State and local governments are continuing the trend of bribing residents in exchange for taking the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Ingham County Health Department is teamed up with a Michigan zoo Saturday in an effort to get residents vaccinated.
Monthly Archives: May 2021
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Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is asking the Biden administration to approve a plan that would allow for the importation of FDA-approved Canadian drugs to the Sunshine State, which would lower costs, according to the governor.
“Today, Governor Ron DeSantis called on the Biden Administration and leadership at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to approve Florida’s Section 804 Importation Proposal (SIP) for Florida’s Canadian Prescription Drug Importation Program,” a Friday press release said
Using federal COVID-19 funds, Minnesota has become the latest state to bribe its residents with prizes in exchange for taking the vaccine.
Gov. Tim Walz (D) announced Thursday that residents who get at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccination before the end of June will be able to select one of nine prizes.
In an apparent protest over the loosened border security measures of the Biden administration, an Ohio Sheriff terminated his county jail’s contract to house U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees.
“With the crisis at the border getting worse, it concerns me that the feds will ship detainees to my facility, then release them to the streets of my community under some technicality,” Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones said.
A pair of Big Tech lobbying groups, NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association, have filed a lawsuit against Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, along with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and other state officials, after DeSantis signed into law a bill that regulates Big Tech’s censorship abilities earlier this week.
“Americans everywhere should oppose Florida’s attempt to run roughshod over the First Amendment rights of private online businesses,” Carl Szabo, vice president and general counsel of NetChoice said, according to POLITICO. “By weakening the First Amendment rights of some, Florida weakens the First Amendment rights of all.”
The first winners in Ohio’s vaccine lottery were chosen Wednesday night.
“Abbigail Bugenske of southwestern Ohio took home $1 million after she entered the drawing along with more than 2.7 million other vaccinated Ohioans,” Fox News reported.
Working with the legislature, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) delivered a record-setting $765 million budget for teachers in the Sunshine State.
“These investments include $550 million to continue elevating minimum teacher salaries, as well as $215 million to provide all of Florida’s eligible public school principals and teachers with $1,000 disaster relief payments,” a press release from the governor’s office said.
Florida State University has settled a lawsuit filed by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) on behalf of Jack Denton, the former Student Senate President who was removed from his role for criticizing Black Lives Matter.
After the death of George Floyd, Denton advised fellow students in a Catholic group chat not to donate to Black Lives Matter, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) or Reclaim the Block, leftist organizations who support anti-Catholic teachings.
The former lead prosecutor assigned to the case of ex-Brooklyn Center Police officer Kimberly Potter has resigned, citing partisan politics and casting doubt on whether justice can be effectively pursued in today’s political climate.
Prosecuting attorney Imran Ali wrote the following in resignation letter:
The Ohio legislature has become the latest to propose a law that would ban the teaching of Critical Race Theory to children in public schools.
House Bill 322 would prohibit the teaching of all of the following, according to the state House’s website:
A new bill that is expected to gain bipartisan support would make it a primary offense for Ohioans to hold their cell phones while driving.
“Most of the state’s that have added a primary offense for distracted driving have seen a 20% decrease in crash fatalities two years after passage of a hands-free law,” state Rep. Brian Lampton (R-District 73) said.
Amid an ongoing labor shortage that has hit the service industry particularly hard, Florida has become the twenty-third state to reject the federal government’s supplemental $300 per week in COVID-19 unemployment benefits.
“Florida will end its participation in the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program, the $300 per week supplemental FPUC payment, effective June 26, 2021, as part of DEO’s ‘Return to Work’ initiative,” the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) said in a Monday press release.
Former President Donald J. Trump announced this week that he is planning campaign-style rallies in battleground states, including Ohio.
“Relatively soon, we’ll be doing one in Florida, we’re gonna do one in Ohio, we’re gonna do one in Georgia, we’re gonna do one in North Carolina,” Trump told One America News in a Thursday interview. “We’ll be announcing them very soon over the next week or two, and I think we’ll probably start in Florida and Ohio and we’ll be announcing the rallies very shortly.”
After a teacher in Duval County was fired for violating the ban on Critical Race Theory in the classroom, Florida’s governor has promised even more action against the practice.
“If we have to play whack a mole all over the state stopping this critical race theory, we will do it,” DeSantis said in a Friday press conference. “You can put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig.”
