Category: Government

Heads Explode Over Florida’s New Surgeon General

Florida has a new surgeon general, and minds are being lost in response. Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Dr. Jospeh Ladapo, a UCLA professor and Harvard Medical graduate to serve in the role. But what has the media and the left at large absolutely freaking out is how Ladapo wants to handle things like mask and vaccine mandates.

Comment O’ The Day:
Chris asking some hard questions, hoping no one remembers the large part he played in shilling and covering for this clown show

Blinken Is Asked, ‘Does the President Not Know What’s Going On?’ His Answer Is Troubling.

A really rough clip from Fox News Sunday, in which the Secretary of State totally side-steps a bruising question about the president’s basic awareness of key facts as his Afghanistan policy is reduced to smoldering rubble. The most charitable explanation I can think of here is that Blinken was so amped up to deploy his talking points about our alliances that he didn’t pay attention to the actual question put to him, which was a polite version of ‘does Biden have any clue about what’s actually happening?’ What we get in reply is boilerplate DC-speak, asking us to effectively ignore the extraordinary rhetorical beating the president and administration have sustained from some our closest allies in recent days. The less charitable explanation is that Blinken’s bloodless deflection was a deliberate avoidance of commenting on the Commander-in-Chief’s mental acuity. Watch:

6 Governors Stripped Of Power Because Of Overreach During The COVID-19 Pandemic

  • Lawmakers in 46 states have moved to limit governors’ emergency powers wielded during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing executives have overextended their authority.
  • Pennsylvania voters in May approved two amendments to the state’s constitution proposed by Republican lawmakers that sought to limit the executive power of Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf, while Republican lawmakers in Michigan voted in July to repeal the Emergency Powers Act of 1945, a law used by Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to issue widespread restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic without consulting the legislature.
  • The power struggles between legislatures and governors are not necessarily partisan, with the overwhelmingly-Democrat legislature in New York voting to limit Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s emergency powers in a bill passed in March.

State legislatures in six states limited their governors’ emergency powers wielded during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing executives have overextended their authority.

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Indiana Handgun Permit Applications Skyrocket.

Figures coming out of Indiana, which eliminated the fee for handgun permits on July 1, indicate price is a serious hurdle for many residents eager to exercise their Second Amendment rights to ensure their safety and that of their loved ones. According to an Indy Star report on July 8, during the first 7 days of the month there was a 10-fold increase in applications compared to 2019 figures. Eight thousand came in the first day alone.

The July 1 change removed the previous $30 price for the five-year concealed carry version of the handgun permit. The state’s total volume figures aren’t exclusively self-defense associated, however. Hunters who want to go afield with a handgun must also procure one, although a state spokesman told the newspaper they accounted for only a third of those received during that week. Applicants, as before, are still required to undergo a background check and pay a $13 processing fee for the mandatory fingerprinting.

Applications can only be submitted through the state website, and Indiana State Police First SGT Ron Galaviz told the newspaper that volume on that web page is causing intermittent delays in its response. “With the fee change, we’re seeing a huge uptick in the number of people trying to access our system,” he said. “It might take a little bit of time, but people are able to get in. We ask for a little bit a patience.” The URL came up quickly when American Rifleman checked multiple times this week.

Applicants can schedule appointments for fingerprinting and background check completion on the website. Lifetime carry permits remain available in Indiana at a cost of $125.

Prior to the fee change, sportsmen who only hunt or target shoot with their handgun paid $15 for their version of the state’s handgun permit.

Vigilantes?
Well, if goobermint isn’t going to do the job……
Dare I say it again?
I dare.
¡Grupos de Autodefensas Para Tu y Mi!

‘Vigilantism’ a fear in wake of new laws

PORT ANGELES — A state legislator and the Clallam County sheriff painted dire pictures Wednesday in depicting a use-of-force police reform bill that went into effect Sunday.

State Rep. Mike Chapman said HB 1310 may soon be clarified by state Attorney General Bob Ferguson in a manner that will make it less onerous.

The Port Angeles Democrat, who said he has received heat from his constituents for voting against it and six other police reform bills, and Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict, a critic of HB 1310, gave their takes on the measure at a virtual county Economic Development Council “Coffee with Colleen” meeting.

Their message followed a critical view of the measures offered by Port Angeles Police Chief Brian Smith and Deputy Chief Jason Viada on Tuesday before the Port Angeles Business Association.

House Bill 1310, which sets use-of-force parameters and was cosponsored by Chapman’s 24th District Democratic colleague, Steve Tharinger of Port Townsend, was criticized by Chapman and Benedict as being unclear and procedurally confining for law enforcement to the detriment of public safety.

