December 31

1229 – James I, King of Aragon, enters Palma, Spain, completing the retaking of Majorca island during the Reconquista.

1744 – English astronomer James Bradley announces discovery of Earth’s nutation motion or wobble in its rotation.

1775 – During the Revolutionary War, British forces repulse an attack on Quebec by the Continental Army forces under General Richard Montgomery.

1796 – Baltimore, Maryland is incorporated.

1862 – President Lincoln signs an act enabling the admission of West Virginia as a state in the Union, partitioning Virginia.

1878 – Karl Benz, in Mannheim, Germany, files a patent on his 2 stroke internal combustion engine

1879 – Thomas Edison demonstrates incandescent lighting to the public in Menlo Park, New Jersey.

1907 – The first New Year’s Eve celebration is held in Times Square,  Manhattan.

1946 – President Harry S. Truman officially proclaims the end of hostilities in World War II.

1955 – General Motors becomes the first U.S. corporation to make over $1 billion in a year.

1959 – AK Church is born somewhere in eastern Oklahoma.

1983 – The federal consent decree for divestiture into regional independent operating companies of the AT&T Bell System comes into effect.

1991 – All official Soviet institutions are confirmed to have ceased operations in the former Soviet Union

1992 – Czechoslovakia is dissolved into the Czech and the Slovak Republics.

1999 –  Under terms of the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaty, the U.S. cedes control of the Panama Canal and Canal Zone to Panama.

2000 – The last day of the 20th Century and 2nd Millennium.

2010 –  A total of 36 tornadoes touch down in Arkansas, Illinois, and Oklahoma, killing 9 people and causing $113 million in damages.

2019 – The World Health Organization is informed of cases of pneumonia with an unknown cause, detected in Wuhan, China, later classified as SARS COVID-19

2020 – The World Health Organization issues its first emergency use authorization – EUA – for a COVID-19 vaxx.

WOULD-BE CARJACKER SHOT, KILLED IN APPARENT CASE OF SELF-DEFENSE

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — A man is dead after being shot multiple times in Philadelphia’s Pennsport section early Tuesday morning.

Police responded to the 1400 block of S. Front Street around 5 a.m.

When they arrived, they found a man between 18 and 22 years old with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to police, the deceased was one of two individuals who attempted to carjack a 38-year-old man in the former United Artist Theater parking lot.

The victim pulled a weapon and shot one of the would-be carjackers in what police say looks like a case of self-defense.

The shooter did remain at the scene, was briefly detained, and then later released by investigators.

In a surveillance video viewed by Action News, you can see a person run from the direction of the parking lot and then collapse by a utility pole moments later.

About five minutes later, someone approaches the body to seemingly check on the person.

Neighbors who live nearby said they heard what sounded like gunshots during this time.

The noise was so loud that Zion Aregahegn said it woke her out of her sleep.

“I heard a loud boom or a bang kind of sound,” Aregahegn said. “A few seconds later, I heard someone shout. I couldn’t tell what they were saying. It was just-someone shouted.”

Aregahegn said she generally felt safe in the neighborhood but had some recent concerns about activity under the I-95 overpass. She said it was a place where people often parked and used drugs.

She’s called the police in the past but said she got little to no help.

“A lot of people pull up under here to fix their cars and I’ve seen people passed out doing drugs under there,” Aregahegn recalled.

Jordan Lewis, who lives up the street from where the incident happened, said she often passes the area on her morning run.

She said she had noticed people doing drugs under the overpass but never saw or heard of any violence breaking out there.

“Usually, it’s kind of quiet. I run on the trail along the water and there’s a lot of homeless people but they never really bother me or anything like that,” she said.

Lewis said she always tries to be aware of her surroundings but this incident heightened her instincts to be on the lookout even more.

No other details have been released at this time and police are investigating this incident.

December 30

534 – The second and final edition of the Code of Justinian comes into effect in the Byzantine Empire

1066 –  A moslem mob storms the royal palace in Granada, crucifies Jewish vizier Joseph ibn Naghrela and massacres most of the Jewish population of the city.

1813 – British soldiers burn Buffalo New York  during the War of 1812

1816 – The Treaty of St. Louis between the United States and the united Ottawa, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi Indian tribes is ratified, ceding land between Lake Michigan and the Illinois river.

1825 – The Treaty of St. Louis between the United States and the Shawnee Nation is ratified, ceding land around Cape Girardeau Missouri

1853 – The United States completes the Gadsden Purchase, buying land from Mexico to facilitate railroad building in the Southwest.

1890 – Following the Wounded Knee Massacre, Lakota warriors engage U.S. Army troops near White Clay Creek approximately 15 miles  north of Pine Ridge where it was reported that the Lakota had burned the Drexel Mission Church.

