My Primary Care Provider is a Science-Denying Mask Freak – So I Fired Them

HOUSTON, 23 Jan 2023 – This morning I walked out of a doctor's appointment. Why? Because they insisted I put on a useless blue surgical face mask. The cheap kind that we've all seen (and probably worn) a million times by now.

A year or two ago, I probably would have complied while grumbling under my breath. But three years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, and after it's been shown repeatedly that those popular blue masks are not effective against the virus, I questioned their request for me to don one of them. 

There was only one other patient in the IORA Primary Care waiting room when I entered. I immediately noticed that he wore a mask, but it was lowered beneath his chin. He might has well have not had it on at all. He was sitting right in front of the masked receptionist, who told me to put on a mask. Why didn't she tell him to pull his mask up to cover his mouth and nose?

This hit me the wrong way. "If I do," I said, "can I wear it below my chin like that guy is?" She immediately told him to pull his mask up, which he did. I was now in a room with two people wearing loosely fitting, ineffective masks. I protested.

"The masks are ineffective," I said. "Even the CDC has said as much."

"It's just our policy," the masked receptionist at IORA Primary Care said, "and we follow CDC guidelines." They might think so, but they seem to be ignoring the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which has stated that "The surgical mask is a bad fit for risk reduction." The CDC itself has said that a blue surgical mask "Does NOT provide the wearer with a reliable level of protection from inhaling smaller airborne particles and is not considered respiratory protection," and "Leakage occurs around the edge of the mask when user inhales." In other words, useless – perhaps even dangerous.

Then something very telling happened. The man who had his mask below his chin when I entered piped up and said his wife died of COVID.

"I'm sorry for your loss," I said, "but was she wearing a mask?" Mr. Below-The-Chin said his wife must have caught COVID when "it slipped down one day." 

"How do you know that's when she caught it?" I asked.

"It had to be!" he exclaimed. Of course, there's no way to know for certain when or where she became infected.

Remember that this guy was, moments earlier, was wearing a mask below his chin. Not wishing to argue with a man who recently lost his wife, I didn't point out his idiotic contradiction. I can only attribute his belief that his wife caught COVID because her ineffective cheap mask slipped below her nose momentarily to an utter lack of critical thinking. I know that's harsh, but this guy swallowed the mask propaganda with big cup of ignorance. 

The clinic's health care "coach" entered the room. She was masked, of course, and told me to mask up. I replied that I could no longer trust a doctor who is a science denier and tells me the cheap masks they were wearing – and wanted me to wear – are required even though shown to be useless, and while other doctors and medical facilities in Houston no longer require them.

It was clear by now that I was talking to people who were brainwashed or ignorant. More likely, they were following orders from people who are brainwashed, ignorant, or think they have to virtue signal to their staff and clientele. I'm now searching for another primary care provider.

Video: The scientific case against face masks

Some of you may think it odd that I, who refused to wear a mask, called those who do "science deniers." Many called those of us who said masks are ineffective "science deniers." The irony: We were right and the mask pushers were wrong.

Face masks are no longer required at any of the other doctors' offices I visit. That includes my cardiologist, my dermatologist, my skin surgeon and others. I recently had a four-night stay in a major hospital here in Houston (I'm okay now), and while all of the staff wore masks there was no requirement to wear one to enter the building. I didn't wear one for my entire stay, and none of the paramedics who transported me to the hospital wore masks in the ambulance or in the emergency room wore masks. Most of the other patients I saw did not wear masks.

How not to wear a face mask

I should point out that all of the hospital staff were wearing those cheap blue masks that nearly everybody was wearing at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. I have to wonder if nurses and doctors are really unaware of the fact that those masks are nothing more than face adornments, as they are ineffective against COVID-19. That's especially true for the COVID variants.

By now, many of us realize that those ubiquitous blue face masks are pretty much useless for preventing the spread of COVID-19. Even Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told us that way back in early February 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic. 

Here's an excerpt from an email Fauci wrote back then, nearly three years ago:

"The typical mask you buy in the drug store is not really effective in keeping out virus, which is small enough to pass through material. It might, however, provide some slight benefit in keep out gross droplets if someone coughs or sneezes on you." - Source: Newsweek

A lot of us knew this early on in the pandemic, back in early 2020. "A cloth mask or face covering does very little to prevent the emission or inhalation of small particles," according to an article written by experts published on April 1, 2020 by the University of Minnesota.

Not long after that, on June 11, 2020, an article by Denis G. Rancourt, PhD noted this:

"The present paper about masks illustrates the degree to which governments, the mainstream media, and institutional propagandists can decide to operate in a science vacuum, or select only incomplete science that serves their interests. Such recklessness is also certainly the case with the current global lockdown of over 1 billion people, an unprecedented experiment in medical and political history."

Rancourt's article went on to say:

"In light of the medical research, therefore, it is difficult to understand why public-health authorities are not consistently adamant about this established scientific result, since the distributed psychological, economic, and environmental harm from a broad recommendation to wear masks is significant, not to mention the unknown potential harm from concentration and distribution of pathogens on and from used masks. In this case, public authorities would be turning the precautionary principle on its head."

Some of you will consider the authors quoted above to be "science deniers" or even "conspiracy theorists," or "right wing nuts." If you do, you should know that you are actually the science deniers, and you bought into the propaganda that promoted useless masks, economy-killing lockdowns, spikes in suicides worldwide, and psychological trauma that will stay with people for the next 70 years. 

But the (discredited) U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has essentially admitted that cloth masks are ineffective...after promoting them even while knowing they were useless. (See graphic to the left.)

