Reporting of COVID-19 Ct Values Can Better Shape Public Policy

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Not All Positive Tests Are the Same

Despite months of stonewalling of prior APRA requests … and just one day after a petition campaign by the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity sent over 1,000 emails to various state-government officials, including the DOH and the governor … the Center has obtained information released to a persistent citizen by the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services; partial data covering a limited number of positive Covid-19 tests performed before July 2020.

According to Dr. Andrew Bostom, Covid-19 advisor to the Center and Rhode Island resident, a Brown University degreed epidemiologist, academic internist, and clinical trialist:

“This first public revelation of cycle threshold (Ct) data, from over 5,000 RIDOH covid-19 rtPCR positive tests from late February through the end of June, reveals that a considerable number (36.2%) of these positive tests occurred at a Ct > 33, a level generally considered by the medical community to be associated with extremely low Covid-19 infectiousness. 

Initial analysis of this data also confirms the need for all future RIDOH reports of daily positive test results to include breakdowns of the Ct data. 

Deeper analysis of even more data can be immensely important in determining more data-driven, targeted, and effective public policies. I join with the Center in petitioning the state of Rhode Island to follow Florida’s lead and to immediately begin collecting and reporting Ct data for all Covid-19 PCR tests.”

The data includes 9,878 COVID-19 tests divided into two “N” groups corresponding to each other by day from February 29, 2020, through June 30, 2020.

The cycle threshold (Ct) value is the number of cycles needed for the virus to be detected from the person’s sample. The higher the Ct value the smaller the amount of virus present in the sample. Most medical experts agree that Ct values over 33 likely indicate non-infectious, non-contagious levels of the virus. In practice, for example, the country of India only triages (treats or closely monitors) cases where the Ct values are less than 25.

Routine government collection and detailed reporting of this data can be enormously helpful in determining public policy, and in informing patients and their doctors when it comes to determining more appropriate individual quarantine and medical treatment regimens.

Of the total tests reported in Rhode Island, 51% had Ct values of 30 or higher, while 66% had values of 25 or higher.

Considered over the span of the report, Ct values gradually rose through May, after which they dropped along with the number of tests being conducted per day.

Cycle Threshold

In The Dugout: Online Forum on Cycle Threshold Data & Petition for Covid Data Transparency

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On this special-edition of our popular “In The Dugout” online video-talk show, we feature a public forum to discuss the importance of “cycle threshold” testing data and the State of Rhode Island’s efforts to block repeated requests for access to this information.

The forum features:

  • Announcement of a statewide petition campaign demanding collection and release of this Ct data
  • Dr. Andrew Bostom, Rhode Islander, academic internist, clinical trialist, and Brown University degreed epidemiologist expert on cycle threshold data
  • State Representative Patricia Morgan, whose related APRA requests are being stonewalled
  • State worker, Jay, who has had both success and failure in obtaining his personal Ct medical information
  • A Judicial Watch statement on their APRA efforts to obtain related information
  • Mike Stenhouse, CEO for the Center and host of the forum
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In The Dugout

Media Release: Center to Host Online Forum, A Petition for Covid Data Transparency

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Public Forum on Covid-19 Cycle-Threshold Data

Public and Press Invited to Pose Questions

Providence, RI – Even though some local media are reporting that Rhode Island has recently become one of the world’s most extreme hot-spots when it comes to spread of the Covid-19 virus, the release and analysis of detailed testing data, currently being withheld from the public, could be vital in shaping more focused and less intrusive public policy as well as in determining individual quarantine and medical treatment regimens.

Today at 4:00 PM EST, the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity will host a special-edition of its popular In The Dugout online video-talk show, a public forum to discuss the importance of “cycle threshold” (Ct) testing data and the State of Rhode Island’s efforts to block repeated requests for access to this information. 

NOT ALL POSITIVE TESTS ARE THE SAME: The New York Times and Dr. Anthony Fauci have previously determined that many who test positive for the coronavirus have such miniscule levels of the virus that they pose no community or individual risk. Within the past week, Florida became the first state to mandate collection of Ct data, the basis for which more effective data-driven public policy can be formulated. 

The forum, entitled A Petition for Covid Transparency, will include an epidemiologist and clinician, a RI State Representative, and a state worker who will discuss his persistent efforts to obtain his own personal medical data. 

The public is invited to watch the 4pm live broadcast at www.RIFreedom.org/Live or on the Center’s YouTube channel, where comments and questions can be posted for discussion in the second half of the forum.

MEDIA AVAILABILITY: The media is invited to request special access to make inquiries of the panelists and to receive a digital press-kit (details forthcoming in a separate media advisory). 

