This is what they think of you:
His X posts are protected. His IMDb profile is not
Prepare appropriately.
Category Archives: Politics
Constitutionally Protected Rights are Sins
Quote of the Day
This is not a general income tax. From my perspective, it’s more of a sin tax.
Gavin Newsom
Governor of California
December 29, 2023
Newsom signs ‘sin tax’ on guns and ammo
Constitutionally protected rights are sins? Wow! That tells you all you need to know about him.
It would amuse me a great deal if this ends up being used as evidence at his trial.
Ending the Federal Reserve from the Bottom Up
Quote of the Day
Since its inception, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary policies have led to a decline of over 95% in the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar. As a result, there have been several attempts to curtail or eliminate the Federal Reserve’s powers (e.g., the efforts of Rep. Louis T. McFadden in the 1930s; the efforts of Rep. Wright Patman in the 1970s; the efforts of Rep. Henry Gonzalez in the 1990s; and the efforts of Rep. Ron Paul since the 1990s).
However, none have proven successful to date, due mainly to the constraints of strong political opposition at the national level. In contrast to these “top-down” attempts at the national level, this paper proposes an alternative approach to ending the Federal Reserve’s monopoly on money: the “Constitutional Tender Act,” a bill template that can be introduced in every state legislature in the nation, returning each of them to adherence to the U.S. Constitution’s “legal tender” provisions of Article I, Section 10.
This approach would have a greater likelihood of success for a number of reasons. First, it is decentralized: rather than facing concerted political opposition at a single Federal level, it attacks the issue at the State level, where strategies and tactics can be adapted to the types and amount of political opposition they encounter.
Second, it is diffused: it can be attempted in any number of States, which can cause the opposition to spread its resources much more thinly than would be necessary at the Federal level. Finally, it is legally sound: it relies on the U.S. Constitution’s negative mandate in Article I, Section 10, that “No State shall… make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.” Therefore, in contrast to “top-down” attempts to “end the Fed,” a “bottom-up” approach using “constitutional tender” laws will find greater success.
…
Under this Act, the State would be required to only use gold and silver coins (or their equivalents, such as checks or electronic transfers) for payments of any debt owed by or to the State (e.g., taxes, fees, contract payments, etc.). All contracts, tax bills, etc. would be required to be denominated in legal tender gold and silver U.S. coins, including Gold Eagles, Silver Eagles, and pre-1965 90% silver coins. All State-chartered banks, as well as any other bank that is a depository for State funds, would be required to offer accounts denominated in those types of gold and silver coins, and to keep such accounts segregated from other types of accounts such as Federal Reserve Notes.
Bill Green
April 4, 2017
Ending the Federal Reserve from the Bottom Up
It is an interesting thought.experiment. But will it work? It’s been almost seven years now and how much progress has it made?
Perhaps after the big crash people will give it more serious consideration.
Gold is currently tickling the $2,100/oz price as I type this… Prepare appropriately.
Openly Defiant of the Supreme Court
Quote of the Day
But the Constitution, by design, recognizes that some rights are so important and sacrosanct that nothing short of a constitutional amendment may take them away. No one—not a federal judge, not a state governor or legislator, not even the President of the United States—is above the Constitution.
Nevertheless, California recently passed a law, Senate Bill 2, that limits the public places where people with concealed carry permits may carry their handguns to defend themselves and their families. To obtain such a permit in California, a person must go through a rigorous screening process. The process includes a lengthy application, a thorough background check involving interviews, fingerprinting, and reviewing multiple government databases, and a full-day, hands-on training course in which the person must demonstrate they can safely and proficiently use the handgun they seek to carry in public. Even with those stringent requirements, California will not allow concealed carry permitholders to effectively practice what the Second Amendment promises. SB2’s coverage is sweeping, repugnant to the Second Amendment, and openly defiant of the Supreme Court.
Cormac J. Carney
United States District Judge
December 20, 2023
Reno May, et al. v. Robert Bonta
And
Marco Antonio Carralero, et al. v. Robert Bonta
Case Nos.: SACV 23-01696-CJC (ADSx) SACV 23-01798-CJC (ADSx)
There are lots of strong words in this opinion. I hope they stand up to the almost certain attack of the appeals court.
