Tag Archives: PA

Current Events

The Empire State

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Folks, I may raise some feathers with this, but I make no apologies. If you live in NY , I feel sorry for you, but my empathy for you is awfully small, especially if you are my age! I don’t care if you have a great job, live close to your kids and grandkids, and simply like living in a state run by complete idiots. Actually, I have little empathy for anyone who lives in CA, OR, or WA either. And I might even throw in WI, MI, or PA. All these states have gone mad to one degree or another. This latest from the Empire State is simply unbelievable. Stand by Ojiisans, you are next! You elected this fool, so live with it!

New York to Give Preference to Minorities in Receiving Covid Antivirals and Monoclonal Antibodies

by bunkerville

One more reason to leave New York. This one is unconscionable. One could reasonably ask why productions of these drugs have not been stepped up. The same question regarding testing. What this leaves of course is rationing. Something the Progressives have had in mind since the Obama days.

There have been rumbles about healthcare for minorities receiving preference. This one takes it to a new level. If anyone thinks it will stop here, think again. Denying treatment based on ethnicity is a slippery slope. Age and disability will be next on the list.

New York Post:

New York City’s and state’s departments of health have reached a divisive and destructive low. In new guidelines rationing scarce, lifesaving oral antiviral medications and the one monoclonal antibody preparation that is effective against the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, they instruct providers to “consider race and ethnicity” and give preference to those who are “Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.” These directives are immoral, illegal and bear no relation to the science.

The city’s Health Advisory #39 directs providers to adhere to the state Department of Health’s prioritization guidance for utilization of these COVID-19 treatments that are in short supply. It asks providers to consider whether patients are immunocompromised, their age, their vaccine status and the number of risk factors (medical conditions) they have for severe illness.

The problem with the state’s guidance is the instruction that “nonwhite race or Hispanic/Latino ethnicity should be considered a risk factor, as longstanding systemic health and social inequities have contributed to an increased risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19.” Hence, all other risk factors such as age, immune, and vaccination status being equal, “nonwhite” and “Hispanic/Latino” patients will be granted superior treatment access compared with whites.

The race-based approach in treatment has already begun to have real-world consequences. One Staten Island doctor said he filled two prescriptions for Paxlovid this week and was asked by the pharmacist to disclose the race of his patients before the treatment was authorized.

“In my 30 years of being a physician I have never been asked that question when I have prescribed any treatment,” said the doctor, who requested anonymity. “The mere fact of having to ask this question is a slippery slope.”

Read more

This approach is not uncommon for the Progressives and harkens back to the days of Obama.

Recall this? Kidney Patients told to accept death, forgo Dialysis –  Asking Kidney Patients to Forgo a Free Lifeline

As they calmly say:

“It was meant to keep young and middle-aged people alive and productive, many of the patients who take advantage of the law are old…  Full story: New York Times

Kidney specialists are pushing doctors to be more forthright with elderly people who have other serious medical conditions, to tell the patients that even though they are entitled to dialysis, they may want to decline such treatment and enter a hospice instead. In the end, it is always the patient’s choice. But for how much longer?

One idea, promoted by leading specialists, is to change the way doctors refer to the decision to forgo dialysis. Instead of saying that a patient is withdrawing from dialysis or agreeing not to start it, these specialists say the patient has chosen “medical management without dialysis”.  ”That is the preferred term,” said Nancy Armistead, executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Renal Coalition, a Medicare contractor that collects data and patient grievances.

Obama:

“Our approach lowers the government’s health care bills by reducing the cost of health care itself,” Obama said. Really? The only way that will happen is by rationing. You may not like the use of the phrase “death panel,” but make no mistake about it — at the end of your life, in Barack Obama’s America, his death panel will throw you under the bus in a way much closer to reality than metaphor. At  RedState

Originally posted 2022-01-04 12:43:43.

Current Events

The Census Myopia

5 Comments

Wow, cannot believe the number of hits on the blog yesterday, well over 500 and the majority were on the LtCol  Scheller post. I want to thank everyone who made comments.. I really enjoy getting comments on posts and yours yesterday were on the mark! As I I am sure you have heard by now he was relieved of his duties as the CO of the Advance Infantry Training Bn, School of Infantry (East), Camp Lejeune, NC at 1430 that very day. The reason given was lack of confidence, which has become the standard cause since the Obama admisntration. 

