Coronavirus has upended our lives, disrupting our economy and reshaping our idea of “normal.” Now, as lockdowns persist, Americans are facing challenging decisions about the line between public health and personal freedom. This collection offers insight into the political, cultural and economic impacts of the coronavirus.

As the Daily Wire reported, “On Monday evening, Vice President Kamala Harris, arriving in Florida, implied that the state of Florida needed her help, tweeting, ‘Hey Florida! Help is Here.’”
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Hey Florida! Help is Here. <a href="https://t.co/XYt2NVUxs4">pic.twitter.com/XYt2NVUxs4</a>
&mdash; Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) <a href="https://twitter.com/VP/status/1374106176531615744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2021</a></blockquote>
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As the New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/22/us/politics/kamala-harris-florida.html">puts it</a>, “Harris Visits Florida to Sell Stimulus Package in a Republican-Led State,” adding that “The vice president urged Americans to get vaccinated and promoted programs like food assistance as the administration seeks to build public support amid partisan divisions in Washington.”
“I’m here to emphasize the importance of vaccinations and getting the vaccine,” Harris told reporters in Jacksonville. “One thing is for sure, if you get vaccinated when it’s your turn, you are much more likely to avoid contracting COVID.”
This visit is part of a larger pattern of behavior from the Democrats and their comrades in the legacy media, which is the attempt to paint Florida as a failed state when it comes to COVID-19, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis the true villain of the pandemic.
Nothing could be further from the truth, and the <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fcases-updates%2Fcases-in-us.html#cases_deathsper100k">data</a> proves it. Here is a breakdown of the key comparisons between Florida and other Democrat states whose policies were disastrous during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Population size
According to 2019 <a href="https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2010s-state-detail.html">data</a> from the United States Census Bureau, Florida is among the country’s most populous states, with almost 21.5 million residents. 
Compared to other populous states, however, Florida has the largest proportion of elderly residents, with almost 4.5 million people aged 65 years and over, meaning that almost 21% of Florida&#8217;s population is considered high-risk for COVID-19 based on age alone.
In New York, for example, only 17% of the population is aged 65 years and over, with California just under 15%, and New Jersey at 16.6%.
According to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/older-adults.html">CDC</a>, those aged 65 years and above are most at risk when it comes to hospitalization or death due to COVID-19. Those between the ages of 65 and 74 are 35 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 compared to 5-17-year-olds. Those between the ages of 75 and 84 are 55 times more likely to be hospitalized. Those aged 85 and above are 80 times more likely to be hospitalized. 
The likelihood of death due to COVID-19 compared to 5-17-year-olds also rapidly increases for older age groups. Those between 65 and 75-years-old are 1,100 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than 5-17-year-olds. Those between 75 and 84-years-old are 2,800 times more likely to die from COVID-19, and those aged 85 and older are 7,900 times more likely to die.
Cases
In terms of raw count, Florida has 2.01 million reported cases of COVID-19. This places them third in the nation, with California having 3.65 million cases and Texas having 2.76 million cases.
However, when we adjust for population size — as we must to fairly compare any two states — the ranking changes. Florida has 9,178 cases per 100,000 in population, while New York City alone has 9,560 cases per 100,000 in population, with New York State (excluding New York City) having 8,944 cases per 100,000 in population. New Jersey also has 9,749 cases per 100,000 in population. 
In fact, Florida is ranked 30th (29th if we exclude New York City) in terms of case rate per 100,000 people. North Dakota, South Dakota, Rhode Island, Utah, Tennessee, Arizona, Oklahoma, Iowa, Arizona, Wisconsin, Nebraska, South Carolina, Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, Indiana, Idaho, Georgia, Nevada, New Jersey, Montana, Illinois, Wyoming, New York City, Delaware, Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Missouri all have a higher case rate per 100,000 people than Florida.
Deaths
In terms of raw count, Florida has 32,778 deaths from COVID-19. This places them fourth in the nation, with California having 57,744 deaths, New York having 48,959 deaths, and Texas having 47,616 deaths.
When we adjust for population size, the ranking changes again. Florida has 152 deaths per 100,000  in population. New York City alone has 365 deaths per 100,000 in population, while New York (excluding New York City) has 168 deaths per 100,000 in population. New Jersey has 272 deaths per 100,000 in population, and Illinois has 184 deaths per 100,000 in population. 
In comparison, 26 states have a higher death rate than Florida. New York City, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Arizona, Connecticut, South Dakota, Louisiana, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Indiana, North Dakota, New Mexico, Illinois, Arkansas, Iowa, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, New York, Nevada, Kansas, Texas, Delaware and Ohio all ranked higher than Florida.
Vaccines
According to the <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations">CDC</a>, a total of 83,930,495 people have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in the United States. This amounts to 25.3% of the total population. 45,533,962 have been fully vaccinated, amounting to 13.7% of the population.
Florida has administered a total of 8,250,717 doses, with a rate of 38,415 doses administered per 100,000 in population. This is more than Texas (33,954 doses administered per 100,000 in population), and just behind California (38,846 doses administered per 100,000 in population).
However, Florida is ahead of multiple states when it comes to the vaccination of those 65 years and older — the highest risk category for serious outcomes due to COVID-19. In this age category, Florida has a rate of 124,816 doses administered per 100,000 in population. In California, that rate is 120,215. In New York, it is 94,193. In Pennsylvania, it is 100,433. In New Jersey, it is 97,788.
***
The fact is that the data indicates that Florida’s COVID-19 response has been noticeably better than that of other large Democratic-run states. Florida is one of the most populous states in the country, with the largest proportional elderly population — with age being a high risk category for serious or deadly COVID-19 outcomes — and yet still ranks 29th in terms of case rate and 26th in terms of death rate. 
Not only was Florida’s response superior, their vaccination strategy is also successful when we consider the undeniable fact that older populations are more at risk. Florida is outperforming California, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey when it comes to immunizing those who need the vaccine most.
So why is Kamala Harris arriving in Florida to “save the day,” when the day was saved by DeSantis long ago? Good question.
Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/ighaworth">@ighaworth</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Ron DeSantis

