Men Are Always Shocked that Women Haven't Seen The Godfather

The Other McCain is shocked. Israel and ‘The Godfather’

In the comments on yesterday’s post about the Hamas attack on Israel, we learned something new: Dianna Deeley has never watched The Godfather, which is why she didn’t get a reference to a key plot point in the movie, when Don Corleone finally realizes that “it was Barzini all along.”

After I saw the comment, I actually called Dianna to express my shock that she’d never seen The Godfather. “I don’t like mob movies,” she said. And I was outraged. The Godfather is a “mob movie” in roughly the same sense that Casablanca is a “World War II movie.”

There is even a scene in You've Got Mail in which Tom Hanks tells Meg Ryan, "Go the the mattresses," and she asks, "What is it with men and The Godfather?"

So you can file this under the heading "Life Imitating Art." Or maybe it should be filed under "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus."

Not What I Call Equal Justice

There are two sets of rules. One for the Left, and one for everyone else. NYC college professor who threatened Post reporter gets off with therapy in plea deal

The unhinged Manhattan college professor who threatened to “chop” a Post reporter copped a wrist-slap plea deal in Bronx court on Monday.

Shellyne Rodriguez, 46, will dodge jail time and won’t even have a criminal record if she makes it through as little as six months in therapy under the terms of her sweetheart deal with Bronx prosecutors.

Because it isn't illegal when the Left does it. Or something.

When This Store Closes, The Democrats Will Blame Capitalism

Because their policies are not to blame for anything. Thieves strip shelves bare at CVS outlet in the nation's capital

Startling images from inside the chain pharmacy in DC’s Columbia Heights neighborhood show row after row of empty shelves, thanks to about 45 youngsters who have been targeting the store, Fox affiliate WTTG-TV reported.

“When you walk into this CVS, you’d think the store is closing because there’s barely anything on the shelves,” WTTG reporter Sierra Fox said.

Society can not exist without and law and order. The very things that the people running the Blue Cities seem determined to destroy.

Constant shoplifting and flash mobs of thieves have put a dent in profits of some of the nation’s largest retailers, including CVS, Rite Aid and Target — with the big-box retailer recently announcing it was shutting down an East Harlem outlet and eight other stores due to heavy losses.

And of course, even the Post has to quote someone making excuses for the kids.

I'm going to miss civilization.

Sweden is Unprepared for Gangs

They were once one of the safest countries in the world. Sweden's leader turns to the military for help as gang violence escalates - ABC News

That changed.

Sweden’s prime minister on Thursday said that he’s summoned the head of the military to discuss how the armed forces can help police deal with an unprecedented crime wave that has shocked the country with almost daily shootings and bombings.

How unprepared are they? They are calling in the military to take over some protection details and possibly help with surveillance to free up police to "fight crime."

The prime minister said that the government is overhauling Sweden's criminal code to give police more powers, criminals longer sentences and witnesses better protection.

“Swedish laws aren’t designed for gang wars and child soldiers,” [Prime Minister Ulf] Kristersson said.

It all sounds good until the part where he says he is confering with NYC Mayor Eric Adams on approaches to fighting crime. NYC hasn't been the best under Adams, maybe he should check in with past mayors.

I know that US media doesn't cover anything that happens in Europe, unless it fits some narrative, but it seems like I should have heard about this. 2 powerful explosions rip through Sweden, injuring at least 3

Late Monday, an explosion occurred in Hasselby, a suburb of the capital, Stockholm. In the early hours of Tuesday, a blast in Linkoping, some 110 miles to the southwest, ripped the facade off a three-story building, leaving debris strewn across a parking area.

The blasts are attributed to conflicts between gangs.

Swedish radio said Tuesday that the explosion in Linkoping was connected to a feud between criminal gangs, a growing problem in Sweden with drive-by shootings and bombings. Two gangs — one led by a Swedish-Turkish dual national who lives in Turkey, the other by his former lieutenant — are reportedly fighting over drugs and weapons.

Since this happened last week, it seems (to me anyway) to be the impetus to do something drastic, like call in the military.

