Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

The house always wins.

Where tasty lettuce and good mustard aren’t elitist.

… down to kool-aid drinkers and next of kin at the trump White House

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

How do you get liars to care about the truth?

Something seems odd about that, but i have been drinking.

I thought we were promised Infrastructure Week.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

I can’t take this shit today. I just can’t.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Militantly superior in their own minds…

Too inconsequential to be sued

This is how realignments happen…

Yes we did.

The math demands it!

The revolution will be supervised.

The willow is too close to the house.

This is a big f—–g deal.

… makes me wish i had hoarded more linguine

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Ammosexuals

Post Debate Open Thread: Good News Everybody, We Never Have To See or Hear the President Debate Ever Again!!!!

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Thank someone’s, anyone’s Deity or Deities, or if you’re an atheist, no one’s Deity or Deities, that that is over!!!

And now for your post debate enjoyment, I give you the most specialist operator to ever operate operationally!!!!

Here’s the full pic:

Post Debate Open Thread: Good News Everybody, We Never Have To See or Hear the President Debate Ever Again!!!!

This must be the world’s most dangerous Subway! Honestly, I used to go to the Subway on FOB Hammer, which is where my Brigade Combat Team was based out of in Iraq, a couple of times a week and get a sub. Sure, we were on the forward operating base, so inside the wire, but it was still a Subway in a war zone during a war albeit one that was in the Phase IV conventional/Phase VII unconventional phase of war, so post major combat operations. I don’t remember ever having more than my M9 (Beretta 92) and two extra magazines with me. Most of the time my sidearm staid in the armory and I checked it out for when I was operating off the FOB, which was about 50 to 60 percent of my deployed time. And even then, depending on what type of Engagements I was doing, I left my sidearm in the armory rather than carry it because of what not carrying it conveyed to the Iraqis I was interacting with.

The specialist operator to ever operate operationally here, however, is just WOW!!!!

This guy is carrying 4 full size SIG P320s, though the desert tan ones in the drop holsters appear to be an attempt to make it look like he’s carrying the military version, which is known as the M17.

He’s got two fill size mags in the black P320s, so that’s 17 rounds in each. 18 in each if he’s got one in the chamber in each gun. It looks like he’s got the 21 round extended mags for the desert tan ones. Let’s stipulate he’s got one in the pipe in all four guns. So that’s 80 rounds in the guns and he’s got two more full size and two more extended mags in the mag carriers in the small of his back. That’s 72 more rounds. Provided he doesn’t have more rounds or even more guns around front set up for cross draw or appendix carry or in his pockets, he’s got 152 rounds to get a $5 footlong!

Each of this pistols, brand new, out the door, is between $440 to $650 depending on what he’s actually bought. They all look to be the X grip configuration, so those are bit more expensive. The spare mags are $49.99 apiece. At the going rate of ammunition, if you can even find it right now, provided he’s got quality self defense ammo in the guns and the back up magazines, he’s got between $152 (Speer Gold Dots) to $228 (Federal HST) worth of ammunition on his waist and hips. Throw in another $200 to $250 for the drop holsters, the belt holsters, the gun belt, and the magazine carriers. So he’s spent between $3,000 and $4,000 to feel safe getting a $5 sandwich!

Personally I’d just go to a sandwich shop in a better neighborhood. Like Iraq.

Open thread!

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Today In Stochastic Terrorism: The FBI and Michigan State Police Prevent the Kidnapping of Governor Whitmer

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I can’t imagine why anyone in Michigan would think it was okay to plan a terroristic kidnapping and execution of the state governor?

Well that tweet explains it…

From The Detroit News (emphasis mine)

The FBI says it thwarted what it described as a plot to violently overthrow the government and kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The alleged plot involved reaching out to members of a Michigan militia, according to a federal affidavit filed Thursday.

The court filing also alleges the conspirators twice conducted surveillance at Whitmer’s personal vacation home and discussed kidnapping her to a “secure location” in Wisconsin to stand “trial” for treason prior to the Nov. 3 election.

“Several members talked about murdering ‘tyrants’ or ‘taking’ a sitting governor,” an FBI agent wrote in the affidavit. “The group decided they needed to increase their numbers and encouraged each other to talk to their neighbors and spread their message.”

More than 12 people were arrested late Wednesday on state and federal charges.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, federal and state officers on Thursday detailed charges and what they described as “elaborate plans” to overthrow the government and kidnap Whitmer.

