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Facebook Voter Drive Swayed Election to Biden: Executive Caught on Camera

Facebook’s drive to register 4.5 million voters swayed the November election to President Joe Biden, a Facebook executive opined in hidden camera footage.

The executive, Benny Thomas, expressed grim views of the giant tech company, but counted the voter drive among its positives while secretly being recorded earlier this year by reporters with Project Veritas, an undercover journalism nonprofit.

“This is the good side of Facebook. … We made a big difference,” he said in a video released by Veritas on March 16, explaining that Facebook exceeded its goal of registering 4 million people and could only accomplish the task because of its “sheer scale and reach.”

“Yeah. I’m pretty sure we [Biden] won that way,” the reporter said.

“Yea!” Thomas replied, laughing. “Exactly!”

“What do you think?” the reporter jumped in.

“Exactly. I think so too,” he said.

Thomas’s LinkedIn profile describes his position as Global Planning Lead – Creative & Experiential at Facebook since September 2019.

Facebook didn’t immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

Thomas suggested to one of the reporters that Facebook needs to do more to control speech on its platforms.

“People are believing whatever they see, and it’s just causing a crisis,” he said in another video published by Veritas on March 15.

When asked about his views on solutions, he said, “The answer is just more controls, more safeguards. … To give people a guide to behavior.”

Behavior needs to be kept in check through surveillance, he suggested.

“That’s called democracy. Somebody is always watching you so that you behave well,” he said.

On the other hand, he acknowledged that Facebook’s judgments are necessarily biased, even when machine-driven.

“There’s always built-in bias because this is the myth that computer programmers told us, which is, ‘Oh, these are computers, computers don’t have bias.’ But guess what? Human beings wrote that code. And that human being has bias.”

Conservatives and some liberals have long complained that Facebook is censoring political speech based on vague, partly secret, ever-changing, and unevenly enforced policies.

Thomas also said Facebook and Google have grown so powerful, they need to be broken up.

“The government needs to step in and break up Google and Facebook. I’ll make less money, but it’s a better thing for the world,” he said.

Facebook needs to be stripped of its major subsidiaries, he suggested.

“Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, Oculus, WhatsApp. They all need to be separate companies. It’s too much power when they’re all one together,” he said.

“It needs to be broken up the way the telecom companies were broken up and the oil companies were broken up. But better than that, because those guys just came back together pretty soon after that. I hope we’ve learned from that. But that’s really the one thing, as you said, I would break it up, and I would remove Zuck [Mark Zuckerberg] as the CEO.”

Facebook’s power ceases to be innocuous, he said, “when you weaponize it as a politician and you go, ‘Tell me, show me people who are racist,’” such as when “a racist politician” is looking to target messaging to “several racists who will vote” for him.

When the reporter asked who would decide what makes one a racist and how would Facebook determine it, Thomas mused, “What would be a proxy for a racist?”

“Lives in all-white town, education, religious preference,” he said. “So you can triangulate three or four data points and say, ‘She’s likely to be racist.’”

Thomas also criticized Zuckerberg’s investment in gene-editing technology.

“It’s eugenics. I don’t know any way to stop it. I think the genie’s out of the bottle,” he said.

He worries the technology would lead to the development of a “superior race” of people and extreme polarization of society into “haves” and “have-nots” that goes beyond mere wealth differences.

“They have a thing that I can never have,” he said, describing the position of the “have-nots.”

When confronted by one of the reporters, Thomas refused to go on record and clarify his comments.

Biden: Taxes are going up on people earning more than $400,000 per year

Read my lips: yes, new taxes.

President Biden has explicitly vowed that Democrats will increase taxes on the wealthy, adding fuel to congressional Democrats’ plan to ram through higher taxes on party-line votes.

“Anybody making more than $400,000 will see a small to a significant tax increase,” Mr. Biden said in an interview that aired Wednesday on ABC. “If you make less than $400,000, you won’t see one single penny in additional federal tax.”

He doesn’t necessarily expect to win Republican support.

“I’ll get the Democratic votes for a tax increase,” the president said.

“He’s being blunt. He wants the money to spend,” said Grover Norquist, president of the low-tax, small-government activist group Americans for Tax Reform.

Democrats are rolling out a slew of tax plans now that they control the White House and both chambers of Congress. Whatever measures get pushed to Mr. Biden’s desk are expected to be the biggest tax increases since 1993.

Among other changes to the tax code, Mr. Biden wants to increase the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, lift the top individual tax rate from 37% to 39.6% and increase capital gains taxes on people with more than $1 million in annual income.

