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State Rep. Stephanie Borowicz, a Republican and associate pastor’s wife who was elected into the state House in November, was accused of bigotry after she invoked the name of Jesus at least 13 times just before the Legislature swore in its first Muslim woman. (Pennsylvania House)
Pennsylvania state Democrats branded as "offensive" a Republican’s decision Monday to open a voting session with a prayer and a thank-you to President Trump for supporting Israel, with some Dems claiming to be “horrified” by the remarks and accusing the female lawmaker of Islamophobia.
State Rep. Stephanie Borowicz, a Republican and associate pastor’s wife who was elected to the state House in November, was accused of bigotry after she invoked the name of Jesus at least 13 times just before the Legislature swore in its first Muslim woman at the Statehouse in Harrisburg.
‘THANK THE LORD’: ALABAMA GRANDMOTHER’S PRAYER CLOSET LEFT STANDING, SURVIVES TWO TORNADOES
“God forgive us — Jesus — we’ve lost sight of you, we’ve forgotten you, God, in our country, and we’re asking you to forgive us,” Borowicz said added. She then praised President Trump for his support of Israel.
“I claim all these things in the powerful, mighty name of Jesus, the one who, at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess, Jesus, that you are Lord, in Jesus’ name,” Borowicz said.
Democrats slammed her for the prayer. Rep. Movita Johnson-Harrell, the Muslim lawmaker who was sworn in at the Statehouse, accused Borowicz of using her religion against her.
Movita Johnson-Harrell, then the interim supervisor of Victim and Witness Services, speaks in Philadelphia, Aug. 1, 2018. (Associated Press)
“I thought that for the most part, the entire invocation was offensive,” she told reporters. “But to use Jesus as a weapon is not OK.”
“We cannot weaponize what’s going on with Israel and Palestine,” she continued, noting that everyone is free to praise the president.
“It was directly a political statement, and I think we need to be very, very clear that everybody in this House matters, whether they’re Christian, Muslim or Jew, and that we cannot use these issues to tear each other down,” Johnson-Harrell added. “And not only that, it was made during my swearing in.”
“I thought that for the most part, the entire invocation was offensive … We cannot weaponize what’s going on with Israel and Palestine.”
DEMS TO STRIKE ‘SO HELP YOU GOD’ FROM OATH TAKEN IN FRONT OF KEY HOUSE COMMITTEE, DRAFT SHOWS
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday that he issued an apology to Johnson-Harrell.
“I was horrified. I grew up in Pennsylvania," Wolf said. "Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn on the basis of freedom of conscience. I have a strong spiritual sense. This is not a reflection of the religion I grew up in."
Democratic state Leader Frank Dermody said Borowicz’s speech was “beneath the dignity of this House” and suggested setting up a group to review the procedure.
But the Republican state representative defended her prayer Monday, saying that, “I pray every day. I prayed.”
State Rep. Jason Dawkins, another Muslim lawmaker, opened the session Tuesday by reading from the Quran, prompting applause in the chamber.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: Fox News Politics
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis unveils the state’s new logo Tuesday. (FOX 31 Denver)
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis unveiled a new state logo Tuesday, but reactions on social media were widely negative, with many questioning the necessity of such a move and others ridiculing the Democrat for his choice of attire.
Polis described the new logo, which includes a multicolored “C” next to an evergreen tree, as an update of the “state brand.”
"The tree represents Colorado’s natural resources and spirit," Polis said. "The red symbolizes Colorado’s red soil and rocks. … Yellow represents the state’s abundant sunshine and wheat of the Great Plains. Our dual peaks represent the many mountains in our state. And our rich blue base represents water, which is absolutely critical to our state."
HICKENLOOPER TARGETS GREEN NEW DEAL AS ‘UNACHIEVABLE’
The state’s previous logo, which debuted in 2013 under former Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat who is now running for president, cost the state more than $2 million and was widely panned for its likeness to a carbon monoxide warning label, according to KKTV-TV of Colorado Springs.
But Polis insisted that the new logo wouldn’t cost taxpayers a dime. He said he used "internal resources" and did not commission an outside firm to design the logo, which will supposedly be phased in over time, the Denver Post reported.
Twitter users were quick to cast doubt on Polis’ claims, with many ridiculing the logo and comparing it to the drawing of a child.
"Governor Polis’ vanity project of replacing Colorado’s traditional logo is just another way to put his stamp on our state. A logo change is a huge waste of money, replacing the old one on documents, signage, checks, etc.," Twitter user Deb Moorland wrote. "There is no good reason for it."
