EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDERS: FURTHER EROSION OF THE SECOND AMENDMENT IN THE EMPIRE STATE, AS ENVISIONED BY GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO

While Congressional and State Democrats and Centrist Republicans fret over and complain about President Donald Trump’s lawful immigration enforcement actions, directed at tens of thousands of aliens attempting illegal entry across our Nation's Southern Border, these same members of Congress and legislators in State Government are no less busy, albeit at the moment ever so quietly, at work machinating to deprive American citizens’ of their sacred Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. It is singularly odd that Congressional and State legislators and various State and Government officials and media commentators of a liberal bent bemoan what they describe, with a rhetorical flourish, as Border Patrol agents “stripping (or ripping) children from the arms of migrant Moms and Dads” who, for all that, when one stops to consider, have dared enter our Nation illegally. And, it is equally odd that these same legislators and federal Government officials and leftist media commentators wrongly and unabashedly slur federal ICE agents for simply doing their job, for the benefit of the citizens of this Country, and at considerable risk to their own lives, arresting illegal aliens who—showing contempt for our laws, having  illicitly entered our Country and having embedded themselves in our Nation, and who having further compounded their criminal actions by failing to report to the Courts for their deportation hearing—dare argue that these criminals have a moral and legal right to remain lawfully in our Country. And, third, these leftist legislators, leftist Government officials and leftist mainstream media types attempt, outrageously, to inflame public passion over HHS handling of illegal alien children and adults. But, these illegal aliens have dared to skirt our immigration and naturalization laws by entering our Country illegally. These leftist legislators and leftist Government officials and leftist news reporters and commentators ludicrously liken HHS detention of illegal aliens to concentration camp internment, yet, at once fail to acknowledge one inescapable, indisputable fact: American Government officials have not rounded up illegal aliens, spiriting them out of their native Countries, forcing them into detention in the United States.  No! These aliens came illegally to our Country through their own volition. They are, then, by any reasonable consideration, hardly in a position to contest their less than five star hotel treatment.Yet, despite, arguing for the existence of rights and liberties these illegal aliens simply do not have, and never have had--rights and liberties they would nonetheless lavishly bestow on illegal aliens--these sanctimonious leftist Congressional and State legislators, and leftist federal Government officials, and leftist media types, surprisingly, do not demonstrate equal concern for protecting the unalienable and fundamental right of the American people to keep and bear arms. We see just the opposite to be the case. These leftist Congressional and State legislators work strenuously, tirelessly to strip or rip away a sacred right of the American people, codified clearly and succinctly in the U.S. Constitution. And, our free Press, constantly heralding the right to spout dangerous nonsense—a right, just the same, protected under the First Amendment, constantly, consistently echo the work of these leftist Congressional and State legislators, proclaiming, and arguing for, the imposition of ever more restraints on the citizen’s exercise of his or her Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Indeed, some among the media's commentators, like the New York Times' Op-Ed Columnist, Bret Stephens, even argue, outrageously and insidiously, for outright de jure repeal of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution—even though it is only through the preservation of and through the continued force and efficacy of the fundamental, sacred, and natural right codified in the Second Amendment that the ultimate, failsafe check by the People, on a runaway autocratic Government, exists to impose accountability on a Government that might run amok.

LEFTISTS PERCEIVE THE EXISTENCE OF RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES, ACCRUING TO ALIEN PEOPLES, THAT SIMPLY DO NOT EXIST AND, AT ONE AND THE SAME TIME, DARE TO DENY THE EXISTENCE OF THE MOST SALIENT FUNDAMENTAL, NATURAL RIGHT OF THE AMERICAN CITIZEN THAT CLEARLY, AND LITERALLY DOES EXIST, AS MANIFESTLY CODIFIED IN THE SECOND AMENDMENT OF THE BILL OF RIGHTS OF THE NATION’S CONSTITUTION.

In point of fact no non-citizen can assert, as a matter of right, a bald claim to reside in our Nation. Still, many individuals in Government, in the mainstream media, in entertainment, in liberal and socialist groups, along with “elitist” internationalists, assert that virtually anyone who seeks to reside in our Nation has the right to do so even when no such right exists either in our Constitution or in our Nation’s Statutes. At one and the same time these same leftists exclaim vociferously, incessantly, and inconsistently that parts of our Nation’s Constitution ought to be and can be patently ignored, even where the rights are etched firmly in stone.A collectivist mentality infects the airwaves. Collectivists have carefully orchestrated a campaign of propaganda, a campaign designed to divest a Nation’s people of their cultural heritage and history, of their sense of uniqueness and pride. These destroyers of the Nation State utilize a flexible sense of morality, predicated on utilitarian axioms that proceed from the notion that what is in the best interests of the world’s multitude, overrides what is in the best interests of the citizens of a Nation; and that what is deemed to be right, and fitting, and good, and fair, and just, in accordance with collectivist ideology, overrides the laws of a Nation; overrides a Nation’s Constitution; overrides the very needs, rights, personal safety, and sanctity of the individual citizen of a Nation.Collectivists do not like the fact that our Nation is an independent sovereign Nation State and that our Nation, as an independent sovereign Nation, operates through a set of concrete laws, and through a Constitution that exists as the supreme Law of the Land. The U.S. Constitution and the laws that Congress enacts are not subject to acceptance or rejection on a whim, predicated, ostensibly, on a collectivist notion of what constitutes correct action and what constitutes eggregious action. To deny the truth of this statement is to accept in its stead, a state of lawlessness, of anarchy. It is this lawlessness, this anarchy, that the destroyers of our Nation seek, even as they disingenuously and insidiously claim to defend our Constitution and the laws of the Nation. Consider, for example, the confounding, bizarre Collectivist message that proclaims a desire to destroy, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). And through the softening of our Nation’s laws and of our Nation’s Constitution, we, ourselves, become weakened, malleable. In the end, a new international world order, overseeing the conduct of all Nation States, would predominate, and our own free Republic would, in fact, not merely in name, cease to exist.Contrary to those dissemblers of our Nation, our Constitution is not to be toyed with. Our Country ceases to exist but for our Constitution. The United States Supreme Court made patently clear in the seminal immigration law case, United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez, 494 U.S. 259, 270; 110 S. Ct. 1056, 1063; 108 L. Ed. 2d 222, 236; 1990 U.S. LEXIS 1175, that: “The United States is entirely a creature of the Constitution. Its power and authority have no other source. It can only act in accordance with all the limitations imposed by the Constitution” “[and that] for better or worse, we live a world of nation-states in which our Government must be able to ‘function effectively in the company of [other] sovereign nations.’” 494 U.S. at 275; 110 S. Ct. at 1066; 108 L. Ed. 2d at 239. President Donald Trump understands this limitation and accepts this limitation and operates within the confines of our laws and our Constitution. And, by the same token, President Trump understands his duty, as Chief Executive of our Nation as an independent, Sovereign Nation-State, to maintain the integrity of our Nation’s Borders.Unfortunately there are all too many members of Congress and in the State Legislatures who allow raw emotion to cloud their judgment. They remonstrate against the President even as he operates within the stricture of Article 2, Section 3 of the Constitution to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”Emotion must never override nor cloud reason. Collectivist notions of morality are not and never have been a justifiable reason for ignoring the authority of and stricture of Constitutional precepts. Yet, Democrats and Centrist Republicans—through the echo chamber of the mainstream media—daily denigrate our Constitution and our Statutes even as they assert, disingenuously, to operate within the confines of the rule of law.Both in the matter of immigration and naturalization matters and in the matter of the Second Amendment right of the people to keep and bear arms, we, Americans, are constantly beset with a fusillade of false and misleading pronouncements aimed at confusing us as to the meaning of and purport of our Statutes and of the supremacy of the U.S. Constitution.Even before the two mass shooting incidents—one at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Florida, and the second at Santa Fe High School, in Santa Fe, Texas—State legislators contrived new ways to deprive citizens of owning any firearm, thereby directly impinging on and infringing the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. States started looking at further ways to impede the citizen’s exercise of his or her fundamental right to keep and bear arms.In New York, for example, in March 2017, Democrat, Brian Kavanagh, introduced A.B. 6994, in the State Assembly. The bill is described as: “AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules, the criminal procedure law and the penal law, in relation to establishing extreme risk protection orders as court-issued orders of protection prohibiting a person from purchasing, possessing or attempting to purchase or possess a firearm, rifle or shotgun.” AB 6994 has already passed the Assembly—the First Chamber of the New York State Government, in Albany New York—and it now sits in the Second Chamber, the New York State Senate. AB 6994 appears, fortunately, at least at this moment in time, to have a low chance of passage, but such passage should not be ruled out, especially in light of the two fairly recent high school mass shooting incidents.Those Americans who support our Second Amendment should bear in mind that New York’s AB 6994—along with similar predecessor bills that were introduced in the New York Assembly or State Senate, and that failed—is an altogether new restriction on gun owners. If enacted, this bill amounts not merely to a change in existing restrictive New York gun laws, but to the creation of a wholly new restriction in conjunction with New York’s present, extensive, oppressive set of restrictive gun laws.If enacted into law, AB 6994 says that “the civil practice law and rules are amended by adding a new article 63-A.”What does the bill say? The bill sets forth both the rationale and requirements, in addition those presently existent in New York, for removing firearms from a New York resident’s possession, along with a detailed list of mechanisms for such removal.

EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDERS: A NEW AND OUTRAGEOUS TWIST ON AN OLD LEGAL DEVICE--ORDERS OF PROTECTION AND RESTRAINING ORDERS

We first set forth the bill in its entirety, and then explicate the salient portions of the bill.AB 6994 [AMENDING ARTICLE 63-A OF THE CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK]:[NOTE: UPPER CASE LETTERS APPEAR IN THE ORIGINAL TEXT OF THE BILL; NUMBERING HAS BEEN REMOVED GIVEN EDITING DIFFICULTIES]EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDERSDEFINITIONS. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE:‘EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER’ MEANS A COURT-ISSUED ORDER OF PROTECTION PROHIBITING A PERSON FROM PURCHASING, POSSESSING OR ATTEMPTING TO PURCHASE OR POSSESS A FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN.‘PETITIONER’ MEANS: (A) A POLICE OFFICER, AS DEFINED IN SECTION 1.20 OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW, OR DISTRICT ATTORNEY WITH JURISDICTION IN THE COUNTY OR CITY WHERE THE PERSON AGAINST WHOM THE ORDER IS SOUGHT RESIDES; OR (B) A FAMILY OR HOUSEHOLD MEMBER, AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY-NINE-A OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES LAW, OF THE PERSON AGAINST WHOM THE ORDER IS SOUGHT.‘RESPONDENT’ MEANS THE PERSON AGAINST WHOM AN EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER IS OR MAY BE SOUGHT UNDER THIS ARTICLE.APPLICATION FOR AN EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER. IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS ARTICLE, A PETITIONER MAY FILE A SWORN APPLICATION, AND ACCOMPANYING SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION, SETTING FORTH THE FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES JUSTIFYING THE ISSUANCE OF AN EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER. SUCH APPLICATION AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION SHALL BE FILED IN THE SUPREME COURT IN THE COUNTY IN WHICH THE RESPONDENT RESIDES. THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR OF THE COURTS SHALL ADOPT FORMS THAT MAY BE USED FOR PURPOSES OF SUCH APPLICATIONS AND THE COURT'S CONSIDERATION OF SUCH APPLICATIONS. SUCH APPLICATION FORM SHALL INCLUDE INQUIRY AS TO WHETHER THE PETITIONER KNOWS, OR HAS REASON TO BELIEVE, THAT THE RESPONDENT OWNS, POSSESSES OR HAS ACCESS TO A FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN AND IF SO, A REQUEST THAT THE PETITIONER LIST OR DESCRIBE SUCH FIREARMS, RIFLES AND SHOTGUNS, AND THE RESPECTIVE LOCATIONS THEREOF, WITH AS MUCH SPECIFICITY AS POSSIBLE.A STATEMENT TO THE RESPONDENT: DIRECTING THAT THE RESPONDENT MAY NOT PURCHASE, POSSESS OR ATTEMPT TO PURCHASE OR POSSESS A FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN WHILE THE ORDER IS IN EFFECT AND THAT ANY FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN POSSESSED BY SUCH RESPONDENT SHALL BE PROMPTLY SURRENDERED TO ANY AUTHORIZED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL;INFORMING THE RESPONDENT THAT THE COURT WILL HOLD A HEARING NO SOONER THAN THREE NOR MORE THAN SIX BUSINESS DAYS AFTER SERVICE OF THE TEMPORARY ORDER, TO DETERMINE WHETHER A FINAL EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER WILL BE ISSUED AND THE DATE, TIME AND LOCATION OF SUCH HEARING, PROVIDED THAT THE RESPONDENT SHALL BE ENTITLED TO MORE THAN SIX DAYS UPON REQUEST IN ORDER TO PREPARE FOR THE HEARING; AND (III) INFORMING THE RESPONDENT THE HE OR SHE MAY SEEK THE ADVICE OF AN ATTORNEY AND THAT AN ATTORNEY SHOULD BE CONSULTED PROMPTLY; ANDA FORM TO BE COMPLETED AND EXECUTED BY THE RESPONDENT AT THE TIME OF SERVICE OF THE TEMPORARY EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER WHICH ELICITS A LIST OF ALL FIREARMS, RIFLES AND SHOTGUNS POSSESSED BY THE RESPONDENT AND THE PARTICULAR LOCATION OF EACH FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN LISTED.IF THE APPLICATION FOR A TEMPORARY EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER IS NOT GRANTED, THE COURT SHALL NOTIFY THE PETITIONER AND, UNLESS THE APPLICATION IS VOLUNTARILY WITHDRAWN BY THE PETITIONER, NONETHELESS SCHEDULE A HEARING ON THE APPLICATION FOR A FINAL EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER. SUCH HEARING SHALL BE SCHEDULED TO BE HELD PROMPTLY, BUT IN ANY EVENT NO LATER THAN TEN BUSINESS DAYS AFTER THE DATE ON WHICH SUCH APPLICATION IS SERVED ON THE RESPONDENT, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT THE RESPONDENT MAY REQUEST, AND THE COURT MAY GRANT, ADDITIONAL TIME TO ALLOW THE RESPONDENT TO PREPARE FOR THE HEARING. A NOTICE OF SUCH HEARING SHALL BE PREPARED BY THE COURT AND SHALL INCLUDE THE DATE AND TIME OF THE HEARING, THE ADDRESS OF THE COURT, AND THE SUBJECT OF THE HEARING.THE COURT SHALL NOTIFY THE DIVISION OF STATE POLICE, ANY OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY WITH JURISDICTION, ALL APPLICABLE LICENSING OFFICERS, AND THE DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES OF THE ISSUANCE OF A TEMPORARY EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER AND PROVIDE A COPY OF SUCH ORDER NO LATER THAN THE NEXT BUSINESS DAY AFTER ISSUING THE ORDER TO SUCH PERSONS OR AGENCIES. THE COURT ALSO SHALL PROMPTLY NOTIFY SUCH PERSONS AND AGENCIES AND PROVIDE A COPY OF ANY ORDER AMENDING OR REVOKING SUCH PROTECTION ORDER OR RESTORING THE RESPONDENT'S ABILITY TO OWN OR POSSESS FIREARMS, RIFLES OR SHOTGUNS NO LATER THAN THE NEXT BUSINESS DAY AFTER ISSUING THE ORDER TO RESTORE SUCH RIGHT TO THE RESPONDENT. ANY NOTICE OR REPORT SUBMITTED PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL BE IN AN ELECTRONIC FORMAT, IN A MANNER PRESCRIBED BY THE DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES.UPON RECEIVING NOTICE OF THE ISSUANCE OF A TEMPORARY EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER, THE DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES SHALL IMMEDIATELY REPORT THE EXISTENCE OF SUCH ORDER TO THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION TO ALLOW THE BUREAU TO IDENTIFY PERSONS PROHIBITED FROM PURCHASING FIREARMS, RIFLES OR SHOTGUNS. THE DIVISION SHALL ALSO IMMEDIATELY REPORT TO THE BUREAU THE EXPIRATION OF ANY SUCH PROTECTION ORDER, ANY COURT ORDER AMENDING OR REVOKING SUCH PROTECTION ORDER OR RESTORING THE RESPONDENT'S ABILITY TO PURCHASE A FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN.THE ISSUANCE OF A TEMPORARY EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER SHALL CONSTITUTE AUTHORITY AND DIRECTION FOR A POLICE OFFICER TO REMOVE ALL FIREARMS, RIFLES AND SHOTGUNS IN THE RESPONDENT'S POSSESSION. AS PART OF THE ORDER, THE COURT MAY ALSO DIRECT A POLICE OFFICER TO SEARCH FOR FIREARMS, RIFLES AND SHOTGUNS IN THE RESPONDENT'S POSSESSION IN A MANNER CONSISTENT WITH THE PROCEDURES OF ARTICLE SIX HUNDRED NINETY OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW.UPON ISSUANCE OF A TEMPORARY EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER, OR UPON SETTING A HEARING FOR A FINAL EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER WHERE A TEMPORARY ORDER IS DENIED OR NOT REQUESTED, THE COURT SHALL DIRECT THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY HAVING JURISDICTION TO CONDUCT A BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION AND REPORT TO THE COURT AND, SUBJECT TO ANY APPROPRIATE REDACTIONS TO PROTECT ANY PERSON, EACH PARTY REGARDING WHETHER THE RESPONDENT:HAS ANY PRIOR CRIMINAL CONVICTION FOR AN OFFENSE INVOLVING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, USE OF A WEAPON, OR OTHER VIOLENCE;HAS ANY CRIMINAL CHARGE OR VIOLATION CURRENTLY PENDING AGAINST HIM OR HER;IS CURRENTLY ON PAROLE OR PROBATION;POSSESSES ANY REGISTERED FIREARMS, RIFLES OR SHOTGUNS; ANDHAS BEEN, OR IS, SUBJECT TO ANY ORDER OF PROTECTION OR HAS VIOLATED OR ALLEGEDLY VIOLATED ANY ORDER OF PROTECTION.ISSUANCE OF A FINAL EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER. IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS ARTICLE, NO SOONER THAN THREE BUSINESS DAYS NOR LATER THAN SIX BUSINESS DAYS AFTER SERVICE OF A TEMPORARY EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER AND, ALTERNATIVELY, NO LATER THAN TEN BUSINESS DAYS AFTER SERVICE OF AN APPLICATION UNDER THIS ARTICLE WHERE NO TEMPORARY EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER HAS BEEN ISSUED, THE SUPREME COURT SHALL HOLD A HEARING TO DETERMINE WHETHER TO ISSUE A FINAL EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER AND, WHEN APPLICABLE, WHETHER A FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN SURRENDERED BY, OR REMOVED FROM, THE RESPONDENT SHOULD BE RETURNED TO THE RESPONDENT. THE RESPONDENT SHALL BE ENTITLED TO MORE THAN SIX BUSINESS DAYS IF A TEMPORARY EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER HAS BEEN ISSUED AND THE RESPONDENT REQUESTS A REASONABLE PERIOD OF ADDITIONAL TIME TO PREPARE FOR THE HEARING. WHERE NO TEMPORARY ORDER HAS BEEN ISSUED, THE RESPONDENT MAY REQUEST, AND THE COURT MAY GRANT, ADDITIONAL TIME BEYOND THE TEN DAYS TO ALLOW THE RESPONDENT TO PREPARE FOR THE HEARING.AT THE HEARING PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION, THE PETITIONER SHALL HAVE THE BURDEN OF PROVING, BY CLEAR AND CONVINCING EVIDENCE, THAT THE RESPONDENT IS LIKELY TO ENGAGE IN CONDUCT THAT WOULD RESULT IN SERIOUS HARM TO HIMSELF, HERSELF OR OTHERS, AS DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH ONE OR TWO OF SUBDIVISION (A) OF SECTION 9.39 OF THE MENTAL HYGIENE LAW. THE COURT MAY CONSIDER THE PETITION AND ANY EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE PETITIONER, ANY EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE RESPONDENT, ANY TESTIMONY PRESENTED, AND THE REPORT OF THE RELEVANT LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY SUBMITTED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION NINE OF SECTION SIXTY-THREE HUNDRED FORTY-TWO OF THIS ARTICLE. THE COURT SHALL ALSO CONSIDER THE FACTORS SET FORTH IN SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION SIXTY-THREE HUNDRED FORTY-TWO OF THIS ARTICLE.AFTER THE HEARING PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION, THE COURT SHALL ISSUE A WRITTEN ORDER GRANTING OR DENYING THE EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER AND SETTING FORTH THE REASONS FOR SUCH DETERMINATION. IF THE EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER IS GRANTED, THE COURT SHALL DIRECT SERVICE OF SUCH ORDER IN THE MANNER AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROTECTIONS FOR THE PETITIONER SET FORTH IN SUBDIVISION SIX OF SECTION SIXTY-THREE HUNDRED FORTY-TWO OF THIS ARTICLE.UPON ISSUANCE OF AN EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER: (I) ANY FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN REMOVED PURSUANT TO A TEMPORARY EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER OR SUCH EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER SHALL BE RETAINED BY THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY HAVING JURISDICTION FOR THE DURATION OF THE ORDER, UNLESS OWNERSHIP OF THE FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN IS LEGALLY TRANSFERRED BY THE RESPONDENT TO ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL PERMITTED BY LAW TO OWN AND POSSESS SUCH FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN; (II) THE SUPREME COURT SHALL TEMPORARILY SUSPEND ANY EXISTING FIREARM LICENSE POSSESSED BY THE RESPONDENT AND ORDER THE RESPONDENT TEMPORARILY INELIGIBLE FOR SUCH A LICENSE; (III) THE RESPONDENT SHALL BE PROHIBITED FROM PURCHASING OR POSSESSING, OR ATTEMPTING TO PURCHASE OR POSSESS, A FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN; AND (IV) THE COURT SHALL DIRECT THE RESPONDENT TO SURRENDER ANY FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN IN HIS OR HER POSSESSION.AN EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER ISSUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS SECTION SHALL EXTEND, AS SPECIFIED BY THE COURT, FOR A PERIOD OF UP TO ONE YEAR FROM THE DATE OF THE ISSUANCE OF SUCH ORDER; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT IF SUCH ORDER WAS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDED BY THE ISSUANCE OF A TEMPORARY EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER, THEN THE DURATION OF THE EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER SHALL BE MEASURED FROM THE DATE OF ISSUANCE OF SUCH TEMPORARY EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER.THE ISSUANCE OF A FINAL EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER SHALL CONSTITUTE AUTHORITY AND DIRECTION FOR A POLICE OFFICER TO REMOVE ALL FIREARMS, RIFLES AND SHOTGUNS IN THE RESPONDENT'S POSSESSION. AS PART OF THE ORDER, THE COURT MAY ALSO DIRECT A POLICE OFFICER TO SEARCH FOR FIREARMS, RIFLES AND SHOTGUNS IN A RESPONDENT'S POSSESSION CONSISTENT WITH THE PROCEDURES OF ARTICLE SIX HUNDRED NINETY OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW.THE COURT SHALL NOTIFY THE DIVISION OF STATE POLICE, ANY OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY WITH JURISDICTION, ALL APPLICABLE LICENSING OFFICERS, AND THE DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES OF THE ISSUANCE OF A FINAL EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER AND PROVIDE A COPY OF SUCH ORDER TO SUCH PERSONS AND AGENCIES NO LATER THAN THE NEXT BUSINESS DAY AFTER ISSUING THE ORDER. THE COURT ALSO SHALL PROMPTLY NOTIFY SUCH PERSONS AND AGENCIES AND PROVIDE A COPY OF ANY ORDER AMENDING OR REVOKING SUCH PROTECTION ORDER OR RESTORING THE RESPONDENT'S ABILITY TO OWN OR POSSESS FIREARMS, RIFLES OR SHOTGUNS NO LATER THAN THE NEXT BUSINESS DAY AFTER ISSUING THE ORDER TO RESTORE SUCH RIGHT TO THE RESPONDENT. ANY NOTICE OR REPORT SUBMITTED PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL BE IN AN ELECTRONIC FORMAT, IN A MANNER PRESCRIBED BY THE DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES.UPON RECEIVING NOTICE OF THE ISSUANCE OF A FINAL EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER, THE DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES SHALL IMMEDIATELY REPORT THE EXISTENCE OF SUCH ORDER TO THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION TO ALLOW THE BUREAU TO IDENTIFY PERSONS PROHIBITED FROM PURCHASING FIREARMS, RIFLES OR SHOTGUNS. THE DIVISION SHALL ALSO IMMEDIATELY REPORT TO THE BUREAU THE EXPIRATION OF SUCH PROTECTION ORDER AND ANY COURT ORDER AMENDING OR REVOKING SUCH PROTECTION ORDER OR RESTORING THE RESPONDENT'S ABILITY TO PURCHASE A FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN.IF, IN ACCORDANCE WITH A TEMPORARY EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER, A FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN HAS BEEN SURRENDERED BY OR REMOVED FROM THE RESPONDENT, AND THE SUPREME COURT SUBSEQUENTLY FINDS THAT THE PETITIONER HAS NOT MET THE REQUIRED STANDARD OF PROOF, THE COURT'S FINDING SHALL INCLUDE A WRITTEN ORDER, ISSUED TO ALL PARTIES, DIRECTING THAT ANY FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN SURRENDERED OR REMOVED PURSUANT TO SUCH TEMPORARY ORDER SHALL BE RETURNED TO THE RESPONDENT.IF ANY OTHER PERSON DEMONSTRATES THAT HE OR SHE IS THE LAWFUL OWNER OF ANY FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN SURRENDERED OR REMOVED PURSUANT TO A PROTECTION ORDER ISSUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS ARTICLE, AND PROVIDED THAT THERE IS NO LEGAL IMPEDIMENT TO THE PERSON'S POSSESSION OF A SURRENDERED OR REMOVED FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN, THE COURT MAY, AFTER NOTICE TO THE PARTIES AND AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD, DIRECT THAT SUCH FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN BE RETURNED TO SUCH LAWFUL OWNER.THE RESPONDENT SHALL BE NOTIFIED ON THE RECORD AND IN WRITING BY THE COURT THAT HE OR SHE MAY SUBMIT ONE WRITTEN REQUEST, AT ANY TIME DURING THE EFFECTIVE PERIOD OF AN EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER, FOR A HEARING SETTING ASIDE ANY PORTION OF SUCH ORDER. THE REQUEST SHALL BE SUBMITTED IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME FORM AND MANNER AS PRESCRIBED BY THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR OF THE COURTS. UPON SUCH REQUEST, THE COURT SHALL PROMPTLY HOLD A HEARING, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS ARTICLE, AFTER PROVIDING REASONABLE NOTICE TO THE PETITIONER. THE RESPONDENT SHALL BEAR THE BURDEN TO PROVE, BY CLEAR AND CONVINCING EVIDENCE, ANY CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCES THAT MAY JUSTIFY A CHANGE TO THE ORDER.SURRENDER AND REMOVAL OF FIREARMS, RIFLES AND SHOTGUNS PURSUANT TO AN EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER. WHEN A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER TAKES ANY FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN PURSUANT TO A TEMPORARY EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER OR A FINAL EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER, THE OFFICER SHALL GIVE TO THE PERSON FROM WHOM SUCH FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN IS TAKEN A RECEIPT OR VOUCHER FOR THE PROPERTY TAKEN, DESCRIBING THE PROPERTY IN DETAIL. IN THE ABSENCE OF A PERSON, THE OFFICER SHALL LEAVE THE RECEIPT OR VOUCHER IN THE PLACE WHERE THE PROPERTY WAS FOUND, MAIL A COPY OF THE RECEIPT OR VOUCHER, RETAINING PROOF OF MAILING, TO THE LAST KNOWN ADDRESS OF THE RESPONDENT AND, IF DIFFERENT, THE OWNER OF THE FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN, AND FILE A COPY OF SUCH RECEIPT OR VOUCHER WITH THE COURT. ALL FIREARMS, RIFLES AND SHOTGUNS IN THE POSSESSION OF A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE SHALL BE SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF APPLICABLE LAW, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SUBDIVISION SIX OF SECTION 400.05 OF THE PENAL LAW; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT ANY SUCH FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN SHALL BE RETAINED AND NOT DISPOSED OF BY THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR AT LEAST TWO YEARS UNLESS LEGALLY TRANSFERRED BY THE RESPONDENT TO AN INDIVIDUAL PERMITTED BY LAW TO OWN AND POSSESS SUCH FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN.IF THE LOCATION TO BE SEARCHED DURING THE EXECUTION OF A TEMPORARY EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER OR EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER IS JOINTLY OCCUPIED BY TWO OR MORE PARTIES, AND A FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN LOCATED DURING THE EXECUTION OF SUCH ORDER IS OWNED BY A PERSON OTHER THAN THE RESPONDENT, THE COURT MAY ALLOW RETURN OF SUCH FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN IF IT IS DEMONSTRATED THAT THE FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN WILL BE SAFELY STORED IN A MANNER CONSISTENT WITH SECTION 265.45 OF THE PENAL LAW, SO THAT THE RESPONDENT WILL NOT HAVE ACCESS TO OR CONTROL OF THE FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN, AND THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF THE FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN BY THE OWNER.REQUEST FOR RENEWAL OF AN EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER. IF A PETITIONER BELIEVES A PERSON SUBJECT TO AN EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER CONTINUES TO BE LIKELY TO ENGAGE IN CONDUCT THAT WOULD RESULT IN SERIOUS HARM TO HIMSELF, HERSELF, OR OTHERS, AS DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH ONE OR TWO OF SUBDIVISION (A) OF SECTION 9.39 OF THE MENTAL HYGIENE LAW, SUCH PETITIONER MAY, AT ANY TIME WITHIN SIXTY DAYS PRIOR TO THE EXPIRATION OF SUCH EXISTING EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER, INITIATE A REQUEST FOR A RENEWAL OF SUCH ORDER, SETTING FORTH THE FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES NECESSITATING THE REQUEST. THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR OF THE COURTS SHALL ADOPT FORMS THAT MAY BE USED FOR PURPOSES OF SUCH APPLICATIONS AND THE COURT'S CONSIDERATION OF SUCH APPLICATIONS. THE COURT MAY ISSUE A TEMPORARY EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION SIXTYTHREE HUNDRED FORTY-TWO OF THIS ARTICLE, DURING THE PERIOD THAT A REQUEST FOR RENEWAL OF AN EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER IS UNDER CONSIDERATION PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION.A HEARING HELD PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION SHALL BE CONDUCTED IN THE SUPREME COURT, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION SIXTY-THREE HUNDRED FORTYTHREE OF THIS ARTICLE, TO DETERMINE IF A REQUEST FOR RENEWAL OF THE ORDER SHALL BE GRANTED. THE RESPONDENT SHALL BE SERVED WITH WRITTEN NOTICE OF AN APPLICATION FOR RENEWAL A REASONABLE TIME BEFORE THE HEARING, AND SHALL BE AFFORDED AN OPPORTUNITY TO FULLY PARTICIPATE IN THE HEARING. THE COURT SHALL DIRECT SERVICE OF SUCH APPLICATION AND THE ACCOMPANYING PAPERS IN THE MANNER AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROTECTIONS FOR THE PETITIONER SET FORTH IN SUBDIVISION SIX OF SECTION SIXTY-THREE HUNDRED FORTY-TWO OF THIS ARTICLE.EXPIRATION OF AN EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER. 1. A PROTECTION ORDER ISSUED PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE, AND ALL RECORDS OF ANY PROCEEDINGS CONDUCTED PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE, SHALL BE SEALED UPON EXPIRATION OF SUCH ORDER AND THE CLERK OF THE COURT WHEREIN SUCH PROCEEDINGS WERE CONDUCTED SHALL IMMEDIATELY NOTIFY THE COMMISSIONER OF THE DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES, THE HEADS OF ALL APPROPRIATE POLICE DEPARTMENTS, APPLICABLE LICENSING OFFICERS, AND ALL OTHER APPROPRIATE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES THAT THE ORDER HAS EXPIRED AND THAT THE RECORD OF SUCH PROTECTION ORDER SHALL BE SEALED AND NOT BE MADE AVAILABLE TO ANY PERSON OR PUBLIC OR PRIVATE ENTITY, EXCEPT THAT SUCH RECORDS SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO:(A)    THE RESPONDENT OR THE RESPONDENT'S DESIGNATED AGENT;(B)     COURTS IN THE UNIFIED COURT SYSTEM;(C)     POLICE FORCES AND DEPARTMENTS HAVING RESPONSIBILITY FOR ENFORCEMENT OF THE GENERAL CRIMINAL LAWS OF THE STATE;(D)    ANY STATE OR LOCAL OFFICER OR AGENCY WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ISSUANCE OF LICENSES TO POSSESS A FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN, WHEN THE RESPONDENT HAS MADE APPLICATION FOR SUCH A LICENSE; AND(E)      ANY PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYER OF A POLICE OFFICER OR PEACE OFFICER AS THOSE TERMS ARE DEFINED IN SUBDIVISIONS THIRTY-THREE AND THIRTY-FOUR OF SECTION 1.20 OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW, IN RELATION TO AN APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT AS A POLICE OFFICER OR PEACE OFFICER; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT EVERY PERSON WHO IS AN APPLICANT FOR THE POSITION OF POLICE OFFICER OR PEACE OFFICER SHALL BE FURNISHED WITH A COPY OF ALL RECORDS OBTAINED UNDER THIS SUBPARAGRAPH AND AFFORDED AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE AN EXPLANATION THERETO.UPON EXPIRATION OF A PROTECTION ORDER ISSUED PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE AND UPON WRITTEN APPLICATION OF THE RESPONDENT WHO IS THE SUBJECT OF SUCH ORDER, WITH NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD TO THE PETITIONER AND EVERY LICENSING OFFICER RESPONSIBLE FOR ISSUANCE OF A FIREARM LICENSE TO THE SUBJECT OF THE ORDER PURSUANT TO ARTICLE FOUR HUNDRED OF THE PENAL LAW, AND UPON A WRITTEN FINDING THAT THERE IS NO LEGAL IMPEDIMENT TO THE RESPONDENT'S POSSESSION OF A SURRENDERED FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN, THE COURT SHALL ORDER THE RETURN OF A FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN NOT OTHERWISE DISPOSED OF IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION SIXTY-THREE HUNDRED FORTY-FOUR OF THIS ARTICLE. WHEN ISSUING SUCH ORDER IN CONNECTION WITH ANY FIREARM SUBJECT TO A LICENSE REQUIREMENT UNDER ARTICLE FOUR HUNDRED OF THE PENAL LAW, IF THE LICENSING OFFICER INFORMS THE COURT THAT HE OR SHE WILL SEEK TO REVOKE THE LICENSE, THE ORDER SHALL BE STAYED BY THE COURT UNTIL THE CONCLUSION OF ANY LICENSE REVOCATION PROCEEDING.EFFECT OF FINDINGS AND DETERMINATIONS IN SUBSEQUENT PROCEEDINGS. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY CONTRARY CLAIM BASED ON COMMON LAW OR A PROVISION OF ANY OTHER LAW, NO FINDING OR DETERMINATION MADE PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE SHALL BE INTERPRETED AS BINDING, OR HAVING COLLATERAL ESTOPPEL OR SIMILAR EFFECT, IN ANY OTHER ACTION OR PROCEEDING, OR WITH RESPECT TO ANY OTHER DETERMINATION OR FINDING, IN ANY COURT, FORUM OR ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING.PARAGRAPH (B) OF SUBDIVISION 5 OF SECTION 530.14 OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW, AS ADDED BY CHAPTER 644 OF THE LAWS OF 1996, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:THE PROMPT SURRENDER OF ONE OR MORE FIREARMS PURSUANT TO A COURT ORDER ISSUED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION SHALL BE CONSIDERED A VOLUNTARY SURRENDER FOR PURPOSES OF SUBPARAGRAPH (F) OF PARAGRAPH ONE OF SUBDIVISION A OF SECTION 265.20 OF THE PENAL LAW. THE DISPOSITION OF ANY SUCH FIREARMS SHALL BE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION SIX OF SECTION 400.05 OF THE PENAL LAW  ; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT UPON TERMINATION OF ANY SUSPENSION ORDER ISSUED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION OR SECTION EIGHT HUNDRED FORTY-TWO-A OF THE FAMILY COURT ACT, UPON WRITTEN APPLICATION OF THE SUBJECT OF THE ORDER, WITH NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD TO THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY, THE COUNTY ATTORNEY, THE PROTECTED PARTY, AND EVERY LICENSING OFFICER RESPONSIBLE FOR ISSUANCE OF A FIREARMS LICENSE TO THE SUBJECT OF THE ORDER PURSUANT TO ARTICLE FOUR HUNDRED OF THE PENAL LAW, AND UPON A WRITTEN FINDING THAT THERE IS NO LEGAL IMPEDIMENT TO THE SUBJECT'S POSSESSION OF A SURRENDERED FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN, ANY COURT OF RECORD EXERCISING CRIMINAL JURISDICTION MAY ORDER THE RETURN OF A FIREARM, RIFLE OR SHOTGUN NOT OTHERWISE DISPOSED OF IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUBDIVISION SIX OF SECTION 400.05 OF THE PENAL LAW. WHEN ISSUING SUCH ORDER IN CONNECTION WITH ANY FIREARM SUBJECT TO A LICENSE REQUIREMENT UNDER ARTICLE FOUR HUNDRED OF THE PENAL LAW, IF THE LICENSING OFFICER INFORMS THE COURT THAT HE OR SHE WILL SEEK TO REVOKE THE LICENSE, THE ORDER SHALL BE STAYED BY THE COURT UNTIL THE CONCLUSION OF ANY LICENSE REVOCATION PROCEEDING.________________________________________________________ 

