Via a tweet from Proud Hunter@Duck_Hunter7 (which also resulted in a Markley’s Law Monday post scheduled for January 16, 2017) we have this tweet from Pupper, Esq. @alltehmunnies:
I hope you’re killed in an armed stand off with law enforcement.
And this tweet from not nev @existentialslut in the same thread:
my dream gun control legislation is all gun owners shoot themselves
Why are progressives so violent?
Oh yeah! Now I remember.
Oh, you’re in a “club” that you have to pay to be a member of. Sounds awesome. Silly, nra cowards. #bokbok #tinycockclub #gunsense
Bacon @Baconmints
Tweeted on December 23, 2014
[It’s another Markley’s Law Monday!
Via a Tweet from BFD @BigFatDave.—Joe]
An attack on abortion rights, for example, produces a far greater outcry and resistance than the successful attack on habeas corpus and due process. President Obama was able to declare his power to execute citizens by executive branch decision alone without due process and conviction in court, and it produced barely audible protest.
Historically, a government that can, without due process, throw a citizen into a dungeon or summarily execute him is considered to be a tyranny, not a democracy. By any historical definition, the United States today is a tyranny.
Paul Craig Roberts
Does The United States Still Exist?
An address delivered to the Libertarian Party of Florida on March 23, 2016 in Destin, Florida
[Interesting points.
Remember: Why Boomershoot? Insurance against tyranny.—Joe]
Across the US, states are on the verge of reversing decades-old laws about homosexual relationships and marijuana use. If the old laws could have been perfectly enforced through surveillance, society would never have reached the point where the majority of citizens thought those things were okay. There has to be a period where they are still illegal yet increasingly tolerated, so that people can look around and say, “You know, that wasn’t so bad.” Yes, the process takes decades, but it’s a process that can’t happen without lawbreaking. Frank Zappa said something similar in 1971: “Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.”
The perfect enforcement that comes with ubiquitous government surveillance chills this process. We need imperfect security — systems that free people to try new things, much the way off-the-record brainstorming sessions loosen inhibitions and foster creativity. If we don’t have that, we can’t slowly move from a thing’s being illegal and not okay, to illegal and not sure, to illegal and probably okay, and finally to legal.
This is an important point. Freedoms we now take for granted were often at one time viewed as threatening or even criminal by the past power structure. Those changes might never have happened if the authorities had been able to achieve social control through surveillance.
Bruce Schneier
2015
Pages 97 and 98, Data and Goliath
Via Mass Surveillance Silences Minority Opinions
[This line of thought can be extended to many other victimless crimes still on the books from gun “crimes” to gambling, social nudity, sex toys, and various activities involving consenting adults.
The counter point is that with near perfect surveillance political corruption, murder, terrorism, and other horrible crimes could be significantly reduced. So the question becomes, “How do you balance the tradeoffs?”
It appears to me the greatest threats to society come government (look at the number of murders committed in the 20th Century by governments against their own citizens as opposed to murders committed by citizens on each other). Hence as a “common-sense good first step” I am of the opinion that greatly enhanced surveillance for government employees is a good thing. Implement the most extreme surveillance practical for politicians and others in positions of power. Encrypt it and store it securely. But if they are accused of wrongdoing their data comes out of storage and is reviewed for evidence of criminal activity. The rational could be, “With great power comes great responsibility. With great responsibility comes great oversight.”—Joe]
If a politician advocates for the “Australian Model of gun control” be sure to inform everyone of the “Australian Compliance Model of gun control”:
In Australia, part of the supply of banned firearms comes from defiance of the original prohibition. The Sporting Shooters’ Association of Australia estimates compliance with the “buyback” at 19 percent.
Other researchers agree. In a white paper on the results of gun control efforts around the world, Franz Csaszar, a professor of criminology at the University of Vienna, Austria, gives examples of large-scale non-compliance with the ban. He points out, “In Australia it is estimated that only about 20% of all banned self-loading rifles have been given up to the authorities.”
You might also speculate that would be an upper bound for the U.S. and that U.S. gun owners might not be nearly as “polite” about it as the Aussies.
