Scales Are Falling

Another round of my (fruitless) quest to make people understand that a lot of what goes by the name of Heavy Metal today is what we called Rock & Roll back in the dark ages of the pre-Walkman 1970s. But then most people think that Thrash is all of Heavy Metal. (It isn't.)

Alter Bridge is made up of guitarist Mark Tremonti (Creed, Tremonti, etc.), vocalist and rhythm guitarist Myles Kennedy (vocalist for Slash's backing band), bassist Brian Marshall (Creed), and drummer and keyboardist Scott Phillips (Creed).

Mark Tremonti is a member of both Creed and Alter Bridge. He also has (or at least had) his own band, Tremonti. Myles Kennedy, as vocalist for Slash, has been on my radar for a while. I assume that I found Alter Bridge by way of one of these two, though it could have been that it was served up by one of the streaming services I use. Based on when I found this band, it was probably Spotify, because I hadn't switched to Tidal that long ago.

This song is "Scales Are Falling" by Alter Bridge from their January 2026 album Alter Bridge. It is their eighth studio album.

It is good to know about new music, especially when it is music I like. As I type this, I've heard very little of this new album. It came to my attention by way of the Tidal streaming service, and their playlist The Metalist: Best New Metal & Hard Rock.

Armed Self-Defense - International Edition

From the Philippines. Manila Bulletin - Man hurt after being shot by homeowner during robbery in Antipolo

A man was injured after being shot by the homeowner whose house he was allegedly robbing in Antipolo, Rizal on Friday, Feb. 6.

I would like to say that this sounds pretty good, but the Philippines seems to share views on self-defense with Canada.

The suspect is now in police custody and is facing robbery charges, while the victim has also been arrested for frustrated homicide.

Authorities said further investigation is ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the shooting, including the legality of the firearm’s use.

Still, it sounds like the jury may still be out.

And whatever the governments of Canada and The Philippines believe, self-defense is a human right.

Ham Radio Fox Hunting versus Anti-ICE Protestors

It seems that the insurrectionists in Minneapolis are upset that someone infiltrated their Signal communications. Ian at The Bugscuffle Gazette has the details. Bunny Hunting

Last couple of days my private comms have lit up with various folks informing me that protestors have apparently decided that since their Signal chats have been infiltrated, they should switch to ham radios.

The fact that the folks informing me of this were giggling as they did so should be indicative of how good an idea this is.

Hunting for illegal transmissions, and it is illegal to use coded transmissions on Ham Radio bands, is something that the federal government used to be quite good at. Not sure if they are in practice or not.

But who IS in practice for hunting down transmissions are the Ham Radio operators of the world.

First off, if you want to see a pack of folks what put the “‘tism” in “weaponized autism”, may I introduce you to the amateur radio underworld? Ham radio operators lovingly build their own kit, get certifications and licenses, and build entire social communities. Bunch of loud weirdos crashing their frequencies, ignoring their mores,1, violating their courtesies, and trampling their protocols is likely going to get a whole bunch of feathers ruffled.

Which brings us to "Transmitter Hunting." It goes by several names, including Fox Hunting.

Let me restate that: A bunch of radio nerds find a great deal of pleasure in discovering which of them can locate a transmitter the fastest — and will venture out from their lairs to do so. Not the military. Not the police. Not the government. Private citizens doing “speed radio direction finding” for bragging rights, the fun of it, and minor prizes.

And remember: no matter how good the government is at something, a pack of enthusiastic amateurs will leave the government in the dust.

Click thru for the details.

And let me see if I have this correct. Your operational security is SO BAD that you can't maintain private communications on a system designed to be secure,  but  you think using a system, designed and legislated to avoid all coded messages will work out better. OK then.

5 Largest U.S. Cities Are Essentially Broke

Are we shocked that Democrats can't manage money? Report: 5 largest U.S. cities don’t have enough money to pay bills

The five largest cities in the United States, all led by Democrats, did not have enough money to pay their bills in 2024, according to a new Truth in Accounting report first provided to The Center Square.

