Wednesday Link Roundup - 20 September

Pirate's Cove starts up off with Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

Victory Girls Blog has Sunday morning cafe cocktails linkage.
Vlad Tepes has links.

EBL - September was not a good month for Libya and Morocco...

Death toll rising above 11,000 in Libya and 2,900 in Morocco
My prayers and condolances to those impacted. RIP.

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 09.18.23

Don Surber: The Elite 0.2%
First Street Journal: Democrats really, really hate our constitutional rights! (Part 2)

Political Hat - News of the Week (September 17th, 2023)

Recipe for “inclusivity:” remove all books written before 2008 from school libraries
Removing all books written before 2008 to ensure that the shelves are filled with appropriately “inclusive” works.

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 17 September 2023: Hidash, Lodash, Everywhere You Go Dash Edition

Is Instacart's IPO price justified? (Tech Crunch)
Betteridge's Law. [If there is a question in the title to an article the answer is "No."]

Vlad Tepes - Layers and layers and layers of lies: Links 1 for September 18th, 2023

2. Because no one can humiliate and diminish women like feminists can, for the second time a man has been crowned “Homecoming Queen” at an American high school.

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 9/19/2023

‘Devastating’ Video Emerges of Joe and Hunter Biden Discussing ‘Business’ With Potential Client
Republicans on the House Oversight Committee have just published a video from 2005 that shows Joe and Hunter Biden discussing “business”

Small Dead Animals - Monday On Turtle Island

Biden’s America: The media can’t save lyin Joe Biden. Hunter’s gun charge is a big problem. I was a Levi executive. Promoting globalism through illegal immigration. The hysterical left goes to war with Trump. Your morning meme.

Don Surber - Highlights of the news

ITEM 3: Bonchie reported, “Democrats Froth and Seethe After John Kennedy Reads Gender Queer During Senate Hearing.”
Now why would they be upset about him reading a children’s storybook to them?

Cafe Hayek - Some Links

My dear friend and GMU Econ colleague Bryan Caplan debates Yaron Brook on the necessity of the state.
Chris Lingle writes about ‘hidden cities’ airline tickets.

Bacon Time!!!! - Sunday Linkage

The Air Vent - Yeah – Exactly True.
Watts Up With That? - A Stunningly Good Hurricane Forecast

Maggie's Farm - Monday morning links

'Unique' New Drug Is More Effective Than Ozempic For Weight Loss
Detransitioner Sues Doctors Who Cut Off Her Breasts At 16

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: Dems admit Hunter biz partner handled Joe Biden's accounts

• Paving a $32 Trillion Road to Ruin Thaddeus: G. McCotter
• LA Mayor: Our Cities are a Mess Because of a Republican Conspiracy: Daniel Greenfield

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 9/19/23

"A handy barometer for federal, monetized aggression against the American people can be readily seen in the documents of the U.S. Census."
The Fed's Bait and Switch: Race and the U.S. Census

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 09/19/2023

Newly obtained evidence shows key signatures are missing on Wayne County’s 2020 general election certification.
Poll: 50% of independent voters support impeaching Joe Biden.

I leave you with Sunday Funnies from Flopping Aces, Sunday Memes … from MaddMedic, Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #1342 from 90 Miles from Tyranny, and Saturday Memes from The DaleyGator.

Reality Is True Even If You Disagree With It - Oakland, CA Edition

Crime is a problem for all people in the Blue Cities, including blacks. Oakland NAACP blasts local leaders, calls for state of emergency due to crime.

Bishop Bob Jackson of the Acts Full Gospel Church and the Oakland chapter of the NAACP - definitely not a subset of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy - issued a statement about crime as a crisis in Oakland, CA.

"Failed leadership, including the movement to defund the police, our District Attorney’s unwillingness to charge and prosecute people who murder and commit life-threatening serious crimes, and the proliferation of anti-police rhetoric have created a heyday for Oakland criminals," the letter states.

Here is the problem with the whole Defund the Police insanity. Again from the statement:

"African Americans are disproportionately hit the hardest by crime in East Oakland and other parts of the city," the letter states. "But residents from all parts of the city report that they do not feel safe."

And this isn't just a small group in Oakland trying to get some headlines.

Hat tip to Clayton Cramer: When Did NAACP Turn Right-Wing?

Defunding police has always injured blacks most because they are primary victims of crime

Remember that much of "systemic racism" screeching is people gaming the system as paid experts appealing to guilt-ridden whites.

