CNN Demands Democracy Be Saved By Rigging Elections

Or something. From The Other McCain we get the following: CNN Suffers Psychiatric Crisis After Unanimous Supreme Court Slaps Down Colorado’s Election-Rigging Scheme

Watching CNN (so you don’t have to) is usually a chore for me, but today it was unusually pleasant to witness the anguish as Jim Acosta, Dana Bash and their panelists bemoaned the unanimous Supreme Court ruling that struck down the effort by Colorado Democrats to ban Donald Trump from the ballot in that state.

Click thru for the Snark, and the details. And the five most important words in the language.

HIT THE FREAKING TIP JAR!

Sierra Mountains Snow Storm

KCRA is an NBC affiliate in Sacramento that does a fair job of reporting on snow conditions in the Sierra mountains. Also on drought, and flood, but that is not what they have this year. Lake Tahoe area snow totals: More than 7 feet of snow added from the weekend's Sierra snowstorm

After four days of relentless snow, final totals are coming in from California's Lake Tahoe region.

Some Sierra ski resorts reported more than seven feet of snow from Thursday through Sunday. The heaviest snow came during the second half of Friday and Saturday.

They also reference one of my favorite meteorological sites, the Berkley Central Sierra Snow Lab at Donner Pass.

At the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab site near Donner Summit, round-the-clock observations added up for a four-day total of 75.2 inches of snow. The snowpack water content at that site is now 199% of average for the date.

That is important, because the snow melt fills the reservoirs of the California Aqueduct system. Without that system Los Angeles would go back to being a desert, and agriculture would not be possible, or not profitable anyway, in the Central Valley.

If you're interested in how this storm came to be, Juan Browne at Blancoliro has a great video explaining the orographic lift that created this snowfall, and also the dry winds in Texas contributing to the fires. (The relevant part of the video - while I enjoyed all of it - is about 3 minutes, following the point at which I have it queued up.)

Viking Kong

Paul Gilbert is a technically brilliant guitarist. He is one of the more talented guitarists I've run across, I'm just never sure if I like the music as much I as I would like to. I do like today's song.

The band is Racer X. They call themselves a Heavy Metal band, but sometimes I think they sound more Fusion than Metal. There are screaming guitars, and too much energy for a morning musical interlude. And besides, I make the rules.

I guess I should mention that Mr. Gilbert also played, on and off, with the Rock band Mr. Big. I suppose I should feature at least one of their songs, but again, they are not my favorite band in the whole world. I don't hate their work, and some of it was on the radio enough for me to be familiar with it. A couple of examples would be "To Be With You," and "Wild World." I don't hate them, but I don't love them.

This song is "Viking Kong" by Racer X, from their album Superheroes. That album was released in 2000 in Japan under a different name, and then released in 2001 in North America.

A Musical Interlude from The DaleyGator

The DaleyGator brings us a song from two of my favorite guitarists. Guitar Greatness

Click through for "First Time Blues" by Orianthi featuring additional guitar work by Joe Bonamassa. And new music; this song and video were only released on 23 February.

You Can't Just Shoot at People On Your Property

This is one of the least-surprising verdicts of the last few years. ‘You just don’t get it.’ Judge admonishes NY man who fatally shot woman in his driveway and sentences him to 25 years to life

They turned into his driveway by mistake. He shot at a car full of people - as far as anyone can tell - without cause. He killed 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis. He was convicted of 2nd degree murder and sentenced to 25 years to life.

As Tam, at View from the Porch has pointed out, your property is Not a free-fire zone. And as we used to tell students in the NRA classes I helped teach, every bullet comes with a lawyer attached, so you should be sure of your actions before shooting someone.

The judge said that the defendant just didn't get it. He didn't get that what he did was wrong. They were on his property, and even though they posed absolutely no threat, he opened fire. Hint: Being lost and asking for directions is not grounds for killing someone.

[Washington County Judge Adam] Michelini added, “Any remorse you have isn’t for the harm you’ve caused. The only regret you have is that you’re finally facing the consequences for your actions. You murdered Kaylin Gillis. You shot at a car full of people and you didn’t care what would happen and you repeatedly lied about it. You deserve to spend the maximum time in prison allowable under our law, and I don’t make this decision because it’s easy. I make it because it’s what’s deserved. I make it because it’s what’s just.”

