Archive for 2020

THE AMERICAN PRAVDA: I had to go to an Australian news source to discover that the driver of the vehicle that sped into BLM protesters in Seattle is an African American. (Apologies if one of my colleagues at Instapundit covered this, I have been away for the holiday weekend.) I have to assume that American media outlets know this, and decided intentionally not to mention it to create the implication that this was a racist murder, rather than a guy driving recklessly on what he thought was an abandoned highway. I increasingly feel like I’m living somewhere akin to the former USSR, in terms of the way the media are dedicated to a particular narrative regardless of the facts. At least unlike in the USSR I can access alternative sources to our equivalent of Pravda.

HARSH BUT FAIR:

OPEN THREAD: There’s a million ways, to make things work out.

REPORT: Protest mob shoots eight year old girl in Atlanta:

According to police, the child was riding in a car with her mom and an adult friend when car exited the interstate near the intersection of University Avenue and Pryor Road. Police said the driver was attempting to enter the parking lot on the 1200 block of Pryor Road when they were confronted by a group of armed individuals who were blocking the entrance.

Someone in the group began shooting at the car, hitting it multiple times including the shot that hit the child.

Related: “The Georgia Department of Public Safety Headquarters on United Avenue [in Atlanta] was vandalized early Sunday morning when a large group descended on the building armed with rocks, spray paint, fireworks, and other materials.”

UPDATE: “Secoriya Williamson, Secoriea’s father, also spoke out. ‘They say black lives matter,’ Williamson said. ‘You killed your own this time. You killed a child. She didn’t do nothing to nobody.’”

UPDATE (9:09 PM EDT): Police responding to 2nd deadly shooting in 24 hours at burned Wendy’s. “On Sunday night, officers responded to 1192 Pryor Street, next door to the Wendy’s, and found two people who appeared to have been shot. A third victim arrived at Grady hospital a short time later.”

(Updated and bumped.)

THE ALL-AMERICAN GLORY OF YACHT ROCK:

America’s truly sublime musical innovation is Yacht Rock. Savor the wit of that oxymoron: How hard can you rock if you’re on a yacht? The boat itself rocks like a baby, not like Led Zeppelin. So Yacht Rock is gentle, but it can’t be sad. There is no moping on a yacht. If you want to be glum and wear black, get off the boat and go find a jazz club. Not that anyone would ever invite you on their yacht in the first place.

The essence of a Yacht Rock song (my Spotify playlist is here) is that you can picture it being blasted on the deck of a yar and saucy watercraft circa 1981. Girls in cut-off shorts and bikini tops toss their arms in the air and say, “Whoo!” while the owner and host — a guy named Brad or Chad or Gary, who struck it rich with, say, a string of Camaro dealerships and is himself a sort of Camaro in human form — high-fives the guests, bites his lower lip, and moves a little off the beat, occasionally interjecting, “Awesome, man!” Brad or Chad or Gary drinks only the classy beers such as Lowenbrau or Michelob and has a cooler stocked with colorful wine coolers for the girls. Only his one very special lady will be present later when he opens up a perfectly chilled bottle of Aste Spumante. His captain’s chair is made of rich Corinthian leather.

Splash on some Paco Rabanne, pop the collar on your Vinyard Vines polo shirt, and read the whole thing.

IT’S COME TO THIS:

IT’S COME TO THIS: Frederick Douglass statue vandalized on anniversary of his famous Rochester, NY speech. “Located in Maplewood Park, the statue ‘had been placed over the fence to the gorge and was leaning against the fence’ on the river side, according to a statement from Rochester police. The statue was left about 50 feet from its pedestal. The base and lower part of the statue was damaged, as was a finger on the statue’s left hand. ‘It’s particularly painful that it happened at this time,’ said Carvin Eison, a leader of the project that brought the statues to the city. Eison said the damage to the statue is too significant for it to be repaired, but another will take its place.”