The CIA, COVID-19, Coverups and a Whistleblower

Because nothing says "science," like offering people money to support a certain position. CIA tried to pay off analysts to bury findings that COVID lab leak was likely: whistleblower

I'm shocked - Shocked I tell you! - that the CIA would be up to no good.

The Central Intelligence Agency offered to pay off analysts in order to bury their findings that COVID-19 most likely leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China, new whistleblower testimony to Congress alleges.

A senior-level CIA officer told House committee leaders that his agency tried to pay off six analysts who found SARS-CoV-2 likely originated in a Wuhan lab if they changed their position and said the virus jumped from animals to humans, according to a letter sent Tuesday to CIA Director William Burns.

OK, so I'm not shocked.

NO one will be called to account. Not Fauci. No one in the CIA. No budgets will be cut. Nothing will change.

And absolutely no three-letter-agency is trustworthy.

I'm glad I'm 60 and not 20. (Hat tip to Awaken with JP)

You Wish

George Herbert Evelyn is better known as his stage name, Nightmares on Wax. I used to say that with a few exceptions I didn't really care for Trip Hop. As more of it is invading some of my Pandora playlists, that may be changing. I think the thing I object to the most at this point is the name of the genre, which I believe was cooked up by the suits running the music business. It has nothing in common with Hip Hop, but the suits wanted to market it. Or something. I could be wrong about that.

In any event, this shouldn't be too distressing while we wait for the caffeine to take hold.

This is "You Wish" by Nightmares on Wax from his 2006 album In a Space Outta Sound.

"I will make this speech or die!"

A History Lesson from Professor David Yamane. Travels with Sandy: In Search of America’s Gun Cultures at Theodore Roosevelt National Park

This is a much belated post from my summer’s Travels with Sandy in Search of America’s Gun Cultures.

This has been a fascinating series, but then I love history.

The quote that forms the title to this post is from Teddy Roosevelt.

Roosevelt knew something of gun violence as well. Of course, he became president in 1901 after the assassination of William McKinley. But the museum also displayed a shirt Roosevelt was wearing when he was shot by an assailant with a Colt revolver before giving a speech at the Milwaukee Auditorium in October 1912. “It takes more than that to kill a bull moose,” Roosevelt told the assembled crowd. He finished the speech and did not die.

Photos. More details. Click thru.

Tuesday Links - 19 September

Zero Hedge is up first with an important bit of news Here's The Climate Dissent You're Not Hearing About Because It's Muffled By Society's Top Institutions

In response last month, more than 1,600 scientists, among them two Nobel physics laureates, Clauser and Ivar Giaever of Norway, signed a declaration stating that there is no climate emergency, and that climate advocacy has devolved into mass hysteria. The skeptics say the radical transformation of entire societies is marching forth without a full debate, based on dubious scientific claims amplified by knee-jerk journalism.

Broken Truth - Meet Shots Heard’s Dorit Reiss, the UC Hastings Prof. of Law Dismantling Your Rights

Dorit lurks in the Shots Heard private facebook group, which is administered and moderated by employees of Public Good Projects, a ‘nonprofit’ that received $883,000 from pharma lobbyist group ‘BIO’ in 2021. The facebook group is linked to many government and political organizations, but behind prying eyes members conspired to deny civil rights to anyone who violated their political and pro-pharma agendas

SiGraybeard - Firefly Aerospace Launches Victus Nox Mission

Victus Nox (Latin for "conquer the night") is a US Space Force initiative to have a short response time between notification of a need and the rocket blasting off. Space Force announced today that the first Victus Nox mission was launched successfully September 14th at 7:28 PM local time from Vandenberg SFB, Complex 2 West.

From Professor David Yamane's seminar Sociology of Guns - Guns are “Exhilarating and Frightening” (Fall 2023 Student Range Visit Reflection #1)

This is the first of several student gun range field trip reflection essays from my fall 2023 Sociology of Guns seminar. ... I am grateful to these students for their willingness to have their thoughts shared publicly.

Tam at View from the Porch - Screwing Up By The Numbers

This Tactical Tangents podcast is an excellent breakdown of the colossal multilevel failure that surrounded the killing of Breonna Taylor (for which nobody has yet been held adequately accountable, in my opinion.)

Flopping Aces - “Close the freaking border!”

New York democrats held a townhall meeting in the New York city today and New Yorkers got a hard lesson in reality- their representatives don’t give a flying f*** about them.

