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Mass. Climate Undersecretary Who Said “We Must Break The Will” Of Citizens Resigns

Several days ago I mentioned this guy

David Ismay, the undersecretary for climate change under Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s (R) administration, explained during a Vermont Climate Council meeting last month the majority of the Bay State’s emissions come from average people and there is “no bad guy left … to point the finger at, to turn the screws on, and you know, to break their will.” Rather, he told his fellow climate advocates, “We have to break your will,” a remark he admitted would not bode well publicly.

“You know one thing we found through our analysis is that 60 percent of our emissions come from, as I have been starting to say, you and me — except you guys are in Vermont,” he told the climate advocates at the January 25 meeting.

And now?

Mass. Climate Change Undersecretary Resigns Amid Backlash Over Comments

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s Undersecretary for Climate Change has resigned, after facing criticism over comments he made during a Zoom meeting last month.

David Ismay sent in his letter of resignation on Wednesday night to Secretary Kathleen A. Theoharides of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, also offering an apology for the remarks he made at the January Vermont Climate Council meeting.

“It is with great regret that I submit my resignation, effectively immediately,” Ismay wrote. “Serving the people of Massachusetts as part of the Baker-Polito administration has been the honor of a lifetime, and I am proud of the equitable climate solutions we achieved together.”

The comments drew criticism after they were posted in a YouTube video by the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. In the video Ismay can be heard saying lawmakers must “break the will” of consumers to address emissions and climate change.

“Sixty percent of our emissions that need to be reduced come from you — the person across the street, the senior on fixed income, right? There is no bad guy left, at least in Massachusetts, to point the finger at, to turn the screws on, and you know, to break their will, so they stop emitting. That’s you. We have to break your will. Right, I can’t even say that publicly.”

No, he apparently can’t say that publicly, because that’s letting the cat out of the bag regarding what this whole scam is about. Smaller fish in the Cult of Climastrology might be able to get away with it, but, not someone in a higher position of government. Ismay did attempt to walk his comments back a bit in his resignation, but, come on, he meant it. He was saying what the high poobahs of the CoC believe and want to do

When asked about Ismay’s remarks on Wednesday, Governor Baker said he thought the comments “did not speak for the administration in terms of tone, substance, style or anything else.”

“He does not speak for me,” Baker said. “I happen to think in all of these issues, the goal here is to balance the various interests that are involved.”

If Baker believes, why is he not giving up his own use of fossil fuels? Good luck with Massachusetts winters without fossil fuels.

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Alabama gets stupid about capital punishment A waste of time and money

Sometimes I have to wonder about the utter stupidity of some people. Willie B Smith III was sentenced to death in Alabama for the 1991 murder of Sharma Ruth Johnson in Birmingham. Mr Smith and his cronies abducted her at an ATM, forced her to withdraw $80 in cash, at which point they took her to a cemetery, upon which Mr Smith shot her in the back of the head.

The too-few readers of The First Street Journal know that I am opposed to capital punishment, but that is not the point of this article.

Mr Smith was scheduled to be executed, and requested that his pastor accompany him into the death chamber. The Department of Corrections refused, and Mr Smith’s attorney sued. The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued an injunction stating that Mr Smith had a right to have his pastor present. Alabama could have simply granted Mr Smith’s request, and proceeded with the execution, but no, the State had to get all high and mighty and appeal to the Supreme Court, where the state lost. From The Washington Post:

Supreme Court says Alabama cannot execute inmate without his pastor present

By Robert Barnes | February 12, 2021 | 8:12 AM EST

The Supreme Court said late Thursday night that Alabama could not execute a death row inmate without the man’s pastor by his side, and indicated that other states must find a way to honor final requests for a spiritual adviser in the death chamber.

The court’s order came an hour before Alabama’s self-imposed deadline of executing Willie B. Smith III, convicted of a 1991 robbery and murder. A lower court had put the execution on hold, and Alabama asked the Supreme Court to step in.

But the request divided the court’s conservative majority. For the first time since she joined the court in October, Justice Amy Coney Barrett sided with liberal colleagues in a capital punishment case, saying federal law requires states to make accommodations for prisoners like Smith.

Barrett joined an opinion by Justice Elena Kagan that said a federal law protecting the religious rights of prisoners set a high bar Alabama did not meet.

There’s more at the original.

