Category: Business

The Supply Chain and Border Security

There is another threat to the trucking industry, the supply chain and our national security. It is NOT reported in the mainstream media: Foreign truckers — cleared for expedited commercial crossings between Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. — include at least half a dozen drivers who had deep connections to terrorism and drug-smuggling operations. And those are just the ones we know about.

Even when the criminal history of a candidate is available from another U.S. federal law enforcement agency, CBP apparently cannot access it. Instead of rejecting the foreign driver in question out of an abundance of caution, the agency simply rubber-stamps the candidate without additional screening.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says that national supply chain problems are caused by a lack of affordable childcare. While major U.S. ports such as Los Angeles and Baltimore have ships in the harbor waiting to offload cargo, a trucking shortage is delaying offloads and hauling. “Some of those issues,” Buttigieg stated, “may have to do with the availability of truckers, a thousand miles inland. There are a lot of things contributing to this. One of them is childcare, of course, which is why the president’s Build Back Better vision is going to be good for the labor market.”

Over at MSNBC, host Tiffany Cross offered a different analysis of the trucking/supply chain problem. “This is an industry populated by a lot of white men over the age of 55,” she stated. “This group of people overwhelmingly voted for Trump. Some people have talked about aggressive truck drivers cutting them off or not being helpful.”

The trucking shortages in the United States are real. Buttigieg and Cross are entitled to their opinions, of course, but their analyses seem off the mark. There is another threat to the trucking industry, the supply chain and our national security. It is NOT reported in the mainstream media: Foreign truckers — cleared for expedited commercial crossings between Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. — include at least half a dozen drivers who had deep connections to terrorism and drug-smuggling operations.

The disturbing details are outlined in a 34-page report, issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General with redactions to protect information in the original “law enforcement sensitive” version.

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Someone in charge there should have had the smarts to delete that idiotic crossbolt safety.

Marlin’s Return Scheduled For The Holidays

Comments made during Ruger’s quarterly report conference call, which took place the first week of October, indicate Marlins are scheduled to be back on the shelves during the holiday season. The current supply and shipping environment could alter the timing, but enthusiasts interested in getting one of the first produced after the brand’s resurrection by one of the industry’s foremost shouldn’t procrastinate.

“So we’re planning a mid-December launch of the Marlin product line,” Ruger Chief Executive Officer Christopher J. Killoy commented. “…[I]t’ll probably be less than the market wants. In fact, I’m sure based on the overwhelming demand we’ve seen from consumers and retailers, I’m sure it will be fewer guns and fewer SKUs than the market wants, but we will launch it probably on or about December 15, somewhere in that time period, begin those shipments to distributors.”

The earliest offering will be a classic, too. “The first sample that I saw came off the line a few weeks ago and it was a beautiful model, 1895 in 45-70 caliber and it just looked gorgeous,” Killoy said. “So we’re very excited about that and we are on track to that into Q4 launch.”

As for finding any available in mid-December, he cautioned, “And again I expect there’ll be lots of calls and e-mails in…looking for more Marlins because the first samples frankly, were just outstanding.” The above image is an 1895 from the company’s 2006 catalog, and likely doesn’t represent the first ones scheduled to appear.

One caller asked if the Ruger name will appear anywhere on the new Marlin firearms. “No, it won’t be. We’re going to maintain the Marlin brand. We’re very proud of the Marlin brand and its history. We’ve got a couple of things. I think Marlin collectors will be very excited about as far as how we will configure the serial numbers,” Killoy responded. “Some minor changes that we think collectors will enjoy seeing but maintaining that Marlin legacy and the great things about Marlin, particularly the Sapphire lever action guns with some—what we think are some great enhancements. So more to come on that, but we’re very excited about it. We’ve got a good team of operations and product and marketing folks working on that rollout and I think we’re going to have fun with.”

Observation O’ The Day

SloJoe’s puppet masters know this will cause even more problems in the supply chain. It’s being done on purpose, simply to cause more problems, that they hope people will cry out to goobermint to solve.

Comment O’ The Day

This conclusion is inescapable, it is impossible for them to be so wrong by accident.

What a bunch of us have been saying the whole time.

If the Biden Administration were merely incompetent, they’d do some things wrong, a few disastrously so, but they’d also do some things right, a few amazingly so. I envision a standard distribution (a bell curve); most complex issues they’d be mostly neutral or maybe a little off the median, with a few at the extremes where they either really do well or really screw up.
However, that has not been the case.

