Category Archives: Politics

Quote of the day—George Washington

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Russia did not hack the Democratic party emails.  Instead, an American intelligence whistleblower leaked them.

George Washington
December 12, 2016
Intelligence Officer Who Personally Met the Democratic Email Leaker Confirms Leaker Is with AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE Services
[It’s certainly plausible. American intelligence services have the capability. And that Hillary was so casual and flippant about her blatant security lapses was more than enough motive for everyone I have talked to who spent time in the intelligence community.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Ayn Rand

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Observe the paradoxes built up about capitalism. It has been called a system of selfishness (which, in my sense of the term, it is) — yet it is the only system that drew men to unite on a large scale into great countries, and peacefully to cooperate across national boundaries, while all the collectivist, internationalist, One-World systems are splitting the world into Balkanized tribes.

Capitalism has been called a system of greed — yet it is the system that raised the standard of living of its poorest citizens to heights no collectivist system has ever begun to equal, and no tribal gang can conceive of.

Capitalism has been called nationalistic — yet it is the only system that banished ethnicity, and made it possible, in the United States, for men of various, formerly antagonistic nationalities to live together in peace.

Capitalism has been called cruel — yet it brought such hope, progress and general good will that the young people of today, who have not seen it, find it hard to believe.

As to pride, dignity, self-confidence, self-esteem — these are characteristics that mark a man for martyrdom in a tribal society and under any social system except capitalism.

Ayn Rand
The Voice of Reason
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

Education quirk

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Interesting. Short version: PISA is the “Programme for International Student Assessment”, it tests schools/kids from around the world. 65 nations entered. America ranked 14th in reading, 17th in science and 25th in math. Ouch. Nations that didn’t enter were mostly places like all of sub-Saharan Africa which routinely score badly on such tests; it’s safe to assume the US did better than Haiti, even if they didn’t take the test.

However… Someone looked at how kids performed in each nation by ethnic backgrounds within a country, and compared them across borders (i.e., compare American Chinese to Chinese in China, American whites to whites in Europe, Mexican-Americans to Mexicans in Mexico, etc). Quote:

Asian-Americans outperform all Asian students except for Shanghai-Chinese. White Americans outperform students from all 37 predominantly white nations except Finns, and U.S. Hispanics outperformed the students of all eight Latin American countries that participated in the tests.

African-American kids would have outscored the students of any sub-Saharan African country that took the test (none did) and did outperform the only black country to participate,Trinidad and Tobago, by 25 points.

Huh. That means that one (or both) of these two cherished narratives are false:
(a) American schools are abject failures for the amount of money we spend per student, and spending more money will fix the problem, or
(b) There are no real and significant racial /ethnic /cultural differences, and the low academic scores highly correlated with economic achievement of certain groups is the result of white racism, oppression,  discrimination, etc.

You can lead a horse to water… etc., etc.

You can’t have it both ways with this analysis of the data. Personally, I think we should treat all people as individuals, and do what we can with / for them. Move to an ability-based class-placement system for most things rather than age-based.

It will always be relatively easy

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Sebastian has interesting comments on his site about this video:

See also my blog category of Smart Guns.

People who demand all guns must be “smart” must fall into one or more of the following categories:

  • They are evil and are deliberately attempting to raise the price and restrict the exercise of specific enumerated rights.
  • They have intellectual capacity asymptotically approaching that of a fence post.
  • They believe technology is some sort of magic that can do anything once someone figures out the proper technological incantation. They cannot comprehend there are certain things that are physically, or for all practical purposes, impossible. Engineers/scientists (I have been both) are able to things which is indistinguishable from magic to the general population. This does not mean they do not have very real and impenetrable boundaries they must operate within.

Such people should be politely informed they are wrong, mocked, scorned, and prosecuted. In that order.

Quote of the day—Marchelle Tigner

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It’s important, especially for black women, to learn how to shoot. We need to learn how to defend ourselves.

Marchelle Tigner
July 24, 2017
Black women picking up firearms for self-defense
[The reason given for it being especially important for black women is that black women are more likely to be victims of domestic violence.

This is an AP story and is an extremely important trend:

It’s hard to find definitive statistics on gun ownership, but a study by the Pew Research Center released this month indicated that just 16 percent of “non-white women” identified themselves as gun owners, compared with about 25 percent of white women. Other Pew surveys in recent years have shown a growing acceptance of firearms among African-Americans: In 2012, one found that less than a third of black households viewed gun ownership as positive; three years later, that number had jumped. By then, 59 percent of black families saw owning guns as a necessity.

