Exclusive: Pennsylvania Lawmakers Appeal To Supreme Court In Case Challenging ‘Bidenbucks’
Plaintiffs want the court to weigh in on the critical question of standing: whether individual lawmakers can stand up to Biden's overreach.Plaintiffs want the court to weigh in on the critical question of standing: whether individual lawmakers can stand up to Biden's overreach.Groomer alert: Half-naked man teaches young boy how to use stripper pole at Pennsylvania pride event celebrated by Gov. Wolf
A video posted by the Twitter account Libs of TikTok has once again ignited the ire of concerned parents and citizens across social media. The video in question features a young boy dancing on a stripper pole at a Pennsylvania pride event, while a half-naked man and other spectators cheer him on.
The TikTok video, posted by an account which calls itself @realfatworls***, features a young boy, who appears to be about 11 or 12 years in age, wearing a rainbow-colored tutu skirt, tube socks, a t-shirt, and a rainbow-colored headband. The boy takes several turns twirling his body around the pole, while others clap and cheer.
The most notable cheerleader in the audience is a fully-grown man, wearing no shirt and very short shorts, who gives the young boy pointers about technique. The man adjusts the boy's feet, then smiles and claps as he watches the boy perform.
\u201cA pride event in PA featured a stripper pole where they taught kids how to pole dance\u201d— Libs of TikTok (@Libs of TikTok) 1659632367
The caption on the video itself reads, "Central PA Pride had a pole set up with an amazing instructor to assist. My kiddo is a natural!" suggesting that @realfatworls*** is one of the boy's parents.
Libs of TikTok also noted — as did the website for the Pride Festival of Central Pennsylvania — that Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf wrote a letter expressing his support for the event. In the letter, Wolf described it as an "example of conviction, compassion, and camaraderie [which] will inspire others for years to come."
The festival website also cautioned event attendees to dress and comport themselves in a way that would "respect public decency." In response to a FAQ regarding dress code, the website stated, "As the Pride Festival continues to grow, more patrons bring their families with small children. With this in mind, please respect public decency." To that end, the group prohibited:
- Visible underwear or what appears to be underwear
- G-Strings
- Speedos
- Loin cloths
- BDSM attire or accessories that highlight genitalia or buttocks
Critics on social media have swiftly condemned the video — and the event.
Matt Walsh of the Daily Wire tweeted, "I will never support any Republican candidate on any level of government who does not pledge to use every available legal means to put a stop to this sort of thing and punish all those responsible."
Columnist Auron MacIntyre wrote, "Some civilizations deserve to collapse."
Republicans victorious in PA as voters make it easier to limit Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf's emergency powers in face of COVID-19 shutdown
Pennsylvania Republicans got a big win earlier this week after voters decided to make it easier for the state legislature to limit the emergency powers of the governor — in this case, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, WHYY-TV reported.
What are the details?
The decision came through a pair of ballot measures voters narrowly passed, the station said.
Republican lawmakers — who control the legislature — have struggled with Wolf over his orders in response to COVID-19 over the last year, WHYY said, adding that their efforts to curtail Wolf's orders through legislation, which requires a two-thirds majority, and in court have failed.
But now one of the constitutional amendments voters approved gives lawmakers the ability to end emergency orders with a simple majority vote, the station said. The second measure limits the governor's emergency orders to 21 days.
More from WHYY:
The state's current COVID-19 emergency order, last renewed for 90 days in February, is set to expire this week ahead of business restrictions lifting on Memorial Day. It's unclear at the moment if Wolf intends to renew the declaration to give his administration the flexibility to extend lockdowns if cases were to suddenly rise. The other new law would limit that order to 21 days.
House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff and Speaker Bryan Cutler, both Republicans, said in a joint statement that their victory doesn't mean COVID-19 responses will be handled irresponsibly, the station said.
"This decision by the people is not about taking power away from any one branch of government," Senate President Jake Corman and Majority Leader Kim Ward, both Republicans, said in a joint statement, according to WHYY. "It's about re-establishing the balance of power between three equal branches of government as guaranteed by the constitution."
What did Wolf have to say?
A Wolf spokesman said the administration declined to comment until the official results come in, the station said, although the state's Emergency Management Agency criticized the amendments, saying they "have the potential to politicize future disasters and their management" and that the agency is "extremely disappointed that our efforts ... could be constrained by partisan politics, which has no place in emergency response efforts."
Anything else?
But the Wall Street Journal's editorial board applauded voters' decision to make it easier to limit Wolf's emergency powers, calling it a "rebuke" of his "endless pandemic diktats." Still, the piece cautiously wondered "whether Mr. Wolf will deign to obey the voters or look for some legal ruse to get around them."
Now Pennsylvania alcohol sales to stop at 5 p.m. day before Thanksgiving in bars, restaurants — and many are fed up with 'stripping of rights'
On top of Pennsylvania officials already mandating strict COVID-19 restrictions applying to Thanksgiving such as required wearing of masks when multiple families gather in private homes, the powers that be in the state added more to the merriment Monday.
