Thursday, August 19, 2021

WASHINGTON GOVERNOR INSLEE BRINGS BACK STATEWIDE MASK MANDATE AND REQUIRES VACCINES FOR EDUCATION WORKERS; NEW ZEALAND-AUSTRALIA APPROACH TO FIGHTING COVID; THE LEGALITY OF VACCINE AND MASK MANDATES

We have respected Washington Governor Jay Inslee because of his early get-tough, let the scientists share the credit approach to fighting COVID-19 in March of 2020. The results were fewer deaths per person compared to New York (see below) and also compared to many other states where the politicians delayed taking action. Governor Inslee may be closing the barn door a little too late with the delta variant yesterday but he is taking strong action.

This is from the Seattle Times:

 OLYMPIA — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has brought back a statewide mask requirement and ordered all public, private and charter school employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as subject to their employment.

The governor’s announcement Wednesday comes as cases of COVID-19 cases surge and Washington’s hospitals are straining under a shortfall of health care staffers.

Inslee’s orders represent some of the strictest measures in the nation to tamp down on a fresh wave of COVID-19. They have already brought fresh rounds of protesters to the Capitol campus by those opposed to the vaccine or government mandates.

In a news conference Wednesday where he was joined by state Schools Superintendent Chris Reykdal and Health Secretary Umair Shah, Inslee said Washington is breaking new records for hospitalizations.

“More than 95% of the COVID hospitalizations we see today are among the unvaccinated,” said Inslee, adding: “And it is heart-rending for us to see losing our neighbors, our co-workers, our students to a preventable disease.”

Further down:

Inslee’s vaccine mandate for thousands of state employees, contractors and now K-12 and university employees is, in fact, likely the strictest in the nation.

Wednesday’s order expands that requirement to K -12 educators, school staff, coaches, bus drivers, school volunteers and others working in school facilities who will have to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18. Since it takes time to get two shots and for the second shot to take full effect, the process must be started much earlier than that.

Higher-education staff and contractors also fall under the mandate, as well as certified, licensed and contracted early learning and child-care providers.

And, the higher education mandate includes coaches. Inslee said Washington State University (WSU) football Coach Nick Rolovich’s decision not to get vaccinated did not play in his decision either way on the new orders. Inslee said coaches are just like other higher education employees, subject to the mandate.

License-exempt employees in early learning, child-care and youth-development programs also fall under the vaccine mandate. Those who refuse will lose their jobs unless they qualify for medical or religious exemptions.

And more:

Wednesday’s announcement comes about a week after Reykdal sent Inslee a letter “strongly encouraging” him to include school employees in his sweeping order requiring state employees and health care workers to be vaccinated or risk losing their jobs.

In recent weeks there’s been a push by national and local elected officials, health experts and teachers union leadership to require a vaccine mandate for school employees. At Wednesday’s news conference, Inslee became the third governor in the country to require some sort of vaccine proof for school employees. Although Inslee’s order has been the most stringent.

For anyone interested in comparing Washington's COVID and population numbers with New York's, we have them. New York has a population of 20.4 million while Washinton has about 7.8 million people. Washington has far fewer deaths from COVID-19.




To stop a contagious disease from spreading, it is necessary to go hard early in my non-scientific opinion. The government must stamp out the disease before it spreads in the community. That tough approach is really being tested in New Zealand this week. Please watch prime minister Jacinda Ardern's press conference as the PM and her science minister, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, go hard on a handful of community cases in Aukland. They sound like detectives trying to solve a crime. They call trouble spots areas of interest. It is unbelievable the way they put a countrywide lockdown on in a day. It wasn't easy but let's see if it succeeds.  Australia is also having real challenges with delta but we showed the other day how their deaths are forty times lower than a comparably populated Florida

New Zealand's go hard, go early approach still seems the best way to prevent mass deaths from this pandemic. It contains the virus before it spreads throughout the community. Australia does that too but not quite as well. A key ingredient is that the public's cooperation is absolutely necessary for lives to be saved. A sense of we are all in this together.

We don't have that unified public cooperation for sure in the United States but some of the arguments against vaccine and mask mandates are just plain juvenile. For those who keep making their case using a pre-adolescent notion of what freedom is, I would like you to take a look at a government action where you could get your head blown off that has been ruled constitutional. This is from Arver v United States (1918) where the Supreme Court in a 9-0 decision held that military conscription is constitutional:

In reaching its decision, the Court rejected the argument that compelled military service is repugnant to a free government and in conflict with all the great guarantees of the Constitution as to individual liberty. “Indeed, it may not be doubted that the very conception of a just government and its duty to the citizen includes the duty of the citizen to render military service in case of need, and the right of the government to compel it,” [Chief Justice Edward D] White argued.

I do not favor conscription but I know damn well it is legal if Congress and the President want it. Freedoms are limited.  The safety of the public and the republic as a whole comes before the individual. It is a balancing act and when the government goes too far like I believe e they did with the Patriot Act, there is justified pushback.