Its Financial State of the Cities 2026 report examines the fiscal health of the cities of Los Angeles, Houston, Philadelphia, Chicago and New York City, with New York City again leading the U.S. with the greatest taxpayer burden.

The level of dysfunction is sort of amazing.

According to the data, New York City residents have the highest taxpayer burden of $61,700, followed by Chicagoans’ $42,600, Philadelphians’ $17,000, Houstonians’ $4,800 and Los Angeles residents’ $1,300.

At least LA and Houston are not insane. Well, Houston is bordering on insane. NYC is far past insane, they can't see insane in the rear-view mirror.

Gregor Mendel Blog - The 5 biggest cities

If you need money managed well, you never go over a person on the Left. Steer clear of them, because Leftists are terrible about spending public funds.

Gang Converting Airsoft SCAR into SMG Caught

Impro Guns has a long post on a Brazilian police operational success. Airsoft SCAR SMG conversion gang caught | Impro Guns

Police in Brazil finally busted the gang responsible for churning out 9mm SMGs stuffed into spring powered airsoft SCAR bodies following raids conducted yesterday.

Opening up the clam-shell bodies reveals crude blowback smg innards made from square tubing. They must have been selling like hotcakes as they had been showing up frequently in weapon & drug seizures.

The photos are interesting, because for once the Brazilian police have shown how the guns are constructed.

Click thru for a lot of those photos, info on the magazines, a statement from those Brazilian cops, and a look at the original Airsoft rifle.

Do we think that the capture of this one gang will upset the supply for long?

'Grassroots' anti-ICE Campaigns Are Not Grassroots

From the New York Post: 'Grassroots' anti-ICE campaigns funded by left wing billionaire donors: sources

It is surprising that this appeared in a mainstream outlet, even the Post.

A so-called “ICE Out” march drew an estimated 15,000 left-wing political activists to a frozen, snow-covered Minneapolis on Friday, with attendees chanting “ICE out now” and demanding an end to federal immigration enforcement in the city.

Although framed as a spontaneous uprising of concerned, everyday people, the demonstration — like countless that have regularly metastasized during President Trump’s terms — featured a familiar cast of politically obsessed activists and terminally online characters.

Click thru for the details.

Hat tip Clayton Cramer: The Strongest Argument Against Billionaires

This is the downside of capitalism. It creates pockets of guilt-dominated wealth intent on making sure no one else gets that rich.

They Told Me Cable News Was Over and Done

Maybe not so much. Fox News Posts Highest-Ever Second Quarter Ad Revenue

Inflation certainly had something to do with that, but it is hard to write off.

Fox News delivered its highest second quarter advertising revenue in the network’s history, Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch announced Wednesday during the company’s earnings call.

The record haul was fueled in part by an influx of new advertisers. Murdoch said Fox News added roughly 200 new advertisers in the first half of the fiscal year—on top of the 350 new advertisers the network brought in last year.

Maybe the "cutting the cable" fad has faded, now that people realized it isn't as cheap as it was advertised to be.

Saturday Roundup of Link Roundups

Wombat-socho starts things rolling with In The Mailbox: 02.04.26 (Afternoon Edition)

Weird Catholic: Light A Candle For St. Blaise
Defending The Wood Perilous: Election Fraud 101

The Right Way - Top of the News

Colombia's Petro Says He Gave Trump List of Drug Kingpins - NewsMax
The ultimate backfire - American Thinker

EBL - Minnesota update from Border Czar Tom Homan

Instapundit: PJ Media: Tom Holman's plan is bad news for Democrats
ICE can draw down because local officials have agreed to cooperate. That also lowers the temperature.

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 5 February 2026: November In June Edition

AMD has confirmed that the Steam Machine will ship early this year. (WCCFTech)
The pricing may not be what people have hoped, even those who adjusted their expectations to match the awful new reality delivered by OpenAI.

