Author Archives: Dana Pico

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Would-be armed robber in Philly gets a death sentence No, not by Let 'em Loose Larry Krasner, but by his intended victim

When a city like Philadelphia set a new record for homicides with 562 last year, and is on pace for 510 this year, which would be second-place all time, no one should be surprised when the law-abiding citizens of the City of Brotherly Love decide that they need to protect themselves, and not depend on the police.

Man fatally shoots cyclist wielding gun in South Philly

When officers arrived, they found the bicyclist on the street with a gunshot wound to his head.

by Rodrigo Torrejón | Thursday, May 12, 2022

2200 block of South 6th Street, approaching West Moyamensing Avenue, September 2019, via Google Maps. Click to enlarge.

A man shot and killed a would-be robber who was riding a bicycle and wielding a gun in the Lower Moyamensing section of South Philadelphia late Wednesday night, police said.Just before 11:30 p.m., on the 2200 block of South Sixth Street near West Moyamensing Avenue, a 30-year-old man on a bicycle approached a 24-year-old man who was standing outside his home smoking a cigarette, police said. The man on the bike said he was going to rob him, at which point the 24-year-old pulled out a gun and shot at the man as he was dismounting from the bicycle. Continue reading →

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Our Freedom of Religion vindicated!

St Elizabeth’s Catholic Church, where I attend Mass

We were critical, from the very beginning, of the authoritarian dictates of so many of our nation’s governors when the COVID-19 scare first erupted.

On March 19, 2020 Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY) unconstitutionally ordered all churches closed in the Bluegrass State. That order covered the Easter holiday, the most important day in the Christian calendar. When a couple of churches ignored the Governor’s order, he sent the Kentucky State Police to record license plates and vehicle identification numbers on vehicles in church parking lots, on Easter Sunday!

Two federal judges ruled against the Governor, allowing churches to reopen, but they did not rule until May 8, 2020.

Then, on July 24, 2020, he asked church leaders to suspend services for two Sundays, which most declined to do, and again on November 19th made another request that churches close, for “three or four weeks,” a request that would have taken them through Thanksgiving. Fortunately, that request was denied as well.

Now comes yet another court ruling, telling us that the Constitution means what it says, and that state Governors cannot restrict our freedom of religion: Continue reading →

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I don’t want to be an [insert slang term for the rectum here], but sometimes it is necessary to be an [insert slang term for the rectum here], for the good of our society and of ourselves.

William Teach, who graciously pinch hits for me on the days I cannot attend to my poor site, noted:

Hot Take: Pro-Life Republicans Want Illegal Alien Children At Border To Die

by William Teach | Saturday, May 14, 2022 | 7:00 AM EDT

This is one of the reasons it’s really just about impossible to have conversations with the hardcore leftists: they take a small conversation and dial it up to 11, as we see from this Rolling Stone piece:

‘Pro-Life’ Conservatives Are Mad the Government Isn’t Letting Migrant Infants Starve to Death

William Vaillancourt | Friday, May 13, 2022 | 2:08 PM

There’s a baby formula shortage in the United States. Republican lawmakers and conservative media members are taking frustration out on immigrants.

Fox News hosts have spent the past 24 hours raising hell over immigrant babies at the U.S.-Mexico border receiving formula, arguing that it should instead be distributed to Americans first. “[For] American families there’s a shortage, but if you’re a migrant, don’t worry because Uncle Sam has a stash of that,” Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy said Friday morning.

There’s more at Mr Teach’s original.

No, Republicans do not want illegal immigrant babies to starve; we want them to thrive, but we want then to thrive in Mexico!

If the illegals know that there’s food, including baby formula, waiting for them, north of the border, they will try to come north of the border. If they are made aware that there is no food, and no baby formula, waiting for then north of the border, they won’t cross the border.