Such as?
For starters, Pennsylvania restaurants and bars are ordered to suspend alcohol sales at 5 p.m. Wednesday — the day before Thanksgiving — until 8 a.m. Thanksgiving morning, KDKA-TV reported.
The very early last call likely won't make for very festive happy hours around the Keystone State once work lets out.
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf said the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is the "biggest day for drinking" and acknowledged bars and restaurants have been hit hard by the pandemic — but that this one-night ban is necessary, the station reported.
"The thing that we can't do is ignore reality and say, 'Yeah, you folks, for no fault of your own, have been hit hardest by this virus.' But the virus is what's doing this. It's not me. It's not the administration. It's not the government," Wolf said in regard to the 5 p.m. alcohol sales cutoff time, KDKA noted.
Today I’m announcing efforts to slow the spread of #COVID19 as cases reach critical levels.They include a recommi… https://t.co/putm13Sunp— Governor Tom Wolf (@Governor Tom Wolf)1606159468.0
Wolf also said police will step up enforcement efforts and "issue citations and fines, and possibly undertake regulatory actions for repeat offenders."
Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said other mitigation measures are "targeted protections for businesses and gatherings," an advisory for Pennsylvanians to stay at home, and enforcements on public health orders like the recently strengthened mask mandate, the station reported.
How are folks reacting?
It appeared that while some Twitter commenters were in favor of the new restrictions, quite a few others seemed fed up with it all:
- "I don't even drink and this is wrong," one user wrote. "What's the science behind this?"
- "Seriously what is your f***ing problem? You are a f***ing a**hole! This will destroy a huge night for business!" another user noted.
- "Why?!?! This s**t is getting crazy," another commenter said. "What's the SCIENCE with this stripping of rights???"
- "Maybe the liquor stores could just self-identify all their stock as Root Beer," another user quipped.
- "Will there be a special stimulus for all the service employees who were counting on a big night like Thanksgiving Eve to make up a bit for all the losses they've already taken?" another commenter asked.
- "The raw and arbitrary exercise of power is an intoxicant," another user declared.
- "How people continue to vote for Democrats is beyond me," another commenter wrote.
Masks now required inside Pennsylvania homes when members of different households gather
A new Pennsylvania COVID-19 mandate requires the wearing of masks in homes when members of different households gather, the Associated Press reported.
What are the details?
Dr. Rachel Levine, the state health secretary, said Tuesday the order applies even if people are physically distant, the AP noted. But Levine acknowledged that officials are relying on voluntary compliance rather than on enforcement, the outlet added.
The order applies to every indoor facility, in addition to private homes, the AP said.
More from the outlet:
A separate order mandates that people who are traveling to Pennsylvania from another state, as well as Pennsylvania residents who are returning home from out of state, must test negative for the virus within 72 hours prior to arrival. The order does not apply to people traveling back and forth for work or medical treatment. People who refuse to be tested will be required to quarantine for 14 days, Levine said.
Again, the state has no plans to enforce that measure, but is asking for voluntary compliance.
The AP said health officials blamed the spread of the virus in part to small indoor gatherings, and Levine noted that how Pennsylvania does in the coming weeks and months will depend largely on the public's willingness to wear masks and practice social distancing.
"In the end, people will have the consequences of their actions as well as their families and their communities, and if they do not wear masks, if they do not social distance, then those communities are going to see even more spread of COVID-19," Levine added, according to the outlet.
The numbers
The state is reporting more than 5,000 new infections per day, up more than 115% in just two weeks, the AP said, adding that more than 2,700 people are now hospitalized in Pennsylvania with COVID-19 — not far from the state record of about 3,000 in early May.
The AP said Pennsylvania will run out of Intensive Care Unit beds next month at the present admission rate, according to models from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.
And the rate of positive COVID-19 test results, as well as deaths, have been rising, the outlet added.
While Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf imposed a state-at-home order and closed "non-life-sustaining" businesses early in the pandemic, the AP reported that Wolf and Levine have consistently said they don't intend to implement another broad-based shutdown.
But Levine on Tuesday did not rule out more mitigation measures, the outlet said.
"Whether we have to do anything else really depends upon you. It depends upon the public, each one of us taking our responsibility for the common good of everyone in Pennsylvania," Levine said, according to the AP. "And if we all do our part, and we stand united, then we might not need any further mitigation measures."
Penn. bolsters mask, COVID test rules amid surgeyoutu.be
As Pennsylvania counts over 2 million mail-in ballots that could sway state to Biden, GOP leaders call for PA secretary of state's resignation
The results of Pennsylvania's presidential vote — and the state's prized 20 electoral votes — have taken center stage in the 2020 election.
