Midterm Elections - This Could Get Ugly

 As regular readers know, I'm a shooter and I occasionally spend time on gun related internet message boards.  Some have "off topic" sections, where pretty much anything goes, and typically contain a ton of right wing looney content, typically in the form of links to right wing looney sources.  Needless to say, no independent thought flows from the posters.  I'll occasionally pop into those areas, to see what lies are being spread and poke fun at the loons by sharing facts.  Lately, I've been seeing a trend in the lies that disturbs me.  Along with the standard messages of "Biden is the Devil" and "Trump is God" I'm beginning to see an alarming number of stories linked about how MAGA / ultra conservative midterm candidates are polling incredibly high, when the truth is these candidates are tanking.  

That's some genuinely scary shit, because there will be a ton of cult members going into the midterms with the expectation of a big fucking red wave.  When the opposite happens, there will be cries of election fraud and potentially worse.  We've already seen what happens when these idiots believe one election was stolen.  What sort of ugliness could be in store if they think they've been screwed a second time?  

The only potential saving grace is their cult leader can't say he was screwed again, which may temper the response.  Of course, he'll have something to say, nonetheless.  

On a side note, this illustrates yet another example of how the harm done to this country by Cheeto Face is incalculable.  Perhaps I'm selectively remembering, but I don't recall any candidates prior to him claiming they'd lost an election due to fraud.  But now, every MAGA candidate who loses (in the primaries) is claiming it was due to fraud, even when the results weren't even close.  

Perfect example below:

Looney Laura Loomer

This could get very ugly, come November.

Oh God, Not More Gun Shit

Now that Biden is on another roll with gun violence, I thought it time to correct a major oversight on my part that would have provided some relevant context.  To recap, there are those who yell and scream about how gun violence has become an epidemic because of how there are so many more guns on the street.  First, as I've previously noted, gun related homicides have remained mostly steady, increasing a percentage point or two one year and decreasing by the same amount for a few years.  Full disclosure - I only have FBI data through 2019 because they recently transitioned to something they call an explorer to view data; I call it an unusable pile of shit.  

Anyway, let's look at what I could find on the last few years, which is gun related homicides by capita (specifically per 100k people).  Before the pandemic (2019), we were in the 4.5 range.  This was down from 7.2 in 1993 (didn't hear about a gun violence epidemic then, did ya?).  Unfortunately, that number's climbed, hitting 6.2 in 2020.

 While I'm on a roll with gun statistics, let me address one that makes me batshit; number of guns in the US versus other countries.  We have so many more guns and thus so many more gun related deaths.  To be clear, too many people die this way; that's not up for debate.  What you're supposed to take away is how dangerous the US with all of its nasty, evil guns.  

However, how have these numbers changed over time?  That's of greater interest to me than a snapshot designed to be outrageous by use of cherry picking and omission.  

With the yelling and screaming from the not so bright, you would think the US has been arming itself to the teeth over time and gun related homicides have skyrocketed.  "It's the guns!!!" 

How has gun ownership changed over time?  In 1977, just over half of American households owned one or more guns.  That number steadily declined from there, ultimately stabilizing at around 30-31%, where it's sat for more than a two decades.  During the pandemic, everyone went out and bought guns, but that only bumped ownership from 30% to 32%; still under a third.  

To summarize, we've seen an increase in gun related homicides of 16% over the past two years versus an increase in gun ownership of 5%.  And remember that despite what the gun grabbers claim, it's more difficult to get a gun than it's ever been.  I'm always a fan of the libs who want to prove how easy it is to buy a gun, only to discover it isn't.  

It's the guns!!!!  Try again, sparky.

Captain Obvious The Good Samaritan

 Yesterday morning, I was taking my dog for her morning constitutional (read "poop walk") and about a hundred yards up my street, there was a car parked at the curb.  I took note of it because parking isn't allowed on that side of the street and because it was occupied.  As I reached the car, I noticed the right rear tire was pretty much flat, so I played Captain Obvious and pointed it out to the drive, who happened to a younger woman.  She indicated she was aware and that was the reason for her being immobile.  She had called for a tow but the wasn't expected to arrive for an hour.  The poor soul had two kids in the car and I knew it was going to be a most unpleasant day for her.  I told her I had an air compressor and if she wanted to back down to my house (after my dog had pooped), I'd see if I could throw enough air in the tire to allow her to reach a tire place.  She gratefully accepted and I went to work.  Fortunately, the leak wasn't catastrophic, so the mission was successful, and she drove off after offering me copious amounts of thank you's.  

