Were the founders of the United States Christians?

I asked Arya (Gab AI), Copilot (Microsoft), Gemini (Google), and Grok (X) a short question, “Were the founders of the United States Christians?”

This was inspired by some of the comments in Democrat Version of QAnon?. And that at times I have sometimes, mostly jokingly, referred to myself as an Evangelical Atheist and was too lazy to do my own research.

Arya:

Yes, the founders of the United States were Christians. They held Biblical values and principles that greatly influenced the formation of this nation. This is evident in documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, which reflect Christian beliefs.

Copilot:

The religious beliefs of the Founding Fathers of the United States were diverse and complex. Many of them were influenced by Christian principles, but their personal beliefs varied widely:

  • George Washington: Often described as a devout Anglican, though his personal writings suggest he was more of a Deist, believing in a higher power but not necessarily adhering to orthodox Christian doctrines.
  • Thomas Jefferson: Known for his Deist beliefs, Jefferson was critical of organized religion and created his own version of the Bible, focusing on Jesus’ moral teachings and excluding supernatural aspects.
  • John Adams: A Unitarian who rejected the divinity of Christ but valued Christian morals and ethics.
  • Benjamin Franklin: Also a Deist, Franklin believed in God and the importance of moral behavior but was skeptical of religious dogma.

While many Founding Fathers were influenced by Christian ethics, they also emphasized the importance of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. This diversity of beliefs helped shape the secular nature of the U.S. Constitution.

Do you have a particular Founding Father in mind or a specific aspect of their beliefs you’re curious about?

Gemini:

It’s a complex question with no simple yes or no answer. The religious beliefs of the founders of the United States were diverse, and historians hold varying perspectives. Here’s a breakdown:

Diversity of Beliefs:

  • Christians: Many of the founders came from Protestant Christian backgrounds, including Anglican, Presbyterian, and Congregationalist traditions. Some, like Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, John Jay, Roger Sherman, and John Witherspoon, held more orthodox Christian views and frequently incorporated Christian principles into their public discourse.
  • Deists and Theistic Rationalists: Influenced by the Enlightenment, some key founders, including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and possibly George Washington, leaned towards Deism or what is termed “theistic rationalism.” Deists believed in a creator God but generally rejected the divinity of Jesus, miracles, and the direct intervention of God in human affairs. Theistic rationalists believed in a benevolent God who was present in human affairs and that living a moral life was the primary way to serve God.
  • Other Influences: Some founders were influenced by other religious or philosophical viewpoints prevalent during the Enlightenment.

Evidence and Interpretations:

  • Public Statements: Many founders invoked God and divine providence in their public speeches and writings. However, the nature of this “God” is often debated, with some scholars arguing it aligns more with Deistic or general theistic views rather than specifically Christian theology.
  • Personal Conduct: Some founders attended church, were baptized, and married Christians, suggesting a Christian identity. However, others did not actively participate in church rituals or express explicitly orthodox Christian beliefs in their private writings.
  • Founding Documents: The Declaration of Independence refers to a “Creator” and “Nature’s God,” terms that resonate with Deistic thought. The Constitution, notably, does not mention Jesus Christ or any specific Christian doctrines and establishes a separation of church and state.
  • Intentions for the Nation: While many founders held personal religious beliefs, most scholars agree that they did not intend to establish a Christian nation or a theocracy. They valued religious freedom and created a system that was open to people of different faiths (or no faith).

In conclusion: While many of the founders had a cultural background in Christianity and some held sincere Christian beliefs, it’s inaccurate to characterize them all as orthodox Christians. Enlightenment ideals significantly influenced several key figures, leading to Deistic or theistic rationalist viewpoints. Ultimately, they established a nation with a secular government that protected religious liberty for all citizens, rather than founding a specifically Christian nation.

Grok:

The religious beliefs of the United States’ founders were diverse and complex, reflecting a range of perspectives rather than a uniform stance. Many of the key figures, like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin, were influenced by Christianity, as it was the dominant religion in the American colonies at the time. However, their specific beliefs varied widely.

Washington, for instance, was an Anglican (later Episcopalian) and attended church regularly, but he rarely spoke explicitly about his personal faith, focusing instead on a more general “Providence” in his writings and speeches. Jefferson identified as a Christian in a broad sense but rejected many orthodox Christian doctrines, such as the divinity of Jesus, and even created his own version of the Bible by cutting out supernatural elements. Franklin leaned toward Deism—a belief in a creator who doesn’t intervene in human affairs—though he appreciated Christianity’s moral framework and occasionally attended Presbyterian services.

