Study Shows Gun Laws Don’t Matter, Race Does

33 people were shot over the weekend in Chicago. Urban gangland violence like that is what real “mass shootings” look like and finally a Journal of the American Medical Association paper addressed the problem by shifting the blame to something it calls “structural racism”.

The JAMA paper, which was quickly picked up by CNN as “Structural Racism may Contribute to Mass Shootings” and by Bloomberg as “Mass Shootings Disproportionately Victimize Black Americans”, acknowledged what conservatives have been saying about gun violence.

“There was no discernible association noted in this study between gun laws and MSEs [mass shootings] with other studies showing similar findings,” it noted.

The issue wasn’t gun laws, it was race. “The study found that in areas with higher black populations, mass shootings are likelier to occur compared to communities with higher white populations,” CNN reported. “The findings disrupt the nation’s image of mass shootings, which has been shaped by tragedies like the Las Vegas festival shooting and Sandy Hook in which most of the victims were not black,” Bloomberg added.

Faced with an immovable statistical object and the unstoppable force of equity, the JAMA paper blames the whole thing on structural racism. The study correlates urban areas and neighborhoods with high concentrations of single-parent households” to mass shootings. It then demonstrates that “structural racism” must be at fault because of “the percentage of the population that is black.” Black people in the study are interchangeable with racism.

Such is the state of woke medical science which tries to fix racism with more racism. The study never comes up with any plausible explanation of how structural racism causes people to shoot each other. At one point it claims that “racial residential segregation practices are predictive of various types of shootings” in a country where segregation had been abolished since 1964.

The study’s definition of segregation is so senseless that it lists majority black cities like Detroit, a 77% black city, as being 73% segregated, and Baltimore, a 62% black city, as being 64% segregated. A city with a strong black majority and black leaders is racially segregated and its people are suffering from “structural racism”. That’s why there are so many mass shootings.

But if segregation is the issue then why does Atlanta, which had actual segregation, have only 18 mass shootings, while Chicago has 141? Southern cities show up as less segregated and less violent in the paper’s data. A history of segregation is clearly not the issue. This isn’t about the past, whether it’s the historical revisionism of the 1619 Project, or any other.

If segregation were the issue, crime would have been far higher during segregation than after it.

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Illegals Committed 430K+ Criminal Offenses in Texas Since 2011.

“[T]his massive new population of needy foreigners will burden and transform [Americans’] communities without their say-so.” Todd Bensman of Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) outlined the many harms illegal migration inflicts on Americans in his recent Congressional testimony. During that testimony, he noted that illegal aliens have committed over 430,000 criminal offenses just in Texas since 2011, and up to 6 million new illegals are likely to enter America before Biden’s presidential term ends.

Bensman discussed the financial burden on cities (and thus taxpayers), the drain on government resources, the overloading of the school system, and other issues caused by illegal immigration in his testimony (available on CIS). He specifically called out the Biden administration’s disastrous border policies, explaining how they exacerbate the illegal migration crisis (transcript from CIS):

The [Biden] administration put a freeze on required border enforcement measures and fast-tracked release of the majority of illegal crossers into the country where they and most experts know they will stay forever.

And on their cell phones, which every immigrant has, they sent word of this incredible bonanza down trail, to home villages and all along the migration trails. And in this way, those first tens of thousands who began crossing on inauguration day quickly became hundreds of thousands a month, and then millions a year. Counting an estimated 1.7 million never apprehended, probably more than 4 million have entered the country from the border in a mere 30-month span. Perhaps as many as six million largely uneducated and needy people will be in the country before the Biden policies might first be reversed in the 2024 national elections and the floodgates closed.

Those millions of policy-enticed entries in so short a time already are – and will have – transformative impacts in the form of unplanned-for demands on public welfare and assistance programs, health care systems, Social Security, housing, labor markets, schools, and the criminal justice system.

Then there’s the issue of criminal offenses committed by illegal aliens. As Bensman said, every single one of those crimes ought to be preventable; these illegals should not be in America to begin with. Certainly, the government should be attempting to lessen illegal migration and crime from illegals as much as possible. Instead, the government is obfuscating data and facts that could clearly illustrate how many crimes illegals commit.

