Wednesday Link Roundup - 25 February

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

Bunkerville has judge Sparkle.(Bunk OK?)
Bookworm Room has the Bookworm beat.
Don Surber has highlights of the week.

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 02.23.26

Cedar Sanderson: Emotion’s Thrall
Upstream Reviews: War Demons

EBL - The Chills: February

The Chills: February
AoSHQ: Morning Report 02.24.26

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 24 February 2026: Hardly Working Edition

Is age verification a trap? Yes. (IEEE Spectrum)
Online age verification intrinsically damages user privacy, while failing to work in both directions:

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - Just Waiting for the Snow

RCW evaluates The Cost of Not Acting Against Iran. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, 'Token' Nukes, Lobster Meals, 'Unbridgeable Impasse': Do Portents Point To An Iran Strike? Leslie Eastman at LI reports Trump is Forging the Mineral Alliance: U.S. to Form Trading Bloc to Counter China

The Glibertarians - Sunday Morning Capital Trek Links

This might disrupt our trip a bit…
Team Red’s version of the Washington Monument shutdowns. Stop pretending that there’s any difference between the Teams.

Political Hat - News of the Week (February 22nd, 2026)

You can jailbreak an F-35 just like an iPhone, says Dutch defense chief
No worries if the US doesn’t want to be friends with Europe anymore

Don Surber - HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

ITEM 1: Hillary admitted she went to Epstein’s Island but only to talk to his girlfriend, not to meet the children.
In the 1970s, she said she only bought Playboy to read the articles.

Small Dead Animals - Tuesday On Turtle Island

The Democratic Party’s America: Transgender mass killings. Philip Haney. A win for Trump.
Conman Carney’s Canada: A Green Showcase. Barry Neufeld.

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 2/21/2026

JPMorgan Chase acknowledged for the first time that it closed the bank accounts of President Donald Trump and several of his businesses in the political and legal aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021 attacks on the U.S. Capitol, the latest development in a legal saga

Vlad Tepes - Much more than rage bait: A lot of meaningful events that define the times – Please see item 7 for a major spirit lift: Links post for February 24th, 2026

3. PLEASE READ this statement from the UK Rape gang inquiry. And then try and pretend it isn’t happening in other Western nations.

Bacon Time!!!! - Sunday Linkange

The Midwest Chick Saturday Meme Drop………….
Pirates Cove Was The Climate Scam A Massive Financial Scam?

Maggie's Farm - Saturday morning links

New Mexico Launches Probe Into What Happened At Epstein's 'Zorro Ranch'
Donald Trump: worst fascist ever

Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 02.24.26

CDR Salamander: The Russo-Ukrainian War Hits Four
Da Tech Guy: The Democrat Tom Hagen Math Congress & Canine (Or the “Dog that Didn’t Bark”) Edition

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 2/23/26

As Bugs Bunny would say: "Of course you realize, this means war!"
Nerdeen Kiswani Really Screwed The Pooch This Time

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: What Democrats Want Beyond Abolishing ICE

• Alabama and Team USA defeat Canada Don Surber
• A Day on the Underground Railroad, 1849 The Time Travel Series [$]

Vlad Tepes - News Briefs – 02/24/2026

And if you want your fourth Amendment rights, you need to give up your Second Amendment. I never grasped the degree to which gun control forces were not misguided lefties, but rather dictatorial tyrants.

I leave you with Sunday Funnies For 02-22-26 from Stately McDaniel Manor, Sunday Memes … from MaddMedic, Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #3431 from 90 Miles from Tyranny, and Sunday Meme Drop from Midwest Chick.

Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0

He suffered from a failure of the victim-selection process. Warrant issued for burglary suspect shot by New Castle homeowner

Michael Boice broke into a home in New Castle, Pennsylvania.

Boice, who was shot in the leg during the break-in, is still hospitalized in Ohio. Police say he will be extradited to Pennsylvania once discharged.

New Castle is about a 55 mile drive north of Pittsburgh, and about a 100 mile drive southeast of Cleveland. It is about a 15 or 20 mile drive east of Youngstown, Ohio.

No charges are expected for the homeowner, because, at least away from the Blue Cities in Pennsylvania, it seems that self-defense is legal, and it even seems to be catching on the cities.

AI Versus Hollywood

From American Greatness we get the first part of a consideration of the future of Hollywood and human actors. AI Killed the Hollywood Star (Part One): A ‘Sword-and-Sandal’ Epic Pitting Economy Against Creativity

There has been much written about AI and Hollywood. The Writer's Guild is considering another strike this year about the use of AI. (Because their last strike worked out so well, the total work being done in Hollywood is contracting like crazy.)

Ben Affleck is convinced that actors are safe from AI, though some of the technical aspects of filmmaking, such as special effects, will be impacted.

The reason, per Mr. Affleck, is the creative and collaborative aspect of art.

James Woods is sure that actors are NOT immune to being cut.

Mr. Woods, however, is very well-versed in the history of Hollywood. Simply, when creativity and economy clash, profits win. When viewed in this light, whereby AI is merely a tool to increase profits, the economy of the technology’s use is inescapable—for every aspect of production regarding on-screen entertainment, including actors.

And since James Woods has been blacklisted in Hollywood for Wrongthink, I believe his perspective is a bit clearer.

Go read the whole thing, it isn't very long. I'm looking forward to parts 2 and 3.

Chocolate Buttermilk

Social media can be OK as long as you avoid the insanity. It can be hard to do, but I try to concentrate, a least a bit, on the music and movie side of things. That's how I found this song, by way of X, and a regular song game.

I had heard of Kool & the Gang, of course, though I never was a fan of much of their music that was on the radio. This song was from an album released before their commercial success, which came in 1973, as near as I can tell from some quick research. I like it. It is more jazz than the stuff that was commercially successful.

This is "Chocolate Buttermilk" by Kool & the Gang from their 1969 debut album Kool and the Gang.