Michigan State Police Col. Joe Gasper said the department will take swift action against those seeking to harm anyone in the state of Michigan.

“This case is one of the largest cases in recent history that the MSP has been involved in,” Gasper said during an afternoon news conference.

The affidavit filed in federal court details probable cause to charge the six men with conspiring to kidnap Whitmer. Those identified by name include:

  • Adam Fox
  • Barry Croft
  • Garbin
  • Kaleb Franks
  • Daniel Harris
  • Brandon Caserta

In late June, Fox posted on Facebook a video in which he complained about the state’s judicial system and COVID-19 restrictions on gyms operating in Michigan.

“Fox referred to Governor Whitmer as ‘this tyrant b—-,’ and stated, ‘I don’t know, boys, we gotta do something,” according to the court affidavit. “You guys link with me on our other location system, give me some ideas of what we can do.”

The affidavit describing the thwarted plot reports two occasions when the alleged conspirators conducted surveillance on Whitmer’s vacation home — during the day on Aug. 29 and at night over the weekend of Sept. 12-13.

Fox and two other individuals located Whitmer’s home and shot video and took photos of it as they drove by on Aug. 29. One of the individuals then calculated how long it would take local and state police to respond to an incident at the property.

“We ain’t going to let ’em burn our f—in’ state down. I don’t give a f— if there’s only 20 or 30 of us, dude, we’ll go out there and use deadly force,” said Fox during the surveillance operation, according to an audio recording quoted in the affidavit.

In an encrypted group chat, Garbin later suggested that demolishing a nearby bridge would hamper a response by police to the governor’s home, according to the court filing.

The September surveillance followed a field exercise in at Garbin’s property in Luther, Michigan, where the conspirators allegedly detonated an improvised explosive device made from a commercial firework wrapped in shrapnel “to test its anti-personnel effectiveness.”

After a briefing on the plan to kidnap Whitmer, a larger group of the men drive from Luther to the vacation home in three separate vehicles while armed.

They stopped to check the underside of a highway bridge to check for places to attach an explosive charge, and discussed detonating explosive devices to divert law enforcement officers from the area of the governor’s home.

“She f—ing goddamn loves the power she has right now,” Fox said during the surveillance operation, according to the affidavit. “I can see several states takin’ their f—in’ tyrants. Everybody takes their tyrants.”

The group later returned to Garbin’s property, where they discussed destroying Whitmer’s vacation home. “Kidnapping, arson, death, I don’t care,” Franks said, according to the affidavit.

The group later made plans to conduct a final training exercise in late October but then decided that was too close to the November election, so they moved forward with raising money to procure explosives and other supplies including an 800,000-volt taser. It’s unclear when the kidnapping was planned for.

Much more at the link.

In addition to the charges against the six men above, Michigan State Attorney General Dana Nessel has brought state charges against seven additional men and identified the militia involved as the Wolverine Watchmen.

The Wolverine Watchmen would be the Michigan Militia Corps, Wolverines. The front page of their website provides this information:

A well-armed citizenry is the best form of Homeland Security and can better deter crime, invasion, terrorism, and tyranny. The intention of this website is to inform, promote and facilitate the development and training of the militia. Everyone is welcome, regardless of race, creed, color, religion or political affiliation, provided you do not wish to bring harm to our country or people. If you are a United States citizen (or have declared your intent to become such), who is capable of bearing arms, or supports the right to do so, then YOU ARE the MILITIA!

The Bill of Rights Amendment II
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,
the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN OF 1963 ARTICLE I
§6 Bearing of arms.
Sec. 6. Every person has a right to keep and bear
arms for the defense of himself and the state.

And they have a link to their very long pdf handbook that goes into excruciatingly bad historic detail in asserting and delineating what a militia is, why it is legal under natural and constitutional law, and why it is necessary. For example:

The Militia for Beginners

The militia — sit down, brace yourself, this gets complicated — is: everyone! By definition, the militia consists of “all citizens capable of bearing arms”. I can list everyone and everything we are, but I think “everyone” pretty much covers it; so let’s move on to what we are not.

We are not racists fighting the “great race war…to annihilate the mud people”, we welcome everyone, regardless of the hue of their skin; we are not terrorists advocating violence or destroying buildings in Oklahoma full of men, women, and children, only lunatics do that; we are not right-wing religious extremists fighting “demonically controlled people activated by Satan”, we welcome everyone of every religion, no religion, or anything in between as the case may be.

