Rant

The United States of America v. New York State

You might have heard that the DoJ is suing Hochul and James. This is not quite true. They are being sued in their official capacity. So the Governor, Attorney General, and head of the DMV of New York state are being sued.

What is the suit about?

New York will give a license to illegal aliens. I am not sure how that works, but they do.

The license indicates that the person is an illegal alien. As an illegal alien, they have extra rights under New York law.

In particular, the “Green Light” law requires the DMV to inform the illegal alien anytime the feds request information about them from the DMV.

In 2019, New York amended its Vehicle and Traffic Law to include a provision known as the “Green Light Law.”
See N.Y. Veh. & Traf. § 201.12. The Green Light Law generally bars the sharing of New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (“DMV”) records or information (e.g., addresses, vehicle registrations, identification photos) with federal immigration agencies. See id. § 201.12(a). And it requires New York’s DMV Commissioner to promptly tip off any illegal alien when a federal immigration agency has requested his or her information. See § 201.12(b). As its supporters and sponsors made clear, the Green Light Law was passed to directly impair the enforcement of the federal immigration laws in New York. And those lawmakers have achieved their objective.

Things are happening.

Business concept Strategy of goldenf Chess Game, 3d rendering.

4D Chess?

Never attribute to malice, that which can be adequately explained by stupidity, Never interrupt your enemy when they are making a mistake., Your enemy is not stupid.

In 2016, I was listening to Ben Shapiro, he had a hate on for Trump. He would often say something to the effect, “The people who think Trump is playing 4D chess are wrong.”

I think I liked his analysis better when he was anti-Trump. He is all in this time around.

I do think that Trump was attempting to play chess during his first term. Unfortunately, people kept taking his pieces and knocking over the board. He lost.

Trump 2.0 is moving fast. He is moving so fast that the left can’t keep up. We can’t keep up. I wake up, go on X and look for what happened in the last 8 hours. And I’m often surprised.

As Second Amendment activists, we know exactly how the game will be played. We know that states that are anti-gun are going to pass regulations to infringe on The People. We know that the rogue lower courts will rule in favor of the state. We know that any relief will be blocked. We know that it will take years to get even one case decided.

Since June 2022, we have not seen a single 2A win. Every win in the lower courts has been halted at the circuit level. Every “temporary restraining order” has been upheld against us. Every preliminary injunction has been stayed, against us.

We have not won a single battle yet.

That doesn’t mean we aren’t winning. It means that this is a war, not a battle. We have to fight. We shall go to the end. We shall fight in the Ninth, we shall fight in the Seventh and Second, we shall fight in the Forth, we shall fight to the Supreme Court. We shall never surrender. With apologies to Winston Churchill.

Trump 2.0 came into office with a bang. The left was working hard to show a “peaceful transfer of power”, so they could club the right with the events of J6th.

But Donald hit the ground running. I believe he signed over 200 Executive Orders on his first day. Held multiple press conferences and attended a ball. I’m tired just thinking about his day.

There were surprises in those Executive Orders. The biggest for me was that everything was done right. When he announced the formation of DOGE, I was skeptical.

I “knew” that it would be challenged and DOGE would be devolved because it didn’t come through Congress.

I was wrong. He out played me as I looked over his shoulder. He didn’t create DOGE out of thin air. He renamed an existing agency. He then told the new agency to go do their job, with Elon leading it.

The promises he made, I expected to take months to accomplish. He was keeping promises within minutes of taking office. And not in ceremonial ways.

He issued an Executive Order giving the US AG 30 days to report what to do about the anti-2A situation within the Federal government. Last month, I would have considered this to be a shot fired over the bow of the enemy. I would have expected results sometime in late 2026.

Today, I expect the report to hit his desk in 20 some days. I expect actions to happen the same day. This is the speed that Trump is moving at.

As I said, in the Second Amendment advocacy space, we know what is going to happen. How do we know? We’ve seen it too many times in the past.

Trump 2.0 is out playing the left in so many areas. Why should I assume he messed up with these court cases?

When the state is fighting The People, they want things to move as slowly as possible.

The case in New York was filed at 9pm on Friday. The TRO was in place by 1AM Saturday morning. The TRO was modified by 5PM Monday.