“How many tax dollars were wasted in adding a tree and mountains to the C logo that’s been around for a long time?” one user wrote.
“Gov. Polis borrowed his kids’ crayons to design this logo,” another Twitter user wrote.
Polis was also mocked for wearing a wool knit cap emblazoned with the new logo during the press conference.
“Unfortunately, Polis looks like a doofus,” wrote one Twitter user. “He thinks he can pull this sort of this off. He can’t. He reminds me of Dukakis in his tank helmet.”
Polis, 43, a five-term congressman and technology entrepreneur, took office last October after defeating Republican state Treasurer Walker Stapleton. Polis made history for being the first openly gay person elected to the governor’s office.
Fox News’ Perry Chiaramonte contributed to this report.
Source: Fox News National
=The Texas House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that would legalize lemonade stands run by children. (iStock)
The Texas House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that would legalize lemonade stands run by children.
The bill, sponsored by Republican Rep. Matt Krause, sought to legalize what’s typically considered a harmless hobby or fundraiser that kids participate in for fun. Lemonade stands and other stands that sold nonalcoholic beverages and were operated by minors were previously illegal in Texas because of sanitation concerns.
On Tuesday, when HB 234 received initial approval, Krause said it was "lemonade freedom day," according to the Dallas News. "It’s a great day for our Texas entrepreneurs."
Once the bill passed on Wednesday, the congressman said, "Yesterday was one small step for lemonade, today is one giant leap for young entrepreneurs."
Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott made his support of the bill known on Tuesday, tweeting that "it’s a shame that a law for this is even needed."
NEW YORK STATE SHUTS DOWN CHILD’S LEMONADE STAND
George P. Bush, son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and land commissioner for Texas, posted a video of himself buying lemonade from enthusiastic children for $1 on Tuesday before the measure was approved.
"So HB 234 would allow children in Texas to set up a lemonade stand. Can’t think of anything more basic, more entrepreneurial, more creative for a child to begin the idea of learning the value of a dollar," Bush said. "Literally, the value of a dollar today is buying just a glass of lemonade."
He said the legislation "goes far to build imagination and creativity in our great state.
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Krause said the idea to legalize the stands came after County Time Lemonade ran a promotion called "Legal-Ade" that paid for fines and permits for children in the U.S. who couldn’t legally operate lemonade stands.
The bill now moves to the Senate for approval.
Source: Fox News Politics
Rep. Richard Pickett, a Republican state lawmaker in Maine, reportedly said that providing free feminine hygiene products in state correctional facilities would make the jail system seem like "a country club." (Facebook)
A Republican lawmaker in Maine reportedly said that providing free tampons, pads and menstrual cups to those in state prisons would make the system seem like "a country club."
Rep. Richard Pickett on Friday spoke out during a hearing against a bill that would guarantee feminine hygiene products to those in state prisons, according to Alex Acquisto, a reporter with the Bangor Daily News, who tweeted about the hearing.
21-YEAR-OLD NEPALI WOMAN DIES IN ‘MENSTRUATION HUT’
"Quite frankly, and I don’t mean this in any disrespect, the jail system and the correctional system was never meant to be a country club," Pickett reportedly said. "They have a right to have these, and they have them. If that wasn’t the case, then I would be supporting the motion, but they do."
The bill states that females in correctional facilities have "a right to comprehensive access to menstrual products, including, but not limited to, sanitary pads, tampons and menstrual cups, provided without charge to the incarcerated person."
Pickett reportedly said the bill is an attempt by lawmakers to "micromanage" the criminal justice system.
WOMAN CLAIMS SHE WAS KICKED OFF FLIGHT FOR MENSTRUAL CRAMPS
Democratic Rep. Charlotte Warren, who sponsored the bill, responded online, tweeting, "Having access to tampons has never made me feel like I’m hangin’ at the Country Club."
Earlier this month, Warren, according to the Maine Beacon, said that “unrestricted access to menstrual products by incarcerated persons is an issue of human dignity."
State prisons and local jails in Maine aren’t legally required to provide free menstrual products, the news outlet reported. An online handbook for the Maine Correction Center in Windham, for example, states that "feminine hygiene items" must be purchased at the canteen. It also states that the amount of such products inmates can receive is "determined by facility."
Whitney Parrish, of the Maine Women’s Lobby, on Friday voiced support for the bill. She detailed what happens to inmates who have their period while incarcerated.
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“You’re given a limited supply of menstrual products per month, often of low quality due to cost saving, and when you run out, you’re out," Parrish said. "You may have no money to go to commissary, and if you do, you may have to weigh that purchase against other necessities, like making phone calls to your children or attorney. You are forced to make the impossible decision of constructing your own menstrual products, using anything from clothing or notebook paper in place of a tampon.”
