Saying It Again: Kyle Rittenhouse Was No Hero….

Yet another push to portray Kyle Rittenhouse as a maligned, misunderstood hero.

Then 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed two people, injured another, during the Kenosha, Wisconsin riots. He was eventually arrested after attempting to turn himself in - an attempt that was initially rejected by police.  He was charged with multiple felonies, at least one of which leading to a mandatory life sentence if convicted, in a show trial that was designed to fail.

He treated by many white people as a hero.  Is he, or is he a common criminal?

Let’s look at this.  

BTW, selling firearms, shipping them to FFLs in other states, is what I do for a living as an employee of a national FFL; the requirements listed here are those that were in force at the time.

* The MINIMUM age at which a firearm may be owned/possessed under FEDERAL LAW is 18, unless a minor is in the company of their PARENT or LEGAL GUARDIAN.  Federal law is VERY SPECIFIC on this this point; being with friends who are over 18 doesn’t meet federal standards.

* Rittenhouse was an Illinois resident.  In order to even LOOK at a firearm in Illinois OR ANY OTHER STATE he would need a firearm owners identification (FOID) card.  The minimum age to receive one is 21, unless his parent submitted a request on his behalf in writing; no record of that ever happening.  Again, in order to legally transport his firearm, he would need to be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian and possess a FOID card.

* Wisconsin law stipulates that a minor under 18 may not possess a dangerous weapon unless in the company of a parent.

* Wisconsin does not have stand your ground (SYG) laws.  SYG laws apply when one is out in public, and refer to one’s right to use force up to and including lethal to defend one’s self and those around them if in immanent danger of great bodily harm, rape, or death.

* His firearm was straw purchased (Rittenhouse gave his legal aged friend to make the purchase on his behalf) and stored for him in Wisconsin to get around Illinois law. 

*At 18, he was too young to be hired as armed security for ANY business.

So what does this all mean for Rittenhouse and his supporters?

An out-of-state minor in Wisconsin, without his parent or legal guardian, with a firearm not authorized for him to possess or transport by any applicable Illinois FOID card (which must still be carried/possessed while out of state) in the absence of a parent or legal guardian, killed two people and injured a third in a state that does not have or recognize stand your ground laws.  Even if Wisconsin DID have a stand your ground law, a claim is only valid if the claimant is not committing a crime.  Since Rittenhouse was a minor illegally in possession of a firearm, he has no such claim.  Further, the dealership he claims to have been hired to protect has denied doing so.

Kyle Rittenhouse isn’t a hero, he is a criminal, acquitted in a show trial that wasn’t even that good of a show.  He took two lives and injured a third.  Regardless of how you feel about the rioters, and for the record I believe they need to be held accountable for the damage they caused and the crimes they committed, Rittenhouse committed several crimes.  If he had been in his home when it was being attacked, or even a business owned by his parents, things would be far different, but he wasn’t.  To pretend otherwise is the height of hypocrisy.

Cosecha: In No Position To Make Demands….

On the way home from work today I saw the sign: “We Demand Driver’s Licenses.”

The organization that placed the sign?  Cosecha.

Cosecha is an organization DEMANDING the rights of citizens and legal residents for illegals.  I’ll let their website speak for itself:

“Joe Biden is the new president of the United States.

“Our fight is only just beginning.

“For too long, undocumented immigrants have been denied basic dignity and respect in this country.

“We have lived with the daily fear of being separated from our loved ones or left to suffer die in detention centers. We have been criminalized by police and terrorized by ICE. We have been forced to live in the shadows, unable to return home, and exploited in the workplace, even as our essential labor allows this country to function.

“The truth is against immigrant communities have been a mainstay of bipartisan politics for decades. Now, Democrats have control over the White House, Senate, and the House of Representatives—just as they did in 2009 when Obama first took office, and soon deported millions of our loved ones and community members.

“We have learned from the failures of the past and Movimiento Cosecha is ready to fight against the current administration to win the protection, dignity, and respect we deserve. Sign up now to join us!”

No one has criminalized you; you did that to yourselves and your families when you entered the United States ILLEGALLY.  That choice results in terror.  Strangely enough, that is even Biblical: 

“Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same…”, Romans 13:1-3.

