Simple Insult From a Simple Mind

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Quote of the Day

I’m constantly asking these people: a) how often are you being attacked in your home? b) how many people attack you at once? A shotgun and / or pistol will defend your home & family. Hunting? WTAF are you hunting? They want this gun because they have a small . It’s that simple.

Paul Groseclose @groseclose_paul
Posted on X May 11, 2023

It’s not only another Markley’s Law Monday, it is another science denier!

Simple insults for a simple view of the world. Or, the old adage—simple things for simple minds.

But what can you expect from an anti-gun person? They have no concept of rights beyond the reach of the collective, no awareness of the impracticability of what they advocate, and no understanding of the immorality of their actions. Or, they are just flat out evil.

An existing connection was forcibly closed by the remote host

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The website for Boomershoot entries uses an email API to automatically send email to entrants and for sending out mass emails to the announcement list. This had worked fine for Boomershoot 2023. But as I was ready to announce Boomershoot 2024 in early summer it failed with an error:

Azure.RequestFailedException: The underlying connection was closed: An unexpected error occurred on a send. —>
System.Net.WebException: The underlying connection was closed: An unexpected error occurred on a send. —>
System.IO.IOException: Unable to read data from the transport connection: An existing connection was forcibly closed by the remote host. —>
System.Net.Sockets.SocketException: An existing connection was forcibly closed by the remote host at System.Net.Sockets.NetworkStream.Read(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 size)

I worked on the problem for quite a while (many hours off and on over several days). Then I tried using a different provider for the email service. The same exact error occurred.

Frustrated, I would set it aside for a month or so and worked on it again on some weekends. No luck.

People realized that the web site actually accepted entries even if it had not been announced. Then, a couple months ago, to my great surprise, I discovered that about 10% of the time the email did work. WHAT?!! Is it a timing issue? I did lots of experiments without success.

Yesterday, I started doing web searches with various search parameters to try and find the solution. Somewhat buried on one web page I found a suggestion, put this in your C# program anyplace before you attempt to make your connection with the other server:

ServicePointManager.SecurityProtocol = SecurityProtocolType.Tls12;

Since the web page was several years old I first tried using Tls13, newer is better, right?

No luck.

So I tried the original suggestion, Tls12. This worked.

There was great joy in Boomershoot land!

I’m making the blog post about this so perhaps other people can find the answer more easily than I was able to.

The complete error (exception call stack) is below the fold.

Continue reading →

Judge Benitez Schools California on 2nd Amendment

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The state court mistakenly did not regard the pistol or the billy to be the sorts of arms protected by the Second Amendment. Instead, only weapons of war were covered by the Constitution, according to Workman. As to other kinds of arms, Workman incorrectly observed,

in regard to the kind of arms referred to in the [Second] amendment, it must be held to refer to the weapons of warfare to be used by the militia, such as swords, guns, rifles, and muskets,—arms to be used in defending the State and civil liberty,—and not to pistols, bowie-knife, brass knuckles, billies, and such other weapons . . . .

(Emphasis added.). In short, Workman held that weapons of war are protected by the Second Amendment but found weapons like the billy are not weapons of war, and therefore are not protected.

Workman was wrong in concluding the Second Amendment does not cover arms like the pistol and the billy.

…

The Second Amendment protects a citizen’s right to defend one’s self with dangerous and lethal firearms. But not everybody wants to carry a firearm for self defense. Some prefer less-lethal weapons. A billy is a less-lethal weapon that may be used for self-defense. It is a simple weapon that most anybody between the ages of eight and eighty can fashion from a wooden stick, or a clothes pole, or a dowel rod. One can easily imagine countless citizens carrying these weapons on daily walks and hikes to defend themselves against attacks by humans or animals. To give full life to the core right of self-defense, every law-abiding responsible individual citizen has a constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms like the billy for lawful purposes.

Hon. Roger T. Benitez
Senior United States District Judge
February 23, 2024
Russell Fouts et al, v. Rob Bonta

2nd Amendment rulings by Judge Benitez are always a pleasure to read.

I especially like the above parts. California should not have tried to defend this law. They ended up bringing up rulings to the attention of the courts and 2nd Amendment lawyers that it was commonly understood that the 2nd Amendment protects weapons of war, and California is so far out of touch with reality that they banned possession of sticks which any eight year old could have picked up while walking through a park.

