Friday Links - 28 February

The Other McCain starts us off with some Baseball history. Career Advice for Young Men

When the Baseball Hall of Fame began in 1936, Honus Wagner was one of five players — along with Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson — inducted as inaugural members. Babe Ruth called Wagner “immortal” and said he “was perhaps the greatest right-handed hitter of all time” (Ruth and Cobb both batted left-handed).

Glenn Harlan Reynolds - Let's Go Privateering!

We’ve heard a bit about letters of marque and reprisal recently. Sen. Mike Lee has proposed bringing back letters of marque in a thread on X, suggesting them as a tool for going after Mexican drug cartels.

Brad Slager at Red State - The BBC Is Going Through a Core Meltdown As Biased Details Expose Its Pro-Hamas Documentary

What is fairly apparent is that this is a fiasco that has been generated from the network’s longstanding position of backing for Palestine and, by extension, Hamas. The BBC has held the approach towards this conflict of not labeling Hamas as a terrorist outfit, nor willing to call its violent actions acts of terrorism. The BBC has shown to be more than willing to run with claims and outright propaganda from Hamas with little journalistic skepticism.

100% Fed Up - DOGE Cancels $52 Million Payment To Klaus Schwab’s World Economic Forum!

But there may be a new king of the hill when it comes to ridiculous payments: $52 million to the rich world “elites” over at the World Economic Forum!

Daily Signal - House DOGE Panel to Examine How Foreign Aid Spreads ‘Woke Agenda’

The House Delivering on Government Efficiency Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., will convene Wednesday to explore one question: “How Foreign Aid Undermined U.S. Interests Around the World.”

Pixy Misa - Daily News Stuff 25 February 2025: Zombees Edition

Dutch technology startup Bird is abandoning Europe because it is an over-taxed, over-regulated nightmare state. (Reuters) (archive site)

And moving to... New York?

American Greatness - How Popular is DOGE with American Voters? New Poll Shows ‘Massive’ Support

76% of the 2,443 registered U.S. voters who were surveyed for the poll say they support the effort to identify and reduce waste and fraud in government expenditures.

Pirate's Cove - ABC News: Hey, It’s Totally OK To Adjust Weather Data

It’s been a long time since I touched on how the climate weenies are constantly adjusting temperature data. I’d have to go way back in the archives. How they always seem to change it too look like it is hotter. Sometimes they cool down the past so the current looks hotter. Particularly during the hot 1930s, which they’ve adjusted down. They “smooth” things out. But, it always seems to be in favor of supporting the dogma of the climate cult

Father Defends His Daughter (with Help)

This is also an EPIC failure of the victim-selection process. Magnolia homeowner’s father shoots man making threats to his daughter

If you are going to "bother" someone, make sure that her father isn't a retired cop. You might also want to check on who her neighbors are, and if she is friendly with them. One of the neighbors is a cop who was off duty. Both the father and the neighbor showed up in response to her call for help.

It’s unclear what happened when they both got to the scene, but Montgomery Co. deputies said both men shot the trespasser “due to the ongoing threats.”

Montgomery Co. Sheriff Wesley Doolittle, whose office will be handling the investigation since there is a connection to the Houston PD, made a statement, that included the following.

The suspect was transported to Memorial Hermann Hospital and is expected to survive. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the Houston Police Department, and the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office are conducting an investigation into this shooting incident.

Self-defense is a human right, and defending your daughter would seem to be a moral imperative. As for legality, this didn't happen in New Jersey or on the Island of Manhattan.

Is Your Car Worth Your Life?

Because if you go to "confront" car theives, that is a real possibility. Man shot outside own home in Cordova, SCSO says | Fox13 Memphis

Cops were called to home, because the homeowner had been shot.

Though the sheriff's office did not release a motive, a source close to the investigation and neighbors told FOX13 that the man might have been shot while confronting people trying to steal a car outside his home.

His wounds are not life threatening, and he is expected to survive, but that is mostly a bit of luck, than anything he did.

FOX13 previously reported on people being shot while confronting people suspecting of car theft. Last week, a father was shot outside his Orange Mound home after he confronted two men trying to steal his daughter's Kia Forte.

So, how much is your car worth?

Guns, Fun, and Preconceptions

I think the people planning this conference are showing their bias, and their lack of experience. A Gun Is Not Fun

Professor Yamane has some thoughts on a conference, titled “A Gun is Not Fun: Strategies to Keep Children Safe from Gun Violence.” It is supposed to be about convincing children, but there are questions.

It is not fun for an untrained child to come across an unsupervised gun. But I sense that the author’s point goes beyond this limited circumstance and wants to say that guns generally are not fun.

To me, that’s a problem. Because guns are fun. This is the first of five lessons I conclude my Gun Curious book with. I quote Trae Crowder’s Liberal Redneck Manifesto there: “The simple fact of guns is that they’re fun as shit.” I rehearse the gun culture idiom: There’s no such thing as an anti-gun gun range. Googling “guns are fun” brings up an article in GQ magazine from 2012 titled: Why "Gun Control" Isn't Working: Because Guns Are Fun, And Control Is Not.

Click thru for the data on accidental deaths via firearms among children, and the Professor's thoughts on more about the topic.

He does bring up Eddie Eagle, the program from the NRA aimed at reducing firearm-related accidents among kids. Somehow I doubt that the people organizing the seminar see Eddie Eagle as a good thing, even if they know it exists. (NRA = Bad. Everything NRA = Bad. Or something)

Go read the whole thing. You should be reading Professor Yamane's work. And watching his videos.

A Pixy Misa Musical Interlude

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony has a musical interlude most days. Daily News Stuff 26 February 2025: Framewhat Edition

In addition to the tech news, click thru for "Road to Nowhere" from Talking Heads from their 1985 album Little Creatures.

The extra-light YouTube player Pixy Misa uses fights with the privacy settings in Firefox, and/or my ad-blockers. I use the Chromium browser (NOT Google Chrome) to play the videos are.

Chromium is the browser Chrome is based on. It is not quite as annoying as Chrome. It also serves as the basis for Edge, Brave, Opera, and Vivaldi, and probably a few more.

