Health commissars are pushing masking again in Newsom's California



California's mask commissars are once again clamoring for Americans to cover their faces.

During the pandemic, Democrat leaders and health officials in the Golden State proved eager to condition Americans' ability to leave the house and to perform basic errands on wearing a mask.

"Bring your mask with you whenever you leave your home," said former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. "That will help us get more freedoms."

On June 18, 2020 — just over a month after L.A. reopened its beaches — the California Department of Public Health announced that Californians were required to wear face coverings in public spaces; when obtaining services from the health care sector; when waiting for or riding on public transportation; when engaged in work with other members of the public; and "while outdoors in public spaces when maintaining a physical distance of six feet from persons who are not members of the same household."

"Simply put, we are seeing too many people with faces uncovered," said Gavin Newsom — the Democrat governor who months later issued a statewide order expanding the mask requirement to most indoor and outdoor settings.

Newsom issued his order despite evidence that masks, like the COVID-19 vaccines, weren't as effective as some proponents liked to pretend.

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Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

For instance, the Centers for Disease Control's 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 [disposal medical masks'] 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."

'I recommend that everybody in West Sacramento wear a mask when they are around others in indoor public spaces.'

Although Newsom's mask mandate was partially dropped in March 2022, mask requirements nevertheless remained in effect for certain settings. Even 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 2023, concluded:

Wearing masks in the community probably makes little or no difference to the outcome of influenza‐like illness/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.

Aimee Sisson, the health officer in Yolo County, said in a statement on Friday, "California is experiencing a summer COVID wave."

The CDC's COVID-19 Hospitalization Surveillance Network indicated that in the week ending Aug. 23, the national hospitalization rate was 1.4 per 100,000 for those ages 0-4; 0.2 for those ages 5-17; 0.4 for those ages 18-49; 0.9 for those ages 50-64; and 5.1 for those 65 and older.

While the overall level of hospitalizations for the endemic virus is reportedly "low," the Los Angeles Times indicated the number is increasing across the Golden State.

According to an estimate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID-19 infections are growing or likely growing in 31 states, including California.

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Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

"Based on current wastewater levels of the virus that causes COVID-19, I recommend that everybody in West Sacramento wear a mask when they are around others in indoor public spaces," said Sisson. "I also recommend that people in the rest of Yolo County wear masks when they are around others indoors if they are 65 or older, have a weakened immune system, have an underlying medical condition that puts them at a greater risk of severe COVID-19, or spend time around people who fall into these categories."

The San Francisco Department of Public Health has similarly recommended "wearing a well-fitted mask when you are in crowded, indoor spaces, including when traveling."

The California Department of Public Health noted in a social media post on Saturday, "Protect yourself and your loved ones by considering masking in indoor public places like airports and planes. Wear a high-quality mask like an N95, KN95 or KF94 to stay protected."

The CDPH told Blaze News in a statement, "CDPH continues to recommend masks in certain situations and is not considering changing these recommendations at this time."

"Local health departments may make recommendations on masking based on virus activity in their region," the agency added in its statement. "Overall wastewater concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 are currently increasing, and it is not yet clear when wastewater activity will peak this summer."

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'Eddington': Portrait of COVID-era craziness wrings laughs from peak wokeness



Did anyone want to revisit America circa May 2020? BLM. COVID-19. Mask mandates. Peak cancel culture. Social distancing.

No, thank you.

A throwaway scene finds a white teen describing his privilege to his gobsmacked parents. Their reaction is guaranteed to draw howls.

Somehow director Ari Aster makes it an invitation worth considering.

2020 vision

The director behind “Hereditary,” “Midsommar,” and “Beau Is Afraid” jumps into that awful, no-good chapter in U.S. history with “Eddington.” Those expecting another progressive screed from La La Land will be happily disappointed.

Nor is Aster gunning for a MAGA cocktail party invite. His tale pulls nary a punch, belittling both hard-right conspiracists and BLM types.

What’s maddening is the lack of discipline in the film’s third act. If you thought 2020’s Summer of Love protests proved chaotic, perhaps “Eddington’s” finale feels appropriate.

Otherwise, a potentially great film loses its way.

Mask off

Joaquin Phoenix stars as Sheriff Joe Cross, an earnest lawman flustered by his state’s new mask mandates. It’s May 2020, and the country has already fallen for pandemic hysteria.

He tries to bring sanity to his New Mexico hamlet with few results. The locals have already adopted a mask-at-all-cost approach, including Eddington’s Mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal).

Mostly.

