The Capitol, Washington D.C. 12:30 p.m., EST December 8th, 1941

Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives:

YESTERDAY, December 7th, 1941; a date which will live in infamy. The United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

The United States was at peace with that Nation and, at solicitation of Japan, still in conversation with its Government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American Island of Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.

It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.

Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya. Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong: Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam. Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands. Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island. And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.

Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our Nation.

As Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.

But always will our whole Nation remember the character of the onslaught against us.

No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.

I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.

With confidence in our armed forces with the unbounding determination of our people we will gain the inevitable triumph so help us God.

I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire

Eighty-four years ago today, on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, the Empire of Japan attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor and other military installations around Oahu.

Events leading up to the attack:

Several key events foreshadowed the attack in the early morning hours:

  • 6:10 a.m. — The USS Condor, a minesweeper, spots a periscope.
  • 6:45 a.m. — The USS Ward fires on a Japanese submarine, marking the first shot fired by American forces in World War II.
  • 6:53 a.m. — Ward radios Navy HQ, but decoding processes slow down its reception.
  • 7:02 a.m. — Radar station on Oahu spots an unidentified aircraft, but reports are ignored because a B-17 from California was expected to arrive.

The Imperial Japanese Navy, launching 414 attack and fighter aircraft from the fleet carriers, Hiryu, Soryu, Shokaku, Zuikaku, Akagi and Kaga, carry out what appears to be a surprise attack on the United States Pacific Fleet, Army and Marine air and ground forces at Pearl Harbor, and elsewhere on Oahu island, Hawaii.

The Somali Welfare Fraud Scandal Is Even Worse Than You Think

“We believe the Somali fraud operation in Minnesota is the single greatest theft of taxpayer dollars, through welfare fraud, in American history.”

‘nonpartisan’
My opinion is that anything concerning the 2nd amendment can not be ‘nonpartisan’. There is no middle ground when it comes (as Justice Thomas called it) the unqualified statement: “SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED”
I’d like to see the actual curriculum that is going to be taught. That being said, two of the three directors, Ashley Hlebinsky and David Kopel are well known for their pro-RKBA stances.

Dept. of Education to fund nonpartisan 2nd Amendment high school curriculum

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded the University of Wyoming nearly $1 million to develop what the college calls a “historically grounded” school curriculum on the Second Amendment. The university’s Firearms Research Center said the initiative will give educators nationwide tools to better understand the constitutional right to bear arms.

The two-year, $908,991 grant stems from the department’s American History and Civics Education Program tied to the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations. In September, President Donald Trump redirected $137 million to the program that’s directed by what The New York Times called organizations “closely aligned with the president’s Make America Great Again movement.”

The National Second Amendment Initiative’s aim is to give teachers sources, instructional videos and access to academics that the university said come from various perspectives on the lightning rod issue of firearms in America.

“Our project will honor the nation’s 250th anniversary by allowing educators to engage with the complexity and nuance of the country’s founding documents,” Ashley Hlebinsky, executive director of the Firearms Research Center, said in a release.

Because it’s not named as a role of the federal government in the Constitution, the Department of Education cannot force the curriculum on school districts. The restriction is also described in the 1979 law establishing the department. It can only ensure schools are obeying federal education laws like the Civil Rights Act and conduct the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Why Wyoming?

While the U.S. has myriad schools focusing on constitutional law, colleges and universities with a specific focus on the Second Amendment are far and few between. Beyond Wyoming, Duke University’s Duke Center for Firearms Law is one of the only major collegiate programs that focuses on firearms law, but not from a gun violence prevention perspective.

Wyoming’s law school positions itself as the “premier law school for practitioners who serve the legal needs of all those who produce, employ, own, and regulate firearms.”

What happens in the classroom?

While the federal government cannot dictate curriculum and states set broad educational requirements, the teacher still controls the classroom.

The National Education Association, the country’s largest teacher union, has long been outspoken on its advocacy for gun control laws.

In an issues section of the union’s website, the association focuses on school violence due to the country’s proliferation of firearms and advocates for laws that would place restrictions on gun possession and locations where they can be carried.

The union did not respond to a request for comment.

If you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed, if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a small chance of survival. There may even be a worse case: you may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.
— Winston Churchill

A follow-up to an earlier post.

Charges filed against man shot by manager during Murray jewelry store robbery

MURRAY — Criminal charges were filed Thursday against an Oregon man who police say attempted to rob a jewelry store in Murray and ended up being shot by a store manager.

