Gretchen Whitmer Extends Restaurant Lockdown In Michigan Again – ‘Three Week Pause’ Now Upped To Twelve

Posted on January 15, 2021 by LifeZette

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) has extended the restaurant lockdown in Michigan once again amidst the coronavirus pandemic, upping her original “three week pause” to twelve long weeks.

Whitmer Extends Restaurant Lockdown

Whitmer announced on Thursday that she was extending her mandated closure of in-person dining at restaurants and bars until at least February 1.

“The efforts we have made together to protect our families, frontline workers and small business owners are working,” Whitmer said, according to NBC6.

Whitmer first announced this “pause” back in November, and this marks the third time that she has extended it.

“While there has been a slight uptick in our percent positivity rate, our cases per million have plateaued and more hospital beds are becoming available,” she said. “Today, we are confident that MDHHS [Michigan Department of Health and Human Services] can lift some of the protocols that were previously in place.”

“We are reopening cautiously because caution is working to save lives,” added MDHHS Director Robert Gordon told reporters.

“The new order allows group exercise and non-contact sports, always with masks and social distancing, because in the winter it’s not as easy to get out and exercise and physical activity is important for physical and mental health,” he continued. “We are glad that we made it through the holidays without a big increase in numbers, but there are also worrying signs in the new numbers.”

Restaurants Fire Back

The Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association (MRLA), however, has already fired back at Whitmer for extending this lockdown for a third time.

“The governor’s continuation of this pause without a plan — now expanding to 75 days — is without parallel in the nation in terms of its unwillingness or inability to provide leadership to a decimated industry and its workforce,” MRLA President and CEO Justin Winslow said in a statement.

“There are more than 100,000 unemployed hospitality workers and thousands of small operators on the edge of bankruptcy all waiting for hope and direction, and once again it did not come,” he added.

“This is unacceptable and we should all demand more accountability,” Winslow continued. “Michigan stands alone as the only remaining statewide closure of dining rooms without a discernible, data-driven path to reopen and fully reintegrate in the economy.”

Whitmer has become infamous among many for enacting some of the strictest. It remains to be seen whether she will extend her lockdowns for a fourth time next month.

This piece was written by James Samson on January 15, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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Cindy McCain Blasts GOP – Says It Was Once About Inclusion But ‘We Have Lost Our Way’

Posted on January 15, 2021 by LifeZette

Cindy McCain, the widow of the late Republican Senator John McCain, went on her daughter’s talk show “The View” on Thursday morning to blast the GOP, saying that it has “lost its way.”

Cindy McCain Talks Possibly Being Censured By Arizona GOP

“The Arizona GOP is in talks to censure you as well as a former senator Jeff Flake and our wonderful governor Doug Ducey, and I think I’m actually included in the censuring because it said part of the McCain family,” Meghan McCain said to her mother. “I don’t know what’s going on. I’m horrified and disgusted. Why do you think there’s so much anger at our family and Jeff Flake and Doug Ducey?”

“Well, it’s the same thing,” Cindy replied. “It’s about doing what’s right for the country, and certainly, Senator Flake and our Governor Ducey have made some very tough decisions lately and in the past, but it was for the good of our state and for our country.”

“I, you know, I’m in good company,” she added. “Your dad was censured by them. I think I’m going to make t-shirts for everyone, and wear them, you know. You’ll be happy to know, Meghan, they did take the family part out. You’re no longer included.”

Cindy McCain Attacks Republican Party.

Not stopping there, Cindy went on to double down about how much she feels the Republican Party has changed.

“I think what we have seen here is when I began in the Republican Party officially, the Republican Party was the party of inclusion,” she said. “It was the party of generosity. It was the party of country first. We have lost our way.”

“We have lost our way, and it’s time that we get back on track because we have always been the party that cared deeply, that loved what our country did and what it stood for,” Cindy continued. “We have lost our way. I truly hope that as things progress on and we get further away from this mess that occurred, that we can do just that. We can get back on track and remind everyone that we are here for the country and not our party.”

Cindy McCain to @TheView on the possibility of being censured by Arizona GOP: "It's about doing what's right for the country…Sen. Flake and our Gov. Ducey have made some very tough decisions lately and in the past—but it was for the good of our state and for our country." pic.twitter.com/kXUcqWEqUf

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) January 14, 2021

The entire McCain family has long been vehemently anti-Donald Trump. Meghan has spent much of the week since the Capitol riots calling on Republicans to impeach him.

