Political Reality

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Quote of the Day

Lujan Grisham’s diagnosis of the problem is surely correct; her proposed solution, however, is astoundingly misguided. The governor has leveraged an emergency health law to suspend a right protected by state statute, the state constitution, and Supreme Court precedent. Whether that right should exist is beside the point; it does exist in New Mexico today, pursuant not only to court decisions but also democratically enacted laws. By suspending it unilaterally, Lujan Grisham has claimed an alarming new power to revoke well-established individual rights by executive order. And she has done so in the most blundering way possible, ensuring a backlash that will only empower citizens, activists, and politicians who view all firearm restrictions as an existential threat to personal liberty.

Mark Joseph Stern
September 13, 2023
A Democratic Governor’s Public Gun Ban Is Already Backfiring

Stern is no friend of gun owners but he does have a reasonably good grasp of political reality.

In related news:

A federal judge has granted a temporary restraining order in a Second Amendment Foundation challenge of New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Sept. 8 edict suspending the constitutionally-protected right to bear arms, in Albuquerque and surrounding Bernalillo County.

District Judge David H. Urias issued the TRO, which extends to Oct. 3, when a hearing on the preliminary injunction request will be held. The TRO was effective immediately.

The executive order was dropped last Friday, SAF filed a lawsuit and had it blocked in three business days.

Take THAT Governor Grisham!

I still want her prosecuted. But that isn’t a political reality. Yet.

Crazy Talk! Or is it?

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Quote of the Day

Why do Republicans still fight for their beliefs knowing they will be wiped out, like any other minority group in history? Their beliefs are archaic and improper, so why fight against the advancement of the human species?

Anonymous question from Quora
2023

You have to wonder… Yes, it is crazy talk. But, it could be Russian or other bad guy trying to stir things up. Or it could be just some troll getting their jollies. But it also has a small chance of being someone sincerely believing what they are saying and not afraid to say, “the quiet part out loud”. Hitler’s Mein Kampf wasn’t taken serious by the majority of people when it was first written either but within a few years the mindset took over a nation.

Ideas are more dangerous than tools…

Biden Told to Stop Infringing

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Quote of the Day

The panel of judges, which is made up of two Bush nominees and one Trump nominee, asserted that it is inappropriate for President Biden, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the FBI, and the surgeon general to exert pressure on social media platforms to remove content they deemed troublesome.

Froilan Bersamina
September 10, 2023
Appeals Court Upholds Louisiana Judge’s Ruling, Affirms Biden Admin Likely Violated First Amendment

I haven’t read the ruling yet but I’m disappointed it doesn’t apply to every representative of all government entities. But, it is a decent start down a long path. Does anyone know, assuming the ruling stands, whether the administration will have to pay reparations for this infringement?

Somewhere on that path I want the courts to issue a similar ruling stating it is inappropriate for a government representatives to exert pressure on gun stores to remove guns and other arms they deem troublesome.

And, of course, gun owners need reparations too.

No Originality or Cleverness

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Quote of the Day

This is a lot of words to let us know that your is the size of a vienna sausage.

Ryan Graney‍ (@RyanEGraney)
Tweeted on July 29, 2022

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

This is so lacking in originality and cleverness I have nothing else to say.

In Common Use

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In the Heller decision we find this:

United States v. Miller, 307 U. S. 174, does not limit the right to keep and bear arms to militia purposes, but rather limits the type of weapon to which the right applies to those used by the militia, i.e., those in common use for lawful purposes.

This is where the “common use” test comes from. This test is used by the forces of good to claim standard capacity magazines and semi-automatic firearms are protected from government restrictions.

But yet, there have been some cases where Federal courts have claimed AR-15s and AK-47 do not meet the “common use” test.

24/7 Wall St. has the list of the 50 Most Popular Guns of All Time. The AR-15 comes in at number four and the AK-47 at number 1.

As usual, the anti-gun forces have to lie and cheat to win.

Sending a Message

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Quote of the Day

But here’s what I do think. It’s a pretty resounding message.

Michelle Lujan Grisham
New Mexico Governor
September 9, 2023

The above quote was obtained from the video embedded in this tweet:

See also New Mexico governor issues order suspending the right to carry firearms in public across Albuquerque.

It’s interesting to me that she openly admits the order will not be obeyed by the criminals, but it is about “doing something” and sending a message.

Hence, you can believe she knows it is ineffective in the stated goal of making ordinary people safer and she is doing it anyway to “send a message” that she could not have sent by sending a statement to the media. Or her real goal is to infringe upon the rights of hundreds of thousands of people and use the old tired excuse of, “for the children”.

Via Kyle Seraphin @KyleSeraphin:

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Via the NRA:

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And perhaps one of the most surprising takes on the topic is from David Hogg:

I support gun safety but there is no such thing as a state public health emergency exception to the U.S. Constitution.

Even the anti-gun people realize one of their own has gone too far, too fast.

