Cross-Examination

• COVID vax was never tested against transmission: Pfizer’s president of international development markets, Janine Small, admitted to European Union Parliament lawmakers this week that the pharmaceutical company never tested its novel mRNA COVID vaccine for effectiveness against transmission of the virus. When pressed as to why, Small argued that there was no time because the world was in a global health crisis and desperate for a vaccine. She also noted that a study produced by Imperial College estimated that the vaccine saved 20 million people. “We had to really move at the speed of science to really understand what is taking place in the market, and from that point of view we had to do everything at risk.” EU member Rob Roos, who asked the question regarding transmission testing, is a critic of the push for global COVID vaccine mandates. He responded to Small’s admission: “Millions of people worldwide felt forced to get vaccinated because of the myth that ‘you do it for others.’ Now this turned out to be a cheap lie. This should be exposed.” Roos called it “shocking, even criminal” after he noted that vaccine mandates have “led to massive institutional discrimination as people lost access to essential parts of society.” Romanian EU lawmaker Cristian Terhes also weighed in, stating, “[Pfizer hasn’t] tested the vaccine to see if it’s stopping the spread of the virus. So we’re asking again: what are they hiding?” How many people have been needlessly hurt by Pfizer’s failure to hold to the standards of good scientific practice?

• The insanity of the Alex Jones verdict: On Wednesday, a six-member jury in the liability suit against media personality Alex Jones — a suit raised by family members of eight of the victims of the Sandy Hook atrocity and an FBI agent who responded to the scene — ruled that he and his company, InfoWars, must pay a stunning $965 million to the plaintiffs. In the immediate aftermath of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School attack, in which 20 first-graders and six staff were shot to death, Jones falsely claimed the attack was staged in an effort to build up anti-Second Amendment sentiment. Jones peddled his crass conspiracy for several years, though he now admits that the massacre was real and not a hoax. A judge had previously found Jones guilty in a defamation case. The nearly billion-dollar verdict is clearly beyond the scope of the offense, and it dwarfs the $550 million the lawyer for the plaintiffs was seeking. It’s clear that this verdict has much more to do with who Alex Jones is rather than the false claims he made regarding Sandy Hook, and it’s aimed at destroying him and his company, which is already in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This judgment is as absurd as his slanderous assault on reality. However, is it any worse than the fake news, false reporting, and conspiracy theories that have been perpetuated by the likes of CNN and MSNBC? Is Alex Jones any worse than Don Lemon or Joy Reid? MSNBC pundit Jen Psaki welcomed the verdict by stating, “The damage Alex Jones has done to the lives of these families is horrific — nearly a billion dollars doesn’t solve their pain — but also true that the end of infowars [sic] would be a public service.” Finally, how does this verdict not run afoul of the Eighth Amendment? It explicitly states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”

• Few Americans relocate for political reasons: Many Americans may strongly express their sentiment for moving to another city or state or country over political disagreements, but all too often a myriad of other reasons prevent people from following through. Every presidential election cycle, there are a few celebrities, most often those of a leftist bent, who assert that they will move out of the country if the opposing party wins, though invariably they never do. A survey conducted earlier this year by YouGov found that while 38% of Americans say they would leave the U.S. for good at some point due to politics, few ever do. Following Donald Trump’s 2016 victory, just 655 more Americans immigrated to Canada than the prior year. The total number annually averages less than 10,000. And within the U.S. the vast majority of Americans stay relatively close to where they grew up. Recent Center for Economic Studies research found that 80% of young Americans live within 100 miles of where they grew up. What tends to be the biggest driver for Americans moving is financial incentive, not political dissatisfaction. Of course, politics can increasingly impact the financial considerations of Americans.

Headlines

• Consumer inflation increased 0.4% in September, more than expected despite rate hikes (CNBC)

• Inflation hotter than expected in September in producer price index (Washington Examiner)

• Social Security cost-of-living adjustment will be 8.7% in 2023, highest increase in 40 years (CNBC)

• Just in time for midterms: Asylum-seeking Venezuelan migrants who cross border illegally to be returned to Mexico (WSJ) | But who’ll pick the crops? Speaker Pelosi admits Biden admin must do better job of securing southern border during NYC visit (NY Post)

• The feds have launched a new investigation into Ron DeSantis (Townhall)

• Biden admin: Home heating costs will surge this winter (Free Beacon)

• FCC to ban sales of Chinese telecom equipment due to “national security concerns” (National Review)

• Federal officials trade stock in companies their agencies oversee (WSJ)

• Joe Biden says son Beau “lost his life in Iraq” during Colorado speech (Fox News) | Biden’s lies and outright fabrications are constantly dismissed, downplayed, and softened by media (Fox News)

• Los Angeles Councilwoman Nury Martinez resigns following her leaked racist remarks (NPR)

• ACT test scores drop to lowest in 30 years in pandemic slide (AP)

• Study: Pandemic-era babies have social communication “deficits” (PJ Media)

• YouTube slaps dehumanizing pro-abortion “context” onto pro-life videos (The Federalist)

• Firebombed Wisconsin pro-life center has not heard from FBI since May (Daily Signal)

• Policy: On ObamaCare, Biden goes where even Obama wouldn’t (National Review)

• Satire: White House: Nuclear Armageddon was always a key part of Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda (Genesius Times)

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