“Yet they’re complaining because I’m providing a tax credit for child care? For the poor? For the middle class?” Mr. Biden said.

One problem with Mr. Biden’s tax pledge is that the corporate tax rate increasingly hits the middle class indirectly through consumer prices, 401(k) retirement accounts and other ways, Mr. Norquist said.

“This is not going to be a fun thing to do. This is how he loses the suburbs,” he said. “You go and mess with everyone’s 401(k) and orange man isn’t on the ballot. How do you carry the suburbs with a declaration of war against everybody with a 401(k) as class enemies?”

Senate Republicans want no part in rolling back parts of the 2017 tax law, one of President Trump’s signature legislative achievements. Senate Democrats would have to use a fast-track budget tool to muscle their tax and spending plans through the 50-50 split Senate.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, warned that the Democrats’ infrastructure package would serve as a “Trojan horse” for tax increases.

“That’s exactly what I think they have in mind, is to call it an infrastructure bill,” he said on Fox News. “But, in fact, in it, they will have a massive tax increase to, in effect, reverse the tax reform that we enacted in 2017 when we had an entirely Republican government.”

Mr. Norquist led a group of dozens of conservative leaders who sent a letter to Congress voicing opposition to a carbon tax, which some lawmakers have floated as a way to pay for Mr. Biden’s multitrillion-dollar proposals on infrastructure and climate change.

A carbon tax imposed on the burning of coal, oil and gas would increase the costs of goods, lower take-home pay and increase “the power, cost and intrusiveness of the government in our lives,” the letter said.

Some congressional Republicans have supported a carbon tax in recent years as part of efforts to combat climate change, though the letter signers note that carbon taxes have fallen short in the revenue department and hit poorer people harder.

“Every place it’s been tried, it hasn’t worked. It doesn’t raise the money that they expect,” said Tom Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste, who also signed the letter. “Any tax or policy that raises the cost of energy has a disproportionate impact on low-income families.”

Even apart from its regressive nature, some liberal Democrats have been critical of carbon taxes. They say the taxes are insufficient for what they see as an existential fight against climate change.

Lawmakers have talked about a “miles driven” tax or fee as another way to offset some of the costs of a far-reaching infrastructure and climate change proposal.

Congressional Democrats signaled that they are on board with Mr. Biden’s proposals and want to take them further.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernard Sanders of Vermont rolled out legislation to tax CEOs if the ratio between their pay and the median employee pay at their company is too high.

“At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, the American people are demanding that large, profitable corporations pay their fair share of taxes and treat their employees with the dignity and respect they deserve,” said Mr. Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has pushed her own “wealth tax” proposal, which would levy a 2% tax on net worth above $50 million and an additional 1% tax on net worth above $1 billion.

The White House didn’t dismiss Ms. Warren’s proposal out of hand, though press secretary Jen Psaki pointed out that Mr. Biden introduced his own tax proposals on the 2020 campaign trail.

Liberal economists say the Democrats’ upcoming “green infrastructure plan” that could cost up to $4 trillion shouldn’t necessarily be funded anyway.

“If a sizable portion of this plan is deficit-financed, as I believe current macroeconomic conditions warrant, then the green infrastructure plan could also ensure the economy is brought to true full employment,” said Mark Paul, assistant professor of economics at New College of Florida and a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute.

Black pastors slam Equality Act as ‘a danger’ to religious institutions, back ‘Fairness for All’

A group of black pastors and prominent Christian figures, including megachurch pastor A.R. Bernard and former NFL tight end Benjamin Watson, have signed onto a letter sent to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in opposition to the Equality Act.

Tuesday’s letter, sent the day before the committee held a hearing on a House-passed bill that would codify discrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity into federal law, was spearheaded by the AND Campaign, a progressive civic engagement organization that highlights the voices of urban Christians. 

“It’s a danger not just to Christian institutions, but those belonging to our Jewish, Sikh, Buddist, and Muslim neighbors as well,” the letter reads. “We can defend the rights of the LGBT community without threatening religious communities.”

The letter was backed by 57 signatories who include former U.S. Ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom Suzan Johnson-Cook, Pastor Bernard of Brooklyn’s Christian Cultural Center, Bishop Claude Alexander of The Park Church in North Carolina, John Jenkins of First Baptist Church of Glenarden, Maryland and respected public policy strategist Barbara Williams-Skinner.