As for the change from a low-crime society, here is an article from December of last year. Sweden hits record with 60 shot dead in 2022

Sweden has gone from having one of the lowest incidences of gang violence to one of the highest over the last 20 years, according to the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention.

While the absolute numbers of pale in comparison to places like Baltimore or Philadelphia or Chicago, the country is pretty much in shock from the bombings. Sweden hit by ‘unprecedented’ levels of gang violence.

Last year, 90 explosions and 101 attempted explosive attacks were recorded, according to data from the Swedish police. So far this year [through the end of August], more than 100 explosions have already been recorded.

Hard not to be shocked by that, especially starting where they did. There is an explanation as to why the radical change in Sweden, but it is not politically correct.

Hamas Launches Terror Attack on Israel

Is anyone surprised? **Live Updates** Hamas Launches Unprecedented Terror Attack on Israel

The Palestinian militant group Hamas launched unprecedented terror attack on Israel, which has included the firing of thousands of rockets onto the Israel and the infiltration of Israeli territory by land, air, and sea. Responding to the surprise attack Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that the nation is “at war” and the terrorists “will pay a price it has never known before.”

Click the link for updates. (Hat tip to The Other McCain.)

Saturday Roundup of Link Roundups - 7 October

The Right Way is starts things rolling with Top of the News

We Have Met the Enemy and He is Us - Theo Spark
Everybody Shimmies Now️ - Evi. L Bloggerlady

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 10.04.23 (Punditocracy Edition)

Stoic Observations: The Public Speaker
Gab News: An Amazon Alternative For The Parallel Economy

The DaleyGator - Daily Top 5

The Morning Briefing: Please Welcome to the Main Stage—YOUR Republican Dumpster Fire!
This is certainly fun, isn’t it?

And again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 10.05.23 (Early Morning Edition)

CDR Salamander: The Endgame In Ukraine?
Dana Loesch: Kevin McCarthy Out As Speaker – Now What?

EBL - Men, Best To Avoid Women Like Lindsey Hill 😬

Instapundit: PJ Media: MLB Trevor Bauer damaged by false accusations of Lindsey Hill
Wow, there are some very nasty people out there. In this case it is overwhelming that it is Lindsey Hill. Also the LA Dodgers and MLB

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 5 October 2023: Peeve Farm Edition

Speed-ish: A British driver was kidnapped by his new electric car when it refused to slow down below 30 mph, or stop, or be turned off. (BBC)
And it's not some idiot pressing the accelerator rather than the brake pedal

Battleswarm Blog - LinkSwarm for October 6, 2023

Or maybe not? “Mayorkas Furiously Backpedals After Claiming ‘Acute & Immediate Need’ For Border Wall.”
The Biden border invasion, by the numbers.

Wombat-socho again - In The Mailbox: 10.06.23 (Afternoon Edition)

Transterrestrial Musings: “Building A Deeply Inclusive Culture”, Twenty Years Of Blogging, College Kids, and Starliner
Victory Girls: Commander Leaves White House, Biden Can’t Have Dogs Anymore

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - Trump for Speaker?

Da Caller says Forget Independent RFK — There’s A Bigger Threat To Joe Biden Already On The Campaign Trail, Strategists Say, Cornell West. What if Blacks don't stay on the plantation?

Vlad Tepes - Hold on to your reality while the leftist history wash goes on its spin cycle: Links 1 for October 6th, 2023

1. Left wing protestors ram Vivek’s campaign car
With the left, the point is never the point. The revolution is always the point. When the left claims to be “anti-war” they really mean they want the side within which they live to lose.

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 10/6/2023

Affirmative Action Opponents Sue Naval Academy to Ban Race Consideration
The organization behind the lawsuit against Harvard University that led to the demise of affirmative action in college admissions has filed a new lawsuit against the United States Naval Academy

Animal Magnetism - Animal’s Hump Day News

The New Climate Reality Is… Not So Bad.
Private Industry Should Take Us to Mars, Not NASA
What Is Life? This Basic Question Defies Science

Small Dead Animals - Thursday On Turtle Island

China Virus News: How children have been shot dead. The NIAID CIA axis.
Trust The Science News: New science is Marxist indoctrination.
Blackie’s Canada: Promoting white guilt on Turtle Island. The Chow Town asylum crisis.