Don't be stupid. Don't be reckless. You might end up spending a long time in prison, because even if felony stupidity is not a crime, manslaughter and murder are crimes.

Springtime In Chicago Brings Thoughts of Mob Action

It seems a bit early for this kind of thing, but I guess the weather is turning warmer in the Windy City. 2 teens shot, 1 fatally, as 'large group' floods the South Loop - CWB Chicago

Two teenagers were shot, one fatally, when a large gathering of mostly teenagers in the South Loop turned violent on Saturday evening, Chicago police said. Dozens of arrests were made as the crowd, drawn to the area by social media posts, overwhelmed community outreach workers and Chicago cops.

Hundreds of people converged in the area of Roosevelt and Canal after 7 p.m., and police officers were already arresting people within the hour. But the event soon turned violent.

You can click thru for the details. As for "mob action."

Saturday’s gathering was the first major “large group” incident in the downtown area since July 30, when up to 400 young people gathered in the same area and looted stores. Cops arrested 40 people—only three of whom were adults—and seized three firearms.

Mayor Brandon Johnson criticized a reporter who referred to the incident as “mob action,” a legal term in Illinois that relates to unlawful assembly and two or more people assembling to commit an unlawful act.

Johnson, apparently unaware that mob action is a crime, seemed to think the reporter was comparing participants in the gathering to the Mafia.

But that isn't the last time Brandon Johnson was caught spouting off at the mouth about stuff he clearly doesn't know about. I mean be fair. He's only the mayor of Chicago. He wasn't chosen for his intelligence. (Hat tip to HeyJackass! And also there's a poster for that.)

As If the Alligators Weren't Enough, Now It Is Bears

At least the bear didn't get into the kitchen. Hungry bear knocks on Florida woman's kitchen window

A homeowner in Santa Rosa Beach in Florida, USA, got an unexpected visitor on February 22: a huge black bear wandered up to Hannah Bowyer's home and began knocking on the window of her kitchen door, as if asking for food.

Santa Rosa Beach is located on the Gulf Coast of Florida's panhandle. It is about an hour and a half drive east of Pensacola, and about 45 minutes west of Panama City Beach.

And yes, there have been reports of alligators in the kitchen.

Rideshare Driver Claims Self-Defense in Shooting

This article doesn't mention Uber, though they do display an unrelated photo of an Uber logo, other stories do mention Uber. More on that later. Nashville rideshare driver claims self-defense, kills passenger in alleged kidnapping

Metro Police report that 44-year-old Davin Campbell called 911 twice Monday night, first saying that he had been kidnapped by someone in his vehicle and secondly that he had shot a man who robbed and kidnapped him.

When he called 911 the second time to report the shooting, he said where he was, and waited for police. Still, the investigation is ongoing, and the DA will make the determination about any charges.

As for Uber, this driver will lose his income stream from that service because the rideshare company demands that drivers are defenseless victims. Well, that was their policy a few years ago, I haven't tracked it because they also demand that customers be disarmed.

Things You Will Never See on CNN

From The Other McCain - Let’s Talk About Things That Never Happen, According to Mainstream Media

Say hello to April Bradford, whose name you will never hear mentioned on CNN. Miss Bradford, formerly a teacher in Floyd County, Kentucky, is an excellent reminder of why this blog exists

The Other McCain was started specifically to call out Media Bias.

Do you suffer from irrational fear — which is what “phobia” means — or are you consumed by hate? Are your politics a function of mere prejudice? Dear reader, are you a RAAAAACIST? No matter how often Democrats make such accusations against their critics and opponents, we ought to resist the temptation to plead guilty, to apologize and grovel and offer explanations or excuses. You don’t even have to give those bastards a denial. Remember: You have the right to remain silent.

But back to the case at hand. Why will you never hear the name April Bradford on CNN, or in the mainstream media in general?

April Bradford is a lesbian child molester

Click thru for the details, the guilty plea, more snark and a reminder to hit the freakin' tip jar. (His not mine.)

Jussie Smollett could not be reached for comment.

