CNN Virus Townhall Features Greta Thunberg for Some Reason

If you think you’re having a tough time right now, just try to put yourself in Greta Thunberg’s velcro shoes. Less than six months ago, that kid was on top of the world that she claimed was ending. She was Time magazine’s Person of the Year. She was a liberal icon. Cameras followed her everywhere. They all wanted to know her opinions about everything. She was the most famous truant child since Huckleberry Finn, and she rode around on a much nicer boat.

Then COVID-19 the Chinese virus came along and ended the whole party. Suddenly, nobody cares what Greta has to say anymore. We’re too busy trying to survive an actual threat, right this minute, to worry about the weather killing us 12 years from now. (It’s always 12 years from now. It was 12 years in 2008, and it’ll be 12 years in 2032.)

If you want to compare the pandemic to the Kennedy assassination, Greta Thunberg is the new Vaughn Meader. Current events gave her an instant career, and then took it away.

So what’s a girl to do? Go on CNN as a virus expert, that’s what!

"Former acting CDC director Richard Besser, former HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius and activist Greta Thunberg join @AndersonCooper & @DrSanjayGupta for a live #CNNTownHall. Coronavirus - Facts and Fears"

That lineup isn’t all bad, I suppose. Besser used to run the Centers for Disease Control, so that makes sense. Sebelius… um… well, just because she oversaw the Obamacare rollout and it was such a disaster that she resigned in disgrace and hasn’t been heard from since, that doesn’t mean she’s not a coronavirus expert. Let’s hear her out.

And then Thunberg. A Swedish teenager who doesn’t go to school. Okay, I guess? She’s an expert on making people panic about invisible dangers, so now she’s switching over from the Angry Sky Gods to the virus. At least this time it’s something that actually exists.

It’s not as if she needs to keep fighting to shut down modern society. The virus has taken care of that for her. Carbon emissions are down, industries are collapsing, lots of people are dying… it’s an environmentalist’s dream. You did it, Greta!

But just because she won that battle, with a little help from the Chinese Communist Party, that doesn’t mean her work is over. She still needs to keep her name out there. Branding is very important. She doesn’t need to know what she’s talking about, regarding the weather or infectious disease or anything else. She just needs to keep finding “journalists” who will put her on TV.

Okay, you can get mad at me now. Sorry to pick on the confused child who keeps getting pushed into the spotlight by her elders for political reasons. My bad!

SOURCE 






I’m an ER Physician. Here’s Why Abortion Isn’t an ‘Essential Health Service.’

Although we appear to be “flattening the curve” of the COVID-19 pandemic, with governors slowly lifting stay-at-home orders and hospitals beginning to schedule surgeries again, infection spikes in certain regions remain a possibility.

Throughout the coming months, we need to focus as a society on medical care that will not only help us survive but thrive.

Working in emergency rooms as an emergency medicine physician of more than 20 years, I’m particularly concerned that abortion activists have been promoting and advocating abortion as an “essential health service.”

An essential health service is a health care action or medical procedure that is essential to protecting the life of a human. But the truth is that rather than helping women through this pandemic, abortion is more likely to worsen the toll of illness.

Any decision about a medical procedure as serious as terminating a pregnancy must be made with facts and an assessment of risks. When medical equipment is scarce and many resources must be directed toward treating victims of COVID-19, continuing to perform abortions is medically irresponsible.

Here are three key facts:

1. The stress of COVID-19 adds to abortion’s emotional toll.

Abortion is known to result in mental health issues, and COVID-19 is likely to exacerbate those negative effects. Anxiety and fear have exploded during this time as many Americans suffer from prolonged isolation and economic challenges.

Calls to the federal mental health crisis hotline are nearly 900% greater than this time last year. According to Kaiser Family Foundation, nearly half (45%) of adults in the United States reported that their mental health has been affected negatively due to worry and stress over the coronavirus.

Combined with the emotional toll of abortion, the impact of this stress is amplified. Abortion long has been associated with serious, adverse mental health outcomes such as depression, grief, persistent sadness, and elevated stress—many of the same mental health challenges we are seeing from COVID-19.

Losing a baby, whether from abortion or a spontaneous miscarriage, causes emotional pain. Women who have abortions face higher rates of depression.

Data shows an increase in the number of suicide attempts by women who previously had an abortion. In fact, women who get abortions are at a 154% increased risk of suicide, according to the Southern Medical Journal.

What’s more, we know that women sometimes are coerced into abortion as a result of domestic abuse. Claiming that abortion is an “essential health service” only will minimize the emotional risks, fueling this cycle of violence and pressure.

At a time when domestic abuse afflicts more women than ever before, we need to respect and support women, not encourage them to get abortions.

2. Complications from abortion are more dangerous during a pandemic.

Complications from an abortion are a significant risk—even more so during a pandemic with an over-stressed health care system. I’ve seen firsthand the life-threatening medical complications that stem from an abortion procedure.

