A bill to outlaw the B-word — the term for a female dog that is commonly used to slander women — is being slammed on both ends of the political spectrum as a case of government overreach and censorship.
“While I detest the use of the B-word and the N-word and the word fag, etc., I love the Constitution more and question the constitutionality of bills like this,” said Arline Isaacson, co-chairwoman of the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus. “The concern is specifically about the right to free speech, including speech that I hate.”
“It’s a very, very slippery slope and at the end of the slippery slope is the anti-Websters, the dictionary of words we can never use,” conservative political consultant Chip Jones told the Herald. “We continually replace the right and responsibility of people to defend themselves from physical and emotional harm with government intervention. When we replace an individual’s right or responsibility to defend themselves, we weaken people and society.”
I'm sure that Daniel.Hunt@mahouse.gov would like to hear your thoughts about being a top notch legislator.
“I have yet to meet a real champion who has a problem with trans women. Real champions want stronger competition. If you win because bigotry got your competition banned … you’re a loser.” Rachel McKinnon
Quote II
“That is an untenable position for the general election,” “This is reckless as it relates to — and you don’t have to take the position to win the primary. And you’re basically literally hindering yourself for the general election.” Rahm Emanuel
Quote III
"The company keeps hiring more and more people part time," "I'm a loyal employee. I'm trying to pick up a second job for the hours I'm not getting at my current job." Lee Beecher
Quote IV
“I think there’s a lot of potential for communities to back-inform what could be productive investigations for medical researchers.” Stevie Chancellor
Quote V
‘Patriotism is the wholesome, constructive love of one’s land and people. Nationalism is the unhealthy love of one’s government, accompanied by the aggressive desire to put down others—which becomes in deracinated modern men a substitute for religious faith. Patriotism is an appropriate, indeed necessary, sentiment for people who wish to preserve their freedom; nationalism is not.’ Professor Clyde Wilson
Back in 2013, ProPublica detailed what seemed a stunning development in the pharmaceutical industry’s drive to win the prescription pads of the nation’s doctors: In just four years, one doctor had earned $1 million giving promotional talks and consulting for drug companies; 21 others had made more than $500,000.
Six years later — despite often damning scrutiny from prosecutors and academics — such high earnings have become commonplace.
More than 2,500 physicians have received at least half a million dollars apiece from drugmakers and medical device companies in the past five years alone, a new ProPublica analysis of payment data shows. And that doesn’t include money for research or royalties from inventions.
Teen Vogue, the publication that encourages teenagers to consider sex work, is now telling their young readers that “we need to think beyond the incorrect idea that periods are just for women” and that tampons should be available in men’s bathrooms.
In an op-ed for “National Period Day,” Courtney Roark, the Alabama policy and movement building director at URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity wrote that “we’ve been socialized to understand reproductive health, including periods, assumes a person’s gender indicates their reproductive organs — which is not the case.”
Imagine, for a moment, that Taylor Swift was wrong. The reigning queen of country-tinged pop shocked fans in 2014 by abruptly and publicly breaking up with a prominent suitor: Spotify. Mere days after the October release of her album 1989, Swift yanked her entire back catalog from the leading music-streaming service—and made a compelling case why Spotify was a threat to her industry.
“I’m not willing to contribute my life’s work to an experiment that I don’t feel fairly compensates the writers, producers, artists, and creators of this music,” Swift said at the time, taking a swipe at Spotify’s so-called freemium business model. “And I just don’t agree with perpetuating the perception that music has no value and should be free.”
Swift’s bold move won her acclaim from recording artists around the world who believed that streaming music services were cutting into their already meager bottom lines. After all, revenues for recorded music had been falling for a decade and a half thanks to plummeting CD sales. Spotify cofounder and CEO Daniel Ek countered by publishing a lengthy essay defending his company. (“All the talk swirling around lately about how Spotify is making money on the backs of artists upsets me big-time,” he wrote.) And Swift’s scheme proved to be a triumph once the receipts rolled in. Named America’s highest-earning musician that year by Billboard, Swift went on to sell a million copies a week of her album for three weeks straight—the first such recording artist to do so, according to Nielsen SoundScan—without the work ever landing on Spotify servers.
Swift 1, Spotify 0.
But while Taylor may have won the day, Spotify hardly suffered in the long run. In fact, 2014 was the low point for music sales—and the start of a resurgence for the business, led by Spotify.
***
THE ONT MUSICAL INTERLUDE
&&&
Born on this day: 22 Oct 1945
Leslie West, guitar, Mountain, (1970 US No.21 single 'Mississippi Queen'), West Bruce & Laing. via thisdayinmusic.com
A woman has survived a 25-metre fall from a balcony in Mexico after she slipped off while trying to perform a dangerous yoga pose.
According to local newspaper El Imparcial, 23-year-old university student Alexa Terrazas was photographed by her friend posing on the railing of their San Pedro, Nuevo León apartment, before slipping and falling six floors.
This paralyzed little boy was unable to return home from the hospital because his house was not wheelchair-accessible—so basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal simply bought the boy and his family a brand new home.
12-year-old Isaiah Payton was leaving a high school football game in Atlanta, Georgia back in August when gunfire broke out near the field and a stray bullet hit the youngster in the spine, paralyzing him from the neck down.
O’Neal was just one of the community residents who was particularly heartbroken by the incident—so when he saw an opportunity to help the family, he immediately stepped up to the plate.
***
Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by Appreciation.
Notice: Posted with permission by the Ace Media Empire, AceCorp, LLC and the International Brotherhood of Cobs Local 12. No fight for $15 here.
This may come as a shock to you but every Democrat outraged that President Trump is comparing his impeachment to a "lynching" also called the Clinton impeachment a "lynching"
Nadler: “I wish we could get this over with quickly. … In pushing the process, in pushing the arguments of fairness and due process the Republicans so far have been running a lynch mob.” https://t.co/lHWWFXW5eE
Well, this is what California law says. Choke on it.
She also claims that Dawson's mom attacked her. (This person is a woman and a lesbian who then decided, late in life, that she's been a man all along.)
A transgender handyman who worked for Rosario Dawson claims the “Rent” star belittled him with transphobic insults and that her mom once beat him up after he came out, according to new reports.
Dedrek Finley, 55, said his relationship with the Dawson family went downhill after he revealed he was transgender, according to his lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles court and reported by NBC News.
...
But after the Beacon, New York native moved into a North Hollywood home rented by the family, he came out -- and claims he was immediately subjected to transphobic comments.
"The family misgendered him multiple times each day, with deliberate indifference as to the appropriate way to address Mr. Finley," his suit says.
...
Two months later, things allegedly turned physical between Finley and Rosario's mother, Isabel Dawson, who is accused of dragging him by his arm out of a window.
As Finley was lying on the ground outside, Isabel, "who is substantially larger than Mr. Finley, got on top of Mr. Finley’s body and began punching him," the complaint says.
"While beating Mr. Finley, Isabel screamed, 'You're not so much of a man now,' which was a clear and denigrating reference to Mr. Finley’s gender identity."
Yeah I don't believe this. If you've been physically assaulted, you don't also add, "And what really upset me is the mean language used while beating me."
That's a Saul Rosenberg type thing. "He was beating me about the head and neck and saying very hurtful things."
Nevertheless: Choke on it.
Tim Pool raises a good point: Cory Booker, who is, you may have heard, fiercely heterosexual, cannot deny this woman's complaint, because you're supposed to believe all women (even former women) and of course Trans People Are Special Angels Who Never Lie About Assaults.
In other words, they're the new Liberal Women, with an unrebuttable presumption of being truthful and virtuous.
So The Fiercely Heterosexual Cory Booker can't really stick up for the woman he is pretending he has any sexual attraction to. He'll have to say something about "Believing all Transmen."
They left it sitting on the sea-floor for a year. Which... okay, whatever, it's Russia.
Only a year later did they attempt to recover it.
Their recovery efforts did not go as one might have hoped. The reactor exploded and has flooded the areas around it -- including big towns -- with radiation.
Russia covered up the deadly nuclear reactor explosion in August during the salvage at sea of one of Vladimir Putin's new superweapons, a nuclear-powered cruise missile called Skyfall, a senior State Department official disclosed.
The reactor exploded Aug. 8 off the coast of the northern Russian town of Nenoska, killing seven Russians on a barge in the White Sea as they were overseeing the recovery of a sunken Skyfall. The missile had been sitting on the seafloor for about year after a failed flight test, said State Department official Thomas G. DiNanno.
"The explosion was caused by the Skyfall experiencing a criticality accident, an uncontrolled nuclear reaction that released a burst of radiation while Russian personnel retrieved it from the seafloor," Mr. DiNanno said in an interview with The Washington Times.
It gets worse: Experts say that approximately $150,000 worth of FaceBook ads accidentally blew up the entire democracy of the United States as well
"Is There Anybody Else?:" Democrats Panicking Over Weak and Vulnerable (and Socialist!) Candidates; Hillary Clinton Telling Friends She Might Join The Race, If She Thinks She Can Win
—Ace of Spades
Didn't she already win in 2016? Isn't she actually the President?
So who do you turn to? Why, Hillary Clinton of course.
I mean, obviously.
I understand she's popular with the NeverTrump set.
When a half-dozen Democratic donors gathered at the Whitby Hotel in Manhattan last week, the dinner began with a discussion of which presidential candidates the contributors liked. But as conversations among influential Democrats often go these days, the meeting quickly evolved into a discussion of who was not in the race -- but could be lured in.
...
"Since the last debate, just anecdotally, I've had five or six people ask me: 'Is there anybody else?'" said Leah Daughtry, a longtime Democrat who has run two of the party's recent conventions.
[D]emocratic leaders are engaging in a familiar rite: fretting about who is in the race and longing for a white knight to enter the contest at the last minute.
OMG I can't even with the racism
...
"There's more anxiety than ever," said Connie Schultz, a journalist who is married to Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, another Democrat who some in the party would like to see join the race. "We're both getting the calls. I've been surprised by some who've called me."
One caller? A man doing a bad French accent identifying himself as Pierre Delecto and asking, "Does Sherrod think my wife is attractive? Would it bring him the delight to sex her?"
...
Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Bloomberg have both told people privately in recent weeks that if they thought they could win, they would consider entering the primary -- but that they were skeptical there would be an opening, according to Democrats who have spoken with them.
Former Secretary of State John F. Kerry, who associates say has wondered aloud about whether he should have run and has found it hard to watch Mr. Biden's missteps, has also been urged to get in.....
Another Obama administration official who weighed a campaign at the start of the year, former Attorney General Eric Holder, is considering a last-minute entry but has conceded it may be too late, according to a Democrat familiar with his thinking.
...
Democrats who have recently spoken with Mrs. Clinton say she shares the same concerns other party elites have about the field -- worried about Mr. Biden's durability, Ms. Warren's liberal politics and unsure of who else can emerge to take on Mr. Trump. But these people, who spoke anonymously to discuss private conversations, say she enjoys the freedom that comes with not being on the ballot.
The article says that those close to Clinton and Bloomberg -- presumably those authorized to leak to the press on their behalf -- say that they would only get into the race if Biden was badly weakened.
He's not badly weakened already?
Have you seen him? Motherfucker's eye is pissing blood and he's eating his own teeth.
Deval Patrick -- Knock-Off Obama From Another Mama -- is also hinting that he might run.
Below, the New York Times' archprog Frank Bruni says the panic is all too real.
OANN: John Durham Has "Requested" An Interview With Coup Organizer and Former (?) Communist John Brennan, and Plans to Request The Same of CNN Leaker James Clapper
—Ace of Spades
As blaster said: What's this "request" nonsense?
BREAKING: Three current and former national security officials confirm to @OANN that US attorney John Durham has requested an interview from John Brennan, and plans to request James Clapper also sit down with him as part of his review of the 2016 Russia collusion investigation
Also below: A great Tucker Carlson stemwinder about Hillary Clinton's decayed mind and conspiracy-theorizing, and the NeverTrumpers who still insist she's a very stable genius who should be our president.
BREAKING: Three current and former national security officials confirm to @OANN that US attorney John Durham has requested an interview from John Brennan, and plans to request James Clapper also sit down with him as part of his review of the 2016 Russia collusion investigation
Good News: British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal Rules Against Jonathan, aka "Jennifer," Yaniv; The Man is Ordered to Pay the Women Legal Costs, and Rules They Do Not Have to Touch His Dirty Pervert Balls
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF.ca) is pleased to announce that the BC Human Rights Tribunal has ruled in favour of home estheticians' right to refuse to handle male genitalia against their will.
The decision noted, "human rights legislation does not require a service provider to wax a type of genitals they are not trained for and have not consented to wax."
This ruling is a bit narrow.
Canada is busy creating new alleged "human rights," but won't ever rule on what happens when its constantly-multiplying "human rights" come into conflict -- like when a trans person's alleged right to force the world to pretend he's a gender he's not comes into a conflict with a woman's right not to handle a strange man's meat.
Canada has a very stupid little maxim about this: There is no "hierarchy of rights;" all human rights -- or "human rights," as the case may be -- stand on equal footing and all are to be protected to the maximum.
But obviously there's a conflict here, and the tribunal must choose between Yaniv's alleged "right" get his nasty scote fondled and women's right not be forced into de facto prositution.
But the tribunal is claiming, no, there's no conflict; the women consented to touch one type of genitals, not another. They're saying that while trans loons' "human rights" would usually be equal to a woman's right not to touch a man's schlong, even if being paid to do so, there is no such conflict here, because the stores did not offer to touch all genitals, just a particular type.
They're making this as narrow as possible to avoid refuting their stupid "all 'human rights' are precisely equal to one another, even the 'human rights' we made up two years ago" rule.
Presumably, then, if a post-op trans person comes in and says "touch my fake genitals," no women would have the right to avoid touching what is, in fact, still a man.
They also say the women weren't "trained" to wax a man's groin (which I think really means the pudendum), and so forcing the women to perform this odd service would present a "health risk" to the public.
That's a lot of bullshit. I mean, I'll take any bullshit to stop Yaniv, but this bullshit is offered in service of something I disagree with: That were it not for this bullshit "public health" rationale, the women would be forced to touch a man's penis, because that man says he's woman and so he's a woman.
The bullshit is offered to avoid goring a sacred cow of the sexual left, the transsupremacists, and, of course, David "Blessing of Liberty" French.
The decision further found that the complainant [Jonathan] Yaniv "engaged in improper conduct", "filed complaints for improper purposes", and concluded Yaniv's testimony was "disingenuous and self-serving." Finally, noted the Tribunal, Yaniv was "evasive and argumentative and contradicted [himself]" while giving evidence.
...
Yaniv identifies as a woman but possesses male genitalia. In March 2018 Yaniv approached the estheticians and requested a “Brazilian” to remove pubic hair from the groin area. When the estheticians refused to provide the requested service due to a lack of personal comfort, safety concerns, a lack of training, and/or religious objections, Yaniv filed complaints against them alleging discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression. In total, Yaniv filed 15 complaints against various estheticians in the Vancouver area seeking as much as $15,000 in damages against each esthetician.
