“The resident told the subject to leave, but he continued to refuse. As the subject became angry, the resident feared for his own safety and the safety of his family,” [a release from the Madison County Sheriff's Department] said. “The resident retreated into his home and retrieved his firearm while making numerous requests for the subject to leave.”
Collinsville, Illinois is about a 15 mile drive from downtown St. Louis. It is roughly due east of the city.
When the guy opened the storm door, as the first step toward forcing his way inside, the resident of the home fired one shot.
Jonathan J. Gagen, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Since the victim is related to a part-time employee of the Collinsville Police Department, the Madison County Sheriff’s Department has taken over the investigation.
In a typical journalistic bit of insanity, it isn't clear to me, is "the victim" they guy who was apparently shot in a case of justified self-defense, or was the victim the person who was forced to defend himself. My guess is they are talking about the guy who got shot, because journalists can't really tell the difference because an aggressor and a defender.
In any event, police did not arrest the guy who defended himself.
A commuter was struck and killed by a Manhattan subway train Monday after being shoved onto the tracks by an emotionally disturbed person in an unprovoked attack, according to police and sources.
The victim was pushed onto the tracks as a northbound 4 train was entering the East 125th Street and Lexington Avenue station in East Harlem just before 7 p.m., police sources said.
The person responsible is said to be "emotionally disturbed." Okay, I can believe that. We can't do anything except leave them on the street to kill people? We have no hostpitals for them? Oh, I forgot. We got rid of those hospitals because a movie made us feel bad. Or something.
Of the 38 people charged with 41 separate assaults on transit system employees, 20 of them had documented psychological problems, according to a Post investigation.
And that is only the assaults on employees of MTA, not assaults in general in the transit system.
Isn't the National Guard patrolling the subways of New York? More proof that it is nothing but security theater. An effort by the powers that be to make people "feel safe," because actually making them safe would involve incarcerating criminals and crazy people.
Why does anyone want to live in NYC at this point?
You are not protected by your zip code, or whatever the Canadian equivalent would be.
A traffic stop in Ottawa, Ontario turned into a police shooting.
“There was a girl running and a police officer running with a gun after her and he was shouting, ‘Stop, drop the gun, drop the gun,'” [a bystander] said.
The cop ended up firing on the fleeing suspect - though the details of that are less interesting to me. There are several reactions from neighbors that are of interest.
Residents say while they are shaken by the events that took place Friday, they do not feel unsafe.
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that in the 21st Century people are worried about 'feeling safe.' I am more interested in actually being safe.
And despite the dose of reality that invaded their "safe space," they are still convinced that they don't need to consider what else might happen.
One home was struck by a stray bullet that shattered the front door window.
“Thankfully, no one was upstairs – it appeared to have ricocheted off somewhere else.” said homeowner Kristen Simkus.
“Definitely a little scary, but the important thing is that this was just a freak event for our street.”
Because if they think about reality, about what did happen and what might happen in the future, they would have to prepare in some way. This happened in Canada, where only criminals have guns, because the law abiding have been disarmed. So I'm not sure what preparations are appropriate, but I am sure that something could be done.
You are not protected by geography. Crime is not something that happens to "other kinds of people" in "other kinds of places." While the statistics governing your risk may change by location, criminals do have cars, and they do occasionally drive to nice areas, to steal nice things, from nice people.
And sometimes when they do, bad things happen to those nice people. You might want to plan accordingly.
Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
— Hanlon's Razor
People who can't spell hydrodynamic pressure, and have never seen an equation that includes momentum, want to explain why there was no reason that 146,631 tonne, 300 meter boat can't stop on a dime.
Oh, and the failure of propulsion MUST be a Russian cyber attack. It couldn't possibly be a history of maintenance problems with that vessel. Nope. Must be Russian Hackers! This is literally Russia. Russia. Russia. 2.0.
According to records from the public ship safety database Equasis, MV Dali – the ship that collided with Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge this morning – was cited by port state officials in San Antonio, Chile, on June 27 for a deficiency related to “propulsion and auxiliary machinery.”
According to the report, the deficiency was described in detail as issues with “gauges, thermometers, etc.” but there was no detention resulting from this single detected deficiency.
No it couldn't be as easy as lack of maintenance. It couldn't be as easy as cost cutting biting people on the ass. It must be some conspiracy, or a cyber attack. It must be Russia, Russia, Russia 2.0!
