Tag: rand paul

As Americans Face Starvation, Gov’t Spends $55 Billion on Smart Toilets, Lizards on Treadmills, and More

Everybody celebrates the holiday season in their own way. Each year, Senator Rand Paul invokes the spirit of the fictional grievance-airing holiday “Festivus” from Seinfeld to release an annual taxpayer waste report—and boy, is this one a doozy.

The libertarian-leaning Kentucky lawmaker’s report for 2020 finds an astounding $54.7 billion wasted by the federal government this year. (That’s not even an exhaustive figure for the federal government, nor does it account for the vast levels of waste by state and local governments.)

To put the nearly $55 billion wasted in context, Paul’s office explains that this is equivalent to wasting the taxes of more than 5.4 million Americans. It’s enough money to build a two-lane road that wraps around the entire Earth—18 times over. It’s enough money to buy every American a 40-inch flat-screen TV.

Yes, seriously.

Keep reading

New York Times report may prove Rand Paul correct in cross-immunity disagreement with Dr. Anthony Fauci during testimony

Sen. Rand Paul seized on a New York Times report showing many school-aged children already have antibodies from infection with other coronaviruses associated with common colds that could block the new SARS-CoV-2 strain causing the pandemic.

During a testy Sept. 23 Senate hearing, Paul repeatedly questioned Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, on the role preexisting cross-reactive immunity could play in stopping the spread of COVID-19. Paul cited countries in Asia that had seen slower spreads of the disease, noting that it’s possible their success could be attributed to immunity built up through coronavirus strains present in widespread common colds in those countries.

Fauci insisted no evidence suggested that was the case, instead pointing to mask mandates and social distancing efforts as being solely responsible for slowing the spread.

“You are not listening to what the director of the CDC said,” Fauci said. “If you believe 22% is herd immunity, I believe you’re alone in that.”

Fauci then claimed a recent study contradicted Paul’s hypothesis.

“I’d like to talk to you about that also because there was a study that recently came out that preexisting immunity to coronaviruses that are common cold do not cross-react with the COVID-19,” Fauci said.

Fauci did not immediately respond to a Washington Examiner request for comment on what study he was referencing.

Keep reading

‘I don’t think we’d have survived’: Rand Paul says police saved him and wife from ‘mob’ of DC protesters

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul feared that he and his wife would have been “pummeled” by protesters if police had not intervened as they left the White House and walked to a hotel following President Trump’s acceptance speech to end the Republican National Convention.

He told Fox and Friends on Friday morning that the city is no longer safe for Republicans like himself to be out walking.

“I regret that I made this decision, but I said we’ll walk the two blocks. We walked one block, but as we walked one block, we could see some police in the distance, but we also saw a mob of about 30 people marching and yelling. They all of a sudden saw me — right as we got to the police, fortunately, or I don’t think we would have survived,” Paul said.

The senator said the crowd swelled to more than 100 protesters, some of whom shouted profanities and threats at the couple. At least one officer used his bike to push back the mob.

“They were shouting threats, you know, to us, to kill us, to hurt us, but they’re also saying, shouting, ‘Say her name, Breonna Taylor.’ And it’s like, you couldn’t reason with this mob. But I’m actually the author of the Breonna Taylor law to end no-knock raids, so the irony is lost on these idiots that they’re trying to kill the person who’s actually trying to get rid of no-knock raids. […] You’ve seen the pictures of what they do to you,” Paul said.

Keep reading