Yaniv has made numerous public comments against immigrants. At the hearings, Yaniv contended that immigrants use their religion to discriminate against trans people because they refused to wax the male genitals of those who identify as women.
...
The Tribunal ordered costs against Yaniv in the amount of $2000.00 payable to each of Ms. Benipal, Ms. DaSilva, and Mrs. Hehar Gill.
That's nothing. For one thing, Yaniv will never pay this. For another, one of the businesses was already forced to close due to the tribunal's prior legal action against it.
Is $2000 enough to get the business up and running again? I don't think so.
And what of the next transactivist who exploits Canada's bizarre "human rights tribunals" to force their delusions down other business owner's and other citizens' throats?
They'll also have to go through years of expensive and brutal process. And then, maybe, one day a court will order a judgment-proof deadbeat to give them a couple of grand. (Canadian grand, too.)
Toronto Public Library states,"We are a democratic institution & we are standing up for free speech." "As a public library & as a public institution, we have an obligation to stand up for our democratic values..."https://t.co/g1bS1oxbLX#freespeech#itsadiscussion
Project Veritas Hidden Camera Video: Jake Tapper's Senior Producer Rick Saleeby Alleges That CNN's Politics Supervising Producer Has History of Making Inappropriate Advances on Employees, Particularly Drunk Ones
I don't really love these sorts of allegations, and this doesn't seem like hardcore harassment, but CNN has pretended to be White Knights defending poor abused women.
Remember Kavanaugh?
It's a huge story when alleged against Brett Kavanaugh but it's not even worth a comment when it's CNN bigwigs?
Rick Saleeby, Senior Producer of The Lead with Jake Tapper, States Steve Brusk, CNN Politics Supervising Producer, Made 'Advances' on Female Employees During 'Social Gatherings' and Would "Put His Arm Around Them, Try and Touch Their Leg."
Saleeby Believes That Steve Brusk is "Protected by Certain People...Like Other Higher Ups" Within CNN.
Rick Saleeby Recalls Incident with a Young Female Colleague: "She Had a Skirt on. I Could See the Hand. I Like Grab Her. It Looked Like I Was Being the Assaulter Because I Grabbed Her So Aggressively... to Keep Her from Him."
Saleeby: "He Had Already Been Accused of the Things Prior... Which I Found Out..."
Saleeby Acknowledges the Gravity of the Situation: "I'l Tell You This, In the Climate That's Going Now, He Definitely Would Have Been Fired."
...
Steve Brusk Tells Project Veritas Journalists to Speak with CNN's PR Team About Sexual Misconduct Allegations; When Approached in DC, Refuses to Watch Footage.
Rick Saleeby and Jake Tapper Refuse to Speak with Project Veritas Journalists in DC When Approached for Comment.
Project Veritas Calls CNN President Jeff Zucker's Office for Comment on Last Week's Multiple Releases Regarding Anti-Trump Bias in the Network; Zucker's Administrative Assistant Replies: "We Don’t Have Any Comment, Thanks for Calling."
Be on the lookout for "conservative" writers to start offering up anonymous spin in defense of Tapper and CNN, which totally aren't fed to them by Jake Tapper, activating his DM Network of Soy Submissives.
Any bets on which of Jake's Internet Bitches will be the first to offer anonymous defenses from a "source close to CNN"?
Horrifying: Texas Jury Rules that Father Cannot Stop Ex-Wife From Sex-Changing Their Seven Year Old Son; Ruling Will Force Father to "Affirm" Child's Supposed "Gender Identity" and Refer to This Boy as a Girl
On Monday, a jury ruled against a Texas father, Jeffrey Younger, attempting to stop his seven-year-old son from a gender transition being facilitated by Dr. Anne Georgulas, the boy's mother and Younger's ex-wife.
...
According to the LifeSiteNews, Georgulas has been granted authority to move forward with puberty blockers, which can cause chemical castration, and, potentially, hormones, if she so chooses.
Additionally, with the jury's decision, Mr. Younger will likely be forced to "affirm" his son’s new gender identity: a girl named "Luna."
...
"I want you to imagine having electronic communication with your son on FaceTime, and imagine that your ex-wife has dressed him as a drag queen to talk to you," Younger told host Luke Macias during an episode of "The Luke Macias Show" podcast in January. "He has false eyelashes and makeup. His hair has got glitter in it. He's wearing a dress."
A correspondent informs me:
She is seeking a court order to force him to call the child a girl, or use masculine pronouns, even when the child is not present.
And forcing [the father] to attend transgender reeducation class, which he could fail, to see his kid.
He has an injunction placed on him to prevent him from referring to the boy as a boy in front of anyone who knows him as a girl, including at a school.
The Federalist wrote about this last year, when the "mother" was already transing up her "son" -- when he was only six.
David French has previously claimed the phenomenon -- and government support of -- "Drag Queen Story Hour" is a "blessing of liberty." As far as I know, he has not yet commented on an incident earlier this month in which a drag queen decided to perform a quick striptease for children.
I can't get over this case in Texas. A mother decided that her 7 year old boy is really a girl because he liked the movie Frozen. The husband insisted that he's a boy. Courts got involved. Jury just ruled that, yes, the boy is a girl and he will now be "transitioned" into one.
I don't think people realize just how monumental this case is. We've just crossed a threshold as a society. There's no going back. These are very dark times. Most of all for that poor boy, whose mother is a despicable monster.
...
cc @tedcruz, @GregAbbott_TX Is there anything you guys can do for this boy? He's going to be permanently mutilated and physically destroyed if someone doesn't step in
John Brennan Orders His Personal Stenographer, Natasha "Fusion Nat" Bertrand, to Write a Five-Alarm Scream Piece Decrying How Terrible It Is That the Architect of the Russia Hoax is Being (Gasped) Investigated
—Ace of Spades
Wait, who's obsessed here, Fusion Nat?
NEW: Sources believe John Brennan is a focus of the Barr/Durham probe, and Trump has called privately for investigating Brennan—putting his personal "obsession" w/the former CIA director on a collision course with the Justice Department's inquiry. https://t.co/9B1WPXK68l
Play ball with us, and we'll do favors for you; but if you ever say a dark word about us, we'll whack you.
President Donald Trump's obsession with former CIA director John Brennan could be on a collision course with an ongoing Justice Department probe as Attorney General Bill Barr takes a more hands-on approach to examining the intelligence community’s actions in 2016.
Barr has been meeting with the U.S.' closest foreign intelligence allies in recent months, making repeated overseas trips as part of an investigation he is overseeing into the origins of the Russia probe and whether any inappropriate "spying" occurred on Trump's campaign.
As part of that investigation, Barr and John Durham, the federal prosecutor he appointed to conduct it, have been probing a conspiracy theory for which there is little if any evidence, according to several people with knowledge of the matter: that a key player in the Russia probe, a professor named Joseph Mifsud, was actually a Western intelligence asset sent to discredit the Trump campaign -- and that the CIA, under Brennan, was somehow involved.
"Somehow" involved, as if this is so convoluted it can't even be explained!
The emerging focus of the Barr-Durham investigation -- the CIA and intelligence community’s work with the FBI on the Russia probe -- emphasizes the increasingly blurred lines between politics and law enforcement in the Trump era.
I would say that, based on Johnny Cong over here dialing up Fusion Nat to write this working-the-grand-jury piece, that John Brennan actually does have fears of prosecution.
They're very, very upset people are trying to find out whether Misfud works for the Russians... or not.
Didn't they used to claim we had to do our all to discover that?
Why do they suddenly not want to know about POSSIBLE RUSSIAN ASSET Joseph Mifsud?
A Reuters reporter sent a nasty email about TWT to a source I used to understand Joseph Mifsud. I write about Mifsud now because John Durham is also trying to understand who he is. The liberal media hates the Russia-origins Durham probe. email and reply. pic.twitter.com/9NBw8aQbaX
[Mark] Hosenball, it should be noted, was one of the reporters featured in the Wikileaks Podesta email releases in 2016, who actually seemed to be working for the Clinton campaign. In an email to Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, Hosenball seemed very eager to share some Benghazi information that he had obtained.
Chuck Grassley is a United States Senator, which means that he is comfortable with delays and obfuscation and institutional roadblocks that prevent most things of substance from happening...ever. In fact, it is his element.
So when even he is complaining about the IG report, something is probably fishy.
All of the delays and excuses why the Horowitz IG FISA report isn’t public yet after several months of anticipation of its issues leads me to the suspicion it’s going to be “deep six” by the deep state
This issue is the Rubicon for our country. If the seemingly constant law-breaking embedded in our national institutions is allowed to go on without official notice and punishment, then the relationship we the people have with our government is going to change.
This is not the grift and graft that we all expect from government. After all, government in all its forms is ripe for corruption, and most of us are never surprised by it. In fact, many of us are only surprised by the occasional emergence of an honest man.
No, this is something different, and far more malign. Using the power of the state to manipulate elections is the essence of totalitarianism. Blocking the power of the people to choose their own government is counter-revolutionary, and unfortunately has been tried to great effect in most of the world.
In fact, it is a fine indicator of an unfounded belief in elitism and credentialism and, so obvious currently, Never-Trumpism. Ask any member of the "conservative" cuckocracy his opinion of the FISA mess, and if he downplays it or mocks it, then he is the enemy.
******
There is a refreshing view of the other side below the fold. I was going to lead with it but, as usual, my fellow coblogger and landsman J.J. Sefton beat me to it!
Good morning kids. Tuesday and in the words of Jerry Colonna, "Ah! Something new has been added!" In this case a very interesting wrinkle, if you will to the Democrats' impeachment show. It involves the gracious and lovely, or deceptive and slatternly (depending on how you look at it) dewy-eyed, or -thighed in this case freshman Rep. Katie Hill, or in this case Katie Thrill. Man, the jokes keep coming, among other things with this dame, don't they? In any case, Hill got into a bit of trouble with the revelations that she invited at least one campaign staffer into her bed with her now estranged husband to form a "throuple." Well, it's not for me to judge but I believe this violates ethics rules insofar as having sexual relationships with campaign staffers, whatever the "-ouple" status may or may not be.
...In addition to the legal and ethical issues raised by allegations of a congresswoman having not one, but two extramarital affairs with people on her staff, concurrently, there are issues of national security. Hill serves on two influential committees in that regard: Oversight and Reform and Armed Services. She has access to extremely sensitive national security information. If people who don't have our nation's best interests at heart had access to the photographs, text messages, and other information provided to RedState, Rep. Hill would be an easy blackmail target...
Funny how for almost two-and-a-half years, we had nothing but shrieking and wailing about how President Trump was owned by Putin because the latter had fictional "kompromat" on him, while Schiff-for-brains popped a pencil-eraser-sized stiffie when he thought what turned out to be the Ukrainian version of Opie and Anthony pranked him into thinking they were Russian agents who had nude shots of Trump. In this case, the nude shots of Hill exist and were sent to one source (in this case Red State). My oh my, what is a Speaker of the House supposed to do? If you said cover it up and continue blaming Trump, you win a cookie. If you said, do what's right and remove Hill from any and ally sensitive committee posts and perhaps remove her from office you win a big Nelson Muntz laugh.
IMPEACHMENT FOLLIES
While we're on the subject, the media pulls a Charlie Gibson on Trump's Ukraine "conspiracy theory" now that it's confirmed as fact, shut up while Levin educates you on quid pro, Mulvaney clarifies what he said/meant in that regard, and the proof is in the pudding vis a vis actual promised aid being delivered by Trump and withheld by SCOAMF.
CLINTON/OBAMA COUP, CONGRESSIONAL PERSECUTION, SPYGATE, DEEP STATE, THE MUELLER
DECEPTION
The walls are closing in, tick-tock-tick-tock, choose your own metaphor, but call me when the 4:00AM raid and frog-marching in front of the TV cameras happens.
AMNESTY, IMMIGRATION, MIGRANT INVASION, BORDER SECURITY
To the border we go where Nazi collaborator Soros' front group is still playing the corrupt local law enforcement game to sabotage our national security, socialist kleptocratic shit-hole Ecuador needs to get stepped on, Cuck Schemer's giant hypocrisy on ISIS and our own border, and it looks like the administration is going for an H-1B whore to head DHS instead of someone solid on security. Ugh.
DEMOCRAT-LEFTIST SCANDALS, CRIMES, CHUTZ-POCRISY, MESHUGAS
Wait until the imams hear about this! Also, Broward County Democrat stooge sheriff Scott Israel still on suspension (he should be given a free ride on Aerolineas Pinochet), and corrupt Commie and failed gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum's PAC still spending money, and yet no election campaign to be found. Hmm...
POLITICS
Yup, it sure looks like it's going to be an early night come November of 2020, Trump rips Mittelschmerz a Grand Canyon-sized new one, Mayor Buttplug expanding in Iowa, Amy Klobuchar makes excuses for flat-lined campaign, several on the Tulsi-Hillary spat including Bernie Sanders coming out in her defense, among others, which means they want Clinton to take a long walk in Fort Marcy Park. Also, Joey Bidet's Philly grope-athons draw nobody, Jan Brewer with a cromulent question, Alabama businesswoman with blistering ad on Toothy McBigTits, rising GOP star perhaps in Nevada, impeachment will only help hurl Trump over the finish line and both Mark Hemingway and Victor Davis Hanson look at the nature of Trump derangement.
FIRST AMENDMENT, CENSORSHIP, FAKE NEWS, BIG BROTHER BIG TECH
House GOPers send strongly-worded letter to Jeff Zucker (it's actually more serious than that but color me jaded), Jeffrey Toolbin apologizes for committing accidental journalism on Hillary, activist claims NBC killed story about rape investigations into Russell Simmons, and in praise of lefty Vanity Fair scribe for doing some actual journalism.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, INTERNATIONAL
Chile, Hong Kong, Barcelona, Lebanon - everyone talk about populist music! Also, Angelo Codevilla on the way in which we pulled out of Syria troubling him, Trump now may keep some forces in country, don't blame him for the crisis, Turk journalist reveals Turdogan regime hosting ISIS for years, US pulling out of the Afghan despite no deal, Mexican military defeated by drug cartels (that is not good), RUFKM? Justin Trudeau wins election, Bibi can't form coalition government, and Bo-Jo a go-go for Brexit.
EDUCATION, INDOCTRINATION
Elizabeth Fugazi rips off DeBolshevik's playbook, participation trophies for everybody, more agitprop in the high schools and NYC's total failure of a school system.
HEALTHCARE
Trump praised for boosting more privatization and choice, and Lefty Senator Bennet blasts Elizabeth Cheekbones for her Medicare for All fraud.
RED-GREENS, CLIMATE CHANGE HOAX, LYSENKOISM
Even the courts in California torpedoed this crap so what the hell is Letitia James playing at? I know, appease the beasts.
CULTURE WARS, HITHER & YON
Kanye West continues to pleasantly surprise from time to time, Scorsese not having any feminazi bullshit and Christian Toto looks at the Scorsese-Coppola criticisms of the Marvel comic films.
Anyway, links from around the world, across the nation and up your street. Have a better one and remain blessed.
NOTE: The opinions expressed in some links may or may not reflect my own. I include them because of their relevance to the discussion of a particular issue.
