Lockdown Files shine light on UK Covid policy

Britain's 'Lockdown Files' Reveal the Sordid Thinking Behind Pandemic Policy | Reason - J.D. Tuccille: 

March 20, 2023 - "When cornered, some politicians grudgingly admit COVID-19 restrictions went too far and made little sense. But that still leaves us wondering as to their thinking when they locked playgrounds, mandated masks, restricted travel, shuttered businesses, closed schools, confined people to their homes, sent cops after paddle-boarders floating on the lonely sea, ignored their own rules, and otherwise inflicted harms worse than a virus could ever manage.  

"Now an important disclosure of communications among British officials reveals just how government officials' minds work when exercising extraordinary power.... The Telegraph this month published The Lockdown Files drawn from 100,000 messages exchanged among government officials. They reveal powerful people warn[ing] that restrictive policies would cause more harm than the disease, decisions made for public relations reasons, media enlisted to suppress dissent, and officials gloating over inconveniences to the public.... 

'WhatsApp conversations contained in The Telegraph's Lockdown Files show that those running the country privately acknowledged the 'terrible' price of lockdowns and twice reimposed the national shutdowns, even as they discussed the damage they were causing to physical and mental health, children's prospects and mental health,' the newspaper's team noted. Among the consequences of which they were directly warned were interrupted medical treatments and ill effects on children.... In addition, officials were 'worried about the Government being sued by the families of those who had died because of the backlog on cancer care and elective treatments.'

"When the British public became resistant to damaging restrictions on business, gatherings, and movement, Hancock openly embraced plans to 'deploy' news of COVID-19 variants to 'frighten the pants off everyone' to encourage compliance with lockdown rules. The idea was sufficiently well accepted that officials referred to their efforts as 'Project Fear.'" Fomenting panic was in keeping with the seat-of-the-pants decision-making driving much pandemic policy. 

"Then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson boasted of making decisions based on 'science,' but was more driven by polling — and sometimes by what he himself feared was bad data that overstated risks. Johnson 'appeared to express a desire to lift the country out of lockdown earlier than planned, but said his media advisers – Lee Cain and James Slack – warned him that such a move was "too far ahead of public opinion",' reports The Telegraph. 'When Mr Johnson broached the subject of opening schools before the summer, his health secretary argued against doing so, saying that "everyone's accepted there won't be more on schools until September"' 'The exchanges call into question the prime minister's insistence that lockdown decisions were made on the basis of the best scientific evidence,' adds The Telegraph. 'They also raise the prospect that Britain spent many weeks living under restrictions that could have been avoided'....

"[A]t least a few officials gained pleasure from the pain they imposed on others.... 'Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, said it was "hilarious' that 149 people had been told to stay in government-approved hotels on their return from Red List countries in 2021,' the newspaper summarized. 'He also joked about passengers being "locked up" in "shoe box" rooms'.... For his part, Hancock 'was an advocate of using the police to crack down on anyone deemed to have broken quarantine or lockdown rules, even though the regulations were often open to interpretation'....

"'What was most alarming was the alacrity with which the broadcast news media fell into line – with boundless enthusiasm – as they were given a key role in the day to day dissemination of government authority,' observed The Telegraph's Janet Daly. 'As the medium through which the official information was conveyed – with, as we now know, often misleading modelling projections and outdated death figures – they went from being public service news media to what the BBC notably has always insisted it is not: state broadcasters. From disinterested journalism to Pravda in a single bound'....

"The correspondence in the 'Lockdown Files' was leaked to The Telegraph by journalist Isabel Oakeshott, who was collaborating with Matt Hancock on his memoir and was disturbed by what she saw. 'We were all let down by the response to the pandemic and repeated unnecessary lockdowns,' she commented earlier this month. 'Children, in particular, paid a terrible price. Anyone who questioned an approach we now know was fatally flawed was utterly vilified; including highly respected and eminent public health experts, doctors and scientists.' \

"We may never know exactly what members of America's own pandemic-exploiting political class were thinking when they turned the screws on people's liberties. But thanks to the Lockdown Files, we can make a good guess."

Read more: https://reason.com/2023/03/20/britains-lockdown-files-reveal-the-sordid-thinking-behind-pandemic-policy/

"Isabel Oakeshott: The lesson of the Lockdown Files," Unherd, March 7, 2023: 

Lockdown resistance building in USA

Americans Are in Full Revolt Against Pandemic Lockdowns | Reason - J.D. Tuccille:

December 16, 2020 - "Echoing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio warned city residents this week to prepare for a 'full shutdown' as part of ongoing efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19. The two elected officials better not hold their breath waiting for compliance. Evidence from around the country shows that many Americans are thoroughly sick of impoverishing, socially isolating lockdown orders, and are revolting against the often-hypocritical politicians who issue them....

