This is why communists are willing to, and have, killed tens of millions of people. What are a few million dead if that is what is needed to create utopia?
When an Artificial Intelligence model is fed its own input as training data, the model will tend to degrade over time, losing detail with each iteration like a series of photocopies until the model collapses into a fuzz of noisy static.
Something similar, I think, is happening with liberals. They’ve become trapped in their own illusions, eating a media diet that consists entirely of their own propaganda, and then generating new propaganda that simply refers back to the old propaganda in an endless entropic Ouroboros. Meanwhile, the quality of the propaganda they generate is degrading rapidly: the deceptions in the news media or the academic literature get more transparent and less convincing with every iteration; the entertainment media gets less compelling, more poorly written, with worse special effects and less impressive acting; their literature devolves into hamfisted sermons mashed together with smut; their computer games feature worse stories, uglier characters, clumsy game mechanics, bugs, and degrading animation quality.
In general, this is true of everyone in every group. It is human, and probably all social animal, nature.
A group of people, or animals, will learn from the behavior of others in their social group. Only a few cattle in the herd need to touch their nose to the electric fence before the herd knows better than do the same. After a few days, you can turn off the electric fence, and the cattle will still keep respecting it as a boundary*.
Human groups have taboos that seem weird to others outside their group. Some of these taboos may have had valid reasons at one time but no longer have the same level of validity as they once did. For example, Jewish and Muslim rules against eating pork. Or in Hinduism, the belief that the cow is representative of divine and natural beneficence and should therefore be protected and venerated. All the variations of Christianity have differences in belief which distinguish them and cannot all simultaneously be true because of the contradictions between the different sects. These people socialize with others of their kind and generally live happy and content lives even though they have some set of beliefs which are demonstrably in error.
It is not limited to religious beliefs. Scientists have had extremely heated debates about the nature of the world as well. And, of course, political beliefs are not immune from such errors as well.
I think the situation where the errors to generate a feedback loop and result in a “model collapse” as with the AI example is when there is insufficient contact with reality. In the threat intelligence field, we are told to never take conjecture more than one or maybe two levels. For example, if you see an IP address scanning your outward facing network, and you know that last week this same IP address was associated with a particular threat actor you can claim you have evidence supporting that threat actor is now preparing an attack against you. But you are on shaky ground to claim that if you defend against what techniques and tactics that threat actor used last week you should be safe.
I view the Democrats as having lost touch with reality. At one point in time, they claimed that homosexuals were deserving of respect, equal treatment before the law, and generally should be left alone if it only involved consenting adults. I think what has happened is that this belief has developed a feedback loop disconnected with reality. The group belief has degraded into believing straight people should be treated as a lower class, and transsexual woman are no different than biologically women and should be allowed to compete in sporting events against women.
Or abortion is about a women’s choice about what happens to her body morphing into partial birth abortions are acceptable.
Or recognizing that firearms are the most commonly used murder weapon morphing into a believe that firearms have no benefits to society and the world would be safer if they were banned.
Republicans, currently, are probably more in touch with reality. But they still have issues where they are straining reality near the breaking point. If there are people who believe high tariffs, in of themselves, are an economic benefit then I am nearly certain they are wrong. As means of negotiating away a tariff against us, sure, that probably will work. Or the war on drugs was a benefit to society. Yes, recreational drug use is harmful. But the deaths and family destruction from alcohol and tobacco use are a huge cost to society as well. And shouldn’t we have learned something from alcohol prohibition that can be applied to prohibitions against other recreation drugs?
People need to get out of their “echo chambers.” Sure, it is easy and comfortable to extrapolate from the echos. But those echos are a distortion of the real thing. And with each echo the distortion increases.
* This is not universal. There are some cattle with a personality that will knowingly take the hit of the electric fence to escape the enclosure.
The best story I have heard was of some pigs. They would form a group, get back several feet, run at the fence, and before reaching the fence, start squealing. They would hit the fence and shoot underneath receiving a quick, and relatively minor shock. The shock intensity is reduced because the total current the fence delivered at any one time is limited. With simultaneous animals distributing the current among them, each individual animal had a lower shock intensity.