Small Dead Animals - Wednesday On Turtle Island

The Democrat Party’s America: A dangerous road. The truth about ICE. Suicidal bad ideas.
Stories You Won’t Find At Carney’s CBC: Despised and patronised. Stealth jihad.

Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 02.04.26 (Evening Edition)

Chicago Boyz: When Ideology Trumps Everything Else
Da Tech Guy: Oh Please PLEASE Br’er Democrats Don’t Force a Party Line Vote on Funding ICE!

The Glibertarians - Thursday Afternoon Links

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has so far been unable to access data from a Washington Post reporter’s iPhone because it was protected by Apple’s Lockdown Mode when agents seized the device from the reporter’s home, the US government said in a court filing.

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - WaPoo Listing, Discarding Unwanted Load

PJM's Stephen Kruiser thinks There's Gotta Be a Lot of Beard Sweat in the Iranian Regime Right Now. Capt. Ed, BREAKING: Trump to Iran: Pound Sand. Virginia Allen at Da Signal, Why the Cuban Regime Is ‘Sweating.’

Vlad Tepes - Ten items that give an indication of the West’s slide into authoritarian information controlled societies: Links 1 for Feb. 4, 2026

2. Canada has been passing bills under Trudeau that move pretty much all power to the State, and removing any and all transparency and accountability from the State. This is continuing under Carney. This is probably because it was Carney all along.

Wombat-socho again - In The Mailbox: 02.05.26

Don Surber: Results matter
First Street Journal: The subscription losses at The Washington Post say more about the subscribers than the newspaper itself

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 2/5/2026

Epstein & Bill Gates Discussed Getting ‘Rid of Poor People as a Whole’
Newly surfaced material from the latest Epstein Files release is drawing intense scrutiny after an email exchange referenced a disturbing question

Flopping Aces - The Week in Radical Leftism, 02/06/2026 – More from The Economist!

Great one, genius. Last I checked, nobody in America was getting jailed for social media posts, which is more than we can say for you Limeys!
What New York’s Congestion Charge Could Teach the Rest of America

Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog - LinkSwarm For February 6, 2026

California Democrats go all in on voter fraud.
“Trump Takes a Sledgehammer to Deportation Process and Sets Up a Court Fight With Another Activist Judge.”

Once again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 02.06.26

American Conservative: Who Is Laila Cunningham?
American Greatness: Feds Have Reportedly Charged 158 Anti-ICE Agitators With Federal Crimes in Minnesota – More Expected in Days to Come

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 2/4/26

Over the decades, it’s become increasingly clear: the Second Amendment recognizes an individual right to bear arms.
The Second Amendment Has Come a Long Way

Maggie's Farm - Wednesday morning links

Phil Connors' Purgatorio
Chilly weather is in your imagination?

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: How the Senate Can Pass the SAVE Act Today, Despite the Filibuster

• The End Of the Washington Post Mark Judge
• The Biggest Problem with the Washington Post Is Its Readers John Sexton

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 02/05/2026

Authorities are probing allegations Peter Mandelson may have passed sensitive UK government information to Jeffrey Epstein. Looks like it will take down Kier Starmer.

I leave you with Midweek Memes from Granite Grok, Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #3373 from 90 Miles from Tyranny, Wednesday Memes … from MaddMedic, and What the hell, how 'bout some more memes? from Wirecutter.

Good Guys 2, Bad Guys 0

You should expect homeowners in Florida to be armed. ‘Break into vacant homes to smoke weed’: Homeowner shoots suspect in Nassauville burglary attempt

“If you break into somebody’s home, you should beg to get shot. And that’s exactly what happened,” said Sheriff Bill Leepe, with the Nassau County Sheriffs office.

The sheriff’s office said the shooting was in self-defense. Investigators 18-year-old Anson Shawn Drew and a juvenile broke into a home on Clearwater Road in Nassauville. The report states the suspect pointed a flashlight at the homeowner, who then shot his revolver at the suspect in fear for his life.

Nassauville, Florida is about 15 miles north-northeast of downtown Jacksonville.

