Whew. When you’ve lost the Washington Post…………

The NRA is a cesspool. That doesn’t mean it should be dissolved.

Opinion by Ruth Marcus
⇒ Deputy editorial page editor⇐

I loathe the National Rifle Association. With its reflexive opposition to even the mildest gun regulation, it is complicit in the deaths of thousands.

And yet, I worry that New York Attorney General Letitia James has gone too far in her bid to dissolve the organization. Even assuming that the facts laid out in the state’s lawsuit against the NRA are true — and I believe every word about chief executive Wayne LaPierre’s jaw-dropping greed — the right remedy is fixing the NRA, not dismantling it.

The NRA has a First Amendment right to its misguided understanding of the Second. Forcing its dissolution has disturbing implications — made even more disturbing by the fact that the attorney general seeking that step is a Democrat who vowed during her campaign to “take on the NRA” and labeled it a “terrorist organization.” In this country, we don’t go after entities because of what they advocate.

James’s lawsuit against the NRA does not mention ideology, even if it strains credulity to think that James would have gone after the ACLU or Planned Parenthood with equal zeal if there were similar facts. Still, the facts as alleged are jaw-dropping — and, if you were a donor who dug deep in defense of gun rights, should be enraging. Continue reading “”

QOTD:
“Anyone with a brain and a bit of historical knowledge could have seen this coming, which is no doubt why it eluded so much of our political class.”

BLUF:
The thing to remember is, ultimately, police aren’t there to protect the public from criminals, but to protect criminals from the public. Before the invention of modern police by Robert Peel in London in the early 19th Century, the public dealt with criminals mostly on its own, and usually harshly. Arrest by the police and trial before a court was a big improvement over mob justice.

Now some want to go the other direction. I predict it will end badly.

Back to the future in policing? Civilian militias in American cities
Police being pulled back in blue urban areas has led to neighborhood patrols which lead to chaos, violence, gangs and prejudice.

“When the dawn patrol’s got to tell you twice, they’re gonna do it with a shotgun.” That’s a lyric from Steely Dan, but it also reflects what seems to be a new trend in two of America’s bluest cities: The replacement of police with civilian militias. (The press prefers to call them “neighborhood patrols” since they’re in Democratic cities).

There are some people who might favor this as a step forward for civil rights and racial justice, but the facts to date don’t support such a reading. In two cities where the police have pulled back from urban areas, they’ve been replaced by armed gangs demanding protection money, increased violence and, yes, prejudice against people who “don’t belong.” Anyone with a brain and a bit of historical knowledge could have seen this coming, which is no doubt why it eluded so much of our political class. Continue reading “”

The Economy Is Struggling, but Gun Sales Are Soaring

OAKMONT, Pennsylvania — Long before you find yourself standing in front of the Smoke N’ Guns shop, the delicate aroma of coffee beans and hand-rolled cigars beckons your senses as you walk along Allegheny River Boulevard.

Outside the shop, four black leather chairs spread a respectable 6 feet apart are waiting for either the overflow of customers or locals such as Marcello Frollo to hold court. He enjoys a rolled cigar along with his double espresso as he listens to the cars rumble along the brick-lined street.

Inside, the store is a visual delight, with a coffee bar and a handful of tables and chairs at the entrance. Boxes filled with the best cigars money can buy are stacked high, and an impressive walk-in humidor is designed to keep them preserved at the perfect temperature.

In the back, a balcony overlooks the rest of the store and spans its entire width. A glass display case with an array of long guns hangs along the wall. In the center, begging to be held, is a Tommy gun. Gregory “Gooch” Ionadi, the owner, waits to help you find the gun you need or want to protect yourself.

That is, if there are any left to buy.

“Prior to the COVID outbreak, President Obama was the best gun salesman we ever had,” says Ionadi. “Anytime he was going to ban this, ban that, there was a rush on gun sales. When President Trump was elected, the fear of a gun ban subsided, and sales were so flat that several gun manufacturers went out of business.”