The government in a free society can legally compel you to fight in a war and they certainly can mandate that you take a vaccine in a pandemic so you can work a job safely and lower your risk of infecting yourself and others. In addition, the legality of mandated masking has been settled too in the government's favor.

The debate on this blog is basically done on this issue. You can go over to join a group on a different site to spread the anti-vax nonsense if you like. The majority will oppose you as the public is with employer vaccine mandates by a percentage of 52-38 according to this Gallup poll. That is way outside the margin for error. This isn't about your freedom or mine It's about stopping the madness where over 620,000 Americans are dead because of COVID-19. That's one of the worst death rates in the world. We should not accept it. 

PS  An edited comment I made on a prior post:

I looked up the New Zealand numbers and did a rough comparison with the US. The population is around 5 million and they have had 26 deaths from COVID. The US population is 333 million. We are 66 times bigger. So if we multiply 26 X 66 we get 1,716. That's about how many deaths we should have if we compared ourselves to New Zealand. We have 622,000 COVID deaths in the United States. By my social studies teacher math, you are about 362 times more likely to die from COVID in the US compared to New Zealand when we adjust for population size. These statistics are repugnant to this American. We can do much better if we united.

87 comments:

  1. A big reason for the USA having one of the worst records in the world with COVID is due to the so-called American exceptionalism mentality which is immersed with selfishness. And of course, Covid has been politicized and this public health threat has been downplayed especially by Trump and his political allies since February 28, 2020. They just keep ignoring the science and data as the band plays on.

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  2. WHo is paying and supplying masks for teachers? Are we supposed to use teachers choice to pay for them? We had no teachers choice last year and it will be eaten up with the cost of masks for the entire school year for teachers and if we need to buy extra if students masks break. What is the UFT stand on this?

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  3. LOL @ 1:39. Is this a joke?

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  4. You are spot-on @1:39 "a big reason for the USA...."

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  5. We have the worst inflation in 13 years, gas prices closing to 4 dollars, a border that is out of control, kids being sexually abused, bussing sending illegals all over the country. WE have the Taliban taking over and now civilians and Americans are in severe danger and James is hell-bent on slamming down the throats for vaccine mandates and censoring anyone opposing. I can see why some of my posts could be censored, this is now iceCCP. Do not believe Chaz would ever turn into you, I can not know for sure. Going to need booster shots in 8 months too.

    Notice how James never mentions Israel as the first country with herd immunity because it does not fit his narrative. Israel recorded an average of 775 new daily cases last week, according to data from Reuters.

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  6. Thanks James for showing your true authoritarian colors. The workers will probably seize the means of production before you eliminate COVID. You have ignored so much of my evidence and legitimate questions. Keep promoting China’s model and I hope you enjoy seeing NYC turned into an open air segregated prison like Gaza.

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  7. After retirement I worked in direct care. When someone tested positive, I used N 95s and immediately washed my clothing and took a shower after work. Yes, not everyone used the N 95, but I did. In fact, after both my shots, I still mask up. I had a mild case of covid before the vaccine, but my husband was very ill and now has long covid. It's no joke. I'm done trying to convince anyone else, all I want is to protect myself and my family. We all mask up.

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  8. WTF ! Sounds like Arthur took over James’s blog.

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  9. Any mention of making welfare recipients get the vaccine before them getting their next welfare check? No? Why? I guess covid isn't that dangerous.

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  10. 8:40 here- here's an interesting opinion https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/08/18/vaccine-resistance-covid-505970

    Because I'm vaccinated and wear a mask, I'm less likely to get covid again. That's what I care about.

    Poor Chaz died from covid. I never met him, but from his blog, he was a good egg.

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  11. @8:08 “The fact that Israel has achieved herd immunity is not relevant to children,” says Sigal Regev Rosenberg, the head Kupat Holim Meuhedet, one of Israel’s highly efficient HMOs. “Kids interact mostly with other kids. They are a herd of their own.” As long as this herd goes unvaccinated, it will be almost impossible to resume normal schooling since teachers and school personnel (some of whom are themselves not vaccinated) do not want to be exposed to unvaccinated children.

    To deal with this problem, Israel’s health maintenance organizations have launched a national campaign whose goal is to reach at least 60% adolescent vaccinations before the start of the school year

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  12. @9:19 that will be next Fox News talking point (if not a talking point that you picked up from them). I'm sure you'd be all for that mandate.

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  13. If you’re vaccinated you have a 99% chance of being ok if you contract the virus. The unvaccinated made their choice. I’m vaccinated and don’t care who else is. I no longer wear a mask.

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  14. Yes, israel vaxxed 85%of its people.phizer's lab rats, gave away their personal info.now we are told not to travel there because the virus level is so high...keep pumping boosters that dont work.what do u think will happen if you take 8 mos boosters for life??oops, my bad.wont be many boosters cuz you wont live that long...start the kids early on like tobacco companies did...

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  15. HORACE YOU ARE DESPICABLE!why should they be forced?dont they have enough issues already, many not being able to work or working high exposure jobs for little pay?now they should be forced to take poison with their families?MAYBE BECAUSE YOU WANT THEM DEAD TO END THE PAYOUTS?? YOU ARE A MONSTER.Does receiving welfare men u lose your free choice in your own care?you really sicken me.

