New York State Senate (Update)  by Tom Reynolds

Prior to 2018, Republicans usually had control of the New York State Senate.  This somewhat offset the heavily New York City based gun grabbers in the Assembly and the Governor’s office.  Republicans were the only defense against the gun grabbing left and when they lost the Senate majority, in a landslide in 2018, the gun grabbers came out in force.

In October, when SCOPE reviewed the Senate races and advised you of those races that were competitive, it was noted that in many of the races that Republicans lost in 2018 (a non-presidential year) was because the Republican voter turnout cratered from 2016 (a presidential election year.)  It was hoped that some of these seats would be regained in 2020 if Republicans turned out in force to vote for the President – and they did – but not enough.

There are 63 Senate seats so 32 is a majority.  As of this writing the Republicans have won 28 and 2 more are too close to call.  Not a majority.  And in New York State politics, a miss is a good as a mile.  When the Democrats have the legislative majority, they run roughshod.

This is particularly distressing since 2020 is also a census year and Senate districts will be redistricted (gerrymandered) prior to the 2022 election.  The Senate majority (Democrats) have control over the process and they will use that power to increase their power.  For example, there are 2 districts in New York City that are Republican (Staten Island and South Brooklyn).  Standing mostly alone, these districts elect Republican Senators.  After redistricting, they will undoubtably be split and their parts merged with heavily Democrat areas surrounding them, thus, dissipating their Republican strength and potentially turning them into Democrat majority districts.  

Upstate Republican Senators may find themselves opposing other Republican Senators in 2022 as their districts are realigned.  (There is a residency requirement in their districts for Senators.) 

So, that’s the problem.  What’s the plan?

Even before redistricting is complete, we need to be motivating gun owners to act.  (Register and Vote.)  Unfortunately, this will probably be made a little easier as the gun grabbing majority will be pushing all sorts of radical gun control bills to, in effect, do away with the 2^nd Amendment.  Hopefully, that might catch reluctant voters’ attention and, perhaps, motivate them.  SCOPE will do its best to publicize these efforts of the left but we also need ordinary members to get motivated and spread the word.  (“The gun grabbers are coming” is the modern equivalent of “The British are coming”.)

Once redistricting Is done, we need to find and/or support candidates who will defend 2A and run for the Senate in these new districts.  That means getting involved. 

The far left has their sights on destroying more than just 2A and we need to find those people and organizations targeted by the left and work with them (The enemy of my enemy is my friend.)

Hopefully, the Covid restrictions will have eased and chapters can get active in their local communities.

Money is needed to run campaigns and it is easier to start with a little each month than to find a lot just before the election.  The SCOPE PAC is being reorganized and will soon reopen for business.  It made a major contribution to the Senate election committee this year.

The next few years are not going to be fun but if we are to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution,  it’s our duty as Americans.

Bernie Sanders Tells the Truth (A Little Bit, Anyway)  by Tom Reynolds

Bernie Sanders is not on Tuesday’s ballot but he is a major force in the Democrat Party and his “thinking” is essentially that of the Democrat Party.  During an interview with Seth Meyers, Bernie Sanders said, “I think it is fair to say that in many ways the Democratic Party has become a party of the coastal elites.”  (Did he look at a national map of red states and blue states to get this stunning flash of brilliance?)

Sanders continued, “But I think for many, many years the Democratic Party has not paid the kind of attention to working-class needs that they should’ve and that has a lot to do with who funds campaigns, etc.” 

Sanders knows that, in the midst of riots, arson, murders, defunding police and rogue District Attorneys, Democrats ignored the safety needs of working-class citizens and wanted to do away with a citizens’ last form of protection, the 2^nd Amendment.  With NICS checks and gun sales hitting all-time highs, shouldn’t that have caught the actual candidates’ (Biden and Harris) attention.  Perhaps they were too busy courting Wall Street to notice? Women are a significant percentage of these gun buyers and yet we hear that suburban women will vote for the gun grabbers Biden and Harris.  (Sarah Palin’s “pit bull with lipstick” now carries a Glock.)

Democrats are too busy courting big donors, as Sanders said, to be bothered with working-class needs like safety.  Breitbart reports  that Wall Street executives in New York City, alone, have poured more than $74 million into Biden’s campaign. A CNN analysis noted that “all the big banks” are backing Biden against Trump. These donors want to buy Biden’s support instead of him wasting his time on working-class needs.  