The Juvenile was shot. He is in a local hospital where he is expected to survive.

Police caught up with Drew at his home later.

The report states Drew left one of his shoes behind when he ran off. He was later arrested at his home.

Self-defense is a human right.

It Is a Good Thing Law-Abiding Canadians Are Disarmed, Or Someone Might Have Been Hurt

Oh, wait a minute... 7 Toronto men arrested after violent home invasion left homeowner dead: Peel police | Unpublished

On Oct. 1, 2024, at approximately 3:40 a.m., officers responded to shots fired at a residence in the area of Central Parkway West and Confederation Parkway in Mississauga, Ont. It is alleged that four masked individuals entered the home and confronted the occupants, demanding money and valuables.

The homeowner was shot. He eventually died from his wounds.

It would be more than a year for the investigation, which covered 80 kilometers, before they ran the bad guys to ground.

“Ultimately, their efforts led to the seizure of a firearm and the arrest of seven men from Toronto who now face serious charges,” said Milinovich. “This investigation reflects the dedication of our officers and the critical support of our government partners in ensuring investigations like this are properly resourced and those responsible for horrific crimes are held accountable.”

So will there be Justice? I don't know much about the Criminal Justice System in Ontario, but I do know that criminals in Canada frequently have guns, while the law-abiding citizens rarely do.

Now a gun may not have saved this guy, there are no guarantees in life, but 7 against 1 odds are only going to be equalized by a firearm. I don't care if you're Chuch Norris's younger cousin, you are not going to fight off 7 guys. As for calling the cops, well how long do they take to repond where you live? (When you look that number up, remeber if is an average response time.)

11:11

How did a love of Heavy Metal lead to some great acoustic guitar? Rodrigo y Gabriela are a pair of guitar players from Mexico City who met due to a common love of Heavy Metal. But the music they play, or what little I have heard, is definitely not Metal.

The song "11:11" was inspired by Pink Floyd, though they have no such song. Some people say that they hear the inspiration for the song in the Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii film from 1974, but Rodrigo y Gabriela have not said that (as far as I can tell).

This is "11:11" by Rodrigo y Gabriela. It is the title song to their 2009 album.

Improvised 9mm Semiautomatic Pistol

Impro Guns brings us a photo of a 9mm pistol from South Africa. 9mm semi-auto pistol

It was probably a filing cabinet originally.

Click thru for the photo.

The primary assumption surrounding gun control is that guns are impossible for the average person to manufacture. That really is not the case.

Friday Links - 6 February

George Shay at Chicago Contrarian is first with some insurrection news. Chicago Democrats Declare War on the Federal Government

Mayor 6.6 finally finds someone he thinks is worth prosecuting — unfortunately, it’s cops, not criminals

Chicago is broke.

Illinois is not far behind.

That alone ought to concentrate the mind.

William Teach at Pirate's Cove - Oklahoma Legislature Goes After Climate Cult Law Suits

Hopefully more Republican states will follow

Clayton Cramer - The Supply of Racism is So Limited That it Requires Manufacturing

Free Beacon recounts the story of a widely reported racist incident from 2021 that a racially mixed jury has concluded never happened.

Lone Star Parson - Billie Eilish

At the time of writing, Eilish hasn't returned her mansion to the Tongva tribe, curiously, even though she stole it from them and surrounded it by a high wall. Genius singer/songwriter Billie's worth a mere Rainbow Socialist 70MN$.

Miguel Gonzalez - Ham as the tool of Racism: Here we go...

No dear, hams are hung because that is how they are cured, preserved and stored before use. If you don’t mess with them, they get to stay stable for amazing long periods of time.

Again from William Teach - The Yutes Are Feeling Hopeless About Climate Doom

Those numbers are pretty concerning, are they not? They are a direct result of the news, scientists, politicians, teachers, etc, scaring the ever-lovin’ crap out of the kiddies, telling them the world is going to end because of a slight increase in the global temperature over 170 years, but, SOON! doom is coming. Is it any wonder they have these negative feeling?

