U.S. Politics

[Rick Plant]

GOP Official Who Called for 'Lynching' of Lloyd Austin Refuses to Resign



A Republican official in Virginia is being pushed to resign by the local GOP after a Facebook post was discovered in which he used the N-word and floated the idea of "lynching" Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and other leaders in Washington, D.C.

The Republican Party of Hampton, Virginia last week became aware of a February 2021 Facebook post by Hampton Electoral Board Chair David Dietrich. In the post, Dietrich attacked Austin—the first Black Defense Secretary in U.S. history—and other Democratic leaders. The controversy was first reported by local WAVY News 10.

Dietrich said in the post that Austin's efforts to root out white nationalists in the military was actually a ploy "to remove conservative, freedom-loving Americans from the roles." He said Austin and other Democratic leaders are "vile and racist," describing them as "stinking" N-words.

"If it is a civil war they want, they will get it in spades," he wrote. "Perhaps the best way to pull us back from the brink is a good public lynching."

On Thursday, the Hampton GOP called on Dietrich to step down, reiterating the call on Friday—sharing a screenshot of the post. The local Republicans said Dietrich had used "abhorrent and unacceptable racist language that has no place in our Party or our Commonwealth." It said it immediately called on him to resign after learning of the post.

"In light of Mr. Dietrich's refusal to resign, the Hampton City Republican Party has asked the chief judge of the Hampton Circuit Court, the appointing authority for all electoral board members, to remove Mr. Dietrich from his position," the local Republican Party said.

"The Hampton City Republican Party unequivocally condemns all forms of racism and bigotry, and specifically condemns the language employed by Mr. Dietrich."

Philip Siff, chair of the local GOP, reiterated that he and other leaders "unequivocally condemn all forms of racism and bigotry," in a Friday comment to WAVY. Siff said that Dietrich was still refusing to resign.

Newsweek reached out to the Hampton GOP and Dietrich for comment.

Austin, a retired four-star general, was first announced as President Joe Biden's pick to lead the Pentagon in December of 2020. He became the first Black secretary of defense in U.S. history after he was confirmed by the Senate on January 22, 2021—with a substantial bipartisan vote of 93 in favor to just two senators opposed.

The Biden administration official retired from military duty in 2016 after 41 years of service. In addition to CENTCOM commander, Austin served as vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army and director of the joint staff.

https://www.newsweek.com/gop-official-who-called-lynching-lloyd-austin-refuses-resign-1696507

[Rick Plant]

Federal judge open to challenge that would keep Marjorie Taylor Greene off the ballot: CNN



According to a report from CNN, Federal Judge Amy Totenberg has indicated a willingness to take a look at whether Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) can be kept from running for re-election due to her connection to the Jan 6th Capitol assault.

CNN is reporting that Totenberg is expected to "issue a ruling next week, likely on Monday."

"Federal Judge Amy Totenberg of the Northern District of Georgia said during a lengthy hearing that she has 'significant questions and concerns' about a recent ruling in a similar case, which blocked the same challenge against Rep. Madison Cawthorn, a North Carolina Republican," CNN's Marshall Cohen wrote. "A group of Georgia voters, backed by a coalition of constitutional scholars and liberal activists, lodged the challenge against Greene last month with state election officials. Greene then filed her own lawsuit in federal court, asking Totenberg to shut down the state-level proceedings."

An attorney for Taylor Greene, James Bopp Jr. complained that the challenge is concocted from "50 pages of newspaper articles, hearsay and political hyperbole.”

He also warned that, should the challenge be successful, Democratic activists may attempt to use the ruling to keep Donald Trump off the ballot should he run for president in 2024.

You can read more here:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/08/politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-candidacy-challenge-lawsuit/index.html

[Rick Plant]

Manufacturing Adds 38,000 Jobs in March

WASHINGTON—The manufacturing sector boosted U.S. employment by 38,000 jobs in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last Friday. Durable goods industries increased by 22,000 jobs and non-durable goods industries by 16,000.

On the durable goods side, the increase was paced by transportation equipment, up 10,800 jobs. That included a gain of 6,400 jobs in motor vehicles and parts. Other industries showing job increases included fabricated metal products (up 3,700 jobs), miscellaneous manufacturing (up 2,300), furniture (up 2,200) and machinery (up 1,700). Industries with job losses included non-metallic mineral products (down 4,500 jobs) and primary metals (down 700).

Manufacturing employment totaled 12.657 million jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis in March. That was up from an adjusted 12.619 million the month before and 12.268 million in March 2021.

The Bureau also reported that the U.S. unemployment rate slid to 3.6 percent in March, down from 3.8 percent in February.

AFP

[Rick Plant]

Biden cracks down on ghost guns with new rule to tackle gun violence

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden will announce a new rule to rein in ghost guns and ban the manufacturing of such firearms on Monday as the administration faces growing pressure to crack down on gun deaths and violent crime in the United States.