I have to ask: why did the state not simply allow Mr Smith’s pastor into the execution chamber? If the pastor agreed to perform that onerous duty, and agreed not to be disruptive, there was no practical reason not to allow this. Faced with the injunction from the Eleventh Circuit, the State had to know that its legal position was shaky, and that if the Supreme Court declined to end the injunction, the execution date would pass with Mr Smith still breathing.

And that’s what happened. Mr Smith is still alive. As an opponent of capital punishment, I think that’s a good thing. More, it exposes just how stupid states can get when it comes to capital punishment. Pennsylvania, for instance, has 142 people on death row, but has actually executed only three men since the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1974 . . . and all three men “volunteered,” voluntarily dropped all of their appeals to just get it over. Despite all of the additional costs that come with a capital sentence, the Keystone State has not been able to put anyone to death against his will!

Governor Tom Wolf (D-PA) is an opponent of capital punishment, but does not have the authority to commute death sentences without the recommendation of the state Board of Pardons and Paroles. He can, and has, refused to advance any capital sentences toward execution. But, don’t blame Governor Wolf too much; the previous Governor, Republican Tom Corbett, a strong supporter of capital punishment, signed 47 death warrants during his four years in office, and there were still no executions during his term. Is not stupidity involved in maintaining capital punishment in the Keystone State?

California has 711 people on death row, but has executed only 13 since 1976, and the last one was in 2006. Is not stupidity involved in having capital punishment in the Pyrite State?

Alabama? Well, the state has been successful in carrying out executions, 67 of them since the restoration of capital punishment. But with the stupidity, and yes, stupidity is the right word, shown by Jefferson Dunn, Commissioner of the Department of Corrections, it’s amazing that he’s been so successful. It would have been far more efficient, and less expensive, to have simply granted Mr Smith’s last request. By doing that, the state would have been able to carry out the sentence; by fighting it, the state lost, and failed to carry out the execution.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who dissented from the decision not to vacate the injunction, wrote:

Because the State’s policy is non-discriminatory and, in my view, serves the State’s compelling interests in ensuring the safety, security, and solemnity of the execution room, I would have granted the State’s application to vacate the injunction.

But the Court has a different view and denies the State’s application. Given the stays of execution here and in Gutierrez v. Saenz, it seems apparent that States that want to avoid months or years of litigation delays because of this RLUIPA (Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act) issue should figure out a way to allow spiritual advisors into the execution room, as other States and the Federal Government have done. Doing so not only would satisfy inmates’ requests, but also would avoid still further delays and bring long overdue closure for victims’ families.

In other words, Justice Kavanaugh said to states which still have the death penalty, don’t be stupid!

As the Post noted, while we know that Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Clarence Thomas and Kavanaugh sided with Alabama, the votes of Justices Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito are not mentioned. At least one of them must have voted along with Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, Steven Breyer and Amy Barrett, to form a majority.

The easiest non-stupid thing to do would be to simply eliminate capital punishment. It’s actually cheaper to imprison someone for life than it is to execute him. And Alabama’s stupidity in this case is just one more in a long list of dumb behavior the courts have had to adjudicate as states have tried to put people to death.

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Good News: Double Masking Is Just The Start, Plus, Joe Expects Masks Through 2022

See, all we need was 15 days to bend the curve. If everyone just stays home and washes their hands we’ll beat this. If everyone wears a mask we can end this. If we just get herd immunity we can end this. If most people get a vaccine we can end this. If everyone double masks we can end this

Double masking is only the start. Here are latest CDC face-covering recommendations.

The idea of double masking has been floating around for a few weeks. But now officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are weighing in.

The CDC just released results of a new study that found that double masking offers more protection for the wearer against COVID-19. But that’s not all: The CDC’s experiments also found that there are other ways to make your mask more efficient, and it largely revolves around fit.

The CDC conducted lab tests with dummies and found that exposure to potentially infectious aerosols decreased by about 95 percent when both dummies wore tightly fitted masks. Those face coverings included a cloth face mask over a “medical procedure mask,” like a surgical mask, and a surgical mask with knotted ear loops and tucked-in sides.

The CDC also found that the following helped improve mask efficiency:

  • Using a nylon covering over a mask. When it’s worn, the researchers found that this can offer more than 90 percent protection.
  • Using a mask fitter, a solid or elastic device that’s worn over the mask and secured with head ties or ear loops. When used properly over a surgical mask, researchers found that a fitter can offer more than 90 percent protection for the wearer.

It’s always something new, always something that seems to expand and extend this whole state of emergency. How much is legit? And will Government start mandating this stuff?