My request to Bing Chat for an image was:
Please create an image of a federal judge telling the attorney general California law is repugnant to the Second Amendment, and openly defiant of the Supreme Court.
I suspect there is some bias in the AI:
The Cultural Revolution in the U.S.
Quote of the Day
In CCP’s China, one can find a Party Branch (党支部) in any workplace.
According to the CCP, its function is to propagate & implement the Party’s principles, policies, & resolutions.
In America today, we have a DEI office in every institution.
Xi Van Fleet @XVanFleet
Posted on X December 21, 2023
I read and really like her book.
Well, “like” in the sense of interesting and enlightening. She grew up in China during the cultural revolution and then moved to the U.S. where she now sees frightening similarities to her native country. Daughter Jaime refuses to read it because it sounds too dark.
Some of the terrible stuff in China would not fly in the U.S. because of the widespread ownership of firearms and a substantial number of the population tend to distrust the government and highly regard individualism. But other stuff can be seen closing in all around us.
Police Response Times in Toronto
Quote of the Day
So there it is, straight from the cops’ mouths, the reason you should have and carry a gun. Not that such a thing will happen up here, but still.
Never give an inch…
Mike
December 12, 2023
Latest nonsense from Toronto
Via email.
Good advice for all times. And this doesn’t even take into consideration the scenarios where the police are the ones implementing the genocide.
Look at Jewish History
Quote of the Day
I don’t understand how one can look at Jewish history and think that leaving Jewish security unto others is a winning strategy.
Josh Hamme
December 12, 2023
Can you guess which demographic group is now taking advantage of the Second Amendment?
Self defense using the best available tools is a basic human right.
Is it a Lie? Or is it Ignorance?
Quote of the Day
What’s the efficacy of banning these magazine clips? I will tell you these are ammunition, they’re bullets, so the people who have those know they’re going to shoot them, so if you ban them in the future, the number of these ‘high capacity’ magazines is going to decrease dramatically over time because the bullets will have been shot and there won’t be any more available.
Diana DeGette
U.S. Representative to Congress from Colorado
2013
Is it a lie? Or is it profound ignorance? I could go either way on it. I’m certain many people would believe her. And that false belief will increase the likelihood of passing magazine bans.
Just keep in mind that people like her are making the laws you will be prosecuted with.
Prepare and respond appropriately.
I Question Your Motivation
Via mothmoo @MothMoo:
Excellent point.
And, of course, there is that little thing about it being unconstitutional.
ATF Doesn’t Even Attempt to Comply
Quote of the Day
This overreach is both shocking and unconstitutional.
…
This proposed rule seeks to require a license of every individual who sells a firearm for anything the Bureau sees as a profit to include currency, exchange of another firearm, or a service. Despite the proposed rule regulating conduct that implicates the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution, the proposed rule does not at any point reference the term “Second Amendment.” This omission demonstrates that there was no attempt by the Bureau to comply with the Constitution.
State of Kansas; Office of the Attorney General of Kansas
December 7, 2023
Comment Letter to ATF 88 Fed Reg 61993 Filed
The entire letter is very strongly worded. I found it rather entertaining.
I’m proud to say that the Idaho Attorney General also signed the letter.
I just wish the AGs of the state had the power to prosecute anyone who contributed to this attempt at infringement of our rights.
More Private Guns in Israel
Quote of the Day
When the war started, we knew that we were right when we said that every [person] that has a weapon can save a life. We need to enable as many people as possible to carry a weapon.
My policy within the office was to permit as many people as possible to get a weapon. Within a short period of time, we are [now] giving up to 3,000 approvals a day.
…
I will add more volunteers, more people in national service, because a weapon saves lives.
…
I call on the left: Stop crying, stop making a political campaign out of policy that saves the lives of people.
Ben Gvir
December 4, 2023
260,000 firearm permits sought since Oct. 7, after Ben Gvir’s push to arm civilians
It is a good start. But there should not be any permits required, it should be just as easy to buy and carry a gun as it is to buy and carry a book, rock, or stick. One step at a time.
I find it interesting that the political left in Israel, as in the U.S., is against private gun ownership. It’s always about control of the everyday person by the want to be rulers.
