If I Had A Nickel Every Time

That a Transi committed a mass shooting in quite recent times, then I'd have 9 nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's rather weird that it's happened 9 times.

Since all of 1% if the US population self-identifies as trans (whether they actually are or not, and the methodology to get to that amount is rather suspect), they certainly are having a disproportionate showing in school shooting rankings.

Then again as Trans is practically by definition an indication of being mentally unwell, even as the woke and politically correct have removed it as a diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder this is likely not a huge surprise to most.

Oh, and boy did the New York Times really bury the lede on this one: 

The suspect: The authorities identified the attacker as Robin Westman, a 23-year-old who they believe was a former student at the school. The shooter was armed with three guns, all of which had been legally purchased. 

No mention the shooter was trans at all. Funny, that. And no idea of the motive, of course  -- even as they have the bat rastard's manifesto.

A Modest Proposal For Taiwan

Taiwan needs to learn from others how to get recognized as an independent state.

In order to get recognition from Canada, France, the United Kingdom and Australia, all of whom do not currently recognize Taiwan, it just needs to do the following:

Invade China, sack and burn the cities of Quanzhou, Putian, and Fuzhou, kill 177,600 mainland Chinese, and take 37,000 mainland Chinese as hostages to achieve the appropriate population ratio needed to get such recognition and then not surrender under any circumstances after China responds.

This seems to be the required process needed in order to get  Canada, France, the United Kingdom and Australia to grant recognition for Taiwan as an independent state, as that seems to be their current criteria for such recognition of states.

Good luck Taiwan!  

Some Internet Self-Defense Myths Refuse To Die

 

Saw this gem on Facebook yet again today.

If you don't have a gun, and even if you do, here's a way to wreck someone's evil plans for you. Did you know this? I didn't. I never really thought of it before. I guess I can get rid of the baseball bat. 

Wasp Spray -- A friend who is a receptionist in a church in a high risk area was concerned about someone coming into the office on Monday to rob them when they were counting the collection. She asked the local police department about using pepper spray and they recommended to her that she get a can of wasp spray instead. 

The wasp spray, they told her, can shoot up to twenty feet away and is a lot more accurate, while with the pepper spray, they have to get too close to you and could overpower you. The wasp spray temporarily blinds an attacker until they get to the hospital for an antidote. She keeps a can on her desk in the office and it doesn't attract attention from people like a can of pepper spray would. She also keeps one nearby at home for home protection. Thought this was interesting and might be of use. 

On the heels of a break in and beating that left an elderly woman in Toledo dead, self defense experts have a tip that could save your life. 

Val Glinka teaches self-defense to students at Sylvania Southview High School . For decades, he's suggested putting a can of wasp and hornet spray near your door or bed. 

Glinka says, "This is better than anything I can teach them." 

Glinka considers it inexpensive, easy to find, and more effective than mace or pepper spray. The cans typically shoot 20 feet; so if someone tries to break into your home, Glinka says "spray the culprit in the eyes". It's a tip he's given to students for decades. 

It's also one he wants everyone to hear If you're looking for protection, Glinka says look to the spray. "That's going to give you a chance to call the police; maybe get out." Maybe even save a life.

Please share this with all the people who are precious to your life. 

Did you also know that wasp spray will kill a snake? And a mouse! It will! Good to know, huh? It will also kill a wasp!!!
And best of all, immobilize a human.

No, no, it really will not.

 

Wasp spray is not an effective stopper against people, it does not quickly incapacitate people. 

It is not in any way as effective as pepper spray.

On top of that, it’s actually illegal to intentionally spray people with it. Whether you would actually get charged for it is an open question, assuming you survive the beat down by the now really annoyed person you just sprayed with it to even get charged.

This is, unfortunately, an internet myth that refuses to die. 

Most likely Val Glinka doesn’t exist or if Val actually does, Val. I'm reasonably sure, doesn’t teach high schoolers at a flipping high school to hit people with wasp spray for self-defense. 

 

 Now, if Val actually does do that, that's quite the commentary on teacher qualification in the school system these days.

Such A Good Thing That You Can't Legally Carry In A Hospital In Michigan

Because such prohibition clearly stops people intent on murder from carrying a firearm in there.

Or really not. 

WXYZ Detroit:  Suspect in deadly Henry Ford Hospital shooting now in custody, police say

The Detroit News: Police: Suspect in fatal shooting at Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital in custody

Yep, that prohibition worked so well that the SOB who is the focus of the story was able to waltz right into the hospital, make his way to the basement of the hospital, shoot and kill his ex-wife who worked there, and waltz on out without being intercepted and then drove away not being caught (or possibly he turned himself in - reports differ) until 12 hours after the fact

So, the ex-wife, who had twice applied for PPOs against him after he committed various hostile acts including running her off the road (first application denied, second one granted but not served) was not allowed to be armed.  It would have been illegal for her to carry at the hospital, even as she had an extremely violent ex who had demonstrated time and again that he was a major and quite dangerous threat to her.

We will note that PPO in this case sadly, yet again, stands for Paper, Piece Of.

PPOs are a useful step to document a threat against you and get the police to hopefully take the situation more seriously.  They may even cause some Mope who doesn't get that No means No to leave you alone. Then again, they may not. Against someone clearly bent on harming you, they are of extremely limited effectiveness, as is a no-carry zone. 

The prohibition on carrying in a hospital disarmed the victim only in this case, the SOB simply ignored it, along with a host of other applicable laws.

The SOB in question was also a convicted felon with previous convictions for both arson and aggravated stalking and various probation violations. 

So legally he was: 1. Not allowed to even possess the firearm that he used to kill his ex-wife; 2. Not allowed to enter the hospital with it; and, of course, 3.  Not allowed to kill her with it.