Beyker Villegas, 22, of Redmond, Oregon, is charged in 3rd District Court with two counts of aggravated robbery and two counts of aggravated kidnapping, first-degree felonies.

On Nov. 25, two men walked into Sierra-West Jewelers, 6190 S. State. One man “was wearing a long black wig, and the other had a scruffy brown wig, fake mustache and beard,” according to charging documents. Both were wearing dark jackets and matching black and red plaid pants.

As the assistant manager asked if he could help, Villegas “pulled a gun,” the charges state. The manager attempted to press the silent alarm, but Villegas pulled him to the middle of the floor.

“(The assistant manager) was unable to understand the suspects because they were yelling in Spanish. Villegas kicked him in the leg and gestured to the ground,” according to the charging documents.

As the men attempted to duct tape a woman also working at the store, the assistant manager grabbed his concealed firearm and fired a round into the ground. That prompted both Villegas and his partner to try and get the gun away from him, the charges say.

“(The assistant manager) shot another round toward Villegas. As the suspects ran outside, (he) hit Villegas in the head several times with his firearm. (The assistant manager) attempted to stop the suspects from leaving, but they were able to get in their vehicle and dragged (him) with the car as they backed up,” according to the charges.

Not long after the men drove away, a man with a gunshot wound to his abdomen was dropped off at an urgent care center in Sandy. Employees at the clinic called the police. Villegas was transferred to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray for further treatment. He was released over the weekend and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail.

Prosecutors say police are still working to identify the second man in the robbery who was able to get away.

Villegas has family in Oregon, but prosecutors say he “is also a citizen of Venezuela. He currently has a federal detainer, and if not held, he could be deported or transferred to other custodial facilities.” They are requesting that he be held in the Salt Lake County Jail without the possibility of posting bail pending trial.

“technology changes, rights don’t”

Where’s My EMP Rifle? Why Tomorrow’s Anti-Robot Weapons Are Already Protected by the 2nd Amendment

If Elon Musk gets his way, Tesla’s Optimus robots and full-self-driving cars aren’t just sci-fi—they’re the next multi-trillion-dollar industry.

Musk is openly talking about humanoid robots doing factory work, replacing human labor, and rolling out in the thousands in the next few years. (The Times of India)

Put that together with weaponized drones, autonomous systems, and AI everywhere, and you can see where this goes: at some point, the threat to you and your family may not be a human attacker at all, but a machine—whether it’s criminal misuse of robots, hostile code, or a rogue state’s toys.

So here’s the obvious question almost nobody in the gun-control world wants to touch:

If the Supreme Court says the Second Amendment covers “all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding,” why wouldn’t a future EMP rifle or anti-robot weapon be protected? (Justia Law)

If the right to keep and bear arms is tech-neutral, then the logic of Heller, McDonald, Caetano, and Bruen doesn’t stop with muskets, Glocks, and AR-15s. It runs straight into the age of Tesla robots and directed-energy weapons.

Lets makes that case—and swat down the usual anti-gun talking points on the way.

The Supreme Court Already Answered The “But It Didn’t Exist In 1791!” Argument

The anti-gun side’s favorite dodge is simple: “If it didn’t exist when the Founders wrote the Second Amendment, it’s not protected.”

The Supreme Court has already burned that argument to the ground—twice.

In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Court went back to founding-era dictionaries to define “arms” and found they meant “weapons of offence, or armour of defence” and “any thing that a man wears for his defence, or takes into his hands, or useth in wrath to cast at or strike another.” (Teaching American History)

That definition isn’t about flintlocks or bayonets. It’s about function: offensive or defensive weapons you can carry.

Then in Caetano v. Massachusetts (2016), the Court took the next step and hammered it home:

“The Court has held that ‘the Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding.’” (Justia Law)

That’s not vague. That’s not soft. That’s a straight-up rule:

  • If it’s a bearable arm—a carried weapon for offense or defense—
  • It’s presumptively protected by the Second Amendment.

Stun guns weren’t around in 1791. The Court said: Doesn’t matter. They’re arms.

So, if tomorrow there’s a shoulder-fired EMP rifle or some compact anti-robot beam weapon you sling like a carbine, it fits the same box:

  • Bearable? Yes.
  • Weapon? Yes.
  • In existence in 1791? Irrelevant under Heller and Caetano.

On text alone, that future tech starts in the protected column.

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Our safety, our liberty depends on preserving the Constitution of the United States as our fathers made it inviolate. The people of the U.S. are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts – Not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow men who pervert the Constitution.
— Abraham Lincoln