7 U.S. governors say no to vaccine passports

Governor Kristi Noem bans “vaccine passports” in South Dakota | KCRG - Austin Goss"

Apr. 21, 2021 - "In an executive order issued Tuesday evening, Governor Kristi Noem banned government entities in South Dakota from requiring 'vaccine passports'.... In the executive order, Noem bans any government entity, to include local governments, within the state from requiring vaccine passports. Noem says that requiring vaccine passports could ultimately lead to 'improper disclosure of private health information.'

"'I’m going to do everything I can to protect people from getting mandates like this out of governments,' Noem [earlier in April].... 'This kind of provision is a fundamental threat to our freedoms.'"

Read more: https://www.kcrg.com/2021/04/21/governor-kristi-noem-bans-vaccine-passports-in-south-dakota/

Ducey bans ‘vaccine passport’ use by Arizona governments | Arizona Mirror - Jerod MacDonald-Evoy:

April 19, 2021 - "Gov. Doug Ducey on Monday banned state and local governments from requiring a 'vaccine passport' to receive service or enter an area.Ducey’s executive order also applies to any business that has a government contract, and bars them from requiring any customer to provide information on their vaccination status to receive any government services they provide. The executive order does allow for hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities to ask about documentation of a visitor’s, patient’s, employee’s or resident’s vaccination status. Universities, child care centers, home schools and other schools are also exempt. The executive order does not apply to private businesses. 

"'The residents of our state should not be required by the government to share their private medical information,' said Governor Ducey in a press release about the executive order. 'While we strongly recommend all Arizonans get the COVID-19 vaccine, it’s not mandated in our state — and it never will be. Vaccination is up to each individual, not the government.'"

Read more: https://www.azmirror.com/2021/04/19/ducey-bans-vaccine-passport-use-by-arizona-governments/

Arizona Becomes Sixth State To Ban Coronavirus Vaccine Passports — See The Full List Here | Forbes - Carlie Porterfield:

Apr 19, 2021 - "Ducey['s] ... executive order ... mak[es] Arizona the sixth state to denounce the passes that allow holders to prove they’ve been vaccinated against coronavirus....

"Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, in isolation after testing positive for coronavirus, signed an executive order April 14 that will ban both the state government and businesses from requiring proof of vaccination to protect 'individual liberty and personal privacy,' though he added he still encourages constituents to receive a vaccine. It’s a sentiment he shares with Idaho Gov. Gov. Brad Little (R) who issued an order April 9 banning state government entities from requiring proof of coronavirus vaccination to receive public services, in which he noted vaccines are the 'best shot at protecting jobs and saving lives.'

"On Tuesday, April 6, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) issued a similar executive order to block Texas state departments and groups that use public funds from issuing vaccine passports or mandating proof of immunization to receive services. On Friday, April 2, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order with an even further reach — under the order, the state government will punish private businesses that opt to require proof of vaccination by barring them from state grants or contracts.

"In February, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill into law that bans the Utah state government from requiring or issuing vaccine passports, though private businesses remain free to mandate them for patrons if they wish. Other Republican governors have not issued executive orders regarding vaccine passports, but have indicated they do not support their use, like Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R), Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R).... 

"The White House has pledged it will not pursue a vaccine passport sponsored by the federal government.... The majority of vaccine passports in development are being spearheaded by private companies in hopes it will embolden customers to feel safe traveling and pursuing in-person entertainment again at places like sports arenas, restaurants and live music venues. So far, New York is the only state to launch its own vaccine passport."

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/04/19/arizona-becomes-sixth-state-to-ban-coronavirus-vaccine-passports---see-the-full-list-here/

Wyoming and Alabama to end mask mandates

Wyoming Becomes Latest GOP-Led State To Drop Mask Mandate | Forbes - Alison Durkee:

March 8, 2021 - "Wyoming will lift its statewide mask mandate on March 16 along with other restrictions on businesses including restaurants and bars, Gov. Mark Gordon announced Monday.... In addition to lifting the mask mandate, restaurants, bars, gyms and theaters will be allowed to resume 'normal operations,' Gordon said, with more details on the lifted orders to be announced later this week. Gordon’s office cited the state’s 'continually improving health metrics' as the reason behind the change, as well as the governor’s 'approach of balancing public health with protecting livelihoods.'

