In the wake of the atrocities, loss of life and the kidnapping and killing of innocents in Israel, accounts of heroic actions to save the lives of families and other have emerged from the carnage. These stories share a common element, the individuals and groups who made the lifesaving difference had access to firearms and ammunition with the training and ability to use them. Civilians having firearms saves lives. It’s as simple as that.
It is important to note that Israel does not have the equivalent of our Second Amendment. Despite the whole genre of off-duty female Israeli troops carrying an M4, firearm ownership in Israel is not common. Firearms there are strictly controlled and residents who do have permits are only allowed 50 rounds of ammunition.
As a direct result of the horrific attacks, Israel announced it was significantly modifying their permit process to allow more civilian ownership, as well as increasing the number of rounds permitted to 100. They will also be distributing 10,000 assault rifles to civilian security teams in border areas.
Call these groups by whatever name you will; civilian security teams, guardians, or neighborhood watch, but they all fall under our definition of militia.
The Second Amendment
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
What is the militia? Well first off, it’s not what our news media has tried to convince you of. Their typical portrayal is of the most radical, right-wing outcasts made up of old, overweight white guys in camo running around in the woods spouting off anti-government rhetoric. Nor is it what the gun-control zealots tell you, the state-run National Guard.
From the very beginning of our nation, the militia was every able-bodied male in the community, each of whom was expected to supply their own arms and equipment. Their charter was incredibly simple. To protect the community from threats. It shouldn’t be any different 247 years later.
Today it is small groups of concerned people coming together for the safety of their church, their businesses, and their community. These groups continue to make a real difference in our country time and time again. Your own ‘militia’ could be family, friends, or entire neighborhoods. It doesn’t have to don camo and run around in the woods; it only has to be able to work together in an emergency, for any type of emergency.
You may be saying to yourself, there’s no way something like what happened in Israel could happen here. We’re the United States of America! We’re a superpower! BULLSH!T! Israel is among the very best, if not the best in the world at stopping terrorists. Yet this horrific attack still occurred. If it can happen there, it can occur in any nation on the planet, including here.
Keep in mind the deadliest terrorist attack in history was here in the United States on 09/11 with 2977 victims killed and thousands more injured. What makes you think that of the millions of people who have entered our country illegally across our open southern border in the last three years, many of them military aged males, couldn’t do the same thing here?
Just this weekend, the Director of the FBI, who is typically laser focused on monitoring and controlling the exigent threat of religious and conservative parents speaking out at school board meetings, issued a warning about the rise in violent extremism to the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference.
If you think the government will protect you, remember what happened around our country with the BLM/Antifa “fiery but most peaceful” riots. Despite over $2 billion in damages and at least 25 people dead, their intent was only to assault, steal, loot, damage, burn, destroy, and intimidate the cities they attacked. Local, state, and federal law enforcement could do very little to stop it even if their political leaders had allowed them to.
We are now in a position in our country where many of our city’s defunded, demoralized and highly restricted police departments can no longer handle even their day-to-day calls. Response times for emergencies in some cites extend into hours. Who is going to keep you safe until the police finally show up?
Remember YOU are the one responsible for you and your family’s safety, 24/7, 365 days a year, at home or in public, no matter what the situation.
If a firearm is the right tool for you, make sure you have one and sufficient ammunition. Carry it with you always. Get training for you and your family with your firearms. Get training in first aid and trauma care. Seek out others in your family and your community who can help each other in times of need. Work together for everyone’s safety.
Bob
#Oddstuffing, #Satire, #Constitution, #BillOfRights, #SecondAmendment, #2A, #GunControlFails, #GunVote, #Militia, #Training, #PrayForIsrael, #medium, #mewe, #gab, #gettr, #truthsocial, #oddstuffing.com
Tag: #Constitution
Super Hunter: Second Amendment Crusader! (Satire)
In our darkest hours, a new hero has emerged in our struggle against Second Amendment infringements. Using his close familial connection to the ‘Large Fella’ himself and influence in all the right TLAs (three letter agencies), he is fighting the for the rights of those, like him, who are being penalized for daring to use alternative pharmaceuticals. Fear not fellow patriots, Super Hunter is here!
As you may recall, Super Hunter faced a cruel and inhumane first-time offender diversion program for his multiple felony gun law violations. When his plea bargain, which included several misdemeanor charges for millions of dollars of undeclared income, fell apart, it put him in real danger. Now indicted on three counts related to his lying on a form purchasing a gun and possessing a gun as an admitted illegal drug user, the full weight of the federal law could very well fall on him.
But good news! One of the charges alleging he broke the law against drug users having guns, has already been dropped. I have no doubt this will be a President… ummm, precedent setting move. Illegal drug users around the country are no doubt experiencing a collective sigh of relief.
Super Hunter’s lawyers have already given notice they intend to challenge the constitutionality of this law. They are pointing to a case making its way through the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based on the NYSRPA. v. Bruen decision’s new text, history, and tradition test.
Super Hunter unquestionably has some skin in this game. Actual felony convictions could jeopardize his membership in the Washington DC bar, which thus far through his self-documented drug addiction and prostitute use, as well as aborted plea deals, remains in good standing. It could also hinder future international business deals with foreign leaders and underworld business tycoons who we all know have a serious aversion to being associated with less than reputable members of powerful political families.
