The Other McCain

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

Quashawn, Rashan, and ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ in Polk County

Posted on | September 18, 2023 | Comments Off on Quashawn, Rashan, and ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ in Polk County

Say hello to Quashawn Burgess Jr. and, while you’re at it, you can go ahead and say good-bye, because Quashawn joined the choir invisible last week, bleeding out in the driveway of a Florida home:

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd called on the public for information after a 15-year-old who may have been a gang member was found shot dead Tuesday morning in a driveway near Winter Haven.
The sheriff said deputies received a 911 call around 2:30 a.m. after a boy was found dead on a driveway on St. Paul Drive.
Judd said one of the witnesses got off of work and was staying with a friend. She pulled into the home’s driveway on St. Paul Drive and called her friend to tell her there was a person lying in the driveway.
Judd identified the 15-year-old as Quashawn Burgess Jr. with permission from his mother to help with the investigation.
His mother went to bed at 10 p.m. with an infant, and Burgess was sitting on the couch. When she woke up at 3 a.m. to tend to the baby, she noticed Burgess was not on the couch and assumed he went to bed, according to Judd.
His mother said he was a good kid, but as he got older he went down the wrong path and began getting into trouble, Judd said. He was on probation for a burglary charge that was reduced to trespassing.
Judd said Burgess was violating his probation because he was supposed to be enrolled in school but wasn’t going. . . .
Burgess had been arrested twice, both since May 2023, Judd said.
“I’d rather them be alive in jail than across the street in the medical examiner’s office, dead like Quashawn is right now,” Judd said.
Judd said the violence is being encouraged by social media.
“They’re listening to this gangster rap, they’re watching these videos, they’re making their own videos,” he said. “It’s cool to do. It’s not cool to die. Death is forever. And cool warms up real quick in the morning. When the beer’s warm, it’s no more fun.”
Judd said it’s time for communities across the state and nation to step up and address the issue.
“They don’t show you the last chapter of the book,” Judd said. “The last chapter, one of you is dead, and the other is life in prison.”

Because he didn’t like going to school, Quashawn probably never read the Lemony Snicket books, A Series of Unfortunate Events. But there is an interesting and somewhat ironic narrative to how he reached that final chapter, bleeding out in a Winter Haven driveway:

Four suspects with criminal histories have been arrested in connection with the shooting death of a teenage gang member in Winter Haven.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the body of 15-year-old Quashawn Burgess, Jr., was discovered deceased around 2:30 a.m. on September 12, in a Winter Haven driveway by a woman who was on her way to spend the night at a friend’s house after work.
Deputies who canvassed the neighborhood say witnesses reported hearing a noise that sounded like a “pop” around 12:30 a.m. but thought it was fireworks.
When deputies notified Burgess’ mother of his death, she told them that she was unaware that he was not home sleeping during the evening hours. She said she saw him on her living room couch at 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 11 when she went to bed.
Sheriff Grady Judd gives an update after four suspects were arrested in connection with a 15-year-old found dead on a Winter Haven driveway.
When detectives arrived at her house, she went to his bedroom and confirmed he was not there and told them that she did not know when he had left or where he had gone.
According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, a series of events that led up to Burgess’ death began when Lilia Gonzalez, who is a convicted felon, contacted Jase Govia, 23, because she wanted to buy a gun. Since she is a convicted felon, she is not legally allowed to purchase a firearm. Govia lives across the street from Gonzalez in what, Sheriff Judd calls a “weed house” he runs with his cousin 34-year-old Pierre Sauveur.
Govia, according to Sheriff Judd, put Gonzalez in touch with 20-year-old Rashan Harris.
“He’s 20 years of age and he’s already got 53 felony charges against him, 25 misdemeanor charges against him and he’s been to jail,” Sheriff Judd shared. “He got one year in jail. So, we take him out of the ability to commit crime for one year and he still has 53 felonies.”
According to PCSO, Gonzalez and Harris met at a Circle K and he sold her a gun for $200 that had been stolen during a Lakeland burglary in which Harris was a suspect.
Later that evening, investigators say Harris called Gonzalez and told her he wanted to sell her more bullets. Though detectives say Gonzalez thought it was a strange request, she gave him her address.
Along the way, Harris picked up Burgess, who Sheriff Judd says wanted to buy marijuana from the “weed house” across the street.
“None of these people work. The 15-year-old is not in school. Every one of them lied about everything,” Sheriff Judd said.
According to Sheriff Judd, Burgess got out of the car and Gonzalez eventually got in the passenger side. Sheriff Judd says Harris and Gonzalez talked about bullets and sex while inside the car.
However, Sheriff Judd shared that while Gonzalez was talking to Harris, she felt like things didn’t seem right. Moments later, detectives say Burgess opened the passenger side door to rob Gonzalez at gunpoint.
According to PCSO, Gonzalez was holding onto her purse, which was strapped across her side body as Burgess is trying to pull her pocketbook off her.
“Apparently, they forgot they sold her this gun,” Sheriff Judd stated. “So, now Lillia pulls the gun out of her pocketbook because she’s being robbed at gunpoint and shoots Quashawn who’s robbing her. Did you hear what I said? You can’t make this stuff up.”
Sheriff Judd said after the shooting, Gonzalez ran into her home and Harris took off, leaving Burgess to die on the driveway.
Sheriff Judd added that Gonzalez fled the area for three days and was taken into custody when she returned.
Gonzalez told deputies that she was being robbed and was defending herself when she shot and killed Burgess.
“At this point in the investigation, she is apparently the victim of a robbery whereby she defended herself and shot the suspect, Quashawn and Rashon confirms that,” Sheriff Judd stated.
However, deputies arrested Gonzalez on several charges including possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, dealing in stolen property, tampering with evidence, grand theft of a firearm, possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, maintaining residence where controlled substances are illegally kept, possession of paraphernalia.
“When you live by the gun, you die by the gun,” Sheriff Judd stated.
Harris has been charged with second degree murder, attempted armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, dealing in stolen property, grand theft of a firearm, tampering with evidence, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, giving false info to a law enforcement officer during a capital felony investigation, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and violation of probation.
Govia has been charged with maintaining residence where controlled substances are illegally kept, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, possession of marijuana over 20 grams, possession of paraphernalia.
Sauveur has been arrested for maintaining residence where controlled substances are illegally kept, giving false info to a law enforcement officer during a capital felony investigation, possession of marijuana over 20 grams, and possession of paraphernalia.
“These folks have been in prison,” Sheriff Judd explained. “They’ve been in the jail. They all have criminal histories. At the end of the day, we’ve got a 15-year-old kid that’s dead and mom said I’ve got a 15-year-old kid I can’t do anything with him.”

