Why even have an FDA?

 

Caroline Downey reports at National Review:

A CDC panel unanimously voted on Wednesday to add the Covid-19 vaccine to the recommended childhood schedule. The decision from the agency’s advisory committee would add the Covid-19 shot to the public health agency’s Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program. 

And here’s some context from Mike Miller at Red State:

. . . A December 2021 report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) detailed adverse effects among children ages 5–11 after receiving COVID-19 vaccinations, ranging from pain and swelling around injection sites, to systemic reactions, including fatigue, headaches, and joint pain, along with overall health impacts, including the inability to perform normal daily activities or attend school.

A similar study of kids aged 5-11 found more serious side effects, including seizures, appendicitis, allergic reactions, and abnormal renal function, according to Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA).

While other studies have found milder vax side effects in children, the practice remains controversial — at best. Yet? The COVID vaccine may soon be added to the childhood vaccination program. If the vaccine is added, all public school children could be required to get the COVID vaccine. Dr. Marty Makary, a surgeon and professor at Johns Hopkins University, rhetorically asked during a segment with Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Tuesday: “Many of us are asking, why even have an FDA? Why even do clinical trials?” . . .

Full report is here.  And early on, Dr Joseph Mercola cited Dr Robert Malone, who “believes that children and young adults up to age 30 or 35 should not be vaccinated because the risks outweigh the benefits in this population.”  Most commentary I have read suggests that most children are not likely to get COVID.  Yet here we are.

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Your feel-good video for today: halftime Navy Leap Frogs

From Jim Thompson at Red State:

Six years ago, my son was ending his Navy career with the parachute performance team called the “Navy Leap Frogs.” The Leap Frogs parachute into stadiums and events to the cheers of crowds. On Sunday, September 11, 2016, my son and his Leap Frogs mates were performing for the Kansas City Chiefs. They jumped into Arrowhead Stadium on that beautiful Sunday afternoon with my son assigned the honor of bringing in the Stars and Stripes. It was an awesome clear day with a bit of a headwind for the intended entry corridor.

The guys before him were carrying other flags like the Navy SEAL flag. Trevor was carrying the slightly heavier Stars and Stripes. He parachuted in last. The headwind caught Trevor above the stadium and he appears to stall motionless, right above the stadium.

Patrons can be heard exclaiming, stunned, that he was hanging in the air like it was planned. It wasn’t planned. In fact, it was a little scary.

He couldn’t land left to right because of the headwind, so he turned, headed in the opposite direction, and landed right to left.

It’s an awesome short video [about 3 min] — and still gives me goosebumps.

Link to Red State is here.  

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RINO Rob Portman does it again

 

Strictly speaking, it’s not on the Tea Party agenda, but the latest gun-grab attempt is on everyone’s radar screen.  Don Surber links to the UPI report on legislation working its way through committee and congress:

"The 20 lawmakers -- 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans -- led by Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, announced the package they said would 'protect America's children, keep our schools safe, and reduce the threat of violence across our country.'"

The compromise is to take your guns more slowly.

93% of guns used in crime are illegal. Enforce that law before you dare try to deprive me of my rights.

And guess who is one of the 10 Republicans are supporting the package?  Why yes, Ohio Senator Rob Portman (OH-RINO). 

RELATED:  Brandon Morse on red-flag laws at Red State here.  The law sounds reasonable, but it is too easily weaponized (pun intended) for political purposes.  And Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb is on board with so-called "common sense gun reforms.  

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Ohio redistricting update

 

Bonchie at Red State reports:

The sweet smell of victory is in the air this morning after it became apparent that Republicans are going to win the redistricting fight in Ohio. As RedState reported previously (see Pain and Loathing Commence After Surprise Ohio Redistricting Decision), despite the Ohio Supreme Court once again striking down maps drawn by the GOP legislature, the decision itself was entered as a final judgment. What that meant is that any challenge to the next maps submitted would need to start all over as a new lawsuit.

With the primary set to happen in early May, the districts must be finalized by then for the November mid-terms. That hurdle meant that another lawsuit likely wouldn’t have enough time to progress, and that’s been confirmed after the Ohio Supreme Court released the timeline for any new challenge. . . .

Read the full report here. I’m not so sure this is a good development, even though it’s being viewed as a win for the R’s. Sadly, for years both parties have been trying to gerrymander the districts. Just look at MarcyKaptur’s district (9^th) in the map at the top.