Things changed dramatically in gun shops across the country in February, when the first concentrated COVID-19 cases in one town were reported out of New Rochelle, New York. “We made more here in … March and April than we did in the last three years,” he says. “It was crazy.” Continue reading “”

There is lots of good news from Austin.

Not only were murders up 67% in June, but justifiable homicides had gone up 200%. When you defund the police, some people won’t lie down and die for the thugs.

Austin Voted to Defund the Police, its Murder Rate Rose 67%

The Austin City Council voted unanimously to defund the police.

“We don’t need somebody who’s a sworn officer and a gun in order to be able to accomplish what the community needs done,” Mayor Steve Adler falsely claimed.

Austin’s proposed budget targeted millions in cuts. These included 100 vacant police positions, delaying the next cadet class, delaying the replacement of duty weapons, and there were proposals by some Democrats council members to shut down the police academy, cut the bomb squad budget, and even demolish the city’s downtown police headquarters.

The proposed budget also includes a 3.5% tax increase.

Politicians limited the ability of police officers to use force against criminals and barred them from using pepper spray and tear gas against the violent mobs of Black Lives Matter rioters.

Now Austin is number one with a bullet after its homicide rate increase passed every major city.

Overtaking more violent cities like Chicago, left behind at number two, Philly at number six, and New York at number eight, Austin had the highest percentage homicide rate increase. Continue reading “”

Gun sales are rising in Michigan. The buyers might surprise you

Rick Ector was teaching an eight-hour concealed pistol license course in early July, and his cellphone wouldn’t stop vibrating.

Ector had just resumed teaching in-person lessons the month before. He hadn’t advertised. But people were calling to ask about enrolling in future courses, he said.

“It’s an explosion of interest from people who want to learn about guns,” said Ector, who has worked as a firearms instructor in Detroit for 13 years. “The interest in personal protection is on a level none of us (firearm instructors) has ever seen.” Continue reading “”

Gun sales continue to surge across the Seattle-area

Background checks gun sales firearm western Washington

After an initial spike in March, western Washington firearm sales remained far higher than usual over the first half of 2020.

Some point to the pandemic, others point to protests over racial injustice as prompting waves of sales. In the end, it has local officials noticing that a lot more guns have arrived in their communities.

When a customer purchases a firearm in Washington state, they must wait 10 business days before receiving the gun. During that time, the seller submits the customer’s information to their local police department for a background check.

In the first seven months of 2020, Seattle processed 9,426 background checks for gun sales. That is already a 55% increase over the city’s average for an entire year.

Seattle is not alone. Comparing background checks, June 2020 to June 2019:

  • Kirkland saw a 145% increase.
  • Kent saw a 119% increase.
  • Redmond, a 268% increase. The last seven Junes have averaged 68 background checks. This June saw 318 background checks.

caption: The number of background checks that Western Washington police departments performed for gun sales in June 2020 and June 2019.

Why? Because Black people shooting other Black people in outbreaks of gang violence remains strictly “local news.” It’s not of interest to the national media because it doesn’t fit the narratives mentioned above. Nearly all gang shootings are done with illegal, unregistered handguns, so it doesn’t work for the gun control angle. And if it’s not a White person shooting people it doesn’t work for the rest of the current messaging plan. So down the memory hole it goes.

The Worst Mass Shooting You Never Heard About (This Year, Anyway)

In the early hours of the morning yesterday[Sunday], there was a massive party taking place on the 3300 block of Dubois Place in Southeast Washington, D.C. The good times came screeching to a halt when sustained gunfire broke out.

When the smoke cleared, one 17-year-old male was dead and another twenty people had been shot. Among them was an off-duty police officer who had responded to the violence and was left “fighting for her life.” No suspects have been identified.

Here’s the curious part about this horrible tale. Unless you happened to live in the District and were watching the local news, you probably didn’t hear about it. If we all put our heads together, we might be able to figure out why. (WJLA News, ABC7, Washington) Continue reading “”

Florida Pasco County Sheriff Nocco

Florida homeowner utilized Second Amendment right when he killed intruder

LAND O’LAKES, Fla. – A Pasco County man is dead after breaking into the home of a family who was supporting his estranged wife during their divorce proceedings, according to Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco.