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  16. I really wish i had more money in tda so i could retire.this is sick already.like salem witch hunts.we need to have a safe space so the unvaxxed can live without harrassment and be robust.i just need to know which country so i can go there.is thete any country left that respects its people?

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  17. Muldoo is Randi's bitch

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  18. So you are saying a teacher should be mandated to get the vaccine to go to work. And it should be mandated for me to go to Madison Square Garden, or go to a restaurant? But not for others? If covid is so dangerous, there should be 100% vaccination.

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  19. Inslee, Lightfoot, De Blasio, Biden, Wheeler...Great job voters. I'm watching with my popcorn.

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  20. Don't you get it Horace? They will hold your paycheck even though you actually work but they would never stop a welfare payment. The free and so safe and so necessary vaccine can only be madated for certain people.

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  21. They are about schedule boosters starting next month.. But how long will that shot last with other Covid variants that are bound to come along since there are millions and millions around the globe yet to vaccinated—not too mention the 49% of people in the USA that also have not been vaccinated.

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  22. This amazing vaccine is worthless after a few months, if that.

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  23. James ignores facts when he wants to. Crime, covid, student education. Then he claims it is ok for him to have double standards because it's his blog. Good excuse and deflection.

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  24. Mandates don’t work..Biden is hiding again and so is Kamala..the dope in the White House is more concerned about attacking the Florida governor then fixing the disaster in Afghanistan..Americans are stuck with this idiot..why am I constantly denied from sharing my opinions..everyone else shares their thoughts or have we become one side tells all the truths….???????? Shameful and I have news for all you experts on COVID…NoOne knows anything so STOP with the comments like you know everything some of the teachers I know barely have a grasp of what they are teaching

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  25. In Washington state, you can't force a criminal booked into jail to take a COVID test.

    But... you can force the corrections officers to get the COVID vaccine if they don't want it (or recently had COVID).

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  26. would love to have a thread here where we share financial status and insights, since everyone i know wants to leave the doe. they really screwed us on the eri...!

    @11:48--let's share #s?
    i just retired at 55 with 20 years of service, so you know my pension #. i have 220k in fixed tda.
    maybe have another 120k in miscellaneous crap.
    i rent for 2200/month.
    i had to leave for my health--mental health unrelated to corona. admins and colleagues (loving and tolerant leftists and unionists) were relentless in attacking me and others who refused to bow to their woke, intersectional, racialist dogma. it was ugly at my brooklyn school and people have been bailing for years.
    depending on your politics, people can be very unsafe.
    someone once said that sometimes you should be less concerned about the return ON your assets, and more concerned about the return OF your assets.
    just sayin.

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  27. Never said it should be mandated for anyone.i was commenting on Horace's suggestion that people should be denied subsidies to billy them into a jab.assume he means disabled as well.a monster.nobody should be mandated to jab to put food on the table.while i think ots wrong to discriminate at all, at least msg events are optional, whereas buying groceries os not.some dumb fuck said we shouldnt be allowed to drive.next will be social security and pensions and tda.THIS IS NOT ABOUT VIRUS CO B TROL.WAKE UP!AFTER COVID, THEY WILL INVENT FURTHER DEMANDS TO CONTROL YOU.THIS NEEDS TO STOP!i do strongly believe that they should enforce mask wearing and give fines or kick people off transportation(not including people with severe breathing issues, of course).americans are so selfish that they go all over while symptomatic.that is selfish to say the least. They do this unmasked.and what is the big deal about wearing a mask anyway?it is not invasive.
    Why has nobody in charge suggested that student mask breaks be outside?ie go outside for a few minutes.indoor mask breaks defeat the purpose of masking at all.

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  28. Alabama doctor watched patients reject the coronavirus vaccine. Now he’s refusing to treat them.

    Jason Valentine, a physician at Diagnostic and Medical Clinic Infirmary Health in Mobile, Ala., posted a photo on Facebook this week of him pointing to a sign taped to a door informing patients of his new policy coming Oct. 1.

    His stance highlights the state’s challenges in getting residents inoculated at a time when another wave of the pandemic is being fueled by the highly transmissible delta variant and the millions of people who remain unvaccinated.

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  29. https://cspicenter.org/blog/waronscience/why-covid-19-is-here-to-stay-and-why-you-shouldnt-worry-about-it/

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  30. This is from the piece just linked to

    As more people get infected by SARS-CoV-2 or vaccinated against it, the virus will ecome endemic and continue to circulate following a seasonal pattern (because immunity whether acquired naturally or through vaccination is not 100% effective against infection and wanes over time), but the number of people who end up at the hospital or dead because of it will gradually decrease until we reach a sort of equilibrium.4 In some places, especially in developed countries where the vast majority of the population has already been vaccinated, this process is already well under way and you can see it on a simple chart:This is probably also true in other regions of the world, where infections usually played a bigger role than vaccination, and eventually it will be true everywhere, including in places such as Australia and New Zealand that have mostly been able to keep the virus out so far but won’t be able to do it forever as the virus becomes endemic in the rest of the world. Obviously, it’s preferable to build up immunity through vaccination rather than infections, but eventually everyone will get to the same point. The virus will become endemic and virtually everyone will have some immunity against it, at which point it will be relatively harmless and no longer cause the kind of damage we have seen during the pandemic. The whole process will take a few years, but again it’s already well under way in some places and this is where everyone is headed,...