Instead, they have shown a striking propensity to always trend towards the wrong choice, and they choose the exact worst possible answer alarmingly often. The only exceptions have been cases in which their actions are predetermined by law (read: they MUST take a specific action and have no other option), and even then they try like hell to wriggle out of it. The bell curve is skewed WAY to the left, such that a middling/neutral solution is rare, and doing well is so unlikely as to be almost impossible.

That cannot be a coincidence, and is not adequately explained by random chance or incompetence. Statistically speaking, the only conclusion supported by the numbers is that they are TRYING to do everything wrong.

Federal Judge Grants Injunction on Biden’s Oil, Gas Ban on Federal Lands

A federal judge on Monday issued a nationwide injunction on President Joe Biden’s executive order to halt oil and gas operations on all federal lands in the name of fighting so-called climate change.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry led the lawsuit joined by 12 other states and reacted to the court’s decision, calling it good for America.

“This is a victory not only for the rule of law, but also for the thousands of workers who produce affordable energy for Americans,” Landry said. “The President’s Executive Order abandons middle-class jobs, cripples our economy, and hits everyday Americans where it hurts the most – their pocketbooks.”

Moreover, Landry said Biden’s order actually hurts the environment.

“What’s more it attacks Louisiana’s coast by reducing the revenue and royalties used for coastal restoration and hurricane protection,” Landry said. A press release stated:

In last week’s oral arguments, lawyers from Attorney General Landry’s Office said that Biden Officials cannot legally halt all lease sales because Congress, by statute, has commanded that such lease sales happen on a regular basis. They cited the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the Mineral Leasing Act as explicitly prohibiting the Biden Ban.

“By executive fiat, Joe Biden and his administration have single-handedly driven the price of energy up – costing the American people where it hurts most, in their pocketbooks,” Landry said when the lawsuit was filed. “Biden’s executive orders abandon middle-class jobs at a time when America needs them most and put our energy security in the hands of foreign countries, many of whom despise America’s greatness.”

The lawsuit stated, in part:

The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and Mineral Leasing Act set out specific statutory duties requiring executive agencies to further the expeditious and safe development of the abundant energy. In compliance with those statutes, the Department of the Interior has for decades issued leases for the development of oil and natural gas on public lands and offshore waters.

“For decades, Congress has embraced responsible development of our natural resources as a means of achieving energy independence – a matter of national security,” Landry said. “They have discarded vulnerable dependence on foreign oil, which is why the court should reject the Biden Ban.”

In addition to Louisiana, the following states joined in the lawsuit filed on Wednesday in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.

Biden and other Democrat leftists claim that the fossil fuel industry must be shut down to save the planet from so-called climate change. Under former President Donald Trump, the United States was energy-independent for the first time since 1957 and no longer relied on foreign energy sources.

Since taking office, Biden has not only halted oil and gas production on public lands but also shut down the Keystone XL Pipeline, which created energy and jobs and benefited the economies of numerous western states with public land.

The case is Louisiana v. Biden, 2:21-cv-00778 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.

OSHA Suspends the Implementation and Enforcement of Biden’s Vaccine Mandate

After a series of court rulings halting President Joe Biden’s vaccination mandate for private companies, OSHA has officially suspended the implementation and enforcement of the requirement. The mandate was scheduled to go into effect January 4, 2022.

“On November 12, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted a motion to stay OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard, published on November 5, 2021 (86 Fed. Reg. 61402) (“ETS”). The court ordered that OSHA ‘take no steps to implement or enforce’ the ETS ‘until further court order,'” the OSHA website states. “While OSHA remains confident in its authority to protect workers in emergencies, OSHA has suspended activities related to the implementation and enforcement of the ETS pending future developments in the litigation.”

After a lawsuit was filed by a number of state Attorneys General, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay on November 6, 2021, and said the mandate has “grave statutory and constitutional issues.”

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ATF’s rejection of Michigan CCW permits reversed

Opinion here, from the Sixth Circuit. A win for GOA.

A licensed dealer must perform background checks unless the buyer has a qualifying carrying permit. ATF initially ruled that Michigan permits qualified, then reversed itself. The District Court upheld ATF’s position, but the 6th reversed and remanded for additional fact-finding. I wish the court had reached the Administrative Procedure Act issue, just because ATF has never been good at complying with the APA.

Armslist is hardly the only source of guns in this country.’ Judge dismisses suit against online dealer following Harrison woman’s death

GREEN BAY – A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against an online firearms marketplace by the father of a woman fatally shot by her estranged husband in Harrison in 2018.

