There's no civil liberties problem with requiring WV public school students to be fully vaccinated
Does West Virginia's vaccine mandate for public school students violate civil liberties? Some in the state Legislature and Governor's Mansion seem to think so.
ACLU-WV disagrees.
For 105 years, the ACLU has defended religious freedom. One of our landmark religious freedom cases was right here in West Virginia — Barnette v. Board of Education, in which ACLU attorneys successfully represented Jehovah's Witness students in Kanawha County who refused to salute the flag during the height of nationalism in WWII.
We also haven't been shy about vigorously defending bodily autonomy over the years in supporting abortion rights, gender-affirming care and more.
But we see no civil liberties problem with requiring students to be fully vaccinated in order to attend school.
When rights come into conflict with each other, they must be carefully weighed. In the case of vaccine mandates, it's important to remember that no right is absolute and that we do not have the right to inflict harm on other people.
West Virginia children have a right under the state Constitution and numerous court rulings to a free education. That includes students who have conditions that might make them more susceptible to certain illnesses or make vaccines ineffective. Their lives and their education depend on their classmates being fully inoculated.
Vaccine requirements also safeguard those who work in our school system, from teachers, to cafeteria workers, to bus drivers.
While vaccine mandates are not always permissible, they rarely run afoul of civil liberties when they involve highly infectious and dangerous diseases.
Even though the FDA and independent medical experts have long found that required vaccines are effective and safe (outside of the rare allergic or adverse reaction) a torrent of online misinformation has led a growing number of people to object to them under the pretense of religious objections.
And now, West Virginia legislators are pandering to the misinformed.
Senate Bill 460, which has already passed the state Senate and now heads to the House of Delegates, violates the rights of vulnerable students. It allows parents to cite vague religious or moral positions to exempt their children from vaccine requirements and still attend public schools.
It is telling that the Senate's only remaining medical doctor, Sen. Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha, was among the 12 'no' votes on the bill. Takubo should also be commended for repeatedly trying to reduce the bill's harm by offering amendments to weaken it during the committee process. His Senate colleagues rejected all of them.
As the bill enters the House, we encourage delegates to follow Dr. Takubo's lead — and protect the constitutional rights of vulnerable kids.
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Miami Herald
39 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
A clash over a promotion puts Hegseth at odds with his generals
WASHINGTON - In the spring, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth decided not to promote a senior Army officer who had led troops over five tours in Afghanistan and Iraq because Hegseth suspected, without evidence, that the officer had leaked sensitive information to the news media, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. When Lt. Gen. Douglas A. Sims II was cleared of the allegations, Hegseth briefly agreed to promote him, only to change course again early this month, the officials said. This time, Hegseth maintained that the senior officer was too close to Gen. Mark Milley, a former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff whom President Donald Trump has accused of disloyalty. Hegseth's sudden reversal prompted a rare intervention from Gen. Dan Caine, the current chair of the Joint Chiefs. He urged Hegseth to reconsider, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. Hegseth met with Sims one final time but refused to budge. Sims is expected to retire in the coming months after 34 years in the military, officials said. Through a spokesperson, Sims and Caine declined to comment. A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment on Hegseth's role. The standoff over his promotion reflects an ongoing clash between Hegseth's highly partisan worldview, in which he has written that the Democratic Party 'really does hate America,' and the long-standing tradition of an apolitical military that pledges an oath to the Constitution. Hegseth's actions could shape the military's top ranks for years to come. His insistence on absolute loyalty, backed with repeated threats of polygraphs, also creates uncertainty and mistrust that threaten to undermine the readiness and effectiveness of the force, officials said. The tension between top military officers and their civilian leaders has been persistent since the earliest days of Trump's second term, when senior administration officials ordered the removal of Milley's portrait from a Pentagon hallway. Caine, who pressed Hegseth on Sims' behalf, got the job of Joint Chiefs chair after Hegseth and Trump fired Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., his predecessor. Hegseth accused Brown, who is Black, of prioritizing diversity over the combat effectiveness of the force. Also removed during the first months of the new administration were the first woman to command the Navy, Adm. Lisa Franchetti; the first woman to command the