We put cheese in mousetraps to lure the mouses[1]Yes, I know that the plural of mouse is mice, but mouses is a Picoism. into the traps; set a mousetrap without bait, and mice won’t get trapped in it. The same logic applies to humans; if there’s no food awaiting them, they won’t show up!

I’ve said it before: to be a conservative, you have to be willing to be an [insert slang term for the rectum here], because being a Nice Guy™ simply brings about the bad behavior you want to prevent. That’s why George Soros-sponsored prosecutors like Larry Krasner generate an increase in crime, because in the course of being a Nice Guy™ and not locking up the bad guys, they enable the bad guys.

I don’t want to be an [insert slang term for the rectum here], but sometimes it is necessary to be an [insert slang term for the rectum here], for the good of our society, and of ourselves.

References

References
↑1 Yes, I know that the plural of mouse is mice, but mouses is a Picoism.
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About that “accountability journalism”?

On Monday, May 9th, I received the email pictured at the right from Annie McCain Madonia, Chief Advancement Officer for the Lenfest Institute for Journalism, the non-profit owner of The Philadelphia Inquirer, saying:

As an Inquirer reader, you know the importance of quality, in-depth local news. Inquirer journalists are dedicated to keeping you informed and connected to the latest news in the Philadelphia area.

The Inquirer is owned by The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, which makes it the largest American newspaper owned by a nonprofit organization. This innovative ownership structure helps support investigative news and accountability journalism, new technology, and a newsroom of growing diversity and community impact.

Thanks to the support of individuals like you, The Inquirer has the resources to report on stories that impact and improve our communities. Will you join me in making a gift to support The Inquirer’s journalism, and double your impact with this match?

“Investigative news”? “Accountability journalism”?

Why, then, is there not a single mention on the Inquirer’s website, of a story which appeared an entire day ago concerning Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s failure to pay his taxes? Continue reading →

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“What difference, at this point, does it make?”

The title is taken from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s infamous statement as she was trying to defend herself from charges of ineptitude as four Americans were killed by rioters in Benghazi. But that statement can apply to so many things.

Clarence Dixon

Clarence Dixon’s Final Words Before Execution in Arizona

by Khaleda Rahman | Thursday, May 12, 2022

Clarence Dixon chided medical staff in his final moments before he was put to death in Arizona’s first use of the death penalty since 2014.

Dixon, 66, who was blind and in declining health, died by lethal injection at the state prison in Florence for the 1978 killing of 21-year-old Arizona State University student Deana Bowdoin.

He was executed at 10 a.m. local time, according to Frank Strada, a deputy director with Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry.

“The Arizona Supreme Court should follow the laws,” Strada said Dixon declared shortly before he was put to death, according to The Associated Press.

“They denied my appeals and petitions to change the outcome of this trial. I do and will always proclaim innocence. Now, let’s do this sh**.”

There’s more at the original. Continue reading →

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Philadelphia Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier doesn’t want her “Black and brown” constituents paying more in property taxes

One great thing about moving back to our home state of Kentucky from Pennsylvania: property taxes are much lower in the Bluegrass State! Property taxes on what was our home in Jim Thorpe are currently listed as $3,228 according to Zillow, while we paid slightly under $400 in property taxes on our current abode last October.

No, $400 is not a typo!

Black and brown homeowners unfairly targeted by Philly’s new property assessments

The Kenney administration cannot claim to center either racial or housing equity if they are making it more difficult for working class and Black and brown homeowners to afford to their homes.

by Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier (D – 3rd District) | Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier (D-Philadelphia). Photo from her city biography page and is a public record. Click to enlarge.

Philadelphia prides itself on its high homeownership rates, especially among working class residents. But the massive property assessment increases that were announced earlier this week present an immediate threat to this fact of life in our city — especially in Black and brown neighborhoods experiencing rapid gentrification. A disproportionate number of these neighborhoods are in the 3rd Councilmanic District, where residential assessments have increased by 50% on average.

