31 August 2021

Prosecutors HATE Self-defense

I mean really HATE Self-defense. Street justice or self-defense? In beating home intruder, Baltimore man finds himself before a judge - Baltimore Sun

He found a drunk guy passed out in his apartment. When he finally got the guy to wake up, the drunk attacked him, and a fight broke out.

The DA had him charged with assault.

His trial concluded in a single afternoon. The victim didn’t show. When prosecutors finished their case, which consisted only of the officer’s testimony, the defense attorney urged the judge to throw out the charges. Before the prosecutor could respond, Circuit Judge Jennifer Schiffer cut off arguments.

“I’m going to call counsel back into my chambers,” she said, sternly.

When they returned to the courtroom, Schiffer said she was granting Taylor’s request for a judgment of acquittal and dismissing the case.

“Given the fact that Mr. Brown has encountered a burglar in his house, I am convinced that Mr. Brown was entitled to use deadly force,” she said.

As the defense attorney noted, with all the insanity that is going on in Baltimore, the DA decides to pursue this case. Why, because self-defense CANNOT be allowed to stand. You MUST rely only on The State.

I hope the people of Baltimore tie this case around that DA's neck like a milestone, but I am pretty sure that they won't.

I haven't checked in a few weeks, but on a per-captia basis, Baltimore, St. Louis, and Philadelphia have been fighting it out for the title of Most Dangerous City in America.

Self-defense is a human-right, but if the prosecutor in Baltimore has his way, it is not your legal right.

What If You Can't Call 911?

There are any number of reasons that you won't be able to call 911 for help in an emergency. Let's look at the issues in and around New Orleans, after Hurricane Ida swept through the area.

In Jefferson Parish, cell phones can't reach the system. In some cases, anyway. Cell phone providers having 911 difficulties in Jefferson Parish

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office is reporting that multiple cell phone providers are having difficulties routing calls to through their 911 system.

Officials are asking as providers work through this, residents call the administrative number for the 911 center at 504-227-1400 if needed.

Do you know the non-911 number for police or fire in your area? What would you do if 911 breaks?

The Jefferson Parish sheriff's office was also urging people to limit travel, as it is still dangerous. You don't want to be part of the problem, when they are still trying to see if people need rescuing.

In Lafouche Parish, the Sheriff's department phone lines are cut off. Lafourche Parish 9-1-1 and phone lines down.

It is hard to call 911 for help if they can't answer the phones, though the sheriff has apparently put some workaround in place.

9-1-1 and phone lines are down at this time. For Emergencies only call (985)-772-4810 or (985) 772-4824 in Lafourche Parish. If busy, please keep trying.

There are probably more issues in other places.

Calling 911 is a fine thing to do. Under normal circumstances, they can send all kinds of help your way, and even guide you through some actions while you wait. But in the aftermath of a regional disaster, like a category 4 hurricane, circumstances are not normal. You need to be prepared to survive on your own, at least for a while. And in the case of something like this, it would have been very good for people to have evacuated ahead of time. There were several comments by people on the various news reports I was watching Sunday night, where people basically said, "I've never seen weather like this before." What you saw last time, was not the NE quadrant of a category 4 hurricane, so no, you didn't see this before.

Power In New Orleans and Environs Will Be Out for Weeks

And in New Orleans, a heat advisory is expected for Today. Not to mention the humidity. Entergy, Cleco officials warn recovery of power grid ‘will be a marathon’

There are lines down from trees everywhere in the region. Many roads remain closed because of that. (Two major insterstate highways are closed: I-10 to Baton Rouge, and I-55 north to the Mississippi State Line.) The roof from a warehouse took out some power lines in a business district. (I can't find that video today.)

But the devastating problem is the loss of a transmission tower, and the submerging of the high-voltage lines in the Mississippi River.

The collapse of a transmission tower in Avondale also was highly problematic, causing the tower’s conductor and wires to submerge into the Mississippi River.

The company warned customers that, “based on historical restoration times,” customers in the direct path of a storm as intense as Hurricane Ida could experience outages for more than three weeks. While 90 percent of customers will be restored sooner, customers in the hardest-hit areas should plan for the possibility of experiencing extended power outages.”

That took out the eight high-voltage lines that provide power to Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard and Terrebonne parishes. About 895,000 Entergy customers are without power. Plus whatever number of Cleco customers are without power. That data was not provided.

[UPDATE: ‘We’re going to get through this together’: About 1.1 million homes, businesses without power after Ida. I leave the math to you. (It is good practice!)]

It also isn't clear to me if those 8 lines were on that tower, or if some, in other locations, tripped, when the high-voltage lines hit the water.

Three weeks without air-conditioning, hot water, refrigeration, internet, etc. In August in New Orleans. I think I would be looking into visiting family somewhere out of the devastation.

From Channel 4 WWL I found an interesting video on the collapse of that transmission tower in New Orleans. An island without power: Why a massive Entergy transmission tower crumbled and all 8 sources of outside power were lost

Hurricane Ida’s intense winds turned one of the main transmission towers into a heap of twisted and rusted metal at the edge of Bridge City.

It was a 400 foot tower that carried power lines across the Mississippi River in a 3800 foot span. It won't be replaced overnight, though it may be possible to get power in from a different route.

I have listened to quite a few newscasts from the New Orleans area, and of course power is the main thing on most people's minds. But the reporters/talking heads seem shocked to discover that the power companies can't just wave a magic wand and fix it all. Politicians are of course in CYA mode and promising to "find out how this happened." Well, a major hurricane hit your area, and you generate (almost) no power inside New Orleans.

30 August 2021

G.O.A.T.

This song served as my introduction to Polyphia. As is usual these days, it was via a Rick Beato video. I have been listening to them on and off for the past month or so. I quite like their approach.

Guitar-bending instrumental group Polyphia have distinguished themselves as prog rock mavericks, playing a style that falls somewhere between blisteringly fast metal-god virtuosity and pure pop. [Ref. AllMusic.]

And yes. Prog is officially part of Heavy Metal. Besides, I make the rules.

I was wrong in my previous post, where I implied that all of their new work is instrumental. I would guess that 90 percent is instrumental, maybe more.

This song is "G.O.A.T." by Polyphia, from their 2018 album New Levels New Devils. While I like the music, I find the video distracting. (I don't usually listen via YouTube.)

