Don't Bring a Knife to a Gunfight

Things won't work out for you. Man armed with knife shot and killed by customer at Cerritos restaurant, sheriff's department says

[Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department] Deputies said a preliminary investigation found that the armed man entered the restaurant and ran through the kitchen/service areas, "frightening customers and staff."

A customer who was "lawfully armed and possessed a valid concealed carry permit" confronted the man and ordered him to drop the knife, according to deputies. That's when the man reportedly charged toward the customer with the knife, and the customer shot him.

There is more. He apparently had a stolen truck, and stabbed himself at some point. Click thru for those details.

A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department source said an off-duty officer was present and witnessed the shooting, but did not fire their weapon.

Self-defense is a human right. We will have to wait to see what the LA District Attorney has to say about this incident. (Or why do you think the off-duty officer stayed out of it?)

U.S. Crime Rate versus Canada and Australia

When the Left actually talks about crime, as opposed to Social Justice of the courts and/or the police, they usually talk about "gun crime," and not crime in general. There is a reason for that. From John R. Lott Jr., at RealClearInvestigations: Mythbuster: U.S. Much Safer Than Many Peer Nations

The conventional wisdom is that Canad and Australia, thanks to their Draconian gun laws, are much safer than the US.

The data, however, undercuts this narrative. While the United States still leads in some categories, on the whole it has significantly less violent crime per capita than those two nations.

Regarding homicide, the most heinous crime of all, it’s true that in 2025, the U.S. murder rate was about four per 100,000 people – roughly twice Australia’s and Canada’s 2024 homicide rate. Yet it’s also true that homicides account for only a tiny fraction of violent crime. In 2024, homicides represented just 0.21% of violent crimes in the U.S., based on National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) estimates of rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. Murder comprises an even smaller fraction of crimes in Australia and Canada.

Click thru for the data presented in nice graphs.

I will just leave you with this bit about Australia and the attitude toward rape.

In Australia, there are numerous complaints that “Rape is effectively decriminalized.” In New South Wales, of the 9,138 sexual assaults reported to police in 2022, there were only 1,016 convictions – just an 11% conviction rate. Indeed, during a recent lecture that I gave to college students in New South Wales in February, several women said there was no reason to report rapes and sexual assaults to the police because they believed nothing would happen to the criminal and it was personally embarrassing to come forward publicly.

As a result, an analysis based solely on police statistics can be misleading when comparing countries. Victimization surveys tell a different story.

Read the whole thing.

Shooting Spree Is Family Execution

What were you doing when you were 16? I'm guessing mass murder wasn't on the agenda. ‘I love blood’: Officials reveal texts between teens accused of killing 5 family members

This wasn't a mass shooting. As he shot people at different times.

At 16 years old, Ja’ymier Davis is facing 12 charges as an adult, including five counts of first-degree murder.

The other person arrested in connection with the mass shooting is a 15-year-old girl who faces charges in juvenile court.

He killed his aunt. Then he killed his cousin while cleaning up the 1st crime scene, because he walked in and discovered the cleaning. It goes on from there.

East St. Louis, Illinois, is directly across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri.

Click thru for the details, including the antics of the defense attorney.

I miss living in a civilized society.

Tuesday Links - 21 July

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony starts us off with an AI story. Daily News Stuff 17 July 2026: Dwarves Are Back On The Menu Edition

1Password now lets Claude use your passwords - without giving it access to the passwords themselves. (Nerds xyz)

Claude sends a request to 1Password, the user approves it, and Claude ends up with access to the desired service without ever seeing the password. It's a pretty elegant solution to a situation set up mostly by crazy people.

Crime Research Org - Major Decision: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit Strikes Down New Jersey’s semi-automatic rifles and large-capacity magazines bans. Copy of decision is available here.

As expected, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, in an en banc decision, has struck down New Jersey’s prohibitions on semi-automatic rifles and large-capacity magazines. It is a major decision because he creates a circuit court split for the first time.

William Teach at Pirate's Cove - DHS Finalizes Rule That Means Students Can’t Just Stick Around

Before Obama and especially Biden just started letting everyone in roughly 45% of illegal aliens were people who overstayed their visas. If they are closely monitored than reapplying after undergrad and grad should be no big deal.

Bearing Arms - Is China Also Meddling in Second Amendment Fight?

On Thursday night, President Donald Trump took to (most of) the airwaves to announce some disturbing evidence regarding China and its attempts to meddle in the 2020 election.

Not the Bee - Bodycam footage shows The View host Sunny Hostin trying to convince cops not to arrest her son for trespassing

Here's the host of The View, Sunny Hostin, appearing to use her fame and position to get her son out of trouble.

Again from Pixy Misa - Daily News Stuff 18 July 2026: Accidental Umpires Edition

AWS is experiencing a wee spot of bother with its billing system. (The Register)

Speculation is that it's a unit conversion error in the cost estimation tool, but all we know for sure is that people who barely use the service are being alerted to cost estimates in the billions of dollars, and for businesses that have active applications the predicted bills run into the trillions.

AWS say they are looking into it.

Clayton Cramer - New Jersey Assault Weapon & >10 Round Magazine Ban Overturned by 3rd Circuit

To my shock and pleasure they broadened the ruling to protect all the militia appropriate firearms as well as the LCMs. And yes, this is a case on which i worked.

The Other McCain - Knife-Wielding Psycho-Tranny Is Former Arizona Democratic Party Official

Just a typical Democrat in 2026:

Wombat-socho - Rule 5 Monday: Redhead in Denim

Son of Silvercon IV ended yesterday – great success! Here’s a redhead in overalls.

Beautiful Lie

Evanescence released their new album on Friday 5 June. I had been waiting for this album's release since I first heard the single that they released in April.

Evanescence is a Rock & Roll band fronted by singer/keyboardist Amy Lee. They had a lot of trouble when they released their first album in 2003, because the tiny minds running the music industry and radio stations refused to even listen to their music. "A chick and a piano" was not rock. Even though guys with pianos, e.g. Elton John, Freddie Mercury, etc., were staples of Rock & Roll.

