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God’s will ‘is no concern of this Congress,’ Democrat Jerry Nadler says during Equality Act debate

Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York chastised one of his colleagues for mentioning God and the Bible during the House debate over the Equality Act Thursday, saying: “God’s will is no concern of this Congress.” 

Rep. Greg Stuebe, R-Fla., said in his remarks on the House floor that the Equality Act is in opposition to Scripture. 

“The gender confusion that exists in our culture today is a clear rejection of God’s good design. Whenever a nation’s laws no longer reflect the standards of God, that nation is in rebellion against Him and will inevitably bear the consequences,” Stuebe said. 

“And I think we are seeing the consequences of rejecting God in our country today. And this bill speaks directly against what is laid out in Scripture,” he declared. 

The Equality Act passed in the House by a vote of 224-206 with only three Republicans — Reps. Tom Reed and John Katko, both of New York, and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania — joining Democrats in voting for the measure. 

Among the most contested aspects of the bill is the enshrinement of sexual orientation and gender identity as categories in civil rights law. The bill is an update of the 1964 Civil Rights Act that is considered by many to be the legislative legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“It’s not clothing or personal style that offends God, but rather, the use of one’s appearance to act out or take on a sexual identity different from the one biologically assigned by God at birth,” the Florida congressman added in his speech Thursday. 

Steube previously introduced legislation to protect women’s sports and amendments to similar legislation that was being considered by the House, but all were voted down by Democrats. He reintroduced an amendment to ensure Title IX protections for women’s sports earlier this year. 

The 500-plus page Equality Act adds gender identity as a protected category in nondiscrimination law. That term, which is frequently used by media and transgender activists, refers to an “internal sense” of one’s gender.

Opposition to the bill has manifested from across the political spectrum.

Both conservative-leaning women and left-wing radical feminists have maintained that simultaneously protecting sex and gender identity within the law is impossible because gender identity has, unlike sex, no material meaning.

Enshrining the concept into federal law would destroy women’s sports and other sex-segregated spaces such as shelters for women escaping domestic violence, rape crisis centers, and any other entity that receives federal dollars, opponents have warned. 

The Equality Act also forbids use of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), a 1993 law that was passed on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis and signed into law by former President Bill Clinton to provide religious exemptions. 

In His response to Steube on the House floor, Nadler said: “Mr. Steube, what any religious tradition ascribes as God’s will is no concern of this Congress.”

According to the Coalition for Jewish Values, a group of approximately 1,500 traditional Orthodox rabbis, the New York congressman has “forgotten the Constitution.”

“The Founding Fathers required Congress avoid infringing upon the free exercise of religion, meaning it must be sensitive to what every religious tradition describes as G-d’s will,” said CJV President Rabbi Pesach Lerner in a statement, according to PJ Media.

“It is especially true that Congress must remain cognizant of the set of foundational moral principles — including valuing peace, human life, and individual liberty and responsibility — that America calls Judeo-Christian ethics.”

CJV Vice President Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld added that Nadler had “unmasked” the true nature of the proposed law.

“Far from valuing diverse opinions and beliefs, it tramples free exercise of religion and even demonizes free speech. Reading the Bible in public, per the Equality Act, could be called an exercise in bigotry and grounds for a ‘discrimination’ complaint. Without question, the true bigots here are those who support deliberate attacks upon the cherished beliefs of others,” Schonfeld said. 

Elon Musk Wants To Set Up A City Named Starbase Around His Texas Rocket Launch Site

Billionaire Elon Musk has approached officials of a Texas county where SpaceX has a private launch site and rocket production facility about incorporating a new city to be called Starbase, officials said.

KEY FACTS

  • Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño said Tuesday Elon Musk’s private spaceflight company, SpaceX, reached out about Musk’s interest in incorporating Boca Chica Village, where SpaceX is building its Starship rocket.
  • Treviño indicated the county is open to incorporation, but that the process must abide by all state incorporation statutes and said the county will process any petitions in line with the law.
  • Musk said Tuesday he’s hoping to incorporate “an area much larger than Boca Chica.” 

Musk previously posted a mysterious statement about creating a Texas city called Starbase on Tuesday, and later added it would be dog-friendly and led by the Doge, a reference to the Dogecoin meme cryptocurrency he endorsed last month.