Alcohol Can Be Hazardous to Your Health

If you get drunk and do stupid stuff. Man fatally shot after allegedly entering wrong Bowling Green apartment - WNKY News 40 Television

According to the Bowling Green Police Department, officers responded just before 1 a.m. Sunday to a reported burglary in progress at 1317 Scottsville Road.

Police say while they were en route, the caller remained on the phone with dispatch and reported someone was actively kicking the door into the apartment.

"Evidence suggests" he was impaired. At one o'clock in the morning on Sunday I can't even pretend to be shocked.

When he kicked in the door, he was shot.

Hat tip to Miguel Gonzalez and If you cannot hold your liquor...

Other sources say he was a student at Western Kentucky University where he was on his way to get a degree in Hospitality Management. I am guessing managing Food and Beverages was not his strong point.

Play stupid games…

A Dozen Protesters Support the High Speed Train to Nowhere

You would think the people in line to get some of the money would have funded a few more. A Dozen Protesters Rally for California's High Speed Rail to Nowhere | Frontpage Mag

California’s high-speed rail had a $9.95 billion bond measure back in 2008 that was supposed to link up LA, San Francisco and the Central Coast by 2020.

It’s 2025 and the budget has shot up to $128 billion.

Nothing has been built (except mansions for the well-connected) and there’s no sign that’s about to change.

That 9.95 billion dollars was for the entire thing. Los Angeles to San Francisco. Current budget is for Bakersfield to Merced. Which is why people are calling it the train to nowhere.

And for that they got a dozen protestors, because a lot of people don't want to spend any more money on it. The Trump Administration definitely wants to get the federal government out of the business of funding this insanity.

Connecting Merced to San Francisco, and Bakersfield to Los Angeles would require some fairly intense tunneling. Nothing that a company like Herrenkenect couldn't handle, but no matter how you slice it, that won't be cheap.

There were awkward hipsters probably employed by nonprofit groups, a guy in a COVID mask and a guy dressed like a dinosaur.

And someone who threw a tomato at a legislator. But most relevantly, the best the protest could do was about a dozen leftists.

It being California, I'm sure that no one was charged with assault.

Illegal Alien Handed Over to ICE by Massachusetts

This is basically unheard-of. Brazilian illegal alien charged with rape caught in Massachusetts, handed over to ICE in rare case

It wasn't done by a police force, but by a court.

ICE lodged an immigration detainer against Vasconcelos-Dos Santos with the Falmouth District Court, and the next day he was released into ICE custody.

Click thru for the details.

So is this the first winds of change, or one judge in a blue state?

Knife Attack in France

This only one of several attacks in Europe in recent weeks. From The Sun: KNIFE HORROR Paris knifeman shot dead as he ‘silently ran at cops with blade in each hand’ days after Mulhouse market terror attack

[Police] said the man was sitting at a bus stop with a knife in each hand.

"When police turned up, he ran towards them, without saying a word," the source added.

One of the officers then used an electric stun gun but failed to control the crazed man.

This incident took place in the commune of Dugny, 7 miles from the center of Paris. A commune is analogous to a township (according to the Wiki).

I saw a video that mentions Taser, but I haven't seen an article that says that is what the "stun gun" was. Anyway, when less-lethal failed to subdue the man, one cop opened fire, striking him once in the chest. He died at the scene despite first aid efforts.

This came a few days after another attack in Mulhouse, France.

As for the other attacks:

It follows a series of attacks across Europe in recent weeks.

Last Friday, a Syrian refugee reportedly attempted to slit the throat of a 30-year-old Spanish tourist from behind in Germany.

The suspect attacked at Berlin's Holocaust Memorial and said he wanted to "kill people out of hatred of Jews", cops have said.

Just days earlier, Germany was again rocked by a suspected terror attack when an Afghan asylum seeker ploughed his car into a group of demonstrators in Munich.

Maybe they will wake up in time, but I doubt it.

No motive has been announced for this crime.

Shooting in Germany: 'Several people injured'

The Germans are not used to this kind of thing. Bielefeld shooting: 'Several people injured' after gunman opens fire in 'mass shooting' outside court in Germany

Several people are believed to have been injured after a gunman opened fire in a "mass shooting" outside a court in Germany.

The incident - which took place in the city of Bielefeld - occurred at around 1.30pm outside the building while the trial of Huseyin Akkurt was happening inside.

There is more. Click thru.

The 1993 Bombing of the World Trade Center

Today is an important anniversary that goes unremembered. 26 February 1993 - World Trade Center is bombed

At 12:18 p.m., a terrorist bomb explodes in a parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City, leaving a massive, multi-story crater and causing the collapse of several steel-reinforced concrete floors in the vicinity of the blast.

Although the terrorist bomb failed to critically damage the main structure of the skyscrapers, six people were killed and more than 1,000 were injured.

There was a fountain commemorating the 1993 attack at The World Trade Center, but it was obliterated in the 2001 attack.

To the best of my knowledge, which is not extensive in this case, the only memorial that includes the victims of the 93 attack is The Teardrop Memorial.

Officially it is To the Struggle Against World Terrorism, ... but is is usually known as The Teardrop Memorial. Sometimes, though less often, it is called the Tear of Grief. (Click the image for a better view.)

The names of the victims of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center as well as the names of those who died in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center are engraved around the plinth.

It stands in Bayonne, New Jersey.

Wednesday Link Roundup - 26 February

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

Victory Girls Blog has Sunday morning cafe cocktails linkage.
Vlad Tepes has interesting stories.

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 02.25.25 (Morning Edition)

Gab: Gab Tells Australian & French Governments To Piss Off
Upstream Reviews: Auditors of Doom

EBL - Fat Coward Vindman got USAID Money related to Ukraine? 🤑💸💰

Twitchy: Vindman getting USAID for Ukraine🤑💸💰
I would say it is shocking, but it is not shocking.

DayleyGator - Saturday LINKS AND STUFF

Victory Girls has Clueless Crockett
Right Scoop has another Leftist Meltdown

Vlad Tepes - John Campbell on excess deaths and several manifestations of the COMINTERN across the West, and a way to help fight it in Canada: Links 1 for February 23

3. This site has stated repeatedly that the CBC is NOT Fake news, but a dialectical weapon of the enemy of free people and the truth itself. That it is not Trudeau’s pet media, but in fact, Trudeau and the CBC work for the same meta.

