Uh-oh!  Tony Fauci's protective shield from the corporate media just cracked.  A really interesting portent is the treatment he got yesterday on CNN's top-rated show, Upfront with Erin Burnett.  Here is what went down Monday as Vivek Murthy, surgeon general of the United States, appeared as her guest.  (Transcript via Grabien)

MURTHY: "For people out there who are struggling, I want them to know that you're not alone."
BURNETT: "And I hope everyone will read this. Sorry, I'm flipping here so everyone can see it. But while I have you, I want to ask you about something Dr. Fauci said recently, as we're talking about the pandemic. He did an interview with The New York Times and he said — he talked about masks — he said, 'From a broad public-health standpoint, at the population level, masks work at the margins — maybe 10 percent. But for an individual who religiously wears a mask, a well-fitted KN95 or N95, it's not at the margin. It really does work.' Do you see how some find this an extremely significant statement? Because for most of us, we were told it didn't matter what kind of mask, any mask was good. Our kids had to wear masks for an actual year and a half in school, and none of them wore them the right way. That hearing that, it may be good that he is saying it, but that hearing that is upsetting for a lot of people?" [emphasis added]
MURTHY: "I can certainly understand that for many who were listening closely for the messages that were coming through and guidances to what to do, when they recognize that sometimes guidance shifted and evolved over time, that could be disconcerting. And sometimes guidance does evolve over time, as you learn more, and I certainly remember, even though I was a private citizen the first year of the pandemic, but I was watching closely, and we were learning a lot as a country about the pandemic and guidance shifted accordingly. But look, one thing, I think, that we all need to recognize is this pandemic has been incredibly hard for a lot of people, especially for kids and for parents. And you're a parent, I'm a parent. We both lived through some of these challenges and are still trying to help our kids through them. But one of the challenges our kids have endured is, in fact, greater loneliness and isolation. My hope with our new advisory is we can lay out a pathway. We, in fact, lay out the first framework for our national strategy to address loneliness that gives everyone, kids, parents, families, government and community organizations, steps they can take to build a more connected America."
BURNETT: "All right, thank you very much, Dr. Murthy, I appreciate talking to you as well."
MURTHY: "Good to talk to you, Erin."

Photo credit: Grabien video screen grab.