A win here could be enormous for the industry. The market potential for drug users who would be running, well, somehow finding their way to their local gun store is substantial. They will of course be faced with the age-old dilemma of whether they have drug money or gun money to spend. But let us not forget the health benefit for gun store clerks who will no longer have to suffer (RES) Rolling Eye Syndrome from constantly having to deal with people trying to use their medical marijuana card as a form of identification.
It is speculated the only reason the federal government has not legalized drugs and removed that annoying question 21(f) on Form 4473 is because they have nothing to gain. This of course isn’t true. When cigarette tax revenue started drying up do to Stop Smoking campaigns, states found a replacement income with marijuana licensing and sales taxes. Afterall, the states knew marijuana is safe to sell and use when licensed and taxed. Therefore, the answer is federal licensing and tax!
Why should just the states get all the benefits of drug regulation? Federal AND state control can both exist. Federal licensing of drug dealers, a Federal Ph(F)armaceutical Licensee (FFL) will bring in revenue, as can prosecution of non-licensees who are engaged in the business. The best part is the federal government already has a model for this.
This is definitely a case for Second Amendment advocates to watch. Some say the most likely outcome here is the case being plea bargained down to misdemeanor, dismissed outright or even pardoned, rendering his constitutional challenge moot. However, we all know Super Hunter will reject all that! He’s going to stick with it all the way to the United States Supreme Court so medical and recreational drug users around the country can legally obtain and possess firearms.
Carry on Super Hunter. Carry on.
Bob
#Oddstuffing, #Satire, #Constitution, #BillOfRights, #SecondAmendment, #2A, #GunControlFails, #GunVote, #ANewHero, #SuperHunter, #DontMixGunsAndDrugs, #EditorOnHoliday, #medium, #mewe, #gab, #gettr, #truthsocial, #oddstuffing.com
The New White House Gun Control Office
In case you missed it, the President has created a new White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The office will be led by the Vice President and will reportedly focus on gun safety in the country. Of course, that’s not the actual intent of this new federal program. It is, like all the other so-called “gun safety” programs, to advance gun control laws designed to take rights, and firearms, away from law-abiding citizens.
As is typical, the emphasis of this new gun control office is on “gun violence”. Not violence, not crime, not victims, not injuries, not suffering, not death; but “guns”. Will it care if you were stabbed to death? No. Will it care if you were beaten to death? No. Will it care that rampant, out of control crime, drugs and violence tearing apart our cities and the people who dare venture out in the streets, day or night? No.
It’s only focus is on “guns”. Why? Because that’s the easy fix in the fantasy world of gun control. Simply take away the guns and the violence will go away. Except, that’s not how things work in the real world. Gun control laws only impact the normally law-abiding firearm owners. Restricting how law-abiding firearm owners buy, possess, and carry firearms and ammunition does nothing to prevent criminals, thugs and terrorists who by the very definition of who they are do NOT obey the law. They will always be able to obtain and use guns as tools of their trade and with disarmed victims, their job is made easier and safer.
As always, the term “gun safety” is used whenever they are talking about “gun control”. The why is easy to understand. Gun safety has a long and specific meaning in this country. Quite simply, it means to use firearms in a safe and responsible manner. By co-opting the term “gun safety”, it makes it sound like the gun control groups are interested in safe and responsible firearm usage. What conscientious, responsible firearm owner would not want to be behind more gun safety? Except gun safety to them means taking away your ability to buy, own, carry or use your own firearm.
What will this new federal gun control office focus on? Supposedly devising new executive orders for the President to sign, coordinating gun control across federal agencies, influencing Congress, as well as coming up with more creative interpretations of the so-called “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act” (BSCA). By elevating the gun control extremists into a White House sponsored lead activist position, they will have even more influence of the gun control agenda.
If there is any good news in this announcement it is that it will be led by our Vice President, whose performance history on White House initiatives such as being the Border Czar show only the opposite of success will occur. The bad news being she is simply a clumsy, ineffective figurehead for the professional and now government paid high-level gun control lobbyists who will be running the show. And now, they have White House stationery.
My message remains the same. The ONLY way to keep more gun control laws from being passed is to STOP electing people who will not protect our natural, constitutionally protected rights.
Bob
#Oddstuffing, #Constitution, #BillOfRights, #SecondAmendment, #2A, #GunControlFails, #GunVote, #WhiteHouse, #EditorOnHoliday, #medium, #mewe, #gab, #gettr, #truthsocial, #oddstuffing.com
California Magazine Ban Unconstitutional, Part Deux
On Friday, September 22, 2023, U.S District Judge Roger Benitez again ruled California’s ban on so-called “large capacity magazines” unconstitutional. The law, California Penal Code 32310, was brought in by Proposition 63. The ruling was stayed for 10 days to allow the State of California to appeal. As expected, the State immediately appealed… almost like it was already sitting on a desk waiting to go.
You may recall Judge Benitez made the same ruling in 2017. It was affirmed on appeal by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In 2019, Summary Judgement was granted to the plaintiffs. This led to California’s famous “Freedom Week” before the judgement was stayed, and the 9th Circuit re-heard the case en banc and reversed the decision. In 2022, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari, vacated the appellate en banc decision, and remanded the case. The appeals court sent it back to Judge Benitez for rehearing in light of the New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n, Inc. v. Bruen case.