1. AN EXPLICATION OF AB 6994

A couple of observations are in order. First, this bill is not to be considered an adjunct of the Federal “Family Protection and Domestic Violence Intervention Act of 1994” even though a family member, pursuant to both AB 6994 and the Federal Act, may petition the Court for protection against another family member. Under both AB 6994, in the event it becomes law in New York, and, under the federal domestic violence statute, an individual, against whom a Court order is issued, will lose possession of firearms. That much is the same and is clear.In New York, revocation or suspension of firearms licenses, and concomitantly, loss of one’s firearms follows upon issuance of an order of protection. See, NY CLS CPL § 530.14. Second, the merits of statutes aimed at protecting individuals against violence notwithstanding, Americans are in danger of turning against each other as we become a Nation of undercover “shooflies,” constantly reporting on each other, turning family member against family member and turning the police against everyone.In their zeal to protect society from the misuse of firearms, antigun proponents attempt to negate the import of the Second Amendment altogether, leaving ever more people altogether defenseless against criminal assailants. No matter, as antigun groups would rather the Second Amendment did not exist at all. But, the codification of the fundamental right of the people to keep and bear arms does exist, and the constant whittling away of that right under the mask of promoting public safety is not lost on those of us who place the Nation’s well-being on the strength of the citizenry’s Bill of Rights.In reviewing AB 6994, there is a presumption in the bill that sufficient due process requirements are met. But are they? Police officers and district attorneys and family members may both file a petition for a “temporary extreme protection order.” Once filed, that petition takes effect immediately, namely, prior to an evidentiary hearing. The individual against whom the petition is issued immediately loses his or her firearms, as the police are authorized to secure those weapons at once. The respondent is informed of a hearing date to present his case, and the petitioner has the burden of showing that the threat posed by the respondent warrants issuance of a permanent extreme protection order.  Disconcertingly, even before a hearing is held, the Court will notify the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the issuance of a temporary extreme protection order. That hardly accords with protecting the civil rights of an individual before he has had a chance to proffer evidence in his or her own defense that may warrant revocation of the temporary extreme protection order.As bad as this bill is, for Governor Cuomo, AB 6994, as written, doesn’t go far enough. He would include in the role of petitioners entitled to file for “temporary extreme protection orders,” classroom teachers, along with police officers, district attorneys, and family members. On June 5, 2018, wskg.org, in Albany New York, reported that:“Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed an expansion to his Extreme Risk Protection Order bill that would give teachers the power to go to court to prevent a student’s access to guns.Cuomo said the measure gives that power to teachers and school administrators who believe a student might use guns to be a danger to themselves or others.“If a teacher believes there is a troubled student who might be dangerous, that teacher has the legal authority to go to a judge directly,” Cuomo said.A judge could then determine whether the student needs a mental health exam, and whether the student’s or their family’s guns should be taken away.”The session is scheduled to end in a couple of weeks, and Cuomo concedes that he does not expect the measure to pass in the state Senate, which is gridlocked with 31 seats each in the Democratic and Republican factions.But Cuomo said he believes people in the state overwhelmingly support the measure and predicted that it will become an election issue in the fall.”It need hardly be said that teachers are not trained psychologists; nor are they police officers who deal with criminals on a daily basis; nor are they district attorneys, trained in the law; nor are they family members who have an intimate familial relationship with each other; and yet Governor Cuomo would bestow immense authority onto teachers to petition Courts directly against their students with whom they spend little time with. Of course, if teachers truly believe that a student poses a danger to self or others, the teacher may inform and should inform school officials. But, it is one thing for teachers to exercise authority to inform school officials of a possible danger posed by a particular student. It is quite another to grant to a teacher, on his or her own behalf, the power to file a petition with a court to secure a temporary extreme risk protection order. Imagine how this would play out, were a teacher permitted under law to secure such a protection order. Once such an extreme risk protection order issues, police officers would be empowered to go to the student’s home, and with court order in hand, the police would have the authority to secure the firearms belonging to the student’s parents, under the presumption that the student would otherwise be able to gain access to his or her parents’ firearms. The parent’s own firearm’s license would thereupon be suspended. If this scenario seems unlikely, keep in mind that Governor Cuomo hasn’t suggested any checks against such an occurrence. Bear in mind that in the few States that have enacted extreme risk protection laws, none have gone so far as to permit teachers to file such a petition. But, then, few individuals in any State have as far-reaching political ambitions as does Governor Andrew Cuomo, in preempting the citizen’s right to keep and bear arms as codified in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.We will have to wait and see how AB 6994 plays out in the months ahead and whether Governor Cuomo’s desire to expand AB 6994 results in further amendment prior to further action in Albany. But, we know full well Cuomo's antithesis toward the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. As Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo has frustrated the right of citizens of the State to exercise their fundamental right to keep and bear arms. That is bad enough; yet his power is constrained, limited to New York. But, Cuomo's ambitions extend well beyond that of Governor of a State. Cuomo has aspirations to become President of the United States in 2020. Were that to happen, the war he would wage against the Second Amendment would be far worse for Americans--the likes of which Americans have not yet seen--having a ripple effect throughout the Country._________________________________________________Copyright © 2018 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

I AM A GUN AND THIS IS WHAT I HAVE TO SAY

I am a Gun. I am not a person. I, myself, am incapable of harming anyone. Only a person is capable of harming another person. I cannot, myself, harm a person. And I cannot force a person to use me for an evil purpose. In the hands of a rational, competent, law-abiding person, I serve a greater good. In the hands of an irrational, incompetent, lawless individual, I serve a dark end. But, I, myself, must be held blameless because I am not a person.Many ill-informed individuals are quick to cast aspersions on me. They will say or suggest that I am evil incarnate. I am not. I do not have the power of choice. I do not have “free will.” Only a human being has the power of choice; only a human being has free will. I do not. Only a human being can choose to do good or ill, in accordance with that person’s “will.” I cannot. Still, there are those who believe, falsely, that I am evil, and strenuously make that claim. That truly puzzles me; for, only a person who misuses me can be deemed evil.Those who denigrate and demean me fail to realize the enormous positive benefit that I have brought and continue to bring to this Nation. The United States could not exist but for me. The founders of this free Republic used my great great grandfather, the flintlock, to forge a mighty Nation. During the Second World War, my cousins—including, among others, the M1 Garand Rifle, the Thompson submachine gun, and the Browning Automatic Rifle—in the competent hands of our Nation’s troops, helped to defeat two of our most powerful and intractable foes: Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. I have also assisted and continue to assist our police officers in helping protect our communities from lawless elements.AND, I AM, TO THE COUNTLESS AVERAGE, LAW-ABIDING, RATIONAL, RESPONSIBLE AMERICAN CITIZENS--AS THE FRAMERS OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION INTENDED--THE MOST EFFECTIVE MEANS AVAILABLE THROUGH WHICH THESE CITIZENS ARE ABLE TO PRESERVE AND DEFEND THEIR LIFE, SAFETY, AND WELL-BEING AND THE LIFE, SAFETY, AND WELL-BEING OF THEIR FAMILIES—FROM THOSE RUTHLESS, TERRIBLE, EVIL ELEMENTS IN SOCIETY WHO SEEK TO DO HARM.Going back far earlier in time, my ancestors, the matchlock and wheel lock firearms, gave to the common man the ability to grapple effectively with powerful nobility, who wore formidable suits of armor, wielding massive lances and swords, sitting atop powerful steeds.There is much to commend me. Unfortunately, history’s revisionists dismiss me out-of-hand, selectively  focusing only on those who have misused me. In recent months, young men who gained access to me, and who should never have gained access to me, have committed monstrous acts. Those monstrous acts have been wrongly ascribed principally to me, rather than to the individuals who have misused me. I am well aware of the horrific acts that deranged young people have done. Their monstrous acts should not have occurred and would not have occurred but for crucial missteps by irresponsible people who failed to properly secure me.In 2012, a severely mentally unstable young man, Adam Lanza, gained access to his mother’s firearms. Had I been able, I would have warned Nancy Lanza, Adam’s mother, to properly secure me so that her mentally disturbed son could not gain access to me. She failed to do so. Her irresponsible act in failing to properly secure me led directly to her death at her son’s hands. This sad, deranged young man, Adam Lanza, then carried me to a public school, Sandy Hook Elementary School, located in Newtown, Connecticut. In his hands, Adam Lanza used me to kill innocent children and teachers. But for Nancy Lanza’s irresponsible actions, this horrific incident would never have happened and could never have happened. Major media organizations wrongly blamed me for the tragedy.A similar horrific event occurred, in February of 2018. Another deranged young man, Nikolas Cruz, wrongfully gained access to me, and used me to murder or seriously injure many innocent students and teachers—this time at another public school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, located in Parkland, Florida. Once again media people, reporting on this event, at the urging of those individuals who profess a pathological hatred toward me, blame me for the senseless tragedy, claiming that it is I, rather than this young man, Nikolas Cruz, who is the principal cause of the tragedy.Legislators, members of the mass media, and members of groups who call for my eradication, fail to realize that it is not I that cause violence. To cause violence I must have the desire to do violence, and once having the desire to do violence, I must then act on that desire. But, I am incapable of desire, and I am incapable of action. People, alone, are capable of desire and people alone are capable of acting on their desires. People are causal agents of harm. I am not a causal agent, but merely an object, a tool. Yet, I am blamed for the evil actions of those who misuse me. On careful reflection, though, it is clear that it is the killer, Nikolas Cruz, 19 years old, and it is those agents of Government who knew or should have known of the danger Nikolas Cruz posed to the community, who are the principal causes for harm done to others.There were multiple warnings and warning signs of the danger Nikolas Cruz posed to the community, but Governmental authorities failed to heed those warnings and those signs. Had I been able to, I would have spoken up, alerting the School Board, alerting the FBI, and alerting the County Sheriff’s Office, of the imminent danger posed by Nikolas Cruz. The tragedy that occurred was easily preventable. Yet, local, County, State, and Federal authorities are not held to account. I, however, am held to account. I, the Gun, am deemed responsible for the myriad failings of people.Irresponsible, lawless acts, uncorrected, tend to repeat themselves—an endless loop of tragedy occurring ever again. So it is that yet another severely disturbed young man, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, went on a shooting rampage at a high school, in Santa Fe, Texas. That tragedy unfolded recently. How did this happen? Quite simply, the young man’s father failed to properly secure me. The father breached a duty of care owed to the community to prevent his son from gaining access to me. That failure led to horrific tragedy.The pattern is disturbingly familiar, replaying itself over and over again, and each time, the tragedy was preventable, and would have been prevented but for the failure of adults residing in the community, and but for the failure of Governmental authorities to act to thwart the tragedy. And, once again, the blame for the tragedy is laid at my feet. I, who cannot do any act, good or ill, but for an agent who wields me, is ever the scapegoat.Of course, the vast majority of gun owners are responsible. They treat me with respect. They handle me competently; and they properly secure me, preventing those who must not gain access to me, from doing so. Yet, there are individuals in Government, in industry, and even foreigners who bear a personal grudge against me and who hold me in contempt. And there are groups, comprising individuals whose sole purpose for existence is to eradicate me. These individuals think that by dispossessing millions of average, law-abiding, rational, responsible American citizens of me, the Gun, that violence will stop. It will not stop.A person need merely consider that, in many Western nations where Government has essentially banned me, violence continues unabated. Sociopathic and criminal elements in society still obtain possession of me and use me to seriously injure or kill innocent people. And, even if horrible, evil people do not have immediate access to me, that does not prevent them from causing horrific violence just the same. Those people who desire to harm others will always find a way and means to do so. And, they have done so, repeatedly, constantly, using knives, and bombs, and even cars and trucks to murder and maim innocent people.Still, the drumbeat continues for my banishment from so-called “civilized” society. Those individuals who detest me argue that violence can be stemmed simply by outlawing me. But, arbitrarily denying the average responsible citizen from owning and possessing me will do nothing to prevent lawless and deranged individuals from doing harm, whether by wielding me, or by wielding or utilizing another object. And, when all is said and done, I am just that—an object, a tool, nothing more. Those who seek to blame me, profane me, debase me, denigrate me, castigate me, would do well to recall a quotation from the classic 1953 Western film, “Shane,” where the protagonist offered this sage advice concerning me, as he addressed the wife of a rancher:“A gun is a tool, Marian; no better or no worse than any other tool: an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it.”Those who desire to ban me outright would do well to remember that banning me will do nothing to prevent the occurrence of and recurrence of evil acts. Evil cannot be legislated away, even as some people seem to believe that it can be legislated away or would like to believe that evil can be legislated away through the simplistic, implausible, unconscionable, and constitutionally impermissible, unlawful expedient of denying to the average, rational, responsible, law-abiding American citizen the fundamental right to own and possess me. At the end of the day, evil remains, and monstrous acts of violence will, unfortunately, continue to occur because evil exists in the heart of those people who seek to do evil, and there are, lamentably, all too many of those in the world. Evil does not and never did exist in me, “The Gun.”_________________________________________________Copyright © 2018 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

THE GREAT DIVIDE: THE POLITICAL LEFT AND POLITICAL RIGHT WAGE A MODERN-DAY CIVIL WAR FOR THE AMERICAN SOUL.