The band consists of:

• Amy Lee – vocals and keyboards
• Troy McLawhorn – guitar
• Emma Anzai – bass
• Tim McCord – guitar
• Will Hunt – drums

This song is "Beautiful Lie" by Evanescence from their 2026 album Sanctuary.

International Summit on Radical Leftist Violence

From Andy Ngo at Ngo Comment: U.S. Hosts First Ever International Summit on Radical Leftist Violence

Before we dive in, here is the subtitle, and it is not surprising.

The summit has infuriated Democrats and their allies in the liberal media.

Color me shocked. Here is the thing, though. I don't care about your feelings.

The conference is in Washington, DC, and is hosted by the State Department, which probably has the liberals in even more of a fit.

Sec. Marco Rubio is the first U.S. Secretary of State to openly confront the growing scourge of radical left-wing violence and terrorism coming from the likes of Antifa and trantifa militants, and other far-left extremists.

That’s why the left and its media are in full meltdown over the summit in Washington. Acknowledging the threat undermines years of minimizing, excusing, or supporting the violence perpetuated by their side.

There is a video report from Newsmax, that is less than 7 minutes.

Portland Police to Citizens - You're On Your Own

Imagine that someone is trying to grab your 7-year-old child out of your arms, and police take 40 minutes to respond. Some parents in Portland do not have to imagine, because that is what happened.

Fox News has the details. Family stopped alleged child kidnapper as police say staffing shortage delayed response up to 40 minutes. So here is what happened:

Portland police say a staffing shortage contributed to a 30- to 40-minute response to an alleged attempted kidnapping of a 7-year-old tourist at a downtown waterfront park over the weekend, with newly released police data showing the city typically has about 59 patrol officers on the streets at any given time.

Police took 30 to 40 minutes to respond because of staffing issues.

Hughes said the bureau was operating with 41 patrol officers across Portland that night, along with 10 officers working overtime, a roughly 24% reduction from planned staffing. He said there are no reserve patrol officers who can be called in immediately when multiple major incidents unfold at once.

This is Colion Noir's video Portland Police Just Told Citizens They’re On Their Own

This is the statement made by the Portland Police Department:

We don't have the appropriate amount of police officers to handle the amount of demand for police services.

Translation: "Don't count on us to be there when you need us, because there are not enough cops to go around."

The attempted kidnapping was not the only example cited in the video. The video is only 6 minutes.

People Helping People

Wendy Laubach from Chicago Boyz brings a story about community. Bootstraps still work

After a disaster hit my community ten years ago, it became instantly clear whose instinct was to step up and whose to bemoan the failure of outside saviors to show up immediately and fix everything.

Not that an astounding number of outsiders didn’t show up; they did. They just weren’t the federal government, for the most part.

Click thru for an account of Americans helping each other, and a link to a similar story.

There Are Forces Working to Destroy Western Civilization

The Other McCain has a story about the forces arrayed to destroy western civilizaton. Communism, the Palestinian Death Cult and the Pro-Terrorism Red-Green Axis

The Soviet policy of fomenting rebellion. The Red-Green alliance of the radical Left and hard-line Islamists. More.

There is a reason why you rarely see me jumping into these arguments to denounce people by name. Sam Francis got purged from the Official Conservative Movement™ as a result of foreign-policy quarrels in the 1990s, and the only reason we are where we are now — i.e., with the populist grassroots energy of MAGA now the dominant force in Republican politics — is because some of us were wise enough to keep our powder dry, to be discreet in our communications, and to maintain our focus on truly important issues.

Click thru for more details. It is an interesting story. I'll leave you with this.

Just because the Soviet Union collapsed did not mean that Communism was no longer a threat.

Italian Bureaucrats Convicted Over Infrastructure Collapse

The Morandi Bridge, which was located in Genoa, Italy, collapsed in 2018, resulting in the deaths of 43 people. Former Italian motorway boss among 32 convicted over Genoa bridge tragedy

The former head of Italian motorway operator ‌Autostrade per l'Italia was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Thursday for his role in a disaster that killed 43 people when a bridge collapsed near the city of Genoa in 2018.

Giovanni Castellucci was among 32 people convicted over the collapse of the Morandi bridge which sent vehicles plunging onto warehouses and a riverbed beneath the flyover during a summer storm.

At least some of the convictions are under appeal.

There isn't a lot of info, but the two sides of the debate seem to be that the collapse was either caused by the initial design, or the lack of maintenance. From my point of view, both can be true at the same time.

Here is a post from the 357 Magnum Archive: Everything Needs Maintenance – The Morandi Bridge Collapse. That post includes a link to a video of the explosive demolition of the remaining bridge structure, in preparation for new construction, and some info on the design of the new bridge.

This post contains more information on the replacement bridge. 357 Magnum Archive: Genova San Giorgio Viaduct Replaces Collapsed Bridge In Genoa, Italy

Some infrastructure collapse is clearly the result of negligence. The Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh, which collapsed on 28 January 2022, had received numerous warnings in the form of reports, photos, etc. before it collapsed. The bureaucrats and politicians ignored all the warnings, because maintaining infrastructure isn't sexy. It doesn't lend itself to ceremonies, and news stories. But it does keep people safe, and allow modern life to continue.

Some infrastructure can collapse as the result of a fire, such as the I-85 Bridge Collapse in Atlanta, or other external cause.

Maintenance you can plan for. Random acts of the universe, you cannot.

I'm not sure if these convictions in Italy represent Justice, or just the desire of the public to hold someone accountable, even if they aren't really the right person. I would like to see an incentive to make maintaining this stuff more likely, or we will continue to see bridges collapse, and dams collapse, and more types of infrastructure failure.

I Blame Global Warming

It may be summer in the Northern Hemisphere, but it is winter in the Andes. Ski Portillo Closes Indefinitely Ahead of Massive Winter Storm - POWDER

How does over 13 feet of snow before the end of July sound? That’s how much Portillo said could arrive, according to “reliable forecasts.”

This is after they had to delay the openning of the season for lack of snow.

