Friday Links - 4 April

Meep at STUMP starts things off with Public Pension Classic: 80 Percent Funding Hall of AWESOME!

Replaying that decago-ago favorite tune ... Experts say: 80% fundedness is AWESOME!

Joel at The Ultimate Answer to Kings - …and so that’s why nobody hires me to build bridges.

I’ll start procrastinating again tomorrow.

The Silicon Graybeard - How Bad Was Starliner's Flight? I Had No Idea

The story starts after launch and their first night in orbit in an unexpectedly cold Starliner capsule. As they're approaching the Space Station, you'll probably recall they lost some thrusters and the ability to control Starliner. They knew they should dock with the ISS and felt that they'd be safer there, but they didn't know that their Starliner would hold together or if more failures would come. As Starliner's thrusters failed, Wilmore lost the ability to move the spacecraft in the direction he wanted to go.

Impro Guns - The Toys From Brazil

A sawed-off under-lever air rifle and .22lr pistol made from a stapler. Seized in the Brazilian state of Rodonia in March.

The Other McCain - UPDATE: Liberal Wins in Wisconsin After GOP Wins Two Florida Special Elections

So basically we burned tens of millions of dollars for nothing.

Tim Young at The Daily Signal - Entertainment Industry Didn’t Get November’s Memo: Americans Are Tired of Your Political Rants

We get it. You don’t like Trump—basically no one in Hollywood does. I, like more than half of this country, would just like to be entertained without a political lecture for once.

Again from The Other McCain - ‘A Dumpster Fire of Lies’: Netflix Series Race-Swaps British Crime Trend, Journalists Treat It Like a Documentary

What I did know about Adolescence was that it is set in England, and that the screenwriters had essentially reversed the races of contemporary crime trends in the United Kingdom, by making a white boy the knife-wielding killer. Despite the news media’s reluctance to deal with this honestly, anyone who pays attention to crime news out of Britain knows who is implicated in the surge of stabbing sprees there. It’s not a secret.

Self-Defense Is Legal in Idaho

This may also be an example of how alcohol can ruin your health. Nampa man cleared in fatal shooting, ruled self-defense | KTVB

This incident took place in September of 2024, so it has taken quite some time for the DA make this determination. Is that because the DA hates self-defense, as most of the do? Who can say.

According to investigators, Villalobos, 53, approached Fleming's home uninvited and intoxicated before physically attacking Fleming, striking him in the head. Fleming then shot Villalobos in self-defense.

Idaho has a "Stand Your Ground" law, so it is fairly hard for a DA to prosecute self-defense.

The ruling came after a months-long investigation that included witness statements, forensic analysis, physical evidence, DNA testing and video footage review.

Even all of that doesn't take 6 months.

Still, I think they got to the right place in the end.

Disney Hates Strong Women

Disney only wants to acknowledge women who agree with them. Disney Attempts to Erase Gina Carano by Leaving Her Off ESPN List of Top Women Fighters in MMA — UFC Boss Dana White Calls Disney Out

Do people know that ESPN is owned by Disney?

In what can only be described as another stunning example of Disney rewriting history, ESPN—the sports media giant owned by the House of Mouse—released a list of the “Top 10 Women Who Changed MMA in the 21st Century”… and completely excluded Gina Carano. Yes, ESPN excluded the same Gina Carano who helped build women’s MMA into what it is today.

Why would they do this? It couldn't be because of the lawsuit that is ongoing between Disney and Gina, could it?

Even UFC President Dana White wasn’t having it. He blasted the list and called out Disney for this sleight.

“Gina Carano not being on the list is INSANE,” he said blasting the ESPN list.

The image above includes both Gina, and Gina in her role as Cara Dune, from the Star Wars franchise.

Hat tip to Jay AKA Dunk3PO and his video Disney's ESPN Attempts to Erase Gina Carano BACKFIRES

I'm Shocked that Zuckerberg Seems to be Lying

OK I'm not really shocked. From the Daily Caller: Zuckerberg’s Right-Wing Metamorphosis Appears To Be A Giant Facade

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s recent shift rightward appears to be little more than window dressing, as his company’s policies still favor mass censorship.

He got beat up for censorship, so suddenly he was opposed to censorship. It appears it was all marketing lies.

