Tag: pennsylvania

The Coup Against Sen. Fetterman Is Officially Underway

Three years ago, the Democratic Party nominated John Fetterman to the Senate, despite his significant health problems. It wasn’t a secret: Fetterman’s brain trauma was on full display during his horrendous debate against Dr. Mehmet Oz, where he stammered, stuttered, and (repeatedly) lost his train of thought.

Fetterman won anyway, beating Oz by nearly 5% points, helping the Democrats flip the only Senate seat of the 2022 midterms, giving the Donkeys control of the Senate for the first time since 2015.

It was an important election — and a Faustian bargain: In order to wrest control of the Senate away from the Republicans, they had to link their future to a brain-damaged man.

Just six weeks after taking office, Fetterman checked himself into the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for clinical depression. He was hospitalized for over a month.

No matter: Even though Fetterman is routinely AWOL (he’s missed more votes than any other senator), when he’s there, he votes the way his party elders demand. 

At least, he used to.

But after breaking with the party on issues such as Israel and (gasp!) voting for a few Trump nominees, the liberal base is in a tizzy. They feel betrayed.

And now they’re planning a coup.

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Education Department Finds University of Pennsylvania Violated Title IX Over Transgender Swimmer

The University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) remains in violation of Title IX regulations lingering from a transgender athlete who won an NCAA women’s swimming title for the school in 2022, and will have 10 days to resolve the issue before the matter is referred to the Department of Justice, federal officials said on April 28.

The announcement was made after the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights sent the notice of noncompliance to UPenn President Larry Jameson.

Jameson was informed that complying with current NCAA regulations and President Donald Trump’s February executive order prohibiting males from competing in women’s sports is not enough to satisfy compliance requirements. As a punitive measure, the federal government is requiring UPenn to relinquish that athlete’s 2022 championship title and issue an apology to the female athletes he defeated.

The Ivy League school is also expected to issue a statement noting that all its athletic programs comply with Title IX.

Title IX is a federal regulation implemented in 1972 that prohibits educational institutions receiving federal funding from engaging in sex discrimination and assures fairness for NCAA women’s sports programs. President Joe Biden, whose administration preceded Trump’s current term, amended it to allow transgender participation in sports, and Trump reversed that under his executive order.

UPenn must also restore to female athletes their rightful records, titles, and honors, “or similar recognition for Division I swimming competitions misappropriated by male athletes competing in female categories.”

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Silent On Tesla Attacks, Shapiro Calls For ‘Moral Clarity’ On Arson At His Mansion

When a man threw two Molotov cocktails into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion April 13, torching several rooms as Gov. Josh Shapiro and family slept upstairs, it set off a nonstop parade of national media appearances where Shapiro admonished the general public about political violence.  

“This type of violence has no place in our society,” Shapiro said in a piece for The New York Times this week. He has repeated that sentiment almost verbatim in interviews and press conferences.  

He called for “this type of violence” to be “universally condemned,” during a sit-down interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos filmed in the charred mansion’s dining room. “I think every single leader has a responsibility to speak and act with moral clarity and condemn this kind of violence,” Shapiro told Stephanopoulos.

But moral clarity gets fuzzy for Shapiro and the left when victims are on the right, or the criminals are loved by the left.

Who on the left has condemned the attacks on Tesla vehicles and dealerships? Not Shapiro, even as protest rhetoric gets more fervent and participation curtails business operations. The left has either participated in such events or cheered it on.  

Where is the condemnation of the February incident at Pennsylvania state Rep. Alec Ryncavage’s office? A man was caught on a surveillance camera throwing two “firebomb-like devices,” at the Republican’s legislative district office. A spokeswoman for Ryncavage’s office confirmed Shapiro never reached out to him over the incident.

Shapiro likes to remind everyone that he condemned violence when President Donald Trump was shot in the head while on the campaign trail in Butler. And he did.

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Pennsylvania Lawmakers Push To Protect Medical Marijuana Patients In Child Custody Cases After Father Loses Rights Over THC Test

Pennsylvania lawmakers are taking action to clarify that a person’s status as a medical marijuana patient cannot be used against them in parental custody rulings in family court.

While state statue clearly stipulates that lawful use of medical cannabis “shall not by itself be considered by a court in a custody proceeding,” a father’s recent experience losing custody rights after testing positive for THC metabolites has exposed an apparent implementation issue.

After David Levi—a registered medical cannabis patient with severe arthritis—sought financial support from his daughter’s mother in family court, his use of marijuana became a determining factor, contrary to what’s prescribed under state law.

“By the time they were done with me, I became a drug user—not a prescribed user—and that’s my tagline” in the eyes of the court, Levi told Marijuana Moment. “And two days before my father died, I got an email, and it was that the judge had ordered to take away all of my rights as a father.”

“I went from 50-50 custody to not being able to drive my daughter, and I’m only allowed to have overnight visits with her every other week,” he said.

