"Don't Mess With Texas" Is An Anti-Littering Slogan

From The Truth About Guns we get the following: Last Half Of June Was Tough On Texas Home Invaders. Texas self-defense stories from just the past 2 weeks...

While I think I've covered each these individually this is an interesting look at the whole.

Judging from those four Lone Star State home invasions in just the last two weeks, “Don’t Mess with Texas” apparently means a lot more than simply not throwing your litter out your window onto the highway.

You would think that the bad guys would get this message, but I don't believe they will.

Disney Star Wars: "What's even left for them to Fail at?"

The Disney+ show Star Wars: The Acolyte is a perfect example of the lack of writing talent in Hollywood today. The people writing The Acolyte apparently haven't even taken many screenwriting classes. Or writing classes. Or something.

They have failed at character development, at building suspense in a murder mystery, at world building, at story continuity (not just with legacy Star Wars, but their own damn writing), and they've failed at action. The cinematography is crap too, and the special effects are nothing to write home about. I haven't seen all of it - I don't have D+ - but the little I have seen is not making me want to see more.

This is Critical Drinker's video The Acolyte Episode 5 - It's The Least Bad Episode So Far! That is not a high bar to get over.

Why Music Is Awful Today

A rant in 2 Acts from Rick Beato.

1. Act 1: Music is Too Easy To Make
2. Act 2: Music Is Too Easy To Consume

Anyone can make music with their computer. It doesn't even take AI to get something down. You can have the entire musical catalogue of history for what we used to pay for a single album.

It's an interesting video. Thought provoking. At just under 13 minutes, I think it is worth your time.

This is Rick Beato's video The Real Reason Why Music Is Getting Worse.

Texans Are Still Armed, Home Invaders Are Still Getting Shot

And a barking dog makes a good burglar alarm. Paris homeowner shoots intruder, investigation underway

This story highlights the fact that most of us need more time at the range.

Police said the homeowner found the intruder in the kitchen after being alerted by the family dog.

The homeowner fired one shot with a handgun, but the suspect fled the scene.

Paris, Texas is about 100 miles, or a 2 hour drive, northwest of Dallas.

Since the investigation is ongoing, very little data has been released, but I think it is clear that they won't arrest the homeowner. This didn't happen in NYC, after all.

Saturday Roundup of Link Roundups - 29 June

The Right Way starts us off with Top of the News

Hunter Biden’s Law License Is Suspended - IOTW Report
Julian Assange plea deal - The New Neo

EBL - MAGA Debate Night ☀️

Axios: Michelle Obama's frustration with the Bidens
Reason: What is the best result tonight?
AoSHQ: Morning Report 06.27.24

Animal Magnetism - Animal’s Hump Day News

No, Michael, Americans just don’t want Joe Biden for eight years.
This is known as belaboring the obvious.

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 06.27.24

Don Surber: Let this be the last debate
STUMP: Ohio STRS Drama Continues – No Bonuses, & Board Member Resigns

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam Before the 'Great Debate'

TNP reminds us 49 States Are Now Supplying ‘Non-Citizens’ With Voter Registration Forms, but don't worry, non-citizens hardly ever vote, am I right?

Vlad Tepes - Interview with Tommy Robinson with True North, excellent data on vaccines and autism and Greenfield on the attack against Jewish people in LA: Links 1 for June 27, 2024

2. The same man who brought Canada M-103, the attempt to basically criminalize any criticism of Islam as an ideology, refuses to act on the new head of the Human Rights Commission who apparently has some fairly clear and problematic opinions on Jews and Israel.

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 6/26/2024

58-Year-Old Asian Woman Attacked by 2 Thieves With Baseball Bat in Downtown Manhattan
A surveillance video from New York City has revealed a disturbing incident where two masked men randomly attacked an Asian woman on the street.

Small Dead Animals - Wednesday On Turtle Island

Dementia Joe’s America: Cheap fakes. Comparing the U.S. to Canada.
Blackie’s Canada: Free speech in Justin’s Canada. The groomers in Durham. Hamas in Montreal.

Tam at View From The Porch - Tab Clearing...

Squillionaires with jillion acre spreads in Wyoming can be incredibly petty.
"Getting canceled by the woke mob" is apparently a career path now.

Flopping Aces - The Week in Radical Leftism, 06/28/2024

6/27 – Cast Away Illusions and Prepare for Struggle
6/28 – How to Help Recovering Progressives

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 28 June 2024: Mouse Cakes Edition

OpenAI has a new version of ChatGPT, designed specifically to get into arguments with the previous version of ChatGPT. (Ars Technica)
Okay. Sure. Why not?

Wombat-socho again - In The Mailbox: 06.28.24

Volokh Conspiracy: The Supreme Court’s Decision Overruling Chevron is Important—But Less so than You Might Think
Watts Up With That: Maldives Are Not Being Submerged After All – NYT

Battleswarm Blog - LinkSwarm For June 28, 2024

A short roundup of all the Democrats who lied about how “sharp” Biden was.
It’s an insoluble mystery: “Home prices are at an all-time high; meanwhile, pre-owned home sales are at a 30-year low.”

Cafe Hayek - Some Links

Fiona Harrigan reports that “America’s mayors say the heartland needs immigrants.”
Here’s some good news, out of Texas, regarding school choice.

Maggie's Farm - A few Wednesday morning links

It’s Been 6 Years Since Greta Thunberg Warned We Have 5 Years to Stop the Extinction of Humanity
This Energy Transition Thing Really Is Not Happening

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 6//27/24

The Marxist notion that traditional culture is the source of oppression in the modern world is still very much with us.
Cultural Marxism: A Century Old and Thriving

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: 1,500 Illegal Aliens Who Are Possible ISIS Terrorists Have Entered U.S. Under Mayorkas

• Stop the Ukrainian Meatgrinder? Victor - Davis Hanson
• Argentina Logs First Week with No Inflation in Food Prices in 30 Years - Breitbart

I leave you with Wednesday's gifs from Wirecutter, Thursday Memes … from MaddMedic, and Slavery is Freedom .........from Rico at Theo Spark

The Dumbing Down of Baltimore

From Jeb Bush we get an indictment of the educational system. Jeb Bush: Our public schools are failing. Give parents a choice.

And it isn't only Baltimore, but this story concentrates on that city.

Nationally, we know math scores have significantly dropped, and in Baltimore, there are 23 schools (out of 150 in the district that administered the state test) where not a single student is proficient in math at their grade level.