And a lot of people don't seem to understand that the two harbor pilots on board the ship at the time of the loss of propulsion were employees of the Port of Baltimore, not the company that operates the ship.
There is more. Other collisions just in March of 2024. Another collision involving MV Dali. But because this incident is close to home, and because people know nothing about large ships, and because people love a good conspiracy theory, we have “Russia, Russia, Russia 2.0.”
The 1980s were a unique, fun-filled era of music shaped in no small part by the emergence of MTV and the genre of New Wave. Fans will soon have a chance to step back in time to the electrifying era of the ’80s with a music tour that promises a nostalgic journey of iconic sounds and unforgettable melodies.
Actually what I remember most about the '80s (aside from the insane hair) was that we were all driven a little insane by the background of the Cold War, and impending Thermonuclear Anhilation.
The lineup shifts a bit by date, and the dates are in May and June. (Details are at the link, including a short video ad.)
The EPA Is About to Outlaw Your Car
“Outlaw your car” sounds like such an outrageous phrase, and technically speaking, it isn’t true — but only barely.
Apple's M4 CPUs could appear as soon as Q1 of next year. (WCCFTech)
Which is not all that soon, come to think of it. By then it will be competing with AMD's Zen 5, Qualcomm's X Elite series, and Intel's Apollo Lake and Lunar Lake ranges.
At LI Mary Chastain reports a New York Judge Sets Trump’s ‘Hush Money’ Trial to Start on April 15, "The judge also gave Trump’s team a chance “to file a motion seeking to delay the trial based on pre-trial publicity concerns.”"
ITEM 6: NewsNation reported, “A federal judge in Illinois earlier this month ruled that a Mexican man who was living in the U.S. illegally had a constitutional right to own a firearm for self-defense.”
4. New Massive document dump from the German govt. showing that the whole Covid thing was a massive fraud and the vaxx was, anything but what they said it was. Not that anyone who doesn’t already know this needs this
Americans Miss Trump’s Policies, Prefer Them Over Biden’s, Survey Shows
A growing number of Americans are now saying they miss the policies of President Donald Trump.
CIA Accused Of Directly Meddling In Hunter Biden IRS, DOJ Investigations Well, assume Burisma was a CIA op
IDF Eliminates 90 Terrorists, Apprehends Hundreds in Raid on Gaza Shifa Hospital Complex
"Harvard took in $625 million in federal funds in 2021 alone."
Harvard's Federal Funds on Chopping Block for Obstructing Congressional Anti-Semitism Probe, House Chair Says
• The Hill to Die On: RFK Jr. Issues Dire Warning Over CBDC Adoption - ZH
• SWIFT Planning Launch of Central Bank Digital Currency Trading Platform in 12 Months - CTH
Ohio volunteers uncover massive irregularities in voter database.
Doug Mackey, AKA Ricky Vaughn’s appeal of his conviction for posting a humorous meme is going forward April 5th.
One man died and another was injured in a mountain lion attack in a remote area in Northern California on Saturday, according to authorities.
An 18-year-old man called authorities around 1:13 p.m. to report that he and his 21-year-old brother were attacked by a mountain lion while antler shed hunting in the Georgetown area, according to an El Dorado County Sheriff's Office news release.
El Dorado County, California starts about 20 miles east of Sacramento, and runs up into the mountains to the Nevada state line. It includes the Eldorado National Forest. The national forest encompasses 3,185 square kilometers or 786,994 acres, though I'm actually not sure if Georgetown, CA is part of the national forest or not, there is a wilderness recreation are near the town.
One brother is dead. The other brother suffered "traumatic injuries" to his face.
But never fear. This type of thing is rare. We know, because they actually tell us twice.
Mountain lion attacks on humans are rare, according to the state agency. This is the first fatal mountain lion attack in California in 30 years.
That statement comes after a similar blurb from the Sheriff's office. And then there is this.
Since 1890, there have been fewer than 50 reported mountain lion attacks on humans in California, and only six of those have been fatal, according to California wildlife officials. In most cases, the person was alone when the attack occurred, according to the department.
So perhaps you are more likely to be attacked in the California cities, than you are in the California Outback, but the chances are not zero. You should remain calm, however, and only an alt-right nutjob would think you need to be armed to protect yourself for attack, whether in the Outback or the cities. California is a Progressive state, etc. etc. etc.
You are only an apex predator if you are armed, and trained. You should plan accordingly.
Santa Rosa County, Florida is in the western panhandle, just to the east of Pennsicola.