During the American Civil War, there were no fence sitters. Every American chose a side. In the border States, especially, brother fought against brother and father fought against son. Foreign nations stayed out of the fray, perceiving the war as an internal matter between two sides—each with its own needs, its own perspective, its own interpretation of the relation between the Federal Government to the States.“It was therefore much to the chagrin of United States President Abraham Lincoln when, in 1861, near the outset of the American Civil War, the British government recognized the belligerency of the Confederate States that had unilaterally seceded from the Union. This recognition caused the British to be neutral in the domestic American conflict and to aid neither the rebels nor the government.” “The Concept of Belligerency in International Law,” 166 Mil. L. Rev. 109, 114, December 2000, by  Lieutenant Colonel Yair M. Lootsteen, Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Arguably, Americans are headed toward outright civil war today. Granted, this present state of civil unrest has not devolved into actual armed conflict—at least not yet. But, in an important respect the situation existent in our Nation today bespeaks civil unrest as pronounced as that which led to the American Civil War. The outcome of this present day civil unrest will shape the future contours of our Nation as assuredly as the outcome of the American Civil War had shaped the contours of our Nation once Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant, in 1865.As use of the words ‘Yankee’ and ‘Rebel’ served, effectively, as colloquial expressions and shorthand descriptors for the opposing sides of the American Civil War, we see, today, as well, use of expressions, such as ‘Liberal Left’ and ‘Conservative Right’ bandied about in the media as shorthand descriptors for the two opposing sides in the modern American conflict. The terminology in use today, simplistic as it is, does underscore a clear, explicit, categorical, demarcation between two sides, in clear and perpetual opposition. As with the American Civil War, there are no fence sitters in this modern day civil war, even as many Americans proclaim themselves, ostensibly, to be independent, taking no side in this period of civil unrest.Through time, each side’s political, social, and economic philosophies have solidified. There is no debate. There can be none. Any attempt at compromise is impossible. Each side holds resolutely to one of two irreconcilable, mutually incompatible positions, representing two polar opposite ideological strains within the American polity. And, every American has a stake in the outcome of this present day state of nascent civil war.Transpiring today is more than mere “Culture War.” Americans are locked in mortal, internecine combat. The differences are stark and are readily perceived on multiple fronts. The outcome will change the very structure of the United States, as an independent sovereign Nation, forever.Each side views the Nation’s institutions from a different ideological perspective. Each side views the relationship of individual to Government and the relationship of one individual to another in a different light, even attaching a different meaning to the notion of ‘citizen.’ One major point of contention—an incipient and inevitable flashpoint that defines and clarifies the two sides—concerns how each side perceives the U.S. Constitution and, especially, how each side perceives the rights and liberties codified in the Nation’s Bill of Rights.Liberals view the Bill of Rights as a set of man-made rules—constructs, contrivances, subject to modification and de facto repeal, as time and circumstance dictate, not unlike any Congressional Statute. Conservatives, though, view the Bill of Rights as natural law, intrinsic to each American citizen, fundamental and inalienable, therefore immutable; not man-made, and, so, superior to Congressional Statute, never subject to modification, much less perfunctory rejection.Liberals view the freedom of speech clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as subject to constraint and modification on the basis of emotional impact to particular groups. Censorship is condoned if the purpose is to spare the feelings of groups. Conservatives view the freedom of speech clause as demanding full expression, consistent with high Court rulings. Censorship is to be avoided. Liberals play the game of “Identity Politics.” Conservatives do not.Liberals view the right of the people to keep and bear arms, as codified in the Second Amendment, as  archaic—to be ignored or to be statutorily constrained. Conservatives view the right of the people to keep and bear arms as pertinent today as at the founding of the Republic. The right of the people to keep and bear arms is absolutely fundamental to the autonomy of the American citizen and essential to the preservation of a free Republic, as the framers of the U.S. Constitution envisioned.There are other marked differences between The Liberal Left and the Conservative Right. The Liberal Left views moral acts from the standpoint of the impact of behavior on society as a whole. Personal intent and motivation behind one’s actions is considered irrelevant. The Liberal Left defines the moral good as maximizing utility for the greatest number of people. That ethical perspective detrimentally affects the rights and liberties of the individual. The Conservative Right, on the other hand, views morally good acts and morally wrong acts from the standpoint of a person’s intent. Maximizing utility for the multitude never outweighs the needs and interests of the individual.Liberals espouse a policy of open and porous borders, reflecting the idea that the notion of ‘citizen of the United States’ is essentially redundant in an increasingly globalized world. And they see the expression, ‘citizen of the United States,’ in the near future, as becoming essentially meaningless. For liberals, the people of any Country are deemed merely “citizens of the world,” and therefore free to emigrate to any nation at will. Liberals wish to see naturalization laws changed to recognize, exemplify, and reflect the idea that anyone who wishes to reside in the United States ought to be permitted to do so. Conservatives argue that a Sovereign Nation State—to be worthy of the name—must maintain the integrity of its borders. For Conservatives, no citizen or subject of a foreign power can legitimately stake claim to residing in the United States as a matter of legal or moral right. Conservatives maintain that Congress has sole authority, as the Constitution mandates, to determine who may emigrate to the U.S. and who may not, and to place restrictions on the number of those emigrating to this Country.The Political Left accepts--consistent with its view of the ‘Nation State’ as an archaic concept--the eventual dismantling of the United States as an independent Sovereign Nation. The Political Left sees this process as inevitable, inexorable, and irreversible. The Political Right views the dismantling of the United States as an anathema—a process, neither inevitable nor irreversible, and one to be prevented at all costs.Liberals believe in the utility and propriety of propaganda and psychological conditioning to effectuate their goals. Those who espouse Democratic liberalism, as that concept is understood and glorified, and placed into practice by the governing "elites" of the EU, do not believe in the autonomy and inviolability of the individual, and therefore do not profess concern over using the tools of propaganda to manipulate the American psyche to promote the Left’s policy goals. Americans are witnessing, in recent years, the explosive use of mind-control techniques, permitted and propagated through the Bureaucratic Deep State within the federal Government, and through the mainstream Press, and by billionaire CEOs of left-wing technological Companies, intent on promoting a socialist agenda, notwithstanding that such an agenda is inconsistent with the core values of our Nation and of our Nation’s history; inconsistent with our Constitution and system of laws; and inconsistent with the preservation of our Nation as a free Republic.Conservatives do not countenance use of propaganda or psychological conditioning to alter the mindset of the American citizenry under any circumstance. For the use of such techniques damage the individual psyche and spirit. Conservatives hold the use of such techniques to be intolerable. They view the use of such techniques as incompatible with the exercise of one’s free will. Moreover, for Conservatives, the idea that the United States can and ought to be relegated eventually to the status of a subordinate cog in a world-wide socialist federation of Western States is horrific in the very contemplation.The election of Donald Trump to the Office of President of the United States is illustrative of the battle for the soul of this Nation. Conservatives voted for Donald Trump as an act of defiance against a deviant Liberal tidal wave--a tidal wave that seeks to obliterate our Nation's core values, to shred our Nation's sacred traditions, to erase our Nation's unique and lasting history, and to reduce the population of our Country to abject servitude in docile service to an international ruling "elite." Curiously, the Political Left talks incessantly about a Constitutional crisis impacting this Nation and about the failure of Trump and the Political Right to adhere to “the rule of law.” Yet, it is abundantly clear that, although a Constitutional crisis does exist, it is one of the Political Left’s own making, starkly evidenced by, and through, the illegal appointment of a Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, whose sole purpose is to manufacture a reason to indict a duly elected, sitting President of the United States.Whether for good cause or no—and no cause whatsoever exists here for removing the U.S. President, Donald Trump, in any event—criminal indictment of a sitting President has never before occurred in our Nation, and no provision for indictment of a sitting President exists in the U.S. Constitution, and that is so for good reason: to preclude the subversion of the will of the American People by a hidden, powerful, inordinately wealthy upper class that seeks to create a Country amenable to their special, and exclusive interests. Robert Mueller’s audacious attempt to even consider compelling the U.S. President to appear before a Grand Jury is indicative of a dangerous coup d’état playing out before the American electorate by a secretive "elite."Liberals constantly maintain that the American people are a Nation governed by the rule of law. That means our Nation is to be governed by law, not by men. What the very existence of the Bureaucratic Deep State, entrenched with hundreds if not thousands of holdovers from the Obama Administration, demonstrates, though, is that We, the People, are a Nation that is consistently ruled not by law, but by men, contrary to the platitudes voiced by politicians of the Liberal Left.Americans are indeed in the midst of major civil unrest, headed toward outright civil war. How this plays out will be seen through President Trump’s ability to weather all underhanded attempts to destroy his Presidency and by the strength of those Americans who have not been deluded and are fully capable of perceiving the presence of and understanding the inherent danger presented by a ruthless, cunning and intractable foe lurking ominously in their midst.If the Political Left prevails--and as its failure to seat the devious, duplicitous, anti-American Globalist Hillary Clinton in the White House has not prevented the Political Left's efforts to dismantle a Country situated as a sovereign Nation State, but, rather, has caused the Political Left merely to redouble its  treacherous efforts to defeat the Will of a Conservative populist surge desirous of preserving a Nation founded on the sacred principles of the founding fathers, as those principles have been set in stone in the U.S. Constitution and in the Constitution's sacred Bill of Rights--socialism will rear its ugly head, and a sovereign Nation State, a free Republic, and a free people, will be well-nigh forever lost._________________________________________________Copyright © 2018 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

THE ANTIGUN MESSAGE OF TEACHERS’ UNIONS MISSES THE MARK ON GUN VIOLENCE.

Antigun activists must take Americans for fools. When a terrorist, gangbanger, lunatic, or your garden variety criminal seriously injures or murders innocent citizens, be it with a knife, a bomb, a car or truck, a baseball bat, or a firearm—no matter the object—the answer to stemming violence of all kinds is ever the same: “Get rid of the Guns!” That’s the long and short of it. Many members of the American public feed on such misguided, imperious and impertinent anti-Second Amendment slogans, manufactured by and pressed into service by the destroyers of our sacred rights and liberties, taking them to heart. The mainstream Press obliges, churning these slogans out regularly, incessantly. The verbiage may change a bit, but the message does not.Members of the public, who succumb to the antigun rhetoric and propaganda, espouse enactment of ever more restrictive firearms legislation—firearms legislation targeting the law-abiding American civilian population. Individuals who buy into the rhetoric and propaganda believe strongly, although wrongly, that the solution to societal violence is as simple to understand and to effectuate as recitation of the antigun slogans themselves. It isn’t. Contrary to the implication behind these anti-American slogans, no simple cause exists for today’s endemic violence. Accordingly, no simple solution exists for curbing it.But, one point is poignantly clear if a person would just stop to consider it. It is a point antigun advocates won’t mention. It is one antigun advocates would never countenance; and it is a point the mainstream Press—the willing bullhorn of the antigun establishment—would not so much as intimate. Societal violence is a manifestation of human conduct, not inanimate, non-sentient objects.Guns do not go on shooting sprees on their own volition. Knives do not stab individuals on a personal whim. Cars and trucks do not, themselves, ponder jumping curbs to run down bystanders. Yet antigun advocates convey the impression that inanimate objects, firearms, especially, are the innate causal agents of violence—that they “work” a sort of sorcery on individuals who, themselves, become merely the vessels for carrying out acts of violence. So, it is guns—those in the hands of law-abiding, rational American citizens and civilians—that are targeted for unceremonious eradication.“Get rid of guns!” That is the battle cry. And, the antigun advocates count on the public’s wholesale acceptance of their agenda, shaping and molding opinion to their cause; playing on emotion; stoking fear and anger. There is no reflection; no consideration; no debate. Antigun propagandists, activists, and zealots want none of it, believing that serious reflection, consideration, debate to be unnecessary, irrelevant or, more to the point, dangerous, as even a modicum of thoughtful reflection would bring immediately to light, the legal and logical weaknesses of their position.Americans who fall prey to and buy into simplistic antigun messaging and proselytizing operate unthinkingly, mindlessly, reflexively, like a village mob, brandishing pitchforks and torches, hell-bent on destroying Dr. Frankenstein’s monster—believing that ridding the Nation of firearms will in fact stem gun violence and curb most societal violence. They fail to realize that the “monster” they seek to destroy will not be destroyed—cannot be destroyed—because it is no more than a creation of the antigun propagandists. It is a shadowy figment, existing not in the “gun” at all, but in themselves. The monster manifests in and takes on form and substance, and life, as they wish it to—in their own weak, benighted natures.Of course, some Americans, certainly the antigun perpetrator activists who seek public acceptance of their antigun agenda, would like to see civilian gun ownership and possession substantially curtailed and eventually eliminated from American society, even though realization of their goal wouldn’t reduce societal violence one iota. They know this. Indeed, if pressed, they would likely acknowledge this. Antigun activists’ abhorrence of guns rests as much on aesthetic grounds as on social and political ones. They simply do not like guns; see no benefit to having them in “civilized society;” and, so, do not accept that American people have a fundamental, natural right to keep and bear arms. For antigun activists, zealots and those members of the public that fall prey to the messaging, the idea that Americans have a natural fundamental right to keep and bear arms is repugnant; an anathema; not simply arguably wrong, but heretical, even nonsensical.Yet, many more Americans—most Americans—believe fervently in the right of the people to keep and bear arms, as did the founders of our free Republic, the framers of our Constitution, who sensibly realized the importance of codifying that sacred right in the Second Amendment. This is an article of faith. The antithesis of which—that no American has an unalienable right to keep and bear arms—is truly heretical. So long as the concept of natural rights remains a bedrock principle of our Nation, all the chanting, ranting, and prattling, for yet more restrictive gun laws, will be rendered moot, as well such sanctimonious posturing should.On April 5, 2018, the United Federation of Teachers (“UFT”)—a teacher’s union that represents New York City Schools—posted two articles in its publication, in support of the antigun “March for our Lives” demonstration that took place in Washington, D.C. Similar antigun protest marches took place in New York City, and elsewhere around the Country, drawing hundreds of thousands of high school and middle school students, as well as public school educators and administrators. The mass shooting incident at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on February 14, served as the impetus and pretext for the marches. Michael Bloomberg’s antigun advocacy group, “Everytown for Gun Safety,” and other groups, sympathetic to the goals of Bloomberg’s group, provided funding, organization, and logistical support for the students.UFT President Michael Mulgrew, who authored one of the articles appearing in the Union’s publication, titled, “Time for common sense on guns,” says that the protestors “demand sensible gun laws to keep weapons out of our communities,” and that students “don’t want to live with fear and [that] they are tired of waiting for Washington, D.C. to stand up to the National Rifle Association.” To emphasize his own abhorrence of firearms, the UFT President added this weak attempt at a play on words: “teachers should be marking papers, not being trained in marksmanship.” Rachel Nobel, UFT Staff Reporter, who authored a second article, that appeared in the same April 15 publication, titled, “Taking a stand against gun violence,” reiterated the UFT President’s comment that arming teachers was a bad idea. She asserted: “Many teachers had come to protest President Donald Trump’s proposal for licensing teachers to carry weapons in schools.” In her article Rachel Nobel quotes Larry Sachs, a teacher at PS 57, who asserted, “If taking one gun off the street saves your child from being shot, then it’s worth it.” As can be seen, a cascade of antigun slogans tumbles through these UFT articles.The overuse of slogans, in support of the position for further gun restrictions against the civilian populace of this Country, is aptly and abundantly illustrated in the titles of the two UFT articles and in the articles’ content. Slogans invariably fill mainstream news and opinion articles as well. Slogans serve, at best, as a feeble substitute for vigorous, sustained argument. At worse, they are inane, doing the American citizenry a disservice, playing simply to one's emotion, rather than to one's intellect. Use of slogans rather than cogent argument promotes intellectual laziness--both in the author of an article and in the reader. Author and reader are encouraged--nay, expected--to suspend critical judgment.The principal, albeit tacit, point of the two UFT articles is that popular support exists for yet further gun restrictions. Apparently, the UFT President and UFT Staff Reporter, and, evidently, many teachers and school administrators across the Country, believe that, although this Nation suffers from hundreds of Federal, State, and local restrictive firearms’ statutes, codes, regulations, and rules, many more are needed. Obviously, those who espouse further restrictive gun measures won't be satisfied until civilian possession of firearms in this Country is ended.Of course, tens of millions of American citizens do not support further gun restrictions. But, even if we assume, for purpose of argument, that more Americans than not, do support ever more gun control, does popular support, in and of itself, constitute a sound argument for it? No, it doesn’t!Among the informal fallacies known to antiquity, argumentum ad populum, is a common one. The argument, “appeal to popularity,”—also referred to in common parlance as “appeal to the people”—rests on the fallacious claim that, because a significant number of people believe a proposition to be true, the proposition is true.In the present case, the idea conveyed is that, because hundreds of thousands of people, taking part in the recent antigun protest demonstrations, believe that further restrictive firearms’ measures will reduce gun violence, it follows that further restrictive firearms’ measures will, in fact, reduce gun violence, and that further restrictions on civilian ownership and possession of firearms will reduce all forms of societal violence. These notions are false, blatantly so. No matter. Yet, the mainstream media insists on presenting these false notions as fact; as self-evident truth.This is a prime example of the argumentum ad populum fallacy. The fallacy proceeds from the idea that popular opinion constitutes good and sufficient evidence to support a claim. Consensus, among the masses, though, does not, in and of itself, provide evidence in support of the truth of a proposition. Shouting loud and long does not make a claim true, or “truer,” contrary to what many Americans —including all too many young people, who are particularly sensitive to emotional messaging—may happen to think.Apparently, many young Americans, as well as all too many older ones, feel that whoever shouts the longest and the loudest is one whose judgment is correct, and who, therefore, is to be believed over someone—anyone—who operates through calm reflection, who articulates a point clearly, cogently, softly, rather than through bombast.The American public should not, in any event, be subsidizing, with its tax dollars, student protests during school days and hours. Better it would be if high school students debated the issue of societal violence, calmly and intelligently, in the classroom, not in the public forum. Doing so would allow for more sensible and productive use of time.Yet, rather than seeing teachers and school administrators beseeching students to operate through restraint, we see all too many of them taking part in group excesses, along with these students. We see teachers and administrators, at the behest of the leadership of antigun groups, indulging students’ baser instincts; unconscionably encouraging, abetting, and exploiting raw emotion in young people, rather than encouraging restraint on emotions.Teachers should be cultivating each student’s critical faculties, cautioning each of them of the dangers in allowing emotions to hold sway over rational intellect, especially in moments when the rational mind is overwhelmed by senseless tragedy. But, that is where personal strength, fortitude, and indomitability of spirit come into play—where a person checks his or her emotions at the door, preventing those who hide an ulterior motive from making use of a student’s understandable anger and fear, to promote an insidious and deceptive agenda—one detrimental to the preservation of our Nation’s sacred rights and liberties. Oh, but wouldn’t that be a shame!_________________________________________________Copyright © 2018 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.   

THE ISSUE OF CURBING VIOLENCE IN OUR SCHOOLS DOES NOT DEVOLVE TO SIMPLY BANNING GUNS. IT IS MORE COMPLEX, ELUSIVE, NUANCED.

PART FIVE

STUDENTS MUST BECOME CRITICAL THINKERS, NOT “PARROTS” OF THOSE WHO HARBOR ULTERIOR MOTIVES.

Peaceful protest isn’t a bad thing. The youth of our Nation, as citizens of the United States, have a Constitutional right to do so as the right of the people to peaceably assemble is a fundamental right, specifically codified in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, along with freedom of speech, freedom of the Press, the right of the people to petition the government for a redress of grievances, and the right to the free exercise of religion. These rights are broad in scope and critical to the maintenance of a free Republic. The danger of protest rests when there exists a hidden agenda behind the protest, unbeknownst to those that take to protest.On March 24, 2018, hundreds of thousands of young people, including adults, turned out to protest violence in our Nation’s schools. The horror that took place in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School served as the impetus for the protest. Last February 2018, a deranged young man, Nikolas Cruz, whom School Officials had expelled for multiple serious disciplinary violations, walked unimpeded into the School, and proceeded to murder 17 students, including teachers, using a semiautomatic long gun, modeled on the “AR-15” platform.Organizers of the March 24 protest on our Nation’s Capital on Saturday, March 24, 2018 called it, “March for Our Lives.” The New York Times banner headline on Sunday, March 25, 2018, says something different however: "With Passion and Fury, Students March on Guns."Students across the Country are furious—and rightfully so—at the failure of Government, to protect them, as students are vulnerable to violence when in school. How it is that a seriously disturbed individual, Nikolas Cruz, who was on the radar of both the FBI and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, and who, on several occasions, had openly expressed a desire to kill, could gain access to a firearm and ammunition, and who then could act on that desire, speaks of gross incompetence and glaring ineptitude, on multiple Governmental levels? Then there is the failure of an armed Broward County Deputy Sheriff—a Resource Officer, assigned to the School, and of other Broward County Deputy Sheriffs, who shortly arrived on the scene—whose actions or, rather, inactions, must be   singled out. Broward County Deputy Sheriff, Scott Peterson, and other Broward County Deputy County Sheriffs failed to confront and stop Nikolas Cruz. They all consciously, intentionally, refrained from entering the School building to confront Nikolas Cruz, even though they heard gunshots in the School, and knew or had every reason to conclude that, every time they heard a gunshot, an innocent person had died. Bald-faced cowardice, cannot be ruled out.Students have a right to ask of Government, that is charged to protect them, why Government failed them. This failure must be addressed and then redressed. Action must be taken to protect our schools with appropriate security. Competent, armed individuals, both physically capable of action and psychologically predisposed to act in a life-threatening situation, must be a component of an effective school security program.

FIREARMS, OF THEMSELVES, DO NOT CAUSE VIOLENCE BECAUSE THEY ARE OBJECTS, NOT AGENTS.

As for the root cause(s) why more violence occurs in our schools, this is a complex issue, with no simple answer or remedy. Unfortunately, in the face of overwhelming horror and tragedy, there is a normal tendency to look for a “quick fix,” and there are those who jump at the chance to funnel through the mainstream media, to the public, a  simple answer—more stringent gun laws, commencing with an outright ban on civilian ownership and possession of all semiautomatic long guns, defined as ‘assault weapons,’ including a ban on large capacity ammunition magazines.Antigun advocacy groups have argued, for decades, for further restrictions on civilian access to semiautomatic firearms, defined as ‘assault weapons.’ Of course, the definition of ‘assault weapon,’ is amorphous, as the phrase is a political invention, not an industry or military term of art. Those jurisdictions that generally ban possession of “assault weapons” in the hands of the American civilian citizenry, have defined the expression, ‘assault weapon,’ in different ways. In fact, under New York law at least one category of weapon, the revolving cylinder shotgun, is defined in law, an ‘assault weapon,’ even though, given the revolving cylinder shotgun’s method of operation, as the name makes plain, the revolving cylinder shotgun isn’t a semiautomatic weapon at all.Antigun advocacy groups have an agenda and that agenda does not necessarily equate with ensuring a safe school environment. In pursuit of that agenda, these groups have successfully harnessed the anger, hurt, frustration, and legitimate concern of students. The “March for Our Lives” didn’t just happen. It happened for a reason: Antigun advocacy groups and other liberal advocacy groups quietly, behind the scenes, harnessed student anger and redirected it. They redirected student anger, hurt, and frustration away from an attack on the failure of some State and local governmental authorities to provide students with a safe and secure environment, where student anger, frustration and hurt should have been focused, or should rightfully have remained, to an attack on "the gun" qua "assault weapon." Thus, instead of encouraging young people to take part in an open, frank, and intelligent discussion on the root causes of violence in our society and how it is and why it is some people erupt into an orgy of horrific violence and how State and local governments, in the interim, may implement reasonable security measures in schools, to protect students, we see antigun advocacy groups, and other advocacy groups in agreement with them, ratcheting up student anger to the point where that anger explodes into a paroxysm of rage launched specifically and solely against an inanimate object.An undertaking of this magnitude requires, money, organization, and coordination well beyond the capacity of young people to engineer. The billionaire Michael Bloomberg, through his antigun advocacy group, “Everytown for Gun Safety,” organized, funded, and coordinated the rally. This isn’t supposition, it is fact, as reported by CNN, and as Bloomberg’s group itself readily admits.

WOULD A WHOLESALE BAN ON SEMIAUTOMATIC LONG GUNS, MODELED ON THE ORIGINAL AR-15 ARMALITE SEMIAUTOMATIC RIFLE, PREVENT A RECURRENCE OF GUN VIOLENCE IN OUR NATION’S SCHOOLS?

An outright ban on an entire category of weapons in common use would not prevent further gun violence. A federal ban on so-called ‘assault weapons,’ implemented in 1994, was tried. That ban failed to prevent many mass shootings. The ban expired in 2004 through a sunset provision, and Congress did not reauthorize it. We have seen, since, violent acts committed, not only with so-called “assault weapons,” but with other objects, including, knives, bombs, and even trucks.“Everytown for Gun Safety,” and like-minded antigun advocacy groups argue that violence in our schools, and in public spaces generally, can be prevented or significantly reduced if Government, local, State, and Federal, would simply prohibit civilian access to firearms. Whether these antigun activist groups truly believe that, is unlikely. Their goal, if achieved, would not eliminate or even reduce violence in schools or in the greater society. They must know this. Their goal, if achieved, would have the negative effect of leaving the civilian population of this Country essentially defenseless. The tacit but obvious impetus of these antigun advocacy groups is to effectuate Government control over the citizenry. The goal of these groups is not to promote public safety, express claims to the contrary, notwithstanding.The fact of the matter is that, even if antigun advocates were successful in removing every firearm presently in the possession of honest, law-abiding, average, rational American citizens who desire to exercise their fundamental, inalienable, natural right to keep and bear arms who comprise the vast civilian citizenry of firearms’ owners in this County, that would do nothing to curb violent acts. A simplistic fix that happens, not unsurprisingly, to cohere with the personal agenda of antigun advocacy groups—destruction of the Second Amendment—isn’t the panacea for effectively dealing with a culture of violence endemic in our Nation, contrary to the supposition of antigun activists and contrary to their rhetoric. It is a recipe for disaster. First, the antigun activists’ simplistic fix leaves the American citizenry defenseless. Second, the abridgement of the American citizenry’s fundamental rights and liberties—reflected, first and foremost in an armed citizenry—is inconsistent with the continued conservation and preservation of a free Republic, rooted in our Nation’s history. Third, such abridgement of our fundamental rights and liberties is inconsistent with the basic principle upon which those sacred rights and liberties rests: the sanctity, autonomy, and inviolability of the American citizen.Until Americans, including the youth of our Nation, are willing to look deeply and seriously at the true root causes of violence that infects and infests our Country, rather than excoriating guns as the salient cause of violence and mischief in our Nation in accordance with the dictate of antigun advocacy groups, violence will not appreciably be forestalled or constrained; for violence, ultimately, exists in the heart of individuals, not in such inanimate objects they happen to wield. Any object—a gun, a knife, a vehicle, a chainsaw, or any other tool—can be used by a sentient being for good or ill.Young people, especially, must learn to think through an issue calmly, not rashly. Unfortunately, those individuals and groups that have a personal agenda to serve, have irresponsibly coopted the rightful anger and hurt of young people to assist them in pursuit of a singular goal: divesting the civilian population of this Country of their firearms. The young people must resist the urge to serve antigun groups as their servants or proxies. Antigun groups are very good at coaxing young people to join them in service to a personal agenda: gun control, culminating in gun confiscation. Instead, the young people of our Nation might more effectively use intellectual rigor to explore the root causes of violence in our society. In the interim Government at the federal, State, and local levels, can and must design and implement plans to secure our schools from threats of harm. Violence is, unfortunately, persistent in our Nation. But, violence is endemic in many other Western nations, too, even as those other Western nations have rigidly suppressed individual ownership and possession of firearms.A viable security plan to protect students from harm never existed in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. But other Schools across the Nation that have implemented effective security, have been free from deadly threats to students and to teachers. That means all schools must embrace a proactive, not reactive, stance to threats of violence of any kind. A sound plan to protect students is doable and helpful. Going after guns is not._________________________________________________Copyright © 2018 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

ANTIGUN GROUPS PROMOTE GUN CONTROL, NOT SCHOOL SAFETY

PART THREE

THE INCESSANT ATTACK ON GUNS AND GUN OWNERSHIP HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH AND WILL DO NOTHING TO MAKE OUR SCHOOLS SAFE.

With the latest shooting tragedy—this one at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida—antigun groups wasted little time in singling out a culprit—the AR-15 5.56 NATO / 223 semiautomatic rifle. The mainstream media quickly echoed the sentiment of antigun groups and their fellow travelers in Congress: if Government would just confiscate guns from the civilian population, commencing with “assault weapons,” society would be better off for it and all would be right with the world.In the hysteria of the moment, it is considered anathema to counter this sentiment or to question the underlying assumption. Banning civilian ownership and possession of firearms is proclaimed a panacea to preventing gun violence. It is the mantra of anti-Second Amendment proponents, activists, and legislators; and it is the drumbeat of a compliant, duplicitous Press. It is accepted by many as a categorical imperative; an irrefutable truth. But is it?Do we not see, rather, the naked desire and effort of those who seek to destroy every vestige of responsible gun ownership in our Country? They would do so under the guise of promoting public safety. But, this is a false promise; an outright lie. Those who seek to end gun ownership and gun possession in this Country attempt to shoehorn international norms and United Nations’ mandates involving firearms, into our Nation’s norms and values. It doesn’t work. Our Nation, unlike all others, is structured on natural and unalienable rights and liberties of the American people, as codified in our Nation’s Bill of Rights—a Bill of Rights that is the very backbone of our Nation.Americans would do well to note that the oppressive restrictions on firearms’ possession seen in the laws of other nations exemplify a basic and malevolent mistrust the governing bodies of those nations extend toward their own people.

WHY DID THE PARKLAND, FLORIDA TRAGEDY OCCUR?

Lost in discussion about gun violence is any mention of one obvious and incontrovertible fact: the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School would not have happened—could not have occurred—if a multilayered set of strategies were utilized to harden the school against security breaches. The School didn’t do this. The result, while horrific, cannot and should not be construed as altogether unexpected and inexplicable in the peculiar age we live in and the tragedy should not be blamed on guns.We live in an age marked by broken homes and social alienation. It is an age beset by the rupture of core values and the seeding of a new ethos consisting of a hodgepodge of multicultural influences, multilingualism, and moral relativism; a hollowing out of sacred traditions, the denigration of basic Judeo-Christian values and virtues and of the traditional nuclear family. It is an age seeking instant gratification; immersed in perverse multivarious sexual experimentation. It is one extolling anomalous gender diversity; and, it is an age of rampant exploitation of human weakness.We see an endless parade of new, ever more violent, hyper-realistic video games, along with a continuous procession of cinematic “treats” of gratuitous violence marched out by Hollywood studio heads to encourage, and exploit, and reinforce the public appetite for depictions of violence and carnage. And we see the blatant hypocrisy of Hollywood actors—those who take evident pride in their onscreen portrayals of psychotic, psychopathic killers, engaged in over-the-top murderous sprees, pretending to be knowledgeable about the firearm props they use on-screen, while off-screen, sanctimoniously, denouncing those very guns, and denouncing the law-abiding citizens who choose to exercise their unalienable and natural right of self-defense with defense of arms, as codified in the U.S. Constitution, and who do so in a proper, safe, and lawful manner.

ANTIGUN GROUPS SHAMELESSLY MANIPULATE CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS.

