Tag Archives: #COVID19

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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.
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Schadenfreude! Hard left feminist decries surge in homeschooling, but the surge is caused by leftist teachers’ unions trying to keep public schools closed

Feminist Jill Filipovic McCormick is not a fan of home schooling:

Right-wing groups love to push homeschooling because it helps keep kids away from material that might challenge their conservative worldview, and it keeps women out of work and in the home. It’s a pretty transparent set of motivations, not good for women or children.

This is a pet issue of mine and some day I’ll write about it at length, but the whole conversation about homeschooling would go very differently if we believed children had a right to a high-quality education — or if we believed children had rights at all, separate from parents.

Please do note that my tweet talks about what motivates right-wing groups to push homeschooling — it does not say that parents who homeschool have a single set of motivations (they certainly do not). Plz work on reading comprehension before you teach your kids.

…and just observing how many people on the right are big mad at the idea that “children should have rights.

The previous four paragraphs are the rest of the Twitter thread Mrs McCormick posted; it’s simply easier for the reader for me to copy and paste them; no changes to her text have been made.

Twitchy noted many objections made to Mrs MCormick’s tweets, which you can read if you follow this link.

I had made a few reply tweets to her:

Yet the teachers’ unions, which are 75% female, want to keep the public schools closed to in-person classes, forcing primarily women to stay at home to care for their children. The teachers still get paid, but many of the other public school employees are out of work.

It’s been women’s careers which have been more negatively impacted by the virus, yet it’s the heavily female, politically liberal teachers’ unions which have been most resistant to resuming in-person classes.

Here’s How the Pandemic Is Affecting Women’s Careers: Women have been disproportionately hit by job losses and many of those who are working say they may have to step back.

And, of course, parents who can somehow afford it have shown a tendency to pull students from the closed-to-in-person instruction public schools in favor of private, frequently religious, private schools

Public Schools Will Struggle Even More as Parents Move Kids to Private Ones During the Pandemic.

Then there’s the President attempting to force acceptance of ‘transgenderism’ on the public schools. Why would it surprise anyone that some parents might not accept that, and choose to abandon the public schools?

Now, I was going to let it go at that, until I opened The Philadelphia Inquirer’s website this morning, and found this gem:

Philly teachers union says it’s ‘not safe’ to reopen schools. It wants the city to intervene.

by Kristen A. Graham and Maddie Hanna | February 4, 2021 | 9:20 AM EST

The city teachers union says it doesn’t have confidence buildings are safe for reopening, setting up a showdown with the Philadelphia School District over a planned Monday return for some teachers.

Philadelphia Federation of Teachers president Jerry Jordan (David Maialetti/ The Philadelphia Inquirer)

Philadelphia Federation of Teachers president Jerry Jordan said Wednesday night he has called on the city to assign a neutral third party who will examine evidence presented by both sides and decide whether buildings are in suitable shape for a return.

That’s a move open to Jordan based on a memorandum of understanding signed by the union and district in the fall, requiring the involvement of the Mayor’s Office of Labor and a “world-renowned physician” to weigh in swiftly on reopening disputes. If the outside expert determines the district is not in compliance with safety standards, they will direct the school system to fix the problems.

After weeks of back and forth and meetings with district officials Monday and Tuesday, Jordan said he still had deep concerns over ventilation, especially in schools where window fans are still being installed to improve air flow, and other safety issues.

There’s more at the original, but it all boils down to one thing: no matter what the school district does, it will never be enough. Here in the Bluegrass State, the Fayette County schools remain closed for other “reasons,” even though the Commonwealth has begun COVID-19 vaccinations prioritizing teachers.

The Inquirer article noted that the Philadelphia public schools have been closed to in-person instruction since last March; that’s eleven months! And if the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers gets its way, the schools will be closed to in-person instruction for a full year.

We might as well face facts: we have lost an entire educational year! From The Washington Post:

It’s time to admit it: Remote education is a failure

Opinion by Helaine Olen, Columnist | December 2, 2020 | 11:32 AM EST

Whenever someone expressed concerns about the quality of remote education back in the early days of covid-19, they were all but shamed into silence. No, the spring did not go well, but that was done on the fly, with next to no preparation. No, it’s not an ideal solution, but staying with in-person instruction is out of the question. There is a learning curve, we were told. We’ll get this thing right with time.

Here’s how that worked out: In Houston, the number of students with failing grades is exploding. In St. Paul, Minn., a high school student is almost as likely to be on track to fail a class as pass it. In the junior high and high schools of Fairfax County — one of the wealthiest counties in the United States — 1 out of 10 students flunked at least two classes, and the number was almost double that for those with disabilities. Enrollment is falling in closed school districts from coast to coast and many points in between. Some children are exiting for private schools, or private pods. Others are simply MIA.

In the vast majority of cases, remote learning is a poor substitute for in-person education — no matter what efforts are made, no matter how many teacher trainings are offered.

It’s not simply a matter of subpar or nonexistent Internet or computer access, something that impacts students from more than 4 million households. Small children, as it turns out, will not sit in front of a computer to listen to a teacher or complete an assignment without supervision. That means millions of parents — for the most part, moms — got conscripted as unpaid teacher’s assistants. And while older children don’t need parents next to them in order to do their work, they often won’t do it regardless.

There’s more at the original, and yes, it is an opinion columnist who wrote it, but Helaine Olen included a lot of linked information, which is why I chose to use it.

