The airline mask mandate appears to be over
I’m still out west, so this affects me personally because in a little while I’m due to return home. I flew out on a trip that for various reasons (mostly a long delay in the airport) took about 18 hours, and had to wear a mask the entire time.
One of the ways I dealt with it on the trip out here was to sip my club soda very very slowly, maskless. No one ever bothered me about it.
My grandchildren have colds, and I bet I’ll get one from them. I know it’s colds they have and not COVID, because the whole family already had COVID back in February – fortunately, without any serious complications. So I’m not even sure yet what I’ll do on the way home. But it’s great to have the choice.
Now it seems the Biden administration has given up on reinstating the mask mandate for public transportation, after a judge declared that it exceeded federal powers:
On Monday, a federal judge struck down the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) federal mask mandate for public transportation.
U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle ruled that the mandate “exceeded the CDC’s statutory authority, improperly invoked the good cause exception to notice and comment rulemaking, and failed to adequately explain its decisions,” and wrote, “the Court declares unlawful and vacates the Mask Mandate.”…
“The agencies are reviewing the decision and assessing potential next steps,” an administration official said in a statement. “In the meantime, today’s court decision means CDC’s public transportation masking order is not in effect at this time. Therefore, TSA will not enforce its Security Directives and Emergency Amendment requiring mask use on public transportation and transportation hubs at this time. CDC recommends that people continue to wear masks in indoor public transportation settings.”
What a long strange masked trip it’s been – so far.
If it has been ruled that the mask mandate “exceeded federal powers” NOW, doesn’t that mean that it “exceeded federal powers” from the get-go?
As I mentioned on the open thread, the left has been having their usual reaction to this ruling. Everything from ad hominem attacks on the judge to their usual hypocrisy. So sadly predictable how they respond to anything not going their way.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pissed-liberals-revolt-after-trump-appointed-judge-lifts-mask-mandate
Meanwhile the videos of the cheering pax on planes are very uplifting.
On that Fox report, I especially enjoyed the Mass. state representative who complained that the courts are taking power away from the federal government.
Well, the efficacy of masks is way overblown. Unless you’re wearing a properly fitted N95 and following the masking protocol you’re not saving yourself or anybody else.
The one situation where masks are effective is preventing a cough or sneeze from getting its usual reach of about 5 to 10 feet. Then again, if you’re coughing or sneezing because you’re sick you shouldn’t be out in public, so they say.
I’m one those people that suffers from confusion between my optic nerves and olfactory nerves. A little cross talk shall we say. So going from a relatively dark interior to bright sunshine will invariably cause some sneezing. You should see the looks I get since Covid.
Delta is the first to drop them.
While the assault against children continues…
Heh– Not the Bee posted an account of a guy who tweeted what he thought was an obviously satirical account of what happened when he was on board an airplane and the pilot announced the end of the mask mandate over the PA system: I boarded a plane today with my son and mid flight, the pilot announces that the mask mandate is over. Flight attendants pulled off their masks and sneezed directly into their hands while screaming “this is MAGA airspace”. My son turned to me in tears. I don’t know what to do.
Next thing that occurs is that the guy is contacted by a reporter from the NY Times asking him to message her because she assumed his tweet is the absolute truth. As Not the Bee notes, this tells us a lot about the current state of “journalism.”
The dad’s reply: Hello Victoria, I would love to discuss the incident at your earliest convenience. I was pretty upset about the whole thing. Unfortunately it’s satire that only someone at the NYT would believe. In my time of contemplation, I was wondering how your team deals with the multitude of false stories that you peddle out daily to use as political propaganda and if you could give me advice on how to take my satire to the next level?
Full story here: https://notthebee.com/article/this-dude-just-made-the-most-glaringly-satirical-post-in-the-history-of-the-internet-and-the-new-york-times-thought-it-was-totally-real
Barry Meislin @ 3:55: “…doesn’t that mean that it ‘exceeded federal powers’ from the get-go?”
Your logic is impeccable. Too bad we can’t have retroactive damages.
PA+Cat @ 6:08: Many thanks to you, and even more thanks to the dad who has TOTALLY pwned the NYT reporter. More of this, please!
physicsguy @ 4:18: “…So sadly predictable how they respond to anything not going their way.”
I think that both their “thinking” and their conduct, map pretty well perfectly onto the behavior of a 2-year-old denied candy at the supermarket. Doesn’t that allow us to offer some predictions? I am looking for comfort here, however sad.
I’m delighted to see you, being the avowed Bee Gees and ABBA fan that you are, paraphrasing the good old Grateful F-ing Dead.
