Category: You Can’t Make This Up

Tim Walz Reminds Us of Disaster We Dodged in 2024 With Wild Remarks on Our Army, China, and Iran/Israel

One of the best things about President Donald Trump winning and Kamala Harris losing in November is that the insufferable Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, also lost.

Walz is not having a good week. He got flamed big time at the Sanctuary State hearing, where his answers were ridiculous.

But then came his remarks at a Center for American Progress (CAP) event, “What’s Next: Conversations on the Path Forward” with CAP CEO and former Biden official Neera Tanden. Those remarks confirmed again how lucky we are that he is not in power. They were truly next-level bad.

They were talking about the “escalatory” nature of the strikes in Israel and Iran.

Walz said, “Iran has to retaliate, in their mind,” and the “Middle East is back on fire in a way that has now expanded.”

“Now, who is the voice in the world that can negotiate some type of agreement in this? Who holds the moral authority? Who holds the ability to do that? Because we are not seen as a neutral actor, and we maybe never were,” Walz said of the United States’ role in de-escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Guess who he thought might be the “neutral actor” with the “moral authority” to negotiate peace? China.

There are so many things wrong with this, it’s just mind-numbing.

He’s saying Communist, oppressive China has more moral authority than we do? How many millions of innocent people has the Chinese government slaughtered over the years? And since when are they a “neutral actor” as far as Iran? Does he not know they support Iran? Or does he not care, given his prior connection to China?

Harris Faulkner noted in the above “Outnumbered” report that China issued a similar statement about being ready to help, and it sounded like Tim received the same memo.

Kayley McEnany called it “one of the most naive articulations of foreign policy” — and she was kind.

Yes, we’re not neutral, nor should we be. Is he nuts? They’ve been our enemy, chanting “Death to America!” for decades since the mullahs took over. So much of what has gone wrong over the years in the region has been because of the failed Obama positions on Iran.

But Walz wasn’t quite done with the radical remarks yet. He was upset that — gasp — we would celebrate the 250th birthday of the Army. Listen as he explains how the preparations for the event offended his delicate sensibilities, that they were “horrific,” “looks wrong, feels wrong.” He’s talking about our military.

Walz explained that he would go somewhere else where they had a tradition of “separation” (not sure what he was talking about). He said, “This was not Pyong Yang on a Saturday.”

He confessed, “This may get me into trouble…but I have never so hoped for rain in my life.”

Then Neera Tanden laughs like it’s the funniest thing ever.

What the heck? He hopes the military is rained on/out. Again, I say, is he nuts? How petty and twisted is this? And he’s comparing our military with North Korea? How could anyone support this character for anything, even dogcatcher, much less for president? But it’s JD Vance, who they termed “weird.”

ATF Seeks to Criminalize ‘Pinned and Welded’ Muzzle Devices
Are we honestly dealing with rogue agents or a duplicitous administration?

ATF Seeks to Criminalize ‘Pinned and Welded' Muzzle Devices
Pinned and welded muzzle device. (Photo Provided by Firearms News)

If you’ve been keeping score on gun rights for as long as I have, chances are you were thrilled to show Kamala the door last November, but your expectations for a pro-Second Amendment Trump administration were tempered at best, and increasingly dismal the deeper you looked into it. If that’s how you felt, I’d say you have a realistic perspective. Believe me, I wish I could survive on words and promises, but years spent on this earth have taught me that the most reliable model for predicting future behavior is past behavior.

Another relevant life lesson is to avoid getting sidetracked by distractions, positive or negative, while maintaining focus on the bigger picture. That’s why it comes as no surprise that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is once again targeting gun owners with its “now it’s legal, now it’s not” routine, an all too familiar infringement dance for the firearms community.

We’ve been through this together with bump stocks, pistol braces, FRT triggers, and countless others, but it’s once more into the breach, dear friends, once more, this time concerning the long-since approved practice of pining and welding a muzzle device to a barrel to achieve a “permanent” legal length of at least sixteen inches. (Muzzle devices used in pin-and-weld custom gunsmithing include flash hiders, muzzle brakes, barrel extensions, fake suppressors, etc.) Plans for this new wave of attacks on our Constitutionally protected liberties were uncovered recently due to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from the Second Amendment advocacy group, Gun Owners of America (GOA).

