The Other McCain

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

Sheriff Bob Wins Re-Election

Posted on | November 5, 2020 | Comments Off on Sheriff Bob Wins Re-Election

If you’re a fan of law enforcement, you know Sheriff Bob Gualtieri of Pinellas County, Florida. He is a veteran lawman who went to college and got a law degree, worked as a lawyer and then returned to the sheriff’s department as legal counsel and became chief deputy before being appointed sheriff by Gov. Rick Scott in 2011.

Pinellas County — St. Petersburg, Largo, Clearwater, across the bay from Tampa — had a serious problem with teenage car thieves. That problem got reduced slightly in 2017 when three of the juveniles died in a fiery crash in a stolen Ford Explorer:

The SUV ran through a red light — it was going 117 mph just 2½-seconds before impact, according to crash recovery data — and then collided with a 1999 Toyota Camry in the middle lane of U.S. 19 N, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The Camry driver, Ricky Melendez Jr., was on his way to work.
The Explorer was sent airborne, crashed into five parked cars at a dealership and then struck a billboard pole 10 feet above the ground before tumbling to stop on Tampa Road.

Here is Sheriff Bob’s press conference about that incident:

 

This guy knows how to do a press conference. Anyway, some left-wing pest of a “social justice” Democrat ran against Sheriff Bob this year, and amid all the hype about high turnout, I worried that the sheriff might be in trouble, but he cruised to victory with a 25-point margin, 62%-37%. 

Y’know, I’m always looking for a dark-horse long-shot candidate, somebody with a populist “outsider” image like my late friend Herman Cain, and the current occupant of the White House. It’s kind of early to be talking about 2024, but if Sheriff Bob starts gaining a bit more of a national media profile over the next couple of years . . .

Well, never say never. Impossible things happen all the time.




 

Category: Crime, Election, Florida

In The Mailbox: 11.04.20 (Evening Edition)

Posted on | November 5, 2020 | Comments Off on In The Mailbox: 11.04.20 (Evening Edition)

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Silicon Valley delenda est.

OVER THE TRANSOM
Pagan Vigil: Aftermath
Ninety Miles From Tyranny: The 90 Miles Mystery Box, Episode #1161 – Election Day
EBL: Stop The Steal – Andrew Breitbart Has A Message For The GOP
Twitchy: FiveThirtyEight Says Batch Of 23,277 Votes In Philadelphia Has Been Reported – All For Biden
Louder With Crowder: Election Updates And Exclusive Election Fraud Proof
Vox Popoli: The Key County Results, also, Trust The President
Gab News: President Trump Declares Victory – Stop The Coup!

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
Adam Piggott: We Used To Burn Witches
American Conservative: Trump Is Right – It’s Time To Get Rid Of Section 230
American Greatness: A Probable & Deserved Victory, also, Michigan USPS Whistleblower Says Late Mail-In Ballots Are Being Stamped As Received November 3
American Thinker: The Nasty Street Fight Ahead For 2020 – This Is Why We Elected Trump
Animal Magnetism: Animal’s Hump Day News
Babalu Blog: “138,000 Magic Michigan Votes Appear – And ALL For YOU!”
BattleSwarm: Liveblogging The 2020 Election, also, Morning Election Aftermath
Cafe Hayek: Seeing More Of The Unsenn
CDR Salamander: So, We Had An Election
Da Tech Guy: Sometimes I Hate Being Right
Don Surber: The Reason They Tanked The Polls, also, Trump Won’t Give Up. We Won’t Either.
The Geller Report: Watch Suitcases & Coolers Being Rolled Into Detroit Voting Center At 4 AM, Brought Into Secure Counting Area, also, Arizona AG Opens Probe Into Voter Complaints In Maricopa County
Hogewash: Team Kimberlin Post Of The Day, also, I’ll Wait To See
Hollywood In Toto: Wes Anderson Tome Tries Too Hard To Mimic The Man Himself, also, Let Him Go Uses, Then Discards, Two Powerhouse Performances
JustOneMinute: Interesting 2016 Vibe Developing
The Lid: Oregon Decriminalized Drugs Like Heroin, Meth, & Cocaine
Legal Insurrection: Crickets Over Republicans Adding 11 New Female Reps To The House, also,  Backlash – Left Turns On #NeverTrump Lincoln Project Grifters
Power Line: Massive Voter Fraud In Wisconsin? also, In The House, A Red Wave
Shark Tank: Trump Wins Florida, GOP Picks Up Two Key House Seats
Shot In The Dark: In a Rational Utopia
The Political Hat: Election 2020 – Predictions From The Chaos & Nevada Early Vote
This Ain’t Hell: President Trump Argues Election Fraud, also, How Did Veteran Candidates Fare Yesterday?
Victory Girls: Media Racism Front & Center On Election Night
Volokh Conspiracy: California Voters Reject Race/Sex/Ethnic Preferences In Government Employment, Education, & Contracting
Weasel Zippers: Michigan Locks Poll Watchers Out Of Polling Place, also, MSNBC – Democrats In Washington Are Waking Up To An Abject Disaster
The Federalist: Yes, Democrats Are Trying To Steal The Election In Michigan, Pennsylvania, & Wisconsin, also, CDC Data Suggest Lockdowns Could Kill As Many People As COVID
Mark Steyn: Election Day Plus One, also, Links On Tenterhooks

