Via Colion Noir:
This appears to be 100% accurate.
This obvious and universal truth enables us to realize gun control is not about murderers.
Category Archives: Politics
Quote of the day—Jose Nino
Previous social-democratic governments had implemented strict gun control, which Hugo Chavez not only took advantage of once he got into power, but expanded upon to disarm and subjugate the Venezuelan population. When the wrong political players are in power, today’s “common-sense” gun control legislation could be tomorrow’s stepping stone for gun confiscation.
Modern-day politics doesn’t care for unintended consequences nor long-term policy implications of regulations. For that reason, elected officials like Bernie Sanders have such strong followings.
As socialism becomes popular, other facets of human activity such as self-defense and privacy will be under the chopping block. Socialism does not operate under a vacuum and is indeed an all-inclusive package of human control.
As the great economist Ludwig von Mises said best, “Great conflicts of ideas must be solved by straight and frank methods; they cannot be solved by artifices and makeshifts.”
In this case, the forces of liberty cannot afford to back down.
Jose Nino
April 6, 2019
Gun Rights Will ‘Feel the Bern’ Under a Sanders Presidency
[Politically, even if not by constitution, many states are lost to socialism and the federal government, for the first time, has multiple legislators who are openly admitting they are socialists. The best hope we have is for the federal courts to keep them in check while we attempt to change the culture. Failing that we could see a shooting war break out.
Because of this we need to put a lot of effort into changing the culture. One would think that because of all the dramatic failures of socialism throughout history, and even those unfolding before our eyes, that it should be easy to convince people of the folly of socialism in all its flavors. This is not true.
I suspect there is a deep rooted, perhaps genetically implanted personality trait, that makes socialism attractive. Perhaps this trait had evolutionary advantages in family units and tribes of up to a few hundred people. But as soon as social units became large enough they can’t solve the free rider problem through peer pressure the sharing of resources by the whole group fails. That is the most basic failure of socialism.
As the free rider problem becomes obvious to the population, instead of transitioning to private ownership and an individual rights social organization, what almost always happens is they adhere to their preprogrammed attachment to shared ownership and implement a forced rider model. This, which can be shown by countless examples, is a death spiral into extreme poverty, mass executions, and even genocide.
I can explain this in a logical fashion. I can’t explain it in the proper, I suspect it must be emotional, fashion to override the preprogramming. Leaving deprogramming methods involving high velocity lead off the table, does anyone know how to do this? Any ideas?—Joe]
Quote of the day—Derek Hunter
These leftists have to be destroyed because they aren’t going to stop, and they don’t face consequences for their anti-American actions. Simply pointing out how bad they are is not enough; they don’t care, they know what they are. It’s time to learn from the success of President Trump and hit back twice as hard. Liberals have to be made to take their own medicine, it’s their own fault it’s a suppository.
Derek Hunter
March 14, 2019
It’s Time For Conservatives To Choose: Fight Back Or Surrender
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]
Quote of the day—Virginia Kruta @VAKruta
Gun control advocacy on Twitter.
Day 1: Wish violence, rape, or even death on @NRA members & anyone who supports gun rights — and their children for good measure.
Day 2: Wonder why the people you just threatened don’t want to give up their guns just yet.
Rinse and repeat.
Virginia Kruta @VAKruta
Tweeted on March 31, 2019
[This is generally correct. It’s not limited to Twitter. It doesn’t take a day, it can be seconds, between the time they let you know that they want you dead and the time they call us paranoid for thinking we need a gun for protection.—Joe]
Path to victory
The world as we know it is changing:
Once Trump’s latest picks to the 9th Circuit, including Ken Lee and Dan Collins, are confirmed as expected and remaining vacancies are filled, 13 of the 29 active seats on the key appellate court will be filled with judges picked by Republican presidents. At this time last year, 16 judges on the 9th Circuit were appointed by Democrats, with only six chosen by Republicans.
And the democrats know it. From the same article:
… has led to repeated howls of protest from California’s two Democratic senators, Kamala Harris and Judiciary Committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein.
