03 July 2025

Another Failure of the Victim-Selection Process

I'm guessing that this is not how he saw things working out. Deadly home invasion shooting under investigation in Scott County

A homeowner called police to report an attempted home invasion.

According to the Scott County Sheriff’s Office, preliminary reports show the homeowner acted to protect themselves when they were alerted about the intrusion and fired four shots at the suspect.

All four shots hit the suspect who died at the scene.

Scott County, Missouri is about 100 miles south of Saint Louis, or about 120 miles north of Memphis, Tennessee.

The Sheriff's Department is treating this like self-defense, but it is the DA who will have the final say about charges.

Self-defense is a human right.


I wrote this up a 2nd time, before I saw "Scott County." So here is a little more info. I had titled this post, "Don't bring brass knuckles to a gunfight."

You could also file this under "Crazy People Are Dangerous." Armed homeowner turns the tables on deranged home invader who dares him 'you'll have to kill me': cops

An armed homeowner shot and killed a deranged brass-knuckle-wielding Missouri home invader who dared him to “kill” him, according to authorities.

John Fisher, 31, of East Prairie, Missouri, used brass knuckles to break the front door of the home of Austin Glastetter at 11:30 p.m. Thursday, KFVS12 reported.

This didn't happen in NYC, so cops are treating like a justified case of self-defense.

“The homeowner’s actions appear to have been justified in defense of themselves and their household. The safety and protection of one’s home is a fundamental right,” Sheriff Derick Wheetley said in a statement.

Self-defense is a human right.

When "Settled Science" Is Wrong

When fads in science are excepted as the only viable path, it stops being science, and just becomes a lot of grant money flowing through the system. The maddening saga of how an Alzheimer’s ‘cabal’ thwarted progress toward a cure for decades

In the 30 years that biomedical researchers have worked determinedly to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, their counterparts have developed drugs that helped cut deaths from cardiovascular disease by more than half, and cancer drugs able to eliminate tumors that had been incurable. But for Alzheimer’s, not only is there no cure, there is not even a disease-slowing treatment.

So why is that?

In more than two dozen interviews, scientists whose ideas fell outside the dogma recounted how, for decades, believers in the dominant hypothesis suppressed research on alternative ideas: They influenced what studies got published in top journals, which scientists got funded, who got tenure, and who got speaking slots at reputation-buffing scientific conferences.

In other words, their pet theory became the accepted dogma, and if you wanted to sit at the "cool kids table" you had better get in line. Too bad none of that worked.

Go read the whole thing, and then we can talk about 'settled science.'

Hat tip to Instapundit

Florida Man Moved Into Home When Owners Out of Town

A story from last week, from Polk County. Florida Man Caught Cooking, Preparing For Bath In Stranger’s Home

A neighbor called police, because he knew that the owners were out of town.

A Florida man, identified only as "Joe," was taken into custody last week after Polk County Sheriff's deputies found him cooking and filling a bathtub in a stranger's home north of Davenport.

If nothing else Polk County Sheriff's Office has a sense of humor, or maybe it is of the absurd.

The Sheriff's Office lightheartedly likened the incident to a "Polk County version of 'Goldilocks and the 3 Bears,'" noting Joe's apparent attempt to find a comfortable — albeit unauthorized — respite.

Joe had an argument with his wife, and didn't want to go home. No word on charges.

This is Peak Florida, at least for today.

02 July 2025

Wednesday Link Roundup - 2 July

William Teach at Pirate's Cove starts things rolling with Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

Theo Spark has escape from NY.
This ain’t Hell… has your feel good stories. And stupid people of the week.

EBL - BREAKING: Firefighters ambushed by shooter, 2 deaths confirmed in Idaho Update: Shooter Neutralized

Shooting in Idaho and Shooter Neutralized
Still not a lot of information. Two firefighters killed. Lot of chaos.

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 06.30.25

Da Tech Guy: Assorted Thoughts Under the Fedora
Dana Loesch: SCOTUS Smackdown,
Don Surber: SCOTUS saves the judiciary

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 30 June 2025: Deconsume Edition

In a welcome change, companies promoting AI in new products are finding it can make customers less likely to buy. (MSN)
Now they just need to stop putting AI in their products entirely.

Don Surber - Highlights of the week

ITEM 8: A Massey Energy mine exploded in Beckley, WV, on April 5, 2010, and killed 29 men. They went back in to recover the bodies and then closed the mine—because the mountain had been compromised and could never be trusted again.

The Glibertarians - Monday Morning End o’ June Links

Chain this guy by the leg in the path of the fire and let him choose. Gnaw it off or fry.
Homemade fireworks, or just the Philly PD?

Small Dead Animals - Tuesday On Turtle Island

Woke America: No, Trump is not a narcissist. The miserable Left.
Stories You Won’t Find At Carney’s CBC: A diversity is our strength incident in Germany. The truth about Glastonbury. Long live the heatwave.

Wombat-socho again - In The Mailbox: 07.01.25

Animal Magnetism: Animal’s Daily Long-Lost Relatives News
BattleSwarm: DoD Declares Rio Grande Defense Zone

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 6/30/2025

George Soros Summoned to Face Congress Over Los Angeles Riot Funding
Patriots, the moment we have been waiting for is here. The puppet master of leftist chaos, George Soros, has officially been called before Congress

Vlad Tepes - New and effective attacks on Iran, and Canada continues down the path of communism in the most cynical way possible: Links 1 for June 30th, 2025

2. I guess there is a slight glimmer of hope that the most cringe movement in Canadian history by an order of magnitude is fading away.
Interest in ‘elbows up’ merchandise waning ahead of Canada Day, businesses say

Political Hat - News of the Week (June 29th, 2025)

The Assisted-Suicide Danger Zone
The limited debate in the House of Commons was abysmal on Friday. Far too many members embraced killing the sick and elderly or opted out of taking any responsibility

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - The BBB Trundles Along

Ace, #Winning: Inflation Rises More Slowly, Gas Prices Fall, and the Markets Hit All-Time Records, A European Economist Admits: "Maybe Trump Has Outsmarted All of Us" "The markets soared to record highs on Friday, despite the "predictions" (or partisan rooting interest) of the liberal establishment.

