6/13/20

Today Penny and I went for a drive through See Canyon and took some pictures. She got several runs on the trip. I am looking forward to church tomorrow and afterwards I will be shooting several portraits. The county is no longer reporting COVID-19 data over the weekends.

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office released an update on the deputy who was shot in the face Wednesday morning in Paso Robles.

Deputy Nicholas Dreyfus was shot while responding to reports of a shots fired at the Paso Robles Police Department.

Mason Lira, shot at the responding officers, shooting Dreyfus in the face. Dreyfus was first taken to a local hospital and then flown to a trauma center in another county where he has undergone multiple surgeries.

A statement released on Saturday from Deputy Dreyfus’s wife, Tyler Dreyfus said, “Currently Nick remains in critical care but is stable. He has undergone several procedures and continues to be evaluated on a daily basis. Doctors have provided positive feedback regarding his current condition and prognosis and remain optimistic for a positive outcome. Nick is surrounded by family and fellow Deputies and his spirits are high! On behalf of Nick and his family, we want to thank all of those who have reached out and shown concern and compassion. All of your support is appreciated and welcomed. Thank you.”

Dreyfus has worked for the Sheriff’s Office for nearly two years and was assigned to the North County Sheriff’s Station in Templeton at the time of the shooting.

SACRAMENTO, (AP) A California judge is ordering Gov. Gavin Newsom to stop issuing orders that might be interpreted as usurping the Legislature’s responsibilities.

Republican lawmakers said the preliminary ruling Friday reinforces the separation of powers.

Newsom has broadly and repeatedly used his executive and emergency authority since the start of the coronavirus to virtually shut down the state and its economy.

He has had the backing of federal and state courts that have blocked numerous previous challenges to his efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Massive protests following the death of George Floyd and a resurgence in coronavirus cases have reignited the religious liberty battle over church openings.

The fight centers on what many Republican senators have termed a “double standard” upheld by some governors and mayors: an endorsement of protests, but a condemnation of people gathering in church services. And several churches are taking legal action to level the playing field.

In Massachusetts, four churches sent a letter this week to Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone, saying that because of the riots, they intend to reopen on Sunday in defiance of his 10-person limit. Jeremy Dys, one of the attorneys representing the churches, said that even with fears of the virus the church will consider social distancing procedures and require those who attend to wear masks.

“If thousands of people can peacefully protest in the streets under the First Amendment, certainly churches are able to safely resume in-person religious gatherings,” he said.

These churches’ demands are similar to those of Donald Hying, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, who threatened to sue last week after church gatherings were still limited “in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and the racial injustice” of Floyd’s death. City officials changed capacity requirements several days later.

The Justice Department on Thursday commented on the issue, as it did when churches attempted to reopen during the pandemic, siding with churches that wish to hold large gatherings. In a letter sent to Montgomery County, Maryland, officials, Justice Department official Eric Dreiband warned that protesters and churchgoers must be treated equally.

“During a crisis it is important for people of faith to be able to exercise their religion,” he wrote. “Montgomery County has shown no good reason for not trusting congregants who promise to use care in worship the same way it trusts political protesters to do the same.”

In the incident Dreiband commented on, the county kept restrictions on church and other large gatherings to 10 people but allowed a rally in Floyd’s memory to which hundreds of people showed up.

Litigation over church shutdowns has been profuse during the pandemic. Alliance Defending Freedom, a nationally prominent law firm focusing on First Amendment cases, has represented 14 churches in religious liberty lawsuits and advised more than 2,500 on how to navigate restrictions during the pandemic, according to the Pew Research Center.

Likewise, the First Liberty Institute, which claims to be the largest law firm focused on religious freedom, received more than 100 requests for legal help in May, a sharp uptick from its usual traffic.

Yet while a vocal contingent of churches has pushed hard to reopen, some have been forced to close again after winning their battles with the state. In Kentucky, Clay Mill Baptist Church closed its doors this week after 18 people tested positive for the virus.

The pastor, Jeff Fugate, was one of many church leaders who in April called upon Gov. Andy Beshear to relax restrictions on in-person worship. During a Monday press conference, Beshear referenced the incident as a vindication of his position on keeping churches closed.

Mentioning how Fugate claimed that he could open safely, Beshear said, “Well, he couldn’t.”

Fugate responded in a statement, saying that the outbreak was not the fault of the church, and Beshear’s response was an example of his “bias” against people of faith.

Since March, a series of churches have sued to reopen, first seeking the right to hold drive-in services, then in-person gatherings. President Trump threw his support behind in-person services in May, threatening to “override” any governor who resisted his call. Although the White House quickly walked back the statement, many governors soon eased restrictions after urging from the Justice Department.

New Jersey on Tuesday became the last state to lift its ban on all in-person services after state lawmakers and church leaders criticized Gov. Phil Murphy for participating in Floyd protests while discouraging churches seeking to open. In reopening, Murphy said he still has serious public health concerns about church services.

“While easing the restrictions will allow for greater movement and greater flexibility, our number one concern will remain protecting public health,” he said during a press conference.

Once again liberals are ignoring the people and pushing their social agenda. There self-righteousness beliefs that they have all the right answers despite what the major of citizens think. A loud vocal minority are attempting to push their beliefs on the majority.

Polling shows that a strong majority of the American public do not support calls to defund the police in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

An ABC/Ipsos poll released on Friday shows that 64% oppose defunding the police, and 60% opposed reallocating some funds from the police to social and health programs, according to the Daily Caller.

The poll showed that a vocal minority of 34% of the people in the United States do support defunding the police.

The ABC poll is consistent with a Yahoo News poll conducted at the end of May that shows 65% of people do not support defunding the police.

Calls to defund the police have intensified following the death of Floyd, with several liberal politicians and celebrities endorsing the idea.

Singers John Legend and Lizzo joined soccer star Megan Rapinoe in signing a letter calling for the defunding of police departments across the country.

The city council in Minneapolis, where Floyd died while in police custody, sparking protests and riots nationwide, voted this week to disband its police department.

In Los Angeles, the city council introduced a bill to slash the police department budget by as much as $150 million.

An opinion article in the New York Times, a bastion of liberal thinking, published Friday with the headline “Yes, We Mean Literally Abolish The Police” argues that it isn’t possible to reform the police and that eliminating them is the only way to keep people safe.

That sentiment was echoed by Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, who called for the removal of the Minneapolis Police Department, arguing that reform is not possible.

“The Minneapolis Police Department has proven themselves beyond reform,” Omar tweeted earlier this month. “It’s time to disband them and reimagine public safety in Minneapolis.”

It is quite apparent that radical liberal protesters, left wing newspapers, and democratic politicians are trying to drown out the voice of the majority.