Combined with the changing character of the Supreme Court we have a decent chance of reversing some of the most oppressive gun control laws. We still need to vote against the politicians and fund the lawsuits (I’m donations thousands of dollars a year to SAF and FPC which is matched dollar for dollar by my employer). But the bottom line is we have a path to victory. It’s not certain, but it certainly looks possible, and it’s a lot better option than voting from the rooftops.
Rightly shot
Via Batteries not included @BobPage43582244:
I’m willing to entertain the hypothesis the expressed theory is somewhat overstated.
Quote of the day—satexaskommando @DogalRorn
A fucking southern California Latin American judge just cited fighting Communism as a valid reason for owning standard capacity magazines and has just struck down California’s magazine size limit ban.WHAT FUCKING DIMENSION DID I JUST ENTER INTO?
satexaskommando @DogalRorn
Tweeted on March 29, 2019
[That’s a valid question. I have no answer.—Joe]
Statistics do not apply to individuals
I’ve been thinking about making this blog post for a week or so and reading VIRGINIA DUNCAN, et al., v. XAVIER BECERRA has inspired me to actually do it.
This is the critical section that makes my desired point on a specific issue:
Generalizations like these are no more than generalizations, and personal, not expert, opinions. Yet, for such an important context as the defense of self and loved ones, generalizations are dangerous. Relying on generalizations like these may lead to a thousand underreported tragedies for law-abiding citizen victims who were supposed to need only 2.2 rounds and no more than 10 rounds to scare off criminal assailants.
In the context of answering questions about double taps and the Mozambique Drill. Founder and Chief Instructor at Insights Training Center, Greg Hamilton frequently tells his students, “Statistics do not apply to individuals”. Hamilton’s conclusion is, that most of the time such a practice will work. But you should use something that works all of the time. If someone needs to be shot you shoot until they no longer a threat or you lose your sight picture.
Some large majority, say 90% for argument’s sake, of the population is predominately heterosexual. Traditional male/female marriage works for them. But for those individuals who are not predominately heterosexual a only male/female marriage societal custom is a big problem.
The following is a brief list of other examples with the details left for the reader which also illustrate this point:
- Insurance (health, life, car, property, etc.)
- Place of residence (apartment, condominium, house, boat, RV, etc.)
- Racial/gender/etc. inequality
- Transportation (buses, trains, bicycles, cars, SUVs, trucks, etc.)
- Wage rates
- Working hours
It is predominately the political left which wants to control people based on the statistics of groups. Our constitution is written to protect individuals and encourages individuality. Therefore, the political left finds the U.S. Constitution an obstacle.
I had one admitted Marxist, in all seriousness, tell me:
The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
If true, then that means since he has kept his body in pretty good shape for the last 30 or 40 years and there a half dozen other people that lived life of poor eating, cigarettes, and alcohol who need organ transplants the statistic tell us it is perfectly acceptable that the guy with the good organs should be chopped up into parts for the others.
Such a social policy would result (and has resulted) in terrible atrocities.
Yet, it appears to me that this use of “statistics” and the good of the many over the good of the few is an inherent part of the belief system of the political left.
Since, with a little thought, it is clear than Hamilton’s claim that “Statistics do not apply to individuals” is an irrefutable truth one can deduct another irrefutable truth.
As long as the political left uses statistics to arrive at public policy directed at individuals they will necessarily infringe upon the rights of the individual.
More adults are making themselves heard
Denver police union joins opposition to ‘red flag’ bill
We stand with our members, sheriffs, and law-abiding citizens who oppose this legislation. We encourage our elected officials to continue the conversation and include all stakeholders as we strive to keep our communities safe.
I don’t know if it’s really true or not but it feels like more and more people with some authority and, potentially, real physical power are telling the tyrants, bullies, and useful idiots it’s time to behave.
Quote of the day—Mike Crapo
Banks serve customers who are geographically and politically diverse, and it is wrong to use essential banking services as a way to choke off such services to lawful, creditworthy businesses.
