Nanny of the Month: June 2013

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michael bloomberg, nanny of the month, new york city, stupid laws

More Michael “Wee Napoleon” Bloomberg…

Tales From Your Police State: DoD Gives Itself the Right to Use Military Force to Support Police

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civil rights, department of defense, dod instruction 3025.21, drug war, military coup, military-industrial complex, police state, terror war

In Instruction 3025.21, filed 27 February 2013, the Department of Defense decided to give itself the power to assist civilian police authorities militarily during periods of extreme emergency of civil unrest. The memo states that

Federal military commanders have the authority, in extraordinary emergency circumstances where prior authorization by the President is impossible and duly constituted local authorities are unable to control the situation, to engage temporarily in activities that are necessary…to quell large-scale, unexpected civil disturbances…

Excuse me, but if the president is indisposed, doesn’t the military have to go through the vice president, the secretary of defense, and — before all of that — doesn’t it require the authorization of the Congress, as per the 1807 Insurrection Act? (Yes…yes, it does.) Furthermore, wasn’t the military barred from military action in support of police due to massive corruption and civil rights violations during Reconstruction? (Yes…yes, it was: Posse Comitatus.)

If you can’t see how bad this is, or where this inevitably leads, you might want to look at the history of Rome, or any medieval period European country, 1660 Britain, 1917 Russia, 1920 Italy, 1930s France, Germany, Hungary, and Spain, and time during the early  20th Century China and Japan, or any of the other innumerable examples where the military decides to be the final arbiter of law, order, and power.

Contact the worthless windbags that allegedly represent you in Washington — remind them that military coups don’t just target the people, but also the worthless windbags that are in charge. If it’s their life and power on the line, they might shift their asses.

Democrat Politicians Turn to Bad Fictional Technology For Gun Control

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gun control, 2nd amendment, skyfall, hr2005, personalize handgun safety act, john tierney, stupid people being stupid

I already remarked on this idiotic idea in a prior post, but now that Rep. John “I Watch Too Many F’ing Movies” Tierney (D-Mass.) has decided to offer up HR2005 “The Personalized Handgun Safety Act” (better known as “We Think Stuff in James Bond Movies is Real Act”) it’s time to return to this subject.

In the latest James Bond offering Skyfall, the classic anti-hero is toting a new Walther PPK/S — already showing you the filmmakers aren’t thinking beyond fan service and product placement…it’s a terrible firearm, compared to the PPS or PPQ — that is “coded to his palmprint” to prevent anyone from Bond using the jammin’est gun MI6 ever issued.

Here’s why it’s a stupid idea: 1) Fingerprint and palmprint technology is finicky even when not attached to a device is essentially a container for a controlled explosion. There’s a reason it didn’t catch on with laptops — it doesn’t recognize you half the time. You look like a new cash register jockey running the pack of gom over the laser scanner for twenty minutes.

2) One of the issues with the sensors is they are highly prone to dirt and fouling…something firearms produce in spades. The recoil of the .380 is not especially vicious, but fragile electronics run through the frame of the pistol would be prone to failure from normal usage. Imagine the effect of a 10mm 1911 running “hot” loads…. In the cold, in the heat, what would be the effect? How about if, in the middle of a tussle, the police officer armed with one of these turds dropped it and it stopped functioning?

3) The battery technology is not adequate to the task of allowing the firearm to be ready at all times. You would have to switch it on and off…and if the battery is dead, would the firearm lock down? That could be damend inconvenient if, say, you needed it suddenly. If it did work with the sensors off, then what’s the damned point; you’d just flip the switch to “off.”

That’s just the practical  issues…

The lesson here is “movies aren’t reality.”

Guns and 3D Printing: Man, That’s Cow’s Gone! Maybe We Should Close the Barn Door

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3d printing, 3d printing guns, gun control, steven israel, technology trumps law

I think the title pretty much says it all, but here we go — the State Department’s Office of Defense Trade Controls Compliance demanded Cody Wilson and the website Defcad.org take down the 3D-printable files of the “Liberator” handgun released Monday, along with nine other 3D-printable firearms components, while it “reviews” the files for compliance with export control laws under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR.)

Unfortunately for the Benghazi Bullshiters State Department, Pirate Bay is already hosting the plans, as are several other torrent sites. Ooops! Welcome to the 21st Century, Foggy Bottom!

So, maybe we can ban you making 3D printable guns, thinks Steven “Behind the Times” Israel. That oughta do it! I know when we banned marijuana and other drugs usage dropped…oh, wait…. Maybe ban the 3D printers themselves! What about those printers whose parts are already printed by 3D printers..? Or, hey, the plans for making your own RepRap machine…aren’t those online, too?

To quote Mr. Universe in Serenity, “You can’t stop the signal, Mal…”

 

A History of the 14th Amendment

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14th amendment, institute of justice, privileges or immunities clause, slaughterhouse cases

The Fourteenth Amendment was added to the Constitution in 1868 to empower the federal government — including particularly federal courts — to stamp out a culture of lawless tyranny and oppression in the South by enforcing basic civil rights of newly freed blacks and their white supporters. This culture of oppression took many forms, including widespread censorship, the systematic disarmament of freedmen and white unionists, and the wholesale denial of economic liberty. At the heart of the Fourteenth Amendment was the Privileges or Immunities Clause, which the Supreme Court effectively deleted from the Constitution in the 1873 Slaughterhouse Cases. Today, that judicial error continues to take its toll on important freedoms like private property and the right to earn an honest living, which receive virtually no protection from courts despite their obvious importance to ensuring the economic autonomy of the freedmen following the Civil War and all Americans today.