It’s difficult to get honest statistics on illegal alien crime because it’s not something the government — either state or federal — really wants to be honest about, Bensman noted. Texas does have some statistics that can help illuminate the problem, however:

The Texas Department of Public Safety learns the immigration status of suspects booked into local jails through a program that submits fingerprints to the FBI for criminal history and warrant checks, and to DHS…

The glimpse is limited and not a reflection of much almost certain higher totals, but it is telling about the trend line ahead across America. Between June 1, 2011, and July 31, 2022, these 259,000 illegal aliens were charged with more than 433,000 unnecessary, preventable criminal offenses.

Those included 800 homicide charges (resulting in 374 convictions as of July 2022), 822 kidnapping charges (resulting in 265 convictions), 5,470 sexual assault charges (resulting in 2,593 convictions), 6,485 sexual offense charges (resulting in 3,065 sexual offense convictions), and 4,945 weapons charges (resulting in 1,723 weapons convictions).

That’s hundreds of thousands of preventable crimes over a decade’s time. It’s an ongoing problem, with Border Patrol arresting 12,000 criminal illegals in Fiscal Year 2022. Unfortunately, the Biden administration hardly makes catching and punishing criminals one of its priorities.

Memphis, Tennessee, police shoot suspect after he fired shots outside Jewish school

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis police on Monday said officers shot a suspect after he attempted to enter a Jewish school with a gun and fired shots after he couldn’t get into the building.

Assistant Police Chief Don Crowe said the suspect, whose identity has not been released, approached Margolin Hebrew Academy-Feinstone Yeshiva of the South around 12:20 p.m. He fired several shots and then left in a maroon truck.

“Thankfully, that school had a great safety procedure and process in place and avoided anyone being harmed or injured at that scene,” Crowe said.

Officers soon found the suspect’s vehicle “shortly after that,” Crowe said, adding that officers then shot the suspect after he exited the truck with a firearm in hand. The suspect was sent to a hospital, where he is in critical condition.

Appears personal to me.

Man suspected of shooting and injuring Dallas-area doctor was then shot and injured by police

CEDAR HILL, Texas (AP) — A man suspected of shooting and injuring a doctor at a Dallas-area medical building was shot and injured Tuesday by police officers after his vehicle was involved in a crash with another vehicle and officers could see he had a long gun, police said.

Police in Cedar Hill, located just southwest of Dallas, said that officers were dispatched at 12:17 p.m. to Methodist Family Health Center after getting a call about a person with a gun in the building. A minute later, the dispatcher heard a gunshot.

The first officer arrived at 12:21 p.m. and saw a doctor on the ground in front of the building with a gunshot wound, police said. Police said that another officer saw a man with a long gun leaving the scene, police said. Police said that the officer then relayed the suspect’s vehicle information to other officers. At 12:22 p.m., the suspect’s vehicle was involved in a crash just down the road.

Police said that after the crash, the suspect still had the long gun and five officers fired their weapons toward him.

The doctor who was injured was in stable condition at Methodist Dallas Medical Center, while the suspect was in critical condition, police said. The driver of the car the suspect’s vehicle was in a collision with was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

 

New Zealand’s gun control laws to stop ‘mass shootings’ didn’t work.

Man lets loose with pump-gun shotgun in Auckland

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Three people are dead and many are injured following a shooting in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, on Thursday morning.

The shooting took place at a construction site on the city’s best known thoroughfare, Queen Street,

“Multiple injuries have been reported and at this stage we can confirm two people have died,” New Zealand Police said in a statement. The alleged shooter, a 24-year old man, is also dead.

The alarm was raised at around 7:23am Thursday when reports were received of a person discharging a pump-action shotgun inside the site at 1 Queen Street.

A significant number of police responded and cordoned off the area. The Police Eagle helicopter was also deployed and provided oversight.

The alleged shooter moved through the building site and continued to discharge his firearm, killing two and injuring 6, including police. Three of them are in serious condition.

Upon reaching the upper levels of the building, which is owned by Precinct Properties Group, the man contained himself within the elevator shaft while police officers attempted to engage with him.

Further shots were fired from the man and he was discovered dead a short time later.

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These days, whenever something goofy turns up on the news, chances are it involves a fellow called Mohammed. A plane flies into the World Trade Centre? Mohammed Atta. A gunman shoots up the El Al counter at Los Angeles airport? Hesham Mohamed Hedayet. A sniper starts killing petrol station customers around Washington, DC? John Allen Muhammed. A guy fatally stabs a Dutch movie director? Mohammed Bouyeri. A terrorist slaughters dozens in Bali? Noordin Mohamed. A gang-rapist in Sydney? Mohammed Skaf. Mark Steyn


Was There Just a Jihad Terror Attack in Fargo, North Dakota?

