David Codrea:

It’s difficult to imagine a more torturous and horrifying realization than to know those you love more than life itself are in agony and terror, and are being slain, and there is nothing you can do to prevent their deaths or your own. If there is an approximation of hell on earth, that must be as close as one can get. And that is something those who support politicians who enact citizen disarmament edicts enable.

Only very evil men, or very self righteous pricks, advocate such arrangements in interactions between men.

Kurt Hofmann:

The thing is, President Obama’s executive order is not a “ban” of police possession and use of such weapons and other gear–at least not in any usual sense of the word. Under the new policy, police departments are completely free to buy the gear in question. What has changed is that they will no longer get the equipment for free, or at rock-bottom prices, courtesy of the U.S. military and other federal government agencies.

Right.  And I’ll tell you something else about this ban.  It doesn’t speak to federal police agencies.  I would just as soon start with the ATF, go to the Federal Protection Police (you didn’t even know they existed, did you?), move to the DHS, and keep going.  Then we can focus on local cops.

From Mike Vanderboegh, anecdotes of societal collapse.

So is there any reason to be part of the Boy Scouts any more?

Police cash confiscations still on the rise.  Because they apparently don’t care that they are stealing, contrary to God’s commandment.

Okay, so The Washington Post stole a story from David Codrea.  It wasn’t the first time, it won’t be the last, but I know it’s frustrating for David.  When I was commenting on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, I saw entire paragraphs from my posts lifted out and published by former Army general and colonel “expert commentators” on television.

Trump problems:

Potential GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump and his daughter have donated “at least $105,000 to the Clinton Foundation,” The Hill reported Thursday. Contributions, per the Foundation website, “advance the work of any part of the Clinton Foundation, including the Clinton Global Initiative.”

That would be the same group behind the Clinton Global Citizen Award, presented to anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg by Vice President Joe Biden for being the “most fierce and most effective advocate that we have on the matter of gun sanity.”

[ … ]

As this column observed in 2012, Trump could be a great friend if his seeming enthusiasm for the Second Amendment is real. How we could go about determining that, aside from doing things backwards — trusting him and then seeing if he ends up earning it — is unclear.

Let’s clear this up.  Trump cannot be trusted.  He comes from the Northeast where the collectivist spirit runs deep and the totalitarian tendencies are strong.  He cannot be trusted any more than Chris Christie can be trusted.

David Codrea:

Far be it from me to resort to quacking noises at this point, or to discourage anyone who believes in what “Dr.” Lei Milliere preaches from following his “Emergency/Crisis” prescription to the letter, but one can’t visit his website without noting the prominent assurance that “Medicare and Medicaid is accepted!” How he is not only able to “practice” any form of medicine seems questionable enough — that what he does is considered eligible for government redistribution of wealth seems unfathomable. It would appear that his consultations and how he bills for them both present legitimate areas of professional and legal inquiry, with appropriate cautions taken should he follow the advice he dispenses to others and try to kill any investigating “snakes” as an act of “self-defense.”

Quack.  Fruitcake.  Crank.  Dingbat.  Crackpot.  See, I don’t mind at all resorting to name calling.

Kurt Hofmann:

One concern that can be dismissed immediately is that the government will succeed in suppressing this information. Regardless of what ridiculous extremes it can twist current laws into, or even what new ones it inflicts on this once free nation, the information will not be stopped, or even seriously slowed down.

Governments can never stop the flow of information, any more than they can control guns if the people want them.

If you haven’t seen all of Mike Vanderboegh’s speeches, the videos are linked here.

David Codrea:

The National Rifle Association last week called a U.S. Court of Appeals ruling, in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union and against Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, “a significant victory” and “a big loss for Big Brother.” The lawsuit challenged the National Security Agency’s position that collection of telephone “metadata” was authorized by the so-called “Patriot Act.”

“Your NRA had participated in the case by filing friend of the court briefs at different stages of the proceedings,” the Institute for Legislative Action report advised. “We have also supported legislation to curtail the NSA’s dragnet surveillance of American citizens.”

Why?

Aren’t we told NRA is a “single issue” organization, focused solely on promotion and protection of the Second Amendment?

