Friday Links

A very abreviated Firday Links this week. Though This may become a much smaller list in the future, as it is this week.

Granite Grok starts us off with the Climate Change News of the week. Early Freeze Traps 18 Ships in Arctic Sea Ice

Nothing says “global warming” like unexpectedly cold temperatures.

View From The Porch - Does Not Work That Way. On the Alec Baldwin incident.

But guns, and most specifically Colt Single Action Armies and their clones, do not work that way.

19th Ward Chicago - Why is the topic of smallpox suddenly in the news?

Daily Caller - FAA Accidentally Reveals 704 Previously Unknown Epstein Flights

Pirate's Cove - The Reason Flash Mobs Are Looting Stores Is Because You Gave The Go-Ahead. "You" meaning Democrats.

Flopping Aces - Ahmaud Arbery’s father crushes the premise of BLM

Epoch Times - Now More Than Ever Conservatives Must Get Off Twitter

Stately McDaniel Manor - Bailing Out–UPDATED

The Other McCain - Confirmed: CNN Is Garbage

The "How Dare You Live Without Me" Attitude

That attitude never really works out. Estranged husband shot multiple times, killed after an attempted attack on wife

According to statements made to investigators, the male had forced his way into the home after the female opened the door and attempted to attack her armed with a knife.

Investigators report a male acquaintance in the home saw the attack, retrieved a handgun--- and shot the male assailant several times.

He could have stayed home and watched a movie on his favorite streaming service. He could have gone out for a drink with a friend. Instead he decided to attack his wife for the serious crime of not wanting to live with him. If this is a sample of his behavior, can you blame her?

The investigation is ongoing, but self-defense is a human-right.

Are You Expecting "The System" to Ensure Your Personal Safety?

The following headline shows how foolish it is to place your trust in "The System." #56: Man tried to kill his wife on the Kennedy Expressway while on bond for domestic battery, on parole for domestic battery, and on conditional discharge for domestic battery, prosecutors say - CWB Chicago

Now he's worked his way up to attempted murder. Think they will give him bail or probation? What if he had actually murdered her?

Charge after charge of domestic battery, and he is still on the street, because another charge of domestic battery doesn't invalidate probation for domestic battery.

“You’re going to die tonight,” the man allegedly told her. “I’m going to kill you.”

He then proceeded to strangle her into unconsciousness. She was eventually able to escape and bystanders came to her aid. Police arrested the guy.

And as for the system as a whole, protecting society at large. Well, keeping violent criminals in jail is unfair.

The accused man, whom we are not naming to protect his victim, is the 56th person accused of killing, trying to kill, or shooting someone in Chicago this year while awaiting trial for a felony. A total of 82 victims are involved in those crimes.

And if you think this kind of lax attitude toward violent criminals is limited to Chicago, you are kidding yourself.

If you need a restraining order against a violent stalker, then you need a plan for your personal safety that goes beyond "Call 911."

Tate Myre — Hero

The Lamestream Media will will publish the name of the shooter, but Tate Myre is who we should remember. A High School Football Player Rushed A School Shooter And Sacrificed His Own Life To Save His Classmates

According to his fellow students, Myre, who played running back for the Oxford Wildcats football team, was shot while trying to disarm the shooter and later died from his injuries.

There is a movement to rename the school football arena in his honor.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

How Would You Respond to an Uninvited Guest at 11PM?

He apparently thought that breaking into a home was a good idea. He was wrong. Philadelphia Police: Homeowner Shoots Intruder Inside Holmesburg Home

A homeowner opened fire on an intruder in Holmesburg on Sunday night, police say.

He was shot in the face. Police say that he is in critical condition in a local hospital.

How Is That Bail Reform Working Out?

Not great if your a victim of a repeat offender. #54: Man opened fire on trucker during expressway dispute — while on bond for being a felon in possession of a firearm, prosecutors say

Prosecutors this week charged a man with opening fire on a truck driver during a road rage incident on the Dan Ryan Expressway in April. Armonii Russell, 24, was on bail for a pending firearm and manufacture-delivery case at the time of the incident, prosecutors said during a bond hearing on Wednesday.