ALSO: The Morning Report is cross-posted at CutJibNewsletter.com if you want to continue the conversation all day.
“So they made in my family made a hard decision. And my whole family chipped into buy a house about 40 minutes north of here. And that’s when I got my first taste of the country who allows their kids destiny to be determined by the zip code they are born in. And so much of my life was shuttled between these two worlds, and not just the two worlds between the Bronx and Westchester county, but the continental U.S., New York state, and Puerto Rico.” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)
Quote II
“First, I want to thank God and all the fans for the beautiful game, the beautiful playoffs,” Altuve said. “We deserve to be in the World Series because my team has been working real hard.” Jose Altuve
Millions of us were thrown off our health insurance plans by Obamacare, and now I find out that it didn’t even make things better for anyone else. The government intervenes, everything goes to hell, then Democrats cite the hell they created to demand another massive government intervention.
The motto of all socialist schemes should be: “This time, it will be different.”Ann Coulter
Quote V
“I love planting trees and trying to improve and enhance the environment to restore lost habitats and all these things. I just pray that climate change and all the horrors we are facing now if we don’t do something about it, won’t completely destroy all this effort.” Prince Charles
Quote VI
“We’re now moving towards the total elimination of women’s biology. The women’s symbol has been used by feminists for decades. This is pure cowardice and virtue signaling from these big corporate brands who are capitulating to the trans agenda,” Julie Bindel
Meanwhile they do their best to avoid talking about all his lies and the reason for censure. It didn’t pass but at least it put his lies on record.
Via Newsbusters:
On Monday, the network morning shows devoted a total of 15 seconds of air time to congressional Republicans moving to censure House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff for his handling of the impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Only NBC actually covered the news – in a dismissive tone – while ABC and CBS completely skipped the story
Imagine, if you will, a lightweight, inexpensive power source with 9 times the energy density of a lithium-ion battery. Got your mind wrapped around that concept? Now imagine that power source uses recycled aluminum, one of the most abundant metals on Earth, and an electrolyte so nontoxic you can drink it.
Call this power source a battery. Call it a fuel cell. Call it whatever you like. It is an invention that could upend energy storage as we know it and drive the electrification of transportation — from bicycles and neighborhood electric vehicles to heavy trucks, airplanes, and cargo ships — forward at warp speed.
The person behind all this is UK engineer and former Royal Navy officer Trevor Jackson, who began experimenting with aluminum air batteries at his workshop in the Cornish town of Callington in 2001. At that time, the electrolyte used was extremely caustic and poisonous. After years of experimentation, Jackson devised a new electrolyte — whose composition is a closely guarded secret — he says make it possible for his invention to power an electric car for up to 1,500 miles.
Amazon’s sprawling marketplace, consisting of millions of third-party sellers, has become a go-to site for many grocery shoppers, especially since the company’s acquisition of Whole Foods over two years ago.
But an increasing number of consumers are finding that, just as the broader Amazon Marketplace has a major issue with counterfeits and unsafe products, the grocery section is littered with similarly problematic items in the form of expired foods.
From baby formula and coffee creamer to beef jerky and granola bars, items are arriving spoiled and well past their sell-by date, Amazon customers say. Interviews with brands, consumers, third-party sellers and consultants all point to loopholes in Amazon’s technology and logistics system that allow for expired items to proliferate with little to no accountability. Consumer safety advocates worry that as the marketplace grows, the problem will only get worse.
Chinese Ban
One company that probably won’t be bidding is Apple Inc., the people said. The tech giant has eschewed controversial programming that could damage its brand, and it’s wary of offending China, where it sells a lot of iPhones. “South Park” was just banned in China after an episode mocked the country’s censorship of Western movies and TV.
The riches from the sale will be split between Viacom, Parker and Stone under a unique deal forged in 2007. The creators and the media giant split all the digital rights 50-50 under a joint venture that covers streaming, mobile and games.
Netflix previously licensed “South Park” through a deal with Viacom, a transaction that paid out in the tens of millions. Hulu snagged the rights in 2014 and reupped it a year later.
Parker and Stone have used their profit from “South Park” and their hit Broadway play “The Book of Mormon” to create and fund their own studio, which was valued at $300 million in 2013. That value is about to go way up.
EVANSVILLE, Ind., Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Farming and renewable fuel groups are angry over an Environmental Protection Agency proposal that they say will reduce the amount of biofuels that oil refiners are required to use next year -- and they are fighting to have it overturned.
The proposed rule, the groups say, reneges on a promise the Trump administration made two weeks ago to require large oil refineries to increase their ethanol use enough to compensate for the exemptions granted to small refineries.
The FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS for short, reveals all sorts of data. Most folks just look at the grand total number each month or year and compare that to the previous year’s data for an idea of sales trends. But the data has a much bigger story to tell.
Most people assume that each NICS check represents a firearm transfer. In the past, the overwhelming majority did indeed represent transfers. However, today, most NICS checks are done for license checks and re-checks.
For instance, did you know that Illinois has the most NICS checks of any state so far in 2019? More than even Texas. Far more.
***
Quite the den. Next to the 8 pointer and the 10 pound walleye hanging on the wall is Uncle Dave.
Tattoos can be very meaningful and hold a lot of sentimental value to both the owner and their loved ones.
Over the course of a lifetime some people can spend thousands inking their bodies and one mortician is now offering a controversial service to turn tattoos into 'fine art'.
Michael Sherwood, from Cleveland, gives grieving families the option after a death of keeping the tattooed skin as parchment-like artwork they can hang in their homes in remembrance.
New marijuana breathalyzer tests that are billion times more sensitive than one for testing alcohol levels have been dubbed a 'game-changer' by researchers.
Some law enforcement agencies across the country have been reluctant to have marijuana legalized in their states, worried relaxed rules for the drug could lead to an explosion of impaired drivers on the road.
But now cops could loosen up to the idea, thanks to devices from Hound Labs and Sanntek that can tell how recently someone has consumed THC, a by-product of marijuana, and in turn detecting whether they're likely to be high.
'With alcohol, if you have over 0.08% in your blood, there's the presumption that you're intoxicated,' Christopher Leusner, head of the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police, told the Philadelphia Inquirer. 'There hasn't been a blood test or a breath test that can determine if you're impaired by marijuana.'
I am so proud of my mom. I’m very biased toward her…love her very much and feel very protective of her, although I know she doesn’t need me to be. But, really my most important role now is as my kids mom. You know I have a daughter Charlotte who just turned five last week, a son Aiden, he is three and baby Jasper just two months old,” continued Chelsea Clinton. “And I think about the country they’re living in right now it’s not the country I want them to grow up in. We learned last night that President Trump wanted to dig a ditch at the border and put alligators and snakes and shoot migrants in the leg…The depth of cruelty and inhumanity towards migrants, towards people of color, towards LGBTQ community…is not the America I want my kids to grow up in.”
A private investigator looking into the activities of billionaire peadophile Jeffry Epstein claimed it was ‘hogwash’ that Prince Andrew ‘didn’t know what Epstein was about’.
Mike Fisten, one of the first investigators to examine allegations that Epstein had sexually abused and trafficked girls, found ’13 contact numbers for Prince Andrew’ in an address book at his mansion in Palm Beach, Florida.
In an interview with Channel 4’s Dispatches airing tonight, Fisten said the book was a ‘treasure trove’ of information and showed his team the true scope of Epstein’s travels and contacts.
He said: ‘You could take for instance, if looking at the section in London, you could pick out, the Duke of York, which is Prince Andrew. And when you look at that, under Duke of York it shows Buckingham Palace London.
California Governor Gavin Newsom pardoned three immigrant felons last week to help them avoid being deported from the United States.
Newsom, who oversees the most pro-illegal immigration state in U.S. history, pardoned three immigrants — Arnou Aghamalian from Iran, Thear Seam from Cambodia, and Victor Ayala from El Salvador — in order to erase their criminal records and help them avoid deportation back to their native countries.
I understand the reasons why California Morons stay. Is there a breaking point where you say F*ck it, I'm out of here?
***
THE ONT MUSICAL INTERLUDE
On this day: 21 Oct 2007
Kid Rock and five members of his entourage were arrested after an argument with a man escalated into a fight in a restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia. Kid Rock's tour bus was pulled over by police after it left the scene; Rock was released after posting $1,000 (£490) bail. Kid Rock also had the No.1 album on the US chart with 'Rock N Roll Jesus' his eleventh album release and first to debut at the top of the chart. via thisdayinmusic.com
&&&
On this day: 21 Oct 2006
American musician, singer, songwriter, and drummer Sandy West died. Founding member (with Joan Jett) of all girl group The Runaways, hailed by fans and critics alike to be one of the most groundbreaking drummers in rock and roll history. via thisdayinmusic.com
The naked Missouri woman who sat on her boyfriend’s face and demanded that he perform oral sex on her has pleaded guilty to a domestic violence charge, according to court records.
Amy Parrino, 44, copped last month to a felony assault charge and was sentenced to three years in custody, though a Circuit Court judge stayed the execution of the prison term and placed the Columbia resident on five years probation.
As part of a plea deal, prosecutors dropped a felony sexual assault charge against Parrino, who worked prior to her arrest as an embalmer’s assistant at a mortuary.
Parrino had been locked up in the Boone County jail since her arrest last December. She was released following her sentencing and ordered to have no contact with the victim.
***
Recently we covered the story of a Dollar General clerk in Dayton, Ohio shooting a perp. His future employment is uncertain until now. Tonight's Feel Good Story of The Day.
Kyle Reyes, CEO of The Silent Partner Marketing and national spokesman for Law Enforcement Today, announced through the pro-cop news site that he is extending an amazing offer to the clerk.
“I believe the company will do the right thing, just as I believe this clerk did the right thing,” Reyes said. “If, for whatever reason, they don’t, we’d be honored to offer the clerk a position at our company.”
This clerk doesn’t need to worry about a strict firearm policy, either. Reyes’ gun-friendly company sounds like heaven on earth for Second Amendment enthusiast
***
Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by Bill Kristol's Wish List.
Notice: Posted with permission by the Ace Media Empire and AceCorp, LLC. Supervision provided by Dewey, Cheatem & Howe, S.C.
About that recent polling showing zealous Evangelical opposition to impeachment — The “lesser of two evils” mask is off. The alternative here isn’t Hillary but Pence.
Under similar facts for a Democrat, they’d want to remove.
I shared this with @jaketapper and @brianstelter last week. Over 30K Likes. No response. Of course they saw it. Stelter particularly gets no real traction on his tweets. It’s obviously newsworthy and if it had been reversed they both would’ve led with it. https://t.co/LSRwJy6Uao
Etymologies of All the Old-Timey Synonyms For "Whore" Found in the Dungeon Masters Guide "Random Harlot Encounters" Table
—Ace of Spades
From the first edition DMG:
I looked up the etymology of "hussy" in the sidebar and then thought to look up the etymologies of the other words in that infamous City Encounters sub-table.
Here's what I've learned.
N.B.: I might slip in some Gygaxian infras and Cf.s.
Another source says it comes from the German Trulle, which means prostitute. But that, in turn, might just come from "troll" again.
And troll, interestingly enough, might be related to trendle or better yet trundel, which is a wheel or a spindle. Which would make sense when you think about "trolling for fish" while fishing -- maybe the word was originally "trendling" or "trundling," winding your line back to entice fish? Or maybe winding up a fishing net to troll for fish? Which then got shortened to trell or troll?
late 15c., "immoral woman," later (16c.) also "rascal, knave" (regardless of gender); probably from a continental Germanic source
The roots of sloven are about messiness and untidiness -- and carelessness in dress. Notions that are going to keep popping up in these etymologies.
"Brazen Strumpet"
Strumpet is of uncertain origin, but there are some strong guesses -- but which guess is right, who knows.
One theory connects it with Latin stuprata, fem. past participle of stuprare "have illicit sexual relations with," or Late Latin strupum "dishonor, violation." But evidence for this is wanting and others suggest Middle Dutch strompe "a stocking," or strompen "to stride, to stalk" (as a prostitute might a customer). The major sources don't seem to give much preference to any of these.
Maybe these are all related. Interestingly, "strum" is listed in a 1785 dictionary of vulgar terms:
TO STRUM: to have carnal knowledge of a woman, also to play badly on the harpsichord or any other stringed instrument. [Capt. Francis Grose, "A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1785]
By the way, "brazen" just means "made of brass," and apparently the expression used to be brazen-faced, which I guess meant so unapologetic about one's behavior that no sign of shame showed on one's face.
"Cheap Trollop"
"Cheap" of course comes up in a lot of these words, in the sense of "low-born" of of low character.
Trollop might come from the verb "to troll," which means a bunch of things that might have to do with either being unclean or prostitution. "To troll," as to entice or lure (as trolls on the internet do, into arguments) actually goes back to 1906, and can also mean "to saunter," which is a way that prostitutes trolling for customers sometimes walk.
"Typical Streetwalker"
Streetwalker is so obvious it's barely worth noting -- it's a woman who walks the streets looking for customers. A cheap prostitute.
86 "Sauce" means to give back-chat, or lip. My grandfather wrote a letter from Santa Claus to my dad and his sister wherein he mentioned that dad had giving his grandmother some sauce.
Wan- used to be a prefix, coming from the Old English meaning "lacking" or "without" and also used interchangeably as a negation like our own un- is used today. (Though apparently the words aren't proven to be related; un- is itself pretty old, but there's gotta be a connection here, I'd think.)
The "ton" part comes from Middle English towen, meaning "discipline."
So wanton altogether used to mean "undisciplined, unruly," which then became "lewd" and poorly brought-up and ill-behaved.
A "wanton" itself is a noun, too, meaning someone who is ill-behaved, etc.
Also, apparently "to wanton" used to be a verb, meaning "to revel, frolic unrestrainedly."
Although it sure seems like "wan" and "wane" must be related to "wan-," the prefix, there's no acknowledged connection.
"Expensive Doxy"
Doxy, my favorite entry on the table, similarly seems to have come first from an attempt to compliment a good-looking woman as a docke, from the Dutch or German for "doll."
"Haughty Courtesan"
Courtesan does, as you might guess, refer to the court, as in "a lady of the court." Apparently this was used in a sarcastic or joking way, or as a euphemism, like the high-fallutin' sounding "Lady of the Night:"
1540s, from Middle French courtisane, from Italian cortigiana "prostitute," literally "woman of the court" (a mock-use or euphemism), fem. of cortigiano "one attached to a court," from corte "court," from Latin cortem (see court (n.)).
Well, I'm sure you can probably guess this, and I'm only guessing it myself, but Madam must come from "madame of the house," which would be a completely innocent thing to call a housewife, but gets associated with prostitution when the house in question is a brothel.
c. 1600, of unknown origin, perhaps from Middle French pimpant "alluring in dress, seductive," present participle of pimper "to dress elegantly" (16c.), from Old French pimpelorer, pipelorer "decorate, color, beautify." Weekley suggests Middle French pimpreneau, defined in Cotgrave [French-English Dictionary, 1611] as "a knave, rascall, varlet, scoundrell," but Liberman is against this.