Cafe Hayek - Some Links

My GMU Econ colleague Vincent Geloso has 40 centuries worth of evidence that government-imposed price controls do not work as advertised.

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 10.06.23 (Evening Edition)

Victory Girls: Army Strongly Considering 10-20% Cut To Special Ops Forces
Volokh Conspiracy: Kurt Lash on “The Meaning and Ambiguity of Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment”

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 10/4/23

"The American military adventure in Somalia is a prime example of what goes wrong when there’s no check on presidential war powers."
Folly and Redemption: 30 Years After Black Hawk Down

Maggie's Farm - Thursday morning links

What hath Matt Gaetz wrought by tipping over the House apple cart?
FBI Quietly Created New Category of Extremism Ahead of 2024 Election to Include Trump-MAGA Supporters

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: They Are That Evil

• A typical night in Chicago: Jazz Shaw
• Trump is taking one for the team: Don Surber
• Maryland Resident Sworn in as Senator From California: CTH

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 10/05/2023

In Sweden, migrant gangs now make more money bilking the government’s subsidy program with fraud than they make from narcotics sales.
France: A dramatic rise in rapes by Muslim migrants.

I leave you with Wednesday's gifs from Wirecutter, Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #1366 from 90 Miles From Tyranny, and It’s a dog’s life from Bluebird of Bitterness.

Another Bear Shooting in Montana

I guess this probably means that the Grizzly population is booming in the Northwest. Hunter kills grizzly bear in Beattie Gulch in apparent self-defense

The shooting of the bear marked at least the sixth in Montana since the start of June.

Click thru for details on this shooting and a list of the other five. (Hat tip to Keep and Bear Arms.)

Irony Comes to Women in STEM Conference

The invasion of Womens' sports comes to tech. Men invaded women's job fair after 'lying' about being non-binary

I'm not outraged. I think it is funny, and completely predictable.

Scores of men invaded a tech job fair billed as the largest gathering of women seeking careers in STEM fields after allegedly lying about being non-binary.

Videos across social media showed men racing to meet with potential recruiters at the annual Grace Hopper Celebration event held in Orlando between Sept. 26 to 29 — a job fair specifically aimed at helping women and nonbinary technologists.

What did the organizers expect would happen?

The female attendees, some of whom paid about $1,300 per ticket for a chance to network with recruiters, have blasted the cisgender men for skipping all the panels and seminars in order to beat the women to the recruiting lines.

They should save their ire for the organizers. Or for the people pushing the insanity of the situation.

One attendee complained:

“If they had a career fair for military veterans, but civilians who have never served in the military crashed it, would you be okay with that,” she added, reading a comment from another woman who attended the event.

Except that you could, at an event for military veterans, require a DD-214 to enter. That is, you could ask for proof of veteran status. What would the Grace Hopper organizers ask for?

For those of you who don't know who Grace Hopper was, see the following link. Rear Admiral Grace Hopper – In Honor of Her Birthday: December 9, 1906

TRUST NO GOVERNMENT

I have featured a couple of songs produced by Akira the Don, and I have mentioned Danika XIX as being a YouTube creator that I like. Today we have song where the two of them have teamed up.

With the 2nd half of the Dune series coming out, Akira the Don has released a Dune-themed album in which the words being taken from Frank Herbert's series of books. The movie was originally due to come out in October or November, but I believe the release has been pushed to 2024.

And I actually think the message of today's song is something that needs to be understood by people.

Governments, if they endure
Always tend increasingly
Toward aristocratic forms
No government in history
Has been known
To evade this pattern

There is more on this line of thought below the embedded video.

This is "TRUST NO GOVERNMENT" by Akira the Don with vocals provided by Danika XIX. It is from the album DUNEWAVE: ODYSSEY.

The complete lyrics are available at this link. And after the break.

