How Is That Bail Reform Working Out?

Not too good if you go by recidivism rates. #51: Concealed carry holder kills catalytic converter thief who opened fire on him in West Lakeview: source - CWB Chicago

Update 3:59 p.m. — Based on statements made by CPD, the deceased man, Darion Blackman, is the 51st person accused of killing, trying to kill, or shooting another person in Chicago this year while on felony bail.

Update 3:20 p.m. — In addition to being on bail for a felony gun offense in Cook County, Blackman was also charged with a felony gun offense in Will County over the summer. Once again, the Illinois Department of Corrections decided not to revoke his parole for the alleged violation.

Because keeping violent offenders in jail is unfair, so they are released to commit more crimes, up to an including attempted murder. But this story has an ending; this career of crime has come to a predictable end.

A suspected catalytic converter thief was shot dead by a concealed carry holder on the North Side late Wednesday, according to a source and initial information from Chicago police.

Click thru for more details.

DuPage County Is NOT Cook County

He didn't get a token bail amount in Dupage County. $1 million bail set for father accused of opening fire at Safari Land birthday party

I don't know why a person who opened fire at a children's birthday party, striking his intended victim 3 times was offered bail, but I'm not a lawyer or a judge.

Dupage County, Illinois is essentially due west of Chicago's Loop, and this incident took place about 20 or 25 miles from the Loop at the Safari Land indoor amusement park in Villa Park.

It was apparently a domestic incident. He shot the boyfriend of his child's mother at the child's birthday party. He wasn't invited, and given this is how he acted, I'm not surprised.

Prosecutors said the victim was attending a birthday party for his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter, who also is Norris' daughter. Norris was not invited to the party.

The prosecutor expressed shock at the incident.

"Mr. Norris' alleged actions, with multiple children literally just feet away, demonstrate the most horrifying disregard for public safety I have seen in my 30-plus years as a prosecutor."

Bail was set at $1 million. In Cook County I would not have been surprised to see him released on his own recognizance, and maybe be subjected to electronic monitoring.

Lunar Eclipse for the Early Morning Hours Friday

Or late night, depending on where you are.Lunar eclipse 2021: How to watch the moon Nov. 19

For a whole three hours and 28 minutes, beginning at around 2 a.m. Friday morning for East Coast observers, the sun, Earth, and moon will align to display a partial lunar eclipse, according to NASA.

Timing is unfortunate. It will be earlier as you move west.

The next lunar eclipse will take place on May 15, 2022.

Neighbor Stops Home Invasion - International Edition

Other neighbors were not helpful with their shouts to "shoot him." 'I put a gun on his face': Neighbor stops home invasion

He heard a commotion as this guy was trying to break into his neighbors' home.

In the struggle to keep Fortes out, the homeowners repeatedly slammed the door on his arm. He continued to try to force his way inside, court documents stated.

He checked to see if the guy was alone, and then he confronted the would-be home-invader.

Neighbors were what I can only describe as bloodthirsty.

When Manansala had his gun pointed at Fortes, the last thing he wanted to do was shoot him. But in the moment, Manansala was being bombarded by shouts and yells from neighbors urging him to pull the trigger.

Cops came and arrested him.

Are we shocked to learn that he had just gotten out of prison a few days before?

The man he stopped, Eric Fortes, was released from prison a few days earlier. He was serving time on a theft by receiving charge after he had been found driving a stolen vehicle in 2019. He had also been charged with possession of a Schedule II controlled substance in 2018, according to court documents.

And the gun owner who intervened has a few nice things to say about responsibility.

“People need to understand that every bullet that comes out of your barrel, you’re responsible for that. If you hit a bystander with that bullet, even though you’re trying to shoot someone else, you’re going to jail. You’re responsible for that,” Manansala said.

Alec Baldwin did not comment on that statement.

Self-defense is a human-right.

Want To Know How Prosecutors/Judges Feel About Cops?

This is disgusting. Ex-con who once tried to kill NYPD cop is freed without bail after another alleged attack on officer

But a judge instead cut him loose after Bronx prosecutors failed to seek bail in the case — prompting an angry response from NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea in a tweet Monday.

“Do we have to wait for [Thompson] to kill someone before this is taken seriously?” the disgusted top cop seethed.

The Bronx District Attorney’s Office did not respond to The Post when asked why its prosecutors sought only supervised release, a condition that means the suspect is just required to periodically check in with the court.

Until they need something.

So they let him loose to try for the 3rd time.

What Happens When There Are No Consequences to Crime?

You get more crime. More Mag-Mile marauders steal up to $30,000 in purses from Neiman Marcus

Mere days after a six-man crew hit Salvatore Ferragamo at 645 North Michigan for close to $70,000 worth of purses, a crew targeted another store on the Mag Mile for another big haul.