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Category: Linkagery

In The Mailbox: 11.04.20 (Afternoon Edition)

Posted on | November 4, 2020 | Comments Off on In The Mailbox: 11.04.20 (Afternoon Edition)

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Silicon Valley delenda est.

OVER THE TRANSOM
357 Magnum: Chicago’s Recipe For More Crime
EBL: Trump MAGA Dance-Off
Twitchy: Award Winning Drag Queen Wants Everyone To Stop Addressing Trump Supporters Like They’re Human Beings
Louder With Crowder: Jason Whitlock – White Liberals Want To Limit The Freedom Black People Enjoy In America
Vox Popoli: Convergence Kills, also, Four More Years

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
Adam Piggott: What Your Mask Reveals, also, He’s Not Some Sort Of God-Emperor
American Conservative: The Libertarian Case For Trump
American Greatness: Biden Plans To Assume Role Of President-Elect If Media Declares Him Winner, also, Mr. Trump Goes To Washington
American Thinker: The Cure For Pennsylvania’s Mail-In Ballots
Animal Magnetism: Animal’s Daily Election Day News
Babalu Blog: “Your Policies Will Not Empower The People, Only Extend Our Suffering”
BattleSwarm: Why Shouldn’t Black America Walk Away From The Democrats? also, Special Election Day LinkSwarm
Cafe Hayek: James Bovard On The Battering Of The Constitution
CDR Salamander: You Know The Drill
Da Tech Guy: Why I Voted For Donald Trump, also, Election 2020 – An Army Of Jim’s Squared
Don Surber: 2016 – The Final Days, also, The Biden Campaign Scrambles for 270
First Street Journal: Are We Finally Done With Amy McGrath Henderson?
The Geller Report: “It’s Going To Take Us A While To Count…Please Be Patient”, also, Voting Machines “Down, Locked, Broken” In GA, NY, & PA Districts That Voted For Trump In 2016
Hogewash: Team Kimberlin Post of The Day, also, The Other Podcast – We Didn’t Get The Memo
Hollywood In Toto: Why Both Left & Right Hated Teenage Bounty Hunters, also, What Killed Michael Brown? Turns Tables On Media’s Race Narrative
JustOneMinute: Election Day!
The Lid: Lady Gaga Tries To Whip Up Crowd For Joe & Kamala – EPIC FAIL
Legal Insurrection: Frustrated Parents Flood NYC Catholic Schools With Applications, also, Judge Limits Gov. Newsom’s Power To Issue Emergency Orders During COVID Pandemic
Michelle Malkin: Beware Of Red-Diaper “Legal Observers”
Power Line: Can The Democrats Steal Pennsylvania? also, Liberal Election Night Freakout Underway (with updates)
Shark Tank: Miami-Dade State Attorney Fernandez-Rundle Audits Florida Post Offices
Shot In The Dark: Consequence
This Ain’t Hell: Whale Tail Saves Train, also, Off The Topic Of Politics
Victory Girls: Cities Brace For Riots, Liberals Wonder Why
Volokh Conspiracy: Protests, Roadways, & Liability
Weasel Zippers: Philly Councilwoman Blocks Poll Watcher, also,  Imagine Voting For This Idiot
The Federalist: Reports Of Election Interference At Philadelphia Polling Stations, also, Democrats Light $73 Million On Fire In KY Senate Race Against The Murder Turtle
Mark Steyn: Millsfield Or Dixville? also, Election Night Live

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Category: Linkagery

Cop Shoots White Guy Named ‘Kevin’

Posted on | November 4, 2020 | 1 Comment

Kevin Alan Smallman, 32, was a career criminal. Notice my use of the past tense verb “was.” Kevin assumed room temperature in January, with the assistance of a police officer in Chandler, Arizona.