Wiktionary suggests it might also come from the German Pimpf,, meaning a young boy. Originally the word was "Pumpf," meaning, with full onomatopoeia, "little fart."
"Sly," by the way, is pretty interesting itself. It maybe comes from the idea of being quick and ready to strike with a weapon.
c. 1200, "skillful, clever, dexterous," from Old Norse sloegr "cunning, crafty, sly," from Proto-Germanic *slogis (source also of Low German slu "cunning, sly," German schlau), probably from base *slak- "to strike, hit" (see slay (v.)), with an original notion of "able to hit." Compare German verschlagen "cunning, crafty, sly," schlagfertig "quick-witted," literally "strike-ready," from schlagen "to strike."
"arranger of sexual liaisons, one who supplies another with the means of gratifying lust," 1520s, "procurer, pimp," from Middle English Pandare (late 14c.), used by Chaucer ("Troylus and Cryseyde"), who borrowed it from Boccaccio (who had it in Italian form Pandaro in "Filostrato") as name of the prince (Greek Pandaros), who procured the love of Cressida (his niece in Chaucer, his cousin in Boccaccio) for Troilus.
In Homer's Iliad he is portrayed as an energetic and powerful warrior, but in medieval literature he becomes a witty and licentious figure who facilitates the affair between Troilus and Cressida.
In Shakespeare's play Troilus and Cressida, he is portrayed as an aged degenerate and coward who ends the play by telling the audience he will bequeath them his "diseases".
That's all of them -- except of course for Harlot, which gives the name to the table.
Harlot comes from the Old French "harlot" or "arlot," meaning vagabond or (right on the nose) tramp. Apparently earlier French had it as "harlot" or "herlot" and it referred to a either a male or female of low birth -- it used to mean "knave" or "rogue" or "cheat" or "rascal."
Used in positive as well as pejorative senses by Chaucer; applied in Middle English to jesters, buffoons, jugglers, later to actors.
Apparently the word was used by the Bible as a euphemism for "whore" and that's how it came to have its more Dungeons and Dragons-ish meaning.
Also:
The word may be Germanic, with an original sense of "camp follower," if the first element is hari "army," as some suspect.
Here are a couple of more that didn't make the DMG chart:
Slut, as many of these words seem to have started, originally meant "untidy woman," and comes from the Old English slutte, which in turn derives from "sloth."
Whore goes back a ways, and seems to have originally meant adulteress:
1530s spelling alteration... of Middle English hore, from Old English hore "prostitute, harlot," from Proto-Germanic *hōran-, fem. *hōrā- (source also of Old Frisian hor "fornication," Old Norse hora "adulteress," Danish hore, Swedish hora, Dutch Hoer, Old High German huora "prostitute"...
Whore itself is perhaps a Germanic euphemism for a word that has not survived. The Old English vowel naturally would have yielded *hoor, which is the pronunciation in some dialects; it might have shifted by influence of Middle English homonym hore "physical filth, slime," also "moral corruption, sin," from Old English hohr.
Apparently the word survived by being one of Shakespeare's favorite words -- he used it 99 times.
Demimondaine wasn't mentioned in the DMG, but they did get at the sense of it by noting that some harlots might only be occasional ones, prostituting themselves out as they choose.
The word demi-monde means literally "half-world," I think getting at the idea of rich, upper-class people living lifestyles often associated with the very poor:
Demi-monde refers to a group of people who live hedonistic lifestyles, usually in a flagrant and conspicuous manner...
The term was often used as one of disapprobation, the behavior of a person in the demimonde being contrary to more traditional or bourgeois values. Such behaviors often included drinking or drug use, gambling, high spending (particularly in pursuit of fashion, as through clothing as well as servants and houses), and sexual promiscuity.
A "demimondaine" is a woman in this set, often a woman of low birth and little money who trades on her looks and often her sexual favors to make her way in highborn society.
Externally, the defining aspects of the demimonde were an extravagant lifestyle of fine food and clothes, often surpassing that of other wealthy women of their day with a steady income of cash and gifts from their various lovers. Internally, their lifestyle was an eclectic mixture of sharp business acumen, social skills, and hedonism. Intelligent demimondaines, like the fictional Gigi's grandmother, would invest their wealth for the day when their beauty faded. Others ended up penniless and starving when age took its toll on their beauty, unless they managed to marry.
A famous beauty was Virginia Oldoini, Countess di Castiglione, who came to Paris in the 1850s with very little money of her own and soon became mistress of Napoleon III; after that relationship ended she moved on to other wealthy men in government, finance and European royalty. She was one of the most aristocratic and exclusive of the demimondaines--reputed to have charged a member of the British aristocracy one million francs for 12 hours in her company.
Finally: the big one.
We're big kids. We can say it.
Prostitution.
Like Billy Blasjowski, I've always felt you can best understand a word if you Break. It. Down.
1520s, "to offer to indiscriminate sexual intercourse (usually in exchange for money)," from Latin prostitutus, past participle of prostituere "to expose to prostitution, expose publicly," from pro "before" (see pro-) + statuere "cause to stand, establish"...
So, to "put it all out for display, right up front, and make something stand."
Billy Blaze was pretty close, really.
If you're not too bored, you can check out where his preferred euphemism for pimp -- "Love Broker" -- came from.
Spoiler: Broker seems to have come from a French word meaning "trader in wine."
Air Canada Will No Longer Address Passengers As "Ladies and Gentlemen," In Order to Respect the 0.1% of Mentally Unwell People Who Say They're Both, or Neither, or Maybe Unicorns
Employees aboard Air Canada flights will no longer greet guests by referring to them as "ladies and gentlemen" or "mesdames et messieurs," which has been typical protocol for years, in an effort to be conscious of gender fluidity.
Flight attendants and other staff will not use the language in boarding announcements, and the company instead plans to replace the standard greetings with neutral words, such as "everybody" or "tout le monde."
Mark Hemingway: Is the Anti-Trump "Resistance" Just the Attempt of the Ruling Class/Establishment/Managerial Class to Give Legitimacy to Their Worldview of Socially-Favored Fictions?
Also, it starts off with a nice little story about a young Mark Hemingway discovering the world is often corrupt and filled with self-dealers. (He learned this at a baseball card shop.)
For some time, I have been trying to articulate a specific idea about how various elites and institutions cover for the political class and how the Trump-era "resistence" was the antithesis of this. Then a very smart friend of mine, thinking along nearly identical lines, blurted this out over email:
I think the world generally, and the world of the powerful in particular, is far less lucid and more incoherent than most assume. The main difference between Trump and his predecessors is that the professional class / deep state / neoliberal order / whatever-you-want-to-call-it is fluent in a language that imposes a kind of regulative fiction on that chaos. Their fluency gives them gives them a patina of legitimacy and not a little power over the less fluent, which comforts some normies but also drives conspiratorial thinking. Trump and a lot of the people around him lack this fluency and have no interest in cultivating it.
I think the term "regulative fiction" is misleading. Those fluent in Nietzsche's writings might get it, but I don't think it's a good word for a general audience, as it suggests this has to do with government regulation.
It doesn't. It is meant to mean that the Ruling Caste has created a simplified story --- a mythology, we could say, a mythos -- which simplifies the unruly chaos of the real world into a more easily-grasped (and very untrue) vision of the world and teaches certain morals and virtues (claimed morals and virtues, anyway) based upon that mythology.
This mythos just coincidentally also happens to justify why they are the only ones Fit to Rule. All aspects of the mythos are designed to, or by happy accident, identify problems (or fictionalized, simplified versions of problems) which the Ruling Caste is uniquely able to solve, due to (here are sub-myths that support the overarching Ur-Myth) of their education, their good taste and judgment their (they never say this but it's obvious that they think it) breeding, etc.
For what it's worth, the phrase "regulative fiction" is borrowed from Nietzsche, or at least his translator.
I think this desperate need to maintain the regulative fiction in Washington is the whole ballgame for understanding what is going on with the Trump administration. For a very long time before Trump, the "regulative fiction" was getting very, very discordant with reality.
Again, feel free to substitute "mythology" or "mythos" or even "Creation myth" or "self-justifying, egocentric personal mythology" for "regulative fiction."
Certainly, the WMD issue and poorly planned wars in the Bush administration soured even conservative voters. And then the Obama administration happened and things got a million times worse, because while the media are as invested in maintaining the regulative fiction generally, they are very interested in it as a partisan and specifically ideological matter.
...
I think voters in no small part voted for Trump because they were sick of being told rosy stories about how the government operates.
He notes that the current project of the beltway priests maintaining belief in their increasingly-bizarre mythos is to paint Trump as a clown who shouldn't be supported, so that their religion has no loud, popular apostate challenging it.
Except they can't do that without asking voters to choose between Trump's behavior and Washington’s preferred narrative of how things are supposed to work, and Beltway types still haven’t grasped that voters decided long before Trump arrived on the political scene that most of what passes for standard operating procedure in D.C. is just as farcical.
Hemingway goes into that, noting, for example, that the public does not credit Pierre Delecto and the rest of the High Priests of the Pro-Government Mythology who are always screaming about Trump violating "norms," because they've known for a long, long time that those claiming to be custodians of our precious "norms" are violating those norms all the time, and often more egregiously than Trump does.
Read the whole thing. It's interesting. I have a point I'd like to make that jogs along with Hemingway's, but it's not quite the same (I don't think), and I'll save that for later.
But, of course, those norms must be sacrificed -- along with actual conservative governance -- to save these supposed norms.
We had to burn the norms to save them, it turns out.
The so-called deep state detests him. An anonymous op-ed writer in the September 5, 2018 New York Times bragged about the bureaucracy's successful efforts to ignore Trump’s legal mandates--a sort of more methodical version of the comical Rosenstein-McCabe attempt to stage a palace coup and remove Trump, or the Democrats efforts to invoke the 25th Amendment and declare Trump crazy, bolstered by an array of Ivy League psychiatrists who had neither met nor examined him.
...
Most of the prominent New York-Washington, D.C. insider Republican pundits abhor him. The creed of a NeverTrumper is that it is well worth the effort to see the current Republican president removed, and his administration imploded--even if that means four or eight years of an Elizabeth Warren, a Bernie Sanders, or a Joe Biden agenda as voiced in the debates. That would likely mean Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, slavery reparations, permissible infanticide in the case of late-term abortions, a wealth tax, and a generally socialist platform, from renouncing student debts to veritable open borders.
Only amid the ashes of Trump's destruction do sober and judicious conservative intellectuals, writers, pundits, think-tankers, and establishment Republican grandees believe they can step in to rebirth the Republican Phoenix, nurturing the rising new party with its once hallowed traditions as exemplified by George H.W. Bush, John McCain, and [Pierre Delecto, scrub-boy and butter-captain at the French "Follies Bourgeiois" bath-house].
...
The Left detests Trump for a lot of reasons besides winning the 2016 election and aborting the progressive project. But mostly they hate his guts because he is trying and often succeeding to restore a conservative America at a time when his opponents thought that the mere idea was not just impossible but unhinged.
Mitt Romney's Secret Twitter Account Is Full NeverTrump and Retweets Lots of Liberals; Name Is Play on in pari delicto, "Both sides to blame"
—Ace of Spades
He is who we thought he was.
John Nolte notes that "Pierre Delecto" rebutted Mitt Romney's critics without acknowledging that he was in fact Mitt Romney.
Didn't some people on the right formerly have a problem with such White Knight Sockpuppets? Dishonest, and also pure vanity.
Everything about this story says so much about Mitt Romney: his pettiness, his insecurity, his lack of character, honesty, and decency, starting with how it all unraveled: Romney doing business with the establishment media -- in this case, the far-left Atlantic and activist-reporter, McKay Coppins, who was originally hired at BuzzFeed to destroy Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.
Nolte runs through Coppins' attacks on Romney, as he was specifically hired to execute. (Coppins was hired by BuzzFeed because he's a leftie and a Mormon and therefore could attack Mitt Romney with enhanced credibility.)
But Romney continues sucking up to him anyway, and disclosed that he had a "lurker" account on Twitter to Coppins.
...
It took a writer at Slate about fourteen seconds to discover that Mitt Romney, a sitting United States Senator, uses the name Pierre Delecto to run all around Twitter defending… Mitt Romney.
Other examples of Definitely Not Mitt Romney defending the severely conservative name of Mitt Romney at the link.
Casey Mattox -- a champion beta-orbiter of all the most egregious Ahoy Maties on Twitter, and is one of the few people "Pierre Delecto" followed -- guesses, or perhaps, was told by Mitt Romney himself (again sockpuppeting), that "Pierre Delecto" is almost certainly a play on in pari delicto, a Latin phrase meaning "both parties are equally to blame." I think it means literally, "in both, guilt." ("Delicto" also appears in in flagrante delicto, which I think means "blazingly guilty," that is, so guilty as to be on fire (in flagrante).)
Sounds and awful lot like Mitt Romney is one of those "True Conservatives" who thinks conservatism is best expressed as a synthesis of a few conservative ideas with an awful lot of progressive ones. That's what the "Both Sides" people push.
Below, some of Mitt Romney's favorite accounts are, naturally, either wife-sharing-curious or outright progressive.
"Everything about this story says so much about Mitt Romney: his pettiness, his insecurity, his lack of character, honesty, and decency, starting with how it all unraveled."
Posobiec notes that "Pierre Delecto" might mean "Peter Delight." "Pierre" is the French for Peter, and "delecto" (rather than delicto) is Latin for "delight."
While giving it to Ted and recieving it from Joe, Johnathan knew he truely was the Lucky Peter.
Note that that also as "in the middle" and "both sides" connotations.
(Oh, I'd forgotten that Lucky Pierre is also a slang term with the same meaning.)
Kurt has all the right enemies:
19 Posobeic also pointed out that Mitt really, really doesn't like Kurt Schlichter, and would routinely retweet attacks and nastiness directed at Kurt.
Yesterday, in London, I witnessed an eerie, chilling sight: I saw a death cult holding a ceremony in public.
The men and women gathered outside King's Cross station and formed a circle. They swayed and chanted. They preached about End Times. 'What will you do when the world gets hot, what, what?', they intoned, conjuring up images of the hellfire they believe will shortly consume mankind. They sang hymns to their god -- science. 'We've got all the science / All that we need / To change the world / Hallelujah', they sang, rocking side to side as they did so.
They demanded repentance. 'Buy less, fly less, fry less', said one placard. Catholics only demand the non-consumption of meat on Fridays, as an act of penance to mark the day of Christ's death. This new religion demands an end to meat-consumption entirely, as penance for mankind’s sins of growth and progress.
And like all death cultists, they handed out leaflets that contained within them 'THE TRUTH'. The leaflets foretell floods and fire: 'We are in trouble. Sea levels are rising... Africa and the Amazon are on fire.’ The only word that was missing was locusts. They can't be far behind these other ghastly visitations to sinful mankind.
...
This was, of course, Extinction Rebellion. Let us no longer beat around the bush about these people. This is an upper-middle-class death cult.