If the advocates for gun rights get the African-Americans on board we will politically crush the anti-gun advocates.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Andrew Mark Miller

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Sadly, liberals don’t care about stopping violent crime.  They care about their own rabid ideology.

One of many examples where liberals are actually hurting the people they think they are protecting with their reckless ideas.

Andrew Mark Miller
July 20, 2017
Gun Control Study: Carry Permits Up 190%, Violent Crime Down 18%
[Perhaps the masses of “useful idiot” progressives think they are “protecting” people. At the top levels they know better. They are in it for the power. Guns and the truth are power. Stalin knew this and knew the masses must not have guns or ideas of their own. The high level progressives know this too. The data is so overwhelming that have to know it. That they say things like “fake but accurate” with complete sincerity and even after getting caught can’t understand why they should get fired or even apologize is proof they care far more about their rabid ideology and power than the truth and what is best for the people in general.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Vicious Deplorable dollop

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The United States is the safest place in the world, as long as you stay away from democrats.

democrats commit 75% or more of the murders every year.

democrats commit 95% or more of the mass killings every year.

The United States has a democrat problem.

Vicious Deplorable dollop
July 10, 2017
Comment to Gun control works. All the western countries that have gun control have lower murder rates
[The statements of facts are plausible but citations are needed.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Dana Loesch

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Only people with a predilection for violence would mistake a condemnation of violence as a ‘call to violence.’

Dana Loesch
July 3, 2017
A gun-control group’s cheery response to the NRA’s ‘dystopian’ recruitment ad
[It’s not a “mistake”. It’s rules #1 (lying) and #3 (projection) in SJWs Always Lie.

In the last few months the political left has caused a million dollars of damage in just Portland alone and openly saying (emphasis added):

We are committed to the idea that people in our community should be able to participate in resisting this bigotry in whatever capacity they find appropriate. For this reason, we have chosen to make the primary focus of the event a rally at a separate location that is adjacent to the Alt Right rally.

We are unapologetic about the reality that fighting fascism at points requires physical militancy.

…we are not opposed to the tactic of property destruction…

In Baltimore, 2015, damages were estimated at nearly $13 million. In Ferguson the costs of the riots were in the tens of millions. And millions more in physical damage.

Then, last month, someone from the political left shot Republican Congressmen at a baseball game.

And the political left has a “cheery response” to Loesch’s “dystopian” video expressing concern about the violent left?

The only reason they are “cheery” is because they are getting away with their criminal behavior.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Mark Prichard

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You know how liberals are going to solve the Republican problem? … They are going to get better aim. That last guy tried, but he needed better aim. We will get better aim.

Mark Prichard
July 6, 2017
Police arrest man for allegedly threatening Sen. Flake’s staff
[“The Republican problem”?

Hmmm… I see.

As always, liberals channel Trotsky and think like Goebbels.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Mac Slavo

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There’s no evidence to suggest that magazine capacity laws are in any way constitutional, nor is there any proof that they would actually reduce gun violence. In fact, anyone with any firearm expertise can prove that magazine capacity limits are no barrier for a criminal or mass shooter.

But that doesn’t matter to liberals like Xavier Becerra. He has his agenda, and he thinks the “will of California voters” trumps the fundamental rights of every resident in his state. Thank god we don’t live in a pure democracy, or we would have lost all of our rights long ago.

Mac Slavo
July 5, 2017
Federal Judge Blocks California Magazine Confiscation Law: “The Constitution Is A Shield From The Tyranny Of The Majority”
[See also Sherriff’s demo of how magazine size makes very little difference:

Go to 9:35 of the video to see the myth of shooter being tacked during a magazine change be busted.

It’s not about safety. It’s about control.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Jeff Snyder

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It is impossible to address the problem of rampant crime without talking about the moral responsibility of the intended victim. Crime is rampant because the law-abiding, each of us, condone it, excuse it, permit it, submit to it. We permit and encourage it because we do not fight back, immediately, then and there, where it happens. Crime is not rampant because we do not have enough prisons, because judges and prosecutors are too soft, because the police are hamstrung with absurd technicalities. The defect is there, in our character. We are a nation of cowards and shirkers.