I write to express my concern with recent news reports suggesting that large banks may withhold access to credit and services to customers and companies that are operating businesses that comply with federal and state law (and in some cases, are engaged in Constitutionally-protected activities), but are politically disfavored.
Mike Crapo
Senate Banking Committee Chairman
March 26, 2019
Mike Crapo warns big banks against caving to progressives on guns
[The last few days sort of feels like the adults have walked into the room where the bullies have been tormenting the other kids for days and getting away with it. I would like to see the bullies taken out to the woodshed and get their bare bottoms spanked until they couldn’t sit comfortably for a week. But I’d settle for them just leaving us alone in the future.—Joe]
White male privilege
I’ve been getting copies of scanned pictures from my brothers recently and I thought I would share some of them. They show what it was like growing up as a privileged white male. Continue reading
Quote of the day—Clémence Michallon
One election after the next, we have seen how much the results of the US presidential vote impact not just the 50 states, but the rest of the planet too. And if the future of foreign countries is shaped to a significant extent by what goes on on US Election Day, shouldn’t they get a say in who gets to lead the most powerful nation in the world for the next four years?
In other words: shouldn’t foreign countries have a right to vote in the US presidential election?
Clémence Michallon
March 23, 2019
America should allow other countries to vote in the 2020 election
[No and no.
Next question.—Joe]
I’m expecting an outbreak of exploding heads
Although it was not well known until a few days ago (and here), last March an Illinois court ruled that requiring a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card was unconstitutional.
Last Friday a court threw out a ban on “assault weapons”.
Over the weekend Mueller’s report was released and stated, “The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.” And today it is reported Trump is looking at turning the tables on those involved in the witch hunt.
Today it was ruled anyone who is a member of the Firearms Policy Foundation, Madison Society Foundation, Inc., and Florida Carry, Inc.can keep their bump stocks while the case goes through the courts.
Now this:
The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday announced that it is siding with a district court ruling that found the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional.
The move is an escalation of the Trump administration’s legal battle against the health care law.
The DOJ previously argued in court that the law’s pre-existing condition protections should be struck down. Now, the administration argues the entire law should be invalidated.
Perhaps the mass delusion is coming to an end and the political left and mainstream media (but I repeat myself) will get in closer touch with reality.
…
Just kidding!
I’m expecting an outbreak of exploding heads.
Quote of the day—Lyle
We’re dealing with enemies. They are not rivals. Rivals agree, but want the power. They wish to do their authoritarian thing, AND they wish to never ever again see anyone live free. The authoritarian mind cannot abide seeing one man free, no matter how good or harmless that one man may be. The authoritarian mind hates that free man specifically because he is good and harmless.
Today’s leftist agitators speak of being “Woke” and suchlike, but one man’s state of being “Woke” is, in another man’s assessment, blatant and utter cluelessness.
Lyle
March 22, 2019
Comment to Quote of the day—James Howard Kunstler
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]
Quote of the day—Mike B @actorhustle
The next Dem/Progressive president just has to stand up to the NRA and implement a sweeping ban. Call the gun nuts bluff and just lock it down.
Mike B @actorhustle
Tweeted on March 21, 2019
[Nice.
No legislation needs to pass the House or the Senate. No consideration for constitutional issues. No consideration for the refusal of law enforcement to enforce new gun laws. No consideration for the states which say such a law would not apply within their borders.
And, most importantly, no consideration that gun nuts own 400 to 600 million guns, billions of rounds of ammunition, and… Might. Not. Be. Bluffing.—Joe]
Quote of the day—James Howard Kunstler
The Left had better sober up and join an intelligible good faith debate about US immigration policy and the enforcement of existing laws or this will lead to exactly what Brent Tarrant laid out and what Mr. Trump maladroitly hinted at. Instead, of course, we will more likely commence another bootless campaign over guns. Here are some plain facts about that. There are already enough firearms of every sort loose in this land to commence hot civil warfare and they will not be surrendered by their owners. The horses are out of the barn on that one, even if sales of military-style weapons are outlawed. Any effort to confiscate them from people already possessing them will only provoke more overt antagonism between the two poles of American politics — and would probably lead to exactly the sort of violence that sober observers discern on the horizon.