Having set out the limits, the Trump administration has provided documentation to the court by 4PM on Tuesday to make sure that DOGE people will still have access. They have taken the “loophole” opening and driven a train through it.

They are obeying the letter of the TRO while doing what needs to be done. They are preparing to take this to the next level.

I believe they will attempt to combine multiple cases from rogue courts, headed by political provocateurs. These combined cases will be taken straight to the Supreme Court.

To put a since of speed on this, the case I’m following is averaging 10 new docket entries per day. At this pace, I should be tired of this case in the next 2 days.

Portrait of a young businessman with finger on his lips

Clearances

Every piece of information the government or military processes has a classification level assigned to it.

Currently, the federal government lists four levels of clearances that are associated with classification levels.

The other level is “No Clearance”.

Information that is classified as “Confidential” could cause damage to national security if disclosed. Note the weasel word “could”. The definition will often add “without authorization”.

This is the “lowest” classification. There are really two other levels below this.

There is For Official Use Only (FOUO) which is sometimes called Sensitive Unclassified.

This is information that anybody working at a government site might be exposed to. It may not carry any markings. So if you were to see a list of SSN, you don’t have to be told that those are Sensitive Unclassified or FOUO.

This is the same in the health care industry or data processing industry. By this, I mean that there are laws in place that protect people from sharing my personal information. My doctor can’t share my health information. I can’t share your name or email information, if I collect it via a credit card payment.

This doesn’t mean that people aren’t stupid. At one government installation I used to work at, they had a recycling program for paper. You could take used printer paper home to use for projects and stuff. Think of using it in the bottom of a bird cage.

The head of the installation put an end to it when he picked up something at a local shop, wrapped in used paper. The paper was from the installation and had SSN plus wages printed on it.

By the time I got to the installation, we had industrial shredders. Every piece of paper that would have gone in the garbage was fed through the shredders.

What does this mean in terms of the DOGE team? If they are properly employed and tasked to do the work they are doing, they have all the clearances they need to see FOUO and Sensitive, Unclassified material. They don’t need a clearance to see and work with that data.

As soon as we move to information that is classified, certain things become true. First, it is supposed to be marked.

This is one of the issues with the Hilary emails. She had information on her private server that had no markings, which came from classified sources. Those classified sources were marked.

In addition, she was informed that the source of that information was classified, and the information was classified, regardless of markings.

In other words, if I observe a weapons test and I see something that I know is or will be classified, I must treat it as classified. Even if it is not “marked”.

So information is classified. It is classified by level. Just because you have a clearance, it doesn’t mean that you have access to the information.

You must also have a need to know.

I, personally, got racked over the coals by one Army Officer and then got to watch our security officer rake him over the coals. The difference being that the Army Officer could have had lots worse happen to him.

He was in an area that implied he had a clearance. I knew he had a clearance. I even knew what level he had. It was higher than mine, at the time. He asked to see some classified information and I refused.

For this, I was raked over the coals by this officer. I told him that I had to have confirmation from my security officer that he had a need to know.

He stormed out, came back with my security officer. He explained. The security dude asked if the officer had it right. I said “yep.” The security dude then ripped the officer a new one.

The army officer had to have a need to know. He did. But I don’t get to make that determination. Only authorized people can do that. One such authorized person was my security officer.

Above Confidential is Secret, above that is Top Secret, and above that is Top Secret, Sensitive Compartmented Information.

To be granted any clearance, you need to be vetted. That requires you to fill out several invasive forms. These are then used to start a background check. How through these background checks are depends on the level of clearance being requested.

Your clearance doesn’t belong to you. It belongs to the entity that wants you to have a clearance. That entity must have a clearance. The entity requests that you be granted a clearance. Your entity then gets the paperwork from you which is then handed over to the investigators.

When you are granted your clearance, your entity will be informed. Your entity will have a security officer at the least and may have an entire office dedicated to handling clearances.

My entity was Cray Research. Once their security office was informed I had received my clearance, they informed the security office where I was employed. At that point, I had a clearance. And nobody would have given me a bit of classified information.

The people I worked directly with were told I had a clearance by their security office. The people I worked indirectly with I told. They then verified with their security office.

When I left that government installation, my clearance still existed. It was “owned” by Cray Research. My clearance didn’t mean anything because I wasn’t at a government installation.

