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Put your money where your mouth is?
From my inbox this morning:
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) logo
Event
Join EFF and a host of platform and content moderation experts with experience at Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest for a provocative conversation about the free speech issues facing us today. From the takedown of Parler to the removal of Trump, get an inside look at how these decisions are made, and the ways they can affect everyone on the Internet. Click here to RSVP and see the full list of speakers. https://www.eff.org/event/home-eff-online-censorship-beyond-trump-and-parler
This event will be live streamed via Twitch, where you can chat and ask questions. It will also be streaming on Facebook Live and YouTube Live.
Schedule: February 3, 2021 - 11:00am to 1:00pm PST
11:00-11:45: Infrastructure: Scalpels and Hammers
11:45-12:30: Back to the Future? Content Moderation Past and Present
12:30-1:00: Tying it All Together: How EFF Thinks About All This
We'll start the discussion with a conversation about the risks created by companies at the infrastructure level—like Amazon Web Services or Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS app stores—when they refuse to host or support speech they don’t like. Following that, we'll discuss content moderation policies with individuals working (currently or formerly) in the policy space to get their perspective on the issues of the day, and how the challenges and solutions have changed in the last decade. And to close out the event, prominent thinkers from various teams at EFF will talk about the central issues that have been raised over the last few years by social media platforms and the like, from moderation to competition to the problems of scale.
EFF is dedicated to a harassment-free experience for everyone, and all participants are encouraged to view our full Event Expectations.
Register Now
Thank you,
Jason Kelley
Activism
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Support our work to defend privacy and free speech
About EFF
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading organization protecting civil liberties in the digital world. Founded in 1990, we defend free speech online, fight illegal surveillance, promote the rights of digital innovators, and work to ensure that the rights and freedoms we enjoy are enhanced, rather than eroded, as our use of technology grows. EFF is a member-supported organization. Find out more at https://eff.org/.
AOC Displays Her Stunning Ignorance of Federal Firearms Laws
AOC Displays Her Stunning Ignorance of Federal Firearms Laws…Again…Still
By Larry Keane
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s ignorance is showing again. Her latest gaffe is proclaiming “guns are not allowed in the District of Columbia…” in a CNN interview with Chris Cuomo, brother, of course, to Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, also no stranger to gun control causes.
That might come as a shock to those gun owners living in the District of Columbia. It might also come as a shock to the only federal firearms licensee – DC Security Associates. For that matter, someone might want to explain that to the police department itself, which became the sole licensee for a brief period of time.
If You’re a Lawmaker, Know the Laws
Still, that confusion doesn’t make Rep. Ocasio-Cortez correct, not by a long shot. The District of Columbia’s attempt to deny guns inside the District failed miserably. That resulted in the landmark Heller decision, which affirmed the Second Amendment is an individual right and local authorities cannot ban entire classes of commonly-owned firearms.
Before the case, Washington, D.C. had banned the possession of handguns. In subsequent litigation, the federal courts have ordered that the District must issue licenses to carry firearms to qualified, law-abiding citizens.
That put an end to DC’s ban on handguns. In fact, more than 4,000 people have obtained concealed carry permits from the D.C. police department, which requires hours of classroom instruction and range certification. Over half of those in the last fiscal year were for residents who live outside the District, according to a Washington Post report.
That might end the discussion on whether it’s lawful to exercise fundamental rights in the federal enclave where the nation’s elected representatives meet. It didn’t put an end to Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s ignorance of the law, however.
The congresswoman was making her wildly incorrect remark when she was explaining why she didn’t attend President Joe Biden’s inauguration. She said she didn’t feel safe since fellow members of Congress were asserting their right to keep and bear arms. This is where she might have been confused.
Firearm possession within the Capitol Hill complex is forbidden for everyone except Members of Congress and law enforcement. While Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is throwing up metal detectors and having U.S. Representatives get wanded down every time they go into the House chamber to cast their votes, this notion that Members of Congress can’t have guns in the Capitol is bunk.
The last time this came up was in 2015, when Congressman Ken Buck (R-Colo.) took all appropriate steps to hang an American-flag themed Modern Sporting Rifle (MSR) in his Capitol Hill office. It was unloaded, the bolt removed and disabled with a trigger lock. Gun control politicians clutched their pearls and shrieked that such an abomination couldn’t be tolerated. Except that it can.