Yea, I’ve heard that claptrap for years now, especially from the progressives over at reddit/guns.  It annoys me because it’s so hypocritical.  The NRA and their advocates get to say that when it’s convenient.  When it comes to something like immigration and what it portends for gun control, well, that’s entirely another story.

From Seymour Hersh, the real story of the UBL raid.  Or not.  And really not (via Mike Vanderboegh).  Listen folks.  Seymour Hersh has a reputation for padding his stories with anonymous sources and things that cannot be verified.  And no one ever comes forward later to exonerate Sy Hersh.  Take everything you hear, see and read with a grain of salt.

Trans-Pacific Parnership: Stupid Party Cedes Working Class To Democrats – Setting Up Next Defeat.  See also this.  The GOP is so in-the-pocket of corporate America they can’t see straight.  They are whores, every one of them.  And both parties are completely corrupt.

David Codrea:

A balance sheet appearing on a German government website for Armatix GmbH, the German company behind the controversial iP1 “smart” handgun, shows significant financial losses. Further, a German journalist has provided Gun Rights Examiner with documents purporting to show gun developer and Managing Director Ernst Mauch is not only no longer with the company, but that he has been banned from its facilities under threat of a criminal complaint.

The sweet smell of success.  It’s all I ever wanted with “smart guns” – i.e., for the engineering value (or lack thereof) to govern the process of growing or killing the technology in the free market rather than forcing such a monstrosity on the public by edict.

David Codrea:

“Let’s take all the guns away,” he proposes.

Think about that for a moment.

“Let’s…” he advocates. That would be he and those who believe like him, albeit odds are he’ll send a paid proxy in lieu of trying to disarm anyone himself — no matter how truly entertaining it would be to see him attempt it.

Like most advocates of confiscations, he’d never be on the deadly SWAT raids to effect such draconian measures.  Which reminds me to remind you again in case you’ve forgotten.  To all the LEOs who would actually do such things, you understand that the elitists don’t want any part of it, don’t you?  They consider you to be knuckle-draggers and bad people and thugs.  You’re just their thugs, and that makes it okay with them.  Do you like being thought of that way?

Kurt Hofmann:

The Constitution of the United States, as brilliant a document as it is, does not, cannot defend the rights it guarantees all by itself. The pen may indeed be mightier than the sword, but the sword is a great deal more effective for hacking people to death. One retains only the rights one can defend.

Yes, it’s like when folks have told me “they can’t do that, it’s a violation of the constitution.”  I always respond that they (whomever they is) can do what they want until they are stopped with guns.  And what if those trying to squelch free speech weren’t the bad guys affiliated with the Islamists?  What if they were the guys affiliated with the government?  Do you see the value in guns now?

David Codrea:

“I’m a registered Republican and a gun owner,” Kemp told the media after his brother-in-law was killed with a stolen gun in a “gun-free” mall. “But I secure my weapons, and I’m not going to give them up.”

I don’t care what or who he is.  I’m unmoved by claims like this, and only a moron would care.  Actually, what I wonder is why folks are so willing to compromise when we are winning, and winning big, in states where we assert our rights?

Kurt Hofmann:

“To limit self-defense to only those methods acceptable to the government” creates an “enormous transfer of authority from the citizens of this country to the government — a result directly contrary to our constitution and to our political tradition,” Manion wrote.

I’m actually rather surprised to see this come out of a Northern court, even if it is only a dissent.  Read the rest of Kurt’s analysis.

Mike Vanderboegh essentially asks the same question I asked over this blog some months ago.  I don’t know what the Colonel’s answer means.  He should have been clearer.

WRSA warns us that the powers are pushing a cashless society.  Good grief.  They just seem to want civil war, no?

This is a government idea I can get behind.

ISIS is on the Southern border.  Doesn’t surprise me in the least.  Prepare.

Folks, don’t rely on rescue in the wilderness just because we have sophisticated equipment now.  Be prepared to survive on your own.

David Codrea:

… we’ve seen time and again that the end game is one of total citizen disarmament. You don’t have to take my word for it — take the words of the gun-grabbers. This is why any degree of “compromise” is such a foolish game for gun rights supporters to play — the antis will cheerfully swallow up any concessions you make and then use ceded ground as a beachhead from which to launch their next incursion. To give an inch makes as much sense as throwing a scrap of meat to a circling pack of hyenas and then expecting them to be satisfied and to leave you in peace.

