Category Archives: Freedom

Quote of the day—Patti Brigham

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We believe that this is really not about the Second Amendment, it’s about public safety.

Patti Brigham
Co-chair of the Florida Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence
Gun control groups claim victory in Florida – for now
[They claimed victory because no pro freedom bills were passed, not because they were able to pass one or more laws infringing upon our rights. They have to try and keep their morale up somehow.

Aside from blocking the bills which would have reduced the infringements upon the rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment what annoys me is that Brigham thinks she can bypass the Second Amendment with an argument about “public safety”. Apparently she is ignorant of and/or disagrees with Ben Franklin on the tradeoffs involving safety and liberty. Even if I knew nothing of the issue I would be substantially more inclined to side with Franklin than with Brigham.

“Public safety” doesn’t outweigh individual rights. This is particularly true when it involves prior restraint. If it did one could make a winning case for banning speech and writing which advocates socialism. Far more people have lost their lives because of socialism in the last 120 years than have lost their lives because of private ownership of firearms.

And that doesn’t even touch upon the fact that the Second Amendment is about public safety.—Joe]

All freedoms have their opponents

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I’ve sometimes heard it said that anti-gun people should just think of private gun ownership as religion with the NRA as the formal church organization and leave us alone. I could almost see that working.

And the concept isn’t limited to the church of the gun. From Nashville we have this:

The Social Club had previously been known as a swinger’s sanctuary at a different Nashville location, and when owners announced the move to its current location at 520 Lentz Drive, residents were outraged.

But the owners promised no sex would take place at the club and instead would open a church to members only to get around zoning laws.

But it appears the city is going to make a fuss over it anyway. The report is quite graphic and the undercover inspectors even took pictures of people having sex (they don’t seem to be included in the report). It appears, just like with gun ownership, people want to control others who are “coloring outside of the lines” of the boundaries they have made for themselves.

As one would expect

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Interesting news from inside the belly of the beast (emphasis added):

Gun control activists who previously worked for Watts in various state organizations are said to be frustrated and feeling burned by her, according to one source.

“Staff who worked for Shannon quit or are fired faster than the organization can replace them. She’s a nightmare,” the source told TheDC.

Another source close to the organization said in a written statement, “Two beliefs unite nearly all gun control supporters: background checks save lives, and Shannon Watts is a self-promoting tyrant.”

In order to be a gun control supporter you have to have a very low opinion of individual rights and a high opinion of the use of government force to infringe upon those rights. That one of the most prominent promoters of rights infringement is also a tyrant is as one would expect.

Sebastian has some advice for Watts.

Quote of the day—Doug Casey

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Once an empire starts falling apart, trying to stop it is like trying to stop a tree from falling once its roots have rotted. It can’t be done, and it’s best not to be around when it happens.

The Cultural Marxists and other enemies of Western Civilization are in total control of the education system, so the next several generations of young people are corrupted. They control the media, so they control the prevailing intellectual climate. They control the NGOs, and the “think tanks” that infest DC and other major capitals. They control the Deep State.

So, no, Trump can’t reverse it. Among other reasons because he himself doesn’t have a philosophical or ethical core. He’s just a businessman; his object is just to make things more efficient. Like Mussolini, to make the trains run on time, as it were. He’s a good influence in that he hates the Cultural Marxists, and they hate him. But it’s not like he can offer a positive alternative for people to believe in.

Doug Casey
2017
Doug Casey on the Plague of Cultural Marxists
[I certainly don’t know if Casey is correct but it seems to be a good match for the information I have.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Lyle

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The criminal class hates the concept of private arms, partly because it makes their trade more dangerous, but mostly because it’s an expression of the sovereignty of the individual.

Such sovereignty is an affront to their very identity. Putting the lie to their claims of legitimacy, it denies them their livelihood and existence.

In short; an armed, legal, polite society is a free society, and there is simply no place for the criminal class (authoritarians; advocates of coercion) in a free society.

In a proper world there is no place for them but behind bars or at the end of a rope. Although we complain about them every day, we hold them up as our teachers, our watchmen and our rulers. What does that say about us?

Lyle
May 6, 2017
Comment to Quote of the day—Jay Dee
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Lori Yeghiayan Friedman

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Federal concealed carry reciprocity is simply an end-run around state laws. It’s a gift to gun manufacturers — for whom any gun restriction, “reasonable” or no — means fewer sales.

