Kids Learn Life Isn't A Disney Movie

Which is probably a good thing. The Daily Mail reports: "Shocking moment Juniper the bear scarfs down little ducklings in front of screaming children at Seattle zoo." The article relates:

    She can be seen biting the ducks' heads off and slurping them down before finally going after the mama duck.

    She paid no attention to the bystanders behind the glass, who smacked and shouted in an attempt to distract her.

    Although kids can be heard screaming in the video, they did not appear to be experiencing stress or horror. 

    It sort of reminds me of all the anguish over South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem's admission that 20 years ago, she put down one of her dogs after it attacked and killed a family's chickens and bit Noem. Well, that is just a fact of life in farm country: a dog that attacks and kills livestock is put down. And most states require that vicious dogs be euthanized. Was she just supposed to pass the dog onto some unsuspecting family and have it bite a child or kill other animals? 

For My Boise, Idaho Readers: Inexpensive Transfers

One of the key problems I've found in the Boise area is finding an FFL that doesn't charge an arm and a leg for processing transfers of firearms purchased from an on-line seller. The dealer I used for many years closed up shop a couple years ago and in asking at the gun shops that I generally go to, they want $60 or more to process a transfer, sometimes with other restrictions. But although it's a bit out of my way, I happened into a gun shop called HawkTech Arms near the intersection of Eagle and Franklin Roads last week and learned that they only charge $25 for non-NFA transfers (and $50 for NFA items). That's a good deal and so I thought I would share. 

Breaking News: Prosecutors Say They Won't Retry Arizona Rancher

The trial of Arizona rancher George Alan Kelly resulted in a mistrial last week after jurors could not decide if he was responsible for the death of an illegal alien on his property. Prosecutors had asserted that Kelly had shot the illegal despite the lack of any physical evidence linking Kelly to the man's death. According to KTAR News, "Prosecutors say they will not retry an Arizona rancher accused of murder near the US-Mexico border." From the article:

    Prosecutors said Monday they will not retry an Arizona rancher whose trial in the fatal shooting of a Mexican man on his property ended last week with a deadlocked jury.

    The jurors in the case against George Alan Kelly were unable to reach a unanimous decision on a verdict after more than two days of deliberation. Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink declared a mistrial on April 22.

    After the mistrial, the Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office had the option to retry Kelly — or to drop the case. Fink dismissed the case as requested by prosecutors.

Double jeopardy does not attach to a mistrial (thus the reason they could have immediately retried the case).  So prosecutors may have truly decided to drop the case, or they might try to find more evidence and recharge Kelly later. And there is always lurking in the background the possibility that the U.S. Attorney's Office might bring some type of federal charge against Mr. Kelly. 

• More: "George Kelly: Prosecutors will not re-try Arizona rancher accused of murder"--Fox 10 Phoenix. 

The Revolver Guy Discusses Frontier Serial Killers

 Article here. The guest article by Clay Spencer begins:

At the turn of the Eighteenth Century, America, as a nation, was in its infancy and still largely unexplored, though the Lewis and Clark Expedition would soon shed much light on what lay out there across the wide continent. Soon to follow were the mountain men who trapped beaver and deeply explored the mountainous Far West. Yet the vast interior, between the Alleghanies and the Rocky Mountains, was still sparsely inhabited and little known except by the Native American tribes who didn’t take kindly to uninvited white pioneers bent on stealing their lands. There also were other new inhabitants arriving who had a decidedly sinister air about them and were on the prowl, searching for loot and mayhem.

 And, as he adds:

Because of the raw emptiness of the region, law enforcement was almost nonexistent and the dangers were constant from man and beast, only the foolish—and likely soon to be deceased—entered the frontier alone, without arms and the ability to use them.

He goes on to discuss some of the outlaws that inhabited a triangular area bordered by the Ohio River, the Mississippi River and the Natchez Trace. As Spencer relates (footnotes omitted):

    A wealth of natural features and its isolation made the region attractive to lawbreakers, many of whom had fled the more settled Eastern Seaboard. There were numerous limestone caves useful for hideouts. Small islands dotted the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, the latter had its own notorious cave described below. The Natchez Trace was a primitive, narrow dirt trail that bordered cypress swamps, dense canebrakes and forests, running more than 400 miles between Nashville, Tennessee, to Natchez, Mississippi. It was a particularly dangerous pathway for travelers and merchants, ripe for ambush while on their way back from selling goods and produce in Natchez and New Orleans. A few crude inns offering shelter and food dotted the Trace for sojourners, but outlaws also frequented them, searching for victims to rob and kill.

    By the late Eighteenth Century, the quasi-triangular region of the two mighty rivers and the Trace was a virtually perfect hunting ground for deranged murderers, robbers and rapists to carry out their activities virtually unchecked. In some cases, though, when caught criminals were very harshly punished. Few citizens were bothered by such rough justice; indeed, most enjoyed the spectacles.

Much of his article focuses on two outlaws--Micajah “Big” Harpe and Wiley “Little” Harpe, thought to be either brothers or cousins--that robbed and murdered their way through the region. Spencer states:

No one knows precisely how many people the Harpes murdered. Estimates range from about 20 to 50 but even the higher number could be too conservative. Most of their killings occurred in remote areas and many of their victims’ remains were never found. A specialty of theirs (adopted by other highwaymen and pirates) was disemboweling their victims’ corpses and filling the cavities with rocks. Once completed, the Harpes would sink the bodies either in a swamp or a river. Sometimes though, the bloated, rotting remains floated to the top and were discovered by passersby. Of course, many cadavers never surfaced or were discovered. The victims’ families and friends never knew what had happened to them.

The article continues with more details of the Harpes and their eventual demise, so be sure to check it out. Below is also a video about the Harpes:

VIDEO: "Why Traveling In Colonial America Was SUPER Dangerous"

Joe Scott (20 min.)

St. Louis Commercial Real Estate Collapse

In its article, "America's forgotten 'doom loop' city, where $205m skyscrapers are selling for under $4m and the decaying downtown has become a ghost town," the Daily Mail reports on the collapse in value of commercial real estate in downtown St. Louis. For instance, "St Louis's largest office building - its 44-story AT&T tower - for example. In 2006 this prime real estate sold for $205 million," but recently sold for $3.5 million--a 98% drop in value. More generally, the article indicates that "[s]ince 2012 a collection of the region's largest office buildings have dropped nearly 24 percent in appraised value, according to a 2022 analysis by The St. Louis Business Journal." 

    Although the article indicates that the trend started with the closing of the downtown Macy's in 2013 due to the rise of online shopping, it is also clear that the lockdowns that came with the Covid pandemic is what really killed the downtown business district. Per the article:

    But modern-day St. Louis was hit hard by the pandemic, with its population sinking to below 300,000 for the first time since the 1800s, according to the New York Times. This compares to nearly 400,000 people living in St. Louis back in 1990.

    In fact, St. Louis has seen the worst recovery in foot traffic to its downtown area of all other major US cities since just before the pandemic broke out in 2019.

    The University of Toronto's School of Cities released data in October 2023 comparing the number of visits to major North American cities during a four-month period in 2019 to the same timeframe in 2023. 

    St. Louis was ranked last out of 66 cities observed, while Las Vegas was the only city to actually increase its visits since 2019.

Of course, the loss of foot traffic leads to more businesses closing and, consequently, the downtown area becoming even more uninviting, leading to more businesses closing. 

    And then there is the crime. Although crime reportedly declined in 2023 versus 2022, the city still has one of the highest murder rates in the world. If it falls off the list of deadliest cities, it may be because its population drops below the 300,000 threshold to be considered for the honor. In case you were wondering, the U.S. Census indicates that blacks make up 43.9% of the population.

I'm Not Sure Why This Would Be Shocking To Anyone

"Shocking moment pro-Palestine protester tells counter-demonstrator 'You're just a white person, we don't like white people' at UCLA, as protests continue to roil US"--Daily Mail.