“Nature abhors a vacuum,” Benedict said.

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Missouri governor pardons gun-waving St. Louis lawyer couple

O’FALLON, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced Tuesday that he made good on his promise to pardon a couple who gained notoriety for pointing guns at social justice demonstrators as they marched past the couple’s home in a luxury St. Louis enclave last year.

Parson, a Republican, on Friday pardoned Mark McCloskey, who pleaded guilty in June to misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and was fined $750, and Patricia McCloskey, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment and was fined $2,000.

“Mark McCloskey has publicly stated that if he were involved in the same situation, he would have the exact same conduct,” the McCloskeys’ lawyer Joel Schwartz said Tuesday. “He believes that the pardon vindicates that conduct.”

The McCloskeys, both lawyers in their 60s, said they felt threatened by the protesters, who were passing their home in June 2020 on their way to demonstrate in front of the mayor’s house nearby in one of hundreds of similar demonstrations around the country after George Floyd’s death. The couple also said the group was trespassing on a private street.

Mark McCloskey emerged from his home with an AR-15-style rifle, and Patricia McCloskey waved a semiautomatic pistol, according to the indictment. Photos and cellphone video captured the confrontation, which drew widespread attention and made the couple heroes to some and villains to others. No shots were fired and no one was hurt.

Special prosecutor Richard Callahan said his investigation determined that the protesters were peaceful.

“There was no evidence that any of them had a weapon and no one I interviewed realized they had ventured onto a private enclave,” Callahan said in a news release after the McCloskeys pleaded guilty.

Mark McCloskey, who announced in May that he was running for a U.S. Senate seat in Missouri, was unapologetic after the plea hearing.

“I’d do it again,” he said from the courthouse steps in downtown St. Louis. “Any time the mob approaches me, I’ll do what I can to put them in imminent threat of physical injury because that’s what kept them from destroying my house and my family.”

Because the charges were misdemeanors, the McCloskeys did not face the possibility of losing their law licenses or their rights to own firearms.

The McCloskeys were indicted by a grand jury in October on felony charges of the unlawful use of a weapon and evidence tampering. Callahan later amended the charges to give jurors the alternative of convictions of misdemeanor harassment instead of the weapons charge.

Parson’s legal team has been working through a backlog of clemency requests for months.

He hasn’t yet taken action on longtime inmate Kevin Strickland, who several prosecutors now say is innocent of a 1978 Kansas City triple homicide. Parson could pardon Strickland, but he has said he’s not convinced he is innocent.

“…right in Der Grëtchënführër’s face!”

Michigan Senate Repeals Emergency Powers Law, Whitmer Unable to Veto.

Michigan’s Senate on Thursday approved a petition that repeals Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s emergency powers, with another approval expected by the state’s lower chamber.

Whitmer, a Democrat, cannot veto the petition.

The Michigan Senate’s 20-15 vote came two days after the Board of State Canvassers certified the petition, which was started by a group called Unlock Michigan that gathered over 340,000 signatures.

The board deadlocked 2-2 in April but voted 3-0 this time around.

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Louisiana lawmakers to hold historic veto override session

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – Louisiana lawmakers will hold a tradition-busting veto session as Republicans push to overturn Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards’ rejection of bills that would ban transgender girls from school sports and remove restrictions on concealed handguns.

The session — to open Tuesday and last up to five days — will make history as the first veto session ever held under the Louisiana Constitution enacted in 1974.

The constitution calls for a veto session to be scheduled automatically when a governor jettisons legislation. However, a majority vote of either the House or Senate can scrap the gathering, and lawmakers had canceled every veto session over nearly five decades.

But the Republican-led House and Senate are spurning that tradition this year. Neither chamber’s membership turned in enough ballots by the Thursday midnight deadline to stop this year’s session, according to GOP House Speaker Clay Schexnayder.

“In accordance with the Louisiana Constitution and the will of the majority of its members, the Legislature will return to Baton Rouge to consider overriding vetoes made by Gov. Edwards this session. This is democracy in action,” Schexnayder said in a statement Friday to The Associated Press.

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Well, as if anyone needed any more confirmation that demoncraps were nothing more than commie scum.

‘The Cuban People Will Be Free’: Congressman Introduces Resolution To Support Cuban Protests, Only Republicans Sign On

Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL) introduced a resolution to support the Cuban people in their demands for freedom against “the brutal oppression of the Communist dictatorship in Cuba.”

Díaz-Balart — a Cuban-American — asked the international community to stand behind the recent protests against the island’s regime. Initial cosponsors for the House resolution include Steve Scalise (R-LA), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Greg Steube (R-FL), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Byron Donalds (R-FL), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), and Liz Cheney (R-WY).