Well, whaddya know: Brandon’s administration and the DOJ are planning to appeal the judge’s ruling: “The Biden administration said Tuesday it will likely appeal a federal judge’s ruling that struck down Covid-19 mask mandates on planes and other forms of public transportation. ‘The Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) disagree with the district court’s decision and will appeal,’ the DOJ said in a statement, ‘subject to CDC’s conclusion that the order remains necessary for public health.’
‘If CDC concludes that a mandatory order remains necessary for the public’s health after that assessment, the Department of Justice will appeal the district court’s decision,’ the DOJ said.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/19/biden-administration-will-appeal-ruling-that-lifted-covid-mask-mandate-on-travel.html
God forbid anyone should limit the powers of the CDC in any way.
Just saw some comments on FB from the usual suspects. The gist was “Keep wearing your masks! Protect yourself and your family from the others!”
Sigh…paranoid, brainwashed, and delusional.
At least we can now identify them easily, anyone with a mask on.I know..discrimination against those with a true medical need, but I bet that’s about the same percentage as true transgenders.
If I see someone in a genuine n95 mask, I assume this to be someone with real health problems. Otherwise, I assume it’s Democrat sheeple.
This judge gave the administration a midterm gift, and by appealing, they are rejecting it. This is not science; it’s a new religious dogma.
“What a long strange masked trip it’s been – so far.”
That brings new meaning and context to the words, ‘Grateful Dead’, after this colossal public policy debacle
@ Barry > ” doesn’t that mean that it “exceeded federal powers” from the get-go?”
Why yes, yes it does.
President Trump said in 2020, after the initial round of confusion, that the country should re-open by Easter.
He was right; sadly, he wasn’t effective.
@ physicsguy > “At least we can now identify them easily, anyone with a mask on”
I support the right of anyone to wear whatever facial covering they wish, although I hope that banks and other such establishments return to viewing covered faces with a suspicious eye.
Be sure and look at the graph in this story.
The only problem with the judge’s decision is that it is late by 2 years.
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2022/04/maskaholics-anonymous.php
Not the Bee and its sister-site The Babylon Bee are really becoming the easiest, and most entertaining way, to keep up on the news.
https://notthebee.com/article/these-on-plane-reactions-to-the-end-of-the-mask-mandates-reminds-me-of-the-ewoks-celebrating-after-the-death-star-blew-up-
And they have fun video clips.
Best meme ever, from the NTB post.
https://media.notthebee.com/articles/article-625eb949e0fab.jpg
The headline says it all.
https://babylonbee.com/news/clever-second-graders-hold-class-on-an-airplane-so-they-wont-have-to-wear-masks
https://babylonbee.com/news/conservatives-assure-liberals-that-were-only-gonna-not-wear-masks-for-2-weeks-to-slow-spread-of-tyranny
https://babylonbee.com/news/grim-study-reveals-all-2-million-americans-who-flew-yesterday-are-now-dead-of-covid
https://babylonbee.com/news/7-ways-to-cope-now-that-you-cant-force-people-around-you-to-wear-masks
Especially for Neo — “One of the ways I dealt with it on the trip out here was to sip my club soda very very slowly, maskless. No one ever bothered me about it.”
https://babylonbee.com/news/judge-rules-that-airplane-passengers-no-longer-have-to-pretend-to-eat-for-5-straight-hours
The Boston Globe today:
“How to weigh your risks as mask mandates lift
A high-quality mask still offers substantial protection to the wearer, even if others are maskless, doctors say.”
This points out the only problem I see with the rationale for the judge’s ruling: namely that the mandate is illegal having exceeded the government’s authority rather than because wearing a mask makes no difference in the transmission of the virus. This allows the government to justify reinstating the mandate provided they can find a way around the legal problems the judge identified.
As of this morning, the DOJ has announced they will appeal the mask ruling. Not sure how it’s going to go, but don’t throw away those masks yet.
Even if the appeal is successful, how do the Ds possibly think this is going to make them even more popular other than with the clueless 30%?
Masks work in controlled laboratory settings, including not touching them and disposing of them properly, which is to say in one sense, as the medical people do in surgical settings. In other words, as when in experimental arrangements.
Other than that……nothing.
And all other mask wearing you see collect the wearer’s “stuff” and the other stuff floating around.until you have a petri dish of warm, moist stuff, transferred to surfaces every time you touch it and then something else. In public areas, places you put your hands are places designed for you to put your hands which means somebody else did two minutes ago and will two minutes later. Door handles, stair rails, etc.
Masks in the usual way their users use them could be worse than nothing.
When the solution to the problem is that the government takes my money, my personal liberty and wants me to do stupid stuff, I question the premise.
I saw a clip of a near apoplectic Lawrence O’Donnell from MSNBC getting apoplectic over the judge and the lifting of mask mandates. The funniest was seeing Jeffrey Toobin of something called CNN getting bent out of shape over the decision. It is all about control.