In case you weren’t following all that, Gonzales is a convicted felon, but wanted to buy a gun. So she asked her drug dealer, who hooked her up with Rashan, who had a pistol stolen in a burglary. After selling her this gun for $200, Rashan apparently got the idea of robbing Gonzales — because, hey, if she’s got $200 to buy a gun, probably she’s got a lot more money, right? And so Rashan arranges a meeting, telling Gonzales some kind of story about having more bullets for the gun. Rashan picks up Quashawn, and takes him to meet with Gonzales, so that Quashawn can rob her — but oops! She uses the gun that Rashan sold her to shoot his accomplice Quashawn. It’s just so . . . unfortunate.

Lemony Snicket could not be reached for comment.



 

Category: Crime, Florida

Rule 5 Sunday: Cowgirl Style

Posted on | September 18, 2023 | Comments Off on Rule 5 Sunday: Cowgirl Style

— compiled by Wombat-socho

This week’s appetizer courtesy of @Rule5Tweets.
Ceterum autem censeo Silicon Valley esse delendam.

EBL: Saturday Night Girls With Guns, Make Ukraine Great Again, Mayflower Song, A Million Miles Away, Trying To Seduce Cops, Thank You King Jan Sobieski, Virginia Democrat Performs Online Sex, Sabotage, Daryl Dixon, and Mercy

A VIEW FROM THE BEACH: Franceska Fournier, Fish Pic Friday – Kristen Ottea, Thursday Tanlines, Gone Fishin’, The Wednesday Wetness, Tattoo Tuesday, The Monday Morning Stimulus and Palm Sunday

FLAPPR: T.I.T.S. For 9/15

Thanks to everyone for all the luscious links!

Amazon Warehouse Deals

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




Category: Rule 5

FMJRA 2.0: Nowhere – now here

Posted on | September 17, 2023 | Comments Off on FMJRA 2.0: Nowhere – now here

— compiled by Wombat-socho

It was a good week for the Senators. We split a two-game series with the Royals on Tuesday, and then swept Pete’s Brewers on Friday.
Ceterum autem censeo Silicon Valley esse delendam.

Fly the Curly W flag!