That drives Joe to impulsively declare his candidacy for mayor, much to the chagrin of his troubled wife, Louise (Emma Stone). She spends her days ducking his carnal advances and devouring conspiracy theories along with her hard-charging Ma (Deirdre O’Connell).

Progressive Mad Libs

Meanwhile, the death of George Floyd sparks sympathetic protests across Eddington, straining the town’s wafer-thin resources. It’s neighbor against neighbor, and some of the young protesters barely know what they’re shouting about.

White privilege. Colonization. Racist cops. It’s a Mad Libs dash through progressive slogans, and it’s even sillier than what we remembered. The protests are a blindingly white affair, with BLM sympathizers torn between acknowledging their privilege and barking land acknowledgements.

One teen wants to get lucky, so he Googles “Angela Davis” just to break the ice with a pretty protester.

We can laugh about it now, but it wasn’t funny at the time. And sadly, remnants of that thinking refuse to slink away.

Aster isn’t sugarcoating far-left absurdism, although his hard-right conspiracies feel too cartoonish. The writer/director’s sense of editorial balance is shocking and smart. It’s a culture war movie that doesn’t look or sound like one.

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Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Too soon?

The director leans into TikTok videos, YouTube confessionals, and cancel culture attacks — 2020 distractions that kept our attention during lockdowns.

The only thing missing? Netflix’s “Tiger King” series.

Sheriff Joe wants to have it both ways. He’s disgusted by residents trying to capture him in an unflattering light on their smartphones. He still turns to his phone to record campaign videos.

His political instincts, or lack thereof, are the film’s funniest running gags.

Aster’s setup is bracing and uncomfortable. Is it too soon to dissect this societal breakdown? The answer quickly becomes “no,” especially given how much we’ve learned about COVID-19, vaccines, and BLM-style activism since then.

Hackneyed slogans

“Eddington” isn’t a traditional comedy, but its satirical swipes leave a mark. A throwaway scene finds a white teen describing his privilege to his gobsmacked parents. Their reaction is guaranteed to draw howls.

Man, it feels good to laugh at that.

Eddington teens want to do something, anything, other than stay locked in their homes. So they join BLM and recite hackneyed slogans without actually understanding what they mean.

They look miserable.

The overstuffed story includes Austin Butler as an oily conspiracy theorist (is there any other kind?), a plot thread that adds a few chuckles to the story. Butler is a charismatic presence, but he’s not fully unleashed.

Laugh riot

Aster never knows how to leave well enough alone — his 2019 misfire “Midsommar” felt longer than the Summer Olympics. That means “Eddington” overstays its welcome by at least 20 minutes (the film is just shy of two-and-a-half hours long).

The film takes a violent turn mid-movie but lacks the urgency of the best screen thrillers. Instead, we watch a key character scramble for his life while we wonder what, exactly, is happening on screen.

Little of it makes sense, and the film’s coal black humor takes a knee.

Phoenix gets the meatiest role as a troubled sheriff. Poor Joe is earnest but overwhelmed, trying to process our 24/7 digital age without much luck. Pascal’s mayor should have our sympathy, from his pro-masking stances to having “he/him” on his Zoom profile.

Overdue relief

That’s how Hollywood movies work in 2025 ... right?

Instead, the actor makes sure to show his character’s smarmy side, and Aster refuses to deify a Hispanic leader.

“Eddington” is neither a lecture nor a cautionary tale. Aster serves up no solutions, only the potential for more misery. We already lived through the worst of what’s seen on screen, and laughing at it now offers a delicious, overdue sense of relief following those over-reactions.

We wouldn’t do that again. Would we?

It’s why the final, chaotic moments prove so dispiriting. “Eddington” eventually loses its way, and a bitter coda puts an exclamation point on that fact.

It’s high past time Hollywood grappled with the worst year in recent memory. Aster’s willingness to call out all sides makes "Eddington" a bracing, almost necessary watch.

Why I’m rooting for the lunatic over the creep in NYC



Although I would do so reluctantly — while holding a barf bag in one hand — if forced to vote in the next New York City mayoral election, I’d cast my ballot for Zohran Mamdani.

Yes, that Zohran Mamdani.

It isn’t just the Democratic Party destroying these cities — it’s the people who keep voting for them. Let them live with the consequences.

A dire warning about this unappetizing candidate, a “Muslim lefty from the other side of Queens,” just appeared in the New York Post, which reports that Mamdani consorts with pro-Hamas rioters, adores Black Lives Matter, and recently said Bill de Blasio was “the best mayor of his lifetime.”

In a sane political environment, such a figure would be consigned to the loony bin. But in the present urban climate, voters find themselves grasping for the least ghastly option — if they bother voting at all.