Tuesday Links - 24 February

The Register starts us off with a cautionary tale of AI. Amazon's vibe-coding tool Kiro reportedly vibed too hard and brought down AWS

Amazon's cloud platform suffered a 13-hour disruption affecting one service after resident engineers allowed Kiro to make changes, according to four sources who spoke to the Financial Times.

My Daily Kona - The Risk of Unrealized Tax Gain.

The "Cloud People" as I call them, don't want us owning anything, just resting and leasing. "You will own nothing and be happy" was something that Mao said as did Lenin and Marx. Of course they WILL own stuff.

Samizdata - The news has reached the Guardian

I am truly, non-sarcastically impressed that Ms Hinsliff and a few other left-wing commenters are now willing to admit that “there are likely to be consequences” to increasing the minimum wage. Hearing that word, “consequences”, enter left-wing discussions of workers’ pay is like a glimpse of a little mammalian form scurrying through the dust kicked up by a brontosaurus.

Echo Chamberlain - Progressive White Women Are Losing Cultural Capital

We had empowered girl boss characters on screen - and it didn’t work. The result wasn’t a brave new world in entertainment, but tedious Mary Sues, declining viewership and cultural fatigue.

The Other McCain - ‘Zizian’ Cult Member Gets Bailed Out

This isn’t too surprising During their initial hearing in Allegany County District Court last year, Blank’s case for release was clearly the most sympathetic.

Ed Driscoll at Instapundit - NO ONE IS ILLEGAL ON STOLEN LAND AND/OR IN STOLEN CARS!

Car thefts for thee, but not for me. Exit quote: “It is remarkable how quickly the traditional law enforcement model becomes essential when crime crosses the threshold of City Hall.”

William Teach at Pirate's Cove - Was The Climate Scam A Massive Financial Scam?

Well, yeah. It was never about saving the climate, it was about spreading money around and implementing authoritarian government

Again from Ed Driscoll at Instapundit - WAS IT OVER WHEN JOHANNES VERMEER BOMBED PEARL HARBOR?

Senator Blutarsky approves this message!

OldAFSarge at Chant du Départ - To Fly, Or Not To Fly ...

It is, dear reader, almost time to head south again. The Missus Herself is off to California to visit LUSH for a fortnight leaving me, Your Humble Scribe, to once again fend for himself. As the invitation to visit The Nuke is always open, I decided to go there for a week, or so, rather than entertain myself at Chez Sarge.

Meep at STUMP - The Week in Meep: Shoveling Snow in New York, First Sunday of Lent, IKEA!

Warming up for the next snow dump, while some of the prior snow remains on the ground:

Wombat-socho - FMJRA 2.0: Still Winning

Well, that went better than I thought it would. We played the Daytraders last Sunday and took two games out of three; we lost the opener to Vida Blue but won game 2 in extra innings on an RBI single by Tom Grieve, and in game three we pounded Larry Gura for 12 runs while holding the Daytraders scoreless.

Lone Star Parson - El Mencho Down

And dear punters, all three of you, have you cancelled your timeshares in Jalisco, walked back that all inclusive? Hope so, if not, shelter in place and hope the good guys catch up with you.

John Lott on Australia As a Defenseless Victim Zone

Topher Field is a Australian documentary film maker and libertarian political commentator. He also has a YouTube Channel.

John Lott is a researcher and author of the book More Guns, Less Crime.

These two had a conversation. This is an interesting, if brief (9 minute) excerpt of that meeting, about America's experience with armed self-defense. It is 9 minutes out of a conversation that lasted just over an hour. I have not listened to entire conversation, but I will try to get to that this week.

This is the Topher Field video What if everything you've been told is upside down? Topher Project Special with John Lott

95% of the time that people use guns defensively, they don't fire the gun. It's simply brandishing a gun is enough to cause the criminal to go break off the attack.

Of course those stories don't end up in the news, unless something "odd" happens, like the defender holds the attacker at gunpoint until police arrive. But mostly, there is no news story.

The extended conversation is The TRUTH about crime and G.u.n.s EXTENDED interview with John Lott Jr - Topher Project SPECIAL.

What's the Opposite of Diversity?

University. Survey: 1 in 4 Jewish students say they’ve been excluded from campus activities

One in 4 Jewish college students say they either felt or were excluded from a campus activity because of their Jewish identity, a new survey by the American Jewish Committee and Hillel International found.

The results add evidence to on-going concerns about rampant antisemitism on American college campuses.

Is anyone shocked that higher education is rampant with discrimination and hate? Read the whole thing.

Hat tip to Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit - WHY IS HIGHER EDUCATION SUCH A CESSPIT OF NAZISM?

Mercedes-Benz Electric SUVs Recalled

Sparky cars gonna spark. Mercedes-Benz Issues Recall for EQB Electric SUV over Fire Risk

Mercedes-Benz ordered a recall for 12,236 EQB electric SUVs, which could catch fire due to an issue within the high-voltage battery system. According to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

That will be expensive for each car, but I have no idea if that is a large number compared to the number sold, or if many more were sold, but only a subset were impacted.

The documents also state that any EQBs not included in the recall are already equipped with more robust batteries.

In the time before the replacement, owners are told to park outdoors, away from structures and other vehicles.

Of course the letters notifiying people which SUVs are affected won't go out until Friday the 27th, and the fix won't be available until April.

It's A Sin

Ghost is an interesting band. They go out of their way to provoke people with their theatrics. Quite a bit of their music has been reminding me of 1980s music lately, and today we have a cover from '89.

It might not fit Metal for Mondays exactly, but since I make the rules...

This song is "It's A Sin" by Ghost. It was released as a single on January 16th. It was originally a song by Pet Shop Boys from 1989.

Violence Spreads Across Mexico

From the New York Post: Deadly violence in Mexico spreads after cartel boss is killed — as Americans warned to shelter in place

The deadly violence sparked by the military killing of an infamous cartel leader has now spread widely across Mexico, as American citizens near the border were warned to shelter in place.

