Halloween 2020 A Total Bust

Normally our street is full of kids for Halloween.  Tons of kids come by, going door-to-door for candy, cute as heck in their costumes and having a ball.

Our kids decided to convert Abby's car into a Trunk 'N' Treat special at the bottom of the driveway, complete with decorations, flashing lights and a ton of candy ready to be disbursed.

We setup a warming station for adults at the top of the Driveway of Doom™ with a fire-pit lit, hot dogs ready to go, and some bourbon to let parents keep their steam uop walking around the neighborhood.  We had a friend came by and she and Tash spent tiome catching up on things.

From 6pm-8pm all of 4 kids showed up.  Normally there's that many by 6:01 pm.

Helluva ruined Halloween from parents being made to be fearful of their own shadows and running scared of having their kids spaced out outdoors to have fun and get candy. 

Quite disappointing all around and rather sad.

UPS Mis-shipment - Deliberate Not Accidental

It looks like this was a deliberate theft.

Someone at UPS in Pontiac deliberately re-routed the package to Kansas City, MO.

This is a problem with declaring contents of a package as a firearm.

Even better their system is not even letting me file a claim.

This is getting interesting.

UPS Missed It By How Much?

The bad news: UPS was off with its delivery of my package to the recipient by only 1,500 miles.  Yep, just missed it by that much.

The worse news: It was a firearm.

A rifle actually, properly declared with a copy of the receiver's FFL provided to their shipping desk as required.

Clearly labelled, with the address,  UPS label was checked and correct, and also destination labelled on other parts of the box with the proper address.

Instead of the FFL in Montana, they dropped it off in Kansas City, Missouri and not at an FFL.

This is very much not good. Investigation and claim form is about to be underway.  At least I sent it insured, but how did they screw it up this badly?

There's A Disconnect Between What J.Q. Public Thinks The Cops Can Do, And What They Actually Can Do

The riots and protests in Philly, and subsequent pandering by the Biden campaign over the incident are a result of the ignorant believing the cops should have done something other than shoot a mentally-ill man coming at them with a knife.

Of course the Biden campaign decided this was the pre-election BLM moment to seize upon:

Yep, they are absolutely convinced that a man who happened to be Black, and was in the process of attacking officers with a knife had a life that "mattered".  It's rather clear they believe the police officers lives (at least one of whom involved also happened to be Black) don't matter.

 

Already people are stating Wallace was 12 feet away from the police when they shot him and the knife couldn't reach them from there so they shouldn't have shot him as he wasn't close enough.  John Q Public doesn't know about and has never seen a Tueller drill.

We already have the Wallace family playing the ghetto lottery and announcing a wrongful death suit claiming the cops should have done something else other than shooting Wallace while he was attacking him, claiming he was "assassinated".  

 

No, that word does not mean what they think it means.

The Wallace family, the Biden campaign, et al., expected the cops to do "something else" when faced by a man advancing on them with a knife.

Partially, this is because there is a tremendous disconnect between what the public thinks the police are trained and able to do and what they are actually trained and able to do. 

 

Hence the commenters with "He was 12 feet away", "Why didn't they just shoot the knife out of his hand?", or just per Biden "shoot him in the leg?" or, “Why didn’t you just close with him and use your hand to hand skills to get the knife out of his hand?, you could have easily done that right and no one would get hurt, right?”

The public thinks police are trained to be super-marksmen, experts at martial arts, and able to ensure compliance with no one getting hurt if they just want that to happen by words alone. 

 

Partially this is due to politicians claiming just let the police handle it as they are the “professionals”. Then add Hollywood to the mix and the average person thinks all cops are trained to be super-SWAT black belts that can't miss and can disarm someone with the flick of a wrist, and it’s easy to see where this misapprehension comes from.

Instead, in reality most police get minimal training in hand to hand skills, barely any refresher training in those skills, and just adequate training in firearms. 

Reality also dictates going hand-to-hand against a person armed with a knife is going to most likely result in the officer getting cut, perhaps very badly.

 

The average person also doesn’t realize how dangerous a crazed individual with a knife can be. 

 

Reality also dictates that just shooting them in the leg or shooting the knife out of their hand is not going to work in real life how Hollywood makes it appear. The officer is going to miss, or maybe instead hit and the attacker will likely bleed out via their femoral artery in their leg, or the brachial artery in their arm.

In short, the public's ignorance, encouraged by the media and politicians, lead them to think police can do what they currently cannot and they get outraged when reality doesn't meet their fantasy impression of how a situation should be resolved.  Throw in a little race baiting and you get riots as a result.

Michigan Court Of Appeals Slaps Down Secretary Of State's Polling Place Carry Ban Appeal

That was quite an expedited denial of an appeal.

The Detroit Free Press: Michigan Court of Appeals denies Benson appeal, says open carry at polls is legal

It's pretty clear her edict banning carry at the polls was improper  and in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act and Michigan Law.

Not content to lose badly twice, AG Nasty Nessel and Secretary Benson are vowing to appeal this to the Michigan Supreme Court.

In short, who you vote for as a judge matters, as the panel here were all Republican justices, and yes, these days that matters.

Detroit Free Press Finds No News That Looks Bad to Democrats Fit To Print

No news that makes Biden and his Dem supporters look bad graces the pages of the Detroit Free Press these days.

First, just like CNN, the Detroit Free Press couldn't find the Bobulinski interview and story revealing Joe Biden's rather corrupt goings on with his son and foreign governments if their lives depended on it:

Riots happening in Philadelphia?  What Riots In Philadelphia?