This piece was written by James Samson on January 15, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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Ex-FBI Director James Comey Calls On Biden To ‘Consider’ Pardoning Trump

Posted on January 15, 2021 by LifeZette

Former FBI Director James Comey spoke out this week to surprisingly say that Joe Biden should “consider” pardoning Donald Trump when he takes office next week as Democrats continue their efforts to impeach the current president for a second time.

Comey Says Biden May Want To Pardon Trump

“I obviously think he belongs in jail, but I don’t think pursuing that is in the best interests of the entire nation, so I think the wiser decision would be not to pursue him,” said Comey, who has long been no fan of Trump’s. He added that it is crucial that whatever Biden’s decision on this is, that he explain it to the American people.

“Be transparent about why you’re doing what you’re doing,” he continued.

When Comey was asked if Biden should pardon Trump like “Ford did Nixon,” he said that he did not know, but that Biden “should at least consider it.”

“Now I don’t know whether Donald Trump, he’s not a genius, but he might figure out that [if] he accepts a pardon, that’s an omission of guilt, the United States Supreme Court has said,” he continued, going on to say that he doesn’t even know if Trump would accept the pardon if offered it.

“But as part of healing the country and getting us to a place where we can focus on things that are going to matter over the next four years, I think Joe Biden is going to have to at least think about that,” Comey said.

“Donald Trump belongs in jail.”

Ex-FBI Director @Comey says while he “obviously believes” the president should be in jail, he doesn’t think “pursuing that is in the best interests of the American people”, adding Joe Biden should "consider" pardoning Donald Trump#Newsnight pic.twitter.com/RUghKyq5nW

— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) January 13, 2021

Possibility Of Trump Being Prosecuted

The House voted on Wednesday to impeach Trump for a second time for allegedly inciting the Capitol riots last week. Some have even called for him to be prosecuted for the riots, but legal experts have said that this will be difficult to do.

“Legal experts have said it could be difficult to charge Trump with a crime related to last week’s deadly rioting at the Capitol by his supporters that led to the president’s second impeachment on Wednesday,” The Hill reported. “But the president and his company could face scrutiny for possible financial crimes in the Southern District of New York, they have noted.”

This piece was written by James Samson on January 14, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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Top GOP Senator Says Trump May Be Criminally Prosecuted Over Capitol Riots

Posted on January 14, 2021 by LifeZette

South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds (R) spoke out this week to say that President Donald Trump may be criminally prosecuted for inciting the riots at the U.S. Capitol building last week. However, he stopped short of saying that he would support Trump’s impeachment.

Rounds Discusses Capitol Riots

“In my opinion, what we had was an insurrection,” he told the Forum News Service. “We had violence. We had people killed. We had a mob that ignored direct commands. They attacked law enforcement officers. They damaged federal property. They clearly intended to stop us from performing our duties in the recognition of the electoral vote count.

“If there are (impeachment) proceedings brought against him (Trump),” he continued, “and even if the article of impeachment is not followed through in the Senate, if the article of impeachment to incitement of a riot or incitement of an insurrection are followed through in a criminal proceeding, that by itself would … stop him (Trump) for running for election to a public office again.”

Rounds Accuses Trump Of Lying To His Supporters

Rounds went on to say that many of Trump’s supporters were misled by him when it came to his claims of voter fraud in the election.

“When the story of this last 90 days is told, they will clearly lay out that the president of the United States misled very, very good, honest, patriotic Americans by telling them time and again that the election was stolen,” Rounds said. “I believe that history will hold him accountable.”

After the House voted to impeach Trump for a second time on Wednesday, Rounds added that the timing of impeachment for the purpose of removing Trump from office seems “moot.”

“The timing right now with the removal of office being the primary purpose would seem to me to be moot,” Rounds said, adding that he does not think Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will bring the Senate back into session before Trump leaves office next week. This means that an impeachment trial wouldn’t begin until he is out of the White House.

This piece was written by James Samson on January 14, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

The post Top GOP Senator Says Trump May Be Criminally Prosecuted Over Capitol Riots appeared first on The Political Insider.

CNN’s Don Lemon Shames Trump Voters – Lumps Them All In With Nazis, KKK, Alt-Right

Posted on January 14, 2021 by LifeZette

CNN host Don Lemon shamed all 74 million Americans who voted for Donald Trump in this past election, not only lumping them all in with Capitol rioters, but also with Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan.

Lemon Shames Trump Voters

While sending off his own show to Lemon’s, Chris Cuomo asked for his fellow host’s reaction to, “Now what you hear is, ‘Well, you can’t say that everybody who voted for Trump is like the people who went into the Capitol.'”