Smallman had served time in prison for burglary and DUI, and after being released in 2017, he did not “go legit.” On Jan. 26, a police officer spotted a white Toyota Prius reported as stolen. The vehicle fled and escaped. The next day, the officer saw the stolen Toyota again in front of a Hampton Inn hotel; two people exited the vehicle and went into the hotel. The officer followed and confronted Smallman and his wife, Krystal Denean Ehrlich, 27, in the hotel lobby. Smallman “failed to comply,” as police say, refusing to provide identification and, when told he was being detained, took off running.

The officer gave chase, and Smallman ran — where else? — to the stolen Toyota, climbing in the driver’s seat. The officer opened the door and was trying to wrestle Smallman out of the car, and meanwhile Ehrlich had gotten into the backseat of the Toyota. Smallman started the car to make his getaway, with the cop wedged between him and the seat. In a bodycam video released by the police department, you see the struggle that ensued. Smallman took off with the cop hanging out the side of the stolen car, and the officer had no choice but to shoot the car thief in self-defense. The car rammed into a wall, the officer miraculously survived, and Smallman was pronounced dead at the scene.

 

Watching police bodycam footage has become a hobby for me — a strange choice of entertainment, perhaps, but a way to distract myself from the constant noise of politics. And the case of Kevin Smallman is rather typical of what are called “officer-involved shootings” (OIS).

Bad guys don’t cooperate with law enforcement, res ipsa loquitur. If you’re a convicted felon driving a stolen car, what are you going to do when a cop shows up and starts asking questions?

The smart thing to do would be to accept the reality — you got caught, and you’re going back to jail. Criminals aren’t really good decision-makers, however, and so the police encounter tends to escalate. First, the criminal lies — “Dindu nuffin” — and then he becomes non-compliant. He resists arrest, attacks the cop or tries to run away. If you’ve watched enough of these videos, the behavioral patterns become familiar.

Notice that Kevin had tattoos on his neck? Always a bad sign. Tattoos are a prerequisite for membership in the White Trash Criminals Club.

Not all people with tattoos are felons, but all felons have tattoos, and getting tattoos on your neck or face? Yep — might as well get the words “violating probation” tattooed on your forehead. It’s part of a behavioral pattern, as I say, and you will probably not be surprised to learn that after the cops carted Kevin Smallman’s corpse off to the morgue, they found meth and drug paraphernalia in the stolen car. The criminal’s widow, Krystal Ehrlich was charged with possession: “Court records show Ehrlich is homeless, and is currently on probation. She also has prior convictions for DUI, burglary, trafficking, narcotics possession, and drug paraphernalia possession.” Real classy people.

There were no protests over the police shooting of Kevin Smallman. No celebrities paid attention to this incident. Smallman got no coverage on CNN. Nobody cares when cops shoot a white criminal. There is no “social justice” angle, no political advantage to be gained, and so the death of Kevin Smallman was just a local news story.

Oh, and if Joe Biden is elected president? “Black Lives Matter” will disappear from the headlines. The only purpose of calling national attention to the deaths of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Jacob Blake, etc., was to “energize” black voters for Democrats in an election year, to dramatize the “systemic racism” issue to help Joe Biden. And once he takes office, everything will go back to business as usual for the media.




 

Category: Crime

Make Birthdays Great Again

Posted on | November 4, 2020 | Comments Off on Make Birthdays Great Again

Say hello to Jason, an Ohio boy who turned 12 years old yesterday. Because it was Election Day, and because Jason’s a big Trump supporter — it’s Ohio, which went for Trump by an 8-point margin — his family gave him a MAGA-themed birthday party. Instead of singing “Happy Birthday,” his family serenaded him with “Proud to Be an American.”