1903 – A fire at the Iroquois Theater in Chicago, Illinois kills at least 605 people.

1922 – The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is formed.

1972 – The United States halts mission Linebacker II, the heavy bombing of North Vietnam when Hanoi agrees to return to peace negotiations

1990 – Chief Warrant 4, Gene E, Barner, Missouri National Guard dies, age 51, at home, of cancer.

2006 – Former President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein is executed by hanging

2009 – A suicide bomber kills 9 people at Forward Operating Base Chapman, in Afghanistan.

The Biden Administration Hasn’t Just Abandoned You, It’s Actively Trying to Subject You to Invasion

I have never ‘got’ the affectation of getting one’s body tattooed , but whatever….

I GUESS SHE DIDN’T MEET ANY ‘INNOCENT CIVILIANS’ DURING HER TIME IN GAZA- Sara Hoyt

Freed Israeli hostage Mia Schem ‘went through holocaust’ in Hamas captivity in Gaza: ‘Everyone over there is a terrorist’.

BLUF
It’s too bad none of the scores of journalism contests out there yet offers a fake news category. If one did, the 14 stories chosen by the Trace would be award winners.

The ‘most memorable gun violence journalism of 2023,’ according to the Trace
If there was a Pulitzer category for gaslighting, the stories chosen by the Trace would all be serious contenders.

The Trace, the propaganda arm of former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg’s antigun empire, recently published their picks for “The Most Memorable Gun Violence Journalism of 2023.”

If there was a Pulitzer Prize category for gaslighting or agitprop, the 14 stories highlighted by the Trace would all be serious contenders.

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Honolulu Has Cut Off Gun Sales

Gun sales have been blocked for much of December in Hawaii’s largest city.

That’s what the Hawaii Firearms Coalition, a local gun-rights group, claimed in a statement on Wednesday. It said the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) has advised gun purchase or carry permit applicants they won’t process them without a currently-unattainable training certification. And it’s unclear when those permits might become available again.

“It has been brought to our attention from multiple sources that the Honolulu Police Department, under the guidance of Police Chief Logan, is no longer processing ANY firearms permit applications or concealed carry applications until after the new year, and he has the ability to verify or certify instructors,” the group posted on social media. “The department requires all applications submitted after December 18th to provide proof of instruction by a certified/verified instructor before processing their application.

“The problem?????? He hasn’t certified or verified any instructors.”

The Honolulu Police Department did not return multiple calls seeking comment on the situation.

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Any questions why I call them bureaucraps?

ATF Takes MI Man’s Guns Despite His Expunged Record

No matter how much you hate the ATF, it’s probably not enough.

Besides the fact that a name like “Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives” should be the name of a retail outlet, there’s the fact that they don’t just try to regulate the industry. They actively oppose your right to keep and bear arms.

We’ve seen numerous cases of the bureau trying to infringe on people’s rights, even violating the law in some cases in order to do so.

But their latest stunt is potentially even worse.

The way Jeramy Wilburn sees it, he only messed up once. The poor decision-making of a child shouldn’t determine one’s freedoms for the rest of their life, he argues.

The 34-year-old Allen Park resident was known for making YouTube videos about gun safety. He’s also a fan of sport shooting and until this past November was free to partake.

Then the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agency took away his firearms because of a past domestic violence conviction which happened years ago. This, despite having the conviction expunged in 2022.

Wilburn’s conviction was a misdemeanor in 2008. As punishment, the judge put him on probation and ordered him to take a domestic violence class – no jail time. And in February 2022, that one mistake was wiped from his record.

Wilburn’s record was expunged. Legally speaking, it was like his conviction never happened. It was wiped from his record.

Unfortunately for him, though, the ATF seems to feel otherwise.

But, in a federal lawsuit brought by Wilburn and Morris, the two argue that isn’t the case. They argue Wilburn should be allowed to possess a firearm. But the feds say Wilburn could still be convicted of domestic violence again.

“It’s unfair for them to say he should be forever barred, forever prohibited from carrying a firearm just because he potentially could get a second offense,” said Morris.

Honestly, this is a terrifying argument that, if allowed to stand, could eventually set a precedent for all kinds of other problems.

Could Wilburn be convicted of domestic violence again? Hypothetically, sure. The fact that he’s gone 15 years without doing so suggests what happened was isolated and he’s unlikely to do so again, but it’s also largely irrelevant.

We don’t punish people based on what they might do, only what they’ve done in the past.

Had the conviction not been expunged, that would be one thing, but it was. His record was wiped clean. This is essentially him getting his rights restored, only that probably wasn’t an option since he only had a misdemeanor charge.

