Category Archives: Freedom

Gene editing in people

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We live in interesting times:

Edits to a cholesterol gene could stop the biggest killer on earth

A volunteer in New Zealand has become the first person to undergo DNA editing in order to lower their blood cholesterol, a step that may foreshadow wide use of the technology to prevent heart attacks.

The experiment, part of a clinical trial by the US biotechnology company Verve Therapeutics, involved injecting a version of the gene-editing tool CRISPR in order to modify a single letter of DNA in the patient’s liver cells.

According to the company, that tiny edit should be enough to permanently lower a person’s levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol, the fatty molecule that causes arteries to clog and harden with time.

The patient in New Zealand had an inherited risk for extra-high cholesterol and was already suffering from heart disease. However, the company believes the same technique could eventually be used on millions of people in order to prevent cardiovascular disease.

…

the technology is substantially similar to mRNA vaccines for covid-19. Just like the vaccines, the treatment consists of genetic instructions wrapped in a nanoparticle, which ferries everything into a cell.

While the vaccine instructs cells to make a component of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the particles in Verve’s treatment carry RNA directions for a cell to assemble and aim a base-editing protein, which then modifies that cell’s copy of PCSK9, introducing the tiny mistake. 

That is both very cool and very scary at the same time.

What else will they have “treatments” for which are a single injection and make irreversible changes to your genes? Homosexuality? ADHD? Excessive aggression? Authority defiance disorder?

At what point will such treatment become mandatory or even given by a black ops team. They pull you into a van for a few seconds and give you another drug that causes you to not remember it even happened?

Quote of the day—Scott Galloway

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China is not America’s friend. There is a dangerous sentiment emerging in the U.S. that members of the “other” political party are the enemy. No, Americans are still the best allies for other Americans. If you blanched at the previous sentence, in my view, you have been targeted by propaganda from bad actors and/or manipulated by algorithms or cable news editors whose profit incentive pits us against one another.

The Chinese government aims to weaken the U.S. Its investment in kinetic power is massive (a third aircraft carrier took to sea last month), but it probably won’t match raw American might for decades. So the Chinese press on our soft tissue strategically and play the long game with tactics that offer a greater ROI: IP theft and propaganda. America is most like itself when we perceive an external threat as the real threat, and when we’re optimistic about the return we’ll realize from long-term investments at home: education, infrastructure, research and development. Pessimism is our kryptonite.

Scott Galloway
July 8, 2022
TikTok: Trojan Stallion
[Via email from John S.

Valid points. If you doubt their hostility to the people in this country spend some time talking to someone who grew up there.—Joe]

Long live Clarence Thomas

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I found this interesting:

Clarence Thomas is at the peak of his power

Clarence Thomas is suddenly, for the first time since his confirmation, the main character at the Supreme Court.

Why it matters: Thomas is more powerful than he’s ever been inside the court, and ideas that the legal establishment once treated as his quirky hobbyhorses now carry increasing weight.

…

The big picture: Thomas has spent years essentially laying out a whole parallel understanding of the law. He’s one of the court’s most prolific authors of solo dissents, according to Adam Feldman of Empirical SCOTUS, and has also written a slew of solo concurrences similar to last week’s.

  • Thomas doesn’t just write a dissent here and an additional point about a majority holding there, but rather has created a whole ecosystem of opinions that build on and reference each other almost in the same way as the court’s actual precedents, except for the fact that they are all one man speaking only for himself.
  • Thomas’ solo opinion in last week’s abortion case cited 11 of his past opinions, 10 of which were solo opinions. It drew more heavily from the Clarence Thomas Cinematic Universe than from the rest of the court’s historical precedents, dissents and non-Thomas concurrences.

But as the makeup of the court has shifted around him, Thomas’ views have gotten more influential. And that influence will only grow.

Thomas is a huge influence for good. Not just in the gun rights arena, but in rolling back the power of big government.

Quote of the day—In Chains @InChainsInJail

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We never claimed to be law-abiding.

Slaves were law-abiding.

We are peaceful.

Now, if you want to threaten our rights, our families, or our property, you can discover the limits of that peacefulness.

In Chains @InChainsInJail
Tweeted on June 14, 2022
[See also Huffman’s rule of firearm law.—Joe]

Leftists opposed to freedom… again

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Constitutional law is something to be disposed of and/or ignored ::

It has become necessary to dissolve the Supreme Court of the United States. The first step is for a state the “court” has now forced guns upon, to ignore this ruling. Great. You’re a court? Why and how do think you can enforce your rulings?

