Month: July 2020

Throughout the COVID19 pandemic, the DeWine administration in Ohio has continued to make it difficult to easily understand the relevant data. In fact, they have continually hidden or not even reported the total tests taken by Ohioans. This appears to be part of the plan to needlessly frighten Ohioans and shut down our economy. Together, with his willing allies in the liberal media, they have employed a number of classic misdirection techniques in order to accomplish their goals. We’ll break down those methods for you below.

The Surge in New Cases Fallacy

A July 8, 2020 Columbus Dispatch headline helps explain how this fallacy works. It screams, “Ohio’s spike continues with fourth-highest number of daily cases!”

But what the Columbus Dispatch and the DeWine administration fails to report is that this increase in cases simply reflects the fact that Ohio has significantly ramped up its daily testing numbers. For example, on July 2, 2020 Ohio reported a whopping 1,265 new cases. But what they didn’t tell us is that on July 2, 2020 Ohio also performed a whopping 20,613 COVID19 tests, one of their highest totals to date. In fact, it took until June 30, 2020 before Ohio was able to even perform 20,000 tests per day! You can see part of this information for yourself buried in the ODH website here..

A surge in new reported cases is only happening because Ohio has quadrupled its daily tests over the past several months. We aren’t seeing an increase in the actual percentage of positive tests. To say that these new cases are the result of a surge, is simply fake news.

The Surge in the Positive Rate Fallacy

Under this fallacy, the DeWine administration and their liberal media allies are arguing that the percentage of positive cases are going up. An article first written and posted on July 6, 2020 helps explain how this works. According to the Columbus Dispatch, “the infection rate actually is going up, to more than 6% during the recent spike in coronavirus cases.”

This is also fake news. The most recent data buried in Ohio’s COVID19 website shows a positive daily test rate percentage of 5% as of July 6, 2020. The highest daily percentage positive rate was 37% reported on April 19, 2020. We also saw a positive percentage spike of 18% on April 1, 2020. The lowest daily percentage positive rate was 3% reported on June 8, 2020.

By May 7, 2020 the once higher positive percentage rate had dropped to 9% and it has hovered in the range of 4 to 6% throughout most of May, June, and July. Overall, as of July 8, 2020 Ohio has completed a whopping 896,485 tests and found 58,904 positive cases. That is an overall total positive rate of 6.5% according to data from the The COVID Tracking Project.

The Multiple Positive Counting Fallacy

According to Investigative Journalist Jack Windsor, people that test positive multiple times count as separate, individual cases. In other words, if I test positive in four different tests on four different days, that counts as four cases, not just as one person that’s tested positive. How many sick people in Ohio are testing positive again and again for COVID19? We don’t know and the DeWine administration isn’t telling.

The DeWine administration and its liberal allies are using these classic tricks of cherry picking and selectively reporting data, or they are outright hiding data from the public. Don’t be fooled. It’s classic fake news.

The Columbus liberal media isn’t reporting on it and a gag order has silenced police officers and city employees from talking about it.

But a Columbus Police veteran has a warning.  Ohio’s capital city is about to become a very dangerous place.

James Scanlon is one of the few speaking out about a “dismantling” of the Columbus Police Department by Democratic Mayor Andrew Ginther and city council.

Scanlon has 33 years experience on the CPD. He currently trains law enforcement at the North American SWAT Training Association and is an expert witness in police-involved shootings.

The CPD veteran said the public isn’t fully aware of what is occurring with the police department in what Ginther has referred to as “demilitarization” and “reimagining policing.”

“In reality, it is being dismantled, piece by piece,” said Scanlon. “It is a total dismantling of the Police Department, rendering them incapable of doing their job.”

Scanlon recently called out Ginther and city council members at a council meeting on June 29 for waging an “on-going assault” on Columbus police by “demonizing officers and misinforming the public.”

“It is shameful how you and other city officials have demonized these officers and misinformed the public into believing they are a group of ‘rogue, racist cops.’ All of you have relentlessly and falsely accused the Columbus Division of Police, and its officers, of being complicit in a culture of systematic racism. Due to my 42-year involvement with the Columbus Division of Police, I know that you are spreading falsehoods,” Scanlon told them.

Scanlon said Ginther’s premise is flawed.

“His message is that countless black men and women have died at the hands of police. He is propagating fiction. He puts forth that CPD is systemically racist,” said Scanlon.