Coast Guard, Adm. Linda Fagan; Hegseth's senior military assistant, Lt. Gen. Jennifer Short; and the U.S. military representative to the NATO military committee, Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield. All were dismissed as part of a campaign to root out diversity, equity and inclusion from the military and restore what Hegseth has described as a 'warrior ethos.' Hegseth also recently withdrew the nomination of Rear Adm. Michael 'Buzz' Donnelly to lead the Navy's 7th Fleet in Japan -- its largest overseas force -- amid reports in conservative media that seven years earlier the admiral had allowed a drag performance to take place on the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan. The decision not to promote Sims, who is white, seems unrelated to any issues of race or gender. Rather, the general's career seems to have become tangled up in broader suspicions about leaks and a mistrust of senior military officers that have defined much of Hegseth's first six months on the job. Hegseth, a former Fox News host and an Iraq War veteran, came to the Pentagon with little managerial experience. Since his arrival, a series of firings and resignations in his inner circle have left him with only a skeleton staff of civilian aides to run his office. He has been without a permanent chief of staff since late April. Ricky Buria, a recently retired Marine colonel who has forged a close relationship with Hegseth, has been serving in the critical role. But White House officials, who have concerns about Buria's competence and qualifications, have blocked Hegseth from formally appointing him to the job, officials said. Buria, meanwhile, has clashed repeatedly with many of Hegseth's closest aides and some officers in the Pentagon. This spring, Eric Geressy, a retired sergeant major who served with Hegseth in Iraq and now advises him in the Pentagon, threatened to quit after an argument with Buria, according to people with knowledge of the situation. Around the same time, the White House directed Hegseth to cease using polygraph tests on his team, after one of his senior aides complained, a former Pentagon official said. The rift and the decision to stop the polygraph testing were reported earlier by The Washington Post. Geressy briefly went to his home in Florida before Hegseth persuaded him to return, officials said. Hegseth is also still contending with a review by the Pentagon's inspector general related to his disclosure on the Signal messaging app of the precise timing of U.S. fighter jets' airstrikes against the Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen in March. The office has received evidence that the information that Hegseth put in the commercial chat app came from a classified Central Command document, according to two U.S. officials with knowledge of the review. The classified origins of the information were reported earlier by the Post. The infighting, investigations and personnel churn have strained Hegseth's ability to manage critical operations in the Pentagon. Hegseth found himself in the crosshairs this month after Democrats and Republicans in Congress blamed him for pausing critical shipments of interceptors and other arms to Ukraine without sufficiently consulting with the White House or the State Department. The suspension was particularly jarring because just days earlier Trump had said he was open to selling more weapons to Ukraine after meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in The Hague. It also left the impression that Hegseth and his top aides had failed to keep the president and senior White House officials in the loop. As aides to Hegseth traded blame, and then tried to play down the impact of the pause, Trump dramatically overruled the Pentagon, saying he was unhappy with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. In a further twist, Trump endorsed a plan for NATO countries to send Patriot antimissile systems to Ukraine and replace them by purchasing new arms from the United States. It was an approach conceived by NATO countries. Hegseth has delegated responsibility for working out details of the arms transfers to senior U.S. military officers in Europe. The frustration with Hegseth is seeping out. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who cast the deciding vote to confirm Hegseth, this month called him ill-suited to lead the Pentagon. 'With the passing of time, I think it's clear he's out of his depth as a manager of a large, complex organization,' Tillis told CNN. For now, Hegseth's missteps do not seem to have hurt his standing with the person who matters most: Trump. Like Trump, Hegseth had a career in television before joining the administration and relishes the performative aspects of his job. As defense secretary, he regularly posts videos that show him exercising with troops. The photo ops -- known inside the Pentagon as 'troop touches' -- are a central part of almost all his public appearances, current and former aides said. Several officials have complained that the photos and videos -- including one that he posted from Omaha Beach in Normandy in which he joins Army Rangers carrying a soldier on a stretcher as part of D-Day remembrances -- are distractions that serve primarily to bolster his image. Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, said that Hegseth retained Trump's 'full confidence' and cited the 'critical role' he played 'in ensuring the flawless execution' of the strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June. Current and former military officials said that Trump largely bypassed Hegseth in the days leading up to the strikes and instead relied on Caine and Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, the head of Central Command, for counsel. But officials with knowledge of the president's thinking said Trump especially admired his defense secretary's combative response at a news conference to reports questioning the effectiveness of the attack. Today Hegseth is managing the Pentagon with a smaller immediate staff than when he started in January. Several top aides were forced out or quit. In late April, three top aides were fired and escorted from the building. Hegseth has repeatedly accused them, without offering evidence, of leaking classified information to the media. The fired aides, who have not been charged with any wrongdoing, were recently told that an investigation into the allegations against them was in its final stages and would soon be shared with the Pentagon's senior leaders, officials said. In the wake of their dismissal and a series of negative stories about Hegseth's performance in the job, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, offered a window into how Hegseth views the department he now runs. 'This is what happens when the entire Pentagon is working against you and working against the monumental change you are trying to implement,' she said. That same spirit seems to animate the Pentagon today. Only a few months ago, Sims' promotion to four stars seemed to be a given. Of the last 21 officers to hold his current position, 19 were promoted to four-star rank. 'He's the type of person you would want your kids serving under -- extremely dedicated, selfless and loyal,' said Brynt Parmeter, who stepped down in June as the Pentagon's chief talent management officer and has known Sims for more than three decades. The Pentagon gave a more muted assessment. In a statement, Sean Parnell, the Pentagon's chief spokesperson, thanked Sims for his 'decades of service.' 'We wish him well in his future endeavors,' Parnell wrote. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Copyright 2025
Miami Herald
40 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
2nd whistleblower speaks out on Emil Bove appellate court appointment
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Miami Herald
40 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
GOP field begins to emerge in 2026 race for Pennsylvania governor
Influential Republicans believe the perfect candidate to go up against popular Democratic incumbent Gov. Josh Shapiro might be a woman who is a decorated veteran, has business chops and has already aced a state-level election by getting the most votes in Pennsylvania history. But will Stacy Garrity run? Virtually the entire Republican Party in Pennsylvania is waiting for the answer. The 2026 gubernatorial election race looms, and Garrity, the twice-elected state treasurer from Bradford County, has been the main focus of attention since U.S. Rep Dan Meuser removed himself from consideration. "I will have an announcement about the future of my career in service very soon," Garrity said when asked about her plans. Social media posts have hinted the 2022 Republican nominee, Sen. Doug Mastriano of Franklin County, might be thinking about another run. But attempts to obtain a comment from Mastriano were not successful, and higher-ups in the party say there has been little talk about the former nominee. "I have not heard a soul discuss that he is running, or should run, or that he would have any support," said Jason Richey, Allegheny County Republican Committee chairman and a former gubernatorial candidate himself. "I think Stacy is going to announce. I think she is going to run." State Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward of Westmoreland County said she hopes Garrity will run. "She's a fighter. And she's smart. She's a really intelligent, thoughtful treasurer, and I think she would make a superb governor because she's got all the ingredients," Ward said. "I look forward to her announcement and being behind her 100%." And Melissa Hart, an attorney in Allegheny County and former Republican congresswoman, said Garrity has the "inner strength" to go up against Shapiro - widely regarded as a very tough opponent. While he has not yet formally announced a bid for reelection, recent polling has shown more than twice as many Pennsylvanians approve of Shapiro's job performance than disapprove. And his national prominence was underscored by a Thursday night appearance on Stephen Colbert's late-night television show. To Hart, who was once a state senator, hesitancy to declare candidacy is understandable. There's a "coarseness" in modern politics that did not used to be present, she said. Hence, the "enthusiasm for running for office is not as healthy as it should be," she said. Nonetheless, while Republican chatter focuses on an unannounced Garrity, other potential Republican candidates may be sitting on the sidelines, according to pollster Chris Borick. A political science professor at Muhlenberg College in Lehigh County, Borick said if Garrity chooses not to run, "you would probably see a bunch of candidates throw their hats in the ring." In 2024, Garrity beat Democratic challenger Erin McClelland in the state treasurer's race by a 52%-to-46% margin in a field with five candidates. Her total of more than 3.5 million votes was the largest ever for a state-level