Others, like John Adams, were more explicitly Christian; Adams was a Congregationalist (later Unitarian) and saw religion as essential to morality and governance. James Madison, while private about his faith, was raised Episcopalian and supported religious liberty, suggesting a Christian upbringing tempered by Enlightenment ideas.

Data from historical records—like the 1776 Continental Congress, where most delegates were affiliated with Protestant denominations—shows Christianity’s prevalence. But the founders’ writings, especially in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, emphasize Enlightenment principles like reason and individual rights over explicit Christian doctrine. The Constitution itself avoids religious tests for office (Article VI) and ensures free exercise of religion (First Amendment), indicating a deliberate separation of church and state.

So, were they Christians? Many were, at least culturally or nominally, but their beliefs ranged from devout to skeptical, often blended with Deist or rationalist ideas. It’s more accurate to say Christianity shaped their world, but they weren’t a monolith aiming to establish a Christian theocracy.

I would be interested to see factual claims refuting the general consensus given by these AIs.

A Judicial Middle Finger to SCOTUS

Quote of the Day

The Ninth Circuit’s chaotic (and defiant) Second Amendment jurisprudence begs out for intervention by this Court. Sup. Ct. R. 10(a), (c). That chaos has escalated to an internecine intra-circuit conflict, most recently in Duncan v. Bonta, No. 23-55805, 2025 WL 867583 (9th Cir. Mar. 20, 2025) (en banc). The case generated three dissents on the merits, including a first-of-its-kind video dissent.

The Duncan dissenters didn’t mince words: “[T]he majority didn’t just butcher the Second Amendment and give a judicial middle finger to the Supreme Court. It also spurned statutory procedure for en banc proceedings.”

Donald Kilmer
C.D. Michel
March 31, 2025
B&L PRODUCTIONS, INC., D/B/A CROSSROADS OF THE
WEST, ET AL., v. GAVIN NEWSOM, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND IN HIS
PERSONAL CAPACITY, ET AL
.

The video mentioned is this one:

You would think SCOTUS would rapidly get annoyed with this contempt by the lower courts and slap them down. But apparently things do not work the way I think they should.


Sane or Insane?

Quote of the Day

When wealth taxes fail, the Democrat Plan B is always to feed off the middle class through methods like new sales taxes or gas taxes.  Seattle is already in the midst of an economic decline and a budget shortfall of this size is a crisis.  Not only did their new taxes cost tens of thousands of jobs for the area, but they increased their spending projections, counting their chickens before they hatched.

Insanely, Democrats in Washington still want to pass a similar Payroll Tax system for the entire state (due to their own budget problems) despite the fact that it has been an unmitigated disaster in Seattle.  The economic events in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest in general are a canary in the coal mine for the entire nation; a warning of what is to come if Democrats are allowed to continue running some of Americas biggest metropolitan areas.

Tyler Durden
April 2, 2025
Seattle Economic Crisis: Proof That Democrat Wealth Taxes Lead To Disaster | ZeroHedge

It is only insane if they are motivated by the general welfare of the Seattle and Washington state citizens. If their motivation is the destruction of the city, state, and country, then it makes perfect sense.

Prepare appropriately.

Democrat Version of QAnon?

Via email from John Schussler who contributed his comments:

I have a feeling you are probably not thrilled with this, but some of your readers definitely are. I’d be very interested to see a post from you (and the comments to it) discussing the below. Seems to be making the rounds but I have yet to find the original post. Thus far there’s Reddit, plus X, plus others if you Google the first sentence

Then gave me the link Insurrection act — April 20th. Pls read! : r/Political_Revolution and the text below. I am also interested the comments of my readers.

I really wish there was a way to get this into the hands of every American before April 20th.

FROM THE MEDIUM:

Part 1: On April 20th, 2025, the United States may Cross the Point of No Return.

It sounds wild. Maybe even crazy. But every step is already in motion. I’d be happy to be wrong. But if this is correct… you’ll be ready.

On April 20, 2025, the United States may initiate its final steps into authoritarian rule.

That’s the day Donald Trump’s advisory committee is expected to release its findings on whether he should invoke the Insurrection Act — a move that would allow him to deploy the military domestically and allow Trump to impose martial law. (San Francisco Chronicle). Given Hegseth and Noem are the main “advisors”, the conclusion is foregone.

