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The unscientific ‘health officer’ of Los Angeles County

Saturday, March 13, 2021, 11:35 am | Randy Thomasson

Here’s why you must not blindly follow human “authorities,” but must stubbornly follow the evidence as a free thinker.

Barbara Ferrer, the tyrannical “health officer” of Los Angeles County, who for months has “ordered” the shutting down and masking up of nearly everything and everyone, is now quoting junk science as her justification.

As reported March 9, 2021 in the Los Angeles Times (which is also pushing junk science):

“As we plan to move into the red tier, where additional reopenings will be permitted, we’re looking closely at the science to understand what practices can help reduce community transmission of COVID-19,” Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. She pointed to a study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which found that the rate of COVID-19 deaths slowed in counties where states required masks, and sped up in counties where states allowed on-site restaurant dining. That’s something that we’ll need to take into account as we begin more reopenings in our restaurants,” she said.

Note how Ferrer calls private businesses that she (and L.A.’s ruling Democrat county supervisors) are greatly harming “our restaurants”? Does she think the government owns these restaurants and other small businesses, like big-government socialists who are growing into full-fledged communists?

But the main deception here is that Ferrer and the Los Angeles County’s Democrat supervisors, along with the misnamed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are all pushing a sham study to try to justify their mask mandates.

On March 4, 2021, the careful researchers of the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) published a scathing review of the CDC’s mask-promoting agenda, entitled “The CDC’s Mask Mandate Study: Debunked.” The article analyzed CDC’s late February report, which served as a basis for CDC’s early March “study,” which then became Ferrer’s public claim.

In addition to providing numerous recent high-quality case-controlled studies demonstrating that face masks either don’t stop the spread of Covid or that general-public masks might actually increase its transmission, the AIER article explains the “snow job” that CDC is doing on the unsuspecting public:

En face, CDC’s conclusion on mandates might appear to make sense unless one is familiar with the scientific data pertaining to the ineffectiveness of masking for prevention of the spread of Covid-19 (e.g. references 123456789101112131415) in which case the findings in fact contradict most of what is now known. The CDC’s conclusion might have made more sense if the real-world evidence we have about mandates did not actually exist (e.g. references 1234). 

Does the CDC really think that masks prevent the wearer from getting Covid, or from spreading it to others? The CDC admits that the scientific evidence is mixed, as their most recent report glosses over many unanswered scientific questions. But even if it were clear – or clear enough – as a scientific matter that masks properly used could reduce transmission, it is a leap to conclude that a governmental mandate to wear masks will do more good than harm, even as a strictly biological or epidemiological matter. Mask mandates may not be followed; masks worn as a result of a mandate may not be used properly; some mask practices like double masking can do harm, particularly to children; and even if a mask mandate results in some increased number of masks being worn and worn properly, the mandate and the associated publicity may reduce the public’s attention to other more effective safeguards, such as meticulous hygiene practices. 

Thus, it is not surprising that the CDC’s own recent conclusion on the use of nonpharmaceutical measures such as face masks in pandemic influenza, warned that scientific “evidence from 14 randomized controlled trials of these measures did not support a substantial effect on transmission…” Moreover, in the WHO’s 2019 guidance document on nonpharmaceutical public health measures in a pandemic, they reported as to face masks that “there is no evidence that this is effective in reducing transmission…” Similarly, in the fine print to a recent double-blind, double-masking simulation the CDC stated that “The findings of these simulations [supporting mask usage] should neither be generalized to the effectiveness …nor interpreted as being representative of the effectiveness of these masks when worn in real-world settings.”

AIER summarized six “main scientific shortcomings or analytical ambiguities” in the CDC report:

1. The study does not factor in contributing factors of a seasonal increase in sunlight (when people soak up healthy Vitamin D) or school closures or social distancing practices.

2. It does not compare infection, sickness, or death rates between states with or without mask mandates.

3. It uses an unreliable formula to calculate conclusions.

4. It’s based on limited locations within a state and does not use statewide data.

5. It ignores the bulk of high-qualify case-controlled analyses on masks, which have “found no statistically or clinically significant impact of mask-use in regard to the rate of infection.”

6. It ignores real-world experience showing mask mandates accompanying a higher transmission rate.

So now you know. “Public health authorities,” from Tony Fauci on down, who claim wearing a face mask will prevent Covid transmission, are either ignorantly misleading you or blatantly lying to you. Yet when you follow the evidence and do your own critical thinking, you’ll logically conclude that wearing a mask doesn’t help you, but instead hurts and dehumanizes you.

If you’re still not convinced, why did the World Health Organization (WHO), the CDC, Tony Fauci, and even the U.S. Surgeon General all publicly state in February or March of 2020 that face masks for the general public will not prevent transmission of Covid? Because that was before face masks became politically-correct as a useful agenda for the Radical Left to “reset society” — and in the process, destroy free enterprise (capitalism), people’s God-given natural rights, and your American constitutional rights.

