Sarah Palin Can Just Be Damned!

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Yesterday Sarah Palin, the former queen of the GOP crackpots, showed up in Phoenix and gave an interview to Charlie Kirk at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest.   While discussing COVID vaccines, Palin uttered a line that could have been written for the late comedian, Gracie Allen:  "It'll be over my dead body that I have to get a shot.  I will not do it.  I won't do it, and they better not touch my kids, either."

Karma, you have been challenged!

Palin and others on the right edge of the political spectrum are becoming almost nonsensical in their opposition to COVID vaccinations, and their theatrics, of course, are slowing the rate of vaccinations and also playing into the continuing spread of the disease.

This week the 6th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to uphold the Biden administration's vaccination mandate for all businesses that employ over a hundred people, and several states, including my own, are rushing to challenge that decision before the US Supreme Court.  It would seem they are more focused on defeating Biden than they are in defeating the killer virus.  

Whether the President is able to mandate vaccinations for employees in large businesses has yet to be clarified, but some businesses are taking the initiative and adopting measures designed to get higher rates of vaccinations among employees.  Kroger grocery stores, a national concern that has almost half-a-million full-and-part-time employees, told its workers last week that it will no longer provide two weeks of emergency leave for unvaccinated employees who contract the COVID-19.  Kroger is also going to add a $50 monthly surcharge to company health plans for unvaccinated managers and non-union workers - those workers on a salary rather than an hourly wage. 

Delta Airlines has added a $200 a month surcharge to its healthcare plan for employees who refuse to get vaccinated against COVID.  The airline reported that action brought about a marked increase in the number of employees getting the vaccinations.

But efforts to get employees vaccinated is not all "stick."  Many companies are also offering incentives (carrots) to get their employees to roll up their sleeves and do what is right.  Aldi's, Trader Joe's, and Amtrak are offering two hours of regular pay in exchange for employees getting their COVID shots - and Dollar General is giving four hours of regular pay for the shots.  American Airlines is giving a day of paid vacation and $50 in rewards points for employees who get vaccinated.  Tyson Foods, which is requiring its employees to be vaccinated, is also sweetening the pot by giving a $200 bonus to its frontline workers (pending union approval) when they do get their shots.

So Sarah Palin can just be damned.  America is slowly but surely doing the right thing - the patriotic thing and the Christian thing - by getting vaccinated!

Say goodnight, Sarah.