Category Archives: Freedom

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]

Quote of the day—Anonymous

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And a dozen years after McDonald v. Chicago, the Second Amendment still doesn’t really exist in the 2nd, 4th, 9th circuits etc. I am all about fighting in the courts, but that’s hardly sufficient to secure liberty. You need to fight in the political arena.

Anonymous
April 24, 2022
[The author prefers some privacy. The link will only give you the source if you are one of those allowed access.

It’s not just the political arena, which is absolutely critical in some jurisdictions for court appointments, it’s the culture of the population. Gun owners need to “come out of the closet”, take non-shooters to the range, show them gun owners are safe, friendly, and good neighbors and friends.

Today is the long range event of Boomershoot. It features hundreds of highly reactive targets, a massive opening fireball that draws cheers and applause, and spectators from nearly 300 (and occasionally over 1000) miles away. Boomershoot is an mind blowing awakening for people who only know of guns through the lens of legacy media. Attend, share your Boomershoot stories with friends, neighbors, and family to help change the cultural view of gun ownership.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Alice Smith @TheAliceSmith

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“Woke” is commie speak for “Communist But Scared To Say So After What We Did In The Twentieth Century”.

Alice Smith @TheAliceSmith
Tweeted on April 27, 2022
[It is a little more nuanced than that but it is close enough.

These are people that crave power and control. They find rationalizations to exercise control and gain power over everyone they can. “Racism”, “sexism”, “inequality”, “racial justice”, “climate justice”, “algorithmic justice”*, ad nauseum, are just the levers that mostly work in our current society.

And it is a thrill; it’s a high to them. There is no amount of power that will satiate their lust. They will crank the ratchet another click at every opportunity. This is why so many socialist and communist movements result in genocide.

Respond appropriately.—Joe]

* Via email from pkoning and various sources on twitter. See also:

Quote of the day—Ammal Hassan

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Because it was fun? Because it was for sale? Because he just had to have it? The truth is, no one really knows.

Ammal Hassan
April 26, 2022
What The Hell Does Elon Want With Twitter Anyway?
[Really? Musk has repeatedly said it’s because Twitter has been hostile to free speech. He has literally said:

Suspending the Twitter account of a major news organization for publishing a truthful story was obviously incredibly inappropriate

April 26, 2022

By “free speech”, I simply mean that which matches the law.

I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law.

If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect.

Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people.

April 26, 2022

image
April 25, 2022

If our twitter bid succeeds, we will defeat the spam bots or die trying!

April 21, 2022

And authenticate all real humans

April 21, 2022

Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy.

What should be done?

March 26, 2022

Despite all that, this bozo Hassan can’t imagine free speech being the real reason.

From reading some the comments to various threads about the buyout it is very clear that many people are vehemently opposed to free speech. They come close to predicting the end of the world if people are allowed to spread “disinformation, conspiracy theories, and hate speech.”

This is incredibly willful ignorance or, more likely in many cases, deliberate evil.

The “end of the world” is much more likely to occur if we don’t have free speech. The suppression of free speech is the mark of authoritarianism. It enables corruption, gulags, and genocide. This is why we have the 2nd Amendment. It protects the 1st Amendment.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Melissa Mackenzie @MelissaTweets

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After COVID, I no longer wonder how Stalin, Mao, Hitler, Pol Pot happened.

Inside too many of our neighbors is a little tyrant who desires to tell you how to live your life, use violence to achiever their ends, and clothe themselves in righteousness while doing it.

Melissa Mackenzie @MelissaTweets
Tweeted on April 18, 2022
[At first I thought it rather sad it took this long for Mackenzie to realize how such things happen. Then, a chilling wave of fright swept over me as I realized that it is extremely likely that most people still don’t understand or deny the example she just gave.—Joe]

Quote of the day—David Burge @iowahawkblog

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I swear to god some people’s brains are wired with only two settings, mandatory and forbidden

David Burge (@iowahawkblog)
Tweeted on April 19, 2022
[This is not news. This has been known for quite some time.

While being wired this way does relieve the stress of decision making it also means they can, and probably should, be replaced by a simple robot.-Joe]

Too much

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I can cook well enough to keep myself from going hungry. So it should come as no surprise I was only able to recognize the last item:

image

Via a tweet from Tanya Tay Posobiec @realTanyaTay. This has more impact when you discover Tanya was born in the USSR.

When demand exceeds supply…

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If there is excess demand for something the market will supply shoddy goods. Apparently the FBI was in the market for domestic terrorists and couldn’t find enough to meet their needs so they made some of their own. They did such a poor job of it they couldn’t get convictions.

One has to wonder, how many times that happens and (mostly) innocent people are convicted. In particular, it casts a huge shadow over the arrests and prosecution of people on January 6th, 2020. Doubly so with this news:

At least 20 FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives “assets” were embedded around the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, a defense attorney wrote in a court filing on April 12.

The disclosure was made in a motion seeking to dismiss seditious conspiracy and obstruction charges against 10 Oath Keepers defendants in one of the most prominent Jan. 6 criminal cases.

Who watches, and when appropriate, arrests and prosecutes the watchers? I am of the opinion there are probably many thousands of government employees and elected officials who should be prosecuted.

Quote of the day—Henrik Impola

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We have a saying in my office. Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.

Henrik Impola
FBI Special Agent
As told to a confidential informant after the kidnapping suspects were arrested in 2020
FBI’s tactics doomed case against men charged in kidnapping plot of Michigan governor
[It looks to me as if the facts should be used at Henrik’s, and others in that office, trials  It would make a good story. And with convictions it would even have a happy ending.—Joe]

Never let a crisis go to waste

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COVID enabled authoritarians to expand their power:

An appeals court sided with the governor and found the emergency act gave him vast authority—including the “police power” to create new law. The California Supreme Court let the appeals court decision stand, meaning that in any declared emergency the governor can do whatever he deems appropriate without serious checks or balances.

Last month, Newsom mercifully lifted the vast majority of edicts and orders—but the precedent has been set for future emergencies. There are no real limits on executive power.

There really needs to be consequences for these expansions of government powers. I’m just not sure what the solution is. When the elections can’t be trusted, the “news” is cheering the authoritarians, and individuals who speak out are canceled, what are people to do when they find the restrictions intolerable?

Quote of the day—Alice Smith @TheAliceSmith

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The Left are suspicious of the government on defence and law & order.

The Right are suspicious of the government on welfare and education.

Both are correct.

Alice Smith @TheAliceSmith
Tweeted on March 22, 2022
[I agree and go further. I am suspicious of government on all things.

The profile of Ms. Smith on Twitter may be of interest to some:

Who is Alice Smith? The great-great-great-granddaughter of Adam Smith. Follow me on my adventures down the capitalist rabbit hole! 2+2=4

I presume this is the Adam Smith who wrote The Wealth of Nations. This book had a big influence on me.—Joe]

Quote of the day—James Rickards

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Perhaps Russia’s most aggressive weapon in its war on dollars is gold. The first line of defense is to acquire physical gold, which cannot be frozen out of the international payments system or hacked.

With gold, you can always pay another country just by putting the gold on an airplane and shipping it to the counterparty. This is the 21st-century equivalent of how J.P. Morgan settled payments in gold by ship or railroad in the early 20th century.

James Rickards
March 4, 2022
You Can’t Hack Gold
[This also has relevance to cancel culture.

Prepare appropriately.—Joe]