Convention of States movement hits halfway milestone after Nebraska passes resolution



Wisconsin and Nebraska this week became the 16th and 17th states to call for a convention of states to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution, putting the grassroots movement halfway towards its goal of triggering a convention with the support of 34 states.

Lawmakers in the Nebraska legislature on Friday approved a convention of states resolution by a 32-10 vote, three days after Wisconsin passed a measure calling for a convention to put fiscal restraints on the federal government and impose term limits on members of Congress and other federal officials.

"This week our resolution passed both Wisconsin and Nebraska bringing our total to 17 states. Additionally, we passed the South Dakota House and are moving in the Senate. This puts us across the halfway mark to the necessary 34," said Convention of States President Mark Meckler.

"The question is no longer if we will call a Convention of States, but when. People in this country are sick and tired of DC, and they know that they are going to have to take the power back to the states themselves," he said.

The Convention of States Project, an offshoot of Citizens for Self-Governance, is a movement to limit the power of the federal government and return power to the states by constitutional means. Supporters hope to use Article V of the U.S. Constitution to call for a convention for proposing new amendments to the nation's founding document. A convention will be called if two-thirds (34) of the state legislatures in the United States pass resolutions demanding one.

Nebraska state Sen. Steve Halloran (R) sponsored the resolution calling for a convention of states. He told the Associated Press that his constituents are concerned with the mounting federal debt and that states have the power to reign in Congress if Washington D.C. will not impose restraints on itself.

“Functionally, the founding fathers intended for the states to have equal footing with Congress,” Halloran said. "To me, that's important. I think it's a state sovereignty issue.”

Opponents of the convention of states movement have raised concerns about a "runaway convention" in which delegates from the several states propose radical changes to the Constitution that would erase the freedoms protected in the Bill of Rights.

Supporters answer that any proposed amendments offered by the convention would still have to be ratified by three-quarters of the states, a herculean task that has only occurred 27 times in the history of the United States.

They also argue that the state resolutions calling for a convention can impose limits on what proposals such a convention may consider. For example, Nebraska's resolution calls for fiscal restraints on the federal government, limits on the federal government's power and jurisdiction, and consideration of term limits for members of Congress. A proposal unrelated to those issues would not be germane.

Convention of states resolutions have passed in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin — halfway towards the goal of 34 states.

"It looks like they are going to do it sooner rather than later," said Meckler. "Our grassroots are on the march and they can't be stopped."

Poll finds 71% of Americans oppose vaccine mandates

Poll finds 71% of Americans oppose vaccine mandates



The American people are overwhelmingly opposed to vaccine mandates and believe that the decision on whether to get vaccinated against COVID-19 should be a "personal choice," according to a new national survey.

A nationwide issues survey of likely general election voters conducted by the Trafalgar Group in partnership with Convention of States Action found that 71.4% of respondents said taking COVID-19 vaccines should be a personal choice. Just 21.8% said vaccination should be mandatory, while 6.8% were unsure.

New @trafalgar_group poll shows Americans oppose mandatory vaccination 71-22. That minus-49 margin is about as much… https://t.co/3PisroYwkU

— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) 1626870660.0

Rising numbers of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in the U.S. have in recent weeks prompted public health experts to express concerns that too few Americans are getting vaccinated. Some Biden administration officials, such as President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, have called for vaccine mandates as a solution.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average number of new cases has risen to about 27,000 per day, up 7,000 new cases over the previous week. More than 8 in 10 of new COVID cases were caused by the Delta variant, a coronavirus strain from India that is more contagious than other variants but not more severe.

At the same time, the 7-day average of vaccine doses being administered in the United States has fallen to an estimated 530,000 per day. According to the New York Times vaccine tracker, only 48.6% of Americans are fully vaccinated and just 56.1% have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Public health officials believe 70%-90% of Americans need to be vaccinated before the country can achieve herd immunity, which would enable a full return to the pre-pandemic normal.

The Biden administration has blamed misinformation on social media for remaining vaccine hesitancy. Biden recently called for a door-to-door volunteer effort to reach out to unvaccinated people in targeted communities and attempt to persuade them to get vaccinated. Recent polling suggests that such an effort would only be marginally successful, as majorities of unvaccinated Americans say there is nothing that could convince them to get the COVID-19 shots.

If efforts to persuade the unvaccinated fail, public health officials predict vaccine mandates may be put into effect by businesses and government agencies once the FDA grants full approval to one or more of the vaccines.

But the Trafalgar Group poll indicates there would be strong bipartisan opposition to such mandates.

Republicans are almost uniformly opposed to vaccine mandates, with 87.3% of those surveyed saying taking a COVID vaccine should be a personal choice. Only 7.2% of Republicans said the vaccines should be mandatory and 5.5% were unsure.

But a majority of Democrats are also opposed to vaccine mandates. Just 33% of Democrats say the vaccines should be mandatory while 58.7% say getting vaccinated should be a personal choice.