On top of that, given the impressive lack of security at the hospital, the SOB did not even need a firearm to murder his ex.  

Quite A Scientific And Twisted Concept Of Morality

There is nothing worse than someone advocating  doing something to others, against their will, on the basis that doing so is moral.

 

You can certainly twist ethics and morality around to make atrocities become moral imperatives to suit your own worldview.

 

A couple scientists are proposing to do just that in a paper published in the scholarly journal  Bioethics.

 

With a straight series of keystrokes, if not a straight face, the authors Parker Crutchfield and Blake Heret in their article Beneficial Bloodsucking  propose that infecting Americans with  alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), a condition caused by the bite of the lone star tick whose only effect is the creation of a severe but nonfatal red meat allergy would be not just good to do but should be required - because it is morally right, of course.

 

This is, per their world view, that as (per them) eating red meat is morally bad therefore a means to stop it, even if it is literally biological warfare, is not just good, but morally obligatory: 

The bite of the lone star tick spreads alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), a condition whose only effect is the creation of a severe but nonfatal red meat allergy. Public health departments warn against lone star ticks and AGS, and scientists are working to develop an inoculation to AGS. Herein, we argue that if eating meat is morally impermissible, then efforts to prevent the spread of tickborne AGS are also morally impermissible. After explaining the symptoms of AGS and how they are transmitted via ticks, we argue that tickborne AGS is a moral bioenhancer if and when it motivates people to stop eating meat. We then defend what we call the Convergence Argument: If x-ing prevents the world from becoming a significantly worse place, doesn't violate anyone's rights, and promotes virtuous action or character, then x-ing is strongly pro tanto obligatory; promoting tickborne AGS satisfies each of these conditions. Therefore, promoting tickborne AGS is strongly pro tanto obligatory. It is presently feasible to genetically edit the disease-carrying capacity of ticks. If this practice can be applied to ticks carrying AGS, then promoting the proliferation of tickborne AGS is morally obligatory.

The problem is the underlying assumptions of morality in the Convergence Argument and its “if -- then” statement.

 

Under that sort of logic, anything is permissible, if not mandatory, so long as the person making the statement deems it to be morally required. Note especially how they hand-wave away infecting people with a biological agent to stop them form eating red meat is not considered to violate anyone's rights.

 

C.S.  Lewis really knew what he was talking about when he wrote:

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth. This very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be "cured" against one's will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals.”

― C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock: Essays on Theology (Making of Modern Theology)

 

Yes, this is a published scientific paper advocating people be "cured" by being infected with an allergy in order to achieve the stated desired end to get people to stop eating red meat – for the best and most moral reasons, of course.

Ok, Who Had

From Walmart, no less.

LiveScience: FDA issues warning over possible radioactive shrimp

 The FDA is warning consumers not to eat certain frozen shrimp products sold at Walmart after other products from the same company tested positive for a radioactive substance  

The bad shrimp was imported by PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati aka BMS Foods. 

While at least one shipment contaminated with cesium-137 was caught upon insoection, the FDA is warning people not to eat BMS shrimp they may have bought from Walmart at this time.

Nope, I did not have Radioactive Indonesian Shrimp on my list of concerns for August, but  "Radioactive Indonesian Shrimp" would make a great name for a midget heavy metal band.

Yet Another Reason To Appreciate Being American

You can actually defend yourself if attacked.

Unlike say, Australia, where you can be criminally charged for pepper-spraying someone who is in the act of breaking into your home. 

 Not The Bee:  Australian man criminally charged for stopping home invader with pepper spray

 Yes, really.

Compare to a similar situation in the US but with a much happier ending for the victim in the home, in Illinois of all places:  

Daily Mail: Mom hid her baby in closet then shot and killed burglar who broke into her home in peaceful suburb late at night

The Anglosphere seems to be swiftly shrinking away from what it once was. 

A Not So Peaceful Hood, That

An event entitled "Peace in The Hood" was held in Boynton Beach, Florida.

So of course this event promoting peace was disrupted by a shooting with 4 victims and others injured in the ensuing panic.

25WPBF: Fourth suspect arrested in 'Peace in the Hood' shooting

Hardly unexpected event, that.

Carousel Acres And A Kid's Birthday

Leah's birthday celebration began, as it should, with a cherry cheesecake.  Then presents, then we piled in the car.

For Leah's birthday we took her to a petting zoo, Carousel Acres, to get some animal time in. While now a full-on young adult, she still loves hanging out with animals.

Quite an array of animals are at Carousel Acres, most are rescues and there's quite a variety.

What happens when a Donkey and a Zebra love each other very much? 

You get a Z-Donk.  I did not realize you could get a donkey/Zebra hybrid but indeed you can, and here it is.

The Z-Donk:

Certainly not a typical looking animal. Rather calm and enjoyed the kids brushing her out.

We then went to the parakeets.  The parakeets, after we entered their facility decided to swarm us like a scene from The Birds (the bird seed in our hands didn't hurt).

 

 

Much fun.  Having birds flocking to your hand and calming standing on it to eat is rather fun.

 There were reindeer (No grandmas were run over in the taking of this picture).

 There were also lots of goats to pet. Goats do indeed enjoy a good petting, and compete with each other for attention and a turn.

 

Bunnies also got pets. And there were many other animals to see, including kangaroos, wallabys, kookaburras, horses, and even pigs sloshing in the mud.

Lots of fun was had.

Then we went to a celebratory lunch at Guernsey Dairy in Northville - they have the best fried chicken anywhere and about 50 flavors of ice cream to choose from  - all made right there at the dairy. 

It was an excellent birthday celebration. 

Useful Advice For Stupid Criminals: Don't Point A Firearm At A Cop

It tends to lead to a bad outcome, especially if you are driving on a suspended license, are pulled over and then flee the traffic stop, and have outstanding warrants, and on top of that pull out a gun while running away anf then turn back towards the cops gun in hand.

