Neighbors Were Shocked

The area is "secluded" so they didn't think crime would happen in their neighborhood. Auburn homeowner shoots at 3 armed men during attempted burglary | KOMO

This story has been on several sites, because the security video shows three masked men trying to break into a home. When they succeed in breaking open the door, they are met with gunfire and run like rabbits.

A neighbor who did not want to give his name said he woke up to the sound of gunfire and a bullet hit his home.

“We heard a bullet go through our window and our alarm started going off and then I just heard an exchange of gunfire just a bunch of bullets," he added.

As for being shocked...

“You assume you’re safe, you assume it wouldn’t happen to you and even though it didn’t happen directly to me, it’s close enough where we saw the impact in our living room," said the neighbor.

You are not protected by your zip code. Crime is not something that happens only to "other kinds of people," in "other kinds of places." Your chances may vary as your location changes, but the possibility always remains. You should plan accordingly, especially if you live in a "secluded area," because chances are that police response time will not be measured in seconds.

And the police, while admitting this is self-defense had a strange statement. Washington Homeowner Shoots at 3 Masked Gunmen Attempting Home Invasion.

We obviously don’t encourage people to start shooting at people, but we understand that there is a right and a need to protect your property when called for.

No, you shouldn't just shoot people randomly and for no reason. You should defend yourself from armed thugs.

Self-defense is a human-right, and despite what this spokesman came up with, it seems to be your legal right in Washington state.

The Brotherhood of Blue - UK Edition

Cops cover up for bad cops. There is nothing new in that statement. (I won't call them good cops, covering for a bad cop.) 10 officers to be investigated over case of rapist Met cop David Carrick | UK News | Metro News

10 current and 2 former members of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, generally known as Scotland Yard, are under investigation for failing to do anything about a serial rapist on the force.

A police watchdog is investigating 12 current or former police officers over how they handled historic allegations against ‘evil’ cop David Carrick.

The serial rapist Met Police officer was jailed for life for ‘using and abusing’ his role to take ‘monstrous advantage’ of 12 vulnerable victims over two decades, earlier this year.

Life in the UK is not Life without Parole, so he will probably get out in less time than is warranted.

After carrying out an initial scoping review of police handling of allegations against Carrick earlier this year, we made the decision to launch investigations into multiple alleged failings of police officers and staff who assessed and/or investigated allegations made against him.

So, a really bad cop was doing unspeakable things. 12 members of the force were told about the crimes, and are alleged to have done nothing, or very little. Are we shocked?

The Left Will Discount the Evidence

From The Other McCain: The Biden Crime Family

For months now, Joe Biden’s defenders have claimed there is “no evidence” of his corruption. That can no longer be claimed.

Because to admit the evidence is to admit how wrong they have been, and continue to be.

BBC Comes Close to Calling Hamas Terrorists

They won't go that far, because that would be unfriendly. From the Daily Mail: BBC quietly drops use of word 'militants' to describe Hamas after weeks of mounting pressure

That's right, for a long time - at least since the recent attack, but it may have been longer than that - The BBC REFUSED to use the word terrorist to describe Hamas. Instead they were "militants." And the slaughter of civilians was a "militant attack" and not an act of terror.

Now, after weeks of derision, they are changing their stance.

Instead, the BBC describes the group as a proscribed terrorist organisation by the UK Government or others, or simply as Hamas.'

You see? The BBC isn't calling them terrorists; The UK Government calls them terrorists.

But hey they BBC isn't biased in any way. Just ask them.

Expecting the System to Protect You Is Foolish

I'm Shocked - Shocked I tell you! - that he would walk out of the hospital. POLICE: Suspect in home invasion walks out of Greenville hospital

This is a case - or it certainly looks like a case - of cops behaving stupidly.

He - allegedly - broke into an occupied home and was shot by the homeowner. That second part actually happened, because cops took him to a hospital, after they caught up with him in the car he stole.

The incident happened on the 11th. You can find my post on it at the following link. First He Got Shot, Then He Was Arrested.

He walked out of the hospital "against medical advice." I'm shocked.

