These days, you can’t go and call this the rambling of a crackpot

If I were only slightly more paranoid, I’d think that the CDC had weaponized AGS and launched a test run for making us proles allergic to red meat. But give it a day or two and I might get there. Stephen Green

Mysterious, Unexplained Red Meat Allergies Reportedly Explode in Virginia.

I have reported previously at PJ Media that the CDC has been warning lately of an unexplained rise in what was previously a rare red meat allergy called alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) that develops in humans by way of a molecule passed into the bloodstream by a species of tick called the Lone Star Tick.

Via CDC (emphasis added):

During January 1, 2017–December 31, 2022, a total of 357,119 tests were submitted from residences in the United States, corresponding to 295,400 persons. Overall, 90,018 (30.5%) persons received a positive test result in the study period, and the number of persons with positive test results increased from 13,371 in 2017 to 18,885 in 2021.

Among 233,521 persons for whom geographic data were available, suspected cases predominantly occurred in counties within the southern, midwestern, and mid-Atlantic U.S. Census Bureau regions. These data highlight the evolving emergence of AGS and can be used to help state and local health agencies initiate surveillance and target public health outreach and health care provider education to high-risk localities…

The number of AGS cases in the United States is predicted to increase during the coming years, presenting a critical need for synergistic public health activities including 1) community education targeting tick bite prevention to reduce the risk for acquiring AGS, 2) HCP education to improve timely diagnosis and management, and 3) improved surveillance to aid public health decision-making.

Taking the CDC’s claims of rising AGS at face value, the crucial piece of information is that neither the agency nor any Public Health™ authority has offered a viable explanation for why cases would suddenly explode. So we are left to speculate as to why.

Related: NYU Bioethicist Hints at Triggering Red Meat Allergies in Entire Human Population

Now Public Health™ officials in Virginia are reporting similar concerns to the CDC.

Via Fox News (emphasis added):

A public health concern with potentially deadly consequences is on the rise in Virginia, health officials said, as people are testing positive for alpha-gal syndrome.

Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) is a little-known meat allergy that is contracted through tick bites and can be life-threatening. It primarily causes hives, angioedema, upset stomach, diarrhea, stuffy or runny nose, sneezing, headaches and a drop in blood pressure, and it can even cause death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which issued a warning about the syndrome last month.

It is known to spread through tick bites, specifically from the lone star tick, which is prevalent in Virginia, according to Julia Murphy, a state public health veterinarian with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH).

“We do have a lot of lone star ticks here in Virginia, so we think that’s driving a lot of what we are seeing in Virginia when it comes to alpha-gal and people testing positive for alpha-gal,” she said, according to WSET.

This, again, is a totally insufficient explanation. It is already established that lone star ticks, which have been present in North America for thousands and possibly millions of years, transmit the molecule that causes AGS. The disease itself — the symptoms of which are usually very obvious — has been identifiable and testable for decades; all that’s required is to test for the presence of the antibody to the alpha-gal molecule. So there is no real argument here that it’s just more diagnosable now than before.

From my perspective, there are only two real possibilities:

  • Alpha-gal syndrome is not any more prevalent than it previously was, and this is an anti-meat fearmongering campaign.
  • There is something else in the environment besides lone star ticks causing alpha-gal syndrome.

Now, if they’d have OTC Epi

Over-the-counter Narcan to hit drugstore shelves next week.

Narcan, a lifesaving medication that reverses opioid overdose, will be available on U.S. drugstore shelves and online starting next week.

People who want to carry Narcan, the nasal spray version of naloxone, will be able to find it at Walgreens, Rite Aid, Walmart and CVS for a suggested retail price of $44.99 for a box of two doses, the drug maker reported Wednesday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Emergent BioSolutions’ overdose antidote in March in response to record numbers of overdose deaths, largely due to powerful synthetic drugs like fentanyl.

“We think really everyone should be thinking about putting this into their first aid kit,” Walgreens chief medical officer Dr. Kevin Ban told CNN. “It’s really unlimited in terms of the folks who should make sure that they get some naloxone in the off chance that they come across someone who was experiencing an overdose. This is a way to reverse that overdose. It’ll save people’s lives.”

