Darwin Award Near Miss on Mt. Shasta

The following headline tells you what you need to know about the level of stupid. California hikers used AI to guide them up Mt. Shasta. They had to be rescued

They used Gemini to "plan" their trip. They didn't have enough food and water. They didn't have the right food. They didn't have supplies for spending the night on the mountain. The recommended turn-around time is noon, to give you enough time to walk out in daylight. They didn't turn around until 7 PM, and then they veered off the trail, into steep terrain, where one fell, and was injured.

The trio had relied heavily on Google's Gemini AI for advice about their route and how much food and water to pack for what they expected would be an eight-hour climb to the summit. The chatbot's advice did not age well once eight hours turned into an overnight rescue.

Using AI to plan their trip was called a "critical misstep" by Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department.

Sheriff's officials said hikers should contact the U.S. Forest Service ranger station at Mount Shasta for current conditions and trip-planning information before setting out and should never rely solely on artificial intelligence to plan a wilderness trip.

Click thru for details, and recommendations for wilderness hiking, including not betting your life on AI.

This is not the first time that people followed advice from AI, and nearly died. ChatGPT’s hiking advice left two hikers stranded on a mountain in Poland.

Those two had to be extracted by helicopter. (That is from July.) And there's more.

This is far from a one-off incident. A couple in British Columbia ran into similar trouble last year, when an AI-planned route left them stranded on Unnecessary Mountain without the gear or forecast awareness the terrain demanded, forcing a local rescue crew to step in. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s AI incident tracker has also logged chatbots inventing entire destinations, such as a “Sacred Canyon of Humantay” in Peru that simply doesn’t exist.

The future is stupid.

Liberal Judges, Miscarriage of Justice, and the End of Western Civilization

The Left Coast is the canary in the coal mine. From The Other McCain: ‘Uncle Vicha’ and the Doom of California

To be fair, it is juries in California as well. They refuse to hold minorities to reasonable standards. They think it is Progressive. And it may be. It is the Bigotry of Low Expectations.

Antoine Watson was driving a BMW. Were you driving a BMW when you were 19 years old? Yet here was this teenager, driving around San Francisco at 2 a.m., running stop signs and crashing into a parked car, and the cops just turned him loose? Beyond that, after assaulting 84-year-old “Grandpa Vicha” in an unprovoked attack, Watson returned to the scene of the crime to take a picture of the unconscious body of his victim, as if to collect a trophy of his deed. Also, no matter how closely you might have followed this story, you may not have realized that Antoine Watson was not a San Francisco resident. He was from Daly City in suburban San Mateo County, about 10 miles away from where he fatally assaulted Ratanapakdee. Aggravating circumstances, you see.

The jury in the case were a bunch of libtards, apparently.

In January 2026, a jury refused to convict Watson of murder, instead finding him guilty of the lesser sentence of involuntary manslaughter.

Click thru for the details, the sentence handed down by the judge, the reaction of the family of the dead guy, and a few thoughts on the voters in California. (The legislature is also responsible for the sentence.

California Homeowner Disarms Home Invader

Self-defense rests on attitude, and it sounds like this guy had it in buckets. California Home Invader Disarmed by Resident, Killed With Own Gun

In the San Francisco area, not only did the gun control laws they love so much fail to keep a teenager disarmed, but his lack of knowledge led to fatal consequences for him.

This incident took place in Fremont, California, which is in the eastern part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Fremont is about a 15 mile drive north of San Jose, and about 25 mile drive south of Oakland.

The residents suffered "non-life-threatening injuries." In other words, it sounds like they got banged up in the altercation, but are otherwise fine.

Good on them, too.

While this sounds like a completely justifiable case of self-defense to me, I am not the prosecuting attorney in Alameda County, California. I have no idea how the prosecutor in that corner of the Bay Area feels about self-defense.

Self-defense is a human right.

Must Keep the Poor Folks from Exercising Their Rights

This was illegal when the racists wanted to keep poor blacks from voting. My guess is that it is illegal today. SoCal City Jacks Up Concealed Carry Application Fee by 1000 Percent

As one X user pointed out in response to Moros's post, Glendale was "only" charging $100 for a concealed carry license a year ago. That's still about twice what I pay for my carry license in Virginia, but it's also almost 1,000 percent less than the $1078 Glendale is now forcing residents to cough up before they can exercise a fundamental civil right.