“Members of Congress may maintain firearms within the confines of their office,” explained Kimberly Schneider, a spokesperson for Capitol Hill police, “and they and any employee or agent of any member of Congress may transport within the Capitol Grounds firearms unloaded and securely wrapped.”
The same rule also explains that no one “shall carry any firearm inside the chamber or on the floor of either House, in any lobby or cloakroom adjacent thereto, in the galleries of either House or in the Marble Room of the Senate or Rayburn Room of the House unless assigned or approved by the two Sergeants of Arms for maintenance of adequate security.”
Just so we’re keeping it easy to understand…guns are legal in Washington, D.C. and Members of Congress can have guns in their office. Rules adopted by the House of Representatives forbids them on the floor of the House chamber, in the respective lobbies and cloakroom or designated rooms.
Blinded by Bias
This isn’t the first-time Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s ignorance of federal firearm laws has been on full display. She infamously accused fellow Congressman Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) of wanting to lend firearms to “people unsupervised who can’t pass a background check.” In the same tweet, she accused any friends of Rep. Crenshaw to “have likely abused their spouse or have a violent criminal record, & you may not know it.”
If Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez took time to understand the Constitution she’s sworn to defend, or the laws she purports to understand and advance, she would know that it’s a felony to knowingly transfer a firearm to a prohibited individual. This includes domestic abusers.
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s comments in which she bungled gun laws and Constitutional rights started with her saying that she didn’t feel safe and claimed many other Members of Congress agreed with her. She didn’t offer any other names or even attempt at putting a number on it. She did willingly ignore that a concern for safety is exactly why more than 8.4 million people purchased a firearm for the first time last year, among the 21 million background checks for a gun sale.
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez has sponsored 29 bills and amendments. None of her bills have passed the House of Representatives, controlled by her fellow Democrats. Only two of her amendments have passed, one by voice vote and one by recorded vote. A courtesy she might want to consider on behalf of the people she’s elected to represent would be to understand the laws before she attempts to destroy them.
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/aoc-displays-stunning-ignorance-of-federal-firearms-laws-again-still/
NOTE: It isn't just AOC. It seems that Dem lawmakers who know the law are an overwhelming minority. We are constantly bombarded with soundbytes about the "gunshow loophole" - which does not exist. Usually, when that purported loophole is mentioned, Dems are trying to prohibit the transfer of any weapon between any two people who are not federally licensed dealers. Lawmakers either don't know the law, or they are purposely trying to confuse voters on the issue.
the showdown begins
A Large US Military Convoy Rolled Into Syria On 1st Day Of Biden Presidency
Two separate reports from Middle East news sources at the end of this week strongly suggest that both Russia and the United States are building up their forces in war-torn Syria within the opening days of the Joe Biden administration.
First, Syrian state media is alleging a major US build-up and reinforcements sent to “illegitimate bases in Hasakah countryside”.The report in Syria’s SANA details:
“…that a convoy consisted of 40 trucks loaded with weapons and logistical materials, affiliated to the so-called international coalition have entered in Hasaka countryside via al-Walid illegitimate border crossing with north of Iraq, to reinforce illegitimate bases in the area.”
Damascus said further that tons of US heavy equipment was observed going toward building up US positions at Conoco oil and gas field: “Over the past few days, helicopters affiliated to the so-called international coalition have transported logistical equipment and heavy military vehicles to Conoco oil field in northeastern Deir Ezzor countryside, after turning it into military base to reinforce its presence and loot the Syrian resources,” SANA wrote further.
This comes at a moment Biden’s Syria policy and direction is still largely a big unknown – though it remains that his cabinet looks to include foreign policy hawks – particularly many of the same officials responsible for Obama’s both overt and covert interventions in Libya and Syria upon the start of the so-called ‘Arab Spring’.
For now President Biden is likely simply to continue Trump’s policy of keeping a contingent of American special forces troops stealing occupying Syria’s oil and gas fields.
Meanwhile a separate story on the same day as the reported US convoy reinforcements says Russia too is busy building up its forces in an area near where Americans and Turkish patrols are occupying northeast Syria.
https://www.newswars.com/a-large-us-military-convoy-rolled-into-syria-on-1st-day-of-biden-presidency/
Who believes that facing off with the Russians in Syria can possibly be good for anyone?
Establishment Joe doesn't care about peace.