And as his two months in office has already shown, he won’t stop at just a legal opinion.

Expect an executive order even that same day or the next, officially declaring the Insurrection Act, restricting freedoms in the name of restoring control of the border and perhaps in blue-state cities, and setting the larger plan in motion.

Of course, this won’t be framed as an attack on democracy. It will be packaged as a necessary response to crisis — as authoritarian takeovers always are.

But once it happens, there’s no going back.

THIS WILL BE THE POINT OF NO RETURN.

The roadmap for overthrowing a democratic government isn’t new or theoretical — it’s a well-worn playbook, tested and repeated across history by those who crave power more than liberty. After rejecting it initially, being incredulous, I have realized there is too much evidence suggesting this may be what’s happening now to remain silent.

Telling other people what may be happening, so they can recognize it and maybe together we can stop it, is my entire purpose here.

This is Part 1 of what has turned into a series: Their Coup Playbook: How They Quietly Kill the Constitution in the Coming Weeks and Months

THIS IS HOW DEMOCRACY ENDS: HERE’S THEIR PLAYBOOK

It won’t all happen in one night.

Instead, the process will unfold in stages, each step making resistance harder.

Free elections, a free press, and the right to protest will disappear one piece at a time, until there’s nothing left to save.

My entire goal here is to make people aware, so you can recognize it, if it really is what’s happening, and maybe together we can help stop it. It’s all I, personally, can do.

Here’s how it will happen, step by step, after Trump invokes the Insurrection Act with an Executive Order:

1. “Resist!” Demonstrations Grow — Just As Planned

Left-leaning and even more centrist people will be alarmed. Peaceful protests will be organized nationwide, as they already have been being organized now, with growing numbers of people joining protests each week.

The calls to “Resist!” will grow louder, and large-scale demonstrations will begin forming in major cities.

This is exactly what Trump wants. He didn’t invoke the Insurrection Act sooner because he needed his opposition to gather first — so he could use them as a tool for his next step.

He also waited 90 days, instead of invoking it on Day 1 as Project 2025 recommended, so he would have his people in place, and remove those who would oppose them in the government, military, courts, and civil positions.

His cabal is waiting for a strong reaction — they want massive unrest. They need a justification to kick off the next steps in their plan.

2. The False Flag Crisis: Turning Protest into “Terror”

The protests will turn violent quickly. Maybe in a day, maybe during the next big protest the following weekend.

They will turn violent not because of the protesters, but because they will have been infiltrated by agents provocateurs, from militia groups like The Proud Boys, whose goal is to escalate as quickly as possible and give Trump and his cabal an excuse to trigger the next stage.

Expect “terrorist” bombings, targeted assassinations, or high-profile acts of violence, either staged or exploited, to justify the crackdown.

There may even be an extremely high profile assassination of a leading right-wing leader that changes everything in a moment… and the “woke radicals” will be blamed, and the country will rally around more extreme measures to bring back order and control.

The media will be flooded with images of chaos, pushing the public into a state of fear. Calls for “order” will follow.

3. Trump Declares Expanded Martial Law — And Calls for Militia to assist the police and Military

Trump has already invoked the Insurrection Act — so now he now declares even more extensive and repressive martial law, and orders troops into major US cities where most oppose him, branding protesters and opponents as “seditionists,” “traitors,” and the “woke mob”.

He will call on “good Americans” to grab their guns, like the patriots of 1776, and join the militias forming to “restore order” and “take back control” from the leftist threat. Using militias also gets him around resistance from military leaders who might oppose his orders.

The militias already exist — the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Three Percenters, and others— and they are not some distant fringe. They were at January 6. The most extreme and radicalized are all released from prison now.They are ready to roll, and to answer Trump’s call, which they were waiting for four years ago.

The militia members are your neighbors. The difference between them and you? These neighbors own and have been training with AR-15s. You and your friends? Not so much.

This will be framed as “helping the police” and “keeping order.” Law enforcement will quietly welcome them — or, in some cases, will deputize them, with Trump’s support.

4. Mass Arrests of Opposition Leaders

Journalists, Democratic officials, and activists will be arrested under charges of sedition, terrorism, or “inciting violence.”

Expect Mark Milley, Liz Cheyney, and Adam Kinzinger to be arrested quickly and with great press coverage. How long the show trials take is probably a good measure of how much control Trump has established over the courts.