The unsaid part here is that if weapons of war are protected then these would be tyrants have to find mantra other than, “REMOVE WEAPONS OF WAR FROM OUR STREETS”.

Boomershoot 2024 is Open For Entries!

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Boomershoot is just 10 weeks away!

As some of you know I had problems getting email to work reliably. Hence the opening of Boomershoot entry is much later than normal. The website is now working well and entries are being processed correctly.

There were numerous people who discovered the site was accepting entries even though I had not announced it. There are still 34 great shooting position open so even though you didn’t get signed up as early as usual, you still have a chance to join the party.

Don’t miss out. Sign up soon: http://entry.boomershoot.com/ With a ton of explosives it will be a real blast!

See Boomershoot.com for more information about this amazing event.

Obvious and Correct

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Quote of the Day

For long time my own take is that if a person is too dangerous to have arms, they are too dangerous to be out running around free. Obviously those who wish to curtail or eliminate our right to arms think otherwise. As a society we simply MUST convict and lock away or do away with violent felons. Society’s tolerance of violent criminals is dumbfounding.

Carl from Chicago
July 12, 2023
Comment to Of Arms and the Law: Supreme Court case: US v. Rahimi

I’ve been saying that first sentence since at least the late 1990’s. Can anyone honestly demonstrate that it is wrong in some way?

It just seems so obvious and correct. Why doesn’t it catch on? What am I missing? Other than, of course, those in power don’t really want the violent crime problem solved.

Bullet and Shell Casing Forensics Are a Coin Flip

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In discussing the Ames II Study, he similarly opined that inconclusive responses should be counted as errors. By not doing so, he contended, the researchers had artificially reduced their error rates and allowed test participants to boost their scores. By his calculation, when accounting for inconclusive answers, the overall error rate of the Ames II Study was 53% for bullet comparisons and 44% for cartridge case comparisons—essentially the same as “flipping a coin.” Regarding the other two phases of the Ames II Study, Dean Faigman found the rates of repeatability and reproducibility “shockingly low.”

Fader, C.J.
KOBINA EBO ABRUQUAH v. STATE OF MARYLAND
June 20, 2023

Good to know if you are ever falsely accused and they are using firearm forensics against you.

Via David Hardy.

Best Markley’s Law Response Yet

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Via Chuck Petras @Chuck_Petras:

Whose Life Will Get Hard?

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Life is now hard for everyone, not only the stupid. We aren’t in Kansas or the 1980’s anymore. The people who did this to America and the American people have names and addresses. Many of the people they have screwed over are the ones with the 300 million guns they want to confiscate. At some point, those guns will need to be used. Then we’ll see whose life gets hard.

Jim Quinn
February 18, 2024
HARD DECISIONS USED TO LEAD TO AN EASY LIFE – The Burning Platform

The total number of guns in private hands in the USA is more than that. Some say 393 million, other say 466 million. And several years ago I recall reading estimates of 600 million. But let’s go with his number of 300 million.

How many jackbooted thugs and tyrants will be neutralized during the confiscation of, say, 10 guns? What if it were only one per ten guns? They will run out of diehard communist SOBs before they make a dent in the total number of guns. And a lot fewer of those useful idiots won’t be participating in the reconstruction of our country. And those who contributed to the hard times yet made it through will likely continue to pay a price their entire lives for their poor decision making.

More Good News From California Courts

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Judge blocks California from suing makers of ‘abnormally dangerous’ guns (msn.com)

I welcome these outrageous laws which are clearly unconstitutional on multiple levels. What I don’t think they understand is that by creating relatively easy wins for us we create a wedge on a slippery slope.

In addition it makes it all the more obvious to the general population that these people do not have the best interests of society in mind. They are mean spirited and likely evil people.

They will make their prosecution more likely to occur and more likely to result in conviction.

Statewide Rent Control Being Considered in Washington

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Five things to know about WA proposal to limit rent hikes | The Seattle Times

Isn’t rent control one of the most studied economic experiments? And hasn’t it been shown to be, over the long term, a disaster for everyone involved?

This is the deliberate destruction of Washington state.

I want my underground bunker in Idaho.

History Rhymes

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I’ll never forget the @FBI calling me into their office in Seattle in 2020.

