What They Think Of Us

Progress NC Action is one group that dumped on Rep. Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenburg) for being in the hospital on the day the override vote on SB 41 was taken. It was so nasty and so virulent when combined with the grief she endured from other “progressives” that she switched parties and became a Republican. That gave the GOP the supermajority in the NC House of Representatives.

If you really want to know what they think of the gun culture and those who support an enumerated right, just look at this Tweet.

Richard Nascak, executive director of Florida Carry, had the perfect comeback.

As Massad Ayoob said years ago, gun free zones are nothing but hunting preserves for psychopathic murderers.

H/T Sean S.

Every GOP Senator Needs To Read These Two Articles

While there may be other reasons to vote for Republicans, I would wager the reason most gun owners vote for the GOP candidate is they are expected to be more pro-rights and less anti-gun. Now we are watching a dance in the US Senate between Democrats gun prohibitionists and some Republican senators. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) has been detailed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to “negotiate” with the Democrats on gun control measures.

It is not portrayed as gun control but gun reform. That is the new buzzword that has replaced gun safety in the lexicon of the mainstream media and the gun prohibitionists.

I try not to curse on the blog but why the fuck should we bother voting for Republicans when they are scheming with Democrats on how to stab us in the back. Is the death by a thousand cuts over time any better than one big thrust of the gun control knife? Our rights are still gone.

I suggest every Republican senator needs to be required to read these two articles by Kurt Schlicher and Lee Williams respectively.

Kurt’s article is published at Townhall.com. As he notes, compromise involves getting something in return for giving something up.

See, I’m missing the part where we get something in return instead of merely losing less. But the durwoods of the softcon wing of the GOP seem pretty eager to fail less spectacularly than they might otherwise and call it a victory. 

He goes on to conclude:

But you are supposed to be dazzled by the stars and submit. You can be sure there are GOP dummies just aching to, held back only by Mitch McConnell – the frustrating Murder Turtle who nevertheless is no dummy – whispering in their ears that screwing us over on guns is just about the only thing that can turn an electoral environment of $6 a gallon gas and public school groomers into a Republican rout.

No, this is not the time to go soft. This is not the time to indulge the perennial Republican disease of craven spinelessness in the face of Democrats and their regime media minions screaming lies about them. This is the time to say “No.”

No compromise on our rights. Not now. Not ever. 

Likewise, Lee Williams, The Gun Writer, has published an article on Substack entitled, “No. No talks. No compromises. Nothing. No means no.” As he notes, the gun prohibitionists know that getting us to give up a slice of bread now means that eventually they will get the whole loaf.

I’m with Lee when he writes:

I am sick of watching our gun rights being bartered away by RINOs, Quislings and traitors, none of whom speak for me. None of whom understand guns. None of whom have likely even fired a damn gun. And, quite frankly, I don’t care which liberal Hollywood actor they drag in next to buttress their case.

Lee notes and I concur that we have nothing to gain in any of these negotiations or discussions with Sen. Chris Murphy (RD-CT) and others of his ilk. The Democrats and their legacy media allies want to drag this out as long as possible in an effort to make us forget about gas prices, inflation, supply-chain issues, and our rapidly diminishing retirement savings.

If you are represented in the Senate by a Republican senator (or even a Democrat like Sinema, Tester, or Manchin), you need to be writing, calling, emailing, and faxing their offices daily. Let them know where you stand. Send them these articles. Make sure they know their chances of re-election are between slim and none if they cave to the gun prohibitionists. If you have donated to them in the past, make sure they know it and that the money stops if they cave. The only way we are going to win this is if they know to fear us more than what is being broadcast on the legacy media non-stop.

And They’ll Respect Us In The Morning

There are those great lies we all know. Things like “the check is in the mail”, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help you”, and “I’ll respect you in the morning.” I’d to add another that is quickly becoming all too obvious in the post-Las Vegas mass casualty event hysteria: “I’m a Republican, I respect the Second Amendment, and if you vote for me, you can be assured I’ll never vote for a gun control bill.”

Consider these comments from North Carolina Republican congressmen. All of these comments were published in the Raleigh News and Observer yesterday.