We have frequently noted the efforts of private schools to open, despite the orders of state Governors. And private school enrollment has reversed a decades-long decline and showing increased enrollment. The number of students being homeschooled has shot up as well, though some officious bureaucrats are trying to stop that.[1]Full disclosure: My daughters attended parochial schools for part of their education.

I will admit to some schadenfreude here: it is the actions of the public school teachers and their unions which are helping to increase both private and parochial school enrollments and homeschooling, the very thing Mrs McCormick hates. It isn’t we evil reich-wing conservatives forcing and keeping the public schools closed; it’s the actions of the primarily liberal and Democratic public school teachers and their unions.

References

References
↑1 Full disclosure: My daughters attended parochial schools for part of their education.
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The General Assembly overrides Governor Beshear’s vetoes, so he goes to court to try to override the legislature

In mid-January, I submitted an OpEd to the Lexington Herald-Leader, one which the editors chose not to print suggesting that Governor Andy Beshear ought to sign Senate Bill 1, which the General Assembly passed, and which the Governor threatened to veto. In it, I wrote:

In the political dispute between Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY) and the Republican majority in the General Assembly, the legislature has taken up, and approved, bills to restrict the emergency powers of the Governor under KRS 39A. The Governor’s declaration of an emergency, and the executive orders which followed, were initially generally approved, as the extent and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic was both worrisome, and unknown.

However, the public were told, and sold on, the notion that this was a problem that could be greatly reduced by fourteen days of action. Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, writing in The New York Times, said:

Health experts have not been overreacting. Models from Imperial College London and others suggest that up to 2.2 million Americans could die within a year without sufficient efforts to “flatten the curve.”

At the same time, it is right to worry about how Covid-19 will wreck the economy. Projections already suggest that the American economy could contract by more than 15 percent in the second quarter and that the unemployment rate could surpass 20 percent.

But the economy cannot be fixed without solving the pandemic. Only after the virus is contained can we reopen restaurants, bars, gyms and stores; allow people to travel, attend conferences and visit museums; and persuade them to buy cars and houses.

The window to win this war is about seven to 14 days.

If the United States intervenes immediately on the scale that China did, our death toll could be under 100,000. Within three to four months we might be able to begin a return to more normal lives.

Published on March 23, 2020, three to four months would have been late June to late July. Despite actions taken by the vast majority of our nation’s governors, including Governor Beshear, Dr. Emanuel’s now-seemingly-rosy prediction fell flat on its face.

Kentucky State Police put notices on and recorded license plates of unoccupied cars at Maryville Baptist Church on Easter morning. April 12, 2020. Photo by
Scott Utterback, The Louisville Courier- Journal.

Governor Beshear’s actions became controversial fairly quickly. While the Governor first recommended that schools and churches close, of their own volition, on March 19th he made it an order. This included April 12th, which was Easter Sunday. When a few churches refused to be closed to in-person services on the holiest day of the Christian calendar, Kentucky State Police troopers recorded license plates and VIN numbers of worshipers in two church parking lots, an ugly scene which attracted nationwide attention.

Resistance started mounting in the Bluegrass State, and leaders of the General Assembly began asking the Governor to be included in his decision-taking, but Mr. Beshear declined. The Herald-Leader reported:

Beshear was asked at Friday’s (July 10, 2020) news conference on COVID-19 why he has not included the legislature in coming up with his orders. He said many state lawmakers refuse to wear masks and noted that 26 legislators in Mississippi have tested positive for the virus.

Under the state constitution, the Governor has the power to call the state legislature into a special session, but the General Assembly does not have the ability to call itself back into session. When the Kentucky Supreme Court prohibited all state lower courts from acting on suits to stop the Governor’s orders, in July, then finally ruled in November that his executive orders were legal, Republican leaders knew that it was only legislative action which could get them involved.

Republicans significantly increased their already large majorities in both chambers of the legislature, and several bills were pre-filed to limit the Governor’s power. Mr. Beshear promised to veto the bills even before they were passed, but the General Assembly passed them anyway, by large margins. The Governor has promised to challenge the bills’ legality in court if his vetoes are overridden.

Senate Bill 1 does not prevent the Governor from taking action during an emergency; what it does do is limit his executive orders to thirty days unless an extension is approved by the General Assembly. It further specifies that no emergency orders can suspend rights under the United States Constitution.

There is no reason the legislature cannot be consulted; the Governor simply chose not to do so, thus drawing lines in the sand and angering legislators. There may not be much that he can do to repair that fractured relationship, but signing Senate Bill 1, and agreeing to work with the General Assembly might be the best he could do.

If he vetoes it, his veto will be overridden anyway. The sensible thing to do is sign it.

Of course, the Governor did not sign Senate Bill 1, or any of the other legislation the General Assembly sent him, vetoing six bills, and allowing a seventh to become law without his signature. And, as predicted, the General Assembly overrode his vetoes:

GOP swiftly overrides Beshear vetoes. He immediately challenges COVID laws in court.

By Daniel Desrochers and Jack Brammer | February 2, 2021 | 5:56 PM EST | Updated February 2, 2021 | 6:50 PM

Kentucky Republicans asserted their control in Frankfort Tuesday, overwhelmingly voting to override vetoes issued by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear of bills that limit his powers during the coronavirus pandemic and other emergencies.

The action by lawmakers upon returning to the Capitol after a three-week break set the stage for a court battle, which Beshear initiated immediately.

