Chief justice temporarily blocks Title 42 end, indicates further action from court could come soon

Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday temporarily halted the Biden administration’s planned lifting of the anti-asylum Title 42 order, granting a so-called emergency appeal from a slate of Republican attorneys general. “So-called emergency appeal,” because the appeals court panel that had last week denied the GOP request noted that the group of 19 attorneys general had waited too long to file their request.

The Biden administration had planned to lift the debunked public health order that’s used the pandemic as an excuse to quickly deport asylum-seekers in violation of their rights Tuesday evening, following a lower court order. Roberts instructed the administration to respond by this evening, indicating more action could be imminent. Legal expert Mark Joseph Stern noted that Roberts’ administrative stay “does not hint at the eventual outcome.”

RELATED STORY: D.C. Court of Appeals panel rejects GOP effort trying to keep anti-asylum policy in place

Campaign Action

Republicans have simultaneously claimed that the Biden administration has an “open borders” policy while insisting that the Title 42 policy—which was implemented against the advice of public health experts by noted white supremacist Stephen Miller and Mike Pence at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020—must stay in place indefinitely. They have also insisted this public health order remain as they’ve consistently challenged other pandemic-related orders by the administration.

“The Biden administration, for its part, has insisted it is prepared to lift Title 42, saying the restoration of regular immigration procedures, such expedited deportations, will allow the U.S. to gradually reduce migrant arrivals and the high rate of repeat crossings recorded during the pandemic,” CBS News reported.

That last part is crucial: Title 42 in fact led to an increase in apprehensions, because desperate people blocked from their asylum rights and expelled have had no choice but to try again. It’s a failed policy, and its lifting would put our country back on the side of respecting U.S. and international asylum law. In a statement, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that as required by Roberts’ order, “the Title 42 public health order will remain in effect at this time and individuals who attempt to enter the United States unlawfully will continue to be expelled to Mexico.”

“While this stage of the litigation proceeds, we will continue our preparations to manage the border in a safe, orderly, and humane way when the Title 42 public health order lifts,” Mayorkas continued. “We urge Congress to use this time to provide the funds we have requested for border security and management and advance the comprehensive immigration measures President Biden proposed on his first day in office.”

House Republicans set to take power in the next Congress have indicated they’re serious about leading on immigration policy … by pushing a harebrained idea to impeach Mayorkas. Over what crimes? They haven’t figured that part out yet.

Vice President Kamala Harris similarly noted the need for lawmakers to lead on comprehensive immigration measures, and she called out for Republicans for failing to come to the table. They obsess on the issue of immigration only when it’s election season (my words, not hers). For example, a proposed framework that would have passed permanent relief for young immigrants in exchange for harsh border measures recently failed, derailed by Republicans’ “border first” excuses even though there was border stuff in there.

"I think that there is so much that needs to happen to address the issue," the vice president told NPR. "And sadly, what we have seen in particular, I am sad to say, from Republicans in Congress is an unwillingness to engage in any meaningful reform that could actually fix a lot of what we are witnessing.”

RELATED STORIES:

Biden admin set to lift anti-asylum Title 42 order next week, but GOP appeal may now delay that

'Arbitrary and capricious': In victory for asylum-seekers, judge orders end to Miller pandemic order

Testimony confirms Title 42 was never about public health, it was about deporting asylum-seekers

Biden Administration In ‘Active Conversation’ To Require COVID Test Before Domestic Flights

On Sunday, Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that the Biden administration is in active conversations with the CDC about requiring Americans to have a negative COVID-19 test before traveling by plane to another U.S. state.

Buttigieg made his comments during an Axios interview when the Democrat was asked what he thought “of requiring a COVID test before someone flies even domestically?”

RELATED: Dan Rather Says It May Have Not Been ‘Responsible’ To Air Commercials Of Crowds Maskless During Super Bowl

Buttigieg: ‘Going To Be Guided By Data, By Science’

“Well, there’s an active conversation with the CDC right now, what I can tell you is this going to be guided by data, by science, by medicine, and by the input of the people are actually going to have to carry this out,” Buttigieg replied.

The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana and 2020 presidential candidate continued, “But here’s the thing, the safer we can make air travel in terms of perception as well as reality, the more people are going to be ready to get back in the air.”

Buttigieg also argued that most Americans’ typical work schedule might be permanently changed due to the pandemic.

Buttigieg said we should start looking more closely at different types of transportation like “bikes, scooters, wheelchairs” because “roads aren’t only for vehicles.”

‘Mayor Pete’ Defends Keystone Pipeline Cancellation

“Mayor Peter” also defended President Joe Biden recently killing the Keystone Pipeline by executive order.