Authorities say 55-year-old Ronald Fleet broke into the home in the Sunset Lakes subdivision in Land O’Lakes just after noon on Saturday.

Fleet, armed with a handgun, was able to kick the door open and enter the house. The homeowner and Fleet exchanged gunfire which initially caused Fleet to leave, though a short time later he charged back inside. At that point, the homeowner fired again, killing Fleet.

Trump’s Big NATO Move Puts Putin on Notice.

For more than four decades, the United States Army’s V Corps — one of the most powerful armored formations ever assembled — stood watch against the Soviet Union on the Fulda Gap, the primary World War II invasion route from East Germany through West Germany to the Rhine…………

While much has been made by the mainstream media — almost all of it negative — about President Trump’s decision in July to remove thousands of American troops from Germany, less has been said about where they’ll end up.

Nearly 12,000 troops will be redeployed from Germany, reducing the American presence there by about one third. Of those being redeployed, around half of them will end up in other NATO ally nations, including Poland and the Baltic States.

A headquarters like the newly reestablished V Corps is a big deal in and of itself, providing “command and control focused on synchronizing U.S. Army, allied, and partner nation tactical formations,” according to Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville. Placing V Corps in Poland sends a serious message about serious intent.

In effect, NATO’s front line defenses are moving to the east……..

When Government Encourages Victimhood, You Have an Alternative

According to a report from the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the number of officers in the Minneapolis Police Department has been reduced 10 percent since May and the department “could lose as much as a third of its workforce by the end of the year.” Some on the city council have sought to abolish the police department.

With this development, there has been a corresponding spike in violent crime. Minnesota Public Radio reported that as of August 4 Minneapolis had experienced more than twice as many homicides in 2020 as during the same period in 2019. Local CBS affiliate WCCO reported that through July 26 robberies in 2020 were up 36 percent over the same time period in 2019.

The situation has become so dire, that on July 28 Minneapolis issued a warning to city residents in the 3rd precinct. The missive read,

Robberies and Carjackings have increased in our Precinct. Cell phones, purses, and vehicles are being targeted. Some victims have been maced, dragged, assaulted, and some threatened with a gun…

100 Robberies and 20 Carjackings have been reported to the 3rd Precinct Police in July Alone. Downtown and Southwest Minneapolis have seen an increase as well.

As part of a set of “Robbery Prevention Tips” that accompanied the alert, the city encouraged the targets of violent crime to acquiesce to their attacker. The document advised “Do not argue or fight with the criminal. Do as they say.

Despite the proclamations of governments that have neglected their most fundamental responsibilities, Americans need not be victims. When presented with a reasonable threat of death or grievous bodily harm, free individuals have the right to defend themselves with deadly force. This right is inherent to all people, preexists any government, and is not dependent upon the Second Amendment – which codifies the right to armed self-defense in the U.S. Constitution.

In his book, Armed: New Perspectives on Gun Control, Florida State Professor of Criminology Gary Kleck addressed the efficacy of armed self-defense. Citing crime victimization data, Kleck determined “[v]ictims who used guns were less likely to be injured than crime victims who did not resist.”

The practical ability of average Americans to meet violent crime with armed self-defense has improved substantially since Professor Kleck first began his research. Continue reading “”

Why Does Rejecting Collectivism Make Me an ‘-ist’ or a ‘-phobe?’

I don’t believe:

All women simply because they’re women, nor will I vote for a woman merely because she’s a woman.
Why does that make me sexist?

Skin pigmentation makes all white people oppressors or all people of color oppressed.
Why does that make me racist?

All Muslims want peaceful coexistence.
Why does that make me an Islamophobe?

All corporations are evil.
Why does that make me a corporatist?

All rich people stole or inherited their wealth, nor do I believe that all poor people were exploited.
Why does that make me an elitist?

Why does treating people as individuals rather than as if they are nothing more than cookie-cutter representatives of some socio-economic group make me an “-ist” or a “-phobe?”

