Are you a parent who just can’t handle the demands of your own work, the stress of coronavirus and educating your child from home while schools are closed? If you’re middle-class you can get indulgence, sympathy and helpful hints. Your kids can “play Fortnite for the next eight hours.” If you’re poor you can get a caseworker at the door investigating you for “educational neglect.”
Back in January of this year (2020) we reported about Event 201, a pandemic simulation which was hosted by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in partnership with the World Economic Forum and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This event took place about 6 weeks BEFORE the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in Wuhan China. As I have previously written, almost everything that was predicted at this pandemic simulation event has now occurred, except one: an Internet blackout. The most likely reason that an Internet blackout has not occurred yet, is because the American public, and indeed the world population, was very compliant and voluntarily locked themselves down in their own homes - something that has never before happened. With a compliant public, an Internet blackout would have done more harm than good, as the bandwidth on the Internet was pushed to its limits with everyone suddenly working from home via the Internet, and entertainment streaming services seeing a record high demand as people voluntarily complied and stayed home. Shutting off the Internet would have been counterproductive, as it would have made people angry and quite possibly led them out their homes back on to the streets to start protesting sooner. As a result, more and more people were able to research what was really going on, and find alternative accounts of the news different from what was being spoon fed to them through the corporate media and television networks. This has increased the corporate news organizations and their Big Tech alliances with companies such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google to increase their efforts to censor dissenting voices, such as what we publish here at Health Impact News. As a result, many of our articles are now censored and not allowed on Facebook, Twitter, Google (who owns YouTube) and Pinterest (Pinterest has banned us completely). In addition, emails from the domains of our news sites, like healthimpactnews.com, are also being suppressed, and many of the larger Big Tech "free" emails like hotmail.com and yahoo.com no longer allow us to email our newsletters or respond to inquiries. So how do you beat this Internet censorship?
The COVID-19 situation has drawn the attention of the world to the subject of "viruses." What are viruses, how does one treat them, and other such questions are highly controversial with very many different viewpoints. One fact that seems to be agreed upon by everyone, is that viruses, at least the kind of "influenza" type of viruses that are seasonal, are a problem in the winter months, but not so much during the summer months. Since daylight hours are extended during the summer, most of the research on this topic has surrounded Vitamin D, a vitamin best obtained from the sun. But there is much more to this topic of "light," and its effect on human health, than just Vitamin D. Given how much attention has been given to the "coronavirus" topic, it is time to look at this issue more closely to see if there are factors during the shorter daylight winter times that can be studied and understood to improve our health during this time, without always looking for a drug or vaccine to cure everything. So I assigned this topic to Health Impact News independent researcher and writer Crystal Lauer. She took over a month to research the topic. During that time, President Trump and a team of researchers working with William Bryan in the Science and Technology division of the Department of Homeland Security, announced results of some their own studies within their laboratory looking at the effects of "solar radiation" and its effect on the Coronavirus, which seems to confirm that some of the research presented in this article may apply to COVID-19. Of course, since this is a preventive measure with no patented drugs involved, the studies were quickly condemned by the medical industry, and an off comment made about disinfectants was what the corporate-sponsored "mainstream" media decided to focus on instead. While Crystal was hesitant at first to spend so much time researching this topic, being a busy homeschool mother, in the end she reported that based on her research, her family made some big changes to their lifestyles to take better advantage of the healing power of natural light, and as a result she reported: "We found that we all are sleeping better, have much more mental energy and are overall feeling far more relaxed, even in the midst of this pandemic."
Early in March, when a homeschooling family in Kentucky returned home from running errands in town, two officials—a Child Protective Services (CPS) investigator and a law enforcement officer—were waiting, demanding to interview their children and examine them for bruises. Why did this happen? Short version: That day, mom and dad had gone to the bank with five of their children. The bank staff criticized them for bringing so many people into the building in light of COVID-19 social distancing guidelines. So the dad stood aside with the children while the mom transacted their business. That’s it. The incident offers some important takeaways. First, with tensions heightened and stay-at-home orders generally in place during the current health crisis, some people may be more likely to report out-and-about children as possible victims of neglect or abuse. Second, this family’s experience confirms the need for CPS reform—something HSLDA has been advocating for years.