They were looking for footage of a suspect I had taken during one of the many riots.

That’s when I asked them about Antifa.

The FBI agent told me Antifa was NOT a cause of concern, nor were they a terror group.

That’s when I lost all respect for the agency and refused to take any further calls.

I watched Antifa assault police, press, and innocent bystanders, as well as burn Seattle and Portland to the ground for nine months.

All without repercussions.

Imagine if a conservative did this?

Katie Daviscourt @KatieDaviscourt
Posted on X February 18, 2024

I’m reminded of stories in Gulag Archipelago. The police ignored and even encouraged criminal activity against the opponents of communism. History may not repeat but it does rhyme.

Prepare appropriately.

It is a Miracle in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals!

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SAF HAILS 9TH CIRCUIT DENIAL OF EN BANC HEARING IN JUNIOR SPORTS CASE – Second Amendment Foundation

The Second Amendment Foundation is cheering the decision by a 9th Circuit Court panel to deny the State of California an en banc hearing in a case known as Junior Sports Magazines, Inc. v. Bonta, in which the state tried to prohibit firearm advertising which it claims, “reasonably appears to be attractive to minors.”

SAF is joined in the case by Junior Sports Magazines, the California Youth Shooting Sports Association, Redlands California Youth Clay Shooting Sports, California Rifle & Pistol Association, CRPA Foundation, Gun Owners of California and Raymond Brown, a private citizen.

“It seems like forever since the 9th Circuit has refused to hear a gun case en banc,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Hopefully, this is a new trend.”

SAF attorney Donald Kilmer noted, “This means that our win before the three-judge panel will become the case law on this issue in the Ninth Circuit. It means the trial court’s denial of a preliminary injunction remains reversed and that court will be required to enter a preliminary injunction, preventing enforcement of this law while the case proceeds to final judgment.”

SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut said the court’s decision is a victory for the First Amendment as well as the Second.

“The state was determined to regulate the First Amendment as well as the Second,” Kraut stated, “and we prevented California from continuing to enact unconstitutional laws. We’re pleased the 9th Circuit has decided to leave the panel’s decision undisturbed.”

This is a ground-breaking First Amendment case, which defends the right of Junior Sports Magazine and other periodicals to publish Second Amendment-related material in California.

It is a miracle! The 9th Circuit Court of appeals is allowing a court ruling in favor of gun owners to stand.

A Difference Without a Difference

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That’s where we seem to fall down as a society. Not that we take constitutional rights away from people, but rather that we be more careful about who it is that we allow to exercise those rights in our society.

Frank Figliuzzi
February 18, 2024
Figliuzzi: More Caution Needed on Who’s Allowed to Exercise 2nd Amendment

How about we be more careful about who is allowed to exercise their 1st Amendment rights? We are not going to take Figliuzzi’s constitutional right away, we just aren’t going to allow him to exercise his right to say stupid crap like this in our society.

New Markley’s Law Response Meme

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TrumpDavidian @godhatesMAGAs
Post on X February 17, 2023

It’s not only another Markley’s Law Monday, it is another science denier!

There are lots of great responses to this guy’s post. Many of the memes are repeats I have seen dozens, if not hundreds, of times. But this one by Currermell @currermell is new to me:

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Another Anti-Gunner With No Concept of Numbers

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Order a door to door confiscation of firearms and we will start collecting them, if force is needed then we WILL use it.

Johnathan @theprism89
Posted on X May 7, 2023

Apparently Johnathan hasn’t looked at the numbers, or probably more likely he doesn’t understand numbers. And, of course, the “we” he is talking about doesn’t include him stacking up to enter any houses.

Also, there won’t be a problem with a hostile government confiscating the arms of U.S. citizens. The government agents tasked to do the collecting will have the ammunition being freely offered. And since civilians recreationally consume ammunition at about the same rate as the U.S. military consumed it during WWII, the numbers indicate Johnny is going to be disappointed in the outcome.

Let Your Rifle Speak

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It doesn’t matter if robbery, rape, or murder is in the mind of the attacker — maybe it’s all of the above, plus cannibalism — what matters is the will and the ability to destroy the attacker. Forcible felonies are almost never one-and-done actions committed on the spur of the moment. Anybody you shoot has likely done this before and will, unless incapacitated, do this to others. Violence will be escalated, and the predatory conduct won’t cease until somebody stops them decisively.