After the snow hits, the slopes will be closed for "safety reasons." (How do you spell AVALANCHE?)

Hat tip to William Teach at Pirate's Cove: Over-Heated World Alert: Chilean Ski Restort Closes Ahead Of Blizzard

https://www.thepiratescove.us/2026/07/17/over-heated-world-alert-chilean-ski-restort-closes-ahead-of-blizzard/

The image above was stolen, shamelessly, from Pirate's Cove.

Why Men Left the Dating Pool

I first saw this short video from SmugAlana: Why Don't Men Approach Anymore? Which made me laugh, which isn't bad for less than a minute. (A woman complaining about men not approaching her, and - unintentionally - explaining exactly why they don't.)

So when this 2nd video showed up, I thought I would at least listen to a bit of it...

I always thought describing dating as a market, missed the point somehow, even back in the day when a lot of the clubs were described as "meat markets." But people do make rational decisions about how they spend their time, and their money. And the Pursuit of Happiness is something that we seem to have baked into the system. In this case, Gen Z, and maybe Millennial men, are making rational decisions about that dating market.

I'm older than dirt, so this is mostly of interest because I do know a handful of Zoomers, mostly kids of friends. But it is part of the fallout of late-stage feminism, and Woke. And those forces seem to be destroying society in new, and unexpected ways.

This is Kait Willett's video Women Are Starting to See The Damage

Saturday Roundup of Link Roundups - 18 July

The Right Way is up first with Top of the News

Trump: We ‘Completed’ Goals in Iran, Strikes Will ‘Continue’ - Briebart News
Ro "The Rotard" Khanna - Evi. L Bloggerlady

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 07.15.26 (Afternoon Edition)

CDR Salamander: China Goes Island Grabbing Again
Don Surber: Trump Strait-ens out Iran

EBL - England vs. Argentina ⚽

England vs. Argentina
There can only be one to go on to the finals...
EBL: Argentina finishes off Egypt and Mexico vs. England

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 15 July 2026: Red Fish Blue Fish Edition

Microsoft has updated Windows Search and... Fixed it? (WCCFTech)
Well, they've at least stopped shoving it full of ads, which goes a big way toward fixing it.

Small Dead Animals - Wednesday On Turtle Island

The Democrat Party’s America: Victor Davis Hanson – Hit Iran hard. Islam commission.
Davos Carney’s Canada: The Blackie dance. Gun control. Green scam. Corrupt diplomats.

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - Trump Says China Messed with 2020 Election, Intelligence Covered for Them

Spencer Pratt @spencerpratt, "Notice how Nithya Raman just completely disappeared after they blocked us out of the general election? She's not campaigning at all. Like a pickpocket disappearing into the crowd.

Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 07.15.26 (Evening Edition)

Don Surber: Cheering a less-known military victory
First Street Journal: The Capitol kerfuffle is almost over

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 7/16/2026

Foreign Marxist Terrorist Group Built Influence in US Activism
A decades-old Marxist terrorist organization has successfully infiltrated American activist circles, establishing connections with several groups

The Glibertarians - Wednesday Morning Links

Mexican Government Sends Lawyers to Block ICE Deportations
Trump to shrink 2 Utah national monuments by 90%

Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog - LinkSwarm For July 17, 2026

The war with Iran is very much on again.
Also, the full blockade of Iranian ports is back on.
Rubio Convenes 60-Nation Summit To Confront Transnational Far-Left Terrorism.”

Political Hat - Quick Takes – Academic Ridiculousness: Queer Kids Lit; Asexual Hobbits; Indigenous Horse Science

What are “2SLGBTQI+ Picture Books”? This “queer early childhood educator” is going to find out! From the abstract:
Apparently there is a field of Queer Tolkien scholarship

Maggie's Farm - Wednesday morning links

U. Chicago Law School bans phones, laptops from classrooms ‘in response to AI’
Academics persist in being the ’20’ on the ’80-20′ issue of trans women in female sports

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 7/ 15 /26

Noah Rothman unveils a century of leftist violence in America.
The Ideas That Make Violence Possible

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: Seizing the Day

• Trained to Nullify: How Civil Resistance Tactics Are Reaching American Juries - Insurrection Barbie
• 'Diversity' Is Not Our Strength if They Hate Us - David Strom

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 07/17/2026

President Donald Trump, in a primetime speech, alleged vulnerabilities exist in American election systems, though declassified documents his administration released largely discuss vulnerabilities that have been known for years.

I leave you with MIdweek Memes from Granite Grok, Friday Memes … from MaddMedic, Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #3938 from 90 Miles from Tyranny, and Friday's gifs from Wirecutter.

Oklahoma Is a Bad Place for Bad Guys

They take self-defense seriously in Oklahoma. Sheriff: Oklahoma homeowner hit attempted thief with baseball bat, shot him

The homeowner said he turned to go back inside his house, but the man followed him into the home.

At that point, the homeowner said he grabbed a baseball bat and hit the suspect.

The baseball bat wasn't enough to deter this guy. He charged the homeowner, who then drew a firearm, and shot him in the leg. He is clearly more charitable than I am. I would have gone straight to the firearm, and I would not have shot him in the leg.

Still, it ended the threat.

The suspect, who was identified as 37-year-old Joshua Arenas, was taken to the hospital for treatment.

After he got out of the hospital, he was arrested.

FBI - Houston Man Had Meth in His Car

The National Review - Houston Man Killed by ICE, Hailed as Father Chasing ‘American Dream,’ Had Meth in His Car, FBI Says

So not the choirboy the media would have us believe.

There has been intense outrage surrounding the incident, especially amid the broader unrest regarding U.S. immigration enforcement under the Trump administration.

Hat tip to Ed Driscoll at Instapundit

“HOUSTON MAN:”

This particular "Houston Man" was a citizen of Colombia.

Voodoo

Not sure why Godsmack has shown up so much in my playlists lately. It started with "Serenity" weeks ago, but the streaming service seems to be branching out.

This is "Voodoo" by Godsmack. It was on their 1999 self-titled album, which was their 2nd album.