Maggie's Farm - Saturday morning links

The Icarian Gene: The Rise and Fall of the Expert Class
Supreme Courts Upholds Right of Parents to Opt Their Kids Out of LGBTQ-Themed Classroom Activities

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 6/ 30 /25

They’d rather echo Tehran than admit Trump was right.
Impeach for Peace? The Strike Worked—That’s the Left’s Problem

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: The Lawless Zohran Mamdani

• Senator Thom Tillis Announces He Will Not Seek Re-Election - CTH • Hypocrites Suddenly Claim 'Constitutional Scruples' About War-Making - Betsy McCaughey

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 07/01/2025

Trump’s new searchable ‘national citizenship system’ could change U.S. elections forever. Will be used to clean voter rolls of non-citizens.

I leave you with Sunday Funnies from Flopping Aces, Sunday Funnies for 06-29-25 from Stately McDaniel Manor, MEMES from DaleyGator, and In case you need reminding it's Monday..... gifdump from Wirecutter.

Not What I Would Want to Do

It seems to have worked out for this homeowner. Homeowner captures burglar in the act

The Prentiss County Sheriff’s Office responded June 12 to a burglary in progress call at a house on Highway 366. The caller said the homeowner had the subject at gunpoint inside their home. Sheriff Randy Tolar and deputies arrived at the scene and quickly took James Oneal Nabors, 39, of West Point, into custody.

Booneville, Mississippi is about 115 miles east-southeast of Memphis, Tennessee.

Nabors was charged with home invasion. I think he's lucky he wasn't shot.

Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0.

George Soros Summoned to Testify Before Congress

Strange that this isn't all over the media. George Soros Summoned To Face Congress Over Los Angeles Riot Funding | The Bronx Daily

The puppet master of leftist chaos, George Soros, has officially been called before Congress to answer for his alleged role in funding violent anti-ICE protests and riots in Los Angeles. The veil of secrecy surrounding Soros’ financial backing of anarchist activity is being ripped away, thanks to the courageous efforts of Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), who is leading the charge to expose this globalist’s grip on America’s domestic unrest.

Click thru. It is not long.

Never Gonna Rain

I liked some of Bryan Adams' work. Some of it isn't that good, some of it is awful. He has a new EP coming out, that is scheduled to be released in August. In honor of that...

I like this lyric.

They say time is a healer, time'll take your pain away

If you know of Bryan Adams, it is probably from his 1983 singles "Straight from the Heart" and "Cuts Like a Knife," and the album of the same name as that 2nd song.

This is "Never Gonna Rain" by Bryan Adams. It is from his 2022 album So Happy It Hurts.

01 July 2025

Tuesday Links - 1 July

William Teach at Pirate's Cove is first with German Minister Upset Bon Climate (scam) Talks Did Not Include Spending More Taxpayer Money

I wonder how many of those other folks flying in on private jets, aside from Bezos, DiCaprio, and Oprah, are Warmists? How about asking them for the money for the climate scam?

Lone Star Parson - Pay The Tax Serf

Two seismic, catastrophic things happened in 1913, the creation of the privately owned Federal Reserve Bank and income tax. The former turned the US Dollar into a self-destructive IOU at interest with the latter as its collection agency. Net result?

Wombat-socho - FMJRA 2.0: Kiss .500 Goodbye

That leaves us at 70-83 with nine games left in the season, so even if we ran the table against the Red Sox, O’s, and Tribe we’d still be just 79-83, and we all know that’s not happening.

Cullen Linebarger at The Gateway Pundit - Leftist CNN Contributor Commits a Blunder for the Ages While Trying to Fact-Check Scott Jennings and Attack President Trump (VIDEO)

A leftist CNN contributor committed one of the worst blunders in recent television history on Saturday while attempting to fact-check Scott Jennings and critique President Trump regarding a historic peace agreement signed between two African countries.

Miguel Gonzalez - From Woodstock to Glastonbury

And don’t forget, they really mean it when they say they want you dead.

The Other McCain - LGBTQIA2S+ Pride Month Update: New Maryland Charges for Three Members of Radical Vegan Transgender Cult

Guess they’re all going to be enjoying their vegan cuisine in the Allegany County a while longer. Shame they have to miss out on the Pride festivities, not to mention the Fourth of July.

Bearing Arms - Bill Seeking to Ban Federal Agents Hiding Identity Opens Interesting 2A Arguments

My point, though, is that it's pretty clear that members of the party that usually pushes gun control understand that threats to the people who implement enforcement of laws can deter them from carrying out their orders. If there's enough threat, they're just not going to do it. That's why they want to ban them from wearing masks, to try and ramp up the threat for ICE agents.

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 29 June 2025: Bits And Nibbles Edition

People are being involuntarily committed or simply jailed after spiralling into "ChatGPT" psychosis. (Futurism)

The human brain is hard-wired to see intentionality where it doesn't exist, and LLMs are better than anything else - except humans themselves - at simulating intentionality.

First He Got Shot, Then He Was Arrested

This is another sign of the breakdown of society. Hialeah UPS shooting was case of self-defense, cops say; wounded man arrested

3:30 AM at a UPS facility in Hialeah, Florida, which is a suburb of Miami, being just north of the city.

There was a fight between two groups of UPS employees. Rival gangs? They don't give much in the way of details.

Lt. Eddie Rodriguez, an HPD spokesperson, said during the fight, one person “threatened to retrieve a friend” with a gun from a nearby car. That friend, police said, was identified as Anthony Ernest, a former employee.

“The other individual involved in the fight then ran to his own awaiting vehicle, where his family (brother, mother, younger sister) were picking him up from work,” Rodriguez said.

When Anthony Ernest approached the car, the brother drew a gun and fired, striking Ernest in the leg.

Cops arrived, found Ernest who was hiding, and took him to a local hospital, and then they "arrested him on a charge of aggravated assault with a firearm."

Why would you assume you are the only one armed in a confrontation in greater Miami? Florida wasn't the first state to have "Shall Issue" concealed carry, but it was the state that started the modern swing in that direction back in the late 1980s.

