The Second Amendment, ultimately. That’s what it’s for.
Scott Adams @ScottAdamsSays
Tweeted on August 17, 2020
[This was in response to a question about what is the defense against Coup V2.0 after the November election when President Trump is elected to a second term..
Prepare yourselves.—Joe]
As the Court explained in Turner II, the deferential principle outlined in Turner I applies mainly in “cases . . . involving congressional judgments concerning regulatory schemes of inherent complexity and assessments about the likely interaction of industries undergoing rapid economic and technological change. Though different in degree, the deference to Congress is in one respect akin to deference owed to administrative agencies because of their expertise.” Turner II, 520 U.S. at 196 (emphasis added). Not so here. While the issue of gun violence is important and emotionally charged, it does not involve highly technical or rapidly changing issues requiring such deference. The state cannot infringe on the people’s Second Amendment right, and then ask the courts to defer to its alleged “expertise” once its laws are challenged.
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
VIRGINIA DUNCAN; RICHARD LEWIS; PATRICK LOVETTE; DAVID MARGUGLIO; CHRISTOPHER WADDELL; CALIFORNIA RIFLE & PISTOL ASSOCIATION, INC., a California corporation, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. XAVIER BECERRA, in his official capacity as Attorney General of the State of California, Defendant-Appellant
August 14, 2020
[Another loophole closed by this decision!
California has been arguing that the legislature should be given deference when there is a conflict between what the courts say and what the legislature passes. This decision explains why that might sometimes be the case and why this is not the case in regards to the 2nd Amendment issues before the court.—Joe]
Don’t overlook the fact that those that are stealing stuff and making the excuse that it’s justified because of some perceived repression won’t hesitate to make the leap that it is alright to take your life for the very same reasons.
William Taylor @BillT
Tooted on August 17, 2020
[See also yesterday’s QOTD.—Joe]
Via daughter Kim:
Yup. Thomas Sowell is extremely toxic to socialists.
Dort wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man auch am Ende Menschen.
[Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings.]
Christian Johann Heinrich Heine
Almansor: A Tragedy (1823)
As translated in True Religion (2003) by Graham Ward, p. 142
[Note that he wrote this nearly 100 years before USSR was created and 110 years before Nazi Germany began burning books and shortly thereafter people.
There is a sound reason why the progression from burning books to burning people occurs. The reason for the book burning is to stop the spread of “dangerous” ideas. When the book burning fail the desired goal then the spread of those ideas “must” be stopped by the “burning” of the people who spread the ideas.
Black Lives Matter and Antifa have taken the first step. Respond appropriately.—Joe]
A “substantial burden” on the Second Amendment is viewed not through a policy prism but through the lens of a fundamental and enumerated constitutional right. We would be looking through the wrong end of a sight-glass if we asked whether the government permits the people to retain some of the core fundamental and enumerated right. Instead, Heller counsels us to look at whether the government regulation restricts the core fundamental right from the outset. In other words, we look to what a restriction takes away rather than what it leaves behind. Here, California’s law takes away a substantial swath of the core constitutional right of self-defense because it bans possession of half of all magazines in America today, even though they are common in guns used for self-defense. In short, a law that takes away a substantial portion of arms commonly used by citizens for self-defense imposes a substantial burden on the Second Amendment.
…
The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts. One’s right to life, liberty, and property, to free speech, a free press . . . and other fundamental rights may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections.
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
VIRGINIA DUNCAN; RICHARD LEWIS; PATRICK LOVETTE; DAVID MARGUGLIO; CHRISTOPHER WADDELL; CALIFORNIA RIFLE & PISTOL ASSOCIATION, INC., a California corporation, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. XAVIER BECERRA, in his official capacity as Attorney General of the State of California, Defendant-Appellant
August 14, 2020
[Excellent! I had not thought of this argument before.
This addresses the claim made by some (I exaggerated a bit to make the point) that as long as we have single shot 22 rifles available the Second Amendment is not infringed.—Joe]
I didn’t have the stomach to look at Biden’s website for his list of proposed infringements so I’m pleased that Ammo.com did the stomach churning work.