Dan Gross of the Brady Campaign spins his false narrative again:
Make no mistake, this is a disgusting, morally depraved marketing campaign,” Dan Gross, the organization’s president, said in a statement. “The NRA continues to stoop to new lows in the hopes of shoving guns into America’s youngest hands. If nothing else, this approach demonstrates just how desperate the organization has become to sell more guns — it must now advertise deadly weapons to kids by perverting childhood classics with no regard whatsoever for the real life carnage happening every day.
To be frank, it’s pathetic.
No, Mr. Gross, your deliberate lies are pathetic. This isn’t NRA marketing. The NRA doesn’t sell guns. The NRA is a civil rights organization representing private citizens. It does not directly represent manufacturers or sellers of firearms.
But Gross is smart enough to recognize the truth will be ineffective in advancing his agenda. So, he does what he has to do. He lies.
I’m a strong proponent of women learning how to shoot guns even though they sometimes use them inappropriately:
The wife, 60-year-old Victoria Reid, was arrested Wednesday evening in Rockledge and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault domestic violence.
An arrest report from the Brevard County Sherriff’s Office indicates that Reid forced her husband of 16 years to sit on a couch at gunpoint as she confronted him about having an affair. Once seated, she threatened to maim him, kill him, and give him PTSD – a condition she also suffers from – in order to punish him for his alleged acts of unfaithfulness.
Her threats indicated that she was planning to shoot her husband in the face or chest, however it seemed she settled on traumatizing her husband rather than flat-out killing him, opting to shoot him in his left knee instead. But once she did, the bullet ended up traveling past his knee, up his leg and to his testicles where it got lodged.
I’m also a strong proponent of not doing things you know will make them extremely angry.
I think he’s a “moderate” in the sense that he approves of government invasions that come from the left and the right.
Glenn Reynolds
March 16, 2016
LIBERTARIANS not so happy with Merrick Garland’s record on civil liberties.
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]
I received an email today from the Boomershoot Precision Rifle Clinic Instructor. He wanted me to post this guidance about the clinic and Field Fire:
30 March, 2016
Fellow Clinic and Field Fire Shooters!
This is my 18th year running training at Boomershoot and want this year to be as safe and enjoyable as past years.
Most of you have read this many times but for those who are new, please pay heed.
This year the Clinic will be using firing positions 60 and 61 which are mine for Boomershoot so the Field Fire people are free to set up on their reserved firing positions.
Field Fire will start at around 1030 on Friday. On Saturday it will start when I can ensure it is safe to shoot which should be around 0930.
Clinic Shooters need to arrive by 0845 and Field Fire shooters can come and go as they please. Do use the back way into and out of the firing line when we are hot so we can avoid having to cease fire continually.
Field Fire shooters must check in with us and get a wrist band showing they have registered and paid. If you want to shoot Field Fire but haven’t registered, see us and we will get you registered. If you show up and want the Clinic, we may or may not be able to take you but do ask.
We will have a cease fire for an hour starting around 1200.
We use a air horn to start and stop firing. One long blast means cease fire and two short blasts means you can load and shoot.
When you hear a cease fire, put your rifle on safe, unload, and come off the rifle.
In the past, people have seen something to warrant a cease fire and have been good enough to call ‘Cease Fire!’. If you hear someone call a cease fire, do so, put your rifle on safe, unload and come off the rifle. We will figure out what is happening and when it is safe to shoot again, we will blow the air horn twice. No one ever got in trouble for calling a cease fire on their own.
If you want to put out paper for a short range zero, please get me or one of my cadre to inspect its location before you blast. Your bullets must go through the paper and into the side of the hill where the steel targets are placed.
No tracer or incendiary ammo unless you get permission from me. I will have to get permission from Joe.
My steel targets are for .30 caliber and under. If you want to shoot your .338 and .50 cal at steel, you will need to bring your own steel.
Of course, soft lead black powder rounds are fine on any target. Blast away.
Before you go blasting at steel at the top of the hill (700 yards), ensure you have a zero so you don’t shoot over the hill top. In addition to our safety road guard, there are houses and farms down range on the other side of that hill so please, know your zero before shooting at those targets. If you shoot at those targets and your spotter sees no trace or splash, do not add elevation and try again. Go back to a shorter range target and make sure you are hitting it before going back to 700 yards.
