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There is a saying among people in medical school that when you're learning about what to do in an emergency situation, before you take the pulse of the person you see laying still, take your own pulse. The meaning of this saying was not to freak out, but to try to stay calm, and try to make rational decisions before rushing to a potentially damaging reaction. Apparently, Dr. Anthony Fauci doesn’t remember this saying or lesson. Once again, we find ourselves in a situation in which we have a new COVID variant. Rather than making rational, scientific decisions, Dr. Fauci...

The CEO of BioNtech, which produces what most refer to as the “Pfizer shot,” (Pfizer is BioNtech’s Western partner and is primarily responsible for the logistics, delivery, and marketing related to the mRNA shots) stated Wednesday that the company intends on selling a three-dose regimen for the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Citing “the data coming from the Omicron variant, BioNtech CEO Ugur Sahin stated: “It is very clear our vaccine for the Omicron variant should be a three dose vaccine.” JUST IN – BioNTech CEO: Potentially upcoming vaccine for the #Omicron variant "should be a 3-dose vaccine." pic.twitter.com/ounAm4Fd41 —...

Having thrown away what little leverage the Republican Party has in this one-party government, GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) compounded his felony by rolling over once again in the face of Democratic efforts to raise the debt limit with no conditions attached. Democrats, of course, can raise the limit anytime they want because they would not need a filibuster proof majority for a budget bill under the Byrd Rule. But they want to share the blame for doing so with Republicans, so they won’t raise the debt limit alone. And, obliging as ever, McConnell caved in and agreed to...

Instead of learning about the world and how to contribute to it, Parker's students will now learn about themselves and how to become 'agents of change.'Last week, fifth-grade teacher Amy Parker took the pages of the education site Chalkbeat to celebrate New York City’s initiative to promote “culturally responsive education” in its public schools. Parker introduces her essay by lamenting that “School taught me to hide who I was and what I valued” because it didn’t assign books with characters who had gay parents. But, at the same time, Parker also complains that she “was overly represented in the books...

Almost since the moment of his inauguration, former President Donald Trump has been the kingmaker of the Republican Party. In both the 2018 and 2020 elections, Trump-endorsed candidates won almost every Republican primary they competed in. (Of course, many of Trump’s endorsees were already well on their way to victory, but it was still a hot commodity among candidates, serving as evidence of their pro-Trump bona fides. And in several cases, Trump’s support really did appear to influence the outcomes of primaries.) Now that Trump is no longer president, however, one of the big questions of the 2022 midterms is...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Wednesday she would “never forgive” former President Trump and his “lackeys” “for the trauma” that Capitol Hill staff experienced during the Jan. 6 riot. A mob of Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol that day as a joint session of the House and Senate considered the Electoral College vote, forcing the evacuation of lawmakers. The event led to Trump's second impeachment. “I'll never forgive president — former president of the United States and his lackeys and his bullies that he sent to the Capitol for the trauma that he — that wasn't what was...

[Catholic Caucus] Deemed "satanist", the musician Anna von Hausswolff deprogrammed in Paris after Nantes under pressure from CatholicsA hundred traditional Catholics prevented Tuesday evening the holding in Nantes of a concert by a Swedish artist they consider "satanist". In the process, the Parisian church of Saint-Eustache also canceled the performance of Anna von Hausswolff scheduled for Thursday.The "Hail Mary" got the better of rock. The Parisian church of Saint-Eustache announced this Wednesday on its site that it has canceled the performance of Anna von Hausswolff scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. Tuesday evening, it is a group of a hundred...

An attorney for Roger Stone has informed the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol that his client will plead the Fifth. Stone’s lawyer, Grant J. Smith, confirmed to The Hill on Wednesday that he "sent a letter to the Select Committee on behalf of Mr. Stone advising them that he will be asserting his Fifth Amendment privilege in response to their subpoena." The letter was sent on Monday. In the letter, Smith said Stone "declines to be deposed or to produce documents."

Earning a coveted endorsement from former President Donald Trump was not enough to clear a path to the Republican nomination for Max Miller, who is running for an open House seat in Ohio. Attorney Shay Hawkins, a former aide to Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, launched his campaign Wednesday, declaring himself the best candidate to ensure Republicans defend the suburban Cleveland district in the 2022 midterm elections.

Conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt pleaded with former President Trump to not endorse disgraced former Gov. Eric Greitens in the Missouri Senate race. On “The Hugh Hewitt Show” Wednesday, Hewitt begged Trump not to endorse Greitens, saying Republicans would lose the Senate seat if he did so. “Please don’t, please don’t endorse Eric Greitens. That’s a nightmare, Mr. President. We’ll lose that seat. But that’s Hugh Hewitt’s opinion, not yours,” Hewitt said.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) predicted Wednesday that both chambers of Congress will pass the $2 trillion expansion of social benefits and climate programs — a massive package at the heart of President Biden's domestic agenda — before Christmas. "We feel very confident about what is in Build Back Better," she told reporters in the Capitol. "We know what some possibilities are, and it would be my hope that we would have this bill done before the Christmas vacation." That same bullish timetable is also being trumpeted across the Capitol by Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who is scrambling to...

