CBS Pittsburgh:

An investigation is underway after 17-year-old Antwon Rose was shot in the back by an East Pittsburgh police officer while Rose was running from a traffic stop.

KDKA-TV has now learned that the officer who is accused of shooting Rose, was only sworn into duty a few hours before the fatal shooting.

When a police officer shoots someone, even if they’ve been involved in a crime in a neighboring community as has been alleged here, Allegheny County homicide detectives step in.

“In accordance with police best practices in the aftermath of officer-involved shootings, Allegheny County police department homicide detectives were requested to assume the role of independent investigatory agency,” said Superintendent Coleman McDonough on Wednesday.

But it’s up to Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala to determine whether Rose’s shooting was justified or not.

“That officer has the same rights as any other citizen,” said McDonough.

I hate it when that happens to me.  I remember the last time I shot a man in the back.  I had seen him running down the sidewalk and thought that maybe he had just robbed my house.

Turns out I was wrong, but they found that I was entirely within my rights in assuming he was a thief.  They brought up Tennessee versus Garner, but I shut that down in a hurry by claiming it only applies to cops.

So says Major JD Swinney of the US Army:

I am a gun owner. I grew up hunting and target shooting and am now an officer in the U.S. Army. I am comfortable with responsible gun ownership.

But I am also a father, and my heart aches at the sight of white crosses memorializing dead children.

Gun owners have a responsibility to help develop and support policies that manage access to guns not only in their own homes but in society as well, because to talk of the right to bear arms without advocating for the responsible exercise of those rights is irresponsible citizenship indeed. A logical place to start this conversation of responsible rights is with the AR-15 rifle.

Let’s be honest: the AR-15 is only optimal as a military weapon. The weapon is rugged, holds a lot of ammunition and is easy to maintain in working condition. War is a unique environment that requires a weapon with those characteristics, but do private citizens ever find themselves in such an environment?

Without some modification, an AR-15 is not especially accurate. It can be used for hunting, but it is not especially adapted for that purpose. The 5.56 mm, by far the most common round for the AR-15, isn’t especially great for home defense, either; nearly two decades of war in Iraq and Afghanistan suggests there are better calibers for stopping assailants.

The remaining characteristic of the AR-15 is magazine capacity — those available can hold from five to 100 or more rounds. However most defensive shooting situations, where private citizens discharge a firearm, an average of four or fewer rounds fired. Recent history shows the only situations where the AR-15 ammunition capacity is put to use are war, police standoffs and mass shootings.

So why would the gun-owning community not favor place stricter controls on the sale and possession of the AR-15 and other high capacity semi-automatic rifles? Sadly, it is because the AR-15 has become a fetish object within the gun owning community. It is valued more as a symbol of the private citizen’s right to bear arms and less because of its usefulness as a tool.

The fetishizing of the AR-15 derives from the fact that they were once banned under Title XI, the “Assault Weapons Ban,” of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. The 1994 “ban” was not renewed in 2004, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives data suggest that in the decade following the ban, the number of AR-15s manufactured in America rose from 100,000 to more than 1 million each year. The end of the assault weapons ban symbolized a reclaimed right, and AR-15 ownership came to embody this reclaimed right.

Groups such as the NRA make a case that the AR-15 is used mostly in legal ways by responsible gun owners. Referring to the AR-15 as a “modern sporting rifle,” they rebrand the gun in ways that aren’t military-related. And most AR-15s are used in legal ways.

But one should remember that the idea of using the AR-15 for hunting or competition shooting became popular after the end of the assault weapons ban, once greater numbers of people owned AR-15s, not before. The narrative that the AR-15 is an optimal tool for anything beyond combat is a fabrication of the gun industry.

This returns us to the idea that rights must come with responsibility. Perhaps gun owners should focus on the “well-regulated” clause within the Second Amendment as much as they focus on “shall not be infringed.” More gun owners should support common sense regulation of guns; to do so would be a display of the responsible exercise of rights. Because the AR-15 is valued for its symbolism more than its usefulness, it is uniquely suited for stricter regulation.

Finally, if gun owners do not give a little, they will have to give a lot when this current generation, which has grown up in the midst of mass violence, gains the power of the ballot.