And Mamdani, God help me, appears marginally less disgusting than Andrew Cuomo, who is now the front-runner.

Cuomo, who presided over the slow death of New York as governor, seems poised to take the helm of a city already in decay. In any race to the bottom, he’d win in a landslide. This is a man who groped and manhandled female staffers while parading his feminist credentials; who packed nursing homes with COVID patients, causing the deaths of thousands; who then lied about it repeatedly and shamelessly. He worked tirelessly to eliminate cash bail, unleashing a wave of criminality across the state.

And yet, somehow, Mamdani is supposed to be worse?

That former Mayor Mike Bloomberg — now a prolific funder of leftist candidates — is backing Cuomo only sharpens the stench of this whole affair. The staleness of the New York political class, its complete moral exhaustion, has never been more evident.

Still, I’ll give you another reason I prefer Mamdani: Sometimes collapse is a better catalyst than stagnation.

Cuomo would likely run the city into the ground — but slowly. He’d reward the usual Democratic parasites with patronage, keep street crime just under the boiling point, and exercise marginally more restraint when it comes to unwanted touching. He’d reassure the woke plutocrats and Wall Street donors that he won’t rock the boat too much. He knows the game and plays it well.

But the rot would fester.

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Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

New York would remain unsafe. Schools and other public institutions would stay in the grip of culturally radicalized unions. The courts would remain ideological tools of the left. Nothing would improve. The decline would just ooze along — business as usual.

Mamdani, by contrast, might deliver a spectacular crash.

If he’s as doctrinaire and deranged as his critics suggest, his administration could bring about real catastrophe with impressive speed. That kind of shock might finally push productive citizens to flee en masse and accelerate the corporate exodus already under way. Sometimes it takes a maniac to wake the slumbering.

This wouldn’t be the first time a disastrous mayor paved the way for genuine reform. In 1994, New Yorkers elected Rudy Giuliani after enduring the catastrophic tenure of David Dinkins. Giuliani cracked down on crime, brought investment back, and helped restore a semblance of order. But it took years of misrule to make that turnaround politically possible.

Yes, I know what you’re thinking: That kind of change isn’t possible any more. Cities like New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia are too far gone. Their voting blocs are locked into leftist fantasy. The idea of another Giuliani, a Richard Daley Sr., or even a Frank Rizzo showing up today seems laughable.

Maybe so. But if that’s true, then the voters are getting exactly what they asked for. It isn’t just the Democratic Party destroying these cities — it’s the people who keep voting for them.

Let them live with the consequences.

Given the state of our urban politics, the choice now is between ideological lunatics and cynical reprobates. Mamdani may fast-forward the train wreck. Cuomo might slow it down. But either way, the crash is coming.

At least with Mamdani, we might finally reach bottom — and from there, maybe, begin again.

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Saving lives wasn’t the crime — doing it without permission was



Five years after COVID-19, how do red-state doctors still face persecution for heroically treating patients whom the medical establishment abandoned?

Instead of honoring doctors like Mary Talley Bowden and Eric Hensen with medals, the Texas Medical Board hounds them with investigations that could strip them of their licenses. The state legislature, meanwhile, has let the session slip by without so much as a committee hearing for bills that would end this travesty.

COVID exposed the worst kind of medical malpractice. Now, in Texas, we’re watching political malpractice finish the job.

Dr. Bowden, a soft-spoken ear, nose, and throat specialist based in Houston, treated thousands of COVID patients — none of whom died under her direct care. But 48-year-old Tarrant County Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Jones wasn’t so lucky. The father of six died needlessly in a Houston hospital that refused to treat him with anything beyond a ventilator. Hospital staff even covered his breathing tube to block his wife from administering ivermectin and barred Bowden from stepping in after writing him off as a lost cause.

In October and November 2021, Texas Health Huguley Hospital in Fort Worth fought Jason’s wife, Erin, every step of the way. Though hospital doctors had no recovery plan, administrators did everything possible to stop alternative treatments. Even after a court granted Dr. Bowden the right to administer ivermectin, the hospital threw up bureaucratic roadblocks: demanding a list of every surgery she’s performed, three letters of recommendation, and stacks of irrelevant paperwork — despite her record as one of Houston’s most trusted breathing specialists.

On Nov. 10, Bowden sent a nurse to the hospital to administer ivermectin. Hospital staff blocked her from entering, claiming an appellate court had stayed the district judge’s order — yet no such stay had been issued, and neither Bowden, her attorney, nor the nurse had received notice. The nurse turned around without ever stepping inside the ICU.

