Frankly, no one that isn’t in the military — this is a weapon of war — or a trained police department, in my view, no one in America who isn’t in one of those two situations should own an automatic weapon. There is no reason to own one of those.
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (demoncrap)

Germans who wish to use firearms should join the SS or the SA. Ordinary citizens don’t need guns, as their having guns doesn’t serve the State.
― German Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler (NAZI)

 

Burglary suspect shot by homeowner in Aurora (Colorado)
The homeowner was notified of the attempted burglary through a home security camera, according to police.

AURORA, Colo. — A homeowner shot and injured an intruder in their detached garage early Monday in Aurora, police said.

Aurora Police interviewed the homeowner Monday morning and released him, saying they don’t expect any charges.

That does not mean the investigation is over, police said. Investigators will report their findings to the District Attorney’s Office, which is standard practice. The District Attorney’s Office determines what, if any, charges will be filed.

The shooting happened in the 1200 block of Moline Street. About 4:49 a.m., the homeowner confronted a man breaking into his detached garage and shot him. The suspect was taken to the hospital and remains there with life-threatening injuries, police said.

The homeowner reported a similar break-in on Saturday, where he said about $400 worth of items were stolen. After the break-in, the homeowner told police, he bought and installed cameras in his garage, which is what tipped him off to Monday’s break-in.

The homeowner told police that he confronted the person in his garage, which resulted in an altercation. That’s when the homeowner shot the intruder, police said.

What’s Going on With HPA, SHORT Act As of Right Now

There’s a lot going on at the moment regarding the Hearing Protection Act and the SHORT Act. We all know that the House Ways and Means Committee essentially gutted those two measures and gave us scraps. We’ve talked a lot about what happened, and there’s no need to rehash it.

But the current status is something else.

On Tuesday, I spoke with Ben Sanderson, the deputy federal director of Gun Owners of America, about where things stand as of this moment for my personal YouTube channel.

During our chat, Sanderson suggested that the Rules Committee hearing could be delayed, rather than kicking off at one this morning.

Well, that didn’t seem to happen, as they’re still meeting at the time of me writing this. As a result, some of the information in there is a tad outdated–calling Rules Committee members now and asking them to do something in committee is probably not going to be useful, for example–but there’s a lot to understand.

If you’re confused, there’s a reason. This is kind of a confusing process, but it’s one that’s necessary and has the added benefit of being something that can’t be filibustered in the Senate.

However, both the SHORT Act and the Hearing Protection Act had to be worded carefully so they could be in the budgetary process. The Byrd Rule basically requires that anything tacked onto the budget have to involve revenue in some manner. That actually makes some sense, which is weird for Congress, so GOA worked to craft the language in both of these bills.

Sanderson told me that the $0 for tax stamps and nothing else came from Rep. David Kustoff of Tennessee, and there have been some rumblings of him facing a primary challenge because of it.

Honestly, that’s legit, and it’s something I’ve been advocating for a fair bit lately.

Now, with the Rules Committee meeting as I write this, it might not be useful to make phone calls to your congresscritters and make demands for actions in the rules committee–for those who are on it–but there’s still a lot of politics left no matter what happens today. Call your representatives and senators. Call them and make your voice heard, because even if nothing happens in the House, there’s still the Senate process, where both the HPA and SHORT Act can be included, then reconciled between the two chambers.

Sanderson noted that this isn’t remotely the most controversial element to the budget battle, which means there’s every opportunity to slide this in and get it to stay there.

All we need are some members of Congress, other than the small handful that have already signed onto these measures as they stood.

Call your representatives and pester them. Email them. Make yourself a burden. Make sure you expect them to vote for this and if not, you’ll back any primary challenger they have.

And then we need people to step up and challenge these lawmakers. Then we need to back them with time and treasure. If yours steps up and does the right thing, throw some money at challengers in other districts.

It’s not enough to be anti-gun control anymore. It’s time for them to be pro-gun.

If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten you labeled a radical 50 years ago, a liberal 25 years ago, and a racist today.
—Thomas Sowell

More than one, in fact

Unknown Species of Bacteria Discovered in China’s Space Station.

Swabs from China’s Tiangong space station reveal traces of a bacterium unseen on Earth, with characteristics that may help it function under stressful environmental conditions hundreds of kilometers above the planet’s surface.