This is a millenarian movement that might speak of science, but which is driven by sheer irrationalism. By fear, moral exhaustion and misanthropy. This is the deflated, self-loathing bourgeoisie coming together to project their own psycho-social hang-ups on to society at large.
In the UK, it's been discovered that these "volunteers" are being paid up to 800 pounds per week to interfere with the lives and businesses of citizens-- and that it's very unclear if the "volunteers" are paying tax on that, or if they've continued receiving the dole while being paid.
Below, a couple of videos of people up to their necks with them. In the first video, black-clad "protesters" with megaphones are forcibly ejected from an In-and-Out by a Hamburger Hero; in the second, black-clad mutants try to bar customers from going inside a sandwich shop.
In London, an Extinction Rebellion dweeb stopped a commuter train by standing upon it, which (unfortunately) kept the conductor from just driving people home from work.
But a motivated commuter decided to get on top of the train and push the crusty hippie off:
Sky reported that they blocked three commuter trains, and people are sick of it.
Kellogg is partnering with Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) to bring all of its iconic cereals together in one box for the very first time -- and to take a stand against bullying.
Kellogg released a limited-edition variety pack that includes Corn Flakes, Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes, Frosted Mini-Wheats, Raisin Bran and Rice Krispies in the same box to celebrate Spirit Day, the largest anti-bullying campaign in the world and to support a "more accepting world for LGBTQ youth."
The package, which features all of the cereal mascots, from Tony the Tiger to Toucan Sam, runs for $19.99, with a promise from Kellogg to donate $50,000 to GLAAD.
"We all belong together. So for the first time in history, our famous mascots and cereals are offered exclusively together in the same box for All Together Cereal," Kellogg said in a statement. "It’s a symbol of acceptance no matter how you look, where you’re from or who you love. We believe that all people deserve an environment where they can be their best selves."
NeverTrump Hero-Paper-Pusher Evan McMullin on Hillary Clinton's Insane Claim That Everyone Who Disagrees With Her Is a RUSSIAN Asset: #ImWithHer
—Ace of Spades
NeverTrump is very fond of saying that one day we will have an accounting and all of those who supported the defeat of Hillary Clinton will be called to defend their heresies.
And now they're telling us that Joe Biden is a moderate. And when he fails, they'll join David Brooks in claiming that Elizabeth Warren is the Last Best "Conservative" Hope.
Tulsi Gabbard appeared on Tucker Carlson on Friday to rebut Hillary Clinton's latest conspiracy theories:
If you're sick of the new McCarthyism and warmongering by Hillary and her cohorts, then join our campaign. We need your support. Democrat, Republican, Independent — it doesn't matter. We need to unite to usher in a govt which is of, by, and for the people! https://t.co/rzEE9eqDSRpic.twitter.com/Jsq9EWxGDM
"We all know that progressivism is an insidious evil, but I'm wondering if only part of it is. That is, one part is evil, and the other merely stupid.
"Kind of like our main political parties.
"Progressivism has a lot of stupid ideas, mostly involving giving away free sh*: free education, free medical care, and now federally-subsidized tampons, so you younger 'ettes can now ride the cotton pony in style. Of course none of this stuff is actually "free", somebody has to pay for it, which is one of the reasons why it's stupid.
"But promising free sh*t isn't necessarily evil. What's evil is when you also tell them: (a) you have a right to it, and (b) if you don't have it, it's because someone is deliberately keeping you from having it. Because once you start going down that path, you create all sorts of bitterness and anger in yourself to people you don't even know who do who-knows-what to keep you from getting what you believe is rightfully yours and you get into the habit, the very bad habit, of blaming your troubles on others.
"And you'll always have a ready excuse for your own laziness or incompetence and the laziness and incompetence of like-minded friends.
"This is not really healthy.
"Larry Elder recently tweeted: 'Half the country thinks there is a free lunch—and that the other half is stopping them from eating it.' Which, in a nutshell, is why one half of the country trying to tear the other half apart.
The average American who would vote for #Trump couldn't afford Louis Vuitton! Most of them never heard of that brand! They don't sell them at #Walmart !
At first I thought that maybe this was a parody account, or she was being ironic, or something like that. I've been fooled by seemingly outrageous tweets before, and I'm not good at picking up on deadpan humor. But this appears to be serious (also, her account appears to be suspended, which is why we're seeing just the text).
Progressives Ruin Everything:
Has Everyone Lost Their D*mn Mind? (Part 2)
I believe it’s true. Tulsi Gabbard is with the Russians and the Russians are with Tulsi Gabbard. She confirms it every time she opens her mouth.
Friday's celebs: Jean Simmons and Michael Rennie, who appeared together in The Robe (1953), Caesar and Cleopatra (1945), and the little-known Trio (1950). (h/t TheQuietMan for the early identification of the celebs and the connection.)
Thank you to all you 'rons and 'ettes for sending me suggestions. Just so everybody knows, I am always open for celebrity 'who dis', food pr0n and shoe pr0n suggestions. You can e-mail suggestions to me at my AoSHQ nic at yahoo.
Good morning kids. Start of a new week and lots of ground to cover so off we go. The big non-story that has the Democrat-Left-Media Complex shrieking is White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney's "gaffe" where he supposedly admitted that Trump engaged in a quid pro quo with Ukraine, when in fact no such thing ever took place. To paraphrase a disgraceful ex-president, it depends on what the definition of quid pro quo is. In the classic sense, it does connote something either illegal or minimally shady. But more loosely, yes it does mean, as Mulvaney tried to explain to the gaggle of rabid harpies peppering him with questions, a totally above board exchange of services that each party would find mutually beneficial. In this case, the desire for both Trump and Zelensky to get to the bottom of the corruption that found its way into the 2016 election. And no, it was not because Trump threatened to withhold aid; he didn't because the aid was flowing at the time of the conversation. I think it's safe to say that Mulvaney was in over his head with a group of people whose purpose was to get him in a "gotcha" moment. Even one of Obama's twin Valley Girl stooges, Jen Psaki, after ripping Mulvaney admitted that, yeah, this happens all the time. Pfft. Let it be a lesson to Mulvaney and anyone else in the administration to be very wary of tangling with these people. Trump does it well, and consistently well. Mulvaney evidently not so much. Not that the media is ever going to relent, but still, why give yourself agita?
In any case, the week ended with the news cycle going in a completely different direction, as we shall get to in a moment. Rounding out the topic, Mike Pompeo ripped into Schiff-for-Brains over this kangaroo court madness, Mollie Hemingway catches the bug-eyed bastard flipping and flopping all over the place after being caught colluding with the whistleblower, top GOPers are screaming for all the secret documents the Dems are hiding, conservative women's group rallies outside the Capitol to stop the impeachment madness, when Anderson Vanderbilt makes Kamala-Toe stammer and stutter just by asking her to say exactly what crimes Giuliani committed, 23 House Republicans have yet to sign on to the censure of Schiff-for-Brains (gee, I wonder why [sarc]), and per the last essay, all of this is meant to distract and drive Trump's approval numbers down before 2020.
JOE, HUNTER BIDET UKRAINE & CHI-COM SCANDALS
Joe Bidet's corruption vis a vis the Burisma scandal is only the tip of the iceberg to a sordid history of consorting with America's enemies and rivals that goes back decades and participants in a multimillion dollar scam/fraud scheme were crowing about their political connections via Hunter Bidet. I'm shocked.
CLINTON/OBAMA COUP, CONGRESSIONAL PERSECUTION, SPYGATE, DEEP STATE, THE MUELLER
DECEPTION
British Intel were leery of Christopher Steele even as Comey's FBI pimped his fictional "dossier" to get FISA warrants and nearly 600 security violations were found by investigators in Hillary's e-mails. And yet, she still shambles and sharts freely.
AMNESTY, IMMIGRATION, MIGRANT INVASION, BORDER SECURITY
To the border we go where slowly but surely that damned wall is being built, yes abolish diversity visa garbage, Gavin Gruesome pardons illegal alien felons to shield them from deportation (let's see which one is first to kill or rape a citizen), and a public defender is trying to prevent an illegal alien animal who murdered four people from getting the needle by claiming "low IQ."
CIVIL WAR 2.0
Things seem to be heating up here on several levels, the most horrendous being the insane op-ed by Admiral William McRaven that ran in the NY Times last week where he essentially called for a military coup to remove President Trump from office. Yup. No elections, not even a sham impeachment process. A military coup. Both Angelo Codevilla and Adam Selene delve into this madness, (including Mad Dog Mattis' attempt at humor, which was no less poisonous in its intent than Mc-Craven), based of course on the President's decision to remove 50 (fifty!) US soldiers out of harms way from a godforsaken patch of sand that has zero strategic or national security significance whatsoever. Of course, that flies in the face of the military industrial complex wing of the Deep State that engineers wars that can never be won for fun and profit, but mostly profit. Like all the other fraud, hypocrisy and crime that has eaten away at the vitals of the republic for decades, Trump committed the unforgivable sin of exposing these career stooges in Sergeant Pepper costumes. G-d forbid one of them currently at the JCS or Pentagon issues a Jack D. Ripper order to mobilize troops on the White House, I hope the troops have the good sense to frag the bastard good and hard.
Meanwhile, some bloated dame verbally accosted Rand Paul at a L.A. restaurant and considering all he's been through, I'm kind of shocked that his security detail (assuming he had/has one) didn't immediately slam the miscreant into a wall while Barbara Streisand tweets a cartoon of Trump impaled on a spike, or something. Ho hum.
OFFICIAL DEMOCRAT PARTY-ENDORSED ANTI-SEMITISM
What? You think the Hamas Louse plays for free? Also, Elizabeth Fugazi Hekawi Warren goes all in on Israel- and Joo-Hate. Why not? That is the official Democrat Party line.
POLITICS
The big story alluded to earlier, which broke just in time to suck the life out of the Mulvaney non-gaffe gaffe, is the open warfare between Tulsi Coffe Cake and the woman (on paper) who will never be president of the United States. A friend of mine is convinced that Hillary somehow engineered this whole thing with Gabbard to goad her into officially jumping into the race. I don't see it. I think for sure Gabbard, in an effort to separate herself from the pack of Maosists in the Dem field, has positioned herself as a "moderate" in the hopes of being seen that way by Democrat voters. That said, I can't believe she doesn't realize that the base of that party is now as insane as the pack she is trying to distance herself from.
In any case, seemingly from out of left field (no pun) Hillary starts attacking her, perhaps fearing that Tulsi will somehow rise in the polls, which I don't really see happening. Colossal mistake on Clinton's part. After calling her a Russian agent that's somehow in cahoots with Putin and Trump, Gabbard is firing back by drawing attention to Clinton's disastrous trail of graft, corruption and damage to American security. It's potentially an own-goal of colossal proportions since the media is not going to ignore this, because Trump isn't going to ignore this. The other thing that could get lost in the sauce is my admonition not to be fooled by Gabbard. Yeah, she sounds "moderate" in comparison to all the others but she'd vote for any and all of their policy positions in a heartbeat if given the opportunity. That said, despite the news that she is refusing to appear at an event that Gabbard is scheduled to be, I think the odds are that Clinton is indeed going to jump in. Stay tuned!
Elsewhere, impeachment kabuki/bukkake theater will force some key contenders off the campaign trail just as the election season heats up, a reminder as if you needed one of just how execrable a human being Joe Bidet is, a look at Elizabeth Hekawi's character, or lack thereof, from a fellow Oklahoman, Daniel Greenfield rips into the resuscitated campaign of Bernie Sanders now that Toothy McBigTits de-fibbed him, Blotto Beto is an imbecile, Mittelschmerz Romney goes infantile, Andrew Stiles rips Kasich, Kamala-Toe dying in Iowa, and two essays on where Trump stands now and why he is the only man who could've dealt with all this.
FIRST AMENDMENT, CENSORSHIP, FAKE NEWS, BIG BROTHER BIG TECH
Tibetan activists join Hong Kong protesters at Brooklyn Nets game to slam China, gaming platform muzzles students for attempting same, Roger Simon rips Chris Wallace a new one for his bullshit impeachment propaganda, Pew pushes in stools, AP shields the Bidet's with stealth editing of Trump Jr. criticism, Twitter muzzles gay man for speaking truth on tranny madness, Toothy McBigTits is a big, fat fraud, and atheists demand we pray at their temple.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, INTERNATIONAL
Massive anti-government protests in Lebanon; let's ask Mittelschmerz Romney if we should send troops there. Also, the 50 grunts leaving Syria are headed to Iraq, Trump caves on hosting the G-7 Summit at his resort. Meh, they're going to rip him anyway so why relent and feed their narrative? Also, Bo-Jo defiant over Brexit delay, a look at what this means vis a vis France going forward, Canucks coddle Antifarians, Bill Gertz's new book on Chi-Com militarism just in time as the Reds now are looking to lease an island in the Solomons. Great, we have to fight Guadalcanal again, except with nukes.
DOMESTIC AFFAIRS, THE BUREAUCRACY, WASTE, FRAUD, CORRUPTION
New law in Baltimore county mimics a housing rule pimped by Obama and Castro that would destroy property values (h/t Village Idiot's Apprentice), SCOTUS hears case that could, please G-d, abolish the Elizabeth Cheekbones' CFPB politburo, doubts about SCOTUS repealing Roe given their poor record on other decisions, and de-perking SCOTUS judges.
CRIME & PUNISHMENT, NON-DOSTOYEVSKY
Pro-criminal lefties cite bogus stats to make case, Justice Dems endorse psycho who wants to disarm cops (and not just CBD's case for the para-militarization of po-po's), and De Bolshevik shuttering Rikers is going to be a nightmare.
EDUCATION, INDOCTRINATION
Pro-tranny schools' predictably insane responses to normal parents and Notre Dame - now Noted Shame - censors AG Barr's rousing defense of religious liberty.
RED-GREENS, CLIMATE CHANGE HOAX, LYSENKOISM
Several good and encouraging links on normal folks fighting back against the latter day Luddites, actual scientist professor canned for telling truth about polar bears and Cuomo's New York gas pains.
FEMINAZISM, TRANSGENDER PSYCHOSIS, HOMOSEXUALIZATION, WAR ON MASCULINITY/NORMALCY
Of periods and colons, fat black dame blames Trump for Oprah-sizing black dames, UK's first Chick-fil-a forced to close thanks to homo mafia, and a look at human vs. civil rights vis a vis a big SCOTUS case.
CULTURE WARS, HITHER & YON
Prager U video highlights the truth that dare not be mentioned, Christian Toto looks at Jewell and ponders where our next Eastwood will come from (as if Hollywood will ever allow one), Coppola defends Scorsese in Marvel feud, feminazism killed men's mags and Michael Ledeen remembers the deportation of Rome's Jews, and dismantles the myth of Italian resistance to Nazi anti-Semitism. Italians were at least better in some ways, but still far from the Danes.
Anyway, links from around the world, across the nation and up your street. Have a better one and remain blessed.
NOTE: The opinions expressed in some links may or may not reflect my own. I include them because of their relevance to the discussion of a particular issue.
ALSO: The Morning Report is cross-posted at CutJibNewsletter.com if you want to continue the conversation all day.
