Fauci Refuses To Take Media Questions At Protested Florida Speaking Event
While Anthony Fauci retired in 2022, his wife was recently laid off by cuts to Fauci’s former agency, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.While Anthony Fauci retired in 2022, his wife was recently laid off by cuts to Fauci’s former agency, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.Covid Taught Americans To Stop Trusting A Government That Puts Them Last
The reaction to Covid showed Americans the system wasn't going to save them. They were going to have to do it themselves.Fauci cabalist, top gain-of-function scientist raise alarm about dangerous new experiments
One the world's most prominent gain-of-function researchers — whose methods were adapted by researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology for work on chimeric viruses — and one of the scientists who helped furnish Anthony Fauci with what he needed to downplay the lab-leak theory are now sounding the alarm about dangerous new coronavirus experiments conducted by the Chinese.
Criticism may have been easier this time around, given that the critics and their friends do not appear to be directly linked to the dangerous research in question.
Ralph Baric and W. Ian Lipkin expressed concern in a March 3 New York Times op-ed that Chinese scientists "are experimenting with viruses in ways that could put all of us in harm's way."
Baric, a professor in the departments of epidemiology and microbiology at the University of North Carolina, is a leading proponent of gain-of-function research who successfully fought for an exemption from the Obama administration's moratorium on the dangerous practice in order to keep manufacturing artificial SARS-like viruses. He became an especially controversial figure during the pandemic, which has claimed the lives of over 7 million people worldwide.
Lipkin, the John Snow professor of epidemiology at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health, was one of the co-authors of the controversial March 2020 paper "The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2," which Fauci used on multiple occasions to suggest to the American public that COVID-19 was not a lab leak but rather an animal virus that jumped to a human. Lipkin, who later thanked Fauci for his "efforts in steering and messaging" regarding the virus' origins, has reportedly long had a cozy relationship with Chinese communist authorities.
Baric and Lipkin indicated that they are particularly concerned about experiments conducted by WIV researchers and other Chinese scientists on a deadly coronavirus called HKU5-CoV-2. These experiments are detailed in a recent paper published in the scientific journal Cell.
The duo noted that the virus at the heart of the study "belongs to a subgroup of viruses that are classified alongside the one that causes MERS and that can have fatality rates far higher than that of the virus that caused the Covid pandemic."
While HKU5 can infect humans and has the potential to be far more lethal than SARS-CoV-2, Chinese scientists have apparently been meddling with the fully infectious virus in a lab with "insufficient" containment controls.
There are multiple biosafety level ratings for laboratories ranging from BSL-1 to BSL-4. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "each biosafety level builds on the controls of the level before it."
'Potentially dangerous research should not be done without proper precautions.'
A BSL-4 lab, for instance, is designed to handle microbes that are "dangerous and exotic, posing a high risk of aerosol-transmitted infections" that could prove fatal. Researchers in such a lab must manipulate the infectious agents using a gas-tight sealed container with a double HEPA filtered exhaust while wearing protective gear. Alternatively, they must wear a full-body, air-supplied positive pressure suit. Researchers must also undergo routine medical surveillance for signs of infection.
Such a high-security lab must also be located in a separate building or in a restricted zone of an existing building with double locking doors and provided with a dedicated supply of air along with decontamination systems.
Despite the dangers posed to the researchers and the rest of mankind, the Chinese researchers have instead been experimenting in a lab described as BSL-2 plus. BSL-2 labs are meant to handle only microbes that pose, at worst, moderate hazards to researchers and the environment.
"Decisions about what level of precaution is appropriate for research are typically made by a study's lead scientist and an institutional biosafety committee," wrote Baric and Lipkin.
The lead scientist on this dangerous study was Shi Zhengli, whose track record for safety is less than stellar and with whom Baric has previously collaborated.
According to a 2021 article in the MIT technology review, Baric asked Shi, who is the director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the WIV, for the genome of a new coronavirus Shi found in bat excrement. He apparently wanted to take the "spike" gene from the novel virus and stick it into a copy of a SARS virus he had on hand. Ultimately, Baric's team tested the resultant chimeric virus on humanized mice and in a petri dish of human airway cells and discovered that it could indeed infect humans.
Baric and Lipkin noted in their op-ed that while the relevant authorities in China apparently approved the dangerous new experiments on HKU5, "it is not sufficient for work with a new virus that could have significant risks for people worldwide."
"Work with viruses that have the potential to become threats to public health should be restricted to facilities and scientists committed to the highest level of safety," added the duo.
According to Baric and Lipkin, governmental and nongovernmental agencies that fund research on viruses should require "proof that investigators meet global standards." Additionally, scientific journals should insist on similar standards for the studies they accept.
The duo concluded, "Potentially dangerous research should not be done without proper precautions to prevent deliberate or accidental spread."
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Chinese scientist with reported ties to USAID finds new bat coronavirus that could infect humans like COVID
Chinese scientists have said that they discovered a new bat coronavirus that could infect humans in the same manner as the virus that causes COVID-19. The lead scientist in the new study has reported links to USAID.
According to a report from the South China Morning Post, the researchers are from the Guangzhou Laboratory, the Guangzhou Academy of Sciences, Wuhan University, and the infamous Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The lead scientist in the new bat coronavirus study reportedly had prior financial ties to the embattled United States Agency for International Development.
The new infectious disease is called HKU5-CoV-2. The new coronavirus was first identified in the Japanese pipistrelle bat in Hong Kong.
HKU5-CoV-2 is a coronavirus that is part of the merbecovirus subgenus, which also includes the virus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome.
Researchers claim that HKU5-CoV-2 uses the ACE2 receptor to infect organisms. The ACE2 receptor is the same receptor used by SARS-CoV-2 to infect human cells.
"We report the discovery and isolation of a distinct lineage (lineage 2) of HKU5-CoV, which can utilize not only bat ACE2 but also human ACE2 and various mammalian ACE2 orthologs," the study said.