Morehead City police would not say if hospital police were aware Savage faced charges and whether any measures were taken so that he didn’t leave on his own.

I'm shocked they won't comment on the fact that they let an armed home-invader go without bothering to arrest him, place a guard, handcuff him to the bed, or anything else they might have done.

Okay, I'm not shocked that the cops are in CYA mode. I am a bit shocked that they were this stupid.

Criminal Justice Reform - United Kingdom Edition

From the country formerly known as Great Britain: Man spared jail for beating girlfriend went straight home and attacked her again | UK News | Metro News

Because beating up your girlfriend is not a sign that you are a danger to society.

Presiding Justice John Jones sentenced Weaver at Newport magistrates court on October 6 to a 16-week prison term, suspended for 18 months so he could attend a ‘building better relationships’ course.

Hours later he attacked his girlfriend again.

This is a guy who has a history of violence against women, who in the UK are disarmed for the criminals' protection.

And yet the Democrats will go on about how they want us to be more like those "civilized" Brits. None of this sounds too civilized to me.

When Prosecutors Set Out to Destroy the Justice System

Chicago is a doomed city. Who Is Chicago’s Prosecutor Kim Foxx, Really?

The newest incarnation of revolutionaries is glossier, more rhetorically sophisticated, better funded, and has burrowed deep into the institutions of what is now a doomed city. The city’s demise is being carefully disguised by the collection of media activists with journalism degrees.

And the opposition in Chicago, the so-called conservatives? They have yet to catch on to who and what Kim Foxx and her media acolytes truly are:

It was a wonderful city, but that seems like a very long time ago.

Best Oscar for a Performance at an Arrest Goes to ...

Greta T. was arrested at a protest about something to do with the environment. It wasn't a fake, staged photo op. Not at all! What would make you say that?

This is the PragerU video Give that woman an Oscar! 👏. Less than a minute.

Saturday Roundup of Link Roundups - 21 October

Wombat-socho is first with In The Mailbox: 10.18.23

Chicago Boyz: The Atrocity in Israel
Da Tech Guy: This week College students across the United States proved just how brainwashed they are

The Right Way - Top of the News

Rockets Fired at Israeli Airport- German Chancellor Hits the Deck on Runway - IOTW Report
Israel’s policy of prisoners for hostages- The New Neo

EBL - My Response To Nikki Haley 2024

EBL: Nikki Haley wants to let in 1,000,000 Palestinians Refugees to USA? 😬
This video clip from Tombstone sums my response just fine...
Instapundit: Nikki Haley and DeSantis responds to Haley

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily Tech News 18 October 2023: Shouty McTwintails Edition

How to hack Switzerland's new e-voting system. (Schneier on Security)
You still need to hack your targets' computers, but once you've done that, the carefully designed voting protocol does nothing to protect anyone.

The DaleyGator - The Daily Top 5

Who better than an Israel-hating terrorist sympathizer to vet potential terrorists?
When the federal government is looking for qualified persons to vet asylum seekers, where would you look?

Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 10.19.23

CDR Salamander: Florida’s solution to the university problem
Dana Loesch: “I don’t want your blood money”

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - So, Joe is Back From Israel

At Da Caller, Biden White House’s Media Gaffe Could Put Operators’ Lives ‘In Danger,’ Special Operations Group Says. Put faces of special ops team on Facebook. “I don’t even know what to say. These are horrible operational security failures,”

Theo Spark - Bits and Bobs..............

U.S. warship intercepts missiles fired by Iran-backed Houthis
Intelligence Failures - Again
Refugees Not So Welcome Anymore

Battleswarm Blog - Tank News Roundup For October 18, 2023

All this is being done now because Ukraine finally made them pay attention to things that had already been identified as problems but not addressed. “Something like the Ukraine conflict is a little bit of a kick in the pants.”

Vlad Tepes - The facts of law in the UK (and everywhere now) a debate on vaxx deaths (sort of) Health Canada finds an issue with the Pfizer vaxx and addressing claims about Israel: Links 2 for October 20th, 2023

2. The UK Parliament actually held a debate on excess deaths in the UK, almost certainly due to the vaxx.
3. Health Canada admits they have found a carcinogenic DNA sequence in the Pfizer shots.

