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Opinions On Homeschooling Have Changed During The Pandemic

It was one year ago when school buildings began to shutter and students retreated to their homes to try and stop the spread of the coronavirus. While not technically homeschooling (they were still enrolled in their school and working on curriculum prescribed by teachers, not their parents), many families got a hint of what homeschooling might feel like, and how the dynamics of their family might change were they to educate their children at home.

If you only looked at social media, you would think it a complete disaster. Numerous posts on Twitter and Facebook decrying how unprepared and overwhelmed parents were went viral, as did calls to pay teachers multi-million-dollar salaries after parents had to try teaching their kids on their own. Homeschooling, it seemed, was a bridge too far.

But were those posts representative of broader sentiment? We at EdChoice have been polling a nationally representative sample of Americans (including a huge number of parents) every month since March of last year, so we have a more holistic view of public—and parent—opinion.

A year in, let’s take a look at what they think.

Result #1: Parents are more favorable to homeschooling as a result of the pandemic.

We ask the question “How have your opinions on homeschooling changed as a result of the coronavirus?” Already in March of 2020, 55 percent of parents said that they were more favorable, and only 17 percent were less favorable as a result of the pandemic. Favorability has only trended upward in the ensuing months. By February of 2021, it was up to 63 percent. Those less favorable have trended up as well, but only up to 21 percent.

There have been some contours in those numbers over time, though. Within the favorable category, respondents can say whether they are “much more favorable” or “somewhat more favorable.” Those who identify as “much more favorable” started at 26 percent of respondents in March of 2020 and rocketed up to 43 percent by July. That figure has since ticked downward and by February of 2021, it was right back to where it started, 26 percent. The growth in favorability has come from respondents who say that they are “somewhat more favorable.” That response started at 29 percent in March, peaked at 40 percent in January of 2021, and ticked slightly down in February, to 37 percent.

Result #2: Parents are open to hybrid homeschooling.

To comply with social distancing guidelines, schools across the country have instituted “hybrid” schedules, where students attend in-person classes part-time and work from home the rest of the time. (Check out this great tracker from AEI to see what districts are in-person versus hybrid versus remote.) Interestingly, there are a cadre of schools that already used a hybrid model before the pandemic started and offered some lessons for how to homeschool part-time.

Starting in January of 2021, we have asked parents if they were open to considering a part-time schooling model in the future after the pandemic subsides. Candidly, given polling from other sources that say that parents have not been happy with hybrid learning, I expected the percentage of families who want to continue to be quite low.

I was wrong.

In January, 44 percent of school parents said that after the pandemic they would prefer a mix of in-person and at-home schooling, with two to three days at home being the most popular response. This compares to 42 percent of respondents who wanted to have their children in school full time and 14 percent who wanted their students at home full time. This preference was particularly pronounced in families who already send their children to private school, a full 64 percent of whom said they would prefer a part-time model. This is verified by our February sample. Amongst all school parents, 45 percent would prefer a mix of at-home and in-school learning. Among private school parents, it was 64 percent again. Among district school parents, it was 42 percent.

Result #3: Homeschooling parents have been satisfied with their children’s learning during the pandemic.

For the past year, we have asked parents how they feel their children are progressing on academic learning, emotional development, and social development. Homeschooling parents consistently report higher levels of satisfaction than average. When we look at the percentage of parents who say that their children are progressing “very well,” 33 percent of homeschooling parents say their children are doing so in academic learning (compared to an average of 28 percent of all school parents), 31 percent say they are progressing very well in emotional development (compared to an average of 25 percent of all school parents), and 39 percent say they are progressing very well with respect to social development (compared to an average of 27 percent of all school parents). When compared strictly to parents who send their children to traditional public schools, homeschooling edges traditional public schooling by eight points in academic learning, nine points in emotional development, and 17 points in social development.

Far from what the loudest voices on social media seem to say, the pandemic has made people more favorable to homeschooling, not less. Those who have homeschooled have found it to be a positive experience. It has even caused families to think about hybrid models that might offer the best of their homeschooling experience while still offering some of the features of traditional schooling. Watch for enrollment numbers in the fall to see if and how these preferences transfer to actual behavior.

Russell Brand: Why Are Drugmakers Who Caused Opioid Crisis in Charge of Solving the Pandemic?

It makes sense, Brand says, that some people have doubts about allowing corporations with a history of prioritizing profits over people to be in charge of solving the pandemic.

