Tuesday, April 20, 2010

"Find Me The Man, I'll Find The Crime"








A menace to society, seen here in his lair: Telecommunications professional, inventor, and law-abiding gun owner Gregory Girard (above, left) hard at work to support his wife and son, along with the tax-fed parasites who plunder his paycheck. Below, left: The photograph released by police to demonize Girard after a squadron of stormtroopers dragged him away to jail on spurious firearms-related charges.


All of the serious charges against Gregory Girard have been dropped, yet he remains behind bars and denied bail until the people responsible for putting him there can devise a suitable "crime" to justify his imprisonment.


This task shouldn't tax the malicious creativity of the Salem County Prosecutor, given that Girard, a resident of Manchester-by-the-sea, Massachusetts, is a middle-aged male gun owner and unreconstructed "right-wing extremist."


As Josef Stalin's secret police chief Lavrenti Beria put it: Find me the man, and I'll find the crime.


In early February, police learned of Girard's unremarkable gun collection -- invariably described as an "arsenal" or "cache" by the statist stenographers who call themselves local journalists -- when his wife, a psychiatrist, told them that she was afraid to return to their home following an argument.


On the following day the police were contacted by the ATF, which relayed a report from someone described as a "friend" of Girard's wife who supposedly saw hand grenades in the condo.


At the time, Girard held a Class A firearms license and had dutifully registered all of his weapons. A "license," of course, is a document that redefines an innate right as a government-granted privilege, and its purpose -- as Girard would learn -- is to simplify the process of revoking that "privilege" at the whim of a government functionary. Glenn McKiel, Chief of the Manchester-by-the-sea Police Department, revoked Girard's license and called in the Cape Ann Response Team (CART) -- the Homeland Security State's local paramilitary affiliate -- for a joint assault on Girard's home.



Would you trust your life to these guys? Well, Gregory Girard didn't think it was a good idea, either. Below, right, we find an example of the Massachusetts State Police Tactical Team conferring the blessings of order on an unarmed, outnumbered, helpless protester.



Among the specific concerns related to the police by Girard's wife was his supposedly alarming view that martial law is imminent.


Since it is unacceptable for people to believe that government agents will carry out paramilitary raids to confiscate firearms, a paramilitary force was sent to Girard’s home to confiscate his firearms.

Stormtroopers from CART, the ATF, and the state police surrounded the condo, evacuated two units, and then called Girard to invite him outside. Seeing his home surrounded by a ring of heavily armed, black-clad bucketheads clearly possessing malign intent, Girard understandably declined the invitation. After the police barged into his home, Girard put up no resistance, beyond insisting that his "hand grenades" were innocuous and perfectly legal smoke grenades.


The first media accounts of the incident were a bulimic recital of pre-chewed soundbites fed to the press by the police.


Girard’s collection of “approximately twenty” firearms — in fact, he owned 11 rifles and two handguns, all legally purchased and duly registered — suddenly became an “an alarming, nearly military-grade stockpile.”


In similar fashion, Girard's food storage, flashlights, batteries, and camping gear were also described as "military-style items."


I suspect that the only reason Girard's home wasn't similarly transformed into an "armed compound" is the fact that it was a multi-family condominium.


In addition to the firearms, Girard’s arms cache reportedly included “four police batons” he had “illegally” acquired.


Clubs in the "right" hands: Blackshirts employed by the Massachusetts State Police deal with a "suspect." This image, incidentally, is from the SERT's webpage; they're proud to offer "service" of this kind.


That’s right: Civilian disarmament is not limited to “gun control,” but includes “club control,” as well.


In the hands of the armed servants of the tax-feeding class, tear gas, pepper spray, and batons are considered “less-than-lethal” weaponry. But such items become dangerous implements of violent disorder when they fall into the hands of mere Mundanes. Accordingly, Girard was charged with four counts of possessing “an infernal device” and four counts of possessing a “dangerous weapon.”


Girard also reportedly converted his third story into an “illegal indoor firing range,” complete with what was described as an “illegal ballistic plate” (apparently possession of metal plates of a certain thickness is now impermissible without explicit government permission).


“We feel our community is safer having this kind of weaponry off the street,” intoned a police spokesman as he performed the familiar post-raid gun-grabber liturgy.