At about 1500 each day we will do a cease fire and Joe with his assistants will place two small and one large explosive target along the 375 yard berm specifically for you and where you want them placed. We will bring spray paint so you can mark your targets. When I have ensured everyone is safe, we will shoot our targets. I give 15 minutes for you to shoot YOUR targets. After 15 minutes I will inform the firing line that any target left untouched can be shot by anyone (poaching). After about another 15 minutes I will call a final cease fire and we will walk the line ensuring everyone is completely off their rifles. Once I am convinced the line is safe, Joe and his assistants will put in the targets for the High Intensity shoot.
When you see how many targets are along the 375 yard berm, and that despite being painted, many look like yours. Please play by the rules as best as you can before I allow you to poach.
If you want to remove your rifle from the line; make safe, unload, visual inspection, then put it in your rifle case and remove it from the line.
If you want to maintain your rifle at your car or truck, remove the bolt and maintain your rifle at your car or truck.
If you are new to the Field Fire, you are in the minority. About 90 percent of Field Fire shooters have been to multiple Boomershoots and Field Fires. If unsure about something, ask one of them or one of us.
If you have questions, please feel free to write me at eaecon@comcast.net.
Thank you!
Gene Econ
There are still positions available for Boomershoot 2016. Sign up here.
Voting for office is like picking out which gun you wanna get shot with.
I can related to that this year in particular because of our most likely presidential candidates. There have been some bad options in the past but this year is really messed up.
Contrary to opinion, leftism isn’t just about hate. Leftists are more complex than that. From my time as a red diaper leftist, I can tell you that a whole range of emotions are involved. Hate, anger, fear, bitterness, jealousy, envy, rage, greed, pride, smugness and paranoia (not technically an emotion, but it is widespread among leftists).
With such a parade of negative emotions, it is no surprise that so many leftists suffer from chronic depression, often from a young age. Even if they lose the anger, they still retain the attitude: that the government must fix everyone’s problems, regardless of cost and that there is an enormous right-wing conspiracy that is just around the corner.
The victim narrative of the Left is very infectious. You are always the victim and you are always owed something. The wealthy are always evil, while you are always good and wholesome.
Michael Faraday
March 16, 2016
The Mind of the Left From an Insider
[Amazing stuff in this article. Or at least it matches my confirmation bias extremely well.
The part about hate and being a victim really resonates with me. Emotions are how they communicate and expressions of hate are the means of signaling their virtue to other leftists. If they identify as a victim it justifies their hate. They identify with other victims. Those who do not identify as a victim of some sort must be the oppressors. And of course they always require a powerful government to right the wrongs they see inflicted upon them by powerful oppressors. The concept that powerful governments have been, can be, and always will be, oppressive is incomprehensible to them.—Joe]
Gun control is not about saving lives. It never has been and never will be. It is about control, even to the point that it causes innocent persons to lose their lives to violent crime. To the antis such deaths are an acceptable, maybe even a necessary, means to an end.
Justin Stakes
March 9, 2016
Are We Protecting Victims or Are We Playing Gun-Control Games With Their Lives?
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]
The setting up of and maintaining a private email network as the sole means to conduct official business by email, coupled with the failure to timely return email records into government custody, amounts to actions plainly inconsistent with the federal recordkeeping laws.
Jason R. Baron
Former director of litigation at the National Archives and Records Administration
Told to the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2015
147 FBI agents are reportedly involved in the Hillary Clinton email investigation — here’s how the scandal took root
[Also, there were 22 emails which, according to Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah), a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence,:
…are on their face sensitive and obviously classified, This information should have been maintained in the most secure, classified, top-secret servers.
As Bill Whittle said, “Here Be Dragons”:
If she is not indicted will others guilty of similar crimes get out of jail or escape prosecution due to lack of “equal protection under the law”?
If she is indicted will she drop out of the race? Can she take office if she is in prison on inauguration day? Can Hillary pardon herself?
