It has to be said

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Most of the information you obtain from the mainstream media on guns has to do with the adverse effects of the ownership and use. What follows is a glimmer of light in a very dark landscape–Any Study Of ‘Gun Violence’ Should Include How Guns Save Lives:

But regardless of whether “gun violence” research is being conducted by the federal government, states, universities, or private organizations, there are three key principles all public health researchers and firearms policy analysts should remember.

The first principle is:

* Firearms save lives as well take lives.

…

A second key principle in judging gun violence research:

* The value of firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens should be measured in terms of lives saved or crimes prevented, not criminals killed.

…

Finally, a third principle to remember in analyzing public health gun violence research:

* The right to self-defense does not depend on statistics and numbers.

The first principle should be obvious but it is extremely rare this is brought up in the media.

The second principle is obvious to most people when you point out. And you have to point it out to most people. And in the case of the anti-gun people you have to really “rub their noses in it” before they will even acknowledge your mention of it.

The third principle is will probably take some convincing to a most people and it is an extremely rare anti-gun people who acknowledges you even bringing this point up.

Regardless of the difficult it getting acceptance, and even acknowledgement, these things have to be said whenever someone wants to talk about gun policies.

Quote of the day—Dean Rieck

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This ban was completely unjustified and a great concern for gun owners.

…

These bans are not about public safety. They are merely political theater and an excuse for City Councils to ‘virtue signal’ for publicity and personal aggrandizement.

Dean Rieck
Buckeye Firearms Foundation executive director
February 11, 2019
Buckeye Firearms Foundation Wins Legal Battle Against Cincinnati over Bump Stock Ban
[I’m close to giving up with the legislative arena in Washington State. We are getting some traction in the courts and I suspect that with the anti-gun hysteria sweeping the nation our best chance to stop it is in the courts. The law is on our side and many judges have a little better connection to reality through the written law than do the legislators and the executive branch.—Joe]

Snowpocalypse

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The temperatures weren’t anything like what recently happened back east but Seattle had it’s own extraordinary weather over the last couple of weeks. Here in Bellevue we had snow over 16 inches deep. The weather historians said it was the most snow since the winter of 1968-1969. With all the hills around here there were lots of cars which didn’t make it home and were abandoned on the side of the street. Some of them were badly crumpled.

We were without mail service for about 10 days. No Amazon deliveries for a simlar timeframe. No garbage or recycling pickup for three weeks. Our power stayed on except for a few outages that lasted no more than 30 seconds. Others, within a quarter mile of us, were without power for a couple days.

I worked from home for about six days as no one else on my team could make it in to work. I could have made it with my car. I could even walk to and from work if I really wanted to. But I didn’t see a point to it. Just stay put and don’t risk getting smacked by someone who didn’t have the proper tires on their vehicle.

Barb’s brother had a surgery scheduled for last Friday in downtown Seattle. His wife had little or no experience driving in the snow so Barb and I volunteered to bring them home after another snowfall. He lives on a hill close to the hill Barb and I live on. The street we live on had not been plowed and had several inches of snow on it. With no idea what his street conditions were like I took off the all season tires which would have been adequate for our street and getting into Seattle and replaced them with studded mud and snow tires. We had no problems traversing the snow and made the trip to and from downtown Seattle without any unexpected adventures.

What was odd to Barb and I was the run on groceries. The shelves of bread, milk, meat and fresh produce were almost completely bare. We got a few things before the snow came but not really much more than usual. I did fill the gas cans for the generator and topped off the tank in my car but we would have been just fine without the extra supplies.

The only issue we had was the snow damaged a gutter as it slid off the roof over the deck.

The Seattle Times reported heart warming stories of people helping others. Daughter Jaime, also in Bellevue, spent many hours shoveling snow in her condo parking lot to help clear a path to the street. She also helped numerous people get out of their car ports with cars poorly equipped for the adventure.

Below the break are pictures of the snow around our place.

Continue reading →

Quote of the day—Old 1811

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I’m probably the only commenter here who has arrested and convicted a genocidal mass murderer. During my investigation, I interviewed witnesses in two countries, and their statements still disturb my sleep fifteen years later. (Quick example: A witness was being chased by the murderer, and only escaped because the murderer stopped to shoot a baby.)

