Just me, but I wonder why there weren’t lots of militia uniformed, “protesters” piled up dead just inside that gate they crashed.
The moslems there won’t think any less of us than they already do, and since that culture only recognizes and respects strength and power; turning those protesters into bloody rag bags doesn’t bother me in the least and would provide a suitable example for anyone else considering similar actions.
Dozens of angry Iraqi Shiite militia supporters broke into the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Tuesday after smashing a main door and setting fire to a reception area, prompting tear gas and sounds of gunfire.
An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw flames rising from inside the compound and at least three U.S. soldiers on the roof of the main building inside embassy. There was a fire at the reception area near the parking lot of the compound but it was unclear what had caused it. A man on a loudspeaker urged the mob not to enter the compound, saying: “The message was delivered.”
The embassy attack followed deadly U.S. airstrikes on Sunday that killed 25 fighters of the Iran-backed militia in Iraq, the Kataeb Hezbollah. The U.S. military said it was in retaliation for last week’s killing of an American contractor in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base that it had blamed on the militia.
Dozens of protesters pushed into the compound after smashing the gate used by cars to enter the embassy. The protesters, many in militia uniform, stopped in a corridor after about 5 meters (16 feet), and were only about 200 meters away from the main building. Half a dozen U.S. soldiers were seen on the roof of the main building, their guns were pointed at the protesters.
Smoke from the tear gas rose in the area, and at least three of the protesters appeared to have difficulties breathing. It wasn’t immediately known whether the embassy staff had remained inside the main building.
The protesters hanged a poster on the wall: “America is an aggressor.”
Earlier, the mob shouted “Down, Down USA!” as the crowd tried to push inside the embassy grounds, hurling water and stones over its walls. They raised yellow militia flags and taunted the embassy’s security staff who remained behind the glass windows in the gates’ reception area and also sprayed graffiti on the wall and windows. The graffiti, in red in support of the Kataeb Hezbollah, read: “Closed in the name of the resistance.”
Also, hundreds of angry protesters set up tents outside the embassy. As tempers rose, the mob set fire to three trailers used by security guards along the embassy wall.
No one was immediately reported hurt in the rampage and security staff had withdrawn to inside the embassy earlier, soon after protesters gathered outside.
Seven armored vehicles with about 30 Iraqi soldiers arrived near the embassy hours after the violence erupted, deploying near the embassy walls but not close to the breached area.
There was no immediate comment from the Pentagon and the State Department on the breach of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
The U.S. airstrikes — the largest targeting an Iraqi state-sanctioned militia in recent years — and the subsequent calls by the militia for retaliation, represent a new escalation in the proxy war between the U.S. and Iran playing out in the Middle East.
Tuesday’s attempted embassy storming took place after mourners and supporters held funerals for the militia fighters killed in a Baghdad neighborhood, after which they marched on to the heavily fortified Green Zone and kept walking till they reached the sprawling U.S. Embassy there.
AP journalists then saw the crowd as they tried to scale the walls of the embassy, in what appeared to be an attempt to storm it, shouting “Down, down USA!” and “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday’s strikes send the message that the U.S. will not tolerate actions by Iran that jeopardize American lives.
The Iranian-backed Iraqi militia had vowed Monday to retaliate for the U.S. military strikes. The attack and vows for revenge raised concerns of new attacks that could threaten American interests in the region.
Once again, a U.S. embassy has come under an attack orchestrated by Iranian terrorists – but this time it is our embassy in Baghdad in Iraq rather than in the Iranian capital of Tehran as in 1979, when Iranian revolutionaries captured the U.S. Embassy and held 52 American hostage for 444 days.
Several dozen Iraqi Shiite militia members forced their way into the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad Tuesday setting fires and causing other damage, angered by weekend U.S. airstrikes that killed members of an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq.
We must maintain control of our embassy in Baghdad. A U.S. official told Fox News that 100 Marines are being sent to the embassy to increase security.
President Trump is wisely standing firm, tweeting Tuesday to explain the American airstrikes and to deliver a sharp warning to the governments of both Iran and Iraq: “Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many,” the president tweeted. “We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible. In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified!”
The president’s tweet is a welcome display of U.S. resolve, but more than a tweet is needed to show Iran it cannot attack the U.S. embassy with impunity. It’s time for an American military response.
A new gun law in Tennessee will make it easier for people to obtain a concealed carry permit.