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  31. Obviously, it’s preferable to build up immunity through vaccination rather than infections, but eventually everyone will get to the same point.

    This dude wants us to get vaccinated. I don't think the assholes here read beyond the headlines.

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  32. 1254…great point that is always overlooked.. you CANT force a criminal booked into jail to take a COVID test..don’t forget..you can’t force the illegals coming through the border either..and you CANT force them to take the vaccine…what happened to this country?…..?…..Our government wants to force their legal citizens to take the jab or lose your job while those who break the law continue to live above the law..WAKE up people..nobody cares about us..just pay your taxes while the fools you vote for burn your money and your freedoms

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  33. 1:03...i am 11:48.so sorry u work in a shithole school.i left a shithole school and now love my new school.none of that crap u describe would be tolerated. If you reallt didnt want to retire, there is a grace period to come back.have you thought of transferring to a different school without that crap?maybe the DR can steer you toward a better school.they know the admins and they get all the complaints.maybe make a list of schools u might want to work in.then show it to him or her. I have a bit more money and more years in.but i have high credit card debt and support an ill best friend, so i cant leave.i like my job though.i read that 48 states have a special ed teacher shortage btw.when the time is right, i might look into relocating to places that pay for you to come thete.i did a bit of research, but the communities did not meet some basic criteria of mine.i got on an email list to be informed of upcoming offers.there is an option to suggest something and they would try to match you.forgot site name...if im forced to retire due to mandate, at least i have remote teaching skills. I feel sad for you.the admins and colleagues who did that to you should be accountable.even if not in this crooked soxiety, at least when they face their maker.ditto for my former AP who did lots of conniving and lies and getting a few people to lie...became an atr, grateful to be out of that hellhole whete the remaining staff is mostly miserable.i love where i work now.never would have applied here had the shrew been tamed, lol.she will pay after 120 years.i do not wish her well...but back to you, maybe after a break, you can return to a nice school.enjoy your peace of mind cuz the stress can literally kill people.

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  34. Also, you can sub and when you find a good match, maybe work there full time.

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  35. My per session is not direct deposit. Did anyone receive their stub in the mail yet? Thanks.

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  36. I’m not in favor of any force but I have to ask… How is removing welfare benefits any different from firing someone? You’re removing food, healthcare and shelter as a punishment for being unvaccinated. Many on here have been practically gleeful at the idea of others losing their job for refusing the vaccine. It makes sense these same people would want welfare benefits removed as punishment as well.

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  37. I don’t understand why everyone isn’t screaming for a remote option - regardless of how you feel about anything else, it should be the one thing that everyone agrees on. And I should also add an important caveat - the remote option should be done by a dedicated teacher that does nothing but remote teaching - not having an in class teacher doing both. It sure looks like chaos of the worst stripe is going to be ruling supreme, whenever the schools reopen for the year. I highly doubt they will open in September. If they do I expect many teachers, parents and children to throw down the gauntlet and say NO. Where’s the Uft on any of this? Magoo, where are you?

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  38. So, after blasting FL and TX, this is how NY has done, with dem leadership...

    NY COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to surge, up nearly 500% since early July
    COVID-19 hospitalizations in New York State continue to surge toward a total of 2,000, a stark difference from where the number sat just weeks ago.

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  39. 4:01, because the left wing would call that racism, just like how they coddle crimianls and want them out of jail, with thingslike meaningless restorative justice.

    4:47, is that remote for me too, or do I have to travel on a bus and train? And does remote mean students don't even have to log in and can pass? And some teachers can stay safely at home and I have to be put at risk?

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  40. I haven't praised the NY response, ever. It has been among the worst in the world.

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  41. 4:01 you are correct.they are gleeful to see others suffer.imho, they dont belong in this profession.this is a helping profession, not one whete you make the downtrodden even more so(and by the way, give it all for the illegals!assholes.no wonder biden is the best we could get.if thats tje best, that is sad indeed.again, we need a country for normal people who are neither hateful nor haters.by the grace of god, we have what we have.maybe that asshole should go on welfare, get disabled, and lose everything and become a pariah as well.fuck these assholes!stop poisoning the ranks of our profession!

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  42. 2:43 i thought it was automatically direct deposit if your regular check is.myretro per session was deposited.

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  43. We must take more active measures. As Jonathan Hblabi and James mentioned already, no more half measures. This virus will not go away unless the unvaccinated vermin do what’s best for them and get the shot. Biden needs to recommission Homeland Security, DEA, and ICE into a joint task force to conduct no-knock raids on unvaccinated homes so these people are no longer a threat to us. Then we can get this virus under control, save lives, and enjoy our freedoms once again.

