House Republican Introduces Bill to Ban ‘Ballot Harvesting’; Vote-By-Mail Primary Stirs Fraud Concerns, as Unclaimed Ballots Pile Up

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By Breitbart. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL), ranking member of the Committee on House Administration, introduced a bill last week to ban the practice of “ballot harvesting,” which allows anyone to deliver unlimited numbers of mail-in ballots on others’ behalf.

The practice, legalized by Democrats in California in 2016, is banned in most of the rest of the country, except for immediate family members. It is also unknown in the rest of the world, because of its high susceptibility to fraud.

In 2018, California Democrats used “ballot harvesting” as part of a successful effort to flip seven Republican-held seats. Hundreds of thousands of ballots were dropped off by Democratic Party operatives. Republicans have been unable to do the same because Republican voters apparently do not part with their ballots as easily as Democrats. . .

The bill would prevent states that allow ballot harvesting from receiving federal funds through the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). The only people who would be allowed to deliver other people’s ballots would be election officials; U.S. Postal Service employees and officials authorized to deliver the mail; and a “family member, household member, or caregiver of the person to whom the ballot was mailed.” (Read more from “House Republican Introduces Bill to Ban ‘Ballot Harvesting’” HERE)

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Nevada’s Vote-By-Mail Primary Stirs Fraud Concerns, as Unclaimed Ballots Pile Up: ‘Something Stinks Here’

By Fox News. Red flags are being raised about the all-mail voting system being used in Nevada’s most populous county ahead of the state’s June 9 primary election amid reports that thousands of ballots are being sent to inactive voters — fueling concerns about the possibility of voter fraud and ballot harvesting.

Thousands of ballots have been sent out by the Clark County Election Department to inactive voters – those who have not voted in recent elections, a roster that can include people who either have moved or are deceased – and the envelopes are piling up in post office trays, outside apartment complexes and on community bulletin boards in and around Las Vegas.

The excess ballots have drawn complaints from local residents, who worry that anyone could pick up a ballot off the street and cast a fraudulent vote, as well as from Republican Party officials in the state who see a nefarious motive behind the vote-by-mail system being employed by the Democrat-dominated Clark County Commission.

“What’s going to happen with these things, they’re not secured at all and there are thousands of them just sitting here,” Jenny Trobiani, a postal worker in Clark County who told Fox News that she has seen hundreds of ballots being mailed to inactive voters.

“This just seems fraudulent to me, something stinks here,” she added. (Read more from “Nevada’s Vote-By-Mail Primary Stirs Fraud Concerns, as Unclaimed Ballots Pile Up: ‘Something Stinks Here'” HERE)

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Hilarious: Priest Goes Viral for Using Squirt Gun to Bless Churchgoers With Holy Water

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Father Tim Pelc is bringing a water pistol to a coronavirus fight. The Catholic priest from the Detroit area is doing his best to combat COVID-19 by using a squirt gun to bless parishioners and their Easter baskets.

Inside the St. Ambrose Church is the pews, but outside the church, Father Tim Pelc is bringing the *pew pew pews*. The church in Grosse Pointe Park offers a drive-thru service where parishioners can be blessed while still observing proper social distancing guidelines.

The 70-year-old Catholic priest is armed with a water gun filled with holy water. Churchgoers drive up, then stop in front of the church steps, and open their windows. Father Pelc takes aim, and blasts parishioners with holy water. . .

Pelc wears a mask, gloves, and a face shield to protect himself and others. The priest has been doing his unorthodox way of blessing his congregation since around Easter. He has gone viral, and there have been dozens of memes lionizing the now-famous priest. (Read more from “Hilarious: Priest Goes Viral for Using Squirt Gun to Bless Churchgoers With Holy Water” HERE)

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Business Owner Who Defiantly Reopened Says Child Protective Services Questioned Her Family

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An Oregon business owner who reopened in defiance of Democratic Gov. Kate Brown’s lockdown order said Child Protective Services showed up at her house and questioned her children.

Lindsey Graham, owner of the Glamour Salon in Salem, vowed earlier this month to reopen her business despite the possible consequences of violating the stay-at-home order.

“I’m risking going to jail to do it. That’s how important it is to my family,” she said, according to KPTV-TV. “I’m deciding that it’s more important for me to feed my family and pay the bills that are going to keep our home and our family alive than take the risk to remain being shut down for an undisclosed amount of time.” . . .

