What Socrates Would Say About Whether To Wear A Mask
Socrates tells the jury that actions born of the fear of death are the most blameworthy, and our world today is in desperate need of that message.Democrats Expected To Oppose Republican-Led Legislation Banning Return Of Covid Tyranny And Forced Masking
The bill is a response to the renewed push across the country to usher in another round of Covid tyranny as virus cases spike.
The Ruling Class’s Two-Tier System Will Drive Ordinary People To Radicalization
Individuals can be swayed toward radical ideologies when they feel the system has failed them and their frustrations are left unaddressed.MSNBC's mask-monger is back, stressing it's 'time to bring them out again'
MSNBC medical contributor Kavita Patel, a former policy official in the Obama White House, appeared bare-faced Tuesday on "José Díaz-Balart Reports" to tell Americans to once again don their masks.
Díaz-Balart led into the segment, saying, "If you’ve noticed more of your friends, neighbors, loved ones are testing positive for COVID, you’re not alone. According to the CDC, COVID-19 hospitalizations are up 12% from last week, and while we’re nowhere near previous levels, it’s still raising concerns."
The CDC indicated that between July 16 and July 22, there were 8,035 hospital admissions for COVID-19 in the U.S., a nation home to well over 335 million souls. The bulk of the hospitalizations appear to have been in parts of Texas near the southern border; southeastern Oklahoma; Mohave County, Arizona; four counties in southern Nebraska; northeastern Oregon; and Colquitt County, Georgia.
Patel, a staunch supporter of coercive vaccine mandates, acknowledged in her introduction that "we are not seeing anywhere near the dramatic rises that we saw in previous summers or previous years ... because a large part of the population has either been infected and vaccinated or both several times."
As of November 2022, an estimated 94% of the American population had already been infected with COVID-19 at least once.
Despite intimating that the population now enjoys herd immunity, Patel stressed that it was prudent to "keep people on alert."
To this end, Patel — who suggested in April 2022 that people should still wear masks on airplanes and foist them on fellow passengers despite the expiration of the TSA's mask mandate — attempted to drum up fear over going out in public.
"When you're in those crowded spaces, think about the cost of colds," said Patel. "Sometimes, many people don't have any symptoms. A mask can be your best friend. Keep it."
Patel told Díaz-Balart it was "time to bring them out again, especially as the school season starts," adding, "We don't want to see kids missing school for things we could have prevented."
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Despite Patel's invocation of kids' well-being — greatly undermined by the school closures teachers' unions supported in recent years — children have faced an infinitesimal likelihood of succumbing to COVID-19, even early in the pandemic when the virus was ostensibly far stronger. Even if there was more than a nominal risk, studies have indicated that the masks commonly used by the public might be ineffective.
A comprehensive Cochrane analysis of scientific studies concerning the efficacy of masks in reducing the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses, led by Oxford epidemiologist Tom Jefferson and published in January, concluded, "Wearing masks in the community probably makes little or no difference to the outcome of influenza‐like illness (ILI)/COVID‐19 like illness compared to not wearing masks. ... Wearing masks in the community probably makes little or no difference to the outcome of laboratory‐confirmed influenza/SARS‐CoV‐2 compared to not wearing masks."
Jefferson told journalist Maryanne Demasi, "There’s still no evidence that masks are effective during a pandemic."
The Centers for Disease Control's own peer-reviewed journal, Emerging Infectious Diseases, published a study in May 2020 that found "no significant reduction in influenza transmission with the use of face masks."
The researchers stated, "There is limited evidence for their effectiveness in preventing influenza virus transmission either when worn by the infected person for source control or when worn by uninfected persons to reduce exposure. Our systematic review found no significant effect of face masks on transmission of laboratory-confirmed influenza."
Also early in the pandemic, Dr. Michael Klompas of Harvard Medical School's department of population medicine and others noted in the New England Journal of Medicine, "We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection. ... [T]he desire for widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic."
Dr. Brendan Jackson, the CDC's COVID-19 incident manager, told NPR last week that the CDC presently has no plans to encourage widespread masking again.
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'There's something going on': Scientists acknowledge the severity of 'long vax' as well as their reluctance to pursue research that might furnish skeptics with a 'sensational headline'
Science, the peer-reviewed academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, has just published damning admissions substantiating fears about COVID-19 vaccines that would have up until recently been verboten to express online.
Just as there is allegedly "long COVID," in which persons who contracted the virus suffer various symptoms long after they should have recovered, the American medical establishment now appears comfortable admitting there is similarly "long vax."
After the obligatory claim that COVID-19 vaccines have saved lives, Science correspondents Gretchen Vogel and Jennifer Couzin-Frankel noted that COVID-19 vaccines aren't just causing side effects, such as "abnormal blood clotting and heart inflammation," but have been linked to "a debilitating suite of symptoms that resembles Long Covid."
"You see one or two patients and you wonder if it’s a coincidence," Dr. Anne Louis Oaklander, neurologist and researcher at Harvard Medical School, told the journal. "But by the time you’ve seen 10, 20. .... Where there's smoke, there's fire."
