Parents of loved ones lost to fentanyl poisoning ask government to take action against drug crisis



On Thursday, parents shared personal stories of losing children to fentanyl at a roundtable organized by the Republican Study Committee. The advocates urged the government to help curb the crisis impacting young people nationwide.

Ten parents and loved ones spoke about losing a family member to fentanyl during the roundtable event led by chairman Rep. Jim Banks (R) of Indiana this week.

\u201cToday, Chairman @RepJimBanks led a roundtable with members of RSC and advocates who have lost a loved one to fentanyl. Congress must act now to stop this deadly crisis! \n\n@RepPfluger @RepKatCammack @RepLisaMcClain @RepTiffany @RepChipRoy @RepMikeCarey @RepTimBurchett\u201d
— RSC (@RSC) 1663284147

The advocates argued that fentanyl-related deaths should not be considered overdoses, the Daily Caller reported. The founder of Lost Voices of Fentanyl, April Babcock, stated during the meeting, “This is not an overdose. Overdose implies there’s a safe dose to take. There is no safe dose of fentanyl.”

Babcock called for top-down action from the White House. She said, “I want a COVID-like response to fentanyl. Everyone knew after three months of COVID, social distance, wear a mask, wash your hands. Where is that for fentanyl?”

According to Customs and Border Protection, the United States seized over 11,200 pounds of fentanyl in the 2021 fiscal year. In the 2022 fiscal year, authorities confiscated approximately 10,600 pounds.

The CDC reported 107,375 overdose deaths in the 12-month period ending in January 2022. Of those deaths, 67% involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

The DEA recently recognized National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day on August 21. As part of the announcement, the DEA also launched an exhibit titled "The Faces of Fentanyl," which features photographs of lost loved ones.

“Drug traffickers are driving addiction, and increasing their profits, by mixing fentanyl with other illicit drugs. Tragically, many overdose victims have no idea they are ingesting deadly fentanyl until it’s too late,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram.

At the RSC round-table, parent Theresa Juillerat called the drug problem a “red, white, and blue crisis that needs immediate attention.”

Another parent at the meeting, Lori Ashenfelde, called for lawmakers to take action. She stated, “Fentanyl is killing our youth. Something has to be done to shut the border down.”

On Thursday, Rep. Jim Banks proposed an amendment to the Controlled Substances Act that would provide harsher penalties for drug traffickers when narcotics have the appearance of candy or are combined with beverage products. The legislation would designate the crime a felony punishable by a maximum of 10 years in prison for a first offense and a maximum of 20 years for a second offense.

\u201cEvery 8.5 minutes, an American dies from fentanyl. \n\nThank you to my colleagues and constituents for joining me yesterday to discuss how Congress can address this deadly crisis. \n\n@RepPfluger @RepKatCammack @RepLisaMcClain @RepTiffany @RepChipRoy @RepMikeCarey @RepTimBurchett\u201d
— Jim Banks (@Jim Banks) 1663330826

House Republicans push resolution that calls critical race theory 'a form of Marxist ideology' and 'a clear and present danger to the Republic'



A group of House Republicans is backing a resolution that calls critical race theory a "Marxist ideology" and a "threat" the the country.

"CRT proponents cannot be allowed to conceal the Marxian foundations of their racist ideology. This resolution allows Congress to do what has always been essential to defeating Marxism — calling it what it is and exposing those who consort with it,” GOP Rep. Dan Bishop of North Carolina noted, according to the Daily Caller.

Bishop introduced the resolution, which is cosponsored by Republican Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Jeff Duncan of South Carolina, Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin, Randy Weber of Texas, Greg Steube of Florida, Bob Good of Virginia, Jim Banks of Indiana, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky.

According to a copy of the resolution posted by the outlet, the text of the measure would declare that the House "recognizes critical race theory and its derivatives as a form of Marxist ideology" and "recognizes that critical race theory exists in direct opposition to the founding ideals, way of life, and form of government of the United States."

The resolution also states the the House "declares that, as a Marxist ideology, critical race theory poses a significant threat to the United States Republic, its citizens, and the free people of the world rising to the degree of a clear and present danger to the Republic, its citizens, and the States, its allies, and the good and happiness of mankind."

\u201cThank you to @RepJeffDuncan @Congressman_JVD @RepGrothman @TXRandy14 @RepGregSteube @RepBobGood @RepJimBanks @RepThomasMassie @RepBoebert @Rep_Clyde for co-sponsoring.\u201d
— Rep. Dan Bishop (@Rep. Dan Bishop) 1659121869

The measure will likely fail to make any headway in the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives.

Bishop has previously pushed legislation to prohibit the federal government from supplying funds to any entity that teaches concepts such as the idea that America is a "fundamentally racist" nation or that a person is "inherently racist or oppressive" because of their race. He has also pushed legislation to bar the military from promoting such concepts.

Rep. Jim Banks regains access to locked Twitter account after deleting post in which he called transgender official 'a man'



Republican Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana has regained the ability to post content on his @RepJimBanks Twitter account after the social media company locked the account in October.

Twitter took the action in response to a tweet in which the congressman referred to Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Rachel Levine as "a man."

Levine is biological man who identifies as a woman.

An HHS release last month described Levine as the "first-ever female four-star admiral" in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.

Twitter took issue with a tweet on Banks' account that declared, "The title of first female four-star officer gets taken by a man."