Olbermann probably doesn’t know this, leftists seem to be ignorant or in denial of history, but other people once had a similar attitude about SCOTUS. The National Guard convinced them to change their behavior. There is another parallel which should also be pointed out to Olbermann. And that is, in that previous encounter it was also Democrats obstructing freedom.

Red flagging the red flags

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For something in a Boston newspaper this is amazingly good:

“Even the best available risk factors can identify only a subpopulation in which the risk of committing a mass shooting is on the order of one in a million.” Are we prepared to curtail the freedom of 999,999 Americans who pose no threat in order to keep the one in a million away from guns?

The sweeping use of red-flag laws to withhold Second Amendment rights from anyone with the social characteristics common to mass shooters is akin to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s order to round up hundreds of thousands of Americans of Japanese descent in order to prevent espionage or sabotage during the war against Japan. Some terrible outcomes might indeed be prevented, but at the price of lost liberties on a wide scale.

Self incrimination

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In addition to thinking law enforcement should be going to jail instead of Ms. Taylor I find this interesting because it seems to me there is a 5th Amendment issue here as well a 2nd Amendment issue:

Texas woman arrested in Albany for declaring a firearm to a Delta Airlines representative

Albany County Sheriff has reported the arrest of a Texas woman for Criminal Possession of a Firearm.

On Wednesday, June 15th, at approximately 11:45 AM, Deputies responded to the Delta Airlines ticket counter for a passenger declaring a firearm to a Delta Airlines representative.

Upon investigation, Deputies discovered that Natasia R. Taylor was in possession of a Walther P22, .22 caliber handgun.

Taylor does not possess a New York State Pistol Permit.

Taylor was charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree, a Class A Misdemeanor.

Isn’t it a self incrimination issue that you are required to declare a firearm under these conditions?

Quote of the day—THE Red-Headed libertarian™ @TRHLofficial

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The left are throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks before they lose their stranglehold in November. Their behavior is reactionary and it’s going to get more insane, more sinister, and more hysterical.

THE Red-Headed libertarian™ @TRHLofficial
Tweeted on June 6, 2022
[This is my expectation too.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Carl "Bear" Bussjaeger

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Perhaps the Constitution has only been an illusory paper restraint on government. But it has been a potent symbolic restraint on the people, preventing them from eliminating abusive politicians and government agents out of hand. I do not truly comprehend the willingness — nay, the eagerness of the Left to go there, to surrender that protection, given the likely consequences.

We’d be starting from scratch, with new rules written by the survivors.

Carl “Bear” Bussjaeger
May 29, 2022
SO YOU WANT TO REPEAL THE SECOND AMENDMENT
[Interesting observation.-Joe]

Canadian cattle

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Just like a rancher dehorning their cattle to prevent them from hurting each other or their owner Canada does not allow people to carry knives for the purpose of self defense:

There are no limits on length. BUT, and this is a big but, the knife you carry must only be used as a tool (a.k.a. utility knife, hunting knife WHEN HUNTING, etc.). As stated above it do not conceal or have the intent to cause harm; this includes self defense!

This law is about intent. This means if you’re caught with a knife that’s concealed on your person while in a location you don’t require a knife to be used as a tool, you may be in for a bad time.

Example, walking through a dark alley at night with a utility knife in your pocket for protection sounds like a good idea. However if an officer of the law stops you and finds it, they can easily conclude there is no other reason for you to have it except for the intent to cause harm to another person.

Furthermore, this also means you can be charged with assault with a weapon even when defending yourself. Why, because the intent to use it for such an occasion is there before you even stepped out from your house.

Having “solved” all the “gun violence” in their country this must be what they consider as “common sense” prevention of “knife violence”.

Quote of the day—John Crump

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AmmoLand News has obtained a leaked copy of the 2019 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Industry Operations Manual.

The manual is the internal guide that the Industry Operations Inspectors (IOI) use when conducting federal firearms licensees (FFL) inspections. An IOI is not a special agent. They are an ATF employee assigned to carry out compliance inspections and audits of records that FFLs hold. While special agents are considered law enforcement and have the power to arrest, the IOIs work on the industry side of the Bureau.