At least 20 of Mexico’s 31 states have seen violent clashes in the wake of the death of the country’s most wanted man, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

Who had "Mexico Collapses" on their 2026 bingo card? Or would this be redundant?

Shootout in Chicago Ends With Man Dead, Concealed-Carry Holder Injured

Being armed in your own defense is not a guarantee of safety, but I still believe it to be a good strategy for dealing with violent encounters. Shootout near Bridgeview pool hall leaves man dead, concealed-carry holder wounded - Chicago Sun-Times

A group of people were playing inside the pool hall about 2 a.m. when another group walked in, Mancha said through a spokesman, citing preliminary information.

When the first group left about 10 minutes later, the second group followed them outside and “words were exchanged,” Mancha said.

Bridgeview, Illinois is a village in Cook County that is about 15 miles southwest of the Loop.

One guy attacked. One guy defended. Though it will be a while before the State's Attorney makes any decision on charges.

Beware Age Verification Schemes

Give your name, government ID, a photo, and other info to a phone app. What could possibly go wrong? From Anthony Spadafora at Tom's Guide: 1 billion personal records exposed in massive new data leak — full names, addresses, phone numbers and more

The company IDMerit uses an AI system to verify your age for various reasons. All well and good, except that they had a complete lack of security. Or maybe not complete, but certainly not enough security.

No, this wasn’t a data breach, and hackers weren’t involved in any way whatsoever. Instead, this was a data leak discovered by the team at Cybernews, where a company accidentally left all of those records unprotected online without a password.

Based on its findings, Cybernews believes the exposed database in question belongs to IDMerit, which is a digital identity verification solutions provider. The personal data in that database was used by other companies to verify users in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Mexico and loads of other countries.

Click thru for the details. The data includes enough to facilitate phishing campaigns, or account takeovers of cellphone accounts. Or more.

Sen. Rand Paul and Rep. Paul Gosar Seek to End Big Pharma Giveaway

Was this downplayed in the media cycle, and I just didn't see it, or has it been buried by the media? Sen. Rand Paul announces legislation to end liability shield for vaccine manufacturers

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul announced legislation that would remove liability shields from civil claims for vaccine manufacturers.

The “End the Vaccine Carveout Act” was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Paul and cosponsored by Utah Sen. Mike Lee. The act was introduced in the House by Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar.

It is crazy to me that Big Pharma can release poorly-tested poison, and not face any repercussions. But that is Washington DC. This is especially true when you realize that they changed the definition of vaccine so that the COVID jab was covered by the liability shield.

“If a drug hurts someone, you can sue the company in court. You can hold them responsible through the normal legal process,” Sen. Paul said in a press release. “But when it comes to vaccines, and in many cases the COVID vaccine, the rules are rigged: you’re funneled into a federal no-fault program that limits damages, restricts your options, and — in many cases — leaves people without real justice. That’s cronyism."

You can easily send an email to your representative in the House of Representatives at House.gov, by typing your zip code into the search bar in the top right of the page, or to your senators at Senate.gov, by searching for your state. You can do this in under 5 minutes if you copy/paste the same message to everyone.

Death of Mexican Drug Lord Causes Chaos

People have been saying Mexico is a failed state for a while. Seems like maybe there is some point to that statement. Flight cancellations follow chaos at Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara airports

That headline is fairly tame, given the stuff on social media.

Flights to Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara airports have been disrupted after Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, commonly known as "El Mencho," was killed in a military raid. [SNIP]

Videos circulating on social media show panic at Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara airports in Mexico, with travelers dropping their luggage and running through the airport to take shelter behind chairs and flight desks. Photos and videos also show plumes of smoke swirling throughout the city of Puerto Vallarta, a major city in Jalisco.

Here is one example from X/Twitter:

Puerto Vallarta is a war-zone, many Canadians and tourists are trapped in their resorts and villas as CJNG cartel and security forces battle on the streets. pic.twitter.com/kLqNwjCjiZ

— Toronto Crime Watch (@CrimewatchTO) February 22, 2026

Great place for a vacation.

What If Cops Don't Believe Your Legal Gun Is Legal?

This is not a shock, given that New Roads Police Department seems to have a bunch of problems. I-TEAM: Man jailed for 20 hours on stolen gun charges; gun was legal

The cops pulled over Maddox Livingston for a burnt-out headlamp, and a non-working plate lamp. He informed them that he had a firearm in the vehicle, in accordance with Louisiana law, so they disarmed him, and somehow determined that the gun was stolen. A neat trick, because the gun was not stolen.

An 18-year-old man spent 20 hours in jail this week after his attorney says New Roads police wrongfully arrested him on felony charges for allegedly possessing a stolen gun that was not stolen.

Eventually, his lawyer and his family provided documentation to prove the gun was not stolen, and the DA ordered his release. He is obviously concerned that the arrest will stay on his record.

Attorney Rob Marionneaux, who is representing Livingston, said the incident highlights ongoing problems with the New Roads Police Department.

“If I were the mayor and I were on the city council, I would abolish it,” Marionneaux said.

In five months, Marionneaux has represented two clients who claim they were wronged by the department’s officers.

Incompetence or corruption? Hard to say which is worse.

The officer involved, has since been arrested on a drug charge. New Roads police officer arrested on drug distribution charges. That makes me lean toward corruption over incompetence, but maybe he is just a stoner, and makes mistakes.

A New Roads Police Department officer was arrested on charges of distributing oxycodone after the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office narcotics agents conducted a controlled purchase operation.

This is the Liberty Doll video Man Jailed Over "Stolen" Legal Gun | Police Corruption Scandal

Chicago Mayor’s Lies about Budget Being Balanced

How stupid do you need to be to think that Chicago's budget is anywhere close to being balanced? What kind of a liar do you have be to make that claim? So, is he stupid, or lying? My money is on him being a lying politician. Audit Disproves Chicago Mayor’s Claim the Budget Is Balanced

And you need to pay attention, because the Chicago machine is expecting to be bailed out by the federal government.