During a recent United Nations video conference, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau became the latest world leader to call for an economic “reset” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Great Reset is a proposal by the World Economic Forum (WEF) to “reset” the global capitalist economy by replacing it with one that embraces socialist principles and policies. The plan, supported by a number of prominent political, business, and civil leaders, includes collective property ownership, overhauling the energy sector, and massive wealth redistribution on a global scale. Echoing other advocates of “The Great Reset,” Trudeau explains how the COVID-19 pandemic has “laid bare fundamental gaps and inequities within our societies.” “This pandemic has provided an opportunity for a reset,” Trudeau said. “This is our chance to accelerate our pre-pandemic efforts to reimagine economic systems that actually address global challenges like extreme poverty, inequality and climate change.” “Justin Trudeau Latest World Leader to Call for The Great Reset,” Nov. 16, 2020

March 17 recall petition deadline

Monday, March 8, 2021, 8:49 pm | Randy Thomasson

Great news — the Recall Gavin Newsom campaign believes it has enough raw signatures to produce the required 1,495,709 valid signatures. I believe it too.

But to be extra safe in this cheating and stealing era of loose vote-by-mail ballots, why not keep getting new signatures until the March 17 deadline?

Thank you for how you’ve signed and circulated petitions! There’s a recall leader in every county in California. Please ask your county coordinator what is the final day you can hand in signatures. Because wouldn’t 2.1 or 2.2 million total signatures be good “insurance”?

The ruling Democrats’ thieving, deceitful tax hike scheme

Monday, August 3, 2020, 10:10 am | Randy Thomasson
“Can’t you cut the waste instead?”

They’ve already hurt you, and intend to hurt you more.

You already know California state government has made you poorer. But did you know that the California Legislature has been virtually controlled by Democrats for the last 60 years? And that Democrats control three-quarters of both the State Assembly and State Senate?

This year, your Democrat-controlled state government is destroying small businesses and family livelihoods with their extremely harmful lockdown. And now, they’re coming in for the kill with AB 1253 to directly raise income taxes without a vote of the people.

As a native Californian, I can’t remember anything like this. But the over-confident, thieving Democrat politicians are drunk with power. That’s why they’re daring to massively raise taxes by government fiat, not letting the voters decide, and doing this damage the same year that state government has financially injured Californians, and in an election year too.

AB 1253 would massively raise taxes on the rich, as if California taxes punishing success weren’t already too high. As California Political Review explains:

AB 1253 would add Revenue and Taxation Code Section 17044 to create three new tax rates for amounts of income above specified thresholds. As a tax levy, it would take effect immediately upon the Governor’s signature and chaptering by the Secretary of State. The bill would apply retroactively to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2020. As a tax increase measure, it would require a 2/3 vote of both houses of the Legislature pursuant to Article XIIIA, Section 3 of the California Constitution.

Specifically, AB 1253 would add a new section to the Revenue and Taxation Code to provide the following three higher tax rates (in addition to the existing ones):

A 1% tax on income above $1 million, but not over $2 million
A 3% tax on income over $2 million, but not over $5 million
A 3.5% tax on income over $5 million

This would make the state with the highest income taxes even more infamous about taking money from the responsible to give to the irresponsible.

Under AB 1253, the most successful earners would see their state income tax rate jump from 13.3% to 16.8%. Making things worse, this tax would be retroactive to January 2020!

Now before you breathe a sigh of relief and think, “I’m glad my taxes won’t go up — this is only a tax on the rich,” think again. Because the power to tax is the power to destroy. Taxing one group always has intended consequences, hurting other people too.

Here are four ways AB 1253’s huge new tax on the rich would hurt everybody:

  1. Million-dollar earners will move out of state. We’ve seen this before and we’ll see it again. The wealthy already have the highest mobility in society with the greatest number of options of where to live. Expect to see an exodus of wealthy Californians, even if only to the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. That means the ruling Democrats will be more likely to raise taxes on lower earners instead. Because water always finds its way to the lowest level, doesn’t it? 
  2. In turn, you’ll experience inflation. Million-dollar earners that stay in California are smart enough not to lose money. So, because most of them own businesses, they’ll look for more ways to get more money from their customers. This means higher prices for us all. Ready to suffer more? 
  3. It’ll be easier for the ruling Democrats to directly raise taxes on you later. By accepting a huge tax hike on one “class” of Californians, then by reelecting the tax-hikers, we’re telling them we accept regular tax increases as “normal.” This will throw gasoline on the fire for more sales tax hikes, car tax hikes, and income tax hikes creeping into more tax brackets. Remember, to be a good Democrat politician today, you have to think other people’s money is yours. AB 1253 is training them to do that ever so much more so to you and your family. 
  4. AB 1253’s huge tax hike hides all the wasteful spending. Not once will the ruling Democrats say publicly there’s any waste to slash. They won’t admit there’s a mountain of waste, fraud, and abuse throughout California state government. Making it easy for them to deceive and hide waste is 60+ years of Democrats controlling the State Legislature, and no independent, out-of-state, Texas-style audit. And this year, in the midst of the destructive lockdown of Gavin Newsom and the Democrats, government workers continue to be paid, and government pensions continue to rise. AB 1253 is the equivalent of a bad employee — who’s been hurting your customers, wasting your resources, and not caring to do his job — coming to you and demanding a raise. Don’t give the ruling Democrats a raise — fire them!

    TAKE ACTION NOW: Please contact your own state assemblymember and state senator, as well as Governor Gavin Newsom. Tell them, “Oppose AB 1253. No new taxes!” Enter your voter registration address here to reveal the websites of your state assemblymember and state senator. Click their links to see the telephone numbers and web contact forms for each. To contact Governor Newsom, click here.

    “The power to tax is the power to destroy.”
    From the words of Daniel Webster and John Marshall in 1819