Opt for layers, either by double masking with a disposable mask under a cloth mask, noting that the second mask should push the edges of the interior mask against your face, or choosing a multilayer mask.

Interesting, they want us to do the thing most people hate, namely, have the mask tight on their nose and mouth. Are they seeking Compliance? Why is it that almost everything they said would stop this doesn’t work? Lockdown didn’t work.

Biden indicates that masks will be worn through next year

President Biden visited the National Institutes of Health complex on Thursday and he spoke about the U.S. vaccine supply and his goals for the rollout, but he also indicated that mask-wearing will likely be a reality for the next year.

He told reporters that even though he was standing on stage about 10 feet from Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Francis Collins, he would continue to wear his mask. He said that wearing the mask “though the next year” can save a significant number of lives.

Health officials have stressed that even with effective vaccines, many of the same safety protocols will have to remain in place until there is clear herd immunity. But if and when that is achieved seems to be anyone’s guess.

Do you think people will Comply with wearing masks all of 2022, much less through the end of 2021? Will the 30 states with mask mandates comply, or start removing those mask mandates? Will companies start blowing off the mandates? It always seems as if there is something new with these folks.

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The sad, sad decline of The Philadelphia Inquirer

I ran across a photo if the masthead of The Philadelphia Inquirer from February 25, 1953, and noticed the ‘taglines’ that it used: “Public Ledger” and “An Independent Newspaper for All the People”. By Public ledger, the Inquirer was setting itself up as Philadelphia’s newspaper of record, which Wikipedia defines as “a major newspaper with large circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative.” That Wikipedia article named four newspapers of record for the United States: The New York Times (Founded 1851), The Washington Post (1877), The Los Angeles Times (1881) and The Wall Street Journal (1889). First printed on Monday, Jun1 1, 1829, the then Pennsylvania Inquirer is older than any of them. “An editorial in the first issue of The Pennsylvania Inquirer promised that the paper would be devoted to the right of a minority to voice their opinion and ‘the maintenance of the rights and liberties of the people, equally against the abuses as the usurpation of power.’”

Boy has that changed! As has happened to other great newspapers, the newsroom of the Inquirer was captured by the young #woke, who forced the firing resignation of Executive Editor and Senior Vice President Stan Wischnowski over the headline Buildings Matter, Too.

“Devoted to the right of a minority to voice their opinion”? Yeah, that failed, too, as the Inquirer closed comments on the majority of its articles, stating that:

Commenting on Inquirer.com was long ago hijacked by a small group of trolls who traffic in racism, misogyny, and homophobia. This group comprises a tiny fraction of the Inquirer.com audience. But its impact is disproportionate and enduring.

Really? How do they know? How can they be sure that these views do not represent more than a “tiny fraction” of their audience? Have they really done the research, or was it just that the #woke didn’t like the idea that the riff-raff could express their opinions? “An Independent Newspaper for All the People”? No, the Inquirer has now become a non-profit newspaper for the left.

There’s a reason I’ve called it The Philadelphia Enquirer, mocking its name by using the same spelling as the National Enquirer.[1]RedState writer Mike Miller called it the Enquirer, probably by mistake, so I didn’t originate it, but I thought it very apt.

Before I retired, I used to pick up a copy of the Inquirer at the Turkey Hill in downtown Jim Thorpe, on my way to the plant. I read it, as did my drivers, though they sometimes said I should have picked up the Allentown Morning Call instead, being somewhat closer to local news. I read a lot of stories in the Inquirer, about the killings of Philadelphia police officers, I noted how the newspaper didn’t really care much about the murders of young black men in the city, but has the killing of cute little white girl Rian Thal splashed through the paper for days.[2]That site search for Rian Thal returned 3,128 results! Think the Inquirer was obsessed much, or were they just printing what the editors thought their readers wanted to see?

So, I’m sad to see what the Inquirer has become. They write about “gun crime” as though an inanimate object somehow jumps up and shoot people all by itself, because it’s just too politically incorrect to note that that “gun violence” is disproportionately committed by black Philadelphians. The editors have dozens and dozens of articles claiming that #BlackLivesMatter, when it has become obvious, to anyone who reads the newspaper, that black lives don’t matter, unless they are taken by a white police officer.

Despite the fact that I said I wouldn’t, I finally subscribed to the digital edition of the Inquirer, after Mrs Pico kept telling me to do so rather than try to get copies of stories for free and then have to manually type them into my blog articles. But the paper has gone downhill, even from just ten years ago.