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Oleg Volk
January 20, 2024
The motive of your enemy is not relevant to the choice of remedy. | VolkStudio Blog (olegvolk.net)

Prepare appropriately.

Of Course, Because it Doesn’t Match the Narrative

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I remember when this came out but I did not hear the backstory.

Harvard professor says ‘all hell broke loose’ when his study found no racial bias in police shootings (msn.com)

The study found that police were more than twice as likely to manhandle, beat or use some other kind of nonfatal force against blacks and Hispanics than against people of other races. However, the data also determined that officers were 23.8 percent less likely to shoot at blacks and 8.5 percent less likely to shoot at Hispanics than they were to shoot at whites.

When Fryer claimed the data showed “no racial differences in officer-involved shootings,” he said, “all hell broke loose,” and his life was upended.

…

The world-renowned economist knew from comments by faculty that he was likely to garner backlash. Fryer admitted that he anticipated the results of the study would be different and would confirm suspicions of racial bias against minorities. When the results found no racial bias, Fryer hired eight new assistants and redid the study. The data came back the same.

After the report was published, Fryer lived under police protection for over a month. He had a seven-day-old daughter at the time and went shopping for diapers.

When there is such as strong emotional reaction there is a high probability the skewed belief is emotional rather than factual and/or logically based.

I know a former FBI agent who left the FBI after hesitating to shoot a black teenager. He had every reason to shoot him, but hesitated because of his skin color. He and his partner ended up not getting hurt and the black teenager surrendered rather than take deadly action. But it really shook the FBI agent. He left the FBI and law enforcement.

Skynet Smiles

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I think our results indicate that we don’t currently have a good defense against deception in AI systems — either via model poisoning or emergent deception — other than hoping it won’t happen. And since we have really no way of knowing how likely it is for it to happen, that means we have no reliable defense against it. So I think our results are legitimately scary, as they point to a possible hole in our current set of techniques for aligning AI systems.

Evan Hubinger
An artificial general intelligence safety research scientist at Anthropic, an AI research company.
January 26, 2024
Poisoned AI went rogue during training and couldn’t be taught to behave again in ‘legitimately scary’ study | Live Science

They have concerns about AI deception, improper behavior, and if you read the entire article, hating humans. How many science fiction dystopian have something like that as a premise? We live in interesting times.

Prepare appropriately.

Annual Gun Registration

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SB 1160 will give the state better data and help us understand how many firearms are in private hands and who owns them.

Anthony J. Portantino
California State Senator (D – Burbank)
February 14, 2024
Portantino Introduces Bill Requiring Annual Registration of Firearms (msn.com)

The story of the Belgium Corporal was a warning, not a how-to manual.

Also, as is fairly well know, people who are legally ineligible to own a gun cannot be prosecuted for failure to register their guns. This is because it would be a violation of their 5th Amendment rights against self incrimination.

These politicians are pulling out all the stops to infringe on our specific enumerated right to keep and bear arms. I do not think I have ever seen this fast of pace of antigun laws. I cannot believe they are under any delusion of the laws being proposed, passed, and affirmed are actually constitutional. Yet, the do it anyway:

I hope they enjoy their trials. All the alternatives will be very ugly.

Quantum Drive Will Not Be Tested This Time

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I mentioned this test a while back. I was looking forward to hearing about the test results. But that isn’t going to happen on the previous schedule:

Contact Lost With Spacecraft Carrying Experimental Quantum Drive

A test with the quantum drive, developed by IVO limited, was supposed to demonstrate whether the engine could alter the orbit of the satellite. But for some reason, after over two months in orbit, the test was never initiated, and contact with the satellite was lost on February 9 — an unceremonious end for a demo that was supposedly going to upend the laws of physics.

“Rogue’s Barry-1 satellite didn’t make it all the way through LEOP (Launch and Early Orbit Phase),” IVO founder and President Richard Mansell told The Debrief. “Sadly, we never even got to turn on the Drives!”

It is a little bit suspicious on such a controversial device. One could claim is the equivalent of a perpetual motion machine being “accidentally” destroyed just before the big demonstration.

I wish them luck, but if something similar happens after the second attempt, a lot of people are going to regard them as fraudsters.