Laying These Off, Here

Pulling a Heater

Nothing to follow contains any legal advice. I'm not your lawyer. This is all my personal opinion. Take it only for that. You want legal advice, go consult a lawyer in your state.

This is what the Asswipes of Santilla Shores, GA should have kept in mind:

When you pull and use a gun, you are gambling literally everything you have on getting it right during the event and being legally justified afterward. You are gambling your physical life. You are betting your job, your home, and every penny you have in the bank. At risk is your marriage, your ability to share a bed with the person you love, and your ability to watch your children grow up in person instead of from jail. You place on the table every friendship you’ve ever made, every dollar you’ve ever earned or will earn, and your family’s future happiness. You are risking sleep disturbances, flashbacks, nightmares, impotence, anorexia, alcoholism, drug reliance, and a long and bitter lifetime of regret if you get it wrong. That is the gamble you take when you use a firearm against another human being.

To take a gamble that big, it’s a good idea to be overwhelmingly certain there’s no other way out.

Keep that in mind if you have a gun. Keep in mind, before you stick your nib into someone else's affair, that you may be mistaken as to what you believe is going on. You won't have the public interest or public service deference that the courts give the cops. You'd be intervening in a private matter and you best be sure that you are on the side that is legally right.

If you seek to make a citizen's arrest, you had best be sure that a) your state allows you to do that, and b) the underlying circumstances justify it. If you are wrong about any of that, well, trying to detain someone that you have no right to hold is attempted kidnapping. You may be found to be committing a crime. Criminals in the act of doing crime don't get to claim self-defense.

If you are not legally right, you can be faced with a lifetime behind bars, as Travis McMichael, his father and his neighbor are finding out. So did Michael Drejka.

If you're legally right, but the circumstances around it are sketchy, even if you are acquitted, what you did will follow you for the rest of your life like a stink that you can never wash away. It won't matter if you cure cancer or do anything else, you will be forever known for that one act. Even if it isn't a high-profile case, anyone doing research on you will find out about the shooting.[1]

Beyond that, being acquitted for a crime doesn't cut much ice when it comes to civil liability.[2] As any lawyer who wasn't doing cocaine for three years during law school can tell you, the real meaning behind being found "not guilty" can be better understand as a verdict of "not proven" -- the prosecution didn't prove that a crime had been committed beyond a reasonable doubt. In civil court, the burden of proof is much lower. Did you negligently/recklessly (whatever) shoot the other guy? There, the standard of proof is "more likely than not," or 50.1% likely. A jury can find that you didn't act properly, that the other guy was largely responsible for what happened and you can still be dinged with a six-figure judgment. If the judgment creditors want, they can hound you for a very long time.

Calling the police isn’t “doing nothing.” Writing down license plate numbers isn’t “doing nothing.” Shepherding others to a safe haven is not “doing nothing.” Watchfully being prepared to act if the situation escalates is not “doing nothing.” Testifying in court and identifying the criminal to the authorities is not “doing nothing.” There are many actions a good and honorable person might take that do not require the use of a firearm, and those actions are not “doing nothing.” Only doing nothing is doing nothing.

Remember that if you shoot someone, what you did, the decisions that you made in a fraction of a second, will be parsed by lawyers and decided on by a jury that is drinking coffee in an air-conditioned conference room. You will be held accountable for every round you fire.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't carry a concealed weapon. But you should make yourself aware of the legal jeopardy you face if you touch off a round.[3],[4] If you are entertaining any of that "armed sheepdog" nonsense, disabuse yourself of that shit right the fuck now.
________________

[1] Unless your name is something very common, like John Smith.
[2] There are some states that, if you are found not guilty because you acted in self-defense, that you are immune from a civil lawsuit in state court.
[3] God help you if you accidentally shoot a bystander. The courts won't. You won't get to claim "collateral damage."
[4] See the opening paragraph.

I'll keep the comment section open until people start acting ignorant. Stupid screeds will be slagged.

It's Like Watching Someone Form the Penn Central Again

More than 400 Macy’s stores in the US will open Toys ‘R’ Us shop-in-shops next year, the company announced [in August].

The department store company is reviving the once-defunct American toy company through a partnership with brand management company WHP Global, which bought a controlling stake in Toys ‘R’ Us parent company Tru Kids earlier this year.

In a statement, Macy’s chief merchandising officer Nata Dvir said significant sales growth in the retailer’s existing toy business prompted it to look for opportunities to expand its footprint. Macy’s website has already started selling toys.

Taking one bankrupt company and merging it with another troubled company doesn't sound like a sensible thing to do. But I didn't go to MBA skool, so what do I know. I didn't notice the press releases, but now there are commercials airing.

Dear McAfee People: Please Die Soon, Painfully and Often

Somehow, McAfee Firewall appeared on my computer. It seems to be rather impervious to being removed.

I will dig into how to get this unwanted piece of shit program removed. This seems to be consistent with how that stinking company works; they somehow get shit onto your system and they make it as hard as hell to get rid of it. I don't know what they gain from that, for they seem to have the morals of a bunch of Indian hackers who call up elderly folks and say "theyre's a problem with your Windows computer" and ask to have remote access enabled.

It seems weirdly appropriate that the founder of the company died in prison.

Your Sunday Morning Jet Noise

Eurofighter Typhoon:

Can a Lawyer Defend a Racist Piece of Shit Without Being a Racist Piece of Shit?