“Ginther and city council have quietly been switching out items in the police budget to other programs,” said Scanlan. “They are in the process of taking away things like bullet proof vehicles and items that will result in cutting the police off at the knees.

“This has created a dangerous situation and it will get worse,” he said.

“Any officer that speaks out risks losing their job. They cannot speak. And most citizens are afraid to speak because they will be labeled racist or whatever name they want to put on people.

“No one has a voice but this very small side,” said Scanlon. “Their plan has gone virtually unopposed. They were able to do this sitting around a table with no opposition. And it is likely well past the point of stopping it. They will be finished in a couple weeks.”

Scanlon’s advice? Get out of the city while you can.

“The public has no clue what this is going to mean. This is going to change their lives and their kids’ lives forever. Anyone who lives, works or plays in Columbus is affected by this.”

“People in the suburbs feel distant from this issue,” said Scanlon. “Arlington, Westerville, some 20 suburbs around Columbus. This will be felt in the suburbs. It will affect everybody. The suburbs feel well-insulated here. My theory is, how ever goes Columbus so goes the suburbs.
“Your suburbs are going to lose security and value, as well.

“I can only speak to what happens in Columbus, but it seems to be a national effort. The new term is ‘Reimagining Policing.’ That term came to the surface and within 24 hours every mayor and city council was using it. This was well orchestrated.

“Our leaders feel emboldened. Bad guys feel emboldened. It’s shameful. It’s the most unbelievable thing I’ve ever seen.”

Scanlon said CPD officer have taken ongoing abuse from protesters but that the gag order prevents them from going public.

“Police cannot speak out on what they’ve been subjected to during riots. They’re being hit with bricks, bottles, as they’ve been standing on the front lines for weeks. They are helpless to do their job because they have been ordered not to.

“It’s going to be a sorry state of affairs. Who is going to want to work for the Division of Police after this? This has always been very competitive, a very high quality of people that they have there now. They are being run off the police department for fear that they will be indicted on some false pretense to further the agenda.”

Scanlon said that Ginther now makes every decision and generates every piece of information that comes out of the CPD. Police Chief Thomas Quinlan has no say.

“A reporter brought up that he was having trouble getting any information from the Division of Police. Mayor Ginther had no problem saying, ‘I’m in control of what comes out of the CPD.’

“What’s going to happen to the citizens of Columbus? It has joined the ranks of the cities that have fallen.”

Scanlon said it is the most vulnerable that will suffer most. People without the means to leave the city who depend on the police to protect their families from a dangerous criminal element.

“By not addressing specifics, Mayor Ginther and City Council members have purposely misled the public into believing Columbus Police Officers are routinely killing innocent black men. Their false narrative has greatly damaged the public’s opinion of this amazing agency and created the most dangerous situation I have ever witnessed in this city,” stated Scanlon.

Below is Scanlon’s statement to Mayor Andrew Ginther and city council members Shannon G. Hardin, Elizabeth C. Brown, Mitchell J. Brown, Rob Dorans, Shayla D. Favor, Emmanuel V. Remy and Priscilla R. Tyson