Wombat-socho again - In The Mailbox: 10.20.23

Animal Magnetism: Animal’s Hump Day News, Animal’s Daily Canadian Energy News, and Rule Five Hiding Harris Friday
BattleSwarm: Ukraine Destroys Russian Helicopter Base

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 10/19/2023

COVID Shots Linked to Seizures in Toddlers, FDA Study Finds
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has revealed that a safety signal has been detected that suggests Covid mRNA shots may be linked to a spike in seizures among toddlers following vaccination.

Small Dead Animals - Thursday On Turtle Island

Dementia Joe’s America: Klaven solves the Israeli/Palestinian war. The book ban lie. New evidence about Biden’s documents. Will Americans fight for globalism? A fact check on Biden’s HRC speech. The Pro-Hamas insurrectionists.

Cafe Hayek - Some Links

My intrepid Mercatus Center colleague, Veronique de Rugy, lays out some hard facts about the hard reality now confronting the fiscally incontinent U.S. government.

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 10/19/23

"Someone is using decentralized blockchains to evade government censorship."
Globalists Fear Spartacus and His Slave Rebellion

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: The road ahead for Israel, America, and everyone else

• It’s Islam, Stupid Daniel Greenfield
• DHS Hired a Pro-Hamas Former PLO Spokeswoman to Handle Asylum Claims Daily Signal

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 10/20/2023

Nearly 70% of US troops are overweight or obese, research report says. So the military is totally fucked. Now here is an alternative explanation. Milley, and the other Generals are actually patriots, and turned the military woke due to their love of the country.

I leave you with Wednesday's gifdump from Wirecutter, Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #1393 from 90 Miles from Tyranny, and Thursday Memes … from MaddMedic.

It's Different When Democrats Do It

From The Other McCain: Why Is KiwiFarms.net ‘Harassment,’ But What Taylor Lorenz Does Is ‘Journalism’?

The censorship of voices on the right is moving into the next phase.

Did you know that Taylor Lorenz has her own Kiwi Farms thread? Anyway, the question in the headline crossed my mind after reading KiwiFarms founder Joshua Moon’s complaint about how payment processors have blacklisted him. That was referenced in a comment on yesterday’s post about how Instapundit got demonetized by Google Adsense because of allegedly “dangerous” content.

The Instapundit bit is troubling because Google won't specify what the content that they object to is. So I conclude - and others as well - that what they really consider 'dangerous' is anything that contradicts the Democratic Party's talking points.

One on my favorite things about The Other McCain is that he has been following (it has been his job as a journalist) politics and related issues for a while, and he often puts things into perspective. Here is a bit of the statement on #GamerGate:

This leveraging of victimhood claims for fame and money was a fraud nearly as bogus as the Jussie Smollett “hate” hoax. To my knowledge, no one has ever produced any proof — e.g., an arrest affidavit — that Sarkeesian, Wu, and Quinn were victims of any criminal act. Where are the police mug shots of those dreadful misogynist villains accused of harassing these Courageous Feminist Heroes?

Anyway, go read the whole thing, there is quite a bit of information on several instances of censorship or other attacks on the right.

Texans Are Still Armed

Home invaders are still getting shot. Polk County police investigate shooting after homeowner shots man | CBS 19

According to Polk County Sheriff’s Office, a homeowner called to report a male suspect who was trying to enter the front door to his residence in the Indian Springs subdivision in Polk County.

The homeowner said an altercation happened and he shot the suspect in the head.

Cops found him about 2 miles from the home, and he was flown to a trauma center. He was eventually released with "non-life threatening injuries." He is lucky to be alive.

The investigation continues, but self-defense is a human right, and this didn't take place in a blue state.

South Florida Jewish Community Arming Itself

In response to the attacks and increased antisemitism. S. Florida Jewish Community Arming Up After Hamas Attack in Israel - Liberty Park Press

The Hamas attack in Israel has set of alarms within the Jewish community in southern Florida, according to WPLG News, and many people in that community are buying guns and signing up for training courses. [SNIP]

The Daily Caller quotes firearms retailer David Kowalsky who notes many of his new clients are “Israeli and Orthodox Jews.”