“You need to think about the side you’re on,” Lemon responded. “Principled people — conservative or liberal — never on the Klan side. Principled people — conservative or liberal — never on the Nazi side. Principled people who are conservative or liberal never on the side that treats their fellow Americans as less-than.”

“That says that your fellow Americans should not exist,” he added. “That says your fellow Americans should be in a concentration camp or that sides with slavery or sides with any sort of bigotry.”

“Right,” Cuomo said. “And if they say, ‘I don’t agree with those people, I just like Trump’s policies—'”

“Well, then get out of the crowd with them,” Lemon fired back. “Get out of the crowd with them.”

Cuomo And Lemon Double Down

That’s when the two engaged in a deranged role-play, with Cuomo taking on the role of Trump supporter.

“I wasn’t in the crowd; I just voted for Trump,” Cuomo said.

“You’re in the crowd who voted for Trump,” Lemon replied. “If you voted for Trump, you voted for the person who the Klan supported. You voted for the person who Nazis support. You voted for the person who the alt-right supports. That’s the crowd that you are in.”

“You voted for a person who incited a crowd to go into the Capitol and potentially take the lives of lawmakers, took the lives of police officers, took the … innocent lives of the people who were at the Capitol that day,” he continued.

“You voted on that side,” he added.

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro said it best when he branded this entire exchange as “vile.”

He later added, “It’s this deliberate attempt to lump together anyone who voted for Trump and the Capitol rioters that undermines the possibility of unity. It also happens to be false and indecent.”

Vile https://t.co/qF8VVjTX3j

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 14, 2021

This piece was written by James Samson on January 14, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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Joy Behar Claims Trump Voters Who Still Think He Won Don’t Want To Count Black Votes

Posted on January 14, 2021 by LifeZette

On Wednesday’s episode of “The View,” Joy Behar launched yet another attack on the 74 million Americans who voted for Donald Trump, this time claiming that those who still think he won the election are enthralled in a “the white supremacy mentality” that does not want Black votes to count.

Behar Makes This All About Race

“This problem that we’re having in this country seems to be much larger than Jim Jordan or any of these people,” Behar said. “There was a professor, Timothy Snyder, a professor of history from Yale yesterday, and he was talking about how Trump believes he won, and these other people believe he won because they only count white people.”

“They eliminate Black people from the rolls,” she added. “They would like it to have only white people vote forever in this country. Then they can say they won.”

Not stopping there, Behar doubled down and further bought into the liberal narrative of making absolutely everything about race.

“Unfortunately, Black people vote and are here to stay, unfortunately for them,'” she said. “When you say 40% still want him to be president, it’s possible that that is the white supremacy mentality that is pervasive in this country. Until you get rid of that— and it’s all around the world, by the way — it’s not just this country.”

“There’s a feeling of the other is not good enough,” Behar concluded. “We saw this in the Holocaust. The Jews were the other, and the Blacks in this country, according to these people in this country, are the other, and they don’t deserve to vote. That’s why they keep saying they win. Because in their minds, only white people should vote.”

REP. JORDAN REFUSES TO REBUKE BASELESS ELECTION CLAIMS: The co-hosts question how there can be unity if some lawmakers are still holding on to baseless claims about the 2020 election. https://t.co/cVclFZQmjA pic.twitter.com/rwNGx9hqv4

— The View (@TheView) January 13, 2021

Behar Shames Trump Supporters

Behar has spent the past four years relentlessly attacking Trump and his supporters every day on her talk show. Just after the November election, Behar went on the attack against Trump voters, saying that they need to “look in the mirror” and see what they did.

“A lot of people in this country need to have a come-to-Jesus moment and look in the mirror and see what they did,” Behar said. “Again, we don’t call people names but look in the mirror and say, ‘Did I vote because of my pocketbook and did I ignore the fact that children are being separated from their parents?”

Did I vote because I don’t want Black people moving into the suburbs and ignore the fact that Black people are always behind the eight ball in this country and can’t get a leg up because of my vote?’” she added. “People need to look in the mirror.”

This piece was written by James Samson on January 13, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

The post Joy Behar Claims Trump Voters Who Still Think He Won Don’t Want To Count Black Votes appeared first on The Political Insider.

Dem Rep. Swalwell Compares President Trump To Osama bin Laden

Posted on January 14, 2021 by LifeZette

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), who has had his own fair share of problems lately in the wake of the scandal involving him allegedly associating with a suspected Chinese spy, spoke out on Tuesday night to compare President Donald Trump to the late 9/11 terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.