KEY BACKGROUND

Musk, who Forbes estimates is worth nearly $164 billion, is expanding his footprint in the Lone Star State. SpaceX also has a site in McGregor, a city halfway between Austin and Dallas, and this week, a job posting revealed the company is looking to build a manufacturing facility in Austin. The Boring Company began hiring in the Austin area in November, and the city was named the location of Tesla’s next gigafactory. Musk confirmed in December he was moving to Texas from California. 

Teenagers’ mental health claims doubled last spring amid COVID pandemic

Mental health claim lines for children increased in 2020, while overall medical claim lines decreased.

Teenagers’ demand for mental health care skyrocketed last year amid the pandemic, even as their overall need for care declined, according to a new analysis by FAIR Health.

Why it matters: Parents, schools and pediatricians have been warning for months that kids aren’t OK, and this analysis backs up their concern with numbers.

The big picture: The coronavirus pandemic has been disruptive to the lives of Americans of all ages, but for teenagers, the isolation and change in routine comes during a critical developmental stage.

  • The toll that staying home has taken on children’s mental health is one of many reasons schools should reopen, some experts say.

By the numbers: Mental health care claim lines — or individual health services — for children 13-18 doubled in March and April of last year, compared to 2019.

  • In contrast, the number of overall claim lines for this age group was about half of the 2019 level.
  • This trend continued on through November, although less drastically.

Details: Females were much likelier to require mental health care than males.

  • The percentage of all medical claim lines that were for intentional self-harm nearly doubled in March and April, compared to the same month in 2019. Claim lines for overdoses increased by 94.91% in March and 119.31% in April compared to the year before. Both remained elevated through November.
  • The most common diagnoses in teenagers were consistently major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and adjustment disorders. These conditions also became more prevalent, as a percentage of total medical claim lines, compared to 2019 levels.

What we’re watching: Mental health issues can be situational, but that doesn’t mean that once the pandemic ends, all will go back to normal.

  • Some children will likely require long-term treatment, something the U.S. health system has historically been bad at.

Investigation Links Fauci to Controversial Experiments That May Have Led to Pandemic (video)

Fox News investigation says there’s “reasonable grounds to suspect” that SARS-CoV-2, which may have leaked accidentally from a lab in Wuhan, China, was the product of taxpayer-funded gain-of-function experiments commissioned by the U.S. government and overseen by Fauci.

At the outset of the COVID-19 outbreak, anyone who dared question the mainstream government and media narrative that SARS-CoV-2 evolved in the wild did so at the risk of being labeled a conspiracy theorist.

But as months passed, organizations like Children’s Health Defense (CHD), U.S. Right to Know and others began asking questions and calling for investigations. 

The Washington Post eventually went out on a limb to print an op-ed suggesting that the virus might have leaked from a lab. And more recently, the Wall Street Journal waded into the controversy with its article, “China’s Reckless Labs Put the World at Risk.”

On Feb. 28, Fox News tackled the COVID origins story, not to point blame, reporter Steve Hilton said, but to make sure “we learn lessons, to prevent the next pandemic.” 

The Fox News investigation reveals the connection between Dr. Anthony Fauci and the Wuhan Institute of Virology, in Wuhan, China, where some scientists believe the virus originated.

“Fox News reporter Steve Hilton persuasively linked — for the first time on national TV — Dr. Anthony Fauci to the creation of COVID 19,” said Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., CHD chairman and chief legal counsel. “Hilton explains how Fauci — despite protests from leaders of the scientific community who warned that he was playing with fire — funded the specific gain-of-function study that almost certainly created the COVID-19 virus.”

Kennedy added: “The irony of Fauci leading the global response to a pandemic that he may have created becomes starker by the day.”

In October 2020, Kennedy, on behalf of CHD, wrote to Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.) asking the Congressman to investigate the causes leading up to and contributing to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Earlier this month, Posey introduced H.R. 834, a bill calling for an independent, bipartisan national commission on the COVID-19 pandemic.

As The Defender reported last week, 28 members of Congress sent a letter on Feb. 23 to the principal deputy director of the Department of Health and Human Services demanding an investigation into the National Institutes of Health’s response to biosafety concerns raised about the taxpayer-funded coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology  in Wuhan, China.

Israeli Health Ministry: Pfizer Vaccine Killed ‘40 Times More Elderly Than the Disease Itself Would Have Killed’

New analysis from the Israeli Health Ministry concluded Pfizer’s COVID vaccine killed “about 40 times more (elderly) people than the disease itself would have killed” during a recent five-week vaccination period, and 260 times more younger people than would have died from the virus.