In response, the California’s governor/still-unannounced-2024-Democrat-presidential-nominee-wannabe’s reaction was as swift as it was predictable. Using as many insults, lies, exaggerations and rhetoric as he could squeeze into a single tweet, he also managed to cram in a plug for his absurd 28th Amendment gun-control proposal.
“BREAKING: California’s high-capacity magazine ban was just STRUCK DOWN by Judge Benitez, an extremist, right-wing zealot with no regard to human life.
Wake up, America.
Our gun safety laws will continue to be thrown out by NRA-owned federal judges until we pass a Constitutional Amendment to protect our kids and end the gun violence epidemic in America.”
A couple of highlights from the ruling itself.
Among the arguments the State made are that ammunition feeding devices, magazines, are not an integral part of the firearm and therefore, not covered by the Second Amendment. However, this is inconsistent as 10 round and less magazines are legal in the state, but not legal over 10 rounds. California’s Unsafe Handgun Act also requires new semiautomatic pistols to have an integrated magazine-disconnect mechanism, therefore rending the pistol unable to fire even a single shot without a magazine.
The State contends that large capacity magazines are not typically used in self-defense and are therefore not suitable for self-defense. The State’s expert concluded, without evidence or investigation using only anecdotal statements, that it was statistically rare for a person to fire more than 10 rounds in self-defense and that only 2.2 shots are fired on average.
Yet these were some of the compelling facts the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals en banc panel used to overturn the ruling.
The ruling itself (linked below) is 71 pages and is an excellent read. All the previous findings of fact and conclusions from the original 2017 ruling are included, now updated with Bruen’s text, history, tradition test applied. It also thoroughly examines the State’s arguments and details their flaws in law and logic. If you are interested in countering the gun-control rhetoric and nonsense, I strongly urge you read it for yourself.
Here is one line which encapsulates the sum of the ruling.
“There is no American tradition of limiting ammunition capacity and the 10-round limit has no historical pedigree and it is arbitrary and capricious.”
What happens now?
As expected, the State appealed this ruling, and the process begins anew. If this case follows the same path as it did before, it will first be heard by a three-judge panel, appealed by losing side, then reheard en banc. Keep in mind the previous initial ruling in the case was in 2017 and only granted certiorari in 2022.
We can also expect the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to slow walk this case through the process, dragging it out as long as possible. After all, the current makeup of the United States Supreme Court is the same as when it ruled in Bruen. If (and ONLY IF) it is granted certiorari again, it would likely rule in favor of the plaintiffs. That means there is NO WAY IN HELL the gun-control community, which includes the majority of the judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, is going to let this case anywhere near the Supreme Court until the Court has a majority of liberal leaning Justices to support their decision.
With this I’m going to point out the obvious again. Fighting to get your rights back after they have been taken away is a fool’s errand. At BEST you have a very long and extremely expensive legal battle with little chance of succeeding, no matter how egregious the constitutional or legal issues are. The only people winning are the lawyers. Meanwhile, regular law-abiding citizens have lost their rights and ability to properly defend themselves and their families.
The ONLY way to keep this from happening again is to STOP electing people who will not protect our natural, constitutionally protected rights.
Bob
https://michellawyers.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2023-09-22-Decision-Signed-by-Judge-R.-Benitez2263869.1.pdf
#Oddstuffing, #Constitution, #BillOfRights, #SecondAmendment, #2A, #GunControlFails, #Unconstitutional, #GunVote, #StandardCapacityMagazine, #EditorOnHoliday, #medium, #mewe, #gab, #gettr, #truthsocial, #oddstuffing.com
Bruen? What’s Bruen? (Hard Left Turn At Albuquerque Part 2)
True to political form, New Mexico’s leftist governor issued an updated executive order on September 15th, another Friday afternoon. This comes two days after a Federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against a portion of the original executive order, the section which banned all open or concealed carry in Albuquerque and the rest of Bernalillo County. The new order modifies this section to only include public parks or playgrounds, or other public areas provided for children to play in.
The opposition to the governor’s original “public health emergency” executive order was loud and swift. Many within her own Democrat party including the Albuquerque Mayor, Police Chief, the Bernalillo County District Attorney and Sheriff opposed it. Even the Democrat State Attorney General spoke out against the order and said he would not defend it because of its unconstitutionality.
With this order modification, it will be interesting to see if those who previously opposed gun-control by public health emergency executive order are now okay with this limited version.
It’s worth noting that none of the tragic shootings of children cited by the governor as her motivation for banning the open or concealed carry of firearms occurred in a public park or playground.
Let’s be crystal clear about what is happening here. Ever since the United States Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen in 2022, gun-control states have been passing “Bruen response laws”. Not to comply with it mind you, but to circumvent it and make the ruling moot. A common feature among them is to declare virtually all public and privately owned space outside your home a “sensitive space” where firearms are not allowed, thus negating the whole concept of being able to carry a firearm for personal protection outside the home.
The good news is most of the elements of these laws are currently held up in litigation as they clearly violate Bruen. A bold new solution to get around these legislative gun-control laws being held up in the courts was needed. Enter the public health emergency and a governor who leans far enough to the left to sign her name to it.
I have zero doubts this concept came from the very same privately funded gun-control institutions who are behind the majority of gun-control legislation in this country. This may have been why New Mexico’s governor wasn’t phased by her own Attorney General saying he would not defend it. These groups have also been providing free legal services to defend their gun-control products all over the country. All they need is a politician’s signature.