The Detroit News: No charges for Shelby Twp. cop who fatally shot Troy man as bodycam video released

“Had (Jackson) thrown his gun on the grass and kept running, everything changes,” Tignanelli added. “As soon as (Jackson) made a slight turn toward the officer, that’s when it happened. You can’t wait for the muzzle flash.” 

Bodycam footage certainly helped show what happened.  Thomas Antonio Jackson decided to not just resist arrest, but pull a firearm on a police officer while doing so and start turning towards him.  A very bad decision, that.

This sort of thing happens when you teach people there are no consequences from resisting arrest cause your life matters and such:

[Macomb County prosecutor] Lucido said he's seen an "exponential rise" in people fleeing from police. "Every day, I'm dealing with this," he said. 

If Black Lives really Mattered, those protesting and claiming they support BLM could certainly save a lot of Black Lives by spending less time protesting police and more time teaching people:

1. Not to run from police; 

2. Not to resist arrest; and 

3. Most especially, not to point a firearm at police.

No, That Sounds Like A Robbery Attempt Gone Sorta Good

The Detroit News: 15-year-old fatally shot in apparent robbery attempt, Detroit police say

Described as a "robbery gone bad" in the article,  a 15-year-old and an accomplice attempted to rob a man at around 11pm in Detroit .

This didn't work out well, as the male victim of the robbery attempt had a CPL (Concealed Pistol License), was carrying,  and shot the robber, who died 4 blocks away.

Expect reports soon on how the 15-year-old was a "good boy" and "was never in no trouble" as we as how he was imminently "turning his life around" any minute now.

Birthday Flight And Activities

So, having turned 53, I decided to go for a flight to somewhere I had not been before.

So I went with a friend and picked up Leah and the three of us headed to the airport. Abby was unavailable as she was heading back from an academic conference out of town as she was presenting there after she had just published a scientific paper as a co-author- as a junior no less - not too shabby at all.

So the three of us went to the airport, and I did the preflight, got a weather brief which looked good and METARS and TAFs all were in favorable territory, and then we headed out.

Overall everything looked favorable for a flight to Traverse City, a decent crosswind ws expected but well within my personal limits.

Departed VFR with flight following to the northwest on a sunny day with a bit of wind.

 Very smooth in the air though.  Detroit Approach had me hold my climb at 4,000 and then divert 20 degrees left to avoid traffic that apparently was coming right for us, which is one of the reasons I like flight following - its a great extra safety measure. Soon got cleared to head back on course and to my desired altitude of 6,500 feet.

Got switched to Great Lakes Approach and mosied through their airspace at 154 knots ground speed, which was nice. Both passengers were nice and relaxed and both fell asleep on the way.

Getting closer to Traverse City, I got switched to Minneapolis Center and got the weather at  Traverse City.

ATIS was now reporting a direct crosswind gusting between 18-28 knots; a low level wind shear warning; and of pilot reports from landing aircraft of moderate turbulence on final on top of that.

Those conditions are outside my comfort zone, especially when carrying passengers who depend on me to make good decisions. 

I let the passengers know that going to Traverse City would have to wait, and suggested we go to Mt. Pleasant instead as it was close by and we could hit the Casino for lunch and activities.

I let Minneapolis Center know that we were going to divert to KMOP due to the current conditions at TVC and they updated my fight following and I was soon talking to Great Lakes Approach and heading to KMOP.

Arrived there in almost no time and the wind conditions there were also gusty with a crosswind of up to 17 knots.

On the first approach, I did a go around due to a late gust, and then on the second attempt I did a darn nice landing that both passengers liked.  They didn't quite get how much I was working to do it with the gusts on final on that one. 

But, I got it down landing long having added a bit more power to deal with the gusts, but on center-line, and apparently made it look easy to the non-pilot set.

We got the shuttle to the Casino and had lunch. We had chicken from the Chicken Guy for lunch and it was quite good.

We then hit the casino floor and tried our luck.  I hadn't brought my gambling fund with me as I hadn't planned on the casino, but had an emergency hundred tucked in my wallet and played with that.

Played craps for awhile and I had a good roll, but was then up and down with other players, and after an hour plus of playing I walked away having broken even, which was not bad for the entertainment value.

Leah, having not been at the casino before decided to try slots for the first time.

I gave her $10 to play with for her first try with the machine.

She then made $13.50 on the penny slot machine.

 

Not bad.  My friend also made $43 playing slots as well on the neighboring machine so it was a great time.

We then headed back to the airport.  I got a weather brief and all looked good, as did the preflight.

Took off and contacted Great Lakes Approach in the air and got flight following.

It was a fair bit bumpier on the return trip but not a big deal, and both passengers soon fell asleep again.

Soon we passed by Flint airport on the way back.

 Pontiac was soon seen in the distance and I got in touch with Pontiac Tower and was cleared into the downwind for Runway 27R.  I did have an oncoming aircraft as I was heading for the downwind, but Pontiac Tower maintained a good separation keeping me higher and he passed off my wing and below me.

I then descended to pattern altitude and flew a good pattern.  Winds had calmed down to a pretty steady 9 knots from 200, and I made a nice crosswind landing that I was very happy with and my passengers complimented me on yet again. That one was so much easier than the landing at KMOP.

After that, we refueled, cleaned, and put the plane away, dropped Leah off, and my friend took me out for sushi for dinner which was excellent.

Then we went for a swim and had a good time and headed home after that.

Thar was a great birthday day. 

That's 2.3 and 2 great landings.

80 Years Ago At This Time Today

The B-29 Bockscar, finding its primary target Kokura obscured by clouds, then diverted to its secondary target, Nagasaki. 