“Good Evening Council members. My name is James J. Scanlon. I am a retired Columbus Police officer. Between 1978 and 2011, I primarily worked night shifts, protecting the good citizens who live in our inner-city precincts. I loved being there and they loved having me there. Like thousands of other CPD Officers, I protected them against the criminal gangs, robbers and other predators. Now – criminals and their families didn’t like me being there. But, as cops, we are more concerned about what good and decent people think about us than the thugs that hurt and intimidate those good people.
Mayor Ginther and members of City Council have waged an on-going assault upon the fine men and women of the Columbus Division of Police. It is shameful how you and other city officials have demonized these officers and misinformed the public into believing they are a group of “rogue, racist cops”. All of you have relentlessly and falsely accused the Columbus Division of Police, and its officers, of being complicit in a culture of systematic racism. Due to my 42-year involvement with the Columbus Division of Police, I know that you are spreading falsehoods.
Mayor Ginther has stated that “countless black men and women have died at the hands of police officers”. That statement was both false and dangerously inflammatory. There have not been “countless” police-involved shooting deaths.
Here are some facts:
· There are 600,000 – 800,000 Columbus Police encounters with individuals per year.
· There were 7 black suspects fatally shot by CPD Officers in 2016
· 4 in 2017
· 5 in 2018
· 1 in 2019
In every single case, the suspects were armed and threatening.
Facts matter! Each of these incidents has been thoroughly investigated and presented to the ultimate “citizen review board” – a grand jury.
Mayor Ginther, you will be pleased to learn that, in those four years, if you were not armed and threatening, the odds of a black suspect being fatally shot by a Columbus Police Officer was exactly zero. You have every reason to be proud of the police officers you have been tasked to lead.
But, at last week’s City Council news conference, Council members falsely vilified CPD Officers for racist, systematic abuse and murder of African-American men and women. No facts or statistics were used to support their lame accusations. Instead, Council President pro-tem Brown went so far as to condemn a specific CPD police-involved shooting, citing a “skewed system that resulted in the death of Henry Green”.
Many of you have spread a great deal of misinformation concerning the Henry Green Case, leaving many Columbus citizens to believe that officers gunned down Mr. Green for no reason. In reality, Mr. Green was shot by police officers after he fired 6 rounds of .45 caliber ammunition at the officers from a distance of 14 feet or less. Those rounds came within inches of striking officers, lodging in the car door that one officer was behind and a headrest the other had been in front of seconds earlier. Mr. Green was carrying a stolen Glock .45 caliber handgun loaded with those 6 rounds. I believe these to be relevant facts in the case. It’s too bad the public never heard these facts from their City of Columbus elected officials. By the way, under the new “reforms”, how many rounds need to be fired at an officer before that officer may fire back?!
Facts matter! You should be ashamed of yourselves for misrepresenting the facts, misinforming the public and driving a wedge between the citizens of Columbus and their fine police department.

The Ohio Democratic Party received $337,867 in taxpayer Payroll Protection Program dollars while having significant financial resources on hand.

Andrew Tobias, a reporter for Cleveland.Com broke the story.

“The Ohio Democratic Party is among the tens of thousands of organizations in Ohio that received a loan through the federal Payroll Protection Program, according to a list the U.S Small Business Administration released on Monday.

The Ohio Democratic Party’s state candidate fund reported receiving a loan on May 6 worth $333,867, according to state campaign finance records. SBA records do not indicate how many jobs the Ohio Democratic Party retained through the loan, which converts to a grant for organizations that use the funds to keep their employees.”

The Paycheck Protection Program and loan forgiveness are intended to provide economic relief to small businesses nationwide adversely impacted by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The Ohio Democratic Party shows in their March Pre-Primary 2020 filing that they had received $530,724 in campaign contributions. March is when Governor DeWine initially closed most businesses in the state. Not the Ohio Democratic Party.

The March 2020 Ohio Democratic Party State Candidate Fund Pre-Primary filing reveals that they raised $137,277.00 and had a balance of $573,217.37 on hand.

The Ohio Democratic Party Post-Primary report reveals they raised $739,405.20.

Of note, the Ohio Democratic Party received a whopping $100,000 from the Ohio Education Association. This was their largest contribution and it came from teachers who are payed with taxpayer dollars.

The Small Business Administration contribution is listed as Post-Primary 2020 for the total of $333,867.

The total sum Ohio Democratic Party campaign funds raised from Pre-Primary and Post Primary 2020 is $1,407,406.

Should hardworking Americans be funding the already lucrative Ohio Democratic Party while their businesses are struggling to survive or face imminent closure? This after Ohio Democrats U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown and Congressman Tim Ryan delayed votes for these critical relief funds until they were certain to include a pay increase for themselves in the CARES relief package.

The Ohio Democratic Party’s website says,

It appears the political party insiders come first before the people of Ohio.