“If you can possibly believe this, on May 7 Child Protective Services showed up at my home. They questioned my husband and I, they questioned my child without me present, they searched our home,” Graham said, KOIN-TV reported. . .

Graham will face more fines if she continues to operate her business — something she vowed to do. (Read more from “Business Owner Who Defiantly Reopened Says Child Protective Services Questioned Her Family” HERE)

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T Cells Found in COVID-19 Patients ‘Bode Well’ for Long-Term Immunity

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Immune warriors known as T cells help us fight some viruses, but their importance for battling SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has been unclear. Now, two studies reveal infected people harbor T cells that target the virus—and may help them recover. Both studies also found some people never infected with SARS-CoV-2 have these cellular defenses, most likely because they were previously infected with other coronaviruses.

“This is encouraging data,” says virologist Angela Rasmussen of Columbia University. Although the studies don’t clarify whether people who clear a SARS-CoV-2 infection can ward off the virus in the future, both identified strong T cell responses to it, which “bodes well for the development of long-term protective immunity,” Rasmussen says. The findings could also help researchers create better vaccines. . .

All of the patients carried helper T cells that recognized the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which enables the virus to infiltrate our cells. They also harbored helper T cells that react to other SARS-CoV-2 proteins. And the team detected virus-specific killer T cells in 70% of the subjects, they report today in Cell. “The immune system sees this virus and mounts an effective immune response,” Sette says.

The results jibe with those of a study posted as a preprint on medRxiv on 22 April by immunologist Andreas Thiel of the Charité University Hospital in Berlin and colleagues. They identified helper T cells targeting the spike protein in 15 out of 18 patients hospitalized with COVID-19. (Read more from “T Cells Found in COVID-19 Patients ‘Bode Well’ for Long-Term Immunity” HERE)

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The Constitution Requires Judge Sullivan’s Lawless Amicus Order Against Michael Flynn Be Overturned; Flynn Judge Ignores Shocking Record of False Guilty Pleas

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By The Federalist. On May 13, Judge Emmet Sullivan issued a blatantly biased and unconstitutional order in the long-lasting Michael Flynn criminal case. To preserve the rule of law and our constitutional separation of powers, the Department of Justice has no choice now but to seek a writ of mandamus from the D.C. Circuit Court ordering the criminal charge against Flynn dismissed and reassigning the case to another judge. . .

Soon after Judge Sullivan announced he would accept amicus briefs, a group of lawyers operating under the moniker Watergate Prosecutors filed a notice of its intent to file an amicus brief. That a group of left-leaning lawyers intended to relitigate Obamagate via the Flynn case wasn’t surprising. What was surprising—no, unbelievable—is what Judge Sullivan did on Wednesday: He entered an order “appoint[ing] The Honorable John Gleeson (Ret.) as amicus curiae to present arguments in opposition to the government’s Motion to Dismiss.”

This order was jaw-dropping for two reasons. First, the U.S. Constitution makes clear that the judiciary has no business second-guessing prosecutorial decisions. In fact, the very case Judge Sullivan cited for the proposition that he had the inherent authority to appoint an amicus curiae—United States v. Fokker—made clear Sullivan’s order was lawless.

In that case, the government had criminally charged Fokker Services with violations of export control laws. The government and defendant entered a deferred prosecution agreement, under which the government would dismiss the charges in exchange for Fokker Services agreeing to several compliance provisions. But when the parties went before a federal district court judge to formalize the arrangement and a waiver of the Speedy Trial Act, the presiding judge refused to accept the waiver—which in essence doomed the agreement—because he believed the agreement was too lenient on the business owners.

The government filed a “writ of mandamus” with the D.C. Circuit Court. A writ of mandamus is a procedural machination that allows a party to seek to force a lower court to act as required by law. The Fokker court explained that while mandamus is an extraordinary remedy, it is appropriate where the petitioner: (i) has “no other adequate means to attain the relief he desires”; (ii) “show[s] that his right to the writ is ‘clear and indisputable’”; and then “(iii) the court ‘in the exercise of its discretion, must be satisfied that the writ is appropriate under the circumstances.’” (Read more from “The Constitution Requires Judge Sullivan’s Lawless Amicus Order Against Michael Flynn Be Overturned” HERE)

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Flynn Judge Ignores Shocking Record of False Guilty Pleas

By The New York Sun. . .The fact is that it’s by no means rare for persons to plead guilty to crimes they didn’t commit. Some are scared. Others confused. Some lack the intestinal fortitude or financial wherewithal to stand up against the warnings or threats from the prosecutors. What’s so unusual in the Flynn case is that the Democrats and liberals are siding against the poor schlepper caught in the prosecutorial vice. . .