"The governor had previously lifted some restrictions in the state starting March 1, including on businesses like salons and barber shops, but the mask mandate stayed in effect. Wyoming imposed its mask mandate in December as Covid-19 cases in the state surged, and it requires people to wear masks indoors in businesses, government facilities, healthcare settings and on public transportation, with some exceptions. The state currently has social distancing guidelines in place for restaurants that do not restrict capacity, but directs tables to be spaced apart and requires people to be seated at tables or booths, among other social distancing recommendations....

"Wyoming follows Texas and Mississippi in dropping their mask mandates, which has sparked controversy and been decried by President Joe Biden as 'Neanderthal thinking.' Montana, Iowa and North Dakota have also lifted their mask orders in recent months. The rescinded guidance is part of a broader trend of states getting rid of various Covid-19 restrictions as cases have dropped following a holiday season surge and as more Americans get vaccinated. 

"The wave of reopenings, which public health officials have opposed, has been seen in both Republican and Democratic-led states: Connecticut’s Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont lifted the state’s capacity restrictions on businesses like restaurants and gyms last week, for instance, while New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday the state would raise capacity for indoor dining to 75% outside of New York City.

"Arkansas is poised to lift its mask mandate on March 31 if certain health metrics are met, and Alabama will follow April 9, after Gov. Kay Ivey extended her mask order last week for another month but said she will not extend it further. 

"A number of other Republican governors have been hesitant to follow suit and overturn their own mask mandates, however, with leaders in West Virginia, Utah, Ohio, Indiana, Maryland and Massachusetts all signaling last week they had no intention to immediately revoke their orders."

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/03/08/wyoming-becomes-latest-gop-led-state-to-drop-mask-mandate/

Rand Paul endorses Labrador for Idaho governor

Rand Paul backs Idaho 'small government' governor candidate | McClatchy Washington Bureau:

"March 27, 2018 - "Nearly 2,000 miles from Kentucky, Sen. Rand Paul is hoping to spread his distinctive brand of politics.

"The Kentucky Republican has endorsed Rep. Raul Labrador, an Idaho Republican giving up his House seat to run for governor. Labrador will run the state in the Paul mold, unafraid to take on the establishment, the senator explained."

"'There is a difference between just being a Republican and being a constitutional conservative,'Paul said.... Labrador is one of a number of candidates Paul and his political action committee, RANDPAC, are supporting....

"Paul acknowledged the endorsement on the state level was 'unusual,' but called Labrador exceptional. 'Raul has a track record of being an independent thinker and someone who will stand up on principle and we need more of that in the states.... I'm always telling folks in my state, "Resist, resist, resist when the federal government tries to tell you what to do."'

"Labrador, Boise businessman Tommy Ahlquist and Otter’s lieutenant governor, Brad Little, are considered the front-runners in the May 15 Republican primary. That contest, open to Republican voters only and likely to draw the most conservative activists, could determine the ultimate victor in reliably-red Idaho, where the last Democrat elected governor was Cecil Andrus in 1990."

"Labrador, a member of the House’s conservative Freedom Caucus and a former Idaho House member, is positioning himself as a disruptor, promising to 'restore citizen control of our government, buck the establishment, and drain the swamp.'"

Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article207005983.html
'via Blog this'

Idaho governor vetoes civil forfeiture reform bill

Idaho libertarian conservatives furious about Otter's vetoes of licensing, civil forfeiture | Bloglander Daniel Walter, Pacific Northwest Inlander:

April 10, 2017 - "A very long time ago, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter ran as a libertarian conservative. But these days, a lot of libertarian-leaning conservatives view him with something closer to contempt....

"The most recent outrage: Otter's vetoes of a cosmetology licensure bill and a civil forfeiture bill. Both are key issues for libertarians, who argue that requiring licenses for jobs like 'barber' or 'makeup artist' end up punishing entrepreneurs and newcomers, in order to artificially shield established businesses from would-be competition.

