Better class of people
“I am obliged to confess I should sooner live in a society governed by the first 2,000 names in the Boston telephone directory than in a society governed by the 2,000 faculty members of Harvard University.
— William F. Buckley Jr. (1925-2008), writer, TV personality and conservative public intellectual.
The first telephone directory, printed in New Haven in November 1878
Treating ‘air hunger’
From The New England Council (newenglandcouncil.com):
“A new study published by Harvard University in conjunction with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), in Boston, shows the importance of treating ‘air hunger,’ or severe breathlessness, in COVID-19 patients. The paper debunks the myth that sedation—such as that used for patients on ventilators—eliminates air hunger and offers solutions to truly relieve the often-traumatic feeling of severe breathlessness. Read more here.’’
“Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has launched a COVID-19 hotline for patients who have any questions regarding the virus, believe they may have been exposed, or need treatment. In addition to providing advice and offering telemedicine service, the hotline is available in several languages to accommodate non-English-speaking residents of Boston. Read more.’’
N.E. Council update on COVID-19-related activities
“Brother Jonathan’’ was a 19th Century personification of New England.
BOSTON
COVID-19 briefing from The New England Council (newenglandcouncil.com)
“As our region and our nation continue to grapple with the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, The New England Council is using our blog as a platform to highlight some of the incredible work our members have undertaken to respond to the outbreak. Each day, we’ll post a round-up of updates on some of the initiatives underway among Council members throughout the region. We are also sharing these updates via our social media, and encourage our members to share with us any information on their efforts so that we can be sure to include them in these daily round-ups.
You can also check our COVID-19 Virtual Events Calendar for information on upcoming COVID-19 related programming – including Congressional town halls and webinars presented by NEC members.
Here is the March 30 roundup:
Medical Response
Novartis Anti-Malaria Drug Gets Emergency Approval from FDA – Following emergency approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of two anti-malaria drugs for the potential treatment of COVID-19, Novartis, along with Bayer, is contributing millions of doses of the drugs, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine. The drugs have previously received much attention following some anecdotal evidence to support the benefits to relieve respiratory symptoms of infected patients, and could be a potential treatment to reduce symptoms and strain on healthcare providers. The Washington Post has more.
Sanofi Expands Clinical Trial – After announcing the beginnings of its clinical trials in the United States last week, Sanofi—along with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals—has expanded the trial in Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Canada, and Russia. The trials will test the rheumatoid arthritis drug Kevzara as a potential treatment for patients around the world. Read more in CNBC.
Economic/Business Continuity Response
New Balance Shifts to Producing Masks – At its Lawrence, Mass., manufacturing facility, New Balance has begun producing prototypes for face masks to distribute around the region and country. As hospitals and those exposed to the virus begin to see shortages of protective gear such as face masks, New Balance has joined other local manufacturers in an “all hands on deck” response to the need. Read more in WCVB Boston.
Harvard University Guarantees Pay for All Workers Through End of Semester – To ensure that those who are willing and able to work are paid, Harvard University updated its policies to include payment and benefits for all workers through May 28. The updated policy includes those employed in dining, security, and custodial services across the university, as well as those in administrative and contract roles. Harvard is also providing stabilization funds to the six independent childcare centers on campus to allow the employees to work. The Boston Business Journal
Community Response
Suffolk University, Pine Street Inn to Repurpose University Residence Hall to House Homeless Population – In light of its switch to remote learning, Suffolk University has offered a residence hall to the homeless population of Boston. The residence hall will provide 172 beds, and will be managed by both Pine Street Inn and the city’s Public Health Commission to reduce congestion and increase social distancing in shelters. The Boston Business Journal has more.
AARP Launches Platform to Connect Volunteers with Those in Need – AARP announced its new online platform, AARP Community Connections, to organize and mobilize volunteer groups and connect them with people and families who need assistance. From groceries to financial assistance to emotional support, users of the platform can receive a wide variety of support in the age of social distancing. Read more in KTVZ.
Amgen Donates $12.5 Million to Relief Efforts – Amgen has committed $12.5 million to support the efforts of local emergency and patient-focused services. In addition to the funds, Amgen is supporting online learning platforms to provide resources to students as they transition to remote instruction. Read more.
Tufts Health Plan Announces $500,000 for Food-Insecure Elderly People – Tufts Health Plan has committed the first half of its $1 million donation in relief efforts to combat food insecurity among in the New England region. Tufts has identified 21 organizations that provide meals and other support to individuals we well as food banks and other businesses coordinating a regional response as the recipients of the first wave of funding. Read more in the Portsmouth Press.
