Friday Links - 21 June

Stephen Green at Instapundit is up first with FLASHBACK: Retired WNBA Player Reveals She Was Bullied for Being Straight.

“Wiggins, a four-time All-American at Stanford, asserts she was targeted for harassment from the time she was drafted by Minnesota because she is heterosexual”

Stephen Kruiser at PJ Media - Of Course the White House Correspondents' Association Is Working With the Dems

During one of his many unfortunate off-leash appearances last week, Joe Biden bristled at a reporter's question, and slurred something about wishing that the reporters would "play by the rules a little bit."

Oh-oh, Grandpa just let out a secret.

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 19 June 2024: Into The Out Of Edition

I'd sooner swallow a wasp: An AI app called Butterflies promises to destroy social media forever. (The Verge)

When you sign up, you create an AI personality called a Butterfly that can post text and pictures on your behalf, and interact with other Butterflies on the platform, so that you can log out and go for a walk while your account that has all your personal information attached discusses homeschooling with an FBIfly.

Meep At Stump - Gordon Ramsay Shows the Danger of Bicycle Riding, and Importance of Helmets. She is an actuary, after all.

So, of course, my mind went straight to cycling death stats.

The Other McCain - The Star Treatment

My wife and our youngest daughter, Reagan, returned from Argentina last night. Reagan said that after the plane landed, she removed her sweater and fixed her hair because she knew — from previous experience — that as soon as they emerged from the gate at baggage claim I would be snapping photos. “Paparazzi Dad” is nothing if not predictable.

This goes back to a Basic Journalism Trick that I learned during the earliest years of my newspaper career, working for small-town weeklies: Treat the people you cover as if they were famous celebrities.

Adaptive Curmudgeon - The Covid Thunderstorm

Eventually, the radio and Mrs. Curmudgeon’s phone quit sending us warnings of imminent doom. Not a drop of rain had fallen. Nobody apologized for their spastic false positive. (Nobody ever does.)

It feels like everything I hear from every source is hyperventilating all the time. I theorize the goal is to have us spastic and panicked. It’s bad for us to hear that crap.

Even in New York Self Defense Works

Whether it is legal is an open question. Unless you're in NYC, and then it probably is not legal. New Details: Homeowner Shoots, Kills Violent Intruder At Capital Region Residence, Police Say

The Saratoga County incident happened at around 11:30 a.m. Friday, June 14, in Malta at the Northway Estates mobile home park on Route 9.

Sheriff’s deputies said someone called 911 reporting a shooting inside one of the units. When deputies arrived, they found a man dead from a gunshot wound. Nobody else was injured.

Malta, NY is about 20 miles north of Albany, or about a 40 minute drive north of the capital.

In an update Monday, June 17, investigators said the deceased man forced his way into a stranger’s home and attacked a resident. He then chased the resident into a bedroom where other occupants had hidden.

One of the residents armed himself with a shotgun and fired two shots, killing the suspect.

Self Defense is a human right, and at least in some parts of the state it might be legal in New York.

The Weaponization of the DOJ Continues Under Biden

From Jim Hoft at The Gateway Pundit: The Department of Justice Is Targeting The Gateway Pundit in Their Hopes to Ruin Us- Secretly Injected Itself in Chapter 11 Case - Why?

Why? Because they can, because there are no long checks and balances, and they HATE conservatives.

The parent company of this website, The Gateway Pundit, made this decision as a result of the numerous progressive liberal lawfare attacks against this media outlet.

This was not an admission of fault or culpability. This is a common tool for reorganization and consolidating litigation when attacks are coming from all sides.

But that might mean that they could survive Chapter 11, and the Department of (In)Justice can't stand the thought of that.

We knew this was going to be a difficult process for our company, but we had no idea what the Biden DOJ had prepared for us.

Today, we can confirm that the Joe Biden and Merrick Garland Department of Justice have intervened in our Chapter 11 case.

According to our source, the Department of Justice spoke to the trustee assigned to our case and is pressuring this man to make sure our Chapter 11 efforts fail.

I miss living in a free country.

