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Vaccine Passports Raise Some Very Serious Concerns

Biden wants to permit businesses, local governments, etc. to condition some of the freedoms that Americans enjoy on whether or not they choose to vaccinate.

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Americans are free to debate the effectiveness of the newly released Covid vaccines. They are also free to decide whether or not to get vaccinated. As Americans, they have the freedom to make these choices for themselves and for their young children. The decision that they make relative to the Covid vaccine should not dictate/govern the level of freedom that they enjoy as Americans. This would run afoul of the very notion of freedom that Americans so deeply cherish. Notwithstanding, President Joe Biden recently proposed the use of vaccine passports, which could tear a gaping hole into the freedoms that Americans enjoy and lead Americans down a dangerously steep and slippery slope to the abyss.

As reported by US News:

“The Biden administration and private companies are working to develop a standard for a ‘vaccine passport’ that could be used as the country tries to reopen in the coming months.”

The passports are expected to be free and available through applications for smartphones, which could display a scannable code similar to an airline boarding pass, the Post reported. Americans without smartphone access should be able to print out the passports, developers have said.

In other words, Biden wants to permit businesses, local governments, etc. to condition some of the freedoms that Americans enjoy on whether or not they choose to vaccinate. If they are unable to provide proof of vaccination, they will be unable to participate/engage in certain types of events/activities. There are many potential problems with Biden’s proposal.

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For starters, while some Americans will undoubtedly and voluntarily choose not to vaccinate, others might not be permitted/allowed to do so due to some underlying medical condition, age restriction, etc. Are such individuals barred from engaging in various activities because they are unable to provide proof of vaccination? Do they simply give up their personal freedoms?

What about the potential privacy (i.e. personal and medical) concerns associated with such passports? Are we, as Americans, expected to waive our privacy rights and to share our personal and medical information with “strangers” in order to exercise and enjoy our freedoms? Who would be in charge of this information? What measures would be in place to ensure that such information is not stolen or improperly disclosed? This could create dangerous precedent whereby our personal freedoms and privacy rights are slowly but systematically eroded.

Another concern with this policy is the fact that it could impact people or groups of people differently. For example, some people in smaller cities and towns might not have the opportunity to vaccinate due to the unavailability of vaccines in their area(s). Others might not have access to smart phones. In other words, the “vaccine passport” might not apply equally to all people and could discriminate among different groups of people. As reported by Townhall:

According to the ACLU, an exclusively digital passport system is a “nonstarter because it would increase inequality.” Those who are poor, disabled, homeless or seniors would be greatly impacted. Those demographics are the least likely to have smartphones, which would be necessary for digital passports. Digital passports would create a burden on those demographics.

As reported by Business Insider,”In the US alone, the vaccine rollout has been disproportionate among minorities and poorer populations, who have received fewer doses of the COVID-19 vaccine despite often being at greater risk for contracting the disease.” The requirement for such passports could also encourage fraud and result in a black market for people seeking “fake” vaccine passports.

With few exceptions, a vaccine passport would, in essence, make the Covid vaccination mandatory. While Americans are encouraged to get vaccinated, compelling them to do so in order to enjoy certain freedoms will likely lead to legal challenges.

According to Seema Mohapatra, Associate Professor of Law and Dean’s Fellow, IUPUI, while there is some precedent for passports and/or vaccination cards, “immunity passports” could run afoul of certain laws, such as the ADA.

Additionally, unlike vaccinations for highly contagious and lethal diseases like Smallpox (which the Supreme Court addressed in the case of Jacobson v. Massachusetts in 1905), Covid is not nearly as lethal and has a very high survival rate. In Jacobson, for example, the Supreme Court did not necessarily impose a vaccine mandate, but ruled that a person could be fined and punished if he/she refused to do get vaccinated. In an article in Reason, constitutional law professor Josh Blackman states:

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court observed, “[i]f a person should deem it important that vaccination should not be performed in his case, and the authorities should think otherwise, it is not in their power to vaccinate him by force, and the worst that could happen to him under the statute would be the payment of the penalty of $5.”

