Tag: COVID-19

CDC and FDA Blast DeSantis and Ladapo—Again

 

If anyone disagrees with the FDA or the CDC, those agencies will punish those who speak out and do their best to discredit them. Both of these agencies already condemned Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and Governor DeSantis, and they are having to take their licks again, but given the increased pushback that the federal government is getting, Florida is even more adamant about its condemnations of the feds. This was the reaction, in spite of the even-handed comments  of SG Ladapo:

‘With the amount of immunity that’s in the community — with virtually every walking human being having some degree of immunity, and with the questions we have about safety and about effectiveness, especially about safety, my judgment is that it’s not a good decision for young people and for people who are not at high risk at this point in the pandemic,’ he said.

Two medical doctors have challenged Ladapo about his credibility:

‘The Courage to Be Free’: A Book Review

 

“The prospect of domination of the nation’s scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present – and is to be gravely regarded.  Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.  It is the task of statesmanship to mold, to balance, and to integrate these and other forces, new and old, within the principles of our democratic system – ever aiming toward the supreme goals of our free society.” — President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Farewell Address, January 17, 1961

This is a quote that Gov. Ron DeSantis chose to place in his new book, The Courage To Be Free, and sums up the contents of this book.

I happened to catch the last few minutes of an interview by Mark Levin of Gov. Ron DeSantis. Levin commented that he read the book and found it was not your typical political read. He said to DeSantis that the governor doesn’t attack his competitors in the upcoming race in this book. It is a snapshot of how he grew up and how he came to make the choices he’s made. He wants to give people a picture of who he is — as a person, a governor, a husband and father, and a candidate for president of the United States. If Levin was impressed, I wanted to read it, and I am also impressed.

California’s War on Vaccine Skeptics

 

It is now approaching three years since the advent of COVID-19 in March 2020 provoked the most comprehensive and coercive response to a public health crisis that the United States has seen. From the earliest date, that policy has included lockdowns, social distancing, masking, and mRNA vaccines—all to stem the spread of the disease throughout the country. These tactics have long been opposed by many who think that more focused responses, which seek to isolate and protect the most vulnerable populations, offer a more tempered and effective response to the disease—a position well-expressed in the Great Barrington Declaration of October 4, 2020, which the conservative Brownstone Institute a year later observed “shattered the notion that there was a scientific consensus in favor of lockdowns.” Many other physicians have also expressed their uneasiness about COVID vaccine mandates, even as the federal government issued its own vaccine mandate in the employment context (it was struck down in January 2022 by the US Supreme Court in NFIB v. OSHA).

Nonetheless, public officials have continued to take strong exception to these dissenting voices. One recent piece of legislation in California, AB 2098, which took effect January 1, was written to allow California health officials to stifle dissent by revoking or suspending the licenses of those physicians who take issue with the official line of support for mRNA vaccines. The legislative findings relied explicitly on the work of the CDC and the FDA to conclude that “the risk of dying of COVID-19 for unvaccinated individuals is eleven times greater than for vaccinated individuals,” and that the spread of erroneous information “has weakened public confidence,” especially by licensed professions, thereby placing lives at risk. The payoff:

Section 2270—Dissemination of misinformation or disinformation related to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, or “COVID-19,” designated unprofessional conduct.

DeSantis Demands Covid-19 Accountability

 

For the last two years we’ve watched Gov. Ron DeSantis fight the establishment regarding the many mandates, misinformation, and censorship regarding Covid. He is still viewed with disdain as people continually reject his efforts to look out for the health and safety of the people of Florida. Now he is acting to hold the manufacturers and others accountable by petitioning the Florida Supreme Court to impanel a Grand Jury:

‘They said there was [sic] no side effects,’ DeSantis explained at a private event over the weekend. ‘We know that there have been, and there have been a lot.’ While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has acknowledged that inflammation of the heart tissue occurred ‘rarely’ following mRNA COVID vaccinations, DeSantis claimed during the same event that ‘We did a study in Florida, and you saw an 86 percent increase in cardiac-related activity from people 18 to 39 from mRNA shots.’