Most U.S. states already had standing orders to allow pharmacies and other qualified organizations to provide this antidote without a prescription for those at risk, but this provides even more availability. The drug can revive a person who is overdosing within minutes.

“It is excellent news that there’s an over-the-counter naloxone product,” said Maya Doe-Simkins, co-director of Remedy Alliance/For the People, which aims to increase access to affordable naloxone.

Yet Doe-Simkins noted that most people get naloxone from organizations and governments who buy it in bulk, CNN reported.

“This is the evidence-based model that is proven to save lives,” she said.

Community groups, first responders, state and local governments and harm reduction groups will be able to purchase Narcan for a cheaper price than the general public, $41 per two-dose carton starting Thursday, the manufacturer said.

Narcan could soon be joined by another naloxone nasal spray, called RiVive. The nonprofit Harm Reduction Therapeutics will sell it at cost – $36 for a two-pack – starting in early 2024, CNN reported.

There may still be some barriers to accessing Narcan. CVS plans to offer it for sale behind its pharmacy counter, as well as at the register and for order via pickup and delivery. Walmart and Rite Aid plan to sell it on pain care aisles. Walgreens will stock shelves with cards that someone can bring to a register to access the actual medication, CNN said.

That allows there to be sort of easy requests without having to ask for it,” Ban said. “That’s one of the things we wanted to remove. We realized that a lot of people just don’t want to ask for the medication. So we came up with that mechanism to grab this card, then you can either bring it to the front of the store or the back of the store.”

Any barriers may still deter people from accessing the medication, Doe-Simkins said.

“Anything that’s layered on to naloxone access is a barrier,” she said, noting its over-the-counter availability is something the community has waited for.

“We’ve been advocating for that for well over a decade,” Doe-Simkins noted. “It’s about time.”

Injectable naloxone is still available by prescription at a much lower cost.

Mass Shootings Have ‘No Correlation to Gun Laws,’ says Report

U.S.A. — Washington, D.C.—a jurisdiction with some of the strictest gun control laws in the country—leads the nation with “the highest rate of mass shootings per capita,” according to a report in the Daily Mail, citing new research released this week by medical researchers in Colorado.

Here’s how the Daily Mail headlined its story: “America’s mass shooting hotspots revealed: First of its kind study breaks down thousands of massacres by state – and there’s NO correlation between gun control laws.”

The study is published in JAMA Network Open, and it relies on data from the Gun Violence Archive, a database often criticized by the firearms community. The work was done by researchers at the University of Colorado: Leslie M. Barnard, MPH, Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health; Erin Wright-Kelly, DrPH, MA, Injury and Violence Prevention Center, Colorado School of Public Health, and Marian E. Betz, MD, MPH, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora.

The report may cool some jets in the gun control community, which has maintained that states with the most guns and “lax” laws have the highest number of shootings. But here’s what the report says:

“The rate of mass shootings per 1,000,000 people was highest in the District of Columbia (10.4 shootings), followed by much lower rates in Louisiana (4.2 mass shootings) and Illinois (3.6 mass shootings), the states with the next 2 highest rates (Table).”

Translation: Gun laws do not appear to have an impact, since the District of Columbia and the state of Illinois have restrictive laws, while Louisiana is far less restrictive.

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McConnell can resign without leaving the Senate.

Senator Mitch McConnell appeared to have another elderly moment in Kentucky following an event today, where a question about whether he would run for re-election in 2026 left him silent as the cameras tracked the awkward scene.

It is obviously not the first time that this has happened for McConnell — and the eighty-one-year-old deserves the grace that we would grant to anyone struggling with the inevitability of age. But this is also a moment that presents a challenge for the Republican Party, an effort that is larger than just one man (despite what diehard fans of Donald Trump would sometimes have you believe), and one that Senate Minority Leader McConnell will have to consider in the coming days.

The simple fact is this: in his lucid moments, which is the case more often than not according to multiple Senate staffers, McConnell is just a slower version of his younger self. Speaking off the cuff to the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce minutes before the media gaggle, McConnell seemed fine. But the attention he receives as the Senate’s leader of the GOP is far more than your average senator. In the context of 2024, his prominence causes problems for other Republicans forced to defend his status even as they assail Joe Biden as too aged and decrepit to lead the nation.