River Flooding in Louisiana

About 10 PM Eastern Daylight time, Ida had been downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane, but it was moving very slowly, at less than 10 MPH, over the region north and west of New Orleans, and north and east of Baton Rouge. This means that the rainfall was bad, and rivers in the area are expected to hit major flood levels. The good news is that the rain has mostly moved out of Louisiana and into Mississippi, Alabama and parts north, which isn't good for those areas (flash flooding is expected in some of those places), but the storm now "only" has tropical storm force winds. Also, with drier weather, New Orleans and Louisiana can begin to assess the damage they have to deal with, which is a great deal.

But the impacts are not over. River flooding - major flooding - is happening now, and it will continue to get worse. The rivers in the area won't crest until Tuesday or even Wednesday, as the water from the rain moves south. The rivers that are expected to flood are mostly north and northeast of Lake Pontchartrain, stretching over into southern Mississippi. That is the area that was exposed to the NE quadrant of the storm, and experienced the heaviest rainfall.

Unfortunately I can't find a news article on the river forecasts. A couple of the TV stations put together graphics, but they (so far) haven't published them separately from their live-broadcast. So I can only link to the source data from NOAA. Here is that link to the Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center. Every dot on the map is a river gauge. (A different map shows the entire country.) The red (moderate flooding) and the purple (major flooding) predictions are made based on rainfall to date, and expected rainfall over the next 24 hours.

The image below is typical of the data and forecast from one of the river gauges you will find at that link. The gauge is on the Tchefuncte River near Covington, LA, just north of Lake Pontchartrain. It is currently in "moderate" flood stage, being 25.5 feet above normal levels. It is projected to pass 28 feet, and hit major flood level later today and crest at 30 feet sometime on Tuesday. When I look around the rivers near me, and think, "What would it be like if the water was 25 feet higher than normal," I am surprised that it is considered "moderate" anything. (Wondering how to pronounce Tchefuncte? See this link.)

New Orleans Is Completely Without Power

And they will be for some time. How long will power be out in metro New Orleans? Entergy says it will assess damage Monday.

Apparently a transimssion tower fell due to the hurricane, taking out power to most of the area. Generators tripped, taking out the rest. This doesn't even consider all the lines down from trees across every neighborhood in the area.

It will likely take days to determine the extent of damage to Entergy's power grid in metro New Orleans and far longer to restore electrical transmission to the region, company executives said early Monday morning.

Four parishes in southeast Louisiana - and parts of two more - had their main source of power cut when eight Entergy transmission lines failed in Hurricane Ida's intense winds, including a tower that fell into the Mississippi River.

It was surprisingly difficult to find a picture of the tower. The following article contains a before-and-after view, mainly showing the tower is missing from the after view. Major electrical tower collapse leaves New Orleans completely without power. From 8:35 PM last night.

An official in Jefferson Parish says a transmission tower that provides power for New Orleans and the east bank of the parish has collapsed into the river near Bridge City. According to the parish’s Emergency Management Director, cables strung across the Mississippi River are now in the water, but darkness is hampering visibility.

According to a statement from Homeland Security last night, the only power is from generators.

Now I'm sure that people in and around New Orleans have a better appreciation for how long a disaster can last. Most people don't. Emergency power generators usually have about 3 days of fuel, to power such things as hospitals, or whatever is deemed critical. Perhaps they have a bit more.

The Police State Down Under

Rebel News Australia brings the other side of the story from the mainstream media. WATCH: What the MSM didn't show from Sydney's latest lockdown protest

This is about the August 21st Protest in Sydney, Autstralia, and the completely one-sided narrative pushed by the government, and the media, all of whom seem to be in their pockets. Not just Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC), but the commercial media as well.

You would have heard a message of disapproval from politicians and the unelected bureaucrats they employ. Their message was pushed to the masses through corporate media with questionable interests.

What you wouldn't have heard through corporate media is 'why.' Why were residents of NSW willing to protest regardless of the threat of high fines and prosecution?

The video includes interviews with people who were protesting, some just trying to go about the business of life, and few who had been arrested for protesting.

The video at that link above seems to be from F*c*book. I'm not quite sure, but I do have F*c*book completely blocked, so I've embedded the Rumble video below, and included a link.

Australia has created a police state in order to control COVID-19. The only problem is that it has completely failed at controlling COVID. Australia Created a Police State to Stop COVID-19. Data Show It's Not Working.

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a professor at Stanford University Medical School, recently called lockdowns the "biggest public health mistake we've ever made.”

“The harm to people is catastrophic,” said Bhattacharya.

The harms would be bad enough, but an abundance of evidence also suggests the lockdowns were ineffective at containing the virus. Nearly three dozen academic studies have been published suggesting that lockdowns do little to slow the spread of the virus.

"Do Something" is the constant cry of the sheep, and the politicians react by doing something. Usually the wrong thing.

How many suicides? How many people in extreme poverty? How much suffering? All as a direct result of an insane policy that didn't satisfy its stated objective.

This is What the MSM didn't show from Sydney's latest lockdown protest.

Wait, There are Heterosexuals Playing College Softball?

Who knew? College Softball Lesbian Sex Scandal! : The Other McCain

Under different circumstances this might be funny, except for the political harassment.

The lesbian coach who molested one of her players hates Trump? I’m shocked, but what’s even more shocking is the suggestion that there could be “conservative-minded players” — Trump voters? perhaps even heterosexuals? — on a Division I varsity softball team.

But of course, it’s impossible to confirm such a far-fetched rumor.

Next you will tell me that there are heterosexuals at the Dinah Shore LPGA Tournament. I'm sure there are some actually playing golf, but for the spectators... Even the show The L Word made reference to the Dinah Shore tournament.

Actually, I do know one woman who played college softball and is a heterosexual. (We love her, even though she's straight!) So I know it is possible...

29 August 2021

Impacts of Hurricane Ida in and Around New Orleans

There are a lot of them, but let's look at 2 videos. And then at the end of the post are some links to how to get the best data on the storm.

The first is storm surge. From dry land to 2 or 3 feet under water. Timelapse captures storm surge in St. Bernard Parish in 1 hour

Security video captured the life-threatening storm surge in St. Bernard Parish as Hurricane Ida moves inland in southeast Louisiana.

The St. Bernard Parish Government shared the footage on social media from Fire Station No. 12 in Delacroix, La. The video shows multiple before-and-after clips within a one-hour time span around noon. Several clips show dry land that then becomes nearly unrecognizable under storm surge.

Delacroix, LA is about 25 miles SE of New Orleans, in St. Bernard Parish.

The wind associated with a Cat 4 hurricane is hard to describe. So let's look at a video. Hurricane Ida lashes Port Fourchon

Port Fourchon is where Hurricane Ida made landfall.

The video at that 2nd link is not unbelievable if you've been in a hurricane. Ida came ashore with 150 MPH winds. The audio is a bit loud on that 2nd video. You have been warned.

