Tag: Mandates

Join Jim and Greg offer a quick update on yesterday’s Don Lemon saga before serving up their three martinis for the day. First, they welcome new studies from the Lancet and beyond showing people who developed natural immunity from a bout with COVID did just as well as the vaccinated against future cases and that natural immunity was stronger against reinfection than the jab. Those who demanded getting shots to keep your job or just be part of society will sure to file this news in the memory hole as quickly as possible. They also unload at the California school district that decided to end high school honors classes in English because they were not diverse enough. Jim explains why those school officials took exactly the wrong course of action. Finally, react to several flawed and failed GOP House and Senate candidates from last year gearing up to run again.

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.

Will the Feds Ever End the Public Health Emergency?

 

At the beginning of the pandemic, most of us were persuaded that the federal government’s enacting the Public Health Emergency was trying to keep us safe from an insidious disease. Locking us down and insisting that we wear masks were in our best interests. And the vaccine was going to protect us from infection and save lives, neither of which was true. For all intents and purposes, the government has failed miserably in its supposed efforts to protect us and to follow the science. In the meantime, they’ve given us no indication that they have criteria for taking down the emergency, or that they have any intention of doing so. I’m pretty much convinced that something catastrophic will need to happen to end this oppressive and destructive act.

We were almost convinced that it was all about to be over when Joe Biden slipped and said the pandemic was over during an interview on “60 Minutes,” but as usual, the White House walked it back. Even Joe knew it was time to bring the whole insidious action to a close. In fact, his statement raised a number of questions about who has the authority to end the pandemic and the many reasons why the end is not about to arrive any time soon.

One major question is who decides that a pandemic is even over. J. Alex Navarro, assistant director of the Center for the History of Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School shared the following:

Rob Long is in for Jim. Join Rob & Greg as they cheer the major commitment the GOP is putting into winning over Latino voters as the Dems panic. They also sigh as the Justice Department appeals a judge’s ruling ending mask mandates for planes and other transportation, but Rob explains the long game the DOJ is playing here. And they react to a Boston University professor who suggests the rampant property destruction in the riots of 2020 need to be understood in the context that property is inherently racist because black people were once considered property.

 

Join Jim and Greg as they applaud the GOP’s ingenious new strategy to register angry voters at the gas pump ahead of the upcoming midterms. They rebuke Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger for his preachy and illogical call for Israel to do more for Ukraine. And despite nobody inviting him, Dr. Anthony Fauci returns to warn that mandates and other measures may need to return if COVID numbers begin to climb again.

 

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.

Join Jim and Greg as they salute Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s decisive victory over forced masking in schools. They also highlight former Obama advisor Steve Rattner admitting that too much COVID stimulus is a big reason for the current inflation crisis. And Prime Minister Justin Trudeau groups a Jewish member of the Canadian Parliament with Nazis while Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar slams reporters for tracking down donors to the Freedom Convoy.

Join Jim and Greg as they applaud their countrymen for their refusal to watch the Beijing Winter Olympics, handing NBC terrible ratings. They laugh at the sudden change in “The Science” as Democratic governors realize mask mandates in schools are unpopular. And President Biden’s tough talk on workplace bullying proves ineffective as it took a two month investigation to fire science advisor Eric Lander.

Small, Inspiring Victories, Part 2

 

Like most of you, I found myself in the doldrums about our current state of affairs in this country. So a few days ago I wrote a post on the importance of appreciating those positive decisions, events, and victories that are happening, so that we might be uplifted and energized. For at least one more week, I decided to list some more “victories” so that we can also celebrate our progress.

After noting Sen. Schumer’s latest failure to kill the filibuster, Jim and Greg serve up three crazy martinis! First, they hammer the Chicago Teachers Union for refusing to teach in-person over the Omicron case numbers. They also unload on the Virginia Department of Transportation for continuing an ugly governmental trend of admitting a major problem but insisting that nothing could have been done better in response to the traffic nightmare on I-95. And their heads are spinning as the CDC releases absurdly burdensome recommendations for fighting COVID and that private employers are following the mandates and firing people while nothing happens to unvaccinated federal employees.

Join Jim and Greg as they cheer Sen. Joe Manchin’s announcement that he is a no vote on Biden’s massive “Build Back Better” spending plan full of far-left priorities. They also hammer outgoing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio for his almost gleeful pronouncement that if you threaten to take away people’s paychecks and their ability to enjoy life, you can get them to do what you want them to. And they shake their heads as Vice President Kamala Harris claims the entire Biden administration was caught off-guard by the COVID variants this year.