Biden's statement in the debate on ending the oil industry? - forget it Jake, it's the Freep.

Yep, it's truly Iowahawk's world:

It All Started Going Downhill When They Went Politically Correct On Their Menu

Yet another restaurant establishment is going bankrupt and reorganizing due to the effects of our Governor Half-Whit's closure orders.

The Detroit News:  HopCat restaurants sells assets for $17M, under new ownership

 We will note that HopCat had previously caved to progressive pressure to rename their flagship Crack Fries (which were real good) as that was apparently offensive to crack addicts, which must have been a large portion of their customer base - or not as the case may be.

Eater Detroit: HopCat Is Finally Renaming Its Controversial ‘Crack Fries’ 

Only controversial to those with too much time on their hands, really.

Yes, they renamed them Cosmic Fries to get cred with the woo-woo crowd and stop offense of addicts.   Not quite the same ring to it at all, and it was all downhill from there.

Covid and the Governor's overreaching and unconstitutional executive orders just drove the final nail in this tale of "get woke, go broke".

Court Of Claims Blocks Secretary of State's Open Carry At The Polls Ban

 

You can read the decision here: OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART PLAINTIFFS’ EMERGENCY MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

Good job Michigan Open Carry - who led the charge on this, and  MCO and MCRGO.

The Court concluded the Secretary of State's directive was in fact a rule and its promulgation violated the rule making procedure of the Administrative Procedure Act and issued the injunction banning its enforcement in regards to open carry at the polls.

Dana Nessel, our Democrat Attorney General, has indicated she will appeal the decision, so the matter isn't over yet, but it's a very promising start, and a very well-written opinion.

Stupid Criminal Tricks: That's A Really Great Way To Get Shot Or Run Over

The Detroit News: Port Huron police take gun from man trying to slow traffic

Yes, the situation really is as dumb as it sounds.

Even better, the gun doofus had was not a real firearm but an airsoft. 

Jumping out in front of cars, and waving a fake gun around to do your own unofficial version of traffic calming is a great way to have drivers become very not-calm and you then have a good chance to get either run over or shot. 

No, you're just not allowed to appoint yourself to be the traffic speed limit enforcer of your neighborhood.

Luckily for him, he's just going to get a disorderly conduct charge which is rather nice of the police in terms of the many options for charges that they had against this dimwit.

Dear I Love Science Folks - That Meme Does Not Mean What You Think It Means

A nice little meme popped up on my Facebook page, courtesy of one of my very liberal Dem friends who is all about "I love science", Orange Man Bad, Vote Blue No Matter Who, etc.

The meme is:

 Yes its an attempt to make fun of people who point out that masks aren't the panacea the proggies proclaim them to be. 

How silly are these people who don't go along with all the various edicts?, and saying cloth masks don't work?, and aren't they just ignorant for not going along - after all, I bet if they were on the Titanic they wouldn't wear a life jacket, hurr durr.

Welp, there's a little problem there.

Those passengers who just wore life jackets died when they were in the water in very short order.  Indeed, most all passengers left the Titanic wearing a life jacket. 

But,  many of those wearing lifejackets on leaving the ship were killed by those same lifejackets by knocking them unconscious or snapping their necks on impact with the water due to the design of the jacket,  The freezing water then killed the rest via hypothermia and the life jacket didn't help with that.

Unless you got on a lifeboat, your chance of survival was between slim and none, with slim rapidly slipping under the waves.  

Life-jackets alone were insufficient to save your life on the Titanic, making the meme rather historically ignorant,  but great for the I Love Science crowd.

In other words, the meme actually points out that cloth masks, just like life-jackets alone are not a panacea and going to save you from Covid19.

I almost have to wonder if this was a brilliant play by 4Chan to get the I Love Science Crowd to beclown themselves.  But more likely its just an I Love Science Crowd type forgetting to love history and facts before making the emotive meme to try and attack their opponents.

A Great Blogger Fly In

A great day today flying to meet a great bunch of people.

 I flew from Pontiac to KFPK, Charlotte airport, with Mr. B of In The Middle of The Right blog flying in as well.

I had Tosh as a passenger, his first time in a small plane.

Winds were pretty light at 6 knots out of 300 which wasn't bad. The cloud layer was low and MVFR earlier in the day and bu the time we left at 11 am it was scattered at around 3,500-4,000 feet.  It was spaced apart in solid lines of clouds followed by completely blue lines of clear sky like waves and you could climb above the cloud wave,  and then drop down behind it through a ton of clear sky and surf up again staying out of the clouds the whole time.  We did that for a bit and then stayed low so Tosh could sight see.  I could see the ground the whole time so it wasn't VFR on top, it was still VFR but with lines of clouds every now and then.

Besides there were some great fall colors to see.

At Charlotte, the clouds were lower at around 3,000 and the wind kept shifting.  Still about 6 knots, but one moment it favored Runway 21, the next Runway 3.   I decided to land on Runway 3 and the wind stayed there long enough to make it a nice easy landing.

Awaiting us on the tarmac was Scott of Providentia, Scott's dad the Sargent, and Joe of Eaton Rapids Joe.

Mr. B landed ion short order right behind us.

Then we headed off to lunch all together and talked for a few hours, catching up, and on the important matters of the day.  

An excellent time with a really great bunch of conversationalists.  A very smart and experienced bunch and the time just flew by.

