“Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.” – Goldwater
Jack was my first employer and friend. I have nothing but good things to say about the man. Please hear his words.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUASH-B8ybA&list=PLvbBokkbXMa2LT2u5pX9Ar-qe6psKnpRK
“The most terrifying force of death comes from the hands of men who wanted to be left alone. They try, so very hard, to mind their own business and provide for themselves and those they love. They resist every impulse to fight back, knowing the forced and permanent change of life that will come from it. They know that the moment they fight back their lives as they have lived them are over.
“The moment the men who wanted to be left alone are forced to fight back, it is a form of suicide. They are literally killing off who they used to be. Which is why, when forced to take up violence, these men who wanted to be left alone, fight with unholy vengeance against those who murdered their former lives. They fight with raw hate, and a drive that cannot be fathomed by those who are merely play-acting at politics and terror, true terror will arrive at these people’s door, and they will cry, scream, and beg for mercy… but it will fall upon the deaf ears of the men who just wanted to be left alone.”
– Author Unknown (erroneously attributed to Solzhenitsyn.)
I will start this post by saying I planned on writing this or something like it for a few weeks. Maybe it was something in the weather or just the circumstances of my personal life. I write this today with a heavy heart. I do not want to be in the position I find myself in.
I will say first and foremost that I have two little kids, and only a fool would want war or violent action. I do not want this country to be at the point we find ourselves; we, however, are here.
Those among us who want to be left alone do not seek conflict; we avoid it. Often tolerating things that grate against our conscience. We tolerate the tyrannical moves of our governments while they are tolerable.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
Declaration of Independence
Yesterday, Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts against him in New York.
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/trump-trial-verdict-jury
When talking with a lawyer friend, they were astonished that the right fails to see that this is not an extraordinary circumstance for Trump but the status quo for our justice system. An example of this is the Jury instructions given by Judge Merchan. They are not abnormal; similar instructions, called pattern jury instructions, are provided in trials every day in this country. That by no means makes them Constitutional! The instructions given are part of the systemic problem with our justice system.
Sadly, it has been a long time since the scales of justice tilted to leniency, as was intended. We as a nation used to uphold the principle of letting one hundred guilty men go free rather than imprison a single innocent man. That has not been the case for a long time. Today’s injustice system works from a place of fear and bullies people to plea bargain, regardless of their guilt. I, myself, have been guilty of letting the system drive me to accept a plea rather than fight for what I believed was right.
Many people on the right have condemned former Trump associates for accepting plea deals. This is not fair. They are facing a trial by a state with unlimited resources and a jury pool of people who are ill-informed, over-socialized, under-educated, and lacking a moral foundation and principled fortitude. We ALL are facing this. Our “justice” system is broken. Virtually no man in this nation will ever see a jury of his peers or can expect those picked to serve on a jury to be concerned with liberty and appropriately distrustful of the government. In fact, most people are not even interested in the job they are chosen to perform. Instead, we face a jury of people who do not want to be there but cannot avoid it. The system is broken.
I have served on juries; in each case, I was the lone voice skeptical of the state. I was the only one who held the state to its burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. This, while anecdotal, seems to be the norm in our nation. For this and other reasons, I DO NOT TRUST our judicial system.
I DO NOT TRUST the executive branch. It has overstepped and been the vanguard of the tyranny that we have tolerated for my entire life. Every President during my lifetime has enslaved not only my generation but untold generations with debts that can never be repaid. They, with only one exception, have engaged in unconstitutional wars. They have persecuted and killed Americans without even the semblance of due process.
For my entire life, the legislature has been feckless and complicit in the oppressive excesses of the other branches. They have abdicated their constitutional authority. They can be considered nothing less than treacherous collaborators committed to selling this nation down the river.
Our government is, and has been, BROKEN!
If you accept or agree that the system is now hopelessly broken, what is left to us?
It is no longer a question of whether or not our system of government will collapse, only when it will do so. I believe the only peaceful path left is the dissolution of the United States. Texas and other states should go their own way peacefully. Those states who find common ground to form new alliances should do so after reestablishing their rightful places among the world’s nations.
People have asked me what would come after a breakup of the nation. To that, I say: it doesn’t matter. We cannot, and ought not, continue on this path. I will trust God, providence, and the people to make the path forward. It is better to live in anarchy as a freeman than live in peace as a slave!
