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America’s Economy Cannot Survive Another Lockdown, and the Cult of the Reset Knows It – LewRockwell

Posted by M. C. on November 25, 2020

For a real free market to function, weak or corrupt elements must be allowed to fail and die. Instead, central banks around the world and most prominently the Fed kept all of those destructive elements on life support.

This has created what amounts to a “zombie economy:”

The “great reset” is just another phrase for “the new world order.” It is important to understand that the reset these people are talking about has actually been engineered and staged for many years. 

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2020/11/no_author/americas-economy-cannot-survive-another-lockdown-and-the-cult-of-the-reset-knows-it/

By Brandon Smith
Alt-Market

The U.S. economy has been on the verge of collapse for at least a decade, ever since the crash of 2008 and the subsequent explosion in fiat stimulus from the Federal Reserve. While the mainstream media has always claimed that central bankers “saved” us from another Great Depression, what they actually did was set us up for a far worse scenario — a stagflationary implosion of our society.

Here is the primary problem: By injecting trillions of bailout dollars into the system, the Federal Reserve prevented the economy from going through its natural purging cycle. This cycle would have been painful for many, but survivable, and it would have removed large amounts of excess debt, parasitic corporations that produce little or nothing of use, as well as numerous toxic assets with no legitimate value. For a real free market to function, weak or corrupt elements must be allowed to fail and die. Instead, central banks around the world and most prominently the Fed kept all of those destructive elements on life support.

This has created what amounts to a “zombie economy:” a system that needs constant outside support (stimulus) in order to continue moving forward. In the process of keeping zombie corporations and other parts of the body alive, healthy parts of the economy, like the small business sector, get devoured. Jenga Classic Game Check Amazon for Pricing.

The zombie economy is, however, highly fragile. All it takes is one or two major shocks to bring it down, and the moment this happens the whole facade will disintegrate, leaving the public in panic and disarray. This is what is happening right now in 2020, and it will get much worse in 2021.

Bailouts encourage and reward unhealthy financial behavior, and this is why national debt, corporate debt and consumer debt have recently hit historic highs. When every pillar of the economy is encumbered with the weight of debt, any instability has the possibility of bringing all those pillars down at once. The Federal Reserve turned the U.S. into an economic time bomb, and the Fed is itself more like a suicide bomber than some kind of fiscal savior.

The “Great Reset”

I first heard the term “global reset” or “great reset” back in 2014/2015. I wrote an article about how the reset was actually a long term process in my article The Global Economic Reset Has Begun. Christine Lagarde was the head of the IMF back then, and she mentioned it briefly in multiple interviews.

I made a mental note of it because it seemed planted into the discussion very awkwardly, as if it was scripted. I rarely heard it mentioned for years after that. In 2020, as we descend into social and economic chaos, I’m seeing the phrase used everywhere in the media and by globalists.

Over the past decade, globalist institutions have come up with numerous phrases that seem to refer to a worldwide planned and dramatic shift in human society sometime in the near future. The “great reset” is just another phrase for “the new world order.” It is important to understand that the reset these people are talking about has actually been engineered and staged for many years. This is not something that just popped up in 2020 — they have been talking about it since at least 2014. And before that, they talked about the new world order, and “multilateralism,” and the “multi-polar world order,” and Agenda 2030, etc. Exploding Kittens Card… Buy New $9.99 (as of 06:08 EST – Details)

The reset is the catalyst phase of an agenda that has been in the works for a long time now. The goal, as they have openly admitted many times, is to centralize the entire globe into one monetary structure, one highly interdependent and socialized economy, and eventually one faceless and unaccountable governing body.

One of the biggest obstacles to the finalization of the reset and the formation of the new world order has been liberty-minded populations across the planet — most of all, the liberty-minded people within America. The U.S. has to be destabilized or eliminated; the old world order has to be brought down before the new world order can be introduced. The people have to be beaten down and desperate, so that when the globalists offer their “reset” as the solution, the people will gladly accept it without question — simply because they want the economic pain and uncertainty to stop.

A common statement made by globalists from Klaus Shwab at the World Economic Forum to the current Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, is that the coronavirus pandemic is the “perfect opportunity” to trigger the “great reset.” As globalist Rahm Emanuel is famous for admitting, in crisis there is opportunity to do things you were not able to do before.

In other words, when people panic in the face of crisis, they become easy to manipulate. And, if a crisis doesn’t happen naturally, then why not create a crisis from thin air and use that to cause panic?

Enter the economic lockdowns…

The lockdowns have not only been proven to do nothing to stop the spread of the coronavirus, but they are also a clear attack on what’s left of our economic system. The small business sector in particular is being gutted as more than 60% of those that shut down during the first lockdown were unable to reopen. Small businesses provide more than half of all employment in the U.S.. When they collapse, the U.S. economy will have nothing left except the big-box corporations that the Fed put on life support over a decade ago. Throw Throw Burrito by… Buy New $24.99 (as of 06:08 EST – Details)

Real unemployment, which is already at 26%, will skyrocket even further if a second national lockdown is initiated. The speedy collapse of the U.S. economy will be assured, and the “great reset” can commence. At least, that is what the globalists want to happen…

With the U.S. presidential election currently being contested, it is hard to say how the next few months will play out in detail. As I have been pointing out since July, a contested election is the best possible scenario for the globalists because it creates a Catch-22 situation:

  1. If Trump stays in office, the political left will accuse him of usurping the presidency and there will be mass riots in the streets. Conservatives will be tempted with the idea of bringing in martial law to suppress rioters, and such measures will undermine the flow of the U.S. economy, causing its fragile structure to implode.
  2. If Biden enters the White House, then he will attempt a Level 4 lockdown similar to the lockdowns we have seen in Australia, France, Germany and the UK; perhaps even worse. Our economy will crumble, conservatives will revolt, and Biden will attempt martial law measures.

Either way, the globalists get their crisis, and therein their opportunity.

Surviving the lockdowns and deterring the globalists

Taco Cat Goat Cheese P… Buy New $9.99 (as of 06:08 EST – Details) But here is where things get less certain for the elites. If liberty-minded Americans organize immediately for security and mutual aid, we can defuse the Catch-22. If we provide for our own security within our own communities, there will be no rationale for Trump to institute martial law. Community security is an awesome deterrent against leftist rioting and looting, and basic economic trade can continue.

By extension, if we organize our own community security as well as localize our economies with barter and trade, we also act as a deterrent to Biden and any ideas he might have of enforcing national lockdowns. The point is, we can’t allow the globalists to dictate the terms of the crisis. We must act to change the rules of the game.

The reset is not a natural inevitability, it is a con, a trap. No matter how bad the crisis in our nation becomes, it is the people — namely the liberty-minded people — who will determine the future, not the globalists. Their plan relies on our panic. Instead of panic, let’s show them a unified front and a plan of our own.

