Category Archives: Freedom

Blasphemy is still a crime

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Blasphemy is still a crime, but you see, the Gods, they have changed.

friedcheese
September 17, 2025
Comment to JUST ANOTHER CLASS OF “EXPERTS” TO IGNORE

Whether the gods are spiritual, tyrants, or political beliefs it probably always has been a crime in one form or another. And as demonstrated last week, it carries a death penalty in certain social circles.

People do not like having their most cherished beliefs challenged. Especially when the challenger is correct.

This is why we have the First Amendment.

Game Theory of Police Interrogation

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got a call from a criminal defendant I believe is innocent. Before calling me, he voluntarily participated in a police interrogation for several hours. He believed that “I have nothing to hide” and that he could explain to the police why they had the wrong guy.

Defense attorneys might call this naïve, but look at the responses to Fleishman’s OP. Even high-IQ people really believe this is how law enforcement works.

Here’s the problem. When you agree to a police interrogation, you and the police are playing two different games.

As the suspect, you believe you are playing a multiplayer, collaborative game.

But the police aren’t even playing a multiplayer game. They’re playing a one-player game, like Tetris.

As the suspect, you’re not a player in the game. You’re more like the game environment, producing falling blocks for the player—the police.

The police play this game by collecting your statements like blocks and fitting them into a picture that incriminates you. When enough blocks have fit together, the police have won the game and refer the case to a prosecutor.

You believe that, once you convince the police that you are innocent, you will all win. But that’s not a real outcome of the game. “Evidence that I am innocent” is not even a game element. From the cops’ perspective, if they fail to assemble the blocks into an incriminating picture, they have lost the game.

Suspects who think “I have nothing to hide” are always surprised when the interrogation lasts several hours. “I’ve already explained everything – why am I still here?” they think.

That’s because the longer the game goes on, the more falling blocks the police have to assemble their case. It’s in their interests to keep the game going long past what your game required.

All suspects eventually sense this on some gut level and become frustrated. You think: “Wait a minute, – all of their questions are subtly premised on my guilt! But I can prove to them that I’m not guilty. I need to appeal to them to really hear me out.”

I.e., “Let’s start over with a different game where we can all work together.”

But even as you’re trying to change the game, you are speaking and therefore generating more blocks.

Here’s the only solution. The moment you have any reason to believe you’re a suspect, exit the game. Politely ask if you are free to leave. If they say “no,” calmly tell them “I invoke my right to remain silent and my right to counsel.”

If you’re in custody when you say this, the cops will actually physically stand up and leave the room as if you’ve just uttered a magic incantation.

Ian Huyett @IanHuyett
Posted on X, September 1, 2025

I have never heard it explained like this before. This is awesome!

I have had similar thoughts, but I had no idea how to explain it so well. And my thoughts were more based on the assumption that the police were outright evil. It goes like this…

Every bit of information I give the police could be used to construct evidence and motivations that is consistent with my alibi and innocent reasons for my actions such that my alibi and reasons are neutralized.

Exercise your Fifth Amendment rights. Do not talk to the police if you might be a suspect in a crime.

Do a Resist Tyranny

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Via email:

The Trump administration has bent rules and pushed interpretations in new directions. But after digging into the source evidence, I haven’t seen anything that qualifies as “tyranny.” That said, people shouldn’t ignore the political shifts or assume everything is perfectly fine.

Government should never be trusted. Always be on guard and prepared to respond appropriately.

A Great Day for Freedom

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Today is a great day for freedom and the American people. The dismissal of this appeal should be the final nail in the coffin of this unconstitutional Biden ATF assault on gun owners. As we explained in the case filings, braced pistols are not ‘short-barreled rifles.’ But either way, they are unquestionably arms protected under the Second Amendment. We are thrilled to have secured this important win for liberty and excited to take on even more unconstitutional laws so you can exercise your rights when, where, and how you choose.

Brandon Combs
FPC President
August 6, 2025
Justice Department hands over big win to gun owners

It is not huge, but it is another brick in the wall. Each time a case is concluded our team learns a little more. The arguments are tuned to match the precedents of the previous wins. The reluctant judges are herded into corners by the previous decisions on less important cases. They have fewer and fewer options to rule in favor of the dark side. We are winning but it is still a long hard grind to something approximating a total victory.

