Tag: Leviathan

A New Trial for Olofson?

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A New Trial for Olofson?

Via The War on Guns comes the news that an appeal has been filed in David Olofson’s case. For those of you with short memories, David Olofson is the Wisconsin man who was sent to prison for “transferring a machine gun” when the BATFE – after initially testing his malfunctioning AR-15 and declaring it not a machine gun, retested it with soft-primered ammo and then declared it was a machine gun – suppressed the evidence of the initial testing.

The appeal brief is here. (PDF) The body of the brief itself runs from page 6 to page 56. It’s not a difficult read, but it ought to piss you off. Here’s a key portion:

Four months after the search and ATF interrogation, on November 17, 2006, ATF agent Keeku filed a Criminal Complaint alleging that, on or about July 13, 2006, Olofson “knowingly transferred a machine gun … in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(o).” As part of the factual support for the complaint Agent Keeku’s Affidavit stated:

On November 6, 2006, a Firearms Enforcement Officer with ATF test fired the Olympic Arms, serial number F7079 … us[ing] 60 rounds of commercially available, .223 caliber ammunition. Three tests were performed, each with twenty rounds of ammunition. When the selector switch was placed in the unmarked third position, the firearm fired all twenty rounds automatically in each of the three tests. [Keeku Affidavit, p. 3, R. 1 (App. B-17).]

Omitted from the Keeku Affidavit was mention of an earlier test, conducted “in October of 2006” (Tr. 101, ll. 6-13), by the same ATF officer, utilizing “commercially available ammunition” (see Tr. 107, l. 17), in which Olofson’s AR-15 did not fire automatically,” as the testing officer had expected it to do (Tr. 107, ll. 4-10), but instead had malfunctioned by “hammer follow.” Tr. 122, l. 23 – 123, l. 2. See also Tr. 106, ll. 1-21. Based on this initial test, the testing officer determined that “this gun was not a machine gun.” Tr. 124, l. 21 – 125, l. 1. Thereafter, agent Keeku requested a retest.

Why? Because he didn’t get the result he wanted. The initial test indicated that the rifle malfunctioned with the safety in the third position. A “hammer follow” is a malfunction. With the retest, this time videotaped, they managed to get the rifle to fire multiple shots.

That part I was aware of. This part I was not:

At trial, the prosecution and defense counsel originally agreed “that we would allow our witnesses in throughout the entire trial.” Tr. 91, ll. 4-6. Immediately prior to the testimony of its expert firearms testing agent, however, the prosecutor informed the court that the prosecution would like to sequester defense expert during the government expert’s testimony. Tr. 90, ll. 10-13. In response, defense counsel argued not only that the prosecution should be held to his previous word, but also that “under Rule 703 it’s clear that an expert can testify to factual data … that are just made known to the expert [the] day [of] the hearing.” Tr. 91, ll. 10-13. Without explanation, the court ruled in the prosecution’s favor, “exclud[ing] [defense expert] from the trial during … that portion of the trial where the government is offering what it believes to be expert testimony.” Tr. 95, ll. 6-11, App. B-35. Thus, defendant’s expert was limited in his testimony to a brief “function check” of the firearm (Tr. 166, ll. 8-18), a review of the prosecution two expert reports (Tr. 171, ll. 14-15; Tr. 179, ll. 5-8), and viewing a portion of the video at trial.

WTF? Seriously – WTF?!?!

Read the whole thing, but take your blood pressure medication first.

Then read Appendix B (PDF).

We do not have a “Justice” system, we have a LEGAL system. If someone in that system wants to convict you of something, then they’ll find a way.

David complains in his post:

I posted the appeals brief yesterday that details all the dirty tricks the government and the prosecution employed–from mischaracterizing technical points on the witness stand, to ignoring precedent established in the Staples case in re definitions, to failure to produce documents requested by the defense (the excuse was correspondence with the original manufacturer contained privileged tax information), to preventing the defense expert witness from inspecting the firearm and excluding him from the courtroom during when the “expert witness” for the prosecution testified–actually reneging on their agreement and legal requirements, and much, much more…all with the tacit consent of a complicit judge.

So far, there has been zero interest shown from the “gun blogosphere.”

A commenter complains:

Sadly, many of the most vocal, and vicious, voices in the gun blogging community, including the gun forums, tend to be pragmatists. Neither Olofson nor Fincher are ‘pure’ enough for them. Anytime Olofson, or Fincher are brought up, outside of a few select blogs, there is an automatic flame war drowning out any opinions other than the party line that they got what they had coming to him.

Personally, I hope that both Olofson and Fincher manage to regain their freedom.

I left this reply:

Personally, I hope that both Olofson and Fincher manage to regain their freedom.