According to Brad Parscale, the ex-campaign manager to former President Donald J. Trump, at least one poll has Republican and Trump loyalist, former Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH-16), significantly ahead of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R).
Renacci has not officially declared a run for Governor, but Parscale is reported to be advising him.
The names of two new men connected to the alleged underage sex trafficking case involving Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL-01) have been released.
One of them is a friend and former employee of Joel Greenberg, the Gaetz associate at the center of the case who pleaded guilty to sex trafficking and other crimes earlier this week.
In an interview with Nicolle Wallace on MSNBC, Michigan’s Secretary of State expressed her displeasure with ongoing efforts nationwide to audit the 2020 election, and with the implementation of various voter integrity measures.
“I think we’re seeing an escalation in the war on democracy on three fronts,” Jocelyn Benson (D) said. “One, this continued spreading of the ‘Big Lie.’ It is growing, it is not ceding, and it’s been fed by instances like what’s happening in Arizona. And then secondly, we have this lie being codified in nearly every state in this country – as you mentioned – Georgia, Texas, Florida, even here in Michigan – we’ve got 39 bills that ultimately try to undo the policies that led to such high turnout and such a secure election in 2020.”
Amid speculation that several power brokers could enter Michigan’s 2022 gubernatorial race, a conservative commentator declared her candidacy Thursday.
“I am excited to announce that I am running for Governor to get Michigan back on track,” Tudor Dixon said on Twitter. “We will restore our state and help Michiganders build their American Dream once again! Let’s do this Michigan!”
Florida’s House Democrats have elected new leaders, each to serve a two year term beginning after the 2022 and 2024 elections.
“Rep. Ramon Alexander, D-Tallahassee, and Rep. Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, will be the next two leaders of Florida House Democrats. The House Democratic caucus on Wednesday elected Alexander to serve as its leader for a two-year period starting after the 2022 elections,” according to The Tallahassee Democrat. “The caucus chose Driskell to serve as leader for the two-year period starting after the 2024 elections.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has a new Press Secretary, a freelance reporter who exposed one of the state’s largest COVID-19 scam artist.
Christina Pushaw is slated to handle the media on DeSantis’ behalf, according to a Monday report in The Capitolist.
President Joe Biden visited a Ford’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center plant Tuesday, and was greeted on a Detroit tarmac by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13).
According to NPR, America’s first Palestinian congresswoman used her short time with the forty-sixth president to discuss the escalating tensions between Israel and Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Scandal-plagued Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) remains in hot water after it was discovered that Michigan Transition 2019, her inaugural nonprofit, paid for her secretive trip on a private plane to visit her father in mid-March.
According to the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, supermarket giant Meijer contributed $50,000 to Michigan Transition 2019. The company was one of 182 groups or individuals that donated to the nonprofit, which raked in millions, shortly after Whitmer was elected in late 2018.
After initially labeling it “suicide by cop,” the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has officially updated the designation of the 2017 congressional baseball practice shooting, which left GOP Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA-01) critically wounded, to “domestic violent terrorism.”
The change comes after Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH-02) questioned FBI Director Chris Wray about the designation during a late April House Intelligence Committee hearing.
As the Florida Legislature reconvened in Tallahassee Monday for a special session to iron out the details of the state’s new gambling compact with the Seminole Tribe, one former Republican Governor spoke out against the deal.
“South Florida is on a roll!” failed 2016 presidential candidate Jeb Bush said in a statement. “Our great quality of life and an incredible surge of job creators to our region have put us on a path for rising income and prosperity for many more of our neighbors. At the time when our economy is poised for an unprecedented takeoff after taking a hit from the pandemic, now is not the time to expand casino gambling which will benefit a handful at the expense of many.”
The University System of Georgia announced that it plans to drop mask mandates for fully vaccinated students and employees in the Fall 2021 semester, marking a return to relative normalcy.
“Fully vaccinated individuals can resume campus classes and other activities without wearing a mask. Unvaccinated individuals are strongly encouraged to continue wearing a face covering while inside campus facilities,” a press release said.
After an announcement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that Americans vaccinated against COVID-19 are free to gather without masks, several Florida staples have announced they will not require customers to wear masks this summer.
“Visitors won’t have to wear face masks outdoors at any of Central Florida’s major theme parks, as Universal Orlando, Disney World and SeaWorld relaxed the COVID-19 rule effective Saturday, sparking a mixed reaction among some fans,” The Orlando Sentinel reported Saturday.
