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Critics cast doubt on alarming new Delta variant findings from CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention altered its mask guidance after a report found the Delta COVID-19 variant spreads as easily as chickenpox, possibly even among the vaccinated — but critics have ripped it as misleading and based on weak data.

The widely ridiculed change in mask policy followed an internal CDC presentation, first obtained by the Washington Post, that claimed that it was time to “acknowledge the war has changed.”

The leaked report, compiled of several different studies, claimed that the variant causes more severe illness among the unvaccinated and is more transmissible than Ebola, the flu and even the common cold, regardless of vaccination status.

The Delta strain is now the most dominant one in the US.

“Delta variant vaccine breakthrough cases may be as transmissible as unvaccinated cases,” the report claims.

The unidentified authors insisted that it was now time for experts to stop claiming that breakthrough infections were “rare” — even arguing that “universal masking is essential” given the spread amongst those vaccinated.

The presentation was based largely on unpublished research, The Washington Post noted — with warnings in large red type also noting that it was “preliminary data, subject to change.”

It was quickly panned by critics, who noted the vague data used in raising the alarm.

“Democrats are basing their new mask mandate on a 100-person study from India,” tweeted Republican leader Kevin McCarthy.

“It didn’t pass peer-review and uses vaccines that aren’t approved in America. This is the ‘science’ they are using to try to control Americans!” he wrote.

The presentation did mention studies in India, although it also referenced research of a community spread in Massachusetts, as well as work in Los Angeles, Scotland, Singapore and Israel.

Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw also insisted that “the CDC has presented no data showing vaccinated people are spreading COVID infections” — taking aim at the lack of transparency by the public federal agency in not releasing this report publicly.

“If you’re vaccinated, you have a better chance of getting hit by lightning than dying of COVID,” the former SEAL tweeted.

“Our government, now considering lockdowns, has lost its effing mind,” he said.

Fellow Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz on Friday also tweeted that “the CDC’s willingness to twist facts for political expediency is stunning.”

He shared a video of him asking if there has “ever been an institution in American public life that has more discredited itself more rapidly than the CDC.”

“Today, the CDC has willingly allowed itself to be politicized, to behave as an arm of the DNC, and their credibility is in tatters. It is a joke,” Cruz said.

The Washington Post noted that the leaked presentation was informational, rather than official CDC policy. The agency did not respond to the paper’s requests for comment.

Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, ripped the way the latest mask advice was given without clear data and justification.

“You don’t, when you’re a public health official, want to be saying, ‘Trust us, we know, we can’t tell you how,’” Jamieson told the Washington Post.

“The scientific norm suggests that when you make a statement based on science, you show the science.”

She also said the CDC made a “second mistake” in that “they do not appear to be candid about the extent to which breakthroughs are yielding hospitalizations.”

The report was primarily offering advice on how the CDC should handle “communication challenges” now that evidence suggests even those jabbed are getting infected and spreading the virus. It expressed concern about how the findings “may reduce public confidence in vaccines.”

It noted “concerns from local health departments,” and insisted it was time to stop describing breakthrough infections as a “small percentage of cases.”

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TX Gov. Abbott orders Nat. Guard to arrest illegal immigrants

On Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Texas National Guard to begin assisting troopers with arresting illegal immigrants who violate Texas law as thousands continue pouring across the United States-Mexico.

“To respond to this disaster and secure the rule of law at our Southern border, more manpower is needed—in addition to the troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and soldiers from the Texas National Guard I have already deployed there—and DPS needs help in arresting those who are violating state law,” Abbott wrote in a letter to Maj. Gen. Tracy R. Norris, adjutant general of the Texas National Guard.

“By virtue of the power and authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the State of Texas, I hereby order that the Texas National Guard assist DPS in enforcing Texas law by arresting lawbreakers at the border,” he continued.

Abbott’s announcement builds on a broader effort launched earlier this month in which Texas law enforcement started jailing illegal immigrants who were caught trespassing on private land. According to The Associated Press, the arrests in Texas have so far taken place in Val Verde County, where local officials were notified that individuals traveling alone, not family units, would be arrested. Detainees are being held at a previously empty prison in Dilley, Texas, roughly 100 miles north of Laredo.