Sara Schmidt, 40, a mother of three, was killed by her husband, Robert Schmidt, 49, on Jan. 9, 2018. He shot her in the driveway of his parents’ house, then fled to the backyard, where he took his own life.

Sara Schmidt’s father, Richard Webber, who serves as the administrator of Schmidt’s estate, filed a lawsuit against Armslist, claiming the online firearms marketplace allowed Robert Schmidt to illegally obtain the gun used in the homicide as a result of “reckless and unlawful business practices.”

Robert Schmidt wasn’t allowed to have a gun due to an ongoing domestic violence case — also involving Sara Schmidt. Robert Schmidt used Armslist to connect with a 19-year-old private seller and bought a handgun for $550 in a Walmart parking lot a day before he fatally shot his wife. While federal law requires background checks for sales by licensed gun sellers, no such requirement exists for private sales.

In a decision filed Tuesday, U.S. District Judge William Griesbach dismissed Webber’s lawsuit against Armslist, concluding Robert Schmidt’s actions “constituted a superseding cause, alleviating” Armslist of liability for Sara Schmidt’s death.

“There is no reason to believe that even if Schmidt’s estranged husband had not purchased a gun from a person who posted an advertisement on the Armslist website, Schmidt would still be alive,” Griesbach’s decision says. “Armslist is hardly the only source of guns in this country, and one does not need a gun to take another person’s life.

“Schmidt was killed by a person so determined to take her life, so consumed by hatred, that he was even willing to take his own. The likelihood that such a person would have found another source from which to obtain a firearm or another way to take Schmidt’s life is more plausible than plaintiff’s claim that she would still be alive.”

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A major corporation just openly mocked Kyle Rittenhouse for breaking down while reliving the worst trauma of his life. This is the society we live in now.

Yesterday, while delivering highly charged testimony during his homicide trial, Kyle Rittenhouse broke down sobbing while retelling the events that led to his shooting and killing two people during the Jacob Blake riots last year.

This was the response from Merriam-Webster, a 190-year-old U.S. corporation:

Screen shot in case they delete:

The implication is obvious: Merriam-Webster believes that Kyle Rittenhouse was putting on some sort of performative display of emotion in order to sway the jury during the trial—that his tears were an effort at insincere emotional manipulation and that he deserves everyone’s contempt for it.

Two responses come to mind. The first is that, even if he were so inclined, Kyle Rittenhouse would not actually need to manipulate the jury during his trial. He is plainly innocent of the charges; the trial itself is obviously just a sham affair, and even the prosecution seems to have realized that its case against the young man is in absolute tatters. Rittenhouse is essentially guaranteed to walk; no fake tears would even be necessary.

Perhaps more importantly, Merriam-Webster’s disgraceful, viciously cruel tweet is a sign of a cultural rot so deep and so comprehensive that it is hard to imagine we can ever come back from it.

Kyle Rittenhouse has suffered, and is continuing to suffer, far beyond the ability of most people to comprehend. His own public anguish is completely understandable and should be cause for mass sympathy and compassion. Instead, we have a major corporation gleefully ridiculing him, deriding him at his most vulnerable and miserable, and all to gleeful and ecstatic cheers from countless followers:

This is not normal and it is not healthy. It is not a sign that our culture is degrading; it is a sign that our culture has already degraded, perhaps irrevocably, and that it will only continue to get worse.

I don’t know how to fix this. But a good place to start would be refusing to take part in the kind of savage, unhinged political discourse that marks so much of online life these days. Be better than that. Be better than Merriam-Webster.

If you also feel the urge to throw out all of your Merriam-Webster reference books and never buy another scrap of paper from that sleazy little company, well, nobody’s going to stop you.

Remember, this is RemArms. The Remington firearms manufacturing part that was bought from the bankrupt dead hulk of the company.

A Georgian’s Perspective On Remington Moving Here

Earlier this week, Cam reported on Remington moving to Georgia. They’re leaving the gun-controlled “paradise” of New York and heading somewhere that firearms are actually appreciated. That place is the generally Second Amendment-loving state of Georgia.

Now, I don’t live too close to LaGrange, so it’s unlikely I’ll see any of the economic benefits from Remington’s relocation, but this is still fantastic news for my home state.

Remington will join companies like Glock, H&K, Daniel Defense, and a number of smaller operations as having a presence here, and I actually expect to see more move this way.

