The Biden Administration Discusses Plans for Vaccine Passport
With the coronavirus vaccine’s initial rollout at the end of last year, I wasn’t sure how vaccine administration would go. If I had to guess, I would have assumed that front-line workers would have started to get vaccinated, and then vaccines wouldn’t be widely available for those who wanted it beyond essential workers.
From what I’ve seen, that hasn’t been the case. The majority of the people I know have been able to get the vaccine if they wanted it. That being said, the group of people I’ve talked to is not necessarily representative of the whole population, so I can’t speak for everyone.
As many people begin to get vaccinated, the Biden administration has begun discussing how to set standards for proof of vaccination. There are as many as 17 different initiatives in the works to develop their own “vaccine passport” namely, The World Health Organization, the International Air Transport Association, and a tech company called the Vaccination Credential Initiative.
New York recently started using a digital pass developed by IBM that shows both vaccination status and COVID-19 test results. Madison square garden has displayed interest in implementing the digital pass for admissions to events.
While not ‘mandated,’ governments appear to be pulling off a bait and switch, easing public tensions with verbiage that makes them feel they have a choice, when in reality their freedom to do almost anything in life will be hindered unless they roll up their sleeve and take a new, experimental vaccine that still hasn’t been fully approved by the FDA. The FDA has only provided approval via the Emergency Use Authorization.
Proof of vaccination will likely be required to travel internationally. While there is talk of vaccination being required for major gatherings it is currently unknown how far the vaccine passport concept will extend.
The effectiveness of lockdowns and strict covid-19 regulations has been questioned many times by many people, but effectiveness aside, an even bigger debate is rather or not lockdowns are constitutional. With the fear of moving into an authoritarian state, many people around the world have protested strict lockdowns measures. More often than not lockdown measures benefit corporations and the government, while they jeopardize the lives of the average citizen.
Recently a Belgian court rules that the current Covid-19 restrictions being put in place do not have a sound legal basis. The Belgian state will face fines if they do not lift the restrictions within 30 days, or provide proof of what law they are abiding by with the current restrictions. Currently, the state is acting based on the Civil Safety Act of 2007 which allows the government to move quickly during “exceptional circumstances”, but the judge ruled that the government “cannot act from ministerial decrees while using these laws.”
Shortly after this ruling the Finnish government withdrew its proposal for lockdown measures. Prime Minister Sanna Marin announced the news last week after a statement from a constitutional committee deemed the lockdown “vague and not in compliance with the constitution”.
“The committee said the wide-ranging proposal should be changed to targeted restrictions for where the risk of contracting the virus was significant, such as private gatherings and crowded places such as shops. The Nordic nation of 5.5 million people has recorded 77,452 coronavirus infections and 844 deaths. It has been praised for its handling of the pandemic and has been among the least-affected countries in Europe. It has 295 people in hospital with COVID-19.”
25 States Promised to Stay in the Paris Agreement, but Most are Behind Schedule for Emissions Cuts
After President Trump pulled out of the Paris Agreement four years ago, 24 states and one territory agreed to follow through with the Paris Agreement, forming the U.S Climate Alliance.
The U.S Climate Alliance has vowed to collectively cut emissions by 26 to 28 percent compared to 2005 levels, by the year 2025.
Despite the promises, and plans to electrify cars, and trucks, add more wind turbines, and reduce the number of pollutants in the air, the majority of the states are behind on their goals.
Some say the states are doing the best they can given policies put in place by the Trump Administration. People are hoping that with the Biden Administration in place, federal and state governments will be able to work together to combat the climate crisis. President Biden has rejoined the Paris Agreement since taking office.
The alliance also notes that its member states have performed well in comparison to the states that didn’t commit to staying in the Paris Agreement. Between 2005 and 2018, states in the alliance cut their CO2 emissions by 14 percent; the other 26 states saw emissions fall by roughly 8 percent. These non-member states — which include oil-rich Texas, West Virginia, and Idaho — account for 60 percent of the country’s CO2 emissions. If they stay on their current course, their emissions could end up increasing over the next five to 10 years, according to a U.S. Climate Alliance report.