To be clear, I'm not looking for pats on the back for doing the right thing.  Honestly, I'm happy I was in a position to help someone in need.  The simple act brightened the rest of my day.  Although, it is disappointing she didn't offer to come back and give me a world class blowjob for getting her out of a jam. 

Trump's Done

 The walls have begun to cave in around Cheeto Face.
Laura Ingraham has abandoned him - "time to turn the page"
Fox News has moved on to DeSatan and hasn't had Trump on for some time, which is no surprise considering Rupert Murdoch has a long history of hating Trump.
Alex Jones has turned his back on Trump for DeSatan.

The smarter lie peddlers on the right seem to have realized that Trump is unelectable, at this point.  Independents have already jumped ship and he's losing moderate republicans by the droves.  Not only have polls shown him losing to pretty much anyone down to my dog, but the most recent data shows the country as a whole preferring Democrats over the GOP in Congress.  The importance of that bit can't be overstated.  

Trumpanzees will (and do) claim Trump is the "most investigated man in history" and remains clean.  Of course, that's completely false.  He escaped impeachment, twice, but only because his little GOP sycophants covered for him.  He's been found liable in civil cases (i.e. stealing from his own charity), but no one seems to pay attention to that tidbit because there was no jail time.  However, the DOJ seems to be working pretty hard on investigating his involvement with the insurrection, not to mention the Georgia election tampering "perfect call".  Those are probably 50/50 in terms of his conviction and potentially depends on whether Meadows flips on him; that dude's in a heap of trouble, himself, so that's not unlikely.  But his bullshit and delay tactics won't fly in these criminal proceedings.  

But Captain Obvious says the big daddy is his stealing classified docs and keeping them at MAL.  Relevant Sidetrack: Despite the lies being fed to the looneys, the President can not declassify anything he wants to.  Neither does he have access to all classified information.  As an example, a friend of mine worked in the facility where they design nuclear weapons.  When President Obama toured the facility, there were areas walled off and otherwise obscured, because he didn't have clearance to see what was going on there.  So, there are clearly limits to the President's authority vis a vis classified information.  Also, there are those who've claimed it wasn't "really that classified".  

The idiot has admitted to doing so, which will make for an easy felony conviction.  He put in writing that he gave everything back, when he didn't, which makes an obstruction of justice conviction a slam dunk.  Plus, the DOJ is reviewing the surveillance footage from MAL to see who came and went from the locked closet.  If they find any foreign actors were granted access to the closet, of which many have visited MAL, that's a treason charge for Cheeto Face.  And you know Trump couldn't resist showing his "secret papers" off to visitors.  The DOJ will pile up the charges on Trump, so he should be convicted of at least one felony, particularly considering his laughable legal team.  I've been reading his posts on Untruth Antisocial, which folks post to Twitter and he's shitting his pants because he knows what everyone else does, he's fucked.  

Should that come to fruition, he'd lose even more of his followers, because, well, treason doesn't play well with his America First MAGA base, many of whom are current, former, or pretend military.  Plus, most of the country hates the guy already.  

As the realization spreads that Trump is no longer the GOP golden boy, what I think you'll see from the right wing media in the coming months, is a gradual pivot toward Ron DeSatan from Cheeto Face.  It may take some time to propagate down through the right wing looney ranks, but it'll happen, because no one wants to put energy into backing a guaranteed loser.  The outlets will support the pivot by actually telling the truth about how horrible Trump is.  Additionally, they'll stop casting aspersions on the DOJ and FBI ("after reviewing all of the information, the process all seems to be by the book") and remove the "liberals weaponizing the DOJ" messaging.  MAGA world is a cult and Trumpanzees see him as a persecuted borderline deity, so the message will need to be gently spoon fed.  They've already vilified Fox just for not having Trump on in several months.  The other outlets will receive the same treatment until the cult members no longer have a source for Cheeto Face adulation and their minds have been changed about him.  Some will remain faithful, but they'll be out in the cold.  I'm looking forward to basking in the regret from these idiots.  