As it happens the “weaponry” in question was never on the “street” to begin with -- and its mere possession by Girard wasn't a crime even in a positivist sense.


No charges were ever filed relating to Girard's "arsenal" of firearms. The charges of owning "infernal machines" -- five "explosive" hand grenades -- have been dismissed because, as he had patiently tried to explain to the armed marauders who abducted him, the objects in question were perfectly non-explosive gas grenades. The charge of "carrying dangerous weapons" was also vacated, since Girard was never accused of carrying a knife or baton outside his home, and no state or local ordinance forbids private ownership of knives or clubs.


The only remaining charges -- discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, and two counts of illegal possession of silencers -- are made of the same alloy of dishonesty and prosecutorial desperation.


Rebecca Whitehill, Girard's attorney, has pointed out that while firing a weapon inside one's own home might be unwise, it is not a criminal offense under state law. She also insists that the objects described as "silencers" are in fact flash suppressors, private ownership of which is not prohibited by state law.


Even if he is found "guilty" on the remaining charges, Girard wouldn't face prison time. Yet Judge Richard Mori of the Salem District Court refuses to grant bail.


Prosecutor Michelle DeCourcey, the Beria disciple heading the case against Girard, insists (as paraphrased by the Salem News) that "the facts of the case have not changed, only the charges." What this means, assuming that it means anything, must be that the prosecution is following the Stalinist formula of finding a "crime" to fit the facts. And Judge Mori is willing to facilitate this fraud by keeping Girard behind bars, because Mori "still"considers Girard "to be a danger to the community."


Stolen property: A police official fondles some of the firearms his department pilfered from Gregory Girard.


Like assistant DA DeCourcey, Judge Mori is employing Soviet legal concepts to justify undisguised violations of Girard's individual rights.


Specifically, they are treating him as what the Soviet penal code called a "socially dangerous" person -- a designation used to justify summary punishment of political dissidents and others deemed enemies of the state, whether or not they were charged with an actual criminal offense.


More than a decade ago, the state government of Connecticut enacted a “law” permitting state agents to confiscate firearms from people suspected of “dangerous” tendencies — a variation on the Soviet idea of pre-emptive punishment of “socially dangerous persons.”


Almost exactly a month after Girard was kidnapped and his gun collection was stolen by the local police, David Pyles of Medford, Oregon endured a similar assault. Shortly before dawn on March 8, a mob of heavily armed police -- two SWAT teams, officers from two local police departments, sheriff's deputies from two counties, and troopers from the Oregon State Police -- ringed Pyles' home and demanded his surrender.


Pyles had recently made a wise and timely investment by purchasing two handguns and an AK-47 rifle. Shortly before Pyles bought the guns -- something he had long planned to do, but hadn't been financially feasible until he received a tax refund -- he had been put on administrative leave by the Oregon Department of Transportation.


This convergence of events led police to categorize Pyles -- without evidence of criminal intent or derangement -- as a "disgruntled employee" planning retaliation of some kind against his ODOT supervisor. Thus they demanded that he submit to a mental health evaluation -- an ominous echo of the Soviet regime's habit of forcing dissidents to undergo psychiatric confinement. They also seized his firearms for "safekeeping."


"They woke me up with a phone call at about 5:50 in the morning," Pyles told Reason magazine.
"I looked out the window and saw the SWAT team pointing their guns at my house. The officer on the phone told me to turn myself in. I told them I would, on three conditions: I would not be handcuffed. I would not be taken off my property. And I would not be forced to get a mental health evaluation. He agreed."


The negotiator, being a police officer, did what comes naturally to people in that profession. He lied.


"The second I stepped outside, they jumped me," continues Pyles. "Then they handcuffed me, took me off my property, and took me to get a mental health evaluation."


Within a few hours Pyles had been discharged from the hospital. He never saw the inside of a jail cell. The local police -- most likely in reaction to a nation-wide spasm of outrage triggered by their Orwellian persecution of an innocent gun owner -- returned the firearms, albeit not before lying to him again by claiming that he would have to undergo a second "background check."


All of this, according to Sgt. Jeff Proulx of the Oregon State Police, was a successful exercise in "proactive" police work. Stalin and Beria would undoubtedly agree.


