Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

A new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study does not disprove a link between COVID-19 vaccines and sudden deaths among young people, contrary to claims.

The study, published by the CDC’s quasi-journal on April 11, analyzed death certificates from Oregon for people aged 16 to 30 who died between June 2021 and December 2022.

Among people who died with evidence of vaccination, three died within 100 days of a shot, Drs. Juventila Liko and Paul Cieslak with the Oregon Health Authority found.

None of those three deaths could be attributed to messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccination, or shots from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, according to the doctors. Two of the deaths were attributed to underlying conditions while the cause of death for the third was “undetermined.”

“These data do not support an association between receipt of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine and sudden cardiac death among previously healthy young persons,” the doctors wrote.

The authors failed to note that a much larger, peer-reviewed study from South Korea confirmed vaccine-induced myocarditis caused eight sudden cardiac deaths (SCDs), all among people younger than 45. Myocarditis is a form of heart inflammation.

The new study “is at odds with a higher quality and peer-reviewed journal article published in the European Heart Journal,” Dr. David McCune, who was not involved with either paper, told The Epoch Times via email. “The study, from Korea, found a small but significant group of patients who had SCD and autopsy evidence consistent with vaccine-induced myocarditis.”

Multiple media outlets published stories on the new study, but none mentioned the South Korean article.

The stories also included false or misleading claims.

U.S. News and World Report’s story said that it was an “incorrect idea that COVID-19 vaccines are linked to death in young people.”

NBC’s article said that the study “debunks widespread misinformation that the mRNA shots were connected to sudden cardiac death in young athletes.”

NBC reporter Berkeley Lovelace Jr. also wrote that “there is no evidence that COVID vaccines cause fatal cardiac arrest or other deadly heart problems in teens and young adults, a CDC report finds.”

“I don’t think that is close to an accurate assessment of the CDC paper or the overall level of knowledge we have about vaccine risk,” Dr. McCune said.

The reporters who wrote the articles for U.S. News and World Report, NBC, The Hill, and Medpage Today did not respond to requests for comment.

Other papers that support a link between deaths among young people and COVID-19 vaccination include a study that analyzed post-vaccination deaths in Qatar and determined there was a “high probability” that eight sudden cardiac deaths, including one person aged 11 to 20, were caused by the vaccination. Some death certificates have also described COVID-19 vaccine-induced myocarditis as a cause of death for sudden deaths, including the certificate for an American college student who died suddenly after receiving a Pfizer shot.

Authorities in the United States acknowledge that the COVID-19 vaccines can cause myocarditis but maintain no deaths have been caused by vaccine-induced myocarditis. They have refused to release autopsies conducted on people who died after COVID-19 vaccination. Several long-term studies have identified heart scarring in people who suffered myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination. Some experts say the scarring may be permanent and could eventually lead to death.

Dr. Ofer Levy, an adviser to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, told NBC that no vaccine has ever been conclusively linked to sudden cardiac death and that the new study “adds to evidence that people don’t drop dead from getting their mRNA COVID vaccines.” Dr. Levy did not respond when asked whether he was aware of the South Korean paper and other literature.

NBC also quoted Dr. Leslie Cooper in promoting the study while failing to note that Dr. Cooper is a consultant for Moderna.

Authors Respond

Asked why they didn’t mention literature that presents evidence of sudden cardiac death among previously healthy young people after vaccination, the authors told The Epoch Times in an email that they had. The studies they included are an Israeli paper that does not mention sudden death; a letter that noted sudden deaths among athletes, regardless of vaccination status, since the vaccines were rolled out; an analysis of 911 calls from Israel; and a case definition for myocarditis that says it can be a cause of sudden death. None of the papers cite autopsy data or other strong evidence that has emerged.

The authors also linked to a 2021 CDC statement and a 2021 CDC presentation, neither of which mention sudden death.

The authors did not say whether they were unaware of the South Korean study or chose not to include it.

The CDC should “not have published their study without acknowledging the international studies that have identified post-mRNA vax-related cardiac death in young people,” Dr. Tracy Hoeg, who was not involved in the research, wrote on the social media platform X.

In the paper, the authors also cited an earlier CDC study that found people who entered a health system were at higher risk of cardiac complications after COVID-19 infection versus after COVID-19 vaccination. The relevance isn’t clear since the COVID-19 vaccines do not prevent infection, and some other studies have found that the risk of myocarditis is higher after vaccination among young people.