Neither a Borrower Nor a Lender Be

Though I doubt that Shakespeare had this kind of thing in mind. 25 years for Old Town man who murdered friend over money dispute - CWB Chicago

He said his "friend" owed him money. A short time later he shot and killed his friend. (With friends like this, who needs enemies?)

CHICAGO — An Old Town man who murdered his friend during a money dispute, then dragged the dying man’s body through their apartment building has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. Judge Jennifer Coleman ordered Rotonio Esco to serve 100% of his sentence, making him eligible for release in June 2045.

This might come close to actual justice. When I first saw this article I thought that 12 years was not enough for cold blooded, premeditated murder. In Illinois it is common for convicted felons to serve about half of their sentence before being released for "good behavior" or some such thing.

It is also interesting because the judge ordered the defendent to be held without bail, which is unusual in Illinois. During his pursuit he dropped, and police recovered, a pistol, his ID, and his phone. He had blood on his pants, and $1200 of $100 bills, also splashed with blood.

I don't really hold out hope that the recent "reforms" done to the Criminal Justice System in places like Chicago and Illinois in general, will be undone any time soon. Nothing will change until complete chaos ensues. That seems to be what the powers that be want.

Crazy Is As Crazy Does

Or maybe it was just the drugs. ‘We Need to Do More for Mental Health,’ Says Woman Who Lived With Convict Whose Face Was Covered in Tattoos

Say hello to Lemar Brandon Qualls and, while you’re at it, go ahead and say good-bye, because the late Mr. Qualls got thoroughly ventilated by Indianapolis police last month. The photo above was taken in January 2023 by prison officials in Michigan, about two months before Mr. Qualls was released after serving more than six years on a methamphetamine charge.

If you point a gun at police you are sure to be shot.

The Other McCain has the details on the guy, his criminal past, the breaks he got from the judicial system, etc.

But one of his later paragraphs caught my attention.

Frankly, ma’am, I’m concerned about your mental health. Because where I come from, cohabiting with a convicted felon fresh out of prison . . . Well, some people might call that crazy. And how many times does your, uh, “friend” have to get arrested for domestic violence before you decide maybe he’s a bad person? Don’t even get me started on the face tattoo thing...

Anyway, go read the whole thing. The comments are entertaining as well.

Don't Bring a Screwdriver to a Gunfight

You would think that the bad guys would realize this. Sherman homeowner shoots suspected burglar

I'm guessing his day did not turn out the way he planned. First he got shot, and then he was arrested.

A homeowner shot a suspected burglar in Sherman Monday afternoon, leading to the arrest of the person who was shot.

Sherman, Texas is about a 65 mile drive north of Dallas.

It seems the guy charged the homeowner while armed with a screwdriver.

“Allegedly, the other individual who has been detained was caught breaking into the homeowner’s shed behind his home, when the homeowner confronted him, the suspect allegedly charged him with a screwdriver and the homeowner is claiming self-defense with the discharge of the firearm,” said [Lieutenant Sam Boyle with the Sherman Police Department].

Burglar tools were found at the scene, so that's an extra charge. The homeowner was not charged because Texas has not morphed into a copy of NYC, legally speaking, though the investigation continues.

Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0.

Another FGC-9 from Brazil, and More

Impro Guns brings us FGC-9 + D.R.U.M

An FGC-9 mk2 seized by [Brazilian] police alongside the D.R.U.M, a 3D printable 9mm drum magazine.

Click thru for the photo. The photo below is of an unrelated FGC-9, mark 2.

FGC-9 stands for "F*ck Gun Control, 9mm."

Sweden Deteriorating

From The Other McCain we get The Warning From Sweden

Sweden has a population of about 10.5 million, or about the same as the state of North Carolina. Twenty years ago, you had to seek out “far right” sources (which, of course, I did) to learn anything about the problems caused by immigration in Sweden. Many of the atrocity tales came from the city of Malmö which, for some reason, was a magnet for Third World immigration and Malmö became notorious as a “no-go zone” ruled by violent foreign gangs. After the surge of migrants circa 2015, however, a taboo topic that was once relegated to obscure right-wing blogs has recently become the subject of mainstream journalism.