Later, in 1927, the Supreme Court decided the case of Buck v. Bell. There, Carrie Buck, who was deemed a “feeble minded woman,” was institutionalized. This “condition” had been present in her family for three generations. Shortly after Buck had a baby, Virginia passed a law allowing for the sexual sterilization of inmates of institutions to promote the “health of the patient and the welfare of society.” In light of this law, Buck was forcibly sterilized by the government. In upholding the government’s conduct, and citing Jacobson, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. stated:

The judgment finds the facts that have been recited, and that Carrie Buck “is the probable potential parent of socially inadequate offspring, likewise afflicted, that she may be sexually sterilized without detriment to her general health, and that her welfare and that of society will be promoted by her sterilization,”

We have seen more than once that the public welfare may call upon the best citizens for their lives. It would be strange if it could not call upon those who already sap the strength of the State for these lesser sacrifices, often not felt to be such by those concerned, in order to prevent our being swamped with incompetence. It is better for all the world if, instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind. The principle that sustains compulsory vaccination is broad enough to cover cutting the Fallopian tubes. Three generations of imbeciles are enough.

These cases emphasize another potential and critical problem with the vaccine passport and the idea of mandatory vaccinations, which is the possibility of government overreach. Such overreach could result in a dangerous and slippery slope whereby our personal rights and liberties are systemically eliminated. Realizing such dangers, various lawmakers are fighting back by way of executive action banning such passports. As reported by The Hill, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, recently stated, “It’s completely unacceptable for either the government or the private sector to impose upon you the requirement that you show proof of vaccine to just simply participate in normal society.”

Americans will have to wait and see how this ultimately plays out.

Mr. Hakim is a political writer and commentator and an attorney.  His articles have been published in The Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, The Federalist, American Greatness, The Algemeiner, The Western Journal, American Thinker and other online publications. 

https://thoughtfullyconservative.wordpress.com

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Life

Give Thanks and Carry On

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, if you can

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Thanksgiving: that joyous time of the year when families get together, have a wonderful dinner, catch up on what everyone other is doing, give thanks for all that they have, and perhaps watch some football.

Up for the Challenge?

This Thanksgiving might prove to be a challenge for many people. For one, the cost of the turkey, the bird traditionally served, in some locals cost between 50% to 80% more than last year, and turkey was already expensive.

Among your relatives a few might be vegans or vegetarians. If you have a vegan enforcer in the family, this person will rail on and on against eating meat, and about how turkeys have lives just like we do.

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One of your vegan or vegetarian relatives might offer a discourse on how cranberries should be harvested a different way, the dangers of turkey stuffing, and the problem with vegetables that you might be serving, the risk of having too many starches – potatoes or rice – and the evils of wine, beer, and other alcoholic drinks.

Topics Worth Avoiding

The politics to consider abound. Since roughly half of the country votes Democrat and half votes Republican, the odds are overwhelming that you’re going to have somebody with opposing politics at the table. During Trump’s years as president, many families had to navigate around the topic of the presidency, prevailing policies. and so on.

Today, while there’s no question that Joe Biden is completely inane as leader, the same delicate navigation needs to occur. As miraculous as this might seem, some on the left actually approve of what Biden has been doing. Note: don’t be concerned about the Bidens going hungry. With all those under-the-table payment from Ukraine and China, they can EASILY afford a huge, expensive turkey with all of the trimmings.

If you can avoid discussing the eight million invaders illegally crossing our borders, rampant inflation, the U.S. Afghanistan withdrawal, the crisis in Israel and potential for World War III, drag time story hour for children, transgenderism, the bogus lawsuits against Donald Trump, the unending crimes of Hunter Biden, the payola to Joe Biden, FBI corruption, the historic unpopularity and ineptness of Kamala Harris, and about 30 or so other topics, your dinner should go smoothly. Enjoy!

A huge current wrinkle on the political scene is that recent surveys reveal at least one-quarter of Democrats actually approve of Hamas, atrocities and all, and side with Palestine on all issues large and small. They believe that Israel is an apartheid state and that Jews are today’s Nazis. Apparently they’ve never visited Israel and have no Jewish friends.

Depending on how many Democrats attend your Thanksgiving gathering, if it’s four or more, mathematically speaking you have a decent chance that one is a pro-Hamas Democrat. Wooo…  Now, you really have to stay clear of current issues or your dinner table might be as inflamed verbally as the Middle East is with armaments.

Insufferable Stuffing

After everyone is stuffed with turkey, vegeburgers, or whatever the people who like rabbit food eat, you might sit in the den and turn on a football game. Quickly, you’ll have a stark reminder of how far political correctness has infected society.

If the Washington Commanders are playing, it’s hard to forget that they used to be called the Washington Redskins until the wokesters among us demanded that the name must be changed. Not so ironically, 90% of native Americans actually want the name Washington Redskins reinstalled, and currently are petitioning for it.