The Data Proves It: Florida’s COVID Response Was Superior To New York And California

COVID

Florida

All available evidence — both from test studies and real-world usage — indicates that the COVID-19 vaccines being administered in the United States are both safe and effective. According to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/safety-of-vaccines.html#:~:text=Millions%20of%20people%20have%20safely,are%20safe%20and%20effective.">CDC</a>, “Over 109 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered in the United States from December 14, 2020, through March 15, 2021,” and “COVID-19 vaccines were evaluated in tens of thousands of participants in clinical trials,” with the vaccines meeting the “FDA’s rigorous scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality needed to support emergency use authorization (EUA).”
Despite the safety and efficacy of the vaccine — demonstrated by nations like Israel whose vaccine program has been hugely successful — there is some level of skepticism in the United States when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccine. 
Now, this reality is being actively manipulated into a partisan tool of attack against conservatives by the legacy media. CNN’s Brian Stelter decried “right-wing media personalities” who say “they’re merely asking questions, when they are really sowing doubts.” 
Earlier that day, Stelter <a href="https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/1373605573409787911">shared</a> a link to an LA Times column titled, “Half of Republican men say they don’t want the vaccine. They’re mooching off the rest of us.”
The <a href="https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-03-21/half-of-republican-men-say-they-dont-want-the-vaccine-theyre-mooching-off-the-rest-of-us">column</a> cites a recent NPR/PBS/Marist <a href="http://maristpoll.marist.edu/npr-pbs-newshour-marist-poll-results-the-biden-administration-covid-19/#sthash.SodVXblX.dpbs">poll</a>, saying that “fully 49% of Republican men said they do not plan to get vaccinated — a higher share of refusers than any other demographic group. Among Democratic men, the number saying no was only 6%.”
The column continues, claiming that this finding has “confounded public health professionals.”
“‘We’ve never seen an epidemic that was polarized politically before,’ Robert J. Blendon, a health policy scholar at Harvard, told me,” the column reads. 
“For months, Blendon and his colleagues expected ‘vaccine hesitancy’ to be a problem mainly among African Americans, whose history has been marked by neglect and abuse by medical authorities. But Black Americans, after some initial hesitance, now say they want the vaccine at the same rate that white people do,” Doyle McManus writes. “Republicans, on the other hand, have become more resistant — especially since a Democrat became president.”
In order for Democrats and the Leftist legacy media to pivot to present “conservative” media as the ideological enemy they hope to use as a replacement for Trump, they are relying on one defining factor: that the behavior of Democrats while Trump was in office will continue to remain hidden.
After all, throughout the pandemic, high-ranking members of the Democratic Party ignored their supposedly &#8220;pro-science&#8221; positions and openly questioned the legitimacy of a vaccine. That is, until Trump left office.
Kamala Harris
In early September, Kamala Harris spoke with CNN’s Dana Bash. During the interview, she implied that the approval and safety of a COVID-19 vaccine would be directly impacted by Trump. Harris claimed — without evidence — that “public health experts and scientists” would be “muzzled,” “suppressed,” and “sidelined.” 
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BASH: “Let&#39;s just say there is a vaccine that is approved and even distributed before the election. Would you get it?&quot;
HARRIS: “I would not trust Donald Trump&#8230; I will not take his word for it.&quot;<a href="https://t.co/7NIp1F8WkB">pic.twitter.com/7NIp1F8WkB</a>
&mdash; Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) <a href="https://twitter.com/DailyCaller/status/1302297793458036737?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Harris’ argument was that Trump was “looking at an election coming up in less than 60 days and he’s grasping for whatever he can get to pretend that he has been a leader on this issue.” 
When asked by Bash if she would get the vaccine if it was approved, Harris grinned and said “I would not trust Donald Trump.”
During their Vice Presidential debate in October, Mike Pence condemned Harris’ political tactics as “unconscionable,” asking her to “stop playing politics with people’s lives.”
Joe Biden