Asked why they didn’t cite any of those other studies, the authors referred back to the papers they did cite and said they “also clearly expressed the limitations in the research.”

Limitations of the paper include the small population size, which would make it “less likely” for Oregon to record “a rare event such as sudden cardiac death among adolescents and young adults,” the authors wrote in the study.

“Nevertheless, it is clear that the risk, if any, of cardiac death linked to COVID-19 vaccination is very low, while the risk of dying from COVID-19 is real,” Dr. Cieslak said in a press release issued by the Oregon Health Authority. “We continue to recommend COVID-19 vaccination for all persons 6 months of age and older to prevent COVID-19 and complications, including death.”

The authority didn’t list any data that show the currently available vaccines prevent COVID-19 complications such as death. U.S. regulators cleared them in 2023 without clinical trial efficacy data. Only animal testing data was available for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Novavax shots. Moderna presented antibody data from 50 humans. Observational studies have since provided mixed effectiveness data against infection and hospitalization.

CDC Journal

The CDC published the study in its journal, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), which only publishes papers after officials shape them to align with the agency’s messaging. The CDC has been relentlessly promotive of the COVID-19 vaccines since they were rolled out.

Previous releases of documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) show that CDC officials engage in multiple rounds of editing of papers published in the journal.

The authors of the new paper acknowledged that the paper was edited prior to publication.

“CDC made no edits that altered the conclusions of the study,” they said.

The CDC journal’s editor-in-chief did not respond to a query.

The Epoch Times has filed FOIA requests to ascertain which edits were made, and by whom.

The authors also defended the choice to submit the paper to MMWR, rather than a traditional journal.

“Many times there is a large amount of observational data that is critical for time-sensitive reporting to inform public health practitioners and clinicians. These sorts of time-sensitive publications that might impact the actions of state and county public health leaders have long been published in the CDC’s MMWR,” they said. “In fact, there are numerous examples of CDC’s MMWR being the first source of information during many important historical events, including the beginning of the AIDS pandemic, the discovery of Legionnaires disease, the initial cases of H1N1 in 2009.”

Joe Biden's sticky inflation continues to ravage the working poor as Bidenomics falls flat on its face. The president's ally at the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, has yet to achieve the 2% inflation Fed target ahead of the November elections. 

As inflation heats up in the first quarter of this year, the cost of driving on American highways is seriously spiraling out of control. Auto insurance in the US increased more than 22% in the 12 months that ended in March, the largest annual increase since 1976, according to Bloomberg. 

The cost of owning and or driving a vehicle in the US is absolutely insane. From $1,000 monthly payments to ridiculous repair bills to the average price of gasoline inching closer to the politically sensitive level of $4 a gallon to, of course, skyrocketing auto insurance, the cost of driving is unbearable for some. For others, still near record high prices for used and new vehicles, plus the highest borrowing rates in a generation, continue to worsen the affordability crisis. 

For more clarity on what's driving auto insurance rates through the roof. Bloomberg's Keith Naughton explained why in five bullet points:

1. Cars are more expensive to fix: 

Today's cars are packed with high-tech gadgetry meant to entertain, comfort and protect occupants. The array of safety equipment now common on cars includes automatic emergency braking, blind-spot detection and lane departure warnings. To give drivers eyes in the back of their head, automotive engineers have embedded cameras, sonar and radar sensors from bumper to bumper. All that technology has driven up the cost of repairing even a minor fender bender.

For example, when Toyota Motor Corp. upgraded its Camry sedan in 2018, its front bumper went from having 18 parts to 43, including sensors for the advanced driver-assistance system that can control speed and lane position automatically as well as provide blind-spot warnings. As a result, it now costs 43% more to repair a Camry after a front-end collision, according to Mitchell International Inc., a researcher that provides data and software to insurance companies and car repair shops. The average repair bill for a car with a standard internal- combustion engine was $5,564 in 2023, according to auto insurance processing company CCC Intelligent Solutions.

2. Electric vehicles are even more expensive:

If your vehicle is battery powered, then the cost to repair it is 22.3% higher than for a traditional car, or $6,806 on average last year, according to the processing company. Even though EVs have fewer parts than internal combustion engine vehicles, they are more costly to fix for a variety of reasons, starting with that big battery underneath the floorboards. 

The battery is the most expensive component on an electric car — by far. It's also costly to handle during repairs. Because of the risk of battery fires, many manufacturers require that the massive lithium-ion battery be drained and disconnected before a repair. If the EV needs to be welded or taken through a hot paint bay, then the battery has to be removed entirely. The result: A battery-powered model takes nearly 50 days to repair, on average, 10 days longer than non-EVs, according to CCC Intelligent Solutions. 