Mr. B. generously picked up the tab, so we all chipped in the equivalent of our meals as tips for the waitress, hopefully making her day, as the restaurant was pretty quiet.  I'm getting the next one.

Then we headed back to the airport and preflighted and did our run-ups and got ready to head out.  The Clouds were still pretty low.

As I left the parking area, the AWOS report the wind was favoring Runway 21 as did the wind sock, so I started to taxi to 21.  Of course then wind shifted in completely the opposite direction, so I had to taxi back to Runway 3.  Not a big deal, but a good decision that didn't take too much time to carry out.

So with low clouds were flew back at around 2,500 feet.  There was a bit of light chop and bouncing around, but Tosh took it with aplomb and enjoyed himself flying, and at 118 knots we made good time back.

Pontiac tower first set me up for Runway 27L but then knowing I park on the north side, had me cross the departure corridor and then enter the right downwind for 27R. I did a normal downwind leg.

Then, we had to do a quick tight base due to traffic, so I came in a bit higher and faster speed than usual as it wasn't the usual downwind to start the descent so there was a bit of float and I landed a bit longer than usual,  but it was a sweet, soft touchdown.  I do like to keep my passengers happy with my landings.

Then taxi back to the hangar and put the plane away.

A great time was had with some absolutely great people.

1.8 and two excellent landings and another happy first time small airplane passenger.

About That Open Carry Ban At The Polls

The local police and sheriffs are not happy with Secretary of State Benson's edict on open carry at the polls.

The Detroit News Michigan police chiefs' leader: Open carry ban at polling places not based in law

The head of the group that represents 385 Michigan police chiefs warned Monday that officers won't be able to enforce Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's ban on openly carrying firearms at polling places on Election Day because the edict is not based in law.

Well, they're right, because it's not based in law.

Arguably, the local Sheriffs and police can't legally enforce it even if they wanted to as that would likely violate Michigan's law on local preemption:

MCL 23.1102 Regulation of pistols, other firearms, pneumatic guns, or ammunition.

  A local unit of government shall not impose special taxation on, enact or enforce any ordinance or regulation pertaining to, or regulate in any other manner the ownership, registration, purchase, sale, transfer, transportation, or possession of pistols, other firearms, or pneumatic guns, ammunition for pistols or other firearms, or components of pistols or other firearms, except as otherwise provided by federal law or a law of this state.

See the issue - while it is not a local regulation, local units of government cannot enforce anything but state and federal laws regarding firearms, and the Sec State's edict is not a state or federal law.

Quite a conundrum for local law enforcement, neh?

 So of course the Attorney General then announced the Michigan State Police would enforce the ban if the locals will not:

 The Detroit News: Nessel: State police will enforce voting laws on Election Day if sheriffs won't

Nice of her to double down like that.

She's of course spinning this as a ban on voter intimidation, but there's been no incidents of open carriers intimidating voters as they go vote at the polls, and if such a thing actually happened, there are lots of existing laws to handle such incidents. 

This ban is simply a smack at likely Republican-leaning voters and a bit of extra-judicial gun control thrown in for good measure to appease her base and anger the Republican base.

This Can't Possibly Be Suppression Of Rural Republican Votes Now Can It?

WILX10:  Some voters are still waiting for absentee ballots

Interesting goings-on with voters who have applied for absentee ballots who happen to live in Eaton Rapids, MI  -  the goings-on being they'r=ve not received their ballots yet.

Apparently these applications were somehow not processed by the Secretary of State:

However, some voters in Eaton Rapids Township are still waiting on their ballot.

Eaton Rapids Township Clerk Robin Morgan told News 10 she’s not getting absentee ballot applications from the state’s website.

. . .

 The Michigan Secretary of State’s office said this was an isolated incident and it was fixed Wednesday and ballots are now being issued.

 Funny how that isolated incident preventing voters from getting their absentee ballots, just happened to effect a solidly Republican area of Michigan.  This has nothing to do with our Secretary of State happens to be a dyed-in-the wool Democrat and ourt Governor promising to deliver the state for Biden.

Clearly just a coincidence, neh?

Since Trump won Michigan by only 10,704  votes in 2016,  and there's over 36,000 registered but non-existed voters in Detroit alone, it won't take much Democrat chicanery to narrow that margin. 

Making isolated incidents that just happen to make it harder for predictably Republican areas to cast their ballots is an interesting move in that direction.

What Figure Is Washtenaw County Leaving Out As They Freak Out About Covid at UofM?

The Washtenaw County Public Health Department just issued a rather draconian 2-week lockdown order for University of Michigan Students.

The Detroit Free Press: Washtenaw County issues two-week stay home order for U-M students

More than 600 confirmed and probable cases have been reported in Washtenaw County in the past week, with 61% of those being U-M students.

So that's around 366 cases (or elsewhere in the article an even lower count of 301) in a university with an undergraduate population of 31,266.

So, what are they not publishing?  Hospitalization numbers.

Are any of these 301 cases actually requiring medical attention beyond the ordered isolation and quarantine?  

Did anybody actually got seriously ill from this at all among these students, or are these positive case asymptomatic or just suffering moderate flu-like effects?

That kind of information would be good to know after all in assessing if this lock down was a rational response or not.

University students are very low risk for health issues due to COVID and here they are getting locked down for about 1% of the student population testing positive for it.

Criminal Charge Dropped Against The Barber, But Whitmer's Vindictive Licensing Action Continues

Some good news for Karl Manke, the barber who safely defied Gov Half-Whit's executive orders against letting barbers cut hair:

The Detroit News: Charges dropped against barber who defied Whitmer, reopened shop

Misdemeanor charges are being dropped against a Michigan barber who defied Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and reopened his shop last spring during the coronavirus pandemic, a lawyer said Monday.