Sanders once embraced the rural gun culture in Vermont.  But he has moved to the left along with the rest of his party after he saw that his gun record could be a real detriment to his presidential ambitions.

Wow, he flipped on 2A because of presidential ambitions.  Say it aint so!  Does that sound like anyone else we know?

In 1986, Joe Biden voted with the NRA on a bill called the “Firearms Owners’ Protection Act,” which the NRA called “the law that saved gun rights”.  Biden was key to the law’s passage at the time.  When the Democrat Party subsequently shifted left, being loyal follower, Joe did the same and now has an extensive and undeniable history as a gun grabber - which doesn’t stop him from flip flopping on 2A.  When he was competing in the Democrat Primary against other gun grabbing Democrats, Biden was anti 2A and he said to Beto O’Rourke, “You're gonna take care of the gun problem with me, you're gonna be the one who leads this effort".  But while campaigning against 2A supporter President Trump, Biden was accused of being hostile to 2A by a factory worker.  His response was, “You’re full of sh..!  I support the Second Amendment”.  He may support it when talking to 2A supporters but when talking to gun grabbing democrats – not so much.

On the other hand, Kamala Harris is nothing but consistent in her opposition to 2A.  She must believe that guns are the problem and not the person holding the gun, since she has never met a gun control bill she didn’t like.  But based on her actions, illegal aliens, on the other hand, are to be protected from the consequences of breaking laws.

Harris figures that those inanimate objects can’t vote, but Biden and Sanders understand that the objects’ owners can vote!  And if gun owners sit home on November 3^rd or believe the flip floppers on 2A, they will have sealed their own fate - as well as ours, too.

Vote as if your 2^nd Amendment right depends on it – because it does!

Journalism Is Not Dead  by Tom Reynolds

Some people argue that Journalism is dead but, in fact, it is alive and well.

People whose profession was to write or present the facts to us formerly were called news “reporters”.  Now they are called news “journalists”.  The change is appropriate.  Reporters were expected to present the facts and to cover all sides of an issue. Psychologists will tell you that people who journal are supposed to write down their thoughts and feelings; they are told that their feelings are real and need to be expressed.  Who can doubt that today’s news media is overwhelmingly populated by people who believe that their own thoughts and feelings are what is real and what must be “reported” as news.  Facts?  Well, not so much.  Both sides of the story?  Never!  “Journalism” is alive and well.  It’s just “Reporting” that has died.

You may be aware that one presidential candidate’s son abandoned a laptop with overwhelming evidence that the candidate had discussed that son’s business, even though the candidate denied doing so.  And while the candidate was Vice President of the United States of America, he used his political power, in the second most powerful office in the world, as leverage in financial deals with foreign countries.  That would seem to be important news.  But if all you listen to is CNN, MSNBC, and other left-wing news stations, you don’t know about this because they quickly labelled the story “Russian Disinformation” and then buried it.  Director of National Intelligence, John Ratliffe, subsequently said that the laptop was not part of Russian disinformation.  Did CNN, etc. unbury the story?  No Lazarus there.

Recently, it was reported (but probably not on CNN) that the candidate’s son is under investigation for Money Laundering.  Nothing to see here, says the left-wing media.

In Philadelphia, a knife wielding, career criminal attacked police and was shot by them.  That incident gave cover to a series of riots that are devastating Philadelphia businesses.  After months of previous riots throughout America, Democrats discovered that the riots were hurting them in the polls and, as a result, riot coverage was buried by the left-wing media in order to protect the Democrat Party.  Did the Philadelphia riots resurrect that coverage?  A cold day In Hell, amidst global warming, has a better chance of happening.

What are CNN, etc. covering?  Mostly the Covid epidemic and how it is growing at alarming rates and it’s all Donald Trump’s fault.  There is also coverage of the presidential election and how Trump will be overwhelmingly defeated, so his supporters, by inference, need not bother voting in a lost cause. 

Twitter and Facebook refuse to allow posts that support the laptop story.  Only someone with the IQ of a rock would believe this is anything but political censorship.

