Trump vs. Twitter: An Interesting Legal Theory

Anyone remember back in 2018 when Trump got sued for blocking critics on Twitter?

The judge’s ruling against Trump was based on a key point. I’ll let Judge Buchwald explain.

We hold that portions of the @realDonaldTrump account — the “interactive space” where Twitter users may directly engage with the content of the President’s tweets — are properly analyzed under the “public forum” doctrines set forth by the Supreme Court, that such space is a designated public forum, and that the blocking of the plaintiffs based on their political speech constitutes viewpoint discrimination that violates the First Amendment.

This ruling was specific to @realDonaldTrump account, not Twitter generally, contrary to several confused snooze reports on the case. But it means Trump’s account is something special, subject to rules that don’t necessarily apply to other accounts.

Lately, Twitter has been blocking views of some of Trump’s tweets, based on content: Trump’s political speech.

If Trump blocking folks “constitutes viewpoint discrimination that violates the First Amendment,” what about Twitter doing just that on that special “designated public forum”?

I’d tweet this at @realDonaldTrump, but Twitter is permanently blocking me because I won’t delete a tweet they won’t let anyone see anyway (a link to a We The People petition; go figure).

Any real attorneys reading this who’d like to weigh in?

If you found this post useful, please consider dropping something in my tip jar. I could really use the money, what with ISP bills, rabbit feed, and general life expenses.Click here to donate via PayPal. (More Tip Jar Options)

I’ve got your ‘autonomy’ right here.

Seattle ‘autonomous zone’ has armed guards, local businesses being threatened with extortion, police say

Tennessee Gov. Lee says Nashville autonomous zone won’t ‘be tolerated

Minneapolis ‘autonomous zone’ blocked emergency response to assault, says victim’s wife: ‘We’re like captive here’

Here Comes the Chicago Effort at an Autonomous Zone, But Someone Didn’t Plan Very We

Protesters In Asheville, Portland, Nashville, And Chicago Try To Create Autonomous Zones. Police Aren’t Having It.

Sure.

---

au·​ton·​o·​mous | \ ȯ-ˈtä-nə-məs
1 having the right or power of self-government
2 existing or capable of existing independently

---

18 U.S. Code § 2383. Rebellion or insurrection
Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.

10 U.S. Code § 252 – Use of militia and armed forces to enforce Federal authority
Whenever the President considers that unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion against the authority of the United States, make it impracticable to enforce the laws of the United States in any State by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, he may call into Federal service such of the militia of any State, and use such of the armed forces, as he considers necessary to enforce those laws or to suppress the rebellion.

Have fun.

Added: Ah! And this morning…

DOJ Designates NYC, Portland, Seattle as ‘Anarchist’ Jurisdictions
New York City is one of three places that “have permitted violence and destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract criminal activities,” leading to its designation as an “anarchist jurisdiction,” the Justice Department said Monday.

If you found this post useful, please consider dropping something in my tip jar. I could really use the money, what with ISP bills, rabbit feed, and general life expenses.Click here to donate via PayPal. (More Tip Jar Options)

[whatever] Lives Matter Street Murals

I had a thought about those political messaging murals cities are letting folks paint on streets. You know, like this monster.

I think there are a couple of legal issues which idiots like DC’s Muriel Bowser haven’t considered. They would make for an interesting court challenge to these things.

You see, road markings are federally regulated. While states can fine tune their own standards, they still have to comply with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).

I have a sneaking suspicion those murals are not compliant.

Those standards are there for a reason: safety. And that brings us to next — related — issue. What kind of paint are those permanent murals done with? (As opposed to the washable poster paint the antiabortion messagers have been using.)

Just how slick do those murals get when it rains?

No doubt the personal injury ambulance-chasers lawyers are salivating over the thought of suing cities with deep taxpayer pockets, when/if folks start spinning out and crashing because some moron cough Bowser cough officially allowed folks to slicken the road.

If you found this post useful, please consider dropping something in my tip jar. I could really use the money, what with ISP bills, rabbit feed, and general life expenses.Click here to donate via PayPal. (More Tip Jar Options)

Pantifa: The Kneecap Solution

It would seem desirable to devise a system which would make sure, first, that the riot would stop; and second, that only the leaders would feel the weight of social disapproval.

