Today Is the 10th Anniversary of Trayvon Martin's Death, and the Fake News Is Still Lying About It
February 26, 2022 8:48am
Today is the 10th Anniversary of Trayvon Martin's death. And the propaganda press has taken advantage of this day to repeat their lies from a decade ago about what happened that night in Sanford, Florida.
Contrary to what the fake news told you, there was ONE crime committed that night. And it was Trayvon Martin who committed it.
On today's Mike Bates Show, I shared the real truth about how and why Trayvon Martin died. And I proved the facts with police audio recordings and excerpts from the trial transcripts.
Trayvon Martin's death was unfortunate. But the politicization of it based upon deliberate lies was disgraceful. Those lies resulted in widespread death and destruction brought on by rioters who based their outrage on the false story they had been told by the Democrats and their allies in the fake news. It is shameful the lies were told ten years ago. It is worse that they are still being repeated and believed today.
I wish Trayvon Martin was still alive. I wish Trayvon had not attacked George Zimmerman that night. But he did attack him. And that cost him his life. It's very sad. But what is worse is the continuation of the lie that Trayvon Martin was the innocent child victim of a racist America. He was not.
You can learn the truth on today's episode of The Mike Bates Show, which is now archived online as a podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/220226
No, Remington Did NOT Settle with the Sandy Hook Families
February 15, 2022 2:32pm
No, Remington Did NOT Settle with the Sandy Hook Families
As usual, the propaganda press has done a horrible job presenting the facts of today's $73 million blackmail payout to the families of nine people shot at Sandy Hook.
The fake news is reporting that the "gun manufacturer" Remington Arms has settled the lawsuit against it with a massive payout to the families of five children and four adults who were shot during the mass murder at Newtown, Connecticut's Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. Those families had filed the lawsuit seven years ago claiming that Remington was somehow responsible for the shootings committed by a mentally unstable, still-living-at-his-parent's-home, 20 year-old who killed his mother, stole her gun, and used that gun in the school shooting.
The court of original jurisdiction in Connecticut ruled the case could proceed. Then the Connecticut Superior Court said it could not. The Connecticut Supreme Court later reinstated the lawsuit. The US Supreme Court then shamefully refused to take up an appeal by Remington in November 2019. That allowed the lawsuit to proceed. And sixteen months later, Remington Arms filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and went out of business.
But the lawsuit was illegally allowed to proceed with Remington's insurers as defendants. It is those insurance companies, who couldn't care less about the Second Amendment, who made the improper decision to settle with a massive payout to the plaintiffs.
The real outrage over this is not the settlement. It is that the courts allowed the lawsuit to go forward at all. If the courts had followed the law, the case would have been dismissed with prejudice as the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act requires. So this is as much about judicial activists ignoring the plain text of the law as it is about unprincipled insurance companies agreeing to a blackmail payout. And it will only encourage more such illegal lawsuits.
Because of those forthcoming lawsuits, the firearms industry will find it either more expensive, or perhaps impossible, to obtain insurance. And without insurance, companies will be unable to operate; and THAT is the goal of the gun banners who so flagrantly disrespect our Second Amendment Rights. That the courts have allowed it is disgraceful.
Courts Have Finally Ruled That Donald Trump Should Have Won the 2020 Election!
January 28, 2022 6:45pm
As I said back in November 2020, Donald Trump would have been reelected if he had won just three of the seven states that conducted unconstitutional elections (Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, New Jersey, and California).
And despite the lies the Democrats have told you, courts HAVE ruled some of those elections WERE illegally conducted. Michigan's 2020 election process was ruled unconstitutional on March 9, 2021. Wisconsin's 2020 election process was ruled unconstitutional on January 13, 2022. And Pennsylvania's 2020 election process was ruled unconstitutional today.
A five-judge panel of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court today ruled that Pennsylvania's Act 77, which allowed residents to vote by mail for any reason whatsoever, violated Article VII, Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. I said that on December 19, 2020. Why did I know it? Because it was obvious!
Is vote-by-mail for any reason good policy? Maybe. Maybe not. But that is irrelevant. It is not the role of courts to consider the merits or wisdom of laws and government policies. The proper role of the courts is to determine whether or not a law or policy is constitutional. Merits are to be determined by legislators and executives. Judges must acknowledge that even bad policies can be in full compliance with the Constitution. And if that's the case, the bad policies must be upheld by the Court. Likewise, good policies can run afoul of the Constitution, in which case judges must invalidate them. As the Supreme Court said in their 1803 Marbury v. Madison decision, "a law repugnant to the Constitution is void."
Had those Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania courts made their proper rulings in a timely manner instead of so long after the fact, it would not have been too late to remedy the election theft of 2020. But now it is too late. It became impossible to remedy on January 6, 2021 after Congress shamefully certified the flawed Electoral College vote count. So we're stuck with the half brain-dead interloper now in The White House.
Since it's too late to fix, why am I bothering to write about it? To correct the Big Lie that Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 election. He did not. Instead of shirking their constitutional duties, the courts in 2020 should have invalidated the certified results in the seven states who conducted illegal elections. Had that occurred, the state legislatures would have chosen their states' electors. Assuming lawmakers voted along party lines, California and New Jersey would have chosen Biden. But Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Georgia would have chosen Trump. And Trump would have won reelection with any combination of three of those states. Well, he got his third state today.
