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Dept. Of Righteous Shootings

Righteous Shootings

Several Readers sent me this happy little tale (and thankee, one and all).  Seems as though this goblin invaded a home armed with a butane torch, motive unknown but I think we can all make a good guess.  Anyway, his mistake was in threatening Our Hero’s grandchildren, whereupon said goblin received  a quick bullet to the vitals and expired shortly after.  (That’s the reason they’re called “the vitals” — destroy them and you’re dead.)

This lovely story, however, also contains a Quote Of The Day nugget from an attorney:

“The law doesn’t require someone to gamble on the intentions of an intruder.”

Which is why, even in the People’s Soviet of California, Our Hero is unlikely to face charges.

Also, it seems inadvisable to bring a butane torch to a gunfight.  Lesson learned, alas too late for the goblin.

It’s Not Just Gen Z

Technology

I had no idea that this was the case:

In May a survey found that a third of Brits panic when their phone rings unexpectedly and many don’t even answer calls, with Gen Z pleading ‘just text me’.

In a time where cold callers and scammers ringing you up out of the blue happens more often than not, almost 37 per cent of those asked said they are less likely to answer when they receive a call without notice than they were five years ago.

Some 12 per cent of those surveyed said it has been a week – or even longer – since they last spoke to someone on the phone.

And Gen Z have flocked to TikTok to beg people ‘text me’ and telling their viewers how they just sit ‘watching my phone ring’ if ‘absolutely anyone’ calls. 

Yeah, I don’t ever answer my phone either, unless the number is in my address book, or else it’s an identified call from a company or person I already know.

As it is, I get two to three text messages a day from some unidentified source or other, saying they found my number in their callers’ list and don’t know who I am (or similar nonsense).  And even worse are the texts that say junk like “Hi!  We haven’t chatted for ages.  Can you call me?” (#Trashdump #Unacknowledged)

I did look up the area codes listed by a few of these text callers, and imagine my surprise when I discovered that all of them are commonly-used fronts for spam calls which originate in exotic locales like the Philippines, China or Central Europe.  (They’re the new Nigeria of email fame.)

Hell, I don’t even answer unidentified calls from my own area code.

It’s a minefield out there, folks, and ignoring this bullshit is not paranoia, but prudence.

Parallel thought:  this panic comes from, of all places, the BritGov, who calls people to collect statistics and now can’t get the info they want.  Let us all remember the immortal words of Governor John Cowperthwaite of Hong Kong, talking about his refusal to let his government collect data from the population:

“If I let them compute those statistics, they’ll want to use them for planning.”

Wiser words were seldom spoken.

Return To Common Sense?

Corporate Wokism

Reader Mike L. sent me this article about Walmart:

On Monday Walmart confirmed that it’s ending some of its diversity initiatives, removing some LGBTQ-related merchandise from its website and winding down a nonprofit that funded programs for minorities.

The nation’s largest employer, which has about 1.6 million U.S. workers, joined a growing list of companies that have stepped back from diversity, equity and inclusion efforts after feeling the heat from conservative activists.

Some have also attributed changes to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last year that struck down affirmative action programs at colleges.

Those companies include Tractor Supply, which said in June it was eliminating DEI roles and stopping sponsorship of Pride festivals. Lowe’s, Ford and Molson Coors have also walked back some of their equity and inclusion policies in recent months.

Others, such as Anheuser-Busch-owned Bud Light and Target, have faced sharp backlash and falling sales after marketing campaigns or merchandise focused on the LGBTQ community.

In a statement, Walmart said it is “willing to change alongside our associates and customers who represent all of America.”

…followed by the usual weasel corporate-speak about “being a Walmart for everyone”  blah blah blah.

One would like to think that such a rethink involved realizing that at its heart, the whole “Diversity/Equity/Inclusion” initiative was anything but a vehicle for racial- and sexual inequality, but the reality is that the policy reversal was caused by the economic consequences of customer backlash and revulsion.  (Jaguar, of course, has responded to such a reaction to its latest marketing campaign by calling its customers and the public in general hateful and intolerant — we’ll see what happens, but pretty much any fule can predict disaster… for Jaguar.)

And yes, the political ethos has changed as well:

All of a sudden (the Socialists think), what was okay is now somehow not okay.  In the past, we made jokes about it:

…and all of a sudden, they think, it’s not okay.

Except that it’s not “all of a sudden”.  Most of us have never thought all this woke nonsense was “okay”, but then something happened:

And to paraphrase Forrest Gump:  “…and just like that, everything changed.”

Of course, those in the path of this new change are worried and are calling for “moderation” and “bipartisanship”, except:

So:

The change is not just going to come with the destruction of the Deep State (a political institution), but also in the Woke Mindset (a cultural one).

It’s been a long (too long a) time coming, but it’s about time now.

And Custer’s Having Problems

Eco-Crap, Mocking Furriners, Watermelons

Some days the wind blows strongly, some days softly, and other days not at all.  This is not a suggestion, nor yet a theory, but a statement of fact based upon… oh, century upon century of daily observation and measurement.

So why would you want to base your energy supply upon so changeable a source?

Well to most of us, the answer is simple:  you shouldn’t.  Unfortunately, there are others — some in positions of great authority and power — who see the whole thing differently.  And some in that latter group are now getting bitten in the ass:

“At the beginning of this month, Germany’s power supply reached its limits,” Dr. Markus Krebber wrote on LinkedIn.

Citing Nov. 6 as an example, Krebber bemoaned extreme high energy prices and “shortage of supply.” He also warned that the “same situation would not have been manageable on another day with a higher peak load.”

In other words, Europe’s over-reliance on wind power means that when wind speeds slow, energy producers sometimes cannot meet demand.

This state of affairs suppressed energy supply and raised prices in the UK, Germany and elsewhere in northern Europe earlier this month.

You don’t say.

Of course, British government officials have learned all the wrong lessons from “Dunkelflaute.”

For instance, Chris Stark, appointed in July to head the government’s new clean energy-focused Mission Control, doubled down on renewables.

“Even small amounts of low-carbon flex can displace a lot of gas. We’ll also need to support the build of a lot of new renewable generation – of all types, but especially offshore wind,” Stark said on Nov. 5.

Indeed.  When foolishness proves not to work, what you need is… MOAR FOOLISHNESS.  So if the wind isn’t blowing at all, more wind generators will solve the problem.  Does he even realize how stupid he sounds?

As with all Socialism, when the facts do not conform to the theory, the theory is still paramount.

Unbelievable.