The Usual Suspects

•  Mass shooting: "Houston Texans receiver Tank Dell was SHOT on Saturday night, the team announces, before being released from hospital with a 'minor wound'... after a 16-year-old gunman opened fire outside a packed nightclub in Florida." 10 people wounded in the shooting. The gunman, 16-year-old Christopher Bouie Jr., was tackled by a security guard.
• "Four teenagers including high school football star aged 14 to 16 are killed in horror crash after cop cruiser used PIT maneuver to stop them speeding at 111mph - as horrifying photos show their mangled wreckage." Stolen car, of course. I found this bit interesting (underline added):

    The police pursuit began after an SUV was reported to have been stolen out of Gainesville. Only hours after the theft, the car was detected by a license plate reader.

    Police were soon on their tail and a Bradford County sheriff's deputy confirmed the SUV was stolen as they followed and called for backup.

    Deputies verified there were several people inside the vehicle and attempted to pull it over.

    The vehicle appeared to be slowing down but then the driver hit the gas and sped away with the car reaching speeds of 111mph.

    Police patrol vehicles were unable to keep up with the car because a device in their car prevents them from accelerating too fast. 

    At that point, the Florida Highway Patrol were called and a trooper continued the chase.  

Agents of Chaos

In history and fiction, the forces of evil are often shown as spreading chaos and conflict. As Christ noted in Luke 11:17: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against an house falleth." I came across an example of this in the following news article: "Tiny picturesque town Littleton, NH, tears itself apart over 'subversive messaging' in LGBT murals painted on the side of a main street apartments: 'I don't want them here'." Even in small towns (Littleton is mentioned as having a population of 6,000), you cannot escape the cultural wars tearing the country apart. 

    The gist of the story is that a group called North Country Pride planned and paid for some murals to be painted on an old building in the town, ostensibly to combat urban blight. But the murals (there are three different ones shown in the article) have raised the ire of many locals including a local politician. And where the town had apparently gotten along fairly well before the murals despite political differences, the murals and resulting controversy has exposed fault lines within the community. 

    The first mural shown in the story is of a white iris, roots and all, with a rainbow halo sprouting around the flower. Plant roots, when used in art, generally represent the essence of life. A white iris traditionally represents purity. The rainbow represents the "diversity" of different groups in the LGBTQ community, although in the original LGBT flag the colors represented attributes; e.g., pink represented sexuality. Taken together, the purity sprouting up out of the source of life, but surrounded by the rainbow, appears to represent the grooming of children.

    The second mural shown is of a dandelion, again root and all, growing up through a book, with two yellow blossoms and a seed ball in the middle. In the sky behind the plant are other seeds drifting in the sky. The dandelion, I understand, generally embodies themes of hope, strength, overcoming diversity, and transformation. Given the interplay of elements here, I believe that this mural is symbolic of the LGBTQ philosophies and culture essentially gaining hold despite a book (the Bible?) or perhaps through a book (literature and academia?) and spreading out into the world--in other words, a celebration of the successful propagandizing of the LGBTQ cult.

    The third and final mural shown in the article is of two tree trunks, with intertwined branches, with a crescent moon in the center. The crescent moon has historically and across many cultures represented the feminine and various attributes associated with the feminine. Although only the branches are intertwined, not the trunks, intertwined trees have historically represented the coming together of two souls, such as through marriage. Given the prominence of the crescent moon, this mural seems to be specifically celebrating lesbians. 

    Just be aware that the members of the LGBTQ cult represent a fifth column that may very well turn on you and yours when the next civil war comes. 

For My Idaho Readers: BLM Issues Summer Fire Prevention Order

Per Boise State Public Radio:

Starting May 10, people cannot use fireworks, exploding targets, steel ammunition, among other restrictions. Shooting at steel targets or burning explosive materials are also prohibited.

You can read the order here. The actual wording in the order prohibits "steel component ammunition". From other sources, this appears to include ammo using bullets with a steel core or bi-metal jackets. But it is so vague that it might include ammo using steel cases (although I don't know why it should since the concern is sparks causing a fire). In fact, considering that all primers manufactured today use steel, this order is vague enough that a dishonest U.S. attorney could interpret it as completely banning the shooting of anything but rimfire ammunition or muzzle loading firearms.  

Birdshot For Home Defense--Yea or Nay?

Greg Ellifritz had a recent post on this topic entitled "Bird Shot, Binder Clips, and Bullshit." He relates that about a week ago, he had taught a shotgun class. During the class, a student missed the target (which was only 15 feet away) and hit a binder clip being used to hold the target into place. Greg took a picture of the binder clip, which displayed only a handful of dimples where it had been struck by the birdshot. Not a single pellet actually penetrated the thin metal of the binder clip, a fact that Greg shared (along with the photograph) on Facebook with the observation "This is not what you should be trusting for your family’s safety." He comments and the photo were also distributed on X.

    But apparently a lot of people took umbrage with his remark. Greg relates several of the comments he received that took him to task for comparing performance against a binder clip and performance against a human body. Some of the people who commented apparently believed that a human was as fragile (small?) as a bird and so bird shot would be equally effective against a human target. One comment appeared to acknowledge that small birdshot would not be effective but big bird shot (e.g., a turkey load) would work. 

    Greg goes on to note that he has a great deal of knowledge and practical experience with firearms and wounding, including both hunting and treating people or investigating crimes where people were shot with shotguns, so he knows a thing or two about the subject. Yet, he notes, "when I try to share that knowledge with the general public, I get shit upon from the anonymous population of uneducated internet trolls who gain self esteem from insulting other people." It is why, he adds, many experts just don't want to share their information on social media. Or, I would add, blogging. I've seen so many good firearms and self-defense blogs disappear or go inactive over the years....

    But back to the topic of bird shot for home defense, there are plenty of information and news reports involving shotguns and shootings, together with ballistic tests on dozens of YouTube channels, that it shouldn't even be an issue anymore. Birdshot is, shall we say, sub-optimal for defense against a human attacker.

    Probably one of the most famous accounts of someone being shot with birdshot was the 2006 incident where Vice President Dick Cheney shot Harry Whittington in the face, neck and chest while quale hunting on a ranch in Texas. I recognize that the distances were greater than a typical home-defense scenario--estimated as between 30 and 40 yards--but nevertheless it was a direct hit from Cheney's shotgun. Keep in mind the time line here: Whittington was shot in the afternoon of Saturday, February 11, 2006--probably around 4:30 pm. Per the Wikipedia article, "Secret Service agents and medical aides, who were traveling with Cheney, came to Whittington's assistance and treated his birdshot wounds to his right cheek, neck, and chest. An ambulance standing nearby for the Vice President took Whittington to close by Kingsville before he was flown by helicopter to Corpus Christi Memorial Hospital in Corpus Christi."

    "Whittington was reported to be in stable condition at Corpus Christi Memorial Hospital," the article relates, "and had been moved from intensive care to a 'step-down unit' on Monday." Surgeons had decided to leave 30 pellets in his body rather than retrieve them. Thereafter (footnotes omitted):

    On February 14, 2006, at 6:30 a.m., Whittington suffered a minor heart attack and atrial fibrillation due to the shot pellets lodged in or near his heart, as well as a collapsed lung. He was immediately moved back to the intensive care unit. At about 9 a.m., Whittington underwent a cardiac catheterization test to detect blocked or leaky arteries. From the test, doctors found a single lead pellet.

    Hospital officials said Whittington was alert and stable and that he did not experience chest pain or other symptoms of a heart attack. Doctors reported signs of inflammation, and Whittington was treated with anti-inflammatory drugs.

    Whittington was subsequently discharged from the hospital on February 17, 2006. 

In short, Whittington--an elderly gentleman, rather than some street thug hopped up on drugs--was shot in the face, neck, and chest. There is no indication that he was immediately incapacitated. Certainly no one else involved--including the ranch owner or Cheney--seemed overly concerned following the shooting. Whittington was transferred to a hospital for surgery and, only 3 days after the incident, suffered a possible life-threatening issue. Six days after the incident, he was discharged from the hospital.

    So his injury was not completely insignificant, but neither was it as serious as if he had been shot multiple times in the face, neck and chest with a .22 pistol. 

