Like Watching a Racial Desegregation Case

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I just listened to the California “Assault Weapon” ban oral argument before the Ninth Circuit in Miller v. Bonta. I will do extremely detailed breakdown of the argument later. In short, 2A will NOT win with this panel.

The questions and comments from the two liberal judges Berzon and Nguyen were unimpressive. Judge Berzon called AR-15s “A-15s” (seriously).

Based on today’s argument and the efforts by the two liberal judges to avoid applying Heller/Bruen, I now understand what it was like watching a court argument in 1950s Alabama/Mississippi over racial desegregation where intellectually dishonest, results-oriented judges worked overtime to avoid the obvious, legally-compelled outcome based upon clear, binding US Supreme Court precedent.

Mark W. Smith/#2A Scholar @fourboxesdiner
Posted on X January 24, 2024

And, no surprise, it was the same political party deliberately infringing upon the rights of people in both instances. There is an reason they are called the evil party.

Seattle Is Paying BLM $10M for Trashing the City

There is a lesson to be learned here:

City of Seattle just settled a $10 mil lawsuit related to BLM riots during the 2020 “Summer of Love.” City admits no wrong doing and says it’s the best move right now since the litigation has been such a time and financial drain. Otherwise, this basically signals to anarchists and FAR-LEFT activists that they can trash the city and now be compensated for their unruly behavior. It’s still upside down.

What did you just learn?

World War 3 has Already Begun

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Kuzio’s alarming statement continued, claiming that Russia and Iran share the goal of eradicating Ukraine and Israel “from the face of the earth”. He added that these countries perceive themselves to be at war, while Western governments, particularly the Biden administration, are seemingly oblivious. “For them, World War Three has already begun,” Kuzio added.

Alessandra Scotto di Santolo
January 19, 2023
‘World War 3 has already begun’ as warning issued ‘no chance of peace for decades’

I want an underground bunker in Idaho.

Rethinking Things

Putin stokes tensions with US, declares 1867 sale of Alaska ‘illegal’ (msn.com):

Vladimir Putin appears to have rethought the sale of Alaska to the Americans. It’s not a joke: he’s trying to give the impression that his influence extends not only to his country’s future events but also plans to rewrite the past. Therefore, he signed a decree rendering the sale of Alaska illegal.

Perhaps General Patton had it right when he wanted to continue east after Germany surrendered in 1945. A few months later the US would have nukes and other serious firepower on Russia’s eastern front. That would have effected some serious attitude adjustment and made the world a much different and probably better place.

Now… I just want my underground bunker in Idaho.

The ATF is Crying to Dad

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In fifth grader:

We’ve kicked the ATF’s ass several times in the past 6 months and destroyed their Pistol Brace Rule.

Today, we are making our final written argument for throwing out the Rule with the District Court.

The ATF makes its final written argument on Feb 7.

Oh, yeah, and the ATF is also crying to Dad that Mom agreed and said no, even though Dad already said no.

Firearms Policy Coalition @gunpolicy
Posted on January 17, 2024

Nice! I don’t think I will ever have an interest in a Pistol Brace but the rule needs to be put down like a rabid skunk anyway. Thanks to the FPC for all their effort in this. It is nice to see my donations are helping get results.

Read the parent post to the one linked for the legalize version. The fifth grader one is easier for me to follow. And perhaps even the ATF could figure it out if they read it slowly and very carefully.

The Most Reckless and Careless Gun Policy in the State’s History

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The mayor stood, frowning and grim, flanked by uniformed police officers. Another horrific gun crime had occurred — and it was all the fault of the state legislators who had recently repealed the law requiring a permit to carry a concealed weapon, what proponents call “constitutional carry.”

“The Republican-led legislature in Columbus passed SB 215 and across this state from Cleveland to Columbus to Cincinnati, you see an uptick in shootings across our state. . . . It’s important that we hold them accountable for passing dangerous gun laws in our state,” the mayor said, his angry voice rising above the roar of nearby freeway traffic.

“The most reckless and . . . careless gun policy in the state’s history,” the mayor said.

“It’s creating an arms race where people don’t feel safe unless they have a gun. So guns beget more guns, which, unfortunately, makes us all unsafe,” the mayor said.