The legislation signed by Governor Bill Lee earlier this year creates a new concealed carry handgun permit with less stringent training requirements than the traditional permit. The original permit will be known as an “enhanced” permit and keep the same eight-hour course requirement. The new handgun permit will require a ninety-minute course than can be completed online. No hands-on training is needed.
Clarksville gun store owner James Allen said the bill allows potentially unsafe gun owners to obtain a permit. He said training requirements under the new law are too lax.
“There’s no hands-on training on proper safety and how to hold a gun, how to shoot a gun and when to shoot a gun,” Allen said. “It’s a stupid law.”
State Representative Andy Holt of Dresden sponsored the bill in the House of Representatives. He said the nonrestrictive training requirements are no cause for concern because Tennessee already recognizes concealed carry permits from states including Georgia and Alabama that require no training. He also said the expansion of gun rights in the state makes all Tennesseans safer.
“At the end of the day, I still believe that more guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens equates into less crime…and I’m a proponent of less crime,” Holt said.
In a matter of days, lawmakers in Virginia could pass some of the most radical gun control bills in the nation, the impact of which will be felt across the country.
As a recent college graduate who founded Students for Trump from my freshman dorm room, I remain active on college campuses today as co-chair of Turning Point Action. Everywhere I go, I meet young people who are closely following events in Richmond. Many of them are genuinely scared police are coming for their guns. During our lifetime, we’ve watched lawmakers chip away at our rights, and we are here to say, “Not today, Gov. Northam. Not today.”
Like many in my generation, I didn’t grow up with firearms. I was introduced to them in a high school ROTC program, which focused heavily on the Constitution. I learned the basics of firearms and self-defense. Perhaps more importantly, that class taught me the Second Amendment guarantees all the other rights in the Constitution.
As I visit with college students across the country, I am struck by how informed and educated they are about their rights. We may be young and inexperienced, but we know what’s going on around the world. In Hong Kong and Venezuela, we watch governments oppress their unarmed citizens. In our own country, we watch as state and local politicians exploit tragedies to pass more gun control laws. We watch New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg buy his way into power and influence across the country………..
Young people are fed up with politicians who exploit tragedies to push more failed gun control schemes. We’ve spent our youth watching politicians chip away at our rights. We will not stand idly by and let this continue. My generation is engaged, energized, and willing to stand up and fight for our rights in Virginia, and around the country. We are not only watching and listening to everything unfolding in Richmond, we engaged in this fight. Many of us are proud to be part of the NRA’s new student group, Students For 2A. We will never let a tyrannical government take away our rights.
Ruger is one of the most diverse makers of firearms in the United States, with products ranging from rimfire and centerfire rifles for plinking and hunting to handguns for target shooting and self-defense. One gem among these various products is a small, semi-automatic pistol called the LCP. Launched in 2008, it was an immediate hit with the concealed carry crowd and has become a standard in its market.
As good as the LCP is, the original design wasn’t perfect. The LCP’s sights are really nothing more than tiny bumps machined directly into the slide. They work to get the handgun pointed in the right direction but seem more of an afterthought than a design feature. Another common gripe is the trigger. Many users think the trigger is too long and heavy. Not intended to be a target pistol (see complaint about sights above), the trigger is acceptable for concealed carry use but is heavy and long nonetheless.
Ruger heard these complaints and introduced the LCP II in 2016 (reviewed here). It addresses the concerns of sights by adding slightly bigger machined-in bumps. The trigger is improved by switching from a long and heavy double-action-only pull to a lighter and shorter single-action-only pull. Ruger also added a last round hold-open to the pistol to aid in reloading and as an indication that the magazine is empty.
Given Ruger’s success with the LCP and LCP II, it was inevitable that either pistol would be made available in something other than .380 ACP. Internet rumors have swirled for quite some time about different calibers. Many people, myself included, were guessing that a version in .32 ACP or possibly .32 NAA was soon to be released. Imagine my surprise when I learned that the first new offering is chambered in none other than .22 LR.
At first glance, the Lite Rack .22 LR version is nearly indistinguishable from the .380 ACP variant. Both pistols share the same overall size and shape. Grip texturing and overall cosmetic patterns like cocking serrations and placement of logos are also nearly identical.