    And that is the crux of the matter. As Greg pointed out in a prior article, "Don’t Use Bird Shot for Self Defense":

    People stop their attacks for a variety of reasons after they have been shot.  Some stop because of pain.  Others stop because of shock.  Still others are physically incapacitated by blood loss or organ damage.  We can’t rely on shock or pain to stop an attacker who is exceptionally motivated, mentally ill, drunk, or on drugs.  We must achieve physical incapacitation.  That happens either by hitting the brain or upper spinal cord (causing death or paralysis) or by doing enough damage to organs and blood vessels that the bad guy collapses from blood loss. 

 

    Birdshot doesn’t reliably penetrate deeply enough to hit those vital targets, especially if your target is wearing heavy clothing or behind a piece of cover.

Back in May 2019 I related my own experience with birdshot and penetration:

I happened to be shooting at some plastic milk jugs filled with water the other day with a shotgun. It was just for fun (kids and the young at heart enjoy seeing the spray as a jug explodes), so I was just using the standard practice/field loads. At about 15 yards, I was hitting the jug, but only a few pellets were even able to penetrate [the plastic wall of the jug], so I had to move closer (about 4 or 5 yards). At closer ranges, I got a satisfactory reaction from the jugs, but noted that most, if not all, of the pellets were caught in the water jug. So, still very poor penetration.

 But what about birdshot at short range? Won't it act like a big slug because the shot hasn't spread?

"Does 12ga birdshot behave just like a slug at close range?" by The Chopping Block. 

The answer is "no" because it still lacks penetration. See also "Does Birdshot Turn Into a Slug at Close Range?" by Home Defense Gun, which discusses the video, above, and delves into the issue more deeply. The author of the latter article observes:

    It should come as no surprise that birdshot does not behave exactly like a slug because, you know, it’s not a slug. The video above illustrates the fact that it doesn’t behave anything like a slug. Not even close. Not in any way. Penetration is still a fraction of the required 12” for defensive purposes. We have covered in other videos why that 12” standard is so important, but the Cliff’s Notes version is that people don’t hold still in a gunfight. It will be fast, dark, and close and your attacker will be desperately trying to stay alive, just as you are. He will be moving quickly and his arms will be in front of him holding a weapon. Your shots may impact his limbs before hitting his torso and/or may strike his torso at an oblique angle. You may even have to shoot through light obstacles such as furniture or drywall. Birdshot will not penetrate deeply enough to reliably reach vital organs in these less than optimal circumstances.

    Now, to be clear, no one has claimed that birdshot is not capable of killing. It is certainly dangerous, but it is not suitable for defense when other options are available. Not on a boat. Not with a goat. Not in a house. Okay, maybe with a mouse. But birdshot is totally unsuitable for defense against human beings under any circumstances. The smallest shot size that can reliably reach vital organs is #4 buck and that is only at close range and without barriers.

As I wrote in 2017, the reason is basic physics:

    There is a basic issue of physics involved. Assuming the same powder charge and same weight of shot, the sum of the kinetic energy or momentum of all the pellets in a buckshot load and a bird-shot load will be the same, but when looking at the individual pellets, the kinetic-energy and momentum of an individual bird pellet is much less than a single pellet of the buckshot. Since momentum is going to be one of the critical factors for penetration against an animal or human target (remembering that it has to penetrate skin, soft tissue, muscle, and bone--all of varying densities, elasticity, and other mechanical characteristics), a single light weight pellet of bird-shot lacks the momentum to provide the necessary penetration. Huntington's example is even more egregious because he was comparing a light game load (such as you might use for dove, quail or shooting clays) which lacks even the powder charge (and, therefore, combined kinetic energy) of the express loads used for buckshot. 

More:

• VIDEO: "Navy SEAL test Ballistics through Walls | Tactical Rifleman" (32 min.). Some of the testing involves bird shot. What you should note is that birdshot most likely will still be able to penetrate an interior wall (negating the reason most people choose birdshot over something more effective). See also, "Birdshot For Home Defense: Too Much, Too Little Or Just Right?" from Gun Digest which tested penetration through interior walls (assuming you miss your target) and found that not only would it penetrate the wall but would penetrate 1.5 to 4 inches (depending on distance) into ballistic gelatin behind the wall. So, not enough to stop a violent adult male, but probably enough to seriously injure a small kid or kill a baby or toddler.
• "Shotgun Ammo for Home Defense"--MDTS Training. Going over why birdshot is a poor choice.
• "Best Shotgun Shells For Home Defense"--Liberty Safe. Discussing the pros and cons of using birdshot included this summary:

This is a very divisive topic, with passionate arguments on both sides. However, most experts will advise you not to use birdshot but instead use buckshot or slug rounds for defensive purposes. Birdshot is designed for birds, which have much less dense bone structure and less muscle mass than human threats. They also don’t wear heavy clothing. In nearly every case, informed defensive instructors will advise students to use buckshot or slugs instead.

•  VIDEO: "Smyth Busters: Is Birdshot Ammo Good for Home Defense?"--Brownells (6 min.)
• "Using Birdshot For Self Defense"--AmmoMan. Key quote:

Simply put, birdshot is for the birds. The pellets from our test round only penetrated just over 6 inches into the gel. According to the FBI testing protocol, this is nowhere close to penetration needed to reach the vital areas of a human being. Will getting shot with a round of birdshot hurt? Yes. Will it physically stop an attacker? Probably not. 

I would also note that their test was using clear ballistic gel which is not as dense as the ballistic gel used by the FBI. So you can probably subtract an half inch or inch from the results.

• "Birdshot Vs Buckshot: Why Birdshot Is Never Better For Home Defense"--Guns.com. The author conducted some tests with birdshot and buckshot and concluded:

    The truth is birdshot is not a good performer against the human body. Can in incapacitate someone? Of course. So can a .22 Long Rifle, but that doesn’t make this round preferable to the proven defense calibers out there either. If you are worried about buckshot because of what it can do, then perhaps using a shotgun is not for you. I understand that many are intimidated by the recoil of buckshot and heavier loads and there is nothing wrong with admitting that. But what is not ok is using inferior loads to make up for it.

    Birdshot is for hunting birds and small game. As demonstrated, to use it in an enclosed area like a home is actually more of a risk to anyone in the home with you. If you are worried about people in the next room, then that makes shot placement all the more important. More important than this is knowing the target and what is beyond it. That is one of the basic rules of firearms safety and it can’t go out the window for personal defense.

To sum up, despite a few to the contrary, the conclusion from the articles and videos I read or watched is that while birdshot might be effective at relatively short ranges, it is generally considered too unreliable in being able to penetrate to sufficient depth to destroy a vital organ, particularly if the shot first has to go through heavy clothing or an appendage or other barrier. On the other hand, despite this being a reason commonly listed for picking birdshot for home defense, it still has sufficient power to go through an interior wall and injure a person behind that wall. So my vote would be "nay" for using birdshot for home defense.

Another Step Toward Space Based Solar Power

 From Space.com: "Space-based solar power may be one step closer to reality, thanks to this key test (video)." From the lede:

    A first-of-its-kind lab demonstration shows how solar power transmission from space could work.  

    The demonstration, carried out by U.K.-based startup Space Solar, tested a special beaming device that can wirelessly transmit power 360 degrees around. That would be important for a potential future space-based power station, as its position toward the sun and Earth would change over the course of each day due to our planet's rotation.

    The demonstrator is a key component of the CASSIOPeiA space-based solar power plant concept that is being developed by Space Solar. The company envisions that CASSIOPeiA could be in space within a decade, providing gigawatts of clean energy much more efficiently than solar plants on Earth. 

Cool as this is, I would note that Tesla was demonstrating broadcast power 100 years ago. 

Astronomers Consider Whether They Were Wrong About Cosmic Expansion

From The_Byte: "Top Astronomers Gather To Confront Possibility They Were Very Wrong About The Universe."

    A number of researchers have found evidence that the universe may be expanding more quickly in some areas compared to others, raising the tantalizing possibility that megastructures could be influencing the universe's growth in significant ways.

    Sarkar and his colleagues, for instance, are suggesting that the universe is "lopsided" after studying over a million quasars, which are the active nuclei of galaxies where gas and dust are being gobbled up by a supermassive black hole.