There was a saying in defense of the 1^st Amendment, “I disagree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it”.  That saying is now, “I disagree with what you say and since it hurt my feelings you must stop saying it”.  The proponents of microaggressions should try following the saying, “Get over it”.  No, they’d rather pretend to wallow in self pity in order to strike a blow for political censorship. 

This election is a test whether the American voters can see beyond the overwhelmingly biased left-wing journalism, that we are buried under every day, and use their judgement when casting their ballots.  The media believes they can decide the results of the election through their actions.  The course of American news reporting depends on you voting and showing that the media cannot brainwash you.  Oh yeah, and your future, too.

Critical of Critical Race Theory  by Tom Reynolds

President Trump’s “Executive order on combating race and sex stereotyping”, effectively banned promoting Critical Race Theory within the federal government.  His opponents attempt to label President Trump as a racist but it is those who promote Critical Race Theory that are the racists.  In his Executive Order, Trump laid out principles that would have been embraced by Martin Luther King Jr. and his civil rights movement.  Critical Race Theory directly opposes the racial progress made in the last half century; it divides, rather than unites. 

Many people are not familiar with the details of Critical Race Theory, which clearly does not correspond with the spirit or the letter of the Constitution and the civil rights laws; this unconstitutionality allowed President Trump to ban it. 

In order to familiarize you with it, so you can better defend the Constitution, the following is a direct quote from the President’s Executive Order, “This ideology (Critical Race Theory) is rooted in the pernicious and false belief that America is an irredeemably racist and sexist country; that some people, simply on account of their race or sex, are oppressors; and that racial and sexual identities are more important than our common status as human beings and Americans”.

In the executive order, Trump banned teaching the following divisive concepts that are at the heart of Critical Race Theory:

an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously;

an individual’s moral character is necessarily determined by his or her race or sex;

an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex;

any individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race or sex;

meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic and objectivity were created by a particular race to oppress another race;

an individual’s character traits, values, moral and ethical codes, privileges, status, or beliefs are because of his or her race or sex”;

an individual’s fault, blame, or bias is a result of their race or sex;

members of any race are inherently racist or are inherently inclined to oppress others;

members of a sex are inherently sexist or inclined to oppress others;

and last but not least, the United States is fundamentally racist or sexist; 

In direct contradiction to Critical Race Theories, on Monday, in Washington D.C., a black man from Georgia swore in a white woman from Indiana to be one of only nine Supreme Court justices.  Take that you race baiters!

Those that want to take away your 2^nd Amendment rights will embrace the divisiveness of Critical Race Theory as a way to destroy America.  President Trump can attempt to stop this divisive theory within the federal government but the private sector has the freedom, under our Constitution, to continue to divide us.  Check out your local schools funded by your taxes or the colleges charging tens of thousands of dollars in tuition, as they are indoctrinating our youth, counter to what Trump is outlawing.  Ask candidates for political offices to condemn Critical Race Theory.

On November 3^rd, vote against the proponents of Critical Race Theory.

Packing the Supreme Court  by Tom Reynolds

With Amy Coney Barrett’s appointment to the Supreme Court (SCOTUS), there is talk amongst Democrats about “packing” SCOTUS.  Biden’s silence on the subject confirms that, if elected President, he will probably go along with this idea.  The purpose behind “packing” is to create more justice positions and fill them with anti 2A liberals in order to gain a liberal political majority on SCOTUS.  They may go beyond that and increase the number of other federal judges (over 600 now) to add even more anti 2A judges at all levels

The Founding Fathers created two branches of government that are political and representative in nature: Congress and the Presidency.  The third branch of government, Judicial, is supposed to be the non-political, non-representative branch.  Its’ role is to make impartial non-political decisions based solely on the rule of law, as written in the Constitution or passed by Congress.  Being non-political gives the Judicial branch a moral authority as well as a Constitutional authority. 

To insulate justices from political pressures and keep decisions non-political, the only way to remove a justice is for Congress to impeach that justice.  Congress has been very loath to impeach judges since that would open the door to Congress threatening impeachment in order to get a political judgement. While Congress could legally do it, political impeachments would destroy SCOTUS’ moral authority. Only fifteen federal judges have been impeached in the entire history of the USA. Congress has, until now, usually recognized the need for the Judiciary’s moral authority by not using its impeachment power to influence the judiciary.

