Tag: republicans

Kentucky Republican Pushes Bill to Make Sex With First Cousin Not Incest

A Kentucky Republican introduced legislation that would amend the state’s law so a person who had sex with their first cousin would no longer be criminally liable for incest, before withdrawing it and claiming an error was made during the drafting process.

House Bill 269, which state Representative Nick Wilson sponsored, was introduced on January 16 to the House Committee on Committees. According to the Kentucky General Assembly website, it would have struck “first cousin from the list of familial relationships” defined as unlawful incest in the state. In a statement sent to Newsweek, Wilson described this as a “mistake” in a wider bill intended to extend legal protection against incest, which he’d withdrawn and refiled leaving the “first cousin” reference in place.

Wilson, then a 27-year-old public defender, first shot to prominence when he won the 37th season of the CBS reality TV show Survivor in 2018, called Survivor: David vs. Goliath, before returning for the 40th season, featuring the winners from previous shows in 2020. In November 2022, Wilson ran unopposed for the 82nd District of the Kentucky House after Republican incumbent Regina Huff retired.

Kentucky law states that a person is guilty of incest if they engage in sexual relations with a person they know to be “his or her parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, great-grandparent, great-grandchild, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, brother, sister, first cousin, ancestor, or descendent.” The initial amendment introduced by Wilson, if passed, would have removed first cousin from this list.

Both the initial and updated version of Wilson’s bill would also amend Kentucky law on parole for violent offenders to include a person “who has been convicted of incest by sexual contact” within the definition.

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GOP Virginia Governor Doesn’t Have ‘Any Interest’ In Legalizing Marijuana Sales Under New Democrat-Led Bills

As Virginia Democrstic lawmakers renew their push to legalize marijuana sales, the Republican governor says the issue isn’t something he’s personally interested in advancing this year.

While advocates are hopeful that commercial legalization could move through both chambers of the legislature, which are now controlled by Democrats, the remarks from Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) indicate that the plan might not be enacted into law even if it is approved by the House of Delegates and Senate.

Following his State of the Commonwealth address on Wednesday, Youngkin was asked about the prospects of further cannabis reform.

“I just don’t have a lot of interest in pressing forward with marijuana legislation,” he told reporters.

Cannabis is “an area that I really don’t have any interest in,” the governor said.

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Wisconsin Republicans Unveil Plan To Legalize Non-Smokable Medical Marijuana With State-Run Dispensaries

Wisconsin Republicans have unveiled a plan to legalize non-smokable medical marijuana through state-run dispensaries staffed by government-employed pharmacists, with a limited set of conditions that could qualify patients for the program.

At a series of press conferences across the state on Monday, GOP state lawmakers detailed the much-anticipated legislation, which would make Wisconsin the “first state to have state-run dispensaries,” operated by the Department of Health Services (DHS).

As expected, the proposal would create a restrictive system that limits patients to smokeless cannabis options such as oils and gummies. People with qualifying conditions would be eligible to receive a doctor’s recommendation and access the products, which would be sold at five dispensaries across the state.

“We’ve come up with a program I think is going to be very beneficial to a lot of Wisconsinites,” Rep. Jon Plumer (R) said, while acknowledging that the state-controlled dispensaries component is a key area “where our program is different” than other medical marijuana states.

The qualifying conditions include cancer, epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), glaucoma, severe chronic pain, muscle spasms, chronic nausea, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, Alzheimer’s disease and terminal illness with less than one year life expectancy.

While the dispensaries would be state-run, growers and processors would be independently operated if they obtain a permit from the state. The pharmacists who dispense the cannabis to patients would be “state employees,” Plumer said.

“We think we have a good program put together. It’s going to be probably modified over the years as we learn about it—as we realize we have changes we should probably make,” he said. “But I think we’re at a really strong starting point here.”

Rep. Tony Kurtz (R) said the proposal underscores how Republicans are “leading to have a great opportunity to introduce a much-needed program with medical cannabis with controls.”

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Democrats Want Over 130 Republicans Banned From Holding Office

More than 130 Republicans have faced challenges to their eligibility to serve in office based on their alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in recent years.

Donald Trump has said the 2020 election was stolen from him because of widespread voter fraud, despite a lack of evidence. Critics say these allegations culminated in a number of failed attempts to block Joe Biden‘s victory—including the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, when Trump supporters violently stormed the building to try to block Congress from certifying Biden’s Electoral College win.

Critics also say those involved in the riot should be barred from holding office, citing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. It states that those who took an oath to defend the Constitution and went on to engage in “insurrection or rebellion” should not be permitted to hold “any office, civil or military, under the United States.”

Since the 2020 election, at least 134 Republicans, including Trump, have faced legal challenges questioning whether they are qualified to hold office. None of these challenges have been successful.