In any event I think we can file this under Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0.

Media Finally Notices Mercedes EV Explosion from March

Considering that the video is amazing, I'm convinced that they only ignored the incident because they really love electric vehicles. From the Daily Mail: Moment £50,000 electric Mercedes EQA explodes after suspected battery fault - destroying two other cars parked nearby

Shocking footage shows the car was steadily smoking for a number of seconds before suddenly exploding - with a nearby fence and garden shed later catching fire.

Fire crews attended the scene until midday the next day - moving the car from the road to a nearby grass verge.

The guy who lost the EV to this fire, also lost another Mercedes, which was parked next to that EV. A third car was also damaged. A fence and a garden shed were also burned.

This incident happened in March in the the United Kingdom. But it really hasn't seen much media coverage until the Daily Mail took notice on 26 June.

It is worth noting that this car was recalled by Mercedes in October of 2024. We don't know why.

Mr Musonda's car was recalled by Mercedes for work in October 2024, but he wasn't told why.

He said: 'They needed to bring it in for safety work and they had it until mid-January.

'They didn't give me any report on what the issue was and what they had done. They said there was nothing to be paid, and it was all under warranty. Six weeks later, it explodes.'

This is the MGUY Australia video Media FINALLY reports SECOND Mercedes EQ explosion. See the link to his March video below.

This is the MGUY Australia video from 7 March 2025. Exclusive: Terrifying moment ANOTHER Mercedes EV spontaneously EXPLODES

In both videos, MGUY Australia mentions the EV fire in a South Korean parking garage. This video is one of his videos that deals with those instances. CATASTROPHIC EV fire in Korea, as Electric Car sales continue to SINK

Are PhD Programs a Scam?

Like so much in academia, this is out of balance. How many PhDs does the world need? Doctoral graduates vastly outnumber jobs in academia

I actually made this determination in the 1980s. People I knew, with PhDs from top notch universities couldn't find any positions, or the ones they did find were in horrible places, and no matter where you ended up, if you ended up in academia, you were treated as (slightly above) slave labor for the tenured research professors. I got out, and I'm glad I did.

The number of doctoral graduates globally has been growing steadily over the past few decades. And in countries such as China and India, those numbers are exploding.

Conventionally, the doctorate was a stepping stone to a lifelong career in academia. But today, the number of PhD graduates vastly exceeds the number of job openings at universities and research institutions. Researchers say that many universities are not preparing graduates for a career outside academia.

So if you knew that you wouldn't get a job as a professor or researcher, would you spend the time to get a PhD? If you knew you would spend your entire career teaching remedial courses, would you think it was worth it?

I have friend, who basically spent her career teaching remedial math to college students who didn't realize that they needed it for business. She always had work; she never got tenure. An acquaintance (a friend's brother) is a professor at some university in the middle of nowhere. He did get tenure, but he had to uproot his family, with kids in high school, to get it. So again, is it worth it? (I'm not sure the kids feel it was.)

John Adams on the Fourth of July

From the Other McCain: Make Fireworks Great Again

It was John Adams who, in a 1776 letter to his wife Abigail, declared that the occasion of our independence should “be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival” including “Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.” And by “Illuminations,” of course, he meant fireworks, which is why the Big Yellow Button has returned.

Click thru for a portrait of Adams, and Robert Stacy McCain's completely over-the-top fireworks setup from 2022.

I love fireworks, but this seems a bit over the top, bordering on extreme.

30 June 2025

General Of The Dark Army

Today we have a Heavy Metal band out of Victoria, British Columbia that I really like. I believe I was introduced to them by way of commenter - either here or at the Archives. I quite like them. Brittney Hayes (a.k.a. Brittney Slayes) has a great singing voice, and she is often singing in the Beauty and the Beast style with guitarist Grant Truesdell, who does the Death Metal, Death Growl. Andrew Kingsley, also on guitar, adds clean vocals. Nick Miller is on bass, and Scott Buchanan is the other founding member along with Brittney Slayes.

And although there is a bit of the Death Growl floating around - more on this song, than some others - they are basically Power Metal, with undertones of old-school Rock & Roll.

This is "General Of The Dark Army" by Unleash The Archers from the 2011 album Demons of the AstroWaste.

Cops Behaving Badly: International Edition

This story is from Kenya. Police officers charged with murder of Kenyan blogger - MyJoyOnline

Albert Ojwang was a social media guy. The Deputy Chief of Police for all of Kenya, Eliud Lagat, filed a complaint alleging defamation.

Albert Ojwang was arrested and died in police custody.

Police initially said that Mr Ojwang died of self-inflicted wounds, but were forced to retract the statement after an autopsy found that he was likely to have died from assault wounds.

That was one year ago. In protests over police brutality another person was shot.

Boniface Kariuki was reportedly selling masks when a uniformed police officer fired a bullet at close range, critically injuring him.

There is video of the shooting.

During last Tuesday's protests, Mr Kariuki was holding a packet of face masks when he was caught up in a confrontation with two officers in Nairobi as hundreds of protesters clashed with police.

One officer, who had concealed his face with a mask, was filmed shooting him in the head as he walked away.

When the cops don't care about the law, or human life, you don't have much of a society.

The Environmental Impact of Electric Vehicles

So if an electric vehicle catches fire, sets other vehicles, electric and gas, on fire, is it still "zero emissions?" Burned-Out Car Carrier Sinks in Pacific Three Weeks After Fire Began

MV Morning Midas a car carrier en route from China to Mexico caught fire 3 weeks ago. It contained 3,000 vehicles, of which about 800 were EVs. It sank in approximately 5,000 meters of water, about 360 nautical miles southwest of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.

And then there is the vessel that sank.

As a precaution, two salvage tugs containing pollution control equipment remain on site to monitor for any signs of pollution or debris. A specialized pollution response vessel is also en route to the location as an additional precaution. The vessel also reportedly had 350 metric tons of marine gas oil (MGO) and 1,530 metric tons of very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) onboard.

But hey, go ahead and pretend that they are good the environment.