The document is 190 pages long and gives an insight into what the IOIs look for during their FFL compliance inspections. The document lays down what the IOIs can and can’t do during their official visits. It includes when the IOI can run a NICS check on the FFL’s responsible parties. The document also covers when an IOI must refer a case to a criminal investigator. The IOIs cannot perform a criminal investigation.

The document not only goes into procedures used by IOIs during their compliance visits but it also covers the techniques that the IOIs will use during their visits to FFLs. The document also covers more mundane topics such as the ATF’s work from home policy and the use of government vehicles by the IOIs.

One of the interesting things about the IOI position is that IOIs are not allowed to carry firearms while working. This restriction even applies to those who have valid concealed carry permits. The IOIs are not even allowed to keep their guns in their cars.

The document will be an immense help to firearms dealers that are fighting against the revocation of their FFLs. Currently, FFL revocations are up by 500%. Under the current Biden administration, the ATF has targeted FFLs and has been revoking FFLs for the slightest infraction. President Biden calls these gun stores “rogue dealers.” By having a copy of the manual, these targeted FFLs can ensure that the ATF IOIs followed proper procedures during the inspections.

The IO Manual can also help in a criminal defense strategy of a gun dealer accused of criminal activity if the ATF employee improperly used their role as an IOI to collect evidence of illegal activity when they should have filled out a suspicious activity report. The manual makes it abundantly clear that IOIs are not law enforcement officers.

The ATF has stalled multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests trying to get a copy of the Industry Operations Manual, leading many in the gun community to wonder why the ATF would try to prevent the manual from being distributed to the public. Some think that the ATF did not want the IO Manual to fall into the hands of criminal defense lawyers and FFLs.

John Crump
May 25, 2022
ATF Leak Exposes Industry Operations Manual
[Cool! The good guys get a break.—Joe]

Quote of the day—John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead

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Yet be warned: once you get snagged by a surveillance camera, flagged by an AI predictive screening program, and placed on a government watch list—whether it’s a watch list for child neglect, a mental health watch list, a dissident watch list, a terrorist watch list, or a red flag gun watch list—there’s no clear-cut way to get off, whether or not you should actually be on there.

You will be tracked wherever you go, flagged as a potential threat and dealt with accordingly.

If you’re not scared yet, you should be.

John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead
May 10, 2022
You’ve Been Flagged as a Threat: Predictive AI Technology Puts a Target on Your Back
[Prepare appropriately.—Joe]

Tyrant tool

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Via Stephanie:

AI may be searching you for guns the next time you go out in public

When Peter George saw news of the racially motivated mass-shooting at the Tops supermarket in Buffalo last weekend, he had a thought he’s often had after such tragedies.

“Could our system have stopped it?” he said. “I don’t know. But I think we could democratize security so that someone planning on hurting people can’t easily go into an unsuspecting place.”

George is chief executive of Evolv Technology, an AI-based system meant to flag weapons, “democratizing security” so that weapons can be kept out of public places without elaborate checkpoints.

…

Evolv machines use “active sensing” — a light-emission technique that also underpins radar and lidar — to create images. Then it applies AI to examine them. Data scientists at the Waltham, Mass., company have created “signatures” (basically, visual blueprints) and trained the AI to compare them to the scanner images.

This tool is worse than useless. It will create opportunities for more murders. That is, unless you are a tyrant intent on disarming your subjects.

First off, the mass shooter will start shooting before they pass through the detector, taking out the guards before they even had a clue a threat was present. And, since there is a “funnel” for people going through the detector there will be a group of people ready for “harvesting” by the perp. It also will make it difficult or impossible for people to defend themselves where these systems are deployed.

Hence, if your threat model is a mass shooter, the device will actually make things worse rather than better. Many other threat models suffer similar degradation of public security.

The threat model that doesn’t degrade is the one where you want your subjects to be more dependent on you for security and to make it difficult for them to threaten your position of power. In that case this system will be a useful asset to disarm your subjects.

Quote of the day—Kathy Hochul

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I want to silence those voices now.

…

So yes, Lord, forgive the anger in my heart, but channel that into my passion to continue to fight to protect people, get the guns off the streets and silence the voices of hatred and racism and white supremacy all over the internet.

Kathy Hochul
New York State Governor
May 15, 2022
Video, Audio, Photo & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Delivers Remarks at True Bethel Baptist Church
[See also New York’s Governor Wants to ‘Silence’ Constitutionally Protected Speech.

So… she is saying she is going to ignore both the 1st and the 2nd Amendments. Got it.