Wyoming Wind Turbines Killed 23,000 Birds And Bats Last Year

Because that is good for the environment, or something. Wyoming Wind Turbines Killed More Than 23,000 Birds And Bats Last Year | Cowboy State Daily

In 2025, wind turbines killed 1,160 large birds, such as raptors and waterfowl, Wyoming Game and Fish habitat protection program supervisor Will Schultz told the state Game and Fish Commission on Wednesday.

Turbine blades also killed 9,152 small birds, such as meadowlarks, and 13,423 bats, Schultz said.

Hat tip to MaddMedic at Freedom Is Just Another Word…

But it’s okay.
It’s not dirty oil!
It’s GREEN!!

Friday Links - 17 July

An abbreviated links post today... Real Life sucks sometimes...

William Teach at Pirate's Cove starts things rolling with Illegal Kills 6 Year Old In NC After Blowing Stop Sign

Where are all the Democrats and their pet media who bleat when an illegal is killed by NICE when the illegal tries to run them over? I cannot also not find any articles in the Raleigh outlets

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 15 July 2026: Red Fish Blue Fish Edition

Micrsoft just release a set of patches that fix 570 security holes in Windows and their other software. (Krebs on Security)

That's... Good, I guess? If still terrifying.

Midwest Chick's Place - I don’t care as long as the time changes stop….

Apparently the House of Representatives passed a bill ending the twice yearly clock changing that we all have had to deal with for our entire lives.

Miguel Gonzalez - Don't play in traffic.

Life is truly about making choices, smart ones. And paying consequences for the stupid ones.

Meep at STUMP - Sports (and other) Gambling: the Modern Scourge

The World Cup is wrapping up, and I CANNOT escape the betting ads:

Another Failure of the Victim-Selection Process

While there is very little information given out at the time I am typing this, some things are clear. Shooting at Tuscaloosa Circle K under investigation

The shooting took place in a Circle K convenience store. The person who was shot is in critical condition.

Following interviews with witnesses and watching surveillance video from the gas station, authorities believe the shooting was in self-defense during a possible robbery attempt.

No one is charged, as the investigation is in early stages, and the guy who got shot is in a local hospital.

Things we don't know: Did the clerk do the shooting, or did one of the customers in the store do the shooting. The phrasing implies that there was more than one person (the clerk) in the store at the time of the incident.

We may see another article about this event, when charges are filed, or a trial is held, but it is very likely that this is the last the media will write about this incident.

Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is a 58 mile drive southwest of Birmingham, or a 100 mile drive northwest of Montgomery, Alabama.

Self-defense is a human right, and Alabama has not morphed into a clone of Massachusetts.

Dr. John Lott on SCOTUS Gun Rulings

WLW is one of the largest radio stations in Cincinnati. There was a time it was one of the largest radio stations in the country. They have a 500 kilowatt amplifier. They don't have a license to use it. On Cincinnati’s Giant WLW: To Discuss Supreme Court Gun Rulings and Canada’s Violent Crime Rate

Dr. John Lott appeared on 700 WLW’s The Bill Cunningham Show in Cincinnati to discuss two recent U.S. Supreme Court Second Amendment decisions, explaining the ruling against Hawaii’s restrictive concealed carry law and the United States v. Hemani decision limiting firearm prohibitions based solely on marijuana use. They also discussed our latest research on total violent crime in Canada and the concentration of murders in the United States.

Click thru for the audio of the discussion. It is a bit over 18 minutes.

First Responders Train for Active Shooter

Too many people, in too many places, believe they live on magic dirt, where things like Uvalde cannot happen. Champaign first responders train together for the unimaginable

In a real-life scenario — once the threat of danger is lifted — police work to keep everyone safe, while firefighters are focused on getting medical aid to victims. Sean Ater, a Lieutenant with Champaign Police, said the only way to make sure they get both jobs done is by communicating in high stress situations.

Active shooters are something that police need to think about. Champaign, Illinois, had a population of 88,000 in the 2020 census with a 2024 estimate of 91,000 people. It is good to see departments taking this risk seriously. I hope that smaller departments do as well.

Champaign, Illinois, is a 125 mile drive west of Indianapolis, Indiana, or a 135 mile drive south of Chicago's Loop. It is home to the University of Illinois.

While we are thinking about active shooters, let's take a look at the Most Useless SWAT Team in America. (They do look snazzy, don't they.)

Is Self-Defense Legal in the UK?

Not when the process is the punishment. Farmer to face no action over 2024 Whaley Bridge burglary shooting death

A farmer arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder over the death of a 19-year-old who was shot during a burglary in Derbyshire has been released with no further action, police have said.

Marcus Smith was pronounced dead at the scene in Eccles Road, Whaley Bridge, in the early hours of 1 May 2024, having sustained a fatal gunshot wound.

So after two years, the prosecutors finally decided that this was a case of self-defense. After two years in jail, awaiting trial, he was released.

Janine McKinney, chief crown prosecutor for CPS East Midlands, said: "After careful analysis of all the evidence gathered during the police investigation, our prosecutors have decided that there will be no criminal charges in relation to the death of Marcus Smith or the serious injury of another male.

They have a way to go before I will consider self-defense to be legal.

Hummer EV Fire

And an update to a previous story on a Ford F-150 Lighting. See this video for the update on the F-150.

This is the StacheD Training video Hummer EV Spontaneous Battery Fire: Repair Shop Warning

You can find the original story about the F-150 Lightning at this link.

Another Submachine Gun in Australia

As always, Impro Guns has the story. 9mm Bullet Hose SMG (Australia). Click thru for photos.

The Professor Parabellum design from the ‘9mm Bullet Hose – Homebuilt Submachine Gun’ PDF shown to the press amongst a table of seized homemade and 3D printed firearms recently seized by police in Western Australia.

The post linked above includes a link to a news story by way of YouTube.

The Australians seem to be fighting a losing battle against 3D printed firearms, and the Professor Parabellum designs.

The plans for the 9mm Bullet Hose can be found at this link. The version shown in the photos and the video of the firearm seized in Australia includes a suppressor not included in the design.

