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After heavy criticism, Obama forced to downsize massive birthday bash amid Delta variant spread

Following significant backlash, former President Barack Obama has decided at the last minute to curtail plans for a massive 60th birthday celebration.

The party, scheduled to take place Saturday at the Obamas’ oceanside mansion in Martha’s Vineyard, was to include nearly 500 guests and more than 200 staff. But after news broke of the bash over the weekend, critics lambasted the former president for hosting a massive party amid a surge in coronavirus infections.

Now, citing the spread of the Delta variant, the Obamas have decided to scale down the party to include just family and close friends.

According to the New York Times, “the party plans had been months in the making and many invitees had already arrived on Martha’s Vineyard” when Obama belatedly announced news of its cancellation.

“Due to the new spread of the Delta variant over the past week, the president and Mrs. Obama have decided to significantly scale back the event to include only family and close friends,” the former president’s spokesperson, Hannah Hankins, said in a statement. “President Obama is appreciative of others sending their birthday wishes from afar and looks forward to seeing people soon.”about:blank

Hundreds of former Obama administration officials and Hollywood bigwigs were slated to attend the party before its downsizing. The New York Post reported that George Clooney, Steven Spielberg, and Oprah Winfrey were expected to attend.

Party planners reportedly followed public health guidelines in advance of the celebration. The bash was to be held outside at the property and the Obamas had asked guests to be vaccinated. There was even slated to be a “COVID coordinator” on the premises to ensure protocols were followed. 

But as the Delta variant has surged in recent weeks, public health experts responded by reversing masking guidance for vaccinated individuals and warning against large gatherings. All of a sudden, the public image of a massive party filled with celebrities, Democratic donors, and left-wing politicos didn’t look so good.

“They’ve been concerned about the virus from the beginning, asking invited guests if they had been vaccinated, requesting that they get a test proximate to the event,” David Axelrod, a former top Obama adviser, said, according to the Times. “But when this was planned, the situation was quite different. So they responded to the changing circumstances.”

The Obamas and their allies have maintained that the party plans were altered over health concerns. Though it should be noted that plans didn’t officially change until after the public backlash.

Rand Paul Calls NIH Director “Stupid” After Call To Wear Masks At Home

“There is no science to defend putting your kids in masks or parents wearing masks—no science whatsoever.”

Senator Rand Paul denounced “stupid” comments made on CNN by National Institutes of Health director Dr. Francis Collins, after the direct underling of Anthony Fauci declared that parents with children under the age of 12 should wear face masks INSIDE their own homes.

Appearing on Fox News, an exasperated Paul urged “How can people who are so smart say such stupid things?”

Watch:

“There is no science to defend putting your kids in masks or parents wearing masks—no science whatsoever,” Paul emphasised, adding “If there were, we would be wearing masks for years and years because for kids, the death rate is about the same as the seasonal flu. It may be less than the seasonal flu.”

The Senator continued, “So, is Francis Collins proposing that because the flu is with us forever that parents should be wearing masks around their kids that have the flu? It is absolutely and utterly without scientific evidence!”

Going on to speak regarding the government fear mongering over the Delta (or Indian) variant of the virus, Paul said “Now, they’re all freaking out right now about the Delta variant. One thing is—in all likelihood true—it is more transmissible, significantly more transmissible, but guess what? Every bit of evidence shows that it’s less deadly—significantly less deadly.”

“Public Health England looked at 92,000 people. If you were vaccinated and under 50, there were no deaths. If you were unvaccinated and under 50, .08%—still very, very small. So, it’s not an argument for not getting vaccinated. It’s an argument for not getting hysterical over the Delta variant,” Paul further urged.

He continued “We shouldn’t be changing any mandates and really, in all likelihood, the masks didn’t affect the trajectory of the virus at all.”

Paul, a qualified physician, further explained “The only thing that’s slowing the virus down is the vaccine and natural immunity and they continue to ignore natural immunity because they think we are too far behind.”

“We got to vaccinate the children but, in reality I think it’s 90% of people over 65 have been vaccinated. That’s extraordinary. We should be celebrating,” Paul concluded.

Following the interview, Paul tweeted out a report noting that the FDA has approved the use of COVID-19 antibody therapy, meaning Monoclonal antibodies can be given to elderly spouses or family members who live with someone who has COVID 19. 

Hooray for REAL Science!

Paul also reacted to being censored by YouTube after an interview he did with Newsmax on the lack of efficacy of cloth face masks was removed purely because it contradicts what the government says about masks.

‘I Love Living There’: American Wrestler Praises USA, Thanks God After Winning Gold

American Olympic wrestler Tamyra Mensah-Stock heaped praise on the United States and expressed her gratitude to God after she won her first gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics.

