Links and Bits – January 12, 2013

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Brian Gallimore

Stories like this are depressing.  Prominant folks working toward openness and freedom being bullied by the government, then dying.  (I still haven’t got over Breitbart’s death)  Be sure to watch the video in the second link below (also embedded in this post):

From Amber Lyon:

Tragedy. A family member reports Internet freedom of information activist and Reddit cofounder Aaron Swartz committed suicide yesterday.

The Feds have spent nearly two years going after Aaron Swartz to ‘make an example out him’. His crime? Mass downloading pricey, taxpayer-funded academic documents to give the public free access to the information. For that, Swartz was facing a potential 35 years in prison and $1,000,000 in fines.

When reporting on his suicide, I hope the mainstream media discusses how the U.S. Government bullied Aaron Swartz, possibly to death…

‘Feds Go Overboard in Prosecuting Information Activist:

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/09/feds-go-overboard-in-prosecuting-information-activist/

RIP, Aaron Swartz:

http://boingboing.net/2013/01/12/rip-aaron-swartz.html

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F2C2012: Aaron Swartz keynote – “How we stopped SOPA”
Interesting to me to hear Aaron speaking about SOPA/PIPA and speaking highly of progressiveism but negatively of tyrannical government actions.  I see the two as interlocked in spit-swapping love-fest. Continue reading →

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Links and Bits – January 11, 2013

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Brian Gallimore

Good / short article about situations during the LA Riots and Katrina:

The Need for Semi-Automatic “Assault” Weapons – Katie Pavlich – [page].

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Piers Morgan is the next Jerry Springer: Ben Shapiro points out his bullying and lack of principle and then makes the Constitutional case for the true meaning behind the Second Amendment.  (Excellent representation of the gun-rights side of the story)

Ben Shapiro CUTS Piers Morgan DOWN

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Pictures:

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News tidbit from Ben Swann:

David Gregory will NOT be prosecuted for displaying what he said was a high-capacity ammunition magazine on “Meet the Press”.
D.C. gun laws generally restrict the possession of high-capacity magazines, regardless of whether the device is attached to a firearm. Police say they told NBC it would be illegal to possess the device.
Prosecutors: Criminal charges wouldn’t serve the public’s best interests.
Would prosecutors go as easy on anyone else in D.C. who simply “possessed” one of these magazines?

 

 

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Shoot FMJ at Gibson’s Outpost

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Brian Gallimore

As far as I know, the only gun range near DFW that lets people shoot FMJ ammo is Gibson’s Outpost in Mesquite.  It is pretty old and dusty, but only costs $12 to shoot all day.  You have to get a membership card, which costs $8 and is good for a year.  They have pistol range in 10 and 25 yds, and rifle ranges in 50, 100, and 200 yd.

It gets mixed reviews on google, and I can see why.  The man showed me two holes in their wall from ‘unloaded’ guns brought into the store.  One of the biggest pluses for me was that this place is likely a big turn off to yuppie-types.

There is old stuff stacked everywhere, with a thick layer of dust on most everything.  They let you bring in your own targets and let you borrow tools if you need them too.  The shooting booths at the rifle range are concrete tables, mostly right-hand layouts, and pretty close together.  They call a cease-fire every 20 minutes or so and check every gun to make sure they are all unloaded.  Overall, it was a good experience and I’ll definitely go back, especially since I have lots of cheap FMJ ammo to shoot!

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Phone Conversation with Jodie Laudenberg

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Brian Gallimore

My state rep Jodie Laubenberg called me tonight; we talked for 30 minutes.

1- She went in to detail why she is not supporting Simpson for speaker. I agree with her logic, which is (paraphrasing) he doesn’t have support from nearly enough reps, doesn’t have knowledge of the rules, inaccurately pins blame on Straus for his TSA bill failure, and that he is not running on a platform of policy, but a platform of changing house rules in hopes of ‘getting along with Democrats, which she believes will not happen.

2- She said she supports campus carry and school teachers w/ CHLs carrying guns at school. (I remember she said something a little different during the townhall –I’ll have to go back in history)

3- Gave me her cell phone number and said she would much rather talk to me before I say negative things. (makes me wonder if she has seen my facebook page!)