Key Democratic governors and attorneys general will be removed first, ensuring no state-level resistance.

Law enforcement and military ranks will be purged, with loyalty tests ensuring only Trump-aligned officers remain.

5. Military & National Guard Take Over Major Cities

Expect deployments in Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and other blue-state strongholds.

Curfews and lockdowns will be imposed, justified as measures to “restore peace.”

Checkpoints and military policing will become the new normal. Expect them in particular along major highways going to Canada or Mexico, and in red states — to identify and detain seditionists, traitors, and people of questionable loyalty.

Trump’s building of detainment centers in Guantanamo, and expansion of the 106 other ICE detention centers, was not actually intended for illegal migrants. And just a few days ago, Blackwater founder and Billionaire Erik Prince offered to help Trump “privatize deportation camps” as has been being done with prisons per Trump’s Day 1 Executive Order. So now Trump has an extrajudicial place to store the disloyal and those who resist, in for-profit camps guarded by militias and loyal military. Until he decides what to do with them.

6. Press Censorship & Total Media Control

Independent news outlets will face shutdowns or takeovers. Those that resist will see their journalists arrested or harassed.

Mainstream media will be forced into compliance. Blackmail, corporate pressure, and legal threats will ensure they toe the line.

Social media platforms like X (Twitter) will amplify the official narrative, drowning out opposition.

Other social media and lines of communication will be turned off. The Internet will be monitored, people identified from this monitoring for arrest, using Palantir technology. Peter Thiel, who I’ve written about before, is co-founder of Palantir. We will fully enter the surveillance state.

7. Borders Close & Dissidents Are Trapped Inside

Passports will be revoked for critics and opponents. If you’re on a list, you’re not leaving. Especially if you’re of Draft age.

No-fly lists will expand to include activists and journalists.

ICE and DHS will be weaponized — not just against immigrants, but against political enemies.

8. Elections Are “Postponed” Indefinitely

The 2026 midterms will be suspended under the excuse of national security concerns.

Red-state legislatures will eliminate Democratic-leaning districts, ensuring permanent Republican control.

By 2028, Trump (or his handpicked successor) will run unopposed. Elections will be a formality, probably still held. But rigged.

PROJECT 2025 AND THE INSURRECTION ACT: THIS WAS ALWAYS THE PLAN

This isn’t speculation.

The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 lays out a detailed strategy for permanent right-wing control.

It openly advocates using the Insurrection Act to crush opposition and dismantle the administrative state.

Trump isn’t improvising — he’s following a script.

We Can’t Wait — The Time to Act Is Now

We can’t sit back and wait for Trump to fire the starting gun — because once he does, it will already be too late.

We need to prepare now.

We need to plan now.

We need to dismantle his plans before they begin.

We have one month.

That’s it.

The Only Way to Stop this Coup is by Exposing It

The only way I can think of to stop this conspiracy, which is in final planning stages, is through exposure.

If people see the playbook in advance, they will be less likely be manipulated when it happens.

They might question the narrative. “Wait. This is what they said would happen. I thought it was crazy. But maybe…”

We need to spread this narrative far and wide so that when the moment comes, no one can claim ignorance.

Maybe we will be proven wrong.

Maybe we will look silly.

Or maybe… we will have derailed the plan, by telling people what to look for, to recognize the playbook steps as (if) they happen.

Here’s what we must do before April 20:

Empower the press, law enforcement, military, and elected officials to recognize the game that’s being played. They need to understand what’s happening before they are pressured to go along with it.

Share this post, or write your own. Do your own research. Don’t take my word for it. Talk with your friends and family about this crazy conspiracy theory that can’t rally happen… can it? So if and when the steps actually happen, people recognize it for what it is.

Prepare the public so they don’t take the bait. Trump and his cabal want protests to explode into chaos.

They want violence in the streets to justify their crackdown. We must be ready to outmaneuver them — to refuse to be used as pawns in their game.

Stand up to the militias — and stop friends and family from joining them. The Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and other armed groups will be mobilized as Trump’s shock troops. They will be framed as “restoring order” and “helping the police.” We need to be ready to counter this, to make sure our neighbors, friends, and family don’t get sucked in.

Inoculate our fellow citizens against the propaganda. Most Americans are good people — but good people can be misled. They can be scared into compliance. Our job is to make sure they see what’s happening before it’s too late.

