Tag: You’re Doing it Right

Ron Paul Introduces Legislation to Abolish Federal “Gun-Free Zones”

I have no idea how this news passed me by but Ron Paul once again demonstrates his awesomeness; this time by introducing H.R. 2613, the Citizens Protection Act of 2011. The legislation, if passed (which it never will be sadly), would abolish federal “gun-free zones” (more accurately known as victim disarmament zones) at K-12 schools. This would allow teachers and faculty to carry while performing their jobs as teachers which could greatly reduce the damage psychopaths would be able to inflict should they decide to shoot up another school.

One of the reasons schools are targets of shootings is because the shooters know that their victims will be disarmed due to federal mandate. It’s apparent that they select their targets based on the defenseless nation of their victims because they quickly commit suicide at the first sign of resistance (usually 10 to 15 minutes after they start, which is how long is usually takes the police to respond). Having teachers and faculty on campus able to provide resistance would likely make many people with malicious intent in their minds consider a different target, or if not that, would provide quick responding resistance which would likely end the event much sooner.

Sadly this bill will likely never pass but it does demonstrate that Ron Paul really intents to reduce the power government has over our lives, unlike his competition for the Republican presidential nominee.

One Crazy Minnesota Presidential Wannabe Down, One More to Go

Pawlenty is either a sore loser or smart enough to know when he’s been beat. After news came out that he took a distant third place in the Ames straw poll on Saturday, Pawlenty announced that he’s dropping out of the presidential race. That’s one crazy Minnesota presidential wannabe done, now we just have to get the other one to drop out.

Pawlenty has always been worthless. Although he liked to tout small government is took many opportunities to ensure government involved itself in the lives of Minnesotans. One of the most obvious examples of this is when he signed a law making the wearing of seat belts mandatory in Minnesota (punishable by a fine of course). I’m glad he’s no longer Minnesota’s governor and even happier that he’s dropped out of the race entirely.

Apple’s Response to the UK Riots

Let’s say you’re a store owner in a town that is being ravaged by riots, what do you do? If you’re Apple you move all of your inventory out of the store and close it down. That’s the best response a company could make in a place where violent criminals are attacking and looting private businesses. You’re far less of a target if you have nothing to take.

This is something that would also be smart for average people to learn. During times of civil unrest those who appear to have something worth stealing are more likely to be targets for the roving masses. Although a large number of random acts of violence will still make self-defense necessary, making yourself appears as poor as possible is one way to reduce the chances of you being directly targeted. Riots can often be kicked off by people angry with the actions of their government but it’s guaranteed that the rage of rioters will not be logically directed. As more and more people join the riots any possible message is lost as a large number of people will join in simply to loot and steal hoping they won’t get caught as there are so many people committing crimes. These thieves will target those who they perceive to have something worth taking so it’s smart to make it appear as though you have nothing worth their time.

Appearing as though you have nothing isn’t a fool proof way of voiding violence but it’s one additional step you can take in reducing your risk.

DNA Collection of Arrested Persons Deemed Unconstitutional in California

It’s about time some good news came from that hellhole known as California. A California appeals court has ruled that collecting the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of an arrested person is not constitutional:

A California appeals court is striking down a voter-approved measure requiring every adult arrested on a felony charge to submit a DNA sample.

The 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco said Proposition 69 amounted to unconstitutional, warrantless searches of arrestees. More than 1.6 million samples have been taken following the law’s 2009 implementation.

“What the DNA Act authorizes is the warrantless and suspicionless search of individuals, before a judicial determination of probable cause to believe they have committed a crime, for evidence of crime unrelated to that for which they have been arrested,” (.pdf) the court wrote. “The United States Supreme Court has never permitted suspicionless searches aimed at uncovering evidence of crime outside the context of convicted offenders.”

I don’t believe this ruling eliminates the ability of law enforcement to collect DNA but it at least establishes another step in requiring judicial review before the collection is performed. It’s also nice to see the court got it in this case. No, they really got it:

California argued that DNA evidence is an effective crime-solving tool. The court, ruling 3–0, found that argument immaterial.