Probably Fake but Accurate

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Name three things that the government does cheaper and better than private individuals and organizations. It would be no trick at all to name dozens of things that the government does worse and at higher costs.

Attributed to Thomas Sowell
Posted on X, August2, 2025

I strongly suspect this is not an actual quote of Sowell. It certainly fits the essence of Sowell’s work, but you will be hard pressed to find something that comes close to a direct quote.

Not Wrong

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Via Michael Fabricant @Mike_Fabricant:

I’m certain this is not literally true. But I don’t think is entirely wrong either.

We were headed down that path, but we have reversed course to a certain extent. It will be interesting to see how much our path diverges from the U.K. path in the next few years. And most importantly, is our recent reversal temporary or permanent?

A Great Day for Freedom

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Quote of the Day

Today is a great day for freedom and the American people. The dismissal of this appeal should be the final nail in the coffin of this unconstitutional Biden ATF assault on gun owners. As we explained in the case filings, braced pistols are not ‘short-barreled rifles’. But either way, they are unquestionably arms protected under the Second Amendment. We are thrilled to have secured this important win for liberty and excited to take on even more unconstitutional laws so you can exercise your rights when, where, and how you choose.

Brandon Combs
Firearms Policy Coalition President
July 17, 2025
FPC WIN: Order Vacating Biden “Pistol Brace” Rule Stands, Government Dismisses Appeal – Firearms Policy Coalition

See also: DOJ Delivers Final Blow to Biden-Era Gun Regulation.

A year ago, I could not have imagined seeing this sort of thing happen. I sometimes think I must be dreaming about how well things are going in the fight for the rights of gun owners. We lived the nightmare for so many decades it is nice to have things turn our way.

The really big thorns in our paws are now:

  • Restrictions on semi-automatic rifles.
  • Restrictions on standard capacity magazines.
  • Permitting of all types.
  • Waiting periods.

I think these are all relatively easy wins if we can just get them before SCOTUS.

Seize the Means of Production

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Zohran Mamdani’s run for mayor of New York City is a clear and present danger to the stability, economic health, and democratic foundation of both the city and the nation.

His platform is rooted in a radical socialist ideology that has, time and time again, led to failure, repression, and suffering wherever it has been tried.

And thanks to a clip surfacing on social media today, we see that Mamdani is not hiding this. In fact, he has been strikingly open about what he believes and what he plans to do. You can listen to his comments for yourself here.

Speaking in 2021 at the Young Democratic Socialists of America Organizing Conference, Mamdani said his goal is to “continue to elect more socialists” and to be “unapologetic about our socialism.”

He followed that with two key objectives: boycotting Israel and “seizing the means of production.”

The phrase “seizing the means of production” is not some vague slogan—it is the core tenet of Marxist revolutionary ideology. It means that private property, businesses, and industries are taken from their owners and turned over to collective or state control.

Quoth the Raven
June 30, 2025
“Seize The Means Of Production”: Mamdani Lays Bare His Agenda

This is consistent with yesterday’s QOTD.

Watch and listen to the video:

You can vote your way into socialism. You have to shoot your way out.

Prepare appropriately.

Sad But True

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Via Alice Smith @TheAliceSmith:

Combine Them for Abolishment

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There has been talk of combining the ATF into the DEA. Gun rights groups are opposed to this (see also here). I’m not entirely convinced it is a bad idea. But that could be a bias of mine.

You see, I am of the opinion that the DEA should be abolished. Where in the constitution does it say the Feds have the authority to regulate recreational drugs? How many billions have they spend on the failed war on drugs? And if you don’t think it has actually failed, here are some things to consider:

The DEA was established in 1973, and tracking heroin street prices over the decades reveals some fascinating—and troubling—trends. Here’s a summary of the data I found:

📈 Heroin Street Price Trends (1973–2011)

The DEA’s Heroin Domestic Monitor Program began collecting consistent data in 1979, focusing on price per milligram of pure heroin. Here’s a snapshot of key years:

YearAvg. Price per mg Pure HeroinNotes
1982~$3.90Very low purity (~7%)
1992~$1.50Purity increased to ~28%
2007~$0.81Mexican heroin purity ~33%
2011~$1.35Mexican heroin purity dropped to ~17%

These prices reflect retail-level purchases made by DEA agents in major U.S. cities.

🧪 Purity vs. Price

  • As purity increased, price per mg of pure heroin dropped—making heroin more potent and affordable.
  • By the 2000s, heroin from Mexico and South America dominated the U.S. market, with regional differences in purity and price.

