Rafael Cruz gives us 12 minutes of wisdom

Who?  Senator Ted Cruz's Dad.

Watch.



(HT TSP)

What Third Amendment?

And I bet these same cops hang out after shift grousing about how "no one respects the law any more."

Can't imagine why...

 "As plaintiff Anthony Mitchell stood in shock, the officers aimed their weapons at Anthony Mitchell and shouted obscenities at him and ordered him to lie down on the floor.

     "Fearing for his life, plaintiff Anthony Mitchell dropped his phone and prostrated himself onto the floor of his living room, covering his face and hands.

     "Addressing plaintiff as 'asshole', officers, including Officer Snyder, shouted conflicting orders at Anthony Mitchell, commanding him to both shut off his phone, which was on the floor in front of his head, and simultaneously commanding him to 'crawl' toward the officers.

     "Confused and terrified, plaintiff Anthony Mitchell remained curled on the floor of his living room, with his hands over his face, and made no movement.

     "Although plaintiff Anthony Mitchell was lying motionless on the ground and posed no threat, officers, including Officer David Cawthorn, then fired multiple 'pepperball' rounds at plaintiff as he lay defenseless on the floor of his living room. Anthony Mitchell was struck at least three times by shots fired from close range, injuring him and causing him severe pain." (Parentheses in complaint.)

     Officers then arrested him for obstructing a police officer, searched the house and moved furniture without his permission and set up a place in his home for a lookout, Mitchell says in the complaint.

     He says they also hurt his pet dog for no reason whatsoever: "Plaintiff Anthony Mitchell's pet, a female dog named 'Sam,' was cowering in the corner when officers smashed through the front door. Although the terrified animal posed no threat to officers, they gratuitously shot it with one or more pepperball rounds. The panicked animal howled in fear and pain and fled from the residence. Sam was subsequently left trapped outside in a fenced alcove without access to water, food, or shelter from the sun for much of the day, while temperatures outside soared to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit."

RTWT.  It gets worse.

Yeah, yeah, I know.  It's "just a few bad apples."  And I'm sure most of the SS and the KGB were real decent guys, too.  Funny how these "bad apples" keep finding each other and operating in groups, and there's not a single good cop on the scene to say, "No.  This isn't right."  Yeah.  Real funny, that.

I'm trying my level best to not judge people in groups...but shit like this is really straining my capacity for self-delusion.  If you really are a 'Good Cop,' you'd better stand up against this sort of thing in a vocal and public manner.  Else, we're going to see you as just another gang.  And when (not if) shit goes sideways in this country, you're going to find that you need us a lot more than we need you.

(HT the lovely and talented Erin Palette)

BREAKING: It never ends!

The Massachusetts authorities fascist scumbags are jacking TJIC again.  On "Independence Day."  The irony has not gone unnoticed.  In the comments, from TJIC himself:

In the end they illegally seized my FID (just plan CAN NOT do it, but they took it and wouldn't give it back) and they illegally seized Jennifer's firearms. My lawyer was appalled but not surprised.

Jennifer and I have been talking about moving out of MA in 3-6 years.

We are officially looking for real estate tomorrow; I will not spend one more day than is necessary in this totalitarian hell hole.

About time.  Move on down here to what most people call Arizona...and what we call America.  In the meantime, here's a little dedication to the BPD on your behalf.

This time, nobody cares.

Mostly Cajun points out that pretty much every single complaint listed in the Declaration of Independence is happening right now:

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

By confiscating huge amounts of money in the form of Federal taxes and coffering them in Washington, the federal government can cause states to pass the laws it desires by the simple expedient of withholding tax dollars if state laws do not line up with Federal wishes.  How to you think that the entire nation ‘decided’ that a blood alcohol content of 0.08 was the limit for driving under the influence?  Or seatbelts are mandatory?  If states didn’t pass the laws, then they lost Federal highway dollars.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

Late-night sessions of Congress, anyone?

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

State governments like Arizona try to get a handle on the illegal immigrant problem only to have their laws struck down.

RTWT.  And what are we doing about it this time...?

Yeah, exactly.

Psyops: The easily-"offended."

Marc MacYoung shows us why the screeching of the terminally-offended is really an attack, which well-mannered and civilized people often find catching them off guard.  It's one of those posts that'll make the little light bulb go on as you realize, "I knew there was something amiss here!!"

Play this one right, and you'll not only scare them away (although it will often manifest in their storming off in a huff) but they will steer clear of you.

Often such behavior results in absolutely nothing else happening. But even -- let's say in a work environment -- if the person runs off to tattle, you have a defensible (and articulatible) position.

Now granted this advice is predicated on the assumption that you weren't actually breaking policies, laws, or seriously screwing the pooch.

RTWT.  My own usual response to "I'm offended!" is "Sucks to be you."  But Mr. MacYoung's method might be a bit more diplomatic.

Remember these names.

Andrew Ashcraft

Anthony Rose

Christopher MacKenzie

Clayton Whitted

Dustin DeFord

Garret Zuppiger

Grant McKee

Jesse Steed

Joe Thurston

John Percin Jr.

Kevin Woyjeck

Eric Marsh

Robert Caldwell

Scott Norris

Sean Misner

Travis Carter

Travis Turbyfill

Wade Parker

William "Billy" Warneke
These are the 19 men who died fighting the Yarnell Fire.  Every one of them died a hero's death.

Take a moment to remember and pray for those who stride boldly into hell on behalf of the rest of us.

May the Lord bless and keep your souls, gentlemen, and may He watch over your families and friends in this their time of grief.

(Crossposted at Cats, Cooking and Chaos, my family-friendly non-offensive blog)

It's disgusting because it's true

(HT Joe)

New addition to the RTD blogroll

Because this.

I understand you might be scared and think military and paintball gear is really cool because you can blend in. Having some camo gear for hunting and maybe even recon is smart. Having a wardrobe of tactical camo and full black outfits that you plan to wear every day could be suicidal.

A big aspect of post apocalyptic survival is blending in and not making yourself a target. Camouflage is not always the best way to “blend in”. I urge you to keep that in mind when you are preparing your kit for after the apocalypse. It is really tempting to just get the most tactical oriented gear possible and try to be the terminator.

Post apocalyptic gear doesn’t make you the terminator. Being a robot that comes back from the future makes you the terminator. Don’t forget that post apocalyptic clothing is not about looking cool, it is about surviving. I just hope you realize that just like in modern society, you can dress however you want and people can and will judge you for it. Which leads us right into our next category of ridiculousness.

You gotta love a guy who understands reality.

A real American anthem

It's the other way around.

I've heard this same brainvomit over and over again, from people whom I had previously considered smart enough to tie their own shoes, come in out of the rain, and operate a toilet without sustaining severe personal injury.

"The Constitution is a failure!!  It didn't protect us from the shit that's befallen us!!  It's useless!!  Waaah!!"

Well, of course it didn't protect us, you bucketheads.  The Constitution is a piece of paper with some ink on it.  It just hangs out there under glass in the Smithsonian, not doing a whole lot of anything.  Counting on the Constitution itself to somehow 'protect' you is like trusting that your psycho ex will stop slashing your tires and setting fire to your pets because you got a Magical Restraining Order.  Or that a disciple of evil bent on the massacre of innocent human beings will be deterred by a sign declaring "GUN FREE ZONE."

The Constitution is simply a list of laws.  And as any thug will tell you(or demonstrate if you let your guard down), without enforcement, laws mean nothing.

The Constitution didn't fail US, you simpletons...WE failed IT.

Kerodin agrees.