Commonality is determined largely by statistics. But a pure statistical inquiry may hide as much as it reveals. In the Second Amendment context, protected arms may not be numerically common by virtue of an unchallenged, unconstitutional regulation. Our colleagues in the Third and Seventh Circuits agree. See ANJRPC, 910 F.3d at 116 n.15 (common use alone “is not dispositive” because of an unconstitutional regulation restricting the quantity of protected arms in circulation); Friedman v. City of Highland Park, 784 F.3d 406, 409 (7th Cir. 2015) (“[I]t would be absurd to say that the reason why a particular weapon can be banned is that there is a statute banning it, so that it isn’t commonly owned. A law’s existence can’t be the source of its own constitutional validity.”). Thus, “[w]hile common use is an objective and largely statistical inquiry, typical possession requires us to look into both broad patterns of use and the subjective motives of gun owners.” New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Cuomo, 804 F.3d 242, 256 (2d Cir. 2015) (“NYSRPA”) (internal alterations and quotation marks omitted). As discussed earlier, nearly half of all magazines in the United States today hold more than ten rounds of ammunition. And the record shows that such magazines are overwhelmingly owned and used for lawful purposes. This is the antithesis of unusual. That LCMs are commonly used today for lawful purposes ends the inquiry into unusualness.
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
VIRGINIA DUNCAN; RICHARD LEWIS; PATRICK LOVETTE; DAVID MARGUGLIO; CHRISTOPHER WADDELL; CALIFORNIA RIFLE & PISTOL ASSOCIATION, INC., a California corporation, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. XAVIER BECERRA, in his official capacity as Attorney General of the State of California, Defendant-Appellant
August 14, 2020
[Emphasis added.
YES!
If upheld this eliminates the concern about machine guns being unprotected via Heller because they have been (essentially) banned since 1986 and hence can’t be considered “in common use”.—Joe]
I recently received an offer from Craft Holsters for a free holster if I did a review of the holster. I know someone with a Ruger SR40 and no holster for it so I asked to receive one for that gun. They promptly shipped the holster from Slovakia and I received it a few days later.
Here are some pictures:
It’s a really nice looking holster. It’s very solidly built and comfortable to wear. The gun fights tight and there was no worry of the gun falling out even if were to be turning somersaults or some other vigorous activity.
At the range I drew and fired probably a dozen times. Three of those times the rear snap popped loose. This allowed the holster to rotate forward increasing the cant to the point I couldn’t easily remove the gun from the holster. I wish they had used directional snaps:
Directional snaps, as seen in the two images above, require that you hook one side of the snap over, then push down on the other side to secure it in place. To unsnap it you must pull up on the side you pushed down when fastening it. It will not unfasten, without breaking, from pressure on the other side. In a holster the nondeliberate forces on the snap always come from the bottom side. Properly installed, the directional snap will prevent the problem I had with it coming unsnapped during the draw.
That said, after some use the friction decreased and I no longer had the problem. Still, I would worry about it happening again at the least opportune time.
One other concern I had was that holster covered up the magazine release. Other holsters I have do not cover it up:
With an exposed magazine release I can take an empty gun, put a full magazine in it, rack a round into the chamber, put the gun in the holster, remove the magazine, and top it of with another round, then put the magazine back in the gun while it is still in the holster.
I thought the covered magazine release prevented me from doing this. It turns out it doesn’t. I can press on the holster over the magazine release and actuate the release just fine. Of course this created a new concern. Could normal wearing of the holster put sufficient pressure on the holster to actuate the release? I tried to make this happen but the area of the holster over the release is in a soft spot below my ribs and above my hip bone where I couldn’t get anywhere near sufficient pressure to actuate the magazine release. I was able to make it happen once during a somewhat contorted draw.
Enough of my whining. Here are some things I really like about the holster.
Each of the two fastening straps can be put in three different positions:
This allows you to change the height and/or the cant of the holster.