Note: In the original version of this essay I mistakenly referred to Mr. Girard's Massachusetts carry license as a "federal firearms license." My thanks to commenter OldEasterner for catching and correcting this error.


Obiter Dicta

During the past week I've been busy finishing the manuscript of my next book, the working title of which is The Blood-Dimmed Tide: Reflections on the Rise of the Robber State. It's a collection of essays, only two of which were published here. Stay tuned for further details.


Yesterday I had the privilege of participating in the annual Patriots Day commemoration on the steps of the Idaho State Capitol in Boise. The video of that event will be available soon (you'll have no trouble recognizing me; since I'm not running for anything, I was the only speaker who didn't wear a suit). Yesterday's Pro Libertate Radio broadcast dealt at length with the meaning of Patriots Day and the escalating campaign to vilify and criminalize those of us determined to preserve the principle of self-ownership.



Tune in each weeknight at 6:00 Mountain Time (7:00 Central) for your daily injection of unfiltered anti-government outrage, courtesy of Pro Libertate Radio on the Liberty News Radio Network.


















Dum spiro, pugno!



35 comments:

Isaac said...

"Since it is unacceptable for people to believe that government agents will carry out paramilitary raids to confiscate firearms..." is one of my favorite lines. Great stuff, insightful, witty, and devastating as usual.

I look forward to the new book.

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D. said...

This proves to me that anyone who marries a psychiatrist is a fool.

The Omega Man said...

If I'm Girard, I'm taking time out from my busy legal defenses to file for divorce.

Todd said...

A la Woodie Guthrie, Mr. Grigg should have a sticker on his computer that says: "This Machine Kills Fascists."

More great, great stuff. Keep it coming please.

dixiedog said...

This proves to me that anyone who marries a psychiatrist is a fool.

Indeed, Mrs. Ward. I would wholeheartedly agree.

Mr. Girard, who thought his wife a "trusting" soul, has learned the hard way that even close intimates cannot really be trusted completely, especially in matters of firearm ownership whenever even a mundane (no pun intended) argument arises.

Naturally, Leviathan is always waiting in the wings for just such an event to occur; a disgruntled or pissed off spouse to express to it "concern" or fear for their s-a-f-e-t-y. Sigh....

Secondly, why on earth would a presumably non-statist minded individual "right-wing extremist" even consider residing in Taxachussetts or Kennedyland? Except for perhaps NH with its "Live free or die" motto, I couldn't fathom residing in ANY New England state.

Another great report, Will.

On a side note, I went to the SPLC website and perused its their very own Meet the 'Patriots' dossier on myriad individuals. Amazingly, though, as I searched through their top-40 list of "anti-government extremists" I was dismayed to not find your brief history and mugshot prominently displayed as are so many other recognizable genuine patriots. Yet, even MORE dismaying (and amusing), folk of dubious truly genuine patriot qualities, at best, such as John McManus, won a spot on its "hit" list.

What up with that?

In any case, keep on poundin' the logic hammer and it's remotely possible that enough clue nails will eventually penetrate the hard (yet still somewhat malleable) heads out in the hinterland where it matters. The heavily-populated urban jungles, OTOH, are a lost cause. They've already long been Leviathan strongholds in mind share among the folk livin' in those "sardine cans."

Van Wijk said...

One wonders what constitutes an "arsenal" these days.

From what I saw in the photographs, Girard possessed mostly scoped, bolt-action hunting rifles (one of which is spuriously referred to as an "assault rifle" in the video). I also saw two flare guns and a revolver. The four-eyed gov't goon is seen holding a Saiga AK variant, which seems to be the only thing Girard had capable of semi-automatic fire (and even it doesn't qualify as an "assault weapon" according to the Fed's absurd rules). By these standards, every hunter in the country has an "arsenal."

Perhaps the use of that word in this context was intentional, and the hunters are next.

Anonymous said...

Of course the use of "arsenal" is intentional. Surely no one reading anything Will writes thinks these routine media mischaracterizations (lies) are the product of ignorance or accident?

The MSM, including "entertainment" media ("educational" television, TV sitcoms and dramas, cartoons, movies, and now MSM internet media, e.g. Yahoo, Google) have been on an anti-gun crusade for the last 20-30 years.