Pickett did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
Source: Fox News Politics
Rep. Richard Pickett argued that a bill to guarantee free tampons, pads and menstrual cups for state prison inmates was unnecessary. (Facebook)
A Republican lawmaker in Maine on Friday argued that a bill to guarantee free tampons, pads and menstrual cups for state prison inmates was unnecessary — and warned against attempts to "micromanage" the criminal justice system.
Rep. Richard Pickett weighed in on the bill during a hearing last week. In a statement to Fox News on Thursday, Pickett said that “female inmates currently receive an unlimited supply of pads and tampons and are allowed extra showers and clothing in the event of an accident with heavy bleeding,” and that a bill enforcing that is “not needed.”
21-YEAR-OLD NEPALI WOMAN DIES IN ‘MENSTRUATION HUT’
The bill states that females in correctional facilities have "a right to comprehensive access to menstrual products, including, but not limited to, sanitary pads, tampons and menstrual cups, provided without charge to the incarcerated person."
The lawmaker told Fox News that he “fully support[s] access to feminine hygiene products for female inmates,” but implied that the bill is part of an effort to “continue to micromanage the jail systems.”
“There’s availability to get what you need, if you want something different, at the commissary,” Pickett said of feminine hygiene products. “And quite frankly, and I don’t mean this in any disrespect, but the jail system, and the correction system, was never meant to be a country club.”
Democratic Rep. Charlotte Warren, who sponsored the bill, responded online to a report from the Maine Beacon, tweeting, "Having access to tampons has never made me feel like I’m hangin’ at the Country Club."
Whitney Parrish, of the Maine Women’s Lobby, on Friday voiced support for the bill, according to the news outlet. She detailed what happens to inmates who have their period while incarcerated.
“You’re given a limited supply of menstrual products per month, often of low quality due to cost saving, and when you run out, you’re out," Parrish said. "You may have no money to go to commissary, and if you do, you may have to weigh that purchase against other necessities, like making phone calls to your children or attorney. You are forced to make the impossible decision of constructing your own menstrual products, using anything from clothing or notebook paper in place of a tampon.”
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Pickett said that, “all but a couple of county jails” provides sanitary products to inmates.
“That is why I voted against the bill because it was not needed. If these products were not being supplied in an unlimited number I would have been the first one to vote in favor of the bill,” he said.
Source: Fox News Politics
Vice President Mike Pence recently sent a letter to the leader of the California State Assembly in an attempt to ease the tensions between the White House and the Democrat-controlled statehouse in Sacramento.
The sarcastic reply from Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon was probably not what he expected in return.
In late February, Pence penned a letter to Rendon offering an olive branch to the state that has been at the center of President Trump’s policies on everything from immigration to the environment, telling Rendon that the current White House administration values “the opportunity to work with you to build on our successes in the year ahead.”
CALIFORNIA GOV. NEWSOM CALLS TRUMP INCOMPETENT IN INAUGURAL SPEECH; VOWS TO FIGHT WH POLICIES
“We recognize that when California succeeds, America succeeds,” the vice president said in his letter.
Rendon’s reply to Pence – which was dated almost three weeks later – was not as diplomatic.
While Rendon does thank Pence for reaching out, he also says the Trump administration and its policies “have already done quite a bit to help” the state’s Democrat-controlled Assembly.
“Thanks to your policies, voters in California added five Democrats to the Assembly in the last election,” Rendon wrote. “In addition, one Republican has decided to jump to the Democratic Party, citing the President’s extreme positions. We now have a three-quarters majority — plus one.”
Assemblyman Brian Maienschein, who represents parts of the San Diego metropolitan area, jumped from the GOP to the Democrats in January and gave the party 61 out of 80 seats in the Assembly.
In his letter, Rendon goes on to question how Pence thinks the Trump administration is respecting California’s rights by waging “constant legal battles” and leveling threats against the state. Rendon also cites a laundry list of moves by the White House that buck initiatives in California – including revoking the state’s ability to set stricter car emission standards, moving to repeal the Affordable Care Act and threatening to hold back federal grant funding for the state’s proposed high-speed rail project.
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“Although you probably know this, I would add that your Administration has been largely unsuccessful in its court attempts to take away our rights as a state,” Rendon wrote. He specifically noted the Trump administration’s courtroom losses when trying to overturn California’s sanctuary city laws.
