SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Runaway1956 (2926)
(email not shown publicly)
http://www.assaultweapon.info/
Howard wrote “that every person born within the limits of the United States, and subject to their jurisdiction, is by virtue of natural law and national law a citizen of the United States. This will not, of course, include persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens, who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers accredited to the government of the United States, but will include every other class of persons.” https://www.14thamendment.us/articles/anchor_babies_unconstitutionality.html
Journal of Runaway1956 (2926)
I may become a coffee snob, thanks to Amazon. I've always thought coffee snobs were a bit screwy, obsessing over a common drink. Still - I've been served coffee now and then that was out of the ordinary. Mostly at upscale restaurants, that don't cater to children. Places where you don't find a lot of 'People of WalMart', shall we say? You get a very good to excellent dinner, and the coffee just makes the whole meal perfect. You later remember the meal, but the coffee is what really stands out.
Well, Amazon's Vine program offers samples of coffee, among other things. Mostly whole roast beans, but I see others now and then.
Recently, I was offered some Ethiopian Sidamo medium light roast beans. I ground some up, and made a pot of drip coffee. The stuff smelled as good as any coffee I've tried - better than some. It was pretty much the same smell upon opening, during grinding, and during brewing. Beautiful!
I poured that first cup, took a sip, and rolled it around, and it was most certainly the nectar of the gods. It doesn't even excite the same taste receptors that most coffees do. This is more rear-of-the-tongue and upper palate taste buds. And - after you've swallowed, those receptors just keep on tasting that coffee, for several seconds. Smooth, mellow, and strong, with no hint of bitterness, and very low acidity.
None of that is truly unique to this Sidamo coffee, but, this is very much what has made some of my better restaurant experiences so very memorable. I could swear that this is the exact coffee that I've been served at some of those restaurants!
Other coffees that I've sampled in recent months range from horrid, to very good, even excellent. But, none have equaled this Sidamo.
The brand I evaluated is pretty expensive, over $3/ounce. I need to experiment with other brands that use the same beans. The least expensive I've found so far, is $0.70/ounce, which is about double Folgers, Community, and Maxwell House.
Do we have any coffee snobs on SN who can recommend other great coffees I should sample? Sidamo certainly doesn't account for all the memorable meals I've eaten around the world!!
Philadelphia mass shooting suspect Kimbrady Carriker hit with murder charges as it’s revealed one of 5 victims was set to walk daughter down the aisle
The Philadelphia mass shooting suspect who allegedly gunned down five men and injured several kids was arraigned in court Wednesday on a slew of charges — as it was revealed that one of the slain victims was set to marry off his daughter this weekend.
Kimbrady Carriker, 40, was held without bail after being slapped with five counts of murder, as well as attempted murder, aggravated assault, and weapons charges, in the wake of the holiday weekend rampage.
In a mugshot, Carriker appears with short braided hair with a mustache and goatee — a dramatically different look from Facebook postings he made a few months ago in which he sported long hair and women’s clothes.
While police and the DA’s office initially referred to the suspect with they/them pronouns, authorities are now referring to Carriker as a male.
Carriker had allegedly donned a bulletproof vest and ski mask before massacring his victims at random with an AR-15-style rifle in the city’s working-class Kingsessing neighborhood Monday night, authorities said.
He had a pistol, extra magazines, and a police scanner in his possession when he surrendered to cops after a brief foot pursuit.
One of the victims, Ralph Moralis, had been set to walk his daughter down the aisle this weekend, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
“He did well by his family,” his ex-partner of 25 years, Tamika Veney, said of the slain man.
“He was a regular dude, a good person. He’s really going to be missed.”
Carriker, who had a prior gun conviction under his belt from 2003, was allegedly carrying a “ghost gun” on the night of the massacre, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner told CNN on Wednesday.
A ghost gun is an unregistered firearm manufactured illegally, usually by 3-D printing.
Krasner, who described the horror as a “random, premeditated deliberate killing,” said there was good reason to believe the AR-15 and the ghost gun Carriker used “may have been obtained illegally.”
Carriker doesn’t appear to have had any prior connection to his alleged victims and authorities are still trying to determine a motive, the DA said.
Philadelphia’s homicide unit commander, Staff Inspector Ernest Ransom, said witness interviews and surveillance footage indicated the suspect had gone to several locations wearing his ski mask and body armor as he opened fire along several blocks.