The fact that the governor has no intention of calling a special legislative session this year to address rising crime, violence or public safety is further evidence her public health emergency is an end run around Bruen. She will instead prioritize “gun safety measures” in the 2024 session including a prohibition on automatic weapons, a 14-day waiting period for gun sales and a ban on selling guns to those under 21. Of course, none of these are or has been a factor in the crime and violence problem the state has been facing.
One section untouched by the temporary restraining order is the monthly inspections of firearms dealers to ensure compliance with gun laws. While there has never been any implication of firearms dealer’s operations contributing to the current crime and violence situation, authorizing monthly state inspections is another gun-control priority measure to increase costs for dealers and consumers through state licensing and regulation. I am hopeful the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) will make good on their promise to file suit against this before the state begins inspections.
Less noticed at the bottom of the updated executive order is a section stating that free trigger locks shall be made available to each firearm owner, limit of one each, just call or email the state. Groundbreaking thinking on behalf of the governor of New Mexico? Well….
Did you know you can get FREE gun locks from just about every police department in the country, including the Albuquerque Police Department and Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department? No fuss, no muss, just go in and ask for them. How is this possible? Because the NSSF, the trade association for the firearms industry provides them for free.
“Project ChildSafe is a real firearms safety solution that helps make communities safer. Since 1999, more than 15,000 law enforcement agencies have partnered with the program to distribute more than 37 million firearm safety kits to gun owners in all 50 states and five U.S. territories.”
Please consider the governor has said she would extend this public health emergency order at the end of the 30-day period based on the results on crime.
Crime and violence are complicated community issues. They have been made worse by years of criminal laws being loosened, no-bail laws passed, the election of soft-on-criminal prosecutors defunding the police, violent offenders not being arrested or prosecuted, convicted criminals let out of prisons and prisons being closed.
To think that a 30-day public health emergency order that does NOTHING but disarm the law-abiding citizenry in public will do anything but make crime and violence WORSE is insanity. If gun-control by executive order is allowed to stand, everyone around the country better start getting used to saying:
It’s just 30-days to flatten the curve.
Bob
*Image from Gun Owners of New Mexico
#Oddstuffing, #Constitution, #BillOfRights, #SecondAmendment, #2A, #GunControlFails, #Unconstitutional, #NewMexico, #Albuquerque, #Bernalillo, #30Days, #GunOwnersOfNewMexico, #GunVote, #medium, #mewe, #gab, #gettr, #truthsocial, #oddstuffing.com
Hard Left Turn At Albuquerque
Friday afternoon, September 8th, New Mexico’s left fringe governor issued Executive Order 2023-130 Declaring State of Public Health Emergency Due To Gun Violence. With this order, she banned the carrying firearms in public, both open carry and licensed concealed carry in Albuquerque as well as the rest of Bernalillo County. This, along with some other new state level controls, will be in effect for 30 days, at which point she will decide if it will be renewed.
While it is painfully obvious this order is completely unwarranted and unconstitutional, the governor issued it anyway. The governor admitted in her press conference that she expects to be sued over this and did not expect criminals will follow this order, “but this sends a message”.
The governor said gun owners still would be able to transport guns to private locations such as a gun range or gun store if the firearm is in a container or has a trigger lock or mechanism making it impossible to discharge. The state police would be responsible for enforcing what amount to civil violations and carry a fine of up to $5,000.
The executive order, which itself is full of inaccuracies, sneaks in another gun-control priority as well. It orders monthly inspections of firearms dealers to ensure compliance with gun laws, something the State of New Mexico has never had legal authority to do before. Authorizing monthly inspections is a step towards state licensing and regulation of firearms dealers.
As justification for this massive overreach of state executive authority, the governor sited the deaths of three children, two in Albuquerque and one in three counties away over a three-month period. The two local shootings were from an apparent road range incident where arrests have been made and the other an apparent targeted drive by shooting. Two of the three were committed by underage shooters who are already prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms. At least one was a confirmed gang shooting.
The purposeful timing of a Friday afternoon meant there would be no chance of getting a court injunction against the order before Monday. As of today, at least two lawsuits have already been filed against this order.
Keep in mind this is the same governor who in 2020 criticized the Trump administration for sending federal law enforcement officers to assist the overwhelmed Albuquerque police with crime and violence. “If the Trump administration wishes to antagonize New Mexicans and Americans with authoritarian, unnecessary and unaccountable military-style ‘crackdowns,’ they have no business whatsoever in New Mexico.” Ironic isn’t it?
Republicans in the New Mexico legislature are already attempting to file articles of impeachment against the governor. However, with the Roundhouse firmly dominated by Democrats in a super-majority, the chances of this being successful is somewhere between none and nil. Current state law does not allow the governor to be recalled and unsurprisingly, bills to permit this have failed in previous legislative sessions.
The District Attorney and Police Chief of Albuquerque, both Democrat appointees, have publicly stated they will not enforce this unconstitutional order. The Democrat Sheriff of Bernalillo County stated “I have reservations regarding this order.” A growing number of other Democrats and left-wing talking heads have also publicly criticized the overreach of this order.
