Since 1984, Dr. Anthony Fauci has served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.  During that period, his salary has steadily increased.  The latest federal government payroll study indicated that Fauci earned $417,608 in 2019.  His salary exceeded that not only of the president of the United States, but also of every other person in our federal government with over 4 million employees.

Clearly, he is not only overrated, but also overpaid. It is high time the highest paid federal government employee, Dr. Anthony Fauci, be fired.

Fauci is irritating for a number of reasons.  He loves the media and is constantly on television, pontificating about COVID-19.  If he provided a consistent, reassuring message, his words of wisdom would be appreciated.  Unfortunately, he is inconsistent, and his changing stories have left Americans confused and dejected about our future.  Fauci has frightened countless people with his doom-and-gloom prognostications about COVID and our future coexistence with the disease.

Initially, Fauci was insistent that masks were not necessary.  Today, he not only believes in one mask, but claims that double-masking is preferable.  While acknowledging the progress of Americans becoming vaccinated, he publicly worries about the threat of COVID variants.  He uses this concern to justify continued masking, social distancing, and other mitigation measures.

All of this grandstanding was just too much for U.S. senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.).  In Senate hearings on Thursday, he exposed Fauci as a total fraud and delivered one of the most effective public takedowns in the annals of the U.S. Senate's history.

The senator scolded Fauci for focusing on "theater" instead of public health.  He noted that Fauci has "been vaccinated" but continues to "parade around in two masks for show."  Paul told Fauci, "There's virtually 0% chance you're going to get it and you're telling people that have had the vaccine who have immunity — you're defying everything we know about immunity."

While Fauci responded to Paul by claiming that "I totally disagree with you," he does "parade around" with masks.  The reason for this spectacle is that Fauci wants to gain favor with his new employer, President Joe Biden, and the insufferably liberal mainstream news media.  Fauci knows that Biden and the media want to continue the COVID hysteria so Americans will become more dependent on the government.

In the process, our freedom is diminished, but that is of no concern to Dr. Fauci.  According to Senator Paul, "Dr. Fauci is very blasé and unconcerned about liberty, but I think the burden should be on the government to prove it.  If they want to dictate mine and your behavior, the burden is on them to present the evidence."

The problem for Fauci and the mask mania proponents is that the evidence shows that these measures are of questionable value.  In fact, states such as Florida, that have reopened for business and rescinded the mask mandates, have COVID infection rates lower than many of the states that have enforced strict public health mandates.

Despite limited proof of effectiveness, Dr. Fauci and far too many Democratic politicians, such as President Biden, have been quite willing to issue mask mandates, severely limit economic activity, and impose a variety of restrictions on our freedom in the name of public health.  While these measures may not have stopped COVID, they did destroy 22 million jobs.

The resulting economic catastrophe resulted in millions of Americans suffering from depression.  This led to increased rates of suicide, drug overdoses, and untreated health problems caused by Americans being afraid to visit physicians and hospitals.

Fortunately, there is good news on the horizon.  With vaccines being delivered in greater numbers every day and hospitalization rates plummeting, Americans are ready to return to our normal lives. It is time for our country to resume regular activities and enjoy travel, social events, and all aspects of our lives that have been curtailed in the last year.

The Biden administration, led by Dr. Fauci, is cautioning Americans that a quick return to normal activities could be catastrophic.  As he did during the Senate hearing, Fauci is warning about the potential spread of COVID variants in our country.

Because of this potential threat in the future, Fauci wants the COVID mandates to remain intact.  Sadly, many politicians are only too willing to continue to restrict the freedom of their constituents by issuing an array of executive orders.  None of these mandates was approved by legislative bodies.  Instead, they were issued by politicians to "keep people safe."

It is not "safe" to sacrifice freedom in our country.  As famously noted by Benjamin Franklin, those who "give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Dr. Fauci claims that he wears a mask as a "symbol" of what Americans "should be doing."  However, as Senator Paul has noted, this type of virtue-signaling by Fauci is another one of his "noble lies."

Americans should reject Fauci and his "noble lies" and once again embrace freedom, our constitutional right that made this country the greatest in the history of mankind.  Freedom should be our natural state, and if the government is going to restrict it, there must be compelling scientific evidence.

The burden must be on the government to restrict these freedoms, not on Americans to claim freedoms.  As perfectly stated by Senator Paul, "I should not have to prove that I want to be free, and I want to be left alone in order to breathe the air."

Go away, Dr. Fauci.  Americans want to live our lives, enjoy our freedoms and "breathe the air" once again.

Jeff Crouere is a native New Orleanian, and his award-winning program, Ringside Politics, airs nationally on Real America's Voice Network, AmericasVoice.News weekdays at 7 A.M. C.T. and from 7 to 11 A.M. weekdays on WGSO 990-AM and Wgso.com.  He is a political columnist and the author of America's Last Chance and provides regular commentaries on the Jeff Crouere YouTube channel and on Crouere.net.  For more information, email him at jeff@ringsidepolitics.com.

Image via Flickr, Public Domain.