Global War Over 2+2=4

Quote of the Day

One day, in the near future, a global war break out will with every human on the planet participating.

On one side, their banners will proclaim the war cry, “2+2=4”.

On the other side, their rainbow banners will state, “That’s racist!”

Alice Smith (@TheAliceSmith)
Tweeted on March 29, 2022

While I think this is overstated to make the point, I do think it has more than a little truth in it. And that is very depressing. It is between the sane and insane. It is war about reality and delusions.

Did Isreal Use a Nuclear Weapon In Syria?

Quote of the Day

In a step that has shocked the entire world, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) carried out an airstrike on the weapons depot in Tartus, Syria on 16 December 2024. Through the massive strike, Israel reportedly destroyed the Scud missile facility located in Syria. However, reports are speculating that the damage caused by the strike was more serious and a small nuclear weapon might have been used by Israel. 

Reports have added that the European Union’s Radioactive Environmental Monitoring found that the amount of radiation increased in Turkey and Cyprus hours after the intense blast, pointing towards a small nuclear attack.

Abhijeet Sen
December 24, 2024
Did Israel explode a small nuclear bomb in Syria? Spike in radiation report says…

I cannot find any confirmation. So, I am going to say it probably is not true. Here is what I did find:

Even if they did not use a nuke, just the speculation will shift the Overton Window. This will make actual use more acceptable.

Prepare appropriately.

Never Underestimate the Power of Human Stupidity

Quote of the Day

If you need a license to kill deer why don’t you need one to kill humans?

David Hogg 🟧 @davidhogg111
Tweeted on April 2, 2024

This is so mind warping stupid I started wondering if he knew it was stupid but thought he would manage to sell it to the general population as something profound.

Looking further in the thread I found the answer 75 minutes later:

Plenty of people will think this is dumb- good for you. I’m not looking out for an election and I’m entitled to my own opinion no matter how much you disagree.

David Hogg 🟧 @davidhogg111
Tweeting on April 2, 2024

Yup. He is that stupid. He really thinks it is something profound.

It is people like this that we are up against. And yet, we came close to losing the war.

Change Our Culture One Person at a Time

Quote of the Day

Support for stricter gun laws has declined significantly over the years, while the desire for more relaxed laws has grown. In 1990, a substantial 78% of Americans favored stricter gun control, with only 2% wanting more lenient regulations.

By 2010, support for stricter laws had dropped to less than half (44%). However, it rebounded in 2020, rising to 57%.

In 2023, opposition to gun control reached a two-decade high, with 15% of Americans wanting less strict regulations.

Cassandra McBride
December 19, 2024
How Many Americans Want Stricter Gun Laws in 2024? The Decline in Gun Control Support

Via email from Sam J. at Ammo.com.

The support of the courts for the right to keep and bear arms is not enough. We must also change the culture. The trend is in the right direction, but we are far from where we need to be yet. We need a solid majority in opposition.

Here are some ways you can do that:

  • Come out of the closet as a gun owner and Second Amendment advocate.
  • Be active on social media and make sure the comments to anti-gun advocates are politely and factually ratioed.
  • Gun ownership is a civil right. Be a civil rights advocate.
  • Consider shaming those opposed to civil rights.
  • Take a new shooter to the range.
  • Introduce people virtually and/or physically to Boomershoot. The KING5 Evening Magazine video is the most effective introduction to the shooting sports I know of. It is a completely different reality from the world of gun ownership the mainstream media feeds them.
  • Attend town hall type meetings of your politicians and politely confront those who want to infringe upon our rights.

Change our culture one person at a time.

Gun control is Icarus

Quote of the Day

Gun control is Icarus…and it got too greedy, arrogant, and flew too high. There’s only one ending to this story and looking at cases around the country…fantasy is almost up. Enjoy losing.

Johnny Silverhand @MegaManX1984
Posted on X on December 21, 2023

A little something is lost without the entire context, but I wanted to have the above in case any of the below disappears. Here is the entire context:

Washington State Hazards

From: New map shows where damaging earthquakes are most likely to occur in US 

Volcano’s, high taxes, high crime, and a high probability of damaging earthquakes. Seattle is not nearly as attractive as it was when I first moved here just out of college.

I knew about the occasional earthquakes and was thrilled to experience three of them. Now that I’m older, I know just how serious they can be. I would rather not wait around for “the big one.”

The nearest volcano, Mount Rainier, was sort interesting in an abstract way when I arrived. And it is an incredible mountain. It is awe inspiring to go hiking on it. And it seemed to be dormant enough to not worry about.

Mount St. Helen’s blowing up a little over 100 miles away made volcanoes much more real. It obliterated everything within a six-mile radius. And that is just the complete destruction area. There was more:

The deadly pyroclastic surge—a fast-moving, super-hot cloud of ash, rock, and volcanic gas—traveled as much 18 miles away from the blast. The hot lava, gas, and debris mixed with melting snow and ice to form massive volcanic mudflows that surged down into valleys with enough force to rip trees from the ground, flatten homes, and completely destroy roads and bridges. Rivers rose rapidly, flooding surrounding valleys. Ash fell from the sky as far away as the Great Plains. Two-hundred-and-fifty miles away, ash blanketed Spokane, Washington, in complete darkness.

