What we know so far about J&J booster shots

From PopSci.com (Sept. 23, 2021):

Johnson & Johnson just released new data about a booster shot regimen for their single-dose vaccine, including important initial efficacy stats. The FDA and CDC have yet to evaluate this information, and there are still plenty of questions unanswered, but here is what we know right now.

Do I need a booster if I got the J&J shot?

You are still protected against COVID-19 with just that first shot, but new evidence released directly from J&J indicates that a second booster shot protects you a whole lot more. A first dose had a recorded 75 percent efficacy rate of protection against severe/critical COVID-19 globally, but after a second dose, this efficacy extends to moderate symptomatic cases, too. If you have reason to suspect you had a depressed immune system response to your first shot, perhaps as an elderly or immunocompromised individual, getting a second dose can only help.

How much does a booster shot of J&J help?

The data we have currently is still preliminary, and based solely on J&J’s press release. Based on that information, it seems that the efficacy of a two-dose regimen—with the second shot given 56 days after the first—rises to 94 percent against moderate to severe/critical COVID-19 and 75 percent worldwide. However, it’s worth noting that the participants were followed for around 36 days each, versus the roughly four months used for the initial trial. More time would likely yield more COVID cases.

It’s also unclear how the timing of the second dose might impact the efficacy. Booster shots given to study participants six months after their initial dose prompted a much greater increase in antibody levels than did boosters given two months after the first, which could suggest that waiting longer could yield better results. But it’s not clear how much antibody levels relate to protection against disease. [read more]

Set Up Some Safeguards

From Harvest.org (Aug. 20 2021):

There are certain questions in life that we don’t need to think about or pray about. Why? Because we already know what God says about them.

For example, we already know that it’s not okay to steal because God tells us, “You must not steal” (Exodus 20:15 NLT). We already know that it’s not okay to have an adulterous relationship because God says, “You must not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14 NLT).

But then there are things that we’re unsure about. We don’t know for certain whether they’re right or wrong.

The good news is that we can set up some safeguards in our lives to help us determine what we should do. Before you engage in that activity you’re uncertain about, ask yourself some questions.

First, does it build you up spiritually, or does it tear you down? The apostle Paul wrote, “You say, ‘I am allowed to do anything’—but not everything is good for you. You say, ‘I am allowed to do anything’—but not everything is beneficial” (1 Corinthians 10:23 NLT).

You should avoid, at all costs, anything that could tear you down spiritually, pull you away from the people of God, keep you from Christian fellowship, or take the edge off your desire for prayer or Bible study.

Second, does it bring you under its power? Again, Paul wrote, “I must not become a slave to anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12 NLT). I don’t want to be under the control of anyone or anything except Jesus Christ.

Third, do you have an uneasy conscience about it? Paul wrote to the believers in Rome, “If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning” (Romans 14:23 NLT).

These are things we need to consider as believers because we have an adversary, the Devil, who is waiting to strike. So be careful. [source]

Amen!

Cases Are Down 60% in Denmark Since the Government Lifted All COVID Restrictions

From FEE.org (Sept. 23, 2021):

On September 3 Denmark lifted all of its COVID restrictions, becoming the first country in the European Union to do so.

At the time, Denmark had achieved a fully-vaccinated rate of 73 percent in adults, a figure well below targets set by US National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, but slightly higher than the European average.

Even though Denmark had achieved a 96 percent fully vaccinated rate in the key 50 and older demographic, there was still uncertainty surrounding Denmark’s decision to lift COVID restrictions.

“Will the lifting of restrictions go well? Who knows,” tweeted Michael Bang Petersen, a scientist who advised Denmark and led the country's largest behavioral COVID-19 project. “New variants may emerge & restrictions reappear. Yet, from a behavioral perspective, I am optimistic about the future.” [read more]

Not surprising.

Biden could owe as much as $500K in back taxes, government report indicates

From NY Post.com (Sept. 23, 2021):

WASHINGTON — Republicans say a new nonpartisan report indicates President Biden improperly avoided paying Medicare taxes before he took office — raising eyebrows and the possibility that he owes the IRS as much as $500,000 in back taxes.

Biden is leading a Democratic push for a $3.5 trillion bill to subsidize child care, education and health care by targeting tax avoidance and raising tax rates on higher incomes so the rich “pay their fair share.”

A House Ways and Means Committee draft of the bill would end the accounting trick apparently exploited by Biden and boost IRS funding for audits — but the new report, drafted by the Congressional Research Service and provided to The Post, suggests Biden owes taxes under current rules, according to the congressman who requested it.

“Joe Biden wants to raise taxes by $2.1 trillion while claiming the rich need to pay their ‘fair share.’ But in 2017, multimillionaire Joe Biden skirted his payroll taxes — the very taxes that fund Medicare and ObamaCare,” said Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee. [read more]

Taxes are for the commoner. That’s what the Left thinks anyway.

