by | Jan 31, 2024 | Aggregate
You would think decriminalizing hard drugs would be universally recognized as a bad idea, but it seems the leaders and citizens of Oregon didn’t see it that way until the time came to reap the consequences.
And it seems the time to reap those consequences is just about now, considering that, according to a story in CNN, Oregon has been forced to declare a 90-day “state of emergency” in downtown Portland, due to an ongoing and increasingly alarming drug addiction crisis, specifically to the drug fentanyl.
As reported in CNN, “Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler each made an emergency declaration to address the public health and public safety crisis in Portland’s Central City, citing overdoses, deaths and fear driven by fentanyl use.”
The reason behind this crisis stems from the now infamous Measure 110, “which decriminalized some use of hard-drugs, including fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid” and passed in the Oregon State Legislature back in 2020.
As a result, “[o]piod overdose deaths in the state increased from 280 in 2019 to 956 in 2022,” an astounding 241 percent increase.
If only there was some way this could’ve been avoided.
At least the Oregonian leaders are doing something about it — though maybe not quite enough.
Part of the plan for Portland’s 90-day state of emergency is setting up a command center in the middle of the city, which will measure the effects of fentanyl use and addiction on Portland’s citizens and direct addicts to the relevant treatment centers.
The other part of the plan “include[s] two public health campaigns and increased outreach to get people into treatment, recovery and housing services.”
But, at least per CNN’s report, this effort is only targeting fentanyl — why not any other hard drugs?
Measure 110 decriminalized more than just fentanyl, including in its scope heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamines — all hard drugs whose effects are nearly as bad as those of fentanyl.
Granted, fentanyl has been much in the news lately, and with the border crisis going the way it is, there’s only going to be more pouring into the country.
Still, dependency on these drugs can be just as deadly as fentanyl addiction.
But we’ve yet to address the elephant in the room underlying the mess facing Portland now.
How did Measure 110 pass at all?
After all, it seems like a should be such an obviously bad idea on the surface, something no one of sound mind would propose, let alone something a large enough swath of average citizens would vote for.
Well, if you’re familiar with left-wing ideas about drugs and how to handle addiction, perhaps it won’t be as surprising.
For one, many folks on the left have been leading a crusade for decades to decriminalize drugs and drug use, beginning with marijuana, but now, clearly, they’re pushing for the hard stuff.
According to such folks’ reasoning, throwing addicts in prison doesn’t actually solve the underlying root of the problem; it just prevents them from getting treatment.
So the argument goes, if more addicts got treatment instead of going to prison, then that would eventually conquer the crises of addiction rampant in our cities.
Such was the argument at least of local left-wing news outlet The Oregonian, who claimed, when the measure was still in consideration, that “[b]roadening access to services so that adults – and juveniles – can easily get assistance is a public health solution more closely tied with what is ultimately a public health problem. Oregonians should make clear this is a priority for the state and vote ‘yes’ on Measure 110.”
Unfortunately for the utopian aspirations of left-wing politicians, real life does not quite work that way, and all the citizens of Oregon who voted for this preposterous measure are finding out the hard way.
If you decriminalize the possession and use of hard drugs, or at least “reclassify the offense of possessing small amounts of illicit drugs from crimes to violations,” most folks inclined to use them will just feel more free to indulge their addictions, since they will face no (or less) consequences for their debilitating habit.
As for the folks who created and the folks who voted for Measure 110?
Well, as the old saying goes, play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
The post Measure That Blue State Voted for Resulted in 241% Increase in Opioid Deaths, Forces Dems to Declare State of Emergency appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
by | Jan 31, 2024 | Aggregate
A manhunt is on in London for a male attacker who threw a suspected “corrosive substance” on a woman and her two children in a car following a collision Wednesday evening in the Clapham neighborhood. A total of nine people were taken to the hospital in the acid attack. The woman and her two children were hospitalized, as were three people who came to their aid and came into contact with the substance. Three responding police officers were also taken to the hospital for reported “minor” injuries.
It is not clear if the woman was targeted or if this was a terror attack. No description of the suspect has been released as of this writing.
Marina Ahmad, London Assembly Member for Lambeth & Southwark, posted the attack stemmed from a traffic collision, “There has been a traffic collision with a man assaulting occupants in a car and throwing acid. Victims include children. 7.25pm Lessar Avenue, Clapham Common South Side, SW4 If you have any information, please contact Crimestoppers 0800 555 111, completely anonymously.”
There has been a traffic collision with a man assaulting occupants in a car and throwing acid. Victims include children.
7.25pm
Lessar Avenue, Clapham Common South Side, SW4
If you have any information, please contact Crimestoppers
0800 555 111, completely anonymously.
— Marina Ahmad AM (@LabourMarina) January 31, 2024
Videos from the scene show a strong police response:
pic.twitter.com/eNHnwfQO4a
— London & UK Street News (@CrimeLdn) January 31, 2024
Sky News report posted to X Twitter:
BREAKING: Eight people, including children, have been injured in a incident involving a “corrosive substance” in Clapham, south London
Read more: https://t.co/R8aus9zE2W
Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/pHHz7F9iRP
— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 31, 2024
Lambeth Police report, “an extensive crime scene is in place & the police helicopter is up while we investigate.”