Say that again. Glendale is now charging $1,078 for new permits, and they are charging $828 to renew those permits.

There's already a legal challenge underway to the sky-high fees imposed in Santa Clara County, California, but it may be necessary to go after Glendale as well. And the Justice Department, which just entered into a settlement with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department over the lengthy delays in processing carry applications, should be very interested in what Glendale, Santa Clara County, and other jurisdictions are charging residents to exercise a right.

They will do blatantly illegal stuff to "get their way." It is the municipal version of 2-year-old throwing a tantrum in the grocery store.

Trump's DOJ Versus California

Trump isn't perfect, and his admin isn't perfect, but Democrats would NEVER do this. Trump's DOJ threatens lawsuit against California over new gun law

The Trump administration's Department of Justice issued a warning to California's leadership regarding a new gun sale restriction law it considers an "unconstitutional 'Glock Ban.'”

The law that is set to go into effect on July 1.

Click thru for more. (Hat tip to KABA)

District Attorneys Hate Self-Defense

And in California... Attorney Allen Sawyer Secures Release of Security Guard Charged After Fatal Sacramento Cannabis Dispensary Shooting

He was working as a guard at a Cannabis Dispensary. Two masked guys broke in. He shot them. So of course he was charged with voluntary manslaughter.

Sawyer [the defense attorney] said the charges are unwarranted and that his client acted in self-defense while protecting himself and the property he had been hired to secure.

Click thru for the details.

Any Bets on This Library Being a Gun-Free Zone?

Shooting suspect scoped out library before returning with a shotgun and killing 2, police say

There have been at least three fatal attacks at libraries in the last nine years.

Libraries near me are gun-free defenseless victim zones. Why? Because they are run by Leftists who wouldn't "feel safe" if people were allowed to defend themselves. So they feel safe, but they are not safe.

Chico, California, is about an 85 mile drive north of Sacramento.

The suspect shot a man at the entrance of the library in the leg and then shot him in the head before firing multiple shots inside and shooting another man in the head, said Sid Patel, special agent in charge in the FBI’s Sacramento office.

Click thru for details.

Now I don't have a definitive source, but I do have AI (qwen3.5-9b) running locally. I asked, "Is concealed carry allowed in the library at Chico, California?"

No, concealed carry is generally not allowed inside the public libraries in Chico, California.

Here are the specific details regarding the law and policies:

1. Chico Public Library Policy

   The Chico Public Library system operates under a strict "Gun-Free Zone" policy. Like many municipal libraries in California, their Rules of Conduct prohibit weapons or firearms on library premises. This is enforced through posted signage upon entering the building. Violating this policy can result in the individual being removed from the property and potentially having their firearm confiscated.

2. California State Law
   • Sensitive Public Places: Under California Penal Code, certain locations are designated as "Sensitive Public Places" where carrying a concealed weapon is prohibited by law. While libraries are not always explicitly listed in the state statute like schools or hospitals, the library building itself can designate itself as an exclusion zone if proper signage is posted and local ordinances support it.
   • Local Ordinances: Chico City and Butte County laws generally respect these facility-specific prohibitions. A valid Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW) permit allows you to carry in many public spaces, but it does not grant immunity against specific venue restrictions where firearms are banned by policy or signage.

I'm shocked that a policy "enforced through posted signage" at the entrance didn't stop a bad guy.

Father Protects His Daughter

What else was he supposed to do? Riverside County father shoots and kills armed intruder inside home with daughter, neighbors say | KTLA

Police said they were called to a home on Herron Way around 10:23 p.m. on a report of assault with a deadly weapon. When they arrived, officers found the suspect had been shot dead at the scene.

This article provides more information on an incident I posted about earlier.

Neighbors said the father was hanging out with neighbors outside when his wife went inside to charge her phone. When she did, she reportedly came face-to-face with a man who had armed himself with guns he found inside the home. He allegedly then started shooting.

Click thru for the details.

The neighbors at least recognize that this guy protected them as much as he protected his family.

They do emphasize that no charges have been filed, and that the decision about charges will be made by the DA.

Cops Love to Shoot Dogs

That is the only explanation that holds up. San Bernardino homeowner says deputy entered yard without warrant and fatally shot dog - ABC7 Los Angeles

Cops also apparently don't understand the Constitution boundaries around searching, and pursuit of a subject. (Spoiler Alert: there was no pursuit of a subject.)

