Wednesday Links - 26 August

William Teach at Pirate's Cove is up first with Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

1. Gates Of Vienna: The Wayward Bus
2. Gatestone Institute: Europe in Free Fall

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 08.25.26 (Morning Edition)

Dana Loesch: Why Are We Celebrating Huey Long?
Don Surber: Handicapping the Senate races

EBL - PETA ❤️ Maine Lobster Festival 🦞

Maine Lobster festival with PETA
AoSHQ: Canadian Oysters 🦪

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 25 August 2026: Infinite Indexes Edition

Why Aliexpress is muting your music. (The Register)
Because they're taking your fingerprints using inaudible sonar.
Really.

Small Dead Animals - Tuesday On Turtle Island

Lord Carney’s Canada: Tax and borrow. Carney sabotages trade relations. Liberals hate Israel.
The Democratic Party’s America: Rigged election. Weaponizing Islamophobia.

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - Just Another Sunday in the South

From Breitbart Bus Dig, The Sky Isn't Falling in the U.S. Treasury Market. News Wax notices Newsom Touts Trump Accounts for California Families. Matt Vespa at TownHall heard Trump Went Nuclear on Some Familiar Names Last Night.

Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 08.25.26 (Evening Edition)

CDR Salamander: Saildrone’s Spectre – Making Sub Chasers Great Again?
Chicago Boyz: StarMind

Flopping Aces - The Week in Radical Leftism – 08/22/2026, Back to The Nation!

How Protein Ate Our Grocery Stores
How dare RFK want Americans to be healthy!

Don Surber - HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

ITEM 7: Breitbart reported, “Ro Khanna Says Democrats Ditching Extremist Hasan Piker Would Show ‘Weakness.’”
Because, in their heart of hearts, Democrats agree with Piker

Political Hat - News of the Week (August 23rd, 2026)

Scandal Plagued Florida GOP Rep. Mills Ousted in Primary
Wasserman Shultz easily won in her black majority Florida district.

Bacon Time!!!! - Sunday Linkange

The Shekel – Coins, Law, and Commentary – SHARK!!!!!
Woodsterman Babes ………….

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 8/22/2026

Far-left streamer Hasan Piker mocked the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk by sarcastically singing the song “We Are Charlie Kirk” during a live show in San Francisco on Friday.

Vlad Tepes - Australia UK and Canada switching to criminalization of state narratives from rule of law: 3 data points involving comedy

3. Canada was WAY ahead of the curve though with the dialectically named, “Human Rights Commissions”. A proxy court for the communist state to enforce narrative without the need for the transformation of law

The Glibertarians - Saturday evening Links

She had a nanny?
What an absolute fucking bitch.
“We won!” “No. WE won!”

Maggie's Farm - Monday morning links

Why Is Everything So Upside Down?
The Stop Nick Shirley Act

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 8/ 25 /26

The choice between MAGA and DSA.
Restore or Destroy America?

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: Will Liberal Women Ever See the Damage They Are Doing?

Mocking Trump bores people Don Surber
The Data Republican Drama, or: Social media can be a really stupid place full of really stupid people eugyppius

I leave you with Sunday Funnies For 08-23-26 from Stately McDaniel Manor, Sunday Memes … from MaddMedic, Sunday Funnies from Flopping Aces, Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #4082 from 90 Miles From Tyranny, and Sunday’s Yeah, that was Quick Weekend is over Meme Drop 8-23-26 from Midwest Chick's Place.

Revisiting a Self-Defense Incident in Fort Worth

While I covered this incident a few days back, it is worth revisiting. 1 dead, 1 hospitalized after men exchange gunfire at Fort Worth home, police say

You can click thru for details.

I have said many times that if you need a court order of protection, often called a restraining order, then you also need a plan for your personal safety. Here is a quote from the video below:

Somewhere in a courthouse in Tarant County, there's a file. And in that file, there's an order. And on that order, there is a judge's signature. And that signature did exactly as much work as the toner it was printed with. Because an order is a request in a serious font.