This article was written by Brandon Smith and originally published at Birch Gold Group

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John McCain won the 2020 election

Posted by M. C. on November 25, 2020

Tom Wood’s Law still holds: “No matter who you vote for, you always get John McCain.”

https://mailchi.mp/90c62d766607/john-mccain-won-the-2020-election?e=de2d0eded6

A team of grifters, with Kevin Gosztola
Democrats are getting ready to paint a rainbow flag on the side of their predator drones. Biden’s new team is a diverse group of warmongers.

We have to ask “what happened to the anti-war left?” when we look at the members of Biden’s transition team.

You may not know their names, but Biden’s team includes people who Supported the Iraq war Supported the Libyan war Want to arm Ukrainians against Russia Want to increase sanctions against Russia Work for JP Morgan Chase Defend drone-bombing American citizens and their kids “Liberal identity politics is really going to get us all killed… they’ll suggest you’re misogynist or racist to criticize them because they’re involved in warmongering.”
—Kevin Gosztola In addition there’s Kamala Harris who wants to “stand with civil society and pro-democracy partners in Syria,” which translates to funding Al-Qaeda and fighting alongside them.

Biden’s team also includes the people behind Facebook’s and Twitter’s censoring of accounts and adding warning labels to the posts of their critics.  “I don’t want somebody coming in and telling me I can’t see something because there are lies in it. I want to be able to determine myself if someone is telling the truth or not.”  —Kevin Gosztola Tom Wood’s Law still holds: “No matter who you vote for, you always get John McCain.”

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Being Pro-union Means Being Antiworker | Mises Wire

Posted by M. C. on November 24, 2020

Union “rights” already delete workers’ freedom to associate with a different union, to choose alternative forms of group representation, such as voluntary unions, and to represent themselves in negotiations with employers. They delete workers’ freedom to associate with nonunion employers or to resolve workplace issues directly with employers, forcing arrangements exclusively through unions.

The PRO Act would exacerbate all those denials of workers’ freedom of association. It would repeal right to work laws, which twenty-seven states have to protect workers from being forced to join a union and pay union dues involuntarily. It would require employers to provide private employee information (including cell phone numbers, email addresses, and work schedules) to union organizers, violating the associational rights of those who don’t want to join or be approached by unions

https://mises.org/wire/being-pro-union-means-being-antiworker

Gary Galles

After becoming the apparent president-elect, Joe Biden clearly promised to unify Americans. However, that promise was in sharp contrast to what his campaign promises would actually achieve.

Granting unions their fondest wishes is clearly part of Biden’s labor policy, as illustrated by his statement that “I am a union man. Period” in his 2019 campaign-opening speech and his website’s opposition to the “war on organizing, collective bargaining, unions, and workers” under the current administration. And International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) president Lonnie Stephenson asserted a Biden administration would advance unity because it would be “a win for all working people.”

The problem is that Biden’s support for unions, particularly the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which is the primary means of granting their wishes, would help unions at the expense of the vast majority of American workers, a major blow to unity.

The PRO Act passed this February in the Democrat-controlled House but without Republican-controlled Senate approval. Carl Horowitz wrote that it would “dismantle virtually every existing safeguard against union monopoly in the private-sector workplace.” Eric Boehm described it, it is a “veritable grab bag of policies that labor unions have been pushing Congress to pass for years,” to further advantage unions at the expense of others’ freedom of association.

Unions already deprive many Americans of their freedom of association. As the Supreme Court found in Janus, unions inflict a “significant impingement on associational freedoms that would not be tolerated in other contexts.”

Union “rights” already delete workers’ freedom to associate with a different union, to choose alternative forms of group representation, such as voluntary unions, and to represent themselves in negotiations with employers. They delete workers’ freedom to associate with nonunion employers or to resolve workplace issues directly with employers, forcing arrangements exclusively through unions.

They delete employers’ freedom to not associate with unions or to solely employ workers who have no union involvement. In heavily unionized industries, they undermine consumers’ freedom to associate with lower cost, nonunion producers and force taxpayers to face higher-cost government services as a result of government employee unions. In each of these ways, freedom of association is applied only as a special privilege for unions and denied to others.

Further, unions violate the most basic freedom of association of many current union members. Many have never been given the right to vote on unionization, and those who might try are often kneecapped. That is because once a majority of the workers for an employer votes to certify a particular union, it becomes the monopoly negotiator for all workers. No further elections need ever be held, and attempts are strewn with roadblocks. So workers added after a union is certified need never be given a vote on the union, those who voted for it need never be given a chance to reconsider. That means no one who started work in GM’s Michigan plants since 1937 has voted to certify their union, and virtually no one who started work in government within the last half century has either, revealing that even union workers’ freedom of association is also a victim.

The PRO Act would exacerbate all those denials of workers’ freedom of association. It would repeal right to work laws, which twenty-seven states have to protect workers from being forced to join a union and pay union dues involuntarily. It would require employers to provide private employee information (including cell phone numbers, email addresses, and work schedules) to union organizers, violating the associational rights of those who don’t want to join or be approached by unions. It would allow unions to initiate snap elections in nonunion workplaces more rapidly, limiting opponents’ ability to present opposing positions. And it would codify “card check” elections, eliminating the protections against coercion provided by a secret ballot.

It would allow the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to invalidate a vote against unionization for virtually whatever what it decides was “employer interference.” It would require contractors and franchisees to bargain with unions, regardless of whether they have control over wages, benefits, etc., outlaw employment arbitration clauses, authorize “secondary boycotts” by unions against companies maintaining a business relationship with a target company, and more.

Far from unions benefiting all workers, advancing unity, they actually create disunity not only by constricting workplace competition, but by denying many others their freedom of association. Further, those denied that fundamental right include many union members, whose interests unions supposedly represent. And the PRO Act that Joe Biden is all in for will increase the discriminatory treatment of Americans. That is an odd way to advance our unity, regardless of the words claiming otherwise. Author:

Gary Galles

Gary M. Galles is a professor of economics at Pepperdine University. He is the author of The Apostle of Peace: The Radical Mind of Leonard Read.

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MMT Explained with Dr. Robert Murphy | Mises Institute

Posted by M. C. on November 24, 2020

https://mises.org/library/mmt-explained-dr-robert-murphy

Robert P. Murphy

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Authors:

Contact Jeff Deist

Jeff Deist is president of the Mises Institute. He previously worked as chief of staff to Congressman Ron Paul, and as an attorney for private equity clients. Contact: email; Twitter.

Contact Robert P. Murphy

Robert P. Murphy is a Senior Fellow with the Mises Institute. He is the author of many books. His latest is Contra Krugman: Smashing the Errors of America’s Most Famous Keynesian. His other works include Chaos Theory, Lessons for the Young Economist, and Choice: Cooperation, Enterprise, and Human Action (Independent Institute, 2015) which is a modern distillation of the essentials of Mises’s thought for the layperson. Murphy is cohost, with Tom Woods, of the popular podcast Contra Krugman, which is a weekly refutation of Paul Krugman’s New York Times column. He is also host of The Bob Murphy Show.