According to Díaz-Balart’s statement:

For 62 years, the Cuban people have struggled for freedom and human rights under a brutal, repressive dictatorship. On this day, which also coincides with the anniversary of the Tugboat Massacre, we also remember the regime’s decades of malevolence, including the Brothers to the Rescue Shoot-Down, the firing squads, torture, arbitrary arrests, killings, human trafficking, those who fled in makeshift rafts through shark-infested waters, and the many activists who have suffered or perished for simply daring to speak against the regime. The Cuban people will be free, and they will remember those who stood with them.

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Texas silencer law, NFA, No Commandeering, Commerce Clause, Test Case

Texas recently passed HB 957 into law. It will become effective on 1 September, 2021. The law repeals the Texas state ban on the possession of silencers/suppressors/gun mufflers, puts into effect a “no commandeering clause” for federal enforcement of the National Firearms Act (NFA) for silencers, and sets up a federal test case of the NFA in federal court.

In a previous article the repeal of the Texas law and the anti-commandering section were discussed. The likely federal test case was not.

HB 957 came from the brain of Representative Oliverson of Texas District 130, north of Houston. Dr. Oliverson is not a lawyer.  This correspondent was able to talk to Representative Oliverson about how he formed the idea for the law.

Dr. Oliverson came up with the idea to reform suppressor law in Texas because he had purchased two suppressors. He personally experienced the bureaucratic insanity it takes to legally obtain a silencer/suppressor/gun muffler in the United States.

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Arizona Governor Signs Bill to Prohibit Critical Race Theory Teaching

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed a bill on Friday preventing local governments from teaching critical race theory.

The measure, House Bill 2906, prohibits “the state and any local governments from requiring their employees to engage in orientation, training or therapy that suggest an employee is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously,” Ducey’s office said in a statement.

The Arizona state House passed the bill in a 31-25 vote, according to records from the state legislature. The state Senate passed the bill on a 16-12 vote…..

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Signs Bill Allowing Congregants to Carry for Church Defense

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed legislation Tuesday allowing worshipers with concealed permits to carry firearms on their persons for church, synagogue, and mosque defense.

WFLA reported that the bill, HB 259, applies to concealed carry permit holders and it took effect immediately upon being signed.

ABC 7 noted the HB 259 also covers churches and other places of worship that have schools. Until now, there has been a prohibition on carry at such churches and/or places of worship because of the school grounds.

State Sen. Joe Gruters (R-Sarasota), who sponsored the bill, said: “There are always threats. And all we’re doing is giving them, those religious institutions, the ability and the right to be able to say ‘yes,’ if we choose.”

“We’re going to allow concealed permit holders — it’s not the wild, wild West — we’re giving one of the safest subgroups in our society the ability to carry,” he continued.

State Sen. Gary Farmer (D-Lighthouse Point) opposed HB 259, arguing it is built on the “fallacy” that a good guy with a gun stops a bad guy.

Farmer said, “There hasn’t been any Dirty Harry or John McClane or Rambo that’s come to the defense of anyone in any of these mass shootings.”

Here are a few examples of good guys with guns stopping bad guys during the past seven years alone:

Breitbart News reported that a concealed carry permit holder shot and killed an alleged Tulsa, Oklahoma, attacker on March 27, 2020, thwarting a mass shooting in the process.

On December 29, 2019, the Associated Press reported that a man opened fire on a Texas church congregation and was shot and killed seconds later by an armed congregant. Video from the incident showed congregant Jack Wilson shooting the attacker while other congregants closed in, guns drawn, to help end the attack as well. ABC News quoted Texas Department of Public Safety Deputy Director Joeff Williams saying, “The citizens who were inside that church undoubtedly saved 242 other parishioners. That might get swept aside in this whole conversation about active shooter response, and God know law enforcement has done a whole bunch of work to make our response better.”

On August 7, 2018, Fox News reported that a concealed carry permit holder was there to “save countless lives” when a gunman with bad intentions opened fire on a back to school event in Titusville, Florida. Fox 32 quoted Titusville police Sgt. William Amos saying, “Based on the information that we’ve gathered. This person stepped in and saved a lot of people’s lives.”

Breitbart News explained that an Uber driver with a concealed carry permit stopped a mass shooting in Chicago on April 17, 2015. The Chicago Tribune reported the permit holder was in his car when he saw a gunman open fire on a “group of people.” The permit holder pulled his own gun and shot multiple rounds, striking the attacker three times and ending the mass shooting in the process.

