Journalism’s New Propaganda Tool: Using “Confirmed” to Mean its Opposite.
Outlets claiming to have “confirmed” Jeffrey Goldberg’s story about Trump’s troops comments are again abusing that vital term

ONE OF THE MOST HUMILIATING journalism debacles of the Trump era played out on December 8, 2017, first on CNN and then on MSNBC. The spectacle kicked off on that Friday morning at 11:00 a.m. when CNN, deploying its most melodramatic music and graphics designed to convey that a real bombshell was about to be dropped, announced that anonymous sources had provided the network with a smoking gun proving the Trump/Russia conspiracy once and for all: during the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump, Jr. had received a September 4 email with a secret encryption key that gave him advanced access to WikiLeaks’ servers………

IT SEEMS THE SAME MISLEADING TACTIC is now driving the supremely dumb but all-consuming news cycle centered on whether President Trump, as first reported by the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, made disparaging comments about The Troops. Goldberg claims that “four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day” — whom the magazine refuses to name because they fear “angry tweets” — told him that Trump made these comments. Trump, as well as former aides who were present that day (including Sarah Huckabee Sanders and John Bolton), deny that the report is accurate.

So we have anonymous sources making claims on one side, and Trump and former aides (including Bolton, now a harsh Trump critic) insisting that the story is inaccurate. Beyond deciding whether or not to believe Goldberg’s story based on what best advances one’s political interests, how can one resolve the factual dispute? If other media outlets could confirm the original claims from Goldberg, that would obviously be a significant advancement of the story.

Other media outlets — including Associated Press and Fox News — now claim that they did exactly that: “confirmed” the Atlantic story. But if one looks at what they actually did, at what this “confirmation” consists of, it is the opposite of what that word would mean, or should mean, in any minimally responsible sense. AP, for instance, merely claims that “a senior Defense Department official with firsthand knowledge of events and a senior U.S. Marine Corps officer who was told about Trump’s comments confirmed some of the remarks to The Associated Press,” while Fox merely said “a former senior Trump administration official who was in France traveling with the president in November 2018 did confirm other details surrounding that trip.”

In other words, all that likely happened is that the same sources who claimed to Jeffrey Goldberg, with no evidence, that Trump said this went to other outlets and repeated the same claims — the same tactic that enabled MSNBC and CBS to claim they had “confirmed” the fundamentally false CNN story about Trump Jr. receiving advanced access to the WikiLeaks archive. Or perhaps it was different sources aligned with those original sources and sharing their agenda who repeated these claims. Given that none of the sources making these claims have the courage to identify themselves, due to their fear of mean tweets, it is impossible to know. Continue reading “”

Not really ‘news’ to anyone who’s been recently been to a gun store.
And the prices of what is available! Wheew-ee.
Reloading supplies still appear widely available…for now.

COVID hoarding hits ammunition supplies; ammo shortage continues to get worse

(KELO) — It’s an issue hunters and gun enthusiasts have run into many times before, but this year, an ammo shortage just continues to get worse.

“We try to sell ammo, but that’s been a challenge in 2020. It’s very, very hard to find ammo,” said South Dakota Military Heritage Alliance Executive Director Brian Phelps.

The gun range at the Alliance is now limiting ammo purchases when people come to use the range.

“We’ll limit them to one box of ammunition vs. the normal 300 to 500 rounds,” Phelps said.

That’s because replacing some of those rounds is nearly impossible right now.

“Our guys will sit online and work with our manufacturers, and as soon as they see ammo available, they’re hitting buy. It goes that quick once it’s available,” Phelps said.

Right now, there’s no end in sight to this tight market. Continue reading “”

The hypocrisy of anti-Second Amendment veterans

SOME VETERANS in politics and media have taken it upon themselves to rescue Americans from the “dangers” of firearms, specifically the AR-15.

Their contention is that these are “weapons of war” and therefore unfit for civilian use. Pat Ryan, an Iraq War veteran who had run for Congress in New York’s 19th district, ran a campaign ad in 2018 expressing his desire to “get rid of assault rifles.” In the wake of the Orlando shooting, Congressman Seth Moulton, a former Marine officer, stated on Twitter that “I know assault rifles. I carried one in Iraq. They have no place on America’s streets.”

As a Marine trained on the use of numerous military-grade weapons, Seth and others should know better.