The extra layer of leather near the mouth of the holster keeps the mouth open after the gun is drawn such that you can always reholster with one hand and not be wiggling the gun around to work it into the holster. You can keep the muzzle at a proper angle such that you aren’t going to explode a kidney if you manage to do something stupid with your trigger finger during the reholstering process.
The holster has a 5-year warranty.
The holster is priced at $65 plus $14 shipping.
It is shipping via DHL from Slovakia and you will received the holster in five to six business days. There was no taxes added so at $79 you get a really great value. A similar holster from Milt Sparks is $135. A similar holster from Kramer is $126.50 plus shipping.
Here is a video made by Craft
You should give this holster serious consideration. You get a good quality holster in the the comfort of leather for a great price. The also have other types of holsters for the Ruger SR40.
The state of California argues that the district court erred by granting summary judgment for the Owners. We disagree with the government’s position, and we affirm. California Penal Code section 32310 severely burdens the core of the constitutional right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms. The statute is a poor means to accomplish the state’s interests and cannot survive strict scrutiny. But even if we applied intermediate scrutiny, the law would still fail.
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
VIRGINIA DUNCAN; RICHARD LEWIS; PATRICK LOVETTE; DAVID MARGUGLIO; CHRISTOPHER WADDELL; CALIFORNIA RIFLE & PISTOL ASSOCIATION, INC., a California corporation, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. XAVIER BECERRA, in his official capacity as Attorney General of the State of California, Defendant-Appellant
August 14, 2020
[Great news out of the ninth circuit. The case is about the constitutionally of bans on normal capacity magazines. This is the second time this case has been decided in our favor. See also these posts about the first time.
This lawsuit was supported by FPC and SAF who I (and my employer) have been donating thousands of dollars to each year. This is a partial return on my investment.
Almost for certain there will be a motion for en banc rehearing. “And as the Hawaii open carry case demonstrates, CTA is perfectly willing to sit on such requests for, quite literally, years.”—Joe]
To the people who are in disbelief that the woke Seattle City Council would fire a black woman police chief:
It’s never been about diversity; it’s about power.
Race is the means; Marxism is the end.
Christopher F. Rufo @realchrisrufo
Tweeted on August 11, 2020
[This seems to fit all the given data.—Joe]
For years when I would hear someone suggest people who descended from slaves in this country should be given reparations for the wrongs done to their ancestors I would almost immediately dismiss the idea. No one alive today has been legally a slave in this country. And no one alive today has legally been a slave owner in this country. So who and why should anyone alive today be responsible for something they didn’t do and who should receive compensation for a wrong they did not suffer?
I recently saw the error of my ways. I reached a state of enlightenment on my own. I am now in partial agreement with those who are demanding reparations for the terrible injustice inflicted upon so many people by legal slavery so many years ago.
With this blog post perhaps I can convince more people to see the light and spread the word of how we can deliver a small measure of belated justice. Please, hear me out on this. It’s important.
As I said in the opening paragraph the problem I initially saw with reparations is that no one alive today was alive when the wrongs occurred. But I now see that the descendants of those who were forcibly brought here would have had a much different life if their ancestors had not been brought here. Therefore if the descendants of people forcibly brought here choose to live their life in the land where their ancestors were taken from then I can see the justice in providing them a one-way ticket to their ancestral homeland on the condition they not return except for occasional visits.
With that part of the issue settled we still have the question of how to pay for this transportation. I think I have that issue figured out too.
It is my belief that there are some descendants of slaves who consider themselves fortunate that they were born in this country and are free citizens here rather than living in the land of their ancestors. Therefore, I propose these people pay the price of a single one-way ticket to a fund to send those who wish to escape this country back to their homeland.
If there are insufficient funds to send everyone desirous of returning then a GoFundMe account should be easily able to make up the difference. I know that I would pay a fair amount to such a fund just to get people to, once and for all time, stop whining about reparations. And I’m sure a lot of other people would too. I don’t think there would be any problems getting sufficient funding to sent all those people back to their homeland.