Ah yes, blue-collar workers who stash 20 compensating peashooters that have been gathering dust in their basements longer than they had been diagnosed with diabetes will definitely be at the front lines for a Civil War should the country go to shit.
Delusions are often functional (Heinlein). In this case the functionality works for everyone. Jensen gets to feel superior and gun owners get a good measure of the caliber of their political opponents.
The panel affirmed the district court’s summary judgment for Todd Yukutake and David Kikukawa in their action seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent the Attorney General of Hawaii from enforcing two provisions of Hawaii’s firearms laws on the ground that the provisions violate the Second Amendment.
First, plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of Hawaii Revised Statutes § 134-2(e), which provides a narrow time window (originally 10 days, and now 30 days) within which to acquire a handgun after obtaining the requisite permit. The permit application process includes a background check. Second, plaintiffs challenged § 134-3 to the extent that, as part of Hawaii’s firearms registration process, it requires a gun owner, within five days of acquiring a firearm, to physically bring the gun to a police station for inspection. The district court concluded that the challenged aspects of both provisions were facially unconstitutional under the Second Amendment and permanently enjoined their enforcement.
Daniel P. Collins 9th Circuit Judge March 14, 2025 YUKUTAKE V. LOPEZ
While I am happy this outrageous law has been overturned, I don’t expect it to last. As I recall, and Copilot agrees:
So far, it seems that when the Ninth Circuit has ruled a firearms law unconstitutional, the full en banc panel has later reversed that decision.
It is important to note that it took over TWO YEARS, for them to deliver this appeals court verdict. The lawsuit was initially filed in October of 2019! A right delayed is a right denied.
It was interesting, as long as I could tolerate it, to read the dissent. The contortions to reach the desired conclusions are epic.
The US Justice Department’s top civil rights official said the division is considering making gun rights a formal priority, in a significant shift from its traditional focus.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said in an interview with Bloomberg that the department is reviewing whether certain state and local gun control measures infringe on citizens’ rights.“The Second Amendment is one of the constitutional rights we are committed to defending,” Dhillon said. “We’re adding that to our analysis where states are violating constitutional rights.”
She declined to name specific jurisdictions under review but added, “I think it’s all pretty obvious where people’s rights are being violated.”
For the first time, scientists detected negative light in human history. The discovery, known as “darker than darkness,” tests the basic understanding of natural light phenomena. Research opportunities in quantum physics have expanded through the discovery of negative frequency photons, which hold potential implications that enhance our understanding of the universe.
I think it would be cool to have a flashlight that projected negative light. You could “shine” it at your floor, wall, etc. and make it appear as a black featureless hole in your living room. You could tell your kids you are getting rid of the dog and “shine” it at Fido sleeping in the corner.
Or how about a laser pointer to play with your cat?
But the best use would be to shine it on your face for a Halloween mask.
Today’s ruling is yet another critical FPC win against an immoral and unconstitutional age-based gun ban. We look forward to restoring the Second Amendment rights of all peaceable adults throughout the United States.
For some time, I have been watching the lawsuits against laws prohibiting 18 -> 20-year-olds from purchasing handguns. At first, I was a little annoyed that resources were put into this effort. Laws restricting magazine capacity and “assault weapons” affect far more people. But I have come to agree with this allocation of resources.
It should be a relatively easy win. These people are considered adults in almost all other areas of law and constitutionally protected rights. Another win will be another brick in the wall and make the entire wall stronger.
The fact that the cutting edge of firearms technology can shoot off in directions old laws never foresaw is inevitable—so, it seems, is the predilection of gun-control types to try to ban anything new.
As is common with people like this, their account no longer exists. I suspect they are cowards and would rather run than face the criticism of making such a childish insult.
Further support for the coward’s hypothesis is their lack of interest in being the first one in the stack while going door-to-door to take all the guns.
President Donald Trump has gotten some truly horrible historical polling across the past couple weeks, but if it makes him feel any better … he’s not alone.