I assess, that with high probability, Governor Grisham’s order will not last the 30 days she proclaimed it would, Furthermore, with all the people pointing out 18 USC 242 and other legal remedies, she may even be removed from office over this.

She sent a message. The people are sending their own message. Who has the most effecting messaging?

We live in interesting times.

So Many Lies in so Few Words

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Quote of the Day

Gun violence is the leading cause of death for kids in the United States. Ending that should be bipartisan. … We should stand on the right side of history.

Anthony Portantino
California state Senator. (D-Burbank)
September 7, 2023
California Democrats approve new taxes on gun and ammunition dealers and manufacturers

I sometimes admire the ability of anti-gun people to pack so many lies into so few words. It takes me far more words to expose his lies than for him to express them:

  • The only way the claimed statistic is true is if they deceptively redefine 17 year-old’s as “kids”.
  • The 11% tax on all guns and ammunition cannot possibly reduce the gang violence which results in the death of the young thugs.
  • Bipartisan support cannot be expected when the legislation is clearly unconstitutional and cannot achieve the stated goals.
  • The trend now, and into the foreseeable future, is for laws like this to be struck down. The “right side of history” is more likely to be senator Portantino enjoying his trial than for laws like this to persist.

The FBI Cannot be Trusted

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Quote of the Day

Whether deliberately through bias or just incompetence, the FBI database of active shooters cannot be trusted,

Gary Mauser
Emeritus professor at Simon Fraser University in Canada
August 2023
Massive errors in FBI’s Active Shooting Reports from 2014-2022 regarding cases where civilians stop attacks: Instead of 4.6%, the correct number is at least 35.7%. In 2022, it is at least 41.3%. Excluding gun-free zones, it averaged over 63.5%.

From reading the article it is abundantly clear the quote above it true. But it really does not go far enough. From Ruby Ridge, to Waco, to the Hillary emails, to the Russian collusion hoax, and almost for certain hundreds of other items of major significance the FBI has proven they cannot be trusted.

From just the evidence in the article, there are numerous people in the FBI that should be prosecuted for conspiring to infringe upon our specific enumerated right to keep and bear arms.

Legal Issue in Cyber Security

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I’m deliberately changing the details to protect the guilty, but I’m nearly certain the essence of the situation are legally the same as what I describe below.

Suppose a cyber security professional (CSP) obtained the username and password credentials of a bad guy (BG) who had poor operational security. The BG didn’t intend to reveal the credentials but the CSP has them and knows the BG is in the process of obtaining credentials via deceptive means from the organization the CSP works for.

The CSP, by using the credentials of the BG, can rapidly mitigate damage done by the deceptively obtained corporate credentials.

While everyone on the CSP’s team sees this as morally justified, one team member (WB) throws a wet blanket on the CSP’s plan to use the BG’s credentials to get information the BG’s intended to keep private and use for ill gotten gains. WB claims that, legally, the BG credentials have been “stolen” and should the CSP use them to surreptitiously access the BG’s data the CSP would be committing a crime.

I’m almost certain this is a crime, if not the U.S. then some other countries which may or may not be involved. And, if the CSP were do this, I’m almost certain it would never be prosecuted. But committing felonies you think you are going to get away with doesn’t seem like a particularly good item to put on your resume or even admit to others.

What do you guys think of this?

Chicago Arrest Rate is 5%

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The decision to commit a crime in Chicago has never been easier. Criminals are almost guaranteed to profit because the chances of getting caught and punished have collapsed to near-zero.

…

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Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner
September 5, 2023
Chicago criminals have green light to rob, loot, burgle as odds of punishment collapse to near zero.

It seems all the major “blue” cities are getting overrun by criminals. And those criminals are not just the politicians. The criminal politicians appear to be deliberately catering to their constituents, the thugs, to the detriment of the peaceable citizens.

I just want retreat to my underground bunker in Idaho for a decade or two and wait for things to get better.

Existential Threat to the ATF

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The ATF has brought it on.

Time to challenge many of the 1968 Gun Control Act provisions.

There are no historical analogs for requiring a gov’t license to buy/sell used guns.

No analogs for stopping private sales of used guns across state lines.

2A Rights aren’t wheat.

2A History @2aHistory
Tweeted on August 31, 2023

While I’m in strong agreement with the goal and the correctness of the assessment, I am not certain the timing is optimal. The ATF has a lot of support with the current administration and will view this as an existential threat.

This existential threat to the ATF could likely be made an election issue and pull votes from the side of freedom.

Bonus points if your comments indicate you know what the reference to wheat is about.

A Good Start

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This is a good start:

D.C. will pay $5.1 million as part of a class-action settlement with gun owners who were arrested under laws that have since been found to violate the Second Amendment, according to the settlement agreement.

…

In this case, the six plaintiffs — including four non-D.C. residents — were arrested between 2012 and 2014 on gun-related charges. They filed a lawsuit in 2015.