The original definition of “assault rifle” from a 1970 Army Field Manual (FSTC-CW-07-03-70) has been re-purposed by the anti-gun movement to nebulously define firearms they believe civilians should not own. One of the four requirements for the field manual’s definition of an assault rifle is a “select-fire” option (i.e. you can toggle settings between single shot and fully automatic or burst). The fact that the AR-15 currently sold to civilians in America only has a single fire option means it does not meet their definition of an assault rifle. And, just in case anyone’s wondering, the “AR” in AR-15 stands for “Armalite Rifle” not “Assault Rifle.”

But details like these don’t matter to the gun control lobby, and the issue with these anti-gun veterans is that they believe they know better than the rest of us. They tout their combat experience with these “weapons of war,” demanding that we trust their message and heed their warning.

The irony is either they do not know what they are talking about, or, worse, they have suppressed that knowledge in order to appease the politics of the time. At its core, this issue is less about civilian ownership of AR-15s and more about the elitist mentality of any veteran who believes civilians are incapable or irresponsible when it comes to firearms.

As a Marine Corps officer, I carried the same M4 in Iraq that Seth Moulton did. During my time in Iraq, my Marines investigated an officer who had experienced a “negligent discharge,” where he almost accidentally shot and killed another Marine.

In Iraq, I also witnessed a court martial trial for one of my Marines who had threatened to shoot an NCO in his chain-of-command. Tragically, we also saw a Marine who used his rifle to take his own life.

Human error and human factors affect members of the military just as much as civilians. Should we prevent veterans from owning firearms because they have a higher-than-average rate of suicide compared to the rest of the U.S. population?

At the end of the day, if a person is responsible and knowledgeable about the firearms they own, what difference does it make if he/she is veteran or civilian?

Governor Chris Sununu has done a great job stemming the tide of anti-gun legislation coming through the New Hampshire Legislature. Unfortunately, anti-gun veterans threaten to tip the scales of the discussion in favor of more gun control because they claim to know better than the rest of us.

Most veterans I know do not want to outlaw AR-15s or limit civilian firearm ownership and it is time for the silent majority of pro-Second Amendment veterans to speak their minds, especially in an election year.

If we fail to do so, we are foregoing a responsibility to speak out against the same injustices we joined the military to defend against. And sadly, this issue extends beyond just the discussion of Second Amendment rights.

The “I-know-better-than-the-average-civilian” mentality has become the de facto stance of the corrupt and powerful in our government. Look no further than the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, where a handful of rogue officials sought to undo the will of the people.

Mike Judge lives in Mason.

 

Review: ‘Gun Control Myths’ by John R. Lott, Jr, PhD

Doctor of Economics John Lott, Jr. is the expert on gun research because he’s done most of it. His Crime Prevention Research Center is the central repository of answers to all questions about the wrongness of gun control and how in truth guns save lives.  More Guns, Less Crime (his classic introduction) and his previous book The War on Guns are the perfect foundations for Gun Control Myths—together these form a compendium that addresses most of the fraudulent claims that have been made about how guns surely (but don’t) cause “gun violence”.

I know Dr. Lott, and believe me, he’s no Dan Quayle. He’s the real thing—an ultra-conscientious researcher who makes all his data public, willingly considers criticism, and addresses newly published research by others as well as conducting his own projects to add to our knowledge base. This behavior is exactly opposite to that of nearly all other gun-related researchers, who often for not-so-good reason obscure their data, use skewed analyses, and achieve their preferred results.

In Gun Control Myths he doesn’t attempt to cover every misleading idea about guns, but has chosen to address the biggest issues of today. He begins by correcting the errors of several of the seemingly comprehensive summaries in circulation about the dangers of gun ownership. He moves on to thorough discussions about mass shootings, which are so preoccupying although very rare and more often than the media reports, ended by good guys with guns.

There has been too much manipulative politicization for far too long about guns used badly by criminals and psychopaths. In addition to correcting media misreporting, Lott points out the FBI’s “political biases [and] corruption” beginning with the Obama administration that have not been fully rooted out. This reflects worry about many levels of government picking winners and users in how they interpret laws that blatantly infringe on citizens’ “right to keep and bear arms”.

Lott is admirable in accepting no organizational funding, which leaves the non-profit CRPC running on a shoestring compared to Bloomberg and blue state millions pouring into generating anti-gun studies every year. Thankfully, the excellence of CRPC’s work continues to win on quality if not quantity.