Russell Brand wants you to know that the transnational global mega-companies creating vaccines for COVID-19 are the same drugmakers responsible for the opioid crisis that has killed more people than COVID.

In his latest video, Brand cites a Feb. 3 study in JAMA Psychiatry showing that from March 2020 to October 2020, opioid overdose cases were up by 29%, suggesting that society is now “more susceptible than ever to addiction.”

Judgments like the one against Johnson & Johnson, ordered by the state of Oklahoma to pay $572 million for “aggressively marketing” opioids, have had little impact on drugmakers for whom “profits override all other considerations,” Brand says.

Is it any wonder, Brand asks, that some people might question the motives of these same companies when it comes to their role in solving the pandemic?

“I suppose what we can learn from the opioid crisis is that a situation that was already bad, i.e. mental illness and addiction, was exacerbated by the agendas of certain transnational corporations, aided and abetted by an impotent FDA and a government unwilling to intervene in practices of big businesses. And I suppose it’s interesting that these very  same companies are now charged with solving the biggest problem the world has seen for some time in the form of a pandemic.

Brand then asks the $64,000 question:

“How can you use the same mentality, and the same individuals, and the same organizations to solve that problem?”

If there’s an answer to that question, Brand says, at least you can be sympathetic when people have doubts and fears, not just about the vaccines made by these companies, but about “the power of these organizations and the manner in which they practice.”

Watch the video:

James Coates’ Wife, Erin: My Husband Is in Jail Because He Obeyed the Lord Jesus Christ (VIDEO)

Erin Coates, the wife of jailed Canadian Pastor James Coates, says of her husband, “His job as a shepherd of the sheep is to open the doors and allow people to worship according to their conscience and according to the Word of God,” Erin Coates said, “We have done that really wisely, putting many precautions in place.”

Pastor Coates will remain in jail until his trial in May after Justice Peter Michalyshyn rejected an appeal by his lawyer last week.

As a guest on Allie Beth Stuckey’s podcast last Thursday March 4, 2021, Coates declared her love for the church and her support for her husband.

Stuckey asked Coates a number of questions regarding her husband’s arrest and time in jail for choosing to “obey the Lord Jesus Christ” instead of government restrictions that forced GraceLife Church‘s indoor worship services to only 15% capacity, which led to Pastor James Coates’ arrest.

Host Stuckey focused her interview with Mrs. Coates around whether the actions of her husband and GraceLife Church should be considered religious persecution.

When the government mandated the COVID-19 restrictions, did Pastor Coates say we weren’t going to adhere to those guidelines or was he just going to give people the choice “no matter what,” Stuckey asked.

Mrs. Coates explained that her husband and the GraceLife Church elders felt like it was not their responsibility to mandate these government COVID-19 restrictions “but to allow people to worship freely according to conscience…they left it to the people to make that decision.”

Stucky asked Erin how she feels when other Christians, both Canadian and American, weigh in on their current situation and say that what they are going through “isn’t persecution” because he’s not in jail for preaching the gospel or for holding a church service, but because Pastor James violated COVID-19 restrictions.

Repeating what she said that her husband said, Erin peacefully said, “I’ll leave it up to the Lord whether it’s persecution or not. I think that people’s definition of persecution probably needs to be broadened a little bit. 2 Timothy says that “All those who desire to live godly and righteously in Christ will be persecuted.” She boldly said, “I do want to make it clear, he’s not in jail because he didn’t obey the restrictions. He’s in jail because he obeyed the Lord Jesus Christ and His headship over the church and did not restrict the gathering to anybody.”

In their area, she shared that big box stores like Costco and Walmart have thousands of people going in and out of them with no restrictions, as well as restaurants being open. Pointing out the attack from Satan her family and GraceLife Church feels currently and when people mention that restaurants have restrictions too, she said “It’s really sad because Satan doesn’t really care about whether a restaurant is open or not…he does care about destroying the local church and he does care about destroying the lives of people that comprise the local church.”

Describing what the church is when it gathers to worship, Coates said, “She is an expression of the blood-bought body of Christ and when she gathers she’s testifying to the world of the greatest and glory of God and His worth to be worshiped…restaurants aren’t doing that, the church is doing that.”

“I don’t have to wave the persecution flag, He [The Lord] can deal with all of that.”

Coates was asked if she was surprised by other Christians who are quick to discard the persecution talk regarding what is happening to their church and her husband. She responded by saying “yes” and “no,” explaining that it’s sad to see people slow to speak but quick to judgement because they don’t know all the details. Christians are at “varying degrees of sanctification” so she said she has to be patient with them because “if they’re truly saved by Christ, He’s going to sanctify them…It doesn’t surprise me, [because] there’s a spiritual war.”