If, on the other hand, there ends up being an excess of funds in the account the funds should go to the descendants of the slave owners*. The reasoning for this is that the people grateful to be here rather than in their ancestral land owe a debt, which they have never paid for being here. It’s true that the descendants of the slave owners didn’t pay the price of bringing current wrongful residents here, but it makes as much or more sense than the original version of reparations.
There is one more wrinkle that I can see worth ironing out. Many of the descendants of wrongful residents are also descendants of people who voluntarily migrated here. I propose their contribution to the fund or ticket price for their return, whichever they chose, be prorated according to the percentage of DNA they have which traces back to the ancestral homeland of the slaves.
Please share and help heal the wounds of that terrible institution of legal slavery once and for all.
* To the best of my knowledge none of my ancestors were slave owners so I can’t see that I’m furthering my own self-interest here.
Continued odd happenings in the Pacific Northwest where a 70% white city has hounded its Black police chief out of office as an act of racial justice.
Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias
Tweeted on August 10, 2020
[Yeah, I suppose it’s a bit odd. But if you knew the nature of the politicians in Seattle it would seem far less odd. To the casual observer they are absolutely bonkers. If you think of them as the destroyers of a city with the constraint that they intend to have minimal risk of going to prison then they are doing a great job.
Tomorrow’s QOTD will feature the most accurate hypothesis I have yet seen to explain the given data.
I do have to give Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best credit for standing up for what is right and not participating in the mass-delusion/deliberate-lie that the Seattle PD is the problem.—Joe]
One can be displeased by the fact that Americans enjoy a unique right to self-preservation, but to deny the Second Amendment and falsely claim the right to keep and bear arms as “so-called” is intellectually dishonest. Law-abiding gun owners have every right to arm themselves. Thankfully, the Founding Fathers added no provisions in the Bill of Rights protecting the timid from never encountering things that make them uncomfortable or that offend delicate sensibilities.
Norwood Paladin
August 11, 2020
Gun rights aren’t ‘so-called’
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]
Brother Doug has been doing some research on our grandfather Huffman. During WWI Grandpa was in the U.S. Army and was sent to Russia. Here is the latest story related to that deployment.
I bought a couple more books on the American Expeditionary Force Siberia. One called, “The Russian Sideshow” by Robert Willet is particularly interesting. I have been able to correlate things he said in the book to things my grandfather, Cecil Huffman wrote home to his parents about. In particular, the trip to Vladivostok is of interest.
Cecil sailed to Vladivostok on the Sheridan, leaving San Francisco on September 2, 1918. They were accompanied by another troop ship called the Logan. The ships stopped at Japan to take on coal. They stopped at Hakodate on the northern island of Hokkaido, which unfortunately didn’t have any coal.
From the book:
As the two ships anchored outside Hakodate on the northern island of Hokkaido, it was decided to let the doughboys get off the ship, visit the city, and stretch their legs. It was not a wise decision. The ships arrived unannounced, and very soon, unwelcomed. As the thirty seven hundred doughboys, unsteady from weeks at sea, descended on the city, they immediately looked for bars and ladies of the evening…
It soon became apparent that Japanese whiskey had a power that affected the men far more than they anticipated. Johnson described the problem to Roberts:
“All the cheap bars have Scotch whiskey made in Japan, “ he told us, “If you come across any, don’t touch it. It’s called Queen George, and it’s sublimate proof, because thirty-five hundred enlisted men were stinko fifteen minutes after they got ashore. I never saw so many get so drunk so fast.”
Johnson enlisted Roberts and a few others to round up the men and get them back aboard the two transports. Roberts described the challenge:
“Intoxicated soldiers seemed to have the flowing qualities of water, able to seep through doorways, down chimneys, up through floors. When we slowly edged a score of khaki-clad tosspots from a dive and started them toward the ships, then turned to see whether we had overlooked anyone, the room would unbelievably be filled with unsteady doughboys, sprung from God knows where, drunkenly negotiating for the change of American money or the purchase of juss one more boll of Queen George.”
It was not just the enlisted men; officers joined in the orgy and later paid the price. Eventually, order was restored, and the two ships lumbered out of port, still without coal.