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Mike Rowe on getting a vaccine

 

Mike Rowe, the Dirty Jobs guy, was asked about the COVID vaccines.  As always, he goes with common sense and skepticism.  Via Nick Arama at RedState:

Rowe: Yes, we have a new variant, and from what I’ve read, it’s highly contagious, but far less virulent – especially if you’re vaccinated. According to the CDC, just one 1 in 27,000 vaccinated people have contracted it. That means if you’re vaccinated, you’re more likely to get struck by lightning than contract COVID. And yet, people are once again calling for more lockdowns, more restrictions, and more compliance from those who already got their shots.

The fact is, millions of reasonable Americans have every right to feel confused and skeptical. Those people you refer to. . . – the ones now telling us that we can “get back to normal just as soon as everyone is vaccinated” – those are the same people who said, “two weeks to flatten the curve!” Those are the same people who told us that masks were “useless” before they told us they were “critical.” Those are the same people who told us that a return to normalcy would occur just as soon as “the most vulnerable” among us were vaccinated. Then, just as soon as “half the population” was vaccinated. Then, just as soon as we achieved “herd immunity.” Those are the same people who told us they wouldn’t trust ANY vaccine developed under the last administration. Now, those very same people are belittling the skeptics!

. . .

Full report is here.

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Trump rally in Phoenix last Saturday: Rumble livestream

 

Last weekend, President Donald J. Trump headlined a TurningPoint USA rally in Phoenix. Our household was unable to watch it live, but we linked to the Rumble livestream and watched it yesterday evening.  We were especially interested to hear Trump mention “communism” by name a few times, LeBron James, America Last, and the team formerly known as the Cleveland Indians.  And of course he talked about election fraud. This Rumble link here allows you to move back and forth if you so choose:

Nick Arama at Red State posted a good report of the event, "Trump Eviscerates the Democrats in Rip-Roaring Rally in Arizona," and it is much shorter.

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Gov. DeWine: low marks

 

Bonchie at Red State:

Ohio's Governor Perfectly Illustrates
What Republican Impotence Looks Like

Ohio GOP Gov. Mike DeWine has been the perfect encapsulation of everything wrong with the Republican Party for a while now. His handling of COVID has been marked by an inconsistent, overly cowardly approach whereby he was behind the curve on everything from lockdowns to mask mandates.

Unlike Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who has fought oppressive mandates at every level, DeWine didn’t take an objective look at what was working and what wasn’t. Rather, he sought to protect himself, putting in place oppressive mandates and restrictions that appear to have amounted to nothing at all. In fact, Ohio and Florida ended up with nearly identical COVID death rates despite their wildly different policy decisions in regards to the pandemic.

DeWine has been so bad that he didn’t even lift his state’s mask mandate until June 2nd, months and months after it became clear masks weren’t anywhere close to a silver bullet. Worse, he actually encouraged schools to keep masking children up –something that lacks any scientific justification, at this point, with teachers largely being vaccinated.

But it’s not just COVID where DeWine has curled up into the fetal position, looking for CNN approval more than doing what’s right. On the transgender sports issue, he’s already promised to veto any legislation sent to him by Ohio’s GOP legislature that deals with the issue.

There’s more here.  And with Jim Renacci running for Gov., well, that’d just be more of the same.

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The "Forever Pandemic": A Story of Moving Goal Posts

 

In an article “Normalizing the Forever Pandemic,” Jennifer Oliver O’Connell at Red State sums it up:

We have gone from 15 days to slow the spread to 333 days with COVID still active, along with new strains. We went from only those most vulnerable should wear masks in March, to we’re masking up until 2022 to “save lives.” Candidate Biden blamed Trump for COVID deaths and poor response to the pandemic, and said he would work to create a plan to end the pandemic. Apparently, plans to end the pandemic have been put on pause, if not given up altogether. What we have is forever pandemic language, with its symbol being normalizing Mask wearing—and maybe wearing several.

It seems it doesn’t get better.

Biden said in that same Thursday conference that the “end goal” is “beating COVID-19.”

But with each new press conference, he keeps moving the goal posts, and the American people have noticed.

. . .

Part of making something “normal” is to make it ubiquitous and also trendy. Everyone you see, from your waitress, to your news anchors, to your favorite television characters are wearing their masks. We now have masks in fashionable colors and designs to match your outfits, emblazoned with logos and representative statements — or better yet, you can market your work or product instantly!

. . .

The “forever pandemic” message only takes hold if we accept it as normal.

If we insist on a society of zero risk forever, people will never see their elderly parents again. The forever pandemic and the zero-risk society bear heavy costs.

Read the rest here.  (It's not just the Biden administration. The CDC, Drs. Fauci and Birx et al were moving the goals posts in month 1 of the "forever pandemic.")

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It’s not over till it’s over

Streiff at Red State reports on “The Congressional Inaugural Committee Adjourns After It Fails To Agree Joe Biden Is President-Elect.” 

