Reason’s Matt Welch writes, “President Joe Biden on Tuesday afternoon made some more public remarks about the still-spiking omicron variant of COVID-19. It wasn’t pretty.

Of particular interest was the president’s insistence on continuing to call it a ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated,’ a slogan that was unwise in July, untrue by December, and unbelievable at a time when the positive case rate in a 62 percent fully vaccinated country just reached an all-time high.

“This continues to be a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” @JoeBiden continues to say, as case rates hit record highs in highly vaccinated states https://t.co/JmFjW7XldI

— reason (@reason) January 4, 2022

‘Those who are fully vaccinated, especially those with the booster shots…you can still get COVID, but it’s highly unlikely, it’s very unlikely that you’ll become seriously ill,’ Biden said, accurately. But then: ‘This continues to be a pandemic of the unvaccinated.’

If the pandemic indeed no longer applies to me, my family, and the vast majority of people I know (about half of whom seem to have contracted COVID over the past month), then I have a couple of follow-up questions, beginning with: Why on earth is my vaccinated 6-year-old, all the vaccinated kids in her class and after-school, and all her vaccinated teachers and supervisory staff, being forced by state law (influenced directly by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) to wear masks all day long?”

Read the entire column.

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FEE’s Brad Polumbo writes, “If politicians didn’t have double standards, they wouldn’t have any standards at all. At least, that’s the seemingly inescapable conclusion offered by President Biden’s latest flaunting of mask rules.

The president spent his holiday in Nantucket, Massachusetts. While there, he reportedly visited a local shop and was caught on camera maskless inside the store, despite a clear sign mandating masks inside and a local ordinance requiring mask-wearing indoors.

Maskless @JoeBiden Caught Violating #Mandates (Again) | @brad_polumbo via @feeonline https://t.co/KSeAvsmPId via @feeonline

— WhittyMike ن (@WhittyMike) November 30, 2021

‘The president was seen inside Murray’s Toggery Shop on the island of Nantucket Saturday with his mask around his neck and not covering his mouth despite a visible sign outside the door instructing patrons to wear a mask,’ Fox News reports. ‘According to the White House press pool, Biden walked out of the shop at 4:45 p.m. with his mask down and drinking what appeared to be a milkshake.’ (The store’s sign doesn’t say ‘unless you’re drinking.’ It says to wear a mask.)

In the still frame shown above, you can clearly see the president maskless while others inside are wearing masks—including a young child almost certainly at far less risk from COVID-19 than Biden.”

Read the entire column.

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FEE’s Jack Elbaum writes, “Earlier this month, Billy Joel finally returned to Madison Square Garden for his first show at the venue since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

I was lucky enough to be one of the just over 20,000 people in attendance.

Only a few minutes after sitting down prior to the concert starting, I noticed three people I recognized to my left. These were not people I knew personally, but rather some of the most well-known names at CNN: primetime anchor Don Lemon, Sunday show host Fareed Zakaria, and the president of the network, Jeff Zucker.

I see 3 people from #CNN without masks on in this photo at a packed *indoor* Billy Joel concert.

Wasn’t it @donlemon who recently said it’s “just depraved” that some Americans oppose mask mandates?https://t.co/M8tWEVtDu2

— Jon Miltimore (@miltimore79) November 17, 2021

One thing that stuck out to me instantly was the fact none of them were wearing masks.

In the photo below, you can see the CNN employees clapping during a song at the concert, with Mr. Lemon in a brown sweater, Mr. Zakaria in the bottom left, and Mr. Zucker sitting next to him.

Representatives of CNN did not immediately respond to requests for comment.”

Read the entire column.

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Reason’s Matt Welch writes, “Given this week’s surprise drubbing at the polls—not just in Virginia, New Jersey, and Long Island, but also in many of the estimated 117 school districts where board seats were contested on the issues of COVID-19 response, race-based policies, or sex/gender concerns—you would think that Democrats, educators, and public health officials might show a tad more sensitivity toward citizen weariness of pandemic restrictions and K-12 imperiousness.