According to an analysis by Project Baltimore that examined student math test scores in the city, 93% of third through eighth graders in Baltimore City Public Schools are unable to do math on grade level.

This is not because the students in Baltimore less intelligent than they were 50 years ago, or less intelligent than students in other places, it is because of the way math is taught. If you want to learn math, you need to do worksheets, you need to memorize the basic multiplication tables, but teachers don't like grading worksheets, especially if they need to check the students work to see that they didn't copy the answer from a neighbor. And so we have a generation who, mostly can't do math.

See the video You're Not Bad At Math, You're Just Lazy. Well, and your teachers were probably lazy as well.

It doesn't help that teachers today are more interested in teaching kids about their sex lives, instead of teaching stuff that really matters.

According to a new poll released by yes. every kid., 7 in 10 Black families support education savings accounts – an education funding model that allows parents to have the flexibility to use education funds to pay for a variety of education expenses ranging from private tuition to tutoring, online courses or a blend of options.

I'm sorry but math is critical to everything from carpentry to engineering. So if you want a world where no new products are made, no homes get built, etc. go right on ignoring math. (Hat tip to Maggie's Farm.)

Disappear

Jane Getter Premonition is led by vocalist and guitarist Jane Getter. The band also includes Adam Holzman on keyboards, guitarist Alex Skolnick, bassist and singer Paul Frazier and drummer Gene Lake. I tripped over them during the lockdowns, and mostly forgot about them. I occasionally get one of their songs through a playlist constructed by the Tidal streaming service. And once in a while I will search them out. I do like some of their work.

This is "Disappear" from Jane Getter Premonition from their 2021 album Anomalia.

I Have a Different Opinion on the Debate

This is from The Other McCain. MELTDOWN: Democrats Panic After Biden Has the ‘Single Worst Debate Performance in American History’

My pre-debate prediction was that CNN had this “debate” pre-arranged to be a Biden victory, but if so, it certainly didn’t work as planned. Not only is CNN itself now admitting that Biden crashed like the Hindenburg at Lakehurst, but there is a universal consensus among Democrats and all their media mouthpieces that (a) Biden cannot win in November and (b) he therefore must be replaced as the party’s nominee

My opinion is that whoever is actually running the country - it clearly is not Joe - knew that he would fail in the debate. That is WHY the debate is so early. Before the convention. The earliest Presidential debate ever. This is so that they can replace him at the convention. With Newsome, or Michelle Obama, or whoever.

My question is, why haven't they removed him from office? He clearly is not competent to be in office. He hasn't been for some time.

My other questions is when does someone get charged with elder abuse?

Back to The Other McCain.

Yes, how did we get here? With the surprising midnight discovery of “extra” mail-in ballots on Election Night 2020? How did we get here, with 51 intelligence operatives signing a letter swearing that Hunter Biden’s laptop was “Russian disinformation”? How did we get here, with a “cabal” of operatives bragging about how they “fortified” Biden’s alleged victory in 2020? You see, Ms. McCaskill, some of us know damned well how we got here, and we know who is responsible for this. Unlike you, however, we don’t “feel terribly for Joe Biden,” as this was the logical conclusion of his long and dishonest career in politics. His first presidential campaign collapsed because Biden was caught plagiarizing his speeches. In early 2020 — don’t you remember? — Biden was on the verge of losing the Democratic nomination to Bernie Sanders until James Carville swooped in, got James Clyburn to endorse Biden, then locked down the black vote to win the South Carolina primary.

RTWT.

What's going on here? - A Post-Debate Musical Interlude

Trying to find a song to express how I feel about the debate is a losing battle, mostly. English doesn't seem up to the task. So here is a song from Eiscbrecher (Icebreaker) a Neue Deutsche Härte band (New German Hardness)

And so we have a special Friday edition of Metal for Mondays.

I like a lot of the stuff Eisbrecher produces, though I can only listen to so much German Heavy Metal in one sitting. They have been very prolific the past few years, putting out several albums. About 1 a year, even through COVID.

And since the song is in German, here's a link to the lyrics and their English translation.

The start of the refrain (in English) is:

What's going on here - what?
What has happened - what?
How can it be,
That that doesn't concern anybody here?

This song is „Was ist hier los?“ by Eisbrecher from the 2017 album Sturmfahrt (which is "Storm Ride" in English). The song title translates as "What's Going On Here?"

A note on the lyrics...

*A reference to the game Wahrheit oder Pflicht - Truth or Dare, but literally "truth or obligation"

Also, when does what the Democrats have been doing to Joe Biden constitute elder abuse?

Friday Links - 28 June

AWR Hawkins at Breitbart is first with an interesting statistic. California: No. 1 in Gun Control, No. 1 in ‘Active Shooter Incidents’ in 2023

The FBI “designated 48 shootings as active shooter incidents” in 2023. California was the leading state in the nation, having 8 of the 48 incidents.

Glenn Harlan Reynolds - Crime and Punishment in the 21st Century

To no one’s surprise, the Supreme Court in U.S. v. Rahimi has upheld a law forbidding people under domestic-violence restraining orders from obtaining firearms.

Clayton Cramer - Interesting New Theory of Easter Island Collapse

In a comprehensive new study, researchers found that the population of monument-carvers could not possibly have been big enough to collapse under the demands placed on their environment, as has previously been suggested.

William Teach at Pirate's Cove - Right On Schedule, The Atlantic Whines About Other People Using Air Conditioning

It’s seems to be a yearly rite of passage, where some outlet complains about AC at this time of the year, and it’s certainly not the first The Atlantic article that does this over the years

Paul Joseph Watson at Modernity News posted to Zero Hedge - People Surprised And Worried By UK Army Ad Showing Exclusively White People

People have expressed ominous surprise that the British military is once again targeting white men in recruitment ads, with some seeing it as a sign that war is coming.

The Other McCain - NY16 Primary Results

9 p.m. ET: Polls just closed in New York, where the Democratic primary in the 16th congressional district pits deranged Jew-hater Jamaal Bowman against a slightly less crazy challenger, George Latimer.

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 26 June 2024: Stochastic Scrabble Bag Edition Wordpress runs a LOT of the internet.

Five Wordpress plugins - not official plugins but still hosted on Wordpress.org - were hacked and had backdoors inserted into the source code. (Bleeping Computer)

The Wordpress model means that security is not even an option; any plugin can do anything. The core Wordpress code has been relatively stable and free of exploits for a while now, but since [every] Wordpress blog uses plugins, that's not much of a reassurance.

