The following article contains commentary that is the opinion of the author.
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If we have learned nothing else during the past 19 months of Covidpalooza, it is that there is a segment of the population that is completely unhinged. Such is the case of Steve Cox.
The government in the face of St. Anthony of Fauci and the equally loony Dr. Francis Collins of the National Institutes of Health, has managed to scare people into a state of paranoia unparalleled in American history. In fact, its’ gotten so bad that one 2022 congressional candidate has suggested shooting anyone who “doesn’t take COVID seriously enough.”
Western Journal reports that Steve Cox, an unhinged lunatic who is running as an independent in California’s 39th Congressional District, made the suggestion on Twitter. Once again, that leads to the question of, “We thought threatening people on Twitter was against their terms of service?”
On Monday Cox, clearly in need of some type of medication or therapy got into a Twitter dispute with conservative commentator Matt Walsh of the Daily Wire, writing:
Whenever anyone says “we all die from something” (or a variation thereof) to justify not taking precautions to help protect others in this pandemic, we should be allowed to shoot them.
“Why are you crying? We all die from something. For you, it’s that bullet in your gut.” https://t.co/XD02HvYlHk
— Steve Cox (@RealSteveCox) August 9, 2021
“Whenever anyone says, ‘we all die from something’ (or a variation thereof) to justify not taking precautions to help protect others in this pandemic, we should be allowed to shoot them.
“Why are you crying? We all die from something. For you, it’s that bullet in your gut.”
This was in response to a tweet from Walsh in which he wrote:
“COVID is here to stay. You’re going to get it. It almost certainly won’t kill you, but it could. You’ll probably get cancer eventually too unless you die first. Lots of scary things out there. Death is certain. Suffering is unavoidable. Stop cowering. Live your live while you can.”
Amen, Matt Walsh. And nothing he said is not true. And as Western Journal noted, Walsh’s tweet was reasonable, simply pointing out the fact that strict COVID lockdowns in the midst of the COVID death rate plummeting is absurd, which it is.
COVID is obviously a serious virus, and it has taken a toll on not only our country, but other countries throughout the world. But so has cancer…do have car accidents…while it remains a threat, statistics show it is nowhere near the “existential threat” it is made out to be, especially now when a vaccine is readily available for those who want it.
Statistics from the Peterson Center on Healthcare showed that in June, COVID-19 was the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S, falling behind heart disease, cancer, accidents, stroke, chronic lower respiratory disease, and Alzheimer’s which all cost more lives in June. That doesn’t matter to the psychotic COVID mafia. Like Cox, who chooses to believe the hype instead of the facts.
Walsh not surprisingly went back at Cox, calling into question his morality in his clearly unhinged tweet:
“Yes, let’s shoot people who make basic observations about human mortality. This is not a psychotic response at all, Steve. Well done.”
Yes, let’s shoot people who make basic observations about human mortality. This is not a psychotic response at all, Steve. Well done. https://t.co/KcbHkvGsw1
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) August 9, 2021
Cox wasn’t smart enough to let it go, responding back to Walsh that it would be acting in “self defense.”
It’s not. It’s self-defense and defending my loved ones.
— Steve Cox (@RealSteveCox) August 9, 2021
The Journal rightfully points out that Cox isn’t necessarily alone in his beliefs, although the level to which he believes it borders on psychotic.
Liberals, led by people such as Biden and other Democrats, and far-left media outlets such as CNN and MSNBC have thrown a good percentage of American into a tizzy, an irrational fear of something that (at least in June) was no more deadly than Alzheimer’s, or heart disease. When I drove by McDonald’s the other day, the drive-thru was doing a steady business. So much for fear of heart disease.
As Law Enforcement Today has previously reported, a significant portion of the American people have been more than willing to sacrifice their liberty in exchange for what government bureaucrats such as Fauci and Collins have told them is their own good. People’s ability to think for themselves in a rational manner is gone.
Look at what has happened in the last month or so. Once the so-called “Delta variant” came into prominence, power-mad governors convinced their legislatures into (once again) extending their emergency powers. Such happened in Connecticut and other states. As we have seen, once the government gets a taste of power, they are not likely to give it up.
