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Tuesday, December 28, 2021

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Biden: There’s No Federal Solution to Covid

Joe Biden, who promised repeatedly on the campaign trail that he would “shut down” Covid, now admits “There is no federal solution. This gets solved at a state level” (Twitter). From Rich Lowry: This, of course, is true, but is jaw-dropping given how one of the most constant, vociferous lines of attacks on Trump during the entirety of 2020 was that he wasn’t doing enough to nationalize the covid response (Twitter). From the Wall Street Journal: During the 2020 presidential campaign, Mr. Biden pledged “to shut down the virus, not the country.” He also slammed President Trump in a debate, saying: “Anyone who is responsible for that many deaths should not remain as President of the United States of America.” Mr. Biden’s policies have followed that approach, as when his Education Department inserted itself into state and local debates over school mask policies (WSJ).

USA Swimming Official Quits Citing Trans UPenn Swimmer

From the story: A former official at USA Swimming quit her position of 30 years on Dec. 17 to protest the continued dominance of the University of Pennsylvania’s transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. Cynthia Millen resigned while preparing to officiate the U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina. “I can’t do this, I can’t support this,” she wrote in her resignation letter (The Washington Examiner). From Hot Air: Millen has spent her career acting as a champion for women’s and girls’ sports, including pushing for better funding and educational opportunities for aspiring girls through sports programs. She apparently hopes that she will set an example for other officials to follow her lead and put more pressure on the women’s collegiate sports community (Hot Air). From The New York Post: Millen said she would deem Thomas ineligible to compete if she were officiating a meet and called on her now-former colleagues to do the same. USA Swimming released a statement in response to Millen’s comments, stating that Thomas was last registered as an athlete member of the organization in 2019 (The New York Post).

Dr. Fauci Talks of Vaccine Mandates for Domestic Travel

From the story: Dr. Anthony Fauci made it clear Sunday that he believed vaccine requirements for domestic flights were still on the table. Fauci joined ABC and discussed the continued surge of cases of COVID-19 — particularly the now-dominant Omicron variant — with host Jonathan Karl, and he argued that “anything that could get people more vaccinated” should certainly be a consideration for President Joe Biden and his administration (The Daily Wire). From This Week: “Anything that could get people more vaccinated would be welcome,” Dr. Anthony Fauci says (Twitter). From Business Insider: President Joe Biden said earlier in December that he did not at present think such a mandate was necessary. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in November similarly said he didn’t believe a mandate for domestic air travel was necessary, saying current mitigation strategies on planes, namely masking, were effective in stopping the spread of COVID-19 (Business Insider).

1619 Author: Parents Should Not have a Say in What Schools Teach Their Children

From the story: Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator and curator of the New York Times’s 1619 Project, said she did not “understand this idea that parents should decide what’s being taught” in schools, during an appearance on Meet the Press on Sunday. “I’m not a professional educator. I don’t have a degree in social studies or science. We send our children to school because we want them to be taught by people who have an expertise in the subject area. And that is not my job,” she continued (National Review). From Steve Guest, Advisor of Communication for Senator Ted Cruz: Nikole Hannah-Jones: Parents shouldn’t be in charge of their kids’ schooling: Yet she wants the 1619 Project in schools (Twitter).

PA Democrat Introduces Legislation Requiring Vasectomy After Third Child

The article calls it “parody” legislation, but few doubt Democrats would go there if they could.

Washington Post

VP Kamala Harris Says ‘Democracy’ is Biggest National Security Threat

From the story: Vice President Kamala Harris appeared to misspeak during an interview aired Sunday when she answered “democracy” when asked to name the biggest national security challenge facing the US (The New York Post). From Steve Guest: Not only is Harris wrong, it’s a brazen smear campaign directed at anyone who disagrees w/ her (Twitter). From The Daily Mail: She adjusted her initial comments, urging the need to ‘fight for the integrity of our democracy’ (The Daily Mail).

CBS Correspondent: COVID Policies are Crushing Kids

From the story: During an appearance on “Face the Nation,” Crawford blasted the “crushing” policies, blaming them for a number of problems affecting children today, including the ongoing mental health crisis, an increase in suicide rates and learning loss due to school closures (Fox News). From Face The Nation: “They will be paying for our generation’s decisions the rest of their lives”: @JanCBS explains why she thinks 2021’s biggest underreported story was the devastating impact of COVID policies on children (Twitter). From another story: Citing Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s assessment that there was an emerging “epidemic” of “mental health challenges” among young people who had lived through Covid-19 lockdowns, Crawford argued that the cost of closing schools had outweighed the benefits. “I mean, a healthy teenager has a one-in-a-million chance of getting … and dying from Covid, which is way lower than dying in a car wreck on a road trip,” Crawford said. “But they have suffered and sacrificed the most, especially kids in underrepresented and at-risk communities (Mediaite).

The CDC Lowers Isolation Guidelines for Vaccinated People to Five Days

From the story: The CDC cut the recommended isolation time for people with COVID-19 from 10 days to five days on Monday amid a surge in omicron cases nationwide. Multiple airlines have delayed or canceled hundreds of flights nationwide at the height of the Christmas travel season. In addition, only people who have received a booster shot are exempted from quarantine after being exposed to COVID-19 (Fox News). From CNN: People whose symptoms are getting better may also leave their homes after five days so long as their symptoms are improving, the CDC said. People who have a fever should stay home until the fever clears up, the CDC added (CNN).

New York City Sees Surge in COVID Cases

So much that Apple is banning shoppers from their New York stores (NY Post). From Karol Markowicz: Over 25% of America’s positive COVID cases are in NYC? I feel like this story would be framed differently if it were Florida (Twitter).

10.

80-Year-Old Man Attacked on Plane for Not Wearing Mask While Eating

It turned into a bit of a brawl as the insanity over masks grows.

Daily Mail