In addition to the longtime NFL veteran and pro-life advocate Watson, the letter was also backed by former WNBA player Chantelle Anderson.

The signatories began the letter by stating their “support for federal protections for LGBT persons in employment, housing and the like.” However, they maintained that the Equality Act, billed as a necessary measure to achieve that goal, falls “well beneath the standard necessary to cultivate a healthy pluralistic society.”

Referring to the Equality Act as “a reflection of our broken system,” the signatories warned about its implications, specifically that “it would remove many of the basic rights that allow religious organizations to operate according to the tenets of their faith.” 

Additionally, they predicted that the Equality Act would “allow LGBT rights to be used as a sword against faith institutions rather than a shield to protect the vulnerable.”

“The Equality Act would likely revoke federal security, disaster relief, and school lunch money from thousands of religious schools, end federal partnerships with thousands of faith-based programs that serve the most vulnerable, revoke the Pell Grant and federal loan eligibility for tens of thousands of students that attend hundreds of religious colleges, [and] convert houses of worship and other religious properties into public accommodations, enmeshing them in constant litigation,” the letter asserts.

“Black and Brown Christians worked too hard for the Civil Rights Act to have it revised in ways that would take away basic rights and funding from our communities. The Equality Act needlessly pits the concerns of diverse communities against each other.”

Justin Giboney of the AND Campaign, an advocacy group that works “to educate and organize Christians for civic and cultural engagement that results in better representation, more just and compassionate policies and a healthier political culture,” was among those who signed the letter. 

In addition to outlining the shortcomings of the Equality Act, the signatories highlighted the Fairness for All Act as “a much more thoughtful and just way to protect our LGBT neighbors.” 

Describing the legislation as a “product of the faith community and LGBT community coming together and challenging themselves to find ways to co-exist and to promote tolerance” and “proof that religious liberty and LGBT rights are not mutually exclusive,” they urged Congress to hold a debate and vote on the Fairness for All Act.

Introduced in the 116th Congress by Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, and cosponsored by eight additional Republicans, the Fairness for All Act aims to “prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity; and to protect the free exercise of religion.” 

The bill never came up for a vote in the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, which had already passed the Equality Act. Fairness for All was backed by groups such as the National Association of Evangelicals and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. 

Stewart reintroduced the Fairness for All Act on Feb. 26, two days after the House passed the Equality Act. The bill has 20 cosponsors in the 117th Congress, all Republicans. 

While the aforementioned group of black pastors and religious leaders support the Fairness for All Act, it has received criticism from both sides of the aisle. 

Conservative groups have argued that despite its protections for religious organizations, the Fairness for All Act will still “codify a radical gender ideology” into law. Liberal groups such as the Human Rights Campaign contend that the Fairness for All Act only includes “substandard protections for LGBT people” and features “massive loopholes.”

Although the Equality Act passed the House for a second time last month with relative ease, the legislation faces an uncertain future now that it sits in the Senate. 

Unlike when the House passed the Equality Act in 2019, Democrats have a majority in the U.S. Senate, albeit a narrow one. Their 50-50 majority, with Vice President Kamala Harris serving as the tie-breaking vote, leaves them far short of the 60 votes required to pass the legislation.

Democrats have threatened to invoke the so-called “nuclear option” that would allow legislation to pass the Senate with a simple majority to advance the Equality Act and other progressive legislation. 

However, two Senate Democrats, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Krysten Sinema of Arizona, have expressed their opposition to such a move, likely depriving the party of the votes necessary to abolish the 60-vote rule.

The Equality Act is expected to secure minimal, if any, support from Senate Republicans as Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, was the only member of her party to co-sponsor the legislation when it was unsuccessfully introduced in the upper chamber in 2019. However, Collins indicated that she would not co-sponsor the bill this time because she thought it “needed revision.”

Manchin was the only Democrat who did not co-sponsor the Equality Act in the 116th Congress, alleging that it provides insufficient “guidance to the local officials who will be implementing it, particularly with respect to students transitioning between genders in public schools.” Should both Manchin and Collins oppose the Equality Act, it would lack the necessary votes for passage even if the “nuclear option” was implemented. 

Pastor Greg Laurie Now to Reach Over 60 Million Viewers Per Year with the Gospel

Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., has announced that his messages will now air on several major television networks, including Fox Business, Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), and Lifetime. Because of the widespread reach of these networks, Laurie will now be able to reach over 60 million people annually with the gospel.