In light of the number of demonstrations showing support for the the terrorists, this seems reasonable to me. I'm actually surprised that they waited for this, given the increase in hate crimes that places like NYC have experienced.

Ghost Town

Ska and 2 Tone were not my thing really, but they were very popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s, at least among some people. So I heard some of it, mostly while I was in college. It was never as big in the US as it was in the UK.

Here is an article from 2011 describing the times, and the way today's song fit into those times. The Specials: How Ghost Town defined an era

Few songs evoke their era like the Specials' classic Ghost Town, a depiction of social breakdown that provided the soundtrack to an explosion of civil unrest.

Released on 20 June 1981 against a backdrop of rising unemployment, its blend of melancholy, unease and menace took on an entirely new meaning when Britain's streets erupted into rioting almost three weeks later - the day before Ghost Town reached number one in the charts.

This song is "Ghost Town" by The Specials. It was released as a single in 1981. It was not part of an album at the time, because the band broke up shortly after its release. It may have been collected as part of a "best of" album, or they may have issued it later, since the band did get back together at some point.

Friday Links - 20 October

Samizdata starts us off with The BBC frequently does tell people “who to support and who to condemn”

The British chattering classes are often silly and vain, but those who rose to prominence in the 1970s, 80s and 90s still have much of the liberal ethos of their parents in them. They want to believe, and so they do believe, that the rest of the world shares their kindly liberal values. They particularly want to believe that all their colleagues in the BBC World Service are “BBC people” in the same sense they are.

This belief is false.

Meep's podcast STUMP: Death and Taxes - Spreadsheet Shenanigans 2: Electric Bugaloo -- Modeling

In which I use the example of a valuation model gone awry from “Power Failure”, reviewed by Paul Conlin in an April 2023 Society of Actuaries podcast (linked in show notes). The book was about the failure of GE when it switched from being an electricity-related company to a financial services company.

Bear Bussjaeger - These Guys Won’t Last Long. (So true.)

This is Georgia all things yankee don’t always go over well Georgia still hasn’t really gotten over Sherman’s March to the Sea.

The Other McCain - Anything That Makes Adam Kinzinger Happy Is Objectively Bad for America

The fact that Kinzinger considers the anti-Jordan GOP congressmen to be “brave people” means that they are all knaves and fools. And the fact that Kinzinger hates Jim Jordan means that Jordan must be OK.

Granite Grok - Police State Of America – Obama-Judge Issues Gag-Order Against Trump … But Just Keep Pretending We’re “Greatest Country On Earth”

While the focus has been on the Middle East, America’s Communists have kept their focus on turning America into a one-party Police State. The latest? An Obama Judge has issued a gag order that prohibits Trump from talking about the corruption/weaponization of the Biden-Regime’s “Department of Justice” under the absurd pretext of assuring a fair trial.

Moonbattery - Third of New Yorkers Spend Half Their Income on Rent

Meanwhile, as New York bankrupts itself to provide free luxury accommodations to illegal immigrants, many of those unfortunate enough to reside there on a legal basis can barely afford a roof over their head:

Again from The Other McCain - Violence Against Women Update

As I’ve said before, “Dating apps are a great way for women to meet violent sexual predators.” But hey, it’s not like there are any dangerous people in New York City.

He Was Given a Chance to Leave

He didn't take it. Police investigate Kokomo home break-in shooting that left 1 dead | WTHR

The homeowner told police that he was sleeping in his house when he woke up from a 51-year-old man in his living room, according to officials.

The victim tried to get the man to leave his house when he claims he was attacked by the intruder. The homeowner suffered minor injuries from the attacker.

Instead of leaving he was shot and killed.

Self-defense is a human-right, and though Indiana has history of recognizing your right to defend yourself, the investigation is not complete.

WWIII Seems to Be on the Horizon

I was told that the Democrats would prevent World War 3, while Trump (Or Bush, or Reagan, back in the day) would be sure to start WWIII. Lower house of Russian parliament votes to revoke ratification of global nuclear test ban

This is silly really. One of the things we proved during the cold war is that you really don't need to test nuclear bombs. Get the math right, the chemistry right, and the engineering right, and they will go boom.