WWL - Channel 4 in New Orleans - is one of the stations I was watching for my news feed/commentary. The other was WVUE Fox Channel 8. Between those 2 stations, the satellite imagery from NASA (by way of WeatherNerds.org) and the weather radar, I can do without the antics of the Weather Channel.

You also actually get better information from the local stations, because Mayor Cantrell called one of the stations, the presidents of a couple of Parishes in the area called the stations to give updates on various issues. News reports from earlier in the day, covered things like a roof that came off a building early in the day in The French Quarter, a spokesperson for the Sewer & Water District discussing the status of the pumps and reserve power generators that will try to handle the inevitable flooding, the state of the seawall. etc. One of the gates of the seawall is "down for maintenance" near the Lake Front Airport. That is an airport that has been used in the past for medical evacuation flights. And on. More than just a "meteorologist" standing on a beach, or in the street, explaining how bad the wind is.

Channel 4, WWL in New Orleans. That link is to the live coverage of Hurricane Ida.

Fox 8 Live in New Orleans. That link doesn't say that it is specifically for Hurricane Ida, but I suspect that it might be.

The Weather Radar link above is good.

For satellite data you can find everything at NASA's GOES program site, but I like Weather Nerds a little better. It is easier to produce GIFs of the satellite data that are small enough Twitter will load them (example below). The GIFs from NASA are huge. (Meant for broadcast television in HD.)

RIP Ed Asner

Everyone will remember Lou Grant. Well, you will remember that character if you're old enough. Ed Asner dead at 91

In 1970, the world was introduced to Grant on the comedy "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." Grant was the news director at fictional Minneapolis TV station WJM. Grant was seen in the show as tough, often angry and a borderline alcoholic. But he also could be gentle and misunderstood in his own way. Asner won four primetime Emmys and two Golden Globes for the role.

Asner also helped to found the theater group in Chicago that would eventually morph in The Second City in Chicago. And he would often make guest appearances there. While I haven't been in a few decades, Second City was like SNL without the network sensors. It managed to stay funny a lot longer; maybe it still is.

Asner was also in one of my favorite westerns, El Dorado. He did a fair job of being the bad guy, though not the bad-guy-who-gets-his-hands-dirty. The Big Boss.

This is a link to the video where Bart Jason (Ed Asner) meets Cole Thorton (John Wayne). It isn't great cinema, but the movie is a lot of fun.

Drugs Can Be Hazardous to Your Health

Police are not saying much, and we don't know that he was under the influence, but that is my guess. Man Shot Dead by Homeowner During Home Invasion in Newport Beach

“He’d been around the house for like 20 minutes then came around to the front and broke the front door down, that's when he entered the house,” a neighbor, Chet Groskreutz, said.

He apparently lived at "Sober Living Home" in the area, but police say he was either under the influence, or mentally handicapped. Both of which are beside the point. He was a danger to the people in that home, and someone exercised their right of self-defense.

Sober living house, and Under the influence OR mentally handicapped. Any bets on which it is? Of course it could be both.

And even in California, self-defense is a human-right. I have been surprised at how frequently this past year, that it turns out to be a legal right in California as well.

Hurricane IDA - Dangerous Category 4 Hurricane

The storm strengthened overnight from Category 2, with winds of 105 MPH to Category 4, with maximum sustained winds of 150 MPH. Hurricane IDA

The position of the storm at 1200 Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) was 50 miles SW of the mouth of the Mississippi River, and 100 miles SE of Houma, Louisiana. Houma is approximately 40 miles SW of New Orleans.

At 700 AM CDT (1200 UTC), the eye of Hurricane Ida was located near latitude 28.5 North, longitude 89.6 West. Ida is moving toward the northwest near 15 mph (24 km/h), and this general motion should continue through tonight and early Monday, followed by a slower northward motion on Monday afternoon. A northeastward turn is forecast by Monday night. On the forecast track, the center of Ida will make landfall along the coast of southeastern Louisiana within the hurricane warning area late this morning or early this afternoon. Ida is then forecast to move well inland over portions of Louisiana and western Mississippi on Monday and Monday night.

Reports from Air Force Reserve and NOAA hurricane hunter aircraft indicate that the maximum sustained winds are near 150 mph (240 km/h) with higher gusts. Ida is an extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some additional strengthening is forecast, and Ida is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it makes landfall along the Louisiana coast. Rapid weakening is expected after landfall.

As for the strengthing overnight, central atmospheric pressure in the storm dropped from 976 millibars last night, to 933 millibars this morning.

Storm surge in the New Orleans/Lake Pontchartrain area is expected to be severe, and deadly. The forecast on storm surge includes the following.

Port Fourchon, LA to Mouth of the Mississippi River...12-16 ft
Morgan City, LA to Port Fourchon, LA...8-12 ft
Mouth of the Mississippi River to Bay St. Louis, MS including Lake Borgne...8-12 ft

This is the risk that people ignored in Katrina (more in Mississippi than Louisiana). Buildings had survived Category 1 or 2 storms in the past, so people assumed they would survive a Category 5. (Katrina was expected to make landfall as Cat 5.) Buildings and people got washed away. I expect people to ignore this risk again. They are people.

The satellite imagery captured as a GIF below (courtesy of NASA), is also thru 1200 UTC. It shows a storm with awesome beauty. Or maybe an awful beauty. (See what James Joyce said about aesthetic arrest, and the secret cause in his novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.) A well-defined eyewall is always the sign of a very efficient heat engine, driving a very strong storm. (Click on the image for a larger view.) It really does look like an artist's interpretation of a hurricane.

Landfall is expected late morning or early afternoon.

Ben Makuch on Why You Shouldn't Worry About Dead Marines

Those damn right-wing Marines. Atrocity Narrative in Action, or Why Is @BenMakuch Obsessed With Neo-Nazis? : The Other McCain

Ben Makuch got some pushback for lashing out at Marines on the same day that 12 died in Afghanistan, but it isn't his worst crime.

Saturation coverage of neo-Nazis functions as a guilt-by-association smear against right-wingers in general. This guy over here with the Nazi tattoos, spewing hate against Jews in some Internet forum? Why, he’s just like you, the suburban Republican voter. Both of you are “right wing” and therefore, dangerous. Such is the underlying theme developed by Ben Makuch and others like him who spend their time “unmasking” or “exposing” various “right-wing extremists” on the Internet.

Guilt by association is THE weapon of the fascist. Well, it worked for the Stasi, anyway.

28 August 2021

Another Hurricane Musical Interlude

First the current state of Hurricane Ida. (Downloaded from WeatherNerds.org)

It is begining to look like an artist's conception of a hurricane.