You live in the shadows and live with terror because you CHOOSE to; no one is FORCING you to do that.

Being exploited is a result of being here illegally.  As a citizen or legal resident, there are certain protections to reduce the likelihood of being exploited by employers, landlords, etc.  By choosing to remain here illegally, you CHOOSE to make targets of yourselves.

Now, I do not for one moment believe that anyone deserves to be terrorized or exploited.  Nonetheless, this is a result of choices you have made.

Further, I take issue with the basic premise that we OWE you certain benefits merely because you managed to infiltrate our country without being caught: driver’s licenses, free public education, free housing, and even free medical and food.  

Licenses and education are benefits provided to citizens and legal residents.  Moneys deducted from their pay or paid by them directly cover the costs associated with providing these benefits, so these aren’t “free” benefits despite what politicians would have us believe. 

Driver’s licenses help establish LEGAL RESIDENCY and are also associated in many states with voter registration - both benefits accorded to citizens and legal residents.  

“Free” medical and food are, with some exceptions, provided as a safety net to taxpaying citizens and legal residents; they are not truly “free,” they are provided by moneys collected from taxpayers.

I have lived in a couple of different countries.  In both instances, I entered legally.  I had a means of support in place.  I paid my own way and provided for my own needs.  I learned the languages and customs.  I didn’t DEMAND anything or expect preferential treatment.  I obeyed the laws.  I used public transportation for much of my travel.

If you want to live freely and enjoy the benefits afforded by this country, you need to do what hundreds of thousands of people desiring to become citizens do: apply for legal residency.  No, because you are here illegally it won’t be easy and it may be costly.  But if you want to live openly, freely, and without fear, stop making demands and start applying.

If not, despite what you say, no one is stopping you from going home.

An Open Letter To Ukrainian President Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy

Mr. President,

If Ukraine has the manpower and equipment to mount an effective counteroffensive into Russia, go for it. 

But you cannot afford to wage war in the same manner as Russia.  Predominantly civilian areas must be off limits as much as possible, or you lose any claim to the moral high ground.  You MUST distinguish yourselves from your Russian attackers.

Written with respect and in the name of Justice.

Pres. Obrador: Keep Your Nose Out Of Our Politics…

So Mexican Pres. Obrador is telling Latinos in Florida not to vote for DeSantis. 

This particular posting has nothing to do with endorsing any particular candidate.  Quite frankly, this author has no more use for DeSantis than for Trump; DeSantis is as much a tyrant as Trump.

This posting is about a principle: if an American president told Mexicans for whom they should vote, Obrador would be screaming about outside interference in their internal politics all the way to the UN.  He can’t keep his own citizens in his own country, can’t deal with his own internal problems and corruption, yet he feels perfectly entitled to interfere in OUR internal politics - and the media and political establishment not only doesn’t tell him to keep his mouth shut, they encourage him, give him a platform for his blatant interference.  He even makes excuses for illegal aliens in his appeal: “We have to be thinking about this regrettable phenomenon of necessary migration…”

“Necessary migration.”

Not only can he not solve his own problems, he knows that shutting down illegal migration also shuts down a major source of funding for Mexico - to the tune of an estimated nearly SIXTY BILLION DOLLARS ANNUALLY.

Biden: Hardly A Shoo-in….

Biden is hardly a shoo-in. There are serious concerns and questions about his ability to run and win. If he does win, it is almost universally acknowledged that he will be unlikely to finish his term. Many powerful dems don’t want him to run.

Kennedy is too controversial.

Pritzker is just another dem billionaire who is soft on crime.

Harris is fighting her inability to get anything done on the border, as well as her past as Cali AG, during which she jailed record numbers of minorities.

In short, the DNC has no real consensus candidate.

No, I think the likely candidate will be a draftee, Gretchen Whitmer. Despite her assertions that she has no presidential ambitions, I believe the DNC will convince her to run against Trump. She checks off all the DNC boxes, especially the recent run of gun control bills.  She will be credited with turning Michigan blue, signing in a number of liberal agenda laws.  She is the DNC’s anti-Trump.  I believe the DNC will give her a few more months to really establish her bona fides, then they will prevail on her, “for the good of the party” and as the person Trump labeled, “that woman from Michigan”, to throw her hat into the ring.  At this moment, Whitmer is the closest the DNC has to a consensus candidate.