 At 11:02 AM, it dropped Fat Man on the city, with the bomb detonating between the Mitsubishi Nagasaki Arms Factory’s Ohashi and Mori-Machi plants with 60,000-80,000 deaths as a result.

Japan then announced it was surrendering on August 15th, with the formal surrender taking place on September 2, 1945, bringing the Second World War to a close.  The surrender saved millions of lives that would have been lost in a ground invasion of Japan in fact we still haven't gone through all of the 500,000 Purple Hearts specifically minted in anticipation of the invasion.

Another Rotation Around The Sun Completed

We could call this birthday: 53 and Me.

Going to go forth and do some hopefully fun and awesome stuff today.

We shall see how it goes. 

Also my current cunning plan is to get myself a birthday present, which may take some time to get here, and which may lead to some self improvement, so stay tuned for that. 

SIGnificant News

You've likely heard of the news story of the Air Force airman who, as it was originally related, was shot by his Sig M18 while it was in the holster untouched?

Apparently that's not quite what actually happened: 

Air Force Times: Air Force makes arrest in airman’s shooting death involving M18 pistol 

The Air Force has arrested an airman in connection with the July 20 death of another airman, which involved a Sig Sauer M18 and led the service to suspend the use of the pistol following the incident.In a Friday statement, a Department of the Air Force spokesperson said that the unidentified arrested person is accused of making a false official statement, obstruction of justice and involuntary manslaughter.

That story was the last straw that made the SIG P320 pistol non grata at ranges, competitions,  instructional firearms classes, and many law enforcement departments nationwide.  

As someone else noted on the internet:

The say 15 reported documented cases of UDs vs 4 million P320s in circulation. That’s a ratio of around 266,667:1; hardly a number suggesting a systemic design flaw. Let’s even be generous and say the number is closer to 100 incidents. That still only yields a 1 in 40,000 occurrence. To put that into perspective, the odds of being struck by lightning are around 1 in 15,000. 

Certainly puts some perspective on the problem.

Now, the SIG trigger when pulled makes the firearm go off, and the trigger doesn't much care what pulls it, be it an ill-fitting holster, a key (which is potentially what caused the Michigan State Police discharge in the FBI report), or your finger. If the trigger gets pulled past the point of no return and off it goes. I'd also say it's a tad lighter than the typical Glock trigger with less resistance to such a movement rearward into the firing position.

So far, there's been no real explanation for the undocumented discharges, nor repeatability of the problem, and Bruce Gray, who likely knows more about the SIG P320 than just about anyone alive is about to release a series of videos he has done extensively testing the pistol.  So far, he's only found one way to make it have an uncommanded discharge, and it requires placing a 45/10mm take-down lever in a 9mm SIG and a few other unlikely modifications in order for it to happen. 

So are SIG P320s unsafe or are we getting a lot of social media panic over it?  I simply do not know the answer to that at this time.

In terms of anecdote and not data, I've run thousands of rounds through my SIG P320s in competition and in casual/practice shooting at the range, drawing and holstering and carrying them live with zero issues.  Again, anecdote and not data, and certainly not definitive, nor proof of anything.

Remember when Glocks first came out and reports of negligent discharges from police officers and others unfamiliar with using the striker-fired action were unfortunately shooting themselves?  Remember all the claims that the Glock was dangerous, defective, and unsafe as a result? Is the issues with the SIG P320s the same sort of reaction, now heightened by social media,  or is there a manufacturing or design defect affecting a small number of the pistols?  We will still have to see.

SIG's public relations and handling of the issue certainly hasn't been the best.  

I do hope that Bruce Gray's analysis gets released soon and does lead to a definitive answer to the situation. For now, I don't have an answer to the question as to whether there is a real design/manufacturing problem affecting the SIG P3230 or if this is a real user-induced problem.

So You're Saying There's A Chance To Save These Artifacts?

Canada issued the Hi-Power Pistol manufactured in Canada by Inglis in World War 2. 

They then soldiered on for years as the armed forces service pistol. 

These were finally replaced by the Sig P320 series as the C22 in 2024 after many years of service.

TWZ.com:  Canadian Military’s WWII-Era Browning Hi-Power Pistols Are Finally Being Replaced

The 11,000 service pistols were then all going to be destroyed in line with Trudeau and the Liberal's anti-gun agenda.

But, they thankfully by a strange turn of events were not.

Instead, they were sent to Ukraine.

The Ottawa Citizen: Canadian military Second World War pistols slated for destruction will instead be sent to Ukraine

So there's now a chance these historic firearms can be imported as surplus, or indeed could be swapped with the Ukrainians for Glocks or what not, and imported to the USA from Ukraine and saved from destruction.

Anybody know a surplus importer than can make this happen? 

Your Cupholder Is NOT A Holster

Do not leave your firearm sitting in the cupholder of your car in plain sight and then compound the problem by negligently messing with it.  Bad things happen as a result:

The Detroit News:  Man charged after co-worker's accidental shooting in Auburn Hills

As the victim entered the car, Wright, who has a concealed pistol license, tried to take his handgun from the cupholder and place it in the backseat, according to the prosecutor's office. As he did, the gun was discharged, and the bullet struck the victim’s hip. 

Really, don't do that.   Have the firearm properly secured in a holster or at the very least in a secure and safe location in the car where you don't have to move it when you have a passenger accompany you in the vehicle.

The victim was injured, which is bad enough, but thankfully not killed by this stupidity.   

You cannot afford to become complacent with handling your firearm, nor its proper storage.

Scenes From Rush Hour

Driving home in rush hour traffic, I managed to see this at a red light on one of the busiest non-highway streets in the county.

 

The lack of helmets, most especially for the child is notable.

So is the lack of a license plate.

The choice of footwear, though, is truly deserving of a chef's kiss.

Slippers.  Fargin slippers, on both of them.

I Was Told There Would Be No Math

They lied.

