Wednesday Link Roundup - 31 August

Pirate's Cove - Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

9. neo-neocon covers Biden’s newest Iran deal
10. Moonbattery features NY’s governor telling citizens to move to Florida

Bacon Time - Sunday Linkage

The Intrepid Reporter: A Night Off
Watts Up With That?: The Greta Thunberg Cult has “Gone Bust”

Wombat-socho at The Other McCain - In The Mailbox: 08.29.22

CDR Salamander: The Use and Misuse of our Military Attachés , also, The Eeyore Leadership Model for Our Navy
Da Tech Guy: MORE Navy manpower woes!!

Political Hat - News of the Week (August 28th, 2022)

Oakland sued over ballot measure to allow noncitizen voting
Lawsuit says judge struck down similar San Francisco law

EBL - Big Win For Gibson's Bakery 💩🍰🤗

Instapundit: Legal Insurrection: Great News from Ohio Supreme Court
This is just delicious news! I hope Gibson's gets paid soon!

Pixy Misa at Ace of Spades HQ - Daily Tech News 30 August 2022

Reported for Facecrime: California's new age verification law is a privacy disaster. (TechDirt)
The proposal here is to prove your age whenever you visit any website by recording a video of yourself repeating a random phrase, and using AI analysis to estimate how old your are

Don Surber - Highlights of the News

ITEM 13: Steve Sailer reported, "The single most important fact about crime in the United States is the extraordinarily high rate at which African Americans die violently: almost ten times the rate of white Americans. That’s one of the most gigantic racial ratios in all the social sciences."

Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 08.30.22

American Conservative: Neronian Ruling Class Fiddles While West Burns
American Greatness: One Giant Problem with the FBI’s Mar-a-Lago Raid

A View from the Beach - Mar-a-Lago Panty Raid, Biden Laptop FBI Guy Out, FBI Seized Privileged Papers

Sundance at CTH, Reports, Lead FBI Agent on Hunter Biden Laptop and FBI Trump Targeting Operations, Removed from DC Field Office. Sarah Lee (she makes fine pastries) at Red State, Who is FBI Agent Timothy Thibault?

Vlad Tepes - “Freedom means the right to say 2+2=4” Links 1, August 29th, 2022

5. Group of Ontario Doctors Resist Regulator’s Missive Blocking Criticism of COVID Measures
(The College of Physicians have become basically a MAFIA as seen in the Godfather movies. They use fear and intimidation way outside any legal mandate to keep physicians in line ...)

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 8/30/2022

Andy Ngo Reports: Portland Street Mob Shoots at Elderly Driver, Accidentally Kills One of Their Own
Shocking video has emerged on social media showing scenes of deadly and fiery chaos at lawless street occupations in Portland, Ore. over the weekend.

Maggie's Farm - Tuesday morning links

‘Climate Change’ Funds Used For Parking Lots
FBI Reportedly Said to ‘Routinely’ Work with Social Media Companies to Censor ‘Threat Info’

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 8/29/22

"For the first time in U.S. history, the political party in power is hunting down and jailing members of the opposition party for political dissidence, and . . . torturing them in jail."
Lawyer: January 6 Clients Are Being Tortured

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 08/30/2022

DOJ tells the judge Special Master is unnecessary, they already reviewed everything and identified the privileged material with a clean FBI team unaffiliated with the investigation. And they act like that team will never reveal anything sensitive in those documents.

I leave you with Sunday Funnies from Flopping Aces, Sunday Funnies For 08-28-22 from Stately McDaniel Manor, and Fucking Mondays gifdump from Wirecutter.

Self-defense Is Legal Even Against Family

The gun-hating part of the Left loves to go on at length about how owning a gun makes it likely you will shoot someone you know. There is a reason for that. 'Acting in self-defense': DA drops brother vs. brother post-wedding shooting case

Threats were made. Guns were involved. And even in Pennsylvania the rule of law has to be upheld.

"After a careful review of the facts, evidence, and applicable case law, this Office determined that it could not meet its ethical burden of “beyond a reasonable doubt”, as Mr. Cutchall was acting in self-defense," District Attorney spokesman Kyle King wrote in a statement.

This incident took place in June, so the DA moved fairly quickly to make this determination.

While in this case the "person you know" was a close relative. When the Left talks about people you know, they want to you think of close relatives, but you know the creep who hangs out at your favorite coffee shop, or the coworker who has decided that you are his soulmate, and other people who are not you siblings. Violent stalkers, ex-boyfriends, estranged spouses, etc. The list is quite long. Of course the relationships are only highlighted by the media when it is something like the one in this incident.

Self-defense is a human-right. It might even be your legal right in Pennsylvania.

I Really Do Agree With CISA Quite Often

Even if I think they have the worst logo I've seen in decades, and believe that they were named by the Department of Redundancy Department of the US government. CISA: Prepare now for quantum computers, not when hackers use them

Bask in the 1950s retro-style charm of the CISA logo, and consider that the the full name is the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. (I guess security is really important, since they included it twice, and everything.)

Although quantum computing is not commercially available, CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) urges organizations to prepare for the dawn of this new age, which is expected to bring groundbreaking changes in cryptography, and how we protect our secrets.

The agency published a paper earlier in the week [last week now], calling for leaders to start preparing for the migration to stronger secret guarding systems, exploring risk mitigation methods, and participating in developing new standards.

Not that executives will do anything. They won't even update servers/software, adopt 2-factor authentication, network segmentation, or any number of things in the face of ransomware attacks that they can SEE have cost other businesses hundreds of millions of dollars. "We're too small" or "we can't afford it" or whatever bit of denial that is prevalent today.

Experts in the field widely accept that the currently experimental quantum computers will achieve superiority over conventional systems by the end of the decade and will quickly render them obsolete with subsequent capability leaps.

But executives will see that statement as a prediction. Like reading tea leaves or staring into a crystal ball. They will do nothing.

And then, in 9 or 11 years or so, when their security completely falls apart, they will scream "Why didn't you warn us?!?!" Or something equally stupid.

When I worked in information technology, one of my jobs was disaster-recovery planning. Everyone agreed that one of the key elements to surviving a disaster that might impact the business (fire, flood, whatever) was to keep your résumé updated on your PC at home. I think that applies to the folks currently working in cybersecurity as well.

As for the logo that CISA adopted, it always reminds me of this part of the introduction of Skycaptain and the World of Tomorrow.