By Del Duduit

Honest Americans have a deep love in their heart for the Flag and what it represents.
Historical landmarks have been the target of vandalism and destruction over the past few weeks.
But I want to draw attention to one that is important to me, and hopefully millions of Americans throughout the nation.
It’s one of my favorite stories in history and my prayer is that it will always remain a focal point of our heritage.
I want to go back re-visit how Francis Scott Key came to write the National Anthem – you know – the beautiful and inspired poem many athletes will not honor.
Let me set the stage.
At the time in 1814, Key was a 35-year-old lawyer and received permission to board a British ship in the Chesapeake Bay during the ongoing War of 1812. He hoped to convince the British to release a friend who had been arrested. During the visit, he and his friend learned of the impending attack the British were going to launch on Fort McHenry and the Americans in Baltimore Harbor.
They were allowed to go back to their own ship; however, they were heavily guarded so they would not warn the Americans of the pending attack, according to Smithsonianmag.com.
It was a rainy night on September 13, 1814, and Key watched in horror from his vessel as the British pounded Fort McHenry with rockets and shells. This went on for more than 24 hours. Bomb after bomb, rocket after rocket barraged the fort. The Battle of Baltimore was enraged and came a short time after the British army attacked Washington D.C. and burned the Capitol and The White House.
By all accounts and from what Key witnessed, Fort McHenry had fallen. The Americans had been defeated. All hope was lost. The Brits were going to win. The night sky, as he later wrote, became red with flares and shells. He described the scene as “fire and brimstone.”
But then came the morning. Then came “dawn’s early light.”
What he saw in the distance was a miracle. I can only imagine he must have done a double-take. Then a grin had to come over his face. It wasn’t the Union Jack flag he saw flying. It was the tattered Red, White and Blue American Flag fluttering amidst the clearing smoke and the rising sun.
America had not surrendered or lost, but somehow, had won the battle. Filled with inspiration, Key wrote The Star-Spangled Banner – which was originally called Defense of Fort McHenry. Just try to put yourself in his shoes and REALLY read his incredible and moving account of the aftermath of the battle.
O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
‘Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
O thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation.
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: ‘In God is our trust.’
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Key clearly gave credit to God as he should. Without the Lord’s mercy and guidance, we too will fall. The forces of evil pound Christians daily with shells and flares, hoping to destroy and claim our fort. The same forces beat Christ, hung Him on a cross and buried His body in a borrowed tomb. For three days, all hope was lost.
But then came the morning. Then came “dawn’s early light.”
Jesus rose from the tomb and raised His own flag in victory. We celebrate our independence as a nation this week, and our freedom from sin every day.
For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. (DEUTERONOMY 20: 4 KJV)
Not everyone will stand up for the Lord either. This is sad, but it won’t deter me. I will continue to honor the Savior and our American Flag too.
God bless the U.S.A. and Happy 4th of July!

Del Duduit is an award-winning writer and author who lives in Lucasville, Ohio with his wife, Angie. They attend Rubyville Community Church. Follow his blog at delduduit.com/blog and his Twitter @delduduit. He is represented by Cyle Young of Hartline Literary Agency.

Ohio was ranked third in the nation as hurting the most financially due to the COVID crisis’ impact on its residents.

In a recent nationwide study, SmartAsset, a financial advisor, looked at the states where residents have been hurting the most. They compared the 50 U.S. states across six metrics.

SmartAsset made determinations using food insufficiency, housing insecurity, rise in unemployment, the poverty rate and other factors. Of the 50 states, Ohio was ranked third.

Unemployment and food insufficiency in Ohio have been high in recent months, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census data. The unemployment rate in April 2020 was 16.8%, the sixth highest of all 50 states.

Moreover, in mid-May, 12.8% of residents reported that they either sometimes or often did not have enough to eat during the previous seven days. This is the fifth-highest rate of residents reporting food insufficiency.
Despite government relief programs, the coronavirus crisis has impacted the finances of many Ohioans.

Although many businesses say they will rehire workers, University of Chicago economists have theorized that more than 40% of recent layoffs will result in permanent job loss.

Ohioans who still have their jobs also face financial pressure. According to a National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) April 2020 survey, nearly nine in 10 Americans say the COVID-19 crisis is causing stress on their personal finances.

To find the states where residents are financially hurting the most during COVID-19, SmartAsset looked at data for all 50 U.S. states and compared them across the following metrics.

• April 2020 unemployment rate. Data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Local Area Unemployment Statistics.
• Increase in unemployment during COVID-19. This is the percentage point difference between the February 2020 unemployment rate and April 2020 unemployment rate. Data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Local Area Unemployment Statistics.
• Unemployment replacement rate under the CARES Act. This is the ratio of average unemployment benefit received to the average worker’s weekly salary. The average unemployment benefit includes the additional $600 weekly benefit under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) Program as part of the  CARES Act. Data comes from the University of Chicago’s  Unemployment Insurance Calculator.
• Percentage of adults experiencing recent housing insecurity. This is the percentage of adults who missed last month’s rent or mortgage payment, or who have slight or no confidence that their household can pay next month’s rent or mortgage on time. Data comes from the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey. Respondents were surveyed from May 14, 2020 through May 19, 2020.
• Percentage of adults experiencing recent food insufficiency. This is the percentage of adults in households where there was either sometimes or often not enough to eat in the last seven days. Data comes from the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey. Respondents were surveyed from May 14, 2020 through May 19, 2020.
• Poverty rate. This is the percentage of residents living below the poverty line. Data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 1-year American Community Survey.