Yep.  We’ve seen gun grabbers express honesty before, believe it or not.

Via Mike Vanderboegh, the GOP Senators who voted to confirm Loretta Lynch are complicit.  Yes they are.  Not a single one of them can be trusted.

Yes, Uncle, I wear my clothing bare in spots too carrying knives and guns.  My pockets are torn up in places.  Hey, I have a solution to the gun problem.  Open carry, and work for a culture that’s okay with that.

Watch Mike Vanderboegh’s Colorado speech.

David Codrea:

Proprietors of a mine at the center of a land use dispute called for a Thursday protest at the Medford District Bureau of Land Management office while they attempt to serve papers, the Sugar Pine Mine announced Sunday. The mine has recently come under increased media scrutiny after member of Oath Keepers, current and retired military, law enforcement and public service personnel who have sworn not to obey unconstitutional orders, including orders to disarm the American people, arrived on premises at the request of the owners to provide security.

I expect to see more and more of this sort of thing, and it will turn from easy, clear-headed skirmishes to more complex and difficult operations in the future.  I suspect that in ten years we will all yearn for the easy, peaceful, fat years.

Kurt Hofmann:

Given Netanyahu’s apparent at least tacit tolerance–if not active approval–of such highly restrictive gun laws, when he speaks of “self-defense,” he is talking about the national government’s ability to defend the country from outside threats. He is not referring to individual citizens defending themselves and their families from violent criminals, and is certainly not referring to the people’s ability to resist a government that seeks to slip the leash of the constitutional limits on its power.

Yes, while I admire Netanyahu’s stance and strength on many issues (especially in light of the sniveling, cowardly pussy we currently have for a president), I have noted his collectivist stance on guns, and I find it repulsive.  Unfortunately it will limit my support and advocacy for a Netanyahu administration to the bare minimum (he’s better than the alternatives who are mostly communists).

Joe Manchin admits that he lied during his campaign for election and his “support” for gun rights.  But anyone with two brain cells knew that about him then and knows it now.

Robbery using an AK-47.  I’ve heard all about how those who open carry rifles are idiots, clowns, and people simply trying to make a statement while really being asses.  Yep, I’ve heard that for a while now, to the point that it has gotten old.  But are we reaching a point in America where we will need to carry a rifle around because the bad guys have rifles?  A pistol doesn’t compare to a rifle, unless you’re Jerry Miculek or Rob Leatham.

David Codrea:

Admitting that legislation it passed Monday will not stop violent crime, Cleveland politicians instead came up with excuses for imposing it on citizens anyway, Northeast Ohio Media Group reported. All but one Council member, Zack Reed, voted in favor of the new edicts, which in many areas duplicate state law, but supposedly will allow the city to keep resulting fines.

Whether any such coveted revenues will outweigh further legal costs the city will face is a question taxpayers should be asking their representatives who insisted on reopening an issue presumably already settled in the courts.

Yea, duplication of laws came immediately to mind when I read about this legislation.  Take note that there is a nexus between this sort of thing and the requirement to get CLEOs to approve of gun permits, even in “shall-issue” states like my own of North Carolina, where the permitting process costs a non-trivial amount of money.  A source of revenue, it is.

Mike Vanderboegh has returned safely home.  Good.  Here is his speech.

TREASON TO A GOVERNMENT BASED UPON TREASON TO ITS OWN FOUNDING DOCUMENT IS NO TREASON AT ALL! It is merely obedience to God and the truest expression of the inalienable and natural rights to life, liberty and property that HE gave us. It is also an act of fidelity to the rule of law and the Founders’ constitutional republic. Anyone who tells you differently is selling something.

Read it all here.

Via WRSA, this from Spiegel:

The spies were to find out as much as possible about the target towns: Who lived there, who was in charge, which families were religious, which Islamic school of religious jurisprudence they belonged to, how many mosques there were, who the imam was, how many wives and children he had and how old they were. Other details included what the imam’s sermons were like, whether he was more open to the Sufi, or mystical variant of Islam, whether he sided with the opposition or the regime, and what his position was on jihad. Bakr also wanted answers to questions like: Does the imam earn a salary? If so, who pays it? Who appoints him? Finally: How many people in the village are champions of democracy?

