Month: May 2020

A court has spoken, WI Supreme Court comes out against the lockdown.

From CNN:

Wisconsin Supreme Court strikes down state’s stay-at-home order

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has overturned the state’s stay-at-home order, ruling it “unlawful” and “unenforceable” in a high-profile win for the state’s Republican-led Legislature.

In a 4-3 decision Wednesday, the court ruled that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ administration overstepped its authority when the state Department of Health Services extended the order to May 26.

That’s right CNN, it’s a win for Republicans, not for the good people of Wisconsin who want to work.

The suit was filed specifically against state Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm and other health officials, who made the decision in mid-April to extend the state’s “Safer at Home” emergency order.

But the justices wrote in their decision Wednesday that “an agency cannot confer on itself the power to dictate the lives of law-abiding individuals as comprehensively as the order does without reaching beyond the executive branch’s authority.”

Evers, who had ordered Palm to issue the stay-at-home order in late March, told CNN’s Don Lemon later Wednesday that the court’s ruling “puts our state into chaos.”

The state is already in chaos.

The court’s decision is worth a read.  However, this part is perhaps the most important.

We do not conclude that Palm was without any power to
act in the face of this pandemic. However, Palm must follow the
law that is applicable to state-wide emergencies. We further
conclude that Palm’s order confining all people to their homes,
forbidding travel and closing businesses exceeded the statutory
authority of Wis. Stat. § 252.02 upon which Palm claims to rely.

Essentially the court decided that this isn’t Nam, there are rules.

The governor can’t use the emergency rules just give himself the ability to order a lockdown and then enforce criminal penalties.  That has to come from the legislature.

One Wisconsin justice set the stage for the Left to ignore this in her dissent:

The majority reaches its conclusion by torturing the plain language of Wis. Stat. § 252.02 (2017-18)1 and completely disregarding the longstanding, broad statutory powers the Legislature itself granted to
the Department of Health Services (DHS) to control COVID-19, a
novel contagion.2 This decision will undoubtedly go down as one
of the most blatant examples of judicial activism in this court’s
history. And it will be Wisconsinites who pay the price.
A majority of this court falls hook, line, and sinker
for the Legislature’s tactic to rewrite a duly enacted statute
through litigation rather than legislation. But legislating a new
policy from the bench exceeds the constitutional role of this
court.

The Left is going to nullify this decision and the precedent it sets by saying it’s partisan judicial activism.

Mark my words, if this decision is repeated in other courts, other governors will ignore it with “the Republicans have hijacked the courts so we won’t comply with them.”

 

Miramar, Florida has to furlough First Responders.

MIRAMAR, Fla. – The impact of the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic is now reaching local governments here in South Florida.

The City of Miramar has become the first to announce furloughs to manage the financial fallout of COVID-19.

Included in those cuts are police and fire, which could impact public safety.

More than 1,200 people are employed by the City of Miramar, from clerks to custodial staff at City Hall, to roughly 150 firefighters and another 200-plus police officers.

“…each employee will be furloughed for 8 hours each week from June 11th to December 9th!”

The city cites a projected loss of about $23 million in the fiscal year’s budget because of a hit in general taxes and other intergovernmental revenues,

Coronavirus in Florida: City of Miramar to furlough employees, including first responders

Miramar is in Broward county, right next the county like with Dade. I am amazed that cities in Miami Dade survived the shave, my guess is the lack of school. The counties simply cannot afford the lack of income for the Pandemic paranoia anymore or risk have a total collapse of order.

The last thought that came to me was that if Scott Israel was still the Sheriff of Broward, he would be at the Miramar Government building first thing in the morning offering the “much cheaper services” of his agency and telling the Mayor to disband his force and his fire department .

 

A little piece of shooting history. Second Chance Combat Shoot 1986.

I have read about this first in John Ross’ Unintended Consequences and then heard from “old shooters” about it.

It was a less Politically Correct age and certainly they still managed to shot safe…and just about anything they could lay their hands on back then. It is a long video so it is worth watching it with the beverage of your choice and do watch it till the end so you can freak out at the prize tables (Yes, plural) with $100,000 worth of guns back then.

 

It’s looking more like a vendetta than virus protection in Colorado

This is installment number three of the case of C&C Coffee and Kitchen in Castle Rock, Colorado.