During Buttigieg’s Senate confirmation hearing, Sen. Ted Cruz pressed Buttigieg on that issue, asking, “So for those workers, the answer is somebody else will get a job?”

Buttigieg replied, “The answer is we are very eager to see those workers continue to be employed in good-paying union jobs, even if they might be different ones.”

RELATED: Trump Lawyer’s Demand Senate Impeachment Trial Be Dismissed, Top Dem Admits ‘Not Crazy To Argue’ It’s Unconstitutional

It’s safe to assume the many Americans put out of work by the Biden administration’s decision to axe the Keystone Pipeline XL might take a very different view.

Several unions have blasted the move.

Even the head of America’s largest labor union, the AFL-CIO, declared his disappointment.

“I wish he had paired that more carefully with the thing that he did second by saying, ‘Here’s where we’re creating jobs. We can do mine reclamation. We can fix leaks. We can fix seeps and create hundreds of thousands of jobs doing that stuff,’” AFL-CIO leader Richard Trumka said of the move.

The post Biden Administration In ‘Active Conversation’ To Require COVID Test Before Domestic Flights appeared first on The Political Insider.

President Trump Taunts Romney Over Coronavirus Test Results

President Donald Trump again taunted Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) Wednesday, this time over the results of his coronavirus test.

Romney announced on Tuesday that his test results came back negative, but would have to remain in quarantine for the remainder of an initial 14-day period.

“Thankfully I’ve tested negative for COVID-19,” the at-times Republican wrote to his followers on Twitter.

“Nevertheless, guidance from my physician, consistent with the CDC guidelines, requires me to remain in quarantine as the test does not rule out the onset of symptoms during the 14-day period,” he added.

Trump Just Can’t Resist

The President couldn’t resist taking a jab at Romney, firing off an early morning tweet laced with sarcasm over the “RINO’s” negative test results.

“This is really great news! I am so happy I can barely speak,” he quipped.

“He may have been a terrible presidential candidate and an even worse U.S. Senator, but he is a RINO, and I like him a lot!” Trump announced.

 

RELATED: Trump Responds To Romney Having To Self-Quarantine: ‘Gee, That’s Too Bad’

Can Barely Speak

While the President claims he can barely speak on the matter due to overwhelming joy, this is the second time he has trolled Romney over the serious effects of potentially being exposed to coronavirus.

Earlier this week, Romney announced that he would have to self-quarantine upon learning that Senator Rand Paul had become the first of his colleagues to test positive for coronavirus.

He explained that the two had “sat next” to each other “for extended periods in recent days.”

Trump responded, not by joking about the virus, but by joking about Romney having to be isolated.

“Romney is in isolation?” he asked a reporter. “Gee, that’s too bad.”

 

RELATED: Mitt Romney Accused Trump Of Being Unprepared For Possible Coronavirus Outbreak

Trump Mocks Avenatti Too

Romney has been a perpetual thorn in the President’s side, most recently suggesting Trump was ill-prepared for the coronavirus crisis.

This, despite the fact that many experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have said his actions very early on saved lives and will prevent the United States from going down the same path as Italy.

Not to mention Romney, around the same time Trump was taking precautions to protect America in late January, was joining Democrats in voting for the President’s impeachment.

Trump was really dishing out the sarcasm, as he also went after media-darling Michael Avenatti.

 

A judge rejected Avenatti’s plea for release from prison due to the coronavirus crisis. He was convicted for attempting to extort more than $25 million from Nike in February.

The post President Trump Taunts Romney Over Coronavirus Test Results appeared first on The Political Insider.

Republican leader puts out racist coronavirus tweet and gets demolished in the process

In lieu of doing their jobs to protect the American public, Republican Party officials are working very intensely to misinform the public, while also blaming China for COVID-19. One of the top GOP officials today is Republican House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California. You might remember his grotesque displays of fealty during the impeachment inquiry and trial of Donald Trump. If you know anything about Rep. McCarthy, you know that he will tow whatever party line Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump think up for him. And since the GOP’s brand these days is “Being racist assholes,” McCarthy decided on Monday to help out with the public health effort by tweeting out the government’s CDC.gov url along with this thinly veiled racist statement: “Everything you need to know about the Chinese coronavirus can be found on one, regularly-updated website:”

Fellow Californian and Democratic Rep. Katie Porter was justifiably pissed off at the leading GOP stooge.