The researchers wrote, "Authentic HKU5-CoV-2 infected human ACE2-expressing cell lines and human respiratory and enteric organoids. This study reveals a distinct lineage of HKU5-CoVs in bats that efficiently use human ACE2 and underscores their potential zoonotic risk."
"Bat merbecoviruses, which are phylogenetically related to MERS-CoV, pose a high risk of spillover to humans, either through direct transmission or facilitated by intermediate hosts," the scientists stated.
The researchers from China added, "The potential human spillover risk of animal merbecoviruses remains to be investigated."
The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Cell on Tuesday.
The study was led by Shi Zhengli — a leading virologist who had been the director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Zhengli is often dubbed the "bat woman" by her colleagues because of her extensive research on bat coronaviruses since 2004, including virus-hunting expeditions in bat caves.
The World Society for Virology said of Zhengli, "Her group has discovered diverse novel viruses/virus antibodies in bats, including SARS-like coronaviruses, adenoviruses, adeno-associated viruses, circoviruses, paramyxoviruses and filoviruses in China."
The lead scientist in the new bat coronavirus study reportedly had prior financial ties to the embattled United States Agency for International Development.
A 2021 article in Vanity Fair noted: "Shi Zhengli herself listed U.S. government grant support of more than $1.2 million on her curriculum vitae: $665,000 from the NIH between 2014 and 2019; and $559,500 over the same period from USAID. At least some of those funds were routed through EcoHealth Alliance."
According to 990 tax exemption forms it filed in 2018 with the New York state attorney general’s Charities Bureau, EcoHealth Alliance received as much as $15 million a year in grant money from federal agencies, including the Defense Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and USAID.
The article spotlighted emails obtained by a Freedom of Information request, including one sent by Peter Daszak, a zoologist and former president of EcoHealth Alliance. The email showed that Zhengli allegedly carried out potentially dangerous gain-of-function experiments.
Under the subject line, “No need for you to sign the 'Statement' Ralph!!,” he wrote to two scientists, including UNC’s Dr. Ralph Baric, who had collaborated with Shi Zhengli on the gain-of-function study that created a coronavirus capable of infecting human cells: “you, me and him should not sign this statement, so it has some distance from us and therefore doesn’t work in a counterproductive way.” Daszak added, “We’ll then put it out in a way that doesn’t link it back to our collaboration so we maximize an independent voice.”
During a House Oversight Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing in March 2023, former U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield said he believes American tax dollars funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) asked Redfield, "Is it likely that American tax dollars funded the gain-of-function research that created this virus?”
Redfield replied, "I think it did, not only from NIH, but from the State Department, USAID, and DOD."
Zhengli has gone on record to say that she does not believe in the lab-leak theory that COVID-19 came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology — a biosafety level-4 lab, which requires the highest level of safety protocols and equipment because of the study of high-consequence biological agents.
Blaze News reported in July 2021 that Zhengli purportedly had "collaborated with two military scientists on coronavirus work, one of whom is now deceased under unknown circumstances."
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Blaze News original: Let us not forget the COVID masking madness those in power put us through
Blaze News recently took detailed looks at a pair of contentious reactions to the spread of the coronavirus several years ago — the left's reprehensible behavior toward fellow Americans who refused COVID jabs and then how COVID lockdown lunacy, tyranny, and hypocrisy harmed all of us.
In this installment, we're breaking down the fallout from masking madness.
'As a concerned carry-permitted gun owner, if you refuse to wear a mask and try to come within 6 feet of me or my family, I will exercise the same constitutional rights to shoot you.'
It's not terribly hard to recall how insane things were at the outset of the COVID pandemic with regard to masking. There were mask shortages and conflicting guidance on their use. Then-U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams posted on social media in early 2020, "Seriously people - STOP BUYING MASKS! They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can't get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!"
Dr. Anthony Fauci reportedly flipped-flopped on his masking views. Then last year he admitted that there was no scientific evidence behind the six-foot social distancing protocol — or the guidelines for masking children, according to bombshell congressional testimony.
In the meantime, masking mandates were in full swing. It was rare to see folks in public without them. Along with that came scary, ridiculous, and hypocritical behavior.
In the below collection of vignettes, we revisit a bizarre tale of a high school that actually used individual tents for band students so they could play their instruments amid the COVID spread ... elected officials who fiercely enforced masking protocols and ignored them for themselves ... a prominent doctor who said "let 'em die" in regard to those who didn't wear masks ... blatant threats ... admissions of "political theater" in regard to masking ... and tyrannical statements.
This is how they treated us. Never forget.
High school mercilessly mocked for placing band students in tents so they can practice amid pandemic
Washington state's Wenatchee High School in February 2021 came up with a novel way to allow band members to practice their instruments while remaining socially distant in the battle against COVID-19 — placing the students inside individual tents, KCPQ-TV reported.
Of course, students can't wear masks while playing trombones and clarinets. Ergo, the tents were their masks. You can view a video report here showing an extended interview with the school's principal — and the band students in their tents performing.
A number of observers on social media were both disturbed and amused:
- "Well this confirms it," a Twitter user declared. "Our decision to move to a Red state is definitely correct."
- "Can someone in the Wenatchee area donate a couple of their old camping tents to the high school for the poor tuba players?" another user asked.
- "That adults, government, teachers or parents, would abuse young people like this is unimaginable," another commenter wrote.
- "They're just f***ing with us at this point," another user said.
Democrat Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said he held his breath when photo was snapped of him not wearing mask while standing next to Magic Johnson at NFL playoff game
Then-Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) said he held his breath when a photo was taken of him not wearing a mask while standing next to NBA legend Magic Johnson at the NFC Championship Game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, in January 2022.
Stadium rules stated that "masks are required for all attendees except when actively eating or drinking" in accordance with an order from the Los Angeles County Department of Pubic Health.
“I’ll take personal responsibility,” Garcetti said, according to Deadline. "And if it makes you and everyone else happy — or even the photographs with people where literally I’m holding my breath for two seconds — I won’t even do that.”