So whenever I read about a new barbarity, it dredges up unwanted memories that I can only try to dispel through sick humor. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

I remember reading somewhere about judging and being judged. Or maybe not.

Old 1811
February 13, 2019
Comment to Quote of the day—Benedict Rogers
[Yeah, I’d bet he is the only commenter with those credentials here. Those experiences are rather rare.

Old 1811, thank you for what you did. Are there things you can share which will help others avoid enabling more mass murderers? Any advice on any related topics?—Joe]

Quote of the day—Nancy Pelosi

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If the president can declare an emergency on something that he has created as an emergency, an illusion that he wants to convey, just think of what a president with much different values can present to the American people.

…

You want to talk about a national emergency? Let’s talk about today—the one-year anniversary of another manifestation of the epidemic of gun violence in America. That’s a national emergency.

Nancy Pelosi
U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives
February 14, 2019
Pelosi Warns GOP: Dem POTUS Could Declare Emergency for Gun Control
[Hell must have frozen over. I agree with Nancy Pelosi on something.

Allowing the anyone to have too much power is a very dangerous thing.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Smith & Wesson

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AOBC’s customer base of knowledgeable, law-abiding firearms purchasers views criminal acts solely as the responsibility of the criminal actor, and does not blame manufacturers of firearms, including Smith & Wesson, for criminal behavior. Actions which seek the approval of non-customers or anti-gun groups would not only be futile, they would damage AOBC’s business and reputation.

Smith & Wesson
February 8, 2019
Smith & Wesson Spurns ‘Smart Guns’ Despite Pressure from Investors
[There was a time when people were saying “Smith & Wesson must die.” And there was a significant chance that might have come about because of the backlash against their misbehavior.

Apparent they learned their lesson this time.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Larry Lambert

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The problem with socialism is that you can vote your way into it but you need to shoot your way out of it.

Larry Lambert
January 30, 2019
Threat Assessment
[Via Oleg:

socialism_problem_2221web

It’s not the only problem, but it certainly is a significant one.—Joe]

Washington AG responds to sanctuary sheriffs

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The Washington State Attorney General, Bob Ferguson, sent an open letter to Washington’s sheriffs and police chiefs refusing to enforce Initiative 1639.

The response is not as bad as I was afraid it might be. He didn’t say he was going try to prosecute them or anything. The worst he said was:

I am deeply concerned that the failure of local law enforcement to perform Initiative 1639’s background check requirement will jeopardize public safety in our state by allowing the sale of semiautomatic assault rifles to dangerous individuals not lawfully allowed to own a gun.  State law provides immunity to local law enforcement officers who run these checks “in good faith.” However, in the event a police chief or sheriff refuses to perform the background check required by Initiative 1639, they could be held liable if there is a sale or transfer of a firearm to a dangerous individual prohibited from possessing a firearm and that individual uses that firearm to do harm. In short, the taxpayers of your city or county assume the financial risk of your decision to impose your personal views over the law.

I find it very telling that he doesn’t address the possibility of liability if someone is denied their right to keep and bear arms is harmed because they were unable to defend themselves.

Near the end of the letter he attempted to peg the irony meter:

Under Article 1, Section 1 of the Washington State Constitution, “All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights.” As public officers, our duty is to abide by the will of the people we serve, and implement and enforce the laws they adopt.

He acknowledges the purpose of the constitution is to protect the rights of the people then he claims it is the duty of public officers to infringe upon the right of the people.to keep and bear arms.

Analogies to marijuana and immigration law enforcement are misplaced. This is not a situation where the
federal government is trying to force the state to enforce federal laws.

So… is he saying that it would be acceptable if they were to refuse to enforce Federal gun laws?

He might have been inspired to write the letter because of this map:

51648759_2248972718754894_8468932744657764352_n

I’m keeping a copy of Ferguson’s letter in multiple places for use as evidence at his trial.

Quote of the day—Amy Sherman

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Hastings said, “In 2018, we endured a school shooting nearly once a week.”

