The Studio at Gumtree

History: actual truth of history. Not made up like the media or politicians do everyday!

From 1907 to 1957 Americans were able to purchase the rifle pictured, the Wi******er Model 1907. It is a semi-automatic, centerfire rifle fed by a detachable magazine with available capacity from 5 to 20 rounds. Prior to 1968 they purchased these, and other fi****ms, with no questions asked at their local hardware store, or even had it delivered from the Sears catalog. No identification, no waiting period, no background check.

Semi-automatic rifles have been in civilian hands for over 115 years. Generations of Americans have owned and used semi-automatic rifles responsibly.

This innovative rifle was developed for civilian use, not as a “weapon of war”. In fact, these were in the hands of our civilian ancestors for almost 30 years before the first semi-automatic rifle was issued by our military in 1936.

Functionally, AR-15s differ only in aesthetics and firing a smaller .223” diameter bullet versus the 1907’s .351” diameter. Ar-15s do have a significant functional difference from their military look alikes, though. They do not have automatic fire capability. Despite what you may have heard from a politician, they are not machine guns.

Of course there are problems that should be dealt with, but the most basic rule of problem solving says, fix the biggest problem first for the largest gain.

In the United States today you are far more likely to be murdered using hands, feet, knives, or a blunt object. Each is used in more murders than rifles every day. Each of those things, like fi****ms, can be used for good or evil depending on the heart of the person wielding them.

I can almost hear you say, "But, Tom, what about mass shootings?" If you rule out gang violence and shootings during the commision of another crime, they're quite rare. You are statistically more likely to DIE in a car crash than be PRESENT at a mass shooting. However, five people shot in a nightclub always gets more views/clicks/readers than ten single shootings, and the media knows it. They don't see their job as presenting an unbiased and well rounded portrait of our world. It’s to make money, just like any other business.

Don't be distracted by people talking about hunting deer. Our Second Amendment was not written about hunting. In fact, according to the Supreme Court on US v Miller (1939), the Second Amendment protects our right to own weapons useful for military action, not hunting deer.

Semi-automatic rifles, and fi****ms in general, are more difficult to purchase legally than at any time in our history. They have not changed much technologically or functionally in over a century. Clearly these inanimate objects are not the cause of recent societal ills. I have some ideas, just as most of us do, but that will have to wait for another post.

Well, if you’re keeping score at home, it was a fantastic day on the lake. Don’t always get these days in North Mississippi, but we sailed just as much as we wanted to. I hate that you missed it. There will be more opportunities. Keep that in mind positions are few and filled quickly 🏴‍☠️⛵️😎

OK, so tomorrow is going to be a pretty decent day to go sailing winds will be out of the southeast at 8 to 10 with some bigger gusts and so that’ll make it fun. My usual suspects cannot go sailing tomorrow so if you would like to join us no experience necessary just send me a message, it’ll be at Bay Springs Lake. I’ll get up there about 11 and we will probably leave the dock at 12 and yes, there are provisions on board. ⛵️🏴‍☠️😎

Marked myself as Deplorable 🫡🏴‍☠️☠️

Lengthy, but a good read.

"In March of this year, Bryan Malinowski, the executive director of the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock, Arkansas, was killed by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, To***co Fi****ms and Explosives (ATF) during a pre-dawn raid of his home. It was an unwarranted and indefensible killing of a kind that should never ever happen in a free country like the United States. Because we have a media that no longer serves in its traditional role as a government watchdog, this incident was not widely reported. Because too many members of Congress no longer take seriously their responsibility to protect the rights of those who elect them, the ATF has suffered no repercussions.

How and why did this killing take place?

Bryan Malinowski grew up as an avid collector of coins and, more recently, fi****ms. He took to displaying his coin and firearm collections at gun shows where he would occasionally purchase and sell fi****ms.

Under federal law, it is perfectly legal to buy and sell fi****ms as a collector or hobbyist even without a Federal Fi****ms License (FFL). An individual doesn't need to obtain an FFL unless he is 'engaged in the business' of selling fi****ms. Congress has defined 'engaged in the business' to apply to those who deal in fi****ms 'as a regular course of trade or business with the principal objective of livelihood and profit' as opposed to those who make 'occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of fi****ms for the enhancement of a personal collection or for a hobby.'

Malinowski already had a livelihood - indeed, as the executive director of the airport, he was one of the highest paid city employees in Little Rock. Buying or selling fi****ms was something he did in his spare time. So it makes sense that he did not see the need to obtain a license. At some point, however, the ATF came to the view that Malinowski had crossed over the nebulous line from hobbyist to 'engaged in the business' and that he therefore did need to obtain an FFL.