With precious few guns on the market chambered to fire it, and even fewer load options for those guns, the 5.7×28 mm FN cartridge has seemingly been on life support for most of its 30-year lifespan, kept alive only through the patronage of a small but dedicated fan club and select military/government agency adoption. That’s a shame, because it’s an interesting little chambering, offering several intrinsic design advantages, and it is an absolute hoot to shoot. Caught in a self-perpetuating loop where a deficit of firearm options has led ammunition makers to deem it unworthy of their finite production resources—and vice versa—what the 5.7 mm has really needed to help resuscitate it was a major gunmaker willing to break the vicious circle by taking a chance on it. That it was Ruger to step up to the plate, with its December introduction of the Ruger-57 handgun, should not come as any great shock to those familiar with the Southport, Conn., company’s reputation for seeing opportunity where others just see risk.
Operating via delayed blowback, the Ruger-57’s barrel moves rearward with the slide only about 1/4″, but its long enough to allow the projectile to leave the barrel and for pressures to drop to safe levels.
In Texas, a gunman killed two people before a volunteer armed security team shot and killed him in the church near Fort Worth on Sunday. That led Texas politicians to praise a recent law that allowed guns to be carried in places of worship.
The issue of whether worshipers should be armed breaks along the usual fault lines in the wider debate on gun laws. Supporters of gun control legislation say the better solution is to reduce gun ownership, rather than to invite weapons of death into the pews. But in Texas, which has a strong gun culture, Republicans seized on the shooting Sunday as proof of their long-held belief that more trained gun owners can prevent casualties during mass attacks.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican, praised the law that allows licensed handgun holders to carry weapons in houses of worship that don’t explicitly ban them. The law, which was passed after 26 people were killed at a church in Sutherland Springs in 2017, took effect in September.
On Monday, state Attorney General Ken Paxton said on Fox News that had that law not been passed, “I fear that we could have lost, you know, hundreds” in Sunday’s shooting.
Paxton, a Republican, said he hoped other states would pass similar measures.
“I think they’ll end up saving lives for years and years and years,” he said.
Jack Wilson, a member of the volunteer security team at the church, said he was concerned about the shooter’s appearance from the moment he came in wearing a wig and a fake beard.
“Most of the members there didn’t feel like it would happen, but we were prepared if it did, and, you know, had we not had the security team in place, it would’ve been much, in my opinion, probably a much more severe outcome than what happened,” he said.
In the New York attack, five people were stabbed at a rabbi’s home during a Hanukkah celebration Saturday in what Gov. Andrew Cuomo called “domestic terrorism.” Cuomo directed state police to increase patrols in Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods across the state.
Four Jewish elected officials in New York asked Cuomo to go a step further Sunday, calling for him to declare a state of emergency and to deploy the National Guard to “visibly patrol and protect” Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods.
On Sunday, according to The Associated Press, several members of the community stood guard armed with assault-style rifles. Rockland County officials later said a private security company would help municipal law enforcement patrol the community.
Armed members of the Jewish community stand guard at a celebration in Monsey, New York, on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019.
Patrick Brosnan, founder of the security firm Brosnan Risk Consultants, praised the congregants who fought back.”You have to look this evil in the face,” he said. “You have to step up. There’s not enough law enforcement out there.”
Something happened today that rarely happens on CNN: a guest was allowed to make a conservative argument defending good guys with guns. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton appeared on CNN Newsroom Sunday evening to comment on the church shooting that happened this morning near Fort Worth Texas, and he was amazingly allowed to argue against the left’s gun control agenda without being cut off or shut down.
Fill-in CNN anchor Jessica Dean first shared the disturbing live stream video from this morning’s shooting at West Freeway Church of Christ showing an armed intruder interrupting the church service and shooting two people before two armed parishioners stopped him and killed him before he could murder anymore of the 200+ people present.
Paxton praised the “heroic efforts” of the church members before arguing how important it was for citizens to be able to defend themselves:
What I will say is they were heroic efforts. And I have been saying this for years. We need to make sure that people with protect themselves. Oftentimes law enforcement can’t react quickly. They can’t be there in seconds when the shooters are suddenly shooting. And so it really is a remarkable thing the people reacted so quickly. And saved the lives of the other 239 people in the congregation.
After this, the CNN anchor gushed about gun violence and subtly tried to push for gun control:
I feel we have these conversations over and over again, sadly in this country. What can be done to curb this kind of violence? How do we stop gun violence in the country? What else can be done? You mention there have been other horrific shootings in Texas in this year alone. What can we do to protect people?