The agents were supposed to function as seismic signal waves, sent out to track down the tiniest cracks, as well as age-old faults within the deep layers of society — in short, any information that could be used to divide and subjugate the local population. The informants included former intelligence spies, but also regime opponents who had quarreled with one of the rebel groups. Some were also young men and adolescents who needed money or found the work exciting. Most of the men on Bakr’s list of informants, such as those from Tal Rifaat, were in their early twenties, but some were as young as 16 or 17.

The plans also include areas like finance, schools, daycare, the media and transportation. But there is a constantly recurring, core theme, which is meticulously addressed in organizational charts and lists of responsibilities and reporting requirements: surveillance, espionage, murder and kidnapping.

You listen to me very carefully.  This is coming to America.  In addition to the flood of illegals across the Southern border for whom we will have to provide SNAP and medical care, along with an increasingly totalitarian government who wants to control every aspect of our lives, we will soon face totalitarian Islam unlike anything we have ever seen up close.  Be prepared.  Listen to me.  Be prepared.  If you’re not prepared now, then get prepared – immediately.

David Codrea:

“Terri and I made a decision to put this deal together [to] attempt to reconstruct our family’s lives,” Rick Reese noted, explaining to this column why a settlement attempt could spell the end of four years of torment and uncertainty wherein the family has received insufficient outside assistance to press on. Barring surprises from the government reneging on agreements to bring the matter to closure, that reconstruction may be forthcoming.

Hey, if you’re fighting the behemoth of the federal government, this is about as good as it’s going to get.  It occurs to me that the government doesn’t need the weapons, and they don’t need the proceeds from the sale of the weapons.  They are doing this for vengeance and spite.

David also gives us the following practical note: “Sometimes real life calls. I was out all day yesterday taking care of other business, and unless somebody comes over and volunteers to do my first yard work of Spring for me, I have some rich, full days ahead of me this weekend.”  He ends with this: “The thought of sitting under the trees later this afternoon with a book, a beer and a stogie after I finish up today’s labors seems pretty attractive.”  Yes, to all of the above.  I know how David feels.  I am in the middle of a difficult move down the road a piece, and the time it takes to fix every little problem with the house, close on two loans, perform inspections of the new house, and on and on the pain goes, is about to kill me.  Please be patient with my lack of posts as well.

Mike is in Colorado.  Pray for his success and safety.

Via Mike, Bob Owens doesn’t like the tactical aspects of open carry.  I’ve seen this argument before, and I don’t buy it but I don’t begrudge the belief.  If someone wants to conceal, that’s just fine with me.  But what I don’t like about Bob’s argument is that he seems to blame the crime on the fact of open carry, as if the primary cause of the sin was an innocent person openly carrying a weapon.  Of course, that’s a stupid position if Bob is actually saying that.  God will by no means leave the guilty unpunished (Ex 34:7, Num 14:18).

You mean to tell me we don’t have universal background checks on aerosol cans, sledge hammers and canes?  I’m astonished!  I told you this sort of thing would happen, and I demand Congressional action on assault hammers.

David Codrea:

That titles of nobility were viewed by the Founders as incompatible with the Constitutional form of government they established is a given. So it should come as no surprise that Michael Bloomberg, one of the foremost advocates for infringing on the right to keep and bear arms, was pleased beyond measure to accept the honorary title of Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, as The New York Times reported Thursday. Also no surprise: He declared the heirs apparent to two wannbe political dynasties, Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton, to be the only two candidates capable of ascending to the throne.

After all, they are two peas in a pod.  And let David remind you of the positions of Jeb and Hillary on the “pathway to citizenship.”

David gives us another piece of the puzzle.  You know, people who demand to know sources are idiots.  What do they think – that journalists and bloggers are going to give up people who entrusted themselves to give needful reports?  I always protected my sources.  I expect David and Mike to do the same thing.  I would lose respect for them if they didn’t.  It’s about more than just expediency.  It’s about honor.  People who demand to know sources don’t understand honor.

Mike Vanderboegh cites an excellent summary of the sporting purposes conundrum in which the ATF finds itself.

Man shoots at armadillo, hits mother-in-law.  Or so he says.

It appears as if South Carolina and Georgia are on the verge of recognizing each others’ carry permits.  Should have happened a long time ago.  And there shouldn’t be any such thing as carry permits to begin with.