The Philadelphia Police Department have reported 23 homicides so far this year in the City of Brotherly Love, while Broad + Liberty shows 26. That website, having reported the undercounting via the classification of ‘suspicious’ deaths not listed as homicides, is using various police reports as its source.

But regardless of whether we use the Philadelphia Police Department’s statistics, or Broad + Liberty’s, one thing is certain: Through the first 22 days of January, Philadelphia has seen a lot fewer murders than the previous three years.

We had previously noted the decline in the homicide rate in the City of Brotherly Love that began last November, and it at least seems to be continuing into this year. After Hallowe’en, Philadelphia saw 71 homicides, over 61 days, an average of 1.1639 per day. With 23 homicides in 22 days — using the Police Department’s figures — 2023 is seeing 1.0455 per day, or, using Broad + Liberty’s numbers, 26 in 22 days, for an average of 1.1818 per day. Given that only three weeks plus one day have passed, either of those figures is reasonably in line with the numbers seenj over the last two months in the city.

Could Philly see fewer than 500 murders in 2023? The total would have to be ‘just’ 422 to bring the four-year average under Mayor Jim Kenney, District Attorney Larry Krasner, and Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw under 500 per year, which would be achievable if the homicide rate being seen these first three weeks holds steady for the year, but we all know that murders pick up when summer arrives. But there is at least some hope, at least statistically speaking, that the total will be under 500 this year.

Well, enough of you decided to vote for the abortion party and got fooled by the “we’ll lose our democracy!!!!!” schtick, and, y’all just need to suck it up and deal with the escalating prices. Good job, idiots

The US has just 25 days of diesel supply — the lowest since 2008. Here’s why that’s more alarming than a dwindling ‘oil piggy bank’

The U.S. is facing a diesel crunch just as demand is surging ahead of winter — with only 25 days of supply left, according to the Energy Information Administration.

National Economic Council Director Brian Deese told Bloomberg TV that diesel inventories are “unacceptably low” and “all options are on the table” to bolster supply and reduce prices.

However, even as the stockpiles are being drained, the Biden administration seems to be left with very few sustainable options for long-term relief.

Unlike gas and jet fuel, demand for diesel recovered at a much faster pace from the pandemic. Diesel is used for transporting goods as well as powering construction, farming and military vehicles and equipment. (snip)

The market usually moves into “contango” — the opposite of backwardation, where demand is lower and suppliers build up inventory with the expectation of higher future prices — in the summer. However, strong domestic and international demand, shrinking domestic refining capacity and sanctions on Russian petroleum imports have kept the diesel market tight throughout the year.

So, what can be done?

If diesel inventory continues to run down without the government intervening, the impact on transportation costs for goods could drive inflation up even further.

Deese adds that the Fed has some tools to bolster diesel supply, like the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, which houses one million barrels of diesel in case of a disruption in supplies.

So, digging into emergency reserves?

Experts have also pointed out that the current 25.8 days worth of diesel only represents what’s in storage — and doesn’t factor in the amount of distillate fuel being produced in the U.S. or imported here. Which means the country isn’t guaranteed to run out of diesel within a month.

But The Washington Post reports that diesel demand is so high, that if a million barrels of diesel were delivered from the Northeast reserves, they would be depleted in less than six hours.

It’s a little late, but, the government could authorize more refineries to be built. That would help. But, they idiot lefties have been destroying refining capacity for decades.

If you’re not helping the mission, you’re hurting the mission. And the mission is to win the White House, Senate, and House in 2024, as well as state general assemblies and governors. This is not helping

Youngkin, like DeSantis, faces Trump’s fury

Fresh off a diatribe against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whom he derisively described as an “average” Republican in a Thursday social media post, former President Donald Trump on Friday morning went after another popular Republican governor — Glenn Youngkin of Virginia — in what seemed like a warning meant to dissuade him from seeking the presidency in 2024.