The Destructive Force of ‘Equality’
The Political Hat
Flappr
A View From The Beach
EBL

Asking The Important Questions
EBL
357 Magnum

FMJRA 2.0: Night Owls
A View From The Beach
EBL
357 Magnum

Rule 5 Sunday: Swimwear, very nice.
Animal Magnetism
Flappr
A View From The Beach
EBL

Disappointed, But Not Discouraged
EBL

In The Mailbox: 09.11.23
EBL
357 Magnum

No Hope in New York
The Pirate’s Cove
EBL
357 Magnum

Escaped Murderer Now Armed
Flappr
EBL

In The Mailbox: 09.13.23 (Afternoon Edition)
A View From The Beach
EBL

You Stay Classy, Virginia Democrats!
The DaleyGator
A View From The Beach
EBL
357 Magnum

In The Mailbox: 09.13.23 (Evening Edition)
A View From The Beach
EBL
357 Magnum

In The Mailbox: 09.15.23 (Afternoon Abbreviated Edition)
EBL
357 Magnum

Unwanted and Unloved: Younger Americans Are Facing a Lonely Future
EBL
357 Magnum

In The Mailbox: 09.15.23 (Evening Edition)
EBL
357 Magnum

Top linkers for the week ending September 15

  1.  EBL (14)
  2.  357 Magnum (10)
  3.  A View From The Beach (6)

Thanks to everyone for all the links!

Amazon Warehouse Deals




Category: FMJRA Award

Is There Any Hope for the Patriots?

Posted on | September 17, 2023 | Comments Off on Is There Any Hope for the Patriots?

New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson

Football is a team sport, but I became a New England Patriots fan in 2021 because of one player. When the Patriots drafted Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, they also acquired me as a fan: Roll Tide.

Jones had led the Crimson Tide to an undefeated season and the National Championship after spending three years on the bench behind Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa, stepping in after Tua suffered a season-ending injury late in 2019. That Jones would go in the first round of the 2021 draft, and would be picked by New England — a potential successor to the great Tom Brady — caught my interest. I hadn’t paid much attention to the NFL in many years, but how could I resist the drama of an Alabama player trying to fill the enormous Hall of Fame shoes of Brady? When Mac beat out Cam Newton for the starting QB job in preseason, I was psyched. Mac led the Patriots to the playoffs as a rookie, finished second in Rookie of the Year voting, and seemed destined for future greatness.

The 2022 season . . . Well, it was a nightmare that every Patriots fan would like to forget. Now we’re moving forward after the season-opening defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles, and New England will be playing host to the Miami Dolphins in the prime time feature game. Almost all the experts are predicting a Miami victory, after Tua put up 466 yards last week in a 36-34 victory over the Chargers. About the only commentator who thinks the Patriots can win this game is Greg Bedard, who believes (a) Bill Belichick’s defense can stop Tagovailoa and the Miami offense, and (b) New England will be able to run the ball effectively.

The offensive line is the big question mark for the Patriots. The final game day injury report isn’t available yet, but two New England linemen — veteran left tackle Trent Brown and guard/tackle Sidy Sow — were reported to be in concussion protocols earlier this week. Starting right guard Michael Onwenu has been working his way back from an injury, second-year left guard Cole Strange missed last week’s game with an ankle injury, and then it was reported that veteran center David Andrews was “limited” in practice with some sort of hamstring injury. As Evan Lazar says, if it turns out that Onwenu, Strange and Andrews are all good to go tonight, maybe there’s hope that the New England tag team of running backs, Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott, will have a big game, “pounding the rock” downfield, so that Mac doesn’t have to win the game solely by his passing prowess. And because a victory for the Patriots would be an upset, against an AFC East division rival, this could change the entire conversation around the team’s prospects in the 2023 season.

Most of my readers don’t care about the NFL, but following the Patriots is therapeutic for me, a needed distraction from the general misery of politics in the Biden era. It’s about my mental health, really.

Meanwhile, as you are reading this, I’m actually on the road, driving my youngest daughter to the airport, as she will be departing today to spend the next year in a distant foreign country. Hopefully, I’ll be back in time for kickoff tonight, and in the meantime, I urge readers to remember the Five Most Important Words in the English Language:

HIT THE FREAKING TIP JAR!



 

Category: Football

A New ‘Broken Windows’ Discovery? Violence Linked to COVID Relief Fraud

Posted on | September 16, 2023 | Comments Off on A New ‘Broken Windows’ Discovery? Violence Linked to COVID Relief Fraud

A very interesting article from WBAL-TV:

Maryland’s U.S. attorney found a big connection between violent crime and COVID-19 pandemic fraud.
Maryland U.S. Attorney Erek Barron told the 11 News I-Team that his office found that 60% of violent criminals are also committing some type of COVID-19 fraud, and because of that, his office investigates every single violent crime target to see whether they’ve committed pandemic fraud.
Barron told the I-Team that the 20% reduction in homicides and the 10% reduction in nonfatal shootings in Baltimore City can both be explained by his office prosecuting COVID-19 fraud. Barron said that if his office can’t lock up violent offenders for those crimes, there’s a good chance his office can prosecute them for pandemic fraud.
Barron said the bottom line is to get violent criminals off the streets by any legal means necessary.
“They should know it’s a top priority for our office, and a big enough priority that we’ve also leveraged it as part of our violent crime strategy here in Baltimore City,” Barron told the I-Team. “And, you know what? Those who are also doing that and committing violent offenses in our communities, they should be held accountable doubly.”
When asked abouty the I-Team’s ongoing reporting about the now 280 Maryland residents who have contacted 11 News to report their Medicare cards have been charged for COVID-19 tests they never ordered, Barron said he couldn’t discuss any potential investigations.
However, he was able to be more candid about the work his office does investigating vehicle thefts, telling the I-Team that his office has found two big hot spots for car thefts in Maryland are in Baltimore City and Prince George’s County.
“Any case that meets the federal statute, we will prosecute. But even outside of that, we’ve been involved in helping to put together a joint local, state, federal task forces. So, there’s one here in Baltimore City and Baltimore County, and there’s also a task force working in Prince George’s County and the D.C. border,” Barron said.
“Our violent crime investigations, we found that upwards of 60% of those have at least a preliminary indication of also being involved in some form of pandemic fraud,” Barron said.
By prosecuting those violent criminals for pandemic fraud, Barron said it’s “getting violent criminals off our streets by any legal means necessary,” and he said those efforts have contributed to a 20% drop in Baltimore homicides and a 10% drop in nonfatal shootings compared to 2022.
“It’s become an automatic part of our violent crime strategy,” Barron said.

This illustrates something about the “broken windows” theory of crime prevention pioneered by George Kelling and James Q. Wilson: Criminals are not specialists. That is to say, the drug dealer is often also the rapist, and the car thief is also often the armed robber. Habitual criminals have a general disposition toward lawlessness and antisocial behavior. This insight was proven conclusively in New York City when Bill Bratton launched a crackdown on subway “fare beaters,” miscreants who would avoid paying fares by jumping over turnstiles at subway stations. Once the transit cops started arresting the people engaged in this misdemeanor crime, they were shocked to discover that dozens of the turnstile jumpers were carrying illegal weapons or had outstanding felony warrants for serious crimes including aggravated assault. Simply by enforcing laws against “minor” crimes, you end up arresting lots of dangerous felons, and why? Because people who don’t obey laws against robbery and murder also don’t obey laws against less serious offenses.

Sometimes when a criminal gets shot by cops, and the media does one of those “family demands answers” stories, the situation will be framed as a black man getting killed by police because of a “routine traffic stop.” And then the police bodycam video is released, and we discover not only that the suspect tried to run over a cop, but also that they had the proverbial criminal record “as long as your arm,” they were a felon in possession of a firearm, with outstanding warrants, etc. In other words, the “routine traffic stop” — pulled over for expired tags or failure to signal a turn, whatever — was simply the occasion by which the criminal came in contact with police. The media, amplifying the “family demands answers” message, are obscuring the basic truth involved, i.e., criminals don’t obey traffic laws. This is directly related to what the Maryland U.S. Attorney has discovered about the perpetrators of COVID relief fraud. These swindlers are also implicated in many of the violent crimes that have plagued Baltimore, so when you put them in prison on fraud charges, there are fewer shootings in the city. The determination to “get violent criminals off the streets by any legal means necessary” reflects what I’ve been saying for years: Crime is a people problem. Identify the criminals and lock them up, and you solve the problem. It doesn’t matter what charges send them to prison. What matters is getting them off the streets.

UPDATE: Welcome, Instapundit readers!



 

Category: Crime, Maryland

CNN’s Fake ‘Fact Check’

Posted on | September 16, 2023 | Comments Off on CNN’s Fake ‘Fact Check’

My friend Matt Vespa at Townhall highlights how CNN, in its role as Democratic Party propaganda machine, produced a disgustingly deceptive “fact check” of Joe Biden’s foreign influence-peddling scandal.

As I’ve said before of the evidence in the case, it’s a smoking gun next to a bloody corpse. If I could get in the face of any of these CNN propagandists, I’d destroy them with a single question: Why did these “shell companies” exist? The only answer an honest person can give is, “To conceal the bribery money.” If the millions of dollars received from foreigners by Hunter Biden and his associates had any legitimate purpose — if it were something other than bribery — they would have no need to hide it. And what was it that Hunter Biden and his associates were selling? What service did they have to offer, except the influence of the then-Vice President? Isn’t the nature of this arrangement self-evident in the fact that Ukraine prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who was investigating Hunter’s client Burisma for corruption, was fired in 2016 on the demand of Joe Biden? Joe Biden publicly bragged about this.