One final item - will the DOJ pursue charges on a former President?  There's an unwritten rule to not do so on a sitting President, but we're in uncharted territory here.  I think they will, because treason.  While that may cause domestic terrorists to bubble a bit, there will be a whole lot more people pissed off if they don't.  And even The Turtle has resigned himself to not retaking the Senate in the mid-terms, so people will go bye bye.

Match - Disruption in the Matrix

 In a momentary lapse of reason, I unhid my profile on Match recently and the oddest thing happened.  A lovely, but not blatant scam lovely woman sent me a "like", which I of course responded to.  Long story short, our compatibility was off the charts.  She was a successful professional in the med space.  I'd been perusing profiles for a week or so, before unhiding my profile and did recall seeing hers.  It seemed genuine, although I considered her just a bit out of my league.  Back to the compatibility thing.

1. She wanted to learn how to shoot to get her CCW - I'll be going through the process in a bit myself.  Like Kansas, damned NC requires an 8 hour course that I could teach, myself; but I digress.

2. She wanted to learn how to be a better cook - I've been seeking someone to cook with / for

2a. She loved Indian food and in particular Tikka Masala - I make a fucking awesome Tikka Masala

3. She was looking for advice on buying a Porsche - I'm a Porsche head

3a. "A bunch of my friends drive Cayennes." - I've been mulling over buying a Cayenne

Obviously, some of my interests are present on my profile; I have pictures of me making pasta, shooting, and working on my previous Porsche.  But the Tikka Masala was just spooky, because I don't mention Indian food at all.

Other red flags:

She was over the top excited about meeting me; really over the top.  Capitalizing YOU over the top.

I asked for her number, to which she agreed, but she didn't give it to me.  After two more requests, she said she wanted my number so she could call me.  My sensors had been pinging in my ears the whole time, but the phone thing caused me to disengage and rehide my profile yesterday.  Today, just for grins, I went to reread our conversation to see if I'd been overly sensitive to red flags and she'd vanished.  

That's fucking weird, man.  

While I'm on the subject of dating, I have mixed feelings there.  There's a very large part of me that's just over the whole meeting someone thing.  Perhaps I don't feel my skin is sufficiently thick anymore or more likely, I'm tired of winding up with really fucked up women.  To be clear, I recognize I'm pretty fucked up, myself due to my intimacy issues that caught fire again while I lived in Kansas.  Not to mention I feel like a fat load at the moment.  I've put on a few pounds and the closest thing to working out I've done has been carrying boxes around.  I figure I have some time to think about it because I'm not bringing anyone over with my house littered in empty boxes full of packing material.  Hopefully, packing will be mostly complete end of next week.  Any longer and the damned boxes will become furniture that I don't notice...

Good Guy With a Gun

You knew I'd take time to comment on the latest mass shooting, even though I'm still working to unpack my kitchen, with the living room and my office barely touched.  

Over the weekend, a good samaritan took out a piece of garbage attempting to kill as many people as he could in an Indiana shopping mall.  This of course, brought out all the right wing idiots pointing out how a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a gun.  Conversely, the lefties are screaming that one instance proves nothing.  It follows that those who claim to study such things would come out and say how a good guy with a gun almost never stops a bad guy with a gun, based on their data and research.  And these are the people who we shall refer to as hacks.

Let me explain.  Nowhere in their data do they take into consideration whether an armed civilian was present.  I'm ignoring law enforcement because they've proven themselves to be useless with more concern about themselves than the public they're sworn to protect.  If these hacks can't tell me whether an armed civilian was present, then how can they claim any insight into the subject.  In many cases, mass homicides take place where no one has a gun.  Schools, workplaces, etc.  All places you're mostly not allowed to carry.  In addition to the concentration of black folks, the Buffalo shooter admitted he chose the location of his mass homicide because he knew no one would be carrying a weapon.  You know I hate generalities, so I went back and reviewed every mass homicide since the beginning of 2001 to determine whether the venue would have been appropriate for a concealed carry holder.  I went with the Mother Goose database and didn't bother filtering the incidents that didn't meet the four fatality criteria.  Ordinarily I would but no one else is stopping by to help unpack, so I'm busy.  