A Belated Happy Birthday to The Other McCain

Is 64 an important year? Will You Still Feed Me?

After quoting the famous Beatles' song, "When I'm Sixty Four," he takes us on a tour of Golden Coral. Not the location that I would choose for a birthday dinner, but it will be a couple of years yet before I have to worry about applying for Medicare.

We got there a little before 2:30 p.m., and I remarked to the wife as we approached the cashier that we were eligible for the Senior Discount. My wife mentioned this to the lady at the register, who replied: “I already gave it to you.” Not necessarily flattering to be recognized as a geezer, but it is what it is.

He also noted the flock of geezers who showed up in time for early bird special. Which really is a thing most places.

Pretty Face, Evil Mind

In which The Other McCain channels Sam Kinison. ‘Chiseling Sociopathic Whore’

On Lindsey Hill and her destruction of Trevor Bauer.

Unfortunately, guys are always judging the book by its cover, and what healthy young man would look at a sweet-looking cutie like Lindsey Hill and have the foresight to think, “This woman is going to ruin my life”?

Obviously, not Trevor Bauer:

There is more on the superficial motivations of young men around pretty women.

Y’know, I wish Sam Kinison were still alive. Just imagine Sam starting his routine about this situation:

“Hey, baseball boy, why don’t you sit down here at the bar and let’s have ourselves a little chat. ...

Click thru.

Friday Links

Gates of Vienna is first with Thousands of New Gendarmes… Why?

The following video shows French President Emmanuel Macron announcing the formation of 200 new brigades of gendarmes, comprising 3,500 new officers.

Are these additional armed police being mustered to deal with violent culture-enrichers? Rioting anarchists? Or maybe ordinary citizens who are angry over the collapse of civil society in France? Or some combination of all three…?

Meep at Stump - Boomer 2022 Mortality: Much Improved, Still Elevated Over 2019

As I look at 2022, it will surprise nobody that the excess mortality was also mostly COVID, though it was not the primary cause of death (that’s still cancer and heart disease — top causes of death for all ages over age 45.)

Tam at View from the Proch - Ancient Gore

No Marvel comic has ever been as violent and action-packed as The Iliad, but an article in a highbrow magazine about translating the ancient Greek epic poem is the last place I expected to find a rollicking good read...yet here we are.

The Other McCain - A Self-Inflicted Disaster as Republicans Vote to Boot Kevin McCarthy as Speaker

Some conservatives may have loathed McCarthy as a compromised, unprincipled sellout, and I have no interest in debating anyone about McCarthy’s faults. The problem is that, having created this vacancy, the GOP insurgents offer no candidate capable of filling the void.

Granite Grok - America has a Free Speech Problem

Nearly one-third of Democratic voters (34%) say Americans have “too much freedom.” This compared to 14.6% of Republicans. Republicans were most likely to say Americans have too little freedom (46%), while only 22% of Democrats feel that way. Independents were in the middle in both categories.

Jazz Shaw at Hot Air - A typical night in Chicago

Pretty much every night after the sun goes down, people show up across the city and start committing crimes. These aren’t protests of any sort. Nobody is waving banners or yelling about how Black Lives Matter. They’re just criminals taking to the streets in large numbers.

Impro Guns - PM90. It is hard to be sure, but I think Impro Guns has a photo and a video of a homebuilt PM90. That is an AK-47 based pistol, but this version has a few AR-15 parts. The video isn't very informative, either, but then that is the world of YT gunsmithing.

Legal Insurrection - Groundbreaking Win For Parents: WI State Court Rules Against School’s Secret Gender Transitioning Policy

The court held the school could not “refer to students using a name or pronouns at odds with the student’s biological sex, while at school, without express parental consent.”

The school’s policy “violates parents’ constitutional right to determine the appropriate medical and healthcare for their children,” the court ruled.

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 4 October 2023: Double Plus Pop Rotate Edition

Moronity Report: How good are the most advanced AI systems at predicting crime? Not. (The Markup)

At least the Plainfield PD scrapped the system after two years and only wasted about $35,000. As this kind of nonsense goes that's practically winning the lottery.