There is at least one, and maybe two, rulings from SCOTUS that states clearly the police have no duty to protect you. No, not eve if you have an order of protection.

This is Colion Noir's video Protective Orders Are Not A Self-Defense Plan

A judge just signed a piece of paper telling a man to stay away from another man's property. And the man read the paper and then showed up anyway.

The video is 7 minutes.

Here is a link to my previous post

Legal Defensive Gun Use in March

From The Crime Prevention Research Center: Defensive Gun Uses By People Legally Carrying Guns: 24 Cases During March 2026 - Crime Prevention Research Center

The CPRC has been publishing lists of legal self-defense incidents.

From Harlingen, Texas, on March 3rd, through North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, on March 29th.

SUURIN

About 25 years ago I became interested in the Nordic myths. I had studied some of the Greek and Roman stories in both high school and college, picked up a bit the Indian Upanishads along the way, and had also gotten a bit of the stories from some of native North Americans somewhere along the way, but I had never studied the Norse legends. (Marvel comics, notwithstanding.)

So while searching for something else, I had stumbled across a whole new world of music, which I listen to in fits and starts. I find it interesting, but not always engrossing enough to displace what I usually turn to. One of the artists I found from that path is Kati Rán. Here is how her Bandcamp page describes her work.

Nordic Music

Kati Rán creates song with historical folk instruments and composes her music with poetry reflecting our connection with nature.

I do like the idea of Midgardsblot. Midgard is the Norse term for the realm of Earth. Blot is a meeting of some significance. Midgardsblot is a music event that combines "extreme metal" with folk. Sounds like an interesting time. (More below the embedded video.) Midgardsblot is held every summer in Borre, Norway.

This song is "SUURIN" by Kati Rán. It was originally released as part of a 2012 EP Leaf. This version was recorded live at Midgardsblot 2016. You can find the lyrics and their English translation at this link. The lyrics are in Karelian, a Finnic language spoken mainly by the Karelian people in the Russian Republic of Karelia.

Here's a link to the "after movie" for Midgardsblot 2016. "And a good time was had by all."

RIP Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton Dean: January 19, 1946 to August 25, 2026

This is a clip from Steel Magnolias, though it isn't the best part of the movie, it is her role that I like the most of all the movies she's been in.

Tuesday Links - 25 August

Juliette Ochieng starts us off with A Solution Dangled in Front of Me: Then snatched away

Two weeks ago, I thought my Give Send Go car campaign was going to be over.

William Teach at Pirate's Cove - Federal Judge Knocks Down Colorado Law On Inspecting Federal Immigration Centers

The judge had to explain federalism to the Democrats

Light Over Heat with Professor David Yamane - What I’m Making My Students Read?

By popular demand, I have a bonus post about Sociology of Guns Version 11: the reading list.

Miguel Gonzalez - Boston is back in the hands of the British.

At least in Stupid Spirit.

The Other McCain - What ‘Our Democracy’ Really Means

For many years I have said that, if it weren’t for double standards, Democrats would have no standards at all. The only “principle” they have is a lust for power.

Wombat-socho - FMJRA 2.0: A Better Start Than Last Year

Meanwhile, we’re 5-7, a game behind Boston and Milwaukee and just 1.5 games behind Minnesota. It’s April in 1975, and we think we have a good shot at the playoffs this year.

Irons in the Fire - Preferred Religion and PC Idiocy in Californicated

Guarantee that if someone had suggested these students be taken to a Catholic Mass, or a Jewish Temple for the Sabbath, the same people who pushed this would've sprouted bleeding hemorrhoids in outrage; but have them attend a mosque and take part in their ceremony?

Again from Miguel Gonzalez - Ahhh! The aroma of Clickbait by deception.

If you go to the actual guidelines for the class, you will read that there is no firearm or ammunition handling in the classroom. And the basic rules of safety taught to young kids are not Cooper’s Rules but NRA Eddie Eagle’s of Stop-Don’t Touch-Leave the Area-Tell an Adult.

But why be factual when enraging idiots with a fake image is likely to generate clicks and thus income?