On Friday afternoon, police in Fargo, North Dakota, responded to a report of a car crash at 9th Avenue South and 25th Street South. Fargo Police Chief David Zibolski said it was a “routine traffic accident,” but what happened when they arrived on the scene was anything but routine. A Fargo resident named Mohamad Barakat, 37, opened fire on the officers, killing one and injuring three others. Zibolski said that Barakat attacked the officers “for no known reason,” and authorities have as yet offered no hints as to the shooter’s motive. One of the most obvious possibilities, however, is being steadfastly ignored, as one might expect given today’s media narrative.

A witness said, according to the Associated Press, that Barakat “appeared to have ambushed the officers.” He was standing behind a car that was parked in the parking lot of a bank near the scene of the crash, and he quickly opened fire on the police officers from about twenty feet away. The witness added, “He was holding up the trunk of the car with his arm, and then I see the gun come up, and he set it on his shoulder and just pointed it directly at an officer in front of him. It was like 10 shots right away.”

When Barakat began shooting, the police were busy with the traffic accident and weren’t even looking in his direction, but they quickly began to return fire. Another witness recounted, “I saw them firing at each other, both at once. But soon as the shooter took a break, the cop came walking towards him, letting off round after round. There was already an officer down, and a family hiding just on the other side of the vehicle next to the shooter.”

Zibolski, however, declined to confirm that Barakat had ambushed the officers, saying only, “The investigation into that is still ongoing.” He did reveal, however, that Fargo police had previously dealt with Barakat, although he downplayed these encounters as “not anything significant.”

Above all, Zibolski was puzzled. “The first thing we always want to know in a situation like this is, ‘Why?’” said Zibolski. “Why would somebody do this? What happened?” And he expressed amazement that such an incident could take place in Fargo, North Dakota: “This is an unconscionable act. It’s hard to fathom, it’s unbelievable that something like this would happen in our community. Many of us think this stuff can’t happen. It just happened.”

Yes, it did. And Zibolski added that the FBI had been called in, but given the fact that the feds are now far more interested in finding “domestic terrorists” at school board meetings and Catholic churches than in hunting down actual terrorists, Zibolski may still not get an answer to his question of why someone would do such a thing. FBI agents today would likely not recognize an Islamic jihadist if he stood behind a car and started shooting at them, but Mohamad Barakat may have been one. There is no indication that anyone is looking into this possibility, but it would provide an immediate explanation for the details of the case.

This is because the Islamic State (ISIS) has repeatedly called upon Muslims in the West to attack police officers as well as other authorities. Back in September 2014, the Islamic State exhorted Muslims in the West not to “let this battle pass you by wherever you may be.” It called upon them to “kill a disbelieving American or European — especially the spiteful and filthy French — or an Australian, or a Canadian, or any other disbeliever from the disbelievers waging war, including the citizens of the countries that entered into a coalition against the Islamic State, then rely upon Allah, and kill him in any manner or way however it may be.”

Specifically, the jihadis said: “Strike their police, security, and intelligence members, as well as their treacherous agents. Destroy their beds. Embitter their lives for them and busy them with themselves.” The jihadis should take advantage of all opportunities and means to kill: “If you are not able to find an IED or a bullet, then single out the disbelieving American, Frenchman, or any of their allies. Smash his head with a rock, or slaughter him with a knife, or run him over with your car, or throw him down from a high place, or choke him, or poison him.”

Now, Mohamad Barakat may have had entirely different reasons for his attack. But the possibility that this was a jihad terror attack in Fargo, North Dakota, cannot be dismissed out of hand, even as authorities appear disinclined even to consider it as a possibility. The FBI and the entire Biden regime have never given any indication that they’re aware that the global jihad continues. Unfortunately, it does.

Two shooting rampages tear a nation apart, both in gun controlled states

We’re consistently told that gun control works. We’re also consistently told that if we pass more of it, we’ll see a lot fewer random acts of violence.

The idea is that if you and I have a harder time getting guns, then bad guys will have a harder time getting them. This presumes that the impact will have some kind of trickle-down effect, which is hilarious considering how they mock “trickle-down economics,” but here we are.

However, gun control states still have plenty of problems with random violence.

Take this situation, for example, out of New York.

