Epstein and Justice For Dummies

Whenever the GQP is on the back foot over allegations of wrongdoing, there seems to be a renewed interest in the Epstein case by the right wing looneys.  The motivation is obvious, because the alleged list includes many influential democrats.  The looneys scream for justice because no one's been arrested except for Jeff and Ghislaine.  More accurately, they get themselves all lathered up over putting some democrats in jail.  I've decided to explain the reality of the situation, best I can, once and for all.

First, the list is bullshit.  You can tell this by how it grows each time it reappears; hell, I think the latest one has Franklin Roosevelt on it.  Also, there's literally no base evidence from which to compile it; it lacks any sort of provenance.  Again, bullshit.  

Second, even if we enter the right wing looney fantasy world and consider the list real, it literally proves nothing beyond these people visited the island.  

It would require one to be a complete fucking moron to think charges would be filed, much less a court convicting someone based on their name appearing on a fucking list of visitors.

What would be required is actual evidence of wrongdoing.  This means eyewitness accounts, victim testimony, video evidence, etc.  Even better to have testimony from the victims themselves, that the defendant hurt them while they were underage.  But this apparently doesn't exist.  Beyond the pedo pair, only perp I'm aware of the victim testifying against them is Prince Andrew.  Again, NO FUCKING EVIDENCE of a crime occurring.  Perhaps some exists, but it hasn't been revealed and I refuse to speculate.  

The best part about the right wing looney fantasy is they're all for punishing the shit out of someone whose name is on a list, but vehemently deny their Cheeto Face Idol was involved, despite the numerous photos of him with Epstein.  If there was a person who'd want to visit the island, it's Trump. Considering his obsession with his daughter, it wouldn't surprise me if Epstein had an Ivanka lookalike just for the bastard.  If the list represents flight manifests, Trump wouldn't show up, because he'd insist on flying his jet powered whore house.  

Others who'd fly their private jets would be Bill Gates and Oprah; they're much nicer than Epstein's.  I'm sure there are others on the list who own jets as well, but I'm not inclined to go through it again.  None of these would appear on the bullshit manifest list, either.   

In summary, those who think the list they've seen is real are gullible fucking morons.  Likewise, those angry no charges have been filed are again, total fucking morons.  Use your brains, idiots.  

Thanks for reading!

The Missing J6 Footage

I'll begin this post with a universal truth.  Under no circumstances is it ever legal or morally right to storm / enter the United States Capitol by force, short of Red Dawn happening.

The right wing was so proud of themselves on January 6th, 2021.  They'd shown the world they weren't going to stand for an election being stolen from their idol, Donald Trump.  Thousands of photos were posted to social media by those who stormed the Capitol by those who declared themselves to be patriots.  Then, they realized maybe not that they'd done something wrong, but that the majority of the country despised them for their actions.  The social media posts came down and the participants couldn't account for themselves on J6.  I don't for a moment think any were shameful about what they'd done; they just didn't want to go to jail.  

Under no circumstances is it ever legal or morally right to storm / enter the United States Capitol by force, short of Red Dawn happening.

Once they regrouped, the search began for mitigating factors.  In other words, they were looking for scapegoats to blame for their actions.  First, there was Ray Epps.  Why they chose him, I have no idea.  But he supposedly ushered the insurrectionists inside and was an FBI plant.  There were dozens of undercover FBI agents leading the charge, they said.  We weren't there; it was Antifa, they claimed.   That's my favorite one.  Clamoring all over these scapegoats is an implicit admission by the right wing looneys they don't think for themselves.  

Unfortunately for the insurrectionists, none of these lame diversions have stuck, so they're down to their last excuse, which is the tens of thousands of hours of security footage from that day.  They claim there's a reason that footage has been kept under wraps and that reason will absolve them of their blame.  

Under no circumstances is it ever legal or morally right to storm / enter the United States Capitol by force.  

There are two logical explanations why the footage hasn't been released.  First, beyond the hours of the siege, there's a whole lot of nothingness on the video.  Only an idiot would fight for the release of 10 hours of footage of the door to the ladies room that no one uses.  The second, and most important reason, is that there are most certainly cameras that show the routes to the safe rooms used by the members that day.  In other words, it would provide valuable information for their next try.    