Area Ocho - Saber Rattling and Hollow Shell

Our military is an overly expensive, hollow shell that can’t accomplish many of its core missions. Any war against a near peer adversary is therefore likely to end with the exchange of strategic nuclear weapons as our military gets its ass handed to them.

Again from The Other McCain - Prediction: Worst ‘Debate,’ Ever

Every day, I watch CNN (so you don’t have to) and for the past several days, they’ve been hyping up tonight’s so-called “debate” between Joe Biden and Donald Trump as the Most Important Debate in World History. Like everything else on CNN, this is a lie.

Smitty at The Other McCain has a debate poem. An Hour and a Half That Cannot be Recovered. There is more than I've included here.

Zombie Joe
Who do you know?
That last brain cell is failing. ...

The last word goes to Adaptive Curmudgeon on Debates. How It Should Be

I ponder learned men and women discussing issues of great import. I imagine Socrates rocking a Greek toga while Cicero in Roman garb that’s basically a hipper version of an old Greek toga strides about. Everyone there is smart, civil, and intelligent. Any moderator who interrupts gets stabbed. You need to swear on your mother’s grave that you’ve read at least three books per quarter just to watch. If you’re lying, the Oracle of Delphi knows and rats you out. Liars are thrown down a well… which, now that I think of it, should be applied to Congress starting now. We might need to dig more wells.

People You Know Can Be a Threat

Use the tools you have at hand. 84-Year-Old Woman Stabs 27-Year-Old Nephew in Self-Defense | The Truth About Guns

Self-defense isn’t just delivered from the muzzle end of a gun. It comes in many forms.

The Left loves to go on about how if you own a gun, you are more likely to shoot someone you know. This story doesn't feature a firearm, but it does point out the fact that not everyone you know is a saint, and you might have to defend yourself from them at some point in time.

This story is out Kershaw County, South Carolina. That county is about 40 miles northeast of Columbia, South Carolina.

So, what do you get when you’re a 27-year-old male and you attempt to physically beat down your 84-year-old aunt? If your aunt is Mary Jones of Kershaw County, South Carolina, you get an extra hole put in your body courtesy of a hard thrusted knife blade.

What kind of monster attacks his 84-year-old aunt?

“He is 27 and she is 84. If he put his hands on her and she was defending herself, not only is he going to get the stabbing, he is also going to get some charges,” said Sheriff Boan. But as of time of the News 4 report, no charges had been filed for either party.

Self defense is a human right, even against your relatives.

Snarky Jay Body Slams Kathleen Kennedy and Star Wars

Snarky Jay (Jay Fett) is a YouTube creator and cosplayer. She has a few thoughts for Kathleen Kennedy on why she doesn't like what has been done to Star Wars. No one does. Star Wars: The Acolyte has angered people who don't consider themselves fans. #RIPStarWars

I only tripped across Snarky Jay, because her YouTube channel was mentioned in a video by Tyrone Magnus. While I watch a lot of Tyrone's reaction videos, I didn't watch all of this one, but watched the original. I do like some of Tyrone's reactions/reviews.

Actually, most of the YT videos I have seen that take the stuffing out of KK, Star Wars, and Lucasfilm in general, are more entertaining than anything put out by Disney in the past half decade. (Do we need to discuss Indiana Jones and the Insufferable Feminist?)

This is the video A LETTER to KATHLEEN KENNEDY… from STAR WARS' TOXIC FANBASE, which is actually from Snarky Jay. There is a somewhat annoying sponsor/ad from 1:26 to 3:54, but you have to give Jay credit, for knowing who her core audience is.

Liberty Doll Takes on the ATF

She is braver than I. Granted, the ATF has been up to no good these past 3 years.

Alright folks this one is going to get real. It will almost certainly be demonetized, and will get me onto any watch list I'm not already making regular guest appearances on. Hopefully it won't get me arrested, or thrown into some black sight in Virginia. This is still the USA, with all of its attendant Constitutional Rights, after all. At least most of the time. Some of the time? Okay, once in a while, we still have our rights.

Is the ATF a criminal organization? That question is purely rhetorical. So go barricade yourself in the basement, lock your doors, and put on your tinfoil hats, my friends, because this is the stuff that the government doesen't like us talking about.

This is Liberty Doll's video The ATF is a Criminal Organization. It's about 13 minutes, so grab a beverage of choice.

First He Was Shot, Then He Was Arrested

I'm sure he planned that his day would turn out differently. Man tries to gun down ex, her new boyfriend, but ends up only one shot, Miami-Dade police say

Also, people need to come to terms with the statement, "It's over!"

A southwest Miami-Dade man is facing five felony charges, including two counts of attempted murder, after police said he opened fire on his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend.

According to an arrest report, the suspected gunman, convicted felon Steven Alexander Williams, apparently missed his targets. However, police said the woman’s new boyfriend didn’t: He shot back in self-defense, hitting Williams in the leg.

Couple of center-mass shots would have saved the taxpayers money, but at least justice might be served.

One of those unnamed charges is sure to be prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

The 57-year-old spent nearly eight years in prison after 1990 convictions for aggravated battery, aggravated assault with a weapon and threatening to use a firearm.

The two people shot at were not arrested because this didn't happen in New York City.

The Hype Driving Artificial Intelligence

I Will Fucking Piledrive You If You Mention AI Again

Probably only of interest to the hardcore geeks. And there are more than a few F-bombs.

The guy behind Lucidity is an actual data scientist who knows machine learning - one branch of AI, not currently as popular as the Large Language Models like ChatGPT.

So it is with great regret that I announce that the next person to talk about rolling out AI is going to receive a complimentary chiropractic adjustment in the style of Dr. Bourne, i.e, I am going to fucking break your neck. I am truly, deeply, sorry.

First it was blockchain and NFTs. I'm sure there were any number of TED talks on how blockchain was going to revolutionize the [pick your favorite] industry. (Does anyone remember Bored Ape NFTs?)

Actually first it was Bubble Memory - but that dates to the prehistory of the 1980s. Then it Dot Com insanity of the 1990s. Then it was real estate before the crash. Then it was blockchain and NFTs. Go read Extraordinary Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, by Charles Mackay. It was published in 1841. At least read the chapter on the Tulip Mania in volume 1.

Now it is AI. Even though ChatGPT told people to put glue on their pizza, and Google's Gemini gave someone the instructions for brewing botulism toxin when they were trying to infuse garlic into olive oil (could have/would have killed their entire family), AI is all the rage.