What GOA has uncovered may seem like yet another rogue agent working against the promises of United States Attorney General Pam Bondi and her big, beautiful boss, the President, but as a subordinate who can easily be fired, something the Trump administration is known for being quite good at, can we really call these actions rogue if the agent still has a job? Ahhh, therein lies the conflict. Suppose our anti-American, anti-Constitution agent still wears an ATF badge. In that case, this person is acting at the behest of superiors, who start to seem either apathetic or straight-up two-faced at some point.

Well, surprise, surprise, she does continue to report for duty at the ATF, and the treasonous little snake is no stranger when it comes to attacking gun rights or being a complete imbecile. So, don’t bother getting up, and please, give a not-so-warm welcome to Eve E. Eisenbice, the subversive reptile behind such hits as claiming a water bottle could be considered a firearm, classifying a cheek rest as a stock in order to charge a gun owner under the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA), and testifying in court that possession of pillows and potatoes can potentially count as suppressors. I know my sarcasm and abrasive disposition towards these traitors might make you wonder if I’m simply attributing ridiculous hyperbole to Eisenbice’s “career,” but I’m not. She did those things, and really is that stupid and dishonest.

So, how did her latest mastery of the perfidious arts come about? Great question! The ATF’s Firearms Technology Industry Services Branch (FTISB) was involved in a case concerning a Beretta pistol imported by Amchar Wholesale. The firearm in question used the standard blind pin method to pin and weld the muzzle device to the barrel. This involves installing the device, drilling a small hole in it that penetrates slightly into the barrel’s threads, inserting a steel pin to prevent the device from being unscrewed, and then welding over the pin to secure it in place.

What the ATF did in this case was place the pistol in a bench vise, attach a breaker bar, and apply an obscene amount of torque. What this accomplishes causes permanent damage that will require the firearm to be rebarreled to function once again as it was meant to. That is precisely what the agency did. They broke the gun in order to say that the muzzle device did not meet the permanent requirement.

Unfortunately, this is the best and safest method to permanently affix a muzzle device, as welding its circumference directly to the barrel can damage the heat treatment, raising safety concerns due to the likelihood of a catastrophic failure. And let’s be clear, any monkey with a breaker bar can destroy a firearm the way the ATF did. It’s simple physics. But the fact remains that a pinned and welded muzzle device cannot be removed without modification or destruction of the barrel’s integrity.

You may be reading this, wondering if we haven’t yet found the right loophole to avoid having a barrel slightly shorter than sixteen inches not count as a short-barreled rifle (SBR) under the NFA, requiring an onerous paperwork and approval process along with an illegal tax stamp on a Constitutional right to the tune of $200. The problem is that this pin-and-weld method isn’t a loophole. It is a lawfully approved and widely used practice, as confirmed by a 2006 letter from the ATF.

If the ATF continues to be allowed to run roughshod over law-abiding gun owners like they have ad nauseam, the results could be quite terrifying. Legally compliant rifles could become illegally possessed NFA items overnight, a charge that carries a hefty prison sentence. This is a horrifying manner of destroying the lives of Americans and their families at the treacherous impulse of dishonest government employees and agencies, and it’s all happening under the noses of senior officials like Pam Bondi, Daniel P. Driscoll, acting director of the ATF, and President Trump himself.

What’s worse is that the solution is so simple. It involves little more than a flick of the pen and less than a minute of conversation. What is that solution? Fire this loser. And I mean 100% out on her ass. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. A fortuitous tax stamp reference, perhaps? No benefits, no pension, just a straight march to the unemployment line and a good riddance salute. So why the crickets from our supposed Second Amendment crusading leaders? That can only be answered one way if they don’t take swift action. They are complicit, by order or by turning a blind eye. It doesn’t matter which one, because either scenario is a death knell for any more fake talk from the administration and the Department of Justice (DOJ).