Fun case where my client owns a restaurant.

A mismatch occurs in the food orders and the bills, and the provision company claims he owes over $20k over the year relationship.

This is compounded by the fact that the head chef (now appropriately fired) was apparently ordering things on the restaurant's dime that he was then taking out the back door to use for his own benefit - apparently with the knowledge and in cahoots with the delivery guy from the food provision company.

So they sue, and I'm defending against this 20k claim.

Both delivery guy and head chef are now no longer with their respective companies and not about to admit what they did, we have some hearsay statements from other employees as to what was going on but admissibility of such statements are rather difficult.

Even better, the food provision company claims they had no idea what was going on and denies they ever made a statement to my client that they also thought something was off when they saw stuff being ordered that had not been ordered before that was out of character for the type of restaurant it is.

So we want to see how much is owed.  They had sent invoices they claimed were unpaid but did not provide all of the invoices so we can't match payments to invoices.  Nor do they provide an actual running balance nor record of payments being applied. 

We ask for the invoices in discovery, they send the same ones they already sent and do not send all of them, even as we had asked for all of them.

We're on a stupid tight timeline, and the court had originally ordered it to trial without any discovery period.

I asked for discovery and the court is rocketing this one through and give exactly 30 days for it - and parties have 28 days to respond to a request for discovery.  Not good, so I send the requests out immediately.

They answer claiming they already provided the invoices.  Well, no they did not - they only provided those they claim are unpaid as they are the most recent.

They finally provide all invoices a few days before the scheduled trial date as I threaten to do a motion to compel them to produce it - unfortunately it wouldn't be heard until after the trial date so that is a problem. But at least they provide them.

Over 192 pages.   Not given in any particular order. Many pages are not invoices either. A couple days before trial I might add.

So we start going through and adding them up.

And we find duplicate invoices salted into the pile. Not beside one another, but shoved in throughout the stack.

So we stop, reshuffle all 192 pages to date order, remove the duplicates that just happened to be the highest possible invoice amounts,  purely a coincidence I'm sure, and start again. 

We also calculate all the payments from the cashed checks my client has to see what was paid.

The mathing really doesn't math. 

Totaling up all the payments and charges, instead of owing 20k, he at most owes $8k and possibly less.

We do it again to make sure and come up with the same result.

This isn't even counting the issues with the invoices themselves, nor the fact that stuff on them is clearly not for the restaurant, just straight comparison of the numbers. Total truly owed is likely even less. 

With this pointed out to opposing counsel, we get a very quick settlement for a lot less than the revised 8k amount, as they are stuck with the evidence they provided and the math is not exactly going their way, and neither side wants to spend money on a trial at this point and with no time to further prepare.

So instead of a trial we put the settlement on the record and are done with the matter. 

Their delay in providing the backing for their claim certainly raised the pressure on getting this done, but done it is. Sheesh.

Happy Enola Gay Pride Day!

On August 6, 1945, with the surprise carried to its target by the B-29 Enola Gay, the United States did the biggest gender reveal in history:

It had a Little Boy.

 

At 8:15 am, the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, with an equivalent of 15 kilotons of TNT, making The Land Of The Rising Sun become The Land Of The Rising Suns.

The bombing killed approximately 70,000 military personnel and civilians in the city.

Still, Japan did not surrender even after being introduced to the nuclear age the hard way.

It would take a second atomic bombing on August 9 to finally get Japan to surrender and bring World War 2 to an end. 

Stupid Criminals: FA With Feds In Traffic, And FO

So, a progressive from Ypsilanti decided to flip off an ICE van -- twice -- and then brake-check it, again twice, almost causing a crash both times.  

Well, he got caught. 

The Detroit News: Bird-flipping driver charged after 'brake checking' immigration agents

An FBI complaint against 30-year-old Jacob Nathaniel Len describes a high-speed confrontation last month along two highways in Michigan that jeopardized the safety of 15 immigrants as a federal convoy hauled the detainees from a Border Patrol office in Metro Detroit to a privately run detention center more than 200 miles away in Baldwin in northern Michigan. 

 . . .

A lawyer for Len is not listed in court records. He is charged with using a dangerous weapon (a vehicle) to assault, resist or impede federal officers, a felony that carries a 20-year maximum sentence. 

.....

"When asked if he drove his BMW erratically in the presence of Border Patrol vehicles a few weeks prior, Len confirmed he was driving on I-96 that day and that he 'flicked off' the vehicles," the complaint reads. "Len first denied that he 'brake checked' the Border Patrol transport van but later admitted that brake checking the vehicles could have hurt the occupants inside."

Considering he knowingly did the "brake check" maneuver twice, he knew exactly what he was doing. 

Let's hope he gets the full sentence for his FAFO'ing around, and this is a federal case, in federal court, so the progressive prosecutor in Washtenaw County can't help him.

Stupid Criminals: Location Can Be Everything

So our stupid criminal of the day is deservedly heading for the Sex Offender Registry (and sadly not the wood-chipper).

The Detroit News: Man accused of exposing himself at Rochester Hills businesses arrested

The Oakland County Sheriff's Office had been searching for the 32-year-old suspect since he allegedly exposed himself several times to a group of pre-teenage girls outside of two businesses on June 29.

. . .

"Repeatedly targeting young girls and exposing oneself is not only vile — it’s a serious crime," Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a statement. 

Now had he, instead of doing this outside the business, done the following two easy steps, he likely would have gotten away with it.  All he had to do was:

1. Declare himself to be a woman; and 

2. Gone into a girl's locker room or washroom, and he likely would have gotten away with waving his junk to all and sundry within.

Indeed, progressives likely would have feted him for his stunning and brave actions, not taken any action against him, and bullied or punished any who complained.

Funny, that. 