Rep. George Holding (R-NC-2)

“This is a way to circumvent the law, existing law, by sloppily converting a semi-automatic weapon into an automatic weapon. I think we ought to look at getting rid of those,” Holding said Thursday. “You’re purposely trying to circumvent the law.”

Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC-6).

If somebody, just like any other avenue, is circumventing that law, then I think it’s something we should take a look at it. My first impulse is that could be a problem,” said Rep. Mark Walker of Greensboro, who is chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee.

“At the same time, we don’t want to get to a place where any law we pass out of this House … targets more the law-abiding citizen then the criminal. We want to make sure that we’re protecting our society.”

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC-11). Meadows is also chair of the House Freedom Caucus which makes this doubly disturbing. (I met Mark for the first time at a gun show. He needed gun owners then to win in the primary runoff.)

Meadows said ATF may be able to change a rule or regulation that could solve the problem. The federal government allowed the sale of “bump stocks” in 2010.

“What enforcement capabilities are already in statute as it would relate to this? Is there a need for additional legislation?” he said.

Rep. Walter Jones, Jr. (R-NC-3)

Rep. Walter Jones, a Republican who represents much of eastern North Carolina, said he hasn’t had much time to study the “bump stock” issue. He planned to look into it this weekend.

“I have a very great concern about all the shootings and the killings of the American people,” Jones said. “I am concerned, deeply concerned, but I don’t know what the next step should be.”

The statement by the NRA on bump fire stocks will be used by Republicans to give themselves cover. My problem with their statement is that it looks like pre-emptive surrender on a firearm accessory that has been already approved by the BATFE.

While that statement may just be a delaying tactic as Sebastian contends, I still think the optics of it are bad. Few people will actually parse the statement to see what the NRA actually said and will assume incorrectly that they are for a ban on bump fire stocks. As I wrote on Thursday, “However, if bump fire stocks are banned now what is to say that other gun parts such as adjustable stocks or standard capacity magazines won’t be banned later. If you open the door to the ban on one thing, don’t you open the door to the ban of anything firearm related?”

It is a slippery slope. Our opponents recognize this and it is a feature to them. As House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told a reporter, “”They’re going to say, ‘You give them bump stock, it’s going to be a slippery slope.’ I certainly hope so.”

In the meantime, call, write, and fax your senators and representatives. They need to hear from you now in very clear and unambiguous terms. Links for the four Republicans quoted are above. You can find your representative by putting in your zip code here.

Time For Letters And Faxes To Congress

I wasn’t sure if I should post this to the blog or not. It is a copy of a letter that I wrote yesterday to Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) who is my congressman. McHenry is also the Chief Deputy Majority Whip so he is also part of the Republican leadership in the House.

My friend Rob Morse also wrote his congressman along with Paul Ryan and posted his letter on his SlowFacts blog. His is a little shorter and more to the point.

I am putting a link to my letter in Google Docs as well so that anyone can use it as the basis for their own letter or fax. McHenry has three offices in the district in addition to his one in DC. I faxed each and every one that had a published fax number.

Hon. Patrick McHenry
Member of Congress
By Fax

Dear Rep. McHenry:

I have written to you in the past urging passage of the Hearing Protection Act. It has now been incorporated into HR 3668 – the Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act of 2017 – as Title XV of the SHARE Act.

Hearing is one sense that once lost can never be regained. I know as I suffer from both hearing loss and tinnitus. To those who say just use ear plugs or shooting muffs, neither deals adequately with the concussive wave of the exploding gases of the gun shot. I have attached the executive summary from a position paper in favor of suppressors by Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership. As they note, restricting suppressors is an obstacle to hearing safety.

A suppressor on a firearm is like a muffler on a lawn mower. It doesn’t make it silent; it merely reduces the noise level to a safer decibel level. To say as Hillary Clinton did the other day that it would have made the tragedy in Las Vegas even worse is to merely to show ignorance. Police, the average citizen, and “shot spotter” software could all have detected the gunfire by sound as well as its location.

HR 3668 has passed out of all committees and is now on the Union Calendar of the House as number 224. There are reports that Speaker Ryan is now determined to sit on the bill and not let it come up for a vote. As you are a member of House leadership in your role as Chief Deputy Majority Whip, let me make one thing perfectly clear to you and to the rest of the GOP.

THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.

Republicans would not hold a majority of both houses of Congress, Donald Trump would not be President, and there would not be a Republican supermajority of the North Carolina General Assembly if it were not for us in the firearms community. We have been given too many promises over too many years that Republicans are our allies in the fight for gun rights. We have given our votes and we have been continually disappointed. It is always there are more important things to handle and we’ll get to it “next year”. We are treated like Lucy treats Charlie Brown.

No more! While I can’t speak for everyone in the gun rights community, my vote will not be forthcoming unless I see good bills like HR 3668 and Rep. Hudson’s HR 38 brought up for recorded votes and passed in the House.

I attended and spoke at the 2017 Gun Rights Policy Conference held this past weekend in Dallas, Texas. Both the SHARE Act and HR 38 were discussed. A resolution was adopted on Sunday that demanded a recorded vote on both of these bills. Collectively, we have made the decision to stop playing “Charlie Brown” to the GOP’s “Lucy”.

I remain,

Sincerely yours,

John P. Richardson

Attachment: Executive Summary: Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership Position Paper in Favor of Firearm Suppressors to Prevent Hearing Loss

You can get the executive summary of DRGO’s position paper here. I would suggest including it with your fax or letter.

The Proper Response To GOP Requests For Money Is No

I received a plea for money today from Phil Berger who is the President Pro Tem of the North Carolina Senate. He was one of the politicians visited in Raleigh last week in GRNC’s Squish the Magic RINO demonstration. He was targeted because HR 746 which would allow permitless concealed carry is still bottled up in the North Carolina Senate.

The proper response to any of these supposedly pro-gun Republicans asking for money is NO. As I said in my response to Sen. Berger, I wanted to see action and that means both bringing bills to a vote and an affirmative vote.

Any damn fool in Congress or a state house can introduce a bill. It doesn’t mean it has a chance in hell of being passed. That is just a means of appeasement.

HB 746 is languishing in the North Carolina Senate waiting to be sent to the floor. Meanwhile, both national reciprocity and the Hearing Protection Act (or its variants) have not made it to the floor of either chamber of Congress. It is long past time for the state and national GOP to reward some of their most faithful supporters with passage of pro-gun legislation. Until I start to see some action, my checkbook stays closed.

Constitutional Carry Passes Vote In NC House But…..

House Bill 746, the Omnibus Gun Bill which contains a provision for permitless concealed carry, passed its first two votes on the floor of the North Carolina House yesterday. The bill will have its third and final vote on Thursday. It passed on a vote of 65 yea, 54 nay, and 1 not voting. All weakening amendments were either defeated or tabled.

This should be a moment of joy and celebration for gun rights supporters in North Carolina and the nation. It should be except it isn’t. The bill if it passes the North Carolina State Senate will almost certainly be vetoed by Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC). For the bill to have been veto-proof it required 72 yea votes. In other words, the bill needed either a few Democrat supporters which was unlikely or fewer Republican defections.

Now the question that remains is whether those eight Republicans are anti-rights, have been bought off by Michael Bloomberg and his hired guns, or both. It is too soon to see if campaign contributions will be made by Bloomberg to any of these eight. Nonetheless, it appears that Bloomberg’s hiring of lobbyist Chris McClure was a smart tactical move given McClure’s Republican connections. As for their stand on gun rights, most of them were considered wobbly given their ratings by GRNC with only two having 3 stars or better ratings.

So the question remains as to whether any of the “Elite Eight” or “Elitest Eight” (as they are called by Grass Roots North Carolina) will change their vote Thursday.

In the meantime, here are the eight Republicans that voted against constitutional carry and against their own party’s platform. Links to their legislative webpage are in the captions below each picture.

Rep. Ted Davis (R-New Hanover)
Rep. John Faircloth (R-Guilford))
Rep. John Fraley (R-Iredell)
Rep. D. Craig Horn (R-Union)
Rep. Frank Iler (R-Brunswick)
Rep. Chuck McGrady (R-Henderson)
Rep. Samuel Watford (R-Davidson)
Rep. Linda Hunt Williams (R-Wake)

You can read GRNC’s alert on the defection of these eight Republicans here. It contains a pre-written email to send to them.