The bottom line is this:  Unless there were signs posted at an entrance saying "Welcome Rioters", along with a tray of cookies, no valid excuse will ever exist for storming the United States Capitol.  

It doesn't matter if Jesus himself was in the building, spurring people on; it's still illegal.

Finally, it's dangerously close to treason in anyone's book to take over a chamber of Congress, smear shit on the walls, erect a noose and scream to hang the Vice President, or perform a B&E into Nancy Pelosi's office and trash it.  Any reasonable person knows doing so is flat out wrong and illegal.  

While we're on Pelosi, if you think she orchestrated it, congratulations, you're a fucking moron.  Trump held the rally, the speakers got the monkeys fired up, then Trump told everyone to converge on the Capitol.  Now, tell me again how Pelosi's to blame.  

Right wingers stormed the Capitol in an attempt to overthrow a free and fair election.  But it seems the party of personal accountability has become that of whining and blaming others for their horrible actions.  

Guns Redux

 

 There's been a lot of talk about gun violence for, well, decades.  I've found many on both sides of the discussion to be more uninformed than those with strong opinions should be.  For that reason, I've been writing this series on guns and gun violence, adding new entries as I think they're needed in the hopes of educating both sides of the debate.  

What makes me more knowledgeable on guns than the average person?  I'm a 30+ year competitive shooter and former firearms instructor, who holds a USPSA Master classification and a PPC High Master ranking.  I've owned many of the controversial guns being discussed, perform my own ammunition load development, and lived through the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban.  As a data driven, reformed conservative, I let facts take me wherever they lead.  

About the data:  Unless otherwise noted, my sources are consistent across the series.  For mass homicides, I use Mother Jones database, Gun Violence Archive for mass shootings, and FBI reports for everything else. I don't "cook" anything to support a predetermined narrative.  I use the FBI definition for mass homicides and choose meaningful time windows (i.e. five years, ten years, from 2000 onward, etc.)

My AR-15 figures include all other semiautomatic rifles, such as MCX, AK47, AR-10, etc.  

This post will serve as the directory of all the posts in the series.  I've broken the posts into three chunks; 

The Core, which I think contains the most valuable information
The AR-15 Section, which contains additional information on the AR-15, beyond the entry in the Core
Others - These posts contain what I think to be value (or I wouldn't have written them), but wouldn't necessarily view them as "must read".

As always, your feedback is welcome.

Core

My Relationship With Guns  

Is a short introduction to me, along with my background.

Gun Culture 

Why does the US have so many guns?  Why are they so interwoven with American society?  This entry takes a semi sociological and historical view of the subject.   

Gun Homicides:  The Numbers 

Provides a thorough and objective analysis of gun homicides; historical, by weapon type, and by incident type.  How many deaths occur during mass events?  If you read one entry, make it this one.

It's The Guns

Yeah, it's not that simple.  A deep dive into some interesting stats.

Mass Shootings and Mass Homicides

Some insight into the differences and similarities.  

Mass Shootings Deux

Why do we care about some and not others? 

The AR-15

Everything you wanted to know, or should know, about the platform.  Are there legitimate reasons to own an AR-15 (or other semiautomatic rifle)?  How evil is the gun?

Can We Ban Guns?

What happens if we try to ban guns?  This one also applies to subsets of guns, such as semiautomatic rifles.

My Ideas For Addressing Gun Violence

Or at least deal with the symptoms, since no one seems to care about the core issues.  

How Gun Violence Can Be Traced Back to Who Settled There

This is a unique take I found in an article I thought I'd share.

The AR-15 Section

Stopping Power, Shot Placement, and Other Considerations

This is a companion piece to the above entry that provides insight on why some guns are well suited to self-defense.  

The Impact of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban

What measures did it include and how did that impact gun violence?  

The Founding Fathers and the AR-15

What would they think of the gun?  Also, some food for thought on their danger.

Pistol Braces For Dummies

This one provides an explanation of pistol braces and whether they matter.

Others 

The 2nd Amendment

What does it really mean?  A review from a historical context perspective.  

Good Guy With a Gun

"Only a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a gun."  Does the old saying stand up to reality?

