Scroll down to read this post.

 

Readers!

 

The time has come for my annual short Thanksgiving/Christmas fund drive for Behind The Black. I must do this every year in order to make sure I have earned enough money to pay my bills.

 

For this two-week campaign, I am offering a special deal to encourage donations. Donations of $200 will get a free autographed copy of the new paperback edition of Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8, while donations of $250 will get a free autographed copy of the new hardback edition. If you desire a copy, make sure you provide me your address with your donation.

 

As I noted in July, the support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.

 

In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.

 

Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.

 

Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:

 

1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.

 

2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
 

3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:

 

4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
 
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652

 

You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.


Arizona’s governor moves to block any local school mask mandates or closures

Doug Ducey, the less than useless Republican governor in Arizona during this past year of Wuhan panic, has apparently finally seen the light, and has begun to take action to prevent the Democratically-controlled local school boards and city governments from imposing new mask and vaccine mandates as well as shutting schools out of an unjustified fear of COVID-19.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Tuesday announced schools that impose mask mandates in the state will not have access to a $163 million grant program backed by coronavirus relief funds he controls.

The Republican governor said schools with mask mandates or that have closed due to COVID-19 concerns will not be eligible for an additional $1,800 per student. The announcement comes one day after he issued an executive order banning cities and counties from mandating vaccinations.

Ducey also announced a grant program to award parents if their schools require quarantining or isolation of students.

The governor also announced a $10 million grant that intends to award parents $7,000 for each student if their public school required isolating or quarantining due to COVID-19 exposure or if it gave preferential treatment to vaccinated children or mandated masks.

As expected, the Democrats in the state legislature railed against such measures, not because the mandates actually prevent the spread of any disease, but because Ducey’s actions rob them and their allies in local government of the unbridled power they have enjoyed for the eighteen or so months. Before they simply had power, and it corrupted them somewhat. Since the arrival of the Wuhan panic they have had absolute power, and it corrupted them absolutely. They are addicted to it, and can’t tolerate giving it up.

Meanwhile, it should not take a governor to recognize the right of the people to live their lives as they choose. That Ducey has to do this tells us that the public has ceded to much power to the government, no matter who is in charge. That too has to change, and it has to change at all levels, from the smallest local school board to the presidency of the entire nation.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

15 comments

  • John C

    My county commissioners are voting tomorrow morning about a mask mandate for children age 2-11 in schools and child care facilities. My 4 year old daughter will NOT be going to preschool if she is required to wear a mask. I hope these commissioners have the courage to do the right thing. Everytime I see a small child wearing a mask my heart sinks.

  • John C: What I find amazing and incredibly depressing is that no one questions their authority to vote in this matter, and impose their authority. Since when did they get this legal right to force little children to wear masks at all times in school? By what act of law?

    If that vote is public, I think if should be attended by a lot of people. If these thugs want to vote yes on such a disgusting edict, they should have to face the public while doing so.

  • Gary in Transit

    I’ve been unable to understand the Democratic Party and their love of masks, isolation and world ending climate predicions..until a friend sent me this:

    https://youtu.be/09maaUaRT4M

  • John C:

    I agree. I do not have any children about, but society is teaching horrible lessons.

    No touching. Stand away. Wear a mask. Obey authority. Shun those who don’t.

    Ir’s the antithesis of the shared human experience. And while Progressives are fond of using children as human shields, they never seem to count the cost.

  • Mike

    Although I usually cheer when my tax dollars find their way into people’s hands instead of giant corporations, I have to wonder the common sense with paying someone $7,000 if their snot nosed kid has to stay home.
    I suppose it makes no less sense than some of the ridiculously over budget pork projects of OldSpace and the giant welfare arm of our government.
    Oh well… when’s the next launch of anything Robert? Let’s get back to our regularly scheduled programming!

  • Michael Mangold

    Schools have exercised control over students wardrobe forever. I’d say public health is more than showing a little leg. I was weary of the effectiveness of cloth masks but this page at the CDC addresses the issue fior me, although I certainly continue to be open to new data.

    https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/masking-science-sars-cov2.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fmore%2Fmasking-science-sars-cov2.html

  • Gary in Transit

    Joe Biden would be an example of the masked citizen, but he was also is hiding under his bed in his basement. Many people wear poorly fitted masks.
    I noticed that deaths per million are closely matched between where I live in California and where I live in Texas. In California, many people wear a mask when outdoors walking by themselves and in the car. Indoor masks are mandated and fewer people are out and about than in Texas. My kids in Texas don’t wear masks in school. One of my reasons for moving was the serious and life threatening effect of the shutdown on my oldest daughter. She was a straight ‘A’ student and now she is an anxiety ridden recluse with serious health problems related to her anxiety/depression. Today she is home from school with horrible headache and stomach pain.