The State Duma lawmakers voted unanimously to revoke the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in the third and final reading on Wednesday. The bill will now go to the upper house, the Federation Council, which will consider it next week. Federation Council lawmakers have already said they will support the bill.

The legislation was introduced to parliament following a statement from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who warned earlier this month that Moscow could revoke its 2000 decision to ratify the treaty to “mirror” the stand taken by the United States, which has signed but not ratified the nuclear test ban.

The lack of required testing is why the only states that 'test' such things are making a point. Such as Pakistan did in 1998.

I suppose this explains why Russia conducted a Nuclear Weapons drill for the population at the beginning of the month. Children race to put on gas masks during eerie WW3 nuclear drill.

Russian children were forced to put on gas masks as the country held a terrifying drill for an incoming nuclear attack.

All 11 time zones took part in the drill, as did the government. There were some problems, of course, with alarms sounding at the wrong time, or not at all. That is to be expected in a country as large as Russia. 11 time zones is NOT a typo.

One of the things that Americans refused to acknowledge throughout the Cold War is that Russia never signed on to the idea that nuclear war is unwinnable. They have built bomb and fallout shelters almost continually for since the 1950s. They stopped briefly after the fall of the Soviet Union, but they started construction again shortly after Putin came to power. For that matter Switzerland has bomb or fallout shelters for virtually its entire population. Building Fallout shelters is written into their building code, and has been since the '50s or '60s.

Here are a few of Cold War songs. First up is "So Long Mom (A Song for World War III)" from Tom Lehrer, and "Two Tribes" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood. This is the version from Wave 103 and the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City soundtrack. I much prefer this edit to the version from the official video.

The air attack warning sounds like
This is the sound

And finally "Russians" by Sting. "Believe me when I say to you, I hope the Russians love their children too."

Victor Davis Hanson and Clifton Duncan on The Bigotry of Low Expectations

Clifton Duncan is a master of the long-form interview. But since a lot of people can't find time to watch a 40 minute or 90 minute interview, he is publishing excerpts that capture one piece of the interviews.

The struggle between freedom and equality. If you want everyone to be exactly the same, you must crush some people down to the common denominator. If you let freedom reign there will be inequality.

This is a part of Clifton Duncan's interview with Victor Davis Hanson. Victor Davis Hanson Reveals the Power of Classical Education. It is a little over 8 minutes in length.

The full interview is about 32 minutes, and can be found at this link.

The Censorship of Instapundit

From The Other McCain - Why Does Google Hate the Blogfather?

“Demonetizing” is censorship, period, and it didn’t start happening — the orchestrated attempt to shut down independent online publishing — until Obama’s second term. There was a left-wing blogosphere (the “moonbats,” as we called them) and a right-wing blogosphere (the “wingnuts,” as the Left called us), and the existence of two oppositional blogospheres was a fact of life everyone in the game understood.

What happened? It was several factors. Obama’s popularity made leftist politics the “cool kids” thing, and the callow youth had an intolerant attitude toward opposition.

There is more, including the Occupy movement, the trend of conservatives being banned from Twitter, and Google's Adsense pulling revenue because of "dangerous ideas," and then refusing to tell you what ideas and to whom they are dangerous.

He Threatened Everyone in the Bar Before He Got Shot

He sounds like a lovely fellow. Or maybe not. 30-year-old man shot, killed outside bar near St. Matthews identified

He was physically and verbally abusive to his wife in the bar, he threatened staff, and then he threatened everyone in the bar. He and his wife were asked to leave.

He was even more abusive in the parking lot, and so the wife took refuge behind the security guard. When he approached security and drew a firearm, he was shot.

The info being released is coming mostly from the bar. The cops are saying very little, except that the investigation is ongoing. No one was arrested in the shooting.

Given the domestic violence aspect of the incident, it is very hard for me to view this as a tragedy. He fucked around, and found out - OR - "There is always a bigger fish."

Self-defense is a human-right.