At 2 PM, Eastern Daylight Time, Hurricane Ida was a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of about 100 miles per hour, or 155 kilometers per hour. It is strenghening.

The satellite loop captured as a GIF above, runs through 3:15 PM Eastern. As I have said before, I am not a meterologist, but to me it looks like the eyewall is becoming very well defined. And the pressure has been dropping. At 2PM the NHC listed the pressure at 976 millibars.

This is "Respect the Wind" by Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen from the soundtrack to the motion picture Twister.

Dancing in a Hurricane

Shamelessly stolen from myself. Dancing in a Hurricane | 357 Magnum Archive 2.0

Click thru for Epica and their song "Dancing in a Hurricane" from the 2016 album The Holographic Principle.

I’m not sure why a Dutch band is singing about hurricanes, but then I’m not clear on what the lyrics are actually trying to say.

The Recipe for Disaster

I think a major hurricane counts as 3 buckets of uncontrollable force, don't you?

Given the government bureaucracies are involved I think you can plan on miscommunication being present in large quantities...

This is the video for Ask A Ninja - Question 48 "Ninja Recipes"

Saturday Roundup of Link Roundups - 28 August

Wombat-socho at The Other McCain starts things off with In The Mailbox: 08.25.21

Victory Girls: Matthew Dowd Thinks Biden Should Be Congratulated On Job Well Done In Afghanistan, also, California Students & Parents Trapped In Afghanistan

EBL - Emerald Robinson : How She Murdered The Weekly Standard 🚢⚓️🤣

AoSHQ: Emerald Robinson admits she killed The Weekly Standard and Morning Report 08.25.21
EBL: Jonah Goldberg has nothing but contempt for you all...

Don Surber - Highlights of the News

ITEM 1: Citizen Free Press reported, "The former Democrat majority leader for the California State Senate, Gloria Romero endorsed Republican gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder in a campaign video today."

The Right Way - Top of the News

Strange Daze: Bubonic Chipmunks Edtion- American Digest
Supreme Court rebuffs Biden over Trump-era 'Remain in Mexico' policy - Free North Carolina

Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 08.26.21

The Geller Report: Administration Officials Gave Taliban List Of American Citizens, Green Card Holders, & Afghan Allies, also, Hungarian General – Afghan Evacuee Caught Assembling Bomb On NATO Evacuation Flight

Battleswarm Blog - Scenes From The Afghan Debacle

Leaked documents show the State Department warned about an imminent collapse of the Afghan government following American troop withdrawal
Did the Biden Administration pay any attention to these warnings? No.

A View from the Beach - Election 2020: Ashli Babbitt's Killer to Come Forward

Conservative Brief reports Illinois Redistricting Will Likely Cost RINO Rep. Adam Kinzinger His Seat and Politico asks How screwed is Adam Kinzinger?. I guess sucking up to Nancy Pelosi wasn't worth it after all.

One more time from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 08.27.21

Shot In The Dark: Our New New Normal, also, I Get My Back Into My Living
The Political Hat: Firing Line Friday – The Fall Of Saigon And How It Might Have Been

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: Welcome to the Forever Pandemic

Biden Embraces Defeat: Brian T. Kennedy
Only 5% Of People Evacuated From Afghanistan By US Are Americans: Jordan Davidson

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report - 8/26/21

"America's military leaders have become a liability."
The U.S. Military is Losing Support, Losing Wars and Failing in its Most Basic Mission

Maggie's Farm - DIY Links

New York Times weirdly omits the ‘why’ of why Jews would want to pray at Temple Mount
Where will Afghanistan’s refugees go?
Undoing the Enlightenment

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 08/26/2021

Democrats subpoena private communications of Trump family and top Trump supporters.
Tucker Carlson points out Lindsey Graham is just a rubber stamp for all of Biden’s judges. Such a remarkably spineless specimen.

I leave you with Wednesday gifdump from Knuckledraggin My Life Away, Cartoon Round Up.... from Theo Spark, and Pictures, if You Know What I Meme from MaddMedic.

Oklahoma Still Has Not Become New Jersey

And another failure of the victim-selection process has been recorded. Oklahoma police investigating after alleged burglar shot by homeowner

A witness says that a homeowner heard someone breaking into the home through the back door.

After yelling at the burglar to leave, officials say the homeowner shot the alleged burglar after he entered the house.

The guy who got shot is recovering. The investigation continues, and there is no word on what charges he will face.

Self-defense is a human-right. And in Oklahoma, in your own home especially, it is your legal right. Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0.

What If You Called 911 And No Cop Was Available

This isn't a "what if" scenario in Chicago, it is just the state of Chicago PD in 2021. Two hour response time for robbery? No cops available for a man shot on the street? Detectives pulled from cases to patrol Lollapalooza? Welcome to Chicago 2021. | CWB Chicago

Robbery. Shootings. Domestic violence. Carjackings. Click thru for the details in each case, and the time the vicitims waited. In some cases they waited hours for police to respond. In other cases the wait could be measured in days.

Welcome to Chicago 2021, where police leaders have pulled several hundred cops from local districts to form a “Community Safety Team” that’s supposed to build relationships with citizens. But the move has left local districts grossly understaffed, driving up response times when people are in their greatest need.

“It would be better to re-staff the districts so beats are patrolled and calls are answered instead of these useless [community interactions,” one frustrated CPD insider said this week. “Cops are planting flowers and cleaning alleys. People are calling 911 for help and waiting over an hour. That’s not a very positive experience for them.”

But we have to "re-imagine policing" or something, because Mayor Groot said so.

In the meantime, while Groot (AKA Lori Lightfoot) and CPD Superintendent Brown are doing whatever the hell this is, people are waiting hours for cops to deal with violent crimes.

Click thru for the sad state of affairs, including the issue at the end of the article that details how CPD deals with carjackings. Or doesn't deal with them, apparently.

Truth Shall Set You Free

I am really in love with Marko Hietala's 2020 solo album. I actually like both the English version, and the Finnish version. The Finnish version is the original, after all. I won't inflict Finnish on you however, because foreign languages affect most people the way sunlight affects vampires.

I should also note, that while Marko Hietala made his name singing and playing in Heavy Metal, today's song is a sweet ballad, and not Metal at all. Actually most of the songs on the album are songs that don't fit in with the Heavy Metal stuff performed by his (former) band, Nightwish.

Here's a link to the lyrics, even though he is singing in English, and in very good English you might want a reference. Marko Hietala's singing style is to be very clear, and he has a great voice.