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Tony Blinken: the good, the bad, and potentially ugly – Responsible Statecraft

Posted by M. C. on November 24, 2020

Blinken maintains that the failure of U.S. policy in Syria was that our government did not employ enough force. He stands by the false argument that Biden’s vote to authorize the invasion of Iraq was a “vote for tough diplomacy.” He was reportedly in favo of the Libyan intervention, which Biden opposed, and he was initially a defender and advocate for U.S. support for the Saudi coalition war on Yemen. In short, Blinken has agreed with some of the biggest foreign policy mistakes that Biden and Obama made, and he has tended to be more of an interventionist than both of them.

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2020/11/23/tony-blinken-the-good-the-bad-and-potentially-ugly/

Written by
Daniel Larison

President-elect Biden has reportedly chosen his longtime foreign policy adviser Antony Blinken as his nominee for Secretary of State. Blinken had previously served as Biden’s national security advisor when Biden was vice president, and he was also deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration. It was always a given that Blinken would be receiving one of the top jobs on Biden’s national security team, and the president-elect is expected to announce his choice for repairing the State Department on Tuesday.

Blinken is a respected, credentialed member of the Democratic Party’s foreign policy establishment, and his record is accordingly mixed. While advocates of restraint will find a few cautiously hopeful notes in his appointment, there are other things that should give us pause.

Like Biden, Blinken has been and remains a strong supporter of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 nonproliferation agreement that restricted Iran’s nuclear program that was by most accounts successful until President Trump withdrew from the pact two years ago. Blinken has said that a Biden administration would reenter the deal as the basis for pursuing a follow-on agreement with Iran. He also supports extending the New START treaty with Russia that would cap and reduce our respective nuclear stockpiles, so his appointment is a positive signal that the Biden administration will keep the remaining arms control treaty alive for the next five years. 

Blinken is respected internationally, and he will be in a good position to repair many of the relationships that were fractured by Mike Pompeo’s reckless swaggering. It will be refreshing to have a secretary of state who values the work of the department he will be leading instead of working overtime to wreck it and demoralize its diplomats as Pompeo has done. Insofar as repairing and rejuvenating the State Department will be one of the main tasks for the next secretary, Blinken is eminently qualified to do it.

When it comes to questions of military intervention, Blinken’s record is much less reassuring. According to journalists Robert Wright and Connor Echols, who have created a system for grading Biden’s possible appointees against a standard of progressive realism, Blinken’s support for military restraint has been quite poor. 

Blinken maintains that the failure of U.S. policy in Syria was that our government did not employ enough force. He stands by the false argument that Biden’s vote to authorize the invasion of Iraq was a “vote for tough diplomacy.” He was reportedly in favo of the Libyan intervention, which Biden opposed, and he was initially a defender and advocate for U.S. support for the Saudi coalition war on Yemen. In short, Blinken has agreed with some of the biggest foreign policy mistakes that Biden and Obama made, and he has tended to be more of an interventionist than both of them.

The war on Yemen is an important example of how Blinken started off with a terrible position, but seems to have learned from that mistake. In 2015, Blinken was defending the Obama administration’s disastrous decision to back the intervention in Yemen. Like many other former Obama officials, Blinken has changed his view of the policy that Obama started. More recently, he was one of many leading former Obama administration officials to sign a letter in 2018 in support of the effort to end U.S. involvement in the war. Biden has pledged to end U.S. support for the Saudi coalition, and together with Blinken’s changed position, it suggests that there is good reason to expect that this will happen early in the new year. Yemen will be the most important early test to determine whether Biden and Blinken can make a clean break with the errors of both the Obama and Trump administrations.

While there are encouraging signs that a Biden administration will undo some of the outgoing administration’s more harmful policies, Biden and Blinken remain wedded to an overly ambitious and costly strategy of primacy, however. When Blinken co-wrote an article with Robert Kagan in early 2019, he dismissed alternative foreign policy visions that called for the United States to scale back its role in the world. They blow off arguments for restraint on the grounds that it would repeat the errors of the 1930s.

On the issue of Syria, Blinken and Kagan asserted that the United States “made the opposite error of doing too little.” That is a disturbingly hard-line interventionist view to hold so many years after the war in Syria began. They called for the “judicious use of force,” but it seems impossible to square that with a belief that Washington should have intervened more forcefully in the Syrian nightmare. If a similar crisis occurs in the coming years, it seems likely that Blinken will be among those urging Biden to use force.

There is no question that having Blinken as secretary of state will be a huge improvement over the current occupant of that office. After four years of demoralization and terrible leadership, the department can begin to recover from the damage that has been done to it. It’s also clear that Blinken was a better choice than some of the others that Biden could have picked. Advocates of restraint may find Blinken to be receptive to some of our arguments on certain issues, but we should also be prepared to hold him accountable if he endorses more misguided interventions in conflicts where the U.S. has no vital interests.   

Written by
Daniel Larison

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Covid-19 Is a Hoax Leading to the Centralization of Control: ‘The Great Reset’ Is the Real Pandemic – LewRockwell

Posted by M. C. on November 24, 2020

There are many agendas being pursued by the self-claimed elites, but the core element of this takeover of society is based on centralizing all power in the hands of the few so that the masses and the world economy can be controlled from the top. This has always been about power and control, and has never been about any risk due to any virus.

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2020/11/gary-d-barnett/covid-19-is-a-hoax-leading-to-the-centralization-of-control-the-great-reset-is-the-real-pandemic/

By Gary D. Barnett

“Every time I hear a political speech or I read those of our leaders, I am horrified at having, for years, heard nothing which sounded human. It is always the same words telling the same lies. And the fact that men accept this, that the people’s anger has not destroyed these hollow clowns, strikes me as proof that men attribute no importance to the way they are governed; that they gamble – yes, gamble – with a whole part of their life and their so called ‘vital’ interests.”

 ~ Albert Camus (1978). “Notebooks, 1935-1942”, Harcourt

Is it any wonder that the entirety of our current predicament rests on the lies of the governing system and its ruling accomplices? American governance, all governance in fact, is and has always been susceptible to seeking power and control by means that prove very harmful to the general population. Conspiracy is always evident, and has led to abuses that have included theft, war, killing, imprisonment, torture, and in many cases genocide. In the U.S. today during this false flag event called a ‘virus pandemic,’ we have already seen massive theft in the form of multi-trillion dollar money printing, imprisonment of much of the country through lockdown and isolation mandates, killing of the old and innocent through criminal medical care or lack of medical care, medical martial law, and torture in that many died horrible deaths due to state regulations and procedures. This is a war, but in this case the war is openly being waged against the American public by the very government that most support. Americans have voluntarily allowed its existence, and this is a travesty.