Stay tuned for more updates each day, and follow us on Twitter for more frequent updates on how Council members are contributing to the response to this global health crisis.’’
Paul F.M. Zahl: Movie offers guide to Harvard Black Mass
"Order and chaos'' (mixed media), by LYNDA CUTRELL, at Galatea Fine Art, Boston, June 1-29.
By PAUL F.M. ZAHL
As a Harvard grad and an Episcopal minister, I am dismayed by the prospect of the university's sanctioning a Black Mass for tonight (May 12), within Memorial Hall.
But what I really want to megaphone to all concerned is this: Wake up, Harvard (not to mention the Satanic Temple of New York City), and watch more horror movies!
You could all spare yourselves a lot of trouble if you watched more horror movies. Specifically, you need to see that unregarded but rich Hammer horror film from the early 1970s, entitled Dracula A.D. 1972. For those who care, and this writer cares very much, Hammer Studios in England produced dozens of luridly wonderful horror movies from the late '50s through the early '70s. These immortalized such U.K. character actors as Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.
Fans of these movies tend to regard the instantly dated Dracula A.D. 1972 as the nadir of Hammer's output. But in light of what's slated to happen today in Cambridge, Mass., it's risen to the top of my list.
This is because Dracula A.D. 1972 anticipates in detail a scenario that has already unfolded. To wit, the villain in the movie, whose made-up name in the story is 'Johnny Alucard' (the surname, of course, is ''Dracula'' backwards), looks, dresses and talks like the spokesman for the Satanic Temple of New York City. Secondly, he keeps telling his gullible young friends in the movie to ''Keep cool, birds'' -- the script is deliriously filled with faux-Flower Child and Swinging London colloquialisms. "This happening I'm asking you to jive to is just a stunt. Just a bit of fun, mates."
To their acute misfortune, members of "Johnny Alucard's''' circle believe him when he says: "This is just a re-enactment."
The movie's staging of the Black Mass itself is extremely well done. The director, Alan Gibson, is sure-footed in the blocking and the angles; and during the Mass, which takes place in a ruined Memorial-Hall-type building, a deconsecrated church damaged during the Blitz, in World War II, the movie gets serious. The elements of a real Black Mass are all there, just as they will be, presumably, this evening in Cambridge within the once hallowed walls of the university's memorial to its Civil War dead. The parallels between now and this absurd but tight English movie are breathtaking.
Finally, the church comes into it. But not priest, not bishops, not archbishop.. Rather, old-fashioned religion comes in to Dracula A.D. 1972 through the person of an aging physician named ''Lorrimer Van Helsing". (Who ever thought of that first name? The writer should have been knighted on the spot!)
Anyway, ''Lorrimer Van Helsing'' strides into the movie, an old man poignantly concerned about the well-being of his impressionable niece. (His niece has come under the spell of ''Johnny Alucard".) Fortunately for her, her uncle intervenes, with cross and stake, and Jessica van Helsing is saved.
This is a classic instance, which occurs often in English horror and sci-fi movies, in which wise members of the older generation are the only ones who know enough to save clueless members of the younger one. (Usually, the character actor Andre Morell played these roles, though John Mills did once, too.)
I wish that Harvard University officials would go straight to Barnes and Noble, and buy their very reasonably priced copy of Dracula A.D. 1972. It's in all the stores as I write. (Target, too.)
A personal note in conclusion: Three times during my ministry in the Episcopal Church, I was forced to get up close and personal with Satanists. Somehow they succeeded in inveigling members of our parish youth group in Westchester County, N.Y., to take part in a Black Mass.
They "staged" this on the grounds of a country club up on the Hudson. Two of the young participants -- and I had to clean up the bones of living animals that had been sacrificed during the service (and had to change the locks on the parish sacristy because Communion wafers were being stolen) -- were scarred indelibly by what they were lured into doing. I never of them smile again.
I also got to know a languid old trust fund Satanist, who lived in London and had the most beautiful personalized Satanic stationery.
Harvard, wake up! Buy this movie and watch it. And it may not be quite as campy as it first appears.
The Rev. Paul F.M. Zahl is an Episcopal minister and a theologian.
Addendum by Robert Whitcomb: So will we see the Prophet Mohammed in drag in the next Hasty Pudding Show at Harvard, or indeed portrayed in any public way on Harvard's campus as less than perfect? Or course not -- and not because of any particular respect by a mostly secularized Harvard community but because of the physical fear of offending followers of a religion a few of whose adherents are famously violent.
Fear is a key ingredient of hypocrisy.