Russell is the 54th person accused of killing, trying to kill, or shooting someone in Chicago this year while awaiting trial for a felony. A total of 76 victims are involved in those crimes.

Click thru for the details.

CWB Chicago is keeping count for reason. #55: Man killed 2, shot 3 more while awaiting trial for carjacking, prosecutors say

Prosecutors have charged an 18-year-old man with participating in a mass shooting that left two teenagers dead and three other people injured this summer. Detrevion Williams was awaiting trial for vehicular hijacking in juvenile court at the time of the slayings, according to prosecutors.

The Left says that keeping violent offenders in jail is unfair. Who is it unfair to when those offenders commit more crime?

School Board Has Parents Arrested for Daring to Speak Out

Shut up and do what we tell you to do serf. Twisted measure to silence voices at school board meetings: arrest them

Journalist Pedro Gonzalez reported that at an August meeting, Story had calmly “produced evidence that the board had covered up an alleged assault by the superintendent, Hafedh Azaiez, against a mistress.” The superintendent and school board president cut him off midsentence and ordered officers to remove him from the premises.

They locked the majority of parents out of the next meeting, and ended by having him, and another parent, arrested at this own home.

The battle lines are clear: on one side, the Biden administration, public school bureaucrats, and their armed agents; on the other, parents and families who oppose school closures, mask mandates, critical race theory and corruption. Public school officials have demonstrated a willingness to use police power to silence and intimidate their opponents.

The NY Post calls it the War on Parents. Coming soon to a school district near you.

Octavarium

This is a special, not-quite late-night, musical interlude. I usually try to keep the songs I feature to a "reasonable" length. But this song is an unreasonable length. That is the nature of Progressive Rock. It is 24 minutes long, so plan accordingly.

Dream Theater is either Progressive Rock, or Progressive Metal, depending on the song, and who is doing the labeling. Today's song strikes me as old-school progressive rock. It is not quite the maximum length of a song that could fit on one side of an LP record, but was the in-practice maximum used by most jazz and progressive rock musicians back in the bad days of vinyl.

The keyboards remind me in some ways of Yes from the 1970s. The drumming is complex in the way Genesis was when Phil Collins was "only" the drummer for that group. Sometimes I think they are trying too hard, but it is one of the closest things to 70s progressive rock produced in the last 20 years.

Dream Theater has had some personnel changes over the years. The people on this album are James LaBrie as lead vocalist, John Petrucci on guitar and backing vocals, Jordan Rudess playing keyboards and continuum lap steel guitar, John Myung is the bassist, and Mike Portnoy plays drums, percussion and providing backing vocals. I'm pretty sure this is the current lineup of the band as well.

This is "Octavarium" by Dream Theater from their 2005 album Octavarium.

Comments Are Back. For Now

Don't piss me off, waste my time, post SPAM, post shit, or anything I deem annoying. If moderating comments turns back into an exercise in frustration, I will just hide all the comments, and the comment form, again.

I am not a public utility. You think you have something to say, click the link in the top right corner that says "Create Blog," and have at it. Blogger is free, as is Wordpress.com. I do this for free, which means that when I stop getting any benefit from it, I stop doing it.

We Now Return to Our Regularly Scheduled Whatever the F- This Is

Or maybe not quite yet.

Saturday, when things went sideways on me, I thought it might take a week to get my current mess straightened out. (Sorry no details; part of the story is not mine to tell anyway.) Now it seems to be mostly, recovered? fixed? I'm not sure how to describe it. I really hope it is not part of the New Normal.

And then my SUV decided that it wasn't getting enough attention and decided to take this opportunity to act up. So far it doesn't look serious. We shall see.

I lead a charmed life.

Anyway, posting will resume shortly, though not as soon as I had hoped. Posting may be at a reduced rate, and I'm not sure if comments will come back or not. As much as I would like them to, moderating comments became a bigger time suck than I thought possible.

Happy holidays.

Due to Technical Difficulties...

Actually more difficulties of a personal nature, this blog is on pause.

Ivy League Worse than North Korea

Admit it. You always suspected that was the case. North Korean defector says 'even North Korea was not this nuts' after attending Ivy League school | Fox News

One of several hundred North Korean defectors settled in the United States, Park, 27, transferred to Columbia University from a South Korean university in 2016 and was deeply disturbed by what she found.