That video ought to go viral.




 

Category: Donald Trump, Election, Ohio

TRUMP WINS! TRUMP WINS!

Posted on | November 3, 2020 | Comments Off on TRUMP WINS! TRUMP WINS!

UPDATE 11:10 p.m. ET: I’m calling it for Trump. He’s won Florida and Georgia. North Carolina is looking like a win. He’s leading in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Michigan — MICHIGAN! — Trump now leads by double-digits. We are in Red Wave territory, folks.

* * * * *

My partner John Hoge and I will be podcasting tonight and you can click here to listen (you’ll need to download the Podbeam app).

What’s going to happen? Well, here’s a clue: I went to vote about 5 p.m. I live in a county that went for Trump in 2016 by a 30-point margin (62%-32%), and the polling place is in the reddest, most rural part of the county. The line stretched around the parking lot and the wait was an hour and 45 minutes. This lady was one of those standing in line:

So if it’s going to take a stampede of rural voters for Trump to win, maybe the “Red Wave” will actually happen. We shall see.

UPDATE 6:55 p.m. ET: Ace notes that exit polls look good for Trump.

On the side of pessimism, however, if Democrats voted early by mail, then they would be underrepresented in exit polls.

UPDATE 8:00 p.m. ET: Miami is killing liberal dreams:

UPDATE 10 p.m. ET: We’ve finished three hours of podcasting and now you can click here for ANOTHER three hours. Oh, my God, it looks like Trump is pulling off another miracle upset.

EXPECT FURTHER UPDATES . . .




 

Category: Donald Trump, Election, Joe Biden

In The Mailbox: 11.02.20 (Election Eve Doomed Beyond All Hope Of Redemption Edition)

Posted on | November 3, 2020 | Comments Off on In The Mailbox: 11.02.20 (Election Eve Doomed Beyond All Hope Of Redemption Edition)

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Silicon Valley delenda est.

OVER THE TRANSOM
Pagan Vigil: Memo To All Future Political Telemarketers
357 Magnum: I’m Old Enough To Remember When Elections Were Peaceful
Bleach Cocktail: Suicide Bombing Of Peace In Vienna
EBL: Clay Travis On Why He Supports Donald Trump
Twitchy: San Marcos Police Say Biden Staffer’s Car May Have Been At Fault In Trump Caravan Incident
Louder With Crowder: Crazy Maxine Waters Promises To Never Forgive Blacks Who Vote For Trump
Vox Popoli: Endgame Approaches, also, Walk It Back, Walk It Back
Surak Blog: We The People Are Not Stupid Or Evil (h/t Red Pilled Jew)
Stoic Observations: The Stoic Vote

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
Adam Piggott: Friday Hawt Chicks & Links – The Fate Of The World Edition, also, Election Predictions
American Conservative: Trump At Last Targets The Google Whale
American Greatness: Donald Trump, Counterrevolutionary, also, PA Democrat AG Declares “Trump Is Going To Lose”
American Power: Expect Election Day To Be A Repeat Of 2016
American Thinker: Trump, The American Lion, & The Republican Cowards, also, October Surprise – This Race Is Over
Animal Magnetism: Goodbye, Blue Monday
Babalu Blog: Another Massive Anti-Communism/Trump Rally In Miami On Sunday
BattleSwarm: Glenn Greenwald & The Democratic Media Complex, also, BidenWatch For November 2
Cafe Hayek: More Ivor Cummins On COVID
CDR Salamander: Intentionally Choosing To Be Deaf & Blind In Africa
Da Tech Guy: Raise Taxes, Kill Businesses – Must Be California, also, Biden & Harris Never Gave Voters An Answer On Court Packing
Don Surber: How Trump Threw Obama Off His Game, also, It Feels Like A Revolution
First Street Journal: Korean Businesses Matter Too, also, Authoritarians Gotta Authoritarian!
The Geller Report: George Soros’ Plan B If Biden Loses, also, Maxine Waters – “Black Trump Voters Are Shameful”
Hogewash: Team Kimberlin Post of The Day, also, Coming Attractions
Hollywood In Toto: Woke IndieWire Shredded By Its Own Liberal Readers (Again), also, Here’s What Makes Faith-Based Miracle On Christmas Different
JustOneMinute: One Day More
The Lid: Florida Busts Attempt To Register Over Fifty Dead Democrats
Legal Insurrection: Antifa Rioter Tells NYPD “I Hope All Your Children Get Raped & Killed”, also, Can Trump Pull Off An Historic Win In Blue Minnesota?
Power Line: Biden’s Destructive Education Program, also, Red Mirage?
Shark Tank: Guillermo Smith Stokes More Racial Division In Florida
Shot In The Dark: 101 Reasons
STUMP: Reading The News With Meep
The Political Hat: Happy Halloween! (2020)
This Ain’t Hell: American Hostage Rescued In Nigeria By SEAL Team Six In Daring Raid, also, ShutDown DC Advises Federal Employees On Aiding Their Movement
Victory Girls: Karl Marx Lives Loudly Through Kamala Harris
Volokh Conspiracy: Why This Religious Freedom Case Is Different From The Others
Weasel Zippers: Documentary About Antifa & The Coming Elections, also, Harris – “Joe Biden & I Are About To Get Rid Of The Trump Tax Cuts”
The Federalist: Psychiatrist & CNN Guest Praises Hitler In Attempted Dunk On Trump, also, Under Trump, Americans Have Seen Their Best Wage Growth In 40 Years
Mark Steyn: The Thing From Another World, also, Election Day Minus One