Will stop spread of coronavirus: � washing your hands � staying home if you�re sick Won�t stop spread of coronavirus: � racism � xenophobia Delete this tweet, @GOPLeader. https://t.co/hd6VX3RuHo

— Rep. Katie Porter (@RepKatiePorter) March 10, 2020

The Trump administration and the Republican Party, having stripped down and rolled back Obama-era development of our CDC, and specifically our infectious disease research and response, is now trying to use the age-old defense that they shouldn’t be in trouble because it’s someone else who “started it.” Unfortunately, they have a racist base who will likely eat up this xenophobic handling of a public health crisis. But the Republican base is a minority in our country, and the majority of people know Rep. McCarthy is a craven prick. And the responses to his lack of leadership were fast and furious.

As one responder to McCarthy’s racism explains: this is just the same playbook we’ve seen out of these incompetent grifters for years now.

Racism is the GOP Trump card. Calling it a hoax didn�t work because people keep dying. Blaming it on Obama never got off the ground. We�re now at stage three: xenophobia.#CPACcoronavirus

— Chris Alexander (@hoos30) March 10, 2020

And here are some simple facts: 

w00f

— Liz Garbus (@lizgarbus) March 10, 2020

Our government is super racist: also they really suck at keeping US safe and prosperous.

— David Rothschild (@DavMicRot) March 10, 2020

Your swastika is showing � �

— ImpeachmentForDummies (@Canadiancentri2) March 10, 2020

Of course, maybe Kevin misspoke?

Kevin, you misspelled #CPACVirus also known as #TrumpVirus. Get your facts straight you racist asshole.

— Comfortably Numb (@YGalanter) March 10, 2020

Of course, here’s a side note reminder:

Vote for @KimMangone and dump treasonous �Steve� McCarthy! pic.twitter.com/RmSoPXT7kR

— Medusa (@MedusaSeesYou) March 10, 2020

And finally, the tragically comic reality of it all.

I live in the US. Is there a website for the American coronavirus? In particular is there info on the Republicans quarantined and potentially spreading it? pic.twitter.com/JSjWXiaVvU

— Rob Jackson (@muh_thoughts) March 10, 2020

And an honest piece of advice for the GOP Leader.

You're a racist, a coward, and a sycophant. Resign.

— Dr. Jack Brown (@DrGJackBrown) March 10, 2020

Man who visited China during coronavirus outbreak says he’s more afraid of being in the U.S.

Most Americans are holding their breath while we wait for the incompetence of our current administration and their gutted health infrastructure to catch up and reveal—by way of more comprehensive testing—how much COVID-19, caused by the coronavirus, has penetrated our country. Every day news cases are reported, new people are being monitored, but anyone paying attention to the news should understand that no one can fully know how many people are at risk. The anxiety has led to runs on supplies across the country, and a general unease about what we are, and are not, doing to take preventative measures. Business Insider interviewed a 36-year-old Bay Area man from Cupertino, California, who has been self-quarantined since returning from Kunming, China, on Feb. 2.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, explained that he arrived in China on January 25, when at least 217 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were publicly known. According to the man, the differences between his experience in China and in the U.S. are alarming.

Starting with the difference at the airports, the man explains that full-body screenings with infrared thermometers were performed at the Kunming airport while most people were wearing masks.* Upon his arrival at San Francisco International Airport, he says that no one was wearing masks and no one was taking temperatures. He waited for hours in customs before his temperature was taken, and according to the man, the paperwork he was asked to fill out was handwritten and photocopied. "They literally had no idea what they were doing."

He tells Business Insider that since he and his family were not experiencing symptoms of the virus, no testing was done. Instead, he was given a “verbal recommendation” to stay home for 14 days. If he were in China he would have been given a test and quarantined pending the outcome of that test. Most importantly, he said that the CDC never contacted him to see how he and his family were doing, and that the school where his son attended would not allow him to be excused, so the boy returned a day after returning from China. 

Luckily, it seems, he and his family were not carrying the virus. But the man has still considered returning to China simply because, "As someone who was in China during the initial outbreak/lockdowns and restrictions and seeing the situation develop here in the US I am 100x more concerned for my own safety during this crisis than I ever was in China."

Conservatives have held up passing much-needed funding in order to insure that pharmaceutical companies can price gouge. The president of the United States has continued to say stupid, misleading, and scientifically fictitious things in order to possibly keep the economy from going into a panic. Right-wing media has attempted to not directly communicate to their audience, instead they have pulled out their impeachment notebook to negate the problems we are facing in order to strictly attack the Chinese and Democratic leadership. Meanwhile, getting testing done, the first step toward figuring out the best way to handle containment of this problem, remains chaotic.

*While masks can help prevent the spread of the virus by individuals with the illness, it is not a prophylactic against infection.