They Need Our Faces

From Petra North on American Thinker.com (Sept. 23, 2021):

The title of a C.S. Lewis book—Till We Have Faces—seems to me a haunting image appropriate for our time. Lewis suggests that it is only when we know ourselves that we are able to receive unconditional love. As a veteran teacher, I believe that to deny our faces to anyone, but particularly to children, is to deny them knowing themselves by denying them us. It is emotional child abuse; it is unconscionable; and it is right in front of us, literally and figuratively in our faces.

Before the Covid lockdowns and mandates, we saw faces everywhere, all over our lives. Faces are a significant part of our spoken language and are part of our literature, our poetry, and our entertainment...for a reason. We use idioms about faces to impart all kinds of imagery: We “fall on our faces;” we “spit in faces;” we “save face;” we “get a slap in the face;” If we are unlucky in poker, it is likely our thoughts are “written all over our face.” In his prescient book 1984, George Orwell says “if you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever.”

Faces are everything.

When we interact with other people, we rely almost totally on watching—and then reading—their faces. We know instinctively that children’s development depends almost entirely on their learning to read the faces in front of them. This is why, whenever we interact with children, we make sure they can see our entire face and we are more animated than we might otherwise be.

Although the American Academy of Pediatrics recently removed from its website all information about the importance to infant development of seeing facial expressions and the CDC has doubled down on masking in schools, no sane person can that face-to-face interaction is important to children’s social and emotional development. (The AAP claims the information’s disappearance resulted from moving content to a new platform and that the information, once reviewed will be back, maybe, before year’s end. The timing is interesting.) And while there are still sites like this and this to go to for evidence of what our instincts tell us, we don’t really need proof.

We know that kids need faces. We know they need our faces. We. Just. Know. [read more]

Other articles on wearing masks:

• Masks are changing how kids interact
• The horror of masking children
• Masks allegedly harming children's speech development
  
• Unmask America
  
• Study Finds People Wearing Masks are Meaner, More Selfish, Less Moral, and More Violent

Federal agencies buying up Chinese drones previously deemed a national security threat: report

From Fox News.com (Sept. 21, 2021):

Federal law enforcement agencies in the Biden administration are reportedly purchasing surveillance drones from China that have previously been labeled a potential national security threat by the Pentagon.

The U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have recently acquired surveillance drones from the Shenzhen-based company DJI, around the same time the Defense Department deemed products from the Chinese company to be a potential national security threat, according to an Axios report.

Procurement records show that the Secret Service bought eight DJI drones on July 26 just three days after the Defense Department issued a statement warning about possible threats posed by the company’s products.

Around the same time, records show that the FBI bought 19 drones from DJI.

DJI is one of the most popular drone manufacturers in the industry, and the company requires those who purchase their products to download proprietary software and provide to users their own mapping databases that have the potential to be monitored remotely.

Concerns about the company’s products being used to advance China’s interests have been longstanding and include a 2017 statement from the Department of Homeland Security that claimed with  "moderate confidence"  that DJI was "providing U.S. critical infrastructure and law enforcement data to the Chinese government."

The Interior Department, which owns DJI products, grounded its entire non-emergency drone fleet in 2019 due to concerns about Chinese government intrusion.

"Given everything we know about the Chinese Communist Party and its companies, there is absolutely no excuse for any government agency to use DJI drones, or any other drones manufactured in countries identified as national security threats," Republican Sen. Marco Rubio told Axios in a statement. [read more]

Yea, I would be leery of buying any electronics from the ChiComs.

Christians who Changed their World: Benjamin Rush

From Break Point.org (Aug. 20, 2021):

Today, historically horrific diseases like polio and leprosy have been all but eradicated. Most people consider past moral failures, such as slavery, despicable. Famines are increasingly few and far between, and abject poverty around the world has been dramatically reduced.

Among the reasons that our “normal” is so different from much of history is the work of Christians who saw their lives as a means by which God could accomplish restoration. In living out a Christian worldview within their own time and place, they laid foundations for this current world, which is better in so many ways.

Dr. Benjamin Rush is a prime example of someone who had this sense of vocation. Rush was born one of seven children in 1746 just outside of Philadelphia. He studied at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), completing his degree in 1760 at age 15.

He received his medical degree in Britain, and then practiced medicine there before returning to the colonies in 1769. At the age of 24, he opened a medical practice in Philadelphia. He was also a chemistry professor, writing the first chemistry textbook published in America. He also wrote treatises on medical education.

A significant area of study for Rush was the treatment of mental illness. He argued that people with mental illness shouldn’t be treated as criminals but brought into normal hospital settings. He also believed that giving them productive work could aid in their recovery. These ideas proved to be successful strategies in treating many of his patients.

Rush was also active in social reform. He was a founding member of what was known as Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons (the Pennsylvania Prison Society today), and an ardent abolitionist, joining abolitionist societies and writing pamphlets against the institution of slavery. He specifically argued, on scientific grounds, that blacks were in no way inferior to whites.