The hat tip goes to MGUY Australia and his video Car carrier Morning Midas SINKS after probable EV fire

Car v Train: Guess who wins

I thought society learned this lesson, but I guess not everyone got the memo. Gary crash: 3 men, 2 women in their 20s killed after South Shore train hits SUV at Highway 20, Utah Street in Indiana, police say - ABC7 Chicago

The South Shore Line is a commuter train that runs south out of Chicago, through Gary, Indiana as far east as South Bend. The fact that it is a commuter/passenger line means that the trains are traveling fast.

A witness told police the crossing gate was down, and the driver went around it to beat the train.

Yeah. You aren't going to beat a commuter train. You probably won't beat a freight train. So you can either wait 10 minutes, or spend the rest of your life dead.

Family members say three of the five victims were siblings, and they were headed back home when police said the vehicle went past active crossing gates while a train was coming.

I'm not aware of what things are like in Gary, but in the area of Illinois, roughly around Chicago, there is almost always (not always) a non-grade crossing somewhere nearby. In Chicago they are called viaducts, basically tunnels under the tracks. Those become rare as you get outside the city.

So now, because they were in a hurry, they are dead, and a family is planning for three funerals. Does this make sense to anyone?

Officer Kendall Corder

End of Watch. Milwaukee police officer Kendall Corder dies following shooting: 'We are all in pain.'

Kendall Corder loved being a Milwaukee police officer.

That's what the family of the slain 32-year-old officer wanted the public to know of their son who died nearly three days after he and his partner were shot. The two, both six-year veterans of the department, were unexpectedly fired upon in an alleyway on the city's northwest side on June 26 while responding to a call for a person with a weapon.

The 22 year old alleged shooter has been arrested.

29 June 2025

Firefighters Shot in Idaho

Either the people who set the fire don't want them putting it out too soon, or they just hate first responders. Multiple firefighters shot in Idaho, responding to a brush fire

Two people, believed to be fire personnel, were fatally shot and others injured while responding to a brush fire in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and at least one active shooter continues to fire at law enforcement with high-powered rifles, according to Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris.

So is it ecoterrorism, or a policing-hating nutjob? Either way it is a sign of the downfall of society.

The fire may have been intentionally set to draw first responders to the scene, one responding firefighter noted in audio from Kootenai County Fire and EMS via Broadcastify.

The fire was still burning when this article was published. Will we find out what happened? I doubt it.

Deputy Brandon Gaede

End of Watch. Phillips County Kansas Deputy Fatally Shot in Struggle During Illegal Fireworks Call | Officer

Phillips County Sheriff's Deputy Brandon Gaede was attempting to handcuff a suspect during an illegal fireworks call in Phillipsburg when the man pulled a concealed handgun and opened fire.

The guy believed to be responsible for the shooting, also died at the scene.

Phillips County, Kansas is about a 300 mile drive west of Kansas City.

Deputy Gaede was 30 years old, and is survived by his wife and their three children.

Ironheart - A Marvel Character You've Never Heard Of

Do you remember that time that Marvel Comics tried to replace Tony Stark/Iron Man with a young, black woman from Chicago? Neither does anyone else. After that character failed spectacularly in the comics, Disney Marvel decided to repeat the exercise in live action, except they spent something on the order of $100 million to do it on Disney+. Before that, they introduced Ironheart in Black Panther: Wacanda Forever.

When you spell it out that way, it sounds like a DEI parody. Well it isn't a parody.

Since the show debuted, a bunch of reviews are out.

This is Critical Drinker's video Ironheart - Hilarious Garbage

Ironheart has finally been inflicted on the world, after gathering dust in the Marvel vault for the better part of 3 years, and by golly I can see why they tried so hard to bury this thing. Having suffered through the first three episodes, now I can confidently say that this is by far the worst thing Marvel have ever produced in nearly 20 years of MCU history, and damn man that's up against some pretty stiff competition by this point.

The video is about 8 minutes long.

Of course Critical Drinker is not the only person covering this bit of "entertainment."

Tyrone Magnus only watched the 1st episode, and he is done with the show. He has issues around how his community has been portrayed in the show. Ironheart - Episode 1 - Review! The video is 11 and a half minutes.

Find reviews from Nerdrotic, Alan Ng, and Marc With A C after the break. 

Black Bear Encounter in Pennsylvania

I wonder what the gun-hating part of the Left would say he should have done? Tried to reason with it? Homeowner shoots bear in self-defense incident

A homeowner in McKean County killed a black bear in what is being labeled a self-defense shooting of the animal that would not leave their yard.

They tried to scare the bear off; it only retreated to the edge of their yard, and then it returned 20 minutes later, got to within 30 feet, and was acting aggressively. The resident shot the bear.

The homeowner did keep chickens, and they think that is what attracted the bear.

To deter bears, [State Game Warden Justin] Slomian said people should not leave their garbage cans or pet food outside. If you have livestock, he said electric fences work well to keep the predators away.

McKean County, Pennsylvania is about 120 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, or about 150 mile drive from Pittsburgh.

Self-defense is a human-right.

Florida Man v Police Car

This happened at the beginning of May, but came to my attention by way of the video embedded below. Police: Man shot, killed by JSO officer after attacking girlfriend, charging at patrol vehicle

A man was shot and killed by a Jacksonville sheriff's officer Sunday at a mobile home park on the city's Westside after the man attacked the officer's vehicle and charged at them, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

There is a lot of info in the article, or you could watch the video below.

This is the Donut Operator video Cop SMOKES Woman Beater!

It's just another lovely, sunny, Florida day at the Normandy Estates Trailer Park

The part of the video on the Florida story starts at about 5 minutes and 35 seconds in. The whole video is only 9 minutes, and Donut Operator is always interesting.

So this is Peak Florida, at least for today.

What Happens When you Bet Your Industry on a Hostile Supplier?

That country can put your industry out of business on a whim. Auto companies 'in full panic' over rare-earths bottleneck

Politicians, who know nothing about engineering or logistics have mandated that people start driving electric cars, even though they don't work for all of us, and we can't build enough of them anyway.

Frank Eckard, CEO of a German magnet maker, has been fielding a flood of calls in recent weeks. Exasperated automakers and parts suppliers have been desperate to find alternative sources of magnets, which are in short supply due to Chinese export curbs.

