Does America Still Have a Prayer?

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As of this writing, tens of thousands of Americans have reportedly died from the coronavirus. Also, 30 million have abruptly lost work.

Scan the headlines these days, and the bad news because of the coronavirus seems to get worse and worse:

  • April’s unemployment is described by the Wall Street Journal as “the largest one-month blow to the U.S. labor market on record” (5/3/20). The worst job loss ever.
  • “Universities across the country are being hit with lawsuits by students who aren’t satisfied with the refunds they’re being provided after being told to leave campus” (Campusreform.com, 4/27/20).
  • As one of six workers are suddenly out of a job, hunger is a growing problem. The AP reports, “Before the pandemic, food policy experts say, roughly one out of every eight or nine Americans struggled to stay fed. Now as many as one out of every four are projected to join the ranks of the hungry” (5/4/20).

Amidst all the bad news, is there any hope? Does America still have a prayer?

Yes. Thursday, May 7, 2020 is the National Day of Prayer. And, boy, do we need it.

America, it could be said, was born in prayer. We can even see an example in the rotunda of the

U.S. Capitol, where there are eight large paintings dedicated to aspects of our history.

One of them shows the Pilgrims having a prayer meeting with a large open Geneva Bible. The Pilgrims experienced one setback after another. But they also experienced answers to prayer.

For example, when they were finally settled in the New World in 1621, after a disastrous winter where half their number died, they planted their crops. But then they experienced a great drought.

The parched conditions threatened their first crop of corn, and it looked like the year’s harvest of corn was all but dead. But the Pilgrims called for a day of fasting and prayer. By the end of the day, it was raining.

The rain saved the corn, which miraculously sprang to life. The harvesting of that corn was part of what they celebrated in the first Thanksgiving.

A couple of paintings in the Capitol rotunda have George Washington as the central character. Although modern scholars like to discount the notion of Washington as a man of prayer, there were many contemporary witnesses who said otherwise. In our book, George Washington’s Sacred Fire, Dr. Peter Lillback and I document that Washington was a dedicated Christian who read the Bible regularly and spent much time in prayer.

Washington often said that as a nation we should be grateful for God’s repeated help. He once said, in reference to God’s help during the War for Independence, “The hand of Providence has been conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations.” (Letter to Thomas Nelson, 8/20/1778).

Susie Federer has written two books on miracles in American history, Miracles and Miracles II, based on the research of her husband, Bill. He is a bestselling author and speaker.

Bill Federer describes a time—not unlike today—when there was a plague of sorts ravaging the land in the mid-19th century. President Zachary Taylor declared a National Day of Fasting and Prayer, July 3, 1849, during a cholera epidemic: “A fearful pestilence which is spreading itself throughout the land…it is fitting that a people whose reliance has ever been in His protection should humble themselves before His throne…acknowledging past transgressions, ask a continuance of the Divine mercy. It is earnestly recommended that the first Friday in August be observed throughout the United States as a Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer.”

The Federers note that soon after that day of prayer, the cholera epidemic in America tapered off.

Many of our presidents throughout our history have called on God and have called on Americans to set aside a time (usually a day) of prayer. For example, FDR, in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack, called for 1/2/1942 to be, “a Day of Prayer, of asking forgiveness for our shortcomings of the past, of consecration to the tasks of the present, of asking God’s help in days to come.”

President Truman even systematized the day of prayer as an annual event. Thus, the first Thursday of each May is the National Day of Prayer. Truman declared in his proclamation (6/17/1952): “from the earliest days of our history our people have been accustomed to turn to Almighty God for help and guidance.”

If ever America needed God’s help and guidance, this would seem to be that time—as the coronavirus crisis devastates the land. We need to pray and repent and seek His face. May He provide a vaccine soon, and may He heal our land.

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PODCAST: Fear Factor — What Our Virus Concerns Say about the Two Parties

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Nobody is thrilled to be stuck inside, but a lot of pollsters have been surprised by just how popular The Great Lockdown has been. Despite the state protests and rallies, there’s been a lot of support for the stay-at-home orders that have canceled schools and disrupted life as we know it. “Worth it” said 80 percent in a Kaiser survey last week. “Appropriate” another 66 percent told the Washington Post. But is that mindset starting to change? Some surveys say yes.

For the first time since he’s been asking, Scott Rasmussen thinks the focus of concern is changing. A slight plurality of people — 49 percent — said they now fear the economic threat more than the health threat (45 percent). In statistics, that’s essentially a split down the middle, he told me on “Washington Watch.” “But it’s a big change from a month ago, when 55 percent were more worried about the health components of the coronavirus.” But the longer this goes on, Scott explained, the more Americans are starting to count the other costs. “It’s not just, you know, stay home and stay safe, or go out and work and put your health at risk.”

One of the more interesting findings of his survey is just how differently the two parties respond. There’s a significant divide over which concern should take precedence. By a 73-21 percent margin, Republicans say the economic threat is more serious — while Democrats, 64 to 31 percent, worry more about health. Of course, that’s consistent, in a lot of ways with the two political philosophies. “The Republican base, by and large, is going to be far more suspicious of the media culture, and of the government, and of government’s efforts to take liberty away from them,” the Hill’s John Feehery speculates. And as the president pushes to reopen the economy, Republicans — who’ve been concerned about this issue from the start — are naturally going to rally behind him.

But there are also two competing political philosophies at work here. Republicans have always been more attached to the free market than government. And Democrats, on the opposite side, tend to find comfort in more government and this idea that it can provide and protect. “It’s almost,” Scott agreed, “a broader definition of civil society. Conservatives tend to think there is a very active role for churches and trade associations and small businesses making things work, as opposed to a top-down mindset of the government should set the rules and we all play by them. So that absolutely factors into these numbers.”

We talk about these things as absolutes, Scott pointed out, but there are a lot of moving parts. The timing aspect is important. The infection rate is important. Freedom is important. The fact is, life, however it resumes, will look differently. But the president and his team are doing the best they can to make sure nothing has to suffer more than it already has — not our health and not the economy.

Tony Perkins’s Washington Update is written with the aid of FRC senior writers.

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EDITORS NOTE: This FRC-Action podcast is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

VIDEO: Our New Press Secretary is a Savage

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White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany destroys the Fake News!

EDITORS NOTE: This TPUSA video is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

PODCAST: A New Type of Contract With America

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Back in 1994, the Republicans in Congress led a movement to implement sweeping government reforms in what was called a “Contract with America.” This was a clever political ploy by the party to elect congressmen and, to their credit, they delivered on their promises. Whether you agreed with them or not is immaterial, the “contract” concept captivated the public’s imagination as the politicians felt compelled to comply with it. Perhaps it is time to implement another “Contract with America,” not so much to enact any particular legislation but to enforce how our politicians will act and behave while serving in office. Think about it, aside from their oath of office and the congressional rules by which they operate, there currently isn’t anything committing an elected official to how he will represent his constituents. Polls tell us the American public believes government is broken and, consequently, have lost faith in their elected leaders. A formal contract would go a long way towards reestablishing trust.

If such a contract existed, what would it consist of? My first reaction is that it should include something to have the politician promise to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, but since this is already a part of their oath of office, it probably shouldn’t be included in a new “Contract with America.” Aside from this, I can think of seven articles to include in such an agreement:

That you, the elected government official, hereby promises and swears to…

  1. be mindful that you serve the constituents who elected you (your employer) and, as such, you will put their best interests ahead of your own. Further, you will regularly and consistently report on your activities to them.
  2. constantly seek to improve the livelihood, well-being, prosperity, and standard of living for your constituents.
  3. be mindful of your fiduciary responsibilities, whereby you pledge government will live within its means, in accordance with an approved budget.
  4. lead by example. This means you will not engage in illegal activities or moral turpitude. Violations of ethical standards will not be tolerated and you will be held accountable for your actions.
  5. deliberate the issues of the day with honesty, candor, courtesy, and a professional attitude. You will do what is best for your constituency and not your political party.
  6. not vote to place military or public personnel in harm’s way without first being absolutely convinced of the necessity to do so.
  7. endeavor to do what is fair and equitable for the citizens of our country.

There is nothing startling here. This is how we expect all of our elected officials to behave, and why we become disillusioned when they do not live up to these standards. Perhaps if this became an official document though, such as the type of contract employees regularly sign in business, they may be more inclined to abide by it.

Come to think of it, maybe we should include having them read the Constitution now and then. I can’t imagine it would hurt anything, can you?

Keep the Faith!

P.S. – Also, I have a NEW book, “Before You Vote: Know How Your Government Works”, What American youth should know about government, available in Printed, PDF and eBook form. DON’T FORGET GRADUATION DAY. This is the perfect gift!

EDITORS NOTE: This Bryce is Right podcast is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved. All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.

VIDEO: NRA Endorses ‘Big Dan’ Rodimer for US Congress

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LAS VEGAS/PRNewswire/ — Nevada Congressional candidate “Big Dan” Rodimer is proud to announce that he has received the official endorsement of the National Rifle Association in his run for the 3rd District. The NRA officially gave Rodimer an AQ rating, the highest rating possible for a candidate who has not previously held office.

In response to the endorsement, Rodimer stated, “I am very honored and proud to have the endorsement of the National Rifle Association in my run for Congress. The NRA is America’s longest-serving civil rights organization, with tens of thousands of members right here in Nevada and in the 3rd Congressional District. The NRA knows that I will fight to defend our 2nd Amendment Rights against gun-grabbers like Dan Schwartz and Susie Lee. Thank you to the NRA and all of their members here in Nevada.”

The NRA endorsement comes as a major boost to the Rodimer campaign since his primary opponent, former Nevada Treasurer Dan Schwartz, has openly spoken out in favor of Bloomberg-style, anti-2nd Amendment proposals, including a ban on alleged “assault rifles” in Nevada.

Big Dan Rodimer has made it clear time and again that he is the pro-2nd Amendment candidate in the race for Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District. Rodimer has often described gun rights as “human rights” and proudly possesses a CCW permit.

Since announcing his campaign for Congress last year, Rodimer has received endorsements from House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, the Nevada Right to Life and National Right to Life organizations, former Nevada Attorney General and current Nevada Trump Campaign Co-Chairman Adam Laxalt and highly successful Las Vegas businessman and reality TV star from the hit show “Pawn Stars”, Rick Harrison, among many others.

In February, Rodimer was placed on National Republican Congressional Committee’s (NRCC) Young Guns “Contender” status, the highest-ranking status of any congressional candidate in Nevada, signifying continued strength and momentum of his campaign, and opening the door for continued support from across the country. Every other Republican candidate in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District has either refused to fill out the NRA survey or received an “F” rating.

You can learn more about Big Dan Rodimer click here. For regular updates on the campaign of Big Dan Rodimer for Congress, you can follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Media Barely Try to Hide Bias in Covering Sexual Assault Accusations

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Perhaps our country’s most powerful media organizations now simply don’t care how utterly one-sided their political coverage is.

This appears to be the case with how the media has treated the accusations of Tara Reade, who has accused Joe Biden, a former senator and vice president, of sexual harassment and sexual assault.

This treatment is of a piece with how (little) the media scrutinized sexual assault allegations last year against Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax.

Reade accuses Biden of sexually assaulting her in 1993, when she worked in his Senate office. Several people have said that Reade told them of the Delaware Democrat’s alleged behavior at the time.

In these trying times, we must turn to the greatest document in the history of the world to promise freedom and opportunity to its citizens for guidance. Find out more now >>

Since early last year, Reade had been vocal about her allegations that Biden treated and touched her inappropriately. Then, on a March 25 podcast, she accused him of sexual assault

Yet little of this story broke into legacy media coverage for nearly a month.

Analysis of the coverage by FiveThirtyEight shows that the story got almost no interest from prominent networks and really received considerable attention only on conservative-leaning websites.