Jason Jones never received the treatment. The hospital discharged him at half his body weight. He spent the next year in poor health and died in 2023. In the end, the hospital got its way.

Process is the punishment

Jones’ story mirrors those of tens of thousands of Americans during the pandemic. Instead of holding anyone accountable or honoring doctors who fought to save lives, lawmakers have looked the other way. Rather than being celebrated, Bowden was hit with a Texas Medical Board complaint. Her alleged offense? “Disrupting” the ICU — despite the fact her attorney gave the hospital 30 minutes’ notice and she acted under court authority.

Bowden refused to pay a fine or submit to a mandated eight hours of continuing medical education. The board continues to pursue sanctions. The case remains open. She has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars and spent countless hours defending herself — all while continuing to treat patients. Without action from Gov. Greg Abbott or the Texas Legislature, she still faces the loss of her medical license.

At a recent hearing, Bowden attempted to call Dr. Mollie James, a Missouri ICU physician who moved to New York at the height of the pandemic. The board blocked the testimony, claiming James lacked sufficient credentials. Instead, they grilled Bowden about her political views on the COVID vaccine, citing her social media posts.

Four years after COVID’s failures became common knowledge, Texas still punishes the doctors who stepped up when others refused. Physicians who treated patients the medical establishment left to die now face professional ruin — while those who denied care walk free. The Texas Legislature has blown two full sessions without doing anything to stop it. The Texas Medical Board looks more like its draconian California counterpart every day.

No hearings, no accountability

State Sen. Bob Hall (R) has tried repeatedly to reform the board. This year, he finally succeeded in passing SB 2422 out of the Senate on a party-line vote. The bill orders the TMB to vacate all investigations and disciplinary actions against doctors who prescribed COVID treatments like ivermectin, spoke out against lockdowns or mandates, or refused to wear a mask. It requires the board to expunge all related records, refund fines, and reimburse legal expenses.

The Texas House hasn’t even held a hearing.

Abbott — whose mask mandate triggered many of the cases now under scrutiny — has said nothing. The governor refuses to push for legislation to correct the damage. Meanwhile, doctors like Eric Hensen, an ENT specialist in Tyler who treated thousands of COVID patients, still face the threat of losing their licenses. Hensen’s “crime”? He followed Abbott’s original mask guidance. The same governor who issued the order now watches in silence while Hensen’s career is destroyed.

COVID exposed the worst kind of medical malpractice. Now, in Texas, we’re watching political malpractice finish the job.

Mandates, masks, and mayhem: Never again!



Five years ago this month, the government effectively declared martial law. In doing so, it made what may be the worst decision of our lifetime — crushing civil liberties, wrecking the economy, and causing untold deaths through mismanagement of the virus and widespread use of a dangerous vaccine.

We continue to suffer the economic and health consequences of those decisions. Meanwhile, at both the federal level and in many states, lawmakers have failed to address the core liberty issue: preventing those powers from ever being used again.

It took just three years after the Civil War to ratify the 14th Amendment. Yet five years after COVID-era abuses, no comparable protections have passed at the federal level.

After the civil rights abuses that helped spark the Civil War, the country passed sweeping constitutional amendments to protect basic freedoms. Yet Congress has taken no such action after the COVID catastrophe. The same goes for many red states, which have done little over the past five years.

Still, it’s never too late to do the right thing. The following checklist outlines what Congress and state legislatures — especially those with Republican majorities — must do to fix it.

End biomedical tyranny

The COVID-19 era revealed a dangerous truth: It is neither scientifically sound, morally justified, nor constitutionally acceptable to force one person to undergo a medical intervention for the sake of another. Congress and state legislatures must act immediately to codify the following protections:

  • No mandates: No federal or state agency should ever require individuals to use a therapeutic, vaccine, prophylactic, or medical device.
  • No limitless emergencies: A president or governor may not declare a public health emergency lasting more than 30 days unless both legislative chambers approve an extension by a supermajority.
  • No lockdowns: Except for narrowly targeted, short-term quarantines of individuals exposed to deadly, quarantinable diseases like Ebola, the federal government must not restrict individual or property rights under the guise of pandemic control.
  • No masks: Outside surgical or clinical settings, no federal or state government should compel individuals to cover their faces as a condition of participating in public life.

These protections must be enacted at the federal level. While several Republican-led states have passed laws addressing parts of the issue, few have permanently banned public and private vaccine or mask mandates in all settings.

Additionally, county health directors should not have the authority to declare emergencies with criminal or civil penalties unless the county’s legislative body explicitly approves it. Even during such declarations, constitutional rights — such as the right to worship — must remain fully protected.