A San Bernardino homeowner says a county sheriff's deputy entered his backyard without a warrant and shot and killed one of his dogs, prompting questions from the family and their attorney about why deputies were at the home.

TL;DR - They were looking for a stolen car, that was later found in the neighborhood, but not at this home. There was no high-speed chase; there were no exigent circumstances. There was only a deputy who either didn't know, or didn't care, about the constitutional limits on entering someone's backyard through a gate.

The incident occurred May 4 in unincorporated San Bernardino. Surveillance video shows deputies walking up a driveway and looking into the backyard, where another dog, Raven, could be seen. The deputies then leave but return about two minutes later, when one deputy enters the yard.

Because police always believe that their authority has no bounds.^‡

Click thru for the rest of the details.

I predict that this cop will face no long-term repercussions. He might get a slap on the wrist, but maybe not.

‡ I can also foresee the comments. "Not all cops ..." Look up what happened after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. New Orleans Chief of Police Eddie Compass declared that the 2nd Amendment no longer applied, and cops from New Orleans, and cops who had come into the region to help, put on their Jack Boots and violated the constitution. Why? Because we said so, that's why.

I'm Shocked - Shocked I Tell You! - There Is More Fraud In Government

Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot. California hit by another huge fraud bombshell as thousands of claims for $4 BILLION in taxpayer-funded compensation meant for sex crime victims are FAKE, investigator says | Daily Mail Online

District Attorney Nathan Hochman claimed in a court filing on Wednesday that he believes a whopping four out of five claims for which the county is paying the largest sex abuse settlement in American history are fake

Click thru for the details on the lawsuits, and the cash grab.

Hat tip to Stephen Green at Instapundit.

Does Sacramento do anything anymore that isn’t meant to defraud taxpayers?

The short answer is "No!"

And for the record, I'm not shocked.

More Self-Defense in California

It is becoming more of the thing. Homeowner shoots and kills armed intruder in San Jacinto, Riverside County deputies say - ABC7 Los Angeles

San Jacinto, California, is in Riverside County. It is about a 90 mile drive east, and a bit south, of downtown Los Angeles.

Riverside County sheriff's deputies said the homeowner was visiting a neighbor when he heard screaming and gunfire coming from his home in the 1300 block of Heron Way near Esplanade Avenue.

The homeowner said he ran to his house to find an unknown man armed with a shotgun inside.

The homeowner grabbed a gun, confronted the intruder, and a gunfight ensued.

The homeowner shot the intruder, who died at the scene. The homeowner has not been arrested.

The investigation into the shooting is ongoing, and the case will ultimately be submitted to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office for review.

Self-defense is a human right.

Palisades Fire Aid Money Laundering?

Is anyone surprised that people are not spending money raised for the Palisades fire victims, on everything BUT the Palisades fire victims?

California Rep Kevin Kiley says they have learned the $100 million dollar pacific palisades Fire Aid concert money was laundered to nonprofits

“What we have learned is absolutely beyond belief — Tens of thousands of people donated raising a hundred million dollars for what they… pic.twitter.com/7vBGCaVeui

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) May 6, 2026

Did we really expect the Democrats in California to do what they said they were going to do?

How Old Do You Need to Be to Defend Yourself?

This case also highlights that people you know can be a threat. Child fatally shoots family member in self defense at Benicia home on London Circle in domestic violence incident, police say - ABC7 San Francisco

There is very little information provided about this incident.

Once at the home, the fire crew and police officers found a man who had been shot once and who died despite efforts to keep him alive, according to police officials.

The initial 911 call indicated that the shooting was in self-defense during a domestic violence attack and involved multiple family members, including a juvenile

This sounds like a violent husband/father attacked the mother and/or the child. The child put an end to the attack. We don't know that is what happened. Because it is a domestic violence incident, and it involves a child, it is unlikely that any more information will be released.

The Left loves to say that children should not have any access to firearms. So are the saying that it would be better for this guy to continue beating his wife, and perhaps beat her to death? Also, how old do you need to be to defend yourself?

The Left also loves to go on about the statistic that if you own a gun, you are more likely to shoot someone you know than a perfect stranger. They want you to believe that every one of those shootings is a tragic accident. This shooting was not a tragic accident. People you know, can be a threat.

Benicia, California is about 18 miles north of Oakland in the San Francisco Bay Area, though the drive from Oakland will be more like 30 miles.