Jeff Snyder
2001
Nation of Cowards page 17
[This essay was originally published in 1993 by The Public Interest.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Colion Noir

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Gun control is what you talk about when you don’t want to talk about the truth.

Colion Noir
June 16, 2017
NRATV
[This video also has Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) saying “We lose 93 million Americans a day to gun violence.” which I blogged about a couple weeks ago.

After explaining the 93 people per day includes self-defense shootings and suicides Colion concludes, “This should tell you everything you need to know about their integrity. Yes. Yes it does.—Joe]

Are you tired of winning yet?

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Another win for the Second Amendment:

Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) today applauded the unanimous repeal of Tacoma Washington’s ban on the sale, use, and possession of electronic arms.

Attorneys for FPC sent a letter to the Tacoma City Council on April 10, which warned that the group was ready and willing to sue based on solid case law if the city refused to repeal the ban.

Said FPC attorney Stephen Stambouleih, “As the Supreme Court noted in Caetano v. Massachusetts it “has held that ‘the Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding.’”

There is a LOT more to do but having easy wins is a moral booster for us, demoralizes the freedom haters, and builds momentum.

Quote of the day—Calimero

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Contrast between freedom-hating decrepit Western Europe and Eastern Europe is glaring. Eastern Europe still has vivid memories from what’s down the statist road.

This should be a warning to US gun owners. You’ve scored major victories through hard work, but freedom haters will always come back. Defend the culture (take non gun owners to the range, esp. in restrictive states) so that gun ownership becomes and stays mainstream.

Calimero
December 28, 2016
Comment to Courage
[Calimero lives in France.

There is another comment along the same lines from March 14, 2017:

There’s a strong divide, shown in today’s vote at the EU Parliament, between Western Europe and Eastern Europe.

Eastern Europe still has vivid memories from Soviet rule, while Western Europe is oblivious to (or downright embraces) the shift to leftism/statism. One may argue Western Europe never was all that much into individual rights.

Eastern Euros still have that yearning for freedom. And the West essentially fucked them over today.

I hope the Czech will be able to mitigate the effects of the updated EU firearms directive. Poland, Hungary aren’t really all that hot for gun control either.

France, UK, Germany, Holland all screwed the pooch.

Take a new shooter to the range. It’s a good first step down a slippery slope to a desire for individual freedom in general.—Joe]

Reasons to Vote for Democrats: A Comprehensive Guide

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I don’t usually do book reviews but I got this one as a Father’s Day gift and was encouraged to blog about. The book is just so spot on that I agreed. The book is Reasons to Vote for Democrats: A Comprehensive Guide.

As I opened the package Jaime watched me closely with a slight smirk mostly hidden. I cautiously turned the book over and read the back cover:

“Thorough.” (Ben Shapiro, New York Times bestselling author of Bullies)

“Michael Knowles perfectly documents what’s inside the minds of Democrats. A real page-turner!” (Michelle Malkin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Sold Out)

“I read it twice!” (Dennis Prager, New York Times bestselling author of The Ten Commandments)

“Brilliantly argued! You will not find a more enlightened defense of liberalism. Ever.” (Jason Mattera, New York Times bestselling author of Obama Zombies)

“Insightful, yet remarkably easy reading!” (Guy Benson, bestselling author of End of Discussion)

“The most efficient way to learn about the issues that Democrats really care about. This is a must read.” (Katie Pavlich, New York Times bestselling author of Assault and Flattery)

“The reasons to vote for Democrats can be subtle and complex, but Knowles boils them down to their essence.” (Andrew Klavan, New York Times bestselling author of The Great Good Thing)

Okay…. I know of and respect the opinions of some of these people and told Jaime as much. She told me she thought about getting the Audible version but was concerned a lot of the impact of the book would be lost. Her anticipation could barely be contained. I let the pages ripple past my thumb scanning for tables and graphics. There were none.

I burst into laughter and laughed until my stomach hurt and I was wiping tears from my eyes.

It’s a really, really good book. It has 245 pages, an extensive bibliography, and includes chapters on:

  1. Economics
  2. Foreign Policy
  3. Civil Rights
  4. Education
  5. Homeland Security
  6. Energy
  7. Jobs
  8. Crime
  9. Immigration
  10. Values and Principles

Read the reviews on Amazon.

