Spokane wildfire arsonist suspect had been linked to two more fires.

 

A statue that survived the wildfire. BBC/Getty.

The suspect in the Spokane wildfire arson has been linked to two more fires. BBC. Aaron Farinacci, a 37 year old who had a conviction for manslaughter for killing his own father, was found kneeling near the site of the blaze. He had a lighter and matches on him. The fire he started, the Autumn Lane fire, is still uncontained and destroyed 700 homes and forced 60,000 people to evacuate. No fatalities have been recorded in the three fires near Spokane, but there are some people that authorities have not been able to contact. The suspect was initially let go but fire inspectors discovered that the cause of the blaze was human activity. 

My Comment:

Wildfires are a major concern lately, especially with much of the country facing dry conditions, both seasonally and this year specifically. There have been major fires in the Pacific Northwest and Canada. They have caused billions of dollars worth of damage and cause quite a bit of human misery, as I can attest to with the horrible wildfire smoke from Canada that choked Wisconsin. 

Wildfires are an inevitability. Many of them can happen with no human involvement whatsoever, and they can even happen in forests that are properly managed. However, human activity is a major cause of wildfires. Some of this, like many of the wildfires in Canada and California, is due to human incompetence. Things like not managing forests at all, or failing to clear trees that are near major powerlines, are a major cause of fire. 

But what is starting to worry me are these arsons. Spokane is not the first city to face major damage from a human started wildfire. The Palisades fire that wrecked thousands of homes and killed people was allegedly started by a person (a mistrial was declared in the case and a retrial has been scheduled). And now we have this fire as well. 

It makes me concern that a meme is forming. Disturbed people can see that absolutely devastating damage and, given the right weather conditions, they can do the same thing. It might be why the media was lying about the cause of the Palisades Fire when it happened, they really didn't want the idea of arsonists starting wildfires like this to spread.   

What about this case? I think it's a strong circumstantial case. Carrying matches and a lighter when you are a smoker isn't uncommon, especially for a smoker, but doing it right where a major wildfire starts is at least confirmation that you have the means to start a fire. And witnesses saw him kneeling near the site if the fire. Unless there is some kind of exonerating evidence put forth at trial, it seems very likely he will be convicted.  

What is frustrating is the fact that Farinacci was out in the first place. 12 years for manslaughter for killing his own father over an argument about washing the dishes is obscene. He did serve his time and was released from probation, but still, if he had gotten a longer sentence for killing his own father, he wouldn't have been on the streets in the first place, which may have prevented this fire. 

Embattled Congressman Max Miller (R) facing calls to step down over domestic abuse allegations.

 

Congressman Max Miller. Official portrait. 

Embattled Congressman Max Miller, Republican from Ohio's 7th district, is facing calls to step down and withdraw from the race after serious allegations of domestic abuse have surfaced. Politico. Miller was married to the daughter of Senator Bernie Moreno, Emily Moreno and is in the middle of an acrimonious divorce. Miller was accused by Moreno of spraying her with scalding water and pointing a gun at her head while also breaking the collarbone of their daughter. Miller has denied the accusations. In addition to Senator Moreno, other prominent Senate Republicans have called for Miller to step down before Wednesday's deadline for a new primary. 

A new report from Axios says that President Trump has expressed skepticism of Miller's chances in November.  Trump reportedly didn't call for Miller to drop out but said that his reelection chances, against Democrat Brian Poindexter, were "not looking good". President Trump has remained neutral in public comments about Miller.

My Comment:

There's nothing worse than a he said she said situation. It's very hard to tell if the allegations against Miller are legit or just the result of an acrimonious divorce. There is some documentation to favor both Miller and Moreno's claims. The evidence in both sides isn't conclusive and there isn't a smoking gun for either side. 

Which means that folks are conflicted about this. If the allegations are true, than there is no reason for Miller to be in the House. Indeed, if he pointed a gun at his then-wife, he should be in prison. And he's already faced allegations of abuse from a woman before, former White House Secretary Stephanie Grisham also accused him of abuse, to the point where a settlement was made. 

But there is, of course, the idea of reasonable doubt. Folks do indeed lie during these kinds of horrible divorces and some of the allegations are ridiculous (spraying someone with a sink hose is not going to cause any damage). And there is no iron clad proof that Miller actually did anything wrong. 

What I do know is that these allegations are turning what should be a solid Republican seat in Ohio into one that Democrats could conceivably win. Polling has shown that Brian Poindexter, Miller's Democratic opponent, is close to overtaking Miller in the polls. And the only real reason for that is folks think that Miller is guilty of the accusations against him. 

It's telling that someone named Poindexter, who looks like the name, even has a chance in a safe Republican district. Poindexter is another attempt, like Graham Platner in Maine, to get a "manly man" into office to try and win back Republicans. Normally it wouldn't work at all, why would men vote for a party that hates them? But if the choice is between someone who may have beaten up two women and injured a child? I personally would vote for the Devil himself over even the most moderate Democrat, but a lot of folks aren't going to make that trade. 

