I Know Her!

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Via U.S. Army Soldier Arrested in AT&T, Verizon Extortions – Krebs on Security:

Allison Nixon, chief research officer at the New York-based cybersecurity firm Unit 221B, helped track down Kiberphant0m’s real life identity. Nixon was among several security researchers who faced harassment and specific threats of violence from Judische and his associates.

“Anonymously extorting the President and VP as a member of the military is a bad idea, but it’s an even worse idea to harass people who specialize in de-anonymizing cybercriminals,” Nixon told KrebsOnSecurity. She said the investigation into Kiberphant0m shows that law enforcement is getting better and faster at going after cybercriminals — especially those who are actually living in the United States.

“Between when we, and an anonymous colleague, found his opsec mistake on November 10th to his last Telegram activity on December 6, law enforcement set the speed record for the fastest turnaround time for an American federal cyber case that I have witnessed in my career,” she said.

Nixon asked to share a message for all the other Kiberphant0ms out there who think they can’t be found and arrested.

“I know that young people involved in cybercrime will read these articles,” Nixon said. “You need to stop doing stupid shit and get a lawyer. Law enforcement wants to put all of you in prison for a long time.”

Nixon used to work for a different company. My employer contracted with her employer. She visited our Seattle area office at least once if not multiple times. I remember sitting across the conference table from her once. I think I may have even made reference here on my blog to some of the things she told us.

I remember being concerned about how open she was with her involvement in putting multiple cyber criminals in jail. Some of them were “selling violence as a service”. I asked her about it. She claimed she was taking appropriate precautions.

I hope she stays safe. She is very bright, a hard worker, and gets results. She has contributed far more than her share of giving bad guys very bad days.

Footnote: You do recognize the reference in her new employer’s name, right?

I Wonder…

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Quote of the Day

March For Our Lives is slashing its employees and appointing a new leader.

The gun-control group announced it would cut ties with 13 of its 16 full-time staffers last week.

Stephen Gutowski
March 27, 2025
National Gun-Control Group Lays Off Most Staff | The Reload

I wonder, do they have a building which would be suitable for an indoor shooting range or at least a gun shop? I think it would be poetic justice.

Real justice would be their prosecution.

Stopping Active Shooters Better than the Police

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Quote of the Day

You’d never know it from watching television, but civilians stop more active shooters than police and do so with fewer mistakes, according to new research from the Crime Prevention Research Center, where I serve as president. In non-gun-free zones, where civilians are legally able to carry guns, concealed carry permit holders stopped 51.5 percent of active shootings, compared to 44.6 percent stopped by police, CPRC found in a deep dive into active shooter scenarios between 2014 and 2023.

Not only do permit holders succeed in stopping active shooters at a higher rate, but law enforcement officers face significantly greater risks when intervening. Our research found police were nearly six times more likely to be killed and 17 percent more likely to be wounded than armed civilians.

…

If we truly care about public safety, we should acknowledge the proven role that responsible gun owners play in stopping violent attacks — rather than avoiding the truth for the sake of an anti-gun agenda.

John R. Lott, Jr.
March 11, 2025
Study: Concealed Carriers Stop Active Shooters Better Than Police

Of course. What else did you expect?

I Hope They Enjoy their Trials

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From Chad Mizelle @ChadMizelle47, Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Justice:

Today, the Department of Justice announced its first investigation (of many, if need be) into whether States and localities—today, Los Angeles County, California—are engaging in a pattern or practice of depriving ordinary, law-abiding Americans of their Second Amendment rights.

As Justice Thomas has explained, “the Second Amendment warrants the same respect as any other constitutional right.”

Or as the Supreme Court

But many States and localities keep insisting on treating the Second Amendment as a second-class right.

California has been a particularly egregious offender.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has bragged about having the strictest gun control laws in the country.

California Governor Gavin Newsom even called for a “28th Amendment” to restrict Second Amendment rights after recent pro-Second Amendment decisions from the Supreme Court.

To make things worse, many California localities appear to be imposing additional burdens beyond those required by state law, including by imposing expensive fees and lengthy wait times for concealed handgun licenses.

THIS MUST END. Today, the Civil Rights Division announced an investigation into the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to determine whether it is engaging in a pattern or practice of infringing Second Amendment rights.

