Category Archives: This is why we have the 2nd Amendment

Quote of the day—Leana S. Wen

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President Biden’s much-hyped new strategy for fighting covid-19 is a tepid half-measure that falls short of the dramatic reset the country needs. The six-pronged strategy announced on Thursday can be summarized as “more of the same” — these are good steps in the right direction, but they’re not enough to get the job done.

…

Biden needs to acknowledge that we have reached the end of the line when it comes to asking individuals to get vaccinated. We’ve tried education, incentives and appealing to people’s patriotic duty. It’s not working. Now is the time for mandates, with the federal government using the full extent of its authority.

Leana S. Wen
September 9, 2021
Biden’s six-step covid strategy does not go far enough to compel vaccinations
[As President Biden said:

This is not about freedom or personal choice.

Actually, it is about freedom and personal choice. And the lack of authority of the executive branch to create law without going through the legislative branch. And the lack of constitutionality authority for the Federal government to force the injection of foreign substances into individuals without consent.

In short, this action is clearly illegal. It violates 18 USC 242 and probably numerous other laws.

Of course, the courts may not see this as clearly as the rest of us.

If the President has this authority then he also has the authority to force the injection of an abortifacient, a birth control drug, implant fertilized eggs, or sterilize those deemed unfit to reproduce (see previous link). We are no longer considered individuals with inalienable rights. We are little different from cattle in their treatment (no pun intended) of us.

For decades I believed the most likely spark to start Civil War II would be something related to guns. I now think the insanity over forced vaccinations could nudge out gun control.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Baron Bodissey

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Initially, dictatorship is imposed via the abuse and manipulation of language, its function being to peddle falsehoods. Censorship comes next, and then the denigration and erasure of memories of the past. This process has an established pattern. First, the past is ridiculed. Second, it is demonised and, finally, criminalised.

It is when the first stage is segueing into the second that an open battle of wills begins to emerge between those demanding the reinstatement of their traditional culture, customs, and freedoms and the totalitarian few, gathered together with their imported alien foot soldiers, who are attempting to destroy everything that was and is.

At that point it soon becomes evident that the only viable end game is that one side must completely eliminate the other in order to survive. There is no longer any room, nor necessity, for the so often fatal trap of compromise.

Have no doubts about it: If the situation becomes kinetic, and history suggests this has a probability higher than 0.5, then only the brave, the most determined and ruthless will prevail.

Baron Bodissey
September 5, 2021
Crossing the Rubicon
[Interesting take on the current situation in Britain. I’m not sure Bodissey knows that much more on the topic than anyone else and I wonder how well it applies to the U.S.. But I can see some strong correlations to our situation.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Cam Edwards

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The Third Circuit panel found that not only did the township offer no evidence that its zoning rules are targeted to achieve a public safety benefit without imposing undue restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms, but that it neglected to explain why it chose to implement these specific restrictions, and why they did so only in the part of the township that was zoned for “sportsmen’s clubs.” Two other areas of town where “shooting ranges” are allowed to operate don’t have these same types of restrictions in place, but the township can’t explain why center-fire rifle firing should be banned at a sportsmen’s club and not at a shooting range.


Now the case goes back down to the district court for a third time, and hopefully this time around the judge makes the correct decision and finds that the township violated the rights of the gun range owner by arbitrarily imposing these zoning restrictions without being able to offer up any substantive reason for doing so.

Cam Edwards
August 17, 2021
Second Amendment In Gun Range Case

Quote of the day—David Frum

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You want to be a protective spouse, a concerned parent, a good citizen, a patriotic American? Save your family and your community from danger by getting rid of your weapons, and especially your handguns. Don’t wait for the law. Do it yourself; do it now. Do it because you just bought your first home, do it because you just got married, do it because you just had the baby you cherish more than anything in this world. The gun you trust against your fears is itself the thing you should fear. The gun is a lie.

As more Americans recognize the lie, they may notice a powerful new possibility. Once emancipated from the false myth of the home-protecting gun, they will find it easier to write laws and adopt policies to stop the criminals and zealots who carry guns into the streets. Win enough elections, and the federal courts will retreat from their sudden gun advocacy—and return to their historic deference to state regulation of firearms.

David Frum
September 1, 2021
How to Persuade Americans to Give Up Their Guns
[Frum needs to review the 2nd Amendment and the Heller decision.

Then he needs to read some books on the risk of not owning firearms and the ethics of restricting firearms ownership. I would like to suggest:

Then, if he is still in the persuasive mood, I’d be glad to introduce him to the power of the word “No.” backed up by 100 million determined gun owners with their own means of persuasion.—Joe]

Quote of the day—J. KB

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I have been listening to the book Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland on Audible on my commute.

It’s a difficult book to listen to.

In chapter 10, the author talks about the clearing of the ghetto at Międzyrzec to send the Jews to Treblinka.

What stuck out at me was that 11,000 Jews were deported and over 900 shot by a cadre of only 350 police.