I stand here before you as a proud parent, son, obviously a member of this community,' You see my name, but yet you see a lot of people behind me and the commitment, especially from my mom, about caring for other people and being a part of a community that matters.Michael Jordan
“It’s getting kind of hot. I’m telling you, Hillary Clinton is playing a very dangerous game. I do not want someone of her stature to legitimate these attacks against anybody. If you’ve got real evidence, come forward with it. But if you’re just going to smear people casually on podcasts, you are playing right into the Russians’ hands.”Van Jones
Quote V
“Do not run the water when you brush your teeth, only wash with filled washing machines, only buy washing machines that don’t use so much water, use a pot when you ate watering plants in your garden. And pee in the shower in the morning,”Frode Hult
It might be too late for Halloween 2019. But, you might be able to get the word out to stay away from your house. The worst Halloween candies to serve.
A Florida woman documented her scary and painful encounter on Facebook.
Bri Oteri was in Dade City, Florida, said in the post she leaned against a wooden fence and felt her wrist start to burn after coming in contact with the puss caterpillar.
Oteri said, “It felt like fire ants in that moment. I looked down and saw this fuzzy thing moving across the wood.”
The woman was checked out by an EMT but symptoms increased later in the day and her husband took her to the ER.
“I was watching my son practice and all of a sudden I couldn’t breathe. I thought I was going to pass out, and then came the pain. In my chest.. in my entire right arm, radiating from my wrist all throughout my arm and shoulder,” Oteri said. “The pain was so excruciating I was hysterically crying in the hospital pleading for the doctors and nurses to help me. Morphine didn’t even touch the pain.”
PHOENIX – A police sergeant is suing the Phoenix Police Department in federal court, claiming the agency violated his First Amendment rights by trying to discipline him for his Facebook posts that disparaged Muslims and illegal immigrants.
Sgt. Juan Hernandez shared 11 memes or “news articles” that say Muslims are criminals or refer to immigrants as illegal. Hernandez’s Facebook posts were part of a database by the Plain View Project that examined the accounts of 2,900 officers from eight U.S. police departments, azcentral.com reported.
Since its publication in June, the departments have faced backlash, including in Phoenix. At the time, Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams said that she pulled some officers from enforcement duties, but she didn’t specify whom. Moreover, the chief said her agency would be investigating those officers.
According to the lawsuit, the department’s Professional Standards Bureau’s “draft investigation” would sustain that Hernandez violated the Police Department’s policy. As a result, Hernandez would be suspended between 40 to 240 hours without pay or be demoted or terminated, the lawsuit says.
While violent crime in the United States continues to decline, technology continues to try and find ways to combat the current violence we have in this country. For better or worse, bad things can happen almost anywhere and at any time.
So, it’s not surprising that a handful of companies have sprung up to meet the demand for using this tech to protect what matters most to us, our children.
Lori Alhadeff is haunted by the fact that she did not send her 14-year-old daughter to school with a bulletproof backpack. The mother of three had wanted to buy one but never got around to it. By Feb. 14, 2018, it was too late. Her first child, Alyssa, was fatally shot trying to hide under a classroom table at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. “I wish to this day that I did give that protection to Alyssa. It could have saved her life,” Alhadeff says. “Obviously, I regret that.”
A transgender woman says she is a victim of ‘transphobic’ discrimination after being snubbed for job as a female porn star – because she still has a penis
Ria Cooper, 25, who became Britain’s youngest trans person when she transitioned 10 years ago, encountered the photographer after deciding to embark on a career in the sex industry.
She says the anonymous individual messaged her saying he wanted to have sex on camera then sell the resulting porno to make some quick cash. But little did he know Ria was transgender and when he found out she still has male reproductive organs he immediately retracted the offer.
In messages exchanged over WhatsApp, the photographer bluntly proclaimed he couldn’t work with her because ‘she has a c**k’.
Have you ever eaten Froot Loops and thought, "This cereal isn’t gay enough?" Do you seek a safe space to eat your Rice Krispies? Are you concerned that your Corn Flakes aren’t sufficiently woke? Well, now Kellogg’s has the solution!
On Thursday, the gay site PinkNews reported, “Kellogg’s is launching an LGBT-themed cereal so you can start your day with maximum gay… If you’re a fan of breakfast and being gay, we have grrrrreat news for you – Kellogg’s is launching an LGBT-themed cereal.”
Los Angeles lawmakers on Tuesday took the first step toward a minimum wage for tens of thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers, approving a study of how the law would work and how it would be enforced.
The City Council also requested an independent study of how much Uber and Lyft drivers earn in L.A., and how much they spend on gas, insurance and other operating costs.
The vote comes less than a week after City Council President Herb Wesson, who is running for a seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, introduced a motion asking for a draft law to mandate a $15 hourly wage for drivers and $15 per hour to cover their expenses.
Lawmakers approved a softer version Tuesday, asking city analysts to study an hourly minimum wage, “with the goal of a $30 minimum.”
***
THE ONT MUSICAL INTERLUDE
On this day: 20 Oct 1977
Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines from Lynyrd Skynyrd were all killed along with manager Dean Kilpatrick when their rented plane ran out of fuel and crashed into a densely wooded thicket in the middle of a swamp in Gillsburg, Mississippi. The crash seriously injured the rest of the band and crew who were due to play at Louisiana University that evening. via thisdayinmusic.com
&&&
Born on this day: 20 Oct 1950
Tom Petty, American singer and songwriter. He was the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers had the 1977 single 'American Girl', the 1989 UK No.28 single 'I Won't Back Down', and the 1991 UK No.3 album 'Into The Great Wide Open'. With the Traveling Wilburys, the 1988 UK No. 21 single 'Handle With Care'. Petty has also released a string of solo albums, and Throughout his career and has sold over 60 million albums. Petty died on 2 October 2017. via thisdayinsmusic.com
A Cameron Park woman was arrested after she made an unusual request.
According to Lincoln police, the woman waved down one of their officers on Thursday night Lincoln Boulevard. She told the officer that she ran out of gas and needed a ride to her car.
The officer gave the woman, Lynette Stewart, a ride as well as a gas can.
When he checked out the status of the vehicle, he found that it had been reported stolen on Wednesday.
Stewart was arrested for vehicle theft and possession of methamphetamine and booked into the South Placer Jail.
CHICAGO —
A Boston man disarmed a robber on a train in Chicago on Sunday before running in the city’s marathon.
Jean Paul LaPierre, 54, was on a CTA Blue Line train when he stepped off and asked another commuter why marathoners seemed to be rushing for the doors, WGN-TV reported.
Advertisement
He said he was told there was another man on the train robbing commuters.
LaPierre got back on the train and confronted the robber. Video captured of the incident shows LaPierre struggling with the man and pulling a gun from his hands.
“I’m a boxer. I’ll break your head in one punch,” he said in the video.
LaPierre said he grew up boxing, which prepared him for the encounter, the station reported.
***
Weekly commenter stats for week of 10-20-2019
Top 10 commenters:
1 [415 comments] 'TheJamesMadison, with that Kubrick look towards the camera' [58.25 posts/day]
2 [387 comments] 'Deplorable Jay Guevara'
3 [376 comments] 'rickb223'
4 [351 comments] 'Christopher R Taylor'
5 [325 comments] 'Tom Servo'
6 [315 comments] 'REDACTED'
7 [313 comments] 't-bird'
8 [301 comments] 'Sponge'
9 [294 comments] 'Vic'
10 [284 comments] 'flounder, rebel, vulgarian, deplorable, winner'
Top 10 sockpuppeteers:
1 [68 names] 'Miklos, maker of majorly erroneous life decisions' [9.54 unique names/day]
2 [66 names] 'Duncanthrax'
3 [42 names] 'mindful webworker - click for vids'
4 [35 names] 'Axeman'
5 [35 names] 'Matt Plauer'
6 [31 names] 'wth'
7 [31 names] 'The ARC of History!'
8 [29 names] 'Meade Lux Lewis'
9 [27 names] 'joncelli, because somebody had to'
10 [26 names] 'Cicero (@cicero)'
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Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by Decision Making Skills.
Notice: Posted with permission by the Ace Media Empire and AceCorp, LLC. The ONT is intended solely for the entertainment of Morons and Lurkers. ONT tips, loose change, drink tokens and burner phones to petmorons at the gmail dot com.
Gun Thread: The Dried Stuff in a Basket in the Bathroom Edition [Weasel]
—Open Blogger
Flowery Dried Stuff
Well this past week I've been at the Texas MoMe, and should just be getting home about the time this thread goes up on Sunday. Since I will not have had much time for Gun Thread writin' over the last few days, what I'm going to do is post some stuff sent in by you all - kind of a big Mail Bag section for the week. Some will certainly recognize this as a half-ass effort, or perhaps even a quarter-ass effort, but I prefer to think of it as a potpourri of content! That's it! It's a potpourri of gun thread content! Let's get to it below, shall we?
First up is a field report from our pal Diogenes who sends us the following:
While attending the Washington Arms Collectors gun show yesterday I saw these really clever shivs. I didn't realize Bluebell had started marketing her products.
It's a Brush and a Shiv!
Nice find Diogenes! Bluebell has certainly captured some of the concealed shiv retail market. Word on the "street" is she's planning to introduce a new line this fall and a Shiv's 'n Beans Bistro is in the works for Spring!
*******
Next we have this nice submission from our pal rocdoctom who spotted this sign on a recent trip.
Not a sign you see everywhere. Eureka Nevada on Hwy 50...the friendliest town on the loneliest road in America.
Eureka, NV is Gun Friendly!
Nice to know there are still some places in the United States that aren't filled with retards! Thanks rocdoctom!
*******
Next we have a range report from the SW Ohio MoMe from last weekend from our pal ibguy:
As prelude to the 6th(!) Annual SW Ohio MoMe a bunch of us met at the Vandalia Range & Armory. Our group included special guest Alton Jackson, the HQ's resident dead guy (buzzion), and a handful of others. Most had at least *some* experience with firearms, but buzzion was a virgin.
Emphasis on *was*.
Attached is a photo from his first-ever shooting experience (this with my Walther P22). He went on to shooting equally accurately with a 9mm and a 1911. Wow!
Retired Buckeye Cop brought his amazing AR (chambered in .22). It was waaaay too much fun to shoot! And incredibly accurate. RBC explains:
"It was a replica of the WWII-era Sturmgewehr 44 (StG 44) made by German Sport Guns chambered in .22 Long Rifle. The original StG 44 was the first assault rifle ever designed: the StG 44 has a lot of features that Kalishnikov copied directly into his AK-47 and Stoner adapted when he designed his Armalite 15 (AR 15), the basis of the M-16."
Alton Jackson brought a replica 6-shooter (chambered in .22 Magnum). What a HOOT - *everyone* wanted a turn!
Lurker Allan Y and his family also joined us (he and his wife and daughters have been MoMe fixtures from the very beginning). His HS sophomore daughter outshot pretty much everyone in our group - it was eery!
We had a great time, and will definitely be adding this "extra" as a regular MoMe feature going forward.
Dead Guy's Target
Retired Buckeye Cop Takes a Turn
Great report, thanks ibguy!! Sounds like a good time was had by all. And who would have thought a dead guy could shoot?!
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THANK YOU
I'd like to take a moment to thank all those who attended another spectacular Texas MoMe. It was the stuff legends are made of, and it was an absolute pleasure to meet and re-meet each and every one of you. Special hat tip and love for Ben Had, Rancherbob and CowHorseQueen - our gracious and super-fun hosts for the weekend. My God that was a good time. We cannot thank you enough!!!!!
We did a lot of great shooting over two days, with a list of weapons too numerous to mention. Thank you to Jim Sunk New Dawn and Eromero for their help running the various ranges and all the others for bringing personal weapons and ammo for everyone to shoot!
Please feel free to discuss all the shooting, or the now concluded 4th Annual TXMoMe in general, in in the comments below!
Please note the new and improved gmail account morongunthread at gmail dot com. An informal Gun Thread archive can be found HERE. If you have a question you would like to ask Gun Thread Staff offline, just send us a note and we'll do our best to answer. If you care to share the story of your favorite firearm, send a picture with your nic and tell us what you sadly lost in the tragic canoe accident. If you would like to remain completely anonymous, just say so. Lurkers are always welcome!
That's it for this week - have you been to the range?
Food Thread: Keep It Simple Stupid, Or: Keep It Simple And Tasty Stupid
—CBD
This is what you do when you are stuck for something to eat for dinner but aren't willing to settle for something crappy. That's a fried egg, some sauteed chicken, a handful of arugula, and some sauteed vegetables. The topper is out of a jar of chili-garlic crisp from Trader Joe's. That whole thing probably took 10 minutes to make and was, by all reports (it's not my concoction, but I trust the cook who made it) it hit the spot.
The point is: why settle for crappy and boring food? With a bit of thought and some spelunking into your spice rack or the back of your refrigerator you can make some mighty fine tasting food. There are hundreds of fantastic pastes and dressings and fun concoctions that are as close as the spice aisle or the oriental section at your local market.
So give it a try. It doesn't really matter what you make, just jazz it up with some thing bright and pungent and vibrant. Hell, plain old scrambled eggs topped with chili crisp are great!
After months (years?) of dithering and delaying and procrastinating, I finally ordered a "sous vide" machine from Anova. They came out with a new one recently, and by pre-ordering I saved a fair amount of money. I also added to my impatience level because I had to wait an entire month! By the way, I chose the Anova over the other popular brand (Joule), because it does not require an account and internet connectivity to operate. I'll be damned if I am going to cede more of my privacy to industry, however trivial it might seem.
So, the thing seems well built, it is simple to operate, and I can even control it from my phone via bluetooth or my wifi network. That sounds stupid, but it's sort of convenient and amusing.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the whole idea, it is cooking food in a water bath at the exact temperature you choose. So if you like your steaks cooked to 131°, that's what you get, without the inconsistency of cooking in a pan or on a grill or in the oven. And it's not magic, it doesn't require any skill, and it really works.
But there is a kicker...the food is ugly. It's not browned or crisp or caramelized, so there is an additional step that is required for most "sous vide" dishes, and that is the tough(er) part. But with a little practice and some trial and error it is manageable. The technique is worthwhile, and for some things like fish I really think it is better, but it won't replace traditional cooking, and there are some dishes that you simply can't make with "sous vide," like my dinner tonight...roast chicken!
I'm sort of sick of the constant "The Sky Is Falling!" crap from the media about our food supply. It is safe, and when there are failures the market and our overbearing regulatory state smack the crap out of the offenders. I never worry about food safety, and I hope you folks don't either.
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I found this video when I was poking around for "sous vide" information (did someone around here recommend her?). This is exactly the kind of dish I love. Simple, fun technique, and it looks like it tastes great.
There is nothing earthshaking about it, but it's simple and fast and clean up is a breeze.
And clearly there are some pompous asses in charge of headlines over at Bon Appetit. But that's not the best part of this list.
The first restaurant on the list was just shut down for failing a health inspection!
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And we thought that Skip only made breakfast!
Stromboli a la Skip
Although...I might quibble with the "stromboli" part. My impression of stromboli is that it is rolled, but this looks more like a calzone.