A woman and two children were injured in a suspected corrosive substance attack in Lessar Ave #Lambeth #SW4 this evening.
An extensive crime scene is in place & the police helicopter is up while we investigate.
Can you help us? 999 ref 7790/31 Jan.https://t.co/7XBegU8wSg
— Lambeth Police | Central South BCU (@LambethMPS) January 31, 2024
Metropolitan Police statement on the attack:
Investigation launched after suspected corrosive substance thrown at people in Clapham
Police are investigating after a suspected corrosive substance was thrown at people in Lambeth.
Police were called to Lessar Avenue, SW4 at about 19:25hrs on Wednesday, 31 January.
Detective Superintendent Alexander Castle said: “Officers are on scene following this horrific incident.
“Three victims – a woman and her two young children – have been taken to hospital for treatment.
“Three other people – all adults – have been taken to hospital for injuries sustained, we believe, as they came to their aid.
“We will update as soon as we know more about their conditions.
“Three police officers have also been taken to hospital after they responded to the incident. Thankfully we believe their injuries to be minor.
“While tests are ongoing to determine what the substance is, at this stage we believe it to be a corrosive substance.
“A man was seen fleeing the scene. We are drawing on resources from across the Met to apprehend this individual and work is ongoing to determine what has led to this awful incident.
“The National Police Air Service are assisting us. Any members of the public who can help us with information or material should call 999 immediately ref CAD 7790/31 Jan.”
There has been no arrest at this early stage.
The post London: Nine Hospitalized in Suspected ‘Acid Attack’ That Targeted Woman and Her Two Children appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
by | Jan 31, 2024 | Aggregate
Whistleblowers within the ATF have alleged the Biden regime is launching a scheme to enact an effective ban on private gun sales before the 2024 Presidential election. If successful, this would be among the most significant assaults on the 2nd Amendment in American history.
According to Empower Oversight President Tristan Leavitt, the ATF, at the behest of the Biden White House, has drafted a 1,300-page document justifying a rule that would “effectively” ban the sale of all private firearms.
Back on March 14, 2023, Joe Biden issued an executive order in order to “clarify the definition of who is engaged in the business of dealing in firearms, and thus required to become Federal firearms licensees (FFLs), in order to increase compliance with the Federal background check requirement for firearm sales.” The purpose was to move America as close as possible to universal background checks without new legislation.
@EMPOWR_us has learned through whistleblowers within ATF that at the direction of the White House, ATF has drafted a 1,300 page document to justify a rule effectively banning the private sale of firearms.
— Tristan Leavitt (@tristanleavitt) January 31, 2024
The Federalist notes the rule would accomplish this effective ban on private gun sales simply by mandating background checks on all personal firearm exchanges. The person tasked with this grave assault on the 2nd Amendment is Senior Policy Counsel Eric Epstein, who worked as the Phoenix Field Office’s Division Counsel during Operation Wide Received (a precursor of Operation Fast and Furious).
The whistleblowers say the rule is being drafted by Senior Policy Counsel Eric Epstein, who worked as the Phoenix Field Office’s Division Counsel during Operation Wide Received (a precursor of Operation Fast and Furious).
— Tristan Leavitt (@tristanleavitt) January 31, 2024
— Tristan Leavitt (@tristanleavitt) January 31, 2024
This is far from the first time the Biden regime has targeted America’s gun owners. The Gateway Pundit reported last year the ATF issued a rule banning millions of guns and threatening gun owners with up to a decade in prison for refusing to comply.
The Regime also launched a scheme to enhance the ATF’s illegal gun registry, prompting a warning from Gun Owners of America (GOA).
Even if the courts strike down this rule assuming it is enacted, what is to stop the Regime from enforcing it anyway?
The post REPORT: Biden Regime Launching Scheme to ‘Effectively’ Disrupt Private Gun Sales Before the 2024 Election appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
by | Jan 31, 2024 | Aggregate
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the FBI violated the Constitutional rights of some Beverly Hills residents by seizing hundreds of safety deposit boxes without ‘any legal basis.’
In 2021, the feds seized $85 million in cash, precious metals and family heirlooms stored in about 800 safe deposit boxes in Los Angeles.
A class-action lawsuit claims the FBI “exceeded the search warrant approved by the court” when it raided storage provider, US Private Vaults (USPV) and snooped through the contents of the safe deposit boxes.
USPV was indicted by the feds for conspiracy to sell drugs and launder money, however the owners of the boxes are not accused of committing any crimes.
The search warrant only authorized the FBI to inspect the safe deposit boxes to “identify their owners in order to notify them” about claiming their property.
The FBI agents were caught on video going through the boxes, tearing open packages with coins after already identifying the owner’s name.
“Items appear to be missing” – The owner’s lawyer told the Los Angeles Times the FBI’s list of inventory left out $75,000 in gold coins.