In any event, self-defense is a human right. I don't think even a deep-blue city prosecutor, is going to go after a juvenile for defending his mother from a domestic assault, but it is California. (Hat tip to Keep and Bear Arms.)

Self-Defense Is Legal in California

California District Attorneys hate that. Barstow man acquitted of murder, manslaughter in fatal shooting

A jury acquitted a Barstow military veteran of murder and manslaughter Wednesday following the fatal shooting of another man two years ago, records show.

Patrick Dull, 52, was found not guilty of both charges in the Victorville branch of San Bernardino County Superior Court on April 22, according to court records and documents.

He showed up at one o'clock in the morning and threw a rock through a window. The guy he had a beef with was not at home, but his family was. He came back at 2:15 a.m. while the homeowner was boarding up the window.

Dazzi approached Dull from behind, made threatening statements and then charged toward Dull on the front porch of Dull's home, the attorney said.

The homeowner made one shot to the torso, and called police. The DA really wanted self-defense to be illegal. (The DA was not available for comment.)

Barstow, Califronia is about a 115 mile northeast of Los Angeles, on the way to Las Vegas.

Self-defense is a human right, but DAs in blue states don't want it to be a legal right. (Hat tip to USA Carry)

California EV Sales Crash

The headline says Tesla, because the media hate Elon Musk, but the article says all, or most, EV manufacturers are in trouble. Tesla's California sales crash 24% as state's EV market plunges to lowest since 2021 | Electrek

What that 24% represents is the number of Teslas registered in California, in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the first quarter of 2025.

The state’s overall zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) market share has plunged to just 13.7% — the lowest level since Q4 2021.

Tesla's sales crash of 24% is not the dig that the folks at Electrek want you to believe. It isn't good, but as Nerdrotic says, this makes Tesla the tallest midget in the room.

The broader picture is even more alarming. Total ZEV registrations in California dropped 40.2% year-over-year in Q1 2026, falling from 95,520 to just 57,111 units. ZEV market share plunged from around 21% in 2025 to just 13.7% — a level the state hasn’t seen in over four years.

The carnage was widespread among EV brands. Mercedes-Benz ZEV registrations collapsed 81.9%, Chevrolet dropped 59.6%, BMW fell 58.9%, Ford declined 58.8%, Kia dropped 48.2%, and Rivian plunged 35.9%. Even Hyundai, which has been gaining ground in the EV market, saw a 30.4% decline in ZEV registrations.

So what are people registering? Hybrids and gas vehicles. Hybrids had a 20.9% market share, as measured by registrations, and gas vehicles were 61.1%.

The hat tip goes to MGUY Australia and his video California CARNAGE: EV sales CRATER by 40% in Q1 2026. The video is about 9 minutes.

Self-Defense Is Legal, Even in California

There are still going to be some weapons charges. DA calls Natomas High shooting ‘self-defense,’ declines charges

The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday, April 14 said the shooting was an act of self-defense during an attempted robbery. The DA’s office said two people who were not students at Natomas High went onto campus looking for a specific student. One of them was wearing a ski mask and carrying a handgun. Prosecutors said the pair approached a student and tried to rob him. During that encounter, the targeted student, who was also carrying a handgun, shot and killed one of them. Prosecutors said there is not enough evidence and have declined to file homicide charges, though the shooter will be charged with various weapons charges. They said the third person involved will be charged in juvenile court with attempted robbery.

They are starting to get it.

eBike Catches Fire and Causes Fatality

Not from the fire. From the carbon monoxide. A Small E-Bike Fire Inside a California Apartment Became Fatal Faster Than Anyone Expected

Inside a quiet apartment, an electric bike sits charging. At first, it feels perfectly normal; there is nothing unusual about that. Then a thin stream of smoke begins to rise. Within seconds, the situation shifts from normal to deadly.

Two people are inside. One senses the danger early and escapes. The other stays behind, trying to fight what appears to be a small fire. It is a decision that proves fatal.

He made it outside, but he had likely breathed in several times the lethal dose of carbon monoxide from the battery fire.

In a matter of seconds, the battery begins to release enormous volumes of toxic smoke. A single lithium-ion cell can produce about six liters of smoke. Multiply that across roughly 100 cells in a typical e-bike battery pack, and the result is around 600 liters of dense, poisonous gas flooding a room in under half a minute.

That smoke is not just thick. It is chemically dangerous.

The StacheD video below is a good overview of this incident.