Leaving aside the question of whether the ATF was right about this - a moot issue now, given the fact that the ATF killed him - the obvious thing for the ATF to have done was to contact Malinowski through the mail, by phone, or in person, to inform him that it had determined he needed a license. If it had, he could have decided whether to stop selling fi****ms or to pay the nominal annual fee of $65 for an FFL.

But the ATF didn't do the obvious thing and contact Malinowski. Here is what we know happened instead. Multiple undercover ATF agents were sent to observe Malinowski selling fi****ms at a gun show, a GPS tracker was secretly placed on Malinowski's car, and a search warrant was obtained for his home. Malinowski wasn't home the first time ATF agent showed up to serve the warrant, so the second time they left nothing to chance. Dressed in SWAT gear, together with Little Rock police, they showed up in the vehicles at Malinowski's house before dawn on March 19. They cut the power to his house and put a piece of tape over the doorbell camera so that Malinowski couldn't see who they were. Less than a minute later after an exchange of gunfire Malinowski was dead. And in violation of both ATF and Little Rock police policies requiring body cameras, not one of the law enforcement agents involved in this deadly raid was wearing an activated camera.

After the killing, Malinowski's wife was forcibly taken outside in her nightgown in 34-degree weather and was kept outside for over four hours despite multiple requests to see her husband and use the bathroom. In an audio recording from a police vehicle she can be heard sobbing, asking why they killed her husband, and insisting that the agents must have the wrong house because she and her husband are honest, law-abiding people.

***

What happened to Bryan Malinowski is not an isolated incident. It is part of a growing patterns of KGB-style behavior by U.S. federal law enforcement agencies. Let me mention briefly just a few other cases.

Back during the Trump presidency, Roger Stone, a Republican political consultant since the Nixon era, was targeted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller for obstruction of justice and making false statements regarding the WikiLeaks release of Hillary Clinton's emails. These are non-violent crimes, and the nattily dressed, 72-year-old Stone has given no indication over his long life that he is prone to violence of any kind. But on January 25, 2019, the FBI conducted a pre-dawn raid at Stone's Fort Lauderdale home in a manner befitting a raid on an armed compound of a Mexican drug lord. Nearly 30 heavily armed agents swarmed Stone's home at 6:00 a..m. With guns aimed at his entryway, they rounded on the door until Stone showed up barefoot in his pajamas. Topping things off, there was a boat offshore behind Stone's home manned by armed agents and equipped with floodlights.

In october 2021, pro-life activist Mark Houck and his twelve-year-old son were conducting a weekly prayer vigil near an abortion clinic in Philadelphia. Their standard practice was to hand out literature and, if women were interested, to help them find alternatives to abortion. Bruce Love, a volunteer es**rt at the facility, began to harass Houck's son using vulgar language. During the ensuing argument, Houck pushed Love and Love fell to the ground. Philadelphia police reviewed the incident and no charges were filed. Love later pressed charges, but the case was reviewed and dismissed. Soon thereafter, Houck received notice that he was the target of a federal grand jury investigation for violating the FACT Act, which prohibits blocking access to abortion clinics. Houck's attorney offered video evidence that Houck had not blocked access. He also told federal prosecutors that if they insisted on bringing charges, Houck would voluntarily surrender. The FBI ignored the offer, and on September 23, 2022, at 6:00 a.m., roughly two dozen FBI agents and Pennsylvania law enforcement officers showed up at Houck's home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Houck's wife and seven children were still sleeping when five agents armed with rifles, tactical gear, and battering rams, began pounding on the door. Additional agents surrounded the property. Houck came to the door and his wife wandered down in her bathrobe. Houck was not allowed to say goodbye to his screaming children. Taken to a federal building, he was belly chained and had his wrists shackled to a table for six hours. Four months later a jury found him not guilty.

Craig Robertson was a 75-year-old Air Force veteran from Provo, Utah, likely demented, who made online threats against elected leaders, including President Biden. Neighbors described Robertson as 'barely (able to) get around with a cane.' But instead of confronting Robertson on his regular outings to church or to the grocery store, the FBI again decided on a pre-dawn raid. At 6:00 a.m. on August 9, 2023, FBI agents first attempted to break down Robertson's door with a battering ram, then resorted to using an armored vehicle to smash a hole in his house. The FBI claims that Robertson shot at agents before its agents shot and killed him - though the agency has refused to release any body cam footage. Robertson's body was moved to the sidewalk and left unattended for hours.

