Issue: Freedom of Speech

As many liberty-loving IWN members fought, and continue to fight, for our freedoms to in-person education, a mask-free face, and vaccine choice in our local communities, Senator Rand Paul, M.D., fights tirelessly at the national level for liberty, truth, and accountability. IWN Fairfax chapter members had the pleasure of meeting Senator Paul on October 11 at his book launch, Deception: The Great Covid Cover-Up, hosted by Freedom Works. Many parents in Fairfax County, Va., recognize the truth in Senator Paul’s words. In January and February, 2022, our local school district issued multi-day suspensions to several children for not wearing masks in schools after Governor Glenn Youngkin issued Executive Order 2, which allows parents to make decisions regarding their children masking or not. My three sons, for example, were suspended for a cumulative total of 39 days. By that time, we all knew the masks do not stop the spread of the virus and actually cause harm. Even Anthony Fauci, Senator Paul points out in his book, acknowledges the ineffectiveness of cloth masks. In a private email to a friend, Fauci writes, “The typical mask you buy in the drug store is not effective in keeping out virus, which is small enough to pass through material.” (p. 119). Despite Fauci’s public stance on mask obedience, in private, he seems to understand mask deficiencies. Senator Paul adds to his point, “I would point out that the pores of a surgical mask were six hundred times larger than the virus.” (p. 120). There is consensus; Cloth masks are ineffective. It is clear that masking is not about “the science,” it is about control. Senator Paul and his wife, Kelley, seemed touched at the event by the story of brave young American children standing up against draconian school masking policies. The senator generously wrote the message, “In liberty!” to my sons when he signed his book for them. The senator’s book, which will undoubtedly reach many generations of Americans, illustrates the important point that COVID policies were less about “following the science,” and more about profiting and controlling the population. He writes, “[U]nder the cult of personality around Fauci, science was bastardized into something akin to religion. And yet the media accused anyone who challenged the dogma of somehow ‘politicizing’ the virus.” (p. 120). I hope that Americans are taking notes and internalizing the lessons of COVID policy failures and government abuses at all levels, so that we do not ever repeat them. Senator Paul’s book and his upcoming tour is a brave undertaking to that end. The IWN Fairfax chapter was grateful to be there for a stop on his important journey.