Some will say this post is just the ranting of a right-wing conspiracy nut. Well, okay, but "nuts" have been vindicated. The following excerpt is from the New York Times on February 21, 2023:

"But when it comes to the population-level benefits of masking, the verdict is in: Mask mandates were a bust. Those skeptics who were furiously mocked as cranks and occasionally censored as “misinformers” for opposing mandates were right. The mainstream experts and pundits who supported mandates were wrong....And the people who had the courage to say as much deserved to be listened to, not treated with contempt. They may not ever get the apology they deserve, but vindication ought to be enough." [Emphasis added]

My now-former primary care provider, IORA Primary Care, still insists on face masks that have been shown by experts – including their holy CDC – to be ineffective even as nearly every other medical facility and doctor's office in Houston doesn't. If they insist I wear a mask while another guy sits right in front of them with his mask below his chin, then to heck with them. If IORA is putting virtue signalling and political propaganda ahead of actual science, I can no longer trust them....and they owe everyone apology.

Related:

• The scientific case against face masks - Jan 13, 2023 - UnHerd 
• The "Conspiracy Theorists" Were Right - Feb 28, 2023 - Mark Dice on YouTube
• CDC no longer recommends universal masking in health facilities - Sep 26, 2022 - The Hill
• Fauci Said Masks 'Not Really Effective in Keeping Out Virus,' Email Reveals - Jun 2, 2021 - Newsweek
• Masks-for-all for COVID-19 not based on sound data - Lisa M Brosseau, ScD, and Margaret Sietsema, PhD  Apr 1, 2020 - University of Minnesota
• Widely Used Surgical Masks Are Putting Health Care Workers at Serious Risk - April 28, 2020 - Scientific American 
• The surgical mask is a bad fit for risk reduction - May 17, 2016 - Canadian Medical Association Journal
• Masks Don’t Work: A Review of Science Relevant to COVID-19 Social Policy - Jun 11, 2020 - River Cities' Reader
• Blue surgical face masks are only 10% effective in preventing COVID infection, new study finds - Aug 21, 2021 - Daily Mail UK
• Cloth Masks Are Useless Against COVID-19 - Jan 12, 2022 - Infection Control Today
• Masks Still Don’t Work: More than two years on, the best scientific evidence says that masks don’t stop Covid—and public health officials continue to ignore it. - Aug 8, 2022 - City Journal

CDC Lets Feverish Ebola Nurse Board Commercial Flight From Cleveland to Dallas

Ebola Nurse and Victim:
Amber Vinson

October 16, 2014 - Nurse Amber Vinson, 29, the second nurse to contract Ebola in Dallas, TX was told by a federal health staffer that it was okay to board a commercial in Cleveland on October 13. Vinson told the staffer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that she was running a fever of 99.5 Fahrenheit.  The CDC staffer considered that to be non-threatening.

According to WSBTV Atlanta, CDC spokesman David Daigle said that Vinson spoke with a CDC official responsible for monitoring her health before she boarded the flight Monday. In other words, the CDC person that Vinson spoke to knew that she was one of the people who had cared for Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian man who died of Ebola eight days ago at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.  

Reuters reports that "a federal source" said that Vinson "was not told not to fly" because her slight fever was below 100.4F, the CDC's temperature threshold that would indicated infectious Ebola. But CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. John LaPook reports that Vinson called the CDC several times before boarding the plane concerned about her fever. "Nurse Vinson,  did in fact call the CDC several times before taking that flight and said she has a temperature, a fever of 99.5, and the person at the CDC looked at a chart and because her temperature wasn’t 100.4 or higher she didn’t officially fall into the category of high risk," said Dr. LaPook on the CBS Evening News.

How could the CDC not consider Vinson to be high risk, knowing that she'd had close contact with a man who just days ago died of Ebola -- and one of her own co-workers had also contracted the virus? It makes us wonder just how incompetent the CDC actually is. The CDC is now trying to contact all of the passengers who flew with Vinson on Frontier Airlines flight 1143 from Cleveland to Dallas/Fort Worth on Monday evening.

Fine, but why did the CDC let Vinson travel out of Dallas in the first place? Should she, and her coworkers at the Dallas hospital, have been told to not travel and been monitored during the 21-day Ebola incubation period just in case they did become infected? Which, of course, at least two did. Nina Pham, another nurse at the Dallas hospital, is currently being treated for Ebola after helping care for Duncan.

"While in Ohio," reports CBS, "Vinson visited relatives, who are employees at Kent State University.  The university is now asking Vinson’s three relatives stay off campus and self-monitor per CDC protocol for the next 21 days out of an 'abundance of caution'."

If the CDC had followed it's own  protocol, they would not now be frantically hunting down the potentially hundreds of people (the 132 on Flight 1143 plus those in airport terminals, etc.) who came in contact with Vinson  while she had a "slight fever." The CDC official displayed anything but an abundance of caution. For that matter, Nurse Vinson acted recklessly as a healthcare professional who should have acted more responsibly.

Click to enlarge

About that fever: It's a symptom of infection. The CDC official should have told Vinson to report to the nearest suitable hospital for isolation and observation. The media, in their usual, sloppy way, are reporting that Vinson boarded Frontier flight 1143 "before she became symptomatic" even as they note her fever. But fever is a symptom, so she was already symptomatic on Monday when she boarded the plane in Ohio.

NBC News reports that the CDC staffer who spoke with Vinson "looked on the agency's website for guidance," according to a spokesperson. "The category for 'uncertain risk' had guidance saying that a person could fly commercially if they did not meet the threshold of a temperature of 100.4." The spokesperson also told NBC that, "These two nurses who are infected as well as the others who cared for Duncan but were wearing protective gear — a lot of them are falling into the category of 'uncertain risk'", the spokesperson said. "She represents uncharted water for us ... She did not fall into a clear category." 