Miller has to drop out by the 5th if there is going to be a primary and I think the Republicans have until the 10th to replace him. Miller, for his part, seems determined to stay in the race. He thinks he can still win, and I think there is a chance, folks might not believe his ex-wife. But the fact that several senators are calling for him to step down and the fact that Trump has expressed doubt makes me think that he could be forced to leave, much like Graham Platner was in Maine for the Democrats. 

Finally, I have to say that if I had married the daughter of a Senator, I'd be treating her with kid gloves. If these accusations are even close to being true, than Miller is crazy. Bernie Moreno is a popular member of the Senate, and though he's a freshman Senator (he replaced Democrat Sherrod Brown), he's not a man I would make upset. Indeed, the fact that he ended up speaking out at all is pretty damning and it alone makes the accusations more credible. 

Armed civilian and off duty cop confront mass shooter in Idaho.

 

Screenshot of video showing the civilian opening fire on the attacker with a suppressed FN Five-SeveN pistol. USA Today.

An armed civilian and off duty cop confronted a mass shooter in Idaho and drove him off. USA Today. The attack occurred at a busy In-N-Out burger restaurant in Twin Falls and resulted in two deaths and seven injuries. The suspect was armed with a long gun in an AR-15 variant. Video showed him shooting into parked Tesla cars at a charging station. However, the actions of the civilian an the off duty police officer forced him to flee and he ended up taking his own life. The civilian and officer also helped treat and evacuate the wounded and are being hailed as heroes. The suspects motivations are still unknown.

My Comment:

Another example of a good guy with a gun stopping a mass shooting. Again, you don't have to kill the attacker to stop him, often, resistance is enough. The civilian and the off duty cop were able to drive this attacker away and the attacker ended up killing himself. 

That's usually what happens when a mass shooter is confronted. Very few of them are competent and almost none of them have ever been in combat before. They weren't banking on someone fighting back and when someone does, they usually fold. 

It's pretty clear that the guy shooting the pistol had more experience with his weapon than the shooter. Indeed, this is a guy that his whole life is guns. The FN Five-SeveN pistol is not cheap, the MSRP is around $1500, and he had to buy a version with a threaded barrel and the suppressor. The can itself was probably around $500 and, depending on when he bought it, he might have still had to pay the now-revoked $200 tax stamp. Plus, he was using subsonic rounds. 5.7 is already an expensive round. It seems likely that the civilian (who has been identified on social media but not by new organizations) was pretty rich and was very experienced with his firearms.

For folks not in the gun community, it's probably important to explain that this is probably unprecedented. Very few people bother to carry a FN Five-seveN, given the price of the firearm and the cost per round. It's not a carry gun, it's a full sized pistol and probably gave the shooter a much more even playing field against the attacker. And very few people bother to carry subsonic rounds or a suppressor as an every day carry option. Indeed, it's pretty uncommon for home defense or any other usage. 

Idaho is a red state with good gun laws and it's not at all surprising that there were two people willing to fight back at a busy In-N-Out restaurant. Like I said before, fighting back is about the only way to end mass shootings before fatalities reach the double digit range, and Idaho was uniquely qualified to facilitate that. They are a pro-suppressor state and have very loose open carry laws and I think that's a major reason why this attack failed. 

As for the shooter, it's clear that he didn't really seem competent with his firearm. The suspect has been named as Chad Williams and we don't know too much about his background and motivations. But from the video I have seen of him, he did not seem to have much in the way of confidence and it's clear that he wasn't expecting to come under fire so quickly. It's absolutely tragic he was able to shoot a few people, killing two of them, but it does go to show that training and confidence trump simply owning a rifle. 

Indeed, if the identification of the civilian is correct, he is a GunTuber on YouTube. He has several videos showing him training with his pistol (and an FN-FS2000 rifle, I told you he had money) and it's abundantly clear that he knew what he is doing. We don't know much about the off-duty cop, but it's clear that both men are heroes and did exactly what you should do if confronted by a mass killer. 

Thousands of migrants invade Ceuta in Spain.

 

Migrants rush into Ceuta after crossing the border. Fox News/Reuters. 

Thousands of illegal aliens have invaded Ceuta in Spain, causing a major immigration crisis. Fox News. At least 2,000 migrants crossed over the border of Ceuta from Morocco. Ceuta is a Spanish enclave in Africa. Footage shows the illegal aliens bypassing border fences and swimming in from the sea. President Trump criticized Spain's leftist government for the crisis, saying it could lead to destruction. Spain's conservative opposition agreed and said that guaranteeing social services for underage illegal immigrants obviously incentivized the situation. However, Spain's leftist Prime Minster Pedro Sanchez refused to declare an emergency and said that immigration was necessary to deal with low birthrates.