The 9mm Bullet Hose is designed to be built with nothing more complicated than a drillpress, and some basic welding. It seems to share some design philosophy with the venerable M3 Grease Gun.

Wednesday Link Roundup - 15 July

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

Bustednuckles has mouth causing trouble.
Don Surber has highlights of the week.

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 07.14.26 (Afternoon Edition)

Baldilocks: Right Place
CDR Salamander: Midrats Mid-July Melee, also, Navy’s Perfectly Named

EBL - Stephen Fry on the Illiad and Odyssey

Great commentary by Stephen Fry
AoSHQ: Morning Report 07.13.26

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 14 July 2026: The Origin Of Croissants Edition

55% of Americans have stopped regular use of social media. (PC Magazine)
Because they're tired of dealing with communists.

Small Dead Animals - Sunday On Turtle Island

The Democratic Party’s America: Victor Davis Hanson – Graham Platner. Tiny minority.
Stories You Won’t Find At Carney’s CBC: We rest on thee. Legacy of free speech. A trans complaint.

Political Hat - News of the Week (July 12th, 2026)

California Wants a Watcher Inside Every 3D Printer
California decided your printer should treat you like a suspect.

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - Sen. Lindsey Graham Dead at 71

John Sexton at Hat Hair hears Russia Closes the Kerch Strait After 76 Ships Hit With Drones. At Space.com, The US wants to build offshore rocket launch sites.

Don Surber - HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

ITEM 11: Oregon Governor Tina Kotek signed legislation permanently eliminating the state’s requirement that high school students demonstrate proficiency in reading, writing, and math to earn a diploma.

Bacon Time!!!! - Sunday Linkange

The Midwest Chick Saturday Meme Drop………….
Pirates Cove Leftards Wonder Why Platner Dropped Out, Because He Could Have Won Or Something

Vlad Tepes - China’s IP theft from Canadian scientists, the forcing of sharia norms in Canada, UK and USA: Links 1 for July 13, 2026

1. CSIS Warned About Him for Two Decades. Then a Clean Energy Scientist Allegedly Copied Thousands of Files for Beijing on the Eve of Retirement
One wonders if anyone in the Canadian Gov’t does not work for the CCP.

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 7/11/2026

Bettering yourself financially or at least giving your children the opportunity for a more prosperous future has driven people to emigrate to the United States for generations. But is the next generation still better off in this day and age?

The Glibertarians - Sunday Morning Orientation Links

Put your hands on your wallet, here go prices again!
This can’t be true because Canada has LAWS! Maybe the guns came from Indiana.

Maggie's Farm - Monday morning links

The genetics of the colors of warblers
Wealthy Americans Prefer This Grocery Chain Over Any Other, Survey Finds: Costco

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades of HQ - The Morning Report — 7/ 13 /26

The Democrats rely on this technique to move the political needle, but there are simple ways to counter it.
Manufactured Moral Outrage

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: Jim Banks introduces bill to end birthright citizenship by following Kavanaugh roadmap

• Climate Change Is the Omnicause - David Strom
• Amid Democrat Attacks On SCOTUS, Analysis Shows Jackson Is Most Partisan Justice By Far - Skye Graham

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 07/14/2026

President Donald Trump will give a ?national address on Thursday night about newly declassified intelligence on investigations into U.S. elections and what the White House says are voting machine vulnerabilities

I leave you with Sunday’s When the Weekend is almost over Meme Drop 7-12-26 from Midwest Chick's Place, Sunday Funnies from Flopping Aces, and Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #3921 from 90 Miles from Tyranny.

Self-Defense Is Legal in Michigan

And for once the prosecutors seem on board with that. 2 involved in Fairlane mall shooting acted in self-defense: prosecutors

Fairlane Town Center mall is in Dearborn, a city in Wayne County, Michigan, which is located about 7 miles west of downtown Detroit.

Three people were shot, two fatally, at 1:25 p.m. Friday, July 3, inside the shopping center on Michigan Avenue. Cameron Watkins and Keonte Seaborn, both 19 and of Detroit, were killed.

The person is charged, if I'm reading this correctly, with unlawful carry of a concealed firearm. So the prosecutors had to go for something.

And then there is this:

Dearborn police Detective Benjamin Harless said the shooting was "most likely a gang-related incident."

Color me shocked.

Remembering Kevin Mitnick

Kevin Mitnick passed away 16 July 2023 at the age of 59 from Cancer. The Wiki lists him as a "computer security consultant, author, and convicted hacker."

From The Drive we get a story about hacking. This Man Was Gifted His Dream Car by the Notorious Hacker He Put in Prison

It’ll help if you know the name Kevin Mitnick. He was a hacker-turned-security consultant who, later in life, helped shape the modern white-hat. Just how prototypical was Mitnick? He put himself on the proverbial map in 1979 by dialing into a software company’s server and copying its forthcoming operating system release in its entirety. Imagine convincing a Microsoft server to cough over an early copy of Windows 12 using little more than a phone number.

Click thru for the details of how Mitnick got caught trying to hack/social engineer his way into Novell in the 1990s.

In the end, Shawn Nunley caught him. Mitnick was convicted and sent to prison.

When he got out, Mitnick contacted Nunley to apologize. Their bury-the-hatchet moment was even immortalized by Wired, and they went on to become good friends.

Mitnick went on to found a couple of White Hat hacking/consulting firms. He became quite successful.

When Mitnick passed from pancreatic cancer in 2023, he left Nunley a gift—enough to buy his dream car, a 911 Carrera 4 GTS.

An interesting story.

Come Together

So based in part on a YouTube channel that I follow sporadically, I have been revisiting the Beatles. Some of their early music I despise. Some of the later work I love.

This song is "Come Together" by The Beatles from their album Abbey Road, which came out in 1969. It wasn't the last album released, but it was the last album recorded before they disbanded.

Film Threat Reaction to The Odyssey

Alan Ng and Chris Gore had the opportunity to see Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. Alan hated it. Chris said it was mixed.