Of course, there is absolutely zero logic behind this. Disarming the law-abiding residents of an entire county while in public, while acknowledging the criminals, who are already breaking the law by carrying firearms will not, only disarms their intended victims and makes it easier and safer (for the criminals) to commit their crimes. The real answer has always been enforcing the laws already on the books and holding those who break them responsible for their own actions.
When you’re looking at this action, keep in mind using a public health emergency to address so-called “gun violence” through radical gun-control measures has been discussed since the beginning of the Covid pandemic.
This was not done in a vacuum. It was absolutely done in coordination with the extreme left coast gun-control organization, the Democrat party, and the current administration. This is nothing more than a litmus test to see if public health emergencies can be used to do an end run around the United States Supreme Court’s rulings against unconstitutional gun control laws.
The off-the-left California governor is using a proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution to supersede the Second Amendment and implement massive nationwide gun-control as part of his yet-to-be-announced 2024 presidential run. It is a bold and outrageous proposal full of lies made to entice gun-control advocates and falsely placate Second Amendment advocates.
You have to wonder if the New Mexico governor is also planning on using this as a steppingstone for her own political motives, such as a Vice President or senate run, a cabinet position or US ambassador posting with the next administration, something she missed out on due to her own scandals with the current administration.
If you look at the bigger picture of gun-control, this is a logical step. It’s no accident that criminal laws have been loosened, no-bail laws passed, soft on criminal prosecutors have been elected, lawbreakers not arrested or prosecuted, police departments defunded, convicted criminals let out of prisons and prisons closed. The result has been uncontrolled crime sprees and violence that have cost lives and livelihoods, and made city streets unsafe for anyone who dares to brave them. At some point, some bold action must be taken before the people figure out these policies are what is getting them killed.
Guess what the bold action is? Blaming the law-abiding citizen and their firearms.
The good news is Albuquerque/Bernalillo County residents are stepping up. As I write this they are rallying and coordinating to stop this in its tracks.
This isn’t just about the rights in one city or county, it’s about the rights of the entire nation.
This isn’t just about one extremist gun-control politician, it’s about all the gun-control politicians.
This isn’t about the ability to protect yourself from crime and violence in one city, it’s about the ability of every American to be able to protect themselves from crime and violence at home AND in public in EVERY city.
One last note. Watch what is going on here carefully. While some may be against THIS unconstitutional gun-control measure, it doesn’t mean they aren’t 100% willing to replace it with another unconstitutional one.
Bob
#Oddstuffing, #Constitution, #BillOfRights, #SecondAmendment, #2A, #GunControlFails, #Unconstitutional, #NewMexico, #Albuquerque, #Bernalillo, #GunVote, #medium, #mewe, #gab, #gettr, #truthsocial, #oddstuffing.com
Patriot SCUM!
The Gadsden Flag is back in the news again, this time for a Colorado school kicking a 12-year-old boy out of class because he had a Gadsden Flag patch on his backpack. When his mother came to the school (and wisely recorded the interaction), the teacher explained it was because the flags origin in the slave trade and slavery. It seems Colorado teachers aren’t required to know about United States history.
“The reason that they do not want the flag reason we do not want the flag is due to its origins with slavery, and slave trade.”
The child’s mother properly corrected the teacher that it had nothing to do with slavery, it was a revolutionary war flag and was told they were just enforcing the policy of the district and she has every right not to agree with it.
The actual history and origin of the Gadsden Flag, dating from 1775 as a battle cry for American independence from British rule, is easily discovered by even the most basic internet search. Nowhere and at no time was it ever associated with slavery, the slave trade or racism.
Following the mother’s video of her interaction with the school going viral, the school’s board of directors held an emergency meeting. In an amazing bit of rational thinking, they ruled the Gadsden Flag was acceptable in school and the child could return to school with the patch.
“From Vanguard’s founding we have proudly supported our Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the ordered liberty that all Americans have enjoyed for almost 250 years.” “The Vanguard School recognizes the historical significance of the Gadsden flag and its place in history. This incident is an occasion for us to reaffirm our deep commitment to a classical education in support of these American principles.”
Attempting to associate patriotism with racism or violence isn’t anything new and this is not the first time the Gadsden Flag has been vilified. Recall around this time last year the FBI put out a “Domestic Terrorism Symbols Guide” on militia violent extremists (MVE) and the flags, symbols, and phrases they associate with them. Among them was the Gadsden flag, the Liberty Tree flag and Betsy Ross flag, as well as revolutionary war imagery.
Even though the bulletin correctly identified the Gadsden Flag as a “Historical American symbol” and contained the disclaimer, “The use or sharing of these symbols alone should not independently be considered evidence of MVE presence or affiliation or serve as an indicator of illegal activity, as many individuals use these symbols for their original, historic meaning, or other non-violent purposes.”, the direct association between MVE’s or “domestic violent extremism” (DVEs) and the Gadsden flag was established.
The bulletin also incorrectly labels the American Contingency in the MVE category even though the FBI itself determined they were not a threat two years prior.
A link to the bulletin itself is listed below. You may notice there are no flags, symbols, or phrases from any of the violent left-wing groups who looted and burned American cities and killed innocent people.
Patriotism used to mean love and devotion for your country, valuing our nation’s history, respecting law and order, a willingness to serve and defend it as well as the rights of individuals. Yet somehow, we’ve come into an era where patriotism is now being defined by our own government as anti-American and a threat to democracy.