Is everyone at CNN so stupid that they are incapable of adding 2+2 and finding the sum of 4? Or do they think their audience is that stupid?

But the last-place cable news network — which routinely gets beaten by in the ratings by Paw Patrol cartoons on Nickelodeon — is just one of many media operations engaged in trying to help the Biden administration shut down a congressional impeachment inquiry. Do a Google search for “without evidence + impeachment” and you’ll see how obediently they’re following White House orders:

The Biden White House sent a letter to its media allies Wednesday, directing them to intensify their “scrutiny” of House Republicans after Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced an impeachment inquiry into the Biden family’s influence-peddling operation.
“It’s time for the media to ramp up its scrutiny of House Republicans for opening an impeachment inquiry based on lies. Impeachment is grave, rare, and historic. The Constitution requires ‘treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors,” Ian Sams, a spokesperson for the White House Counsel’s Office, wrote in the letter to top U.S. news executives, according to CNN. “After nearly 9 months of investigating, House Republicans haven’t been able to turn up any evidence of the President doing anything wrong,” Sams added inaccurately.
In reality, Republican investigators have produced a mountain of evidence in the form of bank records, suspicious activity reports, wire transfers, text messages, whatsApp messages, emails, voicemails, photos, along with the testimonies of whistleblowers, and Hunter Biden’s former business partners, not to mention Joe Biden’s admission on tape that he got the Ukrainian prosecutor general fired by withholding $1 billion in US loan guarantees in exchange for his ouster.
Democrats, on the other hand, launched an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump in 2019 based on the complaint of one then-anonymous Democrat operative (who was aware of Biden’s corruption) who blew the whistle after Trump asked Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to look into the Biden family’s shady business dealings in a phone call.

The media’s Trump Derangement Syndrome pandemic was not cured when Biden became president. Instead, we’re living through something akin to the Stalin era, where the purged Trotsky became a propaganda bogeyman used to frighten the public and justify repression.

The Jan. 6 protesters are sentenced to federal prison, Biden’s opponents are censored on social media platforms, and dishonest spin about the Biden bribery scandal is published as “fact checks,” all because liberals live in dread of what is to them the worst possible nightmare, the return of President Trump. How can they cope with the cognitive dissonance caused by having to pretend to be independent truth-tellers, when they know damned well that they’re telling lies on behalf of a corrupt old fraud like Joe Biden? No intelligent person believes a word they say.

And as for Joe Biden, he is GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY!

UPDATE: Welcome, Instapundit readers!



 

Category: CNN, Corruption, Joe Biden, Media Bias, Scandal

In The Mailbox: 09.15.23 (Evening Edition)

Posted on | September 16, 2023 | Comments Off on In The Mailbox: 09.15.23 (Evening Edition)

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Usual weekend deadlines for the usual weekend posts.
Ceterum autem censeo Silicon Valley esse delendam.

SENATOR BLUTARSKY VINDICATED – FILM AT 11

OVER THE TRANSOM
EBL: Trying to Seduce Cops, also, Are Democrats planning to boot Harris?
Twitchy: “Forget It – He’s Rolling”, “Love Me. You Jerks”, and “This Is Why America Runs On Dunkin”
Louder With Crowder: Insane Poll Finds Listening To Joe Rogan, NOT Liking Barbie Red Flags When it Comes To Single Women, Christian Student Clubs Regain Equal Treatment After Court Ruling, and School Board Bans All Books Published Before 2008, But It’s For “Equity” So It’s Okay
Vox Popoli: Forecast: Light Posting, also, Faux Christian Nationalism
According To Hoyt: Conspiring, Shines the name, shines the name of Rick Rescorla, and By The Pricking Of My Thumbs
Monster Hunter Nation: Meatbags vs Lightsabers
Jon Del Arroz: Ahsoka Episode 5 – Still Super Boring, When Will Something Happen?
Gab News: The Parallel Economy Goes Mainstream