During his campaign, Joe Biden also sowed doubts about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, asking audience members, “who’s going to take the shot?” 
He continued, asking, “you going to be the first one to say ‘put me, sign me up, they now say it’s OK?’” He even confirmed the seriousness of his question, adding, “I’m not being facetious.”
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Joe Biden is ignoring Dr. Fauci and other experts and deliberately trying to undermine confidence in the coronavirus vaccine here.
Legit question from this: does Biden believe Americans shouldn&#39;t get the vaccine when its ready? <a href="https://t.co/AgEGQeL3UE">pic.twitter.com/AgEGQeL3UE</a>
&mdash; Andrew Clark (@AndrewHClark) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewHClark/status/1301897596047446017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Later in September, Biden appeared to walk back his argument, mimicking Harris’ strategy of sowing distrust by conflating the supposed trustworthiness of President Trump with the legitimacy of the vaccine. “I trust vaccines, I trust scientists, but I don’t trust Donald Trump,” he <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/09/16/913646110/i-trust-vaccines-i-trust-scientists-but-i-don-t-trust-donald-trump-biden-says">said</a>.
Andrew Cuomo
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has come under significant fire for his administration’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, appeared to actively encourage his constituents to distrust the federal government on the subject of vaccine safety.
“Frankly, I’m not going to trust the federal government’s opinion,” Cuomo said, “and I wouldn’t recommend to New Yorkers based on the federal government’s opinion.”
The governor also said that New York state would have its own health officials screen any federally approved vaccine before its use.
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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he doesn&#39;t ‘trust the federal government&#39;s opinion’ on a safe COVID-19 vaccine, so New York State will set up a task force to conduct an independent review <a href="https://t.co/A8IjlEIZby">https://t.co/A8IjlEIZby</a> <a href="https://t.co/BeMtj8oTwW">pic.twitter.com/BeMtj8oTwW</a>
&mdash; Reuters (@Reuters) <a href="https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1309229871357472769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Nancy Pelosi
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also sowed distrust, <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/517080-pelosi-public-confidence-key-to-successful-vaccine">justifying</a> doubts regarding the legitimacy of a vaccine by calling for additional approval by “independent” committees.
“Unless there is confidence that the vaccine has gone through the clinical trials, and then is approved by the independent scientific advisory committee, as established to do just this, there will be doubts that people will have.”
She also fueled the issue of vaccine skepticism when she <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/oct/09/us-wont-rely-on-uk-for-covid-vaccine-safety-tests-says-nancy-pelosi">claimed</a> — without evidence — that the United States may approve a vaccine simply because the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom had done so. 
“My concern is that the UK’s system for that kind of judgment is not on a par with ours in the United States. So if Boris Johnson decides he is going to approve a drug and this president embraces that, that is a concern that I have.”
***
Not only did these high-level Democrats promote what is arguably anti-vaccine propaganda while Trump was in office, there was evidence of vaccine skepticism among the American Left which was not met with derision and scorn by the legacy media. For example, according to an Economist/YouGov <a href="https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/2020/11/09/democrats-wary-covid-vaccine-poll">poll</a> from November 2020, it was actually Democrats who were 30% “more likely than Republicans to be worried about the speed of vaccine development (90% vs 60%).” Not only that, between the month of July and November, “Democrats’ desire to get vaccinated for COVID-19 dropped from 60% to 43%.”
Ian Haworth is host of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkPxdVsNp7k&amp;list=PLhi-aq-5DfuTQRVv1IOVMnA735vEYO0f5">The Ian Haworth Show</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E05t2L69Sks&amp;list=PLhi-aq-5DfuRHu5r0IV5qr4h2rBAV9oBd">The Truth in 60 Seconds</a>. Follow him on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/ighaworth">@ighaworth</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris

Here Are Four Democrats Who Fueled Vaccine Skepticism While Trump Was In Office

COVID-19 Vaccine

Vaccines

On multiple occasions over the past year, Dr. Anthony Fauci testified before Congress to update lawmakers on America’s COVID-19 response.
Dr. Fauci assumed control of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in 1984. The infectious disease expert — who has served through seven presidential administrations in his current position — quickly assumed a leading role in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the past year, however, many Americans have expressed frustration over Dr. Fauci’s seemingly fluid public health guidelines. 
For example, at one point, Fauci <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-5-different-mask-policies-held-by-dr-fauci-in-11-months">told</a> Americans that face masks were unnecessary. He then pivoted toward encouraging face coverings, later instructing vaccinated Americans to continue wearing masks. Most recently, he said that Americans ought to consider wearing two masks.
Lawmakers have likewise noticed Dr. Fauci’s changing standards. Here are three heated exchanges between the nation’s top public health professional and leading members of Congress.
Rand Paul — Vaccine and two masks
During a March 18 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rand-paul-in-heated-exchange-with-fauci">hearing</a>, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) pointed out that Fauci’s decision to wear two masks after receiving the vaccine was a strange move, especially in light of Fauci’s role in assuring Americans of the vaccine’s efficacy.
“You’ve been vaccinated and you parade around in two masks for show,” noted Sen. Paul, an ophthalmologist and graduate of the Duke University School of Medicine. “You can’t get it again. There’s virtually 0% chance you’re gonna get it, and yet you’re telling people that have had the vaccine, that have immunity — you’re defying everything we know about immunity by telling people to wear masks that have been vaccinated.”
“You want to get rid of vaccine hesitancy? Wearing masks after they get the vaccine? You want people to get the vaccine? Give them a reward instead of telling them that the nanny state is going to be there for three more years and you gotta wear a mask forever,” said Paul. “People don’t want to hear it; there’s no science behind it.”
“Let me state just for the record that masks are not theater. Masks are protective,” Fauci immediately declared.
“If you have immunity they’re theater,” Sen. Paul shot back. “If you already have immunity, you’re wearing a mask to give comfort to others, you’re not wearing a mask because of any science.”
Despite studies showing that COVID-19 vaccines are <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/health/astrazeneca-pfizer-covid-19-vaccines-effective-against-variants-oxford-study">effective</a> against other strains of COVID-19, Fauci justified his position by stating that one may not necessarily have immunity with a “circulating variant.”
Jim Jordan — Black Lives Matter protests
During the summer of 2020, politicians across the United States seemed to show far more zeal in enforcing COVID-19 regulations for businesses and church services in comparison to Black Lives Matter protests. When Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/do-you-see-the-inconsistency-jim-jordan-grills-fauci-on-protests-church-during-pandemic">asked</a> Dr. Fauci if he would encourage officials to uphold their standards more consistently, Fauci refused to take a concrete position.
“Well, I’m not in a position to determine what the government can do in a forceful way,” said the nation’s leading public health official in response to Rep. Jordan.
“Well, you make all kinds of recommendations,” retorted the congressman. “You make comments on dating, on baseball, on everything you can imagine. I’m just asking, you just said protests increase the spread. I’m just asking should we try to limit the protest?”
Fauci doubled down: “I think I would leave that to people who have more of a position to do that.”
After Fauci insisted multiple times that he was “not going to opine on limiting anything,” Rep. Jordan asked, “Do you see the inconsistency, though, Dr. Fauci?”
“There’s no inconsistency, congressman,” he replied.
Rand Paul — Reopening schools
As the United States began emerging from economic lockdowns in May of 2020, Dr. Fauci <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-rand-paul-spars-with-fauci-ridiculous-to-cancel-school-in-the-fall-i-dont-think-youre-the-end-all">warned</a> the Senate that the nation could see another uptick in cases. He also suggested that schools ought to remain closed through the fall semester — a point which Sen. Paul immediately challenged.
“I think that … we’re going to have a national one-size-fits-all approach — nobody’s going to go to school, is kind of ridiculous,” Sen. Paul said to Fauci. “We really ought to be doing it school district by school district, and the power needs to be dispersed because people make wrong predictions.”
“We ought to have a little bit of humility in our belief that we know what’s best for the economy,” he continued. “And, as much as I respect you, Dr. Fauci, I don’t think you’re the end-all. I don’t think you’re the one person that gets to make the decision.”
“Sen. Paul, thank you for your comments, I have never made myself out to be the end-all and only voice of this,” responded Fauci, who then expressed concern that some children develop inflammatory syndromes in association with COVID-19 infection.
“We don’t know everything about this virus and we really better be very careful, particularly when it comes from children,” Fauci said. “For example, right now children presenting with COVID-19 who actually have a very strange inflammatory syndrome.”
Though a year’s worth of research has since revealed that schools can safely reopen — a point that Biden-appointed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/03/cdc-director-says-schools-can-safely-reopen-without-vaccinating-teachers.html">supported</a> in February — many American children remain at home, largely due to teachers union <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/five-cities-where-teachers-unions-are-keeping-schools-shutdown">strikes</a> in major cities.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Fauci