County Judge Lewis Owens said crime is on the rise in the county of almost 50,000 residents, including home break-ins, theft and property damage.

Despite the increased state efforts to combat illegal immigration and local crime that is rising as a result, President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) last Friday announced that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is canceling two Texas border barrier projects that include 31 miles of border wall construction, asserting they “are not necessary to address any life, safety, environmental or other remediation requirements.”

“The [Biden] Administration also continues to call on Congress to cancel remaining border wall funding and instead fund smarter border security measures, like border technology and modernization of land ports of entry, that are proven to be more effective at improving safety and security at the border,” the DHS said.

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Professor apologizes to medical students for being ‘offensive,’ saying ‘only women can get pregnant’

A California medical school student says professors are cowering to “woke ideology” out of fear that students will use an instant reporting system against them if they teach that sex is a biological reality and not a “social construct.”

In a piece titled “Med Schools are Now Denying Biological Sex,” on the Substack page called “Common Sense with Bari Weiss,” journalist Katie Herzog shared recordings of lectures captured by a student at a medical school in the University of California system. One recording details how, after using the term “pregnant women” during a lecture, the professor of an endocrinology course apologized for uttering that phrase. 

“I’m very sorry for that. It was clearly not my intention to offend anyone. The worst thing that I can do as a human being is be offensive,” he said. “I said ‘when a woman is pregnant,’ which implies that only women can get pregnant and I most sincerely apologize to all of you.” 

While biologically speaking, only women can get pregnant, Herzog’s report comes at a time when many people are claiming otherwise. Just last week, draft drawings of a proposed emoji featuring a “pregnant man” first surfaced. The proposed emoji, designed to advance the idea that men can get pregnant as well as women, could be available to the public as early as next year. 

The medical school student who provided recordings to Herzog explained that from the perspective of some of her classmates, “acknowledging biological sex can be considered transphobic.” Herzog wrote that “when sex is acknowledged by her instructors, it’s sometimes portrayed as a social construct, not a biological reality.” For example, one of the girl’s professors reportedly argued that “Biological sex, sexual orientation, and gender are all constructs.”

When asked whether professors actually believe the aforementioned statements that they recited in front of their students, the student, who Herzog referred to as the pseudonym “Lauren,” theorized, “I think there’s a small percentage of instructors who are true believers. But most of them are probably just scared of their students.”

Additionally, this particular medical school has an online forum where students can correct their professors for using gender-specific terms such as “male,” “female,” or “breastfeed” as opposed to gender-neutral terms like “chestfeed.” This forum enables students to “lodge their complaints in real time during lectures.” Lauren recalled how one time, “a professor was so upset by students calling her out for using ‘male’ and ‘female’ that she started crying.”

Lauren also told Herzog that at the beginning of the previous school year, students circulated petitions in an effort to “name and shame” professors for engaging in “wrongspeak.”

Examples of “wrongspeak” cited in the petitions included use of the pronouns “she” and “her” as well as the terms “father” and “son.” Upon receiving the petition, the professor accused of using the “cisnormative” language apologized for speaking in “binary” terms and noted that she had consulted with a member of the school’s LGBT Committee before giving the lecture.

Another professor became the subject of a petition for calling a trans-identified male “a man changing into a woman,” which upset students because “it implies that the trans woman wasn’t always a woman.”

Lauren added that “since the petitions were sent out, instructors have been far more proactive about ‘correcting’ their slides in advance or sending out emails to the school listserv if any upcoming material has ‘outdated’ terminology.” 

In one case, a professor sent out an email warning that an upcoming lecture might not align with the school’s “approach to gender inclusivity and gender/sex antioppression” because it would include the phrase “premenopausal women.” The professor vowed to rectify the issue by using the term “premenopausal people” in the future.

The “woke ideology” that has taken hold in medical schools has also made its way into the larger scientific community. Herzog mentioned that the American Psychological Association now considers the terms “natal sex” and “birth sex” “disparaging” and instead uses the phrase “assigned sex at birth.” 

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Biden Makes It Official: Federal Workers Must Get Vaccine or Submit to Regular Testing — Postal Union, Others Push Back

Biden’s plan to require all federal employees and contractors to get the COVID vaccine or submit to regular testing, wear masks and socially distance is already getting pushback from those who question the constitutional legality and how mandates would be enforced.