One individual on X cast some doubt in regard to the issue, stating that "Eric Garcetti hopes you’re dumb enough to believe that he held his breath every single time he took his mask off at the Rams game."
Photos show far-left California Gov. Gavin Newsom dining unmasked with large party at ritzy restaurant — and state Medical Association officials were among the guests
The optics were sorely lacking after photos showed far-left California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) dining unmasked in a fancy French restaurant with a large group of unmasked guests in November 2020. Certainly a faux pas considering the controversial COVID-19 dining restrictions he instituted.
But Politico soon reported that California Medical Association officials — of all people — were among the guests seated with Newsom at the "opulent birthday dinner at the French Laundry restaurant this month." Sacré bleu!
CMA spokesperson Anthony York told Politico in a statement that "the dinner was held in accordance with state and county guidelines." Lobbying firm Axiom Advisors said it was an outdoor dinner, the outlet reported, adding that Napa County restaurants were permitted to offer indoor service at the time of the Nov. 6 event.
Still, Newsom acknowledged the dinner was a "bad mistake." According to Fox News, he added that "I should have stood up and ... drove back to my house. The spirit of what I'm preaching all the time was contradicted. I need to preach and practice, not just preach."
Despite his admissions, that wouldn't be the first time Newsom was accused of COVID masking hypocrisy. He was photographed without a mask at the NFC Championship Game in early 2022 despite SoFi Stadium rules stating that "masks are required for all attendees except when actively eating or drinking" in accordance with an order from the Los Angeles County Department of Pubic Health. In July 2021, he pulled his children from a summer camp that had no mask requirement — but only after maskless photos emerged on social media.
Hot mic appears to catch Pennsylvania's Democrat governor, state rep laughing about 'political theater' of wearing masks
A video that circulated online in September 2020 appeared to show Pennsylvania Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf and Democrat state Rep. Wendy Ullman chuckling over the "political theater" of wearing masks.
The two were preparing to take part in a news conference in Doylestown — a Philadelphia suburb — when Wolf told Ullman, "So Wendy, I'm gonna take — I'm gonna take my mask off when I speak."
Ullman, who was standing near the microphone with her mask still on, then walked toward Wolf and responded off camera, "I will as well, just, I'm waiting so that we can do a little political theater."
Wolf replied, "OK," and the two officials shared a laugh before Ullman walked back toward the podium and added, "So that it's on camera."
Blaze News reached out to both officials for comment about the exchange, but neither immediately replied by the time of publication.
Others had a few things to say, though. One Twitter user replied to a post made by Ullman, saying, "I enjoyed your political theater, meanwhile families and businesses suffer." Another wrote: "Pelosi, Feinstein, now this. Rules for thee, but not for me." The mayor of Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, blasted Wolf's and Ullman's actions, saying, "The destruction of the livelihoods of millions of Pennsylvanians is no laughing matter and we don't find this entertaining."
Earlier in September 2020, a federal judge ruled that the state's burdensome lockdowns were unconstitutional. Not long before, Wolf issued an order that made wearing masks mandatory and implemented a policy that limited indoor gatherings to 25 people and outdoor gatherings to 250 people.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot caught breaking own COVID mask mandates
Then-Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) found herself in hot water in October 2021 after posting a photo of herself violating her own city and state mask requirements.
The left-winger came under fire after posting a photo of herself violating the city's mask mandate during the Chicago Sky's WNBA championship victory. As the Sky took the league title over the Phoenix Mercury, Lightfoot was packed into the city's Wintrust Arena with other fans for the game, Fox News reported. The photo in question shows her celebrating the team without wearing a mask — while surrounded by scores of masked fans. Her move violated both her city mask mandates and the state's mask requirement.
According to Wintrust Arena, fans were required to wear masks at all times, except when eating or drinking, Fox News said. Lightfoot was neither eating nor drinking. The mayor's office did not respond to the cable news network's request for comment.
It wasn't a first for her. Lightfoot repeatedly warned against gathering in large crowds and even blasted a "Reopen Illinois" rally for daring to violate Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker's stay-at-home order. But in November 2020, she defied the state's commands and joined hundreds of people in the streets of Chicago to celebrate Joe Biden's presidential election while not wearing a mask.
Prominent doctor reacts to news video showing maskless Floridians in grocery store by declaring, 'Let 'em die. I'm so tired of these people. No vaccines for y'all.'
On Feb. 3, 2021, NBC News correspondent Sam Brock shared a video on X showing maskless shoppers and employees inside the Oakes Farms Seed to Table Market in Naples, Florida. The caption of Brock's video post reads, "Store sign outside cites 'medical exemptions,' we can't ask questions."
The video caught the attention of Cleavon Gilman, an emergency room physician who got a phone call months earlier from then-President Joe Biden thanking him for his work fighting against the pandemic.
Gilman went on a now-deleted rant directed toward those seen without masks in the NBC News video: "Let 'em die. I'm so tired of these people. No vaccines for y'all."
Gilman also stated — presumably in the wake of his first shot over the bow — that "Republicans trying to take my words out of context as if I deny medical care to people that don't wear masks & 'let 'em die.' My point is that we can't waste our energy on these COVID deniers.. they are not gonna protect themselves, so let 'em die. They'll find out the hard way."
Gilman also wrote that he treats "every patient that comes through the door" the same and that "many" are "gasping for breath and devastated when they find out COVID is not a hoax."
The previous November, Gilman posted on X, "Just as active alcoholics with terminal liver disease are REFUSED liver transplants... People who don't follow preventative public health measures against COVID19 should be the LAST to get hospital beds." That post also appears to have been deleted.
Nancy Pelosi torched for swanky maskless Napa Valley fundraiser: 'It's utter hypocrisy'
Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) was seen schmoozing with Democratic deep-pocket donors, none of whom appeared to be wearing masks, at a Napa Valley fundraiser in August 2021.