So do I. Olofson was railroaded, of that I have absolutely no doubt. Fincher, on the other hand, challenged already established precedent in the circuit in which he was tried. I don’t like that he was convicted, but I understand why he was, and I was completely unsurprised that SCOTUS denied cert. This was, after all, about machine guns, and those scare the white people. Same for the 9th Circuit’s Stewart decision.

As far back as Sun Tzu, the advice is to “know yourself, know the enemy, and choose your battles carefully.” Mr. Fincher didn’t do at least two of the three.

I don’t read your blog daily, David, nor check JPFO daily either. Thanks for putting up the link. I’ll write a post this evening when I get home. I hope Olofson gets another trial and an acquittal, and I hope he can successfully Nifong the prosecutor.

On second thought, it isn’t the prosecutor I’m really interesting in seeing Nifonged, it’s ATF Agent Keeku.

More Locke vs. Rousseau

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This time from Brigid:

My work has value. My mind has value. I won’t do it for free. those that do that, are amateurs (coming from the Latin amator – meaning lover), not professionals. As a professional I expect to be paid. Nor will I do it to pay the rent and gas and food of those who aren’t willing to put forth their own effort to the best of their own ability. A hard working person, down on their luck, I will help in many ways. I’ve added to the tip jar of many a hard working blogger, caught up in exploding cars, dysfunctional pets, and bad experiences with Comcast. I’ve helped people in my community, neighbors, suddenly and through no fault of their own, out of a job, with food and/or child care while they went to an interview; with assistance with crafting a new resume and getting them some job contacts. Helping those that actively worked to help themselves.

But do not ask me to support, through work or taxes or even my time, which has value of it’s own, a class of people who only wish to take, because they feel they are owed it for breathing, for crossing the border illegally, or for being a specific race, creed or religion.

Tam said something similar a while back:

It makes one look like a savage to say so, but if your house burns down, blows over, or floats away, it’s not the job of the federal government to fix it for you. Charity is one thing, but federal tax dollars coerced at 1040-point from a single working mother of two in Dubuque (and then filtered through a morbidly obese federal agency) to rebuild your bungalow in Destin is not charity, okay? It’s extortion.

I was having a conversation with a co-worker this afternoon, the one outspoken Obama supporter in the office. He kept talking about the right to health care. I kept correcting him – and he agreed, repeatedly – that “health care” is not a right because it obligates another to provide something, but each time he began expounding on health care he kept using the “right” language.

And I kept interrupting him and repeating the lesson.

A large part of the population is much like him, or Brigid’s hairdresser. They’re A-OK with extortion, because they’ll benefit from it, and they think others like them will benefit from it. (Yes, yes, I can hear the anarcho-capitalists now shouting “Hypocrite! Hypocrite!” Sorry, but I do see a difference between, say, taxation to support the Constitutional requirement to defend the nation vs. taxation to support the welfare state. I’d be more than happy to abolish the income tax and operate the government strictly off of tariffs if we could pare the .gov back to its Constitutional limits. In the mean time I’m more interested in trying to stop .gov growth.)

But what it all boils down to is what Jonah Goldberg expressed in Liberal Fascism, and in his podcast interview with Glenn Reynolds and Helen Smith:

All public policy issues ultimately boil down to one thing: Locke versus Rousseau. The individual comes first, the government is merely an association protecting your interests, and it’s transactional, versus the general will, the collective, the group is more important than the individual. Everything boils down to that eventually. And the problem with “compassionate conservatism” is the same problem with social gospelism, with Progressivism and all the rest: it works on the assumption that the government can love you. The government can’t love you. The government is not your mommy and it’s not your daddy, and any system that is based on those assumptions will eventually lead to folly.

Barack Erkel Obama, and to a lesser extent, McCain, are promising a government that will love you.

And to hell with the individual. It all goes back to philosophy, and the fact that we’re not teaching Locke’s to our kids. Instead we’re allowing our educators and our media to haphazardly feed them Rousseau’s.

And it’s led us here, to folly upon folly. It will eventually lead us to ruin.

And I fear that eventuality is not far off.

A Theater Major

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A Theater Major!

The story I linked to below in I Have Power! I Have Power! just gets better. First, one of the firemen from the town of Marlboro responds in the comment thread at Make with basically what one would expect from someone in his position:

Posted by RPA August 13, 2008, at 7:40PM:

I love the fact that people from all over the country are blogging about this without the facts. Please, by all means, don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story or conspiracy theory! (insert rolleyes smiley icon here).

For your information, unlike everyone else who posted here, I was there. I am an officer in the Marlborough Fire Department. I have worked with Pam on many fire code issues and have known her for over 27 years. She used to work for the Fire Marshal, she does know her job.

The facts:

There was a fire at Mr. Deeb’s home. A firefighter was tasked with the assignment going into the basement, where the home’s electrical panel was to shut off the power to the second floor bedroom area so firefighters would not get electrocuted during overhaul operations (opening up walls and ceiling to search for hidden fire).