We are portrayed as above, as it serves the purpose of tainting the legitimacy of our concerns. (Apply the duh theory here.)

The reality is that it is illegal to form a militia in all 50 states. You can find all the state by state details here at Georgetown Law Schools Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, which has produced this handy and easy to use online fact sheet. Here’s the details for Michigan:

Is it legal to act as a private militia in Michigan?

No. All 50 states prohibit private, unauthorized militias and military units from engaging in activities reserved for the state militia, including law enforcement activities. Some, including Michigan, also prohibit paramilitary activity during or in furtherance of a civil disorder. Michigan’s laws are described below:

Michigan Constitution: The Michigan Constitution forbids private military units from operating outside state authority, providing that “[t]he military shall in all cases and at all times be in strict subordination to the civil power.” Mich. Const. art. I, § 7.

Michigan Statutes:

Prohibition on paramilitary activity: It is a felony in Michigan to either:

(1) “teach or demonstrate to another person the use, application, or construction of any firearm, or any explosive orincendiary device, if that person knows, has reason to know, or intends that what is taught or demonstrated will be used in, or in furtherance of, a civil disorder,” or

(2) “assemble with 1 or more persons for the purpose of training with, practicing with, or being instructed in the use of any firearm, or any explosive or incendiary device, if that person intends to use that firearm or device in, or in furtherance of, a civil disorder.” Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.528a.

Prohibition on falsely assuming functions of a peace officer: It is also a crime in Michigan for any person who is not a “peace officer” to “[p]erform the duties of a peace officer.” A “peace officer” includes a sheriff, deputy sheriff, police officer, federal or state law enforcement officer, and security employee, among others. Mich. Comp. laws § 750.215.

This is thwarted domestic stochastic terrorism. You have a group of people who are illegally conspiring under several Michigan state statutes and the Michigan constitution to undertake what would clearly be illegal violent actions against persons and property. They had tested improvised explosive devices (IEDs). They had planned several types of actions that would have resulted in mass casualties.

DHS finally released their October 2020 domestic threat assessment, that they tried to bury until a whistleblower made that impossible. The assessment makes it very, very, very clear that the predominant terrorism threat to Americans in the US are white supremacists and other right wing domestic extremists and that one of Russia’s major influence operations to disrupt the 2020 elections is to incite terroristic violence by these groups against visible racial, ethnic, and religious minorities.

Updated at 3:05 PM EDT

Here’s the live feed of Governor Whitmer’s press conference:

Open thread!

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Late Night NSFW Open Thread: Heroes Among Their Fellow Bubble-Dwellers

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Which for some reason reminded me of commentor Another Scott‘s link this morning, from Wonkette:

Gun Nut Blows Own Nuts Off, Is Hailed As Hero By Group Of Men Who Point Guns At Their Nuts

… On August 11, the man, a member of the “Loaded Guns Pointed at [B]enis” group, started posting a live video of himself pointing a gun at his dick and balls, for reasons, when the gun “accidentally” went off, in what’s more accurately called a “negligent discharge” — and how. The video was swiftly deleted, and the man subsequently posted the picture above, showing blood spattered everywhere and the caption “[B]ois, I think I fucked up.” You will note the copy of the Constitution in the upper left corner, reminding us all that it is a man’s Second Amendment right to shoot his balls off if he so chooses.

It was not a mere graze. The man later went to the hospital and discovered that it had actually gone through, which seems … uncomfortable. But apparently he is doing okay for a guy who just shot himself in the balls. He has since been made an administrator of the group, and members have been photoshopping memes of him as a king, accepting the Presidential Medal of Freedom, etc. etc…

Further explication at the link.

Now, sure, this “king” could be a Biden voter, but be honest: If there is not a ‘Fudds for Trump’ flag at the next boat flotilla, it will be a disappointment.

Also, the Oval Office Occupant should absolutely do an interview with his fellow KING during one of his upcoming TeleRallies(tm), possibly with DJT Jr or Eric as moderator, because that would pwn Normie Joe Biden, who has never even considered the entertainment value of shooting himself in the balls.

ETA:

If only boats, or even better flags, had the vote!

Y’know, the Man Without A Country was being punished for treason…

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Things Are Getting Sporty In Lansing: Sauce for the Goose Edition

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The response to this is going to be very, very, very interesting!

From Kyle Kaminski at The Lansing CityPulse:

WEDNESDAY, May 6 — After a hoard of armed and angry protesters swarmed Lansing last week, State Rep. Sarah Anthony brought some extra protection on her way to the State Capitol today.