Defense attorney Kevin Gough called the murder trial of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed Black jogger, a "public lynching" of his client -- who is one of three white men accused of chasing and killing Arbery.

He claimed that the trial has been "infected by mob violence by the woke-left mob," and asked the judge for a mistrial once again. His request was denied by the judge.

"Third parties are influencing this case," Gough said, referring to the "spectator activity" and "media frenzy" concerning public figures attending the trial and gathering outside of the courtroom. "This is what a public lynching looks like in the 21st century."

First off, no white lawyer who is defending a white client who is accused of killing a Black man should ever use the word "lynching". His client was duly convicted by a jury that he tried his level best to make as white as possible. There was no mob storming the courthouse to hang his client from a lamppost. The South has a dark history of lynching people, mostly Black, a few Jews, and for a white lawyer to say that his white Christian client was "lynched" is tone-deaf at best and is really racist as all fuck.

Second, show me the "mob violence". Brunswick, Georgia wasn't looted. No building were burnt. Nobody, other than Mr. Arberyy, was killed.

Third, "media frenzy"? Really? It was a high-profile trial. What the fuck did he expect? It's not the media's fault that Mr. Gough came across as though he spends his weekends ironing his white robes.

Fourth, "spectator activity"? Gough doesn't know that trials are public? My recollection is that there's been some rather high-level court cases about that. I guess he's never heard of a trial of a cop-killer, where off-duty cops pack the gallery. Or trials of cops, where off-duty cops pack the gallery. People are welcome to attend, as long as they don't cause a disturbance.

All this smacks of a lawyer who can't come to grips with the fact that he lost the biggest high-profile case of his career and smeared himself on the pavement doing so.

What Sense Does This Ban Make?

The US will restrict travel from South Africa and seven other southern African countries to try to contain a new coronavirus variant spreading there.

From Monday, only US citizens and residents will be allowed to travel from the region.

If the Omicron variant is of such concern and if it is spreading through suouthern Africa, then why not slam the fucking door shut now? Why wait three or so days?

And why not require quarantining of everyone who is eligible to travel from that region?

This is had the oder of the public health version of security theater.

Caturday

Chip is enjoying some late-afternoon sun.

Savor the Irony, CCCP Ed.

Thanks to Russian trolls speading anti-vax bullshit here and in Europe, Russians are reluctant to be vaccinated. So Putin's cyber-minions are killing their own people.

Savor that bit of ironic news when you lay your head down tonight.

Because It's Friday

Narrow-gauge steel steam:

You May Be So Done With COVID-19, But COVID-19 Is Not Yet Done With You

South African scientists have identified a new version of the coronavirus this week that they say is behind a recent spike in COVID-19 infections in Gauteng, the country’s most populous province. It’s unclear where the new variant actually arose, but it was first detected by scientists in South Africa and has also been seen in travelers to Hong Kong and Botswana.
...
It appears to have a high number of mutations — about 30 — in the coronavirus’ spike protein, which could affect how easily it spreads to people.

Sharon Peacock, who has led genetic sequencing of COVID-19 in Britain at the University of Cambridge, said the data so far suggest the new variant has mutations “consistent with enhanced transmissibility,” but said that “the significance of many of the mutations is still not known.”

Whether this new variant will be a problem is not yet known. But what is clear is that while COVID-19 is evolving, the Party of Death is doing its very best to ensure that state and local governments have been neutered when it comes to dealing with public health problems. Because they believe that political ideology can bend scientific and medical realities to their will.

History will regard them with a mixture of scorn and pity.

ETA: It's been designated "the Omicron variant".

That Family Is Just Fucking Nuts

Lara Trump, the Fox News contributor and wife of Eric Trump, has bizarrely claimed that the rising cost of the Thanksgiving turkey is part of a liberal plot to “chip away” at American traditions.
...
“They don’t want us to have any common ground. They don’t want us to have any shared traditions like Thanksgiving. A lot of places last month actually did away with Halloween because they wanted to be inclusive of the people that didn’t celebrate Halloween,” Trump added.

Something is not quite right with that girl, bless her heart.

If my memory serves me correctly, the people who have been against Halloween have been a number of the most-loyal supporters of her father-in-law; the very people who claim to be part of the "moral majority", but who can overlook the whoring and cheating and corruption and criminal activities of Herr Gropenführer.

Let's be clear on one point: The Right excels at divisive culture wars. Trumpette is merely engaging in an expansion of her father's party old Southern Strategy, something that the so-called "Last Republican" shares a goodly amount of blame for doing.

Thanksgiving Lagniappe

Thanksgiving Dropoff, Here

Happy Thanksgiving

Playing the entire song on the radio was a Thanksgiving tradition. Some of them were commercial stations-- almost nineteen minutes of no commercials. And some of them played it twice, at noon and 3 PM.

It was basically true, at least the first part. The judge in the tale was really blind, he had a Seeing-Eye dog. He played himself in the movie (as did Officer Obie).

I hope that if you're in America, you and yours have a good Thanksgiving. Try not to punch out your racist/antivaxx uncle or your commie nephew.

And please, enjoy the day without resorting to rampant consumerism.

Or burning down your hostess's house.

So celebrate the day when people, who were being oppressed for their religion, landed on a new land where their descendants could do unto others as was done unto them.

Which 4" .38 for a New Wheelgunner?

This topic originally started out in another post. I thought it best to give it its own post, for possibly the title may generate more imput.

