Archive for the 'Politics' Category

Via David Codrea, this thought experiment by Mark Nuckols at Townhall.

I fear that there is a looming civil war on the horizon. It is not yet inevitable, but all true American patriots must be prepared for the coming battle. And the costs in blood will be heavy. This war will not be fought like the American Revolution or the Civil War of 1861-65, where disciplined armies observed the laws of war and respected civilian lives.

This war will be waged by far-left radicals and their deep-state puppet masters. For them, civilian casualties and massacres will not be moral evils, but merely part and parcel of their larger plan to “reconstruct” America. Their objective is simple: overthrow our constitutional order, destroy our way of life, and deprive us of our freedom, our liberties, our property, and our honor.

The Bolshevik October Revolution of 1917 was carried out by a mere few thousand party members in St. Petersburg. And it was sudden and unexpected, the Bolshevik Central Committee made the decision to launch a coup d’etat only hours before its execution. In fact, as late as July 1917 Lenin himself did not expect a communist revolution in his lifetime. The Russian Civil War that followed is a horrifying story of savage carnage and obscene violence.

In similar fashion, I believe one likely spark for the Second American Civil War will be the result of a coup d’etat carried out by anti-America extremists. It will catch most Americans by surprise. The coup plotters will act quickly to seize the critical levers of power, before any opposition has a chance to react. And they will be aided and abetted by the kinds of people Lenin referred to, contemptuously, as useful idiots.

The shock troops will come from the ranks of Antifa and radical anti-white elements of the Black Lives Matter movement. These fascist stormtroopers will be augmented by the even larger numbers of veterans of Occupy and other far-left movements. And jihadists from across the globe will flock to support this coup. But the real power will be behind the scenes, in the hands of the bureaucrats of the American deep state, who will see such a far-left coup as their best chance to preserve and expand their far-reaching powers, but which President Trump threatens. 

[ … ]

America’s external enemies will not sit by idly. The new revolutionary government will offer generous terms in return for “foreign assistance” (meaning secret police), and troops if necessary. Expect a Treaty of San Antonio whereby Mexico “recovers her historic territories” of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and southern California. Russia will expect a return of Alaska (and its oil) to the Motherland. China and the European Union will demand we surrender our economic sovereignty and become vassals of Beijing and Brussels. And, of course, the United Nations will offer to send in the “blue helmets” to “restore civil order.” North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and Iran will all also want in on the spoils in return for “technical support.”

And what will be the agenda of this regime? The first priority is obvious: the confiscation of all privately owned guns. An armed citizenry ready and prepared to defend its rights would be an intolerable threat to the regime. The next logical step would be identifying any and all possible sources of opposition and interning them and their families in “re-education” camps. The third priority will be a radical redistribution of property. It would destroy the American free-enterprise economy, but short-term it would guarantee the loyal support of all those hoping for a share of the spoils.

I disagree with two parts of his analysis.  First, I do consider CWII to be inevitable.

Second, I don’t think this will involve any foreign actors in large numbers.

Why?  Because this place will be a hell hole if and when this happens.  It will be Sarajevo on steroids.  It will make Bosnia look like a Sunday School picnic.

Most foreign actors with any sense will want to steer clear of this place.

News from the hell hole.

The lawyer for two Chicago churches has reported that city officials informed his clients that they would consider bulldozing their facilities if they do not comply with COVID-19 edicts.

Matt Staver, the founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, said on Wednesday that the city is classifying his clients as “public nuisances.” He said they were issued a letter declaring that the city “has the power and duty to cause all nuisances affecting the health of the public to be abated.” The letter threatened a “summary abatement,” which would mean the destruction of the facilities without due process.

Staver said during an appearance on the “Todd Starnes Radio Show” that he is seeking an emergency injunction and hopes to take the case to the Supreme Court. The motion for the injunction is headed to the desk of SCOTUS Justice Brett Kavanaugh right now.

Rev. Cristian Ionescu, one of the pastors being represented in this case, also told Starnes that he has received citations from the city for violating COVID-19 policies. Metro Praise International’s Pastor Joe Wyrostek reported receiving the “summary abatement” threatening his facility with destruction if he holds a service with more than 10 people.

“We are very disappointed with all of this, including not being considered as essential in the beginning, as a church,” Wyrostek said to NBC Chicago.

Even as violent crime spikes, Chicago city officials use limited police forces to snoop on churches and enforce shutdown mandates in Christian places of worship. This is part of a nationwide trend of left-wing government bureaucrats using the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to attack Christianity.

So let’s assume that Justice Kavanaugh does nothing with this (I think that’s a fairly good bet).  Then what?

Here’s the best bet (I would actually wager money on it if I was a gambling man, but that runs contrary to my beliefs).

The local police, I assume CPD, will be involved in eviction and the protection of workers while they tear the church building to the ground.  I watched some videos taken by Christians in China while the Chinese government razed their buildings to the ground.  I assume this will look somewhat like that.

But fear not.  Even if your local hardware store has been run out of business in the war on the middle class, you can pack Home Depot and Lowe’s wall to wall with people.  So you can spend your Lord’s day sabbath throwing money at lumber and beautification projects with all the other Lemmings.