The image below the embedded video is of Marko Hietala from 2019. I can never get over how much he looks like my vision of Gandalf, from The Lord of the Rings. This is especially true since his beard went more white.

This song is "Truth Shall Set You Free" by Marko Hietala from his 2020 album Pyre of the Black Heart. That is the English version of the album Mustan sydämen rovio which came out in 2019.

Marko Hietala in 2019, source = WikiMedia Commons Marko Hietala at Tuska Open Air Metal Festival 2019 in Helsinki, Finland. Image by Louis Tarpin (aka WanderingTrad) via WikiMedia.

To Take Your Mind Off of the Political Disaster...

There is a natural disaster (well, maybe) to watch. Hurricane Ida is taking aim at New Orleans. Mayor LaToya Cantrell calls for voluntary evacuations inside levee system as Ida threatens

At least there is some sanity coming out of a politician in a big city, though it isn't hard to see that you should get the hell out of Dodge New Orleans

Hurricane Ida is forecast to hit New Orleans on the anniversary of the landfall of Katrina. Which actually made landfall in Mississippi, not Louisiana. But still. It is forecast to be a category 3 hurricane on Sunday. Katrina was a category 5, but just before it made landfall, it dropped to a cat 4.

“If you have medical needs or wish to voluntarily evacuate on your own, now is the time to start,” Cantrell said, noting that the situation was "very fluid" and additional information would be forthcoming.

Mayor Cantrell said that Friday. So props to her for doing something. (Do you remember Hurricane Harvey, in Houston?) But people won't leave. It's too hard to leave. And so we will probably have a repeat of Harvey; let's hope it's not a repeat of Katrina.

Personally I think people are insane for living in conditions like you find in NOLA. But people called me crazy for sailing a small boat out of sight of land. So, to each his own.

But one thing you can be sure of, is that if things go pear-shaped, and you find youself in deep yogurt, expecting the .gov to save your ass is a losing proposition.

For info on the storm, you can use the following official, and unofficial links.

The current imagery from GOES-16 shows a clear strengthening of the storm as it passes over the warm water of the Gulf a Mexico. If I lived in New Orleans, or anywhere along that part of the coast I would be leaving. (Or have already left.)

27 August 2021

More from Robert Stacy McCain on the Afghanistan Insanity

I still can't think about it without getting a headache. And The Other McCain does a fine job of it anyway.

First from Robert Stacy we get Coming This Fall: ‘That 70s Show 2.0’

One thing seems obvious: Dozens of Americans, and perhaps hundreds, will not be able to escape Afghanistan before next Tuesday’s deadline, and nearly all of those Americans are likely to be captured and held as hostages by the Taliban. There will then ensue an ordeal in which the Biden administration attempts to negotiate the release of American hostages in Afghanistan — a repeat of the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis, except that it’s likely to be much worse, and last much longer.

The picture of a smiling Jimmy Carter is a nice touch.

A brief note on the updated casualty count. BIDEN LIED, AMERICANS DIED

And finally Biden’s Bagram Bungle

During yesterday’s press conference, Our Alleged President tried to argue with Peter Doocy. Biden wanted to argue that, because Trump negotiated a deal last year with the Taliban, everything currently going wrong in Afghanistan is Trump’s fault. Doocy wasn’t buying any of that, and in response, Biden seemed to collapse. As Jim Treacher says, “It would be funny if people weren’t dying.” But people are dying.

There is more at each of those links. They are worth your time.

Friday Links - 27 August

In a week dominated by news and blog postings about Afghanistan, we start with an unorthodox (by my rules) article from Politico. U.S. officials provided Taliban with names of Americans, Afghan allies to evacuate

“Basically, they just put all those Afghans on a kill list,” said one defense official.

OldAFSarge from Chant du Départ - In Case You Didn't Know... In which OAFS makes something clear in the middle of making something else clear.

SIDE NOTE: The AF, in Old AF Sarge, really does stand for "Air Force" and not, as some have suggested, "As F**k," as in "Old As F**k." Though it fits, it really does stand for the service in which I spent 24 of my formative years.

Gun Free Zone - Thursday cynicism

Manhattan Contrarian - More From Murray's "Facing Reality" A review of a very non-PC book. Statistics ahead.

Pirate's Cove - Biden’s Afghanistan: Americans Told To Leave And Avoid Airport Over Security Threat

The Other McCain - R.I.P., Charlie Watts He was the drummer for The Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death this week.

Lone Star Parson - The Art Of War I'm thinking this is more the Joe Biden Special Edition than the original by Sun Tzu.

The Daley Gator - Team Biden learns the media might not be that into them anymore

SiGraybeard - What if Taiwan Gets Taken Over On the sad state of US semiconductor manufacturing, and how that impacts national security.

Battleswarm Blog - Cuomo Leaves His Dog Behind

As if we needed even the slightest bit more evidence that Andrew Cuomo was a scumbag, he left his dog behind when he left the governor’s mansion.

Again from The Other McCain - Biden Turns His Back on America

Again from Lone Star Parson - Farewell to Kings?

The Feral Irishman - Space Shuttle Program History.. Started in 1968

The Post Millenial - BREAKING: Trump calls out Biden for evacuating Afghans before Americans

"How many terrorists will Joe Biden bring to America? We don’t know!" Former President Donald Trump said.

Tatum Report - Kamala Harris Bursts Into Ghoulish Laughter When Asked About Deadly Afghanistan Disaster

Again from Gun Free Zone - Once again we’re shown that it’s not an insurrection when the Left does it

Moonbattery - Democrats Brainstorm on How to Rescue Americans They Stranded

Again from SiGraybeard - Relativity Space and A Worthwhile Video

The Raconteur Report - Get Used To This The New Normal includes a lack of medical staff.

So you're going to get even slower and shittier medical care going forward, most places, to a certainty.

One more time from The Other McCain - ‘Gosh, I Wonder Why Hunter Biden Is Such a Hopeless Basket Case of Failure?’

Said no one, ever.
At least not after the past week

Da Tech Guy - Don Surber notes the “What” Glenn Reynolds provides the “Why”

Chicago Contrarian - None in Chicago Dare Call It Treason A review of Chicago's summer, so far, and the Progressive policies that destroyed an American city.

An Epic Failure of the Victim-selection Process

And Oklahoma has not morphed into New Jersey. Oklahoma City Police investigate after alleged robbery suspect shot, killed by potential victim.

Authorities say a couple was approached by a suspect who attempted to rob them.

During the altercation, one of the robbery victims brandished a weapon and shot the suspect.