What the firefighter found were containers of all sizes and types, including boxes, vials, carboys, drums, pails, and unmarked mason jars full of various chemicals, including flammable liquids, acids and bases.

One of the Lieutenants who responded to the fire is a member of the State Hazmat team, he requested the Tier 3 haz mat response. A Tier 3 response is a full team activation with a mobile command post that contains all kinds of metering and sampling equipment, computer databases, guidebooks and such as well as the equipment trucks. A Tier 3 response is considered to be long term and/or an immediate life safety risk. Along with the Tier 3 activation came the Massachusetts Department of Environmental protection, The State Fire Marshal/Department of Fire Services, the State Police’s hazardous devices unit as well as the arson unit and representatives from the Building Department, Code Enforcement, the Board of Health and the Marlborough Police Department and Emergency Management.

Not knowing the full extent of the types of chemicals or the amounts (the basement was full, with containers on shelves, on the floor, under workbenches, etc), the hazmat team entered wearing level A protection.

It took 3 days to catalog, type and remove what was in Mr. Deeb’s basement. The operation was conducted by an independent hazmat cleanup company working under the auspices of the DEP, the Fire Department maintained a 24/7 presence there to maintain control of the incident.

In the real world, a “lab” of this type would require blow out walls, flame detection, smoke detection and a deluge sprinkler system. A lab of this magnitude would also be located in an industrial area and have the proper permitting for the storage of these chemicals.

Mr. Deeb’s home is a 2 and half story Colonial wood frame with an attached garage in a residential neighborhood. He didn’t have permits, and the fact that many of the containers found were not approved for chemical storage is in violation of the protocols, rules and regulations for the handling and storage promulgated by the EPA, OSHA, NIOSH as well as the Chemical Safety Board.

Within an 1/8th mile radius of Mr. Deeb’s home is a playground, UMass Memorial/Marlborough Hospital, the Fremont Medical Center (doctor’s offices), a daycare center and the Marlborough Boys and Girls club, as well as the surrounding residential neighborhood.

That wasn’t in the news story, was it? Now you know.

Imagine if the fire was in the basement…

Could there have been another Bhopal?

How long would it take to evacuate everyone within a mile radius?

How many people could have died or be permanently disabled from exposure to chemicals?

How many firefighters could have been killed?

Mr. Deeb responds:

Posted by: Victor M. Deeb on August 19, 2008 at 9:21 AM

Please read what I have chronicled below and advise if my civil rights have been violated,

On Aug. 5 about 11 AM Officer Pacific of the Marlborough, Ma. police Dep. while riding his motorcycle on Fremont St. Marlborough Ma. noticed that smoke was coming out of a window air conditioner in my wife’s bedroom, he phoned the fire Dep. and got me out of the house, in a pajama bottom, T shirt and no shoes, The fire Dep. put out the fire within minutes of their arrival, and in their effort to eliminate the possibility that the electrical fire started in the basement, the firemen entered my basement and found my lab. With (Labeled) samples, all over, on shelves, on tables and some on the floor, some Jars, quart cans and vials, marked but not labeled, that I carried my experiments in, Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), Technical Data Sheets (TDS) and spread sheets of my experiments, conditions, results, and observations, and any document that would allow me to protect my intellectual properties.
The fire department not knowing what the samples represented, and fearing the worst, contacted the code enforcement office of The City of Marlborough, Ma. (Ms Pamela Wilderman) a code enforcement officer who is a theater major, with no science training at all.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/09/09/she_keeps_an_eye_on_citys_eyesores
It is claimed that I may have violated zoning laws, which is contrary to;
http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/40a-9.htm
How did Thomas Edison, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs get started? Is it not in their basement / garages? Why am I being singled out crucified and have 20 years of my life / work and efforts to help others down the drain?
I met with Ms Wilderman and her associate (Deirdre O’Connor M.S.) In my hotel room and I explained that there was no more toxic, hazardous, or flammable material, in my lab. than found in any home.
Materials found in ANY home, such as Bleach, solvents in surface cleaner, window glass cleaners, rubbing alcohol, finger nail polish and finger nail polish remover, hydrogen peroxide, paints and drain cleaners, are more volatile, hazardous, and flammable than anything found in my lab.
The state police office of the state fire marshal of which Trooper Sean P. Sullivan interviewed me and asked me to sign a document giving the state permission to renter my home at any time, which I refused to sign, Trooper Sullivan remained around for the following three days, constantly in and out of my house, without a court order or my permission.
The emergency response of Ma. Dep. Of environment protection waste site clean up, of whom Mr. Nicholas J. Child (Section Chief) and William J. Phillips (Branch chief), visited me in my hotel room, and I explained to them what I was working on in details, at which time Mr. Child asked me if I was in a position to afford removing all items from my lab, and I said NO!, filled out a form handed to me and left. Apparently Mr. Child contracted with New England Disposal Technology, Inc. of which Mr. Michael F. Sabo who is its field operation manager, without a court order.
.
Is it not illegal for the state to enter and dismantle my lab and remove my samples and 20 years of my life without a court order, in the presence of a lawyer representing my interest?
If this could happen to me, what about ANY creative inventor with the desire to create
Unfortunately I do not have the resources at this time to pursue a legal way to recover my last 20 years, unless some attorney agree to take this on contingency

