Anti-Vaccine Archbishop

Posted on by Thor

Former Saint Louis, Missouri Archbishop Raymond L. Burke was a vaccine skeptic. He was placed on a ventilator days after being diagnosed with COVID-19. A message from his team asked that supporters “pray the Rosary for him.” He tested positive on August 11, 2021.

Whether Burke has been vaccinated is unknown, but he spoke out against vaccine mandates at the May 2020 Rome Life Forum, saying “vaccination itself cannot be imposed, in a totalitarian manner, on citizens.” He’s also quoted theories that the vaccine contains “microchips” used to control citizens. In the same address, he reportedly argued that the church had not insisted enough on continuing in-person services during the coronavirus pandemic.

He said that the virus is being used by certain forces to bring about a “Great Reset” in which they will bring about a “new normal” through imposition of complete control over people through manipulation and fear. Burke called for prayer and penance to combat the Great Reset.

He also added, “It must be clear that it is never morally justified to develop a vaccine through the use of the cell lines of aborted fetuses.” COVID-19 vaccines do not contain any aborted fetal cells. However, Pfizer and Moderna did perform confirmation tests (to ensure the vaccines work) using fetal cell lines. Fetal cell lines are not the same as fetal tissue. Fetal cell lines are cells that re grown in a laboratory. They descend from cells taken from elective abortions in the 1970s and 1980s. Current fetal cell lines are thousands of generations removed from the original fetal tissue. They do not contain any tissue from a fetus.

For those curious about the visual reference in my painting, the sword is a reference to the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket. Thomas was a long time friend of King Henry II who appointed Thomas as the Archbishop. Thomas then turned on the king when ecclesiastical interests ran contrary to royal interests. Henry II grew so exasperated by Thomas Becket that one day, in public, he asked of no one in particular, “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” The question was meant to be rhetorical, but four of his knights took the question literally. They traveled to Canterbury and they murdered Thomas Becket in the cathedral, on December 29, 1170.

Election Day Surge

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To date the United States has seen 235,000 deaths from COVID-19. That is 235,000 people who did not vote in the November 3 Election. That is why it is particularly galling to hear Rudy Giuliani claiming that the dead have been voting in the presidential election.  The Borat 2 star said he’d been sent to find out how many dead people had voted in Pennsylvania. It seems that calling the election process into doubt is the only hope for these demented souls.

North Dakota has seen a huge spike in COVID-19 cases and deaths.   David Andahl, a candidate for the “Be Legendary” State Legislature died in October, 2020 from COVID-19 but his name was still on the printed ballot. Andahl, 55, had been hospitalized and died after being sick for about four days. He won the election despite his death. There is now a dispute over what to do with his empty seat.

In Missouri an election judge supervisor was diagnosed positive for COVID-19 on October 30, 2020. No details about the worker, including age or gender, were released. He/she was told to quarantine for 14 days but did not follow that advice and worked at at the Blanchette Park Memorial Hall polling site in St. Charles on Election day, November3, 2020. There were nine other election workers at the polling place and they are being advised to get tested. Since He/she was a supervisor, it is believed that she did not work closely the 1,800 voters who entered the poling place on Election Day. Election workers were required to wear face coverings, such as shields or masks, and dividers separated voters in an effort to curb the virus’ spread. After the election this election judge died. Anyone who was in the precinct on election day is a risk and should monitor themselves closely for symptoms. This case is stark reminder that a positive COVID-19 test result requires that person to be responsible to others in the community.

On November 5, 2020   the US set a staggering new Covid-19 daily case record with more than 120,000 infections. The situation continues to get worse as the nation focuses on Election results.

Summer Camp COVID-19 Outbreaks

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An overnight summer camp in rural southwestern Missouri saw 82 campers, counselors and staff infected with Covid-19. Missouri is one of several states to report outbreaks at summer camps. The Kanakuk camp near Branson ended up sending its teenage campers home. On Friday, the local health department announced 49 positive cases of the COVID-19 virus at the camp. By Monday, the number had jumped to 82.

A parent interviewed about the outbreak said he felt that the camp had done everything they could to keep his children safe. Kanakuk plans to reopen later this summer once test results from all staffers are returned and show it’s safe to do so, said Dr. Randall Williams, director of the Missouri Department of Health.

Kanakuk employs numerous layers of systems and protocols to ensure that the facilities, staff, and campers stay safe, clean, and healthy. However, the most important thing they do as an organization is spend countless hours praying in advance for every camper and staff who walks through the gates. They pray for a healthy and safe environment.

Some states, like Oregon, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, closed summer camps this year, and many camps elsewhere have voluntarily canceled programs. But other camps are plowing ahead, hoping that precautions like social distancing, masks and requiring children to quarantine before coming to camp will quell the risk.

In Texas, 76 cases of campers and staff who attended Pine Cove’s Christian camps have tested positive, and several weeks of camp were canceled after clusters of cases were discovered. The spread came despite state requirements that include enforcing social distancing and banning outside visitors. As of last week, campers and staff must wear masks when social distancing isn’t possible.