If these eight had voted against funding abortions or against free lunches for school kids you know the Democrats would be sending their minions to demonstrate in front of their homes and offices. The news media would run the story as the lead item on the local broadcast. I rarely see gun rights supporters adopting their Alinskyite tactics. The only exception I can think of is the demonstrations by activists from the New Jersey Second Amendment Society (NJ2AS) outside the home of Senate President Steve Sweeney after the death of Carol Bowne who was murdered while waiting for a carry permit. I can’t say whether or not these type of demonstrations would be effective in North Carolina but they certainly would get the media’s attention.

UPDATE: A reader who is active in North Carolina gun rights politics sent me this by email and he is 100% correct.

With respect to your article, I would add only that what matters is not how the eight voted today, but rather how they would vote on an override. Many who oppose the bill will vote for an override out of loyalty to their party.

HB 746 passed its Third Reading yesterday on a vote of 64-51. Rep. Craig Horn and Rep. Sam Watford who are mentioned above did not vote as they had excused absences. Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) did vote and he voted for passage.

The Omnibus Gun Bill has been ordered engrossed and will now be sent to the North Carolina State Senate for their consideration.

Sit-Ins Pay Off For The Democrats

It was only last week that the House Democrats held an all-night sit-in the House chamber to protest in favor of gun control. We sadly saw a hero of the civil rights movement, Rep. John Lewis (R-GA), protesting in favor of actions that would actually curtail both 2nd and 5th Amendment guarantees. At the time, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) said the Democrats sit-in was nothing more than political theater and that the Constitution must be protected.

That was then and this is now.

According to the Washington Examiner, Ryan told the House Republican Conference that the House will vote next week on a package of measures including one that would use the no-fly list to deny firearms purchases.

The House will vote on an anti-terrorism measure next week that would prevent terror suspects from purchasing guns, House Speaker Paul Ryan told GOP lawmakers Thursday.


In a conference call with the House Republican conference, Ryan, R-Wis., outlined a plan to vote on a legislative package that responds to the recent terrorist shootings, including limiting access to firearms by those on federal terror watch lists.


“The terrorism package will include measures to disrupt radicalization and recruitment, and a provision to prevent suspected terrorists from buying guns,” a GOP aide said….


The move comes as Democrats threaten to continue “sit-in” demonstrations on the House floor until the GOP majority allows votes on two specific Democratic gun control measures. The demonstrations forced the House GOP to gavel out early for a week-long recess earlier this month.

You know what this means – time to start calling/emailing/faxing your Representative. You can find their webpages and phone numbers here.

Time To Turn The Screws Down On Republicans In NC

It is time for the Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly to either put up or shut up. They talk a good game when they want gun owners votes but when given a chance to actually send a decent gun bill to the governor, they waffle and drag their feet.

HB 937 which would amend a number of gun laws in North Carolina has passed both the House and the Senate in different forms. When given a choice on passing the stronger of the two versions, the House Republicans waffled and sent it to a conference committee. Now the conference committee which is composed entirely of Republicans is dragging its feet. The General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn this coming Friday.

We went through this garbage in the last session where one house passed restaurant carry and then it was never acted upon by the other house. It is time for this nonsense to stop. The conference committee needs to report out a bill without garbage attached to it and to do it now.

As Grass Roots North Carolina notes in their alert below, Republicans will be held accountable if they fail to pass this bill. Instead of considering a bill to honor All-American Cities, why not do something that is substantive and not symbolic?

The clock to adjournment is ticking…IT IS TIME TO BRING THE HEAT!

While the gun rights of North Carolinians hang in the balance, Republican leadership can’t stop playing political games. They are being manipulated by the competing misguided interests of the NC Sheriffs’ Association (NCSA) and NRA.