No experimentation without representation

Ban all mRNA shots: Except for terminally ill cancer patients, mRNA technology should not be used. Data now shows that mRNA does not stay localized, contains DNA contamination, and causes widespread inflammation. After five years of studies and real-world outcomes, mRNA technology has surpassed the threshold that would normally prompt the FDA to pull a product from the market. States should either ban its use or at minimum prohibit state agencies from promoting it.

Repeal the 2004 PREP Act: The Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act shields all public health “countermeasures” from liability, including vaccines, therapeutics, and testing tools used during emergencies. Even cases involving willful misconduct can only be brought by the federal government. Congress must repeal this law and restore accountability.

Repeal the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act: This law exempts all vaccines on the childhood immunization schedule from liability. Congress should repeal it to restore legal recourse for vaccine injuries.

End marketing of emergency-use products: Any product approved only for emergency use should not receive government-backed promotion or special status. These products should be treated solely as private medical decisions between doctors and patients.

Restore informed consent

The FDA and state governments must not mandate or promote new vaccines or biologic products unless they undergo proper safety evaluation. No product should receive approval without long-term, placebo-controlled trials that test for:

  • Allergenicity — potential to cause allergic reactions
  • Carcinogenicity — potential to cause cancer
  • Fertility impact — effects on reproductive health
  • Immunogenicity — ability to generate an immune response
  • Genotoxicity — potential to damage genes or cause mutations

Approval should require evidence of reduced all-cause mortality over time. No vaccine should gain approval if trial data shows more deaths in the vaccinated group than in the placebo group.

Regulators must not approve vaccines for one age group while ignoring safety concerns in another, unless they can clearly demonstrate that risks do not apply to the targeted population. For example, after acknowledging that RSV shots caused Guillain-Barré syndrome and walking back its recommendation for people over 60, the FDA continued to promote the shots for those over 75.

Additional protections should include:

  • Banning self-spreading viruses and biologics.
  • Criminalizing the release of any pathogen, including self-spreading vaccines, and allow individuals to sue those responsible.
  • Prohibiting the placement of vaccine-related materials in the food supply.

Congress should also establish a commission to audit the childhood immunization schedule and review new vaccines in the development pipeline. This includes a full review of their necessity, safety data, and efficacy. Enlightened consent must serve as the foundation for informed consent.

The right to treat

Congress must prohibit the FDA from blocking doctors from prescribing fully approved drugs for off-label use.

All pandemic or emergency public health funding for hospitals must remain treatment-neutral. Funding should not favor one therapy over another. Clinicians — not federal agencies or pharmaceutical companies — should guide treatment decisions based on best practices, not profit motives.

Given ivermectin’s broad-spectrum antiviral properties and well-documented safety profile, it should be made available over the counter. Arkansas has taken the lead in adopting this approach.

Protect doctor-patient autonomy

Doctors must not face penalties — such as loss of their licenses or board certifications — for expressing dissenting views on vaccines or mask mandates. State medical boards must overhaul their complaint processes to focus only on cases with actual patient harm.

Boards should accept complaints only from:

  • Patients alleging direct injury
  • Immediate family of deceased patients
  • Medical professionals with firsthand knowledge of patient harm

All complaints unrelated to patient injury should be dismissed without review.

The Trump administration should direct the Department of Justice to drop all prosecutions against physicians charged with so-called “COVID crimes.” These include cases like that of Utah plastic surgeon Dr. Kirk Moore, who faces federal charges for allegedly providing vaccine exemptions and other patient-centered actions taken during the pandemic.

Adopt a new ‘Patient’s Bill of Rights’

Some states have taken steps in the right direction, but stronger civil and criminal penalties must be in place to protect patient rights across the country. Every hospital and senior care facility should be legally required to:

  • Prohibit denial of treatment, including organ transplants, based on vaccination status.
  • Allow at least one surrogate or visitor to be present for patients in hospitals or nursing homes.
  • Permit patients to use FDA-approved drugs off-label, prescribed by a licensed physician, at their own expense and with informed consent.
  • Guarantee the right to refuse any hospital-prescribed treatment and the right to leave the facility if the patient is mentally competent — effectively banning medical kidnapping.
  • Provide patients or their families a legal cause of action to file civil suits against facilities that violate these rights. District attorneys should also have the authority to pursue criminal charges when appropriate.
  • Revoke state tax-exempt status for hospitals found in violation of these provisions.

It took just three years after the Civil War to ratify the 14th Amendment. Congress codified its principles into law within a year of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. Yet five years after COVID-era abuses, no comparable protections have passed at the federal level, and only a few states have enacted partial reforms. That needs to change. The time to act is now.

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