As anticipated, President Biden on Thursday announced all civilian federal employees and contractors will be required to show proof of vaccination against COVID, or submit to regular COVID testing, wear masks and socially distance.

Biden also called on state and local governments to use COVID relief funds to give $100 to people who get vaccinated.

In a statement released by the White House, the administration said the new rules were issued because of the Delta variant, and because unvaccinated people present a problem to themselves, their families and co-workers.

“Every federal government employee will be asked to attest to their vaccination status,” Biden said. “Anyone who does not attest or is not vaccinated will be required to mask no matter where they work; test one or two times a week to see if … they have acquired COVID, socially distance and generally will not be allowed to travel for work,” he said.

Biden directed his administration to apply similar standards to all federal contractors. “If you want to do business with the federal government, get your workers vaccinated,” he said.

Biden urged other state and local governments and private employers to enforce a similar vaccination requirement for their workplace. He said the U.S. Department of Justice Department (DOJ) has “made it clear” it is legal to do so.

Biden was referring to a DOJ statement published online earlier this week, concluding federal law doesn’t prohibit public agencies and private businesses from requiring COVID vaccines — even though the vaccines have so far only received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) — not full licensing — from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

According to The New York Times, the federal government employs more than 4 million Americans, all of whom will need to attest to being fully vaccinated in order to avoid wearing a mask on the job, regardless of where in the country they work, and comply with screening tests once or twice a week.

The total number of employees is close to 10 million when contract workers and grant workers are included.

Biden also directed the U.S. Department of Defense to study how and when to add the COVID vaccine to the list of required vaccinations for all members of the military.

“As a large employer, the largest in this country, who cares about individuals who keep the government running, we have an obligation to be good stewards of the workforce and ensure their health and their safety,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.

The Department of Veterans Affairs became the first federal agency to issue a mandate, announcing Monday it will require 115,000 of its frontline healthcare workers to be vaccinated against COVID in the next two months.

“I know it’s exhausting to think we’re still in this fight and I know that we hoped this would be a simple, straight-forward line without problems or new challenges,” Biden said. “But that isn’t real life.”

Road ahead for federal mandates not guaranteed to be smooth

The Associated Press (AP) today said Biden’s plan “is likely to force uncomfortable questions” and added, “Right now, there’s a lack of clear answers.”

According to the AP:

“There are many reasons why translating Biden’s order to the workplace may not go smoothly. Government agencies tend to have their own unique cultures, and their missions run the gamut. Doctors at the National Institutes of Health are probably already vaccinated, but some law enforcement agents may be wary of getting a shot not yet fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration.”

Continual testing raises other issues about who will pay, and if testing will continue if someone refuses to be vaccinated and is not eligible for medical or religious exemptions, the AP said.

The AP report also raised questions about the “perennially touchy subject” of masking. How will agencies enforce a masking policy if not everyone is required to be vaccinated? Will supervisors patrol the cubicles with lists of the unvaccinated?

In one early sign the policy may not go as smoothly as planned, the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) said it opposes the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate as a condition for employment, arguing it isn’t the role of the federal government to mandate vaccines or other testing measures.

“Maintaining the health and safety of our members is of paramount importance,” the APWU said in a statement issued Wednesday. “While the APWU leadership continues to encourage postal workers to voluntarily get vaccinated, it is not the role of the federal government to mandate vaccinations for the employees we represent.”

The statement also said:

“Issues related to vaccinations and testing for COVID-19 in the workplace must be negotiated with the APWU. At this time the APWU opposes the mandating of COVID-19 vaccinations in relation to U.S. postal workers.”

The U.S. Postal Service employs 570,000 people in the U.S., according to federal data, though it isn’t clear if the Biden administration will apply the mandate to all postal service workers.

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Scarlett Johansson Sues Disney Over ‘Black Widow’ Streaming Release

Scarlett Johansson, star of the Marvel superhero movie “Black Widow,” sued the Walt Disney Co on Thursday, alleging that the company breached her contract when it offered the movie on streaming at the same time it played in theaters.