“I know my husband and his heart,” Coates told host Stuckey, so the things that others are saying about him don’t bother me. “It’s not my job to defend myself or James,” she said “I’ll let the Lord deal with that. We are all going to stand before Him on the day of judgement. It’s just my job to make sure that I’m taking every opportunity to herald Jesus Christ and Him crucified as the only way of salvation.”

Coates shared that it has been challenging for her husband, James, who was in solitary confinement due to COVID-19 protocols at the time of the interview. “He has had some dark moments,” she said and continued, “You have the enemy just seeking to devour you in a situation like that…but he just says that he’s been strengthened and encouraged by reading the Word and praying.”

She said it brings joy to her heart to see people they don’t even know writing letters of encouragement to her husband and remembering those who are in prison.

Speaking of her husband, she said, “He understands that ‘God’s Will’ will be done and that nothing can thwart that. So wherever God needs to use him most greatly that’s where He’s going to put him.”

After being asked how this has affected her, she shared that she knows that God brings things into her life so she would “know Him, love Him, obey Him, and therefore glorify Him” more. That doesn’t mean it is easy for her. She said, “There are times I have woken up in the middle of the night crying and can’t breathe.”

“It is hard. It’s supposed to be hard because it’s the hard and difficult things that we see our weakness in the power of God on display in our life”

Coates also briefly shared that her oldest son (18) has had some emotional moments being able to comprehend well what his father is enduring, and she said her 11-year-old son has really missed his dad. The mother of two said, “Everything is a teaching opportunity for us; we have to learn how to love and how to love Christ more.”

Her message to others listening Coates said is “share with your pastors who have opted to close the church just the damage what the lockdowns are doing to you. I receive so many messages from people that are really struggling to thrive in Christ. When you have them isolated, they are just prime target for the enemy to pounce on.”

Coates pleaded with others–especially those in Canada–to, “Open your churches to the glory of God.”

The biggest things someone can do for us at this time is “pray for us,” she said. “We are on display as a church and our earnest desire is to be faithful…this is about Jesus Christ’s Lordship over His church and whether the government can mandate how we worship Him as individuals and corporately.”

Coates asked for grace as she explained a lot of the negative comments toward her husband are not coming from pastors and that pastors will have to “stand before the Lord and give and account on judgement day for the souls that have been entrusted to them especially for GraceLife.”

You can watch the full interview here.

Fentanyl Flowing Into United States at Record Volume

The amount of fentanyl seized while coming through the southern border during the first 5 months of fiscal year 2021 is already higher than all of fiscal year 2020, according to the latest statistics from Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

CBP has seized more than 5,000 pounds of fentanyl since Oct. 1, 2020, said acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller during a March 10 media call.

“We are seeing a dramatic increase in fentanyl seizures this fiscal year, more than 360 percent higher than this time last year,” Miller said.

“Nationwide drug seizures increased 50 percent in February from January. Cocaine interceptions increased 13 percent, seizures of methamphetamine increased 40 percent, seizures of heroin went up 48 percent.”

Fentanyl is the synthetic opioid attributed to the escalating overdose death rate in the United States. It is most often manufactured in Mexico using chemicals supplied by China. It’s mixed with other narcotics to increase potency as well as pressed into counterfeit pain pills commonly known as “Mexican oxys.”

“The cartels are dominating the distribution of this poison and it’s really, really alarming,” Derek Maltz, former head of the DEA’s special operations division, told The Epoch Times.

“I do anticipate the crisis continuing on this escalating path. And to be honest with you, it’s really sad, because I’ve been communicating with a lot of parents who have lost their young kids, especially to the counterfeit pills. And it’s all coming from Mexico.”

The Rio Grande City Border Patrol station takes care of a 68-mile strip of international border in south Texas. It sits within the Rio Grande Valley Sector and in 2019 was the busiest of the nation’s 135 stations for drug seizures and the second busiest for illegal alien apprehensions.

Then-deputy chief Border Patrol agent for the Rio Grande Valley sector Raul Ortiz, said in March 2019 “we’re not even probably catching about 10 percent of it [drugs].”

Border experts have said it’s likely Border Patrol drug seizures will decrease as illegal immigration surges—agents will be tied up with large groups of people rather than interdicting drugs. Border Patrol highway checkpoints are also closing in many areas as agents are sent to the border to help with processing the increased numbers.

