Federal Judge Blocks Vaccine Mandate

Well, it's only temporary - and limited to 10 states (Arizona, my state, is not one of those 10).

See article:  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-19-vaccine-mandate-health-care-workers-blocked-federal-judge/ 

In August of 2020, it is recorded:

The idea, according to Fauci, was impossible.

“If someone refuses the vaccine in the general public, then there's nothing you can do about that. You cannot force someone to take a vaccine," he said at the time.

Yet, now we have mandates. I, personally, am not an anti-vaxer, I have been vaccinated for COVID-19, but the government should not be mandating the vaccine - especially to those who have already had COVID-19.

Biden Takes "Swift" Action on New Covid Variant

So touts a report from FoxNews (see video below) along with several other countries, this "swift" action is being taken. A new "highly contagious mutation" of COVID 19, named "Omicron," is spreading throughout South Africa, so President Biden has ordered travel restrictions from that region - effective Monday, November 29th. Today is Friday, November 26th - so WHY WAIT? Essentially all who want to leave that region have 3 days to leave, and if infected - bring the new variant with them! Could someone explain to me the logic in waiting and giving them time to leave the countries being affected? It seems if you're trying to lock them down, do it NOW - not give them time to figure out how to get out and spread the variant! 

This kind of makes me want to say, "Come on, man!"

Your comments are welcome...

Juneteenth Recognized

 

What is Juneteenth?

Juneteenth is the day that Union soldiers, under the command of Major General Gordon Granger, rode into Galveston, Texas to announce to still enslaved African Americans that the war is over, they are free (Holland, 2019).

When Did Juneteenth Begin?

On June 19^th, 1865 when the Union soldiers announced in Galveston, TX, this is the day marked in Galveston as “Freedom Day” – and local celebrations began in 1866. It spread to other cities, slowly. Most Americans over the age of 30 (as of this writing) had never heard of this holiday until a series called Atlanta, on the FX network, made brief mention in the first few minutes of one of the shows of the first season (Ali, 2018). June 19^th would be first declared a state holiday in Texas on June 7, 1979 – since then 42 other states and the District of Columbia have declared the holiday (Gates, 2013).

It Is Official!

On June 17, 2021, President Biden signed a bill declaring Juneteenth (June 19th) to be a federal holiday.

References

Ali, R. (2018). Yes, Juneteenth is a real holiday. Yahoo! Entertainment. https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/atlanta-yes-juneteenth-real-holiday-033628451.html

Gates, H. L. (2013). What is Juneteenth? The Root. https://www.theroot.com/what-is-juneteenth-1790896900

Holland, J. J. (2019). When did Juneteenth celebrations begin? Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. https://www.post-gazette.com/life/lifestyle/2019/06/14/Juneteenth-history-end-of-slavery-Galveston-Texas-Civil-War/stories/201906150020#:~:text=A%20holiday%20that%20is%20spreading%20across%20the%20U.S.,Civil%20War%20had%20ended%20and%20they%20were%20free

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If You Need 35000 Troops

 

The Decline in Religion and Morality

 

Why is the United States in the condition it is now? Some wish to blame Republicans, others wish to blame Democrats. Fingers point to key political fingers like Pelosi, Trump, etc. but these personalities are not to blame - the root cause is the moral fiber of this great country is being eroded by those who resist any form of authority which might govern their lives. One chief authority being pushed out of public influence is religion. Religion provides a moral backbone to society and as we see religion reduced, we are seeing immorality and crime increase. The facts are truly undeniable:

(Downey, 2017a)

While Protestantism in the United States still leads, their numbers are dropping significantly over the last several years and at the same time the 'nones' are increasing at about the same rate - to the point that before 2040 the 'nones' will eclipse Protestantism. While Catholicism remains fairly steady, though slightly on the decline, from the research by Downey (2017b) the 'nones' are already eclipsing them in numbers. 

Back to the point: In a recent Gallup poll (Brenan, 2019) of 21 issues which at one time all were considered immoral, one can see the moral imbalance:

America needs to get back to church! 

References

Brenan, M. (2019). Birth control still tops list of morally acceptable issues. Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/poll/257858/birth-control-tops-list-morally-acceptable-issues.aspx

Downey, A. (2017a). The retreat from religion is accelerating [blog]. Probably Overthinking It. http://allendowney.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-retreat-from-religion-is.html 

Downey, A. (2017b). The U. S. is retreating from religion: By 2030, say projections, a third of Americans will have no religious preference. Scientific American. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-u-s-is-retreating-from-religion/