The state House Oversight Committee voted Thursday in favor of a bill that would ban vaccine passports, which will now head to the floor of the House for debate.
House Bill 4667 prohibits “governmental entity from producing, issuing, or providing an incentive for [COVID-19 vaccination passport] under certain circumstances.”
Citing “multiple people familiar with the situation,” POLITICO reported that Joel Greenberg, a close associate of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL-01), will plead guilty in an Orlando federal court Monday to charges related to the sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl, in exchange for a lenient sentence.
Greenberg, a friend of Gaetz whom the congressman described as his “wingman,” could provide evidence to federal investigators in a separate case against Gaetz, according to the report.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper (D) announced Friday that the city will no longer require residents or visitors to wear masks, and announced an end to capacity restrictions on businesses.
“As of this morning, Nashville has lifted the mask mandate and all capacity restrictions. 301,700 Nashvillians have received a vaccine, which is life-saving and economy-saving. Together we weathered the storm of the last 14 months, and Nashville is ready for the rebound,” he said on Twitter, attaching a public service video announcement.
Gov. Brian Kemp announced Thursday during an interview on Fox News that Georgia will reject the federal government’s $300 per week enhanced unemployment benefits.
“What I’m seeing on the ground here is that every small business owner and the workers that are currently working, they need more people. It is hurting our productivity, not only in Georgia, but across the country,” Kemp told host Dana Perino.
In a Wednesday appearance on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle,” Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced that he will pardon and grant clemency to those facing legal battles for breaking mask mandates and social distancing orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
DeSantis joined Laura Ingraham along with Michael and Jillian Carnevale, who own a gym in Broward County. Last summer, the pair became a target of the Broward County authorities, according to a GoFundMe for their legal bills. They were both arrested and their business was shut down when they refused to comply with the county’s mask mandate.
They mayor of Minneapolis, who himself has bashed police in order to placate the Black Lives Matter mob, now says that calls to “defund the police” have led to a spike in crime in the city.
“The violence needs to stop, it’s unacceptable. People deserve to feel safe in their neighborhood, they deserve to be able to send their kids out to the sidewalk to play and to recreate without bullets flying by. That’s unacceptable. We should be holding these perpetrators accountable,” Mayor Jacob Frey (D) said.
A Republican member of the state House of Representatives is attempting to hold the news media accountable for spreading disinformation.
“The ‘Fact Checker Registration Act’ defines a fact checker as someone who publishes in print or online in Michigan, is paid by a fact-checking organization and is a member of the International Fact Check Network,” according to Detroit News.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) Tuesday evening declared a state of emergency and activated the Florida National Guard amid a gas shortage that is wreaking havoc along the eastern seaboard.
The order, which directs state officials to work with the federal government and loosens restrictions for truckers from out of state to bring gasoline into Florida, is in effect after a group of hackers called DarkSide executed a ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline.
Gov. Brian Kemp (R) Tuesday signed an executive order temporarily eliminating the Peach State’s gas tax, among other measures, after a cyber attack on the Colonial Pipeline has halted gas flow to much of the southeast.
“Today I signed an executive order suspending the gas tax in Georgia to help with higher prices as a result of the Colonial cyber attack. We are working closely with Colonial and expect for them to recover by the end of the week,” Kemp said on Twitter, attaching an official statement from his office.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) Monday announced his appointment to fill the vacant seat on the five-member panel of the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC).
Attorney Gabriella Passidomo, daughter of state Sen. Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples) was selected, according to POLITICO. The elder Passidomo is the Senate president-elect in 2022.
A high-profile Republican is expected to leave his post as Detroit’s Chief of Police, and run against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) in 2022’s gubernatorial race.
“Detroit Police Chief James Craig, a Republican and a veteran of police departments around the country, is preparing to challenge Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan, potentially giving the GOP a formidable candidate in one of the midterm election’s highest profile gubernatorial contests,” POLITICO reported.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) is being called out on the internet for apparently breaking his own mask mandate orders.
DeWine and his wife Fran unmasked for a photo opportunity inside a Findlay ice cream shop at the end of last week.
The state of Florida will argue before a federal judge Wednesday that the federal government should not be allowed to interfere with the cruise ship industry, which seeks to get back on its feet after the COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequent lockdowns.
“Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, filed the lawsuit last month challenging restrictions imposed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and pointing to the economic impact on the state,” according to a CBS Miami report. “Moody’s office is seeking a preliminary injunction based, in part, on arguments that the CDC overstepped its legal authority in imposing the restrictions.”
A former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida Thursday won an appeal of her 2017 conviction for corruption, according to several reports.
Former Democrat Rep. Corrine Brown, who represented Florida’s Fifth and Third Congressional Districts over a period of nearly 25 years, had her conviction overturned after the 11 Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the District Court wrongly dismissed a juror after learning that the “Holy Spirit” told him Brown was not guilty of the crimes.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) wants Senate Democrats to step to the plate and abolish the filibuster, which would pave the way for near-total Democrat control of Congress.
“Please stop asking us about bipartisanship when this is what the leader of the other party is focused on,” she said on Twitter. “Democrats can’t repeat the mistake of 2009, we must abolish the filibuster & move legislation that helps us deliver progress for the American people. Let’s grow a backbone.”
Atlanta’s Mayor announced Thursday night that she will not run for a second term.
“As [husband] Derek and I have given thoughtful prayer and consideration to the season now before us, it is with deep emotions that I hold my head high, and choose not to seek another term as Mayor,” Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) said in a letter published Thursday.
During the fall semester, Florida’s 12 public universities are set to return to normal, after a full school year of COVID-19 disruptions.
“An early evening news release signed by Syd Kitson, chairman of the university system’s Board of Governors, and Marshall Criser, chancellor of the system, said the 12 public universities ‘expect to increase classroom occupancy to pre-COVID capacity by the 2021-22 academic year and return to pre-COVID operations. Further, we anticipate returning to full in-person participation in athletic and social activities on our campuses, including fan participation in stadiums and arenas,'” News Service of Florida reported.
A Democrat senator from Minnesota sided with Facebook, a multi-billion dollar international corporation, in its decision to ban former President Donald J. Trump from its platform for life.
“That was the right thing to do. He’s the disinformer-in-chief. He told the biggest lie of all time, which led to an insurrection by getting his followers to believe that the election was a fake,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said on “Late Night” with Seth Meyers. “It was an outrageous moment with a number of Republicans calling him out on it at the time.”
Republicans are hitting back at Facebook and the Big Tech giants in Silicon Valley after Facebook’s Oversight Board announced Wednesday that it will uphold its ban of Former President Donald J. Trump.
Facebook claimed in a statement that Trump post “violated Facebook’s rules prohibiting praise or support of people engaged in violence,” when he called Capitol protestors “great patriots” and and “very special” on Jan. 6.
After a jury found former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on charges of second and third degree murder, along with manslaughter for killing George Floyd, his attorney has made a motion requesting a hearing to argue that Chauvin’s conviction to be vacated, and a new trial granted.
In a motion filed Tuesday, attorney Eric Nelson argued that Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill’s failure to order the jury to be sequestered, and failure to allow the trial to be moved out of Minneapolis, along with the sheer amount of media coverage of the trial, amounts to a violation of Chauvin’s constitutional right to a fair trial.
A lawsuit filed by two police officers after separate use-of-force incidents claiming that they are entitled to protection under Florida’s recently-adopted Marsy’s Law Constitutional amendment will head to the state Supreme Court for a decision.
“A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal last month sided with two Tallahassee police officers, who argued that, as victims, they were entitled to privacy protections included in Marsy’s Law,” WFSU reported.
According to Minnesota’s governor, who held a Tuesday press conference announcing that he has a plan to reopen the state which will be announced Thursday, the state should prepare for a “very normal” summer.
“We are going to, potentially by June, have 70 percent of our people, 12 or 16 and above – whichever is authorized by CDC – vaccinated, and that changes the entire calculus,” Gov. Tim Walz (DFL) said Tuesday. “At that point in time, as I’ve said, I think Minnesotans should start assuming that they’re going to have a very normal looking summer.”
Despite the fact that every American over the age of 15 is eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, Florida’s Democrats are not ready to return to normal.
Instead, they are bashing Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who Monday signed an executive order banning local governments from requiring mask mandates.
During an online meeting, a member of the Minnesota Student Association Executive Board directed others to waste police resources in retaliation for perceived injustices.
“Make their lives hell. Annoy the shit out of them,” Lauren Meyers said during a Zoom meeting. “Like, use up their resources, make their officers show up to something.”