Authorities said around 6:50 p.m. on Saturday, four unidentified men exited a white SUV and entered the Neiman Marcus at 737 N Michigan Ave on Chicago's Magnificent Mile. Each of the men grabbed purses and ran.

Crimesha, more often known as Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx, has sort of decreed that she won't prosecute shoplifting. And so there is more of it. The cutoff is supposed to be at $1000, but that message hasn't deterred these criminals.

Media Bias Comes in Many Forms

This is one of them - ignoring crimes by favored groups. (Or "oppressed" groups to use the SJW terminology.)

When a (straight) mother of 2 killed her children, as part of some death-cult, buried the bodies, and ran off to Hawaii, it was front-page, national news, for a very long time. This story will be strictly local interest. Nothing to see here. Move along.

The favored group in this case: Lesbians. Bodies of 2 missing girls found in Pennsylvania backyard. The 2 girls, 6-year-old Nicole Snyder and 4-year-old Jasmine Snyder, went missing in 2016 and 2017. Apparently no one noticed.

The Children and Youth Services department earlier took custody of a son for care. In early September, the agency began investigating after reports of concerns about “educational issues” involving the 7-year-old son, Kriner said. Officials then learned that Marie Snyder had two other children who were unaccounted for and last month sought help from police, [Chief Chris Kriner of the Old Lycoming Township police department] said.

So what is the difference between these 2 stories that warrant the difference in coverage? Pennsylvania versus Idaho? Blue State versus Red State? Straight versus Lesbian? The economic class of the people involved?

The Hat top goes to Robert Stacy (The Other) McCain and Killer Lesbians: Pennsylvania Couple Investigated in Homicide of Two Girls, in which he notes...

It’s practically a hate crime even to use the words “lesbian” and “homicide” in the same headline, unless of course a lesbian is the victim of homicide. These are the unwritten rules of modern journalism, which is all about “social justice” and “diversity,” so don’t expect CNN to notice that two lesbians are suspects in the homicide of two little girls. This is not a crime deserving of national attention, but strictly local news.

There is more detail at both links. The Other McCain also notes that the two women have not been charged with murder.

They have not yet been charged with murder, but when you bury two bodies in your backyard, that’s pretty heavy circumstantial evidence.

Wednesday Link Roundup - 17 November

Better late than never!

Bacon Time!!!! - Sunday Linkage

Hogewash: I’ve Been Talking About the Xiden Administration’s Overreach
Watts Up With That: Oceanic Hubris

Pirate's Cove - Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

4. neo-neocon highlights different searches on Google and DuckDuckGo
5. Moonbattery notes Europe going back under lockdown

Wombat-socho at The Other McCain - In The Mailbox: 11.15.21

American Power: The Problem Of Loudoun County Schools, also, America Is Built On A Great Culture. Progressives Want To Abandon It
American Thinker: Why Are COVID Cases Spiking Again?

Don Surber - Highlights of the News

ITEM 7: Politico reported, "The Biden administration’s effort to establish itself as a committed champion of press freedom is facing new doubts because of the Justice Department’s aggressive legal tactics against a conservative provocateur known for his hidden-camera video stings.

EBL - Prosecutor Binger's Closing Argument in Rittenhouse Trial Includes Pointing A Rifle At Court Gallery Full of People 😬

WTF? Doing stuff like that would get you banned at most gun ranges. LittleBinger is out of control.
EBL: So How Is The Rittenhouse Trial Going 🧑🏻‍⚖️🤔
Legal Insurrection: Live Closing Arguments Day 10

Battleswarm Blog - Anti-CRT/SJW Roundup for November 16, 2021

CRT-pushing, dossier-keeping, and possibly federal law breaking Jann-Michael Greenburg is out as president of the Scottsdale Unified School District.

Daley Gator - Your CCW News Update For Tuesday (11/16/21)

Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz claimed that Kyle Rittenhouse should be acquitted in his murder trial this week, then sue media organizations for smearing him.

Political Hat - News of the Week (November 14th, 2021)

Crime-ravaged Seattle is now so dangerous it can no longer protect its own workers: Security guards are hired to walk county staffers to station or ferry (but you’re on your own if you work in the private sector)

Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 11.16.21

Behind The Black: Today’s Blacklisted American, Branson Sells Another $300 Million In Virgin Galactic Stock, and Arianespace Launches Three French Milsats
Cafe Hayek: The World Is Not Right

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 11/14/2021

FBI Probes Cyber-Attack Emails Sent From Internal Server
The FBI is now investigating an “ongoing situation” in which thousands of emails were sent by an outside party using the FBI’s own email servers.