Some told Eckard their factories could be idled by mid-July without backup magnet supplies. "The whole car industry is in full panic," said Eckard, CEO of Magnosphere, based in Troisdorf, Germany. "They are willing to pay any price."

China has a virtual monopoly on "rare earth magnets." We could mine some of the rare earths in the US, except for the EPA and the roadblocks, but I'm not sure that they are all available in the US.

That doesn't include other elements, like copper.

You can't snap your fingers and wish an increase, by a couple of orders of magnitude, of an industry. You can't click your fingers and wish that the earth had more copper than it does. That doesn't seem to stop politicians from doing exactly that.

The hat tip goes to Net Zero Quickie: Auto industry in "FULL PANIC MODE" | MGUY Australia. The video is less than 4 minutes.

28 June 2025

Saturday Roundup of Link Roundups - 28 June

The Right Way starts thing off with Top of the News

Oil Prices Drop Further, Global Stocks Rally on Ceasefire - Bongino Report
AG Bondi: Over 1,000 Iranian Sleepers in US - Newsmax

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 06.25.25 (Afternoon Edition)

Shark Tank: Miccosukee Tribe Requests Halt To “Alligator Alcatraz” Plans
Shot In The Dark: Back On Course

Animal Magnetism - Animal’s Hump Day News

Well, they may actually be that stupid, yes.
Endurance is a good thing.

EBL - Superman: Red Son

AoSHQ: New York City chooses the form of its destructor
Instapundit: Zohran Mamdani's New York

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 27 June 2025: Thirteen Trillion Edition

AI makes people dumber. (MSN)
This is a finding that has been replicated in a series of studies across education and professional use:

The Glibertarians - Thursday Morning Links

NATO allies agree to higher 5% defense spending target
Former Biden Aide Does Not Know Who Ordered President Autopen Signatures

Flopping Aces - The Week in Radical Leftism – More from The Nation!

Abolishing ICE Is the Bare Minimum
Don’t bother clicking the link, I read the entire article out of morbid curiosity as to what went beyond the “bare minimum”, but that was where the article stopped.

Wombat-socho again - In The Mailbox: 06.25.25 (Evening Edition)

The Political Hat: The Trump Tram Ride
This Ain’t Hell: Illegal alien charged with attempted murder after attacking federal agent

Vlad Tepes - Concrete proofs Canada is going full totalitarian and surveillance state under Carney

4. Top constitutional lawyer slams Indigenous land acknowledgements as virtue signaling
John Carpay and his law firm, are at this point the last hope for rule of law, and actual constitutional rights in Canada.

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 6/25/2025

German National Debt to Rocket With Borrowing to Double in 2025
German national debt looks set to climb to record heights this year, according to the country’s latest budget.

Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog - LinkSwarm For June 27, 2025

Pam Bondi and Kash Patel should shine a lot of disinfecting sunlight here.
Winning: “Supreme Court Allows States to Cut Off Medicaid Funding to Planned Parenthood.”

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - Trump "Obliterates" Media Meme

Hat Hair's Capt. Ed hears Netanyahu: Regime Change Can't Come From a Bombing Campaign -- And MEF Agrees. Scott Adams @ScottAdamsSays, "I have a feeling Iran's regime already changed. All the Supreme Leader's underlings needed to do was lock him in a bunker

Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 06.27.25

Victory Girls: Thwap! Amy Coney Barrett Smacks Ketanji Brown Jackson
Watts Up With That: Gardi Sugdub’s ‘Climate Exodus’ Myth

Small Dead Animals - Thursday On Turtle Island

Woke America: Democrats go full communist. VDH – The Iranian theocracy.
Lord Carney’s Canada: A new world order? Gayest country on the planet. Tenth of Senate faults Jews.

DaleyGator - WEEKEND HOOKING UP

Pirates Cove Can hot women overheat the climate?
Woodsterman Release the Libturds
Bacon Time ponders Bob’s Fate

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 27 June 2025: Thirteen Trillion Edition

Nvidia's RTX 5050 is here and it's a waste of sand. (Gamer's Nexus)
Well it's not actually out yet, but comparing the specs with older Nvidia GPUs the picture is not pretty.

Maggie's Farm - Wednesday morning links

Alligator Alcatraz
Trump’s Iran ceasefire depends on American oil

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 6/ 26 /25

"I could get a statement that they’re not going to go nuclear, we’re probably going to ask for that."
Trump Shuts Door On Iran Talks: ‘They’ve Had It’

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: Emissary Steve Witkoff Discusses Next Steps with Iran and Expansion of the Abraham Accords

• In the End, Everyone Hated the Iranian Theocracy - Victor Davis Hanson
• When Professors Quit, America Wins: Trump Was Right to Purge Ideology from War Colleges - @amuse

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 06/27/2025

NYC woman found a phone buried in her lawn — and police say it’s a new tactic thieves use to spy on homeowners. Maybe. Or maybe it is neighborhood surveillance and the “authorities” are running cover for it.

I leave you with Wednesday's gifs from Wirecutter, Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #2715 from 90 Miles From Tyranny, Midweek Memes from Granite Grok, and Wednesday Memes … from MaddMedic.

Another Failure of the Victim-Selection Process

He apparently thought that past performance was a guarantee of present success. Store manager shoots and kills teen robber at gas station, authorities say

This gas station had been robbed a month ago. That person fit this teen's description.

A gas station clerk shot and killed a teenager who was attempting to rob the store early Saturday morning, according to police.

After getting shot, he ran from the crime scene.

The 17-year-old was found wearing a hoodie, mask and orange gloves. He also had a 9mm Taurus pistol next to his body, according to police.

Prichard, Alabama is about 5 miles northwest of downtown Mobile.

Did he rob the store last month? Was he inspired by the robber from last month? We will never know.

Self-defense is a human right.

Levels of Editorial Oversight Failed

I see The Chicago Sun-Times and The Chicago Tribune are still adversarial. Chicago Sun-Times Sunday insert contains 10 fake books in list

A special section inserted into the Sunday Chicago Sun-Times featured page upon page of fun summer activities, including a list of 15 books to bring along while lounging by the pool or relaxing in a favorite reading spot.

