None dare call them quotas...

In the late 60s and early 70s, the federal government put minorities applicants into positions there were under-qualified for, calling for "quotas" and "affirmative action" to remedy past discrimination. While multiple SCOTUS rulings have limited the use of the process, it's still exist, especially in certain blue states. Case in point, the former state of California, now the People's Democratic Republic of Kalifornia. 

The city of Los Angeles, the second largest city in the country, is now critically short on cops:

Los Angeles, operating with more than 650 fewer officers than before the pandemic, has "downsized its human trafficking, narcotics and gun details," closed its animal cruelty unit, and decreased its homelessness outreach teams by 80%, AP reported.

LA Mayor Bass calls to root out ‘right-wing extremist’ police, signals lowering the bar for new recruits
Bass also stated she is seeking to tackle the ongoing staff shortages in the department
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called to remove "obstacles" for new police recruits and pledged to root out officers with ties to "right-wing domestic extremist organizations."

...Another provision in the goals summary seeks to "identify, discipline, and/or terminate officers associated with right-wing domestic extremist organizations" using data from the Justice Department. LAPD must report back with progress on this provision in August...

"We [LAPPL] think it ought to be right-wing, left-wing, foreign and domestic," Saggau said. "We think that there are more organizations that members of law enforcement should not be associated with, other than the narrow group that was listed in that document."

Bass also called for updated training measures to comply with the "heightened standard on use of deadly force required," the expansion of the Mental Evaluation Unit and the System-wide Mental Assessment Team, as well as the implementation of efforts to reduce the number of officer-involved shootings.

The department is looking at rehiring 200 recently retire officers, To call this a stopgap measure is giving it too much credit. It was only ten years ago LAPD had 10,000 officers. A recent academy class had all of 23 cadets in it. It now has 9, 200 officers, with the attrition hitting 600 a year. Good luck getting that up to 9, 200, or 10, 000. 

Now you would think this was an issue where the city needs to look at recruiting and retaining high quality cops, insure they understate the city supports them, and will not throw them under the bus. 

That is a very poor assumption. The new mayor of our second largest city sees the biggest issue in policing to be...right wing cops. Not to mention, police showing the Thin Blue Line flag. No, you can't make this up. 

Bass is looking to remove "obstacles" for police recruits who fail to initially qualify for training as a means of further diversifying the LAPD, according to a summary of her public safety goals obtained by Fox News Digital – but police union leaders are questioning the move.

Bass' summary of goals for police reform includes a list of provisions as well as dates by which the department must report back regarding progress. One provision says a deputy mayor will work in conjunction with a "third party" to "evaluate the personnel process and identify obstacles to entry for recruits who fail to qualify for training."

OK. Ms. Bass, you have standards there for a reason. To see if your candidate can handle the basics of being a cop, mush less higher standards for speciality branches (e.g., SWAT).  

"We think that particular provision or that goal or that idea is dangerous," Tom Saggau, Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) spokesperson, told Fox News Digital. 

"If you have police officers that can't make minimum qualifications or attained minimum standards, for instance, there are recruits that have been in the academy that just can't score the minimum requirements for a physical fitness test," he added. "One hundred is the maximum score, 50 is acceptable. There are folks that are scoring under 10. That's just dangerous."

The provision states that recommendations to remove any obstacles will be taken into consideration, especially with those in relation to "ethnic groups disproportionately left out of new officer training."

Saggau said the provision calls for the lowering of standards within the police department as new hires who did not initially qualify during training are shown not to "possess the mental fitness or the physical fitness ability to be a police officer..."

Me thinks quotas are making their way back in. Guess what will happen when you lower the standards to bring more people into law enforcement. People get killed. See officers Arthur Carbonneau in Houston or Antonette Frank in New Orleans 

First thing I would ask is what "right wing extremist" organization are you talking about. The Boy Scouts of America? The Catholic Church? The NRA or CSRA? You may want to see if any of the officers are supporters of domestic terrorist groups like Antifa or BLM. 

You make cops think twice or thrice about using deadly force, people will get killed. Cops. Or the cops will simply not engage, and other civilians will get killed. This woman obviously rose to the mayors office on the back of the George Floyd riots, and she has no clue. 

I recall speaking with a high school friend who was hired by the LA Sheriff's Office in 1990 (?). In the early 2000s I caught up with him on MySpace, and he told me how much he loved LA, got married, three kids, everything was great. Well, early 2010s I caught up with him again on Facebook, and his attitude had changed a bit. "Mike, got one more kid to get out of college, and I'm so the hell out of here..." And that was before George Floyd. 

