Month: October 2020

Watch for yourself, then share the link widely.

Cumulative Covid death rates*:

Sweden – 585 per million

Arkansas – 573 per million

Listen to Senator Alan Clark’s takedown of Dr. Romero. https://youtu.be/fwsitqjAJbE

Maybe we should ask Dr. Romero – since he says “we should try to protect every life in this country, and in this state,” why not use the CARES Act money to combat abortion? Wouldn’t that be more effective than keeping Arkansas in partial shutdown mode, all masked up, while achieving no better result than Sweden?

* Death rates assume government figures are correct, which code everyone dying WITH Covid (as opposed to everyone dying FROM Covid) as a Covid death.

Plaintiffs’ Official statement from today’s hearing:

We always knew that this case would go to the Supreme Court. Today, when Judge Wendell Griffen issued a ruling that contradicts the plain language of the Emergency Services Act, we learned that it would be the plaintiffs filing that appeal. Judge Griffen’s ruling, unfortunately, would result in the Governor have unlimited authority to keep Arkansans under the yoke of an unending state of emergency, with absolutely no input from the legislature. That cannot be the law, and, in fact, that isn’t the law. Such an extreme position is both unconstitutional and all but ensures the realization of the maxim that “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The plaintiffs here represent all of the people of Arkansas who seek to maintain some control over their own lives pursuant to their God-given rights as recognized in the Constitution, and we’re hopeful that the Supreme Court will agree.

Additional from Re-Open Arkansas:

The hearing this morning was a complete sham. Do not be discouraged – we never expected to win in Pulaski County. After lecturing our lawyer about masks, the judge ruled that the governor has unlimited power, and under the 1973 Emergency Services Act, he can basically do anything he sees fit. Judge Wendell Griffen completely ignored that the Administrative Procedures Act clearly limits the emergency rules to 120 days. We remain committed to fully re-opening Arkansas, returning to the February normal, and ending the governor’s ridiculous and totalitarian mandates. Click the Contribute link to help us fight for you!

It was not our original intention to make this lawsuit personal between the governor and the legislators. Because the AG’s office pushed the issue, we have now amended our lawsuit to include Asa. Attached, please see the amended petition and the summons.

There is an initial hearing on the state’s Motion to Dismiss tomorrow (Wednesday, October 14^th) in Pulaski County Circuit Court. Understand that this is just a step. Win or lose, this matter will ultimately be decided by the Arkansas Supreme Court. We will post an update, letting you know what happens and what comes next.

Rest assured, our mission here is to fully re-open Arkansas, back to the February normal, and to end all of the governor’s mandates.

Attached are the briefing papers prepared by Chris Stafford that you can use to convince your local government or school board to consider a resolution in favor of a return to local control.

We filed our answer to the state’s Motion to Dismiss today. (The filed 19-page brief is posted below.) Interestingly, the state relies on a very weak argument that they have the right to regulate air or surface borne “toxins.” The 1973 law obviously intended “toxins” to be tanker spills on the interstate, an unintended release at Nuclear One, or other industrial accidents. We are confident that the court will agree with us that Covid-19 is not an air or surface-borne toxin. If it were, citizens would be dropping dead in the streets!

Our lawyers believe that the way we’ve responded is the quickest route to get in front of a judge, resulting in an end to this whole farce. We do have an entire quiver we will not hesitate to use if it becomes necessary.

The timeline from today forward: the state has five days to respond; we should be in court quickly thereafter. We appreciate everyone’s support and contributions to the cause of freedom. We will keep you apprised.