This type of crisis is often the result of abortion clinics not being equipped to provide the necessary emergency care. Instead, they send women to the ER.

Abortion itself carries risks of infection and increases the likelihood of women needing additional medical supervision and treatment. Also, blood loss, inflammatory stress, and other adverse outcomes from abortion can compromise a woman’s health and immune system, which makes her more susceptible to contracting a virus.

Chemical abortions, such as by the brand-name drug Mifeprex, are no safer. Typically 5% to 7% of women who undergo a chemical abortion require surgical follow-up procedures. Experimenting with an abortion at home—especially right now—is very dangerous.

3.  COVID-19 doesn’t affect pregnancies.

I have heard from pregnant women who are worried that continuing a pregnancy during COVID-19 could be harmful. I understand their concerns, but the available data suggests that pregnant women do not suffer from coronavirus infections.

And as yet there is no evidence of vertical transmission of the coronavirus from mother to baby; the virus hasn’t been found in breast milk or amniotic fluid after birth. To date, the research shows that women infected with the coronavirus during pregnancy don’t have a higher incidence of compromised health or unhealthy babies.

Some women may be considering abortion because they fear that increased doctor visits and a hospital birth might expose them and their family at home to COVID-19. In actuality, abortion puts women at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 than their pregnancy does.

***

Abortion has long-term detrimental effects on a woman, the data shows. Our nation desperately needs more love and hope, and less death and despair.

The reality is that if women who face unplanned pregnancies view abortion as the “healthy” option, we know that it is in fact a fatal deception.

As a physician who deals with death daily in the ER, I can say that death of any kind is horrific. I believe we can and must protect the lives of both the young and the old, and this includes protecting preborn human life.

SOURCE 




Michigan Gov. Whitmer Strips 77-Year-Old Barber of His License Without Due Process

This story is getting better and better — for those who enjoy David vs. Goliath contests where Goliath gets a faceful of cow manure from David.

That’s what Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer must be feeling like today. The 77-year old barber, Karl Manke, who is defying her executive orders to keep his business closed is beset on all sides by the state. He was taken to court by the state who asked a judge to order Manke to close his doors. The judge refused. Then, Whitmer sicced the Department of Health on him. He refused to comply.

Finally, after the close of business on Tuesday, the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs made good on Whitmer’s threats.

Breitbart:

“Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs has suspended Karl’s license,” attorney David Kallman told radio host Steve Gruber.

“Not thinking about it, they’ve actually done it without a hearing, without any due process,” he added, saying the action took place some time after 5:00 p.m.

“It’s an unbelievable abuse of power,” Kallman said, arguing there’s no legal basis for the action. “This is pure retribution by the governor’s office and by the AG. This is so petty and vindictive, it’s beyond the pale,” he told Gruber.

Isn’t it kind of unconstitutional to take this action without even going through the motions of “due process, governor “?

What’s the matter with you? Don’t you know we’re in a CRISIS? We don’t need no stinkin’ constitution to enforce my orders.

When asked specifically about Manke defying her edicts, Whitmer responded, “I expect people to follow the law. These executive orders are not a suggestion. They’re not optional. They’re not helpful hints.”

You will comply. Resistance is futile.

The more Whitmer pushes, the more heroic Manke appears. Using the vast powers of the state to crush this little old man is not only making Whitmer look like a bully, but Manke is becoming a rallying point for those wanting to resist the governor’s stay-at-home orders.

“I’ve never looked for handouts. I don’t even know what they are. I had somebody call me and say why don’t you get on food stamps. I don’t want to get on food stamps. I want to work.”

“I came into this last Monday alone, thinking I’m going to swing in the wind alone,” he said. “I cannot believe the support that I’ve got,” he added to cheers, with some responding, “You are not alone!” “It’s overwhelming,” he added, getting choked up.

Elements of the Michigan militia have taken up his cause and are now guarding his barbershop. If Manke and his supporters want to lose sympathy quickly, allowing the militia to “defend” Manke’s rights is the quickest way. Arms aren’t necessary. Manke has won so far using the law. And I imagine the law will take a dim view of the governor’s license suspension as well.

If Whitmer was smart she’d quit while she was only losing a little. But if she goes all in and throws the book at Manke, she will lose big — so big, that it just might propel Trump to victory in the state and John James into the Senate.

SOURCE 






Liberal privilege in two tweets

This week, we’ll look at two tweets that encapsulate everything that’s wrong with the “white privilege” narrative consuming our nation.

The Twitter account @nowthisnews posted a video of shutdown protesters yelling at police in California, Colorado and Michigan with the heading: “What would happen if protesters of color acted this way to police?”

Audra McDonald (@AudraEqualityMc) responded: “We’d all have been shot dead. Next question.”