“Airing on these major networks gives us at Harvest an even greater opportunity to grow the family of God,” Laurie announced in a press release Monday. “God opened this door to share the life-changing message of the Gospel. I am grateful for the privilege and I do not take it lightly.”

Greg Laurie is a movie producer and best-selling author, as well as the senior pastor and founder of Harvest Christian Fellowship. The church started in 1973 when, at age 19, Laurie began leading a Bible study of 30 people. Harvest has since grown to a congregation of 15,000 with campuses in California and Hawaii. Laurie also founded Harvest Crusades, which are “large-scale evangelistic events that create a welcoming environment” for sharing the good news about Jesus. Since their inception in 1990, over 8.8 million people have attended Harvest Crusades, and over 500,000 have made decisions to follow Christ. 

In addition to Fox Business, TBN, and Lifetime, Pastor Greg Laurie’s sermons will air on Newsmax, Daystar Television, and KCAL Los Angeles. The air times for each of these networks are as follows:

TBN – 4:30am EST / 1:30am PST
Newsmax – 8am EST / 5am PST
Fox Business – 1:30pm EST / 10:30am PST
Daystar – 6:30pm EST / 3:30am PST
Lifetime – 7:30am EST and PST
KCAL Los Angeles – 10:30am (PST only)

The combined viewership of these networks is substantial. TBN, which claims to be the largest Christian television network in the world, broadcasts to every continent on the globe in over 12 languages. Enlace, its Spanish-speaking network, reaches over 100 million households worldwide. On July 1, 2020, TBN reported that its viewership had increased by 30 percent, with 16 million people tuning in to the network’s programming on Easter Sunday last year. 

Daystar Television is another faith-based network that broadcasts internationally. According to its website, Daystar reaches more than 108 million households in the U.S. and over two billion viewers across the globe. 

Other networks that will be airing Laurie’s messages have an extensive reach as well. In a list of the most-watched television networks of 2020, Lifetime ranked 27th with 671,000 viewers. Newsmax was 88th with 105,000 viewers, and Fox Business Network was 97th at 103,000 viewers.

Pastor Greg Laurie Is Hopeful 

In an article published on Jan. 1, Pastor Greg Laurie said that he had “high hopes” for 2021.  The reason he is hopeful, said the pastor, has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with who God is. “I don’t know what 2021 holds, but I know who holds 2021,” he said. “Corrie ten Boom was right when she said, ‘Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.’ I’ve read the last page of the Bible. All is well in the end because God has a future and a hope for us. So, I have hope for this coming year.”

The Biden Administration is Still Trying to “Get” General Flynn

CNN reported Friday that the Defense Department Inspector General had concluded a “long-delayed investigation into Michael Flynn” sending its findings to the Army “in a case that could bring tens of thousands of dollars in financial penalties for President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser.”

Read the full article here

Child Suicide is Becoming an ‘International Epidemic’ Amid Pandemic, Doctors Warn

The damage we’re inflicting on children is too devastating to be waved away in the name of public health—it’s quickly becoming an emergency in its own right.

Billions of people across the globe continue to live under COVID-19 lockdowns or heavily-restricted life. And for almost all of us, life amid the pandemic in 2020 was an isolating and difficult year. Yet doctors are warning that children in particular are experiencing grave mental health consequences as a result of the lockdowns—leading to an “international epidemic” of child suicide.

The Associated Press interviewed Dr. David Greenhorn on the subject, who works in the emergency department at England’s Bradford Royal Infirmary. The number of mental health crises he has seen, such as suicide attempts, has gone from a couple per week pre-pandemic to now several per day.

“This is an international epidemic, and we are not recognizing it,” Greenhorn said. “In an 8-year-old’s life, a year is a really, really, really long time. They are fed up. They can’t see an end to it.”

Dr. Richard Delorme heads the psychiatric department at one of the largest children’s hospitals in France, and he offered a similar warning to the AP.

Delorme pointed out that it is clearly COVID restrictions and lockdowns taking this toll on children that end up in his hospital: “What they tell you about is a chaotic world, of ‘Yes, I’m not doing my activities any more,’ ‘I’m no longer doing my music,’ ‘Going to school is hard in the mornings,’ ‘I am having difficulty waking up,’ ‘I am fed up with the mask.’”

Delorme’s hospital went from seeing roughly 20 suicide attempts per month involving patients 15 or younger, the AP reports, to more than double that—and, disturbingly, more determination than ever before in the attempts. 