New York Times journalist Kenneth Vogel posted an invitation for the fundraiser, which shows that tickets started at $100 and were as much as $29,000 per chair. The money raised went to vulnerable frontline Democrats in danger of losing seats in the 2022 midterm elections.
Prominent individuals lampooned Pelosi for the maskless event:
- Then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.): "Speaker Pelosi wants to lock you down again while she wines and dines with her political donors. It's utter hypocrisy."
- Independent journalist Glenn Greenwald: "All the servants fully masked. The almost-entirely old, white, rich crowd of DCCC donors free to go maskless as they're served."
- Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.): "Speaker Pelosi does not care about #COVID. Democrats don't care about covid. They only care about controlling you. Magical covid science: The virus stops spreading the minute you sit down to eat or when you speak in a microphone or if you are one of the elites. Liars."
- Progressive political commentator Jimmy Dore: "Isn't this what they used to call a 'Super-Spreader Event'? They don't seem worried at all. What do the rich elite know that we don't?"
- Attorney Harmeet K. Dhillon: "SUPERSPREADER EVENT!"
- BlazeTV "Relatable" podcast host Allie Beth Stuckey: "They're not scared of COVID, in case you hadn't noticed."
- Former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell: "The white people are all free to breathe without a mask. The people of color must wear masks — and serve. Stop voting for Democrats…they are laughing at how easy you are to manipulate."
Arnold Schwarzenegger says 'you're a schmuck for not wearing a mask' and defends health experts: 'Screw your freedom!'
Arnold Schwarzenegger in August 2021 blasted Americans who refused to wear masks after another spike in the coronavirus infections. Schwarzenegger made the comments during an interview with CNN's Bianna Golodryga.
He said people should trust experts such as Dr. Anthony Fauci because they studied the issue for so long — and Schwarzenegger criticized those concerned that their "freedom is being disturbed." With that, he exclaimed, "Screw your freedom!"
He also said, "Yeah, you have the freedom to wear no mask. But you know something, you're a schmuck for not wearing a mask because you're supposed to protect the fellow members around you."
Republican Maryland governor says 'there's no constitutional right to walk around without a mask'
Then-Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, said in a November 2020 coronavirus media briefing that that "there's no constitutional right to walk around without a mask."
"It's sort of like saying I have a constitutional right to drive drunk, I have a constitutional right to not wear a seatbelt or to yell fire in a crowded movie theater or to not follow the speed limit," Hogan added.
"We're talking about a quarter of a million people dying already. You know, more than, you know, the Korean War, the Gulf War, and the Vietnam War added together. Which part don't you understand?" he asked.
Elementary school teacher placed on leave after comparing anti-maskers to the KKK
A Nebraska elementary school teacher was placed on administrative leave in August 2021 after she shared a social media post comparing anti-maskers to the Ku Klux Klan.
The Elkhorn Public School District announced on Aug. 24 that an unnamed elementary teacher was placed on leave for an unspecified amount of time after posting an illustration comparing people who were against masks with members of the KKK. The image showed the phrase "Isn't it strange they can breathe in this" next to a klansman hood and the words "but not this" next a COVID mask, WOWT-TV reported.
The anonymous teacher told the station, "My personal views on politics, masking, those are outside of the classroom. I love my job. My opinions are not part of my job. I do my job, I teach math, I teach literature, I teach critical thinking skills. We don't talk about politics."
High school staff member who called student 'piece of s**t' over mask dispute resigns, principal says
John Mensik, principal of Glenbard North High School in Carol Stream, Illinois, told Fox News in September 2021 that a staff member who was seen in a viral video calling a student a "piece of s**t" for allegedly wearing a mask improperly had resigned.
Fox News said the clip was posted on social media along with a caption that read, "My friend had his mask under his nose, and this Karen went crazy, got up in his face and cuzed [sic] at him."
Fox News said the staffer told the student, "I knew you were going to take off your mask the moment I turned the corner." He then threatened the student with in-school suspension before telling the student that it was "because you're a piece of s**t."
Fox News added that in response to the video circulating online, Mensik sent parents a notice saying the incident was being investigated and would be handled "in an appropriate manner."
Gym holds maskless Christmas party in private home; city officials launch investigation
Officials in Durham, North Carolina, launched an investigation after learning that a fitness studio held a 2020 Christmas party in a private residence during which at least two dozen people gathered without masks, which violated state and local COVID-19 restrictions, WRAL-TV reported.
Triangle Krav Maga posted photos of the party on Facebook, the station said, adding that it featured movies, pizza, "quality booze," a white elephant exchange and other games, and a sleepover for kids.
"Sure beats sitting at home in a mask, doesn't it?" a Facebook post noted about the event, which WRAL said was deleted after the station began asking questions about the party.
Durham officials received at least two complaints about the party, city spokeswoman Amy Blalock told the station.
Triangle Krav Maga owners Molotov Mitchell and his wife, Dr. Greer Gunther, didn't return multiple requests for comment, the station reported.
WRAL said Gunther at the time was in the second year of a child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at Duke University School of Medicine and that Duke officials didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The News & Observer reported that some social media posts noted that a Duke University psychiatrist was at the party and encouraged people to contact the university.
Good news for anyone hoping to look like a lunatic: 'Pac-Man' face mask invention allows wearers to eat without actually removing mask
Israeli inventors created a "Pac-Man" mask, KXAS-TV reported in May 2020, which allowed wearers to eat without taking the mask off. Wearers could squeeze a lever that opened a slot in the mask and allowed wearers to eat like the Pac-Man from the iconic video game.
You can view a video report here that shows the mask in action.
Celebrities allowed to go maskless at the 2021 Oscars while the cameras are on — but need to wear them during commercials
In April 2021, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that Oscar ceremony attendees would not have to wear masks during the telecast — but would have to wear them during commercial breaks, Variety reported.
"Yep, according to the logic of selective state-imposed mask mandates for showbiz types, science apparently makes it clear that while the coronavirus cannot be transmitted while cameras are rolling, the same crowd is at risk when the telecast pauses to run advertisements," Blaze News' Chris Field wrote in regard to the odd rule.
