The Other McCain

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

‘I Also Hope to Keep a Steady High’

Posted on | August 31, 2020 | 3 Comments

 

Worrying about politics is a waste of time, and nobody who knew me when I was in college could ever have imagined that I would grow up to become a political journalist, wasting my time this way.

My perspective on the political scene is idiosyncratic, simply because most people in this racket have been political junkies all their lives. They came to Washington right out of college, and wish nothing more than to be taken seriously as pundits, capable of prognosticating future outcomes. In contrast, I left college with the career goal of becoming a rock star, jammed in bands for a while, then stumbled into a newspaper career three years later, worked for years as a sports editor, and didn’t make it to D.C. until I was 38 years old, married with three kids.

It happened the other day (thank you, YouTube algorithm) that I started watching old videos of the jazz-rock band Chicago. Did you know that Chicago’s guitarist Terry Kath was Jimi Hendrix’s favorite guitarist? To listen to Kath play on “25 or 6 to 4” is to be amazed, and it’s a pity that Kath (who died tragically in 1978) is so seldom mentioned among the rock-and-roll greats. Kath could also sing like Ray Charles, a distinctive bluesy baritone, and as I watched videos of Chicago in early concerts, I remembered one of my old favorites of theirs, “Dialogue (Part I & II)” in which Kath trades lyrical lines with Peter Cetera:

Are you optimistic
About the way things are going?

No, I never ever think of it at all.

Don’t you ever worry
When you see what’s going down?

Well, I try to mind my business,
That is, no business at all.

When it’s time to function
As a feeling human being,
Will your Bachelor of Arts help you get by?

I hope to study further,
A few more years or so.
I also hope to keep a steady high

Such was my youthful attitude: “Don’t bum me out, man.”

You can perhaps see why I’ve always been mystified by these ultra-serious young “activist” types, crusading against social injustice all over the Internet when they’re not busy rioting in the streets. Far be it from me, a responsible father and grandfather, to encourage young people to pursue psychedelic hedonism as a way of life, but in some ways that would be preferable to becoming a “social justice warrior.”

These cynical ruminations were inspired not just by old Chicago songs, but also by the realization that the past three months of riots started because George Floyd overdosed on fentanyl.

 

Has any attempt to “keep a steady high” ever backfired so disastrously? Documents made public last week show the medical examiner found Floyd had “a fatal level of fentanyl under normal circumstances,” and bodycam videos show Floyd complaining “I can’t breathe” before the officers put him on the ground. In fact, the reason Floyd was on the ground was because he refused to let officers put him in the back of the police car, struggling and complaining of COVID and claustrophobia. Police, recognizing his “excited delirium” as evidence of a drug overdose, called an ambulance, then held him on the ground while they waited for the ambulance to arrive. There was no “systemic racism” involved, nor can the charges of murder against the officers be justified.

Well, I try to mind my business,
That is, no business at all.

Do you see the relevance here? The 1970s were a decade when there was a lot to be depressed or angry about, if you cared to pay attention to what was happening in the world. So not caring — complete cynicism — became a very widespread attitude. Just mind your own business and, like the song said, “try to keep a steady high.” Also, if you’re going to freak out on drugs, try not to do it on a city sidewalk after you’ve just been caught attempting to pass a counterfeit $20 bill.

Am I “optimistic about the way things are going”? Well, it is a hazard of my profession that I can’t simply ignore how things are going, and I hesitate to offer predictions, however . . .

How bad do things look for Joe Biden’s campaign right now? Consider this: Democrats are worried about Minnesota, a state no Republican presidential candidate has carried since Richard Nixon’s 1972 landslide. Yet polls show President Trump gaining ground in Minnesota, and Democrats are worried because they haven’t seen any appearances by Biden or his running mate Kamala Harris. “Why aren’t they here?” one Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party official told Minnesota Public Radio last week. “We need to hear from them. We need to see their presence on the ground.”
Biden’s peril in Minnesota is in many ways emblematic of everything that’s gone wrong for Democrats in this campaign. While the Real Clear Politics average of Minnesota polls still shows Biden leading Trump by more than five points, a poll by Emerson College earlier this month had Trump within three points, and a poll by the GOP-affiliated Trafalgar Group two weeks ago showed a tie in Minnesota. How could a state that twice gave majorities to Barack Obama, a state that not even Ronald Reagan could win in his 1984 landslide, be in play for Trump this year? Well, in a word, riots. . . .