The Robots
Before I talk of robots, I need to say a few words about my own robot that I reviewed here. In the review, I was steamed about today’s lack of ever giving anybody any manuals. I thought of this again when I put a box by the basement door, with the book on the top an inch thick manual for a quarter century old Sound Blaster; just a sound card, not a whole device.
Then today I noticed something a woman would have seen the day before I actually started the robot.
For hundreds of thousands of years, humans and their progenitors were hunter-gatherers. The men hunted game, women gathered nuts, fruits, other edible vegetables. This is why there are almost no color-deficiant women, as a color blind female hominid would have starved without charity. Likewise, evolution made men's sight so that movement caught his eye, so he could spot game. His eyes aren't wired to look for stationary things.
This is my sorry excuse for fucking up.
This afternoon I saw, on its edge, wedged between a cardboard box and a gallon of windshield wiper fluid, a booklet. It was the manual to the robot, and other than being as grammatically challenged as anyone with English as a second language, or a computer, it was actually a very good manual.
I owe the ILIFE people an apology. I was going to make an effort to change the Amazon review, but saw that there were thousands of reviews so I didn’t bother. I did see that the broom costs sixty bucks more than I paid.
It had been sweeping for less and less time every day for a while until it only swept for fifteen minutes, and I feared I had gotten a bum battery—then remembered some other devices’ lousy guessing at the battery charge, so I did a cold boot. It swept for hours afterwards.
Then there are the robotic meat puppets. One of Vlad's puppets, President Pinocchio, had been programming his few thousand meat puppets, half of whom were liars and the other half stupid enough to not only believe that the Democrats could actually rig an election in a Republican state, but in more than one! Then, of course, there were those who post things like “democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding what’s for dinner.” I often wonder why these people don’t move to North Korea.
After months of programming these hapless fools, he ordered them to the capitol and told them they had to get mean. I wonder what they’ll think when they don’t get their expected pardons?
When the dust settled after the coup attempt, meaning kind of a couple of days ago, when he slithered out from under his rock, waved his hand, and said “people said it was innocent. These are not the droids you’re looking for.”
The Governator, who was a child in Nazi Austria during the “night of the broken glass,” likened the attempted taking of the capitol to the horror of that night.
If Trump and his legislative enablers don't face some harsh consequences for what they have done, you will see it happening over and over.
I personally prefer steel or plastic robots to meat robots. My floor has never been as clean.
Seal Who Killed Bin Laden Mocks “Scared” Congressmen
Seal Who Killed Bin Laden Mocks “Scared” Congressmen Who Hid Under Their Desks
The political theatrics has gone from Shakespearian to SNL
BY MISSY CRANE
JANUARY 13, 2021
The left is going off the rails with this “we were under enemy fire” theatrics they’re staging over the DC Capitol melee.
TIRED OF THE ADS? BECOME A PREMIUM USER TODAY!!
There were actually people who were injured and an unarmed female Trump supporter who shot in cold blood.
But leave it to self-centered, filthy-rich, elitist politically motivated politicians to put all the focus on them.
It’s disgusting to watch infold, especially after over 20 people were killed during the BLM “peaceful” protests that went on all summer long, and these same people didn’t say a word.
It’s okay to burn down American businesses. and slaughter innocent people, but God forbid if you scare the political elites. There will be HELL to pay. The entire force of the federal government will come reigning down on you.
This is just more of the ‘Let Them Eat Cake” elitist attitude going on with our current government.
The peasants can get burned in the streets, but how dare you break a window and take selfies inside their sacred and holy chamber.
And no, I’m not condoning “riots,” of any kind. I’m making a valid point.
And trust me, I am not the only one watching this ghastly B-list movie unfold with contempt and disgust.
As a matter of fact, an actual American hero – the former Navy Seal who killed Osama Bin Laden – is watching this stunt and he’s even more disgusted than I am.
Here’s what Mr. O’Neill said: “I’m watching these Congressmen speak. I cannot believe they are in charge… talking about how “scared” they were. Hiding under desks… betas”
I’m watching these Congressmen speak. I cannot believe they are in charge… talking about how “scared” they were. Hiding under desks… betas
— Robert J. O'Neill (@mchooyah) January 13, 2021
President Trump didn’t incite an insurrection – that wasn’t an “insurrection” for crying out loud. It was a bunch of fed-up Americans who are sick and tired of their shitty government, along with some Antifa instigators, and touristy patriots who were invited in by the police.
That’s the lamest “insurrection” I’ve ever heard of.