“Young Kin (now that’s an interesting take. Sounds Chinese, doesn’t it?) in Virginia couldn’t have won without me,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, his proprietary social media network. It is not clear why he falsely insinuated that Youngkin was of Chinese ancestry (the origins of the governor’s name are Germanic), but Trump has a record of rhetoric against China and Chinese people, which during the coronavirus pandemic contributed to anti-Asian rhetoric and violence.

First, Trump did not denigrate Chinese people, he blocked them from coming over near the beginning of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic. And, if memory serves, the Democrats and their pet media called Trump a raaaaacist for that. Second, here’s what it looks like in full

Trump now attacking Glenn Youngkin .. pic.twitter.com/eEEPcAMplX

— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) November 11, 2022

A less combative and polarizing figure than DeSantis, Youngkin could hold more appeal to suburban voters, who helped him win in the northern Virginia suburbs, which have sometimes been seen as a presidential bellwether. Throughout the fall, he and DeSantis both campaigned for Republican candidates, albeit in different states.

Will he run? Will DeSantis run? How about Greg Abbott, Nikki Haley, Kristi Noem, or Doug Ducey? Regardless, we saw this show in 2016, and we do not need a reboot. It would go over as well as the reboot of Charmed. Not good. His time is past. Much of his schtick has gotten stale and old. Sure, he can fill a concert venue for a speech. But, it should not be about him anymore. It needs to be about taking back the country from the Modern Socialists. He wants to be a celebrity.

I’m moving on. I gave up on Palin back in 2011 (can’t find that post, I think I might have only written it at Right Wing News. Probably have to dig further back in the archives). In a later post here and at RWN on Palin endorsing Trump

Many of you know my feelings on the subject of Sarah Palin. She lost my support politically when she played the will she/won’t she game in regards to running for president last time around. She resigned as Governor of Alaska, supposedly to deal with all the legal issues for all the suits and things aimed her way from Liberals. Many Conservatives thought this would give her the chance to get ready to run for President, especially as she put together a PAC. Then she had her little bus tour, for which she also quit halfway through. She said she was going to do it her way, and did not compete in any debates. Then, after being asked again and again, and missing a self imposed deadline, all while raising lots of money for her PAC off the possibility, she said “no.” Interestingly, many others are coming to the same conclusion, such as Powerline’s John Hinderaker

Maybe not. Today Sarah Palin endorsed Trump, to the delight of theNew York Times. Now they get to call Trump a conservative. I was a fan of Palin, until she succumbed to the siren song of celebrity, abandoned her post as Governor of Alaska and went Hollywood. One thing Palin and Trump have in common is that they are both stars of reality TV shows. Maybe someone needs to explain to both of them that reality television is not great preparation for dealing with reality.

Trump is going too much back to celebrity, he has way too many legal issues (real or not, it matters not). He won’t change, and it’s hurting.

Too be clear, I’m speaking for me, not for The First Street Journal Editor.

Who wants to bet that Biden and his people ignore the rulings?

U.S. judge declares Biden’s student debt relief plan unlawful

A federal judge in Texas on Thursday ruled that President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt was unlawful and must be vacated, delivering a victory to conservative opponents of the program.

U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, an appointee of former Republican President Donald Trump in Fort Worth, ruled in a lawsuit backed by the Job Creators Network Foundation on behalf of two borrowers.

The debt relief plan had already been temporarily blocked by the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals while it considers a request by six Republican-led states to enjoin it while they appealed the dismissal of their own lawsuit.

Biden’s plan has been the subject of several lawsuits by conservative state attorneys general and legal groups, though plaintiffs before Thursday had struggled to convince courts they were harmed by it in such a way that they have standing to sue.

The plan would saddle working and middle class taxpayers with paying off loans that people legally signed for, often getting degrees that can’t bring in the money to repay the loans. And then there are people who are making $100k a year, claiming they cannot repay.

Pittman in a 26-page ruling wrote that the HEROES Act – a law that provides loan assistance to military personnel and that was relied upon by the Biden administration to enact the relief plan – did not authorize the $400 billion student loan forgiveness program.

