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Top Three Takeaways – July 27th, 2021
- Migrants gone wild. If you’re frustrated about the surge in COVID-19 cases and are looking for someone to blame. Well, you can blame the migrants...for at least some of what’s happening. During the pandemic under the Trump administration's border policy, which kept migrants in Mexico until their asylum cases could be heard, every migrant was tested for COVID-19 prior to being granted access to the United States. Under the UN’s “Migrant Protection Program”, migrants would have to test negative for COVID-19 and those testing positive were quarantined. Under the Biden administration's Migrants Gone Wild program (aka my new name for the Biden border crisis), the new protocol works like this. Border Patrol agent looks at migrants walking across the border. If someone looks sick, they’re sent for offsite testing. And no, I’m not kidding. That’s what’s happening as a 900% increase in COVID-19 infections has been reported at the southern border with dozens of Border Patrol agents now having tested positive, which only further erodes the ability to even loosely police the border. The Biden Administration requires a negative COVID-19 test for anyone visiting the White House but only a spot check in passing by a Border Patrol agent to enter the country. This is the official policy. According to Customs and Border Patrol: CBP personnel conduct initial inspections for symptoms or risk factors associated with COVID-19 and consult with onsite medical personnel. Umm, that’s a nice effort to put lipstick on a pig. Let’s get real, non-medically trained Border Patrol agents are looking at migrants pass in mass and occasionally noticing someone cough or sneeze. But what happens at the border certainly doesn’t stay at the border. We know commonly up to 70% are bused into Florida. So, to recap we’re literally importing COVID-19 into the US through the southern border, and it’s most commonly being shipped to Florida. That’s Joe Biden’s Migrants Gone Wild. And it’s Florida’s problem.
- Florida’s boom in homeschooling. No surprise the pandemic brought about a boom in homeschooling. But only one state, Alaska, saw a bigger boom than Florida. According to Census data Florida’s percentage of K-12 students who were homeschooled last year rose from 5% to 18.1%. The 362% increase in homeschooling left Florida 2nd in percentage increase in homeschooling, 4th in overall percentage of homeschooled population and far and away the most kids overall who are homeschooled. In the wake of the CRT push by teachers unions and a greater awareness by parents over what was being taught generally through remote learning during the pandemic – it's likely many are considering keeping their kids at home for school. But there is another option that was the better option than remote learning last year. Florida’s Virtual School. Florida’s Virtual School, which is naturally built for remote learning, outperformed the state’s overall performance during the pandemic including besting Florida’s graduation rate by 5% and reading proficiency by 16%. If you want homeschooling without having to home school, it’s a great option and was always the better one for remote learning.
- Masks on or masks off that is the question. While the CDC tries to decide whether it’s going to flip-flop on its guidance, Coral Springs and Palm Beach aren’t waiting. Both cities reinstituted mask mandates on Monday. While they only apply to what happens indoors, it’s the latest reminder that government mandates nor the pandemic are behind us. And that commonly the CDC’s guidance is worth what you pay for it. Oh wait, check that, less than what your tax dollars have paid for.