Insurrection!!! (Part 2 - one year later)

I'm a day late on this, but was too busy yesterday. 

Insurrection - a violent uprising against an authority or government 

Facts:

• The only person killed as a direct result of January 6th was an white, female, unarmed protester, who was shot through a barricaded door (and we still don't have any real details as to why she was shot). I'm curious if the same blase approach to the investigation and subsequent clearing of wrongdoing would have happened if the protester had been a person of color. 
• Many (certainly not all) of the protesters were invited through the barricades and into the building by uniformed Capitol Police. Some did break in via some windows. The ultimate responsibility for security in the Capitol lies with the Speaker of the House - Democrat Nancy Pelosi - who was warned of the potential for a large protest days ahead of time, along with an offer of support from the National Guard by the Office of the Presidnet of the United States (which she refused). 
• Protesters vastly outnumbered Police. 
• There are STILL 750 someodd people in Police Custody with no bail over a year later. Congressional authorities initially were denied permission to even enter the facility where they were being held. Some were injured and were denied medical treatment. Subsequently, a Federal Judge has ruled that their civil rights were violated and the conditions of their imprisonment were inhumane. NONE of them have been charged with Insurrection under United States Federal Law. Most are charged with what is effectively trespassing. (Opinion here: Personally, I consider them to effectively be political prisoners held in a modern day gulag.) 
• The Capitol building has been subject to numerous protests where people occupied it without permission in recent years - none of them have been subject to similar legal treatment. Similarly, protesters attempted to breach the doors of the Supreme Court recently and were not charged or held without bail in such conditions. 
• The FBI, run by Democrat appointed Merrick Garland, found NO evidence of insurrection or coordination outside of a few far-right militia type groups (which constituted a minority of those protesting), who showed up unarmed. 

My Take:

I said this in the days after the January 6th protest and I'll repeat it here. If this had been an insurrection, an attempt to subvert democracy, the protestors would have been well armed, and they would have won the battle (likely not the war). With the numbers involved, an armed and even minimally coordinated group could have taken the Capitol building, and done nearly anything they wanted to with those inside. 

This should be considered a warning to anyone in power, Left or Right, that they truly do serve only with the consent of the governed, and care should be taken to truly listen to the concerns of those on the other side. Piss off enough people, and next time this might happen with armed opposition instead of political signs. The way to address widely held concerns about the legitimacy of an election is not to do everything in your power to stop or prevent deep level audits, it's not to ignore or otherwise downplay irregularities, and it's not to scream racism when people are asking for accountability, traceability, and integrity in their voting systems. 

Getting rid of conspiracy theories and settling people down is as simple as opening the books wide in a bipartisan manner, publicly, loudly, with cameras and lights blazing, and demonstrating with no doubt that the election was conducted fairly and legally. If the evidence doesn't exist to make this happen - YOU'RE DOING THE ELECTION WRONG and need to change the laws for more documentation, accountability, traceability, and integrity. Stop screaming "racism!" and start showing that the way you're conducting the election in your state is not prone to fraud and can be successfully and transparently audited. Further, if your state can't declare a winner within 24 hours of close of polls, 48 hours at the max, YOU'RE DOING THE ELECTION WRONG. 

This was a wakeup call, no matter your politics, and our "leaders" utterly failed the test. Worse, they didn't listen to the warning shot that was fired across their bow on January 6th, instead, they created a gulag, imprisoned protestors that did nothing more than trespass (those that destroyed property, or committed other crimes should have been tried by now and should have been subject to the same bail schemes you see everywhere else in this country), and have created a partisan committee that, despite no evidence of insurrection found by the FBI, is ham fistedly trying to punish and harass their political enemies while declaring that there was an "insurrection". 

The January 6th commission is a kangaroo "court", is blatantly politically motivated, and just like the Steele Dossier and the FISA courts being used/abused to wiretap an opponents' campaign and subsequently a Presidency, is a gigantic political abuse of power. Supporting this crap, by either side, puts you on the wrong side of history.

Little Brownshirts in Training

 My Mom Joined A Pro-Trump Protest The Night Before The Insurrection, So I Outed Her

"At that moment I was definitely prepared to share the video to my social media. Although the video doesn't depict my mom engaging in any violent acts, the crowd was unruly, and I was troubled that she was among them. I saw nothing wrong with outing her. I decided it was the right thing to do; that my family members needed to be held accountable for their actions."

Well, aren't we just the perfect little statist, bootlicking informer.  Rather than discuss the situation with her family, perhaps see if she could maybe learn something (and vice versa), find some common ground and understanding, she decided to "out" them for cheap internet points, a good and proper virtue signaling, and high fives from her friends.  And she's shocked, just shocked, that they've cut her off!  How dare her mother engage in unauthorized First Amendment activities!!!  Two legs bad, four legs good!

I think we all have family whom we don't see eye to eye with politically.  But to out them on public media for ridicule, and in our modern political environment, targeting for cancel culture - being fired, ostracized, threatened, etc - that's just a sign of the "tolerant", "let's all unify", left.  Screw family, we've got a thought criminal over here that needs persecution!

Well hey, at least now she can feel self righteous and claim additional victim status with her newfound poverty.  Her family will probably need her college fund to keep afloat and pay the bills when they are persecuted for their political beliefs by the rabid leftist facists. 