References

References
↑1 RedState writer Mike Miller called it the Enquirer, probably by mistake, so I didn’t originate it, but I thought it very apt.
↑2 That site search for Rian Thal returned 3,128 results! Think the Inquirer was obsessed much, or were they just printing what the editors thought their readers wanted to see?
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After more than half a year of mask mandates, the CDC now wants us to have double mask mandates! Not just no, but Hell no!

As the rollout of the vaccines against COVID-19 has begun — though, even qualifying in Tier 1C, the local Health Department can’t say when I’ll have an opportunity to receive it — people have been looking forward to a return to a normal life. Tom Brady celebrated his seventh Super Bowl win by, Horrors! not wearing a mask, and the left were aghast!

Now, after months and months of mask mandates, the government is urging double masking. From The Wall Street Journal:

Double Masks Offer Significantly Better Protection, CDC Study Finds

By Betsy McKay | February 10, 2021

Upgrading your mask can really make a big difference, according to a study published Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Wearing a double mask or fitting a single mask more closely on the face substantially reduces the risk of infection with the Covid-19 virus, the study, published in the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, found.

In a series of laboratory experiments using headforms and machines to generate aerosols, the CDC found that wearing a three-ply cloth mask over a three-ply medical or surgical mask blocked 92.5% of particles from a cough.

That was much more effective than a single mask. A surgical mask alone blocked cough particles by 42%, and a cloth mask blocked them by 44.3%.

Many medical and engineering experts say people need to upgrade their masks because new variants of the virus are spreading around the country, particularly one that is significantly more transmissible than the currently most common strain. Other studies have shown benefits from wearing double masks or using mask fitters, devices which tighten the fit.

Still other experts say that people should wear N95 masks, which are used primarily in hospitals and are certified to filter out at least 95% of small particles.

N95s? We’re now seeing reports that there has been a surge in fake N95 masks, including those in Washington state, the prestigious Cleveland Clinic, and Minnesota.

The CDC is trying to accomplish two goals: convince people to wear a mask at all–since many aren’t doing that currently–and offer options on its website that can help them improve or find a good fit, said John Brooks, chief medical officer of the agency’s Covid-19 response.

“Masking is one of our most potent means for not only the epidemic and its effects on human health and the economy, but also for slowing viral evolution,” he said. “We are looking at all the ways we can enhance our prevention measures.”

After well over half a year — so much for fifteen days to flatten the curve, though others said it might take several weeks more than that — now we are being told that, hey, we aren’t wearing our masks right, and we aren’t wearing the right masks in the first place.

Will it sound paranoid if I say that this seems like more of an attempt at control of the population than anything else?  I’m just waiting for Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY) to change his mask mandate to a double-mask mandate.[1]LOL! The Governor’s mask mandate includes descriptions of the face coverings to be worn, and what is included would not come close to the CDC guidelines: “For the purposes of this order, … Continue reading

There’s more at the original, detailing aerosol projection rates by single and doubled masks. After reading it, I have to ask: if doubled masks blocked more vaporized moisture than single ones, why wouldn’t tripled masks be even better? Perhaps if we just stopped breathing altogether?

We’ve seen ‘health care professionals’ tell us that we need to wear masks and not kiss during sex — which makes me wonder if they’ve ever engaged in sexual intercourse themselves, since they don’t seem to understand how people actually copulate — and wear masks even inside your home. Let’s face it: nothing we do will ever be enough. They want us to save our lives by not living our lives.

We’ve known since early on in this pandemic that the various restrictions on people lives were leading to increased mental health issues, and drug overdose deaths have greatly increased. A significant increase in suicides has also been blamed on the restrictions placed on people due to COVID-19.

Unemployment skyrocketed and poverty soared, as government forced many businesses to close.

From Business Insider, on December 9th:

  • On Monday, Moody’s Analytics found millions of Americans are, on average, nearly $6,000 behind on rent payments, according to a Washington Post report.
  • The figure paints a bleak picture for what could happen come January 1, when eviction moratoriums expire and billions in back rent are due.
  • Some estimates — like one from advisory firm Stout — puts as many as 20.1 million tenants in the US at risk of eviction. That’s equivalent to the population of the state of Florida.

At what point will we realize that the ‘cure’ has been worse than the disease? Probably not before the authoritarians issue even more draconian orders trying to control our personal lives and choices.

