Lots ...

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... of goodness in this one!



I sure wish I could keep up that kind of intelligent discourse!

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We are well and truly ...

.
... fucked:

10:13 Tom: The bottom line: the entire ACA is upheld, with the exception that the federal government's power to terminate states' Medicaid funds is narrowly read.

From the live blog at SCOTUSblog. God help us.

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Police only care ...

.
... when they're being threatened. From a Balko post about a SWAT raid on the wrong family:

A minimal degree of investigation is all it takes to prevent this kind of “mistake”. People just need to realize the cops simply don’t care. Right house, wrong house, doesn’t matter.

The popo got an anonymous threat on the internet and traced it back to this family's unsecured wifi connection. They were looking for computer equipment (which could even be a smart phone), so naturally they sent a SWAT team.

Note also that the police chief admits that the procedure for a knock-and-announce warrant service has nothing to do with ensuring compliance, but rather with distracting the target.

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Here's a thought ...

.
... on what to do with all of the illegal aliens in AZ:

When you pick up the illegals, bus them up to DC and drop them off at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And then do a press conference, right there, explaining that Barack thinks a flood of illegal immigrants is just dandy because it isn’t happening in his backyard. Have two or three Arizona residents with you who have been victims of violent crime at the hand of illegals. And then say, “Well, now they are in his backyard, and there’s more where they came from. They’re hungry. Some of ‘em need medical care. They all need jobs. They’ll need food stamps, Section 8 housing, and medicaid. And their children need to be enrolled in school and signed up for the free breakfast and lunch programs. Oh, and five or six of them are violent criminals. See ya next week with another load!”

I think that there should be express busses to all of the midwestern blue states so that the illegal aliens can be with all of their Obama buddies. I'm sure Detroit has plenty of room ...

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It's a shame ...

.
... that this may be a viable campaign strategy:

Still trying to distill a "Vote Republican --so the media will report political corruption" message for the masses.

This from a post wherein an award-winning news writer from CBS takes NBC (finally!) to task for straining credulity on their editing 'mistakes'.

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Wow ...

.
... you don't say:

According to a “confidential report” prepared by the Sanford Police Department, Zimmerman, 28, willingly submitted to a computer voice stress analyzer (CVSA) “truth verification” on February 27. Investigators concluded that he “has told substantially the complete truth in regards to this examination.”

Zimmerman, the report noted, “was classified as No Deception Indicated (NDI).”

And yet, they persist ...

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The emails ...

.
... have been sent:

Senator ,

I am writing because I would like you to sponsoir legislation regarding the Hughes Amendment [18 USC, § 922(o)]. I have taken the liberty of writing the basic language of the bill; adjust it as you need to to conform to accepted standards.

Title of Bill: Legal NFA Weapons Haven't Hurt Anyone Act

BE IT ENACTED BY THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS

Preamble: Whereas fully-automatic firearms made after May 19, 1986 are illegal for private ownership, and whereas fully-automatic firearms manufactured prior to May 19, 1986 are legal for private ownership, and whereas there is no distinguishable difference between a fully-automatic firearm manufactured before May 19, 1986 and one of the same type manufactured after May 19, 1986, and whereas there has been no change in the incidence of the use of lawfully-owned fully-automatic firearms in crime, 18 USC § 922(o) is of no effect.

SECTION 1: 18 USC § 922(o) is hereby repealed.

SECTION 2: This Act will take effect immediately upon passage.

Thank you for your time.

I will update as the form letters come in ...

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Truth ...

.
... from a denier:

I might as well label you an idiot for using it, when you’ve never met me, have no idea of my competence or the strength of my arguments for or against any aspect of climate dynamics (because on this list I argue both points of view as the science demands and am just as vigorous in smacking down bullshit physics used to challenge some aspect of CAGW as I am to question the physics or statistical analysis or modelling used to “prove” it).

Of course, I've snipped one of the funnier parts to illustrate that the whole post is well worth reading. h/t Ace

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I realize I'm late on this one ...

.
... but I just had to add my .02:

A 14-yea.r-old Phoenix boy shot an intruder who broke into his home while brandishing a gun as the teenager watched his three younger siblings, police said.

The teen and his brothers and sisters were at home alone at their residence at 55th Avenue a.nd Baseline when a woman rang the doorbell Friday. The teen didn't open the door because he didn't recognize her, Police Officer James Holmes said Saturday.

