November 14, 2021 - The Florida Capital Star

Fifth Circuit: Challenge to Biden Vaccine Mandate ‘Virtually Certain to Succeed’ Based on Constitution and Law

November 14, 2021November 15, 2021 Peter D'Abrosca

woman with a hard hat and safety glasses on

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday to keep its stay of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) emergency rule that would require employers of more than 100 employees to mandate COVID-19 vaccines in place, determining that the private businesses challenging the rule were “very likely to win” their case.

The case is BST Holdings v. OSHA, No. 21-60845. BST Holdings, along with a host of other companies and several states, including Louisiana, Texas, South Carolina, Mississippi and Utah, sued President Joe Biden’s OSHA to halt the vaccine mandate.

Florida Police Union Endorses DeSantis

November 14, 2021November 13, 2021 Grant Holcomb

The Florida Police Benevolent Association (PBA), the largest police union in the state, announced they are endorsing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for his 2022 gubernatorial reelection bid. The PBA represents more than 30,000 law enforcement and corrections officers.

PBA President John Kazanjian offered the organization’s support through a formal statement.

Campaign Finance Reports Shows DeSantis with $62.6 Million, Huge Advantage

November 14, 2021November 13, 2021 Casey Owens

After formally announcing his re-election campaign last Friday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ campaign finance report was released Wednesday that showed that his committee – Friends of Ron DeSantis – raised $4.66 million in October and had $62.6 million in cash on hand.

Filed with the Florida Department of State’s Division of Elections, campaign finance data for all gubernatorial candidates in 2022 shows the already massive gap between them and Governor DeSantis is continuing to grow as DeSantis’ newly announced campaign account provides another source for fundraising.

Commentary: I Am Challenging the Vaccine Mandate to Protect My Workers’ Jobs

November 14, 2021November 13, 2021 RealClearWire

The Biden administration has finally published its anticipated ultimatum threatening companies like mine with severe fines and penalties for not firing any employee who declines to be vaccinated against or submit to invasive weekly testing for COVID-19. The new rule promulgated by the U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) under the guise of workplace safety may well bankrupt the business my father founded. So, as the CEO of the Phillips Manufacturing & Tower Company, I am joining with The Buckeye Institute to challenge OSHA’s vaccine mandate in court. Here’s why.

Phillips is a 54-year-old company based in Shelby, Ohio, that manufactures specialty welded steel tubing for automotive, appliance, and construction industries. OSHA’s emergency rule applies to companies with 100 or more employees — at our Shelby Welded Tube facility, we employ 104 people. As a family-owned business I take the health of my workers seriously — they are my neighbors and my friends. When I heard of the mandate, we conducted a survey of our workers to see what the impacts would be. It revealed that 28 Phillips employees are fully vaccinated, while antibody testing conducted at company expense found that another 16 employees have tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies and likely possess natural immunity. At least 47 employees have indicated that they have not and will not be vaccinated. Seventeen of those 47 unvaccinated workers said that they would quit or be fired before complying with the vaccine or testing mandate. Those are 17 skilled workers that Phillips cannot afford to lose.

Perhaps the Biden administration remains unaware of the labor shortage currently plaguing the U.S. labor market generally and industrial manufacturing especially. Like many companies, Phillips is already understaffed, with seven job openings we have been unable to fill. Employees already work overtime to keep pace with customer demand, working 10-hour shifts, six days a week on average. Firing 17 veteran members of the Phillips team certainly won’t help.

Gates Calls for ‘New Way of Doing’ Vaccines Since They Don’t ‘Block Transmission’ of COVID

November 14, 2021November 13, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has called for a “new way of doing the vaccines” against viruses like COVID-19 given that they do not “block” transmission.

Gates said the “economic damage” and death toll from COVID-19 was “completely horrific.”

Gates expects the world’s experience with COVID-19 to lead to larger research and development budgets to better prepare for a future pandemic.

Commentary: The Uncomfortable Truths About the Food Stamp Program

November 14, 2021November 13, 2021 Admin

A recent administrative action has permanently increased benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by 25 percent. Unfortunately, this historic boost fails to address the structural problems that plague this nearly 60-year-old program.

The official Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) webpage proudly proclaims that, “SNAP provides nutrition benefits to supplement the food budget of needy families so they can purchase healthy food…”

To that admirable end, the program formerly known as food stamps distributed $79 billion to 40 million people last year. Yet this desire to provide wholesome food to needy families conflicts with clear evidence that wholesome food is not what they think they need. Whether they play by the rules or not, people receiving SNAP benefits currently spend between 70-100 percent of that benefit on things other than healthy food.