It is an open secret who wants McConnell’s job should he decide to step down, and the three Johns — Cornyn, Thune and Barrasso —  have previously engaged in the kind of outreach that indicates their intention to replace him. But none of them are so gauche as to try to unseat him directly. The decision is left up to McConnell himself, out of deference to his tenure as leader.

There is also a feeling in some anti-McConnell corners, including outside activists, that they prefer him in this weakened mode, where he is less of a force in determining the direction of the party. They would prefer to see the House and the more conservative Kevin McCarthy take the lead in setting the direction for Republicans, as he has.

Many Republicans point out that McConnell needs to stay in his seat to prevent Kentucky’s Democratic governor Andy Beshear, currently being challenged by McConnell ally Daniel Cameron, from naming a replacement. But that is a reason for McConnell to stay in the Senate, not one that requires him to stay on as its minority leader. 

The truth is that McConnell is not so dramatically reduced in his capacity that he needs to step down as a senator. He shows far greater capacity than current Senate Democrats Dianne Feinstein or John Fetterman, nor does he have the health struggles of the likes of Thad Cochran or Johnny Isakson in their final years. But continuing on as minority leader headed into a critical election year is a different question entirely. Stepping down from one role doesn’t necessitate stepping down from the job entirely — Nancy Pelosi is still around here somewhere, keeping things running on time.

Republicans should consider what picture they want to offer the country in 2024. If they truly want to depict the Democratic Party as behind the times, a whisper-thin ghost of the past, in contrast to a party focused on the future, with a rising generation of new leaders and an expanding and more diverse base of working- and middle-class voters, they can help their cause a great deal by moving on with leadership where press conferences aren’t a tightrope walk. When it comes to knowing when it’s time, everyone on Team McConnell is going to defer to the boss. But it really is time for someone new.

Per the usual way the courts have dealt in the past with this burr under their saddle, by the time they can delay no longer, the plaintiff’s will have reached 21 years old, and dust off their hands as they dismiss the case as moot.

Fraser v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (3:22-cv-00410) District Court, E.D. Virginia

gov.uscourts.vaed.524643.77.0_1

 

ORDER that the DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR A STAY OF INJUNCTION PENDING APPEAL (ECF No. 63 ) is granted. The FINAL ORDER OF INJUNCTION (ECF No. 81 ) and the FINAL ORDER OF DECLARATORY RELIEF (ECF No. 82 ) are STAYED pending appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the Court and oral argument would not aid the decisional process. It is so ORDERED. Signed by District Judge Robert E. Payne on 8/30/2023 at 4:56 p.m. (jenjones, ) (Entered: 08/30/2023)

The Virginia federal judge found that the federal ban on handgun sales to those under the age of 21 is unconstitutional under the 2nd amendment, per Bruen’s  “History and Tradition” test.
The judge issued a nationwide injunction against the law, but stayed the order while the government appeals to the Circuit court.

August 31

1776 – William Livingston, the first Governor of New Jersey, begins serving his first term.

1864 – Union forces led by General Sherman launch a final assault on besieged Atlanta.

1870 – Maria Montessori is born in Chiaravalle, Italy

1886 – A 7.0 Mw  power earthquake hits southeastern South Carolina killing 60 people and causing over $6 million in damage.

1888 – Jack the Ripper murders his first victim, Mary Ann Nichols

1895 – Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin patents his ‘Navigable Balloon’.

1897 – Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, a type of movie projector

1935 – In an attempt to stay out of the growing tensions concerning Germany and Japan, the United States passes the first Neutrality Act.

1939 – Nazi Germany mounts a false flag attack on the Gleiwitz radio station, creating an excuse to attack Poland, precipitating the beginning of World War II.

1940 – Pennsylvania Central Airlines Trip 19, a Douglas DC-3, crashes near Lovettsville, Virginia. The investigation of the accident is the first to be conducted under the Bureau of Air Commerce act of 1938.

1945 – General Douglas MacArthur establishes the Supreme Allied Command occupation headquarters in Tokyo.

1950 – TWA Flight 903, a Lockheed Constellation, crashes near Itay El Barud, Egypt while attempting to return to Cairo due to an engine fire, killing all 55 passengers and crew aboard.