  • Michael Mangold: Depending on the CDC for guidance on any matters since the onset of this epidemic is like depending on Wikipedia for accurate political analysis. It ain’t there.

    Long before the arrival of COVID-19, research covering hundreds of studies and over a period of more than a hundred years had found that masks are useless at preventing the spread of respiratory illnesses. Those studies also found that if a mask was used carelessly (as everyone does), they can become pathogen bombs placed at the very point you breathe.

    None of that research has been contradicted by any of the quickly whipped together “studies” in the past year. That the CDC has conveniently forgotten that research and instead wants to rely on this recent poorly done research discredits it entirely.

  • Michael Mangold

    Bob, I’m a huge fan and always appreciate your thoughtful analyses. I do find the CDC references in this case compelling, despite their many missteps.

  • Gary in Transit

    I’ve seen conflicting data on masks. I believe this is due to the fact that it’s so hard to do well controlled studies.

    When we are told that for the good good of humanity and the planet that we must have a maximum of two children, drop all gender references, all live in in homes smaller than 1500 ft² located in urban skyscapers, not use more than 5 gallons of water per day, not air condition your home, use only public transportation and outlaw the use of any weapon..all for the survival of society Will you complain that you freedoms have been curtailed, or will you simply realize that you are living in California? When do you say no to government control?

  • pzatchok

    Lets start this by my saying that I have the shots.
    I got them in order to visit my brother who is in a nursing home. And my parents are in the danger zone so….

    But I can look at this from the other end of the stick.
    How many people have not gotten ANY vaccines for any reason? What about those parents who fear autism and other problems from vaccinating their children?
    I might not agree with their reasoning but I support their right to choose.

    I do not and never will agree with abortion but its the woman’s right as I have been told. Her body her choice. I personally believe its the babies body and not hers. She has the right to birth control but abortion is not birth control.

    As for those thinking this is the school enforcing school uniforms or fashions. What if the public schools required all girls to ware a burka or a mini skirt?

    As for those who claim you don’t care. That is just an excuse to not think about a hard subject and make a decision.

  • Edward

    Michael Mangold,
    In practice, the CDC requires quarantine after exposure no matter the mask status of either person. Thus, the CDC admits — in practice — that masks do not work, that they make no difference. Otherwise, there would be a condition under which quarantine was not necessary, such as longer exposure time or the infected person was wearing a mask (thus not spreading disease). Lacking such a distinction, masks make no difference.

    https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/public-health-recommendations.html

    Note: This is irrespective of whether the person with COVID-19 or the contact was wearing a mask or whether the contact was wearing respiratory personal protective equipment (PPE)

    With no difference in the consequences of exposure, why are we required to wear the masks?

  • pzatchok

    As for the CDC recommending “booster” shots.
    That is BS. This is big pharma covering its fanny and at the same time working billions more out of the US government.

    If the medical industry was worried about the level of anti virus in your system for anything you have been vaccinated against why are we not required to get boosters for everything we have vaccines for?

    A vaccine will NEVER stop you from acquiring the virus. It will just reduce the effects of the disease.
    People are treating this disease like a flu they can totally wipe out akin to polio. Reporters need to start asking the great one Fauci if we will ever be rid of this virus and if not what does the future look like.

  • Max

    John C said;
    “My county commissioners are voting tomorrow morning about a mask mandate for children”

    This debate is occurring everywhere… In Utah the legislature passed a law saying the school board could overturn what the county commissioners mandate.
    The CDC deliberately withheld infection numbers to deliver them “all at once” to falsely show a massive increase in infection rates.
    The “county commissioners” for Salt Lake panicked in fear and immediately made it mandatory for “all children” going back to school to wear masks. The parents showed up “by the hundreds” at the school board meeting (which normally rubberstamps the commissioners) but we’re fearful of the mob, and made masks for children optional. (but that can change next week)

    Robert Zimmerman responded;
    “John C: What I find amazing and incredibly depressing is that no one questions their authority to vote in this matter, and impose their authority. Since when did they get this legal right to force little children to wear masks at all times in school? By what act of law?”

