Category: Gummint

Congress Playing Their Part

Anti-Gun Nannies, Asshole Cops, Government Thugs, The Gun Thing

Hey, how can you argue with proposed legislation to rein in the jack-booted thugs of the ATF — especially when it’s known as the RIFLE Act?

Under the Biden Administration, ATF’s zero tolerance policy forced small and mid-sized gun stores out of business. The agency revoked Federal Firearm Licenses due to minor clerical errors like missing a customer’s middle initial or using a state’s abbreviation rather than the state’s full name. In 2024 alone, ATF saw the highest levels of gun store license revocations in 20 years—the third consecutive year of increased license revocations under President Biden’s leadership. Last week, the Biden Administration claimed it reversed its zero tolerance policy. Upon further review of the updated enforcement guidance, it appears to remain fully in effect.

Rep. Mann (R-KS) told Breitbart News, “President Biden did everything in his power to weaponize the federal government against gun store owners in the Big First District of Kansas and across the country. His zero tolerance policy undermined the Second Amendment and trampled on the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens. Since day one, I have rigorously pushed back against this unconstitutional policy and fought for more oversight to rein in ATF’s abuse.”

He added, “On November 5, 2024, the country made it clear—our constitutional rights are not up for grabs. My bill makes that crystal clear by fortifying the Second Amendment rights of local gun stores and seeking to restore a degree of wholeness to individuals whose livelihoods were destroyed by this federal abuse. I look forward to working with President Trump to further strengthen the protection of the Second Amendment, deliver justice for our FFLs, and get our country back on track.”

Who’s the new head of the ATF, again?  (I know, I know:  a decent head of the ATF would rescind the enforcement instructions off his own bat — I know I would, if my application to head up the ATF had been successful.  But then again, considering that I’d have started shutting down the entire agency from Day 1 of my appointment, the whole issue would have been moot.)

Legal Oddity

Rights, The Gun Thing

When I first started looking to buy  gun, (very) shortly after I arrived here in the md-1980s, I was astounded to learn that while I could buy any long gun from an out-of-state Merchant Of Death, I could not buy a handgun in such fashion.

It made no sense to me back then, and it has never done so since, especially as the stupid NCIS-check thing (which has to be carried out before even buying a gun from an FFL in your home state) seems to make the whole issue a moot point.

Well then, lookee here:

The Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) is taking on the federal ban on interstate handgun sales in their latest lawsuit. The filing is titled Elite Precision Customs v. ATF. Industry notables Tim Herron and Freddie Blish are plaintiffs alongside the FPC and Elite Precision, which is an FFL based out of Mansfield, Texas.

The federal ban makes it illegal for Herron or Blish, both of whom travel quite a bit for work, to purchase a handgun directly from Elite Precision Customs when they’re in Texas. Under current law, a handgun has to be shipped to a FFL in the buyer’s home state where the background check will be completed. If the ban can be successfully challenged, it would make it possible for people to purchase handguns directly from brick-and-mortar FFLs while visiting states in which they don’t reside.

Well, I don’t agree with the whole NCIS check thing at all anyway, but I would love to swing by a mom ‘n pop pawn shop or gun store in my travels, and pick up a handgun which caught my fancy.  (I actually stumbled on one such situation somewhere in Arizona, many years ago;  it was a peach of a 3rd Generation Colt Peacemaker, and the price was about three-quarters of what I’d expect to pay in Texas.  But noooo…)

Strikes me that if a federal law states that I need to have my ass checked before buying a gun anywhere, that a handgun should be treated no differently from, say, a shotgun.

But that would mean applying logic to Gummint — and that right there is a non-starter.  Silly me.

Hooray– Oh, Wait

Bureaucracy, Corporate Fuckery, Gummint, Health

Here’s some good news:

Drugs used to treat cancer, diabetes and other chronic conditions are among 15 picked for negotiations that could result in lower prices for patients, the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed Friday.