In announcing his lawsuit against House Bill 1, Senate Bill 1 and Senate Bill 2, Beshear accused lawmakers of surrendering to COVID-19.

“Today, the General Assembly attempted to surrender to COVID-19 and accept the casualties. As your governor, I cannot let this happen,” Beshear said. “I have filed this action to continue to fight for the protection of all Kentuckians.”

The action fulfilled a promise he made Monday to fight the laws in court, setting up another battle in which the judicial branch will determine whether Beshear has the power to place restrictions on gatherings and businesses to limit the spread of COVID-19.

The Governor’s lawsuit was filed in Franklin County Circuit Court; Franklin is the county in which the state capital of Frankfort is located. The Governor asked for:

a temporary restraining order, a temporary injunction and a permanent injunction against the Defendants, Robert W. Osborne, Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives, Bertram Robert Stivers, II, President of the Kentucky Senate, and Daniel J. Cameron, the Kentucky Attorney General.

The Governor is trying to run out the clock on COVID-19. Had he included the legislature in 2020, it might not have come down to this.

Regardless of the outcome of this filing, the loser will appeal to the state Court of Appeals, and then to the state Supreme Court. That isn’t a very good history:

On July 17th, the Kentucky Supreme Court halted all lower state court efforts to enjoin Governor Andy Beshear’s (D-KY) executive orders to fight COVID-19. Then, three weeks later, the Court set September 17th to hear oral arguments on those cases, which meant that Mr Beshear’s executive orders would continue in force, without any recourse to the state courts to challenge them, for two months before the state Supreme Court would even allow arguments against them.

Those oral arguments were heard, but it wasn’t until November 12th that the state Supreme Court issued its ruling. That’s 118 days, or 3½ months, that the state Supreme Court left the Governor’s orders in force without any actual legal ruling.

Sadly, when that court did rule, it ruled in favor of the Governor.

Under Senate Bill 1, Governor Beshear can still issue executive orders for up to thirty days, without the approval of the General Assembly to extend them, so the Governor’s latest executive order, extending the mandatory mask order until March 1st. The Governor cannot extend that order now, under Senate Bill 1, without the approval of the legislature. But if he gets his way on an injunction, he could extend the order, and, if we get the same 118 days from the state Supreme Court, that would take until June 27th before there was a ruling by the officially non-partisan but practically Democrat controlled state Supreme Court.

All of this could have been avoided if the Governor had included the General Assembly in his decisions, if he had not acted unilaterally and specifically chosen to ignore the legislature.

Translation: Governor Beshear believed that the legislature would not go along with his draconian decrees.

I will admit it: I have little faith that the state Supreme Court will uphold the legislature and the rights of Kentuckians.

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Governor Beshear vetoes bills limiting his power The General Assembly will override those vetoes on February 2nd

Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY) had promised all along that he was going to veto the bills limiting his ’emergency’ authority under KRS 39A; I wonder why it took him so long. Perhaps he thought that with the inauguration tomorrow dominating the news, people wouldn’t notice his vetoes?

Beshear vetoes five bills limiting his power. Republicans likely to override him.

By Daniel Desrochers | January 19, 2021 | 5:42 PM EST | Updated: 5:57 PM EST

Gov. Andy Beshear vetoed five pieces of legislation Tuesday that attempted to limit his executive powers, saying they would “significantly hamper the important steps” he has taken to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Beshear vetoed House Bill 1, Senate Bill 1, Senate Bill 2 and House Bill 5, all of which would shift power from the executive branch to the legislative branch when dealing with emergencies, such as the coronavirus pandemic. He also vetoed House Bill 2, which would give the Attorney General authority over enforcement of abortion laws.

“Issuing a veto is my constitutional obligation as governor,” Beshear said. “And it’s my job to issue those vetoes with veto statements when I don’t think something is constitutional, when I think something will harm Kentuckians.

Citing a poll conducted by a consortium of universities and medical schools, Beshear claimed an overwhelming majority of Kentuckians supported his previous orders calling on people to stay home and avoid gathering in groups, limiting restaurants to takeout and shutting down K-12 schools to in-person classes.

Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY)

Of course, in the only poll which matters, the one taken on election day, Kentuckians increased the Republicans’ majority in the state House of Representatives from 61-39 to 75-25, and in the state Senate from 28-10 to 30-8. Republican candidates had been campaigning on, among other things, reining in an out-of-control governor, and voters in the Bluegrass State bought that message.

As we’ve previously noted, Republicans hold not only veto proof majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly, but those margins are so substantial that the GOP could lose several Republican votes and still override the Governor’s vetoes.

Mr Beshear has said that, if his vetoes are overridden, he will challenge the laws in court. Authoritarians don’t like their authority challenged!

Beshear also vetoed Senate Bill 1, which, among other things, would call the legislature into session to approve emergency orders that last beyond 30 days. Had such a rule been in effect during (2020), Beshear said lawmakers would have been called into special session at least 10 times at a cost to taxpayers of more than $3 million.

Uhhh, no. What it would mean is that the legislature would have had the option of granting extensions for longer than thirty days at a pop. What the Governor really meant is that the legislature would not have approved all of his orders.

The General Assembly reconvenes on February 2nd, at which time the override votes are expected.

Perhaps, just perhaps, if the Governor had cooperated with the legislature last year, as they asked him to do, the General Assembly wouldn’t have passed the bills limiting his power now.

