2nd Amendment Is Meaningless If the Government Can Kill You For Exercising It

The fatal shooting of Minneapolis protestor Alex Pretti by ICE has divided (to a large degree) Second Amendment rights groups and the DOJ/ICE/Trump Administration. 

The shooting of Pretti seems at first glance to be unjustified as videos of the shooting indicate he did not make any threatening moves with his pistol. Videos show that he was taken to the ground, had his pistol removed from his person and then was shot to death. The item in his right hand in the above video was a phone.

Final judgement of the incident is pending an investigation that is now underway.

The Cato Institute has posted an article on the shooting. 

It starts off with:

What a difference four days can make. Last Tuesday, a top DOJ lawyer argued in the Supreme Court that people have a right to carry guns in public. By Saturday, another DOJ official warned: “If you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you.” The government went from championing gun rights to defending ICE agents’ fatal shooting of Alex Pretti. Only restraints on the use of force can stop officials from turning the Second Amendment into an excuse to kill civilians.

Facts are still emerging about the Minneapolis shooting of Mr. Pretti by immigration agents, but videos show that they took him to the ground and appear to have removed a pistol from his waistband, then shot him to death. Mr. Pretti had a gun-carry permit.

Government officials rushed to defend the shooting. High-ranking DOJ prosecutor Bill Essayli wrote, “If you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you.” FBI Director Kash Patel declared, “You cannot bring a firearm, loaded, with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want. It’s that simple.”

Second Amendment advocates responded quickly. The NRA condemned Mr. Essayli for “making generalizations and demonizing law-abiding citizens.” Gun Owners of America demanded respect for “Americans’ right to bear arms while protesting.” Former NRA representative Dana Loesch asked Mr. Essayli, “Do you believe that mere legal possession within the vicinity of [an officer]…merits use of force as a response?” Congressman Thomas Massie (R‑KY) wrote, “Carrying a firearm is not a death sentence.”

To read the full article, go here. 

Icy Roads = Staying Put

Above, my street is all iced up. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The current temperature outside is around 21°. 

Last night's storm left about an inch snow, but it also has us in below freezing temperatures. The forecast high today in Jamestown is 28°.

The roads in the community are icy. They are too treacherous to attempt any driving. There may be patches of black ice on Interstate 40.

Above, another view of my street. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I was planning on going to the post office at Continental Divide to pick up my mail and a package. I was also planning on going into Gallup for my usual Friday dinner at Jerry's Cafe. Unless the roads here thaw out, I am staying put at home. 

It was a good thing that I did my grocery shopping last Sunday. I have plenty of food at home.

ICE Deports NYC Courthouse Building "In Minutes"

 Here's an interesting video that was sent to me last night:

NYC Courthouse EMPTIED... ICE Deports 'Entire Building' in Minutes

James Woods Calls Out Pocahontas

 

Wrong again, dear liar. Under a provision of Title 10 in the Code of Armed Services, the president may direct the National Guard to protect federal employees and property from a rebellion or the danger of an impending rebellion. pic.twitter.com/ylK9nmVsHH

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) June 8, 2025

ICE Cracking Down In L.A.

 

HOLY F'CK 🔥

ICE ain't playing, they're cracking down in LA

Karen Bass told LAPD not to assist but by the looks of it, they didn't need any

Hit that like button if you appreciate what ICE agts are to doing across the country

pic.twitter.com/VYChLufOfn

— @Chicago1Ray 🇺🇸 (@Chicago1Ray) June 7, 2025

Snow & Ice In Raton, New Mexico

It is interesting that it is sunny and dry here, but Interstate 25 at Raton Pass near the Colorado border has snowy and icy conditions.

The New Mexico Road and Weather Conditions Reports at Facebook administrator posted several New Mexico Department of Transportation photos, including this one, of the current conditions at Raton Pass.

 

The NRA Whittington Center is located at Raton, New Mexico. I doubt that anyone will be target shooting there today.

No precipitation is forecast for the Gallup/Jamestown, New Mexico this week.