Quote of the Day: Alexander Hamilton

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2nd amendment, alexander hamilton, gun control, gun rights, nullification, states rights

Is nullification of federal gun laws like we’ve seen in Kansas and other states constitutional? Well, here’s one of the Founders:

If a number of political societies enter into a larger political society, the laws which the latter may enact, pursuant to the powers intrusted [sic] to it by its constitution, must necessarily be supreme over those societies and the individuals of whom they are composed…. But it will not follow from this doctrine that acts of the larger society which are not pursuant to its constitutional powers, but which are invasions of the residuary authorities of the smaller societies, will become the supreme law of the land. These will be merely acts of usurpation, and will deserve to be treated as such.

Alexander Hamilton, Federalist 33

(Emphasis mine) — Since the Second Amendment is the only one that uses the term “…shall not be infringed…”, I’d say yes — the states have the right to nullify unconstitutional laws.

Not convinced that’s what they intended? Let’s try Hamilton in Federalist 78:

There is no position which depends on clearer principles, than that every act of a delegated authority contrary to the tenor of the commission under which it is exercised, is void. No legislative act, therefore, contrary to the constitution, can be valid.

Tales From Your Police State: No, They’re No Coming For Your Guns…Except in California

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armed revolt, california, fairleigh dickinson, gun control, gun laws, police state

File this under “Slippery slope”:

On May 1st, Governor Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown signed a law that allows the state to confiscate the weapons of anyone with a ”criminal conviction or serious mental illness.” $24 million has been set aside to hire new “special agents” to find the 200,000 or so folks qualifying under the new law so the state can steal their property (despite the state being $34 billion in debt…)

Mind you this is not to take away the guns of criminals, but “potentially dangerous individuals…” [Emphasis mine.] So you don’t have to have committed a crime, but just be someone who the state thinks might be a danger to yourself or others (Can we add politicians to that list?) This isn’t the end of the road for the Gilded State — there are at least another 11 gun-related measures being considered as the state exemplifying bad Progressive ideas continues to find ways to steal your money, things, and rights.

And what do Californians do? Lie down and take it.

One of these scumbag politicians, Kevin DeLeon of Los Angeles (This is the same douchebag that wanted you to have to give fingerprints to buy ammo…), wants an annual permit to buy ammunition — what amounts to a user’s fee of your constitutional rights. There’s also the nickel-per-bullet tax that’s been proposed, as well as gun show “loopholes”, etc.

Have no doubt that California is the model for the Democrat’s national efforts to steal you property and rights. Until they can wrest your weaponry from you, they know that there is the risk of the population not only rejecting — but violently so — their “progressive” agenda, to whit — create an aristocratic class of “experts” and politicians that live by a separate code than you do. It’s no wonder that a new Fairleigh Dickinson University poll shows between a quarter and a third of the population believe an “armed revolution” to be necessary to protect their liberties.

Surprise, surprise…this is similar to what I’ve been seeing in people I talk to — about a third of the people I’ve spoken to who have purchased weapons recently agreed that the possibility of an armed revolt against more government intrusion was likely, and even necessary. (Admittedly, this is anecdotal, but it has held firm with Republicans and libertarians seeing the writing on the wall, and Democrats refusing to acknowledge that their fellow citizens are well and truly pissed off. And armed.

Remember, only about a third of the population backed the revolution against the British Crown. Something to think about before you keep stepping on your neighbors’ toes.

Quote of the Day: Harry Browne

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black markets, drug war, law enforcement-industrial complex, victimless crimes

There are no violent gangs fighting over aspirin territories. There are no violent gangs fighting over whisky territories or computer territories or anything else that’s legal. There are only criminal gangs fighting over territories covering drugs, gambling, prostitution, and other victimless crimes. Making a non-violent activity a crime creates a black market, which attracts criminals and gangs, which turns what was once a relatively harmless activity affecting a small group of people into a widespread epidemic of drug use and gang warfare.

Harry Browne, former Libertarian Party presidential candidate

…but it means so much money and power for the law enforcement-industrial complex!

Tales From Your Polie State: Colorado Wants DNA for MISDEMEANORS!

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colorado, dna, government corruption, police malfeasance

This state has turned into Neuvo California — a craptastic Progressive haven of idiocy…but with nicer mountain scenery. Coming hot on the heels of their assault on the Constitution with their gun bans, the Democrats Progressives want to collect DNA from anyone arrested for misdemeanors. Keep in mind that midemeanors are “Offenses lower than felonies and generally those punishable by fine, penalty, forfeiture, or imprisonment other than in a penitentiary…”

In other words, these are crimes of generally non-violent nature…so why do we need DNA evidence? What is the purpose or intent of collecting DNA from every type of offender — or for that matter your children at birth, or in school? The usual answer is some mush-mouthed response about identifying victims, assailants, etc. but the real reason is control; the politicians want to be able to catalogue everyone they can, the better to find people “guilty of crimes.” Because there’s no way that you could abuse DNA evidence collected at one scene to aid in manufacturing a suspect for another. How dare you question the motives of your elected leaders? Because from everything they’ve shown me these last two decades or so, they have every intention of using everything they can to disempower me and other citizens, and empower the political class to do pretty much whatever they like.

They’ve not earned my trust, but they have earned my approbation.

Freedom of Speech, Internet Freedom, and Protectionism Meet

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freedom of speech, internet freedom, protectionism