This is the StacheD Training video He Tried to Put Out an E-Bike Fire… and It Killed Him

That's why I recommend evacuating immediately if an ebike, e- scooter, hoverboard, or any other large battery goes into thermal runaway. And I know how this sounds, because I see it in the comments all the time. "So, what? You just want my house to burn down?" Yeah, I kind of do, because the alternative could be your life. As a firefighter, I'd rather come to your house and fight a room and contents fire, or spend a couple hours putting out the whole house if I have to. What I don't want to do is put somebody in a body bag.

The video is 4 and a half minutes long.

Self-Defense in Tehachapi, California

Another breakdown of the victim-selection process. From ABC 23, Barkersfield. Suspected burglar shot and killed by Tehachapi homeowner identified

Deputies responded to a home on Alta Vista Avenue on the evening of April 2. Investigators say Velasquez forced his way inside the house before the homeowner shot him.

The homeowner is cooperating with detectives

The police have not arrested the homeowner.

Tehachapi, California is about 120 miles east of San Luis Obispo, or about a 40 mile drive east-southeast of Bakersfield.

Self-defense is a human right, and it just might be your legal right in California.

Bad Robot Abandons Los Angeles for NYC

Rats, meet sinking ship. J.J. Abrams Scaling Down Bad Robot As He Moves to New York

Hollywood is leaving Los Angeles as fast as they can find a U-Haul truck. Governor Newsom has announced a whole bunch of things at the state level to try to get them to stay, and Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, has tired to cut some red tape at the city level. It isn't helping.

J.J. Abrams had some early success with Bad Robot, but he has destroyed more than he has created at this point.

The company was founded in 1999 has been responsible for a myriad of hits, starting with 2001’s Alias, and eventually adding 2004’s Lost, 2008’s Fringe, 2011’s Person of Interest and 2016’s Westworld on the TV side.

What do all of those shows have in common? They started strong, and lost their way, foundering on the excessive use of the Mystery Box.

The article also mentions Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). I think The Force Awakens is mediocre at best, verging on bad. Some of the good feelings was the hope, that after the disaster (in my opinion) that the prequel trilogy was, we might get back to real Star Wars. It was not to be. The Rise of Skywalker is awful. (See the in-theater reaction to that movie.)

His reboot of Star Trek was awful. I know it made money, or the first one did anyway. It wasn't needed, and as far as I'm concerned, it wasn't quite Star Trek. It wasn't as bad as Kurtzman Trek, but that is not a high bar to get over.

All of that has contributed to some downsizing, and now getting out of LA.

The move comes after the company sold its longtime Santa Monica headquarters for $31 million in November and had shed employees in recent years.

It is sad to think that the hellscape that is NYC could be viewed as greener pastures by anyone, but that is the state of Los Angeles. And of course J.J Abrams (who Nerdrotic calls Jar Jar after the character in Star Wars) is a good Progressive, and couldn't possibly move somewhere in Flyover Country.

Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0

The Left loves to go on about how if you own a gun, then you are more likely to shoot someone you know than a complete stranger. They miss the point of that statistic. Rancho Cordova homeowner shoots man during alleged break-in | ABC10

The person breaking into the home, in this incident, is known to the homeowner. That is apparently why he was there, trying to break into the home.

The Sacramento Sheriff and the Rancho Cordova Police Department responded to the 2900 block of Hunt Drive after 9:15 p.m. Thursday night to a report of an adult man trying to break into a home, the agencies' spokesperson said. The homeowner shot the man after he was told to leave multiple times and eventually broke a window to get inside.

The guy who got shot was taken to a local hospital, and when the doctors released him, he was booked into the county lockup.

Rancho Cordova, California, is about a 12 mile drive east of downtown Sacramento.

When the Left drones on about shooting people you know, what they want you to believe is that you will accidentally shoot a friend or a loved one, but the list of "people you know" is actually quite large.

The neighbor you are having a dispute with. The ex-coworker who morphed into a stalker. Ex-girlfriends/ex-boyfriends of you or your partner. Everyone you knew in high school you had an issue with. These are all people you know. They didn't say how this guy knows the people in the home, only that he threatened to kill one of them.

Outside of random crimes of opportunity, such as carjacking, or armed robbery, most issues/problems are going to be with people you know, and have longstanding issues with.

Self-defense is a human right, but I don't know how the district attorney in Sacramento is likely to treat it.