Lori Yeghiayan Friedman
April 17, 2017
Op-ed: Federal concealed carry reciprocity is wrong for Pennsylvania and the country
[Ah yes. You can always recognize the Marxist. To them everything is always about money. The concepts of principles, inalienable rights, freedom of choice, and even individualism are either dismissed or derided.

After a hundred years, hundreds of attempts, and over 100 million murdered by their own government Friedman and her ilk still believe Marxism is “progress”.

We are on a different path. To us, freedom is progress.—Joe]

Don’t be evil

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Interesting. At least, i suppose that’s one word to describe it.

This morning before I went to work I was at home looking through the news and such, and I came across a video that I though might be interesting to one of my students. I watched a few minutes of it to make sure it was what I thought it was, then paused it and went to work. There I searched for it, found it, and clicked the vid to que it up for my student. I hit play, and it picked up at the exact same spot I’d paused it… back at home.

Different machine. Different network and ISP. Different browser. Different OS.

It knew exactly where I’d paused.

Nah, nothing there to be creeped the fuck out about, nothing at all.

The ONLY connection that I could identify was that for work we use Chrome machines, and are given all things Chrome to use, including (of course) GMail. To look at work emails and schedule at home I’d opened up my gmail account and a shared spreadsheet. It was opened in the browsers in both places.

Different machine. Different network and ISP. Different browser. Different OS.Both had an email account opened in one tab, it tracked what was going on in other tabs and browsers when I don’t use Google search at home.

Like I said, nah, nothing to be bothered by, right?

I will not now, nor ever, buy or use any Google product that is not provided by work, and I’ll never again open their applications on my home machine if I can possibly help it.

Expendable men

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Times change.
But it ain’t all progress.

There has been a lot of social upheaval in recent years on the topics of equality, “equality,” women’s rights, men’s rights, patriarchy, the wage gap, marriage, MGTOW, misogyny versus misandry (I note the spell-checker has the previous but not the latter word), marginalizing men, etc. websites like Men of the West, videos like this Continue reading →

Is she clueless, or hoping we’re clueless?

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Or both?

The bizarre assertion is that feminism is being bogged down by its association with leftist causes.

Sisters; the one and only purpose for the “feminist movement” is to advance what are essentially Marxist principles and goals. That of course includes the defamation and de-emphasis of men, especially Jewish and Christian men, along with them the very concept of morality, and the de-emphasis of the nuclear family as a cornerstone of civilization.

Calling for outreach to Christian women who embrace the American Principles then, is like the PLO and the other jihadists reaching out to Jews for assistance in destroying Israel.

It could work in some cases I suppose, if you find enough dumb “conservative” women who’re only pretending to be conservative or pretending to be Christian but don’t really know what any of it means. You get them irritated and agitated enough, and they’ll be open to your propaganda.

Agitprop.

Truly strong, American women have no use for the “feminist” movement. They’re already doing what they want to do, and the “feminists” (communists, essentially) have been verbally attacking them for it all along.

Constantly viewing oneself as a victim of this or that, or a victim of everything, is detrimental to one’s success, whether you’re a truly strong woman or anyone else (we have to be careful with definitions here though; to “The Sisterhood” of pissed off leftist women, the term “strong woman” means “nasty, dumb bitch”).

That’s the whole point really; the Marxist/Progressive/authoritarian movement needs as many people as possible thinking of themselves as victims and thus being pissed off, otherwise the movement has nothing. It’s the Grievance Culture, and so it doesn’t matter whether it’s women, men, black women and men, gay, trans, or any and all of the rest of Humanity; if we can get people pissed off and feeling like they’re powerless without Big Daddy Government stepping in to intervene in their personal lives, then the American Principles have been defeated right there.

It’s never been about protecting anyone’s rights or advancing anyone’s quality of life. The Original American Principles do that already. The Grievance Movement is purely about keeping the grievances alive and growing, as a political weapon against the American Principles.

And you in the “movement”, at least those few calling the shots, you know all this perfectly well. Nice try, keep it up and all, but your premise here is just ridiculous.

Quote of the day—John Robb

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A form of direct democracy is coming.  One that lets people directly influence the decisions of the people they send to Washington.

A form of interactive democracy that doesn’t require any changes to the constitution since it works at the party level and not the national. 