Some 95% of felony convictions in America, the Website notes, are obtained through guilty pleas. Among persons known to be exonerated, it reports, a staggering 18% pleaded guilty to crimes they didn’t commit. It is a humbling statistic for those of us who cover the courts. The filing of a guilty plea by an innocent party occurs at a pace that leaves GuiltyPleaProblem.com saying: “there’s no telling how many are behind bars as a result.”

So where are the liberals now? Where’s the logic of Judge Sullivan getting up on his high horse over the idea that someone in his court might move to withdraw a guilty plea? The idea that General Flynn was uncomfortable with his own plea deal can’t be a surprise to the judge. It was already in the air when the judge erupted at the general at a now-infamous hearing in open court back in December 2018.

That’s the hearing at which the judge declared, “I’m not hiding my disgust, my disdain, for this criminal offense.” With the judge listing the general’s misdeeds, the Washington Post reported at the time, “was not how Flynn’s supporters or Trump thought Tuesday’s sentencing hearing would unfold.” They’d hoped Judge Sullivan would be the one “who would reveal overreach by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and the FBI.” (Read more from “Flynn Judge Ignores Shocking Record of False Guilty Pleas” HERE)

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100,000 Businesses Have Permanently Collapsed Under Pandemic Lockdowns

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More than 100,000 small businesses have permanently shuttered within just two months as pandemic lockdowns devastated the nation’s economy landing 36 million Americans out of work, according to a new survey this week.

A team of researchers at the University of Illinois, Harvard University, Harvard Business School and University of Chicago discovered at least 2 percent of the nation’s small businesses are now gone after conducting a representative survey of more than 5,800 enterprises between May 9-11.

“The broad conclusion of our research is that a lot of small businesses which make up a big share of U.S. employment have daily limited resources and are under a fair amount of financial distress,” said Illinois economist Alexander Bartik who co-authored the study.

Limited cash and limited time for conditions to change, Bartik told The Federalist, could drive up that number significantly in the days to come. The team of economists found that the median small business with expenses exceeding $10,000 a month had only enough resources to stay afloat for two weeks. About 75 percent of those surveyed, said they didn’t have the resources to last more than two months. (Read more from “100,000 Businesses Have Permanently Collapsed Under Pandemic Lockdowns” HERE)

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Burning EU and Other Flags Can Now Bring German Jail Term

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Germany has made public burning of the EU flag or that of another country punishable by up to three years in jail, classing it as a hate crime.

The vote in the Bundestag (parliament) on Thursday makes defiling foreign flags equal to the crime of defiling the German flag. . .

The move followed Social Democrat (SPD) complaints about protesters’ burning of the Israeli flag in Berlin in 2017.

Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht, a member of the centre-left SPD, said “burning flags publicly has nothing to do with peaceful protests”. She said it stoked up “hatred, anger and aggression”, and hurt many people’s feelings. (Read more from “Burning EU and Other Flags Can Now Bring German Jail Term” HERE)

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House Democrats Pass $3 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Package

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By CNBC. House Democrats on Friday passed a $3 trillion coronavirus relief package, unprecedented spending Senate Republicans have pledged to block as the major parties struggle to find a path forward on the pandemic response.

The chamber also approved voting by proxy and remote committee work. The rules changes, major moves for a tradition-bound institution, aim to make it easier for representatives to conduct business from outside of Washington during the crisis.

The House passed the rescue legislation in a close 208-199 vote, as Democrats saw defections from both the left and right flanks of the party. Fourteen Democrats voted against the bill and one Republican supported it. . .

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has made it clear he has no interest in taking up the proposal. On Thursday, he said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “published an 1,800-page seasonal catalog of left-wing oddities and called it a coronavirus relief bill.” The White House threatened to veto the legislation before the House voted.

Pelosi, a California Democrat, has characterized her party’s bill as an opening offer in what she hopes will become negotiations with Republicans on another round of fiscal relief. On Friday, she criticized Republicans who said they want to wait to pass more aid. (Read more from “House Democrats Pass $3 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Package” HERE)

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House Passes $3 Trillion Relief Package, Bill ‘DOA’ in Senate

By ABC News. . .The measure is not expected to be taken up in the Republican-controlled Senate, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaled Thursday that she is open to negotiating.