The number of companies launching AI initiatives far outstripped the number of actual use cases. Most of the market was simply grifters and incompetents (sometimes both!) leveraging the hype to inflate their headcount so they could get promoted, or be seen as thought leaders.

If you want to spend money on something, how about you bolster your ability to recover from a ransomware attack.

Whenever there is a ransomware attack, it is revealed with clockwork precision that no one has tested the backups for six months and half the legacy systems cannot be resuscitated - something that I have personally seen twice in four fucking years. Do you know how insane that is?

If you're interested in technology, or the madness of crowds, and want to see a takedown of AI by a guy with the credentials then click thru. There is a fair amount on the grifters in tech, the opportunists in the corporate suites, and the state of technology.

Hat tip to Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony with Daily News Stuff 21 June 2024: Also Also With Edition.

Man has opinions. The opinions are mostly correct though.

After the break you will find a poem by Kipling that these situations always bring to mind, "The Gods of the Copybook Headings." Something about the insanity with which business pursues AI reminds me of the perpetual search for the easy answer.

This Story Reads Like You Should Feel Sorry for the Business Owner

I feel sorry for the family of the dead woman. A 48-unit Subway franchisee declares bankruptcy

This is a Restaurant Business Online story, so it is not surprising that the concentrate on the business aspects. But even then, they ignore the most important lesson for a business owner. More on that below.

So the Subway franchisee, who runs 48 stores, lost a $3 million judgement in a wrongful death suit. The article above lists the problems that Subway as a whole has, and more details on this business in particular.

But the situation is not just, "someone sued us, and now we have financial difficulties." Chubb: No Duty to Defend Texas Subway Franchise in Killing Case.

Marisela Cadena was employed by River Sub as a store manager at a San Antonio Subway restaurant in 2020. On February 16, 2020, Cadena’s ex-boyfriend kidnapped Cadena at gunpoint and took her to a field for several hours.

Caden reported her ex-boyfriend to the police, sought protection from the authorities via a restraining/protective order, and requested a transfer from River Sub’s district manager, Sergio Martinez. According to lawsuit against River Sub, Martinez was apparently aware of the prior kidnapping but not did transfer Cadena to a different store location.

So, he had an employee with a violent stalker, who requested a move to a different location. He denied that transfer. I am sure, though I haven't read it anywhere, that the store provided no security. Why would they?

And I found at least one story that said a Subway employee with a concealed carry permit shot a robber with a pellet gun, and no immediate mention of them losing their job. A lot of businesses want their employees disarmed, even though they provide no security.

So what is the business lesson? Don't leave your employees hanging out to dry, or you may face consequences. In this case the consequences are financial, but workplace shooters often shoot people who are not the primary target of their wrath. (The life you save may be your own.)

Personally I would like to see businesses held accountable for bad outcomes when they create defenseless victim zones. You say I can't be armed on your premises, then you accept responsibility for ensure that nothing bad happens on your premises.

In this case, the manager in question could have granted the transfer, if only for a temporary period in time until the boyfriend had been apprehended. But that would have been inconvenient for the manager, and so the woman is dead, because he couldn't be bothered to show a little human compassion.

Wednesday Link Roundup - 26 June

Better late than never...

Pirate's Cove starts things moving with Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

12. Powerline highlights companies getting rid of DEI
13. Sultan Knish covers what happened after California legalized drugs

DaleyGator - WEEKEND FUN STUFF

Pirates Cove is interested in what you see. Like really interested. Yes interested
DIOGENES has some great guitar playing

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 06.24.24

Dana Loesch: Last Week In Legal – Judge Cannon Edition
Don Surber: Should I link NYT?

Political Hat - News of the Week (June 23rd, 2024)

Oregon Doctors Could Soon Lose Their Licenses for ‘Microaggressions’ Under Proposed Medical Board Rule
State’s proposal will have ‘chilling effect on speech,’ top expert warns

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 6/25/2024

An Idaho man and member of the Satanic Temple has been found guilty of being in possession of “very disturbing child abuse and child pornography” material.
Jason Russell, 22, pled guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a child

Don Surber - Highlights of the week

ITEM 5: Citizen Free Press tweeted video of vandals trying to destroy Stonehenge.
What they cannot turn into a mosque, lefties will destroy.

Vlad Tepes - Flotsam and Jetsam - Snope Refutes 'Fine People on Both Sides' Hoax

. As noted by 'Bonchie' at RedState, Snopes Finally Gets Around to Fact-Checking the Entire Basis of Biden's Presidency, and Libs Are Big Mad. Breitbart, Seven Years Later, Snopes Says Trump Did Not Call Neo-Nazis ‘Very Fine People’.

Bacon Time!!!! - Sunday Linkage

The Air Vent - Michigan Democrats Legalize Vote Fraud — that doesn’t exist.
Watts Up With That? - In Case You Think Someone Has the Answer To New York’s Looming Energy Disaster

Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 06.25.24

Volokh Conspiracy: Two Federal Courts Rule Against Biden’s New Student Loan Forgiveness Plan on the Same Day
Watts Up With That: Exploding Batteries Spark Deadly S Korea Factory Fire

Small Dead Animals - Tuesday On Turtle Island

Woke Britain: The Frank Report. Notes from the sticks.
Dementia Joe’s America: America is crumbling – Victor Davis Hanson. The migrant murderers. President Benedict Arnold.

Tam at View From the Porch - Tab Clearing...

Newly expanded NATO base in Romania is even bigger than Ramstein.
Now we all speak Phone.

Cafe Hayek - Some Links

Neal McCluskey has good advice for improving American higher education: “Get the Feds out.”
Gene Healy talks with Matt Taibbi about the perilous state of Americans’ First Amendment rights.

Maggie's Farm - A few Saturday morning links

Here's How Long It Takes for Instagram to Start Grooming Children Who Join
Spectator: The American Ornithological Society’s war on the past Birding has become a battleground — far from the broad sunny uplands it was before 2020

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - June 24, 2024

There is a Stasi-like attachment to trying to get Americans to tattle on one another.
DHS Docs Reveal Who the Biden Junta Really Sees as Terrorist Threats

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: Here It Comes

• Inflation May Have Been Much Higher Than We Thought - Pomp Letter
• Meta Tries to Dissuade Instagram Users From Following Tucker Carlson While Claiming It Is Not Biased - Jeff Charles

I leave you with Sunday Funnies For 06-23-24 from Stately McDaniel Manor, Sunday Funnies from Flopping Aces, Memes and other amusements from The Feral Irishman, and Mondays..... gifdump from Wirecutter.