To be clear, none of those three courts specifically invalidated the 2020 elections. But all three did declare that the processes used in the 2020 election were illegal. Had those determinations been made in a timely manner, they would have applied to the unconstitutional elections of 2020. Further, these court decisions are all subject to appeal. But if the appellate courts ignore personal opinions and political loyalties while applying only constitutional law, the three decisions will be upheld.
Have you read this truth anywhere else in the so-called "news" media? You almost certainly have not. Why is that? Because the Big Media is fake news. They spoon-feed you the drivel they want you to lap up while suppressing the truth they want to hide from you. And that truth is that, if our Constitution had been followed, Donald Trump would be in The White House today.
I am no fan of Donald Trump. But I am a fan of our Constitution. And the fact that it was allowed to be so deliberately, maliciously, and flagrantly violated is disgraceful. And dangerous. Because our Republic cannot survive in the lawless environment we are in today.
Joe Biden Has Now Murdered More Americans Than Donald Trump!
January 18, 2022 3:56pm
Before I get into the substance of this post, I should make clear that my use of "murdered" in the title is used solely to mock the propaganda press that blamed every COVID death during Trump's presidency on Trump but has not blamed COVID deaths under Biden on Biden. The truth is that neither occupant of The White House committed murder or is responsible for America's COVID deaths. With that explained, let's get on with the statistics.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, on October 22, 2020, there were 228,591 deaths in the United States attributed to COVID. On that day, candidate Joe Biden tweeted of President Trump, "Anyone who is responsible for that many deaths should not remain President of the United States."
So why didn't Joe Biden resign on September 3, 2021 when COVID deaths during his administration exceeded that same count under Trump? Because it was meaningless political rhetoric when he said it. So I do not blame Biden for hypocritically going about his business. But I do hold in contempt the dishonest activists posing as journalists in the so-called "news' media who peddled fake news to attack Trump and are now peddling fake news to support Biden. Remember, fake news doesn't need to be false. Fake news can also be the result of editorial decisions to hype certain stories while suppressing others. And so it has been with COVID.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, there were 424,408 COVID deaths in the United States from the beginning of the pandemic through January 20, 2021. That was the day President Trump's presidency ended, and Joe Biden moved into The White House.
Two days ago, on January 16, 2022, the United States officially hit 849,448 cumulative deaths attributed to COVID. That means more Americans have died with COVID under Biden than died with COVID under Trump. So where is the news story about it? I haven't seen it anywhere. But I can't possibly be the only person in the media to do the math, can I? No. And that is the purpose of this post. I do not blame Biden for the COVID deaths that occurred since his inauguration. And I didn't blame Trump for the deaths before it. But the fake news blamed Trump for every death. And many blame him for today's deaths also. Why? To score political points. And that is disgraceful.
When COVID cases increased while Trump was in office, the propaganda press blamed it on Trump. But now that Biden is in office, that same propaganda press blames the increase on the virus. The double standards of the so-called "news" media are disgusting. And dangerous.
But none of this means no president is responsible for the COVID deaths. One president is; President Xi Jinping of China. But the fake news wouldn't dare say that.
ANOTHER Court Has Ruled the 2020 Election Was Unconstitutional!
January 15, 2022 10:16pm
Despite the Democrats and their allies in the fake news telling you that no court has ever ruled the 2020 election was illegally conducted, a second court now has.
As I wrote on March 17, 2021, a judge in Michigan ruled that Michigan's Democrat Secretary of State violated the law when she ordered election officials to accept mailed ballots without sufficient signature verification, which almost certainly resulted in Biden "winning" Michigan - something that would not have happened if Michigan's election laws had not been broken.
With more than 3.1 million Michigan voters cast ballots by mail. Donald Trump "lost" Michigan by 154,188 votes. So if just 5% of the mailed-in ballots would have been invalidated had the legal procedure been used, that covers Biden's "victory" margin. It should be noted that 5% is well below the typical absentee ballot rejection rate during a normal election. It would certainly have been higher with all the COVID-induced first time absentee voters.
Well, this week, a judge in Wisconsin has ruled that its election was also unconstitutionally conducted through the use of absentee ballot drop boxes that are not allowed under Wisconsin law.
Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Michael Bohren properly ruled that state law allows absentee ballots to be returned either in-person or by mail. The use of drop boxes was not authorized by law. Despite that, more than 500 drop boxes were illegally used in the 2020 election, which I wrote about on December14, 2020 when there was still time to remedy the flawed outcome of the illegitimate election. But nothing was done at the time. Even the US Supreme Court punted and shirked their responsibility to uphold the Constitution of the United States.
But Michigan and Wisconsin were not the only states to conduct their 2020 elections illegally in direct violation of the Constitution and the precedent set in the 2000 case of Bush v. Gore. Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, New Jersey, and California also did. And had the election results in those states been invalidated as would have been proper, those state legislatures would have constitutionally chosen their electors. And assuming those legislatures voted along party lines, Donald Trump would have been reelected. Instead, we’re stuck with the half brain-dead interloper in the White House. Because now it’s too late to uphold our Constitution as it pertains to the 2020 election.