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  44. James, you just posted something comparing FL to Australia. And on this blog, GOP elected officials are treated far differently than dems. You neglect to discuss death rate between the various states. You also neglect to discuss vaccine rates by race but love to say red states are too stupid to get vaccinated.

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  45. Anon2323, glad to see you back. You nailed with this quote: this is now iceCCP

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  46. Does anyone know if our Variable A- TDA invested in Pfizer, Bio NTech, Fosun Pharma, Sinovac, and Moderna? I’m seeing great returns this year. Hopefully we get these mandates through so we can really make a killing !

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  47. Why is it the leftists always want to tell you what to do? They claim to hate the fascists, yet they are all for big government control. Mask mandates, vaccine mandates, stand on the idiot circle... all in the name of "safety"
    If you are searching for fascists these days look no further than the political left.
    Maybe you'd like to see the Taliban over here James, barking orders and cracking kneecaps?
    Sadly it wasn't always that way. There was a time when the left was populated by liberals, who were all for free speech, freedom of expression,etc. Not anymore. These days they have gone batshit crazy. Just look at the madness of CRT.
    And for those who would like to brand me as right wing, you would be wrong. I am a left leaning Libertarian

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  48. Wait toll the lawsuits pile in.

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  49. @158 Thank you for such a level headed and rational explanation of our situation, It’s a necessary read for people who think and act like it’s still March 2020.

    As more people get infected by SARS-CoV-2 or vaccinated against it, the virus will ecome endemic and continue to circulate following a seasonal pattern (because immunity whether acquired naturally or through vaccination is not 100% effective against infection and wanes over time), but the number of people who end up at the hospital or dead because of it will gradually decrease until we reach a sort of equilibrium.4 In some places, especially in developed countries where the vast majority of the population has already been vaccinated, this process is already well under way and you can see it on a simple chart:This is probably also true in other regions of the world, where infections usually played a bigger role than vaccination, and eventually it will be true everywhere, including in places such as Australia and New Zealand that have mostly been able to keep the virus out so far but won’t be able to do it forever as the virus becomes endemic in the rest of the world. Obviously, it’s preferable to build up immunity through vaccination rather than infections, but eventually everyone will get to the same point. The virus will become endemic and virtually everyone will have some immunity against it, at which point it will be relatively harmless and no longer cause the kind of damage we have seen during the pandemic. The whole process will take a few years, but again it’s already well under way in some places and this is where everyone is headed,...

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  50. 4:47 why are u scared of a bus or train if you have unbridled faith in the vax...or atr u not sure now???

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  51. Because we can read. Those pedatric ICUs that are full all over the south impact us. We know deBlasio does not give a fuck if kids are hospitalized or killed. He showed us in 2020 when he forced us to go in for way too long. I don't trust my life or anyone's child to this asshole.

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  52. 8:26, That guy who wrote that said everyone should get vaccinated.

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  53. Medical establishment will never cure any disease because illness is a gravy train.true for covid drugs, now they want rsv vaccine, they keep adding.true for chronic illness like cancer, diabetes, alzheimers, etc.people with cancer curesvwere threatened and fired because if there is a natural cure, its a huge threat to ptofits.radiatiin, chemo, etc.i lost people to cancet but will never dobate a dime or volunteer for a fundraiser cuz it is advantageous to keep it going.im not cheap.i would donate to maybe pioneets.big pharma rules the gravy train.they dont need my contribution.same for covid.they have t I have multiplebincome streams.the best defense is healthy diet and lifestyle, which they wont mention.if u do, u get attacked viciously and labelled a quack.remember when chiropractors were called quacks?

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  54. “ You can go over to join a group on a different site to spread the anti-vax nonsense if you like. ”

    I’m vaccinated since April and I oppose the mandates. I’m not afraid of the unvaccinated. Our under 12 students will be surrounded by unvaccinated students and they will be almost entirely ok. I support a remote option for those still uncomfortable with these facts.

    Covid: Children's extremely low risk confirmed by study
    https://www.bbc.com/news/health-57766717

    For context, England’s population is 56.5 million people

    “ Researchers estimate that 25 deaths in a population of some 12 million children in England gives a broad, overall mortality rate of 2 per million children.“

    In case you can’t read information you disagree with, that’s a 2 IN A MILLION CHANCE OF DYING !

    So tell me, James. Am I spreading “anti-vax nonsense”?

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  55. I'm a law-abiding citizen.I will follow the law. So tell me, did I miss something here? Was there a law passed and is there a law on the books that says I must take a vaccine? Or is this just a decree by King DeBlasio? That pothead moron who can't even manage a flea circus? Who the f*** appointed him king?

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  56. The Mask mandates from the left have nothing to do with Public Health. It has everything to do with control. There is an obsession with controlling people, and my own theory is that it is a form of neurosis.
    Leftism is a mental disorder.

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    Replies
    1. 954.. you realize these mandates are coming from our government, yes? leftists do not hold power in our country. this is a liberal democracy in the US. your problems come from that system, not leftism of any form. rethink where, and what, the disorder really is.