Governor, I hope you enjoy your trial

Prepare appropriately.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Glenn Reynolds

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If you’re the president, if you’re a member of Congress, if you are a TSA agent, the only reason why somebody should listen to what you say, instead of horsewhipping you out of town for your impertinence, is because you exercise power via the Constitution. If the Constitution doesn’t count, you don’t have any legitimate power. You’re a thief, a brigand, an officious busybody, somebody who should be tarred and feathered and run out of town on a rail for trying to exercise power you don’t possess.

So if we’re going to start ignoring the Constitution, I’m fine with that. The first part I’m going to start ignoring is the part that says, I have to do whatever they say.

Glenn Reynolds
Feb 18, 2013
Glenn Reynolds on Politics, the Constitution, and Technology
From the partial transcript at The Raj Koothrappali Approach to Constitutional Law.
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

What’s the problem?

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Illegal Glock switches found across Tennessee

A Glock switch can turn a normal handgun into a weapon that can “fire 1200 rounds in a minute,” according to special agent Ashley Lightner with the ATF. Officials are finding them all over Tennessee.

At the Memphis Port of U.S. Customs, officials told WSMV that they’ve confiscated 525 Glock switches that have illegally come to Tennessee.

“Oh we’re seeing a bunch in Tennessee,” said Lightner adding that over the past three years there has been an increase in the switches in the State.

A Glock switch can turn a semi-automatic pistol into a weapon with “the power of a machine gun,” according to Lightner

This makes me laugh. If they have confiscated 525 my guess is there are 50K they haven’t confiscated.

I am reminded of a quote by Jeff Cooper:

As I have often stated, if someone wants to shoot at me, I sure hope he does it on full-auto.

Some personal experience, conversation with full-auto owners, and reading test results all confirm Cooper’s assertion. Hence, I don’t see why they are concerned with full-auto firearms. Other than, of course, it is another opportunity to harass innocent people.

Quote of the day—Elon Musk

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Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated. I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans. Twitter has tremendous potential—I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.

Elon Musk
May 8, 2022
Elon Musk Puts Twitter Employees on Alert
[Nice words.

I look forward to seeing those words backed up by action.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Jeff Carlson and Hans Mahncke

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Musk’s proposed takeover of Twitter represents a seismic shift in the battle over the flow and control of information. The impact of shifting back to the unfettered exchange of ideas online would be enormous. But that impact also didn’t go unnoticed.

For two days last week, Twitter relaxed its censorship site-wide and the effects were immediately noticed, especially among conservatives. But the return to free speech did not last long and within days, Twitter’s oversight was suddenly back.

Establishment forces moved quickly to fight back against what they feared most: a return to free speech.

Only days after Musk announced his purchase of Twitter, the Department of Homeland Security announced the creation of a new, Orwellian “Disinformation Governance Board” supposedly to combat so-called misinformation ahead of the 2022 midterms. This new body is being led by the very same people that have spent years spreading disinformation.

The current fight over free speech isn’t over just yet. Not by a long shot.

Jeff Carlson and Hans Mahncke
May 5, 2022
Don’t Expect the Establishment to Give Up Its Control of Twitter Without a Fight | Truth Over News
[Liberty is always unfinished business.—Joe]

Pointless Red Flag Laws

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Via Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership:

“Red flag Laws”, which allow police to seize the firearms of people accused of being at risk to misuse them, have been passed in 19 states. Do they do what proponents say they do? A recent study by Veronica Pear, PhD and Garen Wintemute, MD, and co-authors says the answer is clearly, “No”

DRGO says the laws are pointless, but that assumes you believe the point was public safety. It’s not.

There has never been a valid “Yes” to my Just One Question:

Can you demonstrate one time or place, throughout all history, where the average person was made safer by restricting access to handheld weapons?

It has been over 17 years since I posed the question above and no exceptions to the premise have been found.

The point of such laws is clearly not public safety. The point is to enable the harassments and imprisonment of innocent people who wish to defend themselves from criminals (including those on the government payroll).

Quote of the day—Angela Belcamino @AngelaBelcamino

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Can we ban all accounts who tweet “free speech?”

Angela Belcamino @AngelaBelcamino
Tweeted on April 27, 2022
[At first I thought it might be sarcasm. But upon close inspection I don’t think it is.

After reading many of her tweets, I’m still not sure how to classifier her. Is she merely ignorant of history or is she evil? Perhaps the correct answer is “Both!”—Joe]