All of the activities on Rush’s very impressive resume were informed by his faith. His stands on mental health, prisons, and slavery came from his understanding that each person is made in the image of God and is, therefore, worthy of dignity and respect. His observations on the importance of work for human well-being reflected ideas contained within the biblical worldview.

His stand on abolition had been the historical position of the Church and, in his day, was being advanced by evangelicals (among others) in Britain and America. His concern for the well-being of the black population led him to act as an advisor to Richard Allen in the founding of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. He even lent both the church and Rev. Allen his public support.

His faith grounded his political beliefs as well. Rush’s focus on inalienable rights can be traced through John Locke to medieval scholastic theologians. He wrote numerous patriotic essays. Thomas Paine even consulted with Rush as he wrote Common Sense. Not only was Rush appointed to the Continental Congress, he was a signatory of the Declaration of Independence. [read more]

Top Democrat Admits Forces In Her Party Have ‘Desire To Attack’ Anything ‘Related To State Of Israel’

From The Daily Wire.com (Sept. 21, 2021):

Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) admitted on Tuesday that a sizable number of Democrats are constantly on the look out for ways to attack the state of Israel.

Slotkin made the remarks on social media after Democrat leaders removed a provision from a short-term government spending bill to help fund Israel’s Iron Dome which protects its citizens from terrorist attacks like the ones out of Gaza earlier this year.

“There has never been a situation where military aid for Israel was held up because of objections from members of Congress,” Axios reported. “While the funding will get a vote in its current defense bill, the clash underscores the deep divisions within the Democratic party over Israel.”

Slotkin then took to Twitter to address the issue, saying that the anti-Israel policy positions of some in her party were “devoid of substance” and that they were “irresponsible.” She did not call out any specific member of her party.

“Iron Dome is a purely *defensive* system — it protects civilians when hundreds of rockets are shot at population centers. Whatever your views on the Israeli-Pal conflict, using a system that just saved hundreds, if not thousands, of lives as a political chit is problematic,” Slotkin said. “Iron Dome, like other missile defense systems, was co-developed by the US and Israel. The research that went into the design of this system is shared between our two countries and can be used to protect our bases abroad, in addition to Israeli civilians in their homes.”

“Continued financial support of Iron Dome was part of the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding negotiated by President Obama. This isn’t new funding, or unusual funding, or a precipitous increase in funding,” she continued. “All of this is publicly-available information. So to target Iron Dome now means the issue isn’t a genuine concern over the system, but rather the desire to attack something – anything – related to the State of Israel; it’s devoid of substance and irresponsible.” [read more]

If you are Jewish and a Leftist you might want to think twice about your party. Then again maybe being a Leftist is your religion. You can’t serve two masters.

Former FDA Commissioner Admits 6 Foot Social Distancing Rule Was Completely MADE UP: ‘Nobody Knows Where It Came From’

From en-volve.com (Sept. 21, 2021):

Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb testified that the six-foot social distance guideline was “arbitrary in and of itself” and that “nobody in government knows where it came from.”

In other words, our so-called “experts” were well aware that the rules were a load of crap, but they imposed them on us nonetheless.

Gottlieb outlined the laws and hazards early in the epidemic in an interview with Face the Nation on Monday, adding that the Trump administration changed its focus to the devastating impact lockdowns and rules would have on the economy and children.

“My view is that they were sold on the idea that you weren’t going to be able to really affect the spread and that anything you did was just going to have so many repercussions in terms of impact on children who might not be in school. Impact on the economy, that the costs were worse than the disease,” he told host Margaret Brennan, explaining that schools were a “perfect example of the lack of effective policymaking.”

“So the single reason why most schools remained shut was because the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) was telling them they had to keep kids six feet apart,” he added.

“If- if CDC has said you can only- you have to keep kids three feet apart, then a lot of schools would have been able open.”

“And in fact, when the Biden administration wanted to open schools in the spring, this past spring, they got the CDC to change that guidance from six feet to three feet,” Gottlieb said, admitting the original guidance was “arbitrary” and had unknown origins.

“The six feet was arbitrary in and of itself, nobody knows where it came from,” he went on.

“The initial recommendation that the CDC brought to the White House and I talk about this was 10 feet, and a political appointee in the White House said we can’t recommend 10 feet.” [read more]

I always wondered where this “six” feet number came from. Numbers mean things, usually they mean a measurement. When a politician or bureaucrat throws out a number, the public should always ask “where did (s)he get that number from?” If the lame-stream-press was doing its job it would have asked that question. Not anymore. They are just not curious.

The Biden Administration Is Still Banning White Farmers From Federal Aid

From The Federalist.com (Sept. 20, 2021):

President Biden’s farm loan forgiveness program is outrageously unconstitutional. It is a law that would selectively pay off the loans of farmers based on race. A non-white farmer would see his entire loan paid off. His neighbor, who is white, would not qualify for the program. It was predictably challenged in court with predictable results.

Every court to reach the question has issued a preliminary injunction, thus barely any money got out the door before it got halted. You may have thought it was over, but it’s not.