The political angst has reached the level that Rep. Jacqueline Schaffer has begun emailing accusations that GRNC is spreading “inaccurate information”. GRNC President Paul Valone quickly responded:

“As I just told your legislative assistant, Sharon, I would love to know what is “inaccurate” about our reporting. My understanding was that to close what you yourself have called the “arming felons loophole,” sans repeal of all or part of the purchase permit statute, you suggested requiring NICS checks if purchase permits were older than 30 days. As we have said all along (and I have numerous positions issued to Republicans to this effect), punishing gun owners for the malfeasance of the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association is unacceptable to us. So please, tell me what is “inaccurate,” before I am forced to report to 87,000 gun owners that it is actually you who is disseminating false information.“

It is time to stop the blame game and pandering to NCSA and NRA. These organizations didn’t elect the Assembly. You did. Have they forgotten who they represent?

Apparently they need another reminder. GRNC has set-up a “Pass HB 937” petition at http://grnc.org/pass-h937 that will help the politicians focus on the issue. Sign it, and pass along the link to your friends.

The Assembly is set to adjourn this Friday. We only have a few more days to instill sense in both the Assembly and Governor McCrory and get this bill passed.

We have fought for years for this progress. Failure IS NOT AN OPTION!

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!

You need to do three things:

  1. Call the three Republican leaders, Gov. McCrory, Speaker Tillis, President Pro Tempore Berger;

  2. Sign the petition and forward it to others; and

  3. Send the copy-and-paste message to all Republicans in the NC House and Senate

MAKE SURE TO BOTH CALL AND EMAIL Sen. Berger, Speaker Tillis and Gov. McCrory. This is our last chance to make an impression. Let’s make it GOOD!

CONTACT INFORMATION

Speaker Thom Tillis, 919-733-3451, Email: Thom.Tillis@ncleg.net

Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, 919-733-5708, Email: Phil.Berger@ncleg.net

Gov. Pat McCrory, 919-814-2000, Email using BOTH this address governor.office@nc.gov AND the webpage at http://www.governor.state.nc.us/contact/email-pat

Use the following cut-and-paste email list to contact NC House Republicans:

Dean.Arp@ncleg.net; Marilyn.Avila@ncleg.net; John.Bell@ncleg.net; Hugh.Blackwell@ncleg.net; Jamie.Boles@ncleg.net; Robert.Brawley@ncleg.net; Brian.Brown@ncleg.net; Rayne.Brown@ncleg.net; Rob.Bryan@ncleg.net; Dana.Bumgardner@ncleg.net; Justin.Burr@ncleg.net; Rick.Catlin@ncleg.net; George.Cleveland@ncleg.net; Jeff.Collins@ncleg.net; Debra.Conrad@ncleg.net; Leo.Daughtry@ncleg.net; Ted.Davis@ncleg.net; Jimmy.Dixon@ncleg.net; Josh.Dobson@ncleg.net; Jerry.Dockham@ncleg.net; Nelson.Dollar@ncleg.net; Jeffrey.Elmore@ncleg.net; John.Faircloth@ncleg.net; Jim.Fulghum@ncleg.net; Mike.Hager@ncleg.net; Jon.Hardister@ncleg.net; Kelly.Hastings@ncleg.net; Mark.Hollo@ncleg.net; Bryan.Holloway@ncleg.net; Craig.Horn@ncleg.net; Julia.Howard@ncleg.net; Pat.Hurley@ncleg.net; Frank.Iler@ncleg.net; Charles.Jeter@ncleg.net; Linda.Johnson2@ncleg.net; Bert.Jones@ncleg.net; Jonathan.Jordan@ncleg.net; Donny.Lambeth@ncleg.net; James.Langdon@ncleg.net; David.Lewis@ncleg.net; Chris.Malone@ncleg.net; Susan.Martin@ncleg.net; Pat.McElraft@ncleg.net; Chuck.McGrady@ncleg.net; Allen.McNeill@ncleg.net; Chris.Millis@ncleg.net; Tim.Moffitt@ncleg.net; Tim.Moore@ncleg.net; Tom.Murry@ncleg.net; Michele.Presnell@ncleg.net; Nathan.Ramsey@ncleg.net; Dennis.Riddell@ncleg.net; Stephen.Ross@ncleg.net; Jason.Saine@ncleg.net; Ruth.Samuelson@ncleg.net; Jacqueline.Schaffer@ncleg.net; Mitchell.Setzer@ncleg.net; Phil.Shepard@ncleg.net; Paul.Stam@ncleg.net; Edgar.Starnes@ncleg.net; Bob.Steinburg@ncleg.net; Sarah.Stevens@ncleg.net; Michael.Stone@ncleg.net; John.Szoka@ncleg.net; Thom.Tillis@ncleg.net; John.Torbett@ncleg.net; Rena.Turner@ncleg.net; Harry.Warren@ncleg.net; Andy.Wells@ncleg.net; Roger.West@ncleg.net; Chris.Whitmire@ncleg.net

