The Warmth Comes from the Fire of Gunpowder and/or Ovens

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Quote of the Day

We will draw this city closer together. We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.

Zohran Mamdani
New York City Mayor
January 1, 2026
Bishop Barron rips Mamdani’s ‘warmth of collectivism’ remark: ‘For God’s sake’ | Fox News
Conservatives sound alarm over Zohran Mamdani’s ‘collectivism’ comment | Fox News

Spell checker wanted to correct Mamdani to “Madman”. I wonder if it there is some significance to that.

If you want an economic argument as to why Mamdani’s plans are a really, really, bad idea read The Road to Serfdom: Text and Documents-The Definitive Edition (The Collected Works of F. A. Hayek, Volume 2): Hayek, F. A., Caldwell, Bruce, Caldwell, Bruce, Caldwell, Bruce: 9780226320557: Amazon.com: Books

If you want to read the detailed results of a real-world test case of this political philosophy read The Gulag Archipelago: An Experiment in Literary Investigation Complete 3 Volumes Collection (Volume 1, 2, 3): Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn: Amazon.com: Books.

I don’t want to read any more about it. I want my underground bunker in Idaho*.

If you follow the X post above, you will find the following means and many more:

The difference between the two:

Ricardo Gomes sums it up for me:

* The night of January 1st, 2026 was the first time I spend the night in my underground bunker in Idaho. It’s not really ready, but for this time of year, it is better than the camping trailer. While it will not be completed, I expect that within a month Barb and I would be comfortable here should the need occur. It is not a minute too soon.

How Long Will this Last?

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California’s open-carry ban: Gun law struck down as unconstitutional

California ban on openly carrying guns is unconstitutional, court rules

I expect it will be overturned within a month. Perhaps in as little as a week.

I expect a request for an en banc hearing will be made. Or possibly, the 9th Circuit judges will do it without being requested. The en banc hearing will overrule the three-judge panel and the tyrants will continue to rule unperturbed.

You shouldn’t get upset over it. Just smile and consider the ruling as more evidence to be used at their trials.

Categorical, Presumptive Protection

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Quote of the Day

Nothing in the plain text of the Second Amendment mentions the size of a magazine or the specific features of a firearm. The plain text provides categorical, presumptive protection for all bearable arms.

Erin M. Erhardt & Joseph G.S. Greenlee
September 8, 2025
Page 8 in 20250908164326764_25-153 Amicus Brief.pdf

In other words, “What part of shall not be infringed don’t they understand?“

Via Cam Edwards.

Little Willingness to Defend Themselves

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Quote of the Day

Europeans are a people with little willingness to defend themselves. They are people who believe that peace treaties, appeasement, and disarmament produce peace.

Walter E. Williams
October 27, 2009
Walter E. Williams: Obama should refuse the Nobel Prize – Orange County Register

This attitude extends to their attitudes toward the natural right to keep and bear arms.

It appears that with the increasing levels of violent crime in Europe and England combined with the specter of a reformulated USSR the attitude may be dissolving. The question is, “Will it be enough and soon enough to save them?”

The Ukraine may have been too late in learning. Israel took a heavy blow before wising up a small amount.

Excellent Point

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Via The Babylon Bee @TheBabylonBee:

If the whole situation were not such a tragic waste of money it would be funny.

My only hope is that the maximum amount of restitution is made by everyone criminally involved — down to the level of auctioning off all their salable body parts. An example needs to be made of these people which will be remembered for generations.

None With a longer or Deeper History

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Quote of the Day

Of all the natural rights codified in the Constitution, none — not freedom of speech, press or religion, or the ability to vote or to demand due process — had a longer or deeper history in our law and tradition than the right to defend oneself.

David Harsanyi
December 19, 2025
Gun-control wackos are actually blaming TRUMP after the shooting at Brown

Excellent point.

A Partial Explanation for TDS

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Quote of the Day

when your subconscious believes something, it will manipulate your perception of reality to reinforce your belief that you’re right

vik @vikhyatk
Posted on X, December 26, 2025

This is known as Confirmation Bias.

This is why potential jurors are rejected if they were exposed to information about the case prior to being selected for the jury. If they have already formed an opinion, it is very difficult for them to be unbiased when hearing the case.

This is why religious beliefs are rarely significantly changed.

You can see it all around you. It probably is the most obvious in the words and actions of your political advisories, religious beliefs of people with a different faith, and in people defending their family members.

A great deal of TDS can be explained this way. It is very difficult to avoid getting caught up in it. You can catch the more egregious cases in yourself if you take a little bit of time to ask yourself, “Is this too good to be true?” If it is, then you should dig deep to make sure whatever it is you want to believe is actually true. A case in point in the comments of this blog.

At work, while I was on the Cyber Threat Intelligence team, we were specifically trained to watch out for this and other biases. In this type of environment, you assemble a team with different backgrounds. Then you review each other’s work. This helps a bunch, but it is not perfect. I doubt anything practical is perfect. But it can help.