Perhaps meaningful legislation is unlikely in the short term, but the only thing worse than incremental change is no change at all. If we do not come together on this, sadly, I fear there are more white crosses in our children’s future.

Yea, the 5.56mm is just an awful round as we’ve learned.  That’s why the US Army and Marine Corps have used it for the last half century.  So let’s follow his argument closely.

The round is absolutely horrible.  Just terrible.  Good for nothing.  There are better rounds available.  The AR-15 is valued for its symbol rather than its usefulness.  Now to his next main argument.

It’s not optimal for anything but combat.  Got that?  It’s useless.  But it’s valuable for combat.  Thus it’s “uniquely suited for stricter regulation.”

Unsaid: Every gun design on earth has been used for combat.  Shotguns were used by the US Marines in Now Zad, Afghanistan for room clearing operations.  The Marine Corps used Winchester Model 70s (bolt action) for sniping in The first Iraq war.  The Army (and now the Marine Corps) uses .300 Win Mag for sniping, and these are all standard, classic hunting rounds.

So the objection that an implement is used for war is irrelevant and strange, and he knows it.  This is rhetorical tactic, but a very bad one.

There are smatterings of rhetorical punches like this: Recent history shows the only situations where the AR-15 ammunition capacity is put to use are war, police standoffs and mass shootings.  Of course, this is false and he knows it.  He’s appealing to the ignorant among his readers.  He pretends to argue to gun owners, but in reality he’s appealing to ignoramuses.

Finally, take note that he is third-year graduate student in history at Duke University, a major in the U.S. Army, and a fellow with the U.S. Army’s Advanced Strategic Planning and Policy Program.  That’s right, he has taken an oath to which he never intended to be faithful.

He is heavily invested in the notion that armed men – whether the Army or local police – should be engaging in stability operations, and men and women shouldn’t have what they consider the best weaponry to effect self defense.  In other words, if you are an average men or woman, he hates you.  He cares not one whit for your life or wellbeing.

When a commentary begins with “I am a gun owner. I grew up hunting and target shooting,” ignore it.  There’s always a “but” coming very soon.  Gun owners and patriots don’t feel the need to burnish their credentials.  Especially ignore it if it continues with this: ” … and am now an officer in the U.S. Army. I am comfortable with responsible gun ownership.”

He’s burnishing his creds again, and then he’s lying.  No, he’s not comfortable with responsible gun ownership.  The rest of his commentary proves that he’s lying.  JD Swinney is in the same camp as the rest of the flag and staff officers who want to destroy the constitution.  They’re unfaithful liars, one and all.  Turn your back on such men.  In better times they would be hanged by the neck until dead for treason.

Sun Sentinel:

Many have called him a coward, but former sheriff’s deputy Scot Peterson had no legal duty to stop the slaughter at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, his attorneys say.

Peterson took shelter rather than confront the killer, but he did not act with malice or bad faith, according to his attorneys, Michael Piper and Christopher Stearns of Fort Lauderdale. Therefore he can’t be held legally responsible for the deaths, they say in court documents.

Allegations against Peterson suggest only that he “opted for self-preservation over heroics,” the attorneys wrote.

The statements came in a motion seeking to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Andrew Pollack, the father of 18-year-old Meadow Pollack, who was killed in the shooting.

[ … ]

Peterson’s lawyers say police officers are responsible for injury only if the officer takes control of a situation and people are hurt as a result or if the officer creates risk.

A Florida statute gives immunity to officers for injury suffered as a result of what they do while on the job unless they acted in bad faith or exhibited “wanton and willful disregard of human rights, safety, or property, ” the attorneys say.

I told you so.  There is a difference between cowardice or irresponsibility and legal culpability.  An officer who does something like that isn’t a man and should be shamed until he leaves the earth.

But he isn’t legally required to assist.  Period.  We’ve seen that before with Castle Rock versus Gonzales and Warren versus the District of Columbia.  The attorneys didn’t even have to get there because Florida law protects LEOs.

Now.  I want every gun controller out there to queue up and tell me how I should relinquish my guns because the cops will protect me and my family.

Go ahead.  I’m waiting.  Let’s hear it.  Bring it.

