Tag: republicans

Florida GOP Lawmaker Files Bill To Ban Public Marijuana Smoking As Campaign Works To Put Legalization On 2026 Ballot

A pro-legalization Florida lawmaker has filed a bill to amend state law to codify that the public use of marijuana is prohibited.

Rep. Alex Andrade (R)—who has voiced support for removing cannabis from the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and earned an “A” grade from NORML—introduced the public smoking and vaping legislation on Thursday.

Under the proposal, state statute on the use of tobacco in public would be revised to incorporate cannabis, making it unlawful to smoke or vape in any public space.

A public space would be defined as place “to which the public has access, including, but not limited to, streets; sidewalks; highways; public parks; public beaches; and the common areas, both inside and outside, of schools, hospitals, government buildings, apartment buildings, office buildings, lodging establishments, restaurants, transportation facilities, and retail shops.”

The legislation specifies that the prohibition on public smoking “does not apply to the smoking of unfiltered cigars.”

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Nebraska Attorney General Calls Marijuana A ‘Poison’ And Says People Who Buy It From A Tribe Within The State Do So ‘At Their Own Peril’

The attorney general of Nebraska says people who buy marijuana under a Native American tribe’s planned legal market on its reservation within the state do so “at their own peril,” implying enforcement action against citizens for purchasing what he described as a “poison” if they take it beyond the territory’s borders.

During a press conference focused on an unrelated executive order, Gov. Jim Pillen (R) and Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R) were asked about ongoing negotiations with the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska over a tobacco tax compact and the tribe’s move to legalize cannabis within the prohibitionist state.

“I think that my position is crystal clear. I’m totally opposed in recreational marijuana,” the governor said. “If the Omaha tribe progresses to that extent, my view is really simple: There’s not going to be Nebraskans going into the Omaha buying recreational marijuana. We’ll take whatever steps it is to keep our state values and keep that from happening.”

Hilgers, the state attorney general, also spoke about the tribe’s cannabis program alongside the governor, as well as during a separate press briefing on Wednesday.

While compacts between the state and tribal governments can be “good” for both parties, he said what the Omaha tribe has proposed is both a usurpation of tax revenue from tobacco sales and a willful defiance of state laws around marijuana.

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Republicans Are Walking Into A Trap On Section 230 Repeal

Among political conservatives, there is no hotter potato at the moment than the civil liability protections afforded by Section 230 to online operators. Unless Republicans learn to love it again and reject the censorship lawfare complex favored by Democrats, they risk dooming our tech leaders and everyone who uses their products to the sharks circling our legal system.

The twenty-six words tucked into the Communications Decency Act of 1996 shielded publishers from liability so they could host and moderate content and still allow a wide range of speech without fear of lawsuits. Since then, Section 230 has evolved to be one of the most powerful legal shields in the nation against civil litigation in U.S. courts. This gave the early digital economy the guardrails it needed to thrive by incentivizing creatives and disruptors to bring their big ideas to life.

Nothing ices a good idea like the fear of a lawsuit.

Yet, to be a rising star in the Republican Party today conveys some kind of fealty to the idea that Section 230 is antiquated – a relic of the early Internet that has outlasted its usefulness.

Last month, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) called on his colleagues to “fully repeal Section 230” to cut the knees of AI companies and thwart their LLM training models. “Open the courtroom doors. Allow people to sue who have their rights taken from them, including suing companies and actors and individuals who use AI,” said Hawley.

He’s joined in these efforts by fellow Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and Marsha Blackburn, not to mention Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin and Amyâ?¯Klobuchar.

According to the Section 230 Legislation Tracker maintained by Lawfare and the Center on Technology Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill, there have already been 41 separate bills aimed at curbing some aspects of the law by both Democrats and Republicans in the last two sessions.

The principal motivation for Democrats, including former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, has always been to force censorship of social media platforms to stop “disinformation,” a pretext for muting opposing views. The coordination of Democratic officials pressuring platforms to censor, as revealed in the Twitter Files, proves this beyond dispute.

To highlight the irony, we should remember that President Donald Trump is not only the chief executive of the United States, but also the owner of a social media platform that currently enjoys broad Section 230 protections afforded to any online publisher.

A wish to cripple Section 230 means making Truth Social a target as much as YouTube or Instagram. We should harbor no illusions that right-leaning media publications, podcasters, and websites would be the first to be kneecapped in a post-Section 230 world. Can MAGA and the GOP swallow that pill?

In that scenario, it will be the millions of Americans who currently enjoy freedom of speech online that will lose out. It’s the tens of millions of Americans turning to AI tools to become more productive, create value, and build the next great economic engines of our time who will be harmed by dismantling Section 230.

If Republicans want to cement American dominance in technological innovation, they will have to abandon this devil’s dance on gutting Section 230 liability protections. This is a censorship trap laid by Democrats to benefit them once they return to power.

The premise of broad civil liability protection for platforms is a core principle that has and should be applied to producers across America’s innovative stack, whether it’s oil and gas firms fending off dubious climate cases or artificial intelligence firms building the tools that are the key to America’s present economic dominance.