Naming their discovery after the station, researchers from the Shenzhou Space Biotechnology Group and the Beijing Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering say the study of Niallia tiangongensis and similar species could be “essential” in protecting astronaut health and spacecraft functionality over long missions.

The swabs were taken from a cabin on board the space station in May 2023 by the Shenzhou-15 crew as part of one of two surveys by the China Space Station Habitation Area Microbiome Programme.

Follow-up studies have traced the growth of microbes that inhabit the space station environment, revealing a microbiome that differs in both composition and function from the one found on the International Space Station.
The new species appears to be a close cousin to a known strain called Niallia circulans – a rod-shaped, soil-dwelling bacterium that just a few years ago was reallocated to a new genus classification, having previously been regarded as a pathogenic form of Bacillus.

Like species of Bacillus, N. circulans and its space-faring relatives pack their essential chemistry into hardy spores to survive times of great stress. It’s not clear whether N. tiangongensis evolved on the station or arrived in spore form with at least a few of its distinguishing features in place.

According to the recently published analysis on its genes and functions, the new species has a unique ability to break down gelatin as a source of nitrogen and carbon, a knack that comes in handy when it needs to construct a protective coat of biofilm to bunker beneath when conditions get a little rough.

On the other hand, it seems to have lost the ability to utilize other energy-packed substances its cousins happily chow down on.

Not only does this reveal Niallia can be a diverse bunch of microorganisms, it demonstrates how readily some varieties of bacterium can make themselves right at home in our orbiting habitats.

There’s also not a great deal we can do about it. An examination of the ‘clean rooms’ NASA used to prepare the Mars Phoenix mission revealed dozens of microbe strains belonging to 26 novel species.

A recent study of these novel bacteria found their amazing ability to survive conditions we would assume to make the environment sterile came down to genes linked to DNA repair and resistance to levels of substances other microbes would find toxic.

Knowing thy enemy is clearly a significant step towards dealing with them. If we can’t prevent their existence or their ability to adapt, it is vital we can predict how microbes will adjust to living in space.

It’s yet to be determined whether Niallia tiangongensis poses any threat to the health of Tiangong’s astronauts, but given its cousin’s ability to cause sepsis in immunocompromised patients and its newfound ability to break down gelatin, the potential for health problems from this and other space microbes is a serious issue.

With eyes on launching missions to the Moon and beyond, it’s never been more important to know how the tiny passengers sharing our space may be suited to a life far from home.

BLUF:
They knew he was mentally aloof—a cancer diagnosis would be the ballgame. The latter happened no matter what, so I think it’s time to own it. We all know how this movie ends, kids. This con job is over. You lied. You tried to keep a mentally degraded man suffering from cancer in office. Not only that, but you were also preparing for him to die if re-elected.
A sacrifice on the altar of Democratic politics. These people are savages.

There’s No Way This Latest Statement From Biden’s Team About the Cancer Diagnosis Is True

Former President Joe Biden revealed that he was diagnosed with stage four metastatic prostate cancer on Sunday. It set off another wave of scrutiny regarding a man whose health issues were covered up by Democrats and the media. It’s why this story isn’t going away—cancer diagnosis or not. The levels of this scheme to deceive the public and perpetuate fraud are beyond criminal. We knew the mental health cover-up was sinister, finally exposed for all to see when Biden imploded against Donald Trump in the CNN debate last June.

Now, we have this cancer news. Was Joe sick when he was president? The answer is ‘yes.’ There’s no way prostate cancer that metastasizes to your bones is on a 100-200-day timeline. That’s scientifically impossible; Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel even noted on MSNBC that Biden likely had cancer at the start of his presidency. The former president was not only mentally cooked but had cancer, and no one knew.

The Biden team is trying to do damage control now, adding that Joe was not diagnosed while serving as president. Yeah, because you people never tested him. His last prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test was done in 2014. I’m sure you know the obvious problem: These people lie. They’ve lied for years, and we’re supposed to trust them now. Please. This little statement will do nothing since it’s clear Biden wasn’t tested in office for an obvious reason: they didn’t want a paper trail.

Continue reading “”

Third Street Promenade shopkeeper fatally shoots man during attempted robbery

A shoe store owner shot and killed a man Sunday night during an attempted robbery on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, according to police.