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  57. How did we get to a place where everybody just rolls over for the government? Whatever the government tells you to do, you just roll over. Be an obedient little mask wearer.
    Take this vaccine, even if you've already had the disease because we say so. Just shut up and pay your taxes, let us manage you.
    The corporate media,backed by big pharma is driving this bus. And the ruling class elites want to keep Americans fighting with each other so we won't notice them laughing their way to the bank.
    Question authority and don't believe the government has your best interests at heart.

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  58. As Glenn Greenwald notes for the Guardian:

    Oppression is designed to compel obedience and submission to authority. Those who voluntarily put themselves in that state – by believing that their institutions of authority are just and good and should be followed rather than subverted – render oppression redundant, unnecessary. Of course people who think and behave this way encounter no oppression. That's their reward for good, submissive behavior. They are left alone by institutions of power because they comport with the desired behavior of complacency and obedience without further compulsion. But the fact that good, obedient citizens do not themselves perceive oppression does not mean that oppression does not exist.

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  59. 9:27, There are people who agree with your point of view which I read and don't find very convincing. Go to the anti-vax site for NYC teachers and stop making me have to spend my time trying to convince those of you who will not be persuaded no matter what I say. Why do you keep coming back here if you don't find me persuasive? I don't get it.

    This post was on the legality of the COVID vaccine and mask mandates. I have taught law many times and know something about it. The post was also about civic responsibility which is history, political science, and law related. Since you insist on bringing up death numbers and children, I am no scientist and don't pretend to be one. I will say that early in the pandemic we didn't want kids bringing home COVID-19 to vulnerable family members and we didn't want them getting sick either. For Delta variant, it is the kids themselves who are now more at risk of serious disease.

    Please listen to today's Osterholm update from CIDRAP that lays out the danger to kids.
    https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/podcasts-webinars/episode-65


    Please read this on MIS-C from the CDC:
    https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/podcasts-webinars/episode-65

    I'd rather my unvaccinated son not have to deal with this:

    Here is more from India:

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-57551285
    Symptoms can often mimic other diseases at the start: high and persistent fever, rash, red eyes, inflamed lymph nodes, stomach pain, low blood pressure, body ache and lethargy.

    Some symptoms are similar to Kawasaki disease, another rare condition that mainly affects children under the age of five. "The syndrome is really a spectrum of conditions from mild Kawasaki-like disease to multi-organ failure," according to Dr Jhuma Sankar, an associate professor of paediatrics at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

    The inflammation surge, say physicians, can lead to frightening outcomes: septic shock, respiratory failure and affect multiple organs like the heart, kidney and liver. Children afflicted with this condition also show neurological symptoms, a study in the US found.

    Here is more on MISC-C from India.
    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-57551285

    Here is a story of two Richmond, VA kids who died in the last few days.
    https://www.wric.com/health/coronavirus/child-under-the-age-of-10-dies-from-covid-19-in-the-richmond-henrico-area/


    .

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  60. Here are some news accounts of kids filling up pediatric hospitals in delta time:
    https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kids-sick-covid-are-filling-children-s-hospitals-areas-seeing-n1276238

    Baltimore Sun:
    https://www.baltimoresun.com/coronavirus/bs-md-pediatric-covid-20210818-qkruyn754nesbm3ghwgdlyixrq-story.html

    Maryland hospital beds designated for children are filling up, with COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses largely to blame. As schools reopen with mask requirements that vary from county to county, the situation could escalate and cripple the health care system, hospital officials and medical professionals say.

    https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/19/health/us-coronavirus-thursday/index.html

    The pace of Covid-19 hospitalizations is surging across the US, with the rates for children and adults under 50 hitting their highest levels yet, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    Every age group under 50 has surpassed its previous record of hospitalizations, which were recorded in the first half of January. The biggest increase was in adults ages 30 to 39 and children under 18, both of which were more than 30% higher than their previous peak, according to the CDC data.

    "During this surge of the Delta variant ... we are seeing a significantly greater impact on our children and our teens," Dr. Jim Fortenberry, chief medical officer at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, said at a news conference Thursday, where several hospital officials in the Atlanta area warned of the impact the current surge is having on their hospitals.
    Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's three hospitals are now seeing more children who have Covid-19 than at any other time during the pandemic, Fortenberry said, with 31 children hospitalized in total.



    Let's keep that childhood death rate low by getting vaccinated, following other preventative methods, and wearing those N95 masks

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  61. A few thoughts...the age groups mentioned seem least likely to mask.i see this all the time and it bothers me fo r myself.idk why the dumb parents dont try to mask the kids.secondly, even of as ll teacherscwere vaxxed. The kids would get it from other sources...playgroups, etc stupidly, doe allows contact sports, etc as well.thete are also breakthrough casrs to consider, which transmit equally even though they say the host supposedly doesnt get as sick.the one they transmit will stoll get just as sick.you mention n95 for kids in your post of fri morning.instead of those cheapo blue masks, why not switch all staff and kids to legitimate n95 masks and take mask breaks outside.i do not have an idea for meals, however.last year in nj, the kids went home for lunch and had remote in the afternoon.thus, no school lunch was served.bag lunches can be sent home.morning instruction in school masked. Lunch to go. Followed by remote insyruction in the afternoons.i guess they can figure it out for those who dont have home supervision, ie those centers they has before or have fewer kids staying later to distance.too bad they wont even consider blended again.magoo is silent and diblockhead is just that...