“The suspect then began shooting aimlessly at occupied vehicles and individuals on the street as they walked,” Ransom said.
The slain victims have been identified as Lashyd Merritt, 20, Dymir Stanton, 29, Ralph Moralis, 59, Daujan Brown, 15, and Joseph Wamah Jr., 31.
Wamah was found dead inside a home.
A 2-year-old boy and a 13-year-old youth were also injured by gunfire, while another 2-year-old boy and a woman were hit by shattered glass.
“We’re talking about completely innocent bystanders who did absolutely nothing to put themselves at risk and they have suffered this horrifying consequence,” the district attorney said.
https://nypost.com/2023/07/05/kimbrady-carriker-charged-with-murder-over-philadelphia-shootings/
I'm sure we just need more cocaine in the White House, at the Capitol, and in the state capitols to solve all these problems.
EXCLUSIVE: Congress Enlists GAO for “Domestic Extremist” Study on Social Media and Gaming Platforms
June 30, 2023Gab News can exclusively report that members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security have requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) examine the utilization of social media and gaming platforms by “domestic extremists.”
Earlier this week Gab received an email from the GAO asking us to take part in the study and provide information on our business and users. Gab will not be participating in this study and will not be providing any information to the GAO. Our policies on First Amendment-protected speech are well known and are the industry standard for free speech online. We will not scapegoat our users or undermine the operation of our business to demonize normal Americans who have serious concerns with the direction of the nation and our leaders.
Our response to the GAO was as follows:
The most violent domestic extremist content we see on the Internet comes from the President of the United States, who is funding a meat grinder in Ukraine, cheering the burning of American cities in 2020, jailing peaceful protestors from January 6th, and openly advocating child genital mutilation from his Twitter account. We suggest you start there. Otherwise, we’re not interested in your study.
In the interest of transparency we will share the full request below so the public is aware of how their tax dollars are being spent.
Good afternoon,
We are reaching out from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). GAO is an independent, non-partisan agency that evaluates federal programs for the U.S. Congress.
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security requested that GAO examine domestic violent extremists’ use of social media and gaming platforms. As part of our work, we are interested in hearing from a range of social media and gaming companies about their platforms, including community guidelines, and procedures for coordinating with external stakeholders if applicable.
We have selected Gab as part of our study. We would appreciate receiving your perspectives by responding to the questions below. Please note that we will not attribute information to any company representative by name in our public report. If we use information received from Gab in our report, we will send those statements to you for review, including to determine whether you would like each statement to appear as “representatives of Gab” or “representatives of a social media company.”
Your responses are valuable in helping us inform the U.S. Congress about online platforms’ approaches to handling violent extremist content, and we really appreciate your time.
Please provide written responses by replying to this email by Thursday, July 13.
1. Please provide an overview of Gab’s goals as a platform and how it generates its revenue (e.g. user fees, advertising, data sales).
2. In its Terms of Service, Gab states that its policy is “to allow all speech which is permitted by the First Amendment and to disallow all speech which is not permitted by the First Amendment,” however the terms do not explicitly mention any policies related to violent extremist content. To what extent does Gab have policies or take action to limit the spread of violent extremist content that may appear on the platform and is not illegal under U.S. law? How, if at all, does Gab define this type of content?
3. Other than Section 230 (47 U.S.C. § 230) and policies related to child sexual abuse material, what laws and regulations, if any, does Gab consider in making decisions about domestic violent extremism that may appear on the platform?
4. What strategies and tools, if any, does Gab use to identify and mitigate domestic violent extremist content (e.g. automated or human reviews, user reporting)?
a. What redress mechanisms, if any, exist for users who believe their speech has been unfairly or inappropriately stifled?
5. What challenges, if any, does Gab face in identifying and mitigating domestic violent extremist content?
6. To the extent that Gab becomes aware of a potential threat on its platform, what actions, if any, does Gab take in response?
7. To what extent does Gab work with federal, state, or local agencies on issues related to domestic violent extremist content (e.g. notifying law enforcement of threats, partnerships or coordination, information-sharing)?
a. Please describe the nature of the coordination, if any, including which agencies you work with.
8. What, if anything, would you like federal agencies to know or do related to addressing domestic violent extremism on social media and gaming platforms?
Thank you in advance for assisting us with our work. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Regards,
GAO Social Media Study team
It seems pretty clear that the GAO has an interest in how legal speech is being quashed.
