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Dec. 23, 2021 - Epoch Times

18:26

72,000 Medical Workers to be Fired in NY Over Mandate; Gov Deploys National Guard | Facts Matter

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	Good evening.
	According to this new report, which was just released yesterday on the FBI's website, it shows that the number of murders in the year 2020, it was up almost 30% from the previous year.
	That's by the way, one of the largest spikes in recorded history.
	And this problem, by the way, might actually become worse this year in the year 2021 as droves of police officers are resigning across the entire country.
	For instance, just yesterday over in Massachusetts, several dozen state troopers, they submitted their letters of resignation because they were not willing to comply with the vaccine mandate.
	However, that problem is not confined to the police alone, as vaccine mandates are also affecting hospitals.
	For instance, right here in New York, where we filmed this program, a vaccine mandate has just gone into effect yesterday.
	This means that over 70,000 hospital employees are now set to be fired later this week.
	And as a response to this problem, Governor Kathy Hochul, she has a unique solution.
	She just signed an executive order which will, among several other things, have the National Guard come in and replace hospital workers who have been terminated.
	And then furthermore, on a separate speech that she gave, she said that the vaccine was actually a gift to mankind from God and she encouraged her apostles to go and spread the good word.
	Let's go through it all together.
	This is your daily Facts Matter update, and I'm your host, Roman, from the Epoch Times.
	And now let's begin today's discussion by talking about murders, specifically increase in murders.
	Just yesterday, the FBI released this new report, which showed that the number of murders in the year 2020 rose by an almost unbelievable 29.4% over the previous year.
	Let me just repeat that.
	In the year 2020, there was nearly a 30% spike in the number of murders, Which, by the way, is one of the largest single-year increases ever that's been recorded in American history.
	Now, specifically, here's what this report found.
	In the year 2019, there were 16,669 murders.
	In 2020, there were 21,570 murders.
	That is an increase of 4,901, or almost exactly 30%.
	Now, there were other statistics mentioned in this report as well.
	And so, for instance, when you look at the violent crime rate in general, which includes a bundle of things like murders, assaults, rapes, and robberies, well, that was up 5% in the year 2020 year over year.
	Now, Mr.
	Jeff Asher, who is a data consultant specializing in the study of crime, he said during an interview with NPR that this increase is the largest since national records started being kept in the 1960s.
	Furthermore, he suggested that this problem is actually diffuse around the entire country and not concentrated anywhere.
	Here's specifically what he said.
	In the 90s, New York and Los Angeles accounted for 13.5% of all murders nationally.
	Last year, it was under 4%.
	So it's a lot more diffused than it was in the 90s.
	Furthermore, and this is something that actually challenged my own preconceived notions, according to this data, the murder rate was actually higher in cities with smaller populations.
	And so cities that had between 10,000 and 250,000 people, they had higher murder rates than other cities with 250,000 to a million people.
	However, Mr. Asher, he says that this particular fact is not really predictive.
	It was up over 30% in both, so neither was good, but it was worse slightly percentage-wise in smaller cities.
	It was bad everywhere.
	There's not a good murder takeaway there.
	Now, in terms of the reason for this spike in crime, as well as the meteoric rise in murders, well, Professor James Allen Fox, who teaches criminology over at Northeastern University, he points to the situation wherein, in the year 2020, some people were locked in their homes for a good chunk of the year, while other people were rioting on the streets.
	Here's specifically what he told a news outlet.
	Last year was unique in many ways.
	Because of the pandemic, people were not in structured activities.
	Kids were not in school, and adults were not at work.
	The whole country was divided by politics, the response to the coronavirus, and the social justice movement.
	He further added that, in his opinion at least, this spike in murders is not indicative of a long-term trend, but instead, it was the result of a unique set of circumstances that were found in the year 2020, which is of course a very optimistic take on things.
	However, it's not exactly clear whether circumstances will change for the better in the year 2021.