    The team found that one hemisphere actually hosted slightly more of these quasars, suggesting one area of the night sky was more massive than the other, undermining our conception of dark energy, a hypothetical form of energy used to explain why the universe is expanding at an accelerated rate.

    "It would mean that two-thirds of the universe has just disappeared," Sarkar told The Guardian.

    Other researchers have suggested that the cosmological constant, which has been used for decades as a way to denote the rate of the universe's expansion, actually varies across space, which would contradict the standard model of physics.

 And in related news, from Futurism, "New Paper Claims Dark Matter Doesn't Exist at All." An excerpt:

    A controversial new paper suggests the universe is twice as old as current models suggest and that dark matter — the mysterious stuff believed by an overwhelming majority of physicists to make up much of the universe — doesn't actually exist.

    It's generally believed that dark matter doesn't interact with light or the electromagnetic field in any way, but can exert gravitational force. It's a conundrum that's plagued astrophysicists for decades — it can't be directly observed, yet is believed to make up 26 percent of the universe.

    University of Ottawa physics professor Rajendra Gupta, the sole author of a new paper published in the Astrophysical Journal, made headlines last year after suggesting the universe was 26.7 billion years old, twice as old as its generally accepted age.

    In his latest paper, Gupta builds on his theory, challenging the need for dark matter.

    "The study's findings confirm that our previous work about the age of the universe being 26.7 billion years has allowed us to discover that the Universe does not require dark matter to exist," said Gupta in a statement.

    Needless to say, it's a controversial theory that directly flies in the face of stuff that's more or less universally agreed upon by experts.

    Prevailing theories suggest the accelerating expansion of the universe is tied to a positive cosmological constant. This constant has often been used to explain the existence of dark energy, the dominant component of the universe, making up an estimated 68 percent of its total energy.

    While dark matter makes up most of the mass of galaxies and determines how they're organized, dark energy drives the accelerated expansion of the universe.

    But that's not how Gupta sees it. To back up his revised model, the professor borrowed from previous research of Swiss physicist Fritz Zwicky, who suggested in the late 1920s that red light emanating from distant celestial objects may be the result of energy being lost, a theory that became known as the "tired light" hypothesis.

    By combining this theory with a new "covarying coupling constant," which, unlike the prevailing cosmological constant, suggests that the forces of nature decline over time, Gupta argues that dark matter doesn't have to be part of the equation at all.

    "In standard cosmology, dark energy causes the accelerated expansion of the universe," Gupta explained. "However, it is due to the weakening forces of nature as it expands, not dark energy."

SpaceX Plans Permanent Moon Base

 Next Big Future reports on SpaceX's plans to establish a permanent lunar base, including a link to a YouTube video they had done (see below). But the web/blog post has some diagrams of the proposal.

VIDEO: "SpaceX revealed plans for a permanently manned moonbase"

Next Big Future (24 min.)

NASA Confirms That Dragonfly Mission To Titan Is A Go

From Ars Technical: "NASA officially greenlights $3.35 billion mission to Saturn’s moon Titan." From the lede:

    NASA has formally approved the robotic Dragonfly mission for full development, committing to a revolutionary project to explore Saturn's largest moon with a quadcopter drone.

    Agency officials announced the outcome of Dragonfly's confirmation review last week. This review is a checkpoint in the lifetime of most NASA projects and marks the moment when the agency formally commits to the final design, construction, and launch of a space mission. The outcome of each mission's confirmation review typically establishes a budgetary and schedule commitment.

If all goes well, the craft will launch in July 2028. The article adds:

    Dragonfly will explore Titan for around three years, flying tens of kilometers about once per month to measure the prebiotic chemistry of Titan's surface, study its soupy atmosphere, and search for biosignatures that could be indications of life. The mission will visit more than 30 locations within Titan's equatorial region, according to a presentation by Elizabeth Turtle, Dragonfly's principal investigator at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

    "The Dragonfly mission is an incredible opportunity to explore an ocean world in a way that we have never done before,” Turtle said in a statement. “The team is dedicated and enthusiastic about accomplishing this unprecedented investigation of the complex carbon chemistry that exists on the surface of Titan and the innovative technology bringing this first-of-its-kind space mission to life."

The article notes that the cost of the mission is significantly higher than other missions to the gas giants and outer solar system. But to put this in perspective, the additional $60 billion that Congress decided to flush down the toilet by providing even more aid to Ukraine could has paid for 17 such NASA missions. 

    Of course, that wasn't the total price of our current wars: Congress' total "aid" bill was $95 billion including $17.18 billion for Israel to buy even more weapons for Israel's Reconquista, $9.2bn for humanitarian purposes in Gaza and the West bank (hey, even terrorists need super yachts), $60.84 billion for the Ukraine war (including $23 billion to replace U.S. weapons stocks already turned over to Ukraine), and $8.12 billion of defense aid and spending in the Asia Pacific region, including Taiwan. So, for the total cost of this latest spending spree, we could have funded 28 Dragonfly Missions--or repaired the vast majority of bridges in the U.S.--or many other, worthier things. Hell, it would have been better to have paid down our National Debt or never to have spent the money in the first place so we didn't incur additional National Debt. 

    But funding exploration or domestic infrastructure is a sign of a healthy, growing country; while spending the national treasure on useless wars is a sign of civilizational decay.

NASA To Test New Solar Sail Design

 From Popular Science (h/t Instapundit): "NASA will unfurl a 860-square-foot solar sail from within a microwave-sized cube." The experiment was launched into orbit a couple days ago. 

    The real story here is not the solar sail, but the solar sail boom that holds the sail and provides rigidity: "Engineers have already demonstrated the principles [of solar sails] before, but NASA’s new project will specifically showcase a promising boom design constructed of flexible composite polymer materials reinforced with carbon fiber." 

    Although delivered in a toaster-sized package, ACS3 will take less than 30 minutes to unfurl into an 860-square-foot sheet of ultrathin plastic anchored by its four accompanying 23-foot-long booms. These poles, once deployed, function as sailboat booms, and will keep the sheet taut enough to capture solar energy.

    But what makes the ACS3 booms so special is how they are stored. Any solar sail’s boom system will need to remain stiff enough through harsh temperature fluctuations, as well as durable enough to last through lengthy mission durations. Scaled-up solar sails, however, will be pretty massive—NASA is currently planning future designs as large as 5,400-square-feet, or roughly the size of a basketball court. These sails will need extremely long boom systems that won’t necessarily fit in a rocket’s cargo hold.

    To solve for this, NASA rolled up its new composite material booms into a package roughly the size of an envelope. When ready, engineers will utilize an extraction system similar to a tape spool to uncoil the booms meant to minimize potential jamming. Once in place, they’ll anchor the microscopically thin solar sail as onboard cameras record the entire process.

There's more about the mission, so be sure to read the whole thing. 

RIP: Zylog Ceasing Production Of The Z80 Microprocessor

 Ars Technica reports that "After 48 years, Zilog is killing the classic standalone Z80 microprocessor chip." This chip drove much of the early microcomputer (home computer) and home game console market. However, the article notes that "Zilog will continue to manufacture the eZ80 microcontroller family, which was introduced in 2001 as a faster version of the Z80 series and comes in different physical package configurations (pin layouts)."

    As for the history of the Z80, the article relates:

    The 8-bit Z80 microprocessor was designed in 1974 by Federico Faggin as a binary-compatible, improved version of the Intel 8080 with a higher clock speed, a built-in DRAM refresh controller, and an extended instruction set. It was extensively used in desktop computers of the late 1970s and early 1980s, arcade video game machines, and embedded systems, and it became a cornerstone of several gaming consoles, like the Sega Master System.

    During the mid-late 1970s, the Z80 became a popular CPU for S-100 bus machines, which were early personal computers with a 100-pin modular bus system that allowed swapping cards to build systems based on parts from various manufacturers. Digital Research targeted the Z80 as a key platform for its CP/M operating system, and the association between Z80 and CP/M stuck, powering dozens of small business computers until the mid-1980s, when IBM PC clones running Microsoft's MS-DOS became the new industry standard.