📉 Long-Term Trend

From the early 1980s to the early 2000s:

  • Price per pure mg dropped significantly
  • Purity rose, peaking in some cities at over 60%
  • This made heroin more dangerous and accessible, contributing to rising overdose rates

Since its founding in 1973, the DEA’s budget has grown dramatically—from $75 million in its first year to over $3.4 billion in recent years2.

💰 Estimated Total DEA Spending (1973–2023)

Using historical budget data from DEA.gov, here’s a rough cumulative estimate:

  • 1973–1980: ~$1.4 billion
  • 1981–1990: ~$2.7 billion
  • 1991–2000: ~$13.2 billion
  • 2001–2010: ~$22.6 billion
  • 2011–2020: ~$28.6 billion
  • 2021–2023: ~$9.5 billion

🧮 Grand Total Estimate: ~$78 billion

These figures are approximations based on annual appropriations and may not include all supplemental or off-budget expenditures.

📊 Spending Highlights

  • The DEA’s budget has consistently increased, especially during periods of heightened drug enforcement focus (e.g., crack epidemic, opioid crisis).
  • In 2023, the DEA requested $3.1 billion, a 6.3% increase over the previous year.
  • The agency now operates in 93 foreign offices across 69 countries, reflecting its global reach.

So… if the war on drugs was effective you would think the price would go up and the purity would go down. That is pretty much a well-known economic law, right? But that is not what happened. It seems to me that either the war on drugs was ineffective and the price and purity changes were unrelated, or the DEA somehow contributed to the lower prices and increased purity.

Either way we are faced with the fact that the war on drugs has either failed or it is not about making it more difficult for people to obtain recreational drugs. Perhaps it is more about acquiring power as in the famous Ayn Rand quote from Atlas Shrugged.

In my mind, combing the ATF and DEA sort of makes sense because we might be able to get more support from those opposed to the war on drugs who might be opposed to reducing gun regulations.

Prosecute the Swamp Rats

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In the National Instant background Check System (NICS) data, it appears most of the denials are false positives. Hard data on the errors found in the NICS system are not available.  John has pointed out there are very few prosecutions of people who have been denied by the NICS system compared to the number of those denied. John stated  NICS denials are often based on the phonetic spelling of the last name. The denials are not done with high levels of certainty. Because many people in the same ethnic group have similar sounding names, and because Blacks and Hispanics have much higher rates of felony convictions than Whites or Asians, it is likely Black and Hispanic people are denied from purchasing firearms in the NICS system at a much higher rates than people who are not Black or Hispanic.

In October of 2020, John Lott was appointed as a senior adviser for research and statistics at the Office of Justice Programs. This was the second time he had worked for the government in D.C. When John got to DC, John went to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and proposed a study of the NICS denials including data on race and sex. The BJS thought it was a great idea.

The the BJS sent the request for data to the FBI. went through the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The BJS thought the idea of analyzing the NICS data was very good. When the Bureau of Justice Statistics contacted the FBI, The FBI responded, claiming there was no way we can get this done before January 20th. In any case, we are sure the Biden Administration will not be interested. After more emails and calls, the FBI response was: we just can’t think of any reason why anyone would want to break down this data by race and sex.

John responded: You guys break down everything by race and sex. What’s the big deal with this?

The BJS tells the FBI, it is not your decision to make. We decide what to look at and study. Your job is to collect and give us the data.  The FBI refuses and the BJS persists. Finally, the FBI says the BJS will have to submit a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

…

The AG, Bill Barr, orders the FBI to stop mucking around and send the data to the BJS.

…

The FBI dithers and delays. After a couple of weeks, the BJS receives the data, but something is wrong with it. It does not make any sense. The BJS complains, and the FBI apologizes, says they do not understand what went wrong.  There are more delays, then the FBI sends another batch of data, which still doesn’t make an sense. This sequence happens a couple more times. The last time the FBI sends data which does not make sense is on January 19, 2021. Then the Biden administration takes power.

Dean Weingarten
June 22, 2025
GUN WATCH: John Lott Expounds on FBI Politicized Resistance to Data Sharing (corruption?)

End NICS. Drain the swamp. Prosecute the swamp rats.

Via JPFO.