Mayor Brandon Johnson has puffed himself up as Chicago's savior claiming he has miraculously implemented a balanced budget for 2026. But Johnson must be living in some sort of phantom zone because an independent audit shows the City of Chicago is suffering an astonishing $41.1 billion budget deficit.

$41 billion in deficit is NOT a balanced budget, unless you are Democratic Party politician. But then Chicago is where we got Mr. "If you like your plan, you can keep your plan."

He has been trying to pass a bunch of new taxes and raise fees and existing taxes. Not tax the rich. Tax everyone.

All this so he can keep throwing more than $600 million at illegal aliens. And that is on top of the more than $3 billion lavished on illegals by the state of Illinois.

I would love to see them actually cut the insanity, but it is the Chicago machine, or what is left of it, which is mostly insanity at this point.

Read the whole thing. As I said, they are going to expect you to bail them out, and although Chicago is one of the cities in the worst shape financially, they are not alone.

Minnesota Gun Permit Applications Spike

KAAL TV brings us a story from the deep blue state. Gun permit applications spike by 76% in January compared to the same time last year - ABC 6 News

Minnesota apparently has a "permit to purchase" a firearm. Though that may just be Minneapolis. This seems wrong on so many levels, but that is Progressive thinking. (The bad guys are not asking for permission to acquire a firearm.)

State data from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehensions reveals that 8,240 permit applications were submitted in January, a significant increase from 4,734 during the same month last year. This trend is also evident in Olmsted County.

Concealed Carry permits are also on the rise, as is interest in training courses. (Hat tip to INTERNED in Northfield!!!)

When You Get What You Ask For

... but not quite what you wanted. From The Other McCain: What Happens When Liberals ‘Succeed’

Liberalism is about winning elections. Whatever the actual results of liberal policies may be, in terms of the well-being of the people who vote for liberals, are of no real consequence. So long as liberals keep winning elections, they consider their policies successful. We see this all the time in places like Baltimore, Philadelphia and St. Louis where, no matter how objectively bad things get — no matter how much poverty, misery and violence prevail — Democrats keep getting re-elected.

There are several examples. The exodus of business, including the Chicago Bears, Caterpillar, Tyson, and more from the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois. But this is really about an international comparison. It seems Alabama is more prosperous than Canada.

Yes, Alabama! If anyone wonders why Canada is now lagging behind Alabama, let me make a digression. About 30 years ago, I noticed an emerging theme in Democratic messaging. Our problem, they said, was a “growing gap between rich and poor.” This was the theme of numerous newspaper columns and a talking point in speeches by Democratic politicians, and it got me to wondering why this gap was growing.

Click thru for details.

I have been reading a few stories on this transformation. While Canada has been stagnating economically, and even falling behind, Alabama has spent a long time pursuing economic growth. Using the high-tech firms in and around Huntsville as a focus, using the universities as multiple foci, doing whatever they can to attract and reward growth.

Saturday Roundup of Link Roundups - 25 February

Wombat-socho starts things rolling with In The Mailbox: 02.18.26 (Morning Edition)

Baldilocks: Liberty & Death – Revisited
CDR Salamander: So We Have A Maritime Action Plan

The Right Way - Top of the News

Man rushes US Capitol with shotgun - Boston Herald
Boston Makes Minneapolis Fraudsters Look Like Small Timers - IOTW Report

EBL - Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday
Bonus Saint: Blessed John of Fiesole aka Blessed Fra Angelico

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 20 February 2026: Tailguard Edition

Why Europe doesn't have a Tesla. (Works In Progress)
The article highlights the continent's absurdly restrictive labour laws which are certainly a key part of the problem.

The Glibertarians - Thursday Afternoon Links of Return to Normacly*

IRANIAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST CALLS OUT UN, WESTERN LIBERALS FOR REGIME APPEASEMENT: From the top rope, with the folding chair. Shame that this will have exactly zero impact on anything.

Wombat-socho again - In The Mailbox: 02.20.26 (Morning Edition)

Baldilocks: What’s Growing In Your Garden? also, Typing Small
CDR Salamander: Russia’s Middle-Aged Poor To The Grinder

Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog - LinkSwarm For February 20, 2026

“Vast Majority Of Americans Want Voter ID And Democrats Don’t Care.”
That’s because they view voter integrity laws as an existential threat to their power. If they can’t cheat, they can’t win…

Small Dead Animals - Friday On Turtle Island

The Democrat Party’s America: Victor Davis Hanson – Rubio and Europe. Trumpism is working. Prayer.
Conman Carney’s Canada: The Carney government. Diversity is our strength tourism.

Flopping Aces - The Week in Radical Leftism, 02/19/2026 – More from The Nation!

Jesse Jackson Still Provides Light in These Dark Times
Like wiping MLK’s blood on your shirt so you could claim MLK died in your arms? Or how about harassing businesses into hiring your friends?

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - Is Another Strike on Iran Imminent?

Beege Welborn, 'Whaddaya Have? Whaddaya Have?' Trump's a Hit at the Varsity and With the Ladies. "Yesterday was just a wonderful event at the White House - a massive reception celebrating Black History Month."

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 2/19/2026

Virginia judge on Thursday blocked an April 21 referendum in the state on redrawing the state’s congressional maps, marking the latest legal hurdle in a string of challenges to the Democratic-led initiative.

Vlad Tepes - When does a charge avoid making a charge and items for February 20, 2026

One of the first VPNs was actually a project called the Tor browser. It may still be a thing, but It was initially created and operated by the US navy. Not as a tool of control, but a tool to avoid control.

