Every once in a while in the middle of a storm, you can get a sense of how the storm is going and how much longer until you begin to see the end of it. You have to pay attention and make sure to live in the moment, and not fear what might happen while you are in that storm.

COVID-19, on many levels, has been a massive, manmade storm — not only for this country but for the entire world, and I get the sense that the storm is winding down. If I’m right about this, then the next phase will be cleaning up and taking some of the rubbish ideas, and the people that have espoused those ideas, and throwing them on the ash heap of history.

As I have written about here at Red State over the past week, the friendly confines of the Great White North of Canada are protesting from coast to coast over Justin Trudeau vax mandates. This started out about the truckers having to be vaxxed crossing the U.S. border and back to Canada, but it has blown up into much more. My latest story was just posted earlier on Friday about the spines of the protestors stiffening after holding a vote on whether to continue or not. Video: Truckers Take a Vote on Whether or Not to Continue the Protest in Alberta Canada…

The growing blockade protest at the U.S.-Canada border continues to intensify, as the local government in Alberta is reportedly discussing a response to the truck drivers who are asking the government to lift its COVID-19 mandates.

As detailed by Rebel News’ Kian Simone, who interviewed one of the protest organizers on Wednesday morning, the organizer said the RCMP came to the blockade to offer aid to truckers whose rigs were frozen, including mechanics and vehicle technicians. The organizer praised the RCMP’s show of consideration and made clear that the truckers wanted to speak to Alberta Premier Jason Kenney.

“We need to have a table discussion with Jason Kenney,” the trucker said. “We’re not hard-hammered here to keep this thing closed. We want this border open as well. It affects everybody … But it’s time now that we need to sit down and discuss what’s going on, and what the Canadians, Albertans want. We need change. This can’t continue like this. This thing is getting bigger and bigger … and it’s not gonna stop. People are upset. They’re done with this. It’s time.”

Here in the States, we have had a bit of a blow-up over people like Joe Rogan having on people who are questioning the official line from the government that just happens to have goalposts that move depending on what mandate is getting scrutiny. Thankfully, though, because of the Rogan controversy, we now know that decrepit rockers like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell are still kicking Thanks, Joe Rogan, for Alerting America That Neil Young and Joni Mitchell Are Still Alive.

Now we have the Big Diesel, Shaquille O’ Neal, coming out and just stating something that seems relatively steeped in common sense, in a world that has seemingly gone crazy. Stating that you should NOT be forced to take a shot or lose your job was a belief that, five years ago, I suspect would have had overwhelming support, but not so much in today’s version of some odd reality T.V. show we live in.

From The Hill…

Shaquille O’Neal says he’s “sympathetic” towards people who defy vaccine mandates, and that workers shouldn’t be “forced” to choose between their jobs and getting a shot.

“I encourage everybody to be safe and take care of your family, I do,” the former Los Angeles Lakers star said Thursday on “The Big Podcast with Shaq.”

“But it’s just, people don’t want to take it, and you shouldn’t be forced to take something you don’t want,” O’Neal said, referring to COVID-19 vaccines, which protect against being hospitalized or dying from the coronavirus.

regardless of where you fall on mandates, this is a pretty remarkable and revealing exchangepic.twitter.com/R5AVcN0s5b

— Kat Rosenfield (@katrosenfield) February 4, 2022

If you are given the choice of taking a shot vs losing your job, that is forced. Duh.

Shaq is one of those people that seems to have a universal “likeability” factor, years after his playing days ended. He does not need to come out and take a stance on something that is a red-hot issue but he has, which leads me to believe that more and more people are starting to stick their heads out the door, being the storm might be close to being over.

I hope I’m right, and if Shaq coming out to speak this type of common sense is the beginning of the end, I look forward to brighter days ahead.