Mount Rainier is about 50 miles to the south from where we live now. Previous mud flows from Rainier have traveled several miles north of where we live. Those flows were in the valleys. We live part way up the side of a mountain. Therefore, I’m not too worried about being directly and immediately impacted by the blast and mud flows.

But even with only some mild ash at our house, the infrastructure issues would be catastrophic because of mud and pyroclastic flows destroying roads, power lines, water lines, and sewage lines. The people issues resulting from a major Mount Rainier blast following the infrastructure destruction would affect everyone for hundreds of miles around. I would rather not have to directly deal with that.

The politics, and especially the gun laws, have gone from benign to oppressive. I can avoid a lot of the pain by leveraging my Idaho connection. But it is a constant source of irritation.

Living in the “Bellevue Bubble”, as Barb and I like to call it, certainly has its advantages. But I really need an option to bug-out if things become an imminent hazard.

Taxation is a Form of Censorship

Quote of the Day

Taxation is a form of censorship.

It prevents citizens from expressing their own purchasing choices in the marketplace, and forces them to conform and contribute to government choices instead.

Alice Smith @TheAliceSmith
The great-great-great-granddaughter of Adam Smith.
Posted on X, December 20, 2024

This is an interesting way to think about it. I can’t say that she is wrong. But I’m not sure there is practical alternative to at least some limited form of government.

Evidence of the Idiocracy

Quote of the Day

Global security leaders are warning nuclear threats are growing as weapons spending surged to $91.4 billion last year. At the same time, private bunker sales are on the rise globally, from small metal boxes to crawl inside of to extravagant underground mansions.

Critics warn these bunkers create a false perception that a nuclear war is survivable. They argue that people planning to live through an atomic blast aren’t focusing on the real and current dangers posed by nuclear threats, and the critical need to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Meanwhile, government disaster experts say bunkers aren’t necessary. A Federal Emergency Management Agency 100-page guide on responding to a nuclear detonation focuses on having the public get inside and stay inside, ideally in a basement and away from outside walls for at least a day. Those existing spaces can provide protection from radioactive fallout, says FEMA.

Martha Mendoza
December 8, 2024
Nuclear bunker sales increase, despite expert warnings they aren’t going to provide protection

I have to know. Does it require special training to be that blind to incongruent statements? Or are some people just naturally impervious to irrational thought?

It is times like this that I could be convinced that our society has made life too easy. It was a mistake to prevent stupid people from removing themselves from the gene pool with demonstrations of their stupidity. I must conclude Idiocracy was brilliantly prophetic. And we should do almost anything to prevent that prophecy from happening.

Another thing to point out is that “government experts” are telling you that you don’t need an underground bunker. I wonder if anyone they have told that to has asked if they have access to an underground bunker?

And/or tell them to convince all the politicians they don’t need an underground bunker. And if they are needed, politicians must come after those necessary to rebuild a post-apocalyptic world. This would include all the construction workers, miners, and factory workers. It would also include teachers, engineers, and medical care people. Law enforcement, bankers, and business leaders are essential too.

I believe politicians should know they will not have access under any circumstances. It is the job of politicians to prevent us from getting nuked. If they fail at their job, they should pay a higher price for that failure than anyone else. This policy ensures they have the proper incentive.

Cut and Paste from the Playbook

Quote of the Day

With just over one month remaining in his disastrous term, Joe Biden just couldn’t restrain himself from once again rolling out his one-size-fits-all gun control wish list in his statement from the White House. Demanding that Congress quickly pass universal background check (registration) legislation and ban so-called ‘assault weapons’ and ‘high-capacity magazines’ in response to this terrible crime is one of the stupidest, but expected reactions from a career gun prohibitionist whose history of gaffes is legendary.

Joe Biden knows 15-year-olds can’t legally buy handguns anywhere in this country, so a call for background checks is irrelevant. Police have recovered a handgun which was used in the shooting, so calling for a ban on semiautomatic rifles and their magazines is also irrelevant and dishonest. Indeed, such demands underscore just how irrelevant Joe Biden and his gun ban agenda have become.

Alan Gottlieb
CCRKBA Chairman
December 7, 2024
CCRKBA BLASTS BIDEN’S REACTION TO WISCONSIN SCHOOL TRAGEDY | Citizens Committee For The Right To Keep And Bear Arms

To be fair, I doubt Biden had any input into that statement. It is most likely some intern. Someone who does not know the difference between an AR-15 and a Glock 17. Of course, they know even less about the law. They just did a copy and paste from the “School Shooting” page in their playbook.

Household Gun Ownership Rates in the U.S.

How Many Households in the U.S. Have a Gun in 2024?

Spoiler for the states that interest me the most:

  • Idaho: # 6 with 53%
  • Washington: # 39 with 34%
  • Kentucky (my youngest daughter lives here): # 12 with 49%
  • Montana: # 1 with 64%
  • Hawaii: # 50 with 8%

Of course, these numbers were via surveys. Respondents sometimes have an incentive to not tell the truth or not participate if they do own a gun. This will be represented as a negative bias in household ownership numbers.

