We Live in Interesting Times

This is not what I want to be reading in the news:

Putin lowers the threshold for using his nuclear arsenal after Biden’s arms decision for Ukraine | AP News

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday formally lowered the threshold for Russia’s use of its nuclear weapons, a move that follows U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russian territory with American-supplied longer-range missiles.

The new doctrine allows for a potential nuclear response by Moscow even to a conventional attack on Russia by any nation that is supported by a nuclear power.

I really wish I could live in an underground bunker in Idaho for the next few months.

How to Attack the NFA

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The NFA never should have been enacted but we are (unfortunately) stuck with it for now. In my view, the proper way to attack in the courts the NFA is incrementally, i.e., one case at a time. As I see it, we need SCOTUS victories on AR bans and Mag bans first. Then attack the NFA by arguing “suppressors” and perhaps “short barrel rifles” are protected arms and, of course, look to attack the NFA via going after the Hughes Amendment as per the Rybar dissent in the Third Circuit by then-judge Alito. We have several 2A issues to clean up first before I think we can launch a serious legal assault on the NFA. That’s just the political and legal reality today.

As to my views, I unfortunately do not possess the power to waive a magic wand and eliminate unconstitutional and and/or stupid gun control laws. So, I have to work within our constitutional system, which is not perfect but it certainly beats all the other political systems out there.

Mark W. Smith/#2A Scholar @fourboxesdiner
Posted on X, November 17, 2023

Yes, this was posted a year ago. I’m trying to clean up my queue.

If you follow Smith’s YouTube channel (164 K subscribers), you will find his predictions about SCOTUS. He predicts they will take the semi-automatic ban case out of Maryland this term. That would likely mean “assault weapons” and normal capacity magazine bans in all states would be “dead men walking” by next summer:

With that out of the way the NFA would soon see front line action in the courts.

Weather Varies Over Even Short Distances

I recently installed a new weather station near my pistol range in Idaho. Barb gently mocked me about it because it is less than three-quarters of a mile from the Boomershoot weather station. The pistol range is also about 120 feet higher in elevation. I insisted the Boomershoot site has different weather than the pistol range. She just smirked as I tried to explain.

Here is today’s proof.

Boomershoot temperature, humidity and wind:

Pistol range temperature, humidity, and wind:

Build a Spaceline Instead of a Space Elevator

This sounds promising:

Riding a space elevator to the Moon is possible using today’s technology – The Brighter Side of News

The Spaceline Concept

Penoyre and Sandford offer a novel twist. Instead of anchoring the cable to Earth, they propose tethering it to the Moon and extending it toward Earth. This would take advantage of the Moon’s slower orbital rotation and the gravitational equilibrium between the two celestial bodies.

At a critical point known as the Lagrange point, the gravitational pulls of Earth and the Moon cancel each other out. This region would serve as a pivotal part of the spaceline. Below the Lagrange point, Earth’s gravity would pull the cable downward.

Above it, the Moon’s gravity would draw the cable upward. This setup significantly reduces the tension forces on the cable, making the concept viable with current high-strength materials like carbon polymers, including Zylon.

According to Penoyre and Sandford, these materials could support a cable extending from the Moon to geostationary orbit. Such a structure, with a diameter no greater than a pencil lead, could feasibly be constructed at a cost comparable to other large-scale space missions—around several billion dollars.

They claim it can be constructed with present day materials and engineering techniques.

I wonder how much an underground bunker on the moon would cost. The risk of nuclear fallout and marauding hordes would be greatly reduced. Sealing all doors and windows would suck. Suiting up for a walk would take time. The clothing would be expensive. However, the view would be out of this world.

Make Believe Psychology Degree

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That Mr “Tactical” combined that truly ridiculous man-spreading/crotch shot with all those guns is a blatant confession that he has a very tiny penis & he’s really self-conscious about it.

Sometimes a cigar *isn’t* just a cigar…how many phallic symbols does this guy need?

Kim Votes Blue @nkanow
Posted on X, November 20, 2023

It’s not only another Markley’s Law Monday, it is another science denier (see also here)!

Everyone should know by now that Freud was wrong about the whole penis envy thing. She must have received her psychology degree from the back of a cereal box.

If You Want Our Vote, Be What We Want

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It’s kind of hard to market yourself as cool when there’s video of them being cringe.

