RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://issuesinsights.com/2021/05/19/what-will-the-petty-tyrants-resort-to-once-they-lose-their-virus-leverage/

Though the Centers for Disease Control recommends that vaccinated adults remove their masks in most settings, a number of Blue State governors, clearly ignoring the “science” they’ve said they’re so devoted to, have refused to free their citizens. The pandemic has allowed them to sate their authoritarian urges, setting us up for a grim future – unless we fight back.

Refusing to follow the science and keeping mask mandates in place are California Gov. Gavin Newsom, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Democrats all. No surprise. The Democratic Party is a refuge for closeted, and even open, authoritarians.

Last fall, we said that up until that point it seemed absurd to think the government pandemic orders that were restricting our freedom to move were a dry run for future attempts to use global warming as a pretext to devour liberty. But we reconsidered. We saw “observant and cunning politicians” watching Americans’ sheepish reactions to their lockdowns and mask rules, and came away convinced they were filing away what they learned for a later day.

Of course they’re not going to let a crisis go to waste.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-jan-6-narrative-commission-11621377134?mod=opinion_lead_pos1

Democrats are forcing a House vote Wednesday to establish a commission to investigate the events of Jan. 6, despite opposition from Republican leaders. Do not expect this largely partisan vote to yield a bipartisan accounting of the Capitol riot.

An independent commission could be useful if it answered outstanding questions and agreed on a common set of facts about events. The Capitol police and law enforcement haven’t been forthcoming with key details—such as the role the police played in letting rioters enter the building, or the circumstances of the killing of protester Ashli Babbitt, or what they know about who planned what.

Yet the prospects for that are none and slimmer. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been driving this idea, and she has a record of using these commissions for partisan ends. Her goal here is drive her narrative that the riot was a planned attempted coup, and to run on that theme to keep the House in 2022. She tipped her ambitions when she first proposed a commission with seven members appointed by Democrats and four by Republicans.

She has since made concessions to Republicans, who are divided as usual. Last week New York’s John Katko, the ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, struck a commission deal with Democrats. House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy immediately panned the proposal. This is the latest leadership misfire by Mr. McCarthy, which doesn’t bode well if he becomes Speaker in 2023.

The press says Republicans got what they wanted, namely a commission with five members (including the chair) named by Democrats, and five (including a vice chair) by Republicans. The proposal requires agreement between the chair and vice chair—or a vote of a majority of the commission—to issue subpoenas. The commission would be required to issue its report by Dec. 31.

But hidden in the fine print are tools empowering Democrats. The bill gives the chairman unilateral authority to demand information from federal agencies and appoint senior staff. “Thanks to powers invested in the Chairperson alone, the Democratically-appointed members would have significant control over the direction of the investigation” and the ability to stop GOP members from “engaging in mischief,” New York University law professor Ryan Goodman reassured a Washington Post writer.

https://amgreatness.com/2021/05/17/hunter-biden-runs-back-into-his-house-and-slams-the-door-when-confronted-by-journalist-and-huge-digital-billboard/

Although he has recently granted several softball interviews to friendly corporate media outlets as part of his tone-deaf rehabilitation book tour, Hunter Biden on Monday had no time for an independent journalist who had just a few simple questions to ask.

Hunter initially came down to answer the door when journalist and filmmaker Phelim McAleer showed up outside of his home in Venice, California, but as soon as he realized that McAleer was not a state-approved journalist, “he ran back inside his home and slammed the door,” according to McAleer’s website Unreported Stories.

To be fair, it’s possible that the giant mobile digital billboard McAleer brought with him spooked the scandal-plagued Biden back into his house.

The digital billboard truck was displayed a number questions that the rest of the media refuse to ask.

• Is his father Joe Biden “The Big Guy” who got a 10% cut from his business dealings as mentioned in emails on his laptop?

• Why was Hunter being paid $80,000 per month on the board of Bursima while he was a self-admitted  crack addict and an alcoholic?

• Did Hunter lie on his federal gun background check when he claimed he was not an unlawful user of drugs?

• Is the signature on the laptop receipt yours?

The digital billboard also highlighted a rare attempt by a media outlet to get answers from the younger Biden.

The Daily Beast apparently contacted Hunter’s Hollywood publicist Annett Wolf for a reaction to McElhinney and McAleer’s efforts, but the flack said her client had no comment.

“There’s nothing to respond to,” Wolf told the Daily Beast.

“Hunter, these allegations against you are very serious,” the billboard blared. “Do you really think they don’t warrant a comment?”

https://amgreatness.com/2021/05/17/shawshank-for-january-6-detainees/

“I’ve been in solitary confinement for a hundred days now and haven’t been convicted of any crime with no end in sight.”

That was part of a lengthy message Jacob Lang sent to his father, Ned, the last week of April. Jacob was arrested on January 16 in New York and charged with several crimes related to his activity in Washington, D.C. on January 6. Lang, who turned 25 while incarcerated, is accused of assaulting police officers using a dangerous or deadly weapon. The government’s evidence against him appears to be strong. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

But Lang and dozens of January 6 defendants already have been convicted by Joe Biden’s Justice Department and sentenced by federal judges—presumed guilty until proven innocent—awaiting trials that won’t begin for months. It’s all part of what Attorney General Merrick Garland promised is his “top priority”—the sprawling investigation into the alleged insurrection—and what another top prosecutor boasted is the “shock and awe” campaign to punish Americans protesting the results of the 2020 presidential election.

So far, more than 400 people have been arrested in the nationwide manhunt with more charges to come, and at the same time, emerging evidence proves law enforcement allowed protestors to enter and remain in the building.