My final thoughts on the subject concern the fact that this conversation should never have reached the ears of any American. First of all, the Second Amendment is neither long, convoluted, nor complex. It requires no interpretation from the literate. Second, for a barrel to meet the arbitrary sixteen-inch legal rifle length with a pinned and welded muzzle device, it typically needs to be between 13.9 inches and 14.5 inches. Is 2.1 inches or any such measurement really what we’re spending millions to litigate and destroying lives over? The NFA itself is a significant stain on the integrity of the American government and the oaths taken by politicians and judges to preserve and defend the Constitution. As long as it exists, alongside all other gun laws on the books, including the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) and the Hughes Amendment in 1986, these charlatans will continue to soil the sacrifices of so many brave Americans who paid the ultimate price for our freedom and liberty.

 “The New York Times just ran a 1,400-word story to explain what cross necklaces are.”

The New York Times just wrote a 1,400-word article about a hip new symbol that everyone seems to be wearing these days:

 

This is literally The New York Times right now:

 

Across TikTok, young Christian women have been sharing the meaning behind their own cross necklaces, saying they help cultivate a sense of belonging and connection with others.

Sage Mills, a student at the University of Oklahoma who has posted videos about her cross necklace, said that seeing women in government like Ms. Leavitt and Ms. Bondi wear their own ‘makes me feel good. It makes me feel like God is the important thing for people that are governing our world.’

I guess these gals are all radical Christian nationalists!

In recent months, pastors with Christian nationalist beliefs have been invited to the White House numerous times.

UH OH!

 

 

The Times has the history lesson for anyone confused by this strange symbol.

The cross, a symbol most associated with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, first emerged during the Roman Empire when it was an instrument of mass torture, said Robert Covolo, a theologian and associate pastor at Christ Church Sierra Madre near Los Angeles.

By the 4th century, Mr. Covolo said that Christians had begun to use the cross as an emblem of their religion. Not long after, the cross became a focal point for daily jewelry. Cross jewelry dating as far back as the 5th century is prevalent in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Think about it: A 1,500 word article … in what used to be the most prominent newspaper in the world … explaining the cross to an American audience.

 

 

 

For real! Look at how they describe women in the Trump admin like strange creatures:

Cross necklaces have, in a way, become the jewelry of choice most associated with President Trump’s second administration.

Ms. Bondi owns several cross necklaces but most often appears at official events in a diamond-set version purchased at Mavilo, a jewelry store in Tampa, Fla.

Ms. Leavitt, the White House press secretary, has frequently worn a large cross pendant at press briefings. But Ms. Leavitt is not the first press secretary to wear a cross: Kayleigh McEnany, a press secretary during Mr. Trump’s first term, also wore one.

In an email, Ms. Leavitt, 27, called the cross necklace ‘the perfect accessory to any outfit,’ adding that she wears the cross ‘because it serves as a reminder of the strength that can only be found through faith.’

These conservative women … who can understand their strange ways??

 

 

What a time to be alive!

Hobbs vetoes bill banning China from owning land in Arizona

Arizona’s Democratic governor has vetoed legislation that would have barred the Chinese government from owning land in the state.

The GOP-backed measure banned the People’s Republic of China — including enterprises that are totally owned by the Chinese government and subdivisions of the Chinese government — from having a substantial interest in Arizona property. The bill defines a substantial interest as a stake of 30% or more.

Sen. Janae Shamp, the Republican sponsor of Senate Bill 1109, said during a debate of the bill on Feb. 26 that it was aimed at protecting U.S. military bases from spying, and she alleged that has already happened in Arizona.

“The actual Chinese government, our enemy, was trying to lease buildings near the (Luke Air Force) base,” Shamp said. “(N)ot making sure that we are protecting our national security or our men and women on the ground here in Arizona is ludicrous to me.”

Reports about the Chinese government purchasing land near military bases in the U.S. has, in many cases, been misleading.

Democrats in the state House of Representatives and Senate shared concerns that the original version of Shamp’s proposal was unconstitutional and that it would lead to discrimination in land sales.

