SaysUncle

A disabled former lobsterman who shot an intruder after buying a gun to defend himself sued his landlord Monday over a policy that prohibits him from keeping a gun in his subsidized apartment.

Harvey Lembo, who uses a motorized wheelchair, was warned by his property management company that tenants are prohibited from having firearms after he shot an alleged burglar in the shoulder after five break-ins.

Didn't we already take this issue to court and win?

A purely private landlord could probably get away with it, but a publicly subsidized one can't.

Assuming the victim (that's the person whose apartment was broken into) has a clean record, we'll little never see a more sympathetic plaintiff for a case like this.

Wall Street Journal

The U.S., pursuing a nuclear arms agreement with Iran at the time, captured communications between Mr. Netanyahu and his aides that inflamed mistrust between the two countries and planted a political minefield at home when Mr. Netanyahu later took his campaign against the deal to Capitol Hill.

White House officials believed the intercepted information could be valuable to counter Mr. Netanyahu’s campaign. They also recognized that asking for it was politically risky. So, wary of a paper trail stemming from a request, the White House let the NSA decide what to share and what to withhold, officials said. “We didn’t say, ‘Do it,’ ” a senior U.S. official said. “We didn’t say, ‘Don’t do it.’ ”

This is exactly why people are concerned about such broad-based programs as the NSA runs without any respect for privacy. They are absolutely perfect for collecting political dirt, blackmail material, and opposition research. They suck for finding terrorists.

Boing Boing

There's no way to turn off the "recovery" feature that sends your disk encryption keys to Microsoft by default, without notice -- though you can (and should) ask Microsoft to forget the keys later.

If you are running a Microsoft operating system, particularly Windows 10, you do not own your computer. Microsoft does.

The Hill

Sen. Rand Paul is pushing for a vote to restrict President Obama's ability to enact new gun control regulations.
The Kentucky Republican, who is running for president, has introduced legislation that would decree any executive action on gun control that either infringes upon congressional authority or potentially violates the Second Amendment as "advisory only" until legislation that supported the action is passed by Congress... The legislation would also allow for any state official, member of Congress or person affected by an executive action on gun control to launch a civil lawsuit.

Anything Obama tries to do is already advisory only, particularly since even under this legislation it would need to infringe upon Congressional authority or the 2nd Amendment before being declared advisory (and who makes that determination exactly?), but the bit about providing a private cause of action for a lawsuit to challenge any such actions by the Obama Administration might come in very handy.

Of course, even if it gets through the Senate, Obama will veto it unless attached to something else he desperately wants.

Daily Caller

A Daily Caller News Foundation analysis of OpenSecrets.org data found Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees have backed Democrats over Republicans by 2-1 in their political donations over the last 25 years.

This shouldn't surprise anyone, as the Democrats are the party of government. But a lopsided internal political culture has consequences.

PJMedia

On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to an "assault weapons" ban in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. The ban includes "assault weapons" and rifles with large-capacity magazines. The ban was enacted in 2013, and will remain in effect.

Justices Thomas and Scalia dissented, and said the court should have taken the case

What I think is going on here is that the Supreme Court does not have the votes to overturn this law, even though it should be overturned. The Heller case only got 5 votes when challenging a total ban on firearms ownership. Scalia and Thomas wanted to take the case, which means at least one of the three remaining justices who we presume to be on our side is not willing to vote to overturn an assault weapons ban. Possibly 2 or even all 3 justices. Presumably no one appointed by Obama would strike down a gun ban and the older left-wing justices all voted against Heller.

Likely we are stuck with laws like this unless we can put more gun-friendly justices on the court.

Mashable

Two people were arrested in Belgium on suspicion they were planning attacks in the country's capital city, Brussels, during the holidays. The pair had planned to target the city on New Year's Eve, according to a statement from the country's federal prosecutor's office Tuesday.

Legal Insurrection

According to British newspaper Express, city of London and other European capitals have been warned about an imminent terror attack “on or before New Year’s Eve.” The security alert issued by an unnamed intelligence agency specifically mentions the likelihood of an attack on shoppers and revellers in crowded places around New Year’s Eve in a European city.

Judicial Watch

In the latest disturbing example of the government’s failure to root out foreign Islamic terrorists a young Somali man, who bragged about building rockets that could strike landing planes, worked at a major U.S. airport as a baggage handler.

This month the Somali, 20-year-old Abdirizak Mohamed Warsame, was charged with conspiracy to help the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS). He became the 10th Somali man to be charged with terrorism in Minnesota in a very short period of time.

New York Post

The cleric acting as spokesman for the San Bernardino mosque where terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook worshipped claims he barely knew Farook and didn’t know his terrorist wife at all. But phone records and other evidence uncovered by federal investigators cast doubt on his story.

The FBI has questioned the cleric, Roshan Zamir Abbassi, about his phone communications with Farook — including a flurry of at least 38 messages over a two-week span in June, coinciding with the deadly Muslim terrorist attack on two military sites in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Obviously we have nothing to be concerned about with this religion, right?