He arrived at that figure by looking at the 24 school shootings documented by Education Week and dividing that into a 180-day school year. (If we applied the same math to a calendar year, it would work out to half that amount.)

A statement about the number of school shootings warrants an explanation of what types of shootings were included. The Education Week database includes any K-12 shooting on a school property during school or a school event that resulted in injury or death. That means it includes both indiscriminate mass shootings as well as other types of incidents such as fights in a parking lot after a football game or an accidental shooting.

Hastings’ statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details about the database he cited. We rate this statement Half True.

Amy Sherman
February 11, 2019
Was there one school shooting a week in 2018, as a Florida lawmaker said?
[That’s being very generous to Hastings. It was a deliberate exaggeration to push a political agenda to infringe upon the specific enumerated right to keep and bear arms.

They lie. It’s part of their culture.—Joe]

Invite to Gab

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I am a PRO member on Gab. In order to join up you have to have an invite from a PRO member.

If you are a regular visitor to my blog, and preferably commenter, and want an invite send me an email at blog@joehuffman.org.

Quote of the day—Doug Huffman

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My grandfather, Cecil Huffman served in the Army with the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) Siberia.  On this day in February 1919, he wrote a letter to his parents that I have in my possession today.  All his letters were censored, and he knew the rules regarding what information he could send home, so none of his letters appear to have sections cut out or removed.  In his letters he often says there was nothing to write about even after he was involved in skirmishes with the Red Army led by Vladimir Lenin.  The attached letter is much like many others he wrote while in the Army.  On this day 100 years ago, Cecil wrote, “I know you expect to hear something in every letter, but there isn’t a thing to write about.”

The resolve of the people to fight the leftist forces of the communist revolution was not strong enough and resistance slowly folded as the Red Army advanced.  My grandfather and the rest of the AEF Siberia were pulled out of Vladivostok via transport ship in the fall of 1919.

In the decades that followed, Lenin and his successors went on to murder tens of millions of their own countrymen.  As communism spread in the 20th century, estimates are that up to 160 million people died worldwide through execution, starvation and politically motivated genocide under communist rule.  This happened in one nation after another as governments became too powerful, private industry was eliminated and free speech was restricted to only the politically correct line of thinking.

The majority of those supporting communism had no evil intent.  They fought for communism because they believed it would bring a better way of life for them and their children.

We must never forget the lessons of history.

1919-2-11 Cecil to Home (1)

1919-2-11 Cecil to Home

Doug Huffman
February 11, 2019
Email to extended family.
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Benedict Rogers

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Many prisoners of conscience—Falun Gong members, Uighur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists and “underground” Christians—have been subjected to medical testing and had their organs forcibly removed. Those organs have fed an enormous trade in organ transplants.

Benedict Rogers
February 5, 2019
The Nightmare of Human Organ Harvesting in China
[Via email from Paul K.

Well, I guess that is one way to make true the communist claim of better health care than in capitalist countries. You can get your organ transplant in days instead of months or years.

Isn’t communism wonderful!? Aren’t you looking forward to government supplied health care so we can have the same benefits in our country?

Or as Paul put it, “It’s more like Larry Niven’s “organlegger” dystopian plot line.”—Joe]

They want you dead

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Spokane County Sheriff responds to death threats:

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said it checked the Facebook account with the name that the caller provided and found a comment referencing Republicans stating, “i am going to kill every single one of them.”

Investigators said they found more posts referencing I-1639 that stated, “sheriffs that are non compliant will be shot. by me.” and “Ozzie Knezovich is gonna get a bullet in his skull.”

After all, it’s just common sense, right?

They want you dead. Don’t ever forget that. Don’t ever give up your guns.

Quote of the day—Brinda Karat

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The tremendous achievements of the first Socialist State beckon us to understand what was possible and what is possible to create today. The Soviet Union created records, equally relevant today in wiping out poverty, backwardness, and illiteracy, in establishing equality among peoples and nationalities, between men and women. It is an inspiration of what was and what can be, and that is why we say that the era it established of the transition from capitalism to socialism is as relevant today. Capitalism is not the end of history.