The Other McCain finishes up with a link that I should have included on Wednesday. House Passes Spending Bill After Democrat (Allegedly) Pulls Fire Alarm.

J6 protesters were sentenced to years in federal prison for “interrupting official proceedings,” and yet a Democrat thinks he can pull a fire alarm to stop a congressional vote. “Allegedly,” I hasten to add. Before the House overwhelmingly passed its bill, 335-91.

Concealed Carry in Los Angeles

The media seems shocked. Dog walker shoots man to death after confrontation in Garden Grove

The dead guy was seen sleeping on the sidewalk earlier in the day. My guess, and it is only a guess, is that he objected to the dog walker using the sidewalk to walk his dogs.

So how should a 60-year-old react to being "confronted" by a 30-year-old homeless guy?

Witness Sebastian Bona said he heard three shots ring out before running outside and finding a man bleeding out on the sidewalk. He added that he didn't see a gun but the shooter, who was in his late 60s, gave him an explanation.

"'He tried to attack me so I shot him.' Those were his exact words," said Bona.

This being LA, I expect that they will charge the dog walker with a crime. Police didn't arrest him, but charges are not up to the police. The District Attorney will decide what happens next.

But with out-of-control homelessness, what do the people running Los Angeles think is going to happen?

Cops Don't Think the Law Applies to Them - NYC Edition

I don't like wearing a mask, but I wouldn't punch someone over a request. NYPD sergeant Christian Zapata indicted for pummeling man in the face over 12 times after he asked cop to wear mask during 911 call

An NYPD sergeant punched a man in the face more than a dozen times last December while answering a 911 call about an emotionally disturbed child inside a Manhattan apartment, according to an indictment announced Wednesday.

Officer Christian Zapata, 36, of the Bronx, faces a third-degree assault charge for allegedly hitting the 43-year-old victim 13 times in less than nine seconds after the man had asked cops to put on face masks on Dec. 7, 2022.

He was restrained at the time he was punched in the face. He was punched in the face because he didn't "recognize their authority" to do whatever the hell they want to do.

NYPD busted the cop from Sergeant to Officer, and suspended him without pay in August. This was an incident that happened in December of last year, which means that for MONTHS the NYPD couldn't be bothered to take any action at all. (You think there is something wrong - or unusual - about what happened?) So do NYPD officers and sergeants not have body cameras? The guy was pulled off his victim by other officers; would none of them say anything? Gotta respect the think blue line, even if it is protecting criminals. I guess we will see if these allegations hold up in trial or not.

Why anyone would want to live in NYC is beyond me. Between the soft-on-crime DA Bragg (who is all over this BTW), and the cops either out of control or doing nothing...

I'm going to miss living in a civilized society.

Oh No! Climate Data Doesn't Support Global Warming

Or is it Climate Change? Trends in U.S. Tornado Damage and Incidence

The 2011 tornado season motivated us — Kevin Simmons, Daniel Sutter and I — to take a close look at trends in tornadoes and their impacts across the United States. The result was a peer-reviewed paper with the first comprehensive normalization of U.S. tornado losses, for 1950 to 2011.

Our results surprised even us — U.S. tornado damage and tornado incidence appeared to have decreased dramatically, contrary to conventional wisdom:

There is more. Click thru.

A View From The Porch Musical Interlude

Tam at View From The Porch has a song I haven't heard in some time. Good morning, America, how are ya?

An Amtrak trip from Chicago to New Orleans... What could that bring to mind?

The author and his childhood bestie did wind up taking a trip on the fabled City of New Orleans from end to end, Chicago to the Big Easy. Along the way they discovered train food, delays, and that Amtrack may be slower than Delta, but Delta won't let you bring a case of beer on board to consume at your leisure.

Click thru for Arlo Guthrie's "City of New Orleans."

Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" usually comes up around Thanksgiving, which leads to a few other songs, like this one, and "The Motorcycle Song."