Bob Heil - 5 October 1940 to 28 February 2024

From Every Blade of Grass we get the news. Bob Heil, K9EID, SK

Bob was responsible for bringing high-quality microphones to Amateur Radio, along with many audio accessories. He was a world-class organist on the huge pipe organs that were popular during the silent film era. He was also the audio engineer for Dolly Parton, developed the Wall-of-Sound that the Grateful Dead used for their tours, and invented the "Talk Box" that Peter Frampton put to such good use.

His company produces microphones for Ham radio, and also for broadcast radio. They are a bit expensive, but very good, and worth the price.

He also ran a long-running podcast on TWIT TV (The Week in Tech) called Ham Nation, that eventually moved off TWIT TV to YouTube. That show helped get a lot of people into Ham radio.

Saturday Roundup of Link Roundups - 2 March

Animal Magnetism starts us off with Animal’s Hump Day News

The very best Get Out of Jail Free card – a “D” after your name.
No. They won’t.

The Right Way - Top of the News

AMERICA’S CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND - ACCORDING TO HOYT - Born Free
Cartoon Round Up - Theo Spark

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 03.01.24 (Morning Edition)

CDR Salamander: TACAIR’s Anti-Surface Pocket Rockets,
Dana Loesch: Mo. AG Files Child Trafficking Suit Against Planned Parenthood

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 29 February 2024: What Could Possibly Go Worng Edition

"Gemini accurately represented our views here at Google", said [Google CEO Sundar] Pichai, "and users don't like that. This is completely unacceptable, and we are working around the clock to replace our users with better ones."

EBL - Dune: Part Two (Review)

D:2 was good. It was a late show, but I was falling asleep at times. It was mostly faithful to the novel and did not have the campiness of the David Lynch film (he apparently still hates it although I have always liked it). It does complete Dune: Part One and leaves itself open to a sequel.

Flopping Aces - The Week in Radical Leftism, 03/01/2024

2/25 – CLARENCE THOMAS, RACIST?
2/26 – Planned Parenthood’s Sex Miseducation
2/27 – Dr. Naomi Wolf: “Letter from CPAC”

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 2/29/2024

Jewish students implored lawmakers in a Thursday hearing on Capitol Hill to hold more universities accountable for enabling an alarming uptick in antisemitism — with one participant revealing he contacted administrators of 40 separate instances but heard nothing back.

Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 03.01.24

Don Surber: Common sense thought control
First Street Journal: The Philadelphia teachers and crappy work attitudes, You in a heap o’ trouble, boy! and Why don’t we take sex crimes against children seriously?

Small Dead Animals - Wednesday On Turtle Island

Dementia Joe’s America: Victor Davis Hanson on the global elites. A vow of silence. The airman who set himself on fire. What New York City is like now.
The Planet Is Boiling News: Green billionaires and Hollywood.

Battleswarm Blog - Texas Election Roundup For February 28, 2024

President Trump just endorsed a bunch more Texas candidates.
Money, Virdell, Hickland, and Bradley have also been endorsed by Gun Owners of America.

Cafe Hayek - Some Links

GMU Econ alum Nikolai Wenzel writes about Chile.
Richard Reinsch argues that we Americans are indeed trudging down the road to serfdom.

Maggie's Farm - Wednesday morning links

Loop of Doom: San Francisco is Losing Another Flagship Retailer
Most people don’t realize how bad the situation is in medical schools, worse than in general higher ed

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 2/29/24

"Meet the Palestinians who denounce Hamas - and will never be quoted in the western media."
Bassam Tawil: The Palestinian Voices the Media Won’t Let You Hear

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: ‘Blood Money’: Bidens Bagged $5M from Associate of Fentanyl Kingpin

• House Republicans Subpoena DOJ For Biden-Hur Transcript - DC
• Former Employees Reveal Fani Willis’s DEI Training: ‘White’ is ‘Bad’, Judges Ranked on Skin Color - Breitbart

I leave you with Thursday's gifs from Wirecutter, Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #1641, Cartoon Round Up.... from Theo Spark, and Thursday Memes … from MaddMedic.

Warning Shots in Ohio

I don't know how I feel about this. Warning shots get ‘self-defense’ protections too, Ohio Supreme Court rules

Firing a warning shot in lieu of shooting a person can still be considered by courts as an act of self-defense, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.