	And as an example of that, let's head on over to Massachusetts, where several dozen state troopers have just submitted their letters of resignation because they are not willing to comply with the vaccine mandate.
	That's right.
	At a time when murders are skyrocketing and crime in general is rising, the vaccine mandates that are going into effect across the country, they are forcing law enforcement officers to resign.
	Here's specifically what the president of the State Police Association of Massachusetts, here's what he said in a statement.
	Throughout COVID, we have been on the front lines protecting the citizens of Massachusetts and beyond.
	Simply put, all we are asking for are the same basic accommodations that countless other departments have provided to their first responders and to treat a COVID-related illness as a line of duty injury.
	However, he added that since this is not the case, many of the Massachusetts state troopers, they have decided to resign.
	Many of these troopers are going to be returning to their previous municipal police departments within the state that allow for regular testing and masks.
	To date, dozens of troopers have already submitted their resignation paperwork.
	Now, this move by the state troopers to resign comes on the heels of a court decision wherein a judge in Massachusetts she ruled against the police union.
	What happened in that case was that the state police association, they filed a lawsuit against the state saying that their October 17th vaccine deadline was too tight, it would cause the state troopers irreparable harm, and that they were seeking to extend the deadline In order to have more time to negotiate the terms and the conditions of their employment, including the possibility of having the unvaccinated state troopers submit regular COVID tests instead of getting the shot.
	However, the judge in the case ruled against them, saying that delaying the vaccine mandate would not serve in the public's best interest.
	Here's specifically what that judge said.
	The public interest is unquestionably best served by stopping the spread of the virus in order to protect people from becoming ill, ensure adequate supply of medical services, And curtail the emergence of new, deadlier variants of the virus.
	She then dismissed their lawsuit.
	And in response to that decision, the president of the State Police Association, he seemed to take the judge's decision in stride, and here's what he issued as a response.
	We are disappointed in the judge's ruling.
	However, we respect her decision.
	It is unfortunate that Governor Charlie Baker and his team have chosen to mandate one of the most stringent vaccine mandates in the country with no reasonable alternatives.
	Now, we here at the Epoch Times, we reached out to Governor Baker for his comment on these resignations, but we have yet to hear back.
	Regardless, though, if you've been paying attention, then you know that this problem goes way beyond the state of Massachusetts.
	Because whether it's the vaccine mandates or the general anti-police rhetoric that some politicians have been invoking, regardless of the reason, police resignations have been on the rise across the entire country.
	For instance, just two weeks ago, a Missouri police chief as well as all of his officers, they collectively resigned.
	Then over in Seattle, they have lost close to 20% of their police force so far this year.
	Then over in Portland, the entire police rapid response team, they dissolved themselves because they feel like they were not getting the support that they needed.
	Over in San Francisco, about 160 of their sheriff's deputies, they're considering resigning due to the vaccine mandate.
	And over in Albuquerque, New Mexico, more than a dozen police officers have recently quit because they felt like they were not being supported by the local administration.
	And those five cities, by the way, that is just a quick sampling of what is happening across the entire country more broadly as well as at the U.S. southern border.
	And so, when you combine the spike in murder and crime rates with the fact that police officers are resigning in record numbers across the entire country...
	Well, frankly, all I can say is that I hope for the best.
	If you'd like to read more about this FBI's murder report or about what is happening either in Massachusetts or across the other states that we mentioned, I'll throw all the links to those articles into the description box below this video, and all I ask in return is that you take a quick second to smash that like button for the YouTube algorithm.
	Now, it's worth noting that the vaccine mandate is not only affecting the police.
	And for a shining example of that, let's move on over to New York, where 70,000 hospital workers are now facing termination...
	Sorry, what's this?
	That's a great question, Roman.
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	And in the year 2020, over 155 million Americans, likely including you and me, were affected by data breaches.
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	Because the way it works, if all your messages are still routed through Switzerland, And now, let's move on over to New York.
