Category Archives: Politics

Lying is What They Do

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It is a dark day for our democracy when state legislatures expel members for speaking out against gun violence instead of focusing on sensible action to end a preventable epidemic killing our children in school and on the streets.

Kris Brown
President of Brady
April 7, 2023
BRADY STATEMENT ON EXPULSION OF TENNESSEE HOUSE LAWMAKERS OVER GUN REFORM PROTEST

This is a blatant lie. They were not expelled for their protected speech. They were expelled for disrupting legislative business:

The trio of Democratic lawmakers chanted back and forth from the chamber floor with gun-control supporters packed in the gallery.

Jones had brought a megaphone onto the House floor and led chants of “no justice, no peace.”

…

Republicans defended their actions as necessary to avoid setting a precedent that lawmakers’ disruptions of House proceedings through protest would be tolerated.

“I want to make sure everybody knows this has nothing to do about the protest outside the House chamber or the protests outside the Capitol,” Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton told Fox News’ Bill Hemmer on Wednesday, ahead of the vote.

“This is about these three members’ actions on the House floor, how they shut us down, and how they led protests from the House chamber to those [people] in the balcony,” he continued.

But, I understand the Brady President lying. It’s what they do. It is part of their culture. And it is the only hope they have of furthering their evil agenda.

Far Closer to Snakes Than to Gods

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In ten years the Soviet Union went from being a perpetual world dominating superpower to literal non-existence and is now becoming a forgotten chapter of world history. More of a kitschy joke than a cautionary tale.

But Ayn Rand was right. This was no laughing matter. Millions of people were trapped for decades, in countries where human life was nothing, less than nothing—and they knew it. They lived in constant terror from morning to night and at night they were waiting for the doorbell to ring. In countries where there were no law or any rights of any kind, where basic necessities like food and housing were a constant struggle for everyone and they were absolutely forbidden to leave.

Did they all life happily ever after when the Soviet Union dissolved? Of course not. Utopias don’t exist, but progress does. And so do victories by good over evil. They happen all the time, both personally and politically.

The foes of liberty are many and they are powerful. But they are not particularly impressive. They will do everything within their ability to convince others that their might is eternal. That battle against them is pointless and doomed to fail. This is just another one of their many lies. It is said that they will never give up.

Yet does wanting power over others mean they will necessarily get it and get it easily? Does the fact that they supposedly will never give up somehow imply that their opponents should? Or does it imply the opposite. Evil people surrender all the time. At a certain point the costs, in every sense of the term, simply become too high.

They are not all knowing. Far from it. They are often not even particularly bright. They are not all powerful. They are men and women, far closer to snakes than they are to gods. They can, will, and have been defeated many, many, times. It is possible that those of us who fight for the dignity of mankind will lose our fight. It is not possible that we must lose our fight. That is the white pill.

Michael Malice
December 2022

The last three paragraphs resonated with me in regard to the opponents to the right to keep and bear arms. The lies, the evil, the individuals who are not particularly bright, the seeking of power over others, the belief in their power (nukes and F15s), and yet they are far closer to snakes than to gods.

I highly recommend this book.

Why Gun Control?

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Via Snagman 26:

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This is not the reason for all advocates of gun control, but more than enough people are of this opinion to justify vigorous opposition to their efforts to infringe upon specific enumerated rights.

Gun Laws of the Red Flag

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Via Bubo David Virginianus:

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Mental Health of Liberal Girls

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I believe that Greg Lukianoff was exactly right in the diagnosis he shared with me in 2014. Many young people had suddenly—around 2013—embraced three great untruths:

They came to believe that they were fragile and would be harmed by books, speakers, and words, which they learned were forms of violence (Great Untruth #1).

They came to believe that their emotions—especially their anxieties—were reliable guides to reality (Great Untruth #2).

They came to see society as comprised of victims and oppressors—good people and bad people (Great Untruth #3).