See, the problem is that so many companies are located in states that literally hate what they do. Manufacturing firearms in states that loathe the right to keep and bear arms makes no sense to me. It’s a complete mystery why anyone sticks around in such a state when it’s clear the state doesn’t care about your business.

It just makes sense to relocate to a state that will actually value what you bring to the table.

Let’s be honest, 850 jobs are nothing to sneeze at. That’s a lot of people, and while it may be overstated–these things usually are, from what I’ve seen–that still means a lot of new jobs. I’m only bothered by the fact that Remington didn’t come to Albany where we actually need those jobs.

But it’s still a win for the state as a whole, and, over time, I think we’ll be able to lure other companies here. We’re more than happy to have the companies that provide the tools we use to keep and bear arms here. We think they’re great and are more than happy to have them.

As for the states losing them, well, you have only yourselves to blame. Those people who are losing their jobs? They’re losing it because you made it clear you didn’t value the businesses that employed them. You made it difficult for them to sell guns locally, which may not seem like a big deal, it’s still a signal that you don’t want them around.

You can’t really be surprised when they take that to heart, now can you?

That’s OK. We here in Georgia are more than happy to have them.

Well, I really don’t like the idea of someone using illicit drugs while operating a loaded 18-wheeler, so……….

Supply chain stalled by 72,000 truckers who failed strict drug tests

A dire truck driver shortage that’s wreaking havoc on the US economy is getting worse — and it’s being fueled partly by tough federal drug-testing restrictions that were imposed nationwide last year, industry officials told The Post.

More than 72,000 truck drivers have been taken off US roads since January 2020 because they have failed drug tests that are now required by the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse, a 22-month-old registry established to increase safety on US highways, according to government data.

That’s a big number, considering that the American Trucking Association — which also blames the pandemic and a lack of younger drivers, among other factors — recently pegged the industry’s overall driver shortfall at 80,000, up from 60,800 in 2018 and 50,700 in 2017.

“It’s a staggering number of drivers we have lost” because of the new drug-testing rules, Jeremy Reymer, chief executive of industry recruiter DriverReach, told The Post.

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Remember, this is RemArms, one part of the old bankrupt Remington that  Roundhill Group LLC, bought.

Gov. Kemp: Remington Firearms to Locate Global Headquarters, Open New Advanced Manufacturing Facility, World-class Research and Development Center in LaGrange

Atlanta, GA – Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced Remington Firearms (RemArms), America’s oldest firearms manufacturer, will locate its global headquarters and open a new advanced manufacturing operation as well as a world-class research and development center in LaGrange, Georgia. Through these projects, RemArms will invest $100 million and create 856 jobs over a five-year period in Troup County.

“Georgia’s firearms industry is responsible for thousands of jobs and millions of dollars of investment in our communities,” said Governor Kemp. “I am a proud owner of some of Remington’s first-class product, and now, I am excited to welcome them to their new home in the Peach State. As yet another big manufacturing win for our state, I look forward to seeing the oldest firearms manufacturer in America thrive in Georgia’s pro-business environment.”

Founded in 1816, Remington Firearms is one of the United States’ largest domestic producers of shotguns and rifles. Several of the company’s strategic products will be manufactured in Georgia. The new headquarters will also become home to an innovative research and development center.

“We are very excited to come to Georgia, a state that not only welcomes business but enthusiastically supports and welcomes companies in the firearms industry,” said Ken D’Arcy, RemArms CEO. “Between the support we’ve received from the state and from Scott Malone and Kelley Bush of the City of LaGrange Economic Development Authority, we cannot wait to expand our company in Georgia. Everyone involved in this process has shown how important business is to the state and how welcoming they are to all business, including the firearms industry.”

The company will be hiring for positions in production, operations, engineering, and management, as well as careers in HR, finance, and administration in Remington’s onsite executive offices. For more information, please visit www.remarms.com.

“I am thrilled to welcome Remington Firearms to the growing list of manufacturers who call LaGrange home,” said Mayor of LaGrange Jim Thornton. “The Remington name has long been associated with great products, and I know they will continue that tradition and be very successful here. I applaud the partnership with Governor Kemp and the economic development teams at the state and at the city that help attract great companies to our community.”

The Georgia Department of Economic Development was represented in this competitive project by Senior Project Manager Taylor Kielty in partnership with the LaGrange Economic Development Authority, Georgia Power, and Georgia Quick Start.