Meep at STUMP - CTU Lawsuit Follow-up: Reactions

Why can’t I find anybody who supports the CTU’s side?

Crime Prevention Research Center - Just 15 House Democrats were willing to sign a letter saying that “We want safety, not lawlessness”

In an open letter, 15 Democrat congressmen declared: “We are capitalist, not socialist,” “We want safety, not lawlessness,” “We are responsible, not reckless,” “We believe government should solve problems, not create them,” “We are mainstream, not extreme,” and “We are proud, not ashamed of America.” Taken together, however, the vast majority of Democrats rejected these statements as too controversial.

Again from The Other McCain - A Distraction From the Distraction

Anyway, I’ve told my kids what I want for Christmas is an official Mac Jones jersey, which costs more than the team owner was willing to spend on a hooker. But I ain’t going near no Ohio trailer parks.

People Need to Keep their Animals Under Control

It isn't hard to do. Man fatally shot dog in self-defense in Miramar, police say - WSVN 7News

Not all threats are two-legged.

After an investigation into the incident, police determined the man shot the dog to protect himself from being attacked.

Miramar, Florida, is in southwestern Broward County. If is about 5 miles from the Atlantic coast, due west of Hallendale Beach. It is about 10 miles southwest of downtown Fort Lauderdale, and it borders the Everglades & Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area to the west of the city.

Even though I drove through Miramar, twice a day, five days a week, for a time, while commuting from Broward County, to Miami, I can't really tell you very much about Miramar.

Self-defense is a human right.

Police Officer Abusing Flock Cameras

Allegedly. But it just highlights that Flock cameras are evil and need to be removed. Officer accused of misusing Flock cameras to track estranged ex-wife more than 700 times, police say

Christopher Goodson faces two criminal charges after an investigation found evidence that he allegedly misused Flock cameras while on and off duty to track his ex-wife.

After all of that, he faces 2 charges, which doesn't seem like enough.

... one count of offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks and electronic devices, and one count of official misconduct.

The Brass on the city in question is downplaying everything.

“This is an unfortunate incident,” Haines City Police Chief Isaac Jackson said in the release.

Haines City, Florida, is in Polk County, roughly 30 miles southwest of Orlando.

Welcome to the Panoptican.

Hat tip to Angry Cops (Detective Richard Hy), and his video Caught On Camera: The Truth About FLOCK Abuse. I have it set up to start at the appropriate section, though the whole video is good, and only 12 minutes long.

27 August 2026 Lunar eclipse

The Hill, of all places, has the info. Lunar eclipse August 2026: What time, how to see it

Unlike the spectacular solar eclipse that was just recently visible in Europe, this one will be safe to view with the naked eye — no special glasses needed.

A lunar eclipse happens when the moon orbits through Earth’s shadow. This month, the eclipse coincides with a full moon, giving us the best view of the shadow moving across the moon.

It has been a number of years since I've seen a full lunar eclipse. Might be interesting if the weather is good.

Click thru for a map of where you can see it. Some level of eclipse will be visible for all of the lower 48 states. Even part of Alaska will get a bit of the partial eclipse. The eastern portion of the US should see the full eclipse.

Blood moons are tied into all kinds of superstitions. I wonder what will kick off on that Thursday. (Hat tip to my sister, who is almost as perpetually online as I am.)

Heaven Knows

This song has been stuck in my drafts folder for a couple of years. I have no idea how or why I stumbled across this song, other than I like The Pretty Reckless.

This is "Heaven Knows" by The Pretty Reckless from their 2014 album, Going to Hell.

Is this Metal? Probably not really. More Rock. But since I make the rules...

Cooperating With Criminals Is No Guarantee of Safety

Emmanuel Odunlami, a music producer in the UK, was wearing a fake Patek Philippe Nautilus. If real, it could have been worth anywhere from $170K up to $450K (estimates vary).

When they attacked him, he didn't fight about a fake watch. They killed him anyway. Gang who killed man for fake designer watch jailed

Jordell Menzies, 27, who was convicted of murder and robbery, was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 31 years.