Last we heard, the governor pulled their business license for at least 30 days and potentially indefinitely because they opened up and we full on mother’s day.

Now this news:

Shutdown Castle Rock restaurant can’t open Colorado Springs location

The owners tell us they believe they’re being unfairly targeted because of the media attention that C&C received. Another restaurant, Karen’s Kafe in Calhan, has been open despite a cease-and-desist order, but their license hasn’t been suspended.

There is nothing like good ‘ol selective enforcement of the law to demonstrate that you are living under capricious tyranny.

C&C Coffee and Kitchen said it’s considering filing a lawsuit against Gov. Jared Polis.

They should, and they should win.  It is absolutely unacceptable for a governor to make an example out of a business for wanting to make an honest buck when there have been so few cases of Coronavirus in the county.

This action is not unique to Colorado.  In Maine, the governor pulled the licence of a restaurant that opened up in Bethel.

Maine restaurant owner defies state stay-at-home order, loses health license

A Maine restaurant owner who defied the state’s stay-at-home order and opened to dine-in customers, has lost his health license and has been summoned by the state.

The Maine Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages found Rick Savage was not compliant with Gov. Mills’ executive order when he reopened the Sunday River Brewing Company Friday afternoon.

The bureau confirmed to WMTW News 8 that the Department of Health and Human Services suspended the restaurant’s health license and could take further action if Savage reopens on Saturday without a health license.

The suspension automatically suspends that restaurant’s liquor license.

The restaurant had reduced capacity and spaced tables more than six feet apart.

We have two reports of governors specifically targeting restaurants that reopened by yanking their business licenses.

I suspect to see many more of these cases as states drag their feet on reopening.

It is crystal clear that this isn’t about stopping the spread of a virus.  This is about government officials using an emergency to gain muscle and then flexing it.

 

Broward County reinstates one of the fired Parkland Deputies…with full back pay

The Broward Sheriff’s Office sergeant who was the first supervisor to respond to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and lost his job after it was found he hid behind his car as the first shots rang out, will be reinstated, awarded full back pay and get back his seniority, the BSO Deputies Association said Wednesday.

Sgt. Brian Miller was one of the four deputies who were terminated because of a “neglect of duty” in the Feb. 14, 2018, Parkland shooting, which killed 17 students and faculty members and injured another 17.

Miller, 57, was paid $138,410.25 in 2017, according to the Sun-Sentinel. The BSO veteran had challenged the decision with union backing. An arbitration ruling found “BSO violated Sgt. Brian Miller’s constitutional due process rights and improperly terminated him,” the union said.

Fired Parkland BSO deputy given job back with full back pay, union says

Ahh! dear Broward County: you never fail to crap the bed.  I would not be surprised if the other three also get reinstated and Scott Israel re-elected as Sheriff.

 

CNN is a totally serious news agency you guys

CNN is hosting a town hall about Coronavirus and one of their experts is Greta Thunberg.

What she has to say about Coronavirus is beyond me, but clearly she wasn’t picked for her credentials.

It’s her ability to scowl and score points with the Left is all that matters.

So when CNN is trying to scare the shit out of you about COVID, remember who they got to try and do that.

 

Miami Dade County to Re-Open next Monday. (More or less)

MIAMI (WSVN) – Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez has released a draft of the guidelines for a potential reopening for Miami-Dade County.

Gimenez said the county is looking to reopen this coming Monday, with approval from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Should the plan be approved, certain non-essential businesses would be allowed to reopen at limited capacity with safety rules.

The draft details specific protocols for retail, small businesses, personal grooming businesses, restaurants, shopping centers and more.

However, places that will not be reopening now include bars, pubs, nightclubs, movie theaters, pools, gyms and more.

Among the changes businesses would have to make include the requirement of face masks, customers will have to social distance and stores will have to frequently sanitize common areas.

Miami-Dade mayor releases draft of guidelines for potential May 18 reopening

I went through the guidelines and truthfully I doubt that the mom and pop bodega and cafeteria is going to follow everything to the last comma, but people are just plain sick of waiting and not working.

Customers will have to wear masks <sigh> but not gloves <yeah!>

I would recommend for you to read the guidelines. If nothing else, you can get some useful info that may be applicable in your everyday life.