It was with alarm that I noticed that the state of NY had implemented a COVID passport scheme with nary a peep in opposition. Showing just how far America has gone from its limited government roots.
Want to attend a concert, sports game or another large event in New York state? There’s an app for that.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a pilot program for the Excelsior Pass, developed in partnership with IBM, that will work as a passport for attending events in the Covid-19 era. Similar to a mobile airline boarding pass, users can carry their negative coronavirus test results or their vaccine status for entering a venue or business that requires the information, which can be printed out or stored on their smartphone using the encrypted Wallet App.
So America is becoming a country where one needs the approval of the state to " entering a venue or business that requires the information"?
And apparently, a number of NYS residents are OK with this because they can sit in MSG and watch basketball.
Each pass will will have a secure QR code, which venues will scan using a companion app to confirm someone’s Covid-19 health status. A user’s personal data is kept confidential; the QR code only informs the venue if a pass is valid or invalid.
I don't care that the data is kept so-called "confidential". I object to the entire "passport" bullshit in whole.
“As we begin reopening the valves on different sectors of our economy, we are putting guidelines in place to ensure individuals attending events involving larger gatherings have tested negative for COVID or have been vaccinated to avoid an outbreak of the virus,” Cuomo said Tuesday. “The Excelsior Pass will play a critical role in getting information to venues and sites in a secure and streamlined way, allowing us to fast-track the reopening of these businesses and getting us one step closer to reaching a new normal.”
Did any of us get to vote on this "new normal"?
"“We applaud Governor Cuomo’s leadership in reopening New York. The Excelsior Pass program, along with his decision to allow venues to begin welcoming fans, will play important roles in helping to get our City back on its feet,” a MSG Entertainment spokesperson said."
One: Fuck MSG Entertainment.
Two: Entirely unsurprised that businesses are lining up behind this. Recently Dan Bongino discussed how the power in government lies in "getting to yes". By shutting down businesses or otherwise crippling their ability to operate, the government put itself into the position of dictating the terms of operating a business. These businesses, desperate to get back to "normal" will do anything that the government demands so long as dollar signs are at the end of the tunnel. I'm certain that no one at MSG Entertainment even mumbled about the Civil Liberty implications of such a rule.
I currently live near this state and the only reason I haven't left at this point is due to one very large barrier. The US is fast headed to a situation where there will be "free states" and "slave states" where "slave states" are where the governments are essentially communist states in which the government tells the people what they can and cannot do. I have no desire to live under such governments.