Liberals embraced these beliefs more than conservatives. Young liberal women adopted them more than any other group due to their heavier use of social media and their participation in online communities that developed new disempowering ideas. These cognitive distortions then caused them to become more anxious and depressed than other groups. Just as Greg had feared, many universities and progressive institutions embraced these three untruths and implemented programs that performed reverse CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) on young people, in violation of their duty to care for them and educate them.

Jon Haidt
March 9, 2023
Why the Mental Health of Liberal Girls Sank First and Fastest: Evidence for Lukianoff’s reverse CBT hypothesis

Interesting stuff. It is worth reading the whole thing. It could also explain why the assertion Liberalism is a Mental Disorder has some truth in it.

The Chart that has Launched a Thousand Takes

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This is the chart that has launched a thousand takes.

The conclusion seems obvious: Everything the govt touches goes to infinity in price. Everything pure capitalism touches goes to zero.

But there’s another way of looking at this graph that dramatically changes the story.

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Derek Thompson @DKThomp
Tweeted on March 18, 2023

The details of “the other way of looking at the graph” is at the linked tweet. It is claimed:

It’s not just govt vs. capitalism

It’s also services vs. goods.

But I see Cellphone Services and Food and Beverages out of the claimed groupings. Still, it is an interesting graph.

The Winning Mindset is Destroyed

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I’ve always been puzzled by how many abandoned and buried cities there are. What happened to entire civilizations?

Now we are watching human population collapse in a number of countries.

Makes me wonder if all human civilizations fail for the same reasons. What would those reasons be?

My guess is that pockets of humans develop belief systems that drive success, but success creates space for diverse opinions, and then the winning mindset is destroyed.

That’s what is happening in America. Traditional American values — with all its flaws — created a strong country. Now we have the luxury of entertaining less productive mindsets that are destroying the foundation.

Maybe that happens to every civilization.

Scott Adams @ScottAdamsSays
Tweeted on March 29, 2023

Interesting hypothesis. I don’t see any obvious flaws. In our particular case, the ever increasing debt spent on unproductive things is a strong datapoint in support of this hypothesis.

Leaving Seattle

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Barb and I avoid Seattle as much as possible. Over 10% of Seattle residents are contemplating leaving Seattle in the next year:

Newly released survey data from the federal government shows that of the nearly 1.6 million households in the Seattle area in 2021, about 171,600 — almost 11% — were either thinking about or planning to move to a different place in the next 12 months.

Among the 15 largest metro areas, Seattle had the second-highest percentage of people considering or planning to move away, just a fraction behind Dallas — the two metros were effectively tied at 11%. The Riverside, California, area had the third-highest percentage, with about 10% of households planning or contemplating moving away within the year.

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I wonder why that is. Could it be related to things like Mug Me Street and Washington State’s oppressive gun laws?

Read it and Prepare to Live it

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Anyone who hasn’t read George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-four” should do so or be prepared to live it.

S. Povey (@k9dancerPovey)
Tweeted on March 16, 2023

It appears most people have not read it and many of those who have consider it an instruction manual.

Prepare appropriately.

ATF Abuse Hearing in Congress

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ATF has been known for its institutional abuse of power throughout history. Now, more than ever, the agency is being weaponized as a means to punish peaceable gun owners and drive small businesses out of the marketplace by inventing creative statutory interpretations surpassing the agency’s authority and scrutinizing federal firearms licensees every actions in a ‘gotcha’ manner.

With the directives from the Biden Administration a simple mistake such as transposing a digit or placing required information in the wrong field results in license revocation, rather than a warning, under the guise of a ‘willful violation’ of the Gun Control Act. This overbearing approach does nothing to support the government’s interest in compliance and destroys livelihoods over innocent mistakes.

Adam Kraut
SAF Executive Director
March 22, 2023
SAF SCHOLAR TO TESTIFY BEFORE CONGRESS THURSDAY ABOUT ATF ABUSES

A government regulatory agency for firearms is directly constitutionally prohibited. Alcohol and tobacco regulations is prohibited indirectly because there is no enumerated power which allow it. It will take a lot more litigation but that is a possible, and the correct, outcome of the Buren decision. With the current demonstrations of institutional abuse of power they should be moved to the top of the list of people who should be prosecuted.