Bloomberg Called Out During Interview For Lying About Trump’s Coronavirus ‘Hoax’ Comments

Michael Bloomberg was called out by reporter Scott Pelley during a ’60 Minutes’ interview for spreading a lie about President Trump’s comments on the coronavirus.

Pelley, a CBS News reporter, asked Bloomberg for his thoughts on the coronavirus emergency. The Democrat candidate for President responded by spreading his own hoax.

“I find it incomprehensible that the president would do something as inane as calling it ‘a hoax,” Bloomberg falsely claimed.

Pelley stepped in to correct Bloomberg, who didn’t even bother to admit he had misspoken.

“He said the Democrats making so much of it is a Democratic hoax, not that the virus was a hoax,” Pelley explained.

To rehash – Bloomberg lied about the President’s comments, then accused Trump of being “inane,” “ignorant,” and “irresponsible.”

Pot, meet kettle.

RELATED: Trump Hammers ‘Incompetent’ Pelosi For Trying to Politicize Coronavirus

Democrat Hoax

Fascinating, isn’t it, that President Trump would call hysteria over the coronavirus generated by Democrats and the media a hoax, and they would proceed to prove his point by flat-out lying about what was said.

Here’s the reality.

Trump told supporters at a campaign rally that the resistance party would do everything in their power to use the coronavirus emergency as a means to take him down – similar to the Russia collusion witch hunt.

“Now, the Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus,” Trump said.

He added, “One of my people came up to me and said, ‘Mr. President, they tried to beat you on Russia, Russia, Russia.’ That didn’t work out too well. They couldn’t do it. They tried the impeachment hoax. And this is their new hoax.”

RELATED: Cher Spreads Fake News Story Alleging That Trump Described Coronavirus As A ‘Hoax’

Not Mini-Mike’s First Lie, Probably Not His Last

Having a reporter call you out in the middle of a ’60 Minutes’ interview for being a liar isn’t the first time Bloomberg has been embarrassed on the national stage.

It’s not even the first time a normally Democrat-cooperative media has called him out for lying about the coronavirus itself.

Just last week, the Associated Press fact-checked Bloomberg along with other Democrat colleagues for distorting the truth about the Trump administration’s preparedness in dealing with coronavirus.

“There’s nobody here to figure out what the hell we should be doing,” Biden said during a debate. “And he’s defunded — he’s defunded Centers for Disease Control, CDC, so we don’t have the organization we need. This is a very serious thing.”

Not so, according to the AP.

“Bloomberg is repeating the false allegation in a new ad that states the U.S. is unprepared for the virus because of ‘reckless cuts’ to the CDC,” the AP reports.

“Trump’s budgets have proposed cuts to public health, only to be overruled by Congress, where there’s strong bipartisan support for agencies such as the CDC and NIH,” they added. “Instead, financing has increased.”

The post Bloomberg Called Out During Interview For Lying About Trump’s Coronavirus ‘Hoax’ Comments appeared first on The Political Insider.

The Coronavirus: Is it Time to Panic?

By LifeZette Staff | January 31, 2020

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ve probably read all the front-page headlines about a deadly outbreak that started in China and has been working it’s way into other areas of the world despite great efforts to contain it.

In fact, last Thursday the World Health Organization declared it a “global health emergency,” and at the press of a button, it seems, has started quite the world-wide panic…

But what are the facts?  Should you be concerned, and just how deadly is this new virus?
Well, as it turns out this new apocalyptic contagion is about as dangerous as the common flu.

RELATED: World Health Organization Declares Coronavirus a Global Health Emergency

Dr. Trish Perl, chief of infections diseases and geographic medicine at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center says, “So far the mortality rate for the virus is about the same as a bad year of the flu.”

So basically it’s just a different strain of the common flu?
Yeah, pretty much!

According to the CDC, the worst symptoms associated with the virus include Fever, Cough, and possible Shortness of breath.  Other symptoms that could arise are runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat, fever, and maybe a general feeling of being unwell.

What you won’t hear from the news, or many official health sources, is information about how long the symptoms last.  I find that rather interesting because the coronavirus does not kill the vast majority of the people it infects.

Telling people that the virus is similar to the common flu and will most likely put you in bed for a week and then you’ll be fine, could calm the panic that they’ve started and that might be a little too anti-climatic for them.

If you read closely you’ll see first world countries are at little risk.  World health officials have noted several times that the highest risks were for countries with less sophisticated health care systems.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization commented at a recent press conference, “Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems, and which are ill-prepared to deal with it.”

I don’t mean to take anyone’s health issues lightly, especially something like a virus that has taken human lives, but I also think it’s important to understand the reality of the situation.  And the fact is, if you are healthy and have a normal functioning immune system there is no need for panic.