While in January a group of independent doctors concluded that experimental COVID-19 vaccines are “not safer” than the virus itself, a new analysis of vaccine-related death rates in Israel demonstrates that this may indeed be the case to dramatic levels.

A re-analysis of published data from the Israeli Health Ministry by Dr. Hervé Seligmann, a member of the faculty of Medicine Emerging Infectious and Tropical Diseases at Aix-Marseille University, and engineer Haim Yativ reveal, in short, that the mRNA experimental vaccine from Pfizer killed “about 40 times more (elderly) people than the disease itself would have killed” during a recent five-week vaccination period. Among the younger class, these numbers are compounded to death rates at 260 times what the COVID-19 virus would have claimed in the given time frame.

While the full mathematical analysis may be found in the article itself, the authors demonstrate how among “those vaccinated and above 65, 0.2% … died during the three-week period between doses, hence about 200 among 100,000 vaccinated. This is to be compared to the 4.91 dead among 100,000 dying from COVID-19 without vaccination.”

“This scary picture also extends to those below 65,” the researchers continued. During the five-week vaccination process “0.05%, meaning 50 among 100,000, died. This is to be compared to the 0.19 per 100,000 dying from COVID-19 (who) are not vaccinated … Hence the death rate of this age group increased by 260 (times) during this five-week period of the vaccination process, as compared to their natural COVID-19 death rate.”

As reported by IsraelNationalNews (INN), Seligmann is of Israeli-Luxembourg nationality, has a biology degree from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and has written more than 100 scientific publications. INN reports the researchers “have no conflicts or interests other than having children in Israel.”

Yativ and Seligmann stipulate that even these “estimated numbers of deaths from the vaccine are probably much lower than actual numbers as it accounts only for those defined as COVID-19 deaths for that short time period and does not include AVC and cardiac (and other) events resulting from the inflammatory reactions.”

Nor do these numbers “account for long-term complications,” they write.

In addition, within several months they expect “mid- and long-term adverse effects of the vaccination as ADE (Antibody-dependent Enhancement)” begins to become manifest in those who have received the experimental Pfizer vaccine.

As explained by America’s Frontline Doctors (AFLDS), ADE “is when anti-COVID antibodies, created by a vaccine, instead of protecting the person, cause a more severe or lethal disease when the person is later exposed to SARS-CoV-2 in the wild. The vaccine amplifies the infection rather than preventing damage.”

AFLDS provides an example of a vaccine produced to fight the Dengue fever, which resulted in deaths of 600 children in the Philippines due to ADE, and the filing of criminal charges against the decision-makers in 2019.

For these reasons and more, AFLDS and many other doctors strongly discourage the use of these experimental vaccines for most people while only acknowledging that it may be plausible for those over 70 years of age, yet acknowledging that such injections are “a higher risk than early or prophylactic treatment with established medications” (sources here, here, here, and here).

Given these death rates, Yativ and Seligmann also have harsh criticism for the severe pressure being imposed upon the population by Israeli authorities to receive these shots. According to INN, the researchers call these draconian efforts “a new Holocaust.”

In the past weeks, Israel’s government made headlines when they adopted a “green pass” system, allowing people who have been injected to receive a green code, which then grants them entry into places such as entertainment and leisure facilities.

As the country reopens after a two-month lockdown, the green pass would be given only to those who had been injected, not to people who tested negative for the virus. The proposed benefits include access to “non-essential” businesses as well as not being required to self-isolate if identified as a close contact of a confirmed case of COVID-19, and not having to self-isolate after a return from what the government calls a “red location.”

Despite there being no proof that these experimental vaccines actually prevent transmission of the virus, Israel’s minister for health, Yuli Edelstein, said upon the release of the vaccine “passport” that “(g)etting vaccinated is a moral duty. It is part of our mutual responsibility.” He went further, declaring, “Whoever does not get vaccinated will be left behind.”

The green pass needs renewing every six months, and despite holding one, an individual must still abide by masking and physical distancing rules. The Jerusalem Post also reported that legislation is being considered to grant employers the right to refuse unvaccinated people entry into the workplace.

Such measures prompted Business Insider to describe the country as “waging a war on the unvaccinated.” Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, has styled Israel’s vaccination response as “extraordinarily good.”