On Aug. 8, I was informed by the City of Marlborough Fire Chief David Adams, that I was permitted to return to my home. Upon my return to my home, I realized that my work for the last 20 years has been dismantled, destroyed and removed including Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), Technical Data Sheets (TDS) and spread sheets of my experiments, conditions, results, and observations, and any document that would allow me to protect my intellectual properties, upon my contacting Mr. Child of the emergency response section chief, some of the MSDS and TDS were returned to me by Mr. Child but NO! Spread sheets of my experiments, conditions, results, and observations, and any document that would allow me to protect my intellectual properties, and said that they may be in the FBI’s possession.
Chief Adams of the Marlborough,Ma.fire Dep. was kind enough to send the assistant fire chief to help me locate spread sheets of my experiments, conditions, results, and observations, and any document that would allow me to protect my intellectual properties, NON were found in the basement / lab. nor the garage.

My desire to help the environment led to my interest in the recycling of used Rubber tires, by reclaiming / recycling, instead of burning for fuel which generates toxic hazardous fumes. Samples of ground rubber tire were among the samples removed from my lab.
Currently there are 3 ways to recycled rubber tire:
1) Brute force, by passing chopped rubber tire between 2 counter rotating cylinders driven by very high horsepower motors, which produces particle of 40 Mesh at best, the higher the mesh the smaller the particle size, the more acceptable it is for recycling into virgin tires or as asphalt modifier.
2) The Cryogenic process which uses liquid nitrogen to cool the rubber and upon impact particles as small as 300 mesh could be produced, the weight of liquid nitrogen per weight of rubber required, makes the Cryogenic process economically prohibitive.
3) The wet process implemented by The Rouse Rubber Co. Of Mississippi, which utilizes a way to grind chips from used tires under water, to as low as 200 Mesh economically.
My interest in the wet process led to my association with The Rouse Rubber Co. as a consultant and eventually to the formation of a partnership under the name of R. & D. Technology Inc. (Rouse & Deeb) and:
PAT. NO.Title
1 6,815,510 Elastomer reclaiming composition and method
2 6,743,836 Method for predispersing compounding ingredients
3 6,680,110 Particle size reduction using supercritical materials
4 6,663,954 Method of reducing material size
5 6,426,136 Method of reducing material size
6 6,333,373 Ground elastomer and method
7 6,238,448 Grinding stones

Prior to my association with the wet process, they used a 20% slurry in the grinding process, which was increased to 40% with an additive i identified.
Prior to my association with the wet process, they could not grind Butyl inter tubes or tire molding bladders without an additive I identified Hence the presence of various additives in my lab
In an effort to identify ways to enhance the acceptability / recycling of wet process ground rubber by the host compound such as tire compounds or as a modifier for asphalt, paving or roofing, I investigated many potential binders / additives.
Of the binders / additives investigated certain type of polyurethane chemistry was identified as lending themselves to this application. Water dispersions of such Polyurethane chemistry, were obtained and evaluated as binders for ground rubber tire with success. Fearing that the cost of the specific Polyurethane chemistry dispersion may become an obstacle for adding such polyurethane dispersions to the wet process, I acquired various latexes (Such as Neroprene SBR, acrylic, ect.) and investigated minimum Polyurethane dispersion required to maintain binding capacity of the ground rubber tire, Hence the presence of various Latexes / polymer dispersion in my lab.
My interest in utilizing an alternative way to enhancing various processes of reclaiming scrap tires, I identified certain additives that enhance the effectiveness, a process that utilizes much less energy. a water soluble solvent, and a peroxide (NOT HYDROGEN PEROXIDE FOUND IN MOST HOMES) but peroxide with a 300 to 400 dF decomposition temp. Hence the presence of Dicumyl peroxide, Ter-Butyl perbenzoate and 2,5-Dimethyl-2,5-di(tert-butylperoxy) hexane, and water soluble solvents in my lab. Which are safe enough to be approved for food contact applications by the FDA.

My interested in renewable resources led me to evaluate vegetable oils as a component of modifier for asphalt. Vegetable oil when combined with petroleum derived di-functional monomer and a catalyst, subjected, in a batch or continuous way in a reactor I developed using my enhanced process, will produce syrup, which will finish the polymerization process using asphalt’s melting heat / energy. Hence the presence of various vegetable oils in my lab.