PJM.

“The federal government cannot allow anarchists and insurrectionists to destroy federal courthouses, federal buildings, or other federal property,” Cotton began, speaking on Fox & Friends. “These insurrectionists in the streets of Portland are little different from the insurrectionists who seceded from the Union in 1861 in South Carolina and tried to take over Fort Sumter. And just like President Lincoln wouldn’t stand for that, the federal government today cannot stand for the vandalism, the firebombing, or any attacks on federal property.”

That may very well show the most extensive ignorance of American history of any statement I’ve ever read.

News from Missouri.

But to issue the charges, prosecutors must prove the guns were capable of lethal force–but they weren’t. Last week the McCloskeys former attorney Al Watkins said he turned over the pistol that Patricia McCloskey pointed at the mob because she worried about her personal safety. Watkins noted that the handgun he gave to the police wasn’t really kept for self-protection. It wasn’t a working gun. It was only used as an exhibit in the McCloskeys’ own law practice for a lawsuit against the handgun manufacturer.

During the incident with the mob, Mark McCloskey had the safety of the semi-automatic rifle engaged and did not finger the trigger. Per KSDK, A source familiar with the investigation told them that police did not find any ammunition at the McCloskey’s home, and the rifle was not loaded when they seized it. So neither firearm was capable of lethal force.

I have no way of knowing the accuracy of any of this, and I’m as limited as you concerning the details weapon status.

But let’s assume that this is true.  I won’t tell you what to do, but I would never do this.  This is a dangerous game of chicken with everything at stake and virtually nothing to gain if things go sideways.

The Blaze.

The governor of Missouri does not expect the armed St. Louis couple who defended their home to go to jail, and he would be willing to pardon them if it came down to it.

Mark and Patricia McCloskey garnered internet fame, condemnation, and praise after photos and videos of them defending their home went viral. Approximately 500 protesters marched into a gated community in the wealthy Central West End neighborhood on June 28. The two St. Louis attorneys were prepared to protect their mansion and were caught on camera wielding guns.

St. Louis police served a search warrant on lawyers the McCloskeys earlier this month. Police confiscated the couple’s firearms that they were armed with during the tense encounter with demonstrators in June – an AR-15 rifle and a handgun.

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, the prosecutor who is handling the case, said, “We must protect the right to peacefully protest, and any attempt to chill it through intimidation or threat of deadly force will not be tolerated.”

While there have yet to be charges filed against the couple, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) said he would pardon the McCloskeys if they are charged for brandishing firearms at a group of protesters outside their home.

Parson made the revelation on Friday during an appearance on “The Marc Cox Morning Show” on 97.1 FM in St. Louis. Parson said the McCloskeys “did what they legally should do” in protecting their property.

“A mob does not have the right to charge your property,” Parson stated. “They had every right to protect themselves.”

When asked if he would pardon the St. Louis couple if charges were filled, Parsons replied, “I think that’s exactly what would happen,” according to The Hill.

I don’t even think it will get that far.  And as for strategy, I believe that reader Ron has hit the nail on the head.

It’s NOT the Castle Doctrine that they should be talking about.

What they should be talking about is that Missouri has a “Stand Your Ground” law.

There is NO duty to retreat if in “imminent threat of deadly harm” ANYWHERE you have a legal right to be.
The same applies to protecting another person if they are in “imminent threat of deadly harm”.

PUBLIC or Private, as long as you have a right to be there. [see Missouri Revised Statutes Title XXXVIII § 563.031 below]

No rule about “within 21 feet” or whatever.

Missouri Revised Statutes Title XXXVIII. Crimes and Punishment; Peace Officers and Public Defenders § 563.031. Use of force in defense of persons

1. A person may, subject to the provisions of subsection 2 of this section, use physical force upon another person when and to the extent he or she reasonably believes such force to be necessary to defend himself or herself or a third person from what he or she reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of unlawful force by such other person, unless …

3. A person does not have a duty to retreat:
(1) From a dwelling, residence, or vehicle where the person is not unlawfully entering or unlawfully remaining;
(2) From private property that is owned or leased by such individual;  or
(3) If the person is in any other location such person has the right to be.

Furthermore, Missouri is an open carry state.  So there is ample data to show that the McCloskeys didn’t do anything wrong, if they get a good attorney.

PJM.

Anders Walker, a constitutional law professor at St. Louis University, said that although it’s “very dangerous” to engage protesters with guns, the homeowners broke no laws by brandishing or pointing weapons at them because Portland Place is a private street. He said the McCloskeys are protected by Missouri’s Castle Doctrine, which allows people to use deadly force to defend private property.

“At any point that you enter the property, they can then, in Missouri, use deadly force to get you off the lawn,” Walker said, calling the state’s Castle Doctrine a “force field” that “indemnifies you, and you can even pull the trigger in Missouri.”

Well that should about cover it.  But leave it to the communist prosecutor bringing charges against this couple to continue the carnival, waste taxpayer monies, and continue her march through the halls of Marxist heroes.

News from Portland.