Other cases could be cited -- including the FBI's unprecedented raid on President Trump's home in Palm Beach, Florida, in which the use of 'deadly force' was authorized -- but the point is clear enough. Such actions by federal law enforcement agencies go far beyond what is justified by law and custom in America. The agencies involved respond to criticism by saying that their actions are 'by the book.' But this lie, parroted by corporate media, is preposterous on its face. If such a book exists, it represents a radical departure from the historical constraints of constitutional authority and the idea of equality before the law.

I served in the military as a Special Operations sniper and Sniper Team leader in the 1st Ranger Battalion. I could have gone on to become a sharpshooter on a police SWAT team or even joined the FBI or one of the other three-letter federal agencies that were widely consisdered, in the past, to be the cream of the crop in terms of law enforcement. Sadly,, they are no longer thought of in the same way.

The flip side of the increasingly thuggish character of these agencies is their diminished effectiveness in fulfilling their core missions to the point that the American public can not help but notice. Consider the recent assassination attempt - very nearly successful - on President Trump. The U.S. Secret Service and the FBI are being anything but transparent about their investigations and seem to be going out of their way to make it as difficult as possible for Congress and the public to learn what happened. But the most obvious fact about it, which can not be covered up, is that the Secret Service allowed a 20-year-old shooter to access the most ideal location for a sniper, even after he had been spotted acting suspiciously and using a laser rangefinder and had been watched for almost 30 minutes. This alone is enough to know the Secret Service that day was more Keystone Cop than cream of the crop.

***

In closing, let me return to the agency I know best, having a lot of firsthand experience dealing with it - the ATF. Like all these federal law enforcement agencies, the ATF was created by Congress and is tasked with executing laws passed by Congress. Congress, in turn represents and acts on behalf of the American people. In this context, the first and most important thing in bringing the ATF and these other agencies back under control is to impress firmly upon them the fact that they are accountable yo Congress and are the servants and not the enemies of the American people - and in the case of thee ATF, the fact that one of the people it would still be serving, had ATF agents not killed him, is Bryan Malinowski.

Most of the cases in which I have dealt with the ATF have to do with companies that are licensed to sell fi****ms - companies that have FFLs - and are under threat of losing their license and thus being put out of business. The Gun Control Act of 1968 is the main body of law concerning this, and in 1986 this law was amended to allow the ATF to revoke an FFL only for a 'willful' violation of the law. The willfulness standard was added to "ensure what licenses are not revoked for inadvertent errors or technical mistakes.' In recent years, however, the ATF has adopted what it calls a 'Zero Tolerance Policy' that flies in the face of the willfulness standard - and therefore in the face of laws passed by Congress on behalf of the American people.

The ATF's egregious treatment of Point Blank Fi****ms, a Michigan company that it is trying to put out of business, provides an example of the harm caused by ATF overreach.

During compliance inspections, ,the ATF is largely concerned with determining three things: if there are any missing fi****ms, if all the required records have been filled out and kept properly, and if the licensed company is doing its job as the front line of defense against the criminal possession of fi****ms.

In the case of Point Blank, the ATF makes three claims, one of which amounts to an inadvertent clerical error. The other two are provably false. The first is that Point Blank was missing fi****ms transaction forms, which, if true, would be serious. These forms are filled out by the purchaser of a firearm and contain information about the gun, the purchaser, and the background check results. They are the only way for the ATF to prove who ended up with a firearm or who possibly lied on the form. But every single form at Point Blank has been accounted for, complete with the customer's signature and background check information.

The second claim is that Point Blank transferred a firearm to someone more than 30 days after his background check was run. Again, if true, this is a violation of the law. However, it has been proven that the firearm was transferred on the very same day as the background check. Yet the Detroit field division of the ATF continues to threaten Point Blank with the loss of its license.

Point Blank is a client of mine, so I understand if you don't take my word on faith. But if you look into it, you will see that the ATF is not only overreaching, but is violating the very rules it requires everyone else to follow. Indeed, of the many ATF inspections I've been a part of, not once have the ATF's records been accurate.

Do you remember Operation Fast and Furious, a program in which the ATF used licensed fi****ms dealers to funnel thousands of American fi****ms to Mexican drug cartels? Due to sheer incompetence, most of those fi****ms were lost and never recovered, and one of the high-level Mexican drug cartel members who ended up with the fi****ms have been arrested. When U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed in a shootout at the border, the weapon that was used to kill him was one of the guns that the ATF intentionally gave to the drug cartels. Needless to say, no heads ever rolled at the ATF as a result.