Irons in the Fire - Yes, every 'Stolen land!' and 'Save the Palistinians!' asshat of them are hypocrites, but remember

Of course. Because people like Billie Eilish are too busy getting their ass kiss for being 'brave' about screaming 'Stolen land!' and 'Fuck ICE!' to give a damn about the Iranians.

Do You Want the Lights (and Heat) to Come On After a Winter Storm?

It is beginning to look like you can't have both a modern society, and liberal sensibilities. Moonbattery Means No Power in Nashville

You can have a society based on the principles of DEI, or you can have the lights come on when you flip the switch. You can’t have both for long. Nashville illustrates why.

Back in 2023 the Nashville power company (Nashville Electric Service) decided that "preserving the canopy" (the trees above power lines) was important enough that they were going to change the way they trimmed trees. This was part of their ESG initiatives. ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance score. (They need a good ESG score to get the attention of folks like Black Rock to get that low-cost money.) DEI rolls under the Social/Governance part of that equation. Fast forward to 2026, and a major ice storm, and what is the result?

As for what these priorities mean to the average citizen, consider that the power has been out for thousands in Nashville for 10 days now following the winter storm that hit on January 24.

Ten days without light, without heat, without refrigeration, without hot water, without a modern civilization. The temperature in Nashville doesn't appear to have been cold enough to result in frozen pipes, but that could be different outside of the city. While a lot of gas-fired water heaters will work without electricity, most gas-fired furnaces will not.

Ten days is long time to be living in the early 1900s.

How much food spoiled in that time? How many restaurants went under because they couldn't serve lunch, and lost their week's supply of food? How many people ran gas-powered generators during that period, negating the Environmental gains of the tree-trimming insanity. (Hat tip to William Teach at Pirate's Cove)

Clare Torry and "Great Gig in the Sky"

The Feral Irishman brings us the details behind one of Pink Floyd's timeless classics. What Did She Do?

No lyrics.

No script.

Just emotion.

Sing about death.

Click thru for the story of her fight to get writing credits, and to listen to "Great Gig in the Sku" from Dark Side of the Moon.

Ride Public Transit? Not on a Bet

Also the Criminal Justice System needs to err more on the side of protecting the law-abiding citizens of Chicago. Man with 14 previous arrests sexually abused woman in CTA elevator: Chicago police - CWB Chicago

CPD records show Porter has been arrested 14 other times since becoming an adult in 2014, mostly for misdemeanors, but court files show nearly all of those charges were dropped. The only exceptions were a 2019 domestic battery case that ended with court supervision he did not complete satisfactorily and two trespassing charges at the same Old Town building that resulted in a 14-day sentence in November.

And so with no consequences, behavior didn't change. No, that's not true. Behavior got worse.

I miss civilization.

Electric Buses Versus Winter Weather

Vermont Daily Chronicle brings us a story of Net Zero insanity. 5 GMT E-buses, bought for $8 million, out of service due to fire risk, frigid weather

First it became apparent that the electric battery posed a fire hazard. (I'm shocked) So they cannot be stored in the garage. OK, so that is a problem, but not an issue, except for the fact that you cannot charge the buses if the temperature is below 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, they don't say it clearly, but it appears that the charging infrastructure is only INSIDE. The buses were pulled from service in November.

The buses, manufactured by New Flyer and delivered less than a year ago, were pulled from service in November after the battery manufacturer warned they posed a potential fire hazard. As a result, the electric buses cannot be stored inside GMT’s garage and must remain outdoors, per the January 29 news report by Laura Ullman.

Cold weather has compounded the problem. The buses require temperatures of at least 41 degrees to safely charge, conditions that have been scarce this winter. The vehicles have remained parked outside, dusted with snow, unable to operate.

That is $8 million worth of buses sidelined. And that means that the diesel buses still in service, are working overtime. Leaving little time for maintenance, and no margin for breakdowns or accidents.