The only problem: The authors are real, but most of the books don’t exist. Artificial intelligence, employed by a Chicago freelance writer, simply made them up.

The Sun-Times is "looking into" how this could have happened, but there is no mystery. Whoever put the list together hired a recent college grad, and that recent college grad turned to AI, and no one bothered to check.

“We are looking into how this made it into print as we speak,” the Sun-Times said. “This is licensed content that was not created by, or approved by, the Sun-Times newsroom, but it is unacceptable for any content we provide to our readers to be inaccurate. We value our readers’ trust in our reporting and take this very seriously.”

As Pixy Misa has been saying for some time, AI is a pathological liar in a box.

The internet was fun while it lasted, but it will soon be awash in AI generated lies. It is already less useful that it was 10 years ago.

Burn

Postmodern Jukebox doesn't break into my attention stream very often, but it did through a roundabout way. This song was brought to my attention by Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony.

Disclaimer: Some men just want to watch the world burn. I'm here selling saxophones.

Pixy Misa has a musical interlude as part of the Tech News (almost) every day.

The musicians are:

  • Robyn Adele Anderson - vocals (center)
  • Cristina Gatti - vocals (left)
  • Ashley Stroud - vocals (right)
  • Stefan Zeniuk - Flame-O-Phone
  • Adam Kubota - bass
  • Allan Mednard - drums
  • Scott Bradlee - piano

This is "Burn" by Vintage '60s Girl Group Ellie Goulding Cover feat. Robyn Adele Anderson (brought to you by Postmodern Jukebox). The fire starts about 1 minute in. You want to see it.

The fire extinguisher on top of the piano is a nice touch.

27 June 2025

Friday Links - 27 June

William Teach at Pirate's Cove starts us off with Heartache: SCOTUS Rules Trump Admin Can Send Illegals To 3rd Party Countries

And, without “due process”. This is going to cause some baying from the moonbats. Also, I love that ABC News, and many others, portray this as Trump personally picking and choosing

The Vigilant Fox - RFK Jr. Shocks Congress With Brutal Message to Top Democrat Rep

The real firestorm came when he called out the one Democrat Rep. who took more Big Pharma money than anyone else on the committee.

The Other McCain - NYC Goes Full Zimbabwe

Never go full Zimbabwe. You can order a $10 trillion Zimbabwe note online for under $25, which is still more than its actual value as currency, but rather reflects what it’s worth as a collector’s item, a memento of the kleptocratic regime of Robert Mugabe.

The Gateway Pundit - Tucker Carlson Exposes Murdoch Plot to Take Down Trump — Says They Urged Him to Run Against 45 Right After Axing His Show

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has come forward with explosive claims: the Murdoch family — the globalist puppet-masters behind Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post — tried to recruit him to run against President Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination

Clayton Cramer - A Living Wage and Respect for Laborers: the Left is Going to Explode

Over at X, the TDS crowd is whining that this will increase meat prices. I suspect the vegan/vegetarian segment will applaud. The rest, worried more about how to make decent Beef Bourginon for festive meetings of the Living Wages Committee, are convinced that adding ten cents per pound at most to the price of meet is a disaster.

John Sexton at Hot Air - Jewish Democrats Have a Bad Feeling About This

Mamdani has denied any antisemtic intent but his politics are definitely pretty compatible with that of the Hamas supporters who've been rallying at Columbia University.

The Other McCain again - The Worst News Network on the Planet Has Covered Itself in Shame This Week

For the past couple of days, I’ve been watching CNN (so you don’t have to) and — dear merciful God! — there are no words to describe how awful it is. On the other hand, the attempt to describe it gave me an excuse to beat that dead dog again with a 1,300-word opus.

Attitude Counts in Self-Defense

And when the government forbids you the use of effective tools, you must improvise. Ontario family fought off home invaders using fire extinguisher and baseball bats

The owners of an Ontario home targeted twice by thieves in less than a month are speaking out, describing how they used baseball bats and a fire extinguisher to repel the second home invasion, which police believe targeted their vehicle.

In Texas, or Florida, this would be a very different story. In Canada the law abiding are disarmed. It is for their own protection, of course. That protection didn't stop them from being victimized, of course.

Three weeks earlier, the homeowners said there had been another break-in at their home, this time through a bedroom window. In that instance, the suspects carried hammers, according to the homeowners, who said they fought them off with a coat rack.

Clearly Canada should enact common sense hammer control. Or something.

Still, attitude carries the day.

Self-defense is a human right, but Canada doesn't see it that way. You must rely on the state, even for the things the state cannot provide.

MV Celebrity Edge: A Maritime Mishap

Though it was more in the nature of a near miss, than a catastrophe.

Some time ago, when one of the maritime disasters was in the news, someone asked how often stuff goes wrong around boats. The answer is, "All the time." So much so, that unless a mishap impacts global trade, like the ship that was blocking the Suez Canal a few years back, or the ship that knocked down a bridge in Baltimore, you don't hear about it.

This story may make an impact on the news for a couple of reasons:

  1. It involved cruise ships.
  2. There is video.

I don't know if this has been plastered all over the news or not. I suspect not, just based on everything else going on, but I am fairly well insulated from the general 24 hour news insanity.

From Cruise Hive: Celebrity Edge Breaks Loose in Alaska Port Due to Sudden Wind Squall. This could have been a collision between 2 cruise ships, but the other ship, that was in danger from this, managed to maneuver out of the way.

On the afternoon of June 16, 2025, Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Edge broke free from her mooring lines – likely as a result of inclement weather. Video taken by witnesses shows heavy rain and wind.

MV Celebrity Edge is the lead ship in the Edge Class at Celebrity Cruise Lines. It has a length overall of 306 meters, a beam of 39 meters, a draft of 8.4 meters, and 15 decks. There are 4 Wärtsilä marine engines installed powering 2 azimuth thruster pods, and 4 side thrusters. It was laid down in 2016 and launched in 2018, for a cost of $1 billion.