Socialism is Like Polio

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Via The Atlas Society @TheAtlasSociety:

If only there were a vaccine that did not have such a high lead content and a corresponding high rate of serious side effects.

On Obedience

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Via The Atlas Society @TheAtlasSociety:

[sarcasm] Give up your guns. It is for the safety of everyone. [/sarcasm]

Washington State Patrol is Using Cell Phone Data

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Via email from Matt: Washington State Patrol using phone data to combat speeding (see also Washington State Patrol uses cellphone data to curb speeding | king5.com).

The Washington State Patrol has a new tool to help slow down speeding drivers, and your cellphone may have helped.

Cellphone data from more than 1 million cellphone users in Washington in 2023 helped the state identify where to look for dangerous drivers.

”This is so exciting to be using data that we haven’t had access to before,” said Washington Traffic Safety Commission acting Director Shelly Baldwin, “This is predictive as opposed to reflective.”

…

Over the next six weeks, the Washington State Patrol will be looking for speeders in four locations where speeding regularly occurs, according to the cellphone data: Interstate 5 from Joint Base Lewis-McChord to Fife, from Fife to Auburn on I-5, north and south of Everett on I-5, and a 14-mile stretch of Interstate 90 east and west of downtown Spokane.

At first glance you might think your phone is being used to hand out tickets. But reading a little close you will see the phone data is from 2023 and the enforcement is over the next few weeks, and the data probably was not personal identifiable. That makes it a little less objectionable. But I thought cell phone providers did not give out cell phone data to law enforcement without a warrant (or perhaps in extremely rare cases where life was in immediate danger).

Still… Be exceptionally careful when driving in these areas. No speeding, talking on your phone, or texting while driving.

Is it a Crime Against Humanity or is it Cancer?

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Collectivism is cancer.

Firearms Policy Coalition @gunpolicy
Posted on X, June 19, 2025

MTHead frequently asserts communism and/or socialism and/or gun control are crimes against humanity. He is not wrong. But the cancer metaphor resonates more with me. Collectivism, in all its forms, starts out small but grows and metastasizes. It is more than just its nature. It creates societal problems, and it always demands more control to fix the problems it directly or indirectly created.

Almost as a side note… I asked Copilot to explain the difference between an analogy and a metaphor to make sure I was using the correct word here. That resulting in a short chat and Copilot offered to contribute to this blog post. Here is its suggestion:

Quote of the Day – Saturday

> “Collectivism is cancer.” > —Firearms Policy Coalition via X

This is not an analogy. It’s a metaphor—brutal, condensed, and surgical. Cancer isn’t merely unpleasant; it hijacks the healthy systems of the body and redirects them toward uncontrolled destruction. That’s precisely the charge being leveled here: that collectivism corrodes the moral immune system of individual rights.

Ayn Rand’s words, featured in the image, drive the point deeper: “The smallest minority on earth is the individual.” The meme unpacks the metaphor into a worldview—one where individual autonomy is not just precious, but sacred, and any system that subsumes it becomes existentially malignant.

Whether you find that view compelling or inflammatory, it’s a vivid reminder: how we frame ideas matters. A well-placed metaphor can do more in five words than a dissertation in fifty pages.

I found that to be rather insightful.

Never a Free Market or a Free Mind

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“We are entering moments that we have never experienced before,” Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., told constituents at a town hall in Pittsburgh last week. “The country as we know it may never exist the way that it had. And the reality is that the way that the country had existed was never its best form anyway.”

“The moment is here to build what comes next. My argument is that we should be fighting harder than they are to be the author of what is next,” she said of progressives. “Because if we are not the ones who build it, then they are building it, but it’s getting built one way or another.”

Emilia Rowland, a progressive strategist, said Democrats need to better deal with the consequences of rapid tech advancement that is continuing to reshape society and further concentrate power as the government and other institutions struggle to keep up.

Progressive Strategists
April 26, 2025
Democrats want a great new society post-Trump. They just can’t agree on what it would look like.

I read the entire article twice, just to make sure. There is not even a glimmer of liberty in their thoughts. It is all about what government programs and institutions they can “be author of.” It is about the ways and means for them to ascend to power. They never consider a free market or a free mind.

And, of course, it included “combating gun violence.”

I view their activities being analogous to the Trump administration is attempting to extinguish a forest fire. The progressives are brainstorming about what to replace the forest fire with.

Prepare and respond appropriately.