NY Legislators Announce Deal to Repeal Cuomo’s Emergency Powers

RedState reports:

On Tuesday a ripple of freedom announced by Texas Governor Greg Abbott began growing into a red, white and blue wave as other states began making more pro-freedom announcements.

Mississippi has announced they will roll back COVID restrictions as well and end mask mandates.

And in a shocking turn of events, on Tuesday the New York legislature voted to repeal Governor Andrew Cuomo’s emergency powers in the wake of several devastating scandals that have included his administration lying about COVID deaths, denying the nursing home scandal and a some nasty sexual harassment accusations that prompted an apology from Chris Cuomo’s brother earlier in the week.

From Bloomberg:

(Bloomberg) — New York legislative leaders announced an agreement to curb emergency powers granted to Governor Andrew Cuomo at the start of the pandemic, in the latest blow to his tenure amid growing calls to resign over dual scandals.

“These temporary emergency powers were granted as New York was devastated by a virus we knew nothing about,” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said in a statement. “Now it is time for our government to return to regular order.”

RedState’s Shipwrecked Crew covered the details of the deal and broke down why this action is so important – both for New York State residents and those living in other blue states governed by hypocritical dictators who don’t follow the science (looking at you, Gavin).

6 Dr. Seuss Books Pulled for Racist Imagery

Six Dr. Seuss books — including “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” and “If I Ran the Zoo” — will stop being published because of racist and insensitive imagery, the business that preserves and protects the author’s legacy said Tuesday.

“These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,” Dr. Seuss Enterprises told The Associated Press in a statement that coincided with the late author and illustrator’s birthday.

“Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ catalog represents and supports all communities and families,” it said.

The other books affected are “McElligot’s Pool,” “On Beyond Zebra!,” “Scrambled Eggs Super!,” and “The Cat’s Quizzer.”

The decision to cease publication and sales of the books was made last year after months of discussion, the company told AP.

“Dr. Seuss Enterprises listened and took feedback from our audiences including teachers, academics and specialists in the field as part of our review process. We then worked with a panel of experts, including educators, to review our catalog of titles,” it said.

Books by Dr. Seuss — who was born Theodor Seuss Geisel in Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 2, 1904 —- have been translated into dozens of languages as well as in braille and are sold in more than 100 countries. He died in 1991.

He remains popular, earning an estimated $33 million before taxes in 2020, up from just $9.5 million five years ago, the company said. Forbes listed him No. 2 on its highest-paid dead celebrities of 2020, behind only the late pop star Michael Jackson.

As adored as Dr. Seuss is by millions around the world for the positive values in many of his works, including environmentalism and tolerance, there has been increasing criticism in recent years over the way Blacks, Asians, and others are drawn in some of his most beloved children’s books, as well as in his earlier advertising and propaganda illustrations.

The National Education Association, which founded Read Across America Day in 1998 and deliberately aligned it with Geisel’s birthday, has for several years deemphasized Seuss and encouraged a more diverse reading list for children.

School districts across the country have also moved away from Dr. Seuss, prompting Loudoun County, Virginia, schools just outside Washington, D.C., to douse rumors last month that they were banning the books entirely.

“Research in recent years has revealed strong racial undertones in many books written/illustrated by Dr. Seuss,” the school district said in a statement.

In 2017, a school librarian in Cambridge, Massachusetts, criticized a gift of 10 Seuss books from first lady Melania Trump, saying many of his works were “steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes.”

In 2018, a Dr. Seuss museum in his hometown of Springfield removed a mural that included an Asian stereotype.

“The Cat in the Hat,” one of Seuss’ most popular books, has received criticism, too, but will continue to be published for now.

Dr. Seuss Enterprises, however, said it is “committed to listening and learning and will continue to review our entire portfolio.”

Numerous other popular children’s series have been criticized in recent years for alleged racism.

In the 2007 book, “Should We Burn Babar?,” the author and educator Herbert R. Kohl contended that the “Babar the Elephant” books were celebrations of colonialism because of how the title character leaves the jungle and later returns to “civilize” his fellow animals.

One of the books, “Babar’s Travels,” was removed from the shelves of a British library in 2012 because of its alleged stereotypes of Africans. Critics also have faulted the “Curious George” books for their premise of a white man bringing home a monkey from Africa.

