Will They Stop Voting for Insane Policies?

Somehow I doubt it, because the policies are Woke. Columbia University student Davide Giri killed in NYC stabbing

This is a story about the Columbia Ph.D. student killed near Collumbia University in NYC, and another person stabbed by the same assailant near the same time. What is of interest to me is much farther down in the story. The statistics and the fact that people are begining to place blame.

First the statistics.

Murders in the Big Apple have kept pace so far this year compared with the same period in 2020, with just three fewer homicides as of Monday, 433 vs 436, according to NYPD data.

But murders are up 42 percent from the same time in 2019, the data shows.

And then the fact that some are starting to place the blame for the policies that caused the mayhem.

“I have lived here 25 years and this is as unsafe as it has ever been,” Yolanda Ramos, 69, said. “Violence and homelessness around here has worsened ever since [Mayor] de Blasio opened the jails. It’s open season.”

The crime scene where a person was randomly stabbed on W110th Street at Morningside Drive

I would like to say that it is odd to see a quote like that one, but this is the New York Post, not the New York Times. Though most of the quotes fall into the "Neighbors were shocked" category.

So will anything change? Eventually, in another 20 or 30 years, when people are tired of living in fear, but not much before then.

More Improvised Guns found in the Wild

From Impro Guns, $3 automatic punches

The bane of the New South Wales Police service.

They do look very cheap. I would not want to be the person who test-fires them.

And then there is a shotgun. Double barreled

Brazilian of course.

Brazil seems to be home to a lot of these guns.

Baton Rouge Sees Record Homicides

Baton Rouge, LA set a record, but not the kind of record they were hoping to set. That is my guess anyway. 3 dead in string of deadly shootings over Thanksgiving week: 'It's getting worse and worse' | Crime/Police

Now at 134 homicides since Jan. 1, Baton Rouge has well surpassed 2020's previous record of 114 killings with still more than a month left in 2021.

Some longtime residents around this week's shootings said the uptick is noticeable.

There are various details on the year's most recent murders, and a few shootings. And then there is a quote from someone who works in the neighborhood where one of the murders took place.

When the man arrived at his workplace early Wednesday, he said much of the street was flooded with police and crime scene tape.

He said the body lay just yards from an adjacent strip of businesses.

The violence, he said, "it's getting worse and worse."

That can be said about a lot of places.

Saturday Roundup of Link Roundups - 4 December

Pirate's Cove - Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

4. Pacific Pundit notes Biden will cause gas prices to rise again
5. MOTUS A.D. has some interesting UFO news

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 11.30.21 (Afternoon Edition)

CDR Salamander: We Need Maps At All Confirmation Hearings
Da Tech Guy: Paying In Cash Vs. Paying In Blood

The Right Way - Top of the News

Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #89 - 90 Miles From Tyranny
Who is this Guy and What Did You Do With Fredo?? - Diogenes Middle Finger News Service

EBL - There is a big Supreme Court Case being argued today...👨🏾‍⚖️

While waiting, watch Created Equal. Justice Clarence Thomas is a real conservative hero.
Instapundit: Supreme Court determining the fate of Roe v. Wade and Epoch Times: Clarence Thomas's moment arrives

Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 11.30.21 (Evening Edition)

Adam Piggott: Not This Vaccine, Not Any Vaccine
American Conservative: SUVs Don’t Kill People
American Greatness: The Twin Pillars Of Biden’s Failure

Splendid Isolation - News Roundup

Arizona State U. Students Demand School Expel Kyle Rittenhouse
…and a quick glance at the student orgs involved will tell you all you need to know.

A View from the Beach - Election Goodies: Mark Meadows Caves?

Power Line and House Democrats Desert Their Sinking Ship. At Star News, a Democratic Virginia 2021 Postmortem Finds Equating Youngkin with Trump Didn’t Work; Youngkin had More Positive Image than McAuliffe.

