Another Major Victory

ANTONYUK v. HOCHUL (DND 2022).  It is 186 pages so you may not be interested in reading it all.  As with most cases, much of the decision is a review of how the federal rules of temporary restraining injunctions apply.  Then there is the question of standing: do the people who are suing have a basis?  Will they be injured in some serious way if the temporary injunction is not issued?  Example: 

With regard to the Oswego County Defendants' argument that Plaintiff Mann lacks standing, Plaintiff Mann has alleged—and repeatedly sworn in a declaration—that he possesses a concrete intention to carry his firearm in his church (which is adjacent to his residence, where he possesses that firearm). (Dkt. No. 1, at ¶¶ 183-84, 188, 191-95 [Compl.]; Dkt. No. 1, Attach. 9, at ¶¶ 4, 12, 16, 20, 25, 28, 30-33 [Mann Decl.].) Plaintiffs have also adduced evidence that, on July 13, 2022, Defendant Hilton publicly stated that he would be enforcing the CCIA (albeit "conservative[ly]"); on July 20, 2022, Defendant Hilton publicly stated, "Under the new law, taking a legally licensed firearm into any sensitive area-such as a... church...[-]is a felony punishable by up to 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison"; and on August 31, 2022, Defendant Hilton publicly stated, "If you own a firearm please be aware of these new laws as they will effect [sic] all gun owners whether we agree with them or not." (Dkt. No. 1, Attach. 9, ¶ 24 [Mann Decl.].) This is sufficient to establish a credible threat of prosecution under the case law cited in Antonyuk I, 2022 WL 3999791, at *15-16.

With regard to the Oswego County Defendants' argument that Defendant Hilton is not a proper Defendant, the Court rejects that argument because of his particular duty (and willingness) to enforce the CCIA in Oswego County (including Plaintiff Man's church). (Dkt. No. 1, Attach. 9, ¶ 24 [Mann Decl.].) As his defense counsel acknowledged during oral argument, "[T]hat's his job." (Dkt. No. 23, at 40 [Oral Argument Tr.)^[8]

The decision prohibited enforcement of the ban on carrying in places of worship, among others:

Based on the historical analogues located thus far, it does not appear permissible for New York State to restrict concealed carry in "any place, conveyance, or vehicle used for public transportation or public transit, subway cars, train cars, buses, ferries, railroad, omnibus, marine or aviation transportation; or any facility used for or in connection with service in the transportation of passengers, airports, train stations, subway and rail stations, and bus terminals." (as stated subsection "2(n)" of Section 4 of the CCIA). Indeed, historical analogues exist containing specific exceptions permitting the carrying firearms while travelling (presumably because of danger often inherent during travel).^[34] ...

Based on the historical analogues located thus far, it does not appear permissible for New York State to restrict concealed carry in the following place: "the area commonly known as Times Square, as such area is determined and identified by the city of New York; provided such area shall be clearly and conspicuously identified with signage" (as stated in subsection "2(t) of the CCIA). Granted, one might argue that historical statutes banning the carrying of guns in "fairs or markets" are analogous to this prohibition. However, thus far, only two such statutes have been located.^[42] Setting aside the fact that the first one appears to apply only to carrying a gun offensively ("in terror of the Country"), and the fact that the second one appears to depend on royal reign, as stated before, two statues do not make a tradition.

As a result, the Court orders the enforcement of this provision temporarily restrained. 

No whining that the Court's decision in Bruen is not making a difference.   UPDATE: Interesting comment that I missed.  The decision explains why the decision is so long:

it is hardly his fault that the Court has taken so long to prepare this Decision (the length of which has been necessitated less by the breadth the Complaint’s claims as the unprecedented constitutional violations presented by the CCIA [the New York statute in question]).

 

Longest Line for Voting I Have EVER Seen

I think this is going to be quite an election.  My wife spent the day on her feet and was not prepared to wait.  We went home and i came back.

Democracy is not dying.  There are no close races here in Idaho.  This is the, "I am hopping mad and I am not taking it anymore!" election.

This morning, the results are so surprising that three possibilities present themselves:

1. Election fraud is widespread that democracy is indeed over.

2. Many Americans do not find unprecedented inflation, promotion of genital mutilation, racial hatred as a bad thing.

3. The universities are doing a great job of indoctrinating our kids and grandkids.

This is going to end badly for America.  Revolution?  I doubt it.  Just economic collapse.

No, the Neighborhood Did Not Change Orientatation

An unfortunate aspect of many cameras is that very subtle parts of what your eye can see are sometimes missed.  In this case, to the right of that secondary rainbow was a third rainbow.

Ergotism and Salem Witch Trials

I was grading a student's paper about the causes of the Salem Witch Trials.  I am sure all of you are aware of the theory popularized in the 1970s that ergot, a fungus that grows on rye caused hallucinations in the young girls who started the first set of accusations.  I was disappointed because in the Course Documents about this, I specifically mentioned the ergotism theory and why few historians take it seriously today.

As I dug into the research that she missed (Google for "ergot Salem" and you get a very different and less scholarly collection than searching scholar.google.com), I found lots of evidence that pretty thoroughly demolishes this claim.

1. Ergotism presents differently depending on vitamin A levels.   If you have enough it is convulsive.  If not, it presents as gangrene; body parts as big as legs break off cleanly without pain and little bleeding.  That must have been weird and disturbing.   (I must write a sci-fi/horror story with that presentation of ergotism some day.)

2. Only a couple children suffered convulsions.   One was a nursing baby too young to have eaten any ergotic food and lysergic acid (yes, the LS of LSD) does not pass through mother's milk.

3. Some of the other popular claims that witch trials only happened where rye was widely grown turn out to be wrong.  England grew almost no rye and had plenty of Witch Trials.

Part of why I enjoy grading research papers is to help students improve their writing. (This paper at least had proper structure and sentences that would not drive an alcoholic to the bottle.)

The other reason is that I learn a lot.  Often there are things entirely new to me: Early first millennium natural gas and petroleum drilling and utilization in China.  Even areas where I have done some reading such as Salem, push me to read both student sources and ones the student missed.

Making a Superfund Site

 If you are my age, you doubtless grew up hearing about Superfund Sites, places so massively polluted with no firm left to hold accountable for cleanup.  This video is about one: Picher, Oklahoma:

The narration and fact delivery is matter of fact and has no screaming "Save Mother Earth" hysteria, but then again, it does not need it.  The tribe whose land was expropriated for one of the largest zinc and lead mines in America now has ownership of it again, and are in charge of cleanup.  Their environmental quality director is not bitter; he puts a positive cast on how they are being paid to restore their land.

If you are familiar with the silver mining region in north Idaho, parts of this will seem familiar; lead mining poisoning and retarding children, although that was suppressed for a long time with large payments and NDAs.  While the environmental movement tends towards hysteria, when not outright fraud, there are disasters like Picher we need to remember.  How many of these new mines to produce electric car batteries are going to be the 21st century's Pichers?  A little calmer approach to the next big technology is in order.

Twitter May Be Addictive

 It gobbles up time at a prodigious rate but it can be fun.

Maybe Things Really Are Changing at CNN

11/5/22 CNN fact checks Biden like he was a Republican.  It is glorious.