Saturday, September 03, 2016

And here we are again, another Saturday night,

another data set to investigate











































I'm going to steal Tam's words on '3rd-Degree-Ass' Clinton's excuses

This is about as plausible as "the dog ate my homework". She claimed she didn't know that the "c" meant "confidential", that nobody told her that she should retain work emails as they are part of the public record. Further along in the article, she throws her staff under the bus, in effect claiming that her underlings and minions told the dog to eat her homework.
That's some Grade A leadership there, right? Makes you wanna sign right up for that outfit, no?
There's some more.

When the .gov controls your health care, they

WILL control your health care.
Data shows that more than a quarter of Primary Care Trusts in England have brought in new restrictions based on patients’ lifestyle criteria in the last year.

It reveals that people are being denied IVF treatment, breast reductions and fat-loss operations based on their weight and whether they smoke.

In the case of one trust, NHS Hertfordshire, a controversial ban imposed last year on knee and hip operations for anyone with a body mass index (BMI) over 30 as well as smokers, has been extended to cover all routine surgery.

The new Hertfordshire policy, introduced in January, makes exceptions only for neurology, cardiac and cancer operations.
Notice that they're doing part of this based on the damned BMI charts; further evidence of stupid.

As Tam put it, If you like how they deliver the mail... ...you're gonna love how they manage your health care.

Added: Lots of "Oh, no, we wouldn't do that!" protests, however
“While it is difficult to categorically prove such policies are aimed at saving money, it is unlikely to be a coincidence that many financially challenged CCGs are restricting access to surgery. Our worry is that smokers and overweight patients are becoming soft targets for NHS savings.

If you've been thinking about a rotary tumbler,

Midway has the Lyman Cyclone on clearance.


Hillary Clinton used at least 13 mobile phones while secretary of State, many of which cannot be found, according to an FBI report released Friday.

Top Clinton aide Huma Abedin told the FBI the former first lady often replaced her BlackBerry.

It wasn't uncommon, she said, for Clinton to use a new BlackBerry for a few days before switching it out for an older version "with which she was more familiar."

The sim cards to old devices were disposed of by aides, but the whereabouts of the devices in question would "frequently become unknown" once she transitioned to a different device.
...
When the Department of Justice requested 13 devices as part of the investigation, they were unable to be located. 

"As a result, the FBI was unable to acquire or forensically examine any of these 13 mobile devices," reads the report.
This is my surprised face.


My question now is "Will Nifong and the cops involved be held to account?  Or do they get away with it?"
In a three-day hearing this week, Scheck, Seema Saifee, a staff attorney for the Innocence Project, and Jim Cooney, a Charlotte attorney who helped with the case, argued that not only did they have DNA evidence of another man’s sperm inside Washington but they also had evidence of prosecutorial misconduct.

Before the trial in 1995, the defense team argued, Durham police and Mike Nifong, then an assistant district attorney assigned to the case, withheld key evidence from the attorneys who defended Howard at trial.

Investigators had DNA evidence at trial collected from the mother and daughter and compiled in sexual assault kits that were tested by the state crime lab.

When the tests excluded Howard as a DNA match, Nifong – who since has been disbarred for his prosecutorial misconduct in the Duke lacrosse case – and a lead detective said the case had never been investigated as a sexual assault.

But a second look at the case showed that police and prosecutors had a police memo in their files that contradicted that.
There's no excuse.  Zero.  They had solid evidence that this guy didn't do it and they hid it.  Apparently because throwing SOMEONE in jail was more important than finding the actual criminal.

This also opens up 'how many other cases Nifong was involved in had crap like this going on?'


Friday, September 02, 2016

And for the ladies,

a small data package came in


A cold front brought some rain, and cooler temperatures,

but it seems to have brought the mosquitoes out.  So I'm inside with the data right now.













































Stopping (four-legged) predators with handguns

Good article, including what bullet design seems best for big stuff:
Nearly every report that I have seen where a handgun was used successfully to stop a large bear the ammunition being used was a flat point hard cast lead bullet or less often a full metal jacket flat nose bullet. Handgun ammunition carried for defense against an attack by a large bear should be capable of 4 to 6 feet of penetration. Typical jacketed hollow point ammunition used for self-defense against human attackers usually penetrates 1 to 1.5 feet which is unsatisfactory in the predator defense role.
Which sounds much like what I've read of going after big stuff in Africa: for the most part solid bullets that won't expand, that can penetrate heavy hide and muscle and bone to reach a vital point.


More of the colleges that let the screamers take over need to suffer this; hurting their pocket seems to be the one thing that really gets their attention.
As predicted, last year’s racial uprising has cost the University of Missouri close to a quarter of its freshmen class, leaving the school worse off than it had initially anticipated.
Awful lot of people looked at that mess and said "You want us to pay that much per year for THIS?", and went somewhere else.