SINGAPORE - From Wednesday (Dec 8), those who are unvaccinated "by choice" against Covid-19 and become infected will have to pay for their own treatment. We answer some questions you may have on this topic. Q: Does the rule apply to those who are already hospitalised before Dec 8? A: This will apply to all unvaccinated Covid-19 patients admitted on or after Dec 8, 2021, to hospitals and Covid-19 treatment facilities. The Covid-19 medical bills for those who are ineligible for vaccination, such as children under 12 years old or those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons, will still...

Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday on one of the most divisive issues facing the state at the moment – the state-imposed mandate that children must wear face masks while in school to protect against COVID-19. Yet the nearly hour-long session in Philadelphia wasn’t really about the virus or controlling its spread or whether wearing those masks is an effective response to the pandemic. Instead, the arguments centered on whether the state’s Acting Secretary of Health, Alison Beam, had the legal authority to issue the mask mandate. As Justice Debra Todd observed, the high court was being tasked with conducting...

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul sounded off on Dr. Anthony Fauci and the Biden administration for their response to the newly emerging omicron variant of COVID-19. On "America's Newsroom," Wednesday, Sen. Paul criticized Fauci for creating hysteria and fear, and noted that the scientist who discovered the variant called Biden's travel ban a "hysterical overreach." SEN. RAND PAUL: Dr. Fauci routinely ignores the science and causes hysteria and creates fear. This is the opposite of what you really want as far as someone leading your public health effort. The Omicron variant, the doctor who discovered it, we should be proud of...

Hatred of vaccine dissidents expresses itself first in marginalization and demonization. Then it advances to punishment. The larger end game appears to have little to do with public health.Twentieth-century authoritarian regimes were obsessed with cleansing the “unfit” from the national body. A revival of that toxic urge seeps toward us like gas under a threshold. The leakage is global. Nevertheless, recent news out of Germany provides a unique lesson in the tenacity of a malignant ideology. In mid-November, Germany’s Euthanasia Society declared COVID vaccination a requirement for physician-assisted suicide. Citing public health concerns, the nation that identified “life-unworthy-of-life” (Lebensunwertes Leben)...

NEW DELHI, India (Project Syndicate)—As the world’s largest, strongest, and longest-surviving dictatorship, contemporary China lacks the rule of law. Yet it is increasingly using its rubber-stamp Parliament to enact domestic legislation asserting territorial claims and rights in international law. In fact, China has become quite adept at waging “lawfare”—the misuse and abuse of law for political and strategic ends. Under “commander-in-chief” Xi Jinping’s bullying leadership, lawfare has developed into a critical component of China’s broader approach to asymmetrical or hybrid warfare. The blurring of the line between war and peace is enshrined in the regime’s official strategy as the “Three...

[Catholic Caucus] Francis Prayed Privately, Followed By A FiremanAs could have been expected, Francis visited the column of the Immaculate Conception in Rome's Piazza di Spagna shortly after 6:00 AM on the feast of the Immaculate Conception for an unannounced prayer.After Francis had left, still in the dark of the morning, a fireman arrived with a ladder and placed a wreath of flowers on Our Lady's arm, CatholicNewsAgency.com reports (picture by Daniel Ibáñez).Francis, who "met the crowds" in Cyprus and Greece last weekend, cancelled the traditional outdoor ceremony at the column to "avoid crowds."

A sweeping $1.9 trillion spending plan, known as the Build Back Better bill, is making its way through Congress and could make a key part of President Joe Biden's economic agenda a reality. A majority of the funding is focused on transforming the nation's social safety net by reducing the cost of child and health care, as well as combating climate change. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the legislation would increase the deficit by $367 billion over the next 10 years. But the White House has worked to make the case that the bill will be fully paid for...

This video estimates the amount of gold in the Roman Empire - and the approximate chances of that gold ending up in your smartphone.How much Gold did the Romans have - and where is it now? | December 7, 2022 | toldinstone

Airline corporations have explicitly demanded passengers wear masks between bites of food and sips of drinks. Despite a Harvard study reported by the Washington Post in 2020 that indicates “flying can be safer than eating at a restaurant during the pandemic” due to “onboard systems that constantly circulate and refresh air,” airlines have begun conducting in-flight announcements to cudgel people into donning masks while eating and drinking.