The Campbell County Board of Supervisors in Virginia declared themselves a “First Amendment Sanctuary” by a unanimous vote on Tuesday night, declaring that they will not be enforcing Governor Northam’s COVID-19 orders.
The First Amendment Sanctuary Resolution calls Governor Northam’s executive orders unconstitutional and instructs the sheriff and county employees to refrain from enforcing the orders.
“We’re not gonna utilize county resources to enforce the governor’s orders,” said Supervisor Matt Cline. “We’re not gonna allow county resources to be used in the enforcement by state agencies. We’re not gonna aid the Virginia Department of Health in shutting our businesses down.”
The resolution specifically defies Executive Orders 63 and 67. Executive Order 63 mandates the statewide wearing of masks in all public indoor spaces, and Executive Order 67 provides direction on how businesses are allowed to re-open.
“The Campbell County Board of Supervisors wishes to express its opposition to any order or law that would unconstitutionally restrict the rights of the citizens of Campbell County,” said Cline.
This means they’re requesting that the board, the sheriff and Campbell County employees not enforce the Governor’s Executive Orders 63 and 67. They say the mandates are infringing upon their First Amendment rights. pic.twitter.com/8OVQrc1Kdx
This isn’t the first time Campbell County has taken steps to align itself with the Constitution over and against state laws and policies. In 2019, the county declared itself a Second Amendment Sanctuary to protect its citizens gun rights in a state being directed more and more by progressive politics.
Campbell County residents who attended Tuesday’s meeting showed enthusiasm and support for the resolution.
Kurt Santini, a Campbell County resident, told ABC 13 News, “The governor has overstepped his authority and I hope this forces him to think outside of the tiny box he uses for a brain and to find a solution that doesn’t violate our rights.”
Santini plans to continue attending social gatherings, and refuses to wear a mask.
Likewise, Wes Gardner, another county resident, thanked the board for their actions, saying “it took guts.”
“Whether or not there are repercussions from Richmond,” Gardner said, “we don’t now. But I can tell you, we’ll stand with you.”
However, not every resident is on board with the resolution. James Sorello told ABC 13 News that the Constitution provides no protection against a deadly virus.
“If I hold the Constitution up, is that going to prevent me from getting the virus? We’re losing this battle; America is losing this battle.”
Campbell County isn’t the first to declare itself a “First Amendment Sanctuary”. A town in Rhode Island passed a similar resolution by the same name back in June.
One of the many pro-life women elected to Congress this November recently shared that her inspiration to fight for the unborn comes from her mother’s own choice against abortion when pregnancy threatened her life.
Kat Cammack was born to Ginny, a single mother who had previously suffered a stroke when pregnant with Kat’s older sister at the age of 27.
Six years later, when Ginny found herself pregnant again, doctors warned her that she may not live through another pregnancy, and encouraged her to undergo an abortion.
Even Cammack’s grandmother encouraged Ginny to seek out an abortion and save herself.
Despite the pressure from medical professionals and family, however, Ginny decided to give birth to her daughter.
“My mom chose life,” Cammack told Fox News, “which was very difficult for my familiy.”
“For her to make that choice against the advice of her doctors and against the urging of her own family, that’s pretty powerful,” said Cammack. “So for me, that’s why I am personally pro-life.”
At 32 years old, Kat Cammack is the youngest GOP congresswoman to be elected to the House of Representatives this election cycle.
Cammack will represent Florida’s 3rd Congressional District, succeeding her boss Republican Ted Yoho.
Cammack ran as a constitutional conservative on the platform that she would defend gun rights, law enforcement, and pro-life policies. She intends to share her mother’s story on the floor of the House during her term in office.
“We’ll classify bacteria on Mars as life but we won’t classify a heartbeat in the womb as life,” the Representative-elect explained. “Or if you look at the DOJ, if a pregnant woman is murdered, it’s a double homicide. But if the woman chooses to terminate that pregnancy, it’s not. It’s very hypocritical from the government standpoint. As a federal representative coming in, I want to address that hypocrisy in our government.”
Cammack is one of 13 new pro-life women elected to Congress during November’s elections, along with the re-elections of 11 other pro-life women. Cammack has called the women “powerhouses in their own right.”