The most that The New York Times editorial board could come up with, while being inconclusive about the Reade allegations, was that further investigation was needed—an investigation put together by the Democratic National Committee.

Fox News Channel political analyst Brit Hume’s response to this on Twitter was perfect.

After months in which this story has festered, Biden finally commented directly about the allegations in a May 1 interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” with co-host Mika Brzezinski, who actually asked some serious and tough questions.

Biden said that Reade’s account “is not true.”

Predictably, many on the left were unhappy even with this level of questioning.

Maria Cardona, a Democratic strategist, wrote that Reade’s accusations simply have been used by Republicans to “weaponize the issue” in an effort to delegitimize the #MeToo movement.

The lack of media scrutiny seems all the more inconsistent with evidentiary standards pushed by the left back in 2011 in the context of sexual assault on campus.

At that time, the Obama administration, in an effort spearheaded by Biden as vice president, issued a “Dear Colleague” letter to college administrators. In it, the Obama administration directed them to adjudicate sexual assault cases under Title IX, a provision in federal law that prohibits discrimination based on sex by institutions receiving financial assistance. The standard there is “preponderance of evidence” rather than “clear and convincing evidence.”

As commentator David Harsanyi pointed out on National Review Online, a college student accused of sexual assault under this standard often was “denied the ability to question his accuser, denied the right to review the allegations and evidence in an ensuing investigation, denied the right to present exculpatory evidence, and denied the right to call witnesses”—and often while facing adjudication by a single investigator with minimal training.

So a college student can have his life destroyed quickly based on fairly thin evidence and nothing like the standards of a trial in court, but a lieutenant governor and a former senator and vice president can just skate on by?

The message, it seems, is that sexual assault allegations are supposed to be “weaponized” only against conservatives.

But in the era of “believe all women,” one would think that at least our putatively nonpartisan press would be quite active in pursuing what could be a big story.

Isn’t the media about bringing truth to power or something like that?

It doesn’t take much to see how differently Biden and Fairfax have been treated by the traditional news media compared to, say, Brett Kavanaugh.

The standard that the left and so many in the #MeToo movement set up is that we must simply believe all women, that presumption of innocence—a cornerstone of American law and concept of justice—is a tool of oppression.

This is certainly what was applied to Kavanaugh, a D.C. Circuit judge whose reputation and nomination to the Supreme Court by President Donald Trump were nearly destroyed by an accusation of sexual misconduct at a high school party some 30 years ago. To date, that accusation has gone uncorroborated by a single witness, or even someone who can confirm that the party took place.

Although I am not addressing the full merits of any of these allegations, I note here that the media nevertheless subjected the nation to a steady barrage of increasingly lurid allegations made against Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings, passing them along uncritically on such thin evidence that many of them had to be corrected.

With Fairfax and Biden, mainstream media outlets such as The Washington Post, CNN, and NBC News tread slowly and tepidly to investigate. The common thread is that the mainstream media shirked its duty to seriously investigate the truth about a public figure.

The bottom line is, sexual assault allegations should be treated seriously, especially for men and women in power. However, it undermines the media’s credibility when they treat such allegations so differently based on what side of the political spectrum the subject of the allegations is on.

Again, it seems many of these outlets don’t even really try to hide the bias at this point. The only credibility they are concerned with is appealing to predominantly left-wing viewers, colleagues, and institutions while maintaining a thin glaze of “objectivity.”

That’s not inherently wrong. But at the very least, Americans should know what these media institutions are really about and not be deceived into thinking they are the only authoritative word on what the truth is.

COMMENTARY BY

Jarrett Stepman

Jarrett Stepman is a contributor to The Daily Signal and co-host of The Right Side of History podcast. Send an email to Jarrett. He is also the author of the new book, “The War on History: The Conspiracy to Rewrite America’s Past.”Twitter: .

A Note for our Readers:

This is a critical year in the history of our country. With the country polarized and divided on a number of issues and with roughly half of the country clamoring for increased government control—over health care, socialism, increased regulations, and open borders—we must turn to America’s founding for the answers on how best to proceed into the future.

The Heritage Foundation has compiled input from more than 100 constitutional scholars and legal experts into the country’s most thorough and compelling review of the freedoms promised to us within the United States Constitution into a free digital guide called Heritage’s Guide to the Constitution.

They’re making this guide available to all readers of The Daily Signal for free today!

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PODCAST: Democrats, Please Stick With Biden for Your Presidential Nominee!

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GUESTS AND TOPICS:

RACHEL ALEXANDER

Rachel Alexander is a senior editor at The Stream. She is a political columnist and the founder and editor of Intellectual Conservative. She is a regular contributor to Townhall.com. She frequently appears on TV and news radio as a conservative commentator, and hosted a radio show on 960 KKNT in Phoenix She previously served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Arizona. She was ranked as one of the 50 Best Conservative Columnists and is a recipient of Americans for Prosperity’s RightOnline Activist of the Year award.

TOPIC: Democrats, Please Stick With Biden for Your Presidential Nominee!

CLAUDIA ROSETT

Claudia Rosett is a foreign policy fellow with the Independent Women’s Forum, and an award-winning journalist. She is widely credited with groundbreaking reporting on corruption at the United Nations. Ms. Rosett was a staff writer at The Wall Street Journal, serving as a member of the Editorial Board Ms. Rosett has contributed to numerous publications, including The New York Times, The Weekly Standard, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Forbes.com . She makes frequent appearances on TV and radio, and has appeared before six U.S. Senate and House committees and subcommittees.

TOPIC: China is exploiting the coronavirus chaos to advance its agenda!

MATT MARGOLIS

Matt Margolis is author of Trumping Obama: How President Trump Saved Us From Barack Obama’s Legacy, the bestselling book The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama and The Scandalous Presidency of Barack Obama. His new book, Airborne: How The Liberal Media Weaponized the Coronavirus Against Donald Trump, will be released this summer.

TOPIC: Biden’s Call for a Search of National Archives for Reade Complaint Just Backfired!

PODCAST: Why Are Millennials Leaving the Left? This Author Has Answers

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Why did some millennials vote for Barack Obama in 2012 and Donald Trump in 2016? Jonathan Jakubowski, author of “Bellwether Blues: A Conservative Awakening of the Millennial Soul,” joins The Daily Signal Podcast to discuss.

“There’s a lot of reasons that motivated these millennials to change their votes over the course of time,” says Jakubowski. “It didn’t happen in one single event. It didn’t happen because of one podcast or one show or one friend. It was conversations. It was things that they read. It was life events that ultimately culminated in a deep change.”

Read the lightly edited transcript, posted below, or listen to the podcast:

We also cover these stories:

In these trying times, we must turn to the greatest document in the history of the world to promise freedom and opportunity to its citizens for guidance. Find out more now >>

  • A new study has revealed that the drug remdesivir might be very effective against COVID-19.
  • Secretary of State Mike Pompeo continues calls for the United States to be able to access labs in Wuhan, China, as the country continues to investigate the origins of the coronavirus.
  • Sen. Ted Cruz introduces legislation aimed at “cutting off Hollywood studios from assistance they receive from the Department of Defense if those studios censor their films for screening in China.”

The Daily Signal podcast is available on Ricochet, Apple Podcasts, Pippa, Google Play, or Stitcher. All of our podcasts can be found at DailySignal.com/podcasts. If you like what you hear, please leave a review. You can also leave us a message at 202-608-6205 or write us at letters@dailysignal.com. Enjoy the show!

Rachel del Guidice: We’re joined today on The Daily Signal Podcast by Jonathan Jakubowski. He’s the author of the soon to be released book on May 5th called “Bellwether Blues: A Conservative Awakening of the Millennial Soul.”

Jonathan, it’s such an honor to have you on The Daily Signal Podcast. Thanks for joining us.

Jonathan Jakubowski: Thank you, Rachel. The honor is mine.

Del Guidice: Well, it’s a pleasure to have you with us. So your book coming out on May 5th, “Bellwether Blues,” talks about how millennials have switched over from a more liberal outlook in voting to conservative.

Before we get into the book itself, can you break down for us the millennial generation today and what you saw? And where they were leaning toward when it comes to politics and policy?

Jakubowski: Sure, yeah. The millennial generation is incredibly important to our electoral demographic because it’s the largest electoral demographic.

Now, traditionally, the hit against millennials has been that they don’t come out and vote. They might register to vote, but they don’t vote.

Well, that changed in the midterms of 2018. They came out in droves and affected the turnout in the votes in a number of states.

So that’s a very important demographic to pay attention to. And it’s only going to be growing in importance in the future.

Del Guidice: Can you tell us a little bit about the book, “Bellwether Blues,” and also the inspiration for the title? It’s such an interesting title and I want to hear about the title itself—why you decided on that title—and then just a little bit about the book, unpacking what all is in it.

Jakubowski: Yeah, absolutely. I think one of the fun parts of the book was diving deep into this generation. I think there’s a lot of ideas out there as to who a millennial is. And a lot of stereotypes that certainly a lot of millennials fit. But the thing that I’ve found is there’s also a lot of millennials that don’t fit those stereotypes.

As I do research with a variety of sources, what I found is there’s really a split in the millennial generation. And, ironically, the generation that most dislikes the millennials who fit the stereotypes are the millennials who don’t fit the stereotypes.

So what I’ve found over the course of time—and it’s a Winston Churchill quote that people might be familiar with—is that if you’re not liberal at the age of 25, you have no heart. If you’re not conservative at the age of 35, you have no brain. That quote, which I think brings a lot of humor to the table. … The question is, is that true? Is that true of American millennials?

And what I saw and what inspired the title is there’s a lot of millennials that are indeed leaving the left. There’s movements out there like #walkaway. We use the hashtag #lefttheleft, which we’ve seen before.

There’s a lot of millennials that have become deeply disillusioned with the nature of political affairs. And as the left has gone further to the left, it’s alienated a base of voters who would otherwise be predisposed to their ideology—millennials who passionately care about things like classical liberalism or First Amendment freedoms.

The more they’ve abandoned that base, the more that base has gotten the blues. Which led to the title “Bellwether Blues.”

There was a statistic that I have early on in the book that talks about how 71% of millennials would prefer for there to be a third party. So they’re tired of Democrats in that platform and how far to the left they’ve gone, but they can’t necessarily yet stomach the idea of voting for Republicans.

So they’re kind of stuck in the middle and they have this symptomatic case of the blues and they’re down and out.

That really is what builds my case at the end of the book for arguing to conservatives [that] we have to use a different level of persuasion to win the soul. And if we can win their souls, I think we can also win their votes.

Del Guidice: The book, as you mentioned, is a compilation of seven stories of millennials in “swing country America” that swung from [President Barack] Obama to [President Donald] Trump. …

I obviously don’t have time to go into super big detail, but can you talk about and introduce each of these seven people and give us a little bit of a teaser as to what their story was?

Jakubowski: Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for that question.

I wanted to use empirical evidence to demonstrate that there is a move away from the left. But then I wanted to use anecdotal evidence to demonstrate what’s happening in swing country America.

I happen to live in one such swing county of 3,142 counties in America. There are 59 that are classified as swing, as having voted for Bush, Bush, Obama, Obama, Trump. And then in the state of Ohio, my state, there’s only four that fit that designation.

My county is the youngest of those counties. So going deep into that county and then looking at the stories of millennials in those counties, I thought would have important lessons to offer us as we consider this generation.

Through the anecdotal evidence with the stories that I have—and [they are] very, very powerful and persuasive stories—there’s a lot of reasons that motivated these millennials to change their votes over the course of time.

It didn’t happen in one single event. It didn’t happen because of one podcast or one show or one friend. It was conversations. It was things that they read. It was life events that ultimately culminated in a deep change in persuasion.