School board member resigns after threatening to shoot maskless people who come near her or her family
A member of a Pennsylvania school board resigned in May 2020 after threatening to shoot maskless people who came near her or her family.
Jennifer Rager-Kay — then with the Selinsgrove school district's board — in a Facebook post threatened to shoot those in her or her family's path who weren't wearing masks amid the COVID-19 pandemic, PennLive reported. Rager-Kay reportedly made the remarks in response to seeing a photo of anti-lockdown protesters in Harrisburg, the state capital, who weren't wearing face masks but were openly carrying guns
"As a concerned carry-permitted gun owner, if you refuse to wear a mask and try to come within 6 feet of me or my family, I will exercise the same constitutional rights to shoot you," she wrote.
Rager-Kay announced her resignation just days after admitting that she had "received threats against my personal and professional well-being," the Sunbury Daily Item reported.
In a statement, she said, "I would like to publicly apologize to anyone offended by my most recent post regarding the hypocrisy of those who refuse to wear face masks yet walk around openly carrying guns. I am in a profession where the threat of someone approaching me not wearing a mask while in the midst of a pandemic is equivalent to the threat against my life. Just as it would be if they approached me with their gun drawn and pointed at me."
She continued, "As a wife, mother, and physician, it is my job and responsibility to 'do no harm,' and the constant barrage of protests and defiance to public health reached a boiling point for me, thus the reason for my overly dramatic and exaggerated post. My words demonstrated how constitutional rights can be misinterpreted and were meant to serve as an example of extremism."
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Blaze News original: Let us never forget how COVID lockdown lunacy, tyranny, and hypocrisy harmed all of us
Earlier this month, Blaze News took a deep dive into the left's reprehensible behavior toward fellow Americans who refused COVID jabs.
Now we're looking at the immense harm that COVID lockdown lunacy, tyranny, and hypocrisy brought upon us all.
'We will crash your party. You will pay a big fine. And we will name & shame you until EVERYONE gets this message into their heads.'
One of the curious parallels within numerous lockdown scenarios in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic was the number of officials, particularly governors, who used the phrases "save lives" and "saving lives" to explain why everybody had to stay home. It's uncanny — as if they were parroting a script. We've bolded such utterances in the forthcoming vignettes.
Then there was the hypocrisy of such elected officials who ignored their own edicts while enforcing them for the rest of us. Such as the Democrat governor who told people to "stay home except for essential activities" — and then was spotted at a wine bar without a mask. Or the Democrat Chicago official caught violating lockdown rules at his restaurant. Or the Democrat mayor of Austin, Texas, who apologized after sending a "stay home" message — from his Mexico vacation spot. Or San Francisco's then-Democrat mayor who said more severe COVID-19 restrictions were on the way after she was caught dining at a fancy restaurant. Or then-mayor of Philadelphia Jim Kenney — as far left as they come — getting called out after he was seen dining inside a Maryland restaurant while eateries in his own city "suffer" from his ban on indoor dining.
Can we go on? You bet we can.
Among the most egregious instances of political leaders' COVID lockdown hypocrisy occurred when then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was busted using a shuttered salon for services despite a lockdown in San Francisco. The far-left politician actually claimed she was "set up" by the salon, and that she was owed an apology rather than the other way around. In the same neck of the woods, photos emerged of far-left California Gov. Gavin Newsom dining unmasked with a large party at a ritzy Napa restaurant. And who can forget when then-Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot got a haircut after banning barbers and salons from opening during the early months of the pandemic. She defended the move by telling critics, "I'm the public face of this city." Then Lightfoot broke her own rules again — and again.
In the meantime, churches and business shut their doors — and many never reopened. Not being able to go outside and being prevented from earning a living and getting cut off from human interaction led to dire consequences. Young people seriously considered suicide. Some carried out the act. Parents' resources were stretched to the limit when their children no longer could attend school in person.
In the end, numerous experts gave lockdowns a failing grade. Johns Hopkins researchers concluded that lockdowns had "little to no effect" on COVID-19 deaths but "imposed enormous economic and social costs." A Stanford medical school professor declared that COVID-19 lockdowns were the "biggest public health mistake we've ever made." Then-U.S. Attorney General William Barr said COVID-19 lockdowns were the "greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history" besides slavery.
All that said, get ready for more "fun" — and take a look back at some of the worst behavior by those in power against everyday people amid COVID-19 lockdowns.
Never forget.
Michigan suspends license of elderly barber who vowed to keep his shop open until 'Jesus comes.' He was operating in defiance of left-wing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's COVID lockdown edict.
Michigan state regulators suspended the license of 77-year-old barber Karl Manke in May 2020 after he reopened his Owosso shop in defiance of Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's stay-at-home orders. Manke had previously vowed to keep his business open until "Jesus comes," his attorney said the state's actions were out of "pure retribution," and it became a national story.
The elderly barber attracted a lot of defenders. Michigan militia members promised to guard him from arrest, and a Shiawassee County Circuit Court judge refused to sign a temporary restraining order against him without first holding a hearing.
When state regulators suspended Manke's license, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel argued that "it is paramount that we take action to protect the public and do our part to help save lives." Nessel later ripped Manke as "not a hero to me" and "not a patriot."
But Manke was undeterred. He told demonstrators on the steps of the state Capitol during "Operation Haircut" — a protest he inspired that featured barbers and stylists giving free haircuts in defiance of Whitmer's social distancing requirements — that the governor's lockdown was akin to Nazis tricking Jews to get into "cattle cars" during Holocaust.
Whitmer also was undeterred. In October 2020 she actually told Chuck Todd on "Meet the Press" that "if you're tired of lockdowns, or you're tired of wearing masks, or you wish you were in church this morning or watching college football or your kids were in-person instruction, it is time for change in this country, and that's why we've got to elect Joe Biden."