Love Goes On and On

This song got caught in the drafts folder on the old WordPress site, right around the time WordPress support was ticking me off. A few years late, but it is still a good song.

This is "Love Goes On and On" by Lindsey Stirling featuring vocals by Amy Lee of Evanescence. It was part of Lindsey Stirling's 2019 album Artemis.

Freezing in the Dark

That is what is waiting for Europe this winter. A decade after Fukushima disaster, foes of nuclear power reconsider

From Japan to Germany to Britain to the United States, leaders of countries that had stopped investing in nuclear power are now considering building new power plants or delaying the closure of existing ones. The shift is especially notable in Japan and Germany, where both turned decisively against nuclear power after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. And it comes even as fears mount about another potential nuclear disaster at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

The Greens in Europe are riding high, so there will be problems, and I expect to see something akin to the "death from heatwaves" stories we saw earlier in the summer. Or not. (Those stories won't help the narrative.)

Natural gas in Europe is 10 times more expensive than it was a year ago, and the continent is now competing with Japan and other global buyers for supplies of liquified natural gas, driving up prices even more.

Electricity supplies are also especially low in Europe right now, because much of France’s nuclear power fleet is offline awaiting safety certifications. Although unrelated to the war in Ukraine, it has exacerbated the overall energy crisis.

Hat tip to Pixy Misa at Ace of Spades HQ: Daily Tech News 29 August 2022, who notes the following.

Ten years after Fukushima killed nobody despite being hit by an earthquake and a tidal wave the enemies of humanity have decided that freezing in the dark is not such a great option if it's going to apply to them. (MSN)

They weren't supposed to freeze in the dark. That's for those awful poors.

As for Fukushima Daiichi and the aftermath, see my post Fear Killed After Fukushima Daiichi. Radiation, Not So Much.

No one has died from radiation associated with Fukushima Daiichi. Say that again. NO ONE has died.

The workers in the plant AFTER the disaster will not develop cancers in measurable difference from the background rate. (Some people develop cancer, even if they have never worked in nuclear power.)

1600 people died as a result of the panic. And the stress it induced. Panic on the part of the government. On the part of the people. And on the part of Americans and Europeans. Because it is easier to cave into fear than convince you that you don’t know squat about radiation. But when politicians cave in to the “Do something!” demands, they often do the wrong thing.

As one of the articles noted, you cannot move people from a hospital's intensive care unit to a school gymnasium and not expect some people to die. Quite a few did.

Tuesday Links

The Other McCain is up first with Why Do Democrats Hate Women? On some recent Democratic primary elections.

It’s battered women’s syndrome — they keep going back to the abuser, thinking he’ll change his ways if they just love him enough.

Pixy Misa at Ace of Spades HQ - Daily Tech News 27 August 2022, with a bonus musical interlude from Hololive.

You can finally edit your tweets. (WCCFTech)

All you have to do is pay Twitter five bucks a month.

I can't blame them for doing this seeing as how I suggested it as the only feature anyone would be willing to pay for. But nor am I going to pay them one thin dime unless and until Elon Musk takes them over and purges their ranks with fire and sword.

Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog - San Francisco Shop Owners Reach Their Breaking Point

Of all big American cities, San Francisco seems to have had the longest, closest look at what happens when you let the radical left wing of the Democratic Party run your city for decades on end. A half century of Social Justice has turned San Francisco into a literal shithole filled with drug-addicted shooting up and defecating on city streets.

DC Clothesline - Vaccinated blood is tainted blood, study finds. An Italian study...

Of the 1,006 cases analyzed, a mere 58 of them, or 5.77 percent, showed normal hematology upon microscopic analysis – meaning the blood was healthy. The other 94.23 percent of samples were discovered to be loaded with foreign objects “of unclear origin.”

Again from The Other McCain - Affidavit, Laugh-idavit

Trump’s lawyers have pointed out that the affidavit raises more questions than it answers. Everything about this raid stinks of political motivation, and Margot Cleveland is probably pretty close to the target in saying that this was just a “get Trump” fishing expedition.

Granite Grok - The Eavesdropper

A real tragedy that Americans have lost their Fourth Amendment right to privacy! Did anyone think to restrain the makers of cell phones from listening in on every conversation? I don’t mean just what is said between caller and callee. I mean, yer basic CIA can hear whatever you say NEAR your phone.

Power Line - Case Study in Leftist Ideology Path Dependence. The difference between AIDS and Monkeypox is the time.

My hunch was that it’s not 1983 any more, and that straight talk (no pun intended) to gays about the risks of Monkeypox would not summon forth an ideological reaction. Times have changed, and the ideology of sexual freedom uber alles is no longer the primary principle of the gay community.

And sure enough, UPI reports today:

Survey shows gay men cutting back on sex to avoid monkeypox

Samizdata - “Little by little the truth of lockdown is being admitted”

A retired and now ennobled supreme court judge writes in the Times that the decisions of the government during a crisis were wise and good and that if, perchance, any slight errors were made, fear not, lessons will be learned.

Bzzt. Click. System error. Commence program reset.

A retired and now ennobled supreme court judge – Lord Sumption – writes in the Times that “Little by little the truth of lockdown is being admitted: it was a disaster”.

One more time from The Other McCain - Have We Reached Peak ‘Woke’ Yet? Imagine a world where the Left wants to cancel someone because her family members have political views which with the Left disagrees.

Can we please stop this deranged “woke” witch-hunt mentality, in which we are expected to be outraged that white people in Idaho are voting Republican?

People You Know Can Be a Threat

The Left (the gun-hating part of it anyway) loves to go on at length about how if you own a gun, you are more likely to shoot someone you know than a complete stranger. There is a reason for that. Father shoots, kills son who was assaulting his mother in north Harris County, deputies say | KHOW

Also, it seems that liquor can be hazardous to your health; it can cause you to do stupid sh*t.

After interviewing the father, investigators said the son was out drinking before he came home and hit his mother in the head with a liquor bottle. He also charged at his father once he woke up, which led to the fatal shooting.

The mother was taken to a hospital with a wound to her head, but investigators said they expect her to be OK.

It is my understanding that every homicide in Texas is referred to a grand jury, and that will happen here. This does seem pretty straight-forward.

Self-defense is a human-right, even if it is a family member who has become a threat.

74-year-old Woman Sucker Punched in NYC

Civilization was nice while it lasted. Woman, 74, punched in unprovoked daylight attack in NYC: video

Why punch a 74-year-old? Because you can be sure they won't punch back.