This was the original question to me:

First, it would not be a primary carry gun, mostly just a plinking gun, and to help when I sometimes train new shooters. I have a Ruger Mark IV 22/45, and a Ruger SR9c. So this would be just one other gun that would fill a gap, and I think it would be right on the money for those who just want to have a gun for home defense, and in reality are not going to be a huge gun person, with the gun sitting a lot.
I am thinking about a 4" barrel, double action, .38 special, and not concerned if it is not rated for +P ammo. Mostly due to how it will be used, and also due to the extra cost.

This was my answer:

I think you should consider the used market. Look at the revolver checkout guide.

Used guns that I would recommend: S&W Models 10, 15*, 19*, 64, 66* and 67*. Ruger Security Six*, Speed Six and GP.100*. The ones with asterisks have adjustable sights, though there are some GP.100s that have fixed sights. All are six-shot.

The Rugers are pretty tough guns. You can still, with luck, find Security Sixs and Model 10s for under $400. It wasn't too long ago (four years or so) that as for the Smiths, all but the 19, 66 and 67 could be found for ~$300.

You might find one that is a little finish-challenged. I've bought two Smiths (a 1920s M&P and a Model 10) that were kind of gnarly on the outside but they were fine mechanically. They make good shooters. A lot of sem-nasty looking guns were ex-PD or security-guard guns that were carried a lot and shot very little.

You won't wear any of them out with standard-pressure .38s. If they are occaisionaly oiled and cleaned, they'll be in your family into the 22nd Century.

Another commenter suggested a gun chambered in .327 Federal. From what I have observed, it is a fantastic cartridge. Shooting .32 S&Ws or .32 Long has little recoil. But I have not seen any .32 catridges for sale that are cheaper than .38 Specials.

I didn't recommend Model 13s or 65s. Those have become very pricey of late and, in answer to the original question, they don't bring anything to the table. The only reason that I mentioned Model 19s and 66s are that they are still available.

What I don't recommend, for shooting a lot, are old Colts. On double-action Colts, the hand (the part that moves the cylinder around) is a wear part. The hand is the part that holds the cylinder against the cylinder stop (or bolt) for the famous Colt "bank vault lockup". It's designed to be replaced by a qualified Colt gunsmith, a species of critter that has become rather rare. If you look at a used Colt and the cylinder doesn't lock up tight when you have the trigger all the way back, that's a hard pass unless you know somebody who can fix it.

I don't recommend anything Taurus. Some of them are fine. Taurus has a lifetime warranty, which is nice (S&W's "lifetime warranty" applies only to the original purchaser). But if the gun needs work, it has been true that you have to pay to send the gun to the warranty center and you have to pay to send it back. Most gunsmiths won't touch them.

GUILTY!

All three men charged in the death of Ahmaud Arbery were convicted of murder Wednesday.  

The jury reached its decision after more than 10 hours of deliberations following a trial in which prosecutors argued that the defendants provoked a confrontation with Arbery and defense attorneys said their clients were acting in self-defense.

  

I did not expect this verdict. I expected either an acquittal or a hung jury, especially given the defense's racially-charged juror selection and their use of the Scary Black Man Defense.

But the jury apparently didn't buy that shit. Apparently they agreed that there was no reasonable grounds to suspect a man in jogging clothes who was carrying nothing could be reasonably suspected of being a burglar.

Maybe things are changing. But as others have pointed out, the defendants' buddies in local law enforcement and in the prosecutor's office did try to sweep this murder under the rug. Only the video going public in this case (and in the murder of Laquan McDonald in Chicago) made prosecution a possibility.

“Let the word go forth all over the world that a jury of 11 Whites and one Black, in the Deep South, stood up in the courtroom and said that Black lives matter,” - Rev. Al Sharpton

Amen.

Republicans are Either Stupid as Fuck or Hypocrites. There is no Third Choice.

Over eight hours last Thursday night and into Friday morning, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California hit on many issues as he spoke on the House floor in an unsuccessful effort to thwart House passage of President Biden’s social safety net and climate change bill. But among his most audacious assertions was that Mr. Biden was to blame for the country’s failure to quell the pandemic.

Mr. McCarthy used this line of attack even as members of his own Republican Party have spent months flouting mask ordinances and blocking the president’s vaccine mandates, and the party’s base has undermined vaccination drives while rallying around those who refuse the vaccine. Intensive care units and morgues have been strained to capacity by the unvaccinated, a demographic dominated by those who voted last year for President Donald J. Trump.

Republicans are against getting vaccinated. They are against mask mandates. They are against social distancing. They are against every possible measure that can be taken to fight the pandemic.

But it's Biden's fault that the pandemic isn't over? Any Republican who buys that line of shit has to have an IQ significantly below room temperature.

Republicans are the sort of people who would jump off a cliff and then blame the Democrats for their foolishness (before they were dashed on the rocks below).

More than 90% of Democrats have been vaccinated. Less than 60% of Republicans have been vaccinated. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the polical affiliation of most of the people filling the COVID ICU wards these days.

Two Years Off

I shot my first pistol match since 2019 last night. All I knew going in was that it was a EDC ("every day carry") match. I brought a 3" Model 65 and a 2.5" Model 19 to the match, figuring that I'd shoot one or the other and, if one gun refused to run, I'd have a backup.