The day after Whitmer's campaign stop with Todd, criminal charges against Manke for reopening his barber shop were dropped. By March 2023, Whitmer admitted that her lockdown measures didn't "make a lot of sense" and that "maybe that was a little more than what we needed to do."
New Jersey orders — cough, cough — tulip farm to cease drive-thru tours because it violates left-wing Governor Phil Murphy's COVID executive orders
In April 2020, Dalton Farms in Swedesboro said in a Facebook post that "we were ordered to cease all operations by an Assistant Prosecutor from the State of New Jersey."
At issue was Dalton Farms' popular tulip tours at its 99-acre property, the Cherry Hill Courier-Post reported, adding that the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office ordered the shutdown because the tours violated Democrat New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy's coronavirus executive orders.
Murphy defended his lockdown policy: "The fact of the matter is this is about saving lives, and we're going to do what we can to save lives."
A week prior to the tulip farm kibosh, Murphy told Fox News' Tucker Carlson that he "wasn't thinking of the Bill of Rights" when he issued an executive order banning gatherings of more than 10 people to stem the tide of COVID-19 — including religious services — which resulted in multiple arrests.
"We are really damned unhappy" about disobedient residents "and we're going to take action," Murphy declared earlier in April 2020, according to the Atlantic City Press. He added to the paper there are "too many people not paying attention" to his order and "we've about had it."
To wit:
- Also in April 2020, a woman who organized an anti-lockdown protest outside the New Jersey State House in Trenton was charged with violating Murphy's stay-at-home orders.
- Police busted attendees of a bonfire party on the banks of the Pennsauken Creek in Cinnaminson in April 2020 for defying Murphy.
- Cops shut down a "corona party" in Rumson in April 2020 featuring 30 middle-aged folks assembled on the front lawn of a house — and spilling into the street — listening to a pair of guitarists perform songs by famed British rock band Pink Floyd.
- In late March 2020, police arrested a man for hosting a "corona party" with 47 guests in his 550-square foot apartment in Ewing. "NO CORONA PARTIES. They're illegal, dangerous, and stupid," Murphy declared. "We will crash your party. You will pay a big fine. And we will name & shame you until EVERYONE gets this message into their heads."
- Earlier in March 2020, two state residents were arrested for hosting gatherings of over 50 people in defiance of Murphy's executive order. One of the gatherings was a pop-up wedding held at a resident's home.
- Brian Brindisi — owner of Lakeside Diner in Lacey Township — in August 2020 told the Asbury Park Press there's no way authorities will stop him from providing indoor service at his establishment despite Murphy's executive orders. "There's only two ways they're going to get me out of here ... in handcuffs or a body bag," Brindisi said, according to the paper.
Oh, and in November 2020, a pair of women cursed out Murphy — who just extended his executive order for COVID-19 restrictions — while he was dining with his family outside a restaurant.
Church members get $500 tickets for sitting in their vehicles with windows closed in church parking lot during radio broadcast of service
In April 2020, members of Temple Baptist Church in Greenville, Mississippi, stayed in their vehicles with the windows rolled up in the church parking lot to listen to Pastor Arthur Scott's sermon on the radio.
They figured that counted as abiding by coronavirus social distancing guidelines — but one couple said police issued them a pair of $500 tickets for not leaving the parking lot. Yes, there's video of police laying down the law.
Democrat Mayor of Greenville Errick Simmons issued an executive order that all church buildings are to be closed for both in-person and drive-in services — and that the Temple Baptist parking lot service was in direct defiance of that order, the Delta Democrat-Times reported.
"It's all about trying to save lives," the mayor added to the paper. "If people continue to gather, it's going to spread."
Patrol boats actually chase ocean paddleboarder — then sheriff's deputies arrest him for defying left-wing California Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home order
A Malibu paddleboarder was chased down April 2, 2020 — among the earliest days of COVID lockdowns all over America — by patrol boats and arrested for defying California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home order. You can view the rather over-the-top video here of the chase and arrest.
By October 2022 — well over two years later — Newsom was still saying that "throughout the pandemic, we’ve been guided by the science and data – moving quickly and strategically to save lives."
Police issue citation, fine woman who was just 'going on a drive' amid coronavirus stay-at-home order
Pennsylvania State Police cited a woman in March 2020 for going on a leisurely drive amid the coronavirus outbreak. According to Pennlive, 19-year-old Anita Shaffer went for a drive just to get out of her house. On her way back, a pair of troopers stopped Shaffer.
During the stop — which the troopers initiated over a faulty taillight and dark window tint — Shaffer told the troopers she was just "going for a drive." The officers responded by writing her a ticket fining her more than $200 for violating Pennsylvania's stay-at-home order.
Then-Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, said in May 2020 that “our actions, our collective decisions to stay at home and avoid social contact – we know that all of that saved lives."
Far-left New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio rules 'no swimming' at beaches for Memorial Day — and anyone caught will ‘be taken right out of the water’
"If you want to walk on the beach, fine," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said during a May 18, 2020 news conference regarding the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. "But no swimming, no lifeguards, no parties, no barbecues, no sports." He also warned, "Anyone tries to get in the water, they'll be taken right out of the water."
It wasn't immediately clear why swimming, among all beach activities, drew the ire of de Blasio. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no evidence that COVID-19 can be spread to people through bodies of water. Though the mayor did add that swimming is dangerous because lifeguards won't be around.
During a March 2020 news conference on COVID-19, de Blasio said, "Our job is now to focus on what we need to do to save lives."
Dallas salon owner sentenced to 7 days in jail, hit with thousands in fines for refusing to close amid COVID-19 — but she gets the last laugh
Shelley Luther, owner of Salon a la Mode, reopened her business on April 30, 2020, in violation of Texas' statewide lockdown of nonessential businesses during the early days of COVID-19. She argued that she was behind on her mortgage and that the government has no right to prohibit citizens from working to provide for their families. In the end she was sentenced to seven days in jail and fined thousands of dollars.
But things soon began to turn in Luther's favor in early May: A GoFundMe page for her received nearly $500,000 in donations after her jailing. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott called for her release. Within days Luther was set free.