Each state was ranked in every metric, giving a half weight to the first two metrics: April 2020 unemployment rate and increase in unemployment during COVID-19. A full weight was given to all other metrics.

Residents in populous states may be experiencing the largest financial fallout. California, Texas, Florida and New York are the most populous states in the U.S. Those four states all rank within the top 10 states where residents are financially hurting the most due to the coronavirus, according to findings.

More specifically, they all fall within the 15 states in the study with the highest recent housing insecurity, and within the 25 states in the study with the most recent food insufficiency.

 

Covid lockdowns, rioting in the streets and the absence of police protection have more Ohioans purchasing firearms than ever before.

But when can you legally use a firearm in Ohio? Can you use a gun to protect your home, your business or your personal property?

We asked Deputy Tom Taylor of Ohio Valley Tactical and State Representative Nino Vitale for answers.

Taylor is a Certified Law Enforcement Instructor. He has over 28 years working and training in firearms for Federal, State, and Local Law Enforcement, as well as foreign Military. Taylor’s duties as a law enforcement team member include sniper, advanced firearms instructor, and entry team member.

Taylor owns Ohio Valley Tactical in Clarington, Ohio, where he trains military personnel, law enforcement and civilians. Ohio Valley tactical has a shooting range, live fire shoot house, zip lines, rappelling and more.

“Ohio adheres to the Castle Doctrine, which means that you do not have a duty to retreat before using deadly force in your home or vehicle,” explained Taylor. “If a threat occurs in one of these two places, you can legally use deadly force.”

Ohio’s Castle Law, House Bill 228, went into effect on March 28, 2019.

These are the only two places you do not have the duty to retreat, according to Ohio law.

Regarding the run on gun stores in Ohio, Taylor has word of caution for first-time gun buyers: “Learn how to use your weapon or you could be the one that ends up dead.”

“When someone goes out and buys a gun for the first time, it gives them a false sense of security,” said Taylor. “They feel like they have protection, but they have no idea how to use it.”

Taylor said that using a gun effectively “under stress” in a life-threatening situation requires training.

“My question is, what are you prepared to do? If you are not prepared to kill somebody, you are probably going to get killed,” explained Taylor.

“There’s not a law enforcement agency in this country that teaches you to wound people. When I do a class, I tell them that your intent is to kill. I teach them that you fire a minimum of three rounds right off the bat.”

What are your rights as a business owner? Can you legally protect your investment and your livelihood from vandalism and looting with a firearm?

State Representative Nino Vitale says no.

“Only if your life or the life of another is in danger,” said Vitale, who is an NRA Concealed Carry Weapon instructor. “Property cannot be protected with a firearm.”

Vitale represents Champaign, and Logan and Shelby Counties in the Ohio House of Representatives.

To explain the difference between protecting your property from damage and protecting yourself from serious bodily harm, Taylor used an example. “Someone is in your driveway hitting your car with a baseball bat. Your property is being damaged, but you cannot legally shoot. Now if that person comes at you with the baseball bat, that is the threat of serious bodily harm or death and you can legally protect yourself.”

Taylor said that paying attention to your surroundings and being observant plays an important role in protecting yourself from violence. Taylor said that you should always carry at least one spare magazine.

To legally carry a concealed handgun in Ohio, either on your person or in your vehicle, you must have a concealed carry permit. Classing and instruction are available for this.  You can carry more than one handgun, in fact. There is no written law on how many handguns a person can carry, said Taylor. The age requirement is 21 in Ohio.

Open carry is the ability to carry a gun in plain view. Ohio does not require a permit to open carry but with that come some restrictions. You cannot get in a vehicle with an open carry gun without a Concealed Carry license, said Taylor. The gun must first be unloaded.

You should always know your rights based on your location and be aware of updated legislation. This includes temporary bans and restrictions due to current events like civil unrest.

States of Emergency can be declared by the President, Governors, Mayors, and Sheriff’s departments, allowing for wildly varied laws within a small geographical area and could impact your right to purchase or use firearms.

While some states have embraced the arming of citizens to support overwhelmed police forces, others will be quick to remove your right to protect yourself.

The city of St. Louis is reportedly investigating the couple that stood up to protesters on their front lawn. However, Missouri’s Castle Doctrine allows the use of deadly force on one’s property.