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Governor Beshear keeps playing politics with COVID-19

The minions of Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY) tweet stuff like this every day:[1]Only those tweets signed ^AB are from Mr Beshear personally.

As we’ve previously noted, the Governor has held off on issuing more executive orders while the General Assembly has been in session. My guess is that he is trying to make nice to the legislators, in the hope that they will not override his promised vetoes on legislation to curb his emergency authority under KRS 39A, but I’m not a mind reader.

The Governor announced 4,084 new cases of the virus, and 51 more COVID-19-related deaths, the third highest daily death total since the pandemic began.

We are suffering more casualties than in most wars we’ve ever fought. Let’s treat it like it.

Yet the Governor is not treating the virus as strongly as he did before the legislature began its session on January 5th. I wonder why (he says, sarcastically.)

Through its partnership with the state, Kroger will set up a series of “high-volume drive-thru vaccination centers” across different regions of Kentucky that, once they open the week of February 1st, will be accessible to anyone in the top three priority groups, including essential workers, anyone age 60 and older, and anyone over the age of 16 with certain health issues.

Beshear said he expects the partnership to radically expand the state’s ability to get doses of the vaccine out to residents quickly, especially as hundreds of thousands more people become eligible for their first dose in the coming weeks.

Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY)

For a Governor who used his power to shut down schools, ban large gatherings and even force churches to close, he won’t take that kind of action now. There are still two weeks before the Kroger “high-volume drive-thru vaccination centers” open, and while tier 1a and tier 1b vaccinations have begun, the vast majority of Kentuckians have not yet has their opportunities, and are not yet eligible. Yet most private and public schools are open for in-person instruction, and their sports teams are playing, with unmasked athletes very much not engaged in ‘social distancing.[2]Fayette County, which includes Lexington, the Commonwealth’s second largest system, is not yet open for in-person instruction, and will not until at least February 1st, but the Fayette County … Continue reading

As we previously noted, even when the Governor’s executive order closing all schools to in-person instruction was in force, because it was too dangerous to allow in classroom instruction despite plexiglass barriers, desks set further apart and mandatory mask-wearing, the Governor allowed the high school football playoffs to continue.

Under Senate Bill 1, which was passed and sent to the Governor, he retains his ’emergency’ power to do most of the things he has done; that power is simply limited to thirty days without the General Assembly approving an extension. That bill isn’t law yet, as the Governor has neither signed nor vetoed it yet, and he has six days, until January 21st, before he must take action or allow the bill to become law without his signature. If he vetoes it, the legislature would hold its veto override session on February 2nd, which means he could still issue an executive order which would extend until March 2nd before it either expired, or the legislature approved an extension.[3]If the bills are passed over his veto, the Governor has promised to challenge them in court.

What Governor Beshear has previously said and done, which he said was absolutely vital for the safety and well-being of Kentuckians, he isn’t doing anymore,[4]He did renew his mandatory mask order for thirty days, beginning on January 2nd, before the legislature opened its session. He could renew it before the legislature meets for a veto override vote. … Continue reading despite several recent records in test positivity and deaths. Has he decided that those so vital that they cost thousands upon thousands of people their jobs, and drove thousands of businesses out of business weren’t really that vital, or is he just playing politics with COVID-19?

References

References
↑1 Only those tweets signed ^AB are from Mr Beshear personally.
↑2 Fayette County, which includes Lexington, the Commonwealth’s second largest system, is not yet open for in-person instruction, and will not until at least February 1st, but the Fayette County schools athletic teams are playing.
↑3 If the bills are passed over his veto, the Governor has promised to challenge them in court.
↑4 He did renew his mandatory mask order for thirty days, beginning on January 2nd, before the legislature opened its session. He could renew it before the legislature meets for a veto override vote. And while it is not guaranteed, the mandatory mask order is the one which the legislature would be most likely to approve for an extension.
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Governors are becoming more resistant to imposing COVID-19 restrictions.

It seems that some of our state Governors, including the most rabid fighters against COVID-19, are learning that the public are just plain fed up. From the Associated Press:

As pandemic worsens, most US states resist restrictions

By Julie Watson and Terry Tang | January 12, 2021

PHOENIX (AP) — As the U.S. goes through the most lethal phase of the coronavirus outbreak yet, governors and local officials in hard-hit parts of the country are showing little willingness to impose any new restrictions on businesses to stop the spread.

And unlike in 2020, when the debate over lockdowns often split along party lines, both Democratic and Republican leaders are signaling their opposition to forced closings and other measures.

Were I a cynic, I’d say, yeah, sure, now that the election is over!

Some have expressed fear of compounding the heavy economic damage inflicted by the outbreak.. Some see little patience among their constituents for more restrictions 10 months into the crisis. And some seem to be focused more on the rollout of the vaccines that could eventually vanquish the threat.

The most notable change of tune came from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, who imposed a tough shutdown last spring as the state became the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak.

“We simply cannot stay closed until the vaccine hits critical mass. The cost is too high. We will have nothing left to open,” Cuomo said this week as confirmed infections in the state climbed to an average of 16,000 a day and deaths reached about 170 per day.

The cost was too high back in June, Mr Cuomo! We told you that, but no, the Democrats wouldn’t listen.