What is likely unknown to most is that this nightmare is just beginning, while the average citizen is still thinking about or hoping for a return to ‘normal.’ Hope and prayer without action will accomplish nothing, but little if any mass dissent and disobedience are evident at this time. The reinstating and acceleration of the tyrannical measures we have seen to date are just around the corner, and with the ‘perfect storm’ of a very weak and unhealthy society with highly compromised immune systems, during what will probably prove to be an especially severe flu season, the sickness and death will all be blamed on a virus that has never been shown to exist. This is astounding, because this information is readily available for any that choose to see, but mass blindness seems to be a real risk we face today. This public blindness is due to ignorance and indifference, and that combination is a recipe for disaster.

There are many agendas being pursued by the self-claimed elites, but the core element of this takeover of society is based on centralizing all power in the hands of the few so that the masses and the world economy can be controlled from the top. This has always been about power and control, and has never been about any risk due to any virus. The fact that no such thing as ‘Covid-19’ has ever been isolated or identified, is staggering to say the least, but this ruse has been fully accepted by the herd, so much so that their very lives and livelihoods have been purposely destroyed due to voluntary compliance. Most have concentrated on being obedient slaves, while becoming fearful of their own family, friends, and neighbors in order to protect themselves from a ‘deadly virus’ that according to the perpetrators of this fraud has a stated survival rate of over 99.8%. In other words, there is no virus threat.

This conspiracy has but one main goal, and that is securing the centralization of power and control over all people and economies in order to achieve global dominance. It is being labeled as ‘The Great Reset,” as described by the very evil Klaus Schwab who is the founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. He is tied to Bill Gates, George Soros, and the rest of these inhuman monsters. His and the ruling class ‘elites’ plans for our future are ominous, and currently being accepting by the bulk of this pathetic society. Here are some of his predictions for 2030, which include the United States surrender to the United Nations:

  1. “You’ll own nothing” — And “you’ll be happy about it.”
  2. “The U.S. won’t be the world’s leading superpower”
  3. “You won’t die waiting for an organ donor” — They will be made by 3D printers
  4. “You’ll eat much less meat” — Meat will be “an occasional treat, not a staple, for the good of the environment and our health.”
  5. “A billion people will be displaced by climate change” – Soros’ Open Borders
  6. “Polluters will have to pay to emit carbon dioxide” – “There will be a global price on carbon. This will help make fossil fuels history”
  7. “You could be preparing to go to Mars” — Scientists “will have worked out how to keep you healthy in space.”
  8. “Western values will have been tested to the breaking point.” – “Checks and balances that underpin our democracies must not be forgotten”

He is also a proponent of transhumanism, and has said that nothing will ever return to the ‘broken’ sense of normalcy that prevailed prior to the crisis because the “coronavirus pandemic marks a fundamental inflection point in our global trajectory.” Schwab stated this even though admitting that: “Unlike certain past epidemics, COVID-19 doesn’t pose a new existential threat.” Covid-19 never existed, and never was a threat, but has been the tool used to advance a new world order, or as he calls it, the “Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

Concerning the melding of machines and humans, transhumanism, Schwab spells it out in more detail in “Shaping the Future of the Fourth Industrial Revolution:”

Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies will not stop at becoming part of the physical world around us—they will become part of us. Indeed, some of us already feel that our smartphones have become an extension of ourselves. Today’s external devices—from wearable computers to virtual reality headsets—will almost certainly become implantable in our bodies and brains. Exoskeletons and prosthetics will increase our physical power, while advances in neurotechnology enhance our cognitive abilities. We will become better able to manipulate our own genes, and those of our children. These developments raise profound questions: Where do we draw the line between human and machine? What does it mean to be human?

“We the people” are not a part of this agenda, and are not included in this planning of a new society. We are simply the cattle being prodded and used to sustain the masters. The public makes no decisions, as this plot for gaining technocratic control over all of us has been in the works for many years, but is now going forward at an unimaginable pace, all due to the Covid lie. Everything was planned long ago in secret, but now is being completed and telegraphed out in the open for all to see. This is due to the fact that these manipulating rulers have no fear of the people at large, and believe them too lazy and ignorant to grasp the scope of this totalitarian takeover. Schwab admits this when he writes:

“We must re-establish a dialogue among all stakeholders to ensure mutual understanding that further builds a culture of trust among regulators, non-governmental organizations, professionals and scientists. The public must also be considered, because it must participate in the democratic shaping of biotechnological developments that affect society, individuals and cultures.”

This fake pandemic has supplied what the ruling class calls an opportunity for a reset of society. When the chosen masters call what they claim to be a deadly risk to all mankind an opportunity, one should stand up and take notice, and should immediately understand that we are all the victims of a terrible coup meant to enslave humanity.

Lockdowns, isolation, masks, economic destruction, digitized monetary restructuring, deadly vaccines, gene-controlling technology, transhuman experimentation, total surveillance, and a totalitarian police state are what the masters you have chosen want for all Americans. They are blatantly claiming that this is the new normal they have chosen for you, but you have a choice. Accept all you are being told and become a slave, or realize that the only pandemic is this claimed “Great Reset” that is being used to eradicate you. Acceptance can only lead to hell in a world consumed by evil.

Source links:

https://intelligence.weforum.org/topics/a1G0X000006OLciUAG?tab=publications

The Best of Gary D. Barnett Gary D. Barnett [send him mail] is a retired investment professional that has been writing about freedom and liberty matters, politics, and history for two decades. He is against all war and aggression, and against the state. He recently finished a collaboration with former U.S. Congresswoman, Cynthia McKinney, and was a contributor to her new book, “When China Sneezes” From the Coronavirus Lockdown to the Global Political-Economic Crisis.” Currently, he lives in Montana with his wife and son.

Visit his website.

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Democrats and Media Abandon Democracy – PaulCraigRoberts.org

Posted by M. C. on November 24, 2020

Matthew Brann, a federal district judge appointed by Obama, refused to accept Giuliani’s lawsuit against the Pennsylvania election fraud.  The judge was not content to deny the case a hearing.  He used the occasion for a propaganda attack, demonizing the lawsuit, based on affidavits from witnesses who signed under penalty of perjury, as “speculative accusations unsupported by evidence.”  The judge knows full well that affidavits are always evidence. 

https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2020/11/23/democrats-and-media-abandon-democracy/

Paul Craig Roberts

Michigan State Attorney General Dana Nessel has attributes of a Nazi.  She, like Washington Post columnist Randall D. Eliason, wants to falsely prosecute attorneys who represent those making challenges to the election. She also wants to prosecute election officials who refuse to certify until irregularities are properly dealt with, and she wants to prosecute Pennsylvania Republican state officials who met with Trump at the White House. In other words, Dana Nessel has proved herself unfit for any public office by her effort to weaponize law for her political agenda.