Climate change is one of the most pressing matters of today. The health of our planet and our own health are intertwined.
Fauci Talks About the Possibility of Federally Mandated Covid Vaccine
Earlier this month Dr. Anthony Fauci said it was likely that some businesses and institutions will require employees to be vaccinated. He also said it’s “quite possible” the vaccine will be required for international travel.
While Dr. Fauci does not believe a national vaccine mandate will be put in place, he does think it’s possible that local level mandates will be put in place.
There are already many vaccines required at state or local levels. The Covid-19 vaccine is still an experimental vaccine that has only been authorized for emergency use. Moderna and Pfizer have not finished stage three clinical trials for the vaccines.
According to news reports, about half of all front-line workers in Riverside County, California, have refused the vaccine, as have 60% of nursing home staff in Ohio, 40% of staff at Chicago’s Loretto Hospital and 40% of LA’s front-line workers. Similar rates of vaccine refusal are being reported in several European countries.
As of late December, the risk of adverse reactions for the vaccine was 2.79%, compared to the mortality rate of covid-19, which is around 0.26% for noninstitutionalized individuals, and an even smaller rate of mortality under the age of 40, 0.01%.
Poland Moves to Make Censorship by Big Tech Companies Illegal
Following the ban of Donald Trump on Twitter, the Polish government has announced that it will be making censorship by big tech companies illegal.
“Algorithms or the owners of corporate giants should not decide which views are right and which are not. Censorship of free speech, which is the domain of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, is now returning in the form of a new, commercial mechanism to combat those who think differently.”
Donald Trump is not the only person experiencing censorship by big tech companies like Twitter and Facebook. Doctors who have spoken out against the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 protocol, journalists and whistleblowers such as Julian Assange and Edward Snowden, and media organizations who go against the mainstream, are all among groups experiencing censorship. Censorship isn’t a partisan issue. Both those on the left and right who speak out against the mainstream are experiencing censorship.
Parler- The Social Media Platform Everyone Is Talking About
Twitter and other social media apps have banned president Trump from their platforms after claims that his posts have “incited violence”. This is following the raids on the capitol earlier this month.
Following the president’s ban on social media, many people have joined the free speech platform “Parler”. Parler was started in 2018 by John Matze “After being exhausted with a lack of transparency in big tech, ideological suppression and privacy abuse”.
But Matze doesn’t want the app to be just an echo chamber for conservative voices. Personally, he says he doesn’t like either political party and he wants to see more healthy debate. He’s so intent on getting some liberals onto the platform that he’s offering a $20,000 “progressive bounty” for an openly liberal pundit with 50,000 followers on Twitter or Facebook to start a Parler account.
Most recently Parler was banned on both the google play store and the apple store and then taken offline by Amazon.
OLM is completely against sponsorship. Being an organic health magazine, we’ve experienced our fair share of censorship. Rather it be from Facebook or Google, our content about big Pharma, vaccines, and holistic healing, is often censored.
There are many different definitions of a progressive. In one google search, you’ll find many people arguing over what it means to be a progressive, and who has the right to call themselves a progressive. Since the Bernie Sanders movement has become what one might consider mainstream, being a progressive has become rather trendy. It is now seen as a good way to get the vote of the younger generation. And it would be…if the candidates were actually progressive. More often than not, they’re neo-liberals who self identify as progressive when it’s convenient.
So what makes a progressive? In my mind, a progressive is someone who continues to move in the direction of progress. Often people conflate progress with identity-based policies, like legalizing gay marriage. Politicians love it when we argue over identity politics because it doesn’t do much to threaten the establishment. A true progressive is someone who wants bottom-up social and economic change for the most disenfranchised. Progressives understand the importance of getting money and corruption out of politics and distributing wealth, enabling everyone to make a living wage. They are also anti-war.
I considered Bernie Sanders to be a progressive. After selling out to endorse Joe Biden, now, I’m not so sure. I don’t think a true progressive would ever endorse a warmonger. I think FDR was the last truly progressive president we had, and he wasn’t enough.