Stop Taking the Poison

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Quote of the Day

Children. I’d rather live in a low-income trailer park in the US than in a luxury high rise in Europe. Much of the same problems, but in the US there would be a pathway up and out and fairly easy if you stay off drugs, are willing to work your ass off and don’t disdain those trying to help you up.

While in Europe there simply isn’t a way up. They’re bound up with self-righteousness that demands they commit suicide. And their media lies about the US so much they have no idea there is an alternative to their suicide by socialism.

It’s like talking to people who say “Well, of course we drink a little bit of poison at every meal. What would you want us to do? Guzzle the whole bottle at once?” And they can’t hear you when you shout “JUST STOP TAKING THE POISON.” Because they heard that over here where we don’t take the poison — or to be fair, take less poison than they do — we’re dying like flies. AND THEY NEVER CHECK.

Sarah A. Hoyt
December 26, 2025
Europe And Other Lost civilizations – According To Hoyt

I am reminded of people who go into hysterics when it is suggested that the government not be involved in healthcare/education/housing/etc. They can not imagine any sane person could believe that was a good idea and demand, “What would replace it?!!!” Of course, the answer is, “When a fireman puts out the fire consuming your house, what do you replace the fire with?”

Probably Just a Joke

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Quote of the Day

Arizona State Senator Janae Shamp (R-Surprise) introduced a bill this month ahead of the 2026 legislative session that would instruct the director of the Department of Health Services to “conduct or support research to advance the understanding of Trump Derangement Syndrome [TDS], including its origins, manifestations and long-term effects on individuals, communities and public discourse.”

Senate Bill (SB) 1070 — a bill number historically associated with Arizona’s landmark 2010 immigration law— lays out the reasons why Shamp believes the research is necessary to investigate those who dislike President Donald Trump, and “declares TDS a public health crisis that affects 10 mental health, social cohesion and political stability in this state.”

Named the “Trump Derangement Syndrome Study Act,” the bill will “Requir[e] the department to collaborate with mental health 16 professionals and other stakeholders to develop interventions for mitigating TDS-related division.”

IC
December 26, 2025
Arizona Sen. Janae Shamp Introduces Bill to Study ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ | IntellectualConservative | intellectualconservative.com

The complete bill is here (or, for backup, here).

Hmmm… I wonder if this is more of a joke than a serious effort to study the problem. There does not appear to be any funding for the study, so I suspect it is just something to get a laugh out of Trump supports and a blood pressure rise out of those suffering from TDS.

We Don’t Want to See That Happen

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Quote of the Day

Things like this end up in third world wars. And I told that the other day, I said, ‘You know, everybody keeps playing games like this, you’ll end up in a third world war.’ And we don’t want to see that happen.

Donald Trump
U.S. President
December 26, 2025
Trump issues WWIII warning

I want my underground bunker in Idaho to be finished.

Gold to hit $10,000 by the End of 2029

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Quote of the Day

The price of gold is rapidly approaching the S&P 500 stock price index. If the S&P 500 reaches 10,000 by the end of 2029, as we expect, gold should trade at $10,000 if our trend analysis is correct.

Ed Yardeni
December 16, 2025
Forget the bond vigilantes. It’s the gold vigilantes you need to worry about.

See also Long-time strategist Ed Yardeni sets surprise 2026 gold price target and Gold price could hit $10,000 by 2029 end, says Ed Yardeni – CNBC TV18.

Be aware, of course, another way to think of this is that dollars are dropping in value at this rate.

Prepare appropriately.

Why We Fight Them Tooth and Nail

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Quote of the Day

Nothing outside of a pure ban will satisfy gun banners.

Everything is a red herrings—rate of fire, length of barrel, color, magazine capacity, size of bullet, how loud or quiet it is, everything.

The problem is they are stuck on deodands and the object must be sacrificed for its evilness.

They never focus on the shooter. They never focus on the murderer. It’s always the guns’ fault, never the person using it.

And when they feel they’ve sated themselves on removing one tool, they’ll focus on anything else that could be used as a weapon—knives, clubs, saps, pepper spray, anything.

They do this because their first principle is flawed and they either refuse to see it or are intellectually incapable of doing so.

This is why we fight them tooth and nail, because given their druthers, they’ll ban both of those too.

Robb Allen @ItsRobbAllen
Posted on X, December 22, 2025

Truth.

You can see the evidence in England where they have banned pointy knives and carrying a knife in public without an occupational reason. Canada bans the defensive carry of knives as well. Seattle bans the carrying of air-soft guns and even slingshots.

Into the Woodshed for Long Past Due Education

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Quote of the Day

I’m really excited about this. For the first time, the DOJ Civil Rights Division and the DOJ at large will be protecting and advancing our citizens’ right to bear arms as part of our civil rights work. Some of the things we’re seeing, and that is going to be the focus of our work around the country, include multi‑thousand‑dollar costs for citizens to apply for concealed‑carry permits.