We got rid of ex-House-Majority-Leader Cantor by defeating him in a primary contest, and that defeat stopped amnesty in its tracks. That lead to Boehner's resignation to avoid losing a vote to retain his speakership. And now Paul Ryan is facing a primary challenge himself. The Republican establishment needs to learn that we can and will keep doing this until they start listening to us.

National Review

For those of you keeping track, the Democrats and their allies on the left have now: voted in the Senate to repeal the First Amendment, proposed imprisoning people for holding the wrong views on global warming, sought to prohibit the showing of a film critical of Hillary Rodham Clinton, proposed banning politically unpopular academic research, demanded that funding politically unpopular organizations and causes be made a crime and that the RICO organized-crime statute be used as a weapon against targeted political groups. They have filed felony charges against a Republican governor for vetoing a piece of legislation, engaged in naked political persecutions of members of Congress, and used the IRS and the ATF as weapons against political critics.

For most of my readers, being politically active is not just a hobby, it's a matter of basic self defense. The classic joke about the libertarian who wants to take over the government and leave you alone is one side of the coin, and the truth about the Democrat (and sometimes the Republican, but mostly the Democrat lately) who wants to take over the government and take over your life is the other side.

Daily Caller

A Minneapolis city councilwoman published the addresses, phone numbers and other personal contact information of people who took her to task for taking part in a Black Lives Matter protest that shut down the Mall of America on Wednesday.

Not only that, but Alondra Cano had the audacity to complain on social media that she was the one being targeted for abuse.

By her own logic, as an elected city councilwoman, she is the individual with power and thus cannot be a victim.

Instapundit

In a critical editorial, the conservative Dartmouth Review listed some of the epithets hurled by the protesters: “Fuck you, you filthy white fucks!” “Fuck you and your comfort!” “Fuck you, you racist shits!”

In addition, the Review reports that some of protesters became physically violent: “Men and women alike were pushed and shoved by the group. ‘If we can’t have it, shut it down!’ they cried. Another woman was pinned to a wall by protesters who unleashed their insults, shouting ‘filthy white bitch!’ in her face.”

My advice to the victims would be to press charges.

Those would be the people peacefully studying in the library before being physically assaulted and threatened, in case that wasn't clear.

Gateway Pundit

The poll shows thirteen percent of Syrian refugees have a completely positive opinion of ISIS with another ten percent having mixed feelings on the terror group, suggesting that nearly one quarter are open to recruitment by ISIS.

... and this is what they are willing to admit to when being polled.

Free Beacon

Officials from the OPM, Department of Homeland Security, and the Office of Management and Budget cancelled their scheduled appearance before a closed-door session of the House Armed Services Committee, citing issues with the briefing being "on the record."

It's like they think no one will or can hold them accountable for their failures. And they are probably right.

Clayton Cramer quoting Noble

"Societies have to think about how they're going to approach the problem," Noble said. "One is to say we want an armed citizenry; you can see the reason for that. Another is to say the enclaves are so secure that in order to get into the soft target you're going to have to pass through extraordinary security."

The problem with the secure enclaves approach that is usually taken first and foremost by government officials is that only a very few people can remain in a "secure enclave" at all times, and they do that by bringing their secure enclave with them everywhere they go. If you have an effectively unlimited budget and authority (see the President and the Secret Service) this can work reasonably well. But you obviously can't protect everyone that way, and terrorist attacks don't have to reach high-value targets to spread terror. Even if you extend your enclaves to cover "important targets" like large sporting events or concerts, it's difficult to stop an attack with a few security guards and a metal detector. You just end up shifting the starting point of the attack.

The only response to this threat that actually makes ordinary people safer in their daily lives is allowing ordinary people to carry arms in their daily lives.

Ars Technica

Although the data and methods he requested are publicly available, and NOAA scientists have provided explanations regarding the latest update, Rep. Smith wants to comb through their e-mails in order to uncover the political influence he assumes must exist. NOAA has taken the position, as other scientific organizations have in the past, that deliberative communications between scientists should be protected from fishing expeditions, and has so far refused to comply.

So, what does Lois Lerner have in common with the NOAA? They both don't want Congress to see their emails, apparently. And I'm not surprised: the last time we got the chance to look at the unfiltered emails from climate scientists, we found out that prominent climate scientists were using "tricks" to "hide declines" and pressuring scientific journals to refuse to publish papers from skeptics, among many other questionable tactics.

Openness to public scrutiny is an important hallmark of scientific integrity. That these "scientists" are reluctant to let us see the kitchen where they cook the data suggests that we shouldn't be eating it.

The Hill

A coalition of green groups has filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new smog rules.

The legal challenge, filed by the Sierra Club, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Appalachian Mountain Club and the National Parks Conservation Association, argues that the EPA’s surface-level ozone standard of 70 parts per billion is too weak to protect public health.

Here's how the trick works.

First, the EPA decides it wants to regulate something new, or tighten regulations on something it already regulates.

They pay a bunch of university scientists with similar political leanings to do studies on that topic, and since the scientists agree with the EPA politically and understand how the game is played, the results support whatever the EPA is trying to regulate.