Cecil wrote his parents (This is his punctuation, spelling and sentence structure):
On Japan Sea
September 28, 1918:
Dear Father + Mother,Well I wonder how you are tonight I am fine and dandy. We stopped in Japan got to go ashore one after noon had more fun than I ever had in the same length of time. They just follow you around in droves some of them can talk a little English my bunch ran onto some boys that were talking English in high school they said, could talk pretty good had them show us to a resturant we went in and ordered ham + eggs they brought us bread and butter on plates we told them we wanted ham and eggs so she went back and brought us some raw eggs in the shell then one of the boys went in the kitchen and showed them what we wanted so after so long a time we got them they were sure good when we got them. There was one thing right after another happening all the time we were there. The town was a dirty place they had no sewers or anything like we have at home they had street cars but the tracks are not kept up are awfully rough. They are about a hundred years behind the U. S. in everything…
The ships sailed north about 150 miles to Otaru to get coal. Only a few men were allowed to go ashore at Otaru, but those few managed to convince the locals that gilded Philippine one-centave coins were pure gold coins. They were passing the coins off to the locals when the fraud was discovered and the police got involved. One of the soldiers smashed a liquor bottle over the head of a police officer and it created what was described as a true international incident. The ships were held in port until the fraud and assault charges were resolved. While they were being held in port a typhoon came in and blew the Logan ashore damaging it slightly. (Cecil was on board the Sheridan)
Cecil mentioned the typhoon in his letter of September 28:
Had a real storm while we were in the harbor I never saw the wind blow so hard the water or spray blew through the air just like the snow flies in a bad snow storm. Was glad we were in the harbor it would have been awfully rough on the sea.
The ships arrived in Vladivostok on September 29 at 8:30 PM, the day after Cecil wrote the letter to his parents. He didn’t mention any of the conflict the soldiers had with the Japanese in his letter.
It is interesting to note that Dad told me Uncle Walt and Grandpa didn’t drink, while Uncle Claude was a heavy drinker. I have no idea if Grandpa was involved in the drunken behavior in Japan or not. He was 31 years old at the time, older and possibly more mature than most of his fellow soldiers, but who knows what part he played in the unruly scene in Japan.
The book mentions all three skirmishes Cecil was involved in. Previously, I could only find information on the skirmish at Novo Nezhino. The book downplays the significance of the skirmish at Novo Nezhino compared to the description I found in the book entitled, “The history of the 31st.” I will write about the skirmishes at Maihe and Knevichi at a later date.
Again, No, We DO NOT need federal troops in Chicago. Period. Full stop. I’m sure the president will have his way with this incident, but I’m calling upon him to do the things we do need. We need common sense gun control.
Lori Lightfoot
Chicago Mayor
August 10, 2020
Lori Lightfoot Says Chicago Needs “Common Sense Gun Control” — NO Federal Troops
[Mass looting, with no guns involved, which the police are unable to stop and the Mayor says the solution is gun control.
The lies are now so nonsensical that they are losing their credibility with people.—Joe]
Take a walk around downtown Seattle. You will be shocked by a shuttered, dystopian city and made angry by the inaction and ineptness of its political leadership. It is simply beyond words.
…
I swung by the infamous McDonalds* on Third Ave– infamous for both drug dealing and violence, and I could not believe what I saw: an obvious drug deal going down right in front of me.
…
What didn’t I see on my two-hour walk? Not a single police officer. Not one police car.
A boarded up central core of a major U.S. city was being left to the homeless, drug dealers, and security guards. Even the most notorious, crime-ridden corner of the city had no police. The streets of the city had become a fearful abandoned place.
Cliff Mass
August 5, 2020
Seattle: A City in Fear Can Be Restored
[Mass concludes with some suggestions and hope that Seattle can recover. I’m not so certain.
This morning I spent most of an hour talking with daughter Jaime about the death spiral of Seattle and other major cities. We’re not so sure Seattle can be saved. A significant part of the success of cities the last 200 years has been because most of the best jobs were in cities. Part of the response to the pandemic, many workers being able to work from home, has proven that reason is no longer valid. And just the existence of the pandemic is a deterrent to city life. Another attraction of city life was the restaurants and nightlife opportunities. Those were among the first casualties of the pandemic. So, why should people stay in the cities?