What Happens When You Defund the Police?

Nothing good. Longer police response times alarm citizens across the U.S. due to staffing shortages.

Open the Books discovered that in 2022, the Metro Nashville Police Department took an average of 74 minutes to respond to calls which is 60 minutes longer than the year before.

That's an average, apparently of all calls. They don't give any information on how calls are broken out severity.

The average drive that cop had to make to respond to a 911 call in Nashville was 16 minutes. That is a long time, if bad things are happening. I'm also not sure if that varies by the nature of the call. (Reporters need to learn to include statistics in their writing.)

If you read the article linked above, you would think that the staffing problems in Nashville PD are all about inflation and budgets. That is partially true.

But Nashville went in on "Defund the Police" in a big way after the canonization of St. George of the Floyd. That isn't mentioned anywhere in the article linked above.

You’re probably familiar with former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, but do you know the names of Officer Michael Collazo or Officer Rex Engelbert? They were the officers of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department who stopped Audrey Hale from killing more innocent children.

Now, ask yourself, why don’t you know their names?

For reasons I cannot deduce, the Left seems to want chaos in our cities. That is certainly the outcome of their policies.

Calling 911 is a fine thing to do. They can send all kinds of help your way. But that help will not arrive instantly. Better have a plan for what to do while you wait.

I Don't Think Criminal Justice Reform Is Working

It is not working very well if you count the victims. Gunman killed Jai'Mani Rivera 2 weeks after cutting off ankle monitor: prosecutors - CWB Chicago

Raysean Comer was arrested for a felony charge, but because it is not fair to keep felons in jail, he was placed on electronic monitoring. He cut off his ankle monitor. He also failed to appear in court on a different charge. All of the charges he was facing include robbery, battery, and possession of a stolen vehicle. Comer is 16 years old.

Two weeks after he cut off the ankle monitor, he opened fire in a parking structure, and killed Jai’mani Amir Rivera, who was 7 years old. He was taking a cooking pot back to a neighbors house, 300 yards from Comer when she was struck in the chest by a bullet.

[Raysean Comer] is the 14th person accused of shooting, killing, or trying to shoot or kill someone in Chicago this year while on pretrial release. The cases involve 26 victims, four of whom died.

Now that he has killed someone, they will hold him pending trial. I'm sure that is cold comfort to the family of the dead child.

Tennessee Hill Country Blues - "Delta Highway"

I love the sound that Justine Johnson gets out of a Resonator Guitar. And I love his guitar playing.

This is "Delta Highway" by Justin Johnson. I don't believe that this is part of an album, though he does produce albums. Most of his songs are "released" to YouTube, which is where I found this one.

Politics, the State of American Foreign Policy, and More

It's all crap. From The Other McCain we get the following. AOC, ‘ADOS,’ and the Strange New Contours of ‘White Supremacy’

One of the basic problems of young extremists — this is equally true of Nick Fuentes and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — is that they don’t know history, and cannot be made to understand why history matters. A few years ago, Michelle Malkin tried to get Fuentes to abandon his Jew-hating (thus to make his “Groypers” a force capable of influencing mainstream politics), but that proved to be a futile effort.

Click thru for more on the current insanity, the failure of American foreign policy to really reformulate itself after the fall of the Soviet Union, and more.

It is a long post, so grab a coffee. It is hard to know what to highlight, but I will settle for this.

In the same way (and for the same reason) that Democrats hype the threat of “white supremacy,” they also accuse Republicans of promoting “Christian nationalism.” It should be obvious that both of these propaganda phrases are aimed at keeping Jews so afraid of Republicans — “Orange Man Bad!” — that they’ll vote for Joe Biden, despite the disastrous consequences of Biden’s policies for Israel, despite the blatant anti-Semitism expressed by Democrats like Jamaal Bowman, and despite the fact that American Christians are overwhelmingly pro-Israel.

It is worth a few minutes of your time.

Tuesday Links - 25 June

A somewhat abbreviated links post this Tuesday. The technical difficulties have not spun totally out of control, but some things have to take a back seat, and since blogging is a hobby (and probably a form of therapy) it had to shift.

The Other McCain is first with the story from Friday. Mass Murder in Fordyce, Arkansas

As soon as this shooting made the news on Friday, I immediately said what every Alabama fan said: “Bear Bryant’s hometown!”

Tam at View From The Porch - Does not work that way!

I yelled at the TV “There aren’t degrees of uniqueness! That’s literally what it means!”

Watts Up With That - “Seasonal” Renewable Output Fail Bites Australia

Reliability risks are increasing according to [The Australian Energy Market Operator], though the latest report paints a rosy picture of all the investment in renewables which is going to materialise. Any day now.

The Gateway Pundit - UPDATE: Maryland’s Democrat LGBTQ Diversity Council Scrubs Page of Chair Who Attempted to Meet With 14-Year-Old Decoy, Full Video Released

According to Rosen, Michael Knaapen, chair of the Maryland Dem’s LGBTQ Diversity Council, attempted to meet up with a 14-year-old decoy after exchanging sexually inappropriate messages with the decoy, who told Knaapen he was 14.

Wombat-socho - FMJRA 2.0: Bullpen Blues

Top linkers for the week ending June 21:

1.  EBL (17)
2.  357 Magnum (16)
3.  A View From The Beach (11)

Thanks to everyone for all the links!

Good Guys 4, Bad Guys 0

Also, Texans are still armed, and home invaders are still getting shot. 3 people killed by NW Houston homeowner during attempted apartment unit invasion

Four people tried to invade a Houston apartment Saturday afternoon. Things apparently didn't work out the way they intended.

Three people were pronounced dead at the scene, and another person involved in the suspected invasion has been detained at the scene, per Houston Police Department.

Almost no information has been released, because the investigation continues.

Self defense is a human right, and this didn't take place in Manhattan.

How Is That Criminal Justice Reform Working Out?

Not good if you count the victims. Man gets 21 years for shooting Logan Square carjacking victim (while on pretrial release for 3 felonies) - CWB Chicago

Yes, he was out on pretrial release (bail) for 3 felony charge being handled in juvenile court, when he committed a carjacking, and shot the victim in the hand.

Prosecutors dropped 16 other felonies, including attempted murder, carjacking, and gun violations. He received a consecutive four-year sentence for possessing contraband in a penal institution, a charge he picked up while awaiting trial in the Logan Square case.