“The Program is thus an unconstitutional exercise of Congress’s legislative power and must be vacated,” Pittman wrote.

I’m sure Biden will appeal, but, will he and his people work hard to fight? He got what he needed, lots of youths getting out and voting, minimizing the damage in the midterms. Biden may not even try to take it to the Supreme Court, because, come 2024, Biden and the Dems can promise to fight for loan forgiveness if they re-elect Biden and give him Congress.

Despite this being the Bluegrass State, Kentucky’s second-largest newspaper, the Lexington Herald-Leader, is unabashedly liberal. We have previously noted their editorial endorsements:

• 2020: Joe Biden for President, Amy McGrath Henderson for Senate, and Josh Hicks for 6^th District Representative;^[1]Notably, the editors endorsed Charles Booker over Mrs Henderson in the Democratic primary, saying that he was the more progressive candidate. Mrs Henderson once said, “I am further left, I am … Continue reading
• 2018: Amy McGrath Henderson for 6^th District Representative
• 2016: Hillary Clinton for President, Jim Gray for Senate, and Nancy Jo Kemper for 6^th District Representative
• 2014: Alison Lundergan Grimes for Senate, and Elisabeth Jensen for 6^th District Representative

All Democrats, and all defeated in Kentucky and in the 6^th District. It seems that the Herald-Leader Editorial Board isn’t exactly in tune with the voters of the Commonwealth. Note that the 2016 and 2014 Democratic nominees for the 6^th congressional district were political novices, and the editors struggled to find much good reason to endorse them. Representative Andy Barr (R-KY 6^th District) beat them both by landslide margins.^[2]Dr Malcolm Jewell, one of my political science professors at the University of Kentucky during medieval times, defined a landslide margin as 10% or greater.

In fact, with the exception of the 6^th district race in 2018, the editors’ endorsed candidates lost by landslide margins. Even in 2018, with Mrs Henderson outspending Mr Barr $8,274,396 to $5,580,477, she lost 51.0% to 47.8%.

In her Senate campaign, Mrs Henderson raised $94,120,557 and spent $90,775,744 compared to Senator Mitch McConnell’s $71,351,350 and $64,787,889, only to lose 38.2% to 57.8%. As it happens, Mrs Henderson had the lowest percentage total against Mr McConnell of any of his opponents save sacrificial lamb candidate Lois Combs Weinberg in 2002.

Of course, the newspaper is big, big, big, on protecting homosexual and transgender rights. So, it was with some amusement that I read this article:

What are some warning signs of sexual abuse or grooming? This is what the experts say

by Aaron Mudd | Thursday, September 29, 2022 | 9:00 AM EDT

It’s not lost on parents that the manipulative behaviors perpetrators use to set children up for sexual abuse are designed to be subtle and often appear innocent.

According to child advocate Janna Estep-Jordan, what many may not realize is that in these unsettling situations, perpetrators are also working the parents, too.

“Perpetrators, they groom a child, but they groom a family as well,” said Estep-Jordan, director of operations and prevention education with Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky, an advocacy group that makes the prevention of abuse and neglect of Kentucky’s children its mission.

Discerning between sexually-motivated manipulation and normal child-adult interactions can be difficult at times, as the National Children’s Advocacy Center points out.

So how do you tell the difference between what’s acceptable and what’s not?

Sounds like a useful article, does it not? I am not going to cite all of Aaron Mudd’s, the reporter’s, points, but some really caught my eye:

• Treating a child as if they’re an adult. This behavior often begins with humor: the abuser will tell a risque joke to the child with the aim of getting them slowly acclimated to adult topics. If the tactic backfires, the abuser can fall back on gaslighting: “It’s just a joke” or “Don’t be so sensitive.”
• If the child is of a younger age, Jordan said they may have an age-inappropriate knowledge about sexual relationships. A potential red flag related to this includes children acting out sexual behaviors or recruiting their peers to do the same, Jordan said. The key here is the knowledge of something that a child of that particular age wouldn’t typically know.