To what extent does Gab have policies or take action to limit the spread of violent extremist content that may appear on the platform and is not illegal under U.S. law? How, if at all, does Gab define this type of content?
That pretty clearly states that legal speech can be, or should be, or maybe even must be silenced.
Rest in peace, First Amendment.
Wagner group revolts, leaves Ukraine, marches on Moscow, and 11th hour deal stops Wagner, which will take refuge in Belarus.
Wow. I thought all this time that Yevgeny Prigozhin was Putin's most devoted butt buddy!
So, what does all of that mean for Ukraine? Does Ukraine march on Moscow next?
In February and March of 1973, after years of brutal captivity for many, 591 American prisoners of war in Vietnam returned home—including 138 courageous members of the Sea Services.
Their return was coined Operation Homecoming—a journey back to their families and country that helped mark the end of U.S. involvement in Vietnam. More importantly, it represented the uniquely American spirit of shared sacrifice, mighty defiance, unmatched bravery, and holding out hope in the face of unthinkable adversity.
To mark the 50th anniversary of this moment in history, for a limited time, we are offering individually-numbered 2023 Operation Homecoming Challenge Coins to our supporters with any gift of $35 or more to the Navy Memorial. This pre-sale opportunity is the FIRST time you can secure your 2023 Challenge Coin, so please donate now, and we will do everything we can to get the coin to you ASAP.
When these nearly 600 heroes returned home in 1973, many had spent years at the hands of their merciless captors. They were shackled, starved, beaten, and tortured. They had missed birthdays, anniversaries, and American milestones. They had no idea when, or if, their captivity would ever end.
But they were never broken. Extraordinary men like Naval Aviator Commander Everett Alvarez, Jr., who spent over eight years as a prisoner of war, and the late Sen. John McCain, who spent five and a half years in captivity, with two of those years being in solitary confinement, also exemplify this unshakeable resilience. They quietly demonstrated the very best of the United States Sea Services, and we honor their sacrifice to this day—especially this year, on the 50th anniversary of Operation Homecoming.
Thanks to generous supporters like you will guarantee that historic moments like Operation Homecoming and the valor of our Sea Service members are never forgotten.
Join the Navy Memorial as we recognize the 50th anniversary of the return of our Vietnam POWs with this exclusive pre-sale offer: Donate $35 or more today to help us continue honoring our Sea Service veterans and receive your limited-edition, individually-numbered 2023 Operation Homecoming Challenge Coin.
From an email. Let's be clear, these guys are fund raising. Because I am part of a couple communities, they tend to target me for their fund raising drives. If anyone actually wants a challenge coin - https://donorbox.org/coin-1 Or, click it if you just want to read a bit more.
Fifty years ago. A lifetime, and more. I was a high school junior at that time.
But, let's not stop there. Every war has, had, or will have their returning veterans. Vietnam may have been more brutal than some wars, and less brutal than others. But, every war has had their veterans, prisoners, and their dead eventually returned home, or at least accounted for.
Ukraine is up for recognition soon - and then there will be more.
US government suggests that convicts are not people.
Applying that standard, Bruen held “that the Second and
Fourteenth Amendments protect an individual’s right to carry
a handgun for self-defense outside the home.” Id. at 2122. But
the “where” question decided in Bruen is not at issue here.
Range’s appeal instead requires us to examine who is among
“the people” protected by the Second Amendment. U.S. Const.
amend. II; see Bruen, 142 S. Ct. at 2157 (Alito, J., concurring)
(“Our holding decides nothing about who may lawfully
possess a firearm . . . .”); see also Eugene Volokh,
Implementing the Right to Keep and Bear Arms for Self-
Defense: An Analytical Framework and a Research Agenda,
56 UCLA L. Rev. 1443 (2009) (distinguishing among “who,”
“what,” “where,” “when,” and “how” restrictions). Range
claims he is one of “the people” entitled to keep and bear arms
and that our Nation has no historical tradition of disarming
people like him. The Government responds that Range has not
been one of “the people” since 1995, when he pleaded guilty
in Pennsylvania state court to making a false statement on his
food stamp application, and that his disarmament is historically
supported.
