America faces a deeper issue that whether vaccines can be mandated. We face a conflict between the Federal and State governments. The 10th Amendment is at stake. Mandating vaccines is not outlined in the Constitution. States can decide vaccine mandates on their own. Some in the Federal government don’t seem to agree.
Still, distaste for vaccines is not the fringe, idiosyncratic extremism that “vaxers” claim it is. With the head of the FOP in Chicago telling police not to get vaccinated, along with countless other objectors—including some 40% of Californian government workers—a popular demand to control “anti-vaxers” may be the largest minority oppressed in American history. The American Black population is only 12%, for which Democrats bend over backwards to help. With these forced vaccines—which go against their own campaign promises—the Democratic Party can no longer claim itself as the party that serves minorities.
Democrats are toast. They were played as the Fool card. All they’ve accomplished is reminding the public that Republicans aren’t so bad. Tax and spending hikes won’t work. Promising to never mandate vaccines then mandating vaccines is akin to H. W. Bush’s infamous “Read My Lips” speech in which he promised, “No new taxes.” It’s self sabotage; it may not even be intentional. With Republicans, it would likely be intentional; with Democrats, it doesn’t need to be. We can’t argue “conspiracy” on this one.
The UK doesn’t want to go near vaccine mandates, not even lockdown. It’s as if the rest of the world has moved on from COVID while Democrats in the US are still playing it for political capital. It’s much like Democrats addressing the racism issues of 1965 while campaigning in 2008, rather than addressing the racism issues of 2008 in 2008. That’s why America hasn’t seen progress on police racism. And, that’s why America isn’t seeing progress on COVID.
COVID was the “trump” card that trumped Trump in 2020. But, we’re on a new round and trump is a different suit. But, Democrats can’t figure out that they were never the trump card themselves. They always played the Fool. And in 2024, Republicans will comeback with the most dangerous popularity margin the nation has yet seen.
The White House’s distinction between Far Eastern allies and Afghanistan is consistent with the US strategic pivot during the Obama years: away from the Middle East, toward China. While China interprets the befuddled Afghanistan withdrawal as an indication that the US will not defend Far Eastern allies, the US interpretation implies a deeper concentration of military power. Each government’s policy indicates a deep belief in its own respective statement.
Taiwan’s president took the jab from Taiwan’s own, homegrown COVID vaccine. So, while Taiwan can claim one vaccine, Trump can claim all others. This further asserts Taiwan’s capability of standing on its own. Hong Kongers face the music, no matter the injustice. The world is watching. China’s response that Afghanistan is an indication that Taiwan should distrust the US serves mainly as a signal to Western readers that China indeed is a bully. Again, China doesn’t think they think so.
Fear. Pandemic protests are global. News narratives frustrate the White House. Germans and Aussies detest prevention measures. 600 were detained in Berlin. Meanwhile, Taiwan is down from a whopping 500 new cases in one day to 12. They wear masks, and check in at stores by either scribbling a name and phone number on a scrap of paper or sending a QR-code text message, then using a body-temperature hand-sanitizer combo machine. While the West divides in two paranoid groups, each calling the other paranoid, Taiwan re-opens dine-in restaurants.
Elections have consequences. They are coming, sooner for California, where a Democratic governor may have fallen out of favor and faces a recall vote. Trump raised lots of money—after losing in an election to many documented rule-breaking and suspicious-resulting precincts, in concert with Republicans who certified the rule-breaking precincts. Why would anyone suspect that Republicans helped voter fraud steal an election from one of the most popular and war-ending presidents of all time? It’s not like their party made $100M from his fundraising after he lost. No wait, they did.
That’s the problem with conspiracy theories. Most of them blame the wrong guy. If masks and other virus measures were part of a conspiracy theory, the theory should include the absolute necessity of public panic from both kinds of kooks. Without the vaxxers and anti-maskers fearing each other, America might have its numbers down to where Taiwan has. And, any election conspiracy theory should include that the RNC saw a profit in losing—just as they have for many decades.
It only grows more evident—the answers to America’s problems aren’t in any flavor of kookery, but in dropping fear and division so as to see the bigger picture.
While a typhoon largely evaded Taiwan over the weekend, tragedy struck the mainland. Shanghai faced flooding and death while India suffered a landslide in the Himalayas. In a shocking video, one boulder took out a bridge. Several people died.
But, speaking of Taiwan’s tendency to fall out of manure smelling like roses, there’s nothing like persecution to fuel the competition. Taiwan is rolling out its own, homegrown vaccine. Being a world leader in chipmaking, especially D-RAM, and having both avoided and purged COVID outbreak on its own turf, the Taiwan vaccine could become a world leader, along with its cocktail vaccine approach to booster shots. Beijing blocking Taiwan from the Pfizer vaccine could backfire if Taiwan’s vaccine and methods become more credible than Pfizer or Moderna. That has been the history between China and Taiwan, after all. So, it wouldn’t be surprising.
No doubt why China remains a hater where Taiwan is concerned. Biden follows Trump’s popular-in-America strategy of sanctioning Chinese officials. China does the copy-cat game, but avoids those most close to Biden because that wouldn’t seem friendly.
When Olympic network NBC showed the map the rest of the world passively-aggressivly responds that NBC should fix the insulting error—without stating what the supposed error is, and without stating whether China’s presumed fix would insult Taiwanese. But, Taiwanese don’t matter in China’s view. And, that’s why China should be trusted with the Olympics in 2022.
Facebook church and vaccine passports—that’s what they said we shouldn’t fear. But, they’re here. The sultan of censorship, Facebook, is the favored platform of Hillsong’s virtual church. The problem isn’t with Facebook, but with Christian contradiction. The same people who view the online platform as having censored their champion president are the same people turning to Facebook when they get a free online video handout. Like an abused dog, they come right back to eat out of the hand that beat them.
As this “Delta Variant” of the China-centered pneumoniavirus comprises 40% of the pandemic from Florida, Missouri, and Texas, “vaccines” are the way out. If you want to drink inside rather than outside at an inside-only seating bar in San Francisco, you’ll need a vaccine card—exactly where we were promised things wouldn’t go. Of course, they have their reasons. If the promise makers were trustworthy, they’d find a way to stop those bars from making the requirements that fuel fear.
It’s not the vaccines nor the vaccine cards nor Facebook nor Sunday church that we need to fear. We should only fear contradicted living. But, in the wake of our hypocrisy, a new hope arises, celebrating people who live authentically.
Skateboarding has finally come to the Olympic Games!
This is a game-changer. And, it vindicates all those skaters who were chased by haters. Some of those kids whom house wives threw potted plants at could have medals hanging around their necks. The Times will never let history forget how much the victors are hated along the journey to the platform where the haters change their tune and hail the hated success. Hopefully history can teach more of us to not hate the good things that give us excellent results we want.
Skateboarding has become the adopted fifth element of hip hop culture, adding to DJ, MC, graffiti, and street dancing. It allows self expression to be yet one more healthy pursuit of passion that changes all our lives for the better, including mine, as Editor in Chief. Thank you skateboarding, for all you have done and will continue to do. You will always have a special place here at Pacific Daily Times.