George Washington Law School professor Jonathan Turley discusses Dana Nessel’s attempt to coerce Republicans by threatening them with indictments. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/michigan-ag-calls-criminal-charges-against-gop-certifiers-who-wont-fall-line?utm_campaign=&utm_content=Zerohedge%3A+The+Durden+Dispatch&utm_medium=email&utm_source=zh_newsletter 

Matthew Brann, a federal district judge appointed by Obama, refused to accept Giuliani’s lawsuit against the Pennsylvania election fraud.  The judge was not content to deny the case a hearing.  He used the occasion for a propaganda attack, demonizing the lawsuit, based on affidavits from witnesses who signed under penalty of perjury, as “speculative accusations unsupported by evidence.”  The judge knows full well that affidavits are always evidence.  So we now have an Obama federal judge who for political purpose pretends to be thoroughly ignorant of law and not know that affidavits signed under penalty of perjury are always evidence.

 The presstitutes are not interested in Brann’s extraordinary pretense of utter ignorance, which if true would disqualify him as a judge.  Instead they are using his ignorant pronouncement as “proof” that the legal team has no evidence. https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/pennsylvania-judge-throws-out-trump-campaign-lawsuit?utm_campaign=&utm_content=Zerohedge%3A+The+Durden+Dispatch&utm_medium=email&utm_source=zh_newsletter 

Democrats, who share Dana Nessel’s determination to weaponize law and destroy democracy, are pushing Biden, if he becomes president, to prosecute Trump and his supporters.  Rep. Bill Pascrell, Democrat from New Jersey, declared that “Donald Trump along with his worst enablers must be tried for their crimes against our nation and Constitution.”  If this sounds like a South American banana republic, that is what the Democrats are turning us into. https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/526978-biden-faces-politically-thorny-decision-on-trump-prosecutions 

Attempting to prosecute Trump, of course, is what the Democrats have been doing for four years with Russiagate and Impeachgate without any evidence.  Clearly, the Democrats envison a one-party state under them in which the abuse of law for political purpose to which they are giving birth cannot, in turn, be used against them.  The Democrats are greasing the skids for America to become the most corrupt country on earth.  https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2020/11/22/the-dnc-an-american-politburo/ 

The New York Times has scaled new heights in Reality Denial. 

For several years the World Economic Forum, an elite organization, has been hyping the need for the “Great Reset” — https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2020/11/19/from-freedom-to-tyranny-the-world-economic-forums-great-reset/  The Great Reset requires tremendous authoritarian power.  

The elite organization has hosted meetings, the purpose of which is to make the Reset seem inevitable, and has a book published on the Great Reset.  The appearance of Covid was used as added reason for the Reset.  

But no sooner than Klaus Schwab, a leading exponent of the Great Reset, explained it to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs— https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/klaus-schwab-great-reset-will-lead-fusion-our-physical-digital-biological-identity –than the New York Times denied the very existance of such a thing, calling it a “far-right conspiracy theory” — https://summit.news/2020/11/19/ny-times-says-great-reset-is-a-conspiracy-theory-on-same-day-world-economic-forum-celebrates-it/ 

Perhaps the NY Times’ faux journalists—they don’t have any real ones—got confused, thinking that the word was getting out on an elite plot and moved to squash knowledge of the plot, not realizing that the WEF is hyping the Reset as part of the sell.  

Alternatively, we can conclude that the NY Times’ journalists and editors are so ignorant that they are unaware of the WEF’s big agenda item.  These are the same journalists and editors who are telling us that there is no evidence of election fraud and that America was racist at birth.

Americans are faced with a so-called Democrat political party that has abandoned America’s democratic ways. Democrats have made a power grab for ideological purposes that are hostile to principles such as election integrity which is essential for democracy.  Americans are also faced with the absence of a media that serves as watchdog and reports objectively.  Without objective reporting, Americans are denied the information that democracy requires to function. Instead, the media controls explanations for the Democrats that support the Democrats’ power grab.  The picture is clear that both Democrats and media have abandoned democracy because democracy is a check on their agenda. They value their agenda more than they value democracy, and they are going to force their agenda down our throats whether we want it or not.

According to polls, a majority of Americans believe the November 3 election was stolen by the Democrats— https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2020/11/21/30-of-democrats-believe-democrats-stole-the-election-and-75-of-republicans-think-so/ 

If the Democrats succeed with their theft, whatever is left of public confidence in American institutions will evaporate.  After Clinton’s lies, 9/11, Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction, Assayd’s use of chemical weapons, Iranian nukes, Russian invasions, Russiagate, Impeachgate, Covid, and now a stolen presidential election, confidence in government must be close to nonexistent.  When there is no confidence raw power takes over.  If Democrats get away with their theft of the election, we will have crossed the Rubicon.  

Some say there has always been voter fraud in American elections and ask what is new this time. What is new this time is election fraud on a national level with the appearance of a plot to create a one-party state.  What is new this time is the entirety of the media in support of the party that committed the election fraud.  What is new this time is the calls for prosecution of members of the defrauded party.  What we are witnessing is not only the suppression of evidence but also the prosecution of those who present it.

Despite the evidence of election fraud, the Democrats have a good chance to succeed with their theft.  First of all, we all know that the media will not present the case against the Democrats.  The media will continue to deny that hundreds of affidavits are evidence.  Most Americans will never hear the story of the extraordinary audacity that stole a presidential election.

Second, Trump is a populist, and few populists in America have ever succeeded at the national level.  Populists are in the way of the elite who have more money and more influence.  From the media’s perspective, Trump’s majority are “deplorables”–racists and misogynists who must be overthrown.  The fact that Trump is a Republican does not mean that he has the support of the Republican Party.  Republicans have just as many feet in the establishment as Democrats have.  To the establishment Trump is an outsider and, thereby, a potential threat to their interest, just as his intention to normalize relations with Russia was seen by the military/security complex as a threat to their budget and power.

The absence of any Republican Party support for Trump is obvious in the failure of the Barr Justice Department to bring (1) any indictments against the government officials who orchestrated the Russiagate hoax and committed federal felonies, (2) any indictments against Biden and his son for the corruption evidenced in Hunter Biden’s laptop in the hands of the FBI, and (3) the lack of any Justice Department interest in obvious election fraud backed up by hundreds of affidavits.

The Republican Establishment has hung Trump out to dry and is urging him to concede.

A minority of Republican voters themselves, although they regard the election as stolen, nevertheless believe that Trump should concede and thereby preserve the undeserved reputation of “American Democracy.”  These feeble-minded people think that it is not democracy itself that is at risk, but America’s reputation.

Over the course of my life I have watched the politicization of the federal judiciary.  Judges are no longer appointed because they are competent to interpret law according to the intent of Congress and the Constitution. They are appointed according to whether they do or do not support abortion, racial and gender quotas, homosexual marriage, open borders, amnesty for immigrant-invaders, the globalist agenda, and so forth.  The American judiciary is chosen according to which party’s agendas are ascendant.  This is the way countries are destroyed.