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  62. 9:54 you are totally confused. Those images that we see of people having meltdowns and embarrassing themselves in public are people on the RIGHT, not the left, who are opposed to people wearing masks. So let's not get it twisted.

    As for wanting control, that applies to both sides, however, it is the RIGHT who claims they want so much freedom from government interference, yet they're allowing government to dictate what they can or cannot do with their own business practices, threatening to withhold funds, and whatnot. You're a bunch of hypocrites. What it is with the right is their whiney, childish rants about a vaccine while stilling demand the same type of access to everything, schools, stores, businesses and a complete return to normalcy while doing everything in their power to prevent that return to normalcy. Sounds more like a mental disorder to me, than asking people to mask up or take a fucking vaccine.

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  63. No remote option for the unvaccinated.

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  64. @ Educrat: "Why is it the leftists always want to tell you what to do? They claim to hate the fascists, yet they are all for big government control."

    I guess you're ok with government telling business owners and local school districts what to do as long as you agree with it. It's a LIE that right-wingers don't want government control, they just don't like the directives when it comes from Democrats. They don't mind right wing government control over abortion rights, trans rights, education, religion, elections. You right wingers are so full of it, it's nauseating.

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  65. @12:23 Horace - you're only showing what a flaming hypocrite you are. You guys are absolutely positively, 100% opposed to being forced to take the vaccine because of freedom, and safety, so your response is "force them to take it too". Nice way to stand up for your convictions. Big crybabies.

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  66. 12:43 teachers were provided ACCESS to the vaccine. So if they chose not to take it, it's voluntary unless they have medical reasons not to. So FIRST, before looking to see who else you take away anyone's livelihood or other check (even though you're so opposed to forcing people to take it, NOT) make sure they have access to the vaccine.

    So sure, if people on welfare don't want to take the vaccine after having access, they should lose their benefits, if that's how it's going to be. People here whine and wail about immigrants, but not all liberals support what's happened with that. They should NOT be allowed in without agreeing to the vaccine.

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  67. If 30% or 40% ….. pick a percentage in the neighborhood you live or work… of nyc parents have refused to take the vaccine themselves what makes anyone think they will agree to vaccinate their children? They’re not going to do it. You need a plan B.

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  68. 927 here.

    I never heard of an anti-vax site for NYC teachers. I know of an anti-mandate site. Please stop conflating anti-vax with anti-mandate. I appreciate the vaccine but realize it should be a choice. If you have to bribe, bully, and banish people to get the vaccine, you are destroying the public’s trust in our medical and political institutions. Some people come back here because they appreciate you and your site and like to debate and have our assumptions challenged. It’s how we learn and grow.

    Hospitalizations are unfortunate. However, the overwhelming majority of hospitalized kids will be fine. Hospitalizations do not equal ICU admittance or death. Most kids are going in for nebulizer treatments. Many of these kids also have underlying chronic conditions and high BMI. A major reason COVID was rough on America is because of the obesity epidemic here.

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  69. Yeah.look at the elem school lunches.diabeyes causi g and worse

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  70. The bigger problem here is that there has been no open debate, no public discourse from state legislatures. NO LAWS HAVE BEEN PASSED. It is ALL just by decree from governors who were granted "emergency" powers long before the pandemic began. State legislatures
    (the voice of its citizens)have been largely absent.

    Governing in that manner is called TOTALITARIANISM and if you are ok with it, then consider yourself a communist/fascist.

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  71. 9:14. As Chris Rock once said about pharmaceuticals, ain’t no money in the cure, money in the comeback.

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  72. The government is run by the democrat party. They are the leftists when it comes to individual freedoms. Every lefty on here is begging for mandates, removing citizenship, firing people, taking away welfare benefits, shunning from society. Asking James to censor. All Biden/ Harris voters. You know Biden/Harris…. “the government” going right along with lefty insanity.

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  73. Um… have you read the comments on these blog posts, 3:04? I don’t think you know what the word “lie” means.

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  74. 6:09 This vaccinated freedom lover thinks force vaxers are doing all the whining. “Just take the shot. Why won’t you take the shot? Muuurrrderer!” You have no control over these people. Move on.

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  75. You are quite right 9:33 that I have no control over you anti vaxers but I certainly don't want to work in the same building as them if I don't have to.

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  76. @9:33 I couldn't give a rat's behind whether you take the shot or not and an opinion is simply but. But you have missed the point by a long shot. Are you so out of touch that you haven't heard of Republican Governors who are grabbing control over local government and businesses. Making threats and demands not even about the vaccine, but the mask. Public meltdowns by right wingers when they see other people wearing a mask and their stupid signs "mandate is not "concent" or this one was really mature and profound "whoever's mandating's masks your mom's a hoe". LOL. It's so absurd, but we've seen it with our own two eyes, so stop lying that it is only liberals trying to impose their will on others.

