With the House still investigating the pandemic, its origins, and our government's responses -- and with perhaps the most well-known public health figure in the hot seat ( ) -- now seems a good time to reflect on how we might begin to restore our trust in public health. In the mid-to-late 90s, I worked for a member of Congress who represented the high desert of California. If you have never visited this area, it is both beautiful and dangerous.
Hot and dry with few people, it is home to two of the most famous military facilities in the world: Edwards Air Force Base and Naval Air Weapons Station at China Lake. Both are renowned, though one more than the other. While the Space Shuttle occasionally landed at Edwards, affording it more attention, China Lake is not as well-known.
Yet, it is the home to the development and testing of some of the most advanced weapons in the military's arsenal. For many who live around China Lake, the base has been the focus of many conspiracy theories. I know this because when I worked for the Congressman representing the area, I took phone calls from residents wanting to know what was going on out there or those who wanted to report odd things flying in the air.
What I learned from these calls was that at the heart of every conspiracy theory, there is always a grain of truth. Yes, funny things did fly around China Lake, but they were not UFOs, nor were they evidence of a U.N.
takeover. This was instead evidence of top-secret testing and training t.