Governor Doug Ducey (R-AZ) has opposed most of the restrictions, including the mandatory mask mandates and closing restaurants and bars. That’s a good thing; the Governor and state health officials can ask people to wear masks, but should have no power to compel such. People can choose whether to patronize restaurants, gyms and bars. Mr Ducey said:

If we’re really all in this together, then we have to appreciate that for many families ‘lockdown’ doesn’t spell inconvenience; it spells catastrophe.

At last, a political leader who recognizes that throwing people out of their jobs, and eventually their homes, is not the right thing to do.

The AP reported that the pettiest of the little tyrants, Governor Gretchen Whitless Whitmer is allowing restaurants to open for inside dining on Friday, January 15th. I’d guess that outside dining, in Michigan, in January, wouldn’t be a pleasant thing.

One thing is obvious: even in our bluest of blue states, the people are voting with their feet:

Even in states with strict measures in place, such as California, people are flouting the rules. On Monday, as intensive care units in Southern California found themselves jammed with patients, people packed beaches in San Diego to see this week’s high surf, many standing less than 6 feet apart with no masks.

Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY)

It would seem that even liberal Democrats are tired of Governor Gavin Newsom’s tyranny. I’d note here that Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY), who imposed so many restrictions on the Bluegrass State, and mostly gotten away with, has not tried to reimpose new restrictions, other than a renewal of his repugnant mandatory mask mandate, despite a positive test rate of 12.23%.[1]Governor Beshear condemned the four civilians who filed impeachment requests against him as “terrorists.” Despite two protests at the state Capitol in which some of the demonstrators were … Continue reading It’s possible that he is simply trying to appease the General Assembly into not overriding his anticipated vetoes of legislation which would dramatically curtail his ’emergency’ powers.

Americans are a freedom loving people; our country was founded on the desire for liberty, and we don’t take well to petty dictators trying to take away our rights.

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↑1 Governor Beshear condemned the four civilians who filed impeachment requests against him as “terrorists.” Despite two protests at the state Capitol in which some of the demonstrators were armed, no shots were fired. The Governor was hanged in effigy.
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Andy Beshear plays politics with COVID-19 again

Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY) is playing politics with COVID-19 cases again. On Wednesday, January 6th, he told Kentuckians that the Bluegrass State had seen a record 5,742 new COVID-19 cases, with 34 fatalities.

Wednesday’s new case total is a head and shoulders above the state’s previous single-day record of 4,324 on Dec. 10. The all-time high comes a day after Beshear noted that the state’s day-to-day number of new cases were fluctuating, and his office was trying to figure out why. Tuesday’s new case tally, for instance, was 1,781 compared with Monday’s 2,319.

“Today’s numbers show how critically important a centralized effort and response is to defeating this virus,” Beshear said. The state has reported a total of 286,541 cases of the virus and 2,806 deaths.

Yet, despite the new record, Mr Beshear did not attempt to renew his school closing executive order, which expired January 4th.[1]The Governor had later recommended that schools stay closed until January 11th, but he did not make it an order. Danville Christian Academy, the lead plaintiff in Danville Christian Academy v … Continue reading

And Thursday was more of the same:

COVID-19 surging in Kentucky. 4,911 new cases & 37 deaths. Positivity rate nears 12%.

By Alex Aquisto | January 7, 2020 | 6:08 PM EST | Updated 7:06 PM EST

A day after Kentucky tallied a record number of new COVID-19 cases, Gov. Andy Beshear announced 4,911 more cases of the virus on Thursday, saying it signals a post-holiday spike.

“We are in a dangerous place,” Beshear said in an update.

Thursday’s new case total is the second-highest number the state has reported in a single day. On Wednesday, the state logged more than 5,700 new cases.

Beshear said it’s “now clear that we are seeing an escalation related to holiday gatherings. This is not the time to make it harder to react to this virus when it may be surging again.”

There’s more at the original, but, once again, the Governor is playing politics, urging the General Assembly not to limit his emergency powers. In it’s odd year, thirty-day session, the General Assembly, which the Governor explicitly cut out of the COVID-19 response because he knew the legislature would not approve all of his orders, is fast-tracking legislation which would limit the Governor’s executive orders under declared states of emergency, primarily limiting them to thirty days unless an extension is approved by the legislature.

House Bill 1 is the Republican legislature’s response to Beshear’s COVID-19 restrictions. Over the course of the pandemic Republican lawmakers have chafed at the capacity limitations and safety requirements Beshear has placed on businesses, schools and churches, with the latest round of outrage coming after Beshear closed restaurants and bars to in-person dining in the last weeks of November and ordered schools to switch to remote learning until January.

The Republican solution: businesses and schools can stay open as long as they “meet or exceed” guidance issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, detail their plan and post it on their door. Lawmakers have not specified which CDC guidelines must be followed, and the CDC’s page is built to offer tips on how to keep employees and customers safe more than to set standards for reopening.

The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce pushed a provision in the bill that would waive interest and penalties on employer’s unpaid unemployment insurance bills until 2022.

There also are provisions in the bill to allow family visitation for children in foster care during an emergency (the Beshear Administration prevented those visitations in November when cases were spiking, but they have resumed) and would allow residents of nursing homes to have one designated “essential personal care visitor” who would be exempt from any orders preventing visitation in nursing homes.

Senate Bill 1 would place a 30-day expiration date on any executive order from the governor that restricts the in-person meeting of schools, businesses and religious organizations unless the order is extended by the General Assembly. Local executives are given more flexibility under the bill for any emergency order they institute.

Should the governor hope to suspend a statute through executive order during an emergency the action would require approval from the Attorney General.