President Trump Pets the Unicorn

President Trump has signed a series of Executive Orders to provide coronavirus relief for people in Democrat-occupied America (and elsewhere). Pelosi-Schumer thought they had him boxed in to force bail-outs for Democrat-occupied America to secure government-employee union pensions and pay, to pay for promises to illegal aliens, to make up for tax shortfalls when they shut down productive activity to kill the economy and secure power. But Trump is invoking the “Obama pen” and signing his way to re-election.

Is this a good government and Constitutional rectitude? No, it is not. But President Trump has decided that the Constitution is not a suicide pact; that the Supreme Court (notwithstanding having appointed two justices) is not going to aggressively protect the civil liberties of the people in the age of the Democratic-occupation. And President Trump is trying to manage the Executive with various weights and traps that even is his supposed “allies” in the GOP seem to accept as the cost of doing business in DC.

So President Trump has decided to pet the unicorn. He has set himself up to act in the peoples’ best short-term interest and dared the opposition to sue and stop him (and thus them). He is bringing to life the meme that “They are not really after me. They are after You. I am just in their way.” And that is what voters will come to believe if the Democrats try to stop him. Continue reading “”

Don’t Replace the NRA, Reform It

New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing the National Rifle Association, seeking to dissolve it over multiple incidences of fraud and mismanagement.

And the thing is, her case is pretty strong, in my opinion. Really, really strong. Wayne LaPierre has been the effective head of the NRA for decades now, and his … questionable financial decisions appear to have been made without the knowledge of the Board of Directors, who should (should) have oversight on such matters. This quote in particular jumped out at me:

Attorney General Letitia James claims in a lawsuit filed Thursday that she found financial misconduct in the millions of dollars and that it contributed to a loss of more than $64 million over a three-year period.

Let’s look at the number in context. The NRA is not the only nationwide gun rights organization. There is also the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), which specializes in targeted legal cases to advance the right to keep and bear arms, the Gun Owners Of America (GOA), which claims to be the only “no compromise” gun group out there, and also the Citizen’s Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA). They all do good work. The Second Amendment Foundation in particular created the legal strategy which won both DC v. Heller and Macdonald v. Chicago, two pivotal cases for American gun owners.

But as noted firearms trainer Claude Werner pointed out on Facebook, the resources all three of those organizations have at their disposal pales in comparison to what the NRA can bring to the table. Continue reading “”

Santa Clara County sheriff’s captain among 4 indicted on felony bribery and conspiracy charges

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) — A Santa Clara County Sheriff’s captain and three others have been charged in connection with a gun permit bribery scheme, District Attorney Jeff Rosen announced Friday.

Captain James Jensen, attorney Christopher Schumb, attorney Harpaul Nahal, and business owner Michael Nichols are accused of conspiring with the CEO and a middle manager of AS Solution, Inc., an international security company, to offer a $90,000 bribe to obtain concealed firearms permits (CCW licenses) for the company’s executive protection agents. This all took place in 2018, while Sheriff Laurie Smith, who had the authority to grant the CCW licenses, was in a race for reelection, both in the primary and general elections.

“This investigation revealed the sad reality that at the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office there are 2 policies for those seeking CCW licenses. For the average member of the public, no matter how pressing or justified their need, if they follow the procedure laid out on the sheriff’s website and mail in an application, it will will not be reviewed. Instead, it will be tossed in a filing cabinet and forgotten. However, if you are in the words of sheriff’s Captain James Jenson a VIP, then he will meet you at Starbucks, personally review your application and help you fill it out. You don’t even need to live in the county, which is required by law. And Captain Jenson will even wave the mandated gun testing at a gun range,” said Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen. Continue reading “”

NY AG’s Previous Comments On NRA Betrays Her Motivations

To say the National Rifle Association is less than popular in liberal circles would be putting it far too mildly. The hate-on the left has for the nation’s oldest civil rights organization has been there for ages, but it’s grown over the last few years. In fact, it’s just gotten downright silly.

Take New York Attorney General Letitia James.