References

References
↑1 LOL! The Governor’s mask mandate includes descriptions of the face coverings to be worn, and what is included would not come close to the CDC guidelines: “For the purposes of this order, a ‘face covering’ is a material that covers the nose and mouth and is secured to the head with ties, straps or loops over the ears, or is wrapped around the lower face. It can be made of a variety of materials, including cotton, silk, or linen, and ideally has two or more layers. Face coverings may be factory-made, homemade, or improvised from household items such as scarfs, bandanas, and t-shirts.” I do, at least, applaud his use of the Oxford comma.
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Bad causes attract bad people Grifters gotta grift!

This isn’t from an evil reich-wing source, but the liberal Associated Press:

How a leading anti-Trump group ignored a crisis in its ranks

By Steve Peoples and Brian Slodysko | February 11, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Last June, the Lincoln Project was on a high.

Led by several prominent former Republican consultants, its slickly produced ads attacking President Donald Trump made it perhaps the best known of the so-called Never Trump organizations. The group tried to claim a higher moral ground in an effort to purge Trump from the GOP. Money flowed in by the tens of millions of dollars from donors eager to help.

But within the organization, a grave threat was emerging.

In June 2020, members of the organization’s leadership were informed in writing and in subsequent phone calls of at least 10 specific allegations of harassment against co-founder John Weaver, including two involving Lincoln Project employees, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the situation. The email and phone calls raise questions about the Lincoln Project’s statement last month that it was “shocked” when accusations surfaced publicly this year. It’s also the first known suggestion that Weaver targeted a Lincoln Project staffer.

There’s more at the original.

Many have publicly mused about how co-founders George Conway, Steve Schmidt, Reed Galen, Jennifer Horn and Rick Wilson could not have known about Mr Weaver’s activities. Twenty-one young men, including one who claims that things began when he was just 14, have accused Mr Weaver of sending unwanted sexually provocative messages, sometines including solicitations for sex, often in exchange for the promise of career help, to which Mr Weaver admitted once caught.

The Washington Post reported:

Weaver has been on a medical leave of absence from the Lincoln Project since last summer and said he would not return to the organization.

On Sunday, the Lincoln Project noted that Weaver was never around other members.

“The totality of his deceptions are beyond anything any of us could have imagined and we are absolutely shocked and sickened by it. Like so many, we have been betrayed and deceived by John Weaver,” the group’s statement said. “We are grateful beyond words that at no time was John Weaver in the physical presence of any member of The Lincoln Project.”

Oh, really?

On Twitter Sunday, (the American Conservative’s Ryan) Girdusky — who broke the story earlier this month — blasted the Lincoln Project’s statement as false, saying the group had been made aware of the allegations when he was reporting them out last year.

Girdusky, who has also worked as a political consultant for about 15 years, told The Washington Post that Weaver’s past was like a “worst-kept secret” and that several men reached out to him after Weaver followed him on Twitter last May.

“Three young men DMed (directly messaged) me and said, ‘Please be careful, this is what he did to me,’ and sent me their DMs with John Weaver,” Girdusky said.

Girdusky said several of the men who told him privately about Weaver’s behavior had also contacted Lincoln Project members as recently as last August “and it was ignored across the board.”

Steve Schmidt, a co-founder of the group, told the New York Times that they had heard “chatter” last summer Weaver could be in relationships with men, but denied they knew it was inappropriate.

Uhhh, Mr Weaver was married, so Mr Schmidt had to know that such relationships were “inappropriate.”

The Post article detailed Mr Weaver’s behavior and how the Lincoln Project denied any knowledge. The Associated Press article went further:

Since its creation, the Lincoln Project has raised $90 million. But only about a third of the money, roughly $27 million, directly paid for advertisements that aired on broadcast and cable, or appeared online, during the 2020 campaign, according to an analysis of campaign finance disclosures and data from the ad tracking firm Kantar/CMAG.

That leaves tens of millions of dollars that went toward expenses like production costs, overhead — and exorbitant consulting fees collected by members of the group.

“It raises questions about where the rest of the money ultimately went,” said Brendan Fischer, an attorney with the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center in Washington. “Generally speaking, you’d expect to see a major super PAC spend a majority or more of their money on advertisements and that’s not what happened here.”

The vast majority of the cash was split among consulting firms controlled by its founders, including about $27 million paid to a small firm controlled by Galen and another $21 million paid to a boutique firm run by former Lincoln Project member Ron Steslow, campaign finance disclosures show.

Emphasis mine.

