THE DEPTHS OF DEPRAVITY — RAND PAUL AND HIS OBSCENE PERSECUTION OF DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, AN AMERICAN HERO

Dr. Common Good

Dr. Common Good cares deeply about this country, its people and its promise. But what we witnessed Wednesday July 29 during the debased spectacle of a Senate “hearing” on the honorable Dr. Anthony Fauci, spearheaded by the dishonorable Senator Rand Paul, calls into question something profound about where we are at this moment. Dr. Fauci is a national hero, an exemplar of public service and sacrifice for this country and for the world. Rand Paul has shown himself to be little more than a malicious, obsessive thug and firebrand who doesn’t hold the slightest candle to Dr. Fauci. Let’s just see how they compare in terms of their contributions to public health:

Fauci’s accomplishments in public health – a brief summary of dedication, sacrifice and achievement:

• MD and immunologist (and expert on infectious diseases).
• Became head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (at NIH) in 1984, and remained there until his retirement in 2022.
• For decades, he was a leader and key force behind U.S. efforts to prevent and fight HIV/AIDS, SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), the swine flu, MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome), Ebola, and COVID-19. His dedication to the fight against HIV/AIDS is legendary, and during the Ebola crisis, he personally worked in Ebola wards to treat patients, putting himself at risk.  
• He was an instrumental force in developing biodefense drugs and vaccines after the 9/11 attacks.
• He worked closely with Republican President George W. Bush to create PEPFAR (The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), perhaps the most successful global HIV/AIDS initiative ever implemented. For this, President George W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
• He served as chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, and as a key member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force under Trump I.

Rand Paul’s accomplishments in public health – a brief summary of next-to-nothing:

• MD, ophthalmologist (not an infectious disease specialist)
• In 2025, he introduced the Health Marketplace and Savings Accounts for All Act, which would make all Americans eligible for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and expand Association Health Plans.
• He has supported various efforts to curb federal spending on public health, including the introduction of a bill that would essentially gut NIH as we know it.

That’s it. That’s all. Not a stellar record.

So, tell me, who has given of himself over and over for the health of the public? The record could not be more clear. Rand Paul has done almost nothing to help Americans through all the public health crises listed above – HIV/AIDS, SARS, swine flu, MERS, Ebola, COVID-19, or any others. And yet Paul, an avid purveyor of conspiracy theories, obtained and used Fauci’s private diaries as cannon fodder in last Wednesday’s hearings, as an attempt to discredit him and boost his insistence that COVID-19 resulted from a viral leakage at a laboratory in Wuhan, China, during research allegedly supported by Fauci. The diaries contain no real evidence in support of Paul’s ranting, or in support of his allegation that Fauci lied to Congress about the origins of COVID-19. These are Fauci’s private diaries. Like any diary, they are full of musings and notes and impressions. These do include notes on speculation among colleagues regarding the origins of COVID-19 at a time when there was little actual evidence. They also include, by the way, his characterizations of Trump as “infinitely lying,” “out of control,” “an idiot,” and “a true embarrassment.” Funny, the Republicans did not highlight those diary entries.  

BOILING IT DOWN — WHY THE IRAN WAR IS WRONG, IN EVERY WAY

Dr. Common Good

Before going any further, let me say that what I discuss in this post does not ignore the disruptive role that Iran has played in the region, in supporting Hamas, Hezbollah, and in other ways. Those issues have been around for a long time, and they are not the cause of this war, as stated by either the Trump administration or Netanyahu’s Israel. Dr. Common Good’s strong objections to the Iran war, outlined below, focus on the war itself and its purported casus belli:

1. There was no real documented need for the war to begin with. Iran was not close to having any nuclear weapon. There was no “imminent threat” as Trump claimed. That was the intelligence community’s assessment, which he ignored because he said he “had a feeling.” Not only that, but Trump claimed that the previous bombing attacks in June 2025 destroyed Iran’s capability to develop such a weapon, so why would any further attack be necessary? In Dr. Common Good’s view, Trump was “high” on aggression after he so easily toppled Venezuela’s government, and he wanted to “play with his power” again. This coincided with Netanyahu’s longstanding desire to make war on Iran. Yet all of this was unnecessary, because before Trump’s first term, there had been an agreement in place, enforced by an international process, to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability. That was the successful 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), negotiated by the Obama administration, between Iran, the U.S., China, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the European Union (see the June 26 blog post for details). Trump tore that up, and is therefore responsible in large part for the situation we face. He “made this bed,” so to speak. 

2. The war is illegal. Only Congress has the power to declare war, and the War Powers Act imposes a 60-day limit on military action without Congressional approval. That is the law. But Trump does not care about such Constitutional niceties. And sadly, his Republican sycophants in Congress clearly do not have the courage to assert their role.

3. Simply put, the war is colossally stupid. It is being conducted with no forethought, no strategy, no endgame, and in complete ignorance of the impact it is having on our allies, on the global economy, and on the reputation of the United States as a member in good standing of the global order. Remember, the Strait of Hormuz was never closed before the war, but now it has become a key part of Iran’s strategy for wielding power. Before the war, the Iranian government was facing domestic opposition; now that is hardly the case. So, Trump has really empowered Iran in many ways, not weakened it. Yes, Iran’s military capability is degraded. But they have in turn new strategies for exerting power. And from a U.S. military standpoint, we have been wasting a huge amount of money and depleting weapons inventories. For what?

4. The consequences of this war are terrible, and the war is only expanding. How many Iranian lives have been lost, including children? How many American service persons have been killed or wounded (at last count, more than 600 wounded and at least 18 killed)? The global economy and supply chain have been disrupted for months, harming farmers (fertilizer travels through the strait), gas prices for people, air travel, and truck transportation, among other things. The war has widened, now involving the Saudis, damage to Gulf States, Houthi rebels, and so on. We have opened even a further rift between the U.S. and our important allies in Europe and Asia, most of whom see this war as an unprovoked war of choice. 

5. Because Trump and company entered this war with such ignorance (combined with arrogance), he does not know how to get out of it. If he sues for peace or pulls out, he will be humiliated. If he goes all out with military action, it will be a humanitarian disaster and a disaster for everyone concerned. There is little question that American boots on the ground would be necessary — a lot of boots — to invade Iran or, for example, take control of Kharg Island (the major oil export terminal). 

So, the purported goals of the war are to dismantle Iran’s nuclear weapons capability and to re-open the Strait of Hormuz. As you can see – plainly, I hope – these goals are absurd. The 2015 JCPOA had already dismantled and prevented Iran’s nuclear weapons capability (before Trump nixed it), and the Strait of Hormuz had always been open before the war.  

Lastly, think about this: For Iran, and other countries, the U.S. attack has likely intensified the motivation to acquire nuclear weapons, not weakened it. Why? Everyone can see, for example, that North Korea, which has a known nuclear weapons capability, threatens its neighbors and otherwise disrupts regional stability, but is not attacked. What lesson do you think that offers? Wise heads would understand this, and seek other ways to prevent Iran from going down the nuclear road. We did that once. But there are no wise heads in the Trump administration. Just children, enamored with their toys.