Disney said there was “no merit” to the lawsuit, saying it had complied with her contract. It added in a statement that the release of the movie on its streaming platform had “significantly enhanced her (Johansson’s) ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20 million she has received to date.”

Johansson’s complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, argued that the dual release strategy of “Black Widow” had reduced her compensation, which was based partly on box office receipts from what was supposed to be an exclusive run in cinemas.

“Black Widow” debuted on July 9 in theaters and for a $30 charge on the Disney+ streaming service. Disney has been testing the hybrid pattern for some films during the coronavirus pandemic as the company tried to boost its streaming service while many movie theaters around the world were closed.

Johansson’s lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims that Disney wanted to steer audiences toward Disney+, “where it could keep the revenues for itself while simultaneously growing the Disney+ subscriber base, a proven way to boost Disney’s stock price.”

“Second, Disney wanted to substantially devalue Ms. Johansson’s agreement and thereby enrich itself,” the lawsuit said.

The suit seeks unspecified damages to be determined at trial.

The outcome could have broad ramifications in Hollywood as media companies try to build their streaming services by offering premium programming to lure subscribers.

The Disney statement said the lawsuit was “especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

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The Jan. 6th Show Trials Threaten All of Us

he recent felony conviction and eight month prison sentence of January 6th protester Paul Hodgkins is an affront to any notion of justice. It is a political charge and a political verdict by a political court. Every American regardless of political persuasion should be terrified of a court system so beholden to politics instead of justice.

We’ve seen this movie before and it does not end well.

Worse than this miscarriage of justice is the despicable attempt by the prosecutor in the case to label Hodgkins – who has no criminal record and was accused of no violent crime – a “terrorist.”

As journalist Michael Tracey recently wrote, Special Assistant US Attorney Mona Sedky declared Hodgkins a “terrorist” in the court proceedings not for committing any terrorist act, not for any act of violence, not even for imagining a terrorist act.

Sedky wrote in her sentencing memo, “The Government … recognizes that Hodgkins did not personally engage in or espouse violence or property destruction.” She added, “we concede that Mr. Hodgkins is not under the legal definition a domestic terrorist.”

Yet Hodgkins should be considered a terrorist because the actions he took – entering the Senate to take a photo of himself – occurred during an event that the court is “framing…in the context of terrorism.”

That goes beyond a slippery slope. He is not a terrorist because he committed a terrorist act, but because somehow the “context” of his actions was, in her words, “imperiling democracy.”

In other words, Hodgkins deserved enhanced punishment because he committed a thought crime. The judge on the case, Randolph D. Moss, admitted as much. In carrying a Trump flag into the Senate, he said, Hodgkins was, “declaring his loyalty to a single individual over the nation.”

As Tracey pointed out, while eight months in prison is a ridiculously long sentence for standing on the floor of the “People’s House” and taking a photograph, it is also a ridiculously short sentence for a terrorist. If Hodgkins is really a terrorist, shouldn’t he be sent away for longer than eight months?

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‘PROPAGANDA’ AND ‘INDOCTRINATION’: Pennsylvania Parents Push Back Against Critical Race Theory in Schools

“It is high time this crap gets out of our kids’ schools”

National File attended a school board meeting for the Haverford School District in Pennsylvania earlier this month, where parents showed up in an overwhelming display of opposition to the instituting of Critical Race Theory in their children’s schools.

“The teaching is at best propaganda and at worst indoctrination,” remarked Angela Urso, the first parent to speak about the topic. Her main topic of concern was the inclusion of books by the radical author and ‘Critical Race Theorist’ Ibram X. Kendi on the mandatory summer reading list for her child. She viewed the inclusion of such a book as only fanning the flames of division in her community. “My family has been in Havertown for three generations. I have never seen so much hate in our community, so much division in our community,” she later told National File.

Haverford School District adopted Critical Race Theory programs as part of their ‘Anti racist plan,’ which was instituted last August. As this was during summer vacation and all business was being conducted virtually at the time, this allowed the School Board to pass the plan with out any transparency towards, or oversight from, the parents of the district.

