Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves Calls for Elimination of Critical Race Theory in Budget Proposal
Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves released his Fiscal Year 2023 budget proposal on Monday, recommending that the teaching of critical race theory be eliminated from taxpayer-funded schools.
Under a section in the budget proposal titled “Improving Education,” Reeves headlined a section “Eliminate Critical Race Theory” and outlined how he believed the teaching to be a “vicious lie.”
On track for the next permitless carry state?
Ohio House committee passes bill allowing for concealed carry of guns without training
COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio House committee passed legislation Thursday that would allow most Ohioans who are 21 years of age and up to lawfully carry a concealed firearm.
Current law allows Ohioans to carry concealed weapons after completing eight hours of training and submitting an application to their county sheriff, who conducts a background check. House Bill 227, if passed, would remove the training and application requirements for anyone who is of age and not prohibited from carrying a weapon by state or federal law.
Over each of the last six years, about 3,900 concealed carry permits on average were either suspended, revoked or denied, according to data from the Ohio Attorney General.
The legislation would also remove Ohioans’ duty under current law to notify police officers that they’re carrying a weapon if they’re stopped in traffic. HB 227 only requires them to notify officers about the weapon if they’re asked.
Passing “permitless carry,” as the legislation is commonly referred to, would forward a steady march of loosening Ohio’s gun laws. Ohio’s concealed carry program launched in 2004 and required 12 hours of training at the time. In 2006, lawmakers passed a bill blocking cities from passing gun control laws stricter than those of the state at large. Republicans passed a “stand your ground” bill last year that removes the legal duty to first seek retreat from a confrontation before responding with deadly force.
The push toward permitless carry comes as gun violence hits record highs. In 2021 so far, 694 people have been killed and nearly 1,600 have been injured in shootings in Ohio, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive, which tracks media reports of shootings around the U.S.
The legislation passed without much fanfare from Ohio’s House Government Oversight Committee. House Majority Leader Bill Seitz, R-Green Twp., said he was convinced of the need to pass the legislation by gun lobbyists from the National Rifle Association and the Buckeye Firearms Association.
Rep. Tim Ginter, a Salem Republican who also works as an ordained minister, mentioned that the legislation clarifies that people can carry concealed weapons in a house of worship, as many of his parishioners do.
“If you attend the church that I pastor, just be aware that there’s probably a lot of people in there with handguns,” he said.
House Democrats on the committee opposed the legislation. They tried, without success, to amend two anti-gun violence provisions into the bill. One would require background checks to purchase firearms at gun shows and from private sellers. Another would allow judges, if petitioned by family or law enforcement, to temporarily seize weapons from people experiencing mental health crises.
Rep. Paula Hicks-Hudson, the ranking Democrat on the committee, called the legislation “short-sighted” and divisive.
“This extreme legislation doesn’t make Ohio any more gun friendly,” she said. “Instead, it makes it a lot less safe for all of us, including gun owners.”
The gun lobby has been pushing for permitless carry in Ohio for at least 10 to 15 years, according to Buckeye Firearms Association’s top lobbyist Rob Sexton. In an interview, he framed the issue around the constitutional right to bear arms and downplayed the existence of a relationship between loosened gun laws and gun violence.
“The law has been liberalized over the last 15 years toward the goal of fully realizing what the Constitution says, and we still haven’t seen the corresponding bad behavior by regular, law abiding gun owners,” he said. “So no, I don’t believe this change will make that happen either.”
In Ohio, the state supreme court holds that the constitutional right to bear arms does not guarantee the right to carry a concealed weapon.
“There is no constitutional right to bear concealed weapons,” wrote Justice Paul Pfeifer in a 2003 majority opinion.
The U.S. Supreme Court is also set to hear oral arguments Nov. 3 on the constitutionality of a New York law restricting concealed carrying of weapons in the state.
Richelle O’Connor, an activist with Moms Demand Action, said the outcomes of the policy are simple: More people with guns they aren’t trained how to use equals more gun violence.