“For more than two centuries, Remington Arms has been a part of the fabric of our country, and for many of us who grew up with a strong connection to the outdoors and a love of outdoor sports, a trusted brand like Remington has been interwoven into our lives,” said GDEcD Commissioner Pat Wilson. “This makes it all the more exciting for us to see Remington Firearms locate their global headquarters and advanced manufacturing operations to Georgia where they will join a strong community of great companies who call this state home. Many thanks to our economic development partners in Troup County for helping the state win this project, which will undoubtedly have a sizeable economic impact on LaGrange and surrounding communities.

The rest of the article is an uninteresting rehash. The last paragraph before the break is what I wanted to point out.
A picture of a filled out vaccine card on your phone?
Please.
If that’s all that’s required, there is no mandate, but a charade.
Just like most security Kabuki theater.

Vaccine proof required as strict mandate takes effect in LA

Restaurant host Joey Tyler, right, verifies arriving patrons’ Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Records at French restaurant Petit Trois in Los Angeles on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021. A vaccine mandate that is among the strictest in the country takes effect Monday, Nov. 8, in Los Angeles, requiring proof of shots for everyone entering a wide variety of businesses from restaurants to shopping malls and theaters to nail and hair salons.

LOS ANGELES — People entering a wide variety of businesses in the city of Los Angeles began having to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination on Monday as one of the country’s strictest measures intended to slow spread of the coronavirus took effect.

The new rule covers businesses ranging from restaurants to shopping malls and theaters to nail and hair salons

At Blue Bottle Coffee in the Los Feliz neighborhood, a sign on the front door reminds patrons that they must show proof of vaccination if they want to eat indoors.

Manager Matthew Cadena said the morning rush was mostly smooth as customers handed over their vaccine cards or showed photos of them on their cellphones. Some patrons had put an image of their vaccine card on their phones’ home screen.

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Biden Considers Killing Another US Pipeline as Oil Crisis Continues.

As gas prices continue to skyrocket and the feckless President of the United States continues to blame Russia and OPEC for the U.S. oil shortage he and he alone created — on purpose — on day one of his installation in the Oval Office, by killing the Keystone XL Pipeline.

Joe Biden is weighing shutting down another oil pipeline, which would all but guarantee further increased fuel prices in the affected region.

As reported by Daily Wire, the Biden administration is reportedly gathering data on a Michigan-based pipeline that delivers oil from western Canada across Wisconsin, the Great Lakes, and Michigan, and into Ontario.

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23andMe Collected People’s DNA Under the Guise of One Purpose But Will Monetize it for Another

Cynics will say that nothing says “trusted neighborhood doctor” quite like a company that is a cross between Big Pharma and Big Tech – but apparently Anne Wojcicki’s 23andMe wants to be perceived as having the characteristics of all three.

The company, best known for harvesting genetic data from millions of Americans via spit tests that produced questionably useful information to the customers, recently went public, and now the serious side of its business is emerging – using all that data to develop new drugs and usher in the era of a new kind of Big Pharma that relies on Big Tech strategies of collecting data and monetizing it.

It hasn’t exactly been a secret that this was the plan all along, as a report in Bloomberg now shows, citing Wojcicki’s early pitch to investors. This is not unlike what Wojcicki’s former husband, Sergey Brin, did with Google: it started out as a search engine, that once it had enough personal data harvested from users, became a massive advertising company.

As with Google and other similar companies that scoop up personal information, it remains unclear (and to be seen) how well-aware 23andMe customers are of what they do when they agree to allow the company to use data derived from their DNA samples for any purpose. What those buying 23andMe spit kits get is a genetic makeup analysis version of an online personality quiz – but what the company has gotten from them is now enough to take it to the next level of collaborating on trials to develop new drugs.

Unsurprisingly from the PR point of view, the one type of drug that 23andMe has been happy to mention it is working on is, basically, “a cure for cancer” – rather a compound that could be used to produce treatment, that might help in eliminating cancer.

But the company was not so forthcoming when it came to other drugs it plans to work on, except to say they would be used to treat, among others, neurological and cardiovascular diseases. Judging by 23andMe’s latest acquisition, Lemonaid Health, it is also interested in mental disorders such as depression and anxiety, and sexually transmitted diseases.

Another ‘Second Highest’ record month for NICS.
Again, of course, pointing out that it would be a new record if not for the anomaly of last year’s ‘super records’.

Hornady will comply with the vaccine mandat

ahhhhhhhhhhhh.