How times have changed.
Barack Obama used to say, “I’m not dictator,” to explain why he couldn’t do something unilaterally right before he did something unilaterally. Immigration is a classic example. Obama repeatedly claimed he couldn’t change immigration law on his own before illegally creating DACA.
But, today, Biden seems to be less concerned with pretending to care about the constitutional limitations of his authority. Heck, he’s openly defying the United Supreme Court on the eviction moratorium. So, I guess it’s not all that shocking to hear that when it comes to mask mandates, Biden said he’s looking into whether he can override Republican governors who won’t mandate masks in public schools—such as Ron DeSantis in Florida and Greg Abbott in Texas.
“Do you have presidential powers to intervene in states like Texas and Florida where they are banning mask mandates?” asked a reporter.
“I don’t believe that I do thus far. We’re checking that,” Biden answered. “And I think that people should understand, seeing little kids — I mean, four, five, six years old — in hospitals, on ventilators, and some of them passing — not many, but some of them passing — it’s almost, I mean, it’s just — well, I should not characterize beyond that,” he added.
What exactly is he talking about? Through the duration of this pandemic, one thing is clear: school-age children are overwhelmingly unaffected by COVID, and their recovery rates for the original strain are around 99.997%. Moreover, the Delta variant, while more contagious, is significantly less deadly. But hey, don’t take my word for it. According to pediatric infectious disease specialist Camille Sabella, MD of the Cleveland Clinic, the risk for children is extremely low.
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“Generally speaking, children who become infected with COVID-19 have very mild symptoms if they have any of all,” says Sabella. “It’s been rare to see a child get very ill from COVID-19 regardless of the strain. So far, it does not appear that the delta strain has caused more severe illness in children even though it’s highly transmittable and much more contagious. But we certainly need to keep a close watch since this situation is constantly evolving.”
But, Biden makes it sound like kids are getting hospitalized left and right, being put on ventilators, and dying. Even though COVID is pretty much no different for kids than a bad cold and less lethal than the seasonal flu. Despite the significantly small risk for kids, as well as the uselessness of masks, there is no reason for mask mandates in schools. Period. I don’t care what the CDC says.
Biden’s “checking” into whether he can overrule governors comes on the heels of reports that the White House is discussing plans for potentially withholding federal funds from businesses that don’t force their employees to get vaccinated.
Does this sound like America, land of the free, to you?
Biden is the same guy who ran for president claiming to be a centrist. Some people, particularly anti-Trump Republicans, chose to believe him. But he’s never even tried to be the compromising uniter he campaigned as—choosing instead to eclipse Obama as the most radical leftist to ever sit in the Oval Office.