Splendid Isolation

Not Revenge; A Reckoning

That lovely quote from the movie Tombstone  came to mind when I read that Kash Patel was confirmed as FBI Director by the Senate.

I hope, nay even expect that there’s going to be some kind of Mass Resignation Event among the Fibbie senior management — and there fucking well should be.

There has been a lot wrong with the various alphabet agencies who are nominally charged with looking after the American people, in that they seem to have misinterpreted their remit as “looking at” the American people, much in the way that an owl looks at a mouse.

The FBI has proven itself to be particularly at fault because they’ve gone after concerned parents, Catholics and who knows who else in a totally misdirected — and I use the word advisedly — identification of harmless folks like these as “enemies of the nation”.

How they might regard gun owners like myself we will not speak, because the actions of their vaunted SWAT teams speak for themselves.

So Kash, ol’ buddy, get in there and start rooting out the assholes — I’m pretty sure you know who they are — and don’t content yourself with just firing them;  prosecute all those worth prosecuting, just as they have unjustly done to otherwise-innocent people in the past.  (Ask the President how it feels.)

And while you’re there, shut down the stupid departments like Human Rights, not because the motives behind their creation were incorrect, but because the people managing them ended up using those motives as a pretext for harassing and indicting people in the most aggressive and venal manner.

It’s called “turning the tables”, and I can think of no worthier targets than the people who initiated and carried out those actions.  They have, in short, betrayed their public trust and caused the public to fear, loathe and despise them, and they deserve to be severely punished in consequence.

Let Slip The Dogs Of Law

Well now, lookee here:

Newly-minted Attorney General Pam Bondi has wasted no time, issuing directives that call for “aggressively enforcing criminal laws passed by Congress” and “vigorously defending presidential policies and actions on behalf of the United States against legal challenges.”

And on Thursday, Bondi made another big move, filing a lawsuit against Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois related to their so-called “sanctuary” laws.

Priceless.

“The challenged provisions of Illinois, Chicago, and Cook County law reflect their intentional effort to obstruct the Federal Government’s enforcement of federal immigration law and to impede consultation and communication between federal, state, and local law enforcement officials that is necessary for federal officials to carry out federal immigration law and keep Americans safe.”

Here’s what I’m seeing:

Sadly, though, she had to file the suit in Chicago — probably because she had to, although I’m pretty sure a court outside the city would give her better treatment — so it’s anyone’s guess what happens next.  But if the suit is tossed out, expect it to go to the Supremes.

Oh what fun.

Congress Playing Their Part

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.)

Snoops

Yeah, don’t fuck mess with Texas:

Texas has sued insurance provider Allstate, alleging that the firm and its data broker subsidiary used data from apps like GasBuddy, Routely, and Life360 to quietly track drivers and adjust or cancel their policies.

Allstate and Arity, a “mobility data and analytics” firm founded by Allstate in 2016, collected “trillions of miles worth of location data” from more than 45 million people, then used that data to adjust rates, according to Texas’ lawsuit. This violates Texas’ Data Privacy and Security Act, which requires “clear notice and informed consent” on how collected data can be used. A statement from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the suit is the first-ever state action targeting comprehensive data privacy violations.

How so?

According to Texas’ complaint (PDF), the data collected included “a phone’s geolocation data, accelerometer data, magnetometer data, and gyroscopic data, which monitors details such as the phone’s altitude, longitude, latitude, bearing, GPS time, speed, and accuracy.”

With that data—plus, in some cases, data from connected vehicles—Allstate could see when, how far, and for how long someone was driving, along with “hard braking events” and “whether a consumer picked up or opened their phone while traveling at certain speeds.”

Texas’ lawsuit claims that Arity incentivized—through “generous bonus incentives”—apps like GasBuddy, a gas price-tracking app, and Life360, which is intended to keep tabs on family members’ location, to “increas[e] the size of their dataset.” Under their agreements with app makers, Arity had “varying levels of control over the privacy disclosures and consent language” shown to app users, according to the complaint.

And now for the doublespeak:

“Arity helps consumers get the most accurate auto insurance price after they consent in a simple and transparent way that fully complies with all laws and regulations.”

But they’re not the only villains in this piece:

The suit also cites Allstate as gathering direct car use data from Toyota, Lexus, Mazda, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, and Ram vehicles.

And if these assholes shared data with Allstate, you can bet your house that they did so with other insurance companies too.

If you’re not into letting corporations do this to you:

…you may want to avoid any dealings at all with these bastards.  It’s not like Stellantis (Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati) are reporting a boom in sales, after all.

When the Texans win their suit, at it should, I would argue against fines because those bastards will just pass the cost into their customers and claim a tax deduction at worst.

What I would do as TxAG is get a list of all Texans with Allstate policies, and demand that Allstate provide free insurance to them for a period of time commensurate with the start date of Arity’s snoopery.

I know, that would just cause Allstate to cease operations in Texas.  That’s fine, too — take away access to the second-largest pool of drivers in the U.S.

Aarfy IRL – AGAIN

I cannot count the number of timers I’ve written about this scenario:

One of my favorite-ever literary passages is in Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, when Yossarian walks into a bedroom to discover that his lunatic navigator Aarfy has just murdered a prostitute by throwing her out the window.  While he’s remonstrating with Aarfy, the military police burst into the room — and arrest Yossarian for being AWOL.

The same thing has happened time and time again*.  And here’s yet another one to make your blood boil (as it did mine):

British police were called to a house after a neighbor heard screams. They found a young girl naked & drunk with 7 Pakistani men.

They arrested the girl for being drunk & convicted her. They reportedly didn’t even question the men.

Every single one of those cops should be taken to a windowless cell, tied to a chair and beaten with chains.  Followed by the same treatment for those seven asshole Pakis**.

This should also be seen in its larger context.  (Warning:  it’s really hard to read without an extreme RCOB*** occurring.


*Here. here and here are just three examples where I’ve written about this foul nonsense.

**I know very well that the term “Pakis” is offensive.  When it comes to these pedophiles, however, no descriptor is offensive enough.  Fuck ’em.

***Red Curtain Of Blood, which comes over your eyes when discovering massive bastardy and injustice.