Cammack enjoyed endorsements from pro-life groups such as the National Right to Life PAC and the Susan B. Anthony List. She also received the endorsement of President Donald Trump.
A couple hundred protesters gathered outside a Staten Island pub on Wednesday night after the restaurant was forcefully closed for defying Governor Cuomo’s COVID-19 orders.
Law enforcement closed Mac’s Public House on Tuesday night and arrested co-owner Danny Presti. The pub had remained open and continued to serve food and alcohol after being stripped of its liquor license for defying state orders to shut down indoor services.
Supporters of the pub responded by gathering outside the restaurant on Wednesday evening. Police officers barricaded the doors to deny entry, so protesters filled Lincoln Street, waving American flags.
Danny Presti and Keith McAlarney opened their pub a mere two months before nationwide shutdowns began in response to the global spread of COVID-19. According to their attorney, Louis Gelormino, the co-owners invested over $150,000 in the restaurant’s opening.
The neighborhood in which the restaurant resides was recently placed in the “orange zone”, which prohibits indoor dining and restricts outdoor dining to a maximum of four people.
In response, the owners declared their pub an “autonomous zone”, borrowing a strategy used by left-wing anarchists during summer protests in Seattle this past summer.
“ATTENTION!” reads a sign posted on their window. “As of November 20, 2020 we hereby declare this establishment an AUTONOMOUS ZONE. We refuse to abide by any rules and regulations put forth by the Mayor of NYC and Governor of NY State.”
On Friday, November 27th, the State Liquor Authority voted unanimously to suspend the pub’s liquor license.
In response, the owners posted a YouTube video, challenging local and state authorities and encouraging other small business owners to join them in defiance.
In the video, McAlarney told viewers he isn’t scared. “If that liquor license is gonna come off the wall, it’s gonna be done by Cuomo. You wanna come down here and pull that license off the wall?…Feel free to end up coming down and we’ll have a conversation before you even think about stepping foot on my property. I will not back down.”
The video ended with an appeal to law enforcement to uphold the Constitutional rights of the people rather than aiding the tyrannical overreach of the state.
Presti announced that due to their suspended license, they would be serving food and alcohol for free, but he asked for patrons to donate toward their bills.
On Tuesday night, plainclothes deputies entered the restaurant in an undercover operation. They sat at a table, ordered food and alcohol in exchange for a $40 donation, and observed around 14 people eating and drinking indoors against the governor’s orders.
The deputies immediately ordered the owners to shut down their operation. In the process, Presti was arrested and several employees (including the bartender, the cook, and the restaurant’s attorney) were cited with violations.
Presti was released that same night after being issued appearance tickets.
Both Presti and McAlarney were present at Wednesday’s protest.
“There’s no reason for it to be closed when the big stores are open,” one protester told PIX11 News. “Why is Costco open, the supermarkets, the malls? Why are the sheriff’s department not standing in front of those big stores? Can somebody answer that?”
Reporter Joe Mauceri explained on the scene that, “We can actually see a restaurant down the block here that is allowed to open for indoor dining because it’s not considered the orange zone.”
“We are just trying to make a living and feed our families,” McAlarney told the crowd. “We jumped through every hoop, did whatever they did. But at some point, you can’t just keep shutting down.”
Former President Barack Obama is facing criticism from far-left progressives after stating in a Wednesday interview that the “defund the police” rhetoric is unhelpful to what Democrats want to accomplish.
““If you believe, as I do, that we should be able to reform the criminal justice system so that it’s not biased and treats everybody fairly, I guess you can use a snappy slogan, like ‘defund the police,'” Obama told Peter Hamby, host of Snapchat’s “Good Luck America.”
“You lost a big audience the minute you say it, which makes it a lot less likely that you’re actually going to get the changes you want done,” he continued.
The newest episode of the app’s original political show aired Wednesday morning, featuring the former president.
He has received fierce pushback from the more radical members of the Democrat party, including the infamous “squad”.
Represenatives Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Representative-elect Cori Bush (D-MO) all took to Twitter to double down on the “defund the police” rhetoric.
“It’s not a slogan,” wrote Bush. “It’s a mandate for keeping our people alive. Defund the police.”