It took eight years after the lawsuit was filed and they still don’t have their money:

The settlement agreement must still have a “fairness hearing” in December before final approval is given. Court records show D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) signed off on the $5.1 million settlement amount in June.

And, of course, the villains will not be paying the settlement with their own money. They will use taxpayer money. These people need to be prosecuted.

I hope this will be a warning for other politicians. I would like to think that if others ignore the law the following lawsuits will be easier and easier. The, eventually, an ambitious Federal Prosecutor will start prosecuting them under 18 USC 242. Then, with a few convictions, they will finally stop their unlawful persecution of gun owners.

We are at War

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Quote of the Day

We are at war. It has never been about Donald Trump—it’s about forcing Americans into submission. The sooner we realize it, the sooner you will begin to fight, and win.

Allen Mashburn
September 1, 2023
The Left’s Relentless War on Donald Trump and Everyone Who Disagrees with Them

Some people, particularly those who have little control over their own lives, have a burning desire to control others. This is symptomatic of most cases of personality disorders. This is an indicator that the claim, “Liberalism is a mental disorder” has more than a little truth to it.

Points for Articulation

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This is not going to be popular in liberal circles, but I’ve met with adult men who have legally purchased AR-15s and assault rifles, and their reasoning for ownership is valid and passionate and should be honored: Each one has a small, weird, or ineffective penis.

Bess Kalb @bessbell
Tweeted on July 22, 2022

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

Via a tweet from Jay (@jayhafe).

One has to give her points for articulation. That was well executed. But, as usual for her type, her insults are merely compensating for the complete lack of a practical, philosophical, or legal argument against our specific enumerated right to keep and bear arms.

It Should Not Even Exist

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Recently, the Secretary of Health and Human Services advocated for gun violence to be declared a public health emergency to grant HHS power to restrict Americans’ right to keep and bear arms.  The Department of Health and Human Services was never intended to implement gun control of any kind.

Mike Braun
US Senator from Indiana
July 21, 2023
Senator Braun’s offers amendment to protect Second Amendment from “national emergency declaration” gun control

It goes deeper than that. The Department of Health and Human Services was never intended to exist. There is no mention of it or the “services” it provides in the U.S Constitution.

But, I suppose, limiting its scope should be considered a good thing.

By Gun

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Random Thought of the Day

Anti-gun people spend a lot of time telling others how afraid of being shot they are for themselves and “the children”. In other words, they spend a lot of time thinking about dying by gunshot. They project that fear onto gun people saying, “What are you so afraid of that you need a gun?”

That is markedly different than my thought patterns. I think about protecting myself and other innocent people by being proficient with a gun. I almost never have a fear of being a victim of a criminal attack.

Antigun people think about dying by gun. Gun people think about protecting life by gun.

Bumper-Sticker ‘Solutions’

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Quote of the Day

In Jacksonville, lives were saved by an armed campus security officer who approached and deterred the gunman before he could fire a single shot on university grounds. Meanwhile, Gun Control, Inc., rakes in money for mocking the idea of a “good guy with a gun” while failing to acknowledge the obvious: the faster a violent threat is confronted by armed resistance, the faster that threat ends and the fewer people die.

We deserve better than the current list of bumper-sticker solutions to the most surface-level and fringe aspects of violence.

Until we force ourselves to change the way we collectively approach mass public shootings, we will keep spinning in circles while people die.

Amy Swearer
Senior Legal Fellow in The Heritage Foundation’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies.
September 1, 2023

I don’t think “bumper-sticker solutions” is accurate. It is closer to a deliberate deception to more effectively infringe up our specific enumerated right to keep and bear arms. The mass shootings and death of innocent people are just a means to an end for those advocating for disarming the public.

Bigotry and Prejudice

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The gun industry and the extremist politicians it supports have long fanned the flames of hate-based, radical ideologies.

Allison Anderman
August 31, 2023
The Gun Industry Is in the Business of Hate

If you read her rant you realize she is projecting. She really hates gun ownership and even people who legally use guns in self-defense. She describes Kyle Rittenhouse as “the vigilante teenager.”

Bigotry and prejudice is such an ugly thing to see. I hope she gets some help for her afflictions.

An Alternate Point of View

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Quote of the Day

We have horrific double standards when talking about polyamory vs. monogamy. relationship issues in polyamory get blamed on the poly; relationship issues in monogamy dont even get processed as being caused by monog

Aella @Aella_Girl
Tweeted on August 29, 2023

This was sort of mind blowing to me. What a difference an alternate point of view makes!

The majority of people in this country probably see many problems with all the variations of consensual non-monogamy even if they do see the potential benefits. But can those same people see the exact opposite of that. That is, can they see many problems with monogamy even if they do see the potential benefits?

Now apply that logic to gun control and the advocates on the alternates sides of that debate.

Rationality is a just a very thin veneer over our emotional brains.