The AP article was careful not to accuse the Lincoln Project of actual illegality, but noted that several of the members had serious financial problems, problems which seemed to be at least partially resolved by the success of the organization:

The Lincoln Project parted with one co-founder, Horn, last week, claiming in an unusual public statement that she was seeking a $250,000 signing bonus and a $40,000-a-month consulting contract. Horn declined to engage publicly, but public records reveal that the unexpected success of the Lincoln Project has extended a lifeline to some founders who have spent much of the past decade under financial distress.

Financial help also came to Messrs Weaver and Schmidt.

There has been a lot of coverage on Mr Weaver’s sexual messages, and even the AP article spends a lot of bandwidth on them, but, at heart, the Lincoln Project turned out to be a corrupt organization to benefit its founders financially. Yes, the evidence indicates that the members lied about what they knew and when they knew it concerning Mr Weaver, but that appears to be the least of it.

The AP article refers to Mr Conway as “conservative attorney George Conway,” but in his hatred for Donald Trump, he showed that he is no conservative. Supporting Joe Biden just to get rid of President Trump also meant supporting Mr Biden’s policies. Mr Conway, and the other #NeverTrumpers, have wound up supporting:

  • Characterizing conservatives as ‘extremists’ and supporting them being banned from social media;
  • Supporting President Biden’s allowing the ‘transgendered’ into the military, including the government paying for their medical ‘transition’ costs;
  • Supporting President Biden’s moves to allow illegal immigrants into the United States;
  • Supporting President Biden’s policies allowing the ‘transgendered’ to be treated as the sex they claim to be, including in athletic competitions;
  • Supporting President Biden’s rejoining of the Paris Climate Change agreement;
  • Supporting President Biden’s attempt to rejoin the Iran nuclear weapons agreement;
  • Supporting President Biden’s not just unlimited abortion license policies, but supporting having the federal government pay for abortions;
  • Canceling the Keystone XL Pipeline; and
  • Supporting legislation restricting our Second Amendment rights.

All of these things, and more, come with supporting Mr Biden’s presidential campaign!

Bad causes attract bad people, and supporting Joe Biden, because he is a nicer guy than Donald Trump, is a bad cause. Not everyone who supported Mr Biden is necessarily a bad person, but it certainly seems like his cause has attracted more than his share of bad people.

I don’t have to like Mr Trump as an individual; I’ve never met the man, never met any President, and the odds are vanishingly small that I ever will. His personality means nothing to me. What matters in a President is his policies, because it is his policies which affect every American, and President Trump’s policies were far, far better for the United States than those of the guy who succeeded him.

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Washington Post: All You Selfish Americans Are Taking COVID Doses Away From Poor Countries

All the employees at the Washington Post are willing to forgo their own doses of vaccine, right, so they can be sent to poor nations? And since Biden voters tend to believe this garbage, they’ll be willing to forgo their own doses, right?

The zero-sum vaccine game: How a dose in the U.S. takes a dose away from a poorer country

The swift development of effective coronavirus vaccines has been one of the few bright points of the pandemic. Since Britain administered the first fully tested vaccine in December, well over 130 million doses have been delivered around the world — 44 million in the United States alone.

But most countries have yet to see the benefits of this accomplishment. Months into the global vaccine rollout, the pace remains staggeringly unequal, with wealthy countries leaving poorer ones in the dust. And they aren’t competing in a vacuum: The success of the former has come very much at the expense of the latter.

“It remains to a large degree a zero-sum game, which means that every dose that goes to the U.S. or the U.K. or an E.U. country is a dose that’s off the shelves,” said Andrea Taylor, a researcher at Duke University’s Global Health Innovation Center who tracks vaccines. “And the shelves aren’t going to be restocked for a while.”

The zero-sum nature of vaccine supply is rooted in a wide variety of factors, but boils down to the simple fact that manufacturers cannot yet meet demand. The potential consequences are wide-ranging. Unmitigated spread in any country, rich or poor, can lead to variants that may be more virulent or resistant to vaccines.

OK, what Democrat is willing to give up their dose? Who’s willing to send dose for Americans to poor nations? Anyone? Sure, some Modern Socialist SJWs might be willing to send Other People’s doses, but, not their own.

Some experts have urged wealthy nations to address the situation head-on, through a policy likely to find little domestic support: the donation of doses to other countries that need them, before fully vaccinating at home.

I wonder if those anonymous experts are willing to give up the doses for themselves, their family, and their close friends and coworkers. That would be an important question to ask, eh?