“If more guns made us safe, then we would be the safest country in the industrialized nation, and we are not,” she said.
After the hearing, Moms Demand Action issued a news release citing two studies linking permitless carry laws to increases in violent crime. A 2018 working paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research authored by researchers from Stanford and Columbia universities found states with permitless carry laws experience roughly 15% higher rates of violent crime 10 years after adoption than they otherwise would have. Other research published in the American Journal for Public Health found that permitless carry laws were associated with 11% increases in handgun homicide rates.
Twenty-one states allow inhabitants (residents only in North Dakota) to carry a concealed weapon without a permit, according to a count from the U.S Concealed Carry Association. This includes neighboring states of West Virginia and Kentucky.
Just the Beginning: Ten Afghan Evacuees Detained as National Security Risks.
The Biden administration is giving America gifts that will keep on giving for generations to come, and one of the foremost of these gifts is the newly-arrived group of Afghan evacuees: 70,000 are now in the U.S., and the total number is expected to exceed 124,000 before long. One of Biden’s handlers, unnamed in a Wednesday Wall Street Journal report, has admitted that ten of these evacuees have already been detained as risks to national security. Only ten out of 70,000 isn’t bad, right? Sure. But Biden’s handlers’ catastrophic mishandling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan makes it virtually certain that there will be many more.
The reasons for this are clear. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas noted in late September that 60,000 Afghans had been brought to the United States by that time, including nearly 8,000 who were American citizens or residents of the country, and 1,800 had Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) issued to them for aiding the U.S. military in Afghanistan.
What about the rest? Mayorkas explained:
Of the over 60,000 individuals who have been brought into the United States [from Afghanistan]—and I will give you approximate figures and I will verify them, approximately 7 percent have been United States citizens. Approximately 6 percent have been lawful permanent residents. Approximately 3 percent have been individuals who are in receipt of the Special Immigrant Visas. The balance of that population are individuals whose applications have not yet been processed for approval who may qualify as SIVs and have not yet applied, who qualify or would qualify—I should say—as P-1 or P-2 refugees who have been employed by the United States government in Afghanistan and are otherwise vulnerable Afghan nationals, such as journalists, human rights advocates, et cetera.
The upshot of this is that over eighty percent of the Afghan evacuees were neither American citizens nor SIV holders. So who are they? No one knows. Certainly Biden’s handlers don’t. Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) recently discovered that 12,000 of the Afghans who were sent to Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar and then went on to the U.S. were not just “individuals whose applications have not yet been processed for approval,” as Mayorkas put it, but had no identification at all. Issa stated: “They came with nothing. No Afghan I.D., no I.D. of any sorts. Those people were all forwarded on to the U.S., and that’s quite an admission. So many people had no I.D. whatsoever and yet find themselves in the United States today based on what they said.”
This is no reason to be concerned, say Biden’s handlers. Another (or maybe the same one quoted before) unnamed “senior official” in the Biden administration assured the Wall Street Journal that “the use of biometric and biographic data was a robust screening strategy, as the U.S. had decades to build up databases of information related to national security threats and crime. The official said it was sufficient to address the lack of paperwork or other identifying information.” The official downplayed any risk: “In the case of Afghanistan, we had quite a lot [of data] because we’ve spent almost 20 years in the country. It was actually a particularly rich set of information in those various databases.”
National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne added: “The fact that some have been flagged by our counterterrorism, intelligence, or law enforcement professionals for additional screening shows our system is working. Many of the same people criticizing us for bringing in Afghans were on TV calling for us to evacuate as many Afghans as possible in August.”
There are, as you no doubt already realize, not a few flies in this ointment. The Journal also noted that “federal officials interviewed at U.S. bases overseas stated to Republican aides that they didn’t have any training in identifying fraudulent Afghan documents, raising concerns about the validity of documents that were used.” As a result, several Afghans were able to board a flight in Mazar-e-Sharif with fraudulent documents. They were caught, but how many others weren’t? “There were several people who were traveling with fake passports,” the Biden wonk admitted. However, relax: “They did not have Taliban affiliation.”