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  77. "Pressley Stutts, a Republican leader in South Carolina who fought COVID-19 vaccination efforts, died on Thursday of the coronavirus after a weekslong battle, including six days spent on a ventilator, The Greenville News reported.

    "Stutts, a 64-year-old veteran, frequently shared conspiracy theories about the virus, the vaccines and the 2020 election on Facebook, including in posts made from his ICU bed."

    "Stutts also praised a state effort to strip funding from schools that imposed mask mandates or testing requirements, and was angry about $10 gift card incentives for vaccination, writing to his 5,000 followers: “Do not sell your body nor your soul no matter the asking price.”

    "In July, Stutts shared a Facebook post dismissing the delta variant, which was likely the one that ended his life."

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  78. 1:23 "Last week, the Williamson County Board of Education in Franklin approved a temporary mask mandate for students, staff and visitors in elementary schools to deal with the rising COVID-19 cases in the area. Anti-mask protesters responded by heckling and catcalling during the meeting before spilling out to the parking lot, where they verbally attacked and threatened people who supported the mandate."

    Worry about insanity on your side, fool.

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  79. Governors promoting individual freedom not the same as governors restricting freedom. It’s about the rights of individual citizens not businesses. That’s where we don’t agree. I’m not in favor of restricting our rights.

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  80. More insanity and I'd bet money it's not on the left: "So far, the district has already had parents “yelling at a teacher to take off her mask because they could not understand what the teacher was saying while her face was covered,” he wrote.

    In another instance, “a parent physically assaulted a teacher by ripping a mask off her face,” Leonard said."

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  81. @7:24 I thought Conservatives argued that corporations are people too. Hypocrites. How convenient to change whenever it suits them.

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  82. Right wing corporate republicans see businesses as people. America First Republican voters do not. Please don’t think the Mitt Romneys and Liz Cheneys speak for us. Many former democrat voting liberal minded people now vote Republican because the democrats became all consumed with lefty craziness and abandoned the working guy. It doesn’t behave like a vaccine. It behaves like a therapeutic. You’re vaccinated but can still contract and pass on virus but your symptoms if any are not severe 90% of the time. You need boosters every 8 months or a year. That’s how a therapeutic behaves not a vaccine. You guys can’t even be honest about that but you claim your sources are accurate. To be honest about that means you can’t mandate it. So fuck the truth, the dems have an agenda to push. I’m vaccinated and believe when it comes to this no long term study pharmaceutical, everyone should have a choice.

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  83. Jamea and Arthur have become the giphy mentioned below. Little SNL classic. James and Arthur entire reputation and blog are on the l;ine with these mandated vaccines.

    Masks might slow transmition, likew flip flop faci said your King! "The typical mask you buy in the drug store is not really effective in keeping out virus, which is small enough to pass through material. It might, however, provide some slight benefit in keep out gross droplets if someone coughs or sneezes on you."
    If you send your kids mask after 7-8 hours of wearing to a lab you will see how dangerous it could be.

    https://media2.giphy.com/media/DxcgEJaNONZn2/200.gif?cid=5a38a5a2aoll4arptk3pi3n9us6pcw4vcj5b3gmjfya4x2k6&rid=200.gif&ct=g

    In 2-3 years especially we will know more, if they were right I will absolutely admit to me being wrong to their "research and sources." God help them if this vaccine causes more harm over next few years when real data comes out. If you do not think thousands have already been affected you are not researching, you will see big tech hiding websites to not scare anyone off.

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  84. Anon2323, If the science is corrected, I am not going to continue to argue that the earth is flat. However, working for the DOE for 32 years and being on the UFT Exec Bd for a decade, I can see bullshit a mile away and I think you need to do a deep dive into who you are trusting and their motives.

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  85. But james, what would people gain by risking it all to be deplatformed, personally physically threatened, ridicules, excommunicated from their research and their profession?they have no big backing like pharma, mefia, gov and tech.on thebother hand,pharma has a known public record of coverups, lies, serious harm and death and dodging responsibility.yet they try to cover it.and the fauci connection?who is more believeable.with true humility and earnesty if you or someone else can explain, perhaps i and othets would relent.i am a truth seeker.that is why i get so angry.besides maybe a book sale, why would they put their credibility and net worth on line except that they care?i am not being sarcastic. I am frightened of the shot.nothing about politics.i just want to live healthy.NOT ABOUT POLITICS. I tead that australia attacked a child with the jab and other protestorsrubber bullets, but not one covid death tecently.one positive case.i cannot say that certain world news is real or fake. But i trust dr zelenko who treated six thousand covid patients to fauci and company's zero.
    One thing unites us all despite the fighting:nobody asked for this and we all want things to be normal.i fear that life is now never to be again.
    Please explain.if it is just distrusting a source on the cdc's and their controlled media's word. It does not hold water.i believe in reading all sides and coming to logical conclusion.if you are anyone here has done that, please share.

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