It’s kind of hard to market yourself as “not communist” when there’s video of them being wearing soviet symbols, have a Che flag in their office, and articles written by them saying “we’re communists”.

It’s kind of hard to market yourself as “not sexualizing children” when they’re inviting drag queens to the White House for story time.

It’s believable that they “care” about the economy. What’s not believable is that they’ll do anything to make it better. See “we’re totally communists” above.

As for being the “adults in the room”? We have video of their supporters screaming at the sky, and Democrat-heavy organizations in and out of government are having coloring books and puppy therapy days. Hard to be mistaken for an adult when the public perception is “toddler temper tantrum”.

Stop trying to market yourself as something the public wants, that you absolutely aren’t. If you want their vote, it is way easier to BE what the public wants.

Tirno
Comment to Your Lying Eyes.
November 15, 2024

I have nothing to add.

Bill Maher on Democrats Election Loss

Maher does a decent job of articulating the errors of the Democrats in the 2024 election.

If They Actually Did This

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Dude…
If they actually did this, and have that massive of a roll back of government regulation and power, it would be one of the most important things in American history.

I don’t think most people grasp just how awful Chevron was, and how it empowered the government to meddle in literally everything.

SCOTUS just kicked Chevron in the junk, which enabled people to push back against government regulation, but we all expected the government to fight back and cling to power every expensive and time consuming step of the way. Having the government actually curtail itself? That would be astounding.

Larry Correia @monsterhunter45
Posted on X, November 14, 2024

Corrreia was referencing this post:

I agree with Correia with special emphasis on the “if”.

Here’s a key point about our mission at DOGE: eliminating bureaucratic regulations isn’t a mere policy preference. It’s a legal mandate from the U.S. Supreme Court:

  • West Virginia v. EPA (2022) held that agencies cannot decide major questions of economic or political significance without “clear congressional authorization.” This applies to thousands of rules that never passed Congress.
  • In Loper Bright v. Raimondo (2024), the Court ended Chevron deference, which means agencies can’t foist their own interpretations of the law onto the American people. Over 18,000 federal cases cited the Chevron doctrine, often to uphold regulations, many of which are now null & void.
  • In SEC v. Jarkesy (2024), SCOTUS restricted the use of “administrative law judges” by agencies. The same agency that wrote the rules shouldn’t be able to prosecute citizens in “courts” that it controls.
  • In Corner Post v. Board of Governors (2024), the Court held that new businesses can challenge old regulations, greatly expanding the statute of limitations & opening many more rules up for scrutiny. So we shouldn’t just look at rules passed in the last 4 years, but over the past 4 decades (or more).

DOGE is ready help the U.S. government conform to the U.S. Constitution once again. @elonmusk and I are ready to serve.

Vivek Ramaswamy @VivekGRamaswamy
Posted on X, November 13, 2024

That is a really big IF. I can believe the intention is there. I can believe they are the best people for the job. I am not convinced they will overcome the incredible resistance they will encounter. This resistance may even include assassination attempts.

I wish them well.

The Four Horsemen of Liberty

Via Firearm Policy Coalition.

Your Lying Eyes

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For one Democratic policy aide, the biggest concern was movement among younger voters. Feelings about masculinity were leading segments of Gen Z to break from the longtime trend of younger voters being more liberal, this person said.

“These kids are like, ‘Trump is cool. He’s the man, he’s great. He’s cool. It’s cool, bro. He’s cool,’” the Democrat said. “Everyone’s like, ‘Whoa, whoa, Latinos and African Americans like Republicans now.’ No, the men wanted a man. The men wanted a man’s man.”

“We have no easy path here,” this person continued. “We need to convince people that we’re the adults in the room, that we care about the economy, that we care about their pocketbook, that we’re cool dudes, that were not communists, that we’re not sexualizing their children, that we’re … not going to ban Zyn.”

Allan Smith
November 12, 2024
Trump just realigned the entire political map. Democrats have ‘no easy path’ to fix it.

It is not an easy path because they have to convince people they can’t believe their own eyes.

We live in interesting times.

It is Not the Product, It is the Sales Pitch

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We’re going to have to stop treating health care access, affordable housing, and taxing the rich as mere theory or political talking points and start rolling out plans district by district, state by state, until they become federal policy. We’re going to have to confront our elitist tendencies and recognize the intrinsic value of all professions and the rich experiences of those without formal degrees. And we’re going to have to show what we’re made of as the strong, reliable, and authentic leaders voters crave.