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South Texas Police Department Issues Public Health Announcement After COVID-Stricken Migrants Seen ‘Coughing, Sneezing’ At Whataburger

(CBS DFW) The La Joya Police Department issued a public health announcement after an officer approached an undocumented migrant family at Whataburger who told him Border Patrol released them because they had COVID-19.

In addition to telling the officer that Border Patrol had released them days prior due to their coronavirus status, the family said a charity group had paid for their room at the nearby Texas Inn Hotel. The officer followed up on that information, finding out that Catholic Charities of The Rio Grande Valley had booked all the rooms in the hotel to house undocumented immigrants detained by Border Patrol. He saw a group of 20 to 30 people staying at the hotel who were “out and about.” Most of them weren’t wearing masks, according to the officer.

Police said they learned that Border Patrol was quarantining other undocumented individuals who were COVID positive, or showed symptoms of illness, then handing them over to the non-profit. Catholic Charities would in turn place the undocumented individuals in hotels in the McAllen area as well as La Joya.

The police department said it contacted Hidalgo County Health and Human Services for help and was told that the agency would look into the matter. Their announcement further touched on the current border situation, saying, that the La Joya Police Department has assisted Border Patrol in catching hundreds of people crossing through their jurisdiction. And, according to the announcement, Border Patrol informed the police department that on July 25, 2021 they had surpassed 1 million apprehensions in the month of June.

La Joya also said that Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley didn’t tell them that they were placing COVID stricken people at the Texas Inn Hotel.

In response, Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez called on federal immigration officials to stop releasing infected migrants into their communities.

On July 26 the police department of the small town along the Rio Grande and Mexican border shared details of the incident. They said a concerned citizen at the restaurant waved down the officer. The citizen told him about the family “coughing and sneezing without covering their mouths and not wearing face masks.” Whataburger management also told the officer that they wanted the group to leave as well due to “their disregard to other people’s health.”

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US sets new disclosure rules for Chinese IPOs coming to American stock markets

(South China Morning Post) US securities regulators plan to require additional information from Chinese companies seeking to go public on American exchanges, saying the move will protect domestic investors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said on Friday that Chinese firms would have to disclose the listing of shares through a structure called Variable Interest Entities, or VIEs, a shell company that is outside China.

Such an arrangement has in recent years allowed Chinese companies to bypass Beijing’s restrictions on overseas listings.

“In light of the recent developments in China and the overall risks, I have asked staff to seek certain disclosures from offshore issuers associated with China-based operating companies before their registration statements will be declared effective,” said SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.The Chinese government said this month that it was planning rule changes to allow regulators to block companies from listing overseas even if the entity selling the shares is based outside China, a loophole used for years by the country’s large tech firms.“I worry that average investors may not realise that they hold stock in a shell company rather than a China-based operating company,” Gensler said.

“I worry that average investors may not realise that they hold stock in a shell company rather than a China-based operating company,” said SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.

The new disclosure requirement means Chinese firms must state clearly that their stocks will be sold through a shell company. The listing firms will describe the shell company differently from the China-based operating company and make their financial connections clear to investors.

The US will also require that the listing firms state the risks investors may face in the event of regulatory pressure from the Chinese government.

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‘Inflation Storm’ Looms as Expectations Hit 13-Year High, Consumer Sentiment Sinks

Americans expect more inflaton this year and remain uneasy about the direction of the economy, the University of Michigan’s survey of consumers showed Friday.

Expected inflation over the next year rose to 4.7 percent from 4.2 percent in June. That’s the highest level in over a decade.

At least for now, however, Americans still believe that inflation will remain tame over the long term. Expected inflation over the next five years is just 2.8 percent, down from 3 percent in May.

“While most consumers still expect inflation to be transitory, there is growing evidence that an inflation storm is likely to develop on the not too distant horizon. The improved finances of consumers have greatly reduced consumers’ resistance to price increases,” said Richard Curtin, the chief economist of the survey.

Curtin explained the possible dynamic for inflation lasting longer than thought:

 Consumers and firms currently justify their actions as temporary adjustments due to the pandemic. However justified, such changes act to generate an upward spiral in prices and wages. Moreover, the fiscal and monetary policies already in place, and the likely increases and continued accommodation now contemplated, will only increase the willingness of consumers and firms to act in ways that accelerate the upward spiral in prices and wages.

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