They use every technique of modern propaganda, such as: misleading headlines and titles; "product placement" in TV shows and movies (their product being the anti-gun meme); inflammatory, disingenuous, and outright dishonest terminology; character assassination; guilt by association; innuendo; omission of relevant contrary information; blackouts of news and events that could be considered positive for gun ownership or self-defense; etc., etc., etc.

They do this for just about everything, btw, not just regarding guns --it just so happens that the anti-gun meme serves one of their better focused agendas.

kirk said...

In the last century, it is estimated that between 200 - 300 MILLION human beings were exterminated by govts with weapons. That govts, with such an abominable history towards citizens, should be allowed the monopoly on force and firearm use can only be a testament to the effects of the education gulags "citizens" are forced to attend.

Any thinking individual would know, without doubt, when presented with the single fact given above, that INDIVIDUALS, not GOVTS, should be the only owners of weapons.

That govts go after such people as he that is annotated only gives further credence to the fact that we, and not they, should hold firearms.

Anonymous said...

What's more "dangerous"... The man who peacefully has firearms in his possession or the tax-feeding parasite who feeds off of us all while claiming to protect us? The answer is obvious.

Is it really necessary to have TWO goons side by side at the ready so that a third swine can strut about? Are those guns going to jump up off the table and while so animated go off and take them out?

Is there some imaginary number of weapons that has to be crossed and then the State comes crashing down on you. Methinks it's Zero. Anything above what they deign at the moment as being a "threat" since our overlords treat the public as the enemy.

His number one mistake was being married to a psychiatrist, and not just any shrink, one that lives and has her being in Mass! Oy-Vey!

The fellow in Oregon got the privilege of a left-coast reaming. I wonder if he can sue them for lying? Probably not seeing as the true criminal caste does not allow mundanes to challenge their "betters".

There is much to say and there certainly is more coming because you, Will, only scratch the surface.

Michael Gilson said...

What is an arsenal? A common figure I've seen is 1000 rounds of ammunition constitute an arsenal. Since an adult can hold 1000 rounds of .22 LR in one hand, and 1000 rounds of center fire rifle rounds can fit in a shoe box, I take that as proof that this is just another propagandistic lie by the anti freedom forces.

OldEasterner said...

"Girard held a Class A federal firearms license"

Article needs correction. I doubt Girard had an FFL.

In Massachusetts with have a "Class A License to Carry Firearms", usually abreviated LTC-A.

Girard had an LTC-A, and it was revoked by the Chief of Police.

Anonymous said...

Kirk wrote:
"Any thinking individual would know, without doubt, when presented with the single fact given above, that INDIVIDUALS, not GOVTS, should be the only owners of weapons."

Which means, since a monopoly on force is its defining characteristic, that government must be completely eliminated. I couldn't agree more!

Anonymous said...

Will, is it possible to pre-order your new book? I'd be willing to buy a copy on spec, possibly two. I wouldn't much care about the wait, either. If this is feasible, what are the details, please?

W W Woodward said...

The government gun grabbers are going to keep on keeping on until they run up against someone who will give them all his ammunition, pointy end first. When that happens they will use his resistance as an excuse for another Waco (Ft. Sumter) and kill him and anybody else who happens to be in the home at the time. They obviously don't need a law to enforce. They, just as the congress of the US, make it up as they go.

Re: Seattle (Airsoft BB gun machine guns ???), Michigan (Seditious Conspiracy ???), Oregon (Preemptive seizure of weapons and mental evaluations ???), and now Mass. (arrest Mr. Girard and then keep him in jail until they can figure out what to do with him ???).

And, he'll probably get his guns returned sometime after the Katrina gun grabbing victims get theirs back.

W3

William N. Grigg said...

Anonymous, thanks so much. I'll provide details about the book very soon.

Anonymous said...

If the powers that be are truly on a mission to root out the mentally unstable, with access to weapons who might use them in a commission of a crime they need look no further than the ranks of most police forces across this country.

Anonymous said...

Truth be told Dixie Dog having been raised in NH and now living in VT., I can say with confidence NH has become an absolute Statist shithole. It is a "law and order" state in its most despicable form. VT, although it has high taxes, pretty much leaves you alone when it comes to living your life as you personally deem best. In many ways, it is a much more libertarian state,than any other state this side of the Mississippi.