I have no doubt that if the General Assembly does not limit the Governor’s emergency powers, he would start issuing more orders as soon as the legislative session ended.

The bill also requires the governor’s office to give a report every 30 days about the contracts issued and revenues received while the state is under an emergency order. It attempts to prevent the governor from circumventing the legislature by issuing a new emergency order after 30 days on the same “or substantially similar” facts and circumstances of the original order.

The Governor’s pleas that “Today’s numbers show how critically important a centralized effort and response is to defeating this virus” and “This is not the time to make it harder to react to this virus when it may be surging again” make little sense, since the proposals would allow him to issue those executive orders, but would simply require that the state legislature approve any extension. But, despite the surging numbers, Mr Beshear once again declined to renew the expired executive order, because he knew that would just make the legislature even more likely to pass the bills limiting his authority. Republicans have veto-proof majorities in both legislative chambers.

The truth is simple: if the General Assembly does not pass the legislation restricting the Governor’s emergency powers, Mr Beshear would start using them the day the legislature adjourned. While the Governor can call a special session of the legislature whenever he wishes, to approve an executive order extension, the legislature does not have the authority to call itself back into session. Even if they did, the Republicans did not have a veto-proof majority in the state House of Representatives prior to the 2020 elections; now, they do.

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↑1 The Governor had later recommended that schools stay closed until January 11th, but he did not make it an order. Danville Christian Academy, the lead plaintiff in Danville Christian Academy v Beshear, was open with in-person classes on Tuesday, January 5th. I personally verified this with a telephone call to the school.
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Will the Kentucky General Assembly stand up for our rights?

As 2020 thankfully ends, for Kentuckians that means that the General Assembly will shortly be in session. Our state legislature is a part-time one, which is just the way the people in the Bluegrass State like it. Our state representatives and senators have other lives, and the pay for legislators does not allow them to be professionals at it. Legislators earn a salary of $188.22 per day, when the legislature is in session, along with a per diem expense allowance of $163.90. In even-numbered years, sessions may not last more than 60 legislative days, and cannot extend beyond April 15. In odd-numbered years, sessions may not last more than 30 legislative days, and cannot extend beyond March 30.

If you think, hey, that’s not much, until a constitutional amendment was passed by the voters in 2000, the legislature was restricted to meeting only once every two years.

We have previously mentioned Governor Andy Beshear’s (D-KY) dictatorial orders, and his refusal to involve the General Assembly.

Beshear was asked at Friday’s (July 10, 2020 — Editor) news conference on COVID-19 why he has not included the legislature in coming up with his orders. He said many state lawmakers refuse to wear masks and noted that 26 legislators in Mississippi have tested positive for the virus.

Though the Governor is supposedly very popular, and the public supposedly approve of his handling of COVID-19, the November elections increased Republican control over both chambers of the state legislature. The GOP increased their majority in the state Senate from 28-10 to 30-8, but, more importantly, in the state House of Representatives from 61-37 (with 2 vacancies) to 75-25. While the state Senate held a veto-proof Republican majority prior to the election, such was not the case in the state House; now, there is a veto-proof Republican majority in both chambers.

And so we come to this, from the Lexington Herald-Leader:

The legislature wants to curb Beshear’s executive powers. What does that look like?

By Daniel Desrochers | December 31, 2020 | 11:45 AM EST

After adding to their existing supermajorities in the Kentucky General Assembly in November, Republicans in Frankfort laid out a clear mission for the 2021 legislative session: scale back the executive powers of the governor of Kentucky.

“We’re going to refine,” said Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, days after the election. “There’s no doubt that chief executives of any state or at the federal level need types of powers in an emergency. We all agree with that. What’s the extent and duration? How do you apply [it]?”

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Republican lawmakers have chafed at executive orders passed by Gov. Andy Beshear aimed at stemming the spread of the coronavirus. Some have attended rallies against the orders, others have spoken out in favor of lawsuits challenging them, nearly all have said there hasn’t been enough communication between the governor’s office and legislators.

In particular, they’ve decried now-expired orders that temporarily banned all gatherings, including church services, and stopped private schools from holding in-person classes.

There’s more at the original.

Technically, Mr Desrochers, the article author, is incorrect: the executive order which prohibited private schools from holding in-person classes does not expire until Sunday, January 3rd, though, as the United States Supreme Court noted, the order would expire at the normal end of the Christmas break for schools.[1]In Danville Christian Academy v Beshear, the Supreme Court did just as I guessed it would: it let the case go moot. On November 18, the Governor of Kentucky issued a temporary school-closing Order … Continue reading

While I suggested that the Governor would renew his school closure order, but wait until January 2nd to do so, to give the private religious schools little time to appeal it, renewing that order would only anger the legislature. However, the Herald-Leader reported, yesterday, that “Kentucky has 7th-highest day for new COVID-19 cases. Positivity rate back above 9%.”

Wednesday’s tally of new cases is the seventh-highest single-day increase the state has reported since the beginning of the pandemic.

In a written update, Beshear noted the mid-week increase was “higher than it has been for a number of days,” adding, “The progress we have made is fragile.”

If the Governor concludes that he has no chance of avoiding the restriction of his emergency powers, he might well simply issue the edicts, hoping to get away with them for another month.