God helps those cops in LA, and the people of LA. It's already bad. It's about to get a lot worse.

The Show Must Go On!

Damned, gone far too soon. 

I never got to see Queen live, but I've listened to their music countless times and watched their music videos (back when MTV was actually about music and not another reality TV s^&*hole). And can anyone forget their performance at Live Aid. Reportedly Elton John told them after they got off the stage, "You guys just stole the show!" Coming from someone like him, that is high praise. 

Freddy Mercury, anther great one taken too soon. F#$% AIDS. 

I never knew this had an "official" video, but here it is. Queen,  "The Show Must Go On!" 

Enjoy, and have a great weekend. 

Holding a politician accountable for his malfunction in office?

Gotta say I’m a bit torn on this. But it couldn’t have happened to a better sperm donor. I would really, and this is f&*(ed up thinking, wish one of the thugs these Democrats release back on the street would attack them, or someone close to them. Crude, yes. But Houston had an issue with crime in the late 80s/early 90s, and nothing was being done about it while Mr. and Mrs. Public are held up, raped, assaulted or robbed. It took a local VIP getting murdered for the Democrats who control the city to actually do something about crime. As long as it was “them” getting murdered, it was not an issue. One of “us” is killed, “We must do something about this immediately!”

The issue here is a thug was let off about charged with a violent crime. And he murdered two cops afterward. I’m a cop and I’m held accountable for my actions and mistakes. Perhaps you should be Mr. Gascón.

Widow of slain El Monte officer files $25M claim against L.A. district attorney

According to the claim, probation officials got a call about Justin Flores' violent behavior weeks before he shot Officers Michael Paredes and Joseph Santana

LOS ANGELES — The family of an El Monte police officer who was slain this year has filed a notice of claim seeking millions in damages against Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón and the L.A. County Probation Department.

Janine Paredes — whose husband, Michael, was one of two officers gunned down during a confrontation at a motel in June — filed the notice of claim Wednesday, blaming both Gascón's criminal justice reform policies and lax supervision by the probation department for putting the suspected gunman, Justin Flores, in the officers' path on the day of the deadly clash…

…The claim alleges Flores "should have been in custody at the time of the murders but for the deliberate indifference" of Gascón and the probation department, which allowed "Flores to freely roam and prey on those unsuspecting people who work and live in the City of El Monte in the County of Los Angeles."

A documented gang member, Flores had multiple convictions for burglary and drug possession and was on probation when Paredes and Officer Joseph Santana confronted him at the Siesta Inn in June.

The officers were responding to a domestic violence call when Flores emerged from a bathroom and shot them both in the head, authorities have said. Flores then allegedly raced into the parking lot with one of the fallen officers' weapons, where authorities say he engaged in a firefight with other officers and was killed.

In the days after the shooting, many in law enforcement turned their ire toward Gascón, claiming Flores would have been in prison if not for the district attorney's controversial refusal to file sentencing enhancements against defendants.

Flores, who was awaiting charges on drug and gun possession in early 2021, was sentenced to two years' probation under the terms of a plea deal. Some have argued he should have faced additional prison time for a prior "strike offense," a 2011 burglary conviction, that might have resulted in Flores being incarcerated at the time of the killings.

So the thug committed the murder, not the gun? Shocking, I know. LA Times, perhaps you can remember that next time a Democrat goes on a mass shooting. 

Gascón said the plea deal was consistent with those offered by prior administrations and noted the prior burglary crime was nonviolent. But The Times reviewed documents this year that showed the prosecutor on the case specifically cited Gascón's policy when filing a report rescinding the use of an enhancement against Flores. The policy was later deemed illegal by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge.

"Our hearts go out to the family of Sgt. Paredes. His tragic murder is a devastating loss to both his family, friends and the community he bravely served. We have nothing but empathy for those who are suffering," the district attorney's office said in a statement Tuesday…

…A Times investigation also raised serious questions about the probation department's supervision of Flores. In the days before the killings, the probation department received reports that Flores had beaten a woman and was in possession of a gun, both incidents that could have resulted in his probation being revoked.

Mr. Gascón, spare us your thoughts and prayers. They are not enough. 