.Soon after, the teen heard a bang on the door, rushed his siblings upstairs and got a handgun from his parent's bedroom. When he got to the top of the stairs, he saw a man breaking through the front door and point a gun at him

Righteous! Give that kid a medal while you're at it.

Obviously, the parents did a bang up job of teaching their children ... give them a medal, too.

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JPFO alert

.
Guns and Moses

Put this one ...

.
... in your files:

The four masked men stormed up to the house with purpose early Tuesday morning.

They walked in a single line, taking time to move a lawn chair in their way.

It took just two strong kicks to break down the door of the rust-colored single family home at 7014 Orpine Drive N.

"Police! Police! Police!" the group shouted, guns raised.

If you guessed that they weren't really police, move to the head of the class. In a reasoned world, police would try very hard to get these mokes because it makes the police real job that much harder.

But given the state of law enforcement these days, these thugs will be treated just like any other thugs, and the police will continue to rely on their authoritah.

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I'll take ...

.
... that bet!

Matt Carberry, commenting in one of Say Uncle's posts, posits that it's a citizens' responsibility to direct representatives in what bills they are to sponsor, vote for ... etc, etc (this after some lackluster enthusiasm for the NRA-sponsored hunting bill in OK). Of course, out of the other side of his mouth, he'd rally all gun owners to join the NRA because only through the NRA can our voices be combined and leveraged by a national organization.

So I went to the webz and downloaded a legislation template from the Princeton Model Congress, and have written a very simple bill - the Legal NFA Weapons Haven't Hurt Anyone Act*, and it goes something like this:

Title of Bill: Legal NFA Weapons Haven't Hurt Anyone Act

BE IT ENACTED BY THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS

Preamble: Whereas fully-automatic firearms made after May 19, 1986 are illegal for private ownership, and whereas fully-automatic firearms manufactured prior to May 19, 1986 are legal for private ownership, and whereas there is no distinguishable difference between a fully-automatic firearm manufactured before May 19, 1986 and one of the same type manufactured after May 19, 1986, and whereas there has been no change in the incidence of the use of lawfully-owned fully-automatic firearms in crime, 18 USC § 922(o) is of no effect.

SECTION 1: 18 USC § 922(o) is hereby repealed.

SECTION 2: This Act will take effect immediately upon passage.

Pretty simple, no? None of that 'A bill to blah blah blah and other purposes' crap ... just a simple repeal of the Hughes Amendment. Simple.

And I'm going to take Matthew's advice and send this to both my senators and my state rep. When I get the expected form letters on how supportive that individual is on protecting second amendment rights ... well then I'll send letters to them, both in Washington and to their local offices. I'll even pledge to do this every month for a year.

How far do you think I'll get that way? That's what I thought.

No, the only way to get any movement on the NFA is for the NRA to push it, but they won't ...

because they hate NFA weapons.

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*It could have just as easily been something like the 'NFA Is a Failed Piece of Legislation Act' or the 'This is What Happens When You Let Liars Make Laws By Making Up the Rules As They Go and Cheat and Misrepresent Just in Order to Get Their Favorite Dream Enacted Into Law Act', but you see how much time that would have taken!

This video ...

.
... just deserves so much viewing:



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Mr Emmanuel ...

.
... tear down this wall!

Chicago's firearm ordinance took another blow Tuesday when a federal judge ruled that the section banning permits for people convicted of unlawful use of a weapon is vague and unconstitutional.

But don't worry ... they'll have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the 21st century.

pm[link url]

Massad Ayoob ...

.
... weighs in on Stand Your Ground:



The author of the post also has some ideas on how to "improve" FL's SYG laws, the first with which I disagree. Courts in the US are starting to rule that even convicted felons have the right to self-defense, and using the best tools available (ie, firearms).

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This just in ...

.
... shit just got real!

BREAKING: House Hearing On Holder Contempt Citation-Obama Asserts Executive Privilege On Documents Sought UPDATE: Contempt Vote Still On

So Obama has now implicitly admitted that he knew about Fast & Furious.

Glad I've got lots of popcorn ...

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Update: And so it begins ...

Your perimeter security ...

.
... just got a little harder:



h/t Ace's ONT

Hmmm ...

.
... is the day getting closer?