The 15 drugs selected by HHS are all covered under Medicare Part D and represent the second round of negotiations between drug companies and the department, with a goal of lowering costs for Medicare patients.

And the good news:

Popular diabetes drugs Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy, which are also used for weight loss are among the 15 announced Friday.

Hooray!  Let me tell you, as one who has to take Ozempic for diabetes (at $60 per shot per week), this is welcome.

But wait!  There’s more!

Negotiations between the government agency and drug companies will take place this year with any agreed upon price changes taking effect in 2027.

…by which time I could be dead.  How nice.  Even better:

Drug manufacturers can choose whether or not to enter negotiations with the government for a collective price for Medicare patients.

Any bets as to who will decline the offer?

Comment Of The Day

Economics, Taxes and Theft

From Longtime Reader GT3Ted:

“The Lottery is a Tax on the people were not paying attention in math class.”

Absolutely, except for one small quibble.

It’s only a tax when you are compelled by government to pay it, at gunpoint.  Last time I looked, buying a lottery ticket was voluntary.

It’s also therapeutic.  In my case, it prevents me from using my AK-47 outside the shooting range every day (if you get my drift).

Cheap at the price.

DOGE Target #1

Government Thugs, Shootin' Time

Let’s hear it for the ATF:

ATF Isn’t Talking About its Early Morning No-Knock Raid on a Baltimore Gun Rights Advocate

Manley estimated he owns more than 70 firearms, but all of them comply with Maryland and federal laws. He owns no full-autos, suppressors or destructive devices. The ATF learned this after threatening to blow open Manley’s gun safe, which he opened for the agents, who found nothing illegal.

After the botched search warrant, one of the agents who had told Manley’s wife he was the lead investigator, asked her for dimensions and other information about the doors and windows his team had destroyed, which he promised to replace.

Also:

ATF Murders Innocent Man

In March, agents shot and killed Bryan Malinowski, executive director of the Clinton National Airport in Little Rock, Arkansas, in his home.

Agents were clearly spoiling for a gunfight when they went in during early morning hours, and they got one.

ATF has yet to comment officially on the March 19 killing, other to claim Malinowski fired first. But Malinowski’s family released a statement, which confirms what everyone already knew: It is extremely unlikely that the 53-year-old airport executive director knew he was trading gunfire with federal agents. It is far more likely Malinowski believed he was defending himself and his wife from armed home invaders.

This entire agency needs to be defunded and all their asshole agents fired and then prosecuted for all the crimes they committed against law-abiding citizens — both the people who authorized the crimes and the people who carried them out, no exceptions.

Period, end of statement, end of story.

Open Season

Funny Stuff, Gummint, Shootin' Time

Well, that’s okay then:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warned New Jersey residents against shooting at mysterious unidentified drones.

Given the source, I’d say it would be almost mandatory for the folks in Joizee to have at it.

Here’s my take.  This whole drone swarm thing in NJ seems to be shrouded in secrecy, for all sorts of reasons.  And nowadays, where there’s secrecy, there’s almost always Gummint skullduggery afoot.  (And not even just nowadays — Kennedy assassination / Lee Harvey Oswald murder coff coff.)

So it stands to reason for us to expect that if the Fibbies are telling us not to do something, it’s because that “something” endangers one of their little clandestine reindeer games, no?

I’d suggest light birdshot or even .410 000, for those interested.  Just make sure that the fall of shot isn’t close to houses or streets, and we’ll all be good.


(me getting in some practice prior to a drive trip to NJ)

Note to any Gummint alphabet agency snooping around:  the above is what’s called “satire”, “humor” or even “hyperbole”.  Feel free to look those words up if you’re unclear on the concept, you assholes.

And my final thought:  given the dramatis personae  in this little scenario, it’s quite possible that nobody in government knows what the fuck is going on — if indeed anything is — and likewise has no idea how to investigate it either.  I wouldn’t place any bets against this hypothesis, either.