Scott stands for personal freedom against opposition-party proposed lockdowns

At his weekly presser Tuesday, Gov. Phil Scott again took a strong stance against further COVID-related mandates, saying they cause divisiveness among Vermonters and distrust in the very policies expected to be followed.

“At this point I see no reason to implement broad mandates on Vermonters,” he said. “We have the highest vaccination rate and one of the lowest hospitalization rates in the nation.”

COVID MITIGATION STRATEGIES: Much of Gov. Phil Scott’s press conference Tuesday was spent explaining why mandates for vaccines and masks cause division in communities and lead to distrust of medical policies.

Scott noted that the state Senate passed a resolution Monday that broadly called for “all possible public health measures to reduce COVID-19 spread.” He said this would be unwise.

“As a reminder, all measures mean doing some of the things that we did a year ago —  like banning gatherings and closing businesses, requiring remote learning, and more,” he said. “Think about that: Vermont, the state with the highest vaccination and booster rates, the state that has the highest rate of testing in the country, the state that has the lowest hospitalizations and deaths throughout the pandemic and still has maintained some of the lowest rates during Delta.

“With all that data, 17 senators think we should go back to mandates that almost no other states have in place. So to be clear, I’m not willing to move us backward, and frankly, I think it sends the wrong message about how effective vaccines are.”

The economy suffered under the lockdowns substantially in 2020. In the first few months after shutdowns started, the Vermont Joint Fiscal Office estimated that Vermont faced losses of more than $400 million over the following fiscal year related to slowed or stalled economic activity. The state received eventually more than $5 billion in federal aid to mitigate those economic impacts.

Scott also reiterated that the elderly are the most vulnerable demographic group, with deaths and hospitalizations at low rates for all other populations, according to the latest Vermont Health Department data report issued on Nov. 5.

Vermont’s testing may be focused on populations with little to no risk of death from COVID-19. On page 24 of the report, a graph shows that the elderly, especially starting from age 70 and up, make up the vast majority of all COVID-19 deaths.

The report shows rates of COVID-associated death per age group. Ages 50 to 59 die at 2.6 per 10,000 Vermonters; that number drops to 0.1 in 10,000 and less for residents under age 30. For people ages 70 to 79 and 80 to 89, those numbers are 16.9 and 72.4, respectively.

Collectively, people over age 70 account for only 11 percent of total COVID-19 testing, according to a graph in the report.

The Scott administration has indicated that frequent testing could continue to be a part of state COVID-policies going forward. It’s still unclear what proportions of unvaccinated compared to vaccinated populations are most frequently receiving COVID-19 tests, as weekly testing is often an alternative option to vaccination requirements for workplace employees.

“The White House [in an earlier conference call with other governors] indicated that they were putting millions into purchasing more, which they hope to quadruple supply by December,” Scott said.

More testing could also lead to more positive cases reported. Page 7 of the Health Department’s weekly COVID-19 report that appears to show a correlation with increased testing and increased percent of positive cases.

Lawmakers on Monday met back at the capital Monday and approved a town-by-town masking approach for Vermonters. Scott said he offered that compromise option at the request of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns.

He reminded his critics that several communities took advantage of the same policy last year without major incidents.

Michael Bielawski is a reporter for True North. Send him news tips at bielawski82@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @TrueNorthMikeB.

34 thoughts on “Scott stands for personal freedom against opposition-party proposed lockdowns

  1. This should be a warning for all Voters! Vote Conservative or be held hostage by the oppressive “opposition-party”

  2. VERMONT TO RENEW A STATE-WIDE MASK MANDATE?

    “Legislative leaders believe we need to return to a state of emergency, impose a statewide mask mandate and a host of other restrictions,” Scott said Tuesday during a news conference. “And I don’t.”

    Gee, it looks like some TRUE-VERMONTER sanity is finally showing itself.

    Balint and Krowinski are died-in-the-wool, power-hungry, Dem/Progs, who LOVE big, bloated, expensive government, and CENTRALIZED COMMAND/CONTROL to ENFORCE onto Vermonters what THEY think is “good for them”. See Note

    They hate LOCAL CONTROL, which, almost always, makes far more sense, than CENTRALIZED COMMAND/CONTROL.

