New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio took a victory lap today in celebration of losing 9,000 municipal workers and first responders as the deadline for taking the mandatory vaccination has lapsed. More than 2,000 of the city’s 11,000 uniformed firefighters have taken sick days in the week leading up to the mandate going into effect.

“New York City’s fire department is lagging behind its fellow city agencies on vaccinations, with the mayor confirming at a press conference that the fire department had the lowest vaccination rate of select city agencies, at 77 percent as of Monday.” (read more)

(more…)

A major win for police union members in the Chicago area.   Citing an irrevocable harm that has no possibility for reversal if enacted, a judge has blocked the City of Chicago from enforcing a vaccine mandate for unionized police members.

CHICAGO – “A Cook County judge on Monday suspended the city of Chicago’s policy requiring that all of its police officers be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of the year.

The ruling is a major victory for police unions, who have held that the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate violates their collective bargaining agreements. Judge Raymond Mitchell ruled Monday that the mandate should be halted for police officers until those complaints can be settled in arbitration.

…[T]he judge said there would be no possible remedy after the mandatory deadline if the policy was ultimately found to violate the collective bargaining agreements.

“If every union member complied and was vaccinated by December 31 … they would have no grievance to pursue and there would be no remedy an arbitrator could award,” the judge wrote in his order. “An award of back pay or reinstatement cannot undo a vaccine. Nothing can.” (read more)

(more…)

As we have continued to point out, a federal vaccine mandate might sound like a good idea on a think tank, academic or white-paper policy level of consideration; but on a practical level, wiping out a large percentage of your most productive workforce over a vaccine mandate is unworkable, and might even end the operation of the entire business.

That is the message today within an article written by Politico about several large federal contractor companies warning the White House they may need to drop their federal contracts because they simply will not be able to continue business operations if they lose their unvaccinated workforce on December 8th.

Thus the power of the blue-collar workforce is being recognized:

WASHINGTON DC – Objections among certain vendors over President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for federal contractors are reaching an inflection point. As the deadline for workforce vaccination approaches, some trucking companies are mulling whether to end their work with the federal government altogether, according to two industry insiders.

In an interview, the American Trucking Associations’ executive vice president for advocacy Bill Sullivan told POLITICO that some companies may simply decide that the cost of the mandate is not worth the government’s checks. Sullivan said he has raised concerns to the White House, Office of Management and Budget and other executive branch officials. He noted that if companies drop their contracts, it may be harder to get certain foods to troops, transport fuel for military vehicles, or even deploy the National Guard.

(more…)

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared on the DC narrative shaping program hosted by swamp gatekeeper Chris Wallace.  Within the interview Buttigieg was questioned about why West Coast port backups are worse now than before the White House announced their solution to operate ports 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Buttigieg proclaimed the ports are being impacted by the pandemic, and ships stuck in China are the reason why ships are sitting off the coast of California.   Yeah, try to square that circular logic.  LOL.  The scale of incompetence, even in common sense politispeak, is off the charts.  The illogical statements by this guy are legendary; however, he outdid himself today.

Eventually Pete weaves his way through fourteen nonsensical catch phrases to get to a point where he proclaims nothing in the supply chain will start being more efficient until everyone is vaccinated.  And yes, it appears that he is so stuck in pretzel-speak, Buttigieg actually believes that.

All of that said, I wouldn’t post this for review if it wasn’t for the ‘hard-hitting‘ segment from Wallace that comes right after.  You just gotta watch (prompted):

.

The southern border is in crisis, food inflation is skyrocketing, transportation and logistical supply chains are a mess because of emissions and regulation, store shelves are empty, gasoline is ridiculously expensive, the blue-collar working class is getting crushed, the vaccination mandate is wreaking havoc on jobs, airlines and employment for first responders, overall national anxiety is at a high point, the economy is in a free-fall and two-thirds of all Americans now say the administration is incompetent.  Along comes Chris Wallace with the hard-hitting question about what Pete and his husband are doing with their twins for Halloween.

Lets Go Brandon !