As a LtCol, he is guaranteed 25 or26 years (can’t remember which) service under DOPMA , unless he is court martialed and kicked out. Of course, there are a variety of other lesser punishments the heavies could dish out. From the comments he made after being relieved, it appears he may just resign his commission and get out on his own. Of course that would be without retirement. Personally, I would stay in the remaining three years doing whatever shit job they decided to give me, then retire. But that’s his decision. I do hope we are able to follow the case and find out what happens.

On to something new this morning, another great article from my favorite contributor, Greg Maresca. Greg is a historian and does so much research on his comments. This one is loaded with thought provoking knowledge, most of which were new to me. Enjoy and once again, pray for our nation.

By: G. Maresca

The nation’s Founders recognized that a government of the people, by the people and for the people needed a consistent census. That is why every ten years a census is required by the Constitution.

The custodian of the national census are its numbers, but its progeny has always been – politics.

The census boils down to Congressional representation, which in turn, makes the political stakes and the scramble for federal monies paramount.

The nation’s overall population increased only 7% from 2010 – the second slowest ever – aided by a plunging national birth rate. The Hispanic population grew by 12 million to 62 million. Black America grew at two million to 46.9 million. The Asian population was up slightly, while Native American and Alaska Natives stayed about the same.

Most are moving South and West with the majority fleeing the Northeast with the mid-Atlantic states having lost 30.5% of their seats in the House of Representatives since 1950, while Florida has more than tripled.

Such a population shift means seven states lost one seat in the House. Pennsylvania, New York, California, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and West Virginia will all forgo one seat. Rural America got older while half of the nation’s counties lost population. States that warrant more seats include Texas with two and Florida, North Carolina, Colorado, Oregon, and Montana with one additional seat.

Republican state legislatures have been tasked with redrawing 187 Congressional districts to 75 for Democrats. With the 2022 midterm elections a little more than a year away, conditions would be primed for Republicans to win the House as they need just five seats.  However, the ten largest cities grew and remain the epicenter of the progressive left making the 2022 midterm no Republican guaranteed win.

What stood out most about the 2020 Census was that for the first time in its longstanding history, the number of white Americans dropped by nine percent and now comprise less than 60% of the nation. The mainstream media played it up hailing it as a “historic demographic milestone.”

California was one state where whites are now in the minority with 34.7%, while Hispanics were the majority with 39.4% of the population. Hawaii and New Mexico are the other two states where whites are in the minority.

Consequently, the nation is becoming more diverse as people claiming a multi-racial identity grew by over 226% with 33.8 million or 10% of the population. Whereas, in 2010, only nine million claimed to be multi-racial.

Apparently, many who identified as white in the past are now claiming otherwise.

Since 2000, the census permits multiple options regarding race or ethnicity. The ways we define minority status are as diverse as the people defining themselves.

Personal preferences don’t seem to matter as much as perception.

Racial identity politics took center stage following the 2012 murder of Trayvon Martin. Martin’s murderer, George Zimmerman, was identified as white, provoking allegations that he racially profiled Martin, who was black. When it was revealed that Zimmerman’s mother is Latino and his father white, he was reclassified as Hispanic and then, white Hispanic.

More Americans are pulling a Sen. Elizabeth Warren who claims she’s 1/32nd Cherokee and thus Native American.

People use their mixed-race background to gain advantage. Many who were half black but passed for white avoided discrimination. Today, some flip the script to claim minority status in order to obtain select college admissions, scholarships, and employment promotions.

The diversifying of America exposes the mythical and fraudulent racist narrative of critical race theorists.

Since America’s white population shrank, so should the number of scapegoats and excuses. It won’t because whites are just too convenient of a piñata for the culture’s ills. Contemporary society thrives on victimhood, so culprits like white, straight, conservative, Christians will remain in demand to populate the lion’s den of leftist angst.

Once upon a time in American immigration policy, both my grandfathers were considered non-white because they were Italian. The same held true for the Irish and the Jews. Perhaps somewhere in the future one’s racial makeup will be an afterthought as Martin Luther King’s dream of a colorblind society will become a reality.

Genetics says skin color is all about melanin levels.

When will society finally agree?

Postscript: Back when the census was being conducted, I had two neighbors who were working for the bureau conducting the door to door interviews. Talking to one, I asked who all he was counting, he said, “Everyone.” To which I queried, “You mean everyone in the household regardless of citizenship.?” He said yes. When I asked why, he replied that it means more money for our county. Later I asked the other neighbor and he said that was illegal and he should not be counting everyone in the household, especially of they are illegal immigrants. So, the takeaway is, how much faith can we place on the results of the national census. 