It is odd. Chicago prosecutors will tell you they need more gun laws, but the hardly ever seem to prosecute the ones that they do run across.

In Illinois, inmates routinely serve about half of their sentences and are then released on probation.

Duffie was the seventh person accused of killing, shooting, or trying to shoot or kill someone in Chicago in 2021 while on pretrial release. That number has since ballooned to 79 defendants involving 115 victims.

CWB Chicago is keeping score because the judge who started Illinois' version of the no-bail, set 'em free criminal justice system said that there had been no adverse outcomes, or something to that effect. I think the victims of all those crimes might disagree.

What If You Called 911 And The System Wouldn't Answer Your Call?

That was the case in Massachusetts for two hours last Tuesday. Faulty firewall blocked 911 calls throughout Massachusetts for two hours | Ars Technica

A 911 vendor's malfunctioning firewall caused a statewide outage in the emergency calling system in Massachusetts on Tuesday afternoon, the state government said. A Massachusetts government press release issued yesterday said the state's 911 vendor, Comtech, "has advised State 911 that they have applied a technical solution to ensure that this does not happen again."

They aren't releasing a lot of technical data, but then the people making public statements don't understand the technical data. The outage lasted from 13:15 to 15:15 local time. (OK, so 1:15 to 3:15 p.m. - happy now?)

They don't say what the "technical solution" was. My guess is they yelled at the tech department for making a change right before they went to lunch, or something similar.

Hat tip to Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony and Daily News Stuff 21 June 2024: Also Also With Edition.

A statewide 911 outage in Massachusetts was caused by a malfunctioning firewall. (Ars Technica)

It took two hours to find the one guy who knew how to fix it, and then thirty seconds to fix.

Which is not exactly true, but probably not too far off from what happened.

Calling 911 is a fine thing to do, as they can send all kinds of help your way. The only problem is that we have come to rely on it always being there, and because it is a system built by people (and funded - or not - by politicians) it won't always work. You should have some kind of Plan B in place, even if that is having the local fire station and police department's regular phone numbers stored in your phone.

“Kristallnacht 2.0 in Los Angeles”

From The Other McCain we get the following. Pro-Hamas Mob Targets L.A. Synagogue.

Andy Ngo reports that, after Jews started fighting back against the “activists,” suddenly these Antifa-aligned radicals (who hate cops) expected police to protect them from the Jews.

Much info at the link above, including to Andy Ngo.

RTWT

The quote that forms the title to this post is also from The Other McCain.

You aren't an anti-fascist just because you call yourself that, and not when you are channeling the biggest antisemitic organization in the history of mankind.

And because I'm sure that people will not get the reference to Kristallnacht, here is a link to some info on The Night of Broken Glass.

Morning Star

Eastern High is a band I tripped over a few years back. Their debut album came out in 2017. While I think they have a lot of potential, I sometimes think that they need to learn more about song writing. A lot of their work sounds the same to me. That said, I really do like this song from their 2nd album.

Here is a link to the lyrics. You might want them.

This is "Morning Star" by Easter High from their 2021 album Halo.

Don't Bring a Knife to a Gunfight

It won't generally work out for you. MMA veteran Shannon Ritch claims self-defense after deadly shooting in Arizona - MMA Fighting

What follows is the police statement on the incident, which took place in Phoenix.

Preliminary investigation found the victim Alejandro Samplina got into a dispute with the victim/suspect Shannon Ritch over a parking issue. During the argument, Samplina produced a knife and chased Ritch around his vehicle. Ritch was able to retrieve his handgun from the open door of his vehicle. Samplina proceeded to walk towards Ritch with the knife in a threatening manner, in response Ritch fired one round, striking Samplina. Ritch remained on scene and was interview by detectives. Ritch provided a self-defense claim consistent with witnesses and surveillance video. He was released at the conclusion of the investigation; charges will be submitted to Maricopa County Attorney’s office for review.

I don't follow MMA, and so I can't tell you anything about Shannon Ritch. There is some information about him at the bottom of the linked article.

Ritch is older, so he didn't go right to beating the guy up, but why fight when you can rely on a tool.

The No Consequence Justice System in NYC

Fare evasion in the New York Subway (and on the bus system) may seem like it is not a big deal, but Cash Jordan explains how it costs the law-abiding citizens more and more. It is the result, or one of the results, of not enforcing the law, and the economic consequences that has. Don't punish shoplifters, and you will not have any retailers. Retail can only exist in the presence of law and order.

Extra police and even the National Guard in the New York subway, is just window dressing. If they arrest someone, what is the consequence? A ticket? The police in the video embedded below, who are stationed in the subway, are just standing around. If there was a major crime I'm sure they would jump into action, but do you think they are going to risk ending up on YouTube or the Nightly News to enforce subway fares?

No. Subway crime, including fare evasion, is another tax on the law abiding. Literally a tax in the form of Congestion Pricing charged to people who decide that the subway is unsafe, or who it just doesn't serve.

The current solution to fare evasion is to tax cars and trucks in the city. Everything that is consumed by people in NYC is delivered via truck. Tax those trucks, and the cost of EVERYTHING will increase.

Why anyone would want to live in New York City at this point in time, is completely beyond me. Criminals roam free, while you are prosecuted for wrongthink.

Cash Jordan is a YouTube creator who is chronicling the problems in New York City. I don't know how I found his channel, but some of his content is top notch, and better than the reporting being done by the "legitimate media." They won't say anything that might cast the Soft-on-Crime Democrats in a bad light.

The City has no idea why people are breaking into the subway, so they're going to hire a psychologist to figure it out.

But what nobody's talking about is that every single plan that wants to stop crime down here, without actually punishing anybody, is DOOMED to fail. Just like the City's other plans at stopping crime everywhere else.

This is the Cash Jordan video NYC Just Abandoned Its Subway… Permanently.

The title of this post is taken from something Cash Jordan says, when talking about the crime running rampant in NYC right now.

No Consequences in NYC for Antisemitic Actions

Is anyone shocked? Manhattan prosecutors drop charges against 30 Columbia protesters | Fox News

Dozens of anti-Israel protesters who occupied and barricaded themselves in buildings on the Columbia University campus in April had their charges dropped Thursday.

The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg dropped cases against 30 students and staff members who were arrested during the campus unrest.

He dismissed the charges and sealed the records, so we have to take his word on the lack of evidence.

Hat tip to William Teach at Pirate's Cove: Surprise? Alvin Bragg Drops Charges Against Pro-Hamas Columbia Students.