The forum will feature: 

  • Announcement of a statewide petition campaign demanding collection and release of this Ct data
  • Dr. Andrew Bostom, Rhode Islander, academic internist, clinical trialist, and Brown University degreed epidemiologist
  • State Representative Patricia Morgan, whose related APRA requests are being stonewalled
  • State worker, Jay, who has had both success and failure in obtaining his personal Ct medical information
  • A Judicial Watch statement on their APRA efforts to obtain related information
  • Mike Stenhouse, CEO for the Center and host of the forum
Outspoken former Board of Elections member, Steve Erickson discusses the RI mail ballot process and former Mayor Joe Paolino on his prescriptions for RI.

In The Dugout: Steve Erickson & Mayor Joe Paolino

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On this episode of In The Dugout with Mike Stenhouse, outspoken former Board of Elections member, Steve Erickson discusses the RI mail ballot process and then former Mayor Joe Paolino (& future gubernatorial candidate?) on his prescriptions for the Ocean State.

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In The Dugout
Gettsyburg redux

The Gettysburg Address, Rhode Island Redux

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(This commentary originally appeared in the Providence Journal on November 19, 2020)

Democrats seized control of Rhode Island’s General Assembly in the 1930s. Since then, the left has systematically drained wealth and industry from our once prosperous state. Ever-increasing taxes and regulations, combined with overt special-interest favoritism, have driven countless fellow Ocean Staters from our shores.

And now, still reeling from a pandemic, they seek to worsen matters by imposing massive new taxes and debt obligations to salvage the state’s budget, at the expense of families and small-businesses.

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This Gettsyburg redux remembers those who Rhode Island has lost to other states:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. 

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Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.  

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We are met on a great battlefield of that war.  We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. 

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. 

The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.  

The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.  

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It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. 

— Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 19, 1863  

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this state, a new political majority, conceived in patronage, and dedicated to the proposition that all special interests are created more equal.

Now, we are engaged in a great war of cronyism, testing whether that state, or any state so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. 

We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to execrate a portion of that field, a final resting place for the taxes of those here who were forced to give their hard-earned treasure that that state’s insiders might thrive. It is altogether unfitting and improper that we should accept this.  

But, in a larger sense, we can not tolerate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow this corrupt sufferance.  

The industrious men and women, living and dead, who emigrated from here, have disavowed it, far above our poor power to retain them in our state. 

This state will little note, nor long remember when they lived here, but it can never forget why they left here.

It is for us, the remaining, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought for their happiness here have so nobly reminded us.  

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these departed patriots we take increased derision to that ignoble cause for which they were taxed the last affordable measure of income — that we here highly resolve that these emigrants shall not have fled in vain — that this state, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the state. 

— Mike Stenhouse, Nov. 19, 2020

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Media Release: Center Launches Statewide Petition to Restore Election Integrity

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Petition to Restore Public Trust in Ocean State Elections
It’s Time to Unite Behind an Election Process Everyone Has Faith In

Providence, RI – Just one week after chaotic national and local elections, the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity announced today that it has launched a statewide petition drive to compel lawmakers to restore public trust in public elections. 

With the goal to make it easy to vote but hard to cheat, it is vital to restore trust among the people of Rhode Island when it comes to the integrity of our elections. 

The election uncertainty in our state, caused by a voting process that was unilaterally and arbitrarily imposed by bureaucrats – outside of the legislative process – has divided Rhode Islanders and has led to mass distrust, accusations of fraud, lack of transparency, hyper-partisanship, and costly recounts. The irregular and late reporting of mail ballot tabulations also caused mass confusion, as many races were flipped in the wee hours of the morning, even after some had been called in favor of the eventual losing candidate.

“Free and fair elections are under assault in our state,” warned the Center’s CEO, Mike Stenhouse. “Signers of our petition can make their voices heard in demanding a return to a secure and trustworthy voting process.”

Among the reforms called for in the petition:

  1. End mass distribution of unsolicited mail ballot applications
  2. End the unregulated practice ballot harvesting
  3. Restore 3rd party mail/absentee ballot validation requirements

Individuals interested in restoring election integrity can view more details and can sign-on to the petition on the Center’s website at www.RIFreedom.org/ElectionIntegrity .

Center Launches Anti-Tax Campaign

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Center Opposes Tax Increases Proposed by Progressive and Union Groups

RaiseSalesNotTaxes

Providence, RI – Already hemorrhaging people and wealth because of its existing harsh business climate, Rhode Islanders cannot afford additional taxes of any kind to try to plug massive projected budget deficits. As the state’s premiere advocacy organization for pro-growth economic policies, the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity today launched a counter-campaign to the government-union led effort to raise taxes in the state. 

The campaign, #RaiseSailsNotTaxes, reminds lawmakers that raising taxes during an economic crisis will lead to even more job losses, more business closings, more out-migration, a slower and longer economic recovery … and more poverty. 

Conversely, Rhode Islanders can look to a more prosperous future if lawmakers instead take the wiser path of reducing spending, as most families and businesses have been forced to do due to the government-mandated shuttering of our economy. 