Great. But the number of evacuees who have already aroused suspicion is greater than the ten who have been flagged as national security risks. The Washington Post reported on September 10 that “the Department of Homeland Security flagged 44 Afghan evacuees as potential national security risks during the past two weeks as the government screened tens of thousands for resettlement in the United States.”
Not only is the potential for deception virtually limitless when dealing with people who have absolutely no identification; it also must be borne in mind that these people have come from a jihadi hotspot and that ISIS, which has a significant presence in Afghanistan, has repeatedly told its operatives in the West to affect Western clothing and a secular outward appearance in order to fool gullible security officials. And Biden’s security apparatus is so very eager to be fooled, it even denies the ideological and theological basis of Islamic jihad terrorism. How, then, can it vet for it? It can’t. And that means that these ten evacuees who have been detained are only the beginning.
Earlier this fall, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, frustrated and angry at the Biden regime’s purposeful inaction on securing the border, stepped up and issued a threat: He will use his authority and empower his own personnel to start arresting illegal aliens in the absence of federal enforcement.
“By virtue of the power and authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the State of Texas, I hereby order that the Texas National Guard assist DPS in enforcing Texas law by arresting lawbreakers at the border,” Abbott’s letter to Texas Adjutant General Major Gen. Tracy Norris said in July, when he first issued the order.
USA Features News, which reported on the declaration at the time, added:
Last month, Abbott said during a summit to discuss border security that any migrants who criminally trespass into Texas or commit other offenses would be subject to arrest and jailed.
In addition, the GOP governor announced plans to build new sections of border wall so as to plug gaps left when President Joe Biden canceled federal wall construction begun under the Trump administration.
In arguing as to why National Guard members should be empowered to make arrests, Abbott noted in his letter that “more manpower is needed” to deal with the hundreds of thousands of migrants who have been crashing the Tex-Mex border since Joe Biden took the oath of office for a presidency that was stolen on his behalf.
In addition, Abbott explained that according to the Texas constitution, his powers as “Commander-in-Chief of the military forces” of the state grant him the authority to issue arrest powers to his Guard troops.
Abbott also “likewise recognizes that the governor can call on state military forces ‘to enforce state law’ and ‘to assist civil authorities in guarding [or] conveying prisoners,’” said the letter.
So many Americans have been holding out hope that maybe, possibly, Joe Biden might relent and build a border wall for the sake of national security. Well, the wait is over: He’s doing it!
DHS pays over $455k to build 'security fencing' around Biden's beach home https://t.co/vLfoMn8Zmc pic.twitter.com/fejk1KMcDI
— New York Post (@nypost) October 22, 2021
Ohio Republicans pass bill to ban gun store closures during emergencies
Republicans in the Ohio Senate passed a bill 23 to 7 Wednesday that says local governments can’t close gun stores or confiscate firearms during riots or other states of emergency.
“During the COVID pandemic, it became evident that local, state and federal governments have sweeping powers when it came to emergencies,” Sen. Tim Schaffer, R -Lancaster, said.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine carved out an exemption for gun stores in his stay-at-home orders, but other states did not.
“Therefore this bill is critical to proactively define the limits of government’s power to further abuses,” Schaffer said.
Senate Bill 185 would also ban local governments from invalidating concealed carry licenses or closing down shooting ranges.
Current law allows local governments to prohibit the sale or transportation of “firearms or other dangerous weapons” such as crossbows and knives when suppressing a riot or “when there is a clear and present danger of a riot.”
SB 185 would eliminate that provision for everything except dynamite and other explosives.
And that’s a problem for Democrats like Sen. Cecil Thomas, a Democrat from Cincinnati’s Avondale neighborhood.
“You’re denying local governments the ability to protect their communities as they deem appropriate,” Thomas said.
Groups like the Ohio Municipal League opposed the bill in committing, saying it would violate the home rule authority of local governments.