One person was killed and three more were injured Saturday when a man riding a scooter randomly fired at pedestrians in Queens and Brooklyn, New York City Police Department authorities said in a press conference.

“At this time, we don’t know the motive. It seems that his acts were random. If you look at the demographics and pedigree of the victims, they’re all different,” NYPD Assistant Chief Joseph Kenny said in a press conference.

“Video shows that he’s not targeting anybody – he’s not following anybody as he’s driving on his scooter, he’s randomly shooting people.”

Now, New York’s gun control battles have been well documented here at Bearing Arms. We’ve covered it aplenty.

Yet, as we can see, it didn’t really accomplish all that much in preventing this attack. Luckily, it could have been much worse, but it was bad enough.

The thing is, this wasn’t the only rampage we saw over the weekend in a gun control state.

It also happened in California.

Police in Los Angeles arrested a suspect following what appeared to be a series of random shootings that wounded one victim Saturday morning, a news report said.

The suspect allegedly fired randomly at people in East Los Angeles and Boyle Heights, with shootings reported between 6:20 a.m. and 7:20 a.m., KTLA-TV reported.

The suspect, who was not immediately identified, was taken into custody after the Los Angeles Police Department located an unoccupied vehicle believed to have been used in the attacks. Officers later arrested a man who matched the suspect’s description when he exited a nearby home, KTLA reported.

Police found a rifle believed to have been used in the shootings during a search of the vehicle, the station reported.

Now, again, this could have been much worse, but that has nothing to do with gun control. It has to do with the shooters themselves. Thankfully.

Gun control failed in both of these instances. Either of these could have been headline-grabbing horror stories we’d be talking about for the next three months. I’m sincerely glad they weren’t, but that doesn’t mean we should ignore them, either.

California and New York go out of their way to restrict the rights of the people who live there. Following Bruen, they both tripped over themselves to pass new laws that would restrict where people could carry a firearm. they’ve shown time and time again that they see no alternative to gun control.

And yet, we have these incidents as a stark reminder that gun control doesn’t work as advertised.

Clearly, no one was safer because of these states’ laws. If anything, it made it less likely anyone in the vicinity of these shootings would be armed and able to shoot back, thus ending the rampages quickly.

That’s about par for the course with gun control, though, isn’t it?

Deranged Gunman on Scooter ‘Randomly’ Shoots People in NYC

A deranged 25-year-old Hispanic male indiscriminately shot four people, killing one, while casually motoring around New York City on a scooter. Police say the suspect was experiencing a mental health crisis.

The shooting spree in Brooklyn and Queens started around 1110 ET Saturday and ended two hours later, police said. The 25yo gunman was in possession of a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun with a high capacity magazine and an “illegal” scooter, New York Police First Deputy Commissioner Edward Caban said at a news conference.

Police sources told NBC News that the suspect “appears to suffer from emotional or mental issues.” NYPD Assistant Chief Joseph Kenny noted that the suspect was a “male Hispanic.”

The rampage started when the suspect shot a 21yo man in the shoulder in Cypress Hills. About 20 minutes later, the suspect fatally shot an 87yo man once in the back on Jamaica Avenue near 108th Street. A 44yo man was reportedly shot in the face near 126th Street and remains in critical condition. And a 63yo man was shot in the shoulder on 134th Street.

“We don’t know the motive…If you look at the demographics and pedigree of the victims, they’re all different,” Kenny said.

The assistant NYPD chief continued, “At this time, the video shows that he’s not targeting anybody. He’s not following anybody as he’s driving on his scooter, he’s randomly shooting people.”

The suspect was arrested two hours later on the corner of Sutphin Boulevard and 94th Avenue in Queens.

This is just another day in crime-ridden NYC as Democrats fail to enforce law and order. Remember, progressives in City Hall were the ones that pushed disastrous defunding the police measures a few years ago.

A well planned ambush simply to commit murder is almost always highly effective and lethal.
But since such as this is usually over something personal – as it appears to me in this case -the list of suspects will likely not be long.

1 This one will disappear quickly – wrong demographic
2 Another case of the legal system letting a dangerous criminal lose with a slap on the wrist. Just like it’s a plan, not a bug.


Gunman arrested for Philadelphia mass shooting which left 5 dead is BLM activist who wore women’s clothes.

The rifle-wielding suspect who donned a bulletproof vest before allegedly shooting dead five men and injuring two children in Philadelphia has been identified as a Black Lives Matter supporter who shared gun-toting memes on social media.