In case you missed it, she’s the attorney general who is trying to completely dissolve the NRA. Clearly, this isn’t surprising to anyone, of course. However, she’s basically acting as if she’s concerned about the best interests of the NRA’s members and donors. She’s not. In fact, her campaign comments about the group made that quite clear.

New York Attorney General Letitia James made news when she announced her lawsuit asking the courts to dismantle the National Rifle Association, but there’s nothing new about her views on the pro-Second Amendment group.

During her campaign to become New York’s top cop, she denounced the NRA as a “terrorist organization.”

The NRA fired back late Thursday with a countersuit of its own.

During an October 2018 interview, the incoming attorney general names some of the targets of her wrath: “President Donald Trump and the threat to our democracy and our values,” was one. “And the NRA holds [itself] out as a charitable organization, but in fact, [it] really [is] a terrorist organization.”

Continue reading “”

Here are some of the NRA’s alleged big-buck abuses in New York lawsuit

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a bombshell suit Thursday seeking to disband the National Rifle Association and alleging that top execs diverted millions of dollars in funds and accepted inappropriate gifts to subsidize lavish lifestyles.

Though they are not charged with any crimes, named in the suit along with the NRA are: Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president; former treasurer and chief financial officer Wilson “Woody” Phillips; former chief of staff and head of general operations Joshua Powell; and corporate secretary and general counsel John Frazer.

The NRA has fired back, claiming in a string of tweets that the suit is politically motivated.

These are just some of the inappropriate expenditures, gifts and other wrongdoing alleged in the suit: Continue reading “”

Just like their masters –  the demoncrap party – If they didn’t have double standards, they wouldn’t have any at all.

Trump’s ‘Political Masterstroke’ Leaves Press Scrambling to Apply Double Standard

It’s a good thing that left wingers are typically deficient in the sense of shame (just as they tend to be deficient in the sense of humor). If they weren’t, they would be finding it hard to live with themselves just now.

When President Trump announced four executive orders at his hastily called presser at his golf course at Bedminster, N.J., on Friday, the press looked down at its collective knickers and found them in a twist.

The President had been negotiating for weeks with Congress to address the suffering and economic displacement caused by the coronavirus. (Actually, truth in advertising requires that I emend that. The suffering and economic displacement were caused by the drastic overreaction to the disease, which overreaction on the part of governmental agencies was itself sparked by the cynical politicization of the disease, its reformulation into an anti-Trump weapon.)

Since Congress declined to act, Trump stepped into the breach. He issued orders providing for a payroll tax “holiday” through the end of the year for those earning less than $100,000, extending the payment of a weekly supplement for unemployment benefits, prolonging a moratorium on repayment of government funded student loans, and continuing the suspension of eviction from government subsidized housing.

The Washington Post greeted this bold action with the headline: “Trump Attempts to Wrest Tax and Spending Powers Away from Congress.”

Hugh Hewitt got to the heart of the unintended comedy here when he noted that “When President Obama pioneered selective enforcement of law, media elites applauded. . . . The powers supporting the laws which President Obama suspended—the immigration and border laws—are as ‘fundamental, constitutionally mandated’ as the taxing and spending powers. It will be revealing to see which reporters/platforms attempt to distinguish between the powers. . . . If an editorial outlet condemns @realDonaldTrump action but was silent on the President Obama’s DACA and DAPA, they are engaging in rank hypocrisy.” Indeed.

Hewitt goes on to point out that the reverse is not true because President Trump is relying on the precedent Obama set, which has yet to be overturned. Consequently, he concludes, if you encounter outrage over President Trump’s “unilateral and unprecedented executive actions,” and so on, “understand the writer or speaker is either ignorant or deceitful” (or, I might add, both). Continue reading “”

What concerns us the most is that THIS is what is now indoctrinating our children…

Brooklyn College Math Professor: 2+2=4 ‘Reeks of White Supremacist Patriarchy’

It now seems that basic math, like history, and pretty much all of reality itself, is racist and reeks of white supremacy.  On Sunday, Breitbart reported that Laurie Rubel, a professor of math education at Brooklyn College, argued on Twitter that 2+2=4 “reeks of white supremacist patriarchy” on Twitter Continue reading “”