Teachers' Unions Panic
 
The big leftist teachers' unions are trying to shut the schools again.  The epicenter of the madness is, not surprisingly, Chicago.  The union in the Windy City reportedly polled its members, and the teachers voted overwhelmingly against reopening the schools unless a series of demands were met. 
 
Their main demand is a negative COVID test for every student.  That's a massive, if not impossible, undertaking at a time when tests are scarce, and when they are most needed for people who are most at risk. 
 
But the Chicago teachers' union and other big city mayors are demanding that we waste a bunch of tests on healthy, asymptomatic children.  By the way, white kids in New York City may not even be allowed to get a COVID test.
 
Just a reminder – all teachers are vaccinated.  Everyone is wearing masks.  And the Biden Administration allocated $180 billion to school districts all over the country so they could keep their schools open.  Where did all that money go? 
 
There's a sub-story to all this, exposing yet another deep division in the leftist coalition. 
 
The White House knows that school closures have been deeply damaging to the Democrat Party.  So, the president, the secretary of education and Dr. Anthony Fauci have all said publicly that the schools need to stay open. 
 
On this point, the overwhelmingly majority of conservatives, including Donald Trump, would agree with President Biden and Dr. Fauci.  We're doing terrible damage to our children by keeping the schools closed.  (Here, here and here.)
 
The division here is between one of the biggest sources of funding and manpower for the left – the teachers' unions – and the rest of the country.  But Biden will never call out the teachers' unions.  He'll blame the unvaccinated over and over again, but the radical teachers' unions will get a pass every time.
 
 
 
AOC Flees To Florida
 
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a self-avowed socialist who has been acting like a full-blown fascist when it comes to her demands to combat COVID.  (Here and here.)  But over the weekend, she fled the oppressive regime New York imposed on its residents, and was seen partying maskless at a drag bar in the free state of Florida. 
 
Just another example of the old saying, "If the left didn't have double standards, they wouldn't have any standards at all." 
 
By the way, new polling finds that the American people have had it with Biden's big government mandates.  Americans prefer personal choice over government mandates by a margin of 53% to 37%. 
 
 
 
Jingle Bells Banned
 
Last year, a New York school district banned "Jingle Bells" from its list of approved Christmas songs.  District officials relied on a paper by Boston University Professor Kyna Hamill, who researched the origins of the song.  She found that it may have been first performed by white actors in blackface during a minstrel show in 1857.  No, that's a typo.  Not 1957, but 1857. 
 
There are no racist lyrics in the song.  It can't be banned for being religious because it isn't.  It's a joyful ode to the Christmas season.  It's been sung for 150 years by children of all races.  In fact, Professor Hamill loves the song. 
 
She said she was "actually quite shocked" that schools banned the song, adding, "I, in no way, recommended that it stopped being sung by children."  She insisted that Jingle Bells "should very much be sung and enjoyed."
 
It's easy to laugh at this, but it's symptomatic of something larger. 
 
The left is always demanding that we pass massive socialist legislation "for the sake of the children."  In reality, the left has declared war on our children. 
 
They want as many children aborted as possible. That's why leftists demand that taxpayers subsidize abortions. 
 
They want toddlers masked.
 
They want to close the schools, in spite of all the damage it's doing to our children.  And when the schools are open, they are teaching our children racism and anti-American history, and confusing them about what gender they are.
 
And the left evidently doesn't want them singing joyful songs like Jingle Bells. 
 
Keep the radical left away from your children! 
 
 
 
Fauci vs. Restaurants
 
Last year, the restaurant industry employed about 11 million people.  That was down from nearly 15 million in 2016.  Restaurants were hit hard by COVID.
 
But evidently, Dr. Fauci wants to put even more restaurants out of business and more workers out of work.  Speaking on CNN yesterday, he was asked if it was safe for fully vaccinated and boosted people to eat at restaurants.  His response was essentially no.  He said:
 
"What you want to avoid are places where you have 20, 30, 40, 50 people, many of whom you have no idea of whether or not they're vaccinated or boosted. That's more risky than the home setting."
 
 
 
Special Note
 
We will give you a full update on the year-end fundraising campaign for American Values, my non-profit public policy organization, but we are snowed out of our office due to a major winter storm.  As a result, we don't have access to what is probably some of the best mail days.  I am optimistic, but I cannot give you a final report yet. 
 
Thank you to everyone who so generously stepped up last month!  We couldn't do it without you!