In the interest of full disclosure, the first neighbor was a die hard liberal (he’s since moved), and the second is as far right as me, and brutally honest.

Originally posted 2021-08-28 12:13:13.

Current Events

Supreme Strikeout

3 Comments

Good day Folks. Before I talk about today’s post allow me to admit to a gross screwup. I posted earlier in the week an oath I believed  was the commissioning oath at USMA. However, had I done my due diligence, I would have discovered it was the Oath of Admissions given to newly joined cadets. Therefore, I removed it. I apologize profusely as I should have done my research as I always do, but failed to this time. I shall not do so again. That is my literary  responsibility.

However, even though it was their admissions oath, I still take exception to its wording. It is very telling about what the USMA plans to teach these young sponges.  If you goggle it and listen to it carefully, I suspect you will find it “strange” to whom they are pledging allegiance.

Now to the post. Once again Greg comes through with a barn burner. Makes me wonder why we even have a Supreme Court if they cannot answer the mail in a manner that solves the issues instead of leaving them open to further interpretation and litigation. Roberts has always been and continues to be a weak Justice in my book. He was appointed by the young Bush.

By Greg Maresca

Supreme Court decisions are national news but a 9-0 decision in today’s world of partisan politics is an anomaly. Fulton v. City of Philadelphia was based on discrimination of the Free Exercise Clause of the Constitution’s First Amendment and although unanimous, religious liberty still hangs in the balance.

In 2018, despite a critical need for foster families, the city of Philadelphia prohibited Catholic Social Services (CSS) from providing foster care. CSS had been at it for over two centuries long before fostering was a government service. Holding fast to Catholic moral teaching, CSS excluded gay couples from participating. Moreover, CSS will not place children with unmarried heterosexual couples either.

The kicker is no gay couple has ever asked CSS for foster service because 27 other organizations throughout Philadelphia already do. As other Philadelphia foster care Christian ministries surrendered to the city’s demands, CSS chose to fight claiming their First Amendment rights were violated.

CSS lost at the Third Circuit but were vindicated last month by the Supreme Court.  All nine justices agreed Philadelphia violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote CSS’s work is not “public accommodation,” since “certification as a foster parent . . . is not readily accessible to the public.” Philadelphia’s fault was not in excluding a ministry that follows biblical morality, but not considering it to be “public accommodation.”

Herein lies the crux of the issue.

Justices Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch panned the vulnerability of Robert’s words since it fails to answer the greater question of religious liberty protections for Christian ministries. All three justices are constitutional originalists.

Roberts has routinely sought unanimous consent while deciding on specifics and diluting principle. Such jurisprudence only guarantees future litigation. Roberts is so bound to legal precedent that writing clearly on Constitutional matters is nearly impossible. His fear of originalist context would rule Dred Scott as still relevant.

This is what morally confused thinking produces.

There is much to be said for distinct moral clarity when laws are written and adjudicated.

The powers that be are too willing to compromise on principle to make it appear fair to both sides. Eventually, there will be no principles left worth defending.

Roberts is arguably one of the weakest chief justices in the court’s history.

The unanimous ruling has little significance, as Alito wrote, “This decision might as well be written on the dissolving paper sold in magic shops. The City has been adamant about pressuring CSS to give in, and if the City wants to get around today’s decision, it can simply eliminate the never-used exemption power. The Court has emitted a wisp of a decision that leaves religious liberty in a confused and vulnerable state.” In its future dealings in foster contracts, Alito asks, “What if it simply deletes the exemption clause? Voilà,” Alito writes, “today’s decision will vanish, and the parties will be back where they started.”

The Court has once again struck a glancing blow for religious liberty rather than establishing a rock-solid precedent.

Just last week the court refused to hear Arlene’s Flowers, Inc. vs. Washington, another case where fighting for one’s religious liberty ends without justice while damaging one’s livelihood. Colorado baker Jack Phillips is still a target after he won his Supreme Court case and the Little Sisters of the Poor have had to make two court appearances.

Given the left’s enmity to religious liberty, the nation is in desperate need of a Supreme Court that must boldly defend it.

How pathetic that any of these cases had to petition the Supreme Court, let alone make a trip to court at all.  Throughout this litigation, the charitable works of CSS were partially derailed hurting the very people the leftists in Philadelphia claim to care about.