Where is my popcorn? This is going to be, by far, the most interesting election I have ever seen.—Joe]
For the first time ever I’m placing an advertisement in a local paper for Boomershoot. I have placed few classified ads in the past and one with Western Shooting Journal in 2013 with, as near as I could tell, zero return on my investment. This time it is with the Orofino Idaho paper the Clearwater Tribune.
Orofino is the closest town to Boomershoot and this is where the out of town participants find their hotel rooms.
Here is the ad which will be running in the weekly paper for the next three weeks:
I’m hoping to get some local people to participate. It’s rare than anyone closer than 50 miles away attend and I find that somewhat odd.
If you do something like this:
When Amelia Hamilton started working with NRA Family on updating classic Grimm fairy tales, it was to rework the stories we all knew and loved to show what would happen if the main characters had been taught about gun safety and how to use firearms.
Never did she imagine the biggest criticism she’d face would be from people who hadn’t even read her work.
Of course you should expect the anti-gun bigots to get all upset. It shows gun ownership and usage in a positive light. This is unacceptable in their world view.
And, of course, there is absolutely no need for them to read your work. Knowledge and rational thought is irrelevant to their thought process. We have seen this again and again.
How else do you explain how quickly and frequently they resort to childish insults instead of calm rational thought when discussing gun ownership?
If the NRA thinks you’re doing a good job, that’s a pretty good indication that something’s very wrong.
The portion of the NRA which she is referring to is NRA-ILA. This is a civil rights organization. What presidential hopeful Clinton is saying is that she wants to infringe upon a specific enumerate right. She is publically admitting her intent to violate 18 USC 241 and/or 18 USC 242.
I can understand her lack of concern for being so open about this. She has gotten away with so many crimes that I suspect she gives such acts less thought than if you or I would when contemplating tearing off a “Do not remove under the penalty of law” tag off our pillow.
This could come up at her trial. Assuming, of course, she isn’t already serving a life sentence for some of her other crimes by then.
@Cmf68Kevin anyway, no one needs a machine gun, no matter how much they think it will make their penis grow
Cloudy @CloudyHawk
Tweeted on December 10, 2015
[It’s another Markley’s Law Monday!
Via a tweet from Linoge.—Joe]
I believe that in the future, whoever holds Alaska will hold the world. I think it is the most important strategic place in the world.
U.S. General Billy Mitchell
To U.S. Congress in 1935
[Even ignoring the Aleutian Islands Alaska is surprisingly close to both Europe and Asia. It is less than 2800 miles to Sweden and Beijing, less than 2500 miles to Japan, and less than 800 miles to Russia. Alaska to Los Angles is over 1500 miles and Alaska to Miami is over 3200 miles.
But I don’t think it holds as much strategic value as Mitchell thought it would. Early warning of Russian attack on North America? Absolutely. Missile launch site for attacking eastern Russia? Sure. But it’s not significant in regards to the entire world. That is particularly true with the Mideast currently being the most important hot spot. Still, I found it an interesting thought.—Joe]
Good lord, he’s been President for over 7 years and you still have your stupid guns. When the hell is he going to take them already???
Melissa Crawford
March 10, 2016
Facebook comment on Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America page.
[Don’t ever let anyone get away with telling you no one wants to take your guns.—Joe]
For some reason this portion of the latest gun control study has not been well publicized in the media:
According to the study, gun dealer licensing, dealer state record reporting requirements, dealer police inspections, gun owner fingerprinting, closing of the “gun show loophole,” ammunition purchaser recordkeeping, child handgun restrictions, child access laws, juvenile handgun purchases, magazine bans, and may-issue carry permits, have little to no effect on firearm-related deaths. Further, their results show, semi-auto bans, firearms locks, “bulk purchase limitations,” and mandatory theft reporting, increase firearm-related deaths.
The media did report on the laws which they think should be passed:
According to their calculations, implementing these laws throughout the U.S. – not just on the state level – could reduce gun-related deaths 80 percent. Broken down by each law, that would be a decrease of 84 percent for firearm identification, 61 percent for universal background checks for purchasing guns and 82 percent for ammunition background checks.
I wonder why?
H/T Sebastian.