A side note: I try to shoot revolvers in matches. For me, they are more difficult to shoot and I need the practice more. It's not just the actual shooting, it's things like clearing them and reloading that take a lot more work and need polishing.

Anyway, I got there and the match was a low-light match. That sealed the deal as to which gun that I used, I shot the M65 as it has a laser.

What I learned was that reloading a revolver in low-light conditions is tricky. I needed to hit the ejector rod harder and get the gun close to vertical. In the back of my mind, I know that going a skosh past vertical is a disqualifying event, so I may let that control me a little too much. If an empty case hangs up on the ejection stroke, it's harder to see. Aligning the speedloader with the charge holes was a trip. It was only after the match did I realize that what I could have done was to use my index finger to feel the space between the rounds and align that with the cylinder flutes.

For me, the matches are good as they allow me to find weak spots in my technique and hone it. It's not about competing with others. It's about getting better.

In reality, I'm not competitive with the other shooters. The matches are timed; you take your completion time and then add time to it for each hit that is outside of the "A zone" of the target. The only penalty for extra shots is the time involved.

So, with most revolvers, you're reloading every six shots, which takes more time than dropping a magazine, slamming in another one and slingshotting the slide. Depending on the autoloader and any state limits, you can shoot three times as many rounds with a self-littering gun than with a revolver before reloading. The bottom line is that unless you're really good with a revolver (and/or you have a race-gun that has been set for moon-clips), you're not going to beat someone who has an autoloader unless they seriously stomp on their cranks with golf shoes.

It was a challenging match, especially considering that I hadn't competed in so long. I had a great time.

I won "high revolver" and "high woman". In other words, I came in last.

That'll Leave a Mark

In a mixed verdict, a jury awarded more than $25 million in damages Tuesday against white nationalist leaders and organizations for violence that erupted during the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.

After a nearly monthlong civil trial, a jury in U.S. District Court deadlocked on two key claims but found the white nationalists liable on four other counts in the lawsuit filed by nine people who suffered physical or emotional injuries during the two days of demonstrations.
...
Before the trial, Judge Norman Moon issued default judgments against another seven defendants who refused to respond to the lawsuit. The court will decide damages against those defendants.

Getting a judgment and collecting on it are two different things. But still, this is sweet.

That's Going to Sting; MAGA Ed.

Two lawyers who went to court to claim voter fraud after the 2020 election must pay nearly $180,000 to the defendants they sued, a federal magistrate judge ordered Monday, saying their lawsuit aimed to "manipulate gullible members of the public and foment public unrest."

The order from Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter of the US District Court in Colorado adds to the federal judiciary's condemnations of attempts by attorneys supporting then-President Donald Trump to use the courts to vet right-wing conspiracies in the days after the presidential election.

Attorneys Gary D. Fielder and Ernest John Walker will have to pay attorneys fees of $50,000 to Facebook (now Meta), about $63,000 to Dominion Voting Systems, about $63,000 to the non-profit Center for Tech and Civic Life, more than $6,000 to the state of Pennsylvania and nearly $5,000 to the state of Michigan.

Yeah, that's going to leave a mark. But if the awards are upheld, some wealthy wingnut will cover the sanctions. One might expect, however, that the attorney discipline committee (or whatever it's called in Colorado) will take note and move on disciplinary sanctions.

In other Stupid Trump Legal News, Trump's Team of Crack(pot) Lawuyers are threatening to sue the Pulitzer Committee for awarding prizes to the NY Times and the NY Post in 2018 for their coverage of L'Affaire de Russe. Which, in all honesty, is about what one would expect from the Grand Prince of Butthurt.

Litterboxing It, Here

These People Can Vote (Presumably)

At least 100 QAnon supporters convinced JFK is coming back are still in Dallas. Today they stood on a bridge over Dealey Plaza for the anniversary of the assassination, but JFK and JFK Jr. never showed. pic.twitter.com/fJTbc7p7iT

— Will Sommer (@willsommer) November 22, 2021

Going Off the Rails

58 years ago, JFK was assassinated.

Another thirty years or so and the assassination will be as much in the public view as the assassination of William McKinley.

Tab Clearing

Republicans fighting President Joe Biden’s coronavirus vaccine mandates are wielding a new weapon against the White House rules: natural immunity.

They contend that people who have recovered from the virus have enough immunity and antibodies to not need COVID-19 vaccines, and the concept has been invoked by Republicans as a sort of stand-in for vaccines.

If they want to take the risk of contracting a serious disease, or dying, or having long-term aftereffects, or passing it to their elderly relattives, at this point, I say "knock yerselves out." My only quibble is that nonvaccinated people should be required to pay higher insurance premiums and, if they're in the ICU and someone comes in with a heart attack, stroke, or from an accident, the unvaccinated COVID patients should be disconnected and put on a morphine drip in a vacant room. Their obstinance shouldn't cost the lives of others.

I guess they still figure that they're "pOwning Biden" by refusing to be vaccinated. Maybe we can get Biden to advocate for eating food; those idiots would probably then go starve themselves.

We should all be grateful that none of these "natural immunity" clowns were in positions of influence when diptheria, polio and smallpox were public health problems.
_______________________

The 13 Southern California siblings rescued three years ago from horribly abusive conditions that included being locked in their home for years, shackled to beds and starved by their parents have been failed at different points by a social services system that was supposed to help them transition to new lives, according to an investigation by ABC News.
...
Some of the children reported they “felt betrayed” by local officials’ handling of their cases, said Melissa Donaldson, Riverside County’s director of victim services. Donaldson said there were times when the children did not have a safe place to stay or enough food.