Many have already left. The people staying are those who contribute the least, if not a net drain, to the tax base. In New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has been begging rich people to return to New York City from their second-home retreats so they can pay taxes to help offset the state’s growing coronavirus-related revenue shortfall. The people the politicians want to come back are those most sensitive to the loss of police protection for their property. So what is their motivation to return?
Add violence and property destruction to the ability to be prosperous and safe outside the mega cities and we may have a death spiral for Seattle, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and other large cities. Those cities have been accepting and even encouraging the terrorists who have been making the cities less desirable. So what are the plausible outcomes?
Add mega cities to the list of causalities of 2020..—Joe]
* This is ground zero of Mugme Street.
Vasily Blokhin. Soviet executioner at Katyn. His count of 7,000 shot in 28 days remains the most organized and protracted mass murder by a single individual on record. Somewhere in Portland, his successor rises.
GOFORBROKE231 @goforbroke231
Tweeted on August 7, 2020
[The conclusion is plausible. It’s the communist way.
I wish Portland law enforcement (this includes the prosecutors and judges) would do their jobs.and put the terrorists away for a decade or so. The more they let the problem fester the more blood that will ultimately be shed. The weak government response is so eerily like the government response to the Nazi brown shirts in the 1930s.
As a side note, just think about those numbers. 7,000 people murdered in 28 days. Assuming eight hours per day that’s more than one person every two minutes.
Be prepared to respond appropriately.—Joe]
I think the last time I shot in a match was last December. Today I participated in an ASI match at the Renton Fish & Game Club. I had practiced Thursday evening and I think once the previous week as well. Before that it was probably a month or so. And before that, maybe sometime in February or March.
It turned out surprisingly well for as little as I have been to the range the last several months. I came in at 10th place out of 52 shooters. I felt I did great on all but two stages. I have to remember to shoot for 100% accuracy. If I push the speed a little bit, like I would in a USPSA match, the penalties are just too high. It’s a constant battle in my mind to make every shot a “down zero” hit.
As I had mentioned before, I had signed up to participate in the USPSA Area 1 championship in nearby Puyallup. In June it was postponed and then last month it was canceled:
It is with much regret that we are forced to withdraw from hosting 2020 Berry’s Area 1 Championship. We held on with high hopes and heartfelt dedication that the COVID-19 pandemic would subside and that we would, surely, be in Phase 4 of the current governing Phase Plan and that travel restrictions would have been lifted. We feel it is in everyone’s best interest to hold off until next year. Our Area Director, the Area Section Coordinators and the Paul Bunyan Rifle & Sportsman’s Club Board of Directors, have agreed to allow us to host 2021 Area 1 scheduled for August 4-8. This, of course, would be contingent on the current pandemic situation happening at that time. An alternate venue for 2020 has been established and will be announced by our Area Director. This will be an entirely separate match from the current posted match and will require new registration.
We want to give those intending to participate next year the opportunity to remain registered and maintain their spot in the match scheduled for 2021 at PBRSC. Any PAID participant, who chooses to remain in the match, will be awarded a ticket for entry into a drawing for a Springfield Range Officer Stainless Steel 1911. Those wishing to withdraw will be refunded the full registration fee, minus the Stripe processing fee. Refunds will be handled in as timely fashion as possible.
We appreciate all the support from everyone throughout these fluid times and the dedication of everyone who has continued to help us work toward bringing this match together. Our gratitude can not be expressed enough for their loyalty. We wish for everyone to maintain good health and remain safe as we hope that you can join us for Area 1 next year!Most sincerely,
Tessina Hurley
Match Director
As I have had near zero practice since January I would have done rather poorly anyway. This will give me the possibility to get my skill level back up closer to where I would like it to be. The problem is that the range is about five minutes from where I work and I used to go to the range several times a week during the lunch break. As I work from home now the range is further away and I find it more difficult to schedule a visit.