Details about the Wisconsin case are at https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2022/01/13/judge-bars-use-absentee-ballot-drop-boxes-wisconsin/6512589001/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=ncl_amplify&utm_campaign=20220118-icymi_absentee_ballot_drop_boxes_cant_be_used_in_wisconsin_any_longer_a_waukesha_county_judge_rules&utm_content=ncl-TfbQtWEH2k&_nlid=TfbQtWEH2k&_nhids=mgLQUB9R
Democrats Threaten to Break the Legislative Filibuster by Cheating
January 15, 2022 9:02am
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he will conduct a vote to "change Senate rules" to prevent a filibuster on the so-called "voting rights legislation." But that is an absolute lie!
Democrats are not seeking to "change" Senate rules. They want to BREAK Senate rules.
When Harry Reid did it in 2013, he cheated to unconstitutionally violate the filibuster rules to get his way. Now Schumer wants to do the same thing.
On today's radio program, I explained the true history of the filibuster, which differs greatly from what the Democrats and their allies in the fake news have been telling you. Contrary to Democrat lies, the filibuster was NOT a creation of the Jim Crow era. It existed at the very beginning of our Republic in both the Senate AND in the House. Seriously. The House of Representatives allowed filibusters until 1841.
I also described the shockingly blatant way the Democrats cheated in 2013 to kill the filibuster for presidential appointments and how Chuck Schumer wants to cheat again to impose loosey-goosey election laws upon all fifty states. If he succeeds in breaking Senate rules to destroy the filibuster, the Democrats will entrench themselves as a permanent majority in Washington where nothing - not even the courts - will be able to stop their complete destruction of the United States as a free, constitutional republic.
All this was explained in detail today on my radio show, which is now archived online as a podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/220115. It’s worth the hour it would take to listen. The details of the Democrats' treachery will infuriate you. But it's necessary to know.
Biden Mandates Free Home COVID Tests (paid by insurers & taxpayers)
January 11, 2022 9:11am
The Biden Administration has mandated that private health insurers pay 100% of the cost of up to eight home COVID tests per person per month. The stated but flawed reason for this is to lower the costs of COVID testing.
The federal government will also give away 500 million at-home COVID tests through the mail. Interestingly, however, Medicare will not be providing at-home tests at no cost to its enrollees, but Medicaid will.
These idiotic policies will certainly result in a shortage of at-home tests as people gobble up their allotment of "free" tests whether they need them or not. And that shortage will result in higher black market resale prices for people who need them, which won't be paid by insurers or the government. In other words, Biden is forcing insurance companies and taxpayers to pay for inventory that will be sold for profits by the illicit resellers who fleece the needy.
Why do Democrats always fail to understand basic economic principles? Their feel-good policies ALWAYS make things worse!
More details about Biden's plan are at www.washingtonpost.com/politics/home-covid-tests-to-be-covered-by-insurers-starting-saturday/2022/01/10/0c9df4c4-7250-11ec-a26d-1c21c16b1c93_story.html
The Big Lie About the January 6th "Insurrection"
January 6, 2022 11:46am
Today is the one year anniversary of the riot at the US Capitol Building. And the Democrats and their allies in the propaganda press are taking full advantage of that to further the lie that Trump and his supporters engaged in an "insurrection" against the US government. I exposed some of those lies on my September 18th show.
The rioters who forced their way into The Capitol and/or attacked police officers are criminals who should be prosecuted. But video evidence proves that not all who entered the building that day did so forcefully. Capitol Police removed barricades, opened doors, and welcomed many protesters into the building! So those who were simply present in the building should face no charges whatsoever. But the politicized Department of Justice has thrown the book at everyone they can prove was there.
But what happened on January 6, 2021 was not an insurrection, or a coup, or an effort to overturn an election, or an attempt to overthrow the government. Although the protesters and rioters had no chance of getting what they wanted, what they were asking Congress to do was ONE HUNDRED PERCENT CONSTITUTIONAL.
Congressional certification of the Electoral College vote is NOT merely a formality. The Constitution very specifically empowers Congress to be the final check that an election was lawfully conducted. And it very specifically allows ANY member of Congress to object to ANY electors for ANY reason.
There were many valid reasons to challenge the legitimacy of the 2020 elections in at least seven states (Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, California, and New Jersey). And none of those reasons have anything to do with fraud or computers switching votes. Those elections were unconstitutionally conducted because the procedures, which were imposed under the guise of being necessary to protect people from COVID, were not authorized by law. And contrary to what the fake news has told you, some of it has been proven in court to have been illegal. But when the Supreme Court shamefully refused to hear any arguments about the unconstitutional election processes, Biden's inauguration was a fait accompli.
Congressional challenges to state-certified election results are nothing new. When Donald Trump won the 2016 election, Congressmen Jim McGovern (D-MA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Barbara Lee (D-CA), and Maxine Waters (D-CA) all objected to some of Trump's Electoral College votes. Had any Senators also objected, a vote would have been taken as to whether to accept or reject the contested Electoral College votes. And if both houses voted to reject them, the votes would not have been counted. THAT IS A FACT. AND IT WAS PERFECTLY CONSTITUTIONAL.
What's pathetic is that most people are completely unaware that even happened. Why? Because their Leftist overlords didn't spoon-feed them anger about it.