    Interestingly, Microsoft's first hardware product, the Z80 SoftCard for the Apple II in 1980, added the famous Zilog CPU to the classic personal computer and allowed users to run CP/M on that machine. In 1982, Bill Gates claimed that SoftCard installations represented the largest single user base of CP/M machines.

Zilog will stop taking orders for the Z80 products after June 14, 2024.

Fertility Rates Continue To Decline In U.S.

The Daily Mail reports that "US fertility rates slump by 2% in a year to lowest on record, with 1.62 births per woman in 2023: Experts say focus on careers and access to contraception is behind the trend." The replacement rate is 2.1. The U.S. last saw a 2.1 rate in 2007. 

    Although there was a noticeable drop in the number of births during the pandemic, there was a slight bump following the pandemic, likely resulting from couples that had put off having children during the pandemic deciding to go ahead with having those children. But that bump seems to be over. The article relates:

    'The 2023 numbers seem to indicate that bump is over and we're back to the trends we were in before,' said Nicholas Mark, a University of Wisconsin researcher who studies how social policy and other factors influence health and fertility.

    Birth rates have long been falling for teenagers and younger women, but rising for women in their 30s and 40s - a reflection of women pursuing education and careers before trying to start families, experts said. 

    Mark called that development surprising and said 'there's some evidence that not just postponement is going on.' 

    CDC data shows in 2007 the total U.S. fertility rate was 2.12 births per woman, the 2023 rate of 1.62 shows a steady decline.  

    'People are making rather reasoned decisions about whether or not to have a child at all,' Karen Benjamin Guzzo, director of the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told The Wall Street Journal. 

    'More often than not, I think what they're deciding is 'Yes, I'd like to have children, but not yet.' 

    An analysis published in the prestigious Lancet journal, estimated the average birth rate in America is predicted to fall to 1.53 by 2050 and by 2100 reach 1.45. 

    The concern is that this figure is way below the replacement level of 2.1 children — the number each woman would need to have, on average, to replace both parents, and maintain the economic climate. 

    Some women are choosing to have children later in life and instead focus on their careers during their younger years.

    As fertility is linked to age, this can lead to some women never having children or fewer than they might originally have planned.

    Experts have previously warned that some are prioritizing careers over families, which they say has put the country on an irreversible path to economic decline.

    Many millennials also say they do not want to have children.

    Rising cost-of-living pressures, especially the price of childcare, is another factor that puts a dampener on couples having children or deciding to have multiple.

    America's first over-the-counter birth control pill became available in March.

 I would note that the U.S. still has higher birth rates than many of its competitors. Likely because the U.S. is, overall, more religious. 

Bombs & Bants Episode 126

 An irreverent discussion of top news stories including more cash for Ukraine, spoiled brats at Columbia, who is the bigger jackass--Biden or AOC--and a lot more. Also, here is a link to the article that I mentioned that explains why the money allotted for Ukraine is too little, too late, and won't get them the munitions they need because we can't produce them fast enough: "What $61 Billion for Ukraine Won’t Do" by Ted Snider at The American Conservative. Besides challenging the absurd contention that Russia will invade Europe if we don't stop him in Ukraine, Snider notes what the money for Ukraine will NOT do: "There are five things the aid package will not do for Ukraine. It will not provide enough money. It will not provide the badly needed weapons, nor deliver them on time. It will not provide the even more badly needed troops. And it will not provide victory." Be sure to read the whole thing.

VIDEO: "Episode 126" (51 min.)

Voyager 1 Sending Readable Data Again

Back in November the Voyager 1 spacecraft stopped sending readable data. Engineers knew the the craft was receiving commands and otherwise working as usual, but was just sending corrupted data.  The fault was traced to a single microchip storing part of the craft's memory including software to code messages being sent back to work. A software patch was designed that would shift the functions to other parts of the craft's control system. 

    The patch was transmitted on April 18, 2024. Because Voyager 1 is approximately 15 billion miles distant, it takes 22.5 hours for a radio signal to traverse the distance. But on April 20, NASA received confirmation that the patch had worked. Over the next few weeks, additional patches will be sent to the craft allowing it to resume sending scientific data back to Earth. 

Sources:

• "Voyager-1 sends readable data again from deep space"--BBC.
• "Voyager-1 back on line after software patch works"--Behind the Black.

Another Biden Foreign Policy/Military Disaster

You might remember last summer that Niger suffered a military led coup. The U.S. had a large airbase in Niger that it used for the GWOT and probably other things. Russia apparently offered encouragement to the junta, because when faced with the threat of military intervention from leaders in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the junta's rulers asked for assistance from Russia's Wagner Group which has provided "assistance" to other countries in the region in kicking out the French.   

• More: "Unconfirmed Reports of Wagner Group Personnel Aiding Coup in Niger"--Red State.
• More: "War Looms Over West Africa As Niger Coup Deadline Arrives"--Newsweek.
• More: "U.S. turns up pressure in critical ally Niger as region faces threat from Russia-loyal Wagner Group"--Los Angeles Times.

    The Biden Administration apparently believed that the American airbase was going to serve as leverage over the junta leaders, but it didn't turn out that way. Rather, as described in an April 18, 2024 article, "Nightmare in Niger — Exclusive: Biden Administration Leaves Hundreds of U.S. Troops ‘Hostage’ in Niger" from Breitbart, Niger insisted on kicking the U.S. forces out of the country, but Biden would not let the airmen and troops leave:

    More than 1,000 U.S. troops are effectively being held “hostage” in Niger with medical supplies running low — stuck between the military junta-controlled government’s demands for them to leave and the Biden administration’s refusal to let them go home after the end of their deployments, according to a report prepared by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and obtained exclusively by Breitbart News.

    In addition, the report accuses Biden administration officials of trying to cover up the situation to lawmakers, as well as to troops deployed there and their families anxiously awaiting their return.

    “Our troops are currently sitting on a powder keg caused by political indecision at the top of the Department of State and Department of Defense. With a military junta in charge — who detests our presence and considers us unserious and predatory — the situation seems to be setting the groundwork for catastrophic diplomatic collapse like we saw during the 2012 Benghazi attack. Additionally, these troops are already running short on necessary, life-saving supplies, such as blood and medications,” the report by Gaetz’s office said.

    “They are, in effect, hostages of an indecisive Commander-in-Chief,” the report said.

    The report is based on interviews by Gaetz’s office with troops currently stationed in Niger, who reached out to Gaetz’s office after they did not receive assistance from the Departments of Defense and State.

    The service members are currently deployed to Airbase 101 (AB101) in the capital of Niger, Niamey, as part of the 768th Expeditionary Airbase Squadron (768 EABS), which is comprised of active duty and reserve forces, Air National Guard airmen, Army Special Forces and contract support. There are about 450 personnel at Air Base 101. Until the takeover by the junta, the base was a major hub for U.S. intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) against terrorist groups Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State in West Africa, Boko Haram, and Ansaru. It was also a hub for U.S. military advisers supporting Niger’s forces.

    The U.S. troop presence became threatened after the military junta, known as the Conseil National pour la Sauvegarde de la Patrie (CNSP), or the National Council for the Safeguard of the Fatherland, declared it had taken over the country on July 26, 2023. Just a few months before, Secretary of State Antony Blinken had praised Niger as “a model of resilience, a model of democracy, a model of cooperation.”

    The junta declared in March 2024 a cancellation of the military accords with the U.S., after a series of meetings with Assistant Secretary of State Molly Phee and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) Commander Marine Gen. Michael Langley, according to the report.

So the result? Reminiscent of Afghanistan:

• "ANOTHER MAJOR BIDEN DISASTER: Niger’s Russian-Backed Military Junta Agrees to Release 1,000 US Soldiers After Biden Announces Plans to Abandon the $100 Million US Airbase in the Country"--Gateway Pundit.
• "U.S. hands over $110m base to Niger junta to release 1,000 U.S. Army hostages, watches helplessly as base goes to Russia"--American Thinker. 