Same thing for male students suing over discrimination and lack of due process: hit the bastards in their money supply, and just maybe they'll start paying attention.


And if the SJW types speak of it, they'll blame just about anything except the gangs and politicians responsible.  Because blaming guns is far easier than actually DOING SOMETHING.
A 24-year-old man was killed and a 23-year-old man was grazed by a bullet in a shooting in the West Lawn neighborhood late Wednesday night, capping off the most violent month in Chicago in 20 years.

Chicago police said there were 90 homicides in August, and a total of 472 people shot in 384 separate attacks. The city has not had that many murders in one month since August 1996.

Why most of the left won't criticize communism:

it really is what they want.
“We will destroy each and every enemy, even if he was an old Bolshevik; we will destroy all his kin, his family. We will mercilessly destroy anyone who, by his deeds or his thoughts—yes, his thoughts!—threatens the unity of the socialist state. To the complete destruction of all enemies, themselves and their kin!” Even when the tsars imprisoned or executed revolutionaries, they never thought of arresting their spouses, children, grandparents, and cousins as well. And note Stalin’s insistence that not just wrong actions but improper thoughts merit “destruction.” Georgy Arbatov, adviser to five general secretaries of the Soviet Communist Party, observed that “the main code of behavior” was “to be afraid of your own thoughts.”

It's a good article.  It's a terrifying article of what communism has done, and just what the left is prepared to ignore or defend in the name of 'nudging' us in the 'right' direction.
I first grasped what Stalinist life was like during a course I took with Wolfgang Leonhard, the child of German communists who was brought up in the ussr, defected to Yugoslavia, and wound up teaching Russian history at Yale. His autobiography, Child of the Revolution, tells a story, set during the Great Purges, about some families in a communal apartment who are awakened at 4 a.m. (the usual time for arrests) by a peremptory banging at the door. Finally one old man, with less life left to lose, answers, disappears into the corridor, and at last returns. “Comrades, relax!” he explains. “The house is on fire!”
Can you imagine living in that kind of fear, every day and night?

Apologists also suggest that there really were a lot of enemies of socialism. But people were arrested not just for conspiring against (or thinking negatively about) the regime. Quotas were issued for each region—Baberowski concludes that more than a million people were killed by quota—and local officials often filled them either arbitrarily or with the homeless, the blind, and amputees. In March 1938 the nkvd (the secret police) executed 1,160 people in Moscow with physical disabilities. Kliment Voroshilov, who occupied many top positions, argued for arresting abandoned children. “Why don’t we have these rascals shot?” he asked. “Should we wait for them to become grown-up criminals?” What’s more, two dozen whole ethnic groups were forcibly deported to Central Asia. After Stalin ordered the arrest of all Poles, the Polish section of the Comintern and the Polish Communist party had to be disbanded since they had no members.

Death was not the worst of it.
Insty once said something like  'People who make excuses for communism are just as disgusting as people who make excuses for the nazis, and should be treated as such'.  Sounds about right.


Thursday, September 01, 2016

Yeah, there are a lot of places on earth

where it might not be the humans who cause you the most trouble.


So, saying "This is a university, you're going to have to deal with all kinds of opinions an speech here" is anti-free speech.  According to leftists.


The EUnuchs want more gun laws(because that'll stop terrorists already using illegal weapons illegally obtained).  The Swiss are saying "Screw you."

When I take a walk, I find grass seeds and bugs,

they take a walk,
A pair of amateur Danish archaeologists discovered a 3,000-year-old sword while going for an evening walk near the town of Svebølle, The Local reports. Ernst Christiansen and Lis Therkildsen were wandering through a field with their metal detector when it notified them that there was something to be found beneath their feet.

The pair dug down about 11 inches and stumbled upon a sword hilt; they then contacted the Museum Vestsjælland about the discovery. The next day, museum inspector Arne Hedegaard Andersen helped the pair uncover the rest of the Bronze Age sword, which the museum described in a press release as being "so well-preserved that you can clearly see the fine details. And it is even sharp."




Wednesday, August 31, 2016

And the IRS wonders why people don't trust them,

and sometimes flat hate them.
The IRS has discovered more than 1 million Americans whose Social Security numbers were stolen by illegal immigrants, but officials never bothered to tell the peasants paying the billstaxpayers themselves, the agency’s inspector general said in a withering new report released Tuesday.

Investigators first alerted the IRS to the problem five years ago, but it’s still not fixed, the inspector general said, and a pilot program meant to test a solution was canceled — and fell woefully short anyway.

