I was not surprised to see graphic evidence, in the form of a winning photo contest entry, that shows floating in the ocean one of the 129 billion disposable face masks used since the pandemic started.  Seventy-five percent of them, along with an equal percentage of 65 billion gloves, all made with plastics that take hundreds of years to break down, will end up there.

New York state just ended mask mandates for schoolkids.  Compared to California's new standards, that's an enlightened move.  Here, we're exchanging one set of COVID restrictions for another, even more ominous one, but calling it freedom, a freedom that sees us using masks at a steady pace.

Children in school will still be required to wear masks.  There appears to be no exception to this rule.  It doesn't take a scientist to know that wearing a mask all day does far more harm to children's mental and physical health, than the illusory protection a mask might confer.

California universities are requiring returning students to get vaccinated as well.

Here in California, only 23 children under the age of 18 have died from COVID, despite nearly 500,000 cases being reported in that age group.  I'd bet the farm that most of those deaths (each one a tragedy) were in children with other medical conditions that compromised their ability to fight the infection.  In the 18- to 34-year-old group, there have been a total of 860 deaths so far from COVID.  That too is a number to make one sad, but keep in mind that it is less in total than the number who died from suicide at 34 years old or less so far this year.  I wonder how many of the suicides could be attributed to COVID rules, including masking.

As for working adults, California is going to pressure the unvaccinated by punishing everyone around them if one person doesn't get the jab.  As of the 15th of June, the state is mandating that only in 100% vaccinated workplaces can people go mask-free.  If one worker refuses — no matter the reason — everyone in that workplace will be forced to mask up.

The vaccinated are not supposed to get sick with COVID, so protecting them with masks from the unvaccinated is totally illogical.  People who have had COVID have antibodies against the virus and also can suffer more complications from taking the shots than those who didn't have the infection.  I guess we're not supposed to notice such things.

There are effective treatments available should anyone actually get COVID.  The only people really at risk, at this point, are the infirm elderly and those with co-morbidities that make them vulnerable — and those who can't access such treatments as ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, and monoclonal antibodies, all of which have proved worthy in treating the illness.  Our government has systematically made it difficult to get such treatments, preferring mass vaccination.

VAERS reports, as of yesterday, 5,165 deaths after taking the vaccine and 25,359 serious injuries.  If the trends continue, that means over 10,000 people will die from the vaccine this year.  Compare this to the 108 deaths following the measles vaccine over the last ten years.

VAERS also reports 40 cases of heart inflammation and 16 cases of blood clotting disorders in kids ages 12–17 who got vaccinated.  Yet California is pushing for younger teens to get vaccinated next.

Beyond these medical absurdities, what will be the legal and societal effects of these new mandates?  Will employers be pressured, by their own workers, to fire anyone that won't take the vaccine?  Yes, they will!  If you were willing to be a guinea pig, you're going to be a bit self-righteous about it.  You are going to want the perks, your reward for taking the shots.  You're going to resent the heck out of people who take those perks away.  That appears to be the idea, to create back-door vaccine passports without calling them by name.

We've all experienced how stringent our HIPAA rules are.  They're supposed to protect medical privacy.  Now that's out the window.  We are going to be forced down a certain medical path, no matter our beliefs or individual circumstances, and if we don't "share" our vaccine status, we will, perforce, be out of a job.

One of the most vocal opponents of such rules, Naomi Wolfe, former Hillary Clinton aide, just got banned from Twitter for her anti-vax, anti-passport, and anti-lockdown views.  I've listened to several interviews with her, and she makes a lot of sense on the legal front.  She's one leftist who still believes in liberty.

Where are all the women who scream about choice?  Does choice not extend to these vaccines?  We marinate in misinformation about COVID, with all discussion that might be fruitful canceled and censored, in the name of justifying continued illogical and nonsensical rules, meant only to keep people afraid and subjugated.

Image: Litter from masks.  YouTube screen grab.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.