Consider:  if federal district judge Matthew Braun truly believed that Trump’s legal team’s Pennsylvania lawsuit is invalid, the partisan judge would accept the case and let its falsity be proven in court. What better way to dispose of the charge?  That he closed the court to the case despite majority opinion of the public that the election was stolen is proof that he knows the lawsuit is grounded in evidence.  So he suppresses the case instead of trying it.

When it is not only the Democrat Party and media who don’t respect evidence but also federal courts, the basis for evidence -based law no longer exists. Instead, law is based on power.  Who has power has the law.

The country that the Democrats and media are birthing will not know justice.

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Progressives Declare War on Asians, Meritocracy and STEM – Asian Dawn

Posted by M. C. on November 24, 2020

One bitter first-generation Asian-American parent vindictively stated, “On a brighter note, I know China, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore will completely destroy American companies when my children are my age because of these stupid policies. That gives me comfort. These idiotic Democrats will guarantee Asians will win—just not Asian-Americans….maybe we should go work for Asian-owned companies instead of giving our minds to Apple or Intel.”

https://www.asian-dawn.com/2020/11/19/progressives-declare-war-on-asians-meritocracy-and-stem/

November 18, 2020

Progressives all across America have declared war on Asians, meritocracy, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). Recently, the San Francisco Unified School District voted to replace their merit admissions process at Lowell High School, one of the best high schools in America and also happens to be 61% Asian, with a lottery-based system.

When Asian-American parents opposed the school district’s plans to enact its new “lottery” system in late October, the school district blasted the parents by stating they were “racist” and responsible for the “toxic culture” at the school. Parents were accused of furthering the “Asian supremacy” agenda by making their children work so hard; their children’s achievements were demoralizing African-American and Latino students.

One African-American parent stated it’s because of Asians hogging up all the spaces “Black people can’t catch up technologically because the ‘stupid Asians’ are keeping black people down out of fear they’d be overtaken.”

Lowell High School demographics. Image via US News

When one angry Asian-American parent responded “Trust me, you’ll never catch up. If you need to lower-standards to get in, you’ll never beat us,” a near physical fight broke loose.

Another Asian parent screamed, “First you blame white people, now you blame us!? Grow up! Study harder or go home!”

On Halloween weekend, about 100 families, students, alumni, and community members from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology stood on the grassy lawn in front of the school and held a symbolic memorial service for America’s No. 1 high school, according to Crushing the Myth.

“Remember the glory of TJ (Thomas Jefferson),” said Yuyan Zhou, a Chinese-American alumni mother, as her friends stood around her with awards and trophies that symbolized the school’s shining achievements.

Thomas Jefferson High School will no longer be the No. 1 school in America after abolishing their merit-based admissions to make way for more less-qualified and less-deserving African-American and Latino students who could not pass TJ’s entrance exam.

The Chinese American Parents Association of Fairfax County sent a three-page letter to the Fairfax County Board of Education, opposing the lack of “respect” that Asian-Americans have been facing in the debate over TJ admissions, according to Crushing the Myth.

Thomas Jefferson High School demographics. Image via Fairfax County Public Schools

Thomas Jefferson spent over 35 years building its reputation as a premier high school. But it only took 12 Democratic members of the Fairfax County School Board only 12 minutes and 11 seconds on Tuesday night, October 6, during an online meeting to kill the school, eliminating its race-blind, merit-based admissions test.See also

Around the same time parents at TJ found out race-blind tests were eliminated, members of the Boston Public School system in Massachusetts announced they were going to eliminate academic exams to the school district’s top three schools, including O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science. https://www.youtube.com/embed/eFHO_S3ITVM?feature=oembed

Boston school officials argued that STEM school’s racial demographics are “too white and too Asian and they’re both meeting or exceeding expectations at higher rates” than Black and Hispanic students and that’s not fair. The Boston Public School system calls their new plan “racial equity planning tool.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City is also planning to eliminate race-blind admissions for Stuyvesant High School and the Bronx High School of Science, citing “white supremacy” as the main factor for his quest—never mind the fact those high schools are more than 60 percent Asian.

Brave Asian Americans @placenyc_org rallied Fri to defend merit test to @StuyNY + top NYC high schools.

A girl from Bangladesh, 11, starts to speak.

A woman with Black Lives Matter tee steps in the way.

NOBODY gets between a child + education with mama + papa bears around. pic.twitter.com/FpcRIh8xWw— Asra Q. Nomani (@AsraNomani) October 24, 2020

One bitter first-generation Asian-American parent vindictively stated, “On a brighter note, I know China, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore will completely destroy American companies when my children are my age because of these stupid policies. That gives me comfort. These idiotic Democrats will guarantee Asians will win—just not Asian-Americans….maybe we should go work for Asian-owned companies instead of giving our minds to Apple or Intel.”

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Pandemics Are Over When the Public Decides They’re Over | Mises Wire

Posted by M. C. on November 23, 2020

We’ll ignore the creepy framing of the issue around how citizens have lamentably “grown accustomed to certain freedoms” like being able to leave one’s home. But Fenberg is right to think the public is unlikely to be nearly as compliant this time around.

Whether or not the presence of a disease presents an acceptable risk to “the public” depends on countless individual risk assessments.

https://mises.org/wire/pandemics-are-over-when-public-decides-theyre-over

Ryan McMaken

In Colorado, reported cases and hospitalizations of covid-19 patients are at higher levels than ever before. And yet politicians are worried that if they issue new stay-at-home orders, the public won’t obey them. For instance the Denver Post last week reported Colorado Democrats admitted the public isn’t listening very closely anymore:

[State senator Steve] Fenberg and many other state leaders are worried…about whether a stay-at-home order would even work this time around. People have grown accustomed to certain freedoms since the spring, and already there are some in the population resistant even to the least oppressive rules, such as wearing masks.

“They don’t want to have restrictive orders that people just entirely ignore,” Fenberg said. “Once you cross that line, that seriously, then it really starts to unravel, when people completely check out from following the orders.”

We’ll ignore the creepy framing of the issue around how citizens have lamentably “grown accustomed to certain freedoms” like being able to leave one’s home. But Fenberg is right to think the public is unlikely to be nearly as compliant this time around.

And what happens if Americans start acting as if there were no pandemic? Then, the pandemic is at a de facto end, even if “experts” insist that it is still a de jure reality.

Medical Pandemics vs. Social Pandemics

In other words, government agencies may issue declarations of when pandemics end, but as noted in the New York Times last May,

pandemics typically have two types of endings: the medical, which occurs when the incidence and death rates plummet, and the social, when the epidemic of fear about the disease wanes.