You have a job, and it’s a tough one. Like the police on the street, you need to handle society’s trash, separate them from the law-abiding public. You take them out of society and into prison where they cannot commit crimes against the public. If you cannot do that, if you don’t understand your mission in life is to protect the public, not the criminal class, then get a new career. You’re the prosecution, not the defense. 

Maybe people in the state assembly should modify this idea from an idiot in the Texas legislature:

Proposed state law would require peace officers to carry personal liability insurance

AUSTIN, Texas — A proposed Texas law to address police killings and misconduct would require police officers to have liability insurance.

It’s a move the bill’s sponsor, Houston State Rep. Jolanda Jones, said will make cops think twice before unnecessary action against the public. The bill was inspired in part by the beating of Tyre Nichols by Memphis police, which resulted in his death.

“For far too long law enforcement officers use their jobs to justify taking extreme, unjustified actions that kill our neighbors, friends and family,” Jones said.

The relatively new lawmaker filed HB 1808, which would require peace officers across Texas to carry personal liability insurance as a condition of their employment.

“You can’t waffle taxpayers to pay for rouge officers,” Jones said.

Jones is a defense attorney as well as a state legislator and said the bill would shift the burden of paying out settlements of misconduct from taxpayers to the officer…

Or require it of judges who release felons on personal recognizance or low bond. Actually, the solution is to vote out these Democrats from any powerful office and let adults handle things like law and order. Now the idiot in the Texas legislature has proposed this for cheap publicity (she knows it’s going nowhere), the fact is the voters in California will keep voting these morons in. Until they have a come to Jesus moment (see Rudy Giuliani in New York), it will only get worse and people will run from the former Golden State in droves. 

 

 

 

Everything else is still Cleveland...

A great quote from Tennessee Williams, "American has one three unique cities, New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Everything else is Cleveland."

Well, New Orleans Police are having challenges recruiting new officers, like many departments. And they put up this video on their social media pages. Personally, I like how it goes out the box. Unfortunately, it got some complaints and was pulled after one hour! 

Come on guys, one hour and some Karens complain, so you pull it back. I'll lay money the people who complained are not the people you want as police. 

Take a look and judge for yourself. 

New Orleans is still still a unique city. Hopefully it survives the current administration.  

RIP To The Greatest Of All Time...

Can't believe it's been two years since he passed. As too many have said, no one can replace Rush Limbaugh. They can only succeed him. 

The man was in credible in many ways, but the biggest contribution was just showing anyone, including a man from small town Missouri can use his talent and hard work to achieve greatness in their chosen form of endeavor. 

I remember his final show in 2020. The final show before he took two weeks off for the holidays were generally an annual thank you to his listeners and staff, but this was different. The previous year he took a lot of time off for cancer treatment, and you could tell it was taking a toll on him. But on his final show, the way he said, "Some day I won't be able to do this show" was telling. He was saying good bye. Maybe he has a premonition, maybe he just was too tired, one can only guess. But it was a great loss to America when he finally passed

As a good friend said,  "No one gets out of here alive." And someone else said, "It's not the years in your life, but the life in your years." And few men put as much life into 70 years as Rush.

For him, his opening song, The Pretenders, "My City Was Gone." 

RIP Rush. You are missed. I laugh every time I think of the fun you would have with Ballongate.

Have a great weekend. 

Officer Down

 

Supervisory Officer Jacqueline Montanaro
United States Department of Homeland Security - Customs and Border Protection - Office of Field Operations, U.S. Government
End of Watch Saturday, January 14, 2023 

Supervisory Officer Jackie Montanaro died from injuries she sustained while trying to rescue her daughter from a fire in Hazlet, New Jersey.

When a fire broke out around midnight, Officer Montanaro evacuated from her burning home with her husband and eight-year-old daughter. She re-entered the home in an attempt to rescue their six-year-old daughter who was still inside. Officer Montanaro was found unconscious, trapped inside with trauma to her arms and hands. She was transported to Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center where she succumbed to her injuries at 1:40 am. Her six-year-old daughter did not survive the fire.  

Officer Montanaro had served with the United States Department of Homeland Security - Customs and Border Protection - Office of Field Operations for 16 years and was assigned to the Newark Liberty International Airport. She is survived by her husband, daughter, parents, grandmother, sister, and two brothers.

Rest in Peace Sis…We Got The Watch

Nemo me impune lacessit

Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh.

Jews on Campus!!!