From garden - 2 ripe Anaheim peppers grilled and peeled, couple ripe sweet peppers , 1/3 tomato, basil leaves and oregano, and few slices of onion all sauteed. Chopped up 2" pepperoni and 1/4 pound of sliced ham placed all on a rolled out pizza dough, topped with mozzarella and provolone. Folded up and a wash with egg into 400 degrees with a pizza stone.
Either way, it looks good.
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My apologies to the Moron commenter who sent me this link. I saved the link and discarded his email, and I simply don't remember who it was! My apologies, especially since you sent it in the nick of time...my last few chili attempts were...um...fine. Boring, bland, and useful for nothing but fuel.
Every single one of these looks great. All nine of them. What...there are 10 recipes? Nope. Turkey chili isn't chili, and I won't have it in my kitchen.
And now I remember! Hrothgar...thank you!
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Food and cooking tips, Castelvetrano olives with a sprinkle of chili flakes, young wild pigs, crisp bacon (although I am moving toward less crisp), thick and fluffy pita, and good tomatoes that aren't square, pale pink and covered with Mestizo E.coli: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com. Any advocacy of French Toast with syrup will result in disciplinary action up to and including being nuked from orbit. And yes, shaking a Manhattan is blasphemy...it's in the Bible!
It's Time For Automated Ball And Strike Calls In MLB
—CBD
The Yankees got beaten fair and square, and they have nobody to blame but themselves. And the crap calls at the plate hurt both teams last night, so this isn't a partisan gripe about the inherent unfairness of MLB toward The Yankees (that's for another rant).
But the strike zone last night was pathetic, and it affected the play of both teams. When a batter has to wonder where the strike zone is, in addition to having just a split-second to decide whether to swing, it plays havoc with the essence of the game.
Whose fault is that? Well, MLB does not have sufficient controls in place to moderate the often overbearing and ridiculously sensitive behavior of its umpires, so they have the well-founded impression that they can do no wrong. As Lord Acton famously said:
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely
And is there a more corrupt and capricious and arrogant group than MLB umpires? Is there another sport into which the officials inject themselves to such an extent?
And I'm not talking about the outliers on the asshole scale like Joe West and Angel Hernandez. Even the relatively good umpires have vast egos and are unwilling to tolerate any challenge to their authority, even when it is completely obvious that they have screwed up. Their prickly insistence on total obeisance from the players and managers is an affront to the game.
The frustrating thing is that the number of bad calls in the field is minuscule compared to the pathetic and subjective job the umpires do at the plate. Perhaps that is a function of the increase in velocity of the average pitch, or maybe (and I am guessing here) evolutionary changes in pitches so that there is simply too much movement for the home plate umpires to judge them with any degree of accuracy.
It's simple...let the software call balls and strikes, and the home plate umpire can concentrate on other things like whether the batter has swung, or been hit by a pitch, or fouled off a pitch, etc. Or, and this is my preferred solution, publicize the accuracy statistics that MLB keeps on their umps, and have the software call balls and strikes for the bottom half of the umpires for the month following their low ratings. And if they remain in the cellar for the month after, suspend them.
Below the fold are some videos that should bolster the point that something has to be done. Let's start with forcing Joe West to lose about 100 pounds!
Groucho Marx Redux: "Who Are You Going To Believe, Me Or Your Own Eyes?" Islam Isn't Responsible For Islamic Terrorism? Huh?
—CBD
My grandfather was a policeman in pre-independence Israel, and he used to patrol Arab villages on horseback (he also hunted wild pigs with a spear!). He used to say that the people were always friendly, but that they were incredible liars, and here we have a fine example of just that!
This continues a common trend of denying the Islamist roots of jihadi attacks, even as survey data show that a deeply disturbing minority of Muslim believers support terrorism. As Israeli analyst Shmuel Bar wrote in 2004, in leading Islamic clerical circles, “radical ideology does not represent a marginal and extremist perversion of Islam, but rather a[n] … increasingly mainstream interpretation.”
But I thought that "Islam is a religion of peace!"
Of course none of this is new, but what I find interesting are the similarities between this apologist for mass murder and the modern Left in America. They effortlessly obfuscate and lie and ascribe their own beliefs and actions to their enemies. Perhaps that is why they are such vociferous defenders of Islamic hate and killing?
Below the fold is a short video on "Tagiya," which isn't quite what the learned professor is doing, but its close!
Good morning to all you 'rons, 'ettes, lurkers, and lurkettes, wine moms, frat bros, crétins sans pantalon (who are technically breaking the rules), jokers, smokers, midnight tokers, and the pompatus of love, whom I just know gets up early on Sundays just for this thread. Welcome once again to the stately, prestigious, internationally acclaimed and high-class Sunday Morning Book Thread, a weekly compendium of reviews, observations, snark, witty repartee, hilarious bon mots, and a continuing conversation on books, reading, spending way too much money on books, writing books, and publishing books by escaped oafs and oafettes who follow words with their fingers and whose lips move as they read. Unlike other AoSHQ comment threads, the Sunday Morning Book Thread is so hoity-toity, pants are required. Even if it's these pants, which look like a lot of wishful thinking went into making them. In fact, one might call them the triumph of hope over experience.
The history of science fiction and fantasy is littered with stories by Davids of distinction. Now, for the first time, an anthology by people named David, for everyone.
Read along as editor David Afsharirad guides you through the strange, wondrous imaginations of the great Davids of the field, past and present. Fifteen tales by David Weber, David Drake, Gregory Benford & David Brin, David B. Coe, D.J. Butler, Avram Davidson, David H. Keller, and many more.
And what do these Davids like to write about?
Herein you will find: a Depression-era magic man who comes face-to-face with an ancient evil. A once-promising filmmaker whose fate depends on a movie-producing AI. A shape-shifting detective on the trail of a pack of werewolves. A sentient tank who must confront one of its own. And a diner regular who gets more than he bargained for when he orders the soup du jour.
Some SJW types are whining at Baen because, well, because all of the authors are named Dave and so therefore it's not very inclusive. Particularly toward women. So Baen said, hold on, we've got this, Women of Futures Past, edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
You'll find Northwest Smith, C.L. Moore’s famous smuggler who predates (and maybe inspired) Han Solo by four decades. Read Leigh Brackett’s fiction and see why George Lucas chose her to write The Empire Strikes Back. Adventure tales, post‑apocalyptic visions, space opera, aliens‑among‑us, time travel—these women have delivered all this and more, some of the best science fiction ever written!
Also stories by Lois McMaster Bujold, Pat Cadigan, CJ Cherryh, Zenna Henderson, Nancy Kress, Ursula K. Le Guin, Anne McCaffrey, Andre Norton, James Tiptree, Jr., and Connie Willis.
And then the SJWs went, "oh, women, pfft!" and rolled their eyes. I guess they wanted more gay Muslim midgets of color. And complained that there weren't any *contemporary* women authors.
Hell with them. Let them watch the new, super-woke Batwoman series on CW. Nobody else is.
8 I started to read Islands of Rage and Hope by John Ringo but I noted reference to a 1950s dystopian book named 'Alas, Babylon' by Pat Frank. It was about a nuclear war between the US and Russia and how a small town in FL coped with it. It sounded interesting so I downloaded it and read it. It was a short novel and pretty cheap. It was interesting.
Posted by: Vic at October 13, 2019 09:04 AM (mpXpK)
That brings back memories. I first read Alas, Babylon when I was in high school back in the 70s. What I remember best about it is the episode where the family had to find a source of salt. In post-apocolyptic America, there is no electricity and hence no refrigeration, so the preservative qualities of salt have suddenly become very important.
Alas, Babylon is a 1959 novel by American writer Pat Frank (the pen name of Harry Hart Frank). It was one of the first apocalyptic novels of the nuclear age and has remained popular more than half century after it was first published, consistently ranking in Amazon.com's Top 20 Science Fiction Short Stories list (which groups together short story collections and novels) and has an entry in David Pringle's book Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels. The novel deals with the effects of a nuclear war on the fictional small town of Fort Repose, Florida, which is based upon the actual city of Mount Dora, Florida. The novel's title is derived from the Book of Revelation: "Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come."
So it's the godfather of the post-apocalyptic science fiction sub-genre.
Sometimes Amazon will gouge you for these sorts of classic books, but surprisingly, the Kindle edition is only $2.99. As Vic says, it's a short, cheap read.
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Stuff they don't teach in schools any more:
31 Last week, my wife, the lovely and gracious Annalucia, and I visited Montpelier, the home of James and Dolley Madison. The estate has been restored relatively recently and is well worth visiting. Madison's study on the second floor, a small room looking east that in his day was literally stacked high with books, is impressive in its simplicity; and to stand in the place where that genius devised his "Virginia Plan", the first draft of what was to become the US Constitution, was for me quite moving. If you have the opportunity, you should go.
I mention this because the docent who guided us through the mansion, and who was excellent, recommended "The Three Lives of James Madison: Genius, Partisan, President" by Noah Feldman. Annalucia and I are reading it aloud, as is our habit, and we're about halfway through the Philadelphia convention. So far, the book is excellent. Feldman organizes and presents this complex material in a way that is lucid and compelling.
Previously, I'd read Lynne Cheney's biography of Madison, and found it to be superficial. Feldman is much more substantive. I think it is a good introduction to Madison's life and thought; and understanding Madison is a key to understanding our Republic. Highly recommended.
Posted by: Brown Line at October 13, 2019 09:17 AM (S6ArX)
The Amazon blurb for this book is quite lengthy. Madison hoped to
...eradicate partisanship yet found himself giving voice to, and institutionalizing, the political divide. Madison’s lifelong loyalty to Thomas Jefferson led to an irrevocable break with George Washington, hero of the American Revolution. Madison closely collaborated with Alexander Hamilton on the Federalist papers—yet their different visions for the United States left them enemies.
This is great stuff. What *do* they teach in schools these days?
We may be more familiar with other Founding Fathers, but the United States today is in many ways Madisonian in nature. Madison predicted that foreign threats would justify the curtailment of civil liberties. He feared economic inequality and the power of financial markets over politics, believing that government by the people demanded resistance to wealth. Madison was the first Founding Father to recognize the importance of public opinion, and the first to understand that the media could function as a safeguard to liberty.
"Could".
One wonders what Madison would have to say about what our media has become, namely, fluffers for the basest sorts of perfidy, assholery, and totalitarianism. Of course, it was Geo. Washington (I think) who referred to the journalists of his day as "infernal scribblers", so maybe he wouldn't be all that surprised.
I just finished a copy of Thomas Sowell's In Search of Cosmic Justice. Written about 20 years ago, still worth the read and very prescient.
Any book whose Amazon blurb begins with:
This is not a comforting book
...is probably worth a look:
[I]t is a book about disturbing issues that are urgently important today and enduringly critical for the future. It rejects both "merit" and historical redress as principles for guiding public policy. It shows how "peace" movements have led to war and to needless casualties in those wars. It argues that "equality" is neither right nor wrong, but meaningless.
The Quest for Cosmic Justice shows how confused conceptions of justice end up promoting injustice, how confused conceptions of equality end up promoting inequality, and how the tyranny of social visions prevents many people from confronting the actual consequences of their own beliefs and policies. Those consequences include the steady and dangerous erosion of the fundamental principles of freedom -- and the quiet repeal of the American revolution.
Of course, pretty much any book by Thomas Sowell is worth reading. The man is a national treasure.
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Old and Busted:
The New Hotness:
Books By Morons
Last we heard from conservative author Adam Lane Smith, his action hero, Maxwell Cain, couldn't eat his burrito lunch without bad guys trying to kill him. But now it seems he's pioneering a new subgenre of science fiction, called "heavy metal Christian pulp" with his latest novel, Gideon Ira: Knight of the Blood Cross, which is the first installment of his new Deus Vult Wasteland series:
Demons and Necromancers haunt a burnt and blasted future in the ruins of what was once America.
A holy crusader sworn to slaughter the dark cults of Ba’al the Ever-Hungry must rescue a band of innocent children with his blade and blood-soaked gauntlets, or die trying.
All of Hell thirsts for his blood, but a man of God will never be broken. This holy crusader’s vengeance will be brutal.
This is the first in Smith'a Deus Vult Wastland series.
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I think pimping an academic author really classes up the joint. A lurking moron author e-mails:
I'm a history/archaeology professor at a small Texas College (TJC-The College of East Texas) and publish quite a bit, usually in other people's books.
But, my own collaborator, Jennifer Loughmiller-Cardinal recently published our own book on Native American tobacco.
It's an academic book, so it is not cheap. They're expensive because the print run is so small.
At any rate, for those who are interested in not reading anything political, it's about pre-Colombian tobacco among the Maya peoples of Central American, the largest group of Native Americans in the Americas, its ritual, medicinal, and recreational uses, the oldest snuff bottle tradition in the world, and the chemistry, biology, history, and archaeology of all of the above.
And not just the Maya, apparently, because the Amazon blurb says
...this volume assembles scholars from a variety of disciplines and specialties to discuss tobacco in modern and ancient contexts. The chapters utilize research from archaeology, ethnography, mythic narrative, and chemical science from the eighth through the twenty-first centuries.
Throughout philosophical history, there has been a recurring argument to the effect that determinism, naturalism, or both are self-referentially incoherent. By accepting determinism or naturalism, one allegedly acquires a reason to reject determinism or naturalism. The Epistemological Skyhook brings together, for the first time, the principal expressions of this argument, focusing primarily on the last 150 years. This book addresses the versions of this argument as presented by Arthur Lovejoy, A.E. Taylor, Kurt Gödel, C.S. Lewis, Norman Malcolm, Karl Popper, J.R. Lucas, William Hasker, Thomas Nagel, Alvin Plantinga, and others, along with the objections presented by their many detractors. It concludes by presenting a new version of the argument that synthesizes the best aspects of the others while also rendering the argument immune to some of the most significant objections made to it.
This isn't a light read. The Kindle version is north of $50, but you get a lot of meat for your money. But Jim gave a couple of interviews (here and here) where he talks about the issues he raises in his books, as well as many other books and authors.
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So that's all for this week. As always, book thread tips, suggestions, bribes, insults, threats, ugly pants pics and moron library submissions may be sent to OregonMuse, Proprietor, AoSHQ Book Thread, at the book thread e-mail address: aoshqbookthread, followed by the 'at' sign, and then 'G' mail, and then dot cee oh emm.
What have you all been reading this week? Hopefully something good, because, as you all know, life is too short to be reading lousy books.
For a much longer time than anyone could have really expected, Netflix’s surprisingly reasonable willingness to look the other way when it came to mass password-sharing was a bright spot in an otherwise cruel and merciless universe. But since nothing gold can ever stay, it seems these halcyon days of virtually limitless password swapping are numbered.
In the company’s third-quarter earnings interview on Wednesday, Netflix executives announced that they’re keeping an eye on password sharing and are exploring ways to crack down on the practice. The company didn’t detail any specific course of action, but, as the Daily Dot posited, future attempts to curb password swapping will likely involve limiting the number of devices or IP addresses that can be linked to any one account.