“When people ask, ‘When will this end?,’ they are asking about the social ending,” said Dr[.] Jeremy Greene, a historian of medicine at Johns Hopkins. In other words, an end can occur not because a disease has been vanquished but because people grow tired of panic mode and learn to live with a disease

This has happened before. During the 1957–58 Asian flu pandemic, for example, the public took little notice of the fact that the flu was especially virulent that year. It is now estimated that more than a hundred thousand died of the flu in the period, which would be the equivalent of 220,000 Americans today. Indeed, Americans continued to die from the Asian flu into the 1960 flu season and beyond. But as far as the public was concerned, there had been no pandemic that required staying home or closing schools.

[Read More: “Why Didn’t the 1958 and 1918 Pandemics Destroy the Economy?” by Ryan McMaken]

Many Americans are apparently already moving in that direction now. According to a new report this month from Gallup, the percentage of Americans saying they are “very likely” to shelter in place has fallen from 67 percent in late March to 49 percent as of November 1. The percentage of respondents saying they are “very unlikely” or “somewhat unlikely” to adhere to stay-at-home orders has doubled from 15 percent to 33 percent. Notably, this trend has occurred in spite of more Americans in the survey also saying they think the virus situation is “getting worse.” In other words, Americans don’t think the disease is about to go away, but less than half say it’s very likely they’ll be sitting at home.

At this point, it’s a fairly safe bet that even as more and more Americans conclude they can’t put their lives on hold indefinitely, government bureaucrats will continue to insist that the pandemic puts everyone at grave risk.

But the public and technocrats often function on different schedules. After all, sitting at home for months or even years may work for childless, white-collar intellectuals and bureaucrats who can easily work from home and need not worry about the social and emotional development of children and others in their care. But many others are likely to view that model of daily life as thoroughly untenable.

Moreover, many currently unemployed Americans—who number in the millions—may conclude that collecting unemployment checks indefinitely is not a satisfactory substitute for making a living the ordinary way.

Making Risk Assessments

All of this will go into calculating risk, and this is why the public’s recognized end to pandemics is often different from the “official” end. The public is made up of countless individuals who make their own risk assessments based on the available facts.

This also is why it’s impossible to declare with finality when “herd immunity” has been reached. As Michel Accad explained last month at mises.org:

while herd immunity may indeed be a real phenomenon that can take place under certain circumstances when populations are subjected to a contagious disease, it is important to recognize that herd immunity is not a concept that has any practical value for setting public health policy.

For one thing, there is no objective way to establish that herd immunity has been achieved, since a “stable” rate of new infection is a subjective notion. What is a stable or tolerable rate of infection for me may not be so for you.

Whether or not the presence of a disease presents an acceptable risk to “the public” depends on countless individual risk assessments.

With stay-at-home orders, on the other hand, government officials have taken it upon themselves to apply an arbitrary bureaucrat-enforced definition of acceptable risk. These officials insist they must have the power to force the public to retreat to their home until some central political authority has determined that the risk level has dropped to an acceptable level.

How Much Risk Are We Willing to Accept When Driving?

Governments have tried this in other contexts as well.

When it comes to highway safety, for instance, federal and state government agencies spent years trying to convince Americans that “55 saves lives” and that driving at slower speeds would save thousands of American lives per year.

This in itself was not an unreasonable goal, of course. Nowadays, more than thirty-eight thousand people die every year in crashes on US roadways. An additional 4.4 million are injured seriously enough to require medical attention, and auto accidents are the leading cause of death in the US for people aged 1–54.

[Read More: “What the Failed 55-MPH Speed Limit Law Tells Us about COVID Lockdowns” by Ryan McMaken]

A concerted effort to bring down highway deaths could save hundreds of thousands of lives over a single decade. Moreover, the act of driving on the highway—especially at high speeds—heightens the risk not only for one’s self but for other motorists as well. This means if Americans would consent to drive at slow speeds, wear helmets when driving, and refrain from driving for “nonessential” reasons, countless lives could be saved.

Yet, clearly, most Americans have long since concluded that maximizing safety on the highway isn’t worth the trouble, either to increase their own safety or the safety of others. Countless American drivers routinely drive at high speed. Some don’t even wear seat belts. Many people drive to the store or the movies when they could “be safe” by just staying at home. Yet these nonessential motorists continue to put others at risk in this manner.

Few Americans seem to regard this as a serious problem. Most everyone just accepts the risk of highway accidents as another part of life. 

The same thing, of course, has always occurred in the context of disease, and it is likely to occur in the context of covid-19. As time goes on, more and more Americans will simply accept that the risk of catching various diseases as a part of life. This long ago occurred with the flu which still kills tens of thousands of Americans per year.

When this does finally happen with most of the public in regards to covid-19, the pandemic will be de facto over, although many politicians and bureaucrats will no doubt disagree.  Author:

Contact Ryan McMaken

Ryan McMaken (@ryanmcmaken) is a senior editor at the Mises Institute. Send him your article submissions for the Mises Wire and The Austrian, but read article guidelines first. Ryan has degrees in economics and political science from the University of Colorado and was a housing economist for the State of Colorado. He is the author of Commie Cowboys: The Bourgeoisie and the Nation-State in the Western Genre.

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Pennsylvania Bars, Restaurants Not Allowed to Sell Alcohol After – Erie News Now | WICU and WSEE in Erie, PA

Posted by M. C. on November 23, 2020

Coulrophobia

Appearing for one, yes one night only.

They make Trump and Biden look like geniuses right before your eyes.

You thought it couldn’t be done! But you never met PA’s world famous Covid Clowns.

This authority extends to all local enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania. Local law enforcement received guidance on enforcement of the various COVID-19 orders in place from the Pennsylvania State Police through the PA Chiefs of Police Association.

Not exactly 911 material.

https://www.erienewsnow.com/story/42952196/pennsylvania-bars-restaurants-not-allowed-to-sell-alcohol-after-5-pm-wednesday-for-onenight-only-stayathome-advisory-issued

Image

Pennsylvania bars and restaurants will not be permitted to sell alcohol after 5 p.m. Wednesday for one-night only in an effort to prevent large gatherings Thanksgiving Eve and slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

It was one of several measures Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine announced Monday afternoon.

A stay-at-home advisory has also been issued and goes into effect Monday. Dr. Levine said this is not a shutdown order.

The state is also discouraging household gatherings among people who do not live together.

The state also said it is also stepping up enforcement of its public health orders. Anyone who does not comply with an order may be fined between $25 and $300.

Pennsylvania State Police, local law enforcement, personnel from the departments of Agriculture and State, and PA Liquor Control Board stores who interact with visitors will enforce the orders.

The size of all indoor and outdoor events and gatherings is also being further reduced.

School superintendents will need to affirm their districts are abiding by the rules in place. Any who cannot comply must move to full remote instruction.

Telework is mandatory unless impossible.