During his event on Tuesday, DeSantis insinuated that the grand jury push was, in part, an effort to make public various reports regarding vaccine efficacy and side effects which manufacturers like Moderna and Pfizer had previously kept private. ‘We’ll be able to get the data whether they want to give it or not,’ DeSantis vowed.

[Member Post]

 

I had my annual checkup with my doctor yesterday, and it didn’t occur to me until after I left that COVID never even came up! Going in I was happy to see that masks are no longer required. A couple of the staff were wearing one, but that must be optional at this point. And […]

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Deborah Birx– not Anthony Fauci – Was the Covid Ringleader

 

When I decided to read Scott Atlas’ book, A Plague Upon Our House, I had no idea how shocked and disillusioned I would become. I already knew from the excellent posts on Ricochet that our government’s strategies for understanding and managing the virus were a disaster, but I have every reason to believe that Dr. Atlas’ descriptions of the events during his service at the White House are true.

And it was a tragedy.

So why was Atlas brought on board to advise the president? His credentials are substantial, although in its usual frenzy to discount anyone associated with President Trump, the media harped on his long-ago work as a radiologist and that he wasn’t an epidemiologist. He was also a highly respected colleague of Dr. Jay Battacharya from Stanford, who has appeared many times in Ricochet forums and also been tarred and feathered by the media (which earns him high esteem from me).

CDC Health Emergency Extension Could Be the Least of Our Problems

 

Is anyone surprised that the CDC has extended the public health emergency regarding COVID-19 for 90 more days? Of course, their “reasoning” is that cases are once again increasing; 95,000 new cases are being reported daily, and hospitalizations are “beginning to increase again.” At this point, I frankly do not care about these results: COVID is going to COVID, and what in the world does it mean that hospitalizations are “beginning to increase”?

What does this extended declaration tell us?

The news comes after the American Medical Association and 15 other national health care organizations called on federal health officials to maintain the public health emergency as COVID-19 cases rise. In a May 10 letter, the groups asked for the emergency order to remain in place for patients to access vaccines, tests, treatments, flexible care, and affordable coverage.

This week on JobMakers, host Denzil Mohammed talks with Daniel Perez, immigrant from Colombia and founder, president and CEO of DPV Transportation Worldwide, based in Everett, Massachusetts. Daniel shares what it meant to tap into his entrepreneurial spirit and become a success, pivoting into healthcare and community service when the transportation sector was impacted by the pandemic, and finding a way to use his fleet for good. He discusses his work to help communities like the one where he grew up, East Boston, long a gateway for immigrants. Not only is Daniel’s firm minority-owned, its staff of 200 is 80-percent minority, and he is focused on building opportunities for youth of color, including in entrepreneurship, as you’ll learn in this week’s JobMakers.

Guest:

[Member Post]

 

The CDC changes its guidance. Nobody notices or cares. Nothing changes. Yay! Now that the world is distracted by an old-fashioned crisis — one with bloodshed and explosions and displays of martial heroism — one of two things can happen: People will forget about COVID and return to normal, or people will forget about COVID […]

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Join Jim and Chad as they celebrate the end of mandates across the country amid cratering COVID-19 numbers. They also scorn weak U.S. sanctions against Russia despite President Biden’s promise to be “swift and severe”. And House Candidate Abby Broyles is forced to apologize after an embarrassing incident involving wine, verbal harassment, and vomiting was made public.

Open Letter to Trudeau

 

This open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from pastors across Canada sends a heavenly warning to all those who hold office.  Here is a partial sample of the letter from Liberty Coalition Canada. I hope other leaders, including our own, read it and take heed:

Mr. Trudeau, with great respect, you are neither the king nor the ruler of Canada. Both you and your colleagues are public servants sent for a short time to Parliament at our behest as citizens to govern under God in terms of the Canadian Charter and to seek a harmony of public legal interest. You do not grant people rights and responsibilities that are theirs as God’s image-bearers and a free people. Since you do not grant them, you have no authority to remove them.