But which mayor? The first quote was from Mayor Justin Bibb of Cleveland. The second one is from Mayor Andrew Ginther of Columbus. The arms-race quote was from Aftab Pureval, mayor of Cincinnati, on National Public Radio.

Ohio’s three biggest cities — they all got in with the same message: It’s not our fault; it’s the new state law.

There was only one problem: It wasn’t true.

My office commissioned a study with Bowling Green State University to examine gun crime in Ohio’s eight largest cities the year before the law changed — June 13, 2022 — and the year afterward. The conclusion: Eliminating concealed-carry licenses had no impact on gun crimes, and in six of the eight cities, gun crimes actually declined.

Dave Yost
January 10, 2024
Ohio Just Disproved a Gun-Control Talking Point

Is anyone surprised?

The anti-gun people lie. It is in their culture. You should expect them to lie even when there is nothing to be gained from it. To them, lies are easier to tell than the truth.

Not only did the total violent crime decrease, but the crimes committed with guns decreased as well. Again, no big surprise there. An armed society is a polite society. And nothing makes a violent criminal more polite than multiple jacketed hollow points.

A Message of ‘Repeal the 2nd Amendment’

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The Disarmament Regime is beginning to show signs of frustration as it shifts hard toward a message of ‘repeal the 2nd Amendment’. They know they cannot win within the existing framework. We must be more prepared than ever for what lies ahead.

Firearms Policy Coalition @gunpolicy
Posted on X February 17, 2023

On our current path, ultimately, we will win. But our opponents will try, and are trying, desperate measures.

Prepare appropriately.

What are His Intentions?

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He’s shown us that his solution to gun violence is give more people guns.

Wes Moore
Maryland Governor
January 9, 2023
Another Trump Presidency Would Lead to Gun Control Rollback, Maryland Governor Says

He says that like it is a bad thing. And, to a tiny extent, I agree with him. The government, in ordinary times, shouldn’t be giving guns away. It is a waste of tax payer money. If there is a surplus or there are obsolete firearms to dispose of they should be sold to the highest bidders.

In general one of the solutions to violent crime is the arming of the victims. Governor Moore wants the disarming of the victims. With a strong positive correlation between gun control and genocide and zero or negative correlation with violent crime reduction, one has to wonder about Governor Moore’s intentions. Is he just wanting to create a safe working environment for the street criminals? Or does he intend to go wholesale with a government demonstration of mass shootings?

In any case, prepare and respond appropriately.

They Wish it Were a Privilege

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NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 82.12 RCW to read as follows:

(1) A use tax is levied on every person in this state for the privilege of using ammunition as a consumer at the rate of 11 percent of the selling price.

HOUSE BILL 2238
State of Washington
January 9, 2024

Via an post on X to me from Chuck Petras @Chuck_Petras.

Just because they say it is a privilege does not make it a privilege.

This is clearly unconstitutional. Which, of course, makes it all the more attractive to the anti-freedom gang.

I look forward to their trials.

Shutting down the FBI & ATF

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I’ll shut down the FBI & ATF and here’s one more reason why. A voter in Iowa recently reminded me of the story of Ruby Ridge & the Weaver family. In 1992, Randy Weaver sold a sawed-off shotgun to a federal informant & was then surrounded at his cabin for refusing to appear in court. First they killed his dog, then they shot & killed his son, *14-year-old* Samuel Weaver. His wife, Vicki, also was shot & killed by an FBI sniper while holding their 10-month-old daughter inside their house. Weaver was later acquitted & awarded a $3mm settlement by the DOJ. Another classic case of entrapment & a disproportionate, politicized abuse of federal police power. I will *shut down* toxic 3-letter agencies like the FBI & ATF that are beyond the point of incremental “reform,” using my Constitutional authority as U.S. President to do it.

Vivek Ramaswamy @VivekGRamaswamy
Posted on X January 9, 2024

I would vote for that.

A Sign of Deconsolidating Democracy

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When each side starts talking about the other as a threat to democracy — whatever the reality is — that’s a sign of a democracy that’s deconsolidating.

