The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

In The Mailbox: 04.05.23 (Morning Edition)

Posted on | April 5, 2023 | Comments Off on In The Mailbox: 04.05.23 (Morning Edition)

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Silicon Valley delenda est.

OVER THE TRANSOM
357 Magnum: What 4th Amendment?
EBL: Bing Crosby – The NATO Song
Twitchy: “We Will Not Normalize Serious Criminal Conduct”, Troon Pastor Compares Treatment Of Trannies To Christ’s Crucifixion, and Special K Hopes You Can Appreciate The Biden Administration “Doing Something” About The Chicom Spy Balloon
Louder With Crowder: Kid Rock shoots up Bud Light cans in protest. Unrelatedly, beer confirms Dylan Mulvaney as spokesdiva, LOL: Someone on the grand jury indicting Trump may have just committed a felony of their own, and Woke MN Democrat says biological men in girls school sports are okay since female athletes won’t amount to much anyway
Vox Popoli: The Inevitable Math, They Do Hire Liars, Another Nail in Darwin’s Coffin, and Amazon Kills Book Depository
Stoic Observations: The Engineering Path Not Taken

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
American Conservative: Americans Must Choose
American Greatness: Dem Reps Who Egged on Rioters at Tennessee Capitol Stripped of Committee Assignments & Face Expulsion, also, U.S. Manufacturing Hits New Low Under Biden
American Thinker: Texas Medical Board Suspends Doctor for Choosing to Do No Harm, Soros’s Justice in U.S. and Israel, and Liberals: Burn the Place Down!
Animal Magnetism: Animal’s Daily Written English News
Babalu Blog: Nearly 400 protests in communist Cuba during the month of March
BattleSwarm: Kentucky Ballistics + Slow-Mo Guys = Gun Destruction at 187,000 fps
Behind The Black: Virgin Orbit files for bankruptcy, Lockheed Martin picked by Australia to build two military communications satellites, FAA issues travel advisory for Boca Chica for April 10, 2023 Starship launch, The outermost edge of Mars’ north polar icecap, and Judges expand hiring boycott of elite law colleges that allow violent protests and censorship
Cafe Hayek: If Solitary Confinement Is Cruel and Unusual Punishment … Aren’t, Also, Lockdowns?
CDR Salamander: How Many Bottles Of Catsup Are In The Flag Mess?
Chicago Boyz: 
Da Tech Guy: Indulgence Calendar for April, Funny How the SF Mayor DIDN’T ask her own State for help, Easy street for electric vehicles, and Fast Thoughts Under the Fedora
Dana Loesch: Trump Indictment Unsealed
Don Surber: What Rule Of Law?
First Street Journal: The left really do hate Freedom of Speech and of The Press, also, A 2020 George Floyd rioter is sentenced to five years in federal prison
Gates Of Vienna: Geert Wilders – “Stop With the Craziness!”, The Eternal German Spirit of Subservience, Cock-a-Doodle-Do!, and Allons Enfants de la Patrie!
The Geller Report: Post Indictment, Trump’s Poll Numbers Skyrocket, E Pluribus Trump, and Soros DA Bragg Tells Judge To Gag Donald Trump
Hogewash: Team Kimberlin Post of the Day, What’s Up for April, 2023, and Bud Light, Dylan Mulvaney, and Truth in Advertising
Hollywood In Toto: Woke Scolds Want to Cancel Pop Culture Classics, This Australian Comic Predicted Academia’s Woke Insanity – 7 Years Ago, and Money Trumps Woke As HBO Max Eyes ‘Harry Potter’ Series
The Lid: Passover And The Blood Libel
Legal Insurrection: Anti-Defamation League Blasted for Becoming Just Another Tool for the Left, Flyers at Pepperdine University Compare Opposing Trans Ideology to Genocide, Cornell Rejects Student Demands for ‘Trigger Warnings’ Before Class Discussions, Columbia Law Students Throw a Fit After Members of Federalist Society Meet With Justice Kavanaugh, and William & Mary Student Claims She Has Received Death Threats for Saying Men Cannot Have Babies
Nebraska Energy Observer: Neo said
Outkick: Chaos Breaks Out In Storrs After UConn’s Championship Win Over SDSU, Absurdity Of MLB Blackouts Exemplified By Game Unable To Be Aired Inside Stadium Where Game Was Played, Baseball Is Back! Drunk Fan At Brewers Home Opener Pees In Concourse In Front Of Other Fans, Trent Dilfer Responds To Hugh Freeze’s Spring Game Proposal By Standing Up To Nick Saban, Alabama, and UConn-SDSU Title Game Edges Women’s Final In Ratings, Draws More Eyes Than Every NBA Final From Past 3 Years
Power Line: Judge Ho’s thought for the day, Maybe Trump CAN win the general election, and Trump’s new lawyer
Protein Wisdom Reborn: The Audacity Of Woke
Shark Tank: FSHCC Backs Senate Bill For Private Nursing Program Funding
Shot In The Dark: Unexpectedly, Cold Flint/s, 
STUMP: Will there be a state and municipal public finance bailout?
The Political Hat:
This Ain’t Hell: AF General says F-35 JIT supply chain is wrong, Two weeks of leave in conjunction with family member’s death, John Watts – SEAL Team NONE, and Afghan Orphan update
Transterrestrial Musings: The Climate Cult, Can We Really Trust AI?, The Parable Of The Drowning Man, and The Death Of Downtowns
Victory Girls: Legal Minds Weigh In On Trump Indictment
Volokh Conspiracy: Divorced Father Inflicted “Mental Injury” on 12-Year-Old Son By Religious Criticisms of Son’s Felt Homosexuality, also, Justin Fairfax (Former Va. Lt. Gov.) Loses Libel Lawsuit Against N.Y. Public Radio
Watts Up With That: The Earth’s Green Future is Forked, Record March Cold Over the Western U.S. and Northern Plains, and California Gov. Newsom to make gas prices even higher!
Weasel Zippers: MSNBC: Being Anti-Trans Is “Anti-Gospel, Anti-Christ”, Elon Musk On NY Times Feed: “Twitter Equivalent of Diarrhea”, Fake Beer Signs Deal With Fake Woman, and Judge Warns Trump To Refrain From Posting On Social Media – Trump Posts Anyway
The Federalist: EXCLUSIVE: Biden Admin Is Funding Overseas Lithium Projects While Shutting Down American Mines, Hospitalized Or Not, Democrats Have A Plan For Fetterman, WaPo ‘Fact-Checker’ Humiliated After Smearing Criticism Of Soros-Backed DA As ‘Antisemitism’, How The Transgender Lobby’s Obsession With Its Own Victimhood Breeds Violence, and Illinois Dems Work To Shut Down Life-Saving Pregnancy Centers With Vague ‘Deceptive Practices’ Bill
Mark Steyn: Who’s Afraid of the Weeping Willow?, also, Steyn’s New Book – The Prisoner Of Windsor