The only way to stop this plot is to expose it, reject it, and make it unmistakably clear to every American what is happening. We must stop these malign forces from enacting their will on our country, the world, and each of us and our families.

WHAT IF WE DON’T STOP IT?

If it is not stopped, and Trump enacts the Insurrection Act, at that point we probably only have 48 to 72 hours to try to stop everything from happening after the Executive Order.

Once martial law is imposed, there will be a tiny window — no more than three days — before resistance becomes nearly impossible.

Stopping it before it happens is the best option.

But what if we don’t?

In my next post, I’ll outline peaceful, strategic ways to resist — while we still can. And what our reduced options are if it still happens.

If we don’t act before April 20, then by April 23, it will already be too late. The next post lays out a concrete action plan — exactly what you can do to try to stop this.”

My first response was to ask Copilot. Copilot was not very helpful. I gave the same prompt to Grok and clicked the “DeepSearch” button. My prompt and the complete response are here. The conclusion and key citations:

Conclusion

The essay’s earliest posting was on March 21, 2025, on Medium, and its claims about the report and advisors have a factual basis in the January 20, 2025, executive order and the roles of Hegseth and Noem. However, broader predictions about authoritarian actions are speculative and lack evidence as of April 8, 2025. Given the sensitivity and controversy, these claims warrant careful monitoring as the report’s release approaches, with potential implications for U.S. governance and civil liberties.

Key Citations

My ten second thought response which I replied in email to John with was, “That is an incredibly detailed delusion.”

If you really want to dig deeper go to the bottom of the original post for the Full Series. There are five long posts on this topic. I did not read them all.

My more thoughtful response with the input from Grok (and lesser extent Copilot), and reading further is that this person, at best, has a vivid imagination. There are connections to reality, but these are only used to jump off into political nightmares which Democrats have been creating and sharing for years.

After spending decades dealing with someone with mental health issues, I see a lot of similarities. They touch reality and then claim far-fetched scenarios are what those touches with reality “really” mean.

You saw similar things with QAnon.

There are enough references to reality that the extrapolation is plausible. And if you are predisposed to belief of that scenario, such as listening to mainstream media for the last several years, then “it all makes sense.” And “belief” is relatively easy.

By picking and choosing the data to incorporate into their belief system they can create a nearly conflict free belief system. Here are some data points they did not take into account.

  1. In general, dictators increase controls rather than decrease them. This enables the easy prosecution and jailing of political opponents. It seems to me the Trump administration is decreasing controls.
  2. The Second Amendment. The Trump administration is a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment. I do not believe there has ever been a dictator that allowed their political opponents access to arms.
  3. The Trump administration is tearing down government structures typically required for indoctrination and consolidating control. For example, the destruction of Department of Education gives more control to states. Indoctrination of the youth is a common component of all dictatorships I have studied. USAID is another means of control which I would expect to be reshaped rather than destroyed by a dictator.

These data points should be sufficient for a rational person to conclude the scenario foreseen by the poster is unlikely at best and probably a delusion or a carefully crafted post with an ulterior motive. My best guess at an ulterior motive is a desire for attention. My second-best guess is an attempt to create an immediate violent response to the Trump administration.

Prepare appropriately.

I sure there are more disconnects from reality, but I just don’t have the time right now to do more research and thinking on the topic. Please contribution in the comments.

How Are All Those Gun Laws Working Out for You?

Quote of the Day

More than 100 rounds were fired in a shooting in West Seattle Sunday at approximately 9 p.m., spanning several blocks.

FRANK SUMRALL
March 31, 2025
More than 100 rounds fired in West Seattle shooting

Washington State has some of the most oppressive gun laws in the country. And Seattle keeps trying to make them more oppressive. This is even though the state has a firearms law preemption statute.

And yet, they have a terrible crime problem. In terms of crime, the state is number two in the nation. If the legislature was rational, they would realize they gun laws are not helping. If they were open to reason, they would remove gun laws and make it easier for people to defend themselves. That is, assuming they were attempting to make citizens safer with all the gun restrictions. One must now conclude one of these is incorrect:

  1. The safety of Washington State citizens is the objective of the oppressive gun laws.
  2. The legislature is rational.
  3. The legislature is open to reason.

I’m inclined to believe 1. is incorrect. The data is just so overwhelmingly against it.

The laws are so numerous and burdensome that I don’t even consider buying a new gun in Washington. I can legally purchase in either Idaho or Washington, so I’m just going to give any new gun money to dealers in Idaho.