Disturbing new video shows a woman slugging an elderly lady in the face in an unprovoked broad-daylight attack in Midtown this week.

The 74-year-old victim was walking on Madison Avenue near East 52nd Street around 11 a.m. Wednesday when the stranger punched her in the side of the face without saying a word, according to cops and the video.

The picture they have is not too good. All those security cameras in NYC are apparently really potatoes from 2003. But even if they ID and arrest her, what would happen? She won't be held. She might not be prosecuted. Because keeping violent offenders in jail would be unfair.

"Unprovoked" is the word they used. Could it be a hate crime? We won't know from the media, because they won't mention race - unless a white cop shoots a black person, of course.

And this is not an isolated incident. Brazen ‘knockout game’ back in NYC, expert warns.

Four recent, unprovoked sucker-punch attacks across New York City — the latest on a 74-year-old woman — have signaled the return of the insidious “game,” a sicko street challenge where thugs attempt to render an unsuspecting innocent unconscious with a single blow, a law enforcement expert told The Post.

“Knock-out games are back. The attack on New Yorkers is very real. We have to keep our heads on a swivel,” said Michael Alcazar, a retired NYPD detective and an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Civilization is built on security. And for security. In the absence of Justice, security is breaking down in the cities. As is civilization.

Consider what would happen to any of these thugs (as he retired detective calls them) if they were caught. They would be released on their own recognizance to continue the "game."

NYC Is Not Too Happy to Be a Sanctuary City

Not when it is more than empty words. City officials rip Texas' Abbott after more migrants arrive

The most recent arrivals are mostly young men and several women, now part of the 1,500 migrants sent to the city by the Texas governor to draw attention to the flood of migrants crossing daily from the southern border — a figure that is expected to surpass two million in this fiscal year.

City officials have long been outraged by Abbott’s actions, which have also seen busloads of migrants sent to Washington, D.C.

So 2 million people can cross the border into Texas, but if a few thousands find their way to New York that is a crisis. I suppose the other millions still in Texas isn't a crisis, at least not to the people of NYC.

The good people of New York are happy with the invasion of the southern border, as long as it doesn't touch them. When it costs them, they say it is an outrage.

Wisconsin Media Seems Confused About Self-defense

Media in Deep Blue Wisconsin seems to be shocked... Wisconsin law allows homeowners to use deadly force against intruders.

Madison Police Chief Shawn Barnes said a masked man forced his way into a home in the 1700 block of Packers Avenue before the homeowner shot and killed the suspect. Police are now investigating whether or not the homeowner's actions were justified.

Cops in Texas, Florida, or Oklahoma would be shaking the homeowner's hand, and buying him a beer. At least in some parts of those states.

In Deep Blue Madison, in the great blue-state of Wisconsin, it may be another matter.

This being the media they dance around the topic of the Castle Doctrine. I don't know if one exists in Wisconsin, and they provide no meaningful info in the article. They do find an attorney to say that defending yourself will result in an investigation.

If the facts are as stated, then I think the most Progressive DA would have trouble finding cause to charge the homeowner. But DAs do all kinds of things I don't think are justified.

Self-defense is a human-right. It remains to be seen if it will be held to be a legal right in Madison, Wisconsin.

How Is That Bail Reform Working Out

No matter how many times he offends, they set him free. Nathaniel Turner set free without bail by Manhattan Judge Paul McDonnell

A Manhattan judge let a career criminal on lifetime parole who allegedly punched one cop and tried to bite another waltz out of his court without bail — the second time this week the jurist let a recidivist walk free, The Post has learned.

So he is on lifetime probation, but committing new crimes doesn't seem to be a violation of that probation. Because keeping criminals in jail would be unfair.

PBA President Patrick Lynch said the parole system is “broken” — and “judges like this refuse to protect the public.”

“All we have are two revolving doors – one putting violent criminals back on the streets, and another putting cops and innocent victims in the hospital. It has to change,” he said.

In the meantime the politicians in New York are at a loss to explain the rise in crime, and governor Hochul signed a law outlawing the use of the term "inmate" because that will make all the difference in achieving rehabilitation. Or something.

The phrase "rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic" comes to mind.

As for New York's criminal justice system, so called...

“Someone has to die now before anyone spends a night in jail,” one [law enforcement] source fumed.

Things will have to get much worse before they get better. It looks like Hochul is going to win the fall election, so this is what the people of New York want.

Remember when the Germans Laughed at Trump Over Energy?

I wish a media outlet would track down all of the Germans who laughed at Trump (was it at the UN?) and ask them what they think about energy prices, and what Trump had to say today. None will of course, because Orange Man Bad™, and how does that help the narrative?

With energy at record highs, the economies of European countries are on the brink of recession. Europe energy crisis: German and French power prices notch record highs ahead of Russia's next pipeline shutdown

• German power prices, which is Europe's benchmark, jumped 17% to a record 750 euros a megawatt-hour for next year.
• In France, prices for next year climbed 12% to also hit a record 880 euros a megawatt-hour.
• Russia is set to halt Nord Stream 1 gas flows during a three-day maintenance period at the end of August.

For comparison, in my last-month's electric bill I paid $0.03148200 a kilowatt hour, or less than $31.49 per megawatt hour. So the Germans are (or will be) paying 2,382% more than I did last month. I said "will be" because the prices are futures, that will be paid in 2023.

Europe's energy crisis has been exacerbated by Russia's natural gas halts and reductions. And next week, the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline will shut down again for maintenance. Gazprom has already slashed gas flows to just 20% of capacity, prompting accusations that Moscow is weaponizing energy supplies.

Gee, you think? Or, where is it written that since Russia is at war with Western Europe that they can't use all of the weapons at their disposal? Are you saying that economic warfare is not Kosher? I direct your attention to the history of letters of Marquis and Reprisal.

What's that you say? Russia is at war with Ukraine and not all of Europe. If you truly believe that I have some Florida swamp-land you might be interested in. Pay no attention to the endangered species living on the property; I sure you will be able to build your dream home.

And while you may believe that Russia is not at war with all of Europe, what you believe doesn't matter. It really only matters what Vladimir Putin believes.

But then to admit that Russia using economic means of warfare was completely foreseeable means that the Europeans would have to admit that Trump was right when he said they were opening themselves up to a world of hurt at Putin's hands. And they will not admit that Trump was right, not even when they are freezing in the dark.