Ghost guns are privately made firearms that are not marked with a serial number and are difficult for law enforcement to trace when used to commit a crime.

Biden and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco will announce the final rule from the Department of Justice at an event at the White House on Monday. The final rule has been making its way through the federal regulation process for nearly a year and is likely to draw opposition and litigation from gun advocates in the coming weeks.

At the event, Biden will also nominate Steve Dettelbach, a former U.S. attorney from Ohio, to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, a senior administration official told reporters.

The announcement is part of a series of measures announced by Biden and the Justice Department in April last year to tackle growing gun violence in the United States and curb mass shootings.

In 2021, there were about 20,000 suspected ghost guns reported to ATF as having been recovered by law enforcement in criminal investigations – a tenfold increase from 2016, according to statistics shared by the White House.

The Justice Department rule bans unserialized "buy build shoot" kits that individuals can buy online or at a store without a background check and can readily assemble into a working firearm in as little as 30 minutes with equipment they have at home. It also turns some ghost guns already in circulation into serialized firearms.

Gun deaths increased in 2021 over 2020, according to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive.

In 2021 there were 20,726 gun deaths in the United States, not counting suicides by gun, the nonprofit reported. This included 693 mass shootings, defined by four or more people being shot, and claimed 702 lives and injured more than 2,800 people, the group reported.

© Reuters

[Rick Plant]

Whitmer signs bill to pour $140M into Michigan unemployment fund

LANSING, MI – Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill Monday to boost jobless aid funding and provide money to address unemployment fraud.

The legislation appropriates $139.8 million to the Michigan Unemployment Compensation Fund. This includes $106.8 million in federal funds, $24 million from the state general fund and $8.9 million of state restricted funds.

“This fiscally-responsible, bipartisan bill will lower costs for small businesses and fight waste, fraud, and abuse in our unemployment system,” said Whitmer in a statement.

The fund took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic dropping from $4.6 billion to about $500 million in a year. Michigan employers, who pay into the fund, have to pay more whenever it drops below $2.5 billion.

“By making a deposit into the Unemployment Compensation Fund, we can help small businesses balance their books by lowering the costs of unemployment,” Whitmer said.

Michigan has paid out nearly $40 billion to unemployed Michigan workers since March 2020. Most of that, about $31 billion, came from federal programs and not state dollars.

Through the legislation, the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency can hire additional employees to escalate fraud enforcement efforts. It also helps the Michigan attorney general’s office pursue unemployment claimant fraud, employee fraud and identity theft, a news release said.

“Together, we will pursue anyone who improperly exploits unemployment benefits to pad their own pockets and ensure they are prosecuted to the full extent of our laws,” Whitmer said. “Attorney General Dana Nessel, Michigan’s UIA agency, our federal partners, and my administration will continue working together to utilize this funding as effectively as possible to crack down on fraud and save taxpayers money.”

Michigan created an Unemployment Insurance Fraud Response Team late last year after a report found the state paid out $8.5 billion in fraudulent benefits during the pandemic. That total includes nearly $4 billion the Michigan UIA paid out in error.

Due to the agency mistake about 530,000 people were asked to pay their benefits back. Many are still waiting on those bills to be waived, and the state last week announced collections will be paused on pandemic repayments until May 7.

https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2022/04/whitmer-signs-bill-to-pour-140m-into-michigan-unemployment-fund.html

[Rick Plant]

Biden announces new gun regulation and names ATF nominee



Washington CNN — President Joe Biden announced a new firearm regulation Monday meant to contain the use of privately made weapons as he comes under pressure to take more steps to address a national crisis of gun violence.

The regulation on so-called “ghost guns” – unregulated, untraceable weapons made from kits – will address a critical gap in the government’s ability to track them by requiring background checks before purchase and serial numbers on some of the components. Though ghost guns make up a relatively small share of the guns recovered by law enforcement, they have been seen with increasing frequency in recent years.

Biden brought one of the kits to the Rose Garden on Monday, declaring the new rules “basic common sense” before holding aloft one of the weapons made from the gear.

“If you buy a couch you have to assemble, it’s still a couch. If you order a package like this one over here that includes that parts that you need and directs the assembly of a functioning firearm, you bought a gun,” he declared, striding over to the kit and demonstrating the ease of constructing the weapon.

“It doesn’t take very long,” he said. “Anyone can order it in the mail.”

Biden also named Steve Dettelbach, a former US attorney from Ohio, as his nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The President’s previous nominee was forced to withdraw amid opposition in the Senate.

“This mission of this agency isn’t controversial – it’s public safety,” Biden said.

The moves came as gun violence and crime have ticked up in the United States, putting pressure on the White House to take action. A rash of shootings over the weekend underscored the emergency: Four people, including two teens, were shot shortly after a Major League Baseball game in Washington, DC, on Saturday night, police said. In Illinois, six people were found injured after a shooting occurred in a residential neighborhood.