I’ve reformatted the second point, which was three separate paragraphs in the original. But when I read these things, what jumped immediately into my mind were the tactics that the homosexual and transgender activists have been using. Heidi Klaassen, a writer for Salon, wrote “Drag is not dangerous: How exposing your kids to drag performance can be a good thing“. There was “DRAG THE KIDS TO PRIDE – A Family Friendly Drag Show,” including children putting money into the thongs of male drag queens dancing.

How is this not treating children like adults, to get them acclimated to adult topics? How is this not providing kids with “age-inappropriate knowledge about sexual relationships?” Yet if conservatives call the homosexual and transgender activists “groomers,” the left wax apoplectic!

I am amused: the very liberal Herald-Leader just warned readers that the very things the far-left sex activists are doing is grooming.

When we noted, just yesterday, that the post-Labor Day surge in homicides in 2021 was not yet showing signs of being repeated this year, we still knew that 2022 would be joining the list of years and mayors in which at least 400 murders had been committed. There was at least some hope that it wouldn’t be the very next day, but there were three more people dead as of 11:59 PM EDT on Monday, September 26^th. Naturally, there were exactly zero stories on this showing on either The Philadelphia Inquirer’s website main page or specific crime page. Fox29’s Steve Keeley noted the ‘milestone’.

2022 is now Philly’s 19^th bloodiest year, a status achieved with more than three months left to go. At a current rate of 1.4870 killings per day, the city is on track for 542.75 murders for the year, still lower than 2021, but very strongly in second-place all time.

We noted, just two days ago, that there was actually some reason for hope that Philadelphia’s homicide numbers might fall below those of record-shattering 2021’s.

As of September 5^th, the end of the Labor Day holiday weekend this year, 373 people had been sent untimely to their eternal rewards, yielding a homicide rate of 1.5040 killings per day, or a projected 549 murders for 2022; the mid-summer ‘lull’ that had happened in 2021 didn’t occur this year.

But there may be some hope that the post-Labor Day surge that happened in 2021 might not happen, or not be as bad, in 2022. While this wouldn’t seem to be a cause for celebration in more civilized places, there has been only one recorded homicide in Philadelphia since Wednesday, September 14^th, and the homicide rate has dropped below 1.50, down to 1.4809 per day, which projects out to 540.53 murders for the entire year.

That’s hardly a great number, but at least it’s better than last year’s record-smashing 562.

And as of 11:59 PM EDT on Thursday, the numbers are even: 393 homicides in both 2021 and this year. 393 homicides ÷ 265 days elapsed in the year = 1.483018867924528 homicides per day, x 365 days in the year = 541.3018867924528 projected killings for 2022. That’s hardly a great number, but what I am seeing is that the post-Labor Day killing surge of 2021 has not manifested itself so far this year.

Thanks to a tweet from Christine Flowers, I found this gem from WHYY, the National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting System stations for the Philadelphia area.

Central Bucks West tells teachers not to use students’ preferred names and pronouns without parent approval

By Emily Rizzo | Updated: Thursday, September 15, 2022 | 8:28 PM EDT

Administrators at Central Bucks West High School have introduced a new “Gender Identification Procedure” that many teachers say is discriminatory against LGBTQ students.

Teachers say they were told to not use a student’s preferred name or pronoun if it does not match with the information in the school’s database. They say they were told to inform school counselors about any student who requests a different name or pronoun. School counselors would then arrange a conversation with the student’s parents or guardians so they could approve their student’s name and/or pronoun change.

Let’s tell the truth here: while the Central Bucks (County) West School Board, which we have mentioned several times previously, appears to be at least somewhat conservatively oriented, in this they are protecting the School District. By setting up a system under which parents can ‘opt in’ to allowing their memtally ill ‘transgendered’ students to be identified by their ‘preferred’ names and pronouns, the District is also setting up a policy which allows parents to choose not to go along with that silliness, and thus protect the District from being sued into penury.