And gun violence has risen in Sweden to alarming levels.

In terms of gun violence, Sweden has become the Chicago of Europe, so to speak: “Twenty years ago, crimes involving firearms were almost non-existent [in Sweden]. Yet in 2022 the gun murder rate in capital Stockholm was around 25 times higher than in London.”

Gun crime is not the only sort. Bombings are quite common in part of Sweden.

Click thru for more. Crime statistics. Immigration statistics. Analysis.

This is not news to me. Here are some of my old posts on Sweden:

• Sweden is Unprepared for Gangs
• Sweden Has a Problem with Bombs
• Sweden – The Rape Capital of Europe
• Hand Grenades in Sweden

There are more, but the further back you go, the more likely you are to encounter dead links.

Wednesday Link Roundup - 19 June

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

12. The Right Scoop covers Iran installing advanced centrifuges
13. This ain’t Hell…. has stupid people of the week

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 06.18.24 (Afternoon Edition)

CDR Salamander: While We Quibble & Fool, The PRC Builds
Dana Loesch: Last Week In Legal – Cargill Victory Edition

EBL - Washington Post Newsroom Mutiny 🤣

Breitbart: Mutiny at Washington Post
Axios: WaPo reporters probe their own boss!
This sounds like fun. I wonder how Bezos will respond

Political Hat - News of the Week (June 16th, 2024)

Colorado GOP calls for burning of Pride flags
Colorado’s Republican Party this week called for LGBTQ Pride flags to be burned, describing LGBTQ Americans as “godless groomers”

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 15 June 2024: Never Say Anything Edition

In its ongoing drive to earn public trust OpenAI has appointed the former director of the NSA to its board. (CNBC) (archive site)
Yep, that's gonna work.

Tam at View from the Porch - Tab Clearing...

Looking at your old photos.
The Great Deterioration of Local Community Was A Major Driver of The Loss of The Play-Based Childhood

Wombat-socho again - In The Mailbox: 06.18.24 (Evening Edition)

Stoic Observations: Fight The Youth
Postcards From Barsoom: If You Want To Afford A Home, They Have To Go Home

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - Tuesday's Gone

Stop it, I already support him! From NotTheBee, Report: Trump is thinking about eliminating income tax and replacing it with tariffs. That's not something easily done.

Small Dead Animals - Monday On Turtle Island

Dementia Joe’s America: Old Joe freezes up again. Biden’s terror ambassador.
Today In Islam: Interfaith dialogue in Britain. An Islamophobia professor in California.

Vlad Tepes - Kansas first of FIVE states to sue Pfizer for lying to the public about vaxx danger – full press conference: Links 1 for June 18, 2024

1. The State of Kansas is taking Pfizer to Court over misleading information on the Vaxx causing injury and death. This story is now widely reported other than in totally captured media.

Don Surber - Highlights of the Week

ITEM 18: John Fetterman drove his car into another car while speeding on Interstate 70. Police did not ticket the senator, who said, “I need to do better and do it slower.”
But enough about his sex life, what did he say about the car crash?

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 6/18/2024

Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) President Stacy Davis Gates told a news radio host that conservatives do not want Black children to read, adding that it is “part of the oath they take to be right wing.”

Bacon Time!!!! - Sunday Linkage

The Air Vent - Compelling Argument For Libertarians Against the Bill of Rights
Watts Up With That? - No, ScienceNews, Your “Ocean’s Record-Breaking Hot Streak” Claims Are False

Cafe Hayek - Some Links

Liz Wolfe isn’t impressed with the officiousness of the U.S. Surgeon General.
Timothy Taylor summarizes some important facts about U.S. government indebtedness.

Maggie's Farm - Saturday morning links

America’s Loneliest Workers, According to Research
What City Kids Learn on My Farm - ‘Hens don’t lay on demand. Tomatoes aren’t ripe in June. And animals don’t care about your feelings.’