Diversity We Can All Get Behind

Ammoland reports that Colt is introducing new barrel lengths for the Colt Python line to include 5-inch and 2.5-inch models. This is in addition to 3", 4.25", and 6" models already available. (As I understand it, the 4.25" instead of 4" has to do with quirk of Canadian law that requires handguns to have barrels longer than 4 inches for civilian ownership).

Transgenders In The News

Some stories that caught my attention over the last week or two:

• "Transgender sex offender is seen in creepy mugshot after trying to snatch young boy from elementary school"--Daily Mail. 
• "Girl who warned teachers about trans female student, 13, with 'hit list' bravely calls them out as she reveals in horrifying detail how attacker beat her friend with a Stanley cup while screaming 'I'm gonna murder you'"--Daily Mail.
• "Aspiring Maryland Trans Shooter Thwarted"--HotAir.
• More: "Want to Take a Guess Why the Media Won't Cover What Just Happened in Maryland?"--Townhall. 

Latest Efforts To Produce A Reactionless Drive Show Promising Results

From The Debrief, "NASA Veteran’s Propellantless Propulsion Drive That Physics Says Shouldn’t Work Just Produced Enough Thrust To Overcome Earth’s Gravity." This is apparently different from the EmDrive. The thrust produced by the latest test device purportedly is equal to one G--i.e., Earth's gravity. As for the technology, the article relates:

    After decades of research, Buhler says he and his team had shown unequivocally that a new, fundamental force was at work and that his devices were tapping into that force to produce thrust without emitting any mass or propellant.

    “Essentially, what we’ve discovered is that systems that contain an asymmetry in either electrostatic pressure or some kind of electrostatic divergent field can give a system of a center of mass a non-zero force component,” Buhler explained. “So, what that basically means is that there’s some underlying physics that can essentially place force on an object should those two constraints be met.”

 Sounds interesting, but we will need to see if anyone else can reproduce his results.

The Bystander Effect--Fact And Fiction

 Greg Ellifritz's most recent Weekend Knowledge Dump included a link to an article on the bystander effect published at Aeon Magazine and entitled "Good Samaritans after all" by Melanie McGrath. The article discusses some recent research into what is termed "the bystander effect": "a social psychological phenomenon in which individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim when other people are present." 

        The classic example of the bystander effect is the murder of Kitty Genovese in New York City in 1964, where numerous witnesses allegedly failed to render assistance and ignored screams for help from Genovese who stabbed and severely wounded by her attacker, who then left because he thought her cries for help would draw attention, then later returned and killed Genovese. The story was sensationalized by The New York Times, which was later revealed to have grossly misreported and misrepresented the facts. When The New York Times finally came clean in 2016, it reported:

While there was no question that the attack occurred, and that some neighbors ignored cries for help, the portrayal of 38 witnesses as fully aware and unresponsive was erroneous. The article grossly exaggerated the number of witnesses and what they had perceived. None saw the attack in its entirety. Only a few had glimpsed parts of it, or recognized the cries for help. Many thought they had heard lovers or drunks quarreling. There were two attacks, not three. And afterward, two people did call the police. A 70-year-old woman ventured out and cradled the dying victim in her arms until they arrived. Ms. Genovese died on the way to a hospital.

Thus, the Genovese incident is, in fact, a very poor example as to the bystander effect because people had indeed heard her initial cries for help and called the police. But Genovese had made her way into the vestibule at the back entrance of the apartment building, and so was no longer visible. (The police did not initially respond, thinking that it was a domestic dispute). When her attacker returned and found her, she was no longer in view or hearing of bystanders. Nevertheless, her final cries were heard by a neighbor who found her and tried to help her, and police were called. Unfortunately, as noted earlier, Genovese died en route to the hospital.

    Returning to the article at Aeon Magazine, McGrath notes that the bystander effect was first described in 1968 by the social psychologists Bibb Latané at Columbia University in New York and John Darley at New York University, and motivated by the New York Time's largely fictional account of the Genovese murder. McGrath explains:

Latané and Darley’s research suggested that the greater the number of onlookers the less likely anyone was to step in, especially if others around them appeared calm or unconcerned. Whereas lone bystanders stepped forward to help a victim 85 per cent of the time, only 31 per cent of witnesses intervened when they were part of a group of five. Latané and Darley labelled this phenomenon ‘diffusion of responsibility’, which along with ‘evaluation apprehension’ (concern about how any intervention might be interpreted) and ‘pluralistic ignorance’ (if everyone else seems calm, there’s nothing to worry about) make up what has become known as the bystander effect or bystander apathy.

 But, McGrath goes on, more recent research suggests that Latané and Darley’s model is far too simplistic and perhaps needs to be abandoned. She writes:

More recent studies suggest that bystanders do (or do not) intervene for reasons far more complex and individuated than Latané and Darley’s psychosocial model allows. In fact, the newest research calls that model into question entirely, suggesting that the way our brains process a violent event in the immediate instant, when intervention is most likely, is largely reflexive and unconscious. When it comes to witnessing violence, bystanders are in general more likely to intervene once cognition overrides reflexes, whether or not they are in groups. Understanding bystander responses this way challenges the idea that our moral compasses turn sketchy when we can offload responsibility for the Good Samaritan stuff onto somebody else; plus, when it comes to matters of survival, it suggests that some kind of group solidarity or species-wide empathy comes into play. Instead of characterising us as shirkers, willing to let others step up, this model argues that, when someone else’s survival might be at stake, we tend to do the right thing – and when we don’t, it could be the result of neurological processes beyond our immediate control. The implications for social psychology, ethics, the law and policy could be profound.

Gangs Will Rule The Cities Post-SHTF

Yesterday, I came across this article at the New York Post: "Haiti capital now a ‘battlefield’ as gangs take control ahead of government transition: ‘Continue burning the houses’." From the lede:

    Haiti’s capital has been thrown into further chaos after its top warlord ordered his soldiers to “burn every house you find” – as the nation struggles to usher in a new government.

    Notorious gang leader Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier, 47, was heard on social media messages on Sunday inciting his men to clash against police and burn down homes indiscriminately across Port-au-Prince, including Lower Delmas where he grew up. 

    “Continue burning the houses. Make everybody leave,” says a man in the audio recordings who is believed to be Cherizier.   

    “No need to know which house. Burn every house you find. Set the fire,” he adds, claiming to have sent jugs of gasoline to the gangsters. 

The article also notes that "[w]ith officials and human rights groups estimating that as much as 90% of the capital is now controlled by violent gangs, fears have grown that Cherizier has united them in an effort to seize control of the nation during a period of transition." 

    The events in Haiti prompted Modern Survival Blog to updated and republished an article entitled "Gangs WILL Rule The Cities." An excerpt:

    Gangs already rule the ‘dark underground’ of today’s cities. When civil society collapses they will be unleashed and unbounded, enabled by the chaos that will become the new reality.

    During this time, many within law enforcement will likely be more concerned about the safety and well-being of their own families and their own homes, choosing to stay and defend their own.

    Logic dictates that even if .gov declares Martial Law it will only have limited effects. It is highly unlikely in my estimation that America’s cities and city regions could be controlled if we all collapse into social chaos, upheaval, and systemic breakdowns of supply and infrastructure.

    People living in cities and even the immediate population-dense suburbs will be subjected to a very cruel and unusual environment. They will be HIGHLY at risk from foraging gangs.

    Think about this… It is one thing to protect yourself and your family from an intruder. But how will you protect yourself and your family from a gang mob?

    NEWS FLASH TIP: Don’t live in those regions.

The author has more warnings, but the gist of the article is to encourage you to move out of the cities and to more stable rural areas. 

    I have to say that urban street gangs are not the whole picture. Many rural areas have their own gangs (mostly comprised of Hispanics) that control much of the local drug production and distribution as well as having their hands in other illegal activities. Perhaps, in a SHTF environment, these gangs may be quickly eliminated by law enforcement or vigilantes; but any agricultural area will have large populations of Hispanic workers and their families that might take umbrage to such action. Why do you think there is a growing push to allow non-citizens to be able to legally possess firearms? To take the urban conflict into the rural regions. And, in any event,  there will be plenty of other people that may see SHTF as an opportunity to become a warlord. 