In a video making the rounds online over the weekend, Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson is holding a press conference and talking about the arrest of a habitual criminal with a history of breaking into homes and advised, “If someone is breaking into your house, you’re more than welcome to shoot. We prefer you to do that, actually.”
There is more glorious prose from Sheriff Johnson, and the story even reminds us of a quote from Sheriff Grady Judd, from the time of the Floyd riots.
Speaking of Sheriff Judd, he offered this message during the height of the George Floyd riots in response to rumors about residential neighborhoods being targeted: “If you value your life, you probably shouldn’t do that in Polk County. Because the people of Polk County like guns, they have guns, I encourage them to own guns, and they’re going to be in their homes with guns loaded. And if you try to break into their homes tonight and try to steal, to set fires, I’m highly recommending they blow you back out of the house with their guns.”
Polk County, Florida is roughly halfway between Tampa and Orlando. I seriously considered moving to Polk County at one point because of Sheriff Judd's attitude toward law and order.
Trance is an interesting genre of music. It is not quite the club music of my youth, but it isn't far off either. Instrumental, with energy, but not jarring. I know it won't be everyone's cup of tea, but then I drink coffee...
Above and Beyond is one of the more successful creators of Trance. And it gets remixed quite a bit as well.
This song is "Sun In Your Eyes." It is the Spencer Brown Remix/Edit of a song originally by Above and Beyond. I'm not sure if it was ever part of an album, those being such 20th Century concepts. The original song was part of the 2011 album Group Therapy by Above and Beyond.
Unless you are living under a rock, you probably know that the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapasco River in Baltimore was struck by a cargo vessel and collapsed. It didn't take long for people who know nothing of ship operations, or civil engineering to trot out a series of conspiracy theories, which have little relation to reality. #BridgeCollapse.
The only thing really published at this point is that the vessel in question was the 948 foot container ship Dali, which was leaving the port of Baltimore when it lost power, and collided with one of the bridge pylons. This caused the entire span to collapse. From the photos it is clear that the vessel was loaded.
Fighting against the tide of conspiracy theories at this point is moot. As someone on Twitter/X noted, everyone is suddenly an expert in civil engineering and large vessel operations. Instead of wading into that swamp, I thought I would shamelessly steal a post from myself, about a similar bridge collapse from 44 years ago.
On Friday 9 May 1980, at 7:33 in the morning, the vessel MV Summit Venture, in fog and rain, struck one of the supports of the southbound lanes (the west span) of the Sunshine Skyway, causing about 1200 feet of the bridge to fall 150 feet into the water. 35 people died. Cars, trucks and a Greyhound bus fell into the water that day. Most died of blunt-force trauma. Some drowned. One man survived when his truck landed on the deck of the Summit Venture before falling into the water.
The principle difference between the collapse today, and the one from 44 years ago, is that the Sunshine Skyway was a double span, so that when the west span collapsed, the east span was still standing, and could carry half the traffic. There is also the fact that the MV Summit Venture, which struck the bridge in Florida, was not carrying cargo, but was "light," with only ballast, while the Dali appears to be fully loaded.
This story is from 2020, in which the Tampa Bay Times marked the 40th anniversary of that collapse. The Skyway bridge collapsed 40 years ago. Here’s how we’re remembering the tragedy. That is a collection of links to things about the collapse. Interviews with people who worked search and rescue, information about the trial of the pilot, and a few other links.
Saturday marks 40 years since the 19,734-ton Summit Venture freighter slammed into the old Skyway bridge. Six cars, a truck and a Greyhound bus plummeted 150 feet into the choppy waters of Tampa Bay below. Thirty-five died.
In the case of The Sunshine Skyway, a two-lane bridge opened in 1954. A second structure, similar to the first opened in 1959 making the crossing 4 lanes, connecting the south end of Pinellas County with the north end of Manatee County.
The Key Bridge (as it is known in Baltimore) was built between 1972 and 1977, opening to traffic on March 23rd of that year.
In Florida a new bridge was built to replace both of the old spans. You can find some info on that new bridge at this link. The video shows what I consider to be a work of art.
Massad Ayoob is up first with some good news on the 2A front. 29
Louisiana and South Carolina have just become the 28th and 29th states, respectively, to pass so-called Constitutional Carry, allowing law-abiding adult citizens to carry loaded and concealed handguns in public without a permit.
I can remember when that was true of only Vermont.