Additionally, Meta still has a lengthy section on “Misinformation,” an oft-used term for its COVID-19 censorship, much of which, Zuckerberg later revealed, came at the behest of the Biden administration. (RELATED: Mark Zuckerberg Tells Joe Rogan That Biden Admin Would ‘Scream’ And ‘Curse’ At Meta Employees To Censor ‘True’ Content)

The misinformation section states “there is no way to articulate a comprehensive list of what is prohibited.”

Go read the whole thing.

Texans Are Still Armed

Home invaders are still getting shot. Homeowner shoots suspected burglar in University Place

A husband and wife were at home, when their security system alerted them to an intruder.

The husband in his 50s went to their garage with his gun, saw the garage door was open and someone was sitting inside his wife’s car.

As he went to confront the man, police said the man got out of the car.

It was dark, and the homeowner couldn't see the guy too well, so when the would-be bad guy approached homeowner, the homeowner shot him.

That man was taken to the hospital and was expected to recover and face burglary charges.

And because this took place in Texas and not in New Jersey, the homeowner is not facing charges.

Without Consequences Why Change Behavior?

The Criminal Justice System refuses to lock people up. 16-time convicted burglar is arrested for burglary 2 days after getting out of prison - CWB Chicago

How do you spell recidivism?

A 16-time convicted burglar is back in jail this morning, accused of burglarizing two more businesses less than 48 hours after getting out of prison. In addition to his 16 burglary convictions, 58-year-old Vance Patton has been sent to prison for four other felonies, too.

All of that and he got parole.

Prosecutors asked Judge Susana Ortiz to detain Patton, but she declined their petition. Instead, she said Patton could go home on an ankle monitor to await trial on the new charges.

Yeah, that makes sense, or maybe not.

Hat tip to Second City Cop: Another Parole Success Story.

With sixteen separate convictions for burglary, he should have been serving between sixty-four and two-hundred-forty years. Concurrent sentencing probably cut that down, but why are Illinois taxpayers constantly putting up with (and paying for) this bullshit?

Good question.

Leading Candidate Banned From Upcoming Election in France

Lawfare is not just a weapon against Trump. It also seems that the powers that be don't really like democratic rule. Marine Le Pen Banned From French Election After Found Guilty of Embezzlement

Weird how this happens after a poll discovered Le Pen would be the front runner in the 2027 election.

Gotta stop the Populists from winning elections.

So much for democratic rule of Europe.

I do not believe in coincidences. Beege Welborn at Hot Air pointed out a significant detail that had been published a day before the court’s decision.

Europe is lost.

As one of the comments noted:

They aren’t even TRYING to disguise their Soviet-style antics anymore.

March in Chicago

Good News or Bad? A bit of both. HeyJackass! brings us the March Wrap-up

Strange patterns are forming where the number of shot is lower, but those that are shot are more likely to pass. More practice, better shot placement, slower and lesser quality emergency care, high tides, full moons, or whatever the reason(s) may be, higher fatality rates do not bode well for the upcoming Summer of Silly Decisions.

The final March totals were 38 killed, with 97 shot and wounded. Those totals are significantly better than the past few years.

Click thru for all the stats, and the comparisons to previous years.

The stats include things like breakdown by age, gender, and race, as well as things like the number of Selfies, and #ShotInTheAss.

Wednesday Link Roundup - 2 April

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

Maggies Farm has Links. And more links. And does this all during the week.
Ned Hardy has historical photos and stories.

EBL - Richard Chamberlain, RIP

Richard Chamberlain, RIP
THR, Deadline, Variety

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 04.01.25 (Morning Edition)

Don Surber: Vance destroys anti-tariff argument
Glenn Reynolds: Three Small Items

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 30 March 2025: Quick Precis Edition

Why do LLMs make stuff up? (Ars Technica)
Because that's what they're designed to do.
They're language models, not fact models. Indeed, they don't have fact models.

Glibertarians - Sunday Morning This Is A Test Links

Diversity?
“A state that is conditioned for failure.” An accurate description.

Small Dead Animals - Sunday On Turtle Island

Woke America: Does it get any more un-American than this? The woke elites and museums.
Conman Carney’s Canada: A pair of CBC reports. Carney’s severing of Canada.

Political Hat - News of the Week (March 30th, 2025)

It’s Ladies’ Night at the Gun Range
Luxury shooting complexes offer country club amenities to woo a new wave of firearm owners

Vlad Tepes - Carney & Trump, DEI still in play and more: Links 1 for April 1, 2025

2. Mark Carney: CHINA’S MAN: Hong Kong human rights organization files letter with RCMP over Carney’s Chinese candidate
Canadian police have never, as far as I know, pressed charges against a ranking politician.

