Category: pandemic

Capitol Report (May 12): People of Faith Killed for Their Organs; America Faces Baby Formula Crisis

On Capitol Hill, there’s a growing call from both Republicans and Democrats to reject the “defund the police” slogan. Some are pushing a measure that would grant more money to police officers around the nation. A ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee joins us and weighs in on whether the protests in front of…


Peloton Headwinds Stiffen as People Break Pandemic Routines

Peloton’s uphill ride to get more sales is getting rougher as more people return to gyms and other pre-pandemic exercise routines and embrace cheaper options. The maker of high-end exercise bikes and treadmills, once highflying in the early days of the pandemic, on Tuesday reported mounting losses and slowing sale. It also offered a bleak…


The Public Health Prophet We Did Not Heed

Commentary Donald Henderson, who died in 2016, was a giant in the field of epidemiology and public health. He was also a man whose prophetic warnings from 2006 we chose to ignore in March of 2020. Dr. Henderson directed a ten-year international effort from 1967–1977 that successfully eradicated smallpox. Following this, he served as Dean…


Gregory Copley: China’s ‘Civil War’ Fought Through Lockdowns

Shanghai’s lockdown is like a civil war. As Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s faction brawls within the party with anti-Xi forces, Xi’s legitimacy and absolute correctness must be established to ensure he will get a third term in power. Even as the controversial lockdowns affect millions of people, to Xi, lockdowns must be maintained, while the…


Opioids & Missing COVID Workforce; Social Justice vs. Algebra in California

The pandemic took a lot of people out of the labor force and there are many reasons why—including substance abuse. University of Pennsylvania economist Jeremy Greenwood and colleagues found that opioid and methamphetamine abuse had a sizable impact on keeping people off the job. Some unelected government officials have a lot of power over our…


When Haircuts Were Illegal

Commentary Unless we just decide to forget, historians will look back in astonishment. Healthcare spending declined in a pandemic. People were blocked from their houses of worship. Choirs couldn’t sing. Drones flew the skies to ferret out and report house parties. Rental cars were fumigated with something. Crossing a state line meant mandatory two week…


Ask a Doctor: How Do I Drop My Pandemic Stress Load?

The last two plus years of the COVID-19 pandemic have created a biologically toxic load of stress for many, if not most, people around the world. Social isolation—created by lengthy quarantines, lockdowns, masks, and social distancing—has taken a toll on our mental health. And what happens in the mind, echoes throughout the body. Many have…


Jeffrey Tucker: US May Not Know Alternatives to Lockdown, China’s Zero-COVID Strategy

What has the lockdown situation in Shanghai taught the rest of the world? Is the method and invention by a totalitarian regime, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), proving to be correct? Has public health gone too far going into politics? We discuss these questions with Jeffrey Tucker, founder and president of the Brownstone Institute, as…


Capitol Report (April 29): Trump Returns to Social Media

With illegal immigration surging at the southern border, President Joe Biden and Mexico’s president spoke on Friday. What’s their plan? For decades at the southern border, illegal immigrants have mostly originated from Mexico and other Central and South American countries, but now Border Patrol is catching people from countries all over the world—even from countries that…


Mastercard Profit Jumps as Pandemic-Weary Consumers Splurge on Travel

Mastercard Inc. on Thursday reported first-quarter profit above Wall Street expectations and said consumers were braving stubbornly high inflation and concerns around new coronavirus variants to spend on travel, sending its shares up 3 percent. Pent-up demand from Americans who stayed homebound for a prolonged period helped cross-border travel surpass 2019 levels in March for…