Had Congress refused to certify the election results sent to them by the states, the House of Representatives would have voted to select the President, and the Senate would have voted to select the Vice-President. That "Plan C" method is in our Constitution. Assuming representatives and senators voted along party lines, Trump/Pence would have been reelected.
It was constitutional when the Democrats objected to electors, and it was constitutional when the Republicans objected to electors. What blew it out of proportion were the idiot rioters, the propaganda press, and the bitterly partisan Congressional leadership.
The rioters were fools. And they were criminals. But as I said earlier, their demand was NOT unconstitutional. And what occurred that day was NOT an "insurrection. The reason the Democrats have been so eager to use that word is very sinister. They are using it to set up reasons to refuse to seat some Republicans who win in the 2022 elections.
Clause 3 of the 14th Amendment states, "No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, SHALL HAVE ENGAGED IN INSURRECTION OR REBELLION AGAINST THE SAME, OR GIVEN AID AND COMFORT TO THE ENEMIES THEREOF. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability."
While this verbiage was included in the 14th Amendment to prevent Confederates of the Civil War from holding seats in Congress, Democrats will twist its meaning to include any Republican who did anything that can be called an "insurrection" or said anything in support of the protesters that can be called "aid and comfort" to insurrectionists.
I don't expect the Democrats to be successful in keeping anyone out of Congress based on that. But if Democrats are good at anything, they're good at bitter partisanship, lying, cheating, and weaponizing language to get their way. And it will score them a lot of political points among their dangerously destructive base.
The only reason the Democrats can get away with calling the January 6th riot an "insurrection" is because the activists posing as journalists in the so-called "news" media are amplifying that lie via their onslaught of fake news. It's disgraceful. And dangerous. Don't believe their lies.
What REALLY Happened at Appomattox?
January 1, 2022 9:22am
Most people think the Civil War ended with Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox on April 9, 1865. It did not.
On a recent visit to Virginia, I visited Appomattox Court House National Historical Park where I interviewed Park Ranger Chris Bingham about what really happened that day at Appomattox.
Our interview aired on WPNN Radio this morning and is now archived online as a podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/220101
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) Tests Positive for COVID
December 19, 2021 10:04pm
Senator Elizabeth Warren. Vaccinated. Boosted. Masked. And got COVID anyway.
I'm sure she'll be just fine in a couple weeks just like 98.4% of everyone else who has been infected with it.
The deliberate hype and the unjustified fear of the Coronavirus have been disgraceful from the beginning. STOP THE MADNESS!
Details about Senator Warren's case are at https://www.boston.com/news/coronavirus/2021/12/19/elizabeth-warren-says-she-tested-positive-for-covid-19-experiencing-mild-symptoms/
How the Civil War Began at Fort Sumter
December 18, 2021 9:35am
The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 with the Confederate cannonade against Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.
On a recent visit to Charleston, South Carolina, I visited Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park where I interviewed Park Ranger Gary Alexander about what sparked the War Between the States and the details of what happened that day at Fort Sumter. We also discussed the two other incidents (one in Charleston and one in Pensacola) that some people say were the real opening shots of the Civil War.
That interview aired on WPNN Radio this morning and is now archived online as a podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/211218
How the Supreme Court Should Correct Its Flawed Roe v. Wade Decision
December 2, 2021 9:58pm
Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. That case has the potential to correct the Court's flawed 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
In 2018, the State of Mississippi passed a law that prohibits abortions after 15 weeks. That law was challenged in a lawsuit filed by Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the state's only abortion clinic. The District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals both struck down the law as unconstitutional. So the State appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court which granted a Writ of Certiorari, meaning they'd hear the case.
Most people who have an opinion on abortion focus on whether or not it is moral to kill a human baby in the womb. I'm against abortion. I think it is morally wrong. But that is not the argument that needs to be considered by the Court. Because whether someone is pro-life or pro-abortion is legally irrelevant. Roe v. Wade was an unconstitutional federal power grab. Constitutionally, abortion is a state issue not a federal issue.
The court of original jurisdiction in Texas should have dismissed it in 1970. But it didn't. And in 1973, the US Supreme Court conjured up an imaginary constitutional right to an abortion by finding a non-existent right to privacy in the due process clause of the 14th Amendment
At 15 weeks, a baby in the womb has already developed into a very clear human form. Although the child is only about 4 inches long and weighs only around 2 1/2 ounces, the baby has an obvious human head, a neck, a torso, two arms with hands, and two legs with feet. And on those hands and feet are fingers and toes. The baby's heart is beating also. It is indisputable that it is a pre-born baby. It is not a meaningless clump of cells.
The majority of abortions performed after 15 weeks are dilation and evacuation procedures that use surgical instruments to crush the baby's skull and tear his or her body to pieces before removing the dead child from the womb. Well, the people of Mississippi, through their elected representatives and governor, have decided they don't want that done in their state. Is such a state law constitutional? Yes!
The Supreme Court got it wrong with Roe v. Wade. They can now correct that error and allow the states to enact their own abortion laws. It is at the state level where the moral arguments need to be made. Would some states have very permissive abortion laws? Yes. Do I like that? No. But I put our Constitution first. And the Constitution very clearly allows states to make their own laws on that subject.