Anyone who has ever had any professional dealings with social services or child protective services will know that placing children in abusive situations and then ignoring the abuse is not at all uncommon.
_______________________

Some Florida prison guards openly tout associations with white supremacist groups to intimidate inmates and Black colleagues, a persistent practice that often goes unpunished, according to allegations in public documents and interviews with a dozen inmates and current and former employees in the nation’s third-largest prison system. Corrections officials regularly receive reports about guards’ membership in the Ku Klux Klan and criminal gangs, according to former prison inspectors, and current and former officers.

I am shocked, shocked, to learn a Southern state openly tolerates racism amongst prison guards as well as active racist brutality. [/sarc]

What is totally unsurprising is that DuhSantis permits this. Probably because he is too busy kissing trump's ass and promoting bullshit alternative treatments for deadly diseases.

Fuck

I wake up and the very first thing that I see is that some asshole in Wisconsin drove a SUV into a Xmas parade, killing at least five people and injuring scores more.

Alcohol? Terrorism? Generic murderous assholery?

Hammering the Covidiots

RobertaX smacks them down:

Vaccines only help to get a disease under control when enough of us are vaccinated.* The brave volunteer; the patriotic answer their country's call. If you want to turn tail and run instead, take your damn white feather and go, in the full knowledge of your cowardice and refusal to pitch in. P.S., Canada's not taking this batch of dodgers.

Cowards and faux-patriots... me likely.

Kessler Syndrome and Travel

First, watch this video, suggested by a commentator, Gray Fox:

Any war between top-ranked powers will also be fought in space, in that satellites will be military targets. The GPS network will come down, as both sides attempt to degrade the other's navigation and targeting abilities.

The FAA has, for a long time, been pushing aviation from using VORs to GPS, with a minimal number of VORs for a skeletal backup system. This is foolishness. A minimally-capable system will have minimal capabilities.

Trucking, farming, emergenciy systems; all use GPS and all will be seriously affected if humanity can't get space debris under control. A war will make it worse.

Which is why I think this is largely inevitable. Humans have been very short-sighted when it comes to polluting the environment. Space is just another environment.

Your Sunday Morning Jet Noise

A Cold-War oldie but goodie: a MiG-21

Between the MiG-21 and the Chinese J-7 copy, the MiG-21 may have been the most-produced fighter since the MiG-15.

A Tiny Little Bit of Police Acccountability

A Jackson County judge found Kansas City [MO] police detective Eric DeValkenaere guilty of involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the fatal shooting of 26-year-old Cameron Lamb, a Black man.
...
Jackson County prosecutors argued that DeValkenaere recklessly shot Cameron Lamb on Dec. 3, 2019, as Lamb was sitting in a pickup truck and backing into his garage at 41st Street and College Avenue.

The shooting occurred not long after a police helicopter spotted a red truck chasing a purple Mustang at speeds of up to 90 miles per hour through a residential neighborhood.

So, basically, a cop found a Black guy who was backing the same color pickup truck into his garage and shot him dead because reasons. The police department tried to hush it up, but this time, a prosecutor was having none of it.

Thanks for Nothing, Russia

The US has condemned Russia for conducting a "dangerous and irresponsible" missile test that it says endangered the crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

The test blew up one of Russia's own satellites, creating debris that forced the ISS crew to shelter in capsules.
...
"The test has so far generated over 1,500 pieces of trackable orbital debris and hundreds of thousands of pieces of smaller orbital debris that now threaten the interests of all nations."

Update: this video represents a simulation of the initial dispersion of the fragments resulting from the reported #ASAT test. The event has increased the collision risk of spacecraft in the LEO regime registered to #EUSST, hence impacting the safety of EU #space infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/iA3zRKNqr1

— EUSST (@EU_SST) November 18, 2021

One semi-serious kerfuffle in which nations (US, Russia, India, China, Israel, maybe Iran) start knocking down each others satellites and low to medium Earth orbits may be inhospitable for decades, if not longer. A whole host of satellites orbit in those altitudes, including the Internet service satellites being orbited. Debris collisions between crap generated from ASAT attacks will create even more debris as it hits other satellites.

We humans have a tendency to shit in the communal pond to spite others. Nothing demostrates that tendency more than the growth of ASAT weaponry.

This is a known known. The Russian test was a giant "fuck you" to the rest of the world. Some sort of global response would be nice.

A Hobnailed Boot, Stamping On Your Face, Forever

So, earlier today, I posted about the latest case of Affluenza. Borepatch commented that it wasn't a matter of race, it was a matter of class, and referenced an epic rant on Popehat from several years ago.

I read the rant. It is indeed epic. This is the basic premise:

There are multiple classes of people, but it boils down to the connected, and the not connected. Just as in pre-Revolutionary France, there is a very strict class hierarchy, and the very idea that we are equal before the law is a laughable nonsequitr [sic].

I still believe that race plays a point, especially in traffic stops and similar events, but Borepatch has a valid point that class has a significant place to play in it.

Say that you get a speeding ticket. If you have a lawyer, and if your driving record isn't horrible, you'll get a plea deal. You'll admit to some non-moving violation (defective equipment (muffler or turn signal), failure to obey posted signs, parking on the traveled way or something else that has an equal or higher fine (because the monster must be fed) but, because it's not a moving violation, won't jack up your car insurance. If you don't have a lawyer, your choices are send in the money with the violation envelope or go to court and pray that the cop doesn't show up (because you'll lose if the cop shows). And then you'll have your insurance rates go up for a few years.

