Airlines drop mask rules after judge strikes down mandate
UC Berkeley law professor John Yoo and former U.S. Attorney Harry Litman discuss the Florida judge's ruling striking down the mask mandate for public transportation on ‘Fox News @ Night.’
A liberal New York Times reporter appeared distressed Monday over the rescinding of the federal mask mandate for public transit, taking to Twitter to complain about its removal earlier in the day by a federal judge.
"I can't stop thinking about people who may have chosen to book and board this flight based on a personal risk assessment that involved everyone being masked. And then, MIDFLIGHT, when it was physically impossible to leave, that element of their risk assessment was upended," tweeted climate reporter Maggie Astor.
Her tweet included an image of a separate tweet by Ben Dietderich, the press secretary to Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, who wrote that the pilot on an Air Alaska flight he was traveling on made a "wonderful" announcement mid-flight that the federal mask mandate was over and passengers could remove their masks if they chose.
Liberal New York Times reporter Maggie Astor fretted over the decision by a federal judge to block the federal mask mandate for public travel in an April 18, 2022 tweet. (Screenshot/Twitter) (Screenshot/Twitter)
A federal judge tossed the mandate in a Monday decision after it was extended by the Biden administration until May 3. It was originally set to expire on April 18.
Critics took to social media to mock Astor over her apparent distress, with some pointing to Dietderich's tweet that showed no one was forced to remove their masks during the flight in question, and others noting the continued obsession by some over masking.
"I was able to stop thinking about them. Actually, I never started thinking about them since no one was forced to remove their mask, and if masks work (they don't), that's all that is needed," wrote Townhall columnist Derek Hunter, while conservative commentator John Cardillo asked, "If those lunatics’ masks worked, what’s the problem?"
"This post-pandemic mask fetish is weird," wrote American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Christine Sommers, while actor Nick Searcy joked that he couldn't stop laughing at "those same stupid, insane people" scared about others not wearing masks on a flight.
Townhall columist Derek Hunter mocked liberal New York Times reporter Maggie Astor in an April 19, 2022 tweet for fretting over a federal judge removing the federal mask mandate for travelers. (Screenshot/Twitter) (Screenshot/Twitter)
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Astor's tweet followed a stream of criticism from other liberal reporters upset over the judicial block of the federal mandate. Some attacked the age and background of U.S. District Court Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, who made the ruling, complained that she was appointed by former President Donald Trump, and claimed she was "unqualified."
It is uncertain if the Biden administration will appeal the decision to end the mandate.
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