I wish that reporters would learn the language. If he shot the guy, which he did, he did more than "brandish" the weapon. I don't expect reporters to know much about anything, but they should know the language. I mean, what else did they study in college? Aside from how to be an operative for the Democratic Party, and be Woke AF, that is.

Self-defense is a human-right.

How's That Affordable Bail Working Out?

Not to well, if you count the number of victims it has produced. CWB Chicago is keeping track, because the mainstream media in Chicago just parrots the mayor's stance, that all is well.

#37: Man’s charged with trying to kill 2 cops while on a recognizance bond for injuring 2 cops who tried to arrest him in March

A four-time convicted gun offender who was free on a recognizance bond for allegedly injuring two officers who tried to escort him out of a hospital in March nearly killed two more cops with his car last week as he tried to escape a traffic stop, prosecutors said. And the man allegedly had another gun when police caught up with him on Tuesday.

And... #38: Man killed one, shot another while on bond for being a felon in possession of a firearm, prosecutors say.

Prosecutors on Tuesday accused an Englewood man of fatally shooting another man at point-blank range outside a laundromat in April. A bystander was also shot, but survived, according to the allegations.

Cory Wilson, 29, was on bail for a pending charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and narcotics distribution at the time of the alleged shooting. He is the 38th person accused of killing, trying to kill, or shooting someone in Chicago this year while on felony bond.

Englewood is one of the 77 neighborhoods in Chicago. HeyJackass! has it listed as the most dangerous neighborhood in the city with 42 murders and 234 wounded.

The whole affordable bail system was instituted by the Democrats because they didn't think cash bail was fair. Maybe it isn't. But just turning violent bad-guys loose to threaten, maim and kill other people is also not fair, not to the vicitms and their families.

Windows Update Strikes Again

Or maybe that should be strikes out...

So there should be a post in this place, that is not me complaining about Windows Update.

It isn't patch Tuesday. It's not that Windows forced me to update to new version of the operating system. It is just an update, that has been failing for 2 days.

So after a lot of time "chatting" with MS Support, it still isn't fixed... And it appears from the "help" forum, that a whole bunch of people have this issue...

I really don't want to have to reset windows from a clean copy. It is probably overdue, but I have enough other stuff to deal with right now.

Thank God it's Friday.

26 August 2021

If You Are Not Patching MS Exchange You Deserve What You Get

And what you get will be a big helping of ransomware. Microsoft: ProxyShell bugs “might be exploited,” patch servers now!

And people ask me why I got out of Info Tech...

Also, might be exploited?

I have written and deleted a post on Microsoft Exchange at least 3 times this week. Technology is not the focus of this blog, but idiotic behavior by management cannot be ignored.

Although Microsoft fully patched the ProxyShell bugs by May 2021, they didn't assign CVE IDs for the vulnerabilities until July, preventing some orgs with unpatched servers from discovering that they had vulnerable systems on their networks.

At this point in 2021, that is not the decision tree you should be going down. Try this. Did Microsoft issue a patch for MS Exchange? Yes? Install the damn patch.

Microsoft has stated - and this particular vulnerability has proven that they mean it - that they will NOT issue CVEs for everything, because just patch.

CISA's Monday warning that multiple threat actors are actively exploiting the ProxyShell vulnerabilities came after similar ones alerting organizations in March to defend their networks from a wave of attacks.

First they installed backdoors, and now they are deploying ransomware.

So for all of you executives who "don't understand why IT wants to spend money patching the Exchange servers every month," enjoy your trip to ransomware hell. You deserve it.

So How IS the Neocon Ideal Different from Colonialism?

Was there ever a chance for our Afghanistan mission to end differently?

Both the Neocon idea of building democracy, and the European idea of colonialism revolve around the concept that "I know better than you, what is good for you." Paternalism. Patronizing. They differ in the margins, not in the heart. And in the long run achieve the same result. Nolte: The Disastrous Neocon Ideology Dies in Kabul

In Afghanistan, America spent trillions of dollars, lost thousands of precious lives, and toiled for 20 years to make the neocon fantasy of nation-building come true. World peace is easy! they told us. We need to liberate oppressed peoples, build schools and roads, and give them the right to vote. If we do that, peace will break out all over!

For 20 years, these fools have been telling us the fruition of their fantasy was right around the corner. For 20 years, our country poured blood and treasure into their stupid experiment, and in one day — a single day — it all fell apart.

The British were sure that everyone really wanted to be part of the British Empire. The Neocons were just as sure that everyone wanted the local university to offer a Gender Studies major. Both were wrong.

On October 7, 2001, Taliban rule collapsed. That’s when we should have left with a victory in hand, our heads held high, and the world warned not to fuck with us.

Instead, we stayed and stayed and stayed and stayed, and 2,448 of our soldiers died, including two just this year (at the hands of the Taliban), all under this ludicrous neocon idea that the Afghans are all a bunch of Thomas Jeffersons yearning to be free. And now, instead of walking out of Afghanistan strong and victorious on October 8, 2001, we are skedaddling with our tails between our legs. We’re humiliated and not only look foolish and cowardly, but we are now a country no one should trust to keep our promises to stay and protect those who ally with us.

And this isn't the only place that it was noted. Roberta X noted that It Was Never Going To End Well.

Roberta notes that Americans are mostly ignorant of history. In this case, the history of Afghanistan, and foreign intervention.

We did it. The Russians had; the British had; one local tribe did it to the rest of the country at least once. Before them, the Uzbeks stomped in, and before them, Genghis Khan's forces smashed cities and destroyed civil society -- and before that, waves of Islamic invaders had re-civilized the country, shoving aside the already civilized Buddhists and Hindus who had previously brought their faith to the region at swordpoint. On and on it goes, as far back as anyone can find records to read and archeological remains to figure out.

So the United States went there. Did we expect a different outcome? The Russians were sent packing; the Brits barely got in. Alexander the Great (had I left him out?) marched through, charmed and/or intimidated the locals, and left a ruler in place whose successors eventually swapped the bothersome border province to an emerging Indian empire for vows of chumship and a player to be named later, and that's about the best exit anybody ever managed.

And when Roberta says Russians, she doesn't just mean the Soviet Union. The Russian Empire invaded sometime in the middle of the 19th Century. Followed by the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and now us. The Soviets left in defeat, but at least they held on to a shred of dignity. Hiden Joe Biden couldn't manage that in his cut and run strategy.

On the subject of patronizing behaviour and paternalistic behaviour, and how it never works, you can't do better than this talk by Ernesto Sirolli from 2012.

