U.S.
Bars See Crowds After Wisconsin Supreme Court Strikes Down State’s Stay-At-Home Order
Published
3 years agoon
By
Cory Ray
- After Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers (D) extended the state’s stay-at-home order until May 26, the state legislature issued a legal challenge against that extension.
- On Wednesday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court sided with the legislature, ending the order immediately.
- Many businesses, such as bars, later reopened the same night and saw crowds of people packing into small spaces without masks.
- This is the second time the Republican-controlled state legislature has used the Supreme Court to strike down Evers’ coronavirus-related orders.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Strikes Down Stay-At-Home Order
People in Wisconsin flocked to bars Wednesday night, many of them crowding into small spaces while leaving their masks at home.
The sudden pilgrimage to bars began almost immediately after the state’s Supreme Court struck down Governor Tony Evers’ (D) stay-at-home order.
Last month, Evers’ administration extended the state’s stay-at-home order from April 24 to May 26. Shortly after that, the state’s legislature brought forth a legal challenge against the state’s health secretary, Andrea Palm.
In that lawsuit, lawmakers argued that such long-term decisions on citizens’ lives should be decided by the legislature—not just Evers’ administration.
In court, an attorney for Evers’ administration argued that state law gives the Wisconsin health department the authority “to do whatever is necessary to combat a novel, deadly, communicable disease like the one we’re facing today.”
Right away, though, the situation wasn’t looking good for Evers’ or his administration. The seven-member Court is made up of five conservative and two liberal justices. On top of that, the legislature that brought the lawsuit is Republican-controlled.
In hearings last week, conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley compared Evers’ orders to Korematsu v. United States, a controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision during World War II to uphold Japanese internment camps.
“I’ll direct your attention to another time in history in the Korematsu decision, where the Court said the need for action was great, and time was short, and that justified—and I’m quoting ‘assembling together and placing under guard all those of Japanese ancestry in assembly centers during World War Two,” she said
Could the secretary, under this broad delegation of legislative power or legislative-like power order people out of their homes into centers where they are properly socially distanced in order to combat the pandemic?” she asked.
Even though the Court ultimately sided with the legislature, the decision was narrow with a 4-3 vote. That was because one of the court’s conservative judges broke to dissent with the majority opinion.
The Court’s justices wrote in the majority opinion that “in the case of a pandemic, which lasts month after month, the Governor cannot rely on emergency powers indefinitely.”
Still, the Court noted that it wasn’t challenging the governor’s power to actually declare emergencies.
In their dissent, Justice Rebecca Dallet said, “This decision will undoubtedly go down as one of the most blatant examples of judicial activism in this court’s history. And it will be Wisconsinites who pay the price.”
Notably, the Republican-controlled legislature asked the Court for a six-day hold on its decision so they could negotiate stay-at-home orders with Evers, but the court shot that request down, reopening the state immediately.
Bars Reopen to Crowds
To be clear, the Court’s decision only affects Evers’ executive order. Local municipalities can still issue their own stay-at-home orders.
In fact, at least five cities and counties have now announced they’ll be extending their stay-at-home orders, most of them until May 26th. That includes Brown, Dane, Racine, Milwaukee, and Kenosha counties.
Many more cities and counties, however, are now free of stay-at-home orders. Because of that, many businesses started to reopen almost immediately after the decision was announced.
Much of the coverage around reopened businesses seemed to culminate with bars, as many customers could be seen packing into small spaces. In these photos, masks are rarely or nowhere to be seen.
45 minutes after the bars open in Wisconsin…. pic.twitter.com/xqaDlS6ajP
— Nick's bar (@nicksonsec) May 14, 2020
Bar owner Chad Ardnt told WISN that while he respects people’s decision if they don’t want to come back yet, he also said he decided to reopen because he hadn’t been able to pay his employees for two months.
In a separate interview, bar-goer Gary Bertram told WISN that it should be people’s choice where they want to wear a mask or socially distance.
“If people have an issue with social distancing, they should be able to be, you know, they can stay separate or stay home,” Bertram said.