Again from EBL - BALDWIN LIED, HALYNA DIED 😬

Instapundit: Baldwin, Trust Rittenhouse more than Baldwin, and Baldwin intentionally fired
Powerline: “I DIDN’T PULL THE TRIGGER”

And again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 12.01.21

The Lid: Federal Critical Race Theory Program Drops “Critical Race Theory” Pretending It’s Not CRT
Legal Insurrection: Smollett Jury Views Video Of Dry Run For Alleged Hate Crime

Cafe Hayek - Some Covid Links

Jeffrey Tucker interviews Shannon Robinson, the lead plaintiff in a case challenging Covidocratic tyranny in Missouri.
Fauci’s “La science c’est moi” moment prompts this spot-on tweet from Jay Bhattacharya:

Wombat-socho again - In The Mailbox: 12.02.21

Victory Girls: The Process Is The Punishment
Volokh Conspiracy: Law Review Editors Behaving Badly, also, The Stench of Justice Sotomayor’s Putrid Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

I leave you with Tuesday gifdump from Wirecutter, Sunday Funnies, 11-28-21 from Stately McDaniel Manor, and Cartoon Round Up.... from Theo Spark.

Self-defense Is Legal In Mississippi

And DA's HATE that. Jury finds man not guilty of aggravated assault

He was accused of shooting his stepson in the leg, after the stepson attacked him, and choked him, and then when he "advanced" again, the stepfather defended himself.

The stepson denied doing anything bad.

The jury came to a not guilty verdict after 4 hours of deliberation.

Absolute Insanity or Liberal Policy?

Or both? It can be hard to tell the difference. From The Other McCain - ‘Killadelphia’ D.A. Turned Loose Teen Carjacker Who Murdered Marxist Student

Latif Williams (17) was charged with 8 crimes in relation to a carjacking, including aggravated assault and robbery.

Ah, but need I remind you that this is Killadelphia, where Joe Biden got 81% of the vote? The city’s “progressive” District Attorney Larry Krasner has a policy of turning loose criminals, and on Sept. 30, “Judge Martin Coleman granted the D.A.’s motion to withdraw all eight charges against Williams, and he was a free man.”

Shortly after that, he went out and killed 21-year-old college student Samuel Collington.

Are we shocked that with a complete lack of consequences that he went back and did more of the same? I'm not.

But the crazy thing is that Collington's friends don't want his death to impact his work for "social justice."

A friend of Collington’s, Douglas Leake “described his friend . . . as a ‘devout Marxis’ who ‘would not want his death to be used to push any sort of right-wing pro-police agenda such as stop and frisk’

Click thru for more of the insane details.

“Radical justice”? Progressives turn loose the criminals who kill them.

Hard not to view this as a win-win. Way to go, Killadelphia.

The Curse of the Fold

YouTube suggested a playlist called "Dark Country," and while I don't like all of it, some of it is quite good. It is apparently part of a musical genre known as Gothic Country, which itself is a subset of Alternative Country. Some of the Country I've been listening too, reminds me of 1970s Rock. Even the stuff that is clearly in the Country & Western genre doesn't seem to annoy me the way old school Country usually does. Some of the new stuff is as annoying as Pop Music today. But not this selection.

Here's a link the lyrics, for completeness.

This song is "The Curse of the Fold" by Shawn James from his 2018 album The Dark & The Light.

Some video somewhere (Rick Beato probably) suggested that as what passes for Pop Music today has abandoned songwriting. Country, or at least some of it, has stepped up to embrace real songwriting. And I refuse to listen to the same 100 songs that were popular when I was in High School. (That is what most people listen too, the 100 or so songs that they loved when they were between 14 and 18.)

I was going to include a link the playlist, but most of the songs all sound the same, with a few exceptions. And it is easy enough to find playlists on YT.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Rock & Roll"

The Feral Irishman asks Where Were You On August 1, 1981??

Click thru for the first 2 hours of MTV. Or at least the 1st 10 minutes or so.

The classic space shuttle start, followed by "Video Killed The Radio Star" by The Buggles, the evolution of music and TV, culminating (of course) in MTV. That was followed by Pat Benatar, and "You Better Run" from her album Crimes of Passion, and everything that followed in the years after that.

They took the music out of MTV. They changed the Sci-Fi Channel's name to SyFy, and eliminated science fiction. The History Channel was talking about alien invasions the last time I had access to cable, which was a decade or more ago...

Who Cares How He Feels?

These kinds of things happen when you run over and kill "The Dancing Grannies." Suspect in Waukesha parade carnage that killed 6 says he feels ‘demonized’

No one is trying to make his actions worse than they were.

According to a criminal complaint, Brooks drove his SUV into the parade in Waukesha on Nov. 21. Witnesses said he was swerving and appeared to be intentionally trying to hit people.