    Tucker Carlson recently asked the same question on a different issue, with the dreaded but obvious answer… (This is very eye-opening)
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u9alsxM8SOM&feature=emb_rel_pause&noapp=1

    Toleration rule, subverting the constitution, elections, rule of law… otherwise commonly known as “treason”.
    It’s in your face, and they’re daring us to do something about it. (would you put the children at risk? We must save the children! All other rights are suspended until the children are saved… Why? Because “we said so”) {dinosaurs TV show 1981 “we say so corporation”}

    Gary in Transit shared a wonderful 22 minute educational of human nature and how “mass psychosis” is used by those who think themselves “self appointed gods” to strip money, property, and human rights itself, from the people. (I highly recommend watching this, I’ve done so twice)

    Witch burning, Hitler Nazi movement, are two good examples out of dozens in the last few centuries that caused the mass hysteria resulting in the slaughter of millions of individuals.
    A common theme here on BTB is the coming dark age. That time began in 1000 AD, facilitated by the 1000 year end of reign of Christ before the second coming. The “end of the world” had come and everyone was encouraged to give all property to the “new kingdom of God” (“the church”, all that what was left of the old Roman empire)
    Then came the black plague, as people flock from their farms to pray at the churches, which devastated the population, resulting in the dark age.
    The omnipotent church created kings, lords, magistrates as caretakers of their domain to collect taxes and control the population. Feudalism. Something we’re about to experience again.

    pzatchok said;
    “Lets start this by my saying that I have the shots.”

    Your love for your brother and family is truly noble, I will miss you on this forum when you are gone. I’ve learned a lot from you.

    The data on “experimental shots” does not look good. Vaccinations are failing spectacularly in every high vaccinated population, despite what the media lies to you about it.
    https://thevaccinereaction.org/2021/08/vaccinated-people-are-being-hospitalized-for-covid-and-dying/
    Virologist monitoring and testing the repercussions are determining that the spike proteins is causing issues identical to immune deficiency syndrome. (Aids)
    (Drugs being used for aids patients to suppress their immune system, so they can have a normal life, is the best hope. Same for newborn babies.)

    pzatchok also said;
    “How many people have not gotten ANY vaccines for any reason? What about those parents who fear autism and other problems from vaccinating their children?
    I might not agree with their reasoning but I support their right to choose.”

    I (Max) have never had a vaccine! (other than a tetanus shot from an employer, for a cut, requiring stitches when I was 18)
    Currently, for my work, I get yearly physicals. They declare my work capability status at the top of my age class, if not better than 90% of the work force, including people that weren’t even born when I started working there.
    I’ve used a “sick day” once in 30 years. (24 hour flu given to me by a coworker fresh from a cruise)
    I do not have a doctor currently… no medication’s, I’ve never had a hospital stay. Coincidence?
    A study on children of vaxed versus non-vaxed has resulted comparison of 6% of the non-taxed have health problems requiring medication… 66% of the vaccinated group have permanent health issues, and that number goes up with the amount of vaccinations that they receive.
    (Proof is in evidence in a lawsuit filed by “children’s defense” Kennedy)
    Same is true for autism, where autism was once rare… The frequency has increased with the increasing amount of mandatory shots the children are getting at an early age during development. Dead intact viruses and disease finding the receptors in the brain causing inflammation. (Think “dead infectious disease” with a “coat of armor” for preservation that cannot be dissolved, absorbed or digested)
    The only known prevention for encephalitis in a vaccinated child is immune suppression drugs, until the body can normalize, otherwise permanent brain damage is the result. (No, your pediatrician does not know this)

    Thank you! pzatchok, for supporting the freedom to to choose!
    I do what I feel is right for me… until it’s broken, I do not need to fix it.
    Although diabetes resulting in heart disease runs in my family, no one can catch that from me. Fat can easley be cured with self-control and keto diet… nor am I a threat to anyone with all their vaccinations, “they cannot get sick” (in theory) and all I have is an intact immune system that makes all my colds look like hayfever.

    “Vaccine hesitancy” is the new buzz word, as deadly as racism or conservatism. Wayne Allen root says it best in this article. A comparison between 1938 Germany and today.
    https://theblogginghounds.com/2021/08/15/welcome-to-1938-first-they-came-for-the-unvaccinated/
    “Stars on clothing. It’s coming. The vaccinated get into restaurants, bars, concerts, supermarkets, planes and trains. They keep their jobs. The rest of us are marked as “subhuman” for life. That’s the star. That’s 1938”

    I also support the right to choose… “Choose to get pregnant or not”, once a life is created, it is no longer a physical part of one’s body, but a separate individual with the potential to be you or me. I agree with you, “Abortion is infanticide”, not birth control. (If the rumors are true, abortion clinics numbers are way down due to spontaneous abortions from the shots and close proximity to the spike proteins that the people “who have had the shot” infect others with, which is having devastating effects on gestating babies)