Lawsuits Challenging Biden’s Vaccine Mandates Mount, Likely Heading to U.S. Supreme Court

November 14, 2021November 13, 2021 The Center Square

Multiple lawsuits have been filed against the Biden administration over three different vaccine mandates targeting private employees, federal employees and healthcare workers serving Medicare and Medicaid patients.

But lawsuits filed by 27 states over the private sector mandate is setting the stage for the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in because they were filed directly in five federal courts of appeals.

Trucking and Retail Associations Sue Biden Administration over Vaccine Mandates

November 14, 2021November 13, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Multiple trucking and retail groups filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the Biden Administration, seeking to block implementation of the federal vaccine mandate, as reported by Breitbart.

The lawsuit, filed with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, is led by multiple organizations, including “the National Retail Federation, the National Federation of Independent Business, and the American Trucking Associations.” The suit specifically targets the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the primary federal agency that has been tasked by Biden to carry out the many sweeping vaccine mandates.

The CDC Can’t Prove a Single Instance of a Naturally Immune Individual Spreading COVID

November 14, 2021November 13, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

In response to a law firm’s query, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was unable to provide a single instance in which an unvaccinated person who’d previously had COVID-19 became reinfected with and transmitted the virus to someone else. The CDC said it does not collect such data, even though the medical freedom of millions of Americans hang in the balance.

A record 4.4 million Americans quit their jobs in September, many of them pushed out of the workforce by the unnecessary vaccine mandates.

GOP Alaska Senator Murkowski Announces Reelection Bid, Prepares for Battle with Trump Allies

November 14, 2021November 13, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski announced Friday that she will seek reelection in 2022, setting up another tough primary battle that includes efforts by former President Trump to unseat her.

A campaign video for Murkowski does not directly mention the challenge from Trump but warns voters about the race attracting much outside interest.

“In this election, lower 48 outsiders are going to try to grab Alaska’s Senate seat for their partisan agendas. They don’t understand our state and frankly, they couldn’t care less about your future,” she says.

Far More Available Jobs Than Workers as Millions Resign

November 14, 2021November 13, 2021 The Center Square

There are 10.4 million job openings in the U.S., the Department of Labor said Friday, a figure that’s well above the number of unemployed Americans.

“Job openings increased in health care and social assistance (+141,000); state and local government, excluding education (+114,000); wholesale trade (+51,000); and information (+51,000),” the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. “Job openings decreased in state and local government education (-114,000); other services (-104,000); real estate and rental and leasing (-65,000); and educational services (-45,000).”

Commentary: Medical Journals Pour Forth Hundreds of Articles on Race and Racism

November 14, 2021November 13, 2021 RealClearWire

The prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association and its JAMA network of other periodicals have published about 950 articles on race, racism, and racial and ethnic disparities and inequities in the past five years – about a third appearing in just the past year.

A search for “health disparities” on the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed.gov search page shows an exponential “hockey stick” trend in recent years, with articles through October already surpassing last year’s total of 10,719. By comparison, “ovarian cancer” yields 7,134 search results last year, while “aortic aneurysm” yields fewer than 4,000.

These numbers attest to the fact that the academic study of racial justice, power and privilege is no longer the sole domain of non-scientific university departments, such as sociology, literature and education. The trendy topic has migrated to peer-reviewed medical journals, where editors now view systemic racism as a leading cause of disproportionate illness and premature mortality among black people.

Former Raiders Head Coach Gruden Sues NFL and Goodell over Alleged ‘Forced Resignation’

November 14, 2021November 13, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Former head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders Jon Gruden filed a lawsuit Friday accusing the NFL and league commissioner Roger Goodell of launching a “malicious and orchestrated campaign” intent on ruining Gruden’s career.

According to the Washington Post, the lawsuit argues that Goodell and the league engaged in “a Soviet-style character assassination” against Gruden by intentionally leaking old emails that included disparaging language towards women, as well as racist and homophobic comments.

Florida School Districts Drop Mask Mandates, End Legal Challenges

November 14, 2021November 13, 2021 Steve Stewart

As the recent COVID wave in Florida recedes, all school districts that previously enforced mask mandates in Florida have dropped their masks requirements. In addition, a number of school districts that chose to challenge the Department of Health (DOH) rule that banned mask mandates have decided to end their legal challenges to the rule.

Back in October, the Leon County School District – home to the state capitol – ended a mask mandate policy with a parental opt-out provision. The decision came after the district was found to be violating the DOH rule.

Following the Leon County decision, the Broward County School District voted to remove its mask mandates for all school levels effective November 20th.