How many times does the Supreme Court have to decide in favor of the religious before the harassment ends?

The Supreme Court whiffed a grand opportunity to protect religious liberty more convincingly.

Here’s hoping they will not miss the next one because there will be a next one.

Such proceedings only underscore how our ultimate trust lies not with the Supreme Court, the Congress, or who sits in the Oval Office, but in Divine Providence.

Amen

 

Originally posted 2021-07-08 16:12:42.

Current Events, Recent Posts

The Not So Magnificent Seven

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Remember the movie with a similar name? Yes, they were magnificent, great actors, all seven. But how about these seven. Did you do your research to see who they were? Well, I did and there were no surprises. Hmm, wonder how they’ll do in their next re-election? Of those seven, two are retiring and only one — Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski — faces her state’s voters in the next election cycle, 2022.  But they’ll all do well since Americans have short memories. Anyway, here they are. 

Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) attends a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee nomination hearing for Michael Stanley Regan to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, DC, on February 3, 2021. (Photo by BRANDON BELL / POOL / AFP) (Photo by BRANDON BELL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)  Political situation: Burr, who’s served in the Senate since 2005, announced years ago that this term would be his last. Two days after his vote to convict Trump, the North Carolina Republican Party unanimously voted to censure Burr.WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 12: Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) talks to reporters in the Senate subway on his way to the fourth day of the Senates second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol on February 12, 2021 in Washington, DC. Trumps defense team begins their presentation of the defense that Trump should not be held responsible for the January 6th attack at the U.S. Capitol on First Amendment grounds and the fact that he is no longer in office. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)Political situation: The backlash to Cassidy’s vote to convict was swift. The state GOP voted unanimously to censure him, releasing a statement saying it condemns Cassidy’s action.

WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 04: Senator Susan Collins, R-ME, speaks during the confirmation hearing for Labor secretary nominee Marty Walsh testifies before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill February 4, 2021 in Washington, DC. Walsh was previously the mayor of Boston. (Photo by Graeme Jennings-Pool/Getty Images)Political situation: Collins’ next election is in 2026. Like Cassidy, Collins just won reelection in 2020, though her race was much closer in a state Trump lost (he won one electoral vote in the state for winning its 2nd Congressional District).

WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 13: Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) talks to a reporter in the Senate subway at the conclusion of former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial February 13, 2021 in Washington, DC. The Senate voted 57-43 to acquit Trump. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)Political situation: Murkowski, a senator since 2002, is up for reelection next year, but as Alaska Public Media recently reported, her state’s new election rules likely mean she’ll be in less danger of losing her primary.

WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 10: U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) enters the reception room ahead of the second day of Trumps second impeachment trial on February 10, 2021 in Washington, DC. Today is the second day in Trumps second impeachment trial addressing remarks that he made ahead of the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6. (Photo by Brandon Bell – Pool/Getty Images)Political situation: This wasn’t Romney’s first time harshly criticizing Trump or breaking ranks with his party. He was the only Republican to vote to convict Trump on one article during the former president’s first impeachment trial in early 2020, and in recent weeks was called “a joke” and a “traitor” by Trump supporters while traveling from Utah to Washington, D.C.

Senator Ben Sasse, R-NE speaks during a hearing for Janet Yellen, President-elect Joe Bidens nominee for Secretary of the Treasury,as she participates in a Senate Finance Committee hearing in Washington DC, on January 19, 2021. – Biden, who will take office on January 20, 2021, has proposed a $1.9 trillion rescue package to help businesses and families struggling amid the pandemic, and Yellen would be tasked with getting that massive bill through a Congress where some are wary of the skyrocketing budget deficit. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ANNA MONEYMAKER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images).Political situation: Sasse has spoken out against Trump in strong ways in recent months. In a call with constituents in October, Sasse worried out loud that Trump would bring down the Republican-controlled Senate in November.

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 30: Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) leaves the Senate chamber during a recess in the Senate impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump continues at the U.S. Capitol on January 30, 2020 in Washington, DC. On Thursday, Senators continue asking questions for the House impeachment managers and the president’s defense team. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images).Political situation: Toomey — who like Maine’s Collins represents a state Trump lost in the presidential election — announced in October that he would not seek reelection in 2022.

Any from your State (AK, ME, NE, UT, PA, LA, NC)? None from mine.

Originally posted 2021-02-21 09:47:40.