Day: December 4, 2021

Florida Court Rules Against FDLE in Firearm Case

Casey Owens
Black revolver with ammo

A three-judge panel in the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled against the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Wednesday, in a case regarding an individual who was denied the purchase of a firearm by the Department based off an unapproved background check.

The background check in question was issued through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, which FDLE states denied Leonardo Lynch the purchase of a gun because he had a record of mental incompetency or a court-ordered substance abuse treatment – both of which Lynch denied.

Read More

Commentary: Capitol Surveillance Footage of January 6th Will Tell the Real Story

Florida Capital Star Staff

For months, Merrick Garland’s Department of Justice has tried every trick in the law books to conceal from Americans a massive trove of video evidence that captured all the activity at the Capitol complex on January 6. Federal judges have played along, approving hundreds of protective orders to keep video clips—particularly footage recorded by the Capitol Police’s extensive closed-circuit television system—out of the public eye.

Time, however, is running out for the government.

Read More

Oklahoma Files Lawsuit to Seek Exemption from Vaccine Mandate for National Guard

Florida Capital Star Staff
National Guard on duty securing the Capitol building ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration.

On Thursday, the state of Oklahoma filed a lawsuit to exempt members of the state’s National Guard from the nationwide coronavirus vaccine mandate, The Hill reports.

The suit, filed in federal court by Governor Kevin Stitt (R-Okla.) and Attorney General John O’Connor (R-Okla.), names Joe Biden and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin as defendants. The suit requests that the courts declare the national vaccine mandate for all members of the armed services to be unconstitutional, and thus enjoin the federal government from enforcing it on the Oklahoma National Guard; the suit also seeks to prevent the federal government from imposing its penalty for refusal to comply, which would include withholding federal funds from the state’s National Guard.

“This mandate ensures that many Oklahoma National Guard members will simply quit instead of getting a vaccine,” the suit reads in part, “a situation that will irreparably harm Oklahomans’ safety and security.”

Read More

Biden Admin Rolls Out More COVID Measures, Says Vaccine Requirements for Domestic Flights Not ‘off the Table’

The Center Square

President Joe Biden unveiled a new set of executive actions to address the Omicron variant Thursday, though how serious the threat of the variant will be remains unclear.

Biden gave an address from the White House Thursday where he urged a nationwide effort to up vaccinations and booster shots for Americans. The administration said it will extend the mask requirement for domestic flights to March 18 while increasing restrictions on inbound international travelers, requiring they receive a negative COVID test within 24 hours of departure.

Read More

Former Spokesperson for Democratic D.C. Mayor Says Became Republican Because of Biden Leadership

Florida Capital Star Staff
Fox News interview with Juan Perez

Aformer spokesperson for Washington, D.C., Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser says he switched political parties after President Biden assumed office and that he voted for Glenn Youngkin in the Republican’s recent, successful bid to become Virginia’s next governor.

Victor Jimenez told Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Wednesday night that until recently he was “lead public information officer at [Bowser’s] office for community affairs” and worked prior to that in a similar role for Latino outreach.

“The reason I switched parties is because of everything that’s going on in the country right now,” Jimenez, an Afro-Dominican immigrant, told Carlson. “We see immigration through the roof right now, and that is affecting a lot of Hispanic families in my home state of Virginia. And those are people who are already struggling with making ends meet.”

Read More

November Jobs Report Is One of the Worst Since Biden Took Office

Florida Capital Star Staff

The U.S. economy added 210,000 jobs in November, marking nearly the lowest number of jobs created in a month since President Joe Biden took office in January.

November’s jobs report was well below economists’ estimate of 573,000, according to CNBC. Additionally, unemployment fell to 4.2% from October’s 4.6% figure, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The U.S. economy, still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic but now subject to uncertainty related to the Omicron coronavirus variant, appeared to slow in momentum in November, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Read More

Commentary: Christianity Did Not Cause the Fall of the Roman Empire

Florida Capital Star Staff

In The Devil’s Dictionary, the writer Ambrose Bierce offered this definition of History: “An account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly fools.”

Before you dismiss Bierce’s cynical perspective, remember that historians are mortals. Some are very good at what they do, others are quite bad at it, and most fall somewhere in between. Even the best of them may find their way to the wrong conclusions. They may over-emphasize some factors while under-emphasizing others or allow their personal biases to color what they write.

Read More

Parents of Alleged 15-Year-Old Michigan High School Shooter Charged with Involuntary Manslaughter

Florida Capital Star Staff
Oxford High School

A Michigan prosecutor on Friday filed involuntary manslaughter charges against the parents of 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley who, earlier this week, allegedly killed four students at Oxford High School and injured several more. Prosecutor Karen McDonald says the actions of the parents went “far beyond negligence.”

Both James and Jennifer Crumbley has been charged with four counts each of involuntary manslaughter, which potentially carry sentences of up to 15-years in prison.

“The parents were the only individuals in the position to know the access to the weapons,” said McDonald. The gun Ethan allegedly used had been purchased by his father, James, just four days before the rampage.

Read More

Stunning Waste: Unemployment Fraud During COVID Cost More Than Triple Total Benefits Paid in 2019

Florida Capital Star Staff

Unemployment fraud exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the U.S. Labor Department Inspector General’s semiannual report to Congress.

Approximately $872 billion in federal funding was allocated to unemployment benefits in the last year, and at least 10% was estimated to be paid “improperly, with a significant portion attributable to fraud.”

Read More

‘Woke’ Professor Fired After Mixing up Names of Black Students

Peter D'Abrosca

A professor at Fordham University in the Bronx has been terminated after showing off his “woke” credentials to students in order to excuse himself from mixing up the names of two black students. 

“A former lecturer in the English Department, Christopher Trogan, was terminated by Fordham on Oct. 25 after a series of communications with students that stemmed from an incident where he confused the names of two Black students,” The Fordham Observer, the school’s newspaper, said. 

Read More

Governor DeSantis Proposes $100 Million for Military Budget and the Florida State Guard

Casey Owens
Gov. Ron DeSantis giving a speech

Florida’s military budget could receive more than $100 million in funding as Governor Ron DeSantis announced multiple proposals on Thursday that aim to support Florida’s National Guard, and establish a “civilian volunteer force,” known as the “Florida State Guard.”

According to the Governor’s Office, his proposals would further support the National Guard in giving them extras hands in helping with state-specific emergencies such as natural disasters.

Read More