Only with more and better jobs created by more and better companies can more Ocean Staters can enjoy a better quality of life, perhaps even able to own a sail-boat. Rhode Islanders can learn more about the benefits of a free-market economy and can take action at the website: www.RaiseSailsNotTaxes.com . 

With the worst business climate in America, pre-pandemic Rhode Island was already suffering a chronic relative loss of population, below average jobs recovery, and stagnant economic growth due to excessively high taxes and regulations. Our state is now among the hardest-hit states when it comes to unemployment and GDP loss, post-pandemic. 

“How tone-deaf can the political class be? We have been crushed by this pandemic in so many ways, and now they want to stomp government’s boot even harder upon our backs,” questioned Mike Stenhouse, the Center’s CEO. “It’s time for government to live within its means, just like we all had to.” 

Facing a near-billion dollar revenue shortfall for 2020 and 2021, government unions along with left-wing advocacy groups and progressive lawmakers, have put forth a bevy of proposals to increase debt and to impose new or higher taxes and fees on a dizzying array of products and services, including: 

  • The re-imposition of sales taxes on wine and liquor 
  • A carbon tax that would raise the price of gasoline, home heating fuel, and propane products 
  • A TCI Gas Tax that would add a further 17-24 cents per gallon 
  • Close to one BILLION dollars in new bonded debt, that will force general tax hikes upon all of us today, and also upon our children and grandchildren in the future 
  • A new tax on high-income earners, which will reduce business investment and drive more people out of our state 
  • A halt to the car-tax phase-out 
  • New taxes on deliveries 
  • Increased building and permit fees 
  • New taxes on hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting

Two of the Center’s coalition partners, The Gaspee Project and the Gaspee Business Network are offering action items for lawmakers and voters. Gaspee is tracking all 2020 General Assembly and federal candidates who promise not to support tax hikes by taking the Taxpayer PROTECTION Pledge. GBN is hosting the Taxpayer ELECTION Pledge, where voters promise to support candidates who oppose tax increases. All citizens are encouraged to take the pledge. 

“Political leaders have made no signal that they are preparing to face reality, instead they hope and pray that the federal government will bail them out. Worse, unless citizens and employers step up and take action … in addition to tax and fee increases, these politicians, unbelievably, are suggesting massive new bonds to keep status quo spending levels and to fund special new projects that will dive our state into even deeper debt,” warned Stenhouse. 

If your association, chamber, or business group would like to be listed as a coalition partner, please send an email from your org’s email address to: info@rifreedom.org or call 401-429-6115.

Union Political Spending

NEW REPORT: Union Political Spending – a Web of Corruption

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Report Exposes Hyper-partisanship and Radical Agenda Funded by Government Union Political Spending

Providence, RI – Not every teacher, first-responder, clerk, or other public servant considers themselves to be Democrats or part of the “progressive-left” movement in Rhode Island. Yet every employee who is member of a government union in our state is paying dues that directly support this extreme political agenda … along with the corrupt quid quo pro that comes with union political spending.

Union Political Spending Report -RI
 

A new report released today by the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity – RI Political Spending: A Web of Corruption – lays out research of union political spending in Rhode Island in the 2018 election and since 2000. The report also provides multiple examples of what it calls a “web of corruption” where quid pro quo political favors coincided with union political cash.

“Most people don’t realize that the partnership between the progressive-left, government unions, and the Democratic party, which has created an iron triangle of cronyism and insider politics, is actually funded by each and every taxpayer in the state of Rhode Island,” commented Mike Stenhouse, the Center’s CEO. “This money merry-go-round is destroying our state: Taxes paid by residents fund the salaries of government employees, whose dues fund union activities, which in turn are contributed almost exclusively to one political party and to support just one, radical political ideology, who then work together to advance more pro-labor policies.”

Over $411,000 was spent by public employee unions to influence the 2018 elections :

  • 97% of government union campaign contributions went to Democrats
  • SEIU contributed about $150,000 to Democrats, who that year gave the union a major legislative victory that opened the door for the unionization of home care workers
  • 96% of recipients of NEARI PACE donations were Democrats
  • 95% of recipients of AFT (RI) donations were Democrats
  • 99% of recipients of the RI Brotherhood of Correctional Officers donations were Democrats
  • 98% of recipient of the RI Association of Firefighters donations were Democrats
  • 96% of recipients of the RI AFL-CIO PAC donations were Democrats
  • Over a half-million dollars was spent by unions on lobbying and related legislative outreach.

Nationally, and in addition to direct political contributions, for example, the National Education Association of Rhode Island’s (NEARI’s) parent organization, the NEA, alone gave out grants exceeding $100 million to far-left advocacy groups across.

Other specific examples of union-money corruption and cronyism are detailed in the report, including features about union executive and State Senator, Valerie Lawson, and union head, George Nee. 

The full nine-page report can be viewed here.