After taking an uninterrupted string of losses in defending the program’s racial preferences, the government has changed tactics. It has argued that it is wasteful and unfair to force it, the United States of America represented by the Department of Justice (the world’s largest law office), to have to defend its unconstitutional program in multiple places at one time. Just remember this the next time you need an extension on your taxes.

Largely, this change in tactics has worked. In case after case, courts have stayed their cases. Those nationwide injunctions you may have read about? They are pretty much now moot or dissolved outright. The government staved off a much-needed reckoning.

A Standout Case

Under the program, which was billed as coronavirus relief, non-white farmers with loans from the Department of Agriculture would get their loans forgiven in full, plus an extra 20 percent on top. It doesn’t even matter if the farmer was an actual victim of discrimination or had received previous settlement awards for being a victim of discrimination, or if the farm was devastated by COVID lockdowns. The program makes race the most important characteristic.

In only one case in the country did a judge outright reject the government’s stay request, that of Rob Holman, a Tennessee farmer who is unfortunately ineligible for the program because he is white. The government doesn’t get to complain about being overwhelmed by pro bono law firms, then put Holman’s case on the shelf for years while it chooses where and how it would like to litigate. The government got all of its other stays, although one additional request to stay is still pending in Florida. Holman’s case will likely be heard this year, assuming the government’s ongoing bid for delay does not succeed. [read more]

This is pure racism.

Because They Are Evil

From American Thinker.com (Sept. 15, 2021):

There are a great many things coming from Biden, Fauci, the CDC, the State Department, the military, the Justice Department, and basically the Deep State that make no sense.  From Biden and the Deep State, we are getting executive orders, mandates, guidelines, decisions, policies, and edicts that just do not make any sort of intellectual sense.  It is not just a difference of opinion.  It is not just different politics or a different point of view.  Decisions, guidelines, policies, and proposed laws are coming out of Washington D.C., Biden, and the Deep State that one just can't figure out in an intellectual, factual, common-sense sort of way.  The only way to explain what is coming from the placeholder at the White House and the Deep State elites is that they are just evil.  They are doing what they’re doing because they are evil.  No other answer makes sense.

• Why would Biden declare a federal vaccine mandate for every American even though two previous Supreme Court decisions says his federal vaccine mandate is unconstitutional...? Because he is evil.

• Why would Biden declare that all Americans must be vaccinated but illegal immigrants crossing our border illegally do not have to be vaccinated...? Because he is evil.

• Why would the Biden administration demand that all Americans be vaccinated, regardless of whether they have already acquired natural immunity since they have already had COVID...? Because they are evil.

• Why would the Biden administration declare a national vaccine mandate for all Americans, but exempt all of Congress, all the congressional aides, the postal service, the federal justice system, and the Supreme Court...? Because they are evil.

• Why would Biden and the militarily happily leave $85 billion worth of military weapon armaments to the terrorist Taliban, but at the same time try to disarm peaceful law-abiding American citizens of their 2A rights...? Because they are evil.

• Why would the Biden administration allow for open borders and unlimited illegal immigration, when they know that drug cartels and child traffickers use these openings to push the illegal drugs and the child trafficking into America...? Because they are evil.

• Why would the upper echelons of the FBI, CIA, and the NSA violate their own laws, laws within the Constitution, and their own standards of practice for five years against candidate Trump, president-elect Trump, and President Trump...? Because they are evil. [read more] 

Good questions. Evil? I don’t know about that. Superiority and feeling they are “special” could factor into their behavior too.

New Year's Resolutions for Patriots and Heroes

From J.B. Shurk on American Thinker.com (Dec. 31, 2021):

"By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest."  That's commonly attributed to Confucius, whose wisdom I'm imitating.  An awful lot of what I know has come from the harsh lash of experience, even when my own thoughts sufficiently counseled me to avoid the pitfalls lying directly ahead.  Reflection, I've found, is most gratifying, but some of us will insist on exploring the jagged roads of hostile experience, if for no other reason than to satisfy stubborn curiosity.

In the spirit of the approaching New Year, allow me to suggest some resolutions that might keep you situated toward the first two methods above for pursuing a good life and finding peace, while sparing you some of the trouble I've sometimes refused to avoid.

(1) Learn to take a joke about yourself.  No matter how clever or talented you are, there will be a moment when you do something stupid.  Have the grace and humility to laugh along with those who might laugh at you.  Learning that talent will disarm even your biggest critic.

(2) But don't be a jester.  Nobody will respect somebody who does not respect himself.

(3) Every failure really is an opportunity.  No matter how awful it first appears to be, there is no setback that does not also contain the seeds for success.  Look for those seeds, take the time to plant them, and have the patience to watch them grow.  There is a reason we instinctively enjoy the comeback story and the heroic underdog: we know what sacrifices were required to achieve eventual victory.  These are the legends we celebrate. 

(4) Always keep your word, no matter what.  If you resolve to do this one thing in life, you will set yourself apart from most people and always find that your opinion is taken seriously. 