By the way, Rachel, it wasn’t just about the persuasion of an individual candidate. President Trump is not necessarily the favorite candidate of all of these millennials.

Some of them really love him, but some of them just went for him because they really believed in issues that he stood for—like pro-life, like the Second Amendment.

I saw a factor of Blexit, where there’s African Americans who are leaving the left because they saw lack of progress in the cities with their friends and family. Certainly the blue-collar vote. So … all seven stories have a lot to offer us, I believe.

Del Guidice: … I know this is probably going to be hard to say because all of them are compelling in different ways, but was there one story in particular that really stood out to you or was really especially powerful for a particular reason?

Jakubowski: Yeah, I think there’s one that stands out in Wood County especially. We have a blue perimeter—I don’t know if you’re familiar with the blue wall concept, where we had Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, the northern parts of Ohio that had never gone for a Republican candidate. And then Trump scaled the blue wall.

Well, in Wood County, what makes it so perfect and bellwether is we have multiple demographics mixing together. But around the perimeter of our county, there’s this really strong blue-collar vote. That’s represented, at least in 2016, maybe an eighth of the entire voting population.

There’s one story of a millennial who is blue collar, grew up in a union family, voted for the Democratic Party their entire life.

And then in this election, through the course of events—really seeing things like Benghazi, seeing the alienation of patriotism, seeing a hatred toward “court’s country” and deep values, the Second Amendment—that really led him to embrace not only President Trump, but also the values that the Republican Party stands for.

Del Guidice: I know when we were talking about the book a couple months ago, you had mentioned to me that there was a particular person, I’m not sure who it was, but one of the seven people was a little bit nervous about speaking out, but then eventually ended up saying, “The story is really important and I’m definitely going to share.”

Are you able to talk about that at all and maybe, just more even generally, if people were a little bit hesitant to speak up? And what made them change their minds and want to go on the record about this?

Jakubowski: Yeah, that’s a great question. And we have to consider the fact that … I’m a millennial as well. So there’s a lot of peer pressure in the other direction. And depending upon where you grow up, especially if you’re in the coast.

I think there’s a ton of pressure that if you’re going to express a different opinion than the status quo, you’re going to face a lot of peer pressure. Well, that peer pressure might be lessened in “swing America.” But it’s still there.

So the considerations of having a political book, sharing their stories, took a lot of courage. And I really admire the seven individuals that came forward and said “yes.”

Because, Rachel, I found a lot of other stories that fit the same kind of story, demographic, title, switch and change. But they weren’t willing to come on the record.

In fact, the blue-collar story I just referenced with Jeremy Harpal, I talked to over a dozen people who had the same exact story but didn’t want to go public because they were concerned about whether or not people in their job might look at them a different way.

In some cases, they were angry at pollsters and wanted to continue having pollsters thinking that they’re going to be voting for a Democratic candidate. When in reality they’re going for President Trump.

So there’s a variety of reasons that I saw that led people to say “no.” But, thankfully, we had these individuals who said “yes.”

Del Guidice: Is it your hope? And do you think that because these seven people were able to speak out and share their stories that this will help [give] other millennials who maybe are nervous about how their paradigm is shifting the courage to speak out and talk about these things as well?

Jakubowski: I hope so. And I do believe so. I think as we phase and get older in life, we start thinking more about other people, namely children.

As we have a family and growing relationships, when our thoughts start moving to other people in our families, we’re less concerned about what people think about us and more concerned about the livelihoods, the future of our children.

I think that the conservative platform—faith, family, and freedom—which I talk a lot about in the book, those ideals that resonate lead people to become more emboldened, to stand up for what they believe to be the best possible future hope for their children, and for their children’s children.

Del Guidice: Mentioning faith, family, and freedom, obviously, very important issues to so many people across the country, but looking at specific issues that [brought] these seven people … over from a more liberal background and conviction to conservative point of view, was there any one or two issues that you saw as common threads that kept resurfacing as to why people are leaving the left?

Jakubowski: Yeah, I think I can sum it up in the word “freedom.”

A freedom is something that we as Americans have in our DNA. It’s a part of who we are. It’s in our anthems, it’s in our pledges. It’s basically in anything and everything we talk about is freedom.

We value freedom to the core. But we don’t really understand the depths of freedom until we lose it.

… We’ve seen the Democratic Party move all the way over to the left, abandoning the tenants of classical liberalism.

I mean, we had a president as recently as 1996 sign bills like things similar to [what] would be on a Republican Party platform, but also Religious Freedom Restoration Acts that would speak toward the expression of freedom.

I think the millennial generation and younger generations really value that freedom. And while they’re being sold a false bill of goods on things like socialism and the benefits of it, they still also, at the same time, value freedom. And the more they come to understand socialism and its negative effects on society.

The more they embrace freedom and the better we can communicate it, the more they’ll go in our direction.

Del Guidice: In writing “Bellwether Blues,” what would you say was the biggest challenge or the hardest part about writing the book?

Jakubowski: Honestly, it was the acknowledgement. I sat there at the very end of the book and, Rachel, I learned a lot about writing a book.

I’m a first-time author. But it was so fun writing the book. Everything seemed to come together so naturally.

[At] the very end, I realized they say that a dream is a goal with a plan. What I learned is it’s not just a goal with a plan, it’s also a goal with a plan with patrons—people who are willing to support you, who are willing to invest into your life.

I had so many people, encouraging voices, people that were willing to be involved in the book. People that were willing to give me advice, people like yourself [who] are willing to bring me on a podcast, as a first-time author. That’s incredible. I look at that and just have an incredible depth of gratitude.

And I was thinking about, who am I going to not include on this list? It feels very long and I feel like it should be longer. Honestly, that was the hardest part of the book for me to write.

Del Guidice: What was the thing that surprised you the most, either in your research or the interviews of the people you did? Or just maybe left the biggest impact on you in this whole process?

Jakubowski: I think that I understood the power of story. But when I’m sitting there writing these stories and then getting deeper into people’s lives, what surprised me is that, over the course of time, somebody doesn’t change their mind, usually, instantly. It happens over the course of time.

And there were a lot of people who spoke truth … without any expectation that there would be some shift or ramification to something they did or something they said.

Then the fidelity of relationship that endured over time as they walk those long miles of relationship. That led these individuals to change their votes.

I guess I never thought about it that deeply. I thought about it more being like the talk-show hosts, the media, the press, what you read. But there was a lot of power in relational equity. And relational equity with truth equals transformation.

Del Guidice: Speaking of that, I know earlier on in our discussion you talked about winning hearts and minds and the power of these interpersonal relationships.

Speaking to maybe other millennials or even Gen Zers out there, who maybe do come from a conservative background, or maybe they have left the left themselves and they’re trying to have these discussions with friends or family members, how would you encourage them to talk to peers in this kind of mindset of maybe they come from that background or maybe they’ve always been conservative? How do you encourage them to connect on that heart level?

Jakubowski: That’s a really good question. I would say, first, you want to think smaller and deeper.

We have the tendency to believe that a post that we send on social media might be the best way to influence a thousand people because it’s kind of quick access. And our society has led us to have all of these incredible benefits. So immediately, we can have instant gratification in terms of responsiveness.

But what we’ve forgotten is there is a deeper art that reaches deeper into the soul and that is individual relationship. So if you can spend time with somebody, even if they reject your worldview, but you cultivate relationship with them, over time, [you influence] them.

Even if they reject your ideas, they’re going to see your lifestyle, they’re going to see your character, they’re going to see what you stand for and believe in. And that’s going to deeply persuade those individuals that you’re in relationship with.

Del Guidice: Thanks for sharing that. Lastly, where can people get “Bellwether Blues”? We’re in the midst of COVID right now, so bookstores and the like aren’t on their usual mode of operations. So if people want to get it, how do they get it?

Jakubowski: Yeah, thank you. Our website is currently selling pre-orders on bellwetherbluesbook.com. But the official launch date, as noted earlier, is May the 5th. So it should be available on Amazon. I think Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million will also have links, so they’ll be able to ship books out.

I don’t know exactly when they’re going to reopen so that we can get books out on shelves, but, certainly, online through those channels you can get a book.

Del Guidice: Awesome. Jonathan, thank you so much for joining us on The Daily Signal Podcast. It’s been great to have you.

Jakubowski: Rachel, I’m a big fan, so it’s really, really an honor to be here. Thanks so much for having me.

Del Guidice: Well, thank you.

PODCAST BY

Rachel del Guidice

Rachel del Guidice is a congressional reporter for The Daily Signal. She is a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville, Forge Leadership Network, and The Heritage Foundation’s Young Leaders Program. Send an email to Rachel. Twitter: @LRacheldG.

A Note for our Readers:

This is a critical year in the history of our country. With the country polarized and divided on a number of issues and with roughly half of the country clamoring for increased government control—over health care, socialism, increased regulations, and open borders—we must turn to America’s founding for the answers on how best to proceed into the future.

The Heritage Foundation has compiled input from more than 100 constitutional scholars and legal experts into the country’s most thorough and compelling review of the freedoms promised to us within the United States Constitution into a free digital guide called Heritage’s Guide to the Constitution.

They’re making this guide available to all readers of The Daily Signal for free today!

GET ACCESS NOW! >>

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Signal column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved

PODCAST: ‘We Can Protect Lives and Livelihoods,’ Says North Carolina Lt. Gov. Dan Forest

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North Carolina Lt. Gov. Dan Forest thinks his state is ready to reopen. “I believe right now many of our counties could start to open back up and you could start to do that in a safe and healthy way,” Forest, a Republican, says.

The lieutenant governor joins The Daily Signal Podcast to propose how America can begin to reopen at a local level to protect both lives and livelihoods. Plus, he discusses what he experienced traveling through North Carolina the past several weeks, and how he’s been helping those struggling. Listen to the podcast below or read the lightly edited transcript.

We also cover these stories:

  • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts coronavirus-related deaths will reach 3,000 per day by June 1.
  • House GOP members are investigating China’s influence on U.S. university research of COVID-19.
  • The Supreme Court broadcasts teleconference arguments, allowing the public to listen in real time for the first time ever.

The Daily Signal podcast is available on Ricochet, Apple Podcasts, Pippa, Google Play, or Stitcher. All of our podcasts can be found at DailySignal.com/podcasts. If you like what you hear, please leave a review. You can also leave us a message at 202-608-6205 or write us at letters@dailysignal.com. Enjoy the show!

In these trying times, we must turn to the greatest document in the history of the world to promise freedom and opportunity to its citizens for guidance. Find out more now >>

Virginia Allen: I am joined by North Carolina Lt. Gov. Dan Forest. Lieutenant governor, thank you so much for being here.

Lt. Gov. Dan Forest: Virginia, thanks for allowing me to.

Allen: You have made it clear that your greatest concern during CCOVID-19 is helping the people of North Carolina. You’ve personally donated over $200,000 to the people in your state during the pandemic. Can you tell me about some of those people that you’ve helped?

Forest: Well, it was obvious, Virginia, right out of the gate when things started shutting down, that this was going to have devastating effects to people’s livelihoods, to a lot of business owners who, as you well know, and I’m sure you’ve covered them, have poured their life savings and their heart and soul into growing their business, maybe even over decades.

And then you can see how fragile things actually are and how quickly things can turn the wrong direction.

What we decided, really at the beginning, was … we were going to just start spending our time helping people across the state, and that’s what we did.

My wife Alice and I, we’ve spent the last six weeks traveling around the state and just trying to help people where we can.

Sometimes it’s helping a restaurant owner, write him a check, and help them to make their payroll or pay their rent or keep their lights on or even keep their employees fed.

Sometimes their employees have been furloughed and these restaurants are still trying to feed them and their families and it just goes on and on.