That logic goes against warnings from the majority of health experts who have noted that the spread of the coronavirus isn’t really that simple. That’s because the people who are going out to bars are also likely going to the grocery store and seeing family. They can then unintentionally spread the virus to people at those places even if other people are social distancing and only going out when necessary.
Evers Blasts the Court’s Decision
As people flocked to those bars, Evers blasted the Supreme Court decision on MSNBC Wednesday night while speaking to Ali Velshi.
“Unfortunately, in this one fell swoop, four judges who didn’t really care what the statues talk about have thrown our state into chaos,” Evers said.
“We’re in the wild West, Ali,” he later added.
Taking a different tone, Wisconsin’s Speaker Robin Vos (R) and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R) said in a joint statement that they urged the Evers administration to begin working with Republicans to begin drafting guidance in case the state sees a surge of COVID-19 cases.
“Wisconsin now joins multiple states that don’t have extensive ‘stay at home orders’ but can continue to follow good practices of social distancing, hand washing, hand sanitizer usage and telecommuting,” they added. “This order does not promote people to act in a way that they believe endangers their health.
President Donald Trump backed the Court’s decision Thursday morning, saying on Twitter that Wisconsin “was just given another win.”
“Its Democrat Governor was forced by the courts to let the State Open,” he said. “The people want to get on with their lives. The place is bustling!”
The Great State of Wisconsin, home to Tom Tiffany’s big Congressional Victory on Tuesday, was just given another win. Its Democrat Governor was forced by the courts to let the State Open. The people want to get on with their lives. The place is bustling!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 14, 2020
The Court’s decision highlights the current relationship between Evers’ administration and the legislature, which has been described as “bitterly divided.”
The legislature previously sued Evers for trying to delay the state’s April 13 primary, and like the decision being seen now, the Wisconsin Supreme Court sided with the legislature.
Before Evers took office in 2019, the legislature voted to strip power from the governor’s seat following his election win.
See what others are saying: (WISN) (The Washington Post) (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
U.S.
Conservatives are Mad at “Woke” Xbox for Minor Climate-Related Updates
Published
5 days agoon
January 25, 2023By
Lili Stenn
The fury comes after Xbox announced it was slightly altering existing consoles to better utilize and save energy.
Same War, New Battlefield
Mere days after M&M canceled their “spokescandies” due to backlash from the right, led largely by Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, conservatives have found a new front for their ongoing culture war: Xbox.
Carlson spent months complaining that small character redesigns were “woke” because they made the animated anthropomorphized M&M’s — in his own words — “less sexy.” His campaign finally proved successful on Monday when the company announced it would be doing away with the spokescandies and replacing them with actress Maya Rudolph.
A message from M&M'S. pic.twitter.com/EMucEBTd9o
— M&M'S (@mmschocolate) January 23, 2023
Conservatives, now facing a sudden dearth of non-issues to complain about, quickly found a new issue to rage against. Xbox announced in a blog post earlier this month that it is making minor updates to lower its environmental impact as part of an effort to reach Microsoft’s goal of being carbon-negative by 2030.
Now, instead of having an Xbox wake up to update games, apps, and software during random times of the night, it will do that at a time of night when a user’s local energy grid is generating the most power it can from renewable sources.
Xbox also said it would automatically update some older consoles to a power-saving mode that aims to reduce electricity consumption when it is turned off — a feature that is already the default on newer consoles.
According to The Verge, the only difference for users is that an Xbox in power-saving mode takes around 15 seconds to boot up instead of doing so immediately as the console does in “sleep” mode. The change is a small price to pay for what the outlet described as “significant” energy savings.
Xbox Under Fire
To many leading conservative voices, the minimal shifts were just another example of “woke” culture.
While discussing M&M’s spokescandies Tuesday morning, “Fox and Friends” co-host Ainsley Earhardt brought up Xbox’s new changes with Fox radio host Jimmy Failla.
“So Xbox has also announced that they’re going woke too, you know, because of climate change,” Earhardt said.
“I mean, it’s crazy what they’re doing, but we understand what this is. It’s not that it’s actually going to offset emissions, okay — the level of reduction is infinitesimal,” Failla claimed, without evidence. “But they’re trying to recruit your kids into climate politics at an earlier age; make them climate conscious now.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think of that — you’re right, they’re going after the children,” Earhardt agreed, despite the fact that internal data from Microsoft shows just around 10% of Xbox owners are under the age of 18.
Other prominent conservatives also did their part to bait Americans into anger on social media, including America’s Foundation, which posted a tweet stating that “the woke brigade is after video games.”
Lol now the woke brigade is after video games all in the name of climate change.
— YAF (@yaf) January 24, 2023
Xbox will force gamers to power down to fight climate change, touting the first 'carbon aware console' https://t.co/wIwbCTh2Zy
The post linked an article from the right-wing website TheBlaze, which asserted that “Xbox will force gamers to power down to fight climate change.” That, however, is false — Xbox has said users can switch back and change the settings any time they want
Still, top lawmakers continued to share the article and spread its false claims, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tx.).
“First gas stoves, then your coffee, now they’re gunning for your Xbox,” he wrote in the post, which was flagged by Twitter and given an “added context” warning.
First gas stoves, then your coffee, now they're gunning for your Xbox. https://t.co/MpaH2ntWAz
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 23, 2023
The same warning, however, was not placed in a very similar post by Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Tx.), who also shared the article.
“They want to take your guns. They want to take your gas stoves. And now they want to take your Xbox. What’s next?” he wrote.
— Congressman Troy Nehls (@RepTroyNehls) January 23, 2023
See what others are saying: (The Washington Post) (The Daily Beast) (VICE)
U.S.
Washington State Launches Investigation Into Abuse at Private Special Ed. Schools
Published
5 days agoon
January 25, 2023By
Star Pralle
Allegations include staff kicking a fourth-grader and dragging a child with autism around by his leg.
Abuse Allegations
Washington State’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has launched an investigation into a system of private schools for kids with disabilities after ProPublica and the Seattle Times reported on allegations of abuse.
The series of articles focused on Northwest School of Innovative Learning (NWSOIL). NWSOIL is a set of private schools that serve 500 Washington public school students with serious disabilities. ProPublica and the Seattle Times found years of complaints from parents and school districts against NWSOIL alleging abuse, overuse of isolation rooms, and unqualified aides teaching instead of certified professionals.
One district claimed NWSOIL staff kicked a fourth-grader. Another alleged that a child with autism was dragged around by his thigh.
Many former NWSOIL employees also claim that they were pressured by their parent company to to enroll more students and skimp on basic resources, like staffing.
Investigation Launched
In a seven-page letter, OSPI reminded NWSOIL of its authority to revoke or suspend a school’s approval, meaning that it could shut NWSOIL down.
“Given the serious nature of the allegations made in the articles, OSPI is examining what, if any, actions need to be taken with respect to Northwest SOIL’s approval to contract with Washington school districts,” Tania May, assistant superintendent for special education at OSPI, wrote in the letter.
OSPI has demanded any records of mistreatment, maltreatment, abuse, or neglect as well as documents pertaining to restraint or isolation of students and calls to the police. They are also seeking information about the student-to-teacher ratio and staff qualifications.
In the letter, OSPI claims that all of this was previously unknown to them as well as to police, Child Protective Services, and local school districts. They are asking NWSOIL for an explanation as to why the allegations were not reported.
NWSOIL defended itself in a public statement.
“Use of restraints and seclusion are always used as a last response when a student is at imminent risk of hurting themselves or others,“ it said. “We strongly deny any allegation that we understaff and/or pressure staff to increase admissions in order to maximize profits.”
Washington state representatives are considering a reform bill that will give them more oversight on the publicly funded system of private special education schools.
In this legislation, OSPI and at least one district that sends students to this program would be required to visit before approving the contract. It would also standardize district agreements with programs like NWSOIL, including financial safeguards to make sure funds are being used appropriately.