The federal government is only supposed to deal with the specific responsibilities listed in Article 1, Section 8 of our Constitution. And the 10th Amendment says the powers not delegated to Congress belong to the States. Since abortion legislation is not listed as a federal power, regulation of abortion belongs to the States.
The Supreme Court's role is not to determine if abortion is good or bad. It is not to determine if abortion should be allowed in America or not. The Supreme Court's sole role is to determine whether or not states may have their own laws regulating abortions. And the Constitution clearly says they can. So there is only one constitutionally correct ruling for the Court. And that's to find in favor Mississippi and uphold their law.
The issue before the Court is one of Separation of Powers. It is NOT one of "abortion" or "privacy." That is so obvious, there shouldn't even be debate about it. If you don't understand what I'm saying, or if you think what I'm saying is wrong, go read the Constitution for yourself. I'll even give you an incentive to read it. If you read the Constitution, I'll pay you $1000 for every time you find the word "abortion" or "privacy" in it. Just cite for me the location of each time either word appears, and I'll send you a thousand dollars for each accurate citation.
It is a fool's errand to predict the outcome of a Supreme Court case. But I predict the Court will uphold Mississippi's law in a 5 - 4 ruling (with Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett forming the majority and Breyer, Roberts, Sotomayor, and Kagan dissenting).
We'll get the Court's decision in the Spring.
The Incredible Story of the Confederate Submarine Hunley
November 27, 2021 8:43am
Did you know the first submarine to ever sink an enemy ship was during the American Civil War?
Although successful in her mission, the crew of the Confederate sub “Hunley” never returned alive. On today's radio program, I interviewed Mike Scafuri and Johanna Rivera at the Friends of the Hunley exhibit at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in Charleston, South Carolina.
We discussed the Hunley's incredible Civil War mission, why she remained on the sea floor for 136 years, and how she is now being studied and preserved. That interview is archived online at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/211127
Kyle Rittenhouse Found NOT GUILTY on All Charges
November 19, 2021 12:22pm
The truth resulted in verdicts of "not guilty" on ALL FIVE charges against Kyle Rittenhouse.
Why did the so-called “news” media lie about Kyle Rittenhouse?
Because he defended himself against the monster they created and showed the world why a civilian would need an AR-15 with 30 rounds.
The Not Guilty verdicts prove that “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” was FAR different than what the propaganda press told us it was. Why did they do that? Because they are the enemies of the truth and, therefore, they are enemies of our Republic.
I wrote the truth on September 20, 2020. That post also explained how Big Tech aggressively censored the truth from being told.
If I knew the truth, why didn't the Big Media know? They did know. They just decided not to tell it. My objective is to inform; the objective of the Fake News is to inflame. It's disgraceful. And dangerous.
Florida Legislature Convenes to Vote for Freedom Over Fear
November 15, 2021 1:22pm
I am at The Capitol in Tallahassee where the Florida Legislature has just gaveled in a special session to pass proper laws that protect the citizens of Florida from Washington's overreach vis a vis COVID. All four proposed bills are good bills that should become law. And I expect them all to pass.
But I also expect a lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth by the Democrats and their allies in the propaganda press as they accuse Governor DeSantis and the Republicans of being science deniers who are trying to kill Floridians. The truth, however, is that those who support these bills are NOT science deniers, and those who oppose these bills ARE freedom deniers.
These are the four bills under consideration:
House Bill 1B and Senate Bill 2B would prohibit employers from implementing COVID vaccination mandates for employees without providing exemptions for medical reasons, religious beliefs, immunity based on prior COVID-19 infection, periodic testing at no cost to the employee, and an employee agreeing to use employer-provided personal protective equipment. It would also prohibit vaccine mandates for government and education employees.
HB1 and SB2 and would also empower parents to control their children's health care decisions by prohibiting school boards from mandating that students wear masks and get COVID vaccines. DeSantis' executive order already prohibits such mandates, but the proposed legislation would give it the force of law, which provides much more solid legal grounds to defend it.
HB1 and SB 2 would also prevent schools from forcing asymptomatic students and teachers into quarantine just because they were believed to be in the presence of someone who has COVID symptoms or tested positive for it.
House Bill 3B and Senate Bill 4B would protect workers from undue retaliation by creating a public records exemption for personal medical information or information regarding an employee’s religious beliefs contained in files created during an investigation of an employer that refuses to provide the individual exemptions or terminates an employee based on COVID-19 vaccination status.
House Bill 5B and Senate Bill 6B would begin the process to withdraw the State of Florida from federal OSHA jurisdiction and assert state jurisdiction over occupational safety and health issues. While that may sound impossible or improper, twenty-one states plus Puerto Rico currently operate their own state plans that cover private employees and government employees. And an additional five states and the US Virgin Islands operate plans that cover only government employees. So the proposal that Florida handle occupational health and safety at the state level instead of being under OSHA's thumb has precedent.
House Bill 7B and Senate Bill 8B would repeal provisions of existing state law that could currently be interpreted to allow the state health officer to force vaccinations upon Floridians. That authority has never been used, and it's never been tested in court. But HB 7B and SB 8B would make that moot because it would remove any authority the state health officer may be perceived to have.