…

And there wasn’t one report of Jews fighting back.

J. KB
July 23, 2021
Why I am the way I am
[The book sounds as if it has similar content to Hitler’s Willing Executioners which I have posted (this post is extremely relevant J. KB concerns) about before.

I just purchased the Audible version of Ordinary Men and will start it later this week when I finish the current book I’m listening too.

As difficult as the books may be to read/listen-to they present some very important lessons worth learning.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Aaron P. Tutt @aaronptutt

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Every gun owner wants to kill. That is the only reason to own a gun. Going to the range is just killing practice. There are other ways to keep yourself safe. The only purpose of a gun is murder.

Aaron P. Tutt @aaronptutt
Tweeted on Jun 29, 2021
[So… what do you suppose one should do with people that want to kill, practice killing, and have tools which have murder as their only purpose? I think Mr. Tutt has a pretty clear idea of what he thinks should be done with us.

The belief that one can read the mind of others is frequently the sign of a personality disorder. This typically is restricted to someone well known to them.

That Tutt claims to know want 100’s of millions of people think is an indication he is completely bonkers or is deliberately trolling.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Kat Timpf @KatTimpf

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The government is made up of people in power who wanted to be in power and I think it’s important to remember that.

Kat Timpf @KatTimpf
Tweeted on June 25, 2021
[Never forget there are people who openly claim, “I was born to regulate.” There are also people who believe they are “born to rule”. They may be less public about it but they exist.

Power is addicting for these people. They get a thrill out of wielding power. And as time goes on to achieve the same thrill requires more and more power.

I suspect this was one of the reasons for the U.S. Constitution to have enumerated powers. Of course, as a practical matter, that didn’t last long.

A case could be made for nominations for political office to be made via lottery system. Perhaps then people would see the advantages of minimizing the power of government to the bare minimum of what cannot be done well via the private sector. But I suspect some other “lesson” and “solution” would be discovered to enable power hungry monsters to take over government.

I’m certain as long as there is a need for governments there will be a need for the citizen option of rooftop vetoing government overreach.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Lee Williams

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More than 61% of the country has drawn a line in the sand — telling the federal government not to infringe upon their God-given and constitutional rights. The movement ceased being “symbolic” a long time ago.

Despite the good professor saying it’s not a “good look” for the NRA, neither the NRA nor any other civil rights organizations have anything to do with it. This is a pure grassroots movement. It’s organic. It’s hyper-local. It’s about citizens standing up to their government — period. No one person or organization is pulling any strings.

That NPR and other outdated members of the legacy media are now belittling and downplaying Second Amendment sanctuaries shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone. They’re scared, after all, but not nearly as scared as the politicians. The movement positively terrifies them. It strikes at their very core. It tells them very plainly that we will not comply with their tyrannical edicts.

Lee Williams
Chief Editor Second Amendment Foundation Investigative Reporting Project
June 23, 2021
No, NPR, there aren’t 400 Second Amendment Sanctuary counties in the US — there are 1,930
[See also here.

This one of the vectors which will help us retain our 2nd Amendment rights.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Ara Sagherian

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Canadians are forbidden from owning firearms [there are a few exceptions]. The average Canadian has no course of action to oppose big Government should individual freedoms be threatened as they have the past year and a half.

In America things are different. The 2nd Amendment protects Americans from the government overstepping boundaries and threatening civil liberties.

Try enforcing a curfew in Texas or Florida like they did in Quebec. Not likely.

The checks and balances embedded in The Constitution are what keeps America great.

Ara Sagherian
June 7, 2021
The Beacon Nation
[I know gun owners in Canada. I have offered them whatever assistance I can. But there isn’t a lot I can do beyond encourage them to get out.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Inez Stepman

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He wants that unelected department staffed by trained academics, presumably by him, to have veto power over every municipal state and federal law in the country, if it creates, in his eyes, any kind of disparity between groups. And he wants that body to have veto power over who stands for political office.

…

I call it woke Stalinism … his position is that a group of unelected academics should have complete veto power over all laws in the United States, and kind of similar to how it works with the mullahs in Iran, to basically select the slate of candidates. The people may vote, but only on the candidates or among the candidates selected by people who think like Ibram X. Kendi.

Inez Stepman
June 4, 2021
Biden’s Proposed Funding of Critical Race Theory Puts US on a ‘Very Dark Path’: Inez Stepman
[We live in interesting times.

Complete elimination of disparity can only be achieved by death for all.

Prepare appropriately.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Sam Jacobs

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Red August was effectively a series of politically motivated riots; however, the riots were not stopped by the police force of China. The Red Guards often received official protection from the police, who instead enacted harsh measures against anyone who dared to resist Mao’s Red Guards. Red August is generally considered the beginning of the Red Terror in China. Red Guards from Beijing No. 6 High School famously wrote “Long Live Red Terror!” on the wall with the blood of their victims.