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
Adam Piggott: 100 years of Experts and Media Ignorance
American Conservative: Shutdown Sundae with an Impeachment on Top
American Greatness: Hunter Biden Indicted on Federal Gun Charges, Faces 25 Years in Prison, Post-Postmodern America, and Democrats Jerry Nadler and AOC Drowned Out By Angry Protesters During Migrant Crisis Presser in NYC
American Thinker: Fifth Circuit Rebukes FDA for Banning Ivermectin for Covid-19, The Foundational Falsehood Underlying Palestinian Claims, and The Mathematics of Democrat ‘Justice’
Animal Magnetism: Animal’s Daily Nork Submarine News, also, Rule Five WaPo Gets Real Friday
Babalu Blog: Cuban military officer involved in recruiting Cubans to fight for Russia in Ukraine is identified, Reports from Cuba: Cuban ranchers: Controlled, helpless, and turned into criminals, Celia Cruz Barbie doll now available, only $35: Original Barbie and her new boyfriend Che full of rage,  and Cuba constantly violates UN rules for prisons, yet lobbies to retain seat on Human Rights Council
BattleSwarm: Newest Sign of California’s Decline: Pirates, also, LinkSwarm for September 15
Behind The Black: Starship/Superheavy 2nd test launch likely delayed until next year by federal bureaucracy and White House, German govenment blocks Chinese takeover of startup satellite company, 23 Indian companies bid for ownership of ISRO’s SSLV rocket, Russia launches 3 astronauts to ISS, FAA confirms: No Starship/Superheavy launch license until Interior approves, and Today’s blacklisted American finally wins his four-decade-long fight against the federal government
Cafe Hayek: Decrying the Infantilization of ‘Higher Education
CDR Salamander: Fullbore Friday
Chicago Boyz: Foreign and Domestic
Da Tech Guy: Under the Fedora, Progressives are hell bent on destroying childhood, DaTechGuy’s Daily Dose of Pintastic NE 2023: Mike From the Pinball Co-Op Vermont, Joe and Kamala officially demoted to “Idiots” and Trump promoted to “Possible”, and DaTechGuy’s Daily Dose of Pintastic NE 2023 Three Attendees: Scott, BJ and Doug
Don Surber: And just like that, Biden was too old. 
First Street Journal: Federal Judge Temporarily Suspends New Mexico Gov’s Gun Order, He’s ba-aaack!, Poll: Most Trust Trump To Fix Inflation Over Biden, and Democrats really, really hate our constitutional rights!
Gates Of Vienna: Showdown in Bratislava, also, Sexual Crimes and Migrants, Part 3
The Geller Report: WHAT!?! KNOWiNK Voting Systems Allow Election Staff to Override Election Results, FINALLY! Hunter Biden indicted on Federal Gun Charges, Mossad thwarted 27 Iranian terror attack threats against Israel world wide, and ‘SHUT THE BORDER!”: AOC, Dems drowned out by screaming protesters at NYC migrant crisis protest, shuts down press conference
Hogewash: Team Kimberlin Post of the Day, A Fab Five, The Hubble Tension, and Contempt of Court?
Hollywood In Toto: Who is YouTube Comedy Star Stevie Emerson?, Camp Hideout Packs Much More than Family-Friendly Laughs, Man Crashes Chrissie Mayr Performance, Punches Audience Member, Created Equal Director: Why Conservatives Lose the Culture Wars, and Conan O’Brien Shares Pathetic Excuse for Awful Trump Jokes
The Lid: Mask Mandates Will Spread If Not Contained, also, We Haven’t Had an Economic Year This Bad Since the Obama Years
Legal Insurrection: New Migrant Wave Straining Arizona Border With Many Detained in Outside Cages, Racist Joe Biden Says Something Racist. Again, Oberlin College Removes Women’s Lacrosse Coach Who Publicly Claimed College Targeted Her For Objecting To Men Playing Women’s Sports, Judge Rules Nevada Teacher Absences as an Illegal Strike, First Circuit Court of Appeals Hears Oral Argument in School Secret Social Transitioning Case, and Ibram X. Kendi’s ‘Anti-Racism’ Think Tank at Boston University Firing a Third of its Employees
Nebraska Energy Observer: An Unbearable Cost, also, Scattershot Friday
Outkick: Aaron Rodgers Fires Back At Miserable Keith Olbermann: ‘Get Your Fifth Booster, Keith’, Dan Marino Says He’d Throw For 6K Yards Under Today’s NFL Rules, Justin Jefferson Fumbles Ball Out Of Endzone For Eagles Touchback, As The Worst Rule In Sports Costs Vikings, LSU’s Brian Kelly Channels His Inner Deion For Vanished LB Harold Perkins – ‘Let Him Be Him’ In ‘Starksville’, SEC East Showdown: Josh Heupel, Billy Napier Need A Win This Weekend In ‘The Swamp’ For Completely Different Reasons, Nick Saban Goes On Epic Rant During ‘Hey Coach’ Call-In Show, Turns The Table On ‘PeeWee’ About Texas Loss, and Instagram Star Sommer Ray Shows Some Buns On National Cheeseburger Day, Kay Adams Enjoyed The Eagles Game & Marshawn Lynch Invades Amish Country
Power Line: U.N. Says: Build With Bamboo!, Apple Cringe, The pusher, and Thoughts from the ammo line
Shark Tank: Proud Boys Enrique Tarrio’s Mom Says Trump Hasn’t Reached Out 
Shot In The Dark: Induced Helplessness, also, The True End Stage
STUMP: Who will bail out Chicago?
The Political Hat: Queering Children In California: Taking Custody From Parents; Parent Sues School; Combating Gender Ideology, also, Firing Line Friday: The Issues Involved in Local Control of Reading Matter
This Ain’t Hell: Sounds good on paper, Tuberville’s Trauma- Memo Highlights the Horrors, Biden lies…again. Sun also rises in the East, Revisiting the military’s beard policy, Valor Friday, Many Americans support military strikes in Mexico, but only with Mexico’s approval, and China’s shipbuilding capacity is greater than that of the United States
Transterrestrial Musings: Elie Mystal, Inviting Trump On A Sunday Show, and The Harm Caused By masks
Victory Girls: Randi Weingarten Says Parents Who Want Choice Are Segregationists, Dove Soap Channels Bud Light Hires Fat Liberation Activist, and Biden’s Green New Deal Is One Cause Of Auto Worker Strike
Volokh Conspiracy: Federal Court Blocks N.M. Governor’s 30-Day Ban on Gun Carrying in Albuquerque Area
Watts Up With That: You Will Build Nothing & Be Happy, New York Urgently Needs To Confront the Contradiction of Trying To Electrify Everything While Also Eliminating Fossil Fuels, and Will The UAW Strike Perpetuate the Death Spiral Already Mandated for The Automobile Industry?
The Federalist: How Woke Lefties Ruined Aspen, Navy Puts The Kibosh On Digital Recruiting Program After Discovering Enlistees Aren’t Into Drag Queens, Is Digital Gold The Solution To Democrats’ Digital Dollar?, Every Republican In America Should Follow Javier Milei’s Masterclass In Going On Offense Against Abortion, Enough With Our Horrible Media Boosting Women Who Publicly Regret Their Children’s Existence, and A Church Without God Is Dead On Arrival
Mark Steyn: Masks…Again