The graph above comes from Trading Economics: Germany Electricity Price as of 2022-08-27. That site will be updated. The graph above will not be updated.

Critical Drinker Watched this Movie So You Don't Have to

That movie would be Moonfall.

I was never going to watch this movie. The last Roland Emmerich movie I enjoyed was The Patriot. There were no aliens, robots, or space explosions in sight. There were some jokes, but it wasn't "Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum Save the World." Which is a joke before you take another step. And it certainly wasn't the insanity of 2012. (That entire movie was a joke.)

In fact I seriously doubt that I will watch this, even when I can get it for free from my local library.

Critical Drinker only watched the movie because he was trapped on a transatlantic flight with limited options. (I've seen enough bad movies in my day: Black Hole, Wild, Wild West, Plan 9 from Outer Space, etc.)

This is Drinker's video - Moonfall - A Man-Made Disaster

He Was Asked to Leave. He Came Back.

It was a bad idea. He could have gone to have a drink somewhere else. He could have gone home. He made a poor decision. Man shot, killed by a security guard in downtown Phoenix nightclub

They have not said why he was asked to leave. He left, but came back, armed with a gun. I guess he didn't expect security to be armed.

Police said the shooting happened after Hayes was kicked out of the establishment for an unknown reason. Hayes later returned with a gun, pointed it at an unidentified security guard and tried to re-enter the establishment, police said.

The security guard then shot Hayes in self-defense, police said. He was released as determined by Phoenix police and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

The investigation continues, but they did not arrest the security guard, are calling it self-defense, and Phoenix has not morphed into Manhattan.

Self-defense is a human-right.

How's That Bail Reform Working Out?

As far as I know, there is no media outlet in NYC keeping track of the dead bodies. Man fatally shoots ex-girlfriend weeks after menacing her with knife: cops

"How dare you live without me!" That is an attitude that never works out.

A man was busted this week for fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend in Brooklyn – just weeks after he was released for allegedly menacing her with a knife.

He served years in prison for robbery before being paroled. And He served time for separate weapons and an assault charges before that. She still decided to date him.

Elves was arrested a day later – and told authorities he shot Pearson because she took out an order of protection and “was threatening to use that against him,” police said.

No one in New York City, not the politicians, or the cops or the prosecutors, and not even the NY Post will see that this chain of events means that what the dead woman really needed, was a 9mm pistol, a case of ammo, some instruction, and a concealed carry permit. No. You see NY State and City view concealed carry as a problem. You need to rely on The System™ even though they couldn't keep a violent criminal in prison; that would be unfair.

Most recently, on July 25, Elves allegedly menaced Pearson with a knife, a criminal complaint shows. He was released on his own recognizance because the charges were not bail-eligible, according to the DA’s office.

THAT is The System™ that you are supposed to bet your life on. They will turn him loose again and again until he kills you.

So a violent criminal was turned free, until he actually killed someone. Great system you have there.

Ride Public Transit? Maybe When It's Safe

Unsafe and getting worse. Straphanger stabbed by panhandler says NYC subway is a disaster

A straphanger who was stabbed in the stomach while trying to stop an unruly panhandler from harassing riders near Rockefeller Center Monday slammed the city’s subway system over its soaring crime rates.

“It sucks what’s happening,’’ Bruce Fuentes, 27, of Sunset Park told The Post while recovering at Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan. “The subway system is a mess right now.’’

Because there are no repercussions, there is no check on behavior.

“There’s a lot of crazy people now on the train,” said Guzman, 22. “It’s like you can just get stabbed for anything.”

Law and Order are such 20th Century concepts.

Saturday Roundup of Link Roundups - 27 August

A somewhat abbreviated Roundup today. I'm hoping things will get back to what-passes-for-normal next week, but I'm not confident that they will. Hope everyone had a good week.

Wombat-socho at The Other McCain - In The Mailbox: 08.23.22

American Power: ‘Quiet Quitting’? This Is Not Good
American Thinker: Cheney Agonistes

EBL - Ramones: Rock and Roll High School

Rock and Roll High School was first released 24 August 1979
AoSHQ: Morning Report 08.24.22

The Right Way - Top of the News

Quote du jour and Best of the Web - Proof Positive
Biden Reportedly Planning to Issue $10k in Student Loan Debt Forgiveness for Borrowers Making Under $125k - Bongino Report

Pixy Misa at Ace of Spades HQ - Daily Tech News 24 August 2022

Twitter's former head of security says that Twitter's security is crap - and perhaps even more significantly, that its bot numbers are fiction. (CNN)
Perfluorocubane is weird. (Science)

Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 08.24.22

Victory Girls: Carolyn Maloney Loses to Nadler, Blames Misogyny
Volokh Conspiracy: Eleventh Circuit Finds FDA Treatment of Vaping Product Marketing Applications to be Arbitrary & Capricious

Don Surber - Highlights of the News

ITEM 9: Just the News reported, "Facebook has reportedly blocked a post from the House Judiciary Republicans opposing student loan debt cancellation for violating its community guidelines."

Wombat-socho again - In The Mailbox: 08.25.22

Vox Popoli: A Good Start, WW3 Mobilization Math, and Shut Up, He Explained
Stoic Observations: Living In A Material World

Maggie's Farm - Wednesday morning links

Why Don't Men and Women Get Along?
All about a homeless San Francisco guy

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 8/25/22

"Political elites continue to assail the environment and the people of Vermont through their 'progressive' tax model."
Progressive Carbon Taxes Roll Back Progress on Conservation

I leave you with Wednesday gifdump from Wirecutter, Wednesday Memes … from MaddMedic, and Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #611 from 90 Miles From Tyranny.

Self-defense Is Legal in Oklahoma

And people in Oklahoma are heavily armed. Poteau man killed in domestic violence incident

Poteau, Oklahoma is about 20 miles south of Fort Smith, and about 7 miles from the Arkansas/Oklahoma state line.

Poteau Police Department Investigators, OSBI forensics, and an investigator from the Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner were all brought to the scene of the shooting.

A 56-year-old woman was interviewed at the scene and released. The police report states that “preliminary investigation indicates that Edwards was shot in self-defense in a domestic violence incident.”

There are no more details provided, and I looked at multiple articles. The investigation will be presented to the local DA, who will make the final decision on charges.

(Note: If you don't know where Fort Smith is, you need to brush up on your geography.)