"I expected that I was paying this fortune, all this time and energy, to learn how to think. But they are forcing you to think the way they want you to think," Park said in an interview with Fox News. "I realized, wow, this is insane. I thought America was different but I saw so many similarities to what I saw in North Korea that I started worrying."

There is really little to add. Just go read it.

18 Month Sentence for Shooting 2 People

If you make something cheaper, you will see more of it. Man sentenced to 18 months for 2019 funeral shooting near Frederick

He shot 2 people after a funeral, related to what the polcie call an "altercation" at the funeral.

A man charged after a 2019 shooting at a funeral near Frederick is serving an 18-month sentence after pleading guilty to first-degree assault.

The other charges were dropped. They don't say what those charges were.

This isn't Baltimore, though at about 45 miles from that city and about 40 miles to Washington, DC, it may qualify as a suburb.

Because keeping violent offenders in jail is unfair, so prosecutors reduce or "abandon" charges to make their lives easier. The problem is that is also makes the criminals lives easier.

Saturday Roundup of Link Roundups - 27 November

Wombat-socho at The Other McCain - In The Mailbox: 11.24.21 (Afternoon Edition)

American Power: Kenosha, Portland, & The Lies
American Thinker: The Disturbing & Shocking Plan To Replace Kamala Harris

The Right Way - Top of the News

Has The Left’s Race War Started? - Bookworm Room
George Soros Is Responsible For The Waukesha Massacre ... - 90 Miles From Tyranny

Flopping Aces - The Week in Radical Leftism, 11/26/21

11/22 – If the Vaccines Work, Why Aren’t They Working?
11/23 – The Cruel Lesson to Learn from Austria’s COVID Vax Insanity

Battleswarm Blog - LinkSwarm for 11/26/21

A list of all 26 times Bill Clinton flew on the Lolita Expresss.
Poland’s Presidnet comes out against Flu Manchu vaccinations.
In depth meta-analysis of the use of Ivermectin to treat Flu Manchu.

Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 11.24.21 (Evening Edition)

CDR Salamander: The Ice Won’t Break Itself
Don Surber: Biden’s Failing COVID Program, also, The Media Doesn’t Want Our Trust
First Street Journal: Philadelphia Ties For The Silver!

EBL - Thanks to the Troops at Thanksgiving 🦃

Instapundit: How cable news ruined Thanksgiving
Powerline: Mid Week in Pictures: Happy Thanksgiving

A View from the Beach - Thanksgiving Morning Election News

NRCC expands ‘Exit List’ of targeted Democrats ...
New footage catches Capitol police KICKING young woman who died "Authorities' claim of drug overdose cast into doubt" Demand an new autopsy from an unbiased office.

Vlad Tepes - The death of merit, and a few words about what we post and why: Links 2, November 24, 2021

4. Sheffield United Star John Fleck Collapses on Pitch During Tuesday Match and Rushed to the Hospital – TV Live Feed Cut when Announcer Asks If He’s Had COVID Jab

Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 11.26.21 (Afternoon Edition)

Gates Of Vienna: Nun Danket Alle Gott
The Geller Report: “The Mouse Didn’t Roar”, also, Democrats’ Solution To Inflation? Charge Your Guests & Don’t Buy Turkey

Cafe Hayek - Some Covid Links

A Missouri court deals a just blow to that state’s Covidocracy. (HT Todd Zywicki)
Barry Brownstein explains why each of us has a civil and moral duty to oppose tyrannical bureaucracies.

Don Surber - Highlights of the News

ITEM 6: Robby Starbuck reported, "A pilot at Southwest tells me the company just approved their vaccine exemption and all the exemptions from other pilots they know on the same day. Automakers also just agreed with unions to not require the jab.

And again from Wombat-socho - Late Night With In The Mailbox: 11.25.21

Transterrestrial Musings: Climate Models
Victory Girls: Chappelle Holiday Roasts High School Students For The Win, also, Notre Dame Cathedral Restoration Going Woke

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report - 11/25/21

"Its new rules spell the end of women's sports at the highest levels of global competition. All women everywhere should boycott the Olympics entirely."
New Olympic Committee Rules Essentially End Women's Sports

Maggie's Farm - Wednesday morning links

NY Times: It's not hard to see why people are moving to Texas
Tucker Carlson's interview with Kyle Rittenhouse is fascinating

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 11/24/2021

Sheriff of Racine WI, announces criminal charges being filed against almost every member of the election commission in that battleground state for knowingly breaking election law under the guise of COVID.