The Biden administration has said there’s no crisis on the border and urges potential migrants not to come in illegally. But the latest illegal crossing numbers show that February hit a 14-month high with more than 100,000 Border Patrol apprehensions.

Mexico’s president has expressed concern that President Joe Biden’s policies are encouraging illegal immigration and human trafficking along the border with the United States.

“They see him as the migrant president, and so many feel they’re going to reach the United States,” Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said of Biden the morning after a virtual meeting with his U.S. counterpart on March 1, according to Reuters.

Maltz said, “perception is reality. People around the world look at Biden as a softie on immigration.”

“The open border is a disaster. It just increases the [cartels’] ability to move drugs freely into America,” he said.

“Also, most importantly, it allows them to get their command and control operatives in the [United States] to establish the stash houses, the distribution outlets, the money collection points, so they have lots of people in America who are able to operate freely around the country.”

Epoch Times Photo
Areas of influence of major Mexican cartel within the United States. (DEA report 2021)

The cartels control the south side of the U.S.–Mexico border and anyone who crosses illegally has to pay them. Many can’t afford the smuggling fees and become indentured to the cartels once they reach the United States. Others realize it’s more lucrative to become involved in transnational crime rather than get a job at a fast food restaurant, for example, Maltz said.

“This didn’t start under Donald Trump. It didn’t start under Barack Obama. It didn’t start under George Bush. This drug crisis has been escalating for years,” he said.

“But they’re doing it at levels that we’ve never seen in the history of the country.”

READ: ‘Why fentanyl is deadlier than heroin, in a single photo’

High School Caught Asking Students About Their Sexual Activity Without Parents’ Knowledge (video)

Many parents assume the purpose of sex education is to teach children how to make responsible decisions about their sexual health.

But when the curtain is pulled back, some parents have found that public schools are not equipping their sons and daughters with the necessary tools to help them avoid risky sexual behaviors. In some cases, parents have even discovered the school’s sex education curriculum involves exposing minors to inappropriate material, drawing condemnation.

A recent sex health survey administered to tenth-graders in a health class at the Brookfield Central High School in Wisconsin has prompted such criticism from parents, according to WISN-TV.

The survey gave students the option of revealing information about their sexual activity in real-time through the digital platform Poll Everywhere. After submitting their responses anonymously, the survey results appeared live on-screen to the rest of the class in the form of a bar chart.

Students were asked to provide answers to statements like, “I have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs when having sexual intercourse,” and “I’ve had sexual intercourse with 4 or more people.”

The survey also allowed students to disclose whether they had ever participated in “oral or anal sex,” or if they had engaged in sexual activity without protection.

While participation was optional for students, their parents were not warned about the survey’s content ahead of time.

During an Elmbrook School Board meeting on Tuesday, however, a few parents took the opportunity to voice their concerns.

“This should not be asked of our tenth-grade children or any children underage,” Heidi Harrison, a Brookfield mother, said. “I asked the school board this, ‘How would you like it if I asked you these questions? How would you feel?’”

“Those questions have no place in high school. This questionnaire should be illegal, [in] my personal opinion,” the mother added. “They are asking for sexual information from a minor.”

In an anonymous statement to The Daily Wire, one family revealed that the survey made their child “uncomfortable.” According to the family, even though the survey was optional, everyone still had to sit through the presentation.

Brookfield Central principal Brett Gruetzmacher apologized to parents in an email, citing the district’s respect for “the primary role that the family plays in developing values, attitudes and behavior.”

Gruetzmacher also assured parents that the school would not present such material to students again.

“Unfortunately, in this instance, these expectations were not followed. No student-specific information was recorded during this survey and the survey … will not be used again,” Gruetzmacher said. “I am sorry and disappointed that this happened and will take the necessary steps to ensure that this does not happen again.”

Brookfield Central did not immediately respond to The Western Journal’s request for further comment.

Still, many parents expressed skepticism about the school’s apology. The parents explained to The Daily Wire that it is difficult to opt their children out of controversial lessons, as they do not always know when the topics will be discussed in the classroom.

While the parents want to see more transparency from the school district, few are hopeful that the district will be receptive to their concerns.

“They’re just going to keep doing the same thing,” one parent said. “They’ve never been held accountable for anything.”

This is not the first time that a school has been caught teaching inappropriate sex education material to students.