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 18 September 2023: ChatGPT Or Not ChatGPT Edition

ChatGPT is not coming for your programming job - unless you are a very bad programmer. (Wired)

Programming is hard. Or rather, programming well is hard.

The Other McCain - Quashawn, Rashan, and ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ in Polk County

Because he didn’t like going to school, Quashawn probably never read the Lemony Snicket books, A Series of Unfortunate Events. But there is an interesting and somewhat ironic narrative to how he reached that final chapter, bleeding out in a Winter Haven driveway.1111

"Role Model" Shot in Justifiable Homicide

Also families of dead people don't like self-defense. No charges filed in fatal high rise shooting: police

It seems that self-defense is becoming even more of a thing in Chicago.

When you strip out the stuff along the lines of "he was a great brother, and we loved him," you are left with what he was doing the night he was shot, and the fact that he worked in a school as assistant principal.

[Abnerd] Joseph was the assistant principal of culture at Intrinsic School, 79 W. Monroe St., according to the police report. The school website said he joined Intrinsic’s downtown campus in the summer of 2022.

What is assistant principal of culture doing on a daily basis?

That isn't what I'm interested in, though it does say something about bureaucratic bloat, lets concentrate on the night in question.

The shooting happened about 7:30 p.m. Thursday on the 48th floor of the building at 60 E. Monroe St. as Abnerd Joseph was “wildly” knocking on residents’ doors, attempting to enter apartments and “yelling incoherently,” according to a police report.

It will be weeks before any toxicology is available, but that screams intoxication to me. But it really doesn't matter why he was screaming.

When the doorman and four tenants went to check, he allegedly struck the doorman several times. A tenant then tried to calm him down and was also hit and fell down, the report said.

Another tenant warned Joseph that he was armed and told him to stop hitting people. The police report said Joseph “turned and charged” at the tenant, who opened fire, hitting him several times.

The guy who did the shooting was briefly taken into custody, and then released, because even in Chicago, self-defense is becoming a real thing. (HeyJackass! has the current stats for self-defense in the windy city as 2 killed, 12 shot and wounded, and 2 dogs shot; I don't remember if the dogs survived. I also don't know if the stats have been updated to include this incident yet.)

The bulk of the article really is, "He was a great brother," and "He was a role model to the students."

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

What Happens When You Can't Rely on Police? Piracy in Oakland, CA Edition

I was going to title this post, "Piracy returns to California," but I'm not sure there were really any pirates in California dating back at least to the Spanish era. From Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog: Newest Sign of California’s Decline: Pirates

Piracy made news about 10 years ago, or more, when there was a resurgence off the east coast of Africa. It has always been something of a problem in the western Pacific ocean, and when the Venezuelan economy collapsed, it became a problem in the southeastern Carribean for a time.

There was even a high-profile case, that resulted in a Hollywood movie, but that is the rare occurance.

Piracy thrives, like any other crime, when the rule of law breaks down. The problem with piracy is that most of the world's oceans are not policed. There has been no police force since the British were traveling the seas under sail. The US Navy has rarely seen the supression of piracy as part of its mandate since the begining of the 20th Century.

With no law enforcement, people will "sail on the account."

And now that breakdown of law and order has reached Oakland, CA.

Boat owners say they’re going to ban together to do whatever they must to protect themselves. “We don’t bother to call the police anymore. We’re going to handle it ourselves.”

The fact that Oakland has exactly 1 officer trained on how to use its patrol boat, might go to explaining why they no longer bother. Though apparently the Coast Guard is adding some patrols to the Oakland estuary.

This is the CBS News video Marina residents say Oakland pirates becoming more brazen after several ships stolen. It is 4 minutes, and worth your time.

And the Graham Combat Killhouse Rules are worth repeating here. People resist this list, because our whole modern world seems to be predicated on the idea that you are not responsible for your own safety. The rules are after the break.

Cops Sued for Being too Stupid to Read a Map

Brain dead, they didn't question what their technology told them. Family files lawsuit after police fatally shot New Mexico man while at wrong address - ABC News

911 received a domestic violence call. Cops responded to the house across the street and shot the homeowner when he opened the door.

This isn't the first time cops went the wrong address and shot someone, and it won't be the last because thanks to SCOTUS and their doctrine of "qualified immunity" (which should really be known as "get away with anything" none of the cops will be held accountable. Felony stupidity is not a crime in any state I'm aware of.

“Their extreme, unreasonable actions demonstrate an utter and reckless disregard and conscious indifference for the rights of plaintiffs and the life of Robert Dotson,” the complaint states.