So far, buy-in to this way of thinking remains limited. Norway has offered a plan to donate excess vaccine doses. Mexico, despite recording the third-worst death toll globally, has limited its purchases of the Pfizer vaccine after a U.N. request. Most other nations have not detailed such plans.

The Biden administration has pledged to pursue the idea of donating vials, but has not offered a timeline or other specifics.

The United States would “develop a framework for providing surplus U.S. government vaccine doses to countries in need, once there is sufficient supply in the United States,” a State Department spokesperson said. The government has not said how it would define surplus in light of vaccine hesitancy.

Joe already got his doses, along with his family and people, so, he wouldn’t be worried. Of course, he can’t be so dumb as to put other nations ahead of the U.S., right? He’d get eviscerated. Even the compliant Dem voting media would take issue, wouldn’t they?

The spokesperson said the United States might consider donating excess doses through Covax Facility, a program backed by the World Health Organization that is designed to ensure global access to vaccines. The Biden administration has pledged to support the program, in which the Trump administration did not participate.

What excess doses? California is temporarily closing sites because of vaccine shortages (mostly because the doses have been given).

It may well be shifting under our feet. WHO officials suggested this week that the prevalence of virus variants may necessitate annual vaccinations or booster shots. “That would completely change the picture. It blows everything out of the water,” said Taylor. “And I think it’s where we’re heading.”

Well, that’s a new one. Being the WHO, and all their issues with protecting China, you have to wonder what the agenda is.

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CDC Is Recommending Double Masking

Um, yeah, no, piss off

CDC updates coronavirus face mask guidance, endorses ‘double masking’

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its mask guidance on Wednesday to include data from a recent lab experiment that found placing a cloth mask over a surgical mask, as well as using a properly fitted mask, was effective in stopping coronavirus spread.

The update, which was announced by CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky during a White House coronavirus briefing, comes after a lab experiment using simulated respiratory breaths found that placing a cloth mask over a medical procedure mask or using a medical procedure mask with knotted ear loops and tucked in sides decreased exposure to potentially infectious aerosols by about 95%.

The question now becomes “how soon do certain governors and mayors (primarily Democrats) start mandating this?” Will they give this a shot? Especially since it is rather difficult to get medical grade masks, and because they need to be disposed of after one wearing. And people like to throw theirs on the ground. Because they’re jerks. And will people comply? I highly doubt it, even Biden voters in Biden areas.

Besides, I thought they told us that wearing a mask was good enough 9 months ago. That it would slow the spread. Despite a huge spike. Will Joe, Kamala, his staff, and so forth double mask?

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One does not “err” on the side of supporting religious freedom; one errs if he does not support religious freedom! Andy Beshear has made going to church a political as well as religious act

Should I dishonor the courage of my ancestors by blithely accepting the religious restrictions unconstitutionally placed on us by callous state Governors, over a disease from which 98% of people recover?

Richard Warren left his family, his wife and children, in England, as he boarded the Mayflower, to brave a sea voyage to a hostile and unknown continent, due to the religious oppression under King James I. “James was strict in enforcing conformity at first, inducing a sense of persecution amongst many Puritans . . . .” The voyage had its hazards, as the Mayflower’s sister-ship, Speedwell were greatly delayed in departure:

Carrying about 65 passengers, the Mayflower left London in mid-July 1620.[13] The ship then proceeded down the Thames to the south coast of England, where it anchored at Southampton, Hampshire. There she waited for the planned rendezvous on July 22 with the Speedwell, coming from Holland with members of the Leiden congregation.[8] Although both ships planned to depart for America by the end of July, a leak was discovered on the Speedwell, which had to be repaired.[14]

The ships set sail for America around August 5, but Speedwell sprang another leak shortly after, which necessitated the ships’ return to Dartmouth for repairs. They made a new start after the repairs, but more than 200 miles (320 km) beyond Land’s End at the southwestern tip of England, the Speedwell sprang a third leak. It was now early September, and they had no choice but to abandon Speedwell and make a determination on her passengers. This was a dire event, as vital funds had been wasted on the ship, which were considered very important to the future success of their settlement in America. Both ships returned to Plymouth, where twenty Speedwell passengers joined the now overcrowded Mayflower, while the others returned to Holland.[15]

