Articles by Herschel Smith

Here is the ruling.  There are still good men left in America.

There is no American tradition of limiting ammunition capacity and the 10-round limit has no historical pedigree and it is arbitrary and capricious. It is extreme. Our federal government and most states impose no limits17 and in the states where limits are imposed, there is no consensus. Delaware landed on a 17-round magazine limit.18 Illinois and Vermont picked limits of 15 rounds for handguns and 10 rounds for a rifles.19 Colorado went with a 15-round limit for handguns and rifles, and a 28-inch tube limit for shotguns.20 New York tried its luck at a 7-round limit; that did not work out.21 New Jersey started with a 15-round limit and then reduced the limit to 10-rounds.22 The fact that there are so many different numerical limits demonstrates the arbitrary nature of magazine capacity limits.

In a stealth return to the interest balancing test rejected by Heller and Bruen, the State ostensibly justifies its magazine limits by deeming the smaller magazines “well-suited” for its citizens.23 Suitability, in turn, is based on concocted statistics about what a hypothetical average person needs to defend against an attacker or attackers in an average self-defense situation. Based on this hypothetical statistically average case scenario, the State permits its citizen to have a gun, but the State decides the number of rounds in the gun that it finds suitable.24

In so doing, the State denies a citizen the federal constitutional right to use common weapons of their own choosing for self-defense. There have been, and there will be, times where many more than 10 rounds are needed to stop attackers.25 Yet, under this statute, the State says “too bad.” It says, if you think you need more than 10 chances to defend yourself against criminal attackers, you must carry more magazines. Or carry more bullets to hand reload and fumble into your small magazine while the attackers take advantage of your pause. On the other hand, you can become a criminal, too. So, the previously law-abiding California citizen who buys and keeps at her bedside a nationally popular Glock 17 (with its standard 17-round magazine) becomes the criminal, because the State dictates that a gun with a 17-round magazine is not well-suited for home defense.

Do you feel the sarcasm dripping from his pen?

I searched for the brief but couldn’t find it.

From the comments: “This is a TACIT ADMISSION that there is no AMERICAN precedent or commonly-used standard.”

Epoch Times.

More than two decades ago, a little-known mercury-based product, thimerosal, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration to be used as a vaccine preservative. Since then, many parents and scientific studies have questioned whether it is responsible for the current epidemic of neurological and developmental disorders, such as learning disabilities and autism.

In July 1999, U.S. health agencies and the American Academy of Pediatrics (pdf) reduced or eliminated thimerosal from vaccines as a “precautionary measure.”

Yet up to 25 micrograms of thimerosal remain in several versions of the influenza vaccines recommended this flu season, including those administered to pregnant women, infants, and children, and it is still present in some multi-dose vial vaccines, despite hundreds of studies showing thimerosal is harmful.

Gross.

The ACGIH places limits on mercury exposure.  I computed the full body burden using the ICRO-30 breathing rate for reference man and the ACGIH limit, and the mercury present in this vaccine exceeds the AGGIH limit (although I included only one hour of exposure and the ACGIH limit is averaged over a full 8 hour work day – still, the mercury burden isn’t trivial).  I can show the calculations if you want, but suffice it to say that while I won’t tell you what to do, I won’t be taking a flu shot.

From a reader …

ZH, submitted by GOA.

Earlier this year, the Biden Administration announced its intent to move the United States “as close to Universal Background Checks as possible without additional legislation.”

After much speculation on how far-reaching the rule would be, it has finally arrived, and it’s worse than expected.

In its current form, the universal background check rule could subject those who sell even a single firearm to dealer requirements, including a background check.

ICYMI

We hate to say we told you so, but it's official.

The Justice Department announced a new rule to amend ATF regulations and expand the definition of a firearms dealer to include those who sell even a single firearm. https://t.co/HIpxe0xYv6

— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) September 5, 2023

While it is worth noting that none of this would be possible without the Republican-backed gun control known as the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. There’s still something that gun owners can do to combat this rule.

Under the Administrative Procedures Act, when agencies like ATF make rules, they must first submit the rule for public comment on the Federal Register.

During this period, citizens can give their thoughts on the rule and describe their unique situations as to how it will affect them.

If enough comments are negative, the agency will pull the rule and not proceed. Gun Owners of America has experienced massive success in defeating the ATF through this method. Most significantly, in 2015, we defeated the Obama administration’s attempt to ban M855 “green tip” ammunition during the notice and comment period.