Leftists won't read Wayne DuPree, but this is an appeal to stop acting like a bunch of cunts. Oh yeah, who remembers Hillary Clinton arriving in Bosnia, amidst "sniper fire"?
Too much crap to wade through
I'm skeptical of the right's narrative. And, the left's narrative is complete bullshit. I'm sifting through all the shit, trying to find some nougats of truth.
https://twitter.com/JohnDoe1284495/status/1347088136808005633
EMS worker from LeHigh Pa rejects the notion that Trump supporters broke into the capitol. He fingers the activists who busted out the windows as separate and distinct from Trump supporters.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1347032914182217728
Claims again that Trump supporters were NOT responsible for the broken windows. The video isn't much evidence of anything, it's too far away, and all you hear are a few people yelling.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1347032914182217728
Another video of "violence on the south side".
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/01/dc-police-identify-four-trump-americans-killed-chaos-us-capitol/
Lemme understand this: One person shot to death, and three people die of "natural causes", so we claim that 4 people are killed. That doesn't add up. Let's say that I walk past a store during an armed robbery, and suffer a fatal heart attack. The cops are going to claim that the armed robber killed me? Huh? WTF? Need more details on those "natural deaths". Sounds like someone desparately needs to inflate body counts to make their narrative work.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55577362
There are claims, and even supporting video, that capitol police ALLOWED people into the capitol. Apparently, those claims are credible enough that officials are resigning and/or being asked to resign.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/live-blog/electoral-college-certification-updates-n1252864/ncrd1253112#blogHeader
Improvised explosive device found at Capitol
WASHINGTON — At least one improvised explosive device was found on the Capitol grounds, several law enforcement officials told NBC News.
The explosive device was found outside a building, the officials said.
“Along with our law enforcement partners, FBI Washington Field Office responded to reports of suspicious devices. The investigation is ongoing," a spokesperson for the field office said,
Fails the suck test: No officials are named, and a "suspicious device" is not necessarily a "improvised explosive device".
https://www.foxnews.com/us/capitol-hill-attacks-explosives-rnc-dnc-real-deal-sources-say
Again, fails the suck test.
https://thehill.com/homenews/news/533109-dc-police-confirm-explosives-found-near-capitol
Sucks less - a statement is attributed to Chief Robert Contee, so maybe there were explosives at the RNC and DNC.
https://nypost.com/2021/01/06/multiple-explosive-devices-found-amid-washington-dc-protests/
Makes everything questionable again with
Two realistic-looking homemade bombs were found Wednesday in Washington, DC — one just outside the headquarters of the Republican National Committee and the other near the Democratic National Committee’s offices, authorities said.
Either they were real, or they were realistic looking. Stop the bullshit.
It was “successfully detonated,” the RNC said in a statement.
Well, yeah, if protocol demands that you place a bomb on the "suspicious device" and detonate your bomb, I expect that the device should be "successfully detonated". That doesn't tell us whether the "suspicious device" was really a bomb.
My REAL problem with all these claims of explosives, centers around Congress reconvening soon after protesters were cleared. Business as usual. NO ONE was afraid that a bomb might have been concealed within the Capitol, to be detonated during proceedings.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/533186-1-capitol-police-officer-in-critical-condition-up-to-60-hospitalized-after
Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund defended the Capitol Police’s response to Wednesday’s riots, saying the department had a “robust plan” in place ahead of the demonstrations.
Sund is obviously an idiot, who never should have been in a police chief's position. However - I really want to know how 60 cops were "injured". I didn't see that much violence, although I'm looking for it. If 60 cops were injured by protesters, I would expect to see a lot of stories about injured protesters being treated and released, or even admitted to the hospitals within driving distance.
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-coup-2649783506/
Another total idiot. How in the HELL was a little riot "worse than 9/11"? How many fatalities? Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. I need a rhetoric shovel. No, a rhetoric backhoe. Unfortunetely, an idiot general is just parroting the stupid shit he hears from congress and the media.
https://www.rawstory.com/police-accused-of-leniency-with-trumpists-severity-with-anti-racists/
The first thing that struck AFP photojournalist Saul Loeb as unusual when he arrived at the Capitol building to cover Joe Biden's election certification Wednesday was the thin police presence."It was basically like any other day on Capitol Hill for security. That was a bit surprising," recalled the 37-year-old, whose day was about to turn out unlike any other.The photographer would go on to take defining images of an unprecedented breach of the halls of Congress, from a Trump supporter with his foot on a desk in top Democrat Nancy Pelosi's office to a marauding intruder wearing a fur hat with animal horns.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/08/parliament-siege-habermas-democracy-history
A more reasonable look at the "riots" on Capitol hill. It seems to neglect that Capitol police allowed protesters inside though.