A View from the Beach - The Election Post: Bannon to Surrender

Mike Miller from Red State reports the BLM NYC Leader Who Threatened 'Riots' and 'Bloodshed' Walks off Interview When Called Out.
Sundance at CTH, cites ABC/WaPo Outlines New Terrible, Horrible Polling For Joe Biden

Vlad Tepes - Collectivism: Take the shot even though you don’t want it and it may harm you cause the group matters more than you- Links 1, November 15, 2021

2. Inflation Gaslighting Has Begun
“There is no inflation” has quickly become “inflation is good for you.”

Cafe Hayek - Some Covid Links

In Austria, the straw man is now jailer of the untouchables.
In the Netherlands, the return of the straw man is being protested.

Dissecting Leftism - CDC makes surprising admission about unvaccinated spreading Covid after recovering from virus

Are rare vaccine reactions being brushed off by doctors? ...
Dan Petrovic describes himself as an avid “pro-vaxxer” who has long advocated vaccines to his more hesitant friends – so it was a “comedy twist” when he was the one who suffered a rare side effect.

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report - 11/15/21

"From Lenin to Pol Pot to Pelosi, for the royalist Left democracy becomes the road to serfdom, not the remedy for it."
The Royalist Left

Maggie's Farm - Monday morning links

Do You Have Any Doubt That The FBI Is Fundamentally A Criminal Organization?
We Have a Plan to Deliver Equal Opportunity to Every Student in California
America Is Built on a Great Culture. Progressives Want to Abandon It

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: FBI's behavior over Project Veritas investigation questioned

5 Senate Republicans Demand Border Wall Funding: OAN
Winsome Sears Proves Again Why She Terrifies the Democrat Party: Mike Miller

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 11/16/2021

Texas lawmaker uncovers secret operation to move migrants across the US, house them in abandoned hotels.
Instagram bans all mention of James O’Keefe & Project Veritas.

I leave you with Sunday Funnies, 11-14-21 from Stately McDaniel Manor, Sunday Funnies from Flopping Aces, Tuesday gifdump from Wirecutter, and Sunday Memes … from Freedom Is Just Another Word…

They Suffered a Breakdown of the Victim-selection Process

Is there safety in numbers? Not necessarily. Tucson shooting leaves 4 dead, 1 person injured

Witnesses told officers that a group of men arrived at the home and confronted the homeowner and a guest.

During the confrontation, shots were fired and several people fled from the scene, police said.

Authorities said the homeowner was not injured but the guest had non-life threatening injuries.

The investigation continues, but it sure sounds like self-defense to me.

Because Keeping Violent Offenders In Jail Is Unfair

It just isn't clear who it is Unfair to. NYC judge has another teen he went easy on re-arrested

A Bronx judge with a history of dumping suspected violent criminals back on the street saw his kid-glove bail stance backfire again last week — when a teen charged with nearly killing an 80-year-old veteran was back behind bars after being busted with a loaded gun. Darryl Burnett, 17, was originally arrested in June on an attempted murder charge in the May 17 stray bullet shooting that wounded Marine Corps vet Andres Rodriguez — but was freed when acting Supreme Court Justice Dennis Boyle lowered his bail.

My prediction: There will be no real consequences for this guy until he kills someone. And even then, there will be no consequences for the judge. That would also be unfair.

“This kid is the poster child of a failed system that purports to protect kids,” one law enforcement source told The Post. “He shoots a senior citizen walking from a store, only to be let out, and goes right back to carrying a loaded gun.”

If there are a no consequences to your bad actions, why would you change?

Autumn in Ganymede

Netflix is releasing their live action version of Cowboy Bebop this week, on the 19th. I don't actually have Netflix, so I don't know when (or even if) I will get to see it. Friends with Netflix don't much care for anime, so I'm not sure if this will be a hard sell or not.

But anyway, lets enjoy a little jazz from the original series.

This is "Autumn in Ganymede" from the Cowboy Bebop Blue album. This song is by Seatbelts. Blue was released in May of 1999. Seatbelts was formed in Japan specifically to record jazz for Cowboy Bebop, but they did release at least one other album. (Not all of the jazz in the original was by this band...)

Felony Murder on the Left Coast?

I didn't know that was a law in the People's Republic of California. Oceanside Home-Invasion Victim Shoots, Kills One Intruder and Wounds Another - Times of San Diego

Oceanside, California is a city in San Diego County, about halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego.

A resident grabbed a gun and opened fire on two men taking part in a predawn home-invasion robbery along with four other accomplices in Oceanside Wednesday, killing one of them, authorities said.