A few years back I read an article on Israel and the UAE. Quickly after they announced diplomatic relations for the first time, they disclosed they would cooperate on space projects (satellite launches, etc). I remember texting a Jewish friend of mine and saying, "I got this mind worm stuck in my head!"

Her answer, "OMG, I saw the article this morning and this has been in my head all day!"

Now the BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) movement of the last decade or so has targeted the only democracy in the Middle East, Israel. For some reason they have not wanted to target very oppressive regimes like China or Iran, just the Jewish homeland. Dare I saw, anti-semitism.

I'm not about to call the Israeli's saints. If you want a good reason why, read something like Rise and Kill First by Ronen Bergman. But understandable seeing it was founded by people just out of the Holocaust, with two words driving the founding: Never Again!

Well, the Israeli's have been going after their enemies from 1948. First, the NAZIs who carried out the mass murder of millions for Hitler. Then, after the terrorist who carried out attacks like the 1972 Olympic massacre. More recently, they are targeting the biggest threat to peace in the Middle East, and a major threat to peace period, Iran. They are assassinating the scientists working on their nuclear program. They kill one scientist, and the next day his co-workers get a picture of his mutilated body on their email. The message is simple, "You're next." Talk about a downer. 

Israeli, thank you for doing the dirty work that's needed. 

Foreign Policy magazine has an interesting article on ho the BDS movement had failed. The magazine may not like the fact it's failed, but it's not catching traction.

The BDS Movement Has Already Lost

Where it counts—in the halls of government and boardrooms—the effort to boycott Israel doesn’t even register.

...The BDS movement is an agglomeration of activists, professors, artists, academic associations, and affinity groups who say they seek to end Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem and the blockade of Gaza by bringing the kind of global political and economic pressure on Israel that was brought to bear on apartheid South Africa.

The Israeli government, pro-Israel groups, and many American Jews have raised the alarm over BDS. They charge that it is antisemitic and a strategy aimed at delegitimizing Israel by identifying it as a “settler colonial state” and denying any legitimate Jewish connection to the land. They point to statements such as that by one BDS co-founder, the Tel Aviv University educated Omar Barghouti, that: “Definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine.”

I find the claim of "Palestinians" to the Israeli capital rather curious. If that city was founded/possessed by Muslims, why did they name it "Jerusalem?" Some of the same American professors who claim the "West Bank" of the Jordan River has the historical homeland of the "Palestinians," claim Israel stole the land. No, they won it in the 1967 Arab Israel War. To the victors go the spoils. Not to mention Jews lived in the modern Middle East for over 2,500 years. Islam was founded in the 7th Century AD.

BDS supporters counter that those who accuse them of antisemitism are purposefully conflating their anti-Zionism—that is, their opposition to the state of Israel—with hatred of Jews in order to intimidate them and delegitimize their movement. That some Jews are involved in BDS would seem to give this argument some cover.

BDS has succeeded in creating significant furor, including within U.S. politics and academia. Yet the reality is that those who seek to bring Israel to its knees by rendering it an international pariah have already failed.

If one only paid attention to what is being reported from U.S. college campuses, one might believe BDS is thriving. In late April, the editorial board of the Harvard Crimson, Harvard University’s student newspaper, published an editorial titled “In Support of Boycott, Divest, Sanctions and a Free Palestine”—a ringing and (self-)righteous paean to oversimplification. The editorial specifically rejected the complexity of a centurieslong struggle between competing nationalisms, identities, and historical memories interwoven with the highly sensitive issue of religion and instead declared a “categorical imperative [for the editorial board] to side with and empower the vulnerable and oppressed”—i.e., Palestinians.

That editorial was met with an equally self-righteous and indignant rejoinder by an associate news editor at the Crimson that neatly followed the standard argument of various and sundry pro-Israel and establishment American Jewish organizations. One former Crimson journalist relays that the paper, which is self-supporting, is now under financial strain, as some university alumni have decided to boycott the publication over the editorial. Irony is dead.

Well children, remember the adults who support you get annoyed at your blatant anti-semitism cloaked as  self rightest outrage (actually leftist propaganda). Ironic, American Jews have supported this college for ages, even knowing how anti semitic it is. In another discussion I had with my Jewish friend I mentioned earlier, I asked her how is it American Jews vote 70% for the Democrats when that party is the worst enemy Israeli has? Her answer was very enlightening. "Mike, American Jews are progressives first, Jews second. And Israeli means a lot less to them than you think." 