Full details

Requiring Strict Safety Measures in Our Schools

Summary: The Wolf Administration is requiring Pre-K to 12 public schools in counties that have been in the substantial transmission level for at least two consecutive weeks to commit to safety measures to ensure the safety and well-being of students and educators. If they choose not to, they must move to fully remote learning without all extra-curricular activities. As of Friday, Nov. 20, there are 59 counties in the substantial transmission level for at least two consecutive weeks.

Requirements for Pre-K to 12 public schools in substantial counties for at least two consecutive weeks:

  • Schools are mandated to comply with updated protocols if a COVID-19 case is identified in the school building.
  • By 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 30, chief school administrators and the governing body president/chair must sign an attestation form stating they have either transitioned to fully remote learning or are complying with the orders if they are conducting any in-person instruction while in the “substantial” range of transmission.
  • Those schools that do not sign or comply with an attestation are required to provide only fully remote learning and suspend all extracurricular activities as long as the county remains in the substantial transmission level.

“All of us have a responsibility to slow the spread of this virus so our children can stay or return to the classroom,” Gov. Wolf said.

Keeping Businesses, Customers and Employees Safe

Summary: The administration is revising and reissuing its orders to protect businesses, customers, and employees. This order will consolidate previous orders and includes reiterating cleaning and social distancing requirements, mandatory telework requirements unless impossible, and other safety measures.

  • Telework is mandatory unless impossible; safety measures required for businesses including cleaning, social distancing and masking.
  • Online sales and curbside pickup for all shopping are encouraged.

Furthermore, to help with enforcement of existing masking orders in businesses, the administration is introducing liability protection for all businesses that maintain in person operations and are open to the public. Businesses will receive immunity from civil liability only as related to the Secretary’s masking order given that individuals and entities are engaged in essential emergency services activities and disaster services activities when enforcing the order.

Strengthening Gathering Limitations

Summary: As Pennsylvania sees an increase in cases, the commonwealth is strengthening gathering restrictions. All large events and gatherings are now reduced until further notice. In addition, the retail food services industry, including bars, restaurants, and private catered events must end alcohol sales for on-site consumption at 5 p.m. on Nov. 25, 2020 only.

  • All indoor and outdoor events/ gatherings categories size limits will be reduced
  • New limits are as follows:

Maximum Occupancy Calculator for indoor events:

Maximum OccupancyAllowable Indoor Rate
0-2,000 people10% of Maximum Occupancy
2,001 – 10,000 people5% of Maximum Occupancy
Over 10,000 peopleNo events over 500 people

Maximum Occupancy Calculator for outdoor events:

Maximum OccupancyAllowable Outdoor Rate
0-2,000 people15% of Maximum Occupancy
2,001 – 10,000 people10% of Maximum Occupancy
Over 10,000 people5% of Maximum Occupancy – up to 2,500 people
  • Household gatherings are also advised against when attendees include non-household members as noted through the Secretary of Health’s Stay at Home Advisory.
  • To specifically address large crowds, on Nov. 25, 2020 only, all sales or dispensing of alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption at businesses in the retail food services industry, including bars, restaurants, and private catered events must end at 5 p.m. Indoor dining may continue, takeout is encouraged.

Empowering local government

  • The governor and Secretary of Health’s orders were issued pursuant to the authority granted to them under the law, and as such they have the force and effect of law. This authority extends to all local enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania. Local law enforcement received guidance on enforcement of the various COVID-19 orders in place from the Pennsylvania State Police through the PA Chiefs of Police Association.
  • Given the importance of local engagement, the Department of Health has provided recommendations for local municipal leaders, as well as county-wide leadership. While statewide mitigation steps are necessary, local leaders can implement their own orders, ordinances, or directives in order to protect health and safety as long as they are stricter than those mandated by the state. Additionally, counties and municipalities are authorized to enforce state law, including orders from the Secretary of Health or Governor.
  • Local leaders at all levels of government should exercise their authority and influence to support public health efforts that will protect residents and local economies. When local leaders engage, their constituents understand that they are supported in adopting and sustaining preventive behaviors.
  • The Department of Health has established thresholds representing low, moderate, or substantial community transmission of COVID-19, and corresponding actions that can be taken by county and municipal leaders. A county’s threshold may change week-by-week as incidence and percent positivity rates rise and fall. Leaders should implement more public health actions rather than fewer if their county is between thresholds. To determine level of community transmission, counties should use the Department of Health’s COVID-19 Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard. The Department of Health and the Department of Education use the same metrics to recommend instructional models for school leaders.
  • Recommendations for each level of community transmission include increased communication, collaborative planning, stricter directives, and working with school leaders.

Ramping Up Enforcement

Summary: Orders already in place and those announced today are all enforceable, and law enforcement and state agencies will be stepping up enforcement efforts, issuing citations and fines, and possibly regulatory actions for repeat offenders.

Given that this is a critical time for mitigation efforts and orders to be followed, the Wolf Administration is stepping up enforcement on the following orders:

  • Out of State Travel
  • Mask-wearing
  • Business Safety, including telework, occupancy, cleaning, social distancing
  • Restaurant Mitigation, including occupancy, masking, social distancing, self-certification
  • Gathering Limits
  • School Attestation and Mitigation
  • Orders are enforceable as a disease control measure under the Disease Prevention and Control Law. Citations may be written under the Administrative Code of 1929 71 P. S. § 1409 and/or the Disease Prevention and Control Law of 1955 35 P.S. § 521.20(a). The decision whether to issue a warning or a citation is made on a case-by-case basis and determined by the unique circumstances of each encounter.
  • Persons who fail to comply with an order may be fined between $25 and $300 dollars.
  • Enforcement agencies include the Pennsylvania State Police, local law enforcement, personnel from the departments of Agriculture and State, and PA Liquor Control Board stores who interact with visitors.

Because a component of enforcement is investigating complaints, the Department of Health, with assistance from other agencies, is bolstering its ability to receive and respond to complaints from customers and employees. The department will continue to investigate complaints provided via its webform and plans to use additional staff from other state agencies under the governor’s jurisdiction to process complaints.

Following a complaint about a business, the Department of Health will send a warning letter informing the business of the potential consequences, including fines and closure if the business is not compliant with the mitigation orders. If a business continues to receive complaints, it risks referral to the Pennsylvania State Police or regulatory agencies, further fines and possible closure.

“As Pennsylvanians, we have a responsibility to one another, to do what we can to protect each other and preserve the life we all love in this commonwealth,” Gov. Wolf said. “For those who refuse to do their part to protect their neighbors and communities and refuse to accept that their actions have consequences that cause pain and suffering for others, we will be stepping up enforcement of all of the public health orders Dr. Levine and I have put in place.

“We are in a very dangerous situation, and we need to work together to stop the spread of COVID-19 right now because if we give in to the virus, we will lose many more Pennsylvanians. And that is unacceptable.”

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