A substantial amendment to the bill, passed through the House on May 6, allayed some of those concerns. The initial version of the bill banned certain people and businesses from countries designated as enemies of the United States by the director of national intelligence from owning land in Arizona. There were exceptions for small plots of residential land more than 50 miles away from a U.S. military installation. The amended version narrowed the ban to only the Chinese government and its subsidiaries.

The Arizona House of Representatives approved the amended bill on May 7 by a vote of 41-17, with eight Democrats voting in favor alongside Republicans. The Arizona Senate gave its final approval of the bill by a vote of 17-11 along party lines on May 28.

In her veto letter on June 2, Gov. Katie Hobbs wrote that protecting infrastructure was important.

“However, this legislation is ineffective at counter-espionage and does not directly protect our military assets,” she said in the letter. “Additionally, it lacks clear implementation criteria and opens the door to arbitrary enforcement.”

In the language of the bill, Shamp claimed that its “protection of this state’s military, commercial and agricultural assets from foreign espionage and sabotage will place this state in a significantly stronger position to withstand national security threats.”

Far-right Republican Sen. Wendy Rogers, of Flagstaff, on May 28 said that she had sponsored a similar bill a few years ago and was perplexed when it was voted down on the Senate floor. (Rogers sponsored her legislation in 2022 and 2023. Neither bill received a vote by the full Senate.)

“I hope it’s not too late,” Rogers said, before voting for Senate Bill 1109.

Kostas Moros

May as well do a proper thread on this. Read for my analysis/cope.
Snope denied. The Supreme Court has forsaken us.
Kavanaugh says they want more percolation, apparently.
First up is Kavanaugh, in a statement respecting the denial of cert. (Basically a concurrence in denying it) Not that it will matter until SCOTUS actually polices the antigun circuits, but Kavanaugh confirms we are right that: a. there is a “common use” test. Antigun states have denied this, arguing there is no such test, or if there is, it’s only “commonly used for self-defense.” b. it is historically-based (i.e., not part of the phony “plain text” analysis). Antigun states have argued it’s at the plain text step.
Not strong enough to get granted cert now though, I guess?
Sure, but the antigun circuits will absolutely take this as an affirmance of the terrible Fourth Circuit ruling. SCOTUS needs to accept that it must actively police those circuits, or just admit it has no interest in protecting the Second Amendment so we stop wasting our time.
While they didn’t join this statement, this is Barrett and Roberts speaking too, it’s pretty clear. Kavanaugh wouldn’t write with such confidence (i.e. “presumably”) if he didn’t think they – or at least one of them – was on board to hear such a case soon. You are free to think I am coping – I can’t blame you for having zero confidence in the Court after this. It’s just how I read it. Even if I am correct, that wouldn’t make it okay. Another year or two of denied rights is incredibly damaging. As I have pointed out before, our lives are not that long, and not having our Second Amendment right fully realized for another year or two is a real loss. Moreover, there is absolutely nothing to be gained from percolation. Only antigun circuits ever here AWB cases, and their rulings are all very similar to each other.
We love you Justice Thomas, thanks for always being a real one.
I don’t like Justice Thomas embracing the plain text “step.” I guess I now have to concede there is such a step, bummer.
That said, the plain text is not hard to meet in an arms ban case, as Thomas points out.
Now that Thomas has confirmed I was wrong and there is a “plain text” step, I now urge the Supreme Court to gut it and make Bruen the one-step test it should be. Antigun circuits will always place “too high a burden” on Plaintiffs to avoid the historical analysis. The plain text step, if it is too exist, should be no more than a simple qualifier, not some rigorous analysis.
to* exist.
So while Thomas does reject my view that there is no meaningful plain text step, he does agree that it isn’t a hard step to meet.
Beautifully written. Too bad it is in a dissent from denial of cert, and not the first line of a per curiam ruling.
Thomas deals with the 4th Circuits dumb slippery slope argument.
Thomas agrees that percolation has no value.
He concludes by pointing out the Court’s logic in VanDerStok could allow for the federal government to declare AR-15s to be “machineguns” and ban them. A future Dem administration will no doubt try this.
So, what’s my speculation?
I think there was clearly a lot of negotiating behind the scenes, and Roberts/Barrett or one of them just doesn’t want another controversial issue on their plate right now.
They promised Kavanaugh they’d take up the issue soon, but who knows if they will keep that promise (no doubt the stream of Trump admin cases will continue for the whole four years). Hopefully the USDOJ will support the Duncan cert petition to add some pressure for a grant. If they deny Duncan, then the next best candidate is probably the Illinois cases about to be heard on final judgment by the Seventh Circuit.
It is interesting that Kavanaugh had no similar statement for Ocean State Tactical. As a judge on the DC Circuit, he dissented from an opinion (Heller II) upholding an AWB, but said as to magazines he would have remanded for further proceedings. It’s possible Kavanaugh is against AWBs, but would be accepting of a magazine capacity limit. I certainly hope that isn’t the case. I can’t blame anyone for dooming at this point, but we’ll keep doing the best we can. We need Justices Thomas and Alito replaced by fire-breathers like VanDyke who don’t care about suffocating decorum traditions and will openly call out their colleagues when they are being hacks. Thomas and Alito are the best justices on the Court, but they are aging and it is critical they be replaced with equally-strong but younger judges.
Finally, the percolation excuse must be especially frustrating for the Snope plaintiffs. Let’s say in a best case scenario, Kavanaugh is being truthful, and SCOTUS does grant a similar case and strikes down AWBs. The Snope plaintiffs are still out all of their legal fees, which do not get reimbursed if you are vindicated two years later. You only win back fees if your case wins. So they are just SOL.
Very cool SCOTUS, thanks.