I know you’ve heard all the stories, but it’s truly devastating out there. And there’s two sides to this virus, there’s the virus side, which is devastating to a lot of people, and then there’s the economic side, which is devastating.

Allen: Last week you learned about a retired Army officer who is struggling to pay his bills and he was considering selling something very special and valuable to him. Can you tell me a little bit about that Army officer?

Forest: We actually found out about this online and the Bronze Star recipient, he was trying to help his wife keep her business afloat. So he posted online that he wanted to sell his Bronze Star to the highest bidder, which is sad enough in and of itself.

So we contacted him and said, “Listen, we will come and purchase your bronze star from you on one condition: that we can give it back to you at the same time.”

So last week … I went to Winston-Salem and met him and his wife and daughter and purchased his Bronze Star, and then turned around and handed it back to him.

Obviously, people that have put their lives on the line for our nation and earned metals shouldn’t have to be selling their metals in a time of crisis, but like a lot of people, they’ve fallen through the cracks on the bailout programs, the stimulus programs, and all those kinds of things, as you well know.

So, again, just trying to do a little part to help people out, to let people know you care. I think that’s [important] during times like this.

Allen: It’s so important. It really is. And those are the stories I think that just are giving all of us hope right now. To be reminding ourselves that, all right, when you turn on the news it might look bleak, but then, on the other hand, we’re seeing so much generosity of individuals.

I do just want to take a few minutes and talk a little bit about that issue of not only protecting lives but also livelihoods, like you mentioned.

You’ve made it very clear that you think North Carolina needs to begin reopening the state once again, and, of course, this is a big concern as well of The Heritage Foundation … we’ve been having those same discussions with the National Coronavirus Recovery Commission.

What plan are you advocating for in North Carolina to begin reopening the economy?

Forest: Well, the president laid out two platforms, one was state by state and the other was the states have the ability to open up county by county.

Our state is very diverse. Obviously, we have several large cities. The impact of the virus has been felt in those cities in particular, but not quite as heavily in many of the other counties. So we still have many counties that don’t have any deaths.

We have many counties who, I would suppose, if we were getting the correct data from our state, that we would find out that the people that have had the virus have recovered from it.

So the approach that I’ve suggested is the one that the president suggested, too, you can go county by county and open up.

We’re the second-most rural state in the United States of America, even though we have 10.5 million people, and we’re the eighth-largest state. So very diverse in nature and geography and so forth.

I believe right now many of our counties could start to open back up and you could start to do that in a safe and healthy way.

And, Virginia, I’ve said it from the beginning, this is the United States of America, we can protect lives and livelihoods at the same time. And you’ve seen governors across the country doing this.

You have these kind of two schools going on. You have governors who really have the perspective of saying we need to get the economy going, and we’re going to protect the most vulnerable. And then you have those governors who say we’ve got to lock everything down until there’s no other case of coronavirus left—and that’s not a reasonable approach for our country.

Allen: In your mind, how can North Carolina really balance both public health and reopening the economy? Is that kind of held within that county-by-county plan?

Forest: I think you just have to look at the facts here. The statistics line up, really, across the world. We know who the people are that are actually at real risk of this virus. It is the people that are the elderly and those that have immune issues already.

So people that are at risk fall into those categories, and so you can protect those people by quarantining them, having them stay at home for extra periods of time, creating shopping hours for those folks that don’t interfere with other people, creating times at restaurants where those people could actually go and get their food without coming into contact. All these kinds of things.

We know the demographics of the people that are hospitalized and the people that are dying. And I think we need to let the healthy folks get back to their livelihoods and allow freedom to reign again in America.

Personal responsibility and freedom is really important, but the government picking winners and losers in the economy based on their own preferences is, I think, a pretty bad thing.

You look at small-town America, a lot of these shops that exist in small towns have just a handful of visitors a day and you’re saying they can’t remain clean and they can’t social distance, but you’re going to close them down because they’re not essential.

I think every business is able to set those rules for themselves, and then if they don’t, then you come in with the stick. But I think the government should offer the carrot first and assume that personal responsibility is going to rule the day in America.

Allen: When the nation shut down about seven weeks ago, there was still a lot that we didn’t know about COVID-19. What have we learned about the coronavirus since the lockdown? And has that information affected your views?

Forest: I think everybody was probably in the same position. A couple months ago people were fearful and the statistics that people were presuming were 2 million people were going to die in the United States and this thing was going to be devastating.

So from a political leader’s perspective, I don’t blame anybody for any of the decisions they made with a lack of information. I think that is kind of the reactionary approach that people take when mayhem is on the line.

I think what you’ve seen is, again, you have seen the statistics start to tell us who the people are that are being hospitalized, and who the people are that are dying from this, and we know what categories they fit into.

So extra measures taken to test those population. Extra measures taken to screen people going in and out of those populations, of things like nursing homes and in places like that. And extra precautions taken by the business class of folks when they start to reopen again to continue to protect that population.

So we know a lot now. The statistics are really starting to show us who the vulnerable are and who the vulnerable are not. And we can go on about life and livelihood while protecting people at the same time.

Allen: How do you think that the president has handled the situation with COVID-19? And have you and the folks of North Carolina been working with the Trump administration on this?

Forest: Well, I have conversations, obviously, separately from our governor. Our governor is a different party. We don’t really communicate much, which is too bad. I wish that was the case, but it’s just not here.

And so yes, I’ve had conversations with the administration. I asked them a lot of questions. I get feedback. They’re very responsive.

I think the president actually has shown amazing restraint through all this. I think the first thing is he and his team had the foresight to close down travel from China as early as they possibly knew about this, while China was doing the opposite and sending people around the world still.

The president said, “Hey, let’s shut that down.” As you well know, and I’m sure you’ve talked about it a lot, he got criticized heavily for doing that, but that was probably a great major step.

Then after that, Virginia, I think he’s really shown amazing restraint. He has allowed federalism to do its job, allowing the governors to make the decisions for their state, and I think that is really the way it should be.

Again, just like I believe there’s not a one-size-fits-all approach for our counties across our state, there’s not a one-size-fits-all approach for the United States of America either.

So he laid out a framework and said, “Here’s a healthy framework for moving forward and you guys go make the choices.”

Allen: Now we are beginning to see different states, like you say, take different actions.

You know North Carolina has about 11,000 cases compared with a state like Georgia that has over 28,000 or Texas that has over 30,000, but the governors of those states and many others have already begun to reopen their economies.

Do you think that this is wisdom? Should many, many states now be reopening specifically across the South?

Forest: I think they should be. I think we’re doing incredibly well compared to other states our size. If you line us up against the top 10 states, we’re at the bottom of the list for cases and deaths and so forth. So we are doing extremely well in that category.

I think we are in a position to pass through the first gates, and we are not receiving the data from the state that we should be receiving that other states are producing.

I’ve been asking for that for a solid six weeks now. We need to know how many people have recovered from this.

Continuing to count the number of cases and watching that hockey stick go up as you test more and more and more, you’re going to continue to have more cases. You’re going to have more cases until you have a reliable vaccine for this thing, in fact.

So how many people are actively infected with this virus right now is a really important number. How many people have recovered, obviously, is an important number.

But also, we’ve asked for the data surrounding people that have been hospitalized. What’s the exact number of people hospitalized? Not the daily number because that’s not as important as how many people.

And then on the people that have been hospitalized or the people that have died, what’s their exact age, not within a broad range category? What’s their exact age and did they have other complications associated with their situation as well?

They’re just basic questions to help give the kind of data that we need to make clear, intelligent choices in our state about how to protect people and how to move forward at the same time.

Allen: Yeah, absolutely. Well, summer’s right around the corner and, of course, many parts of North Carolina and states all across the country really depend on tourism during the summer to fuel a lot of the business. Are you optimistic that we can reopen our economy in time for summer vacations and trips?

Forest: I’m very optimistic. In fact, I think the people of North Carolina are ready for it. I think the people of North Carolina have done a phenomenal job of making great sacrifices to protect their state and to protect their neighbors and do all the right things. And we’ve seen that across our state.

I happened to be down east a couple of days ago, I guess it was on Friday, Saturday, and there were hundreds of boats out in the water. People were out there, the sun was shining, and it was a beautiful day. It was a warm day.

There are so many people that are just eager to get back about life right now, and I don’t think you can really hold them down. That’s why leadership is tough during these things.

It’s very difficult, and you have these two schools of leadership, one that is kind of the police state that’s going to try to tell everybody what to do every second, but the government is here to protect us, but not to run and control our lives. And that’s really, really important.

We have to make sure that when we come through this thing, we learn a lot of lessons.

I think the biggest lesson that we’re going to learn through this is how do we protect our Constitution and our constitutional freedoms as we move out of this and make sure that we don’t move into a police state mentality every time something starts to go down in our country?

So that’s going to be a very tough one to navigate and I’m sure it will play out in the elections coming up in November.

Allen: Absolutely. Well, you’ve been serving as lieutenant governor since 2013. You have certainly witnessed a lot of policy and political changes over the past seven years. From where you sit in a place of leadership, how have you seen America change over the past several years?

Forest: Oh, boy, I think it’s actually been quite drastic. I think that this whole notion of identity politics and dividing people into identity politics subgroups out there and then using fear to divide and separate is a dangerous thing. I think we’ve seen that over the last handful of years especially.

I’m hoping that one of the things that usually happens during a time of disaster, whether it’s a natural disaster or something like this, is people come together and they get unified.

I think that we have a lot of work to do in America to unify people and unite people, and we even see different schools during a pandemic.

You kind of have those that say, “At all costs, stay home and stay locked down.” And they cross all political spectrums and ideologies.

And then you have people that say, “Let’s get back to work, let’s get the economy going.” And they cross all spectrums and ideologies.

So it’s not just a right-versus-left kind of thing. So it’d be very interesting to see how that unity plays out as we go forward.

I think we can have empathy and compassion for both the sides of this challenge that I mentioned earlier. And we should have empathy and compassion for it.

Again, I think protecting our freedoms based on our constitutional ideas is the most important thing we can do going forward.

Allen: Yeah, absolutely. What policy issues do you feel you’ve been most proud to play a role in implementing in North Carolina?

Forest: We do a lot of policy work behind the scenes as lieutenant governor. I preside over the Senate. I don’t have the opportunity to actually put my name on a lot of policy, but we have a lot of friends in the House, a lot of friends in the Senate, and we write a lot of policy. So it’s really across the board.

I spend a lot of my time in education. So I’m really proud of a lot of things we’re doing in education to move to competency-based education.

We’re the first state in the nation to have every single classroom connected to high-speed broadband and providing the kinds of access and technology, especially to people who haven’t had it before across our state, that’s been important to me.

Human trafficking, we’ve spent a lot of time on the human trafficking issue. We were No. 6 in the nation for human trafficking in our country, on the bad side, not on the good side. So we have a lot of work to do there, and we passed some really good bills to help push that forward.

I think that I could go on, but there’s a lot of things that we do at the small level as lieutenant governor that I’m very proud of and we have a great team.

Allen: Lieutenant governor, we certainly thank you for your service to our country and we just really appreciate your time today.

Forest: Thank you, Virginia, for having me on. And thanks to Heritage for all the great work you do to protect freedom in our country.

PODCAST BY

Virginia Allen

Virginia Allen is a news producer for The Daily Signal. She is the co-host of The Daily Signal Podcast and Problematic Women. Send an email to Virginia. Twitter: @Virginia_Allen5.

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A Note for our Readers:

This is a critical year in the history of our country. With the country polarized and divided on a number of issues and with roughly half of the country clamoring for increased government control—over health care, socialism, increased regulations, and open borders—we must turn to America’s founding for the answers on how best to proceed into the future.

The Heritage Foundation has compiled input from more than 100 constitutional scholars and legal experts into the country’s most thorough and compelling review of the freedoms promised to us within the United States Constitution into a free digital guide called Heritage’s Guide to the Constitution.