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - April's Fool Edition

'Becca Downs at TownHall thinks Markwayne Mullin Delivers Masterclass on 'Signalgate' During Sunday Show Appearance. AP whines that Trump says he won’t ‘fire people’ over Signal messages, reiterates support of national security team.

Theo Spark - Bits and Bobs........

No Teslas on Mars! Stop the oligarchy! - Roger Simon
No, European Strategic Autonomy Drive is not Trump Related also, is the USA Really NATO's #1 Sceptic? - Cdr Salamander

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 4/1/2025

» “Maryland Father” or MS-13 Migrant Gangster. Which is it, MSM?
» “Smacks of Racism” — Activist Judge Halts Trump Admin’s Move to Revoke Protected Status of Venezuelans

Don Surber - Highlights of the news

ITEM 12: CBS said, “5 high-level CDC officials leaving in latest turmoil for public health agency in Trump administration.”
CDC, isn’t this the same agency that warned doctors not to prescribe ivermectin to treat covid?

Cafe Hayek - Some Links

John Garnett is right that “Trump was right to kill the EV mandate.”
Arnold Kling insightfully counsels economists to take real-world complexities far more seriously than they are led to do by the mainstream economics of Paul Samuelson.

Maggie's Farm - Saturday morning links

California High Speed Rail Asks for $7 Billion More
DEI in Airlines Having Haunting Effect on Veteran Pilots, Many Afraid to Leave Co-Pilots Alone in the Cockpit

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 4/ 1 /25

Kurt Schlichter: The next three crucial steps.
Time for the Trump DOJ and FBI to Deal the Pain

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: House lawmaker moves to oust judge in deportation case with move that skips impeachment

• Judge Boasberg is not my president - Don Surber
• Sen. Grassley Introduces ‘Judicial Relief Clarification Act’ to Rein in Activist Judges - Debra Heine

I leave you with Sunday Funnies For 03-30-25 from Stately McDaniel Manor, Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #2454 from 90 Miles from Tyranny, and Mondays again, in gifs from Wirecutter.

Another Failure of the Victim-Selection Process

Also concealed carry does stop bad guys. Suspected Hardeeville carjacker killed by ‘armed citizen who protected himself,’ police say

Police said a man was shot and killed Sunday night near downtown Hardeeville in an apparent act of self-defense as he attempted one of several “armed assaults” in the area.

Hardeevill, South Carolina is about 15 miles north of Savannah, Georgia.

The bad guy fired at least one shot at the driver of the vehilce, who returned fire striking the carjacker 3 times. He died at the scene.

While the investigation is ongoing, the police are saying it is self-defense at this point.

Bad guys should get the memo that victims are neither helpless nor defenseless in various parts of the country like South Carolina.

Self-defense is a human right.

The United Kingdom Is Going Full Totalitarian

You cannot question the powers that be. From Hot Air: UK Police Arrest Parents, Jail Them For Criticizing School Policies

Britain and Europe, as a whole, are run by proto-totalitarians who see arresting parents, Christians, and any ordinary Britons for wrongthink as necessary to building an ideal society. Dissenters are enemies of the people, of the ideal order and must be disposed of or suppressed.

I'm not really surprised at this point.

After all, they have outlawed prayer. From The Telegraph: Praying at home could be a crime ‘depending on who’s passing the window’

Praying at home could be a crime “depending on who’s passing the window”, according to the architect of a controversial protest ban outside abortion clinics in Scotland.

Gillian Mackay, the Green Party MSP, said “performative” prayer within 200 metres (220 yards) of abortion clinics could theoretically fall foul of new legislation, even if it was within someone’s home.

Because thou shalt worship nothing but the state.

More like Airstrip One every day.

The British need to take their country back.

Down By The Water

PJ Harvey is usually listed as Alternative Rock, but this song was introduced as Goth. The theme is certainly dark enough for Goth. I don't think the categories matter as long as the music is good.

This is another song courtesy of WXRT and Saturday Morning Flashback. It has also been sitting in drafts for nearly a year.

This song is "Down By The Water" by PJ Harvey from her 1995 album To Bring You My Love.

DaleyGator Musical Interlude

Gator Doug at If You are Left you ain't Right brings us Your Song of the Day

Click thru for Marion Black performing his signature song, "Who Knows" from 1970.