I understand that most of you are not ready for this. You are scared, as am I, but I implore you to understand you are a slave. You are a slave to a fickle master to whom you are nothing. You are beholden to their will, and WHEN they decide to come for you, you will have no recourse but to submit as so many others have.
A few times in my life, I was forced into a situation where I had no choice but to fight or relent. I will not relent now. This stops here; this stops now. My children will be more free than I am. To this, I pledge my life, fortune, and sacred honor!
There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.“
John Adams
Given the news of this shooting is still unfolding I will refrain from commenting too much. Needless to say I am of the opinion that the ATF overstepped and Mr. Malinowski did not need to die. The ATF had no need of a “No Knock raid”. This was a man who clearly was not selling firearms for a living. He could have been approached at work or his home during normal hours and an ATF agent would not have been injured and Mr. Malinowski would not have lost his life.
NEWS RELEASE
https://www.kark.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2024/03/News-Release-Bryan-Malinowski.pdf
Contact Information: Bud Cummins
(501) 831-6125
bud@budcumminslaw.com
Release Date: March 21, 2024
STATEMENT OF THE BRYAN MALINOWSKI FAMILY
Attorney Bud Cummins, acting as a spokesperson for the Malinowski family, related
the following statement today on behalf of the family:
Our family has endured an unspeakable tragedy and one that is almost
impossible to understand. We are mourning the loss of Bryan, who passed
away earlier today.
Our thoughts and prayers also go out to the government agent who was injured
yesterday, and to his family.
We do not understand the government’s decisions which led to a dawn raid on
a private home and triggered the use of deadly force.
We are obviously concerned about the allegations in the affidavit released by
the government today. Even if the allegations in the affidavit are true, they
don’t begin to justify what happened.
At worst, Bryan Malinowski, a gun owner and gun enthusiast, stood accused
of making private firearm sales to a person who may not have been legally
entitled to purchase the guns.
For now, we will wait for all the facts to come out. In the meantime, we ask
that the public and the media respect our privacy.
The redacted search warrant is linked below.
https://www.kark.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2024/03/Ex.-1-Search-Warrant-003.pdf
I was asked this recently and thought a quick post would be helpful for future conversations.
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/civil-unrest/the-cloward-and-piven-strategy/
“Widespread campaigns to register the eligible poor for welfare aid, and to help existing recipients obtain their full benefits, would produce bureaucratic disruption in welfare agencies and fiscal disruption in local and state governments. These disruptions would generate severe political strains, and deepen existing divisions among elements in the big-city Democratic coalition: the remaining white middle class, the white working-class ethnic groups and the growing minority poor.” … “In order to generate a crisis, the poor must obtain benefits, which they have forfeited. Until now, they have been inhibited from asserting claims by self-protective devices within the welfare system: its capacity to limit information, to intimidate applicants, to demoralize recipients, and arbitrarily to deny lawful claims.”
“The Weight of the Poor: A Strategy to End Poverty.”
The “Strategy” outlined By Richard Cloward and Frances Fox Piven is a road map used to foment a communist revolution. It should be noted that as a precursor to the strategy being effective a society must already be in the socialist stage: IE there must be a social welfare system to overwhelm.
Some commemorators have called the Airman who decided to end his own life in protest as “obviously mentally ill”. The Video linked above is from the Vietnam war when a Buddhist monk did the same act as a protest. I cannot recall ever reading a history text that called him “mentally ill” for his actions. While I do not agree with the Airman’s assessment that the current conflict warranted his actions; there is currently nothing in current geopolitics that would drive me to the same actions. I do, however, see his actions as that of a desperate man who wanted to drive awareness to his views in a world that rarely listens. Often in the west we hear “fuck around and find out” this is the same thing without the threat of violence (at least implied) to others. This act of self harm did what he wanted it to do. It made the news and made (at least me) question why someone would be willing to do this.
The question I pose to you is what is your “line in the sand” where events become so intolerable that you will not continue to exist as you do today in order to change the way the world sees the situation. Some who have gone down this path have (most commonly) chosen violence instead of a peaceful, though deadly protest.
Needless to say neither of these officers should ever be allowed in law enforcement again! If you haven’t seen this story it is a sad testament (at best) to the state of the training cops have. I hope the person in the patrol car ends up suing and qualified immunity is removed. If a citizen with a gun did this they would be charged, so should the officers involved!
