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Christina Aguayo

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Governor Ron DeSantis out of Florida has asserted that lockdowns do not work. The Governor pointing to statistics in Florida, saying that even though they have the countries most vulnerable population, Florida has the lowest death per capita for Coronavirus.

DeSantis asserts that shutting down schools and businesses only hurt the community and the children saying that he has not mandated masks or lockdowns and his state is thriving because of his decision.

“We have schools open, we have businesses open. They single out the restaurant industry, our restaurants are open they are up and running. People are coming in, and yet no lockdowns no mandates.” DeSantis Said

“Florida despite having the most vulnerable population to Covid in the United States, we are less than the national average in per capita mortality when it comes to Coronavirus. 25 other states almost all lockdown states, have higher per capita mortality than Florida. The lockdowns don’t work. L.A county in the last 6 weeks has higher cases on a daily basis and hospitalizations than the entire state of Florida does and we are 22 million people. So you have one county that has the most draconian restrictions and yet the county does worse than a state that is completely open. I don’t know that the experts will ever admit the lockdowns don’t work, I know the media won’t ever admit it, but the fact is that we are at the point now that you cannot say this is a good policy [lockdowns] unless you toss out all the data. We are open, we are free and we are better off because of it.”

(more…)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=9h1bF4BRLS0

Christina Aguayo

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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A city councilman in Louisiana has been arrested for alleged election fraud, the state attorney general’s office said Wednesday.

Attorney General Jeff Landry said Amite City Councilman Emanuel Zanders was arrested Tuesday on eight counts of election fraud. He was booked into the Tangipahoa Parish Prison and later released on bond, booking records show.

In October the Tangipahoa Parish registrar of voters contacted the Secretary of State’s Office with concerns that voter registration forms had been turned in with fraudulent information. Landry accused Zanders, the city’s former mayor pro tem, of illegally registering voters at addresses in his council district at which they did not live, news outlets reported.

According to Attorney General Jeff Landry, Zanders allegedly told 22 people to use the addresses of vacant lots when they registered, in order to up the number of people voting for him.

Landry said Zanders “purposefully manipulated citizens into illegally changing their voter registrations,”

Zanders won re-election to his council seat 206 to 187 a difference of just 19 votes.  Landry said his office started investigating after they received a tip.

Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin joined Landry at the news conference where he said election fraud would not be tolerated in the state and said he would push for Zanders’ prosecution.

Abigail TaylorPOSTED ON JANUARY 18, 2021

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WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. defense officials say they are worried about an insider attack or other threat from service members involved in securing President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, prompting the FBI to vet all of the 25,000 National Guard troops coming into Washington for the event.

The massive undertaking reflects the extraordinary security concerns that have gripped Washington following the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump rioters. And it underscores fears that some of the very people assigned to protect the city over the next several days could present a threat to the incoming president and other VIPs in attendance.

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told The Associated Press on Sunday that officials are conscious of the potential threat, and he warned commanders to be on the lookout for any problems within their ranks as the inauguration approaches. So far, however, he and other leaders say they have seen no evidence of any threats, and officials said the vetting hadn’t flagged any issues that they were aware of.

”We’re continually going through the process, and taking second, third looks at every one of the individuals assigned to this operation,” McCarthy said in an interview after he and other military leaders went through an exhaustive, three-hour security drill in preparation for Wednesday’s inauguration. He said Guard members are also getting training on how to identify potential insider threats.

About 25,000 members of the National Guard are streaming into Washington from across the country — at least two and a half times the number for previous inaugurals. And while the military routinely reviews service members for extremist connections, the FBI screening is in addition to any previous monitoring.

Multiple officials said the process began as the first Guard troops began deploying to D.C. more than a week ago. And they said it is slated to be complete by Wednesday. Several officials discussed military planning on condition of anonymity.

“The question is, is that all of them? Are there others?” said McCarthy. “We need to be conscious of it and we need to put all of the mechanisms in place to thoroughly vet these men and women who would support any operations like this.”

In a situation like this one, FBI vetting would involve running peoples’ names through databases and watchlists maintained by the bureau to see if anything alarming comes up. That could include involvement in prior investigations or terrorism-related concerns, said David Gomez, a former FBI national security supervisor in Seattle.