They’re making this guide available to all readers of The Daily Signal for free today!

GET ACCESS NOW! >>

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Signal column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Virginia Anti-gun Activist Unveils 2021 Gun Control Agenda

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On April 10, disgraced Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed five pieces of anti-gun legislation into law. Those measures criminalize the private sale of firearms, ration handgun sales to one a month, create a “red flag” gun confiscation scheme, punish property crime victims who fail to hastily report a firearm as stolen, and restrict how Virginia parents may store and introduce their children to firearms. Northam sent two pieces of anti-gun legislation back, including legislation that erodes the Right-to-Carry and the state firearms preemption statute, to the general assembly with governor’s amendments. The General Assembly enacted both items of legislation on April 22.

As bad as this session was for Virginia gun owners, it could have been much worse. The General Assembly did not pass the proposed legislation that would have banned, and in some cases confiscated, commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms and their magazines and accessories that Northam demanded. Moreover, moderate members of the Senate Democratic caucus helped to limit the background check legislation to sales, leaving gun owners free to loan and gift firearms to their friends and family without government intrusion.

The worst case scenario was avoided thanks to the herculean efforts of NRA members and other gun rights activists across the Commonwealth. Between the sanctuary county movement that now covers the vast majority of the state, NRA members contacting their lawmakers and meeting with them in person, and the massive gun rights rally on January 20 in Richmond, Virginia gun owners have become the model for how a passionate grassroots movement can influence government policy.

That same passion will be needed going forward.

On April 19, podcast Transition Virginia, which describes itself as “an edgy, political news-commentary podcast on the transition of power in Virginia from a red to blue​,” released an episode featuring Secretary of Public Safety Brian Moran and Lori Haas of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV). Virginia gun rights advocates may remember Haas as a vocal cheerleader for Attorney General Mark Herring’s 2015 attempt to remove reciprocity for 25 states Right-to-Carry permits. Haas opposed the compromise legislation with then-Governor Terry McAuliffe that reversed Herring’s maneuver by granting reciprocity to all state Right-to-Carry permits. Longtime gun rights supporters will know that CSGV is the handgun prohibition organization that until 1990 was known as the National Coalition to Ban Handguns.

On the podcast, Haas laid out gun control activists’ plans for the 2021 legislative session. Haas told the interviewer, “We’ll be back… a couple people joked with me [Secretary Moran] one of them, ‘Lori we’ve got seven bills what are we going to do next year?’ Oh I’ve got a big list for you secretary.” Haas made clear that a renewed push to ban commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms and their magazines was at the top of gun control advocates’ agenda, claiming that such items “have no place in civil society.” Haas also noted that her group is already working with legislators to pass a ban next year.

For his part, Moran claimed that commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms are not protected under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The secretary also approvingly pointed to Maryland’s ban on commonly-owned firearms.

Banning commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms or their magazines is unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that governments cannot ban these firearms as they are “in common use” for lawful purposes.

Taken alone, Justice Antonin Scalia’s opinion in Heller is enough to dispose of Moran’s comments. In the decision, Justice Scalia made clear that the types of firearms protected by the Second Amendment include those “in common use at the time” for “lawful purposes like self-defense.”

The firearms industry has estimated that Americans own more than 17.5 million semi-automatic rifles. The AR-15 is the most popular rifle in the U.S. and therefore indisputably “in common use” and protected by the Second Amendment.

All doubt as to whether the Supreme Court’s decisions in Heller and McDonald preclude bans on commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms was settled in 2015. That year, Justice Scalia joined Justice Thomas in a dissent from the denial of certiorari in Friedman v. Highland Park, a case concerning a local ban on commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms.

Justice Thomas explained,

Roughly five million Americans own AR-style semiautomatic rifles. The overwhelming majority of citizens who own and use such rifles do so for lawful purposes, including self-defense and target shooting. Under our precedents, that is all that is needed for citizens to have a right under the Second Amendment to keep such weapons.

A sweeping gun ban isn’t all Haas and her gun prohibitionist allies are seeking to accomplish in 2021. Haas also told the podcast that gun control advocates are working on measures to restrict both concealed and open carry, so-called “safe storage” legislation, and a bill to enact an onerous firearm permit to purchase regime. In a decidedly regressive move, Haas even shared her interest in attacking Virginia’s restoration of rights procedure, whereby former criminals who have paid their debt to society are able to regain their civil rights.

Moran and Haas’s interview makes clear that the enemies of freedom are not satisfied with the gun controls enacted in Virginia this year. Therefore, the commonwealth’s gun rights activists must remain vigilant in order to combat this perpetual threat to freedom. Virginians should start by informing their friends, loved ones, and other like-minded individuals of the continuing threat gun owners face in the commonwealth. This year gun owners proved that a determined grassroots effort can preserve freedom. Virginian gun rights supporters must continue to exhibit the same tenacity and determination in the years to come.

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Is Trump a racist?

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It’s next to impossible to turn on the TV and not see another story declaring with utmost certitude that President Trump is a racist.

Is he?  You decide:

  • For 14 years, NBC made Trump host of its prime-time television series, “The Apprentice,” something the network would never have done had there been even a hint of racism in his past.
  • Trump was a high profile real estate developer in New York City, one of the most liberal jurisdictions in America.  Had he been infected with racism, he would have faced insurmountable hurdles getting his projects approved.
  • Before running for president, Trump donated $1.5 million to high profile Democrat candidates, including Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Andrew Cuomo, none of whom would have accepted a dime from him if there was a shred of doubt about his racial bona fides.

Only when Trump became the GOP presidential nominee did feigned cries of “Racist!” appear, as Democrats hurled racial hand grenades his way at every turn.  Maybe they didn’t know about the time he drove a stake in the heart of institutional racism in South Florida …

When Trump fought the racists

In 1985, 31 years before being elected president, Trump bought the 126-room, 62,500 sq. ft. Mar-a-Lago estate, the magnificent Palm Beach, Florida seaside resort built by Post Cereals heiress, Margaret Merriwether Post.  The brash New York real estate developer was intent on turning his newly acquired property into a private club that would compete with other high society clubs in the area, which barred blacks and Jews from membership.

When Trump, then 39, revealed that memberships at his proposed club would be offered without regard to race or religion, the Palm Beach town council imposed zoning restrictions to prevent him from turning Mar-a-Lago into a club.  Sensing the restrictions were intended to perpetuate the discriminatory practices of the Old South social order in Palm Beach, Trump went head-to-head with the town council.

As part of his strategy to bring long overdue social change to the upper echelon of Palm Beach society, he sent the city commissioners a copy of the Sidney Poitier movie “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” a film about upper-class racism.  When the commissioners still wouldn’t budge, Trump filed a $100 million lawsuit, and the rest is history.

Under Trump’s ownership, Mar-a-Lago Club has been open from the beginning to anyone who could qualify, regardless of race or religion.  Influenced in part by Trump’s ground-breaking example, other clubs in the area slowly began doing away with discriminatory policies.  Today, all high society clubs in Palm Beach are open to blacks and Jews. Long before he ran for president, Donald Trump was dismantling racial barriers in South Florida, not something a racist would do.

Note: The narration above was condensed from this American Spectator article titled “When Trump Fought the Racists.”

President Trump is fulfilling his promise to reach out to the African-American community 

  • In 2018, President Trump signed a clemency plea for an African-American grandmother who had served 20 years of a life sentence for a non-violent drug offense. Hollywood celebrity Kim Kardashian brought Alice Marie Johnson’s plight to the attention of President Trump, who ordered her set free.  “I felt like I was losing hope.  Thank you, President Trump.  I love you and I am going to make you proud that you gave me this second chance in life.”  See story and photohere.  Not everyone was thrilled that Trump set Johnson free.  Democrat HBO host Bill Maher said he fears that “grateful black folks” like Alice Johnson will cause Trump to rise in the polls.
  • Citing racial injustice, President Trump posthumously pardoned black boxing legend Jack Johnson. In 1913, the first African-American heavyweight champion was convicted by an all-white jury for taking his white girlfriend across state lines for “immoral purposes.”  The conviction and imprisonment destroyed Johnson’s boxing career.  With Sylvester Stallone and former heavyweight champion Lenox Lewis at his side, President Trump signed the pardon in an Oval Office ceremony. Previous presidents, including George W. Bush and Barack Obama, rejected bi-partisan requests to grant clemency to Johnson.  See 47-sec. video here.

  • In 2018, President Trump signed a bill elevating the birthplace of Martin Luther King, Jr. to full national park status.  With the slain civil rights leader’s niece, Alveda King, looking on, Trump signed the bill aboard Air Force One.  The legislation gives the landmark attraction additional resources, including park rangers and funding for community improvements.  Previously

turned down by presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, the long-championed bill was sponsored by civil rights icon, Rep. John Lewis (D-GA).

  • President Trump is considering pardoning Muhammad Ali.  The former heavyweight boxing sensation was sentenced in 1970 to five years in prison after he was convicted of draft evasion.  As a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, Ali refused to serve in the military.  The prison sentence was overturned in 1971 in a unanimous Supreme Court decision that found the Department of Justice improperly told the draft board that Ali’s stance wasn’t motivated by his religious beliefs.
  • A month after taking office, President Trump signed an executive order that historically black colleges and universities will be a priority in his administration.  As one of more than 100 African-American educators in attendance, Leonard Haynes, former executive director of the 40-year-old White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, said, “Oh man.  I’ve been around for a long time and I’ve never seen as many black folks in the Oval Office.”  See photo here.
  • In January 2018, President Trump extended an olive branch to the NFL kneelers by asking them to send him names of African-Americans they feel were unfairly treated by the criminal justice system, promising to have his administration review such cases and take remedial action if warranted.
  • In May 2018, African-American NYPD detective Miosotis Familia, mother of two, was gunned down by a cop hater.  At a memorial service in the nation’s capitol, President Trump hugged, kissed and held hands with Familia’s 90-year-old mother.  Would a racist ever do such a thing? Click hereto see heart-breaking pictures of Familia’s grieving mother embracing President Trump.

Democrats know President Trump is not a racist.  But because the “race card” has long been an effective way to incite racial hatred against Republican presidents, they continue to target him with racial invectives.  Unfortunately for them, the black electorate is awakening to the fact that they’ve been lied to about America’s current president.  Last December, Newsday reported an electrifying surge in black support for Trump, with three national polls showing his approval among black voters at 33, 34 and 35 percent, respectively.  With Democrats having taken the black vote for granted since the 1960s, survey results like those could torpedo their chances on November 3.

With a Reprd is losing its clout, but that won’t stop more fabricated charges of racism against President Trump. In attempting to drive down his record approval among black voters, Democrats will continue using one of the Third Reich’s most effective propaganda techniques: If you’re goingublican president extending a hand of genuine friendship to the African-American community, the race ca to lie, make it a Big Lie, keep repeating it and people will believe it.

See how a half-century of Democrat rule has devastated urban America by watching

The same media that smugly cry “racism!” at the drop of a hat are now blaming the high coronavirus death rate among black Americans on … racism. Embedded in the article below is a video of four black ex-convicts who describe the greatest harm inflicted on black people, and it has absolutely nothing to do with racism. – JE

Racial politics rears its ugly head in debate over COVID-19 death rates among blacks

As reported by ABC News, African-American coronavirus patients in Michigan died of the disease at more than eight times the rate of white people despite making up only 14% of the state’s population.  Similar death disparities occurred in other U.S. cities with large black populations, thus creating an opening for racial politics to be injected into the debate over Covid-19 death rates in the African-American community.