1969 – Rocco ‘Rocky’ Marciano along with pilot Glenn Belz and passenger Frankie Farrell, die in a small plane crash near Newton, Iowa

1986 – Aeroméxico Flight 498,  a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, collides with a Piper PA-28 Cherokee over Cerritos, California, killing all 67 passengers and crew aboard both planes, and 15 more people on the ground.

1988 – Delta Air Lines Flight 1141, a Boeing 727, crashes during takeoff from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, killing 2 crew members and 12 passengers of the 108 passengers and crew aboard.

1997 – Diana, Princess of Wales, her companion Dodi Fayed, and driver Henri Paul are killed in a car crash in Paris.

2016 – Brazil’s President, Dilma Rousseff is impeached and removed from office.

Man shot in the neck while trying to break into neighbor’s home

JACKSON, MI – A Jackson man was shot in the neck Monday morning while he was allegedly trying to break into his neighbor’s home after she yelled at him.

Police were called at about 7 a.m. Monday, Aug. 28, to a townhouse in the 1200 block of Heather Drive for report of man with a knife smashing the windows of a woman’s home while apparently trying to get inside, according to the Jackson Police Department.

While en route to the scene, police were told shots were fired and the man had been shot by the woman, police said.

The man, 19, suffered a single gunshot wound to the neck and was taken to Henry Ford Jackson Hospital for emergency treatment. He currently is listed in stable condition, police said.

The preliminary investigation indicates the woman, 26, heard what sounded like a domestic dispute in the adjacent townhome and began knocking on the wall telling them to keep it down, police said.

After being told to be quiet, the man exited his home with a knife and began breaking the woman’s window leading her to call 911, police said.

The woman then shot the man as he allegedly tried to get inside the home, police said.

No arrests have been made. It is believed the woman was acting in self-defense, police said.

The incident remains under investigation. Once completed, the case will be sent to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office for review.

21-and-up gun law to remain blocked as federal lawsuit plays out

DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado’s new law blocking all gun sales to anyone under age 21 remains on hold while a legal challenge continues to play out in court.

Rocky Mountain Gun Owners argues the law is a Second Amendment violation and is challenging its constitutionality in federal court.

A judge already blocked the gun-buying restrictions from going into effect in August while the court case plays out. Gov. Jared Polis asked the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to block that ruling, but the court declined.

“Today, two Obama-appointed judges agreed with us that our plaintiffs do have standing and that our likelihood of success on the merits is strong,” Taylor Rhodes, executive director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, said in part in a statement.

For now, the law will remain blocked until the case is heard in court.

Coloradans under 21 could still buy rifles

While federal law requires buyers to be at least 21 years old to buy a handgun, Coloradans under age 21 can still buy rifles. If upheld, Senate Bill 23-169 would block all gun sales to anyone in Colorado under age 21.

A spokesperson for Polis’ office released a statement after the Tuesday ruling.

“People will remain very confused because of this injunction because since 1968, federal law has required Coloradans to be 21 years old to purchase a pistol, but a loophole allows kids under age 21 to legally buy a rifle instead. This new law approved by the legislature closes that loophole and Governor Polis hopes that the courts agree with him that the law is fully consistent with the Second Amendment and reduces confusion. The Governor is working towards his goal of making Colorado one of the ten safest states in the country and the same age requirements for pistols and rifles would help support responsible gun ownership.”

CONOR CAHILL, PRESS SECRETARY FOR COLORADO GOV. JARED POLIS

The Rocky Mountain Gun Owners lawsuit names two Coloradans plaintiffs in the case, each older than 18 but younger than 21 and who said they want to buy a gun for self-defense.

The gun group’s arguments have hinged on the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.

In that case, the court ruled Americans have a right to carry guns in public for self-defense. The case also set a standard that courts must look at history to decide the constitutionality of gun laws.

Despite Democrats’ Fearmongering On Firearms, A Majority Of Americans Own Guns Or Want To Own Guns

A majority of Americans are happy or prospective gun owners who keep firearms around to protect themselves, Pew Research found in its latest poll.

The poll, which surveyed 5,115 U.S. adults in June, found that, contrary to Democrats’ anti-gun rhetoric, Americans across all demographics enjoy exercising their Second Amendment rights by personally owning guns or living with someone who does.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans either already live in a household with a gun or have expressed interest in buying a gun in the future. Considering the U.S. is experiencing the highest personal gun ownership uptick since 2011, even those who aren’t firearm owners yet could be soon.