Let us consider such a means – the 22-caliber rimfire rifle. This weapon, properly sighted and equipped with a noise suppressor, may be used with surgical delicacy to neutralize mob leaders without risk to other members of the group, without noise and with scant danger of death to the subject. A low-velocity 22 bullet in the lung will not knock a man down, and in these days of modern antisepsis it will almost never kill him if he can get to a hospital in a reasonable time. It will, however, absolutely terminate his interest in leading a riot.

— Jeff Cooper, To Ride, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth

While I did not agree with all of Cooper’s opinions, I did admire him. Some of his techniques and advice have become dated — decades on — but for his time he was at the leading edge, honing that edge. But other things he had to say are timeless. Like the concept expressed above.

As we saw in Kenosha, Wisconsin, rioters do settle down a bit once their intended targets put a few of them down. But I think a slight modification of Cooper’s suggestion would work, without events having to escalate to the Rittenhouse Solution level.

• .22 LR rifle
• Scope with night vision capability (since the scumbags seem to wait for cover of darkness)
• Standard or high velocity cartridges (here I differ from the Colonel)
• Suppressor
• Laser sight (you’ll see)
• Rooftop

In our present circumstances, the law enforcement sniper teams will be looking for the embedded organizers; the agitators. The coordinators on bikes, the guys with the Bluetooth earpieces. The ones handing out bricks. Directing the mob down a particular street. The guy pointing and shouting, “Over there! Get the fascist!” but whom never seems to act himself until the mob is fully engaged and he has cover. The professional riot managers. Yes, the Pantifa scum are that organized. They are in the crowds actively conspiring, encouraging, inciting, and participating in acts of violence. They are criminals; legitimate LE targets.

De-organize them.

When the snipers have ID’d the coordinating offenders, light them up with the laser sight. Give them a few seconds to notice. Given Pantifa’s use of green laser pointers, I recommend red lasers so they will know the difference.

Then kneecap them. Another point where I differ from Cooper.

I suspect that these organizing agitators will take the message after a few of them take knee damage. Simply lasering them may become sufficient deterrence; especially if they glance down and see a dozen dancing dots on their chests. If not, you still have a magazine full of cartridges.

After a few such incidents, just putting up posters of red-dotted knees may be amusing.

If you are concerned about the legality of such an action by police, check your state’s use of force laws. In my state, the use of deadly force is authorized not merely to defend your own life, but that of others, and to stop a forcible felony.

The aggravated assaults, arson, bombings, and destruction of buildings in the typical Pantifa riot are forcible felonies. Those laser pointers they use to to flash eyes? I investigated them; they are Class 3B lasers and can inflict permanent retinal damage; blindness. That is serious bodily harm; forcible felony. Laws varying, and this tactic may not be appropriate in your area.

If you found this post useful, please consider dropping something in my tip jar. I could really use the money, what with ISP bills, rabbit feed, and general life expenses.Click here to donate via PayPal. (More Tip Jar Options)

Adventures in Biased Judges, Biased Reporting

I’m so used to BS judgements out of insane courts — at every level — that I can’t make myself go read the filings in this case. Let’s just look at this report.

Judge invalidates Trump rollback of law protecting birds
A U.S. judge in New York has invalidated rule changes put in place by the Trump administration that scaled back a century-old law protecting most American wild bird species despite warnings that billions of birds could die as a result.

I’ll note that the AP simply accepts the claims that “billions” will die, without bothering to attribute the claim to anyone but the “reporter.” So the casual acceptance of the rest is no surprise.

U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni’s ruling Tuesday criticized the administration’s argument that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act only applied to the intentional killing of birds and not “incidental” killing from industrial activities. (emphasis added)

An objective judge — or reporter — could note that the Obama administration granted specific bird-kill exemptions to solar and wind power farms, so all the Trump admin did was offer equal protection under the law to all industries (will the eco-Nazis now sue the “renewable” power companies for mass killings of birds; especially bald and golden eagles?).

If the courts were sane/unbiased, one could also wonder what the fuck happened to mens rea, the principal that a person had to have criminal intent to be convicted of violating a law. Well, that one went out the window decades ago.

