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You are here: Home / Archives for Gun Issues / Gun nuts

Gun nuts

Friday Evening Open Thread: The NRA Tries A Strategic Retreat

by Anne Laurie|  January 15, 20217:17 pm| 72 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Grifters Gonna Grift, Gun nuts, Open Threads

The @NRA's claimed financial status has finally met its moral status: bankrupt.

While we review its bankruptcy filing, we will not allow the @NRA to use this or any other tactic to evade accountability and my office’s oversight.

— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) January 15, 2021

Per the AP:

The National Rifle Association announced Friday it has filed for bankruptcy protection and will seek to incorporate the nation’s most politically influential gun-rights group in Texas instead of New York.

The announcement made on the NRA’s website comes months after New York’s attorney general sued the organization over claims that top executives illegally diverted tens of millions of dollars for lavish personal trips, no-show contracts for associates and other questionable expenditures.

The coronavirus pandemic has also upended the NRA, which last year laid off dozens of employees, canceled its national convention and scuttled fundraising. The NRA’s bankruptcy filing listed between $100 million and $500 million in assets and between $100 million and $500 million in liabilities. Still, the NRA claimed in announcing the move that the organization was “in its strongest financial condition in years.”

The NRA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court in Dallas and said it planned to incorporate in Texas, where records show it formed a limited liability corporation, Sea Girt LLC, in November 2020. Sea Girt LLC made a separate bankruptcy filing Friday, listing fewer than $100,000 in liabilities.

“The move will enable long-term, sustainable growth and ensure the NRA’s continued success as the nation’s leading advocate for constitutional freedom – free from the toxic political environment of New York,” the NRA said in a statement…

MAH FREEDUMBS!!1!! He’s not even bothering to pretend it’s about gunsports any more…

show full post on front page

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott quickly welcomed the news, tweeting: “Welcome to Texas — a state that safeguards the 2nd Amendment.” The NRA said it has more than 400,000 members in Texas and plans to hold its annual convention in Houston later this year.

I believe most of the day-to-day corporate leadership still works out of the DC suburbs (spiritual home of all lobbyist organizations), so it’s mostly kabuki at this point anyways. Due sympathy to all decent Texans, still.

Speaking of weasel words, here’s a masterpiece of the genre:

The National Rifle Association has filed Chapter 11 proceedings and plans to relocate to Texas. The letter, from NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, says the organization is “as financially strong as we have been in years.” https://t.co/wb0FXdefcR

— 23ABC News (@23ABCNews) January 15, 2021

We’ve been crippling the organization with our relentless greed for years, and hope to continue for years yet to come!

Friday Evening Open Thread: The NRA Tries A Strategic RetreatPost + Comments (72)

Definitely Not the Armed Intelligentsia: Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District Called, Their Idiot Is Missing

by Adam L Silverman|  January 4, 20219:06 pm| 195 Comments

This post is in: America, Ammosexuals, Crazification Factor, Domestic Politics, Election 2020, Gun Issues, Gun nuts, gun safety, Open Threads, Silverman on Security

Yesterday, aside from getting into a tag team pissing match on the House floor over wearing masks, Lauren Boebert, the new member of Congress from Colorado’s 3rd congressional district, released an ad on social media explaining why she’ll be concealed carrying her GLOCK in both Washington, DC and in the Capitol. Here’s the ad:

Let me tell you why I WILL carry my Glock to Congress.

Government does NOT get to tell me or my constituents how we are allowed to keep our families safe.

I promise to always stand strong for our 2nd Amendment rights.https://t.co/E75tYpdN4B pic.twitter.com/qg7QGenrNo

— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) January 4, 2021

Fun Filled Lollipop

There’s some issues here. Carrying in the Capitol is not one of the legal ones. It is legal for members of Congress to carry in the Capitol under a House rule created in 1967. Washington, DC, however, is another matter. In order to carry in Washington, DC one must have a Washington, DC conceal carry permit. Here are the eligibility requirements:

  1. Must be 21 years of age or older (18-21 with the authorization or a parent or guardian)
  2. Not convicted of a weapons offense, or a felony in any jurisdiction (including a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year).
  3. Not under indictment for a crime of violence or a weapons offense.
  4. Not convicted within the past five years for narcotics or dangerous drug offense, a threat to do bodily harm, or for assault.
  5. Not acquitted of any criminal charge by reason of insanity or adjudicated a chronic alcoholic by any court within the past five years.
  6. Not voluntarily or involuntarily committed to any mental hospital or institution within the past five years.
  7. Not suffer from any physical defect that would make it unsafe for you to possess and use a firearm safely and responsibly.
  8. Not found negligent in any firearm related mishap causing death or injury to another person.
  9. Not convicted of a misdemeanor intrafamily offense.
  10. Not dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Armed Forces.
  11. Not a citizen of the United States who has renounced his or her citizenship.
  12. Not legally blind.
  13. Not convicted of two or more violations for driving under the influence within the past five years.
  14. Not the subject of a civil protection order within the past five years.
  15. Not convicted of Stalking within the past five years.
  16. Not convicted of negligent storage of a firearm or a violation of the Firearms Registration Act within the past five years.
  17. Not had a history of violent behavior within the past five years.
  18. Has completed firearms training provided free of charge by the Metropolitan Police Department.

And here are the suitability requirements:

In addition to meeting all of the Eligibility Requirements to Register a Firearm, an individual applying to carry a concealed firearm must meet the follwing suitability requirements:

  1. Meets all the requirements for a person registering a firearm.
  2. Completed a firearms training course by an instructor certified by the Chief ( You may apply for an exemption based on previous training within the past 2 years)
  3. Is not presently an alcoholic, addict, or habitual user of a controlled dangerous substance, unless the habitual use of a controlled dangerous substance is under licensed medical direction.
  4. Has not exhibited propensity for violence or instability that may reasonably render a person’s possession of a concealed pistol a danger to the person or another.
  5. Does not currently suffer nor has suffered in the previous five years from any mental disorder, illness, or condition that creates a substantial risk that he or she is a danger to himself or herself or others.

What you can’t just do is show up in DC, regardless of one’s professional status – say a member of Congress – and just stroll around while strapped. Depending on whether Boebert actually filmed that strolling around DC or the whole thing is green screen, she has likely already committed a felony in DC. That is actually one of the least concerning things in that video. Let’s run a few down.

  1. Given the way she is carrying her GLOCK – and it appears to be a GLOCK 19 – at around the 5:00 to 5:30 position on her strong side with the holster outside the waistband and inside her belt, there is no way she didn’t muzzle herself while holstering. She’s high waisted and her butt is sticking way out because of the very high spike heels she’s wearing. There also isn’t a lot of cant on the holster either. The only way to get the muzzle of that GLOCK, which is a compact/carry size handgun, into the top of that holster is to tip the muzzle towards ones own lower back in order to get the muzzle into the holster before straightening the gun out and pushing it down into the holster. I’m almost 100% sure she did muzzle herself because if she hadn’t, the video wouldn’t have been edited to obscure how the gun gets into the holster as she holsters it. And given that this is a GLOCK and does not have a frame/thumb safety, just GLOCK’s Safe Action trigger safety – aka the trigger dingus – this isn’t like holstering a 1911 or a classic P Series or a Beretta FS92.
  2. She’s printing. Even if she and the video producers hadn’t bothered to highlight where she was carrying, because her heels push out her butt, which increases the arch of her lower back ,you can clearly see that she has something large under the back of her jacket.
  3. She’s carrying under a buttoned cover between 5:00 to 5:30 on her strong side. She’s not inside the waistband carrying, which would be impossible in jeans that tight. Not wearing jeans that tight is not something she would do because what she’s selling – both to her restaurant’s customers and to her potential voters is the sexy and hyper-sexualized gun bunny – there’s no way for her to get the cover garment/jacket out of the way, get the gun unholstered and unlimbered, and then presented on target before someone who was close and menacing her was on top of her. I teach martial arts. When I had my own dojo at USAWC I was teaching colonels, lieutenant colonels, generals, and spouses. The bulk of my students had spent the better part of the past 15 years deployed and carrying both sidearms and carbines in war zones. I would teach defenses against rushing attackers. Every one of my students, all with multiple deployments to Iraq and/or Afghanistan, got flummoxed when I’d charge them from within 30 feet. It takes a lot of training to be able to actually respond properly when someone is charging you. Basically she’s advertising to everyone she’s carrying, where on her body she carries, and because of where she’s carrying and how she’s dressing around the gun to carry she can’t get the gun out in the few seconds it would take for someone to get hands on her from within 30 feet.