What law enforcement better understand is that there is less than half-a-million of them, and over 100 million of us (law-abiding gun-owners). As I blogged the other day, we’re getting fed up with being pushed around and the time is drawing closer to where we might just start pushing back.

This from a blog post about the FL gent who was face-planted for accidentally exposing his handgun.

The authorities are now currently in a grace period/holding pattern regarding lawful firearm owners. How it all turns out is completely in their control.

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Seems like Scalia ...

.
... may have gotten some religion about the Commerce Clause:

Justice Scalia writes, for instance, that he has little use for a central precedent the Obama administration has cited to justify the health care law under the Constitution’s commerce clause, Wickard v. Filburn.

In that 1942 decision, Justice Scalia writes, the Supreme Court “expanded the Commerce Clause beyond all reason” by ruling that “a farmer’s cultivation of wheat for his own consumption affected interstate commerce and thus could be regulated under the Commerce Clause.”…

Of course, he did invoke Wickard when he voted with the majority on Raich. And when he had the opportunity to rule using the correct basis in McDonald, he thought that might be too hard.

I won't hold my breath ...

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This ...

.
... is more profound than it sounds:

"In the end, that's all this amendment does," Rutherford said. "It really just puts police officers on the same level as everyone else."

This regarding the new amendment to Illinois' castle doctrine law that makes it legal for citizens to reasonably resist illegal trespass on their property, even if it's by a LEO.

Yes, taking the popo down a notch or ten is never a bad thing, especially when it places them on even footing with citizens.

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What. The.

.
Fuck?!

On Monday, a Florida woman was set on fire by her spurned boyfriend in the parking lot of a gas station.

According to MSNBC, a few days later, Florida officials told Naomie Breton she’d have to pay the $340 towing fee to have her car removed from the gas station parking lot. Better yet, the state is also charging her the $363 fee to tow the car of the man who tried to kill her, plus his $25-per-day late fees. Turns out the two of them had bought the car together. So her name is on the title. And he can’t pay, because he’s in jail for trying to kill her.

She had tried to get a restraining order against the boyfriend. A Florida judge turned her down.

Seriously, don't dial 911 because the state is not your friend. And the judge should be made to publically explain his reasoning for denying her a restraining order (not that it would have helped).

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Well ...

.
... it's worth a shot:

This year there's another incumbent president with modest approval ratings who could turn out his base with controversial ballot measures. But this time, the issue features no biblical or scatological imagery. In 2012, voters in swing states will decide whether they'll allow their fellow citizens to bear joints. Unlike the gay marriage votes, there's no indication that Obama's re-election team is behind any of the pot legalization initiatives, but there are Democrats who are hoping that it will boost turnout among weed's biggest fans: young people.

The very least he could do is fulfill his campaign promise to stop federal prosecutions of marijuana dispensaries.

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Happy Fathers' Day!

.
I hope all of you Dads have a great day (I know Robb will!)

JPFO alert

.
Sadly, another death at JPFO ...

Year the Fourth ...

.
... of Linoge's Graphics Matter series:

Thanks to the newest preliminary FBI stats on crime coming out recently (the past pattern was replicated again: crime is down overall), I was reminded that I needed to check up on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and see if they had updated their WISQARS system to include fatal injury data from 2009; lo and behold they had, so it is time to update last year’s Graphics Matter post:

What is interesting about this post (at least, to me anyway) is not that Linoge's work is so groundbreaking in it's result (we all knew that!), but that he goes to such great lengths to explain his sources and methodologies, something that you won't find anywhere else.

Anyhow, go read it ... it's definitely worth the time.

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You know ...

.
... I think he's right!



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My new toy!

.
Picked up my new carry gun on Monday, a Ruger SR 1911. I'll pop a few rounds this weekend.




It feels pretty nice. I'll admit that I hadn't anticipated spending quite this much on my carry piece, but the pistol came highly recommended (not to mention being in short supply!). We shall see .....

And the manual of arms is the same as I remember it, but it has been a long time!

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Emily Miller ...

.
... should be nominated for sainthood in the gunnie community:

He saw about 25 officers in full body armor and Kevlar helmets, carrying M4 assault weapons. SWAT and explosive ordinance disposal teams were on all sides. Streets were barricaded for blocks. The veteran knew how to surrender with the least chance of being hurt. He put his hands over his head and spun around so they could clearly see he was unarmed. “I looked down and saw 10 jiggly red dots all over my chest,” he said, appearing afraid at the memory. “I crumbled.”