Giggle Switches - The Real Gun Problem No One's Talking About

Going full auto with your Glock has become way too easy.

Which Gun Owners Are The Danger to Society?

More Random Thoughts on Gun Violence 

The Fallacy of Holding Gun Manufacturers Accountable

Specifically, what do we hold them accountable for?

For You Dewormer Dipshits

 One of the battle cries of the antivax right wing dimwits has been that Big Pharma is suppressing the horrible things the vaccines are doing and preventing acceptance of the animal parasite treatment, Ivermectin.  They claim there are multiple studies that prove Ivermectin is safe and effective for the treatment of Covid 19, but Big Pharma money is keeping a lid on it.  The debate is raging on the precision rifle message board I frequent, so me being me, I decided to think this stuff through.  I've already covered the horrible side effects (like getting shot) of the vaccine, so let's talk about Ivermectin.  

First, let's follow the supposed money trail.  The three manufacturers of the current Covid vaccines are Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Moderna.  The first two both have revenue in the $40B range, where Moderna is less than $10B.  Merck, the maker of Ivermectin, is of similar size to the the first two.  For the sake of this article, I'll stipulate that money talks and buys influence.  Moderna isn't large enough to have more than a few paid advocates in positions of power.  However, the other three are different stories.  Considering they're of similar sizes (huge) I can guarantee you that Merck has just as many government shills in their pocket as J&J and Pfizer and thus, a similar level of influence.  Therefore, if Merck wanted to board the Covid gravy train, they'd have no trouble doing so.  

But they don't want to.  In fact, they don't recommend Ivermectin for use as a treatment or preventative action against Covid.  From their website:

Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today affirmed its position regarding use of ivermectin during the COVID-19 pandemic. Company scientists continue to carefully examine the findings of all available and emerging studies of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19 for evidence of efficacy and safety. 

It is important to note that, to-date, our analysis has identified:

- No scientific basis for a potential therapeutic effect against COVID-19 from pre-clinical studies; 
- No meaningful evidence for clinical activity or clinical efficacy in patients with COVID-19 disease, and; 
- A concerning lack of safety data in the majority of studies.

We do not believe that the data available support the safety and efficacy of ivermectin beyond the doses and populations indicated in the regulatory agency-approved prescribing information.

In conclusion, Ivermectin could be a recommended treatment, if the manufacturer wanted it to be, but they don't.  Tell me again how a bunch of flawed studies and right wing looneys know more than the manufacturer?

Today In Right Wing Media

 While I'm sure there remains copious fodder to support further editions of my Old Man Ranting series, I've decided start another one. Today In Right Wing Media will tackle the hard hitting news promulgated that day by such fine outlets OAN, Newsmax, Fox News, and Conservative Daily, which doesn't really post anything daily at all. More like Conservative Whenever We Feel Like It. Being completely transparent, that's about how frequently I'll post in the series.  Sort of like my Dating Profile of the Week, which has become the Semi-annual Dating Profile of the Week.  Wasn't my blog much more interesting when I was regularly getting laid?

Being a thorough person, my intent is read the articles that are posted. However, in an indication of the right wing crazies' reading skill, many of the stories are video only.  I reserve the right not sit through five minutes of stupidity and commentary solely for the fifteen seconds of what they consider a salient fact. I'm neither a masochist nor desiring any of the crazy rub off on me!

It's one of these video stories that struck me this morning. The title is Attorney McBride: Treatment Of Jan. 6 Protesters Is Historic Hypocrisy.  In this instance the hypocrisy in question is relative the treatment of BLM protesters. Fleshing out, it seems the attorney representing a few of the January 6th insurrectionists is calling out how his clients are being treated more harshly than those arrested during Black Lives Matter protests.

My take on this: Of fucking course they're being treated more harshly. They tried to overthrow the fucking government, you disingenuous fuck!!! Furthermore, they continued to plan additional seditious actions right up to when they were arrested. If their treatment was commensurate with their actions, they'd be dead, having been mowed down the second they breached the doors of the Capitol. Do not claim equivalence or I'll sign you up for some gay porn newsletter, asshole.

Thanks for tuning in to Today in Right Wing Media.