The state itself has sued the Trump administration 47 times in the past two years, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Source: Fox News Politics
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin says he deliberately exposed his children to chickenpox so they would catch the highly contagious disease and become immune during a Tuesday interview on Bowling Green radio station WKCT, (Associated Press)
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin said Tuesday that he deliberately exposed his nine children to chickenpox in lieu of vaccinating them, actions that follow reports of an outbreak of the contagious disease at a Roman Catholic school in a northern part of the state.
“Every single one of my kids had the chickenpox," Bevin told Bowling Green radio station WKCT. "They got the chickenpox on purpose because we found a neighbor that had it and I went and made sure every one of my kids was exposed to it, and they got it. They had it as children. They were miserable for a few days, and they all turned out fine.”
Bevin said he doesn’t believe vaccines should be mandated by the government.
“If you are worried about your child getting chickenpox or whatever else, vaccinate your child,” the governor said. “But for some people, and for some parents, for some reason, they choose otherwise. This is America. The federal government should not be forcing this upon people. They just shouldn’t.”
"This is America. The federal government should not be forcing this upon people. They just shouldn’t."
AL ROKER SLAMS ‘NITWIT’ KENTUCKY GOV. MATT BEVIN OVER COLD WEATHER COMMENTS
But medical experts called Bevin’s actions unsafe.
"We’re no longer living in the 17th century," Dr. Robert Jacobson, a pediatrician and expert in vaccines and childhood diseases at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota told the Louisville Courier-Journal. "I really recommend to my parents that they vaccinate their children, that they do it in a timely manner, and they recognize they are doing the right thing for their children."
"We’re no longer living in the 17th century. I really recommend to my parents that they vaccinate their children, that they do it in a timely manner, and they recognize they are doing the right thing for their children."
CHICKENPOX OUTBREAK AT NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL WITH HIGH ANTI-VACCINATION RATE LEAVES DOZENS SICK
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends against intentionally exposing children to the disease — including hosting chickenpox parties.
"Chickenpox can be serious and can lead to severe complications and death, even in healthy children," according to the CDC website.
In response to Bevin’s comment, the Kentucky Democratic Party called on the Republican to state his position on vaccinations for hepatitis A, which has killed 44 people in the state, the paper reported.
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“Kentucky is currently experiencing the worst outbreak of Hepatitis A in the country. It is a major public health risk at this point. The last thing we need is Governor Bevin suggesting that immunization is not important," KDP spokeswoman Marisa McNee told the paper in an email. "Governor Bevin should reassure the public that he supports the recommendation of the entire medical community with respect to controlling an outbreak of Hepatitis A, which is immunization.”
The state requires children entering kindergarten to get vaccinated for chickenpox but parents can seek religious exemptions. Bevin’s comments come as the Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church & Academy high school in Walton is suffering from 32 reported chickenpox cases.
Source: Fox News Politics
A bill that was recently filed in Florida’s House and Senate would allow people to get driver’s licenses regardless of their immigration status in the U.S. (Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles)
A bill that was recently filed in Florida’s House and Senate would allow people to get driver’s licenses regardless of their immigration status.
Proposed in the Florida Legislature last month, the bill would let illegal immigrants use identifying documents like an unexpired foreign passport or a foreign birth certificate to get a license to drive.
FLORIDA BILL WOULD PUNISH PEOPLE WHO ABANDON DOGS DURING HURRICANES
Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani, who sponsored the House bill, said she believes this legislation "helps to build that trust" with those who are considered "marginalized" in the state, and said it would make roads safer, according to the News Service of Florida.
“It doesn’t matter your immigration status. If you are on the roads, you should have access to a driver’s test and the ability to get car insurance," Democratic Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez said.
The Florida Immigrant Coalition stated in a news release that allowing people without proper immigration documentation the ability to obtain a driver’s license would "[cement] trust in law enforcement while protecting vulnerable communities."
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The group says that Florida drivers would experience lower insurance premiums and safer roads, and a potential increase of $4 million in state revenue "if 75 percent of Floridians currently denied licenses due to their immigration status were able to receive a driver’s license."
Those seeking a license in Florida under current state law must prove they’re U.S. citizens or resident aliens, the news service reported.
Source: Fox News Politics
The Florida Senate Agriculture Committee on Monday approved a bill that would punish those who leave their pets chained up or unattended during natural or manmade disasters. (Getty Images)
Florida lawmakers hoping to discourage people from keeping dogs tied up or abandoned during natural or manmade disasters cleared a bill on Monday that would jail or fine those who abandon man’s best friend.
The bill, which was filed on March 1, would make it a criminal act to leave pets chained up during such events — specifically by making it a first-degree misdemeanor.
