Author: Bear

Lots of left-wing lunatics are whining that Rittenhouse’s trial and acquittal just prove that the kid (and the court) is racist. I strive for rationality, so I don’t get it. Nor, I suspect, do most of my regular reader(s). But occasionally I get a looney drive-by, so perhaps one or two will show up to explain their… reasoning.

Here are the charges Kyle faced in the end. He was found not guilty of all of them. From damned near the beginning of this saga, I thought Kyle’s actions were justified self defense. I based that, not on politicized feelz, but on hours of video, many still shots, witness statements, repeated readings of Wisconsin state laws… facts.

So tell me, loons; which of Kyle’s actions, relating specifically to these charges, caused you to come to the conclusion that Kyle (and the court) is a racist murderer?

• First-degree reckless homicide, use of a dangerous weapon
• First-degree recklessly endangering safety, use of a dangerous weapon
• First-degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon
• Attempted first-degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon
• First-degree recklessly endangering safety, use of a dangerous weapon

Hey! I’ll even prompt you a little.

Was it the way he helped clean graffiti off a school?
Was it the way he went into a part of town to protect minority-owned businesses?
Was it the way the only people he shot were white-like-himself?
Was t the way he indiscriminately asked protestors if they needed help?

What element demonstrated racism?

Help me out here. It’s been a while since I studied abnormal psychology.

As I said all along.

Hey, Twitter! Told you so. Are you going to unblock me now, or will you doxx and ban the unanimous jury members, too?

Self defense is a human right.

Added: Does everyone have marshmallows for tonight’s fiery, but mostly peaceful protests?

You may recall that I said that image enhancement should be:

an investigative tool, to find evidence. It should not be used as evidence at trial.

It turns out that the company that made the imaging software used by prosecution agrees with me.

11:05 a.m.: […] Also, defense attorney Richards tells court that the manual for AMP imaging software apparently says methods used in this case are intended for investigative purposes only, not for forensic use in court. When Judge Schroeder asks Binger if that’s true, Binger response is that information is not in evidence.

Then why, pray tell, did Binger — rhymes with fucking idiot — present it to the jury at trial if it isn’t “evidence”? Or does he mean that the manual was not presented as evidence — and why not; discovery, dammit?

Screw mistrial with prejudice. Can someone clarify whether Wisconsin law allows a directed verdict of innocent? And aren’t we well past the point of referring Binger to the bar for misconduct, making it time for a bench warrant for his arrest?

Just so you know I’m still around…

I had medically related appointments yesterday (Tuesday). Aside from location glitches which had me walking high-speed shuffling with a walker, some went well enough. Recovery from surgery itself is going well.

On the other hand, the followup series of post-op x-rays… went very poorly. Unless prompted by serious self-interest inquiries (“I need x-rays; who should I avoid?”), I won’t give the company name. What was supposed to be a 10-15 minute procedure turned into trips between assorted locations, ending with an hour and a half session with an x-ray machine possibly older than myself.

That Three Stooges (yes, three alleged radiologists) routine should count as 3-4 physical therapy sessions by itself. It was an exercise in painfully sadistic contortionism. I never before saw an x-ray session that required the patient be stretched sideways across the exam table, with the bad-hip leg resting on a roller stool, the head on a waiting room easy chair (with a pile of exam table sheets and a pillow), while the patient grips the head and side of the table for dear life so he still didn’t fall off.

Now add in draping my right leg over the x-ray emitter. Except that didn’t “work,” so they dug up a four foot block of what seemed to be duck-taped foam to hold my leg even higher.

Oops. That didn’t “work” either. Let’s try the same position, but with my head at the foot end of the table.

Wait. Did I mention the various blocks of foam they needed to shove under assorted bit of my anatomy? Bear in mind that block installation always required me to lift my torso for them… while in the above-mentioned sadistic contortion poses.

Naturally that made me late for the next appointment, which turned out to be an odd exercise in hospital bureaucrats deciding my case wasn’t their job (and it turns out they were right; theirs is very specifically limited to Duvall County residents), but finding a way to do it anyway.

Despite the screwed-up aspects of the day, and with a doc’s concurrence, I decided it’s time to begin transitioning from the walker to a three-toed cane. I do need to re-learn balance.

