Author Archives: Joe

Quote of the day—Richard Emanuel

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While some whites were lynched for murder or stealing cattle, there is another important reason many were lynched. Many whites were lynched for helping blacks or being anti-lynching. According to David Barton’s extensively well-documented book, “Setting the Record Straight: American History in Black & White,” the original targets of the Ku Klux Klan were Republicans, both black and white. The Klan terrorized both black and white Americans not to vote for Republican tickets. “Of all forms of violent intimidation, lynchings were by far the most effective.” Republicans often led the efforts to pass federal anti-lynching laws and their platforms consistently called for a ban on lynching. “Democrats successfully blocked those bills and their platforms never did condemn lynchings.”

Richard Emanuel
September 25, 2017
Many whites were lynched for fighting racism
[The original purpose of the gun control in the U.S. was to protect the Klan from their victims. It should not be a surprise that the primary opposition to private gun owners comes from Democrats.

Extrapolating just a bit we arrive at the following conclusion: Then, as is the case now, one of the primary reason to vigorously hold on to our Second Amendment rights is to protect ourselves from Democrats.—Joe

Update: Barton’s book, Setting the Record Straight is available on Amazon.]

Criminal advocates for #I1639

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From the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms:

DESPERATE ANTI-GUNNERS STEALING ‘NO ON I-1639’ SIGNS; CCRKBA WILL PROSECUTE

Thursday, October 4th, 2018

BELLEVUE, WA – Following reports of disappearing yard signs that urge voters to reject anti- rights Initiative 1639 in at least three Washington State counties, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms announced today that it will press charges against anyone caught removing such signs.

CCRKBA has learned of sign thefts in Whatcom, King and Yakima counties. The signs, produced by the National Rifle Association – which has joined forces with CCRKBA and the Washington Arms Collectors – are being placed at key locations around the state by hundreds of grassroots volunteers.

“This is not the first time we’ve faced this kind of activity from anti-gunners,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “In October 2014, we actually sought leniency for a former Bellevue councilwoman who was caught removing our campaign signs for Initiative 591. She was a supporter of the competing gun control initiative, and she was publicly embarrassed by the incident.

“However, this time around, we’re not going to be so magnanimous,” he promised. “We are encouraging grassroots volunteers to watch for any sign removal or vandalism and report it immediately to the local police or sheriff’s department and we will pursue charges.

“There is no excuse for stealing someone else’s property,” Gottlieb said, “especially when it is done in an effort to suppress an opposing viewpoint. Our allies at the NRA have been spearheading the grassroots campaign against I-1639 and we’re all on a shoestring budget compared to the multi-million-dollar war chest amassed by the gun prohibition lobby in Seattle. Theft of yard signs represents a significant financial loss, and we’re not going to just roll over and take it.

“We realize that gun control is an emotional subject that can incite some people to do stupid things,” he observed. “But that doesn’t justify theft or destruction of yard signs, campaign posters, billboards or other forms of opposing political speech. While we can’t imagine that the I-1639 campaign would sanction such activity, we call on them to publicly discourage their supporters from such actions.

“We live in a Republic,” Gottlieb concluded, “but it’s not a banana Republic. This kind of childish vandalism doesn’t help their cause, and only suggests to us that some I-1639 supporters are feeling desperate, especially since law enforcement lined up against their measure this week.”

The same thing happen with I-676 back in 1997. One friend took a stack of yard signs home because he was replacing the one in his yard about every other day for weeks.

These people are criminals, in more ways than one, and need to be treated as such.

Help defeat #1639

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Via email from Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms:

Battle Stations!

Here is what you need to do to help defeat the anti-gun rights Initiative 1639.

Return your mail ballot with your NO on 1639 vote.

Make sure your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers mail in their ballots with No on 1639 votes.

Use your social media accounts to push our vote No on 1639 don’t criminalize self-defense message.

Email a vote No on 1639 letter to the editor of your local newspaper.

Call in your No on 1639 message to your local talk radio shows.

Post vote No on 1639 information on website comment areas.

You can find all the talking points you need at www.voteno1639.org.

NRA and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms can’t win this fight without your help.

