Federal Judge Says Pennsylvania’s Lockdown Orders Went too Far
On Monday, September 14, U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV in the Western District of Pennsylvania ruled that Democrat Governor Tom Wolf’s “security” theater surrounding the state’s COVID-19 response was unconstitutional. A Trump appointee, Pittsburgh-based Stickman determined that some of the restrictions imposed by the governor’s office and the state health agency violated the First Amendment and the 14th Amendment. This is a major win for the millions of Pennsylvanians who lost their jobs, their businesses, and their freedoms under Wolf and Secretary of Heath Rachel Levine’s unconstitutional actions.
“The ruling found that Wolf’s restrictions that required people to stay at home, placed size limits on gatherings and ordered ‘non-life-sustaining’ businesses to shut down were unconstitutional.The Wolf administration’s pandemic policies have been overreaching, arbitrary and violated citizens’ constitutional rights, Stickman wrote in his ruling,” Fox News reported.
Sycophantic Defense
As soon as the ruling was handed down, Wolf sycophants and the woke army of Karens and Daves across the country came to the governor’s defense. In a reply to a local channel, for example, a supporter argued that Wolf and Levine kept the people of Pennsylvania safe.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that Pennsylvania has the 12th most deaths (out of all the states and territories). This is hardly “keeping Pennsylvania safe.” Further, a federal investigation is potentially underway into the state’s policy of sending COVID-positive elderly patients to state-run nursing homes. Earlier this year, Dr. Levine even relocated her own mother from one of the homes and placed her in a hotel.
Security Theater
The Pennsylvania response, coordinated by pediatrician Levine, was by its very nature coronaviru security theater, i.e., just for show to help those who have turned fear into a virtue feel better about their actions. This is not to downplay the COVID crisis, however: You should still stay at home when you can, wash your hands, and wear a mask when in stores. We nonetheless need to look at the targeted areas of the COVID actions in relation to logic.
Across the country, governors have deemed essential some odd businesses. Marijuana shops, liquor stores, pawnshops, adult book stores, coffee shops, and other venues, for example. Even tobacco manufacturing, which seems to be the antithesis of an essential business, is included.
Meanwhile, churches, courthouses, synagogues, libraries, public parks and even golf courses were ordered closed. (Parks and golf courses are areas containing wide open spaces, but they were still included in shutdown orders). If you look at the groupings, the first set supports the agenda of liberal autocrats such as Wolf and Levine, while the second reflects the liberties that the autocrats are working to destroy.
Past outbreaks have demonstrated that forcing people into confined spaces (grocery stores) or keeping open houses of ill repute is unwise. Instead, you lock down infected regions, keep citizens home for a short period of time, and make sure to police the county lines to keep the infection isolated. Wolf did none of these things; residents of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh traveled back and forth across the state before “recommended” travel restrictions were implemented.
These failures were seen in liberal areas across the country as autocratic governors could not lock down their supporters in the cities until it was too late for the action to be meaningful. While politicians were suing Trump for actually protecting America, liberals were letting their followers spread the disease.
The security theater came to a head when the protests emerged after the death of George Floyd. Left-wing governors claimed that “open-up rallies” were super spreaders while BLM/Antifa protests were considered safe and a protected right. In June, Gov. Wolf even marched with demonstrators, less than six-feet apart mind you, to obtain a photo op.
Silver Screen To Real Life
The Democrat idea of “do as I say, not as I do” is not a new phenomena. For years, liberal Hollywood studios produced movies showing that most people are happy doing as they are told while outliers and protagonists “buck the system.” Modern movies such as The Avengers provide a scenario where the heroes are punished because not going along with a corrupt government will cause you to betray your friends, destroy the lives of others, and drive yourself into deep personal problems.
Movies that rail against free thought are nothing new. For instance, recall the apparent theme of the Bee Movie: Slaves are happier when they get a little, but are miserable when they are free. This movie might be little more than a reprise of the 1946 Disney film Song of the South showing how happy slaves on plantations. This idea should be offensive to Americans across the board. Free thought and personal liberty are the hallmarks of our country rather than boot licking and following the dictates of teapot tyrants like Wolf.
It is good to see that the courts are finally vindicating the rights of the people instead of corrupt officials who are trying to take those rights away. Gov. Wolf has stubbornly vowed to appeal Judge Stickman’s decision, however. While there is more legal challenges to come in Pennsylvania and other jurisdictions, this court ruling is a step in the right direction.
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