And Laura Ingalls Wilder’s portrayals of Native Americans in her “Little House On the Prairie” novels have been faulted so often that the American Library Association removed her name in 2018 from a lifetime achievement award it gives out each year.

Texas Governor Ends Statewide Mask Mandate, Allows All Businesses to Fully Reopen

The governor of Texas on Tuesday ended his statewide mask mandate while allowing all businesses in the state to fully reopen.

“With the medical advancements of vaccines and antibody therapeutic drugs, Texas now has the tools to protect Texans from the virus. We must now do more to restore livelihoods and normalcy for Texans by opening Texas 100 percent,” Gov. Greg Abbott said during an address to the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce at Montelongo’s restaurant.

“Make no mistake, COVID-19 has not disappeared, but it is clear from the recoveries, vaccinations, reduced hospitalizations, and safe practices that Texans are using that state mandates are no longer needed. Today’s announcement does not abandon safe practices that Texans have mastered over the past year. Instead, it is a reminder that each person has a role to play in their own personal safety and the safety of others. With this executive order, we are ensuring that all businesses and families in Texas have the freedom to determine their own destiny,” the Republican added.

Abbott signed an order in July 2020 requiring masks be worn in public spaces in most counties, with some exceptions, including for those younger than 10 years of age.

“Wearing a face covering in public is proven to be one of the most effective ways we have to slow the spread of COVID-19,” he said at the time.

COVID-19 is the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Texas is one of the most populous states in America, with nearly 29 million residents.

Abbott on Tuesday said nearly 2.5 million Texans have been confirmed through laboratory testing to have recovered from COVID-19, and that health officials say the real number of recoveries is typically four to five times the number of those who officially tested positive and recovered.

“Mathematically, what that means is that approximately 10 million Texans—or really more—have recovered from COVID and have the proven ability to beat the disease,” he said.

Epoch Times Photo
A customer exits a store with a mask required sign displayed in Dallas, Texas on March 2, 2021. (LM Otero/AP Photo)

In addition, more than 5.7 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the state, and the number of doses available is expected to ramp up in the near future with the recent approval of Johnson & Johnson’s shot.

“Now all of these advancements and events have led to remarkable improvements. Hospitalizations are the lowest that they have been in four months. The number of active COVID cases is the lowest since November, and is less than half of what it was just a month ago. That means that far more Texans are recovering from COVID than contracting it. Also, today is the lowest positivity rate we’ve had in four months,” he said in Lubbock.

Abbott’s new order states that if COVID-19 hospitalizations in any of the 22 hospital regions in Texas rise above 15 percent of bed capacity in that region for seven consecutive days, then a county judge may use different strategies to address the situation. He said he doesn’t think the threshold will be met.

Texas is one of a growing number of states loosening restrictions as the number of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths drop across the nation.

But Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director, said Monday that she was worried about states rolling back restrictions.

“Please hear me clearly: At this level of cases, with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained. These variants are a very real threat to our people and our progress. Now is not the time to relax the critical safeguards that we know can stop the spread of COVID-19 in our communities, not when we are so close,” she said.

National Guard in D.C. fed raw chicken, metal shavings

Michigan National Guard troops deployed to the U.S. Capitol were served undercooked chicken and dishes with metal shavings, according to reports.

The tainted meals made many soldiers sick, prompting the Army to change the menu from hot food to packaged meals ready to eat (MREs).

“Soldiers from the Michigan National Guard who are protecting the US. Capitol in D.C. have been fed undercooked and underwhelming meals,” tweeted WXYX 7 Action News reporter Brian Abel. “One Staff Sgt tells me that metal fragments were found in meals on Sunday.”

A whistleblower told 7 Action News “nearly 75 meals were thrown out Sunday after metal shavings were found, other meals showed up undercooked making soldiers sick.”

The problem is not isolated, according to the anonymous staff sergeant with the Michigan National Guard, whose identity 7 Action News is protecting.

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“Yesterday, for instance, there were 74 different meals found with raw beef in them,” the sergeant said. “Just yesterday, the lunches were, soldiers had found metal shavings in their food.”

Both food quality and quantity are an issue, as a catering company’s breakfast was so skimpy the Guardsmen were served only a dinner roll and fruit juice. Some soldiers even bought their own meals instead.

“You were getting maybe a Danish and some sort of juice,” said the sergeant. “And then we had certain days where it was clearly a dinner role and Sunny D.”