Having explained how Bruen abrogated our Second
Amendment jurisprudence, we now apply the Supreme Court’s
established method to the facts of Range’s case. Both sides
agree that we no longer conduct means-end scrutiny. And as
the panel wrote: “Bruen’s focus on history and tradition,”
means that “Binderup’s multifactored seriousness inquiry no
longer applies.” Range, 53 F.4th at 270 n.9.
After Bruen, we must first decide whether the text of the
Second Amendment applies to a person and his proposed
conduct. 142 S. Ct. at 2134–35. If it does, the government now
bears the burden of proof: it “must affirmatively prove that its
firearms regulation is part of the historical tradition that
delimits the outer bounds of the right to keep and bear arms"
This one is almost certainly going to the Supreme Court, and it will decide whether non-violent criminals will be treated the same as violent criminals, regarding their Second Amendment rights.
Nearly 40 years ago, in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, the Supreme Court ruled that courts should defer to a federal agency’s interpretation of an ambiguous statute as long as that interpretation is reasonable. On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to reconsider its ruling in Chevron.
The question comes to the court in a case brought by a group of commercial fishing companies. They challenged a rule issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service that requires the fishing industry to pay for the costs of observers who monitor compliance with fishery management plans.
Relying on Chevron, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected the companies’ challenge to the rule. Judge Judith Rogers explained that although federal fishery law makes clear that the government can require fishing boats to carry monitors, it does not specifically address who must pay for the monitors. Because the NMFS’s interpretation of federal fishery law as authorizing industry-funded monitors was a reasonable one, Rogers concluded, the court should defer to that interpretation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImLVzQdKIQ8
Just some good old boy who knows cars. Enjoy!
There were fireworks at a Congressional hearing covering a critical topic not just to the firearm industry and Second Amendment supporters, but to all Americans. It wasn’t entirely unexpected. The U.S. House Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance’s hearing titled, “ATF’s Assault on the Second Amendment: When is Enough Enough?” posed a simple question. And the question gets to the heart of whether or not the ATF makes the rules.
Sorry ATF, You Don’t Make the Rules
Who writes law in the United States? That begged other questions. Can government agencies go rogue and create sweeping regulations that turn law-abiding citizens into criminals? Or does law-making authority reside with the people through their duly elected representatives in Congress?The Background
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) promulgated a new Final Rule in January. This new rule has drastic implications for millions of existing law-abiding gun owners. The agency unilaterally decreed that stabilizing arm braces attached to pistols are now defined as short-barreled rifles (SBRs). As such they are subject to registration under the National Firearms Act (NFA).That means owners who already legally purchased the firearm accessory must register their purchase. Likewise, they must submit photos and fingerprints, pass an additional background check and alert local law enforcement that they possess one.
If they don’t, they risk facing felony charges and imprisonment. The Congressional Research Service estimates there could be upwards of 40 million braces in circulation today.
Alex Bosco testified about how we got here today. The former Marine invented the forearm stabilizing brace in 2012 to help disabled veterans more safely participate in recreational pistol shooting.
Pretty long read, so I'm sticking a spoiler tag here.
https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2023/03/atf-rules/
“Since I began my business, I’ve made every effort to comply with all the rules and regulations set out by ATF. After submitting the original brace to ATF for review, ATF responded in writing stating that attaching a stabilizing brace – quote – would not alter the classification of a pistol or other firearm, and that – quote – such a firearm would not be subject to National Firearms Act controls,” Bosco explained.
He added ATF has “repeatedly held that various pistol brace designs did not convert a pistol to a short-barreled rifle.”
That all changed once ATF reclassified stabilizing arm brace-attached pistols as SBRs. This put Bosco’s livelihood, and millions of other law-abiding Americans, at serious risk.
Whose Authority?
Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas) asked the central question of who writes law for the United States.“Ever since Mr. Biden took office, his administration has actively sought to infringe on the Second Amendment and I’m deeply concerned about the ATF and their recent actions,” Rep. Fallon said. “This rule will effectively turn millions of law-abiding gun owners into criminals if they fail to comply even though Congress did not act. We didn’t pass any new criminal laws or penalties related to pistol stabilizing braces. We had unelected bureaucrats do it. That’s not the way this works.”
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) echoed, adding that bureaucratic rulemaking is wrong under Republican and Democratic administrations.
“This should send shivers down the spine of all members under Article II,” Rep. Roy said. “And look, I don’t view this through the lens of being a Democratic administration. I didn’t like it when the Trump administration was doing stuff like this. Whether it was the bump stock ban – I didn’t like that either.”