Getting Warmer

 New Plot to Surround Capitol Revealed

"They were talking about 4,000 armed 'patriots' to surround the Capitol and prevent any Democrat from going in," Lamb  said. "They have published rules of engagement, meaning when you shoot and when you don't. So this is an organized group that has a plan.

“They are committed to doing what they're doing because I think in their minds, you know, they are patriots and they're talking about 1776 and so this is now a contest of wills."

Now we're getting warmer.  In case you were sitting around wondering why I scoffed at the Capitol Incursion last week, if you were wondering what I meant, this right here is just a small, small escalation towards what could happen.

Whether it happens or not, this is another shot across the bow of Democrats and Republicans who have been jumping on the Democrat bandwagon out of some misguided sense of self-preservation.  And ladies and gentlemen, this is still miniscule in the greater scheme of things.

Do you think the Democrats will listen?  Do you think they'll back down from the precipice and actually truly try to re-enfranchise the millions (about 77 million) of people they've cast out into the cold, that they've mocked, minimized, isolated?  

Or do you think they'll double down?

My money is on the latter.   And it's not going to be pretty.

Insurrection!!!

This was a mild temper tantrum. Not saying I condone it, but the leftists lectured me endlessly in recent months about how the BLM riots were the result of people not feeling like they were being included, treated fairly, and heard. I was told that rioting, burning, and looting was the correct way to communicate that anger while the left cheered them on. I looked today and saw a far more restrained outburst.

Bear in mind, conservatively there were 80-100k people (possibly more) protesting there today. Many of these folks are right leaning to far right. Most right leaning folks are fairly well armed, many well trained and familiar with the operation of high caliber, semi-automatic rifles. You don't have to look too far back in our history to see well armed civilians storming government facilities and even engaging in firefights.

Had this been the "fall of our democracy", or an "insurrection" as is being breathlessly shouted on most of the lame stream media, there would have been a lot of dead politicians and protestors, because those folks would have shown up armed to the teeth.

As I said, this was a mild temper tantrum, but what else can you expect when the courts have refused to confront the lawlessness and punish the lawless, most politicians on the left and the right refuse to act in the people's best interests, and our election system has been messed up to the point that it is impossible for either side to have even the basic perception that our elections are fair, let alone having the ability to transparently prove that they really are in a timely manner.

I'm not saying that they should have done it, but I understand.

III

 "Heeeeeey!  You have a III in your header!  You're racist!!!!"

So, yes, I have a III in my header.  Yes, it means 3%, and  yes, I consider myself a "threeper".  You may notice this blog was created many, many years ago.  During that time, I was an avid reader of the Sipsey Street Irregulars, run by the late Mike Vanderboegh.  He was the man who coined the 3%, based on the 3% of colonists who fought against the British during the revolution.  You can, in fact, click on his blog over there in the left nav, scroll on back into history and see exactly what his intent was when he started talking about the 3%. The original colonists fighting in the 1770's weren't worried about slavery (mostly, they were indeed products of their time), and the founding of this country wasn't about being able to own slaves.  Nowhere do you see mentions of "we're rebelling because King George is telling us to free our slaves".  In fact, in my opinion the founding documents were designed to allow for the eventual downfall of slavery, though there were headwinds from slave owning states during the founding.

So recently, the III symbol has been coopted by some asshole racists.  So has the "OK" symbol (though I see a lot of chatter that it was really a Reddit hoax that got out of control).  I can't help that, and honestly, if we abandon every symbol that some backwards, jerkoff white supremacists coopt, we're going to run out of symbols shortly.  So it stays up there. It stays up there as a sign that I'm woke to the ideas of true liberty, personal sovereignty, personal accountability, and self reliance.  That I abhor any idea or law, whether from the left, right, or center, that tells me what I must do without also demonstrating that it is Constitutional and doesn't trample on personal freedoms.  And that I will, God willing, resist any attempts to take those liberties by force.

If you don't like that, you don't have to read any further, I wish you good day.

 Gallup Poll: Fewer Than Half Likely to Comply With COVID-19 Lockdown

Just a quick reminder, the only way the system works is if you willingly comply.  Government is by consent - when enough people do not consent, a law (or "emergency order", also known as a Government Fiat) has no basis and can not be enforced effectively.

With regards to a national mask order, or a national lockdown, I fail to see the Constitutionality.  I fail to see the authority by which a tyrant 3000 miles away can rule my life better than local government, which at least I have the chance to affect more directly with my vote.

Local governments have a far better chance of evaluating their numbers, understanding the will of their people, and implementing restrictions that are "reasonable" to handle their locality.  Should one be implemented, I will consider it my duty and right, protected by the First Amendment, to use my lack of compliance as political speech.  

For now, I will wear a mask indoors out of civic duty, as I find that to be reasonable and believe in protecting myself in an enclosed environment.  I will continue to refuse to wear one outdoors, where the ventilation and crowding is scarce.  Lockdowns do nothing but bankrupt people and businesses.

"Which is better - to be ruled by one tyrant three thousand miles away or by three thousand tyrants one mile away?" - Mather Byles

So NOW is finally the time to get Portland under control?

Oregon governor finally activates National Guard to counter violent riots in Portland

Does anyone else find this timing to be suspect?  More than three or four months of riots, and just after the election is "over" and everyone has put in their votes, NOW you decide to get tough on rioters, get tough on ANTIFA, effectively stop everything you've been happily blaming on President Trump for the last four years.  

Color me skeptical.