3 Times Fauci Was Stumped By GOP Lawmakers

Anthony Fauci

Readers Pass

On Wednesday, many Americans saw their $1,400 stimulus checks hit their bank accounts, courtesy of the mammoth coronavirus relief package Democrats shoehorned through Congress last week.
The final destinations are fuzzier, however, for some of the other blocks of cash provided in the $1.9 trillion stimulus <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1319/text#toc-HFCC8BF50FFAD49A1A8AECB6F59D6861D">bill</a>, ostensibly aimed at alleviating the economic suffering caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Some of the items are only loosely related to relieving pandemic woes, and in some cases, Democrats appear to have given up attempting to connect the funding to the coronavirus at all, raising eyebrows among critics who argued the package should not be used as a &#8220;Trojan Horse&#8221; for a Democratic agenda.
&#8220;What we&#8217;re talking about here [was] a bill that only spent about one percent on vaccines and about nine percent on the entire health [fight],&#8221; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said in a floor speech.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) responded to McConnell by arguing that the relief package is aimed at the problems that the pandemic created.
&#8220;What part doesn’t he like? Does he not like giving checks to people who need help? Does he not like opening schools safely? Does he not like vaccines?&#8221; Schumer <a href="https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1370369140943421442">said</a>, claiming that those items make up more than half the bill.
Among the more curious appropriations, the stimulus bill gives $135 million each to the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The bill reserves even more, $200 million, for the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
The NEA had already been <a href="https://www.arts.gov/about/nea-on-covid-19">allotted</a> more than $162 million for the entire fiscal year of 2020 in a spending bill passed at the end of 2019, an increase in the organization’s funding from the previous year. Combined with the $75 million the NEA received in the CARES Act last year, the total of additional aid is well above the organization’s normal yearly budget.
Some of the NEA&#8217;s <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/mar/17/life-without-arts-10-crazy-grants-given-nea-neh/">recent grants</a> include $50,000 to help bring “Trans Scripts,” a play about actual individuals who transitioned from male to female, to the U.S., and nearly $100,000 to adapt Shakespeare plays for the stage without words. The NEA and Institute of Museum and Library Services also teamed up to spend nearly a half a million dollars on a museum exhibit that “intends to provide attendees with the sights, sounds, smells, feel and taste of medieval times.”
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting also gets $175 million.
Another eye-catching item the stimulus bill provides is $20 million &#8220;to ensure the survival and continuing vitality of Native American languages during and after the public health emergency.&#8221;
Another $100 million will go toward Native American housing improvement.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will also receive $95 million worth of financial padding, and the Environmental Protection Agency will receive $100 million, half of which is designated to &#8220;identify and address disproportionate environmental or public health harms and risks in minority populations or low-income populations.&#8221;
Some of the funding in the bill, passed without the support of a single Republican in either chamber of Congress, is scheduled to be doled out over several years, as late as 2027.
The package reserves several large funding blocks for cybersecurity and technology, including $200 million to remain available well into 2024 for the U.S. Digital Service, the federal tech unit established after the Obamacare website&#8217;s disastrous launch and crash in 2013.
Another $650 million is reserved through 2023 for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to be used for cybersecurity risk mitigation, and $1 billion through 2025 for the Technology Modernization Fund, which enhances IT at federal agencies.
“Without modern and nimble IT systems, the federal government cannot deliver critical payments and services to individuals, families, and businesses who rely on them,” Democratic Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Gerry Connolly (D-VA) wrote in a letter to House leadership in which they pushed for TMF funding in the bill.
Although the bill is purportedly a coronavirus relief bill, $3.5 billion will go to fight other diseases in the form of a contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
Critics have also complained about a $350 billion &#8220;bailout&#8221; in the bill for state, local, and tribal governments that they say were badly managed by Democrats even before the pandemic.
Democrats tried and failed to include several other pricey items, including $112 million for the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) expansion, an underground rail project in Silicon Valley that has seen slow progress. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) represents most of San Francisco, where the subway currently runs.
The Biden administration&#8217;s attempt to use the stimulus bill to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour was also scrapped after two moderate Democratic senators indicated they would not vote for it.

