Today's podcast is much longer than usual, but it's a wonderfully informative conversation with Missouri's gold & silver guru, Patrick Holland. If you are interested in learning more about having a private, safe form of currency I hope you'll take time to listen even if you have to break it up into smaller sessions. It's worth your time!
Missouri Freedom Initiative - Patrick's organization
Hidden Secrets of Money - YouTube documentary series by Mike Maloney
Goldback, Inc. - Gold money you can carry in your wallet
UPMA - United Precious Metals Association
take action
Call your Missouri Representative. Ask 2 things:
1. Ask him/her to request of the committee chair that HB 1955 be brought through committee. Rep O'Donnell is the committee chair and he needs to bring the bill forward ASAP.
2. Ask your representative to co-sponsor HB 1955.
3. Call and email Senate Majority Floor Leader, Cindy O'Laughlin and ask that she bring SB 735 to the floor ASAP. Her phone number is 573.751.7985 and her email is cindy.olaughlin@senate.mo.gov.
covid vaccine & kids
Freedom. Personal liberty. That's generally my focus.
When it comes to vaccines & healthcare, I believe freedom and TRUE informed consent should be the priority.
Personally, my family and I are avoiding the Covid jab like the plague. There's no way in the world I'd get one now and I'd fight like the mama bear I am before I allowed my kids to get one.
Maybe you feel differently, and that's ok.
However, it is NOT ok for this jab or ANY mRNA jab or ANY medical therapy or procedure to be REQUIRED of our kids in order for them to attend school. Period. This is a hill I'll die on.
Missouri's process regarding required vaccines
You may not know this, but it is only a small committee of bureaucrats that decide when a new vaccine gets added to the school requirement list in Missouri. There is no legislative oversight on that process.
The addition of a vaccine would probably go completely unnoticed until you got a call from the school nurse.
Frankly, I hate this process and would love to see the legislature put the burden back on the legislative process so that the public would have an opportunity to weigh in. But that's not happening anytime soon as far as I can tell.
rep. bill hardwick working for our kids
Representative Bill Hardwick is Chair of the Emerging Issues Committee in the Missouri House of Representatives. Today, he is hearing a group of bills regarding vaccines.
Several of them are specific to Covid, one is concerning employer liability, but his primary concern is protecting our school kids. I applaud him for that!
Rep Hardwick and I agree that our school kids should NOT be required to take the Covid vaccine or ANY mRNA vaccine or other form of gene therapy in order to attend school. I'm thrilled he has sponsored a bill to address this and he's conducting a hearing today where his bill along with several others will be heard.
I hope you'll wholeheartedly support his bill and help us create a wave of grassroots voices across the House that would move them to action.
The lobbyists from the pharmaceutical industry and Chamber of Commerce will be working against us. The speaks volumes, doesn't it? The Chamber of COMMERCE. Why are they weighing in?? That's easy, right?
$$$$$$
This is all about the flow of MONEY. Not our kids. I won't go down that rabbit trail, but make no mistake about it. They don't care about the health of your children.
one hiccup
There is one issue I have with HB 700, which has nothing to do with our kids, but with employee exemptions regarding mRNA vaccines or gene therapy. I love the intent of the bill in allowing exemptions for employees, including hospitals and universities. However, there is a term, "undue hardship" that is not defined clearly in the bill.
This section of the bill requires hospitals and employers who are public entities grant exemptions for religious, non-theistic moral beliefs, and for medical reasons UNLESS the employer suffers from an "undue hardship."
I don't prefer this phrase to be in the bill because it does allow a possible loophole for an employer to refuse an exemption request. However, our kids need to be protected and grownups have choices. IF an employer refused the exemption, there would need to be a lawsuit filed and the results of that suit would be crucial to how things move forward.
Likely, some employees would lose their jobs or be forced to be jabbed, because how many people do you know who are willing to sue their employer? It's not going to go well for them even if they win.
I would prefer this section be completely removed and these two issues on separate bills and without the "undue hardship" language. But still, I'm thrilled to protect our kids and I believe they are the priority.
So... is this tiny bit of dog poop in the brownie worth eating? For my kids... maybe it is.
Representative Boggs does have a stand alone bill on employer liability that we can support or even Rep Hardwick could separate his bill into two.
In an ideal world, I'd love to see Representative Hardwick's bill passed without the employer liability and then a liability bill without the undue hardship in it.
please take action
1. Call & email every committee member. Names & contact info listed below. Keep it short, sweet and please be respectful. It's as easy as saying, "I support Representative Hardwick's vaccine bill without the "undo hardship" language" If you have a personal experience, please share it.