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Category: Linkagery

In The Mailbox: 04.04.23

Posted on | April 5, 2023 | Comments Off on In The Mailbox: 04.04.23

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Silicon Valley delenda est.

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Category: humor

Making History (Not in a Good Way)

Posted on | April 4, 2023 | Comments Off on Making History (Not in a Good Way)

Witness the dawning of Soviet America:

In a historic first of shredded norms and judicial weaponization — at least in the formerly exceptional United States — a former president and current front-running presidential candidate has been arraigned on criminal charges.
Donald Trump arrived in New York City on Monday to face charges conjured up by Soros-backed Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg through a grand jury process in the near-universally Trump-hating city. The former president spent the night in his luxurious upscale quarters in the landmark Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan.
On Tuesday, the former president reported to the DA’s office and courthouse at 100 Centre Street to be fingerprinted and processed just before 2 p.m. In a blow to slavering leftists everywhere, the coveted mugshot was not taken. Democrats and Trump Derangement sufferers had been expected to use the image for historic purposes reflecting the seriousness of the charges and the gravitas of the situation, such as printed toilet tissue, dart boards, “Trump for Prison 2024” t-shirts, and similar hate aids. Nor was the once-and-possibly-future president handcuffed, most likely because his Secret Service detail pointed out that it would be ludicrous to handcuff a man surrounded by Secret Service agents.
From there, the front-running Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential race appeared before New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan at 2:29 p.m. The historic charges that are serious enough to warrant turning the United States into a banana republic and dividing her citizens against one another were finally unsealed. They included 34 counts of falsification of business records, which is a misdemeanor in New York State but which Bragg had tortured into felonies. It is extremely unusual for a single alleged crime to be split into 34 separate charges, explained an expert who had been briefed on the situation. “For example, when a shoplifter steals six handbags, she will only be charged with one count of larceny.” But here we are.