As The Associated Press reported in May 2019, parents objected to the state of California’s decision to implement a controversial new sex education program in schools. The program’s framework informed teachers on how to educate kindergarteners about their gender identity and provide middle-schoolers with tips on how to masturbate.

Patricia Reyes, a mother of six children, made her objections to the curriculum clear during a California State Board of Education meeting at the time.

“It’s just scary what they are going to be teaching. It’s pornography,” Reyes said. “If this continues, I’m not sending them to school.”

In another incident that WRAL-TV reported on in October 2018, parents in North Carolina showed up to a Cumberland County Board of Education meeting to protest the “Get Real” sex education program.

Their efforts were successful, but if the schools had implemented the program, 11 to 14-year-old students would have been taught how to explore their sexual identity and use various birth control methods.

Schools should not expose minors to graphic sexual content without their parents’ knowledge. If sex education is to be taught in schools, it should encourage open dialogue between kids and their parents.

When schools like Brookfield Central attempt to teach controversial sex education material in secret, they remove the crucial role of the family in delicate conversations about sex.

Students deserve exposure to educational material that strengthens their personal relationships instead of undermining them. Children also should not be encouraged to explore heavy sexual topics without their parents’ guidance.

If sex education programs have to be taught in secret, then administrators and school board members should probably take that as a sign that something is not quite right with the curriculum.

Here’s a fact-check of Biden’s first prime-time White House address (NYT)

President Biden, in a prime-time address on Thursday night, exaggerated elements of the coronavirus pandemic along with his, and his predecessor’s, response to it. Here’s a fact-check.

What Mr. Biden Said

“A year ago we were hit with a virus that was met with silence and spread unchecked, denials for days, weeks, then months.”

This is exaggerated. It is true that President Donald J. Trump downplayed the severity of the coronavirus pandemic for months. But he was not exactly silent and did not fail to respond completely. One year ago, on March 12, 2020, Mr. Trump delivered an address from the Oval Office acknowledging the threat and announced new travel restrictions on much of Europe.

What Mr. Biden Said

“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.”

This is exaggerated. According to estimates from the Department of Veterans Affairs, a total of 392,393 died in combat in those three wars. Combined with the 2,977 people who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, that figure would be indeed smaller than the coronavirus death toll Mr. Biden cited. It would also be lower than the 529,000 death figure tracked by The New York Times. But factoring in deaths that occurred in service but outside of combat, the toll from the three wars (more than 610,000) would be higher than the current total number of virus-related deaths Mr. Biden cited.

What Mr. Biden Said

“Two months ago this country didn’t have nearly enough vaccine supply to vaccinate all or anywhere near all of the American public. But soon we will.”

This is misleading. By the end of last year, the Trump administration had ordered at least 800 million vaccine doses that were expected for delivery by July 31, 2021, the Government Accountability Office reported. That included vaccines undergoing clinical trials as well as those not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration. According to Kaiser Health News, that would have been enough to vaccinate 200 million people with authorized vaccines, and more than enough for 400 million once all the vaccines were cleared for use. The current U.S. population is roughly 330 million. And, contrary to Mr. Biden’s suggestions, both administrations deserve credit for the current state of the vaccine supply.

What Mr. Biden Said

“When I took office 50 days ago, only 8 percent of Americans after months, only 8 percent of those over the age of 65 had gotten their first vaccination. Today, that number is 65 percent.”

This is misleading. When Mr. Biden took office on Jan. 20, the vaccination effort had just begun, after the F.D.A. authorized Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use in mid-December.

Remembering a year of liberal lockdowns

Government used them as an excuse for new spending, growth of welfare state and increasing federal power

It’s been a year since federal and state governments together with the nation’s health care bureaucracy locked down America.

With it we caught a glimpse of authoritarianism in the land of the free. The popular narrative is that the pandemic changed America forever. It’s a fundamentally dangerous notion since those changes would mean limits on constitutional freedoms.

At first, we took it all in stride. The vast majority of us wore masks, bought hand sanitizer by the gallon and accepted that for a short time we might have to sacrifice for the greater good. 

There were triumphs like Operation Warp Speed, unprecedented inter-governmental coordination and adaptations by the private sector to meet critical needs. The courage of health care workers and first responders was a source of strength in the face of great uncertainty. 

But the failures were wretched and presented themselves early. They exposed dangers inherent in the argument that government has the competency to manage society to the extent the left imagines it should.