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

The Trump Revolution in the Middle East Has Just Begun - Gatestone
Trump's New Direction for World Peace Worth Trying Also, end the big lie of 'far-right' - Roger Simon

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - NSA/CIA Sex Chat Room Revealed

ET, House to Move Ahead With Budget Plan to Fund Trump’s Agenda. "The plan allocates several trillion dollars worth of spending to fund Trump’s political priorities. The Senate has passed a different plan."

Don Surber - Highlights of the week

ITEM 1: Kash Patel became the first FBI director who wasn’t a white guy.
Not a single Democrat voted to confirm him.

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 2/24/2025

Britain’s AI Spy Machine Gears Up for the Next Wave of Censorship
The UK government is pressing forward with an AI-driven mass surveillance initiative, expanding the reach of its controversial disinformation-monitoring apparatus.

Political Hat - News of the Week (February 23rd, 2025)

70 Christians Beheaded In Congo Church
“We don’t know what to do or how to pray; we’ve had enough of massacres.”

Small Dead Animals - Saturday On Turtle Island

Woke America: The week in really big lies. Victor Davis Hanson – Pete Hegseth’s military.
WEF’s Canada: Every circus needs a Carney. The fiscal promises.

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 24 February 2025: Academic Inflation Edition

Richard Dawkins asked ChatGPT if it was conscious. It regurgitated a textbook on the subject and then said no. (Richard Dawkins)
Well, okay then. Stupid question, stupid answer.

Glibertarians - Sunday Morning Rather Cold Links

If he abolishes it, I’m a fan for life.
I guess they figured out how to play their game.

Bacon Time!!!! - Sunday Linkage

The Air Vent - Potentially a Critical Failure in Florida Elections
Watts Up With That? - Are Climate Scientists Lying About Their Work to Secure US Research Grants?

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: Musk Email Demands All Federal Employees Justify Their Paychecks By Monday Night or Resign

• Top Pennsylvania Democrats Charged with Election Fraud Jason Walsh
• Suffer the Little Children Carl M. Cannon

Cafe Hayek - Some Links

John O. McGinnis and Leo Soh make clear what ought not – but, alas, today does – need to be made clear: bureaucrat regulators must be reined in.

Maggie's Farm - Saturday morning links

Kash Patel Gets Right to Business, Immediately Shakes Up FBI Washington Field Office
You Knew CNN Was Going There With This Attack on Trump

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 2/ 24 /25

Nothing the Democrats have said about what Trump and DOGE are doing passes muster under standards of constitutionalism, law, logic, or morality.
The Democrats' Failed Anti-DOGE Narratives

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: While Everyone Was Distracted, Trump Just Redefined U.S.-China Policy

• Musk Warns Fed Workers - Return To Office Or Be Placed On Leave - ZH
• A Government Shutdown Isn’t the End—It’s a Reckoning - @amuse

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 02/25/2025

FBI warns iPhone, Android users—We want ‘lawful access’ to all your encrypted data. Seems kind of like saying, “We expect to be able to get a warrant to force you to provide testimony and evidence about your crimes to us.”

I leave you with Sunday Funnies For 02-23-25 from Stately McDaniel Manor, Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #2355 from 90 Miles from Tyranny, and So how's your Monday going? gifdump (continued) from Wirecutter.

Montclair State University Is a Completely Defenseless-Victim Zone

It is New Jersey. What else would you expect? From Bearing Arms: Montclair State University in N.J. Bans All Weapons. Even Pepper Spray?

They will offer self-defense classes, which will be totally useless if a coed is attacked by a group of men. Without even pepper spray to even the odds, it will be open season on women at Montclair State University.

There are 939.5 million reasons why Montclair owes the people an explanation. They should give clarity on whether or not pepper spray is prohibited. If it is prohibited, does a taxpayer funded university really have the power to disarm the people to that degree? Whether or not clarity or comment will be forthcoming after the officials have a further chance to discuss this quandary is not known. We’ll certainly be issuing an update – should we get one – in the future.

Why does anyone want to live in New Jersey?

Montclair, New Jersey is about a 12 mile drive from Newark.

The hat tip goes to Liberty Doll and her video State University Bans Pepper Spray

With all of the Uproar on college campuses about how Danger dangerous they are for women, and let's not forget 7% of the men on college campuses are also victims of sexual assault, banning every mode of self-defense, and instead telling students to call Campus Police or rely on a reporting app after the fact is downright ridiculous irresponsible and cruel

I Think This Means Paramount Is Worried

Worried that CBS is in the process of screwing up the merger with Skydance. Paramount, Trump agree to appoint mediator to settle $20B lawsuit

Lawyers representing Paramount and Donald Trump have agreed to bring in a mediator to facilitate discussions about a possible settlement in the president’s ongoing $20 billion lawsuit against subsidiary CBS, according to a report.

The decision to bring in a third party signals a potential effort by both sides to resolve the dispute outside of court, according to the New York Times.

I think that Paramount is interested because I don't see anyway Skydance (Larry Ellison and his son, David) is going to merge with Paramount while CBS has a $20 billion dollar suit hanging over there. But hey, maybe I'm wrong.

The lawsuit filed by Trump accuses the CBS show “60 Minutes” of deceptively editing an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, whose long-winded answer to a question about the Israel-Hamas conflict was condensed.

Better stock up on popcorn.

If You Leave Me Now

Between my music streaming services, and social media, I've been hearing a fair amount of music from the 1960s and '70s. Some of it is trash. Some of it is not so bad.

This song is "If You Leave Me Now" by Chicago from the 1976 album Chicago X, usually known as The Chocolate Album. The name is odd because it was actually the 8th album the band produced. If you look at the naming/numbering scheme of Chicago album names, you can be as mystified as the rest of us. The version of the song we have is actually from the 2007 remastered version of that 1976 album.

Marijuana Is Bad For You

From Dive Medic at Area Ocho we get the following update on 21st Century drug use. Practice Pearls. I imagine the fact that the stuff today is so much stronger that what was grown decades ago isn't helping.