More Brooklyn Anti-Semitic Hate

I'm not even shocked. Man arrested for Brooklyn anti-Semitic slap: NYPD

One guy was arrested, but that wasn't the only hate crime.

Carrington Maddox, 31, was charged with aggravated harassment as a hate crime and menacing for attacking a 27-year-old man dressed in traditional garb on [Monday], according to police.

The victim was approached by a stranger who randomly slapped him on the left side of the face in front of 144 Lynch St. around 4:30 p.m. – the third suspected anti-Semitic attack in Brooklyn in two days, according to cops.

The guy who was arrested, and the photo of the guy they are looking for in one of the other attacks do not appear to be white supremacists, IYKWIMAITYD.

Which is why the national media will ignore the hate crimes in Brooklyn specifically, and in NYC generally. They have to protect the narrative. Nothing to see here!

Tippa My Tongue

Red Hot Chili Peppers is one of the bands you had to know if you were listening to the radio in a certain era. When Blood Sugar Sex Magik and the associated singles were released in 1991 their music was everywhere. And it was good. At least some of it was good.

They have a new song out, and I can't decide if I like it or not. It seems like I've heard it before, even though I know I haven't.

This song is "Tippa My Tongue" by Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was released as a single on Friday the 19th of August. I find the video completely distracting, but they haven't put out an audio-only version as I type this. This is in support of an album, Return of the Dream Canteen which is scheduled for release in October of this year.

Friday Links - 26 August

Meep at STUMP is up first with Teachers at it again: New Jersey Teachers Union Antagonizing Parents. (Note: When she writes "this ad" she is not referring to the xkcd cartoon at the right!)

Maybe they think this ad would inspire Democrats to come forth to support the teachers union?

Except a lot of the people showing up for these school board meetings are Democrats.

Or, at least, they were Democrats.

Gateway Pundit - “No Man Left Behind” – US Team of Veterans Rescued 17,000 US Legal Permanent US Residents in Afghanistan After Joe Biden Abandoned Them Following Surrender to Taliban

Figures released by the State Department in November revealed as many as 14,000 Americans were left to fend for themselves when Biden and the woke generals quickly fled the country due to their artificial timeline.

The Other McCain - Louise Perry Gets It

What Perry seems to be arguing for is what we may call neo-traditionalism, a revival of older social customs, updated to accommodate the inescapable requirements of modernity. In rejecting egalitarian utopianism — “some imagined alternative that has never existed and is never likely to exist” — Perry has taken a bold step, for a young woman who dares call herself a feminist, because modern feminism originated with just such a utopian ambition, as delineated by the schizophrenic radical Shulamith Firestone and others.

Moonbattery - Kamloops Mass Grave Hate Hoax. Those Canadian mass graves... weren't.

Ground-penetrating radar has supposedly revealed another 800 buried children. But well over a year since the supposed mass grave was revealed, no actual bodies have been found. It appears to be nothing more than an old septic system.

Blazing Cat Fur - Whistleblower claims FBI leaders ordered staff not to investigate Hunter Biden laptop

The FBI deliberately dragged its feet on the Hunter Biden investigation and told agents not to look into the Hunter Biden laptop, according to new whistleblowers who spoke with Sen. Ron Johnson.

Again from The Other McCain - Joe Biden Has Not Condemned This Atlanta ‘Hate Crime,’ For Some Reason

Atlanta police got 911 calls: Someone was spray-painting swastikas on the rainbow crosswalk in the predominantly gay Midtown district. The LGBTQ community, not only in Atlanta, but nationwide, was prepared to launch a 24/7 media circus over this atrocity, but then police released surveillance video of the suspect, and suddenly the activists got so quiet you could hear the crickets chirping.

Liberty Park Press - Alarming CA Data: 70% of Criminal Suspects Released with No Bail Re-offend. How do you spell recidivism?

Back in California’s Yolo County, two months ago, DA Risig’s office started tracking criminal suspects who were released without bail. According to Fox News, “Of the 595 individuals released on $0 bail between 2020 and 2021 in Yolo County, 420 — or 70.6% — were rearrested for new crimes, and 123 — or 20% — were arrested for a violent crime such as murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery, carjacking or domestic violence.”

Ace at Ace of Spades HQ - Marjorie Taylor-Greene Swatted; Fox News: She's a "Particularly Divisive" Member of Congress So, You Know, She Was Pretty Much Asking For It, Right?

That is a reference to Lenin's statement that one can only judge the importance of political crimes by asking "Who?" and "Whom?" Who did it, and whom was it done to? If the right people did it to the right people, then it wasn't a crime at all; it was a great victory for the Soviet state.

Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0

I wish we would see more stories about concealed carry in Chicago. And elsewhere. Chicago concealed carry holder returns gunfire on carjacking suspect, wounding offender: police | Fox News

Chicago police say a concealed carry license holder thwarted an attempted carjacker by returning gunfire, critically wounding the offender but walking free himself unscathed.

The 45-year-old male victim was in his vehicle at approximately 1:27 a.m. on Monday in the 5500 block of West Chrystal Street in the Austin neighborhood when he was approached by an unknown male offender, according to the Chicago Police Department. The offender produced a handgun and fired shots at the victim, police said.

Austin is one of the 77 neighborhoods in Chicago. According to the stats at HeyJackass!, it is third in the running for most dangerous neighborhood, based on the combination of fatal and non-fatal shootings in 2022.

The intended victim was a concealed carry license holder and returned fire, injuring the would-be bad guy. The good guy was not injured. Police believe that this was an attempted carjacking.

Chicago FD took the injured bad-guy to a local hospital.

Self-defense is a human-right. (Hat tip Liberty Park Press.)

How Is That Bail Reform Working Out?

Not too great if you go by the count of the victims. #29: Three-time felon shot robbery victim while on bail for felony gun case, prosecutors say - CWB Chicago

Prosecutors say a three-time convicted felon robbed and shot a man while on bail for a pending Class X armed habitual criminal case in Chicago. Prez Bailey is the 29th person accused of killing or shooting — or attempting to kill or shoot — someone in Chicago while on bail for a felony this year. The alleged crimes involved at least 63 victims, 13 of whom died.

Click thru for the details.

The logic of how a 3-time-convicted felon was given a $1000 bail deposit on the Class X felony gun charge (before the most recent shooting) escapes me.

He was ordered held without bail on the current shooting, but I expect that will change, because keeping violent felons in jail is unfair. At least according to the people in charge of Chicago's Criminal Justice System (so called) are concerned.