“It is not only a sin to kill a mockingbird, it is also a crime,” Caproni wrote in her ruling

Judge Caproni is an Obama appointee ruling against Orange-Man-Bad. So declaring in court that unintentional acts are sins is peachy. Why do I have the sneaking suspicion that the reporter — and the entire Dimwitocrat world — would be freaking out if a Trump judge threw out a Dim policy as “sin”?

Gaian concept of sin good. Christian concepts bad.

If you found this post useful, please consider dropping something in my tip jar. I could really use the money, what with ISP bills, rabbit feed, and general life expenses.Click here to donate via PayPal. (More Tip Jar Options)

A Conservative Majority

…my ass.

On Monday, the Supreme Clowns in black dresses effectively ruled that transgender “women” really are biological women, by finding their “identity” is valid and protected by discrimination law as “sex.”

That same day, that “conservative majority” band of idiots denied certiorari for every Second Amendment case that was pending. They haven’t heard a single one in nearly a decade.

And today, they ruled that DHS improperly ended the illegal DACA program — implemented by fiat, not by legislation or proper rulemaking under the Administrative Procedures Act –by not following the APA, and by not properly considering the feelz of the DACA illegal aliens.

This Court is so bad, the Babylon Bee can barely keep up with the Court of No Resort (for Constitutionalists). We’re another day closer to hunting season, damn it.

If you found this post useful, please consider dropping something in my tip jar. I could really use the money, what with ISP bills, rabbit feed, and general life expenses.Click here to donate via PayPal. (More Tip Jar Options)

Defund the Police?

To tell the truth, I favor that… in the long run. The problem is that you can’t get there from here. You have to go somewhere else first.

Back when I was still trying to write science fiction, the subject of how to maintain public order — “policing” — was one of my main themes. In my fictional universe, several options existed.

My characters arrived at those options by getting away from “here” in a few ways. Runaway inflation and heavy-handed policing (sound familiar?) led to more disorder. Civil disobedience on a large scale, followed by piecemeal rebellion. That was followed by actual deployment of military troops — including a attempted airstrike on US civilians. Full rebellion resulted from that, and the nation balkanized.

What was left of the United States was basically the northeastern seaboard states. The US went full totalitarian welfare/police state, with anything getting done through graft and bribes. One of my main — and possibly favorite — characters escaped from there, financing her way as a high-end teen escort. (This is where we’re currently headed.)

Macon, Georgia was pretty much cop-business as usual, with even more incompetence and inaction. What can you expect of a department that actually asks who your political and family connections are on the official job application? (I walked out without so much as putting my name on the app.)

Columbus, Ohio still had a police department, but its duties were limited to taking reports, collecting forensic evidence and witness statements, and running the jail. Actual investigations, and most apprehensions, were done by private parties; people involved or hired investigators. The police would sell case information to investigators. Exclusive access could be had for a higher price. (Probably the best model for the US, and what “policing” largely was until the nineteenth century.)

Most of my stories took place in space, where people generally left policing behind completely. They restarted with a clean slate, and opted for a civil process. Mostly; every habitat had its own ways, there was even a enforced people’s communist collective.

But overall, there were no laws. If someone was harmed, she worked it out with the offender, or filed a civil suit with an independent arbitrator, who is just a private person, not a government agent. If both offender and victim participate in arbitration, it’s binding. But if the alleged offender chooses not to play, so be it. The arbitrator may rule against him, but really can’t do much about it except make the offense very, very public with a notation that offender declined to make restitution. Ostracism is a big deal. One guy gets ostracized right out the airlock. Damn shame he’d pawned his pressure suit.

Dueling is rare, but happens. Security is personal, or hired security companies. Yes, some of them have nukes. Do not fuck with Ivan’s clients. Or, in the case of some clients, you might want to hope Ivan and family get to you first.

Of course, there were the aliens… whose ex-government had nuked its own citizens. They are not enamored of governments these days (take notes, Swalwell). There’s an unfinished story of the UN trying to deal with them…

At any rate, even at my most anarchocapitalistic phase, I never assumed humans are angels, and we could simply “defund the police” without a lot of trouble. If we do that now, we’ll get violent chaos.