But at the end of the day, when starting to relax, I kinda sorta regretted that transition decision. Between the limited fluid intake during the overly-busy day and over-working my good right leg, said right leg decided I needed cramps. Lot’s of cramps.

So: more fluids, some potassium, wrap the leg in a blanket, walk out cramps periodically (with walker). I got past that. I’ll be doing more cane transitioning today, but I ain’t gonna be stupid about it.

Lest I appear to be a a completely ingracious SOB, I give my niece my most sincere thanks for sacrificing pretty much her entire work day to get me to — and through — those appointments.

Also thanks to my brother and sister who, while I was out, set up an adjustable bed for me that made yesterday evening’s relaxation possible at all.

…you’re clearly trying to >force a last second mistrial, because you know you lost, and want a free (except to the taxpayers and defendant) do-over.

Seriously, DA Binger (Urban Dictionary needs a secondary def where “binger” equals “fucking reckless idiot”) pointed an AR-15 at the court room…

…with his finger on the trigger.

And the asshole calls Rittenhouse “reckless”?

If I’d been in that court room, I’d be filing a criminal threatening complaint against him.

I got the first of what will be several medical bills today, for my trauma hip replacement. Understand that due to my niece’s intercession, I was transported to UFHealth, where I got great care. Expensive care. I knew that, and in a very real sense that was worse than the physical damage.

As I said, the first of many bills. This one covered emergency intake, radiology, and the initial surgery.

UFHealth applied financial assistance and forgave nearly all of it.

OK. Now I am crying.

There’s more to come, but I have hope for humanity.

Watching trial. Defense and prosecution are arguing whether the State’s pixel-added though interpolation alters the image evidence. Specifically, defense is concerned about added/changed colors.

Valid argument. Personally, I think enhanced/interpolated images should only be as an investigative tool, to find evidence. It should not be used as evidence at trial.

But in this case,, I wish someone were knowledgeable to ask for comparative histograms from the original and interpolated images. That would show any significant change in tonal distribution.

ADDED: BTW, the State’s imagery dude just admitted that he used frame averaging to CREATE a new, never before existent image to introduce as trial evidence.

I repeat: Investigative tool, not evidence.

Explanation: Take five sequential old-fashioned projector slides from high speed film. Instead of looking at them one at a time, stack them together. You now get a conglomerate blob of some object. Now let your computer average pixels; add some, subtract some. You might get a better picture of an apple that was there, or you might get an apple that was never there before. The picture is not real.

If you’re doing art, fine.

If you’re helping a detective figure out if he should look for evidence of an apple (or gun) on the scene, fine.

If you take it into court and tell the judge and jury that it is an apple (or gun), YOU FALSIFIED EVIDENCE. Do not pass go. Go directly to jail.

Even at my youngest and dumbest, I never got so drunk that I had to be wheeled out in a wheelchair.

DRUNK MI AG Dana Nessel Left MSU-UM Game In Wheelchair…Jokes About “Vomiting” On Constituents, “Skull crushing hangover” In Public Statement
I had a few folks help me up the stairs and someone grabbed a wheelchair so as to prevent me from stumbling in the parking lot. Like all smart people attending festivities where drinking occurs, I had a designated driver. I went home, fell asleep on the couch, and my wife threw some blankets on me and provided me with some water and Tylenol for what she knew would be a skull-crushing hangover the next day. (Best wife ever!)

That said, by coincidence, I did have to be wheeled out on a gurney that same day. But that was was because of a stone-cold sober machinery accident that broke my hip.

According to Wikipedia, this ditz is 52yo; you’d think by now she have learned to not get so publicly intoxicated that anyone else would have been arrested.

Must be nice to be politically powerful. If you’re into abuse of power and that sort of thing.

Over at The Zelman Partisans.

Interesting Development In Kyle Rittenhouse Case
While most attention is directed to the fact that the best defense witnesses for Kyle seem to the the prosecution’s witnesses that were supposed to show his guilt, I noticed something on Wednesday that most analysts seem to be blowing off as largely inconsequential.

I think the last argument against Kyle’s — proper — self defense claim was absolutely gutted, and no one noticed.