“But even if DNA testing of arrestees was demonstrably valuable to law enforcement, the effectiveness of a crime fighting technology does not render it constitutional,” the court wrote.

Whether something is effective at assisting law enforcement is completely irrelevant if it’s infringing on the rights of individuals.

We Need More of This

What if there was an election and nobody ran? That’s what happened in the small North Carolina town of Tar Heel:

In the North Carolina town of Tar Heel, residents won’t have to worry about Big Government. It’s looking like No Government.

Nobody’s on the ballot for November elections, a county elections official told CNN Monday.

“The town had two weeks to file and no one stepped up to the plate,” said Cynthia Shaw, director of the Bladen County board of elections.

Granted this happened in a very small town but I’d love to see such things occur in large cities and even whole congressional districts. With very few exceptions those running for political seats aren’t doing it because they want to represent the people, they do it because they want power to wield of people. It would be nice to see people no longer jockeying for power or being willing to play the political game. As you can see by watching any major debate those outside of the political faction who want to control the everyday lives of American citizens are shut out by those inside. Politics is nothing but a giant play for power and we’re the ones who are getting fucked.

I wouldn’t feel bad at all if my congressional district had no “representation” at either the state of federal level. Why? Because having nobody willing to run would make the statement that there isn’t anybody in the district who wants to have power over others. On top of that anybody who would actually represent me is never going to get a voice in government bodies run almost entirely by statists, so what the hell do I care?

But According to the Anti-Gunners This Never Happens

Get this, a man used a firearm to prevent two would be invaders from invading his home. According to the anti-gunners this kind of thing never really happens but alas it did:

Jerry Bowen didn’t run and hide when two Hickory men kicked in his door at his Warwick Court home in eastern Lincoln County, according to law enforcement. Instead the 42-year-old grabbed his gun and took charge of the situation.

Bowen fired a warning shot and ordered the men to the ground, according to Lincoln County Sheriff David Carpenter.

James David Rubenstahl and his nephew, Robert Ray Rubenstahl, did as they were told. They dropped to the ground and waited for police to arrive, said Carpenter who mentioned that Bowen searched the men and even used their cell phone to call 911.

I’m not the biggest fan of firing warning shots. North Carolina has castle doctrine which includes using any means necessary to prevent intruders from entering the home so I don’t think Mr. Bowen will have to face charges for firing the warning shot. Firing a warning shot in Minnesota could land you in hot water since we lack castle doctrine (thanks “representatives” for refusing to vote on the bill until the session ended, fuckers) so the only way you can use a firearm in self-defense is if your life is in immediate danger, even if you’re at home. Firing a warning shot can make the defense of feeling your life was in immediate danger a bit shaky which is why we need castle doctrine here (and in every other state) desperately. By firing a warning shot Mr. Bowen was able to defuse the situation without harming anybody which most people would consider a good thing.

I also want to give some style points to Mr. Bowen for using the would be invader’s cell phone to call the police. That right there is humiliation you simply can’t buy. These kinds of scenarios play out fairly often which is why the right to keep and bear arms is so important, especially when the criminals are literally kicking down your front door and the police are minutes away.

German Ships Traversing Somali Waters Can Now Hire Private Security

Traversing the waters around Somali can be a pretty risky endeavor. Nothing will ruin your day more thoroughly than a bunch of pirates boarding your ship, holding you a gun point, and demanding a random for your release. The biggest problem has been in the fact most ships have been barred from having means of self-defense by the very governments that have been pretending to protest ships. Well Germany has finally admitted that they are incapable of protecting their ships and have authorized their serfs on the seas to hire private security:

State secretary in the economics ministry responsible for maritime affairs, Hans-Joachim Otto, said on Thursday that he could not answer the repeated calls from shipping companies for soldiers or armed police officers to accompany their boats.