When it does, it’s going to hit us fast, taking off like wildfire since it fulfills a fundamental need that the current system does not provide.

Here’s a quick example from the perspective of the Trump insurgency.  Other political parties would need different approaches, but they could if done in the right way (simple approach, scaled quickly by using disruptive marketing, grow from there), grow as quickly as this. 

Here’s how quickly populism can be automated:

  • Trump or Bannon picks an issue: the narrower and more inflammatory (disruptive marketing) the better.  Make the vote a yes or no.
  • Trump asks his supporters to tell him what they want (he doesn’t ask those opposing him). 
  • His supporters download the app to their smart phones and vote.  
  • A little programming and marketing magic radically improves the number of Trump supporters using the app and reduces spammers/non-supporters attempting to skew the vote down to a trickle.
  • Millions of Trump supporters download the app and vote.  
  • Once the decision is in, the app makes it easy to call or spam message to the user’s Congressional representatives.  Millions of calls roll in.  
  • A bill that codifies that issue is fast tracked in Congress.  Massive pressure via the app and the White House gets it passed quickly.
  • Connecting action and results quickly generates buzz.  Repeat.  This time with 10 m downloads.  
  • The app evolves. The pressure from the network increases.  It consumes the Republican party.

John Robb
March 10, 2017
How Trump and Bannon Could Automate Populism
[I’ve been wondering, for at least 30 years, what sort of new form of government might come out of the rapid technological changes we are seeing. Robb offers us, and he admits this, a very simple view of one possible outcome. I’m not convinced he is correct about the potential for the model he presents. I admit instant communication has great potential to make changes. But the minority party has the same tools as the majority party.

And the technological changes are not just in the field of communications. There are things of great importance on “the technological spreadsheet”. These include, essentially, continuous electronic surveillance on political opponents and the public at large, robots and drones (both armed and unarmed) for law enforcement and military action, and the threat of implementing a cashless society (more than just surveillance, it would make tax resistance extremely difficult).—Joe]

Quote of the day—Thomas Sowell‏ @ThomasSowell

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No society ever thrived because it had a large and growing class of parasites living off those who produce.

Thomas Sowell‏ @ThomasSowell
Tweeted on March 15, 2017
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

Czech guns rights on the move

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This is news to me:

Officials from the Czech Republic have been among the most vocal critics of the European Union’s efforts to restrict the rights of law-abiding gun owners. Most recently, the Czech government has contemplated taking the drastic step of amending the country’s constitution in order to better protect the rights of Czech citizens to possess guns for self-defense.

I didn’t know they had a strong RKBA attitude there. If the MSM and anti-gun people (redundancy alert) are to be believed Europe is almost gun free. I knew Switzerland was good about guns but I figured that the Czechs would have had their gun rights supporting people sent to the gulags during their time behind the iron curtain.

Joe’s [Done] Answering Qs on Reddit AMA

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[Update: Joe’s done at Reddit. Thanks to all who participated in the interview.]

Joe’s over yonder on Reddit, still answering questions. Join in the conversation here.

For those new to Reddit (hint, hint Lyle), you’ll want to create a Reddit account, then go to this link and ask away.

Reminder: Joe/Boomershoot & Maj/Black Guns Matter on Reddit AMA

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Join the live conversation tomorrow, Tues. March 7, 11am EST: Joe Huffman of Boomershoot & Maj Toure of Black Guns Matter on Reddit AMA.

Joe Huffman, Founder of Boomershoot:
I’m white + from Idaho. I make reactive targets for people to shoot at, and detonate, thus causing fiery, fun explosions.

Maj Toure, Founder of Black Guns Matter:
I’m black + from Philly. I teach urban communities gun rights and responsibilities, to prevent inner cities from self-imploding.

We’re two peas in a pod, here to talk guns, gun safety, exploding targets, keeping cool, and peace.

We’re not here to nitpick about gun facts — that’s already been done.

We’re here to have fun. We’re individually atypical, so let’s dig deep into what makes us tick: why we do what we do, and how we do it! Ready. Aim. Fire. Kaboom!

#BlackGunsMatter
#Boomershoot

News you can use

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Apparently, if you tell the police you are going to be inappropriately touching people, before you actually do it, the police will then give you a pass:

the TSA decided to inform local police in case anyone calls to report an “abnormal” federal frisking, according to a memo from an airport trade association obtained by Bloomberg News.

