Free Republic

A new study has shown that flawed epidemic modeling techniques can lead to overestimating the number of people who could get infected during a pandemic—resulting in unnecessary measures such as lockdowns and mass vaccination campaigns. The peer-reviewed study, published in the Journal of Physics Complexity on Jan. 9, associated existing models of forecasting epidemics with the structure of social networks among people. The most widely used forecasting method is a “compartmental model,” which usually makes an assumption of “random mixing,” meaning that any individual can infect any other person. However, this is a flawed assumption that can lead to “greatly...

The night before the lockdowns began, I laid alone in bed, listening to National Public Radio affiliate WNYC-FM in the dark. A newscaster grimly announced that New York Governor Cuomo would, the next day, issue a 15 day “Shelter in Place Order.” I couldn’t believe this was happening. Put a state of 22 million on house arrest? Over a respiratory virus that was linked to deaths of a tiny fraction of old Italians and Spaniards? Over a hokey video of some Chinese guy laying on the sidewalk scissoring his legs? When had healthy people ever been locked down? What made...

If a way were discovered to produce free material wealth, in unlimited supply, the initial result would likely be something that feels like utopia. With all material needs satisfied, what need would there be for conflict, for competition, for war? That initial phase, however, would be only temporary. That is because human greed is not restricted to money and material things. A far greater greed among humans is the greed for power — the lust to rule. Lucifer had everything he could have wanted, except for one thing: to be God. Pursuit of that “one thing” has plagued all of...

The World Health Organization has been urgently pushing a new Pandemic Treaty, officially known as the “Zero draft report of the Working Group on Strengthening WHO Preparedness and Response to Health Emergencies to the Seventy-fifth World Health Assembly.” A Republican Congressman, Dr. Rich McCormick from Georgia, slammed the need for such a pandemic treaty and specifically referenced the World Health Organization in a much-needed speech on the House floor. Much like other international organizations, the World Trade Organization, the United Nations, World Health Organization, is vying to gain more authority through pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response accord,” Rep. McCormick said....

97 HOUSTON – COVID-19 is continuing to make its presence known across the world as it adapts and evolves into a new strand. American Medical Association Vice President of Science, Medicine and Public Health, Andrea Garcia, JD, MPH, said HV.1 has become the variant responsible for most COVID cases here in the United States in just a few short weeks. According to an article from the TODAY Show, the omicron subvariant accounts for nearly one-third of cases nationwide and is “highly infectious.”

Disabled Scots felt like their lives were ‘not worth saving’ during the pandemic after Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders were secretly imposed on many of them, an inquiry has heard. As Covid began to spread, GP receptionists even called up those with disabilities to try to persuade them to sign up to the orders, which inform doctors that they do not want their lives saved in an emergency. Glasgow Disability Alliance chief executive Tressa Burke also told the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry how some of her members were left so isolated during lockdowns they feared their bodies would not be discovered...

A restaurant that refused to shut down during COVID-19 restrictions and didn't require documentation of vaccination had its charges dropped after finally getting its day in court. The crown dropped charges against Jesse Johnson, owner of Without Papers Pizza, after just 10 minutes of action in the courtroom, Media Bezirgan reported. The Calgary, Canada, business faced shutdowns and charges from the Alberta provincial government after it refused to close while also declining to participate in Canada's vaccine passport program, which required two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to eat indoors at restaurants. "These bastards, they literally tried to break me...

Gavin Newsom is celebrating the second French Laundry moment of his governorship practically on the anniversary of the first one! In November 2020, all humanity in his fiefdom was supposed to be on lockdown. Californians .. be ready to answer waspish Where's your mask!! epithets, and not to eat with anyone outside their bubble — especially not for Thanksgiving because you'll kill Grandma! Three years ago this very week, LA reporter Bill Melugin posted photos showing Gavin Newsom, his wife, and all manner of lobbyists, including a health care lobbyist and California Medical Association lobbyist, collected at the French Laundry...

Cody Hudson was interning in a medical office near his home in Florida, taking a gap year before beginning college in Arizona, when the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns went into effect and ended his internship. Like many American families, Cody and his family took the recommended precautions around COVID-19. But when the vaccines became available, his parents were skeptical, Cody told The Defender in an interview. As he began planning for college and started a short-term job at a coffee shop where everyone was vaccinated, Cody started researching the vaccine online and talking to people around him. He concluded the vaccine...

one of the more bizarre moments at the Covid Inquiry so far, Professor Neil Ferguson, the architect of Britain’s lockdown, today denied ever calling for the first national stay-at-home order – in the latest instance of lockdown backpedalling. The Mail has more. Professor Neil Ferguson’s terrifying March 2020 models warned that 500,000 Brits would die unless tougher action was taken to curb the virus’s spread. It spooked Boris Johnson into adopting draconian restrictions that saw the country told they “must stay at home.” Vaccines — considered the only safe route out of the pandemic — were still months away from...