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 6//18/24

We are at risk of becoming a failed state, open to terrorism, sabotage, and other acts against us.
Biden’s Border Crisis Comes Home to Roost

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: Democrat War-Mongers Want 18-Year-Old Women to Register for Draft

• Guy Who Organizes Ballot Counting Says Election Results Will Not Match Polling - CTH
• Sunday Talks – House Intel Chairman Mike Turner Explains How He and IC Will Control Speaker and MAGA - CTH

I leave you with Sunday Funnies For 06-16-24 from Stately McDaniel Manor, Meme Dump... from View From The Porch, Sunday Funnies from Flopping Aces, and Your 'Typical Mondays' gifs from Wirecutter.

Texans Are Still Armed

He thought it was a good idea to flee an accident, and then try to break into a home to hide from police. Longview man shot by homeowner after allegedly fleeing crash, trespassing in house

He forgot that the police are not the only thing bad guys need to worry about in Texas.

Longview, Texas is about 35 miles west of the Louisiana state line, and about 130 miles by car east of Dallas.

A hit and run crash was reported to police around 12:38 a.m.

When police arrived, they said they found one person trapped in an SUV. The driver of the other vehicle had fled the scene on foot, according to witnesses.

That guy on foot tried to enter a home, but ran off when confronted by an armed homeowner.

You would think that at this point he would get the message about armed homeowners, but you'd be wrong.

Several minutes later, someone from the 3600 block of Clemens Road reported a person had entered their home and been shot by the resident. The first officers on scene immediately attempted life-saving measures on the injured man, later identified as Johan Nino, 23, of Longview, the release said. He was then taken to a hospital by Longview Fire EMS, but died from his injuries.

Those apparently were not the only 2 homes he tried to break into.

No criminal charges have been filed, because self defense is your legal right in Texas. It is also a human right.

Do You Own Stuff Worth Risking Your Life Over?

Do you own any piece of property that is worth getting shot, injured, or killed over? Everyone has to answer that question for themselves. For me that answer is no.

This is a story about a guy who was upset his truck had been broken into. My vehicle is 14 years old, and insured. I don't keep valuable stuff in the SUV - a couple of quarts of oil, gloves, a first aid kit, a couple of pairs of reading glasses (cheaters). Add it all together and the stuff inside the vehicle probably doesn't come to $200. I do have my old glasses in there as a backup, but that prescription is really only good for emergencies.

But in the end, if stuff gets damaged or stolen, that is why I have insurance.

Active Self Protection considers such an incident: Danger Awaits Homeowner Who Confronts Car Thief.

I think protecting your car from being stolen in your driveway is a moral good, but you'd better recognize it can be very dangerous.

A guy was alerted to activity in his driveway by his security cameras, and he went out to confront a guy who had broken into his truck. The video shows the outcome.

Is it your right to go outside and defend your property? It absolutely IS your right to go outside and do that, but I want you to pay good attention to the risks that this guy took. ...

Also recognize the risks here. You could get in a gunfight with this guy. How many guys are out there, and what are their capabilities, and what are they willing to do? You don't know, and I don't know.

So are you willing to have a potential gunfight against an unknown number of attackers, of unknown provenance, and unknown skill, for what amounts to $1000, or $2000, maybe. [Your insurance deductible] I don't think that's a smart choice, but you gotta set your own markers for that.

The video includes security video from the homeowner, and runs for about 7½ minutes. There are a number of questionable moves this guy made. In the end the homeowner received minor injuries, and his truck was damaged, so he is going to pay that $1000, or whatever, deductible anyway. And he risked his life. More than once. Despite the video, and the photos from his phone, cops haven't caught these guys. Was it worth it?

Here is a news story on the incident. Caught on Camera: Puyallup man takes wild ride on hood of car after thieves try to run him over

In a video almost too wild to believe, Smith feels lucky to be alive after he was confronted by a pair of accused car prowlers who tried to run him over.

So even the homeowner recognizes that it might not have been the smartest move.

Sleep On It

Eivør (Eivør Pálsdóttir) is a singer I really like. She is from the Faroe Islands, a grouping of islands in the Atlantic about halfway between Norway and Iceland.