The shooting unfolded around 9:30 p.m., the Santa Monica Police Department announced in a news release. The owner of the shoe store, Sole & Laces, was carrying out an after-hours sale with a customer when the attempted robbery took place, according to property manager John Alle.

A second person, who allegedly knew the customer taking part in the private sale, entered the store and pepper-sprayed the owner, according to police. There was a struggle and the store owner, who had a legally owned gun, shot the suspect, police said.

The suspect was taken to a local hospital and later died from his injuries, police said.

The customer who arranged for the private sale, later identified as Karen Melikyan , 41, was arrested on suspicion of being involved in the attempted robbery, according to authorities. He was booked on suspicion of murder, robbery and conspiracy, police said.

The name of the person killed in the shooting was not released pending notification to the kin. The incident appears to be targeted and involved people who knew each other, police said. “There is no ongoing threat to the public,” the Santa Monica Police Department said in a news release.

Police said the shopkeeper, who was also not identified, is cooperating with the authorities.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Criticisms of the Military’s XM7 Rifle Spill Into the Open

When it comes to those of us who choose our own rifles, it’s possible to get the “perfect” gun. We each have our own wants, needs, and and preferences we can accommodate. Only the thickness of our wallets limit how satisfied we can ultimately be. Hunters, target shooters, people defending their families, and many law enforcement officers can pick the platform, choose the caliber, and select the accessories that will ride on it.

But the United States Army doesn’t get to do that. No matter how many wants and needs the military may specify in its procurement process, they still need to come up with a “one size fits most” solution. Sure, every soldier could theoretically build their own rifle that fits their tastes and the needs of their particular job, but that would make things far too expensive and complicated logistically. Worse, the military has to be prepared to go up against the mass manufacturing power of China, so volume has to be an important consideration, too.

The military’s answer in its search for a next generation rifle has been the XM7. Unlike the intermediate cartridge M16 and M4 rifles, the plan this time was to pack in a lot more pep, even at the cost of how much ammunition a given soldier can carry into the fight. That decision has, of course, led to inevitable comparisons with the M14 rifle, and virtual barrels of digital ink have been spilled criticizing the philosophy of battle rifles versus the intermediate-cartridge rifles virtually every military has shifted to since World War II.

But, despite widespread criticism, the Army has gone all-in on defending the brass’s choice of the XM7. The first soldiers to experiment with the weapon, we’ve been told, gave it glowing reviews. Then, subsequent units that picked it up had nothing but good to say about it. This led public opinion to waver a bit. Maybe the brass was right if all of the grunts love it…right?

It turns out that (as is often the case) we may not have been told the whole story. This video by Cappy Army goes into great detail on what the public and lawmakers were told about the XM7 versus what was actually said when soldiers were handed a copy of the rifle.

In short, the soldiers weren’t big fans. The rifle certainly has some upsides, and legitimate praise for it was passed on to the public. But, when anyone had something negative to say about the gun, that part got left out of press releases, reports, and other materials the public was given. As happens these days, many soldiers then took their unedited and uncensored feedback online, while a few more stubborn and brave officers decided to push against the chain of command to look at both the good and the bad.

The video itself is worth watching, but in a nutshell, it’s a mix of “the M14 haters were right,” technical problems with the gun (sloppy accuracy, jams, cases coming apart), and problems with overheating cans and faulty “smart” optics. Worst of all, feature bloat has led to the weapon weighing several pounds more than the old M14 ever did. There’s more recoil and reduced barrel life. And then there’s the fact that soldiers can only carry about two-thirds as many rounds into combat as they can for an M16/M4.

When faced with a captain’s report detailing these criticisms and calling the rifle “unfit” for its intended use, SIG SAUER said that he wasn’t close enough to the program and its goals to understand it. The company also made it clear that the rifle’s development isn’t yet fully complete, and that problems will still be resolved.

Again, it’s very much worth reading about the issues and responses to them in depth and watching the video above. I’m just scratching the surface here.

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Numerous Gun Rights Groups Unite in Open Letter Calling for NFA Reform

Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee really screwed us.

The reduction of the $200 tax stamp for suppressors to nothing is, at best, a good start. However, it’s also not the biggest problem with suppressors, at least in my mind. A couple hundred bucks more for a product is a pain, sure, but the paperwork, the pleading with the crown for a scrap of your rights, and the permanent registration of the device are the bigger issues to me.

