Weekend Parting Shot: The Birds Come Home to Roost, and It's Comedy

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Happy Friday, Gentle Readers,

I pray this missive finds you well. Since this will be the last WPS before the holiday, I wish you a blessed, holy, and merry Christmas.

Power to the people!

Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.

—H. L. Mencken

The Great American Northwest, usually in tandem with most of the Golden and Empire states (with a little help from Illinois now and then), has been the source of much of the national chaos and misery over the last eight years, not to mention fodder for many a PJ Media columnist, including yours truly. While Oregon and Washington did some pioneering work in defunding the police and cultivating entropy, it never occurred to any of its leadership (and I use that term loosely) that consequences almost always follow actions. Especially stupid actions.

As the Era of Leftist Mayhem comes to at least a temporary end, the Post Millennial has a story that puts an exclamation point on this sorry chapter in American history. On Monday, Cheryl Rakes was sworn in as the appointed deputy mayor of Auburn, Wash. Little did Rakes know that as she was taking the oath of office, someone was boosting her car, a 2016 Kia Soul, from in front of the city hall. She was gone for an hour. The car was found at an abandoned apartment complex. They stole her stuff, but she got her Kia back.

Had Ms. Rakes paid attention to inconsequential things like crime stats, she would have known that between 2020 and 2022, car thefts rose 14% across the nation. In Washington during that same time frame, there was a 65.8% jump in auto thefts. Six of the top 10 targeted cars are Hyundais and Kias.

The Post Millennial notes:

Experts have cited restrictions on police pursuits that were approved by the Democrat-controlled Washington Legislature following the 2020 riots that rocked Seattle, despite being cautioned that such restrictions would embolden criminals.

After the bill was passed into law, suspects fleeing police spiked by the thousands, with one criminal even calling 911 to cite the bill to tell police to stop pursuing him.

In May, a citizen-backed initiative was passed to finally remove Democrats’ disastrous restrictions on police pursuits.

The Evergreen State was ranked in 2024 as the most dangerous state to live in due to violent crime and property crime rates, traffic-related fatalities, and total law enforcement employees per capita. Washington also has the highest rates of burglary and auto theft in the US and is also the state most affected by retail crime.

Washington got what it wanted, good and hard.

Soaring crime and abandoned apartment complexes, Washington sounds like a progressive worker’s paradise, indeed.

Wine recommendation

Because some Christmas spirits can help you get into the Christmas spirit. Okay, technically, wine is not a spirit, but let’s not pick nits this time of year. For this outing, Mrs. Brown selected an Italian red: the 2022 Marchesi di Barolo Ruvei Barbera d’Alba.

This wine is 85% Barbera and 15% Nebbiolo, give or take a percentage or two. According to the vineyard, it is aged in stainless steel vats and oak barrels, and one should drink it anywhere from two to six years after bottling. After giving the bottle time to breathe, you should notice a nice, well-rounded bouquet. Expect some blackberry and blueberry, with a nice dose of red fruits, a tiny hint of vanilla, and some smoke from the aging process. This solid, dry red goes easy on the tannins and is bold without being overaggressive from the first sip to the last.

This wine ends with a strong finish across the tongue and upper palate and resonates slightly in the sinuses. Serve it at about 65 degrees with a good beef dish, chicken with marinara, or a meat-heavy charcuterie board. You should be able to pick up a bottle for $15 to $25, depending on your locale.

A bit of a caveat:

This time of the year is not always joyful for everyone. You may be dealing with the loss of a loved one, or the season may evoke no small amount of pain. You may be struggling financially or personally. There could be all sorts of reasons why your days may not be “merry and bright.” If that is the case for you, may I suggest taking it easy on the adult beverage of your choice?

Years ago, when I separated from my first wife, Christmas found me broke, alone, bereft of family, friends, presents, and a tree. I was living in a cold, dilapidated rental house, and honestly, Christmas Day seemed about as special as February 3, as in not special at all. If you find yourself in a similar situation for whatever reason, may I suggest contemplating this passage from the Gospel of St. John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

That’s it for me. Have a great weekend and a very Merry Christmas, and I’ll see you next time.