Soon after her release, Luther entered politics. After initial defeats, Luther — a Republican — won the Texas state House seat for District 62 in November 2024.
California city dumps 37 tons of sand into skate park to prevent kids from skating during coronavirus lockdown
The city of San Clemente, California, filled a skate park — at taxpayer expense — with 37 tons of sand in April 2020 to prevent kids from skating amid the coronavirus lockdown.
"Some kids are very blessed and come from great homes, but on the flip side there are kids who don't come from good homes and there are some skaters who might fall into that category," said Stephanie Aguilar, president of the San Clemente SkatePark Coalition, in a follow-up interview with Blaze News. "For those kids, the skatepark was an outlet."
Cops arrest Idaho mother of 2 for taking her kids to a park that was closed over COVID lockdowns
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Police in Meridian, Idaho, arrested a mother of two in April 2020 after she violated the city's ban against using playground equipment at a local park amid the COVID outbreak. The arrest was caught on cellphone video. Sara Brady was charged with one count of misdemeanor trespassing.
Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck interviewed Brady on his radio program, and she posed the following question: "How can someone like me be considered a criminal because I just wanted to take my kids to the park?"
Interestingly, while Republican Gov. Brad Little issued a stay-at-home order in March 2020, listed among "essential activities" — i.e., permitted — was "outdoor activities." However, gatherings of more than 10 people were not allowed.
New Mexico's Democrat governor fines churches $10,000 each after videos of Christmas Eve services go viral; governor's spokesperson implies pastors are 'pro-virus'
New Mexico's Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham fined two churches $10,000 each in December 2020 for violating the state's social distancing requirements, and her communications director released a statement accompanying the fine implying that the pastors involved were "pro-virus."
Legacy Church and Cavalry Church — described as "megachurches" by KOAT-TV — both attracted attention after they posted videos on their respective social media sites showing hundreds of attendees gathered singing Christmas carols during Christmas Eve services. Those videos garnered significant attention on social media and ultimately led to news stories from local media outlets, which seems to have prompted the governor's actions.
In November 2020, Grishman stated in regard to her latest COVID stay-at-home order that "I want to save lives."
Sheriff's deputies get ridiculously testy with mother in her yard for letting her daughter 'play at other people's home' amid coronavirus lockdown
A pair of sheriff's deputies in Wisconsin got testy after they showed up outside a woman's home in the spring of 2020 and began lecturing her about the coronavirus — and for your entertainment, the rather unbelievable verbal sparring was all captured on cellphone video.
"Are you aware that we're in a stay-at-home order right now?" the first deputy asked the woman, addressing her as "Amy."
"Yeah, obviously," the woman responded, clearly astounded by the elementary question.
"By the government of Wisconsin?" he continued.
"Yes, I am aware," she replied.
"OK, you're aware of that? So I don't need to explain that to you?" he persisted.
"No, you don't need to explain that to me," she replied before the deputy cut her off and added, "OK, because I can if you need me to."
Soon she forced him to end his bullying Q&A by inquiring why he was with another deputy — neither or whom were wearing masks or gloves — in her driveway that was adorned with children's chalk drawings.
He replied, "'Cause your daughter is going to play at other people's home, and you're allowing it to happen."
The deputy's vocal tone soon got quite ornery as he informed the mother that she can either acknowledge that she's been warned or continue arguing. Smartly she said she'd acknowledge the warning.
"OK," the deputy replied angrily. "Stop having your kid go by other people's home!"
The other deputy asked the mother for her last name for their records, after which Amy wondered why that piece of information was necessary — and the first officer blurted out, "Because you're violating a state order."
But the mom wouldn't budge — and wasn't willing even to disclose her middle initial to the inquiring deputy. "Are we done here?" she asked.
"No, we're not," the second deputy shot back. "Your middle initial and last name."
After the first deputy appeared to extract the necessary information over his radio, the second deputy actually told the mom "that'll be documented, too, that you were uncooperative."
Democrat Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said in an April 2020 news release about COVID-19 restrictions that "Safer at Home is saving lives."
New Jersey gym owners arrested for defying left-wing Gov. Phil Murphy's lockdown order
The owners of embattled Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, New Jersey, were arrested on the morning of July 27, 2020, for opening in defiance of Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy's lockdown order. You can view video of the arrest here.
The arrests came after a Superior Court judge ruled that the governor had the authority to shut the gym down and that co-owners Ian Smith, 33, and Frank Trumbetti, 51, were in contempt of court for attempting to keep it open. Smith and Trumbetti were charged with one count of fourth-degree contempt, one count of obstruction, and one count of Violation of a Disaster Control Act, according to NJ.com.
The gym made headlines in May after the owners refused to shut down after Murphy's executive order called on all "nonessential" businesses in the state — including gyms — to close. Things heated up fast, particularly when five cops arrested one person outside the gym. But the owners refused to back down — and just a week after their July arrests, Smith and Trumbetti literally kicked down the government-installed barriers on their gym's doors to reopen again.
Things were far from over, though. Bellmawr's all-Democrat borough council revoked the gym's license. By December 2020 Smith said he'd received $1.2 million in fines, and ripped the "petty tyrant" governor. The following month Smith was sentenced to one year of probation for defying Murphy's lockdown orders. Finally, a New Jersey court in 2024 dismissed with prejudice all the municipal charges against Smith.
Los Angeles County mercilessly mocked for telling residents they can snitch on businesses that don't fall in line with coronavirus stay-at-home orders
On May 14, 2020, Los Angeles County issued the following post on X: "We know that businesses are working hard to adhere to the #SaferAtHome orders, but if you need to report a business for non-compliance, please call 888-700-9995 Monday-Friday (8 am-5 pm)."
Here's a sampling of the mocking comments that followed:
- "I'd like to report @CountyofLA for violation of the Constitution..."
- "OK Karen!"
- "#LosAngeles where illegal aliens have sanctuary but legal businesses have punishment."