“Where were you when the Republic died, Grandpa?”

(Hat-tip: Instapundit.)



 

 

Category: Donald Trump

In The Mailbox: 04.03.23

Posted on | April 4, 2023 | 1 Comment

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Thanks to everyone who bought stuff through my Amazon links in March!
Silicon Valley delenda est.

OVER THE TRANSOM
EBL: The Vikings, Sanna Marin Loses, and Babylon
Twitchy: Rural Mom Claims You Don’t Hunt With An AR-15 Because “It Ruins The Meat”, Elon Musk Changes Twitter Logo To DOGE Dog, and Another Reason Bud Light Is Nuts To Put Dylan Mulvaney On Its Beer Cans
Louder With Crowder: Elon Musk strips NYT of its blue checkmark, rubs their face in it just because he can, Marjorie Taylor Greene leaves 60 Minutes host speechless over alleged pedophilia in Democratic Party, and American Idol contestant who was mom-shamed by Katy Perry has quit the show
Vox Popoli: The Clownfoolery Intensifies, Castalia History Series, Never Trust the Science, and White is the New Red
Gab News: Christians Must Learn To Hate Again

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
American Conservative: The Real Trump Development to Be Worried About, also, The Common Defense
American Greatness: Indict One—And All?, Supporters Chant ‘We Love Trump’ as He Arrives in NYC Ahead of Arraignment, and Banana Time for the Rule of Law
American Thinker: Yes, We Have Gone Bananas, NY Citizens’ Voter Audit Challenges Blue-State Hegemony, and Will Economic Freedom End this July?
Animal Magnetism: Goodbye, Blue Monday
Babalu Blog: Image of the Day: Revolutionary transportation in socialist Cuba, Lack of plaster for casts in hospitals forces Cubans to use cardboard and wire to set fractures, Imprisoned Cuban journalists endure horrific abuse, and Chinese agency to promote Cuba as ‘priority’ tourist destination
BattleSwarm: Ukraine Also Updating T-55s, also, Weird Guns Used in the Russo-Ukrainian War
Behind The Black: Update on MOXIE’s two years on Mars, producing oxygen, SpaceX and Chinese pseudo-company complete launches, India successfully lands its own version of the X-37B on a runway, A journey into Martian chaos, and Pushback: University will hire no one who supports “critical race theory”
Cafe Hayek: A Note from a Reader, On Dollars In Global Trade, and A Review of Elizabeth Popp Berman’s “Thinking Like an Economist”
CDR Salamander: If It Flies, It Does, A Tale Of Two 4-Stars, and Breaking my Flag
Chicago Boyz: Applying the Turing Test to ChatGPT…Using Turing’s Own Example
Da Tech Guy: Nothing but net: When Nike fought back against a left-wing Operation PUSH boycott and won, The 2nd Most incredible comeback since I started playing in Status Pro/Dynasty Tabletop Baseball Leagues in 1987 or why Baseball is the greatest game there is, Falling short…again, and Five Very Quick One Liners Under The Fedora
Don Surber: Highlights Of The Week, Blaming White Republicans, and Crisis Breeds Fascism
First Street Journal: The Social Justice Warriors do not believe in people’s property rights, also, Killadelphia: With people being murdered every single day, is it any surprise when people move out?
Gates Of Vienna:  Is April Fools’ Day White Supremacism?, You Will Know Changes Soon, Keep the Boats Coming!, and Does Sending “Peacekeepers” to Ukraine Guarantee World War III?
The Geller Report: White House To Host Roundtable Promoting Transgender Mutilation Surgeries and Dangerous Trans Drugs, DUMPING THE DOLLAR, and China, Russia Leading Push to Replace US Dollar as World’s Reserve Currency
Hogewash: Team Kimberlin Post of the Day, A Trifecta Galaxy, Tonight’s Sky – April, 2023, and 2001: A Space Odyssey
Hollywood In Toto: His Only Son Crashes Box Office Party, Literary Orgs Silent on Classic Book Censorship, and Film Site Says Faith-Based Nefarious Among Most Anticipated Movies