No one saw this coming, right? That the Jew hating, Hamas supporting students would pay no price for their actions

I miss living in a civilized country.

Deputy Bradley J. Reckling

End of Watch. Michigan sheriff's deputy fatally shot pursuing a stolen vehicle in Detroit

Bradley J. Reckling, who was on duty in an unmarked car, was following a 2022 Chevy Equinox Saturday evening after the vehicle was reported stolen earlier in the day from Red Oaks Waterpark in suburban Madison Heights, authorities said.

Reckling and other detectives had been searching for the suspected stolen vehicle and found it in Detroit. Reckling was following it when the vehicle suddenly stopped, people got out and shot the detective in the head, chest and torso, according to Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard.

Deputy Reckling was married, with three children, and a fourth on the way.

Fight Between Coworkers Ends in Self Defense Shooting

I read a lot of stories that don't make sense, because police never release all of the details while they are investigating. I have the feeling that this story will never make sense. Woman killed after fight between coworkers escalates in Rock Hill, police say

A female coworker was having a disagreement/argument with her male coworker. He got in his car and tried to drive away. She got into a car with an acquaintance, Brittney Reed.

The male got into his vehicle and started to drive away but Reed used her vehicle to block him in while he was in traffic.

The female co-worker walked up to the man’s passenger side window and pulled out a gun. He pulled out his gun and shot his co-worker, police said.

Brittney Reed then punched the guy in the face, and left when he screamed at her to leave.

The woman coworker was declared dead at a nearby hospital.

Reed is charged with assault for the punch. The guy is not charged because self defense. Police collected both the woman's gun and the man's gun.

All this took place in Rock Hill, South Carolina, which is about a 25 mile drive south of Charlotte, North Carolina.

What was this about? No idea. Will whatever it was about, make sense? Probably not. It could be over anything from misuse of pronouns, to taking something out of the work refrigerator, to politics, to who got a promotion. It takes so little to set people off today. The veneer of civilization is thin.

Eventually the police will tell everyone what happened, but the media will not be interested, and you won't be able to find a story on it. Unless there are sensational details to the story.

Who Is In Charge In America?

From David Foster of The Chicago Boyz we get a post on the deterioration of society and our institutions. Abuse of Authority, continued

Two years ago, I wrote about the trend toward the abuse of authority by people in various positions. The examples I mentioned were: Teachers and professors, using their jobs to conduct political indoctrination, and even marking down the grades of those with differing views. Corporate executives, using company resources to promote their personal political views. And intelligence officers, using their positions to influence US election outcomes

Today we are faced with officials who tell us not to question the authority of the institutions.

I also see some disturbing things in a recent interview with four-star admiral William McRaven, specifically: every time you undermine one of our institutions, you undermine America. “Undermine” in his usage seems to mean criticizing the actions of any of these institutions. I don’t think that position is consistent with the whole American idea. It’s true that ignorant and overly-broad attacks are destructive–but it’s also true that institutions that are defined to be beyond criticism tend to get worse and worse.

Unthinking loyalty to any system is not the American way.

The History of Bourbon

FABLED POTION - Who Invented Bourbon?

News you can use.

The history of bourbon is shrouded in mystery. There are many myths and educated theories regarding its origin. Authoritative bourbon historians tend to agree that Elijah Craig didn’t invent it. But before we dive into the topic, we must first decide what it is and what’s relevant to the investigation of who invented it.

Hat tip to Wirecutter at Knuckledraggin My Life Away.

In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream

Do you feel old?

Alien, directed by Ridley Scott, staring Sigourney Weaver, was released 22 June 1979. That is 45 years ago.

If you haven't seen it, it is more horror than science fiction, even if it is in a SciFi setting.

At this point I would usually embed the original trailer, but it isn't very good, even by the standards of 1979. You can find it at this link.

I think this meme does a better job of summing up the plot.

Saturday Roundup of Link Roundups - 22 June

We start off with Animal Magnetism and Animal’s Hump Day News

Biden won’t say anything more intelligible than “bibble.”
They can see what side their bread is buttered on.
Dammit, Piers Morgan, stop making me like you!

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 06.19.24

Da Tech Guy: Trump Takes a Page from the Tip O’Neil Playbook
Don Surber: That’s A Shame Month

EBL - Oh Crap, It's almost Midsommar!

TOM: The Warning From Sweden
Steyn on Line: Malmö and Me

The Right Way - Top of the News

JUNETEENTH SHOOTER A GANG BANGING THUG? - The Daley Gator
New Boeing Whistleblower Comes Forward, Company CEO Will Soon Testify - IOTW Report

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 20 June 2024: Legs Of Justice Edition

The EU wants to scan all your messages - including the ones with end-to-end encryption. (The Verge)
The Telescreen is $299. The Telescreen with bundled ads is $199.

Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 06.20.24

This Ain’t Hell: AF General on trial this week, Hamas Pier, and Donald Sutherland passes, age 88
Transterrestrial Musings: Illegitimate Committee

Small Dead Animals - Wednesday On Turtle Island

Woke Britain: The self love in group hate. Your morning meme. A cartoon. Another cartoon.
Dementia Joe’s America: Celebrate Pride Month. Jordan Peterson explains why young women are more woke.

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - Cheap Fakes or Cheap Thrills?

At Am Con, Biden Announces Amnesty for over 500,000 Illegal Aliens. "State of the Union: The plan covers those married to U.S. Citizens." Hat Hair's KT hears Governor Abbott Flames Biden's Mass Amnesty Policy. NewsMax, Trump: Biden Wants to Be 'President for Illegal Aliens'

Flopping Aces - The Week in Radical Leftism, 06/21/2024

6/17 – Joe Biden Reminds Us to Buy Guns and Ammunition
6/18 – California Legalized Drugs. Cartels Took It Over.

Cafe Hayek - Some Links

My intrepid Mercatus Center colleague, Veronique de Rugy, makes clear some of the benefits that would ensue if the U.S. Supreme Court gets rid of Chevron deference.

Wombat-socho again - In The Mailbox: 06.21.24

Shark Tank: DeSantis Announces Massive GDP Growth In Florida – Double National Rate
Shot In The Dark: It’s Transit Memorial Day

Vlad Tepes - 3 main media sites ramp up the commie tactics over C-67, Disney won’t hire even half white males: Links 1 for June 21, 2024

1. At this point fewer and fewer people need to be shown that CBC is a weapon against the Canadian people, culture, and mostly liberties. This goes for CTV and Global as well of course.