Read the rest of my latest column at The American Spectator.

UPDATE: Welcome, Instapundit readers!

Did I mention that Adam Schiff is blaming Russia for the riots?




 

Category: American Spectator, Crime, Donald Trump, Election, Joe Biden, Minnesota

Early Morning Rule 5 Monday: Linda Ronstadt

Posted on | August 31, 2020 | 3 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho

I thought I was too tired to get this done last night, but after a couple of hours of tossing and turning I figured I might as well just get up and knock it out. Ms. Ronstadt needs no introduction.

“I would low-crawl nekkid over five miles of broken glass just to hear her fart on the field phone.”

Ninety Miles From Tyranny: Hot Pick Of The Late Night, The 90 Miles Mystery Box Episode #1091, Morning Mistress, and Girls With Guns.

Animal Magnetism: Rule Five Semi-Autos Friday, and the Saturday Gingermageddon.

EBL: Rigoletto, Haim, Il Trovatore, Marie Osmond, Louisa Miller, Un Ballo In Maschera, La Traviata, Day Three Of The GOP Convention, Don Carlo, Lisette Oroposa, Chop Suey,  and Maya Layani.

A View From The Beach: Demi Rose, Fish Pic Friday – Erica Lynn, Tattoo Thursday, Not Your Mother’s Latex Paint, Truckin’ Into Tuesday, The Woman Who Killed Hollywood, More on WuFlu for You, Russiagate: Is it Time Already? and Palm Sunday

Proof Positive: Connie Stevens

Red Pilled Jew: Thank Hashem It’s Friday

Amazon Warehouse Deals
Visit Amazon’s Intimate Apparel Shop
Shop Sex & Sensuality Gifts




Category: Rule 5

FMJRA 2.0: Willin’

Posted on | August 31, 2020 | Comments Off on FMJRA 2.0: Willin’

— compiled by Wombat-socho

This week, one of the rare occasions where the Loyal Commentariat preferred burgers and violence to babes. To commemorate this, here’s the King of Knights dining at the King of Burgers. Notice that she’s dining in, so as not to obstruct Stacy’s pursuit of Neutral Objective Journalism and double cheeseburgers.

Why Fast Food Isn’t Fast Anymore (and Other Serious Social Problems)
Rotten Chestnuts
Bacon Time
Dark Brightness
The Political Hat
357 Magnum
EBL
Proof Positive

Sex Offender Joseph Rosenbaum Taunted Armed Civilians: ‘Shoot Me, N–r!’
First Street Journal
One Way Today
The Political Hat
A Free Born American
357 Magnum
A View From The Beach
EBL

Rule 5 Sunday: Kim Klacik
Animal Magnetism
Ninety Miles From Tyranny
A View From The Beach
EBL
Proof Positive

Kenosha Riots Turn Deadly
357 Magnum
The Political Hat
A View From The Beach
EBL
Proof Positive

Lauren Martinchek Nails It
EBL

FMJRA 2.0: They’re Dying Over There
A View From The Beach
EBL

Mostly Peaceful Protests’ After Cops Shoot Black Man in Kenosha, Wisconsin
Today’s News & Updates
A View From The Beach
EBL

In The Mailbox: 08.24.20
357 Magnum
A View From The Beach
EBL
Proof Positive

In The Mailbox: 08.25.20
EBL
Proof Positive

In The Mailbox: 08.26.20
357 Magnum
EBL
Proof Positive

What’s Better Than CNN?
Pushing Rubber Downhill
EBL

Tonopah And/Or Bust
The Political Hat
EBL

In The Mailbox: 08.27.20
EBL
Proof Positive

Some Further Thoughts on Kenosha: Predators and Their Preferred Prey
EBL
Proof Positive

Biden Voter Arrested in Colorado
Dark Brightness
EBL

Top linkers for the week ending August 27:

  1.  EBL (15)
  2.  Proof Positive (8)
  3.  A View From The Beach (6)
  4.  (tied) The Political Hat and 357 Magnum (5)

Amazon Warehouse Deals

Try Amazon Music Unlimited Free Trial
Try Amazon Home Services
Kindle Unlimited Membership Plans