Some such as Cox would walk around naked with a feather stuck where the sun doesn’t shine if Fauci told them it would protect them from COVID. His tweet proved exactly how unhinged he is. Hopefully this clown never gets anywhere near Congress…although truth be told, he has a lot of company there on the left-side of the aisle.
For more on COVID restrictions, we invite you to read our prior reporting on it.
DIG DEEPER
WASHINGTON, D.C.- On Thursday, July 8th, the D.C. government agreed to pay more than $200,000 in a settlement with Capitol Hill Baptist Church (CHBC) in response to a filed lawsuit challenging Mayor Muriel Bowser’s COVID-19 ban on in-person services, even those held outdoors with proper social distancing.
D.C. pays church $220,000 to settle lawsuit over COVID-19 religious restrictionshttps://t.co/tNRwPxm1WD
— Real America’s Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) July 8, 2021
In a news release from First Liberty Institute, the entity that represented CHBC, stated that in the settlement, D.C. confirmed that it will not enforce any “current or future” restrictions on CHBC gatherings. The District of Columbia also agreed to pay CHBC’s legal fees, which amounted to $220,000.
According to reports, Bowser’s restrictions prohibited church services with more than 100 people. When that restriction came out, CHBC, a 853-member church, had asked to worship at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, but Bowser had refused to grant their request.
On September 22, 2020, the church sued and a district court granted an injunction in October 2020. Like many other states across the country, Bowser has dropped many of the initial COVID-19 restrictions. In a statement on Thursday, July 8th, First Liberty Institute said in a statement:
“All Capitol Hill Baptist Church ever asked is for equal treatment under the law so they could meet together safely as a church. The church is relieved and grateful that this ordeal is behind them.”
D.C. pays church $220,000 to settle lawsuit over Covid religious restrictions.
Mayor Bowser pledges not to use restrictions to prevent Capitol Hill Baptist from “gathering as one congregation” in D.C.— Amoriah Peterson (@PetersonAmoriah) July 9, 2021
Hiram Sasser, executive general counsel for First Liberty Institute, added:
“Government officials need to know that illegal restrictions on First Amendment rights are intolerable and costly.”
The settlement read, in part:
“The District has removed its COVID-19-related restrictions on gatherings in places of worship so CHBC is entitled to meet to worship indoors or out as currently provided for in the Mayor’s orders. The District agrees that it will not enforce any current or future COVID-19 restrictions to prohibit CHBC from gathering as one congregation in the District of Columbia.”
It added:
“The District further agrees that, should it decide that new restrictions on religious gatherings are necessary during the current, or any future, COVID-19 or variant thereof public health emergency, it will not impose restrictions on CHBC that are more restrictive than the restrictions on comparable secular activities, as defined by the Supreme Court.”
https://twitter.com/_News_76/status/1413327657845014533
When CHBC first filed the lawsuit, CHBC Pastor Justin Sok explained that central religious purpose of gathering to worship in person. Sok said:
“A church is not a building that can be opened and closed. A church is not an event to be watched. A church is a community that gathers regularly and that community should be treated fairly by the District government.”
Sok added:
“Since its founding in 1878, CHBC has met in-person every Sunday except for three weeks during the Spanish Flu in 1918. That changed following Mayor Bowser’s first orders considering COVID-19 on March 11, 2020.”
Reportedly, from the beginning, CHBC asked for the right to meet-in-person with “similar restrictions as area businesses and other gatherings employed to protect public health.”
D․C. settles with Capitol Hill Baptist Church over pandemic restrictions https://t.co/NfaxG0CaSv via @washtimes
— ChurchAndCovid – Delta is Different (@ChurchAndCovid) July 9, 2021
Back in October 2020, District Court Judge Trevor McFadden pointed out how Bowser’s denials were a double standard, considering the high number of Black Lives Matter protests that were going on at the same time. McFadden noted:
“Consider the District’s response to mass protests over the past year, which included thousands of citizens marching through the streets of the city, including along the streets that the District closed specifically for that purpose.”