Kimbrady Carriker, 40, was nabbed shortly after the bloodshed in the city’s Kingsessing neighborhood Monday night, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported, citing sources.

Cops haven’t yet publicly disclosed the suspect’s identity.

On his Facebook page, Carriker posted two pictures of himself wearing a bra, a women’s top and earrings with his hair braided long in March, three months before the alleged shooting.

He also regularly posts about supporting Black Lives Matter, including supporting workers who protested in the Strike For Black Lives in July 2020.
Carriker allegedly shot five men dead and injured two children in Philadelphia

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Almost like it’s not a bug, but a plan.

Suspect in shooting, carjacking spree previously had felon-in-possession charges dropped by DOJ

A 22-year-old man on probation for a knifepoint robbery at a D.C. Metro station is now accused of a carjacking and shooting spree in Prince George’s County, Maryland and the District of Columbia, and the suspect’s previous criminal history raises some major questions about why the Department of Justice chose to dismiss a charge of felon-in-possession just last year.

According to Prince George’s police, 22-year-old Daeyon Ross first carjacked a small SUV in Capitol Heights, Maryland; pointing a gun at the driver before taking off behind wheel, only to crash the stolen vehicle a few blocks away.

Police say Ross then attempted to carjack an Acura ILX in the drive-thru lane of a McDonald’s on Ritchie Road. When the driver, [56-year-old Kurt] Modeste, tried to get away, Ross allegedly shot him multiple times. Modeste managed to drive a short distance before he was pronounced dead.

Ross then carjacked a Toyota Scion, also in the drive-thru, that had three dogs inside. Police said he killed two of the dogs, before driving away in the Scion heading westbound on Central Avenue.

Officers from several agencies followed Ross, as he crossed into D.C. At the intersection of 52nd Street and Sheriff Road NE, he got out of the Scion and carjacked a fourth victim, stealing a GMC Terrain, but got into another crash. When officers approached Ross at the crash scene, an officer with the Capitol Heights Police Department fired shots, but neither the officer nor Ross was injured.

“It’s extremely rare to come across an individual who has such a disregard for life,” said Acting Deputy Chief Zachary O’Lare of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

And yet, authorities have come across Ross on several occasions over the past few years. In 2017 Ross was convicted as a juvenile for an armed robbery and according to WUSA-TV served five years in juvenile custody before he was released last year. Shortly after, and while he was still on probation for that earlier crime, D.C. police caught Ross with a pistol, only to see the resulting charges dropped by the U.S. Attorney’s office.

D.C. Superior Court records show Ross was arrested on Aug. 11, 2022 on multiple charges for allegedly carrying a handgun despite his felony conviction. According to an affidavit, Ross allegedly had a “wide-eyed stare” when he saw officers while walking in the 1400 block of Congress Place SE and then took off running while grabbing his waist band. Officers chased him, during which Ross allegedly pulled out a black handgun and threw it on the ground. Ross was taken into custody shortly thereafter and the gun was determined to be a Taurus G3 9mm with 13 rounds of ammunition.

Ross was charged with being a felon in possession, carrying a pistol without a license, possession of an unregistered firearm, possession of unregistered ammunition, altering identification marks of a weapon and possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia dropped all of those charges two months later, however, after Ross’ public defender filed motions challenging the constitutionality of the search under the Fourth Amendment and of the charges under the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, which established a new “historical tradition” test for evaluating firearm regulations.

The U.S. Attorney’s office didn’t drop the charges because of the Bruen decision, even if that’s one of the reasons Ross’s public defender gave for why the case against their client should be dismissed. Biden’s DOJ contends that only “law-abiding citizens” have any right to keep and bear arms and have continued prosecuting prohibited persons cases even after the Bruen decision was handed down, so I don’t see how Bruen would have had any impact on the charging decision here.

Instead, as writer Matthew Yglesias recently highlighted, D.C. courts are throwing out a surprising number of prosecutions for firearm-related offenses on Fourth Amendment grounds; an issue that Ross’s public defender also raised last year. Yglesias pointed out a case decided in April called T.W. v. United States that seems to bear a close resemblance to the circumstances of Ross’s arrest. From the decision:

T.W. raised his hands in the air upon seeing the two officers exit the front vehicle. Ewing asked T.W. whether he had a gun on him, and T.W. responded no. Ewing and Gendelman continued approaching T.W. from each side, and Ewing asked “You sure?” to which T.W. replied, “Yeah, I’m positive.” Gendelman then asked, “I can pat you down just to make sure?” T.W. said “Yeah,” and Gendelman responded, “My man,” as he began to pat T.W. down. Gendelman found a gun in T.W.’s waistband. The encounter lasted about ten seconds from when the first officers exited their vehicle to when the pat-down search began, and it took just about another five seconds for the officers to find the gun on T.W. He was charged with carrying a pistol without a license, possession of an unregistered firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and possession of a large-capacity ammunition- feeding device.