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Sanctuary State Illinois: Illegal Alien Accused of Killing GOP Elected Official and His Wife in Fatal Crash

In the sanctuary state of Illinois, where Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) has attempted to impede federal immigration enforcement, an illegal alien is accused of killing a Republican elected official and his wife in Coles County.

Police say that 34-year-old illegal alien Edwin Pacheco-Meza of Honduras was driving a van on Oct. 24 when he crossed the center lane and struck 71-year-old Michael Clayton and his wife, 66-year-old Gail Clayton — killing them instantly.

Michael Clayton was a Republican elected official who served on the Coles County Board.

“Mike and Gail were a team in every sense. Together, they lived their lives with strong values, unwavering love for family, and a deep dedication to their hometown,” the couple’s obituary reads:

They believed in supporting the Charleston community and keeping their business local whenever possible. Whether it was groceries, gifts, or meals, they always chose local shops and markets, proudly supporting small businesses and encouraging others to do the same. They were familiar faces at the Charleston Farmer’s Market, always taking time to visit with neighbors and friends.
[Emphasis added]

Pacheco-Meza, who crossed the southern border as an unknown got-away, was in his vehicle with 18-year-old illegal alien Juan Morales-Martinez of Guatemala, who crossed the border in December 2023 and was released into the United States interior by the Biden administration.

The illegal aliens were found with an extended magazine, firearm ammunition, drugs, and an open container of alcohol in their vehicle, police say.

Pacheco-Meza was charged with reckless homicide and drunk driving, while Morales-Martinez was charged with drug possession and weapons violations.

After they were arrested, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged detainers against the illegal aliens, seeking custody of them, but the detainers were ignored by the Clark County Jail thanks to Pritzker’s sanctuary state policy.

Still, ICE agents waited for Morales-Martinez to be released from jail and arrested him outside of the jail. Pacheco-Meza remains in Clark County Jail.

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Senate Republicans Reject Bill to Fund SNAP Benefits During Shutdown

Senate Republicans on Tuesday voted down a Democratic bill to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through the government shutdown.

As tens of millions of Americans stare down the prospect of going hungry beginning Nov. 1, Senate Republicans rejected a unanimous consent bid by Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) to keep the program funded.

SNAP allows those with low to no income to buy food and beverages at grocery stores.

While this benefit is mandatory—unlike Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security—it is funded through appropriations.

SNAP benefits were scheduled to be handed out on Nov. 1, but without government funding, that assistance will not be administered.

An earlier, now-deleted Sept. 30 post from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities titled “Lapse of Funding Plan,” said that SNAP benefits would continue flowing during the shutdown. The agency is now contradicting that earlier memo.

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls Out Israel for Slaughtering Dozens of Children in Gaza

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on Wednesday called out Israel for its heavy bombardment in Gaza and the killing of dozens of children in the Strip.

“Israel’s military said Wednesday that the ceasefire was back on in Gaza after it killed 104 people, including 46 children, according to local health officials,” Greene wrote on X. “46 CHILDREN!!! Are these not war crimes?”

Israel’s heavy airstrikes that began on Tuesday pounded targets across Gaza and also killed 20 women, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry said that another 253 people were wounded, including 78 children and 84 women.

In recent months, Greene has been outspoken in her opposition to US military aid to Israel and has introduced bills attempting to strip assistance to Israel from the annual Pentagon spending bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act.

Back in July, Greene became the first Republican in Congress to label Israel’s campaign in Gaza a genocide. “It’s the most truthful and easiest thing to say that Oct 7th in Israel was horrific and all hostages must be returned, but so is the genocide, humanitarian crisis, and starvation happening in Gaza,” she said.

Greene has also clashed with the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC after it attacked her in response to her criticism of Israel. “The truth is AIPAC needs to register as a foreign lobbyist by US law because they are representing the secular government of nuclear armed Israel 100%!!!” Greene wrote on X in August.

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Republican Socialism Goes Nuclear: Trump Bets $80 Billion on Government-Backed Energy

Since President Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office, the federal government has trademarked its own version of Republican socialism by nationalizing steel production and taking equity stakes in chip manufacturers and mining projects. Now, it’s getting involved in the nuclear power sector. 

On Tuesday, Westinghouse Electric Company announced that it had entered “into a strategic partnership” with the federal government, Brookfield Asset Management, and uranium fuel supplier Cameco Corporation to build “at least” $80 billion worth of Westinghouse’s AP1000 nuclear reactors across the country. The agreement was made “in accordance” with Trump’s May executive order, which called for the deployment of 10 new large nuclear reactors in the U.S. by 2030, according to Westinghouse. 

The details of the agreement are still a bit murky, but the federal government will underwrite at least some of these projects, while others might be financed by Japan. On Tuesday, Japan’s trade ministry pledged to invest $550 billion into American projects, in exchange for lower tariff rates from the Trump administration. Included in this package was an “artificial intelligence and a nuclear reactor construction initiative that was expected to be worth up to $100 billion and involve Mitsubishi Heavy [Industries] and Toshiba,” reports The New York Times. 