I wasn't really listening to Soul in 1970, and I wasn't even watching Soul Train at that time, because it wouldn't even start until 1971. (It would come on right after Dick Clark's American Bandstand.) That said, quite a lot of the music is good, but if it wasn't on Top 40 radio, I probably didn't hear it back then.

Tuesday Links - April Fool's Day Edition

Miguel Gonzalez starts us off with a look at nutrition. Another thing that needs to be fixed.

And how come I have the nasty feeling I am having to pay this much because I am somewhat subsidizing the people who are overusing medical help because they can stop eating six Cheetos with peanut butter and gravy every meal (chased down with a Coke Zero, of course) and smoking 3 packs of American Spirit a day?

OldAFSarge from Chant du Départ has a history lesson - The First Iron Brigade

While doing research for a possible fictional account of the Civil War, I happened to look up my great grandfather's regiment, the 22nd New York Infantry Regiment. Curiosity, perhaps looking for a connection to the story of that regiment which I could use in my fictional account.

Little did I know that his regiment was part of the Iron Brigade, no, not the "black hat boys" of the West, but a regiment composed of Eastern units.

Irons in the Fire - Tell me again why we shouldn't take phones away from kids in class

I’m not saying our students just prefer genre books or graphic novels or whatever. No, our average graduate literally could not read a serious adult novel cover-to-cover and understand what they read.

Legal Insurrection - Illegal Immigrant ‘Influencer’ Who Encouraged Freeloading and Squatting Finally Sent Back to Venezuela

Videos of Moreno instructing his fellow illegals on how to do end runs around U.S. laws and take over homes outraged conservatives and put him on ICE’s radar:

Bookworm Room - Bookworm Beat 3/28/25: A meme edition

After a hiatus, I’m back… It’s not the largest meme selection ever, but every meme is handpicked for quality and freshness.

Wombat-socho - FMJRA 2.0: A Short Week

Played a two-game set with Baltimore on Friday and got a split. We’ll take it.
Ceterum autem censeo Silicon Valley et Hamas delendam sunt.

Miguel Gonzalez - TDS keeps getting people into absurdity.

What I have noticed is that the lack of respect that Trump has for the Media and the way he insults and ridicules him is seen by journos as the same or worse than being shot in the back of the head by security forces or your house torched with your family inside. This fake fear is reflected in worse coverage and outright lies which are to inflame people against the administration. That they do that without Third World consequences sort of demonstrates they are full of crap.

Instapundit - GREAT MOMENTS IN ASTROTURFING

Asphalt Assault: Anti-Tesla Protesters Unleash Their Scariest Weapon Yet – Nazi-Infused Line Dancing!

Professor David Yamane at Light Over Heat - Reflections on "A Gun is Not Fun" Conference

Last week, I was fortunate to take part in a visiting scholar speaker series and community networking conference organized by Wake Forest University’s Center for Literacy Education. I am grateful to Center director Alan Brown for including me in “A Gun is Not Fun: Strategies to Keep Children Safe from Gun Violence.”

Son Gets Shot Protecting His Mother

This is an example of the fact that being armed doesn't make you invulnerable. Shootout inside Detroit-area home injures two people, police say - CBS Detroit

Hazel Park police say a 22-year-old man from Detroit came to the home where his mother and Thomas lived to pick up his belongings. Thomas and the woman were arguing when the woman's son intervened and confronted Thomas.

The son was shot in the shoulder and the face. He retreated to another room and drew is own gun, returning fire, hitting Thomas in the the finger, the wrist, and the chest. Both men drove themselves to hospitals.

Hazel Park, Michigan is a suburb of Detroit, being about a 10 mile drive north of downtown.

Police say 51-year-old Charles Thomas is charged with assault with intent to murder, three counts of felony firearm, discharging a firearm in a building causing injury, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and carrying a concealed weapon.

Self-defense has been gaining acceptance in Michigan for years now.

Self-defense is a human right.

So There's a Starship Troopers Movie in the Works

You may have seen the somewhat-travesty of a film by that name directed by Paul Verhoeven. Pure 90s Cheese, without any of the redeeming qualities it should have had. But I will let someone else tell you that story. The Exact Words of the Text - by John Carter

I didn't particularly like Heinlein's novel. I tried to read it couple of times, and I honestly can't tell you much about it. I know enough to know that it bears very little relation to the 1997 "satire" by Verhoeven. I like some of Heinlein's work. I even like a fair bit of Military Sci-Fi. The Honorverse by David Weber is one example. I currently reading In Fury Born, also by Weber, though it seems to be taking a strange turn.