“The Ohio Constitution grants Home Rule authority to municipalities in recognition that a government closest to the people governs best,” Ohio Municipal League Director Ken Scarrett said earlier this month. “Each city and village should be equipped to serve and protect the interests of their communities.”
SB 185 now heads to the Republican-controlled Ohio House for consideration.
Cases in Florida are down 88% in the past 1.5 months with no new statewide policy — no mask mandate or vaccine passports
In fact, they’re now tied for 48th in the country in current case rate
I’m sure any day now the media will be crediting DeSantis for bringing the curve down
DeSantis Moves To Stop Biden From Flooding Florida With Illegal Aliens From The Biden Border Crisis
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Tuesday announced new actions that his administration is taking to stop Democrat President Joe Biden from flooding the state with illegal aliens from the crisis that Biden created on the U.S.-Mexico border.
DeSantis’s office announced the following three actions in a statement:
- First, Governor DeSantis has issued Executive Order 21-223 to prohibit all Florida agencies under the purview of the Governor from facilitating illegal immigration into Florida, unless otherwise required by federal or state law, and require the collection of information from state officials on the scope and costs of illegal immigration in Florida.
- Second, Governor DeSantis announced the appointment of Larry Keefe, former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, as Public Safety Czar to ensure the actions directed by the executive order are carried out.
- Finally, Governor DeSantis and Attorney General Moody announced that Florida has filed suit against the Biden Administration challenging its “catch and release” policy.
DeSantis has previously pressed the Biden administration to provide transparency concerning where they are shipping the illegal aliens in the state, and the administration refused to respond.
“Although President Biden has been in office for only 251 days, the number of encounters at the Southwest border has skyrocketed from 78,000 in January 2021 to more than 212,000 in July 2021. The 171% increase is alarming and is the highest in more than 20 years,” the statement said. “Additionally, the number of illegal aliens who were apprehended and subsequently released by the Border Patrol in July alone was a staggering 60,607, a massive increase from the 1,324 in this category who were released in January. By contrast, in the last full month of the Trump Administration, only 17 aliens in this category were released.”
DeSantis said at a press conference, “We’re not going to be a party to this lawlessness, we haven’t to my knowledge, but we’re letting the marker down, know that this is an absolute red line, we’re not going to do it. And the order prohibits our agencies from providing assistance to the feds or any other entity for the transportation of folks who are here illegally into Florida from the southwest border.”
DeSantis later said that Biden’s border crisis was “one of the biggest failures of the federal government in my lifetime and it’s a choice, they’re choosing failure by embracing bad policies.”
Quotes from other notable figures at the press conference included:
On Thursday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced he had secured additional doses of the lifesaving monoclonal antibody treatments the Biden administration significantly cut to his state. DeSantis said in a press conference he acquired 3,000 doses of Sotrovimad, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
“It got emergency use approval just a few months ago. The clinical data that they had was really, really strong. In fact, that was even stronger than Regeneron,” said DeSantis. “And we know Regeneron has been very, very effective and in the real world.”
“So we’re going to be able to use that Sotrovimad to bridge some of the gaps that are going to be developing as a result of the Biden administration cutting — dramatically cutting medications to the state of Florida,” DeSantis continued.
Earlier in his speech, DeSantis slammed the Biden administration for drastically cutting the number of doses his state received after the administration took over control of distributing the treatment from the states.
“Cutting the medication to Florida and other states is wrong. It’s not consistent with the promise that was made just a couple of weeks ago. And we are going to continue to fight against that,” added DeSantis.
“And so yes, we have much lower hospital numbers, much lower cases, everything like that is much better than it was a month ago,” he continued but noted “COVID doesn’t go away.” The rate vaccinated people are testing positive is increasing in pace from six months ago.
“And so we know there’s going to be a continuing need to make this early treatment available for folks,” said DeSantis.
DeSantis’ action comes after expressing his displeasure last week with the Biden administration for withholding the treatment from the state.