Breitbart News also noted that a concealed carry permit holder stopped a March 22, 2015, mass shooting in a Philadelphia barber shop. NBC Philadelphia reported that the gunman was shooting at “customers and barbers” when the permit holder intervened, shooting the attacker in the chest and ending the threat.

ABC News observed that Richard Plotts opened fire in a psychologist’s office July 24, 2014, and his shooting spree was stopped by an armed doctor. Plotts was convicted for opening fire in Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby Borough, Pennsylvania. Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan noted that Dr. Lee Silverman, the armed psychologist who ended Plotts’ attack, helped prevent Plotts from reloading his gun to continue firing.

More recently, on May 17, 2021, Breitbart pointed to a good guy who used a hunting rifle to foil an alleged mass shooting in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

H.Res.388 – Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that President Biden’s gun policies are unconstitutional and should never be approved.

117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 388

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that President Biden’s gun policies are unconstitutional and should never be approved.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 12, 2021
Mr. DesJarlais (for himself, Mr. Norman, Mr. Rogers of Alabama, Mr. Steube, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr. Gibbs, Mr. Budd, Mrs. Harshbarger, Mr. Brooks, Mr. Perry, Mr. McClintock, Mr. Keller, Mr. Rose, Mr. Aderholt, and Mrs. Miller of Illinois) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that President Biden’s gun policies are unconstitutional and should never be approved.

Whereas the right of the people to keep and bear arms is enshrined in our Constitution as the Second Amendment;

Whereas our Nation’s Founders believed this right to be fundamental for Americans to protect themselves and the state of freedom;

Whereas President Biden has directly attacked this right by issuing numerous Executive orders and calling for stricter gun control policies;

Whereas President Biden’s Executive actions on pistol-braced firearms are an unconstitutional attack on Americans exercising their Second Amendment rights;

Whereas President Biden’s Executive actions on homemade firearms, such as 3D printed firearm files or unfinished receiver blanks, are an unconstitutional attack on Americans exercising their Second Amendment rights;

Whereas President Biden has called for Congress to pass unconstitutional laws requiring background checks on all firearm transfers, unconstitutionally banning “assault weapons” and “high-capacity magazines”, and holding law-abiding gun manufacturers liable for the acts of criminals;

Whereas President Biden’s gun restriction proposals would effectively ban commonly owned firearms and magazines used for lawful purposes;

Whereas President Biden’s gun restriction proposals would criminalize private firearm transfers; and

Whereas President Biden’s gun restriction proposals would seek to hold gun manufacturers and dealers civilly liable, encouraging abuse of the court system to drive them out of business through meritless litigation: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that—

(1) it should be the policy of the United States to strengthen the Second Amendment rights of Americans and prevent the potential erosion of these rights; and

(2) Congress should never stop fighting to protect the Second Amendment.

 

Legislation proposed to make Ky. Second Amendment sanctuary state

FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) – Kentucky would become a Second Amendment sanctuary state if legislation being proposed for the 2022 General Assembly is enacted.

The measure, which will be sponsored by Rep. Josh Bray, R-Mt. Vernon, would bar state and local law enforcement agencies from enforcing federal restrictions on the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms. It would also prohibit local governments and other public agencies from allocating public resources or money in the enforcement of federal firearm bans. It includes firearms themselves, ammunition and firearm accessories.

“President Biden has declared gun control a priority for his administration, and we know that if he doesn’t get what he wants from Congress, he will abuse his executive authority through rulemaking,” said Bray, who represents all of Garrard and Rockcastle counties and a portion of Madison County. “This sends a clear message that Kentucky is a Second Amendment sanctuary and that there is no question we will defend the Second Amendment against any attempt to infringe upon it.”

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Arizona House Passes Bill Requiring Schools Share Stories From People Who Fled Communism.

The Republican-majority Arizona House on June 25 approved a bill that could mandate that school teachers share stories from people who fled communism as part of the curriculum.

The requirement is part of House Bill 2898 (pdf), which includes changes in laws governing K–12 education in the state. The language was inserted by Republican state Rep. Judy Burges, and states that the measure will prepare students to be “civically responsible and knowledgeable adults.”

Public schools would be required to teach “a comparative discussion of political ideologies, such as communism and totalitarianism, the conflict with the principles of freedom and democracy essential to the founding principles of the United States” among other changes, the bill’s text states.

Arizona’s Department of Education must also develop new civics education standards for school districts and charter schools to include, such as on the original intent of America’s Founding Documents and principles of the United States, including the expectation that U.S. citizens will be responsible for preserving and defending “the blessings of liberty inherited from prior generations and secured by the United States Constitution.”

The education board would also have to develop a list of oral history resources that provide “patriotism based on first-person accounts of victims of other nations’ governing philosophies who can compare those philosophies with those of the United States.”