Say what? "Uncertain risk?" Not a "clear category?" A nurse, who just days ago was caring for a man dying of Ebola, projectile vomiting and highly contagious says she has a fever, but THAT'S not a "clear category?" "Medical records provided to The Associated Press by Duncan's family show Vinson inserted catheters, drew blood, and dealt with Duncan's body fluids before he died last week," says WLTX Atlanta. "It's not clear how she contracted the virus."

The Director of the CDC, Dr. Tom Frieden, said that Vinson should not have gotten on Flight 1143. CNN reports that he said, "The CDC guidance in this setting outlines the need for what is called controlled movement. That can include a charter plane, a car, but it does not include public transport," and, "We will from this moment forward ensure that no other individual who is being monitored for exposure undergoes travel in any way other than controlled movement."

A suggestion for Dr. Frieden: From this moment forward, please ensure that your staff -- and every damned hospital in America -- understands those guidelines. Frieden on Wednesday said because she had been exposed to the virus and had a low fever, she shouldn’t have boarded the flight. "So by both of those criteria, she should not have been on that plane," he said. True, but by other criteria all CDC staffers should have known this before Amber Vinson was given permission to get on that plane.  

CDC news conference, October 12, 2014

But here's the real kicker: Frieden himself is somewhat guilty of incompetence. On Sunday, the day before feverish Amber Vinson got CDC permission to fly on a commercial flight, Frieden said that the CDC "is deeply concerned" to learn that "a breach in protocol" at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas resulted in nurse Nina Pham becoming sick with Ebola. Frieden referred to "a breach in protocol," but it seems there were multiple breaches at Presbyterian.

"At some point, there was a breach in protocol," Dr. Frieden said at an Atlanta press conference on Monday. "And that breach in protocol resulted in [Nina Pham's] infection." Yes, Dr. Frieden, and your breaches have resulted in another infected nurse from that hospital getting on a plane with 132 passengers. "It is possible that other individuals were exposed," Frieden said. That was Monday. Amber Vinson flew on Monday evening. (Watch the full Oct. 12 Frieden CDC press conference.)

Knowing that the Dallas hospital violated protocol, why did Frieden not make certain that all CDC staff were up to speed on that protocol? Why did CDC not immediately track down and isolate all 50 people who known to have had contact with Duncan from the time of his first ER visit and while he was symptomatic. "There were seven other patients in the ER at Presbyterian Hospital when Duncan was first examined that are now under observation," reports Examiner.com. "Normal hygiene and good fortune may have prevented any of these people from contracting Ebola."

Amber Vinson was flown from Dallas to Atlanta on Wednesday evening for treatment at Emory University Hospital. Pray for Vinson that the staff at Emory is more competent than the fools at Texas Health Presbyterian in Dallas, which should probably be renamed "Texas Breaches of Protocol." While we're at it, let's rename the CDC the "Competence Deficiency Center."

Also See:

• How Many Duncan Caregivers Are at Risk? 'Breach of Protocol' Bloomberg
• How Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan's organs slowly failed and he begged to be put in a diaper as he lay dying Daily Mail UK
• 'Who is unprotected clipboard dude?': Man without hazmat suit transfers Dallas Ebola patient onto CDC plane (VIDEO) NY Daily News 
• 4th Ebola patient being treated at Emory University Hospital WSBTV
• Dr. Gil Mobley On Why The CDC Is 'Lying' About Ebola Fox News/YouTube 

Second Ebola Case In Dallas: Nurse Who Wore Full Protective Gear

October 12, 2014 - Another case of Ebola in the US: The Wall Street Journal reports this morning that an unidentified nurse who helped care for Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian national who died of Ebola at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas last Wednesday, has tested positive for the virus in a preliminary test in Austin, which will be double-checked by the Centers for Disease Control.

UPDATE, October 16, 2014: CDC official told feverish Ebola nurse Amber Vinson that she could take a commercial flight from Cleveland to Dallas...so she did.

A report by The Verge says that a hospital official said the nurse was "following full CDC precautions," including a mask, gloves, gown, and face shield while caring for Duncan when he arrived at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital's emergency room on September 28th. At a press conference in Atlanta this morning, CDC director Tom Frieden said that "clearly, there was a breach in protocol," adding that the agency will "undertake a thorough investigation to understand how this may have happened." 

"The newly diagnosed patient was one of the nurses involved in his treatment," reports ArsTechnica. "According to the BBC, the nurse wore standard protective gear during the treatment: gown, gloves, respiratory mask, and face shield. Nevertheless, the individual began experiencing a low-grade fever, and checked into the same hospital where he or she works; the patient has been kept in isolation since. Authorities are currently preventing anyone from entering the individual's apartment pending a decontamination."

“We knew a second case could be a reality, and we’ve been preparing for this possibility.”

A news release this morning from the Texas Department of State Health Services states the following:

A health care worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital who provided care for the Ebola patient hospitalized there has tested positive for Ebola in a preliminary test at the state public health laboratory in Austin. Confirmatory testing will be conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

The health care worker reported a low grade fever Friday night and was isolated and referred for testing. The preliminary ​test result was received late Saturday.

"We knew a second case could be a reality, and we've been preparing for this possibility," said Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services. "We are broadening our team in Dallas and working with extreme diligence to prevent further spread."

Health officials have interviewed the patient and are identifying any contacts or potential exposures. People who had contact with the health care worker after symptoms emerged will be monitored based on the nature of their interactions and the potential they were exposed to the virus.