    I'm not saying that you shouldn't get out of the cities and large metro areas--the numbers and density of gangs and the unprepared will be much lower in rural locales--but that just because you move to a rural area does not mean that it is going to be all roses. 

The Most Popular TV Shows 1986-2022

Below is an interesting video showing the top TV shows each year, as well as the number of viewers (I think it is going through a month at a time) for the period 1986 through 2022. A couple interesting things I noted while watching it. 

    First, the viewership numbers for a given television program have fallen dramatically. In the latter half of the 1980s, all the top 10 shows had average viewership of over 30 million, and the top 5 had viewership numbers in excess of 40 million (although in 1986, The Cosby Show had over 60 million viewers followed by Family Ties with more than 50 million). 

    By the mid-90s, the overall numbers per show had dropped with the lower 2 or 3 programs not breaking 30 million, and only the top 2 or 3 exceeding 40 million. 

    Getting into the 2000s, the majority of programs had viewership below 30 million and only one or two would exceed 40 million. In the 2010s, there were a few shows that would exceed 40 million (and Game of Thrones even broke the 50 million at one point), but the audience numbers for the remainder of the top 10 were generally well below 30 million. 

    Finally, around 2020, something seemed to break. The majority of top 10 programs were struggling to get more than 20 million viewers and only one or two shows could break the 30 million mark. And by the end of 2022, most of the shows in the top 10 were not even breaking the 20 million viewers mark and none were breaking the 30 million mark.

    To look at this in another way, the #10 rated show in 1986 drew an audience of 34 million while the top rated show had an audience of 61 million. At the end of 2022, the #10 rated show was drawing an audience just shy of 15 million and the top rated show was only drawing 25 million.

    Second, the type of shows that dominated the top 10 changed. In 1986, 8 of the top 10 shows were situation comedies, and the other two were dramas (a mystery and an evening soap opera). This ratio pretty much held all the way to 1995 when more dramas started making their appearance. But by 2000, just over half (6 programs) were dramas. By 2010, the ratio had completely reversed from 1986, with 8 of the top 10 shows being dramas and only two comedies. Near the end of 2020, the top 10 went completely over to dramas. It looks like a sitcom, Ghosts, made an appearance at the end of 2022 at #10, but it clear that dramas completely dominate television at this point. 

VIDEO: "Most Popular TV Series 1986 - 2022"

Data Is Beautiful (11 min.)

Breaking News: Mistrial Declared In Trial Of Arizona Rancher Accused Of Killing Mexican Invader

 ABC27 News reports that "Arizona judge declares mistrial in the case of a rancher accused of fatally shooting a migrant."  George Alan Kelly, 75, has been charged with the second degree murder of Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, an illegal alien that had crossed the border onto Kelly's ranch. Cuen-Buitimea is a repeat offender: "Court records show Cuen-Buitimea had previously entered the U.S. illegally several times and was deported, most recently in 2016."

    As you might remember, Kelly had seen illegals (probably cartel members) at various times armed with probably automatic weapons. Per this article from KOB 4:

    Cuen-Buitimea was in a group of men that Kelly encountered on his property. Prosecutor Mike Jette said Kelly recklessly fired an AK-47 rifle toward the group that was about 100 yards (90 meters) away.

    Kelly said he fired warning shots in the air, but he didn’t shoot directly at anyone, explaining that he feared for his safety and that of his wife and property.

    “He says he shot 100 yards over their heads. But he never told law enforcement that he was in fear of his life,” Jette said in closing arguments.

    Kelly fired nine shots toward the group, according to Jette, who said Cuen-Buitimea suffered three broken ribs and a severed aorta.

    Jette encouraged jurors to find Kelly guilty of reckless manslaughter or negligent homicide if they can’t convict him on the murder charge.

    Defense attorney Brenna Larkin, in her closing argument, said Kelly “was in a life or death situation” that was “a terrifying scenario” for him.

    “He was confronted with a threat right outside his home,” Larkin said. “He would have been absolutely justified to use deadly force, but he did not.”

    An anonymous caller had later alerted authorities that there was a dead body on the ranch, which was Cuen-Buitimea, allegedly killed by Kelly, although Kelly is adamant that he shot above the illegals and no bullet was ever recovered. Even the path of the bullet through the dead illegal is inconsistent with his being shot at a distance by Kelly. 

    In any event, the ABC 27 article reports, "[t]he decision [to declare a mistrial] came after jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision after more than two full days of deliberation[.]" 

    “Based upon the jury’s inability to reach a verdict on any count,” Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink said, “This case is in mistrial.”

    The Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office can still decide whether to retry Kelly for any charge, or drop the case all together.

    A status hearing was scheduled for next Monday afternoon, when prosecutors could inform the judge if they plan to refile the case. Prosecutors did not immediately respond to emailed requests for additional comment.

The article also states:

    After Monday’s ruling, Consul General Marcos Moreno Baez of the Mexican consulate in Nogales, Arizona, said he would wait with Cuen-Buitimea’s two adult daughters on Monday evening to meet with prosecutors from Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office to learn about the implications of a mistrial.

    “Mexico will continue to follow the case and continue to accompany the family, which wants justice.” said Moreno. “We hope for a very fair outcome.”

By "fair" they mean that they want to see Kelly spend the rest of his natural life in prison. By "justice" they want to be able to sue Kelly and take all of his assets. 

Now If They Can Only Make Glowing Squirrels

If you have watched the television series, Better Off Ted, you will understand the title to this post. If you haven't seen the series, you are really missing out.

    In any event, I just received notice from Light Bio that my genetically modified bioluminescent petunias just shipped. I'm not expecting a super bright glow, but it should be interesting. I'll give a review once I receive them. 

The Usual Suspects

• "Two men are shot dead and six others wounded at Memphis block party as wild footage shows black Corvette doing burnouts moments before gunshots send residents fleeing for their lives"-- Daily Mail.
• See also this video from Langley Outdoors, "An Invisible Mass Shooting Just Happened… WHY Are The Gun Controllers NO WHERE TO BE FOUND..?" about this incident. Note the comments about the rifles and automatic weapons that were displayed or used at the scene. This is what gangs already have--it will be far worse in the event of a civil war or some other societal breakdown. 
• "Blood-curdling moment Kansas City neighborhood turns into a warzone: Bullets rain out and young kids are forced to scatter in street - with boy, 6, shot and fighting for life"--Daily Mail.
• "Prom horror as teenager Lorenzo Harrison III is shot dead outside an after-party in Arkansas - as suspect Donterious Stephens turns himself in"--Daily Mail. 
• "Wild footage from spring break gathering along Savannah beach shows topless women fighting and mounds of trash being washed into the ocean"--Daily Mail.
• "Report: Joe Biden's Migrant Mobile App Freed Haitian, Now Accused of Double Murder, into U.S."--Breitbart.
• "Appalling moment student slaps woman teacher twice across the face while hurling profanities including 'b****' and 'n*****' at high school in North Carolina"--Daily Mail.
• "Teen squatters bought engagement ring, AirPods and a Playstation with credit card that belonged to mother whose body they stuffed in a duffel bag after beating her to death with a frying pan, cops say"--Daily Mail. 
• "Middle school student repeatedly punches girl in front of cheering kids in brutal on-camera beatdown"--Breitbart.

Massive Flooding In China

The Daily Mail reports on "once in a century" flooding in Guangdong province in Southern China due to storms. More than 110,000 people have been relocated across Guangdong according to Chinese news sources, including more than 45,000 evacuated from the city of Qingyuan. The storm causing the flooding was atypical coming earlier than the normal May or June floods and, of course, dumping much more water.

Three Strata of Evil

 A recent Vox Day post led me to this article from Contemplations on the Tree of Woe entitled "The Strategy of Evil." The author intends his article to be an analysis of evil, such as the military might make an analysis of an opposing force (OPFOR). An excerpt:

Professor Bruce Charlton, on his blog Charlton Teaching, has written extensively about the nature of evil. According to Charlton, there are three types of evil. Luciferic, Ahrimanic, and Sorathic. As he explains,

This ordering is reflected in several ways, which are related. 

