Mask Mandate Madness
 
The coronavirus has caused many of us to mask up for the last two years.  Ironically, it has unmasked the authoritarian impulses and hypocrisy of our political class, particularly those on the left.
 
While your five year-old is forced to wear a mask and produce a vaccine passport to go to McDonalds, hardly a day goes by when we don't see some liberal mayor, left-wing member of Congress or progressive Hollywood celebrity flouting the rules by going maskless and lying through their teeth about it. 
 
The latest example involves Stacey Abrams of Georgia.  Look at that big smile on her face.  We could have seen many more smiles in that photo if people like Abrams would just say to the children, "It's okay to take your mask off." 
 
Thank you, Stacey.  This photo encapsulates the left's bizarre policy and what it is doing to our children, who statistically have virtually no risk of serious illness from COVID.
 
For whatever reason, left-wing politicians, teachers' unions and celebrities have made masking little kids a signature issue, even though it is extremely controversial and totally unnecessary.  (Here, here and here.)
 
But the rules don't apply to the left. 
 
When Nancy Pelosi wanted to get her hair done during the lockdown, she went to the salon unmasked. 
 
When Gov. Gavin Newsom wanted to party with lobbyists at an elite restaurant, he partied unmasked.
 
Last week, the mayor of Los Angeles took a picture with Magic Johnson, of course, unmasked.  After the predictable outrage, Mayor Garcetti insisted that he held his breath and didn't exhale.  I remember when Bill Clinton claimed, "I didn't inhale."  No one believed Clinton then, and no one believes Garcetti now.
 
But if child in school dares to take their mask off, they are berated by their teacher.  If they don't put the mask back on, they get sent to the principal's office.  They might even be charged with trespassing!
 
The good news is that the left's mask mandate madness appears to be breaking.  Liberal New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is lifting his state's mask mandate in schools.  And the liberal Virginia Supreme Court today dismissed a lawsuit against Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who issued an executive order lifting mask mandates in public schools.
 
 
 
Gerrymandering Madness
 
After the 2020 Census was completed, many pundits predicted that Republicans could flip control of the House of Representatives through the redistricting process alone.  That seemed like a reasonable assumption given that Republicans have complete control in 23 states, compared to just 14 states for the Democrats. 
 
But the redistricting process, which will tremendously influence the course of elections for the next ten years, isn't going well for GOP.
 
With just a handful of states left still working on their new political maps, the respected Cook Political Report writes that Democrats have the advantage in redistricting.  Instead of Republicans picking up five or six House seats through redistricting, Democrats are set to gain a handful of seats.  
 
How can that be?  Well, for the most part, Republicans were cautious with their redistricting efforts.  They didn't want to be accused of "gerrymandering," and they know the Biden Justice Department and other left-wing groups are eager to sue. 
 
At the same time, Democrats were very aggressive in gerrymandering the maps in the states they controlled. 
 
For example, Democrats wiped out about half of the existing Republican House seats in New York.  In Maryland, there is only one Republican in the entire congressional delegation.  But Democrats targeted his seat with a vengeance, reducing its GOP-voting strength by 20 points. 
 
Meanwhile, Republicans have suffered a number of legal setbacks.  Courts in Alabama, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania have struck down Republican maps and/or taken over the redistricting process in those states.
 
Just to be clear:  I'm not suggesting that Republicans are going to lose seats in the November elections.  But it is clear that redistricting has not been the big advantage for the GOP that many had predicted. 
 
And it would be a mistake to assume that victory this November is a slam dunk for Republicans.  It is not obvious at all that Republicans will retake the Senate, and it is certainly not guaranteed that they will retake the House of Representatives.
 
As the redistricting fiasco demonstrates, nothing should be taken for granted.
 
 
 
Fundraising Madness
 
The fundraising platform GoFundMe is used by all kinds of groups and individuals.  Organizations affiliated with Black Lives Matter raised millions on the platform in 2020. Cities were burning, and people were being killed.  But all kinds of left-wing organizations raised money on GoFundMe during the turmoil. 
 
There are literally hundreds of "bail funds" raising money on GoFundMe to bail out criminals and left-wing activists who are arrested during demonstrations.
 
As we have reported, truckers are conducting a peaceful, non-violent demonstration against increasing authoritarianism in Canada.  People all over the world were inspired by their demonstration and donated $10 million through GoFundMe to sustain their efforts. 
 
But the Trudeau government pressured GoFundMe, and it didn't have to try very hard because like most social media platforms, GoFundMe is very left-wing. 
 
GoFundMe is now parroting the language of the left, saying that the Freedom Convoy "demonstration has become an occupation," and no longer meets their "terms of service."  All fundraising for the Freedom Convoy has been suspended. 
 
Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and attorneys general of several states threatened legal action.  Now GoFundMe is refunding individual donors. 
 
Over the weekend, GiveSendGo, a Christian alternative to GoFundMe, raised more than $4.8 million for the Freedom Convoy.  And, of course, their servers were under heavy attack. 
 
The leftists that run our government and the leftists that run Big Tech, Big Media and other big institutions, like our colleges and universities, are working hand-in-hand to silence conservatives.  This is the definition of authoritarianism. 
 
Maybe you don't care about the Canadian truckers.  You should.  Do you care about the sanctity of life or other values issues?  These platforms are also censoring groups that promote conservative values. 
 
Do you care about religious liberty?  There are major law firms in Washington, D.C., and New York City that will not hire lawyers who defended traditional marriage.  They would rather defend Gitmo terrorists.  GoFundMe also shut down a legal defense fund for Kyle Rittenhouse.
 
In this age of "cancel culture" and "death by deplatforming," we are well on our way to a social credit score system where you are rewarded or punished based on your opinions and political activities.  It's already happening in communist China, and the totalitarian left in this country is all in on shutting down debate.
 
 
 
Appeasing Iran
 
The Biden Administration has been negotiating with Iran for a year now, begging and pleading with the mullahs to rejoin the failed 2015 Obama/Biden nuclear deal.  The Biden White House has made one concession after another, and Tehran continues to demand more. 
 
Here's the latest:  On Friday, the Biden Administration approved nuclear sanctions waivers for Iran.  This news comes on the heels of several U.S. negotiators resigning because they believed the Biden Administration is being too weak in the talks. 
 
Last week, Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, blasted the ongoing nuclear talks, asking rhetorically, "What, exactly, are we trying to salvage?" 
 
That's a good question for which there is no good answer.  The 2015 Obama/Biden deal failed to address Iran's ballistic missile program, as well as Iran's support for terrorism.  Without addressing those central issues, any nuclear deal with Iran is worthless. 
 
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett reiterated that view again during a cabinet meeting yesterday, saying:
 
"The greatest threat against the State of Israel is Iran. . .  Our position is well-known and clear: An agreement – according to the apparent terms – will damage the ability to deal with [Iran's] nuclear program. Whoever thinks that an agreement will increase stability is mistaken. . .
 
"In recent weeks, precisely during the negotiations, Iran is increasing its aggression and repeatedly using terrorism in the region. . . Israel will maintain freedom of action in any case, with or without an agreement."