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: How To Get Away with Murder

• Antifa's days may finally be numbered - Tom Knighton
• Fight! Fight! Fight! - Melanie Phillips

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 2/18/26

One item on which Republicans need to do a better job is learning how to play the long game in politics, especially the courts.
The GOP and the Courts

Maggie's Farm - Wednesday morning links

Remembering Rush: Five Years On
Obama Center Gets Even Uglier As Massive Mind-Numbing Text Display Goes Up

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 02/20/2026

May Andrew be the first of many.
Send everyone you know to AmericanStasi.com, because you do not want your enemies smiling.

I leave you with Wednesday Memes … from MaddMedic, Midweek Memes from Granite Grok, Thursday Meme Drop from Midwest Chick, and Pissing off liberal trolls with memes, Part II from Wirecuttner.

18 Months After Being Paroled, He Faces New Charges

He was paroled from prison in 2024, while serving a "life" term for murder. 17 months later he shot another man. Nashville man paroled from life sentence for murder faces new shooting charges

Set the Wayback Machine for 1993.

Moore was 19 when he pleaded guilty June 2, 1993 to the first-degree murder and attempted aggravated robbery of 43-year-old Danny Davis in Rutherford County.

He was paroled in March of 2024.

Moore was at the My Town Extended Stay on Antioch Pike Aug. 24 when investigators say he shot an unarmed man multiple times at point blank range on the balcony of the motel, according to court records.

There are witnesses to the murder, security video, and Moore admitted to pulling the trigger, but didn't say why.

This time in addition to state charges, he faces federal charges for felon in possession of a firearm.

Moore faces charges of attempted first degree murder, felon in possession of a firearm, reckless endangerment and tampering with evidence in connection with the August shooting in Davidson County Court.

Do we think the Parole board will face any repercussions? Of course not.

What Were You Doing at the Age of 12?

I'm guessing that murder, wasn't on the list of things to do. Third juvenile arrested in Portland store clerk homicide

Portland, Oregon seems to have abandoned all pretense of Law and Order.

Two 15 year olds, and one twelve year old have been arrested for the murder of Santi Ram Rai, as he worked at a local market.

Santi Ram Rai, 33, was shot and killed while he worked at 3D’s Market on Southeast 139th Avenue, police said.

The 12 year old appears to have pulled the trigger, and the 15 year olds are charged under what appears to be the felony murder framework.

Santi Ram Rai left behind a family.

One 15 year old was arrested recently and charged with second degree murder. The other two had been arrested previously.

The younger boy was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder and the older boy on suspicion of murder in the second degree.

I miss civilization.

Gone Hollywood

I guess you could say that I tripped over this song by way of social media. I knew this song, as I owned the album on vinyl back in '79, Supertramp being one of the many groups I liked. This was not one of the singles from the album. "The Logical Song" reached #6 on the Billboard chart, and so it was on the radio a bit.

This is "Gone Hollywood" by Supertramp from their 1979 album Breakfast in America, though what we have today is the 2010 remastered version.

The Left Destroys One of Their Own

The Other McCain brings us as story of The Left turning on one of their own. ‘He Was Mr. BLM’

I had never heard of this guy, but then I stopped paying attention to Professional Journalists™ - with the exception of a few folks like Robert Stacy McCain - a long way back.

Ten years ago, Wesley Lowery was basically the poster boy for diversity in journalism.

He went on to become a university professor, and that is probably where his problems started.

Behind all this success, however, it appears that Lowery had a drinking problem and also a woman problem — the two problems were not unrelated — and while womanizing drunks have never been rare in the world of journalism, you can’t do that if you’re a university professor, because Title IX essentially criminalizes male heterosexual behavior.

Read the whole thing, it is basically a summary of the situation. More is probably coming to Born Lucky, either today or over the weekend.

Friday Links - 20 February

Robert Stacy McCain starts us off with Radical Vegan Transgender Cult Update: Maryland Trial Postponed Until June

Monday was the one-year anniversary of the capture of three members of the “Zizian” cult, including the group’s leader Jack “Ziz” LaSota. The trio had been camping on private property near Frostburg, Maryland, when the property owner called police who arrested them on state charges, only to discover that they were subjects of a nationwide manhunt.

William Teach at Pirate's Cove - Trump Tells Feds To Get Involved With Massive Sewage Leak On Potomac

This has been going on since January 19th, and has so far not been fixed. Damned near a month later, and they still expect it to take 4 to 6 weeks to be fixed.

Julie M. at Freedom Is Just Another Word… - Winning At Stupid!!!

Everything [AOC] said in Europe was blatantly stupid, a colossal display of ignorance. And now she’s angry because all the media pundits are having a little laugh at her. I certainly won’t be one of them, AOC; I’m not just having a little laugh, I’m having a big laugh.

Again from William Teach - TDS: Orange Man Bad Taking Junk Food Away From Snap Recipients

Seriously, this could just be titled “Democrats Are Against Everything Trump Is For”

Vodka Pundit - So Another Blue State Just Lost Another Company to Guess Where

Palantir lasted 17 years in the Bay Area before management said "ENOUGH!" and moved to what they had hoped would be more open pastures. It took just under six years for Thiel, Karp, and the rest of corporate leadership to get their fill of Denver's Democrat-dominated combination of California-like groupthink and Detroit-level city management.

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 18 February 2026: Anthrax Leprosy Pi Edition

Meanwhile the third derivative of memory prices appears to be leveling off. (Tom's Hardware)

Actually, more than that: In Germany prices have declined. Slightly. From five times what they were just months ago to, in some cases, as little as four times.

So there's that.

Meep at STUMP - 2024 U.S. Top Causes of Death by Age Group, Finalized Data

CDC WONDER was updated with the finalized 2024 U.S. death data yesterday, so I have a bunch of updates to do.

William Teach at Pirate's Cove again - Immigrants Are Helping NC And We Totally Need A Fair Immigration System Or Something

What a wonderful photo. It’s like Democrats think illegals are only around to pick food, do their lawns, and serve them.

The Shekel - Two Months In, And He's Already Running Out Of Other People's Money

Mamdani's grandiose plan of spending an additional 11 billion dollars to New York City's already grossly inflated budget is running into a brush with reality.