Vogel and Couzin-Frankel suggested that symptoms of vaccine fallout "can include persistent headaches, severe fatigue, and abnormal heart rate and blood pressure. They appear hours, days, or weeks after vaccination and are difficult to study. But researchers and clinicians are increasingly finding some alignment with known medical conditions."
One of these conditions is reportedly small fiber neuropathy, whereby "nerve damage can cause tingling or electric shock-like sensations, burning pain, and blood circulation problems."
Another is postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), which can manifest as "muscle weakness, swings in heart rate and blood pressure, fatigue, and brain fog."
The National Institutes of Health noted in December 2022 that researchers examining linkages between COVID-19 vaccines and "uncommon side effects" had found "a slight increase in the number of people who have experienced postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) following vaccination."
Some patients are reportedly unfortunate enough to suffer "features of one or both conditions."
Peter Marks, director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, which oversees vaccines, told the journal, "We can't rule out rare cases" where vaccines have triggered small fiber neuropathy or POTS and further stressed the importance of health care providers taking "seriously the concept [of] a vaccine side effect."
However, Marks appears to be worried that admitting vaccines are hurting people in the long term could give rise to a "sensational headline" that would, as Vogel and Couzin-Frankel phrased it, "mislead the public."
The article alludes to the German health minister's recent acknowledgement that COVID-19 vaccines, which were similarly de facto mandatory in his country, have been shown to result in long-term consequences.
Karl Lauterbach, the minister in question, reportedly told Christian Sievers of the ZDF Heute Journal that what has happened to people affected by vaccine injuries "is absolutely dismaying and every single case is one too many. I honestly feel very sorry for these people. There are severe disabilities, and some of them will be permanent," adding "1 in 10,000 is the frequency of serious side effects."
DW reported that the Paul Ehrlich Institute, the German Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedical Drugs, "has registered 333,492 cases of suspected harmful vaccination side effects and 50,833 suspected cases of serious side effects since the start of the vaccination campaign: a reporting rate of 1.78 per 1,000 vaccine doses."
Vogel and Couzin-Frankel stressed that researchers studying the long-term fallout of the vaccines, such as Harlan Krumholz, a cardiologist at Yale University, are worried about "undermining trust."
Krumholz reportedly indicated he was initially reluctant to "dive in" for fear of bringing to light truths that might be seized upon by vaccine critics.
Notwithstanding his reservations, Krumholz said, "I’m persuaded that there’s something going on” with these side effects. "It’s my obligation, if I truly am a scientist, to have an open mind and learn if there’s something that can be done."
Krumholz and Yale immunologist Akiko Iwasaki have started a post-vaccination study called LISTEN, for Listen to Immune, Symptom and Treatment Experiences Now, reported the New York Post.
They are attempting to "understand long COVID, post-vaccine adverse events and the corresponding immune responses by collecting information about symptoms and medical history from participants."
Theirs is not the only show in town, however.
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center analyzed a health database of nearly 300,000 people in Los Angeles, all of whom had received at least one COVID-19 shot.
"They found that within 90 days after a shot, the rate of POTS-related symptoms was about 33% higher than in the 3 months before; 2581 people were diagnosed with POTS-related symptoms after vaccination, compared with 1945 beforehand," Vogel and Couzin-Frankel indicated.
Some researchers suspect that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, delivered by the vaccines, may be responsible for "long vax," as it may instigate an immune overreaction and destabilize ACE2 signaling.
Although the specifics of how precisely the vaccines are upending some patients' lives are presently being worked out, Lawrence Purpura, an infectious disease specialist at Columbia University, is certain about the consequences.
Postvaccination illness is "a long, relentless disease," said Purpura.
In recent years, amid a broader effort to censor down vaccine skepticism, the Biden White House has pressured social media companies to silence those who raised concerns about the short- and long-term effects of COVID-19 vaccines, including Tucker Carlson.
While curbing dissenting views and squelching expressions of concern, the Biden administration imposed vaccine mandates, knowing full well there were "breakthrough" infections despite COVID-19 vaccination, contrary to how they were sold to the public.
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Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler says it would have been child abuse for parents not to mask 2-year-olds before COVID-19 vaccines were available
Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York unabashedly expressed support for mandatory masking for 2-year-old children, asserting that parents would have been committing child abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic if they opted not to mask their 2-year-old kids because masks were the only option to protect those young people when there was not yet a vaccine available for them.
Nadler, who noted that in the past he had to be vaccinated before going to school, spoke in favor of vaccine mandates. He said vaccinations are necessary "to prevent diseases" as well as "pandemics."
The long-serving left-wing lawmaker who has been in office for over three decades said that a nurse caring for patients could transmit disease and should be required to be vaccinated. Getting vaccinated "not only protects her, it protects against transmission," he claimed, adding that health care workers "certainly" should be required to get vaccinated.
"Your 2-year-old should be forced to be masked. That is what the Ranking Member ... just said," Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas declared, adding that Nadler was saying the federal government should be involved in requiring 2-year-old kids to wear masks.
