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Erik Scott, Freddie Gray, Glock 17, Glock 26, Justine Damond, Marilyn Mosby, MP5SD6, SMM, Stately McDaniel Manor
credit: keenetrial.com
It’s always interesting to look back at the previous year’s accomplishments. Or more specifically, to see what you, gentle readers, thought worthy. Writing is a rewarding, but also puzzling thing. One may labor lovingly for days or even weeks on an article, only to see it lay there, flaccid–in terms of readership, comments and apparent interest–like a landed flounder. Amazingly, some articles I whip up in minutes, thinking little of them, take off like skyrockets.
With that in mind, I present the top fifteen articles of 2017, at least in numbers of hits recorded by WordPress. Comments are often an inexact measure of popularity. Sometimes several readers stubbornly go at each other, running up the comment total, sometimes well into the hundreds. Often, the number of hits does not well correlate with the number of comments. Human beings–certainly not you, gentle readers–are unpredictable beasts. But you might want to visit some of these articles, which you obviously thought were worth reading.
1) The Standard: The Glock 17 (4375 hits)
This article, a long time favorite, was first posted in March of 2013. It speaks of the history and features of Glock’s first handgun, still very popular around the world.
H&K MP5SD6
2) The HK MP5 SD6: Good, Clean, Sexy, All American Fun (3466 hits)
This article, also posted in March of 2013, provides a bit of submachine gun history, and is a review of the HK MP5 SD6, the Walther-built .22LR version of the MP5SD 9mm suppressed submachine gun, still the western world standard. The authentic MP5SD is all but impossible for Americans to own, or even to shoot, so the MP5 SD6 is about as close as one can get, and it’s pretty close indeed.
3) When Is An Unloaded Gun An Unloaded Gun? (2615 hits)
This article, posted in August of 2013, tells the story of State (New Hampshire) v. Dor. Dor had the misfortune to be charged with possession of a loaded pistol. The problem was the handgun was in his glovebox, the loaded magazine was not in the weapon, but was nearby, and no round was in the chamber of the weapon. Take the link to find out of an unloaded gun was actually an unloaded gun.
Justine Damond
4) The Justine Damond Case, Update #7.2: All Fished Out (1849 hits)
This article, actually posted in August of 2017, outlined the bizarre warrant procedures of Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is rather an odd name too. The Damond case continues to draw a great deal of interest, as it should, not necessarily because I’m writing about it so brilliantly, but because the issues involved are of enormous importance for us all.
5) The Justine Damond Case, #13.2: Everyone’s Waiting (1630 hits)
Posted in December of 2017, this article examines the unfathomable delays in the progress of this case. For comparison, keep in mind I average something over 1000 hits per day. The most I’ve ever had was well over 15,000 in a single day.
credit: washingtonpost.com
6) The Freddie Gray Case, Update 45: The Baltimore Death Spiral (1436 hits)
Posted in May of 2017, this article examined the enormous difficulty Baltimore is having retaining and recruiting police officers. They did it to themselves.
7) The Freddie Gray Case, Update 35.6: The Prosecution Suborns Perjury (1180 hits)
This article, posted in June of 2016, was posted while the Freddie Gray persecutions were still ongoing. It outlines then new information about how Marilyn Mosby and her minions actually suborned perjury to obtain affidavits for the arrest warrants of the six officers.
Brooke Newton
8) Brooke Newton: The Unity Of America (1069 hits)
This article, posted in September of 2017, reminds us that patriotism, and decency are far from dead in America. Take the link; you’ll feel better about our chances. Do have Kleenex at hand.
credit: time.com
9) Update 43, The Freddie Gray Case: Not A “Spring” Spring (1051 hits)
Posted in February of 2017, this article chronicles the tale of Freddie Gray’s knife, and the continuing bad fortune following Marilyn Mosby like a dark cloud, a cloud she brought on herself and the hapless citizens of Baltimore. It explores the depths to which prosecutors can sink in the pursuit of social justice rather than actual justice.