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: Cobalt-Gate: Media Again Buries A Hunter Biden-China Scandal During the Biden Vice Presidency

New Criminal Complaint Reveals How Truly Evil Waukesha Attack Was: Nick Arama
“Tone-Deaf” AOC Rails Against ‘Excessive Bail’ Hours After Waukesha Massacre: J. Simonson
Three found guilty of murder in Ahmaud Arbery case: PM

I leave you with Thursday gifdump from Wirecutter, Thursday Memes .. from MaddMedic, and A Little More Thanksgiving Humor from Woodsterman.

Another City Sets New Record for Homicides

I'm sure that the people of Louisville wish they hadn't set this record. Louisville homicides: 2021 breaks all-time record of 173 murders

I expected that the previous record would have been decades ago, but the previous record was set just last year.

Two deadly shootings less than six hours apart have pushed Louisville to 175 homicides in 2021, surpassing last year's grim record for murders in a year.

I'm sure there will press conferences in which the politicians will explain that crime is really down and that there is nothing to fear and you should keep voting for the same politicians and the same failed policies.

Of this year's homicides, the vast majority of victims — about 75% — were Black, police data show, continuing to raise alarms about the disproportionate impact of gun violence on the city's Black communities.

But enforcing the law is racist. Or something. You should pay no attention to the statistics.

Civilization rests on security. Without law and order, you are, as Hobbes said many years ago, you are living in a "State of War.".

Hereby it is manifest that, during the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war, and such a war as is of every man against every man. [SNIP]

In such condition there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain, and consequently no culture of the earth, no navigation nor use of the commodities that may be imported by sea, no commodious building, no instruments of moving and removing such things as require much force, no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time, no arts, no letters, no society, and, which is worst of all, continual fear and danger of violent death, and the life of man solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.

Cop Shoots Man Pointing Rifle at Other Cops

That is how the headline would read, if they were not waging a war against law and order. Warwick police officer with 6 years experience fatally shot a 49-year-old. How it unfolded

Warwick police said [the dead guy] pointed the rifle at officers several times during the confrontation, advancing toward them and then disregarding their orders to drop the rifle.

It may have been suicide-by-cop. It may have been something else.

But what should a cop do when a guy is pointing a rifle at people?

Now they make no mention of what kind of rifle. And since they are clearly doing everything they can to paint cops in a bad light, I am just going to point out that the dreaded AR-15 assault rifle is one of the most popular rifles today. But I can only wonder why they don't say anything about what type of rifle. Do they think an eeeevil AR-15 would justify the cops actions, or are they just not interested in reporting the facts of the case.

Of course the Left is going to be all "Defund the police" over this, because they shot somone! But if the details hold up, it seems to be justified. What would you have them do? Die?

The Ice Bridge

Yes has had a lot of personnel changes over the years, but the current incarnation is making music that in many ways reminds me of the music from the 1970s. I suppose that since Steve Howe is back as guitarist that makes since. (He played guitar on Fragile, one of my favorite albums from that era.) And the keyboardist, Geoff Downes, seems to be channeling Rick Wakeman at times.

Anyway they relased an album when I wasn't paying attention. I haven't heard the whole thing, I have only heard a few songs as they've come across the playlists served up by the music services.

This is "The Ice Bridge" by Yes from their October 1, 2021 album The Quest. It is the first song off the album. I hope you like it as much as I do.

There Is Still Much to be Thankful For

The Other McCain reminds us of that. Thanksgiving in Georgia

It’s easier to complain about our misfortunes and disappointments — the Raiders beat the Cowboys and the Bills beat the Saints — than to be grateful that our lives are basically OK, in an age where it seems it’s becoming more difficult to be basically OK.

Go read the whole thing. It should make you feel a little better about life, even in the face of everything behind the #LetsGoBrandon phenomenon.