One Republican — Rep. Peter King of New York — supported the bill because of the relief the measure would provide to state and local governments. . .

“We’re putting our offer on the table, we’re open to negotiation,” Pelosi said Thursday, acknowledging the long odds of the bill becoming law.

In a letter sent to House members Thursday, Pelosi maintained that Republicans had previously supported many priorities that were included in this latest legislation.

“It is important to note that more than 80 percent of the priorities in the Heroes Act have been supported by the Republicans in the four previous COVID-19 acts of Congress. We are proud of how we built on that bipartisanship and look forward to negotiations For The People,” Pelosi wrote. (Read more from “House Passes $3 Trillion Relief Package, Bill ‘DOA’ in Senate” HERE)

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A Biden Pardon of Trump the Latest Liberal Conspiracy Theory

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Activists cheered when Joe Biden committed to not pardoning President Trump. But the concern at the root of the question is not based on substantive evidence any top Democrats think pardoning Trump would be a beneficial move should they win the White House.

In a Thursday MSNBC town hall, a viewer submitted a question for the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee: “Would you be willing to commit to not pulling a President Ford and giving Donald Trump a pardon under the pretext of healing the nation?” he asked, referring to the pardon of President Richard Nixon after he resigned in 1974 amid the Watergate scandal. “In other words, are you willing to commit to the American ideal that no one is above the law?” . . .

“Absolutely, yes. I commit,” Biden said. “It’s hands-off completely. Look, the attorney general of the United States is not the president’s lawyer. It’s the people’s lawyer.” . . .

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff in July 2019 tweeted an exchange with special counsel Robert Mueller that noted the president could technically be legally prosecuted for actions he took after he leaves office that the Department of Justice thinks he could not be constitutionally charged with now.

Though it is not likely, the question about pardoning Trump is a way for Democrats to allow Biden and prominent candidates to hint at the possibility of prosecuting Trump while avoiding having to make a legally and politically messy pledge to prosecute him. (Read more from “A Biden Pardon of Trump the Latest Liberal Conspiracy Theory” HERE)

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Prisoner Released Due to Coronavirus Accused of Murdering 21-Year-Old Woman; A Third of Local County Jail Inmates Released Nationwide to Stem Coronavirus Spread

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By NBC News 9. A parolee accused of murdering a 21-year-old woman in Denver on Saturday was out of prison, according to information shared with 9Wants to Know, due to ongoing efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19 in the state’s prison system.

On Saturday, Denver Police believe Cornelius Haney shot and killed Heather Perry, 21, in an alley between the 1400 block of North Verbena St. and North Valentia St. in east Denver.

The fact that Haney, a felon with an extensive Colorado criminal history dating back to 1998, was out in the first place has a lot to do with the state’s efforts to keep COVID-19 from spreading within the state’s prison system.

Serving the tail end of a seven-year sentence for robbery, Haney left prison April 15th, four months earlier than his mandatory release date. A spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC) told 9Wants to Know on Friday that Haney “was released due to special needs parole criteria” under an Executive Order signed by Governor Jared Polis in March. (Read more from “Prisoner Released Due to Coronavirus Accused of Murdering 21-Year-Old Woman” HERE)

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A Third of Local County Jail Inmates Released Nationwide to Stem Coronavirus Spread

By Washington Examiner. County jails across America have released an average of 32% of their inmates amid the coronavirus pandemic, with some county facilities letting out more than half those in custody, according to a criminal justice think tank tracking releases.

“In the last two months, local governments across the U.S. have drastically reduced their jail populations to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The typical jail has reduced its population by more than 30%,” the Prison Policy Initiative wrote in a new report.

Clackamas County, Oregon, topped the list of largest-known population reductions in large jails. Clackamas released 63% of inmates, followed by 58% in Faulkner County, Arkansas, and 57% in Bergen County, New Jersey. The Public Policy Initiative studied daily population data from 607 jails collected by the New York University Public Safety Lab.

“The strategies jails are using to reduce their populations vary by location, but they add up to big changes,” the think tank report states. “In some counties, police are issuing citations in lieu of arrests, prosecutors are declining to charge people for ‘low-level offenses,’ courts are reducing the amounts of cash bail, and jail administrators are releasing people detained pretrial or those serving short sentences for ‘nonviolent offenses.'” (Read more from “A Third of Local County Jail Inmates Released Nationwide to Stem Coronavirus Spread” HERE)

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