This is the Film Threat Reactions video THE ODYSSEY OUT OF THE THEATER SOCIAL MEDIA REACTION

“I can’t wait to not see this movie again."
    — Alan Ng

Tuesday Links - 14 July

Andy Ngo at Ngo Comment is first with ACLU Releases Guide on Hiding Digital Evidence at Direct Actions

The ACLU recently released a guide on how “protesters” can hide or destroy digital evidence of their involvement in street direct actions after a North Texas Antifa cell was convicted.

Patrick Dent at Chicago Contrarian - Death in Deering: What’s the cause of death? It’s a five-letter word that begins with G

Only deep into the article do we finally encounter references to long-standing conflicts between gangs such as the Latin Saints and La Raza. We learn that gang slogans were allegedly shouted during one killing.

William Teach at Pirate's Cove - Maine AWFLs Upset Nazi Platner Dropped Out

The Nazi tattoo should have been disqualifying, and Platner knew it was a Nazi tattoo from the get-go. But, you know, Democrats

Ben Kew at The Gateway Pundit - Ex-Obama Press Secretary Turned Minneapolis Comms Chief Accused of Stealing Co-Workers’ Credit Cards to Fund Kratom Habit

According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, [Adam] Fetcher is accused of taking cash and credit cards from the desks and purses of at least three City Hall employees before making hundreds of dollars in unauthorized purchases at local tobacco stores.

Impro Guns - Gambler’s Special

A version of the sheet metal derringer no.2 seized by police in Brazil. I’m honestly more impressed by the accompanying hand stitch holster which is a nice touch.

The Silicon Graybeard - Small Space News Story Roundup 83

SpaceX Pulls in Starship Flight Test 13 to Next Thursday

Wombat-socho - FMJRA 2.0: Slowly I Turn

We’ve started the unofficial phase of the draft in Pete’s league for the 1975 season, which is to say there’s no time limit, teams just pick in order. So we might actually have most of the draft done before the official timed part of the draft starts in August. We still have four teams open, if you’re interested.

William Teach at Pirate's Cove - New Cult Talking Point: Earth May Possibly Be Hotter Than In The Last 540 Million Years (or something)

Oh, wait, so, the article doesn’t actually support the unhinged, doomy headline? Color me shocked.

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 13 July 2026: Seven Ate Nine Edition

Apple's upcoming M7 processor, destined for a full rollout with Pro, Max, and Ultra models, is expected to support as much as 1.5TB of RAM for local AI and other massively intensive workloads. (WCCFTech)

Which will cost $37,500. For the RAM. The rest of the computer will be... Actually relatively inexpensive.

Again from Wombat-socho - Rule 5 Sunday: Melon Season

Picked a bad day to accidentally delete the picture folder off my phone, not that there are any good days to do that.

Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog - “A Culture of Courage”: A German Celebrates American Freedom

Here’s a heart-warming video about a German who moved to America to get married, only to discover most of what he thought he knew was wrong.

357 Magnum versus 45 ACP

These are the kinds of questions the spark religious wars. 357 Magnum vs. 45 ACP: Is One Truly Better Than the Other?

The 357 Magnum vs. 45 ACP argument is a great way to send firearm forums and gun shops into an uproar. I've fired both cartridges for many years and certainly have my preference, though I'll set it aside for the sake of objectivity. As you continue reading this article, you will gain the knowledge to determine which cartridge is better for self-defense, target shooting, hunting, and your overall shooting experience.

This is a pretty good comparison of the ballistics of the 2 cartridges. While I do like 357 magnum, I also like 45 ACP.

That's not the only difference, though. The two cartridges have different bullet and case dimensions, resulting in different ballistic performance. The 45 ACP is typically loaded with a heavier bullet, but the 357 Mag has a longer case and higher maximum pressure.

Various bits of ballistic data is included. Click thru.

Xbox Player Wins Lawsuit Against Microsoft

It isn't a lot, but they couldn't just brush him off. Xbox player wins lawsuit against Microsoft to get his account back plus $400 - Dexerto

His Microsoft account was hacked. When he contacted support, they said, "Yep, hacked." Then they

The account belonged to a Reddit user called Ordo_Liberal, who spent three months documenting the ordeal online. His Microsoft account was compromised despite two-factor authentication being active, and when he contacted support, the company confirmed that “unauthorized access occurred” before informing him that “we are unable to modify or restore the security settings once they’ve been updated.”

The suspended his account. They told him, he would have to purchase every game, movie, whatever he had purchased associated with that account again. Too bad, so sad.

He sued and won in a Brazilian court.

For any Minecraft purchases tied to the account, the email went further still: “the game cannot be recovered. A new purchase will be required on a newly created account.” That response, apparently, was the wrong thing to say to someone living in Brazil, a country with strong consumer protection law.

Click thru for the details, or see Mutahar's video linked below.

Hat tip to the Mutahar at SomeOrdinaryGamers and his video Huge Win Against Microslop...

NATO Leaders Are Afraid of Guns, and Each Other Apparently

From The Guardian: Nato leaders surprised by Turkish president’s gift of guns after summit

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan presented engraved revolvers – with bullets – to his guests in Ankara, causing security concerns

If you're concerned that the leaders of NATO are going to pick up gift revolvers and open fire on each other, then Trump's concerns about the organization don't begin to scratch the surface.

What does a world leader do with a gun and six bullets? That was the conundrum Nato leaders faced after the Turkish president offered them each a revolver after the Ankara summit.

Several of the leaders of NATO had to leave the firearms behind, because transporting them was "not straightforward."

Hat tip to Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit: WHAT WUSSES.

Gifts of firearms were a traditional thing between leaders until the feminization of the West. You can bet Teddy Roosevelt wouldn’t have panicked. Or LBJ. Or even GWB.

They are freaking beautiful. Each was engraved with the recipient’s name, and what I take to be the symbol from the Turkish flag. Click thru for the photo of one firearm.

There was no definitive answer for what guns they were, but CNN, of all places, had a guess.

Images shared by the office of Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda showed what appeared to be the Gumusay .357 Magnum, a rare six-shooter produced by Turkish arms maker MKE in the 1990s.