My review of the Girsan MC 14T is online now. The 14T is a blowback .380 with a tip-up barrel that's derived from the Beretta Model 86, albeit with some significant improvements. You should go read about it!
Things went so well that we are going to hold a second series of meetings on Jonathan Metzl’s recently published What We’ve Become: Living and Dying in a Country of Arms.
No doubt there will be plenty of conspiracy theories — “false flag”? — but the key takeaway, as far as I’m concerned, is that ISIS is still a danger, capable of mounting major terrorist attacks in distant countries, and we shouldn’t be too complacent about this threat.
The global economy runs through a single road in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. (Tom's Hardware)
That road leads to a mine producing the purest quartz in the world, and the factory that processes it. There is no naturally occurring substitute.
The quartz is used to create crucibles which are used to produced silicon wafers, which are in turn sliced and cooked and dice to produce computer chips
These are bad people, and New York is a bad state. If it is your misfortune to reside in New York — well, why? Aren’t you ashamed? Have you no concern for your own safety and reputation? Why would you want to be associated with such a miserable place, governed by such wicked people?
A final note: Of 7 students in the course, I was the only one shooting a more compact gun with iron sights (Glock 48). I did feel, to quote John Correia, like I was “Gun Amish.”
Today was the end of the spring sumo tournament, and that was one for the record books: a rookie won it, the first time in 110 years! He swept all the special prizes!
You’ll be denounced as an “election denier” if you dare suggest that Democrats are able to manufacture phony votes in order to “win” elections, but exactly what the hell is going on in Chicago?
[Albuquerque Police Department (APD)] says on Thursday, they located a stolen vehicle being driven by Rivera in the Valley Area Command and deflated the tires of the vehicle with stop sticks. [Joseph Rivera, 32,] continued to drive on the rims after the tires were deflated. The vehicle then crashed
He broke into a home, and the woman there called 911.
Police say Rivera was demanding the homeowner give him her car keys. Rivera took the keys and the homeowner locked the front door behind Rivera after he left. She then went into her bedroom and armed herself. When Rivera returned into the home demanding more keys, the homeowner told him to leave but he refused.
She shot him once and provided first aid until cops arrived.
Rivera was taken to a local hospital. He will be taken into custody and charged after he is released.
He will be charged with burglary, attempting to commit a felony, and something related to the stolen vehicle.
The homeowner was not charged because self defense is a human right, and your legal right in New Mexico.
So, I'm still waiting for the gun-hating part of the Left to explain to me what she should have done. Made tea? Given him anything he wanted? What if he was a rapist? I imagine I will be waiting for a long time.
Y’know, one hears from the advocates of “social justice” that it’s wrong to be concerned about mere property crimes like theft, burglary and trespassing. Such crimes are non-violent, we are told. If the people who break into your home and steal your car also decide to kill you? Well, then it’s OK to call the police, but you can’t send people to prison for mere property crimes, say the advocates of “social justice,” because that would result in mass incarceration. So until they kill somebody, criminals must be turned loose, and then one day there’s a car accident in Pennsylvania and the cops have no idea they’re dealing with two murderers, because the victim’s body hasn’t been found yet.
Click thru for details and more.
As I've written on many occasions that they keep turning criminals loose until they actually kill someone.
The West Virginia University Police Department is hoping to provide a little extra confidence for those lacking—or hoping to refine—their self-defense skills.
Not even any mention of pepper spray, let alone fast-moving lead. But at least they admit that you cannot rely on the state - or in this case campus police - to be everywhere all the time. You are responsible for your own safety.
Participants will learn about the skills needed to recognize a threat, escape an attack and get to a safe place to call for help. Specifically, the training will go over striking techniques, takedowns and escape holds and will provide information on developing situational awareness.
That runs counter to everything these students have been told their whole lives. Maybe it is a sign that reality is starting to impinge on the fallacy that "The world is a safe place" that these kids have been taught.
Now, West Virginia University is not in a Blue City. It is about a 70 mile drive south of Pittsburgh, PA, or about 200 mile drive west of Washington, D.C. Still, it is a university, and they are admitting that the government can't take care of you. It is important to recognize a win, no matter how small. And granted, this is a small victory.
A 31-year-old NYPD cop was shot and killed by a career criminal during a traffic stop in Queens on Monday evening in a “senseless act of violence,” officials and law enforcement sources said.
