An Unpublished Letter to The Oregonian Regarding the Pandemic of Covid-19

By Michael Collins Morton
(In May, 2026, I composed the following letter regarding the extreme threat still posed by the pandemic of Covid-19, and, as a matter of principle, duly submitted it to the editor of The Oregonian, the leading newspaper in the state of Oregon, with the strong presumption, which not surprisingly turned out to be quite correct, that it had little chance of being published.)

To the editor:

Contrary to the comfortable delusion being promoted by government and media, the harsh truth is that the pandemic of Covid-19 is not over. In 2026, Covid-19 continues to spread freely (particularly in medical settings), continues to result in repeated infections, and continues to cause life-threatening harm throughout the human community. According to the website Our World in Data, the worldwide number of "estimated cumulative excess deaths" ascribable to Covid-19 since 2020 is likely to be upwards of 27 million.

The complete lack of necessary measures to curb the airborne contagion of Covid-19 amounts to a policy of deliberate recklessness, constituting an ongoing instance of gross negligence on the part of authorities whose duty is to uphold general standards of essential safety. At the very least, respirator masks (N95, N99, etc.) should be required in all public spaces, for the urgent purpose of decreasing the collective danger fostered by current patterns of mass infection.

Further reading:

Artificial Intelligence Is an Enemy of Human Values

By Michael Collins Morton
Artificial intelligence is increasingly being forced upon us by our corporate masters, who seek to use it for the foul purpose of controlling our lives. Day by day, artificial intelligence is expanding its repugnant dominion, deeply encroaching on our daily experience, crudely violating the integrity of our thoughts, our beliefs, our feelings, our motives, our decisions, and our actions, thereby irrevocably diminishing our worth as human beings. Unquestionably, artificial intelligence is an enemy of human values. Under the alluring guise of "convenience," the fundamental principles that provide a foundation for the regular course of human activity are being perverted by sinister tools that have the potential to brutally override our intentions, depriving us of the ability, and the right, to make our own choices and determine our own destiny. We are being pushed into a high-tech dictatorship. Those who promote the acceptance of artificial intelligence are tricksters. The distr...
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President Trump's War Against Iran Is Proving to Be a Hugely Expensive Undertaking

By Michael Collins Morton
When irrational leaders choose, for their own irrational reasons, to wantonly engage in evil activities of mass killing and mass destruction, it does not come cheap. To offer a current example: the reckless war against Iran started by President Donald J. Trump (with malign support from Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel) on February 28, 2026, is proving to be a hugely expensive undertaking. According to the Pentagon, after the first few months of brutal action, the war has already cost the United States at least $29 billion, although the true expense is likely to be considerably greater. $29 billion that could have been used to help those who are poor and hungry. $29 billion that could have been used to provide necessary healthcare. $29 billion that could have been used to build affordable housing. $29 billion that could have been used to expand services for the elderly. $29 billion that could have been used to create better opportunities for young people. $29 billion tha...
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Covid-19 Poses a Grievous Danger to Every Human Life

By Michael Collins Morton
At this stage of the ongoing pandemic, in 2026, it should be unmistakably apparent to any rational person that the uncontrolled spread of Covid-19 poses a grievous danger to every human life. Unfortunately, most people are still dwelling in a blank condition of mindless denial regarding Covid-19. It is, therefore, urgently necessary for the complete truth of Covid-19 to be strongly affirmed at every opportunity, again and again, as follows: Covid-19 is not "just a cold." Covid-19 is not merely a "nuisance." Covid-19 is not a "respiratory disease." Covid-19 is not a "seasonal disease." Covid-19 is not, by any true reckoning, a "mild disease." •   •   • Covid-19 is an unceasing destroyer. Covid-19 has not lessened, diminished, retreated, paused, or stopped since the start of the pandemic in 2020. Covid-19 has not become endemic. Covid-19 is a savage, unrelenting disease that frequently proves to be fatal. Covid-19 should be avoided at any...
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Autumn 2023: A Dozen Essential Truths Regarding the Pandemic of Covid-19 and Its Probable Outcome

By Michael Collins Morton
In the autumn of 2023, Covid-19 continues to prevail everywhere unceasingly, passing through the air, unseen and unremarked, from one person to another person, breath by breath, causing increasing amounts of serious illness and excess mortality, while steadily undermining the fundamental structure of the human community upon which we all depend. Covid-19 is now running thoroughly out of control, spreading whenever people gather in public without wearing respirator masks, wildly flourishing to our unbounded detriment. Our adversary clearly has the upper hand, and is not disposed to be moderate or mild in its cunning assault on our bodies. Covid-19 is a pitiless enemy, savagely bent on bringing about our defeat, stealthily exploiting our ingrained weaknesses and wielding its contagion as a weapon. In view of our desperate straits, my aim here is to offer a succinct examination of a dozen essential truths regarding the pandemic of Covid-19 and its probable outcome. 1. Origin of the virus....
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David Bowie at Winterland, October 1972

By Michael Collins Morton
In late October, 1972, when I was nineteen, two of my friends and I attended a concert by David Bowie, who was making his first tour of the United States, promoting his latest album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars . The British singer, who performed in the character of Ziggy Stardust, was backed by his own band, The Spiders from Mars, with Mick Ronson on lead guitar, Trevor Bolder on bass, Mick Woodmansey on drums, and an American musician, Mike Garson, on piano. It was one of the two shows that featured David Bowie, at Winterland in San Francisco, on Friday, October 27, and Saturday, October 28, and in my mind it still remains as one of the best performances of any kind that I have ever seen. David Bowie, who started out in London as David Jones (he changed his last name to avoid being confused with Davy Jones of The Monkees), first became widely known to the public when his single, "Space Oddity," was released in 1969 and became a hit. He late...
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