Cops pulled over a car with 5 people, one of whom had a gunshot wound. He's in stable condition at a local hospital.

The suspects taken into custody along with Ingram during the traffic stop were arrested on suspicion of robbery and murder.

One of the people arrested also had a firearm, so that may be where the suspicion of murder comes from. Otherwise I expect that the Left wills start screaming about how felony murder is unfair. That you should be held accountable for the completely foreseeable consequences of your actions is a foreign concept to some people.

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

When the Narrative Meets Reality

How could you not know simple facts about the Rittenhouse trial? Thank the media. When the ‘Progressive Bubble’ Bursts

OK, so if all my blog readers knew the identity of the rioters Rittenhouse shot, how could anyone not know this? Mainly because the kind of “progressive bubble” that surrounds people like Sarah Beth Burwick is so omnipresent. She is Jewish and lives in Montreal, and it may be that not a single person of her direct acquaintance is conservative. In the United States, 71% of Jewish voters in 2016 voted for Hillary Clinton; we may safely say the Jewish community is two-thirds “progressive,” and in Montreal? Urban Canadian Jews? It’s easy to understand that anyone in such a “bubble” wouldn’t even know the rioters in Kenosha were white.

Click thru for more details on the bubble.

NYPD Cops Head to the Sunshine State

Can you blame people for leaving places they are vilified, and moving some place that their efforts are appreciated?

What will happen when no one wants to be a member of the NYPD? NYPD cops find respect, warm welcome, more money in Florida

More than a dozen NYPD cops have ditched the Big Apple to join the force in a small Florida city — part of a nationwide trend of disgruntled officers finding greener pastures in pro-police communities.

Lakeland is about halfway between Orlando and Tampa, Florida. It is probably closer to Tampa, though I would have to look at a map to be sure.

The Writing On The Wall

Iron Maiden released an album when I wasn't paying attention. I have to say that I've come to appreciate Bruce Dickinson's singing over the past couple of years.

Senjutsu is a Japanese term that (at least according to the band's website) translates as "tactics and strategy." It is the first album from the band since 2015's The Book of Souls.

The embedded video is the "Official Music Video" with a story-line by Bruce Dickinson. I find it, like most music videos, actually distracts from the music. The link provided is to the audio only. Use whichever you prefer.

This song is "Writing On The Wall" by Iron Maiden. It was released in July as single, from their September 2021 album Senjutsu.

Weather and Crime in Chicago

HeyJackass! has the details. Mostly Peaceful Weekend

A wise man once said, “weather has nothing to do with it”, until it does and then it still has nothing to do with it.

The totals were 4 killed and 17 wounded, compared to 3 killed and 22 wounded on the same weekend in 2020. So does that mean that level of death and injury is "normal?"

Corruption in State Government

OK, so I'm not shocked at all about corruption in government. Or maybe it is just criminal stupidity. Ohio Job and Family Services employee got unemployment benefits

Unemployment fraud hit close to home when an employee working with unemployment claims was receiving benefits at the same time, according to an Ohio Inspector General investigation.

Between December and March, interim employee Angela Calderon received nearly $10,000 working for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services while also receiving $9,650 in unemployment benefits, penalties and interest.

Accountability? Verifying benefits? Sanity? This is the government we are talking about. I'm surprised that the bogus payments only amounted to 10 grand or so.

Floridians Are Heavily Armed

The bad guys haven't gotten that memo. Police: Man shot at Orlando Waffle House after attacking person

He was just trying to leave Waffle House at about midnight. There was a couple having a "dispute" when the guy from the couple attacked this guy for no reason given in the article.

The shooter is said to have fired one shot, striking the male in the leg. He remained at the scene and cooperated with law enforcement. The woman involved in the dispute also stayed at the scene. The man shot was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

It also doesn't say, but it sounds like legal, concealed carry. It certainly appears to be self-defense.

Self-defense is a human-right, and in Florida it is mostly your legal right as well. (Hat tip to Wirecutter.)

Examples of Homemade Guns Found In The Wild

As always Impro Guns has interesting examples. Some are scary, but they all seem to work.

First up, an open-bolt fully automatic machine pistol. Favela made pocket MAC

When these things are fired the whole magazine emptying sounds like one single shot. Caliber .380.

Next, a shotgun. Brazilian craft 12 gauge

An example perhaps employed as a motorcycle swivel gun.

And .22 improvised firearms

Deadly concealable untraceable Ghost Guns assembled from screwed together bits from the plumbing and bathroom section.

Finally, Fine Fowling Pieces

A couple of shotguns seized by Brazilian police in recent months.

Click thru for the photos. (One such image is above for an example.)