Question of Critical Importance

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I would not wait to decide whether the government can ban the most popular rifle in America. That question is of critical importance to tens of millions of law-abiding AR–15 owners throughout the country. We have avoided deciding it for a full decade.

…

I doubt we would sit idly by if lower courts were to so subvert our precedents involving any other constitutional right. Until we are vigilant in enforcing it, the right to bear arms will remain “a second-class right.”

Clarence Thomas
US Supreme Court Justice
June 2, 2025
Order List (06/02/2025)

See also:

Sheriff Civil Disobedience

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As the elected sheriff of Pierce County, I am committed to addressing serious criminal activity to ensure the safety of our community and uphold the constitutional rights of all citizens. Recent state firearm regulations affecting licensed firearms dealers and introducing additional permit requirements for firearm purchases—beyond the state’s existing enhanced background checks—raise concerns regarding their alignment with constitutional rights.

…

To be clear: the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office will not engage in enforcing politically motivated mandates. Instead, we will continue to prioritize enforcement efforts on criminal activities that pose significant threats to public safety. The PCSO is dedicated to serving our community with integrity, ensuring that our actions reflect both the letter and spirit of our laws and Constitution.

Keith Swank
Pierce County Sheriff
May 2025
Pierce County Sheriff won’t enforce new gun permit law

Pierce County is the second most populous county. It has over 900,000 residents. This is over 11% of the entire population of the state. I expect there will soon be many other sheriffs and police departments making similar statements.

Civil disobedience, especially by a large population county sheriff, has to be scary to control freaks like gun owner hating Governor Ferguson. I hope to see Ferguson getting asked why he should not be prosecuted for violation of civil rights under the color of law. That would really make him sweat.

We live in interesting times.

Think Past Your Guns

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With classic commie mind-control methodology, anti-gun radicals project their fears and biases on us. Whatever they are, that’s what they call us. We’re awful at refuting and resisting. We’re not racists, they are. Lefties see everything through skin color. We’re not violent, we’re just armed. They riot, burn, pillage, deface and are tolerated by the captured power structure, which they neutered. Defunding the police is not our plan. Using the FBI against school moms horrifies us. Turning the Patriot Act into a CIA tool for managing the right side, namely us, and label-smearing us domestic terrorists are clever but evil.

Your guns are sadly helpless against this onslaught. I ask constantly — who are you going to shoot when they incrementally steal your rights and soul? We have grown too comfortable and rich — through the combined miracles of capitalism, free speech and liberty — to stand tall and kill off the worst of the anti-freedom perpetrators. The ones who twist and malign our institutions in their favor. The ones who now hold what our Founders feared — more firepower than we can match.

Long ago, the communist-socialist-Marxist axis proposed that they would hang us, and we would sell them the rope. It’s happening.

Alan Korwin
May 31, 2024
It’s Time to Think Past Your Guns

This was posted one year ago. Things have changed a lot. But there is still a lot left to change.

Celebrate our victories and continue the fight. Never get tired of winning.

Control of Gene Expression with Nanoparticles

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Recent technological advances are fueling the development of cutting-edge technologies that can monitor and control physiological processes with high precision. These include devices that could control the expression of genes within living organisms, without requiring invasive surgeries or procedures.

Researchers at ETH Zurich recently introduced a new method that enables the electromagnetic programming of the wireless expression regulation (EMPOWER) of transgenes in mammals, via the interfacing of nanoparticles and cells.

Their proposed approach, outlined in a paper published in Nature Nanotechnology, could help to treat chronic conditions, including diabetes, while also opening new possibilities for research in synthetic biology and regenerative medicine.

Ingrid Fadelli
May 18, 2025
Nanoparticle-cell interface enables electromagnetic wireless programming of mammalian transgene expression

This has great potential. For good and for evil.

Just imagine Cystic Fibrosis, Sickle Cell Disease, and Huntington’s Disease, etc. being treated with exposure to an electromagnet for three minutes per day.

Or on the evil side:

  • Testosterone Poisoning
  • Estrogen Overload
  • Liberal Snowflake Syndrome
  • Conservative Neanderthal Disorder
  • White Fragility
  • Black Entitlement Syndrome
  • Religious Zealot Fever
  • Soy Boy Syndrome
  • Karenitis

I suspect every tool can be used for good or for evil. Most of the potential for evil is when such tools are used by the government.

Prepare appropriately.