When Pew measured Americans’ attitudes towards guns in 2017, only 67 percent of firearm owners said they had guns for protection. After years of soaring gun sales due to rising crime and the summer 2020 riots, 72 percent of American gun owners now say protection is the primary reason they keep firearms around.Overall, 81 percent of gun owners say owning a firearm makes them feel safer. A majority of non-gun owners, 57 percent, say they also feel safer if someone in their household owns a gun.

“Gun owners express overwhelmingly positive sentiments about owning a gun, with sizable majorities saying it makes them feel safer and that they enjoy having a gun,” Pew noted.

Safety is likely one of the reasons gun ownership among women specifically has climbed in recent years. In 2017, only 22 percent of women said they personally owned a gun. Now, 25 percent of females have a firearm of their own.

Gun ownership, Pew found, is still higher among rural, Republican voters than among urbanites and Democrats. The latter groups, however, saw increases in gun ownership in the last five years. Between 2017 and now, firearm ownership among urban dwellers jumped 1 percent.

Approximately 4 percent more blue voters say they have guns now than they did in 2017. Six percent more Democrats have guns in their household in 2023 than they did in 2017.

Pew tried to overshadow their robust gun ownership report by highlighting that 61 percent of Americans think it is too easy to get a gun in the U.S. What the poll did not specify is exactly how law-abiding Americans feel about leftist-led legislation that seeks to restrict their Second Amendment rights.

Despite the fact that deadly mass shootings increased during Congress’ 1994 ban on “assault weapons,” Democrats, led by President Joe Biden, desperately want another ban on the most popular semi-automatic rifles on the market.

“The idea we still allow semi-automatic weapons to be purchased is sick,” Biden said in November 2022. “It has no socially redeeming value. Zero. None. Not a single solitary rationale for it except profit for the gun manufacturers.”

There are a myriad of problems with blue politicians’ unconstitutional gun-grab policies. One such problem is that if Democrats pass a federal ban on AR-15s, they would be depriving Americans of the ability to protect themselves in the they choose.

United States ‘experiencing a crisis of early death.’

BOSTON — A recent study is revealing the dire state of public health in the United States. In comparison to other wealthy nations, the U.S. death rate far outpaces America’s peers — leading researchers to say that the country is actually “experiencing a crisis of early death.”

Researchers from the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) found that more than one million U.S. deaths a year — including many young and working-age adults — could be avoided if the country had mortality rates similar to other high-income nations.

In 2021, 1.1 million deaths would have been averted if the U.S. had mortality rates similar to other wealthy nations. The study refers to these excess deaths as “Missing Americans,” because these deaths reflect people who would still be alive if the U.S. death rate was equal to its peer countries.

“The number of Missing Americans in recent years is unprecedented in modern times,” says Dr. Jacob Bor, the study’s lead and corresponding author and associate professor of global health and epidemiology at BUSPH, in a media release.

Nearly 50 percent of all Missing Americans died before age 65 in 2020 and 2021. The study found that the level of excess mortality among working-age adults is particularly stark.

“Think of people you know who have passed away before reaching age 65. Statistically, half of them would still be alive if the U.S. had the mortality rates of our peers,” Dr. Bor said. “The U.S. is experiencing a crisis of early death that is unique among wealthy nations.”

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EVs Are Supposed to Be Cheap to Maintain—Our Kia EV6 Isn’t So Far
The EV6’s first service visit left us scratching our heads and $200 poorer.

Our 2022 Kia EV6 recently went in for its first scheduled service, something we initially assumed would be an easy, mundane task. Electric vehicles, after all, have simple powertrains with fewer moving parts than their gas-powered counterparts—and no oil changes! This is supposed to make EVs cheaper to maintain. So you can imagine my surprise when it came time to pick up our EV6 and I was slapped with a $230 invoice. Thank goodness for company credit cards.

The shocking bill capped off what began as a crummy Sunday morning. While I was loading the EV6 for a day at the beach with my pup, I noticed a completely flat driver’s side rear tire thanks to a screw. It was in a spot on the tread that looked patchable, but since the EV6 doesn’t have a spare tire (only a liquid seal kit that would’ve ruined the tire), I decided to take advantage of Kia’s free roadside assistance and have it towed to my local dealership with a service department that was open on Sundays. Big kudos to them for that.