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. cited repair costs for EVs that were twice as high as for traditional cars when it decided to drastically scale back its EV rental fleet last fall. EV repair costs will probably come down as battery-powered automobiles become more commonplace — they accounted for just 7.6% of US car sales last year — but that could take a while since mainstream consumers are passing on plug-in models for now because of high prices and a spotty charging infrastructure.

3. There are more crashes that are more severe 

Despite the additional safety equipment on cars to help drivers avoid crashes, US roads have become far more dangerous. And that's pushing up insurance rates to cover the costs of repairs and health care for those injured in crashes. Nearly 41,000 people died in US traffic crashes last year, up 13% from 2019, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

That increase followed decades of declines in road fatalities, and it coincided with the rise of mobile phone use in cars. Americans look at their phones while driving at three times the rate of drivers in the UK, according to a study by Cambridge Mobile Telematics. Most cars these days are also outfitted with a tablet-like touchscreen in the dashboard to provide entertainment and navigation. In 2022 in the US, 3,808 people were killed and more than 289,000 were injured in crashes involving distracted driving, according to NHTSA. 

Paradoxically, all the high-tech safety equipment in new cars might be giving motorists a false sense of security. "People were concerned that there might be an incentive to be even more distracted while driving because you believe the technology will kick in when needed," said Stephen Crewdson, senior director of insurance business intelligence with researcher J.D. Power. "It looks like they were correct because we're seeing auto collisions are still happening as they did before, and the severity is going up."

4. There's a shortage of mechanics and car parts 

Pandemic-related shortages of parts and a long-running dearth of mechanics to bolt them onto cars has turbocharged repair costs and thus insurance premiums. Though there was an uptick in mechanics last year, there remains a chronic shortage: The industry needs as many as 800,000 more technicians to meet demand over the next five years, according to a study by TechForce Foundation, which tracks the business. 

Between 2020 and 2022, the number of graduates completing postsecondary programs in the auto sector fell by 20%. As the baby boomer-heavy profession loses thousands of mechanics to retirement each year, fewer young people are going into the profession that pays on average $49,690 annually, 20% below the national average wage, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

EV mechanics are even harder to find. Pricey labor accounts for nearly half the cost of an EV repair, and it's the biggest factor in the disparity between the expense to fix an EV and a non-EV, according to CCC Intelligent Solutions. The price of car parts also skyrocketed as Covid shutdowns and the war in Ukraine disrupted global supply chains. The twin shortages of people and parts continue to drive up repair costs, which rose 3.1% month- over-month in the latest core consumer price index, the biggest jump since August 2022.

5. Insurance companies are playing catch-up 

During the early days of the pandemic, driving miles plummeted and accidents declined by so much that auto insurers refunded their policy holders billions of dollars during April and May of 2020. But the snapback was severe. First came the rising costs from the parts shortages, then the price of cars, also in short supply, shot up, and finally drivers returned to the roads with a vengeance. The resulting surge in crashes and claims left auto insurers with their worst underwriting results in decades. They found themselves upside down, with the cost of claims exceeding the premiums they were bringing in. 

So the insurance companies began aggressively increasing rates. The latest consumer price index data show rates rose by 2.6% in March, the biggest monthly advance since July 2020. Consumer advocates accuse the insurers of being too aggressive with their rate increases and point to the rising stock prices of the big insurance companies as proof. But since auto insurance is regulated by each US state, insurers have had to make a case for their increases based on the trends of rising claims, costs and accident rates. 

"A gas station can increase and decrease prices by the minute," Crewdson of J.D. Power said. "But an auto insurer has to justify their rate changes, so they are always behind the curve. They're still catching up." And that means rates will continue to rise.

For those who can no longer afford to drive and must take public transportation.

Remember this quote:

Perhaps WEF's dream is coming true after all. 

Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us,

Nearly 20 years ago when I started my work in the independent media the common mantra among my peers was noting the existence of the “false left/right paradigm” – The idea that Democrats and Republicans were essentially the same and were working towards the same exact authoritarian goals. This was before the Ron Paul movement and the libertarian/patriot shift within conservative circles when Neocons (fake conservatives) dominated all Republican discourse.