    Whereas, on paper, Dem/Progs HAVE veto-proof majorities, de facto, they do NOT, and so, the Governor wins.

    They are the same type folks, who would subjugate already-struggling/overtaxed/over-regulated Vermonters to the unattainable GWSA requirements, at $1.25 BILLION PER YEAR, from 2022 – 2050, 28 YEARS!!

    They are the same type folks, who would drive over Vermonters, with a MACK TRUCK, to achieve Dem/Prog, impossible, very expensive “FIGHTING-CLIMATE-CHANGE GOALS”

    BREAK THEIR WILL

    That would be a lot of expensive “FEEL-GOOD”, which would have absolutely NO effect on Global Warming.

    That would further impoverish Vermonters, for the SOLE benefit of heavily subsidized folks with RE businesses, and associated Legislators and career-bureaucrat facilitators.

    NOTE:
    Of course, there are exceptions, such as leading Dem/Progs showing up at social functions, i.e., not on “government business”, being recorded, on video, not wearing a mask, such as:

    Take-a knee/hairdresser PELOSI, who recently bought a $25-million mansion

    Community-organizer OBAMA, at his BIRTHDAY PARTY, showing off his mere $15-million mansion on Martha’s Vineyard

    In-the-basement, Joe and Jill, celebrating Thanksgiving, at the $30-million mansion of a billionaire, on Martha’s Vineyard.
    https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/hiding-the-hunter-bide

  3. I’m reminded of an old nursery rhyme, and I have a feeling Fau- I mean Scott is seeing the writing on the wall – it starts something like this:

    Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall…

  4. In defense of our Governor: He signed this bill to make the burqua-wearing legislators look like idiots (if they dont already), so they get off his back. He is wise to let the demo-progresso-marxists of the legislature and town selectboards enact these mandates so they look like the fascists that they are. Let these battles rage in individual towns so we can see who the real idiots are and have more opportunity to vote them out. I think that is the Governor’s strategy. Despite his shortcomings, we are lucky to have him instead of some busybody karen in his place. Better to have a half-conservative who is actually from Vermont than ANY of the realistic alternatives. Face it…Vermont will not elect a Ron DeSantis-type Governor at this point in history so stop fantasizing.

    • I disagree. There is no such thing as a half-conservative. Anything short of upholding liberty is aiding & abetting tyranny.

  5. Scott may have done the right thing in this case. I’m not defending his action nor advocating for masks- however, the controversy surrounding the mask mandate certainly has polarized most in Vermont. He has, in effect brought the liberals and socialists agenda to the forefront. Again. In a way that shows how this agenda hurts Vermont- it’s residents and it’s businesses- and how the socialist agenda neutralizes freedom and unity. Burlington’s mayor has already jumped on board, with a seemingly confusing policy to be “enforced” by Burlington businesses. No doubt the Burlington City Council will add confusion to the ordinance, leaving many shoppers and diners spending their dollars outside the Queen City. Brattleboro, Montpelier and Barre will follow their leftist leaders into mandatory masks as well. Vermont citizens, who contrary to the legislature’s wishes are not all socialists- will hopefully see the restrictions of their individual freedoms and choose wisely in November of 2022. The upcoming elections may well be a referendum on personal freedom and liberties- and Socialism. Phil Scott upped the ante by calling this special session.

    • Looks like he’s making sure if anyone wears the egg-on-face its legislature and individual municipalities – *not* the good Chancellor lol

  6. Governor Flip Flop – is the hot phone line to Fauci, the White House or the CCP been disconnected?

    • Looks like it. I think it’s related to the 36-38% Biden favorability. Remember the Guv voted for Mr. Biden and has been singing his praises until just recently.

      • Wendy,

        If the Governor indicates by his actions, he has finally recovered from his lack of common sense, and would henceforth do the “right thing”, instead of aiding and abetting the “left thing”, it should be praised.

        Biden should not be blamed, because he is a C-minus student, who relied on plagiarism to BARELY graduate from the very low-ranked Syracuse University Law School.

        Biden, like a weather vane, turns towards whichever direction the wind is blowing.
        Biden is a bombastic idiot, and has displayed that trait all his life.

        Biden achieved practically nothing during his 47 years of glad-handing, grifting/grafting career in Washington DC.