Harmeet Dhillon
Assistant Attorney General
December 23, 2025
New federal unit targets state gun rules

See also: DOJ sues DC government over AR-15 ban.

Who could have imagined this just 18 months ago? Agreed, they are not changing Federal laws as fast as I think they should either. Why not let people buy guns in any state? Why not let 18 -> 20-year-old adults buy handguns? But going after the states and D.C. makes the cases much easier because they are so egregious.

30 years ago, we expected the Feds to be going door to door by now in the process of taking AR-15s. Instead, they are taking California and DC laws and politicians into the woodshed for a long past due education.

Merry Christmas to gun owners and those who would like to own guns. A stocking with a single lump of coal for the anti-gun people.

People Problem, not a Gun Problem

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Quote of the Day

There’s an illegal flow of guns into states across the country from a couple states with weaker gun laws. We should at least have a penalty to make sure that we can fund enforcement of this common sense idea.

Jack Schlossberg
U.S. Congressional hopeful for New York’s 12th District
December 20, 2025
Exclusive | JFK’s grandson Jack Schlossberg wants to hit some states for guns flowing to NYC | New York Post

One response in the correct direction:

CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb countered, “How about penalizing New York for all the criminals they release on cashless bail, who then commit crimes in other states?”

The veteran gun rights advocate said New York doesn’t have a “gun  problem, it’s got a criminal justice problem.”

I don’t think this goes far enough. He is right about the criminal justice problem. We have a people problem, not a gun problem. People like Schlossberg should be referred to the criminal justice system for prosecution.

Another Step Closer to Prosecution of Criminal Judges

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Quote of the Day

Nobody is above the law. This Department will not tolerate obstruction, will enforce federal immigration law, and will hold criminals to account—even those who wear robes.

Todd Blanche
Deputy Attorney General
December 18, 2025
Wisconsin judge convicted of obstructing immigration agents in courthouse

It is good to have a demonstration that at least state judges with be prosecuted for violating Federal law. We still have some distance to go in moving the Overton Window far enough to prosecute them for violating the 2nd Amendment. But this will help make the threat of prosecution, in a year or five, more real.

I hope they enjoy their trials.

Arizona Goldback

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In a recent Christmas gift order for my grandchildren, I received a free Arizona Goldback:

As you can see on the scan above, it contains 1/2000th of an ounce of gold.

The scan does not do the color or finish justice. It is gold in color with a very shiny face and matte back. The back is the reverse impression of the face. It is 2.55″ wide and just under 4.4″ long.

Very interesting. This is way to create hard currency in small denominations.

An Interesting Observation

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Quote of the Day

The Leftroids claim that European and American civilization was built by black slaves, and that Africa is a shithole of savagery because of ‘colonization’. Even though it’s been a shithole since long before any European ever set foot there. So, they’re saying that black people can only build a civilization if they’re enslaved and told exactly what to do?

Imaginos1892
Comment to Jingle Memes, Jingle Memes…. – According To Hoyt on December 20, 2025

While this is an interesting hypothesis, I advise against trying to reproduce the results in a controlled experiment.

However, it does explain why they want to enslave everyone.

The Only Question

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Via Sarah A. Hoyt:

The thing is though; society is not honest and historically accurate. The anti-gun culture is one of lies and deception.

Related, from Hoyt’s same collection:

Somewhat related and also from Hoyt:

Please note that in addition to creating great collections of memes, she is also the author of some really good science fiction.

Disarming the Slaves

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Quote of the Day

Disarming the slaves has always been the policy of the Democratic party — and continues to be.

pkoning
Via email on December 19, 2025

I have nothing to add.

Get Ready for Conflict with Russia

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Quote of the Day

European security officials now regularly broadcast a message nearly unimaginable a decade ago: get ready for conflict with Russia.

Rarely a week goes by now without a European government, military or security chief making a grim speech warning the public that they are headed toward a potential war with Russia. It is a profound psychological shift for a continent that has rebuilt itself after two world wars by trumpeting a message of harmony and joint economic prosperity.

…

European security chiefs say that Russia has begun a covert “gray zone” assault on Europe, to try to damage its economy and sow confusion. Russia is suspected of being behind a string of sabotage on critical European infrastructure and military facilities, cyberattacks on businesses, as well as arson attacks on warehouses and shopping centers. Russian drones have disrupted Polish airspace and jet fighters zipped over Estonia.

Max Colchester, Bertrand Benoit
December 16, 2025
After a generation of peace, Europe tells its people to prepare for war

I think this is Europe’s problem to deal with. But it is hard to imagine the U.S. staying out of it if another European country goes all in.

I want an underground bunker in Idaho before things go hot.