Daniel Ziblatt
January 7, 2024
A government professor at Harvard University and co-author of the book How Democracies Die
One attack, two interpretations: Biden and Trump both make the Jan. 6 riot a political rallying cry | Kansas City Star

Reading the book description on Amazon indicates it is a far from objective book. It was released in January of 2019 and appears to be aimed squarely at former President Trump:.

The good news is that there are several exit ramps on the road to authoritarianism. The bad news is that, by electing Trump, we have already passed the first one.

I just want to move into my bunker in Idaho, stock and grow food, reload ammo, and practice long range shooting.

Everytown Bogus Research

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One of the signals this is bogus research is the way Everytown graded Washington State, where the Citizens Committee is headquartered. Washington is position ninth on the list, and is described as ‘making progress.’ The state has adopted increasingly restrictive gun laws in recent years, and the number of homicides has more than doubled since 2014, according to FBI data and statistics from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. Seattle just set a new homicide record in 2023. If that’s what Everytown calls ‘making progress,’ we would be better off going back to living in caves.

The only conclusion one can draw is that Everytown is far more interested in restricting the rights of honest citizens than it is in reducing violent crime or taking violent criminals off the street.

Alan Gottlieb
CCRKBA Chairman
January 5, 2024
CCRKBA SAYS EVERYTOWN CLAIM THAT STRICT GUN LAWS SAVE LIVES IS BOGUS | Citizens Committee For The Right To Keep And Bear Arms

This claim is assessed as True.

The big tell in almost antigun organizations claims is when they refer to “Gun Violence” statistics and completely ignore criminal violence committed by thugs using other types of weapons and unarmed violence..

“Gun violence” includes justified shootings in self defense by police and/or private citizens, and people who committed or attempted suicide with a gun. And, most importantly, it ignores sky high violence rates against people unable to defend themselves by exercising their specific enumerate right to keep and bear arms.

One could ask, as I have done many times, if the shift was intentional or negligent. I have never received a straight answer. This tells me it is intentional.

These people are deliberate liars. Respond and prepare appropriately.

MN Gun Owners Caucus @mnguncaucus

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A horribly written law that would make criminals out of careful, law-abiding citizens is not a solution to the tremendous problem we face with gun violence and firearm accidents. Publicly supported and funded, age-appropriate firearm safety education ought to be a part of it.

Brad Johnson
Anoka County Attorney
Letter to state representative Jaime Becker-Finn.

Via MN Gun Owners Caucus @mnguncaucus on April 3, 2023.

We must recognize we have allies in government.

It wasn’t too long ago that I read a book about the resistance to Nazi’s in Italy. A young woman got a job as a maid and nanny to a Nazi officer and his wife. She was also a spy who obtained information which was smuggled to the allies which was used to save countless lives. As the Nazis were retreating out of Italy local “patriots” rounded up the Nazis and collaborates they could find and killed them without trials. The young woman was among them.

Gun Laws are an Unmitigated Disaster

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Gun laws in the United States are an unmitigated disaster. The amount of asinine minutiae that can send you straight to jail is downright embarrassing, and it requires a conscious effort to believe we’re in this situation because of incompetence rather than malice. All this to say: I’ve made a genuine effort to work on this project without running afoul of any state or federal gun laws, like Tom Frickin’ Cruise navigating a hallway of laser tripwires.

Evan @ Cottage Arms
Posted in 2022

Meet Shirley: The .22LR built for the year 2022 from Cottage Arms on Vimeo.

Only 1% Registered their Guns

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Even though Illinois lawmakers passed a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, Monday was the deadline for those who already owned assault weapons before the ban to register them.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed the statewide ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines on Jan. 10, 2023. The measure gave those who owned and purchased weapons before the law was enacted time to register.

CBS 2’s Darius Johnson had the latest on where the controversial measure stood with the new year.

As of last week, only 15,000 people completed the disclosures, according to Illinois State Police. There are nearly 2.5 million firearm owner’s IDs in the state.

Darius Johnson
January 1, 2023
Monday was deadline for Illinois owners of assault weapons prior to ban to register their guns

That is about 1.48 million people in defiance of the unconstitutional law.It is good to know 99% of people know better than to register their guns.