But Paxton pointed out that the red state’s laws protecting armed citizens was exactly why this shooter was stopped in his tracks:
But the reality is I think our laws in Texas allow, allow us to protect ourselves. So more people need to carry in our state in our churches, places of business so that if something like this horrible thing does happen, at least we have people that can react and save the lives of those around him.
As Dean wrapped up the interview, she asked Paxton to share a message to the Jewish community in New York and the churchgoers in this Texas community who may be afraid to attend their religious services now.
The Attorney General again was allowed to forcefully argue for the 2nd Amendment, by pointing out the obvious point liberals and the media seem to miss consistently: someone who wants to kill will not obey gun laws:
I do know there’s always discussion about imposing more gun restrictions. The reality is somebody like this is willing to kill somebody, is unlikely to follow a gun law. So we need to continue to be vigilant and we need to allow our citizens to protect themselves. Exactly what happened today and I’m so grateful for the quick reaction because what happened in other churches about a year ago, in other places around my state, when people were not armed, we had a lot more people die.
Jack Wilson, the security volunteer who quickly shot the Texas church shooter at West Freeway Church of Christ, stopping him and likely saving many lives, is a former reserve deputy sheriff who was the long-time owner of a firearms training academy.
“I don’t feel like I killed an individual. I killed evil,” Wilson told reporters, according to Fox4 News. “I don’t see myself as a hero. I see myself as doing what needed to be done to take out the evil threat.” He fired a single shot. It was a head shot, and he says it was his round that killed the shooter. “I only fired one round. It was the only shot I had, which was a head shot.”
The gunman, now named as Keith Thomas Kinnunen, died at the scene after being shot; ……….
1. Wilson Declared That ‘Evil Does Exist in This World’ & Revealed He ‘Had to Take Out an Active Shooter in Church’
2. Wilson Was President of On Target Firearms Training Academy, Inc., a Gun Range That Burned Down in 2016
3. Wilson Is a Former Deputy Sheriff Who Negotiated Contracts for a Major Defense Company
4. Wilson Is a Donald Trump Supporter Who Believes the ‘Survival of the USA’ Will Be Determined by the 2020 Election
MACON, Ga. — A Macon man is in jail after trying to rob a Chinese restaurant at gunpoint Saturday night.
A release from the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office says around 8 p.m., a masked man in dark clothing entered the China Inn on Vineville Avenue with a gun and demanded money from the employees.
The man fled on foot after a worker pulled out their gun, the release says. The suspect didn’t get away with anything, and no one was injured.
Later that night around 9:40 p.m., the sheriff’s office says they arrested 27-year-old David Vazquez for the robbery attempt.
The sheriff’s office says it was determined that Vazquez entered the store and pointed his gun at the employees. That’s when one worker pulled out their gun and shot at Vazquez.
As he was running away from the shots, Vazquez and the employees exchanged gunfire, and one of them shot him in the right leg.
The sheriff’s office says Vazquez went to the Medical Center, Navicent Health 20 minutes later to be treated for the gunshot wound. Afterwards, he was taken to the Bibb County Jail.
He’s being held without bond, and no charges are being filed against the clerk, according to the sheriff’s office.
MACHESNEY PARK — Within minutes of a homeowner firing a gun at a burglary suspect, a man showed up at a Rockford hospital suffering from a gunshot wound.
Shortly before 5:30 p.m. Thursday, a man interrupted a burglary at his home in 2000 block of Anjali Way and got into a struggle with the suspect, said Bob Redmond of the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department. A shot was fired and the suspect fled.
It was not clear if the homeowner or suspect was armed with the gun, Redmond said.
While deputies were talking to the homeowner, a gunshot victim arrived at a Rockford hospital. It was not revealed where on the body the man was shot.
As late as 9 p.m., the gunshot victim was still being questioned by deputies.
MACHESNEY PARK (WREX) — Winnebago County Sheriff’s Deputies say they’re investigating a burglary and shooting in the 2000 block of Anjali Way.
Deputies say, shortly before 5:30 p.m. Thursday, a person came home to a burglar attempting to break into his or her home and tried to stop the burglary.
Deputies say a struggle then happened between the two, and the suspect was shot in the face.
The suspect then ran from the scene, but later showed up at a local hospital with a gunshot wound, according to the sheriff’s department.
Deputies say the person who lived at the home stayed on scene, they are still investigating. Deputies could not say if the alleged burglar was shot with his own gun, or if the person who lived there used a concealed carry firearm.
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — A woman inside of her house fired one fatal shot at an attempted burglar in the southeast valley on Saturday afternoon, police said.