And just in case you're wondering, that current law has only been in effect since 2002. Prior to 2002, Florida law did not expressly authorize the Department of Health to order that an individual be vaccinated. But in the fear-induced aftermath of the anthrax mailings following the September 11th terrorist attacks, the Florida legislature empowered the state health officer to take additional steps to protect public health during a public health emergency. The way that statute is written, it could be interpreted to allow him to order vaccine mandates. If HB 7 & SB 8 become law, such authority would be specifically NOT authorized.
This special session is scheduled to run through Friday, but I expect the legislature to conclude its business and adjourn on Thursday.
UPDATED 11/17/21 @ 7:13pm: All four bills were approved by the Florida Legislature today.
Why Biden's COVID Vaccine Mandate Is Unconstitutional and Dangerous
November 11, 2021 9:46pm
Because of the deliberate dishonesty of the propaganda press and Big Tech's censorship of anyone who dares to refute the official party line on COVID, people think the illness is far worse than it is. The average American's fear of COVID is FAR higher than the facts justify. The fact is that COVID is really not that big of deal. The overreaction to it has made it a big deal, but COVID itself is not a big deal.
As of today, COVID has NOT infected 85.78% of Americans. And of the 14.22% who did get infected, 98.38% of 'em did NOT die. And when COVID deaths are calculated against the entire US population, 99.76% did NOT die from COVID. Those numbers, by the way, are CDC numbers based upon known cases and known deaths. But there have been studies that indicate as much as 90% of people who have been infected never got tested. And if that turns out to be true, then the official death rate is TEN TIMES HIGHER than it really is. And that would make the real COVID death rate align almost perfectly with the death rate of the typical flu.
Because of the deliberately manufactured fear of COVID, the pandemic has been used to justify endless infringements upon our rights. The "two weeks to flatten the hospitalization curve" was NINETEEN MONTHS AGO! Then it was businesses being forced to close. Then it was criminalizing getting together with friends in a private home. Then masks were mandated. Now vaccines have been mandated. And those mandates are absolutely unconstitutional, as are most of the other orders imposed under the guise of protecting us from the Coronavirus.
Individual liberties may NOT be denied just because a threat to public health exists. America's Founders knew public health threats existed. Smallpox and tuberculosis were both far more contagious and had far higher fatality rates than the COVID-19 Coronavirus. But our Founders didn't include any mechanism to permit the suspension of our Constitution when a pandemic occurs.
Yet Leftist tyrants have violated our Rights to free exercise of religion, peaceable assembly, free speech, keeping and bearing arms, freedom from unreasonable and warrantless searches, not being deprived of liberty or property without due process of law, and to speedy & public trials. It is disgusting that elected officials have imposed such tyranny. It's even worse that the American people have accepted it.
Because of the so-called "news" media promulgating unjustified and unscientific fear, most people were scared to death that COVID would kill us all if we didn't obey the commands of government officials who eagerly exploited that fear to lord over us with unscientific and unconstitutional rules that they themselves often didn't follow.
But even if COVID is as dangerous to society as the politicians and the propaganda press want us to believe, it's still not appropriate to mandate that we get vaccinated. And I say that for a few reasons. First, the vaccine does not do what most people think it does. And second, even if it did, neither your employer nor your government has the right to force a needle into your arm.
Do the vaccines even work? Well, that depends on what is meant by "work." If the definition of "work" is that they reduce hospitalizations and deaths for people who get infected, then yes, the data shows they work. But if the definition of "work" is that they prevent people from getting infected in the first place, the data seems to indicate the vaccines don't work.
The vaccines do seem to be effective in lessening the severity of an infection if a vaccinated person gets infected. Hospitalizations and deaths among the vaccinated are clearly much lower than among the unvaccinated. And people should take that into account when making a decision about whether to voluntarily get the jab or not. But that decision needs to be made by the individual not the government; not by the person's employer; and not by businesses the person wishes to utilize.
If people think that getting the vaccine will mean they don't catch COVID - and a lot of people think that is what the vaccines do - they're wrong. Big-government politicians claim that vaccine mandates are necessary because unvaccinated individuals are a danger not just to themselves but to society. They claim that the unvaccinated pose a danger to everyone else. Biden even called this "a pandemic of the unvaccinated." Yet the evidence shows those claims are not true. There was a study published in the peer-reviewed medical journal "The Lancet" two weeks ago that said, "fully vaccinated individuals with breakthrough infections have peak viral load similar to unvaccinated cases and can efficiently transmit infection in household settings, including to fully vaccinated contacts." In other words, there is no significant difference in COVID transmission between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated. That study concluded that "although vaccines remain highly effective at preventing severe disease and deaths from COVID-19, our findings suggest that vaccination is not sufficient to prevent transmission of the delta variant." But that doesn't matter to the tyrants who demand we all get vaccinated. Who are the science-deniers, huh?
The vaccines pose some health risks that should be considered. We've been told by the liars on the Left that the vaccines are completely safe. But there are healthy military personnel who were ordered to get the vaccine and then suffered myocarditis! Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle that is brought on by the body's immune system caused by an infection or a reaction to some other trigger.