Side note: Shortly after this bulletin leaked last year, I noticed a few houses in my neck of the woods flying a couple of extra flags. Seems patriotism decided to shine through the lies and rhetoric.
By stigmatizing the symbols of patriotism and forcing them from public view, the importance of our natural rights and liberty can be minimized and slowly but most certainly eliminated. The less people know about our nation’s history and their own rights, the less they will oppose those who aim to take them away.
Patriotism is what brought us together before we were even a country. Patriotism is what has protected it from foreign and domestic threats. Patriotism is what has brought us together to face adversity. Patriotism is what will continue to keep us together long after those who seek to divide and weaken us crawl back into the shadows.
There is no word from the school if the teacher and administrators have apologized to the 12-year-old they kicked out of school, how they’ve made up the instructional time he lost out on, or if they’ve been made to undergo remedial training in US history or acceptance & tolerance of ideas other than their own. Somehow, I expect that won’t happen. But I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if they had kicked out a student for having a BLM/Antifa or LGBTQIA+ patch.
Never be afraid of our history or your pride in what makes us who we are. As patriots, the principles we practice every day stands as an example of how we can ALL be stronger and more united.
Bob
http://oddstuffing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FBI-MilitiaViolentExtremismSymbols.pdf
#Oddstuffing, #Constitution, #BillOfRights, #SecondAmendment, #2A, #GunControlFails, #Patriotism, #Patriot, #GadsdenFlag, #PatriotSCUM, #GunVote, #medium, #mewe, #parler, #gab, #gettr, #truthsocial, #oddstuffing.com
To Preserve Liberty
One of the essential foundations of our country is the private ownership and use of firearms. Through this, we were able to free our land from oppressive rule and establish a new nation based on personal liberty and freedom.
Our natural rights are expressed in the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution. And despite what those who wish to creatively reimagine and reinterpret say otherwise, they are in-fact individual rights, not collective rights, and a limitation on the government, not the people.
“To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them.” Richard Henry Lee
But then comes the so-called Republican authored Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) a massive new gun-control law passed in July 2022 as a knee-jerk response to tragic, targeted shootings – and law enforcement inaction – around the country. Ostensibly to “To make our communities safer”, it is now being used as the basis for numerous unwritten and unintended gun-control programs.
Once such measure is the United States Department of Education (DOE) using the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 to claim the BSCA “[precludes] school hunting and archery classes…from receiving federal funding.” The DOE based this decision on a “plain-text reading” of the BSCA.
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), amended a subsection in the ESEA to prohibit any act to provide dangerous weapons or pay for “training in the use of a dangerous weapon.” Yet the actual legislative intent was for this was to not fund training programs for school resource officers. Funding for this was provided under a separate provision.
Archery and hunter education classes provide safe, responsible, community-oriented programs for thousands of children across the country to develop life skills, learn firearm safety and build self-esteem.
The BSCA itself contains absolutely nothing that would have prevented the tragic shootings the law was enacted in response to. Most of the provisions were already in place at the state level, and as always, proved to be completely incapable of doing anything to prevent them.
Remember, gun control does absolutely nothing to increase public safety and the answer to fix that shortcoming is always to implement more gun control.
What the BSCA DID accomplish was open a pathway for more do-nothing to increase public safety laws which target law-abiding citizens right to bear arms while doing nothing to punish those who break the law and prey on others.
Of course, this isn’t the only attack on youth hunting and sports. California and Illinois have both banned advertising they consider to be targeted at minors. Any firearm-related advertising that could be “attractive to minors” or be considered to target children is subject to severe penalties. This includes advertisement of training, competition, sports or even youth-models of firearms downsized in caliber and size to be suitable for use by younger individuals. Noting of course, that no firearm can be sold to anyone under the age of 18, or now in some states, under the age of 21.
As with the new interpretation of the BSCA, these laws have nothing to do with public safety. They are intended for only one purpose, to convince the next generation of Americans the Second Amendment does not exist, making it easier to restrict and eventually eliminate the lawful private ownership of firearms.
Our children are the future of firearm ownership, the shooting sports, hunting, and the Second Amendment itself. By systematically denying them safety, educational and competitive sporting opportunities, these laws erode the very foundation of our nation’s heritage and freedom.
By the way, if you’d like to thank your RINO congressional members for their vote on passing this do-nothing to increase public safety, gift-that-will-keep-on-giving gun-control package, their names are listed below.
Or perhaps the best thank you would be to vote them out of office.
Bob
#Oddstuffing, #Constitution, #BillOfRights, #SecondAmendment, #2A, #GunControlFails, #RINO, #YouthEducation, #YouthSports, #GunVote, EditorOnHoliday, #medium, #mewe, #parler, #gab, #gettr, #truthsocial, #oddstuffing.com
US House
1. Liz Cheney of Wyoming
2. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois
3. Tom Rice of South Carolina
4. John Katko of New York
5. Maria Salazar of Florida
6. Chris Jacobs of New York
7. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania
8. Peter Meijer of Michigan
9. Fred Upton of Michigan
10. Tony Gonzales of Texas
11. Steve Chabot of Ohio
12. Mike Turner of Ohio
13. David Joyce of Ohio
14. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio
US Senate
- Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Senate minority leader
- Roy Blunt of Missouri
- Richard Burr of North Carolina
- Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia
- Bill Cassidy of Louisiana
- Susan Collins of Maine
- John Cornyn of Texas
- Joni Ernst of Iowa
- Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
- Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
- Rob Portman of Ohio
- Mitt Romney of Utah
- Thom Tillis of North Carolina
- Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania
- Todd Young of Indiana
Side Effects (Warning: Non-2A Rant Ahead)
I’ve been thinking a lot about side effects lately. You know, when you try to fix one thing and other unintentional things happen, some of which are as bad or even worse than what the original thing you were trying to fix. We mostly associate the term with health care and medications, but it also happens in day-to-day business, and for today’s rant, the tech worker vs. downtown.
