos would become the norm.Stakeholder capitalism envisioned governments, multinational corporations, financial institutions, and international organizations working in increasingly close partnership to achieve common economic, environmental, and social objectives. This blurred the distinction between public authority and corporate power while diminishing democratic accountability. Stakeholder capitalism  incorporated DEI positions favoring mass immigration of people from poorer countries into wealthier ones - to stop population decline, open borders, centralized vaccination campaigns, world trade agreements, etc.What many people forget is that this represented a dramatic departure from the international system that had governed relations between nations for nearly four centuries. Beginning with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, nation-states became the organizing principle of international affairs. The assumption was straightforward: governments exist first to govern their own people. Cooperation between nations was encouraged, but sovereignty remained paramount.The post-Cold War consensus challenged that premise by arguing that many decisions could be better made above the level of the nation-state.The European Union became its most ambitious political experiment.The World Trade Organization would regulate international commerce.The International Criminal Court would expand universal jurisdiction.The World Health Organization would coordinate global public health.The World Economic Forum became the annual gathering place where political leaders, multinational corporations, financial institutions, and international organizations discussed the future of global governance. In 2016, the WEF said the quiet part out loud, even declared in a video that soon people would “own nothing and be happy.” Yep, the Great Reset was a thing.Many of us questioned this direction long before it became fashionable to do so. Not because international cooperation is undesirable. Nations will always cooperate where their interests align.ShareBut cooperation is fundamentally different from governance.The assumption underlying the post-Cold War consensus was that what benefits “the world” necessarily benefits individual nations. Experience has demonstrated that this is often not the case. The promise was that transnational governance would make everyone wealthier, in fact - the opposite is true.Starting under President Clinton in the 1990s, U.S. trade policy increasingly prioritized global economic efficiency over the resilience of domestic manufacturing. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), signed into law in 1993, accelerated the relocation of manufacturing to Mexico, where companies could take advantage of lower labor costs and a less burdensome regulatory environment. Estimates of the resulting job losses vary widely, from roughly 40,000 to more than 700,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs. But few dispute that entire manufacturing communities were hollowed out as factories closed or moved overseas.The creation of the World Trade Organization in 1995, followed by China’s admission in 2001, accelerated those trends. International trade expanded, and consumers enjoyed lower prices on many imported goods. But those savings came at a cost. Millions of American manufacturing jobs left the United States over the following decades, supply chains migrated overseas, and many once-thriving industrial towns experienced long-term economic decline.Prosperity depends on far more than what consumers pay at the checkout counter. It also depends on good-paying jobs, stable employment, affordable housing, accessible healthcare, educational opportunity, and the resilience of local communities. The post-1990 trade agreements improved the first while undermining the others.The promise was that global supply chains would create unprecedented efficiency. Instead, Americans discovered during the COVID-19 pandemic that we no longer manufactured many of the medicines, medical supplies, semiconductors, and other strategic products upon which our lives depended. Efficiency had come at the expense of resilience.The same philosophy reshaped our food system. We were told that feeding the world represented both humanitarian leadership and sound economic policy. In practice, those policies favored multinational agribusinesses capable of producing vast quantities of globally traded commodity crops while undermining traditional agriculture in developing nations, as well as domestically. Here at home, American farming became increasingly optimized for export markets, processed foods, and industrial efficiency rather than the nutritional quality, food security, and resilience of our own food supply. Shelf-stable, ultra-processed foods formulated with roughly 10,000 food additives and chemicals, many introduced through the GRAS process based largely on manufacturer-submitted evidence, became the norm because they could be produced cheaply, and shipped anywhere. Convenience and global commerce prevailed, at the expense of America’s health.These developments unquestionably created winners.Large multinational corporations benefited.Global financial institutions benefited.International consulting firms benefited.Nations that the United States traded with benefited.But the question every sovereign government should ask is not whether globalization created aggregate wealth. The question is whether it fulfilled its first responsibility to its own citizens.That is the central idea behind America First, which the globalists frequently mock as isolationism. It is nothing of the sort.Every nation has not only the right but the obligation to place the welfare of its own citizens at the center of public policy. In fact, many thriving nations do place their own citizens first. Japan, India, China, Israel, and increasingly many European nations all pursue policies they believe advance their own national interests. The United States should be no different. Virtually every successful nation pursues policies designed to advance its own strategic interests.Trump Changed the ConversationWhat is fascinating is that the institutions built upon the post-Cold War consensus now appear to recognize that the world has changed.The World Trade Organization increasingly finds itself unable to enforce the rules that once governed international commerce. By blocking appointments to the WTO’s Appellate Body, the United States effectively disabled the organization’s final dispute-settlement mechanism, restoring greater freedom for sovereign nations to pursue their own trade policies rather than submit to supranational adjudication. President Trump’s embrace of tariffs, bilateral negotiations, and economic statecraft reflects a broader shift away from rules-based globalization and toward the primacy of national interests.The International Criminal Court now faces an even more direct challenge. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced a diplomatic campaign to isolate and ultimately dismantle the Court, arguing that no international tribunal should claim authority over American citizens or officials. Together, these developments signal more than a change in policy. They represent a deliberate reassertion of national sovereignty over institutions that once appeared destined to govern an increasingly globalized world.The World Economic Forum itself has begun speaking less about transnational governance as an inevitable destination and more about resilience, strategic competition, industrial policy, critical minerals, and supply-chain security. Davos now acknowledges that the world is entering what it calls an "Age of Competition."The institution that once symbolized globalization now openly discusses fragmentation, economic security, and geopolitical rivalry as defining features of the emerging international order. At the same time, the Forum's ongoing leadership transition and governance reforms appear to reflect a growing emphasis on business leadership and organizational restructuring over the climate-centric agenda that dominated much of the previous decade.These institutional changes represent an intellectual surrender of the assumptions that dominated international politics from roughly 1990 through 2024. The organizing principle is no longer transnational governance. It is sovereignty.International cooperation, trade, and scientific collaboration remain valuable. None, however, should supersede the primary obligation of elected governments to serve and protect their own citizens.The irony is unmistakable. For years, critics warned that a “new world order” would emerge in which international institutions gradually displaced national sovereignty. Instead, a very different new world order appears to be taking shape.Not one governed from Brussels or coordinated from Davos or even adjudicated in The Hague. Instead, we are returning to something far older and, arguably, far more stable.A world of independent nations cooperating where their interests align, competing where they do not, and accepting that no international institution can permanently substitute for the judgment and accountability of self-governing peoples.The post-Cold War consensus may have reached its end. What appears to be returning is something much older: the Westphalian principle that sovereign governments exist first to serve their own people. In the case of the United States, establishing a constitutional republic and representative democracy has proven to be an extraordinary success.  This is something to be cherished and it is time to return to those principles.Ultimately, good governments derive their legitimacy not from international organizations, multinational corporations, or global summits. They derive it from the consent of the governed. That was the genius of the Westphalian tradition, and later of the American constitutional republic. Governments exist to serve their own citizens. International cooperation can be beneficial, but it must always remain subordinate to that first obligation, to serve and protect their own citizens.The New World Order envisioned by its proponents never lived up to the hype that it was better for the world to harmonize as one, frictionless business venue. Instead, the world leaders and its citizens appear to be returning to a much older idea: each nation is accountable to their own people, cooperating where their interests align and competing where they do not.President Trump’s presidency has accelerated this paradigm and given political voice to millions of Americans who believe their government had forgotten its first responsibility: serving its own people.If you found this essay thought-provoking, I hope you’ll consider becoming a subscriber.Independent voices survive only because readers choose to support them. We don’t have corporate sponsors, government grants, or billionaire backers shaping what we write. We rely on people like you who value independent analysis, historical perspective, and a willingness to question prevailing narratives.Your subscription allows us to continue researching, writing, traveling, speaking, and tackling the difficult topics that too many others avoid.If this work has informed, challenged, or encouraged you, please consider subscribing and sharing it with friends and colleagues. Every subscription helps ensure that independent journalism and thoughtful debate remain alive and well.Subscribe nowThank you for reading, and for being part of this community.JGM/RWM

Summary: Cooperation is fundamentally different from governance.