The identification of BisPhenol A, BisPhenol F and Pthalates in baby foods, from coatings, sealants and Dioxin (a potent carcinogen) from the degradation of Poly vinyl chloride (PVC) Plastisol sealant, upon reclaiming the steel from food jar metal closures, has led me to recognize an opportunity to help humanity in general and children in particular, and embarked on a project to develop a NO BisPhenol A, BisPhenol F liquid coating that can be applied using existing methods and converted using existing equipment, temp / time. Utilizing a modified Vegetable oil, oligomers and peroxides complying with FDA 21 CFR 175.300 are under consideration by European and domestic companies.
I have also a NO PVC, NO PHTHALATES closure sealant based on oligomers antioxidant and a catalyst complying with FDA 21 CFR 175.300 ready for sampling. Hence the presence of modified vegetable oil, oligomers and powder antioxidant complying with FDA 21 CFR 175.300 in my lab.

Immediately after that, he posts:

Responding to RPA

I wonder where did Ronald P. Ayotte (RPA) of the Marlborough fire Dep. get his degree in the chemistry, toxicity, hazard of materials, to qualify him to make such remarks. I was able to get an inventory of what was illegally remove from my Basement / Lab without a court order, and will be glad to have Mr Ayotte (RPA) point out to me what he is referring to.
Materials Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)that were removed and eventually returned to me would confirm all I claim.
Escalating to Tier 3, instead of Tier 1(Tier 1 suggested by many of the firemen I have consulted) to justify their lack of experience and their jobs is mind boggling Ms P Wilderman
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/09/09/she_keeps_an_eye_on_citys_eyesores
claimes that I may have violated zoning laws, which is contrary to;
http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/40a-9.htm

I’m not a chemist, but it sounds like nobody there but Mr. Deeb was, and no one bothered to ask him squat. Nobody bothered to get permission. Nobody bothered to get a warrant, and nobody read anybody their rights.

Yes, I’d say Mr. Deeb has grounds for a lawsuit, and I hope like hell somebody will step up and give the man a hand.

Read the whole thread. And read the one at the Telegram & Gazette on the story. And understand that your neighbors are probably a lot like Mr. Deeb’s.

THIS Outrage Hits Newsweek

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THIS Outrage Hits Newsweek

Patti Davis, Ronald Reagan’s daughter, has penned a piece for Newsweek on last week’s botched heroically-executed raid on nefarious drug kingpin innocent Berwyn Heights, Md. mayor Cheye Calvo, his mother-in-law, and his two slavering pit bulls Black Labs.

Entitled America’s Troubled House, I strongly urge you to give it a read. Here are some of of the highlights:

Mayor Cheye Calvo came home late in the afternoon of July 29 and discovered a package addressed to his wife that had been left at the front door. He brought it inside, didn’t open it and set it aside for his wife. Calvo said hello to his mother-in-law, Georgia, who lives with them, and took the family’s two black Labrador retrievers, Chase and Payton, out for a walk. He waved to several people who were sitting in cars near his home, never suspecting that a nightmare was about to unfold.

When he came back, Calvo went upstairs to change clothes for an evening event. His mother-in-law was in the kitchen when she saw masked men with guns running toward the house. Not surprisingly, she screamed as they kicked in the door. They shot Payton who was standing beside her. They then turned their weapons on the other black lab, Chase, who was running away from them. They killed him, too.

If you read the gun boards where incidents like this are reported regularly (which means, of course, they occur regularly), shooting the dogs seems to be standard operating procedure.

Mayor Calvo came downstairs into a new time in America, in which no one is presumed innocent and guilt is only an assumption away.

—

Several days after the raid, authorities arrested several men, including a FedEx delivery man. And County Police Chief Melvin C. High finally admitted that “Ms. Tomsic and the Calvo family were innocent victims of drug traffickers.”

He’s probably tired of reporters coming up to him with microphone in hand and saying, “You must be High.”

While Chief High later expressed regret for the incident, he stopped short of offering an apology. And Sheriff Michael A. Jackson, whose department executed the raid, defended his department’s actions.

It’s not the first time something like this has happened in Prince George’s County. In November, another family was targeted for what was later deemed a mistake. Their dog was shot to death in their front yard. When Calvo called for a U.S. Justice Department investigation last week, he noted “reports of similar misconduct, including service of warrants at the wrong address, excessive use of no-knock entries and other unjustified killings of family pets. This has happened before, and without oversight, it will happen again.” Calvo acknowledged that because of his position as mayor, his case has been getting the kind of exposure that the average citizen could never hope for. “What saddens us most is that all too often, these injustices go unnoticed by law-enforcement officials and those who are victimized are forced to suffer in silence,” he said.