In a split decision, the court ruled in favor of Tyler Wilson, who was convicted on charges of felonious assault with a firearm but not guilty of attempted murder. Four of the justices reversed lower court rulings that found a claim of self-defense isn’t viable from a person who didn’t shoot to wound or kill. But the Supreme Court held that Wilson’s shooting with a stated intent to “back [an aggressor] off” is protected by Ohio’s self-defense law

My position has been, mostly due to the way I understood the law in Florida and Ohio, is that if you have time to fire a warning shot, you have time to do something else. And the time to fire at a person hasn't come.

I think I still feel that way.

Don't Bring a Knife to a Gunfight

He went to confront a guy slashing tires in an industrial park. Said guy, obviously, had a knife. Man claims self-defense in North Austin fatal shooting, police say

The caller said Hernandez was slashing his tires with a knife and that, when confronted, Hernandez threatened the caller with the same knife. The caller subsequently fired one gunshot and killed Hernandez, the news release said.

No one has been arrested because the guy with the knife is dead, and this all happened in Texas, and not on the Island of Manhattan.

Self-defense is a human-right.

Woke California Softball Team Gets Booed for Anthem Response

That stuff doesn't go over well in less liberal parts of the country. California Softball Team Kneels for National Anthem in Louisiana, Gets Brutal Response from Patriotic Crowd: 'Liberal Wokeness!' - Slay News

Players for the University of California, Berkley softball team got a rude awakening when they took a knee for the national anthem during a game in Louisiana.

The leftist protest provoked an immediate and brutal response from fans of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s women’s softball team.

Read the whole thing.

Versions of the Truth

There seems to be a resurgence of Progressive Rock taking place. I am enjoying it. Here is a song by a band that I've featured a few times. The Pineapple Thief is a band out of England that I really like.

This is "Versions of the Truth" by The Pineapple Thief. It is the title song from their 2020 album.

Friday Links - 1 March

Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog starts things off with Ukraine’s Super Tiny, Super Expensive Black Hornet Drone

The Black Hornet drone that western nations have supplied Ukraine with has some very interesting tech and capabilities, and is all but invisible to visual and electronic detection. But there’s a catch.

OldAFSarg from - Chant du Départ A Rerun From Ten Years Ago. (The AF in OldAFSarge stands for Air Force, not As F-.)

On the Security Augmentation Force (SAF), most of us carried the German G3. In the picture above, it's the one in the foreground, with the wooden stock. This rifle weighs in the neighborhood of 10 pounds. However, the longer you have to carry one, the heavier it gets. By the end of the standard SAF 12-hour shift, your rifle weighs (and this is an approximation) roughly 350 metric tonnes. Or thereabouts.

Daily Wire - Judge Says Feds Can’t ‘Selectively’ Prosecute Right-Wing Rioters While Ignoring Antifa

A judge in California threw out charges against two far-right political agitators, saying the federal government engaged in “selective prosecution” by charging right-wing rioters but not the far-left agitators they fought against, and who did the exact same thing.

Red State with a story of Cops Behaving Badly - Tennessee Sheriff's Office Faces Scrutiny for Stealing Livestock Without a Warrant

In Marshall County, Tennessee, a law enforcement agency is under scrutiny for seizing animals without warrants. Current and former officials in the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office reportedly admitted to the practice during a court proceeding.

The story reveals how those purporting to fight for the rights of animals use their positions to steal people’s property under the guise of stopping animal cruelty.

EBL - Richard Lewis, RIP

Richard Lewis on Parkinson's and the end of Curb Your Enthusiasm
Richard Lewis dead at 76. RIP.
Deadline, THR, Variety

Mike Rowe - Getting Our Work Ethic Curriculum into High Schools & WES Launches

It takes a while to get a good thing going, but I’m excited to say we’re finally getting our work ethic curriculum into high schools. Western High in Las Vegas has adopted our program, and I stopped by yesterday to kick things off and answer a few questions from the press. Better still, mikeroweWORKS has partnered with the Englestad Foundation, to award between 50 and 100 full ride, work ethic scholarships to Western High graduates – at least $4.5 million in total.

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 28 February 2024: Squirrel Voldemort Edition

AIs serve up garbage answers to every single question regarding voting and elections except for the one that confirms our personal biases. (Tech Crunch)

This appears to have generally been the case across the board. The only question they all got right pertained to the 2020 election being "stolen,” a question that universally produced accurate answers (and as such suggests special tuning on related queries).