Whatever the underlying purposes of the “Great Reset” brought into play by the COVID pandemic shutdowns, the side effects for the business world have been dramatic and devastating. During the two-plus years of two-weeks-to-flatten-the-curve, state and local governments grabbed unprecedented control over private businesses, and private individual’s, day-to-day lives, all in the name of public good.
Thousands and thousands of businesses were closed, many never to reopen. Larger businesses were deemed “essential” and allowed to stay open with heavy modifications to their business practices and even what they could sell.
Companies whose employees were mostly technology workers sent their teams home to work, even if their home environment wasn’t suitable for work. But they persevered, many setting up their ‘offices’ on kitchen tables and bedrooms, battling for space with partners and children, now doing Zoom school at home, did the same thing. Some struggled, but most did well, and overall productivity wasn’t negatively impacted. As time wore on, many companies decided they could do without having their employees in the office and said employees could expect to work from home forever. Employees scattered across the country and across the world to find a better and less expensive work/home life. When businesses were granted permission to reopen, most of the employees did not come back to the office.
This change in work also prompted a change in pay. In big national/multi-national corporations’ location-based salary was, and still is, standard practice. Human resources would go through absurd mental gymnastics to explain how you in a small city making $50,000 less than someone doing the exact same job in a bigger city was a good thing for you. Value-based salaries do away with that. You are paid the same rate no matter where you are.
Should it really matter if you live and work in Ottumwa, Iowa instead of New York City? Not really, and remote/work-from-wherever broke that mold. It also opened the talent pool to the entire connected world vs. just the people who are willing and able to work in a densely populated metropolitan area.
But then those pesky side effects started kicking in. Big city downtowns turned into big city ghost towns. Businesses that relied on the office workers that had not already shut down, began to close shop. But it’s not just the downtown stores that were impacted, it’s everything the office worked touched in relation to going to work. Childcare services, bridge, bus, rail and taxi fees, parking and fine revenue, gasoline tax, restaurants, bars, food services, clothing, entertainment, and recreation venues – everything the tech workers touched throughout their day was negatively impacted and downtowns everywhere declined. If downtowns were to survive, the tech workers had to be brought back.
Of course, this wasn’t the only thing contributing to the downtown decline. Progressive, pro-crime/anti-law enforcement polices such as defunding the police, decriminalization of illegal acts, failure to arrest and prosecute offenders, no-bail laws, releasing previously incarcerated inmates and closing prisons, have all lead to the lawless, violent free-for-all found in many big cities now. Why would office workers, tourists or conventions want to go to a city where they have step over human urine and feces, drugs, needles and trash, risk being robbed and assaulted, just to walk down the street?
Enter the campaign to get workers back in the office. From CEOs to sycophant business writers, the news and social media platforms have been inundated with articles on how in-office/in-person work is ESSENTIAL to business success and remote workers are nowhere near as productive as the in-office workers. Everything from corporate visibility to promotion potential would be impacted, so getting workers back in the buildings was deemed critical. Some even called it unfair/unethical to allow technology workers to work from home when manufacturing, production and other jobs had to be performed on company property. Yes, there are some functions that must be done on company premises. But most tech work is location independent.
Workers who were previously told they could work from anywhere forever are now being forced to return to the office or find another job, even as the CEOs openly admit there is no evidence that in-office work is more productive than remote work. Sadly, all lessons learned, and productivity achieved under forced adverse conditions meant nothing. Still, they preach about the “surge in energy and collaboration” by being back on campus!
You’d also think enticing your employees back to the office would follow a carrot and stick model. First offering incentives to work in the office, the carrot, then punishing those who don’t comply, the stick. Unfortunately, there has been no carrot. The famous tech worker perks like free or low-cost meals, on-site dry cleaning, health care, childcare and entertainment have been eliminated in cost cutting measures. The only thing offered now is the stick, being terminated if you don’t come into the office x days per week. Even if you work remotely for part of the week, the forced return to the office keeps you locked into the metropolitan area where you are assigned, helping to save downtown.
At first, I speculated this was just the old management style of having to keep your eyes on the underlings to see what they are doing every minute of the day, but then there are the two words nobody is talking about, real estate.
Companies, especially the bigger ones, have BILLIONS and BILLIONS of dollars invested in their real estate portfolio. Class A buildings with the company name in huge lighted letters on the top is a measure of success. The more visibility, the more you have succeeded. The more you spend on your gigantic offices, the more success you have achieved, and everyone should do business with you. Apple’s new headquarters building alone is over 1.2 million square feet to house 12,000 employees and cost $5 billion to build. It’s no surprise that Apple is leading the way when it comes to forcing their employees back into the office.