San Francisco students can graduate with FAILING grades under new ‘Grading for Equity’ guidelines

On Tuesday, the San Francisco public school district announced a new grading policy that will allow students to graduate classes with a score as low as 21 percent. The “Grading for Equity” method eliminates homework and weekly test scores from a student’s final semester grade.

Instead, there will be one test at the end of each semester to decide if a student has passed the class. The final exam can be retaken several times, The Voice San Francisco reported.

Maria Su, the Superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District, enacted the new guidelines without seeking approval from the board, according to the nonprofit. The changes will impact 10,000 students across 14 high schools in California’s Bay Area.

Students may submit assignments late, fail to attend class, or choose not to attend at all without consequence to their academic performance. As of current, receiving an A requires a minimum score of 90 percent, while a D is set at 61 percent. Under the new scale, a student can obtain an A with a score as low as 80 percent, typically a B- and a D with a score as low as 21 percent, which is otherwise known as an F.

Educators, students, and parents have expressed concerns regarding the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiative, particularly how it would impact academic standards and college readiness, Newsweek reported. The San Francisco school district’s experiment comes in spite of President Donald Trump’s executive order signed in January that eliminated DEI programs in federal taxpayer-funded institutions.

Supporters of the policy argue that by reducing the emphasis on behavior-based penalties like missing or late assignments, it more accurately reflects a student’s learning, while critics believe it would hurt students who are already on pace for college placement.

SCOTUS to CASA to A.A.R.P.: In Case Of (Perceived) Emergency, Ignore The Rules, And Make Stuff Up
None of the usual rules will apply when the ACLU says there is an emergency.

The past 24 hours have been something of a Rorschach Test for the Supreme Court. In the birthright citizenship case, the Court made clear that in emergencies, the judiciary must retain the power to enter universal injunctions, even if Article III does not otherwise permit such injunctions. And in A.A.R.P. v. Trump, the Court made clear that in emergencies, the court should certify a class without going through Rule 23, and grant an ex parte tro without considering any of the usual TRO factors.

What lesson should lower court judges take away? In cases of perceived emergencies, forget all the rules and make stuff up. When the executive branch takes such actions we call it an autocracy. When the courts do it, they call it the “rule of law.”

I will have much more to say about this order in due course.

Menendez Brothers Have Murder Sentence Reduced & Are Now Eligible For Parole

Erik and Lyle Menendez, who have served roughly 35 years of a life-without-parole prison sentence for the 1989 shotgun slayings of their parents in Beverly Hills, were re-sentenced today to 50 years to life, immediately making them eligible for parole.