“It’s been literally down to our last bus, where if we have another bus that breaks or some other accident that happens, you know, we would have to start canceling service,” said Green Mountain Transit General Manager Clayton Clark.

This the MGUY Australia video 🤡 Clown World! Yet ANOTHER electric bus DISASTER! He covers the story linked above, as well as the fanfare that greeted the buses when they were purchased.

The northern hemisphere winter is peak time for EV bus hilarity because of the cold weather, which invariably either affects range or charging ability. Perhaps electric buses would work okay in the year round warm climates of say Florida or Italy, but the idea that they could replace diesel in countries like the UK or Canada or northern USA is nothing short of insanity.

As MGUY Australia notes in the video, electric buses in Vermont are nothing but virtue signalling. The video is just over 7 minutes.

Officer Pradeep Tamang

The Other McCain brings a s story out of Georgia. ‘End of Watch’ for a Georgia Cop

So two cops show up at Holiday Inn where the suspect had fraudulently used a credit card (perhaps stolen) to rent a room and, after discovering he’s got an outstanding warrant, they try to put the cuffs on him and get shot because, although it’s illegal for convicted felons to possess firearms, you don’t become a convicted felons by obeying the law, do you?

This took place in Gwinnett County, Georgia about 20 miles northeast of Atlanta.

Click thru for the details, the photos, and the analysis.

Wednesday Link Roundup - 4 February

William Teach at Pirate's Cove starts us off with Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

1. Victory Girls Blog: Nurses Union Holds Secret Training Sessions To Combat ICE
2. This ain’t Hell…: Stupid people of the week

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 02.02.2026

Shark Tank: Associated Industries of Florida Endorses Ingoglia For CFO
STUMP: U.S. Finalized Mortality 2024

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 3 February 2026: Spinning Wheel Edition

The Trump administration plans to spend $12 billion to establish a national stockpile of critical minerals. (Tom's Hardware)
Rare earth elements and the like, for when China decides to shut off the supply again.

EBL - Federal Court: ICE WINS! MN LOSES! PLUS Federal ID Order!

EBL: Pretti Shooting was Lawful, Dangerous Lie, Andrew Branca on Alex Pretti shooting, Renee Good shooting, and Gutfeld

Don Surber - HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NEWS

ITEM 1: Benjamin Ryan tweeted, “1st Detransitioner to Take a Medical-Malpractice Lawsuit to Trial Wins $2 Million Judgment.
“Fox Varian sued her Westchester, NY, area psychologist and plastic surgeon

The Glibertarians - Sunday Morning Lacuna Links

This flex may not be what they were aiming for (so to speak).
Anti-Semitism polls well in NYC.

Political Hat - News of the Week (February 1st, 2026)

The Administration and the Second Amendment: Damage Control
Gun rights are not Donald Trump’s main issue. Like Ronald Reagan before him, Trump has had his slip-ups with gun rights supporters

Vlad Tepes - A list of ten events that may give some sense of the trajectory of Western Civ at this time, and looking at Silver pricing and the machinery that determines it outside actual market forces: links 1 for February 1, 2026

3. It appears that the media is continuing to laser paint law enforcement for attack, and people who watch it continue to obey.
4. A proper response to Tucker “Qatarlson” and Candice Owens

Bacon Time!!!! - Sunday Linkange

Pirates Cove NY Times Apoplectic Minnesota Mostly Peaceful Protest Called “Insurgency”
Freedom Is Just Another Word.. .Saturday Memes…

Maggie's Farm - Saturday morning links

‘Crisis’ in college math readiness prompts probe by Senator Bill Cassidy
RUMOR: Amy Klobuchar Running for Minnesota Governor, Will Appoint Tim Walz to Her Vacant Senate Seat

I leave you with Food for Thought – 1 February 2026 from Mostly Cajun, Sunday Funnies for 02-01-26 from Stately McDaniel Manor, Sunday Meme Drop from Midwest Chick's Place, Sunday Funnies from Flopping Aces,