If I had my way, ATF would be the name of a convenience store or a church.

Domestic Terrorists

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From Washington Attorney General, Bob Ferguson’s 2022 Domestic Terrorism Study:

A note on terminology: “domestic terrorism” (DT) is an undefined term in the Revised Code of Washington, but is defined in the U.S. Code as “activities that (A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State; (B) appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and (C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.”

It appears that the emphasized portions of the text above are satisfied by politicians and/or law enforcement who create and/or enforce gun control laws in violation of the 2nd Amendment.

Domestic terrorists. Yeah. That sounds right to me.

I look forward to their trials.

Nationalized banks?

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Joe Biden is spending the country into oblivion. He is bailing out wealthy depositors at these banks. Under Biden, our once-private banking industry has essentially been nationalized, too. With each year this man remains in office, a little bit more of America you and I knew will be chipped away. Eventually, we will look much like the European Union: a boon for crony capitalists and a nightmare for innovators.

Brandon Weichert
March 15, 2023
Joe Biden Might Have Just Destroyed America’s Banks

We live in interesting times. Prepare appropriately.

Schadenfreude is sweet

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Last year’s Supreme Court case that expanded Second Amendment rights has wreaked havoc on the nation’s gun control laws, witnesses told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday.

Michael Macagnone
March 15, 2023
Senate hears about legal fallout from Supreme Court gun decision

We have been telling them for decades those 10s of thousands of laws were unconstitutional. And they ignored and mocked us. They should not expect any sympathy from us as we will not give them any. The schadenfreude is sweet.

Just wait until we have machine gun sporting events in the high schools and the prosecutions start.

You’ve got this because you’re awesome

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There are all sorts of different ways to fight for the Second Amendment. It’s not all butting heads with jerks and heated arguments on the internet. It’s not all donating money or calling politicians and telling them that if they vote for this latest nonsense, you’re going to make it your mission in life to kick them out of office. Though all that stuff helps, it’s the little things. It’s being that good example. That helping hand. It’s teaching and passing on knowledge.

The greatest warrior for the Second Amendment is the grandpa who takes the grandkids out and shows them how to knock cans off a fence with a pellet gun,

It’s the patient spouse who tries to gently persuade his or her significant other that Moms Demand Action is lying to them, and that allowing a gun in their home isn’t the end of the world.

It’s the manager who tells the HR department to shut up, and then tears down all those gun-free zone signs.

It’s you every time you take some new people to the range, show them how to use your guns safely, and then help them have fun.

Gun culture, this is on us. The future of our country depends on us holding the line.

But you’ve got this because you’re awesome. I’ve got faith in you.

Larry Correia
2023


In Defense of the Second Amendment page 189

This is a good book. It wasn’t quite what I expected. I expected a creative and humorous rant, based on clear and convincing evidence, of how stupid and evil the anti-gun people are. This was considerable muted on the humor and rant with moderate muting of the stupid and evil claims. This makes it a better handout to your grandmother and the gentle person next door as well as a work colleague.

We may be headed into a new Dark Age

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Last month, at the City University of New York, I lectured about how evolutions in data-led policing strategies helped New York City reduce annual murder numbers from 2,245 in 1990 to just 292 in 2017 — and from 93 annual fatal police shootings in 1971 to just six a half-century later. At the same time, city jail and New York State prison populations have also seen their numbers more than halved.

The “war on data” made its biggest inroads during the administration of former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, who prioritized feelings and emotions over cold, hard facts during debates about his landmark prison reform initiatives.

My presentation was layered with both data and descriptions of the tensions inherent in researching neighborhood crime dynamics. Following my talk, I invited students to discuss these notable statistical shifts. What I heard from those bold enough to actually speak floored me: They told me it was racist to use data to discuss policing. All the more so, because I’m a white woman.