In Lake Burton, Georgia YMCA Camps, at least 85 kids and counselors tested positive for COVID-19, Georgia Department of Public Health officials told McClatchy News. Campers were all between 7-14 years old and staff between 16-22, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The YMCA says this situation happened despite careful planning and adherence to safety guidelines laid out by leading health experts and mandated by the state, 11Alive reported.

In Arkansas, Mount Ida’s Camp Ozark closed after “several” people were infected, though it didn’t say how many, Fox said. It’s a calculated risk for camps, to open or not open, but most are choosing to stay closed for safety, or are being forced to stay closed by state or local government mandate, according to CNBC. Nearly two-thirds of summer camps haven’t opened this year.

A Fort Myers, Florida children’s theater camp shut down this week after two students tested positive for COVID-19. “The students that tested positive didn’t have any symptoms,” Jeremy Kuntze, the executive producer for the nonprofit Creative Theater Workshop said. The students had rehearsed and performed in the summer camp production of the musical “Hairspray Jr.,” which ran June 15 through July 3, 2020. “We had taken safety precautions,” Kuntze said. “We required temperatures to be checked every day before students arrived. Sanitizing. All staff and volunteers wore masks. Visitors wore masks.” Students, however, weren’t required to wear masks, Kuntze said. “They were encouraged.” When performing on stage no one wore masks.

Screening for fevers with temperature checks is not a panacea. “The absence of an elevated body temperature is not a seal of approval,” said Dr. Fred Jacobs, a pulmonologist and former commissioner of the New Jersey Health Department, told ABC News. “The answer is not temperature. The answer is testing.” Children in particular can be asymptomatic and spread the virus with no sign of a temperature.

All of this foreshadows the insanity of opening schools in Florida 5 days a week despite the surge in COVID-19 cases. Children are not immune to the virus and they can certainly spread the virus to friends and family.

Florida  just shattered the number of cases reported in a single day with, 15,299 new cases on Sunday July 12, 2020. This is the highest daily total of any state in the United States. 45 people died in the state on Sunday July 12, 2020.

Haircut Hotspot

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A hairstylist in Missouri may have exposed 91 clients to Covid-19. After the Missouri governor opened the state including salons to open on May 4, 2020. The worker at a Great Clips in Springfield worked on on eight different days while experiencing symptoms from Covid-19. The worker then tested positive for Covid-19. Since he and his costumers both wore face coverings it is hoped that there will be no new cases. Anyone who had their hair cut by this technician should get tested. The infections began one week after the state opened. The infectious hair stylist also went to Walmart and a Dairy Queen and made three visits to a local gym.

A second hair stylist in the same Great Clips shop also became infected and may have infected 56 other  clients. The two cases came just days after city officials announced plans to relax even more distancing requirements and about a week after the health department started seeing an influx of new travel-related infections. The salon has been closed for sanitizing.

The push by Donald Trump and some state governors to reopen most businesses with some public health modifications, such as social distancing and masks, comes as public health officials warn that relaxing restrictions will certainly lead to new outbreaks. Even if you wear a mask it is not a great idea to let a stranger run his fingers through our hair.

In debates over how quickly to reopen different businesses across the country, barbershops and hair salons have become a political flashpoint among conservative Americans, with some owners reopening in defiance of public health measures. In Michigan, a barber who refused to close his shop despite shelter-at-home orders staged a hair-cutting protest at the state capitol which was dubbed “Operation Haircut”, the Lansing State Journal reported.

A New York State barber also defied stay-at-home orders and continued to “illicitly” cut hair. He has also tested positive for Covid-19, county officials said in a public health notice. Ulster County officials are now recommending anyone who received a haircut from the barber in the past three weeks should seek a Covid-19 test.

“We are taking extraordinary measures to try and minimize the spread of this dangerous disease,” Dr. Carol Smith said. “Learning that a barbershop has been operating illicitly for weeks with a COVID-19 positive employee is extraordinarily disheartening.”  “As much as we would all like to go out and get a professional haircut, this kind of direct contact has the potential to dramatically spread this virus throughout our community and beyond,” she continued. This barber is believed to have infected over a dozen people. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said, “You know, that is a occupation of close proximity, right? You can’t really socially distance and do a haircut … that is by definition an up-close-and-personal occupation.”

In Texas, a hair salon owner, Shelley Luther, violated a stay-at-home order by keeping her Dallas-area salon open, was sentenced to jail time. A few days later, Texas Governor Greg Abbott modified his COVID-19 executive orders, effectively setting Luther free. She then refused to apologize in court for what she had done, has been championed by Republican leaders.

The Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force asked Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings to fight to get salons and barbershops back open. He wrote State governor Ron DeSantis and two days later DeSantis came to Central Florida where he met with hair stylists in OhSoooJazzy Hair Salon in Orange County. Hair Salons had been closes as part of his first phase of opening the Florida Economy. In a surprise move on Monday May 11, 2020, the governor allowed hair salons to open across the state. That excludes the two big southeast counties — Broward and Miami-Dade. DeSantis said, “I mean I haven’t had a haircut in two months, not that that’s the important thing, I am coming on a mullet almost because of how much my hair has grown.”

For my part, I plan to continue to buzz cut my own hair during the pandemic. Learn from the mistakes of others.