Well, hopefully this anti-sematic movement leads to another BDS movement. The supporters of these universities need to stop sending money to their alma maters. These children need a serious experience of Reality Therapy. 

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

I have to say I didn't know his name, but I've loved his music for ages. Especially this song. I just knew it from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (I pray Hollywood doesn't remake that!). I can't think of a better song to start the weekend with. 

There is no "official" video for this song as the movie came out years before videos were conceived. But here is alive version with the author. Enjoy.

RIP Burt Bacharach. A life well lived, and you will be remembered.

Have a great weekend.

American Free News Newwork, Congressional Naming Commission (CNC)

Fellow AFNN columnist Don Smith has an excellent piece on one of the disgrace's  going on in the Pentagon right now. 

The Congressional Naming Commission (CNC)

The Congressional Naming Commission (CNC) was a body authorized as part of the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act.  Its eight commissioners included two retired Army generals, a retired Navy admiral and a retired Marine Corps general.  It also had academics with imposing credentials.  One commissioner is a professor emeritus at West Point and another is a senior official at the American Enterprise Institute.  The commission’s chief historian, Connor Williams, took a leave of absence from his faculty position at Yale to serve on the CNC.  The CNC even had an elected federal official—Austin Scott, a Republican Congressman from Georgia.  

The CNC recommended—among many, many other things—that all active Army bases named for Confederate generals be renamed.  And, in the Preface to Part 1 of its report, it appears to pick a fight. 
This is how the CNC report’s Preface characterizes monuments erected to Confederates and the Confederacy in the years following the Civil War:

Most importantly, during the end of the nineteenth century and the start of the twentieth century, the South and much of the nation came to live under a mistaken understanding of the Civil War known as the “Lost Cause.” As part of the “Lost Cause,” across the nation, champions of that memory built monuments to Confederate leaders and to the Confederacy, including on many Department of Defense assets. In every instance and every aspect, these names and memorials have far more to do with the culture under which they were named than they have with any historical acts actually committed by their namesakes. (Preface, page 3).   

(All emphasis in this article is added)

The obvious implication of this statement goes well beyond changing some base names.  The commissioners presume to pass judgement on (a) what these names and memorials meant to everyone and (b) what the “real” motivations for those statues were.  Think about that.

People who read the CNC report will naturally “read between the lines” and conclude that the CNC has determined that anything or anyone associated with the Confederacy is odious and not worthy of public recognition.   The paragraph I’ve quoted above talks about monuments to “Confederate leaders and to the Confederacy.”  But a few paragraphs earlier in the Preface, the CNC said this:
In passing the 2021 William M. “Mac” Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act, the United States Congress determined that Confederates and the Confederacy no longer warrant commemoration through Department of Defense assets.

The average American can connect the dots.  The CNC—which claims to be speaking with Congress’ approval—sure seems to be sending the message that “Confederates,” which presumably includes the lowest-ranking private, are unworthy of respect by the Defense Department. I’m sure that many of the ancestors of those Confederates will not only get the message—they’ll notice its judgmental and arrogant tone. 

Interestingly, the CNC does not define the term “Lost Cause.”  I suspect that, for each of us, that term means something different.  If the “Lost Cause” was something so odious that simply being associated with it justifies condemnation and cancellation, then shouldn’t we define it?  Shouldn’t we all operate off one common, agreed-upon term?  Especially when we’re discussing a contentious topic?  There is no Glossary in the CNC report.  So, it’s quite possible that, for the CNC, the term “Lost Cause” meant whatever the CNC wanted it to mean. 

Did the CNC think we’d accept its judgements and recommendations as diktats? Apparently so. Unfortunately, there’s apparently no way to ask questions about, or demand explanations for, its recommendations.  The CNC has dissolved itself. Its point-of-contact email for public relations matters now returns error messages when you try to contact it.   Think about that, too. 

What a fine way to handle our country’s heritage.  You can read the report for yourself at Home (thenamingcommission.gov). 

In my former hometown of New Orleans, an idiot (I need to specify, there are so many) named Mitch Landrieu was mayor. The Landrieu’s are one of the local rich politician families of the state, Mitch’s father was mayor in the 70s, his sister Mary “Ms Piggy” (I really shouldn’t insult Kermit’s girlfriend like that) Landrieu was senator for a couple of terms.  

Well, Mitch had this delusion he could run for president in 2020, but he needed more name recognition. So in a war zone city gunning (pardon the pun) to be the murder capital of the country, he decided what needed to be done was…remove 4 Confederate statues on city property. The most recognized was General Lee at Lee’s Circle. It’s a block away from the National World War II Museum, and ironically about two blocks from the Confederate Museum. 