Ever since Florida legalized medical marijuana, those of us who work in the emergency department have seen an alarming uptick in people coming in with complaints of nonstop vomiting. If you ask, they will usually admit to you that they smoke marijuana. Those who won’t admit it always show it on toxicology screens.

I'm not sure about I you, but I wouldn't want to take a drug where one of the side effects is nonstop vomiting.

Since people are frequently dishonest about marijuana use, its impossible to know for sure, but among people who DO admit to frequent use of cannabis, between 35 and 45 percent report frequent vomiting. This is in line with my personal experience- nearly two thirds of those who come in with vomiting complaints test positive for weed, as opposed to about ten percent of general teen and adult patients.

Yeah. No thanks.

The problem is complicated by the fact that marijuana users don't believe that weed is what is causing the problem, so they won't stop using it. "You're lying because you hate weed! Joe at the dispensary told me that it is completely harmless!" Or something. (Hat tip to Miguel Gonzalez)

Florida Man - No Shirt, No Shoes, No Police Cruiser

This is the most Florida Man story I've seen in a long time. Florida Man Leads Wild Police Chase After Stealing Deputy Cruiser

Police in Florida say an attempted murder suspect stole a deputy's cruiser... then pulled over and carjacked a driver... before crashing and being arrested. Oh, and he wasn't wearing a shirt.

He broke into his ex's place and was causing trouble. The cops show up, she runs with her child, and he steals the cop's SUV.

He then stops, carjacks another vehicle, crashes and is arrested.

There is video, but it is a news broadcast so it is cut down to almost nothing. And while you can see that he has something on his feet, they aren't shoes, or I don't think they are.

This is Peak Florida. At least for today. Hat tip to Vodka Pundit at PJ Media and Florida Man Friday: Finally, Another Stolen Police Cruiser Story

And because it has been a while.... "Florida Man" by Blue Öyster Cult from their 2020 album The Symbol Remains.

Don't you laugh, it could be you
The Florida curse always comes true
You can jeer, but you don't understand
Any fragile soul can be a Florida man

Tuesday Links - 25 February

Miguel Gonzalez starts us off with an insane media take. Trumps Border Policies affecting Mexican Travel Agent.

Not a word of condemnation or even a hint of disgust, just an understanding face from the Talking Heads. Amazingly how they always manage to find that one criminal with the Golden Heart that suffers for the plight of his victim

Sam J. at Twitchy - WOOF! Mike Lee BRUTALLY Reminds Liz Cheney Who She REALLY Is After She Tries Trolling JD Vance on Ukraine

Because, of course, the junior Warhawk from the Cheney family never met a war she wouldn't try to benefit financially from.

Warren Squire at Twitchy - Out-of Touch Hosts of ABC’s The View Told to Dial Back Barrage of Off-Putting Trump-Hate

Morale is reportedly low at ABC's The View because those who work on the show realized they were producing trash that offered no social value. We’re kidding. We wish that was true, though. Everyone there has the sads because nine staffers were let go and hosts have been told to tone down their hysterical Trump tantrums.

Jordan Conradson at The Gateway Pundit - FBI Director Kash Patel Sends Letter to Subordinates Laying Out New Agency Priorities Under His Leadership. Lots of quotes and excerpts from the letter and more.

Kash Patel sent a letter to subordinates at the FBI prior to being sworn in as FBI Director on Friday afternoon.

He stated that among his top priorities is to “rebuild the American people’s trust in the FBI.”

Small Dead Animals - 2025: Global Warming Update. From Montreal, where 30 inches of global warming fell on the city.

Where are we going to put all the snow?

Matt Margolis at PJ Media - MSNBC’s Joy Reid Has Been Canceled, And I Can’t Stop Laughing

MSNBC is pulling the plug on Joy Reid’s show, “The ReidOut,” as part of a major shakeup, Fox News Digital has learned—and I can’t stop laughing. Honestly, there’s no one more deserving of cancellation. Well, maybe Rachel Maddow… and pretty much everyone else at MSNBC.

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 23 February 2025: Yes Bananas Are Extinct Edition

The Moss Landing power plant is on fire. Again. (SF Gate)

Or rather, still. The fire last month has reignited.

A private fire crew is on site providing 24/7 monitoring, because they expected this to happen. So at least they're not idiots.

The Other McCain - Joy Reid Is Out at MSNBC

In December, I wrote about how Trump’s victory had humiliated his media enemies. It was predictable that there would be consequences, and now the consequences come home for one of Trump’s angriest critics

Small Dead Animals - A Leftist Poster Girl on Display

Ashton Schottler is a pretty American woman living in Germany. She epitomizes the term “Limousine Liberal”. Her arrogance & hypocrisy are exemplified by these two recent videos of hers.

Wombat-socho - FMJRA 2.0: Aspiring to Mediocrity

Ceterum autem censeo Silicon Valley et Hamas delendam sunt.

What Would You Do If a Road Rage Incident Escalated?

He got out of his car. She stayed in hers. Harris County: Man arrested after road rage incident with armed woman, officials say | FOX 26 Houston

Deputies say the suspect left his vehicle and assaulted a female victim who was still in her vehicle. The woman then allegedly pulled out her handgun and fired a shot, then the suspect released her.

That was a good choice, though she shouldn't have needed a firearm to assert her desire to be left alone, there is no denying that having one served her on that day.

The suspect was taken into custody for assault, according to the constables' office.

This all took place in Houston, Texas.

New York Correction Officers Thought the Cameras Were Turned Off

They were wrong. 10 New York correction officers charged in death of Robert Brooks

Ten New York prison guards have been indicted in connection to the killing of inmate Robert Brooks — whose brutal, and fatal beating was caught on a stomach-churning body-worn camera video.

Six correction officers have been charged with second-degree murder and three others face manslaughter charges for the Dec. 9 homicide of Brooks, a prisoner at Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County, an indictment unsealed Thursday revealed. A tenth officer is being charged with tampering with evidence.

Three other employees reached plea agreements with prosecutors.

So if they thought that the cameras were turned off, does that mean that they turned them off other times? It was the 3rd beating he had received since arriving at the prison in question.