The Lid: Biden is Gutting Our Navy as China Continues to Build the Biggest Fleet in History, also, RESTRICT Act Could Shut Down Truth Social, Rumble, Or Any App That Challenges ‘Reported Result’ Of Elections
Legal Insurrection: GWU Claims an Investigation Cleared it of Accusations of Anti-Semitism but Won’t Release Report, DeSantis Orders Investigation of Disney Deal To Thwart Legislation On Reedy Creek Control, Legislation Fighting DEI Policies in Multiple States Could be Legal Nightmare for Higher Education, Half of the CDC Team Investigating East Palestine Spill Fell Ill With Symptoms Similar to Residents, Dems & Media Agree – Troons  & Audrey Hale Are the Real Victims of the Nashville Massacre, and WaPo’s Glenn Kessler Posts Three Pinocchio ‘Fact Check’ On Bragg Being “Soros-backed,” Gets Schooled
Nebraska Energy Observer: Saturday – just for you, Palmarum, Palm Sunday, and The Countdown has Started
Outkick: Dave Portnoy-Jemele Hill Feud Reignites, John Feinstein, Sportswriting Martyr, Throws In Towel, Shaq Tells Keith Olbermann ‘Shut Your Dumb A– Up’ For Ripping Angel Reese, Iowa Coach Responds To Dawn Staley’s Postgame Rant, Cavinder Twins Respond To Haters After Miami’s Loss, and ESPN, A Network That Never Stops Talking About Racism, Ignores Blatant Racism That Doesn’t Fit Their Narrative
Power Line: Rush Limbaugh Warned Us, What Does It Cost to Buy a State?, Feeding Our Future: Bill Glahn’s update, and Liberals Try to Make People’s Lives Worse
Shark Tank: Book & Fried Arrested During Abortion Protest
Shot In The Dark: Good Guys & Gals With Guns?, Just A Little Day Brightener, Urban Progressive Privilege – It’s “One Minnesota”, And It’s All Theirs
STUMP: Sumo Saturday – Lull Between Bashos
The Political Hat: The Radical Fringe And The Overton Window
This Ain’t Hell: First Do No Harm, Navy doctor pleads guilty to conspiracy insurance fraud scheme, Shame and Guilt, and Marvin Jacobs, Army veteran, dies after nurse fails to clear his airway
Transterrestrial Musings: “No One Is Above The Law”, Ouch, Your Good-News Story Of The Day, and The School Trap
Victory Girls: Terfenstein Video Game Play Kills Priests And Other “Fascists“, A Man Is Shot Twice And Alvin Bragg Charges Him With Attempted Murder, and CMT Awards In Austin Offends On So Many Levels
Volokh Conspiracy: Plaintiff, Who Had Published an Article Describing Herself as Escort, Sues Newspaper for Calling Her an Escort
Watts Up With That: Yes, BBC, Global Warming Extends Plant Growing Seasons, Climate Obsessed British Politicians are Embracing Fantasy Energy Solutions, and SMH: Radio Silence Replaces Greenwashing Claims
Weasel Zippers: Biden HHS Flies “Transgender Pride Flag” Outside DC HQ, CBS News Bans Staff From Using Word “Transgender” To Describe Tennessee Mass Shooter, At Least 21 People Dead After Deadly Tornadoes Barrel Through Midwest, South, and Report: Chinese Spy Balloon Collected Intel, Sent Back To Beijing In “Real Time”
The Federalist: Women Deserve To Be Empowered By Doctors, Not Rushed To Medical Abortion Without Them, Minnesota Bills Push Discrimination With Race-Based Hiring Quotas, Punishments For Religious Colleges, When It Comes To The Nashville Shooting, Leftists Suddenly Ditch Their Identity Obsession, National Media Hides Accusations About Leftist WI Supreme Court Candidate Using Racial Slurs And Abusing Husband, The Left Keeps Parents Like The Nashville Shooter’s From Helping Their Anguished Kids, and Idaho Takes An Axe To Ranked-Choice Voting In Elections;  North Dakota And Arizona Could Follow Suit
Mark Steyn: The Prisoner of Windsor, Fifth Avenue Girl – The Quiet Screwball, and Tal Bachman – Why Does Everyone Have To Be Gay All the Time?