Supreme Court decisions are obeyed by the other two branches and by American citizens because those decisions are, theoretically, based on non-political judgements.  Americans – and especially legal gun owners - want to obey the law.  If SCOTUS reflected the whims of a temporary majority, rather than upholding the principles of law, it would soon lose its moral authority. If the court is packed, it becomes just another instrument of partisan politics and loses its credibility as the defender of our fundamental, constitutional values.

The main difference between justices is in the way they interpret the Constitution; some are Strict Constructionists and some are Loose Constructionists.  Political definitions are flexible but, in general, Strict Constructionists believe the Constitution and laws passed under the Constitution mean what the laws meant when passed.  They do not believe in legislating from the bench since the ability to pass laws belongs only to Congress, which is elected by the citizens.  Loose Constructionists believe the law can be changed by judges to fit current needs - as the unelected judge sees those needs.  That is not a democracy!  The issue should only be the Constitution and not a judge’s feelings.

Democrats justify court packing to “even the playing field”.  With SCOTUS divided 5 to 3 between Strict Constructionists and Loose Constructionists, (no one knows what John Roberts is), would Democrats add only 2 more justices to even the playing field or leap at the opportunity to tilt the playing field in their favor by appointing more than 2?  Everything in Democrats’ recent history indicates they would do the latter!

Some Democrats justify court packing if Obamacare is struck down because millions of Americans are on it.  But the number of people on a plan does not and should not affect its constitutional status.  It’s either constitutional or it’s not.  

Stare Decisis is a legal term that gives great weight to previous decisions when making current decisions on the same subject.  If the law is constantly changing with every change in political power, the law will not be viewed as impartial and loses its moral authority.  SCOTUS has consisted of 9 justices for over 150 years, through both Republican and Democrat political majorities, and only Franklin Roosevelt tried to change that for political purposes.  That consistency has helped preserve SCOTUS’ position as the final arbiter.  Shouldn’t Congress apply Stare Decisis to its own decisions on SCOTUS, in order to keep SCOTUS’ moral authority intact?  

For 2A supporters, a “packed” SCOTUS would be a disaster as the Democrat Party and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have consistently been anti 2A and you can be sure they would appoint like-minded, anti 2A judges to the court.  Our temporary opening to strengthen 2A would close in a flash.

Vote!

A Referendum on Liberty  by Harold Moskowitz

Life is full of far-reaching decisions.  We choose a means of earning a living, a lifestyle, and perhaps another person with whom to share our life.  These choices can be changed if necessary.  Soon, all of us will have an additional choice to make.  It will profoundly affect not only your future but that of those people we care about as well.

On November 3, 2020, an election will be held.  This election does not involve the mere choice between two candidates of different political parties.  In reality, this election will serve as a national referendum on whether or not we will become a socialist nation.  By extension, it will determine whether we remain a free nation with unalienable rights or a nation of “peasants and serfs” ruled by a tight-fisted soviet style “politburo.”  Should the candidate representing this second scenario win, the levers of government power will be used to stifle dissent and to institute changes designed to create and maintain one party rule in perpetuity.

Without viable opposition, our constitutional republic’s safeguards against tyranny, which were built into our government by the Framers, will be removed or ignored.  In that case, we would be left with unrestricted one-party rule as is currently seen in repressive states such as California and New York.

The choice will be yours to make.  Only you can stop socialism and the loss of individual liberty.  Some choices cannot be undone without having to risk your life.  A choice resulting in the loss of freedom and economic opportunity for those you love is one such choice.  Vote November 3rd to keep your freedom, your cherished values, and your way of life.

Indoctrinating about Intimidating  by Tom Reynolds

Sunday’s Gannett papers featured an Associated Press article headlined, “Intimidation effort feared at polls”.  Given that riots went unchecked for months and rioters have felt free to try to intimidate bystanders and the police, that seems like a legitimate concern for polling places; the article’s first paragraph even referenced the riots as a cause of concern.  (But it doesn’t ever call them riots; they are only protests and civil unrest.)

Who does the article identify as the people to be concerned about?  “Anti-government extremists and other armed civilians” are cited.  An American University professor puts the blame on the “extreme right” and he also worries about guns being carried into polling places. President Trump’s call for an “army of poll watchers” is also cited at the beginning of a paragraph that ends warning, “…observers will harass or intimidate voters”.  (Hint.  Hint.  Trump wants his “observers” to intimidate voters, not watch for fraud.)

