masks

Crime Solved

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Yesterday BBR posted content questioning what some cities and their leadership were doing about the ramp-up in flash mob theft.  We specifically cited Lori Lightfoot’s ignorant response(s) which put the responsibility back on the retailers.  Lightfoot is no gumshoe, but we digress.

We also observed that about twenty national retailers penned a letter asking the federal government for help.  Well, what do you know?  Yesterday, Jen Psaki, WH Press Secretary was asked what the reasons for this spike were and what help the Biden Administration would provide back to the local level.

“I would say, we have seen, I’m not going to attribute the reasoning from here,” Psaki said. “What I will tell you is we have seen an increase in crime over the course of the pandemic. There is a range of reasons for that.”

Psaki didn’t go into any of the range of reasons.  But she did cite the pandemic.  We are aware of several side effects of Covid-19 and its variants like the loss of taste and smell, but not the loss of merchandise in stores.   Who knew that planned robberies were a viral symptom?

What is even stranger is that this side effect seems to be acutely affecting San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, New York, and Minneapolis.   All of these cities lead the way in mask mandates and social distancing.  We wonder if asking their police to stand down prior to the pandemic during the “mostly peaceful” protests could be a root cause as well.

Maybe.  “The president has proposed additional funding in the budget to make sure local police departments and cops have the funding they need,” Psaki said. “We also have worked directly with police departments in areas where they are seeing the highest impact of the crime, the retail theft—which we have great concern about.”

So, it seems that defunding the police and causing mayhem was the ticket to getting elected while refunding the police might be needed to get reelected.

Also.  “One of the root reasons of crime in communities is guns and gun violence, and we’ve seen that statistically around the country,” Psaki said last week.  Chicago might even agree.

No one asked her if any guns have been brandished during the smash and grab crimes.  They haven’t been.  But, it’s always a good day to take a shot at gun control that way when a store owner shoots a “victim or two” we can take to the streets again protesting these senseless shootings.

And finally.  She added: “Our focus is currently on doing what we can to make sure the funding is out there to the communities that need it the most.”

Which communities need it the most?  The ones cited above that elected them in the first place.  It’s always a good day to throw federal money at your local political bases.

So there you have it.  Just one day after asking, ye shall receive.

This is governance at its finest.

Problem day one, fixed day two.

Now, these cities can go back to enforcing the reinstated mask mandates to save even more lives.

 

 

Follow the Political Science

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

“Follow the science,” we were told by our political leaders.  “Ok,” we mostly replied.

“It’ll be two weeks to flatten the curve,” we were promised.  “Sounds good,” we begrudgingly replied.

“Two masks are better than one,” the power-hungry cried.  “Go to hell,” all but the most obedient sighed.

“No real change can occur until we can have the masses vaccinated,” came the disappointing announcement.  “Ugh,” we collectively uttered.

And, after a year and counting, last week the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced that the science now provided a comfort level for them to make a proclamation.   People fully vaccinated against Covid-19 do not need to wear masks or practice social distancing indoors or outdoors, the director of the CDC announced Thursday.

“If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a White House Covid-19 briefing. “We have all longed for this moment when we can get back to some sense of normalcy.”
Calling it an “exciting and powerful moment,” Walensky said the science supports the updated CDC guidance.
But the science must not apply in Washington DC.  At least not yet.

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy introduced a resolution to update the House’s mask policies in light of the CDC’s revised guidelines.  McCarthy introduced H. Res. 414, a privileged resolution that would direct Congress’s Attending Physician to update the House’s mask policies in light of the updated guidelines on masks.

Why is the resolution privileged?  Isn’t everything in DC privileged?  We digress.  Who knew Congress had an attending physician?  Isn’t everyone in Congress privileged?  We digress again.

Democrats blocked the resolution to update the House’s mask policies straight down partisan lines, with 218 votes cast against vs 210 Republicans voting in favor.

Not one Democrat followed the science.  Not one Republican disagreed with the science.  Amazing?  No.  Shameful?  Yes.

Resolution co-authors, along with McCarthy, released the following as part of their full statement after the vote.

After a year of lockdowns and restrictions, Americans are yearning for normalcy, and we should celebrate the progress the vaccines have helped us achieve in just a few months.

Vaccinated Americans should have the confidence to return to their pre-pandemic routines, and the federal government should help reinforce trust in the vaccine. This should start with our leadership in Congress. That is why we are calling on Speaker Pelosi to stop politicizing science as a personal vendetta against her political opponents. Instead, she should adopt the same mask guidance from the CDC, which the White House and Senate are using as the basis for their protocols.

As elected officials, we have a responsibility to send a message to the American people that we believe in the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.

In other words, that same science that we followed at the outset of this pandemic should be followed now.
“The Speaker’s reluctance to trust the science will only help to sow distrust in the vaccines,” the Republicans concluded in their statement.
In other words, if you can’t trust the CDC’s recommendation on masks, why should you trust the recommendation to get vaccinated?  Sixty-three percent of Americans haven’t been vaccinated yet.
Last week BBR published the results of the Rasmussen Poll that asked Americans how much longer should we continue to wear masks.  If you recall six percent said indefinitely.   Was Speaker Pelosi one of those in that six percent polled?
No, she and her 217 followers in Congress were not.
They love watching the polls though.  Political polls.  Always.
We’re guessing one shows that a good bit of their vaccinated base isn’t quite ready to shed their baby blanket, er, mask.
Maybe it is about science after all.  Political science that is.