The "How Dare You Live Without Me Attitude"

That attitude meets armed self-defense. Wichita shooting came after man threatened ex with gun: cops | The Wichita Eagle

Police say a 21-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault and aggravated domestic violence after he pointed a gun at his former girlfriend and her new beau while driving by them in east Wichita late Monday morning.

The new boyfriend was also armed, and fired several shots at old boyfriend - apparently only hitting the vehicle.

Cops have arrested the old boyfriend on "suspicion of aggravated assault and aggravated domestic violence."

Everything will be presented to a grand jury.

Self-defense is a human-right. Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0.

Greece Builds a Wall

Though they are calling it a fence, it looks pretty substantial to me. Greece erects fence at Turkey border amid warnings of Afghan migrant surge - BBC News

They built 25 miles of fence on their border with Turkey.

"We cannot wait, passively, for the possible impact," Greece's Citizens' Protection Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis said on a visit to the region of Evros on Friday

"Our borders will remain inviolable."

Imagine that. A country that takes its borders seriously.

Kim Foxx and Her Soft-on-Crime Dogma Is to Blame

She doesn't see it as her job to prosecute criminals, but to turn them loose in the name of Social Justice. Which is not the regular kind of Justice. Mag Mile robbery crew took $43,000 in loot, seriously injured guard: police.

In addition to Saturday’s robbery, police believe the group was involved in similar robberies in the 900 block of North Rush Street on Aug. 15, and another pair of robberies the next day at a store in the 100 block of East Huron Street and at a business in the 900 block of North Michigan Avenue.[

That injured guard is 73 years old, and suffered a fractured skull. He remains in intensive care.

State's Attorney for Cook County, Kim Foxx, has decided that shoplifting is not a crime, or not one worth paying attention to unless each occurrence results in more than $1000 theft, and so of course, Chicago has seen more of shoplifting.

If you make something cheaper, you will see more of it.

25 August 2021

I Guess What's Called for Is Another Strongly Worded Press Release

More on that press release later. So much for Biden's tough talk: Australian citizen is beaten and taken away with his family by Taliban while trying to reach evacuation flight as Islamists IGNORE US president's demand to let civilians get to Kabul airport

Bloodied and beaten by Taliban guards - this was the fate of one Australian citizen as he tried to reach Kabul airport today as the Islamists defied Joe Biden's demand to let evacuation flights continue unimpeded with just hours left to get civilians out of the country.

The man, who was born overseas but has a wife in Adelaide and a brother in Sydney, was beaten as he headed to Hamid Karzai Airport along with his cousins - thought to include three men and two women - who were also beaten by the Taliban before the family was hauled away.

Because words are only an issue if your enemies are convinced that they will come with consequences. And the only consequences people think you can get out of Hiden Joe Biden is, you know, the thing.

As for the press release, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US ambassador to the UN, issued that "strongly worded" press release on the 16th or 17th.

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield says U.S. expressed "in no uncertain terms" at the United Nations through "a very strongly worded press statement" from the Security Council that "we expect the Taliban to respect women's rights" and "to be respectful of humanitarian law."

I'm sure that the Taliban is quaking in their boots, worried about the next, even more strongly worded press statement. Or maybe not.

But through all of this, I am sure that the Democrats and others who voted for Sleepy Joe are taking comfort in the complete lack of mean Tweets.

Wednesday Link Roundup - 25 August

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

  1. Pacific Pundit: say, who wants free tacos to get the vaccine?
  2. Say Anything wonders if the same people mad about Trump’s lies will be incensed at Biden’s

Bacon Time!!!! - Sunday Linkage

Hogewash: Leaks in the Memory Hole
Watts Up With That: GM recall of Chevy Bolts will cost $1.8bn

Wombat-socho at The Other McCain - In The Mailbox: 08.23.21

Shark Tank: Eskamani Catches Bipartisan heat Over Mask Double Standard
Shot In The Dark: The World Is Discovering…, also, Towards Solutions

EBL - Proud Boys vs. Antifa: Portland, Oregon: August 22, 2021

Daily Caller: Proud Boys/Patriot Prayer clash with Antifa in Portland, Oregon
The cops just stay out of it. Welcome to Portland, Oregon.
Instapundit: If the police won't defend you, then you have to defend yourself.

Don Surber - Highlights of the News

ITEM 14: The Daily Wire News reported, "British Parliament Unloads On Biden: ‘Biden May Have Condemned The World To Chinese Domination In Future.’"
Mission Accomplished, as they say in Beijing.

Daley Gator - Your CCW News Update For Monday (08/23/21)

The Australian government is going to seize 24,000 children from it’s citizens and place them in a stadium quarantine camp to be forcibly vaccinated.
Parents will not be allowed to attend.

And again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 08.24.21

Transterrestrial Musings: Chaos On The Ground
Victory Girls: Yes, Jen, Americans ARE Stranded In Afghanistan
Volokh Conspiracy: “Vaccine Passports As A Constitutional Right”

A View from the Beach - Election 2020: Minor Updates

FBI “Finds Scant Evidence” Of Jan 6 Insurrection Plot, Killing Off Another Anti-Trump Media Hoax.. Thomas Lifson at Am Think thinks (no, not yet) that Tucker Carlson sees coverup plot behind announcement FBI found little evidence of coordination among Jan. 6 demonstrators.

Vlad Tepes - Austria has enough Afghans, More US election fraud, FDA ‘approves’ Pfizer shot: Links 1, August 23, 2021

3. USA: Nearly 15 Million Mail-in-Ballots Unaccounted for in 2020 Election, Report Says
4. FDA Approves First COVID-19 Vaccine

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 8/22/2021

Woman Angry That Swedish Government Paid Tens of Thousands to Migrant Who Raped Her
A Swedish rape victim has expressed anger that a Syrian migrant who raped her has been given £70k ($96k) in damages by the Swedish state, while she has received just £250 ($340).

Battleswarm Blog - One Rule For Them, Another For You

Being a member of the globetrotting international elite means not having to live with the same rules as the peasants. “UN Globalists Arriving In UK For Climate Summit Won’t Face COVID Restrictions Imposed On British Citizens.”

Cafe Hayek - Some Covid Links

It’s impossible to choose satisfactorily which selections to highlight from John Tierney’s latest essay – titled “Keeping Fear Alive” – on Covid hysteria; the entire piece is outstandingly good.

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report - 8/23/21

"The Brits would call this an indecent proposal, and to their credit, have slapped it away."
82nd Airborne Commander Tells Brits to Stop Rescuing Stranded Nationals Because They're Making the US Look Bad?

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 08/23/2021

The guy who got the DNA evidence Ilhan Omar married her brother and gave it to the FBI was busted and jailed right after by the FBI on underaged sex-trafficking charges.
Dissent all across Australia is spreading fast and corrupt politicians are panicking (Gab video).