Louis Vandrose, 28, Quincy Ffrench, 28, and Kavindu Hettiarachchi, 31, were jailed for manslaughter and robbery.

Vandrose, of Thornton Heath, and Ffrench, of Tottenham, were sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Hettiarachchi, of Harrow, was jailed for 13 years.

The death was in 2022 and the verdicts were handed down in 2024. So why post about it now?

This is Colion Noir's video Gun Control Fail: He Complied & They Still Killed Him

I haven't had a cooperate with criminals post in some time. It is almost like the media is quietly hiding any story in which "Just give them what they want" has proven to be false.

Unlicensed, Illegal Immigrant Boat "Captain" Killed 2

Because if you're going to break the immigration laws, you might be breaking other laws. Illegal NY Harbor boat tour operator charged after deadly capsize | Fox News

This is a story that I saw last week, but I didn't really follow it. Boating is more dangerous than a lot of people believe, especially in a crowded harbor.

A New Jersey man accused of running illegal boat tours allegedly ignored multiple safety warnings before an overcrowded New York Harbor excursion turned deadly, killing a 5-month-old baby and her 27-year-old mother.

Manuel Hernandez, 46, of Manville, was charged Monday with two counts of misconduct and neglect of a ship officer resulting in death after the Yamaha AR210 he was piloting capsized Saturday night [August 8th].

I have the word captain in quotes in the title to this post, because that is a license that Mr. Hernandez does not hold. You have to have a Captain's License to carry passengers, and you have to have on-the-water experience to get that license. Getting a what is known as the 12 pack isn't too hard, that would let you carry 12 passengers, assuming that your boat can hold that many. To carry 14 passengers you need (I think) a Master's License, which is not easy to get. And in any event, the boat in question had a maximum capacity of 10 people. He also was not carrying the required safety gear.

But then I saw a bit on Social Media, that sent me looking for additional information. ICE arrests N.J. man who operated alleged illegal tour boat that capsized killing a mother, daughter

The Department of Homeland Security claimed that Hernandez entered the United States from El Salvador and is in the country unlawfully. He was arrested by immigration authorities after an investigation by the Coast Guard Investigative Service confirmed Hernandez's unlawful presence in the United States, according to the department.

I'm shocked that someone in the country illegally would be doing other illegal stuff. OK, so no one is shocked.

Haitians Are Being Sent Home - Liberals Most Distressed

William Teach of Pirate's Cove brings us a definition of irony. Haitians Are Being Sent Back To The Wonderful, Awesome Nation Of Haiti

In 2018, when Trump said Haiti was awful, Hollywood Libs jumped to declare how wonderful that country was. Today, when we are sending Haitians back to Haiti, Hollywood Libs have a different opinion. It is almost like they don't have any real positions, aside from "Orange Man Bad."

This post from X sums it up nicely.

Trump, 2018: "Haiti is a sh!thole country."

Hollywood Libs: "Haiti is a great, truly beautiful country. Trump is a r*cist!"

Trump (& SCOTUS), 2026: "Temporary means temporary, Haitians have to return home to their great, truly beautiful country."

Hollywood Libs: "Haiti is a… pic.twitter.com/MIihPkcYot

— Publius (@OcrazioCornPop) June 27, 2026

William Teach asks the relevant question.

I thought it was great? Didn’t all that Clinton Foundation cash, as well as all the money and aid given after the big earthquake fix this?

Click thru for the details.

Migrant Brawl in Germany That I Didn't See in the News

I'm not tied into the 24 hour news cycle the way I was a decade or more ago, so maybe every network covered this. Germany: Weidel slams government after mass brawl between migrants with axes leaves several seriously injured in Düren city center

Residents of the German city of Düren watched in alarm on Sunday [9 August] evening as up to 20 people fought uncontrollably in the street near Bonner Platz, a central location in the North Rhine-Westphalia city. Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leader Alice Weidel has also responded to the video of the incident, which shows women shoved to the ground and victims mercilessly beaten while they lie defenseless.

What's that? People who have no relation to Western Civilization don't act with the virtues (mercy) of Western Civilization. How can that be?