As a result, most taxpayers don’t learn that their identities have been stolen and their Social Security files may be screwed up.
The excuses?
The IRS says its role is not to enforce immigration laws but rather to collect taxes.
...
He(Koskinen) also said the agency struggled to come up with a solution that wouldn’t chase illegal immigrants away from filing their taxes altogether.
Yeah.  THAT'S why they didn't tell people.  And they didn't tell the bloody SSA, either.  Too much trouble or something, or maybe that would take too much time away from using the office for Democrat-Approved Political Purposes.

“As we continue to battle and make progress against all strains of identity theft in the tax ecosystem, we recognized that we were missing an important partner in this effort — the peasants paying the billstaxpaying public,” said Ms. Schiller, who had the task of answering the inspector general.

She also vowed to figure out a system to let the Social Security Administration (SSA) know if someone’s number has been stolen.
Well, isn't that just SO damned nice of them?






I'd imagine John Effing Kerry would prefer it

if we didn't hear about this; reporting on such things just upsets us, y'know.
In exclusive interviews, photos and research, The Associated Press has documented and mapped 72 of the mass graves, the most comprehensive survey so far, with many more expected to be uncovered as the Islamic State group's territory shrinks. In Syria, AP has obtained locations for 17 mass graves, including one with the bodies of hundreds of members of a single tribe all but exterminated when IS extremists took over their region. For at least 16 of the Iraqi graves, most in territory too dangerous to excavate, officials do not even guess the number of dead. In others, the estimates are based on memories of traumatized survivors, Islamic State propaganda and what can be gleaned from a cursory look at the earth.

Still, even the known numbers of victims buried are staggering — from 5,200 to more than 15,000.

Sinjar mountain is dotted with mass graves, some in territory clawed back from IS after the group's onslaught against the Yazidi minority in August 2014; others in the deadly no man's land that has yet to be secured.


'Raises questions'?
This isn't the first time questions have been raised about whether Clinton actually turned over all the relevent emails from her work at the State Department. In June, the Wall Street Journal reported on a 2010 email exchange between Clinton and Huma Abedin, her top aide, in which the secretary worried about her personal email becoming accessible to the public. That exchange was included in the State Department Inspector General's report on Clinton's email use but it was absent from the files turned over to the FBI and released to the public—a sign that was "raising questions about the thoroughness of her disclosures to the government and her record-keeping practices as secretary of state," the paper said.
If it takes this to 'raise questions' about her lies, you haven't been paying attention.  At all.


This brings up Uncle's saying 'Gun control is what politicians do instead of something.'
"The shooter was typically a male black between the ages of 17 and 23," O'Connor said. "And the victim was typically a male black between the ages of 17 and 23. So what's changed since the '90s? Not much, the same social pathology, and the police are expected to clean it up."

Some call it "gun violence," a definition greatly appreciated by Democratic politicians like those at City Hall. They can point to guns and take that voter anger over homicide numbers and channel it into a safe space.

But there are plenty of guns in the suburbs, and suburbanites aren't slaughtering each other.

It's the gang wars.

Politicians know that the gangs are reason for the deaths. Calling it "gun violence" is much safer, especially in wards where gangs often provide political muscle.

"Have you ever heard a Chicago alderman call out a street gang by name?" O'Connor asked. "No? Me neither."


Oh yes, people can play that game.
A Minnesota program to buy up guns in exchange for Visa gift cards has been less successful than anticipated. The guns collected were mostly homemade, unused or antiquated firearms rather than the street guns authorities had hoped to remove from the street.
Take a beat-up, or non-working gun and trade it for a $100 card, now that's a deal!

Also
The buyback event also served as a de facto firearms marketplace.  Gun collector Paul Joat bought two guns  by making a better offer than the city made with their gift cards.


 Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll take the dogs to the lake



Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Yeah, about that "I turned everything over" lie, Mrs. Clinton

The State Department says about 30 emails that may be related to the 2012 attack on U.S. compounds in Benghazi, Libya, are among the thousands of Hillary Clinton emails recovered during the FBI's recently closed investigation into her use of a private server.

Government lawyers told U.S. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta Tuesday that an undetermined number of the emails among the 30 were not included in the 55,000 pages previously provided by Clinton. 
I'd say 'Liar, liar, pants on fire', but at this point she must not have any feeling left due the repeated 3rd-degree burns.



Dear Director Comey:

Especially after your performance in making sure Hillary Clinton would not be prosecuted for those crimes, let us say that trust in your integrity, and your adherence to law, is severely lacking.

Stop trying to destroy parts of the Constitution you swore to uphold, and get a warrant like the law says, you bastard.

Sincerely, etc.

ATF is playing "Let's change the law and screw with people" again

 This is going to screw with everything from producing ammo for commercial and government customers, to powder for handloaders.  Because some clown decided this is the next good way to screw with the peasants.

Time to yell at congresscritters.  Loudly.