Dollar In Flames

Here Are Some Of The Craziest Spending Items In The Coronavirus Stimulus Bill

Coronavirus Relief

Stimulus

On Thursday evening, President Joe Biden delivered his first primetime address from the White House. Unsurprisingly, much of the speech was dedicated to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, during which Biden oscillated between optimism and warnings of what may follow if people failed to follow his administration’s “guidance.”
Throughout the speech, Biden described the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic — and the resulting policy decisions — as a “war.”
“I know it’s been hard. I truly know. As I’ve told you before, I carry a card in my pocket with the number of Americans who have died from COVID to date. It’s on the back of my schedule. As of now, total deaths in America, 527,726. That’s more deaths than in World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War and 9/11 combined,” Biden stated.
“That’s why I’m using every power I have as the president of the United States to put us on a war footing to get the job done. Sounds like hyperbole, but I mean it, a war footing. And thank god we’re making some real progress now. In my first full day in office, I outlined for you a comprehensive strategy to beat this pandemic. We’ve spent every day since attempting to carry it out,” Biden said later.
Finally, Biden added that “It’s truly a national effort, just like we saw during World War II.”
Biden is not the only politician to make a clear and concerted effort to redress efforts regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of an ongoing military conflict.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo used such language repeatedly, with one such <a href="https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/governor-andrew-cuomo-new-york-covid-19-press-conference-transcript-march-30">example</a> being “The soldiers in this fight are our health care professionals. It’s the doctors, it’s the nurses, it’s the people who are working in the hospitals, it’s the aids. They are the soldiers who are fighting this battle for us.”
The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Gutiérrez also made this comparison during the G20 summit on COVID-19, <a href="https://www.un.org/en/coronavirus/war-needs-war-time-plan-fight-it">saying</a> “We are at war with a virus – and not winning it. …This war needs a war-time plan to fight it.”
China’s President Xi Jinping has called for a “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/08/world/asia/xi-coronavirus-china.html">people’s war</a>” against COVID-19, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi <a href="https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-04-26-20-intl/h_031e1d192acb92fdd2191ca04f6e6f9e">said</a> that every citizen who complied with lockdown mandates “was a soldier in this fight,” and French President Emmanuel Macron <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/17/coronavirus-france-president-macron-warns-we-are-at-war.html">announced</a> as his country prepared to shut down, “We are at war.”
The fact is, however, we’re not at war. Wars are military conflicts fought between people, and not an effort between people and a virus. While it may achieve its short-term emotional goals, such language has two potential outcomes which will further damage our society, both home and abroad.
The first is that it normalizes war, pitching almost any competitive or pressured situation as synonymous with that of physical and violent conflict.
The second is that it justifies the actions we resort to during war, which usually come in the form of unprecedented power for those “in charge.”
In many ways, both of these potential outcomes are already part of our lives. Unless we maintain perspective and context, we will not only forget what true war is, but allow politicians to use such a false classification to evade responsibility while simultaneously absorbing more unadulterated power, until we can’t even remember what freedom feels like anymore.
Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/ighaworth">@ighaworth</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Joe Biden