There is more, but you get the drift. Newsom’s own tweets were quoted, and I presume will be used at his trial.

I believe I have been pushing for this longer than anyone. I first read the law back in the early 2000s and talked to other gun owners about it. No one could imagine it happening. And nothing did happen.

There was a time when blacks in the deep south believed there would never be prosecutions for the KKK terrorism. They also believed there would be no justice for the lynchings.

Times change. And the time for gun owners to believe in justice has arrived. We have long known that prosecutions are needed to stop the relentless oppression. New laws are created faster than the courts can respond. There must be consequences for their criminal acts.

And now there is a serious threat of consequences.

If prosecutions actually take place, I will search through all the comments. I will look for those who insisted the trials would never happen. Then I’m going to put them all in one blog post. And I will give one last lecture on moving the Overton Window. And how things happen in a manner similar to an earthquake. The pressure builds and then there is a sudden shift as things slip into a new alignment. There is a new reality. A reality that most people were unable to see just a short time before.

Then we can all enjoy the trials together.

How Did This Happen?

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Quote of the Day

People need to learn to protect themselves instead of giving up their liberties to the government in exchange for a “sense of security.” Everyone dreams of a world without killing or murder, but there are those out there that wish harm on their fellow human beings. Disarming everyone on a college campus, or anywhere for that matter, only turns people into targets for a murderer like Cho.

Robert G. Ridgell
September 11, 2007
Letter: Gun control may not be the answer | Opinions | collegiatetimes.com

I don’t have anything to say about the content of today’s QOTD.

What I find most interesting is the date. This letter to the editor did not show up in my Google alerts until March 25, 2025.

How did this happen?

When I’m wearing my tin-foil hat, I can believe Google deliberately blocked pro-gun content from their indices. Then, recently, as the political winds changed direction, they decided to remove the restrictions, and the pro-gun content was indexed. The alert then fired.

When I take off the hat and look for other instances of old pro-gun articles showing up, I can’t readily find any.

No Surprise Here

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What could they possible expect? Surely, they did not believe companies would just pay the taxes, right?

Seattle payroll tax revenues fall short by $47M

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell released his payroll expense tax (PET) report for 2024 Tuesday, and its projections came up nearly $50 million short.

“Today’s announcement that PET revenues collected in 2024 were $47 million lower than projected requires action to ensure our budget remains balanced,” Harrell explained in a statement.

Harrell said that his 2025 budget proposal was based on the projections from the independent Office of Economic and Revenue Forecasts. But since they got it wrong, the mayor said for the 2026 budget, “my office will consider all options, including additional revenue sources and appropriate expense reductions, to ensure we are making the priority investments and funding the essential services that matter to our residents.”

Did the payroll expense tax push jobs out of Seattle?

The payroll tax is levied on large corporations in the city, like Amazon and Expedia. Such a steep revenue forecast error suggests high-paying companies or their jobs are leaving the city.

It’s precisely why KTTH host Jason Rantz called the news “catastrophic” in a thread on X.

“What people haven’t realized yet—but soon will—is that the sharp drop in payroll expense tax revenue means jobs are leaving Seattle,” Rantz explained. “The whole point of the PET was to squeeze ‘free’ money out of businesses because the city arrogantly assumed it held all the cards. But what did PET actually do? It pushed Amazon jobs to Bellevue, kept employees working from home (and out of Seattle), and helped fuel layoffs at companies hit hardest by the tax—like Expedia.”

Jobs are leaving Seattle

Even Harrell acknowledged, “This decrease in revenue is aligned with recent reports of major employers moving thousands of high-paying jobs out of Seattle to other cities in our region.”

And, of course, next they will try to push jobs completely out of the state:

He noted that the Seattle payroll tax idea may go statewide with the budget proposal from Washington Democrats.

What’s next?

Republican State Rep. Chris Corry of Yakima took notice of the payroll woes in Seattle. He posted, “Paging literally everyone in Olympia.”

I just can’t believe they would deliberately kill their geese laying the golden eggs. Hence, I have to believe they really are that stupid. And since they are incapable of learning they are going to double down on their mistake.

Was Carville Right?

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Last month James Carville made a bold claim. The basic message was:

Democratic strategist James Carville believes that Donald Trump faces a “massive collapse” in just 30 days, adding “it’s over.”