Self-Defense in California Seems to Be Catching On

From USA Carry: Valentine’s Day Home Invasion Attempt Ends in Fatal Shooting in Stockton, CA

This is another failure of the victim-selection process.

Investigators said the man had reportedly been attempting to force entry into the home when the resident discharged a firearm. The injured man was transported to a local hospital, where he later died from his injuries.

This is a California incident, so the investigation will drag on. It also seems to be a fairly typical story of self-defense, but as it did happen in California, I expect the DA to search for any reason for charges. Maybe I'm wrong.

Can We Kill the Deep State?

American Greatness asks a question that makes me sad. How Deep Is the Deep State?

Trying to figure out what the extent of the Deep State really is, has engaged Roger Kimball for some time. Is it an onion with many layers? Is it a building with many sub-basments? Peel a layer and find another. Excavate a level and find another. It is turtles, all the way down.

That said, I suspect that the difficulty in surveying the deep state is not its depth but its extent. That is, I suspect that its roots are shallow while its area is both indefinitely large and protean.

It is in the media. It is in social media that is not controlled by Elon Musk, and maybe even in X. It is in education, and state government, and NGOs, and...

You can’t blame the Democrats for wanting to shut up Gabbard. She has been one of the administration’s most effective tools for exposing deep state corruption. The latest revelations concern the direct, personal involvement of Barack Obama in the effort to take down Donald Trump in the aftermath of his election to the presidency in 2016.

Go read the whole thing. It is not that long, and worth your time.

UPS Airlines Flight 2976 as Seen From the Ground

UPS Airlines Flight 2976 (that is its official designation) crashed on 4 November 2025 shortly after taking off from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. I had seen video from the airport, and even a discussion, or explanation, of the initial findings of the joint investigation run by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) into the cause of the crash. But I had not seen the law enforcement, fire department response, or other security camera video of the incident. Until now.

This video shows us every way that Americans are idiots when confronted by law enforcement. They block cop cars from getting to the scene, they think that their wish to take video overrides safety concerns, and they are completely oblivious to follow on hazards, like exploding propane tanks. Your Instagram video is not more important than police and fire department personnel getting people out of burning buildings.

All three crew members of the aircraft died. 12 people on the ground would die either in the crash or from burns and injuries in the days and weeks following the crash.

This is the Midwest Safety video Bodycam Released in Crash of UPS Airlines Flight 2976

Oakland Mayor's Car Stolen from City Hall

From the California Post (NY Post): Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee's car was stolen from her office

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee’s car was stolen — after a brazen thief broke into her City Hall office to abscond with the city-owned black SUV, The California Post has learned.

Oakland Police have a suspect in mind, though no one has been arrested.

Hat tip to Miguel Gonzalez: BWAHAHAHAHA!

From the biggest Liberal Democratic shithole (But I repeat myself three times) in California:

The comments on X are classic.

Self-Defense Is Legal in Pennsylvania

From WPXI by way of Yahoo News: Neighbors stunned after burglary suspect was shot by homeowner in New Castle

Pretty typical self-defense story. Guy breaks into house, gets shot by homeowner, cops show up, and the EMTs take him to a local hosptial.

Neighbors were shocked. Well, okay "stunned."

The neighbor didn’t want to be on camera, but said her street is always quiet.

“I’ve been here for four years, and this is a very quiet street,” she told Channel 11’s Andrew Havranek. “The kids go out and play every day, I mean, they’re always nonstop running around outside. It’s very quiet, nobody bothers you, I mean, the kids go to church right up the street, so that was just very alarming when I heard that. It was just like...Wow.”

The guy who got shot is still in the hospital, and cops expect him to be there for a while.

Right now, police do not expect charges to be filed against the homeowner.

Self-defense is a human right, and it seems like it is also a legal right in Pennsylvania.

SJW Doesn't Care About the Child Victim, or the Murder Victim

She said the quiet part out loud.

ICE was searching for a person who committed (allegedly?) a sex-crime against a child, and murdered someone. But Olivia J - the wine-mom taking the video - was just interested in virtue signalling. And virtue signalling Liberals do NOT care about the victims of crime. They only care about clicks on Instagram or TikTok.

This is the Not the Bee video "Gay ICE agent" vs. Karen. It is a YouTube short, under a minute.

Disney Tries to Create New Black Superhero - Fails Spectacularly

A swing and a miss. (Why do I hear Bob Uecker in my head?)

I could try to explain Captain Durag, but I will let Ruined Leon and Kaida do that. They are YouTube content creators/commentators who makes me laugh. Though this isn't really that funny.

First up is Ruined Leon with Disney Channel's Captain Durag: Accurate Representation Or S*xualizing Black Boys?? The video is just under 17 minutes.

This is the Kaida video Disney Keeps Making Racist Characters

It's the most tone deaf, on the nose racist, [BS] that I've ever seen in my entire life.

This video is 15 minutes.

Wednesday Link Roundup - 18 February

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

9. Bearing Arms: Canadian Cops Forced to Explain Why Shooter’s Guns Were Returned
10. Cold Fury: These Kids Today

EBL - Beware of Utopias...

Instapundit: PJ Media: Gen Z: The least laid generation in history
EBL: Everything But The Behavioral Sink 🐀

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 02.16.26

Racket News: The Swamp Log
Shark Tank: DeSantis Touts Success Of State’s Iguana Removal

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 16 February 2026: Fixed Clicks Edition

The word of the day is ClickFix, the favourite tool of lazy hackers everywhere. (Microsoft)
They don't need to hack you if they can convince you to hack yourself

Vlad Tepes - Trump admin delivers a stunning encore at NATO security summit, and Canadian Heritage minister dances around new law to force state narratives via algorithms on social media: Links 1 for Feb. 16, 2026

3. One consistent theme during the communist revolution galloping across especially the Commonwealth countries since 2019, is how people who accurately foresaw the next move of the state, as arguing the fallacy of the slippery slope.