There are a few other issues here. She carries a GLOCK 19. The standard magazine for the GLOCK 19 takes fifteen rounds, though it will take larger magazines. DC only allows 10 round magazines. So she’s either going to have to modify her magazines or buy the special 10 round magazines that fit the GLOCK 19.

I would also like to argue that contrary to her claims, Washington, DC is not particularly dangerous. I’ve walked all over DC while I’ve been on Temporary Duty there. Day or night. In business attire or in casual clothes. And while I realize I’m a 5’11, 268 lbs white male who is built like the guys who do Strongman competitions, I’ve never felt even remotely unsafe doing so.

What remains to be seen is whether Boebert has 1) already broken DC law by actually filming most of that video of her walking around conceal carrying in actual DC instead of in front of a green screen before she has gotten a DC conceal carry permit, 2) if she has violated the DC law regarding the size of the magazine in her GLOCK 19, and 3) whether she has actually bothered to get a DC permit yet.

One of the whole points behind conceal carrying is the phrase “concealed means concealed”. Specifically you don’t talk about, advertise, or otherwise acknowledge if you are or are not armed at any given time. This includes doing everything possible to make sure you aren’t printing. Not because printing is illegal per se (depends on the jurisdiction), but because the idea is that if no one knows if you or anyone else is carrying, no one has an advantage if they decide to attack you. Everything that Congresswoman Boebert has done in this ad, which is designed to bring in donations and rile up her constituents back in Rifle, Colorado, is tactically stupid. She’s advertised to the entire world that she is and will carry, where on her body she is carrying, and having the weapon print because of how she carries. Anyone who wants to basically take her gun from her and feed it to her now has the upper hand.

Moron Labe!

Open thread.

Definitely Not the Armed Intelligentsia: Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District Called, Their Idiot Is MissingPost + Comments (195)

Horrifying Stories: How Kyle Rittenhouse Spent His ‘Stimulus Money’

by Anne Laurie|  December 5, 20208:49 pm| 127 Comments

This post is in: domestic terrorists, Excellent Links, GOP Death Cult, Gun nuts

Wisconsin court rules there is enough evidence to warrant a trial for Kyle Rittenhouse in the killing of two men and the wounding of a third in Kenosha in August. The killings came two days after the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man.https://t.co/Nn8TlP5lGF

— The Associated Press (@AP) December 3, 2020

While his right-wing-crowd-funded lawyers did their uneven best, it seems that ‘hapless manchild forced to defend himself against angry pervs and violent anarchists’ was an insufficient excuse to just quietly flush this whole unfortunate incident down the memory hole. So here’s some horror tales for a Saturday night:

show full post on front page

This says so much about the tragedy that is the United States of America, November 2020:
Easy access to weapons.
Little access to healthcare.
Less access to mental health.
Rage, racism.
Unemployment & economic fearfulness.
And #COVID19 in the background.https://t.co/X93EUXpRzH pic.twitter.com/HaZzPEqg8f

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) November 19, 2020

… A Washington Post examination of video and police records, along with other documents, sheds new light on the mindsets of the two people principally involved — one a gun enthusiast who thought of himself as a medic, the other a homeless man with a criminal record who was discharged that day from a psychiatric hospital.

The Post found that Rittenhouse, who was too young to buy a rifle, had arranged for an adult friend to buy the weapon for him using money Rittenhouse had received from a government stimulus program.

The Post interviewed Rittenhouse, who spoke publicly for the first time since his arrest. He said he did not regret that he had a gun that night. “I feel I had to protect myself,” he said. “I would have died that night if I didn’t.”

One of Rittenhouse’s sisters told The Post that he supported peaceful demonstrations but objected to violence and called the rioters in Kenosha “monsters.”