But the totalitarian direction in which the government is headed will also force a violently chaotic reaction eventually. I don’t know what outcome we would arrive at. In my fiction, I could pick and choose events that drove society in the way I wanted it. Real life doesn’t work like that, no matter what our would-be social engineers think. They cannot impose their belief system on 328 million individuals. Whatever happens will be the averaged result of 328 million independent beliefs and actions; an unpredictable chaotic system.

If you found this post useful, please consider dropping something in my tip jar. I could really use the money, what with ISP bills, rabbit feed, and general life expenses.Click here to donate via PayPal. (More Tip Jar Options)

This why the IHME COVID-19 model is fraudulent

I mostly avoid the crappy IHME model now, but I happened to see a reference to it today. A quick comparison to reality made it very clear what they are doing.

This is IHME for Georgia, deaths per day; solid red is allegedly the real numbers, and the rest is projected. Note that their total deaths projection is actually fairly close to reality. But also note their curve.

IHME claims Georgia peaked at 100 deaths per day, and continues to have high spikes.

Now this is the actual deaths per day reported by Georgia. Deaths per day gradually increased, accelerated, peaked, and has been declining since mid-April. It peaked at 48.

Why are the numbers so different? Georgia’s graph shows daily deaths. IHME doesn’t; they save up days’ worth of reporting, then graph those days’ worth as occurring on one day. Thus, the total comes close to Georgia’s reality, but they get to generate continuing spikes that, when curve-fitted and projected, give a much higher and extended curve than reality. They “projected” 45 deaths for 4/29 and 4/30, based on that curve. Reality was 7 and 3, respectively.

Falsifying dates of death to generate continuing peaks is fraud. They’ve had plenty of time to look at the real data reported through multiple sources. If it was merely an error, they had plenty of time to correct it. They did not. They continue to use false data. They have no excuse for not noticing that they’re claiming a peak over twice as high as Georgia’s actual peak; 100 vs. 48.

Since they also know governments were using their model to make plans to deal with the outbreak, and knowingly provided — are still providing — a falsified model, I think a criminal investigation is warranted.

Added:For the slow, here’s a simplified example of how counting incidents on the wrong day skews the model. The vertical axis is Cases. The horizontal axis is Days.

In this example, we had ten total cases, with 1 case occurring per day. That is graphed in black. The curve is flat.

But using IHME’s methodology…

Day 1: They report 1 case.
Day 2: skipped
Day 3: They added days 2 and 3, and reported both on day 3.
Day 4: skipped
Day 5: skipped
Day 6: Added days 4, 5 and 6 together, and reported all on day 6.
Day 7: skipped
Day 8: skipped
Day 9: skipped
Day 10: Added days 7, 8, 9, and 10 together, and reported all on day 10.

A much different curve, showing cases increasing now. But the total number of cases is the same.

Fraud.

If you found this post useful, please consider dropping something in my tip jar. I could really use the money, what with ISP bills, rabbit feed, and general life expenses.Click here to donate via PayPal. (More Tip Jar Options)

 

Arrest & Charge These Scumbags Already

There was a killing recently in Brunswick, Georgia. It’s BS. And everyone seems to be is covering for the killer.

Black man running through Brunswick neighborhood shot, killed
No one disputes that the son of a former Brunswick District Attorney’s Office investigator shot and killed Ahmaud Arbery, but he was not charged because he claimed he was acting within the scope of a citizen’s arrest.

Travis McMichael has avoided charges not because he was making a valid citizen’s arrest. He was not charged because he’s connected to the good ol’ boy network. His father, Greg McMichael, an accomplice in the murder, is a former District Attorney investigator.

911 transcript:

McMichael: “I’m out here at Satilla Shores and there’s a black man running down the street.”

911 dispatcher: “I just need to know what he was doing wrong, was he just on the premises and not supposed to be?”

McMichael: “And he’s been caught on the camera a bunch before at night. It’s an ongoing thing out here.”

Even when asked directly, McMichael did not articulate any actual offense, no probable cause for an arrest, citizen’s or police.

According to the police report, McMichael was calling called for his son, Travis, who “grabbed his shotgun because they didn’t know if the male was armed or not.”

Police said the elder McMichael armed himself with his .357 handgun…

Planning with aforethought, they armed themselves. Without probable cause.