The coronavirus has claimed about 140 lives at the time of this writing.  A life is a life, and I send my prayers and condolences to their loved ones.

What should you be worried about?
Even though 140 lives lost is a tragedy, it’s important for us to keep a perspective and understanding of what the most dangerous health risks are and what we should be doing to avoid them.  …If you live in an industrialized country like America, chronic disease is the real epidemic!

RELATED: Coronavirus Spreading: Flights Canceled, Four U.S. States Affected

This year alone worldwide, heart disease will claim 17.9 million lives, cancer 9.6 million lives, and diabetes 2.2 million lives.  Those are scary numbers!

The epidemic of chronic disease is nowhere near being contained. Currently 1.9 BILLION adults are overweight or obese.  These people are at great risk for developing heart disease, cancer and diabetes if they don’t already have it.

I don’t mean to frighten you, but the most dangerous diseases are already here in this country.  They are not spread by air-borne transmission, but by sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, and lack of exercise.

Dr. Tabor Smith, DC is the Executive Producer of A Better Way, the Feature-length documentary film. You can learn more about this film at www.abetterwayfilm.com

This piece originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

Read more at LifeZette:
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The post The Coronavirus: Is it Time to Panic? appeared first on The Political Insider.

Coronavirus Spreading: Flights Canceled, Four U.S. States Affected

By David Kamioner | January 29, 2020

Like a sequel to the film “Outbreak,” the Chinese coronavirus is spreading due to airline travel and has the potential to go viral.

There are 100 active cases in Washington state, Illinois, Arizona, and California. 27 states are being closely monitored for the disease. There are 17 countries outside of China that have reported cases.

In China there are 6000 cases that have resulted in 130 deaths. The Chinese government has quarantined 50 million people in 15 cities and villages.

RELATED: China Dismisses U.S. Help on Coronavirus

American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta have all canceled or rescheduled flights to China. British Airways has done the same and a plane bound to Canada from China was diverted to March Air Force Base in California so the passengers could undergo medical testing.

Online, there have actually been those who mistakenly believe Corona beer has something to do with the virus. They would be wrong. It’s Miller.

Ok fine, that’s not true. It’s Coors.

I’m told by Legal the virus has nothing to do with any beer. They are no doubt correct. Thanks guys. My jokes are lame enough without shyster intervention.

In absolutely non-joke data, the Washington Times reported Sunday that an Israeli Intel biological warfare analyst thinks the virus may be linked to a Chinese biowarfare program based in the virus epicenter of Wuhan City, China.

In a further nod to “Outbreak,” the Chinese internet is already rife with rumors that the virus was developed by the U.S. to attack China with germ warfare. The Chinese internet is almost completely controlled by the Chinese government.

Dany Shoham, who served with Israeli Intel, says the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the only publicly acknowledged center of virology in all of China, could have been involved with the coronavirus.

RELATED: Supreme Court Allows Trump to Restrict Green Cards For Immigrants Abusing Welfare Benefits

He commented to the Times, ““Certain laboratories in the institute have probably been engaged, in terms of research and development, in Chinese [biological weapons], at least collaterally, yet not as a principal facility of the Chinese BW alignment…In principle, outward virus infiltration might take place either as leakage or as an indoor unnoticed infection of a person that normally went out of the concerned facility.”

The U.S. CDC is closely watching the situation.

This piece originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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The post Coronavirus Spreading: Flights Canceled, Four U.S. States Affected appeared first on The Political Insider.

DEVELOPING: China Dismisses U.S. Help on Coronavirus

By David Kamioner | January 28, 2020

The global coronavirus that has killed over 100 people and sickened thousands across national borders has the potential to jump from China to become a worldwide pandemic.

Thus you’d think the Chinese government would want the aid of the most advanced medical organization in the world, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nope.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar told media that the Chinese have refused more than one offer of help from the U.S. to send CDC officials to China to assist in fighting the outbreak.

RELATED: Supreme Court Allows Trump to Restrict Green Cards For Immigrants Abusing Welfare Benefits

The authoritarian Chicom regime is sensitive about losing face to the Americans and admitting its health programs are not up to Western standards. It also likely thinks the U.S. mission would be filled with U.S. Intelligence operatives.

Hopefully, they would be right.

Azar went on to say the virus is possibly a “very serious public health threat” but that currently the threat in the U.S. is low.

At public places in DC, as students from the virus ground zero in China’s Wuhan province are close to the area in Falls Church, VA, thousands of workers and tourists yesterday could be seen wearing surgical masks as they made their way around the city.

This piece originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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The post DEVELOPING: China Dismisses U.S. Help on Coronavirus appeared first on The Political Insider.