The woman was home alone about 11:15 a.m. on the 7000 block of Knoll View Drive, near Spencer Street and Warm Springs Road, when she heard glass shatter.
Moments before, she had heard a knock on the door and ignored it, police said.
Las Vegas homicide Lt. Ray Spencer said a 30-year-old man broke through the woman’s sliding glass back door and went into her home. The woman went to her bedroom to get her handgun when the suspect confronted her, Spencer said.
The woman told police the man lunged toward her and she shot him once. He then ran out of the house through the broken door and drove off in a Kia.
Spencer said the woman then called 9-1-1 to report the incident. A nearby patrol officer found the suspect in his Kia about a half-mile away at the intersection of Warm Springs and Spencer Street after having hit a few other cars.
Ah, just in case the scientists forgot. The Yellowstone Caldera is one of the largest volcanoes on the North American continent. Not that anyone can do anything about it, if it erupts again. Just me, but it appears that something’s “heating up” underneath.
If you’re headed to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, there’s a good chance that visiting the park’s iconic geysers will be near the top of your to-do list. In 2019, tourists were treated to plenty of activity from the Steamboat Geyser, which is the tallest currently-active geyser on the planet.
That’s great news for parkgoers and perhaps even for the park itself, but with over 45 eruptions in 2019, the geyser’s highly active streak is leaving scientists scratching their heads. The geyser erupted a whopping 32 times in 2018 before ramping up even further this year.
The most famous geyser at Yellowstone, and perhaps the world, is Old Faithful. Old Faithful is famous for its incredibly predictable schedule of eruptions, which makes it perfect for visits from tourists. Steamboat is different, often going quiet for long stretches before eventually roaring back to life.
As NPR reports, Steamboat Geyser didn’t erupt at all in 2015, 2016, or 2017. Park visitors weren’t treated to an eruption for three full years. 2018 was different, and 2019 has seen even more activity from the geyser. But why? Researchers can only guess.
“It’s such a big geyser. And the bigger something is, the easier it is to study,” Michael Manga of the University of California, Berkeley, told NPR. “But it also captures people’s imagination. When it got active again there was lots of press and it reminded people that there are fundamental things about the Earth we don’t understand.”
Of course, you can’t mention Yellowstone’s geysers without also mentioning the suspected supervolcano resting beneath the park. Researchers believe that a massive volcano erupted in Yellowstone around 631,000 years ago. Scientists believe it will eventually erupt again, though estimates of when that might occur often conflict.
Anti-Semitic attacks continue to shake our city and state. Last week, eight attacks — including four in just in 48 hours — sent a familiar shockwave rippling through the Jewish community. Then Saturday came the horrific stabbing in Monsey, New York. The poison of Jew-hatred is spreading.
Like many of you, I’m thinking, “Not this subject again.” How many columns can be devoted to it? I’ve read them. I’ve written them. It’s exhausting, and it’s dreary. Jews are being beaten up, anti-Semitism flows some years and ebbs in others. So what?
But it matters — gravely.
Mayor de Blasio released his usual by-the-numbers statement. “Hate doesn’t have a home in our city,” he tweeted. But hate does have a home here, and it has found it while Hizzoner has mostly looked away.
The mayor added: “In light of recent anti-Semitic attacks, the NYPD will increase their presence in Borough Park, Crown Heights and Williamsburg.” But the recent attacks have spread to Midtown Manhattan and Gravesend, Brooklyn. The problem has gotten worse while inaction paralyzed the mayor.
I first wrote about the uptick in May. The reason the city’s liberal political class was ignoring it, I argued, is that the criminals don’t fit their picture of Evil Bigots. They aren’t, for the most part, MAGA-hat wearing white guys with tiki torches. In fact, many of the attackers are people of color, as investigative reporting by Tablet’s Armin Rosen and others has shown.
Imagine if they were white nationalists. How much faster would the mayor and other city leaders have taken action?
When it came to discussing the recent shooting at the Jersey City kosher supermarket by two Black Hebrew Israelites, reporting was startlingly sparse on the particulars surrounding the murders. As Bethany Mandel of Ricochet noted, many key details appeared purposely omitted, including but not limited to, the fact that video footage suggested the perpetrators’ initial target was a school full of Jewish children; that the perpetrators had a significant amount of ammunition; and that videos taken after the attack revealed many in the neighborhood blamed the Jews for the attack. Even following the killings, I am not sure if even one media outlet reported on the fact that a school board member in Jersey City, referring to Jews as “brutes,” essentially defended the murders as a natural response to too many Jews moving into the area.