“Just last week on September 9th, President Joe Biden said that his administration would be increasing shipments of monoclonal antibodies in September by 50%, and yet on September 13th, HHS announced that it was seizing control of the monoclonal antibody supply and that it would control distribution. Then on September 14th, the announcement was more than 50% of the monoclonal antibodies that had been used in Florida were going to be reduced,” he said.
“What the HHS and the Biden administration is now doing is they’re saying that all of the reduced amounts will go to the state, and we’re responsible not only for sourcing our sites, which we’re happy to do but any infusion center,” he continued.
“Any provider, any hospital will have to come through the state, and to spring this on us starting next week, we’re going to have to do that. There’s going to be a huge disruption, and patients are going to suffer as a result of this,” DeSantis added.
Just 3 Percent of Afghan Evacuees in U.S. Are Special Immigrant Visa Holders.
During contentious testimony before the Senate Homeland Security Committee Tuesday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas claimed that only “approximately three percent” of the 60,000 Afghan evacuees already brought to the United States are individuals who possess special immigrant visas (SIVs).
The majority of Afghans who qualified for SIVs are people who worked with our military as interpreters and therefore placed themselves in grave danger if and when the Taliban returned to power.
As additional background, the U.S. military recruited Afghans to assist U.S. forces, and “part of that pitch when asking Afghans to trust us and put their lives on the line for us was that if this day ever came, we would do right by them and bring them out,” Rep. Peter Meijer (R-Mich.), a combat veteran, explained earlier this month. “That was part of that promise — that we will not leave you behind. That was implicit in the legislation establishing Special Immigrant Visas for Afghan allies, and that was conveyed by folks on the ground to those who chose to work with us.”
As of May, 90 percent of the 20,000 Afghans who worked with U.S. troops and diplomats had applied for SIVs, according to government figures reported by NBC.
“When their family members are included, the pool of Afghans in the SIV program was at least 70,000 and probably higher, according to refugee advocacy groups,” NBC added.
Mayorkas’s full statement yesterday about these appallingly low numbers reads:
Of the over 60,000 individuals who have been brought into the United States [from Afghanistan]—and I will give you approximate figures and I will verify them, approximately 7 percent have been United States citizens. Approximately 6 percent have been lawful permanent residents. Approximately 3 percent have been individuals who are in receipt of the special immigrant visas. The balance of that population are individuals whose applications have not yet been processed for approval who may qualify as SIVs and have not yet applied, who qualify or would qualify—I should say—as P-1 or P-2 refugees who have been employed by the united states government in Afghanistan and are otherwise vulnerable afghan nationals, such as journalists, human rights advocates, et cetera.
Between incoherent, haphazard border policies, and this dereliction of duty, Mayorkas seems more inept each day.
I’ve written multiple times on this troubling situation. It is yet another betrayal of America’s allies by the Biden administration.
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.
“The state should be promoting good health, & vaccination isn’t only path. It’s treated almost like a religion… We support measures for good health. That’s vaccination, losing weight, exercising more, eating more fruits and veggies. We support it all.” https://t.co/MD7KMvBgtD
— Jordan Schachtel @ dossier.substack.com (@JordanSchachtel) September 21, 2021
Writing for the Daily Beast, @kanaruhalter — a journalist with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from UCLA — asserts that a UCLA medical school professor is unqualified to speak about COVID.
…Sure Jan 😀 pic.twitter.com/n7dZjHPmfu
— Christina Pushaw (@ChristinaPushaw) September 21, 2021
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:
Damning from Wallace: “Does the President not know what’s going on?”
Big theme of the Sunday shows today which was not effectively answered a single time. pic.twitter.com/oOFnp8d0gJ
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) August 22, 2021
6 Governors Stripped Of Power Because Of Overreach During The COVID-19 Pandemic
State legislatures in six states limited their governors’ emergency powers wielded during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing executives have overextended their authority.
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.
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.
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.
Well, as if anyone needed any more confirmation that demoncraps were nothing more than commie scum.
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.
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.