Snow and Ice

After having some lunch (carnitas tacos) and talking to my cousin, I took a little walk outside.

The ground still had snow. It is about 43° outside, which isn't thawing things very fast. There is stil some ice on the road, so I had to be careful not to slip and fall like I did a year ago.

Some spots have been thawed out. As this is going to be a dry week, much of the snow and ice may be gone by the end of the week. 

I took these pictures during my walk:

Today's Coffee

Above, the roads are too icy for the Mustang and it's too cold out for the Jeep. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Today's coffee/breakfast with the gang down at Denny's will be going on as scheduled.

I took a look outside and the roads in the community are still icy. The Mustang would not be a good choice to be driving on them at it is rear-wheel drive.

Also, it is about 19° outside. That is too cold to be driving the Jeep, even though it could handle the roads in 4WD.

So, I will be hitching a ride with Greg Lucier this morning. His Subaru is all-wheel-drive, a much better choice.

Shoveling Before The Snow Ices Up

Before the snow on the walkways turns into ice (I slipped and fell once this year), I figuered I'd better shovel the walkways.

The snow wasn't deep, just about an inch since yesterday.

It was cold out, about 21°. Gallup is a little warmer, about 25°. My jacket and gloves kept me warm.

Some photos:

 

Took A Spill

Above, the Stetson that kept me from getting a head injury or worse. 

It took five years, but it finally happened.

I have some black ice on a walkway between the house and garage. I slipped on it and landed on my shoulders and back. The walkway just looked wet, but it had a layer of ice on it.

Thanks to my Stetson, I would have hit my head, but didn't. The Stetson stopped my head from hitting the walkway. 

This happened an hour and a half ago after getting back home from our coffee/breakfast at Denny's in the Flying J. Right now, my shoulders and back are sore. 

I've had some close calls before, but this was the first time I actually went down from slipping on ice. 

Best RV Window De-Icer

Above, following a storm three years ago. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To date, I have rarely had to de-ice my motorhome's windshield. The defroster has been adequate to get snow and ice off the windshield.

But there are those who live in colder climates and need more help in de-icing their RV windshields.

Do It Yourself RV has posted an article on the best window de-icer products for RVs.

They begin with:

It seems like summers are getting shorter and shorter. It will soon be time to start scraping the ice off of our RV windows again. Well, actually that’s not true anymore–not since we discovered the speed and ease that windows can be cleared using window de-icer.

A quick spritz of window de-icer starts working on contact. It turns ice, snow and frost into slush in minutes with minimal scraping. We love this stuff so much on winter mornings that we went out in search of the best window de-icers for RVs. Here are the results of our research:

To read more, go here. 

Illegal Alien Set Wildfire In Sonoma County

California being a "sanctuary state" has bitten it and, most importantly, the people in Sonoma County by having a wildfire and possibly deaths started by an illegal alien.

American Action News reported:

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Tom Homan confirmed on Thursday that a man arrested in connection with setting a fire in Sonoma County Wine Country is an illegal alien from Mexico who has been twice returned to his “home country.”  

Homan also confirmed that ICE has issued detainer requests for Jesus Fabian Gonzalez five times now in the past year alone, including the one issued on October 16 in relation to his most recent arrest on suspicion of arson.

We can thank Governor Jerry Brown and the Democrats who control the state government for this.

To read more, go here.

Stanley Ice Chest Worked Great!

Above, still have ice over 24 hours later. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Before her surgery yesterday, Denise was unable to eat or drink anything for eight hours. I knew that afterwards she would be parched and would want some water. So I went to the market before picking her up and got a bag of ice.

I already had some bottled water in The Beast, so once I bought the ice, I put them all into the new Stanley ice chest that I bought a month ago at REI.

Well, I am happy to report that the new ice chest worked great. 24 hours after buying the ice and putting it into the ice chest, over 3/4 of it still remains solid.

So, if you are considering buying a new ice chest, I heartily recommend the Stanley ice chest.