(5) Do everything you can to avoid even the smallest lie.  Even the best intentioned falsehoods have a way of making others question our words and doubt our intentions.

(6) Get and stay fit.  Someday you may be the only person capable of saving a life, even if that life is your own.  Be ready for that moment.

(7) Learn from everyone you meet.  Every person on the planet has something to teach.  If you don't know what that could possibly be when interacting with someone you'd rather avoid, then keep thinking about it until you do.  We learn the most unexpected things from the most unexpected people. 

(8) Question everything you're told.  Conformity and obedience are for people who are willing to hand over their brains and spines to lesser men who will gladly accept them so they may rule over the brainless and spineless for personal benefit.

(9) Fight for your principles and against those who wish to box you in.  Your principles define you.  If you allow others to reshape or dissolve them on your behalf, then they aren't your principles anymore.  They've become your marching orders.

(10) Do everything you can to forgive in your heart those who wound you.  Never stop fighting for what is right, but be the first to forgive.  Finding the capacity to forgive your worst enemies is the only way to find some measure of peace in a tumultuous world. [read more]

Pretty good advice. There’s 20 resolutions in all. Too bad the Left won’t do these resolutions.

Xi Jinping Is Slowly Restoring the Imperial Chinese Regime

From American Thinker.com (Sept. 14, 2021):

On September 9, American President Joe Biden – as a supplicant – called China’s President Xi Jinping. Junior Chinese officials had refused to have substantive, respectful, discussions with President Biden’s subordinates.  For example, with former American presidential candidate and Secretary of State John Kerry, the Chinese side offered only a video link for his conversations with Vice-Premier Han Zheng and Foreign Minister Wang Li, even though Kerry was in Tianjin.

The Chinese refused the Americans’ request that the two nations respond jointly to global warming separate from the other aspects of their difficult relationship. The Chinese side demanded that the United States, without any criticism, respect and submit to China’s values and priorities.

Just a week previously, as the United States was getting kicked out of Afghanistan, China’s Maritime Safety Administration announced that, as of September 1, all ships seeking to transit the South China Sea would be required to register their passage with the Administration, thus asserting that the South China Sea was China’s domestic waters subject to Chinese sovereign authority.

Such an assertion can henceforth easily serve China as a casus belli – a just reason for going to war against any nation that refuses to accept such Chinese authority.

This remarkable demand, unprecedented in history, applies to all ships supporting the economies of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan with imports of oil and exports of goods in transit through the South China Sea.  Accepting the Chinese regulation would reduce these counties into dependents on Chinese goodwill and patronage, in some degree of vassalage. [read more]

How Conservatives Can Fight the Rabid Partisanship Plaguing America

From American Thinker.com (Sept. 13, 2021):

You never voted on it. You never gave society your consent. Yet somehow every decision you make has political ramifications, from the fast food you buy to the ice cream you eat, the sports you watch, the movies you enjoy, the words you use, and even the decision to fly your country's flag. Our institutions, similarly, are becoming increasingly partisan, typically with a left-wing bias, including our media, entertainment, universities, and even our scientific establishments. More alarmingly, polling data and social science studies reflect rapidly growing animosity toward those with differing political viewpoints.

While extreme partisanship is a problem on both ends of the political spectrum, a recent poll indicates that those on the left exhibit significantly less tolerance of alternative views than conservatives. A poll from the Survey Center on American Life found that Democrats are twice as likely as Republicans to end a friendship over politics. Similar sentiments were expressed in a 2018 Axios survey, which found that 41% of Democrats would be at least somewhat disappointed if a family member married someone from a different political party, compared to 26% of Republicans. A microcosm of such attitudes was articulated in a Virginia Heffernan op-ed, in which Heffernan agonized over how to interpret an "act of aggressive niceness" in which her Trump-loving neighbors, without asking, shoveled her snow-covered driveway. Heffernan weaved an intricate web that stunningly compared her neighbor's act of kindness to those of polite Nazis, charitable members of Hezb'allah, and the January 6, 2021 rioters.

…………….

The path to a depoliticized culture should be straightforward: simply stand down. Entertainment corporations could reduce the amount of politics in their products. Corporations could donate less to politically charged causes, or at the very least stop producing politicized ads. Individuals could post less about politics on social media, and social media giants in turn could consistently apply the same standards for both right- and left-wing accounts. Unfortunately, because the left has a stranglehold on most of our society's institutions, this scenario would require these entities to make major concessions while receiving little in return.

Consider the entertainment industry: in the 2018 election, 99.7 percent of all political donations from the Hollywood Reporter's top 100 list of entertainers and executives went to Democrats. Donations from tech companies are only slightly less skewed: 98% of donations went to Democrats in 2020. Wall Street's $2.9 billion in donations in 2020 favored Biden over Trump at over a 2.5:1 clip. In academia, Democrats outnumber Republicans by an estimated 10:1 margin among university faculty. The vast majority of power centers in the U.S. are overwhelmingly leftist. Conservatives must do more to match that clout and bring about a balance of power in our culture if we hope to incentivize the depoliticization of our society.

On an individual level, conservatives should be tolerant: don't end friendships over politics, and don't politicize every topic on God's green Earth within your social circles. Love your neighbor. However, on a societal level, conservatives must exercise collective economic power: companies that promote far-left policies must be boycotted until they change their policy. Similarly, we should "buycott," or provide additional economic support, to companies that promote conservative values. The power of protest is equally important: the political right can learn a thing from liberals, who have successfully pressured corporations to enact politically motivated policies. Just as left-wing activists influenced Major League Baseball to move the All-Star game, right-wing activists must pressure Hollywood to reduce its involvement with China on humanitarian grounds (treatment of Uyghurs, tyranny against Hong Kong, etc.), for example. Participation in local politics is also powerful, as demonstrated by recent grassroots movements against the teaching of Critical Race Theory. More conservatives are needed in academia, and support networks for conservative faculty may help these efforts. We can also support efforts to develop culturally relevant content: for example, the conservative news site The Daily Wire is entering the entertainment industry, while Cayo Films is planning a TV series dramatizing the Old Testament. Conservatives can also support right-wing journalism by subscribing to conservative news sites and writing op-eds. [read more]

Lawmakers Unveil Bipartisan Bill to Freeze Funding for Gain-of-Function Research

From The Epoch Times.com (Sept. 15,2021):

Bipartisan lawmakers on Friday unveiled a bill that seeks to freeze taxpayer-funding for gain-of-function research for a period of five years.

The legislation, called the Pausing Enhanced Pandemic Pathogen Research Act, was introduced by Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas).

According to a press release from the lawmakers, the bill is in response to a recent report by The Intercept, which indicated that the United States had funded gain-of-function research at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) that many believe may have led to the ongoing CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic.

Infectious disease expert and NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci has come under intense scrutiny following the release of the documents by the news outlet, which detailed the use of federal money by the U.S.-based health organization, EcoHealth Alliance, to fund bat coronavirus research at the WIV.

Critics say the documents show Fauci misled Congress when he repeatedly asserted the National Institutes of Health (NIH) never funded controversial gain-of-function research at the WIV.

“We knew the dangers of gain-of-function research, but the National Institute of Health and Dr. Fauci continued to fund it in America and overseas,” Carter said in a statement. “This is something we never should have allowed without proper oversight and safety protocols.”

“Evidence continues to mount that COVID-19 originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology with research funded by U.S. taxpayers. We must double down on our efforts to prevent irresponsible research and protect our communities from future pandemics. Our bill will prevent taxpayer funds from being used to conduct gain-of-function research until we can ensure proper safety standards are put in place,” Carter added. [read more]

Good. Making Frankenstein viruses is scary.

FNC’s Carlson: ‘Mark Milley Did His Best to Make Certain the Elected President Had No Power’

From Breitbart.com (Sept. 15, 2021):

Tuesday, FNC host Tucker Carlson opened his program by reacting to a bombshell report General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called his Chinese counterpart General Li Zuocheng on Oct. 30, 2020 and again on January 8 according to a Washington Post report based on the forthcoming book “Peril,” which is by journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.

Carlson criticized Milley’s tactics, which he suggested was an effort to marginalize then-President Donald Trump.

Transcript as follows:

CARLSON: We almost never use the term “Deep State” on this show. There is something about it that sounds paranoid, even a little nutty. As just a few years ago, you mostly heard the phrase from relics on the far left, the kind of people who lecture you about the united fruit company and the toppling of Mosaddegh.

The term, then and now, suggests that our democracy is fake. Elections and domestic politics are just a sideshow, no matter who you vote for, in the end the same people still run everything.

That’s a pretty dark understanding of the American system. If you’re a normal person who grew up here, it is the last thing you want to believe about your own country. It seems crazy.

And then you read stories like this one.

According to reporting this summer, in the days after last November’s election, Mark

Tuesday, FNC host Tucker Carlson opened his program by reacting to a bombshell report General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called his Chinese counterpart General Li Zuocheng on Oct. 30, 2020 and again on January 8 according to a Washington Post report based on the forthcoming book “Peril,” which is by journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.

Carlson criticized Milley’s tactics, which he suggested was an effort to marginalize then-President Donald Trump. [read more]

Mark Milley is a traitor. You do not degrade the POTUS to another country while serving your country. He’s lucky he’s an American. If he had been a Chinese official and degraded the leader of China he would have been in prison or worse.

