An Unhealthy Policy
What to know: The New York Post says that the surge of COVID-19 cases in Texas has largely been caused by bad policies at the border—where tens of thousands of migrants, 80% of whom are unvaccinated and untold numbers are COVID-positive, are entering each month.
The TPPF take: The border crisis—and its public health ramifications—was the topic of a recent livestream event at TPPF.
“It has impacted every single town in America,” U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., said during that event. “This crisis was created by executive order. And we can’t protect our hometowns if we can’t protect our homeland.”
To view this livestream event, click here.
Real Reform
What to know: In Mississippi, lawmakers say they’ll make re-entry the focus of their criminal justice reform efforts.
The TPPF take: TPPF’s Right on Crime project has named Scott Peyton as its Mississippi state director.
“In Mississippi, nearly 9,000 individuals are released from the Mississippi Department of Corrections facilities,” says Scott. “According to MDOC, 36% of those individuals will return to prison within three years. This reflects a disservice to the safety of communities throughout Mississippi. Successful reentry is key to stopping this vicious cycle of recidivism, which translates to better public safety, but also restoration of individuals to their communities and families.”
For more on Mississippi, click here.
Model Failures
What to know: The U.S. based much of its COVID-19 policy on models—which failed spectacularly (the Navy, for example sent hospital ships to New York, which treated a total of 35 cases, while patients were being sent into nursing homes).
The TPPF take: This failure should tell us something about models used to predict climate change.
“The trouble with data models is that they’re purely statistical in nature, not scientific, and their results change based on the criteria used to design them,” says TPPF’s Jason Isaac. “Scientists—and, most especially, the media—must honestly acknowledge the limitations of data modeling. Even the most sophisticated number-crunching can’t foresee what will happen generations from now.”
For more on climate models click here.