After signing a contract with one company to remove the statues, the owner of that company had his car burned. Not to be deterred, he hired another contractor, and in the middle of the night they removed General Lee from the podium. All the workers had covers over their faces. The rest of the statues were removed over the next few weeks to be placed in a “suitable” location for display, like a museum. Last time I checked, all of them were in a warehouse collecting dust. 

Cost for this cluster f%^& was around 2 million dollars. That would likely have paid for two academy classes of New Orleans cops, for a department chronically understaffed. But we keep reminding people, if Mitch had not removed the statues, think of how many more murders we would have right now.  

Occasionally the wife and I consider moving back to Louisiana when we retire. Then we visit…Alabama or the Texas Hill Country look real good! 

Always loved Joan Jett, and seeing her is on my bucket list. Women in the 90s/00s, your success was paved by some real bad asses like her, Pat Benatar, and the Wilson sisters. The could play, sing, and write. 

Found this by pure accident, and gotta say it's not something I would expect from a Rock-n-Roll Hall of Famerer, but she knocks it out the park. 

From the Late Show with David Letterman (back he was actually entertaining), Joan Jett and the Blackhearts play the theme to Mary Tyler Moore, "Love is All Around." Enjoy and have a great weekend. 

Reporters doesn’t know what they're talking about. Shocking, I know.

 

A few years back the local rag, the Houston Chronicle, published this cartoon showing then President Donald Trump shooting himself in the foot with a revolver. Curious, the “revolver” was ejecting empty brass out. I knew the difference between a revolver and a semi-automatic before I was ten, but this “learned” cartoonist did not. Not surprising

I point this out because I read a recent article on Alex Baldwin’s being charged with manslaughter in the shooting on the Rust set

Alec Baldwin Will Be Charged With Involuntary Manslaughter in ‘Rust’ Killing

By Julia Jacobs and Graham Bowley

A gun that Mr. Baldwin was rehearsing with went off, killing the film’s cinematographer. The armorer responsible for weapons on set also faces manslaughter charges...

Ms. Jacobs and Mr. Bowley, a gun doesn't just "go off," hate to shock you. 

Growing up, I was taught to treat every firearm I was handing as loaded and ready to fire, and to never point it at anything you didn't want to shoot at. Later on, I was instructed by a very wise Army master sergeant two things:

1. There is no such thing as an unloaded firearm! 

2. The loudest noise you will ever hear in your life is the sound of an "unloaded" firearm going off. 

Words to live by. 

Now we have the official charging statement on Mr. Baldwin. Emphasis mine:

Information and evidence obtained showed that BALDWIN was seated in a pew facing in a ‘northerly direction, towards the front of the church. In front of him was Halyna Hutchins and Joel Souza, and a camera operator, along with other crew (i. sound, script, costume, etc.). BALDWIN was wearing 2 shoulder holster, right hand draw, which was securing/holding the 45 long colt caliber, single action six shot revolver. BALDWIN was practicing drawing and pointing the weapon for the scene with guidance and instruction from Halyna Hutchins and Joel Souza. 

The set-up was to be a close-up on BALDWIN and the firearm, as he drew the weapon and pointed it. Halyna Hutchins and Joel Souza were viewing the practice scene on a monitor attached to the camera. BALDWIN drew the revolver from the holster, pointed it at Halyna Hutchins, and fired the weapon. When reviewing the script and witness interviews, for this particular scene and close-up shot, evidence indicates the scene/shot did not require the weapon to be fired.It was also determined by consultation with expert armorers that in a rehearsal, a plastic gun or replica gun should be used as no firing of blanks is required. However, BALDWIN fired the single action 45 long colt revolver resulting in the discharge of a projectile that struck ‘and traveled through right armpit area of Halyna Hutchins, exited her back (from the OMI’s official report), then struck Joel Souza in the right shoulder and lodged into his right back.  

"However, BALDWIN fired the single action 45 long colt revolver resulting in the discharge of a projectile..." Again, Mr. Baldwin was reckless in his handing of a loaded firearm. If he wanted to practice, fine, use a "blue gun," or other no-fireable gun. But you use a read gun, it's treated as loaded at all times. 

Ms. Jacobs and Mr. Bowley, I suggest you take an NRA safety course. You need it.