ANIMALS RESCUED FROM FLORENCE FLOODWATERS, AFTER PETS LEFT BEHIND OR FORGOTTEN
“We’ve seen these three hurricanes and seen numerous dogs left tethered to different things,” Republican Sen. Joe Gruters, who sponsored the bill, said during a committee hearing on Monday, according to the News Service of Florida. “We want to give dogs a fighting chance.”
A measure was approved 5-0 by the Senate Agriculture Committee on Monday.
Local counties reportedly already have laws in place to stop dog owners from leaving their pets restrained during storms, but that doesn’t seem to have stopped some Florida locals.
When Hurricane Irma hit Florida in 2017, roughly 40 dogs who were left tied up during the storm — which at one point was classified as a Category 5 — were rescued by Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control.
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"Absolutely unacceptable. People need to be responsible pet owners in this community," Dave Aronberg, state attorney for Palm Beach County, said at the time. "There is no excuse for leaving your pet behind to die. We are going to hold accountable those who we can prove left their dogs behind in the storm."
Under the bill, those who leave their pets unattended or restrained during a disaster would face up to a year in jail or a fine up to $5,000.
Source: Fox News National
In this Monday Feb. 11, 2019 file photo Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom answers questions at a Capitol news conference, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Wednesday that put a moratorium on the executions of the 737 inmates currently incarcerated in the Western Hemisphere’s largest death row.
While the order is largely symbolic – California has not executed an inmate since 2006 amid legal challenges – it still marks a major victory for opponents of capital punishment given the state’s size and its national political influence.
“I’ve gotten a sense over many, many years of the disparity in our criminal justice system,” Newsom said during a press conference on Wednesday. “We can make a more enlightened choice.”
CALIFORNIA DEMS FLEX NEW SUPERMAJORITY, WITH PLANS TO PURSUE GUN TAX AND MORE
Newsom added that as of Wednesday, the equipment used in executions at San Quentin State Prison – the facility where capital punishment was carried out for men in California – was being shut down and removed.
“We cannot advance the death penalty in an effort to soften the blow of what happens to these victims,” Newsom said. “If someone kills, we do not kill. We’re better than that.”
Despite recent polling indicating that support for the death penalty is at its lowest level since the early 1970s, Newsom’s order still bucks the will of most California residents. California voters previously rejected an initiative to abolish capital punishment in the state and instead, in 2016, voted in favor of Proposition 66 to help speed up executions.
“Governor Newsom, who supported the failed initiative to end the death penalty in 2006, is usurping the express will of California voters and substituting his personal preferences via this hasty and ill-considered moratorium on the death penalty,” Michele Hanisee, the president of The Association of Deputy District Attorneys, said in a statement.
NEW JERSEY MANSION MURDERS SPUR CALLS FOR STATE TO REINSTATE DEATH PENALTY
Kent Scheidegger, the legal director for the Sacramento-based Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, called Newsom’s order “a slap in the face of the families of murder victims.” The foundation is in favor of the death penalty and helped draft the 2016 resolution to fast track executions.
“The people have voted for the death penalty eleven times since 1972, including three times in the last seven years,” Scheidegger said in a statement. “The Governor’s decision to grant a blanket reprieve to prevent executions is an abuse of power and a slap in the face of the families of murder victims,” he added.
The move to halt executions was also panned by President Trump, who has been a harsh critic of Newsom’s ever since the governor took office earlier this year.
“Defying voters, the Governor of California will halt all death penalty executions of 737 stone cold killers. Friends and families of the always forgotten VICTIMS are not thrilled, and neither am I!” Trump tweeted early Wednesday.
California has executed 13 inmates since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976 and the state has the most people on death row in the country. Since the 1970s, 79 death row inmates have died of natural causes in the state and 26 by suicide. The last execution held in California occurred in 2006 when 76-year-old Clarence Ray Allen, who was convicted of killing three people, was executed.
Since then a series of stays of execution issued by the Federal District Court in San Francisco have held up any executions in the state, but there are now 25 inmates on death row who have exhausted all of their appeals. Newsom said that none of the inmates currently on death row with have their sentences commuted, but will possibly be transferred back into the state’s general prison population.
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Newsom defended his right as governor to put the moratorium on the death penalty – citing statistics that there are a number of people on death row who are actually innocent of the crimes for which they’ve been convicted. A 2014 study by the National Academy of Sciences determined that one in every 25 inmates on death row in the United States was sentenced to die for crimes they did not commit.
“I believe I’m doing the right thing,” he said. “I cannot sign off on executing hundreds and hundreds of human beings knowing that among them there will be innocent people.”
Source: Fox News Politics
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