Category: FMJRA Award

Kenosha: Anthony Huber Was a Felon, and Jacob Blake Was Dangerous

Posted on | August 30, 2020 | 1 Comment

 

After a week of endless disinformation by the anti-Trump media, we are finally getting the truth about Kenosha, Wisconsin. We now know, for example, that Anthony Huber, one of the rioters who was shot to death by Kyle Rittenhouse, was not the saintly hero some in the media have tried to depict. Huber’s criminal record included a 2012 conviction for strangulation and false imprisonment in a domestic abuse incident. We also know that Jacob Blake, whose shooting last Sunday sparked the “mostly peaceful” riots in Kenosha, was wanted on a warrant for sexual assault and violated a protective order by his ex-girlfriend:

The cops involved in the shooting of Jacob Blake — which touched off a fresh wave of angry, anti-police sentiment across the country — were attempting to arrest him for violating a restraining order stemming from an alleged sexual assault, The Post has learned.
Blake, 29, was forbidden from going to the Kenosha home of his alleged victim from the May 3 incident, and police were dispatched Sunday following a 911 call saying he was there.
The responding officers were aware he had an open warrant for felony sexual assault, according to dispatch records and the Kenosha Professional Police Association, which released a statement on the incident on Friday.
That police union statement also claimed that Blake was armed with a knife at the time of the shooting — and had put one cop in a headlock and shrugged off two Taser attempts while resisting arrest.

The details of Blake’s assault of his victim are gross.

The information provided by Kenosha police puts last Sunday’s shooting in a whole new light. Blake was wanted on a felony warrant, he had fought with police when they tried to arrest him, and was apparently trying to get in a van with three kids in the back seat. Should police have let a criminal take those kids hostage? Because that’s what the situation would have been, if Blake had driven off in that van — a fugitive from justice, with three kids as hostages, in a stolen vehicle. That’s something CNN won’t tell you, that Blake had stolen the keys to his victim’s van.

It was a no-win situation for the cops. And yet we saw Kenosha go up in flames because of the media’s 24/7 incitement to riot. Now let’s return to the subject of Anthony Huber. What had happened was that Rittenhouse had shot sex offender Joseph “JoJo” Rosenbaum. We’ll talk more about that later, but here’s how Huber got shot:

A second person who was later identified as Anthony Huber approaches the defendant who is still on the ground, on his back. Huber has a skateboard in his right hand. When Huber reaches the defendant it appears that he is reaching for the defendant’s gun with his left hand as the skateboard makes contact with the defendant’s left shoulder. Huber appears to be trying to pull the gun away from the defendant. The defendant rolls towards his left side and as Huber appears to be trying to grab the gun the gun is pointed at Huber’s body. The defendant then fires one round which can be heard on the video. Huber staggers away, taking several steps, then collapses to the ground. Huber subsequently died from this gunshot wound.

That’s from the police affidavit in the case, which adds:

Dr. Kelley [who performed the autopsy] indicated that Huber had a gunshot wound to his chest that perforated his heart, aorta, pulmonary artery, and right lung.

“Center mass,” I believe is the phrase.

How did this spin so out of control? Well, from the affidavit, it appears that somehow Rittenhouse got separated from his crew, and the mob was chasing him through the streets. The sex offender Rosenbaum chased Rittenhouse across a parking lot, in a scene witnessed by Daily Caller reporter Richard McGinnis, who is quoted in the affidavit:

McGinnis said that according to what he saw the defendant was trying to evade these individuals. McGinnis described the point where the defendant had reached the car. McGinnis described that the defendant had the gun in a low ready position. Meaning that he had the gun raised but pointed downward. The butt of the gun would have been at an angle downwards from the shoulder. McGinnis stated that the defendant brought the gun up. McGinnis stated that he stepped back and he thinks the defendant fired 3 rounds in rapid succession. . . .
McGinnis said that the unarmed guy (Rosenbaum) was trying to get the defendant’s gun. McGinnis demonstrated by extending both of his hands in a quick grabbing motion and did that as a visual on how Rosenbaum tried to reach for the defendant’s gun. Detective Cepress indicates that he asked McGinnis if Rosenbaum had his hands on the gun when the defendant shot. McGinnis said that he definitely made a motion that he was trying to grab the barrel of the gun. McGinnis stated that the defendant pulled it away and then raised it.
McGinnis stated that right as they came together, the defendant fired. McGinnis said that when Rosenbaum was shot, he had leaned in (towards the defendant).