See the full series: (ProPublica) (The Seattle Times)
U.S.
Mass Shootings in Half Moon Bay, Oakland Rock California
Published
6 days agoon
January 24, 2023By
Lili Stenn
Just since Saturday, at least 19 people have been killed and 17 have been injured in mass shootings in California.
California Sees Third Attack in Under a Week
Two California localities experienced separate mass shootings Monday, just days after an attacker killed 11 and injured nine others in a suburb of Los Angeles.
The first of the most recent shootings took place in Half Moon Bay, a small coastal town about 30 miles outside of San Francisco, where a gunman killed seven and critically injured an eighth at two different locations.
According to authorities, police were dispatched to the first location around 2:20 pm and found four people shot to death and a fifth victim also suffering gunshot wounds. Shortly after, three more people were found dead at another site nearby.
About two hours later, police discovered the suspect in his car in the parking lot of a San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office substation with a semiautomatic handgun in the vehicle that officials later confirmed he had purchased legally.
Sheriff Christina Corpus said the man was taken into custody “without incident” and is “fully cooperating.” He has been identified as a 66-year-old Half Moon Bay resident of Asian descent.
Currently, the gunman’s motive is unknown, but the Sheriff told reporters Monday that both of the locations he targeted were nurseries, and it has since been reported that they were mushroom farms.
“All evidence we have points to this being an instance of workplace violence. The Mountain Mushroom Farm, the first location, is where the subject was employed,” Corpus said in a press conference Tuesday, though she added that, so far, the “only known connection between the victims and the suspect is that they may have been coworkers.”
As of writing, it remains unclear why he targeted the second location. A mushroom farm called Concord Farms has told reporters that it was the site of the second shooting — which a law enforcement official confirmed to The Washington Post.
In a statement to the media, a spokesperson said the farm had “no past knowledge” of the alleged gunman or his possible motives. Little has been released about the victims, though Corpus said Tuesday they were all adults and a “mixture of Asian and Hispanic descent,” some of whom were migrants.
Authorities had previously stated that, because people both live and work on the farms, children were among those who witnessed the shooting. However, on Tuesday, one official walked that back and said while children were indeed in the vicinity, police do not have information about specific witnesses.
Just hours after the violence in Half Moon Bay, seven people were injured, and one other was killed during a shooting at a gas station in Oakland. Very little has been reported about the incident, but police have said that the shooting was “between several individuals.”
Renewed Calls for Gun Control
Californians continue to reel from the rapid succession of mass shootings in a state known for its strict gun control laws.
According to Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit that advocates against gun violence, the state ranks No. 1 in the country for gun law strength. An analysis led by the organization found that California has the sixth-lowest rate of gun ownership and the eighth-lowest gun death rate.
Many of California’s top lawmakers have argued that the state’s relatively low gun violence statistics emphasize the need for more federal regulations.
“The Second Amendment’s becoming a suicide pact,” Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) told CBS News in an interview.
“We’ll continue to find whatever loopholes we can and continue to lead the national conversation on gun safety reform. And the data bares out. It works. It saves lives,” he continued. “California’s 37% lower than the death rate of the rest of the nation, and yet, with all that evidence, no one on the other side seems to give a damn. I can’t get anything done in Congress.”
Following the Monterey Park shooting, U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Ca.), alongside other Democratic colleagues, introduced two gun control bills in the upper chamber. The first would ban assault weapons, while the second aims to raise the minimum age to purchase assault weapons from 18 to 21.
President Joe Biden quickly threw his support behind the measures, urging Congress to pass them.
“The majority of the American people agree with this commonsense action,” he said in a statement Monday. “There can be no greater responsibility than to do all we can to ensure the safety of our children, our communities and our nation.”
Editor’s Note: At Rogue Rocket, we make it a point to not include the names and pictures of mass murders, suspected mass murderers, or those accused of committing violent crimes who may have been seeking attention or infamy. Therefore, we will not be linking to other sources, as they may contain these details.

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