I believe we can still rebuild trust with Americans. I believe we can still reinforce our commitment to representing the needs and values of all citizens. We just have to get out of our emotional, hypersensitive, politically correct way and focus on the labor of changing our public image. Unless we’re too afraid, too good, or just too damn late.

Tera Johnson-Swartz
November 12, 2024
Democrats Need To Drop the Elitism if We Want To Win Again | Opinion – Newsweek

What I find most interesting is she has a clue but still doesn’t get the big picture. She understands they have been condescending and out of touch with people in the “fly over” states. But she thinks the products they have to sell are still the right products. They just need be better salespeople. It apparently is beyond her comprehension that people exist who just want to be left alone. Less government is not an item in her sales catalog.

Related:

The people voting different from the “coastal elites” are a nothing but a problem. It is not possible they have some valid points.

Biggest Popular Delusion in World History

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#Bitcoin, crypto, and blockchain will likely go down as the biggest example of popular delusions and the madness of crowds in world history. The overall losses when the bubble finally pops will be staggering. It’s not just the speculators who will be left holding a bag of worthless Bitcoin, but also the investors who funded all the infrastructure and related businesses. This is likely the biggest misallocation of resources in human history. Not only will the net losses to society be staggering, but Bitcoin itself will do more to tarnish the reputation of libertarian capitalism and the concept of sound money than any failed government program ever has.

Peter Schiff @PeterSchiff
Posted on X, November 11, 2024

I am in tentative agreement about bitcoin being the biggest popular delusion in world history. The possible exception to this is faith in communism. And the tremendous amount of electricity consumed just boggles my mind.

But the bubble will last as long as enough people have faith in it. It is conceivable that will be decades or even a century.*

But the [dollar | bitcoin] will last as long as enough people have faith in it. It is conceivable that will be decades or even a century.


* Edited as per a suggestion via email from Mike H. only November 13, 2024.

Idaho Sunset

This is from October 25th.

This is straight off my cellphone. No enhancements.

This is from, essentially, the same location as these sunsets.

It Just the Law, It Doesn’t Have to Make Sense

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Trump getting the nuclear codes while he legally can’t own a gun is objectively hilarious. Like something out of satire.

Kostas Moros @MorosKostas
Posted on X, November 6, 2024

That is funny!

On a much smaller scale, In Seattle, I can be legally carrying a fully loaded handgun and a spare magazine. Then, get arrested for the slingshot in my hip pocket.

Chaotic Minds

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You ain’t shit but a bunch of virgins with small dick insecurities, btw go listen to Mando Bel on Spotify and Apple Music

LiL MopHead @AnonUrNot
Tweeted on June 30, 2022

It’s not only another Markley’s Law Monday, it is another science denier (see also here)!

Yes. Their minds really are that chaotic. It is no wonder they don’t trust the general population with firearms. They think everyone else is just as mentally messed up as they are.

National Concealed Carry Reciprocity

Sounds great!

But words are cheap. It will take a lot to get it through the legislative process. The problem is that if it becomes law then the politicians just lost something to promise during the next election cycle.

Yeah. sometimes I’m cynical.

Via Chuck Petras @Chuck_Petras.

Everytown Just Thinks They are Devastated

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This is devastating. The gun safety movement has faced countless setbacks but when it comes to the number one killer of kids, nothing will stand in our way. Make no mistake: Trump’s extremist agenda is a danger for our nation, but it means we’ll double down on our efforts to protect our communities and continue to make progress, just like we did in 2016. The momentum of the gun safety movement can’t be stopped. Gun violence isn’t a left or right issue, it’s a life-or-death issue. We can and will overcome this—together.

Image

Everytown @Everytown
Posted on X, November 6, 2024

I have zero sympathy for them. And if they think their situation is bad now, just wait until they go on trial.

Increasing the Anguish

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Above all I would advise people against posting expressions and videos of their personal anguish over the election, there is a substantial number of people here who use this as masturbation material.

David Burge @iowahawkblog
Posted on X, November 6, 2024

Sure, this is rather funny. I doubt there is much truth to it though. Yeah, there are some really strange kinks out there. But I doubt there are “a substantial number of people” which find this sexually arousing.

