Better in their words…

Good morning, C&C! I’ve got a great roundup for you this morning, including news about great new Florida bills, Narrative 2.0 continues unfolding, an unbelievable roundup of headlines and you won’t believe what’s threatening your heart now; and more.

🗞 *THE C&C ARMY POST* 🗞

🪖 SB 7014/HB 7021 — the bill extending Covid liability immunity for hospitals for another eighteen months — has reached the governor’s desk. Now, the governor must veto the bill or it will become law in a matter of days, even without his signature. The Epoch Times covered the story yesterday:

[Floridians Demand DeSantis Veto Bill Extending Immunity to Hospitals Treating COVID-19 Patients](https://link.theepochtimes.com/mkt_app/floridians-demand-desantis-veto-bill-extending-near-immunity-to-hospitals-treating-covid-19-patients_4280739.html)

I understand that this article was the second-most-viewed story on The Epoch Times’ website yesterday. So!

🗞*COVID NEWS AND COMMENTARY* 🗞

🔥 Florida’s House passed a bill limiting abortions to 15 weeks yesterday. It passed on a near party-line vote just after midnight, and only two lawmakers broke party rank. Although the vote occurred late in the evening because of extended debate, Planned Parenthood complained bitterly about republicans passing the bill “in the dead of night and without the public present.” Uh huh.

It next heads to the Senate and if successful, to the Governor.

🔥 He’d better do something quick. Biden’s polling numbers are even underwater in CALIFORNIA. The new Berkely/IGS poll finds Biden at the lowest point since taking office. Here are the approve/disapprove numbers for California voters:

Now: 47% approve – 48% disapprove

July ’21: 59% – 37%

April ’21: 62% – 34%

Ruh-roh!

😷 The Hill published an article yesterday titled, “Covid-19 rules boomerang on Democrats.” It’s a story about frustration with mandates AMONG DEMOCRATS:

Democrats have been generally unified in backing vaccinations and the use of masks and mask mandates by local communities to stop the spread, but the party’s voters are becoming more divided on the continued aggressive use of such restrictions, and frustration is mounting.

The Hill noted that while many oppose continued mandates, many Democrats still continue to favor mandates, and they aren’t happy about relaxing them: “Democratic leaders are also facing pushback from members of their own party on the issue of rolling back mask mandates.”

“We’re struggling right now because I think a lot of people see us as out of touch on inflation, they see us as out of touch on crime, and we just simply can’t afford to be viewed as out of touch on COVID,” said Tyler Law, a Democratic strategist and former national press secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

He pointed out the elephant in the room — the 2022 election cycle, for which independents will be critical for Democrat electoral chances. “What we are seeing is the folks in the middle, who themselves are extremely likely to be vaccinated and boosted, they are starting to lose patience with the slow speed at which we return to normalcy,” Law said. “And so we can’t afford politically to lose those voters in the middle.”

Nope. Better change things up.

🔥 Well, we know which side of the debate The Hill is on. On the same day — yesterday — The Hill ran another article on Covid, headlined “We Should Stop Obsessing Over Covid numbers — But Count Infections Better.” Oh, okay. Ignore cases. Which you’ve been screaming about at the top of your lungs for two years. But now, all of a sudden, it’s “never mind.”

For some reason — the whimsical nature of science, I guess — The Hill says it’s time to completely rejigger the way we track Coronavirus cases, arguing “an updated approach to tracking the virus and infections is what’s really needed.” It explains that “the infection rate and case count have outlived their usefulness as meaningful barometers — and may even be doing HARM.”

Oh no! Not HARM. We can’t have that. Safety first. You know the drill.

The Hill un-ironically explains its reasoning WHY: “Less focus on these numbers could help shift us toward living with the virus and reducing social restrictions and mandates.” Wow. It looks like what they’re saying is that the case counts and infection rates aren’t helpful POLITICALLY or SOCIALLY. But … what about the common good? Saving grandma? Just one life?

The Hill offers four reasons supporting its argument:

1. The numbers are “increasingly” inaccurate anyway, and we can’t even track all those home tests we’re sending out to everybody for free

2. There are better ways to measure prevalence, such as wastewater testing, which Director Walensky has been mentioning a lot lately

3. Covid is almost endemic (there goes that flu comparison again)

4. More “meaningful” measurements exist, like hospitalizations and deaths. The Hill said, “Preventing infection is [now] a lesser priority.”

So there it is. Your new Narrative.

🔥 Predictably, Nancy Pelosi has — partly — relaxed the Covid rules for Congress’ attendance at Biden’s State of the Union address on March 1. All social distancing requirements are waived; but the representatives must wear an N95 mask or similar. I was a little surprised about the masks, but then I realized she still has time to lift the mask requirement prior to March 1, maybe after Walensky’s pending “update on masks” that Biden has allegedly requested, as I reported yesterday.

🚛 The Canadian Truckers have issued their demands, if you can call it that. What I mean is, they are so reasonable that they can hardly even be called demands. More like requests, or even just statements of common sense:

1. End Federal, provincial, and municipal vaccine passports.

2. End masking requirements.

3. End all state-of-emergency declarations pertaining to our peaceful protests.

4. Provide financial protection for the small businesses harmed by Covid restrictions.

5. Respect freedom of choice without discrimination.

Regardless of what happens next, the Trucker Declaration is a historical record of what the truckers always wanted: to just be left alone by the government. This all reminds me of Florida’s Constitutional Right to Privacy, Article I, § 23:

> “Every natural person has the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into the person’s private life except as otherwise provided herein.”