New Florida Surgeon General – Black, Opinionated, and Republican

 

New Florida Surgeon General, Joseph Ladapo, is taking a beating from the media as well as the Democrats because of his opinion on COVID-19 and challenging the irrational messaging in the state. There’s no doubt in my mind about the reasons Gov. Ron DeSantis selected him, given the attacks he has personally had to sustain in Florida and nationally. And to date, SG Ladapo has shown himself to be up to the job.

Early controversy erupted when Dr. Ladapo explained his reasons for not wearing a mask when he was invited to visit with FL Senator Tina Polsky, who insisted he wear a mask when visiting her in her office. SG Ladapo pushed back against wearing a mask, since he believed that the mask, which would cover half his face, would interfere with effective communication; he offered, instead, to meet her elsewhere, including more spacious locations or outdoors, to accommodate her. (Senator Polsky recently was diagnosed with cancer, but had not told Ladapo.) She refused to compromise, and SG Ladapo was attacked for his decision. One criticism came from a black Republican minister, Dr. R.B. Holmes, Jr., who is a leading civil rights leader, denouncing Ladapo, DeSantis, and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran. Holmes said:

We are extremely alarmed and saddened that the surgeon general would not meet with the elected state senator from Broward County when she asked respectfully, ‘Will you please, sir, wear a mask,’ the Rev. Dr. R.B. Holmes Jr. told a group of reporters at Tallahassee’s Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, where he is pastor. ‘For that top doctor to not wear a mask is disrespectful and dishonorable.’

Member Post

 

The wheels are starting to fall off, so I sent this open letter to my constituents: I’ve received many emails and phone calls from people both in the 63rd District and across Illinois objecting to the Governor’s continued imposition of his March, 2020 disaster declaration and the executive orders which have done so much to […]

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Join Jim and Greg as they slam President Biden’s heavy-handed and logically inconsistent bullying act on COVID policy…and they discuss why he’s really doing this. They also hammer Democrats and their allies in the media for the despicable, racist coverage of California gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder. And they offer their reflections in advance of Saturday’s 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

I Stand as an Ally to the Vaccine Holdouts

 

I’m vaccinated but I don’t ask, as have many vaccinated Facebook users, that you “respect my decision.” Vaccinated people like me get plenty of respect already, thanks: from public health officials, the political class, employers, and the media, just to name a few. No, the lay of the cultural landscape makes it abundantly clear that it’s not the vaccinated but the unvaccinated who aren’t getting enough respect.

At the end of the day, each individual must make a cost-benefit analysis based on a constellation of variables such as age, health, pregnancy, family history, science, and, yes, anecdotes from sources you trust. Different people will come to different conclusions and behave accordingly. This is how it should be – must be – in a free society.

People question the vaccines for a whole host of reasons, some of them legitimate in my view, others not. I don’t think the vaccines’ image for being safe and efficacious – again, justified in my view – is burnished by shaming those who question them, those who take a wait-and-see approach, or decide to avoid them altogether. This is to say nothing of mandating them.

Best Commentary I’ve Heard on Virus Management

 

I don’t have medical credentials, but some of what ZDoggMD says about mandates being “paternalistic” and about how our messaging could have been more along the lines of “here’s how you protect yourself” in a context of freedom aligns with what I have been thinking.

He says that instead of elected officials making rules about staying inside, people should have been encouraged to go to the beach, go hiking, do healthy things where there’s plenty of air circulation. We didn’t have to be in the mess we’re in now.

On Free Lunches and the Government Mandating Benefits

 

shutterstock_201202373_free_lunchMandating companies pay this or that benefit may seem like a free lunch to policymakers. Workers are helped, and taxpayers don’t bear the burden. Yet as Larry Summers wrote in “Some Simple Economics of Mandated Benefits” back in 1989: “If policymakers fail to recognize the costs of mandated benefits because they do not appear in the government budget, then mandated benefit programs could lead to excessive spending on social programs. There is no sense in which benefits become ‘free’ just because the government mandates that employers offer them to workers. … Mandated benefit programs can work against the interests of those who most require the benefit being offered.”

The Economist looks at this issue, in the context of part-timers, freelancers, and independent contract. Gig economy alert!

The main benefits associated with employment fall into three broad categories: public pensions, health care, and unemployment insurance. In the case of pensions, governments usually levy payroll taxes on firms in proportion to their workforce, and use the proceeds to support pensioners. Hire a worker as a contractor, and firms need not pay the levy; in America, the self-employed must instead pay it themselves. Workers’ advocates claim this means contractors face higher tax rates than employees.