The report is below.
https://www.congress.gov/event/118th-congress/house-event/116802?s=1&r=31
I know some of these witnesses personally. I know the subject matter extensively.
For this post I will assume you have watched the hearing, also please see the recent post about China and U.S. Infrastructure.
Also note this is some what a stream of consciousness as I listened.
The first question sets the tone, Quantum computing and FUD! Mr. Lee is correct that 1) we are not going back to manual systems 2) the current ICS/OT systems are already vulnerable 3) defense is possible.
Safety systems and “managing for the consequence” is a key point! If you want an offline system it should be a safety system!
Government is not the F***ing answer!
It is important to note that of the 16 Critical infrastructure sectors Water is one of the least mature and funded.
Attribution is largely bunk! Attribution is very hard to do especially in light of Wikileaks vault 7.
NERC or NERC lite is not the answer, I will admit that NERC-CIP has moved the industry, but that was from zero and we are not there today.
If you accept the premise that Risk = Likelihood x Impact, and that the impact of loss of life or capacity are unacceptable then almost all OT risk trend to the extreme.
OK, so what is really needed for ICS/OT cybersecurity to solve the issue. A market and risk driven model. Legislation will not help, just enrich the companies who have the best lobbyists. The ugly truth is that most infrastructure is not secured. The basic blocking and tackling steps are not in place. Defense in depth, good architecture, and vigilance are the building blocks to solve this issue (IMO). Most CISOs I know want to spend their budget on tools, and I see this as a mistake. If you do not have the people or program in place to use them effectively tools will not protect you. There is way too much shelf-ware in the industry.
Update: 02/12/24
well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Special Counsel Robert Hur
With the media using the above quote all over the place, when will VP Harris make the obvious move of using Section 4 of the 25th amendment? She will become the first female President of the United States of America, and pave the way for Newsom, or M Obama to run.
The fact is that this is corrupt. Saying we know he did it, but think he is mentally disabled; to the point a jury would not convict, is at best an excuse. Biden is not fit for office and this is damaging to the country.
Section 1
In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
Section 2
Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
Section 3
Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
Section 4
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment-xxv
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.
Note the I could not upload the PDF due to a file size limitation but it is linked below.
https://www.justice.gov/storage/report-from-special-counsel-robert-k-hur-february-2024.pdf
OK, So awhile back Gene told me about this little device (we talked about it on the show). First, if you have the money don’t get this and just get a good PVS-14. This is NOT a replacement. That said I’m cheep, and wanted something I can put in my truck and not worry about it (damage, theft, and to use).
Also let me issue a disclaimer that I did work with the Guys over at Good Nite Gear and they were nice enough to give me a promo code (NVG-10: Coupon Code dudenamedben 10% off).
First thoughts: not bad. OK so the NVG10 is Chinese and digital. It is not a replacement for analog night vision. It has a good feel, and is rated to be IP66 (we will see if this is true).
The first NVG10 I received had… issues… granted it was an open box item. That said the guys over at Good Nite Gear where helpful in getting a working device. I will say that you can get the NVG10 a little cheaper on Amazon, but the support from GNG and the fact that I’m not supporting Amazon all the better.
This is the best digital night vision I have seen, I grant you that I have not used the $1000+ models. For me if I’m going to spend that much money I am getting an analog gen 2+ or used.
I liked it enough to have one for my truck and have my Dad get one to fight the beavers on his property.
As I get more time on this NVG I will update this post!
After playing with the NVG10 there are some settings you need to know to use it effectively
1) IR: Press and hold the right arrow button until the display changes to show “IR on” this will disable the IR illumination until you tap the right arrow again then it will show “IR1” if tapped again it will cycle through “IR2” and “IR3”.
2) Display brightness: Press and hold the left button until the Menu is displayed use the Arrow buttons to select “Brightness” this will allow you to then select the brightness of the display (default is 5) use the lowest setting that given the light conditions is appropriate. The “Auto” setting is too bright for me but may work for you.
3) green: tap the right arrow to switch between green and white display
4) zoom: tapping the let arrow should zoom the display ( I am telling you this so if it happens accidentally you know how to change it)
My NVG setup (more accessories coming including some from Aliexpress that I will also review)