Insider threats have been a persistent law enforcement priority in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But in most cases, the threats are from homegrown insurgents radicalized by al-Qaida, the Islamic State group or similar groups. In contrast, the threats against Biden’s inauguration have been fueled by supporters of President Donald Trump, far-right militants, white supremacists and other radical groups. Many believe Trump’s baseless accusations that the election was stolen from him, a claim that has been refuted by many courts, the Justice Department and Republican officials in key battleground states.

The insurrection at the Capitol began after Trump made incendiary remarks at the Jan. 6 rally. According to McCarthy, service members from across the military were at that rally, but it’s not clear how many were there or who may have participated in the breach at the Capitol. So far only a couple of current active-duty or National Guard members have been arrested in connection with the Capitol assault, which left five people dead. The dead included a Capitol Police officer and a woman shot by police as she climbed through a window in a door near the House chamber.

Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, has been meeting with Guard troops as they arrive in D.C. and as they gather downtown. He said he believes there are good processes in place to identify any potential threats.

“If there’s any indication that any of our soldiers or airmen are expressing things that are extremist views, it’s either handed over to law enforcement or dealt with the chain of command immediately,” he said.

The insider threat, however, was just one of the security concerns voiced by officials on Sunday, as dozens of military, National Guard, law enforcement and Washington, D.C., officials and commanders went through a security rehearsal in northern Virginia. As many as three dozen leaders lined tables that ringed a massive color-coded map of D.C. reflected onto the floor. Behind them were dozens more National Guard officers and staff, with their eyes trained on additional maps and charts displayed on the wall.

The Secret Service is in charge of event security, but there is a wide variety of military and law enforcement personnel involved, ranging from the National Guard and the FBI to Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department, U.S. Capitol Police and U.S. Park Police.

Commanders went over every aspect of the city’s complicated security lockdown, with McCarthy and others peppering them with questions about how the troops will respond in any scenario and how well they can communicate with the other enforcement agencies scattered around the city.

Hokanson said he believes his troops have been adequately equipped and prepared, and that they are rehearsing as much as they can to be prepared for any contingency.

The major security concern is an attack by armed groups of individuals, as well as planted explosives and other devices. McCarthy said intelligence reports suggest that groups are organizing armed rallies leading up to Inauguration Day, and possibly after that.

The bulk of the Guard members will be armed. And McCarthy said units are going through repeated drills to practice when and how to use force and how to work quickly with law enforcement partners. Law enforcement officers would make any arrests.

He said Guard units are going through “constant mental repetitions of looking at the map and talking through scenarios with leaders so they understand their task and purpose, they know their routes, they know where they’re friendly, adjacent units are, they have the appropriate frequencies to communicate with their law enforcement partners.”

The key goal, he said, is for America’s transfer of power to happen without incident.

“This is a national priority. We have to be successful as an institution,” said McCarthy. “We want to send the message to everyone in the United States and for the rest of the world that we can do this safely and peacefully.”

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Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.

The Second Amendment Foundation has released a statement claiming that President-Elect Joe Biden is launching an attack on every gun owner in the nation..

In a statement the foundation points to a pledge made by Joe Biden to defeat the NRA saying,  “it’s just cover for a bigger goal.”

“Joe Biden has labored relentlessly for decades to reduce the Second Amendment to rubble,” adding that “he may attack one group by name, but his goal is to crush the rights of every gun owner in our country.”
SAF Founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb said,

“By attacking the second amendment rights of 100 million Americans, Biden is not bringing us together but dividing us further. If people take to the streets in protest, if violence occurs it will be his fault and he should be impeached for violating our constitutional rights and inciting violence. maybe it is time to ban him from Twitter and Facebook!”
Gottlieb added,
“He spent 47 years on Capitol Hill trying to turn the right to keep and bear arms into a regulated privilege. Now that he’s headed to the White House he thinks he will be able to complete his mission. We’re working to swell the ranks of our 2nd Amendment First Responder project to stop him.”

“We didn’t start the fire,” he said “Biden did.” The foundation was reacting to a pledge that President-Elect Joe Biden made on the 10th anniversary of the Tucson shooting, saying “I pledge to continue to work together with congresswoman Giffords, and with survivors, families, and advocates across the country, to defeat the NRA and end the epidemic of gun violence in America.”

Biden’s campaign for the presidency included many pledges about gun control including enacting taxes on rifles and “high capacity” magazines.

He has also advocated for universal background checks, a national buyback or surrender of firearms and removing liability protection for gun manufacturers.