Do you value graphs and tables? There are scores and scores, from both sides of the “debate” as he shows there’s really none. How about footnotes? There are hundreds. Appendices? Six, over 17 pages and online. John Lott leaves no room for misunderstanding at any level of inquiry.

It would be nice to refer to an index, which is absent. However, that’s a minimal issue because the chapters are clearly focused on particular topics, which makes it easy to find a specific item or reference again.

There’s no question that, as Lott concludes, “the reality is that an armed citizenry is as necessary as it’s ever been.” And given the threats lined up against our staying rightfully armed, we must arm ourselves with the facts to oppose the false “truthiness” of the anti-gun movement.

John Lott again gives us the ammunition we need.

Robert B Young, MD

— DRGO Editor Robert B. Young, MD is a psychiatrist practicing in Pittsford, NY, an associate clinical professor at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, and a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.

Another business with the ‘Mysterious Stranger’ perquisite

Park Manor robbery: Man shot, killed while trying to rob South Side gas station

CHICAGO (WLS) — A man trying to rob a gas station in Park Manor on the South Side Thursday night was shot and killed in the process, Chicago police said.

The man tried to rob the gas station in the 6700-block of South Cottage Grove Avenue about 9:50 p.m. with a shotgun, police said. But another individual shot the would-be robber in the back and face before the shooter left the store, according to police. The man who was shot was transported to University of Chicago Medical Center, where he later died. The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified him as 55-year-old Tyrone Smith. He lived in Park Manor.

The shooter has not yet been found, police said. Area One detectives are currently investigating. No one else was injured during the incident.

Man shot in the arm after attacking ex-girlfriend, 2-year-old child

SAN ANTONIO – A man was shot in the arm and may face charges after attacking his ex-girlfriend and her 2-year-old child on the West Side, according to San Antonio police. The incident happened a little after 8 p.m. Friday in the 3700 block of Wurzbach Road.

Officers were called to the scene for a report of a shooting. Upon arrival, police saw a 25-year-old man standing outside of the residence shot in the arm, officials said. The man was not cooperating with officers during the investigation and also appeared intoxicated, police said.

Police said the incident happened after the man came over to his ex-girlfriend’s apartment, and they argued over property. The man then reportedly grabbed his ex-girlfriend by the neck and threw her down to the ground, police said. The man also went and allegedly grabbed her 2-year-old child by the neck, and that’s when his ex-girlfriend reached into her purse, grabbed a gun and shot him once in the arm, according to SAPD.

The man’s injuries were non-life-threatening, and he was taken to University Hospital.

Police said the woman acted in self-defense, and the man that was injured may face charges.

Since I can remember, a standard ploy by demoncraps is to say that the Republicans threaten to cut Social Security, hoping the elderly will be stampeded into voting for them. When even the Washington Post,  an enemy of all things conservative, give their highest – 4 Pinocchios – indictment for lying to their beloved candidate, well………………..

WaPo Fact Checks Biden on Misleading Ad About Trump’s Plans for Social Security

The Washington Post called the Biden campaign’s bluff on a new ad that makes some lofty accusations about President Trump’s plans for Social Security.

Trump recently signed an executive order that would suspend the payment of payroll taxes until the end of the year starting on September 1. The majority of Social Security is financed through the payroll tax. Of course, taxpayers would still be expected to pay at a later date. The deferral was intended to help Americans who are struggling through the coronavirus pandemic, the White House explained. Trump also said that, if re-elected, he would aim to end the payroll tax altogether.

Here’s how the Biden camp spun it in their new ad, “Depleted.”

“The chief actuary of the Social Security Administration just released an analysis of Trump’s planned cuts to Social Security,” the ad claims. “Under Trump’s plan, Social Security would become permanently depleted by the middle of calendar year 2023. If Trump gets his way, Social Security benefits will run out in just three years from now. Don’t let it happen. Joe Biden will protect Social Security.”

The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler is here with the fact check.

Given that few lawmakers supported temporarily suspending the Social Security payroll tax, it’s a stretch to think Trump would win enough support to permanently suspend it — even if that were his policy. But if he wins reelection, it’s fair to think he could win congressional approval to cover the few months of payments owed by the Americans covered by his executive order………….

“The president was referring to making forgiveness of the temporary payroll tax deferral permanent,” said White House spokeswoman Sarah Matthews. “President Trump wants to fully fund and protect Social Security as he has stated numerous times.”