candidate in Pennsylvania history, observers said. The campaign raised eyebrows when Shapiro opted not to endorse McClelland, a fellow Democrat - a decision that may have been influenced by less-than-flattering social media posts made by McClelland concerning Shapiro. The only hat in the ring for Democrats in the May 19, 2026, primary will likely belong to the 52-year-old Shapiro. He will ride into the 2026 contest on a long string of election victories - for state representative, Montgomery County commissioner, attorney general, and governor. "Gov. Shapiro is in a very strong position, as most incumbent governors are," said former Republican state Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman of Centre County. To date, Corman said, things "have gone very well" for Shapiro but a lot could happen before the November 2026 general election. In his first year on the job, Shapiro received a barrage of criticism from Republicans for a decision to line-item veto money for a voucher-style school scholarship program, a concept he had supported during during his election campaign. They have consistently attacked his spending proposals as unsustainable - one senator said a Shapiro budget would "bankrupt" the state - and more recently, Republicans have attacked what they describe as a lack of transparency in the use of taxpayer-funded airplanes. Some Republicans believe Shapiro's continued flirtation with a possible presidential run may sour some voters. "Gov. Shapiro has always had his eye on his next office," Ward said. "Everything he has done, as far as I am concerned, has been calculated into 'How does that affect his run for president.' And I don't think that's a positive for Pennsylvania." Since he was a finalist in Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris' 2024 search for a running mate, Shapiro has remained on the national stage. A late June Emerson College poll put Shapiro in a tie for fourth when Democratic primary voters nationwide were asked about a potential 2028 presidential candidate. Both Shapiro and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez polled at 7%, behind former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg with 16%, Harris with 13%, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom with 12%. Shapiro will have national and state Democratic backing in the 2026 governor's race, according to state Sen. Jay Costa of Allegheny County, the top Democrat in the state Senate. Hanging on to the Pennsylvania governorship is "imperative" for the party, Costa said, and Shapiro and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis of McKeesport comprise "a very strong, formidable team." Borick said that's a charge Republicans are sure to hurl at the governor regardless of who their candidate is. His likely response, Borick said, has already become apparent in his frequent appearances all over the state. "He is saying, 'Look at my job performance. Look at where I am. Look at what I am doing,'" Borick said. As July nears to a close, Shapiro is bogged down in closed-door negotiations for a state budget that had a deadline of June 30. How long it takes and how the spending plan is perceived will influence the upcoming campaign, multiple observers said. And even though Garrity has not declared her intentions, friction has developed between supporters of Shapiro and those who plan to back Garrity. Earlier this month, a Philadelphia-area union official said on social media that if Garrity ran for governor, she would never again have support from the union, "not even for county dog catcher." That and other comments raised the ire of Ward and other women in the Senate Republican caucus, who claimed they were sexist and meant to intimidate. Costa, who said he saw the posts, rejected that notion and said the wording did not convey the message Republicans were trying to attach to it. Shapiro was asked about it during a public appearance on Wednesday, and he brushed it off. "Here is what I know to be true. The Republicans will nominate someone to run against me for governor. Let them play that out - that deals with their politics on their side. I am going to continue doing my job, governing for all Pennsylvanians," he said. That response drew more fire from Republican women in the Senate, who believed he failed to address the issue. Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Washington, said it was a "masterful" dodge of the topic. Shapiro's win by more than 700,000 votes over Mastriano in 2022 came after the senator was the top vote-getter in a bruising, nine-way primary. The state Republican party wants to avoid a repeat of the chaotic scenario. Its communications director, James Markley, said the GOP is working to narrow Democrats' registration advantage, which he put at less than than 70,000 "active" voters. The goal, he said, is to provide the eventual nominee with "the strongest infrastructure possible" for the campaign. Garrity worked at Global Tungsten & Powders Corp. in Towanda in Bradford County for decades - eventually becoming a corporate vice president - but also served a full career in the Army Reserve, with three deployments. Markley said Garrity has produced "real results" in multiple aspects of her life. And Borick, the pollster, said an opt-in from Garrity would set up a fascinating match. "We don't see this very often in Pennsylvania politics - where you get two clear party stars to face off." _____ Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