If you only want to see the video showing the lines parting, this article at The Weather Channel has a short 30 second video. All it really shows are the lines parting and the ship away from the dock. (The video will autoplay the next story in line, so that is something to be aware of.)

This is Sal Mercagliano's video from What's Going on With Shipping? MV Celebrity Edge Breaks Loose from Its Moorings in the Port of Juneau, Alaska | June 16, 2025. The video is 20 minutes, but is comprehensive. Sal Mercagliano makes use of vessel tracking to show the other ships in the area, and how one of them managed to get out of the way, avoiding a collision.

Even Reporters Admit EVs Don't Beat Internal Combustion

Electric vehicles don't work for long distance driving. The infrastructure does not match that built for internal combustion engines (ICE). And then there is cost. After Driving 2,500 Kilometers in Electric Car, they Reached an Irrefutable Conclusion: “Diesel” Is Still King on the Road

A group of journalists started at the Tesla factory in Berlin, and drove 2 vehicles from there to Madrid.

When a group of Spanish journalists embarked on a 2,500-kilometer journey across Europe, their mission seemed clear: test the viability of electric cars on long-distance trips. But after their trek from Berlin to Madrid, the team returned with an unexpected conclusion. The future of electric cars, it seems, is not quite ready to dethrone traditional vehicles for those in search of a cost-effective and practical option on the road.

The cost of recharging was higher than what a comparable vehicle would have paid for either gas or diesel.

Over the course of 2,500 kilometers, recharging the electric vehicles cost them €53.62 more than if they had fueled a comparable diesel car.

This cost discrepancy grew even more when comparing the electric vehicles to a gasoline car, with the electric vehicles’ total fuel cost exceeding the gasoline vehicle’s by €136.61.

The charging infrastructure is also lacking. They were driving Tesla vehicles, and when they could find a Tesla supercharger, things were good. They couldn't always find a Tesla charger however.

Superchargers, known for their speed, are an expensive option. The journalists realized that opting for slower charging stations could reduce the overall cost of the trip, but it would also mean adding more time to the journey.

So will that extra time equate to a motel stay?

The article still parrots the idea that electric vehicles are better for the environment. Pay no attention to the environmental devastation caused by lithium mining is South America, or nickle mining if Indonesia, or child labor mining cobalt in Africa. The fact is that EVs don't work for everyone.

The hat tip goes to Net Zero Quickie: Auto industry in "FULL PANIC MODE" | MGUY Australia. The video is less than 4 minutes.

26 June 2025

Churches Need to Address Security

This isn't going to get better. Churches increase security training after CrossPointe shooting incident

Days before a gunman showed up at CrossPointe Community Church in Wayne, members of that church and its volunteer security team were learning how to protect their house of worship.

"If it isn't the norm for your church, it's probably the time to start thinking about it," said Matt Balla from Peacemakers Gun Range in Howell.

It is a sad commentary on the state of the society, but it is what it is.

This brings to mind Hobbes' Leviathan. The idea that security is required for civilization to endure is not new. Hobbes published Leviathan in 1651. In that book he describes the State of War that ensues when law and order break down.

Western Civilization is built on a foundation of law and order. Without law and order, you can't have nice things. You can't have anything really. Or as Hobbes stated it, when there is no force-of-law to keep people in check, things break down. We are left with only the security we can provide for ourselves.

I'm Shocked That After Years of Open Borders ...

Bad people are in the country. ICE arrests Iranian sniper with an Islamic Republic of Iran Army identification card in North Alabama

No doubt people will tell me, basically, that "there's nothing to see here," and I should just ignore the Iranian sniper. Or something.

As federal officials began looking for potential threats to the United States after its actions in bombing Iran this week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Tuesday that it had arrested a Locust Fork man with an Islamic Republic of Iran Army identification card in a nationwide roundup.

Vetting Process? Defending the country from foreign agents? The Biden administration couldn't be bothered with all that, they had important stuff to do!

I wish I could give someone a hat tip for this story, but I neglected to make note of where I read about it.

News Flash: Liberals Oppose Anything Related to Immigration Enforcement

Is anyone shocked? "Alligator Alcatraz" immigrant detention center sparks outcry as DeSantis claims zero environmental impact - CBS Miami

Florida has begun building a new migrant detention center deep in the Everglades, springing into action after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) approved the development. But activists and locals have already raised major concerns, citing environmental and human rights issues.

It is to be located at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport. It is just north of US Highway 41, about halfway from Miami to Naples on Highway 41. It is literally in the middle of The Everglades. Anyone attempting to escape could go east or west on US 41, or off into a wilderness area infested with alligators and the invasive anaconda snake. (I haven't lived in that part of the country in more than a decade, but I assume they have not eliminated the snake problem.) That's if you aren't drained dry by the mosquitos, or just overcome by the heat and humidity.

Dwight Bullard, a former State Senator and senior policy advisor at the nonprofit Florida Rising, says the organization is wholly against the building of the detention center, also citing humanitarian and environmental concerns. He says the state, even under Republican leadership, has been looking to “restore the Everglades,” particularly because of its importance in the area’s water system.

There are other 'voices' expressing concern.

Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, said 7600 people had written to the governor and attorney general. Current estimates of Florida's population are about 23 million, so 0.033 percent of the population is "on record" not liking this solution. If you use the 2020 census number of 21 million population, it 0.036 percent of the population possessed to this plan.

25 June 2025

Wednesday Link Roundup - 25 June

William Teach at Pirate's Cove is first with Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

  1. GeeeZ….: Hating Trump more than Loving America?
  2. IOTW Report: Dr. Demento Retires

EBL - Glenn Reynolds's Five Takes on Bombing Iran

TOM: How Trump Ruined the Media’s Weekend
AoSHQ: Trump confirms Iran nuke sites struck
Instapundit: Operation Midnight Hammer

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 06.23.25

Elizabeth Nickson: World Tells Muslims Conform Or Get Off My Lawn
First Street Journal: World War III Watch
The judge presiding over the New York Times vs. OpenAI lawsuit rejects claims that she created a mass surveillance nightmare after she created a mass surveillance nightmare. (Ars Technica)

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 24 June 2025: Ottoman Edition

Small Dead Animals - Saturday On Turtle Island

Stories You Won’t Find At Carney’s CBC: Diversity outbreak in Poland. Technocratic death cult. Diversity is our strength in Germany. Somali migrants in Holland. The milkman. From the man cave.