"Federal and state health officials have been tracking 48 people identified as having close or possible contact with Mr. Duncan," adds WSJ. "The number included at least seven health-care workers who had close contact with him. It wasn’t immediately clear if the ill health-care worker was one of those seven."

#Dallas Mayor says hazmat team deployed to apartment complex of Ebola patient. Team decontaminating patient's car at hospital.
— CKNW (@CKNW) October 12, 2014

Also See:
Ebola: Health care worker tests positive at Texas hospital BBC News
U.S. lacks a single standard for Ebola response USA Today
Ebola screening starts at New York's JFK airport  Reuters
Congressmen Call For Enhanced Ebola Screening At Texas Airports CBS-DFW
Majority of Americans Want Flights Banned From Ebola Countries: Survey NBC News
Ebola virus is 'mutating rapidly', experts warn Daily Mail UK
Exposing the five myths about Ebola Gulf News

FIRST IMPORTED U.S. EBOLA CASE CONFIRMED

September 30, 2014 - The worst Ebola outbreak in recorded history has officially killed more than 3,000 people in several African nations since it erupted six months ago in Guinea. Today it was confirmed that a patient with Ebola is being treated in isolation at a Dallas, Texas hospital.  The adult male entered the U.S. from Liberia 10 days ago, then checked into a hospital on Sept. 26. In a frightening turn of events, the man was sent home and not admitted until Sept. 28.  In addition, reports CBS Dallas, "the EMS crew and ambulance that was used to transport a patient now confirmed to have the Ebola virus in Dallas has been isolated."

UPDATES:

• CDC Lets Feverish Ebola Nurse Board Commercial Flight From Cleveland to Dallas 
• Second Ebola Case In Dallas: Nurse Who Wore Full Protective Gear

From Fox News (emphasis added):

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed on Tuesday that a patient being treated at a Dallas hospital has tested positive for Ebola, the first case diagnosed in the United States.

The patient left Liberia on September 19 and arrived in the United States on September 20, CDC director, Dr. Tom Frieden told reporters at a press conference Tuesday. It’s the first patient to be diagnosed with this particular strain of Ebola outside of Africa.

“[The patient] had no symptoms when departing Liberia or entering this country. But four or five days later on the 24th of September, he began to develop symptoms,” said Frieden.

Ebola virus

The patient, visiting family in Texas, initially sought care on September 26, but was sent home and was not admitted until two days later. He was placed in isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, where he remains critically ill, according to Frieden.

“The next steps are basically threefold,” said Frieden.  “First, to care for the patient … to provide the most effective care possible as safely as possible to keep to an absolute minimum the likelihood or possibility that anyone would become affected, and second, to maximize the chances that the patient might recover,” said Frieden.

Frieden said the CDC and Texas health officials were working to identify and monitor anyone who may have come in contact with the patient.

“It's only someone who's sick with Ebola who can spread the disease,” said Frieden. “ Once those contacts are all identified, they're all monitored for 21 days after exposure to see if they develop a fever.”

2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa Distribution Map
Source: Centers for Disease Control

Ebola FAQs: Early this evening, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital's parent company tweeted that they had posted a "Frequently Asked Questions about Ebola Virus" page on their website.

"The current Ebola epidemic is the largest, most severe and most complex outbreak of the disease in the history of the virus," write Kaisa Stucke and Bill O'Grady in a must-read article.

"More cases have been diagnosed and more people have died than in all the prior outbreaks combined....The countries that are most affected by the virus are Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, but Nigeria and Senegal have also experienced cases. Liberia has been the hardest hit, with more than half the fatalities occurring in this country."

Excerpts from Fox News:

• [Dr.] Frieden added that while it is possible that someone who had contact with the patient could develop Ebola in the coming weeks, he has no doubt the infection will be contained. At this point, he said, there is zero risk of transmission to anyone on the flight with the patient because he was not showing any symptoms at the time of travel.

• Dr. Edward Goodman, epidemiologist at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas said the hospital has had a plan in place for some time now in the event that a traveler brought Ebola to the United States, noting that the team had a crisis preparedness meeting a week before the patient arrived at their facility.

• Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas officials said in a statement Monday that an unnamed patient was being tested for Ebola and had been placed in "strict isolation" due to the patient's symptoms and recent travel history, and that the facility was taking measures to keep its doctors, staff and patients safe....

• People boarding planes in the outbreak zone are checked for fever, but symptoms can begin up to 21 days after exposure. Ebola isn't contagious until symptoms begin, and it takes close contact with bodily fluids to spread.

As the Ebola outbreak grew more rapidly than expected last summer, U.S. health officials began preparing "for the possibility that an individual traveler could unknowingly arrive with the infection. Health authorities have advised hospitals on how to prevent the virus from spreading within their facilities," reports ABC7 Chicago. "People boarding planes in the outbreak zone are checked for fever, but that does not guarantee that an infected person won't get through. Ebola is not contagious until symptoms begin, and it takes close contact with bodily fluids to spread."

The Centers for Disease Control calls this the "first imported case of Ebola diagnosed in the United States." CDC notes that over the past 10 years "the United States had 5 imported cases of Viral Hemorrhagic Fever (VHF) diseases similar to Ebola (1 Marburg, 4 Lassa). None resulted in any transmission in the United States."