After nearly 40 days of unrest, demonstrators in Portland, Oregon, have successfully evicted law enforcement from a park in the city’s downtown, creating their own “autonomous zone” like the one that was dismantled last week in Seattle, Washington.

“Anti-fascist” protesters have been waging a nightly war against police and federal law enforcement agents in downtown Portland, centered around a federal courthouse that demonstrators were looking to “occupy.” The confrontations gradually became more violent until, in an incident earlier this week, a protester received a gruesome injury from a non-lethal pellet after allegedly throwing a “canister” at federal agents.

Tuesday night, the protesters gave up the fight for the courthouse and instead decided to set up an “occupied” area in the city’s Lownsdale Square, just across the street, according to Fox News.

“Demonstrators began erecting tents in downtown Portland’s Lownsdale Square, across the street from the federal Pioneer Courthouse, one of the federal properties Homeland Security sought to protect by bringing federal officers into the city two weeks ago,” the outlet reported. “A camera at the Portland Standard Building showed protesters beginning to assemble tents late Tuesday night in the same park where ‘Occupy Portland’ set up in 2011.”

The “Pacific Northwest Youth Liberation Front,” an “anti-capitalist” group that the Seattle Times reported Monday has organized and supplied protesters for their nightly attacks on the courthouse, informally announced the creation of an “autonomous zone” Tuesday night and asked for volunteers to staff the area around the clock.

The Portland Police also note that a “couple hundred demonstrators gathered at Revolution Hall in Southeast Portland and marched all throughout downtown Portland before ending their march at Pioneer Square,” where they blocked traffic, set up tents, and began erecting barricades using “industrial kitchen appliances, road blockades, and flashing traffic signs.”

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, like Seattle’s Mayor Jenny Durkan, blamed the unrest on President Donald Trump and federal agents charged with protecting federal buildings.

“I told the Acting Secretary [of Homeland Security] that my biggest immediate concern is the violence federal officers brought to our streets in recent days, and the life-threatening tactics his agents use. We do not need or want their help,” Wheeler tweeted earlier this week. “The best thing they can do is stay inside their building, or leave Portland altogether. Our goal is to end these violent demonstrations quickly and safely. And in the meantime, I asked him to clean up the graffiti on local federal facilities.”

The mayor sounds as much like a school child as the rioters.  Imagine the mental gymnastics it takes to allow the rioters to go unmolested, blame it on the victims, and then demand that the victims clean up the mess.

So this is what Marxists do.  When socialism fails in one place, they double-down and try harder.  If it was possible, I’d like to see the feds back off, allow the rioters freedom to do what they wanted to Portland, raise taxes on Portland residents to clean it up after they failed, and then imprison the mayor and city council who let it happen.

Shotspotter.

ShotSpotter has been tracking gunfire trends in response to the global pandemic followed by civil unrest in the US after the killing of George Floyd. The graph above shows gunfire per square mile per week across all ShotSpotter coverage areas in the US in the first half of 2020 and 2019. In 2020 gunfire appears to trend upward as the shelter-in-place orders for COVID-19 took effect in mid-March and then spike after the protests began. These unprecedented events appear to be fueling higher gunfire rates overall in 2020 relative to 2019.

Of course, the societal destruction the Marxists work towards may not go down as a civil war.  It may look more like Sarajevo.

Penses.

A HARD PLACE (UN, ANTIFA, BLM, LA RAZA, MBH, CAIR, MS13)

(you are here)

A ROCK (DEEP STATE, DOJ, FBI, DEA, DHS, BATF, DOD, Local police and sheriffs)

Unfortunately, that’s right on the mark.  The things unleashed at otherwise peaceable men are abominable, but just as outrageous is that the very people who should be punishing the evil-doers are protecting them.

Romans 13 doesn’t give the state the mission of fighting poverty, or fighting a war on drugs, or lording it over their people, or tyrannizing them, or confiscating guns, or performing COIN missions of community engagement.

It gives the police and courts one and only one mission: to punish evil-doers.  Just as the singular mission given to the armed forces, i.e., to protect the borders of the country, has been abandoned in favor of foreign misadventures, the police and courts are doing everything but what God has commanded and ignore the one thing He commanded them to do.

God: “I gave one one job.  Just one.  You failed.”

The Washington Post.

This sight of well-dressed homeowners emerging from an expensive house with firearms to stave off a peaceful protest appeared to strike many observers as incongruous. There are a slew of expectations about gun owners in the United States — rural hunters, suburban enthusiasts — but a pink-shirted lawyer emerging from a re-created Renaissance palazzo holding a long gun isn’t among them.

You see, that’s the way the MSM portrays self defense and defense of home and hearth.  “Stave off a peaceful protest.”

So it isn’t really true that they were threatened.  It isn’t really true that the mob had designs on burning the house to the ground.  It isn’t really true that the mob broke through the gate.

This WaPo commenter knows better, even though he wasn’t really there, and even though he just made that up about “peaceful” protesters.  He apparently knows the facts of the situation better than the people who were there – all from looking at photos and imagining things.

But if all else fails (and logic surely will too with the progs), why would anyone have to “stave off”a protest if it was peaceful?

His name is Philip Bump, and his email address is: philip.bump@washpost.com.