News Weakly - 11/20/21

Big Enough
Former presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke has decided to run for governor of Texas. "Together," he says, "we can push past the small and divisive politics ... and get back to a big, bold vision ... A Texas big enough for all of us." All of us unless you're a gun owner, not inclined to get vaccinated, make your money from oil, or anything else he doesn't approve. So ... small ... a small Texas will work.

The Devil You Say
Reuters has a story on the upcoming hearing on multiple lawsuits filed against OSHA's vaccine mandate for employers of more than 100 people. All well and good. We'll see how that comes out. The bias in the story is interesting, though. In the story it says, "There are 13 federal appeals courts and the rule has been challenged in at least 10 of them by business groups, Republican-led states, employers and unions." (Emphasis mine.) Now, according to Business Insider, more than half the states are suing and "three Democrat-led states are among the 26." And Forbes offered a story declaring, "Here are the GOP-led states fighting the Biden Administration." Time also offers just "Republican-led states." There are plenty of voices declaring opposition to the mandate to be "Republican" and "political" as if there are no other reasons. That, dear reader, is what we call a lie. Now, who was it that said, "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."?

New Math
It just doesn't add up. In all nations around the world more and more people are getting vaccinated for COVID or even have had it. If the "math" is right, that should mean less people available to get COVID. But after the vaccinations took off at the beginning of 2020, a surge cranked out more COVID cases. Now, as we edge up above the 70% vaccinated range, Dr. Fauci is warning, as case rates are rising again even among the vaccinated, that we may see a "double whammy" affecting "even the vaccinated people." Now, hang on! I thought this vaccine was our salvation. I thought that the only real threat was the unvaccinated. I thought ... okay, I suppose I didn't. The math isn't adding up. Vaccinations at an all-time high and surging COVID even among the vaccinated do not add up to a good solution. What they do add up to is someone is lying to us.

Unjust
Why do we bother anymore? Why even try? When the judge in the Ahmaud Arbery trial allowed a nearly all white jury, the public was assured there would be no fair trial. White people cannot give fair rulings. Now Time is reporting that Biden may lose his vaccine mandate because the case will be heard by "the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, where a majority of the justices have been appointed by Republican presidents." And everyone knows you can't expect Republican-appointed judges to give a fair ruling. These days politics and polemics rule even the courts and, it seems, we all believe that the court will rule by its bias rather than by law. So why bother? If "No justice, no peace" is a real thing and we can expect no real justice, it doesn't look good for our future.

Strange Standards
In this world where "same-sex" can be an adjective for "marriage" and women should have the right to kill babies if it means they can have sex whenever they want and using the wrong pronouns can be a jailable offense, we find this objection. An assistant professor at Old Dominion University used the term "minor-attracted persons" to suggest that we shouldn't stigmatize adults who are sexually attracted to children. "Pedophile," you see, is an insult. The school distanced themselves from the (transexual) professor and people are miffed because that kind of sexual deviation^* is protected and ought to be embraced, but this kind is evil and wrong. I want to know who is making the standards.

^*Groan all you want about my use of the term "sexual deviation," but you know that "same-sex attraction" is by far not the statistical norm. That is, it is undoubtedly a deviation from the norm.

Don't Bother Me With Facts
A Florida teacher died of COVID after her husband sued the hospital to treat her with ivermectin. They refused. Ivermectin, as we all know, has no effect on COVID. It is misinformation that has produced some interest in using the drug to treat COVID. In 2015 the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine awarded the prize to the discoverers of ivermectin for treating some of the most devastating tropical diseases. In March of 2020, researchers tracked patients treated with ivermectin for COVID. "Six of seven meta-analyses of IVM treatment RCTs reporting in 2021 found notable reductions in COVID-19 fatalities." The researchers believed "that the evidence to date supports the worldwide extension of IVM treatments for COVID-19, complementary to immunizations." But, look, if we're not going to listen to science, neither should science listen to science.

Making No Sense
So, in light of the court putting OSHA's "Employers over 100 employees" vaccination rule on hold, OSHA is suspending enforcement pending the next ruling (which was what the court required). But employment attorneys are recommending complying immediately just in case. In effect, then, the court will have nothing to rule on because the deed will be done. Nicely played, employment attorneys. "Non-compliance is not an option ... even if the court rules otherwise."

Good News!
Well, it's not a surprise, I suppose, but this just in from the media. The Democrats have approved another $1.75 trillion to throw at our problems. The CBO (Congressional Budget Office) says it's going to cost us all in taxes, inflation, national debt ... you name it. (And by "all" I include future generations. (The White House told Democcrats, "Just ignore them; they don't know what they're talking about.") The government is promising that all the people and corporations that pay people to work will be losing more money for this, and you know that won't hurt anyone in the bottom rungs, right? Given the current price increases for everyday things, no, that's not right. This won't be good.

The Cost of Believing in Science
According to People magazine, J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, has not been invited to take part in a Harry Potter reunion. Why? She believes that males and females are different. Nice. Canceled for believing the science.

Bee Low
We had some interesting news this week from the Babylon Bee. One headline read, "Fauci: 'Individual Rights Are Not As Important As The Needs Of The Borg Collective'," but you'd have to be a fan of Star Trek to get that. Another stated, "Kyle Rittenhouse Asked To Step Outside And Defend The Courthouse While Verdict Is Being Read," but that only works if you're up on the Kyle Rittenhouse case. I laughed at this one, too. The Babylon Bee reported that Kenosha residents were painting their doorposts with "Black Lives Matter" in preparation for the verdict. I guess you'd have to know about the original Passover to get that (Exo 12:22). Maybe it has been a more specialized news week?