That's a small-beer example, but that's how the system works. If you are a friend of the prosecutor, the case will be dismissed (or nolle'd). If you are a prosecutor or a cop, you'll show your badge to the officer who pulled you over and that'll be it. If you're a local judge, the cops will recognize you andjust walk away, or the prosecutor will nolle it. One has to seriously act the ass to have another result.

Anyway, go read the rant. And then tell me why Clark isn't correct.

Aurora Has to Shell Out

The Denver suburb of Aurora has agreed to pay $15 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the parents of Elijah McClain, a Black man who died after suburban Denver police stopped him on the street and put him in a neck hold two years ago, the city and family attorneys announced Friday.

The five involved in killing Mr. McClain were finally indicted for manslaughter and other offenses.

Affluenza is Still a Thing

Christopher Belter, 20, pleaded guilty to third-degree rape, attempted sexual abuse and two counts of second degree sexual abuse involving four teenage girls in an 18-month span at parties inside his family's mansion in Lewiston, New York, not far from Niagara Falls. He faced eight years in prison.

But Judge Matthew Murphy ruled that "incarceration … isn't appropriate" and Belter would be sentenced to eight years of probation.

As one of the victim's lawyers put it:

If Belter didn't come from an affluent family, the outcome would have been much different, MM's attorney, Steven Cohen, told CBS News.

"I've been a trial lawyer for over 30 years," Cohen said. "If this individual was not a rich white kid from a privileged background and an influential family, he would be in prison right now."

Judges seem to have an allergy to sending rich white kids to prison for sex crimes, or even manslaughter. It didn't seem to matter that the kid's home was commonly used by the kid for drug parties.

The Times' story noted that the perp had violated probation. Typically, when a defendant is being sentenced for a serious crime and there is a history of probation violations, off to prison they go.

Three adults, including the perp's parents, are facing charges of facilitating the drug and booze parties for minors. It's probably dead-nuts certain that they'll express remorse and get a slap on their wrists.

Being white and rich has its privileges when it comes to the criminal justice system.

Same as it ever was.

Caturday

I almost turned Chip into sofa-pizza.

The Most Honest Used-Car Ad, Ever (NSFW)

Imagine if Rittenhouse was a Black Dude

He'd have been shot by the cops right there. And there is no way he'd have gotten off.

Still, he could be charged Federally for participating in a straw purchase, or something like that.

America: Being white has its privileges.

Because It's Friday

Driving piles the old-fashioned way:

New Heater Update

(Last post)

Executive summary: The gun is a pulsating handful of suck and fail.

I got the gun back a few days ago. S&W repair facility had corrected the barrel cant and fixed the yoke. But turning the barrel and shroud in to correct the cant of the front sight must have tightened the barrel-cylinder gap a bit too much. it is extremely tight. It was easy to sight in, firing three shot groups from an improvised rest, shooting single-action. Only once did I turn the sight adjustment screw the wrong way.

But shooting double-action was another story. I wasn't running the gun hard, but by the second or third cylinder, it locked up on the third shot. There wasn't an issue with high or backed-out primers. So I cleared the fired rounds and shot again. The gun locked up on the third shot. The third time around, it locked up on the second shot.

I am somewhat disappointed. A friend of mine has the same model of gun; he's gone through over 20,000 rounds, a goodly number of them magnums and his gun runs flawlessly.

I'll contact the mothership and see about sending the gun back, again.

(Smith & Wesson, please don't make me regret that I didn't buy a GP-100.)

There Is No Republican Party Anymore

The Wyoming Republican Party will no longer recognize Liz Cheney as a member of the GOP in its second formal rebuke for her criticism of former President Donald Trump.

It doesn't matter what else Cheney stands for, or what policies she opposes or supports, The only criteria as to whether or not she is a Republican is whether or not she is sufficiently loyal to Commandante Bone Spurs. If the sole litmus test for being a Republican is fealty to Sir Donald of Hamberders, then it's not a political party. It's a cult of personality.

So, as of now, you can be an Independent, a Democrat or a Trump-Cultist.

ETA:

pic.twitter.com/L6GgwCBoaN

— mike luckovich (@mluckovichajc) November 18, 2021

In Case You Need to Shoot a Really Small Poodle

The 4.6mm.

I don't see the point of a .177 rifle for serious uses. It's a rifle that would likely require shooting someone several times to incapacitate them. The round is known for poor terminal performance, which is to say that it's not worth a fuck for shooting people.

Civilians in this country probably aren't going to be able to buy full-auto 4.6mm rifles (maybe if they're repaceable uppers on AR-pattern rifles). If you buy one for self-defenseive use, ou're going to have a gun where you have to shoot most of a magazine into an opponent in order to incapacitate him, which can easily lead to a host of legal issues.

Unless you have a burning need to have one, I'd suggest giving it a hard pass.

Give Fire!

Shooting a 17th Century matchlock.

Flintlocks must have seen like a wonderful improvement:

Pooping These Down, Here

Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid Prizes

Norwich [CT] — Veteran police Lt. Josip Peperni died late Tuesday due to complications related to COVID-19, leaving colleagues at the department in shock and mourning for a trusted supervisor, mentor and friend.