So did the COVID vaccine trigger it? Yes! Is that my opinion? No. That's a fact. And it's a fact that has been deliberately suppressed by the propaganda press and by liars in the American government. But I had heard about it, so I did some digging. And I found a report published by the National Institutes of Health dated October 1, 2021. So what did that NIH report say? That report titled "Myocarditis Following Immunization With mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines in Members of the US Military" said some military personnel "presented with acute onset of marked chest pain within 4 days after receipt of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. All military members were previously healthy with a high level of fitness."
To be clear, the number of military personnel who were adversely affected was quite small. And in percentage terms of the total number of vaccinated servicemen, the percentage is very small. But it absolutely happened. That report concluded that "myocarditis occurred in previously healthy military patients with similar clinical presentations following receipt of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. Further surveillance and evaluation of this adverse event following immunization is warranted." But is the US government advocating further surveillance and evaluation? No! The US Government is moving full speed ahead with forcing people who don't want to get this new and potentially risky vaccine to get the jab or lose their jobs.
Another fact to consider as evidence that Biden's COVID policies have nothing to do with public health is that on Monday, the United States opened its borders to international travel. But the rules for it are absolutely ridiculous, illogical, and prove that the rules are not based upon trying to prevent infections in America.
International travelers from countries that have high vaccination rates are required to show proof that they have been vaccinated or they cannot enter the United States. But international travelers from countries with low vaccination rates do NOT have to show proof of a vaccination. So think about what this means.
If you're from a country with a high vaccination rate and therefore, according to the Biden Administration, high vaccination rates equals safety in the community - that's what they're saying to justify their mandates for US citizens anyway. If you're from a country with a high vaccination rate, you're less likely to have the virus, right? But you have to show proof that you've been vaccinated.
But if you come from one of the countries with the 50 lowest vaccination rates you DON'T have to show proof of vaccination. But we're told low vaccination rates mean higher risks of infection and transmission. Yet it is travelers from LOW vaccination rate countries who DON'T have to show proof they've been vaccinated!
How does that make any sense at all? It doesn't. Because none of these vaccination policies have anything to do with public health whatsoever. It's all about the elitists in power lording over us because they think we're stupid and should submit to their superior intellect and authority. That's what it is. This is about submission to authority. It's not about combating the virus.
Illegal immigrants don't have to get vaccinated either. And that's not just the ones who sneak through uncaught. People who cross our border illegally AND GET CAUGHT don't have to get vaccinated for detainment OR release into our communities.
Welfare recipients don't have to be vaccinated either. It is WORKERS who the Democrats want to force an unwanted needle into!
Biden's COVID policies aren't about combating the Coronavirus; they're about waging war against YOU. They're not about reducing infections; they're about reducing freedom. They're not about making you safer; they're about conditioning you to submit to the authority of big government.
I'm certain you've heard that the Supreme Court said vaccine mandates were perfectly constitutional. But what you probably haven't heard is that the case where they decided that has almost nothing in common with today's COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
The fake news has said the Supreme Court said vaccine mandates are perfectly OK. The case they base that on is the 1905 case of Jacobson v. Massachusetts. But they rarely cite the case by name because you might go read the decision yourself if they do; and they don't want you to do that. The propaganda press only tells you what they want you to know. And they omit what they hope you never find out on your own. And since most people just regurgitate what they've been spoon-fed by the fake news, they think they know what they're talking about even though they absolutely don't. Well, I researched Jacobson v. Massachusetts myself months ago, which is why I know the media has been misrepresenting what the case was about.
In Jacobson v. Massachusetts, the US Supreme Court ruled that the State of Massachusetts was not out of line when they imposed a vaccination mandate in response to an outbreak of smallpox. The law didn't actually mandate the vaccine, however. But if someone refused to be vaccinated, they had to pay a $5 fine (that's the equivalent of about $150 today).
The Supreme Court ruled 7 - 2 that law was "necessary in order to protect the public health and secure the public safety." It's important to note that the Court acknowledged that there were many medical professionals who said the vaccine would not prevent the spread of smallpox, and that there were health risks from the vaccine. But the Court decided that it was the duty of the legislature not the judiciary to weigh those risks and determine whether or not to mandate vaccines. It is also important to note that Jacobson never claimed a religious objection to being vaccinated.
And most importantly, the vaccination law was enacted via due process of the state legislature. It wasn't an executive order by the governor. And it was a state law not a federal law. The federal government is only supposed to deal with the specific responsibilities listed in Article 1, Section 8 of our Constitution. And the Tenth Amendment says "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." So for a vaccination mandate to be even remotely constitutional, it would have to be implemented at the state level. The President of the United States sure as hell doesn't have the power to impose a vaccination mandate on his own. And even if the Congress were to legislate such a mandate, it would still be unconstitutional because it is not within the purview of the federal government.
So all the people claiming Jacobson v. Massachusetts has anything whatsoever to do with the current vaccine mandate Biden imposed are absolutely wrong. If the issue ever reaches the US Supreme Court, they will certainly rule that Joe Biden has grossly exceeded his authority. But while we wait for that to happen, millions of people will lose their jobs because they exercised their constitutional rights.
What is my opinion on the COVID-19 vaccines? Well, first of all, I do acknowledge that they are effective in reducing the severity of a COVID infection. And they do not contain microchips that the government will use to track you or to trigger to kill you. Some people believe that nonsense, but that's just what it is. Nonsense.