Gee, Ya THINK??

Imagine being Georgia Porter, one minute cooking dinner, the next handcuffed on the kitchen floor, inches from the bloodied body of a dog who was part of her family. Imagine Cheye Calvo hearing the shots from upstairs, not knowing what was happening, and then finding himself handcuffed, helpless, forced to kneel in his underwear. Imagine Trinity Tomsic dealing with her defiled home–not only did the police slaughter their dogs, they tracked blood all over the house in a search that yielded nothing.

You need to imagine all these things because, in a way, we all live in that house. It’s called our country, and this is what’s starting to happen here.

It’s not starting, Patti, it’s been going on (and worse, much worse) for quite a while. The legacy media is just now starting to take notice, but that’s because media serves as the ecclesiastical arm of government, not as the fourth check and balance on government.

But here’s the key excerpt:

Prince George’s official country Web site defines itself as “a county of livable communities.” That’s what we all wish for–a livable community, a home where we feel safe. We want to feel that if the bad guys come, we can call the police and they will be the good guys. We want to believe that if we’re innocent, armed men with government badges won’t handcuff us and shoot our pets and wave their weapons in our faces.

But more and more of us don’t believe that.

A spot-on observation in a national news outlet.

By all means, read the comments, from the bottom up.

I’ve got another Überpost forming in my brain that isn’t going to crawl its way out of my skull until sometime after I get back from the Para Blogger’s shoot. I’m hoping nice long conversations with the other attendees will help inspire me in saying what I want to say the way I want to say it.

Quote of the Day

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Quote of the Day

The victorious radicals had proclaimed a theology of Reason in which equality of condition was the natural and true order of creation. In their Genesis, the loss of equality was the ultimate source of mankind’s suffering and evil, just as the arrogant pride of the primal couple had provoked their Fall in the religious myths now discarded. The ownership of private property became a secular version of original sin. Through property, society re-imposed on every generation of human innocence the travails of inequality and injustice. Redemption from worldly suffering was possible only through the Revolution that would abolish property and open the gates to the socialist Eden — to Paradise regained.

The ideas embodied in this theology of liberation became the inspiration for the new political Left, and have remained so ever since. It was half a century later that Marx first articulated the idea of a historical redemption, in the way that became resonant for us:

Communism is the positive abolition of private property, of human self-alienation, and thus the real appropriation of human nature through and for man. It is therefore the return of man himself as a social, i.e., really human, being… – Marx, Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts

This was our revolutionary vision. By a historical coup we would create the conditions for a return to the state of true humanity whose realization had been blocked by the alienating hierarchies of private property. All the unjust institutions of class history that had distorted, divided, and oppressed mankind would be abolished and human innocence reborn. In the service of this cause, no burden seemed too onerous, no sacrifice too great. We were the Christopher Columbuses of the human future, the avatars of a new world struggling to emerge from the womb of the old. – David Horowitz, The Politics Of Bad Faith: The Radical Assault on America’s Future

(h/t to PhilB)

That’s the first time I’ve ever seen a Leftist (former or otherwise) put in print why there is such an assault on private property rights today. The Endangered Species Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the multiple various and sundry EPA regulations about “wetlands” and pollution, Eminent Domain abuse, etc., etc. I mean, I’d come to that conclusion myself, given the evidence, but to have it admitted in print. . .

In fact, the entire piece is full of quotable excerpts. Expect the remainder of the Quotes of the Day this week to be from this one link.

“I Have Power! I Have Power!”

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Those are the words reported to have been shouted by a Stasi TSA agent in Chicago when a passenger, forced to drop his trousers in full view of other passengers, asked to see her supervisor.

More and more, this seems to be the attitude of those who draw .gov paychecks.

A couple of days ago a reader (thanks, Russ) emailed me a link to this story along those same lines:

Home science under attack

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports that Victor Deeb, a retired chemist who lives in Marlboro, has finally been allowed to return to his Fremont Street home, after Massachusetts authorities spent three days ransacking his basement lab and making off with its contents.

Deeb is not accused of making methamphetamine or other illegal drugs. He’s not accused of aiding terrorists, synthesizing explosives, nor even of making illegal fireworks. Deeb fell afoul of the Massachusetts authorities for … doing experiments.

Authorities concede that the chemicals found in Deeb’s basement lab were no more hazardous than typical household cleaning products. Despite that, authorities confiscated “all potentially hazardous chemicals” (which is to say the chemicals in Deeb’s lab) from his home, and called in a hazardous waste cleanup company to test the chemicals and clean up the lab.

Pamela Wilderman, the code enforcement officer for Marlboro, stated, “I think Mr. Deeb has crossed a line somewhere. This is not what we would consider to be a customary home occupation.”