Copycat Knifings

The stabbing of 11 people at the Walmart in Traverse City by a mentally ill man, made notable by the presence of an armed citizen who was there to stop the attack is now drawing copycats.

 The Detroit News: Man arrested in stabbing at a Walmart in Kent County

A 29-year-old man is accused of stabbing another person last week inside a Walmart in Kent County, officials said.

 Again, bystanders commendably intervened to stop the attack - which si a rather positive copycat effect.

The copycat effect on the criminal side is unfortunately quite real.

So is the realization, finally, that per the Detroit News's quoted experts:  Michigan's mental health system not set up to help severely ill, experts say 

Yep, I've been saying that on this blog for a long time now. 

MDFI Cover and Movement

Today I attended MDFI's Cover and Movement Class, and I'm all sorts of sore.

Pulled into the range at 8:30 am and got signed in and everything laid out for the day.

After an intro and safety briefing we did the qualifier, which is somehow more challenging with everyone watching you do it.

Interestingly 6 out of 7 rifle shooters and the main instructor were running suppressors on their ARs, with the seventh shooter running a loud muzzle brake with impressive blast effects.  The suppressors certainly reduced the noise on the line. 

Everybody qualified including myself, even with one failure with the AR-15 not fully ejecting a case. 

The class picked up speed and was very much a movement class.

 We started with standing, squatting kneeling, double kneeling and prone and working out way through each position while shooting. 

By the time we were done that everyone was already rather dirty from hitting the ground to go prone.

Next time, knee and elbow pads would be a great idea to bring.  Managed to smack my knee nicely even landing on the inside of it as demonstrated and its all sorts of sore. 

Indeed, I have discovered I have less flexibility than I thought I had.   No, I cannot put my ankle flat to the ground while kneeling on one knee.

Next came urbane prone and supine shooting positions.

 After that was cover as in shooting around it and then using a CTAC barricade to shoot from various ports simulating cover at different heights.

After that was a heavy focus on movement with box drills and then shooting while moving and a box drill for that too.

Definitely a good class, if impressively tiring and frustrating. Learnign has occurred, and I need to get out and practice weapon manipulation while in these sorts of positions and moving a lot more. 

A Good Time At The Range Today

Went to the Range with Tosh and his cousin who was in town from new York.

We let his cousin shoot stuff he can;t have in that benighted state.

Heck, he could even have normal capacity magazines for his H&K VP9 here, unlike New York where he's stuck to 10-rounders, so he enjoyed not having to reload quite as much.

I shot my AR15 which I hadn't taken to the range in awhile and the Carmel.

The Carmel continues to function perfectly, and the controls make it very easy to quickly manipulate.  Fully ambidextrous and laid out very similar to an AR15 but slightly more ergonomic, it makes some drills easier.

Speaking of drills, we did quite a few.

Mainly we did the MDFI Qualifiers for Shotgun, Carbine and Handgun.

7 yards for hadngun, 10 for shotgun, and 15 yards for the carbine.

Very straightforward, relatively basic drills that don't take a lot of rounds but get you working on your reloads - something I don't often do with the carbine on the clock.

I shot the IWI Masada for the handgun qual, and The Tavor for the shotgun quals, and shot both the AR and Carmel for the carbine quals. The Carmel seems to be ore solid for the multiple shot parts of the qual and the AR being lighter is a bit faster to move around for the reloads - but the larger magazine well of the Carmel makes the reloads a bit smoother as does the shape of the bolt release on the Carmel, making the overall time for the reloads a little bit faster.

So it was some good practice, and a very fun time at the range.

The Winner Of The 2025 Oshkosh Idiot Award Is:

The pilot of N4301R:

 

Not only did he cut off aircraft in the conga line to fly into Oshkosh, his exit from Air Venture was much more memorable.

On the way in he completely messed up the procedure.

Leaving, he did even worse. 

He then took off from a taxiway in the wrong direction against landing traffic. The picture above is from a clip online of his departure from the taxiway.

That's very much really not a good series of incidents.  At all.

Thankfully, even with his horrible situational awareness and failure to follow the proper procedures, no one got hurt.

Oshkosh becomes the busiest airport in the world during EAA Air Venture, and you need to be on the top of your game flying there.  

If you're not, you really need to land at a nearby, and far less busy, airport and take a shuttle to the show. 

Everybody makes mistakes, but you can't keep making a series of them like that, as well as reject ATC instructions, especially not at the world's busiest airport. 

Keep Your Seat Belts Fastened

Seat belts save lives and prevent injuries on the road and in the air.

The Detroit Free Press: 'Significant' turbulence on Delta flight sends dozens to the hospital

The people injured in the turbulence, which as recounted in the article was indeed severe, with 25 people injured severely enough they needed to be taken to a hospital.  Those severely injured were the ones not wearing their seat belts.

In short, if you're seated on a plane or on the road, keep your seat belt fastened while the vehicle is moving.

Location, Location, Location

A 97-year-old man in Grand Haven, Michigan, lost his balance and fell off a pier six feet into the water into Lake Michigan.

This was a life threatening emergency.

Luckily enough, he happened to do it at exactly the right location:

The Coast Guard Festival 

ABC13: Coast Guard member treads water for 20+ minutes to rescue man, 97

He was quickly rescued by a Coast Guardsman who, without hesitation, leapt into the water and saved him, treading water and keeping him safe for 20 minutes until they both could be retrieved from the water.

These Coast Guardsmen save lives before their craft even leave the pier.  Very well done.

If You Tell People

That a beautiful women in an ad campaign to sell blue jeans is a sign of fascism, or Nazism or the latest bogeyman word "whiteness", you're not just cheapening the actual meaning of those first two words (the third is a nonsensical leftist construct of no import). 