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 6/22/2025

Cleveland Clinic, one of the nation’s most prominent nonprofit hospital systems, is facing scrutiny from the watchdog group Consumers’ Research, which says the hospital prioritizes political ideology over patient care while benefiting from taxpayer funding.

Don Surber - Highlights of the week

ITEM 22: The Kentucky Lantern reported, “Longtime Eastern Kentucky Democrat joins the Republican Party.”
I figured out why Robin Webb, 64, left. She’s too good looking

Battleswarm Blog - Counting Up Texas Gun Rights Wins

House Bill 1403 (No Firearms Registry for Foster Parents by Rep. Cody Harris & Sen. Mayes Middleton). You can’t deny foster parents just because they lawfully own firearms.

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - Iran Strikes Back, Agrees to Ceasefire, Breaks Ceasefire

From RCP, FNC's Griffin: "In 18 Years, I've Never Seen Such Operational Security." Insty at his NYPo, gig, Trump’s Iran strike revealed a second surprise: a competent White House.

The Glibertarians - Saturday evening Links

Apparently, Team Red likes to fuck.
Clone this motherfucker and put him in charge of every country in the world.

Vlad Tepes - Grab your antiemetics: A look at official Canadian culture and the NYC Mayoral race — Links 1 for June 22, 2025

2. The UK pretends to care about foreign Muslims forming sex slave orgs enslaving and industrial scale rape of British girls. This is an interview with one of their victims.

Maggie's Farm - Saturday morning links

What's up with The Great American Novel?
Fossil fuel use is growing
Bari’s Picks of the Week: Will We or Won’t We?

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 6/ 23 /25

For years Norway’s support for those waging terror against Israel has been official policy.
Norway and Anti-Semitism

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: Trump saves world, Democrats complain

• In Latest Media Disinformation, CNN Falsely Accuses Trump Of Not Notifying Democrats Of Iran Strike - Julianna Frieman
• Sorry seems to be the hardest word - Scott Johnson

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 06/24/2025

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday he had ordered the military to strike Tehran in response to what he said were missiles fired by Iran in a violation of the ceasefire announced hours earlier by U.S. President Donald Trump. Iran denied violating the ceasefire.

I leave you with Sunday Funnies For 06-22-25 from Stately McDaniel Manor, MEME ME from DaleyGator, Sunday Funnies from Flopping Aces, Pic Dump................ from Theo Spark, and Who doesn't hate Mondays? gifdump (again) from Wirecutter.

The Prepared Citizen Movement

This sounds a bit like standard prepping with a side order of 3-gun shooting matches. Prepared citizen movement growing among Americans | NewsNation

Does it seem like there is more chaos in the world, or is it just that more people are paying attention?

The “prepared citizen” movement is a growing trend in which people take proactive steps to become self-reliant and ready for various emergencies or crises. It includes hardcore military training, self-defense and tools such as first aid and emergency communication.

Or maybe "Prepared Citizen" is the new PC term for prepper.

“They were trying to learn how to shoot literally days before the Russians invaded,” said [Eric] Roscher, a U.S. Air Force veteran and owner of Barrel and Hatchet Trade Group. “And so they were almost, like, helpless. And I saw it was like in America, we shouldn’t have that problem. One, we have the Second Amendment, but we as citizens should have the ability to defend our country and ourselves, and it’s in our Constitution.”

It's an interesting article, given that the author of the piece seems to have been mostly clueless about prepping. There was one interesting statement.

“Riots, elections, foreign wars, people realizing that their safety is their own personal responsibility,” [Ben Brown, owner of Wise Men Company] said. “No one’s coming to save them.”

The first place I saw that phrase was in the Graham Killhouse Rules:

Vance Boelter, Amy Klobuchar, and Tim Walz

This story was originally on the Star Tribune website, but I could not get that page to display. The link is below. Letter to FBI from shooting suspect made wild claims about Klobuchar and Walz, sources say

I will start with the hat tip, or part of it. Matt Margolis at PJ Media notes "Now We Know Why the Minnesota Assassin Story Disappeared Overnight."

But back to the article above.

In a rambling, conspiratorial letter addressed to the FBI, alleged assassin Vance Boelter claimed Gov. Tim Walz instructed him to kill U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar so that Walz could run for the U.S. Senate, according to two people familiar with the contents of the letter.

I predict that the FBI, or at least the office in Minnesota, will do everything to claim that they cannot release this letter because of an ongoing investigation. I no longer have faith in Kash Patel to overrule them.

Federal prosecutors allege the letter was left behind in a Buick that Boelter deserted near his home in Green Isle, Minn. It also allegedly contained Boelter’s confession that he carried out the shootings that killed state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and injured Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.

There is more, and it is interesting, but it is all contributed to those "sources familiar with the letter."

Now back to Now We Know Why the Minnesota Assassin Story Disappeared Overnight.

Have you wondered why the story of the Minnesota assassin Vance Boelter has suddenly vanished from the news? Now we have a pretty good idea why.

The media was quick to pile on Boelter as MAGA, Religious, Conservative, etc.

In short, Boelter is just a wacko. His letter is a testament to his fractured mind, not a manifesto of political grievance. The media’s rush to blame conservatives and the governor’s passive complicity in allowing false narratives to spread are failures that demand scrutiny. The truth matters, and in this case, it exposes a grotesque distortion of reality by those eager to score political points amid a horrific crime.

The original link to the story at The Minnesota Star Tribune: Letter to FBI from shooting suspect made wild claims about Klobuchar and Walz, sources say.

Afterlife

Today's song was served up by YouTube Music, which actually manages to be a reasonable music streaming service, aside from the fact that they are dead last when it comes to paying artists fairly for using their music.

This song is "Afterlife" by Evanescence. It is from the soundtrack to the Netfilx animated show Devil May Cry. It was released as a single in April. (While I have heard of the video game Devil May Cry, I didn't know that Netflix was doing a series based on it.)