Harvard Family Law Professor Elizabeth Bartholet is at it again. At a time when schools all across the nation are closed, with many parents of school-aged children also out of work and families confined to their homes during a nationwide lock down that is undoubtedly causing much stress, and forcing families to homeschool even if they have never done it before, Elizabeth Bartholet has come out publicly and called for a ban on homeschooling. Her comments were published in the Arizona Law Review. Bartholet believes children are best educated in schools, where teachers are "mandated reporters" and can report suspected child abuse to local Child Protective Services (CPS). Bartholet's disdain for religious teaching, especially conservative Christian teaching, is also very obvious. Ironically, these same "conservative Christian" groups that she attacks have actually invited her to some of their conferences in the past. She was one of the main speakers at the 2014 Together for Adoption Conference in Greenville, South Carolina, for example. The theme of the 2014 conference was "Urgency & Complexity: Biblical & Ethical Approaches to the Orphan Crisis," and it was sponsored by such well-known groups as Focus on the Family and Lifeline Children's Services. This highlights a problem that I believe I have been the only one to address so far: the double standard Christian churches and organizations have when they object to someone like Bartholet's views on homeschooling and her dim views of conservative Christians, but her views are fair game if it involves Christians taking other people's children through adoption or foster care, all in the name of "Orphan Care," where they conveniently redefine the meaning of "orphan" to justify their own child trafficking. I get scathing responses from Christians every time I bring up this topic, but the fact remains that while teachers in public schools are one of the primary means of removing children from their parents into the custody of the State through CPS and then put into foster care, foster care could not survive today without the Christian Churches and organizations that make up the bulk of the agencies overseeing foster care. It is not surprising that Bartholet's views on banning homeschooling were published in the Arizona Law Review, as Arizona has one of the worst records of medical kidnapping and abusing parental rights of any other state in the U.S., and they have been caught licensing pedophiles as foster parents as part of the nation-wide epidemic of child sex trafficking.
Sara Brady, a mother from Meridian, Idaho, was arrested on Tuesday, April 21st, after she joined a large group of parents in protesting Idaho’s Coronavirus Stay-At-Home order through a planned “Playdate Protest.” The City of Meridian closed their playgrounds in March, in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19, because of fears that the virus may live on plastic surfaces (such as plastic slides) for several days. Planned as a protest of Idaho’s Stay-at-Home order, through the Idaho Freedom Foundation and Health Freedom Idaho, a group of several dozen parents went to a closed playground at Kleiner Park in Meridian, Idaho, and “took back” the playground area - removing police tape that marked it as closed - so that their children could play. Sara Brady was part of that group of parents. When told to leave the playground by an officer from the Meridian Police Department, Sara refused compliance and questioned authority to close the playground, citing her right to be in public spaces despite the statewide Stay-At-Home order issued by Idaho Governor Brad Little on March 25th. After Sara was repeatedly told to go away from the playground, and she still refused, she was arrested and charged with misdemeanor trespassing. Sara was forced to leave her young children in the park with the other protestors, while the police booked her into the Ada County Jail in Boise. Miste Gardner-Karlfeldt from Health Freedom Idaho points out “It was completely irresponsible for the police officer to arrest a mother without allowing her to first be sure that her children were taken care of. He showed callous disregard for the kids’ wellbeing.” Sara Brady tearfully shared her fears with the crowd at the Meridian City Hall protest after her arrest, “It’s just been scary for me, watching what has been going on. Because we live in a country we have to turn over to our kids. My kids saw me get arrested today for just being a mom in a park. What kind of an America is this?” “Do we want to live in an America like this?” she asked. “Our kids deserve better.”
Every county in the U.S. elects a sheriff to oversee law enforcement within that county. As elected officials, County Sheriffs take an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America, and protect the constitutional rights of their constituents, even if it means standing up to Federal agents and others who would seek to violate the rights of their constituents within their counties. Most all other law enforcement departments and administrators in the U.S. are appointed, not elected. The County Sheriff is the exception. One of the largest Constitutional Sheriffs association is the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA). On their "Statements of Positions" page they define their duties to uphold the Constitution: America needs to make a strong turn around to get back on the freedom track laid for us by our Founders. We believe it can’t be done from the top down, due to many factors, not the least of which is corruption and entrenched bureaucracies in high places. We must, and we can, accomplish this turn- around starting locally at the county level, and lower. The office of county sheriff is the last hope of making this happen, and we are witnessing great deeds of protection, service, and interposition across America by courageous sheriffs who only want to serve the people who elected them. Some sheriffs across the U.S. are beginning to take a stand and oppose their State Governors' unconstitutional "Stay at Home" orders which have put millions of people out of work, and destroyed many thousands of businesses. Racine, Wisconsin County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling is one of those sheriffs, and he made waves this week when he took a public stand in favor of his constituents Constitutional Rights, and against Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers' "Safer at Home" order. As ABC local affiliate WISN 12 reports: On Friday, Schmaling released a statement that said he will not enforce the order because he believes it violates businesses' and citizens' constitutional rights. "The overreaching measures taken by State government will have dire lifetime consequences for businesses, homeowners, and families. I took an oath to uphold the constitutional rights of our citizens and I can not in good faith participate in the destruction of Racine County businesses or interfere in the freedoms granted to all of us by our Constitution," Schmaling's statement said.
