Gun Free Zone

The Italian composer, who scored more than 500 films — seven for his countryman Leone after they had met as kids in elementary school — died in Rome following complications from a fall last week in which he broke his femur.

Ennio Morricone, Prolific Italian Composer for the Movies, Dies at 91

Just two of his most memorable scores to commemorate his passing:

Once again, 2020sucks.

Hat Tip Robert E.

If you are wondering what is this about:

A study released Thursday links the use of hydroxychloroquine by COVID-19 patients to lower death rates, as health experts around the country try to find an effective treatment to combat the pandemic.

The study, conducted by Michigan’s Henry Ford Health System, states that hydroxychloroquine, the controversial anti-malarial drug heralded by the White House as a potential treatment for the coronavirus, “significantly” lowered the mortality rate among COVID-19 patients.

In patients who received the drug, the death rate was 13 percent as compared to a death rate of 26.4 percent in patients who weren’t administered the treatment.

“The findings have been highly analyzed and peer-reviewed,” Marcus Zervos, co-author of the study and division head of Infectious Disease for Henry Ford Health System, said in a statement. “We attribute our findings that differ from other studies to early treatment, and part of a combination of interventions that were done in supportive care of patients, including careful cardiac monitoring. Our dosing also differed from other studies not showing a benefit of the drug.”

Study ties hydroxychloroquine use to lower COVID-19 death rate

In less “glamorous” and “civilized” days, these politicians would be removed form their homes in the middle of the night and probably hanged from the nearest tree for allowing innocent people to die for their political profit.

Not saying that everything old should be new again…

A little exchange I had in Twitter

I hope I am not alone in the sentiment. This kind of blockades upgraded from annoyance to ambush points.

We better have a plan to deal with road closures.

The shocking wave of violence came as the city was reeling from ongoing anti-police brutality protests, weeks of lockdown orders prompted by the coronavirus outbreak and soaring summer temperatures. Adding to the chaotic atmosphere, illegal fireworks exploded throughout the five boroughs all night long

41 shot overnight in NYC with at least 4 dead in citywide explosion of gun violence

Maybe I am reading to much into this, but are they saying shooting fireworks is violence?

Sunday’s shooters took advantage of an ongoing atmosphere of crisis, said Councilman Donovan Richards, who chairs the Council’s Public Safety Committee.
“The people exploiting this moment are sensing the division on the ground and they’re totally taking advantage of the streets, without a doubt,” the Queens Dem told The News.

My reply will be a copy/paste I made yesterday on a post about the same thing happening in Atlanta:

No shit, Junior? You really did not see this coming? Either you are lying or you are all kinds of unmitigated stupid. Were you expecting criminals to act honorable and stop their evil ways just because you went after the ones that faced them?  Please tell me you saw this in high school:  What happens to one species when you remove its natural predator, the one that keeps the numbers in check from the ecosystem?

(I am all for smart recycling. Hehehe.)

Same as with the moron in Atlanta, Councilman Richards has trouble understanding why the experiment went Tango Uniform. They thought their ideas were sound, they have the best interest of the  people at heart and it has to work because their motives are pure.!
The problem is Reality is a serial rapist and does not spare the stupid, elected or otherwise.

But Atlanta and New York are being helpful after all. You may have noticed that politicians that about a week or so ago could not see a camera without saying “defund the police” are now belting a different aria altogether and doing a Whoopie Goldberg “It is not really defund-defund” verbal acrobatics; anything which would reduce cops in the street and have their asses unelectable.

The hilarious part is that they will try to pin this on Trump, but I doubt the majority of their voters will buy it.

We’ll see.

Because of Independence Day, we were motivated to watch the outstanding series, John Adams on HBO GO.

In the very first episode, John Adams was hired as counsel to defend the British soldiers responsible for the Boston Massacre.

It is an amazing trial.  Watch the closing arguments made by the prosecution.

Duty to retreat.

In fact, the entire argument made by the prosecution: that the soldiers are guilty of murder because they went out armed and didn’t run away when face with violent attackers could be made by the prosecution today in Boston against any citizen who manages to get a MA license to carry and uses it in self-defense.

This is why stand your ground so so important.  Duty to retreat has been the tool to strip people of their ability to defend themselves in America since before we were a country.

I spinoff from Miguel’s post.

This is a post about the death of Summer Taylor in Seattle:

A woman named by police as 24-year-old Summer Taylor died of her injuries on July 4 after she and and another woman were hit by a speeding car during a protest on a closed Seattle highway.⁰

People gathered in Downtown Seattle for a vigil pic.twitter.com/g3qY4LmuHI

— Bloomberg Originals (@bbgoriginals) July 5, 2020

This is a selection of replies:

Summer used they/them pronouns. Please don’t misgender them now.

— I.B.I (@allthelightisee) July 5, 2020

It’s “them/they” you misgendering bigots.

— Christine? (@Qaffles) July 5, 2020

Green hair and tattoos, “non-binary femme,” member of Occupy ICE and DSA.

This wave of fascists is more uniform and identifiable than previous waves of fascists.  If there is one thing that fascists love is conformity, even their non-conformity is conforming.