Competing Hypothesis’s on Gun Attitude Flip-Flop

Quote of the Day

The very individuals who have long championed gun control as a solution to gun violence are now celebrating the tragic killing of a CEO by someone who was radicalized and used a 3D-printed firearm. These same voices once lauded an attacker who nearly assassinated Donald Trump. Such reactions reveal obvious inconsistency, suggesting that their stance on gun violence are politically motivated rather than rooted in principle.

🔫UR a Smart Ass, Carl🔫 @Ur_a_Smartass_C
Posted on X on December 10, 2024

“… politically motivated rather than rooted in principle.” is a good hypothesis. I would like to contribute another hypothesis.

These are people who decide right from wrong almost entirely based on their emotions. Children who are victims of a mass shooter causes them to feel bad and this means guns must be bad. If someone they don’t like is murdered with a gun, then they feel good. This associates guns with their good feelings, and they have no wish to condemn the gun.

I think there is a more important point to be made here. There is a nothing but a thin veneer of civilization over these people. The threshold for them to accept the murder of someone is shockingly low. This can explain riots, lynch mobs, and genocide. Blood lust is a real thing and only barely suppressed in some people.

Prepare appropriately.

National Constitutional Carry

Quote of the Day

I introduced the National Constitutional Carry Act to prohibit states from requiring a permit to carry a firearm.

No one should have to beg the government to exercise a constitutionally protected right anywhere in the country.

Let’s get this done!

Thomas Massie @RepThomasMassie
Posted on X, December 7, 2024

Attack on the legislative as well as the judicial paths to sensible gun law reform. This is the way.

Canada Engaged in More Human Rights Violations

Quote of the Day

Canada has taken significant strides in tightening its gun control measures, announcing the addition of 324 firearm models to its existing ban list. This move, revealed by Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, aims to restrict access to firearms deemed unsuitable for civilian use, claiming they are more suitable for battlefields than communities.

Interestingly, the Canadian government is also exploring possibilities of donating these newly banned firearms. Defense Minister Bill Blair stated discussions are underway with Ukrainian authorities about potentially transferring the guns to assist in Ukraine’s defense against Russia. “Every bit of assistance we can offer to the Ukrainians is one step toward their victory,” he emphasized, highlighting the intertwined nature of domestic gun control and international humanitarian efforts.

Evrim Ağacı
December 7, 2024
Canada Expands Firearms Ban Amid Ukraine Aid Proposal – The Pinnacle Gazette

As other people have point out, it is telling that the Canadian politicians want to confiscate their citizens’ firearms. They intend to give those same firearms to the Ukrainians so they can preserve their freedom. What does that tell you about Canadian politicians’ intentions for the citizens of Canada?

The U.S. should have imposed sanctions on the Canadian government for human rights violations decades ago.

Dead Battery for a Brain

Quote of the Day

Small D energy right there, boyo!

Showing off your insecurities, is never ever sexy!

HELLSPAWN @IndictmentSniff
Tweeted on December 6, 2023

It’s not only another Markley’s Law Monday, it is another science denier (see also here)!

If I just glance at that quote I think it refers to a D-Cell battery that is nearly dead. Weird, huh?

Perhaps that is a good metaphor for his intellectual capabilities.

Crucial Communism Teaching Act

Quote of the Day

The House on Dec. 6 passed the Crucial Communism Teaching Act with a vote of 327–62. The bill, introduced by Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) and cosponsored by 33 members of the House, seeks to address a gap in the education system related to the history of communism.

“Communism is one of the most destructive political ideologies the world has ever seen,” Rep. Salazar said when reintroducing the bill earlier this year.

“The Crucial Communism Teaching Act is important because our youth must remember the crimes of the communists, including those inflicted upon my constituents and their families in Florida’s 27th district.”

Stacy Robinson
December 6, 2024
House Overwhelmingly Passes ‘Crucial Communism Teaching Act’ | The Epoch Times

I’m shocked it passed 327-62. I expected far more legislators were in support of communism. The 62 would be an interesting list to study.

My understanding of the constitution is that Congress was not granted the power to pass this type of legislation. This power, if it exists at all, is reserved for the states.

That said, this is not the bill I’m going to take a stand on to make that case.

Russians are Now Shooting at German Aircraft

This makes me very uncomfortable:

Russian warship ‘fires at German helicopter’ as WW3 tensions continue to rise

A Russian warship has reportedly fired warning shots at a German reconnaissance helicopter mid-flight over the Baltic Sea

I’m not sure what to make of all the headlines talking about WW III:

My first impulse is that sensationalism gets clicks, so this is mostly clickbait. But it does not take much thought to convince myself this is far more serious than ordinary clickbait. But what is the actual risk? Are we talking things going sparkly in the next week/month/year? Or is this going to be a bunch of saber rattling and chest thumping for a while before everyone backs down and claim they won the confrontation?

I want to be in an underground bunker in Idaho until this all gets sorted out.