COVID-19 continues to keep people in isolation, but it is also being used to separate mother’s and father’s from their children. March 25, 2020, MedicalKidnap.com brought you the story of a mother who had her two children removed from her home for the simple fact that she worked in a healthcare clinic. Armed with a removal order, signed by a judge, a Child Protection Services (CPS) social worker and police showed up at this Oklahoma mother’s home at 10:00PM to remove her two daughters. Since our original story, more and more families are speaking out about how they have to fight to keep custody of their children when ex-spouses use the Coronavirus in an attempt to gain sole custody. In most cases, the parent, doctors, firefighters and other first responders have no idea the ex-spouse is filing a motion, petitioning the court for sole custody, until it is too late. In a story by Megan Twohey, published by The New York Times, April 7, 2020, several parents spoke out about how ex-spouses are using COVID-19 to separate them from their children. Is this the way first responders fighting the COVID-19 pandemic should be treated?
Federal laws require states to initiate termination of parental rights when a child has been in foster care for 15 of the last 22 months. With family courts shutting down across the country due to the Coronavirus outbreak, delaying reunification and adjudication hearings, could families face termination of their parental rights without due process? CPS must have a signed order by a judge in order to remove a child from their home, unless the agency feels a child is in imminent danger, at which time the agency can proceed with an “emergency removal." The agency must then seek the approval of a judge on the following business day. At that time, the family is likely assigned an attorney or has already sought legal counsel to contest the removal and petition the court to return the child home. With the potential spread of COVID-19, family courts have closed or reduced caseloads. According to the report by Kramer, regarding a statement from the New York State Office of Court Administration, judges are holding hearings by phone and video, only on “essential/emergency” matters. The administration did not respond to the author's request for further comments on their story. Kramer states, according to attorneys who represent parents, judges are continuing to hear petitions from the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) seeking to remove children from their homes and place them in foster care, but they are not willing to hear motions by parents seeking to return children home.
Expecting mothers can experience enormous amounts of worry and anxiety. With the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the world, expecting mothers have even more reasons to be worried when hospitals are separating newborns from their mothers within seconds of birth. "I saw her and felt her on my chest for like maybe three to five seconds." This is what mother, Veronica Batton, told KSHB in a story by Lindsay Shively, March 24th. Veronica Batton emailed her doctor with concerns about a cough. She agreed to be tested for the coronavirus, but the test results were not back by the time she went into labor. According to KSHB, Batton claimed, it took a full week for the results to come back, four days after she gave birth to her baby girl at St. Luke’s East Hospital in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. While waiting for the test results, Veronica had no contact with her newborn daughter other than the 3-5 seconds directly after delivery, the story reports. Christopher Frizzelle, writing for The Stranger out of Seattle, reports that separating newborns from their mothers if the mother tested positive for COVID-19 is the recommendation of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which is based on CDC recommendations. "But if the mom is a PUI or is COVID-positive, the recommendation from the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) is that medical staff should maintain social distancing of at least six feet between the mom and the baby. In other words, 'Not to do skin-to-skin contact. And the mom goes through labor in a mask. Can you imagine going through natural childbirth, breathing, working, in an air mask the whole time? And then we deliver, and we try to keep them separate from each other.'" Gretchen Vogel with Science posed the question in a recent story: “Do newborn babies need to be separated from mothers infected with the new coronavirus?” Vogel reports, “The scant data available have led to apparently contradictory recommendations: Some health authorities, including in China and the United States, recommend isolation of newborns from their infected mothers; others, including the World Health Organization (WHO), strongly recommend breastfeeding and keeping mothers and babies together, while taking precautions such as the mother wearing a mask.”
