by Rose Williams
State Sen. Scott Jensen, a practicing physician, took to Facebook just before midnight on Nov. 18 to share his thoughts on Gov. Tim Walz’s newest COVID-19 restrictions.
“I’m beginning to conclude that this isn’t about fairness or even reasonableness,” Jensen said.
He shared an email he received from a parent of a student, explaining that students have been following masking, social distancing, and quarantine rules, yet sports are still being taken away from them. He read from the email, “We’ve even heard stories about kids naming other kids they didn’t like, just to make them have to quarantine.”
Jensen brought up the fact that Grand Casino has open bar service every day until 1 a.m., yet high school athletes are unable to play sports.
“If you want to play roulette and blackjack, it’s okay, but if you’re a high school athlete, too bad for you. And if you learn best in face-to-face contact with teachers, that’s too bad, too,” Jensen said.
“Minnesotans, we’re at a precarious place. This doesn’t make sense,” he went on to say. He said the virus will not be “squashed” with rules like the ones currently in place, which allow casinos to remain open for business and let professional sports teams host games, while high school students can’t go to school or participate in sports.
“This is why Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said last week, ‘The pandemic has resulted in previously unimaginable restrictions on individual liberty. Freedom of speech is at risk of becoming a second-tier constitutional right … We’ve never before seen restrictions as severe, extensive, and prolonged as those experienced for most of 2020,’” Jensen said, quoting from Alito’s recent Federalist Society speech.
Jensen also pointed to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who blatantly disobeyed his own rules by attending indoor dinner parties with 10 or more people.
“This is not about being a Democrat or Republican or Independent. This is (about) being alarmed at what is going on. Be alarmed,” Jensen said. “Try to think outside the box that you might be living in. Try not to be totally captivated by some sort of group thinking echo-chamber. You should be alarmed.”
Lastly, Jensen said if there is anything he has learned about Walz’s policies, it is that they “are not about fairness. They are about reacting, they are about pandering, but it sure isn’t about being fair.”
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Rose Williams is an assistant editor for Alpha News.