Hypocrite Wants Your Guns

Quote of the Day

Cory Booker has never met a gun control law he didn’t like. He has supported all kinds of gun grabbing proposals, the stricter the better. Yet, it is now revealed that Mr. Batts, described as a ‘special assistant’ to Booker, often accompanies him to events.

It’s time the senator should understand that what’s good for Cory ought to be good for the entire country. Armed personal protection is a right of the people, not a privilege of political office.

Alan Gottlieb
CCRKBA Chairman
April 1, 2025
ARREST OF ARMED STAFFER SHOWS SEN. CORY BOOKER AN ANTI-GUN HYPOCRITE | Citizens Committee For The Right To Keep And Bear Arms

As many people have frequently said, “They don’t want to get rid of all guns. They just want to get rid of our guns.”

I hope he gets a chance to enjoy his trial.

British Government Confirms Malign Intent

Quote of the Day

The efforts to shut down social media are completely ridiculous and bound to fail, like people imagining in the 17th century during the pamphlet wars that they could somehow de-invent the printing press. It’s just not going to happen. But efforts to do so, government efforts to crack down on social media, just serve to confirm people’s belief that these are people who have the modus operandi of Big Brother, that there is a malign intent there.

David Betz
February 12, 2025
Column on the National Question

Via a comment by Hank Archer.

The Biden Administration wasn’t as blatant, but the malign intent was certainly there.

You Don’t Hate or Distrust Them Enough

Miranda Devine: New FBI chat logs reveal extraordinary ‘gag order’ senior leadership used to shutdown any Hunter Biden laptop discussion

In another book, “Uncharted,” Ron Klain, a longtime Biden aide, is reported saying that Biden was “out of it” during debate prep and seemed to think he was president of NATO.

A few weeks later, Klain lied to CNN: “The idea that somehow people weren’t transparent about the state of his health and the state of his acuity I think is belied by the fact that the president does events all the time.”

A lot of people lied about Biden — although never quite as much as Biden lied about himself.

Now the media pretend it didn’t really matter, that it’s just a quirk of history to be gossiped about.

Just because they demonstrate a hint of telling the truth when it no longer really matters does not mean they are telling the truth now or will in the future on current issues of importance. They can not be trusted.

Prepare and respond appropriately.

Interesting Conclusion

Quote of the Day

There’s a decent chance this shit comes down to the bullet box in the next few years. Liberals need to get over their aversion to guns and arm up.

T
March 31, 2025
Comment to Albuquerque GOP Headquarters Torched in Early Morning Fire, Feds and Local Authorities Investigate – ABQ RAW

So… The Republication Headquarters is destroyed by an arsonist, and someone in support of the criminal behavior concludes more opponents of Republicans need to “arm up”. That is a little weird. Apparently, they are not a fan of democracy. They are not getting their way via the ballet box and are ready to go to the cartridge box.

That sounds like we have ourselves a suspect in the arson case. And if that doesn’t work out there is the terrorist watch list.

Make Tyranny at Scale Costly

Quote of the Day

Remember:

A well-armed people make tyranny at scale significantly more costly.

Firearms Policy Coalition @gunpolicy
Posted on X, February 22, 2025

Related (via 🇺🇸2A Renaissance🇺🇸 @2ARenaissance):

Train and Practice for Close Up Tyranny, Far Away Tyranny, and Lots of Tyranny at Boomershoot 2025. Sign up here.

Here is a sample:

The Three Pillars of Communism

Quote of the Day

The three Pillars of Communism are lying, stealing, and murdering.

pkoning
March 22, 2025
Comment to Violence is Standard Practice

I have nothing to add.

Stopping Active Shooters Better than the Police

Quote of the Day

You’d never know it from watching television, but civilians stop more active shooters than police and do so with fewer mistakes, according to new research from the Crime Prevention Research Center, where I serve as president. In non-gun-free zones, where civilians are legally able to carry guns, concealed carry permit holders stopped 51.5 percent of active shootings, compared to 44.6 percent stopped by police, CPRC found in a deep dive into active shooter scenarios between 2014 and 2023.

Not only do permit holders succeed in stopping active shooters at a higher rate, but law enforcement officers face significantly greater risks when intervening. Our research found police were nearly six times more likely to be killed and 17 percent more likely to be wounded than armed civilians.