At the Coronavirus Task Force press briefing on April 7, Dr. Anthony Fauci correctly observed that African-Americans are disproportionately affected by disparities in illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and asthma, all of which are known to increase the risk of fatal coronavirus complications.  The widely respected epidemiologist went on to note that such disparities have “long been prevalent in the African-American community.”  With higher coronavirus death rates among African-Americans an established medical fact, progressive media outlets are raising the specter that racism is to blame.

The suggestion that the medical profession is rife with racist doctors and nurses is an unfortunate extension of the modern Democratic Party’s identity politics election strategy, which is predicated on the fallacious narrative that even after all the years of racial progress, the America of today is an incurably oppressive place infested with racists who roam the land, including in hospitals and medical facilities that care for all Americans, regardless of the color of their skin.

No intelligent person can deny that residual racism still exists among some unenlightened people in our society, including some who work at health care facilities.  But there’s a reason for the health disparities Dr. Fauci talked about that has absolutely nothing to do with racism.  I’ll get to that in a minute, but first a small slice of America’s racial history.

Where black lives don’t matter

For most of America’s otherwise storied history, two evil institutions — slavery and segregation — saw to it that black lives didn’t matter.  In 1964, hope among Americans of African descent soared when a Democrat president launched a noble war, the war on poverty.  Then, in a cruel twist of fate for a people subjected to economic oppression since their country’s founding, that hope would be crushed when the war on poverty was turned into what would become a third evil institution in America.  As was true of plantations in the Old South, The New Plantation has become a place where black lives don’t matter, except in the lead-up to elections.  Please stay with me here, because what follows is important.

Since 1964, $25 trillion in anti-poverty funding has been spent, with the lion’s share going to America’s largest Democrat-run cities.  After nearly six decades of uninterrupted Democrat rule, America’s inner cities more resemble bombed-out war zones than suitable places for human beings to live.  Despite all that money and all those years, the New Plantation is still defined by an unconscionable number of abandoned buildings, empty houses and vacant lots surrounded by rampant crime, government dependency, generational poverty and inexcusably sorry schools, the sum of which has led to chronic despair and hopelessness among the urban poor.

Crumbled infrastructure is bad enough, but the real cost is the human cost.  By intentionally pushing welfare policies known to kill the human spirit, the post-1960s Democratic Party has foisted unmitigated havoc on the most vulnerable people in our society, with the destruction of the black family as Exhibit A: Seventy-seven percent of black babies in the New Plantation are born out of wedlock.  Seventy-seven percent!

Democrats say their motives were pure, and that may have been true a half-century ago.  They say they need more time, more money.  Another half-century, another $25 trillion?  For what?  More of the inhumane living conditions that have existed unabated in the New Plantation for six consecutive decades?

Having been addicted to the demeaning lifestyle of government dependency, millions of decent people in our inner cities are economically confined to the squalid living conditions endemic to the New Plantation.  Regardless of race, people who live in squalor generally make the kind of poor lifestyle choices — cigarettes, alcoholism, drug addiction,  junk food — that lead to the diseases Dr. Fauci cited as causing a disproportionate share of coronavirus deaths among African-Americans.

Poor lifestyle choices by residents of the New Plantation aren’t caused by racism; rather, such choices can be laid squarely at the feet of the post-1960s Democratic Party and its cynical welfare-for-votes election strategy.

The good news is that black people are awakening to what Democrats have done to the people in our inner cities, as evidenced by the surge of black support for President Trump, and an electrifying 2014 video of four Chicago ex-convicts tearing into President Obama and the Democratic Party for betraying the people of urban America with a half-century of broken promises.

What these four men have to say should be heard by every black person in America and every white person who continually votes for the party that bears full responsibility for perpetuating the tragic living conditions described in the video below.

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Propaganda Wins, Sheeple Comply and Freedom Dies

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“The further society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it.” –  George Orwell

“Only the mob and the elite can be attracted by the momentum of totalitarianism itself. The masses have to be won by propaganda.” – Hannah Arendt

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.  It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies.  The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” –  C.S. Lewis

A healthy economy requires freedom.  Locking up healthy people is insanity.  Covid-19 is a trial, a drill, a simulation of what the elitists want to do to America.  This is part of the plan for global governance, and few people recognize the massive deception.  Too many Americans have given up their freedoms, and their logic to untrustworthy and deceptive authorities.

Compliance

During the Holocaust, they convinced people to put their families on trains (for their own good/safety) so they could be taken to a “safe place.” We all know the result of that. Is history repeating itself? The government has shown us just how quickly they can take over every aspect of our lives.

Authorities decree only “essential businesses” can be open.  We have allowed our civil liberties (the unalienable Bill of Rights) to be terminated.  You had better comply.

In Daniel Greenfield’s recent article, he writes, “Informing on your friends and neighbors used to be something that the socialists on the other side of the Iron Curtain used to do. What kind of people, we used to wonder, do things like that?

Wonder no more. Cities and states across the country have made it the hour of the aspiring informant. If you always longed to live in Cuba, North Korea, or the USSR, all you have to do is dial 1-800-INFORM.”

How long will it be before a member of the contract tracing corps will pull over and ask you for your ID, prove where you live, and if you’re outside your “zone” and a violator, consequences will follow.

The states run by the Democrat Party, and even some run by neo-con Trotskyite Republicans, will not allow full reopening because they want this to last long enough to destroy Trump’s economy during election year and they relish their control over the masses.

And what does the Gates Foundation have planned for us with mandatory vaccines? Nothing good.

How stupid is the American population?  We lost 80,000 people in the 2017-2018 flu season, but now we close down the entire economy for 6,500 deaths because Pence’s globalist “experts” tell us it will kill 2.2 million.  This is not medical, it is political…

Propaganda

A few days ago, I shopped at a local upscale store where we buy all our meat.  They had emailed customers to wear masks when they entered their stores.  My husband had been there previously with his mask, but told me that only half the people in the store were masked up, so I didn’t bother.

While shopping through the store an elderly woman donned with her homemade mask screamed at me that I was risking the lives of everyone in the store by “disobeying the rules.”  Oh boy.  I told her that the evidence is not compelling that Covid-19 is airborne, there is no proof that wearing homemade masks help, and that my not wearing a mask would not inflict harm on anyone in the store…she continued yelling at me.  I told her to go scream at the good looking tall black man with no mask, unless she was afraid of being called a racist…at that point she left me alone.  I wanted to ask her if she’d ever read the Bill of Rights, but restrained myself, knowing it would be useless.

Only N95 masks are really helpful, but they need to be properly fitted.  Hospitals are short of them, thus the homemade masks on everyone but a few, which make it difficult to breathe, difficult to talk, people continually fiddle with them while they’re on, and you’re inhaling your own carbon dioxide.  Tell me why people wear masks when they’re alone in their cars?  Bizarre!

Every store is marked as to where people should stand, six feet apart from each other.  Not only can’t we get close to people to speak to them, but now the masked faces are making everyone into dehumanized objects…and afraid of everyone else.  This is more than propaganda, more than destruction of our economy; it is creating vast problems in society, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) “expert” who shelled out a total of $7.4 million to the Wuhan biolab is saying we may never shake hands again.

U.S. diplomats warned about safety risks in the Wuhan lab two years before the outbreak.  Rudy Giuliana said that even after the State Department issued reports about how unsafe the Wuhan laboratory was, and how suspicious they were in the way they were developing a virus that could be transmitted to humans, Fauci gave them a grant of millions. The NIH, which oversees Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), shut down all funding to the lab last week.

Fauci has been telling us that hydroxychloroquine needs to have studies, but he’s known since 2005 that chloroquine is an effective inhibitor of coronaviruses.  This past weekend, economic advisor, Peter Navarro angrily clashed with Fauci over the effects of Hydroxychloroquine. Everyone should study Dr. Fauci’s dark past.

Death certificates list Covid-19 when patients actually died of flu, pneumonia or other illnesses. The inflated numbers increase the fear and totalitarian control of the masses.  Drs. Erickson and Massihi’s videos were removed from YouTube, but their press conference is still available. In it they verified that physicians were pressured to put Covid-19 on all death certificates.

Video Here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJprwe_rWeM#action=share

Social isolation from this flu-like virus has also been found to be associated with poor mental health including increased risk for depression, cognitive decline, anxiety, and substance use. Social isolation in elderly individuals is also associated with an increased risk for dementia.  There’s poor Joe Biden in his basement.  Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai tells about how social isolation up-regulates inflammatory cytokines and down-regulates anti-viral proteins in your body, so we’re more susceptible to illness.

And we can’t go to church to pray and worship.  Clergymen had better get some chutzpah or they’ll never open again.

Food Shortages

Every Tuesday Fresh Market sells boneless chicken breasts and ground chuck for $2.99 a pound.  Last Tuesday, the line for the meat counter was all the way back to the entrance, and of course socially distanced.  I was shocked that many knew there was a coming meat shortage and were there to stock up.  We were only allowed to buy three chicken breasts and three pounds of ground chuck.

There is a severe strain on our food chain, especially when it comes to moving animals through processing plants, but by and large, they’ve done a good job.

Cliff Kincaid had warned us back on April 15th with his article, “Trump Knows Starvation is Not an Option for America.”  Devvy Kidd wrote two articles that delineated the euthanizing of millions of chickens and pigs and are now pushing farmers to destroy their cattle and get this…even their crops.  Please read her short article with the links, and don’t stop there, read her previous article that spells out the anger resonating from the people regarding this politically motivated lockdown.  It’s not medical, it’s political…get that in your mind!

My friend Janet was on a conference call with an expert in agribusiness recently, and here’s what she said the woman told her:

She explained how 60% of the food supply is geared for commercial or industrial use and 40% for consumer markets.  Because commercial and consumer supply chains are different and cannot be easily transferred, enormous amounts of food are going to waste.  Apparently, milk and produce are being dumped, chick producing eggs are being destroyed and cattle are being euthanized.  Those who produce for commercial markets don’t have the supply line, containers or equipment to provide product for the consumer markets.  

You can imagine that if you’re producing millions of half-pint containers of milk for grade schools, you can’t sell them to supermarkets that sell gallon jugs.  Also, your machines don’t accommodate gallon jugs and you can’t retool easily due to large capital outlays and the availability of new equipment.  

We have dug ourselves into a big hole for a virus with the lethality (or less) of the seasonal flu!

We haven’t seen the end results of this panic.  There’s going to be a profound impact on medical care, the food supply, education, businesses, every sector of society.  The economic and psychic costs will be far-reaching and many people will never recover from the impact.

Yes, shutting down an economy as large as America’s has devastating consequences.  President Trump is just finding out how devastating, and wondering why in heaven’s name he ever appointed establishment globalist Mike Pence to bring in “experts” tied to Bill Gates, the CDC, the NIH, WHO, the United Nations, and communist revolutionaries.

Drunk with Power

The actions of Governors Cuomo, Whitmer, Newsom and others doesn’t surprise me inasmuch as these politician’s love totalitarianism…they prefer communist control, and their draconian actions prove it.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio drew fierce criticism late Tuesday after he singled out “the Jewish community” in a trio of tweets announcing that he had instructed his police department to fine or even arrest social distancing violators. The mayor was responding to a funeral that had drawn hundreds of Orthodox Jews to the streets of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to mourn a beloved rabbi who died of the coronavirus.  Those Jewish folks should be outraged.

NY Governor Cuomo, NJ Governor Murphy and CA Governor Newsom have made nursing homes accept Covid-19 patients from hospitals. Cuomo then blamed nursing homes’ greed for not turning away coronavirus patients despite his directive stating they must accept Covid patients.  Residents and workers fear the policy is risking lives.  This makes the spread of the virus more likely as it affects the elderly and immune compromised.  Sounds like murder.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced that residents are no longer able to travel between the hours of 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. That guidance will be in effect for the foreseeable future, he said.  This is even more restrictive than the 1968 Democratic Convention riots in Chicago where the curfew was 10 p.m.  Why are Americans putting up with these vile unconstitutional totalitarian orders from communist politicians?