He added:
“And the Mayor appeared at one of the mass gatherings welcoming hundreds if not thousands of protestors tightly packed into Black Lives Matter Plaza and announcing that it was ‘so wonderful to see everybody peacefully protesting, wearing their masks.’”
The judge also noted that Bowser:
“Christened ‘Black Lives Matter Plaza’ when she directed the D.C. Department of Public Works to create a mural on 16th Street N.W. near the White House, to ‘honor the peaceful protesters from June 1, 2020 and send a message that District streets are a safe space for peaceful protesters.’”
McFadden argued:
“The Mayor’s apparent encouragement of these protests also implies that the District favors some gatherings (protests) over others (religious services).”
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No more church bans in California: State ordered to pay $1.35 million in legal fees after shutting down churches
May 23rd, 2021
CALIFORNIA — A U.S. District Court judge in California has approved a settlement of a lawsuit on behalf of a church and its related ministry against Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-California).
The implication of the settlement is that it is the first statewide and permanent injunction in the country against COVID-19 restrictions on churches and places of worship.
It is also the first time a governor will have a permanent injunction against him on behalf of houses of worship.
No More Church Bans: CA Gov. Newsom Ordered to Pay $1.35M in Legal Fees for Shutting Down Churches | CBN News https://t.co/hwBJPMxtDS # via @CBNNews
— Liberty Counsel (@libertycounsel) May 22, 2021
In addition to easing statewide restrictions that pertain to religious gatherings, California will now also pay $1.35 million to compensate the legal group that filed and won the lawsuit.
Last year, Liberty Counsel filed the lawsuit on behalf of Harvest Rock Church and Harvest International Ministry against Gov. Newsom.
The church and its ministry sued the governor over his restrictive COVID-19 lockdown order, which severely limited the size and scope of worship gatherings.
Churches, gunshops and irate brides: All the shutdown lawsuits against Newsom, explained https://t.co/BTxbMNZRfc
— Harmeet K. Dhillon (@pnjaban) May 12, 2020
The lawsuit argued that Newsom’s draconian order was a violation of the groups’ religious freedom, and a federal judge agreed.
CA Gov. Gavin Newsom has now been forced to wave the white flag of surrender AND pay $1.35M legal fees to Liberty Counsel. @GovJanetMills, how long will you continue to terrorize churches in Maine?#LetUsWorship #reopenchurches #reopenMaine #reopenAmerica pic.twitter.com/0tswcykZ3s
— Liberty Counsel (@libertycounsel) May 21, 2021
On May 14, the Honorable Jesus G. Bernal wrote in part:
“It is hereby ORDERED that Defendant, Gavin Newsom, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of California, all State officers, agents, employees, and all other persons in active concert or participation with him, are hereby permanently enjoined state-wide from issuing or enforcing regulations issued in connection with the COVID-19 State of Emergency declared on March 4, 2020 that impose:
“(1) any capacity or numerical restrictions on religious worship services and gatherings at places of worship … [and]
“(2) any new public health precautions on religious worship services and gatherings at places of worship not in the current guidance, unless those precautions are either identical to, or at least as favorable as, the precautions imposed on other similar gatherings of similar risk, as identified by the Supreme Court…; and
“(3) any restrictions or prohibitions on the religious exercise of singing and chanting during religious worship services and gatherings at places of worship besides generally applicable restrictions or prohibitions included in the guidance for live events and performances.”
Major Victory in California for Liberty Counsel!
Mat Staver joins @tperkins on FRC’s Washington Watch to discuss Liberty Counsel’s victory for the first statewide permanent injunction in the nation that protects California churches!https://t.co/mbFTdv2E9N
— Liberty Counsel (@libertycounsel) May 20, 2021
Liberty Counsel pointed out that the settlement referenced several Supreme Court opinions, including Harvest Rock Church v. Newsom, which include a long list of similar nonreligious activity the High Court set forth as comparable gatherings, such as grocery stores, warehouses, big box stores, transportation, infrastructure, telecommunications, and more:
“In other words, churches and places of worship may never again have discriminatory restrictions placed on them that are not equally applied to a long list of ‘critical infrastructure’ or ‘essential services’ as outlined in several Supreme Court precedents cited in the settlement agreement.”
