March 5, 2022

"We’re going to keep annoying D.C. … Just make them wonder a little bit. Look, we’re truck drivers; we’re very spontaneous."

Said People’s Convoy organizer Mike Landis, quoted in "‘Freedom Convoy’ spinoff arrives in Md. with about 1,000 vehicles and unclear plans/The group, which is protesting vaccine mandates, previously planned to arrive in the D.C. Beltway area Saturday" (WaPo).

ADDED: Are vaccine mandates really still a problem? 

AND: I want to give the NYT credit for perceiving the truck driver as having spoken with a semicolon.

66 comments:

Ice Nine said...

Anticlimactic pissing in the wind.

Patrick Henry was right! said...

Ask the 800 Marines whose careers (and service and Veterans benefits) are over since they were kicked out of the Corp if vaccine mandates are a thing. Do you not read anything?

David Begley said...

Yesterday I saw a group of people in Omaha with American flags on an overpass for Interstate 80. Presumably they were cheering on a convoy.

Wince said...

"One day — it’s like a miracle — it will disappear."

- Donald Trump

ADDED: Are vaccine mandates really still a problem?

We're at the you'd better drive a stake through its heart just to make sure part of the movie.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

This is stupid. Biden admin is bad, but Biden is not Trudeau(CA-stro)

choirmom said...

Yes, they are. My daughter is an opera singer, who had lost 90%of her work due to vaccine mandates. No sign of jobs for her coming back.

gilbar said...

Are vaccine mandates really still a problem?
for truckers, they are.. Truckers that want to go to London (Ontario)

Achilles said...

ADDED: Are vaccine mandates really still a problem?

No.

But the January 6th Reichstag Fire failed.

Democrats need another lie quick.

A Capitol Police Officer will die soon and it will get blamed on the convoy.

They will run with it for a couple months like they ran with the Sicknick blood libel.

Because the Democrat Regime and the people that support it roll like that.

Owen said...

They seem to have learned from Ottawa how to make the authorities look ridiculous and vindictive. This is People's Theater of a new and different form; and we had best get used to it, because these people have been stepped on and sneered at for a long time. I doubt that Brandon and his government have a clue how to repair the breach.

PS: this demonstration is a useful reminder of the precarious state of our logistics chain. Plan accordingly.

tommyesq said...

Yes, vaccine mandates are still a problem. Still can't go to most colleges without being vaccinated and boosted. Many places still have mask mandates for the unvaccinated. Boston lifted its vaccine passport requirement for restaurants and businesses only two weeks ago. Dementia Joe was pushing OSHA to require vaccines for 100+ - sized businesses (just shot down by the Supreme Court) and successfully forced vaccines on health care workers who participate in Medicaid and Medicare programs (upheld by the Supreme Court).

Leland said...

I was thinking, based on the events on Ottawa, that the convoy should use a different tactic than blocking the streets of DC. They should certainly drive through and cause problems, but then head on up to NYC, and then if you want to cause problems, constrain traffic on interstates to the west and south inside friendlier legal districts. Do the bouncy house thing in Frederick, MD and Fredericksburg, VA, while sending in semi-weekly trucks to drive around the National Mall waving the American Flag that Biden/Pelosi will swear is Nazi related.

John Borell said...

No, but encouraged by the FBI informants running the whole thing, they think it is.

MadTownGuy said...

From the added post:

"Are vaccine mandates really still a problem?"

Yes. They and other measures can potentially be imposed at any time, for any reason, if it is politically expedient for the powers that be to do so. Protests like this may just mitigate the expediency factor, but they beat the alternative of keeping quiet.

Baker said...

They're still kicking people out of the military over it, so yes, for some of us it is an issue.

Duke Dan said...

The mandates were never the problem. They were a symptom. The problem persists.

Michael K said...

I wonder how many FBI "assets" are involved in organizing this ? I have a bad feeling about those truckers.

Ceciliahere said...