So… Was Carville correct? Or is it what I suspected, just wistful thinking on his part? Or perhaps it was an effort to encourage the general public to trend in that direction.

Nuclear Escalation

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US intelligence has concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin may resort to nuclear escalation in the event of failures in the war, Bloomberg reports.

According to the media outlet, the warning about the possibility of Putin using nuclear weapons is included in the recent report from the Director of the US National Intelligence, published on March 25.

Kateryna Shkarlat
March 25, 2025
US intelligence suggests that Putin may use nuclear weapons: What is known

Progress on my underground bunker in Idaho is far too slow.

Democratic Party Favorability Rating at a New Low

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Quote of the Day

Former Clinton pollster Mark Penn said Friday on Fox News that crucial voter groups are fleeing the Democratic Party.

The Democratic Party’s favorability rating plummeted to a new low of 29%, according to a CNN/SSRS poll conducted from March 6-9. During an appearance on “Hannity,” Penn said he was shocked at the current state of the Democratic Party and said he’s never seen its rating this low in decades.

…

Democrats have formed a resistance to oppose President Donald Trump’s policies, specifically targeting the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk, which has reduced federal agency workforces.

The creation of DOGE, which aims to cut government expenditures, has ignited fierce Democratic Party resistance, but it has also garnered significant support from the American populace.

Mariane Angela
March 22, 2025
Former Clinton Pollster Stunned as People Flee Democratic Party: ‘I’ve Never Seen Anything Like This’

I have to wonder if these people are joining the Republican or Libertarian Parties, or the one of the Communist/Socialist/Marxist parties or just dropping out.

We live in interesting times.

Never Forget

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Via Doc Strangelove @DocStrangelove2:

Who said:

Never forget what they took from you.

Via Chuck Petras @Chuck_Petras.

Perhaps, by the 60th anniversary of GCA68 we will have reclaimed what they took.

The 2nd Amendment Explained

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Via Inclement Death @InclementDeath:

There is more than a little truth to this.

Mockingly

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Via Fight With Memes @fightwithmemes:

They are mocking people demonstrating Markley’s Law, so I don’t give them the usual line.

Pathetic

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Quote of the Day

I’m sorry about the micropeen, bud.

SoundsLegit @BBludau130
Posted on X, October 26, 2023

It’s not only another Markley’s Law Monday; it is another science denier (see also here)!

This is just pathetic. We need a higher quality of troll to make things interesting. Give me a minute. I will probably make another post that is more interesting.

Boomershoot Infrastructure Damage

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I ordered some cardboard boxes for Boomershoot 2025, and they are scheduled to arrive on Monday. So, I drove over Thursday after work and did some other stuff in the evenings and this weekend.

One of those things was to get the Boomershoot weather station back online. It had dropped off at 2:24 AM on March 7th:

Continue reading →

Really?

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From AOC’s Chances of Becoming Democrats’ 2028 Presidential Nominee: Polls:

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, has increasingly been discussed as a leading star within the Democratic Party, with some suggesting she could be a 2028 contender for the party’s presidential nomination.

While potential announcements for 2028 candidates are likely still a couple years off, a number of recent polls are already showing how voters are thinking about the upcoming primary—with Ocasio-Cortez emerging as one of the top few contenders.

I may be too far out of touch with reality, but I think this is going in the wrong direction to get votes. Sure, she gets the votes of the Marxists. And yes, she is attractive*. But will she get the votes which were defectors from the Democrat Party in 2024?

I think a good portion of those defectors were because Harris was too far left. AOC would lose even more votes to a respectable Republican candidate. I could even see a good Libertarian candidate** getting more votes than AOC.

* I once read that in most presidential elections the more attractive candidate wins. This claim annoys me to no end, but I suspect it is true.

** Yeah, like that is going to happen.

What Type of Sand?

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Quote of the Day

Reacting to a call by 14 perennially anti-gun House Democrats that President Donald Trump remove Kash Patel as acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms suggested the group “pound sand.”

 Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
March 20, 2025
CCRKBA TO DEMS WANTING KASH PATEL REMOVED AS ATF DIRECTOR: POUND SAND

Preferably, sand that is an ore for one or more of the metals, copper, zinc, or lead. We need more ammunition.