Bail Reform = Open Season on Subway Employees

Because it is unfair to keep violent offenders in jail. Or something. After 40 arrests, subway-worker attacker continues his crime spree

I'm guessing some of his victims think that continually turning him loose is unfair.

On Aug. 11, at The Bronx’s Pelham Bay Park station, he was harassing women. When transit worker Anthony Nelson came to help them, Wright brutally knocked him to the ground, breaking his shoulder and nose.

That is only one of the attacks.

If you guessed that Wright didn’t just “snap,” you’re right. Last year, he cold-cocked an Asian woman on a Chinatown street, sending her to the hospital. That was his 40th arrest.

So it isn't fair to keep him in jail. (The New York State assembly said so when they passed their No-Cash-Bail law.) So how about being fair to his victims? Or as the Post says, this is not a functioning Justice System.

Politicians are useless.

Lieber, the MTA chief, won’t directly address bail reform and other criminal-justice shortcomings. As Drummond astutely observed, his boss is Gov. Kathy Hochul, who claims that nothing is wrong.

And the few articles I've seen indicate that Hochul is likely to win reelection. Which means that things are going to worse, probably much worse, before they get better. Hey, the people of New York voted for this.

Cops - "Why would you let a stranger use your phone?"

Scammers gonna scam. And age is no barrier to scamming...

A woman gave her phone to some "lost kids" in NYC's Central Park so they could call home. Instead they "stole" $1,000 via her Venmo account.

The cops were not sympathetic, though they did - eventually - take a police report. (My guess: This is the end of the cops involvement.)

This is the Ruined Leon video for White Savior Scammed Out Of $1,000 For Helping Kids Pretending To Be BLM

Self-defense Is Legal in South Carolina

But then I suspected that it was. Fatal shooting in Mallard Lakes neighborhood ruled self-defense

This is also an example of how people that you know can be a threat.

This incident took place on August 16th, so the DA was working at light-speed to issue this ruling this quickly. Some DAs would wait months. Others, like Manhattan's Alvin Bragg, would charge the guy in spite of the evidence.

Officers say the decision was made after the 11th Circuit Solicitor reviewed evidence from the shooting the Mallard Lake neighborhood on August 16.

Police say around 5 a.m. on that day, they got an emergency call of a home invasion in progress. they arrived they were met in the driveway by a man who'd been shot several times. The man's wife, who had been in the house during the shooting, was also there. Two children were at the home during the incident as well.

The guy who got shot was the man's brother-in-law. He came into the home with a weapon.

The Left - the part of it that hates guns, anyway - loves to go on at length about how if you own a gun, you are more likely to shoot someone you know. There is a reason for that. Namely, you are more at risk from people you know than random strangers.

In this case it was the man's brother-in-law, but "people you know" include the creep that hangs out in your favorite coffee shop, the co-worker who has decided you are his soul-mate, and a lot of other people. Just because you know them, doesn't mean they are harmless.

Self-defense is a human-right, and it appears to be your legal right in South Carolina.

An 11 Hour Wait for an Ambulance

Nothing good ever comes out of a burueacracy. Add in the government, and things get worse. B.C. woman with broken hip waits nearly 12 hours for ambulance

She fell, but could reach a phone. She called 911 at 7:11 p.m. An ambulance arrived at 6:44 a.m. 11 hours and change. lying on the floor. He son called 911 several times, and was assured that help was on the way.

“Throughout the evening, several ambulances were dispatched to this call, but while en route, the paramedic crews were subsequently diverted to other calls, which were triaged as potentially life-threatening,” the ambulance service said in a statement. It apologized for the delay and says a review will take place.

Why do I bring up bureaucracies?

It happened on a night where three in every 10 Metro Vancouver ambulances were left parked because of a shortage of paramedics.

Now I have not studied the paramedic situation in British Columbia, but in many cities and counties in the US there is a shortage of ambulance personnel because the pay doesn't live up to the stress. In some areas where the paramedic service is run by fire departments, paramedics have less career opportunity and make less money than fire fighters. They understandably switch careers to make more money. And some of them get out of the career because they get tired of being one of the first people to arrive at an accident, shooting, whatever. Add in low pay, and the high stress is very much not worth it.

So if you don't have enough paramedics, why not recruit more? Well you would need to pay more. Why not pay more? It's the government. And there are probably unions involved as well. Oh, and the government (especially in Canada) and the insurance companies LIMIT how much they will pay for an ambulance ride. This puts a hard limit on what the services can afford to pay. Bureaucracies as far as the eye can see.

The more governments and insurance companies squeeze, the more brittle the whole system becomes. Eventually it will shatter. More people will quit, forcing those who remain to work longer hours, which will result in more people quitting. Rinse. Repeat.

I also wonder what percentage of the shortage was a result of COVID-19 mandates.

Someday Companies Will Take Security Seriously

But not today. Debit card fraud leaves Ally Bank customers, small stores reeling | Ars Technica

Anyone can have problems, and it looks like Ally Bank is elected this week. But then there are things companies do to shoot themselves in the foot.

First the bank doesn't know how the cancel a card.

On Monday, Grimes' canceled card was charged $1 by Langhofer's MyFamilyHandbook. Grimes called Ally to ask how this could have happened. A representative told Grimes that in "a different system," the charge was shown as being declined, Grimes said. As for how a charge on a canceled card happened, the Ally representative told Grimes it was "part of a recurring situation they're working on right now," Grimes said.

Then it is a problem just to communicate with the bank. Kevin (an Ally Bank Customer who works in financial services) had a problem.

Like others, Kevin was put off by a 90-minute wait time to report the charges. Two more charges arrived the next day for more than $350, but this time, Ally flagged them. Kevin, who works in financial services, said the whole experience was confusing. Verification texts and phone calls arrived from numbers he couldn't trace back to Ally; the links in Ally's fraud emails revealed confounding URLs without secure HTTPS addresses.

WHAT reason could ANY business, let alone a BANK, have for not using secure internet connections?

I know one reason: Executives. "You want us to spend money on what? Get lost! You Info Tech people are always complaining about something."

If I was an Ally Bank customer, I would be looking for a new bank.

Though Stripe - the card processing site in the middle of all of this - is also on the hook for some of the blame.

There is more, including how it is impacting one of the small online webstore owner - who was only ever trying to do the right thing, and got rolled over by the fraud juggernaught.