I don’t think it’s about vaccine mandates any longer. It might be more about what happened to the truckers demonstrating in Canada. And these truckers showing a solidarity with them. If vaccine mandates are no longer an issue, well then there are plenty of other issues to demonstrate about in D.C.

Maybe, they should start demonstrating against the treatment of the Jan 6 protestors? The killing of Ashli Babbitt. And the kangaroo courts that are prosecuting these J6 demonstrators. No one else seems to be doing much to help these people.

They should form a group called White Lives Matter…and see what happens.

Brian said...

Are vaccine mandates really still a problem?

We're at the you'd better drive a stake through its heart just to make sure part of the movie.


So true. My fortune 500 company still mandates vaccines. Every communication reminding us of that includes a footnote that "fully compliant" is 2 weeks after your 2nd shot per "current" recommendations of the CDC. Which means if the CDC starts mandating boosters, it's going to start all over again.


Leland said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kevin said...

Are vaccine mandates really still a problem?

Is the Supreme Court finally taking up the issue?

Then the answer is no.

Browndog said...

Vaccine mandates will never be moot so long as the authority to impose them remains.

MadisonMan said...

The semicolon comment made me laugh. Thanks.

farmgirl said...

https://leadingage.org/workforce/vaccine-mandates-state-who-who-isnt-and-how

I didn’t check the date of the article. Hoping it’s current.
If each state has a different set of rules- truckers that travel across the state lines are putting their careers on the line- &maybe their rigs.
People shouldn’t have to quarantine after traveling across the US/Canadian border or state lines, prove vaccination status or show proof of vaccination.

Continue to hold the line… &the feet of the elite to the fire.


farmgirl said...

Pretty sure real truckers can smell a rat, Michael K.
I pray real truckers could spot FBI plants!

loudogblog said...

I have noticed that the vaccine mandate issue has disappeared from the media. A big part of it is the enormous coverage of the crisis in Ukraine. Even though Biden's vaccine mandate was mostly struck down by the courts, there are still lots of places where vaccine mandates are in place. Los Angeles has a vaccine mandate for their county employees. The L.A. county sheriff, Alex Villanueva, refused to enforce it for his deputies, so the county board of Supervisors is trying to establish a separate body that will enforce the mandate (and other discipline) in the Sheriff's department.

Leland said...

Are vaccine mandates really still a problem?

Yes. I travelled internationally last week. I had to show proof of vaccination and proof of negative covid test. The latter added over $100 to the cost of travel. I know people who had to spend the money for the negative covid test to return to the United States.

From State.gov:
Effective December 6, the  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will require all air passengers two years of age and over entering the United States (including U.S. citizens and Legal Permanent Residents) to present a negative COVID-19 test result a negative taken no more than 1 day before departure​, or proof of recovery from the virus within the last 90 days. Airlines must confirm the negative test result or proof of recent recovery for all passengers prior to boarding. ​Airlines must deny boarding of passengers who do not provide documentation of a negative test or recovery.

Except it is not just air travel. Also note the (1) day prior. You can not get that at most Covid testing sites, and most of those sites won't even test you unless you show symptoms. What you have to do is order a kit and have it shipped to you. It has to be an ordered kit, because the test has to be proctored. You can't just grab a self-test at CVS/Walgreens and use it before you return, because they don't see the proctored version. And if you are one of the 3 businesses making these tests available; you are raking in the money so long as you send a little grift to those keeping these mandates in place.

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

Are vaccine mandates still a problem? Sure they are, if you are going between the US and Canada. The Canadian truckers were protesting that; it doesn't seem to occur to you that they have to go back, or that American truckers also go to Canada.

ark said...

Vaccine mandates are definitely still a problem. Here in the New York metro area, virtually all performance venues, particularly including Broadway theaters, are still requiring proof of vaccination, and I expect many restaurants will continue requiring proof. New York employers are still required to impose vaccination requirements on employees. A New Jersey friend of mine as about to be fired because of a medical condition that precludes vaccination, after getting a request for a medical exemption turned down without comment.