They waited for seven more days until the wind picked up. William Bradford was especially worried: “We lie here waiting for as fair a wind as can blow… Our victuals will be half eaten up, I think, before we go from the coast of England; and, if our voyage last long, we shall not have a month’s victuals when we come in the country.”[16]:343 According to Bradford, Speedwell was refitted and seaworthy, having “made many voyages… to the great profit of her owners.” He suggested that Speedwell‘s master may have used “cunning and deceit” to abort the voyage by causing the leaks, fearing starvation and death in America.[17]:

Richard Warren, my first American ancestor, finally sent for his family in 1623, once the colony had become sufficiently safe and self-sustaining. He and his wife Elizabeth, my great(x9)-grandparents, risked their lives, with far, far greater chances of dying — half of the Mayflower settlers died within the first year — than COVID-19 has inflicted upon us, all for the freedom to worship God as they saw fit. Should I, twelve generations later, dishonor their courage, and the sacrifices of their friends and neighbors, by blithely accepting the religious restrictions unconstitutionally placed on us by callous state Governors, over a disease from which 98% of people recover?[1]One of my sisters tested positive for the virus a couple of months ago, but was mostly asymptomatic, and was again negative about ten days later.

I believe that it is wise to take precautions, and it is wise to take the vaccines when they become available.[2]Due to my age, 67, I am in Tier 1C, but while the local health department has me “on the list,” they have no idea when it will actually be available.

But taking precautions should be an individual decision, and the state should have no power, no authority, to suspend our constitutional rights to fight the disease.

I rarely missed Sunday Mass before the virus struck. But Governor Andy Beshear’s (D-KY) unconstitutional suspension of our First Amendment rights, by ordering churches closed, has had the effect of making me much more militant when it comes to our constitutional rights. The Bishop of Lexington, John Stowe, went right along with the Governor, and ordered the priests of the diocese to close their parish churches. When the churches were finally reopened, starting on Sunday, May 24, 2020, I was right there to attend Mass, and I have not missed Sunday Mass since. Governor Beshear has, at least for me, added the political element of resisting authority, to going to church.[3]Actually, the Governor so graciously allowed churches to reopen on May 20th, which was a Wednesday.

From The Hill article cited in my initial tweet:

Conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is defending the controversial statements he made regarding coronavirus restrictions late last year, saying he “was not surprised by the reaction.”

In a USA Today article published on Sunday, the 15th anniversary of his confirmation to the Supreme Court, Alito said the parts of his speech that drew controversy had been taken from his recent opinions, with some repeated verbatim.

“Virtually every substantive point in the Federalist Society speech was taken from one of my published opinions or an opinion I joined,” the justice, nominated by President George W. Bush, said in a statement to the newspaper.

During a speech to the Federalist Society in November, Alito said: “We have never before seen restrictions as severe, extensive and prolonged as those experienced for most of 2020.”

Alito at the time argued coronavirus restrictions had become a “constitutional stress test.” In particular, the justice bemoaned the effect that restrictions have had on religious events.

“I’m a judge, not a policymaker,” Alito told USA Today, adding that he was not criticizing policies, but pointing to the questions they raised.

It’s good to see a Supreme Court Justice who values the First Amendment, who at least partially understands that our freedom of religion is paramount. Sadly, the Justice seems to have gone along with some of the restrictions, as long as they have not been more onerous than those placed on other public events.

Governor Beshear had lifted his church closure order after a federal judge invalidated it, graciously ‘allowing’ churches to open again immediately, when he had planned to allow that starting on May 20, 2020. Sadly, Bishop Stowe did not allow his diocesan priests to open their parish churches until the date the Governor had previously selected. I have no doubt that the Governor would have ordered churches closed absent the previous ruling, in that he ‘asked’ all churches to to suspend all in-person gatherings at their churches for four Sundays, November 22nd through December 13th, a period which would have included Thanksgiving.

To me, the freedom of religion and the First Amendment in general are our most important liberties, the things which make the United States different from all other countries. Too many people, too many people! just blithely ignore our liberties, sheepishly nodding their heads when government tries to restrict our rights, because their reasons are oh-so-noble, oh-so-reasonable.

Well, I’m sorry, but there is no such thing as a ‘reasonable’ restriction on our rights. If they can be ‘reasonably’ restricted, then they aren’t rights anymore.

References

References
↑1 One of my sisters tested positive for the virus a couple of months ago, but was mostly asymptomatic, and was again negative about ten days later.
↑2 Due to my age, 67, I am in Tier 1C, but while the local health department has me “on the list,” they have no idea when it will actually be available.
↑3 Actually, the Governor so graciously allowed churches to reopen on May 20th, which was a Wednesday.