Huh. More and more links lead to Parler. I finally decided to go look at Parler. Can't see diddly unless you register. Mobile phone number required to register. Fek it. Verification process helps to keep out bots - and anyone who doesn't need, want, or use a mobile phone. Or, just doesn't want to give away personal information. Assholes.
https://www.sott.net/article/446905-Antifa-still-riot-in-Portland-on-night-Bidens-election-is-certified
All the outrage over Washington, and Multnomah County is still under seige. But, no one is supposed to be watching what the leftists are doing. Doesn't fit the narrative at all!
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/Voices/2021/01/08/Capitol-siege-is-Americas-third-day-of-infamy-Trump-must-go/8101610049646/
Another "day of infamy" article. The idiocy pervades.
EDIT:
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/jan/8/capitol-police-rejected-offers-of-federal-help-to-/
Amidst all the "trump said" "pence said" "officials blah blah blah" I find this:
WASHINGTON (AP) - Three days before supporters of President Donald Trump rioted at the Capitol, the Pentagon asked the U.S Capitol Police if it needed National Guard manpower. And as the mob descended on the building Wednesday, Justice Department leaders reached out to offer up FBI agents. The police turned them down both times, according to senior defense officials and two people familiar with the matter.
Despite plenty of warnings of a possible insurrection and ample resources and time to prepare, the Capitol Police planned only for a free speech demonstration.
Still stinging from the uproar over the violent response by law enforcement to protests last June near the White House, officials also were intent on avoiding any appearance that the federal government was deploying active duty or National Guard troops against Americans.
No wonder so many police officials are resigning. They had the authority and the power to order up required troops. They were offered troops, and turned the troops down.
Pelosi losing control
Pelosi Gives In, Allows Lauren Boebert To Carry A Gun In The Capitol
By John Boch via TTAG and republished with permission
Members of Congress enjoy a lot of perks. Among them is the right to carry a firearm even while they’re in the halls of Congress. But a group of Democrats set out to change that once a firebrand gun rights champion have publicly announced her intention to take advantage of that perk.
Lauren Boebert won her Congressional race in Colorado in November. She later made national headlines when she announced that she planned to take her GLOCK to work on a daily basis. That didn’t sit well with the House’s den mother and a handful of radical Democrats.
Why do Democrats want to change this generations-old policy allowing members to carry? “Ultimately, the current regulations create needless risk for Members of Congress, their staff, members of the Capitol Police, and visitors to the Capitol grounds,” they wrote in a letter.
In an effort to push back, 83 House members have signed a letter contesting Pelosi’s plans to end the concealed carry perk for Congresscritters. Planet Free Will News has the story.
The effort is being lead by Representative Lauren Boebert (R-CO) who says she refuses to give up her ability to carry a firearm while spending time in the crime ridden District of Columbia.
“I refuse to give up my Second Amendment rights,” Boebert said in a statement, adding:
“I’m a 5-foot tall, 100-pound mom with four children and will be walking to work and serving in one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S. I choose to defend my family and my life with all of the force the Constitution provides. I will not let a bunch of gun-grabbing House Democrats take away my Constitutional right to protect myself.”
The Colorado representative’s call for allowing the continuation to pack heat has been joined by 82 other members including Louie Gohmert, Matt Gaetz, and Dan Crenshaw.
Boebert acknowledged the support of her fellow pro-gun congressmen.
Unfortunately, the majority party in the House makes the rules. So you wouldn’t expect sternly worded letters from minority members, no matter how persuasive, to slow the Democrats from enacting this change to strip the right to keep and bear arms from members.
But Boebert somehow seems to have prevailed. At least for now. As Fox News reports . . .
On Saturday, it appeared Boebert scored a victory, as new rules unveiled by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not appear to include a Democrat-proposed ban on firearms in the Capitol.
Go figure.
It probably burns Pelosi that she might have to watch her mouth, and not threaten this congresswoman. A credible threat against an armed person justifies popping a few rounds off, in almost all jurisdictions.