Hannah E. Meyers
March 11, 2023
Why NYC crime policy-makers are now ignoring data

Emphasis added.

We may be headed into a new Dark Age. Prepare appropriately.

Confirmation Bias Problem

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Attackers will very likely use “The Hard Reset” as a guide to “sainthood” where white mass shooters become idolized and labeled as saints. The five criteria required to become a saint include being of white race, conducting a deliberate attack, having motive to kill those who “threaten the white race,” a “score” of killing at least one, and sharing the worldview of white supremacy. Attackers will likely try to meet all this criteria to become saints. Some radicalized individuals planning to attack will likely view the casualty criteria as competition, likely aiming to kill as many as possible, likely to garner influence in the white supremacist community and media attention. Far-right lone actors, influenced by neo-nazi groups and ideologies, will likely conduct attacks, likely aiming at causing chaos and mass casualties.

The Counterterrorism Group
July 7, 2022
FLASH ALERT: HIGH RISK OF VIOLENCE WITH THE PUBLICATION OF “THE HARD RESET: A TERRORGRAM PUBLICATION

I work on a threat intel team. I get it. Threat intelligence work and predictions are hard to get right. But man, for all the “HIGH likelihood”, “ALMOST CERTAINLY”, and, “HIGH PROBABILITY” rhetoric, these guys sure missed the mark. Their prediction was eight months ago for things to happen in the next week. Which didn’t happen.

It’s almost as if they have a confirmation bias problem.

Violence is in their nature

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Fuck the 2A, we are not in favor of “guns for everyone”, we are in favor of arming those groups who stand most to gain from the end of capitalism, and disarming those who stand in our way

Minnesota SRA @SRA_Minnesota
The Minnesota chapter of the Socialist Rifle Association
Tweeted on February 22, 2023

Also from them:

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For Minnesota SRA @SRA_Minnesota, I’ve known violence is inherent in your kind for a long time. But not everyone believed it. Thanks for the confirmation.

For everyone else, Prepare appropriately.

Changing minds through coercion

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The same cultural rot that produced trigger warnings, produced the obsession with announcing (and insisting on) preferred pronouns.

It stems from wanting to change someone else’s mind about something without having to do the work associated with argumentation & persuasion.

Don Kilmer @donkilmer
Tweeted on March 4th, 2023

There is probably more effective than you realize.

If you can change someone’s behavior, even at the point of a gun, you have gone a great way toward changing their mind. Repetitive actions builds a habit. This is an actual change in the brain. The more frequently used neural pathways become more myelinated. This speeds up the speed of conduction. Those responses, even if coerced, then become the default action.The mind has, literally, been changed.

Most actions and things people say are not carefully thought out. Ask someone why they did or said something, and they will search for and give a reason, many times this is even if there was no such reason before you asked. When a person’s behavior, even through coercion, has changed they will find those “reasons”. It is very difficult to change such minds through logic and facts.

Only fool would give up a weapon

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Via Tamera on Gab:

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Other things the government can’t stop:

  • Spam email
  • Phishing email
  • Poverty
  • Homelessness
  • Illegal immigration
  • Theft
  • Robbery
  • Terrorism
  • Black markets (including all recreational drugs such as cigarettes, alcohol, etc.)

The government can punish many of those things and reduce the frequency by increasing the cost, but it cannot stop it. What is interesting to me, is that most black markets are created by the government. I’ve read that anytime a tax goes above 15% a black market will form.

But more to the intended point, when seconds count the cops are only minutes away.

The Exercise of Their 2nd Amendment Rights Would Have Prevented This

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Walmart has long been harshly criticized by the city’s left-wing politicians & residents. This shutdown follows the consequences of the 2020 BLM-Antifa riots that normalized urban criminality.

Andy Ngo
March 2, 2023
Walmart to close ALL Portland stores in March

Antifa should have been dealt with much differently. I place just as much blame on the politicians who failed to do their jobs to protect the rights of the victims.