	Last night, New York's governor, Ms.
	Kathy Hochul, she declared a state of emergency.
	Why?
	Well, she said that it was necessary in order to deal with the staffing shortage that's been caused by the vaccine mandate, which, by the way, just yesterday went into effect for healthcare workers.
	That's right.
	Last month, the New York Department of Health, they issued an order requiring that all healthcare workers must get at least one shot of the vaccine by September the 27th, which was, of course, just yesterday.
	And with that deadline now passed, well, here's what New York's governor said.
	Last night, I took bold action and signed an executive order that will alleviate potential staffing shortages in our hospitals and other healthcare facilities across New York State.
	And by the way, those staffing shortages that she mentioned are in fact very real.
	As we mentioned in a previous episode, here in New York State...
	There are about 450,000 hospital workers.
	84% of them are fully vaccinated, meaning that 16% of them are not.
	And so when you do the math, that means that 72,000 workers are currently facing the prospect of being terminated.
	And that's only, by the way, from hospitals.
	That does not even include adult care facilities as well as nursing homes.
	And Governor Hochul's answer to this is twofold.
	First of all, on a previous occasion, she suggested that we import foreigners in order to fill these vacant positions.
	Here's what she said on that front.
	We're also reaching out to the Department of State to find out about visas for foreign workers on a limited basis to bring more nurses over here.
	However, just yesterday, Governor Hochul enacted a new idea.
	She signed an executive order which will have the National Guard come in and replace the hospital workers who are currently facing termination.
	Let me just repeat that.
	The governor has enacted a state of emergency and said that medically trained National Guard troops are about to come in and replace unvaccinated healthcare workers who are being fired.
	Here's specifically what she said in the statement during the signing of that order.
	I don't have to do this if people will get vaccinated.
	There's plenty of hours left in the day.
	But I also know I need to be prepared.
	I would have much rather just been voluntary.
	But if I have to take steps to protect people in terms of making sure I have replacements if necessary...
	I need to take those steps now, and that executive order will do just that.
	It's kind of amazing if you think about it.
	Here in New York, we went from two weeks to flatten the curve, and now it's military-run private hospitals.
	Regardless, there is still a grace period in regards to individuals who are seeking to get a religious exemption.
	That's because about two weeks ago, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order which bars the New York Department of Health from interfering in any way with the granting of religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccination going forward.
	However, even though that restraining order is currently in place, the religious exemption case, the lawsuit, is still ongoing, and it's not exactly clear how it will turn out.
	For your reference, by the way, that case, it was filed by 17 healthcare workers who objected to the fact that New York State did not offer them an option to file a religious exemption to the vaccine mandate.
	They claimed that this violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, And here's what the lawyer for the 17 healthcare workers, here's what he said about the case.
	What New York is attempting to do is slam shut an escape hatch from an unconstitutional vaccine mandate.
	And they are doing this while knowing that many people have sincere religious objections to vaccines that were tested, developed, or produced with cell lines derived from aborted children.
	However, just yesterday, the New York governor made a statement wherein she expressed her opinion that there is no legitimacy to a religious exemption to the vaccine.
	Here's specifically what she said during her speech.
	There are not legitimate religious exemptions because the leaders of all the organized religions have said there's no legitimate reason and we're going to win that in court in a matter of days.
	Also, in a prior speech on the same issue, here's what Governor Hochul said: "To the extent that there is leadership of different religious organizations that have spoken, and they have, I'm not aware of a sanctioned religious exemption from any organized religion.
	In fact, they're encouraging the opposite.
	They're encouraging their members, everybody from the Pope on down, is encouraging people to get vaccinated.
	So people will say what they choose." However, according to Mr.
	Roger Severino, who is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, he said that this kind of statement crosses a line.
	Basically, his point is that if you tell your boss that you are a Catholic and you have a religious objection to the vaccine, but then your boss turns around and says, hey, you know what?