Other articles on Milley:

• The Gaslighting Begins After Mark Milley's Treasonous Actions Are Revealed
• General Mark Milley Seems to Have Been the Source for Bob Woodward's Story About Mark Milley Undermining the Constitution
• Retired Army Colonel Breaks Down How Bad Milley's Actions Really Were
• Pentagon confirms top general reassured China during last days of Trump
• Trump doubts report of Milley calling Chinese general but says it's 'treason' if true
• Mark Milley And His Ilk Are Disgracing The U.S. Military To The Entire World
• 'No one has a bigger smile today than I do': What Joint Chiefs chairman Mark Milley told Michelle Obama when Biden was inaugurated after fearing Trump would start a war in Iran just to stay in power
• Milley defiant amid increasing pressure to resign over China calls revelations
• Rand Paul: Gen. Milley calls to China could’ve caused accidental WAR [video]
• What Does Gen. Milley's Conduct Say about Our System?
• Gen. Milley to Sen. Cotton: 'I'm Not Going to Resign'
• Treasonous Rat Mark Milley Justifies His Secret Calls to Communist China Promising He Would Warn Them of Possible Attack [video]
• Milley Admits Leaking Information About Trump to Several Journalists [video]
• Byron York's Daily Memo: Milley's dishing
• Milley Privately Blames State Dept for Chaotic Afghanistan Exit: Report
• Pompeo to Megyn Kelly: Milley Didn't Brief Me

The Rift Between Science and Religion?

From American Thinker.com (Aug. 18, 2021):

It is often said that science and religion are polar opposites.

But this notion may not be true and is, instead, based on popular misconceptions, the ongoing struggle between the two concepts for social dominance, and misunderstandings of both the scientific method and the underlying idea of faith.

In fact, the two meet at countless points and often take parallel paths.

Before continuing, this critique centers on Western religious and scientific constructs. When it wants to, an organized religion can stop scientific progress in its tracks – take historical Islam, for example. Once the primary protector and advancer of knowledge (although they were invented in India, we call them Arabic numerals for a reason), Islamic leaders in the Middle Ages proclaimed edicts -- enforced often at scimitar point – that put an end to all of that.

While doubtlessly some Western sects have persecuted knowledge seekers under the cloak of dogma, those efforts had as much to do with secular societal dominance as they did with saving souls. The Galileo affair illustrates that process.

Galileo’s experience is seen today as the ultimate example of backward religion crushing glorious reason, but the facts of the matter do not support that view. Pope Urban VIII, Galileo’s friend, and, at the time a supporter, encouraged him to write a treatise on the two opposing cosmological concepts -- heliocentrism (Earth around the Sun) and geocentrism (everything around the Earth).

Urban, it seems, was expecting the book to be a relatively even-handed debate but would certainly not have had a problem if it leaned towards heliocentrism (he had defended Galileo’s support for heliocentrism previously). What Urban was not expecting was Simplicio - the character in the book tasked with defending geocentrism. He was portrayed as an idiot, a fool who made no sense whatsoever. Simplicio was also, rightly or wrongly, interpreted as a caricature of Urban himself. Suffice to say, the Pope was not amused.

And Urban had a trump card up his sleeve for the coming kerfuffle – he knew Galileo could not actually prove the Earth revolved around the Sun. It turns out that Galileo was right, but at the time the math and mechanics were simply not there to definitively prove so. Geocentrism was on its last legs – with Galileo’s physical observations and the work of Copernicus and Tycho Brahe (one of the very few astronomers who have ever had to wear a false silver nose due to an ill-fated drunken duel), et.al. making sure of that. Meanwhile, the torturous mathematical and mechanical hoops geocentrists had to jump through to make it work were expanding exponentially. Galileo, by applying Occam’s Razor, simply knew he was right.

The Galileo debate is, even if incorrectly, rather well-known and has been the subject of significant public discourse. Another “science versus religion” conflict is far less well-known: The initial debate around the Big Bang. [read more]

Human blood bricks to be ‘exploited’ by scientists for building on Mars

From NY Post.com (Sept. 15, 2021):

Humans may soon be literally pouring their blood, sweat and tears into colonizing Mars.

It takes a lot of money and manpower to travel the 246 million miles it takes to reach the Red Planet, let alone erect the infrastructure needed to make it habitable.

That’s the impetus behind researchers’ ghoulish new endeavor — to save a buck by engineering building components using human fluids. They’ve already done it with urine; now, they’re out for blood.

Researchers at the University of Manchester in England led the study, published Monday in the journal Materials Today Bio.

“The proverbial phrase ‘you can’t get blood from a stone’ is used to describe a task that is practically impossible regardless of how much force or effort is exerted,” the authors wrote. “This phrase is well-suited to humanity’s first crewed mission to Mars, which will likely be the most difficult and technologically challenging human endeavor ever undertaken.”

They continue to reiterate that Earth-bound materials would necessarily stay there as the cost of transporting them would make the effort futile for a vast majority of humanity. Rather, Martian resources will need to be tapped — and, in lieu of that, our own bodies.

Enter AstroCrete, a substance conjured and developed by astrochemists and engineers to serve as viable building blocks for infrastructure in space. Scientists believe that strengthening proteins in human blood impart biological properties that could make for particularly hardy bricks when mixed with Martian regolith, the dusty substance that covers the dehydrated planet. [read more]

That’s kind of disgusting. So, what is the source of the blood? Dead bodies? Blood donation?