Amazon Warehouse Deals




Category: Linkagery

Unwanted and Unloved: Younger Americans Are Facing a Lonely Future

Posted on | September 15, 2023 | Comments Off on Unwanted and Unloved: Younger Americans Are Facing a Lonely Future

When my children were little, I quickly discovered a cause for concern that most people never seem to notice: What was the point of raising my children properly, if everybody else was raising their children wrong?

Eventually, you see, my sons and daughters would grow up and find spouses, and what were the chances they could find a decent spouse who shared the values with which we tried to imbue our children? Could it be that, in striving to raise our kids properly, we were at risk of making them misfits, who couldn’t relate to their peers? Perhaps it was from consideration of such factors that I first became interested in what is known as “The Culture War.” Sarah Hoyt at Instanpundit recently linked to an article by Tom Knighton, in which he contemplates what he calls “a fraught landscape for young men,” the root cause of which is the so-called “empowerment” of women in our society. Knighton first cites further evidence (as if more evidence were needed) that “our educational system actually favors women in many ways,” creating “a situation where young men are disfavored and operating at a disadvantage from day one,” so that “it’s not surprising that women graduate college at a much higher rate than men.” Knighton then references an article by Olivia Reingold in the Free Press about “a growing number of young men who are withdrawing from the dating pool”:

More than six in ten men aged 18 to 29 are now single, up from about five in ten in 2019, according to data from Pew Research Center. Respondents give a range of reasons for their singlehood, including having “more important priorities,” the fact they “just like being single,” or that they’ve gotten “too old” to keep trying. . . .
“The traditional markers of adulthood like buying a home, completing college, and getting married, are all becoming far harder to achieve,” [sociologist Jess] Carbino said. “Many men perceive themselves to be far less marriageable. And in turn, many women perceive them to be less marriageable, too.”
She says it’s never been easy to be Joe Average on the dating market but things are rougher now that the average man’s salary, which hovers just above $61,000 in the U.S., is hardly enough to afford rent in most major American cities. Yet still, many women hold out for men who make not just as much or more than they do, but are also wildly attractive.
While the sexual revolution freed women from depending on men for income or stability, it also means they can privilege more “frivolous” qualities in a mate, says Rob Henderson, a psychology PhD with a Substack on social mores.
“People used to care a bit more deeply about moral character and hard work, and whether the person was an ethical and upstanding citizen,” he tells me. “And now, you don’t have to worry about that quite as much. And you can sort of focus on things that are just, like, more immediate, like attraction.”
The result? Men at the tip-top of the dating pool get everything. And the men who don’t have it all get nothing.