The Lyme resident died Tuesday at the age of 57, according to a brief obituary online. He was not vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to Norwich City Manager John Salomone.

From reading the story, Lt. Peperni became a cop in his late 30s. He was not long from being eleible to retire, which he would have been able to do, except he chose to not be vaccinated.

COVID-19 is the leading cause of death for police officers; not taking a simple precaution against the disease makes no sense.

Gosar Gets Off Lightly

The House voted Wednesday to censure Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona for posting an animated video that depicted him killing Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with a sword, an extraordinary rebuke that highlighted the political strains testing Washington and the country.
...
During one roughly 10-second section, animated characters whose faces had been replaced with Gosar, Greene and Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., were shown fighting other animated characters. Gosar’s character is seen striking another one made to look like Ocasio-Cortez in the neck with a sword. The video also shows him attacking President Joe Biden.

If Gosar wasn't a congressman, he would have likely been arrested for threatening the president. There is no shortage of idiots who have made similar threats and ended up in prison.

Gosar reposted the video after he was censured. He should now be expelled.

Shorter Mike Flynn: “Kill or Expel the Jews and the Muslims” (This is Why I Own a Gun)

Michael Flynn, who was briefly national security adviser under former President Donald Trump, said the United States should have a single religion. “If we are going to have one nation under God, which we must, we have to have one religion,” Flynn said during a speech at the “Reawaken America” conference in San Antonio, Texas on Saturday night. “One nation under God, and one religion under God.”

What a despicable piece of trash Flynn is. Any sentient being who has spent more than fifteen minutes reading the founding document of this country knows that it isn't a theocratic state.

I suppose it's just the sort of thing that one would expect from an alleged Russian tool bent on destabilizing the country.

But don't expect to see a broad spectrum of Trumpist conservatives denouncing Flynn. For you know full well, Gentle Reader, that Flynn is only giving voice to the dearest dreams of the Christian Talibanistas that make up the base of today's Republican party.

This is why anyone who isn't a Christian, or, for that matter, not an evangelical Christian, should know how to shoot. For, given the opportunity, they will come for you.

ETA:

Plastering These Down, Here

Just a Good Ole Boy in Texas Playing With Matches, You Betcha

He was also playing with gasoline in the doorway of a synagogue.

An 18-year-old Texas State University student is now facing a federal arson charge following his arrest for setting fire to Congregation Beth Israel. Court documents revealed Monday show the teenager's inner thoughts before and after the fire.

According to the federal criminal complaint affidavit, Franklin Barrett Sechriest used an accelerant to intentionally start the fire. Sechriest, a criminal justice major and member of the 6th Brigade of the Texas National Guard, was already facing an arson charge in state court for the same case, according to the affidavit.

They know his "inner thoughts" because that master criminal was keeping a journal. So here's to quick trial and lengthy prison sentences.

The community, including Muslims, has been rallying around the synagogue's congregation and have been donating money for the repairs.

Meanwhile, in other MAGA news, the conditions at the D.C. Jail are being scrutinized because white people are locked up there.

Being an Asshole in Court Has Its Consequences

A Connecticut judge found Infowars host Alex Jones liable by default Monday in a defamation lawsuit brought by parents of children killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting over the conspiracy theorist’s claims that the massacre was a hoax.

The ruling by the judge, who cited Jones’ refusal to abide by court rulings or turn over evidence, means a jury will determine how much in damages Jones should pay to the families.

Jones is an asshole who thinks that he can fight shit out on Radio Moron rather than in court. Losing a case because one has not complied with discovery is a sanction that has been reserved for true assholes.

Jones certainly qualifies in that regard.

The Schadenfreude Files: FBI Ed.

An apparently malicious hacker sent spam emails from an FBI email server Friday night to at least 100,000 people, an email spam watchdog group has found.

Heh. Heh. Heh.

Your Sunday Morning Prop Noise

Bf-109 with a Daimler-Benz engine:

The Insurrectionist Wrist-Slaps

A lot of these clowns are getting light punishments for attempting to overthrow the government. Leonard Pitts asks:

Imagine if it was a mob of Black Lives Matter activists who stormed the Capitol. Can you envision a scenario in which they — the survivors, at least — got off with 60-day sentences?

No, you cannot.

The last president would have immediately ordered the NationalGuard to take the building with live ammunition. The survivorswould havebeen immediately rounded up and charged to the max, instead of being arrested months later. The sentences being handed down would have been denominated in years, not days or months.

Justice is not color-blind. Only a fool, or one of five or six justices on the Supreme Court, would claim otherwise.

Caturday

Jazzie:

What, They Couldn't Get More Kids from Illinois with Illegally-Obtained Guns?

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers announced Friday that approximately 500 Wisconsin Army National Guard troops have been authorized to support authorities in Kenosha following the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse.

Members of the National Guard will stage outside Kenosha in a standby status to respond if requested by local law enforcement agencies, officials say. The Rittenhouse trial has entered its final stages.

Besides that, Rittenhouse's friend acted as a straw purchaser, buying a gun for Rittenhouse that Rittenhouse was not legally able to buy on his own. There's at least a couple of Federal charges in that alone. Why hasn't he been charged?

ETA: He was charged. Trial TBD. But he apparently was not charged with a Federal crime.

How the Germans Do It

Unlike the Republicans, who cannot accept teaching the bad shit that makes up part of this country's history, the Germans do teach their kids about their bad shit, as the Rude Pundit discussed.