Brooks was rendered defenseless against the guards’ alleged beat-down as his hands were cuffed behind his back the entire time as the guards showed a disturbing “sense of normalcy” in the shocking footage.

Government. Still part of the problem, or the entire problem.

"James Bond Is Now in the Hands of a Bond Villain"

After a lot of back and forth, Amazon has finally gotten control the James Bond franchise. It was only a matter of time.

But then the past couple of movies, haven't been great, so it was probably inevitable that someone would come along to kill it.

Just to jog your memory. Amazon is the studio that destroyed Tolkien with The Rings of Prime, and also destroyed Robert Jordan's epic fantasy, The Wheel of Time.

What will they do to 007? Why update it for the mythical modern audience. The audience that isn't watching The Rings of Prime, the audience that didn't watch the series Watchmen, the audience that didn't watch The Acolyte, and in short, the audience that doesn't exist. But they will keep making stuff for the Woke mob on social media, because they don't know what else to do. (And the Hollywood writers and directors are part of that mob.)

Also, even if by some miracle they decide to actually honor the legacy of Bond, they don't have any writers who know how to write. I was going to say, that they don't know how to write someone like Bond, but I haven't seen anything come out of Hollywood lately that makes me think they can write anything.

This is the the Nerdrotic video RIP James Bond - Amazon Will Destroy 007. The video is 8 minutes.

Professor David Yamane Is Moving to Substack

If you're not reading his work, and watching his videos, you should be. Moving to Substack to Bring Light Over Heat to the Gun Issue There

As I approach the 13th anniversary of the Gun Culture 2.0 blog this May, I will be winding up my work here. This site will become the home page for the book I am writing on Gun Culture 2.0.

My in-the-moment writing and reflections will shift to “Light Over Heat” on Substack.

The first post in the new location is up already. Welcome to Light Over Heat

As a lifelong liberal sociology professor who now owns guns, I speak with a unique voice in our cacophonous debates on the subject. One reviewer of my book Gun Curious: A Liberal Professor’s Surprising Journey Inside America’s Gun Culture recognized this and said I bring to the gun issue “a refreshing Bob Ross-like calmness that’s much needed.”

One of the things that has happened over the past few decades in this country, is that we have lost the ability to have conversations with people. Professor Yamane is trying, and succeeding in many ways, to build bridges so that we may have those conversations. That gives me some hope for the future of the country.

If you are tired of our paralyzing national argument about guns, my work offers a hopeful alternative based on the kind of civil conversations we desperately need right now. Light Over Heat.

The professor's “Light Over Heat” YouTube channel is also worth your time.

The Pot

This song has been running through my mind ever since the politicians have begun screaming about the Trump administration and D.O.G.E. uncovering a lot of waste, fraud, and corruption.

So who are you to wave your finger?
Who are you to wave your fatty fingers at me?

You must have been out your mind
Weepin' shades of indigo
Trapped without a reason
Weepin' shades of indigo
Liar, lawyer; mirror for ya', what's the difference?
Kangaroo be stoned. He's guilty as the government

All their screeching is doing is convincing the American people that they are guilty as sin.

This song is "The Pot" by Tool from their 2006 album 10,000 Days.

Democrats Resort to Lawfare to Rule from the Courts

Here's your Constitutional Crisis. The Only “Constitutional Crisis” is That Democrats Lost, Now They’re Trying To Govern from the Courtroom

The NY Times reported in late November 2024 on the massive effort which was two-years in the making and in the immediate post-election period focused heavily on finding plaintiffs and lining up legal groups to challenge expected Trump policies:

Are we shocked?

Texans Are Still Armed

Home invaders are still getting shot. Texas woman shoots, kills home intruder, police say

So tell me, without a firearm how should an average woman, defend herself from the average man? On average, men are larger and have more upper body strength. Or should she have invited him in for tea?

According to police, he forced his way inside through the back door which was locked.

She grabbed a gun and shot him.

You could also file this under "Another failure of the victim-selection process."

Self-defense is a human right, and this incident didn't happen in New York City.

ATF's Chief Lawyer Gets the Boot

Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be the name of a convenience store, not a government agency.

Pamela Hicks, the chief counsel at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, usually just known as the ATF, was fired by US Attorney General Pam Bondi Thursday Morning. She was escorted out the DC building. She will be remembered for a lot of terrible things, but she should be remembered for the death of Bryan Malinowski.

This is the Liberty Doll video The ATF Firings Have Begun!

Bryan Malinowski was killed by the ATF in a "predawn raid" that was mostly unnecessary. But most of them are. I'm old enough to remember when no-knock warrants were only to be used in drug cases, where cops were worried that evidence could be flushed down a toilet. Doesn't seem that would work too well with firearms.

The feds - who are suddenly worried about losing their jobs - called her firing a "travesty." Bryan Malinowski's death was a travesty. It isn't the only one.

One of the statements Liberty Doll makes in the video: Guns ARE NOT the main cause of death in children.

Similarly, capping the age range at 17, instead of 18 or 19, also alters the result, as children aged 17 and under have a greater risk of dying of vehicle-related injuries.

The only way you can say anything with a statement about this is to say, "the main cause of death among children and teems." But 18 and 19 year olds are legal adults. And the problem is that a lot of those "teens" killed by firearms are gang members.

The Cringe Inducing Reaction of the Left to the DOGE Audits

Larry Correia of Monster Hunter Nation has a few choice words. Educating the Stupid on How Audits Work In Real Life.

Watching everybody I know on the left pontificating about the proper way to conduct audits, after getting their accounting degrees from the University of Internet this week, is absolute cringe for me.

Guys, listen, I say this with love… You don’t know dick about shit and it’s fucking embarrassing. Just stop. You sound like idiots.

So now, as a guy who used to be an auditor, who has defended companies from dozens of audits from different government agencies, I’ll try to correct some of your incredibly stupid NPC talking points you keep endlessly barfing up.

First, the ages of the DOGE team are not all in their 20s. (The ages were researched by Newsweek.) Those ages range from the 20s up into the 40s and even 50s. A bunch of worker bees, and a few leaders. The first couple of people doxxed by the Left were young, computer experts. The kind of people I dealt with in audits, the grunts doing the research.