“We are very surprised by the intensity of the desire to die among children who may be 12 or 13 years old,” Delorme said. “We sometimes have children of 9 who already want to die. And it’s not simply a provocation or a blackmail via suicide. It is a genuine wish to end their lives.”

This is one of the most painful paragraphs I’ve ever read, let alone had to write about. Merely typing out this story flooded my eyes with tears. But the life-threatening unintended consequences of drastic pandemic measures are too important to overlook.

Government restrictions that would’ve been unthinkable two years ago have been forced through amid the fear and uncertainty that the pandemic’s outbreak understandably wrought. Advocates undoubtedly hoped to save lives. Yet government restrictions have proven dubious in their effectiveness, with both studies and real-world examples demonstrating little clear relationship between lockdown stringency and COVID deaths. 

In the meantime, lockdowns and other restrictions have harshly curtailed social interaction and, tragically, catalyzing the aforementioned youth mental health crisis. Here in the US, the Centers for Disease Control reported that 25 percent of young adults considered suicide during the lockdowns, while overall mental health and suicide rates appear to have spiked as well. 

The child suicide is only the latest mortifying revelation showing just how big a toll these policies have taken on us. We must factor this human damage into our analysis when it comes to ending pandemic restrictions; not just COVID case counts.

Like any policy, public health orders must be evaluated on their outcomes. As Nobel-prize-winning economist Milton Friedman said, “One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.” Pandemic lockdowns may have stemmed from an earnest desire to protect the public; but their consequences have done the opposite.

Why? Well, any government action, particularly sweeping mandates, has not just its intended effect, but its second- and third-order unintended consequences.

“Every human action has both intended and unintended consequences,” economist Antony Davies and political scientist James Harrigan explained for FEE.org. “Human beings react to every rule, regulation, and order governments impose, and their reactions result in outcomes that can be quite different than the outcomes lawmakers intended.”

When it comes to lockdowns, we’ve extensively documented the unintended consequences at FEE, including isolation, depression, suicidality, unemployment, drug abuse, domestic violence, and more. Such severe second-order effects offer a painful reminder of why policymakers should be humble in the scope of their actions. Sweeping lockdowns are anything but humble: They presume that bureaucrats in an office somewhere can save society with top-down orders and nothing will go wrong.

Governments the world over must consider more than mere COVID case counts when evaluating current and future lockdown policies. The damage we’re inflicting on children is too devastating to be waved away in the name of public health—it’s an emergency in its own right.

If you or someone you know needs help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255). You can also text a crisis counselor by messaging the Crisis Text Line at 741741.

Up to 50 Percent of Illegal Immigrants Estimated to Have COVID-19: National Sheriff’s Association

Among the dangers that come along with the thousands of illegal border crossings that occur every month, which include human trafficking, drug smuggling, potential terrorism, death at the hands of coyotes, bandits, and harsh weather, significantly complicating the challenges border patrol and law enforcement face is the COVID-19 pandemic, the association said in a draft border security resolution set for a vote at a meeting in Arizona in June, according to The Washington Examiner.

Up to 50 percent of illegal immigrants are testing positive for COVID-19, the disease the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus causes, the sheriffs association wrote.

“We are already seeing strains to the public health system of border communities. The suspension of deportations has led to the release of undocumented persons into border communities. We then have an affirmative responsibility to provide medical care for them if they are infected with COVID,” the statement reads. “This at a time when our communities are already grappling with this public health emergency and desperately trying to roll out the vaccines. We now face a serious potential public health crisis along the border.”

Epoch Times Photo
Border Patrol agents arrest seven illegal immigrants who tried to evade capture near Penitas, Texas, on March 15, 2021. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

“In any other construct, infection rates that high would be cause for alarm by public health officials. Yet, we are currently engaging in policies that have potentially opened, rather than restricted, undocumented traffic into the U.S.,” the sheriffs said in the resolution.

In February, Border Patrol apprehended over 100,000 illegal immigrants at the southern border, and about 26,000 evaded capture, according to Jaeson Jones, a former Texas Department of Public Safety captain who received the provisional Border Patrol data from internal sources, which was reviewed by The Epoch Times.

Many of those crossing now are unaccompanied minors (9,457 in February), who are meant to be passed to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) within 72 hours, but the sheer number of minors has overwhelmed the system.

HHS has just opened a second facility for the burgeoning number of minors.

When asked what he thought was driving the trend, Miller said, “There’s certainly economic instability in the region that’s unparalleled.”

“All you have to do is look at the pandemic … the COVID rate infections down in South and Central America,” he said. “We recently had a hurricane, continued violence, unemployment. So if you put all those issues together, … you’re going to see folks looking for a better way of life.”