Rory said...

There's a very funny episode of Mr. Belvedere in which George and Belvedere become truckers.

n.n said...

The Convoy is protesting Mengele (i.e. experimental medical treatments) mandates, past, present, and progressive. Democrats that protester are surely playing with a double-edged scalpel.

Marty said...

The utterly annoying thing about the "vaccine" mandate is that the stuff we have had injected is not particularly effective as a vaccine. Vaccines that are publicly mandated for social health purposes, like those we get for polio or smallpox, actually prevent the disease from breaking out in our bodies. This mRNA concoction obviously does not do that. It may indeed reduce virulence or even symptoms in any given individual, but is that outcome sufficient to trigger a legal mandate? Many--including leftwing friends of mine--are hesitant to take it for the supportable concern about its long-term effects, which nobody can say, not even The Science. So, yes, the "vaccine" mandate is still a concern to those of us distrustful of an increasingly authoritarian government willing to flex its muscles for nefarious purposes.

How can you tell the purposes are nefarious? Just look at the hysterical attempts by government officials to stifle debate by labeling anti-government positions as "misinformation." More woke projection, as James Lindsay would say.

Christy said...

No one mentions that the mandates keep the riff-raff out of your comfortable places.

I never believed the convoy was really about the mandate. I've always recognized it as a reaction to the elites overstepping their authority.

Owen said...

Regarding the supply chain: it's an end-to-end process. If you block it anywhere, nothing gets through (absent improvised work-arounds). Vaccine mandates on truckers crossing the US-Canada border are a significant constriction on overall flow. So, sure, your waiter in a NYC restaurant can show up for work: but the menu is half what it used to be, and what's there is double the price.

But let's talk about masks for two-year-olds.

Mea Sententia said...

I am still startled that people would not only be compelled to have a drug injected in their bodies but they would also be compelled to carry proof of this into order to work or participate in social life. It's like everyone swallowed a camel and didn't even realize it.

Clyde said...

Vaccine mandates aren't the problem now. Fuel prices are, caused by the feckless policies of Biden and his henchman, who declared a jihad on fossil fuels.

On Thursday afternoon, I gassed up my car and paid $3.59/gal. This morning, driving to work, I noticed that the stations were all at $3.79. This afternoon, driving home from work, they were up to $3.99. That's forty cents in TWO DAYS, an 11 percent jump! Figure diesel is doing the same and you are about to see inflation skyrocket. And we know whose fault it is: The guy who killed a pipeline as his first executive order. It's a good thing that winter is almost over for you guys because fuel oil and natural gas are almost certain to rise as well. We were energy independent when Joey Two-Scoops took office. Now we're back to buying oil from our adversaries because of pious greenies. I hope they all end up freezing in the dark.

Lurker21 said...

Biden Team pivots from COVID to war.

Protestors pivot from vaccine and mask mandates to inflation, fuel shortages, and supply chain problems.

Biden Team pivots again and says the protestors are insurrectionists who must be suppressed to save Our Democracy.

Jamie said...

Do you know where that Russian oil we buy goes? Hawaii. Do you know why? The Jones Act (1920), which requires that maritime commerce between US ports be accomplished only in US-built, -owned, -crewed, and -flagged ships. (In case you're wondering why there are so few cruise ships that stop between US ports. In fact... are there any? Wondering about the leaf peeper cruises in the Northeast.) Maybe the truckers could add that to their list.

Freder Frederson said...

We were energy independent when Joey Two-Scoops took office. Now we're back to buying oil from our adversaries because of pious greenies. I hope they all end up freezing in the dark.

This is utter bullshit. Oil production is up about 5% in the U.S. since Biden took office. Even if he had continued the "Drill, Baby, Drill" policies of Trump, it takes years to bring production on line (and if you are talking about northern Alaska or offshore, several years). So you can blame high oil prices on Biden in a few years, but to blame the current price on Biden's policies is ridiculous.