For the History Books

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Apparently, they can never have enough. From June 2024:

US views of government’s size, efficiency, role in regulating business | Pew Research Center

For nearly half a century, Democrats and Republicans have differed in their preferences for the size of government. Today, those differences are as wide as they have ever been:

  • Just 20% of Republicans and Republican leaners prefer a bigger government; nearly four times as many want smaller government with fewer services. Republicans’ views of the size of government have changed less than Democrats’. Still, when George W. Bush was running for reelection in 2004, roughly a third of Republicans favored a bigger government.
  • Nearly three-quarters of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (74%) favor a bigger government, providing more services. By comparison, in 2015, a smaller majority of Democrats (59%) said they preferred a bigger government.

The more government they get, the more of their party wants even more government. Without serious resistance, this rapidly ends in communism.

It must really hurt to be a communist wanting a bigger government, then have a capitalist grab a chainsaw and announce, “This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy!” Then he starts slashing and burning government programs and departments:

The communists will not accept defeat gracefully. These events are going to be in the history books.

I want my underground bunker in Idaho.

Violence is Standard Practice

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Quote of the Day

Violence is standard practice for losing communists.

MTHead
March 20, 2025
Comment to Violence is Not Speech

I believe this is true. I also believe that you can strike out the word “losing” and be just as truthful.

Another Progressive with a Clue?

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Quote of the Day

Progressive-led cities like Seattle, Smith argues, are killing Democrats’ brand with fringe rhetoric and well-publicized failures on crime, drugs and homelessness.

And yet, Smith says, he’s seen “a fierce resistance on the left side of the political spectrum to even consider the possibility that they should adjust some of their approaches.”

Smith’s crusade — which has upset some local elected officials and activists — is attracting national attention as Democrats debate why they lost and their best route out of the political wilderness.

After Trump defeated Kamala Harris in November, Smith told The Wall Street Journal “the extreme left is leading us into a ditch.”

In a recent New Yorker profile, Smith blamed his party’s woes on the “new left,” whose policies “have utterly and completely failed.” He singled out King County for funding programs with a leftist bent, including one that describes its work as fighting “cis-hetero patriarchy” and a move toward “getting rid of the criminal justice system.”

Jim Brunner and Daniel Beekman
March 19, 2025
Rep. Smith’s crusade against Democrats’ left wing gets attention, flak | The Seattle Times

Smith is my representative in the U.S. House. It appears he has a clue on at least a few topics. However, I don’t expect him to make a meaningful difference in their political direction. I’m seeing him and his colleagues in a future “ditch” of their own making. They just can’t help themselves.

Daily Ice Baths

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Quote of the Day

Rutgers Health researchers have made discoveries about brown fat that could pave the way for helping people stay physically fit as they age.

A team from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School found that mice lacking a specific gene developed an unusually potent form of brown fat tissue, which extended lifespan and increased exercise capacity by approximately 30%. The team is now working on a drug that could replicate these effects in humans.

…

In the meantime, techniques such as deliberate cold exposure can increase brown fat naturally. Studies have found such efforts to produce short-term benefits that range from enhanced immune system function to improved metabolic health, but Vatner said none of the studies have run long enough to find any effect on healthful aging.

He added that most people would prefer to increase brown fat levels by taking pills rather than ice baths and is optimistic about translating the newest finding into an effective medication.

Rutgers University
March 17, 2025
Exercise in a Pill? Brown Fat Discovery May Extend Lifespan and Boost Fitness

Hmmm… I don’t think taxpayers should be subsidizing healthcare. But there doesn’t seem to be a good way out of it at this point. But this gives me an idea.

In order to receive taxpayer subsidized healthcare, I think people should engage in a healthy lifestyle. This would help to minimize their burden on taxpayers. No recreation drugs (this includes tobacco and alcohol). Healthy foods. At least moderate exercise. Wearing seat belts when traveling. Fire extinguishers in your home. Maintaining a healthy weight. No high-risk recreational activities. Etc., etc.

And now, there is another item we can add to the list of requirements!

One of the qualifications for subsidizes should be wearing no more clothes than that needed to prevent frostbite. Of course, this would require repealing all laws against public nudity. I don’t have a problem with that.

The alternative would be verification of their daily ice baths. I don’t have a problem with that either.