Eivør usually sings in Faroese, the native language of that island group, but I know that makes heads explode, and she knows it too, because a lot of her songs are in English, as today's song is in English.

This is "Sleep On It" by Eivør from her 2020 album Segl.

Tuesday Links - 18 June

The Other McCain is up first with Crime Wave in Monkey Junction

They have thrown the proverbial book at him this time, and there is reason to expect that Treyquan Tilghman will spend a few years in prison before getting another chance to continue his felonious ways.

Tam at View From The Porch - "You're not here for the hunting, are you?" On a 19-year-old importing Glock machinegun conversion kits.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess homie wasn't a MENSA member.

Again from The Other McCain - ‘I’m Saying He’s Whacked Out’

Look, I’m not saying that every guy with face tattoos is a homicidal maniac, but the overlap on the Venn diagram between Set A (guys with face tattoos) and Set B (guys who want to “just kill, kill, kill”) is perhaps large enough to be statistically significant. By the way, that quote in the headline? It’s from Wade Wilson’s defense lawyer.

Ed Driscoll at Instapundit - BIDEN’S BRIDGE TO NOWHERE: Gaza Pier Gets Moved, But Will Anyone Use It Ever Again?

Morgan Murphy wrote in the Dailly Caller at the end of last month that the pier has a definite “Welcome Back, Carter!” feel to it: Joe Biden’s Gaza Pier Washed Away — Along With $320 Million In Taxpayer Dollars

Gun Free Zone - Make it difficult to follow you

Never go straight home from the bank, casino, jewelry store, or any other place that would suggest you have large sums of cash or valuables on you.

The Other McCain again - Aspiring Rapper Update

Has it really been five months since we last did one of these? Please excuse my negligence and, since it’s been a while, permit me to remind you of the categorical definition:

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 16 June 2024: Voyaging Edition

Voyager 1 is communicating again. (The Register)

The probe launched in 1977 and completed its primary mission - flybys of Jupiter and Saturn - in 1980, and since then it has been travelling deeper into space just chilling (literally) and enjoying the view.

Meep at Stump - Bad Metrics Lead to Bad Results

Whatever you call it: Campbell’s Law (no relation), Goodhart’s Law, or the cobra effect — when you use measures that are merely cheap stand-ins for a much more difficult result you want to get at, people will start gaming that measure. And you will often get a result you really don’t like.

Wombat-socho - FMJRA 2.0: No Surrender

Top linkers for the week ending June 14:

1.  EBL (12)
2.  357 Magnum (11)
3.  A View From The Beach (10)

Self Defense In Denver

You can never be sure it will be tolerated in Blue Cities. Alleged home intruder shot, killed in Commerce City

OK, so Commerce City is only a suburb of Denver, not Denver itself. It is only about 5 miles downtown Denver. (Denver is in a different county.)

Officers were called to a home in the 5300 block of E. 64th Avenue sometime overnight Saturday and found a man dead inside the house.

The homeowner told police he shot the man after he was attacked during a home invasion.

Since the owner was injured (not seriously injured) by the guy he shot, it will be difficult for the most-extreme, gun-hating DA to charge this guy with anything. That doesn't mean it won't happen, it just means that it will be difficult.

In any event, self defense is a human right.

"Just Give Them What They Want" Is a Lie

The gun-hating Left loves to say that if you just give bad guys what they want, you will be safe. Too bad the bad guys haven't gotten memo detailing that deal. Uber driver is shot during carjacking on West Side; 3 people shot during robberies since Thursday - CWB Chicago

The 49-year-old was arriving to pick up a passenger in the 200 block of North Latrobe when the hijacker slid into the back seat of his Toyota Camry around 9:01 p.m., according to a CPD media statement. Police said the carjacker ordered the driver out of the car, and even though the victim complied with his commands, the offender shot him in the knee.

Violent criminals don't stop being violent criminals because of anything you are, or are not, doing.

So aside from pure sadism, what was the reason that this bad guy shot this victim in the knee?

There are also a few scenarios in which the Left doesn't like to discuss, "Just give them what they want." One of them is a woman dealing with a rapist.