The reason is more than 2.5 million mail-in ballots that still need to be counted, the Morning Call reported. At the moment, President Donald Trump holds a big advantage — as of late Wednesday morning, there were 3,025,470 votes for Trump and 2,491,390 votes for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
But since Democratic voters vastly favor mail-in ballots more than Republicans, Biden's camp is hopeful the mail-in tally will put him in the lead. Indeed, the New York Times reported early Wednesday that Biden so far has won absentee ballots counted by an overwhelming margin, according to data from the secretary of state — and if the trend holds, he'll take Pennsylvania.
But amid the potentially lengthy mail-in vote count process — it could take days — is anger from state GOP officials.
What are the details?
While Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar — who heads Pennsylvania's vote count — said Tuesday's in-person election went well, the Morning Call said top Republicans in the state Senate late Tuesday called for Boockvar's immediate resignation because she "fundamentally altered" election conduct by giving "constantly changing guidance" to counties.
But Boockvar denied the claims and declined to resign, the paper said, adding that Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf backed her up by saying GOP officials were engaging in "a partisan attack on Pennsylvania's elections and our votes."
More from the Morning Call:
Boockvar said that in their call for her to resign, state Sens. Joe Scarnati and Jake Corman ― respectively, the Senate President Pro Tempore and the Majority Leader ― mischaracterized her instructions to county officials on handling mail-in ballots that arrive after polls closed Tuesday.
The Republicans said Boockvar contradicted the Election Code and state and U.S. supreme courts in her instructions, but Boockvar said her instructions were to separate the ballots that arrived after 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Republicans have mounted a challenge to the state Supreme Court's ruling that ballots received for up to three days after in-person voting ends may be counted. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to overturn that decision before the election and instructed state officials to ensure those ballots were kept separately from others.
In fact, Boockvar shot back by saying Scarnati and Corman should resign for preventing mail-in ballots from being counted sooner, the paper said.
"They don't like the late counting of ballots because they don't like anything that allows more eligible voters to be enfranchised," Boockvar noted, according to the Morning Call.
More from the paper:
Mail-in ballots received by Tuesday morning included more than 1.6 million from Democrats, 586,336 from Republicans and 278,393 from independent voters and others.
That means about 81% of mail-in ballot requests generated actual returned ballots. That, Boockvar said, is a "very good percentage" and tops the 80% figure achieved in the June 2 primary election and the historical range of 70%-80%.
Boockvar said the overwhelming majority of the 2.5 million-plus mail ballots received by Tuesday morning will be counted within a few days.
Wolf urged patience and said votes would be counted "accurately" and "fully," CBS News reported.
"The delay that we're seeing is a sign that the system is working," the governor added, according to the network.
Italian restaurant owners who said 'we ain't paying crap' after $10,000 in COVID-19 fines just beat left-wing Pennsylvania governor in court
Over the summer, the co-owner of Taste of Sicily — an Italian restaurant in Palmyra, Pennsylvania — made headlines when he defied left-wing Gov. Tom Wolf's COVID-19 shutdown mandates and scoffed at the $10,000 in fines that came along with them.
"Some rob you with a gun, while others rob you with a pen," co-owner Mike Mangano declared to PennLive at the time, referring to Wolf. "We ain't paying crap."
Well, it appears he was right.
What's the background?
The restaurant opened at full capacity in May — a violation of Wolf's shutdown orders — and the eatery didn't require masks or social distancing, and plexiglass barriers weren't up, the station said.
Mangano cited financial struggles for the decision to reopen, WHP-TV reported.
The restaurant's attorney Eric Winter said as much, telling the station "the business needed it. The family needed it, and they needed to do things to survive. They went ahead and reopened. And at that point, they had great support from the local level elected officials."
But not from the state government. The Department of Agriculture delivered citations to the Taste of Sicily with fines amounting to $10,000.
Mangano, however, told PennLive the restaurant wouldn't shut down its dining room — or even pay the fines: "There's absolutely no fear here. We're going to continue to come to work, and the governor ain't going to do anything about it."
"We don't care what the repercussions may be. We want the world to see how ridiculous it is for being penalized to go to work," he said in a June press conference. "Nobody's asking business owners to take up arms or go to war. Open your doors already."
Winning in court
WHP said Taste of Sicily took the matter up in court — and won.
"We were absolutely ecstatic," Mangano told the station. "You know a lot of people said a lot of different things about Taste of Sicily. We were selfish. All we cared about was business and money, and it's like we need to make a living."
Winter told WHP the Department of Agriculture couldn't lawfully cite them for opening early and that citations must be prosecuted by the attorney general or local district attorney.
Judge Carl Garvey ruled the family business was unconstitutionally cited and the restaurant was found not guilty, the station said, adding that Winter noted Taste of Sicily's owners won't have to pay any fines, and they're waiting for a hearing date against the Department of Agriculture.
What did the governor have to say?
Gov. Wolf, a Democrat, on Monday told WHP-TV that he plans to appeal the judge's ruling.
"The issue in terms of the upsurge has been restaurants and bars, so I think looking at how we deal with those restaurants is an important policy tool and part of anybody trying to address the challenge with this pandemic," Wolf told the station.
Taste of Sicily wins lawsuit against Governor Wolfyoutu.be
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