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Category: Linkagery

#WaxMyBalls Update

Posted on | April 3, 2023 | Comments Off on #WaxMyBalls Update

Has it really been more than three years since I last updated readers on the bizarre career of Canadian pervert Jonathan “Jessica” Yaniv?

When last we checked in on “Jessica,” he/“she” had been arrested in January 2020 on charges of assaulting a Canadian journalist outside a courthouse. In case you’d forgotten — who could ever forget? — Yaniv became notorious for going to salons and seeking genital waxing (depilation) on his/“her” genitalia, then filing complaints of discrimination when the requested treatment was denied, hence giving rise to the #waxmyballs hashtag in reference to the case.

The good news is, there will be no further such cases filed by Yaniv because he/“she” finally underwent “gender confirmation” surgery in January 2021. The bad news is, there were post-operative complications that led Yaniv to file a lawsuit against a Vancouver clinic, and also, whatever you do, DO NOT CLICK THIS LINK if you don’t want to know what botched sex-change surgery looks like. The folks at KiwiFarms employ the phrase “gaping axe wound” to describe the result of Yaniv’s surgery, and anyone willing to risk irreversible mental trauma can click the link to discover how accurate that phrase is. DON’T DO IT!

The website MeowMix.org has become a clearinghouse for all things Yaniv-related, and among other things, they have posted court documents related to Yaniv’s tragic “gaping ax wound,” which you can read if you have a morbid curiosity to know what happens when Murphy’s Law is applied to transgender surgery. But the good news, as I say, is that Yaniv no longer has any balls in need of waxing.

However, as I’ve pointed out on previous occasions, having your genitals removed is not a cure for mental illness, and Yaniv continues to be a dangerous lunatic. He/“she” has faced numerous criminal charges, including a charge of assaulting an elderly resident of the apartment building where his/“her” mother lives (Yaniv is now reportedly banned from that property). Speaking of places Yaniv is reportedly banned from, this would include the campus of Simon Frazier University, where Yaniv is enrolled as a student, but can only attend via online classes because of some kind of drama involving fellow students. This has not, however, prevented Jonathan/“Jessica” from declaring himself/“herself” a candidate for the university’s Student Senate.

By the way, I should point out that Jonathan/“Jessica” no longer goes by his/“her” surname, Yaniv. Instead, he/“she” now refers to himself/“herself” as . . . Can you guess? Wanna guess? C’mon, guess!

JESSICA SIMPSON — Yaniv is basically stealing the identity of a 1990s teenage pop singer, because why not? Being transgender means you’re a Victim of Oppression, which means that no matter how crazy and/or criminal your behavior may be, there are never any negative consequences — except, of course, that “gaping ax wound” where your testicles used to be. [Insert “social justice” sarcasm here.]

Can’t believe I let three whole years lapse without an update on Jonathan/“Jessica,” but what with the COVID pandemic, war in Ukraine, etc., there seemed to be more important news worth commenting about. Next time there’s a slow day in the news cycle, somebody remind me to do another update, because Crazy People Are Dangerous.



 

 

Category: Canada, The Transgender Cult

Brain-Damaged John Fetterman Gets ‘Democrat Helper’ Served by CBS News

Posted on | April 3, 2023 | 1 Comment

The best way to understand how liberal media bias operates is to think of it as a heavy wind, blowing into the faces of Republicans — at least a 10-point disadvantage from this hostile headwind — while providing Democrats with an equally powerful tailwind. Everything Republicans do is made to seem wrong and scandalous, while everything Democrats do is noble and courageous. There are occasions when this is so obvious that it’s like the media are serving up Democrat Helper™ — a steaming dish of one-sided bias. Just add a Democrat politician and stir.

Matt Margolis calls attention to how CBS Sunday Morning anchor Jane Pauley did this in her recent interview with John Fetterman, the Democrat who was “elected” U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania despite suffering traumatic brain damage from a stroke shortly before the Democratic primary last May. Shortly after he was inaugurated in January, it became apparent that Fetterman was incapable of fulfilling the duties of his office, and in February his staff came up with the genius idea of concealing the senator’s cognitive incapacity by having him admitted to Walter Reed for treatment of depression. Does anyone seriously believe that Fetterman’s biggest problem is a mood disorder?

