It seems that we are in a third (or fourth?) wave of the Wu-flu and the push to get vaccinated is on.
From the CDC, to the Veterans Affairs, to your state and local government, the push is on. They are trying to make it a patriotic decision, or a civic duty. The simple truth is that it is a medical decision that should be made with the consultation of your personal physician. There may be a multitude of reasons for a person to get vaccinated or not. No one but your personal doctor should have any input on this decision at all.
There is a push to get us masked-up again. It's also time for Americans to resist. The mask (or face diaper, or whatever you wish to call it) has become a virtue-signal, a visible outward manifestation of submission. If the Governor says we should mask, that's enough for the submissive. Based on my readings, the question remains about the effectiveness of cloth or paper masks to reduce the chances of infection, so the mask becomes a political statement.
For Louisiana, as in many blue states, or Governor loves the pandemic and is loath to give up the power it represents. I am becoming convinced that the emergency powers given to the Governor to declare a pubic health emergency is too much power to entrust to one man. The blue-state governors have proven that they are unable to resist using the power that we entrusted to them. In nearly every case, they have restricted religious freedom, freedom of assembly, freedom to conduct commerce, just to name a few. It was all done with what I believe are good intentions, but it was done nevertheless. That power is simply too powerful for one person to wield. It should be removed by the legislatures at the earlies possible tome.
News is breaking everywhere that a US Federal District Judge has overturned California's assault-weapon ban.
(CNN)In a ruling that compared the AR-15 to a Swiss Army knife, a federal judge overturned California's longtime ban on assault weapons on Friday, ruling it violates the Second Amendment's right to bear arms.
Yes, he did compare the AR platform rifles to the popular Swiss Army Knife, saying that it is a multi-role rifle, suitable for both hoe defense and homeland defense.
I haven't had a chance to plow through the decision to dissect it, but it is online here as a .pdf. Go read and enjoy. I do like the opening paragraph.
Like the Swiss Army Knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment. Good for both home and battle, the AR-15 is the kind of versatile gun that lies at the intersection of the kinds of firearms protected under District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008) and United States v Miller, 307 U.S. 174 (1939). Yet, the State of California makes it a crime to have an AR15 type rifle. Therefore, this Court declares the California statutes to be unconstitutional.
Let Freedom Ring.
Papers, Quickly. It seems that Oregon is going to require a Covid passport to enjoy freedom.
Many might dismiss this by saying that it’s only one state, but I think we all know how this story plays out. There are many people in this country who’ve fallen in love with COVID oppression and it’s a safe bet that we’ll see liberal states and cities turning into New East Berlins and requiring citizens to show their papers to enjoy basic freedoms in public. As we are all painfully aware, liberals aren’t exactly known for governmental restraint:
The push-back on this should be fast, severe, and painful.
After Doc Faucci's irritating run-in with Jim Jordan last week where he failed to answer a simple question of when we well reach a point where restrictions will be lifted; what objective metric must be reached, I realized that I had obtained Faucci immunity.
I'm over him. I'm tot an anti-vaxxer, I never have been. I've been vaccinated against a host of unpleasant diseases: Polio, small pox, measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus. Black plague, and now, Covid. By any rational standard, I'm immune.
Rep Jordan wanted to know when the restrictions would be lifted, and for myself, they have been. Even though I'm in a blue state, with a Democrat governor, that doesn't change the fact that I am immune and don't have to play their silly games anymore.
Individual liberty is not something the government gives you, it's your birthright. I'm taking mine back. No more masks, no more paying attention to mendacious midgets. I'm not going to be an asshole about it. If a property owner wants me to wear a mask, I'll simply turn around and walk away.
Statistics is the science of crunching numbers. It lets us tell the tale of populations, whether those populations are people, or the efficiency of a production line.
In this particular case, we're talking abut populations of humans, and historical data is the only data we have. John Tierney writes at City Journal.
Now that the 2020 figures have been properly tallied, there’s still no convincing evidence that strict lockdowns reduced the death toll from Covid-19. But one effect is clear: more deaths from other causes, especially among the young and middle-aged, minorities, and the less affluent.
The best gauge of the pandemic’s impact is what statisticians call “excess mortality,” which compares the overall number of deaths with the total in previous years. That measure rose among older Americans because of Covid-19, but it rose at an even sharper rate among people aged 15 to 54, and most of those excess deaths were not attributed to the virus.
We're just now able to gauge the true effects of the lockdowns on society While the public health experts were myopically focused on the virus, they tended to overlook the other myriad issues that affect public health, to the detriment of the population at large, As the statisticians continue to crunch the numbers from 2020, we may learn that the lockdowns caused more human suffering than the virus did.
