New U.S. Supreme Court 4th Amend decision:

According to  Findlaw.com: " Fernandez v. California, No. 12-7822
The rule of Georgia v. Randolph, 547 U. S. 103 (2006), that the consent of one occupant to a search is insufficient when another occupant is present and objects to the search, does not extend to the very different situation in this case, where consent was provided by an abused woman well after her partner, the defendant, had been removed from the apartment they shared."

I have mixed feelings on this one.  However, I disagree. I think the missing partner still has a reasonable expectation of privacy to the same extent as the occupant in Ga. v. Randolph.

Supreme Court refuses to hear gun cases

In a continuing dereliction of its duties, the U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear 3 gun rights cases. 

Drug Lord "El Chapo" captured in Mexico

Juan "El Chapo" Guzman leader of Mexico's most powerful drug cartel was nabbed (again) after escaping in 2001.  The capture is a major victory for Mexico's President. However, this is just the beginning.  We'll see what happens (another escape, extradition, etc.)

Protests and Violence in Venezuela; Gender and politics

Anti-government unrest in the Ukraine has gotten most of the recent headlines, but it looks like the socialist Nirvana in Venezuela is headed in the same direction.  Anyone who thinks that there is no such thing as left-wing authoritarianism suffers from serious delusions.  Some interesting politically incorrect observations:  Female Venezuelans seemed to be disproportionately involved in pro-Chavez and now pro-Maduro demonstrations.  According to this AP report "The crowd made up mostly of women danced in the street and carried photos of the late president Hugo Chavez."  Many are shown over the years clutching pictures of Chavez.   Perhaps the pictures have replaced rosaries for many.  Studies show that women tend to be more liberal, pro-socialist, and  anti-gun etc. than men. According to Wikipedia:
"The various polls (Gallup, CBS, Times Mirror Center, Time, CNN) all found women and men to divided, ranging from 10-25 percentage points, on all of the following issues ^[7]

• Increased role of government
• U.S. military intervention
• Healthcare and welfare
• Firearms restrictions
• Affirmative action to achieve racial equality"

Brazil: 9 killed in ATM shootout

Bizarre crime in Rio.  The gang was using dynamite to blow up cash machines. And we thought crime was bad in the U.S.

Supreme Court case on use of deadly force to stop vehicle pursuit

Shortly, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument on a case that may provide clearer rules on when police can use (and can get qualified immunity) when deadly force is used  to stop a suspect fleeing in a vehicle.  The incident began with a traffic stop for a busted headlight and ended around 10 minutes later with multiple police officers firing a total of 15 rounds into the fleeing vehicle. Killed were the driver, Donald Rickard, and his passenger, Kelly Allen, both of whom were unarmed.  The case is Plumhoff v. Rickard.

The George Zimmerman media Ideological/ethical train wreck rolls on.

This article tells it like it is.  The Left will continue to use the Zimmerman case to stoke the fires of racial animosity. Self-defense and the Second Amendment individual right  have long been anathema to the Left.  Questionable and unlawful "self-defense" cases will get great amounts of publicity as the smear campaign against the natural law right of self-defense rolls on.   Lawful uses of deadly force, which greatly outnumber the faulty self-defense cases, will be ignored as they do not fit in with the Left's ideology.   This is a great website. 

Victory for Second Amendment Rights

The Ninth Circuit handed the Second Amendment a victory when it invalidated San Diego's requirement that concealed carry applicants are required to show "good cause".  San Diego officials contended that one's personal safety was not a good cause.

Transparency International: website on government corruption around the world.

Please check out Transparency International and its fight against government corruption around the world.  Believe it or not, the U.S. comes out relatively clean. See this description of American corruption. With regard to politics: "Government and politicCorruption among government and political figures remains a concern. From fraud and embezzlement charges to the failure to uphold ethical standards, there are multiple cases of corruption at the federal, state and local level. Recent high profile scandals have involved councilmen in California and the District of Columbia, as well as mayors in New Jersey and an Illinois governor. Money laundering convictions and ethics violations by U.S. Congress representatives have also furthered citizen distrust."

New NYC mayor refuses to join former mayor's anit-gun mayors group.

New York City's new republican mayor refuses to join former mayor Michael Bloomberg's anti-gun mayor's group. A victory for Second Amendment values.   Wouldn't it be nice if Bloomberg gave the money he spends on all this anti-gun propaganda to a charity that could use it,  e.g. Salvation Army.  Of course ideology usually trumps altruism. 

Speak out and take action against government electronic snooping.

Consider this program  by the ACLU. 

Potential Second Amendment Cases for Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court needs to clarify a number of  crucial issues left remaining after its civil rights landmark decisions in Heller and McDonald.  Among these are:
1.  What is the standard of review? ( Strict scrutiny, intermediate scrutiny, rational basis?)
2.  What does "bear arms" mean in the Second Amendment?  To  what extent does the right apply outside the home?
3.  What types of weapons are protected?  What does "arms" mean in the Second Amendmet?

Hopefully, the Court will decide one or more of these cases that have been appealed to it.

TIH: The Hampton Roads Conference 1865

We are still in the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, by far the most costly war in American history. The costs and consequences were suffered for  decades later.  Unfortunately, there seems to be little public interest.  What a shame!  Here's a short clip from History.com about a little-known, but extremely significant event, the Hampton Roads Conference.

On February 3, 1865, President Lincoln  and Secretary of State Seward met with three Confederate officials, including Vice President Stephens ), to discuss the possibility of negotiating an end to the  Civil War.which had begun almost four years earlier in April 1861. The Hampton Roads Conference, which took place on a steamboat near Hampton, Virginia, was a failure, as Confederate negotiators were not authorized to accept any settlement other than Southern independence, which Lincoln refused to discuss.  It was delusional to think that, after 4 years of a horrible war, Lincoln and he Union would give the Confederacy what they wanted. The war continued for another two agonizing months. 

Although there are various interpretations of who was at fault for this failure, it was delusional for the Confederacy to think that at this point in the war they had any chance of victory.  Their failure led to the unnecessary loss of  lives and property and additional suffering.  A great moral wrong!