Rather than registering guns there should be registering of people actively attempting to deny people their civil rights. It would speed up the enforcement of 18 USC 241 and 242.

Experts

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The thing that changed recently is our growing understanding that we’ve all been duped by “experts” multiple times on multiple topics. It isn’t a “one side is bad” problem.

Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays)
Tweeted on March 13, 2022

Of all the ways to determine truth from falsity, total relance upon experts is one of the worst. This particularly true if it is a government expert.

Political Affiliation of People Moving to Idaho

With all the people moving to Idaho (“Idaho has been one of the top five fastest growing states in the nation since 2016.”) the question comes up, “Are they bringing their failed politics with them from California and other failed states?”

The Idaho Secretary of State has some data to shed some light on the topic. The short answer is that Idaho has 58% Republicans, 28% unaffiliated, and 13% Democrats. The incoming mixture is 65% Republican, 21% unaffiliated, and 12% Democrats. So, that says the incoming people is make the state “redder”.

But that is not the whole story:

Californians have been programmed in a way that they think they’re conservative, but then they move to a place like Eagle, Idaho, and they start asking for the same things that the government was providing them in California,

See also what Danny Westneat of the Seattle Times has to say.

And for my county of Clearwater:

image

There are only 8,734 people in the entire county. Hence, over 7.5% have moved there recently.

Constitutionally Protected Rights are Sins

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This is not a general income tax. From my perspective, it’s more of a sin tax.

Gavin Newsom
Governor of California
December 29, 2023
Newsom signs ‘sin tax’ on guns and ammo

Constitutionally protected rights are sins? Wow! That tells you all you need to know about him.

It would amuse me a great deal if this ends up being used as evidence at his trial.

Ending the Federal Reserve from the Bottom Up

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Since its inception, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary policies have led to a decline of over 95% in the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar. As a result, there have been several attempts to curtail or eliminate the Federal Reserve’s powers (e.g., the efforts of Rep. Louis T. McFadden in the 1930s; the efforts of Rep. Wright Patman in the 1970s; the efforts of Rep. Henry Gonzalez in the 1990s; and the efforts of Rep. Ron Paul since the 1990s).

However, none have proven successful to date, due mainly to the constraints of strong political opposition at the national level. In contrast to these “top-down” attempts at the national level, this paper proposes an alternative approach to ending the Federal Reserve’s monopoly on money: the “Constitutional Tender Act,” a bill template that can be introduced in every state legislature in the nation, returning each of them to adherence to the U.S. Constitution’s “legal tender” provisions of Article I, Section 10.

This approach would have a greater likelihood of success for a number of reasons. First, it is decentralized: rather than facing concerted political opposition at a single Federal level, it attacks the issue at the State level, where strategies and tactics can be adapted to the types and amount of political opposition they encounter.

Second, it is diffused: it can be attempted in any number of States, which can cause the opposition to spread its resources much more thinly than would be necessary at the Federal level. Finally, it is legally sound: it relies on the U.S. Constitution’s negative mandate in Article I, Section 10, that “No State shall… make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.” Therefore, in contrast to “top-down” attempts to “end the Fed,” a “bottom-up” approach using “constitutional tender” laws will find greater success.

Under this Act, the State would be required to only use gold and silver coins (or their equivalents, such as checks or electronic transfers) for payments of any debt owed by or to the State (e.g., taxes, fees, contract payments, etc.). All contracts, tax bills, etc. would be required to be denominated in legal tender gold and silver U.S. coins, including Gold Eagles, Silver Eagles, and pre-1965 90% silver coins. All State-chartered banks, as well as any other bank that is a depository for State funds, would be required to offer accounts denominated in those types of gold and silver coins, and to keep such accounts segregated from other types of accounts such as Federal Reserve Notes.

Bill Green
April 4, 2017
Ending the Federal Reserve from the Bottom Up

It is an interesting thought.experiment. But will it work? It’s been almost seven years now and how much progress has it made?

Perhaps after the big crash people will give it more serious consideration.

Gold is currently tickling the $2,100/oz price as I type this… Prepare appropriately.