In the 16 years since there has been some interesting developments at the state level, with a return to true conservative and constitutional principles. Conservative ideals were on the verge of death in the early 2000s, but thanks to Ron Paul and others there has been a resurgence. The false left/right paradigm still applies in many ways and we have to remain vigilant, but the most blatant RINO frauds are quickly losing favor.

Nihilists (and paid federal provocateurs) will constantly claim we aren’t making any progress, but consider this: Decades ago conservatives used to clamor to defend people like John McCain, Lindsay Graham or Mitt Romney, now they despise such fakes (McCain was hated by most conservatives well before he died). Times are changing; this is a fact, and we need to acknowledge the positive move forward.

This is not to say that Americans should rely on politics to fix our national problems, but it would be a lie to claim that there are no political representatives on our side. A common argument against right leaning movements is that conservative ideals are “poorly defined” and that we “don’t stand for anything.” This is simply not true.  In fact, it’s leftists that are constantly changing their positions like they have schizophrenia. Conservatives have been far more consistent in comparison.

The guidelines are relatively easy to understand – Conservatives and liberty activists support a return to constitutional governance, the protection of the Bill of Rights, free markets, meritocracy, the right to choose associations, truth in media, secure borders, the protection of children from exploitation, keeping America out of foreign entanglements, moral and accountable leadership, etc. The degree to which leaders can adhere to these parameters determines how much trust they earn, and trust is the only currency that matters these days.

Do we disagree on certain nuances of these issues? Of course. We aren’t like leftists following a central hive mind, always afraid of being canceled by the mob; we argue. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as long as we unify on basic tenets and principles.

Democrats (and leftists in general) on the other hand have gone in the complete opposite direction. If there was ever a time when the average leftist and conservative could find common ground, that time was LONG gone. Many leftists used to be pro-individual rights; today they argue incessantly against personal liberty as if it’s dangerous to society. They used to be anti-war; now they froth at the mouth over countries like Russia and press for WWIII without any rational thought. Their methods have become violent, vicious, egregious in execution as they adopt an “ends justify the means” approach.

The political left does not care about what is right. They do not care about what is true. They only care about “winning.”

It is this leftist infatuation with the dark side that is driving the US to the edge of civil war. Would a candidate like Trump be taken as seriously under normal political conditions? It’s hard to say – He wasn’t taken very seriously in 2012. However, when Democrats started to go full bore authoritarian suddenly Trump became very appealing to conservative voters.

Why? Because he represents a big middle finger to the communists, a bull in the china shop. If you want to piss off authoritarian Democrats trying to control what you say and what you think, you put Trump in their faces for another 4 years. Does this fix our underlying national problems? No, not in the slightest. In fact, I still believe Trump distracts patriots from what really needs to be done. I’m convinced that, at this stage, only war will resolve the issue. Voting for Trump is a good way to enrage the woke cry-bullies, and I wouldn’t fault anyone for wanting that, but any real return to honor and order would have to be implemented by the public, not the government.

The deeper problem is one of unavoidable cultural division – Conservatives and patriots cannot live side-by-side with rabid leftists, nor can we accept a leftist controlled government. They have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they intend to destroy every aspect of western culture and institute a regime of oppression.

So much has happened recently that I fear many Americans will become overwhelmed and forget the recent trespasses of leftists.  In case you had any doubts at all or know people that still defend them, here are just a handful of examples of the worst authoritarian crimes committed by Democrats in the past four years alone…

Weaponizing The Legal System Using Selective Prosecution

When Democrats talk about “equity” in criminal justice, what they are referring to is the unbalanced application of law depending on the ethnicity or political beliefs of the people being charged. The most blatant example being the kangaroo court for the Jan 6th event and their attempt to lock up conservative protesters as “insurrectionists.”

Not a single death occurred due to protesters, property damage was minimal and capitol police INCITED the riot by firing rubber bullets and CS gas into the otherwise peaceful crowd. Yet, the protesters were painted by Dems and the media as monsters trying to “destroy democracy.”

Compare this to the Democrat response to the BLM and Antifa riots across the US since 2016 in which dozens were killed, thousands of police injured, billions in property damage and multiple government buildings attacked. These people tried to hold the country hostage, yet, the vast majority of those that were actually arrested were released and never charged by Democrat District Attorneys and prosecutors. The media even portrayed them as heroes.

If Jan 6th had been a far-left protest, there would have been no commission and no one would be in jail for 10-20 years today. There are numerous examples of selective prosecution targeting patriots and the message is clear – “If you defy us in any way, we have no problem misusing the legal system to crush you.”