John P Slevin said...

Excellent article. Thank you.

U S S A said...

Minority Report and Punishment Park can't be too far off. Hopefully Chairman Obama will make ipods rain from the sky and put a check in every mailbox before that comes to pass.

Van Wijk said...

"Anonymous" wrote: Of course the use of "arsenal" is intentional. Surely no one reading anything Will writes thinks these routine media mischaracterizations (lies) are the product of ignorance or accident?

Relax guy. I'm quite aware of the anti-gun philosophy of the media and most police forces, and Mr. Grigg's is not the only blog that covers this topic. But paramilitary forces surrounding a private home and demanding the surrender of the owner for no other reason than that he owns firearms, then holding him without charges, is something of a new phenomenon, even if it is connected with the entrenched anti-gun philosophy of the last several decades (and it certainly is).

Know your enemy. If police are now actively arresting citizens for ownership of an "arsenal," is it not vital to know exactly how the word is defined? If Mr. Gilson is correct and 1000 rounds constitutes an arsenal, government forces will have essentially declared war on a sizable portion of the armed population and might quickly find it's position untenable. Likewise, if these same forces don't care about that and continue to carry out paramilitary raids on private citizens, the reasoning behind these raids is valuable intelligence and should be made known to all.

Unknown said...

Mr. Grigg, I've long enjoyed your writing and just have to ask. I recently started a project called Cop Block, that highlights the double standard in police departments as well as covering police brutality. I would be honored if you consider blogging with us there? I know you must be busy but if this is something that might be possible please email me CopBlock@gmail.com

Thanks

Anonymous said...

My first thought when looking over this story was to wonder what actually happened between Mr. Girard and his wife to prompt her to claim that she was "afraid to return to her home." I can see where a guy who would set up an indoor shooting range in his condo might have a few loose screws, but I also know current family law is a woman's shooting gallery in its own right in many states.

In a nutshell, the status quo is that oftentimes a woman who's simply decided she no longer wants her man in the house can concoct a spurious tale of domestic violence, and the authorities will remove the man on a "pendente lite" basis -- meaning he's given 24 hours to vacate the premises, and a hearing will be scheduled later (often several months later, due to the overwhelming case load in a typical family-law court) to determine the facts of the case, if any.

Quite the devastating experience if you happen (as I was) to be a loving, devoted husband and father of four beautiful, abundantly-gifted children (not just a biased dad speaking here -- all four are in their respective schools' gifted-student tracks, and more to the point, are thriving in them), and who never harmed or threatened to harm, or was even capable of conceiving the idea of harming, any of them.

liberranter said...

This proves to me that anyone who marries a psychiatrist is a fool.

Generally speaking, any man (or woman, for that matter) who marries into any of the following four professions who is not a member of them is a moron who deserves what they've got coming to them:

1. Psychiatrist

2. Social worker

3. Police officer

4. Lawyer (no offense intended, Jerri Lynn; any lawyer who is a devotee of Will Grigg and his work is a credit to the profession!)

On a related note, the ever-dominant cynic in me wonders what my own state's motivation is behind its repeal of the requirement for a concealed carry permit. While Arizona has historically been a VERY 2nd Amendment-friendly state, it also a prominently "Red Fascist" state that is enthralled to the prison-industrial-complex for jobs and funding. Freedom to carry and the PIC seem to this mind to be diametrically opposed to one another. Maybe it all comes down to how this state's "justice" [sic] system, which is every bit as broken and corrupt as its counterparts in the 49 other states and at the federal level, will deal with defendants in its criminal system that are of the "wrong" social/racial demographic group and, upon inevitable conviction of a "felony," will be summarily disarmed.

Finally, on a note unrelated to this case, but related to the issue of police and "justice" system criminal corruption, I hope everyone is following Bill Anderson's blog expose of the Tonya Craft trial, the quasi-legal travesty taking place in Catoosa County, Georgia.

dixiedog said...

Anonymous@8:41 PM: Truth be told Dixie Dog having been raised in NH and now living in VT., I can say with confidence NH has become an absolute Statist shithole. It is a "law and order" state in its most despicable form.