Michigan Governor Whitmer has infuriated her populace with her draconian restrictions, disallowed businesses to open and people to venture from their homes or meet with others.  The Michigan House gave Republican Speaker Lee Chatfield the authority to file a lawsuit against Whitmer when they voted against extending her emergency powers.  Here are photos of the massive protests in Michigan against Governor Whitmer.

Across the country there are protests against the lockdown.  Here’s a photo of an American who understands totalitarianism, which doesn’t seem to shock many anymore.

According to the WSJ, Trump is all for these protests, and even “woke” Berkeley balks at continuing the lockdown.

Democratically controlled Virginians have had enough and are traveling and saying, “To hell with social distancing.”

California’s Newsom has once again closed the beaches.  Being in the sunshine on the beach is probably the safest place you can be, as the sunlight kills the virus.  We’ve even been told to put our shoes upside down in the sun to kill any virus we picked up while out shopping or walking.  Huntington Beach has mounted a legal fight against Newsom’s despotic closure of California beaches.

Sacramento CA protests.

Ohio’s Governor Mike DeWine, who I knew in Dayton when he was a lowly politician, announced late Monday that the state’s polls would not be open for the presidential primary there, even though a judge denied Ohio’s earlier request to cancel it.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee has held firm with the stay-at-home order and refused to reopen the state for business until June 1st.  Protests have mounted.  Alleged Covid deaths are 819 in a population of nearly 7 million, or .0117 percent of the population.

Meanwhile, social media has censored every physician telling the truth about this virus and the real numbers…they only allow the government socialist propaganda to prevail.

Corruption

Where is the chutzpah to open our houses of prayer?  Our clergymen are silent. Our first amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Open our synagogue and church doors; this shutdown destroys religious freedoms.  Yet NYC Mayor de Blasio threatens to permanently close churches who disobey the shutdown order!

I’m angry for many reasons.  I want my country fully opened for business again.  I want this stupid social distancing bull hockey to stop, I want people to tear off those idiotic masks (N95 masks should be used by immune compromised individuals), and I want people to realize this was not a medical epidemic, but a purposeful political debacle to destroy not only our President, but our God given liberties immortalized in America’s Constitution.  We’ve allowed politicians to terminate our rights; we must fight to retrieve them!

Tennessee mayors like Nashville’s John Cooper are raising property taxes by 32 percent because the lockdown has eliminated funds from sales tax.  This has torpedoed city budgets, and these increases will totally destroy business owners. Open every state in the union!

We’ve been lied to regarding this entire Chinese Wuhan virus.  Along with Drs. Shiva Ayyadurai and  Rashid Buttar, Stanford University professor of medicine, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya says much the same thing…there is another agenda with this lockdown.

Video Here:  https://youtu.be/-UO3Wd5urg0

Tennessee has lost 238 people to Covid-19 out of a population of nearly 7 million.  That is miniscule.  What is not being reported is the number of suicides from the forced lockdown which caused massive small business losses. As of the end of March, we had lost 199 citizens from suicide because of the economic closures, which at that time was more than from Covid-19.  April suicide figures are not yet available.

The state of Michigan has lost 1,137 citizens (remember we don’t know if all of them were really by Covid-19) and Michigan has a population of 9.987 million. That’s .0113840 percent of the population who died of Covid and Governor Whitmer is keeping them shut down for far fewer than died of flu. Here is the national flu/pneumonia death rate according to the CDC. This is control…not medical safety.

Tucker Carlson has said there is no penalty for overt authoritarianism, for censorship of freedom of speech, and for the massive expansion of our surveillance state currently in progress noting that tech companies now routinely watch the actions of American citizens via their cell phones and surveillance drones.

Conclusion

The socialists have plans for us.  Governor Cuomo actually spoke the truth in this video when he said, “Everything we’re doing is basically voluntary … State government, federal government, local government doesn’t have the power to enforce stay-at-home orders.  If 19 million people said I’m going out today, they would go out.” Link

The U.S. Constitution guarantees our God-given right to pray, to assemble, to speak, and to move.  This has been forgotten with a virus that is less than one percent deadly.  Absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Freedom is not something you buy; it is something you earn.  Time to take it back now!

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Battle of Biblical Proportions

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There is so much going on and time for me is short. We are in the midst, of a battle of biblical proportions. I believe major indictments and arrests are imminent. More on this later in this commentary. Pray for our war time President Donald J. Trump.

I know one thing for sure, we must unite with one heart and one mind and cast our differences and in-fighting aside, for we are in it together. This PLANdemic has been enormously disruptive all over the world, but it has in fact failed and so expect further attacks on multiple fronts. We are at war. Not red and blue armies with bayonet rifles and cannons, but an intelligence war which includes a war on your mind.

General Michael Flynn

General Flynn, an American Hero, as I and others have stated all along, was set up in a crooked cop perjury trap. Flynn will remain free either by process or pardon. I hope he sues them. Yes, it is the Federal Governments obligation to pay, thus we the tax payer must pay, and, I for one, would be honored to participate. In either case they are all going down. I also see a pardon for Roger Stone down the pike. Would be great to have General Flynn serving under the Trump administration to help us take down the deep state. Let’s see how this plays out and thank you so very much, Sydney Powell. Stay safe. Flynn now opens the floodgates. Arrests and further indictments are now imminent.

Malfunctioning Joe And the Two Ladies (well maybe it’s really only one)

We all know that Biden is a creepy man with images and videos over the years of his grossly inappropriate behavior not only to women, but little boys and girls. Biden will also be taken down in due time for his abuse of power in office with the Ukraine, Burisma, China and scores of other dealings over his political career, one of no substance, just destruction in my view.

I’ve written and spoken about this for quite some time and still believe so to this day. I may be wrong. Time will tell. The Democrats and DNC know that Biden cannot beat Trump in spite of the “skimming”, that is taking place today with completely bogus polling in battleground states. It’s all BS. Could these sexual allegations be just what the doctor ordered for the Dems? Believe me, they already threw Biden under the bus a long tine ago. Now they may drive the bus over him. Will he now, soon, be replaced? Is it a Hillary / Michelle, (the two ladies but maybe it’s really only one), ticket or something of the sort? Time will tell. And soon.

America Opening for Business

We now enter the combative phase of this insane lock down and shutdown of the global economy. President Trump has wisely left it up to the Governors to handle their states. The Federal guidelines have now been lifted. He is giving these Governors enough rope to climb back up to peace and prosperity or to expose and hang themselves. Most will climb. Others will hang. Let them hang. Why?

Because they are exposing themselves. And the people, even many Democrats and independents (notice I did not mention the far left liberal lunatics), will be parting ways with these Democrat Governors, Mayors and elected officials at the ballot box. The American people want to get back to work. They want to get back to the business of life and living in America. Another brilliant move by our President. Meanwhile, AG Barr is on the record stating that he is watching if (when), Governors encroach upon our Constitutional rights and civil liberties and cross the line, they can expect a visit from AG Barr. Whose in control of all this? Trump and we the patriots, that’s who. Carry on.

Army Reserves Called To Duty

President Trump last week called additional reserves to help south of our border, going after and taking down the drug and human trafficking cartels. This of course is important not only for obvious reasons, but this cuts off major funding for the deep state scumbags.

What’s Next?

This PLANdemic turns out to be an evil and disgraceful hoax of gargantuan proportions; crimes against humanity. Further justice is coming, They just keep piling it on. You can learn more abut this by reading the links below which include video discussions with medical experts, and I’m not talking about the deep starers, Fauci, Birx and the boogeymen.

As you have heard by now, Dr Erickson & Dr Massihi were on Laura Ingraham. Before the end of Laura’s show, YouTube took the interview down . Look around, Im sure you can find it somewhere. Here is a bit f what they said.

No need to shelter in place or shutdown business.  Quarantine only the sick.

  • Health system completely focused on COVID.  You quarantine only the sick but this is first time public health quarantined the healthy which is the antithesis of what we do in healthcare.  We have never responded like this in the history of our country and disease management.
  • Quarantine of the healthy decreases the effectiveness of your immune system – then the disease will spike.
  • 12% CA positive for COVID.  Fauci predicted millions of deaths not just cases.  Widespread exposure which is good to develop herd immunity.   In CA 1,220 deaths  0.03% chance of dying.  96% who contract this recover.
  • 0.1% chance of dying in NY  92% chance of recovery
  • We have tested over 4 million in this country – more than any other country  19.6% positive.  64 mil have it which is compared to flu
  • Deaths 37k – 60k/yr for deaths from Flu w/o shutting down business and sheltering in place.  Flu is ubiquitous.  in the US 0.01%
  • Spain – 22% of all tests positive  0.05% chance of death & 95% recovery
  • Lockdown – Sweden no lockdown  Norway lockdown   Sweden 21% of tested are positive = 2 mil cases  1,765 deaths vs  1,220 in CA with isolation.  Norway 4.9% positive = 1.3 mil cases 192 deaths .003% chance of death – Not really significant to necessitate a shutdown.
  • Cost of social isolation is horrific with an increase in  – child molestation, alcohol & drug use, spousal abuse, depression, suicide.
  • Staff is furloughed, and medical system collapsing
  • Flu  24k-62k deaths per CDC =  0.13% chance of death from flu in US per 2017 stats  widespread but small amount of deaths

So what’s next? The battle rages on. This is the big one, really. They have accelerated the NWO’s UN Agenda 2030 goals simply because all other attempts to remove this duly elected amazing president have not only failed, but boomeranged upon them. They have tried to splinter our movement and the support for this amazing, God’s chosen one, our miracle President. We have grown in numbers. Since this is a battle of biblical proportions and the inevitable re-election of Donald J. Trump looms, they will continue to fight until their last breath. Learn about UN Agenda 2030. This is Part I. Parts II, II, IV will be aired weekly over the next three weeks.

Dark To Light

Dark

Expect more false flags. Games will be played to attempt to have mail-in voting ballots only so they stand a better chance of stealing the election. Expect possible and deliberate disruptions to the food supply or perhaps a hit on the grid system. Perhaps something far worse. I’m not going to list the possibilities as I’d rather focus on what we all can and should be doing to unite and fight for whats right, the resurrection of America. The taking back of our way of life and of our country that we have allowed to slip away over these past 30 some odd years.This battle, right here, right now and for the duration of 2020 determines all.

President Trump told us that he caught the swamp a long time ago. And now, justice begins. Why so long in the making? Because the swamp runs far deeper than you think. The multiple investigations are thorough and all along the way we have been choking them off at critical points of power behind the scenes and on multiple fronts. Let us not forget there are over 160,000 Federal Sealed Indictments. And the people? They are not ready for the truth all at once. It would crash society and the world. We are talking about treasonous acts Crimes against humanity. Satanic and demonic practices including rape and sodomy of infants and children both boys and girls along with painful torturous deaths of such individuals so that those involved in the sacrifice, can have their adrenochrome.

We are talking about baseless endless wars resulting in massive destruction, huge debt, and the cost of millions upon millions of innocent lives and the stealing and rigging of elections as well as creating disease and pandemics for control and profit along with controlling us by controlling the debt based fiat currency, ruled and controlled by the Federal Reserve and the Central Bank system. These things and so much more including being lied to and propagandized until the cows come home via “education”, “entertainment” and the fake news creating a drugged up, dumbed down, and utterly brainwashed populace of regurgitating robots who are having a tough time detecting truth from lies. It has to drip out on them so they see if for themselves. This has been happening over the course of the past few years and is accelerating equally to commensurate with the attacks they are unleashing upon, us and the people of the world, our true brothers and sisters. The deep state , media , the Dems. and the rest of the scum, are absolutely panicking and scared to death. Why? Because they know what they have done. They know we know. They see their power slipping away. And they know we are about to take them down. It’s about to get very, very real,

Light

The tech giants who are trouncing on our first amendment will lose all control after the election. We are working on this now. Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Amazon etc. Cures and treatment for the boogeyman virus are here and coming. I believe arrests are imminent. So does Joe Digenova, Donald Trump Jr., Lyndsey Graham Ann Vandersteel and Q along with many, many others. Remember, this is the battle of all battles. The battle of biblical proportions. It’s either us, or them. Failure is not a option. You can keep throwing stones at us, you can remain ignorant. You can serve the enemy, or you can get on the right side of history. We are in it together. The dot connecting is before you if you kook in the right places. We can help you. Follow us here.