The article even includes reference to the group that plotted a kidnapping of Michigan’s governor.

And, of course, the article included the mandatory liberal lie about Trump not condemning right wing extremists.

Wow.  Sounds as if we had better beware of right-wingers intimidating voters; like those right-wing extremists who have been rioting for months in major cities, burning, looting, shooting and causing $2 billion in damage. Oh, wait.  That’s Black Lives Matter and Antifa that did that!  Don’t Black Lives Matter and Antifa qualify as “anti-government extremists”?  Do their actions constitute anarchy?  Surely, the article has to also include them as groups to be concerned about if the article is going to be comprehensive?  Nope.  Not even a hint of criticism of anything leftist.  Apparently, Gannett newspapers and the Associated Press believe that Black Lives Matter and Antifa have great respect for our rights as citizens and they would never use violence to intimidate anyone, so there was no need to mention either group in the article.

Greater NY Black Lives Matter President Hawk Newsome admits to saying, “If this country doesn’t give us what we want, then we will burn down the system and replace it”.  Can voters rely on Black Lives Matter to not interfere with the election and, mercifully, give us one-last-chance to do what they want - before they burn down the system of voting and replace it with…?  (I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that Newsome’s replacement system parallels the old USSR system by allowing us to vote for Newsome’s candidate, or else.)

The mention of the Michigan governor’s kidnapping plot made sure that we know she is a Democrat. (Hint.  Hint.  It must have been those nasty right-wing, bible clinging gun owners at work again.)  But according to social media posts, two of the six plotters initially arrested are anarchists that hated Michigan’s governor and hated President Trump and a third plotter identified with Black Lives Matter.  (One thing about right-wing extremists – they believe in diversity - and they’re even willing to include left-wing extremists.)

The anti-gun rhetoric in the article pushes making polling places into “gun free zones”.  That’s worked out well in the past as criminals, historically, show great respect and deference for gun-free zones…

This article was a terrific example of the deceit of the media in general and Gannett newspapers in particular.  They took a legitimate news concern and, by figurative winks-and-nods, turned it into an anti-Republican, anti-Trump editorial hiding in plain sight.  And they even got in a few “shots” for gun control.  Should we have expected anything else?

At least this article didn’t say that Trump was dividing America…That article was on page 6.

Lies During the Debate – And After  by Tom Reynolds

During Thursday’s debate, “fact checkers” usually have a field day identifying what they claim are lies and misrepresentations.  Here’s what CNN said about Trump lying. 

Anchored by Wolf Blitzer, CNN’s headline was “Trump was better behaved but he lied more”.  And according to CNN, the specifics he lied more about were:

Trump said 2.2 million people would have died.  CNN concedes it’s accurate but the number was describing what would happen if nothing was done about the virus. 

Trump said the virus was going away.  Obviously, it did not go away.

That’s all the specific instances they gave of Trump lying.  And no mention of Biden lies.  But SCOPE will make up for CNN’s shortcomings, below.

Biden will/will not ban fracking.  Biden has been on all sides of this, depending upon his audience.  Trump can produce videos of Biden saying definitively he will ban fracking and Biden can show a video of himself saying he would not.  Since his party is definitely anti fracking and he was anti fracking everywhere except when he was in Pennsylvania, he’s definitely anti fracking.

Shut down the country.  Biden definitely has said he would do it in spite of his denials during the debate.

No one lost insurance under Obamacare.  Estimates for cancelled policies range from 2.6 million to 4.7 million.  Not only did people lose insurance but most people who did keep insurance had big premium increases and huge increases in deductibles.

US had a good relationship with Hitler.  It just never happened.  FDR, the president at the time, was anti Hitler from the start of Hitler’s ascension.

Biden praised New York as to dealing with the Corona Virus.  If you live in New York, the response is LOL.

Biden distanced himself from progressives.  Does he know who his vice president candidate is? 

Trump is a dog whistle to racists.  Dog whistles are only heard by dogs and the ones hearing Trump’s racist comments are Democrats.

Biden blames Republican congress for Obama not passing criminal justice reform.  Democrats held both houses in Obama’s first two years and both houses were held by Republicans in Trump’s first two years.

Trump has a secret bank account in China.  Opened 2013 and closed in 2015.