Swalwell Compares Trump To Osama bin Laden

“Well, Osama bin Laden did not enter US soil on September 11, but it was widely acknowledged that he was responsible for inspiring the attack on our country,” Swalwell said on “PBS NewsHour.”

“And the president, with his words — using the word ‘fight,’ with the speakers that he assembled that day, who called for trial by combat and said we have to take names and kick ass — that is hate speech that inspired and radicalized people to storm the Capitol,” he continued.

A visibly surprised host Judy Woodruff asked of Swalwell was really comparing Trump to bin Laden, at which time the Democrat doubled down.

“I’m comparing the words of a [sic] individual who would incite and radicalize somebody, as Osama bin Laden did, to what President Trump did,” Swalwell said. “You don’t actually have to commit the violence yourself, but if you call others to violence, that itself is a crime.”

Rep. Eric Swalwell compares President Trump to Osama bin Laden saying that he "inspired and radicalized people to storm the Capitol" in the same way that bin Laden inspired 9-11 pic.twitter.com/pYr3l4qhMw

— The First (@TheFirstonTV) January 13, 2021

Republicans Demand Swalwell Be Removed From House Intelligence Committee

This comes one month after seventeen Republicans sent a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) demanding that Swalwell be immediately removed from the House Intelligence Committee after his relationship with a suspected Chinese spy was revealed.

“We write to you today out of concern with Congressman Eric Swalwell’s reported, close contacts with a Chinese Communist Party spy recently reported by Axios. Because of Rep. Swalwell’s position on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, his close interactions with Chinese intelligence services, however unintentional they may be, are an unacceptable national security risk,” they said in the letter.

“HPSCI handles some of the most sensitive information our government possesses — information critical to our national defense,” they added. “As such, we urge you to immediately remove Rep. Swalwell from his position on the House Intelligence Committee.”

Not only did Pelosi not remove Swalwell from the intelligence committee, she has also just made him one of her impeachment managers in her effort to remove President Donald Trump from office.

Full Story: Eric Swalwell Named As One Of Pelosi’s Impeachment Managers

This piece was written by James Samson on January 13, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

The post Dem Rep. Swalwell Compares President Trump To Osama bin Laden appeared first on The Political Insider.

Kristi Noem Defiantly Doubles Down On Lockdown Stance – ‘South Dakota Is Open’

Posted on January 13, 2021 by LifeZette

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R) gave an address on Tuesday in which she defiantly doubled down on her state’s relaxed lockdown measures amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

Noem Declares That ‘South Dakota Is Open’

Noem is one of the few governors who has not imposed statewide stay-at-home orders, mask mandates, or business restrictions. In her address, she vowed that South Dakota will remain open as the nation deals with a second wave of COVID-19 cases.

“For those who have spent the last nine months shut down or locked up in other states, South Dakota is open,” Noem said. “We have stayed open the entire time, and that’s how we will operate for as long as I am governor.”

She went on to promote the thriving economy in South Dakota.

“We’re in a much stronger financial position than other states across the country. States that shut down their economies are now looking at tax increases or drastic spending cuts to make ends meet,” she said, later writing on social media that “businesses are flocking to South Dakota”

South Dakota's strong economy:

-New home construction UP 1.6x the national average
-Construction employment UP 10%
-Ongoing revenues UP $95 million dollars, 11% higher than last year
-Corn production UP 35%
-Soybean production UP 58%

And businesses are flocking to South Dakota.

— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) January 12, 2021

“We made different choices than virtually any other state over the past year. … But other states based a lot of their decisions on fear and emotion, and now they’re seeing the results of that,” Noem continued. “In South Dakota, we do not make policy out of fear. We prepare for the worst but always remain optimistic that the best is yet to come.”

Noem Defends Her Lockdown Plan

Last month, Noem defended her relaxed lockdown plans in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, criticizing other states like New York and Illinois for taking their measures way too far and destroying lives in the process.

“Even amid a pandemic, public policy ought to be holistic,” Noem wrote. “Daily needs must still be met. People need to eat and keep a roof over their heads. And they still need purpose. That means policy makers cannot have tunnel vision.”

“They must balance public-health concerns with people’s mental and emotional needs, their economic livelihoods and social connections, and liberty, among many other important factors,” she added.

This piece was written by James Samson on January 13, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

The post Kristi Noem Defiantly Doubles Down On Lockdown Stance – ‘South Dakota Is Open’ appeared first on The Political Insider.