Requesting roadside service was easy and quick, with the tow truck arriving at my house within 30 minutes. Once we arrived at the dealership, it was quickly determined the tire was not patchable and needed to be replaced. Thankfully, they had one in stock. Our EV6 was just a few hundred miles away from needing its first service, so I requested to have that done while I was there.

According to the owner’s manual, the 8,000-mile service includes a tire rotation and inspection. The list of items to inspect includes brakes, suspension, drive shafts, the 12-volt battery, in-cabin air filter, and more. Nothing out of the ordinary. Which is why we left scratching our heads at the $230 bill, including an “EV service port cleaner” procedure that I didn’t request but was performed nonetheless for $51. If we subtract that interesting port cleaning service, the total for this routine service visit was $179. Still a pretty penny for what amounted to a peek under the frunk and shuffling around a few tires (one of which was getting worked on anyway).

We appreciate this dealership taking us in on a Sunday and Kia’s quick and free roadside tow, but the excessive service cost soured the experience. Thankfully, our encounter appears to be an anomaly. For starters, the same service performed on our otherwise identical long-term Hyundai Ioniq 5 only set us back about $50. And numerous EV6 forums show other owners paying anywhere between $20 and $50 for the first service. We found none over $100, and some were complimentary. Which is what it should be. What better way to build rapport and loyalty than providing free inspections? If such a dealership exists in the L.A. area, we’ll be sure to go there for our next service visit.

Why Is Biden Going Into Hiding on the 9/11 Anniversary?

Sept. 11, 2023, will mark 22 years since the terror attacks on our nation. Two planes flew into the World Trade Center towers, another into the Pentagon, and another, likely headed for the U.S. Capitol Building or the White House, crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.

In the years since that dark day in America’s history, presidents have typically sought to mark the anniversary at events in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, or the White House.

Well, all but one, anyway. According to a report from The Hill, Joe Biden will be in Alaska on the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks to participate in a memorial ceremony there. Adding insult to injury, Joe Biden has sent Kamala Harris and her husband to attend a commemoration ceremony in New York City.

While 9/11 was a national tragedy, the decision to be in Alaska has many baffled. Joe Biden couldn’t be further away from New York, D.C., or Virginia and still be in the United States unless he was in Hawaii. Given his recently botched response to the wildfires in the Aloha State and the sour reception he got from locals, he certainly wasn’t going to go there.

When you consider how much effort goes into choreographing every move the president makes for the purpose of public relations, Biden’s absence from any of the three traditional observation sites or even the White House strikes many as odd.

One possible explanation is that they’re giving Kamala Harris an opportunity to shine, but I’m not buying that. I’ve never believed that Biden really wanted Harris as his running mate, and there have long been reports of tension between the Biden and Harris teams. So there’s little reason to believe that she’s being primed to take his place as the de facto nominee for the Democratic Party in the event he drops out, which many people are predicting is inevitable.

My theory is that it’s related to his botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, the most consequential moment of his presidency. Afghanistan sent his approval ratings underwater, where they have stayed ever since.

Biden ignored the advice of his military advisors and lied about the situation on the ground because he wanted to have a victory photo-op for the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. As a result of Biden’s hubris, 13 American service members were killed in a terrorist attack at Kabul Airport, and the Taliban quickly took over the country, erasing all the progress we and our allies made in a twenty-year war.

One thing is for sure: Biden has to make some sort of public appearance on that day, and his location on the anniversary of 9/11 is no accident. He’s definitely trying to hide.

August 30

70 – Titus ends the siege of Jerusalem after destroying Herod’s Temple.

1574 – Guru Ram Das becomes the Fourth Sikh Guru/Master.

1791 – HMS Pandora, holding the captured prisoners from the HMS Bounty, sinks after having run aground on the outer Great Barrier Reef the previous day.

1813 – Creek “Red Sticks” warriors kill over 500 settlers, including over 250 armed militia, in Fort Mims, Alabama during the Creek War.

1836 – Brothers Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen found the city of Houston in the Republic of Texas.

1862 – Confederate forces under Edmund Kirby Smith rout Union forces under General William “Bull” Nelson defending Richmond, Kentucky.