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: Joe Biden, Sinking into the Sand

Facebook releases transparency report on "misinformation", with surprising findings: PM
NeverTrump NRO: Joe Biden Is Who We Said He Was: Dan McLaughlin

Maggie's Farm - Monday morning links

NYT: Hospitals and Insurers Didn’t Want You to See These Prices. Here’s Why.
Nearly 15 Million Mail-in-Ballots Unaccounted for in 2020 Election, Report Says

I leave you with Sunday Funnies, 08-22-21 from Stately McDaniel Manor, Sunday gifdump from Knuckledraggin My Life Away, Good Funday Morning from Woodsterman, and Sunday Memes … from MaddMedic.

Pay Attention To Your Surroundings

Even while you are in your car. VPD update on Brookwood Drive shooting.

Valdosta, Georgia, is about 15 miles north of the Georgia/Florida state line on Interstate 75.

This investigation has revealed that the deceased, Lyndon Williams, followed behind a subject for several miles as he was returning home from work. This subject did not know that he was being followed. Once at the residence, Williams produced a firearm and confronted the subject as he was trying to get out of his vehicle and go into his home. The subject was able to retrieve a handgun as he got out of his vehicle and shot Williams in self-defense.

It's been a long day, you're tired, and you're finally home. Best be aware of whether or not you are alone.

The guy who got shot was declared dead at the scene. No charges have been filed against the homeowner, because self-defense is a human-right. And also it is your legal right in Georgia.

Doing the Same Thing and Expecting a Different Result

That is not a definition of sanity. Philly gets ready for back-to-school, amid surge in gun violence, with familiar tactics

Those violent guns. If only those inanimate objects would stop being so willful and violent.

The approach to the new school year, from a policing perspective, involves constant communication between school leaders and authorities whenever trouble arises, said [Philadelphia Police Department’s Deputy Commissioner for Operations Joel] Dales, but remains more or less the same.

“No, nothing, nothing’s new,” he said.

And the issue is a big one, because the rule of law in Philadelphia is breaking down.

As of Tuesday, 339 people have been murdered in the city, a 22% increase from the same time last year. According to a rough breakdown by the City Controller’s Office, about 290 homicides were fatal shootings. Of these, police say 27 children and teens under 18 were killed.

These numbers don’t include the more than 100 teens and children who have been shot and survived this year.

City leaders have $22 million to spend on anti-violence initiatives, but they are not talking to people in the community. (They are smarter than the people in the community. They know what the peasants need!) Is anyone expecting "more of the same" to work differently?

On the subject of offering help, Ernesto Sirolli said it best. Want To Help Someone? Shutup And Listen!

Nuit sur les Champs-Élysées (Take 2)

The title to the post (and today's song) translates as "Night on the Champs-Élysées" in English.

I'm back listening to John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Branford Marsalis, and Miles Davis, and others in the evenings. Today we have a song by Davis.

This is "Nuit sur les Champs-Élysées (Take 2)" by Miles Davis. It was recorded for the 1958 film Ascenseur pour l’échafaud, though it apparently wasn't used in the film. The CD of the soundtrack, included a bunch of additonal material that was not used in the film.

24 August 2021

Cuomo's Ego Is Bigger than the State of New York

But then we knew that. Critics blast Gov. Andrew Cuomo's farewell speech

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s self-pitying farewell address on Monday led critics to blast him as a “classic narcissist” and wannabe “martyr” who blamed everyone but himself for the sexual harassment scandal that forced him to resign in disgrace.

A few days back there was a story about how he was worried about his "political future." I think this speech killed any hope of that.

Then there was the story about his daughter using a police SUV to move out of the governor's mansion last week. Which is a violation of something about "state funds" and "private business."

He really is that tone deaf.

I'm almost surprised we didn't get the "you won't have Andrew Cuomo to kick around anymore," speech. He had issued his "I am not a crook" statement.

Still, maybe some good will come of it. At least he won't be on the news every other day. At least until he get's that contract with CNN.

A Feral Irishman Musical Interlude

A Swedish, Progressive Death Metal band takes on Robin Trower. ♫♪♫ 1974 Classic Rock Redone By A Band From Sweden..... ♫♪♫ You Decide.....

Click thru for a cover of "Bridge of Sighs," by Opeth from their 2008 album Watershed. The song was originally on the 1974 Robin Trower album Bridge of Sighs.

The guitar solo that starts at about 4 minutes and 15 seconds in is quite nice.

Chicago Has a "Reimagined" Air Show Weekend

HeyJackass! brings us the details on the Air Show Weekend.

According to the Chicago City Website...

Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot is pleased to announce new and reimagined air show events in August in place of this year's Chicago Air and Water Show.

HeyJackass! is not impressed.

The “reimagined” Air & Water Show is devoid of water, contains little air and lots of boring. Meanwhile, the Lead in the Air Show continues apace.

8 Nine people were killed in Chicago and another 42 were wounded between noon Friday, and 6 AM Monday. While those numbers are an improvement over 2020, they are worse than most totals in recent years.

Click thru for the details of the weekend, and those historical stats.

Armed Home Invaders Meet Armed Homeowner

They didn't expect armed resistance from the homeowner. VIDEO: PHX homeowner fires at armed robbers after camera warning

Video shows four men, some of who appear to be armed, kick in the front door. The victim got his handgun and fired multiple rounds towards the front door, and the suspects could be seen on the footage fleeing the area.

Fleeing the area = Ran like rabbits.

I know this is from a week ago, but I just stumbled across the video. Hat tip to LEO Affairs.

Here is a link to the secuity camera footage.

How Serious Is Chicago About Stopping Crime?

Not very serious. Mercy is a wonderful value. But boneheaded (or should that be soft-headed?) naivete is not what we need from the Criminal Justice system.

Case in point: Man faces felony gun charge less than 48 hours after having gun case dropped in "restorative justice" court

In an effort (misguided, some might say) to offer young people a second chance, Cook County established "restorative justice court." Today's winner in that court had 4 felony gun charges dropped when he entered a “repair of harm agreement.”

Everything went great for almost a day and a half.

Early Sunday, police responded to a service station on the 300 block of West Chicago after an employee called 911 about a man in a car who refused to leave the lot, prosecutors said. Cops arrived and allegedly found Rodriguez asleep in the car with a loaded pistol sitting on his lap.

And while they are dropping felony gun charges left, right, and center, in Chicago, the Left will stand up and claim we need more gun laws. Which they probably also won't enforce in Chicago and Cook County.