Early in March 2020, I decided to write about the risks posed by COVID-19. I have no background in epidemiology or even health journalism, but I can multiply, divide and make charts, and was frustrated with the lack of quantification in most reporting and public health messaging on what was soon to be declared a pandemic. In the resulting column, I took what seemed to be the most authoritative estimate of COVID’s per-infection fatality rate – 1% – and noted that this was about 10 times the 0.1% fatality rate of seasonal influenza, then conservatively multiplied a Centers for Disease...

The Evangelical Free Church of America is the orthodox version of the credobaptist tradition stemming from Swede immigrants to the United States whereas the Evangelical Covenant Church has embraced liberalism. However the powers that be at the top echelons of the organization are extremely liberal and vindictive. After defrocking Pastor Jeff Kliewer, the pastor of Cornerstone Church in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, they have their sights on a new target: Pastor David Whitney. His crimes stem from his refusal to shut down his church during lockdowns. In the small town of Taneytown, MD, a Republican organization, the Tri-District Republican Club...

On Wednesday, Attorney Bobbie Ann Cox faced off against the New York State Attorney General to defend her victory over New York Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York Department of Health (DOH) in the epic lawsuit Borrello v. Hohul. The case resulted in the New York State Supreme Court in Cattaragugus County striking down Hochul’s unconstitutional “Isolation and Quarantine Procedures” that allowed them to illegally lock citizens up, or lock them down, without any proof of illness and without any due process. The State Attorney appealed the decision. Cox presented her oral arguments in front of the Appellate Division’s...

The last three men to stand trial in connection with a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have been found not guilty on all counts.Eric Molitor and twin brothers William Null and Michael Null were among the 14 men charged in state and federal court over the alleged plan to kidnap the governor at her vacation home in Antrim County in 2020, largely over the Democratic governor's strict COVID-19 shutdowns.Molitor, 39, and the Null brothers, both 41, had pleaded not guilty to state charges of providing material support for terrorist acts and illegally possessing firearms.

A federal appeals court has agreed with a lower court that the Biden administration likely can be proven to have pressured Big Tech to censor Americans whose views did not align with the Democrat talking points. And the result is that leftists en masse are trying to deny it, a sentiment expressed by the White House, which stated, “This administration has promoted responsible actions to protect public health, safety, and security when confronted by challenges like a deadly pandemic and foreign attacks on our elections. Our consistent view remains that social media platforms have a critical responsibility to take account...

Esparto High School near Sacramento confirmed it canceled a game after it said six players tested positive for COVID-19. Two California high schools have confirmed that they canceled football games because of COVID-19 cases among students. Esparto High School near Sacramento confirmed that it canceled a game after it stated that six players tested positive for COVID-19. It also stated that multiple players were also injured and that it didn't have enough players for a game. This comes as there have been concerns that virus-related rules might be reimplemented in the coming months. ... Hundreds of miles away, a high...

Former President Donald Trump responded to questions about why he did not terminate the employment of former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci amid the early onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.During an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt, President Trump was asked about Dr. Fauci, who had been on the Trump pandemic response force, in 2020. "First of all, you’re not allowed," the former president said when asked why he didn't fire him, which Mr. Hewitt said was the "biggest knock" on his presidency."No, no, no, Dr. Fauci was there. First of all, he’s civil service,...

Are the gloves starting to come off? If a recent post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, is any indication, high-profile Republicans and conservatives are starting to attack former President Donald Trump over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic while he was in office. Advertisement Even before the primary season began in earnest, many speculated that his support of lockdown orders and vaccines could become his Achilles heel. But so far, few on the right have raised the issue as they have been hesitant to attack Trump directly. Things appear to be changing, as Georgia Gov....

Public health officials’ efforts to protect citizens from COVID-19 infection and avert death may have backfired, a new study published in Health Economics suggests. What’s more, the efforts could be linked to excess deaths. Mandatory masking and social distancing became everyday directives for millions worldwide when the COVID-19 virus exploded onto the scene in 2020. Shelter-in-place (SIP) or stay-at-home orders quickly followed despite evidence supporting the protocol remaining mixed. Now, a cross-collaborative team of scientists from California, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts is expressing confidence based on results from rigorous research examining whether stay-at-home orders may not have been as effective...

everyone is running from the lockdowns they once supported, and that includes former presidents and governors, and probably mayors too. Apologies would be better so we can at least have an honest accounting rather than an attempt to rewrite the history that everyone knows. Jack Phillips of Epoch Times alerts readers in his article of August 31, 2023, of Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds’ recent statement on the subject of lockdowns. The Iowa State Government’s website says the following: “Since news broke of COVID-19 restrictions being reinstated at some colleges and businesses across the U.S., concerned Iowans have been calling my...