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Category: Doomed Beyond All Hope of Redemption, Election, Linkagery

Election Eve Prediction Time

Posted on | November 2, 2020 | Comments Off on Election Eve Prediction Time

 

Don’t know who created that meme, I just saw it on Twitter. Election Day is tomorrow, and the time for making predictions is running out. Also, I’m running past deadline on a 2,500-word piece for the print edition of The American Spectator, in which I evaluate the prospects of a post-election civil war. (Spoiler: I’m against it.)

The RCP average of national polls today has Biden by nearly 7 points, with The Hill (Biden +4) and Rasmussen (Biden +3) on the low end and NBC (Biden +10) and The Economist (Biden +11) on the high end. Obviously these are not encouraging numbers for Trump supporters.

Strangely enough, Trump supporters are undaunted by the poll numbers. Yesterday, the President held five — count ’em, five — gigantic rallies, including one in my old stomping grounds of Rome, Georgia. Actually, while the address of Richard B. Russell Airport is technically in Rome, it’s much closer to Armuchee, but that’s a detail I don’t expect journalists to notice. And never mind how you pronounce “Armuchee.”

Trump campaigned last night in my old stomping grounds of Rome, Georgia. What I can't figure out is how they landed Air Force One at that airport. It's a 747. Did they expand the runway?

Posted by Robert Stacy McCain on Monday, November 2, 2020

 

Here’s the question: Does it really matter? No, I’m not talking about how you pronounce “Armuchee,” I’m talking about the campaign rallies. We are told that Joe Biden, who scarcely leaves his basement and can’t draw any kind of crowd, is nonetheless leading by a landslide margin. If that is true, then all the ordinary business of on-the-ground campaigning — from yard signs to rallies to door-to-door canvassing — is obsolete. All that matters in politics now is media and the Internet.

Or so we are supposed to believe. There is a wide gap of cognitive dissonance surrounding this campaign, and I don’t profess to know what explains this gap. Nor do I consider myself qualified to make any predictions about how it’s going to turn out. Have at it yourself.

UPDATE: One of the the shabby hustles that the media engage in is what can be called Contingent Prediction, which is not an actual prediction, but rather involves an “if . . . then” sort of rhetoric. Here is a classic example of the phenomenon:

These counties “could” prove decisive in the election, the New York Times informs us, before proceeding on that basis to engage in a lot of blather enhanced by authoritative-looking graphics. This is an illusion of expertise, because if Biden is really heading to a landslide — as all the polls tell us — then these allegedly crucial counties won’t really mean much in the grand scheme of things. Go back to 2016 and watch all the TV pundits pointing at their “interactive” maps in the first couple of hours of coverage, before it became evident that something was drastically wrong with all the pre-election poll numbers.

It is only in hindsight that anyone can understand what happens in elections, and most people still don’t really understand even then.




 

Category: Donald Trump, Election, Joe Biden, Polls
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