Stop Saying We’re ‘At War’ With COVID-19

Freedom

Lockdowns

As COVID-19 vaccines continue to roll out all across the nation, many government officials are now reportedly considering some form of COVID “passport,” which would allow people to escape restrictions on travel or work. 
New York is already issuing an “Excelsior Pass” to residents which would provide proof of a COVID vaccination or a current negative test while attending public events. The European Union plans to roll out a “Digital Green Pass” for work and travel between nations. Israel has begun implementing a “green pass” for its vaccinated citizens to enter gyms, restaurants, and public venues. 
Here’s a breakdown of some of the major so-called “COVID passports” being considered or already in use, and the potential implications they would have on all of us. 
New York’s “Excelsior Pass”
Though mired in controversies, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced a pilot program that provides individuals digital proof of either a COVID-19 vaccination or a recent negative test to “fast-track” reopening the state for business and travel. New York residents will be provided with a printable digital pass which will be scanned upon entrance to public events like ball games, concerts, and — potentially — airports.
“First announced in the Governor’s 2021 State of the State address and developed in partnership with IBM,” Governor Cuomo’s <a href="https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-pilot-program-testing-excelsior-pass-madison-square-garden-and">website reports</a>, “the Excelsior Pass will use proven, secure technology to confirm an individual’s vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test through a confidential data transfer to help fast-track the reopening of theaters, stadiums and other businesses in accordance with New York State guidelines.”
Currently, the Excelsior Pass is voluntary. It remains unclear whether Cuomo and other Democratic officials will make such proof of vaccination compulsory to attend public outings in the near future.
Israel is issuing its “Green Pass” to its citizens 
So far, Israel is far ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to vaccinating its citizens, “with 55 percent of the population having received one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and more than 41 percent two doses,” according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/07/world/israel-green-pass-covid.html">The New York Times</a>.
Currently, only those with proof of vaccination in the form of a “Green Pass” are allowed full access to public outings and gatherings, including indoor gyms and restaurants. 
“For the first time in months,” The Times continues, “restaurants have reopened, with restrictions on occupancy and social distancing and with indoor seating available only to so-called Green Pass holders, meaning people over 16 who are fully vaccinated…Event halls are reopening for Green Pass holders and gatherings of up to 1,500 people will be allowed in stadiums and arenas.”
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/28/green-pass-how-are-vaccine-passports-working-in-israel">The Guardian</a> reported that green pass holders will also get exclusive access to gyms, hotels, theaters, and concerts. 
The nation is grappling with “a host of legal, moral and ethical questions” as it implements its novel policy and “tries to balance the steps toward resuming public life with sensitive issues such as public safety, discrimination, free choice and privacy,” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/18/world/middleeast/israel-covid-vaccine-reopen.html?searchResultPosition=1">The New York Times</a> also detailed. 
Israel’s health minister, Yuli Edelstein, insists that “[g]etting vaccinated is a moral duty” and [w]hoever does not get vaccinated will be left behind.” 
In some cities, “mayors wanted to bar unvaccinated teachers from classrooms while some hoteliers threatened unvaccinated employees with dismissal.”
So far, Israel’s vigilance toward the virus and vaccinations may not be readily accepted elsewhere in the world given its potential conflict with civil liberties.
The European Commission has plans to issue a “digital green pass”
The president of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, is advocating for a “digital green pass” to facilitate safer travel between nations for its citizens. According to <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/01/eu-to-propose-a-digital-pass-for-covid-19-vaccination-test-status-to-help-safer-travel/?">TechCrunch</a>, “the planned digital tool will aim to provide proof that a person has been vaccinated” from COVID-19. The pass will also display recent test results.
As the executive branch of the European Union, the EC is aware of the optics surrounding such a pass and is attempting to make sure it’s not viewed as compulsory or discriminatory. 
“The Commission is being careful to avoid calling the digital pass a ‘vaccine passport’ — as the notion of limiting people’s freedoms based on (still very) limited access to vaccines raises the ugly spectre of discrimination,” TechCrunch reports.
Still, the European Commission is feeling pressure from nations whose economies rely heavily on tourism to expedite such a pass to encourage travel again. Such an accelerated timeline may be fraught with a whole host of uncertainties, however. 
Echoing such concerns, French President Emmanuel Macron insisted that “a vaccine can’t be a precondition for travel,” according to <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/commission-to-propose-digital-green-pass-for-travel-this-month/">Politico</a>. 
Data breaches and privacy protection are serious issues with such passes
Though officials argue that security and privacy are of the utmost importance, major technological issues remain at the forefront of such passes. 
Israel’s newly implemented green pass “uses an outdated encryption library” making it potentially susceptible to any number of hacks and breaches that one expert describes as a “catastrophe in the making,” according to Cat Ferguson of the <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/03/01/1020154/israels-green-pass-is-an-early-vision-of-how-we-leave-lockdown/">MIT Technology Review</a>. 
“The green pass is also a potential privacy nightmare, says Orr Dunkelman, a computer science professor at Haifa University and a board member of Privacy Israel,” Ferguson reports. “He says the pass reveals information that those checking credentials don’t need to know, such as the date a user recovered from covid or got a vaccine…Orr says. Crucially, because the app is not open source, no third-party experts can vet whether these concerns are founded.”
Governor Cuomo and EC president von der Leyen both insist that security remains a top priority for their respective passes. 
Cuomo states that “[r]obust privacy protections are woven throughout the digital health pass” and that private information is secured “using an encrypted digital smartphone wallet or printed credential” on his <a href="https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-pilot-program-testing-excelsior-pass-madison-square-garden-and">website</a>. IBM has partnered with the Cuomo administration in developing and rolling out the Excelsior Pass. 