First, we were woefully unprepared. National stockpiles of medical supplies that were depleted during the Obama administration had not been replenished. States like New York, though warned they were ill-equipped, had virtually no resources. Local officials across the country had few protocols to handle a major public health crisis, despite calls to prepare by the Bush administration after the H1N1 scare.  

Then the pandemic turned political. The medical science that should have informed decision-making and public information was willfully manipulated by partisans in government and the press in a naked attempt to frustrate President Trump’s reelection chances. 

Left-wing media downplayed the more than 99.7% survival rate, heaped praise on feckless liberal governors and turned the flipflopping Dr. Anthony Fauci into a demigod. Questioning Dr. Fauci got you canceled, fired and ridiculed despite his record of ever-changing assertions, irresponsible prognostications and reliance on dubious data. 

Mr. Trump for his part didn’t help matters, turning COVID-19 task force briefings into rambling assaults on the media rather than opportunities for compassion and reassuring the public. 

We watched the power of misinformation and propaganda in the public imagination. Public health orders which led to the deaths of tens of thousands in nursing homes didn’t stop the government from tightening its grip. New surveillance regimes sprung up like weeds.

Government told us kids couldn’t enter a classroom yet going to the supermarket, Walmart, even the mall was just fine. States called liquor stores and abortion clinics essential businesses, but churches were deemed dangerous. Restaurants remained locked down even after the data showed they were not vectors for mass infection. 

Leftist groups like the nation’s teachers’ unions used the pandemic to squeeze taxpayers and drive a far-left agenda that had nothing to do with educating kids.

The lockdown damage has been extraordinary. Estimates place lost wages at more than $1.3 trillion and the highest month-to-month increase in long-term unemployment in history. More than 110,000 restaurants and bars have permanently closed.

People died in isolation. Millions of families were cruelly forced to mourn alone. 

Lockdowns gave us the highest number of drug overdose fatalities in history. More than half of Americans reported adverse impacts to mental health in the last year, with over 25% of 18- to 24-year-olds contemplating suicide. Deferred cancer treatments and other health care disruptions have had an incalculably high cost on human life. 

Government used the lockdowns as an excuse for approximately $6 trillion in new spending, explosive growth of the welfare state and a launchpad for increasing federal power. As a result, our debt to GDP ratio is the highest since World War II. 

We will indeed win the battle against the virus, but the war to prevent it from changing this country is raging. If we live paralyzed by media-driven hysteria masquerading as medical advice and Twitter science, we will lose that war. The left will steamroll freedom and China will laugh all the way to global hegemony.

Freedom is fragile. Government lacks the competency or in many cases the desire to protect it. If we’ve learned nothing in the last year, let it be that. 

• Tom Basile, host of Newsmax Television’s “America Right Now,” is an author and adjunct professor at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, where he teaches earned media strategy.

WATCH: Texas Sting Operations: 31 Missing Children Found, Rescued; School Cancels “Parents” | Facts Matter

In Dallas, after a month-long rescue operation, 31 Missing Children were located, recovered, or rescued.

WATCH: Americans may regret coronavirus stimulus checks: Karl Rove

The American people may regret getting the coronavirus stimulus checks down the line, Fox News contributor Karl Rove argued on “Varney & Co.” Friday, doubling down on his Wall Street Journal opinion article.

Karl Rove: “Well, we’re a practical people. Seventy-five percent of Americans are going to get these checks, and how many of those people are going to say, why am I getting the check? I’ve got a couple of friends in South Carolina; Two retired ladies: A mother in law, an aunt of a friend of mine. They got their $600 checks last year. Their first response was, why did they send them to us?” And think about this, the United States Senate turned down an amendment to deny checks to felons. People who’ve been in jail for a year. So they got in there before covid started. They’re going to get checks. College students are going to get checks. They refused to go on record and say we’re going to deny checks to illegal aliens.”

So I think people are going to say, OK, fine, thanks for sending out the money. But did I really need it? And what’s going to really bring this to a boil is the fact that this bill is so expensive and people are going to say, did we really need to spend 1.8 to $1.9 trillion in order to deal with an issue? Think about this, Stuart, in the bill. Vaccines have between 14 and 20 billion dollars worth of spending. If you take all of the health-related Covid-19 issues in here, it’s between $100 to $160 billion total–everything. $1.8 trillion dollars total; 8.5 % or less of the bill is actually devoted to Covid. And think about this. This is an emergency, right? We spend 1.23 to $2.3 trillion this fiscal year, that is to say, by the end of September. But we spend $692 billion under this emergency bill over the next 10 years. 

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