Which would make sense.

Though I think this still applies:

We Rock

Another song by way of social media. Social media isn't too bad if you can avoid the insanity. It can be hard to avoid most days.

This song is "We Rock" by Dio. It is the title song to his compilation video album. It was part of the 1984 version of this album. If I'm reading things correctly (and I'm not sure about that) a shorter version of the album was released in 1983.

The Weekend In the Windy City

HeyJackass! has the stats for the weekend in Chicago. Wrong Place, Wrong Time Weekend

The July 4th weekend in Chicago was surprisingly peaceful. Well, it was peaceful by Chicago standards, though Mother Nature did lend a hand. There is less crime in Chicago during the winter cold, and during thunderstorms.

With the July 4th weekend behind us, we now return to our regularly scheduled programming.

So are these numbers good, or bad?

Final Demonized Tally: 4 killed, 19 wounded
2025 weekend tally: 4 killed, 25 wounded
2024 weekend tally: 11 killed, 29 wounded

It used to be a wonderful city.

Kentucky Permits 18- to 20-year-olds to Carry Concealed Starting Tomorrow

Why do you restrict rights from legal adults? Kentucky law allows 18- to 20-year-olds to carry concealed weapons starting Tuesday

A new Kentucky law takes effect Tuesday allowing 18- to 20-year-olds to apply for a provisional concealed carry license for the first time.

House Bill 312 expands concealed carry permits to that age group, but with restrictions. The provisional license is valid only in Kentucky and expires when the holder turns 21. Applicants must also complete required training before receiving the permit.

Click thru for details.

The H-1B Visa Program Needs to End

They got approval for a massive number of H-1B visa workers, and laid off Americans. Microsoft approves thousands of H-1B visas while Xbox cuts 1,600 jobs | Fox News

They were approved to hire 2200 H-1B visa workers. And then they did this.

A popular U.S.-based gaming brand owned by Microsoft is facing fury after mass employee layoffs occurred in the wake of the company being approved for thousands of foreign worker visas.

Click thru for the details. (Hat tip to Sarah Hoyt at Instapundit).

Nolan to Fans of The Odyssey: STFU

The following quote/meme/whatever has been running through my head since I started reading/watching Christopher Nolan's replies/reactions to his trailer going down in flames. "Just consume product, and then get excited for next product."

Director Christopher Nolan isn't used to being on the receiving end of backlash over one of his projects. At least not before the project is released. He has made some bad movies. Not very many people like 2012's The Dark Knight Rises. Some people like Inception, and others don't. But they were all, mostly, highly anticipated before release. Not this time.

Race swaps. Updating for the mythical modern audience. And all the rest. That much is clear from the trailers. And I am almost as sick of Zendaya as I am of Pedro Pascal. (I said almost.)

As I type this, the last trailer for The Odyssey, which was released on the first of July, has 79,000 likes, and 746,000 dislikes. The dislikes are not an exact number, even if I could see more than 3 significant digits, because YouTube removed the exact count to protect people like Nolan. But the internet usually finds a way, and the count returned if you add an extension to your browser.

That ratio, is the reason that Nolan had to speak up, and attempt some damage control. He didn't go about it correctly.

This video is from Andre at Midnight's Edge. Chis Nolan just made ‘The Odyssey’ Backlash Even Worse by Dismissing It

Nolan is tarnishing one of the foundational works of the entirety of Western civilization.

The video is about 14 minutes long.

Liulan Reservoir Dam Failure in China

China apparently has quite a few dams that were built during the 1950s, that are not up to modern standards. Watch: Typhoon Maysak breaks dam wall in China, kills 2 and forces thousands to evacuate

Tropical Storm Maysak, initially brought days of extreme rainfall across the country's southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region. But now, the typhoon has triggered a massive flood that claimed two lives, affecting about 55,000 people in Nanning and forcing around 48,000 of the city's residents to evacuate

The dam was breached on 6 July.

Maysak has triggered multiple reservoir emergencies, increased river levels above warning levels and flooded several villages across Guangxi.

Some info on the dam. Liulan Reservoir: A medium-sized reservoir located in Hengzhou City, Nanning.

The construction of the Liulan Reservoir hub project began in August 1958 and was largely completed by 1960. A hydropower station was added at the dam's toe in 1974. In August 2024, the Nanning Municipal Government Service Bureau issued an approval regarding the implementation plan for the standardized management creation of Liulan Reservoir in Hengzhou City . In 2025, the Liulan Reservoir Irrigation District Continuation and Modernization Renovation Project was also accelerating its progress, with a total estimated investment of 382.53 million yuan for the project.

Translation: They realized that the dam need improvements, and began work. That work was scheduled to be complete in 2027, but they didn't make it.

I can't find the reference now, but I read somewhere that China has a large number of infrastructure projects done in the early days of communist regieme, that were not really engineered. That process continued for a long time. They are now dealing with infrastructure, in some parts of the country, that are not what we would consider safe.

Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region is in the south of China, with a coast on the Beibu Gulf (off the South China Sea). It shares a border with Vietnam

NOW: A devastating situation is unfolding as Liulan Reservoir collapses following heavy rainfall from Typhoon Maysak in Hengzhou, Nanning, Guangxi, China. pic.twitter.com/vyuQn5nuyl

— Weather Monitor (@WeatherMonitors) July 6, 2026

12 July 1979 - The Disco Demolition

Quite a day in Chicago History. Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park - Chicago History Museum

OK, so the story is from a couple of years ago.

July 2024 marks 45 years since the infamous “Disco Demolition Night” promotional event at a July 12, 1979, Chicago White Sox twilight doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers that erupted into chaos. To encourage attendance, the White Sox hosted WLUP 97.9 rock DJ Steve Dahl, who was known for mocking disco and had been fired from a previous radio job when the station switched from rock to disco. They asked fans to bring a disco record to the ballpark in exchange for 98-cent admission, and those LPs were to be gathered and then blown up in a controlled explosion between games.

It was a great success and a great failure.