Such “robust” measures are not without legitimate criticism. Jenin Younes of the <a href="https://www.aier.org/article/your-right-to-refuse-a-health-passport/">American Institute For Economic Research</a> (AIER) argues “that once again, a <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Business/winners-pandemic-economy-big-tech-lockdown-essentials-soar/story?id=72495436">big tech</a> company is benefitting from illiberal policies enacted in response to the pandemic” in reference to the Excelsior Pass.
Von der Leyen makes similar promises as Cuomo, stating in a <a href="https://twitter.com/vonderleyen/status/1366346729289904128?ref_src=twsrc%255Etfw%257Ctwcamp%255Etweetembed%257Ctwterm%255E1366346729289904128%257Ctwgr%255E%257Ctwcon%255Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%253A%252F%252Ftechcrunch.com%252F2021%252F03%252F01%252Feu-to-propose-a-digital-pass-for-covid-19-vaccination-test-status-to-help-safer-travel%252F">tweet</a> that the Digital Green Pass “will respect data protection, security &amp; privacy.” 
All these guarantees remain hypothetical, and the fact that passes are being fast-tracked in a somewhat haphazard manner does not bode well for data protection and security given the inherently precarious nature of such technology.
Ramesh Raskar, the head of the <a href="https://www.pathcheck.org/">PathCheck Foundation</a>, a global nonprofit “dedicated to containing Covid-19 and revitalizing the economy, while preserving privacy and individual liberty,” voiced such concerns over the pending passes being issued for all involved. 
“It’s not just about making sure you don’t have to hand over personal information to get into a bar, though: privacy is also important for those who are undocumented or who mistrust the government,” Raskar told <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/03/01/1020154/israels-green-pass-is-an-early-vision-of-how-we-leave-lockdown/">MIT Technology Review</a>. “It’s important for companies not to create another ‘hackable repository’ when they view your information.”
Will such COVID passports make vaccinations mandatory, especially in the workplace?
A major issue facing all of us is whether or not vaccinations will be compulsory for the workplace. As it stands, it seems that employers can enforce vaccinations for the most part. Whether they will or not remains to be seen.
Workplace rules are not hard and fast, especially regarding safety protocols. Professor Dorit Reiss who teaches law at the University of California Hastings told <a href="https://apnews.com/article/can-employers-covid-19-vaccine-mandatory-ba22c99f01f24ea3be7631ff751f0d82">AP News</a> that “[e]mployers generally have wide scope” when making workplace rules. 
As such, “employers can require employees to take safety measures, including vaccination.” The only potential workarounds would be to “sign a waiver or agree to work under specific conditions to limit any risk you might pose to yourself or others.”
AP News also reports that “[t]he U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has allowed companies to mandate the flu and other vaccines, and has also <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-covid-19-and-ada-rehabilitation-act-and-other-eeo-laws">indicated</a> they can require COVID-19 vaccines.”
Though the tone and tenor from government officials presents vaccinations as a voluntary measure, it does share some resonance with the deeply <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/khan-unmasked-incivility-assaults-virtue-signaling-meltdowns-over-a-piece-of-cloth?%253Futm_source=facebook&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=fedup">contentious issue of mask-wearing</a> that also began as a “<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/03/826219824/president-trump-says-cdc-now-recommends-americans-wear-cloth-masks-in-public">voluntary practice</a>” before becoming a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-protecting-the-federal-workforce-and-requiring-mask-wearing/">federal mandate</a> under President Biden. 
With the current administration at the helm, it does not seem at all farfetched that most of us will be compelled to provide proof of vaccination moving forward, particularly in order to continue working.
Just how necessary is the vaccine for many of us? 
Cogent arguments outside of embracing immediate vaccination are all but being drowned out by fringe conspiracies, disallowing any reasonable discussion to take place. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/khan-plandemic-is-a-sloppy-seductive-mess">The anti-vaccine movement</a> continues to prattle on unabated in its echo chambers while “follow the science” has been reduced to an insufferable, dogmatic refrain by far too many. 
Jenin Younes voices tremendous concern over Cuomo’s Excelsior Pass, providing a rare and nuanced discussion in her aforementioned piece for <a href="https://www.aier.org/article/your-right-to-refuse-a-health-passport/">AIER</a>. 
Younes begins by unequivocally stating that she is “by no means anti-vaccine as a general matter” and understands that “Covid-19 vaccines can provide a substantial benefit to many people, especially vulnerable populations.” However, she asserts that the main risks and uncertainties surrounding the vaccines have to do with “the new nature of the technology” and “that they have <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2021/01/16/how-safe-are-covid-19-coronavirus-vaccines-heres-the-allergic-reaction-risk/?sh=1bec7fbf2074">received emergency use authorizations</a> rather than full market approval.” 
“It is, therefore, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMGWLLDSA3c">not unreasonable</a> for healthy, relatively young people to whom the virus poses a <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-age-sex-demographics/">negligible threat</a> to conduct a cost-benefit analysis and decide to forego vaccination in favor of potential natural immunity,” Younes argues. “Nor is it irrational for vulnerable individuals to make the same choice. Vaccination is – or should be – a personal decision based upon one’s assessment of the risks and benefits to oneself and others. By tying the ability to attend certain events to immunization status, Governor Cuomo is effectively using the coercive power of the state to influence people’s choices about their bodies and their health, and the degree to which they are willing to take on a risk for the benefit of other people.”
***
Though these so-called “COVID passports” are currently voluntary for the most part, legitimate concern is growing over such policies and procedures. Not only do they potentially risk our data and private information with unproven technology, they may also pose a threat to our deeply held freedoms and liberties. 
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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