No evidence that businesses will go out of business if the minimum wage is raised.  Is Biden familiar with Seattle, pre-riots?

The laptop. 

It’s Russian disinformation?  Not according to law enforcement that has seen it and also according to a recipient of the e mails.  Former national security people who have not seen it claim it is disinformation. 

Biden said he has not taken a penny from a foreign source.  Money from China and Ukraine flowed to his son but e mails on the laptop indicate that Joe “wet his beak”.

10% for the big guy?  A recipient of the emails says that is definitely Joe.

Hunter says that dad takes 50%?  If the lap top is true, the statement is true.

Post-debate, CNN tried to dismiss any questions that viewers had after observing Biden’s ongoing struggles with thoughts and the discussion of Biden’s possible mental decline. CNN’s Don Lemon blamed Biden’s missteps on stuttering.  It’s true that Biden stuttered as a child but it has been unmentioned and unnoticed for 60 years, until his recent mental lapses.  In 1987, the left-wing Washington Post reported, “…no trace of the stutter he had as a child.” Biden’s confusion about which state he is in, the inability to hold on to his train of thought, forgetting where he is and who he is with and inappropriate behavior are not symptoms of a stutterer.

2^nd Amendment.  Unfortunately, moderators steered the debate away from any question on the 2^nd Amendment.  If there had been, Biden is definitely anti 2A and Trump is definitely pro 2A.

Don’t Vote.  Cuomo Only Wants “Assault Weapons”  by Tom Reynolds

There are many gun owners in New York (perhaps millions) who do not believe that Cuomo and company are coming for their weapons and, thus, there is no need to vote.  Well, guess what? There is now evidence that Cuomo and company are going after all guns!

Bills that were introduced in both the New York State Senate (S7065) and the Assembly (A01589-A) will require that before any sale, exchange or disposal of a firearm, rifle or shotgun, the purchaser must pass a mental health examination.  No exemption for hunters.  No exemption for target shooting.  No exemption for self-defense. No exemption for…anything.

Violators would face a non-violent Class D felony charge. (Some other non-violent Class D felonies in New York include robbery, burglary and vehicular manslaughter, so this is serious business.) If you are convicted of this felony, you face up to 7 years in prison, lose your right to own a firearm and your right to vote.  (Of course, if you won’t vote anyway, what difference does the latter mean to you?)

The NY Department of Mental Health would oversee this.  Some Mental Health organizations believe that 1 in 5 persons has a mental health problem…so the fox is guarding the hen house.    

What if the NY Department of Health sets a low bar for denial or the Mental Health Professional doing the test is predisposed against guns?  It’s a “twofer”; fail you and get a potential customer to treat! 

Fail the test and you face a huge legal bill for lawyers and expert witnesses to challenge the denial in court.  Of course, NY State will use your tax dollars to fight you and will act as if they have bottomless pockets.  Guilty until you prove your innocence (or to be precise, prove your sanity).

The bill does not address what happens to guns that you already own if you fail the mental health test.  A “loophole” to be closed by future laws?  Cuomo’s China Virus lockdown got you feeling a little depressed?  Best not to mention that issue if you want to keep your guns.  (The left wanted drugs decriminalized so there would be no impediment to drug addicts seeking help.  If you are a gun owner, the same logic does not apply.)

The bill does not address stopping criminals from buying guns illegally, which is how most criminals get them.  

The bill does not address if you must again take the test if you recently passed the mental health test.  (But other pending bills like S01275 will limit how often you can purchase a gun, anyway, so it will not be a problem.)

Expect a future law, once the psych door is open, that says your mental health exam must be renewed every few years. Exaggeration?  Before the SAFE Act, pistol permits had no end date but now they must be renewed.  (Retest to make sure the gun owner hasn’t mentally degenerated.)

Are the costs of a firearm, ammunition and a hunting license putting a financial squeeze on you?  Wait until you see what a “Mental Health Professional” charges for administering the exam!  (The law does not limit what they can charge.)  And if that is not enough, NY Assembly bill A00095 wants to force you to buy liability insurance.  (Don’t count on any of this being tax deductible, to ease the financial burden.) 