It’s why I’ve never gone down that particular road.

And we had a chance to address that.

Well, to be fair, we still do, but that’s not going to happen without a lot of pressure.

To that end, an open letter is circulating calling for NFA reform that we can all rally behind that has a butt-ton of state-level gun rights groups as signatories.

Open Letter to Reform the National Firearms Act

May 17, 2025

The Honorable Jodey C. Arrington
Chairman, House Committee on Budget, U.S. House of Representatives
1111 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-4319

The Honorable Virginia Foxx
Chairman, House Committee on Rules, U.S. House of Representatives
2462 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-3305

Rep. Arrington, Rep. Foxx, members of the House committees on Budget and Rules:

As leaders of the undersigned organizations, we demand immediate inclusion of portions of the Hearing Protection Act (H.R. 404) and the Stop Harassing Owners of Rifles Today (SHORT) Act (H.R. 2395) in the forthcoming reconciliation bill. These critical pieces of legislation address longstanding, unjust restrictions imposed by the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934, which infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans. The failure to incorporate these bills into the reconciliation package would represent a profound missed opportunity to restore individual liberty, protect public health, and uphold constitutional guarantees.

The Hearing Protection Act (H.R. 404), introduced by Representative Ben Cline (R-VA-06), seeks to remove firearm suppressors from the NFA’s burdensome regulatory framework, replacing it with a streamlined purchase process for typical accessories. Suppressors, contrary to popular misconceptions, do not silence firearms but significantly reduce noise levels, mitigating the risk of permanent hearing loss for shooters and hunters. The American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery has endorsed suppressors as effective tools for preventing hearing damage, a public health concern affecting millions of Americans. The current NFA requirements — including a $200 tax stamp for both manufacture and transfer of the devices, extensive paperwork, and excessive waiting times — serve no meaningful public safety purpose while imposing undue financial and administrative burdens on responsible citizens. With over 4.8 million suppressors in civilian circulation, their widespread use underscores the need for reform.

Similarly, the SHORT Act (H.R. 2395) addresses the arbitrary NFA classification of short-barreled rifles (SBRs) and short-barreled shotguns (SBSs), which subjects them to the same onerous regulations as transferable machine guns and other highly restricted devices. This outdated framework, rooted in 1930s-era fears of organized crime, lacks relevance in the modern context, where SBRs and SBSs pose no greater threat than standard rifles or shotguns. The SHORT Act would delist these firearms from the NFA, eliminating unnecessary barriers to ownership and ensuring that law-abiding Americans are not penalized for exercising their constitutional rights.

Language compliant with the U.S. Senate “Byrd rule” (2 U.S.C. 644) is circulating the Second Amendment community and should be incorporated in the current budget reconciliation package. The urgency of including this language in the reconciliation package cannot be overstated. Recent reports indicate that the House Ways and Means Committee has delayed action on both H.R. 404 and H.R. 2395, potentially due to lobbying efforts that prioritize commercial interests over the public good. Such delays are unacceptable, particularly when public sentiment, as reflected in numerous grassroots calls to action, overwhelmingly supports NFA reform. The reconciliation process offers a unique opportunity to bypass Senate filibuster constraints, ensuring that these common-sense reforms reach the House floor and become law. Failure to seize this moment risks further entrenching an antiquated and unconstitutional regulatory regime.

Opponents of these reforms, such as Michael Bloomberg’s “Everytown for Gun Safety,” argue that suppressor deregulation poses public safety risks by making gunfire less detectable. This claim is false and ignores the reality that suppressors reduce, but do not eliminate, firearm noise. Moreover, homemade suppressors are readily accessible to those with criminal intent.

The public safety argument against SBR deregulation is equally baseless, as these firearms are functionally identical to their longer-barreled counterparts. These objections, often rooted in fearmongering rather than evidence, should not override the constitutional rights of millions of Americans.

The Second Amendment unequivocally protects the right to keep and bear arms, and the NFA’s restrictive provisions—originally enacted to combat gang violence nearly a century ago—have long outlived their utility. The Hearing Protection Act and the SHORT Act represent measured, practical steps toward aligning federal law with contemporary realities and constitutional principles. Their inclusion in the reconciliation bill is not merely a policy preference but a moral and legal imperative.

