ICWA Weekly News
Radio links, Clark County mixed messaging, HB1333 update
by Gerald Braude
In this newsletter:
February 24, 2023 Episode of An Informed Life Radio notes and links
Clark County Public Health’s Mixed Messaging of COVID-19 shots
Update on HB1333 Domestic Violence Extremism
February 24, 2023 Episode of An Informed Life Radio notes and links
Guest: Hawk Jensen
FOLLOW THE SCIENCE (followthescienceseries.com)
Public Health Social Marketing of Vaccination: Is it Ethical? - Informed Choice Washington | ICWA
Link to the slides shown during the show in response to the below video.
Clark County Public Health’s Mixed Messaging of COVID-19 shots
During their three minutes each of public comments at a recent Clark County Public Health Department’s (CCPH) meeting, four Clark County residents exposed the ineptitude of the department’s ability to provide credible information on the COVID-19 shots.
The first speaker, Rob Anderson, provided a twenty-one slide, power point presentation. The most compelling proof of the county’s mixed messaging started with the following slide, which showed the county health department’s admittance that it did not know whether the COVID-19 jabs prevent transmission of the virus:
But the next slide showed Clark County Councilor Gary Medvigy getting vaccinated so that he did not have to worry about infecting others with COVID-19:
Anderson concluded his presentation by asking for some straight answers from Dr. Melnick and the CCPH to the following questions:
Who will be held responsible for this misleading campaign? If the public is to trust, there must be accountability and there must finally be supervision from the BOH. Will the BOH finally act to restore trust and accountability?
The next speaker, James Clark, presented a video on his laptop that showed the blatant mixed messaging of the COVID-19 shots.
Stopping the Spread 2021 - YouTube
The video began with the European Parliament’s Dutch member Rob Roos questioning Pfizer’s president of international developed markets, Janine Small, about whether Pfizer had in fact tested and confirmed that their mRNA jab would prevent transmission prior to its rollout.
Small admitted that Pfizer never tested whether their jab would prevent transmission because they had to "move at the speed of science to understand what is happening in the market . . . and we had to do everything at risk."
The third speaker, Melissa Leady, started out by asking, “What science served as the basis for Clark County Public Health’s (CCPH) ‘I Got the Shot’ Campaign?”
She went on to state the following about the county’s inability to provide clear messaging:
Based on the studies listed on the CCPH covid website at the time, I see two possibilities: the vaccine clinical trials and a CDC study. The clinical trials tested effectiveness against preventing covid. In public health parlance, prevent means reduce the rate of occurrence, and covid means a collection of symptoms. So prevents covid means reduces symptoms; it does not mean the vaccine stops you or me from being infected with or transmitting the virus.
Pfizer’s EUA request makes this clear, stating, “Data are limited to assess the effect of the vaccine against transmission of SARS-CoV-2,” (1) and Moderna said essentially the same. (2) The clinical trials did not test for stopping virus transmission.
The pharmaceutical industry did not make the claim the vaccines would stop transmission. Public Health did. Clark County Public Health did.
The fourth speaker, Informed Choice Vice President Bob Runnels, concluded his exposing of the mixed messaging by making the following recommendations before getting cut off for hitting the end of the three-minute time limit:
“First, tell the truth. Correct the errant messaging. The County and world now know the shots don’t stop infection or transmission, so the argument to protect others doesn’t hold water. Do not allow remarks from your officials like ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated’ to unfairly disparage a large portion of the community – just because a president and a few officials mumbled it. And for God’s sake, don’t allow any messaging that says the shots are safe during pregnancy. There are no safety data. Unless you want to rely on tests in four pregnant mice while there have been 76 reports of miscarriages from the vaccine in Washington state.
Next, hold accountable the experts who knew, yet chose to let this dangerous kind of information out. Using information from other departments or agencies does not absolve the Health Department, health officer, or this council when the information is inaccurate. That’s when we need you all the most - to correct course.”
HB 1333 Passes the House of Appropriations Committee
On Thursday, February 23, the House Appropriations committee passed Washington House Bill 1333 on forming a commission on Domestic Violent Extremism (DVE).
Even though eighteen of the twenty public comments during the oral testimony the previous week were clearly against HB 1333, and the bill has garnered thousands of emails and phone calls in opposition, the committee voted 18 to 12 to pass the bill. The following list of voters show the bill was passed straight down party lines.
Majority Representatives (18) VOTED YES
Tim Ormsby (D), Chair
Steve Bergquist (D), Vice Chair
Mia Gregerson (D), Vice Chair
Nicole Macri (D), Vice Chair
Frank Chopp (D)
April Berg (D)
Lauren Davis (D)
Joe Fitzgibbon (D)
Debra Lekanoff (D)
Gerry Pollet (D)
Marcus Riccelli (D)
Cindy Ryu (D)
Tana Senn (D)
Tarra Simmons (D)
Vandana Slatter (D)
Larry Springer (D)
Monica Jurado Stonier (D)
Steve Tharinger (D)
Minority Representatives (12) VOTED NO
Drew Stokesbary (R), Ranking Minority Member
Kelly Chambers (R), Assistant Ranking Minority Member
Chris Corry (R), Assistant Ranking Minority Member
Bruce Chandler (R)
April Connors (R)
Travis Couture (R)
Mary Dye (R)
Paul Harris (R)
Skyler Rude (R)
Bryan Sandlin (R)
Joe Schmick (R)
Mike Steele (R)
As it now stands, the bill would create a commission consisting of the following members:
Four legislators, one appointed by each of the two largest caucuses of the senate and one appointed by each of the two largest caucuses of the house of representatives;
A representative of the governor's office appointed by the governor;
A representative from the attorney general's office;
A representative with expertise in public health, appointed by the state attorney general;
Six representatives from organizations representing groups 4 protected under RCW 9A.36.080, appointed by the state attorney general, which may include but is not limited to the following:
A representative from the black/African American community;
A representative from the Muslim community;
A representative from the Jewish community;
A representative from the Asian or Asian American community;
A representative from the Sikh community;
A representative from the Latino/a/x community;
A representative from the LGBTQ community;
A representative from the general immigrant/refugee community; and
A representative from the African community;
The commission must extend an invitation to participate in the commission to the following:
A representative from the federal bureau of investigation;
A representative from the United States department of homeland security; and
A representative from a federally recognized tribe.
Liv Finne, director of education at the Washington Policy Center, makes the following five key findings about the bill:
“SHB 1333 would criminalize thought and expression under an invented category of offenses called “domestic violent extremism.”
Attorney General Bob Ferguson requested the bill in order to prosecute some people for words and speech, rather than for violent acts.
Under the bill government officials would decide whose words and whose speech would be subject to criminal prosecution.
The Attorney General’s office would increase surveillance of citizens for perceived violations of words and speech prohibitions.
Citizens would be encouraged to report friends and neighbors to the state for officially-banned phrases, thoughts, and expressions.”
An Informed Life Radio co-host Xavier Figueroa, Ph.D. dubs HB 1333 as the “Don’t Think the Wrong Way” bill.
Joan Steichen, organizer of the January 28 healing story session in Wenatchee, says of HB 1333, “I'm afraid that, unless we absolutely flood and overwhelm them with outrage, it may end up passing. Then we will have to fight it in court with valuable resources of time, energy, and dollars and hopefully have it struck down there.”
Victoria Palmer, organizer of the every Tuesday “March for Freedom” at the State Capitol, says of HB 1333, “Let this be fuel to our fire!! Get everyone to Olympia next Tuesday! Bring it on a sign.”