Heaven help us all; having her as governor has been bad enough.

“Red Flag” Laws….

 For the record, I am not opposed to so-called “red flag” laws AS LONG AS they 1) protect the Constitutional rights of the lawful firearm owner under the Second, Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments (yes, protections from all four of these amendments are involved), and 2) contain provisions to ensure that they cannot be used by individuals who personally object to firearms ownership to deprive others of their Constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

I participate in a few online discussion forums; I have see many individuals post inquiries regarding how they can use these laws to generally disarm people because they personally object to firearms ownership.  I have also received phone calls in the course of my job selling firearms from such individuals, asking us not to sell to someone because the caller doesn’t like guns themselves.

On the other hand, I have stopped transactions because I believed, based on my interaction with a customer, that they posed a threat to themselves or others, and I have personally been involved with at least three situations in which bona fide concerns regarding a threat of suicide prompted us to take measures to insure that someone did not acquire a firearm from us - including notifying law enforcement.

Show me a “red flag” law that includes these protections and I will support it.

Raising The Age To 21….

So I keep hearing the same gun controllers who point to the militia clause of the Second Amendment, insisting that the right to keep and bear arms is limited to membership in the militia, then turn around and argue that the minimum age to buy a firearm should be raised to 21.  Such individuals demonstrate their ignorance with such arguments.

Founder Tench Coxe, when addressing questions regarding the composition of the militia, responded, “The powers of the sword are in the hands of the yeomanry of America from sixteen…”

Sixteen, not 21.

Ok, but he was just an individual Founder.

So let’s consider what the law says: 

“10 U.S. Code § 246 - Militia: composition and classes

“(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age…”

17, not 21.

So if they are going to claim that the Militia clause determines who may own a firearm, then they must also accept that the law establishes a minimum age of 17 to own and possess firearms, as all citizens who are at least 17 are declared to be members of the unorganized militia.

BTW, Michigan law also established a minimum age of 17 for militia duty:

“MCL 32.509 State military establishment; composition; organized and unorganized militia.

“Sec. 109.

“The organized militia of this state taken collectively shall be known as the state military establishment and constitutes the armed forces of this state…. The unorganized militia consists of all other able-bodied citizens of this state and all other able-bodied citizens who are residents of this state who have or shall have declared their intention to become citizens of the United States, who shall be age 17 or over…”

In both instances, federal and state Constitutions, membership in the unorganized militia isn’t voluntary, the law declares membership to be a citizen duty.  If you are a citizen and at least 17 years old, YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE MILITIA.  As such, the minimum age to own/bear (possess/carry) a firearm is 17.

Gov. Whitmer Wants “Red Flag” Laws In Michigan….

Here’s what that means.

A family member is concerned that someone represents a danger to others or themselves.  They contact law enforcement - anonymously - and swear out a complaint.  The complaint and accompanying testimony/evidence goes to a judge, who then authorizes the confiscation of the accused’s firearms if he/she believes it is merited.  The accused loses their firearms, supposedly temporarily.

Looks good, right? 

Here’s the problem:

“No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws,” Fourteenth Amendment.

“No person shall be… deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law,” Fifth Amendment.

First, such laws are expressly prohibited under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment: “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.”  The “red flag” law expressly abridges the right to due process and the immunity from a presumption of guilt.

Second, due process means the accused has the RIGHT to hear the accusations preferred against him, to confront his accusers, to present evidence in his own defense. BEFORE any confiscation - for ANY LENGTH OF TIME - can occur: 

“[N]or shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”  

“No person shall be… deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.

There is no provision made for due process.

Third, “red flag” laws deny the accused “…the equal protection of the laws.”

Regardless of the good the law seeks to achieve, “An unconstitutional act is not a law; it confers no rights; it imposes no duties; it affords no protection; it creates no office; it is in legal contemplation as inoperative as though it had never been passed,” U.S. Supreme Court

Norton v. Shelby County, 118 U.S. 425 (1886) Norton v. Shelby County 

Argued March 24-25, 1886

Decided May 10, 1886

118 U.S. 425

Here They Go Again In The Great Infringement State, New York….