The case against Karl Manke of Owosso fizzled after the Michigan Supreme Court on Oct. 2 said Whitmer used an unconstitutional law as the foundation for emergency orders to control the virus, David Kallman said.

 However, the licensing action, still based on the violation of the now unconstitutional executive orders continues.

State regulators still are trying to revoke his barber license, Kallman said. A hearing is set for Nov. 19.

One would hope the state regulators will realize the same thing the Owosso prosecutor does - that the license enforcement action is based on the same orders that have been declared unconstitutional by the Michigan Supreme Court.  But instead it seems they want to continue the administrative process as punishment.

No Silly Dem, It Wasn't Trump That Killed Your Business, That Was Your Very Own Democrat Governor

Remember how a lot of Republicans were accusing Democrat Governors of working to deliberately harm their state economies to cause resentment against Trump?

It seems those accusations were justified, as the Biden campaign is blaming President Trump by using Democrat governors shut downs and resultant damages to the economy on the President.

For the record, we will note it was not President Trump that ordered Michigan's  harsh and excessive lockdowns, which were and still are some of the most extensive and overbroad in the entire United States (and found to be against the Michigan constitution to boot).

The Detroit News: Struggling Ann Arbor club owner in Biden ad: 'This is Donald Trump's economy'

Of course its featuring a lefty in Ann Arbor who doesn't care about cause and effect:

"Everywhere I go, people have a story about the Blind Pig," says Joe Malcoun, co-owner of the Blind Pig, in the new ad. "The Blind Pig has been one of those clubs that attract artists from all genres. For 50 years, the Blind Pig has been open and crowded, but right now, it's an empty room.

"This is the reality of Trump's COVID response. We don't know how much longer we can survive not having any revenue. A lot of restaurants and bars that have been mainstays for years will not make it through this. This is Donald Trump's economy."

No Mr. Malcoun, it's Governor Half-Whit's orders that closed you down and even now limit your patrons to what may not be a survivable much less a subsistence level.  

But she's doing it to "save Lives" with the "best science and data" [that she still refuses to share] and harm President Trump, so you likely can take comfort in that as she destroys your livelihood.

Even the article notes that 

Trump has repeatedly called on governors to lift economic restrictions aimed at combating COVID-19 as the virus has continued to spread

Yep, it's not Trump's economy here in Michigan right now, the dishonor and blame sit squarely at the feet of our Democrat governor. 

A very nice gas lighting attempt by the Biden campaign. 

Who are you going to believe?  Those blaming Trump or your very own eyes reading the over 150 executive orders issued by Gov Half-Whit shutting down this state and killing your life's work?

Gov Half Whit, you have accomplished your mission for Biden. 

Maybe its time you asked Hunter for a cut?

Gov Whitmer Vetoes Anti-Voter Fraud Bill For Reasons

Our very own Governor Half-Whit has vetoed a bill that would help combat voting fraud in Michigan.

Why? She claims it would be confusing.

The Detroit News: Whitmer vetoes voter fraud bill, cites redundancy, confusion

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed bills that would have made it a felony to knowingly try to apply for multiple absentee ballots or to fill out an application for others without their consent.

In other words, by her veto she's good with multiple applications being made, ballot harvesting, and for outright fraud by applying for ballots for others without their consent - what could go possibly wrong?

Is Woke Forest University Next To Get Investigated For Systemic Racism?

Wake Woke Forest University's math department just decided that their department, and math itself be racist.

The College Fix: Wake Forest University offers new ‘antiracist use of math’ class

Just like Princeton, they've declared themselves systematically racist:

“Like all entrenched systems, our department is not innocent of racism,” stated Professor Sarah Raynor, chair of Wake Forest’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics, in a memo to the department. “The time has come for us to focus on fighting racism and making plans to create a more equitable educational space.”

That should go just swimmingly.  Hopefully the Department of Education opens up an investigation into this admitted racist math department.

Michigan Secretary Of State Bans Open Carry At The Polls

Without any legislative authority, Jocelyn Benson, our Secretary of State, just issued a regulation banning open carry at polling places.

Up until this regulation, open carry at polling places was legal.

Especially so, depending on the location, if you had a concealed carry permit you could then open carry at the polls [don't ask it's a Michigan thing and would take a whole other post - basically there are lots of areas like schools and churches where you can't open carry legally without a permit, and can't carry concealed with a permit but can carry openly with a permit].

Now without any legislation or declared legal authority, and based solely on the Sec State's say so, you now cannot do so:

The Detroit News: Michigan bans open carry of guns inside and near polling places

Michigan is prohibiting the open carry of guns within 100 feet of polling places amid fears of voter intimidation during the pivotal Nov. 3 election, prompting criticism by Second Amendment advocates.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson sent guidance to local election officials on Friday — 18 days before Election Day — to clarify that the open carry of firearms on Election Day in polling places, clerk’s offices and absent voter counting boards is banned.

A little voter suppression of the open carry crowd, who likely wasn't going to vote Dem, neh?

While I don't open carry much, and don't open carry at the polls, I know plenty of law abiding people who have done so properl,y with no fanfare, and not as a "carrying at someone" type of action. 

Rather unclear where she gets the authority to institute such a ban, so expect some litigation shortly.

Is Michigan A One-Party Recording State Or Not?

Answer: We don't really know yet.