The Institute for Justice, a watchdog accountability group is spearheading the fight and filed a temporary restraining order this week on behalf of several owners who stand to lose the contents of their safe deposit boxes if a federal judge doesn’t intervene.
This is the “most outrageous Fourth Amendment abuse that the Institute for Justice has ever seen,” Frommer, the IJ attorney, said when it announced the case. “It is like the government breaking into every apartment in a building because the landlord was dealing drugs in the lobby.”
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the FBI violated the 4th Amendment rights of the Los Angeles residents by seizing 1,400 safety deposit boxes.
“Writing for the 9th Circuit panel Tuesday, Circuit Judge Milan D. Smith Jr. found that the government had gone beyond the scope of its warrant — and its own rules for taking inventory of property that is not the subject of a warrant but is nonetheless in its possession — by searching the boxes and launching subsequent criminal investigations based on their contents,” The Los Angeles Times reported.
Judge Milan Smith Jr., a Bush appointee, blasted the federal government for its unlawful search and seizure.
“Smith, an appointee of President George W. Bush, also wrote that it was “particularly troubling” that the government could not explain how far it believed it could go with such “inventory” searches. Without such an explanation, he wrote, it was unclear how those searches differed from the sort of limitless searches that existed in pre-revolutionary America — and which prompted the 4th Amendment to be written into the Constitution in the first place.” the newspaper said.
The Los Angeles Times reported:
The FBI violated people’s constitutional rights when it opened and “inventoried” the contents of hundreds of safe-deposit boxes during a raid on a Beverly Hills vault in 2021, a federal appellate court ruled Tuesday.
The ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reverses a lower court decision in favor of the FBI. The panel found that the agency’s cataloging of the contents of the privately rented boxes, without individual criminal warrants for each, violated the box holders’ 4th Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures.
The ruling requires federal officials to destroy any inventory records they have kept on hundreds of box holders who have otherwise been found faultless and had their physical property returned. Officials must also destroy records that have been included in a criminal law enforcement database called Sentinel.
The post Appeals Court Finds FBI Did Violate 4th Amendment Rights of Los Angeles Residents by Seizing Hundreds of Safety Deposit Boxes without ‘Any Legal Basis’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
by | Jan 31, 2024 | Aggregate
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas may become the first Cabinet member to be impeached in 1876 after the House Homeland Security Committee voted early Wednesday morning to send two articles of impeachment against him to the full House.
The committee approved the articles in an 18-to-15 vote along party lines, CBS News reported, citing “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” and “breach of public trust” in the secretary’s approach to the border crisis.
The full House is expected to take up the issue next week.
“We cannot allow this man to remain in office any longer,” committee chair Mark Green of Tennessee told CBS. “The time for accountability is now.”
House Democrats, unsurprisingly, called the Republican-led effort to impeach Mayorkas a “sham.”
“Neither of the impeachment charges the committee will consider today are a high crime or misdemeanor,” said committee ranking member Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, according to CBS.
He said the “impeachment scheme is a dangerous attempt to distort the Constitution,” Axios reported.
Perhaps more surprisingly, one of the lawyers who defended former President Donald Trump during his impeachment hearings, Alan Dershowitz, agreed with him.
In an Tuesday Op-Ed for The Hill published titled “Republicans who voted against impeaching Trump should not vote to impeach Mayorkas,” Dershowitz argued that, just as Trump had not been charged with “treason, bribery, and other high crimes or misdemeanors,” as the Constitution specifies for impeachment, so the current impeachment proceedings were based on “equally vague and unconstitutional grounds.”
“Whatever else Mayorkas may or may not have done, he has not committed bribery, treason, or high crimes and misdemeanors,” he wrote, accusing some Republicans of being ready to apply a “double standard” because they dislike the Biden administration’s policies.
He also noted — as did both CBS and Axios in their reports — that Mayorkas would not be convicted in the Democrat-controlled Senate and would therefore remain in his current position, no matter how the House votes on the impeachment articles.
The right-leaning editorial board of The Wall Street Journal was more direct it its opinion piece, “Impeaching Mayorkas Achieves Nothing.”
Republicans on the committee argued that “misdemeanor” when the Constitution was written could have referred to “the act of demeaning oneself,” CBS reported, which would essentially lower the bar for impeachment to include anything that any House member found objectionable.
“If that becomes the new precedent, then the floodgates will open and you will have frivolous impeachments from here until the end of time,” Rhode Island’s Rep. Seth Magaziner said during the hearing.
If the House impeaches Mayorkas, he will become only the second Cabinet member ever to receive that dubious honor, and the first in 148 years.
Secretary of War William Belknap, a former Civil War general and member of President Ulysses Grant’s Cabinet from 1869 to 1876, when the House voted to impeach him for what the U.S. Senate website describes as “a pattern of corruption blatant even by the standards of the scandal-tarnished Grant administration.”
Despite the fact that Belknap had already resigned his Cabinet post, a majority of the Senate voted to convict him. However, the number of conviction votes fell well short of the two-thirds threshold required by the Constitution, so he was acquitted.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
The post Midnight Vote Moves Mayorkas Impeachment Much Closer to Reality: ‘The Time for Accountability Is Now’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