You do NOT need to be an accountant to be an auditor. Anybody who says this is a total dumb ass with zero grasp of how any of this shit works in real life. The people who make up your audit team are recruited from whatever skill sets are necessary to audit that particular system. I (the accountant) have been on audit teams with IT guys, programmers, lawyers, and even machinists. (why machinists, because I was auditing a factory, and I could count the parts, but I couldn’t tell you if the parts were bullshit or not)

During a career in IT, I bumped up against the auditors more than a few times. Mostly the 20-somethings doing the grunt-work, but once or twice the higher-ups. Most of the people on any audit are young, over-worked and underpaid. They aren't making any decisions; their bosses do that. The data-gathering requirements for an audit are apparently large, or they can be depending on many things.

But DOGE is going TOO FAST! Well no shit. They are on a tight time frame. The republicans control everything right now (barely, and many of them are every bit as corrupt as the dems) only the government is fucking huge, Trump got elected on cutting it, and mid terms are in two years.

Anyway, go read the whole thing. Corriea is an entertaining writer even when he's not eviscerating the insanity of the Left and the Media. (But I repeat myself.)

Won't Someone Think of the Keys?

This made me laugh, and I needed a laugh. Possibly The Dumbest Example Of Waste DOGE Has Discovered (So Far)

OK, so this isn't breaking news, it was all over social media the other day. Trump and DOGE did something, so it must be stupid or evil or whatever. The Left and the Meida are against it.

One of the dumbest and most hilarious cases of this very phenomenon was on display in a story in the Washington Post this week. It opens with this paragraph, “At California’s Yosemite National Park, the Trump administration fired the only locksmith on staff on Friday. He was the sole employee with the keys and the institutional knowledge needed to rescue visitors from locked restrooms.”

I have questions.

Why is there a locksmith on staff, as a locksmith, when you could just contract with one when needed? How often in your life have you said, “Damnit, why isn’t there a locksmith on staff?!” At the most, I’d say one time. But the odds are heavily in favor of never.

The article goes on to ask those questions. Why can't you hire one from a nearby town? People used to lock keys in the car all the time. I'm pretty sure my SUV won't let me lock the keyfob in the vehicle. (It unlocks, flashes the lights, and honks at me.) So there are probably a couple of locksmiths that would love even a small .gov contract.

Why can't you make more keys?

There is more.

Assassin's Creed Meets Grand Theft Auto?

This is an epic troll, if ever there was one.

The new chapter in Assassin's Creed from Ubisoft, Assassin's Creed: Shadows has been under development for several (many?) years, and is reported to cost several hundreds of millions of dollars.

Since Ubisoft decided to go down the path of DEI and make the main character in the game Yasuke, a Black Samurai, there have been many controversies. These have included everything from using Chinese architecture, in a game they promised would be historically accurate, to stealing flags from a historical reenactment group, to disrespecting the legacy of Nagasaki. There are probably more that I missed.

Shadows has also been delayed (at least) twice, and now is coming out on March 20th.

A game development studio, HistoricallyAccurateDevelopers, is releasing another game on March 20th, that is a send-up of Assassin's Creed: Shadows. Since Ubisoft has made a point that Yasuke is a person out of history, there is really nothing they can do to stop it. And yes, it does appear to be inspired by GTA, only it is set in 1500s Japan.

If you would just prefer to read an article, and not watch any video, take a look at Step Aside, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows. There's a NEW Yasuke Simulator in Feudal Japan... from Smash JT. I've linked his video below.

Look, as many of you guys already know - I was already skeptical about Assassin’s Creed: Shadows for a number of reasons. Ubisoft’s track record with historical accuracy is spotty at best, and this game has all the hallmarks of another pandering, identity-driven project with at the end, no real heart.

Yasuke Simulator, on the other hand?

It’s stupid, over-the-top, completely unhinged, and looks way more fun. Almost like a GTA take on feudal Japan.

This is the Geeks + Gamers video Yasuke Meme Game EMBARRASSES Ubisoft

The internet is undefeated, and it will continue to be undefeated, and this is something that a lot of corporate America and the mainstream journalists out there can't seem to understand.

Even if this game never sees the light of day, even if it is only a trailer and a meme, it is still glorious.

The video is about five and a half minutes. It includes the trailer for the game.

There are other videos on the topic:

• Smash JT has Step Aside Assassin’s Creed: Shadows... There’s a NEW Yasuke Simulator in Feudal Japan (11 minutes)
• Side Scrollers has Assassins Creed Shadows Was Just Embarrassed AGAIN (8 minutes)

Side Scrollers also has some news on possible legal action that a group, that is representing Shinto shrines, is considering against Ubisoft.

One of the panelists on the Side Scrollers discussions wonders if all the insanity the video game companies are going through - seemingly all in lockstep - is a result of USAID money. The executives of the corporations don't seem to be looking out for the value of the stockholders. Is that because they are being paid off by others? Interesting question.

MSNBC’s $30 Million Defamation Bill

What happens when you lie about someone while pretending to be an unbiased news reporter? Well if you lie live camera, it is hard to weasle out of a defamation suit.

In this case they claimed that the doctor in question performed 39 hysterectomies that were not required. This was data that they couldn't verify. "Don't clutter the issue with facts! We're telling truth to power, even if we have to lie to do it!" Or something.

Here's a reference. The Daily Mail isn't the best newspaper in the world, but they seem to have more integrity than MSNBC. That's probably not a high bar to get over. MSNBC star Rachel Maddow set for courtroom humiliation over shocking on-air slurs

And they were nice to MSNBC. The allegations didnt' "turn out to be false." They knew the were false going in to the story. They didn't care about the truth. They cared about slandering ICE and anyone who worked with them.

This is Culture Casino's video MSNBC’s $30M Defamation Disaster: Rachel Maddow’s Uterus Collector Lie Exposed!

Defensive Gun Use Roundup

From the Daily Signal. Defensive Gun Uses Show Faulty Premise of California Gun Laws

After a discussion of California wildfires, and the looting that followed we get to the heart of the article.