We, the signatories, therefore, demand that the House Committee on Rules and the committee on Budgets act decisively to ensure that the publicly available, broadly supported, modified language of H.R. 404 and H.R. 2395 are incorporated into the reconciliation package in their entirety, without dilution or compromise. The American people deserve legislation that respects their rights, promotes public health, and dismantles unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles. We strongly urge you to heed the calls of millions of gun owners and Second Amendment advocates who have made their voices clear. The time for action is now.

Respectfully,

F. Paul Valone
President, Grass Roots North Carolina
Exec. Director, Rights Watch International

Gary Marbut, President
Montana Shooting Sports Association

Philip Van Cleave, President
Virginia Citizens Defense League

Sean Caranna, Executive Director
Florida Carry, Inc.

Tom King, President
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association.

Rep. JR Hoell, President
New Hampshire Firearms Coalition, Inc.

Kevin Starrett, Director
Oregon Firearms Federation

Mike Duralia, President
South Carolina Carry

Kevin Patrick, Jr., Acting President
West Virginia Citizens Defense League

Matthew Andras, President
Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners

Mark W. Pennak, President
Maryland Shall Issue

Richard Pearson, Exec. Director
Illinois State RIFLE Association

Kimberly Morin, President
Women’s Defense League of NH

Klint Macro, President
Allegheny County Sportsmen’s League

Rich Kerlin, President
Beaver County Sportsmen’s Conservation League

Blaine Toy, President
Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania

Rob Pincus, Director
2nd Amendment Organization

Dianna Muller, President
Women for Gun Rights

J.R. Stoker Jr., President
Firearms Owners Against Crime Institute

Dr. Joe Hannon, VP
Gun Owners of New Hampshire

Dennis Fusaro, Member*
Legislative Policy Committee,
BOD National Rifle Association

Jon Richardson, Member*
BOD National Rifle Association

Bryan Strawser, Chair
Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus

David Adams, Exec. Director
Virginia Shooting Sports Association

Laura Whitcomb, President
Gun Owners of Maine.

Holly Sullivan, President
Connecticut Citizens Defense League

John C. Poole II, Exec. Director,
Texas State Rifle Association

Charles Hiltunen, President
Indiana State Rifle and Pistol Association

Rocky Marshall
Boerne, TX

Eric Davis, President
Gun Owners of Vermont

Linda Walker, President
Buckeye Firearms Association

Jeffrey Kaufman, MD, BoD
VT Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs

Chris Bradley, President
VT Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs

Huey Laugesen, Exec. Director
Colorado State Shooting Association

James D Jones, Secretary and Board Member BamaCarry
*(title for identification only)

Yes, this is long, but it’s worth every minute of it.

Normally, I wouldn’t include the signatories, but the plethora of gun rights groups represented here makes it imperative that I include them. For those whose organizations aren’t on this letter, who would like to be included, reach out to Rep. J. R. Hoell of New Hampshire at RepJRHoell@gmail.com  for inclusion.

Now, let’s understand what’s important here. These grassroots organizations represent a lot of voters. These aren’t people who joined the NRA when they were 16, got a life membership, and haven’t paid attention to gun rights since then. Or, to be sure, some other group that they joined, then promptly ignored. I’m not picking on the NRA here, but pointing out that some people join some national organization and figure that’s enough fighting for them. They’ve done their part.

These are the boots on the ground. These are the fighters in the various states.

And it’s pretty clear that these people want more than just a nullification of the tax stamp’s cost. The fact that we have to get a tax stamp at all is the major issue, and we want the Hearing Protection Act and the Stop Harassing Owners of Rifles Today Act, as they were written, as part of the budget process.

The anti-gunners have pulled this stunt repeatedly, putting various measures into the budget process because they know how difficult it is to vote against the budget for either side, and they get what they want through the back door. We can and should use this same process against them.

But we need lawmakers with a spine to step up and do what’s right for a change, and not just try to throw us scraps, and not even scraps from the king’s table, but the peasant’s.

That won’t happen unless we, the voters, pressure them. They need to be afraid that if they don’t put this language in the budget that they’ll be out of a job well before the general election.

Turn up the heat, and do it fast enough that they jump.