I can’t prove, but I believe, Florida’s constitutional right to privacy was a significant driver of Florida’s leadership during the pandemic. Having the right governor in Tallahassee helped a lot, too.

Godspeed, Truckers.

🔥 Take a look at this roundup of headlines starting last summer and picking up pace until they frantically crowd into February, which has the most articles. I put them in date order for you, so you can observe the progression. If this trend continues, soon EVERY article published ANYWHERE will be about this same subject:

— “Why People at Risk of Heart Disease May Want to Avoid Fish Oil,” HealthLine, May 3, 2021.

— “How Environmental Noise Harms the Cardiovascular System,” The Scientist, June 2, 2021.

— “What to know about birth control and blood clots,” Medical News Today, July 16, 2021.

— “Why has heart attack become so prevalent in young people?,” Times of India, September 6, 2021

— “Young adult cannabis consumers nearly twice as likely to suffer from a heart attack, research shows,” CNN, September 8, 2021.

— “Physical activity may increase heart attack risk, study suggests,” The Irish Times, September 20, 2021.

— “Mystery rise in heart attacks from blocked arteries,” Times UK, September 20, 2021

— “This Blood Type Puts You at Risk for Heart Disease,” ETNT Health, October 12, 2021 (note: it’s all types but O)

— “The Little-Known Heart Attack Killing Young Women,” WedMB, October 25, 2021.

— “There May Be a ‘Best Bedtime’ for Your Heart,” WebMD, November 9, 2021.

— “Extreme Heat Events Jeopardize Cardiovascular Health, Experts Warn,” ScienceDaily, November 18, 2021

— “Tis the Season: the ways cold weather can affect your body — from winter vagina to blood clots,” The Sun, November 27, 2021

— “Daily Aspirin Linked to Increased Risk of Heart Failure,” WebMD, November 30, 2021.

— “Wearing This Increases Your Blood Clot Risk, Experts Say: The condition kills someone every five minutes, a recent study reveals,” Best Life, December 4, 2021 (wearing a plaster cast or brace for “several days”)

— “Harsh Winter can Increase Heart-Related Complications: Experts warn in new study,” The Indian Express, December 6, 2021

— “Heart attack: Does skipping breakfast increase your risk?,” Express, December 12, 2021

— “How Worried You Should Be About Having a Heart Attack on Your Peloton,” Men’s Health, December 13, 2021

— “Up to 300,000 people facing heart-related illnesses due to post-pandemic stress disorder, warn physicians,” Evening Standard, December 14, 2021.

— “Science Reveals How Red Meat Harms the Heart,” WebMD, December 29, 2021.

— “Bing Watching TV Linked to Higher Blood Clot Risk,” WebMD, January 21, 2022.

— “Chemical in plastics and personal care products linked to heart disease,” Harvard Health Journal, January 1, 2022.

— “Blood Clots: The Popular Breakfast Food That Could Enhance The Risk Of Blood Clotting,” various, January 22, 2022.

— “Now even sticking to medics’ alcohol guidelines is bad for your health! Risk of heart problems could be increased if you drink less than NHS weekly units, study suggests,” Daily Mail UK, January 28, 2022.

— “Death during sex isn’t just something that happens to middle-aged men, new study finds,” The Conversation, February 1, 2022.

— “Energy bill price rise may cause heart attacks and strokes, says TV GP,” Wales Online, February 3, 2022.

— “Heart Attacks: What Does Age Have to Do With It?,” HealthLine, February 9, 2022.

— “Yes, Even Runners (and Triathletes) Get Heart Disease,” Triathlon Magazine, February 11, 2022

— “From Broken-Heart Syndrome to Cardiovascular Diseases, Your Heart Health Needs Extra Care Post-Covid,” Economic Times, February 9, 2022

— “New Study Reveals Shocking Benefit of ‘Heart Attack’,” REVYUH, February 16, 2022

— “Does an Aspirin a Day Keep Heart Disease Away? It Depends,” Michigan Health, February 16, 2022

— “Doctors Say Broken Heart Syndrome is Real, and it Can Be Deadly,” WHNT, February 16, 2022

— “Lonely older women at greater risk of heart attack, study shows,” London Times, February 17, 2022

I’ve run out of time this morning, but could someone make a list in the comments of everything we’ve just learned from these recent headlines that can cause heart attacks and blood clots, like fish oil, exercise, sex, energy bills, skipping breakfast, aspirin, Pelotons, Netflix, loneliness, etc.?

I understand your temptation to conclude that the media is helping cover up a rash of deaths and adverse events from the you-know-what. It’s not that. It’s a rash of SCIENTIFIC STUDIES. The media is just reporting on the published studies. In other words, starting last summer sometime, someone or something started spending a LOT of money giving a bunch of grants to different scientists to come up with reasons why ordinary everyday items cause heart attacks and blood clots. That’s the real story. Who’s doing it? Somebody could probably figure it out by running down all these studies in PubMed and seeing who the common funders are.

Have a fabulous Friday, and I’ll see you back here tomorrow morning for more.

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