I will admit to some amusement that The Philadelphia Inquirer’s use of the Associated Press Stylebook has led to the “Black and brown” formulation when it comes to race. The AP decided that black was to be capitalized when referring to race, but white was not. Continue reading →

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Senator Bob Casey lies through his scummy teeth! Another Catholic Democrat who finds being a Democrat more important than being Catholic

In 2004, Pennsylvania’s Auditor General, Bob Casey, Jr, ran for State Treasurer. Because I wanted to support declared pro-life candidates, and because I wanted to see more pro-life Democrats in the Democratic Party, I went ahead and cast my ballot for Mr Casey.

This was obviously a mistake.

Sen. Bob Casey said he’ll back a bill to ensure abortion access, a new marker for the ‘pro-life’ Democrat

Casey, and his family, have a long and complicated history with abortion laws, but the Democratic senator said he will vote for the Women’s Health Protection Act.

by Jonatham Tamari | Tuesday, May 10, 2022

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bob Casey will vote to support a bill to ensure access to abortion nationwide, he said Tuesday, taking a significant step in favor of abortion rights despite long describing himself as a “pro-life” Democrat.

Casey, whose namesake father was part of a landmark Supreme Court case on abortion restrictions, announced his stand Tuesday ahead of a Senate vote, expected as soon as Wednesday, that would attempt to write into law the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion and blocking many bans.

While the vote is certain to fail in the face of opposition from Republicans and likely from West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin, it represents Democrats’ first formal pushback against a forthcoming Supreme Court decision that appears poised to overturn the pivotal abortion ruling.

Casey, in a statement, said he has never voted for and would not support “a categorical ban on abortion” that could result from the expected ruling.

There’s more at the original.

What exactly does “pro-life” mean to someone who has claimed that definition, but who is planning to vote for a bill which would codify a ‘right’ to prenatal infanticide into federal law? Continue reading →

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The pro-abortionists really, really don’t like it when someone uses plain and concise language If abortion is such a good and noble thing, why must the left mealy-mouth their words about it?

We have previously noted how the credentialed media use control of language to try to influence the debate toward their favored positions, which always seem to be toward the left.

Twitter did so by prohibiting “targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals.” Simply put, if someone wanted to tweet something about William Thomas, the male swimmer who claims to be female and is on the University of Pennsylvania’s women’s swim team using the name “Lia,” that person would have to concede to Mr Thomas’ claim that he is a woman by using the feminine pronouns and his assumed name, not his real one. The New York Times laughably gave major OpEd space to Chad Malloy, a man male who claims to be a woman going by the name “Parker” to claim that Twitter’s Ban on ‘Deadnaming’ Promotes Free Speech.

Twitter’s ban on ‘deadnaming’ — the reference to ‘transgender’ people by their birth names — and ‘misgendering’ — the reference to ‘transgender’ people by their natural, biological sex — tramples on the speech of normal people, people who do not believe that girls can be boys and boys can be girls. The argument is that, in effect, we can’t hurt their precious little feelings, and so we must concede their major point to engage in debate. Here’s hoping that Elon Musk changes that!

Now comes Jeffrey Barg, also known as the Angry Grammarian, getting upset that Associate Justice Samuel Alito used plain language, did something radical like tell the truth, in his leaked draft majority opinion on Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization: Continue reading →

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Bidenomics: you are poorer in real terms, and your retirement plan is worth less Are you better off today than two years ago?

Due to taking Staff Sergeant Pico to her reassigned Army Reserve unit in advance of her deployment to Kuwait, Mrs Pico and I spent a few days in William Teach’s home state of North Carolina. When we fueled up in Kentucky, last Tuesday, before leaving, gasoline was $3.779. Naturally, I noticed that gasoline prices were higher in the states through which we traveled, West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina, but not being familiar with fuel taxes in those great states, I didn’t pay very much attention.

Until yesterday, that is, as gasoline prices are now around $4.299 back in the Bluegrass State! Continue reading →