a 2nd amendment meaning poll

Changing the words around can make a rule still mean the same thing, or mean something different. I wanted to see what other people think about a very specific second amendment question

Here are two versions of a rule.

Quote:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

and this one

Quote:

the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Is this the same rule, or two different rules?

DeSantis Would Really Like to Request a Personal Army

I'm sure this was discussed elsewhere, but is kind of noteworthy standalone.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis (surprisingly, a Republican), thinks it would be the bees knees if he could directly command a branch of the military comprised of private citizens that would not be under Pentagon control. Just Ronny-Ron. What could go wrong?

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/02/polit...tis/index.html

So I had a UFO experience

Note "experience" because I can't say I saw it. I didn't. But I sure heard and felt something weird.

It was at night. I was up late, around 2-3 AMish (there's a pandemic, sue me) and things were chill as I was just watching some TV. Then my dogs started barking like there was an intruder or maybe raccoons on the porch. But my dogs quickly were barking everywhere and distressed. Turning in circles, barking at the ceiling. It was very disconcerting.

Then I started to hear it.

You know the sound of high voltage electricity? That ominous hum you hear near a transformer or capacitors? It was like that. Only higher in pitch. It was approaching my house and at terrific speed. I went to a window expecting to see some weird vehicle driving up the street but as I did I realized that whatever it was it was up in the sky.

It passed directly over my house and immediately the doppler change in pitch had it receding to the east. I ran outside to see if I could spy anything but it was too late. My dogs stopped barking. I stood there confused as all hell.

It was only at this point that I realized my skin felt funny. Was there some static electricity present or was this just nerves? I didn't know.

So, what was that? I dunno. Whatever it was it was flying pretty low and pretty fast. It didn't sound like anything I had ever heard before. No jet engines. No props. No nothing but that incredible sound of so much electricity.

I'm on a flight path for aircraft out of Edwards Air Force Base and Groom Lake. Back in the 80s we spotted black triangles that would turn out to be stealth aircraft. Was this just something very new and top secret? That would be my best guess.

But it sure was weird.

Law enforcement violated Black Lives Matter protesters’ human rights

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/pr...-human-rights/

The subject is the headline from Amnesty International.

"The unnecessary and sometimes excessive use of force by police against protesters exhibits the very systemic racism and impunity they had taken to the streets to protest"

White supremacists are mounting false flag attacks to frame BLM

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53579099

May 2020, Minneapolis

"Police say Umbrella Man helped turn the largely peaceful protests violent.

Footage of the man wearing a mask and carrying an umbrella while smashing shop windows went viral online.

In the video, taken on 27 May, Umbrella Man can be seen breaking the windows with a hammer as people approach him trying to get him to stop. He then walks away from the scene."

"Police claim that the man's actions were a catalyst for the violence. The AutoZone store he was seen damaging in the video was later set on fire.

Erika Christensen, Minneapolis police investigator, said in a search warrant affidavit filed on Monday: 'This was the first fire that set off a string of fires and looting throughout the precinct and the rest of the city.'"

"the man was also connected to the Aryan Cowboys, a prison biker / street gang. The Anti-Defamation League identifies them as a white supremacist group based primarily in Kentucky and Minnesota."

https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/...tests-2044384/

June 2020, Las Vegas

"The men were arrested after they planned to attend Saturday night’s protest on the Strip armed with Molotov cocktails to target police, according to a federal criminal complaint.

A confidential informant told officials the men 'wanted to use the momentum of the George Floyd death in policy custody in the City of Minneapolis to hopefully stir enough confusion and excitement; to cause riots, the complaint said."


https://www.wsls.com/news/virginia/2...-lives-matter/

July 2020, Richmond

"Police: Richmond riots instigated by white supremacists disguised as Black Lives Matter"

"The mayor of Richmond thanked the Black Lives Matter protesters he said tried to stop the white supremacists from spearheading the violence."

Expanding the Supreme Court?

With the prospect that the Trump Supreme Court may overturn Roe v. Wade, there is increasingly serious discussion about adding justices to the Supreme Court. The current number was set at nine in 1869 by law, which Congress could change.

Two questions: What are the arguments for and against adding justices to the SC? Also, should it be an even or odd number? The argument for an odd number, like the current nine, is that there can't be a tie. A final decision will always be reached, but often by only one vote. The argument for an even number is that a majority decision would require at least two more votes than the minority, likely resulting in a more broadly acceptable compromise, and a tie would simply let the lower court decision stand.

Discuss.

Man outside UN with a shotgun

Looks like a developing story *Faydra linked it in Discord*. Per CNN:

Quote:

Police are responding to reports of a man with what appears to be a shotgun near the United Nations in New York, and personnel and delegates within the headquarters are being asked to shelter in place, authorities say. The New York Police Department is responding to several 911 calls reporting a man with what appears to be a shotgun on East 42nd Street and 1st Avenue, near the United Nations New York Headquarters, Detective Hubert Reyes said.

Bomb squad is on site as well, and they're talking to him. I don't think he's said what he wants yet, but no one has been injured. He still has the weapon which means no cops have done the good ol' "He's coming right for us!"

Interesting to see how this develops.