In baseball, the Cleveland Indians “had” to be renamed to the Cleveland Guardians. Potentially, there’s no end of this malarkey. Should the Minnesota Vikings change their name? After all, people from Scandinavia might object to the term “Vikings.” While we’re at it, consider college basketball. The Wake Forest University Demon Deacons are due for a name change, if you’re on the Left. So, too, the Duke University Blue Devils, the Arizona University Aztecs, and on and on.

Landmines to Side Step

With all these potential land mines to side step, and all the ways that otherwise pleasant conversations on a pleasant day could occur, you have to be on guard.

Nevertheless, I wish you and yours a happy Thanksgiving. May you survive the day, fully intact, and ready to have a decent Black Friday.

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Military

Biden Boondoggles Imperil the U.S. and the World

The Biden Administration is the picture of futility and incompetence, mixed with corruption and persecution of its political opponents

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On my last day following a long sojourn abroad, I met a wonderful woman from North Dallas, had dinner with her, and memorized her email address.

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When I arrived home the next day, I emailed her to see if she had had a decent trip back. A couple of minutes later, my email bounced back to me as undeliverable. Realizing my mistake of failing to write down her email address or the spelling of her last name, over several weeks I tried numerous alternative methods at length for finding that information, but with no success.

I had not handled it right and I could not later correct the mistake. You’ve long heard the phrase by the late, legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?” I would add, will you have the opportunity to correct the damage done or even to try again?

Macro Level Bungles

It’s hard to even imagine the frustration and problems for all of us considering the never-ending missteps we watch every day from our president!

Biden and company have engaged in macro-level failures for nearly three years now. Their repeated failures to take early appropriate steps, domestically and internationally, has had serious ramifications for the nation and the world.

In chain-like fashion, their ineptness, unintentional and intentional, has spun out of control and led to one unpalatable situation after another. Then they spend untold labor hours and multi-billions of dollars, not to mention American lives, seeking to correct what they could not get right in the first place.

The disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan caused the loss of American lives and $85 billion dollars worth of military equipment to the Taliban. This ‘gift’ is ultimately finding its way to our enemies throughout the region and, arguably, globally. It also has signaled to the rest of the world, particularly Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, as well as to Hamas, Hezbollah, and Islamic Jihad, that American military effectiveness is questionable.

As a result of not adequately planning the withdrawal from Afghanistan, as President Trump had already outlined, the Biden Administration has been scrambling ever since. Following our Afghanistan withdrawal Russia’s invasion of Ukraine under a false pretext, and the resulting multi-billions we have spent propping up Ukraine, are major unfortunate results.

Middle East Madness

Another result of our ineptness is the spate of attacks, now several dozen, on U.S. Armed Forces throughout the Middle East following the barbaric Hamas attack on Israel.

China’s forays into the Middle East and its support of Iran further imperil Israel and, by extension, the U.S. In considering the Biden Administration, China is emboldened. They are in partnership with Russia ostensibly for one reason: to hasten our declining power. They have ramped up spying on us via “weather balloons,” university “research centers,” exchange “students,” industrial spying, and, of late, the influx of more than 17,000 Chinese nationals at our southern border – all single men of military age.

Because the Biden Administration intentionally has not secured the southern border it has subjected American citizens to crime, fentanyl addiction, and massive numbers of deaths, as well as bursting federal, state, and municipal budgets in the attempt to house, feed, and safeguard swarming numbers of illegal immigrants.

Biden’s porous border policies have invited terrorists, weakened any notion of U.S. homeland security, heightened child trafficking, accelerated drug cartel activity, and aided gang-related connections throughout our county.

Poor Planning, Execution and Follow Up

Across the board, in examining the policies and programs of the Biden Administration and how poorly they’ve been designed and initiated, it is now apparent that everything they do today represents one attempted, hopeless ‘correction’ after another.

These attempted corrections are long drawn out, invariably with no end in sight. Whether it is on the world stage or domestically, each boondoggle after another leads to protracted, expensive, questionable attempts to resolve what didn’t need to occur in the first place.

It is not an exaggeration: the entire Biden Administration is the picture of futility and incompetence, mixed with corruption and persecution of its political opponents. This is no way to run a country or display to the world how an effective representative republic operates. It is no way to deter our enemies from taking bold steps. It is no way to guide us safely into the future.

Indeed, the entire world is now less safe.

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