Yet let’s understand that taking his guns because he might be convicted of domestic violence again isn’t all that different from deciding you or I can’t have guns because we might get convicted for domestic violence at some point in the future.

They don’t have the authority to do this, which is why Wilburn is taking the ATF to court. I’m glad he’s doing so and I pray that he doesn’t have to wait too long to get his guns back. They never should have been taken from him in the first place based on the facts we know.

So no, it’s probably not possible to hate the ATF enough.

Something to take into real consideration in these times

Is There Strength in Numbers? Critical Considerations When Forming a Mutual Assistance Group

This is not an article on how to form a mutual assistance group. It’s a discussion of the things to consider before trying to form such a group.

When things are tough, it’s usually better to be a member of the pack than a lone wolf. That would seem to be true for a SHTF situation, but it may not be as straightforward as it sounds. Is organizing your neighborhood to work together in an emergency realistic or not? I am not referring to a short-term emergency like everyone being snowed in or the aftermath of a storm. I am talking about the kind of long-term TEOTWAWKI crisis that has long-lasting ramifications for survival.

Organizing people in your community or neighborhood into a mutual assistance survival group (MAG) with the intention of working together in a world-changing crisis is something that warrants a great deal of thought and consideration. Failure to do so could reduce your chances of survival rather than enhancing them.

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December 29

1170 – Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, is assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II

1607 – According to John Smith, Pocahontas, daughter of Powhatan leader Wahunsenacawh, successfully pleads for his life after tribal leaders attempt to kill him.

1778 – During the Revolutionary War, 3000 British soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell capture Savannah, Georgia.

1812 – The USS Constitution, under the command of Captain William Bainbridge, captures HMS Java off the coast of Brazil

1835 – The Treaty of New Echota is signed, ceding all the lands of the Cherokee tribe east of the Mississippi River to the United States.

1845 – In accordance with the International Boundary Delimitation, the United States annexes the Republic of Texas, following the manifest destiny doctrine and is admitted as the 28th state.

1876 – A railroad bridge over the Ashtabula River northeast of Cleveland collapses while the Pacific Express of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway passes over it, killing 92 of the 160 passengers and crew aboard.

1890 – On the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, in South Dakota, 300 Lakota and 31 Army soldiers are killed in battle near Wounded Knee creek when the U.S. troops attempt to disarm the camp.

1934 – Japan renounces the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930 which limited construction of warships and begins to rearm.

1939 – The  prototype of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber makes its first flight.

1949 – KC2XAK of Bridgeport, Connecticut becomes the first Ultra High Frequency television station to operate a daily schedule on UHF channel 24.

1970- The Occupational Safety and Health Act is signed into law by President Nixon, creating bureaucrapacy OSHA

1972 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 401, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, crashes in the Florida Everglades on approach to Miami International Airport, Florida, killing 101 of the 176 passengers and crew aboard.

1975 – A bomb placed by unknown terrorists explodes at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, killing 11 people and injuring 74.

2018 – The lowest recorded temperature of -111C (-167F) is registered by the NOAA-20 satellite in the western Pacific at top of a large storm system.

North Redington Beach Homeowner Shoots Burglar in Defense of Wife and Residence

Detectives from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office are investigating a shooting in North Reddington Beach related to an occupied residential burglary.

On Wednesday, December 27, 2023, at approximately 3:16 a.m., deputies responded to a report of a 51-year-old male, identified as Robert Jackson, yelling on Gulf Boulevard near 164th Avenue.

Subsequently, another 911 call at 3:23 a.m. reported a residential burglary in the 200 block of Bath Club Boulevard North, where deputies found Jackson with a single gunshot wound.

Investigation reveals Jackson, after yelling on Gulf Boulevard, proceeded to break into a home on Bath Club Boulevard, engaging in a physical struggle with a 74-year-old female resident. He used a large rock, smashed through the front window, and entered the residence.

Responding to her distress, her 76-year-old husband shot Jackson in the right shoulder for their safety.

Following the shooting, Jackson unsuccessfully attempted another burglary before being apprehended by deputies.

Transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Jackson faces charges of Burglary with Battery and Attempted Residential Burglary.

Once released, he will be taken to the Pinellas County Jail. Detectives assert this was a random incident with no ongoing threat to the public.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Ohio Prosecutor: Robbers Should Expect to Get Shot

There are some DAs who are very tough on crime and there are others who are soft on crime. It doesn’t matter what city, county, or state you’re in. What matters is the DA in charge of prosecuting crimes in your neck of the woods.