"The mayor commented following Cuomo's ban on indoor dining at New York City restaurants. That was issued a week after Staten Island residents cheered bar owner Daniel Presti, who was arrested for defying pandemic restrictions. Days later, Presti ran his car into a sheriff's deputy who sought to rearrest him for continuing to serve patrons. Both of the deputy's legs were broken. While Presti's level of violent resistance against lockdowns is much too extreme, he's not alone in his opposition. From coast to coast, businesses and individuals are ignoring restrictive rules that threaten their livelihoods, stifle social contact, and threaten to strangle the necessary interactions of everyday life.

"'Another shutdown just isn't an option for us,' the Seven Sirens Brewing Company of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, announced last week on its Facebook page. 'We, and thousands of other small businesses throughout the country simply will not survive'... The brewery is only one of many businesses listed by Pennsylvania Opening Businesses/Defying the Governor, which has over 43,000 members on Facebook as I write. The group encourages the public [to] patronize anybody who bucks state rules to continue offering goods and services to willing customers....

"The ReOpen Minnesota Coalition similarly represents hundreds of businesses defying closure orders and raises money for legal defense against state enforcement actions.... It calls for stripping Gov. Tim Walz of his emergency powers and for ignoring restrictions so that people can decide for themselves when and how to interact.

"On the West Coast, many restaurants also open their doors to customers despite state orders to the contrary. 'While some of the larger chains and corporations are following the orders, many of the mom and pop shops say going to takeout only would put them out of business,' ABC News reported last week.

"The city council in Solvang, a tourism-fueled community in Santa Barbara County, recently voted to ignore shutdown orders that threaten locals' livelihoods. Officials 'directed that the City of Solvang will not actively enforce these latest State shutdown orders, and that the City request the County and State regulators to prioritize education and that they also not enforce the orders within the City limits,' according to a letter from Mayor Ryan Toussaint....

"None of this should be a surprise.... Americans 'are far less willing to comply with shelter-in-place advice today than they were in the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic this spring,' Gallup reported last month. Forty-nine percent 'say they would be very likely to stay home for a month if public health officials recommended it due to a serious outbreak of the virus in their community. This contrasts with solid majorities in the spring who said they were likely to comply with such shelter-in-place advice, including a high of 67% in late March/early April.'

"Politicians actively fanned the flames of resistance with their 'rules are only for the little people' flouting of their own orders. Amidst a flurry of high-profile examples, California Gov. Gavin Newsom's expensive gathering with other officials at The French Laundry stands out for its arrogance. Why should regular people driven to the brink of poverty and despair pay any attention to the dictates of such creatures?

"In distress and after due consideration, many Americans have decided that they shouldn't comply. Individually and in organized groups, often with the support of their communities, people are pushing back against lockdown orders that they find more threatening than COVID-19."

Read more: https://reason.com/2020/12/16/americans-are-in-full-revolt-against-pandemic-lockdowns/

American families turning to homeschooling

Families Turn to Homeschooling as the Education Establishment Fumbles Its Pandemic Response | Reason.com - J.D. Tuccille:

July 11, 2020 - "President Donald Trump got a lot of pushback for his criticism of school reopening guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — including from the CDC itself. But even many people who share the CDC's goal of minimizing health risks in the midst of a pandemic agree that the guidelines aren't especially practical....

"'To prevent the spread of the coronavirus, school leaders must ensure social distancing — limiting group sizes, keeping students six feet apart, restricting non-essential visitors, and closing communal spaces. Those measures run counter to how schools usually operate, with teachers and students working together in close quarters, children socializing throughout the day, and the buildings serving as a community gathering space,' Education Week noted in June....

"That has educators across the country scrambling to un-crowd classrooms so that social distance can be maintained. Remote learning via online classes, and hybrid approaches that have kids in school some days and learning remotely on others, are the go-to solutions for now.... 'Some schools, particularly those with ample resources and some experience with remote learning, had a far easier time of it than most,' reports the Wall Street Journal of pandemic-prompted efforts at teaching online. But for most schools, 'it was a failure' because of inexperience with the approach, limited access to technology, and a lack of commitment on the part of participants....

"Unsurprisingly, there's an upswing in families planning to homeschool their kids this fall, either through their own efforts or through dedicated online classes and schools that have experience with remote learning. While it's difficult to track numbers when it comes to homeschooling, 'several states, including Texas, Utah and Washington, have reported sharp upticks in interest,' according to NBC News. North Carolina's website for families announcing plans to homeschool crashed at the beginning of July 'due to an overwhelming submission of Notices of Intent.'