After more than a dozen soldiers became sick, some going to the hospital, the matter went up the chain of command, after which there was a noticeable change on the boxes being delivered.

“They said alright, we’re going to make sure we spot check them. And we’re also going to start having them add temperatures to it,” said the whistleblower. “At 140, you cook that chicken, undercook it to 140, and now you’re telling… you’re telling us that it’s… a 30-minute drive. This is what they say on the little placard that’s (inaudible) good for four hours. No, it’s not. It wasn’t good from the start and now it’s had hours to become even more dangerous.”

Less than .01 percent of the catered meals appear to be undercooked, according to Lt. Col. Robert Carver, director of the DC Joint Information Center, reports The Epoch Times.

Carver also said that 78,000 meals were provided daily when nearly 26,000 Guard members were in Washington at the peak of the current mission.

Approximately 5,200 members from various states are still in Washington. Some 18,000 meals are being provided per day.

“That adds up to more than 1.2 million meals since the mission started. With that volume of catered meals, you would expect to see issues with some of them, and we have. At the end of the day, it’s in the military’s best interest to identify and solve problems that could adversely impact the ability of our force to perform the mission,” said Carver.

“There have been no cases of food-borne illness reported. We’re working with our contractors to address concerns. We go to their places of business and spot-check meals for cooking temperature and overall quality. We examine the kitchens for safety and cleanliness. Vendor facilities have been inspected multiple times, and no substantial issues have been recorded. Contracting personnel visit the D.C. Armory daily during the delivery of meals. We observe the deliveries, take pictures of the meals and talk to soldiers on the line about the food they get,” he said.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office was informed, after which the governor called acting Army Secretary John E. Whitley at the Pentagon and insisted the food was “unacceptable.”

Rep. Brenda Lawrence also plans on eating with the Michigan National Guard this week to inspect the food herself.

“I’m pushing for an immediate fix to this problem,” Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mi.) wrote in a tweet on Tuesday.

Sen. Gary Peters (Mi.-D) sent a letter on Monday to Mr. Whitley: “I write to convey my disappointment and frustration regarding the inadequate food and meal procurement for the Soldiers and Airmen of the National Guard currently protecting the Capitol building and the wider National Capital Region.”

“It has come to light that Guard Soldiers and Airmen are receiving undercooked unsanitary and inadequate meals provided through private catering companies,” said Peters. 

The National Guard released the below statement in response to the allegations:

The Michigan National Guard finds the reports of undercooked and poorly prepared food provided to our service members in Washington, D.C. very concerning. The firsthand accounts and pictures of undercooked food being served clearly shows that what is being given to Michigan’s service members is unacceptable. As soon as the first reports were received, Governor Gretchen Whitmer called Acting Secretary of the Army John E. Whitley to communicate Michigan’s concerns. Other Michigan senior leaders also engaged at the highest levels of the federal government to inform those in charge and to ensure that they knew of our displeasure with the conditions. Every assurance was given that the issue would be addressed and corrected.

The Post Inaugural Security Mission is a multi-state taskforce, including Michigan’s 1000 personnel, under the command and control of the Washington D.C. National Guard. A decision was made by the leadership in Washington, D.C., to provide contracted meal service for the troops there. This contract was awarded and is monitored by the National Guard Bureau. Michigan’s Adjutant General has communicated all concerns directly to the Chief of the National Guard, General Daniel R. Hokanson, who has engaged to address the reported shortcomings of the current food service contract.

The health and wellbeing of our Michigan National Guard service members is paramount to their success as they continue to serve in missions in the United States and around the globe. Senior leaders of the Michigan National Guard will remain personally engaged with this issue and will continue to push for accountability and a solution to the ill-prepared meals being served.

The troops are scheduled to return back to Michigan shortly after March 12, the agreed upon end date for this deployment.

The report comes as Republicans who consider the continued military presence unnecessary at this point call on Biden to end the post-Jan. 6 riot deployment.

Michigan has 983 members in Washington.

Troops are supporting the Secret Service and the U.S. Capitol Police.

The Pentagon is planning to keep 7,000 National Guard troops in Washington, D.C. through Mar. 12, pulling back to 5,000 later on.

Johnson & Johnson to Test COVID Vaccine on Infants

Days after the FDA approved J&J’s COVID vaccine for emergency use, the company announced plans to test the vaccine on newborns, despite the vaccine’s risks and strong evidence that COVID poses virtually no risk to healthy children.