Critter said...

I heard the convoy leaders speaking today and they are protesting more than the recent mandates. They want to make certain that the shutdown abuses do not happen again because they were a huge intrusion into the capitalist system by picking winners (big box stores) and losers (locally owned small businesses) for example. The shutdowns cost Americans about $3 trillion in GDP (according to one estimate I heard), with the pain not spread equally. They want America to go back to the land of the free, not one targeting citizens for expressing their views at school board meetings or in affinity groups that are not approved by the regime. So, no. The reason for the convoy has not gone away. They want accountability for those who abused the pandemic for political and person reasons, and who weaponize the security system to limit free speech and involvement in self governance by all Americans, not just the chosen groups.

Paddy O said...

"I want to give the NYT credit for perceiving the truck driver as having spoken with a semicolon."

This made me laugh out loud.

WK said...

@Brian. Yes I agree. Still a problem. Vaccine is a “condition of employment” at my company. So I assume boosters will be mandated as well. Soon.

And I have 2 kids in college where vaccines are mandated. I assume boosters will be next. More concerned about the need of a healthy 21 y/o male to get boosted at this point. And daughter have fax and tested positive for Covid. Again trying to weigh booster risks with natural immunity. Mandatory needs to stop.

John henry said...

Bullshit, freder.

Look at this 5 year us oil production chart

https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/crude-oil-production


Mrs Whatsit said...

Yes, vaccine mandates are still a problem. Just talked with my former boss about all the problems she is dealing with because of the vaccine mandate our employer is still enforcing -- everybody's angry about some aspect of it, whether vaccinated or not, and the complications are multiple. And our little local chorus just tried to start back up after a 2-year hiatus. It looks as if it isn't going to be able to because so many members are upset that there ISN'T a vaccine mandate.

Is this ever going to end?

Howard said...

The Saudi's and Ruskies drove oil prices down in 2020 among lower overall Covid demand. This impacted US production. The US oil is more expensive to produce, so low prices hurts domestic operators. I'm sure workover rigs are busy now.

Bruce Hayden said...

“The utterly annoying thing about the "vaccine" mandate is that the stuff we have had injected is not particularly effective as a vaccine. Vaccines that are publicly mandated for social health purposes, like those we get for polio or smallpox, actually prevent the disease from breaking out in our bodies. This mRNA concoction obviously does not do that. It may indeed reduce virulence or even symptoms in any given individual, but is that outcome sufficient to trigger a legal mandate? Many--including leftwing friends of mine--are hesitant to take it for the supportable concern about its long-term effects, which nobody can say, not even The Science. So, yes, the "vaccine" mandate is still a concern to those of us distrustful of an increasingly authoritarian government willing to flex its muscles for nefarious purposes.”

The “experts” should have known from the start that they weren’t going to get to herd immunity, even if they hit 80-90% sterilizing vaccinations across the country. SARS-CoV-2 is a respiratory virus, like the flu. Polio and smallpox are not. One big reason for this is that respiratory viruses mutate much more quickly. Part of that appears to be a much more robust cellular entry mechanism. And of course, these vaccines were far from sterilizing- we knew it last July with all of the breakthrough cases from the P Town gay fest. Non sterilizing vaccines push viruses to mutate around them, and, again, esp for non sterilizing respiratory viruses. Which is very likely what we have seen with the Omicron variant. And including mRNA for generating only a couple of the spike proteins made that easy - the mutations just had to tweak those proteins to break free of the vaccines. The vaccines that are still being mandated around the country, despite Omicron having gained >99% penetration rate by the end of last year. I should also note that the increased infectivity of Omicron put herd immunity out of reach, even if the vaccines had been sterilizing, and the virus not a quickly mutating respiratory virus.

Original Mike said...

"This is utter bullshit. Oil production is up about 5% in the U.S. since Biden took office."