Having said that, just because they are shown to be effective in reducing the severity of a COVID infection does NOT mean I think everyone should get vaccinated. And I absolutely, one-hundred percent oppose ANYONE - the government, employers, or anyone else from forcing people who do not want to get the vaccination to get it. It should be an individual choice.
I'm not anti-vax. I got all my childhood vaccinations and so did both of my children. And when I went to Africa two years ago, I got three vaccinations before the trip. But all those vaccinations - both my kids' childhood inoculations and my pre-Africa inoculations were vaccines that had a long track record not only of effectiveness but of safety as well.
How safe are the COVID vaccines? Well, most Democrats and most bureaucrats who work for the government will tell you they're completely safe. But they're speculating. The first COVID-19 vaccine was announced publicly on November 9, 2020, less than a week after Election Day. As of today, that's not even 53 weeks ago. The vaccines do appear to be fairly safe in the short term. But nobody knows how safe they are long term. And anyone who says they do know is lying.
So get vaccinated if you want to. And don't get vaccinated if you don't want to. And if your employer says to get vaccinated or get fired, make 'em fire you. Don't quit. If you quit, your legal options will be more limited than if they terminate you.
A few final points about COVID I'd like to share:
1) COVID-19 is definitely a bioweapon. It may or may not have been intentionally released. Absent evidence it was deliberate, I'll accept the lab leak theory - although I wouldn't put it past the Chinese Communist Party to have released it deliberately. But absent evidence of that it would be irresponsible to say they did. However, it would be consistent with communist win-at-all-cost methodologies. Remember, the Chinese Communists killed nearly a hundred million fellow countrymen last century. What's a few million foreigners to them now?
2) Dr. Fauci absolutely authorized funding for gain of function research by the Chinese lab in Wuhan. And he absolutely committed perjury when he lied to Congress saying he didn't.
3) Dr. Fauci definitely funded the torture deaths of puppies in Tunisia. And while that's an outrage, I'm more disgusted that people are more bothered by that than they are by his advocacy that our Republic be tortured to death with the unconstitutional policies he supports.
4) Before Donald Trump was inaugurated, Dr. Fauci said there would definitely be a pandemic during Trump's presidency. Don't believe me? Watch him say it during his January 10, 2017 speech at Georgetown University. It's on Georgetown's YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNXGAxGJgQI
Everything I have said in this blog post is accurate. But don't take my word for it. As Ronald Reagan said, "trust but verify." Click on the links I included. Read those documents I cited. Explore further on your own. You will see for yourself that the so-called "news" media has been lying to you about COVID since the very beginning. And you'll understand not only that most COVID mandates are unconstitutional but that they are not designed to control the virus. They're designed to control YOU. Don't let 'em.
History of the Blue Angels
November 6, 2021 9:17pm
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels flew the final air show of their 75th Anniversary season this afternoon in the skies over Pensacola Beach.
On today's radio program, I shared details of the interesting history of the Blue Angels from their formation in 1946 through their transition to the F/A-18 Super Hornet this season. That episode is now archived online as a podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/211106
Video of my flight with the Blue Angels is at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/blog/201108-1111
George Washington's Victory at Yorktown Is When the United States Was Really Born
October 19, 2021 7:18am
When was America born? July 4th? Arguably not. Declaring independence is one thing. Achieving it is another. Our independence was earned in battle. And the last major battle of the Revolutionary War was at Yorktown in 1781. British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington on October 19, 1781. The story of how that American victory was achieved is fascinating.
On September 30th, I met with Park Ranger Robbie Smith at the National Park Service's Yorktown Battlefield Visitor Center to discuss how the Continental Army prevailed. Our conversation aired on the radio three days ago and is now archived online as a podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/211016
The 20th Anniversary of the September 11th Attacks
September 11, 2021 8:49am
www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/210911
Today is the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on America that killed nearly 3000 innocent people.
On today's radio program, I wanted to commemorate that terrible day. But unlike everyone else in the media who's focusing on the day the Islamic terrorists sucker punched us, I focused on the day SEAL Team Six sent Osama bin Laden to Hell.
I interviewed Will Chesney, a member of Seal Team Six who was on the raid that killed bin Laden. That episode is now archived online as a podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/210911
#NeverForget
Days of Steel Rain
September 4, 2021 8:55am
One of the most terrifying aspects of being on a Navy ship in the Pacific during World War II were the Japanese kamikaze attacks. And those were in addition to the typhoons!
I recently read Brent E. Jones' book "Days of Steel Rain: The Epic Story of a WWII Vengeance Ship in the Year of the Kamikaze." It was a very well-written book that told the valiant tale of the USS Astoria (CL-90) and her brave crew as they helped defeat the Japanese in the Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa in addition to supporting attacks on the Japanese Home Islands.
While the history of the Astoria is interesting enough itself, Jones brought the story alive with accounts of what individual crew members did while serving aboard the light cruiser. And because he read their diaries and interviewed them, he also included their most personal thoughts about their service; the highs and lows of their triumphs and fears.
I interviewed Brent E. Jones about his book on today's radio program. That episode is now archived online as a podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/210904