When I went to different government locations, where I had a need to know, my security people sent the proper security magic to the locations where I was going. This allowed me to see what I had a need to see.

When I left Cray Research, my clearance still existed. Cray Research no longer owned it. Somebody in the government had control over it.

When I joined a different company, they put in a request for my clearance, and it was granted because it already existed.

Ok. Done with me.

What this means is that the people that DOGE is using could have had clearances because of other projects they had worked. When they started working for DOGE, their clearances were either transferred to DOGE or their entity informed DOGE of what clearances they had.

So this nice young man of 20 or so wants to inspect a computer system at CFPB. The administration says, “Hell no, you don’t have the clearances to see our systems because you might see our data.”

The young man calls his security office and has them transmit the clearances to CFPB security. “Call your security office, they will verify that I have the clearances to access the systems and the data.”

The administrator, having lost the first battle, says, “You don’t have a need to know.”

The young man presents the orders he has been given him by the boss of CFPB and that is satisfied, after verification.

That’s how clearances work.

Now, the current NPC talking point is that this young man is unelected, reports to Elon, and as such will access data he shouldn’t and then use it or leak it.

When you hear this, you should translate it to: “Are you saying the FBI and other agencies can’t do a background check? That this young man with clearances shouldn’t have them? What agency or person are you accusing of granting a clearance to somebody that can’t be trusted?”

Yeah, I’ve about had it with Democratic(NPC) talking points.

Exercisings the Powers

If you have had the misfortune of listening to the democrats rant about “constitutional crisis” or “illegal actions”, it is time to take a long hard look at what Donald Trump is actually doing.

I believe that one of the problems that Trump 1.0 had was that he came into office thinking it was another corporate takeover. Something he had done multiple times. He brought his lawyers with him.

Those lawyers were not prepared for the conflict, the war that was going to be waged against Trump.

Having spent the last few years reading court cases, listening to lawyers pontificate about cases, I have learned that there are different types of lawyers. Some are good at one thing and horrible at others.

Trump 1.0’s people were not ready to take on the swamp.

Trump 2.0 has hit the ground running. And he is trolling his opposition like the master he is.

So consider this, as a state lawyer, Trump has no power to fire Letitia James. She is not within the chain of command.

On the other hand, for her to do her job, she needs access to federal resources.

Trump revoked her security clearances. He has also banned her from all Federal buildings.

Her fangs have just been pulled.

He is yanking clearances left and right. This is a good thing. The less access these people have, the less damage they can do to our country.

Consider these two posts:

If you read the comments, you can see exactly how I feel. This is what we voted for.

Here is the same information, posted by a democrat.

We Can’t Help Winning

Being a little short of ideas today, I went to the well again. X never fails to deliver.

I have seen so many lists of Republican wins that when this showed up in my feed, I just read it.

And what I read sounded like a win to me. I went to see which of the people I was following posted this wonderful list.

It was David Hogg. He posted this thinking it was a win. He is the gift that just keeps on giving.

Yes, the feature image is AI generated. Grok made it for me.

Somehow, they managed to talk for 30 hours straight in a 24-hour day.

It is unconstitutional to create a law targeting a person.

The acting secretary of Education will give the letter all the attention it is worth. About nothing.

They admit it is just a delay tactic.

Good, let’s find out if they should be receiving funds, if they are supposed to receive funds, let’s get the money flowing again. If they aren’t supposed to be receiving funds, great! We’re done.

We win.

Another Win: Protecting Second Amendment Rights

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1. Purpose. The Second Amendment is an indispensable safeguard of security and liberty. It has preserved the right of the American people to protect ourselves, our families, and our freedoms since the founding of our great Nation. Because it is foundational to maintaining all other rights held by Americans, the right to keep and bear arms must not be infringed.