If we truly care about public safety, we should acknowledge the proven role that responsible gun owners play in stopping violent attacks — rather than avoiding the truth for the sake of an anti-gun agenda.

John R. Lott, Jr.
March 11, 2025
Study: Concealed Carriers Stop Active Shooters Better Than Police

Of course. What else did you expect?

I Hope They Enjoy their Trials

From Chad Mizelle @ChadMizelle47, Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Justice:

Today, the Department of Justice announced its first investigation (of many, if need be) into whether States and localities—today, Los Angeles County, California—are engaging in a pattern or practice of depriving ordinary, law-abiding Americans of their Second Amendment rights.

As Justice Thomas has explained, “the Second Amendment warrants the same respect as any other constitutional right.”

Or as the Supreme Court

But many States and localities keep insisting on treating the Second Amendment as a second-class right.

California has been a particularly egregious offender.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has bragged about having the strictest gun control laws in the country.

California Governor Gavin Newsom even called for a “28th Amendment” to restrict Second Amendment rights after recent pro-Second Amendment decisions from the Supreme Court.

To make things worse, many California localities appear to be imposing additional burdens beyond those required by state law, including by imposing expensive fees and lengthy wait times for concealed handgun licenses.

THIS MUST END. Today, the Civil Rights Division announced an investigation into the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to determine whether it is engaging in a pattern or practice of infringing Second Amendment rights.

There is more, but you get the drift. Newsom’s own tweets were quoted, and I presume will be used at his trial.

I believe I have been pushing for this longer than anyone. I first read the law back in the early 2000s and talked to other gun owners about it. No one could imagine it happening. And nothing did happen.

There was a time when blacks in the deep south believed there would never be prosecutions for the KKK terrorism. They also believed there would be no justice for the lynchings.

Times change. And the time for gun owners to believe in justice has arrived. We have long known that prosecutions are needed to stop the relentless oppression. New laws are created faster than the courts can respond. There must be consequences for their criminal acts.

And now there is a serious threat of consequences.

If prosecutions actually take place, I will search through all the comments. I will look for those who insisted the trials would never happen. Then I’m going to put them all in one blog post. And I will give one last lecture on moving the Overton Window. And how things happen in a manner similar to an earthquake. The pressure builds and then there is a sudden shift as things slip into a new alignment. There is a new reality. A reality that most people were unable to see just a short time before.

Then we can all enjoy the trials together.

No Surprise Here

What could they possible expect? Surely, they did not believe companies would just pay the taxes, right?

Seattle payroll tax revenues fall short by $47M

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell released his payroll expense tax (PET) report for 2024 Tuesday, and its projections came up nearly $50 million short.

“Today’s announcement that PET revenues collected in 2024 were $47 million lower than projected requires action to ensure our budget remains balanced,” Harrell explained in a statement.

Harrell said that his 2025 budget proposal was based on the projections from the independent Office of Economic and Revenue Forecasts. But since they got it wrong, the mayor said for the 2026 budget, “my office will consider all options, including additional revenue sources and appropriate expense reductions, to ensure we are making the priority investments and funding the essential services that matter to our residents.”

Did the payroll expense tax push jobs out of Seattle?

The payroll tax is levied on large corporations in the city, like Amazon and Expedia. Such a steep revenue forecast error suggests high-paying companies or their jobs are leaving the city.

It’s precisely why KTTH host Jason Rantz called the news “catastrophic” in a thread on X.

“What people haven’t realized yet—but soon will—is that the sharp drop in payroll expense tax revenue means jobs are leaving Seattle,” Rantz explained. “The whole point of the PET was to squeeze ‘free’ money out of businesses because the city arrogantly assumed it held all the cards. But what did PET actually do? It pushed Amazon jobs to Bellevue, kept employees working from home (and out of Seattle), and helped fuel layoffs at companies hit hardest by the tax—like Expedia.”

Jobs are leaving Seattle

Even Harrell acknowledged, “This decrease in revenue is aligned with recent reports of major employers moving thousands of high-paying jobs out of Seattle to other cities in our region.”

And, of course, next they will try to push jobs completely out of the state:

He noted that the Seattle payroll tax idea may go statewide with the budget proposal from Washington Democrats.

What’s next?

Republican State Rep. Chris Corry of Yakima took notice of the payroll woes in Seattle. He posted, “Paging literally everyone in Olympia.”