Use the following cut-and-paste email list to contact NC Senate Republicans:

Austin.Allran@ncleg.net, Tom.Apodaca@ncleg.net, Chad.Barefoot@ncleg.net, Tamara.Barringer@ncleg.net, Phil.Berger@ncleg.net, Stan.Bingham@ncleg.net, Andrew.Brock@ncleg.net, Harry.Brown@ncleg.net, Peter.Brunstetter@ncleg.net, Bill.Cook@ncleg.net, David.Curtis@ncleg.net, Warren.Daniel@ncleg.net, Jim.Davis@ncleg.net, Thom.Goolsby@ncleg.net, Rick.Gunn@ncleg.net, Kathy.Harrington@ncleg.net, Fletcher.Hartsell@ncleg.net, Ralph.Hise@ncleg.net, Neal.Hunt@ncleg.net, Brent.Jackson@ncleg.net, Wesley.Meredith@ncleg.net, Buck.Newton@ncleg.net, Louis.Pate@ncleg.net, Ron.Rabin@ncleg.net, Bill.Rabon@ncleg.net, Shirley.Randleman@ncleg.net, Bob.Rucho@ncleg.net, Norman.Sanderson@ncleg.net, Dan.Soucek@ncleg.net, Jeff.Tarte@ncleg.net, Jerry.Tillman@ncleg.net, Tommy.Tucker@ncleg.net, Trudy.Wade@ncleg.net

DELIVER THIS MESSAGE

Suggested Subject: Republicans will be held responsible for failure of HB 937

Dear Speaker Tillis/President Pro Tem Phil Berger/Governor Pat McCrory/Representative/Senator:

NC gun owners have worked too hard for too long and have spent too much time and money supporting politicians claiming to be pro-Second Amendment. If HB 937, the omnibus gun bill, fails to be passed into law we will hold you responsible.

You need to make sure this bill leaves the conference committee and is signed by Gov. McCrory. We’ve had enough of the political games. HB 937 must be signed into law this year or there will be a price to be paid during the next election.

You owe this to NC gun owners who are largely responsible for your election. Do not disappoint us.

I will be following progress through Grass Roots North Carolina legislative alerts.

Respectfully,

Quote Of The Day

The quote of the day comes from Herschel Smith who writes the Captain’s Journal blog. It is to the Republicans in Congress, especially those in the House, about what will happen if they don’t block any and all gun control measures currently being pushed.

However, the Republicans stand warned.  If – controlling the House of
Representatives – they allow new gun control measures to pass to the
President’s desk, the GOP will cease to exists as a viable political
party.  Voters are having difficulty finding differences between them
and the Democrats anyway.  Caving on gun control would seal the fate of
the GOP as a historical relic rather than a future possibility.

Read his full post. He discusses what we can expect in the next few months.

A Valid Question

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (D-UT) appeared on FoxNews yesterday to discuss Operation Fast and Furious and why the Justice Department has blown off yet again a deadline set by Congress to produce materials. He was interviewed by Fox’s Bill Hemmer who asked what I consider a valid question: “Is it time for you folks to put up or shut up?” It was asked in the context of the investigation and how the Congressional leadership seems willing to let deadlines slide, to let Holder stonewall, and to fail to follow up with concrete action such as a contempt citation.

Machiavelli said the Prince must be both a lion and a fox. So far we’ve seen the fox but there is no sign of the lion other than the cowardly lion of the Wizard of Oz when it comes to the Republican leadership trio of Boehner, Cantor, and McCarthy. I think you can see the frustration of Rep. Chaffetz in this interview and I’m sure Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) must be fuming over their inaction.

Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com