So when asked if you can record a conversation you're a party to without the consent of all participants, the answer is a definite maybe.

Here's the statute in question:

750.539c Eavesdropping upon private conversation.
Any person who is present or who is not present during a private conversation and who wilfully uses any device to eavesdrop upon the conversation without the consent of all parties thereto, or who knowingly aids, employs or procures another person to do the same in violation of this section, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a state prison for not more than 2 years or by a fine of not more than $2,000.00, or both.

Clear as mud, right?   Does it mean if you're not a party to the conversation  you need consent of all the parties but if you're a part of the conversation you may record it?  Mess up and it's a 2 year felony so interpret the language wisely.

It took until 1981 to get a suggestion of an answer as to the meaning of this statute passed in 1966.

In Sullivan v Gray The Michigan Court of Appeals said yes it means exactly that a participant can record the conversation but canoe use any third party to do it for him, nor can a third party not a part of the conversation do so without violating the statute.

Then in 2001, in an unpublished decision of Swan v. Bob Maxey Lincoln Mercury, The Court of Appeals then clearly stated that the statute is not violated when a party to the conversation records it even if they do not tell the other parties they are being recorded.  But this is the Court of Appeals doing an annoying unpublished decision so its precedential value is always an issue.

You'd think that would be pretty definitive, right?  Not so fast.

The Detroit News: Federal judge questions Michigan's secret recording law, asks Supreme Court to weigh in

Since the Michigan Supreme Court hasn't ruled on it, our Attorney General is asking them to do so, as the Federal Judge in the case basically said she doesn't care what the Court of Appeals has ruled on the topic, and initially held it did not allow a person to record a conversation they are a party to without permission of all involved.

That gets problematic real fast.

The fun part according to the article, our lefty Attorney General is apparently is indicating her office is prepared to and will argue both sides.

This is especially delicious as the reason for this is an organization lefties love to hate - Project Veritas - is at the center of this dispute.  

One of its "agents" or simply someone who decided to provide it to PV after taping it, taped aconversation they took part in with a union boss of the American Federation of Teachers in Michigan concerning some allegedly pretty sketch dealings in regards to a member accused of misconduct involving a 6-7 year old and subsequent nice payout and soft exit the union arranged for him.  

AFT took umbrage to the conversation being published on the rather embarrassing topic and sued.

So we'll see if the Michigan Supreme Court will take this up and give us a clear and binding answer as to the meaning of the statute.

Biden And Ukraine Corruption - The Story The Media Wants To Go Away

The media is not just in the tank for Biden. they're battening down the hatches and blocking all vision ports and redlining the throttle in an effort to haul him to the finish line.

Looks like they're doing all they can to keep this story from getting any coverage - including in the case of social media sites Twitter and Facebook outright blocking the story from being published on their platforms:

New York Post: Twitter, Facebook censor Post over Hunter Biden exposé

So much for any claim that Facebook and Twitter are merely platforms rather than publishers under the CDA. 

Still no mention of it at all at the Detnews nor the Freep.  

The New York Times has jumped in with both feet to shield Biden and run cover for him in what should be more considered an op-ed rather than straight news: Biden Did Not Meet With Ukrainian Energy Executive, Campaign Says.

Actually, the campaign stated  the meeting wasn't on his official calendar - not a denial that they met at all, and the campaign have now started to indicate a meeting may have occurred "in passing".

But Twitter and Facebook's actions in blockign the story and even banning the NY Post memebrs who linked to the story may be resulting in a Streisand Effect about the material, but only if you know how to look for the story in the first place.

We're watching one of the greatest displays of media bias in progress here.

Looks Like Biden Has Some 'Splainin' To Do

So it now looks like what Trump was accused of and impeached for regarding Ukraine - Joe Biden actually did, and profited from it through his son as well.

Instapundit: COLLUSION: Smoking-gun email reveals how Hunter Biden introduced Ukrainian businessman to VP dad.

I daresay Hunter Biden is kicking himself now for failing to pickup that laptop.  

 The emails show Joe Biden was lying about not knowing about his son's business dealings in Ukraine.  It also ties together nicely his extortion of Ukraine over firing the prosecutor investigating Burisma while Hunter Biden sat on the board of Burisma.

A Biden own-goal October surprise - but only if anyone takes notice and if the media cares to cover it and for now it seems the New York Post is the sole media outlet gicving this attention.

Interesting how neither the Detroit News nor the Detroit Free Press make any mention of this rather damning discovery.  Had such damning emails about Trump come to light right now they would have been top-story, front-web-page news.

Oh, Hirono No!

Apparently any Republican nominated candidate for the Supreme Court will be asked if they have ever sexually assaulted someone.

The Washington Examiner: Hirono asks Barrett if she has ever 'made unwanted requests for sexual favors'

Seriously, the Democrat Senators have reached rock bottom and are starting to dig.

Anything to try and tarnish a rather impressive candidate with ridiculous questions, all because you don't like who is nominating her, right?

Really Slate?

A rather telling headline and article from Slate today:  

The Store That Called the Cops on George Floyd: A teenage clerk dialed 911. How should the brothers who own CUP Foods pay for what happened next?

 

Yep, really.  Apparently having the temerity to call the police when someone commits a crime in your presence should make you "pay".

 

In short, Slate is advocating that victims of crimes not call the cops, or there will be consequences.

 

Thar's not threatening in any way now is it?

Kinda a more genteel "Snitches get stitches" approach to crime, neh?

