Trump is deworming Washington — now to keep the parasites out for good.

Washington, DC, is riddled with parasites sucking the life out of our nation.
Time for a thorough deworming.

Jonathan Rauch, in a book by the same name, called it “demosclerosis.”
Mancur Olson, in his classic “The Rise and Decline of Nations,” called it a “web of special interests.”

I call it the “parasite class.”

All refer to a collection of bureaucrats, lobbyists, contractors, nonprofits, non-governmental organizations and connected unions and corporations that have increasingly run our federal government for their own benefit, fattening themselves with the help of diverted taxpayer dollars.

I confess that until recently, I assumed nothing could be done about these problems until an unmistakable financial collapse took place, forcing massive slashes in spending and regulation of the sort that we’ve seen in Argentina under Javier Milei.

The situation was desperate, but no one was serious about dealing with it.
That has all changed now.
The Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency are making some of the cuts that it would be forced to make in the event of a financial collapse — ahead of the collapse.

Continue reading “”

This was a bill that would eliminate ‘stand your ground’ and mandate that a person must retreat before being allowed to defend themselves. There was massive ‘pushback’ statewide and Zbur apparently got the cluebat applied.

California self-defense bill pulled due to ‘misleading information’
A California bill targeting self-defense loopholes is being withdrawn over ‘misleading information.’

CALIFORNIA, USA — A California bill aimed at closing a legal loophole related to self-defense claims is being withdrawn due to ‘misleading information.’

Assemblymember Rich Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood) said Wednesday he was withdrawing the bill. AB 1333 stirred fears from critics that it could create confusion about when the use of deadly force is legally justified, limiting an individual’s right to protect themselves.

“Protecting public safety has always been my top priority. AB 1333 sought to close a dangerous legal loophole that could allow armed aggressors to initiate confrontations in public, kill their victims, and then exploit self-defense laws to escape accountability. The bill does not change the long-standing Castle Doctrine and was never intended to affect anyone’s ability to protect themselves, their family, or their home. As a father and as the victim of a home invasion myself, I understand how essential the right to self defense is,” Zbur said.

One provision in the bill would have no longer justified killing someone in certain situations, such as when protecting one’s home or belongings. Critics argued that it didn’t fully account for real-world scenarios.

He said the misleading information caused confusion and fear, leading to the bill’s withdrawal once it is referred to committee Thursday and amended for clarity.

“I remain committed to keeping our communities safe and will continue working with law enforcement, legal experts, and public and gun safety advocates to advance smart policies that protect victims and safeguard the right to self defense. I want to thank our law enforcement partners and gun safety groups for their unwavering dedication to public safety and their hard work on this effort,” Zbur said.

The bill was designed to close loopholes following a 2022 Supreme Court ruling expanding the right to carry handguns in public for self-defense.

Mike [Colonel U.S. Army, Retired] was an XO and later Deputy Director of my last unit.
He once discovered, to his chagrin, that older guys who work on guns just may know how to shoot them faster and just as accurate as he could.

Anduril Exec Nominated for Army’s No. 2 Civilian Spot
Obadal picked to be undersecretary of the Army

Michael Obadal, a senior director at Anduril Industries, has been nominated by President Trump to become the No. 2 civilian official in the U.S. Army.

The White House said today that Obadal’s nomination to be the Under Secretary of the Army was sent to the Senate for confirmation.

Obadal, an Army veteran, has served as senior director at Costa Mesa-based Anduril since January 2023.

 

And they’re still trying…..

“Ultimately, a civilized society must disarm its citizenry if it is to have a modicum of domestic tranquility of the kind enjoyed by sister democracies such as Canada and Britain. Given the frontier history and individualist ideology of the United States, however, this will not come easily. It certainly cannot be done radically. It will probably take one, maybe two generations. It might be 50 years before the United States gets to where Britain is today. Passing a law like the assault weapons ban is a symbolic – purely symbolic – move in that direction. Its only real justification is not to reduce crime but to desensitize the public to the regulation of weapons in preparation for their ultimate confiscation. “
– Charles Krauthammer, The Washington Post, Friday, April 5, 1996, page A19 op-ed piece entitled “Disarm The Citizenry”

Bill Allowing Armed Teachers, Staff Moving in West Virginia House

Legislation to allow armed teachers and staff for classroom defense is set to come before the West Virginia House.