Mensah-Stock, 28, made history Tuesday when she became only the second woman — and the first black woman — to win an Olympic wrestling gold medal for Team USA in the women’s 68-kilogram freestyle final, according to NPR.

Mensah-Stock bested Nigerian wrestler Blessing Oborududu 4-1 after seizing two takedowns in the first period. Neither woman scored a point in the second period.

“Of course I surprise myself,” a jubilant Mensah-Stock told reporters after the victory. “It’s by the grace of God I’m even able to move my feet. I just leave it in His hands and I pray that all the practice … my coaches put my through pays off and, every single time, it does.”

“I get better and better,” she continued, “and it’s so weird that there is no cap to the limit that I can do. I’m excited to see what I have next.”

Noticing the American flag draped over Mensah-Stock’s shoulders, one reporter asked the gold medalist how it feels to represent her country.

The athlete — clearly honored to carry the American flag — said it feels “amazing” to represent the United States.

“It feels amazing,” she said. “I love representing the U.S. I … love living here. I love it. And I’m so happy I get to represent USA!”

As she walked away, Mensah-Stock said she would try not to cry when she stood on the podium to receive her gold medal.

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America Still Values Free Speech: ‘People Are Too Easily Offended’

New poll shows more than half of Americans feel that the general public is “too sensitive” when it comes to speech.

QUICK FACTS:
  • The recent survey conducted by pollster Ipsos Mori on behalf of King’s College London.
  • The survey “asked 23,000 adults in 28 countries about their attitudes towards free speech,” according to The Economist.
  • Respondents rated—on a scale from zero to seven—”how they felt about using potentially hurtful words when speaking with people from different backgrounds to their own.”
  • Zero meant that respondents felt that “people are too easily offended.”
  • A seven meant they thought it was necessary to “change the way people talk.”
  • “More than half of respondents in America, Australia, Britain and Sweden rated themselves between zero and three (excluding those who answered ‘don’t know’),” explains The Economist, “meaning they were the most likely to feel that the general public are too sensitive when it comes to speech.”
  • “At the other end of the scale, Chinese, Indians and Turks were the least likely to say people were being too sensitive—fewer than one-fifth of the people from these countries responded with a scale of zero to three—instead believing it was necessary to modify their language.”
From The Economist
AMERICANS THINK ‘CULTURE WARS’ ARE DIVISIVE:
  • Survey respondents were also asked whether or not they agreed that “culture wars” were dividing their countries, notes The Economist.
  • “Americans and Indians were among the most likely to say that they were, with about three-fifths agreeing.”
  • “By contrast, fewer than one-tenth of Japanese and one-fifth of Russians and Germans thought that culture wars were divisive.”

WATCH: ‘Largest Group of Migrants Ever Seen’ Crossing U.S.-Mexico Border

Video captured by drone posted to Twitter shows hundreds of illegals crossing into U.S. from Mexico.

‘Left-Leaning’ Reuters, AP to Be Twitter’s New Fact-Checkers

Twitter announced the two news orgs—with politically “left-leaning” tendencies—will help expand “efforts to identify and elevate credible information” on its platform.

QUICK FACTS:
  • Twitter has signed a deal with both Reuters and The Associated Press (AP) to help elevate what they deem “accurate information,” according to Townhall.
  • “Twitter said they will look to feature information from “reliable” resources, debunk circulating misinformation and explain the site’s trending patterns.”
  • This represents efforts by Twitter to “contextualize developing discourse” before such content goes viral.
WHAT TWITTER SAID:
  • “We are committed to making sure that when people come to Twitter to see what’s happening, they are able to easily find reliable information,” Twitter said in a blog post.
  • “Twitter will be able to expand the scale and increase the speed of our efforts to provide timely, authoritative context across the wide range of global topics and conversations that happen on Twitter every day.”
WHAT TOWNHALL IS SAYING:
  • Townhall—a popular conservative news source—has branded both Reuters and AP as “liberal media outlets” and “left-leaning.”
  • Townhall characterized the move by Twitter as one “that will not exactly ensure trust among individuals outside of the liberal sphere.”
BACKGROUND:
  • Reuters and AP are already fact-checking partners with Facebook, notes Townhall.
  • AllSides.com, which rates the political bias of media outlets, gives a “lean left” rating to AP’s “Politics and Fact Check sections.”
  • AllSides gives Reuters’ fact check section a “center” rating with the caveat, “though there may be some evidence of Lean Left bias, according to a July 2021 Small Group Editorial Review by AllSides editors on the left, center, and right.”
  • “There was some evidence of a slight Lean Left bias,” notes AllSides, “such as this article in which Reuters attempts to fact-check an opinion by adding more context. However, we did not necessarily identify a clear pattern of this because much of Reuters’ content is focused on international issues, not just U.S. politics, and our team is U.S.-based.”
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