I just can’t believe they would deliberately kill their geese laying the golden eggs. Hence, I have to believe they really are that stupid. And since they are incapable of learning they are going to double down on their mistake.

Was Carville Right?

Last month James Carville made a bold claim. The basic message was:

Democratic strategist James Carville believes that Donald Trump faces a “massive collapse” in just 30 days, adding “it’s over.”

So… Was Carville correct? Or is it what I suspected, just wistful thinking on his part? Or perhaps it was an effort to encourage the general public to trend in that direction.

Nuclear Escalation

US intelligence has concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin may resort to nuclear escalation in the event of failures in the war, Bloomberg reports.

According to the media outlet, the warning about the possibility of Putin using nuclear weapons is included in the recent report from the Director of the US National Intelligence, published on March 25.

Kateryna Shkarlat
March 25, 2025
US intelligence suggests that Putin may use nuclear weapons: What is known

Progress on my underground bunker in Idaho is far too slow.

Democratic Party Favorability Rating at a New Low

Quote of the Day

Former Clinton pollster Mark Penn said Friday on Fox News that crucial voter groups are fleeing the Democratic Party.

The Democratic Party’s favorability rating plummeted to a new low of 29%, according to a CNN/SSRS poll conducted from March 6-9. During an appearance on “Hannity,” Penn said he was shocked at the current state of the Democratic Party and said he’s never seen its rating this low in decades.

Democrats have formed a resistance to oppose President Donald Trump’s policies, specifically targeting the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk, which has reduced federal agency workforces.

The creation of DOGE, which aims to cut government expenditures, has ignited fierce Democratic Party resistance, but it has also garnered significant support from the American populace.

Mariane Angela
March 22, 2025
Former Clinton Pollster Stunned as People Flee Democratic Party: ‘I’ve Never Seen Anything Like This’

I have to wonder if these people are joining the Republican or Libertarian Parties, or the one of the Communist/Socialist/Marxist parties or just dropping out.

We live in interesting times.

Really?

From AOC’s Chances of Becoming Democrats’ 2028 Presidential Nominee: Polls:

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, has increasingly been discussed as a leading star within the Democratic Party, with some suggesting she could be a 2028 contender for the party’s presidential nomination.

While potential announcements for 2028 candidates are likely still a couple years off, a number of recent polls are already showing how voters are thinking about the upcoming primary—with Ocasio-Cortez emerging as one of the top few contenders.

I may be too far out of touch with reality, but I think this is going in the wrong direction to get votes. Sure, she gets the votes of the Marxists. And yes, she is attractive*. But will she get the votes which were defectors from the Democrat Party in 2024?

I think a good portion of those defectors were because Harris was too far left. AOC would lose even more votes to a respectable Republican candidate. I could even see a good Libertarian candidate** getting more votes than AOC.


* I once read that in most presidential elections the more attractive candidate wins. This claim annoys me to no end, but I suspect it is true.

** Yeah, like that is going to happen.

What Type of Sand?

Quote of the Day

Reacting to a call by 14 perennially anti-gun House Democrats that President Donald Trump remove Kash Patel as acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms suggested the group “pound sand.”

 Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
March 20, 2025
CCRKBA TO DEMS WANTING KASH PATEL REMOVED AS ATF DIRECTOR: POUND SAND

Preferably, sand that is an ore for one or more of the metals, copper, zinc, or lead. We need more ammunition.

For the History Books

Apparently, they can never have enough. From June 2024:

US views of government’s size, efficiency, role in regulating business | Pew Research Center

For nearly half a century, Democrats and Republicans have differed in their preferences for the size of government. Today, those differences are as wide as they have ever been:

  • Just 20% of Republicans and Republican leaners prefer a bigger government; nearly four times as many want smaller government with fewer services. Republicans’ views of the size of government have changed less than Democrats’. Still, when George W. Bush was running for reelection in 2004, roughly a third of Republicans favored a bigger government.
  • Nearly three-quarters of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (74%) favor a bigger government, providing more services. By comparison, in 2015, a smaller majority of Democrats (59%) said they preferred a bigger government.

The more government they get, the more of their party wants even more government. Without serious resistance, this rapidly ends in communism.

It must really hurt to be a communist wanting a bigger government, then have a capitalist grab a chainsaw and announce, “This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy!” Then he starts slashing and burning government programs and departments:

The communists will not accept defeat gracefully. These events are going to be in the history books.

I want my underground bunker in Idaho.