Officer Jonathan Diller, a married father of a 1-year-old boy, was shot in the stomach after police tried to remove the suspect, identified by sources as Guy Rivera, from the passenger seat of the car near 19-19 Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway, according to the NYPD and sources.
The original story I saw didn't mention his name. The post I had written is below. It contains all of the details of the incident.
An NYPD officer was shot and killed by a career criminal during a traffic stop in Queens on Monday evening, according to law enforcement sources.
The 34-year-old suspect, who has 21 prior arrests, shot through the window of the vehicle while seated in a passenger seat, striking the uniformed officer in the stomach around 5:50 p.m. near 19-19 Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway, the sources said.
The officer was shot in the stomach, under his bulletproof vest. He died at Jamaica Hospital. The name of the officer has not been released.
As someone on X/Twitter stated, the Progressive Left has turned NYC (and the other cities) into free-fire zones for criminals, where the law abiding are disarmed, and no one is locked up because that would be mean or unfair.
Beast in Black is a Finnish-Greek-Hungarian Heavy Metal band that was founded in Helsinki. I have come to like quite a bit of their music, and the clear vocals of their Power Metal, lead singer. (They sing in English!)
The band consists of Yannis Papadopoulos, with his amazing vocals, Anton Kabanen on guitar (he also founded the band), Kasperi Heikkinen, also playing guitar, Mate Molnar on bass, and Atte Palokangas playing drums. I can never decide if I think these guys sound like 1980s rock, or not. Some of their songs do, and some don't.
This is "Hardcore" by Beast In Black from their 2021 album Dark Connection.
Nutbush is a rural community in Haywood County, Tennessee, about 50 miles northeast of Memphis.
A Nutbush man scared off a would-be burglar with a warning shot early Thursday morning.
While Steve Huntley, 70, was fast asleep, an intruder made his way to the back door of his Nutbush home in an effort to get inside.
“And he was ‘bump, bump, bump,’ that’s what got my dogs stirred up,” Huntley said.
You can click thru for the details including the rise in crime in the area in which Mr. Huntley lives. He is prepared because his son died in a shooting a few years back, and he is determined to protect the rest of his family.
“He picked the wrong place to try and break into,” he said. “Because my motto is ‘if you come in here, you are going to meet your maker.'”
Cops arrested the guy who was trying to break in, but they did not publish what charges he will face. I think we can still say that this is a case of "Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0."
St. Leon, Indiana is about 10 miles northwest of downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, or about 30 miles by car.
Cameron Blasek refused to remove his flag, because there was no mention of flags of any kind in the high school manual related to cars or parking. And immediately there were many flags displayed on trucks in the school parking lot. So the administration relented, but let it be known that the handbook would be updated for next year to forbid flags.
Of course by this time, the whole situation had become a viral event.
GCI Digital, a business based out of nearby Cincinnati, heard about Cameron Blasek's patriotic story and decided to spring into action. They gifted a brand-new custom American flag wrap to the high school senior, free of charge.
Here is the photo that Cameron took of his newly wrapped truck. I think it is beautiful.
When New York’s deteriorating and unloved Indian Point nuclear plant finally shuttered in 2021, its demise was met with delight from environmentalists who had long demanded it be scrapped.
But there has been a sting in the tail – since the closure, New York’s greenhouse gas emissions have gone up.
I'm shocked that good intentions and rainbow dreams can't compete with reality. Okay, so I'm not shocked, but the "environmentalists" in New York were shocked.
“From a climate change point of view it’s been a real step backwards and made it harder for New York City to decarbonize its electricity supply than it could’ve been,” said Ben Furnas, a climate and energy policy expert at Cornell University. “This has been a cautionary tale that has left New York in a really challenging spot.”
I don't expect the Left to embrace nuclear, because as we all know, "Nuclear bad." It does have the advantage of actually generating power, however.
Whenever the subject of nuclear comes up, someone will mention "But Chernobyl!" And another person will say "Fukushima!!!!" Yes, Chernobyl was a disaster, but that reactor - built by the Soviets at the dawn of the nuclear age - has nothing whatsoever to do with nuclear power plants in the US. And no one - count them, ZERO people - died from exposure to radiation due to the catastrophe at the Fukushima Diiaichi power plant that resulted from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011. No. One. Died. Something on the order of 1400 people died from government-induced panic, because "NUUUCLEEEAR!". Or something. (You can't evacuate hospital intensive care wards to high school gymnasiums and expect everyone to survive, but that is exactly what the Japanese government did.) And yes, a lot of people died in the tsunami.