10) The Freddie Gray Case, Update 42: Marilyn Mosby’s No Good, Very Bad, Terrible 2016 (997 hits)
Posted in January of 2017, this article is pretty much self-explanatory. It’s a good review of the results of all the trials inflicted on six innocent police officers, and the aftermath of the debacle.
Proper Grip For “Pinch Check”
Posted in November of 2013, this is a how-to article, featuring a bit of modeling by Mrs. Manor. Concealable semiautomatic handguns often have doubled recoil springs, which makes cycling slides, and press checks, difficult for some. However, with correct technique, it’s much easier.
Disassembled For Cleaning
12) A Daily Companion: The Glock 26 (922 hits)
Posted in August of 2012, this article is on the history and application of the Glock 26, the first “Baby Glock.” I’ve since changed to a Crimson Track laser, and now carry a Glock 43, but the 26 is a fine weapon and viable choice for many.
Don and Justine Damond
13) The Justine Damond Case, Update #7: The BCA–Gone Fishin’ (900 hits)
Posted in August of 2017, this article was the first to deal with several odd warrants served by the BCA in the Damond case. The focus is particularly on the warrant for Damond’s home. Considering her home was a half block from the crime scene and played no role in the crime, any search was unlawful. Number 4, Update 7.2, was the follow up to this article, written after I was able to obtain copies of the actual affidavits, warrants and returns.
Las Vegas Metro Police Sgt. Reyes
14) The Erik Scott Case, Update 23: Video That Won’t Disappear (875 hits)
It was the Erik Scott case that began my blogging journey. Posted in February of 2015, this article speaks to the Costco surveillance video that mysteriously disappeared. It now appears my book on the case will finally be published in the near future. I’ll keep you updated.
Justine Damond
15) The Justine Damond Case, Update 2: Police Panic (825 hits)
Posted in July of 2017, this second article in the Damond series covered the early developments in the case. It’s worth a look as a refresher.
That’s it for 2017, gentle readers. As always, my appreciation for your patronage, kind comments, and occasionally, catching my proofreading errors, is beyond easy explanation. I hope your 2018 is better than the last one. God speed.
Stately McDaniel Manor 
My daughter, in her public speaking course at the local community college, had to prepare a speech on one of the Amendments of the Constitution. I suggested the 4th based on your Justine Damond articles. She agreed, used your information as one of her sources (among others) and presented a well-received speech. Thank you.
Dear Bill Cook:
You honor me. Please pass my congratulations to your daughter. I wish I could have heard her speech.
I shall, and thank you.
Pingback: SMM All Time Top Ten Articles | Stately McDaniel Manor
I think your reportage on the Trayvon Martin case would have to rank
near the top of the list. The level of detail was astounding. When you
traced George Zimmerman step by step using Google Maps, it was
almost like being there as a witness to the event.
Ever Since I saw a MilBlog tear the forged Bush National Guard memo
to shreds, I began to see that the Internet had the potential to be the
worlds greatest BS detector. One of the first to chime in was a veteran
who reported that the IBM Selectric typewriters weren’t capable of super-
script. One discovery after another punched holes in the document. The
final nail in the coffin was that the memo was created on a box stock
copy of Microsoft Word.
That was a community effort that involved hundreds of people. You, on the
other hand, are a one-man-band although I suspect you have many sources
in PD’s around the country.
If all we had to go by was the liberal media, the anniversary of St. Skittles
would be a national holiday by now. If you remember, I was decrying the
fact that police departments were being forced to leak material to the
public, but I now believe they had no choice. When the SJW’s were
accusing police officers of being cold-blooded murderers and demanding
gag orders to keep the facts away from the public, one has to get the
truth out. This was especially problematic with the Martin and Brown
case and the Boston fiasco.
Dear Leonard Jones:
Quite so, and thanks for your kind words.