	The Pope himself has urged Catholics to get vaccinated.
	Well, that would amount to religious discrimination.
	Here's specifically what he told the news outlet.
	For employers to say you are wrong about your own beliefs is arrogant and discriminatory because people are entitled to their own religious beliefs.
	Even if they disagree with their own religious leaders, public institutions should not act like inquisitorial boards quizzing people's religious beliefs and trying to find holes because somebody has a different view of things.
	If separation of church and state means anything, it means that state institutions don't second guess to try to resolve religious truths.
	However, Governor Hochul's comments have actually gone further than just dismissing the idea of a religious exemption.
	That's because during a speech she gave at a Christian center on Sunday over in Brooklyn, she said that in her opinion, the vaccine was given to us, was given to man by God himself, and that she hopes that we are all going to be apostles and spread the good word.
	Here's specifically what she said during that speech on Sunday over in Brooklyn.
	But I prayed a lot to God during this time.
	And you know what?
	God did answer our prayers.
	He made the smartest men and women, the scientists, the doctors, the researchers.
	He made them come up with a vaccine.
	That is from God to us.
	And we must say, thank you, God.
	Thank you.
	And I wear my vaccinated necklace all the time to say, I'm vaccinated.
	All of you.
	Yes, I know you're vaccinated.
	You're the smart ones.
	But you know there's people out there who aren't listening to God and what God wants.
	You know this.
	You know who they are.
	I need you to be my apostles.
	I need you to go out and talk about it and say, we owe this to each other.
	We love each other.
	Jesus taught us to love one another.
	And how do you show that love but to care about each other enough to say, please get vaccinated because I love you.
	I want you to live.
	And ironically, her belief that the vaccine came from God is matched by other people's belief that since the vaccine employed fetal cell lines that were derived from aborted children during its development, well, that actually goes against their faith.
	And while Governor Hochul can express her religious convictions by getting the vaccine, she is also pushing for it to be impossible for other people to express their convictions by opting out.
	And we'll just have to wait and see how this all ultimately plays out and whether the National Guard will in fact come in and replace the terminated hospital workers.
	If you'd like to read more about what's happening over here in New York, I'll throw a link to that into the description box below this video for you to check out.
	And now lastly, since you've completed this episode of Facts Matter, then I would highly recommend that you head on over to Epic TV. Check out an awesome episode of American Thought Leaders where Jan sat down with one of the co-founders of Wikipedia And they went through how Wikipedia went from being a relatively neutral source of information to essentially leftist propaganda.
	Take a look at a trailer for that episode.
	You can't have a consensus among ideological enemies.
	One side is ultimately going to win unless there's a really strong neutrality policy.
	The enforcement of the neutrality policy essentially collapsed.
	Has Wikipedia strayed from its original mission?
	I regret not doing certain things when I was starting Wikipedia.
	Today I sit down with Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger to discuss his original vision for the platform, how it has changed, and his work now to create a decentralized network that he describes as a superset of all encyclopedias.
	I think we were naive.
	We needed a democratic revolution in tech.
	This is American Thought Leaders, and I'm Jan Jekiele.
	If you want to check out that full episode, as well as all the other awesome content over on Epic TV, It'll be right there at the very top of the description box.
	I hope you click on it.
	I hope you check it out.
	I hope you subscribe.
	And I hope that you join us on this beautiful road of exploring this world through honest journalism based in truth and tradition.
	Now lastly, if you haven't already, smash that like button for the YouTube algorithm.
	Subscribe to this YouTube channel if you haven't already in order to get this type of honest news content delivered directly into your YouTube feed while YouTube still allows it.
	Also, consider smashing that notification bell so you can actually be notified of any new videos as we release them.
	Also, if you have an Instagram account, consider following me at EpicTimesRoman.
	I publish behind-the-scenes research as well as spicy memes.
	And then, until next time, I'm your host, Roman from the Epic Times.

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