"Meanwhile, when they look at civil forfeiture — where police can seize cash and other personal property without a conviction if they suspect it may be connected to certain crimes — they see serious due-process violations....

"Compared to some attempted civil forfeiture reforms, like those that require a guilty verdict before any property is taken, the Idaho bill was modest. It would require more evidence that property had been associated with a crime than simply proximity. And it would require law enforcement agencies to start tracking how much civil forfeiture money is being collected, and what it's being spent on....

"The bill was popular in the legislature. Nobody in the Idaho Senate voted against it, and only a handful of state representatives, including Coeur d'Alene Reps. Luke Malek and Paul Amador, voted against it in the House....

"'There have been no allegations that Idaho law enforcement officers are illegally or inappropriately seizing property from alleged drug traffickers,' [Otter] says.... The accuracy of that statement depends on the definition of 'inappropriate.'

"An investigation in the Twin Falls Times-News  revealed a case in 2010, when Twin Falls County Sheriff’s deputies raided the home of a couple they suspected were selling drugs. They netted a small baggie of marijuana and $12,010 in cash. The couple was never charged with anything, but the sheriff returned only $3,000.

"Then there's an anecdote shared by the DKT Liberty Project, which alleges that Idaho State Police pulled over a 35-year-old driver and searched his car when they were alerted by drug-sniffing dogs.

"'Although they didn’t find any drugs, they did find $4,200 in cash, which the man had set aside to pay for his divorce lawyer,' writes AC Bushnell, program director for the Liberty Project. The state patrol refused to repay the money."

Read more: http://www.inlander.com/Bloglander/archives/2017/04/10/idaho-libertarian-conservatives-furious-about-otters-veto-of-licensing-civil-forfeiture
'via Blog this'

Raul Labrador chairing Paul's western campaign

Rand Paul learns what Coeur d'Alene means, brings libertarian-speak to North Idaho | Bloglander | The Pacific Northwest Inlander | News, Politics, Music, Calendar, Events in Spokane, Coeur d'Alene and the Inland Northwest:

August 27, 2015 - "U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a man who loves freedom so much that he once considered using a catheter to facilitate a 13-hour filibuster on the floor of the Senate, came through the Inland Northwest to drum up support for his bid for the GOP presidential nomination.

"The freshman senator from Kentucky spoke in both Spokane and later that day in Coeur d’Alene Wednesday, and Boise today, to deliver his libertarian-tinged message of embracing the entirety of the Bill of Rights (not just the 2nd Amendment), expanding his party's reach to the poor and minorities and reducing government spending.

"The son of former Congressman Ron Paul and two-time Republican presidential candidate drew roughly 400 people to Schuler Performing Arts Center at North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene....

"U.S. Rep. Raúl Labrador, an Idaho Republican who chairs Rand's Western States campaign, warmed up the crowd, telling them that the senator was a genuine conservative and that you can’t just speak to the angry people if you want to be elected president. Paul, said Labrador, is even so revered by U.S. Transportation Safety Administration agents at airports (normally the scourge of libertarian-leaning individuals), to the point they might even start a group to support him.

"Paul took the stage and began his speech by telling a story of how earlier that day he asked some locals what “Couer d’Alene” meant.... Paul took the expression to mean having no heart, adding, 'Oh, you could have just said Harry Reid,' referring to the Senate minority leader, a line that drew laughter.

"During his speech Paul took aim at federal spending, saying that both Democrats and Republicans use the government as their 'own special piggy bank'....

"He also took aim at his own party. 'What was the Tea Party movement about? It really was we were upset about fake conservatives, we were upset with electing Republicans and things never getting any better. We elected Republicans and for the first eight years of this century the debt doubled, they added new departments, they added new entitlements.'

"He took aim at the debt. 'You ask yourself how did we get into this fix? What goes on that allows spending to go on unabated at such a degree. Well, it’s an unholy alliance between two factions. One faction says we should spend everything and anything on the military without limits. The other side says we should spend everything we can spend without limits on welfare. You know what happens they get together, and then you have unlimited spending on both.'

"On currency: 'Of all the nations, our dollar is the cleanest shirt in a closet full of dirty shirts.'