The “social justice” arena in the United States, where most issues related to racial discrimination get siloed, is occupied primarily by those on the left. Thus, the growing problem is now groups traditionally in the business of confronting hate are less interested in doing so if they are unable to attribute the Jew-hatred to Trump or Republicans. If that anti-semitism is emanating from corners traditionally occupied by the left, the advocacy figures and media talking heads show an alarming and frankly disturbing indifference.
This photo is from the live feed the church puts on YouTube. The shooter can be seen in the top just left-of-center and the church member who took the shooter out can be seen in the top left.
This is how fast things can happen, and how much some people will be calm and cool under pressure, while others go into hysterics.
Oh, and not to be too morbid, but being able to draw your gun quickly and get it into action can make a world of difference. The first man shot by the murderer was still trying to get his gun out of his pocket. Take that poor man’s experience for what it’s worth.
WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – Two people are dead and another person is critically injured after a shooting at a church in the Tarrant County city of White Settlement, officials said.
Authorities responded to the shooting Sunday morning just before 10 a.m. at the West Freeway Church of Christ on Las Vegas Trail.
A witness told CBS 11 News the gunman walked up to a server during communion with a shotgun and then opened fire. According to the witness, another church member shot the suspect……..
During the incident, two men died from their injuries and another man was critically injured. Authorities believe the gunman is among the three but it’s unknown if he was killed or is injured.
Since taking office, President Donald Trump has been meeting with enlisted troops to get a better understanding of how they feel the war in Afghanistan has been progressing.
Trump did not want to meet with higher ranking officers, instead choosing to meet with enlisted troops to get a more candid assessment of the America’s longest-running war, Business Insider reported.
“I want to sit down with some enlisted guys that have been there,” Trump reportedly told advisers, according to Peter Bergen, author of “Trump and His Generals: The Cost of Chaos.”
“I don’t want any generals in here. I don’t want any officers,” he added.
Enlisted members of the military may have been seen as better able to critique the war effort as their roles tend to place them closer to combat and the consequences of a command. Enlisted members are also less concerned with the day-to-day politics that might affect higher ranking officers.
Trump reportedly compared the opinions of senior military officers to those of a restaurant consultant. Rather than taking the advice of the consultant, who would suggest expanding a kitchen for renovations, Trump argued it would be more prudent and cost effective to ask the advice of the waiters who see the day to day operations and can identify the most basic problems in a restaurant’s functions.
One of the first groups Trump reportedly met with were enlisted Navy SEALs who criticized the war and said the war in Afghanistan is “unwinnable.”
“NATO’s a joke. Nobody knows what they’re doing,” the SEALs reportedly told Trump. “We don’t fight to win. The morale is terrible. It’s totally corrupt.”
On another occasion on July 18, 2017, Trump held a White House meeting with four more Army and Air Force senior enlisted service members.
“I’ve heard plenty of ideas from a lot of people, but I want to hear it from the people on the ground,” Trump said at a press conference for the July 2017 meeting.
Following that meeting, Trump reportedly gathered senior military officials to the White House situation room, where he then warned that the enlisted members he spoke with know “a lot more than you generals,” and said that “we’re losing” the war in Afghanistan.
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — One person died Friday and another was wounded after a shooting at a north Harris County gas station, authorities said.
It happened at a Valero at Cypresswood Drive and FM 1960.
Deputies said it may have begun as a robbery when a man approached a Jeep in the parking lot. A man in the Jeep was shot, but not before exchanging gunfire with the suspect, authorities said.
The man believed to be the suspect died at the scene. The man in the Jeep was taken to a hospital with what authorities described as non-life threatening injuries.
Investigators are working to get surveillance video from the gas station.
Early Friday, multiple suspects approached a couple in the parking lot of an apartment complex in south Charlotte. When they tried to rob the husband at gunpoint, the woman, an off-duty Charlotte-Mecklenburg officer, took out her gun and fired it, police said.
According to the police, the other suspects fired back then fled the scene, and a 17-year-old male suspect was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The officer, Emily Bishop, was unharmed.
The State Bureau of Investigation has launched an investigation into the shooting, which took place at 12:15 a.m. in the 7900 block of Waterford Tide Loop. An SBI investigation is standard procedure when a CMPD officer shoots and injures someone.