Unless Ms. McDonald is a time-traveler from 1965, I can’t imagine what she’s talking about. Was she at the Sharpeville Massacre?

McDonald is an actress, and therefore I assume an idiot, but her profoundly ignorant tweet was enthusiastically endorsed by MSNBC talking heads and, at last count, had more than 16,000 “likes” and thousands of retweets.

Are they talking about Ferguson, Missouri, where cops stood by during the 2014 riots and politely watched the city burn? In response to the police shooting of Michael Brown — a shooting that both the grand jury and Eric Holder’s Justice Department found was justified — mostly black protesters raged off and on for months, torching dozens of buildings, shooting at responding firemen, looting stores and throwing rocks at the police.

And yet — miraculously! — no protesters were “shot dead.” No protesters were even arrested, unless they committed felonies in open view of the police.

To the contrary, two policemen were shot by a black protester.

It was the same thing at Black Lives Matter protests across the nation — in Baltimore, Oakland, Dallas, Baton Rouge and so on. Cops stood mutely, as water was dumped on them, their patrol cars were set on fire, rocks were hurled at them and protesters screamed obscenities in their faces. Their marching orders: Do nothing unless you see a crime being committed in front of you — and not always even then.

We’ve had Al Sharpton protests in New York City for decades. No protesters shot dead. In fact, I can’t think of a single protest in the 21st century by black people, or by white people, that police have responded to with violence.

When was the last time? You have to go back to the Democratic National Convention protests of 1968 — and those protesters were white. If we’re including the National Guard, there was Kent State in 1970 — also white protesters. The most recent black protest that was met with police violence was Selma, 1965.

Can we restrict wild generalizations about the police to things that have happened in our lifetimes? If you can produce examples of black people being billy-clubbed merely for protesting, we’d all love to see them. We’re looking for something more recent than 1965.

What would happen if protesters of color acted this way to police?

Audra McDonald: “We’d all have been shot dead. Next question.”

Why not, “They’d bring back slavery. Next question”? It’s just as insane.

Facts don’t matter because the “white privilege” craze is just a fashion statement. What opinions do I need to have to be fashionable? I’m so busy, I go to a lot of dinner parties. Could you fix me up with some opinions? Absolutely! You want to talk about “white privilege,” “racist cops” and “systemic racism” — using these phrases will get you wild applause.

Liberals are so mesmerized by racism fantasies that they don’t look at their own evidence. The video posted by @nowthisnews shows white protesters expressing their opinions volubly at the police. If the protesters were black, these would be called “peaceful protests.”

In one clip, a white guy shows up at a Denver rally with a holstered gun. Then you see the cops handcuffing him. The end. Explain to me how that’s an example of “white privilege.” I think it’s more an illustration of “white protester being subjected to the operation of the law.”

LIBERALS: It’s a white male with a gun! Nuff said.

JUDGE: Did you look at this tape, counselor? Meet me in chambers. I’m trying to help you. This is defense evidence.

The mass delusion about “white privilege” and “systemic racism” has real-world consequences. At a BLM protest in Dallas in July 2016, a black man furious about “racist” police murdered five white policemen in cold blood, wounded seven more and held the city hostage for hours. That year, BLM-inspired activists also murdered three police officers in Baton Rouge and two in New York City.

Everyone’s already forgotten about those racist murders. (Admittedly it was four long years ago, not nearly as recent as 1965.)

Even at the time, the Democratic Party couldn’t support the assassinated officers without eulogizing Black Lives Matter. Days after the Dallas slaughter, President Obama invited Black Lives Matter representatives to the White House.

Hillary Clinton went to CNN to give her considered response to the bloodbath in Dallas. Ignoring the dead officers, she cited a string of recent police shootings, pledged to “go after systemic racism, which is a reality” and called on “white people, like myself, to put ourselves in the shoes of those African-American families who fear every time their children go somewhere.”

This, as the corpses of five white policemen lay in a Dallas morgue, basking in their “white privilege.” Or as Ms. McDonald would say, “Shot dead. Next question.”

SOURCE 

******************************

Political correctness is most pervasive in universities and colleges but I rarely report the  incidents concerned here as I have a separate blog for educational matters.

American "liberals" often deny being Leftists and say that they are very different from the Communist rulers of  other countries.  The only real difference, however, is how much power they have.  In America, their power is limited by democracy.  To see what they WOULD be like with more power, look at where they ARE already  very powerful: in America's educational system -- particularly in the universities and colleges.  They show there the same respect for free-speech and political diversity that Stalin did:  None.  So look to the colleges to see  what the whole country would be like if "liberals" had their way.  It would be a dictatorship.

For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, GREENIE WATCH,   EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS and  DISSECTING LEFTISM.   My Home Pages are here or   here or   here.  Email me (John Ray) here.  Email me (John Ray) here. 
`
************************************