Bill Hardwick, Chair. 573.751.3834
Dane Diehl, Vice-Chair. 573.751.4065
Ashley Aune, (D) Ranking Minority Member. 573.751.3618
Bishop Davidson, 573.751.2381
Jeff Farnan, 573.751.9465
Sherri Gallick. 573.751.1344
Mike Haffner. 573.751.3783
Dave Hinman. 573.751.2176
Josh Hurlbert. 573.751.0246
Jamie. Johnson (D). 573.751.9760
Holly Jones. 573.751.7535
Doug Mann (D). 573.751.2134
Adam Schnetling. 573.751.5365
David Tyson Smith (D). 573.751.9753
Email addresses: Please copy/paste. Put your own email address in the "To" and then copy/paste these addresses into the "BCC" line in your email. You'll get a copy and then they will each get individual emails vs a group. I'd love to know if you get any responses. bill.hardwick@house.mo.gov, dane.diehl@house.mo.gov, ashley.aune@house.mo.gov, bishop.davidson@house.mo.gov, jeff.farnan@house.mo.gov, sherri.gallick@house.mo.gov, mike.haffner@house.mo.gov, dave.hinman@house.mo.gov, josh.hurlbert@house.mo.gov, jamie.johnson@house.mo.gov, holly.jones@house.mo.gov, doug.mann@house.mo.gov, adam.schnelting@house.mo.gov, david.smith@house.mo.gov
2. Submit an online testimony BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT!
SUPPORT HB 700 with a request to remove the employer liability section. (bans any potential mRNA requirements for school kids)
SUPPORT HB 336 (employer liability in regard to vaccines)
You'll have to submit 2 separate forms for each bill. Please check your email after you submit to verify & complete the process.
3. PRAY!
Although it may not seem like it, I truly do NOT enjoy confrontation and I'd much rather be celebrating wins like Representative Bill Hardwick brought us this week.
Rep Hardwick fought hard and did what most legislators just can't find the gumption to do - stand up to leadership and push back. I can't tell you how happy I am when I see this because it truly is a rare occasion and it needs to happen MUCH more often.
thank you, Representative bill hardwick!!
here's the story
Speaker of the House Dean Plocher apparently set this bill, HB 301, as one of his top priorities for this committee. There was even a work group meeting throughout the interim to pull it all together. Therefore, early on, Chair Lane Roberts (Republican from Jasper County) was prepared to bring it up and try to push it through. Mind you, both of these leaders are Republicans. They are supposed to be protecting our 2nd amendment rights according to the Constitution and the MO Republican platform.
But how many Republicans really pay attention to that?
Not many, unfortunately.
So Chair Roberts offers this bill (see page 15 lines 1-11) that would make it ILLEGAL for anyone under 18 to possess a firearm of ANY type.
HELLO!! Are you kidding me??
Do you have kids that hunt? Do they ever hunt on public land?
Do you have kids that like to go to the shooting range?
Excuse me, Rep Roberts... are you from Illinois!? Because I'm not sure what in the world you were thinking. I wonder if your Jasper County constituents know what the heck you've been up to this week. I can't even believe it.
But never fear, Missouri! It's Representative Bill Hardwick to the rescue!
Rep Hardwick gathered his troops, got the votes and offered an amendment that stripped that language right out of there... and our kids' gun rights were saved!
Truly, this is such a big deal and I can't thank Rep Hardwick enough. Standing against leadership isn't something these reps do on the regular. They are scared... and for good reason. See my earlier post about Rep McGaugh and the way she treated Rep Dan Stacy when he had the nerve to even ask questions about her bill. It's ridiculous the way both the "upper level" leadership as well as some committee chairs abuse their power.
I actually feel bad for them but they've GOT to start standing their ground. They get elected and probably most of them come up here with sincere high hopes of really making a difference. But the truth is I don't think they have any idea what they actually signed up for.
The House Rules and the power of leadership are stacked against them. The Speaker is in control of nearly every. single. step of legislation moving forward. His chosen chairman carry a portion of that power and do his bidding in most cases.
So what are they to do if they want to get something accomplished? They have to bow. They have to donate. They have to follow along.
They feel like they are forced to compromise. So they tow the line in hopes of getting something they really feel passionate about.
The crappy thing is that usually doesn't work anyway, but they still try.
but not this week, missouri! bill hardwick stood his ground!
Not once..but twice!
Earlier in the day, he led the way when the Chair's amendment to the original bill included a restriction on individuals to sell ammunition without being licensed by the Secretary of State to do so. For clarity, this would mean that if you had extra .22 shells and wanted to sell them to your neighbor because they ran out, you couldn't.
No joke. It's completely ridiculous, but I promise I'm telling the truth.
Chair Roberts says he's a Republican and a 2A defender but you sure wouldn't know it based on this hearing.
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft happened to be there and I was told he literally got up and walked out of the room in frustration. Kudos to Ashcroft for letting them know what he thought!
So, a BIG THANK YOU to Representative Hardwick! This is the kind of fighting we like to see! THIS is what we can get behind! THIS is what they are elected to do....PROTECT our freedom and push back government overreach.
Bill, if I see you this week, I might just hug you!!
To give more credit where it is due, we had a few others who also spoke up in the hearing on these issues or others to defend our 2A rights here in Missouri. Thanks, also, to these Missouri House Reps!!
Representative Chad Perkins
Representative Brian Sietz
Representative Lisa Thomas
Representative Justin Sparks
Representative Brad Banderman
Courage is contagious and I'm hoping the actions of these legislators sparks others to stand up even and especially if their Committee Chairs or even the Speaker or Floor Leader are in opposition.