This is a blunt assessment of the real-life impact of women’s “empowerment.” Perceiving themselves to hold all the cards — to possess every advantage in life, compared to men — college-educated women feel that male companionship, per se, is without value. Such women are, therefore, only interested in high-status men who are wealthy and/or extraordinarily attractive. This is the toxic stew of contemporary dating culture that so-called “red pill” analysts like Rollo Tomassi describe.

Most parents of my generation are clueless about the problems facing their children in the world of 21st-century relationships — and their kids know it, so that most young people never listen to parental advice on such matters. Why should they? All the moral and cultural norms that existed 30 or 40 years ago have been destroyed by the subversive forces of “progress,” to say nothing of how technology has altered the dating world in the era of Instagram, Tinder, etc. Adults who came of age in the 1980s or ’90s generally cannot understand or relate to the problems affecting young people, and if I have any greater understanding of these problems than most of my generational peers, it’s simply because (a) it’s part of my job, as a journalist, to pay attention to cultural trends, and (b) having raised six kids, I’ve had an unusually large opportunity to observe changes in the way young people view relationships.

Remember the case of Mackenzie Lueck, the University of Utah sorority sister who was murdered by a guy she met via “sugar daddy” dating sites? That a college girl from a respectable middle-class background should have been engaged in such behavior was shocking, but her friends refused to condemn her behavior, saying that criticism was “hurtful.”

Hey, kids, you know what’s more hurtful than criticism? Getting murdered because you were whoring around. But these “empowered” young women, like Mackenzie Lueck’s Alpha Chi Omega sorority sisters, have been raised with the attitude that they should be exempt from criticism, no matter what they do. Feminism has become a sort of carte blanche, an license to do as they please, with the assurance that any negative consequences of their behavior are not their fault.

Women are always blame-free, not responsible for (entirely predictable) outcomes of their ill-advised decisions. Remember Ella Dawson, the young feminist who made her name a synonym for herpes?

“The fact is the ‘respectable girl from a nice family in Connecticut’ ship has already sailed.”
— Ella Dawson, July 2014

Why would a woman deliberately publicize the fact that she’s infected with an incurable sexually transmitted disease? To reduce “stigma,” was the defense offered by Dawson and her feminist comrades, as if there were no reason why herpes should be stigmatized. The syllogism of “empowerment” tells such women that anything they want to do is OK, including whoring around until you catch herpes, and therefore the predictable consequences should never be viewed negatively.

Being a “respectable girl from a nice family” is wrong, Ella Dawson is saying. Young women should never even think about trying to be “respectable” or “nice,” because this would prevent them from becoming “empowered” (and herpes-infected) like her. It is not enough that she is free to be a self-proclaimed “slut.” Everyone else must be slutty, too.

How mainstream is this sort of feminism? Ella Dawson’s immoral message was endorsed in 2016 by none other than Hillary Clinton:

When leading public figures are encouraging and praising such behavior by young women, what are the chances that your son can find a “respectable girl from a nice family” to marry? Even if your son is the kind of high-status male who doesn’t have a problem attracting female companionship — tall, handsome, athletic, extroverted, etc. — there simply are not many young women nowadays who have anything like good moral values. Young women are encouraged to be selfish, materialistic pleasure-seekers, the type of immature hedonists that no intelligent parent would want their son to marry. Just look at Susanna Gibson, the Democrat running for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates who whored herself out in “HotWifeExperience” videos.

In a world where women are encouraged in such behavior — Gibson is endorsed by Virginia’s former governor, Richmond’s mayor and U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, among others — is anyone really surprised to learn that “a growing number of young men . . . are withdrawing from the dating pool”? Love becomes impossible, when people become unlovable. Doesn’t love require respect and admiration? How could any man respect or admire Mrs. “HotWifeExperience”? Clearly her husband (who participated in those videos with her) has no respect for her.

When people cease even to try behaving in such a manner as to deserve respect — when they not only act immorally, but openly encourage and celebrate immorality — what are the ultimate consequences? An increase in loneliness is certainly among these consequences.

In this degenerate age, simply being a good person is an act of rebellion. Fortunately for my kids, they come from a long line of rebels. And, strange to say, all my kids are quite popular. Weird how that works.



 

Category: Culture, Feminism, Sex
« go back — keep looking »