Wednesday Link Roundup - 24 August

A somewhat abbreviated Link Roundup today. And better late than never... I hope everyone's week is going well.

Bacon Time!!!! - Sunday Linkage

The Intrepid Reporter - Enemy Action
Watts Up With That? - Aussie Triumph? Solar Briefly Overtook Coal, then Failed at Sunset

Pirate's Cove - Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

6. Pacific Pundit discusses a big shakeup coming to CNN
7. Powerline covers the NY Times hating on the Constitution

Wombat-socho at The Other McCain - In The Mailbox: 08.22.22

Vox Popoli: The Canary Died, Knowing When to Walk Away, and The Cost of Broken Neutrality
Stoic Observations: Dabbling In Demonology

A View from the Beach - Trump Demand 'Special Master,' Blue Wave Faltering

Matt Margolis at PJ Media, REVEALED: Biden White House Directly Involved in Conspiracy to Entrap Trump in Criminal FBI Probe. 'Bonchie' at Red State also reports Memos Show Joe Biden Tried to Entrap Donald

EBL - Did Joe Biden Order The Mar-a-Lago Raid?

WSJ: The Trump warrant has no legal basis
Don Surber: FBI raid unites Republicans
Instapundit: Biden White House Lied

Pixy Misa at Ace of Spades HQ - Daily Tech News 23 August 2022

The Metaverse sucks. (The Register)
Sucks up huge quantities of cash, for one thing, but sucks in every other way as well. It's the signature of a programmed effort to create the Next Big Thing.

J.J. Sefton at Aace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 8/23/22

"Predicts they will become fashion accessories." World Economic Forum Suggests There Are “Solid, Rational” Reasons For Children to Be Microchipped

Maggie's Farm - Monday morning links

The Left talking nonstop about civil war: Victor Davis Hanson
The Criminal Case Against Trump is Another “Slam Dunk”

I leave you with Tuesday gifdump from Wirecutter, Sunday Funnies For 08-21-22 from Stately McDaniel Manor, and Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #609 from 90 Miles From Tyranny.

Don't Bring a Knife to a Gunfight

More self-defense in California. Homeowner Shot and Killed Man Armed With Knife in His Front Yard

Just before 10 p.m. the homeowner was in his front yard when a man armed with a knife began charging at them.

The homeowner shot and killed the guy with the knife.

In Los Angeles are they likely to go after a homeowner for self-defense? I have no idea, but I would guess they treat self-defense the way it is treated in Manhattan; as a crime.

Self-defense is a human-right. It may or may not be your legal right in Los Angeles.

Aren't Cops Supposed To Be Familiar with the Law?

She didn't seem to understand the basics of what to do in a traffic stop. Chicago police recruit battered suburban cop during weekend stop, arrest report says; 'How else was I supposed to get away?' she allegedly asked - CWB Chicago

She was stopped for driving up on a curb. There was an open container in the vehicle. She was not cooperative and wouldn't even provide her license and insurance. She ended by striking and kicking the officer.

After the cops wrangled her into their patrol car, she “continuously yelled profanity against” the officer, who “sustained a laceration and an abrasion as a result of [her] fighting and resisting arrest,” the report said. Investigators took pictures of the cop’s injuries.

Cops discovered Balseca’s CPD recruit ID in her purse, and she told them she was about a month into her training at the academy, according to her arrest report. According to the report, Schiller Park police notified CPD’s internal affairs office about the arrest at 8 p.m. Saturday, about 18 hours after Balseca was arrested.

Chicago's Finest? Or Finest in training, anyway.

Sadly, felony stupidity is not a crime she can be charged with. Bets on whether or not she gets canned by Chicago PD?

Change the World

Again from WXRT's Saturday Morning Flashback, we have a song from the 1997 movie Phenomenon, starring John Travolta.

This song was originally recorded by Wynonna Judd, but that version wasn't used in the movie.

This is "Change the World" as covered by Eric Clapton for the movie Phenomenon.

No Tuesday Links This Week

Due to technical difficulties in the Real World... I will be here, just not as frequently as usual for the next few days.

Sgt. Bobby Swartz

End of Watch - Suspect leads chase to Air Force base after allegedly shooting Oklahoma deputies, killing one

They were executing an eviction in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma.

In a 4:30 p.m. CT post to social media, the Oklahoma City Sheriff’s Office confirmed one of the deputies, Sgt. Bobby Swartz, had succumbed to his injuries.

Texans Are Still Armed...

I would not have approached things this way, but I understand her position. Woman shoots vehicle burglar to death in Arlington during fight over gun, police say

Arlington police said the woman told them that on Aug. 11 the man burglarized the vehicle and she and her son confronted the suspect and tried to detain him.

A physical altercation erupted, and the woman and the suspect fought over her handgun.

He ended up being shot in the head. It could have been her. (Maintain your distance people; you don't want to get into a hand-to-hand fight if you have a firearm.)

The woman has not been arrested, because this happened in Texas, not Manhattan. Though I believe it will go in front of a grand jury.

Self-defense is a human-right.

7-Eleven Destroyed By Looters in Los Angeles.

Law and Order are such 20th Century concepts. Along with Justice, and a few other things. Los Angeles 'flash mob' of looters caught on video ransacking 7-Eleven

A “flash mob” of looters were caught on camera ransacking a 7-Eleven in Los Angeles earlier this week — making off with handfuls of cigarettes, snacks and other goods, authorities said.

Police? You must be joking.

After exiting the store, the throngs of suspects quickly left the area before cops arrived, police said.

Suppose the cops had arrived and arrested 40% of the looters. Would any of them face any real consequences in Los Angeles? I mean, keeping criminals in jail is unfair.

It brings to mind "The Second Coming" by W. B. Yeats. Here is part of the first stanza:

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Times Like These

Five Finger Death Punch released an album on Friday, August 19th. So it seemed like a good idea to feature one of their songs from the album. It is a plus that this song is pretty good. (On Friday it was on the top of the Spotify Kickass Metal playlist, for whatever that's worth. It is how I discovered it.)

This song is "Times Like These" by Five Finger Death Punch. It was released in early July as a single ahead of the album release in August.

Self-defense Is Legal in North Carolina

I wish there was more information about the incident in question. Not guilty: Jury acquits Amya Collington in Pisgah View murder trial

Facts established at trial, which began with jury selection Aug. 6, found that Collington shot Grant to death on June 21, 2021, a Monday night, at Pisgah View Apartments. But what jurors had to decide was whether it was murder or self-defense, with pieces of an AR-15 that Grant brought to the scene being a key piece of evidence for the defense at trial.