Six bills restricting the Governor’s emergency powers have been pre-filed in the General Assembly, but one commonality is that all require the calling of a special session of the General Assembly if the Governor issues an emergency decree which lasts for longer than a month.[2]Kentucky is one of only a few states in which the legislature cannot call itself back into session.

Mr Desrochers again:

Beshear has indicated he would like no approach at all. He has criticized the effort to restrict his ability to issue executive orders, painting it as a potentially “catastrophic” attempt to limit his ability to deal with COVID-19, and one that would hamstring future governors if another unforeseen emergency arrives.

“I hope when they show up, making a lot of noise, let’s take a breath, let me get on through this and afterwards, have at it,” Beshear told the Herald-Leader when asked about the legislature’s effort to limit executive power. “Then we can go to court or anything else.”

“Then we can go to court,” huh? The Governor is an attorney, and he knows that going to court costs time and money. If he issues another of his decrees, appeals of those decrees could take months by the time they work their way through the courts. The state court challenge to his decrees were consolidated by the state Supreme Court, last July, when the Court issued a stay of the lower court injunctions against the Governor’s decrees, and then the Court decided it would hear oral arguments two months later. The United States Supreme Court, when it finally dismissed Daniel Christian Schools v Beshear, did so based on the practical expiration of the challenged executive order, but that Court sat on the case for two weeks, taking it to less than a week before Christmas break began.[3]Justice Samuel Alito, in his dissent, noted: (I)n my judgment, it is unfair to deny relief on this ground since this timing is in no way the applicants’ fault. They filed this action on November … Continue reading

But the General Assembly must do more than just time limit the Governor’s emergency powers. It must also make clear that those emergency powers do not and cannot infringe on our constitutional rights. We are guaranteed, under the First Amendment, the right of peaceable assembly and free exercise of religion, both rights on which the Governor’s executive orders have restricted. The state does not and cannot have the power to somehow just suspend our rights, and the state legislature must make that clear, in terms that our partisan state Supreme Court cannot choose to ignore.

COVID-19 is serious, but the violation of our constitutional rights, by Governors across the country, is far, far worse.
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Cross-posted on RedState.

References

References
↑1 In Danville Christian Academy v Beshear, the Supreme Court did just as I guessed it would: it let the case go moot.

On November 18, the Governor of Kentucky issued a temporary school-closing Order that effectively closes K–12 schools for in-person instruction until and through the upcoming holiday break, which starts Friday, December 18, for many Kentucky schools. All schools in Kentucky may reopen after the holiday break, on January 4. . . . .

The Governor’s school-closing Order effectively expires this week or shortly thereafter, and there is no indication that it will be renewed.

Uhhh, yes, there is! Governor Beshear has already ‘recommended’ that schools delay opening another week, until January 11th, and while he did not make that an order, quite possibly because he knew it would impact the case and it contradicted his own Court filing, he is now free to make it an order.

Under all of the circumstances, especially the timing and the impending expiration of the Order, we deny the application without prejudice to the applicants or other parties seeking a new preliminary injunction if the Governor issues a school-closing order that applies in the new year.

In other words, the Court would entertain a new case, should the Governor issue another executive order, but all of that takes time, and money. With Christmas break about to start, the Governor could easily wait until Saturday, January 2nd, to issue another executive order.

↑2 Kentucky is one of only a few states in which the legislature cannot call itself back into session.
↑3 Justice Samuel Alito, in his dissent, noted:

(I)n my judgment, it is unfair to deny relief on this ground since this timing is in no way the applicants’ fault. They filed this action on November 20, 2020, just two days after the issuance of the Governor’s executive order. And when, on November 29, the Sixth Circuit granted a stay of the order that would have allowed classes to resume, the applicants sought relief in this Court just two days later, on December 1. It is hard to see how they could have proceeded more expeditiously.

Justice Neil Gorsuch also dissented:

Nor should a Governor be able to evade judicial review by issuing short-term edicts and then urging us to overlook their problems only because one edict is about to expire while the next has yet to arrive. Come January 4, a new school semester will be about to start, and the Governor has expressly told us that he reserves the right to issue more decrees like these if and when religious schools try to resume holding classes. Rather than telling the parties to renew their fight in a month, asking the Sixth Circuit to resolve the case now, under accurate legal rules, would be better for everyone—from the parents who might have to miss work and stay home should decrees like these be upheld, to the state public health officials who might have to plan for school if they are not.

Courts have a broader equity at stake here too. In their struggle to respond to the current pandemic, executive officials have sometimes treated constitutional rights with suspicion. In Kentucky, state troopers seeking to enforce gubernatorial orders even reprimanded and recorded the license plate numbers of worshippers who attended an Easter church service, some of whom were merely sitting in their cars listening to the service over a loudspeaker.

Recently, this Court made clear it would no longer tolerate such departures from the Constitution. We did so in a case where the challenged edict had arguably expired, explaining that our action remained appropriate given the Governor’s claim that he could revive his unconstitutional decree anytime. That was the proper course there, as I believe it is here. I would not leave in place yet another potentially unconstitutional decree, even for the next few weeks.
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Big Brother is watching you, and the left think you need to be watched more closely

In George Orwell’s 1984, every home was fitted with a Telescreen.

The voice came from an oblong metal plaque like a dulled mirror which formed part of the surface of the right-hand wall. Winston turned a switch and the voice sank somewhat, though the words were still distinguishable. The instrument (the telescreen, it was called) could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely. . . . .

The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it; moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment.