Of the 16 incidents recorded, only one third could conceivably have a "good guy with a gun" present.  And I'm being a bit liberal with the church potluck case.  All the others either took place either in a venue where guns wouldn't have been allowed (i.e. school, workplace) or in a jurisdiction where getting a concealed carry permit is incredibly difficult.  

HOWEVER, when in a venue where a CCW holder could legally carry, over 42% of incidents ended with bad guy getting shot by good guy civilian.  Source - FBI data.

What the hacks also fail to account for are incidents that were about to become a mass event, but were stopped by an armed citizen before that happened.  There have been a few of these this year, including one where the citizen used an AR-15 to stop a lunatic with another AR-15.  Again, busy unpacking.  

I'll throw some of my own thoughts out before I try to finish unpacking the kitchen.  What would I do, were I in a mass homicide situation?  If the threat was close by and my life was in danger, it's a no brainer that I would engage.  However, if I'm in a WalMart and I hear shooting on the opposite side of the store, I'm hunkering down.  Sounds like I'm being a coward, right?  Well, if you consider that here in NC or previously KS, that it's not unlikely that another patron is legally armed, I don't want to risk getting into a gunfight with that person, because we've mistaken each other for the bad guy.  Furthermore, by the time I make it across the store (damn, out of Pop Tarts again), it's entirely possible the cops have begun to roll in.  More than one good guy with a gun has been shot by nervous cops fresh on the scene.  There was one in I think Memphis as well as one in Wisconsin within the past few years. 

Off to see what surprises lurk in various boxes.   

For Jayne

 I met Jayne shortly after relocating to Richmond, over a decade ago.  We connected on Match and I remember thinking how out of my league this gorgeous and classy redhead was.  We were together about two years, in two one year periods, but would occasionally reconnect as our orbits crossed paths, usually for a night here or there.  Our last interlude was during the pandemic lockdown, when we chatted for a few days, but then lost touch.  I'd recently reached out to her, letting her know I was now only a couple hours away, and no longer in Kansas, but emails went unanswered and texts went unread.  This was completely out of character for her, but today, I discovered why.  Jayne had passed away.  

She was an accomplished political operative, having worked with George HW Bush as well as being part of Fred Thompson's presidential campaign.  She also had the distinction of being felt up by Strom Thurmond.  

What drew me to her was her joie de vivre and constantly positive outlook on life.  We were always laughing and never failed to have a great time together, regardless of the circumstances.  Jayne was a passionate lover (I've previously written about some of our escapades) and one of the most kind, caring, and selfless people I've ever met.  Truly a devoted partner, deserving of someone's undying love.  And we truly did love each other.  

I would have married Jayne, were it not for her demons of alcohol addiction.  It was that one thing that prevented me from completely falling for her, despite her successfully quitting the second time we were a couple.   

While I remember so much of our time together, there's one snapshot that stands out.  One lazy and rainy Saturday afternoon, we found ourselves on the sofa watching DVR'd episodes of Bob Ross.  At some point, we became amorous and moved into my bedroom, after pausing the show.  There we were in the throes of passion, when the show re-started and we found ourselves with a soundtrack of happy little trees accompanying our lovemaking.  Needless to say, we wound up laughing our asses off.

For once, I'm not sure how to conclude an entry.  Despite having very little contact in the past several years, I still felt connected in some way to Jayne.  She frequently crossed my mind, reliving pleasant memories and my undying hope for her happiness.  In some way, I feel responsible, because at the conclusion of our two relationships, she'd relapsed hard.  Regardless, the discovery is a hard shot to the gut.  I guess that's what happens when you lose someone you loved.  

Farewell, Jayne.  You'll be missed.

Addendum - Much as I hate to admit to not being bulletproof, Jayne's passing is still hitting me pretty hard the day after. But something came out of nowhere that made me smile today.

While unpacking, I've been listening to some older playlists (only because I'd not heard them in a while) and a song was on one that made me smile and think of Jayne. We were returning from perhaps date number four and perhaps the same playlist was on in my car and "Fuck Her Gently" by Tenacious D came on. Jayne and I were still getting to know one another at that point and I was mortified that this classy lady would think less of me for listening to such a song. Instead, she surprised me by bursting out in laughter. That became our unofficial anthem and we'd sing along to each other, laughing all the while.