With all due respect, Mr. President—let’s talk about losing people. We lost Michael Brown Jr. We lost Breonna Taylor. We’re losing our loved ones to police violence.
It’s not a slogan. It’s a mandate for keeping our people alive. Defund the police. https://t.co/Wsxp1Y1bBi
Obama isn’t the only one to question the effectiveness of the “defund the police” language. Following the election – in which Democrats lost nine House seats – more moderate Democrats have blamed the loss on the “defund the police” efforts of the more progressive members of the party.
Democrat Senator Mark Warner of Virginia said that the “defund the police” rhetoric “led to Democratic losses in the last year.”
And Democrat House Representative Jim Clyburn told CNN that the progressive “sloganeering” is damaging to the policies they’re trying to enact: “We can’t pick up these things just because it makes a good headline, it sometimes destroys headway.”
In the interview, Obama encouraged progressives to focus on policy rather than getting caught up in rhetoric wars that cause confusion and inspire fear. For instance, he said that progressives should avoid the word “socialism” since it remains “a loaded term for a lot of folks.”
“So the key is deciding, do you want to actually get something done, or do you want to feel good among the people you already agree with?” Obama asked. “And if you want to get something done in a democracy, in a country as big and diverse as ours, then you’ve got to be able to meet people where they are. And play a game of addition and not subtraction.”
Several hundred Trump supporters gathered in the streets of Phoenix on Monday to show support for President Trump and to protest the election results.
Wearing MAGA hats, waving American flags, and holding “Stop the Steal” signs, the crowd gathered outside the Hyatt Regency in downtown Phoenix, where Trump’s legal team was meeting with state legislators to discuss the credibility of Arizona’s election.
At the same time, Arizona certified their election results, officially declaring Joe Biden the state’s victor with 10,457 more votes than Trump.
Inside the hotel, however, an unofficial legislative hearing called into question the viability of the election results. Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, and legal advisor, Jenna Ellis, hosted the event.
Large screens were set up outside the hotel to broadcast the event to those gathered outside.
The event also gave a platform to speakers Michelle Malkin and Nick Fuentes.
“My parents came here from the Philippines to live in a constitutional republic, not a banana republic,” Malkin shouted to the crowd.
Trump’s legal team has been hard at work challenging the election results while the media continues to call such claims baseless. The president’s supporters have been enthusiastic in following those legal challenges and declaring their belief that the election was stolen from him.
Despite challenges, many politicians and election officials have continued to insist that the election was fair.
Following Arizona’s certification, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs called the state’s election “transparent, accurate, and fair”, and called allegations to the contrary “unfounded.”
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey declared, “We do elections well, here in Arizona. The system is strong.”
Outside the Hyatt hotel, Trump supporters shouted, “We want Trump!”
A man in his twenties looking for some late-night chicken wings became a Philadelphia Wingstop hero on Sunday after he shot and killed a would-be burglar.
The unidentified 27-year-old walked into Wingstop around 10:30 PM on Sunday night talking on his cell phone.
What he stumbled into was a robbery-in-progress.
Minutes before his arrival, a 53-year-old man entered the restaurant, wearing a mask and gloves.
He went behind the counter, pointed a gun at employees, and demanded money from the cash register.
When a new customer entered the store in the middle of the robbery, innocently talking on his cell phone, the armed robber pointed his weapon at him and demanded he hand over the phone.
That’s when the 27-year-old pulled his own gun and fired a single round. The bullet struck the robber in the neck. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The customer-turned-hero remained at the scene and cooperated with authorities in the investigation.
Authorities don’t expect that he will face any charges.
The suspect reportedly had been in trouble with the law prior to this incident.
The customer holds a valid permit to carry a weapon.
“The guy that was robbing the place deserved what he got, in my opinion,” said local resident Marius Maiellano. “Pull a gun on somebody, expect to get shot.”
A newly-married couple from Chicago donated their unspent catering funds to provide 200 families with Thanksgiving meals last week.
Emily Bugg (33) and Billy Lewis (34) met through a dating app in 2017. When COVID-19 shut down their original big wedding plans, they opted for a more intimate City Hall ceremony on October 1st.
But the couple had already paid a $5,000 nonrefundable deposit to their reception caterers, Salvage One.