Though not mentioned in the article, if teachers are required to use the preferred names and pronouns listed in the school’s database, it would seem to also require teachers who disagree with the notion that people can change their sex to use the names and pronouns in the school’s database if the parents agree to the changes.

It’s easy to foresee problems here: what happens when the parents, especially divorced or divorcing parents using their kids as a weapon against each other, disagree? Eventually this will arise, whether in Central Bucks West or elsewhere.

But here’s where the problems really arise:

Administrators introduced the procedure at a faculty meeting six days into the school year; teachers said administrators cited protecting parents’ rights as the reason. Four teachers told WHYY News about the meeting and the unprecedented pushback from educators.

“A lot of us are distraught,” said Becky Cartee-Haring, who has taught English at Central Bucks West for 16 years.

“I physically felt sick in that meeting, listening to an administrator basically argue that we were going to protect ourselves by outting children … it’s heart wrenching … It’s just cruel.”

Teachers said administrators told them they have to follow parents’ or guardians’ wishes if they differ from a student’s.

“What the children wanted was completely irrelevant,” said David Klein, who has been teaching social studies at Central Bucks West for 26 years.

Klein said he’s not going to follow the new procedure.

“There’s no way I’m hurting a kid. Hell no. I cannot be complicit in harming children,” Klein said, raising his voice. “And I said this in the meeting … this is the most at-risk marginalized group of students, they need our support more than anyone else. No! Kid says, ‘Call me Tony,’ I’m calling them Tony!”

Klein and other teachers are unwilling to “deadname” a student in front of their peers, parents, or other school staff.

“Deadnaming” means to call Bruce Jenner, Bruce Jenner, and not his made up name “Caitlyn”. “Misgendering” means, to the left, referring to a ‘transgendered’ person by his real sex, not the one he claims to be.

Klein said even if he faces a parent who does not want their child to be called a name that the child prefers, he will continue to prioritize the student.

It would seem that Mr Klein has decided that he knows better than the parents how to rear their children. He’s certainly allowed to think that — we cannot penalize someone for their thoughts — but if he acts in the manner implied by his statement, and refers to the ‘transgendered’ student in variance with what the parents have specified, he will have personally opened the District, and himself personally, to a humongous lawsuit, a lawsuit they would very much deserve to lose. The public schools can’t even give students an over-the-counter medication without the consent of the parents; the idea that they could enable and reinforce ‘transgenderism’ without the parents’ consent is monstrous.

“My job is to educate your kids, to prepare them for the future, to make them feel safe, period. That’s my calling. Pardon me,” Klein said, choking up. “I’m calling you Tony because you need to feel safe in my classroom. How else are you going to learn? And if they want to fire me, that’s their business.”

Does Mr Klein believe that his “calling” outweighs the rights and responsibility of parents?

There’s more of the same kind of thing, from other teachers, at the original, but it’s pretty much more of the same, teachers who believe that they Know Better how to rear other people’s children.

The left have long insisted on body cameras for police officers, and there’s certainly a reasonable case to be made for that. Body cams exonerate cops far more often than they record bad behavior by officers. Well, we obviously need cameras in public school classrooms as well, but, of course, the teachers’ unions oppose that.

Why? It’s difficult to come to any conclusion other than they are afraid that recording what they teach will expose bad behavior on their part, and, at least in the Central Bucks case, would reveal them failing to honor the District’s policies.

We have compulsory school attendance in every state of the union, so our children are ordered, by the state, to attend school, and the vast majority of parents don’t have the ability to send their kids to private or parochial schools. Thus, we must have accountability, must demand accountability of the teachers who are put in charge of our children, accountability to prevent them from undermining parents. The Central Bucks School District is starting along the right path, but more needs to be done to ensure that parents’ guidance is not undermined by teachers.