A meme popped up on my social media feed earlier in the week making fun of Joe Rogan and his audience. It said something to the effect of “‘Don’t get all your news from mainstream sources!’ Says man who exclusively listens to fight commentators podcast for news”. It features a generic white man and a picture of Joe Rogan. I can certainly find the humor in it. However, it’s obvious that the person who posted the meme, as well as the creator, were definitely not familiar with Joe Rogan or the people he interviews on his podcast.
Of course, the negative view of Joe Rogan is totally understandable if your information on him comes from mainstream news sources. There’s also a good chance that even if you have listened to Joe Rogan’s podcasts or if you only listen to one episode (depending on who he’s talking to), you may get a false impression of who Joe actually is.
The first time I ever heard a Joe Rogan podcast, I was outraged. I can hardly remember now what he was talking about, but I believe it had something to do with the role of transgender women in sports. Truly, I was infuriated. Here sat this middle-aged straight white dude who was a retired UFC commentator of all things. I was sure he spent more time lifting weights than he did reading up on transgender issues.
In case you’re not familiar with him, Joe Rogan is known for his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience and other things like being an MMA fight commentator, the host of Fear Factor, and playing Joe on the show News Radio. He is a true Jack of all trades. On his podcast, Joe is uniquely known for talking to anyone and everyone that he’s interested in. For obvious reasons, this has sparked some controversy. In the history of Joe’s podcast, he’s talked to everyone from Alex Jones and Ben Shapiro, to populists Krystal and Sagar, to author and journalist Matt Taibbi, and even Bernie Sanders himself. Despite slander from the media, when you look through Rogan’s collection of podcasts, it seems obvious that he isn’t biased about who he’s willing to talk to. The only driving factor in who Joe decides to talk to is whether or not he’s interested in what they have to say.
Months ago, Joe Rogan gave a quasi endorsement to Bernie Sanders, and the ultra woke crowd went crazy, similar to the way I had upon first listening to Joe’s podcast.
“I think I’ll probably vote for Bernie. Him as a human being, when I was hanging out with him, I believe in him. I like him. I like him a lot,” said Rogan, in a podcast episode back in January. Bernie later accepted the endorsement and received criticism from the left. How could Bernie accept an endorsement from such an alt right-wing conservative like Joe Rogan? He was racist, transphobic, sexist, and homophobic, according to the mainstream media. But then why, would Rogan endorse Bernie if he was such a conservative?
Turns out when you actually listen to Joe Rogan on a regular basis and don’t take things out of context, he’s generally pretty progressive. Look, I won’t pretend like he hasn’t said some stupid things. I think we can all agree (from a progressive standpoint) that not everything he says is “politically correct”. He’s a comedian, a fight commentator, and as he’ll be the first to point out, just a regular average guy (as much as one can be with a net worth of more than $100 million). He’s not a politician or a political commentator, nor does he pretend to be an expert on policy. That being said, when Joe Rogan talks about social issues, and politics, he tends to lean culturally left.
Joe Rogan strongly supports LGBT+ rights, is pro-choice, is anti-war, and pro-drug legalization, and he believes that we need serious economic reform. In many ways, he’s more progressive than the Democratic Establishment.
He often exhibits culturally conservative behavior. He’s a hunter, a mixed martial artist, he associates with many right-wing conservative people, and at times he may come across as old-fashioned. However, if we are the people that we associate with, Joe Rogan is quite an eclectic mix, based on his friends.
I highly encourage everyone to listen to a Joe Rogan podcast if given the chance. Currently, they’re available on Spotify and YouTube, and will soon be available exclusively on Spotify, (with short clips available on YouTube.) Joe Rogan is an interesting guy, and on his podcast, he talks about nearly everything including but not limited to mixed martial arts, history, politics, anthropology, science, and even gut health. Regardless of your interests, I’d wager you’ll find at least two very interesting conversations on the subject within Joe Rogan’s podcast library.