That's hard to believe. Compared to what; Covid production levels? Please provide some evidence to back this up.

Mason G said...

"I am still startled that people would not only be compelled to have a(n) experimental drug whose long-term side effects are unknown injected in their bodies but they would also be compelled to carry proof of this into order to work or participate in social life."

FIFY

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

A.A.: I want to give the NYT credit for perceiving the truck driver as having spoken with a semicolon.

Especially noteworthy, knowing the subtle auditory distinctions between "we're," "were," and "whir."

Josephbleau said...

In the protest of truckers, for once, Canada is ahead of the US. Truck protesting is kind of like hockey, or curling.

Humperdink said...

Freder embarrassed himself by saying: "This is utter bullshit. Oil production is up about 5% in the U.S. since Biden took office. Even if he had continued the "Drill, Baby, Drill" policies of Trump, it takes years to bring production on line (and if you are talking about northern Alaska or offshore, several years). So you can blame high oil prices on Biden in a few years, but to blame the current price on Biden's policies is ridiculous."

Oil production is up 5%? What is consumption?

I personally drilled three oil wells on my property. I was delivering the crude to a nearby gasoline refinery in 5 weeks.

walter said...

Vaccine mandates likely at the beginning of their problems.

natatomic said...

This isn’t just about the mandates. It’s about government overreach. And the government is farrrrr from finished there. https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2022/03/05/surgeon-general-asks-social-media-companies-for-target-list-of-covid-skeptics-and-influencers/

Original Mike said...

"So you can blame high oil prices on Biden in a few years, but to blame the current price on Biden's policies is ridiculous."

Just a remarkable coincidence.

Mutaman said...

Know Nothings with too much time on their hands. Sort of like Ann wandering around downtown Madison to test her freedom to enter private businesses w/o a mask. Doesn't anybody do actual work anymore?

heyboom said...

Yes, there are still companies mandating vaccines for continued employment. The hospital my wife works at does.

NYC JournoList said...

Oil production is still well below its 2019 peak …

https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=pet&s=mcrfpus2&f=m

Humperdink said...

This past week my friend was given a choice: get the vaxx or lose your job. It was at a hoity toity private club. Been working there for 20 years.

rastajenk said...

Spouse Unit and I simultaneously dealt with a bout of Chinese Crud through most of February. She was double-jabbed vaxxed. I never got around to doing that before Biden started calling me deplorable names, so I sure never got around to doing it later. Our symptoms were similar and lasted about the same number of days. Our small sample size says these vaccines are worthless and mandates are a form of evil.

Kirk Parker said...

John Henry's link does indeed show what he claims, but you have to click on one of the longer ranges on the top bar to include the Trump years in the chart.

Kirk Parker said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Original Mike said...

"John Henry's link does indeed show what he claims, but you have to click on one of the longer ranges on the top bar to include the Trump years in the chart."

Thanks, Kirk.

I see Freder didn't come back to defend his assertion.

Mutaman said...

"I never got around to doing that before Biden started calling me deplorable names, so I sure never got around to doing it later'

We're dealing with some real geniuses here.

Jim at said...

We're dealing with some real geniuses here

You blindly follow edicts from the 'experts' who've been wrong on everything for the last two years. But yeah, we're the dummies.

Mutaman said...

"You blindly follow edicts from the 'experts' who've been wrong on everything for the last two years. But yeah, we're the dummies."

I follow the advice of my MD- Get vaccinated, wear a mask when indoors, use common sense, and don't pay any attention to the anti-vaxer fools who post on social media.
I found that to be pretty good advice.

rastajenk said...

Thanks Jim. That was also about the time that here in OH they were giving incentives like college tuitions or a 100-thousand lottery prizes or some bs like that for the newly vaxxed. If that doesn't smell like a scam, what does?

Kirk Parker said...

Jim, some of those experts have been wrong about everything for a lot longer than just two years.