Here they go again.  NY is so angry about the first set gun laws being struck down in the Bruen case that they came up with an even more restrictive set of laws to replace them.

With an evil twist.

Assuming this newest suit reaches the supreme court, it will be shot down even more quickly than the previous law was.

Not content to merely infringe on Second Amendment rights, the newest laws from NY also now apply a political test to the First Amendment rights of a citizen desiring a pistol carry license, requiring that one’s publicly stated views be in line with the political dogma of the ruling “benevolent” liberal junta.  Forcing firearms owners who wish to be granted the “privilege” of carrying a firearm outside the home to give the state access to their social media accounts means the state can not only use views it considers “unacceptable “ according to some arbitrary and constantly changing political standard to deny access to a pistol carry license now, it gives them the ability to continue monitoring citizens long term, with an eye toward rescinding their “privilege” should they ever run afoul of the latest political standard.

The right to carry a firearm for one’s personal defense is as much about the First Amendment right of freedom of expression as it is about the Second Amendment right to keep AND BEAR (CARRY) arms.

To Alec Baldwin’s Apologists….

It’s about time.  The FBI stated categorically that Alec Baldwin's gun could not have fired if he hadn't squeezed the trigger (https://deadline.com/2022/08/rust-gun-could-not-fire-without-trigger-pull-fbi-report-1235091716/), so he's been desperate to prove others are to blame - based (selectively) on Hollywood filming rules.

Fine.  Let's see what the Actors' Equity Association rules say:

Rule 1: * Use simulated or dummy weapons whenever possible.*  Oh, big no no there.

Rule 2: * TREAT ALL GUNS AS IF THEY ARE LOADED AND DEADLY.*

 Rule 8: * NEVER POINT A FIREARM AT ANYONE INCLUDING YOURSELF. Always cheat the shot by aiming to the right or left of the target character. IF ASKED TO POINT AND SHOOT DIRECTLY AT A LIVING TARGET, CONSULT WITH THE PROPERTY MASTER OR ARMORER for the prescribed safety procedures.*  He had an obligation TO SEEK OUT HELP AND GUIDANCE.

Rule 11: * Use protective shields for all off stage cast within close proximity to any shots fired.*. Not done.

Lucky rule 13: " CHECK THE FIREARM EVERY TIME YOU TAKE POSSESSION OF IT. Before each use, make sure the gun has been test-fired off stage and THEN ASK TO TEST FIRE IT YOURSELF. Watch the prop master check the cylinders and barrel to be sure no foreign object or dummy bullet has become lodged inside.*  “But I didn’t have an obligation to check the firearm, that’s the prop master’s job.” WRONG!  Even Hollywood recognizes the individual’s obligation to check the gun.

Bolding/all caps added for emphasis.

BTW, Baldwin can’t claim ignorance of proper firearms handling.  He has been coached on safe firearms use over the more than 30 years he has been handling them in movies by some of the best armorers in the industry.  He got full of himself and lazy.

Baldwin violated each and every one of these rules.  Even Hollywood rules say he has a PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY to practice certain safe handling rules.

So is someone else guilty?

Watch this video carefully.  

The agent is being handed firearms by the folks sitting at the table.  Presumably, they are responsible to insure that the guns are unloaded.  After receiving the guns, this “expert” fails to check them himself to insure that they are ACTUALLY “cold” (unloaded); he actually states, without clearing the gun himself, that the gun is unloaded.  As a result, the “expert” shoots himself at point-blank range in the leg with a .40 s&w slug.

Now, using the logic being employed by Alec Baldwin and the “investigators” trying to protect him from any blame in the death of the director he shot, the only people in this video who have ANY guilt for the shooting are the ones who handed him the gun.  The agent has ZERO GUILT in his shooting.  Fortunately, he only shot himself as a result of his personal negligence; he could very well have shot one of the members of his audience.

So tell me, does Alec Baldwin deserve to be prosecuted for negligent homicide for failing to clear the firearm he was handed, or does the blame rest solely with the people who put the gun into his hands?

He’s guilty as sin - and he knows it.