The first attempt at a pistol brace ruling during the Trump Administration was also defeated through the notice and comment period. ATF retracted the rule and “acknowledged there were legitimate uses for the devices,” a statement that encapsulates the hypocritical nature of the agency itself.

And even if the rule goes through and becomes the law of the land, we’re not out of options, but your comments are still extremely important to the next steps.

I get why someone would comment, and I get why they would want to be gray man.  I don’t fault anyone for the choice.  My profile is pretty visible anyway, and you can guess what I think about this sort of rule-making.

I do doubt that comments will deter the FedGov.  But if you feel so-inclined, the link is in the article.

I just wish ATF employees would go get a job doing something that isn’t parasitic on society.  I don’t think they really care how dreary and dreadful they have become.

At one time these were all things fathers could have taught their boys.  Given the state of America, I doubt it today.

Western Journal.

Police say a man who allegedly pistol-whipped an employee at a dollar store during an armed robbery in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, last week is in jail thanks to the actions of an armed good Samaritan.

[ … ]

A man approached him and asked to be let into the store, claiming he had left his phone inside, police said.

According to authorities, the man, who was identified as 20-year-old Nicolas Richard Lee Deas, did not leave his phone in the store but intended to rob it — which police say he did.

Police said Deas, who was allegedly carrying a stolen handgun, had an accomplice, and both of them entered the store together.

Per officers, Deas ordered the employee to the store’s safe at gunpoint and told him, “Give me the money or I will kill you.”

The employee complied with the order and offered up $1,200 from the safe. Police said he was pistol-whipped multiple times in the back, neck and arm.

The commotion was apparently loud enough that it roused the attention of a business owner who was in close proximity.

The man, who was armed, ran toward the situation, entered the store and drew his gun on Deas, police said.

No shots were fired, but the good Samaritan, whose name has not been released, held the suspect at gunpoint until officers could come and make an arrest – which they did.

According to the report, the clerk was closing the store.  This is perfect timing for a robbery, and makes the request suspicious.  The clerk should always have a firearm and he (or she) should have unholstered it at that very moment.  The decision to allow the boy back into the store was an error.  I’ll venture that it won’t be made again.

It’s a shame this kid wasn’t put out of our misery because the OT requirement that he be either executed or made a slave to the offended until all debts were repaid in multiples, won’t be followed.  Instead, the state will put him inside a cage with other hardened criminals, pretend they have the power to rehabilitate him, and pay for his housing, food and medical care for several decades.

Some of us have feral animals to deal with in survival situations, some have two-legged threats, and some have both.

This looks like fun.

This is a loathsome exchange.  The FBI isn’t ashamed of what they’re doing.  We’ve come to expect that sort of thing from them.  They have no shame.  But the worst thing about it is that the local Sheriff’s Department participated in the charade.

Reminder.  Never talk to law enforcement.

That’s the headline.  Here’s the story.

63-year-old man suffering traumatic injuries was rescued from the north rim of the Grand Canyon on Friday evening after the group he was hiking with left him behind.

According to a Facebook post by the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office, they received an emergency call from a man using an Apple device through satellite connection at around 6 p.m. on September 15. Search and rescue then deployed via helicopter to the man’s given location at Kanab Creek, but had to land about a quarter mile away due to the difficult terrain and dark conditions.

“It was fortunate that the helicopter was able to rescue this injured hiker, as it would have taken an extended period of time for ground crews to reach his location.”

The rescue crew then proceeded through the creek on foot and located the man, finding him alone having fallen and suffered a shoulder injury that required emergency medical attention. The team was able to stabilize the hiker and transport him via helicopter to a hospital in Flagstaff.

The Sheriff’s Office reports that they don’t know exactly what time the original call was made, but they learned that the injury had occurred four hours prior to the call, at 2 p.m. that day, when the man was hiking with four other friends. Once he contacted authorities, the group, who were reportedly several days into a week-long backpacking trip, left him alone and continued with their hike – something rescuers warn hikers never to do.

Here is the Facebook post from the Mohave County Sheriffs Office Search and Rescue.  The commenters are hard on the so-called friends, but not sufficiently hard.  I’m going to be harder.

They are no friends of his.  In fact, he had a better chance of being assisted by a stranger than friends like that.  Man is made in God’s image.  Whether your hike is ruined or not, you stay with injured people.  Period.