UPDATE: I went back and dug up my notes (which were in the form of facebook posts –have to stop doing that because you can’t even search for old facebook posts easily) Jodie never said she was against campus carry, but said she wasn’t sure if she wanted to support open carry. There were other issues I forgot about until just now, so I’m pasting them here to serve as a future reminder:

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Tin-Foil Hat News about DHS and Gun Confiscation

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Brian Gallimore

I don’t know what else to call it.  I was forwarded The latest from “DHS Insider” and the person sending it to me seems to genuinely believe it as the truth.

  • DHS planning for civil unrest coming from economic collapse (this spring)
  • DHS/TSA working with / influencing local police agencies (giving money w/ strings attached)
  • Plan is to let chaos go on for a while to create public outcry for help from government
  • Martial law will be enacted, travel restricted
  • Gun ban will be implemented, including gun confiscation
  • Big cities will be first to have restrictions implemented
  • Lists of political dissidents exist
  • Gun ownership list created from multiple sources, including questions answered at doctor’s office

Here are some of my comments (mixed with a smart guy’s comments I talked with) about this information:

  • Federalization of local police is a concern of mine also.  See:  Militarization of Police and War on Drugs and Police Consolidation: The End of Local Law Enforcement?
  • The current administration, and the last one have both had the attitude “Never let a good crisis go to waste”.  (Dick Chaney and Rahm Emanuel)  They will use pain, suffering, and fear to get something from their agenda pushed through.   (ref: Patriot Act)
  • Not sure a collapse of the dollar will happen as quickly as this guy expects.  Lots of powerful groups (Federal Reserve, US Government) will try to keep dollar strong, as their livelihood requires it.  The Euro and Yen would need to suffer also
  • Economic collapse is likely, and all these groups would be planning for it
  • DHS is in the business of creating ‘contingency plans’, so it is not unusual for them to be coming up with plans for dealing with all kinds of things
  • There does exist groups of people who lust for more power and global domination.  The ideal of liberty and the means of sharing truth are obstacles for these people.

 

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Points Against Gun Control

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Brian Gallimore

I’ve tried to create a short list of talking-points related to gun control.  The issue is pretty complicated, so the list wound up being not-so-short:

Basic Human Right

  • Humans have the basic right to defend themselves, their families, and other humans.
  • As long as evil exists, humans will have the need to defend themselves.
  • At a minimum, one would like to have tools for defense equal to those tools in use by those that are doing evil.
  • Taking away the ability of self-defense is taking away a basic human right.
  • Transferring the responsibility of self-protection is an individual choice;  It is not possible to transfer someone else’s rights without violating their rights unless it is the choice of the individual.

Constitutional

  • The second amendment was adopted to prevent the US government from violating the individual right to self-defense by using firearms.
  • The founders believed citizens should be armed equal to the best military.  They had just fought for independence by fighting the best military on earth.  Shot heard around the world:  The government was coming after their guns (cannons actually), resistance by citizens led to start of American revolutionary war.
  • Militia was the group of willing citizens interested in defending their country. (not military)
  • Well regulated means ‘well practiced’ or ‘well equipped’, not ‘regulated by the government’.
  • Any time you hear “I believe in the second amendment but…”, be aware you are listening to someone who does not believe the second amendment means what it really does.  The second amendment is about regular citizens being equipped and ready to defend themselves from all threats including their own tyrannical government.  If you believe this truth, you would not try to limit citizens ability to do that task.
  • About half of the US population believe the second amendment means what it says, and a large portion of that group are willing to shoot somebody in defense of it.

Practicability / Logistics arguments Continue reading →

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Ron Paul has Passed the Torch

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Brian Gallimore

Here is Creighton Harrington’s “soliloquy” over the state of the liberty movement and what we must do now that Ron Paul has passed the torch:

“On Wednesday, November 14, 2012, a man said goodbye.

Standing at the lectern where he had stood so many times before, in obstinate opposition, like an American Cicero, to the decline of the republic that so many had fought so hard to build and so many have given so much to preserve, this man spoke not only to the gallery above or the people sitting at home, but through the pages of history to every yet unborn child who may grow up and learn of what it takes to save their country. And, to the extent that it was in his control, he held firm in his convictions, even when he was standing alone in the cold, wilderness of principle that exists in an age of compromise and vice. “Freedom” was his call and, for a time, nobody listened; for a time, nobody cared.