The EPA then issues new regulations and shepherds them through the public comment process by publishing propaganda on social media sites urging environmentalists to post favorable comments on their proposed regulation. These regulations are carefully calculated to get the camel's nose under the tent without invoking the obvious risks of actually bringing the whole camel into the tent.

The anti-industrial Luddite lobbying groups that claim to be environmentalists then initiate a lawsuit against the EPA, claiming that the new regulations are not strong enough. They cite the same scientific studies that the EPA originally funded.

The EPA then settles the lawsuit. The terms of the settlement require the EPA to issue tighter regulations that are difficult (being the result of a legal settlement rather than the normal process) to reverse. The EPA chooses to settle rather than fight because the EPA wanted the tighter regulations all along; it just wanted them in a way that would fly under the radar and make it difficult for Congress and the President to change (should either entity actually want to). The terms of the settlement also require the EPA to pay the legal fees of the Luddites, meaning the cost to the environmental pressure group is basically nothing. They can probably fundraise on the basis of the lawsuit, too.

The result: absurdly tight environmental standards based on junk science and environmental special interests without the involvement of the public, the Congress, or the President. Because Congress did not need to pass a law and the President did not need to sign the law, both are politically insulated from the consequences. Because the appropriate political process for changing the law was not followed, the public was not involved in the debate and is likely not even aware -- unless they follow the news closely as I do -- that the rules are being changed.

That's not how our constitutional republic is supposed to work.

Washington Times

“The federal government has enacted nine specific categories of persons, who, through their actions and omissions and after a rigorous legal course, can be deemed to have forfeited their privileges under the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. Being a named person on a ‘terrorist watch list’ is not a federal statutory disqualifying factor, nor should it be,” Ms. Capanna said in the complaint.

“Permanent deprivation of a fundamental civil right cannot and should not occur because something as small as an alleged, anonymous tip places an individual in a secret database managed by the attorney general, the FBI, and/or the TSC to which the individual has no right of access and no method of recourse,” she added.

Note that they have been doing this check since 2004 and it has not stopped any terrorist attacks. The lawsuit was filed by a gun rights group (Gun Owners of America), not "suspected terrorists".

Ultimately, I suspect the courts will claim that anyone not denied by the check will have no standing to challenge it. That's the sort of dodge they have used for years to protect the "national security" programs that watch everyone and do little about it.

Patterico's Pontifications

BERNIE SANDERS: Absolutely. In fact, climate change is directly related to the growth of terrorism. And if we do not get our act together and listen to what the scientists say you’re gonna see countries all over the world– this is what the C.I.A. says, they’re gonna be struggling over limited amounts of water, limited amounts of land to grow their crops. And you’re gonna see all kinds of international conflict. But of course international terrorism is a major issue that we’ve got to address today. And I agree with much of what– the secretary and– and the governor have said. Only have one area of– of disagreement with the secretary. I think she said something like, “The bulk of the responsibility is not ours.” Well, in fact, I would argue that the disastrous invasion of Iraq, something that I strongly opposed, has unraveled the region completely. And led to the rise of Al Qaeda– and to– ISIS. Now, in fact, what we have got to do– and I think there is widespread agreement here– ’cause the United States cannot do it alone. What we need to do is lead an international coalition which includes– very significantly– (UNINTEL) nations in that region are gonna have to fight and defend their way of life.

Actually he goes one step further. He claims climate change is responsible for terrorism.

The Dems in their presidential primary have been pushing the Australian gun control model as something we should implement in the US. The NRA explains how that would work out.

Hat tip to Weerd Beard.

Washington Times

The student body president at University of Missouri has apologized for spreading false rumors about a “confirmed” instance of Ku Klux Klan members on campus.

Payton Head, who is black, warned students on Facebook Tuesday to “stay away from windows in residence halls,” because the “KKK has been confirmed to be sighted on campus.” He also purported to be “working with” the University of Missouri Police Department (MUPD), the state police and National Guard over the alleged threat.

You know, this came out the day after the Paris attacks... but I am going to put it on a time delay to ensure that it isn't lost in the shuffle. I'm helpful that way.

The case is challenging Chicago's regulations on shooting ranges.

Dave Hardy has the details. Or you can listen for yourself.

On the whole, I think the judges focused on good points, and a positive outcome seems likely.

I have to admit this was a side of Cruz I hadn't seen before. But I like it.

The Daily Beast

A group calling themselves the Amherst Uprising listed 11 demands they want enacted by next Wednesday. Among them is a demand that President Biddy Martin issue a statement saying that Amherst does “not tolerate the actions of student(s) who posted the ‘All Lives Matter’ posters, and the ‘Free Speech’ posters.” Going further, the students demand the people behind "free speech" fliers be required to go through a disciplinary process as well as “extensive training for racial and cultural competency.”

It's almost ironic. The liberal and progressive professors trained their students to see racism and every other ism they can think of everywhere, and to speak up about it. So when the students start to see those things on the very campus where they are being conditioned to react that way, well, those educational institutions are reaping what they sow.

But those students won't stay in college forever; they will eventually leave and enter the real world. Then we will really have a problem, because they will vote for fascism.