Better More Gun Owners Than Fewer
Quote of the Day
Almost half of Democrats are gun owners and over half believe gun ownership is necessary. It is one of the greatest disconnects of either party with their membership. While Democrats have found a winning issue on abortion in recent elections, it represents a growing separation on one of the other key issues in this election. President Biden has pursued some of the most aggressively anti-gun policies of any president.
Jonathan Turley
November 22, 2023
New Polling Shows a Majority of American Households Own Guns and Support Gun Rights
Nice. But the politicians need to feel the pain for infringing upon the specific enumerated rights. A good case can be made that the politicians respecting our rights are unable to get enough votes to overcome the margin of fraud.
Still, if things ever get too oppressive it is better to have more gun owners than fewer.
Let Them Sit at Home and be Afraid
Quote of the Day
I was thinking that Russians would now know that is what Ukrainians are capable of.
Let them sit at home and be afraid.
Vyacheslav Kovalskiy
December 4, 2023
Ukrainian Sniper Breaks Cover to Claim World-Record Hit of More Than 2 Miles
Via email from pkoning.
Yes, there was more than a little luck involved. But he and his spotter made a lot of their own luck too. Awesome shooting.
Also from the article:
Kovalskiy’s shot hit around 12,470 feet, around a third longer than the Golden Gate Bridge. That distance would break a record of 11,600 feet set in 2017 by a member of the Canadian Special Forces in Iraq.
The 58-year-old former businessman’s journey to martial mythology started just before day break on Nov. 18, when he and his spotter, a partner who calculates distance, wind speed and other variables, set up positions across the river from a Russian military base in the Kherson region of east Ukraine.
…
Kovalskiy and his spotter wonder why there is so much skepticism about a shot of this distance when targets, albeit stationary, have been achieved at these lengths several times in competitions such as the King of Two Miles in the U.S.
The two men are no ordinary snipers. Kovalskiy has been winning long-distance shooting competitions in Europe and North America for decades and first met his spotter at such competitions in Ukraine.
One has to wonder if things get a little on the sparkly side of normal in this country if the competition shooters will be among the first to be rounded up and sent to the gulags.
Prepare and respond appropriately.
Words Mean Things
Quote of the Day
If you look at the Founding era dictionaries SCOTUS in Heller used to define the 2A terms, and then you look at the definition of “to infringe” in those same dictionaries… the phrase means “to hinder or destroy.” Given that definition of “to infringe” from Samuel Johnson/Noah Webster (both founding era lexicographers, i.e., dictionary makers), ask yourself this….. does restricting or banning the ability to acquire an “arm” constitute something that would “hinder” the “right to keep and bear arms”? Obviously yes because any restrictions on the ability to ACQUIRE AN ARM necessarily HINDERS our ability to keep and bear arms. Thus, restrictions, bans or limitations on the right to acquire arms (ghost gun rules, home-made gun rules, waiting periods, etc.), are an hindrance and thus constitute an INFRINGEMENT
Mark W. Smith/#2A Scholar on X
December 2, 2023
Words mean things. Those who ignore or warp the meanings of words disable the means to accurately communicate with other. This can be through negligence, ignorance, or evil intent.
Prepare and respond appropriately.
On the Death of Henry Kissinger
As you probably know, Henry Kissinger died on Wednesday.
I remember when he used to be mentioned, what seemed like, daily in the newspapers.
What I will always remember the most is one of his quips I used as a quote of the day:
The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a bit longer.
At least he was honest about this. Almost all other politicians subscribe to this behavior without admitting it.
Update: Citation for the quote.
Free Firearms Safety Training
VIa Chuck Petras @Chuck_Petras
FREE HB-1143/I-1639 FIREARMS SAFETY TRAINING PROGRAM
With passage of HB1143/i-1639, Washington residents are now required to take a safety training class covering 8 specific topics before purchasing or transferring any firearm. This course is designed to address each of those 8 topics covered under the Revised Code of Washington (RCW9.41.090).
Imagine requiring training which must be renewed every few years before you are allowed to assemble in public, go to church, read a book or newspaper, exercise your right to remain silent, or a trial by jury. Hope the proponents of this law see their day in court and enjoy their trial.
