Honestly, I do not need to hear from anyone claiming that I am anti-vaccinations. In a prior post, I made it clear that I had gotten 2 Pfizer injections and planned on getting a booster. I have since had the booster. In that earlier post I also said that I believe in the efficacy of vaccines, as they do have an excellent history of helping to eradicate disease in our country. And, I do not understand some of the objections to the vaccines.
Having said that, there is a legitimate issue regarding the proper role of the federal government. President Biden has asked his Labor Department to come up with an emergency rule that will compel private businesses with over 100 employees to require those employees to either be fully vaccinated or test negative every week. It is estimated that as many as 80 million Americans could be affected by this new rule. It is quite telling that Biden decided to have his Administration simply issue a rule, without seeking Congressional authorization. It is also quite telling that the Democrats in Congress are not objecting to this usurpation of their power. Just do not expect the mainstream media to assert that Biden is acting like a king or dictator.
The federal government can mandate military personnel to be vaccinated. My brother, a Viet Nam vet, recounted how he had to get multiple vaccines, for the plague, polio and malaria, among others. States, having the general police power, have for a very long time required that children attending public schools get certain vaccinations. However, it is unlikely that the federal government has the authority to demand that a large segment of the civilian population get vaccinated. Joe Biden admitted as much - until he decided he was going to do it anyway.
Here was Biden last month: "Many of us are frustrated with the nearly 80 million Americans who are still not vaccinated, even though the vaccine is safe, effective and free." And Biden made this incredibly ignorant comment: "Our patience is wearing thin." Maybe somebody ought to get him a copy of "How To Win Friends And Influence People," by Dale Carnegie. In what universe does that kind of threatening remark by the President help to persuade people. If I was advising him, I would have suggested giving facts and figures proving the efficacy and safety of the vaccines.
I realize that facts alone will not necessarily persuade people to any point of view. But the art of persuasion was definitely lacking in our President. State and local governments, as well as private businesses, have followed Biden's lead. It has been reported that dozens of State Troopers in Massachusetts have resigned because of vaccine mandates. Such resignations are happening throughout the country. I do believe that states likely have the power to insist on state employees getting vaccinated. But in a time of rising crime, do we want fewer police? Do we want fewer firefighters? Do we want anyone losing their livelihood over this? Everywhere I go I see "Help Wanted" and "Now Hiring" signs. Do we need even more jobs going unfilled?
It is somewhat ironic that during the campaign last year, then vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris said: "...if Donald Trump tells us that we should take it (the vaccine), I'm not taking it." To which Vice President Pence replied: "We're going to have a vaccine in record time...And we're right now producing tens of millions of doses. So the fact that you continue to undermine public confidence in a vaccine, if the vaccine emerges during the Trump Administration, I think is unconscionable. And Senator, I just ask you - stop playing politics with people's lives."
If the vaccines protect the vaccinated, and if the unvaccinated are the ones getting sick and dying, then perhaps government mandates causing greater unemployment are not the answer. Maybe all government officials who make the rules should take a look at Dale Carnegie's book.
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