"The tax code: 'You know what I say is let’s get rid of the whole thing, the IRS included.'"

Read more: http://www.inlander.com/Bloglander/archives/2015/08/27/rand-paul-learns-what-coeur-dalene-means-brings-his-libertarian-speak-to-north-idaho

'via Blog this'

Idaho Libertarian runs against GOP 'good old boys'

Libertarian Bujak’s candidacy could be trouble for Otter - Spokesman.com - Sept. 6, 2014: - Betsy Z. Russell, Spokane Spokesman-Review:

September 6, 2014 - "If Libertarian candidate John Bujak succeeds in his bid to appeal to disaffected Republicans who voted against Gov. Butch Otter in the GOP primary, he still might not win, but he could pull enough votes from Otter to give Democrat A.J. Balukoff a chance.

"Bujak, the former GOP Canyon County prosecutor, made headlines in recent years for his own legal troubles: He represented himself in five criminal trials in the past three years and was acquitted in every one.

"'After what the party did to me in Canyon County, I didn’t trust a lot of the leadership – certainly after seeing the way that Republicans run politics behind the scenes here in Idaho,' Bujak said. 'They surround themselves with their buddies, they give deals to their buddies, they give contracts to their buddies, and when something happens that is unethical, they all just look the other way.'

"Bujak has a law degree from Gonzaga University, he’s a Navy veteran, and he’s been a deputy attorney general for the state Human Rights Commission and a lawyer in private practice. But he says when he went into politics, serving as the elected prosecutor in Canyon County, 'I hit a brick wall in the form of what I would call the "good old boys".'

"He clashed with the county’s power structure over reopening a notorious attempted murder case in which the Idaho Innocence Project had unearthed evidence that a young woman may have been wrongfully convicted, a victim of mistaken identity. That young woman, Sarah Pearce, is free now, though her conviction stood.

"Bujak found more and more issues on which to disagree with other county officials and ultimately had to resign.... Now he’s running for governor, seeking to capitalize on Idaho conservatives’ unease with Otter, who took 51.4 percent of the vote in the primary against tea party-backed GOP state Sen. Russ Fulcher."

Read more: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/sep/06/libertarian-bujaks-candidacy-could-be-trouble-for/
'via Blog this'

University libertarians win a free-speech battle

Coalition comes together to aid libertarian college group - Bob Kellogg, OneNewsNow:

September 5, 2014 - "Like many college conservatives and Christian groups, Young Americans for Liberty is finding their free speech rights threatened on college campuses.

"Young Americans for Liberty students at Boise State University were being charged a $465 "security fee" to hold a pro-Second Amendment event on campus.

"YAL spokesman Elliott Engstrom says a broad coalition of legal organizations stepped in to help. Those groups ranged from the conservative Idaho Freedom Foundation to the left-leaning ACLU, and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which is libertarian.

"YAL is also a libertarian organization.

"'And the result was that the school refunded the fee to the student organization,' Engstrom tells OneNewsNow."

http://www.onenewsnow.com/education/2014/09/05/coalition-comes-together-to-aid-libertarian-college-group
'via Blog this'

Ron Paul draws big crowd in Sandpoint | Herald Times Reporter | htrnews.com:

Ron Paul draws big crowd in Sandpoint | Herald Times Reporter | htrnews.com - Nicholas K. Geranios, Associated Press:

Mar. 5, 2012 - "SANDPOINT, Idaho (WTW) — Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul drew an estimated crowd of 1,200 people in this small town on Monday to hear his Libertarian-tinged themes of smaller government, an end to the Federal Reserve and more individual freedoms.

The mix of young and old supporters was a sign that his campaign continues to gather support, Paul said at the Bonner County Fairgrounds in this town of 7,000 in the Idaho Panhandle.

'"Four years ago if I came here I would not have drawn 100 people,' Paul told reporters after the rally, held the day before Idaho holds its presidential caucuses.

"Paul is hoping for victory in at least one of the caucus states — Idaho, Alaska and North Dakota — on Super Tuesday."

Read more: http://www.htrnews.com/usatoday/article/38731951?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cs
'via Blog this'