Small Dead Animals - Tuesday On Turtle Island

China Carney’s Canada: Manitobans stand against ICE. Sleazy Liberals. A book review. Indian crap missing.
The Democrat Party’s America: A tale of two foxes. Koran burner. Birthing person.

Political Hat - News of the Week (February 15th, 2026)

FDA refuses Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine application
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has refused to review an application by Moderna for its influenza mRNA vaccine

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - Trump Steps in the Potomac Shit

@JohnLeFevre, "Nothing from NBC News on Obama's lawyer or Reid Hoffman - who donated $100 million to Democrats, bankrolled the Kavanaugh smear campaign, and funded the E. Jean Carroll hoax against Trump. Media silence when it doesn't fit the narrative."

Don Surber - HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

ITEM 24: German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said, “There is nothing left in the stockpiles that can be provided to Ukraine.”
Putin smiles. He can still buy ammo with the euros he’s collected from the Germans

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 2/16/2026

Trump Slams Energy Deal Between California and Britain
President Donald Trump denounced a clean energy agreement between the United Kingdom and California Governor Gavin Newsom hours after it was signed on Monday

The Glibertarians - Tuesday Morning Links

The Trump Administration Officially Kills DEI at the FAA
States Begin Restricting Food Stamps for High-Sugar, Low-Nutrition Products

Bacon Time!!!! - Sunday Linkange

The Midwest Chick Saturday Meme Drop………….
Pirates Cove Trump: There Will Be Voter ID Requirements One Way Or Another For Midterms

Maggie's Farm - Saturday links

Behold the Violence Inherent in the System
Zohran Mamdani Backtracks on Campaign Promise for Rental Assistance, Claiming it’s too Expensive

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 2/17/26

Look to the moral foundations formed from the beginning.
Yes, Leftists are 'Evil.' Here’s How They Got That Way — and Why You’ll Never Change Them

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: Virginia Begins Criminalizing Opposition to Islam

• Judges in San Francisco Are Really Something Special John Sexton
• California Teacher of the Year Finalist Busted for Pedophilia Moonbattery

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 02/16/2026

Researcher skeptical of ‘Havana syndrome’ tested secret weapon on himself – It did not go well. This was a different device from the one the Pentagon bought, which the article notes, they still have no idea who built it, though there are some Russian components in it.

I leave you with Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #3402 from 90 Miles from Tyranny, Tuesday Memes … from MaddMedic, Sunday Meme Drop from Midwest Chick, and Sunday Funnies For 02-15-26 from Stately McDaniel Manor.

Another Failure of the Victim-Selection Process

Would you assume that homeowners in Alabama are unarmed? Limestone County man shot while attempting a robbery

Upon arriving at 1800 Highway 99. deputies learned that the suspect had fled after being shot by the homeowner. The Criminal Investigation Division responded and launched an investigation to process the scene. While on the way, reports of a person suffering from a gunshot wound was reported at Decatur-Morgan Hospital, which investigators followed up on.

He was breaking into a vehicle, and the homeowner confronted him. That was when he pointed a rifle, and the homeowner retreated into the home, with Phillips chasing him. He was shot by the homeowner and left to take himself to the hospital.

Limestone County, Alabama is about 70 miles north of Birmingham, and about 80 miles south of Nashville, Tennessee.

This guy was serious.

More investigation revealed that Phillips wore a bulletproof vest, a ski mask, and carried both a rifle and a pistol while attempting to rob the victim. Phillips was arrested after he was released from the hospital and charged with Unlawful Breaking and Entering a Vehicle, Burglary in the First Degree and Robbery in the First Degree.

Self-defense is a human right.

Up On The Roof

Another entry in my series on The Drifters. They came up on social media at the end of last year, and it occurred to me that people are probably forgetting them. Which would be tragic, because they produced a lot of amazing music. Today's song was a major hit for The Drifters, reaching number 5 on the US Pop Charts in 1963.

This song is "Up On The Roof" by The Drifters. It was a single in 1962.

Officer Brian Elliott

End of Watch: Police officer dies, another wounded in Indiana shooting; suspect in custody

The Beech Grove Police Department said two officers were shot while responding to a disturbance on Diplomat Court. Both were transported to Eskenazi Hospital, but Officer Brian Elliott died from his injuries.

Beech Grove, Indiana is a suburb of Indianapolis that is about 6 miles south of downtown.

Police have arrested someone in relation to the shooting.

Tuesday Links - 17 February

Jennifer Rust at PJ Media is up first with a book review. Who Decides What Is Good and What Is Evil? Book Review: 'If There Is No God'

Today, Prager dedicates his newest book, If There Is No God… The Battle Over Who Defines Good and Evil, to the memory of Charlie, “a great man, a great American, and a great friend.” It will publish on Feb. 24.

Matthew W. at Bacon Time!!!! has a story about spicy, pickled quail eggs. What’s The Worst That Could Happen…………….

At first, the “spicy” part was overwhelming and then the “pickled” part hit hard………..

Lone Star Parson - All Hail Mr Lowe

Man, he's stand out above the poltroons and egregious pigs-in-the-trough mountebanks who've run formerly Great Britain into the ground.

The Other McCain - The Canadian ‘Gunperson’ and the Syllogism of the Liberal Narrative

Isn’t everybody in Canada more or less deranged? Nevertheless, perhaps we can all agree that 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar was not even normal by Canadian standards. Notice my use of the past tense.

Wombat-socho - FMJRA 2.0: Harvey Dent Week

The Senators went 3-3 this week, sweeping the hapless A’s before going to Minneapolis and getting swept by the division-leading Twins, who we are now trailing by 9.5 games.

Again from The Other McCain - Warning: Stay Away From St. Louis

“Well, Stacy, how dangerous is St. Louis?” you ask.

IT’S WORSE THAN BALTIMORE!

Clayton Cramer - If Godzilla Owned a Machine Shop

Here is a big lathe.