Sec. 2. Plan of Action. (a) Within 30 days of the date of this order, the Attorney General shall examine all orders, regulations, guidance, plans, international agreements, and other actions of executive departments and agencies (agencies) to assess any ongoing infringements of the Second Amendment rights of our citizens, and present a proposed plan of action to the President, through the Domestic Policy Advisor, to protect the Second Amendment rights of all Americans.
(b) In developing such proposed plan of action, the Attorney General shall review, at a minimum:
(i) All Presidential and agencies’ actions from January 2021 through January 2025 that purport to promote safety but may have impinged on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens;
(ii) Rules promulgated by the Department of Justice, including by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, from January 2021 through January 2025 pertaining to firearms and/or Federal firearms licensees;
(iii) Agencies’ plans, orders, and actions regarding the so-called “enhanced regulatory enforcement policy” pertaining to firearms and/or Federal firearms licensees;
(iv) Reports and related documents issued by the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention;
(v) The positions taken by the United States in any and all ongoing and potential litigation that affects or could affect the ability of Americans to exercise their Second Amendment rights;
(vi) Agencies’ classifications of firearms and ammunition; and
(vii) The processing of applications to make, manufacture, transfer, or export firearms.

Sec. 3. Implementation. Upon submission of the proposed plan of action described in section 2 of this order, the Attorney General shall work with the Domestic Policy Advisor to finalize the plan of action and establish a process for implementation.

Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

Protecting Second Amendment Rights

A Book about DEI diversity, equity and inclusion and paper figurines.

What does DEI mean?

What he is saying is that the only people who are competent to run anything in this country are white men … why did he come out so quickly to attack women and Black people for ruining the FAA? He did that bc he is very vulnerable. He has some big questions to answer bc the FAA has been in chaos since he took over. Elon Musk, his co-president, forced out the FAA administrator … this could be a coverup.
— Chris Murphy

Trump’s statement was questioning DEI.

He, and many of us on the right, believe that DEI means hiring unqualified people. If the criteria for hiring includes anything that is something about the person which is immalleable, then it is unacceptable.

Years ago, we hired a woman to do technical writing. Having read some of her non-technical work, I expected this would work out. When she started submitting her work to me, I red penned it.

This hurt her feelings.

It hurt her feelings so much that she went to HR to complain about how mean I was to her.

The answer, use a green pen.

She wasn’t getting any better. My partner and I had a lunch meeting to discuss what to do with her.

She had graduated from law school but had failed the bar.

He was terrified, rightly so, that she would sue us if we fired her. We were afraid that she would use her status as a “woman” to claim that she was fired because she was a woman, not because she couldn’t do the job.

We agreed to move her to a different part of the company, where she would not do as much harm. It didn’t really help.

There was a lot more having to do with her, up to and including hiring a new HR person to fire her without fear.

She wasn’t hired because she was female, she was kept on because she was female.

At that time, we would have loved to have hired a black, female, physically disabled, capable person. Why? Because all the highly skilled positions in our company were white males. Those were the people who applied, those were the people that had the merit. Those were the people we hired.

Affirmative Action and DEI have caused significant harm to our country. Removing it from our culture is a good thing.

Chris Murphy says the quiet part out loud, and doesn’t even realize it.

He immediately went to “stopping DEI” is an attack on women and blacks. He is admitting that he believes that women and black cannot qualify when there is a merit-based hiring policy in place.

This is why only leftists believe that minorities, PoC are to stupid or lazy or broke to be able to get a voter ID.

NPC’s have the script

For the past week, my feed has been filled with democrat hacks spewing their hate and lies.  This isn’t a good representation.  Why not?  Because yesterday I read the same words on a dozen tweets from high-profile democrat hacks.

 

It’s the Little Things, ICE at work

For the last 4+ years, I’ve been hearing about the horrible things that illegal aliens have been doing. Rape, murder, kidnapping, child rape, taking over apartment complexes.

The “eating the pets” might be true, or it might not.

The joke of “there are no stray cats near the Chinese Restaurant” has a reason.

What made me sick was the lack of response by law enforcement. There were politicians who showed up to say, “Nothing to see here.” There were politicians who showed up to beg law enforcement to do something.

What didn’t show up were the cops.

Three days into Trump 2.0 and it is obvious that ICE knew where to go and whom to pick up. Outstanding!

Listening to neighbors expressing loud gratitude to the cops is another good sign. They would not be making a sound if they thought those illegals would be back before dark.

I’m liking Trump 2.0.

The Babylon Bee Wins Again

I catch the Babylon Bee now and again, and they’ve come up with some really hysterical stuff. When I saw this video, however, I just cringed.

Can I use my safeword to avoid listening to the new drivel? Ouch. The fact that the BB had to put commentary at the bottom was… terrifying.