Jim Jordan Calls Out Dems’ ‘Double Standards’ – They ‘Objected To More States In 2017 Than Republicans Did Last Week’

Posted on January 13, 2021 by LifeZette

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) took to the House floor on Wednesday to call out Democrats for their hypocrisy, reminding Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) that he stood as the “first objector” to the election results during the same process in 2017, after Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton.

Jordan Calls Out Democrats

“In his opening remarks, the Democrat chair of the Rules Committee said that Republicans last week voted to overturn the results of an election,” Jordan said of McGovern. “Guess who the first objector was on January 6, 2017? First objector. The Democrat chair of the Rules Committee. And guess which state he objected to? Alabama. The very first state called.”

Jordan went on to point out that Trump actually won the state by a massive margin.

“They can object to Alabama in 2017 but tell us we can’t object to Pennsylvania in 2021,” he continued before highlighting concerns he’s had over the Pennsylvania election process.

“Pennsylvania where the state’s Supreme Court just unilaterally extended the election to Friday?’ Jordan questioned. “Pennsylvania where the Secretary of State unilaterally changed the rules — went around the legislature in an unconstitutional fashion.”

‘Pennsylvania where county clerks in some counties … let people fix their ballots against the law,” he added. “Cure their ballots, their mail-in ballots — [a] direct violation of the law. And they tell us we tried to overturn the election.”

Jordan Doubles Down

Not stopping there, Jordan also reminded his fellow lawmakers that the person managing impeachment for the Democrats, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), also objected to electoral votes in 2017.

“Americans are tired of the double standards. They are so tired of it,” Jordan said. “Democrats objected to more states in 2017 than Republicans did last week, but somehow we’re wrong.”

“Democrats can raise bail for rioters and looters this summer but somehow when Republicans condemn all the violence, the violence this summer, the violence last week, somehow we’re wrong,” he added.

Jordan pointed out how absurd it is that Democrats have spent four years investigating Trump and have already tried to impeach him once, yet they “not look at an election that 80 million Americans — half the electorate, 80 million, Republicans and Democrats — have their doubts about.”

While Jordan admitted that he does not know where all this is going, he urged his colleagues to shoot down the impeachment resolution for the good of the nation.

This piece was written by James Samson on January 13, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

The post Jim Jordan Calls Out Dems’ ‘Double Standards’ – They ‘Objected To More States In 2017 Than Republicans Did Last Week’ appeared first on The Political Insider.

AOC Claims She ‘Thought She Was Going To Die’ During ‘Close Encounter’ In Capitol Riot

Posted on January 13, 2021 by LifeZette

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) took to Instagram on Tuesday to claim that she thought she “was going to die” in the Capitol riots last week after a “close encounter” shook her to her core.

AOC Claims She Was In Danger During Capitol Riot

“I did not know if I was going to make it to the end of that day alive,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a lengthy video posted to Instagram. “Not just in a general sense, but in a very, very specific sense.”

“I can tell you that I had a very close encounter where I thought I was going to die,” she added. “And you have all of those thoughts where, at the end of your life…all of these thoughts come rushing to you. And that’s what happened to a lot of us on Wednesday and I did not think – I did not know if I was going to make it to the end of that day alive.”

Ocasio-Cortez claimed that she could not go into any further detail about this “close encounter” due to security concerns. However, she added that it was not an exaggeration to say that “many, many members of the House were nearly assassinated.”

“We were very lucky that things happened in certain minutes that allowed members to escape the House floor but many of us nearly and narrowly escaped death,” she said.

AOC Discusses The Future

At another point in her video, Ocasio-Cortez answered a question from a follower who asked if there is discussion in Congress on “truth and reconciliation or media literacy initiatives” to help with healing.

“I can say, there is absolutely a commission being discussed but it seems to be more investigatory, in style rather than truth and reconciliation, so I think that’s an interesting concept for us to explore, and I do think that several members of Congress, in some of my discussions, have brought up media literacy because that is a part of what happened here and we’re going to have to figure out how we rein in our media environment so that you can’t just spew disinformation and misinformation,” Ocasio-Cortez. said.

Ocasio-Cortez and her radically liberal “Squad” have been leading the charge when it comes to the Democratic effort to impeach President Donald Trump in the wake of the Capitol riots.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@aoc)

This piece was written by James Samson on January 13, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

The post AOC Claims She ‘Thought She Was Going To Die’ During ‘Close Encounter’ In Capitol Riot appeared first on The Political Insider.