The Democrats are doing pitifully as well in the polling, and CNN data guru Harry Enten pointed out a few key areas there in a segment on the network on Thursday.
…
Enten showed that in April of 2024, 80% of Democrats believed Democratic leadership would do the right thing when it comes to the economy. Now that number has dropped to 39%.
…
That is the lowest number by far in Gallup polling. The lowest previous was just 60% which is 21 points higher than this.
Attorneys general from Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming are joining forces to support the creation of a Second Amendment task force. This initiative is led by West Virginia Attorney General J.B. McClusky.
Idaho Attorney General Raul Garcia emphasized the importance of the Second Amendment. “The Second Amendment is not aspirational. It is a binding contract written by the founders to secure individual liberty,” he said.
The task force aims to use litigation to challenge gun control laws. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi supports the creation of this task force. Earlier this month, Bondi highlighted the task force’s role in using legal means to combat gun control legislation.
Throughout history, many theories have been propounded as to the black robes worn by judges. Some say they provide a symbol of the authority and power conferred by the state, while others suggest they foster uniformity and promote the concept that justice remains blind. Judges like Katzmann and his First Circuit cohorts, however, bring modern clarity to the garb, as it seems the real symbolism behind the black robe is the death and mourning of our Constitution.
Thanks to a preliminary injunction in the Second Amendment Foundation’s (SAF) case CRPA v. LASD, starting Tuesday, April 22, non-resident SAF members can apply for a California carry permit.
But, as you might expect, with someone unable to defend their position, they resort to childish insults. Their posts are “protected” from being viewed by anyone he does not allow.
The revelation that USAID likely financed efforts to undermine the Second Amendment, even if indirectly, is yet another example of taxpayer money being weaponized against American citizens. Rather than focusing on its intended mission of foreign aid and development, the agency instead became a conduit for far-Left political activism.
Newly uncovered guidance from the Justice Department claims the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) allows federal law enforcement officers to enter the houses of suspected gang members without a warrant and remove them from the country without any judicial review.
A copy of the DOJ document and attachments referred to is here.
Among other things, the document says:
For purposes of this guidance memorandum, an “Alien Enemy” under the Proclamation and 50 U.S.C. § 21 is a person who is: (1) fourteen years of age or older; (2) not a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States; (3) a citizen of Venezuela; and ( 4) a member of the hostile enemy Tren de Aragua, as determined by reference to Form AEA-21A, titled, “Alien Enemies Act: Alien Enemy Validation Guide,” attached to this memorandum.
Determining if someone meets the requirements of item (4) above only requires a law enforcement officer and their supervisor’s signatures. It is claimed there is no access to judicial review of this determination. I see no mention of penalties for false findings.
This is asking for abuse. Imagine President Gavin Newsom getting a similar law regarding domestic terrorists passed through a democrat majority Congress and Senate. Then he declares members of the NRA as qualifying for a one-way trip to Gitmo.
But you might claim that would be different because the 2nd Amendment is a specific enumerated right. The right of association is also an enumerated right. If the organization is involved in criminal activities, does that mean all members are automatically criminals? Suppose the NRA is found to have been engaged in criminal activity. Are all NRA members then criminals as well?
If item (4) is not satisfied, they can still be legally deported. This is because they are not a citizen or legal permanent resident. But in this case judicial review is required. So how is the judicial review eliminated by getting the signatures of two law enforcement people?
I am not a lawyer, but this seems to be, constitutionally, highly suspect.
Our rights should not be held hostage by the failure of Democrats to control crime in the cities they run. Baltimore, one of the cities suing Glock, is a perfect example. That city represents 9% of Maryland’s population, but 38% of the state’s gun-related homicide. Ya guys, sure, Glock did this to you.
This type of thing happens so often. You might think they let crime run rampant on purpose, so they have an excuse to ban guns.
Okay. Sure. That is one of the leading hypotheses as to why the crime rates are so high. The other promising hypothesis is the culture in Democrat run cities is defective.