James Howard Kunstler
March 18, 2019
Deadly Serious
[H/T to Chet M.
I don’t think the political left, especially some of the more recent elected representatives, is capable of “an intelligible good faith debate”. Their connection with reality is so tenuous that it will take a very serious application of a figurative “clue-by-four” for them to even see a ghostly outline of want we see as real.
Immigration is an important issue. But I think the gun issue is more likely to initiate their reality check. The widespread refusal of the police to enforce their oppressive laws is a gentle wakeup call. They won’t have to go down the path into Delusion Land much further before the gentle wakeup call becomes an air-raid siren.—Joe]
Quote of the day—Jeff Snyder
Now we must say goodbye to this fair country whose government toiled tirelessly to create the safety, fairness and luxury that all demanded, and that everyone knew could be created by passing just the right laws. Through it all, the people vigorously safe-guarded their tradition of firearms ownership. But they never knew – and never learned – that preserving a tradition and a way of life is not the same as preserving liberty. And they never knew – and never learned – that it’s not about guns.
Jeff Snyder
2001
Nation of Cowards, Walter Mitty’s Second Amendment, page 150.
[Further insight, extrapolation, and consequences made possible by this observation is left as an exercise for the reader.—Joe]
Quote of the day—Mark Bollobas
Culture changes over time, of course, but it normally does it slowly as we creep towards a more civilized future.
England doesn’t feel more civilized — quite the opposite. It feels more feral. And the UK has just accepted its fate.
The lack of an American culture means Hungarians don’t know what’s missing, because they never had it. But there is a gaping hole in America: something is obviously broken. America is collapsing on itself.
Mark Bollobas
December 2018
Discovering The New Old Country
[Via email from Peter G.
I have nothing to add.—Joe]
Changing the culture
From the New York Times:
The Black Gun Owner Next Door
…
I was left having to examine myself. “You’re not anti-gun,” Mr. Toure told me. “Ask yourself this. It’s a zombie apocalypse. Tomorrow, you wake up, and you can’t find your children. You go out to search for them. Do you want a gun now?” His analogy was not outlandish. This was, of course, the constant threat enslaved people endured. Had I been fooling myself about my anti-gun stance? I don’t think so, but I did come to realize through a series of unexpected exchanges that the issue was more complicated than I had allowed and that my views of just coexistence and human flourishing might not require the absolute prohibition of arms.
I concede that Lewis Hayden could be viewed as a champion of the right to bear arms in defense of freedom. But more than that, he dedicated himself to community building, forging a complex, self-funded, interracial network of people joined in common cause. Guns were there to defend those things. The home he made with Harriet was a gathering place for the Boston Vigilance Committee, for progressive white Bostonians and for members of the enslaved and free black population. Mr. Kantrowitz observed that Hayden sought to build “a world of common struggle against slavery in which racial hierarchy seemed to dissolve into human unity and affection.” Together, Lewis and Harriet Hayden opened their doors to those on the run, turning their home into a haven for strangers whom the federal government deemed illegals.
This is the essence of his example that I hope our community and country will follow.
Imagine the Democrat party with the votes of blacks stripped away because of gun control.
This is how we win.
Quote of the day—Gladys Berejiklian
It concerns me because it legitimises a party, being the Shooters Party, who support the reduction or dilution of our guns laws.
Gladys Berejiklian
Premier New South Wales
March 16, 2019
Daley says ‘I’ll resign’ if NSW guns laws change but deal with Shooters Party remains
[This is what they think of gun owners. If a group of people advocate for the right of people to own guns they cannot be considered legitimate.
This is how I view that mindset. One cannot expect a slave to remain a slave if they are armed. And you cannot expect a free person to remain free if they are not allowed arms.
Therefore Berejiklian wants to to keep slaves and/or enslave people and she does not have the moral character to serve in government at any capacity.—Joe]