 

Again, Slate is stating that the owners of a business where a clerk properly called the police on someone committing a crime should "pay" for daring to do so. 

Apparently having demonstrations outside your store and it being vandalized with graffiti, and getting threats is insufficiently paying for the dreadful act of calling the cops on a criminal with said criminal resisting arrest and things going downhill from there.

There's also the minor interesting issue of a mosque being in the store's basement and the racial conflict and the animosity of the existence of an Arab-owned store operating in a predominantly Black neighborhood - and the article goes into  a rather detailed look at all the crime that occurs around the store including drug activity.

It's an interesting look at the progressive mindset on crime - the victim is to be blamed for not simply taking it, and the criminal is not the one responsible for the outcome of his criminal acts.

Sunday Match Day

Shot another USPSA Match today.  It was a beautiful fall day - not to hot nor too cold, but just right to get out to the range.

Also got to be the RO for the squad.  No pressure there.  

Ok, actually a lot of pressure. 

Had a few higher level shooters in the squad, so I got a lot of constructive feedback and helpful corrections on ROing.

I faced interesting problems I've never seen before including a cool one where a shooter figured out a loophole in one of the course of fire descriptions that was actually rather brilliant.  Once I was told it was in fact legal to do it, pretty much everyone then did it.  In short, if you don't want stacking in a course of fire, your description better specify no stacking.  I also went forth and stackednon that course of fire. That was a fun problem and a fun stage as a result.

Then a dispute about whether a shooter engaged a target or not arose.  I saw him shoot at it, another more senior person said he hadn't, I stuck to my position and so he got a miss but not a failure to engage procedural.  - It turns out I was right and it was even on video that another shooter took of him (But there is no such thing as a video replay in USPSA scoring). Yay me, I guess.

A couple other weird scoring things occurred and it all kept me on my toes.

It was a fun match with some challenging stages.

Had two shooters disqualified in the squad - one of them was a much higher level shooter than I am.   

The problem for him was the course of fire had you start well downrange in the center of the range, and you then had to move up range to engage targets at the sides and in turning to engage targets to his right he busted the 180.

Second shooter was pretty much a novice, and had an AD on a speed shooting stage where after shooting T1-T3 you do a mandatory reload and shift to your offhand and then again engage T1-T3. While transferring the firearm, he had an AD, and then started turning back up-range going right past the 180.  That got everyone's attention very quickly. Resolved, and he was DQ'd.  I wasn't RO'ing at the time as I was on deck to shoot.  Nice bit of an uproar before my turn, it was.  Two out of three DQs during the match were on my squad, and the first time I've ever been on a squad with someone who was Dq'd.

I did ok shooting, no setting the world on fire but decent accuracy. But, I still need to figure out how to shoot the courses of fire faster.  On the upside my Hit Factor is inching up and I had a 4.193 hit factor on one stage which was rather nice and I'd like to get all the stages up to that level or better.

A fun time, no failures of any kind out of the Masada, and another 165 rounds fired.

That 70's Conviction

Just got retained on a case with history.

Fellow was convicted back in 1977 of a firearms related charge, and had been initially charged with illegally carrying in an automobile after an officer saw him leave a gun shop and put the pistol case with the unloaded pistol into the passenger compartment rather than the trunk.

Ooops. No bad intent, just forgetfulness and excitement at a new purchase, but that is a potential 5 year felony.

It was reduced to a misdemeanor back in 1977 and he had no issues since.

Until now.  He recently got denied a firearms purchase.

The problem is one can't actually tell officially which misdemeanor it was and NICS now thinks it was a high misdemeanor, which is essentially considered to be a felony conviction for purposes of NICS, and NICS is now denying his purchasing any firearms.

The record is unclear as hell, as the court records back then were hand written, in cursive!, and not computerized at the time.

Oh, and where the records were stored - there was a flood there too.   His file was in the flood zone.

The paper the conviction was on has the original charge plain as day - Pistol in Auto complete with a clear citation to the Michigan Compiled Laws. But. the actual plea and actual conviction - not so much.  You can't tell what misdemeanor it was pled down to as the last few numbers all run and bleed together.

This is going to be fun to fix.

No, Really, That Is Not Racial Profiling, At All

Had a call from a potential client who was busted for having something in their car they were not legally supposed to have.  Yes, they knew they were not supposed to have it and they knew it was there.

Of course the person claimed the whole stop and subsequent discovery started because the cops were racially profiling them whole they were driving in Pontiac.

The arresting agency is the Oakland County Sheriff's Department, which is a pretty solid department that doesn't play around, so that claim is rather unlikely.

Well, let's get some details, so maybe we can suppress it if their claim is really true, so I ask how it was that the sheriffs happened to pull them over. But, I'm rather skeptical.

My skepticism is justified.

They were pulled over because the car had no license plates or tags. As in none, zilch, nada, nothing, unregistered vehicle with no plate traveling at night in a not-so-good area of Pontiac.  

Even better, after the stop, sheriffs asked do you have anything illegal inside the vehicle I should be aware about, and the potential client said "Yes I have ....".

That's just not racial profiling, it's called being felony stupid, and that's a perfectly good stop and subsequent search and seizure.

Yes, a lot of criminals really do say yes when asked if they've got something illegal on them during a stop and this one admits they did say that.

Gotta wonder about the thought process of someone who knowingly has possession of something illegally, which possession of such item illegally is a Five Year Felony, and who figures that the best way to go rolling about town is in a car with no license plates with said illegal item inside, and then quickly admits to it when asked.