Good to know.

Security theater has another act

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U.S. Airport Pat-Downs Are About to Get More Invasive

The TSA reacts to a study that found weapons making it past security.

While few have noticed, U.S. airport security workers long had the option of using five different types of physical pat-downs at the screening line. Now those options have been eliminated and replaced with a single universal approach. This time, you will notice.

The new physical touching—for those selected to have a pat-down—will be be what the federal agency officially describes as a more “comprehensive” physical screening, according to a Transportation Security Administration spokesman.

Denver International Airport, for example, notified employees and flight crews on Thursday that the “more rigorous” searches “will be more thorough and may involve an officer making more intimate contact than before.”

“I would say people who in the past would have gotten a pat-down that wasn’t involved will notice that the [new] pat-down is more involved,” TSA spokesman Bruce Anderson said Friday.

It’s still going to be security theater.

When will the people say this is too much and demand the abolishment of the TSA?

Quote of the day—Benjamin Franklin

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I ran over in my mind every property by which she was distinguished, not only from other animals, but from those of the same genus or class of animals, endeavoring to fix some meaning to each, not wholly inconsistent with common sense.

I recollected that her eye excelled in brightness, that of any other animal, and that she has no eye-lids. She may therefore be esteemed an emblem of vigilance. She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: She is therefore an emblem of magnanimity and true courage. As if anxious to prevent all pretensions of quarreling with her, the weapons with which nature has furnished her, she conceals in the roof of her mouth, so that, to those who are unacquainted with her, she appears to be a most defenseless animal; and even when those weapons are shown and extended for her defense, they appear weak and contemptible; but their wounds however small, are decisive and fatal. Conscious of this, she never wounds ’till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of treading on her.

Benjamin Franklin
December 27, 1775
Benjamin Franklin on the Rattlesnake as a Symbol of America
[Via an email from Firearms Policy Coalition promoting “a limited-edition “Don’t Tread on Me” morale patch.”

FpcDontTreadOnMe

Interesting. I had never given the Gadsden flag anywhere that much thought and there is far more reflection on the meaning at the link.—Joe]

This Tues. March 7, 11am EST: Joe Huffman & Maj Toure on Reddit AMA – Ask Me Anything

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Stop by Reddit this Tuesday, March 7, at 11am EST, to participate in Reddit AMA interview of Joe Huffman, Boomershoot Founder & Maj Toure, Black Guns Matter Founder.

Joe is white + from Idaho. Joe makes reactive targets for people to shoot at, and detonate, thus causing fiery, fun explosions.

Maj is black + from Philly. Maj teaches urban communities gun rights and responsibilities, to prevent inner cities from self-imploding.

They’re two peas in a pod, and will be on Reddit AMA to talk guns, gun safety, exploding targets, keeping cook, and peace. Please, ask them anything!
….
More Joe/Boomershoot info:
Boomershoot.org
At Twitter
On Gab

More Black Guns Matter info:
GoFundMe Page
On Facebook
At Twitter

#BlackGunsMatter
#Boomershoot

Quote of the day—Allan Cors

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The defeated elites are trying to convince Americans that censorship is good; that “we the people” are too stupid to discern between fact and fiction, veracity and lies, and news and propaganda.

The truth is when it comes to the Second Amendment and all that the NRA stands for, “fake news” has been the mainstay of the majority of the elite media for as long as I can remember.

Allan Cors
NRA President
February 28, 2017
The Media Want You To Believe Everything You Read, As Long As They Publish It
[I’ve been following the issue closely since early 1994 and it has been true for that entire time. And that includes numerous incidents in which I was a participant. I knew exactly what the truth was and how the media presented something completely false.—Joe]

Spain appointed a ‘sex tsar’

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Spain appoints ‘sex tsar’ in bid to boost declining population:

Spain reported a higher number of deaths than births for the first time last year 

In response and faced with an impending population crisis, the government has appointed Edelmira Barreira to the position of sex tsar. 

The portfolio was created by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Ms Barreira, a demographic expert, will help draft a document for a national strategy of demographic imbalances. 

Spain’s education ministry said the declining birth-rate “aggravates other economic imbalances and generates important “impacts” in the Welfare State”, Spanish news site ABC reported.

Well… there’s the problem. Socialism. It’s the weapon of choice when you want to destroy a people.