Police are also investigating a shooting at a birthday party in Indianapolis where six people were shot and one person was killed. And two people were also killed and 10 hospitalized after a “targeted attack” at a Cedar Rapids nightclub, police say.

Routine deadly gun violence is a uniquely American problem. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deemed gun violence a “serious public health threat” last year. Biden has made modest progress on gun control, but major steps like banning assault weapons or closing background check loopholes would require congressional action.

“None of this absolves Congress … for the responsibility to act,” Biden said.

Gun violence traditionally spikes in the summer months, lending further urgency to Monday’s actions.

The new rule issued by the Justice Department seeks to rein in a type of weapon that has been seen more and more at crime scenes across the country. Ghost gun kits can be purchased online, and a weapon can be self-manufactured in as little as 30 minutes. Because regulators cannot trace them, ghost guns are appealing to criminals and those with criminal histories, according to officials.

The new rules require anyone purchasing a kit to undergo a background check, as is required for other types of firearm purchases. It also requires those selling the kits to mark components with a serial number, so the eventual weapon produced can be traced. And it mandates firearm dealers add a serial number to already built ghost guns they come across in their businesses.

“All of a sudden, it’s no longer a ghost,” Biden said of the new rules. “It has a return address. And it’s going to help save lives, reduce crime and get more criminals off the streets.”

“Ghost guns look like a gun, they shoot like a gun, and they kill like a gun, but up until now they haven’t been regulated like a gun,” John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, said in a statement celebrating the Biden administration for “doubling down on its commitment to gun safety.”

Mia Tretta, who was shot and wounded with a ghost gun in a school shooting in California in 2019, similarly praised the administration for taking “a critical step” with the new regulation. Tretta introduced the President in the Rose Garden on Monday.

“If you can put together an IKEA dresser, you can build a ghost gun,” she said in a statement. “Unfortunately, it is that easy to get a weapon that has not only changed my life but has done the same thing to thousands of others. Finalizing this rule is a critical step to making sure no one else has to go through what my family has had to go through.”

The Justice Department previously launched a national ghost gun enforcement initiative, which will “train a national cadre of prosecutors and disseminate investigation and prosecution tools to help bring cases against those who use ghost guns to commit crimes,” according to the White House.

Biden said Monday that those who commit a crime using a ghost gun should “expect federal prosecution.”

“This rule is an important step. It is going to make a difference, I promise you,” Biden said.

Ghost guns have been used in multiple recent shootings, including at a Maryland high school in January. The exact number in circulation is unknowable, given the inability of regulators to track them.

Between 2016 and 2021, the ATF received 45,000 reports of privately made firearms recovered by law enforcement, including 692 from homicides or attempted homicides. The agency was able to trace only 1% of them, officials said, because the firearms lack serial numbers.

Multiple states have moved to restrict their sale as ghost guns become more common at crime scenes.

Last week, Maryland joined Washington, DC, and 10 other states – California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Virginia and Washington – in banning or restricting the purchase or use of ghost guns, which are often bought online and assembled at home.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer again decried the use of ghost guns during a press conference Sunday, calling for a crackdown on the rise of the privately made firearms and speaking about a deadly shooting in the Bronx Friday.

The New York Democrat blamed Republicans for holding up gun reform legislation, while pressing Biden’s administration to go further. “Today I am calling on the administration to go all after ghost guns, by putting out regulations that will stop them. The federal government has the ability through regulation to stop these ghost guns,” he said.

Still, Biden’s planned firearm regulation drew backlash from gun rights advocates even before being officially announced.

Aidan Johnston, the director of federal affairs for Gun Owners of America, said in a statement Sunday, “Biden’s proposal to create a comprehensive national gun registry and end the online sale of gun parts without the passage of a new law exemplifies his disregard for the Second Amendment.”

In September, Biden withdrew his nomination of David Chipman to lead the ATF after facing opposition from Republicans and certain moderate Democrats.

Chipman, a former career official at ATF, came under scrutiny from gun rights supporters and the National Rifle Association for his work as a senior adviser to Everytown for Gun Safety and Giffords – the organization started by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot at an event in her Arizona district in 2011.

Dettelbach ran unsuccessfully for Ohio attorney general in 2018 after serving as US attorney in the state.

"We will be working hard to ensure that Steve Dettelbach receives the fair hearing and confirmation that he deserves. He should be a noncontroversial candidate because he has a long record of working in law enforcement and for the public safety of the people of Ohio and the American people,” one of the officials said.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/11/politics/gun-regulation-atf-steve-dettelbach/index.html

[Rick Plant]

ABC-Ipsos poll:

A large majority of Americans say oil companies and Vladimir Putin are to blame for increases in gas prices.

More than two-thirds of Americans blamed Putin (71%) and oil companies (68%) a "great deal" or a "good amount" for the increases in gas prices.