1945 – General Douglas MacArthur lands at Atsugi airfield to set up temporary headquarters at Yokohama as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces occupying Japan.

1963 – The Moscow–Washington telephone hotline between the leaders of the U.S. and the Soviet Union goes into operation.

1967 – Thurgood Marshall is confirmed as the first black Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

1984 – Shuttle Discovery is launched on its maiden voyage in mission STS-41-D

1991 – Azerbaijan declares independence as the Soviet Union comes to an end.

1992 – After an 11 day standoff at his farm at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, where his wife and one of his children are killed, Randy Weaver surrenders to federal authorities.

1995 –  NATO launches combat operations against Bosnian Serb forces in Operation Deliberate Force.

2003 – Charles Bronson dies of cancer, age 81, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

2021 – The last remaining American troops leave Afghanistan, ending U.S. involvement in the war.

Seems like 10mm has something going for it. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of it being used successfully.

Men kill grizzly in self-defense near Whitefish

WHITEFISH, Mont. — Two men from Whitefish killed a grizzly bear in self-defense in the Whitefish Range.

One of the men was injured in an accidental shooting during the encounter with the grizzly bear, he was taken to the hospital for a gunshot wound to the shoulder.

“The two men were scouting for hunting season near Smokey Range Trailhead off Canyon Creek Road on the Flathead National Forest on the afternoon of Aug. 26 when they encountered a female grizzly bear with a cub. The men were walking through a thick section of forest when they surprised the bears inside of 15 feet. The adult bear charged the individuals, and both men shot and killed the bear. One of the men was shot in the back shoulder during the incident,” according to Montana FWP.

The following was sent out by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks:

A pair of Whitefish men killed a grizzly bear in self-defense last weekend in the Whitefish Range north of Whitefish.

One of the individuals was injured in an accidental shooting during the encounter. The man was taken to the hospital and treated for a gunshot wound to the shoulder.

The two men were scouting for hunting season near Smokey Range Trailhead off Canyon Creek Road on the Flathead National Forest on the afternoon of Aug. 26 when they encountered a female grizzly bear with a cub. The men were walking through a thick section of forest when they surprised the bears inside of 15 feet. The adult bear charged the individuals, and both men shot and killed the bear. One of the men was shot in the back shoulder during the incident.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks game wardens and members of the Wildlife Human Attack Response Team responded and investigated the incident. The bear’s behavior appeared to be defensive in the surprise, close encounter with the two men. FWP shared the initial findings with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement, and the USFWS concurred it was a self-defense situation. The grizzly bear did not have a history of conflict and was previously tagged for population monitoring work in 2009. The bear was approximately 25 years old. FWP continues to monitor the site for the cub.

Be bear aware

Montana is bear country. Avoiding conflicts with bears is easier than dealing with conflicts. Here are some precautions to help residents, recreationists and people who work outdoors avoid negative bear encounters:

Carry bear spray and be prepared to use it immediately.

Travel in groups whenever possible and make casual noise, which can help alert bears to your presence.

Stay away from animal carcasses, which often attract bears.

Follow food storage orders from the applicable land management agency.

If you encounter a bear, never approach it. Leave the area when it is safe to do so.

Keep garbage, bird feeders, pet food and other attractants put away in a secure building. Keep garbage in a secure building until the day it is collected. Certified bear-resistant garbage containers are available in many areas.

Never feed wildlife. Bears that become food conditioned lose their natural foraging behavior and pose threats to human safety. It is illegal to feed bears in Montana.

Hunting in places that have or may have grizzly bears — which includes northwest Montana — requires special precautions:

Carry bear spray and be prepared to use it immediately.

Look for bear sign and be cautious around creeks and areas with limited visibility and where any noises you might make do not carry well.

Hunt with a group of people. Making localized noise can alert bears to your presence.

Be aware that elk calls and cover scents can attract bears.

Bring the equipment and people needed to help field dress game and remove the meat from the kill site as soon as possible.

If you need to leave part of the meat in the field during processing, hang it at least 10 feet off the ground and at least 150 yards from the gut pile. Leave it where it can be observed from a distance of at least 200 yards.

Upon your return, observe the meat with binoculars. If it has been disturbed or if a bear is in the area, leave and call FWP.