Oh, I realize that there may be extenuating circumstances like someone who believes he can help better by stabilizing the patient and then going for help if there is no communication.  But there should have been communication.  You don’t go into the Bush without comms (i.e., a satellite uplink).  And in fact the call for help was sent that way.  They just abandoned him to whatever would befall him.

Had he perished, it wouldn’t be a stretch for me to see them indicted for homicide.  Said another way, if this had happened with my party, I might have sent other men for help and stayed with the patient (with the absolutely necessary med kit I carry, including Quikclot, tourniquets, medicines, gauze, etc.) and water, and ensured that the man was lifted out to safety.  It would have been my ministry to that man.  And God would have been watching me the entire time.  I would hear about it in eternity.

That man needs to find other people to hang with.  Those are dangerous men to be around.  They are the sort of people who take you out into the bush and let you get injured, and then leave you behind to fend off animals, seek out your own water, medicate yourself, and try to effect triage if necessary.

Listen to this.  After the call for help, they didn’t even leave him with the Apple device they used to call for help.  They just left him there in the dark.  What a bunch of jerks.

Folks, no trip is worth leaving a man behind to perish.  Don’t leave men on the trail.  Don’t walk off from them, even if they’re slower, even if they fall behind, even if you don’t like them.  They could get injured and you wouldn’t know because you’re down trail frolicking along your stupid, merry way.

Don’t … leave … men … behind!  If you’re part of a party, stay with the party.  It’s the right and honorable thing to do.

Feeding a falcon from your window.  It’s amazing that he’s gained the trust of that bird.

He’s okay, but he was remined to carry a big bore handgun, wasn’t he?

Stevens hightailed it back the his truck to grab a hoodie that he hoped would protect him from the swarming pests, but as he hiked back, he noticed a Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks employee eyeing him from a distance. It was a biologist working in the area who’d been observing Stevens’ hunt from afar. From his vantage, he could see a large grizzly bear stalking in on the hunter and his kill.

“I walked out to where my car was parked and he drove down there and he said, ‘Do you know you have a grizzly stalking you?’,” Stevens says. “I was just shocked.” The biologist told Stevens that another group of hunters had been watching as well, and they’d alerted FWP because they were concerned for his safety.

“They said that as soon as I shot that deer, the grizzly picked up his head. He must have smelled it immediately,” he recalls. “It started coming straight on a line for me. I was really lucky that I got out of there when I did.”

Stevens had left his bear spray at home that evening. He had a handgun, but it was just a 9mm. “I’ve become so comfortable with that area and have been hunting it so often,” he says. “I didn’t wanna carry my big .45 around with me because I didn’t think I’d really need it. In hindsight, I should have thought that through a little better.”

I don’t mind carrying around my .45.

Bird shot just isn’t sufficient for bears.  I have no explanation for how you would avoid a situation like this.  Bird shot is certainly a second or third or fourth choice.  Reaching a large bore handgun would be my first choice, but this attack was from close range.  Actually, my first choice would have been 00 buck, but you don’t hunt upland birds with 00 buck shot.

Earlier this week, a man was hunting upland birds along Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front when a grizzly bear charged him from roughly 15 feet away. According to a press release issued by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP), the bird hunter escaped the harrowing encounter without injury after firing his shotgun multiple times, injuring the bear and causing it to flee the immediate area.

I just don’t think I’d get into a pet skunk.  WiscoDave is pretty oddball with his pet pigs, but I don’t even think he would like this.

Oh, oh, it’s my human.  I love you so much!

@rachelhmarie

♬ original sound – rachel

Watch me.  This is how you do it.

@northernreachnetwork Little Tiny Tim being taught to walk with e legs like his foster bro Nemo. His amputation was today. He is doing well. #puppytiktok #northernreachrescuenetwork #rescue #dogsoftiktok #puppies #tripod #love #cute #puppies ♬ Funny – Gold-Tiger

I guess best buddies come in all shapes and sizes.

@brehillboyette Milkshake was in such a rush to get in the pond but STILL WAITED FOR HER COW ❤️ #fypシ #farmlife #bestfriend #furandfeathersfarm #fluffycows #minicow #3bestfriends #ducksoftiktok ♬ original sound – Bre Boyette

This bald eagle has a fish large enough that he can only swim it to shore.