Cooperation with criminals is not a guarantee of safety, it is a strategy for dealing with a violent encounter. Having a gun in this instance probably would not have changed the outcome much, and Uber drivers are disarmed as a matter of company policy. It is for "their own good" that they are known to be defenseless victims. Or something.

Being armed in your own defense is also not a guarantee of safety. It is also only a strategy. There are no guarantees in this life.

When it comes to Chicago, and other places like that, I have adopted a different strategy. Don't be there. In several cities, including in Chicago, the Democrats in charge of the City and the Criminal Justice system are doing everything humanly possible to destroy law and order. "The only winning move is not to play." In this case that means not being in the city.

Nature Doesn't Care About Your Feelings

And before you go into the wilderness, you should know what you are doing. Woman airlifted to hospital after dehydrated couple stranded in desert without water

They went for a hike in the desert without enough water.

On June 9 authorities dispatched a helicopter crew to assist the couple as the scorching heat passed the triple-digit mark. Authorities went to an area known as Painted Canyon where they found the couple huddled together in a dry creek bed, according to officials.

After reaching the edge of the wilderness zone, he was taken to a local hospital by ambulance, while she was take by helicopter to a trauma center due to "extreme dehydration."

The deserts of Southern California are among the hottest areas in the state. On June 9, weather stations near the Painted Canyon area saw highs ranging from 100 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 to 40.6 Celsius), according to the National Weather Service. “Please remember as the temps increase, take more water than you think you will need, have a hiking plan, and tell two people where you are going,” the Sheriff’s Department said.

Do you know how much water you need for a day in the desert? If you start your answer with, "I think," or, "I'm pretty sure," then what you are really saying is, "No!" Find out from several reputable sources before you put your life in danger. Do you have a way to call for help if you get beyond cellphone range before you get into trouble? There are several options. They start at less than $200. What? You don't want to spend $200 to save your own life?

Texas Juneteenth Shooting Suspect

This does not support the narrative. Deadly Texas Juneteenth mass shooting suspect description released by police

Two people were killed, and 14 others were wounded at about 10:50 p.m. Saturday in Round Rock, police said. A search is on for a man described as a Black male with a thin build, approximately 5 feet, 7 inches tall with short dreadlocks. He was wearing a white hoodie at the time of the incident.

"Two groups" were fighting with each other when the shooting started. Was the existence of gangs, and their involvement in violent crime deemed politically incorrect when I wasn't looking? Maybe the groups were of chess players from competing schools, or rival chruch choirs, or ...

The Other McCain gets the Hat Tip with Two Innocent Bystanders Killed in Shooting at Texas ‘Juneteenth’ Celebration

Everybody knows Texas is controlled by Republicans. Probably some of those “far right” extremists committed this atrocity, right? The shooter was a racist Trump voter wearing a MAGA hat, right?

Bittersweet Memories

Akoma is a band I found by mistake. There is a new album Akoma by a different artist, that was mentioned on the website Pitchfork. But when I searched, I found the band, not the new album. (We may get to that album eventually, it is challenging even for my eclectic taste in music.)

Akoma, the band is a Symphonic Metal band out of Silkeborg, Midtjylland, Denmark. Don't worry they sing in English, though you still might not understand them. I haven't heard too much of their work, but I do like the quality of Tanya Bell's voice.

I can actually find very little about this band, so I don't think that they have had too much success. Which is too bad, because the few songs I've heard are not bad.

Here is a link to the lyrics. You might want them.

This is "Bittersweet Memories" by Akoma from their 2012 album The Other Side.

Father's Day Weekend in Chicago

HeyJackass! as usual has the stats. Father's Day Weekend

Way back in 2020, Father’s Day weekend ended up being the absolute shitshows of shitshows making it the highest tally we’ve ever recorded for a standard weekend. It bested any July 4th run and even some Februarys. With that mostly peaceful, often violent, non-demonizable stat out of the way, Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there.

Final tally was 12 killed, 63 shot and wounded. As bad as that it is, and it is bad even by Chicago standards, it doesn't come close to that 2020 shitshow.

Click thru for more years statistics, and the details of the weekend.