It is easy to get bogged down in the various details of the Cultural Revolution, but it is the broader points that are most important. The Cultural Revolution was, at least ostensibly, wages against “the Five Black Categories:” landlords, rich farmers, counter-revolutionaries, bad influences, and rightists and “the Four Olds:” Old Ideas, Old Culture, Old Habits, and Old Customs.

…

Finally, it is worth noting the ferocity with which people were attacked for holding opinions that were until very recently uncontroversial. There was a massive, hysterical push to destroy symbols of Chinese history that had become unfavorable due to the current political climate. Those who were being persecuted by the government were, somewhat perversely, painted as if they were an oppressive class being uprooted by a revolutionary government that was going to equalize society by addressing historical injustices.

Sam Jacobs
May 2021
How Totalitarianism Rhymes Throughout History: Czechoslovakia, China, & Venezuela
[Does this sound familiar? Perhaps even “rhyme” with current events?

Take appropriate action.—Joe]

Just one of the risks

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About a week ago a reader sent me an email:

Subject: Gun Registration Fail

An important part of the DC Police hack that nobody is covering or even speculating on:

DC has gun registration, handled by the MPD.

Presumably (NO EVIDENCE OF THIS YET): The hackers now have:

A list of every legal gun owner in DC, with their home address, work address, birthplace, and Social Security number.
A list of every legal gun each gun owner owns.
The location that gun is kept in the home (DC requires this information as part of the registration process).
A list of every Carry Permit holder in DC.

you can find the Reg form here for the information collected, and _potentially_ stolen/hacked.
https://mpdc.dc.gov/node/1494261

I’ve been looking and waiting for evidence the security breach (see also here) affected gun owner in D.C. I’ve not seen any yet.

Regardless, this is an additional risk of gun and gun owner registration. And not just to gun owners. If the bad guys have a list of all the gun owners in a city that means they also know which homes don’t have gun owners. Hence, they can create their own list of soft targets.

This is just one of the risks, to the entire population, of the illegal registration of an inalienable right.

Quote of the day—Roger L. Simon

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As Tal Bachman notes at Steynonline, it’s now our state religion, a state religion in a country that—constitutionally and for good reason—isn’t supposed to have one.

But “Wokism” is yet more than that, too. It’s a mass psychosis similar to many that have arisen throughout history when the masses followed leaders who, in their zeal or self-interest, took them to disastrous ends.

Roger L. Simon
May 9, 2021
How ‘Woke’ May Be Leading Us to Civil War
[See yesterday’s QOTD as well.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Gabriel Keane

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A few stores in Brooklyn Center were left unmolested, however: businesses guarded out front by armed civilians.

Despite calls to violent “revolution” by looters, they did not appear interested in a confrontation with determined shopkeepers.

Gabriel Keane
April 13, 2021
Only Stores Left Untouched In Minneapolis Area Riots Were Guarded By Armed Civilians
[Unexpectedly!

Via email from Rolf.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Thomas Jefferson

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God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive.

If they remain quiet under such misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. … What country before ever existed a century and half without a rebellion? And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?

Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.

Thomas Jefferson
November 13, 1787
Letter to William Stephens Smith
[This provides more context to the one I usually see.—Joe]

Some things never change

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Communists will be communists and do what communists do. The following newspaper clippings came from my hometown paper of almost 104 years ago. Via Brother Doug:

IWW_June_29_1917

Click on the picture to get a high resolution image that you might be able to actually read. Or better yet, download it and open it in something you can enlarge it still more.

This was my great grandfather’s response:

IWW_Frank_Carey

As Brother Doug pointed out (I would add cities to the list of things they want to destroy):

The leftists were just as destructive 100 years ago as they are today. 
Back then they wanted to burn the crops.  Today they want to destroy the dams.  “IWW” stands for Industrial Workers of the World.  Grandpa Carey said, “boys and girls will patrol the entire section on horseback.”  His oldest son was only 16 at the time.  His oldest daughters, Ada, 23, Sadie, 20 and Pet, 18, were likely part of the patrol.

Sadie was my grandmother. At that time she, Ada, and Pet owned the land where Boomershoot is held.

Quote of the day—Jacob Sullum

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Lee’s bill so far has no cosponsors, and it is unlikely to make much progress. But it reflects a broader mindset in the Democratic Party, which used to at least pay lip service to the Second Amendment but lately talks and acts as if it does not exist.

Jacob Sullum
February 5, 2021
This Draconian Bill Would Turn Millions of Peaceful Gun Owners Into Felons
[I see lots of chatter about this bill. I think it is best to save that energy for something else. President Biden has his own plans which have a much better chance of success than those of Representative Lee.

Give money to SAF and others who are engaged in the court battles protecting our rights. Contact your representatives and let them know how important respect of the Constitutional limits on government are to you, your community, your state, and the nation.

Other potentially useful activities might be to document your boating accidents, camouflaging your gun safe, and establishing relationships with people you meet at the range. Be creative and do what you are comfortable doing to prepare for and resist laws such as Lee’s if it does get passed sometime in the future.—Joe]