At least there is free training available.
If people could “hold the line” I think a better approach would have been to make sure there was no training available and challenge the law on that basis. But that would be a really big “if” and lots of people would have been denied their rights while it was going through the courts.
Inconvenient Constitutionally Guaranteed Rights Must Be Ignored
Quote of the Day
Wednesday’s arguments focused primarily on this first theory: that adjudicating securities fraud before an administrative law judge violates the right to a trial by a jury. This right arises from the Seventh Amendment, which provides a jury trial in some civil cases. Current Supreme Court precedent breaks it down like this: When the U.S. government seeks to enforce a congressional statute that prohibits or punishes wrongdoing, it is enforcing “public rights.” And these enforcements don’t implicate the Seventh Amendment. That means they can be brought within an agency, before administrative law judges, who are shielded from removal by the commission. As Kagan put it on Wednesday, quoting major precedent, the Seventh Amendment “is no bar to the creation of new rights or to their enforcement outside the regular courts of law.”
This system is the only plausible way that the executive branch can carry out the duties assigned to it by Congress. Federal agencies rely on administrative adjudication to penalize polluters, scammers, abusive employers, crooked banks, and a whole range of unsavory parties. Obviously, these agencies can’t send anyone to prison, and their procedures must comply with due process. Their goal is to catch countless cases that would otherwise slip through the cracks—often because the harm involved applies to the public at large, or to potential harms that haven’t yet caused an injury. If the government had to bring these cases in federal court, the judiciary would be overwhelmed, its docket flooded with disputes that it lacks the time or resources to resolve by trial.
Mark Joseph Stern
November 29, 2023
The Supreme Court Has Figured Out How to Gut a Bunch of Crucial Federal Laws at Once
Emphasis added.
To refresh your memory on the 7th Amendment:
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by Jury shall be preserved, and no fact, tried by a Jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
I’m not a lawyer, but the only exemptions to a jury trial granted by the 7th Amendment is if the value must be less than or equal to $20 or the controversy is not a suit at common law. “At common law” appears to mean “cases that triggered the right to a jury under English law”. Article III protects the right to a trial by jury for all criminal cases.
So what are these regulations that Stern is so upset about? Are they criminal or are they civil? It would appear to be criminal cases to me. They are violations of laws created by congress, right?
So, it would appear to me that the only exemption Stern can hang his hat on when he claims the 7th Amendment doesn’t guarantee a jury trial are those trials which involve less than or equal to $20.
Of course he doesn’t try to explain why these regulations are exempt. He just rants about how it is not practical to allow the defendants to have their right to a trial by jury. In other words, inconvenient constitutionally guaranteed rights must be ignored..
I suspect this mindset is common in those opposed to the 2nd Amendment as well.
Perhaps he would revise his option at his own trial.
No Sane Person Would Trust Any Government
Quote of the Day
No sane and thinking person would trust any government, let alone the US government.
Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy)
Tweeted on March 12, 2022
But today’s communists know this time they will do it right.
One of the major problems is that power attracts the worst sort of person.
Just keep saying no until you run out of ammunition.
SHANNON WATTS
Quote of the Day
In spite of the men who hate us, we won’t be intimidated in our fight to keep our families safe. These threats, while unhinged and hateful, are proof that the gun violence prevention movement is winning.
Shannon Watts
February 1, 2022
Research Shows Gun Violence and Misogyny Are Closely Linked. It’s Time to Make Sure Abusers Can’t Buy Guns
Winning? Perhaps she should read some court rulings to remedy her ignorance or if ignorance isn’t her real problem then just stop lying.
Scott Adams @ScottAdamsSays
Quote of the Day
We could reduce gun crimes by 75% just by banning Democrats from owning them. And since both Democrats and Republicans are in favor of disarming Democrats, I think we have a path forward.
Scott Adams @ScottAdamsSays
Tweeted on February 4, 2022
Interesting hypothesis. There is some merit in this. But there is a huge difference between banning something and preventing access.
And more importantly, as long as you regard Democrats as humans, which I do, they have a specific enumerated right to keep and bear arms just as much as anyone else.