    Why is this happening? Because it’s the psychology of all tyrants. They can’t help themselves. With billions of dollars and near infinite resources, their power to corrupt and control and devastate is “unimaginable” to the common normal person. Especially with today’s technology. (there was a “Doctor Who” episode involving a monkey raised to super intelligence…
    What did he do? Tried to turn the entire world into a banana…)

    “Those who subscribe to social Darwinism view the social world as a sort of competitive jungle requiring ruthless competition for limited resources, in which only the “strongest” survive. Social Darwinism includes a negative view of human nature, holding that people are inherently selfish and that cynical manipulation is an acceptable route to get ahead”

    “For instance, social Darwinists were more likely to display admiration for power, a desire to dominate, a desire to pursue their goals at all costs, and hostility. They were also more likely to have low self-esteem, low self-sufficiency, and a fearful attachment style in their close relationships”
    (Reading between the lines,”no compassion or connection to humanity”)
    “The results are in line with the idea that social Darwinists hold beliefs that conflict with the principles of liberal democracy, and their vision of social life is not conducive to fostering a cooperative, egalitarian society”
    https://neurosciencenews.com/social-darwinism-personality-19104/

    Edward makes an important logical point… unfortunately, it is not relevant to an irrational mind. The mass psychosis driven by fear overwhelms logical thought causing people to act upon feelings, superstition, and emotion. We have seen this before, it’s 1938 all over again.
    Didn’t they tell us that we would have herd immunity? If we got the shots we no longer wear the masks? All freedoms restored to go and do what you want?
    Like Lucy and the football… It’s pulled from our grasp before we can touch it. Now even with the vaccine passport, if you don’t have booster shot you’re considered unvaccinated filth.
    Which brings me to pzatchok’s last post which hits the nail on the head.
    The shots are “not working” because they’re for last year’s flu… So what are they doing? Requiring booster shots of the “same Chemical” not formulated for this year’s flu! (Delta variant) Another 60 billion? for a product that no longer works! (and probably never did work. “It was only to prevent the symptoms” while people walked around infecting others… This is science? How very dysfunctional)

    pzatchok said;
    “People are treating this disease like a flu they can totally wipe out akin to polio. Reporters need to start asking the great one Fauci if we will ever be rid of this virus and if not what does the future look like”

    Can it be totally wiped out like polio or smallpox? Those diseases only infected humans.
    This is a “cross species” infectious disease, as long as there’s a viral load sink existing in nature, the virus will be with us until the end of time, or the end of nature.
    Your dog has it, and cat. The rat, squirrel, mouse and the raccoon in your garbage can is taking it from house to house, the birds are dropping it in your ventilation intake… The mosquito is just waiting for it’s opportunity.

    Fauci is promising you something he can never deliver, the politicians weaponized his words and put the force of government and gun behind it. The minions, scared to death, will enforce their words with glee… mass hysteria.
    Is the New World order fascist afraid of the brown shirts? That their hysteria may turn on them when the truth is revealed? Is obvious?
    No, they got this.
    The time bomb has been injected into their veins of the loyal obedient masses waiting for a catalyst to be released by China? to activate the ADE. (Antibody dependent enhancement)

    When the time comes, the situation becomes desperate, remember the immunity suppression therapy that will save your life from your own body.
    People with pig valves use it, transplant recipients use it, aids patients use it, and people with “Auto immune” of their own organs use it daily.
    Good luck.

  • Edward

    Max wrote: “I do not have a doctor currently… no medication’s, I’ve never had a hospital stay. Coincidence?

    I am similarly healthy, and I have had all the childhood vaccines. As a counterexample, I prove that vaccines are able to leave people very healthy, too. So, yes. Coincidence.

    Didn’t they tell us that we would have herd immunity? If we got the shots we no longer wear the masks? All freedoms restored to go and do what you want?

    Well, they told us a whole lot of stuff that they later declared to be poppycock. It just shows that they have no idea what they are doing, and that at times they are imposing harmful decrees upon us. Should we trust them?

    I am in a county that re-imposed mask mandates on us. Why did everyone get their flu shots? So that they wouldn’t have to wear masks and would have freedom once again.

    So much for freedom.

Readers: the rules for commenting!

 

No registration is required. I welcome all opinions, even those that strongly criticize my commentary.

 

However, name-calling and obscenities will not be tolerated. First time offenders who are new to the site will be warned. Second time offenders or first time offenders who have been here awhile will be suspended for a week. After that, I will ban you. Period.

 

Note also that first time commenters as well as any comment with more than one link will be placed in moderation for my approval. Be patient, I will get to it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *