Dear Folks Involved in the Vaccination Effort at the Tucson Community Center:
YOU’RE THE GREATEST! From the guy directing traffic to the madly skilled woman who put the needle in my arm to the uber-polite person checking to make sure that the newly vaccinated didn’t try to sneak out before their prescribed post-shot down time—you’re all a bunch of badasses. You’re doing God’s work and America’s work and Hippocrates’ work. You’re making the world inhabitable again.
I’m old, but since I have the immune system—to go along with the girth—of a thoroughbred, I decided to wait to get vaccinated. I wanted all the teachers and first responders and grocery-store workers to get their shots first. And so, I waited until April to get my first dose of the Moderna vaccine.
Even the website that I used to sign up for the vaccine worked perfectly; what are the odds of that?! When I went for my first shot the morning of Good Friday, I expected to be blowing a couple hours, but it was unbelievable. No lines, no hassles, no waiting. The first delightful woman had me sanitize my hands and put on an extra mask. The next one politely directed me to Table #4, where the young man took my info and made the appointment for my second shot.
From there, it was through the double doors into the auditorium and directly to a vaccination station. The woman asked me “Right or left?” I’m pretty sure that she wasn’t talking about politics, but, just in case, I said left.
This sounds silly, but I swear I didn’t even feel the needle go into my arm. To be sure, I have mostly adipose tissue where my deltoid used to be, but it was amazing. She had to tell me to get up out of the chair.
If anything, it was even better last week when I got my second shot. You people have been doing this for months, but you show no signs of weariness. You made it an absolutely amazing experience for me (and, as far as I could tell, for everybody else). For your skillful, professional, and cheerful efforts, you will have something to be proud of for the rest of your lives. Thank you.
As for me, from now on:
• When habitual gripers complain that government can’t do anything right, I’ll point to the smooth-as-silk nationwide operation that distributed 200,000,000 doses of the vaccine in less than 100 days.
• When the Ted Cruzes of the world rail about Obamacare, we can all revel in the seamless cooperation between multiple layers of government and the health-care industry.
• When the talk-radio liars spread dangerously false information about masks and distancing and now vaccines, we can be sure that from a historical perspective, the rollercoaster pattern of infections and deaths traced directly to the mindless and selfish flouting of heath regulations will become even more evident. But we’ll also be able to trace a clear correlation between the number of vaccinations and the decline of the virus. We have to meet their lies with truth.
• And when the people who despise the previous President so much that they can’t even give credit where it is due (in terms of the initial push for a vaccine), I will quite honestly say that even a blind racist occasionally finds a nut.
Dear Sen. Sinema:
I hope you’re enjoying your time in the spotlight as one of two people who could derail the Democrats’ agenda. But you might want to snap out of it or find yourself looking for a new job in a few years.
First off, enough with the bio stuff. You’re bisexual? So what? I suppose some people might tell you to make up your damn mind, but as far as I can tell, the only people who care about that stuff are televangelists and porn directors. You wear pink wigs and run triathlons? Well, aren’t you special? You graduated college at the age of 18? First of all, that’s just sad, but while you were learning stuff, did they teach you that the filibuster about which you claim to be so passionate no longer exists?
And as for this “bipartisanship” of which you speak so fondly, sadly that’s also a relic of the past. (We all wish it weren’t.) Instead of all this posturing and spotlight-grabbing, perhaps you might remember why you’re where you are.
You were elected, as a Democrat, to represent the people of Arizona. Even though you were running against a horrible candidate who had sold her soul to Donald Trump (and, in a way, you were also running against Trump himself), you barely won. And in the past couple of years, Arizona has zoomed to the left while you’re still trying to straddle some imaginary line of bipartisanship.
It’s time to do your damn job.
Dear Michelle Udall:
So, the bill you’re pushing in the State Legislature says that any “controversial issues” discussed in a school classroom has to be discussed from “diverse and contending perspectives.”
Does that mean that, after Republicans lie and lie and lie and lie and lie and lie about the 2020 election, it rises to the level of “controversy” and teachers are forced to perpetuate the Big Lie or risk a $5,000 fine? You suck.
This article appears in May 13-19, 2021.
I agree with Tom 100% about the vaccination effort (well, and about the other stuff too). But in my case it was even better as I got to sit in my car at the UofA. They absolutely could not have been more organized or nicer. Thank you!
The only person that sucks is Danehy. Oh the martyrdom he displayed letting others get their shots. That’s more crap than in one of the feed yards outside of Phoenix. If I had my way we wouldn’t waste vaccine on him.
Sinema won’t vote to blow up the filibuster so now you are on her. You are a moron.
Dear Tucsonbass: I know lots of people who waited until after teachers and others more important than themselves got their shots. They didn’t consider themselves martyrs (nor do I). They’re just good, decent people who put their community and country ahead of their own individual concerns. They did what they thought was best for all instead of bleating about personal liberty and railing against mask wearing.
Yeah, thanks Tom for pointing out what most of us experienced but aren’t talking about enough – the vaccination effort is efficiently organized, professionally and congenially run. I got my shot very early on at TMC and the experience was identical. We need to talk some more about what that might all mean.
Freedom still allows for choice. Vaccinate yourself if it provides some safety for you.
Stop trying to shame everybody for everything they won’t agree with you on.
You are destroying freedoms.
Turning on a bisexual because she might be bipartisan?
You my friend are biophobic.
Typical homophobic, sexist bullshit from Mr. Danehy. As much as I object to Sinema’s fence-sitting and betrayal of Democratic values, your high-school-locker-room attack on her sexuality is profoundly offensive and really just not relevant in any event.
Why does The Weekly tolerate this intolerance? Is your stale Old White Guy columnist really that important that you feel compelled to let him spew offensive nonsense (that is in itself a betrayal of Democratic values)? Here’s the answer to that question: NO. HE’S NOT.
Is Sen Sinema is supposed to represent the people of Arizona? or just Arizona Democrats? or just the revered opinion of Tom?
btw – skinnyman and I generally have different viewpoints on things, but skinnyman nailed it on this one. Pretty offensive attack
My vaccination experience at the UofA was great also. Generous of you to give Trump any credit at all. I think the vaccines were produced in spite of him. He was not helpful in the least regarding the pandemic.
You’re spot on about Sinema. Enough with the self promotion. Do the job.. and yes, she should work for the Dems… they put her in office. Republicans don’t care one iota for their Democratic constituents.
Bipartisanship died… mostly at the hands of Mitch McConnell.
Love reading Danehy.
To Tom Danehy- Thanks for your spot on piece about our so-called Senator Sinema.
It is unclear to me what her game is. But it is way past time for her to shape up or get shipped out.
Skinny man…. No one anywhere cares what or who she chooses to spend the night with. That being said if she he or it wants to grandstand I suggest she waits til the apprentice two debuts in 2025
Tom Danehy wrote: “I will quite honestly say that even a blind racist occasionally finds a nut.”
Lying Tom Danehy has been on a roll the last few months. Everyone is racist. Everything is racist.
His daughter was a solo female traveler entering the U.S. from a narcokleptocracy, got taken into secondary screening, and the only only possible reason is racism.
The irony is there is only one racist around here, Lying Tom Danehy.
• Lying Tom doesn’t hesitate to drop an Uncle Tom on any African American who won’t stay under his political boot and demonstrates independent thinking. No wonder Tom has affinity for President Biden, they hold the same perspective on African Americans: “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”
• Lying Tom doesn’t like the way African Americans speak (i.e. Jalen Rose and others). He wants them to correct their cultural patois and speak the way a middle age Caucasian male would speak. Again he is simpatico with his buddy President Biden: “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American (Senator Obama) who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”
• Lying Tom doesn’t like the way African-Americans name their kids. He wants them all to name their kids Dave, Cindy, Bill, Deborah, John, Linda, or Tom.
• Lying Tom Danehy had no compunction about using a pernicious racial slur on an Asian female.
Make no mistake, Lying Tom Danehy loves to proclaim his African American bona fides, he played basketball in college with African Americans and he listens to Motown and Marvin Gaye, but the reality is in Tom Danehy’s world, African Americans are only allowed to be African Americans on Tom Danehy’s terms.
I was staggered at “blind racist.”
What is really going on here?
Tom Danehy wrote: You’re bisexual? So what? I suppose some people might tell you to make up your damn mind, but as far as I can tell, the only people who care about that stuff are televangelists and porn directors.
There has always been an underlying latent homophobia with Tom Danehy, but for whatever reason he has decided to come out of the closet and put his homophobia on full display and make his homophobia unequivocal.
Lying Tom wrote: Youre bisexual? So what? .. but as far as I can tell, the only people who care about that stuff are televangelists and porn directors.
Televangelists, porn directors and Lying Tom. If Tom didnt care about it why would he bring it up? He would just ignore it, but his words belie that he does care about Kyrsten Sinemas bisexuality, and it bothers him enough that he decided to use her sexual preference as a weapon and epithet against her just because he disagrees with her.
Lying Tom wrote: I suppose some people might tell you to make up your damn mind
The use of the some people might say trope is used by cowards in an attempt to distance themselves from their own noxious and prejudicial beliefs.
Tom doesnt have the intestinal fortitude to take responsibility for his homophobia, so he tried to hide behind some people.
Just another example in the long list of why Tom Danehy is a bad human being.
What is perplexing is this column passed some sort of editorial review at The Tucson Weekly. Which editor read this and thought it was wise to publish it?