INSANE FOOTAGE: Thousands of migrants continue crossing from Morocco into Spain’s Ceuta enclave, as local officials reportedly urge Madrid to declare a national emergency. pic.twitter.com/dlbbKOjBV1

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 30, 2026

 

My Comment:

This is entirely due to Spain's leftist government, who absolutely incentivized this invasion. When you tell people that if you break into the country they can get free stuff, it's like putting a steak in front of a hungry dog. It's no surprise that thousands of people, mostly military aged men, have showed up. 

I also don't buy Spain's argument that these people are needed because of low birth rates. If low birth rates are a problem, and they absolutely are, they should be trying to solve that by getting people together and having kids. I know it's very difficult to increase the birthrates, but Spain hasn't even tried to do so, it's just going with the immigration angle. 

The problem with this is that the quality of people is going to be extremely poor. At the very least, the underage ones are going to be a huge drain of resources until they turn 18, and even beyond that, I see most of these men not working and continuing to drain welfare for many years. And the ones that do work? They are going to mostly be doing so under the table, contributing very little to the tax base. And, most importantly, they will be depressing wages and taking jobs from Spanish civilians. These aren't going to be the upper crust from Morocco, who could potentially contribute, but the lower classes who haven't been able to secure any kinds of ties to their community. 

I feel bad for the Spanish civilians. Their ancestors suffered under Islam for many centuries and a lot of people had to die in order to take back the country from their Muslim overlords. The Reconquista was one of the few examples where Islam was pushed back and our of Europe but it's insane to me the obvious consequence is going to be the same thing. 

I honestly think that conflict in Europe is inevitable. Europe's leftist leadership is all out of ideas and nobody is willing to actually get rid of these people and prevent them from coming. At some point folks are going to get tired of it and with right wing governments unlikely to form (and if they do, they betray the people that put them in power), what other outcome is even possible?  

Tensions between Iran and Ukraine could escalate after Ukraine struck an Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea.

 

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi. New York Times/AP.

Tensions between Iran and Ukraine have increased after Ukraine struck an Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea. New York Times. Ukraine drones attacked an Iranian freighter and killed a civilian sailor. Iran had vowed to retaliate and considered a strike on an Ukrainian port on the Black Sea. The attack would be a single missile and would be considered symbolic in nature. However, the foreign ministers of both Ukraine and Iran talked and deescalated the situation. Iran and Russia are allies and the Caspian Sea has become a critical route for Iran, and any involvement with Ukraine could complicate both wars. 

My Comment:

For now, it seems that cooler heads are prevailing. From what I understand, the phone call between Iran and Ukraine was promising, and it does seem like Iran has backed down from any retaliation. The hope is that this will be the end of it, and Iran's protests over the strike on their ship will remain diplomatic in nature. 

And I don't really think that any of the parties in either conflict would benefit from an actual war between Iran and Ukraine. Seriously, it poses problems for basically every party to both wars. Iran has barely enough weapons to strike targets at this point, most of their launchers are destroyed and they only have a few weapons left. They also would risk having their last major sea route for trade with Russia cut off entirely, due to Ukrainian strikes. 

Ukraine? It has huge manpower problems of their own and they too are just barely able to keep up pressure on Russia. Having Iran join the war on Russia's side would further stretch their resources and they would have difficulty with their air defenses, which have already largely been depleted. 

Russia? They absolutely don't want their sea route with Iran closed. It's absolutely an important corridor for them, and though they are no longer reliant on Iran for their Shahed drones, having Ukraine possibly closing the sea route would be bad for them. 

And America? They want both wars to end. That gets a lot harder to do if both wars are connected. Indeed, the Iran War almost ended once already and it could happen easily again, but not if Ukraine is party to the war. And given that I don't consider the leadership of Iran or Ukraine to be rational actors, diplomacy might be extremely hard to pull off. 

Given the incentives here, I would expect that diplomacy will prevail. I do fear that the leadership of Iran and Ukraine are both, quite frankly, insane, for continuing wars that they lost a long time ago. But even they have to have some rational actors that would consult against this, right? 

So what would a war between Iran and Ukraine look like? I am guessing it would largely be similar to what the Iran war has devolved in, only without the involvement of US Airpower. Both sides have long range missiles and drones and I can see both sides using them to strike targets. Iran would likely target Ukranian ports while Ukraine would likely continue to target Iranian ships in the Caspian Sea. 

There's a small chance that Iran could deploy ground troops to the front lines in Ukraine, but that seems unlikely. Logistically it would be a nightmare because there would be no likely ground route to transport troops and supplies from Iran to Russia, not to mention troop ships would be vulnerable in the Caspian Sea. Plus, Iranian troops are not a good match for the grinding attritional warfare against Ukraine. 

Regardless, I think that even with the irrational leadership of Ukraine and Iran, that there won't be a real conflict between them. Nobody really benefits and both sides would have serious consequences for doing so. There is still some chance of it happening, but I am glad that there is diplomacy happening.