NEW: Twitter has censored @RepJimBanks for calling HHS' Rachel Levine a man. He will be locked out of his account until he deletes the tweet, "The title of first female four-star officer gets taken by a man."pic.twitter.com/6wdDqJ36kH

— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) 1634991440

Banks said in a Friday statement that while he has deleted the tweet, he stands by its veracity.

"Twitter was blocking my communications with Hoosiers right before Congress votes on the largest expansion of the federal government since the Great Society. Twitter demanded I delete the tweet if I wanted to participate in a momentous political debate, which is my job, so I did, but I stand by every word in my factual statement," Banks said in the statement, according to WANE.

A House vote on a massive spending proposal opposed by Republicans did not materialize on Friday, but the chamber may potentially still vote on a bipartisan infrastructure measure.

"I'm not the first, I won't be the last conservative that Big Tech tries to silence," Banks said in a video that marked his first post since being blocked from utilizing the account.

I\u2019m back.pic.twitter.com/xk9GhQpQaR

— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) 1636135147

After targeting Rep. Banks for calling transgender HHS official Rachel Levine 'a man,' Twitter targeted Not the Bee for tweeting about the story



Not the Bee's Twitter account was temporarily locked and required to delete a tweet in order to regain access, according to Adam Ford.

While the popular satire website The Babylon Bee serves up fictitious content, Not the Bee operates in an entirely different lane that involves highlighting real news stories.

"Not the Bee is a humor-based news, opinion, and entertainment site from the creators of The Babylon Bee and Disrn. Like the name suggests, it'll feature some absurd and hilarious (but real) news that seems like it should definitely be satire," Ford noted on the site last year.

Ironically, the Not the Bee tweet flagged by Twitter was meant to share a post about Twitter targeting the official account of U.S. Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) over a tweet describing Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Rachel Levine as "a man."

Not the Bee's offending tweet stated: "Twitter suspended a sitting congressman for calling transgender HHS official Rachel Levine — who is a biological male —a 'man'"

Levine, a transgender woman, is a biological male who identifies as a woman. Last week an HHS release described Levine as the "first-ever female four-star admiral" in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.

"The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) publicly announced today the nation's first openly transgender four-star officer across any of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Admiral Rachel Levine, who serves as the HHS Assistant Secretary for Health and head of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps, was ceremonially sworn in as a four-star admiral," the release stated. "Admiral Levine now serves as the highest ranking official in the USPHS Commissioned Corps and its first-ever female four-star admiral."

The Republican congressman's official Twitter account was locked by the social media company for a tweet that declared, "The title of first female four-star officer gets taken by a man."

Reports indicate that a Twitter spokesperson informed media outlets that the congressman's account was temporarily locked for breaching the company's hateful conduct policy and that the offending tweet must be deleted before account access will be restored.

"The account referenced has been temporarily locked for violating our Hateful Conduct Policy. The account owner is required to delete the violative Tweet before regaining access to their account," a Twitter spokesperson noted in a statement, according to The Hill.

Banks, who has not posted any tweets on that account since Oct. 22, announced that he will be posting on his personal account.

"Twitter has suspended my official account for posting a statement of FACT. I won't back down. I'll be posting on my personal account for the time being," he tweeted.

NEW: Twitter has censored @RepJimBanks for calling HHS' Rachel Levine a man. He will be locked out of his account u… https://t.co/LFrJyWu9gf

— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) 1634991440.0

Twitter targets GOP rep who called transgender official Rachel Levine 'a man' — but lawmaker refuses to back down



Twitter removed a tweet from the official account of Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) on Saturday, accusing the lawmaker of violating the platforms rules against "hateful content."

What are the details?

Banks was reportedly "censored," locked out of his official Twitter account until he deleted a tweet that called Rachel Levine, the assistant secretary for health, "a man." Levine was born a biological man, but is transgender and now identifies as a woman.

Banks critically tweeted about Levine on Tuesday after news broke that Levine would receive the honor of being the "first-ever female four-star admiral" of the U.S. Public Health Services Commissioned Corps.

"The title of first female four-star officer gets taken by a man," Banks said in the now-removed tweet.

By Saturday, Twitter had taken down the message, accusing Banks of violating the platform's rules prohibiting "hateful content."

"This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules," the message from Twitter read. "You may not promote violence against or directly attack or threaten other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease. We also do not allow accounts whose primary purpose is inciting harm towards others on the basis of these categories."

NEW: Twitter has censored @RepJimBanks for calling HHS' Rachel Levine a man. He will be locked out of his account u… https://t.co/LFrJyWu9gf

— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) 1634991440.0

Twitter rules further explain that "misgendering" someone is a violation of platform policies.

"We prohibit targeting others with repeated slurs, tropes or other content that intends to dehumanize, degrade or reinforce negative or harmful stereotypes about a protected category. This includes targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals," Twitter rules state.

How did Banks respond?

The Indiana congressman refused to back down from his remark about Levine.

"My tweet was a statement of fact," Banks said in a statement. "Big Tech doesn't have to agree with me, but they shouldn't be able to cancel me. If they silence me, they will silence you. We can't allow Big Tech to prevent us from telling the truth. When Republicans take back the House next year, we must restore honesty to our public forums and hold Big Tech accountable."

Twitter, however, did not censor Banks for another tweet critical of Levine.

"Calling someone that was born and lived as a man for 54 years the first 'female' four-star officer is an insult to every little girl who dreams of breaking glass ceilings one day," that tweet said.