by Bob Barr | Apr 27, 2020 | Uncategorized |
Daily CallerSpeaker Nancy Pelosi this past weekend launched a broadside invective at the United States Supreme Court, calling the Court’s justices – apparently all nine of them — “political hacks.” Additional opinions expected in the coming weeks, however, are likely to heighten the Speaker’s ire.While the country continues in the grip of a medical pandemic made worse by a series of draconian measures instituted by state governors and local officials limiting individual liberty, Ms. Pelosi found time to vent her anger at the Supreme Court. Interestingly, the Court did not incur the Speaker’s wrath because it dared limit what has become the Left’s most sacred shibboleth – unfettered access to abortion on demand. Nor was the Speaker’s anger precipitated by a majority of justices finding cause to support the right to possess a firearm, which, unlike the right to an abortion, is expressly guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.No, Ms. Pelosi was furious that the nation’s highest court let stand a decision by the Supreme Court of Wisconsin that did nothing more than allow a long-scheduled primary election to proceed on April 7th without extending the time for absentee ballots to be gathered in. From the perspective of Speaker Pelosi, who just weeks ago delayed for many days a House vote to provide essential financial assistance to individuals and businesses harmed by the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing an election to proceed according to the law makes the Supreme Court justices nothing more than petty “political hacks.”Pelosi’s judicial peeve notwithstanding, one has to give her a small degree of credit for paying attention to the goings on at the High Court...
by Bob Barr | Apr 21, 2020 | Townhall Article |
Townhall.comThe Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which controls the government and the citizenry of mainland China with an iron fist, is in large measure directly responsible for the incalculable economic and personal misery that has been visited on the United States and virtually every other country over the past four months resulting from the release of the coronavirus pandemic. It is time for the Trump administration to take concrete legal, economic, and diplomatic steps to hold Beijing accountable for this catastrophe. That the virus originated inside mainland China is beyond dispute. What is becoming increasingly clear is that the CCP deliberately and intentionally withheld vital information about the virus from the United States and other nations, so as to limit our ability to stem its reach and minimize its devastation.The Chinese government continues its campaign of misinformation and subterfuge to this day. This vile regime must be held accountable and the United States must lead that crusade.The result of China’s intentional deception about COVID-19 has cost tens of thousands of lives and trillions of dollars in economic loss, even as it has led to immense suffering among the healthy as well. None of this was caused by good faith mistake or negligence. It was calculated and deliberate. The remonstrations by China’s lackeys at the World Health Organization (WHO) notwithstanding, the United States must take the lead in holding China accountable, in concrete and meaningful ways.To start, President Donald Trump should announce the economic losses caused by COVID-19 will be offset by the U.S. debt owned by China; given that debt is a little over one trillion dollars, the last stimulus package alone would...
by Bob Barr | Apr 20, 2020 | Uncategorized |
Daily Caller For more than two decades, the system codified in federal law for ensuring that persons prohibited from possessing a firearm are not able to lawfully acquire one from a licensed firearms retailer has worked reasonably well. Since 1998 when the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or “NICS,” became operational, the FBI has completed hundreds of millions of background checks on prospective gun purchasers; 28.4 million last year alone.For some reason, however, the FBI recently has taken to playing games with NICS, and by bureaucratic fiat ignoring or overriding an important provision in the law. Neither firearms purchasers nor retailers should stand for such skullduggery.The provision at issue is that which permits the FBI to place what amounts to a “hold” on a prospective firearm purchase, in order to allow the Bureau time to determine if a particular purchaser falls within one of the several categories of persons not permitted to possess a gun. Under the law establishing NICS, with the FBI as the “go-to” agency, that temporary “hold” is strictly limited to “three business days.”While the vast majority of inquiries submitted to the FBI each year by firearms dealers (Federal Firearms Licensees or “FFLs”) are approved or denied almost immediately (hence, the “instant” check system), occasionally there are those that raise questions, and in each such instance, the FFL is notified and the statutorily allowed “three business day” period begins to run. If the dealer does not receive a denial within that window, the dealer is permitted at its discretion to allow the purchase (or “transfer”) to proceed.The three-business-day hold period is clearly defined as days...
by Bob Barr | Apr 17, 2020 | Uncategorized |
Atlanta, GAFriday, April 17, 2020Bob Barr, who represented the 7th District of Georgia in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003, today issued a statement praising Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai’s decision to circulate a draft FCC Order, that would at long last move forward the process of opening up a segment of mid-band satellite spectrum for commercial use in 5G technology. An application by Ligado Networks to free up mid-length spectrum for commercial purposes essential to deployment of 5G communications, has been languishing for years awaiting the green light from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) embedded within the Commerce Department. Pai’s decision to approve Ligado’s application was predicated on a number of modifications in the company’s application that would protect against harmful GPS interference.If adopted by the five-member Commission headed by Pai, the draft Order would tangibly signal to the country and the world that the United States is committed to seize the leadership in deployment of 5G technology, a role China openly covets. Pai’s move also is in accord with statements last year by President Trump strongly supporting freeing up wireless spectrum for 5G...
by Bob Barr | Apr 15, 2020 | Uncategorized |
Townhall With various states already postponing primary elections in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, questions are surfacing about whether to postpone the November 3rd general election. The complexities inherent in such consideration would make even the most seasoned constitutional expert’s eyes glaze over.Though we thankfully appear to be past the peak of COVID-19 infections, there is a real possibility of another viral cycle later this year; meaning the November election could take place in circumstances similar to those we face today, with mandated “social distancing” and “lockdowns” in place. This is where things become seriously and constitutionally muddled. Per the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, terms of the President and Vice President end at Noon on January 20th. Likewise, every House Member’s term ends on January 3rd, as does the term of every Senator who currently is up for reelection on November 3rd. While Congress is empowered to set the date of the election by law, the terms of the president, the vice president, all 435 House members, and one-third of Senators are set by the Constitution and cannot extend beyond those dates. No “state of emergency” can change this. So, who would serve as president and vice president if the November 3rd election was postponed? “The Speaker of the House” is the obvious answer, but it is hardly that simple.Should an election not take place before these terms expire, there would be no Speaker of the House because Nancy Pelosi would not have been reelected to represent the people of the 12th District of California. But, hold on a moment — since the House elects a Speaker and that...