Remember, the only way we can overcome the more than 10 to 1 spending advantage the gun prohibition billionaires have given the other side is with a gigantic grassroots effort.

You must be part of that effort for us to win.

Alan Gottlieb

Chairman

Vote No on #I1639

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Via a tweet:

Dnzw2wQXsAELsJp

Donate your time and money to fund efforts (as I have also done) to defeat I-1639.

Quote of the day—Josh Fox @joshfoxfilm

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Ban guns. All guns. In America. Period.

Josh Fox @joshfoxfilm
Tweeted on October 27, 2018
[Don’t ever let anyone get away with telling you that no one wants to take your guns.—Joe]

Democrats then and now

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Via email from Chet:

DemocratsKkkAntifa

Found here.

Vote No on #I1639

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Via a tweet:

DnrgQdhU4AAWffy

You can’t be forced to give up one right to exercise another.

Donate your time and money to fund efforts (as I have also done) to defeat I-1639.

Quote of the day—Rabbi Gary Moscowitz

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Several people in every synagogue should have the right to carry a premise permit.

Rabbi Gary Moscowitz
October 28, 2018
Gun-toting rabbi says congregants should arm themselves
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

It’s not just guns they hate

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Gab is essentially a Twitter clone without shadow bans and account suspension of non-liberal viewpoints. It prides itself on free speech but does have terms of service which say that users are not allowed to advocate violence. This resulted in their phone apps being refused by Apple and Google.

That was until yesterday.

The murderer in Pittsburg had an account on Gab.com. As soon as they were notified the murderer was one of their users they took action. I can’t find the exact tweet right now but as I recall it they said:

  • They immediately suspended the account
  • They archived the content
  • They contacted the FBI.

Here is a tweet that says essentially that:

This is your big question? lol okay.

1. We suspended the account after backing up the data to give to the FBI and DOJ
2. When we did this, the username became availible for a short time.
3. Someone created a new account and got the username.
4. We then locked down the username

Here is what you see if you go to gab.com or gab.ai now:

Gab.com is under attack. We have been systematically no-platformed by App Stores, multiple hosting providers, and several payment processors. We have been smeared by the mainstream media for defending free expression and individual liberty for all people and for working with law enforcement to ensure that justice is served for the horrible atrocity committed in Pittsburgh. Gab will continue to fight for the fundamental human right to speak freely.
As we transition to a new hosting provider Gab will be inaccessible for a period of time. We are working around the clock to get Gab.com back online. Thank you and remember to speak freely.

They made a public statement published on medium.com. That page no longer exists.

From here:

BREAKING: http://Gab.com is now banned from Paypal “just because.”

PayPalToGab

From here:

Breaking: @joyent, Gab’s new hosting provider, has just pulled our hosting service. They have given us until 9am on Monday to find a solution. Gab will likely be down for weeks because of this. Working on solutions. We will never give up on defending free speech for all people.

JoyentToGab

From here:

BREAKING: @stripe is likely going to ban us. We gave them plenty of documented and detailed evidence. The no-platforming continues.

StripeToGab

From here:

BREAKING: @GoDaddy is threatening to suspend our domain (which is worth six figures) if we do not transfer to a new provider by tomorrow. This is madness. @realDonaldTrump @parscale I hope you are paying attention.

GoDaddyToGab

It’s not just guns the political left hates. It is free speech. It is you.

They want you disarmed. They want you silenced. They what you dead.

Next week, vote their representatives out of power.

Captain Picard and First Mate Barb

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Barb and I went to a Halloween party last night:

20181027_200414Cropped

Vote No on #I1639

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Via a tweet:

DnlpRbXUUAAynlD

Donate your time and money to fund efforts (as I have also done) to defeat I-1639.

Quote of the day—Kris Brown

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You are seeing more candidates at the margin like Fitzpatrick who will come out and be champions of the cause. I think this election cycle is a proof point that more will be doing that in the future.

Kris Brown
October 25, 2018
Co-president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
Gun control, once a third rail, now a key issue as Democrats seek to control House
[I find it interesting how anti-gun people talk about the future versus how pro-gun people do. This is Chris Cox of NRA-ILA on September 5th:

The fate of our freedom hangs in the balance in this November’s elections for the U.S. Senate. The good news is that gun owners can once again make the difference in the fight for our rights. The bad news is that if we don’t—if we just sit on the sidelines and leave the battle to others—we will lose our rights for generations to come.