The ad asserts that if “Trump gets his way,” benefits will run out. But actually the letter says if transfers are made from general funds, no benefits would run out. That, at least at the moment, is what Trump says he would do.

That adds up to Four Pinocchios.

Worth pointing out
The Atlantic is owned by a Biden megadonor.

Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs, is the majority stakeholder in the publication. Powell Jobs was named by The New York Times among those who financed at least $500,000 of then-presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign in the 2nd quarter this year.

Gun Control Activists Try To Spin August’s Record High Gun Sales

Since March, we’ve seen a new monthly record for NICS checks set every four weeks or so, and on Monday, when the FBI released its background check numbers for August, the trend continued. The 3.1 million checks performed by the FBI in August was down from July’s total of 3.6 million, but still set a new record for the month.

If you’re a gun control activist, how on earth do you spin these numbers? The National Shooting Sports Foundation estimates that more than 5-million Americans have become gun owners this year, demand is sky high, and there are also hundreds of thousands of Americans who’d like to join in the gun-buying frenzy but can’t because of long delays with gun licensing in several anti-gun states.

Everytown for Gun Safety tried their best to put a doom-and-gloom spin on the background check numbers, claiming that the polls are still on their side.

“With protestors being shot in the streets and gun violence on the rise, more guns is not the recipe for public safety,” said Nick Suplina, managing director of law and policy at Everytown for Gun Safety. “Fortunately, polls show this jump in sales leads more Americans to support common sense gun safety laws, which is bad news for every 2020 candidate who is still taking orders from the gun lobby, starting with President Trump.”

Polls show more Americans support gun control than they did a few months ago? Not according to this Rasmussen Poll from mid-August, which shows support for new gun laws cratering. Last August, Rasmussen found nearly 2/3rds of poll respondents agreed with the idea that more gun laws are needed. This August it had dropped 12 points to 54%. Still a majority, but a bare one, and the numbers are falling fast. Continue reading “”

“The point is the system we are fighting.”
Well, at least he’s an honest seditionist.

Maine Dem Campaign Staffers Helped Bail Out Violent Criminals.

At least seven staffers for Maine Democratic Senate candidate Sara Gideon donated to a bail fund that releases looters and other violent criminals from jail.

Gideon’s staffers posted on social media about their donations to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, a group that pays criminal bail for protesters and looters regardless of whether they were violent or which crimes they committed. The donations came after individuals involved with anti-police demonstrations began looting and burning businesses in Minneapolis.

The Minnesota Freedom Fund has said it does not consider individuals’ charges before bailing them out. “I will see [the charges] after I pay the bill because it is not the point,” Greg Lewin, the fund’s interim executive director, said of the group’s efforts. “The point is the system we are fighting.” The group primarily aids Minneapolis rioters, who have caused $55 million in damages and left numerous businesses destroyed and parts of the city burned down. Continue reading “”

Decorated Veteran Who Saved Lives at Pearl Harbor Dies at 99

Decorated World War II veteran Floyd Welch of East Lyme, Connecticut, died peacefully in his home on Monday.

Floyd Welch was born in February of 1921. Twenty years later, he was serving aboard the USS Maryland. On December 7, Welch was stepping out of the shower when he heard alarms followed by a series of deafening explosions. Welch emerged on deck to see the USS Oklahoma overturned and sinking into the Pacific Ocean.

After he and the rest of the USS Maryland crew pulled survivors from the waves, Welch and his fellow soldiers boarded the USS Oklahoma where they heard tapping coming from inside the ship. They took immediate, and intelligent, action.

“By using blueprints of the Oklahoma, so as not to burn into a fuel void, we began the long and extremely difficult process of cutting holes through the bottom steel plates,” Welch wrote of his experience. “When we could see the planes coming, we would try to find cover. We would cut near where we heard the trapped crewmen tapping. In all, I believe 33 men from the Oklahoma were rescued through these holes.”

Welch continued his service aboard the USS Maryland until World War II ended. Continue reading “”

UNSW: “Climate change and the tyranny of psychological distance”

The University of New South Wales, birthplace of the Ship of Fools expedition which got stuck in the Antarctic ice, is concerned that people rapidly switch to other priorities, when disasters which don’t affect them personally are no longer front page news.

Climate change and the tyranny of psychological distance

03 SEP 2020   CAROLINE TANG

With last summer’s bushfires largely out of the headlines, has the psychological distance people might feel towards climate change increased?