Brinda Karat
November 9, 2017
The Russian Revolution Is Still Relevant Today
[Via email from Chet.

Delusions are often functional but I’m struggling to find the function in this whopper of a delusion. Perhaps Karat thinks they would be one of the leaders who would be in control.

I can’t imagine they believe conclusive evidence supports the claims they made. Just reading a few chapters of The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: An Experiment in Literary Investigation (Volume One) would dissuade anyone of sound mind that this is a path a society as a whole would knowing and willing venture.

And yet, via another link from Chet, we have Teen Vogue discussing the differences between resistance, rebellion, and revolution while speaking fondly of the Russian and Cuban revolutions.

We live in interesting times.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Rep. Steve Scalise

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Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing Wednesday on new gun control legislation Democrats plan to push on the American people. The top Republican on the committee, Doug Collins, R-Ga., asked committee Democrats if I could testify about this legislation in an appropriate setting to offer another perspective as both a survivor of a shooting attack and strong supporter of our Second Amendment rights. But the Democrats said no. While liberals may try to silence conservative voices, I will not be silenced. The American people deserve to hear all perspectives.

Rep. Steve Scalise
February 6, 2019
Rep. Steve Scalise: Democrats don’t want you to hear what I have to say about guns and the Second Amendment
[Socialists cannot tolerate the truth and must repress opposing points of view. Particularly when that point of view involves individual liberty. Socialism is about coercion. And an armed society is able to resist coercion and hence the view of people like Representative Scalise must be repressed.—Joe]

Quote of the day—James Woods‏ @RealJamesWoods

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The raging communist moron Bernie Sanders and half of Hollywood held Venezuela up as the Utopia of the future just a few short years ago. These liberals are also classic gun grabbers. So please enjoy this video of “Venezuelans Without Guns…”

James Woods‏ @RealJamesWoods
Tweeted on January 31, 2019

[Never give up your guns.—Joe]

Agreed

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Quote of the day—CBMTTek

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On one hand, the gun grabbers talk about how mandatory training is necessary, and that only the well trained should be able to own guns, etc…

Then they introduce a law that will prevent people from training.

CBMTTek
February 5, 2019
Comment to Connecticut State Representative admits gun control bill is to hurt target shooters
[See also what Sebastian has to say about this.

This reminds me of dealing with people with Borderline Personality Disorder. They create no-win situations. BPD people don’t consciously create these situations. Their messed up minds don’t recognize their own irrationality. I suspect many of the anti-gun people don’t recognize the conflict either. They just recognize every restriction hurts gun owners and that is a “good thing” in their mind.

On the other hand I’m certain some of them are truly evil and chortle as they come up with these ideas.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Sarah H. Hoyt

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It’s going to continue ramping up. That the enemy gets a say, doesn’t mean we’ve lost the war.  Note the game is always the same they’ve played, only it’s working less now, now that us thought criminals know we’re not alone. They are not by and large, safe for the antifidiots resorting to physical violence. (And the antifidiots only operate in the cities where they feel safe.) They’re yellow under all the black paraphernalia. They are using what they always used: doxxing, whisper campaigns, mobbing and destruction of reputations and livelihoods.

They’ve done this my whole life. It’s their modus operandi. It’s just that now half of their campaigns (at least) fall apart and what they wish to keep under the rug comes flying out.  And we’re not alone. And we know we’re not alone.

My guess is that we’re so far from alone that the end-game for the US is the same as Romania, in terms of the worm turning (hopefully not in terms of the stupid afterwards, but that is up to all of us.)  One morning the “progressives” are riding high and by evening they’re cooling meat.

Sarah H. Hoyt
January 30, 2019
The Liberation Won’t Be On The Payroll
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Dan Bongino‏ @dbongino

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Socialism is the religion of the imbecile. Support for it is blind faith in a governing system so devoid of reason that it signals either your complete lack of intellect OR your thirst to subjugate others. ANYONE supporting socialism is an accomplice to the destruction it causes.

Dan Bongino‏ @dbongino
Tweeted on February 10, 2019
[In part, because of their deficiency in their ability and/or interest in using reason they are far more likely to use violence than those unaligned with socialism.—Joe]