World Chess Championship Starts Today

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) held the opening ceremonies yesterday, and the first game is today.World Chess Championship 2021 starts in Dubai

The match for the world chess leadership is being held with the support of The International Chess Federation (FIDE) between the current world champion Magnus Carlsen and the winner of the Candidates Tournament in 2020/21 Ian Nepomniashchii.

Actually, I haven't checked, but given the location of Dubai, the first game is probably already over.

The prize fund of the championship is 2 million euros. According to the regulations, the participants will play a total of 14 games. The first game will be played today, on November 26th, and the final game on December 14th. If the score in the classics is equal, the final match will be held on December 15th in a tie-break.

Winner doesn't take all of €2 million, but winner does take most by a pretty significant margin. They also each got an upfront payment out of that fund to cover travel expenses for spending a month or so in Dubai.

As much as I enjoy chess, I can't watch the games live. They are streaming in several locations if you are interested. You can (usually) replay the games at Chess.com in less time than they take in real life, but I am not sure if you need a membership for that or not.

Magnus Carlsen has been world champion for 8 years. Ian Nepomniachtchi won the 2019 challengers tournament. (The World Champion match was delayed due to COVID from 2019.)

Friday Links - 26 November

The Feral Irishman starts us off with My Oh My, How Things Have Changed, Remember This>?--UPDATED comparison from The VAERS site..

Maybe the FDA should take a look at their playbook from a handful of years ago.....

The Other McCain - David Brooks Fisking Day Returns?

Beans over at Chant du Départ - Auurrghgghhh!!!! Beans is dealing with extra stress. At least he has his sense of humor.

SiGraybeard - A Perfect Economic Storm

Have you ever heard the expression, “it takes a Ph.D. to be that stupid?” This is an example.

Battleswarm Blog - So Just Who Does GoFundMe Allow To Raise Bail? Seems like there may be some discrimination going on.

Daley Gator - NFL star JJ Watt to pay for funerals of Waukesha parade victims – New York Post

Woodsterman - A Tibetan Monk ~OR~ An Old Tibetan Monk Humor and wisdom in one.

Again from The Daley Gator - The Bleak Misery of a Leftist Thanksgiving – J.B. Shurk

Dr. Dan's Freedom Forum - Freedom is not a Government Program

Blazing Cat Fur - Darrell Brooks shared pro-Hitler memes, called for violence against white people

Adaptive Curmudgeon - There’s Something Happening Here, What It Is Ain’t Exactly Clear Can you discern cultural patterns in the machinations of fast food franchises?

Splendid Isolation - Alternative Fuel Diesel-powered electric vehicles?

Daley Gator again - Mob Targets Bay Area Stores in Third Consecutive Day of Smash-and-Grab Looting – National Review

American Thinker - If the Vaccines Work, Why Aren't They Working?

Flopping Aces - The blood in Waukesha is on the hands of the media, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris

Gun Culture 2.0 - Kyle Rittenhouse is a Poster Child for Civilian Gun Training

Again from The Other McCain - Waukesha Massacre: Killer SUV Driver Is Rapper, Career Criminal Out on Bond

Again from Flopping Aces - The “selfless heroes” of Kenosha

The Post Millennial - Washington public schools lose over 55,000 students

Parents cited multiple factors including that schools did not offer in-person instruction during the Covid pandemic, lack of safety on campus, teaching practices and curriculum based in critical race theory and radical, hyper-sexualized curriculum.

HeyJackass! - Mostly Peaceful Weekend

Don Surber - The female Kyle Rittenhouse The other Kenosha, WI self-defense case.

And again from Don Surber - We broke woke

Amerika Furthest Right - Why Does the Left Hate Nature So Much?

Another day, and it seems that Leftists are getting caught setting forest fires.

War on Guns - We're the Only Ones Trigger-Happy Enough, Eh? Cops shoot gunsmith in his shop, apparently because there were guns. He was a gunsmith...

O.K. Corral - Another Beautiful Day In Philadelphia

A group of black girls decided to beat the living hell out of some Asian students while riding on the Broad Street subway line

Geller Report - Miss South Africa Stares Down Boycott The Jews Bullies The Miss Universe contest is being held in Israel this year.