You're also going to get a lot of people deciding that, you know, maybe fascism or Nazism or the latest boogeyman -- whiteness -- has something going for it when a superb advertising campaign for jeans is considered to be a sign of such.

New York Post:  Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad slammed as ‘Nazi propaganda’ by crazed woke mob over jeans/genes pun

 Daily Caller: CLARK BARRON: Liberals Can’t Handle Sydney Sweeney In Jeans — Now Everyone Wants To Buy Them

Not exactly the conclusion the progressive left should be hoping people will draw for their latest bout of manufactured outrage, but there we are.

On the upside, American Eagle jeans sales are booming as a result of this ad campaign, especially as they refused to give in to the outrage mob and its insane claims that the ad promotes whiteness or uses Nazi imagery (quick note - it don't). 

After all, when everyone you don't like is a fascist, then well, everyone is. 

 

And Another Mentally Ill Killer - This Time In New York City

So the NYC idiot managed to stroll on the street while carrying an AR-15 type firearm - which is a neat trick, really.

Apparently per, news reports, he blamed the NFL, even though he never played for the NFL, for CTE, a head injury that is not even diagnosed while you are alive. So yep, he had delusions.  Sadly those delusions led him to kill innocents.

In short he was rather non compos in his mentis.

He then entered the building where the NFL is headquartered and killed some people, including a police officer, and then took the wrong elevators and shot a few people on the top floor before killing himself.

Yet again, someone mentally ill and "on the radar" doesn't get the treatment they need and are left free to roam and kill the innocent.

Meanwhile, CNN seems to also be suffering from mental problems as they are having a great deal of difficulty identifying and describing things accurately:

Walmart Stabber Mentally Ill - How He Was Stopped Didn't Fit The Media Narrative

While not featured, and  the media here is at least admitting that it was a man with a pistol that helped stop the mentally-ill stabber that attacked 11 people in a Walmart in Taraverse City.

The Detroit Free Press: Sheriff: Bystanders helped stop Michigan Walmart stabbing suspect from hurting more people

 It only took until the sixth paragraph for the Detroit Free Press to note that of the men surrounding the stabber and stopping him there was:

one who appears to be holding a handgun 

Still, at least that's something. 

The Detroit News also took the same six paragraphs to get to that rather important fact, but they were at least a bit more definitive about it:

The Detroit News: Sheriff: Traverse City Walmart stabbings started near checkout lanes

About five minutes later, the man was surrounded by shoppers in the parking lot, including one who was holding a gun. 

Both the Detroit Free Press and the  Detroit News managed to fail to mention that the hero with the gun who stopped the stabber happened to be Black - because that really wouldn't have fit the narrative.

Nor did they so much as mention that this hero was a law-abiding Black man who had a concealed carry permit and was legally carrying at the time.

Hero?  Yes, he and the others certainly are heroes by taking action then and there to stop the attack and subdue the attacker - long before the police arrived. 

And the stabber, to no one's surprise has a long history of both criminal convictions (with minimal sentences) and of mental illness.

The Detroit Free Press: Traverse City Walmart stabbing suspect had history of mental health and legal troubles

We need to treat mental illness a lot more seriously in this country, and actually institutionalize those who are a danger to themselves and others, rather than let them wander free and assault others at will.

To The Tigers Game

Today I went to Detroit to see the Blue Jays take on the Detroit Tigers.

The Jays went into today leading the series 3-0, and a sweep was expected.

Some fun in traffic, but made it there in good time. 

I had got some decent last minute seats this morning in the 300 level behind home plate. 

Had some fun wandering around the ballpark and getting lunch before the game began.

 

The game started off relatively slowly, when in the first seven innings the Tigers only had three hits, but one of those hits was the Tigers knocking in a 3-run homer.

The Tigers then knocked in more runs in the eighth inning - seven of them - to none by the Jays.

The Jays then woke up at the top of the ninth and knocked in 4 runs before the last out being a strike-out at the plate.

So, no sweep for the Jays. 

While a relativity slow-moving game, it was a very hot game with the temperature in the low 90s and the 300 level was right in the sun.  Even with sunscreen, I managed to catch some sunburn.  I also managed to get dehydrated even after drinking (water and pop) during the game and even taking two sun breaks during the game.

Drank a ton of water when I got back from the game and felt a lot better. 

Still, that was a fun experience to watch some baseball live. 

I'll Take Frivolous Un-American Lawsuits For $200, Alex

Progressives nut-bars never stop hating America.

The Western Journal:  Woman Sues Blue Angels on Behalf of Her Cat - Cites Torture, First Amendment Violation

 One Seattle, Washington, woman is suing the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels on behalf of her now deceased cat.Lauren Ann Lombardi filed suit on Monday, claiming the famous squadron violated her First Amendment rights after they blocked her from commenting on their Instagram page, where she had previously complained about their annual August air shows, Fox News reported.

....Fox News reported that these maneuvers result in noises that reach “extreme decibel levels,” and it was these noise that Lombardi claimed terrorized her elderly cat, Layla, before her death in August 2024. Lombardi claimed that the terror caused by the “state-sanctioned acoustic torture” coupled with Layla’s congestive heart disease was the reason for her death. 

Beginning in August 2023, Lombardi began complaining about the airshow, taking to the group’s Instagram page and leaving numerous comments. Fox News reported a few of the angry messages Lombardi left on the social media page before she was blocked: “Stop with your F***ing bulls*** you are terrorizing my cat and all the other animals and wildlife,” “F*** off,” and “Nobody gives a f*** about your stupid little planes.”

In addition, there's a whole group of lefties protesting the Blue Angles participating at SeaFair because of course they are, for typical leftist reasons:

FoxNews: Billboard goes up protesting Blue Angels in Seattle's Seafair Air Show:

But, a group calling themselves the Air Show Climate Action Coalition says not everyone is charmed by the display in the skies above Seattle.