In fact the mainstream media keeps going on about how an SUV crashed into the parade, as if it had been a self-driving vehicle with no one at the controls. "Nothing to see here!"

The family is offering up excuses/reasons. Mostly around mental illness. But he is clearly a danger to society, so one way or another, he needs to be locked away for society's safety.

But I really expect very little to happen to him. A Woke DA has already turned him loose. And besides, holding people accountable for their actions is a very 20th Century idea.

If WGN TV published the email address of an editor or manager, I would venting my disdain at them, but after a short look I could only find the on-air personalities.

Friday Links

A very abreviated Firday Links this week. Though This may become a much smaller list in the future, as it is this week.

Granite Grok starts us off with the Climate Change News of the week. Early Freeze Traps 18 Ships in Arctic Sea Ice

Nothing says “global warming” like unexpectedly cold temperatures.

View From The Porch - Does Not Work That Way. On the Alec Baldwin incident.

But guns, and most specifically Colt Single Action Armies and their clones, do not work that way.

19th Ward Chicago - Why is the topic of smallpox suddenly in the news?

Daily Caller - FAA Accidentally Reveals 704 Previously Unknown Epstein Flights

Pirate's Cove - The Reason Flash Mobs Are Looting Stores Is Because You Gave The Go-Ahead. "You" meaning Democrats.

Flopping Aces - Ahmaud Arbery’s father crushes the premise of BLM

Epoch Times - Now More Than Ever Conservatives Must Get Off Twitter

Stately McDaniel Manor - Bailing Out–UPDATED

The Other McCain - Confirmed: CNN Is Garbage

The "How Dare You Live Without Me" Attitude

That attitude never really works out. Estranged husband shot multiple times, killed after an attempted attack on wife

According to statements made to investigators, the male had forced his way into the home after the female opened the door and attempted to attack her armed with a knife.

Investigators report a male acquaintance in the home saw the attack, retrieved a handgun--- and shot the male assailant several times.

He could have stayed home and watched a movie on his favorite streaming service. He could have gone out for a drink with a friend. Instead he decided to attack his wife for the serious crime of not wanting to live with him. If this is a sample of his behavior, can you blame her?

The investigation is ongoing, but self-defense is a human-right.

Are You Expecting "The System" to Ensure Your Personal Safety?

The following headline shows how foolish it is to place your trust in "The System." #56: Man tried to kill his wife on the Kennedy Expressway while on bond for domestic battery, on parole for domestic battery, and on conditional discharge for domestic battery, prosecutors say - CWB Chicago

Now he's worked his way up to attempted murder. Think they will give him bail or probation? What if he had actually murdered her?

Charge after charge of domestic battery, and he is still on the street, because another charge of domestic battery doesn't invalidate probation for domestic battery.

“You’re going to die tonight,” the man allegedly told her. “I’m going to kill you.”

He then proceeded to strangle her into unconsciousness. She was eventually able to escape and bystanders came to her aid. Police arrested the guy.

And as for the system as a whole, protecting society at large. Well, keeping violent criminals in jail is unfair.

The accused man, whom we are not naming to protect his victim, is the 56th person accused of killing, trying to kill, or shooting someone in Chicago this year while awaiting trial for a felony. A total of 82 victims are involved in those crimes.

And if you think this kind of lax attitude toward violent criminals is limited to Chicago, you are kidding yourself.

If you need a restraining order against a violent stalker, then you need a plan for your personal safety that goes beyond "Call 911."

Tate Myre — Hero

The Lamestream Media will will publish the name of the shooter, but Tate Myre is who we should remember. A High School Football Player Rushed A School Shooter And Sacrificed His Own Life To Save His Classmates

According to his fellow students, Myre, who played running back for the Oxford Wildcats football team, was shot while trying to disarm the shooter and later died from his injuries.

There is a movement to rename the school football arena in his honor.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

How Would You Respond to an Uninvited Guest at 11PM?

He apparently thought that breaking into a home was a good idea. He was wrong. Philadelphia Police: Homeowner Shoots Intruder Inside Holmesburg Home

A homeowner opened fire on an intruder in Holmesburg on Sunday night, police say.

He was shot in the face. Police say that he is in critical condition in a local hospital.

How Is That Bail Reform Working Out?