        The posse of SOCIALIST-LEFTIST HANDLERS, who foisted themselves onto him, are to blame for open, walk-through borders, and disastrous/unrealistic energy policies, such as having in place 30,000 MW of offshore wind turbines by 2030, just 8 years from now, whereas, the EU managed only 25,000 MW of offshore in about 40 years

        Biden is just a mouthpiece reading from 3×5 cards, and does not quite know/gets lost, regarding reading from a teleprompter.

        Biden is floating in Lalaland; frequently, he has to ask, what do I do next?

  7. This whole thing is a diabolical scam. The virus was created and propagated to justify the “vaccine” so that there could be a worldwide coordinated effort to inoculate the planet’s population. Frightening article. While the attached link is about the “vaccine,” the whole concept of freedom impinging mandates is connected to keep the fear alive.
    https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/jab-will-poison/

    Next up is small pox. Coming soon to a locale near you…

    They will never stop. They are like the terminators in Arnold’s old movies

    • A Brattleboro first-grader was just vaccinated at school without parental permission.
      https://vermontdailychronicle.com/2021/11/23/nh-news-report-brattleboro-first-grader-vaccinated-against-parents-will/

      Keep this in mind: Since the beginning of the pandemic, 20 months ago, children under the age of 18 have not been vaccinated until recently. Nonetheless, only six of these children have been hospitalized in Vermont because of Covid – and not one has died. Our children are, clearly, at minimal risk and, according to recent reports, when they develop natural immunity, they have better and longer lasting protection from the virus and its mutations than the vaccine provides.

      Meanwhile, with the highest vaccination rate in the country, more than 50% of Vermont’s adult Covid deaths over the last three months have been vaccinated. And now Vermonters are being told that booster shots are recommended because the protection from the vaccine deteriorates quickly.

      Question: What is the effect of three doses of these experimental vaccines over such a short period of time on the natural immune systems of our children? Answer: we don’t know.

      And it doesn’t matter to the people insisting on these vaccinations, because they are not liable for any adverse effects the vaccines and boosters may cause – because the vaccines are still categorized under Emergency Use Authorization.

      • Read about this. It is sad and shocking.
        There’s already vaccine regret out there among adults…But adults are making a decision based on the information available at the time.
        I think in the end many parents will be heartbroken that they vaccinated their child. My heart breaks thinking about the potential long term harm.

  8. From our eagle-eyed friends at the Grok across the river in Live Free Or Die
    Hear Ye Hear Ye Alert; Nuremberg 2.0 Edition:
    [..]the American Heart Association put out a paper showing that the Jab causes heart inflammation. This has now appeared in the 71-year old peer-reviewed journal, “Circulation”. Dr. Vernon Cole reads verbatim from the article’s abstract:
    “We conclude that the mRNA vaccine dramatically increases inflammation on the endothelium and T-cell infiltration of cardiac muscle and may account for the observations of increased thrombosis, cardiomyopathy, and other vascular events following vaccination.”
    https://granitegrok.com/blog/2021/11/the-jab-medical-providers-are-now-on-notice-share-this-with-your-doctor-share-this-with-everyone

  9. News and Commentary
    RFK Jr. Calls For Fauci And Bill Gates To Be Criminally Charged For Profiting Off COVID
    This Is The Final Battle. We Need To Win This One.
    By James Samson
    November 23, 2021
    “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke out this week to say that both Dr. Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates should be hit with criminal charges for gross negligence and profiting off of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “Do you believe that Dr. Fauci and Bill Gates should be investigated for criminal wrongdoing?” podcast host Michael Cohen asked Kennedy…”
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C2vqI9FVwg

  10. Once again Governor Phil Scott has taken a powder and left Vermonter’s at the mercy of one of the largest collectives of fear facilitating Senators and Representatives in the country!

    Does he not realize this is not about taking a stand against an opposing political party?

    It is about the personal freedom and liberty of all humans, to preserve their sacred sovereignty!

    No legislative or executive body possesses the authority to override the laws of God and Universe. Most certainly is not an issue that can be resolved by an arbitrary deliberation of compromise or political posturing, yet that is all we get from Montpelier!