Pandemic Hysteria And Medical Tyranny

Did some Republicans initially support the covid lockdowns? Yes. When it became clear that covid was a non-threat did they end the lockdowns in their own states? Yes, surprisingly most of them did.

Half the states in the US (all red states) blocked attempts to continue the pandemic lockdowns. These same states also passed legislation to disrupt any future attempts at lockdowns or vaccine passports. And, all the governors and legislators involved were accused by Democrats and the media of “killing Americans” because of their defense of freedom.

In reality, these states along with conservatives across the country defeated a draconian agenda that almost brought the US to the brink of full spectrum medical tyranny. Democrats and globalists tried to use covid as an opportunity to institute sweeping anti-liberty mandates without checks and balances. Some of rules they wanted to put in place included:

• Forced vaccination.

• No employment for the unvaccinated.

• No access to public spaces for the unvaccinated.

• No access to normal medical treatment for the unvaccinated.

• House arrest for the unvaccinated.

• Fines for the unvaccinated.

• Jail time for people speaking against the mandates or vaccines.

• Government tracking of the unvaccinated.

• Taking children away from the unvaccinated.

• Secret vaccination of children at public schools without knowledge of parents.

• Mass online censorship of anyone presenting information contrary to the government narrative.

Some Democrats including Biden even threatened to go “door-to-door” to vaccinate individuals, though the official position was that they would instead seek to “make life so hard” for the unvaxxed that anyone in refusal would eventually be forced to comply. Luckily their plans failed.  The CDC published a bunch of unverified stats claiming most Americans were vaccinated, no one took the boosters and the agenda fizzled into the background.  That said, it’s important that we never forget what happened.

The true nature of the political left was exposed from 2020-2023, and the difference between conservatives and leftists was made undeniably clear – Red states were made free. Blue states tried to keep authoritarianism in place. Democrats embraced medical tyranny, conservatives did not. Conservatives left blue states (and blue cities) in droves because they were oppressive, red states gained millions of people and turned a deeper shade of red.  This is reality.

Targeting Children For Indoctrination And Exploitation

There’s no surer sign of authoritarianism than a group that recruits children as foot soldiers using political indoctrination under the noses of parents. Democrats and the woke movement have taken the mask off completely when it comes to America’s youth.

The widespread used of woke symbols such a pride flags in public schools and libraries. The use of drag queen performances (often sexual) as a means to normalize baseless gender fluid theories, mental illness and sexual aberration. State government funding of sexualized content including graphic lessons and books for young kids. The list goes on and on.

I can’t think of anything more insidious and evil as the leftist attempt to hijack American children as a weapon for their political coup. And make no mistake, the woke movement is not a movement for equality, it’s a communist and collectivist insurgency. They see children as tools, not as people.

Democrats are going so far as to pass laws allowing children to engage in sex change procedures including hormone blockers and surgeries without parental consent. This is a monstrous policy that needs to be snuffed out immediately. Children are not capable of consent.

Again, all this is being done in the name of winning. What is moral or ethical never crosses their minds.

Mass Censorship And The Demonization Of “Radical Speech”

Who nominated the Democrats to become the arbiters of acceptable speech? Well, they nominated themselves, and the protections of the 1st Amendment are being quietly degraded every day we allow them to continue acting as if they are the thought police.

The new term being thrown around in 2024 is “radical speech”, meaning any speech that runs contrary to “diversity, equity and inclusion” requirements, or any speech that contradicts the preeminence of the official narrative. Understand that “radical speech” is an arbitrary label; one has to consider what the legitimate consequences are and what the intent is.

For a Democrat, any speech that is detrimental to their goal of extorting public support for their policies suddenly becomes “radical.” The label is designed to elicit images of terrorism and fascism, as if mere words are magical and can compel the public to do great evil without them realizing it. This is childish fantasy based on projection. It’s leftists (collectivists) that believe words have magical powers, and so they put great emphasis on controlling speech in general.

I would partially agree, only in the fact that lies do have power to evoke emotional responses, but the only way to combat lies is with the truth. Anyone who says that the best way to combat lies is to use mass censorship is a liar. Democrats lean heavily on mass censorship, as we have seen with nearly every Big Tech social media platform and corporate news platform in the past few years.

The bottom line is this – When someone tells you exactly who they are, believe them. When a group of people show through a host of actions that they are authoritarians, they should not be allowed anywhere near power. It’s time to rethink our ongoing political relationship here in America and consider whether or not we should continue to live with a political movement that has made it so abundantly clear that they are hostile to freedom.

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