Also See:

• Traveler from Liberia is first Ebola patient diagnosed in U.S. WHBL
• As Ebola confirmed in US, CDC vows: 'We're stopping it in its tracks' Washington Post
• Investigating Ebola: How contact tracing will work in Texas WaPo
• Ebola (Ebola Virus Disease) Centers for Disease Control
• What You Need to Know about Ebola Disease Exposure Texas Health Resources
• Origins, Current Outbreak, Comparable Epidemics, And Ramifications ValueWalk
• Ebola gene study traces origin of current outbreak Medical News Today
• CDC: Ebola cases in West Africa could exceed 550,000 by January MNT

Abortion Doctor Kermit Gosnell Guilty on Three Counts of First-Degree Murder (Updated)

UPDATE, MAY 14: Baby Killer Kermit Gosnell Gets Life In Prison, Not Death

Kermit Gosnell - philly.com

May 13, 2013 - Abortionist Kermit Gosnell was found guilty today of three counts of first-degree murder for killing babies born alive in his clinic. He was acquitted on a fourth count. Prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty, which Gosnell is eligible for under Pennsylvania law.

House of Horrors: "Prosecutors say the 72-year-old Gosnell delivered babies alive and had their spines severed with scissors to kill them. They say the baby whose death he was cleared in let out a soft whimper before Gosnell cut its neck." (Associated Press)

Gosnell operated the Family Women's Medical Society clinic at 3801 Lancaster Ave. from 1979 to 2010, when it was closed after a federal-state drug raid.

Gosnell's House of Horrors

Gosnell was charged with four counts of first-degree murder, of babies allegedly born alive during illegal late-term abortions and killed by Gosnell or staff. Gosnell was charged with 227 counts of violating the state's 24-hour waiting period before a woman has an abortion, and also a count of third-degree murder in the 2009 death of an abortion patient allegedly overdosed on Demerol by Gosnell's untrained staff. More at Philly.com.

A Delaware woman who worked at Gosnell’s abortion clinic testified on April 9 that it was “standard procedure” to snip the necks of babies that were delivered by patients before the abortion due to labor-inducing drugs. Eight former staffers of Gosnell’s clinic have pleaded guilty to a variety of charges and are awaiting sentencing.

Also See:

• Gosnell guilty of first-degree murder Delaware Online
• Kermit Gosnell convicted on 3 of 4 counts of murdering babies LifeSiteNews
• 56 Days Later, ABC Ends Blackout, Covers Gosnell 'House of Horrors' Newsbusters
• Gosnell Found Guilty Of 3 Counts Of First Degree Murder CBS Philly
• Kermit Gosnell Found Guilty on Three First-Degree Murder Charges LifeNews
• Dr. Kermit Gosnell found guilty on three murder counts, acquitted on fourth count KTRK TV
• Why Obama and the Left Don't Care About Kermit Gosnell Human Events
• Kudos to Kermit Gosnell and Ariel Castro American Thinker

AMA Re-Endorses Obamacare Mandate, Loses 12,000 Members

June 21, 2011 - Chicago - The American Medical Association (AMA) has suffered a significant loss of membership since 2010. The AMA is being ripped apart from within by its controversial support of the fascist "individual mandate" element of Obamacare, which requires individuals to by health care or face stiff penalties.

The AMA met last weekend to discuss Obamacare and other issues. The AMA has just re-endorsed the individual mandate. "The American Medical Association’s delegates held their annual meeting over the weekend, at which the most contested issue under discussion was the individual mandate to purchase health insurance or pay a fee," reports the American Independent, "and whether the AMA should continue, as it has since 2006, to officially support such a mandate. The mandate is a crucial component of the Affordable Care Act passed by the Democratic Congress last year." "AMA delegates voted on yesterday in favor of maintaining support for the mandate by a vote of 326-165," the AI report said. "An alternative proposal, in favor of the government encouraging the purchase of insurance through tax credits but not requiring it, was supported by delegations from several more conservative states."

Many of the AMA's member physicians do not support the unconstitutional mandate, and a lot of those doctors have dropped their AMA memberships over the past two years.

According to America's Medical Society (AMS), "the AMA’s membership is down 5.3% since last year, and AMA rolls have dropped almost 10.4% since 2007…considering that the bulk of AMA members are medical students (who get a free ‘member’ card) and retirees, this loss of real, active, productive physician members is astounding and devastating to the AMA." The AMS published its article on its website on June 20, 2011. Read the AMS article "AMA Loses 12,000 Members … More Obamacare Lies from the White House" here.

The AMA calls itself "the nation's largest physician group," but this is intentionally misleading. AMA membership is not nearly as large as the average American might think. Fewer than one in five U.S. physicians are members of the AMA, which is based in Chicago. That number is dwindling, primarily because of the way in which the AMA embroiled itself in the health care debate by siding with Barack Obama's fascist policy of requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance.

"Despit the hoopla and false celebration of physician 'unity,'" says the AMS, "the American Medical Association reluctantly acknowledged this past weekend that the organization has lost 12,000 members in the aftermath of their support for Obamacare. Based on the growth of more moderate/conservative doctor groups in America, the AMA is losing even more members as each day goes by..."

Constitutional Convention Confusion

I hate chain emails. They're often nothing more than hastily copied-and-pasted ramblings that are full of inaccuracies and hysteria. A dear friend forwarded one such email to me recently. It was about a proposed 28th amendment to the U. S. Constitution (full text below). The wording of the proposed amendment: "Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States ."

That's fine, but the rest of the email is fraught with half-truths. Nevertheless, it reminded me of a few constitutional issues currently ongoing. Before we look further at that email, let's remember the 10th Amendment:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

The 10th Amendment is all about "states' rights," and is a crucial element of American federalism. Put simply, it guarantees that any powers that are not specifically assigned to the federal government is reserved for the states and the citizenry.