- "Businesses are working hard to survive and be safe, but not as hard as you're working to turn us into East Germany."
- "1984 was a warning, not a textbook."
By September 2020, the county health department decreed that trick-or-treating was unsafe and would be illegal for Halloween — along with all carnivals, festivals, and parties with "non-household members." In a guidance document published by KABC-TV, the health department added that "gatherings or parties with non-household members are not permitted even if they are conducted outdoors."
Oregon's leftist governor tells residents to call cops on neighbors who violate her new COVID lockdown edicts
The week after Oregon's far-left Democratic governor Kate Brown declared strict new COVID-19 lockdown orders in November 2020, she then called on state residents to rat out their neighbors who might violate her new edict that limited social gatherings.
Besides limiting faith-based organizations to 25 people indoors and 50 people outdoors, Brown also banned groups of more than six people gathering together in private homes.
As for snitching on neighbors, Brown said in an interview that it's "no different than what happens if there's a party down the street, and it's keeping everyone awake. What do neighbors do? They call law enforcement because it's too noisy. This is just like that. It's like a violation of a noise ordinance."
Brown also said people should understand that her new commands were "about saving lives."
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot threatens anyone who disobeys coronavirus lockdown: 'We will arrest you, and we will take you to jail'
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In early May 2020, then-Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot threatened to issue citations and even arrest anyone who violated coronavirus stay-at-home orders.
"We will shut you down, we will cite you, and if we need to, we will arrest you, and we will take you to jail," Lightfoot said. "Don't make us treat you like a criminal, but if you act like a criminal, and you violate the law, and you refuse to do what is necessary to save lives in this city in the middle of a pandemic we will take you to jail, period."
The far-left mayor added, "If you host a party, promote a party, or go to a party, we are not playing games. We mean business, and we will shut this down one way or another. The time for educating people into compliance is over. Don't be stupid. We're watching you, and we're going to take decisive action."
Then-Police Superintendent David Brown said, "We have given enough warning. We're getting to the point where we're trying to save lives and if our message is not resonating with people who are promoting parties, or coming out to parties, we have to take that next level of enforcement to make sure that we save lives."
Lightfoot and Chicago police also encouraged residents to anonymously submit tips about anybody breaking the lockdown rules, including throwing house parties.
Speaking of overreach, the commissioner of Chicago's Department of Public Health in early August 2020 trumpeted that officials would use social media postings as evidence to issue fines against visitors violating the city's quarantine order.
Left-wing Los Angeles mayor orders utilities shut off for TikTok influencer's mansion due to lockdown-defying parties
In August 2020, then-Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti ordered utilities cut off at a mansion where large parties were being held in defiance of social distancing guidelines. The New York Times reported that the mansion belongs to TikTok stars Bryce Hall, Noah Beck, and Blake Gray.
Garcetti previously said that the city would consider shutting off the utilities for nonessential businesses that were found defying the coronavirus lockdown orders.
Critics of the Democratic mayor noted that he had been photographed without a mask with a crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters — despite stating in an April 2020 briefing that staying at home, along with other COVID restrictions, "is the way we will save lives."
Cops drag away woman holding 'We Are Free' sign while she sits on beach: 'This is a power trip. This has nothing to do with the virus.'
A woman holding a "We Are Free" sign while sitting on the sand in Miami Beach in May 2020 was dragged away by police who arrested and charged her with violating an emergency order, trespassing, and resisting an officer without violence. Kimberly Falkenstine, 33, was protesting coronavirus-related beach closures and refused to leave after officers confronted her, WTVJ-TV reported.
The entire event was captured on video by a man speaking to Falkenstine as she walked to the beach with her sign. Approaching the beach's entrance, she marveled at the "ridiculous" number of officers patrolling the otherwise empty beach: "This is a power trip. This has nothing to do with the virus."
Other demonstrators at a South Beach park on the same day demanded that local officials reopen beaches.
Teachers' union leader says 'white supremacy' fuels coronavirus reopening efforts — and concerns over lockdown suicides are 'white privilege'
The leader of a teachers' union in Washington state faced criticism in January 2021 after he said that coronavirus reopening efforts were fueled by "white supremacy" — and concerns over lockdown suicides were "white privilege."
"We must not ignore the culture of white supremacy and white privilege. We have seen it in the 'free to breathe,' reopen everything, rodeos and rallies that received county commissioner support. The same county commissioner directs our health," Scott Wilson, president of the Pasco Association of Educators, said at a school board meeting, according to the Tri-City Herald.
"No one wants remote learning, but it is the right thing to do. We know the equity concerns, virus transmission is high, heading higher, with so many ignoring and avoiding measures to stop the spread, remote learning is the right decision," he added.
'Super-Spreader Task Force' detains over 900, arrests and fines nearly 100 revelers during New Year's Eve raids
A "Super-Spreader Task Force" — courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department — cracked down on 2020 New Year's Eve parties, resulting in hundreds being detained, arrested, and fined.
The coronavirus lockdown enforcers crashed five large NYE parties in Los Angeles, Malibu, Hawthorne, and Pomona. The "illegal" celebrations were held in speakeasy locations such as upscale homes, vacant warehouses, a DoubleTree hotel, and shuttered businesses.
One frustrated New Year's Eve reveler told KTTV-TV, "We're tired of closing this s**t down, my people have lost businesses and all that s**t, and we really just wanted some fresh air, man, that's what's going on we wanted some fresh air, they come out with the tanks and all, man, s**t is crazy."
A month prior, then-Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told his constituents to expect more COVID-19 lockdowns, going so far as to say, "It's time to cancel everything."
Judges order ankle monitors for those exposed to COVID who refuse to stay home — even if they haven't tested positive
Judges ordered at least four people in Louisville, Kentucky, to wear ankle bracelets for repeatedly refusing to isolate themselves after being in contact with coronavirus patients. CNN reported in early April 2020 that two of the people fitted with the monitors haven't tested positive for the coronavirus.
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