The purpose of gun control is not to stop criminals but to increase government control and power.  Want proof?  As of January 1st, Governor Cuomo and his radical left friends implemented a law that allows violent felons to walk free until their trail–without even posting a bond.  If Cuomo was really interested in stopping criminals, shouldn’t there be a mental health exam for people already accused of a crime and in jail, before releasing them to endanger the law-abiding public?

Using mental health issues was a favorite trick of socialist icon Joe Stalin.  Oppose him and you were sent to Siberia or an insane asylum.  One had to be crazy to want to go to Siberia, so opposing Stalin was ample evidence to commit anyone who opposed Stalin to an insane asylum. 

The first step in stopping this insanity is to vote the NY Senate away from the gun grabbing New York City liberals who propose these worthless laws.  That would require gun owners to vote, which brings us back to the original problem that many gun owners won’t vote because no one is coming for their weapons…yet.

Coming to a town near you…Part 2  by Tom Reynolds

Yesterday, SCOPE wrote about a riot in Ithaca and warned that they will spread.  The primary lesson here is that liberal socialists consider themselves to be our moral and intellectual superiors.  As such, they believe that, if they make the decisions in our life for us, we will be better off than if we made the decisions ourselves.  Because they believe that what they are doing is in our best interests, that excuses their every action.  They won’t admit that their actions are in pursuit of their own power and privilege. Coming from people who believe in the same system that spawned Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Castro, this would be laughable if those socialists weren’t so convinced that they really are superior and that excuses all of their actions.

Let’s take advantage of reporting in the Cornell Daily Sun about the riot to point out how delusional these people are in their egotistical beliefs.  Beware of people who will riot, burn, murder and use fear and intimidation in pursuit of their beliefs because lying will mean nothing to them.    

The Cornell Daily Sun said, “Earlier this week, the Ithaca Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) planned in response a Trump Rally counter-demo, to ‘let them know they are NOT welcome here,’ the group wrote in social media posts”.  Later in the Sun’s article, a DSA member and History Professor is quoted, “It was a spontaneous and almost joyful display.

So, I was a spontaneous planned response! That is called an oxymoron, with the emphasis on moron.

The Sun further reported, “…counter protesters approached members of the Trump rally, yelling…you’re racist if you support a racist.’’ An organizer of the pro Trump rally was reported as saying that, “…people calling us members of the KKK”.

The DSA was protesting at the wrong rally.  They excuse away the racist DNA of the Democrat Party, just as they excuse away Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Castro. Let’s look at the record and not the rhetoric or, as Mike Pence said to Kamal Harris, “You can have your own opinion but not your own facts”.

The KKK was a spawn of the Democrat Party.  Famous Democrat Senator Richard Byrd was an organizer, recruiter and leader of the KKK.  Byrd also filibustered the Civil Rights Act and then voted against it.  Why is Byrd important to know about?  Of Byrd, Democrat Presidential Joe Biden said, "To me...for a lot of us, he was a mentor and a friend, and for a lot of us, he was a guide."  The racist Senator from the KKK was a mentor and guide to the current Democrat presidential candidate! 

Democrat Biden said of Barack Obama, “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy”.   Joe Biden believed Obama was “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy”!  Racism?  Nah, nothing to see here if you are the Ithaca DSA.

Ithaca DSA does, indeed, welcome racists - as long as they are Democrats.

In contrast, in 1986, Donald Trump was honored with the Ellis Island Award, along with civil rights icon Rosa Parks and boxing legend Muhammad Ali.  (Will the DSA disown Parks and Ali for associating with Trump?)

Upon purchasing Mar-a-Lago resort in 1997, Trump opened up membership to African Americans and Jews. To do this, he had to sue the town council.  He succeeded, prompting changes in membership at the other local clubs.   

Thanks to Trump’s economic policies, prior to the pandemic, unemployment amongst women, blacks and other minorities had reached all-time lows.

If that’s a racist, the black population needs more like him.

The chair of Ithaca DSA said, “If pro-authoritarian forces are going to keep showing up in Ithaca we need to show them that they are not welcome here.” Authoritarian is defined as, “favoring or enforcing strict obedience to authority…at the expense of personal freedom”. Don’t “freedom of speech” and “peaceably to assemble” count as personal freedoms? 

The Ithaca DSA believes that, from the same movement that spawned Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Castro, a benevolent leader will emerge.  Socialist icon Vladimir Lenin coined a phrase for people like this, “Useful idiots”.