Haha, who am I kidding, pass the Klonopin.

It’s time for the next idiotic interventions to be either abandoned or forcibly undone, beginning with masking elementary school kids who were safe even before getting access to the vaccine.https://t.co/pd7r8D7pbd

— reason (@reason) November 9, 2021

Did you know that Loudoun County Public Schools District—yes the Loudoun County, ground zero of the parental revolt against Democratic school governance—was 100 percent distance learning this week due to ‘staffing shortages,’ and that Wednesday and Friday were called off just days in advance?…

Nope, nunca, no more. In this family, we do not believe in junk science. We need to rip the masks off, not just from government mandates, but the whole grinning Condescension Complex, that only wants you—and especially your politically powerless kids—to sacrifice just a little bit more, just a few more months, get this cold and flu season behind us, until it’s time for the next booster, then maybe we can talk about full-time K-12 school in 2022–23, and masks will only be mandatory in every government structure from here to eternity.

Masks can help reduce your chance of #COVID19 infection by more than 80%.
Masks also help protect from other illnesses like common cold and flu. Wearing a mask- along w/ getting vaccinated- are important steps to stay healthy. #WeCanDoThis @HHSgov https://t.co/bfOV5VzBpq pic.twitter.com/6DGj8nwPgD

— Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH (@CDCDirector) November 5, 2021

We no longer wipe down our groceries, padlock our playgrounds, or set the default on school opening to be ‘closed.’ All of those took 15 months too long in blue states, but we take victories over anti-science superstition where we can get them. It’s time for the next idiotic interventions to be either abandoned or forcibly undone, beginning with masking elementary school kids who were safe even before getting access to the vaccine. If you think Tuesday was a bad day for Democratic busybodies, let them keep trying to squeeze the walls in on this rat cage of an American life.”

Read the entire column.

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Billboard reports, “The country singer says he’s ‘not against the vaccine,’ but he is ‘against forcing people to take medicine that they may not need and may not want.’

Country singer Travis Tritt is ready to take a hard stance against COVID-19 vaccine and testing mandates at concerts, and announced Monday (Oct. 18) he’s even going so far as to cancel four shows making those requirements.

Travis Tritt is opening up about canceling four stops on his fall tour because they require masks, proof of a negative COVID-19 test or vaccination. https://t.co/MqbkUN4iZ1

— billboard (@billboard) October 19, 2021

Tritt says the negative comments he received after performing shows with COVID-19 safety protocols on the Brooks & Dunn Reboot Tour convinced him to do things differently for his solo dates.

‘I got literally hundreds of comments and direct messages from people on all social media platforms, which basically told me how disappointed they were,’ Tritt says. ‘They were heartbreaking.”

Read the entire story.

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The Daily Caller reports, “White House press secretary Jen Psaki downplayed allegations Monday that President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden broke city mask mandates when they were seen on video appearing to walk maskless through a restaurant.

Fox News’ Senior White House Correspondent Peter Doocy questioned Psaki about the maskless outing Monday.

‘There is a mask requirement inside D.C. restaurants yet President Biden and the first lady were not wearing masks while walking around a D.C. restaurant on Saturday, why?’ Doocy asked.

‘I think what you’re referring to is a photo of them walking out of a restaurant after they had eaten, masks in hand, where they had not yet put them back on yet,’ Psaki said.

Every American deserves an answer from @JoeBiden directly explaining why he thinks is allowed to break rules that he demands others to follow.

pic.twitter.com/fKlfaBwByw

— Benny (@bennyjohnson) October 17, 2021

‘Of course, there are moments when all don’t put masks back on as quickly as we should but I don’t think we should lose the forest through the trees here, in that our objective here is to get more people vaccinated, make sure that schools and companies around the country can put in place requirements to save more lives and keep people safer and not overly focus on moments in time that don’t reflect overarching policy,’ Psaki continued.