Chris Cox on September 20th:

There is no question that our liberties are at stake on November 6th.

The Democrat leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives has become completely radicalized when it comes to the Second Amendment. Our constitutional freedoms are standing in the way of the extreme big government control that these anti-gun politicians want to impose.

Add that to the unbridled hatred that many on the left have for President Donald Trump, and it could not be clearer for NRA members and gun owners that we have to do everything we can to protect our pro-gun majority in Congress.

The threat is stark. Current Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is an outspoken opponent of the Second Amendment. If Democrats take control of the House, Pelosi would return as Speaker. Her key lieutenants, Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and James Clyburn (D-S.C.), stand shoulder-to-shoulder with her in their support of gun control.

This difference isn’t just for this election cycle. This is typical.

The anti-gun people always say, paraphrasing, “This election is going to be the turning point and we will win.”

The NRA always say, paraphrasing, “This sky is falling! Give us money! Vote for your gun rights!”

I suspect part of the difference is that the NRA is far more experienced in politics. But more importantly the anti-gun people, for all intents and purposes, don’t have any grassroots members to talk to. They are talking to the media. The NRA has millions of members and they are talking to their members telling them what they can do to make a difference.

This year, do your part to make that difference.—Joe]

The sexual playground

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Interesting article in Psychology today.

Most Americans Have Tried Unconventional Sex
The popularity of unconventional sex raises questions about what’s “deviant.”

…

Imagine a playground filled with happy children. Some can’t get enough of one activity: the swings, slide, sandbox, carousel, climbing structures, whatever. Others sample two or three. Some circle among everything. And others avoid the various stations, preferring to make their own fun alone or with others. What can we say about children who love swings, but never use the slide? What does it mean if all kids do is play in the sandbox? It means nothing. It’s play, and kids play in the ways that appeal to them individually.

Sex is adult play. Like a playground, it includes myriad possibilities, none better or worse than any other. Absent harm to self and others, it doesn’t matter how adults twist the sheets. It’s play. It’s pleasure. And erotic pleasure is uniquely individual.

So we must think long and hard before labeling any legal sexual possibilities weird or deviant. There is no normal, so we must be careful calling anything abnormal.

Posted in Sex

Vote No on #I1639

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Via a tweet:

DoYDcQgU8AAZWBQ

Donate your time and money to fund efforts (as I have also done) to defeat I-1639.

Quote of the day—Sackeshi

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I am a 2A repeal-ist total gun confiscationist, gun prohibitionist.

My end goal would be all of the fire arm factories taken down, the guns melted down, the second amendment overturned, life sentence for just having a gun, and total disarming of everyone including the military!

How ever that is clearly not going to happen so I will start with what is reasonable…

Sackeshi
October 24, 2018
Posted in This is what the gun control law should be in the US.
[Never let anyone get away with telling you that no one wants to take your guns or that those that don’t openly say it aren’t working toward that goal with their “common sense”/”reasonable” gun control.

I’m in full support of a common sense gun law. We actually already have it but its been corrupted so badly that in many political jurisdictions its completely lost its effectiveness. It’s called “The Second Amendment”.—Joe]

I made Twitchy!

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A couple days ago The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence tweeted:

Go to a gun show and you will find bomb making kits. The @NRA is more than guns, it is using violence as a means to impact political discourse. It is dangerous.

As you might imagine, this aroused a lot of disbelief in those who have actually been to gun shows. I responded with:

<snort!>

What color is the sky in your universe?

Twitchy captured the exchange and provided this commentary:

The investigation is still ongoing, and at this point nobody knows the person or people who sent suspicious packages that contained devices that were suspected to be bombs to several Democrats. But just because the devices in question aren’t guns doesn’t mean a way can’t be found to blame the NRA. Here’s the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence with the hottest of hot takes.

They included my response.

Go to the Twitchy post and then do a search for “Huffman”.

Very cool.