I'm really not surprised that they were so stupid. Within about 10 miles from where I am currently sitting there used to be 3 signs, that all basically said, "I don't care what your GPS tells you, this is not a road." One of them was in front of a what had been a bridge 50 years ago. I say used to be because one of the locations took down the sign and did some landscaping to make it impossible to drive that way.

As for the sign in front of the gaping chasm that had been a bridge, the county was forced to put in a new, and bigger sign, because of stupidity. Who drives into a river because the voices in their head coming out of the dashboard tell them too? Stupid people.

As for the lawsuit against the cops/city for not being able to read a map, I doubt it will go anywhere. If it does proceed, it will not teach the cops anything, because they will not face any personal consequences for their bone headed actions.

Celebrating with a Machete Fight in Chicago

HeyJackass! has the details of the Mexican Independence Day festivities in Chicago, Don't Demonize Weekend

Ideal weather for some Riot Fest-ican Independence Day-fueled stupidity, however, maybe the City learned its lesson after last year’s downtown-caravan shitshow caught Slowpoke Lightfoot and friends off guard. No doubt Bike Lane Brandon has a “strategic plan” to deal with something… maybe nope.

Actually the shooting stats were good, or better anyway: 1 killed, and 24 shot and wounded. That was substantially better than the past few years. Though some of the attacks fell outside the categories of the stats. Like one guy who attacked a police officer with a wooden flagpole. And then the parade...

Video: Machete Fight at the Parade

Bleed Out

Within Temptation is one of my favorite Heavy Metal bands. But then I love Symphonic Metal, and Sharon den Adel has an absolutely beautiful singing voice.

They announced a new album, Bleed Out, which is scheduled to be released in October of 2023. It will include a couple of singles that they released recently, as well as today's song.

This is "Bleed Out" by Within Temptation. It was released on August 18th as a single. It is the title song for the upcoming album, which is due out in October. This is the audio version from YouTube. There is, of course, an official music video, but I find it even more distracting than usual.

A Lone Star Parson Musical Interlude

Lone Star Parson brings us WARRIOR

Yes, it's 1973 Wishbone Ash time and WARRIOR. Awesome, but why is the bassist wearing some kind of silk kimono... tabard? Huh, shades of #BobWeirsShorts but whatever, have a look and turn it up.

Click thru for a live performance.

Georgia Homeowner Stops (Alleged) Crime Spree

Lawfully armed citizens are not what people should fear. Suspect wanted in Ohio murder is shot while burglarizing a Georgia home, deputies say

The guy who got shot is suspected of a fatal stabbing in Columbus, Ohio. A stolen pickup truck was found in front of the house where he was shot. Actually, the owner of the truck reported being carjacked.

[Michael Brooks II, 28,] was taken to the hospital, where he is currently recovering from his injuries, deputies said. When he’s discharged, he’ll be served with an arrest warrant for Foster’s stabbing in Columbus, according to Fayette County officials.

So a lawful gun owner stopped a guy suspected of murder, carjacking, and burglary. Can someone from the gun-hating community tell me how this is a bad thing? Oh, and let's revisit the fact that the (alleged) bad guy didn't need a gun to kill someone. Are we going to outlaw knives? Hammers? Rocks?

Self-defense is a human-right, and Georgia has not morphed into Manhattan.

COVID-19 Fraud Prosecutions, and the Broken Windows Policy

At least someone in Baltimore is taking violent crime seriously. Exclusive: Homicides drop linked to COVID-19 fraud prosecutions

Maryland U.S. Attorney Erek Barron told the 11 News I-Team that his office found that 60% of violent criminals are also committing some type of COVID-19 fraud, and because of that, his office investigates every single violent crime target to see whether they've committed pandemic fraud.

Since the pandemic relief fund came from Washington, fraud against that fund is a federal offense.

The U.S. Attorney goes on to make a claim that I don't know is completely supported by the facts, but he probably has contributed to the reduction in violent crime by taking violent criminals off the street.

There is more on pandemic fraud and reference to vehicle thefts.

Hat tip goes to The Other McCain and A New ‘Broken Windows’ Discovery? Violence Linked to COVID Relief Fraud.

This illustrates something about the “broken windows” theory of crime prevention pioneered by George Kelling and James Q. Wilson: Criminals are not specialists. That is to say, the drug dealer is often also the rapist, and the car thief is also often the armed robber. Habitual criminals have a general disposition toward lawlessness and antisocial behavior.