First it describes the ordering of dominance in history, secondly the degree of evil-ness, and thirdly it reflects the societal hierarchy of The Masses, The Establishment, and The Satanic powers. 

By societal hierarchy I mean that Luciferic evil dominates the Masses - who are evil in impulsive, short-termist ways; Ahrimanic evil is typical of the Global Establishment and its managerial-class servants - who regard Men as merely human resources towards abstract goals; and the Sorathic evil of negation, value-inversion and destruction of The Good is characteristic of the demonic overlords.

    The author explains that Luciferic evil "represents the first stage of evil, in its anti-authoritarian, individualist, and rebellious aspect which seeks to overthrow cosmos (natural order) to maximize freedom of action." He adds that, according to Charlton:

The Luciferic is (roughly) the impulsive, instinctive, self-gratifying, psychopathic kind of evil - as characterised by the frenzied violence and torture of unbridled war; or the greedy lustfulness that drives the sexual revolution… The 'sixties impulse' was Luciferic.

Examples of this, representing differing ways of maximizing freedom of action and giving in to lust, are the "sex, drugs, and rock and roll" mentality on one extreme, and serial killers and terrorists on the other. Often the two combine: for instance, the leaders of the Weather Underground combined both "free love" and terrorism/murder.

    Next up is Ahrimanic evil, "named for Ahriman, the Zoroastrian adversary of Ahura Mazda." Per Charlton:

    Ahrimanic evil aims to create a system of value-inversions (virtue becomes vice, while sin is encouraged and rewarded; truth becomes hate-facts and fake-news, while lies are science... etc.). This System will (by such means as law, media propaganda and corporate regulations) subversively 'process' people into a social structure that is anti-God, anti-Christian, anti-Good.  

    The Ahrimanic evil is more modern; it is the despair-inducing, soul-destroying, utterly-demotivating Iron Cage of totalitarian bureaucracy - where all is a single system and all Men are merely cogs to serve it. This is the evil of late Soviet communism, of The Borg, of the overpromoted-middle-manager, Head Girl Type (e.g. the-3-Ms - Merkel, May, Macron) that increasingly runs large organizations, corporations and Western nations.

 Another author citied in the article, Tychonievich, describes Ahrimanic evil thusly:

If Lucifer seeks pleasure, Ahriman seeks control. Note that this is not necessarily the same thing as seeking power. Those who serve Ahriman may seek to be in control themselves, but more often their goal may simply be that everything be under control. Hierarchy is of Ahriman, because even those who are far from the top have no objection to it. Even an Ahrimanist who has the ability to control things personally will generally defer these personal decisions to a system or algorithm, personal responsibility being unpleasantly risky. A near-perfect example of Ahrimanic man is the 2020s birdemicist, happy to submit to house arrest, universal surveillance and censorship, and forced medical procedures -- rather than take a chance of catching the flu. "Non serviam" is Lucifer's motto, not Ahriman's; if Ahrimanism were condensed into a two-word motto, it would be, "Safety first" -- or, if more than two words are needed, "None are safe until all are safe.["]

That is, "[h]aving allowed Luciferic evil to 'clear the field' of the physiocratic or cosmic order based on beauty, goodness, and truth, Ahrimanic evil proceeds to implement the Black Iron Prison of our contemporary consensus, a system of control over our thoughts and actions."

    I think this is what Hannah Arendt spoke of when she used the term "banality of evil" when reporting on the war crimes trial of Adolph Eichmann. As an Aeon article explains:

    Arendt found Eichmann an ordinary, rather bland, bureaucrat, who in her words, was ‘neither perverted nor sadistic’, but ‘terrifyingly normal’. He acted without any motive other than to diligently advance his career in the Nazi bureaucracy. Eichmann was not an amoral monster, she concluded in her study of the case, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (1963). Instead, he performed evil deeds without evil intentions, a fact connected to his ‘thoughtlessness’, a disengagement from the reality of his evil acts. Eichmann ‘never realised what he was doing’ due to an ‘inability… to think from the standpoint of somebody else’. Lacking this particular cognitive ability, he ‘commit[ted] crimes under circumstances that made it well-nigh impossible for him to know or to feel that he [was] doing wrong’.

    Arendt dubbed these collective characteristics of Eichmann ‘the banality of evil’: he was not inherently evil, but merely shallow and clueless, a ‘joiner’, in the words of one contemporary interpreter of Arendt’s thesis: he was a man who drifted into the Nazi Party, in search of purpose and direction, not out of deep ideological belief. ...

The same is often true of DEI officers at universities or large corporations, the health officials that proscribed the lockdowns and the law enforcement that enforced the lockdowns, the countless Karens that fill out the ranks of liberal causes, and the many "new world order" types.  

    Finally we have the big daddy of evil: Sorathic evil, named "for Sorath, who Rudolf Steiner described as 'the sun-demon of Revelations, whose number is 666.'"

Charlton explains Sorathic evil as:

…. the purest, most absolutely negative form of evil.

If Luciferic evil is motivated by short-termist pleasure; while Ahrimanic evil is motivated by God-denial, spiritual blindness and reductionism towards a meaningless world of mechanical procedures; then the Sorathic impulse is driven by negative impulses - primarily fear, resentment and hatred.

Sorathic evil will therefore tend to destroy both the lustful pleasures of Luciferic evil, and the complex functional bureaucracies of Ahrimanic evil…. 

Tychonievich describes Sorath like this:

By Sorath I mean the principle of evil at its purest, the devil of all devils, Goethe's "spirit that negates." God is the love-motivated Creator, and Sorath is the hate-motivated anti-Creator, who opposes all creation -- who thinks it "better nothing would begin" and that all that has begun "deserves to perish wretchedly."

Sorath's ultimate goal is that nothing at all exist, including Sorath himself.

The article continues:

    For, according to Charlton, the world we inhabit is actually already Sorathic:

    A world in which the Luciferic lusts of sex/ drugs and the rock-and-roll lifestyle are forbidden and punished; and also a world in which the global system is being disabled and destroyed - even as its Ahrimanic architects have successfully accomplished a silent global coup, and are trying to perfect it into the grandiose schemes of The Great Reset/ Agenda 2030. 

    In 2020 we observe all modern institutions, corporations and every kind of bureaucracy as rapidly declining in efficiency and effectiveness - under pressure from an ever-increasing culture of fear, victimology, entitlement and resentment. 

    Sorath divides Mankind into more-and-more, smaller-and-smaller, self-identified victim groups; each resentful-of and pitted-against each other. The aim is eventually for each person to feel alone, consumed by feelings of thwarted entitlement, and hatred of the world; and living in permanent fear of a whole world of other people, each of whom resents and hates the solo-victim just as he hates them. 

    And then - eventually - Sorath's intent is that everyone, without exception, should die in fear and despair.

It may be difficult to distinguish the Sorathic evil from the other types of evil. For instance, is the person that supports open borders doing so because she wants access to exotic men, because its the "right" thing to do as she has been told by civil or religious authorities, or because she wants to see the destruction of the "white, male patriarchy" and Western Civilization.  

     Funny enough, someone at one level of evil simply cannot comprehend a type of evil above it. The article explains:

    The evil Masses simply cannot recognize the evilness of the Establishment-managerial class; they cannot comprehend that the Establishment's vast and comprehensive agendas, plans, schemes are a kind of evil. 

    The Masses cannot see this as evil because it is so abstract, so impersonal. Ahrimanic evil has very little 'fun'; it is dull drudgery - meetings, tick-boxes and flow charts. 

    And when the Global Establishment look upwards to their demonic overlords; they too fail to see that demonic evil is of a very different nature from the complex Ahrimanic, international, bureaucratic systems that are so laboriously, so tediously, being constructed at present. 

It presents a different way of viewing the different types of evil. Try applying this tripartite analysis to the different news article or reports you might come across, as I've been trying to do, it will some additional insight into how the world works.

• More: "Luciferic, Ahrimanic and Sorathic evil reflect the societal hierarchy"--Bruce Charlton.