Violent crime dropped by 48.6% in the U.S. in the same period that saw the record number of arms purchases: 423 million firearms, according to recently released data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Firearms-related accidents alone declined 68 percent between 1986 and 2018, a period in which U.S. citizens purchased 8.1 billion rounds of ammunition.
“These figures show that the United States has a strong desire to continue buying firearms for lawful purposes,” Joe Bertozzi, president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, told American Military News.
“The continued popularity of guns demonstrates that Americans have a keen interest in protecting themselves and their homes,” he added.
American citizens have the right to defend themselves. They have been able to counteract crime as opposed to what is happening in Latin American countries where the hyper-regulation of arms has granted a monopoly to law enforcement, state security forces, and criminal groups that act above the law, such as organized crime groups.
Caracas, Venezuela, which lost the right to carry arms under Hugo Chavez, is the most striking example of the city with the most homicides. Now Mexico, with more than 100 homicides per day and the second most violent city in the world, Acapulco, is living through the most violent year in its history and shows how the rigid law restricting the bearing of arms leaves the law-abiding citizen vulnerable.
Meanwhile, in the United States, more and more citizens have legal access to firearms. More than 25 million people registered in 2019 to carry guns in the US.
According to the FBI, 202,465 people registered to buy weapons on the biggest selling day. The gun registry process involves authorities corroborating whether the person has a criminal record.
This was the second-highest figure in history. The highest was in 2017 when 203,086 people filed their information for review in a single >
Both historical dates coincided with “Black Friday,” which falls on the last weekend of November, the day when there are massive discounts across the country.
Compared to last year, there was an 11% increase in domestic sales. At the end of November 2018, there were 182,093 registered arms buyers. As Christmas and New Year approaches, the numbers continue to rise.
In rural states like North Dakota, the number of buyers increased by up to 20%. According to Cody Schuh, owner of Shooters Inc., the political climate always contributes to a spike in sales. But he says this year was noteworthy. People not only stocked up on ammunition but also bought new rifles and pistols.
“Now we’re beginning to see that individuals buy weapons because they want to be safe without being told to do so by the state,” Schuh said.
It should be noted that the figures show the number of buyers, not the number of weapons. In October of this year alone, 1.2 million firearms were sold in the USA, 10.8% more than in October 2018.
Also, in October, the FBI reported that it reviewed the profiles of 2.4 million potential buyers, the highest record in a given month. In October last year, it was 2.3 million.
According to Small Arms Analytics and Forecast, 1.1 million firearms were sold in the U.S. in September of this year, 11% more than in September last year.
The U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to bear arms and overthrow an abusive government with a militia.
“What this tells us is that Americans vote with their wallets when it comes to the ability to exercise the Second Amendment,” said Mark Oliva, director of public relations for the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
Oliva says that this phenomenon is interesting, because contrary to the will of politicians who openly demand to restrict the Second Amendment, citizens are supplying themselves with weapons.
The Second Amendment to the Constitution speaks of the right of every American citizen not only to bear arms but to arm a militia if the government abuses its power and exceeds its functions.
Oliva considers FBI data to be the most accurate barometer when measuring arms sales and argues that this is not just a whim or coincidence but a “meaningful investment.”
He argues that U.S. citizens choose to invest their hard-earned money to exercise their rights, unlike the politicians seeking to restrict their ability to defend themselves.
The Democratic Party wants to remove Trump from power, but to deprive citizens of the right to rise against a tyrannical government.
For example, the Democratic Party demands greater control when carrying arms and has the backing of at least 150 companies that demanded greater control before the Senate. But sales show that millions of people disagree.
The irony is that the same party that seeks the removal of President Trump, whom they consider to be abusing his power, is the one that wants to deprive citizens of the ability to remove a tyrant from power.
This reflects the actions of the Democratic Party. They demand that the high and mighty state be the one to remove Trump from power, not “the people” they claim to represent.
Meanwhile, those with a more libertarian or conservative political orientation refuse to give more power to the state, much less to take away their right to self-defense.
For history has shown that every tyranny is established once it disarms its citizens. This is what happened in Cuba through Fidel Castro’s speech “Guns? For what?”
Sixty years later, Cuba is still run by the same family. Twenty-five million people in the U.S. showed with their weapons that they are not willing to risk the same thing happening in their country.
They are safer both from crime and the possibility of the emergence of tyranny. That is why they are literally in charge of their self-defense.