The so-called "proposed 28th amendment" seems like a good idea in spirit. After all, we're all supposed to be equal under the law.

The proposed wording in the email, however, is too simple and based on too many assumptions, too few facts and downright errors. For example, the email erroneously says that "Governors of 35 states have already filed suit against the Federal Government for imposing unlawful burdens upon them. It only takes 38 (of the 50) States to convene a Constitutional Convention." To my knowledge, and according to my research, this is false.

It is true, however, that 21 states are currently enjoined in suing the federal government over last year's health care reform overhaul. They claim it is unconstitutional for a number of reasons, including the infringement of states' rights. (The states will probably lose in this effort.) Not surprisingly, Obama's Justice Department is moving to crush the suit. The 21 states are: AZ, AL, AK, AR, CA, CO, GA, HI, ID, IN, KS, ME, MI, MO, MT, NH, NV, OK, PA, TX, and WA.

In May 2010, reports FoxNews, "A group of Republican lawmakers launched a task force on Thursday that seeks to reclaim the powers they say the federal government has unconstitutionally taken away from the 50 states. The 10th Amendment Task Force, a project of the Republican Study Committee, will develop and promote proposals that aim to usher in what supporters are calling a 'New Era of Federalism.' 'When federalism is out of balance, people get hurt,' Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, one of the group's 10 co-founding members, said at a news conference Thursday. 'We want to empower state and local governments'." 

Back to the email about "the 28th amendment," (my comments in red):

Governors of 35 states have already filed suit against the Federal Government for imposing unlawful burdens upon them. It only takes 38 (of the 50) States to convene a Constitutional Convention. 

NOTE: Not true. There are two ways to amend the U.S. Constitution. According to Lexis Nexis, "Article V of the Constitution prescribes how an amendment can become a part of the Constitution. While there are two ways, only one has ever been used. All 27 Amendments have been ratified after two-thirds of the House and Senate approve of the proposal and send it to the states for a vote. Then, three-fourths of the states must affirm the proposed Amendment." Did you notice the part that says that two-thirds of the House and Senate must approve it? Uh huh. Then it goes to the states. The other method requires "a Constitutional Convention to be called by two-thirds of the legislatures of the States. That Convention can propose as many amendments as it deems necessary. Those amendments must be approved by three-fourths of the states." 

"Two thirds" of 50 state legislatures is 33.33333. Whether that's rounded to 33 or 34 is immaterial: The email falsely claims that "it only takes 38 (of the 50) States" to call a constitutional convention. That's an error of at least five states.

This (proposed amendment) will take less than thirty seconds to read. If you agree, please pass it on.

An idea whose time has come

For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had no idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws. The latest is to exempt themselves from the Healthcare Reform that is being considered... in all of its forms. Somehow, that doesn't seem logical. We do not have an elite that is above the law. I truly don't care if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent or whatever. The self-serving must stop. This is a good way to do that. It is an idea whose time has come.

NOTE: This is misinformation. Members of Congress do NOT retire with full pay. From FoxNews, December 2007: Members of Congress are eligible for one of two plans, depending on when they were first elected. Members elected before 1983 take part in the CSRS plan which has more generous defined benefits. Members elected after 1983 take part in the FERS plan available to all federal employees. It has a smaller defined benefit but a more generous 401(k) (described more fully below). Members under the old CSRS plan receive a pension equal to 2.5 percent of their highest salary for each year of service. Thus, a member who serves 10 years would receive a pension equal to 25 percent of his salary. Members under the new FERS plan receive pension equal to 1.5 percent of their highest salary for each year of service. Thus a Member serving 10 years would receive a pension equal to 15 percent of his salary. (More at FoxNews. Fox also notes that, since 1983, members of Congress do pay Social Security.)

Snopes.com also notes the falsehood of the claim of lavish pensions for members of Congress. (See http://www.snopes.com/politics/socialsecurity/pensions.asp) 

Even if Congressional pensions were altered in some way, that would not affect the similarly large pensions enjoyed by many former city council members, state legislators and other elected officials, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of local, county, state and federal bureaucrats. The proponent/s of this amendment also walk the razor's edge of demanding that everyone in America be paid exactly the same wages. Some call that communism. To be frank, I like to think that a member of Congress is paid generously. 

Why? Simple: National security. A well-paid member of Congress is less likely to want or need to take bribes, from lobbyists or agents of foreign nations. Well paid public officials are generally not as inclined to steal as those who are not. Ask any police officer in Tijuana.

Have each person contact a minimum of twenty people on their Address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise. In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one proposal that really should be passed around.

NOTE: Not true, and it's faulty arithmetic. Let's say you send the email to 20 friends, and each of them send it to 20 people on the first day. That would 20 x 20, or 400 people. On day two, those 400 each send the email to 20 friends. That would be another 8,000. 

On day three, each of those 8,000 people sends it to 20 of their contacts. That's 160,000. Let's go on to day four, where 20 x 160,000 becomes 3,200,000 (about 1/10th of the U.S. population). On day five: 64,000,000. On day six: 1,280,000,000 (that's one billion, two hundred eighty million). Granted, the email could theoretically reach an enormous number of people in a short time. However, the email specifically claimed that it would reach "most people" in the U.S. "in three days." There are just over 300 million people in the U.S. "Most" of them would be just over 150,000,000. As we see, nowhere near that number would be reached in three days, and in reality the email would frequently be either ignored, not forwarded, or lost in spam bins.

Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution "Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States."

You are one of my 20.

Please: Don't forward this to anybody.

