COVID is Making Headlines Again-Haven't We All Had Enough?
The White House Creates a New Permanent Office - The OPPR
When COVID-19 first landed on our shores and appeared to be decimating portions of our population, it would be fair to say that most were fearful. Little was known about the virus and, consequently, Americans were forced to rely on bureaucratic “experts” as our guide in fortifying our defenses. COVID-19 dominated the news and our lives for years before rates of infection, hospitalization, and deaths began to decline as new, less lethal variants overtook their predecessors. Most Americans, including some of the most fearful and cautious among us, have returned to living a more normal, almost forgotten life. Our lives now aren’t so crippled by fear and government imposed lockdowns, restrictions, and mandates. In spite of a committed effort by some to suppress the free-flow of information, we’ve been able to get a grasp on the actual threat we’ve been facing and the efficacy of the countermeasures enacted by the “experts” tasked with protecting American lives and prosperity.
Americans have been enjoying their return to a life that resembles normal, but for how long? Coinciding with rising rates of hospitalization, COVID-19 recently dropped a new variant (BA.2.86), launching it back to the top of news headlines. Some private businesses and institutions (such as universities and hospitals) are already returning to mask mandates, vaccine mandates, and social distancing rules. X (formerly Twitter) has been buzzing with rumors that government imposed mandates could soon follow- but why? Many highly respected, very accomplished doctors and scientists around the world believe (and have shown in peer-reviewed research) that every measure imposed upon the American people was an abject failure, with most measures doing more harm than the virus could’ve ever aspired to.
You might have felt a sense of relief, as I did, when President Biden declared an end to the pandemic, disbanding the Whitehouse COVID-19 response team. Shame on all of us smelly Walmart people for thinking that the government’s only aim was to protect it’s people, and that they would readily relinquish the control over our lives they had seized so undemocratically.
If you thought you had reclaimed your liberty when President Biden declared an end to the emergency and disbanded the Whitehouse COVID-19 response team, then you might have missed something: That team, with it’s often arbitrary and contradictory dictates, didn’t just go away. Instead, that small but powerful team was replaced by a new, larger permanent office- The Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy (OPPR). This office will be headed by Major General (Ret) Paul Friedrichs. Friedrich’s will enjoy a $212,100 salary. Additionally, he will be authorized to appoint two associate directors, paid up to $195,000 each, with up to 25 employees and an unknown number of paid consultants. The office will partner with HHS, DHS, DOD, OMB, and “other Federal Departments and agencies”, assuming the responsibilities of the former White House COVID-19 Response Team and Mpox Team and coordinate and develop policies and priorities related to pandemic preparedness and response. It’s also worth noting that the newly-minted director, Paul Friedrichs, was supportive of vaccine mandates and other non-pharmaceutical interventions such as lockdowns and mask mandates. The available data shows that these interventions were not just ineffective, but unimaginably harmful in countless ways. Can we honestly expect that increasing government power, led by the very people who imposed these abysmal policies, is going to be good for Americans in any way?
The more likely outcome is that the health, prosperity, and liberties of Americans will continue to be eroded as they have been from the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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I’m working on making a full video that will be included in an updated version of this piece so any additional knowledge, thoughts, questions or opinions will be very appreciated. This will help me shape the content included in the video. Thanks in advance.
-Greater detail and sources will be discussed in the coming video-
Looking good battle.