Delta-8 marijuana products can be dangerous, health officials warn

From Live Science.com (Sept. 14):

U.S. health officials are warning about the potential dangers of "delta-8 THC," a compound derived from marijuana, after seeing an increase in hospitalizations tied to the substance.

On Tuesday (Sept. 14), both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alerted consumers of a recent rise in the availability of products containing delta-8 THC, as well as reports of adverse effects from the products.

Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is one of more than 100 compounds known as "cannabinoids" found in the cannabis plant. It is similar to delta-9 THC, the psychoactive compound that's primarily responsible for the high people experience from marijuana. Delta-8 THC is estimated to be about 50% to 75% as psychoactive as delta-9 THC, but it's naturally produced in only very low levels in the cannabis plant, according to the CDC.

For this reason, some manufacturers use chemicals to convert other, non-psychoactive cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol (CBD), into delta-8 THC. This process may create byproducts, or contaminants, that are harmful to people's health, according to the FDA.

In addition, products containing delta-8 THC are sometimes labeled simply as "hemp," a term that refers to the non-psychoactive parts of the cannabis plant and their derivatives. Such labeling may mislead consumers into thinking that they are taking a product without psychoactive effects, the FDA says. What's more, some products containing delta-8 THC may be labeled with only the delta-9 concentration, rather than total THC content, which would underestimate the dose of THC in the product. [read more]

A word to the wise about having a toke.

The newest Roomba is finally smart enough to avoid pet poop

From Pop Sci.com (Nov. 22):

The maker of Roombas, iRobot, is utilizing machine learning to ensure that its latest line of robot vacuums is particularly appealing to pet owners. The company announced Thursday that its Roomba j7+ Robot Vacuum has been specifically designed to avoid animal poop, alluding to an issue that has made attempts at cleanup incredibly messy for some customers in the past. (If you want proof, Buzzfeed chronicled one viral “pooptastrophe” in 2016).

The company says the Roomba j7+ uses artificial intelligence and computer vision to watch out for solid pet waste, recognize if an unwelcome surprise happens to be in its way, and make moves to avoid it. This marks a new milestone in the company’s use of AI, building on the iRobot Genius Home Intelligence platform it launched in 2020 to provide customers with more customizations, including enhanced mapping, scheduling, and automation features.

According to iRobot chairman and CEO Colin Angle, the company is now confident enough in these capabilities that it is guaranteeing that this new poop-detecting feature will work. Although there are other robot vacuums that make similar claims, Angle told The Verge iRobot is the first to put its money where its automated mouth is, offering to replace the item if it fails to fulfill their “Pet Owner Official Promise”—P.O.O.P., as they call it —to avoid running into pet poo. [read more]

Interesting in a disgusting kind of way. I get the neural network (I guess that’s what they are using) not letting the Roomba pickup wet poop, but what about if it is is dried? I wouldn’t think that would be a problem. Surely, its network can detect the difference between the two. Then again if the owners of the Roomba doesn’t want it to pick it up the crap at all, then the company has to do what the customer wants.

Remarks by President Biden on Fighting the COVID-⁠19 Pandemic

From Biden on White House.gov (Sept. 9):

THE PRESIDENT:  Good evening, my fellow Americans.  I want to talk to you about where we are in the battle against COVID-19, the progress we’ve made, and the work we have left to do.

And it starts with understanding this: Even as the Delta variant 19 [sic] has — COVID-19 — has been hitting this country hard, we have the tools to combat the virus, if we can come together as a country and use those tools.

If we raise our vaccination rate, protect ourselves and others with masking and expanded testing, and identify people who are infected, we can and we will turn the tide on COVID-19.

……………..

You might be confused about what is true and what is false about COVID-19.  So before I outline the new steps to fight COVID-19 that I’m going to be announcing tonight, let me give you some clear information about where we stand.

First, we have cons- — we have made considerable progress battling COVID-19.  When I became President, about 2 million Americans were fully vaccinated.  Today, over 175 million Americans have that protection.

………………..

This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated.* And it’s caused by the fact that despite America having an unprecedented and successful vaccination program, despite the fact that for almost five months free vaccines have been available in 80,000 different locations, we still have nearly 80 million Americans who have failed to get the shot.

And to make matters worse, there are elected officials actively working to undermine the fight against COVID-19.**  Instead of encouraging people to get vaccinated and mask up^, they’re ordering mobile morgues for the unvaccinated dying from COVID in their communities.  This is totally unacceptable. [read more]

*Actually, the vaccinated with boosters even, can get the virus.   **Just because citizens question the effectiveness or safety of the “vaccines” doesn’t make them the enemy. It’s their body. It’s their life.  ^Masks don’t work. If they did the virus would have disappeared long ago.

Another article on the speech:

Biden’s Divisive COVID-19 Vaccination Plan Favors Coercion Over Persuasion