90 Miles From Tyranny

Saturday, October 10, 2020

Things Our Global Masters Dislike:

Is The ATF Trying To Undermine The Trump Campaign With Honey Badger Decision?

My colleague Tom Knighton has already outlined some of the problems with the ATF’s decision to classify the Honey Badger AR-15 pistol from gunmaker Q, LLC, as a “short-barreled rifle” subject to the National Firearms Act, and on today’s Bearing Arms’ Cam & Co we delve deeper into the issue with Alex Bosco, the founder and CEO of SB Tactical.

Bosco’s been dealing with the ATF over their vague and arbitrary determinations regarding pistol braces since 2015, when the ATF issued a ruling declaring that owners of pistols equipped with forearm braces could illegally turn their firearms into short-barreled rifles by shouldering the brace.

In 2017, the ATF reversed course and issued an advisory letter stating that “attaching the brace to a handgun as a forearm brace does not “make” a short-barreled rifle” by itself, but if the owner of the handgun “takes affirmative steps to configure the device for use as a shoulder-stock,” then that gun owner has “objectively ‘redesigned’ the firearm for purposes of the National Firearms Act.”

Bosco says that new standard wasn’t perfect, but at least it was workable. Over the next few years he met multiple times with the agency in an attempt to get the agency to publicly release standards that gunmakers could follow to ensure that they stay within...

Barbie Goes Woke, Preaches on Racism and White Privilege With Her Friend Nikki In New Vlog

I Think I'll call this "racesplaining"

ABC is reporting that ‘Barbie’ used her YouTube channel to talk about racism and white privilege with her friend Nikki. Nikki is Barbie’s first black best friend and joined the doll line up back in 1996.

The vlog post has millions of views now and as you might expect is receiving massive amounts of praise by the left.

But, I have a major question: Why is Barbie talking to kids about racism and white privilege? Isn’t this a subject that should be up to the parents to explain to their children?

Hypothetically, my daughter logs on to see the latest accessories for her Barbie, and she gets inundated with the idea that because she is a white child, people assume that she hates those that don’t look like her. Also, because of the color of her skin, she inherently has an advantage over those with different skin tones.

Apparently, the people at Mattel think Barbie is the appropriate avenue to teach children these lessons. Because I am surely not going to teach my children that they should feel wrong about the color of...

California AG Won't Review Suicide Findings in Bizarre Death of Rebecca Zahau

California Attorney General Kamala Harris has decided that she won't review the San Diego County Sheriff Department's findings that the bizarre death of Rebecca Zahau, the girlfriend of Scottsdale-based Medicis CEO Jonah Shacknai, was a suicide.

Earlier this week, Shacknai wrote Harris a letter asking her to review the case -- not because he didn't agree that the death was a suicide, but to "further enhance the public's confidence in the integrity of the law-enforcement process and finally bring closure to these terrible tragedies."

In Harris' reply to Shacknai's letter -- provided to New Times by the California Department of Justice -- Harris says the AG's Office only reviews cases handled by local law enforcement "under very narrow circumstances."

See the full letter below:

Dear Mr. Shacknai:

Thank you for your September 19 letter to Attorney General Kamala Harris, who sends her condolences for your profound loss. On behalf of both the Attorney General and her staff, we offer our sympathy for the tragedy that is the reason for your correspondence. Your letter requests an inquiry into the investigation that was conducted by the San Diego County Sheriff's Office. The California Department of Justice would review a local investigation under very narrow circumstances. Some of the factors that are considered before committing the state's scarce resources include whether a clear conflict of interest exists, whether a local law enforcement agency has requested assistance, whether local investigative resources have been exhausted, and whether there are allegations of gross malfeasance by the investigative agency. Based on a review of your request, we must decline your invitation to review this investigation at this time.

Please accept our sincerest condolences for your tragic loss, and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Dane R. Gillette

For Kamala D. Harris.

Earlier this month, the SDCSD ruled the death was a suicide, despite the bizarre factors of her death -- for example, when she was found, Zahau was naked and had her hands and feet bound behind her back, and there was a cryptic message written on the door to the room where her body was found.

Zahau's body was found by Shacknai's brother just days after the CEO's son, Max, was rushed to a hospital in critical condition after falling down a flight of stairs in the mansion. Zahau was caring for the boy at the time of the fall.

Max Shacknai later died from his injuries.

"Were these deaths the result of criminal conduct? Was Max's death a homicide? The answer is no," San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said at a press conference earlier this month. "It was a tragic accident. Was Rebecca's death a homicide? Again the answer is no. It was a suicide ... These deaths were not the result of any criminal acts."

Despite the ruling, Zahau's apparent suicide remains controversial for a lot of reasons.

Aside from being found bound behind her back, naked, and hanging from a balcony, Zahau's autopsy revealed several unexplained head injuries a renowned forensic pathologist says don't necessarily support the theory that Zahau hung herself.

Pathologist Cyril Wecht reviewed Zahua's entire autopsy report. He finds the following:

"She has subgaleal hemorrhages; those are hemorrhages on the undersurface of the scalp. I see no reason why she should have those. You get those when your head strikes something or is struck by something."

Brain hemorrhaging could have happened when Zahau was cut down from the balcony -- she may have hit her head -- but it wouldn't have happened in four different places in the brain, Wecht concludes.

"Even if (her) scalp hit bushes, that kind of impact would not produce subgaleal hemorrhage," Wecht continues. "We're talking about contusions on the top of the head. So, even as the body is falling down - let's say there are branches - how do you get bruises on the top of the head as the body is falling vertically downward?"

Another tidbit the San Diego County Sheriff's Department left out during its press conference announcing its findings that Zahau's death was a suicide is a message left in black paint on a door near the room where Zahau was found hanging.

The SDCSD mentioned a message during the press conference, but wouldn't tell reporters what it said.

That message, the autopsy reveals, was the following: "She saved him can you save her?"

The message could possibly be referencing Max Shacknai. However, it seems if Zahau were the person who'd written the message, it would say...