The Supreme Court dropped a ruling last night, slapping the hands of the Governor of New York for violating the Free Expression clause of the 1st Amendment. The Court split along predicable lines, ruling 5-4 in favor of the churches. And, yes, Roberts (hack, spit) sided with the liberals.
Mr. Justice Gorsuch penned a concurring opinion, with some notable lines. In particularly like this one.
Even if the Constitution has taken a holiday during this pandemic, it cannot become a sabbatical.
I knew I liked that guy, and if I ever get the opportunity, I intend to spit on Robert's shoes.
Yesterday, a federal judge in New Orleans declined to get involved in the Covid restrictions in Louisiana. His decision stemmed from a suit brought by several bar owners who claimed that the Governor's restrictions were unconstitutional.
The Governor, of course, is taking a victory lap. From his Facebook page:
Today, Judge Martin L.C. Feldman in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana upheld restrictions on bars in the state as part of its efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Louisiana. The restriction is one of the critical mitigation measures put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Louisiana to protect and save lives
He's pleased as punch. The legislature gave him the authority to enact emergency measures, and by-God, he's enacting them. And, the federal court said, basically, in layman's terms, that these decisions are best left to elected officials who were democratically empowered, and were accountable to the people. I understand the judges reasoning.
It galls me that the Governor has the power, but the legislature gave it to him. I have no doubt that Governor Edwards thinks he is doing the right thing. That a federal judge agreed with him makes it no less galling, and no less a restriction on freedom in Louisiana.
There is an article over at Reason magazine that talks about business during a pandemic.
It appears that government-imposed restrictions on travel, business, and social contact don't become more palatable with age. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to simmer, the one competency that officials have consistently displayed is in tightening the screws, using the licenses and permissions they require as enforcement tools. For people tired of being bossed around, the obvious response is to carry on without the government's imprimatur—and they're doing so in droves. It's an attitude likely to live on long after the crisis has passed.
Earlier this week, I talked about a Denham Springs restaurant who is doing business in direct violation of government orders to shut down. And business is booming.
Belle and I were talking about his the other day. Belle is an RN and understands why the health department has to inspect restaurants. I'm a libertarian, and don't want government involved in very many human decisions. So, there is a natural tension between the two belief systems.
Government at all levels is using the business license as a cudgel to enforce compliance.It's happening in Louisiana and it's happening in Texas, and I suspect that it is happening all over the US. But, government forgets that the last great prohibition spawned, in great degree, the rise of organized crime in the US.
That the rebellion among Texas taverns is alive and well is obvious from a desperate-sounding open letter issued last week by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC). "Recently we have spoken with business owners who tell us they don't intend to follow the orders," wrote A. Bentley Nettles, the commission's executive director. "When a business tells TABC it doesn't intend to follow these orders, you leave the agency with no option but to revoke your license and shut you down."
The regulators may pull the license, but whether the business shuts down is a matter of claim. It may simply go underground, like the speakeasys of the 1920s. It's one thing to tell people that they can't do something, it's another thing entirely whether they do it or not. Governing against human nature is always a bad idea.
Lest we forget, there was another group of Americans who penned these words in a document that celebrated our independence.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
Let reedom Ring.
So, there is this whole coronavirus thing, and there's this whole government thing, with a mask mandate and restrictions on occupancy. Then there is this thing called Freedom, and sometimes they collide. They are colliding inn Denham Springs, LA. Denbam Springs is a suburb of Baton Rouge and one restaurant owner has had enough.
It seems that the owner of Firehouse BBQ, a restaurant, is not abiding by the mask mandate, claiming that it has causeed health issues with her employees. She is running a "mask-optional" restaurant, and she is not turning away customers. And business is booming.
Well, our petty tyrant governor can't have people making their own decisions, so he pulled her license. And she kept operating anyway. Then, the governor had a district court judge issue a Temporary Restraining Order, forcing her to shut down, but the restaurant is too busy to close, and is still serving her delicious BBQ.
And business is booming. She claims she's too busy to shut down. It's a great story. It's part of the American tension between government and personal freedom. The business owner is in passive revolt. She is simply not complying. It's a story as American as apple pie. And I applaud her for it.
But, it leads to some interesting legal questions.
Louisiana state lawmakers on Monday received a sobering glimpse of the state’s economic downturn, which one economist warned would be worse than the one experienced after Hurricane Katrina, as officials race to figure out how much tax money the state will lose as the budget is thrown into turmoil.Duuh? You think? When you wreck the business climate in Louisiana, which wasn't known for a business-friendly climate. When you through thousands of Louisianans out of work, you think it might impact tax revenues?