Hike to Lake Ann

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A couple years ago Barb and I hiked to Annette Lake. A couple weeks ago we hiked to Lake Ann. Since it was late in the year we expected there would be few people. We were wrong. Short of national parks, this was probably the most crowded parking and trail we have ever been on. Still, the weather was nice, the views were great, and we enjoyed hike.

20181013_124541

 

Continue reading →

Vote no on #I1639

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Via a tweet:

Dn2CSrAVAAAVbPy

Donate your time and money to fund efforts (as I have also done) to defeat I-1639.

Quote of the day—Matt Gohd

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None of us had a grasp of how difficult this would be. We needed more resources, more people.

I would say it was idealistic of us to think that we could get something through at this point.

Matt Gohd
Executive director of Families vs. Assault Rifles
October 23, 2018
‘None of us had a grasp of how difficult this would be:’ Parkland PAC scales back
[From a different article:

At its launch, Gohd, a long-time Democratic donor who has worked at numerous investment firms, told the Miami Herald it had an ambitious goal: to raise $10 million and act as a counterweight to the National Rifle Association, one of the most powerful and successful political activist groups in the country. It planned to target politicians who opposed gun safety regulations. So far, it’s only raised $230,000 – much of which came soon after the group was first launched. From July through the end of September, the group took in less than $30,000 and had only $13,000 left in the bank.

…

The group spent roughly half of its money on consulting services, with the biggest chunk going to Empire Global Ventures, a New York based firm primarily focused on corporate clients but whose founders boast political campaign experience.

The group created digital fundraising ads featuring Kasky, but didn’t have enough money to create ads targeting candidates, as had been the initial goal.

I suspect a big part of the problem is they are not able to understand there are people who don’t see the problem, and hence the solution, in the same way as others. They see the problem in terms of “Families vs. Assault Rifles” and, of course, the obvious solution is to get rid of “assault rifles”. The better problem statement is, “Mass shootings must be stopped.” This allows for a much greater range of solutions. Including, in addition to the obvious, things like “Don’t create large groups of people unable to defend themselves.”

Because of the poor problem statements by so many politicians I’m pretty firmly convinced they have an agenda in search of a problem to use as cover for their agenda. This is sad and frustrating because so many lives have been and will be lost because of all these people with their evil agenda.—Joe]

Support the radio ad: No on #I1639

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From Citizens Committe for the Right To Keep and Bear Arms:

HARD-HITTING RADIO AD RIPS GUN CONTROL INITIATIVE 1639, SAYS CCRKBA

Tuesday, October 23rd, 2018

BELLEVUE, WA – A hard-edged radio advertisement blasting Initiative 1639—the 30-page gun control measure now facing Washington State voters—has hit the airwaves, telling listeners that in some Seattle neighborhoods, “if you call 911…it takes 18 minutes for police to arrive.”

The advertisement is sponsored by Washingtonians and the National Rifle Association for Freedom, a political action committee to which the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has significantly contributed. It began airing as ballots began arriving in mailboxes throughout Puget Sound, to remind voters what is at stake. Listen to the advertisement here.

“I-1639,” noted CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, “is opposed by four major statewide law enforcement organizations representing a majority of rank-and-file police officers and sheriff’s deputies: The Washington State Patrol Troopers Association, Washington State Sheriffs Association, Washington Council of Police & Sheriffs and Washington State Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors Association. In addition, the Cowlitz County Deputies and Sergeants Guild is also on record against the measure.

“When boots-on-the-ground lawmen and women oppose a measure that is being promoted as a crime-prevention tool, it is safe to conclude that there is something really wrong with it,” he added, “and I think this radio ad raises some of those issues.”

The radio message challenges voters to set their clocks for 18 minutes and then close their eyes and “imagine you’re waiting for police, and then vote for your safety.”

“We know that police and sheriffs’ departments do as good a job as they possibly can,” Gottlieb noted, “and we thank the men and women who patrol our streets and county roads. The concern is not with law enforcement, but with the initiative mandate of so-called ‘secure storage’ that renders self-defense firearms useless.”

I-1639 is the only gun control issue on the ballot anywhere in the United States this year.

“You can support the effort to keep this advertisement on the air by visiting the ‘Vote No’ website,” Gottlieb noted.