"We don’t oppose Seafair, we do oppose the continued Boeing-sponsored airshow with the Blue Angels," said Mary Paterson, Volunteer with 350 Seattle and member of the Airshow Climate Action Coalition.

Paterson says the coalition is fighting against the use of the Blue Angels in Seattle due to what they say is the militarization of Seafair along with air, climate and noise pollution.

 Of course they are. Lovely pictures of a hijab because seeing the Blue Angels allegedly causes "war trauma" among our enemies - which I daresay it should.

Now, I'm certainly not suggesting that the Blue Angels at Seafair should all maneuver in such a manner for the entire team to have sonic booms as part of the show- all completely accidentally, of course. 

But, they certainly should gives these lefties the sound of freedom. 

Loud and Proud.

History of The M16A2

Widener's has a nice article up on the history and development of the M-16A2 rifle.

Widener's:  Colt M16A2: Battle Rifle Evolution

A neat look at the choices that went into the many mods of its predecessor to make it the replacement, including the  more precise sights and the three-round burst controversy.

I remember at Camp Perry using the A2 for a SAFS match, and having to dry click the trigger twice before loading a round to get a good trigger pull for the single round at a time series, as the other two trigger pulls in the series were less than great, especially when you really wanted to have a chance at hitting the X-ring.

It's a nice and informative article that gives some nice in-depth history on the evolution of the M-16 family.  

Interestingly enough, they used a vintage camera of a similar age, the Nikon F-3, to do the photos for the article. 

Nicely done. 

The Highest-Scoring Ace of The Jet Age Has Gone West

Israeli Air Force Brigadier General (ret) Giora Epstein died this weekend at the age of 87.

General Epstein is the highest scoring ace of the jet age (so far), with 17 kills. The victories occurred in the Six Day War, the War of Attrition and the Yom Kippur War.

Four of those kills occurred during a single sortie during the Yom Kippur War when he was alone in a fight against 20 Egyptian aircraft - only breaking off the battle when he was low on fuel.

He was one of the world's great warriors and jet pilots. 

The Jerusalem Post:  Giora Epstein, IAF's top ace and most decorated pilot, passes away at 87

May his memory be a blessing, and an inspiration to airmen.

You Know, This Could Work

Hot Air: French Judge: All Palestinians in Gaza Eligible for Refugee Status

The French Judge may be on to something here.

If all the Gazans move to France, they could then become a majority in an area of the country, then breakaway and form something that has never existed in all of history: A Palestinian State. 

I'd propose for that state the old borders of Vichy France:

 

After all, the French were rather comfortable when Vichy was setup by the Nazis as a rump state.  

Hamas et al have a very similar political and philosophical ideology to the Nazis, and indeed deep historical ties and alliances with Nazism. After all, the French let Nazi ally Haj Amin Al-Husseini slip away after the war, so the French should be very comfortable with this practical solution.

Yep, this French judge may be on to something.  

With France already 13% Muslim (up from 10% in 2023 and it's accelerating, and Islam is already the second largest religion in France) and growing, what's a few more Gazans added to the mix to bring it up a few more percent, n'est-ce pas?

Authentic DEI Gibberish

Shades of the Sokal Text, but even better and more poetic.

The Daily Mail: Straight white author's career finally takes off after he tells woke publishers he's gender queer Nigerian

The hero of the story, Canadian poet Aaron Barry of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada decided to do an experiment.

He decided to write absolute nonsensical poetry while using not just a pen name, but a poetic identity as a Nigerian gender-fluid auteur. 

The change to a favored minority identity that checked multiple DEI-boxes worked. 

It didn't just work well, it worked over and over again with over  50 gibberish poems published with 30 different publishers -- not for the poems merits -- but for the identity and "diversity" of the alleged author.

Yet another example of DEI seeking "diversity and identity" over merit - all in the name of equity, of course. 

A Skydiving Giant Has Gone West

Felix Baumgartner, famous for, among many other feats, being the first skydiver to break the sound barrier from 24 miles up, was killed today in a paraglider accident.

AP:  Felix Baumgartner, the first skydiver to fall faster than the speed of sound, dies in crash in Italy

Ouch. Time Flies.

Yes, time flies.  As do airplanes.

 

More "Mostly Peaceful" Acts By The Left, Now In Michigan

Mostly peaceful as in mostly peacefully trying to burn down a building with a Republican Party office in northern Michigan with a Molotov cocktail.

MILive: 19-year-old accused of throwing Molotov cocktail at Upper Peninsula GOP office

Thankfully, he didn't actually know how to make a Molotov cocktail properly, and it failed to ignite after he lit and threw it at the building. 

He was also caught on camera doing so, with other Molotovs in his possession, and arrested shortly thereafter.  He is charged with felonies of manufacturing and possessing an explosive and attempted arson.

The inept thrower is identified as 19-year-old Zayn Arcand:

 

Surprise! Criminals And Their Families Lie.

I mean, who knew that criminals and their families might be less than forthcoming with the truth about an incident?

In this particular scenario, the criminal in question, Rakim Wright, did it wrong.

Fleeing from police after a domestic violence call and  shooting at them while doing so, then shooting himself before he could be arrested, resulting in Rakim assuming room temperature and leaving one less violent domestic abuser in the world.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to whip up a "hands up don't shoot" false narrative, and a shot at winning the ghetto lottery, witnesses and family claimed that "Wright was unarmed and shot by the officers".

 The police video of the incident shows otherwise: 

Fox 2 Detroit:  Video shows Warren domestic violence suspect fatally shooting self after firing at police during chase

 Yes criminals lie, their family lies, and witnesses lie. 

We will note this was not Wright's first time of doing things wrong, but it was his last:

Wright also had previous arrests for assault with a dangerous weapon, malicious destruction of property, and felony weapons charges.