Allow me to translate Ms. Wilderman’s words into plain English: “Mr. Deeb hasn’t actually violated any law or regulation that I can find, but I don’t like what he’s doing because I’m ignorant and irrationally afraid of chemicals, so I’ll abuse my power to steal his property and shut him down.”

In effect, the Massachusetts authorities have invaded Deeb’s lab, apparently without a warrant, and stolen his property. Deeb, presumably under at least the implied threat of further action, has not objected to the warrantless search and the confiscation of his property. Or perhaps he’s just biding his time. It appears that Deeb has grounds for a nice juicy lawsuit here.

There’s a lesson here for all of us who do science at home, whether we’re home schoolers or DIY science enthusiasts. The government is not our friend. Massachusetts is the prototypical nanny state, of course, but the other 49 aren’t far behind. Any of us could one day find the police at the door, demanding to search our home labs. If that day comes, I will demand a warrant and waste no time getting my attorney on the phone.

There’s a word for what just happened in Massachusetts. Tyranny. And it’s something none of us should tolerate.

Ms. Pamela Wilderman, “code enforcement officer” for Marlboro, has power, and she’s not afraid to abuse it! At the end of the news piece she added:

“He’s been very cooperative,” Ms. Wilderman said. “I won’t be citing him for anything right at this moment.”

Remember the Ayn Rand quote. He broke some law or laws. All he has to do is provide any resistance at all, and they’ll find some to cite him with.

There’s far more tyranny in government than just the BATFE.

And by all means, read the comment thread.

UPDATE: From the newspaper comment thread:

I am the daughter of Victor Deeb and what they did and took from my father is not only unfair but devastating to an old man whose life for the last 40 years has been chemistry. They not only took all of his chemicals (which he used in his research for non-toxic sealants for baby food jars) but 20 years of notes that were valuable only to him. Now his research notes have magically disappeared into thin air. Can someone tell me where the justice is in that?

-m deeb

Where indeed?

From the Dept. of “Make ‘Em Mad”

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From the Dept. of “Make ‘Em Mad”

David Codrea points to the latest in .gov thuggery from that bastion of freedom, Maryland, where former Attorney General J. Joseph Curran published his 1999 manifesto A Farewell to Arms: The Solution to Gun Violence in America (PDF) Here’s just a part of what Curran recommended:

In the short run, we must change our gun culture. People must come to realize that we endanger our lives and those of our children by owning and carrying handguns, and by tolerating it in our neighbors. There is no reason why, in going to a movie theater or grocery store, we should worry that someone’s gun might discharge accidentally and kill our child. As attitudes have slowly but surely undergone radical transformation regarding such critical public health issues as smoking and using seatbelts, bicycle helmets, and child car restraints, so too must owning and carrying handguns come to be seen as dangerous and aberrant behavior. We must change people’s minds about how far they are willing to endanger themselves in tolerating the choice of others to carry a gun.

Thus, I call upon everyone – private employers, government agencies, schools, physicians, and especially parents – to help. First, to put teeth into this initiative, I ask the General Assembly to take the lead and make guns in public accommodations illegal. It is one thing to continue to tolerate people choosing to endanger themselves and their loved ones by keeping a gun at home. We should no longer, however, allow them to force others to endanger themselves by going to a movie theater or baseball game where guns are permitted. In addition, private employers outside the context of public accommodations should prohibit guns on their premises, with prominent signs to remind the public that guns must be left at the door.

In other words, this:


One thing I noted through Curran’s entire manifesto: he never said how he intended to disarm, you know, criminals.

Anyway, it looks like the departure of Curran in 2007 didn’t have any salutary effect on Maryland’s official hoplophobia. It would appear that the State monitors ammunition purchases and checks them against their list of registered firearms. And if there’s a discrepancy? Do they send an officer of the law to politely ask about whatever might be concerning them during, say, normal working hours?

Oh no! Instead they ninja-up and go tacticool. From the Maryland Shooter’s forum:

In case anyone isn’t on the MSI mailing list, this is from the latest. Reading this made me feel physically sick. This is straight up police state stuff, and someone could have been murdered by the police had it gone down a little differently. This has got to stop. Something HAS to be done.

Hello Henry.

I just wanted your organization to know what Our State Police are up too. The incident below happened to me, a legal gun owner in La Plata, Maryland two nights ago (August 4, 2008 at 12:30 PM). Next time, they won’t get in without a warrant. You live and you learn. Below, is the e-mail I sent to Mr. Chris Contee NRA, Chief Counsel at his request. I know I’m not an isolated incident so I hope your members keep their doors locked.

Dear Chris,

It was great to speak with you today by phone. Sorry but also glad you are so busy with our legislative matters. What would we do without you and the NRA?

As I told you by phone, my Wife and I were unfairly besieged late last night by the Maryland State Police. I have also relayed this occurrence to “Citizens Group for the right to keep and bear arms”. I believe they are in Seattle Washington. Enclosed is my summation for your review. Good luck on your trip and safe travel.