Another area in which the ATF is violating federal law is in keeping a fi****ms registry. The Fi****ms Owners Protection Act passed by Congress in 1986 specifically prohibits the ATF from having an electronic database of fi****ms and their owners. But Georgia Congressman Andrew Clyde recently visited the ATF records center in West Virginia and discovered that the ATF currently has over 900 million such records scanned and stored electronically.

So how do we gain control over the ATF and other federal law enforcement agencies? It is not going to happen through congressional hearings that provide a forum for political showboating and partisan posturing and that go nowhere. We the American people must demand that Congress, on our behalf, either reassert its authority over these agencies in a way to make it stick or else abolish the agencies and start anew.

If we don't, Bryan Malinowski will have died in vain and the rest of us, as if we are no longer Americans will be looking over our shoulders."

--written by Ryan Cleckner, "Our Out-of-Control Federal Law Enforcement Agencies," published in "Imprimis" (a publication of Hillsdale College), August 2024.

For those of you who have not voted yet please remember this quote from the current POTUS (and Kamala's running mate in 2020)

“The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters,” (for context this refers to Trump supporters)
Joe Biden

In Joe's eyes (and I suspect Kamala's) if you vote for Trump you are garbage. In other words 50% of America is garbage.

That my friends is what Joe/Kamala/DNC think of America.

Los Dia del Gatos 😺🏴‍☠️😼

Something to consider... Almost 10 million illegal immigrants have been allowed to cross our border since Biden took office. They have been sent out by this Administration to known swing states. Eighty-five percent of these will vote Democrat. Another four years of Democrat-led policies will bring in who knows how many new Democrat-voting migrants to our country. Once this is allowed to occur, it is game over for our country. We will at that point in essence have a one-party system, which will give the Democrats the power they have been seeking to have complete control. They will then be able to enact any "policy" they desire. This is what has happened in California. People better wake up before it is too late. A lost America will be too far gone to be saved.

Borrowed from a friend.

“Have you noticed that the meaning of tolerance has shifted in recent decades? In the fifties and sixties (yes, I was around back then), tolerance meant putting up with a neighbor who played their radio a little too loud by the pool. It meant not overreacting when someone cut into your lane on the highway. It meant letting your teenage son wear mismatched clothes — and grow his hair longer than you’d like.

However, as Christian author William Watkins points out, 'Being tolerant never meant condoning immoral behavior, letting harmful beliefs go unchallenged, or permitting a person’s dangerous lifestyle to influence, much less be taught, to others. In those days we may have disagreed about what is true, but few challenged the bedrock conviction that "true" is the opposite of "false," and that truth does not tolerate untruth. We believed then that some beliefs and lifestyles promoted the common good while others undermined it.'

Today, the 'tolerant' person is wide open to other belief systems, truth claims, moral convictions, and lifestyle choices. He or she believes that 'whatever works for me is my truth' just as 'whatever works for you is your truth.' We should all just live and let live. This means that being tolerant today means not merely that we recognize another person’s right to have a belief different from our own, but it means we agree that all views are equally valid and all lifestyles equally appropriate.

The new tolerance is grounded in relativism. Relativism involves the idea that anything can be true for the individual, but nothing can be true for everyone. It is considered presumptuous to think one knows the truth for all people. The truly loving thing to do is to unquestioningly allow everyone to hold their own truth without challenge. THIS is the 'new tolerance'!

The scary thing is that this new version of tolerance has become the de facto mindset of Western culture.

May the good Lord help us!" -- post by my friend, author Ron Rhodes.

Imagine just for a second that , you and your family are middle class and lost everything in a so called Hurricane,your saving is very minimal because of the economy . Your government Kamala says FEMA is going to hand out 750.00 per family but first you have to qualify and apply for it ,before you get it. Your President says he donated all he can donate, it is now up to the American people to help.
Now imagine that you, for the last 4 years have watch 100 billion tax payers dollars go to Ukraine and just this week 17 billion dollars be given to 3 different countries, now imagine watching hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants get a free cell phone, an average of 2,400 a month on a debit card , food stamps and free health care and free housing.. NOW CAN you TELL ME they are for the American people. Asking for all the states affected by the hurricane. You may not like Trump but he donated 25 million dollars, brought a tanker of Gas and multiple semi trucks full of supplies. Started a Go fund me page that raised half a million dollars in 17 minutes and ask Elon musk to bring in starlink . Bottom line he showed up and did something. Like him or hate him . Actions matter.
Copied from a friend.