"They're feeding you propaganda. Here's why that's a good thing."

Adaptive Curmudgeon - Curmudgeon’s Non-Vacation: Part 7: Social Capital

Which brings me to my second point. I want people to be happy and fulfilled but I’m prickly. Even my best warmest thoughts come out like less like I’m a huggable Curmudgeon and more like I’m a serial killer who needs to switch to decaf. I’m not complaining. It has its benefits. Even vegans leave me alone.

The 3rd Story Today of Homeowners Confronting Car Burglars

At least in this case can be classified as "Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0." Homeowner shoots car burglary suspect in Northeast Side neighborhood, police say

The previous two posts deal with homeowners confronting people burglarizing cars. I don't think that is an especially good idea, but you are free to disagree. This story is the more of the same.

San Antonio police said a man realized someone was breaking into his car outside his home and confronted him. At some point, the car owner fired at least 10 shots, hitting the suspected burglar.

And a reminder that we all need to spend more time at the range.

The would-be, car burglar showed up at a local hospital with gunshot wounds in both legs. No word on his condition or charges that may be forthcoming.

In three stories that I found of homeowners confronting criminals, two of the homeowners were injured. Does that reflect the statistics overall? I don't know, and for once I don't care. I don't own anything that is worth getting shot by violent criminals over. And stuff that I do care about isn't left in my car overnight. I have some roadside-emergency stuff, a couple of quarts of oil, an empty cooler (it is a long way to the grocery store), and some junk mail. If it all disappeared, I would complain to friends for about 10 minutes, and get on with my life.

I will fight to defend my safety and the safety of those I care about, but I really am not interested in being shot of stuff.

Note: Also see the posts Do You Own Anything That Is Worth Your Life? and Do You Own Anything That Is Worth Your Life? Part 2

Do You Own Anything That Is Worth Your Life? Part 2

In the previous post there was a citizen who had a gun fired in his direction. He was injured by broken glass, but not by fast-moving lead. This guy was not so lucky. Homeowner shot, vehicles burglarized in far West Side neighborhood, deputies say

When the suspects attempted to burglarize a vehicle on Creager Canyon, Salazar said an unarmed homeowner came outside to confront them. The homeowner ended up being shot when the suspects fled the scene inside the stolen white Lexus.

There were 2 problems. One is, the Lexus they stole was unlocked and the keys were inside. That is perhaps the stupidest thing I've read in a decade. (Will insurance cover terminal idiocy?) The second problem is, as follows. If you own anything worth your life, it should not be left in your car overnight. I doubt seriously that you own any material good that is worth your life, but difference of opinion makes a horse race.

The homeowner was taken by ambulance to an area hospital, where he is expected to recover.

So he was shot, but not in the head or the heart. Could have easily been different. May still be a life-altering injury.

These are not kids from 40 years ago who are TPing the trees in the neighborhood. There a violent criminals running around. Going out to "confront them" is probably not the best idea.

Now this happened in Texas, but they don't say whether or not the homeowner was armed. It doesn't matter. Carrying a gun is not like carrying a magic wand. It will not guarantee that you won't be injured or killed. And unless you are going to open fire from cover... Just call 911, and your insurance company.

Note: Also see the posts Do You Own Anything That Is Worth Your Life? and The 3rd Story Today of Homeowners Confronting Car Burglars

Do You Own Anything That Is Worth Your Life?

If you do, it should probably be stored in a bank vault, and not on your property. Homeowner pursues suspects on his property, gets car shot at in Columbia

Also, it isn't your job to pursue criminals. And yes, I understand the desire for justice, but I also understand that this guy could have been killed. After the homeowner discovered the people "on his property," he pursued them.

The suspects left the scene in a vehicle and the homeowner followed them for several blocks, CPD officials say.

During the chase, a suspect shot at the homeowner's vehicle striking the windshield in the 2800 block of Leesburg Road.

He was injured by pieces of the broken windshield, but he could have been killed.

I believe in defending my life and my safety, but I am very conflicted about stories like this because people put themselves in positions where they can be seriously injured - if he had been shot, he would likely have been shot in the head - or killed.

Note: Also see the posts Do You Own Anything That Is Worth Your Life? Part 2 and The 3rd Story Today of Homeowners Confronting Car Burglars