Yeah, it would be so much easier to control us

if we didn't know what was going on.
"...But if you decide one day you’re going to be a terrorist and you’re willing to kill yourself, you can go out and kill some people. You can make some noise. Perhaps the media would do us all a service if they didn’t cover it quite as much. People wouldn’t know what’s going on.
When an arrogant clown like Kerry says how much better it would be 'if you didn't know what was going on', that's as clear a warning as you'll get.


Looks like Chicago wants to pay for this guys education.  And his start in life.
The University of Chicago may have won some points by refusing to adopt "safe spaces" and "trigger warnings" for incoming freshmen, but its foray into social-justice activism still needs some work. Namely, its treatment of those accused of sexual assault.

A male student, identified in court documents as John Doe, is suing UC after it found an accuser's claims "meritless," yet continued to punish and investigate him. Doe says in his lawsuit that UC removed him from a physics lab where he worked with his accuser even after her complaint was found meritless.


Monday, August 29, 2016

"Before you start to rebuild, make sure you have your permission slips,

or else."
Including meeting federal standards, which can change again at any time.  Etc.


Depending on who you ask, this is Obamacare working as planned, or the people who put it together are incompetent fools.  So are the Democrats who voted to shove it down our throats.


Speaking of government-run health care,
The medical facility has previously been flagged for shortcomings in its medical conditions, management, and other areas by the VA’s watchdog, according to a Washington Free Beacon review of public reports by the inspector general.

The Northport facility is the same VA hospital that had to close five operating rooms when contaminants began falling from air ducts belonging to its HVAC system, the Times reported in May. An independent environmental analysis obtained by the Times concluded that black particles in the operating room were connected to the hospital’s old and crumbling building and were “typically associated with galvanized duct corrosion and metal piping/fittings.”

An assessment of the medical center issued by the VA inspector general one year ago faulted the hospital for not maintaining “safe ventilation, temperature, and humidity levels in inpatient care areas.” Hospital staff also did not designate responsibilities for cleaning some equipment and stored clean and dirty items together in several patient care areas, the inspector general found.
But somehow single-payer will magically make all this right, and all will be butterflies and rainbows.


The Department of Health and Human Services recently issued rules telling doctors they can’t decline to perform gender-reassignment surgery on kids if it’s recommended by a “mental health professional.” Refusal could be a career-ender.
I've got a real problem with this.  An adult makes the decision, that's one thing, but kids?  And 'a mental health professional'?  There ought to be a panel of psychiatrists, not 'a professional', reviewing something like this before there could be approval of such.


On a Bookface thread:
"Real journalism is rare these days."
"REPORTING is rare, we've got journalism all over the place."

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Mr. Young, you were there and it scares you;

just thinking about it scares me.
Here are some ruminations from a guy who has actually been on the ground when the shit hits the fan. Back in ‘92…. **** When the rioting came within two miles of my house, I spent the day sitting on my porch, smoking my pipe, reading with a shotgun on the table. To be more precise, a riot gun. Just so you know a pistol can be scary, but shotguns carry a very distinct message — namely, “I ain’t playing.” (The survival rate with shotguns is waaaaaaaay lower than with pistols.) I wasn’t playing.
...
Here’s the issue with official numbers. They DON’T tell us how many rioters/ looters were killed or injured in/by ‘neighborhoods’ rebuffing them.
I tell you this because when you watched live broadcasting of the riots, you repeatedly saw rioters being turned back by coming under fire by someone protecting their property. I can guarantee you they weren’t ‘warning shots.’ (In Koreatown, there were snipers on the roof.)

Does present an interesting question: what was the actual body count?  And how many of it came from "Assholes, you're not going to burn my shop/home/friend!" followed by loud noises?




World's oldest revolver.

Made in 1597
But the founders, we're assured, could not have foreseen repeating firearms.




This is unpossible, they have very strict laws about such

over there.

Someone on Bookface a few days ago had a big thing about "They have strict background investigation, and you have to have a REASON to own a gun", etc.  The slight problem being that people planning things like this don't care, as they aren't exactly following the law when they obtain these things.

I get really tired of arguing this stuff.  It's always someone who says "We only need a FEW more laws, and then everything will be wonderful!"  And since guns are icky, and anyone who owns them is icky, or derelict in brain cells, or both, it won't bother them at all to have those few more laws shoved through, until the last one says "You can't have one.  Ever.  At all."  And when that doesn't stop the bad guys(or suicides, or fatal accidents) there'll be something else needing restriction or banning, because it's always something that's responsible.  Because holding someone responsible is uncaring, or bigoted, or something.

There'll always be 'Just one more law will do it!' coming from them.  Because blaming objects for what people do won't solve anything, it'll just mean the law-abiding people won't have something anymore.