Sen. John Kane (D) learned about his constituent’s story and, last week, circulated a cosponsorship memo to build support for forthcoming legislation to both clarify the existing statute and also make it so a person’s medical cannabis patient status cannot be used to determine child custody or to justify a drug test in a custody case.

“To treat his pain without using addictive opioids, my constituent obtained a medical marijuana card and began using this medication to treat his arthritis,” Kane wrote. “Medical marijuana has allowed him to manage his pain, maintain his work, and remain an attentive father to his three-year-old daughter.”

“Despite following the guidelines set forth by Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act, the constituent found himself in a custody battle that has threatened his rights as a father and penalized him based on his status as a medical marijuana patient,” he said, adding that current statute “prohibits the lawful use of medical marijuana as a determinant of child custody.”

“However, in my constituent’s case, his use of medical marijuana was used against him to determine child custody,” the senator said. And to address the issue, he will be filing legislation to “amend Title 23 Section 5328 to prohibit the use of medical marijuana from being used to determine child custody or the sole reason to order a drug test in child custody cases.”

The text of the bill hasn’t been filed yet. But on the House side, a Republican lawmaker has since committed  to work on the issue as well, Levi said.

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Democrats Normalized The Same Political Violence That Torched PA Governor’s Mansion

Political violence flared again in Pennsylvania on Sunday in another troubling example of an apparent nutjob who seemingly imbibed the leftist paradigm that legitimizes the use of force.

Cody Balmer — the Harrisburg man accused of torching the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion while Gov. Josh Shapiro, his family, and some guests slept inside — was charged Sunday with terrorism, attempted homicide, aggravated arson, and other related charges, according to a Pennsylvania State Police criminal complaint.

State police say Balmer was captured on several security cameras, and a woman contacted police and said that “her ex-paramour, Cody Balmer [38] was the individual responsible for setting the fire.” She told police he confessed to her and “wanted her to call police to turn him in.” Soon, he was outside police headquarters where he approached a state trooper and turned himself in, the complaint said.

Balmer told police he put gasoline from his lawnmower into two beer bottles and carried these homemade Molotov cocktails and a sledgehammer from his house, on a nearly four-mile walk through Harrisburg, to the mansion. Security cameras show he scaled the fence, broke a window, threw one bottle into the piano room, then broke another window, went inside, and deployed the second one to burn the dining room.

Balmer told police he knew it was possible Shapiro could be inside the mansion and might get injured, and when asked what he would have done if Shapiro had caught Balmer inside the home, Balmer “advised he would have beaten him with his hammer,” the complaint said. “During the interview, Balmer admitted to harboring hatred towards Governor Shapiro.”

“This type of violence is not OK,” Shapiro said in a press conference on Sunday, and he is right. But this type of violence is celebrated by Democrats and their left-wing media.   

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Media Working Overtime to Distort the Politics of Alleged Arsonist Who Burned Pennsylvania Governor’s Mansion

Cody Balmer, the suspect who allegedly burned the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion, while Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were in it, is now known to be a far left socialist and BLM supporter.

That is not how the media is reporting on him.

A memo must have gone out because at least two liberal media outlets are emphasizing the fact that Balmer was ‘critical of the Democrats.’

What might a person infer from that last part? That he’s a right winger? Is that why they media is doing this? Or are they trying to imply that Democrats are dealing with threats just like Republicans? Either way, it’s completely dishonest.

See this report from ABC News (emphasis is ours):

Arson at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence was ‘domestic terrorism’: Fire chief

Cody Balmer, who is suspected of starting a fire on Sunday at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence, was denied bail at his arraignment on Monday.

Balmer — a mechanic who had previously expressed disdain for Democrats on social media — was arrested in connection with the fire early Sunday, sources familiar with the suspected arsonist told ABC News.

Way down at the bottom of the article is this part:

“The attacker was not a fan of Trump I understand just from what I’ve read and from what I’ve been told,” said Trump, adding that he was not informed of the motive in the incident. “The attacker basically wasn’t a fan of anybody’s. Probably just a whack job. And certainly a thing like that cannot be allowed to happen.”

Sources familiar with Balmer said his public grievances with the Democratic party were primarily related to financial issues.

Absolutely nowhere does the article describe the suspect as left or far left.

Over at CNN, same thing. This guy expressed disdain for Democrats.

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Pennsylvania Judge Convicted of Shooting Sleeping Boyfriend in Head

A Pennsylvania judge was convicted of shooting her sleeping boyfriend in the head.

Sonya McKnight, a magisterial judge in Dauphin County, shot her sleeping boyfriend in the temple last February after the victim, Michael McCoy tried to end their relationship and told her to move out.

McCoy, who miraculously survived but is now blind in one eye, told police he woke up “with massive head pain” and couldn’t see. McKnight tried to convince him that he shot himself.

McKnight was convicted of attempted murder and aggravated assault on Wednesday.

This wasn’t the first time McKnight shot a romantic partner. She reportedly shot her ex-husband in the groin after an argument over furniture. She wasn’t charged for that shooting because she said she was acting in self-defense.