  11. https://tinyurl.com/7rwa9hme

    Again: get this book. Send it to your representatives (I am.) The case lawyer RFK, Jr., makes against authoritarian medicine is damning. Even if you already know a lot of this, you’ll still get angry because the case against Fauci and the rest of the medical authoritarians is so straightforward and irrefutable. What they did to us is criminal. What they caused Dr. Levine and Governor Scott and our legislature to do through their gross deception and callous disregard for saving lives, was/is criminal.

    When enough people see, this will stop. When enough people see, Covid-19 will be over because we already have the real solution to this disease. It’s not vaccines for everyone, it’s not masks, and it’s not lockdowns. All of these were so much snake oil sold to us by the snake-oil salesman-in-chief. He wasn’t working alone.

    • Here’s several interviews with RFK Jr. that should be listened to. Forward them to skeptical friends, relatives, co-workers, etc.

      With Theo Von. (semi-popular comedian with a podcast, in case you don’t recognize the name)
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92qdsxo5dyw

      With Tucker Carlson. (no doubt many “left” types won’t bother even checking it out just based on the interviewer)
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXbuoaXbJSU

      RFK Jr. is pretty much the only Kennedy left worthy of respect. He’s spot on when it comes to this completely idiotic COVID hysteria.

      • There’s more.

        On page 78 of RFK, Jr’s book, we find that in Pfizer’s Covid vaccine trial, more patients died (of all causes, including heart attacks) in the vaccine group than in the placebo group. But out of the approximately 22,000 people in each cohort (vaccinated vs unvaccinated) one more person in the unvaccinated group died from Covid than in the vaccinated group (that is, two persons vs one person.) Hence, the claim that the vaccines cause 100% fewer deaths, or are 100% effective (because 2 is 100% more than 1,) or whatever nonsense spin they put on it. But is two out of 22,000 vs one out of 22,000 even statistically meaningful? If overall more died in the vaccine group, does this mean the vaccines are safe and effective, or does it mean they’re completely and utterly worthless and potentially dangerous?

        This is a boondoggle of this highest order. The truth is coming out. People will be mad.

    • @Jim all part of the elitist/globalist “Great Reset-NWO plan” …it’s all out there, going back t Rockefeller….now they are not even trying to conceal their plans just storming ahead.

      • Right.

        Now Gates is warning of a possible smallpox epidemic. https://tinyurl.com/3hvea5xt Studies have shown that pathogens will spread easily and quickly in subway systems. So ….

        So what do we think the next move of these clowns might be if the truth starts to come out and they need to make sure the people are really, really scared? Sound impossible? Everything that has happened in the past two years would’ve sounded impossible to many of us.

        Think they’re just going to back down? Smallpox would accomplish all their goals, and as Schwab said, then we’re never going back to normal. Of course, this would be “natural” bioterrorism, leading to “necessary” medical tyranny and “necessary” political tyranny and the monitoring and managing of everyone on the planet.

        This is why people need to wake up, and fast.

  12. Self-righteous/Socialist/Leftist Dem/Progs love secrecy, divisiveness, smoke and mirrors, taking a knee, and encouraging riotous/destructive mayhem, as part of their standard repertory of diversionary tactics.

    Those tactics cause people to focus on the diversions, while at the same time they are having their pockets picked, and are being screwed up and down, left and right.

    Gee, how did that happen?
    You have to watch the evil-doers like hawks 24/7

  13. So we’ve locked ourselves in our houses, wore masks, and got vaccinated, and now legislators
    think a mandate is a good idea !!

    I have done all of the above, and they can stick their mandate where the sun doesn’t shine, I’ll
    live my life and you live yours………………………….

  14. Now King Philip is touting “personal freedom” after having deprived Vermonters of the very same for over a year and a half? Also, will someone please explain who the headline-cited “opposition party” is? Is this guy for real?

    • He wasn’t all about personal freedom when he signed restrictive gun laws either. A Vermonter can’t buy a 22 LR rifle that holds more than 10 rounds or a 22 pistol that holds more than 15 rounds. All popular and in common use. All this over an ignorant kid who bought a 5 round shotgun and shot off his mouth. There is no freedom in Vermont and this Plandemic has made it worse. In the end, these people just may pay for their potentially deadly incompetence and bullying of the people. Are we better off now under the leadership of Dem/Prog/woke carpetbaggers?

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