The deal might also allow the federal government to take an equity stake in America’s largest nuclear power company. Bloomberg‘s Liam Denning writes that as long as the U.S. government follows through on its financial commitment, “it would then get a 20% share in any dividends paid out by Westinghouse above a $17.5 billion threshold.” If these projects are up and running within the next “three years or so” and “Westinghouse is deemed at that point to be worth at least $30 billion, the company may then be required to do an initial public offering with the government getting warrants that may convert into an equity stake,” according to Denning. 

Nuclear power is clean, reliable, and safe, but forcing taxpayers to bet on its future success is risky. After thriving throughout the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, the industry has been plagued by P.R. disasters and project failures that have hampered nuclear power for much of the last 30 years. 

Recent efforts to revive the industry have not done much to build public confidence. A failed nuclear power plant project in South Carolina, which featured two AP1000 reactors, left ratepayers on the hook for millions of dollars, although Brookfield Management is considering reviving the project, according to the Associated Press.

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Letters Confirm Liz Cheney Secretly Worked ‘Hand-In-Hand’ With Jack Smith

Two newly released congressional letters confirm years-long reporting that the anti-Trump Jan. 6 committee had quietly colluded with Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into President Donald Trump. 

The letters, from Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and disgraced former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., reveal the lawmakers’ rush to hand over evidence before Republicans took control of Congress in 2023. 

In those exchanges, they produced at least 16 interviews, deposition transcripts, exhibits, phone numbers and spreadsheets as part of their investigation into the events of Jan. 6, 2021. 

One letter, dated Dec. 5, 2022, shows Thompson and Cheney informing Smith that while the body was concluding its work, they wanted to make the evidence they gathered “available to the Department of Justice.” 

In that letter, the anti-Trump politicians told Smith he would receive “16 transcripts of interviews and depositions taken by” the committee, including “exhibits associated with those transcripts.” They even promised to facilitate “additional evidence as soon as possible.” 

Just four days later, Thompson and Cheney wrote again to Smith, announcing the production of documents obtained from John Eastman and text messages from Mark Meadows, then Trump’s White House chief of staff. 

“Along with the latter, we are producing a staff-created spreadsheet of the Meadows texts that contain additional information from privilege logs that Mr. Meadows provided to the Select Committee,” they added. 

Even after those documents, they vowed to produce more materials to Smith “on a rolling basis.” 

Now, the never-before-seen letters confirm what many suspected: the controversial committee worked “hand-in-hand” with Smith, the House Judiciary Committee said Tuesday. 

Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to target Trump after the 2020 election. Smith later used those materials to indict Trump, first over a document dispute between Trump and the Biden-led National Archives, and later over his objections to the certification of the 2020 election results. 

The origins of that collusion trace back to the Jan. 6 committee itself, which was created in 2022 by then–Speaker Nancy Pelosi and excluded pro-Trump lawmakers. 

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Senator Blackburn backs bill to maintain SNAP benefits amid government shutdown

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn is backing a new bill to keep food assistance flowing during the government shutdown.

The Keep SNAP Funded Act aims to ensure uninterrupted Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, even as government funding stalls.

“Roughly one in 10 Tennesseans receive SNAP benefits for food assistance, and they shouldn’t have to worry about where their next meal will come from…” said Blackburn.

The announcement of the new bill comes after Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Friday that SNAP recipients across the state face a benefit lapse starting Nov. 1.

Sen. Josh Hawley is leading the charge on this legislation, with support from Blackburn and other senators including James Lankford, Susan Collins, Bernie Moreno, Kevin Cramer and Lisa Murkowski.

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Indiana Governor Calls Special Session to Redraw Congressional Maps

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, a Republican, on Oct. 27 called for state lawmakers to return to Indianapolis for a special session to redraw the state’s congressional districts in an escalation of a growing multi-state, mid-cycle redistricting showdown.

President Donald Trump has increased pressure on Republican governors to call special legislative sessions to draw new congressional maps to give the GOP additional House seats in next year’s midterms, a key election in which the incumbent party in the White House historically loses seats in Congress.

The multi-state redistricting battle kicked off with Texas and Missouri, and now California Democrats have responded with a voter proposition to consider their own redistricting plan to blunt the GOP’s impact.

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, signed his state’s congressional redistricting bill into law on Sept. 28. California voters will vote in November on Proposition 50, which would allow the state government to redraw its districts in response to Republican gerrymandering in other states. Former President Barack Obama recently joined California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, in endorsing the ballot measure.

While lawmakers in Indiana had been more hesitant about redrawing their congressional maps and had held off for weeks on engaging in the effort, Braun is now calling for the Indiana General Assembly to convene on Nov. 3.

The plan would likely involve targeting the state’s First Congressional District that spans Gary and nearby cities in Indiana’s northwest corner near Chicago. Rep. Frank Mrvan (D-Ind.) has held the seat for three terms and is running for reelection next year.

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