The examination also reveals new details about Rosenbaum’s struggles with mental illness and includes the first on-camera interview with his fiancee, Kariann Swart. “I don’t think there’s any sort of self-defense when there’s an unarmed person in front of you, and you’re holding an assault rifle two feet away,” she said. “But yet on the other hand, you know, Joe, you shouldn’t have been down there.”…

Some of the worst people in the GOP Death Cult helped buy Rittenhouse his temporary freedom, some of them are trying to further their political careers off him, and — inevitably — some of the cultists have gone to war with their fellows over him. Meanwhile, the best future this sorry mope can look forward to is a cell adjourning Dzhokhar Tsarnaev‘s in the ‘But It Seemed So Heroic When They Described It to Me’ Supermax…

99% of suburban gun nuts masturbate to this fantasy of winning a heroic OK Corral shootout against murderous invaders. 0% of them will ever have a chance to. It is sad, in a way, until they, fired up by obliging GOP fearmongers like Ted, go actively looking for their chance…

— Slava Malamud (@SlavaMalamud) November 22, 2020

For, you see, 99.999% of gun nuts are, to use a technical term, pussies. I haven't shot an actual gun since I was 16 and never plan to again in my life, and I could beat up any one of them with a frying pan without breaking into sweat. They are decadent, bored, suburban pussies..

— Slava Malamud (@SlavaMalamud) November 22, 2020

They know that as long as they merely brandish their toys and yell at cops' faces, then, by virtue of being white, they are gonna be fine. Actually pulling that trigger unleashes a world of possibilities they have never contemplated when jerking off to their fantasies…

— Slava Malamud (@SlavaMalamud) November 22, 2020

Someone young enough to not understand consequences. Or someone stupid enough to not care about them. Someone like Kyle Rittenhouse, who would have made a perfect Hitlerjugend in the 1940s, or someone like the Michigan would-be kidnappers who are actually violently insane…

— Slava Malamud (@SlavaMalamud) November 22, 2020

Rittenhouse won't be the last one. Not all crazy plots will fail. More "heroes" will be elevated by the right. Killing liberals will become normalized. Some suburban pussies may actually be convinced that pulling the trigger won't have dire consequences. You finish this story.

— Slava Malamud (@SlavaMalamud) November 22, 2020

Horrifying Stories: How Kyle Rittenhouse Spent His ‘Stimulus Money’Post + Comments (127)

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

by Adam L Silverman|  October 22, 202011:17 pm| 259 Comments

This post is in: Ammosexuals, Election 2020, Gun Issues, Gun nuts, Humorous, Open Threads

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!!!!

Dummy here used up the entire 2nd Amendment. pic.twitter.com/jPEa5SLlZ0

— 𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕖 𝔾𝕦𝕣𝕝 (@Sundae_Gurl) October 17, 2020

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!

Post Debate Open Thread: Good News Everybody, We Never Have To See or Hear the President Debate Ever Again!!!!Post + Comments (259)

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

by Adam L Silverman|  October 8, 20202:12 pm| 169 Comments

This post is in: America, Ammosexuals, Crazification Factor, Criminal Justice, Domestic Politics, Election 2020, Gun Issues, Gun nuts, Silverman on Security

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

LIBERATE MICHIGAN!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2020

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.

Breaking: Nessel separately charging 7 other men with terrorism crimes – linked to a militia group Wolverine Watchmen — to plan and train for attack on Michigan Capitol building

— David Eggert (@DavidEggert00) October 8, 2020

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!

Today In Stochastic Terrorism: The FBI and Michigan State Police Prevent the Kidnapping of Governor WhitmerPost + Comments (169)

Late Night Open Thread: Mock, But Don’t Point

by Anne Laurie|  September 6, 202012:01 am| 111 Comments

This post is in: Gun nuts, Open Threads

Never point your weapon at something you might want to use later, they told me…

In the non-trivial chance this is an ironic meme, this ex-Boy Scout very much frowns on “jokes” where you point a firearm, even unloaded, directly at your soft and mushy insides, to say nothing of treating a tool such as that unseriously in general

— The Cyberpunk Landsknecht (@cakotz) September 5, 2020

Speaking of gunhumpers mishandling things:

BREAKING: Wayne LaPierre’s former chief of staff admits “School Shield” is a bogus safety campaign meant only to raise money; supports background checks; and says the @NRA effectively prevented Donald Trump from acting on gun safety for political reasons. https://t.co/Z5pDbLMe8b

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) September 3, 2020


He has a book to sell, while it’s still news:

show full post on front page

The National Rifle Association’s former second-in-command is breaking with the group’s orthodoxy and calling for universal background checks and so-called red flag laws in a new book assailing the organization as more focused on money and internal intrigue than the Second Amendment, while thwarting constructive dialogue on gun violence.