…and the two followed Arbery for two blocks before, according to the report…

They unnecessarily — without probable cause — followed the victim, placing themselves in their perceived danger.

McMichael shouted: “Stop, stop we want to talk to you.” They pulled up next to him and police said the former investigator’s son “exited the truck with a shotgun.”

Travis McMichael initiated the encounter, aggressively approaching the victim with a weapon.

McMichael told police Arbery then “violently attacked his son, and the two men started fighting over the shotgun…

No. An “attack” would have been Arbery approaching McMichael and initiating aggression. McMichael presented himself as a reasonably viewed armed threat. Arbery, if we even believe this account, defended himself.

If some stranger pulled up to me in a truck, shouting, then jumped out and came at me with a shotgun, I’ll sure as hell defend myself. And I won’t be unarmed.

In fact, I recall an incident several years ago. I was in the Air Force, TDY to Wright-Pat, and on an odd shift. For exercise, I went on walks through the surrounding neighborhood. One evening, a car pulled up. A man addressed me politely, identifying himself as a police officer. He and his partner got out of the vehicle without drawn weapons. They politely explained there had been burglaries in the area, and politely asked me a few reasonable questions to determine that I was not connected to them. They left. I went back to my hotel. No shouting, no guns drawn, no shooting. That’s not what these killers did.

Travis McMichael fired two shots, killing Arbery. Police said the McMichaels rolled Arbery over to see if he a weapon before. No weapon was found.

I’ve yet to see a photo of the shotgun, or any statement of make and model. Statistically, it’s most likely to be a pump-action shotgun. This suggests that Travis McMichael shot unarmed victim Arbery at near-contact range with a shotgun (i.e.- massive damage), racked the slide, aimed, and fired a second time. At an unarmed man, in an encounter he initiated himself.

All this because Arbery had been seen regularly jogging through the neighborhood, “a bunch before.” Without having witnessed Arbery commit a crime, they assumed he had burglarized someone else’s under-construction house. They weren’t even the alleged victims of that crime.

Without probable cause, they decided to pursue Arbery, armed themselves, got into a vehicle, chased down an unarmed man, and shot him to death.

Anyone not in the good ol’ boy network would have been arrested, charged with first degree murder, and have bond set in the multiple $100Ks.

If you found this post useful, please consider dropping something in my tip jar. I could really use the money, what with ISP bills, rabbit feed, and general life expenses.Click here to donate via PayPal. (More Tip Jar Options)

HOAs Behaving B/a/d/l/y/ Criminally

I’ve seen some bad HOA reports, but this one takes the cake house.

“As a result of your actions, we will be invoking section II, Article 4 of the Bylaws, which allows the Board to foreclose on any property that is in violation.
[…]
If you are an owner, you or your tenants must vacate the property by April 30, 2020. You will still be responsible for any liens on your property, including mortgages.

Attorneys, please weigh in. I think I see a few issues here.

1. First off, the eviction notice appears to violate Tennessee eviction law, which I understand requires allow the resident an opportunity to “cure” the alleged offense, not to mention certain time frames (and specific reasons which don’t seem to include working from home in an emergency).

2. The HOA will “foreclose”? The HOA is the mortgage holder? That seems unlikely, as buyers normally get their own mortgages from whomever will give them the best rate.

3. Now, if the HOA believes that working from home during a pandemic somehow damages the Association so badly that they are entitled to these homes in recompense, wouldn’t they need to file a lawsuit and win, first?

4. If the HOA is the mortgage holder, and can theoretically foreclose, even that must follow state and federal law. This appears not to.

5. If the HOA is simply deciding to take the home, leaving the owner of record on the hook for the mortgage — presumably so it can resell the home to another sucker — that would seem to my unlawyerly mind to be theft (the unauthorized taking) and fraud (selling someone else’s property to another party). Isn’t that massively criminal?

6. Assuming #5, isn’t this a an organization (the HOA company/corporation) conducting an organized criminal action? Looks like a RICO case to me.

OK, attorneys; tell me where and how I’m wrong. Or right.

If you found this post useful, please consider dropping something in my tip jar. I could really use the money, what with ISP bills, and general life expenses. And the rabbits need feed. Click here to donate via PayPal. (More Tip Jar Options)