A new tactic of antigun groups and one that is most reprehensible involves the recruitment of and exploitation of teenagers and young children as message boards in the continuing effort to destroy our sacred rights and liberties. We find, of late, young, articulate, students carrying messages for antigun groups. They know that no one would dare directly challenge a youth’s apparent preconceptions about guns and gun violence, however simplistic and flawed those preconceptions happen to be. These students have not, however, voiced outrage at gun violence spontaneously. They have been carefully coached. How do we know this? Consider what they are saying. They are using the typical phraseology and sloganeering of the antigun groups. They refer to AR-15 semiautomatic rifles as “weapons of war.” They call for “universal background checks.” They tell the American public to vote pro-Second Amendment legislators out of Office. They attack the NRA, the oldest civil rights organization in the Country, labeling it, pejoratively, the “Gun Lobby.” They aren’t speaking solely for themselves. They are the puppets of antigun political activists and legislators and of the ruthless, secretive internationalist benefactors that bankroll them. These antigun groups and their internationalist benefactors have an agenda to pursue; and the children and teenagers, who operate from emotion, and who are easy to manipulate, present a useful tool for these groups.Doubtless, many of these students speak from the heart. They would not be compelling were that untrue. But the messages come from activist sponsors, who are using these innocent young adults as their “stand-ins.” The words sound new, and fresh and heartfelt, and emphatic even if they aren’t. The speed to which these young people have been mobilized and organized reflects, substantial funding and professional antigun operatives, well-schooled in psychological warfare, behind the scene.Teenagers—even preteens and young children—have been shamelessly recruited to assist in the work of those who seek to destroy this Nation’s Second Amendment. Many of these children and young adults are caught up in the heat of the moment, as impressionable young people generally are—as child psychologists and activists and propagandists in the antigun movement certainly know. Young people often act through the compulsion of social pressure. They are unusually susceptible to the forces that urge conformity to the dictates of the many and of those who shout the loudest or who appear to be the stronger willed. Those who wish to interject a contrary quiet, albeit reasoned, viewpoint, know full they will face the wrath and castigation of and suffer ignominious ostracizing from their fellow classmates if they do.

ANTIGUN GROUPS ARE THE UNSEEN “HAND” BEHIND THESE STUDENT “WALKOUTS”

"School walkouts" occurred on March 14, 2018. An operation of this magnitude, involving schools across the Country, obviously requires money, and organization, and coordination well beyond the ability and monetary capacity of students to orchestrate. The organizers made certain that the event would zero in on the singular topics of “guns” and “gun violence.” This effort had nothing to do with ensuring school safety, and it had nothing to do with curbing violence in schools. ABC News reports:“Women’s March Youth Coordinator Tabitha St. Bernard Jacobs, one of the few adults helping with the youth-led movement, told ABC News that while today's walkout is in reaction to the Parkland shooting, the event is about calling out gun violence.This isn't a protest against schools but a way to encourage school administrators to help students ‘amplify their voices,’ she said.She added, ‘Some schools are looking to this as an opportunity to really educate their young people about what it means in this moment to be engaged.’”In other words, this walkout is teaching children to become agents’ provocateur and agitators for anarchist and communist groups. Even elementary grade school students have been recruited. That is particularly reprehensible. Very young children have no comprehension of the import and purpose of this grand charade. They are shamelessly being used as pawns. Does this orchestrated drama have anything to do with school safety? No! It has everything to do with forcing an antigun agenda down the throats of the American public.Some schools have permitted a walkout; but others have not. Contrary to Tabitha St. Bernard Jacobs’ remarks, many school administrators made clear their displeasure of students’ insolence. One school board president said, “those who went outside to protest despite warnings of penalties would get suspensions.” Wall Street Journal, March 15, 2018, at A7.   The American public is witnessing a ramping up of disobedience to the rule of law on a massive scale. Anarchist groups and other ruthless internationalist socialist/communist influences are actively encouraging our youth to take an active role in the tearing down of our Nation. They make no pretense of this. They attack the very core of our laws, our culture, our morality, our Judeo-Christian heritage, our sacred rights and liberties—the very fabric of our Nation.We see the intentions of these disruptors played out in the recent and blatant actions of California Governor Jerry Brown; Oakland, California Mayor Libby Schaaf; New York Governor Andrew Cuomo; House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi; Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer; and declared Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders.It is time for Americans to take a stand against deceitful influences and deceitful individuals.______________________________________________Copyright © 2018 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL’S SECURITY SYSTEM WAS INEFFECTIVE AND INADEQUATE, BUT WHAT DOES AN EFFECTIVE SCHOOL SECURITY LOOK LIKE?

PART TWO

A TIPPING POINT IS REACHED: SUBSEQUENT TO THE MASS SHOOTING INCIDENT AT MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL, IN PARKLAND, FLORIDA, THE PUBLIC CLAMORS FOR AND DEMANDS ANSWERS, AN ACCOUNTING, AND A CALL FOR CORRECTIVE MEASURES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

Parkland, Florida is a wealthy enclave abutting prominent Florida Cities—Coral Springs, Boca Raton, and Palm Beach. The public learned about Parkland after tragedy struck the City’s public high school: Marjory Stoneman Douglas. A deranged young man, 19-year old Nikolas Cruz, entered the School on February 14, 2018, armed with a semiautomatic rifle and several rounds of ammunition. During the ensuing shooting spree, Cruz murdered 17 people, including both students and teachers. He wounded several more students, many seriously.Why Nikolas Cruz went on a shooting rampage is open to speculation. How it is he succeeded in killing and injuring innocent people, isn’t. Unlike many schools across the Country, both public and private—including preschools, elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools, as well as colleges and universities—it is abundantly clear that one School, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, had woefully inadequate security. The lack of adequate security gave the killer an open invitation to visit harm on the School, and he took full advantage of security deficiencies to wreak havoc--with immediacy and ferocity--on innocent students and teachers alike.

THREE CRITICAL FAILURES LED TO HORRIFIC TRAGEDY

THE FIRST FAILURE

The Board of Education of Marjory Stoneman Douglas employed one Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy at the School, dubbed the “School Resource Officer.” Apparently, that was the only security provided. Once Nikolas Cruz began his rampage through the School, murdering both students and teachers, Deputy Sheriff Scott Peterson, hunkered down behind a barrier, outside the School, his handgun drawn. But, he never ventured inside the School to confront the shooter. A few more Broward County Sheriff’s Deputies arrived soon after. They, too, never ventured inside the School even though Peterson repeatedly said gunshots were coming from inside the School building.Once the Coral Springs Police SWAT team arrived, the members were aghast to find Broward County Sheriffs’ Deputies huddled together outside the School—none had entered the School, to stop the shooter. And where was he? Unlike many mass shooting incidents, the killer in the Parkland, Florida incident, Nikolas Cruz, obviously didn’t have a personal death wish even as he dealt death on others. He left the School Building, blending in with other students. He was later apprehended by an Officer from the Coconut Creek Police Department.

THE SECOND FAILURE

Both the Broward County Sheriff (‘BSO’) Scott Israel and the Miami Office of the FBI received a substantial number of tips, warning of the erratic behavior of Nikolas Cruz through the months, weeks, and even days leading up to the tragedy, but neither the FBI nor the Sheriff acted on the tips. In fact, the BSO Scott Israel received 45 tips involving the danger Nikolas Cruz posed to the community, but did nothing. Ever the politician, Scott Israel blames others under his command for his own failures to protect his community and not surprisingly has rebuffed calls for his resignation. The FBI doesn’t escape unscathed from the failure to act, either. The Miami Herald reports the FBI delivered an official apology. An official apology from the FBI may be extraordinary, but it hardly suffices and comes across as lame. Governor Rick Scott called for FBI Director Christopher Wray to step down. He won’t.

THE THIRD FAILURE

The High School did not inform the police about dangerous students. This undoubtedly speaks to President Barack Obama's legacy policy.The City Journal reports:“In an effort to combat the “school to prison pipeline,” schools across the country have come under pressure from the federal government and civil rights activists to reduce suspensions, expulsions, and in-school arrests. The unintended consequences of pressuring schools to produce ever-lower discipline statistics deserve much more examination.  Florida’s Broward County, home to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, was among the leaders in this nationwide policy shift. According to Washington Post reporting, Broward County schools once recorded more in-school arrests than any other Florida district.”  President Trump and his Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, must change a previous Administration's nonsensical policy.

WHAT IS BEING DONE TO ADDRESS WOEFULLY  INEFFECTIVE AND INADEQUATE SECURITY SYSTEMS IN MANY OF OUR NATION’S SCHOOLS?

In the aftermath of the Parkland, Florida tragedy, the Florida State Legislature drafted legislation in the hope of preventing future tragedies. The bill, titled the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Act (2018 Bill Text FL S.B. 7026), was signed into law by Governor Rick Scott on Friday, March 9, 2018. Other States are in the process of drafting and enacting their own bills. In all instances, the question that must be asked is this: Does legislation to prevent future school tragedies truly address the issue of school safety or is school safety merely the pretext to further restrict legitimate firearms’ rights of the average, rational, law-abiding citizen? A quick look at the Florida Act leads one to conclude that at least a couple of features of the Act have nothing to do with School safety and everything to do with gun control.Evidence of the insertion of antigun agenda policies exists in the Florida Act: the imposition of a three-day waiting period between the date of purchase and receipt of any firearm; and age constraints as no person under the age of 21 may purchase any firearm. If legislation is truly designed to prevent future tragedy in schools, then legislation should be directed to and limited to that effort.

WHAT DOES A RESPONSIBLE, RESPONSIVE, CREDIBLE SECURITY SCHOOL PLAN CONSIST OF?

Two important points must be addressed before discussing corrective actions for Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School or for that matter, any other school in this Country. First, no security system, regardless of sophistication and refinement, is worth the cost of its design and implementation if those charged with its operation provide half-hearted efforts to see to it that the system functions at optimum efficiency, reliability, and effectiveness. Second, where systemic failures exist, lives will always be at risk.The School Resource Officer, Deputy Sheriff Scott Peterson, who did not confront the shooter, is a coward; no question about it; and the other Deputy Sheriffs who arrived soon after the shooting began, did not confront the shooter either. Their inaction or inappropriate action amounts to ineptitude and gross incompetence at least; and abject cowardice at worst. Our takeaway: even the inclusion of armed security personnel in the design of a security system—which ought to be considered a critical aspect of an effective security system—is of no value if security personnel lack both the requisite training and ability to counter a threat or, otherwise, are physically or psychologically unsuited to the task of confronting a deadly threat quickly, stalwartly, and forcefully.

WHAT SHOULD AN EFFECTIVE SCHOOL SECURITY SYSTEM CONSIST OF?

The expression, ‘hardening,’ of security defenses of a school often comes up in discussion. What does this mean? As we use the expression, it means that an effective security system—a truly effective security system—must be multilayered and multifaceted. Such a security system should consist of three primary layers or facets. The first layer consists of an array of “passive” technological and non-technological features, implemented throughout the school or incorporated into the structure of the school. See the Arbalest Quarrel article, Part One on School Safety. A second layer consists of both armed and unarmed personnel, monitoring and patrolling the school building and school grounds. A third layer requires involvement of students, faculty, and administrators and requires, too, the active involvement of the community at large. If erratic dangerous behavior is perceived in a student, that behavior should be reported to the appropriate senior school official or officials who must assess the level of risk and notify police officials if necessary or provide counseling for that individual. And, if, or when, an active threat occurs, students, teachers, school administrators, and security personnel must have a plan of action and must be prepared to execute that plan of action immediately.In our next article we will look at each of these facets of security in more depth._______________________________________________________

GET INVOLVED! CALL YOUR STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT!

Find out what your State and local government officials have done to make all the schools in your community—preschool; elementary, middle and high schools; technical schools, and colleges and universities—safe.This, ultimately, is your responsibility. If your government officials have taken no action or minimal action or are reluctant to discuss the issue with you at all, then you must join with other members of your community to make sure your government officials are responsive to and do listen to your concerns and that they address the issue of school security. After all, these Government officials work for you. not for themselves, and they owe it to you to make sure that the life and well-being of your children are safe. There is no excuse for delay. Don’t wait for your child to become another statistic!________________________________________________________Copyright © 2018 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

FRONTLINE SOLUTIONS FOR SCHOOL SAFETY: MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL HAD NONE; WHY WAS THAT?

PART ONE

WORKABLE FRONTLINE SOLUTIONS FOR SCHOOL SAFETY ARE ULTIMATELY A STATE AND LOCAL ISSUE AND RESPONSIBILITY.

What are we doing to secure school safety for our communities? Kids are being seriously injured or killed in our schools. Doing something is better than doing nothing and there is, of course no excuse for doing nothing, but we must do the right thing. Innocent lives rest in the balance. All we hear about in the news, though, is accusation and denunciation, all laid at the feet of the usual convenient scapegoats through whom the public is encouraged to vent its frustration and outrage. We see displays of raw anger and antipathy, emotional outbursts, and sanctimonious posturing. And we are proffered feel-good single solution answers that, on careful examination, do nothing at all to protect the lives and well-being of our children, and scarcely mask their true import: to promote a social and political agenda.Those of us who have young children or grandchildren should not have to send them to school where they are not safe. If reasonable safeguards are put into effect in our schools, children will be safe. Think about it. Substantial security already exists at airports, in hospitals, in shopping malls, in corporate and governmental office buildings, in courthouses and banks, and in police stations. You get the idea. And yet, there are schools in America that have no security or, at best, minimal and inadequate security for our children.

THERE WAS VIRTUALLY NO SECURITY AT MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL ON THE DAY OF THE SHOOTING. WHY IS THAT?

There was virtually no security at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School; and what minimal security did exist at the School that the public did hear about—namely the assignment of one Broward County Deputy Sheriff to the School—proved useless in preventing or, for that matter, in even attempting to prevent the tragedy that ensued. In an updated article, titled, “As Gunman Rampaged Through Florida School, Armed Deputy ‘Never Went In’”, The New York Times reports: “The only armed sheriff’s deputy at a Florida high school where 17 people were killed took cover outside rather than charging into the building when the massacre began, the Broward County sheriff said on Thursday. The sheriff also acknowledged that his office received 23 calls related to the suspect going back a decade, including one last year that said he was collecting knives and guns, but may not have adequately followed up. The deputy, Scot Peterson, resigned on Thursday after being suspended without pay after Sheriff Scott Israel reviewed surveillance video.”Matters didn’t improve once other Broward Sheriff’s Deputies arrived, for they, too, did nothing to confront an active shooter. The New York Post reported, in their article, titled, “Four sheriff’s deputies hid during Florida shooting,” “Not one but four sheriff’s deputies hid behind cars instead of storming Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS in Parkland, Fla., during Wednesday’s school shooting, police claimed Friday — as newly released records revealed the Broward County Sheriff’s Office had received at least 18 calls about the troubled teen over the past decade. Sources from Coral Springs, Fla., Police Department tell CNN that when its officers arrived on the scene Wednesday, they were shocked to find three Broward County Sheriff’s deputies behind their cars with weapons drawn.” Broward County Sheriff, Scott Israel, has, for his part, much to answer for as he bears full responsibility for the action, or inaction, of individuals under his command, as well as for his own actions before, during, and after the tragedy. The parents of all the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School—not only the parents of those students who were injured, some seriously, or parents of students whose lives were lost—should ask for a full accounting of Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel’s actions. Parents of these High School students should also ask Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert W. Runcie why the school system had failed to institute even rudimentary security measures to forestall just such a tragedy that had occurred. It could not have been merely a matter of Broward County Public Schools having insufficient funds to pay for premier security for its schools--as if the cost of a child's life should ever devolve into a cost-benefit analysis. After all, Parkland, Florida, where Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is situated--nestled close to Boca Raton and Coral Springs, wealthy communities--is itself a wealthy City.

MANY STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS, ACROSS THE COUNTRY, HAVE IMPLEMENTED SECURITY MEASURES FOR THEIR SCHOOL SYSTEMS. UNFORTUNATELY, OTHERS, LIKE MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL HAD NOT AND, TO DATE, HAVE NOT.

The public must ask: why are so many State and local governmental officials providing no security in and for their schools or are providing their schools with minimal and inadequate security? What are these public officials waiting for? To do nothing only invites another tragedy to occur in schools that have failed to implement even rudimentary security measures.All too many Americans, it seems, are waiting for the Federal Government to legislate a solution. They look for a quick fix. The Federal Government can recommend guidelines, to be sure, and can provide State grants and encourage other types of funding. But, school safety is, ultimately, a State and local matter. This is hard work, but it is doable. Several States and local communities across the Country have acted to institute multilayered security measures in their schools to protect the lives and well-being of their children. Those communities that have not taken action must do so now. They must be proactive, not reactive.

A CONCENSUS FOR CONCERTED ACTION TO MAKE ALL SCHOOLS IN OUR COUNTRY SAFE FROM LIFE-THREATENING VIOLENCE IS POSSIBLE.

We seek to get a consensus on measures that can be immediately implemented in all our schools to provide an initial layer of passive protection. At this juncture, we do not need to get bogged-down in detail.Video surveillance, both internal and external; secured entrances and exits; use of metal detectors; photo identification and written passes with appointment confirmations; and monitored alarm systems that are connected to police departments are all examples of neutral, passive security measures implemented for both business and government and, which, too, have been implemented in schools across the Country. These passive security measures have been shown to work well in real world situations. Had even a few of these security measures been implemented in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, injury and loss of innocent life would doubtless have been prevented or certainly reduced.Again, many communities across the Country have already employed many of these measures and other passive as well as active measures, in their schools. Those communities that haven’t done so should seriously consider doing so if they are truly serious about protecting the lives and well-being of their children._________________________________________

ACTION ALERT: CALL YOUR STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT!

Find out what your State and local government officials have done to make all the schools in your community—preschool, elementary, middle or junior high school, and high school—safe.This, ultimately, is your responsibility. If your government officials have taken no action or minimal action or are reluctant to discuss the issue with you at all, then you must join with other members of your community to make sure that your government officials are responsive to and do listen to your concerns and that they take immediate action to address the issue of school security if they haven’t already done so. These Government officials owe it to you to make sure that the life and well-being of your child is safe. There is no excuse for delay. Don’t wait for your child to become another statistic!______________________________________________Copyright © 2018 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

THE POLITICAL BOYCOTT: AN ASSAULT ON THE NRA AND ON NRA MEMBERS’ FIRST AND SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS

Antigun activists seek to dispossess the civilian population of this Country of their firearms. That is the reason for their existence. That is the reason for their being. They will deny this of course. They will tell you they don’t want to take all your firearms away, just some of them. They will also tell you they don’t want to prevent every American citizen from owning and possessing firearms, just some of them. But, when pressed, they will admit they abhor firearms and they will tell you that, in a civilized society, no one needs firearms anymore, anyway. They will also tell you that law-abiding, rational citizens today may become lawless, rabidly insane tomorrow. That is highly improbable, ridiculously so, even if only logically possible in a philosophical sense. But mere possibility is enough, for antigun proponents and activists, to support the elimination of civilian firearms’ ownership and firearms’ possession.Those who espouse the elimination of firearms would like to see civilian ownership and possession of firearms relegated to the dustbin of history. They hope that guns, as with buggy whips and corsets, will become merely a distant memory. But, there is one hitch to the antigun activists’ goal and that hitch is the presence of the right codified in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as categorically affirmed by the high Court in the landmark Heller and McDonald cases.The Bill of Rights and U.S. Supreme Court rulings prevent antigun legislators from instituting wholesale confiscation of guns in the vein of the Australian scheme. So, antigun proponents in this Nation employ an incremental approach. Instead of banning firearms en mass, they attempt to ban categories of guns.The National Firearms Act of 1934 made possession of machine guns and “sawed-off” shotguns illegal. In fits and starts, many semiautomatic weapons, called “assault weapons” by antigun proponents, have become illegal for the average American citizen to own in several States. Antigun legislators also expanded and wish to continue to expand the domain of individuals who cannot lawfully own any firearm.With the murder of students and teachers at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Florida by a deranged gunman, antigun activists immediately began to harness public outrage at the senseless deaths. Antigun activists directed public anger toward the activists’ perennial favorite targets: guns, gun owners, gun manufacturers and dealers; and toward their arch-enemy, the NRA.Antigun groups might have reasonably directed public anger at Hollywood for producing movies filled with gratuitous, horrific violence and carnage. They didn’t. And, they could have directed the public’s wrath toward manufacturers of violent video games. They didn’t. Nor did antigun groups look at the cultural milieu in which we live as the true root cause of violence in our Nation: broken homes; illicit drugs; criminal gangs running amok; moral relativism; multiculturalism; historical revisionism; bizarre social constructs; gender dysphoria, a mental disorder, masquerading as mere “life choice;” and the rise of atheistic and socialistic tendencies in this Country, belief systems that are incompatible with natural law and incompatible with the idea of a Divine creator in whom an effective normative ethical system derives.No! It is far easier, although absurd in the contemplation, to direct public anger at an inanimate object, the firearm, and toward the NRA, and toward any person or business entity that espouses support for the right of the American citizen to keep and bear arms.One tactic antigun activists employ recently to achieve their ends is the “political boycott.” The way it works, is this: antigun groups attack companies that have partnership arrangements with NRA. Some companies, for example, offer discounts to NRA members. Antigun activists have coerced companies into ending programs offering discounts to NRA members under threat of economic ruin and public shame and condemnation. The purpose of these political boycotts is expressive and coercive, not economic. Antigun activists seek social and political change here, not economic benefit.The use of the political boycott invariably has a First Amendment free speech component, but even those who support the use of political boycotts recognize its danger. “Boycotts are indeed powerful. They do, in fact, have the ability to exact real-world, human costs from those businesses and individuals targeted. The concern over boycotts exists because they have consequences that might have the potential to extend outward from their target to impact a boycotted business's employees or community.” Democratizing The Economic Sphere: A Case For The Political Boycott, 115 W. Va. L. Rev. 531, 534 (Winter 2012), by Teresa J. Lee.Scrutiny of both motives and effects of using political boycotts to achieve political and social ends is warranted, lest our rights and liberties be destroyed.Use of the political boycott by antigun activists against the NRA is legally and morally suspect and, from a historical perspective, incongruous. The reason is that the NRA, as a Civil Rights organization—the original Civil Rights organization—has, as its first stated purpose and objective the strengthening and sanctifying of our sacred heritage:“To protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, especially with reference to the inalienable right of the individual American citizen guaranteed by such Constitution to acquire, possess, collect, exhibit, transport, carry, transfer ownership of, and enjoy the right to use arms, in order that the people may always be in a position to exercise their legitimate individual rights of self-preservation and defense of family, person, and property, as well as to serve effectively in the appropriate militia for the common defense of the Republic and the individual liberty of its citizens.”NRA is the only Civil Rights Group that has, as its salient raison d’être, the defense of a sacred right and liberty as codified in the U.S. Constitution. And the NRA is attacked for this! There is something both odd and deeply disturbing in antigun activists’ reliance on the exercise of one sacred right, free speech, to attack an organization whose stated objective is simply to defend a second sacred right: the right of the people to keep and bear arms. See the Arbalest Quarrel article, "NRA Freedom, Join It!"Keep in mind, too, that the political boycott is not merely utilized by antigun activists to harm the NRA; it is an attack on the NRA members, American citizens. Basically, NRA members have their own First Amendment right of free speech, as expressed in their support of the Second Amendment. The political boycott is used by antigun activists, and is meant to be used by antigun activists, to squelch free speech. This is an impermissible coercive use of the political boycott.“To be protected under the first amendment, the boycott advocates' appeal to their listeners must be persuasive rather than coercive. The distinction is crucial. Persuasive speech has always been accorded the highest first amendment protection on the theory that the free flow of ideas is central to our democratic system of government: ‘the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market.’ By contrast, speech that deprives its listeners of freedom of choice, i.e., coercive speech, distorts the marketplace of ideas by causing listeners to accept an idea not for its ‘truth’ but to avoid some sanction. Coercive speech also undermines the political process, since a democratic society depends upon the autonomy of those who publicly espouse a point of view and of those who listen.” Secondary Boycotts and the First Amendment, 51 U. Chi. L. Rev. 811, 825 (Summer 1984), by Barbara J. Anderson.There is, though, no autonomy between those who publicly espouse the elimination of civilian gun ownership, ergo de facto repeal of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, comprising antigun activists, antigun legislators, antigun billionaire Globalists, and members of the mainstream media who shriek at and attempt to cajole into submission, the American public and businesses, the listeners, who may happen to harbor contrary views.These antigun influences, some domestic and some foreign, intend to speak to and for the American public and for the business community. For companies that do not willingly accede to the antigun agenda, the political boycott operates as a club to coerce compliance with that agenda. The political boycott is not used here as a mechanism meant merely to persuade.The political boycott is as well, a club wielded against NRA members. Antigun proponents ostracize Americans who are NRA members. But, NRA membership is a legitimate First Amendment expression of one’s Second Amendment right. By attacking a citizen’s membership in NRA, antigun forces seek to control speech, crushing dissent. In a free Republic this cannot be countenanced. NRA members should challenge these boycotts.

 ALERT: CONTACT YOUR REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS NOW!

Tell Congress to enact laws to prevent antigun groups from coercing and threatening retaliatory action against companies that do not adopt the groups’ political views.PHONE: U.S. Senate: (202) 224-3121;PHONE: U.S. House of Representatives: (202) 225-3121______________________________________________Copyright © 2018 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

COERCIVE BOYCOTTS AGAINST COMPANIES DOING BUSINESS WITH NRA ARE ILLEGAL.

In the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School tragedy in Parkland Florida, antigun proponents and activists, in furtherance of their agenda to destroy the Second Amendment, have renewed their attack on guns, gun owners, and on the NRA.This is a three-pronged attack: one, calling on Congress and on the States to enact new repressive gun laws, banning firearms that are in common use; two, demonizing and castigating the oldest civil rights organization in this Country, NRA, which Antigun activists and their fellow travelers in Congress and in the Press disparagingly refer to as the “Gun Lobby;” and, three, attacking companies that do business with the NRA. The demonization of the NRA is particularly detestable as the organization does nothing more than defend a fundamental right, as codified in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: the right of the people to keep and bear arms. To attack the NRA is to attack the Nation's Bill of Rights. See the Arbalest Quarrel article, "NRA Freedom, Join It!"Antigun groups, bankrolled by billionaire Globalists, who have their own agenda—destruction of the United States as an independent sovereign Nation State along with the dismantling of the Nation’s Bill of Rights—have orchestrated marches and demonstrations to urge State and Federal lawmakers to enact news laws banning semiautomatic weapons. And, as against the NRA, antigun groups have unveiled in recent days another strategy: the boycott. This tactic involves targeting companies that have partnership arrangements with NRA.

WHAT IS A BOYCOTT?

In the traditional sense of ‘boycott’ one may think of workers, picket lines, and of labor unions demanding higher wages for workers to preclude a “walk-out.” If management fails to accede to demands for higher wages, workers refuse to work. The union and management reach a settlement, or one side capitulates. This is a typical example of the “labor boycott."But, boycotts may have a non-labor purpose. “The purpose of these boycotts is to protest some condition and induce action on the part of the targeted parties to correct the condition. The condition protested against may be political, social or economic in nature.” Countless Free-Standing Trees: Non-Labor Boycotts After NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co., 71 Ky. L.J. 899, 900 (1983), by Carl Boyd.One sub-set of the non-labor boycott is the “political boycott.” “A ‘political’ boycott is one in which the primary goal of the protesters is to change governmental policy or to secure the enactment of new laws. This term includes anti-discrimination boycotts which are not primarily directed at economic opportunities such as jobs. One major distinction between ‘political’ and ‘economic’ boycotts is that the political boycott is basically secondary, with its primary focus on forcing the boycott target to use its influence to seek governmental change. Many boycotts have involved a political element.” Id. At 900, fn 8.We see this here. When using the tactic of political boycotts, antigun groups do not target NRA directly but, rather, target the companies that do business with NRA.Time.com reports:“Gun-control advocates have had some success pressuring businesses to cut ties with the National Rifle Association in the wake of the deadly Florida high school shooting. But several major companies are still under pressure. Even as businesses like Hertz, Enterprise, United Airlines, and MetLife end their partnerships with the NRA, firms such as FedEx continue offering discount programs for NRA members. And major streaming TV services run by some of the world’s biggest tech companies still give the NRA a platform for its message by showing its channel NRATV, advocates argue.’