This is also not the first time potential client has been caught with such illegal item in pretty much a similar way previously.  Kinda slow learner, really.

They don't call 'em stupid criminals for nothing. 

Potential client is unhappy as I state that's a darn valid reason for the sheriffs to pull over the car, and a valid subsequent search and seizure after the clients answer to the question.  I state I would not try to defend this based on a claim of racial profiling as there's no ethical way to do so based on the facts.

I go on to explain the chance of the evidence getting thrown out is about zilch and the case is really about damage control and reducing the potential penalty, not getting off on an unsupportable claim of racial profiling.

Nope,  I'm so not getting retained on that one.

Range Trip and Sunday Drivers

So this morning I went to my range's monthly business meeting.  Not as painful as one might expect and things got done,but some parts certainly dragged along unnecessarily. No biggie.

After the meeting Tosh, Duffy and Anthony were waiting and we then setup to shoot and we first shot rifles and then I got to shot my new A-Zone steel at 7 and 25 yards.  Lots of fun and I - you guessed it - need more practice.  I wasn't hititng any of the MSP Black Belt standards today.  But, it was extra satisfying hearing that sweet ping sound when i hit my own steel plate at 25 yards off the draw, as slow as it may have been.

Given the ammo shortage and a match coming up next weekend,  that's 50 more flawless  (and expensive) rounds through the IWI Masada today.

A good time had by all.

Then driving home on the highway with no issue of note.  I exit and the exit has 4 lanes - 2 lanes tro the left and 2 to the right.  

I'm in the outside left  lane.  To make the turn super easy even for morons, there is a dotted white line for the turn separating the two lanes.

So of course the idiot driver beside me on the inside turn lane (with a Biden Harris sticker no less) cunningly makes the turn from the inside lane and in the midst of the turn drifts completely into my lane. Oh, I'm in that lane at the time.  Not pleasant, but I avoid the collision. 

Ok then.  Idiots abound and glad I was looking out for that.

Then less than a mile from that incident, I'm in the left lane keeping up with traffic, and a white Ford Explorer decides to leave a strip mall on the right side and instead of turning into the right lane decides to turn right into the left lane right in front of me going a heckuva lot slower than the 45mph I am going.

Brakes are quickly stomped upon and a horn is loudly sounded to indicate I don't enjoy almost getting hit by a complete moron who can't merge into traffic and he had an entire empty right lane he could have easily turned into.

He takes affront at this and when we get parallel as I had to change lanes to avoid him and he starts flipping me off, then dicking around in traffic playing braking and lane changing games and being a jerk.  Whatever.  I'm not engaging with that kind of crap.  I just drop back to avoid the douchebag and carry on my way while he speeds off in a huff and nearly hits another car as he does so.

Two close calls on the same road is a bit worrisome.  Too many lousy drivers out there at the moment, probably lots of them just started driving again since Covid began and have unlearned how to change lanes, turn, and enter a road.

Good time at the range and some excellent accident and road rage avoidance practice.

Saturday Fly Day - Taking A Friend Up For His Birthday

So my friend Charlie had never been in a small plane before, and since today is his birthday, it was a most opportune time to remedy that.

The weather forecast was pretty favorable, and it turned out even better than forecast.  I did the official online weather brief and  packed the gear and was ready to go.

So we met up and I showed him how I pre-flight the plane, then we got on board, started her up and taxi'd out.

After the run-up, we headed to Runway 27R and then took off to the southwest.

He didn't even feel us liftoff the runway, and he enjoyed the flight immensely. It was smooth air all the way at 4,500 feet.

I let him fly the pane for a bit once we were past Brighton and he enjoyed that too.

Then we got the ATIS and contacted Jackson tower and got a straight in approach to Runway 25, and since we were on heading 250, that was rather perfect.

We then landed at Jackson with a nice soft landing, and I taxi'd the plane to what was becoming a rather busy ramp that has some construction going on, stopping only to allow a helicopter to take off, which was cool,  and we were marshaled to a parking spot.

An excellent lunch at the newly renovated The Apron Restaurant with really excellent food but slow service as they were slammed.  Worth it though.  Got to see a couple Extra 300s come in as well as an amphib and a Cirrus, some Cessnas and other airplanes as well. The parking area behind our plane filled in quick.

Then back to Pontiac.  We got flight following which was suggested by Jackson tower and was a good idea as the way back was busy.  Great Lakes Approach had me do an imediate turn to 360 degrees to clear for some traffic, then we returned to PTK at 5,500.

Great Lakes Approach handed me off to Detroit approach and I was told to immediately descend to 3,500 feet as there was a Gulfstream in my vicinity going the same way above me.  I did so most quicly and we then stayed at 3,500 the rest of the way in.  The only downside was it was a bit bumpy at 3,500 feet, and Charlie wasn't quite used to that.  I told him it was fine as it really wasn't that bad at all but if you've never felt those bumps before in a small plane it can be a bit disconcerting. 

Lots of traffic was out and about.  Detroit Approach was keeping pretty busy and I heard them use the word "expedite" to quite a few pilots. We also had got a traffic alert form them and was later told it was not a factor.  Having flight following can be pretty useful and its nice to know someone is watching the traffic around you that you can't see yourself.

Then we were handed off to Pontiac Tower and we were first instructed to setup to enter the downwind for 27L. But, as we entered the downwind, he had us do an immediate crosswind turn and then join the right downwind for 27R, so Charlie got to experience his first pattern.