Let us stipulate that a stroke as severe as the one Fetterman suffered could damage every aspect of his neurological function, including mood regulation. But the real problem — the reason Fetterman should resign, to allow Pennsylvania to have functional representation in the Senate — is that his cognitive abilities (which perhaps were never stellar) have been so impaired as to leave him unable even to speak coherently or process information. And what CBS did to conceal this was to carefully edit Paulie’s interview with Fetterman, using an obvious trick: Two cameras were used in the interview, one with a tight close-up of Fetterman, and the second with a wider shot, and whenever Fetterman speaks, they cut between the two shots, as if this is being done to add visual interest to the interview, rather than to edit out moments of babbling incoherence.

 

There is never any segment during the interview where Fetterman is shown speaking in a single shot for more than five or 10 seconds consecutively. And if you watch carefully, these interview excerpts constitute a fairly small share of the 10-minute piece, much of which is filled with Paulie narrating a tale of Fetterman’s “struggle,” intended to frame this as the saga of a hero courageously overcoming misfortune.

As much as anyone might lament Fetterman’s misfortune, however, it is certainly not evident that he has overcome the brain damage he suffered from his stroke last year, and Jane Paulie’s interview cannot be regarded as an honest depiction of Fetterman’s current condition. The CBS segment is propaganda, the whole point of which is to help Democrats maintain the fiction that Fetterman is capable of functioning as a U.S. Senator, so that they can avoid the risk and expense of a special election to fill the seat, if Fetterman were compelled to resign.



 

 

Category: CBS, Pennsylvania, Senate

Rule 5 Sunday: Sanna Marin

Posted on | April 3, 2023 | 3 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Finnish politician Sanna Marin is in the news again as the Finns voted for a pair of conservative/nationalist parties over Marin’s Social Democrats in this weekend’s elections, which means Marin’s term as Prime Minister is over. Marin gained notoriety as the youngest Prime Minister in Finnish history, and also in a pair of incidents pertaining to clubbing during the COVID panic and a revealing photoshoot that some thought demeaned her office. Here’s a pic of her at the Ruisrock Festival before she became famous.
Ceterum autem censeo Silicon Valley esse delendam.

ANIMAL MAGNETISM: Rule Five Welfare State Friday, and the Saturday Gingermageddon.

EBL: John Wick Chapter 4, The Night Agent, Riley Gaines, Eva Vlaardingerbroek, Ladyhawke, Giulia Tofana, Gwyneth Paltrow, Carnival Row Season Two, and MAGA Persecution

A VIEW FROM THE BEACH: Genie Bouchard and the Wearing ‘o the Green, You’ll Eat Bugs and Like It!, Merry Trumpmas! LOTT Punks AOC, Q-Man Released, Insurrection in Tennessee, Fish Pic Friday – Capt. Miranda Adams, Noise from Nashville, Trumpmas Put Off a Month, Lo Que un Hombre Debería Saber, Gnashing of Teeth over Nashville, IRS ‘Drops In’ on Matt Taibbi, No ‘Trumpmas’ This Week, Some Wednesday Wetness, Forget It PETA, It’s Baltimore, Trans Day of Rage – Transgunman Kills 3 Kid 3 Adults at Nashville Christian School, Tuesday Tanlines, It’s DIY Monday, The Monday Morning Stimulus, Is The Tide Is Turning Against Big Trans?, Palm Sunday and Week Ends with No Arrest, Maybe Never

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Category: Rule 5

What Joe Biden Wants

Posted on | April 2, 2023 | 1 Comment

Don’t know who deserves credit for that meme, but it is accurate in its description of the rhetoric of gun-control advocates, including President Joe Biden, who invoke “assault weapons” to incite an emotional reaction from ignorant people — which is no different, really, than Democrats’ rhetoric about “corporate greed” or “climate change” or “Russian interference in our elections.” Not to digress, but let me quote something Freddie deBoer wrote about the Trump indictment:

The example of Trump is interesting. I’m not sure who first said it, but it’s been observed that Trump’s fundamental political proposition is not really populism, or foreign policy isolationism, or economic protectionism. Trump’s political pitch is, simply, “I will destroy your enemies.” Which is part of what makes him a monster, his zeal for attacking his targets and the targets he picks. But when I see people who favor police and prison abolition exactly up until the police and prisons become useful tools to them, it convinces me even more that “I will destroy your enemies” is all that politics is. When you scrape the surface even a little bit, that’s all that you find, the will to destroy the other side.