For that matter, all Americans have the right to carry, anywhere and everywhere. Any law to the contrary is unconstitutional. "Shall not be infringed" is not open to interpretation.
Oh yeah, Republicans have their share of good looking women. This chick would look good with or without a gun strapped to her side!
https://concealednation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/congress-gun-carry-728x381.jpg
Twenty: The final AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHHHH
It’s that time of year again. The time of year when everyone and their dog waxes nostalgic about all the shit nobody cares about from the year past, and stupidly predicts the next year in the grim knowledge that when the next New Year comes along, nobody will remember that the dumbass predicted a bunch of foolish shit that turned out to be complete and utter balderdash.
Except this year. NOBODY expects the Spanish In... Oh, wait, that was a century ago. Time flies when you're having fun... but if you're having fun, why would you want to time flies?
A deadly, redundantly named worldwide pandemic has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans alone, not to mention the rest of the world, but we're the worst thanks to our cluelessly incompetent leadership. Rather than the Spanish Influenza from a century ago, Covid-19 is far deadlier.
And that ain't all! Murder hornets, record storms and flooding, record setting fires out west, the world's economies collapsing, massive protests against police officers murdering Black people, a defeated American president determined to hold on to power... 2020: Written by Stephen King, directed by Quentin Tarantino, narrated by Samuel L. Jackson.
With all of the bars closed for months, I got a lot of writing done.
I might as well go ahead and do it anyway. Just like I did last year (yes, a lot of this was pasted from last year’s final chapter).
Some of these links go to /. (these would be old stuff), S/N, mcgrewbooks.com, or mcgrew.info. As usual, first: the yearly index:
Journals:
Articles:
Driving the Snakes from Ireland
An open letter to my congressman
20 Downsides Of Electric Vehicles: Debunked
The Allegations against Joe Biden
No, We’re Not All In This Together
The Dumbest Word This Century (so far)
Reviews
Science Fiction
Song
I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas
I’m Dreaming of a Wet Christmas
Last years’ stupid predictions (and more):
I predicted that I wouldn’t have a book ready in 2020. I got it right! This year I'm predicting that I will release a book, maybe two.
The monster will be banished on January 20. The plague will take a while longer.
I’ll also hang on to most of last year’s predictions, and add one or two new ones;
Someone will die. Maybe you, maybe me. Not necessarily anybody I know... we can only hope. Unfortunately I hit the nail on the head last year; I lost my mother in October, and a few friends left the earth without a rocket as well.
SETI will find no sign of intelligent life. Not even on Earth.
The Pirate Party won’t make inroads in the US. I hope I’m wrong about that one.
US politicians will continue to be wholly owned by the corporations.
I’ll still be a nerd.
Technophobic fashionista jocks will troll slashdot (but not S/N). I have no idea if that one or the following held up, anybody been there lately?
Microsoft will continue sucking.
The pandemic will continue plagueing us.
Happy New Year! Ready for another trip around the sun?
No, they're not coming for our guns after all!
Smith & Wesson Sues New Jersey Over ‘Anti-Second Amendment Agenda’
NEWARK, N.J. (CN) — A leading firearms manufacturer alleges New Jersey is engaged in an “unconstitutional fishing expedition” to try to curtail gun rights by using a new tactic: false advertising claims.
In a federal lawsuit filed in New Jersey on Tuesday, Smith & Wesson claims New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal has tried everything in his power to stymie gun sales, and that he is now sifting through decades of company advertisements and marketing materials in an extra-legal attempt to restrict the right to bear arms.
https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/smith-wesson.pdf
In October, Grewal filed administrative subpoenas seeking evidence of fraudulent advertising from the gun manufacturer. The subpoenas request documentation related to advertisements that claim firearms make a home safer, an untrained homeowner could use a Smith & Wesson firearm safely and effectively to defend his home, and whether guns enhance one’s lifestyle.
“The Subpoena presents no legitimate inquiry into any purported fraud, and instead targets mere opinions and other protected statements allegedly made by Smith & Wesson,” the company claims. It seeks a court order enjoining the subpoenas and declaring them unconstitutional.
Citing 248 million results in Google searches of “do guns make you safer” as proof that many Americans believe firearms make them safer, Smith & Wesson says New Jersey’s false advertisement subpoenas should be a dead-end legal theory.
Smith & Wesson also says the subpoenas are politically motivated, noting that Grewal has partnered with several anti-Second Amendment groups, like Do Not Stand Idly By, to seek new methods to restrict gun ownership.
