Articles by Herschel Smith

NPR.

The Department of Justice has asked a federal judge to block a Missouri law that allows private citizens to sue law enforcement agencies and officers for $50,000 if they can show their state gun rights were infringed upon. Gov. Mike Parson signed the Second Amendment Preservation Act last year, and since then, counties, cities and dozens of Missouri police chiefs have challenged it.

The law, known as H.B. 85, invalidates in Missouri five specific federal gun law categories, such as ones prohibiting the gun ownership by some felons, confiscation orders, and registration laws.

The complaint filed in federal court in Jefferson City, Mo., on Wednesday says “the overall purpose and effect of H.B. 85 are thus to nullify federal firearm laws and to affirmatively interfere with their enforcement.”

“This act impedes criminal law enforcement operations in Missouri,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “The United States will work to ensure that our state and local law enforcement partners are not penalized for doing their jobs to keep our communities safe.”

I’m telling you, the FedGov hates this law.  Missouri has the strongest such law on the books, and the FedGov is fearful of it spreading.

But the determination to carry through with this (including preventing any LEO who is found to aid FedGov gun control efforts from ever working again in Missouri) is what will win the day versus the determination of a federal judge.

When they can’t win any other way, they go judge shopping.

In Toronto too.

And back in Ottawa.

Ottawa police try to make excuses for trampling an elderly woman.  Excuses suck.  And this one does too.  They wouldn’t have to make excuses if they didn’t do it.

Finally, I’ll observe that there is no insignia or badges or names on the goons on the line. They have de-personed them just as they’ve tried to de-person the protestors. This is what the Bolsheviks did.

More news about the couple who perished in Northern California.

MARIPOSA COUNTY, Calif. — Nearly six months after a Northern California family and their dog died of extreme heat exhaustion and dehydration while hiking, phone data was released on Thursday that shows a text message and several phone calls did not go through due to poor cellphone reception.

John Gerrish, his wife, Ellen Chung, their 1-year-old daughter, Miju, and their dog were walking in extreme heat in a remote area close to the Merced River in the Sierra National Forest last August before they died.

Jonathan Gerrish’s phone showed the family took multiple photos throughout their hike from 7:44 to 10:29 a.m., according to the release. At 12:25 p.m, they took a screenshot of their location on the trail map.

A single text message at 11:56 a.m. saying, “Can you help us. On savage lundy trail heading back to Hites cove trail. No water or ver (over) heating with baby” did not go through due to not having cell service in the area, the release said.

Five calls were also found to have been attempted but were not successful due to the same reason. The first was at 12:09 p.m. and the last four were attempted within one minute of each other at 12:36 p.m.

I know we’ve covered this before, but the last sentence struck me.  Recall when I said this?

First of all, remember the necessary life-saving kit that MUST be carried in the bush: Rubberized poncho, parka, redundant fire start, large bore handgun, food energy, cordage, tactical light, knife, water and means of water filtration.  This might have saved their lives.

Beyond this, I was commenting to my oldest son not too many days ago that the biggest enemy of survival in the bush is panic.  If you carry the right kit, you can be in the position where you say to yourself or loved ones, “I don’t know where we are, but it’s getting dark and we need warmth, shelter, water and rest.  We have the right kit for it, so we camp here for the night and get a safe, good night sleep, and carry on at first light.”

If you panic, adrenalin rushes into your system, you expend way too much energy, your judgment is clouded and you’re more likely to do stupid things, you get exhausted, the exhaustion makes you cold, and you risk hypothermia.

In the bush, panic is your enemy.  It sounds as if they didn’t have the right kit, and they panicked.

My suspicion was right.  In the bush, panic is your enemy and will kill you.  Always be prepared for things not to go as expected.  That’s the only way to avoid panic.  Even if he had not carried the proper kit, they could have always stopped and gotten out of the sun until dusk, and he could have hunted for water (or found a muddy spot and dug a hole) that evening and the next morning.

If it’s over 100 degrees and you have no water, walking in the noon sun to find your way out isn’t a good idea, and rather than deal with the situation and stopping in favor of a primitive shelter, he panicked which made matters worse.

Panic is always your enemy.

The boy king got his way.  The police followed orders – of course – and so the Trudeau regime has demanded that this go to the next phase.  They’ve picked a fight. This was an unwise decision.

At Instapundit, this was seen in the comments.

Some people are just slow to learn, but learn they eventually will. Mike Vanderboegh used to call it “losing the mandate of heaven.” The constitutional sheriff and constable is replaced in favor of a standing army to suppress the citizens, whose only goal is to maintain the power of the regime. The main point to be made here is that tyranny is ungodly and an afront to the Almighty and therefore cosmic treason. It is a violation of God’s holy laws. Tyrants attempt to usurp the authority God Himself has over family, church and state (see here work done by Rousas J. Rushdoony) in favor of the great savior of all mankind, whom they want people to believe is the regime. Many people do believe such a thing, but enough people still don’t that it will cause massive problems for the boy king.

They’re cops, and cops will follow orders regardless of the morality of them.

“This is now a secure area”.

Police checkpoint at Metcalfe/Laurier in Ottawa. It seems they are only allowing drivers to pass if they live in the area or for work/medical purposes. https://t.co/8hpC710hZK pic.twitter.com/JSzpRfdrhb

— Lincoln Jay (@lincolnmjay) February 18, 2022

News from the North.