The bill, HB 2187, passed the West Virginia House Education Committee, according to WSAZ.  It is next scheduled for the House Judiciary Committee.

HB 2187 amends the language of current West Virginia law “relating to possessing deadly weapons on premises of educational facilities; authorizing teachers, administrators, or support personnel in elementary or secondary schools to carry concealed firearms and be designated as a school protection officer (SPO).”

The bill also sets forth “information” and “certain qualifications” that must be met in order for a teacher or staff member to become an SPO.

In addition to concealed firearms, SPOs would be able to carry “stun guns or tasers.”

LootPress pointed out that SPO applicants must already have a concealed carry permit and will undergo additional training under the auspices of the “Security Protection Officer Training Program.” The training program includes “firearms training, de-escalation techniques, crisis intervention, active shooter response, trauma care, and other security-related topics.”

Rand.org noted that “at least 28 states allow schools to arm teachers or staff (not just trained guards or peace officers) in at least some cases or as part of specific programs,” as of January 1, 2024.

CNN observed that on April 26, 2024, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed legislation allowing armed teachers in the Volunteer State. This puta the number of states allowing armed teachers for classroom defense up to at least 29.

Tennessee moved to arm teachers after Nashville Metropolitan Police Chief John Drake indicated the March 27, 2023, school shooter originally planned to hit another target, but chose the Christian school instead because it had less security. Six innocents were killed in the school, where no one was armed for classroom defense.

U.S. resumes military aid as Ukraine backs plan for 30-day ceasefire

Ukraine “expressed readiness to accept” a U.S. proposal for an immediate 30-day ceasefire with Russia, the two countries said in a joint statement after a key meeting between U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia.

Why it matters: A ceasefire, if implemented, would be a major diplomatic breakthrough in the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine. But the Kremlin has yet to weigh in on the U.S. proposal.

  • “The ball is now in their court. We hope the Russians will reciprocate,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a press conference after the meeting.

The latest: A source close to the Ukrainian government told Axios U.S. military assistance resumed on Tuesday. Intelligence sharing with the U.S. was fully restored.

Driving the news: During the meeting — which lasted more than five hours — the U.S. agreed to lift its suspension on intelligence sharing with Ukraine and resume weapons shipments to the country, which were paused eight days ago.

  • After weeks of pressuring the Ukrainians, the U.S. side signaled the pressure is now on Russia. “If the Russians say no, we will know what the impediment is here,” Rubio said.
  • President Trump told reporters at the White House that he hopes Russia will agree to the ceasefire, and said he would invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky back to the White House.
  • National security adviser Mike Waltz said Ukraine not only accepted the U.S. proposal but also presented its principles for a comprehensive peace deal including the security guarantees that it requires.

Continue reading “”

Cynical Publius

It used to amaze me at how effective Democrats were at flooding the zone with huge numbers of zealous demonstrators for whatever the party’s cause de jure was at the time.

I was always jealous of the ideological commitment that it took to get so many individuals to turn out for those sorts of events, and wished we conservatives could similarly harness such passion.

But I was really wrong.

It turns out that Democrats do nothing for free, and instead our tax dollars–funneled through America-hating NGOs–were in many cases paid to hired “demonstrators” to create that aura of political passion.

We’re already starting to see the effects of cutting off that firehose of dollars, as the anti-Trump demonstrations thus far tend to consist of a gaggle of patchouli-smelling ex-hippies in their late 70s singing Woody Guthrie songs, accompanied by a handful of obese, nose-ringed transgender college students with blue hair LARPing at Marxism.