Before trial, T.W. moved to suppress the gun, its magazine, and its ammunition. He argued that he was unlawfully seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment when he consented to a pat-down search, and that his consent was the fruit of the illegal seizure. During a hearing on his motion to suppress, T.W. testified that he was “scared and nervous,” never having been arrested before, and did not think he could say “no” to Gendelman’s pat-down request. Asked why not, T.W. responded, “Because of how they came up on me. I felt like I couldn’t walk away.” T.W. further highlighted his youth (21 years old at the time), his “complete lack of experience” with police, “and the fact that he was confronted by multiple officers” who “essentially jumped out on [him] and immediately began asking accusatory questions.”

As Yglesias points out, a jury convicted T.W. at trial, but the D.C. Court of Appeals reversed that conviction on the grounds that the tactics used by police violated T.W.’s Fourth Amendment rights.

Did the USAO believe that was likely going to be the end result of prosecuting Daeyon Ross for being a violent felon in illegal possession of a firearm? If so, it would indicate that this problem has been going on for quite some time in the District, given that Ross’s charges were dropped last year, and T.W.’s case was only reversed a few months ago.

So far the DOJ isn’t talking about why the U.S. Attorney made the decision to drop all of the gun charges Ross was facing last year, but I’m not sure that there’s an answer that’s going to be acceptable. A violent felon was allegedly found in possession of a loaded gun just a short time after being released from custody, and DOJ ultimately took a pass on providing any consequences for that crime. Less than a year later Ross is now charged with first-degree murder, armed carjacking, and even cruelty to animals for shooting two dogs in the second vehicle that he stole at gunpoint.

While Joe Biden is demanding new gun laws aimed at peaceable gun owners his own DOJ is turning down the chance to prosecute repeat offenders; something to keep in mind the next time the president calls for a gun ban, a crackdown on firearms manufacturers, or other infringements on our right to protect ourselves from the violent offenders the Department of Justice are letting go.

Democrat Donor Arrested for Starting Massive Fire Democrats Blamed on Climate Change.

What happened: Authorities busted a Democratic donor for allegedly starting a “ginormous inferno” in Yosemite National Park. Democratic politicians had insisted climate change was to blame for the blaze, which destroyed more than 100 homes and injured several firefighters in July 2022.

• Edward Fredrick Wackerman (his actual name) of Mariposa, Calif., faces a number of charges including aggravated arson following his arrest on Friday.

By the numbers: The arson suspect has donated $1,775 to Democratic candidates and committees since 2020, government records show, including a $1,000 donation to Tim Ryan’s failed U.S. Senate campaign in 2022 and $400 to the Lincoln Project, a disgraced liberal super PAC.

• The so-called Oak Fire destroyed 127 homes and 66 outbuildings. Roughly 6,000 people were forced to evacuate as the inferno torched 30 square miles of land and smoke from the fire drifted more than 200 miles into parts of Nevada and the San Francisco Bay Area.

What they’re saying: “Ed Wackerman is facing several felony charges, including aggravated arson. These charges carry serious legal consequences and the District Attorney is committed to ensuring a fair trial and upholding justice,” Mariposa County District Attorney Walter Wall said in a statement. Authorities did not say how Wackerman is believed to have started the fire.

What they said: “Thank you to all the firefighters and first responders working tirelessly under difficult conditions to combat the #OakFire,” Sen. Alex Padilla (D., Calif.) wrote on Twitter on July 25, 2022. “Worsening drought and severe weather will only continue to put lives and property at risk from wildfire if we don’t take climate action NOW.”

• “More people will be killed and the survival of our civilization is at stake,” former Vice President Al Gore said on July 24, 2022, citing climate change as the reason “droughts and fires are hitting us so hard.”

Crucial context: Several days before Wackerman’s arrest, authorities busted Democratic donor Themis Matsoukas for allegedly performing sexual acts with his dog at Rothrock State Forest in Pennsylvania. “I do it to blow off steam,” the Elizabeth Warren supporter told investigators.