Shedding excess office space is one option, but with the current inflationary boom and more companies reducing space than acquiring it, nobody is subletting or buying. The once in demand, big city downtown business districts are now showing record high, and increasing, vacancies. San Francisco’s vacancy rate as of the second quarter of 2023 was at nearly 32%,
Should it be the technology office worker’s responsibly to save the downtown economy? Hell no! Whatever the actual goals behind the COVID pandemic shutdowns and the Great Reset were, the side effects of changing the way business’s function are here to stay. Legacy companies with gargantuan real estate portfolios can either adapt to the changing times or lose out on the top talent who understand they can now work for anyone in the world, from anywhere in the world.
Adapt or get left behind.
Bob
Rant over.
#Oddstuffing, #Constitution, #BillOfRights, #SecondAmendment, #2A, #GunControlFails, #CrimeAndViolence, #GreatReset, #Adapt, #RemoteWork, #DowntownDecline, #EditorOnHoliday, #medium, #mewe, #parler, #gab, #gettr, #truthsocial, #oddstuffing.com
Parenting and Firearms
On Friday, January 6th, 2023, a six-year-old male child shot his first-grade teacher. The “properly secured” firearm owned by the child’s mother was smuggled into the school in the morning. At around 2 pm, the child shot the teacher without warning. The bullet traveled through her hand and into her chest. The teacher was able to escort the other children in the classroom to safety before seeking medical aid herself.
Last week I mentioned the child’s mother had reached a felony plea agreement to serve 18-24 months in prison on the federal charge of lying on the ATF Form 4473 about her current or prior drug use.
As a reminder, lying on a 4473 is now punishable by up to 15 years in prison. But as has become painfully obvious lately, this crime is either not a priority for the ATF and US Attorney’s or is eligible to be sent to diversion if you are well enough connected.
The federal plea deal has nothing to do with the state charges surrounding the shooting. There she has been charged with felony child neglect and misdemeanor recklessly leaving a loaded firearm so as to endanger a child.
At first glance this sounds like another stereotypical child-gets-hold-of-a-gun story the gun-control zealots love to put out as an example of why guns are bad and more gun-control is needed. That is not the case here.
As for the firearm itself, the child’s mother has maintained that the legally purchased firearm was secured on a top shelf in her closet and had a trigger lock.
“Our family has always been committed to responsible gun ownership and keeping firearms out of the reach of children. The firearm our son accessed was secured.”
Under Virginia law, it’s a misdemeanor for an adult to leave a loaded, unsecured firearm in such a way it could endanger a child under the age of 14. It is prohibited for a person to unknowingly allow a child under the age of 12 to use a firearm.
Then there was the lack of concern and action at the school. According to the family, the child suffers from “acute disability and was under a care plan at the school that included his mother or father attending school with him and accompanying him to class every day.” Yet on this day, the mother dropped the child off and did not attend with him, yet the school took no action. The child had a history of random violence, including attacking students and teachers alike.
The school administration was warned three different times by teachers and staff members over several hours starting at 11:15 am that day the child may have a weapon at school but failed to take it seriously. His backpack was searched once, but no firearm was found. Neither security nor law enforcement were contacted. One administrator said to “wait the situation out because the school day was almost over”. The incident was downplayed by the school administration as the boy had “little pockets”.
Since the incident, two administrators have been terminated and the teacher who was shot has filed a lawsuit against the school, the administrators, and the school board. The response from the school to the lawsuit? While acknowledging the teacher was “clearly injured while at work, at her place of employment, by a student in the classroom,” it should be covered by worker compensation instead of a lawsuit. The board rejected the teacher’s claim she could reasonably expect to work with young children who pose no danger, pointing to numerous incidents of violence against teachers across the U.S. and in Newport News.
A good friend of mine asked how many jobs do you know where there is a reasonable likelihood of being shot as part of the job AND you are not allowed to carry a firearm for self-defense?
The clear negligence of the parent’s firearm storage and the school’s lack of response aside, there is a question of parenting. This 6-year-old child did not have a random, violent temper tantrum, this was a premeditated attack. The child knew his mother was not going to be attending school that day, was able to access and enable the “properly secured” firearm, hide it while the mother drove him to school, during the first part of the day, then without provocation, aim and shoot his teacher.
Was the child never taught the difference between right and wrong?
Why did the child feel it was okay for him to steal a firearm from the parent?
Who taught the child that shooting another human being was acceptable?
Where did the child learn this was an acceptable response to a disagreement with their teacher?
I’ve known lots of six-year-old kids in my life (including my own), most with firearms in the home. NONE of them would ever have considered a) touching a firearm without permission or b) using it in an act of violence. The difference is being an actual parent. There are FREE programs available for children of different ages to help parents talk to their children about firearms and safety, you must only care enough to ask.
This incident wasn’t a gun-control failure, it was a parenting failure, clear and simple. Someone taught this child about this level of violence. Someone taught that child it was acceptable to shoot someone if you felt had wronged you. The child acted the way they were taught.
Personally, I don’t think the mother can get enough time in prison. I just hope the child winds up with someone who can undo the damage.
Bob
#Oddstuffing, #Constitution, #BillOfRights, #SecondAmendment, #2A, #GunControlFails, #CrimeAndViolence, #ParentingFail, #EddieEagle, #GunVote, #medium, #mewe, #parler, #gab, #gettr, #truthsocial, #oddstuffing.com