UNSW Sydney’s Professor Ben Newell has been researching climate change psychology for a decade and his work focuses on how to tackle the preconceived notions people have which cloud their decision-making in the face of an uncertain future.

Prof. Newell said the past summer’s fire season was “extremely bad” but he wondered what would happen to people’s attitudes towards climate change if the bushfires were less severe this summer.

“Last summer’s smoke haze was a big concern because some people were seeing it as the new norm. They shrugged and said, ‘Oh, it’s smoky today and we’ve had a couple of months of it, whatever,’ but it seems wrong to already be at the point of accepting that’s just the way things are now,” he said……..

Prof. Newell defined psychological distance as a “construct” in one of his studies: “Psychological distance refers to the extent to which an object is removed from oneself; for example, in likelihood of occurrence, in time, in geographical space or in social distance,” he said.

“So, if people perceive climate change as psychologically distant from themselves, they could construe it in more abstract terms, potentially impeding action if the threat is perceived as less real, tangible or relevant.

“For example, the melting of the Arctic and Antarctic has been a wake-up call for years now but because they are sparsely populated, it’s not front and centre of many people’s concerns…….

“There’s a lot of literature that shows people adapt and acquiesce to seeing lots of the same type of stimulus over and over again – so, people become more and more likely to say, ‘Oh yeah, it’s just the same thing’,” he said.

“Sometimes even I find myself thinking, ‘I can’t think about this stuff anymore because it’s just too hard’, but I’m reminded of the necessity to keep talking about it, to keep reiterating the message.

“Even if there is a danger of habituation or disengagement, the danger of not talking about it is much worse. So, the continuous reminder these things are happening now and will keep happening again has to be part and parcel of it.”……………

Read more: https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-tech/climate-change-and-tyranny-psychological-distance

What I find fascinating about Professor Newell’s words is the suggestion that he has to make a continuous personal effort to overcome his own natural tendency to habituate, to dismiss climate change as a high priority issue.

If even believers have to keep kicking themselves to believe, the end of the climate movement may be closer than we think.

From the multiple search engine hits with multiple dates, this apparently happens quite often in ChIraq.

Off-Duty Cook County Corrections Officer Shoots Armed Robber Who Was Trying To Carjack Him

CHICAGO (CBS) — An off-duty Cook County Sheriff’s corrections officer shot and wounded a man who was trying to carjack him along with two others in South Chicago early Thursday morning, officials said.

Around 2:30 a.m., the off-duty corrections officer was getting out of his car in the 7900 block of South Essex Avenue when three men walked up and tried to steal his car, according to the Sheriff’s office.

One of the men had a gun, the Sheriff’s office said.

The corrections officer fired his own gun and struck the armed man in the groin and arm, the Sheriff’s office said. The other two would-be robbers ran off, and the suspect who was shot was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was treated and released into Chicago Police custody.

A .38-caliber pistol was recovered at the scene, the Sheriff’s office said. It was not clear if the suspected armed robber fired it during the incident.

The robbery suspect is on parole for felony theft for stealing a television from a pawn shop, the Sheriff’s office said.

Chicago Police are investigating.

Student’s Love Trump’s Second Term Agenda…
When They Think It’s Biden’s

Patriot Prayer is only a ‘far-right’ group in the febrile imagination of the Times; the publisher & staff believing anyone one nanometer to the right of Stalin is a raving lunatic who makes the John Birch Society appear ‘soft’ on communism.

Suspect in Fatal Portland Shooting Is Killed by Officers During Arrest
Michael Forest Reinoehl, an antifa supporter, died when law enforcement went to arrest him, four officials said. He was being investigated in the fatal shooting of a member of a far-right group.

SEATTLE — A man being investigated in the fatal shooting of a right-wing activist who was part of a pro-Trump caravan in Portland, Ore., was killed on Thursday night when authorities moved to arrest him, according to three law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation.

The officials said the suspect, Michael Forest Reinoehl, 48, was killed during the encounter in Lacey, Wash., southwest of Seattle, when a federal fugitive task force moved to apprehend him.

An arrest warrant had been issued by the Portland police earlier Thursday, on the same day that Vice News published an interview with Mr. Reinoehl in which he appeared to admit to the shooting, saying, “I had no choice.”

This will be the first, living, member of 1st SFOD-D (Delta Force) to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions performed while assigned to the unit. Sergeants Shughart and Gordon received the award posthumously for actions in Somalia back in ’93. John Cavaiani was assigned to the unit years afterwards.