Quote of the day—Daniel Greenfield

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The ritual is tribal. A lefty dons the mock wig of the hated enemy and is ritually humiliated for the entertainment of the tribes of Manhattan, Berkeley and Marin County. The foe is destroyed in effigy. The video of his destruction is virally spread with titles such as, “Saturday Night Live Destroys Trump”.

And yet Trump, like all the other viral subjects of destruction, is never destroyed. The tribal ritual lets lefties vent their anger on a totem that, unlike Trump, can actually be destroyed by liberal laughter.

Satire isn’t trying to save the Republic. It isn’t stopping Trump. It’s saving the left.

Daniel Greenfield
May 2017
The War of Two Americas
[Via Robert J. Avrech and email from Paul Koning.

Read the whole thing. I alternated between seeing it as a nearly unbelievable conspiracy theory and brilliant insight. Perhaps it is both.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Chelsey Gentry-Tipton

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Watching the congressman crying on live tv abt the trauma they experienced. Y is this so funny tho?

…

The very people that push pro NRA legislation in efforts to pad their pockets with complete disregard for human life. Yeah, having a hard time feeling bad for them.

Chelsey Gentry-Tipton
Nebraska Democratic Party Black Caucus Chair
June, 2017
Via Omaha World-Herald
[This is what they think of you.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Michael Tomasky

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Now, the next eight times some right-wing nut goes on a shooting spree, they’ll have “but James Hodgkinson!” at the ready.

So be it. I abhor this shooting, and I abhor all such shootings. And while I would agree that it was a damn good thing that the police were there, I would not agree that that just proves that more people should have guns so that more Hodgkinsons can be stopped before inflicting the maximum damage. Teachers and regular citizens aren’t cops. They don’t do repeated drills on taking down perps, and they shouldn’t.

Michael Tomasky
June 15, 2017
One Left-Wing Gunman Doesn’t Make a Movement
[I found it very telling that he went through a long list of political assassinations. He correctly labeled almost all the assassins as left-wing. He exempts John Wilkes Booth from the left-wing label even though he almost for certain was a Democrat and murdered a Republican. Not one of the assassins listed is “right-wing”, and I can’t think of any of the many mass shooters in our country one could call “right-wing”. In fact they almost all clearly identify as Democrat with some being apolitical.

Tomasky then predicts something about “the next eight times some right-wing nut goes on a shooting spree”… Well, if past performance is an indicator of future results then there will be about 500 left-wing mass shooters before we get eight right-wing shooters. And this doesn’t even get into the leftist governments who were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of millions of people in the 20th century.

It’s true, teachers and regular citizens aren’t cops. But it is clearly false that we don’t do repeated drills shooting bad guys. There were 90 people doing essentially that at the match I was at last Sunday (I came in 9th out of 24 in my division). And the weekend before there were 26 people doing at the match I participated in (I came in 1st out of 10). Every weekend and many week days there are matches in my area where hundreds of people practice shooting bad guys. Some of us are very, very good at this.

So, why does he claim we shouldn’t be doing this? The only reason I can think of is that he wants us to feel, and be, defenseless against both the left-wing individuals and the left-wing governments.

At one level it amuses me to see someone relate a large body of substantially correct data and then have that person arrive at a conclusion completely at odds with their own data. But on another level it’s a very sad commentary on the irrationality of the ordinary human.—Joe]

Gun cartoon of the day

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Via email from Oleg Volk we have this:

tumblr_obl7w1BcMI1rpw0zao1_1280

It’s a twofer! Markley’s Law and advocating violence against political opponents of the left.

It’s very telling that we have SCOTUS decisions and they have childish insults and advocates for violence.

Quote of the day—Chris Collins

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Capitol Police officers were heroes last week — their bravery and quick thinking probably saved the lives of Rep. Scalise and my other colleagues — but self-defense is my responsibility, too.

As Americans in my district and across the country know well, responsible, legal gun owners have every right to protect themselves, and that applies to members of Congress as well. I’ve worked to make sure these core values, preserved in the Constitution, are upheld. For my own protection, and for the protection of those around me, I’m putting these values into practice. Now, more than ever, I truly believe that the best place to be, during a terrible episode like the one in Alexandria, is next to a good guy with a gun.

Chris Collins
June 19, 2017
I’m a member of Congress. I’m going to start carrying a gun.
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]