(more…)

Posted without comment… (source)

The bad news is this is an NBC poll conducted by Mark Murray and Hart Research and Associates.  They are notorious for manipulative media polling [Use Site Search Function for More].  The good news is this is an NBC/Mark Murray poll, meaning if this is the best Murray and Hart Research can come up with, the reality of the situation is exponentially worse.  [Polling pdf Here]

The data within the poll, which is skewed to try and assist the left, shows the nation overall has abandoned Joe Biden and the Democrat Party in a big way.

71 percent of Americans now say they believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, up 8 points since August. That includes 93 percent of Republicans, 70 of independents and even 48 percent of Democrats.  Beyond his catastrophic approval numbers, 50% of Americans polled say Joe Biden is incompetent / 37% view him as competent.

Chuck Todd sounds the alarm.  WATCH:

Additionally, not highlighted by any media review, the polling shows a collapse for the COVID fear and vaccination narrative.   The majority of the country now says they do not support mandatory vaccinations. [Page 17].   50% oppose mandates / 47% support mandates.

(more…)

**BUMPED x2**

As the impacts of the various vaccination mandates take shape, it is worth a review of the current status as it impacts you and your family on a local basis.

As noted by a reader in Washington state, the cleaving of society on vaccinated status is having an unusual impact on many regions even within individual states.

As one anecdotal report is told, the eastern side of Washington state is essentially functioning as before the vaccination mandate; while the western side is seeing a substantial breakdown in local civic society.

Mandates by local officials are creating issues for local services.  Local police, fire and first responders are leaving their jobs, creating issues for those in the leftist side of Washington state. Meanwhile the eastern, or more conservative side of the state, is relatively not impacted.

In another cleaving anecdote one business owner in southern California has told a rebel alliance member to discontinue the use of services from a vendor who does not share the leftist political perspectives of the owner; while other right-minded business owners (in the same industry) are looking specifically to gain advantage by seeking out vendors who are skilled, stable and independent.

(more…)

A small group of healthcare workers in Louisiana working for Ochsner Health have been granted an interim reprieve by an appeals court judge who is willing to hear their case against the mandatory vaccine requirement.  You might remember Ochsner Health was also the company who is requiring the spouses or dependents of healthcare workers to also get vaccinated or pay an additional insurance premium {See Here}.

A Louisiana appeals court judge has granted a last minute temporary injunction against the mandate granting a hearing for their case:

LOUISIANA – in its ruling Thursday, the appeals court said the plaintiffs should be allowed a hearing and Ochsner may not fire or discipline employees over failing to comply with vaccine requirements in the meantime.

The ruling applies to employees at hospitals listed on the lawsuit, including Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport and Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport St. Mary. The plaintiffs are 20 registered nurses, four surgical technicians, a physician, a nurse practitioner, a respiratory therapist, a licensed practical nurse, a child life specialist and several others without listed medical credentials.

[…]  The new ruling is not an indication that the employees’ claim that the hospital is violating their rights has merit, nor does it have legal implications for lawsuits filed outside of the 2nd circuit, said Friedman. It means that the panel agreed that there should be a hearing to decide whether a hospital’s vaccine mandate is unconstitutional.

“They want the judge to actually rule on the merits and give these people at least the hearings,” said Friedman.  (read more)

Earlier today in Melbourne, Australia:

.

Great highlight video of the protest rally below:

(more…)

The deadline for New York City firefighters to get vaccinated was yesterday.  Enforcement of the vaccine mandate is anticipated to begin Monday.  Today, the New York Post is reporting that 26 FDNY firehouses are currently closed due to short staffing directly related to the vaccine mandate.

But the vaccine mandate is all about the public health, right?

New York – The FDNY shut down 26 firehouses across the Big Apple as of 7:30 a.m. Saturday because of staff shortages caused by the vaccination mandate, The Post has learned.

[…] “Twenty six companies out of service is an unconscionable number,” said Councilman Joe Borelli, a Staten Island Republican who chairs the committee on fire and emergency management. “The firefighters who are unable to work have all been tested within the week and are not Covid positive, and I doubt New Yorkers care about the vaccine status of the person applying defibrillators to their chest

[…] The FDNY’s vaccination rate was at 72 percent at the end of Friday. the city’s deadline for workers to get at least one shot of the Covid vaccine. The mandate is expected to be enforced beginning Monday. The NYPD’s number stood at 84 percent vaccinated. (read more)