Instead of letting the money go to waste, or saving it for a future ceremony, the couple asked Salvage One to use those funds toward providing Thanksgiving dinners to clients of Thresholds, a local non-profit where Buggs works as an outreach worker.
Thresholds provides services to those with mental illnesses and substance use disorders. Founded in 1959, they provide healthcare, housing, and hope to a variety of people in all walks of life. “Through care, employment, advocacy, and housing, Thresholds assists and inspires people with mental illnesses to reclaim their lives,” reads their website.
Thresholds holds an annual Thanksgiving dinner for their clients, but this year’s was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Because of the couple’s donation, Threshold was able to deliver 200 boxed Thanksgiving dinners to clients’ homes.
“In the grand scheme of things, canceling a big wedding isn’t the worst thing that could happen,” said Buggs. “We’re happy to be married, and we’re so happy that we could help Thresholds’ clients feel the connection of a Thanksgiving meal as a result of the wedding cancellation.”
“Emily’s donation is an incredible example of the generosity and creativity that the pandemic has inspired in so many,” Thresholds CEO Mark Ishaug told Good Morning America. “I know that Emily’s act of kindness will inspire others to do the same and build love and connection in a difficult time, in any way we can. Thresholds is so grateful for our staff, like Emily, who are so dedicated to their work serving those with mental illness.”
The couple’s generosity won’t end there.
The venue they originally reserved for the big ceremony and reception, Salvage One, has agreed to donate the couple’s deposit toward a future event for the Epilepsy Foundation, another charity that Buggs is connected with.
Last week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called the Supreme Court decision overturning his attendance caps on religious services “irrelevant”.
“It’s irrelevant of any practical impact because of the zone they were talking about is moot,” Cuomo told reporters on Thanksgiving. “It expired last week. It doesn’t have any practical effect.”
Last Wednesday, as families were winding down before the Thanksgiving holiday, the Supreme Court ruled that New York could not cap attendance in houses of worship, a tactic many states are using in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Prior to the ruling, New York was limiting attendance in houses of worship to 10 people in red zones and 25 people in orange zones.
Some Penguin Random House employees cried during an internal meeting on Monday after the announcement that the company would be publishing a book by a controversial public figure.
On Monday, Canadian clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson announced the release of his long-expected book, “Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life.” It comes as a sequel to his popular 2018 book, “12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos”, which sold over 3 million copies and was on the bestseller lists in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
“He is an icon of hate speech and transphobia,” one employee told Vice, “and the fact that he’s an icon of white supremacy, regardless of the content of the book, I’m not proud to work for a company that publishes him.” The employee also identifies as a member of the LGBTQ community.
Peterson, a licensed psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, rose to popularity due to his stand against state-compelled speech in regards to gender pronouns.
He has become a defender of free speech, the ideals of traditional liberalism, and self-responsibility. He is something like a cultural phenomenon as thousands have attended his worldwide lectures on topics spanning psychology, philosophy, politics, literature, and religion.
Penguin Random House Canada said in a statement that they held a forum on Monday to allow employees “to express their views and offer feedback.”
According to reports, several employees cried, while dozens of others sent in anonymous complaints about the publication decision.
One employee said that Peterson had “radicalized their father,” and another claimed that his new book will “negatively affect their non-binary friend.”
“We are open to hearing our employees’ feedback and answering all of their questions,” reads the company’s statement. “We remain committed to publishing a range of voices and viewpoints.”
Jordan Peterson’s daughter, Mikhaila – who hosts a podcast and has gained her own large following – tweeted in response to the story that the crying employees should be fired.
“… staff CRIED and expressed dismay with the decision to publish 'Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life.'”
How to improve business in 2 steps: Step 1: identify crying adults Step 2: fire
“We’re now dealing with bullies who are trying to cancel books (that they haven’t read), by employing methods used by children below the age of 6 (crying),” Mikhaila wrote in a follow-up Tweet. “Those are the people that will eventually be in charge of what’s published and available. It’s terrifying.”
On Friday, Jordan Peterson addressed his followers, asking people to “leave the @PenguinRandomCA employees alone.”
Please, everybody, just leave the @PenguinRandomCA employees alone.