But I didn't particularly connect with Troopers.

First, John Carter, from Postcards from Barsoom, gives us the script for how he would have written the first sequence for a Starship Troopers movie. Then we get the following:

And that is how the cinematic adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein’s seminal military-SF masterpiece Starship Troopers should have started: with all of the pathos, action, and emotional intensity of the novel’s famous first chapter. I’ve taken extensive liberties with the source material, but in my head, this is what the first ten minutes or so of the movie would look like. If it had been a good movie.

But it was not.

Instead, director Paul Verhoeven served up Saved By the Bugs, a cheesy 90’s high-school drama cum college movie which felt more like Beverly Hills 90210 than Full Metal Jacket, liberally slathered with unnecessary sexual drama and drenched in hamfisted satire of the source material, with all of the coolest elements – the powered armour, the orbital drops, the backpack nukes – conspicuously stripped out.

But then Verhoeven wasn't interested in adapting Heinlein's novel, he was writing a "Communism Good" screed.

The reason Verhoeven left out the powered armour is quite simple: it was too cool, and his intention was not to make the Mobile Infantry look cool. His intention was to ridicule the philosophical position that Heinlein put forward in the book: that violence is at the heart of the political, and cultures – or species – who forget this, get rolled by the ones who don’t.

It is a long post or article, but worth a look.

Sony has announced a new adaptation of the novel. It won't have anything to do with the 1997 travesty, that only lives on in memes; it is a meme, after all. It will be a new adaptation of the novel. That still doesn't fill me with much hope, give the trash that has been coming out of Hollywood in the past 7 or 8 years.

Apparently Neill Blomkamp, who directed the stunningly good Sci-Fi District 9 movie is attached to the project. I'm not sure if that is confirmed, or only a rumor. That lends some hope to the project since he does know how to do Sci-Fi. He will still have to deal with DEI. There are still a lot of DEI rules in Hollywood, even if they are calling them something else today.

Epstein Victim "Just Four Days to Live"

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew and Jeffery Epstein of doing bad things to her was hit by a bus.

She sued the Royal Family, and won. She was hit by a school bus driving 110 kilometers per hour. "Freak accident."

This is Benny Johnson's video SHOCK: Epstein Victim Who Saw ‘Everything’ Suddenly On Her DEATH BED After Freak Mystery Accident

Consign to Oblivion

Concept albums used to be a fairly common thing in American rock music. That seems to have died out. But they are still being created in the European Heavy Metal scene. Today's song actually comes from the first of two albums that are part of the same concept, from the Symphonic Metal band Epica. The concept started in Consign to Oblivion, and was continued 4 years later with the album Design Your Universe.

Epica is a Symphonic Metal band out The Netherlands. (They sing in English.) The band consisted of lead singer Simone Simons, Mark Jansen playing rhythm guitar and providing harsh vocals, Ad Sluijter playing lead guitar, Yves Huts on bass, Coen Janssen on keyboards, and Jeroen Simons playing drums when this album was recorded.

The lyrics can be found at this link in case anyone is interested. You might want them for at least some of the singing.

This song is "Consign to Oblivion (A New Age Dawns 3)" by Epica from the 2005 album Consign to Oblivion. It is almost 10 minutes, so grab a beverage.

How Should a 70-Year-Old Man Defend Himself?

If not with a firearm that is. I wish the gun-hating Left would explain, but I'm not expecting them to do so. Man killed during burglary attempt in Point Breeze home, police say

How would you deal with an intruder in you home at 1:30 in the morning?

In a noon update, law enforcement officials said the 70-year-old homeowner was cooperating with the investigation and investigators believe the man who died was killed during an attempted burglary.

This is yet another failure of the victim-selection process. Maybe he thought it would be easy to steal from a 70-year-old.

Point Breeze is a neighborhood in Philadelphia.

Even in Deep Blue Philadelphia it would seem that legal self-defense is a thing.

The cops seem a bit confused, or they did early on, anyway, but they are starting to see more self-defense, and seem to have gotten there in the end.

The investigation continues, and the DA will make any determination about charges. Still, self-defense is a human right.

Without the means of self-defense, the old and the infirm will be preyed upon by the young and the violent. That seems to be the world that the Left wants to reintroduce.