And the affidavit adds:

Dr. Kelley indicated that Rosenbaum had a gunshot wound to the right groin which fractured his pelvis, a gunshot wound to the back which perforated his right lung and liver, a gunshot wound to the left hand, a superficial gunshot wound to his lateral left thigh, and a graze gunshot wound to the right side of his forehead.

Of the five wounds, two were potentially fatal. R.I.P., sex offender.

This video analysis has some interesting commentary:

 

“That’s the ultimate ‘play a stupid game, win a stupid prize.’ You’re running, chasing somebody down. The person you’re chasing has a rifle. What did you expect?”

Exactly. Nobody would have gotten shot had it not been for the aggressive stupidity of convicted sex offender JoJo Rosenbaum. Once he had collected his stupid prize, the rest of the rioting mob decided they should join in on the stupid game of chasing the guy with the rifle.

Amazing marksmanship. Given a sufficient supply of ammunition, Rittenhouse could have wiped out every Antifa thug in Kenosha.




 

Category: Crime, Wisconsin

Podcasting the Long, Hot Summer

Posted on | August 29, 2020 | Comments Off on Podcasting the Long, Hot Summer

At our usual time — 7 p.m. ET — John Hoge and I will be bringing you our weekly rundown of the headlines at The Other Podcast. As you might expect, this week we’ll be talking a lot about the Kenosha riots and other Democrat voter mayhem.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW LIVE!

If you miss the live show, the Podbeam archive is here.




 

Category: Talk Radio

Another Biden Voter Arrested

Posted on | August 29, 2020 | 2 Comments

 

A young social-justice activist in Georgia has endorsed the Democratic Party agenda of stabbing white people:

The suspect in the Aug. 25 AutoZone stabbing on 32nd Street made his first appearance in court.
Jayvon Hatchett, 19, is charged with aggravated assault and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime.
Hatchett faces these charges for a stabbing he allegedly committed on Aug. 25 around 8:36 a.m. at the AutoZone. Police said he stabbed a store employee in an unprovoked attack.
Columbus Police Sgt. R.S. Mills gave testimony in court about the case.
Mills told the court that when he Hatchett why he stabbed the AutoZone employee, Hatchett said he “felt the need to find a white male to kill” after watching videos of police brutality happening across the country.

 

Let’s get a few more details of this activist’s career:

It was a premeditated, brutal assault according to police investigators. . . . Police testified the worker was transported to the hospital in critical condition and lucky to be alive after the assault. . . .
SGT Ray Mills told Judge Julius Hunter that Hatchett greeted him with a smile at his home a short distance away from the Auto Zone and readily confessed to stabbing an employee there.
The Sergeant said Hatchett was enraged after watching police incidents on social media and singled out the Auto Zone worker because he was white. “Mr. Hatchett told me that he had been watching Facebook videos of police shootings in other parts of the country and that he felt compelled to go stab a white male,” SGT Mills testified.
According to court records, Hatchett was free on bond after being charged just three days before the stabbing with criminal damage to property. Six months ago he was arrested for two felonies including aggravated assault. Judge Hunter ordered a mental health evaluation and declined to issue bond.

A “mental health evaluation”? Are they trying to suggest that this young Democrat is crazy? #CrazyLivesMatter! No justice, no peace!




 

Category: Crime, Georgia

Biden Voter Arrested in Colorado

Posted on | August 29, 2020 | 2 Comments

 

Well, he certainly doesn’t look like a Trump voter to me:

Aurora Police arrested a man suspected of stabbing another man after yelling “Black lives matter” Tuesday evening near East Alameda Avenue and South Sable Boulevard.
Steve Sinclair, 30, now faces potential first-degree murder and hate crime charges, documents show.
An arrest affidavit says Sinclair used a knife to stab 29-year-old Michael Conner who was transported to the hospital for his injuries and a collapsed lung. Conner, a white male, told police while at the hospital that Sinclair, a Black male, shouted “Black lives matter!” prior to stabbing him, according to the report.
It’s unclear from the report what may have led up to the incident, but police say witnesses saw Sinclair walk up to Conner and said, “I’m going to kill you and your dog.” One witness said Conner tried to run away and defended himself with a stick.
Sinclair continued saying, “Black lives matter” to police when they arrived according to the first officer on scene. That officer wrote that Sinclair had his hands up and said “I stabbed him, I’m a psychopath,” refused to sit down and “insisted” that officers should shoot him. He was arrested without incident according to the report.
Sinclair is being held at the Arapahoe County Jail on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder and a bias-motivated crime causing bodily injury.