Of course the government is going to allow any private security firms that itself hasn’t explicitly blessed:

“We don’t want desperadoes, so we are looking into a certification,” said Otto. He said security firms offering protection would have to meet certain standards. The government had until now always rejected such a solution, unwilling to give up the state’s monopoly on the use of legitimate force.

Being able to defend yourself shouldn’t require government’s permission. Government like to maintain a monopoly on the use of force in all situations and get kind of testy when us peasants decide to take measures to defend our own lives. If most of the ships traversing Somali waters were armed to the teeth the pirates would likely think twice about hijacking ships. Deterring all crime is impossible but if you raise the risk of criminal activity high enough it will deter many criminals. By raising the risks I’m not talking about increasing jail sentences either, I’m talking about people being able to defend themselves against assailants.

It’s good to see German ships will finally be allowed to hire security forces to keep the pirates at bay, but this entire problem could have been mostly avoided had no rule against ships being able to hire security been passed.

NoScript Awarded the $10,000 Dragon Research Group Security Innovation Grant

It’s likely you’ve heard to praise the awesome Firefox plugin that is NoScript. NoScript is the primary reason why I’m still running Firefox instead of Chrome. That’s why I’m glad that the plugin was awarded the Dragon Research Group Security Innovation grant which includes $10,000.

NoScript is kind of a Swiss Army knife in regards to Firefox plugins. The main purpose of the plugin is to block scripting on all domains that you haven’t specifically white listed. This not only improves security by preventing malicious scripts from running but it also makes the web a much nicer place to visit since it blocks those annoying pop-over ads that block the site until you dismiss them. I’m honestly at the point where I can’t even stand visiting many websites unless I block scripting on those domains.

Carrying a Pocket Knife at a Minnesota School is Not a Felony

Here’s some good news for a change, the court of appeals ruled that carrying a pocket knife at school is not a felony:

Having a pocketknife at school is grounds for expulsion but the Minnesota Court of Appeals said Monday that it isn’t a felony if there’s no proof of it being used as a weapon.

The court’s ruling reversed a conviction against a teenager from Willmar, Minn., rejecting arguments by the Kandiyohi County Attorney that the teen’s dark-handled pocketknife with a 3 1/2-inch blade was a dangerous weapon, both by intended use and design.

Although I was say carrying a pocket knife isn’t even grounds for expulsion it sure as the Hell shouldn’t be a felony charge. The fact of the matter is a pocket knife is a tool which makes for a pretty shitty weapon.

When I was in high school I carried a pocket knife every day. Why? For the same reason I still carry one with me every day, it’s an extremely useful tool. I would say I whip out my pocket knife at least once a day, oftentimes multiple times a day. In high school I took a lot of shop classes and my pocket knife was immensely useful (and our shop teachers weren’t dicks so they ignored the fact that I was violating the school’s weapon policy because that pocket knife hardly qualified as a weapon anymore than a utility knife).

In all honesty I believe the pen that I carried around in high school was be a far better weapon than the blade on my pocket knife. If I were to stab somebody with my pocket knife I can see the blade closing and cutting my fingers instead of going into another person.

I’m glad to see this ruling as nobody should be nailed with a felony for being prepared. Does anybody even remember when being prepared was saw as a virtue instead of something requiring a felony charge? The fact that this kid faced a felony weapon charge at all is sickening.

It Seems The TSA Doesn’t Like the Taste of Their Own Medicine

Agents of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) love to commit acts of sexual assault against airline customers but it appears as though they don’t like it when somebody returns the favor:

But now, a Colorado woman is accused of putting her hands on a TSA agent at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix.

Court records show 61-year-old Yukari Miyamae grabbed the left breast of the female agent Thursday at the Terminal 4 checkpoint.

Police say she squeezed and twisted the agent’s breast with both hands.

Officers say Mihamae admitted to the crime.

If your job is to cop a feel on everybody trying to get on an airplane don’t be too surprised when somebody decides to return the favor. Hell I think this is something everybody should do, when the TSA agent gropes you grope them back. I would venture so far as to say not groping your TSA agent back is rather rude as they probably feel left out.