Hat tip to Gate of Vienna: Culture-Enriching Axe Battle in Düren

Yesterday evening two groups of rambunctious culture-enrichers got a little rowdy in the German town of Düren, in North Rhine-Westphalia. In their collective enthusiasm, they went at each other with baseball bats and axes (in the video below, the weapons look more like hatchets than axes, but maybe I’m wrong).

I miss civilization.

A Jaco Pastorius Musical Interlude from Miguel Gonzalez

Miguel Gonzalez has musical interlude every Sunday. Or I haven't noticed him missing any, but life happens. Sunday Repose

Today he serves up a live performance by Jaco Pastorius with a performance recorded live in Montreal. I am not sure when it was recorded, but Pastorius died in 1987 at the age of 35, so it was some time ago. One of many artists gone too soon.

I prefer the work Pastorius did with Weather Report to most of his solo work. But that was the era in which he started his decent into addiction.

From The Life of Jaco

The mid-1980s were difficult for Jaco and those who loved him. He was evicted from his New York City apartment and crashed with friends for as long as he could. After a tumultuous visit to his father’s home in Pennsylvania, Jaco briefly entered a psychiatric facility. The bassist didn’t like the effects of the lithium given to him as treatment. Jaco returned to New York and continued to play, but with his reputation for performances that could be inspiring one night but dispiriting the next work was hard to find.

It was during that period that his relationship ended and his drinking increased.

When Leftists Complain About US Passenger Trains, Bring Up Freight

Freight trains in the US are close to 3 miles long. Similar freight trains in Europe are more like half a mile long. Long-haul trains in the US, carrying standard shipping containers, are typically double stacked using specially-designed well cars. The bridges and tunnels in Europe simply do not have the vertical clearance, and the weight-bearing capacity to manage that.

Also, rail in Europe is typically owned by government, and it is optimized around passenger traffic. Freight gets the leftovers.

All this means that rail, carrying freight, in the US is much more efficient, economically and environmentally, than rail in Europe. That is the amount of fuel used per mile of cargo is much better in the US than it is in Europe.

The fuel cost per ton mile drops as the train gets longer because the locomotives are already burning diesel to move their own weight.

Locomotives use the most fuel when starting a train from rest. (A body in motion wants to remain in motion.) So when you can double stack containers, on trains that are nearly 3 miles long, and run them non-stop for a 1000 miles, as opposed to having to wait for passenger trains to get out of the way in every other town, the efficiency improves a lot.

This is the Steel on Rails video Why Europe's Freight Trains Are So Short — and America's Are Three Miles Long

Another Failure of the Victim-Selection Process

Maybe he thought in a Blue State like Washington, people would not be armed. Deputies: Pierce County man dead after attempted break-in at former residence

The homeowner told the sheriff’s office that the man had previously lived in the house but had been evicted. On the night of the shooting, he said, the man had shown up at the house and demanded to be let in before forcing his way inside.

He was shot multiple times, and did not survive.

While Washington State has a long history of recognizing self-defense, it is early days in the investigation, and the DA's office will ultimately make any determinations about charges in this case. Pierce County, Washington, is home to Tacoma, which is the county seat. I have no idea how that DA views self-defense.

Self-defense is a human right.

Cops Behaving Badly?

It looks that way to me, though it appears to me that they are also behaving stupidly. Trinidad faces cascade of crises, city resignations

Trinidad, Texas, is about a 70 mile drive southeast of Dallas. It had a population of 860 as measured by the 2020 census.

There is plenty of cooruption in big cities, like Chicago, and the police departments in places like that can get caught up in it as well. But small town America is not immune, and the Good-ole Boy Network can often make them think that the rules are whatever they want them to be.

Their troubles started when Jennifer Combs was using F*c*book to collect reports/complaints about the water in Trinidad. Police arrested her and charged her with a felony. That was back in May.

When we first introduced you to Jennifer Combs, the facts already sounded hard to believe. The Texas mom said police arrested her after she used Facebook to collect complaints about discolored water in Trinidad.