Video: Rep Paul Ryan raises a point of order: "This bill is the mother of all unfunded mandates"

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, today made a powerful speech in the House health care session. Here it is. Ryan is suddenly a star of the conservative movement. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/reppaulryan. Leave a Comment * Conservative T-Shirts * Follow CNB on Twitter * RSS Feed

Best Live Streaming of Health Care Vote in Congress

Watch it LIVE NOW on C-SPAN: http://www.c-span.org/Watch/C-SPAN.aspx Leave a Comment * Conservative T-Shirts * Follow CNB on Twitter * RSS Feed

Bean, Halvorson Will Vote Yes On Health Care

Saturday, March 20, 2010 - U.S. Representatives Melissa Bean (8th District) and Debbie Halvorson (11th) announced today that they will support Health Care "reform" in the crucial vote in Congress tomorrow. Read Bean's press release. Read Halvorson's press release. Rep. Bill Foster (14th) has still not decided how to vote. A late morning report from the Daily Herald says that Foster "still had not made up his mind today, a spokesman said. He continues to read and evaluate the lengthy legislation." David Rogers of Politico.com said this about Bean's decision: "Illinois Rep. Melissa Bean, a swing Democratic vote and leader in the business-oriented New Democrats caucus, came off the fence for healthcare reform Saturday, telling POLITICO that the promise of long-term deficit reduction and small business tax credits had helped to win her over." House Minority Leader John Boehner wrote this on his Twitter page around 4:00 p.m. EDT: "If we can stop the 'Slaughter Solution,' the American people can stop this hc takeover." Boehner gave a link to "House Democrats abandon 'deem and pass'," an article in The Washington Times today. RELATED ITEMS: Two Ill. Congressman say yes to health plan Obama team lobbies Illinois Democrats on health bill Why Democrats are Doomed if ObamaCare Passes Bean - The So-Called Moderate Joe Walsh: Bean Puts Party Politics Ahead of Constitution, Constituents Leave a Comment * Conservative T-Shirts * Follow CNB on Twitter * RSS Feed

Stupak, Family Abused by Pro-Abortion Democrats

Pity Congressman Bart Stupak. He's one of the holdouts on the Health Care bill, and he's holding out because he is pro-life. As The Hill explains, "Stupak has become a nationally known figure because of his demands for tough language in healthcare legislation to prevent any federal subsidies from being used for abortion services. He voted for the House healthcare bill in November after leaders met his demands, but has vowed to lead a group of 12 Democrats in voting against the Senate healthcare bill." The result? Obscene and threatening phone calls to his office - and his home - from liberals and fellow Democrats who favor killing the unborn. Politico reports that Stupak said Thursday "that his family has been the target of 'abusive' behavior in response to his decision to withhold his vote for health care reform over federal funding for abortion. Stupak, who in numerous recent interviews has called his life a 'living hell,' said during an interview on MSNBC’s 'Daily Rundown' that his wife has had to unplug the family’s home phone." Ah, the Left. What a peaceful, genteel bunch of asshats. Thank goodness they started the Coffee Party USA (CPUSA), which makes their members take a "pledge of civility." Talk about naive. Surely the founders of CPUSA knew that most liberals are closet terrorists. You doubt me? Ask Mrs. Stupak how she feels about it. The Uncivil Left, Why are they so Socially Ignorant? - Men's News Daily Leave a Comment * Conservative T-Shirts * Follow CNB on Twitter * RSS Feed

Rally at Melissa Bean's Office, Sat., March 20

UPDATE, March 20, 2010: Bean, Halvorson Will Vote Yes On Health Care This is the weekend the fate of our healthcare will be decided. Many people could not attend Tuesday's rallies in front of the offices of Rep. Melissa Bean and Rep. Bill Foster, but they wanted their voices heard on having government run healthcare shoved down our throats in the least transparent, most underhanded and highly arrogant way possible. (Note: There will also be a big rally in Washington DC on Saturday at Noon.) Bean is one of a handful of Illinois Democrats still undedicided. We need to keep the pressure on for her to vote "NO". Here are the details: When: Saturday, March 20 at Noon Where: Rep. Melissa Bean's Office 1701 E. Woodfield Road, Schaumburg, IL What to bring: Signs, flags, yourselves, your voices Here is a map of the location Contact Steve at steve@teapartychicago.org of Tea Party Patriots Chicago, or Carol at mills24@sbcglobal.net of the Schaumburg Tea Party with any questions. Find more Tea Party groups in Illinois at: http://www.teapartypatriots.org/state/Illinois#Chicago Leave a Comment * Conservative T-Shirts * Follow CNB on Twitter * RSS Feed

Watch the Health Care Forum LIVE, Here...

See it now at C-SPAN3 Believe it or not, this is pretty interesting stuff. Like it or not, it's going to affect you profoundly. Leave a Comment Conservative T-Shirts Follow CNB on Twitter RSS Feed

PELOSI REJECTS SENATE HEALTH CARE BILL

BREAKING: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has admitted this morning that the Senate's health care bill cannot pass in the House of Representatives due to a lack of votes. According to CBS News, "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in no uncertain terms today that the Senate health care bill does not have the support to pass in the House of Representatives. "I don't think it's possible to pass the Senate bill in the House," Pelosi told reporters today. According to The Hill, "The House lacks the votes to pass the Senate's healthcare bill, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday.Pelosi threw cold water on the idea that the House could muster enough support to pass the Senate's health bill, which includes a number of provisions liberals in the House find distasteful." (Hat tip to NetRight Nation.) This is not to say that Pelosi has abandoned her hopes for health care legislation. MyStateLine.com reports that "Pelosi insisted efforts to get a final deal are still moving forward. The California Democrat said, 'Everything is on the table.' Congressional Democrats suffered a huge setback this week in the special election to fill the term of the late Massachusetts Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy." Leave a Comment * Conservative T-Shirts * Follow CNB on Twitter * RSS Feed