That's a shame; I guess the folk in NH abandoned the concept of livin' free or die, eh? Personally, I think "Live a helot or die free" is increasingly becoming my motto swirlin' about my head these days as I'm not optimistic about this country ever returning to the much greater freedom of yore, enjoyed by our progenitors, for a variety of reasons.

Now, I'm optimistic, mind ya, but it's not optimism based on the hapless humanoids running to and fro about the world and greedily seeking out its vain pursuits. I was just such a humanoid before I began to look intently at big pictures in everything. That trait can be a curse as well as a blessing, though, unfortunately.

In America, most folk are most concerned about the economy while the warfare/welfare state, the dependency crisis they themselves help fuel and grow Leviathan's tentacles in the process, and general cultural tyranny all simultaneously afflicting us is blithely ignored. The masses apparently don't realize how all of the above are, in some form or fashion, interrelated!

The bottom line is folks' priorities are twisted, knotted up, and way out of whack. Stepping back to look at the panoramic view, evil and persecution in general is going to wax worse and worse, not better.

Whatever the future otherwise has in store, Christians better prepare as increasingly they will be the core targets of the above, which is to be expected as the Good Book makes this quite clear. Yes, I'd also agree that most of the blame for our country's current station can be laid squarely at the feet of Christians for being so insanely silent for eons now about critical issues, especially over the last half of the 20th century to the present. Add to that the deceivers making noise in every media medium masquerading as "Christians" and we got we got...sigh (again!).

Returning from the tangent now...

Speaking of VT, it's only one of three states that allow CC without a permit in the "union" so that counts for a lot in my book ;). My state, VA, is very gun-friendly otherwise, but it does require a CC permit, which is easy to obtain provided one doesn't have a record. And, at least presently, it's not too burdensome on taxes either, relatively speaking of course.

Another tangent, if I may? I do wonder, though, if Ben and Jerry simply mind their ice cream business and their own lives or do they agitate for "happy" change in the legislative halls of Montpelier and/or Washington for that matter. Being a part of a British corporatist conglomerate, I'm sure they're agitating for a lot these days...sigh. Those who move up in wealth and/or position on the social scales nearly always wind up a dutiful Leviathan asset, with few exceptions.

That should surprise no one here, of course. Just sayin'....

Anonymous said...

Deep South Dave wrote:
"I can see where a guy who would set up an indoor shooting range in his condo might have a few loose screws.."

Dave, I'll assume from your moniker that you aren't very familiar with the status of the right to armed self-defense in Taxachusetts. That state, NJ, California, and parts of NY vie for the privilege to be the most hostile jurisdiction to owners of firearms and other weapons. I live in NJ (where you are prohibited from mail ordering a BB gun for your grandchild, and can be imprisoned for possession of a high voltage stunner) but own land in rural Appalachia, so I am well aware of the contrast. The impediments raised to merely buying and maintaining a firearm, let alone transporting it to some site where it could actually be fired, are so formidable that I can easily envision Girard's desire to have a range in his home, if he had the means to afford it. Were I in a frame of mind to be less civil, I might also inquire as to what damned business it is of yours or the porcine contingent regarding his conduct in the putative privacy of his own home, be that target shooting or making coffee in the altogether. If it made his wife nervous, motels and divorce attorneys abound in the area. A Masshole psychiatrist could surely afford either or both.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous wrote:
...Were I in a frame of mind to be less civil, I might also inquire as to what damned business it is of yours or the porcine contingent regarding his conduct in the putative privacy of his own home, be that target shooting or making coffee in the altogether. If it made his wife nervous, motels and divorce attorneys abound in the area. A Masshole psychiatrist could surely afford either or both.

Well, glad to see you're so civil as to wrap your outburst of profanity in a pretense that you're not going to say it, then going ahead and saying it. Much improved form of profanity, I'm sure.

I'd imagine it would become my business pretty quickly if I were living in the adjacent condo and a bullet somehow ricocheted out of the trap and lanced through the wall into my apartment. Aside from the sound of the gunfire next door, the gunpowder smells leaking into the adjacent unit, and so forth.

But I digress.