The decision by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic does not automatically mean the pair will be released from prison. They will have to appear before a parole board, which will recommend whether they should be available for parole. The recommendation would then go to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who could reject their release.

More to come…

Really?

DOJ to Illinois Gun Owners: Write Your Democrat Legislators to Repeal Infringements

“We recently received your March 27, 2025, message to the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding firearm laws and Second Amendment rights,” a reply letter from Hadiza L. Buge, Acting Assistant Deputy Director, Public and Governmental Affairs, to an activist who had filed a civil rights complaint against the state of Illinois’ requirement to obtain a Firearm Owner’s Identification card (FOID) as a prior restraint and precondition to buying a gun. “DOJ forwarded your inquiry to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for response.”

 

In early April, this column reported on that complaint, filed by a citizen who is being left unnamed here because he is intentionally known on social media only by a screen name to protect his privacy and employability.

It was actually his second attempt to hold Attorney General Pam Bondi to her word (Justice punted on his first complaint, asking it to investigate an anti-gun judge’s political and financial conflicts of interest), given in a press release announcing a Second Amendment Pattern-or-Practice Investigation into Los Angeles County concealed handgun license application delays, that:

“This Department of Justice will not stand idly by while States and localities infringe on the Second Amendment rights of ordinary, law-abiding Americans. The Second Amendment is not a second-class right, and under my watch, the Department will actively enforce the Second Amendment just like it actively enforces other fundamental constitutional rights.”

Points brought to the DOJ’s attention in the FOID complaint:

  • The reason for the law was to dissuade minorities (specifically African Americans during a time of racial riots/unrest and distrust amongst racial groups and law enforcement) from seeking police permission to legally own firearms.
  • Funding for FOID cards and carry licenses is used now as a “piggy bank” by the IL General Assembly to fund other projects, leading to delays in processing (with a documented case of a 20-month wait).
  • A woman with no criminal record was charged with a crime for possessing a single-shot rifle in her home without a FOID.

“ATF is a law enforcement agency within the DOJ dedicated to reducing violent crime and protecting the public. ATF’s mission focuses on administering Federal criminal laws and regulating the firearms and explosives industries,” Buge’s response continued. “In support of this mission, ATF implements policy and regulations to enforce laws created by Congress. As such, we encourage you to reach out to your State congressional delegation with your recommendations regarding firearm laws. We hope this information proves helpful to you.”

Right. In Illinois. How helpful.

Translation: ATF only deals with federal issues, and your state complaint is outside of its jurisdiction, so DOJ forwarding it to them can’t go anywhere. If you want relief, contact your state representatives, the Democrat ones who are passing citizen disarmament edicts, and ask them not to. We’re washing our hands of it.

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Obama Judge Goes Full Theater Kid, Declares It ‘Unconstitutional’ for Trump to Pull Security Clearances

As lower and district court judges continue to one-up each other with absurd usurpations of clearly stated executive authority, another contender has entered the ring.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled on Friday night that the President of the United States does not have the power to pull government security clearances from Perkins Coie, a private law firm. Yeah, that would be the same Perkins Coie that worked with Democrats to gin up the Russian collusion hoax. 

In her order, Howell decided that quoting Shakespeare was appropriate. I guess our judiciary is full of theater kids.

“No American President has ever before issued executive orders like the one at issue in this lawsuit targeting a prominent law firm with adverse actions to be executed by all Executive branch agencies but, in purpose and effect, this action draws from a playbook as old as Shakespeare, who penned the phrase: ‘The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers,’” Howell wrote in the 102-page order on Friday. 

Howell alleges that the Trump administration violated the First, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments, with her basic argument being that the executive order in question amounted to illegal coercion. In arguably politicized fashion, she went on to express animosity toward the law firms that cut deals with the administration to keep their clearances.

All of this will undoubtedly and justifiably seem ridiculous to onlookers, regardless of what legal arguments may or may not actually exist. Control over security clearances is a vested power in the executive branch, and if the president decides he doesn’t want a law firm that literally targeted him on behalf of Hillary Clinton to have access to classified materials within his administration, one would think he should be able to do so.

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