I think the more likely situation is that Burge finds it humorous to increase the anguish.

Although, there is one person who replied to his post with “I’m literally out of lube and shooting dust”. But I think he is joking too.

You Know What Communists Do to Nazis, Right?

Another one to watch out for. Supposedly, this one is a teacher in Bellevue, Washington. Another source says Cambell Hill Elementary School in Renton. But the faculty list does not include her.

Nazi fascists get the wall lol

Molly Flynn ☭ @Prettyliltweetz
Posted on X, November 7, 2024

Today is a good day to rearrange a Nazis facial features.

Molly Flynn ☭ @Prettyliltweetz
Posted on X, November 6, 2024

Fuck America

Molly Flynn ☭ @Prettyliltweetz
Posted on X, October 30, 2024

Make Republicans Terrified To Vote Again.

Molly Flynn ☭ @Prettyliltweetz
Posted on X, October 29, 2024

This one appears to have been deleted. But someone made a screen capture of it:

I love the irony of this one:

Republicans are the party of emotional, knee-jerk responses. They don’t care about facts, truth, or their fellow Americans. They are emotional children and incapable of empathy.

Molly Flynn ☭ @Prettyliltweetz
Posted on X, November 7, 2024

Just a FYI. This may help you understand how her mind works. I don’t know for certain, but this is the only way I can make sense of it. The original definition of a fascist was:

Fascism The principles or methods of the Fascisti—Fascist, I. A member of the Fascisti. II. Of or pertaining to the Fascisti.

Fascisti … The members of a patriotic society in Italy, animated by a strong national spirit, and organized in connection with a repressive movement directed against the socialists and communists and the disturbances excited by them during 1919 and the years following, which regarded the government as criminally negligent in failing to deal with these disturbances, and took measure on its own account, often violent ones, to combat them, and which developed into a powerful party obtaining political control of the country in Oct., 1922, under its founder and leader, Benito Mussolini, as prime minister; hence, the members of a similar society or party elsewhere.

If you want to loosen up the definition a little you would conclude the following. If you are opposed to socialism and/or communism you are a fascist. Nazis Germany was opposed to Soviet socialism (worldwide socialism, versus national socialism). Both sides were competing for, essentially, the same mind share. Nazis were allied with Italy and shared the common political alignment with fascism.

Hence, her twisted mind can conclude that since you are opposed to socialism/communism you are a fascist Nazi.

But, as in a different context, the theme song from Rawhide gave us good advice:

Don’t try to understand ’em. Just rope, throw, and brand ’em.

Prepare and respond appropriately.

It Was the Voter’s Fault

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Who would have guessed lying about Biden’s cognitive health for 2 yrs, refusing to do an open convention for a new nominee, never mentioning public healthcare & embracing fracking, the Cheneys & a yr long slaughter of children in Gaza wouldn’t be a winning strategy?

Anyone with half a brain? But I thought liberals’ whole thing is being smart? It’s not? They actually just blindly cheer the parade of rickety optics wrapped up in New York Times fonts that is the modern Dem Party?

Well at least it’s time for the dusty hacks & careerists to spread their feathers wide post election and blame Russia and third party candidates. That should fix things.

Adam McKay @ZombiePanther2
Posted on X, November 5, 2024

This was a large donor to the Democrat party. I find this guy most interesting. His take on things, at best half right, at least puts the blame on Harris and the Democrat party.

I find it very telling that all the other whining I see on the web about Harris’s loss is based on introspection. It does not include asking republicans why they voted the way they did. And, one would think, they should especially be asking people who usually vote for democrats why they voted for Trump in this election.

I see, again and again, insistence the voters are sexist, racist, white nationalist, and/or fascist. Nevermind that black men, and all Latinos voted for Trump in greater numbers than in 2020. And in some counties a larger fraction of blacks voted Republican this year than they have since the 1870s! Nevermind these evil voters wouldn’t be pushing lawsuits through the courts that make it easier for individuals own guns and training them on how to defend themselves from the likes of the KKK, men who women, and a fascist government.

Their mindset is it always someone else’s fault. The problem is not they are trying to sell an inferior product. The problem is the people are too stupid and/or evil to buy it. In an individual, this sort of reasoning is a strong indicator of mental illness. It can be argued it means the same thing in a group.