ANTIGUN ATTACKS AGAINST COMPANIES THAT HAVE BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS WITH NRA ARE BOTH MORALLY OUTRAGEOUS AND LEGALLY SUSPECT.

The mainstream media, long in bed with antigun groups, do not bother to inform the public that these boycotts may very well be illegal. “Boycott organizers and participants face two fundamental legal obstacles: 1) to be sustained, the boycott must withstand efforts to enjoin supporting activities, such as picketing; and 2) even if the boycott is successful, boycott organizers might be liable for large damages from tort claims. Both of these concerns are tied to a common issue, the ‘legality’ of the boycott. A finding of illegality may arise from three sources: 1) general tort principles concerned with interference with prospective advantage; 2) state statutes regulating picketing or attempting to limit interference with business activity; or 3) antitrust legislation, especially the Sherman Act. Underlying the legality issue is the fact that these boycotts create a conflict between the public interest in the goals espoused and the property interest of those boycotted, a conflict compounded by the issue of first amendment rights claimed by protesters.” NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co. at 902.Antigun groups apparently believe that their actions will invariably withstand legal scrutiny because political boycotts fall within the free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. But, do they? If antigun groups’ actions against companies that do business with the NRA amount to extortion against companies—namely, “relinquish your association with NRA or face economic ruin”—their use of boycotts then crosses the line into forbidden territory.We need, then, to look at both the motives and the consequences of the actions taken by antigun groups. We do not presume that, because the purpose of a boycott is political or social in nature, such boycott does not amount to illegal tortious conduct under State law or does not amount to an illicit restraint of trade under the Sherman Act. Any use of a boycott to promote a political or social agenda must be scrutinized, carefully, no less so than as with labor boycotts.It is one thing to promote one’s personal political and social views in the public forum. It is quite another to threaten others, in the economic arena—to adopt a group’s private political agenda. Doing so amounts to extortion.“Using a motive test [alone] to determine the legality of a boycott ignores economic effects and may impair competition. . . . A political boycott exemption . . . does not simply permit groups with political grievances of offset the superior economic power of businesses that are on the opposite side of a political dispute. Rather, it favors the welfare of an interest group over the welfare of consumers in the aggregate. . . . Boycotts not only are objectionable on grounds of efficiency, but also deserve less First Amendment protection than other protest activities. While boycotts may contain elements of speech, association, and petition, they also introduce collusive economic pressure into political disputes. A truly effective boycott succeeds not by persuading, but by forcing a choice between political capitulation and economic bankruptcy. The claim that political boycotts are a form of protected speech therefore possesses little merit. The category of protected political speech is broad, but the most vigorous arguments, exhortations, and threats still allow the target more freedom than does direct economic pressure. The former can promise only adverse publicity, embarrassment, or ostracism; the latter holds the victim's very livelihood hostage until he changes his political position. However laudable the goals behind a boycott, courts should not allow a private group to dictate who will have access to the market and on what terms.” A Market Power Test for Noncommercial Boycotts, 93 Yale L.J. 523, 526-527 (January, 1984), by Paul G. Mahoney.Coercing Companies to adopt the antigun agenda is morally objectionable if not illegal; and, where, as here, antigun groups seek to destroy a sacred right codified in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, such actions of antigun groups are reprehensible. Antigun groups are attempting to promote their agenda and to simultaneously crush dissent by compelling, through threat of economic disaster, compliance with a political agenda that companies may not share.

ANTIGUN GROUPS’ USE OF BOYCOTTS ALSO INFRINGES THE RIGHTS OF CONSUMERS WHO DO NOT SHARE THE ANTIGUN GROUPS’ ANTIPATHY TOWARD FIREARMS AND TOWARD THE SECOND AMENDMENT.

Antigun groups will claim that, through use of boycotts, they are simply exercising their right of free speech under the First Amendment. But, what about the First Amendment rights of NRA members? Don’t their rights deserve protection, too?By forcing companies to discontinue offering discounts to NRA members, antigun groups are illegally and unconscionably seeking to crush dissent—essentially arguing that NRA members’ First Amendment rights of association and expression must be constrained while antigun members’ First Amendment rights are maintained, and given free rein.

CONGRESS CAN AND SHOULD ACT AGAINST ANTIGUN GROUPS THAT COERCE COMPANIES TO ACCEDE TO THE GROUPS' POLITICAL AGENDA.

“Congressional regulation of ‘political’ boycotts is similarly justified as a protection of the political process itself. Congress regularly applies restraints to political activities to ensure fairness. It has, for example, passed laws controlling the conduct of election campaigns, forbidding intimidation or coercion of voters, and prohibiting lying before government officials. Regulation of political protest to prevent economic coercion seems equally valid—and necessary to protect the integrity of the legislative process.” A Market Power Test for Noncommercial Boycotts, at 533.

ALERT: CONTACT YOUR REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS NOW!

Tell Congress to enact laws to prevent antigun groups from coercing and threatening retaliatory action against companies that do not adopt the groups’ political views.PHONE: U.S. Senate: (202) 224-3121;PHONE: U.S. House of Representatives: (202) 225-3121______________________________________________Copyright © 2018 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

THE PARKLAND, FLORIDA HIGH SCHOOL TRAGEDY MAKES THE CASE FOR ARMED SELF-DEFENSE.

In the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School tragedy, the mainstream Press, echoing the sentiments of antigun activists and antigun legislators, focused the public’s attention on two subjects: guns and mental illness. Antigun activists argue that guns and mental illness are both intractable. Mix the two like a cocktail and you have a recipe for disaster. That, as maintained by antigun activists, accurately explains the cause of the mass shooting incident at the Parkland, Florida High School. But does it?In an editorial, appearing in The New York Times on February 24, 2018, titled, “I Can’t Stop Mass Shooters,” by Amy Barnhorst, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, Davis, admitted the conundrum. The author writes, “Each mass shooting reignites a debate about what causes this type of violence and how it can be prevented. Those who oppose further restrictions on gun ownership often set their sights on the mental health care system. Shouldn’t psychiatrists be able to identify as dangerous someone like Nikolas Cruz. . . ? And can’t we just stop unstable young men like him from buying firearms? It’s much harder than it sounds.”The author has no answer other than the perfunctory, putting “some distance between these young men and their guns.” But, would that prevent mass violence? Clearly, it would not even if this seems plausible to some. Signs of mental illness in a person do not automatically mean a person has violent tendencies. Conversely, those individuals who not fall within one or more listed categories in the latest version of the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” (“DSM-5”)—the Psychiatrist’s Bible—may have violent tendencies.

FROM AN EMPIRICAL STANDPOINT, DISPOSSESSING CIVILIANS OF THEIR GUNS WILL DO NOTHING TO CIRCUMVENT VIOLENT CRIME.

“The reality is that mass shootings are very rare and that neither mental illness nor mass shootings are a significant cause of gun violence. Individuals with a serious mental illness only account for approximately 4 percent of all violent crime in the United States, the majority of which is not committed with a firearm. Furthermore, individuals having no history of mental illness committed a number of these mass shootings. With mental illness representing such a small fraction of gun violence, gun-control efforts focused solely on the mentally ill are ‘unlikely to significantly reduce overall rates of gun violence in the United States.’” “The New York Safe Act: A Thoughtful Approach To Gun Control, Or A Politically Expedient Response To The Public's Fear Of The Mentally Ill?”, 88 S. Cal. L. Rev. 16, 43-44 (2015), by Matthew Gamsin, J.D. Candidate, 2015, University of Southern California Gould School of Law.Despite this evidence, antigun activists nonetheless vehemently call for general bans on the sale of semiautomatic “assault weapons” and are specifically targeting those individuals deemed to have mental illness, which may very well raise due process and equal protection issues for millions of Americans. Were these steps taken, violence would still ensue. Consider:“On April 15, 2013, two homemade bombs detonated 12 seconds and 210 yards (190 m) apart at 2:49 p.m., near the finish line of the annual Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring several hundred others, including 16 who lost limbs.  On April 18, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released images of two suspects, who were later identified as Kyrgyz-American brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev.” “The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, the bombing killed 168 people, injured more than 680 others, and destroyed one-third of the building.” “Eight people were killed and almost a dozen injured when a 29-year-old man in a rented pickup truck drove down a busy bicycle path near the World Trade Center Tuesday in Manhattan, New York City. The suspect was identified by two law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation as Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov. He's from Uzbekistan in Central Asia but had been living in the US since 2010, sources said.” Whether these killers were mentally ill in a clinical sense or “normal,” they did not need a firearm to create havoc.Of course, antigun activists and their cheerleaders in the mainstream Press and in Congress argue that civilized Countries place restrictions on civilian access to guns and that doing so would constrain a killer’s access to one lethal instrumentality. Still, antigun activists must contend with the legal ramifications of attempting to curtail civilian access to firearms in a Country where the citizenry's rights and liberties, codified in a Bill of Rights, cannot be so easily dismissed.

INDISCRIMINATELY DISPOSSESSING THE CIVILIAN POPULATION OF THEIR GUNS WOULD NOT HOLD UP TO LEGAL SCRUTINY.

THE U.S. SUPREME COURT, IN THE LANDMARK SECOND AMENDMENT HELLER CASE, HELD THAT THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS, CODIFIED IN THE SECOND AMENDMENT, IS AN INDIVIDUAL RIGHT, NOT CONNECTED TO SERVICE IN A MILITIA. FURTHER, THE SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHT EMBODIES  ARMED SELF-DEFENSE. AND FROM A PRAGMATIC PERSPECTIVE, CIVILIAN DEFENSE OF ARMS IS PRESSING BECAUSE, CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF, THE POLICE ARE NOT LEGALLY REQUIRED TO SAFEGUARD THE LIVES OF INDIVIDUALS. THAT RESPONSIBILITY RESTS ON EACH PERSON.

Antigun activists retort that nothing in the Second Amendment guarantees the right of an American citizen to own and possess an “assault weapon.” But, is that true?First, the concept of ‘assault weapon’ is a legal fiction that encompasses a wide range of weaponry. On examination it becomes clear that antigun proponents and activists are not merely targeting some semiautomatic weapons; they are targeting all semiautomatic weapons. The legal issue is whether semiautomatic weapons in common use—which include firearms defined as 'assault weapons'—fall within the core of Second Amendment protection. The U.S. Supreme Court has not weighed in on this. But, that does not mean Government, State or Federal, may presume semiautomatic weapons, especially those firearms referred to as “assault weapons,” do not fall within the core of the Second Amendment.Second, a corollary to the basic, unfettered, natural right codified in the Second Amendment is that American citizens have a right to possess a firearm for self-defense. Antigun activists argue that armed self-defense is unnecessary because it is the duty of the police to safeguard the lives and well-being of the citizenry. But do police departments, as government entities, really have that duty? They do not!“No inquiry is more central to constitutional jurisprudence than the effort to delineate the duties of government. The courts' approach to this complex subject has been dominated by reliance on a simple distinction between affirmative and negative responsibilities. Government is held solely to what courts characterize as a negative obligation: to refrain from acts that deprive citizens of protected rights. Obligations that courts conceive to be affirmative—duties to act, to provide, or to protect—are not enforceable constitutional rights. “The Negative Constitution, A Critique,” 88 Mich. L. Rev. 2271 (August 1990) by Susan Bandes, Professor of Law, DePaul University College of law.The safeguarding of one's life is then a personal responsibility, not a police responsibility. Broward County residents, especially those high school students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, should have learned that lesson well. Many, obviously, have not as they--at the behest of their silent benefactors and choreographers of their political strategies, the antigun groups--act against their own best interests. They lash out at NRA, the very organization that serves them by protecting their sacred right of armed self-defense; and they call for civilian disarmament leaving them worse off. The duty of the Police is merely to safeguard, in some nebulous sense, the well-being of a community as a whole, not the lives of the individuals who live in it. But, then, since Government has no affirmative duty to provide armed protection for each citizen, Government cannot, in good faith, deny the citizen the natural right of armed defense owed to one's self. If the public is to take away anything from the recent Parkland, Florida tragedy, it is this:The Broward County Sheriff’s Department and the first responders from the Coral Springs Police Department did an abysmal job. By the time the Coral Springs Police SWAT team arrived, it was too late. Lives had been lost. An investigation unfolds, but it means nothing; for, whatever the outcome, police departments do not have and never did have an affirmative duty to protect individuals within a community. They are immune from suit. This is not supposition. It is law.“Thus . . . a claim that police officers failed to protect a particular individual from injury by nongovernmental actors is generally not cognizable; a successful claim would require sufficient prior contacts between police and the individual to indicate a specific undertaking or promise by the police to provide protection and detrimental reliance by the individual. Absent such facts, there is generally no liability for failure to enforce laws and regulations intended to benefit the community as a whole, failure to provide police or fire protection, or failure to inspect." Affirmative Duties, Systemic Harms, and the Due Process Clause, 94 Mich. L. Rev. 982, 999-1000 (February, 1996), by Barbara E. Armacost, Professor of Law, University of Virginia.The first and last line of adequate defense both inside the home and outside it is, as it always was, as the framers of our Constitution knew full well and as they provided for: armed self-defense.

ALERT: CONTACT YOUR REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES NOW.

Call your U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives.  Tell them this: “if you want my support, then vote for national handgun carry reciprocity now.”PHONE U.S. SENATE: (202) 224-3121;PHONE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: (202) 225-3121______________________________________________Copyright © 2018 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

AS TRAGEDY STRIKES MARJORY STOMEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL, ANTIGUN ACTIVISTS SHAMEFULLY ENLIST STUDENTS TO CARRY OUT THE ANTIGUN AGENDA.

ANTIGUN ACTIVISTS USE THE HYSTERIA OF THE MOMENT TO PURSUE THEIR AGENDA OF GUN CONFISCATION

With the latest shooting tragedy—this one at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida—antigun groups wasted little time in singling out a culprit—the AR-15 5.56 NATO / 223 semiautomatic rifle. The mainstream media quickly echoed the sentiment of antigun groups and their fellow travelers in Congress: if Government would just confiscate guns from the civilian population, commencing with semiautomatic “assault weapons,” society would be better off for it and all would be right with the world.In the hysteria of the moment, it is considered anathema to counter this sentiment or to question the underlying assumption. Banning civilian ownership and possession of firearms is proclaimed as a surefire panacea to preventing gun violence. It is recited as a categorical imperative; an irrefutable truth. But is it?Lost in any discussion about gun violence is any mention of one obvious and incontrovertible fact: that the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School would not have happened—could not have occurred—if the School Administration had simply instituted a multilayered set of strategies to harden the school against security breaches. It didn’t. The result, while horrific, cannot and should not be construed as altogether unexpected and inexplicable in the peculiar age we live in.It is an age marked by broken homes and social alienation. It is an age beset by the rupture of core values and the seeding of a new ethos consisting of a hodgepodge of unassimilable multicultural influences, including multilingualism, and moral relativism; a hollowing out of sacred traditions, the denigration of basic Christian virtues, and a perfunctory attitude of indifference over the important role of the traditional nuclear family in shaping young lives: extolling the importance of self-reliance, personal integrity, and courage in dealing with adversity; promoting a love of Country, respect for our National heritage, and instilling a code of morality and a strong work ethic in our children. This is, unfortunately, an age that seeks out and relishes instant gratification. It is an age that redefines anomalous gender diversity and gender dysphoria as a social preference, a life choice, rather than the psychiatric disorder, which it really is. We live in an age of rampant exploitation of and, indeed, promotion of human weakness, that becomes ever easier through advances in technology and communication.We see an endless parade of new, ever more violent, hyper-realistic video games. We see a continuous procession of cinematic “treats” of gratuitous violence offered up by Hollywood moguls, ever willing to exploit and reinforce the public appetite for on-screen depictions of violence and carnage—all to turn a profit. And we see the blatant hypocrisy of Hollywood actors—highly paid individuals who take pride in their onscreen portrayals of psychotic and psychopathic killers, as they engage in over-the-top murderous sprees; pretending to be adept in the use of the firearm props they are taught to handle deftly for the roles they play onscreen. And, then we see these same actors sanctimoniously denouncing guns off-screen, and denouncing, too, the millions of law-abiding citizens who choose to exercise their Constitutional right to own and possess guns for the very real purpose of self-defense—hardly play acting.

WHO OUGHT RIGHTFULLY BE BLAMED FOR THE TRAGEDY AT MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL?

Accusations are flying fast and loose as to whom bears responsibility for the cause of the tragedy. Lest the public forget—over the hailstorm of accusations flying hither and yon—the fact remains that blame for the tragedy falls, first and foremost, on the killer, himself, Nikolas Cruz. This sad, deranged young adult bears ultimate responsibility for the horror inflicted on innocent lives he lashed out against in his mindless rage. But, there are others in the cast of characters that bear a share of the responsibility.The Florida Department of Education and the Superintendent of Broward County Public Schools must share in the responsibility for failing to harden Florida schools against armed intrusions. And, the Governor of the State bears more than a modicum of responsibility for failing to secure schools against armed assault. And, through failure to heed warnings of the real threat posed by the Nikolas Cruz, the FBI, and Florida State and local Police must share in that responsibility.The other day the public learned that an armed Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy, who was assigned to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, cowered outside the School, as the killer stalked the halls inside, undeterred. This unnamed Sheriff’s Deputy displayed abject cowardice. Had he steeled himself, as he was trained to do, as he was purportedly psychologically predisposed to do, he would have certainly prevented the loss of many lives; perhaps he could have prevented the loss of any innocent life, had he acted.

WHO DO ANTIGUN GROUPS WRONGLY BLAME FOR THE TRAGEDY AT MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL?

Antigun activists, antigun politicians, and antigun journalists and news commentators blame, of course, the gun—an inanimate object—as if the gun itself had walked into the school and commenced shooting innocent high school students and teachers. They always do, but this accusation against the gun is ludicrous on its face. Antigun activists also cast blame on the NRA and on the Second Amendment, refusing to accept the fact that tens of thousands of American citizens defend themselves and their families with firearms every year.

NRA IS THE PREMIER CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATION.

Contrary to popular belief, the NRA, not the NAACP, is the oldest civil rights organization. The NAACP was founded in 1909, but NRA was founded in 1871. The NRA has trained millions of individuals and law enforcement in the proper use of firearms for well over one hundred years. As the premier defender of the Second Amendment, NRA is at the forefront in protecting our sacred rights and liberties as codified in the Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791. The mainstream media though heralds the NAACP as the premier civil rights organization and condemns NRA. Apparently, the American citizenry is expected to forsake 240 years of history and to adopt EU socialist principles that eschew individual self-reliance as embodied in America’s Second Amendment. The EU itself is a contrivance, thrust on European Nation States through a coup d’état, meticulously and deftly orchestrated in the mid-Twentieth Century, by the same “elites” of Europe that pull the strings of the various antigun groups, antigun politicians, and antigun mainstream Press in our Country, today. See the Arbalest Quarrel article, "NRA Freedom, Join It."

ANTIGUN GROUPS NOW USE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO PROMOTE THEIR INSIDIOUS ANTI-AMERICAN AGENDA.

A new tactic of antigun groups and of their billionaire internationalist EU benefactors involves the recruitment of and exploitation of teenagers as message boards. Taking their cue from cosmetic and clothing companies that hire models to hawk their products to the public, antigun groups realized they could employ articulate, photogenic students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and from other schools, to promote their agenda. We may see these groups using this technique more in the future. They know that no one would dare challenge young adults.Clearly, these students did not simply voice outrage at gun violence spontaneously. They have been carefully coached. How do we know this? Consider what they are saying. They are using phraseology and sloganeering of the antigun activists, of antigun politicians, of antigun media personnel: referring to AR-15 semiautomatic rifles as “weapons of war;” calling for “background checks;” telling the American public to vote pro-Second Amendment legislators out of Office; attacking the “Gun lobby.” They aren’t simply speaking for themselves; they are puppets of antigun political activists and of the wealthy, secretive internationalist benefactors that bankroll antigun groups and antigun legislators. Ruthless forces both here and abroad seek to undermine this Nation’s Second Amendment. They have their own agenda and they see, in these students, a useful tool to be manipulated in efforts to destroy the right of the people to keep and bear arms.Doubtless, the words uttered sound fresh and heartfelt and emphatic, even if there is really nothing new about the messages. These students would not be compelling spokespersons for antigun activists if that were not true. But the messaging derives from antigun group sponsors, not from the students. There is a sophistication in the organization of these students that cannot be reasonably explained away as an impromptu effort by students themselves. These students are dupes for a cause that has nothing to do with the students’ personal safety and well-being and has everything to do with the undermining of our sacred rights and liberties. These students might reflect upon this before allowing themselves to be employed for an agenda that is not their own. But, then, these young adults are in shock. That makes use of these young people by antigun activists even more reprehensible.

ALERT: CONTACT YOUR REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES NOW.

Tell your representatives they must not bow to antigun activist pressure to reinstate semiautomatic weapons and LCM bans.PHONE: U.S. Senate: (202) 224-3121; PHONE: U.S. House of Representatives: (202) 225-3121______________________________________________Copyright © 2018 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

IT’S TIME FOR NATIONAL HANDGUN CARRY RECIPROCITY TO SECURE THE CITIZEN’S RIGHT OF ARMED SELF-DEFENSE, THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.

The “Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017” (115 H.R. 38) amends the federal criminal code to allow a qualified individual to carry a concealed handgun into or possess a concealed handgun in another state that allows individuals to carry concealed firearms.Representative Richard Hudson (R-NC), introduced the bill on January 3, 2017. The bill passed the House by Roll Call Vote of 231-198, on December 6, 2017. It was sent to the Senate one day later, where it was read twice and then referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. President Trump supports it. The NRA supports it. And, rank and file law enforcement officers support it too. But, there has been to date no further action on it. The bill sits in limbo. Its prospect of passage is, at present, low. Why is that?What is the U.S. Senate waiting for?Every day that goes by innocent lives are lost and crimes that could be avoided go undeterred because of restrictive gun laws. Although States like California, New York, and New Jersey have enacted laws allowing for issuance of concealed carry licenses (CCWs), in practice it is extremely difficult for most law-abiding citizens—and virtually impossible for many law-abiding citizens—who reside in any one of those States, or in other States with similar restrictive gun laws, to obtain a CCW. And none of those States recognizes a valid CCW issued in any other State.Having access to a firearm does save innocent lives. There are countless stories of law-abiding citizens who would have been seriously injured or who would have lost their lives if they did not have access to a firearm. U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Alexander Borrego, serves as a recent example of a man who, being armed, was able to thwart an attack on his life and that of his family. But, the lack of a national handgun carry reciprocity law means that lawful use of a handgun for self-defense is subject to severe jurisdictional constraints.It is not uncommon for an otherwise law-abiding citizen, who holds a valid CCW from one State, to face arrest, indictment on misdemeanor or felony charges, and incarceration if convicted, for having carried a handgun into another State that does not recognize that citizen’s CCW.Many American citizens have suffered calamity as a result. There are many examples. Elizabeth Anne Enderli, a decorated military veteran, and holder of a valid CCW from Texas, was arrested for unlawful possession of a handgun when she carried her handgun into New York. Brian Fletcher, a volunteer emergency electrical storm repairman and holder of a valid CCW from North Carolina, was arrested for unlawful possession of a handgun when he carried his handgun into New Jersey. And, Shaneen Allen, a single mother of two, and holder of a valid CCW from Pennsylvania, was arrested for unlawful handgun possession when she, too, carried her handgun into New Jersey. Law-abiding citizens who hold a valid CCW from their home State should not be restricted to their use of a handgun for self-defense only to their home State, but, they often are; and the personal costs are dire when a citizen steps foot into a jurisdiction that does not recognize the validity of that citizen’s CCW. But, why should this be?The right of the people to keep and bear arms for self-defense is embodied in the Second Amendment, as made clear in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court Heller case. The Heller case also held that defensive arms is an individual right, not connected to one’s service in a militia. Yet, antigun proponents are reluctant to recognize the Heller rulings. They blithely disregard Heller, urging Americans to forfeit the right the founders of our Nation saw reason to sanctify in the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution.Antigun proponents argue that carrying a handgun for self-defense is a threat to public safety. Public safety is a common trope that antigun proponents appeal to when defending illegal gun laws such as the New York’s Safe Act and Maryland’s Firearm Safety Act—sets of restrictive firearms’ laws that are inherently incompatible with the Second Amendment. But, that doesn’t stop antigun proponents from promoting them and promoting even more outrageous schemes.One self-described antigun extremist, Marc Jampole, political blogger, exclaims, in his article, “Gun Control Leads to a Civil Society”: “rights change over time. . . . Often we give up one set of rights to gain another one, or some people gain rights at the expense of others. . . . At this point in time, only extremists (like me) want to outlaw private ownership of guns. What mainstream organizations and elected officials are asking for is to restrict the absolute right to own and carry a gun—for the safety of society.”So, the safety and well-being of the individual is to be sacrificed for the presumed safety of an amorphous society?Dan Pfeiffer, a former aide to Barack Obama, contributor to CNN and antigun proponent, writes in his article, titled, “What to Bring to a Gun Fight," “The Democratic gun control strategy fails because it is defined by this poverty of ambition—the determination never to look beyond fear of political repercussions. . . . We are nibbling around the edges instead of proposing bold, meaningful solutions such as: . . . A national gun buyback program [actually, national gun confiscation] similar to the one Australia instituted after a mass shooting that killed 35 people.”What Pfeiffer fails to mention in his article is that Australia does not recognize a right of self-defense with a firearm. Antigun proponents such as Pfeiffer and Jampole hold views that are decidedly contrary to those of the founders of our Republic and with most Americans. Their views are inconsistent with our Constitution and with U.S. Supreme Court holdings, but that doesn’t seem to concern them. Their singular objective is to disarm the civilian population of our Country—under the pretext of safeguarding it—regardless of the strictures of our Constitution, of our jurisprudence, of our system of laws, and of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court Second Amendment Heller and McDonald cases.Antigun proponents attack the natural right to keep and bear arms for self-defense. With the active and avid assistance of the mainstream media, antigun proponents confound the American public. They use distorted facts, biased reporting, pretentious and dubious moralizing, fallacious reasoning, and empty, deceptive rhetoric.Antigun proponents seek to convince the public that it is in the public’s interest to forfeit the Second Amendment. Indeed, Brett Stephens, Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times, audaciously argues for repeal of the Second Amendment, outright. Brett Stephens apparently believes that repeal of the Second Amendment and a general ban on civilian ownership and possession of firearms would better serve society. But, would it?The eradication of guns in the hands of the civilian population would entail the elimination of individual autonomy, the repudiation of individual responsibility, the destruction of individual rights and liberties; and, far from safeguarding life, a general ban on civilian ownership and possession of firearms would endanger the life, safety and well-being of Americans. Antigun proponents perceive the loss of these things as necessary to promote a safe and ordered society. But, their notion of a safe and ordered society is a controlled society.It is loss of Government control over the public that antigun proponents are most concerned about. So, talk of promoting the health, safety, and well-being of society through gun confiscation is mere dissembling. Antigun proponents don't care one whit about the health, safety, and well-being of individual citizens who comprise that society. They speak in terms of promoting the welfare of society as a whole even as the lives of individuals within that society suffer through implementation of their antigun schemes. Maximizing utility for an shapeless mass isn't what the Founders had in mind. It is the well-being of the individual citizen in a Free Republic that is sacrosanct and inviolate, not the well-being of a societal collective. The natural right of armed self-defense, embodied in the Second Amendment, makes that point abundantly clear.Antigun proponents must not dissuade us from advancing our goal to strengthen the Second Amendment. Our goal is at odds with their goal of mass gun confiscation to effectuate Government control of the citizenry. That is why we must see enactment of a national concealed handgun carry reciprocity law now. The matter is certainly timely, and President Trump would sign such a bill into law were it to cross his desk. So, then, what are Republicans waiting for? Why are they stalling?The fundamental right of self-defense, and our Constitutionally codified right of defense of arms has saved innocent lives and will continue to save innocent lives. We cannot tolerate  and must not tolerate further Congressional inaction. We must meet the current wave of mainstream Press sentiment and antigun proponent efforts to defeat the individual right of armed self-defense, head-on.Contact your Senator. The phone number to call is: (202) 225-3121. Tell your Senator you want his or her vote on national handgun carry reciprocity now!______________________________________________Copyright © 2018 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved

CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS AND MAINSTREAM MEDIA CONNIVE TO DOWNPLAY IMPORT OF NUNEZ MEMO

PART TEN

A NATION UNDER SIEGE

Once President Trump declassified the House Intelligence Committee “Nunez Memo”, over spurious objections of the FBI, the mainstream media’s propaganda mill, conspiring with Congressional Democrats, went to work, in their wrongful, hurtful, spiteful attempt to make short shrift of it, downplaying the Memo’s significance, and attacking specific portions of the Memo, in minute detail.Minority House Speaker Nancy Pelosi—never one to be lost for words and always giving her “two cents,” if her words were ever worth that much—denounced the Nunez Memo, too, asserting the Memo is “false,” “horrible,” and a “release of distorted intelligence.” The American public can dismiss outright Pelosi’s use of the adjective, ‘horrible,’ since the word is nothing more than a pejorative, devoid of rational significance. Pelosi’s claim that the Memo is “false” and that it amounts to “distorted intelligence” is more problematic and requires clarification. Is Pelosi saying the entirety of the Memo is false or just portions of it? And, if she is claiming that portions of the Memo are false, then which portions is she referring to? And, as for her claim that the Memo amounts to “distorted intelligence,” the American public has a right to ask Pelosi to explain in what way the Nunez Memo distorts intelligence? For all that she has to say about a myriad of subjects, Pelosi has, apparently, nothing noteworthy to say about the Nunez Memo apart from making presumptuous and impertinent claims about it. The mainstream media Press of course, does not ask Pelosi to explicate her remarks. It never does. It simply wishes to give Pelosi a platform for airing them.The New York Times does provide an account of purported failings of the Nunez Memo. But, does The New York Times’ analysis of the Nunez Memo buttress Pelosi’s bald claims? Or, does it simply add to burgeoning media obfuscation to defeat the import and impact of the Memo?

CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS AND THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA WRONGLY CRITICIZE CHAIRMAN DEVIN NUNEZ FOR FAILING TO REVIEW THE UNDERLYING FBI APPLICATION UPON WHICH THE MEMO IS BASED.

Before, the Arbalest Quarrel begins with its critique of the NY Times’ criticism of the Nunez Memo, we wish to make abundantly clear that Chairman Nunez and other Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee who took part in the drafting of the Memo were assiduous and meticulous in their preparation of it. Further, while Congressional Democrats and the mainstream Press are quick to point out that Chairman Nunez did not himself review the underlying FBI Application upon which the Memo is based, this is but one more lame attempt to discredit the Memo. For, the fact remains that the FBI would not permit every member of the Committee to view the Application through which the FISC issued the warrant permitting surveillance of Carter Page. The Mainstream Press obscures this point.Chairman Nunez appointed Trey Gowdy (R-SC)—a licensed attorney and former Prosecutor, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee and who, as with all the members of the Committee—to review the Application, and to report back to Chairman Nunez. Thus, Representative Gowdy’s review of the underlying FISA Application serves as the basis for the Memo.

THE NUNEZ MEMO WAS PREPARED WITH GREAT CARE: TRUTH AND ACCURACY; CLARITY AND COGENCY; FORTHRIGHTNESS; CANDOR; TERSENESS; AND RECITATION OF SALIENT, CRITICAL POINTS, ARE THE KEY FEATURES OF IT.

Before we begin with our analysis of the NY Times’ criticism of the Nunez Memo, keep in mind that Chairman Nunez and other Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee who took part in the drafting of the Memo were assiduous and meticulous in their preparation of it. The DOJ/FBI would not permit every member of the Committee to view the Application upon which the FISC issued the warrant permitting FBI surveillance on Carter Page and which served as the basis for the Nunez Memo.

TREY GOWDY IS LEAVING CONGRESS.

Curiously, Representative Gowdy, an individual, demonstrating both abundant intelligence and integrity, has, inexplicably, announced his retirement from Congress at the end of his term, and that he will be setting up a private law practice. Even more inexplicably, Fox News reported that President Trump offered Gowdy a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, but the Congressman turned the offer down.Federal Judgeships are lifetime, prestigious, coveted appointments. Seats on the United States Appellate Courts are especially rare, prestigious appointments, second only to appointments on the United States Supreme Court. No attorney or jurist turns down an opportunity for a federal Court appointment, especially an opportunity to serve on a United States Circuit Court of Appeals, but Trey Gowdy did so.One cannot but wonder as to Trey Gowdy’s motive or motives: first, for announcing his departure from Congress; and, second, for turning down a U.S. Circuit Court judgeship.On “Face the Nation,” that aired on Sunday, February 4, 2018, Representative Gowdy said that he is a “pretty lousy politician.” That self-deprecating statement is certainly untrue. There are lousy politicians in Congress to be sure, and from both Political Parties. The laundry list is long. But, Trey Gowdy is not one of them. Contrary to this acutely odd, self-effacing statement, Trey Gowdy is one of the best Congressional Representatives this Nation has. The Arbalest Quarrel suspects that much more is going on here. What has Gowdy learned about Government that disturbs him? What does he know and isn’t telling? We may speculate on this, but this much we do know: a war—a secretive war—to gain control over the minds of the American citizenry and, in fact, to gain control over the minds of the populations of Western Nation States generally has been waged at least since—or has been gaining speed since the end of World War II. We may trace this to the first meeting of the so-called “Bilderberg Group” in 1954, which coincided, likely not coincidentally, with the Treaty of Rome in 1957—a singularly critical Treaty that created the European Economic Community (EEC). We can readily infer that the EEC, that, today, we know as the Union (EU), is the master-plan, under the guise of promoting Economic unity. It is the mechanism through which the trans-national, international globalist “elites” intend to control the political processes over all the Nations of Europe and, not incidentally, eventually over the U.S. as well. The European Union is also the vehicle through which these abjectly ruthless, immensely powerful, exorbitantly wealthy, and inherently insidious, secretive forces intend to compromise the Governments of Europe; to compromise the constitutions, and institutions, and social fabric of those Nations; to subvert the core values and culture of the Nations of Europe; to create discord in those Nations through infusion of unassimilable, diffuse races; to disassemble moral, ethical underpinnings of the Nations of Europe; and to belittle the import and purport of the concepts of 'patriotism,' and 'national identity,' and 'citizenship.' The rapacious forces that control the EU intend to exert their control over the United States as well; and we are seeing their influence through the insinuation of the Deep State and Shadow Government into our political processes and through a massive disinformation and misinformation campaign carried out by the mainstream Press.

THE ISSUE OVER THE NUNEZ MEMO AND ITS DETAILING OF MASSIVE CORRUPTION IN THE UPPER ECHELONS OF THE FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNITY WILL NOT GO AWAY, EVEN THOUGH REPRESENTATIVE ADAM SCHIFF, THE RANKING DEMOCRATIC PARTY MEMBER ON THE HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE, AND HOUSE MINORITY SPEAKER, NANCY PELOSI, AND SENATE MINORITY LEADER, CHUCK SCHUMER, AND RANK AND FILE CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS, ALONG WITH CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS' FELLOW TRAVELERS IN THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA, WOULD LIKE IT TO GO AWAY.

The battle over the minds of the American citizenry is now being fought in the public square. It is being waged through the liberal social media, and by the liberal “tech” Companies, and through the mainstream Press. And it is being waged in the Halls of Congress. The Nunez Memo, important as it is, serves an even greater need. For the message it conveys to the American citizenry is that this Nation is under siege. The institutions, comprising the federal law enforcement community and the intelligence Community—that Congressional Democrats claim the public must continue to have faith in at all costs—have contemptuously betrayed the trust of the American people. They have betrayed their oath to serve this Nation. They have betrayed their oath to preserve this Nation’s Constitution. So, what ought the American citizenry place their faith in? First and foremost, Americans should place faith in themselves, for it is within the American citizenry that true authority and power exists and has always existed. Second, the American citizenry should place their faith in their sacred rights and liberties as etched in stone in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution, by the Nation’s Founders. For, the Bill of Rights long predates the creation of both the FBI and DOJ and long predates the creation of the agencies that comprise the vast, secretive intelligence community, all of which are of relatively recent vintage, and a few of which are of very recent vintage. In the great scheme of things, the Americans’ faith in themselves must not falter; all else is fair game.The Arbalest Quarrel begins its assessment of the NY Times analysis of the Nunez Memo in the next article of this multipart series.

ALERT: CONTACT YOUR REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS

Tell your Congressional Representatives to investigate corruption in the law enforcement and intelligence communities and to bring corrupt officials to justice. Phone: 202-224-3121.______________________________________________Copyright © 2018 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

WHAT DOES PRESIDENT TRUMP’S DECLASSIFICATION AND RELEASE OF THE NUNEZ MEMO PRESAGE FOR THE NATION?

PART EIGHT

As anyone who keeps abreast of the news knows, the “Nunez Memo,” prepared by Congressional Republicans on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence by order of the Committee’s Chairman, Representative Devin Nunez (R-CA), documenting DOJ/FBI abuse of the FISA Court is now out. President Trump declassified it, as is his Presidential prerogative, and authorized its release to American public. The Memo illustrates clear wrongdoing of the DOJ and FBI in the way Senior Officials of the DOJ and FBI obtained a warrant to conduct secret surveillance of an American citizen, Carter Page, a one-time bit player in Donald Trump’s campaign. Senior Officials of the DOJ and FBI likely violated Carter Page’s right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and likely violated the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as well. And, they certainly violated several Federal Statutes. To his credit, President Trump did not redact the names of those DOJ and FBI Officials.Congressional Democrats and their shills in the mainstream media wasted no time excoriating both the release of the Memo and the contents of it. More memos from Congressman Devin Nunez, will be forthcoming. This isn’t something that Congressional Democrats and those whom they protect within the Deep State and Shadow Government want. They aren’t pleased with the light that is beginning to shine on them all, and they have orchestrated plans to deal with it, now that the Nunez Memo is in the public domain. One tactic involves preparation of a Memo supposedly rebutting the Nunez Memo. That “Schiff” Memo has been drafted and voted upon by the entire the House Intelligence Committee. The Committee has voted to release the Memo. As with the Nunez Memo, the Schiff Memo will be submitted for President Trump’s review and action.Congressional Democrats along with reporters and editors of mainstream newspapers, prominently and particularly, The New York Times, and news commentators and news anchors in mainstream cable news networks—like ABC, CBS, CNN, and MSNBC—berated Congressional Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee for releasing the Memo, claiming it constitutes a threat to our National Security, and, in the same breath asserting, incongruously and inconsistently, that the Memo failed to live up to its hype. So, which is it? Does release of the “Nunez Memo” constitute a danger to the security of our Nation, or is it nothing more than a tempest in a teapot?Through deliberate mixed messaging Congressional Democrats and their shills in the mainstream media “screw with” the American psyche, to confound, disorient the American public so that the public doesn’t know what to believe concerning the Nunez Memo. Hence, Congressional Democrats and their shills in the mainstream media offer to the American public two primary, but inconsistent accounts. Yet, they are wrong on both scores.The Nunez Memo is critically important. It is hardly “hype.” President Trump’s declassification of the Memo and release of the Memo to the American public alerts Americans to the presence of rogue elements in the highest ranks of the DOJ and FBI who have betrayed their Nation. That is information Americans have a right to know and need to know. So, release of the Memo neither threatens the security of our Nation, nor is it hype. Indeed, far from amounting to a threat to the security of our Nation, the Memo’s release serves to safeguard it.The Nunez Memo serves as the most important information of serious criminal abuse in the Federal Government to come to the attention of the American electorate in the last several decades. It is an earth-shattering exposé of FISA Court abuse by the DOJ and FBI. Granted, the language of the Memo is dry and pedantic, but Republicans on the House Committee of Intelligence aren’t writing a novel. No colorful verbiage exists in the Memo because the Memo’s authors do not wish to entertain Americans, but, rather, to educate and inform them. And, they did that.The Memo exposes the dangers of secrecy in a free Republic, where high-ranking Federal Government bureaucrats operating in the spheres of intelligence, police, and law, wielding immense power, render decisions and take action on those decisions, based on their own personal philosophical and political beliefs, whims, and predilections, caring not one whit whether those decisions and actions tread on the rights and liberties of the citizenry as laid out in the Bill of Rights, and caring not one whit whether those decisions and actions extend well beyond the parameters set by Federal Statute. Indeed, it is abundantly clear, from a perusal of the Nunez Memo, that senior Officials of the DOJ and FBI act in extravagant defiance of the U.S. Constitution and Federal Statute.What can the American citizenry do to correct this abuse in high Government Office? Very little it seems. The American citizenry has no recourse, except for the oversight that Congress provides. It is curious, then, that Congressional Democrats would object to Congressional Republicans’ bringing to light Federal Government abuses. But, Congressional Democrats do object to release of the Memo. Among their other purported concerns, they claim that the Memo would cause the American citizenry to lose faith in the DOJ and FBI. But, then, that is the point. The public should be concerned.One must ask: Does it serve Americans’ best interests to doubt the integrity of the DOJ and FBI when sufficient cause exists to doubt that integrity? Or does it serve Americans’ best interests to live under the illusion that senior Officials of the DOJ and FBI operate within the bounds and constraints of the U.S. Constitution and Federal Statute, when, in fact, they do not, and have betrayed the American citizenry’s trust?Apparently, Congressional Democrats, such as Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Eric Swalwell (D-CA), members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence believe it better for Americans to live under illusion. Congressional Republicans clearly do not, and it is fortunate that Americans have individuals such as Representative Devin Nunez (R-CA), Chairman of that Committee, who, along with other Republicans on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence realize their responsibility to inform the American citizenry of serious abuses in the DOJ and FBI when serious criminal abuses come to light. Americans obviously cannot rely on Congressional Democrats, nor can they rely on the mainstream media Press, to keep Americans informed of betrayal of the public trust by high ranking Officials in the most powerful and secretive police, intelligence, and legal institutions of this Country.The public should keep in mind that, if the Democrats gain control of the House in the 2018 midterm elections, Representative Schiff will gain the chairmanship of the powerful House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. This is a man who, recently, in his continuing diatribe against release of the Nunez Memo, seemingly inexplicably brought up, as an aside, that Russians now support the right of the American people to keep and bear arms? From what bizarre realm of horror and fantasy did Representative Schiff pull that idea? And what was the point of it: that Russians, according to Schiff, suddenly have reverence for our sacred Second Amendment, so we should not; or, perhaps, that Russians hope that Americans around the Country will suddenly go on a massive shooting spree, killing each other?This man, Adam Schiff, is a menace to all that is holy. What he is doing in Government has nothing to do with protecting this Nation and its people and upholding the U.S. Constitution. It has everything to do with tearing down this Nation under the guise of protecting it; destroying the rights and liberties of its people under the cloak of strengthening them; subverting the Constitution behind the mask of preserving it. He seeks, through his position as Ranking Member of the Intelligence Committee, just below Representative Nunez, Chairman of the Committee, to undermine the will of the American electorate through his constant, pertinacious, presumptuous, indefensible, intolerable and singularly bizarre attacks on the Chief Executive of this Nation, President Trump.President Trump, to his credit—unlike Representative Schiff and his fellow Congressional Democrats—holds the American citizenry in high regard. Through declassification of the Nunez Memo and its subsequent release to the American citizenry, President Trump has opened a window to the machinations of  high-ranking Officials of the Deep State and Shadow Government, operating beyond the bounds of law. The American public bears witness to the contempt by which those who should be serving the public, have rebelled against it, and seek to oppress it.We continue with articles, bringing to light the game plan of those who have engineered a silent, insidious coup d’etat of the Government of the United States. The betrayers of the Nation haven’t yet lost. The American public is just now beginning to gain a glimmer of insight of the power wielded by insidious forces within the bowels of the Federal Government. Americans must remain vigilant.______________________________________________Copyright © 2017 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

TRUMP AUTHORIZES RELEASE OF HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE MEMO: THE TREACHERY OF SENIOR DOJ/FBI OFFICIALS, AND OF THE CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS WHO PROTECTED AND ENABLED THEM, WILL BE EXPOSED.

PART SEVEN

THE DISAMBIGUATION OF ‘TRUTH,’ ‘FACT,’ AND ‘OPINION’

Americans often hear the refrain that, “everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but they are not entitled to their own facts.” The quip, recited with some variation, is attributed to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY). Senator Moynihan, who died in 2003, served in the U.S. Senate from January 1971 through January 2001, and served, as well, as an advisor to the Republican President, Richard M. Nixon.As with many quips, Moynihan’s, too, has become, through time, an ivy-covered adage—an adage that one is expected to accept on faith as a weighty, profound truth. That would explain its continuing popularity, especially among Congressional Democrats. They recite it to refute statements of Congressional Republicans or of the U.S. President, Donald Trump. Moynihan’s quip then serves as a convenient “sound bite,” a shorthand denunciation of any statement coming from a Congressional Republican or from the U.S. President that they happen to take exception with as if the falsehood of any statement coming from those that Democrats disagree with is so obvious that no evidence is required to support their denunciation of it.The problem is that “facts”—if there are such things at all—tend to be pliable, flexible things, no less so than opinions. Facts are represented colloquially as kinds of entities that are “out there” in the aether, and, so, do not emanate from or exist in a person. Supposedly, people make assertions about facts, and those assertions are either true or false, predicated on whether, according to a couple of epistemological theories, the assertions “cohere with” or “correspond to” particular “facts.” The presumption is, then, that facts are infallible as they do not rest on one’s belief or opinion about them. That is the point of Moynihan’s quip. The problem is that, if “facts” are “out there,” a person really cannot ever retrieve them, for a person can never pierce the veil of his or her own perceptions. Facts, if there are such things, are not, generally the sort of things we can get to. The best that can be hoped for is that corroborating evidence—which are really nothing more than beliefs and opinions ostensibly resting on another fact or set of facts, and so on ad infinitum—serves to establish the truth or falsity of a person’s statement and that, through such corroboration, a consensus is reached, at some point, among the language speakers of a given community, as to convincing truth or falsity of a given statement.Sometimes consensus is readily achieved. At other times it is not.Consider the statement, “Deputy Attorney General, Rod Rosenstein, appointed Robert Mueller as Special Counsel to investigate, among other things, ‘any links and/or coordination between the Russian Government and individuals associated with the campaign of Donald Trump.’” That is a statement, the truth or falsity of which is determinative to the extent the statement coheres with or corresponds to or correlates with or, let us say, “mirrors” a “fact” about the world—namely whether there exists a person named Rod Rosenstein, who is, at the moment at least, a Deputy Attorney General within the Department of Justice, and that he appointed a person, Robert S. Mueller III, as Special Counsel to head a team to investigate certain matters pertaining to the Presidential campaign of Donald Trump.We say the statement is true, if it is the case that the statement coheres with or corresponds with or--let us say--correlates with or mirrors a particular “fact” or "set of facts" about the world. Well, an astute person, who has been keeping abreast of news reports knows that Rod Rosenstein does exist and that he is the Deputy Attorney General and that he did appoint a person, Robert Mueller, as Special Counsel, and that Robert Mueller has been given his appointment and specific instructions through “Order Number 3915-2017.”  So, we would say that the statement is, first of all, the kind of thing that is a truth bearer--that is to say--it is the kind of thing that can be ascertained to be either true or false. Since the statement does correspond to or cohere with or mirror a particular set of facts about the world, we say that the statement is true, and there is certainly public consensus on that. So far, no problem. But ostensible matters of fact and statements purporting to be about matters of fact get interesting and out of whack very quickly.Consider, for example, the statement, “the Mueller appointment as Special Counsel was justified.”  In asserting a justification for something, one is moving away from statements about facts. One is moving away from descriptive statements or accounts about the world—statements subject to corroboration. We are, instead, making prescriptive statements about the way the world ought to be. Counterfactual statements, as the term, ‘counterfactual,’ suggests, do not purport to say anything about the world at all. This is where Moynihan’s quip loses efficacy and poignancy, where it loses steam. For, statements about the way the world ought to be do not lend themselves to corroboration. There is no readily obtainable fact or set of facts to turn to ascertain the truth or falsity of the statement.The problem is that politicians, as with most people, do not distinguish between descriptive accounts about the world--the way the word is--and prescriptive or normative assertions about the way the world  is supposed to or ought to be. They believe, wrongly, that descriptive statements about the way the world is and prescriptive or normative statements about the way the world ought to be or should be are both factual—subject to corroboration, verification in the world.The public begins to ask questions, for example: "was the appointment of a Special Counsel to investigate Donald Trump justified? If not, then what lay behind the appointment?" And, "if appointment of Special Counsel was justified, was Robert Mueller the best person for the job?" But, the answers obtained, and the conclusions drawn, are muddied through one’s personal biases and predilections—those things internal to the person. This is where truth or falsity of statements, grounded in  purported “facts,” becomes fuzzy.Now, going back to Moynihan’s clever remark, we find that a person who believes the quip has efficacy might say that there are indeed, "hard, cold concrete facts" “out there” concerning the appointment of Robert Mueller and concerning various other matters, interrelated, going all the way back to the FBI handling of the investigation of Hillary Clinton for serious crimes against the Nation and against the American people and that, once a person gets to the bottom of it all, the truth can be ascertained and sorted out because there is only one fact or set of facts in the world for each and every proposition about the world. Well, if one sets forth descriptive statements about these matters, then, there would reasonably be a consensus about them as this would simply amount to an exercise of lining up, one-by-one, each descriptive statement with a concrete "fact" existent in the world upon which the truth of the statement is based.But, sorting out the propositions—a very large number of them and associating each of them in a one-to-one correspondence with or coherence with a specific fact—is exceedingly difficult, no less so because the American citizenry doesn’t have and cannot gain access to all the underlying  information.Unfortunately, many politicians don’t want the American people to have access to the underlying information nor, for that matter, to any information about the inner workings of the Federal Government, upon which their lives may be deleteriously impacted because that would shed light on the machinations of senior officials in Government who have likely engaged in illegal actions. What are the illegal actions of these senior officials? Well, we suspect that they used the power of their Office to give Hillary Clinton an edge or boost against Trump in the run-up to the 2016 election, and we suspect that they have engaged in illegal actions to oust Donald Trump from Office upon his prevailing in the U.S. Presidential election against Clinton. Politicians give seemingly plausible reasons for precluding the average American citizen from gaining access to such information. They raise issues of national security. They talk about the need to protect confidential sources and to safeguard intelligence gathering methodology. Sometimes these seemingly plausible reasons are sound. Often, as in the matter of release of the House Intelligence Committee Memo, they are not. They are simply clichés offered up to hide the real reason for keeping the Memo hidden: to prevent the American citizenry from learning of illegal machinations behind the scene that upend the entire Democratic election process. They suggest that, due to Russian meddling, which they insist Americans  accept without proffering any proof to support the assertion, Clinton would have won the election--a conclusion that doesn't follow from the premise that the Russians did interfere with our elections, even if the underlying premise is true. But, that conclusion, apparently, provides the impetus for and drives the action on multiple fronts to oust Trump from Office. Now, one may demur, arguing that the assertions set forth in this article are themselves mere unsubstantiated opinion. But are they? Are they not declarative assertions that can be substantiated, through release of the House Intelligence Committee Memo? Surely, the truth--or falsity for that matter--of the assertions made here can be substantiated at least in part through release of the Memo. But, that isn't something the supporters of Clinton want, even if the public would finally be privy to the underlying basis for the Mueller investigation. No one on either of the political spectrum would refute that point, which explains why, on the one hand, Congressional Democrats and senior Officials of the DOJ and FBI, and those who supported Hillary Clinton's candidacy, among others, including publishers, editors and reporters of the mainstream media and left-wing news anchors and commentators, don't want the Memo released to the American public, and why, on the other hand, Congressional Republicans, and many rank and file FBI agents and rank and file DOJ attorneys, and American citizens who supported Trump, along with conservative news reporters and commentators do want the Memo released to the American public and unredacted.* They evidently know that the information set forth is true, and it is the truth that they cannot and will not abide. It is the truth that they are afraid of. For, it is the truth that illustrates for the American citizenry to see, indeed for the entire world to see--when that truth is held up to the light of day--that these individuals, these senior Officials of the FBI and DOJ, and these Congressional Democrats, such as Adam Schiff and Dianne Feinstein, are scoundrels, not deserving of respect of the people whom they claim to serve; whom they deign to serve, but whom they serve up as slaves to the lords whom they really serve--the internationalist, trans-nationalist globalist "elites" who seek to subordinate this Nation and its people to a new pan-world Order.If the Mueller investigation is a sham, then, presumptively, the motive behind the investigation operates, not to find evidence of wrong-doing on the part of Donald Trump or on the part of Trump Campaign Officials or members of Trump's Administration, but operates, rather, as a critical step leading up to impeachment. And, once again, no one would seriously contest the accuracy of that point either, which would explain why it is that, having failed to find evidence of a criminal conspiracy between anyone connected with Trump and the Russians--if ever there were grounds for surmising such conspiracy in the first place--Mueller and his team are not wrapping up the investigation but are exploring other avenues of investigation, namely obstruction of justice--to keep the sham going. Obstruction is, for Mueller and his team, a convenient "peg to hang a hat on," because "[i]n a broad sense, any offense negatively affecting government functions can be viewed as an obstruction against the administration of justice. For example, treason, sedition, perjury, bribery, escape, contempt, false personation, destruction of government property, and assault of a public official are crimes against the government. Moreover, as the number of governmental functions has increased throughout time, the number of statutory offenses penalizing obstructions of those functions likewise has increased. Many of these crimes have been clearly and distinctly set apart as separate offenses. . . ." "The Varying Parameters of Obstruction of Justice in American Criminal Law," 65 La. L. Rev. 49 (Fall 2004), by John F. Decker. Obstruction of Justice charges are, by their nature, open-ended matters--broad domains into which almost any wrongdoing or semblance of wrongdoing can be dropped. Of course if an obstruction of justice charge could ostensibly be lodged against Donald Trump or of any one or more people in his Campaign or in his Administration, one could certainly make the case that an obstruction of justice charge, among many others, could, reasonably, certainly, have been lodged against Hillary Clinton and against individuals who worked for her Campaign. And, if obstruction of justice charges were not lodged against Hillary Clinton and others who worked for or on behalf of her when, notwithstanding that all of the elements of multiple obstruction of justice charges were met, then why wasn't Clinton and any of her people charged with obstruction of justice? If those members of the FBI who were involved in the investigation of Hillary Clinton on multivarious federal charges did not bring charges against her specifically because they did not wish to disrupt her campaign for the U.S. Presidency, then, one might well ask whether those investigators of the FBI involved had not themselves obstructed justice. But, who would charge them? And, imagine for a moment that Hillary Clinton did prevail in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election against Donald Trump. Imagine a likely criminal occupying the highest Office in the Land. Imagine a system of laws in this Nation turned on its head. Imagine Harlequin Justice and a Harlequin U.S. President: Hillary Clinton. The conclusion we draw is that an attempted coup of our Constitutional Republic is underway. The contents of the House Intelligence Committee Memo will certainly lend credence to that conclusion. That is why there has been considerable push-back against release of the Memo to the public. The Conspirators don't want an accounting. They don't want a reckoning. Thus, they come up with specious reasons to waylay release of the Memo. What the American public is witness to is a deliberate and reprehensible attempt--assembled by actors in Congress, in the Federal Bureaucracy, and in the Mainstream Media, with likely assistance from Billionaire globalists both here at home and abroad to undermine the Trump Presidency.Representative Devin Nunes (R-CA), House Intelligence Committee Chairman, seeks to redress this horrific situation that bad actors have inflicted on our Country and continue to inflict on our County and that is why he ordered preparation of a Memorandum detailing DOJ and FBI surveillance abuse and misuse of the FISA Court by senior Officials of the DOJ and FBI. These abuses involve presenting the FISA Court with an application for issuance of a warrant to enable the FBI to conduct surveillance of American citizens. If the application were submitted with evil intent, with knowledge that the presenters had that the content of the application was patently false or that the content had not been corroborated for veracity and if those presenters of the FBI and DOJ represented to the FISA Court that the content of the application for a FISA warrant was true, then those presenters of the FBI and DOJ perpetrated a fraud on the Court. That is reprehensible. That is unforgivable. And that, apparently, is precisely what happened. That is what prompted Representative Nunes to order preparation of the Memo, for release to the American citizenry. The legal authority for him to do so is based on the Committee’s function and job:“The United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) is a committee of the United States House of Representatives, currently chaired by Congressman Devin Nunes (California). Created in 1977, HPSCI is charged with oversight of the United States Intelligence Community—which includes the intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the following seventeen elements of the U.S. Government—and the Military Intelligence Program.”The HPSCI is tasked with oversight of powerful institutions—seventeen institutions that, in a free Republic, cannot be trusted to police themselves. Representative Nunes became frustrated, and rightfully so, by DOJ and FBI recalcitrance in responding to Committee concerns.The DOJ and FBI must answer to the American people through their Representatives in Congress. Apparently, the DOJ and FBI don’t see it that way. Congressional Democrats, like Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi and Dianne Feinstein—who have been most vocal in their denunciation of the House Intelligence Committee Memo—don’t see it that way either. You would think that all members of Congress would be aghast at unethical conduct, arising to the level of crimes—serious crimes at that—that senior Officials of the DOJ and FBI, had likely committed against the Nation and against the American people. But, Representatives Schiff and Pelosi and Senator Feinstein don’t want the public to have access to the contents of the Memo. Apparently, neither does the mainstream media that has come out of the shadows itself on the topic, which it had previously ignored, and no longer can do so, and, so, reluctantly reports it.Why is it that Representatives Schiff and Pelosi, and Senator Feinstein don’t want the public to have access to the contents of the Memo? What is it that senior Officials and Congressional Democrats are fearful of? Are they afraid that the contents of the Memo do not correspond with or cohere with facts, as they claim, and that, the public therefore should not gain access to a document that portrays senior Officials of the DOJ and the FBI in a false light, damning them for illegal conduct these senior Officials of the DOJ and the FBI never engaged in? Or, rather, is it because these Senior Officials of the DOJ and FBI and these Congressional Democrats are afraid that the contents of the Memo do clearly correspond with or cohere with facts “in the world” and that the contents of the Memo do rightfully damn these individuals for betraying their Oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution. If the latter, then one need not wonder as to the concern of Congressional Democrats and the concern of high-ranking Officials in the Federal Bureaucracy over the contents of the Memo, and why it is they remonstrate against the Memo’s release. For, these holders of high rank in Government, who wield incredible power, and whom the public is expected to trust, and who are expected to utilize the power of their Office circumspectly, and whom, the public—so it is told—have the utmost integrity, would be exposed for the frauds that they are, and would, themselves, be investigated for crimes against this Nation and against the American people. Moreover, it is clear enough, although no one publicly acknowledges it, that, once President Trump does allow for the release of the House Intelligence Memo to the American public, there will be a ripple effect that calls into question the legitimacy of the entirety of the Mueller investigation. And, the ripple effect does not end there. The public will obtain an inkling as to depth of and complexity of the conspiracy against the U.S. President and, by extension, the depth of and complexity of the conspiracy against the American people. The American public will rightfully demand an accounting of these high-ranking Officials, including a demand for an accounting of Congressional Democrats who protect these Federal Bureaucrats who flagrantly violate the laws of the Land—senior police officials and senior attorneys, whom one would think would have the utmost respect for our laws, but who obviously don't.The reasons Congressional Democrats give for preventing release of the Memo to the American public cloaks a normative argument that is not subject to true/false verification. These Congressional Democrats and the senior Officials who both betray their Nation and its people have a vision for this Nation that cannot be reconciled with the vision that President Trump and much of the American citizenry have for this Country. These Congressional Democrats and senior Officials of the DOJ and FBI and many senior Officials of the Federal Bureaucracy wish to create a Nation that is subordinated to a new pan-World Order; a Nation with open borders; a Nation open to disparate multicultural influences; a Nation suffering the fragmenting of core values; a Nation witnessing the disassembling of fundamental rights and liberties; and a Nation that sees an expansion and consolidation of power in the Federal Government with ultimate transfer of power to international Governing bodies. Clearly, these senior Officials of the DOJ and FBI that wield incredible power have little regard for the American people. And, those members of Congress who protect and enable the  illegal conduct of these Officials are no better. Indeed, they are all complicit in the assault on our Constitution and complicit in the illegal effort to destroy the Trump Presidency. These Senior Officials of the DOJ and FBI feel they can spurn our laws because they presume they know what is in the best interests of the American people. They create ad hoc rules of behavior for themselves as they deem themselves to be superior to the public.  They demonstrate contempt for the citizenry. Their behavior amounts to crass, unabashed paternalism. The Founders of our Republic would be appalled. You should be appalled too. The American citizenry must demand an accounting. Perhaps, with release of the House Intelligence Committee Memo, there now will be an accounting.______________________________________________*As this article goes to publication, the Arbalest Quarrel has learned that U.S. President, Donald Trump, has authorized release of the House Intelligence Committee Memo, and, apparently, in unredacted form, which means that Americans should see the names of those high-ranking Officials in the FBI and DOJ, who have betrayed the trust of the citizenry of this Nation. These individuals of "Justice" must be brought to justice themselves. Once the Memo is released to the public, the Arbalest Quarrel will analyze it and post the results of its analysis on this site.______________________________________________Copyright © 2017 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