The former executive, Joshua L. Powell, who was fired by the N.R.A. in January, reinforces the kind of criticism made of the organization by gun control groups and state regulators, but it is the first critical look at its recent history by such a high-ranking insider.

He describes the N.R.A.’s longtime chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, as a woefully inept manager, but also a skilled lobbyist with a deft touch at directing President Trump to support the group’s objectives, and who repeatedly reeled in the president’s flirtations with even modest gun control measures…

Much of the book centers on Mr. LaPierre, who Mr. Powell says “couldn’t run an organization on a fiscally sound basis to save his life,” and who filled the N.R.A.’s coffers by catering to “the extreme fringe.” So pervasive were the organization’s troubles, Mr. Powell says, that Mr. LaPierre confided in him last year that he was thinking about quitting, and possibly asking Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate, or Jason Chaffetz, a former House member, to replace him…

Yeah, with options like those two, it’s pretty safe to say the NRA is *not* about to return to its roots as a gun-safety organization.

*Incredible* ad placement https://t.co/O12JlOKg4q pic.twitter.com/l9hO1wh7di

— David A. Graham (@GrahamDavidA) September 3, 2020

Late Night Open Thread: Mock, But Don’t PointPost + Comments (111)

Toxic (Open Thread)

by Betty Cracker|  August 31, 20202:59 pm| 307 Comments

This post is in: Gun nuts, Open Threads, Politics, Republican Stupidity

I’ve only seen bits and pieces in clips, but from that, I’ve concluded that Biden gave a helluva speech today:

BIDEN: “We have arrived in a moment in this campaign that we all knew we would get to: The moment when Donald Trump would be so desperate he would do anything to hold onto power. Donald Trump has been a toxic presence in our nation for four years.” pic.twitter.com/ecJq4cZHHZ

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 31, 2020

A couple of notable quotes from the clip:

“Donald Trump has been a toxic presence in our nation for four years. Poisoning how we talk to one another. Poisoning how we treat one another. Poisoning the values this nation has always held dear. Poisoning our very democracy. Now, in just a little over 60 days, we have a decision to make. Will we rid ourselves of this toxin, or will we make it a permanent part of our character?”

“Trump has sought to remake this nation in his image: selfish, angry, dark and divisive.”

Bravo!

Some of the usual Beltway suspects were opining that Trump has cleverly forced Biden to play on Trump’s LAW & ORDER turf. They say Biden would rather focus on Trump’s catastrophic mismanagement of the pandemic than address the civil unrest happening in some cities. I call bullshit on that narrative. TRUMP is the one who’s heaping praise on gun-toting psychos who are riding into cities flying Trump flags on their $45K pickups to stir up violent confrontations.

The anarchists and opportunistic turds who are looting businesses and burning buildings aren’t wearing Biden merch, and Biden of course has denounced those activities all along and did so forcefully today. They aren’t Biden’s base. They aren’t Democrats. The militia shitheads ARE Trump’s base, and they are Republicans, so if anyone has his balls in a vise, it’s Trump, not Biden, because Trump doesn’t dare denounce the militia goons.

Oh, and Biden got in plenty of shots about Trump’s COVID-19 clusterbumblefuck, plus he mocked the idea that he (Biden) is a socialist Trojan horse:

Biden: “You know me. You know my heart, you know my story … ask yourself: do I look like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters? Really? … the simple truth is Trump failed to protect America, so now he’s trying to scare America.” pic.twitter.com/P8c9BTG0B1

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 31, 2020

Anyhoo, well done, Mr. Biden. Open thread.

Toxic (Open Thread)Post + Comments (307)

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