• Matsoukas is 64 years old; Wackerman is 71.

Bottom line: We need a total and complete shutdown of liberal Baby Boomers entering state and national parks until we can figure out what the hell is going on.

Chicago shootings:75 shot, 13 fatally, in weekend gun violence across city

CHICAGO (WLS) — Chicago shootings over the holiday weekend have left more than 75 shot, 13 fatally, police said.

The latest shootings attacked groups of teenagers.

Gunfire erupted in the West Garfield Park as three teens were standing on a front porch in the 3800-block of West Gladys Avenue when someone in a dark-colored car opened fire, police said.

A 17-year-old girl was rushed to the hospital in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the right eye. A 17-year-old girl was shot in the leg and buttocks and a 19-year-old man was shot in the arm and both were transported to hospitals in good condition.

Just a few hours earlier and less than two-miles away, police said a 14-year-old boy walking down the block in the 100-block of North Francisco Avenue when an unknown gunman opened fire on him. He was struck in the right arm and right leg and transported to a hospital in fair condition.

On the South Side, 32-year old father of four Brian Ross, was gunned down along with another men during a large Father’s Day gathering at Smith Park in the Roseland community.

Relatives said he was not the intended target.

“They literally stopped where they were at, open fired on them, didn’t care about the kids being around or nothing. And, by the grace of God, no kids get hit,” Kandace Ross, the victim’s husband, said. “They didn’t care about nothing or nobody because there were kids out there. There were women out there, there were grandmas, anybody. They just came and just shot it up just so they can, I don’t know, brag about it.”

Police are looking into if social media played a role in the attack.

The violence happened on almost every side of town including the Bucktown neighborhood

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The Top 15 Cities for Murder in the United States are All Run by Democrats, New Survey Finds

The Democratic Party is running cities that are racking up the most murders in the United States, according to a new survey from Insider Monkey.

Insider Monkey compiled a list of 30 US cities by referring to the FBI’s Quarterly Uniform Crime Report and police department data. Remarkably, all of the metropolitan areas in the first 15 cities listed are governed by Democratic leadership.

Here are the top five most murderous cities so far this year:

1. Chicago, Illinois: Murders in 2023: 166

2. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Murders in 2023: 165

3. Phoenix, Arizona: Murders in 2023: 137

4. Dallas, Texas: Murders in 2023: 126

5. Baltimore, Maryland: Murders in 2023: 112

And the remaining five cities…

6. Houston, Texas: Murders in 2023: 109

7. Los Angeles, California: Murders in 2023: 102

8. New York City, New York: Murders in 2023: 100

9. Indianapolis, Indiana: Murders in 2023: 96

10. Kansas City, Missouri: Murders in 2023: 96

11. Detroit, Michigan: Murders in 2023: 89

12. Washington, DC: Murders in 2023: 89

13. Louisville, Kentucky: Murders in 2023: 89

14. Memphis, Tennessee: Murders in 2023: 81

15. St. Louis, Missouri: Murders in 2023: 65

The homicide statistics raise questions regarding the effectiveness of the Democrats’ social justice reform policies, and particularly, bail reform policies being sought by Soros-funded prosecutors.

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En banc! U.S. 3rd Circuit Court (The Bruen decision strikes again)

TLDR:
Range pleaded guilty in 1995 to committing welfare fraud, a misdemeanor punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment. As we know, GCA’ 68 bans people convicted of crimes punishable by more than a year and a day in prison – which are usually felonies – from buying guns.
Range sued the government in 2020 saying the ban violated his 2nd Amendment right to bear arms.
The appeals court – en banc – ruled that since there were no text, history or tradition of restrictions like this when the 2nd and the 14th amendments were ratified, the restriction was unconstitutional.

Another scene in the opening act of the end of gun control the goobermint has foisted on us

No Loss of Second Amendment Rights for Welfare Fraud

Nothing nationally newsworthy here is there? /sarc

Chicago shootings: 53 shot, 11 fatally, in Memorial Day weekend gun violence across city

CHICAGO — It’s been a violent and deadly Memorial Day weekend in Chicago with at least 53 shot, 11 fatally, police said.

The shooting victims range in age from 2 to 77 years old, representing every part of the city.

The violence occurred despite a collaborative public safety effort that the new mayor hopes to implement all summer.

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