If the Germans taught the Holocause the way Texas tried to teach slavery, the Germans would have referred to Auschwitz as a center for hospice care.

Wheels, Turning

Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, was indicted Friday on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress after he defied a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

The Justice Department said Bannon, 67, was indicted on one count for refusing to appear for a deposition last month and the other for refusing to provide documents in response to the committee’s subpoena. He is expected to surrender to authorities on Monday and will appear in court that afternoon, a law enforcement official told the AP.

Being indicted for a Federal crime is not something new for Bannon. My suspicion is that he'll try to ride it out in the hope that the Orange Seditionist will regain power and issue yet another pardon.

Because It's Friday

UP 4014 accelerating:

Remember, a Big Boy has eight beats per wheel revolution.

Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid Prizes

A San Francisco police officer has died of COVID-19, sources say.

Officer Jack Nyce died Saturday at the age of 47, Chief Bill Scott said.

Nyce tested positive for COVID-19 early last week and was later rushed to the hospital due to complications from the coronavirus, his widow told NBC Bay Area Monday afternoon. He later died at the hospital.

Police sources tell NBC Bay Area Nyce was among the 41 officers placed on leave for not meeting the city’s deadline of being vaccinated by Nov. 1.

I don't know what Officer Nyce's reasons were for not being vaccinated. But it does sound as though he elected to roll the dice on Covid and they came up snake-eyes. If his widow loved him, I hope she gets therapy to help her deal with the anger from the feelings that her late husband dumbshitted himself into a grave.

Elsewhere, those who play these stupid games have to pay:

People “unvaccinated by choice” in Singapore no longer can receive free covid-19 treatment https://t.co/LRy0iDnbqQ

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 8, 2021

Putting These Down, Here

Veterans' Day

Today was originally set to honor those who had died in the Great War or who were missing. In 1954, the holiday was changed in the United States to honor all veterans, living or not. In many other nations, it is called Remembrance Day, to much the same effect.

If you are serving in the armed forces, or if you have served, thank you for doing so,

In New York City, a man was charged with murdering a World War I veteran in 1976. More details here.

How You Can Get a Visit from the FBI

I imagine that if you or I posted a video suggesting that a Member of Congress be murdered, we’d be investigated.

But if you happen to be a certain America-hating troll from Arizona named "Paul Gosar," then you'll probably get away with it.

Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar was facing criticism after he tweeted a video that included altered animation showing him striking Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with a sword.

You won't hear a peep out of the Republican House leadership, because Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader, is a spineless, gutless creature best known for leaving a trail of slime wherever he goes (and for raising his head only to kiss the ass of El Caudillo de Mar-a-Lago).

Absolutelystupidesttoolinalltexas

Verified!

Though the other compound word would also accurately describe Ted Cruz.

(Totalsnivelingbeardedlittlefuck)

Pandemic News That Should Surprise No One

In October, 25 out of every 100,000 residents of heavily Trump counties died from Covid, more than three times higher than the rate in heavily Biden counties (7.8 per 100,000). October was the fifth consecutive month that the percentage gap between the death rates in Trump counties and Biden counties widened.

It just boggles the mind. TFG touted his Operation Warp Speed, but then he and the Right-Wing Noise Machine decided to make getting vaccinated and taking easy precautions agaist getting infected into partisan issues. TFG was so vain that he refused to be photographed being inoculated.

Not being vaccinated is the hill that they are, literally, choosing to die on.

Conservatives Embody Cancel Culture and Snowflakeism

The conservative outcry towards Critical Race Theory shows that they embody the very thing they decry: Censoring viewpoints that make them uncomfortable.

What are they so afraid of? That their kids will learn that their grandparents threw rocks at school kids and school buses during integration? That their great-grandparents attended lynchings?

Dropping These Off, Here

And an extra:

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Please stand by.

Moderation will be spotty for a few days due to familial duties.

Here's an Idea, Republicans; Infrastructure Week Ed.

If you think that the recently-passed infrastructure bill is a boondoggle and is full of unnecessary spending, then contact your state representatives and your governor to tell them to refuse any Federal dollars as a result of the bill.

I'll not hold my breath.

Because hypocrisy is a basic tenent of Republicans and conservatives, especially in the South. You clowns cavail and wail about the amount of money the Federal government spends, but you line up to the trough to take it all down. It's a well-known fact that most of the states that take the most Federal money per capita are run by Republicans.

Joe Manchin's home state is #2. You'll have to wait a long time to see the good small-government Republicans in West Virginia turn away Federal money.

DV Help Signal

About the signal.

It saved a kidnapped girl.

Silenced Sten

"Gun Jesus" goes out shooting with one:

Remember that Sten guns fired from an open bolt, so the sound of the bolt cycling couldn't be engineered out of it.

Dumbass Insurrectionists

One clown (aka "Florida Man") listed his house on Zillow; the photos included a whiteboard that had an inventory of stuff he had, including flash-bang grenades. Which he had no license to own. Which got the FBI interested.
___________________________

Meanwhile, the Insurrectionist Real Estate Agent who claimed that she was too white and too blonde to go to jail for trying to overthrow the government has found out otherwise.

Your Sunday Morning Jet Noise

Gulfstream IIs:

N779LC is apparently used for some highly-classified missile tracking shit.

Caturday

Sleeping on the floral furniture.