Should firearms background check system be abolished?

To some people, firearm background checks are accepted and considered a way to prevent bad guys from getting guns. They’re completely wrong, and here’s why.

The background check system, otherwise known as the “government hijacking of a God-given right and selling it back to you as a government-issued privilege,” is unconstitutional and dangerous to law-abiding citizens.

As we inch our way toward state-to-state reciprocity with constitutional carry in our major cities, we recognize that many states not only require a government-issued permission slip to carry a gun but also make it almost impossible to obtain that permit. Even if you can make it through the rat maze of training, fees, background checks, storage requirements, magazine capacity limitations, and a list of other constitution-violating requirements, most of society is off limits to you and your firearm because many state gun laws have deemed public and even private places, gun free zones.

The idea of undergoing and passing background checks as a prerequisite to exercising the 2nd Amendment should have never been a thought even in the darkest corners of the most communist minds of the most radical left-wing ideologues, not only because it violates the rights of American citizens, but also because it puts undeserving Americans in legal jeopardy and in physical danger.

According to the Government Accountability Office, in 2017, the NICS background check system denied 112,090 people the right to purchase a firearm. Of those 112,090 denials, only 12,710 were investigated. We have to ask ourselves: If over 112,000 people were denied but only 12,710 Investigations took place, wouldn’t that be clear evidence that the system is failing and falsely denying good people their right to keep and bear?

It gets worse. That same year, and from that group of 112,090 denials, there were only 12 prosecutions for the crime of attempting to purchase a firearm. Now the anti-gun crowd says, “See, we stopped 12 mass shootings!” Well, there are problems with that argument.

First of all, do we have no regard for the 112,078 people who were caught up in the poorly run background check system? What happens to those people? Well, the anti-gun crowd couldn’t care less about the people who are falsely denied their 2nd Amendment rights. As well as being falsely labeled a criminal and refused the ability to purchase a gun, good folks who are denied must also jump through hoops, make appeals, and wait.

Then, they have to wait some more because we know how efficient government agencies operate. By some estimates, approximately 80% of the NICS denials are never even appealed, often because the person denied is unable to navigate the appeals process or is unable to afford a lawyer to help them. In the meantime, good people are rendered unarmed and helpless by an unconstitutional process that should never have existed in the first place.

What about the 12 prosecutions in 2017? Were they mass murderers? And if they were, why weren’t they in jail? The background check system is created under the guise of stopping violent criminals from purchasing firearms, but if a person has done something so heinous that they lose their rights, wouldn’t that crime be enough to keep them in jail? And if not, why not? Why are they able to walk among us? It would seem the problem has less to do with guns and more to do with a criminal justice system that works to keep a violent element on our streets. The background check system, however, has been much more effective at preventing law-abiding citizens from possessing firearms than criminals, and we can see that by simply looking at the numbers.

Now, you might remember the anti-gun crowd cheering in the media that the number of firearm purchase denials reached the highest number yet in the year 2021. That year, there were approximately 300,000 background check denials. This was great news to the gun grabbers because all they really care about is disarming their political opposition, but did the percentage of false denials change?

With a huge increase in firearm purchases after the left-wing riots of 2020, the FBI claims that its denial rate is 99.8% accurate. Mysteriously, the Government Accountability Office has still not posted their findings for 2022, but you’re supposed to believe that the FBI went from a .01% success rate to a 99.8% success rate, and you are now safe from false denials. John Lott from the Crime Prevention Research Center has claimed that the exact opposite is true, and approximately 99% of firearm purchase denials are false positives, meaning good people are being denied their rights for no reason.

After watching the NICS system deny thousands of good people over the years, you’re supposed to believe that now, magically, the firearm background check system is functioning as it should. Well, we’re not buying it for a minute. We know the system is falsely denying good people their right to own firearms, and the system needs to be abolished.

Our Founding Fathers didn’t say, “
the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed
 as long as you go through a background check system designed by people who don’t want you to have a gun.”