I believe we will see very, very, soon, the arrests of Comey, Clapper, Brennan and others. Then the trials begin and the indictments begin to open like a water faucet. This gets the process started. It starts now with the exoneration of General Flynn and FISA warrant abuse. This is the door opener, Something the people can more easily relate to. It builds from there. The modern day Nuremberg style trails are coming to a theater near you. Get the popcorn and enjoy the show.

In my opinion, after the 2020 election victory for humanity, the trials and tribunals begin. They are ALL going down. This will go on for some years as the suppressed advances in medicine and science along with cures for various life threatening ailments see the light. New ways for free energy are coming and I am not talking about the AOC of crazy Bernie model. Sound money will be restored along with a debt jubilee. The Bible tells us that the borrower is a slave to the lender. This debt based system, will be coming to an end. Endless wars become ended wars. Peace and prosperity and not just surviving, but thriving as we were intended to by our creator. This is dark to light. It will go on for some years  and you must act. And act now!

So What Can I do?

It’s time to get rid of many of our all stable datums if you will. You know, things we believed to be true many actually be far from the truth. Get comfortable being uncomfortable until you arrive on new and true solid ground. We can help you. For starters, turn off the fake news or perhaps watch it to contrast the new media’s views. The truths that you yourself must seek out. I and others can only point you. I encourage you to follow my new JMC weekly Report. This will be a free to the public word press site that will keep us informed, empowered and connected, and in my opinion, like no other. It is free. There is a premium subscription as well for extraordinary values. This site will be released on or before Sunday May 10, 2020. A press release will precede it. Follow us here at News Behind The News for our daily live broadcat with my co-host Kelly Ruiz and amazing guests. We are live daily, Monday through Friday at 11:00 AM EST

What else can we do? Seek truth, then share truth. We are at war. We need to expand and strengthen our army. Do not underestimate these words. If you are in a position to financially contribute please do so. You can help me here.  Many people like myself are sacrificing so much to deliver content and establish valuable resources and connections. We need your financial support.

Surround yourself with like minded people who understand the times in which we live and expand those circles of influence. Stay alert. Stay safe and don’t get prepared-BE PREPARED. Food, medicine, water, etc. Gold and silver for those with investable assets because the transition of the economy from the Central Bank System does not come with out risk and volatility as we are witnessing today with the PLANdemic torpedo which shut down the greatest economy the world has ever known. The second quarter numbers will soon wreak havoc. We will be back on course but not overnight and not without pain. Heed the call now.

Pray. Pray for peace. Pray for our President and his family. Pray for the resurrection of America and pray for humanity. We are in it together. Victory is on the horizon.

©All rights reserved.

The End of ‘Believe All Women’

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Editor’s note: The media’s double standard when it comes to sexual assault allegations is once again in the spotlight. Until very recently, there had been little media attention paid to an accusation of sexual assault against former Vice President Joe Biden. (Biden denies he assaulted Tara Reade, a former aide to Biden.) Just last year, the media similarly was largely quiet about an allegation of sexual assault against another liberal politician, Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax.

But it’s not just the media. In stark contrast to the “believe all women” mantra heard ad nauseam when Justice Brett Kavanaugh faced allegations of sexual assault, liberal icons are now stepping up in support of Biden, effectively admitting they don’t “believe all women.”

So we’re republishing this article from 2019 that looked at the hypocrisy of the left on this topic of sexual assault.

Feminists haven’t been this silent since the Bill Clinton years.

In these trying times, we must turn to the greatest document in the history of the world to promise freedom and opportunity to its citizens for guidance. Find out more now >>

Vanessa Tyson came forward Wednesday to accuse Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexually assaulting her during the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004, saying in a statement that “What began as consensual kissing quickly turned into a sexual assault.”

Tyson, now a politics professor at Scripps College in California, says she had accompanied Fairfax to his hotel room.

“His hand was holding down my neck, and he was much stronger than me,” she recalls, and he forced her to perform a sexual act.

“I cannot believe, given my obvious state of distress, that Mr. Fairfax thought this forced sexual act was consensual,” Tyson, 42, writes in the statement released by her law firm, Katz, Marshall & Banks, the same firm that represented Christine Blasey Ford amid her accusations against Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation process.

Fairfax, 39, denies any sexual assault occurred—and has hired the same law firm Kavanaugh used, Wilkinson Walsh + Eskovitz.

So far, there’s been an eerie silence.

No sexual assault survivors have confronted lawmakers in elevators. No protesters have waited for lawmakers at airports, and, while filming, tried to talk to them about sexual assault. No women have donned the Pilgrim-esque “Handmaid’s Tale” costumes meant to show lack of sexual autonomy and appeared in the Virginia State Capitol. No protests have occurred, and on social media, there’s a notable absence of cries to “believe all women.”

Apparently, if you accuse a Democrat, “believe all women” doesn’t apply.

Of course, Tyson, who calls herself “a proud Democrat,” just released her statement. And one Democrat freshman congresswoman, Rep. Jennifer Wexton of Virginia, has said she believes her.

But even if the “believe all women” crowd does eventually end up supporting Tyson, the pause is telling—because it reveals that the left never really believed in believing all women.

Because if it did, it wouldn’t need time to weigh Tyson’s accusations vs. Fairfax’s denials. (Or more cynically, time to weigh whether believing Tyson is worth the cost of pushing out the pro-abortion, Planned Parenthood-endorsed Fairfax.)

Like many Americans, I was troubled when Ford accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault. I was glad to see the Senate Judiciary Committee took Ford’s allegations seriously, investigated them, and ultimately gave Ford a hearing with questioning on the Republican side done by an experienced sex-crimes prosecutor. I was likewise glad the Senate Judiciary Committee researched two further claims of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh.

It’s absolutely true that when a woman makes a sexual assault allegation, she should be taken seriously, particularly given that she has put her own name and reputation on the line—as well as come forward knowing that she’ll likely face significant political vitriol from supporters of her alleged attacker.

And I would hope that partisans on both sides would do their best to wait for the evidence, and not base their sentiments on whether the alleged attacker is one of their guys or not.

But “take seriously” is a very different standard from “believe all women.”

“Believe all women” reduces every woman to some kind of inane idiot, unable to lie even if she wanted to. It assumes no woman has ever gotten confused or been mistaken about the exact circumstances surrounding a trauma.

And it’s also certainly not a standard the left applied before Christine Blasey Ford, as Juanita Broaddrick, Kathleen Willey, and others can attest.

Unfortunately, by politicizing the issue of sexual assault, the left has distracted us from the real work that needs to be done.

What can the U.S. do to help ensure any woman who experiences sexual assault is best equipped to get justice against her perpetrator? Can police officers be better trained to help a traumatized woman when she comes to make a report? Are these cases being prosecuted in the best way, consistently?

Are there steps we as a culture can take to help ensure women aren’t put in vulnerable positions? Given the role of hotel rooms in some of the #MeToo scenarios and now allegedly in the Fairfax case as well, can we make it completely socially and professionally inappropriate for any man to ask a female colleague to come up to a hotel room, no matter the pretext? (Of course, no woman who does go up to a hotel room is in any way to blame for her assault—the only person to blame in any sexual assault is the attacker.)

Do we try to put women on a more equal footing with men by encouraging women who are interested to carry a firearm?

Kimberly Corban, who says she was sexually assaulted while in college, now advocates guns as a way for women to protect themselves. “After [the attack], I started taking my Second Amendment rights very seriously because I knew that that was going to be the only equalizer and the one thing I could train and do for myself,” Corban told The Daily Signal in 2016.

“Believe all women” never made sense as a standard. But the left’s inconsistent application of it makes clear that it’s not women liberals care about, it’s the right to abortion.

COMMENTARY BY

Katrina Trinko

Katrina Trinko is editor-in-chief of The Daily Signal and co-host of The Daily Signal Podcast. Send an email to Katrina. Twitter: .

RELATED ARTICLE: Biden to 14-yo Girl: You’re well-endowed

A Note for our Readers:

This is a critical year in the history of our country. With the country polarized and divided on a number of issues and with roughly half of the country clamoring for increased government control—over health care, socialism, increased regulations, and open borders—we must turn to America’s founding for the answers on how best to proceed into the future.

The Heritage Foundation has compiled input from more than 100 constitutional scholars and legal experts into the country’s most thorough and compelling review of the freedoms promised to us within the United States Constitution into a free digital guide called Heritage’s Guide to the Constitution.

They’re making this guide available to all readers of The Daily Signal for free today!

GET ACCESS NOW! >>

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Signal column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

VIDEO: White House Will Release ‘Conclusive’ Evidence Coronavirus Originated In Wuhan Lab, Trump Says

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Interview: Donald Trump Joins a Fox Town Hall Interview at the Lincoln Memorial – May 3, 2020

President Donald Trump suggested during Sunday night’s Fox News town hall that his administration will soon release “conclusive” evidence showing how the coronavirus originally leaked out of China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology.

“I don’t think there is any question about it,” Trump responded when asked a question on whether China’s action allowed the pandemic to spread across the globe. He proceeded to tell host Bret Baier that the administration “will be giving a very strong report on what we think happened, and I think it will be very conclusive.”

The president has repeatedly claimed to have seen evidence the virus leaked out of a research facility, and his latest comments come the same day that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo maintained the administration has compiled an extensive report on the virus’s lab origins.

“We have said from the beginning, this virus originated in Wuhan, China. We took a lot of grief for that from the outset. But I think the whole world can see now,” Pompeo said on ABC Sunday morning. “Remember, China has a history of infecting the world and they have a history of running sub-standard laboratories.”

“These aren’t the first times that we have had the world exposed to viruses as a result of failures in a Chinese lab.”

Trump clarified Sunday night that he doesn’t view the coronavirus as a malicious action from China.

US President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a Fox News virtual town hall “America Together: Returning to Work,” event, with anchors Bret Baier (R) and Martha MacCallum (L), from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC on May 3, 2020. – Trump will answer questions submitted by viewers on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

“Personally I think they made a horrible mistake,” he told co-host Martha MacCallum. “They didn’t want to admit it. We wanted to go in but they didn’t want us there. World Health wanted to go in.”

“They tried to cover it, they tried to put it out,” he continued. “It’s like trying to put out a fire. They couldn’t put out the fire.”

The White House is actively investigating ways to hold China financially accountable for its role in allowing the pandemic to spread across the globe. Officials did not respond when asked by the Daily Caller when the president’s aforementioned report will be publicly released.

COLUMN BY

CHRISTIAN DATOC

Senior White House correspondent. Follow Christian on Twitter and Inst0gram.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Majority Of Intelligence Community Agencies Believe Coronavirus Leaked Out Of Wuhan Lab, Senior Intel Official Says

China Lied About Extent Of Pandemic In Order To Hoard Medical Supplies, DHS Report Says

‘I’m Not Playing’: Chicago Mayor Threatens Citations And Arrests For People Ignoring Stay-At-Home Orders

Mike Pompeo Says There’s ‘Enormous Evidence’ That Coronavirus Came From Wuhan Lab

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.