There was an argument earlier in the day, and the person who got shot had an AR-15. This leads me to believe that the DA in question (Ashville, NC) really, really hates self-defense.

"I thank the jury for their service and their careful consideration of the evidence presented in this case," District Attorney Todd Williams said in a message. "The Buncombe County DA's Office will continue to vigorously advocate for accountability for victims of violent crime, including victims who have no voice in court just as we did this week for Dexter Grant."

Which seems to be the sense I get from that statement. The feeling that the DA really hates self-defense.

The woman who was acquitted was in jail for the past year, on $1.5 million bail.

Still some amount of Justice seems to have been delivered. Again, I wish there were more details provided.

Remember When the Germans Laughed at Trump?

They aren't laughing now. ‘Germany is so dependent on Russia that they are now on the brink of recession,’ says Polish MEP.

“You should have listened to Donald Trump or the Polish government, who were right about Putin, Nord Stream 2, and Europe’s energy security,” stated [Dominik] Tarczyński [of the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party].

There isn't really much information in the article beyond the headline, but it is nice to know that some people in Europe are stating facts.

“I am not surprised that Russia is counting on Germany, because it is Germany that hopes that the buried European solidarity, that is Nord Stream 2, will come back after the war and they will conclude business with Russia as they previously did” [Also from Tarczyńs]

I'm not surprised, Germany seems to be slow-walking aid to Ukraine. I think they expected the war to be over by now, and business back to normal.

I Know Exactly How They Feel

Who knew technology had musical taste. Old laptop hard drives will allegedly crash when exposed to Janet Jackson music | Ars Technica

It sounds like something out of an urban legend: Some Windows XP-era laptops using 5400 RPM spinning hard drives can allegedly be forced to crash when exposed to Janet Jackson's 1989 hit "Rhythm Nation."

But Microsoft Software Engineer Raymond Chen stands by the story in a blog post published earlier this week, and the vulnerability has been issued an official CVE ID by The Mitre Corporation, lending it more credibility.

This just struck me as funny. There is not a lot of specific info offered. But click thru if you want more of Ars Technica in Whiskey Tango Foxtrot mode.

The CW Is Certainly Woke

Without Disney's cash, they would be broke. The CW Will Be A Profitable Network By 2025, With Broader And Cheaper Programming, New Owners At Nexstar Signal

“It’s no secret that the CW is not profitable,” [Nexstar Media Group CFO Lee Ann Gliha] said, “but this is not typical for fully-distributed broadcast or cable networks. In fact, according to SNL Kagan data, no other broadcast network operates at an ongoing loss.”

One key step on the path to profit will involve a significant reduction of expenses. “We expect to invest a low 9-figure amount over this 3-year period as we implement our plan,” Gliha said. “We view this amount as a proxy for a purchase price – or an investment made over time — rather than an ongoing drag on cash flow. You know us. We are profit and cash flow focused and expect this asset to achieve profitability.”

The continuing dumping of cash into The Arrowverse programs is one of the problems you get when you don't pay attention to your viewers. The people at CW were making the shows they wanted, not the shows their customers wanted.

The demographic focus of the CW will also change over time, [Nexstar President and COO Tom Carter] said. Historically, shows like Riverdale, All American, Arrow and Supernatural have focused on viewers in their teens through their 30s. The reality, though, is that the average CW viewer is 58 years old, and Carter said that schism explains why the CW is the lowest-rated broadcast network.

Say it again: "lowest-rated broadcast network."

When the CW finally cancelled Batwoman back at the end of April, Critical Drinker wondered how it managed to lurch on for 3 years in the face of abysmal ratings, and financial loss: Batwoman Cancelled - This Is The End! (That is a 6 minute video.)

But that is the beauty of the world, as seen through the rose-colored glasses of the Woke; profitability does not matter. They think that they should be paid for supporting what Drinker calls The Message™. Filthy capitalism should be ignored.

But reality is true, even if you don't want it to be, and profits do matter.  And Batwoman was only one of their failures. And now that they have to stand or fall on their own, without the cash cushion provided by the Woke Scolds at Disney, things will change. Will they change for the better? I don't think things will get better, as Eric July notes in the video below, there is a question of whether anyone in Hollywood can write anymore. (There are exceptions - Nobody is great old-fashioned action movie, as is The Accountant. Both of those are exceptions to what is happening in Hollywood today.)

As Drinker says in the video:

Even the most stunning and brave shows can only ignore reality for so long.

And the same applies to Networks.

In this video Eric July states "I was right about The CW | Flat Broke". (He gets the hat tip.)

Don't Bring a Pizza Paddle to a Knife Fight?

That is a post title I NEVER expected to type. Papa John’s worker attacked over missing pepperoncinis stabs customer, MD cops say.

And who puts pepperocini on pizza? As a side, certainly. As a topping... Just no.

And to be fair, while the headline talks about toppings, pepprocini and garlic sauce are usually provided as sides to pizza. It has been a long time since I gave up gluten, but if memory serves, Papa Johns included both of those items with every pizza.

It happened late Aug. 17 when Herbert Harris, 40, returned to the restaurant with a pizza he had recently purchased to complain about missing pepperoncinis and garlic sauce, according to a statement from the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.

He started an argument, then started chasing an employee, grabbed a metal pizza paddle (the real name for which is pizza peel), and got stabbed for his trouble.

After being chased, the employee grabbed a pizza spear and stabbed Harris in the stomach in an act of self-defense, investigators say.

And for the record, I have no idea what a pizza spear is. Some of the articles say it was another peel. (Pizza paddles at ten paces?) Whatevah.

Anyway, cops showed up and hauled him to the local hospital. He is facing assault charges.

If you really cannot live without pepperocini (those pickled peppers you find on salad bars - and apparently in Papa John's Pizza orders), you can buy them. I buy mine from That Pickle Guy in Illinois. I get no money from recommending that, but he has good stuff. The olive muffalata is particularly delicious. (Shipping is not free or cheap, unless you buy substantial quantities, which I do.) I'm sure you can find a more generic version in your local store near the olives. I'm not an expert on garlic sauce, but I'm guessing you can either buy it, or that there are recipes on the internet.

The moral of the story is, for self-defense use the weapon that is available. Also, don't go to jail over garlic sause.