To date, only a relatively small number, about 27, Vichy Conservatives have lined up to welcome their new master. That any have done so just shows the absolute cravenness of a small but, I predict, a growing number of Republicans who will find life without invitations to the right parties to be just too much to bear. It would have cost them nothing to say nothing until the Electoral College votes and it would have shown solidarity with that 70+% of Republicans and 50% of all Americans who believe Joe Biden is the beneficiary of a fraudulent election. The only conceivable reason to proclaim allegiance to some guy who chases his dog around while buck naked is to just cast one final insult at a president they never truly accepted as legitimate and who, as a newcomer to politics, understood the mood of the American people and the issues of importance to them better than the professional vote-chasers.

Eventually, there will be a president-elect, but it will be one decided by the Electoral College, not one appointed by the news media and demanded by geriatric Democrats.

Full report is here.

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The data is in — stop the panic and end the total isolation

Literally Thousands of Doctors and Scientists 

Have Come Out Against Fauci’s Lockdowns 

Including a Nobel Prize-Winning Biophysicist. 

The Media Just Doesn’t Want You to Know

The headline says it all, but the report by Michael Thau at Red State starts off:

As RedState’s very own Sister Toldjah reported earlier today, the doubts President Trump recently expressed about the wisdom of Dr. Fauci’s advice on COVID-19 have elicited a chorus of smug accusation from the usual suspects that he’s “ignoring the experts.”

Sister Toldjah pointed out that it’s hard to know what their complaint even means given how often Fauci and other media-anointed authorities have done total 180s.

But, even putting aside how their advice seems to change with the political winds, the idea that there’s some scientific consensus in favor of the extreme measures inflicted on us in response to COVID-19 couldn’t be further from the truth.

Though you don’t hear their perspectives on CNN, countless scientists and doctors have tried to warn us not only that COVID-19 isn’t nearly as deadly as we’ve been led to believe; they’re also certain that the real threat to public health we’re facing is from the lockdowns.

Full report is here.

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Socialism on the rise

image credit:thedebtweowe.com

The disconcerting headline (disconcerting to Tea Party people!) in Rick Moran’s piece in American Thinker:

"Socialism is going mainstream, and Millennials are the cause"

From the article:

A headline in The Hill captures a significant moment in American history: "Four socialist-backed candidates win Pennsylvania legislative primaries."

The Democratic Socialists of America supported all four candidates, who will almost certainly win in November, given their lack of GOP opponents.

The DSA itself thinks socialism's time has come:

The DSA hailed the legislative victories as a huge moment for the socialist movement. 

Arielle Cohen, co-chair of the Pittsburgh DSA chapter, told HuffPost that she feels a "monumental shift" after the victories, noting DSA's growing membership since President Trump's election.

"We won on popular demands that were deemed impossible.  We won on health care for all, we won on free education," she said.

"We're turning the state the right shade of red tonight," she added.

The "right shade of red" is due to a growing acceptance for socialism, especially among Millennials, and outright hostility and opposition to capitalism. 

. . .

How did this happen? The short answer is that the American people are ignorant of the dangers to human liberty posed by socialism and have been propagandized by our educational system, our culture, and our media to hate capitalism.  If you are told capitalism is evil for your entire life by teachers, movies, TV, and news media, you are going to believe that capitalism is evil. 

The rest of the article is here. If you go to the link, you will see more than the usual number of reader comments - over 400 when I posted. 

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More out-of-control spending

image credit: redstate.com

Yesterday, the House passed the bazillion dollar omnibus spending bill 256-167. Roll Call reports:

“Is the president going to sign the bill?” Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said of the president and the omnibus spending bill. “Yes.”

Conservative Review reports:

On Thursday, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said the omnibus spending bill, clocking in at more than 2,000 pages, is “not even close” to what Republicans told the American people they would do if elected.

…

“It’s 2,200 pages that funds sanctuary cities, funds Planned Parenthood, restricts Second Amendment liberties, and grows the government at a $1.3 trillion price tag … which will lead to a trillion-dollar deficit,” Jordan said.

“This may be the worst bill I have seen in my time in Congress, the worst bill our leadership’s ever allowed to come to the floor,” he added.

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) listed his objections (via Red State):

- Record spending levels

- No wall/border security

- Obamacare intact

- Funds Planned Parenthood

- Sanctuary Cities funded

- Barely 24 hours to read a 2,300 page bill

This Omnibus is so far from what the forgotten men and women of America voted for. I will oppose it.

Hard to know whether Jordan and Meadows are in earnest or are playing good cop. I'll update when I have located the roll call.

UPDATE 5:54pm: The roll call vote is here.

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