In Ohio, though, there are a few mixed signals being sent by a prosecutor.

You see, she’s opted to prosecute a man who shot a robber trying to rob his store, but she’s also telling criminals that if they’re robbing a place, they should expect to get shot.

An Ohio prosecutor has indicted a smoke shop manager for allegedly shooting to death a 16-year-old boy during a robbery attempt — but warned that people “should expect to be shot” if they target stores.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Melissa Powers filed the charges against the manager, Tony Thacker, 29, for allegedly shooting at would-be robbers as they fled VIP Smoke Shop in Delhi Township on Oct. 20, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.…

“However, I want to make perfectly clear — these retail thefts will not be tolerated. If you try to rob a store, you should expect to be shot,” she added.

Mixed signals, right?

Not necessarily.

What’s omitted in that quote is that the person Thacker shot was, first of all, running away. That means he was no longer a threat. A lot of people think they can shoot someone fleeing, but you can’t do that. They’re no longer threatening you–unless, of course, they’re taking shots at you while running away or something similar–so your right to defend yourself isn’t applicable.

It also seems that Thacker was a prohibited person due to a felony conviction. That also changes the calculus a bit.

But Powers isn’t wrong to warn would-be robbers that if they’re going to commit an act like this, they should expect to be shot.

Robbery is an inherently violent crime in most instances. Law-abiding citizens who exercise their right to keep and bear arms have a right to protect themselves from violent criminals. In a state like Ohio where there are a fair number of gun owners, the risk to criminals becomes very real.

I want them to know that. I want them to understand that. I want them to recognize the very real probability that if they continue down this path, it’s only a matter of time before someone shoots them.

Almost no criminal thinks they’re going to get caught, but quite a few recognize that they’ll be face-to-face with their victim. That means a high likelihood that they’ll be shot.

What happened in Ohio may look like mixed signals, but it’s not because of some extenuating circumstances. Yet it also looks like Powers isn’t really interested in prosecuting armed citizens who act in self-defense, either.

If she were, I suspect she’d not have said what she did, especially knowing how a lot of people throughout the nation would react to it.

Of course, she also said the truth. It’s just a shame that in this day and age, that’s a revolutionary act.

Left-wing activists sue to change public policy where their candidates cannot win

EXCLUSIVE — Left-wing activist organizations are at the forefront of shaping public policy through lawsuits in places where their aligned political candidates are unlikely to win.

A new Alliance for Consumers report obtained by the Washington Examiner shows how groups such as the anti-gun Everytown for Gun Safety or climate change activist group EarthRights International sue companies to advance their policy preferences to circumvent the legislative process.

These organizations often represent local governments in “public nuisance” lawsuits, which are used to claim that the public is generally harmed by the existence of something, such as tobacco, in order to obtain favorable public policy outcomes and massive settlements.

“Public nuisance lawsuits have almost nothing to do with helping consumers, but a lot to do with pushing a left-wing agenda,” Alliance for Consumers executive director O.H. Skinner told the Washington Examiner. “There’s been growing attention to the political donations that these lawsuits help drive toward left-wing candidates.

“More attention needs to be paid to the public interest groups and shadowy nonprofit funding networks, like Arabella Advisors, who staff, finance, and promote these cases,” Skinner continued. “That is what we have done with this report, and we think it illustrates clearly what these lawsuits are really about and why they are a threat.”

The report, which Alliance for Consumers sent to every Republican governor in America on Wednesday, highlights several organizations involved with public nuisance claims that are aimed at altering or circumventing the policy decisions made by those elected to decide them.

Everytown for Gun Safety, a group founded by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg to limit gun rights, has been active in trying to change public policy on guns, including by using its Victory Fund to start a “Demand a Seat” initiative to get its trained activists to run for political office. This year, the group boasted that 17 of its candidates won elections in Virginia alone.

The group launched Everytown Law to focus on being “the largest and most experienced team of litigators in the country dedicated to advancing gun safety in the courts and through the civil and criminal justice systems.”

Everytown has been active in filing lawsuits against gun manufacturers for “contributing to the violent crime epidemic,” as it did when representing Kansas City, Missouri, in a public nuisance complaint in 2020 against the Nevada-based Jimenez Arms and other manufacturers and distributors.

It also represented the city of Chicago when it sued an Indiana gun store because its sales of firearms have “created, exacerbated, and sustained a public nuisance that causes harm to the health, safety, and well-being of Chicago residents.”

The legal wing of the activist organization also trains government lawyers on how to defend limitations to the Second Amendment, and it files direct challenges to laws protecting the right to own and use guns, such as Stand Your Ground laws, which offer some protection for the use of lethal force in self-defense.

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