Newsweek reached out to the Republican National Committee for comment via email.

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Ohio GOP Governor Pushes Lawmakers To Allow Marijuana Sales ‘Very Quickly’ And Ban Intoxicating Hemp Products

Ohio’s Republican governor is adamant that lawmakers must pass legislation as soon as possible to expedite regulated recreational marijuana sales and also ban purchases of intoxicating hemp products.

With the legislature coming back into session for the new year, Gov. Mike DeWine (R) said “we just need to get something done” to address the adult-use sales rollout timeline under a voter-approved legalization law that took effect last month.

It’s a “strange situation” the state has found itself in, he said, with sales currently set to open up in late summer or early fall. DeWine said he supports a bill the Senate passed last month, which would provide for sales through existing medical cannabis dispensaries within 90 days of enactment. However, he acknowledged the House has a differing version and pushed for lawmakers to “work together and make sure that we can deal with with this problem.”

“Our bill that we would prefer would allow us to start selling this marijuana in a controlled basis. The people who said they were for this said, ‘Let’s do it the same way we do with liquor—control how it’s done,’” he said. “Under our bill, we would be able to sell that very quickly now, early in this year, through the facilities that now do the medical marijuana.”

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Just 3.4 Percent Of American Journalists Identify As Republican

The percentage of full-time U.S. journalists who identify as Republicans has dropped significantly over the last decade, while journalists who said they are Democrats and Independents have increased, a study finds.

According to a survey by Syracuse University titled “The American Journalist Under Attack,” only 3.4 percent of journalists in 2022 identified as Republicans, compared with 36.4 percent of Democrats and 51.7 percent of Independents in the profession.

At the time the survey was concluded in April last year, 28 percent of Americans considered themselves Republicans, 28 percent identified themselves as Democrats, and 42 percent viewed themselves as Independents, according to a Gallup poll.

The survey found that the percentage of Republicans in the journalism industry has declined substantially over the decades.

In its first survey in 1971, 25.7 percent of journalists said they were Republicans. In 1982, the number dropped to 18.8 percent and further declined to 16.4 percent in 1992. It showed a slight increase in 2002 with 18 percent but plummeted to 7.1 percent in 2013 and to 3.4 percent last year.

The trend for journalists identifying as Democrats has remained relatively steady at around 35 percent over the decades. Last year’s figure of 36.4 percent marked the third-highest percentage of journalists identifying as Democrat since 1971, the survey noted.

Notably, the survey showed that 60.1 percent of journalists said journalism in the United States was headed in the wrong direction. In comparison, only 22 percent said it was going in the right direction.

“When asked about the ’most important problem facing journalism today,’ the journalists mentioned these issues most often: Declining public trust in the news media (20.8 percent); shrinking local and community news coverage (12.8 percent); perceived bias and opinion journalism (12.7 percent); fake news (9.9 percent); disrupted business model (9.3 percent).”

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House Republican: Jeffrey Epstein flight logs not released because colleagues would be ‘compromised’

A House Republican contended that the flight logs from accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet haven’t been made public because too many lawmakers could be “compromised.”

Rep. Tim Burchett, Tennessee Republican, touched on Congress’ hesitance to release the flight records of Epstein’s Lolita Express, allegedly used to shuttle young women to the financier’s private island and homes throughout the country and world.  

“Too many of my colleagues I’m afraid are compromised in this area for whatever reason,” Mr. Burchett told Newsmax this week. “Somebody whispered in their ear saying, ‘Hey, you don’t want something to come out on something else, you better keep your mouth shut on this.’ That’s exactly what they’ve done.”

Numerous politicians, actors and public figures were reportedly on Epstein’s plane, including former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Prince Andrew, billionaire Bill Gates and actor Kevin Spacey.

Mr. Burchett’s jab at the lack of transparency on the Lolita Express’ flight records follows the announcement that a New York court intends to release the names of 177 of  Epstein’s associates early next year.

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Missouri Bills Would Regulate Hemp-Derived Delta-8 THC Like Marijuana

A Republican state senator has filed legislation to renew last spring’s failed effort to regulate intoxicating hemp products in Missouri, such as Delta-8 drinks and edibles.

Delta-8 THC products can be sold in stores in Missouri because the intoxicating ingredient, THC, is derived from hemp, not marijuana which is a controlled substance. And hemp is federally legal.

There’s no state or federal law saying teenagers or children can’t buy them or stores can’t sell them to minors—though some stores and vendors have taken it upon themselves to impose age restrictions of 21 and up.

And there’s no requirement to list potential effects on the label or test how much THC is actually in them.

State Sen. Nick Schroer, a Republican from O’Fallon who chairs the legislative committee that oversees Missouri’s marijuana rules, said the products are too easily accessible to children, particularly teenagers.