DeBoer believes that applies to his “progressive” allies as well, and having spent the past 30-plus years watching Democrats crusade against a series of bogeymen — remember the “Patriot militia” scare of the mid-1990s? remember the overblown rhetoric about the danger of “the Religious Right”? — I think the Left is actually much more addicted to this destroy-your-enemies approach to politics, and their demonization of firearms ownership is typical of this. If you’ve read Thomas Sowell’s The Vision of the Anointed, you’re familiar with his analysis of how liberals think in categories of “mascots” (e.g., the homeless) and “targets,” those perceived as villains in the political melodrama. When you hear Joe Scarborough ranting about Republicans being “whipped into a paranoid frenzy by the NRA,” you understand how this selection of “targets” functions to direct liberals’ response to any controversy. If the National Rifle Association didn’t exist, liberals would have to invent it, in order to have an object of hate whenever gun violence makes national headlines.

Here is something Biden and his media allies never mention: Most shootings don’t involve “assault weapons,” or rifles of any kind, for that matter. The vast majority of shootings are committed with pistols, with 9mm and .40-caliber semiautomatics being the most common weapons used in shootings. So-called “mass shootings” are rare incidents, accounting for only a tiny fraction of the roughly 26,000 homicides in the United States in 2021. Most homicides are either domestic disputes or associated with inner-city gangs engaged in drug trafficking. Moreover, homicide is geographically concentrated:

When it comes to murder, there are three types of counties in the United States. Most counties experience no murders, a smaller set where there are a few murders, and then a tiny set of counties where murders are very common. In 2020, 52% of counties (with 10% of the population) had no murders. 68% of counties have no more than one murder, and about 18% of the population. These counties account for only 2.6% of all murders in the country. The worst 1% of counties (the worst 31 counties) have 21% of the population and 42% of the murders. The worst 2% of counties (62 counties) contain 31% of the population and 56% of the murders. The worst 5% of counties contain 47% of the population and account for 73% of murders. But even within those counties, the murders are very heavily concentrated in small areas.

Did you catch that? There are more than 3,000 counties in the United States, of which 62 account for more than half of the nation’s murders. About 70% of Americans live in places where murders are quite rare. And, it is important to note, the rates of firearm ownership are not predictive of homicide rates. That is to say, Americans living in rural areas are far more likely to own guns than residents of urban areas, and yet murder rates are highest in those urban areas where gun ownership rates are comparatively low. The rhetoric around “assault weapons” obscures all of these relevant facts about violent crime, and most of the Democrats you see opining on the subject (especially Joe Biden) either don’t know what the hell they are talking about, or simply don’t care about the facts. Consider this recent news item:

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas affirmed he supports an “assault weapons” ban, but would not define the term “assault weapon” when asked by Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday. . . .
Mayorkas make clear his support for an “assault weapons” ban.
Kennedy then asked, “What is an ‘assault weapon’”?
“It is for example, an AK-47,” Mayorkas responded.
Kennedy then pressed him. “Can you give me a definition other than just pointing to a specific weapon? Would there be other weapons besides an AK-47 you would ban?”
Instead of defining the term, Mayorkas recounted his work as a federal prosecutor and said, “The vast majority of law enforcement officers, leaders with whom I worked, were greatly in support of the assault weapons ban.”
Kennedy then said, “You know why we get so frustrated with you? Because you won’t give us straight answers.”

It is estimated that Americans own about 20 million AR-15s, which is the most popular type of rifle in the country. Yet how many AR-15s have ever been used in the commission of a crime? In an average year, how many times do police arrest someone for a crime in which an AR-15 was used? And what is the ratio between (a) crimes committed with pistols and (b) crimes committed with AR-15s (or any other “assault weapon”)? These are questions that Senator Kennedy and other Republicans should be asking Biden administration officials. And speaking of pistols, police in Chicago say they are seeing more “switches” used to convert 9mm pistols to fully automatic fire. If you add a “switch” to a 9mm pistol and have a large-capacity drum magazine, you’ve got yourself a miniature machine gun — which is a federal felony, by the way. Let us ask, who is being arrested with these illegal weapons in Chicago? Are they right-wingers? NRA members? Trump voters? I don’t think so.

Maybe Senator Kennedy should ask about that issue, too.



 

 

Category: Crime
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