Ammoland:

The Valkyrie takes standard .224-inch diameter bullets just like the .223 Remington but handles higher weights. Common loads among those released so far range between 60 and 90-grains, and 90 is the most common so far. Like the 6.5m Creedmoor, the bullets are by definition long for their weight, so the .224 Valkyrie also carries velocity downrange much more efficiently than .223 Remington alternatives. Let’s consider some examples.

[ … ]

A similar phenomenon happens with the .224 Valkyrie. When comparing to the common “long range” version of a .223 Remington cartridge, the 77-grain bullets, it carries velocity down range more efficiently. A Federal Premium .223 Remington loaded with a 77-grain Sierra MatchKing leaves the muzzle at 2,720 feet per second. At 500 yards, it’s still zipping along at 1,674 feet per second. At 1,000 yards, it’s gone subsonic to 1,056 feet per second. The Federal Premium 90-grain .224 Valkyrie has a muzzle velocity of 2,700 fps. At 500 yards, it’s still cooking at 1,994 fps and carries 1,422 fps at 1,000 yards. Depending on your altitude and other conditions, it can remain supersonic past 1,300 yards.

The ability to “lose less speed over distance” is what makes the 6.5mm Creedmoor and .224 Valkyrie perform well at long range.

Tom McHale likes both the 6.5 Creedmoor and the .224 Valkyrie.

I’ll also comment that after making some rather cryptic remarks about the 6.5 Grendel several weeks ago, I’ve both looked out for good, well-reviewed 6.5 Grendel guns, as well as the availability of 6.5 Grendel ammunition.

There aren’t a lot of guns out there, and the ones that manufacturers do make are quite pricey if the barrel is any good.  There are .224 Valkyrie guns everywhere, some for quite good prices.  I’ve also see a fairly good bit of .224 Valkyrie ammunition in stores and online, but absolutely no 6.5 Grendel in local stores.  Not a single box in any gun store, Cabela’s, or anywhere else.

The .224 Valkyrie sends a 90-gr bullet down range as fast as the 6.5 Grendel 90-gr round, and it seems to hold its velocity better at distance.  If so, then the 6.5 Grendel probably won’t ever be anything more than a “wildcat” round and the Valkyrie will become more popular.

TCJ reporter Fred Tippens has quit his union and I’m paying him the same thing I was before.  He sends this.

A Georgia grandmother won a life and death battle against a rabid bobcat earlier this month by killing the animal with her bare hands after it attacked her in the backyard of her home.

Hart Country resident DeDe Phillips told the Anthens Banner-Herald on Thursday that the will to survive helped her overcome the ferocious predator threatening her life.

‘I thought, “Not today.” There was no way I was going to die,’ Phillips recalled while detailing the June 7 attack.

‘I’m very lucky,’ the 46-year-old added.

The incident occurred around 6pm after Phillips spent most of the day working on her truck.

After finishing up, Phillips said she wanted to send a photograph to her husband of a bumper sticker she placed on the vehicle that read: ‘Women who behave rarely make history.’

Cellphone in hand, she walked out of the house and into the backyard.

‘My neighbor’s dog was barking and it drew my attention,’ she said.  ‘I saw the cat and I took a picture. The cat took two steps and was on top of me. … It came for my face.’

Fortunately for Phillips, she was familiar with the animal’s behavior after spending a lifetime out in the country, where her father-in-law was once a bobcat trapper.

‘They go for your jugular … because when they can get the vein you’re dead in a couple of minutes,’ she said.

‘It caught me slightly on my face, but I got him before he could do much damage there. I took it straight to the ground and started inching my hands up to its throat. I knew that was the only way I was getting out of this,’ she added.

Phillips said she refrained from screaming for help during the struggle, aware that her five-year-old granddaughter was in the house.

‘I was scared if I screamed for help that my granddaughter would come out and I didn’t want that to happen,’ she said.

‘Once I got him where he wasn’t moving I started screaming for my daughter-in-law to call 911,’ she said. Phillips’ son was also called and arrived with a gun and knife to help finish off the animal.

Good Lord!  This woman must be a bad-ass.  I’d hate to tangle with her.

I’m guessing that the cat attacked so quickly that having a gun wouldn’t have been of any use early on in the fight.  At least he didn’t show up to hear “Just shoot up here amongst us – one of has got to have some relief!“

World Net Daily:

So let’s set aside the notion of firearms as amelioration of tyranny for a moment, which is the real reason for the existence of the second amendment.  Let’s focus on hunting.