RELEASE THE MEMO: ADAM SCHIFF AND OTHER CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS DARE ARGUE AGAINST GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY, DEMONSTRATING THEIR BRAZEN CONTEMPT FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

PART FIVE

ADAM SCHIFF AND OTHER CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS DO NOT TRUST AND NEVER WILL TRUST AMERICANS WITH THE TRUTH. WHY IS THAT? IS IT BECAUSE THESE CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS DO IN FACT BELIEVE THAT AMERICANS ARE INCAPABLE OF HANDLING THE TRUTH, OR IS IT, RATHER, THAT THESE CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS KNOW FULL WELL THAT AMERICANS ARE QUITE CAPABLE OF HANDLING THE TRUTH? CLEARLY, ADAM SCHIFF AND OTHER CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS KNOW FULL WELL THAT, ONCE AMERICANS KNOW HOW THESE CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS, AND THEIR FRIENDS IN AND OF THE BUREAUCRATIC DEEP STATE, HAVE BETRAYED THIS NATION AND HAVE BETRAYED THE AMERICAN CITIZENRY, THEY  WILL BE EXPOSED FOR THE DEFILERS THEY ARE. THEY KNOW THAT THEIR BETRAYAL WILL NOT SIT WELL WITH THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. THEY KNOW, AS WELL THEY SHOULD, THAT THEY WILL BE CALLED ON THE CARPET FOR THEIR MANY BETRAYALS, ALONG WITH THE SENIOR OFFICIALS OF THE DEEP STATE WHOM THEY HAVE, IN THE PAST, IMPROPERLY SHIELDED, AND WHOM, EVEN NOW, WITH ALL THE MOUNTING EVIDENCE OF SERIOUS CRIMINAL WRONGDOING THAT HAS COME TO LIGHT, THEY CONTINUE MINDLESSLY, IRRESPONSIBLY, BLATANTLY, AND REPREHENSIBLY TO SHIELD.

Jessep: You want answers? Kaffee (Tom Cruise): I think I'm entitled to them. Jessep: [Again] You want answers? Kaffee: I want the truth! Jessep: You can't handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has walls. And those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives . . . You don't want the truth. Because deep down, in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall. You need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty . . . we use these words as the backbone to a life spent defending something. You use 'em as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it! I'd rather you just said thank you and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to! Kaffee: Did you order the code red? Jessep: (quietly) I did the job you sent me to do. Kaffee: [Again, persistently] Did you order the code red? Jessep: You're goddamn right I did!!From the 1992 legal drama film, “A Few Good Men,” written by Aaron Sorkin“I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in [Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s] office—that there’s no way [Trump] gets elected—but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk. It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40. . . . ” Incriminating text message from Peter Strzok, demoted FBI counterintelligence agent, to fellow FBI lawyer and Strzok’s mistress and “secret society” member, Lisa Page. Is Strzok’s illegal “Insurance Policy” not unlike Jessop’s illegal “Code Red”?

CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS’ CONTEMPTUOUS DISREGARD FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE IS ON AMPLE DISPLAY THROUGH THEIR ATTEMPT TO PRECLUDE THE CITIZENRY’S ACCESS TO THE HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE MEMORANDUM, SETTING FORTH THE BLATANT BETRAYAL OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS OF THE DEEP STATE.

Adam Schiff, D-CA, ranking Congressional Democratic member on the House Intelligence Committee has spoken out, constantly and vociferously, against release of the House Intelligence Committee FISA Memorandum that, reportedly, according to House Republicans who viewed the Memo, illustrates clear evidence of abuses arising to the level of federal crimes, committed by senior Officials of the DOJ and FBI. Schiff has been complaining ever since he learned that House Republicans wish to release the Memo to the American people. One would think that, in a Free Republic, the American people should—indeed must—be made aware of violations by their servants—those individuals who serve in the Federal Government, ostensibly on behalf of the people. Why then the display of such vehement reticence on the part of Congressman Schiff? What is Congressman Schiff afraid of?

WHY DOES CONGRESSMAN ADAM SCHIFF ARGUE AGAINST RELEASE OF THE HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE MEMORANDUM?

One website, the Gateway Pundit, posted an exchange between Schiff and a news anchor for CNN, Ana Cabrera, that took place on January 21, 2018. Congressman Schiff’s comments set forth his obvious contempt for the American people—a contempt positively established through the Congressman’s desire to keep critical information on criminal conduct on the part of Senior Officials of the top law enforcement institutions of our Nation, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), within the Department of Justice—a contempt of the American people that is echoed by Congressional Democrats generally and by the mainstream news media particularly.“Cabrera: ‘Let me ask you about the Russia investigation. I can’t have you here and not. Especially given how much we talked about it in the first year of the presidency. And now if you turn on any conservative media, they keep talking about this Nunez memo, the chairman of the house intelligence committee, that he’s put out there and many Republicans have taken a look at it and they want it made public. Can you tell us what exactly is it?’Schiff: ‘It is essentially a set of talking points that the Republican Intel staff drafted. Based on the highly classified materials which most of the Republican members were forced to acknowledge. They’ve not even read. So they don’t know how distorted these talking points are. But as part of the narrative they want to push out. Interestingly enough, they’ve made common cause once again with Russian bots because Russian bots are pushing their narrative out there. It’s in a redux of the campaign. We have Assange and Wikileaks and Russian trolls and bots saying, you know, hash tag whatever the GOP narrative is. That ought to tell you a lot about what’s driving this. And that is – [statement not completed, interrupted by question by Cabrera]’Cabrera: ‘Why not allow peel to look at it and let Americans make the decision for themselves about whether it’s useful information or not?’ Schiff: ‘Well, because the American people unfortunately don’t have the underlying materials and therefore they can’t see how distorted and misleading this document is. The Republicans are not saying make the underlying materials available to the public. They just want to make this spin available to the public. I think that spin, which is a [sic] attack on the FBI, is just designed to attack the FBI and Bob Mueller to circle the wagons for the White House. And that’s a terrible disservice to the people, hard working people at the bureau, but more than that, it’s a disservice to the country.’In other words, Schiff believes [as rightfully inferred by the Gateway Pundit] Americans are too stupid to understand the memo.” Of course, whatever underlying materials Schiff refers to cannot themselves be released to the public because they, too, are classified, and might engender evidence of tools counterintelligence agents of the FBI employ. Since we presume that the “underlying materials" Schiff refers to cannot be released to the public and, as those materials, according to Schiff, would serve to place the House Intelligence Committee Memo in proper context, as Schiff argues, it then follows that, according to Schiff, nothing should be released to the public. How convenient!The confounding, disturbing, and mystifying thing about Schiff, and about all Congressional Democrats for that matter, is that Schiff and other Congressional Democrats forever claim, albeit speciously and sanctimoniously, the moral high ground, be it on matters touching upon the Free Speech and Freedom of the Press clauses of the First Amendment; the right of the people to keep and bear arms, codified in the Second Amendment; the cruel and unusual punishments clause set forth in the Eighth Amendment; the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures that falls under the Fourth Amendment of the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution; or immigration and other naturalization matters which fall exclusively within the province of Congress, as set forth in Article I, Section 8, Clause 4, of the U.S. Constitution.The fact of the matter is that Schiff, and his fellow travelers in the Democratic Party, exemplify in their statements and in their actions, a profound mistrust and distrust of, and disfavor toward, the American citizenry even as they pretend to care deeply for the American citizenry’s well-being. Taking Schiff at his word, the American people are expected to have faith in the DOJ and FBI even as mounting evidence supports a finding that senior Officials within those powerful institutions of Government have been operating outside of and in abject defiance of the United States Constitution. Yet, when Americans rightfully rebuke these Officials and demand an accounting for their unethical and clearly illegal behavior, we see apologists, like Adam Schiff and the mainstream media that operates as nothing more than a propagandistic echo chamber for Congressional Democrats and for the internationalist, trans-nationalist globalist “elites” who seek to destroy this Country and its Constitution, to subsume it in a greater pan-internationalist world order.Adam Schiff obviously takes his cue from other Democrats and propagandists working for them to create arguments that on a superficial level seem sound, but, beneath the surface, are specious and demonstrate a profound distrust of Americans. Schiff refers to the House Intelligence Committee Memo as nothing more than political “spin.” Shouldn’t Americans have a go at it and determine for themselves whether the Memo is mere “spin” or whether the contents of the memo are amply demonstrative of something deeper and profoundly serious—namely, deliberate, exhaustive intensive and extensive misuse of Governmental power to undermine the will of the American people through an orchestrated frontal assault on the U.S. President, predicated on the personal outrage of some senior officials in the DOJ and FBI and in other Departments, Bureaus, and Agencies of Government that Donald Trump became President of the United States, rather than Hillary Clinton?The actions of these senior Officials go well beyond the usual imbecilic nonsense portrayed ad nauseum in the mainstream Press and on liberal talk radio and on liberal cable news programs like CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, and BBC that Trump is, simply, not Presidential; that he does not demonstrate, according to armchair psychiatrists, mental stability; that he is a racist, and a xenophobe. No! What these senior Officials truly find really upsetting is that Donald Trump has set a new course for America, one that is aimed at preserving and strengthening the very idea of the import and purport of the Nation State; one that emphasizes strengthening the national economy to serve Americans, first, rather than the interests of the globalist community; one that emphasizes preservation of traditional core values; one that seeks to preserve our history; one that seeks to strengthen the Bill of Rights; one that seeks to control the Nation's borders; one that seeks to win wars, not simply to continue them endlessly and aimlessly; one that seeks to preserve the core religious Christian foundation of our Country; one that emphasizes the idea that Americans, as citizens of the United States, are, then, citizens of an independent sovereign Nation not to be subservient to any other Nation, groups of Nations, or subservient to some sort of global corporate/financial new world order. Americans are not serfs; they are not cogs in a wheel; they are not “citizens” of the world, and do not care to be. Our Constitution is supreme; and our Nation's laws are not to be subordinated to international law or to international pacts and treaties or to the laws of any other Nation, or to the laws of the EU.Senior Officials of the DOJ and FBI conspired behind the scenes to make certain that Hillary Clinton would be able to continue her bid for the U.S. Presidency, when she should have been charged for serious breaches of federal law against this Nation and its people. Once she lost her bid for U.S. Presidency, these same individuals sought, through the creation of a sham investigation of Trump and his Campaign Officials, to destroy his Presidency. And, the sham continues, unabated. This conspiracy to denounce Trump and to take down his Presidency is as cutthroat and illegal and no less an attack on our national security than it would be were the conspirators within the DOJ and FBI working for foreign, enemy sponsors. Indeed, they are likely working foreign sponsors: ruthless, powerful, inordinately wealthy international, trans-national globalists who see, in the election of Trump, a wrench thrown in their goals of a world ruled dominated by and ruled by them.When Americans denounce senior Officials in the DOJ and FBI, this is not to be construed as denouncing the rank and file of those institutions, even as Adam Schiff and other Congressional Democrats and their sounding board in the mainstream media wrongly presume and calculatedly assert. It is just a straw man argument. For Americans generally, and Congressional Republicans, particularly, to justifiably denounce senior Officials in the DOJ and FBI, such as Strzok, Page, Rosenstein, McCabe, Comey, Mueller, and others, is not to attack, and does not logically entail an attack on, the rank and file members of the DOJ and FBI who may, for their part, be just as outraged as the American people at the conduct of many of their superiors

DOES THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT HAVE APPLICATION TO THE ILLEGAL ACTIONS OF SENIOR DOJ AND FBI OFFICIALS?

It is time to expand the import of federal civil rights laws so that senior Officials of the Federal Government can be charged for engaging in illegal activity through the cover of the power of their Office—that is to say, “under color of law”—to undermine the will of the people and who betray their oath of Office. These federal Officials, as with State Officials, who, under color of law violate the sacred trust the public has placed in them should suffer the full wrath of federal law for their act of betrayal. The Civil Rights Statute, 42 U.S.C.S. § 1983 (Deprivation of Rights) sets forth:"Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer's judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable. For the purposes of this section, any Act of Congress applicable exclusively to the District of Columbia shall be considered to be a statute of the District of Columbia.”There is no reason why the Civil Rights Statute that traditionally applies to provide a cause of action by individuals against State officials, who, under color of law, deny the rights of particular protected classes of people, should not apply to Federal Officials who, under color of law, deprive the citizenry of this Country of their rights under the Constitution, generally and broadly, by attacking the very institutions of this Country upon which the Nation depends for its very survival as an independent sovereign Nation. We see now evidence of Senior Federal Officials betraying their Oath of Office by undermining the Chief Executive of our Nation, under whose wing, they fall. These senior Officials of the DOJ and FBI have, through their actions, deprived the entire  citizenry of this Nation to rights secured to them under the Constitution generally, and under the Bill of Rights specifically. The criminal actions of these Officials of the DOJ and FBI constitute the supreme criminal evil, depriving citizens of their rights, under color of law, endangering this Nation's national security through their attack on the Chief Executive of this Nation whom the citizenry depends upon to implement policies consistent with the promises made to the people who voted for him. Even among those Americans who did not vote for Donald Trump, their rights too have been undermined; for Government officials have an obligation to perform their duties consistent with the law. They are not permitted to subvert the law to attack the President of the United States simply because they happen to disagree with the policies of the Chief Executive. They are not permitted to use the power of their Office to circumvent the will of the President and the desire of the American people. These Officials have no such lawful Article II authority to undermine the authority of the President of the United States. That precisely is what Robert Mueller is attempting to do, under color of law. He has no such lawful authority. Likely, the House Intelligence Committee Memorandum makes that point patently clear.“The substantive change has been a joint venture of Congress and the courts. Congress took the lead with legislation prohibiting discrimination because of race, sex, national origin, disability, age, and other characteristics in employment, public accommodations, housing, and institutions receiving federal funds. Congress and the courts together have made such statutes privately enforceable, recognizing the public benefit of private litigation. The Court itself ushered in the era of serious constitutional litigation when it resuscitated 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a long-moribund provision of the Reconstruction Era, and turned it into a meaningful and powerful vehicle for enforcing federal constitutional rights. The Court expansively interpreted the statutory requirement of action ‘under color’ of state law so the Constitution would reach misconduct by all public officials acting randomly and individually even if in violation of state law—officials who misuse power through conduct made possible only because the official was ‘clothed with the authority’ of state law. The Court also recognized that otherwise private entities may be subject to constitutional liability for engaging in forms of joint action with government. And the Court alone created constitutional damages litigation against federal officers when it recognized an implied right of action in the Bill of Rights itself.” “Symposium: Pondering Iqbal: Iqbal, Procedural Mismatches, And Civil Rights Litigation,” by Howard M. Wasserman, Professor of Law, FIU College of Law, 14 Lewis and Clark L. Rev. 157 Spring, 2010. The article continues:“. . . public-law litigation is often less about discrete individual unlawful acts on the ground (although such acts certainly must have occurred), than about the content and enforcement of government policy and violations of rights caused by that policy through individual acts of enforcement. Policy causes harm over a longer period of time and to a potentially larger number of people. Constitutional litigation targets not only actors on the ground, but also supervisory officers and government entities who enact policy and guide officers in their enforcement. This is of a piece with the general evolution of substantive law away from precise rules into more complex general standards and principles, which has reduced the overall utility of pleading.” Id.The actions of Senior DOJ and FBI officials, including, Strzok, Page, Rosenstein, Comey, and Mueller, and undoubtedly others, operates as illegal Government policy that has existed since at least as long as Hillary Clinton’s Presidential campaign and is manifest in the very existence of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's misbegotten investigation—which, in that very existence, demonstrably violates the specific rights of individuals connected with Trump's Presidential campaign or Administration and, in illegally attacking individuals connected with Trump's Campaign or Administration, operates as a violation of the rights of citizens who elected Trump and, indeed, operates as a violation of the rights of all American citizens as it denigrates the rule of law upon which this Nation is grounded. Mueller's investigation should not be allowed to continue.Congressman Schiff is correct on one score. The House Intelligence Committee Memorandum does in fact attack the very heart of the Mueller investigation. But, as well it should. For, if the contents of the Memo are correct, then the Mueller investigation must end, for its existence is tantamount to criminal policy operating in the false guise of lawful exercise of authority. It is no such thing. It is disgraceful; illegal, and logically incoherent. It must come to an end and Mueller and his team and other Senior Officials must be charged with crimes against this Nation, against this Nation’s Constitution, against this Nation’s laws, and against this Nation’s people. The true extent of the criminality of Mueller's investigation will obviously be immediately evident to the American people and cause the American people to demand that the rot of Government be excised. This is what Adam Schiff and other Congressional Democrats fear, and they are right to be afraid. For, they must answer to the American people as well.The American citizenry should be appalled by the extravagant misuse of Government power and authority. Please contact your House Representative. Demand release of the House Intelligence Committee Memorandum that Representatives Jordan and Gaetz refer to, at once. The phone number is: 202-224-3121.______________________________________________Copyright © 2017 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

RELEASE THE MEMO: SENIOR DOJ AND FBI OFFICIALS LIKELY COMMITTED SERIOUS FEDERAL CRIMES IN THEIR UNLAWFUL ATTEMPT TO TAKE DOWN PRESIDENT TRUMP.

PART THREE

THE SWAMP MUST BE DRAINED; CONSPIRATORS’ HEADS MUST ROLL; THE GUILTY MUST BE HELD FULLY ACCOUNTABLE.

As intimated in the account of the contents of the House Intelligence Committee Memo that Representatives Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) have alluded to on Fox News, it is not enough that Senior DOJ and FBI Officials, whose names appear in the House Intelligence Memo, simply lose their jobs (which would allow them to collect retirement benefits). The fact that DOJ and FBI senior officials like Peter Strzok, Andrew McCabe, Bruce Ohr, and undoubtedly many others, continue to hold onto jobs in the DOJ and FBI, is reason for consternation.Clearly, other senior Officials of the Deep State are protecting them. How high up the Government ladder does this insidious subterfuge extend? The President’s call to drain the swamp now takes on immediate and critical urgency.The “swamp” of the Federal Government is, it is now evident, more than mere metaphor—much more. The expression takes on literal meaning. Why are these senior DOJ and FBI officials still holding positions in the Federal Government? Why are they still receiving paychecks, courtesy of the American taxpayer? Why do they still hold top secret security clearances? These people and others should be fired immediately, and they should be investigated for serious crimes against this Nation and the American people. Why hasn’t Attorney General Jeff Sessions acted against these individuals? After all, Jeff Sessions holds the highest position in the Department of Justice? Why hasn’t Sessions cleaned house? Is he unable to do so, notwithstanding that he holds the top position in the DOJ? If that is the case, then, do high-ranking officials in the DOJ, and in the FBI, and in other Cabinet-level Departments, and in the Military, and in the Intelligence Community, and in Congress too, hold sway over the entirety of the Federal Government. If these high-ranking senior Officials, these Conspirators who have betrayed their oath of Office, who have betrayed the U.S. Constitution, who have betrayed this Nation, and who have betrayed the American people, do hold sway over the Federal Government, then, we must conclude that this Shadow Government—this Deep State within the Federal Government—these Conspirators hold sway over the American people as well. Has a coup d’état of the Government already taken place notwithstanding their failure to seat the shrew and puppet of the trans-nationalist, internationalist, globalist “elite,”—Hillary Clinton?If Attorney General Jeff Sessions does muster the strength to exercise the authority vested in him and hold to account those officials of the DOJ and FBI, who have betrayed this Nation, who have betrayed our Constitution, and who have betrayed the American people, then we should see investigations commencing at once. If the Attorney General does not have the courage to assert his authority, then he should resign; and, if Sessions does not voluntarily step down, then President Trump should demand his resignation, or otherwise, simply fire him, and appoint a person who has the stomach to clean house!In the interim, these Betrayers of our Nation, of our Nation’s Constitution, and of our Nation’s citizenry must be prevented from doing further harm to our Nation, to our Nation’s President, and to our Nation’s people. Accordingly:

• THEIR EMPLOYMENT WITH THE DOJ OR FBI SHOULD BE TERMINATED AT ONCE!
• THEIR SALARIES SHOULD BE SUSPENDED!
• THEIR SECURITY CLEARANCES SHOULD BE REVOKED!
• THEIR MISCONDUCT SHOULD BE THOROUGHLY INVESTIGATED!