Former Pres. of Drag Queen Story Hour and Children’s Court Judge Arrested on Seven Counts of Child Porn

A Milwaukee County Children’s Court judge and former president and CEO of the Cream City Foundation, which runs the city’s drag queen story hour program, has been arrested on seven counts of child pornography.

Brett Blomme, 38, was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly uploading 27 images and videos of children being sexually abused on the messaging app Kik.

Blomme was held overnight and released with a signature. He has been ordered to stay off social media and file-sharing services and is not allowed near any children except the two that he adopted with his husband.

“The couple has two adopted children. Court records do not suggest they are part of any of the illegal images. Child Protective Services is involved with their current placement, defense attorney Christopher Van Wagner said during the court hearing,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

lomme is accused of uploading the images both from his home and from the judge’s chambers.

The alleged pedophile judge was the president and CEO of the Cream City Foundation, which runs the Milwaukee Drag Queen Story Hour for local children. As of early Thursday morning, however, all articles and mentions of him had been scrubbed from their website. The links were still cached by Google’s search engine and his role remained detailed on his LinkedIn page.

Visitors to California Theme Parks Told to Remain Silent on Roller Coasters to Stop COVID-19

Theme parks in California are set to re-open next month but visitors are being warned that they’re not allowed to sing, shout, scream or engage in heavy breathing while on rides.

Yes, really.

“The California Attractions and Parks Association (CAPA) advises in the new guidelines for its “Responsible Reopening Plan,” that theme park visitors should avoid activities that increase the spread of COVID-19, such as singing, shouting, heavy breathing and raising one’s voice,” reports People.

Visitors will also be mandated to wear masks on rides in order to “mitigate the effects of shouting,” according to the guidelines.

The rules appeared to be inspired by Japanese theme parks, which also introduced a ‘no screaming’ rule when they re-opened last summer.

From April 1 onwards, theme parks in California are allowed to re-open at just 15 per cent capacity. When Disneyland opens on April 30, only California residents will be allowed to enter.

As we previously highlighted, the CDC itself published a list of guidelines telling Americans not to sing and to limit alcohol consumption during Thanksgiving gatherings.

They followed that up shortly after by also telling Americans to restrict the spread of coronavirus by not cheering during the Super Bowl.

The “new normal” sure looks like a barrel of laughs, doesn’t it?

Xavier Becerra Receives Just 1 GOP Vote on His Way to Confirmation as Health Secretary

The Senate on Thursday narrowly confirmed Xavier Becerra as President Joe Biden’s health secretary.

The 50-49 vote puts the 63-year-old Becerra in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services.

The $1.4 trillion agency encompasses health insurance programs, drug safety and approvals, medical research, and the welfare of children, including hundreds of Central American migrants flooding the U.S.-Mexico border.

Religious and social conservatives opposed Becerra’s confirmation over his support for abortion — including partial-birth abortion.

During his confirmation hearings, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota called Becerra an “extremist who has used the offices he has held to advance an aggressively pro-abortion agenda.”

On the Senate floor on Thursday, Republicans mostly closed ranks against Becerra. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine was the sole Republican who voted for him.

“Although there are issues where I strongly disagree with Mr. Becerra, I believe he merits confirmation as HHS secretary,” she said. “I look forward to working with the department to achieve bipartisan results on behalf of the American people.”

Becerra has been California’s attorney general since 2017. He sued the Trump administration 124 times on a range of policy issues. Before that he represented a Los Angeles-area district in the U.S. House for 24 years.

A lawyer, not a doctor, his primary experience with the health care system has come through helping to pass the Obama-era Affordable Care Act and defending it when Donald Trump was president.

“I understand the enormous challenges before us and our solemn responsibility to be faithful stewards of an agency that touches almost every aspect of our lives,” Becerra said at his hearing. “I’m humbled by the task, and I’m ready for it.”

The American Medical Association and the American Hospital Association supported his nomination.

A powerful drug industry lobby, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, congratulated Becerra on his confirmation and said it looks forward to a collaborative working relationship.

But to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, “the distinguishing feature of this nominee’s resume is not his expertise in health, medicine or administration — that part of the resume is very brief. What stands out are Mr. Becerra’s commitment to partisan warfare and his far-left ideology.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said GOP arguments against Becerra “almost verge on the ridiculous.”

Several agencies under the umbrella of HHS have played a part in the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic, including the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

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