There is more about Bill Bratton and enforcing laws in NYC, and proverbial "routine traffic stop" that results in an arrest for a far more serious crime. Click thru for more.

When Teachers Keep Parents Out Their Kids' Lives

Bad things happen. Virginia mom sues school district claiming staff kept daughter Sage Blair's transition to male a secret before runaway teen was kidnapped, raped and trafficked across state lines | Daily Mail Online

The mother of a teenage girl who was bullied in school and eventually sex-trafficked is suing her daughter's school district for withholding the information that the teenage student was identifying as a male at school.

Michelle Blair, the mother of Sage Blair, filed a lawsuit against the Appomattox County School Board and district staff, in addition to a Baltimore public defender for actions that she allege deprived her of properly parenting her child.

Then after she had been trafficked, a "public defender" had her sent to a juvenile detention facility for boys, because diversity, where she was raped again. What did that "public defender" think was going to happen?

I miss living in a rational society.

Officer Kevin Cram

End of watch. Iowa shooting: Algona police officer Kevin Cram shot and killed

Ofc. Kevin Cram of the Algona Police Department was on patrol Wednesday night when he was informed of an arrest warrant against 43-year-old Kyle Lou Ricke, the Iowa Department of Public Safety said at a press conference Thursday. When Cram attempted to make an arrest, Ricke shot him.

Sheriff's Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer

End of watch - Ambushed L.A. deputy was newly engaged, looking forward to big things. 'No words'

The 30-year-old lawman, a third-generation member of the Sheriff's Department, was shot to death as he sat in his patrol car at a traffic signal in front of the department's Palmdale station. There was no apparent motive. A suspect has not been identified.

The Implosion of Hollywood, and the Fight for the Culture

Conservatives made a huge mistake when they abandoned pop culture to the Left. "It's only movies and TV," or "It's only comic books." And today they wonder why the culture is in such dire straights. Pop Culture creates culture, and politics are downstream of culture.

The other big mistake was abandoning K-12 education to the Left. But that is a story for another day.

You may have forgotten that The Writers' Guild of America, and The Film Actors Guild SAG-AFTRA (the actors' union) are on strike. I only know because it is fodder for so many on YouTube to make fun of. I haven't noticed they're on strike, because I despise everything that they've done in the past 6 years. The WGA has destroyed every franchise I loved as a child, or even as an adult. From Star Wars to Star Trek to Lord of the Rings, and a lot in between (She Hulk) has been destroyed by the writers in Hollywood, with a lot of help from the directors and the studios. I have old movies and TV shows to fall back on, and some foreign films, and I have books to read. They can stay on strike for all I care.

I couldn't care less. (See the image if you're confused.)

Most human beings on planet Earth could care less about the WGA or The Film Actors Guild strikes, and that should shake the entire entertainment industry to its core.

Are you distressed at what is going on in Western Culture, and in Western Politics?

You're not crazy, and you're not alone.

This is Nerdrotic's video It's The END of Woke Hollywood As We Know It, And I Feel Fine.

In case you are unfamiliar with the references to The Film Actors Guild, it is a reference to Team America: World Police.

The title to Gary's video is a reference to R.E.M's song "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)."

Trying to Decide What Movie to Watch? Don't Rely on Rotten Tomatoes

The only shocking thing about this story is that it actually got published. The Decomposition of Rotten Tomatoes: The most overrated metric in movies is erratic, reductive, and easily hacked — and yet has Hollywood in its grip.

TL:DR - Hollywood PR firm, Bunker 15, was paying for good reviews for bad movies. They were not paying a lot. They were paying $50 for reviews, though you were free to like or hate the movies. (The one they tracked in the article was Ophelia.)

“The studios didn’t invent Rotten Tomatoes, and most of them don’t like it,” says the filmmaker Paul Schrader. “But the system is broken. Audiences are dumber. Normal people don’t go through reviews like they used to. Rotten Tomatoes is something the studios can game. So they do.”

There is more, how diversity was used to push for more critics being included in the Tomatometer. (Are we shocked?) Or how the site was gamed to get Ant Man 3 great reviews for the opening weekend. (Those great reviews didn't hold up, but they did get a whole bunch of people to ge see the movie, before word got out about how it sucked.) Go read the whole thing.

The actual problems go deeper than this article can explain. See this excerpt from Critical Drinker's Open Bar: Drinker's Chasers - Rotten Tomatoes Busted! Fake Reviews And Bribery