“The reality is [that] one of the greatest threats facing the globe today is communism and totalitarianism,” Republican state Rep. Jake Hoffman said, Capitol Media Services reported. “We have governments like the communist Chinese government, that their stated goal is to be the world’s sole and only superpower, and that they will achieve that goal through any means possible.”

The legislation now heads to the state Senate for consideration.

The measure advanced days after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order on education that pushes back against critical race theory, and also creates an education program that will require students to be taught about “the evils of communism.”

In short, high schools must provide “instruction on the evils of communism and totalitarian ideology,” DeSantis said, noting that there are Florida residents who have escaped totalitarian regimes and communist dictatorships, such as from Cuba and Vietnam, to live in America.

“We want all students to understand the difference,” he said. “Why would somebody flee across shark-infested waters … why would people leave these countries and risk their lives to be able to come here? It’s important that students understand that.”

DeSantis on June 22 also signed into law HB 5, which requires the Florida Department of Education to develop an integrated K–12 civic education curriculum that includes teaching students about citizens’ shared rights under the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

(Oklahoma State) Senator Dahm files bill to lower ‘constitutional carry’ age to 18

TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — Broken Arrow Senator Nathan Dahm has filed a bill to lower the age for “constitutional carry” to 18 years old.

Dahm said Senate Bill 1093, which was intentionally filed on June 28 to honor Oklahoma’s Second Amendment Day, will “further expand the right of the people of Oklahoma to keep and bear arms.”

“The people have a Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms,” Dahm said in a news release. “Just as they have the right to vote starting at 18, they should not have to wait until turning 21 to exercise their right to self-defense.”

He said, since the age for voting in Oklahoma is 18, so should be the age for constitutionally carrying a firearm openly or concealed.

“The primary function and responsibility of government is to protect individual rights,” Dahm said. “This bill will allow people who currently can vote but currently can’t exercise their Second Amendment rights to have both rights protected for them.”

Gov. Kevin Stitt signed Senate Bill 631 on Apr. 26, 2021, making Oklahoma a Second Amendment sanctuary state.

“Oklahoma has made great gains in advancing our Second Amendment protections,” Dahm said. “That is largely thanks to important local groups like OK2A as well as national groups like NAGR who were both instrumental in getting Constitutional Carry passed. I look forward to continuing to work with each of them and others including the NRA and GOA to advance our rights and access to firearms.”

Oklahoma became the 15th state to approve constitutional carry in 2019.

Director of Communications for the National Association for Gun Rights Chris Stone released the following statement on SB1093:

The National Association for Gun Rights applauds Sen. Nathan Dahm for introducing this rights restoring bill. All law-abiding adults in Oklahoma should be protected under Oklahoma’s Constitutional Carry law. A 20-year-old single mom should not be forced to beg for governments permission to protect herself and her kids, and If you’re old enough to serve in America’s armed forces, you should be able to carry a firearm without first having to pay a tax.

The president of the Oklahoma Second Amendment Association, Don Spencer, also released a statement:

 Senator Dahm, recipient of the OK2A 2021 Minuteman Award, has been a champion for liberty during his tenure in the senate. OK2A will continue to work with Senator Dahm on this bill to return rights back to the citizens and those that are lawfully visiting the great State of Oklahoma.

First shot: 141 House Republicans challenge ATF tax, registration of AR pistols

A majority of House Republicans are vowing to kill a new Biden plan to tax and regulate one of the nation’s most popular firearms for target practice and hunting, claiming it discriminates against disabled veterans and would make all owners “felons overnight.”

Led by Second Amendment advocate Rep. Richard Hudson, 141 Republicans (and likely more to come) are targeting a revived rule from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives backed by the Justice Department to turn AR-style pistols into expensive, hard to get guns.

In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and acting ATF Director Marvin Richardson, Hudson wrote, “This proposed guidance is alarming and jeopardizes the rights of law-abiding gun owners and disabled combat veterans across the country.”

He was joined by 140 other Republicans, including the No. 2 and No. 3 GOP leaders, Reps. Steve Scalise and Elise Stefanik, and former leader Rep. Liz Cheney.

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More than half of the country is now a Second Amendment sanctuary – The Gun Writer

The growing national trend of preserving the Second Amendment through local and state legislation has been largely ignored by the legacy media

More than 55% of all U.S. counties are now Second Amendment sanctuaries, and the numbers continue to grow at a rapid pace.

A total of 1,753 of the country’s 3,144 counties — or 55.76% — have either declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries or are located in sanctuary states, according to Noah Davis of sanctuarycounties.com and its companion site constitutionalsanctuaries.com

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