Yet, he was only a man. Let us not place him upon the mantle of history as anything more than that. For what is it that we pursue? Against whom do we resist? Do we not fight for ourselves and for others so as to be able to live in peace and happiness without the burden of a tyrannical state? Do we not fight the hoards of those seeking to take from us everything we have? In short, do we not fight in order to be, simply, a man or a woman; to be simple and human? Then, do not betray that noble cause. Do not destroy the integrity of its pursuit by placing those most articulate and passionate in its defense into an echelon as anything more than what they were, for the real battle is not in preserving the credibility and image of our greatest of warriors on the tempestuous battlefield of liberty, but in providing for our posterity a nation of one people, united in their stand against the growth of tyranny. Continue reading →

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What is an Assault Rifle?

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Brian Gallimore

I’m hearing lots of people cry out for bans on ‘assault weapons’ now.  What does that mean?  The term is almost always misused, the correct term would be ‘evil looking weapons’.  This video shows the differences and similarities between an

  • assault rifle
  • evil looking rifle
  • hunting rifle

 

What Is An “Assault Rifle”? – You’ve Probably Been Lied To

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Gun-Related Discussions

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Brian Gallimore

Last Friday one of the worst tragedies unfolded as a 20 year old stole his mothers guns, killed her, then killed 20 children and 5 adults at an elementary school. This spurred lots of calls for additional gun bans. Never mind that the guns were stolen, never mind the massacre occurred in an official ‘gun free zone’, never mind the school was locked and strict security measures were in place, never mind the state of Connecticut already has very restrictive gun laws and is at the top of the list of states that spend lots of money for mental illness programs, never mind that gun bans do not work and there are hundreds of other factors at play. What about the history of the creation of the USA and the wisdom of the founding fathers when they created the Bill of Rights? Nope, never mind that too!

There has been some pretty good discussion on facebook about this subject. I’m copying some of my favorites here:
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Larry Pratt at Gun Owners of America: “One measure of insanity is repeating the same failure time after time hoping that the next time the failure will turn out to be a success. Gun Free Zones are a lethal insanity.”
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JJM:
I refuse to have the debate until people realize some basic things:
1. You are 49 times more likely to die by lightning strike than in a mass shooting.
2. Crazy killed those kids.
3. One gun could have stopped crazy.
4. Crazy could kill in any number of ways.
Now on to general gun violence: Continue reading →

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Notes from Catalyst 730

Posted on December 9, 2012 by Brian Gallimore

We Texans and TAG put on a training session on Saturday to teach people how Legislature in Austin works and how to interact with the process. I’ve come to realize that a citizen’s responsibility includes actively working to hold the government accountable and translate your wishes and values into action. (voting is not fulfillment of your responsibility, it takes more)

My notes on what I learned follow, including pictures of some of the handouts and swag.

  • Texas legislators are in session for 140 days every 2 years.  This is when all laws and amendments get passed.
  • Much of the work in creating laws is done ‘the rest of the time:  There are 730 days in a 2-year period.
  • “Lex Rex, not Rex Lex” : no man is above the law (the way it should be)
  • ~5000 bills come through each session
  • 1/2 die in committee
  • ~1000 get passed into law
  • Texas House
    • House has 150 members, each representing ~ 175,000 citizens
    • Tax bills must originate in the house
    • Speaker of house is elected and can vote
  • Texas Senate
    • has 31 members, each representing ~800,000 citizens (more than federal congressmen, which is 700,000)
    • Presiding officer of senate is Lieutenant Governor, not a speaker
  • Three types of constraints in force
    • Texas Constitution
    • Statutes -end effect of bills being passed
    • Rules -might change slightly each year, can be suspended
  • Texas Constitution requires that a bill be read 3 times
    • 1st reading: in committee
    • 2nd reading: in House – for debate
    • 3rd reading:
  • Readings are ‘summary only’
  • No citizen interaction on floor – only through rep
  • Citizen interaction during committee is main opportunity, also chances to talk to reps in halls and at appointments
  • Monitor calendar (online) to determine actions being taken
  • Rule of thumb by Smitty Smith about influence
    • 5 letters = the boss (Representative) will see it
    • 10 letters = it is a big deal
    • 100 letters = it is a really big deal
    • Form letters don’t count for much, but real letters do (short, bullet point style is good)
    • Files on USB drive are available here
    • Lobbiest use money to get attention of representatives, but citizens get more attention than money.

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[Show slideshow]

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