I entered the right downwind at a perfect altitude and airspeed, then setup and turned base and then to final and landed again in a really smooth manner just kissing the ground with the wheels.  Always good to keep your passengers happy and good landings ensure that.

1.7, 2 landings, and a beaming birthday passenger. 

Rick Moranis A Victim of The New York Knockout Game

As a further sign of New York City's decline. Canada's own beloved Rick Moranis aka Bob Mackenzie was sucker-punched in an unprovoked attack outside of his apartment building.

 Reported on in more detail in the New York Post.

That the cowardly jerkoff doing it is wearing an "I Love New York" hoodie adds to the irony.

 

A real tough guy there, knocking out a tiny 67-year-old comedian.

Hopefully the cops catch this scumbag.  My bet is we'll find he has priors for assault, and if caught he'll likely be released without having to post bail, which is ridiculous but that's New York.   Hopefully, they charge the pos with a hate crime in addition to the assault charges.

The Best Knife Defense Is Using Your Feet - As In Run Away!

Learned some knife defense techniques in Jiu Jitsu last night.

The best and safest defense, bar none, is to run out of effective knife distance as quickly as possible.  Highly recommended.

All other defenses are less effective and more last resort options due to being unable to run away or create distance to break away or bring a firearm to bear. It is highly likely you're going to get tagged when you're in close against a determined attacker armed with a knife.

The good news:  If they're coming at you with an ice-pick type grip, the close in defenses are pretty straightforward, work really well, let you establish control, and really reduce the likelihood you're going to get tagged in a fatal area.

The bad news:  Even doing the ice-pick defenses perfectly, the likelihood you're still going to get cut at least on the outside of your arm is still pretty high.  The nice thing is even executing them at full speed and less than textbook execution against someone trying really hard to stick you, they still work pretty darn well.

The ugly news:  About 60%+ of knife attacks aren't using ice pick holds, they're instead using  hammer or saber type holds and they grab and keep you in close with their off-hand while they use the knife in a sewing-machine like motion with your stomach and vital areas as the cloth getting perforated by said sewing machine. 

This doth suck.  

There is a defense to it that works, but the likelihood of getting seriously tagged even when you do it right can be pretty high.  

We started doing these techniques slowly and then picked up the pace.  Slowly to learn the technique and then go faster to actual attack speeds using rubber knives. 

Defenses from ice pick type attacks did work really well, but yes some outside arm hits were felt.  

Hammer/saber grip attacks while they hold you in close with the other hand generally meant at least one if not more solid hits to the body.  This was especially the case when for example Spence, who is a head taller than me and built like a mac truck came in on me with full speed and power, while I eventually got control but I certainly took a solid and only slightly deflected initial hit more often than not - that type of attack is hard to stop.  With my other bubble partner who is a head shorter than me but basically built of muscle and reflexes, I could mostly stop the initial attack with the technique but not always.

Oh, and doing all this while wearing a mask truly sucks.  Talk about breathing hard and really sucking in the O2 while the CO2 doesn't get dispersed.

In short, you're always best off getting out of range of a knife attack when possible.  

All these defensive techniques, while they can and do work, are the not-as-good options for when you can't get out of knife range as opposed to running away to a safe distance.

Too Late Gov Half-Whit, Too Late And Too Little By Far

Better late then never doesn't really apply when you've staunchly stood by a series of executive orders that have led to the deaths of thousands of nursing home residents.

Eight months into this crisis, and Governor Half-Whit, without admitting that she has made a series of fatal mistake in doubling down and constantly ordering nursing homes to take in COVID positive patients, has finally started  to do what she should have done from the start - isolate them away from vulnerable nursing home residents and put them in specialized care facilities.

The Detroit News: Gov. Whitmer shifts nursing home policy with 'care and recovery centers'

Note that she still won't go with completely isolated from nursing home treatment centers, but at least she's now ordering they be kept in a distinct area from other residents. 

The governor's executive order doesn't appear to adopt the idea of separate facilities promoted by lawmakers. The new "care and recovery centers" must "designate a distinct area for COVID-19 isolation," "dedicate staff" to the area and meet other standards, according to a bulletin issued Wednesday by the state health department. They must have a "designated wing, separate unit or separate building," the bulletin adds.

Let's note that this effort is still far too little and too late.

We've had the third most deaths per capita in the US, and its been mainly the aged and infirm that have suffered and of those at at least

32% of Michigan's 6,762 COVID-19 deaths have been nursing home residents, according to state data.

Depending on how the data is being calculated and collected, that's likely an under-count as it is potentially just recording deaths in the nursing homes, not those who subsequently died in hospital, but again, the data is unclear and the governor and her bureacrats are keeping it that why while claiming they're using the "best data and best science".

Yes, that's on Gov Half-Whit's head for her pig-headed insistence on continuing to order COVID patients to be placed in nursing homes throughout this pandemic. 

Her continued refusal to cooperate with Federal requests for information on this decision certainly raises a few eyebrows and reeks of a cover-up. 

  If she didn't know it was a bad idea and she was just following along the example of Cuomo in New York,  the governors of New Jersey, PA and MA, she's dumber than a bag of rocks, and her continued actions and doublig down on this failed policy potentially rise to the level of negligent homicide at this point. If she did know, and based on for example the Head of Pennsylvania's Department of Health people making these decision did know what the consequence would be from their order, what she did potentially fits the elements for second degree murder in Michigan.

This half-measure eight months in, after knowingly continuing a failed policy all this time, is again far too little and far too late for thousands of Michigan's seniors.