Not great if your a victim of a repeat offender. #54: Man opened fire on trucker during expressway dispute — while on bond for being a felon in possession of a firearm, prosecutors say

Prosecutors this week charged a man with opening fire on a truck driver during a road rage incident on the Dan Ryan Expressway in April. Armonii Russell, 24, was on bail for a pending firearm and manufacture-delivery case at the time of the incident, prosecutors said during a bond hearing on Wednesday.

Russell is the 54th person accused of killing, trying to kill, or shooting someone in Chicago this year while awaiting trial for a felony. A total of 76 victims are involved in those crimes.

Click thru for the details.

CWB Chicago is keeping count for reason. #55: Man killed 2, shot 3 more while awaiting trial for carjacking, prosecutors say

Prosecutors have charged an 18-year-old man with participating in a mass shooting that left two teenagers dead and three other people injured this summer. Detrevion Williams was awaiting trial for vehicular hijacking in juvenile court at the time of the slayings, according to prosecutors.

The Left says that keeping violent offenders in jail is unfair. Who is it unfair to when those offenders commit more crime?

School Board Has Parents Arrested for Daring to Speak Out

Shut up and do what we tell you to do serf. Twisted measure to silence voices at school board meetings: arrest them

Journalist Pedro Gonzalez reported that at an August meeting, Story had calmly “produced evidence that the board had covered up an alleged assault by the superintendent, Hafedh Azaiez, against a mistress.” The superintendent and school board president cut him off midsentence and ordered officers to remove him from the premises.

They locked the majority of parents out of the next meeting, and ended by having him, and another parent, arrested at this own home.

The battle lines are clear: on one side, the Biden administration, public school bureaucrats, and their armed agents; on the other, parents and families who oppose school closures, mask mandates, critical race theory and corruption. Public school officials have demonstrated a willingness to use police power to silence and intimidate their opponents.

The NY Post calls it the War on Parents. Coming soon to a school district near you.

Octavarium

This is a special, not-quite late-night, musical interlude. I usually try to keep the songs I feature to a "reasonable" length. But this song is an unreasonable length. That is the nature of Progressive Rock. It is 24 minutes long, so plan accordingly.

Dream Theater is either Progressive Rock, or Progressive Metal, depending on the song, and who is doing the labeling. Today's song strikes me as old-school progressive rock. It is not quite the maximum length of a song that could fit on one side of an LP record, but was the in-practice maximum used by most jazz and progressive rock musicians back in the bad days of vinyl.

The keyboards remind me in some ways of Yes from the 1970s. The drumming is complex in the way Genesis was when Phil Collins was "only" the drummer for that group. Sometimes I think they are trying too hard, but it is one of the closest things to 70s progressive rock produced in the last 20 years.

Dream Theater has had some personnel changes over the years. The people on this album are James LaBrie as lead vocalist, John Petrucci on guitar and backing vocals, Jordan Rudess playing keyboards and continuum lap steel guitar, John Myung is the bassist, and Mike Portnoy plays drums, percussion and providing backing vocals. I'm pretty sure this is the current lineup of the band as well.

This is "Octavarium" by Dream Theater from their 2005 album Octavarium.

Comments Are Back. For Now

Don't piss me off, waste my time, post SPAM, post shit, or anything I deem annoying. If moderating comments turns back into an exercise in frustration, I will just hide all the comments, and the comment form, again.

I am not a public utility. You think you have something to say, click the link in the top right corner that says "Create Blog," and have at it. Blogger is free, as is Wordpress.com. I do this for free, which means that when I stop getting any benefit from it, I stop doing it.

We Now Return to Our Regularly Scheduled Whatever the F- This Is

Or maybe not quite yet.

Saturday, when things went sideways on me, I thought it might take a week to get my current mess straightened out. (Sorry no details; part of the story is not mine to tell anyway.) Now it seems to be mostly, recovered? fixed? I'm not sure how to describe it. I really hope it is not part of the New Normal.

And then my SUV decided that it wasn't getting enough attention and decided to take this opportunity to act up. So far it doesn't look serious. We shall see.

I lead a charmed life.

Anyway, posting will resume shortly, though not as soon as I had hoped. Posting may be at a reduced rate, and I'm not sure if comments will come back or not. As much as I would like them to, moderating comments became a bigger time suck than I thought possible.

Happy holidays.