"Parents asked about their reasons for pulling their kids from schools cite both concerns about their kids contracting COVID-19 in the classroom as well as worries that traditional school districts aren't up to the challenges of teaching through remote and hybrid models. They can either place their faith in an education establishment that hasn't earned that sort of trust, or they can experiment with alternatives that have grown increasingly popular in recent years precisely because they satisfy the demand for flexible and effective learning approaches.

"'It looks like the high school is only offering a remote learning options,' a friend who has three teenage daughters and lives outside Chicago told me. 'Could you resend me that list you made of homeschooling resources?' Why, yes. Here it is! A lot of homeschooling options are online, given the low cost involved in delivering complete schools, classes, lectures, and the like over the Internet. The internet can also mean easy ways to order books, tools, and materials for families who prefer hands-on learning.

"Splitting the difference between family-based education and institutional schooling is a growing movement of home- and community-based microschools that deliver lessons to small groups of kids. That allows parents who need to work to pool their resources while ensuring adult supervision. For a monthly fee (or free in Arizona), Prenda offers its curriculum for use by both microschools and by families for their own children.

"Traditional schools right now are fumbling the response to a crisis and convincing much of the public that they are dangerous to children and society. Families fleeing from those schools in search of alternatives are going to prove a tough audience for arguments that kids should be trapped in poorly managed classrooms that aren't up to the latest challenge."

Read more: https://reason.com/2020/07/11/families-turn-to-homeschooling-as-the-education-establishment-fumbles-its-pandemic-response/

U.S. military increasingly identifying as libertarians

In a Military Embracing Social Change, Troops Increasingly Identify as Independent and Libertarian - Hit & Run : Reason.com - J.D. Tuccille:

December 22, 2014 - "Shifts in social attitudes, politics, and attitudes toward government are seeping from the civilian world into the U.S. military. The military is quickly adapting to increased tolerance toward gays and lesbians in American life, expanding roles for women, and growing distaste for the established political parties and the performance of the U.S. government. And, like many Americans, soldiers, sailors, and marines are drifting away from the major parties, increasingly identifying themseves as independents and libertarians.

"A survey of active-duty armed forces personnel among the readership of Military Times finds that support for gays and lesbians openly serving in the military rose from 35 percent in 2009 to 60 percent in 2014. Overt disapproval fell from 49 percent to 19 percent in the same time.

"Support for opening at least some combat-arms jobs to women rose from 34 percent in 2011 to 41 percent in 2014, wwith opposition falling from 43 percent to 28 percent....

"Likewise, the troops match their friends and relatives in growing disgust with the way the government handles its responsibilities. The country at large has presidential approval underwater and opinions of Congress sunk somewhere in the Mariana Trench. Military personnel, who generally think they're underpaid, undersupplied, and underappreciated say that neither major party has their best interests in mind....

"And like other Americans, military personnel look for alternatives elsewhere. A generally conservative bunch, Democrats and liberals make up only about 8 percent of the poll respondents. But support for the Republican is hemmorrhaging away, with members of the armed forces increasingly identifying as independents and libertarians."

Read more: http://reason.com/blog/2014/12/22/in-a-military-embracing-social-change-tr
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Free Staters win 15+ seats in NH statehouse

Free Staters Win 'At Least' 15 Seats in NH State House; Libertarian Leaners Win Many More - Hit & Run : Reason.com -J.D. Tuccille:

"According to Ian Freeman at Free Keene, at least 15 explicit Free Staters — a record number — will be ushered in as lawmakers in the 424-seat body. Many more candidates from both major parties endorsed by the libertarian-friendly New Hampshire Liberty Alliance will also take seats.

"Writes Freeman:

According to a handy list compiled by “Free State Project Watch“, a project by pro-state group “Granite State Progress“, at least 15 people they alleged to be Free State Project participants have won the 2014 general election!!!

This is huge news. The previous counts of Free Staters in the state house were 12 in 2010, 11 in 2012, and now at least 15! It’s impressive that so many have won elected office already and the official move for the Free State Project has yet to even happen. (The FSP move doesn’t officially start until we reach 20,000 participants and we’re currently over 16,000.)

"Freeman adds, 'the majority of New Hampshire Liberty Alliance-endorsed candidates won tonight as well! (NHLA-endorsed candidates vote for liberty more often than not – they aren’t necessarily principled libertarians.)'

"About the latter group, Dick Desrosiers, Chairman of the Hampton Democratic Committee, complained last month that they dominate the New Hampshire legislature and 'introduce and pass legislation to remove any and all government impacts on liberty and property rights and diminished the importance of protecting and promoting the common good.'"

Read more: http://reason.com/blog/2014/11/05/free-staters-win-at-least-15-seats-in-nh
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