Constitutionally Problematic
Heritage Foundation’s Amy Swearer agreed the ATF rulemaking is Constitutionally problematic.“Our Constitution is set up with a separation of powers. You have the Executive Branch, whose job it is to enforce the law and you have Congress who passes laws because Congress is held accountable to the people,” Swearer said. “No official at the ATF… is elected and held accountable through that process.”
The overreach by ATF may be rectified in due time if recent precedent plays out. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overwhelmingly overruled the Trump administration’s ATF Final Rule. It said the rule overstepped its authority to classify bump stocks as “machineguns.”
In 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean Power Plan in West Virginia v. EPA because the agency overstepped its authority with similar rulemaking without clear congressional authorization.
The ATF stabilizing arm brace rule could be approaching a similar fate.
Know What You’re Talking About
Democratic lawmakers demonstrated they are uninformed about the arm brace accessory.Democratic lawmakers used terminology like “high-powered,” “increasingly lethal,” and “weapons of war.”
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) praised the ATF for usurping her congressional authority “to prevent…the misuse of stabilizing braces, which convert everyday firearms into killing machines.”
It was similar to when Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) misidentified an arm brace, confusing it for a bump stock, during a previous debate.
Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C), a Federal Firearms Licensee, asked Everytown for Gun Safety Senior Director for Policy Rob Wilcox about the accessory. “Will a pistol brace change the capacity of a firearm? Meaning the number of rounds?”
“No sir,” Wilcox responded.
“Will a pistol brace change the firing speed of a firearm?” Rep. Edwards continued.
“No sir.” Wilcox answered.
Rep. Edwards asked Bosco about the confusion.
“I think the problem is that a lot of people aren’t informed about what is and isn’t a pistol and what is and isn’t a rifle. It’s very nuanced,” Bosco replied. “A stabilizing brace is not a force multiplier.”
Gun Control Won’t Stop
The ATF pistol brace rule is yet another example of the Biden administration going beyond its authority to restrict the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans. Gun control groups have grown frustrated that more hasn’t been done. However, they ignore the criminals who are the ones committing violent crimes.Manuel Oliver, whose son was murdered in the 2018 Parkland high school shooting, disrupted the committee hearing, was removed, and subsequently arrested. Oliver also disrupted and was removed from a White House ceremony when President Biden announced several gun control executive actions.
The actions by gun control groups, Democratic lawmakers shaming companies for not doing their gun control bidding and the ATF overreaching its authority on the pistol brace Final Rule are a pattern. It shows the goal is not to hold criminals accountable. It’s about controlling law-abiding Americans.
Story originally posted to NSSF.org.
This question has come up before, and it has never been firmly dealt with. The Environmental Protection Agency has assumed authorities that it does not have, in the past. The Transportation Department has acted unilaterally under questionable authorities. Ditto the Federal Communications Commission.
The heart of the issue here, is the question: Who makes law in this country? Constitutionally speaking, only Congress may enact a law, change a law, or repeal a law. The Executive Branch's one and only responsibility and authority, is to enforce the law that Congress passes.
Donald Trump can't make certain gun accessories legal, or illegal. Joe Biden can't make certain guns legal or illegal. The ATF can't make certain gun accessories legal or illegal. Only Congress has the authority to do that.
It's high time that Congress took notice, and reigned in all government agencies!
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Police tell 2 On Your Side an Internal Affairs investigation is underway after an officer's rifle fell off a roof and onto a sidewalk during the St. Patrick's Day Parade on Sunday.
Pictures shared with WGRZ by Andrew Mavrogeorgis show the officer positioned on top of the building at 560 Delaware Avenue at Allen Street in downtown Buffalo. The rifle is perched on the edge, on top of a stand, a short distance from the officer. At some point, the rifle fell onto the sidewalk below, where people were walking about.
Another picture shows the officer peering over the ledge of the building at the rifle on the sidewalk below, while people gathered for the parade pass by.
A nearby officer was able to pick up the rifle and carry it to safety.
There's no word yet on if the officer will be disciplined, and there are no reports of any injuries.
Buffalo Police say the officer was on the roof conducting "overwatch" of the parade, a routine safety protocol at large events.
Click the link for pics.
Is the city of Buffalo hiring Florida Man for their police force?
Someone tell me again why we should trust the police.