Doocy then pressed Psaki further on video that appears to show the first couple walking through the restaurant maskless while fully masked secret service agents follow.

‘I think I just addressed it, Peter,’ Psaki said, dismissing any further questions about the topic from Doocy.”

Read the entire story.

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The emperor has no cloth… https://t.co/SKohAETu6J

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) October 18, 2021

The New York Post reports, “President Biden and first lady Jill Biden flouted Washington, DC’s indoor mask mandate Saturday night when they were filmed walking maskless through a high-end Italian restaurant — with critics quickly blasting the first couple as “hypocrites.”

The Bidens were caught on camera leaving Fiola Mare in Georgetown with their masked-up Secret Service agents in tow, according to videos posted on social media.

Biden could be seen carrying his mask in both hands as he left the pricey seafood establishment overlooking the Potomac River.

His wife did not appear to be carrying her mask as she left.

Wearing masks inside is mandatory in DC after Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser reinstated an indoor mask mandate in July.”

Read the entire story.

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Last week, a federal judge enforced a universal mask mandate for public schools in Knox County, Tennessee. The judge used the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act as his legal basis for action…

The ADA has long been understood to mean that facilities should accommodate those with disabilities. This has meant providing services such as wheelchair ramps, remodeled bathrooms, captioning, and other physical modifications or service offerings.

But does the ADA now also regulate widespread public behavior?

A myriad of mandates and varied decrees from both local and national governments have tested the boundaries of personal liberty and autonomy throughout the COVID era, writes @jackhunter74.

Is expanding the scope of the ADA the government’s next frontier?https://t.co/LtdOZD3Uqu

— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) September 29, 2021

Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs had the same question (disclosure: Jacobs is a personal friend). Referencing the judge’s ruling, Jacobs tweeted on Wednesday. “My long-term concern is this order appears to expand ADA so that it not only includes facilities and services, but also forcibly regulates 3rd party behavior.”

“And it’s not just schools,” Jacobs wrote . “In his order, the judge states identical grievances could be filed against other public buildings such as libraries and post offices.”

Read the entire column at the Washington Examiner.

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Reason’s Jacob Sullum writes, “The most audacious part of the COVID-19 plan that President Joe Biden announced today is a rule demanding that every U.S. company with 100 or more employees require them to be vaccinated or submit to weekly virus testing. In contrast with that bold assertion of federal regulatory power, Biden is still stopping short of a broad face mask mandate, which he has said is beyond his powers as president.”

The difference between these two approaches is hard to understand based on what the law allows—or, more to the point, what the Biden administration has said the law allows. Biden’s sudden embrace of a federal vaccine requirement seems inconsistent with his acknowledgment that he cannot mandate every COVID-19 precaution he’d like people to follow.”

Read the entire column here.

The post Biden knows he can’t mandate masks, so why does he think he can mandate vaccines? appeared first on Liberty Tree.

Education Secretary Cardona and President Biden should be ashamed for threatening states with mask bans

Secretary Cardona and President Biden should be ashamed. Using @usedgov as a weapon against states, like Utah, that have had some of the best education results during the pandemic is as wrong as it is low. https://t.co/VQnwVrSKIK

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) August 19, 2021

Salt Lake City’s Fox 13 reports, “The U.S. Department of Education is warning Utah it could face a federal investigation for laws the legislature passed severely restricting masks in schools.”

U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona wrote, “Utah’s actions to block school districts from voluntarily adopting science-based strategies for preventing the spread of COVID-19 that are aligned with the guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) puts these goals at risk and may infringe upon a school district’s authority to adopt policies to protect students and educators as they develop their safe return to in-person instruction plans required by Federal law.”

Cardona also warned that other states “that have imposed mask bans could face civil rights investigations, arguing that they could discriminate against students and educators.” Some of those states include Texas, Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee.

“Possible sanctions for any violation could include pulling millions in federal funds from the state,” Fox 13 notes.

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