Naïveté and Wishful Thinking and Blunt Force Trauma

From The Other McCain we get a story of magical thinking. ‘Building a Deeply Inclusive Culture’

26-year-old Pava Lapere was a "tech entrepreneur" committed to "building a deeply inclusive culture." She was murdered when she apparently let a convicted sex offender into her apartment building because he acted as though he had forgotten his keys.

Say that again. She let a stranger into her building in one of the most dangerous cities in America. Why? Because to not do so would have seemed racist. It may have seemed racist, but in reality it would have been prudent.

Reality is true even if you don't want it to be. I wouldn't let a stranger into my apartment building - when I lived in apartment buildings - no matter the race. And that was decades ago. Magical thinking includes things like, "most people I meet are good, so I don't need to worry about criminals."

Standing against “systemic racism” is all fine and good, I suppose, up until the moment you die from blunt force trauma because a convicted sex offender, who was sentenced to 30 years, gets out of prison early under a “criminal justice reform” law that gave him “good time” credits

There is much more from The Other McCain, including his thoughts on why the police didn't warn anyone about this guy, when he apparently assaulted a woman and tried to murder a couple days before this incident. You should click thru.

I have mentioned many times that in our Blue Cities you will find The State of War as described by Hobbes' in his book Leviathan. And that brings up the US Marine Corps Rules for Gunfighting.

24. Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet.

I think that how Pava Lapere's life ended could be described as "nasty, brutish, and short." At 26 years of age, her life was certainly short.

The reality of cities like Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago, etc. are that criminals of all colors are being allowed to operate without fear of police or government. You may not like that, and you may not think that is the way "things are supposed to be," but reality is true whether you like it or not.

Some Days the Universe Does Appear to Have a Sense of Humor

A black, ironic sense of humor, but still... From The Other McCain we get a bit of ironic Karma. Update From the Dept. of Ironic Crime.

This is the story of Josh Kruger, a Philadelphia journalist who mocked the idea of urban crime causing danger in Blue Cities. Josh Kruger was shot 7 times in his home in Philadelphia.

It would be wrong to yield to the temptation of schadenfreude in such a case, but having spent some time delving through Josh Kruger’s social media, I’ve got to say that he seemed utterly obsessed with challenging what he often called “myths” about the danger of urban violence.

And while I'm tempted to quote more, you should click thru for more details, including The Other McCain's 2 rules for a happy life.

That is one of 2 ironic stories covered. You should also click thru for that.

The Other McCain gets the last word. OK, maybe not the LAST word.

Let me be clear: Murder is bad. I am anti-murder, and no one should think that I am happy to see left-wingers getting murdered like this. Also, I am anti-carjacking, and thus cannot be accused of celebrating when a Democratic congressmen gets carjacked at gunpoint in D.C. My point in calling attention to these cases is not to advocate in favor of violence against liberals, but rather to say that, when Democrats support soft-on-crime policies, they seldom expect that they personally will suffer as a consequence of the ill-considered policies they embrace.

Aside from crime, the impacts of the Open Borders/Sanctuary City movement is another case of "We didn't think this would impact our northern cities!" phenomenon.

The Left Hates Felony Murder

The Left doesn't think you should be held accountable for the completely foreseeable consequences of your actions. Journalists are a part of the Left, and so you don't have to imagine how they feel. Arizona's felony murder rule explained: It's murder even if you don't kill

Earlier this week, a man was charged with first-degree murder after a south Phoenix armed robbery left one of his accused accomplices dead.

But, Omar Rivas, the man charged, did not pull the trigger of the gun that killed 19-year-old Mia Padilla. The homeowner shot at the two, and another one of their accomplices as they fled from his house, court records show.

A former prosecutor outlines the way the law is structured and used in Arizona, and they detail a list of crimes in which felony murder can be invoked.

Then they launch into the "Felony murder is unfair" litany, including references to Canada and (the country formerly known as) Great Britain.

Romley explained that the rule is a controversial provision and prosecutors have to look at all the facts and exercise good judgment on whether or not to apply the rule.

For that reason, some criminal justice advocates have tried to repeal or narrow the rule.

Because you can't hold people accountable for the consequences of their actions. That would be unfair.