Those who declined to identify with either major party were also opposed to vaccine mandates, with 67.2% saying vaccination should be a personal choice and 26.5% answering they should be mandatory.

Mark Meckler, president of Convention of States, discussed the poll results with BlazeTV host Steve Deace on Tuesday.

"What it shows is the American people still by and large, including Democrats, are people who think for themselves. They're not listening to the hundreds of millions of posts on social media pushed by Facebook and all these other tyrannical oligarchs, they're listening to their own judgment and they trust their own judgment," said Meckler.

"Overall, it's very hopeful in seeing that people are still self-governing folks in the United States," he added.

Watch:

CEO Mark Meckler tells Glenn Beck Parler will pursue lawsuit against Amazon Web Services



Parler, the self-styled free speech social media platform, will pursue legal action against Amazon Web Services for refusing to host its website, interim CEO Mark Meckler told BlazeTV host Glenn Beck on Tuesday.

During an interview on "The Glenn Beck Program," Meckler said Parler will file an amended complaint to its lawsuit against Amazon Web Services.

"There is a lawsuit that has already been filed. We're working on an amended complaint on that. That lawsuit is against AWS, and it's on web services," Meckler told Beck. "I do think there's liability. I think there's anti-trust stuff. Business stuff. We'll be putting out more on that stuff, in a week or two, when we amend that complaint."

With @Parler_app finally back online after over a MONTH of lost business, Interim CEO @MarkMeckler tells me a lawsu… https://t.co/E842ycZTU0
— Glenn Beck (@Glenn Beck)1613505224.0

The social network used by 20 million people returned to the internet Monday after being offline for nearly a month. Last month after the Capitol Hill riot, Amazon Web Services deplatformed Parler for allegedly refusing to moderate hate speech and violent or illegal activity. Parler was accused of inaction against violent threats made on its platform and claims that it permitted rioters to organize violence by neglecting to enact content moderation policies adopted by other social media websites like Facebook and Twitter, policies that conservatives have criticized as being anti-free speech.

Apple and Google also kicked Parler's app off of their respective app stores around the same time it was deplatformed by Amazon. Shortly after Parler was taken down, the company sued Amazon to have its website hosted again, but U.S. District Judge Barbara Rothstein sided with Amazon, which argued Parler was threatening public safety by neglecting to remove posts after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Meckler took issue with claims that Parler was somehow more responsible for the violence at the Capitol than other social media websites like Facebook or Twitter. He cited a report from Forbes that reviewed data from the Program on Extremism at George Washington University and found that in charging documents for 223 individuals related to the Capitol Hill riot, Parler was mentioned just eight times. By comparison, Facebook was the most referenced social network with 73 references, followed by YouTube with 24.

"They found the vast majority is violent, and inciteful stuff, that took place on Facebook. YouTube and Instagram were a close second and third. We barely made the list," Meckler said. "So there's always going to be bad content on every platform of that size. But the bottom line is, this was just a hit job. It was a political hit job. I would add, it was a business hit job. They see Parler as a real threat to their monopoly on the business market, and on free speech. And they'll come after us."

Parler is back online with new interim CEO



Parler, the self-proclaimed No. 1 free speech social media platform and favorite Twitter alternative of many conservatives, has officially relaunched with new leadership, the company said Monday. Current users should be able to access their accounts by the end of the day.

The social media site, which boasts more than 20 million users, was de-platformed by Amazon Web Services in January after critics accused the website of permitting hate speech and encouraging violence by refusing to follow Facebook's and Twitter's lead in censoring content and banning certain users. After Parler spent weeks searching for a new client to host its website, the company announced its new platform "is built on robust, sustainable, independent technology" and is available immediately for current users. New users will be able to sign up for Parler next week.

Additionally, the company has appointed Mark Meckler as interim CEO after the exit of former CEO John Matze. Meckler is a grassroots conservative activist and president of Citizens for Self-Governance, a co-founder of Tea Party Patriots, and a leader in the Article V Convention of States movement.

"Parler was built to offer a social media platform that protects free speech and values privacy and civil discourse. When Parler was taken offline in January by those who desire to silence tens of millions of Americans, our team came together, determined to keep our promise to our highly engaged community that we would return stronger than ever. We're thrilled to welcome everyone back," Meckler said. "Parler is being run by an experienced team and is here to stay. We will thrive as the premier social media platform dedicated to free speech, privacy and civil dialogue."

In an interview with John Solomon's JustTheNews, Meckler added that Parler is using artificial intelligence and human editors to moderate content that engages in illegal activity or violates its terms of service, but is otherwise remaining true to its commitment to support free speech and oppose censorship of ideas.

"Cancel culture came for us, and hit us with all they had. Yet we couldn't be kept down. We're back, and we're ready to resume the struggle for freedom of expression, data sovereignty, and civil discourse. We thank our users for their loyalty during this incredibly challenging time," radio host Dan Bongino, a prominent investor in Parler, said.

Meckler's position as CEO is temporary, as Parler's executive committee is conducting a search for a permanent CEO to lead the social network.