Of primary importance to the ethical hunter is a quick and as-painless-as-possible dispatching of the animal.  A wounded animal is in pain.  Of course it’s true that hunters can find their products elsewhere, but Google can only do what it can do, so we can’t expect them to do everything.

Let’s also stipulate that good optics makes for a more successful hunt and more likely dispatching of the animal rather than simply wounding the animal.  What this means is that Google management wants and likes to see wounded animals from hunts.

What a bunch of retards.

David Codrea:

“The bill had drawn opposition from the business community and law enforcement authorities,” USA Today explained.  The LEOs wanted licensing fee revenues, and the businesses didn’t want citizens they consider “untrained” being armed on their property.

There was also opposition from another source many considered unlikely, and one that has generated no small amount of anger and accusations: The Oklahoma Rifle Association, NRA’s official state affiliate, came out against the bill.

“The Oklahoma Rifle Association opposes passage of the Constitutional Carry legislation as currently written,” group President Gary Don Scott announced in an April 26 letter to state politicians. “We feel the legislation needs to include background checks and some firearms training.”

How did ORA arrive at such a consensus?

“We conducted a survey of our membership on how they feel about Constitutional Carry legislation for our great state,” the letter continued. “The majority of the members who completed the survey feel the legislation needs to include some training and background checks. Based on the results of the survey, the Oklahoma Rifle Association opposes the passage as currently written.”

This is what happens when the slaves enjoy their slavery.  It happened to the children of Israel too when they began to bitch to Moses about being in the wilderness when they could have been enslaved.

It’s hard enough to fight the forces of evil on the other side.  It’s worse when those forces are yourselves.

Sad.

ZeroHedge:

Earlier this week while most of the world was transfixed on the World Cup, the Trump/Kim handshake, or a multitude of other sundry events, Julius Malema, aka the Hitler of South Africa, was busy telling white people in his country that he’s not going wage genocide against them. Yet.

In an interview with TRT World News published this week, Malema said, “We have not called for the killing of white people. At least for now. I can’t guarantee the future.”

When the reporter mentioned that some people might view these remarks as a call to genocide, Malema responded, “Crybabies. Crybabies,” but later warned white South Africans that “the masses are on board” for “an un-led revolution and anarchy”.

The Dutch brought a lot of wealth, hard work, innovation and scholarship to South Africa.  The country will plunge into darkness and killing if they are driven out.

The South African Dutch have what I consider to be a nice accent, easy on the ears.  I know it when I hear it.  Listen for more South African Dutch accents in the near future in America as they relocate.

Meanwhile, even though I haven’t posted on it, I’ve watched and read as South Africa under this new leadership has made virtually all firearms owners into criminals.

I’ll repeat what we already know.  Every single one of the genocides in the twentieth century – every … single … one – from Hitler to Stalin to Pol Pot to Idi Amin to the Turkish Ottoman Muslim extermination of the Armenian Christians, was preceded by gun confiscations.

Every one.  It’s happening in South Africa as we speak.  Do your own news search if you don’t believe me.

And we’re losing to these imbeciles?

Infowars:

Fears for the safety of Tommy Robinson are mounting after it was revealed that he has been moved to a heavily Muslim-populated prison in the United Kingdom and has already been on the receiving end of death threats.

Robinson was jailed last month for a “breach of the peace” while live streaming a trial involving a Muslim rape gang outside Leeds Crown Court.

He was initially held in a low security prison with a low Muslim population.

However, today it was revealed by Robinson’s manager Caolan Robertson that the activist has now been moved to another prison that has a large Muslim prison population.

Robertson added that Robinson had been subjected to Muslim prisoners banging on cell walls and threatening to kill him since he arrived at the jail. He is now being held on the main wing of the jail amongst the general population which is “full of people who (don’t) like him,” according to Robertson.

Britain mustn’t have the peasants speaking their mind, can they?  And don’t think this is an accident.  They intend to silence Tommy.

It’s been made clear, Brits.  First, you’re disarmed (as if you were ever really allowed to have them in the first place).  Next, population replacement is enacted.  Then you’re silenced, and if you aren’t silent about your demise, you’re threatened or even killed.

British shame.  There is no choice but to fight or relocate, men.  Overthrow your government.  We did it once.