Look, I’m not saying all Biden voters are violent psychopaths . . .

On the other hand, how crazy do you have to be to vote Democrat?




 

Category: Colorado, Crime

Some Further Thoughts on Kenosha: Predators and Their Preferred Prey

Posted on | August 28, 2020 | 4 Comments

If you want to know what happened Tuesday night in Kenosha, Wisconsin, read Shelby Talcott’s eyewitness account at the Daily Caller. Any competent attorney could make the case that Kyle Rittenhouse acted in self-defense, but that doesn’t mean Rittenhouse isn’t a damned fool.

Seventeen years old, showing up at a scene where riots are expected, carrying an AR-15 — well, I’ve done some foolish things in my life, but that’s one obvious error I’ve managed to avoid. My general game-plan in life is to stay out of prison or the graveyard, two destinations where most would-be tough guys go, usually sooner rather than later.

Richie McGinniss of the Daily Caller actually interviewed Rittenhouse before the “mostly peaceful protest” erupted in chaotic violence:

What do you notice about Rittenhouse there? What stands out to me is his endomophic baby-fat physique. He has the narrow-shouldered, pudgy body of a boy who spent most of his youth on the sofa, and probably never played organized team sports. (My childhood coaches would have had that fat boy running laps and wind sprints until he collapsed.) To put it bluntly, the boy looked weak, and weakness invites aggression.

Excuse me for being judgmental like this. Certainly, I am nobody’s idea of a macho badass, but you’re never going to find me in the middle of a riot, or hanging out in a biker bar, or some other similarly dangerous situation where my presence might tend to invite aggression. A skinny guy like me doesn’t survive to become a grandfather if he doesn’t develop the kind of situational awareness that keeps him away from violence.

If you’re headed into the danger zone and a pudgy kid named Kyle wants to roll with your crew? Sorry, boy — this ain’t the place for you.

What’s weird is, the other guys in Kyle’s crew seemed to recognize that he was the weak link in the chain. If you’ll watch this video posted by Julio Rojas, you’ll see the crew being confronted by the increasingly hostile mob. There’s a good look at sex offender Joseph Rosenbaum, in a burgundy T-shirt, at the 0:16 mark of the video:

Watch carefully, and at the 0:44 mark, you see Kyle (light green shirt) get grabbed from behind by a member of his crew, who seems angry about Kyle’s behavior and shoves him toward the rear. What was that about? I don’t know, but it seems clear that the guy who grabbed Kyle felt that he was endangering their mission. I suspect that Kyle’s weak, pudgy appearance had attracted the hostile attention of Rosenbaum, who had spent more than a decade in prison, where inmates tend to develop a keen perception for such things. Just three years earlier, Rosenbaum had been an inmate in Arizona, and had shown up for this riot looking for trouble. We should not be surprised that he picked out Kyle as a target.

Being “street smart” involves situational awareness and an ability to spot trouble. Anyone watching that video could see Rosenbaum was looking for an opportunity to get in a fight with someone, and of course, a bully would naturally seek the weakest possible opponent.

Everybody’s analyzing video in an attempt to exonerate Kyle, and a strong case can be made for self-defense, but everybody knows that really he never should have gone to Kenosha. It was a mistake for him even to leave home that night. On the other hand, he did kill two rioters and seriously wound another, so his marksmanship can’t be faulted, but we don’t need to turn our streets into shooting galleries for teenage boys who want to engage in militia cosplay games. Some people are ready to see Civil War II break out in America, but I’m not one of them. Civil War I was a bad enough idea, and I’ve got the hunch that a 21st-century sequel would be even worse. So if you’re the parent of a pudgy teenager, tell him to stay home the next time there’s a riot.




 

Category: Crime, Wisconsin
« go back — keep looking »