Since we're busybodies enough to be reading about this case in the first place, I will regroup and say that I for one would like to know a bit more about it before I make up my mind one way or the other. Does Mr. Girard have any history of altercations with his wife? Did something bad actually happen, giving Mrs. Girard a bona fide reason to fear returning to their home? Or not? Or are we to simply accept that since she's a psychologist, she's a shrew?

But be that as it may, you missed my point, which was to cautiously sympathize (so far as the limited info we have allows me) with Mr. Girard's plight.

Mike Blessing said...

I suspect that the only reason Girard's home wasn't similarly transformed into an "armed compound" is the fact that it was a multi-family condominium.

That didn't stop W. Wilson Goode in West Philadelphia back in 1985 -- I lived in the Philly suburbs back then, and remember watching part of that . . . episode on TV.

Anonymous said...

"If police are now actively arresting citizens for ownership of an "arsenal," is it not vital to know exactly how the word is defined?"

No criticism of you intended. However, my point here would be, "arsenal" is not defined, nor will it be, and that too is deliberate. The word is not intended to convey meaningful information, it is purely intended to evoke an emotional response --it's directed to an audience that will consider it a slur.

And if it were defined, it would be at a threshold that put anyone in possession of more than one gun and one box of ammunition in possession of an "arsenal." The use of the word is solely intended to make all gun owners appear to be unstable and threatening. If they wanted to convey information, they could simply state the number of weapons he had, but that wouldn't carry the emotive connotations.

Furthermore, even if the State or media defined it and adhered to the definition it would be meaningless, because their target audience won't know the definition, or understand the basis for it, whatever it might be, and will merely emote as intended when they read it.

liberranter said...

While this might be splitting hairs, isn't the word that the statist press should be using "armory" instead of "arsenal?" Is not the former a storage facility for weapons, whereas the second is a manufacturer of them?

Anonymous said...

Mr. Anonymous, and Liberanter, again raise a very valid point. George Orwells quote:

"He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future."

Who "watches" the watchers? They redefine the dictionary YOU are subject to while keeping theirs out of sight. Should you be cogent enough to identify and point this out, ironically, it is YOU who gets put into jail, marginalized, or simply silenced. How you THINK the world should operate is, as has been noted, irrelevant to those who actually operate it. Words, and the feelings associated with certain syllables strung together to generate specific responses, are merely malleable tools in their hands. People who "know" these things can either choose the red or blue pill and operate within or without this matrix of lies.

Van Wijk said...

No criticism of you intended. However, my point here would be, "arsenal" is not defined, nor will it be, and that too is deliberate. The word is not intended to convey meaningful information, it is purely intended to evoke an emotional response --it's directed to an audience that will consider it a slur.

All true. My point was simply that the establishment's lies must be dismantled via the Socratic method by those of us in the know. The fact that the enemy will attempt to redefine the definition of words does not destroy the truth of the original definition. Lies are their greatest weapons; ours is the Truth. Given enough time to accumulate, lies will always crumble under their own weight; the Truth always remains, like the Pillars of Herakles. The more laypeople are exposed to the truth, the more will accept the "red pill."

(I'm not a Matrix geek, I actually had to look that up to make sure I had the right pill.)

AvgJoe said...

Hi Will,
Today at the park where we were both speaking and my wife bought your book. Your son gave my wife back the same amount but in change. Andrea, gave him a twenty and got twenty back. She's pretty upset about it and wants to mail you the ten dollars first thing tomorrow. You have my card and if not you know the people that booked us they have my contact information, Karen I believe is your contact. She will provide you with it if needed. Cheers, Mark
btw/ it was great to get to meet you and my wife flipped out being able to meet the man who's work she enjoys very much.
This is not for posting but the only way I know how to get in contact with you directly.

Anonymous said...

Possible article material:
http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2010/apr/25/expert-chase-anxiety-may-have-led-shooting/

See also:
http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2010/apr/21/glance-killed-police/

Anonymous said...

Will-
The Everett, Washington cop who fired eight shots into an unarmed harmless drunk was just acquited on all charges by a jury of his helots....er, I mean peers.

You are correct, Will. Cops have a license to kill, and we have a duty to die. -RW

Mark Are said...

I think having 50,000 rounds of ammo and 100 guns isn't an arsenel...it's SMART. Good barter items when the SHTF.