NBC News reported:

A Pennsylvania judge was convicted Wednesday of attempted murder and other counts for shooting her boyfriend in the head as he slept last year, officials said.

A jury convicted Sonya McKnight, a magisterial judge in Dauphin County, on one count each of attempted murder and aggravated assault, the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office said.

“There were two people in that house, and only two people in that house,” District Attorney Sean McCormack told reporters after the verdict. “And one of them, the one who was shot, said he did not shoot himself.”

The shooting happened Feb. 10, 2024, at a home in Harrisburg after the victim, Michael McCoy, tried to end his one-year relationship with McKnight, authorities said in a probable cause statement.

McCoy told detectives that he had been asleep for about an hour or two when he awoke “with massive head pain” and could not see, police have said in an affidavit.

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Another Day, Another Alleged Would-Be Trump Assassin Charged

Less than a week after a horrifying survey found more than half of self-identified leftists believe killing President Donald Trump would be justifiable, a Pennsylvania man has been charged with threatening to murder the president and other U.S. officials. 

Shawn Monper, 32, of Butler — the same Pennsylvania community where Trump came within a fraction of an inch of being assassinated last July — faces federal charges of making threats to assault and murder Trump, DOGE advisor and Tesla founder Elon Musk, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and others, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. 

“I want to applaud the outstanding and courageous investigative work of the FBI and the Butler Township Police Department, who thankfully identified and apprehended this individual before he could carry out his threats against President Trump’s life and the lives of other innocent Americans,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi in a press release. 

Monper, who allegedly took to YouTube as “Mr. Satan,” made a series of threatening statements between Jan. 15 and last weekend, according to the criminal complaint. On Tuesday, the FBI National Threat Operations Section (NTOS) “received an emergency disclosure,” the Justice Department said. A subsequent federal investigation determined “Mr. Satan” was residing at Monper’s residence, according to the DOJ. 

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GOP Pennsylvania Senator Calls For Legalizing Marijuana And Using Tax Revenue To Create State ‘Legacy Fund’ For Long-Term Investments

A Republican Pennsylvania senator is calling for the creation of a state “legacy” fund, using tax revenue from adult-use marijuana sales and gaming to make long-term investments in the Commonwealth’s economy.

In an op-ed published in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Tuesday, Sen. Dan Laughlin (R) said “we must ensure that today’s tax revenue is not just spent in the moment but invested wisely to benefit future generations.” And he’s proposing the “Pennsylvania Legacy Fund” as a means of achieving that.

As the legislature once again debates various cannabis legalization proposals, the senator is making the case that, beyond using any resulting tax revenue to fund day-to-day projects and public services, the state should earmark a portion of those tax dollars for a fund to “provide a sustainable source of prosperity that lasts for generations.”

“Legalization isn’t a matter of if anymore—it’s when,” the senator, who has sponsored bipartisan reform proposals, said. “Ohio took the step in 2023, and every year we wait, we lose tax revenue to neighboring states. A well-regulated cannabis market in Pennsylvania could generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually through sales taxes and licensing fees.”

“These funds could be directed into the Legacy Fund, ensuring that revenue from this emerging industry contributes to long-term investments in education, infrastructure, and other critical needs. Additionally, legalization would create jobs, support local businesses, and reduce the prevalence of the illegal and unregulated market. It is imperative that Pennsylvania takes action now to stay competitive and reap the benefits of this inevitable shift.”

Laughlin said his proposal would work by having cannabis and gaming tax revenue deposited into a “carefully managed investment fund,” which would include a “diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds, and real estate.”

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Pennsylvania Lawmakers File Bill To Help Small Farmers Enter Marijuana Industry If The State Enacts Legalization

Pennsylvania Democratic lawmakers have introduced a bill that would allow farmers and other small agriculture operators to sell marijuana they cultivate to existing growers and and processors if the state moves to legalize adult-use cannabis.

As the legislature once again takes up the issue of marijuana legalization, Rep, Melissa Shusterman (D) and five colleagues filed the legislation on Thursday in a bid to ensure that the industry is inclusive to small farmers, creating a permitting process so they’re able to make inroads with larger operators.

“As more and more states legalize adult-use cannabis, it is only a matter of time before Pennsylvania does the same,” Shusterman said in a cosponsorship memo. “When adult-use cannabis is finally legalized in Pennsylvania, it is my belief that everyone should have accessible and equitable entry into the adult-use cannabis industry, including farmers and small enterprises.”

“Enabling local cultivation would allow Pennsylvania farmers and their communities to benefit from the legalization of adult-use cannabis. Moreover, this legislation would protect participation in the industry by farmers in the Commonwealth,” she said. “The legalization process must ensure PA’s farmers have fair access to this new market so that sales revenue and profits remain in PA.”

Whether the Pennsylvania legislature does legalize marijuana this session remains to be seen, with mixed opinions among Democratic and Republican leadership about the prospects of reform. Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) also included the policy change in his latest budget request.

But if prohibition is ended, the new bill would take a number of steps to provide for equitable access to industry participation.

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