SERGEANT MAJOR THOMAS P. PAYNE

Sgt. Maj. Thomas “Patrick” Payne, an instructor assigned to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, grew up in Batesburg-Leesville and Lugoff, South Carolina, and graduated from high school in 2002. Part of the 9/11 generation, Payne felt a strong sense of duty to serve his country. After high school, he enlisted in the Army as an Infantryman 11B and completed the Basic Airborne Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, in 2002 and the Ranger Indoctrination Program (now known as the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program) in early 2003.

He was then assigned as a rifleman to A Co., 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, where he also served as a sniper and sniper team leader until November 2007, the year he was selected for assignment to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Since then, he has served within USASOC as a special operations team member, assistant team sergeant, team sergeant and instructor.

 

 

Joe Biden Goes to Kenosha and Kills Off What’s Left of the #MeToo Movement

Joe Biden is leaving the basement today to go to Kenosha, Wisconsin. He is not going to survey the damage or provide solutions for business owners and residents whose lives and businesses have been destroyed. He’s not going to explain how he will support law enforcement in providing security for the law-abiding residents of Kenosha.

Instead, the centerpiece of his visit that is being promoted is his meeting with the family of Jacob Blake. Biden is going to lionize a man accused of sexual assault, who had a warrant out for his arrest, then showed up at the home of his alleged victim, and actively resisted arrest while trying to retrieve a knife from his car. He marched to the driver’s side door while officers were telling him to stop and tazed him twice to impede his progress.

Specifically, ABC notes that Biden will be meeting with Jacob Blake Sr. as described in this article at Heavy, the father has a significant history of anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, anti-white, and misogynistic social media posts (language warning). He also appears to be a supporter of Louis Farrakhan. And the effective leader of the Democrat Party will participate in a community meeting with this man to “bring together Americans to heal and address the challenges we face.” Irony anyone? Continue reading “”

Appears to me that trying to rob people at car washes isn’t the smartest thing to do. Of course, no one ever said that most criminals were smart.

Suspected robber fatally shot at Wash Pointe Car Wash in Roseville

ROSEVILLE, Mich. – Police are investigating an attempted robbery that resulted in a fatal shooting that killed one of the accused robbers, Roseville police said.

The shooting happened at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Wash Pointe Car Wash. Police say a 30-year-old man was at the car wash and was approached by two male suspects who revealed a handgun and attempted to rob the car wash patron.

The car wash patron was armed and police said he “exchanged gunfire with one of the alleged robbers.” During the shooting, one of the robbers — now identified as a 16-year-old boy from Detroit — was shot and later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

The 30-year-old man was initially arrested and then was released pending investigation and prosecutor review. The second male suspect fled the scene on foot and is being sought by police.

Carjackers charged with murder after victim kills accomplice in self-defense

A man and woman have been charged with murder after an armed carjacking victim shot and killed their 18-year-old accomplice in self defense at a South County car wash over the weekend.

Police officers found Brandon Whitfield, 18, of the 1700 block of Rosado in Spanish Lake, 63138, dying of at least one gunshot wound when they responded to the scene at the Classic Car Wash in the 4800 block of Lemay Ferry Road around 1:17 a.m. Sunday. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

St. Louis County prosecutors on Tuesday charged Markus Billingsley, 34, and Radonna Smith, 36, both of the 3900 block of South Grand Boulevard in St. Louis, 63118, with a slate of felonies in Whitfield’s death. Continue reading “”

What was that book by Kennedy; Profiles in courage chutzpah?

Pelosi says San Francisco salon ‘owes me an apology for setting me up.’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is asking for an apology from her salon — and what it did to her hair has nothing to do with it.

On Tuesday, Erica Kious shared a security video of a maskless Pelosi getting a haircut inside her San Francisco salon despite the fact that the area only allows outdoor haircuts right now; Kious also admitted she knew about the appointment ahead of time and let it happen. Pelosi wouldn’t apologize to Kious or to her critics on Wednesday, instead asking Kious to apologize to her instead.

“I take responsibility for trusting the word of a neighborhood salon I’ve been to over the years many times,” Pelosi said on Wednesday, claiming the salon told her it could take one customer at a time. “As it turns out, it was a setup, so I take responsibility for falling for a setup,” she continued. “I think that this salon owes me an apology, for setting me up.” Continue reading “”