Odds ‘n Sods:

There has been a lot of chatter on the net about the call for an “‘Armed’ Peaceful March on Washington D.C. for July 4th”, as mentioned in the DC Clothesline blog. While I trust that the organizers are sincere, I believe that going armed would be unwise. Because open carry is banned in DC and because of the now mature facial recognition software, everyone who attends could face arrest at home — even weeks or months after the event. (And wearing masks is out of the question, because that is banned in D.C. too.) I strongly urge them to gather instead in on the other side of the Potomac, perhaps at Potomac Overlook Regional Park, in Arlington, Virginia. There, they won’t run afoul of D.C.’s draconian gun laws. (Coverage of an unarmed rally held in D.C. in 2010 provides some insight.) If they gather armed anywhere inside of the District of Columbia, it could turn into a public relations nightmare, with mass arrests and a high risk of a gun battle that could be started by just one agent provocateur. The US Capitol Police cannot be trusted to show restraint or respect for the Second Amendment. But I believe that the Arlington, Virginia Police can be trusted. (Respect for Constitutional rights is item #3 in their mission statement.)

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Indoctrination and Data Mining in Common Core. Note that there is now an effort to force the Common Core curriculum on homeschoolers.

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Assault weapons ban survives in Maryland gun-control bill. Note that this bill also includes a ban on any magazine over 10 round capacity. Marylanders are urged to contact their state senators and insist that this unconstitutional bill be voted down!

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Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large) sent: Comparing England (or UK) murder rates with the US: More complex than you thought. A murder rate higher than in the U.S.?

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James C. sent us this: Thousands of armed vigilantes takeover Mexican town, arrest police and shoot at tourists after ‘commander’ is killed and dumped in the street