THE BOUNDARY WATERS— A young woman from Duluth is pitting her tenacity and desire for outdoor adventure against whatever Mother Nature serves up over the next month here, along the U.S.-Canadian border. With the help of her canine companion, named Diggins, Emily Ford left Crane Lake last Friday at the start of a 210-mile trek through the wilderness to Grand Portage.

She headed into the wilderness just ahead of some of the coldest temperatures of the winter. Thermometers around the area dropped to the mid-40s below zero on Sunday, with daytime highs struggling to reach above zero. But Ford, who spoke to the Timberjay just hours before embarking on her adventure, was confident she had the ability to meet the challenge.

Ford has spent much of the winter working at the Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge, near Ely, where she started as an intern. “But she was so competent, we just put her on staff,” said Wintergreen owner and operator Paul Schurke. She helped lead dogsled trips into the wilderness, where she learned winter survival methods from some of the most experienced polar explorers anywhere.

“It was awesome,” said Ford of the experience.

She’s road-tested her gear in the weeks leading up to her adventure and she’ll get some assistance from Diggins, who has learned to skijor, so he’ll be providing an assist as Ford propels herself and about 145 pounds of gear she’ll pull in a sled, known as a pulk, behind her. Ford couldn’t really predict what the trail conditions will be like over the next month. She expects to be able to follow snowmobile tracks for a portion of the route that’s outside the Boundary Waters wilderness boundary. She also expects to find trails broken by mushers in other locations. But she’ll likely be breaking trail at points along the way. On large lakes, where the wind helps to pack the snow, the going may be relatively smooth. But with about two feet of snow on the ground, the going is likely to be challenging on untracked portages or smaller lakes. She expects to average about seven miles a day.
Ford will be traveling without a heated tent. Her new four-season tent includes a vestibule, where she’ll be able to cook meals, which is likely to provide a least a little break from the winter’s chill. Overnight, she’ll rely on a zero-degree-rated sleeping bag, a heavy quilt and the warmth provided by Diggins, who will sleep under the quilt, to stay warm.

I predict a difficult go of it.  That dog is going to be taking a heavy load during the trek, or she is.  Or both.  That’s a heavy sled too.

She may need to drop some of that weight, but the question is, what?  She needs the food, she will need the lights she’s carrying, she needs to bring a Garmin with her, she needs to carry a large bore handgun, and she needs medical supplies.  She needs the tent, she needs the quilt (I’d carry more than one), and she’ll need food for the dog too.  She’ll need a stove to thaw her water and water for the dog.  She’ll need fuel for the stove.  Isobutane doesn’t work very well in such cold temperatures or at high elevations.

News from Alabama.

An Alabama House committee Wednesday approved a bill that would allow the permitless carry of pistols in the state, sending an Alabama House GOP priority bill to that chamber.

The 8 to 5 vote on the bill from Rep. Shane Stringer, R-Citronelle, took place after an hour of contentious debate that crossed party lines.

Stringer argued that the legislation would allow law-abiding citizens to carry weapons without fear of legal retribution, and said permit laws did not deter crime.

“The fact of the matter is criminals don’t adhere to laws,” Stringer said. “They don’t obey the laws we have now. We cannot legislate an evil heart from Montgomery.”

The bill passed with an amendment that would require gun owners to declare that they were carrying firearms when asked by a police officer. But there was confusion about a second amendment proposed by Rep. Proncey Robertson, R-Mount Hope, that appeared to create separate penalties for bringing firearms in areas where they are currently restricted and led Stringer to call Rep. Mike Jones, R-Andalusia, not a member of the committee, to explain it.

Rep. Allen Farley, R-McCalla, a retired assistant sheriff for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, said getting rid of the permits would amount to “defunding the police” and endanger law enforcement officers.

Uh huh.  Defunding the police and endanger LEOs.  I see.  This is a slight variation on the objection that “They sky is falling, the sky is falling, there will be blood running in the streets.”

That’s what they said about open carry in Texas.  That’s what they said about open carry in South Carolina.  That’s what they said about constitutional carry in Texas.  They said it in Arkansas.  That’s what they say everywhere.

It never happens.  But of course, he’s a retired LEO so he’s going to carry water for LEOs.

Anyway, it’s good that it left committee.  That’s where most bills die.

BANK Outages at all big 5 banks!
It’s happening.
Trudeau has crushed consumer confidence in the banks in less than 48 hours. Some ATMs are still allowing cash to be pulled out but going empty.
The bank has now locked up EVERYONES funds!
🇨🇦 🔔 pic.twitter.com/9CslynYJjD

— bu/ac (@buperac) February 16, 2022

They destroyed excavators, and they politely admit to it.

I accuse the @rcmpgrcpolice of committing crimes. Trespass. Break & enter. Mischief over $5,000. Breach of trust. Intimidation. The only question is: who ordered this illegal action? Kenney, Trudeau or Trudeau’s crooked commissioner Brenda Lucki? pic.twitter.com/sLtw8sTzHi

— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) February 14, 2022

In my book that makes them criminals.

Next up, they’re planning false flags, or at least, they’re trying to pin things on the truckers in an attempt to wow the stupid “Karens” of the country.  They also did the same thing at Coutts.

But the truckers in Ottawa are standing firm at the moment.

Cops.  What a bunch of hoodlums and gangsters.  Despicable and detestable.