Once evidence of the serious federal crimes--that these senior Officials of the DOJ and FBI committed and are even now still committing--has been systematically collected, collated, and analyzed by prosecutors—and it is certainly clear that a plethora of such evidence exists—then legal action must commence forthwith:

• THESE BETRAYERS OF THE NATION SHOULD BE INDICTED!
• THESE BETRAYERS OF THE NATION SHOULD THEN BE TRIED IN A COURT OF LAW FOR THEIR CRIMES!
• IF CONVICTED, THESE BETRAYERS OF THE NATION SHOULD RECEIVE NO LENIENCY IN THE METING OUT OF THEIR SENTENCES.
• AND, THESE BETRAYERS OF THE NATION SHOULD BE DENIED RECEIPT OF PENSIONS AND BENEFITS!

IF SENIOR OFFICIALS OF THE DOJ AND FBI HAVE COMMITTED SERIOUS FEDERAL CRIMES AGAINST THIS NATION, AGAINST THIS NATION’S CONSTITUTION, AND AGAINST THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, AS IS NOW MANIFEST AND CLEARLY CERTAIN, WHAT WOULD THE NATURE OF THOSE CRIMES BE? WE PERCEIVE AND ANTICIPATE THE FOLLOWING: CONSPIRACY; PERJURY; SUBORNATION OF PERJURY; DEPRIVATION OF RIGHTS UNDER COLOR OF LAW; AND OBSTRUCTION OF PROCEEDINGS BEFORE DEPARTMENTS, AGENCIES, AND COMMITTEES.

One serious crime falls under Title 19 of the United States Code: Crimes and Criminal Procedure, Part I, Crimes, Chapter 19, Conspiracy.19 USCS § 371 (Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud the United States) sets forth in principal part:  If two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. A second serious federal crime falls under Chapter 79 of the United States Code. Chapter 79 of Title 18 of the United States Code. 18 USCS § 1621 (Perjury generally) sets forth in principal part: Whoever—(1)  having taken an oath before a competent tribunal, officer, or person, in any case in which a law of the United States authorizes an oath to be administered, that he will testify, declare, depose, or certify truly, or that any written testimony, declaration, deposition, or certificate by him subscribed, is true, willfully and contrary to such oath states or subscribes any material matter which he does not believe to be true; or(2)  in any declaration, certificate, verification, or statement under penalty of perjury as permitted under section 1746 of title 28, United States Code, willfully subscribes as true any material matter which he does not believe to be true;is guilty of perjury and shall, except as otherwise expressly provided by law, be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.Since the Fusion GPS Dossier is a lie, those DOJ Officials who presented it to the FISA Court, swearing to the authenticity of the contents have committed perjury before the Court; and, since they did this to secure a warrant from the FISA Court that would allow Special Counsel Mueller to undertake an investigation of Trump Campaign Officials, predicated on presumptive collusion between Russian officials and Trump, those DOJ Officials who lied before the FISA Court to affect or influence the FISA Court to issue a warrant have committed a third serious federal crime, that these senior Officials of the DOJ and FBI have likely committed is subornation of perjury.A third serious federal crimes falls under Chapter 79 of  Title 18 of the United States Code, 18 USCS § 1622 (Subornation of perjury). 18 USCS § 1622  (Subornation of perjury) sets forth in principal part:Whoever procures another to commit any perjury is guilty of subornation of perjury, and shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.A fourth serious federal crime falls under Chapter 13 of Title 18 of the United States Code. 18 USCS § 242 (Deprivation of rights under color of law). 18 USCS § 242 (Deprivation of rights under color of law) sets forth in principal part:Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, willfully subjects any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or to different punishments, pains, or penalties, on account of such person being an alien, or by reason of his color, or race, than are prescribed for the punishment of citizens, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. . . .By betraying their oath to uphold the laws of this Nation, they have deprived the citizens of this Nation of their rights as they have attempted to subvert election laws by allowing an ignominious individual, Hillary Clinton, to campaign for the highest Office in the Land, when Clinton should, instead, have been indicted on several criminal charges. The Arbalest Quarrel has detailed these crimes at length, in several articles. See for example, “Pay to Play: The Clinton Foundation’s Open Secret and Silent Purpose.” These senior Officials of the DOJ and FBI have compounded their crimes by unlawfully utilizing tools, such as appointment of a Special Counsel—Robert Mueller—to undertake a lengthy, expensive investigation of the U.S. President, Donald Trump, when appointment of Special Counsel and investigation of Donald Trump is altogether unfounded, as the basis for such investigation is grounded on nothing but bald-faced lies, unsubstantiated hearsay, unfounded assumptions, and mere innuendo.Having failed to seat a likely criminal, Hillary Clinton, in Office, these Conspirators—senior Officials of the DOJ and FBI—have now turned their attention to removing the U.S. President, Donald Trump, from Office. They are doing this out of spite and they are doing this because, in their mind, they won’t accept this President’s policy initiatives; and they won’t accept the will of the American people who elected Donald Trump in a fair and lawful election. They arrogantly assert that they know what is best for the American people and thereby subvert the very Constitution and laws of this Country that they have taken an oath to serve.And, a fifth serious federal crime falls under title 18 of the United States Code, 18 USCS § 1505 (Obstruction of proceedings before departments, agencies, and committees) 18 USCS § 1505 (Obstruction of proceedings before departments, agencies, and committees) sets forth in critical part:Whoever corruptly, or by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or communication influences, obstructs, or impedes or endeavors to influence, obstruct, or impede the due and proper administration of the law under which any pending proceeding is being had before any department or agency of the United States, or the due and proper exercise of the power of inquiry under which any inquiry or investigation is being had by either House, or any committee of either House or any joint committee of the Congress—Shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years. . . .News Commentator, Sean Hannity, reported on Fox News, Monday, January 22, 2018, that hundreds of anti-Trump text messages have inexplicably vanished from FBI databases. The website, Sean Hannity "Release the Memo," further elucidates the point raised and expounded upon on Hannity's evening program. If, as almost certainly appears to be the case, senior officials of the DOJ and/or FBI deliberately destroyed messages—amounting to pre-emptive document deletion or shredding—in anticipation of civil or criminal investigation of wrongdoing, this amounts to anticipatory obstruction of justice and they may be subject to criminal liability under the obstruction of proceedings Statute mentioned, supra.

THE ARBALEST QUARREL WON’T REST UNTIL THE HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE MEMO, COMPLETE, UNABRIDGED, AND UNREDACTED IS DECLASSIFIED FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.

In Part Five of our ongoing “Release the Memo” multi-series set of articles, we will look at whether the most serious charge of all, “treason,” can be leveled against these Senior DOJ and FBI Officials who have betrayed their Oath of Office. In Part Six, we will look at the actions of Congressional Democrats who--as with the mainstream news media, that has tacitly assisted the agents of the Deep State by censoring reporting of news pertaining to the House Intelligence Committee Memorandum--are impeding the release of the House Intelligence Committee Memo, and, through their actions are demonstrating, as well, their contempt for the American people. We are speaking here, namely and particularly, of Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) Ranking Democratic Party Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.We are doing our part. Please do your part. Tell Congress to release to the American public the House Intelligence Committee Memo that describes DOJ and FBI FISA Court abuses. The phone number to call is (202) 224-3121. That number will connect you to the U.S. Capitol switchboard. Follow the prompts to connect to U.S. Representatives and to U.S. Senators in your State._________________________________________________Copyright © 2017 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

RELEASE THE MEMO: MAINSTREAM MEDIA NEWSPAPERS FAIL TO KEEP PUBLIC INFORMED OF THREAT POSED TO THIS COUNTRY FROM WITHIN

PART TWO

WHY AREN'T MAINSTREAM NEWS ORGANIZATIONS COVERING THIS HOTBED MATTER?

MAINSTREAM MEDIA BLACKOUT OF DAMNING HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE MEMO ABETS DOJ/FBI CONSPIRACY TO TAKE DOWN U.S. PRESIDENT

With all the media buzz about the Government shutdown, the more pressing matter, by far, is this: Conspiratorial DOJ and FBI Officials and, perhaps, other high-ranking Obama Administration hold-overs of the Deep State have surreptitiously planned to overthrow Donald Trump. The odd thing is that this silent coup is still unfolding. It is unfolding, like a seemingly radiant—at least as presented to the public by Congressional Democrats—but clearly poisonous and deadly flower—and all of it with the passive, placid consent and connivance of mainstream media news organizations and outlets.The House Intelligence Committee Memo, would, as House Intelligence Committee Republicans make plain, explain clearly the reprehensible, insidious conspiracy afoot, within this Country, to oust Donald Trump from Office.We begin with this: the Fusion GPS Dossier, a work of fiction, concocted by ex-British spy, Christopher Steele, comprising uncorroborated, garbage meant to compromise Donald Trump—commissioned and paid for by Hillary Clinton and the DNC, which she controls, and which she had hoped would assure her victory in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, and which now serves as the primary force behind Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of collusion between Trump Campaign Officials and the Russian Government.The Fusion GPS Dossier serves as the predicate basis for Special Counsel, Robert Mueller’s investigation of Donald Trump and his Campaign Officials. This Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, along with other Deep State Conspirators—whose names undoubtedly appear in the House Intelligence Committee Memo—seek, together, to take down Donald Trump. The Fusion GPS Dossier also serves a complementary purpose for these Conspirators. It serves, at one and the same time to draw attention away from Hillary Clinton and other likely criminals who worked for and who would have had jobs in Clinton’s Administration had she prevailed in the 2016 election. Now that she has lost the election, she remains vulnerable to a new investigation of her many criminal actions when she served as Secretary of State in the Obama Administration.Obviously, Hillary Clinton, and the toadies and hangers-on who served her, along with mainstream news media organizations and Congressional Democrats—all of them—are furious that Hillary Clinton lost the election. What does this mean for the Country? Well, apart from the shattering of Clinton’s personal delusions of grandeur, we see, thankfully, an abrupt end to President Barack Obama’s domestic and foreign policy agenda. Hillary Clinton, as with Barack Obama before her, would have taken her cues from the secretive, ruthless, powerful, trans-nationalist, internationalist, globalist “elite” who seek to dismantle this Nation’s Constitution, and who intend to make the U.S. a vassal of a new world order, which the EU gives the American public some intimation of.

WHY DOES CONGRESS ALLOW THE SCAM OF THE MUELLER INVESTIGATION TO CONTINUE?

To date, after several months of “investigation” of collusion between Trump Campaign Officials and the Russian Government, Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, has come up with nothing, because there is nothing. Congressional Democrats, though, want the investigation to continue. In an obvious and blatant attempt to give the Mueller investigation an aura of respectability and to suggest that the Mueller probe constitutes something more than a rip-off to the American taxpayer, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California), “released,” ostensibly on her own, according to the liberal news media website, Politico, “the transcript of congressional investigators’ interview in August 2017 with Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson, whose firm was behind the controversial dossier alleging ties between President Donald Trump and Russians.” Politico provides a link to the transcript. On perusal the transcript is nothing more than a compilation of bald, hearsay assertions that would not be admissible in a Court of law.It is time to end the illegal farce of the Mueller investigation. Further, the American public should demand a renewed—and this time, true and proper—investigation of Hillary Clinton and of those toadies who have aided and abetted her, along with an investigation of the conspirators who orchestrated and who are even now systematically machinating behind the scenes, blatantly, smugly, continuing to carry out their detailed, despicable, diabolical operation to destroy the Trump Presidency and to undermine the will of the people of this Country.In a renewed investigation of Hillary Clinton and her many henchmen, along with an investigation of those responsible for attempting to undermine the Trump Presidency, the Arbalest Quarrel demands that Attorney General Jeff Sessions appoint a new cadre of FBI agents and officials, and a new cadre of DOJ attorneys and officials—uncorrupted Americans, beyond reproach, unconnected with and untainted with the conspiracy to protect Hillary Clinton and unconnected with the conspiracy to destroy the U.S. President Donald Trump—to conduct these investigations.

SO, THEN, WHY AREN’T THE MAINSTREAM NEWSPAPERS REPORTING ON THIS FARCE AND DEMANDING, ON BEHALF OF THE AMERICAN CITIZENRY, A RELEASE OF THE CLASSIFIED HOUSE INTELLIGENCE MEMO THAT LAYS BARE THE INDIVIDUALS IN GOVERNMENT WHO, UNDER COLOR OF LAW, ARE USING THE POWER OF THEIR OFFICE IN THE DOJ AND FBI, AND, POSSIBLY, IN THE CIA AND NSA AS WELL, TO MACHINATE AND CONSPIRE TO DESTROY THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY AND, THEREIN, TO UNDERMINE THE WILL OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHO ELECTED DONALD TRUMP TO SET THIS COUNTRY ARIGHT: STRENGTHENING THIS COUNTRY’S BILL OF RIGHTS; ENSURING THIS NATION'S SYSTEM OF LAWS, THIS NATION'S CONSTITUTION, AND THAT THIS NATION'S JURISPRUDENCE ARE NEVER SUBORDINATED TO THOSE OF ANY OTHER NATION, PERSONS, OR LEGAL ENTITY; ENSURING THAT OUR CORE VALUES REMAIN IN PLACE AND THAT OUR NATION’S HISTORY IS NOT FORGOTTEN; SECURING OUR NATION’S BORDERS; PROTECTING OUR COUNTRY’S SMALL BUSINESSES AND WORKERS FROM THE EFFECTS OF RAMPANT GLOBALIZATION; PROTECTING THE  SANCTITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL; AND KEEPING MEANINGFUL THE CONCEPT OF ‘CITIZEN’ THAT IS IN DANGER OF BEING ERODED AND DEGRADED THROUGH THE VERY EXISTENCE OF MILLIONS OF ILLEGAL ALIENS PRESENT WITHIN OUR BORDERS, ABSURDLY CLAIMING THEY HAVE A "RIGHT" TO REMAIN HERE?

One would think that The mainstream Press would be all over this. It isn’t. The left-wing mainstream New York Times, whose motto is “all the news that’s fit to print,” reports nothing. Of course, The New York Times, debasing the sacred protection afforded the Press, under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows itself to be used as a tool of—or, more likely, is itself complicit in—the coup attempt to oust a popularly elected U.S. President. So, the NY Times reports nothing.Non-information—a veritable news blackout of critical events—is even more damaging to the maintenance of a free Republic than news distortion—i.e., reporting “fake” news, consisting of disinformation or misinformation, meant to deceive the public and to turn public attention toward trivial or irrelevant matters. Campaigns of deliberate deception, carried out by the Press through non-information, misinformation, and disinformation destroy a news organization’s credibility. To be sure, an astute reader may glean nuggets of truth even from misinformation or disinformation. But a total news blackout--a complete censoring of news--is a different sort of beast, as there is nothing to glean from a void in the news.We would expect news blackouts in Countries ruled by totalitarian regimes, not in Democratic Republics. News blackouts occurring in a Free Republic, such as the U.S., are heinous. The mainstream news media hides behind the First Amendment, claiming to work on behalf of the American people. Not so! They abet conspirators who seek to overthrow a popularly elected leader of our Nation.This is not the first time that a mainstream news organization, namely and specifically, The New York Times, hides news that is definitely fit to print. Indeed, it is the Times' new policy, now etched in stone, to keep their news reporters on a tight leash. The Arbalest Quarrel has recently written about the Times’ new gag order on its own reporters. See our article, titled, The Mainstream Media New York Times Newspaper’s New “Gag Order” Policy Prevents Its Employees From Exercising Their Right Of Free Speech Under The First Amendment To The U.S. Constitution.We guess that no other mainstream newspaper has reported on this apparent diabolical coup attempt—an attempted coup d’état of the Executive Branch of Government that is still unfolding, a matter more dangerous than the Watergate exposé that the Washington Post had written extensively on. Where is the Washington Post now? We see just a smattering of this frightening and provocative news in that news publication. Apparently, neither the Washington Post nor The New York Times, and likely no other mainstream media newspaper considers the overthrow of a legitimate U.S. President—who wishes only to do his job to faithfully execute the laws of this Country in accordance with his Oath of Office and who seeks to strengthen the Bill of Rights—to amount to news that most mainstream media news organizations like The New York Times considers the kind of news that’s fit to bring to the attention of the American citizen.Even conservative leaning Wall Street Journal, too, has nothing to say about the House Intelligence Committee Memo that Republican Congressmen, Matt Gaetz and Jim Jordan first brought to the attention of the American public in the last week’s Hannity broadcast. Gatekeepers of information obviously exist on both the “right” and “left” of the political spectrum. The American public is caught in the middle, deceived from this bastion of Democracy—this Fourth Estate—that claims to be the guardian of American Democracy. Instead, the Press, too, betrays the American people.Why is that? Instead of discussing and investigating a despicable coup attempt of the Executive Branch of Government, these mainstream news media organizations dwell on the illicit Obama created programs, DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans)—illegal schemes hatched by the Obama Administration to place this Nation in the very situation it faces today: what to do with 180,000 illegal aliens, along with their parents; and, for that matter, what to do with millions of other illegal aliens who do not belong here; never should have been here; should have been prevented from entering here; should have been removed from our Country years ago; and, that removal having been suspended, should certainly be removed from our Nation now as their very existence in this Country amounts to a slap-in-the-face of our naturalization laws and threatens the stability of the social, political, economic, legal and cultural fabric of this Nation.

THE ENDGAME OF OUR NATION IS UPON US

If DOJ and FBI conspirators succeed in this horrific coup attempt to upend the Trump Presidency, we will see further erosion of First Amendment free speech rights and the undermining of the Second Amendment. The Mueller investigation is, itself, in its very existence, an illegal and reprehensible attack on the unreasonable searches and seizures clause of the Fourth Amendment that should shock the conscience of all American citizens.In Part three of this multi-series article, we look at plausible federal crimes these DOJ and FBI conspirators can feasibly be charged with—once their names—all of them—are known to the American people. For, these individuals constitute a far greater and graver threat to the well-being of this Country, and to its citizenry, and to its Constitution, than any threat emanating outside this Country. And, in further articles, we will continue discussing this critical matter until justice is meted out to those who have corrupted their Office, who exhibit disdain for our citizenry, who have stained our Constitution, and who threaten the very existence of our Republic.The Arbalest Quarrel calls on Congress to expose to the light of day, the rot that festers within the bowels of the Federal Government bureaucracy. Release the Memo now!Please do your part. Tell Congress to release to the American public the House Intelligence Committee Memo that describes DOJ and FBI FISA Court abuses. The phone number to call is (202) 224-3121. That number will connect you to the U.S. Capitol switchboard. Follow the prompts to connect to U.S. Representatives and to U.S. Senators in your State._________________________________________________Copyright © 2017 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

RELEASE THE MEMO: REPUBLICAN HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE MEMBERS SHOCKED BY CONTENTS AND CALL FOR ITS RELEASE TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC

PART ONE

HAVE SENIOR OFFICIALS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND FBI CONSPIRED TO OVERTHROW PRESIDENT TRUMP? IS THE MUELLER INVESTIGATION PART AND PARCEL OF THIS COUP ATTEMPT?

For those of you who tuned into Hannity’s Fox News program Thursday evening, January 18, and Friday evening, January 19, 2018, you learned that our Government is in the throes of a silent but deadly coup. U.S. House Representatives Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL), appearing on Hannity, Thursday, stated they had reviewed a classified House Intelligence Committee Memorandum that, as they strongly intimate, provide conclusive proof of a deliberate, calculated, categorical, treacherous attempt by senior FBI and Justice Department Officials to topple the Trump Presidency. They describe the Memo as “shocking.” Jordan and Gaetz want this Memo to be released to the public. They are insistent. They say the public has a right to know the contents of the Memo. And, we do.If half of what these House Republican Intelligence Committee members suggest is true—and, keep in mind that House and Senate Intelligence Committee members rarely, if ever, call for release of classified material to the American public—the public not only does have a right to know the contents of this Memorandum; they must know. But, House Democratic Party Intelligence Committee members according to Representatives Jordan and Gaetz, have demurred, claiming national security concerns, even, as they show, incongruously, lack of interest in the material. Very few House Democrats have reviewed the Memorandum and have, curiously, expressed no wish to do so.Government Officials and Legislators routinely cite national security concerns when they do not wish to release the contents of classified material; and, when they do, the contents are generally heavily redacted, and, so, essentially indecipherable. But national security is not at stake when Governmental documents contain content merely content that may be deemed merely embarrassing or humiliating. Worst of all, when Government documents contain evidence of ethical or criminal wrongdoing, transparency, not secrecy, is mandated. Evidence of criminal or ethical misconduct cries out for disclosure. The federal Government is, after all, our Government. It doesn’t belong to Congress and it doesn’t belong to bureaucrats. They are supposed to serve our interests, not their own. In refusing release of this House Intelligence Committee Memorandum to the American citizenry, House Democrats demonstrate complicity in the coup attempt and cover-up.Representatives Jordan and Gaetz, true patriots, having come forward with knowledge of this deeply disturbing Intelligence Committee Memo, have made abundantly clear that, once the American citizenry has access to the contents of it, heads will roll.The American public should not be surprised if, once the Memo is released, hopefully uncensored, some of the names that appear in the Memo happen to include:Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General of the DOJ; Andrew McCabe, acting Attorney General after the U.S. President Donald Trump fired James Comey; Andrew Weissman, Chief of the Criminal Fraud Section of the DOJ, and senior managing official on Robert Mueller’s Special Counsel team; Peter Strzok, senior counterintelligence official in the FBI, who served on Mueller’s team until Mueller was compelled to oust him for conspiratorial comments coming to light in his “insurance policy” email to Lisa Page, FBI lawyer; Lisa Page, FBI lawyer who failed to notify her superiors of Strzok’s conspiratorial intentions as she was probably complicit in the conspiracy; Sally Yates, Deputy Attorney General to then-President Barack Obama, and acting Attorney General after the departure of Loretta Lynch—the latter of whom served as Attorney General in President Barack Obama’s Administration immediately after the inauguration of Donald Trump to the Office of U.S. President Trump—whom President Trump rightfully fired for insubordination after Yates defiantly refused to defend the U.S. President’s order to close the Nation’s borders against terrorist threats from the Middle East; Bruce Ohr, Associate Deputy Attorney General, demoted, for concealing his secret meetings with Officials of Fusion GPS; James Comey, fired Director of the FBI, who leaked classified documents to The New York Times, through a friend, Daniel Richman, Professor at Columbia Law School. Comey’s documents served as a basis, along with the Fusion GPS Dossier, as the pretext for Rod Rosenstein’s appointment of Robert Mueller as Special Counsel, whose tacit directive is to take down the U.S. President. And, we surmise that Robert Mueller’s name, too, may be one of the names that appears on the memo that Representatives Jordan and Gaetz refers to.Robert Mueller served as FBI Director from 2001 to 2013. As FBI Director, he must have had knowledge of and may have been complicit in approving illegal sale of uranium to the Russians. If true, it would be singularly odd for the DOJ's Robert Rosenstein to appoint Robert Mueller to head a team to investigate, inter alia--as reported in the letter (Order No. 2915-2017) from Rosenstein to Mueller--“any links and/or coordination between the Russian Government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump.” We may surmise that Hillary Clinton’s name appears in this classified House Intelligence Committee Memo, too, along with the name of Loretta Lynch, who served as President Barack Obama’s Attorney General, from April 27, 2015 – January 20, 2017. And, is it possible that the name of Barack Obama, too, appears in this Memo? If, Clinton’s name and Obama’s name appears in this House Intelligence Committee Memo, we can well imagine why House Democrats adamantly refuse to release the Memo to the public. For, the entirety of the Democratic Party will be held up to shame. The shameful and likely criminal acts of these individuals are too numerous to mention here, but we have touched on several—especially those that point to serious criminal acts on the part of Hillary Clinton. Imagine a person such as Hillary Clinton in the White House.Senior Federal Government Officials, having failed to achieve their goal of depositing Hillary Clinton into the Oval Office—having hatched and orchestrated a plan, through then-FBI Director James Comey and others, to absolve Democratic Party U.S. Presidential Hillary Clinton of criminal wrongdoing on multiple counts of multiple felonies so that she could continue to run as the Democratic Party choice for U.S. President, hatched their secondary plan. They presented, as is abundantly clear, false and fabricated information, namely the notorious Fusion GPS Dossier—paid for by Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee (DNC)—to the FISA Court. These high-level Officials in the FBI and DOJ, in a plot to topple the U.S. President, Donald Trump, attempted to obtain a warrant that would give these disreputable, and arguably, despicable, Officials legal cover by allowing the FBI to secretly, and ostensibly lawfully, to investigate senior Trump campaign officials on false allegations of having had nefarious dealings with the Russians. If true, this would serve, conceivably, as the principal feasible basis to impeach Trump and, if successful, would lead to his removal from Office.Comey’s own memoranda to The New York Times was instrumental in the appointment of  a Special Counsel in the first instance. The Fusion GPS Dossier, a compilation of damnable lies and uncorroborated, baseless rumor, innuendo, and hearsay, is a manuscript of deception put together by an ex-British spy, Christopher Steele. Steele is an expert on deception and intrigues, who worked for British intelligence, MI-6. The Dossier became the vehicle through which the FISA Court issued a warrant, allowing/authorizing the Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, to investigate presumptive collusion between the Trump Campaign and the Russian Government. This Dossier, this lie, this work of fiction, serves as the predicate basis for the Mueller investigation. Therefore, the Mueller investigation is itself grounded on a lie, made worse through misuse of exorbitant taxpayer monies and wasteful Governmental resources. Further, presenting false information to a FISA Court, swearing that it is true to obtain a warrant from the Court that the Court otherwise would not have issued--subornation of perjury--constitutes a fraud on the Court—compounding other serious wrongdoing by senior Officials of Government who have been working secretly and inexorably to bring down Trump and his Administration. These senior FBI and DOJ Officials, who may include senior and mid-level Officials in both the State Department and in the Intelligence Agencies as well—hold-overs from the Obama Administration, have betrayed, through color of law and their Office, their sacred oath to this Nation, to this Nation's Constitution and to this Nation's citizenry. Their weak defense, for their heinous betrayal, which will not operate as a tenable defense at all in a Court of competent jurisdiction, is that it is their belief that Donald Trump will lead this Nation on a path that is at loggerheads with foreign and domestic policies of previous Administrations which they had wish to see continued. This is the height of arrogance, and contrary to the will of the American people who elected Donald Trump to the Office of President of the United States. What these senior and mid-level Officials of the Deep State want, or, what they unwittingly would be working toward if they would only stop to think about the matter, is subordination of our Nation, its Constitution, its Bill of Rights, its system of laws, its jurisprudence, its core values, its system of ethics and morality, to that of a new trans-nationalist, internationalist, globalist world order, as  exemplified in the present undermining of the political, social, and financial fabric, and independence, and sovereignty of the Nations that comprise the EU.Is the Mueller probe, then, nothing more than a monstrous step in a planned, coordinated, coup d’état of the Executive Branch of Government? Does the House Intelligence Committee Memo that Representatives Jordan and Gaetz refer to evidence of that? We think so, as this is the only intelligible inference that can be drawn on the facts so far illuminated. Further facts would, we believe, serve only to  buttress this sound conclusion.In Part two of this multi-series, we look to the mainstream news media organizations. Why does the American citizenry hear so little about this? We will post Part two of this series, on the Arbalest Quarrel website, tomorrow. In Part three, immediately following the posting of Part two of this series, we will look at a few of the specific crimes that senior DOJ and FBI Officials likely committed--serious crimes that these Officials can feasibly be charged with through the contemptible, dishonorable, thoroughly reprehensible hoax they perpetrated on both the FISA Court and the American people, a hoax that is, as of the date of posting of this article, still being played out!_________________________________________________ Copyright © 2017 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.