Yeah, this is how a decorated combat veteran is treated when the DC police find out he's got firearms.

If SAF and Alan Gura don't at least try to address this, I'll forever consider them the worst of pussies.

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I'm late ...

.
... but here's Aaron's monthly giveaway at his site.

Sorry about that ... my Blogger's acting up!

It's hard to imagine ...

.
... how much I want this woman to win:

Nonetheless, after throwing him over the guardrail, the cops applied pressure points to his ears and armpits, she says. Three more cops arrived, including Baltimore County Officer Andrew O'Neill, who Tasered Johnson twice. Officer Loss then punched him in the face and the six officers managed to handcuff him, the widow says.
Eight more cops arrived, and someone took his wallet, which included a medical alert card about his diabetes. Nonetheless, the cops forcibly held him down, though he was not resisting, and was handcuffed, his wife says.

Keep this in mind if you've medical conditions ...

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Wow ...

.
... this is why I don't like Republicans either:

I ask you all to remember again that this woman is a Republican, and that in fact this entire prosecution has been driven by Republican officials looking to burnish their racial bona fides to avoid the predictable charges of racism that slip profitably from the mouths of “civil rights” leaders like, eg., Al Sharpton, or race-baiting politicians like our current President.

Yeah, Angela Corey is just as bad as a Democrat, just not bad in the same ways. I'm starting to wish about dying and fires.

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Sounds like it's time for ...

.
... popcorn:

But within minutes, he said, one of the two officers became enraged — and the judge became his target. The officer screamed and cursed at the onlookers, some of whom were complaining about what they said was his violent treatment of the suspect, and then he focused on Justice Raffaele, who was wearing a T-shirt and jeans. The judge said the officer rushed forward and, using the upper edge of his hand, delivered a sharp blow to the judge’s throat that was like what he learned when he was trained in hand-to-hand combat in the Army.

Now, let me see if I've got this straight. Cops are abusing a handcuffed suspect. NY state Supreme Court Justice ambles by in street clothes and comes in for a closer look, then one of the cops attacks him.

And the attack is corroborated by two others?

Can you hear 'Entrance of the Gladiators' in the distance? I can ... h/t Belle Waring

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Only Ones ...

.
... get by again.

Let me first say that anytime a child is killed is a tragedy, no matter how. The fact that a child is killed with an unsecured handgun only makes it worse.

That's why I noted cynically that the grandfather of a 3 year-old accidentally killed last week will likely not face any disciplinary action.

But if you're Joe Regular Citizen, not only do you have tolive with your child being dead, you face charges of being responsible.

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Best adage ...

.
... I've heard in a long time:

A police officer acquaintance once told me no one ever needs a gun until he or she NEEDS one.

Right. And since you never know when the need will arise, it's prudent to have a gun all the time.

Right?

Right!

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JPFO alert

.
It's a two-fer today ...

No compromise against gun control.

JPFO offers three new specials.

Is this something?

.
It sounds like something:

A special investigative grand jury Tuesday handed down a murder indictment against the Culpeper town policeman who shot and killed a 54-year-old unarmed woman on Feb. 9.
Thirty-two-year-old Daniel Harmon–Wright, aka Daniel Wayne Sullivan, aka Dan Wayne, turned himself in to Prince William County authorities Tuesday night near his home in Gainesville, sources said.

Is anyone else impressed by the number of aliases this guy has?!

At least a grand jury has decided that cops need to be held accountable when cops shoot people ... especially unarmed people.

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Oops ...

.
... didn't see that one coming:

Saddled with a budget deficit more than twice the European Union limit and a ballooning gap between income and costs in its power system, Spain halted subsidies for new renewable-energy projects in January. The surprise move by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy one month after taking office helped pierce investor confidence in stable aid for clean energy acrossEurope.

“They destroyed the Spanish market overnight with the moratorium,” European Wind Energy Association Chief Executive Officer Christian Kjaer said in an interview.

Nope, governments don't have any idea what the free market's all about ...

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Cool little gadget ...

.
... a musical Time Machine!

Go to your year of birth and see what was playing that year. Me, I didn't hear anything I'd listen to voluntarily! h/t Ace's ONT

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