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 6/21/2024

Jewish Harvard student Shabbos Kestenbaum, who is suing the Ivy League school along with other unnamed students over antisemitism, described an unsafe environment at the university during an event hosted by former alum Lieba Nesis last week.

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 6//20/24

A recent conference in Detroit revealed its radical aims.
What Does the Student Intifada Want?

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: We’re All Soviets Now

• Ghetto Gavin Newsom's Oakland, California Transformed Into Warzone On Juneteenth - ZH
• The Warning Signs are Flashing Red - Karen Townsend

Maggie's Farm - Friday morning links

VDH: How California’s Paradise Become our Purgatory
Ecuadorian illegal alien is surprised to find he can't get away with rape in Queens, New York

I leave you with Your middle of the week memes from Wirecutter, Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #1834 from 90 Miles from Tyranny, and Must Be Libturd Thursday ~ AM

Professional Journalists Hate the Very Idea of Legal Self Defense

They have questions about the legality of defending yourself after you've been attacked. Questions about this case only exist in the minds of Professional Journalists™. Deadly Commerce City home invasion leads to questions about ‘Make My Day’ law

Someone at KDVR - Fox 31, in Denver, knows that they screwed up, because they changed the title of the article. It was originally as listed above. They changed it to, "Commerce City police investigate after resident reportedly shot, killed intruder." They didn't bother to change the 1st paragraph.

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (KDVR) — A Commerce City resident shot and killed a man who had allegedly broken in and assaulted the resident early on Sunday, according to police, and now questions have arisen about whether the shooting falls under a Colorado self-defense law.

Their own legal advisor says that Colorado homeowners have the right to defend themselves if people come to their property and present a threat. The homeowner in question had to be hospitalized for injuries received from the guy he shot. I think that means he was a threat. "Professional Journalists" do not agree.

Granted, the investigation is ongoing. But in cases like this, that are not a mystery, that usually means they are waiting for a coroner's report, a drug screen to see if any toxic substances were found, an ID (which I don't believe has been made in this case), before the police can finish their paperwork, and turn the case over to the DA. That doesn't mean they suspect foul play, it means real life doesn't play out as fast as it does on CSI, or whatever is your favorite cop show.

But the Journalists can't reference all of those facts and move on, because the current narrative is that Colorado's "Make My Day" law (named after the Clint Eastwood quote from from his iconic Dirty Harry character) is bad. They must support the narrative, and that means taking every opportunity to attack the law, and the right to self defense. How dare you not rely on the State, even for the things the state cannot provide.

Self Defense in Mississippi

I'm guessing he didn't plan on his day working out this way. POLICE: Man killed after threatening driver, homeowner in D’Iberville

First he shot at a driver, while he was driving. Then he accosted a homeowner in his driveway.

While police were investigating that first shooting, officers received another call of a shooting at a home on Gorenflo Road.

When police arrived, Parker was found dead on the driveway. During their investigation, police said they learned Parker had previously threatened the homeowner.

He had been shot one time by the homeowner.

D'Iberville, Mississippi is about 1 mile north of Biloxi. It lies just across Biloxi Bay, on the mainland, while Biloxi is on a peninsula on the Gulf Coast.

The details are thin, but the police are still investigating. My guess, which is only a guess, is that this is a case of what The Other McCain calls, "Crazy People Are Dangerous."

Still, the cops didn't arrest anyone, because self defense is a human right, and in Mississippi it appears to be your legal right.

Cops Don't Like To Be Recorded

Even though most of them are wearing body cameras, they don't like you using your cellphone to record video. From Reason Magazine: Florida Man Suing After Being Arrested for Filming Police

Numerous federal appeals courts have ruled that filming police is protected under the First Amendment, but police continue to illegally arrest people for it.

Marion County, Florida is about halfway between Orlando, home of The Mouse, and Gainesville, home of The University of Florida and The Florida Gators.

In 2021, Marion County Sheriff's Deputy Neil Rosaci arrested George Nathansen and charged him with obstruction of justice for refusing to follow his orders to leave the scene of an investigation. However, body camera footage showed Nathansen standing at least 30 feet away on a public sidewalk before Rosaci walked over and handcuffed him.

In Nathansen's lawsuit, filed last Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, he alleges that Rosaci and the Marion County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) violated his Fourth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment rights by falsely arresting and incarcerating him.

This will end up costing the taxpayers of Marion County quite a bit. I doubt it will have any impact on the officer in question. Because they almost always get a free ride when their actions lead to a civil rights law suit.

Brand New Day

Yet another song courtesy of 93 WXRT (Chicago's Finest Rock) and Saturday Morning Flashback. On Saturday the first of June they were revisiting 1999, which despite what a lot of boomers think produced a fair amount of good music. And a couple of good movies - like The Matrix.

I'm sorry to break it to you, but the 200 songs that were popular when you were in high school are NOT the greatest songs of all time. One or two may qualify, but only if you limit yourself to whatever genre you listened to at the time.

This is "Brand New Day" by Sting. It was the title song to his 1999 album.

2016 Never Trump "Strategist" Needed a Better Strategy

I wish I could write as well as The Other McCain. Another #NeverTrump Embarrassment: ‘Lewd and Lascivious Behavior’

In 2016 the likes of Kristol, David French, et al. wanted Evan McMullin to run for President. His campaign was a complete failure.

The campaign (with former GOP operative Mindy Finn as McMullin’s VP running mate) was a sad joke, which managed to get barely 730,00 votes (less than one-half of one percent of the total) and failed to achieve its only real goal, i.e., to take votes away from Donald Trump and thereby elect Hillary Clinton.

Which was always the goal of Never Trump.

Did I mention — because it seems relevant — that the McMullin campaign cheated its employees and vendors to the tune of $669,330.95?

Well, a bit of financial chicanery goes a long way in a situation like that. Anyway...

The “chief strategist” of that debacle was Joel Searby who, going from one grift to another, in 2022 became political director of the short-lived “Renew America Movement,” which subsequently merged into the Forward Party ...

He didn't stop there. Click thru for the details on Mr. Searby's political career, and how he seems to have gotten crosswise with the law in the past few months.

“Allegedly,” I hasten to add, although I suspect Searby will be too busy trying to stay out of prison to be filing lawsuits against a blogger who forgot to use “allegedly” about these felony charges.

While you're reading that, remember that the Never Trump crew were convinced that Donald Trump was too crass, too uncivilized to be President, and reflect on the character of those they thought were good enough.