You’re not keeping it simple. Texas drop masks 2 months ago and recorded 0 deaths the other day.
You’re just letting your teacher union’s punt on in-school for the year.
Not science, just politics.
— Mike (@lindyd73) May 21, 2021
The judge’s order further clarified that it did “not prohibit the State from issuing recommendations, best practices, precautions, or other measures, as long as such promulgations make clear to the public that they are voluntary and not enforceable.”
I don’t remember who sent me this article, but it was an eye opener for me to see how much power Pelosi and Newsom’s family has in the state of CA. That is a conversation starter https://t.co/IfXwiC21gm
— SheryllT (@TreShery) May 20, 2021
In a statement, Liberty Counsel noted the permanence of the ruling:
“Under the settlement agreement, discriminatory restrictions on worship and religious gatherings may no longer be applied to churches and places of worship.”
— Liberty Counsel (@libertycounsel) May 21, 2021
Harvest Rock Church’s founding Pastor Ché Ahn was pleased and said:
“This is a momentous day for churches in America! After nearly a yearlong battle defending our religious freedoms, our lawsuit has reached a permanent settlement in our favor.
I am thrilled to see the complete reversal of the last discriminatory restrictions against churches in California, knowing this case will act as a precedent, not only in our state, but also in our nation.
“We are incredibly grateful to our attorney Mat Staver and to Liberty Counsel for their relentless support and fierce determination. Most of all, we give all the glory to God for moving mightily in this historic season!”
Change our Democratic process?? No thanks, it didn’t work out too well this year. And change the way we live and we work? Why, so you guys can tell us what we need to do while behind the scenes you don’t do any of it, like Gavin Newsom and Auntie Pelosi? #tbnt https://t.co/6YFeHkpOxO
— Kristen M. Mendoza 🇺🇸 (@JohnnysKristen) May 20, 2021
Mat Staver, founder and chairman of the legal group Liberty Counsel, said:
“The district court retains jurisdiction into the foreseeable future, whether it’s next year or ten years down the road.
“If there is any violation of this order, California will be hauled back into court for contempt of court and face significant sanctions.”
Liberty Counsel said Newsom had imposed the most severe restrictions on churches and home Bible study groups in the nation, so the settlement represents a victory:
“So, this is a great victory and it covers every church and place of worship in California [where some] churches were fined over $3 million.”
Breeding ground -Pelosi, Schumer, Harris, Newsom, Swalwell, Schiff, Waters pic.twitter.com/4v0knApY7T
— Kellie (@Idahotato3) May 22, 2021
Due to the injunction those fines will now go away, according to Staver. In a statement, he said:
“Governor Gavin Newsom’s COVID restrictions intentionally discriminated against churches while providing preferential treatment to many secular businesses and gatherings.
“The Supreme Court intervened multiple times to provide relief. California may never again place discriminatory restrictions on churches and places of worship.
“Gov. Gavin Newsom has now been permanently quarantined and may not violate the First Amendment rights of churches and places of worship again.
“We are grateful for Pastor Ché Ahn, Harvest Rock Church, and Harvest International Ministry. Pastor Ahn’s leadership and courage has toppled the tyranny and freed every pastor and church in California.”
Staver also noted:
“Maine right now is the most restrictive in the country. We represent Pastor Ken Graves of Calvary Chapel of Bangor, and our goal is to make sure Caesar never can go and touch these churches anymore.”
Maine Church Seeks Emergency Relief from @Scotus
This state now has the most severe restrictions in the nation on places of worship with its 50-person numerical cap notwithstanding the size of the facility. @GovJanetMills https://t.co/KigXxk0RR0 pic.twitter.com/Co41Pt7xWD— Liberty Counsel (@libertycounsel) May 21, 2021
Liberty Counsel plans to use the settlement in California this past week to end coronavirus restrictions for churches around the country.
“All men having power ought to be distrusted…” —James Madison (1787)
Tyrants Keep Mask Mandates
Pelosi, Cuomo, Newsom, and others once again reveal that this is mostly about power.https://t.co/rseMHPo9h8— TRepublic (@TexasTRepublic) May 23, 2021
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