Last night at 12:30 pm a MD State Police “Armed Response Team” showed up at our door. I was dead asleep, my Wife was laying some ceramic tile on our basement floor when our driveway alert went off several times. She looked at the camera monitor and screamed that Police in Assault gear were running up to our front door. That made me sit straight up from a dead sleep.

We thought they were there for my Brother in Law who had just been mailed Bench Warrants to our home, but he doesn’t live here and he is already incarcerated, so my Wife opened the door for them. Then I heard one of them say he had some papers for me or needed to speak with me,so I got up to speak with them 6 or 7 officers in full assault vests, etc. and NO ONE in uniform. Four heavily armed police came into the house while at least two others walked around outside of our home.

One, began to talk to me asking me about the types of weapons I own. Remember now, I was just startled from a dead sleep and I kept asking why are you here, why do you want to know about my guns? Every gun I bought in Maryland I bought from a MD Dealer. Well this Trooper said that I had purchased a “large amount” of ammunition recently and wanted to know why. When I questioned why he was asking, then he changed his tune to what type of Handguns I had. I told him I just purchased my first handgun in Maryland last week, but had not even picked it up from the Store . He questioned me about other handguns I might own and I realized that he was “fishing” to match his list of my ammunition purchases with handguns that I owned. Then I told him about my C&R license that I had purchased 2 with that but was not required to register them with ST. Police. Moreover, I told him it was the MD. ST. Police who approved me as a “designated collector” so why are they here in storm trooper fashion at 12:30 pm maybe to kill me because I legally bought some handgun ammo? He told me that most of the ammo I purchased was for weapons that they had no record of me having registered so the “SYSTEM” Flagged me. Flagged me for what? Death, Harassment at midnight by 7 Storm Troopers?

I asked, “… does your system know that it is stupid to buy ammo with your own ID if your are going to do something illegal, Does your system know that I have a C&R and can buy weapons of various calibers without your knowledge, Does your system know that you yourselves registered me as a designated collector, who “collects” so it is not unusual for me to buy any type or manner of ammunition and finally, Does your system know that it is NOT illegal to purchase handgun ammunition in the State of Maryland whether or not you own that caliber handgun?”

The Trooper (plain clothes), had a list of ammo calibers that he referred to and I agreed, there’s no secret that I bought the ammo, but so what? And I’m still not sure of the States definition of a “large amount”. Look, I’m not outfitting a Militia, hate group, or giving it to someone who can’t buy it, or even buy ammo for a stolen weapon I don’t want to register. Any weapon I have every owned has either been purchased at a Gun Store or I personally knew the individual I bought it from and its origin. And, last time I looked it is not illegal to buy handgun ammo, even if you don’t own the caliber weapon OR you don’t own a weapon at all !! So unless the law is changed, Police cannot harass people who do so.

That being said, the young Trooper told me I “should” voluntarily register all my weapons or this would happen again… because the “system” flagged me. And another thing, he kept asking where I kept my weapons, in a safe? I never answered him and he asked me three separate times as to the locations of any weapons I might have. I got the distinct impression he wanted me to voluntarily let him see/inspect the handguns for the calibers I bought ammo for, but I was ready for that. No warrant, no see. I mean, I would hope you could trust the Police, but why should I let six or seven or so strangers know where I keep guns? If indeed I had the calibers he was inquiring about?

The point here though, is that Police came to my home without a warrant, dressed to kill, trying to intimidate me about something that is NOT illegal !! This was not an Interview it was an interrogation under duress.

Funny the last thing he said to me before leaving was “… Mr. Curtis, sorry to have HARASSED you, you have a good night.”

Read the whole thread.

Sounds like Maryland’s effort to “change the gun culture” are proceeding apace, doesn’t it? Are you mad yet?

Moses v. Pharoh’s Army (Corps. of Engineers)

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Clayton Cramer looks further into the story behind U.S. v Moses that I pointed to a few days ago.

Clayton concludes that the story as related by Bryan Fischer is essentially correct. RTWT, but here’s the pullquote:

When you are dealing with the federal government, remember that you are dealing with people with enormous power. They resent being ignored. They resent being told that you aren’t going to obey them. They are rather like an Egyptian pharoah (which makes the defendant’s name especially ironic).

And it isn’t just the federal government. Remember the recent incidents involving TSA drones? In one incident in Chicago a TSA agent is reported to have yelled, when a passenger she was abusing demanded to see a supervisor, “I have power! I have power!”

Yes, it seems to be all about power.

In New Jersey v. Pelleteri the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division declared:

When dealing with guns, the citizen acts at his peril.

The more accurate statement seems to be, “When dealing with Government, the citizen acts at his peril.”