"Chip having a field day!" TheBlaze's Daniel Horowitz tweeted in response to a clip of Roy's remarks.
\u201cChip having a field day!\u201d— Daniel Horowitz (@Daniel Horowitz) 1686775520
"Thank you, @chiproytx for your steadfast calling out of the Covid cult!" someone else tweeted.
"When your adversary is losing - let him," Roy tweeted.
"They have no regrets about harming kids in the name of COVID. If given the chance…they'll do it again," the DeSantis War Room Twitter account tweeted.
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Gov. Glenn Youngkin announces end of 'COVID-era draconian overreach,' reimbursement for 'unjustly' fined businesses
COVID-19-era fines and penalties have now been dealt a final blow in Virginia, and some of those unfairly hit with them may soon be reimbursed.
Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin indicated earlier this week that while the damage done by his Democratic predecessor's administration in the state of Virginia cannot be undone, he is nevertheless "taking action going forward to end COVID-era draconian overreach."
What are the details?
The governor, who took office in January, issued an executive order on Tuesday "to review the disciplinary actions taken against private individuals, businesses, and non-profits purportedly as a result of the public health emergency related to COVID-19."
Youngkin noted in his order that recovery from the pandemic for many Virginians does not necessarily entail bouncing back from the virus, but rather from "guidelines imposed during the public health emergency."
"Due to state action, businesses in Virginia were prohibited from allowing entry, service, or access to their premises, putting their existence at risk. Individuals were prohibited from working and carrying on important daily activities," read the order.
Accordingly, Youngkin has instructed state agencies to report all fines and penalties imposed by former Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam's administration as a result of noncompliance with COVID-19 guidelines.
On the basis of these reports, the secretary of finance or his designee will "review all such disciplinary actions and make recommendations to the Governor on what if any corrective action can be taken under the law."
In a statement Tuesday, Youngkin said, "The fact that businesses are still dealing with COVID-19 related penalties and fines is infuriating. Livelihoods are on the line."
This fury may have been brought to a head after veteran and restauranteur Matt Strickland had his establishment raided last Friday.
Northam appointees on the board of the Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Authority saw fit for the agency to continue exacting penalties on account of COVID-19 noncompliance.
Agents stormed Strickland's restaurant Gourmeltz, executing a search warrant issued for the business' sales records and for information pertaining to "possession of alcoholic beverages without a license, maintaining a common nuisance and the illegal sale of alcoholic beverages."
Strickland claimed on Monday that "these COVID mandates were more about control than they were health and safety."
Youngkin said, "In the previous administration, we saw our government shut down businesses, close our schools, and separate us from each other. While we can’t undo the damage done during the Northam administration, we are taking action going forward to end COVID-era draconian overreach."
"I look forward to working with the General Assembly to address this, forgive COVID fines and fees, and restore licenses that were unjustly suspended," added the governor.
Northam's COVID regime
In March 2020, Northam told Virginians to avoid so-called "non-essential gatherings" of more than 10 people.
Regardless of whether it could mean destitution for the proprietors or their employees, all restaurants, fitness centers, and theaters were mandated to significantly reduce their capacity to 10 patrons or shut down.
Grocery stores and various other services were spared this prohibition, but churches enjoyed no such exemptions.
Lighthouse Fellowship Church of Chincoteague filed a lawsuit months later claiming Northam violated Christians' religious freedom after the church's pastor was issued a criminal citation for having 16 people at a Palm Sunday service, in contravention of Northam's edict. The Department of Justice ultimately sided with the church.
National Review reported that by the time December 2020 rolled around, Northam began blaming the spread of the virus in Virginia on religious congregations that he suggested had failed to strictly adhere to Democrat health guidance.
In addition to business-killing restrictions, Virginians were also required to wear masks — the efficacy of which Dr. Anthony Fauci doubted — in indoor public spaces.
Northam's mask mandate went into effect May 29 and was expanded over time, such that all residents ages five and over had to follow suit.
The mask requirements and prohibitions on gatherings significantly impacted athletics and academics, among other activities.
Curfews were imposed on the sale of alcohol, and COVID-19 guidance violations were made enforceable through the Virginia Department of Health as Class One misdemeanors.
Extra to misdemeanor charges, massive fines and jail time awaited retailers who violated the governor's mandates.
Back to normal
Upon taking office in January, Youngkin not only banned critical race theory, but signed an executive forder making masks optional in schools.
For prioritizing freedom over the illusion of safety, Youngkin took a great deal of heat.
Nicole Haley of Coronavirus War Room, a leftist activist organization that advocated for mask mandates, vaccine mandates, and lockdowns, said in January, "From ending vaccine requirements to his 'masks off' order, Governor Youngkin is already losing support as a result of his anti-science policies that prolong the pandemic."
Youngkin answered back by pointing out he wasn't banning masks but restoring Virginians' choice on whether wearing a mask is right for them and their children.
The governor also killed Northam's vaccine mandate for state employees and called on the Defense Department to kill the coronavirus vaccine mandate for Army National Guard members, reported The Hill.
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