Alternatives to AARP

Here are two alternatives to AARP. Please share this with any other seniors you know. Chicago News Bench is not endorsing either; we're just presenting the contact info. American Seniors Association (ASA) (formerly NASCON) Web site: http://www.americanseniors.org/ 3700 Mansell Road, Suite 220 Alpharetta, Georgia 30022 Toll Free: 1-800-951-0017 Email: info@americanseniors.org The Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC), Inc. Web site: http://www.amac.us/ 5 Orville Drive Suite 400 Bohemia, NY 11716 Toll Free: 1-888-AMAC-006 (1-888-262-2006) Phone: (631) 589-6675 Email: info@amac.us Leave a Comment * Conservative T-Shirts * Follow CNB on Twitter * RSS Feed

Health Care Protest, Sen. Gillibrand's NYC Office, Dec. 5

The 9/12 Project of Greater NYC Meet-up Saturday, Dec. 5, 2009 2:00 - 4:00 PM (the new time!) What: Health Care Protest When: Saturday, Dec. 5, 2:00 PM Where: Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's Office, 780 Third Ave. (between 48th and 49th Streets, NYC 10017) Time Change Reminder: It's now at 2:00 pm, not 1:00 pm. Protest outside of Senator Gillibrand's office against government run healthcare. Bring signs, megaphones and friends! See who's coming or update your RSVP: http://www.meetup.com/The-9-12-Project-of-NYC/calendar/11910151/t/cr1c_rt Leave a Comment Conservative T-Shirts Follow CNB on Twitter RSS Feed

SEIU Boss Urges "Old School Ass Whipping"

A disturbing video shows how the SEIU threatened homecare providers in Fresno, CA to vote their way and even change their ballots in a union election several months ago. An SEIU-UHW boss is caught on video telling members that they need to "bury" the NUHW, the competing union (National Union of Healthcare Workers), and to "drive a stake through the heart that is thing that is NUHW." And how to do that? Lean on the membership, threaten their job security, and generally scare the hell out of them. It should be remembered that SEIU is joined at the hip with ACORN, which is heavily supported by the likes of Barack Obama. (See related videos and articles underneath this video.) RELATED VIDEOS: National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) channel on YouTube Homecare workers reject SEIU secret contract Sonoma Co. homecare workers speak out NUHW Founding Convention RELATED ARTICLES: Will the Real SEIU Please Stand Up? - Talking Union Matthew Kaminski: California Labor Wars - Wall Street Journal NUHW Supporters Brave Eggs, Bottles in Los Angeles - Labor Notes Latest news - National Union of Healthcare Workers - NUHW New Document Reveals: SEIU Will Conquer Using Any Means Necessary- Big Government More on the SEIU Intimidation of Own Members - The Union Label Leave a Comment Conservative T-Shirts Follow us on Twitter RSS Feed

Video - Liberals Wanted Violence at Schakowsky Town Hall

August 31, 2009 - Skokie, IL - Union thugs and Democrat Party operatives did their best to provoke a fight, but the loyal opposition maintained their cool and prevailed. Over 1,000 lined up to attend the much-anticipated town hall meeting hosted by U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) at Niles West High School in the northern Chicago suburb of Skokie. Continued below video... Some of the pro-health care reform people, which included SEIU thugs and Democrat Party operatives, tried to incite a physical confrontation with anti-health care reform protesters after the town hall ended. One goon kept shouting that the "American people are stupid mentally" (is there another kind of stupid?) and "I love Obama," while another goon actually leaned on an anti-reform protester in an attempt to provoke physical confrontation. The encounter is fascinating to watch and proves beyond doubt that the pro-Obamacare forces are crude, thuggish punks. (There were no "YouTube moments" in the town hall itself. Schakowsky repeated what she's already said a thousand times about health care.) ALSO SEE: Health Care Protester Pwns Lefty Cameraman Cool Hats & Shirts for Cool Conservatives Leave a Comment... Chicago News Bench RSS Feed We're on Twitter...

Health Care Protester Pwns Lefty Cameraman

You must see the video below. An anti-Obamacare guy at the August 31 health care town hall by Cong. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) is interviewed by a pro-Obamacare cameraman in front of Niles West High School in Skokie, Illinois. The cameraman asks a string of lame questions, and the guy anti-Obamacare guy puts him squarely in his place. In Part Two of this report (see "Liberals Wanted Violence at Schakowsky Town Hall") you will see video that shows a very ugly side of the pro-reform liberals, as they get in the face of the conservative protesters and try to provoke physical violence. RELATED: Schakowsky Town Hall Report, Part One Liberals Wanted Violence at Schakowsky Town Hall (Part Two) Liberal Media Hypocrisy Test (video) Cool Hats & Shirts for Cool Conservatives Leave a Comment... Chicago News Bench RSS Feed We're on Twitter...

Inspiring Videos from Scranton Tea Party

Friend and faithful correspondent "L.C." is a nurse in Scranton, and has become quite the grassroots activist and organizer over the past year. In these videos, L.C. speaks at an outdoor rallyof Scranton Tea Party. She has expertise in the business end of healthcare issues and points out the failure of our elected officials in that area. Must-see videos from Scranton Tea Party, Parts A and B below; watch and share. (You see more of their videos on their YouTube channel.) Scranton Tea Party II Part A: Scranton Tea Party II Part B: Cool Hats & Shirts for Cool Conservatives Leave a Comment... Chicago News Bench RSS Feed We're on Twitter...