On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Emergency Use Authorization for Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) COVID vaccine, paving the way for the one-shot vaccine to be administered beginning this week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recommended the vaccine for people 18 and older. On Sunday, J&J revealed plans to test its one-shot vaccine on infants, including newborns, pregnant women and the immunocompromised. The expanded clinical trials were laid out in the company’s application for emergency use approval and in briefing materials provided to the FDA and discussed briefly during the meeting.

According to the New York Times, the plan for expanded clinical trials met the approval of Dr. Ofer Levy, director of the Precision Vaccines Program at Harvard’s Boston Children’s Hospital and a member of the FDA’s advisory committee that reviewed the company’s vaccine data.

When Levy saw the outlines of the planned trials, he said: “They did not get into a lot of detail about it but did make it clear they will be pursuing pediatric and maternal coronavirus immunization studies.”

A spokesperson for Janssen Biotech, a J&J subsidiary, confirmed the company plans to extend clinical trials to children –– first to children between the ages of 12 and 18, and immediately after to newborns and adolescents, then to pregnant women and immunocompromised individuals.

Levy noted vaccinating children will help the country reach herd immunity, echoing comments made by Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, during Sunday’s Meet the Press:

“Vaccinating young people will be necessary to approach herd immunity and significantly slow the spread of COVID-19 in the United States. While they typically have fewer symptoms than adults with COVID-19, children can still spread the disease.”

Children’s Health Defense President and General Counsel Mary Holland disagreed, stating that decades of intensive effort “have not attained herd immunity for any childhood disease.” Holland has conducted extensive research on the history of vaccine policies.

Immunologist Tetyana Obukhanych, Ph.D., and others agree that officials use the concept of herd immunity as a “trump card to justify any measures, often at odds with personal freedom of choice, aiming to increase vaccination compliance,” The Defender reported.

Most of the world’s vaccine market is pediatric vaccines, according to the Times, so it’s not surprising that J&J would be looking to capitalize on a relatively untapped market for its coronavirus vaccine.As The Defender reported in February, Bill Gates set the stage for a pediatric push last year, declaring his desire to make COVID-19 vaccines “part of the routine newborn immunization schedule” despite the fact that 99.997% of young people ages 0-19 survive COVID-19 with most experiencing either mild or no symptoms at all.

A study published in the European Journal of Pediatrics showed only a rare subset of children — mostly children with serious underlying medical conditions — experienced hospitalization or worse from COVID.

The CDC states: “COVID-19 is uncommon in newborns born to mothers who had COVID-19 during pregnancy. Some newborns have tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after birth, but it is unknown when they may have been exposed to the virus. Most infants and newborns who tested positive for COVID-19 had mild or no symptoms and recovered.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, “While all children are capable of getting the virus that causes COVID-19, they don’t become sick as often as adults. Most children have mild symptoms or no symptoms.”

The potential adverse effects of J&J’s experimental vaccine remain relatively unknown. Unlike Moderna and Pfizer’sCOVID-19 vaccines that rely on new mRNA technology, J&J utilized a disabled adenovirus in their vaccine. Existing adenovirus vaccines include the controversial Ebola vaccine and respiratory syncytial virus.

“Do we really want to enlist our children in the war against an infectious disease when they are at little or no risk of getting COVID,” asked Lyn Redwood, RN, MSN, director and past president of Children’s Health Defense.

“After all, these vaccines are medical interventions that the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized as being unavoidably unsafe. We have to ask ourselves this difficult question: Is the potential risk to infants or children worth the potential benefit for society?”

The FDA found J&J’s COVID vaccine to be only 67% effective in preventing moderate to severe symptoms at least 14 days after vaccination, and 66% effective in preventing moderate to severe symptoms at least 28 days after vaccination.

Although Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccines are purportedly 95% and 94% effective, these vaccine-makers have less aggressive plans to test their vaccines in younger age groups, reported the Times.

Two more COVID vaccines from AstraZeneca and Novavax are completing phase 3 clinical trials and are expected to apply for FDA authorization in the spring.

Biden’s administration announced today that J&J has partnered with pharmaceutical giant Merck to produce its COVID-19 vaccine, a senior administration official confirmed to CNBC News.

The announcement comes as the administration works to ramp up production of J&J ’s vaccine. In January, Merck scrapped plans to develop its own COVID vaccine after a clinical trial showed its shot was ineffective.

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