At the direction of Biden’s Justice Department, at least 50 defendants have been transported from their home states to a D.C. jail, a purely punitive move since all court hearings into the foreseeable future are virtual. In several cases, federal prosecutors successfully argued against release orders issued by local judges. The government repeatedly cites the overall events of January 6 in addition to the defendants’ skepticism about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election as evidence the accused are a threat to society.

“He armed himself and assaulted law enforcement with the intent to unlawfully enter the U.S. Capitol and stop the functioning of our government as it met to certify election results,” one assistant U.S. attorney wrote in the government’s pre-trial detention motion for Lang. “The defendant was a spoke in the wheel that caused the historic events of January 6, 2021, and he is thus a danger to our society and a threat to the peaceful functioning of our community.”

Of course, that sort of dramatic rhetoric has nothing to do with keeping people safe and everything to do with punishing law-abiding Americans who have the audacity to doubt the outcome of last year’s election. It’s guilt-by-association—anyone who supports Donald Trump is guilty of challenging the regime and must pay the price.

https://www.aol.com/news/fauci-says-pandemic-exposed-undeniable-162620396

The immunologist who leads the COVID-19 response in the United States said Sunday that “the undeniable effects of racism” have led to unacceptable health disparities that especially hurt African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans during the pandemic.

“COVID-19 has shone a bright light on our own society’s failings,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said during a graduation ceremony for Emory University.

Speaking by webcast from Washington, Fauci told the graduates in Atlanta that many members of minority groups work in essential jobs where they might be exposed to the coronavirus. He also said they are more likely to become infected if exposed because of medical conditions such as hypertension, chronic lung disease, diabetes or obesity.

“Now, very few of these comorbidities have racial determinants,” Fauci said. “Almost all relate to the social determinants of health dating back to disadvantageous conditions that some people of color find themselves in from birth regarding the availability of an adequate diet, access to health care and the undeniable effects of racism in our society.”

https://spectator.org/cdc-mask-cult/

When the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that fully vaccinated people can safely participate in both indoor and outdoor activities without wearing face masks, it was good news for most Americans. In addition to a sense of vindication for those of us who object to post-vaccination masking, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky’s statement provided another much-needed service — it forced the metastasizing mask cult to reveal itself as a coalition of anti-science zealots and petty tyrants. A typical example of their collective response to the CDC guidance appeared in the Washington Post under the title, “The CDC shouldn’t have removed restrictions without requiring proof of vaccination.”

Its author, former Planned Parenthood CEO Leana S. Wen, is a proponent of vaccine passports for routine activities such as retail shopping, restaurant dining, going to the theater, and working in a fully staffed office. Aside from the constitutional and legal issues raised by the kind of government-issued passports Dr. Wen advocates, her views aren’t shared by most Americans. A recent Gallup survey found that a mere 40 percent support vaccine passports for restaurant dining, and only 45 percent favor them in the workplace. The only activities for which majorities supported such passports were airplane travel and attendance at large public gatherings such as concerts. Dr. Wen isn’t satisfied with such modest limitations:

The problem is this: You know what you’re doing, but you have no way to be confident of trusting everyone else. Let’s say you go the grocery store. It’s crowded and few people there are masked. Perhaps everyone is vaccinated, but perhaps not. What if you’re vaccinated but not fully protected because you’re immunocompromised? You can no longer count on CDC rules to help you keep safe. What if you don’t have child care, so you had to bring your kids along? They didn’t choose to remain unvaccinated — the shots aren’t available for them. Surely, it’s not fair to put them at risk.

First, as a practical matter, it’s impossible to know who is vaccinated and who is not. If vaccine passports are mandated, it will create a black market through which forgeries can be purchased.

https://www.nysun.com/national/biden-scorning-the-secret-formula-of-american/91514/

Taxed to the max. In this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes. That famous quote, of course, is from Founding Father Benjamin Franklin. Among all the problems with the Biden administration’s policy, they even want to raise taxes on your death.

That’s a poke in Ben Franklin’s eye. Today’s column is not about Ben Franklin, though it’s worth noting that he, like many of the Founders, was an avid follower of the free market theories of Adam Smith, published in “The Wealth of Nations” in 1776.

Think about that (we can talk later about whether it’s a coincidence). The real point of this column is to press the question of why taxes matter. They do. A lot. And incentives matter. To quote Art Laffer many years ago: Tax something more, you get less of it. Something less, you’ll get more of it.

Why? Because in a free economy, which is certainly in line with our Founders’ legacy, we should reward success, not punish it. At the margin, if the extra hour worked, or the extra dollar invested, or the extra business risk taken, pays more after tax, that will propel an economy into prosperity.

More work, more investment, more risk, this is why America’s democracy and its founding principles have created the best economy in history. Taxes are not the only factor, but they are a big one. I would suggest five factors right at the top that are a useful intellectual model leading to prosperity.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/texas-covid-deaths-biden-mask-mandate

Texas reported zero deaths from COVID-19 on Sunday, just two months after Gov. Greg Abbott drew heat from the White House for rolling back business restrictions and lifting the state’s mask mandate. 

It marked the first time the Lone Star State reported no coronavirus deaths in about 14 months, according to state health data. Abbott said the case numbers reported on Sunday – 388 – were the lowest in more than 13 months, while the number of hospitalizations was the lowest in 11 months. 

Greg Abbott
@GregAbbott_TX
Today Texas reported: * 0 Covid related deaths–the only time that’s happened since data was tracked in March, 2020. * the fewest Covid cases in over 13 months * the lowest 7-day Covid positivity rate ever * the lowest Covid hospitalizations in 11 months. Thanks, Texans!

President Biden skewered Texas, as well as Mississippi, at the beginning of March for relaxing lockdown measures, accusing state officials of “Neanderthal thinking.” At the time, Abbott had announced that businesses would be allowed to operate at full capacity – even though some health experts cautioned at the time that dropping preventative measures could lead to a spike in cases.