The stadium was full of people who didn't care about baseball. When Dahl blew up the records it damaged the field. The WLUP fans invaded the field. The White Sox ended up forfeiting the 2nd game of double header.

Disco, which was already declining in popularity by 1979, went on to influence house music, EDM, Europop, new wave, dance-punk, and hip-hop and has seen revivals in the 21st century.

Hat tip to EBL: Disco Inferno. Click thru for a musical interlude, and a brief video of the night in question.

Four Decades for Justice

Justice seems to move slowly in the UK. Evil brothers jailed for killing civil servant in 1984 'for fun' - Yorkshire Live

The court heard how Michael Stewart, 57, and Anthony Stewart, 60, were just 15 and 18 when they indulged on a spree of violent robberies, targeting gay men.

No guns or knives required, only blunt instruments. I suppose the UK will move to outlaw blunt instruments, including rocks, pipes, and bats.

On May 1, 1984, their attacks took an even darker turn when they set upon Anthony Littler, who they bludgeoned to death as he walked home in East Finchley, north London.

Click thru for details, including how they were brought to justice.

Fort Worth Police Versus the First Amendment

Libs of TikTok has the story. Fort Worth Police EXPOSED for Violating 1st Amendment

Americans should be able to trust that Law enforcement agencies will uphold the Constitution.

Three cops are featured in the post. They threatened to ticket and/or arrest preachers for preaching at an event on public property. The threats are clearly against the 1st Amendment.

[Fort Worth PD] then announced that they will provide “refresher training” to their officers on First Amendment protections.

As soon as they did that, they blocked Libs Of TikTok on social media.

Click thru for the details.

F-150 Lightning Fire at Ford Dealer Service Center

This is the StacheD Training video EV Fire in Service Bay: Speedway Ford

Nobody grabbed an extinguisher. I did not see any evidence that anyone tried. And while that might sound counterintuitive, that's exactly what you want to do when you see it's an EV incident.

Once a lithium ion battery is in thermal runaway, you're not putting it out with a handheld extinguisher. And trying to put it out, it's just going to get you injured.

The video is less than 5 minutes, and has some decent coverage of the fire and the aftermath. Plus the StacheD Training commentary.

Saturday Roundup of Link Roundups - 11 July

Wombat-socho starts us off with In The Mailbox: 07.08.26 (Afternoon Edition)

Dana Loesch: Kirk Preliminary Hearing – Day 2
Don Surber: Springtime for Platner ends

EBL - Senator Mitch McConnell's Death Will Not Prevent Him From Finishing His Term

EBL: SCHRÖDINGER’S SENATOR : What is going on with Mitch McConnell? 🤕🙀🤔🤨
AoSHQ: Morning Report 07.09.26

The Right Way - Top of the News

Chinese National Madam Indicted For Running Brothels Out Of Boston Apartments - IOTW Report
Things heat up with Iran - The New Neo

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 10 July 2026: Slop Story Edition

OpenAI's Atlas browser on the other hand is not. (Tech Crunch)
Launched in October, the candle that burned half as bright was promptly cancelled.

Political Hat - Quick Takes – Curing Dementia via Death: Bioethicist Approved; New Jersey Approved; Netherlands Just Fine With Killing All the Mentally Ill

Slow starvation is now acceptable medical treatment according to purported “bioethicists”.
New Jersey loves them some “bioethicist” approved slow-motion killin’.

Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 07.08.26 (Evening Edition)

Da Tech Guy: Five Fifth of July Thoughts Under the Fedora
Dana Loesch: Politics Break – The Big Bear Bald Eagle Cam, Kirk Preliminary Hearing – Day 3, and Graham Platner is Out

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - Platner Bails Out - Iran War Back On

Maine Democrat Party: How Dare Platner Try to Force Himself on Our Candidate Selection Process! – HotAir
Too Middle School to Check: Team Totenkopf's 'Do You Like Me' Survey

Small Dead Animals - Wednesday On Turtle Island

The Democratic Party’s America: Victor Davis Hanson – Rant to America. A twisted view. Socialism.
Carnival Carney’s Canada: A warehouse flood. Trade your car in for a bike.

Wombat-socho again - In The Mailbox: 07.09.26

Racket News: Graham Platner & The Politics of Accusation
Shark Tank: Poll Shows Jay Collins Gaining On Byron Donalds

Vlad Tepes - More of the same really – several data points out of thousands that indicate the state-islamic-Communist actions against the legacy population of Western Civ: Links 1 for July 10, 2026

5. The swapping out of Rule of Law for Sharia appears to be moving from the Commonwealth to the USA now
On that subject, read RAIR Foundation.

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 7/9/2026

Chicago Lands Crown as Bedbug Capital of the US: Report
Chicago topped the dubious list of US cities with the most bedbug infestations per capita

The Glibertarians - Wednesday Afternoon Sugarlinks – insanity, corruption and decay

Who Could Replace Graham Platner?
Democrats’ brief experiment in letting their hair down and nominating a Senate candidate who makes them feel edgy has all but concluded.

Once again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 07.10.26

Don Surber: Globalists pit NATO against Trump
Flopping Aces: The Media Crowned Fauci The Pandemic Pope – Then Tulsi Dropped The Files & The Choir Fled The Church

Maggie's Farm - Wednesday morning links

The Women Who Help People Die
The government is pulling student loan money from worthless college degree programs — and it’s about time

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 7/ 8 /26

While his wife ditched the celebration to attend an Islamic retreat in Spain.
Mamdani Touted Open Migration for America’s 250th

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: Platner may wake voters up

• Never left enough - Tom Knighton
• Trump’s Immigration Enforcement Really Is Slashing Violent Crime - John R. Lott Jr.

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 07/10/2026

Over at American Stasi, “Brazilian Parents Sentenced To Prison For Protecting Their Children From Domestic Intelligence.”
Very disturbing rundown of the Peter Stokes hacking case

I leave you with Midweek Memes from Granite Grok, Wednesday Memes … from MaddMedic, Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #3902 from 90 Miles from Tyranny, Midweek Memes from Granite Grok, and Friday's gifs from Wirecutter.