The complaint notes that at a conference at New York University earlier this month, participants allegedly observed how consumer protection and false advertising laws were fertile ground for new anti-gun initiatives.
https://www.law.nyu.edu/centers/civiljustice/firearms-litigation
The complaint also claims New Jersey’s purported “name and shame” policy, in which the attorney general has tried to connect Smith & Wesson with “crime guns,” is an extra-legal attempt to branch the company as a bad actor.
Smith & Wesson firearms have been used in several high-profile mass shootings over the last decade, including the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, in which a 19-year-old killed 17 students and faculty, and the mass shooting at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater during a 2012 showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” that killed 12 people.
In 2018, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced that gun manufacturers would be listed in monthly reports showing the source for every “crime gun” recovered by police in the state.
Murphy said months after signing the executive order that he hoped “bringing light to this topic” would spur gun manufacturers to “act responsibly and work with us to stop weapons they make from ending up in the hands of dangerous criminals.”
https://nj.gov/infobank/eo/056murphy/pdf/EO-21.pdf
State data show that more than 80% of the guns used in crimes in New Jersey came from outside of the state, with Smith & Wesson firearms among the heaviest-trafficked firearms into the state. According to the latest report, 48 Smith & Wesson-brand firearms were used in crimes in the state, the leader among all gun manufacturers.
Gun manufacturers have called the “Name and Shame” program unreasonable and purely agenda-driven, likening it to announcing which car was used in a drunk driving fatality.
“The intentional overreach of the facially invalid Subpoena and punitive intent of the Attorney General’s ‘name and shame’ initiative makes no sense as an exercise of prosecutorial authority, but they make perfect sense when seen for what they really are – the latest chapter in efforts by anti-Second Amendment Activists, hostile to the private ownership of firearms, to impose, through coercion, a gun control agenda which they largely have been unable to impose through federal or state legislative process or through the courts,” the 57-page complaint alleges.
Smith & Wesson has clashed with politicians before. In 2000, the company signed an agreement with President Clinton – which Smith & Wesson claims nearly bankrupted the company due to a decline in sales – to accept gun control measures.
While the company is most well-known for its pistols and handguns, which stem back to the 1800s, it also manufactures semi-automatic assault rifles and shotguns.
Smith & Wesson is represented by Christopher Strongosky of DLA Piper.
An email seeking comment from Grewal’s office was not immediately returned.
https://www.courthousenews.com/smith-wesson-sues-new-jersey-over-anti-second-amendment-agenda/
Black Lives matter - less than loot
Prosecutors: No charges in pawnshop killing during George Floyd unrest
County Attorney says state can't refute owner's claim of self-defense.
When police responded they were met by a hostile crowd that yelled and threatened officers, forcing them to move Horton to a nearby business while they waited for an ambulance, according to prosecutors. He died a short time later at HCMC.
Because of the chaos, officers arrested Rieple, but didn't stay to process the scene. As a result, the shotgun that was used was never recovered. Looters also ransacked the pawnshop, taking everything, including its security cameras and the DVR that would have recorded the fatal shooting and the moments leading up to it, prosecutors said.
Two more witnesses, one of whom was a close friend of Horton, were identified when detectives reviewed officers' body camera footage from the scene. But the female friend, who was not identified, later hired a lawyer, who told prosecutors that she would not talk to police, nor would she identify another woman she was with, prosecutors said.
The County Attorney's Office later put out a plea urging any other witnesses to come forward to no avail.
"When the Hennepin County Attorney's Office deferred the case on June 2, prosecutors asked police to canvass the neighborhood for additional witnesses to the shooting and any other surveillance cameras which might have captured the shooting. No other cameras were found," the statement read. "Some people had posted video and they were tracked down and interviewed. Their video showed Horton and the pawnshop after the shooting and the witnesses could only testify to the chaos at the time, but not the actual shooting."
So, lemme think about this. Rioting in the streets, people breaking into your business, active looting going on, and people are actually rushing at you - and it's STILL against the law to use a weapon to defend yourself? Hmmmmmm . . .
The fact that the looters took away the cameras and the DVR with all the evidence seems like evidence, in and of itself. The video evidence would have exonerated the business owner, so the rioters couldn't leave it behind.
And, no witness is willing to testify on behalf of the deceased.
Wow.
Loot matters more than any black life, in this city!