For this reason, The Daily Signal publishes a monthly article highlighting some of the previous month’s many news stories on defensive gun use that you may have missed—or that might not have made it to the national spotlight in the first place.

Or probably didn't make it to the national spotlight, because when a good guy with a gun stops a bad guy, that is only local news. Or so the Professional Journalists claim.

As for California and their restrictive gun laws. I don't feel sorry for the folks living there. They voted for waiting periods, and firearm restrictions. (Collectively, anyway.) No one is forcing them to live in California. If they suddenly wake up to the fact that they might need to defend themselves because the government is busy building a high-speed rail to nowhere, and funding luxury housing for illegal aliens, and they trip over those laws... Well it sucks to be you.

I knew I needed to get out of California almost from the day I moved there. Yes, the weather is nice. It's too expensive, too crowded (where I was living), and too insane.

The Revolving Door of New York Justice

They keep releasing the (alleged) bad guys, and are surprised that when there are no consequences, behavior doesn't change. Is it any wonder that the city is crumbling under the scourge of crime?

This is Cash Jordan's video Gang Robs Entire NYC Subway Train… Then Walks Free

So here we have a gang of teenagers who didn't even bother wearing masks when robbing people while armed, but what nobody in charge of subway safety wants to admit is that these guys, they don't have to wear masks because we don't have any laws that can actually stop them. Which is why it's no surprise that assaults and robberies are spiraling out of control down here, because in many cases these crimes are no longer crimes at all, and have been decriminalized.

The video is 17 minutes long.

Do You Lose Your 2A Rights When You Step onto a College Campus?

The laws in Florida currently answer that question with a "Yes." Senate bill seeks to expand campus carry rights | The Capitolist

“The Second Amendment does not take the semester off when you step on a college campus,” said [Florida State Senator Randy] Fine. “Adults should have the right to protect themselves on campus, particularly after so many universities across America chose to protect Muslim terror advocates over their own students. There is no magic force field that keeps criminals from carrying a gun onto campus; this bill will ensure that students have the same rights on campus as they do off.”

There is a companion bill in the Florida House. If they pass, and get signed they would take place on July 1st. (Hat tip to KABA)

Terror Attack in France

And there is no doubt about the motive. France terror attack: Attacker screaming 'Allahu Akbar' stabs multiple cops in Mulhouse - World News - Mirror Online

Mulhouse, France is roughly 235 miles east southeast of Paris, or about 170 miles northeast of Lyon. It is about 15 miles north of the border with Switzerland, and 7 miles west of Germany.

Michèle Lutz, the Mayor of Mulhouse, said: ‘Horror has just gripped our city. A man attacked passers-by at the covered canal market with a knife, several municipal police officers who intervened to arrest him were also injured.’

There are several stories on this incident, with varying numbers of wounded, but the most current numbers are one dead, two police officers with severe/life-threatening injuries, and three police officers whose injuries are described as minor, though that may only be in relation to guy who got stabbed in the neck.

The arrested man, who also remained unidentified publicly, was on a file containing suspects said to have been ‘radicalised as terrorists,’ said Mr Heitz. He did not have settled status in France, and was due to be deported, having been convicted in the past of ‘showing sympathy for terrorism’.

There is also mention of other terror attacks, that I don't recall seeing in the news, though the US news media is not very interested in reporting on the rise in crime and terror in Europe.

The attack unfolded by the Market Square and canal in the middle of Mulhouse, when it was packed with shoppers.
It follows a series of bomb, gun and knife attacks carried out by Islamic State and al-Qaeda operatives across France.

I will have to go back to reading the European news from sources in Europe.

Officer Andrew Duarte

End of Watch: Officer killed after a gunman took hostages at a Pennsylvania hospital

A man armed with a pistol and carrying zip ties entered a Pennsylvania hospital’s intensive care unit Saturday and took staff members hostage before he was killed by police in a shootout that also left an officer dead, authorities said.

West York, Pennsylvania is about a 100 mile drive west of Philadelphia, or about a 50 mile drive north of Baltimore, Maryland.

Duarte was a law enforcement veteran who joined the department in 2022 after five years with the Denver Police Department.

While the police officer and the gunman are dead, 5 people were injured. One hospital doctor, a nurse and a custodian, were shot. All of whom are now stable. Two other police officers were also injured in the shooting. They are also stable.

I don't know this for a fact, but my guess is that hospitals in Pennsylvania are "Gun Free Zones." Of course the signs by the entrance didn't stop the bad guy from bringing a loaded firearm into the ICU. It just made sure that everyone everywhere was a defenseless victim before the cops showed up.

Saturday Roundup of Link Roundups - 22 February

Wombat-socho is first with In The Mailbox: 02.19.25 (Morning Edition)

Don Surber: AP’s silly gulf war
STUMP: Visualization of Social Security Fraud(?)

Animal Magnetism - Animal’s Hump Day News

That would be a good start.
Nobody should be surprised by this.

The Right Way - Top of the News

New Report Shines Light on What Alex Soros' White House Visits Were Really About
Trump Fires All Biden-era U.S. Attorneys - Bongino Report

EBL - Ukrainian Beggars Can't Be Choosers

NY Post: J.D. Vance warns Zelensky not to bad mouth Trump
Breitbart: McConnell retiring and Ukraine
Townhall: One EU leader is getting it...

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 21 February 2025: Bottom Of The Seventeenth Edition

How Bluesky loses posts from your timeline. (Jazco)
If you follow hundreds of thousands of people.
In which case (a) this is necessary and (b) you deserve it.

Small Dead Animals - Wednesday On Turtle Island

Prime Minister Carney’s Canada: Free Speech Union of Canada. We need an anti-woke leader. Liberal Party’s CBC. The Liberal Party’s RCMP.
Odds And Ends: New training for pharmacists. Quite simply a moron.

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - Trump Budget Passes Senate

Rand Paul endorses Trump 3 months after Election Day, admits 'I was wrong.' "'Don’t expect this endorsement to be fawning,' Paul wrote. . .But now, I’m amazed by the Trump cabinet (many of whom I would have picked).

Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 2.21.25 (Morning Edition)

Dana Loesch: Ubisoft’s Fall Should Be An Example, also, It’s Not Cool To Be Progressive Any More
Don Surber: The question unasked

The Spark - Bits and Bobs....................

Members of Congress Make Millions Funding Foreign Wars - Amuse
They forgot the Forgotten Man. Trump didn't - Don Surber

Glibertarians - Wednesday Morning Links

Kash Patel Closes In on Confirmation Vote
Trump orders all Biden-era US attorneys to be fired: ‘We must clean house immediately’

Vlad Tepes - Romania refuses the election results? German town of 3K forced to take 250 migrants, Good analysis on AI potential, girl victims of Muslim child sex slave gangs raided by police for talking about it on TV: Links post 1 for February 19, 2025

German.citizens of a town of 3000, are asked their thoughts on a public town hall meeting, where they were not allowed to record, and no public input was welcomed. Instead, it was a set of diktats handed on down to the good burgers of Seeshaupt, Bavaria

Wombat-socho again - In The Mailbox: 02.21.25 (Evening Edition)

Da Tech Guy: Barbarians being Barbarians: Bibas family edition
Don Surber: Shut up, Mike, I just want my money back

Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog - LinkSwarm For February 21, 2025

“A judge who blocked President Trump’s federal spending freeze is Chairman Emeritus of a nonprofit that will continue to receive millions in government funding as a result of his ruling, in an apparent conflict of interest seen as a second cause for the judge’s impeachment.

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 2/21/2025

A federal judge in Washington, DC ruled on Thursday that the Trump administration and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) can continue its mass firings of federal employees, rejecting a bid from a group of labor unions.

Cafe Hayek - Some Links

Eric Boehm explains that “Social Security’s insolvency is driven by benefits for the living, not fraud by the dead.”
Phil Magness writes sensibly at his Facebook page:

Maggie's Farm - Wednesday morning links

They Just Don’t Get It by Matthew Continetti
Trump Is Right About Greenland. Bringing the island closer to America makes national security sense.

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 2/ 20 /25

Trump’s war on the deep state fuels legal battles, but can he dismantle the entrenched bureaucracy before it dismantles him?
Are We in a Constitutional Crisis?

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: Norm Eisen - The Architect of Democrat Lawfare

• DOGE: Exhuming Woodrow Wilson’s Rotting Corpse - Stuart J. Cvrk
• The Left isn’t going down without a fight - James Hickman

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 02/20/2025

I hope Kash understands how the clock will be ticking from 1:45 onward. If he immediately exposes the Stasi and its Zersetzung ops, he is the hero who rescued the nation.

I leave you with Wednesday's gifs from Wirecutter, Wednesday Memes … from MaddMedic, You have been warned from Bluebird of Bitterness, and Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #2339 90 Miles from Tyranny

Self-Defense Is Legal in Florida

The DA seems almost disappointed by that fact. Man won't be charged in December shooting death near Dunnellon, Florida

Prosecutors have declined to charge a man who shot and killed another man a few months ago in the Rainbow Lakes Estates subdivision in west Marion County, stating they are "unable to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt that Shawn Niner's decision to use deadly force was unreasonable."

Assistant State Attorney Rich Buxman, in a memorandum about the case, said if additional evidence or testimony is obtained, then "the decision may be revisited."

You can click thru for the details, but the shooter was down on the ground, held down by a man larger than himself, with his jacket pulled over his head, when he drew a gun and fired one shot.

Seems like self-defense to me, but I'm not a lawyer, and I'm really not a lawyer who measures my career against my ability to ignore justice and win, whenever I can.

Rainbow Lakes Estates is in an unincorporated area of Marion County, Florida. It about a 45 mile drive south of Gainsville, Florida or about a 100 mile drive northwest of Orlando.

As the video showed, "Niner defended himself when he used deadly force when he was on the ground, having been struck several times in the head by Robbins and possibly others immediately prior," the memo says.

Maybe I'm being too harsh on the DA's office, but the existence of that video seems to indicate that it shouldn't have taken two months to determine that they couldn't win.

In any event they did admit defeat, or at least that it was self-defense.

A Case of Cops Not Taking Domestic Violence Threats Seriously

Multiple people are dead because of it. Broward deputies suspended after Tamarac murders | WTSP

At least the sheriff recognizes that his department fell short.

36-year-old Andrew Ferrin, 34-year-old Mary Gingles, and her father 64-year-old David Pozner were allegedly shot to death by 43-year-old Nathan Gingles. 4-year-old Seraphine Gingles witnessed two of the murders, before being kidnapped by her father. The child was later recovered in what Sheriff Gregory Tony called a "remarkable hostage rescue."

So where did they drop the ball? They had the chance to arrest Nathan Gingles in December. Well, maybe. More work would have been needed. That work was not done.

Tony said there were seven members of his agency that had "some involvement" with the investigation and are now on administrative lead pending further investigation. Those suspended include one lieutenant, two sergeants and four deputies.

"These aren't shortcomings of policies, procedures, training or equipment from my assessment, this is really just a shortcoming of performance, whether it be complacency, not taking a greater interest, and not doing their due diligence to make sure they're documenting everything in an accurate manner so when it does arrive in the investigator's hand, they have a comprehensive report that'll allow them to make better judgement and decisions," the sheriff said.

Tamarc, Florida is about a 10 or 12 mile drive north of downtown Fort Lauderdale. It is roughly five miles inland of the Atlantic coast on the east side of the city, and the west side of the city runs up against The Everglades Wildlife Management Area.

I hope that Sheriff Tony can fix things, but the truth is relying on The System™ to protect you is a fool's hope. When seconds count, police are minutes away. That is true even when they do everything right. 911 systems don't work 100 percent of the time, and are often understaffed. Police departments can be (and often are) understaffed. You may call for help, but it won't be there instantly.

Now a gun may not have saved these people. There are no guarantees in this life outside of death and taxes. But it may have helped. We will never know.

And people like Nathan Gringles need to accept the phrase, "It's over." What did his indignation accomplish? He is facing 3 murder charges in Florida. I'm no lawyer, but I believe the added charge of "violation of domestic violence injunction" makes him eligible for execution in Florida.