“I’ve had constituents reaching out to me saying that their kids had been hospitalized,” Schroer said.

Schroer’s bill would task the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) with regulating these products, as the agency currently does for the state’s marijuana program. And products would have to be sold at DHSS-licensed dispensaries. State Rep. Chad Perkins, a Bowling Green Republican, has filed a companion bill in the House.

DHSS spokeswoman Lisa Cox said the department does not take positions on proposed bills.

“However,” she said, “we do acknowledge the potential and ongoing public health impact of unregulated THC products.”

Over the past few years, Cox said there’s has been an increase in children going to the hospital for cannabis exposure.

“The department has increased its emphasis on regulatory mechanisms that protect health and children in order to minimize any contribution of the regulated cannabis market to such incidents,” she said. “As of right now, there is no such protective framework for unregulated THC products.”

Sean Hackman, president of the Missouri Hemp Trade Association, said his organization advocates for measures such as prohibiting sales to minors and mandating clear user instructions and rigorous product testing.

“While any overdose report, especially those involving minors, is deeply concerning, this does not constitute a public health emergency but rather an opportunity for improved regulation,” Hackman said in an email to The Independent in response to the legislation.

The association opposes tasking the department with regulating the products and requiring them to be sold in dispensaries.

A similar bill filed by Republican state Rep. Kurtis Gregory of Marshall got stuck in committee during the last legislative session.

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Ohio GOP Governor Pushes Lawmakers To Fix ‘Ridiculous’ Marijuana Sales Delay And Send Tax Revenue To Police

The governor of Ohio is pushing lawmakers to take action as soon as possible to address the “ridiculous situation” the state has found itself in, where marijuana is now legal to possess and use but without any place for consumers to purchase regulated products from.

Gov. Mike DeWine (R) said that the Senate passed a “good bill” to make various changes to the legalization law that voters approved at the ballot last month, but the House didn’t act before lawmakers adjourned for the year. He said he’s spoken with House Speaker Jason Stephens (R), who assured him that the chamber would work to “fix these problems” when they return.

While DeWine opposed the legalization initiative that voters overwhelmingly approved, he said “what’s important is we go forward,” starting with enacting reforms to provide legal access to cannabis sooner than later. The Senate bill, for example, would allow existing medical marijuana dispensaries to begin sales to adult consumers within 90 days of enactment, rather than licensing retailers in nine months under the current timeline.

“I don’t think anybody who voted for [legalization] thought that we would have a situation like we do today,” the governor said, adding that he doesn’t want Ohio to experience the same issues that New York has faced throughout its protracted legalization rollout, with illicit retailers proliferating.

“The legislature needs to take action now so that we could actually start selling it in Ohio legally and control how it is being sold—and so that the person who’s buying it knows exactly what in fact they’re they’re getting,” DeWine told WSYX in an end-of-year interview that aired on Thursday.

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Republican Majority Rewarded FBI-DOJ for Breaking the Law – Approved FISA Process Through Next Election Cycle

Former Defense Department Chief of Staff Kash Patel joined Maria Bartiromo this morning along with Attorney Alan Dershowitz to discuss political hitman Jack Smith and his political maneuvers to take down Donald Trump.

During their conversation Kash Patel reminded the FOX News audience that Republicans just voted to reauthorize the FISA Program through the 2024 election that was used to spy on President Trump by the FBI in 2016 and beyond.

It is well known today that the FBI knowingly and willfully lied to the FISA Court to spy on the Trump Campaign in 2016 and later on his administration and even family members.

Kash Patel: Yeah, it’s great to be with you, Maria. Look, the biggest concern I have going forward is the politicization and weaponization and creation of a two tier system of justice as a result. Back when Devin Nunes and I ran the Russia gate investigation and exposed the FISA corruption, we recommended a slew of fixes. So it never happened again. Unfortunately, Congress chose to allow 702 FISA to basically be reauthorized.

What does that mean? What is 702? It’s fancy for foreign intelligence surveillance. It means me, as a former national security prosecutor and intelligence operative, would go overseas and manhunt terrorists. That’s what it’s for. But the FISA court, in April of 2022, publicized an opinion that said the FBI used it illegally 275,000 times domestically against Americans, 16 different occasions against those affiliated with, January 6, 19,000 times domestically against donors to a congressional campaign, and, wait for it, 24,000 separate times against Americans and groups in and around January 6.

That FISA process has been turned on its head, redirected inwards. And anyone who says, oh, that’s just a Republican conspiracy speak, that’s the FISA court that rescinded Rod Rosenstein’s illegal surveillance of Donald Trump twice based on our investigation. And now they do it again, and they prove the FBI and DOJ have weaponized justice. And the Republican leadership in Congress allowed it to be reauthorized, essentially through the next election cycle…

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