At least three African Americans carrying large rifles escorted Anthony across Capitol Avenue earlier this morning so she could safely attend committee meetings without fear of intimidation. She said she didn’t necessarily request the help, but welcomed the extra security nonetheless.

“We were all just appalled by the lack of support and lack of security that I had, that other legislators had, and the fact that a lot of the demonstrators last week were adorning many racist, anti-Semitic signage. I think it just triggered a lot of folks, especially African Americans.”

Anthony and other lawmakers met this morning for an appropriations committee meeting. The scene was quiet. Anthony’s cadre of Second Amendment advocates had no trouble entering the building. They left to quietly stand on the front steps after Anthony made it inside an elevator.

“We want to change the narrative, first of all. We want people to understand that people of color can come out here with guns just the same as anybody else can,” said Michael Lynn Jr., a black Lansing firefighter and community activist who helped organize Anthony’s security detail.

Lynn watched a video that Anthony posted to Facebook as the protest formed last week. In it, she looked on from her office across the street as protestors slowly crowded the Capitol Lawn carrying Confederate flags, Nazi symbolism, nooses and other blatantly racist forms of imagery.

After some demonstrators eventually made it inside the building last week, one maskless and gun-toting protester got so close to Anthony’s face that she could smell his breath. And lawmakers shouldn’t be scared to come into work because of armed intimidation, she said.

“The majority of the protesters were white,” Anthony said. “I’m still not exactly sure on the connection between confederate flags and Nazi symbolism. They just had no connection to the stay-at-home orders. The fact they were carrying guns openly while we voted was unnerving.”

Anthony’s concerns are largely based on a “complete failure” of the Michigan State Police to maintain adequate security, she explained. She didn’t find out until this week that police could have escorted her to her car after she left the Capitol. No other security measures were mentioned.

“It was just unnerving to me as a woman and as a person,” Anthony said, noting that Capitol sergeants otherwise do an adequate job keeping lawmakers inside safe. “These community volunteers today won’t be needed all the time, but they wanted to have a presence today.”

Because Lynn is black, he suspects that cops would’ve been a bit more cautious — and perhaps violent — had his group been as boisterous as some of the crowds last week. He wanted to prove a point that Second Amendment rights aren’t limited on the basis of race.

“I could hear the fear in her voice during that protest,” Lynn explained. “It was the visual of her being that scared to go to work. It meant we had to do something. We came out here today to make sure we could provide some protection, even if it’s only just to make her feel better.”

Much more at the link.

The last time something like this was attempted was when the Black Panthers in California exploited a loophole in California state law and carried unloaded long guns with them everywhere. Including the state capitol to peaceably assemble to petition the state governance for redress of their grievances. While a bunch of nice, white, suburban school kids were visiting on a field trip to have lunch with the recently elected Governor Ronald Reagan. The California legislature pushed significant gun control legislation through and Governor Reagan signed it into law so fast that then 18 year old Wayne LaPierre’s head nearly spun off its axis!

As I wrote up top, it will be very, very, very interesting to see the response to Mr. Lynn’s actions in protecting Representative Anthony.

Open thread!

* Just a quick technical note regarding the tweet. The rifle carried by the guy next to state Representative Anthony is an AR style pistol with a stabilizing brace carbine. So it is not only not a large rifle, but is, at best, an equivalent in size to a short barreled rifle.

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And The World Didn’t End

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This happened yesterday:

TORONTO — The Canadian government on Friday announced an immediate ban on some 1,500 makes and models of “military-grade” assault weapons, including two models used by the gunman who killed 22 people last month in rural Nova Scotia during the country’s deadliest mass shooting.
“These weapons were designed for one purpose and one purpose only: to kill the largest amount of people in the shortest amount of time,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a news conference in Ottawa on Friday that began with him listing several mass shootings in the country’s history.

We’re all here today — well, most of us — the sun has gone on shining and the sea still rushes to shore, so I’m assuming this was not the end of the world, though I’m sure the whining, moaning, caterwauling and bitching of the gun strokers of the True North will make you think otherwise.

Gun owners will have two years to turn in their weapons, and they will receive “fair compensation”. Sounds more than fair to me.

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Late Night GOP Venality Open Thread: Colorado Congressman

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It’s always performative bullshit…

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Late Night WTF Open Thread: Actual Ammosexuals

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Warning: The image below the fold, once seen, cannot be unseen. I hope it’s a self-aware parody…

show full post on front page

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