After nine months now of increasingly draconian controls of our society and our economy in the huge governmental response to COVID-19, we are now being told that the one place into which government cannot reach, our homes, is the place in which our leaders need to exert the most control.

Where COVID-19 spreads most easily, according to experts

The most likely place to contract the virus is not at work or at school.

By Dr. Adjoa Smalls-Mantey | December 24, 2020 | 6:08 AM

COVID-19 is a highly transmissible disease, but evidence shows that small indoor gatherings and households are where the novel coronavirus is spreading the fastest.

For nearly a year, public health officials across the globe have grappled with how to reduce the spread of COVID-19. At times, travel has been restricted, schools and gyms have closed, and some cities, such as San Francisco, are under lockdown. But despite these restrictions, the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths continue to reach record highs.

“I think we want to be careful about blaming one particular environment and scapegoating one particular setting for generating transmission,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an ABC News contributor, epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital.

However, there are some settings where COVID-19 is more easily spread. In New York, for example, contact tracing has shown that 70% of new cases come from small gatherings and households.

“Informal gatherings may have played even the biggest role,” Brownstein said, “because they are harder to police, they’re harder to enforce, and people are probably more lax when it comes to recommendations of mask wearing and social distancing.”

I will admit to some amusement at Dr. Adjoa Smalls-Mantey’s, the author’s, choice of language, that informal gatherings, meetings between friends and family, “are harder to police, (are) harder to enforce” restrictions. In the end, of course, policing things, enforcing rules, is precisely what Our Betters want to do.

Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Health, Dr Richard Levine[1]Dr Levine is a mentally ill male who thinks he’s somehow a woman, calling himself ‘Rachel.’ The First Street Journal does not go along with such foolishness, and always refers to … Continue reading issued orders that individuals must wear masks and practice social distancing inside their own homes if guests are present. The credentialed media were also full of similar recommendations.

When people gather in small groups with friends and family, they are more likely to let their guard down, not wear their masks and stay together indoors for longer periods of time, which makes it easier to transmit the virus.

In a recent study at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, researchers found that for children and adolescents who tested positive for COVID-19, it was small social gatherings — not school — that was the most likely place they were exposed to the virus.

The children who tested positive in the study were more likely to have attended social gatherings outside of their homes, had playdates or had visitors at their home where mask wearing and social distancing precautions were not taken.

Gladys Kravitz

As we have noted previously, various officials know that they can’t just send the gendarmerie into your house, so they want your neighbors to peer into your windows and snitch on you. Of course, Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-New York City) does seem to think that he can send the sheriff’s deputies to your home, so perhaps other of our government officials will try to make my statement that they can’t send the police to your homes a false one. A conspiracy theorist might suggest that Dr Smalls-Mantey’s article is just something to condition the public into thinking that such is regrettably necessary, so that the sheeple will simply accept it, at least if it only happens to their neighbors and not themselves.

Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY) issued executive orders limiting gatherings in your home of more than eight people, from more than two separate households. I am happy to say that we didn’t obey the Governor’s restrictions any heed on either Thanksgiving or Christmas. Three households, no masks.

If only the government had those telescreens, they wouldn’t have to depend on those Gladys Kravitzes to peer into your windows![2]I had to put a descriptive link to Gladys Kravitz in the article, because my good friend Donald Douglas pointed out that you have to be older than dirt to get the reference.

If we allow authoritarianism to continue for this emergency, in what other emer-gencies will it be used?

Am I just being paranoid here? In 1984, sexual activity is regulated by the government, and Winston Smith’s and Julia’s sexual life is a form of rebellion. And in 2020, Dr Levine issued ‘guidance’ about your sex life, ‘suggesting’ that you must ‘limit’ your number of sex partners, and always ‘discuss’ COVID-19 with any new potential inamorata. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D-Washington, DC) did the same.[3]The left had always claimed that it was evil reich-wing conservatives who wanted to regulate sex, even referencing 1984, but it doesn’t seem to have been conservatives doing this now, does it?

People with actual governing authority have been telling us how we must live our lives, interfering in our jobs, our businesses and trying to impose their authority even in our homes, justifying it as an emergency, of course. But if they are allowed to get away with this for the COVID emergency, just what other ’emergencies’ can they use to justify restricting our rights? The September 11th attacks wound up justifying the PATRIOT Act, and, sadly, that was done by Republican congressmen and senators, and signed into law by a Republican president.

Benjamin Franklin put it best, saying, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” We have surrendered some of our essential liberty, and far too many of our people have agreed with this, because it’s just so necessary, or, as the law would put it, “a compelling government interest.”

This is where we must say, nay, scream, that government cannot do this, and the people will not allow it. More than just scream, we must protest, we must take political action, to unseat the would-be tyrants and petty dictators. If we do not do this, now, we insure that it will happen again, and again, as those who believe they should run our lives for us can always find something to justify it.
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Cross-posted on RedState.

References

References
↑1 Dr Levine is a mentally ill male who thinks he’s somehow a woman, calling himself ‘Rachel.’ The First Street Journal does not go along with such foolishness, and always refers to ‘transgender’ individuals by their birth names and sex.
↑2 I had to put a descriptive link to Gladys Kravitz in the article, because my good friend Donald Douglas pointed out that you have to be older than dirt to get the reference.
↑3 The left had always claimed that it was evil reich-wing conservatives who wanted to regulate sex, even referencing 1984, but it doesn’t seem to have been conservatives doing this now, does it?