Your government does not grant people the right to their bodily integrity, the right to work or earn a living, the right to decide for their children or to be with their families or dying loved ones, the right to gather to worship and obey God, the right to travel in their own land or enter and leave. Civil government exists to protect these pre-political and fundamental freedoms, not bestow and remove them as if it can function in the place of God.

College Administrators Are Idiots

 

I live about three miles away from William & Mary. The administrators don’t appear to be aware of one of the earliest facts that was known about COVID-19. The risk of death from it is heavily age-dependent. The young are at much greater risk from seasonal flu than they are from COVID. W&M ignored this and put in a vaccine mandate for a shot whose long-term effects are unknown.  What’s becoming clear is that it produces more heart problems for young men than is true for COVID. The stupid requirement for wearing masks outside was enforced at one time as is shown by this old sign.

Some Doctors Will Fight … for Me, Anyway

 

In a dramatic five-minute phone call, the game of telephone with office staff has been ended.

My hematologist said that of course, he would have no problem writing my exemption letter.  While vaccines are great and all, not everyone can have them and he agrees that it would be a bad idea for me.  Of course, he could never prove exact causality, etc, etc.  He recalled investigating hypercoagulability, the various tests, all of them being negative for any other reason.  All of that being true, he agreed to write the letter.

Small, Inspiring Victories

 

So many of us are feeling the fatigue of fighting for our country every day. The destructive and mindless decisions are endless. I became acutely aware of how worn out I am by reading David Foster’s latest post. I realized that my condition is so difficult to endure because it is wearing on me mentally, emotionally and physically: I find myself continually analyzing the predicaments our country is engaged in; the distress of that reality intensifies with each ugly news story; and the result of both the emotional and mental upset is a weariness that I work hard to shake. Even with exercise, proper diet and prayer, the state of our country is taking its toll on me.

But I had an idea that I think can help all of us: frequently identifying small victories. I use the word frequently because I do believe that we are seeing protests, rebellions and revelations that tell us that although we are in a serious struggle, little by little the country is at least waking up and noticing the many ways that the Leftist elite has compromised our cherished and honorable way of life. And ordinary citizens aren’t happy.

[Member Post]

 

https://twitter.com/ellymelly/status/1481035540963426306?s=20 The premier of Western Australia our dear Emperor our lord and Savior our most sacred state daddy Mark McGowan has decided to help Aboriginal Australians by releasing a video so patronizing that they will surely overcome their distrust of the white fella and will stick an experimental drug into their arm.  Preview Open

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More Small Business Closings Ahead?

 

Today we went to our local gun shop/shooting range to finally get in some practice; we’d already had to cancel one trip when we both got sick. We were greeted with a barrier across their driveway stating that they had to temporarily close due to the “flu,” and were too short-staffed. I was disappointed that they weren’t open, but mostly concerned that the two men who run the shop, John and Walter, might be ill, and we are especially fond of John. They don’t have a large staff to begin with.

We all know how devastating the business closures were in many states due to mandates, fears, and precautions. This time, however, there’s a new threat for small businesses: small numbers of staff who come down with the coronavirus and flu.

To Test or Not To Test

 

Who thought that testing for COVID could be so frustrating? I guess I’m just lucky …

My adventure started with what I thought was an allergy attack. I almost never catch colds or viruses, and rarely have allergic reactions to pollen. But I figured I’d pop a 24-hour allergy pill, and I’d be fine. And I was for a little while. Or so I thought …

But on Tuesday, my “allergies” were worse. And by this morning, I sounded like a sick sea lion and had to cancel a breakfast with a friend. And then I thought the worst—