Combs spent 23 hours in jail on a felony false alarm or report charge. A Henderson County grand jury later declined to indict her. She has since filed a federal lawsuit alleging political retaliation.

While she was in jail, a man protested outside of the jail. He was arrested. A judge dismissed those charges, and the city fired the judge. The grand jury and the judges dismissal, were in July (I think).

It was about at this time that the city apparently fired the city attorney.

Both the firing of the judge and the attorney are legally suspect, as well as morally insane. The speculation is that the attorney told the city commission that they couldn't fire the judge, so they fired him as well.

It was about at this point that the Texas Rangers got involved. From water problems to city resignations, Trinidad faces cascade of crises

Three Trinidad city officials resigned [in mid July] and the Texas Rangers have launched an investigation after an area resident filed a complaint with the law enforcement agency amid concerns about discolored water coming from the rural Texas town’s pipes.

All of that prompted the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement to open an investigation, and the county prosecutor to chime in. Henderson County won't take Trinidad police cases after controversial arrests, state investigations

Today's letter reveals that the Trinidad Police Department is under investigation by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement; the scope of the investigation remains unclear.

Speculation, mine and others, is that the arrest of Combs, and the arrest of the protestor basically come down to cops saying, "You have disrespected my authority."

In the meantime, a judge has questioned information given to him by Trinidad officers in relation to an arrest warrant, the chief of police has resigned, a few other city officials have resigned, and the Henderson County, District Attorney has cut the PD off at the knees.

On Monday, the Henderson County District Attorney's Office and County Attorney's office informed Trinidad that it will no longer take cases from the Trinidad Police Department.

Oh, and those water quality issues that led to the arrest of Jennifer Combs... Turns out there are water quality issues in Trinidad. Texas environmental report details Trinidad water issues; state issues deadline for improvement plan

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has been investigating the city's water supply. On Monday, TCEQ released their findings.

TCEQ's report found discolored water in Trinidad that "exceeded the standard."

Tests of the water found disinfectant contamination that exceeded federal maximums by more than 300%.

There are more details at all of those articles. Now this all mostly blew up a month ago, around 21 July, the letter from the DA is about a week or 10 days old. As mentioned, Combs was arrested in May. I only tripped across all of this because of insomnia, and a YouTube video.

This video is from Brandon Grable, ad Texas Civil Rights Attorney who runs the YouTube channel Clearly Established. Prosecutor Cuts off Trinidad Police Department. The video is a bit over 13 minutes. It covers all of this, and more.

Portland Mom Versus Public Schools

When you're losing the liberal moms in Portland, you've gone too far. Portland mom urges people to 'be loud' after suing kids' school over pride flag | Fox News

Portland, Oregon, mother Allison Roberts told Fox News Digital Tuesday she hopes her fight with her children's elementary school over a trans-inclusive flag will inspire others to speak out for their beliefs.

Ms. Roberts describes herself as a liberal Democrat. (Is there any other kind allowed in Portland?

She didn't have a problem with the Pride Flag. It was the Trans Flag that was apparently was a bridge too far.

According to the Liberty Justice Center, which filed a lawsuit on behalf of Roberts last week, she initially expressed concern last year over Meriwether Lewis Elementary School's decision to repaint its traditional rainbow pride flag with an "Intersex-Inclusive Progress" variant and an "identity flower" assignment given to her 11-year-old child that asked students to identify and discuss their gender identity with classmates and teachers.

So the school trespassed her, even though she was speaking out away from the school, and a government agency really can't punish you over your speech.

Roberts was later issued a one-year trespass order after a heated exchange with another parent, barring her from attending school events, including her child's graduation ceremony. When she reached out to the school for clarification, Roberts was reportedly told it was a result of engaging in "harassment, intimidation, and threatening behavior" as part of a pattern of "animus and harassment targeting vulnerable members of [the] community."

Here is the quote that the Left hates.

There's no hate speech exception to the First Amendment.

There are more details if you click thru, including details on the completely, predictable lawsuit. (Hat tip to William Teach at Pirate's Cove.)