Irons in the Fire - Yeah, NeweffingYork City is going to get it, bigger

Guarantee you this commie will try to force something- some things- that are going to be either flat undoable and/or unConstitutional(also undoable) and get really nasty when told he can't.

RIP Robert Duvall

Miguel Gonzalez has the best tribute to Robert Duvall I've seen. Descanse en Paz, Señor Duvall. - by Miguel Gonzalez

I did not see Robert Duvall portraying an old-school Cuban gentleman, within 30 seconds I saw my godfather who had passed away many years before. I saw many of the old Cuban guys I lived with in Miami and shared cafe and pastries and we badmouthed about Castro and Chavez and the Miami Dolphins. Duval WAS Cuban through and through.

Click thru.

A lot of people have mentioned a lot of movies, everything from The Godfather to Apocalypse Now, but I haven't seen anyone mention Secondhand Lions. If you haven't seen that movie I can recommend it. It isn't a great movie, just a good movie that apparently people haven't seen. Have some fun with a small movie.

Self-Defense in Seattle

From the Seattle Police Department: Detectives Investigating "Self-Defense" Shooting in South Seattle - SPD Blotter

This was a case of the ex-boyfriend breaking into the his ex-girlfriend's apartment and attacking her current boyfriend. So, file this under another guy who didn't understand the phrase, "It's over."

Police determined that the 33 year old forced his way into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment and assaulted her new boyfriend, the armed 27 year old. He then shot the ex-boyfriend in “self-defense,” according to [Gun Violence Reduction Unit].

Police interviewed the shooter, and released him, because Washington State has a long history of recognizing self-defense as a legal right.

Is Your Car Worth Your Life?

Or what is in your car? Cleveland homeowner shot trying to scare away armed car thieves

This guy didn't die, but he did get shot, and was (apparently) seriously injured over a Kia.

I get it, you are pissed off because someone is crossing a line, but you should consider the possible cost.

A homeowner was shot Friday morning around 1:12 a.m. after confronting two suspects attempting to steal a car from his driveway in Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood.

And before you say, that you would be armed. This guy was armed.

Chris also had a gun, but never fired it. After being shot, he dropped the weapon and retreated into the house, yelling for his sister to call 911, telling her he was shot. He attempted to stop the bleeding using a shirt as a tourniquet.

Maybe you are better than Chris, but maybe the people who are breaking into your car are better than you. Be sure you understand what the downside might be.

Another Example of British Gun Control Failure

Or maybe that should just generic gun-control failure. When you outlaw guns, the outlaws will still have guns. Ring doorbell catches killer saying ‘the f***ing idiot's dead’ moments after shooting

It is funny how criminals don't follow the law. Who knew?

This is the moment a killer was caught saying “the f***ing idiot’s dead” on a Ring doorbell camera moments after a dad was shot dead outside his girlfriend’s house. Rikki Berry, known as "Nuggy", died aged 36 after being shot three times by a balaclava-clad assailant on an electric bike on Quarryside Drive in Kirkby on July 17 2024.

Hey, at least he's doing his part to reduce his carbon footprint.

The statement by the judge is too rambling to quote in a small bite, but it seems there was some "drug business" between the involved parties.

Ryan Walsh-Westhead was sentenced to "life," with 28 year minimum served before he can be paroled.

So. It's a good thing that the UK outlawed guns. Too bad doing so doesn't matter to the criminals.

I get that people want to "do something" to reduce crime. Florida, in the late 1980s was in the same position. They made it easier for law-abiding people to defend themselves, and crime decreased substantially, and fairly quickly.

I Don't Care

Megadeth isn't usually a band that I listen to. Their music comes through my streaming services occasionally, and that is how I found today's song.

After 40-plus years, Dave Mustaine is ready to put Megadeth to rest. The thrasher announced plans for a final album and tour, and revealed a memoir is on the way.

Mustaine posted the announcement via his alter ego, Vic Rattlehead. The new album, titled The End Is Near, [Megadeth] will arrive next year. The LP follows 2022’s The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead! [From Rolling Stone which got the album name wrong.]

This song is "I Don't Care" by Megadeth from their January 2026 farewell album, which is titled Megadeth.

Self-Defense in Washington, DC?

This guy is lucky. A shotgun blast will usually ruin your day, though it seems his day did not go as planned. DC burglary victim fires shotgun during struggle; accused intruder arrested

You can also file this under, "Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0."

Investigators said Smith made his way into the home and was confronted by someone inside.

The two struggled, and the victim fired a shotgun, according to police.

Smith was arrested and taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

On of the news stories on this incident made a point to notify the reader that the shotgun was "registered." But at least the DC reporters seem have gotten the "victim versus criminal" equation right. Small steps.

WaPo Journalists and Schadenfreude

Kurt Schlichter at Townhall: It Is Right and Proper to Laugh at the Suffering of Journalists

First, we have our vocabulary word of the day.

Schadenfreude

enjoyment obtained from seeing or hearing about the troubles of others

Washington Post has been laying people off, and the "Professional Jounalists" are sad.

If it's wrong to spend a week celebrating the misery of your opponents, like that of the scores of just-fired Washington Post hacks who are crying like teenage girls learning there are no more "Twilight" movies coming, then I'm incredibly, totally, enthusiastically wrong. The former journos/current drive-thru operators still have not shut up about the WaPo's mass layoffs, and I am taking unmitigated delight in their pain. Their suffering energizes me. Their tears nourish me. Their humiliation fuels my joy. Hey, maybe democracy dies in darkness, but as long as the WaPo dies, I'm good.

Ouch. That is gonna leave a mark.

The "Professional Journalists™" at the WaPo are all upset because they are irrelavent.

But hey, I'm sure that journalism degree from the University of College is going to get them another gigsoon. Say it with me – "Would you like to supersize that, sir?"

Because were we all told that "learn to code" (when directed at journalists) is insulting.

There is a lot more. (Hat tip to Instapundit)