Logically, this is a perfectly reasonable step for the streaming service to take, and various other competitors in the streaming space have already begun flirting with similar tactics. Disney+ initially announced its subscriptions would be limited to 10 devices, but later claimed the 10-device limit would only apply to downloads on mobile devices following pushback from customers. The platform will still limit the number of devices that can be streaming at once to four — a policy common across streaming services, including Netflix.
Little known, highly depressing fact: the bear on California’s state flag doesn’t exist anymore. It’s a California grizzly, and they were hunted to extinction in the 75 years following the Gold Rush, which began in 1848.
The United States maintains a checkered-to-woeful history with much of its iconic wildlife. Consider its national bird and national mammal, the bald eagle and bison, respectively. In 1963, there were only 417 pairs of nesting bald eagles left in the contiguous 48 states. Poaching, synthetic insecticides and habitat disruption all contributed to the decline. Bison, meanwhile, once dominated North America; an estimated 30-60 million roamed the continent in the 1500s. By the year 1884, that number was down to an astonishing 325.
Each of those creatures has made a massive comeback in the last 100 years or so, though, thanks to hard-fought battles by conservationists. The bald eagle was famously removed from the endangered species act in the mid-1990s, and is now humming along (relatively) thanks to a variety of protective measures. And bison, which climbed to nearly 250,000 by the end of the 1990s, are having a good century.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein says a lingerie store that doubled as a strip club has been shut down.
Klein announced Monday that Columbus secured an emergency court order to vacate and shutter an east side lingerie store located at 1471 East Livingston Avenue, called “Sexxy 4 Less” that was a front for an underground strip club called “Club Sexxy.”
According to court documents, the Columbus Division of Police began covert surveillance of the premises earlier this summer, obtaining evidence of illegal drug and alcohol sales.
Klein also states that investigators also linked a July shootout at the premises to a homicide that had occurred a month earlier.
Families with children lived in apartments directly above the lingerie store.
“There were armed security guards with body armor, and even the dancers were packing heat, which tells you all you need to know about the danger this illegal club posed to employees, patrons, and the residents living there,” said Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein.
Alabama freshman Connor Bruce Croll was arrested in Tuscaloosa on Sunday morning after cops say he called in a false bomb threat to LSU’s Tiger Stadium. According to the police, Croll did so because he wanted to get the game canceled and save his friend a bunch of money.
Croll is being held in Tuscaloosa County jail pending charges after being listed as a fugitive from justice, per Tuscaloosa News. An Alabama spokesperson told the News, “Threats and pranks can have serious ramifications and necessitate an appropriate response. The university and UAPD are cooperating fully with the investigation, but we cannot provide any additional details on a pending matter.” He will likely be charged in Baton Rouge.
Kyle Williams told NBC10 he knew he was dangerously close to breaking the rules Saturday morning when his youth football team, the Conshohocken Golden Bears, went up 30 to 0. The rules of the Keystone Sports League, which features kids no older than 7 years of age, prevent a team from going up by more than 30 points.
“Less than two minutes left I called a timeout because I wanted to pull the starters off the field,” Williams said. “I put kids in there who normally never played.”
When one of the second stringers, a 5-year-old boy, got the ball he ran toward the end zone as Williams ran along the sideline and repeatedly yelled for him to fall down. The boy still scored however, putting the team up 36 to 0.
Now Williams is facing a possible $500 fine and a 2-game suspension.
“I have three sons,” Williams said. “I’m not gonna tell my son, especially if he’s running the ball, ‘Don’t go out there and give it your all.’”
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Did you know that the company which made your Grandmother's sewing machine also made weapons of war?
The M1911A1 handgun was designed by prolific arms developer John Moses Browning. The slab-sided semi-automatic handgun holds seven rounds of .45 ACP ammunition and was the standard sidearm of the U.S. military from World War I to the 1980s, a remarkable longevity. During World War I and World War II, companies that produced civilian machinery retooled to produce weapons, including the 1911. The Union Switch and Signal company, maker of railroad equipment, made the firearm. So did the typewriter manufacturer Remington Rand.
In 1939, the U.S. War Department contracted the Singer Sewing Machine Company to build 500 1911A1s. The contract, Educational Order W-ORD-396, was a test to see if Singer could produce 100 guns a day, a number it thought was doable. The War Department got its handguns, serial number series S800001-S800500, but the company was unable to live up to the pace of 100 guns a day.
How to seduce a woman, if you are a Genius Award Winner.
A. [ ] Whisper sweet nothings in her ear?
B. [ ] Gift her with flowers and candy?
C. [X] Whip out your penis and hope for the best?
Nicholas Sheehy, 23, was arrested Friday afternoon at the Dollar General in Ottumwa, a city about 85 miles southeast of Des Moines. Sheehy, an Ottumwa resident, was charged with indecent exposure, a serious misdemeanor.
When confronted by police, Sheehy “admitted that he ‘whipped it out’ referring to his penis,” a criminal complaint alleges. “The defendant stated that he had seen someone do it in a pornographic film and believed that the female patron may respond to it sexually.”
Instead, the woman contacted cops, who reported that Sheehy “admitted that he exposed himself for sexual gratification.”
Pictured above, Sheehy was booked into the Wapello County jail, from which he was released after posting $1000 bond.
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The NFL has been spiraling down the toilet the past few years with their SJW shit. But not everyone in the league is a SJW. Tonight's Feel Good Story of The Day. H/T Bitter Clinger
New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis' has raised $120,000 for a local Mississippi hospital through the sale of his "Man of God" headband that earned him a fine from the NFL back in September.
"This is amazing, it just shows you the power of God... I would have never thought this whole movement would have happened."
— Demario Davis on Fox Nation's "Laura and Raymond"
"This is amazing, it just shows you the power of God," said Davis on the latest episode of Fox Nation's "Laura and Raymond." "You know, I would have never thought this whole movement would have happened — and it's not just here in New Orleans. It's been national."
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Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by the fact that The ONT Is Always Looking Out For You TM
Notice: Posted with permission by the Ace Media Empire and AceCorp, LLC. Not responsible for Texas MoMe bonds or collect calls.
Satuday Evening Movie Thread 10-19-2019 [Hosted by: TheJamesMadison]
—OregonMuse
Hello all, TJM, here. So, Mary Poppin's Practically Perfect Piercing (MP4) reached out to me with an idea for a post. It was about one of his favorite silent films, Haxan, a movie I hadn't yet seen. So, I encouraged him to write it himself, which he has done! I really liked what he wrote, so I'm giving him the floor tonight.
MP4 knows more about the silent era than I do. I know much of the highlights of the era, but MP4 has spent time digging into the nooks and crannies of the time and place and has accumulated such a wonderful compendium of knowledge on the time and place. He's even gone so far as to write some fiction set in the era, mostly around the silent vamp Theda Bara, star of the lost silent epic Cleopatra and her makeup man Toby.
Good evening, 'rons and 'ronettes. Thanks to TheJamesMadison, Moviegique, OregonMuse and Ace for letting me pester you all with some words about silent movies; or, rather, one in particular: Häxan, called by writer Jack Stevenson "the world's strangest film" (though that, like Plan 9 from Outer Space being the "worst movie ever made" is debatable; I think Tales from the Quadead Zone is a hell of a lot stranger).
Horror has been a movie staple almost from the beginning; the Edison studio put out a truncated Frankenstein in 1910, whose biggest special effect consisted of the monster rising out of a bubbling cauldron. And, depending on how you want to define "documentary," you could make the argument that Fred Ott's Sneeze – Edison's 1894 short of a studio employee doing just that – constitutes a documentary, since it's showing the viewer a real event. But the combination of the two, though now common in "found footage" crap-fests such as The Blair Witch Project and the Paranormal Activity franchise, had been for many years a rarity, and in fact, I can only think of Häxan prior to the 1970's.
Häxan (in English, The Witch) was the brainchild of Danish director Benjamin Christensen. His two earlier films, Blind Justice and The Mysterious X, had attracted American notice and the Vitagraph studio in New York offered to make him a supervising producer, but by that time Christensen had the notion to make a trilogy about the history of superstition. Häxan was part one of this never-completed project.
Christensen's viewpoint was that there was no such thing as "real" witchcraft, but only an hysteria such as that affecting modern-day psychiatric patients. Not a particularly objectionable statement in itself, but he went further than that – just as the witches of the Middle Ages were tortured and forced to confess their worship of Satan, he argued, "compassionate" treatment of the mentally ill, with its cold showers, electroshock treatments and confinement to "cure" patients were no better than the thumbscrew and rack of the Inquisition.
Häxan begins with a present-day lecture. Christensen takes us through ancient views of the universe, making the point that witchcraft, sorcery and belief in demons has been with mankind from the beginning. But, he asks, who and what are witches? What do they do?
The movie then travels back in time to the year 1488. An ominous title card reads "I will now illustrate a trial for witchcraft from beginning to end taking place at the time when the Pope sent traveling Inquisition priests out to Germany." We are introduced to the family of a scribe who is dying from some unknown disease. Frantic for a scapegoat, the sick man's sister-in-law (Karen Winther) runs to the Inquisition to accuse a poor elderly weaver, Maria (Maren Pedersen) of being a witch. Maria is kidnapped and tortured by the holy judges, though Christensen never shows her actually on the rack or in the thumbscrew. He does, however, show the instruments of torture to us and, in an effort to help us understand how an innocent person could admit to congress with the Evil One, notes "One of my actresses insisted on trying out the thumbscrew. . .I will not reveal the terrible confessions I forced from the young lady in less than a minute."
Maria the weaver is doomed. We know that. But in her agony, she has confessed to the judges (in a scene that intercuts with views of witches gathering for the Sabbat and engaging in child sacrifice and demonic sex) that the scribe's wife and sister, too, are witches, and an eager Inquisition snatches them up for torture and burning.
But Christensen isn't done yet. The vindictive sister-in-law is herself swept up as a sorceress and jailed. Häxan is not a horror film as such; no deaths are shown and there is only a brief shot of a child being thrown into a boiling pot, but the scene where the sister-in-law is promised freedom if she will only confess her witchery still packs a gut punch 97 years later.
"1488" is really the centerpiece of Häxan. Christensen then moves on briefly to the story of Sister Cecilia (a spooky Clara Pontoppidan), brooding on the persistent presence of the Devil (a role taken by the beefy director himself), who "forces" her to impale the sacred Host on a knife, to spit on a picture of the Christ Child and whose hysteria eventually overcomes the entire convent, throwing them into fits of shrieking and dancing. Watching these scenes, it's almost inevitable that we would consider the nuns sexually frustrated, but I don't believe that was Christensen's view; I think (and repeat viewings convince me) that he attributed their "hysteria" to a morbid preoccupation with sin. Not sex, but religion is responsible for suffering.
Finally, Häxan moves to the present day, in a sequence that in both 1922 and today is considered the weakest part of the movie. We see a woman (Tora Teje) who portrays, in various scenes, a sleepwalker, an arsonist and a kleptomaniac. All three of the women are said to suffer from "nervous exhaustion" and because of that, see things in their sleep or are forced "against their will" to perform acts that they would never do when they were awake. This, says Christensen, is the true source of the witch craze: a combination of shattered nerves, suspicion, morbid obsession and an instinctive dislike of the crippled, the aged or the just plain different. In the Middle Ages, the Church persecuted the witch; in our time, the "witch" is persecuted by the law.
Häxan was, on the whole, poorly received by the critics, who damned it for its portrayal of nudity and "perverted cruelty." Christensen himself admitted that "after The Witch, I was out in the cold for two years." He did eventually find a position at Germany's UFA, but left for America when MGM offered him a director's chair. His tenure there was difficult, and after four films with Warner Brothers, he soured on Hollywood and moved back to Denmark. His last film, 1942's The Lady with Light Gloves, was "an unmitigated disaster" and he never made another movie. The remainder of his life was spent in seclusion, owning and running a small cinema house until his death in 1959.
Häxan, though, lived on. It was revived in 1941, but then dropped out of sight until 1967, when the Danish Film Museum screened it during a retrospective of Christensen's work. The next year, English filmmaker Antony Balch cut its 104 minute running time to 76 minutes, re-titling it Witchcraft Through the Ages, adding not only a grating "jazz" score but enlisting counterculture icon William S. Burroughs to provide what has been described as an "arch" and "dully spoken" narration, though Burroughs does little more than read Christensen's original title cards. This is the version most familiar to the modern age, and I recall seeing it myself as a young child on some strange public access channel.
In 2001, Criterion released Häxan on DVD as a double bill with Witchcraft. It's now also available in a remastered 2K Blu-ray restoration, with Witchcraft, outtakes, commentary and Christiansen's own introduction to the 1941 re-release.
If you've never seen a silent, Häxan is probably not the place to start (that's a topic for another day). But if you're looking for something a little different for your Hallowe'en viewing, it's a good choice.
A Thank You
TJM here again. I just want to thank MP4 for doing this. His insight into the history and meaning of a silent classic like this is wonderful to read. Also, the rest of you should really buy his books.
Movies I Saw This Fortnight: Joker (Netflix Rating 3/5 | Quality Rating 2.5/4) Full Review "I wanted to like this film more, but it's first half is just too messy with too much obfuscating the actual story at hand. The second half goes a good way making up for it, but not quite enough." [Theater] El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (Netflix Rating 4/5 | Quality Rating 3/4) Full Review "Watched as the final three episodes of Breaking Bad probably makes it flow a bit better, viewing it as the last three episodes of a television series, rather than as a stand alone movie." [Netflix Instant] Exorcist II: The Heretic (Netflix Rating 1/5 | Quality Rating 0.5/4) Full Review "Everyone else has known that this movie was insane nonsense for more than 40 years, and you just found out. Time to tell the world!" ["Library"] Crisis (Netflix Rating 2/5 | Quality Rating 1/4) Full Review "Ingmar Bergman's first movie has a handful of charms, but it's ultimately an unfocused bit of over-assured storytelling that never comes together." [Personal Collection] Fear and Desire (Netflix Rating 2/5 | Quality Rating 1/4) Full Review "This is the work of an immature, unfocused, and pretentious bore. This Stan Kubrick guy has no future in the movies. He should just go back to New York and become a dentist or something." [Amazon Prime] Paths of Glory (Netflix Rating 5/5 | Quality Rating 4/4) Full Review "It's a temporary reprieve for them before they are sent back to the meat grinder where they will once again become subject to the whims of the French military command. It's perhaps their final moment of humanity." [Personal Collection] Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Netflix Rating 5/5 | Quality Rating 4/4) Full Review "This movie is a classic for good reason." [Personal Collection] Eyes Wide Shut (Netflix Rating 5/5 | Quality Rating 4/4) Full Review "It's a descent into dream logic and another world while also touching on themes that are extraordinarily grounded. I think it's an underrated work from one of the greatest of filmmakers." [Personal Collection]
Contact
Email any suggestions or questions to thejamesmadison.aos at symbol gmail dot com.
GM Anton Korobov, apparently contemplating a less-than-ideal position
(Either that or he's just realized he could've saved 10-15% on car insurance by switching to Geico.)
(h/t lurker 'Guy' for the photo)
TheJamesMadison will be along later with the movie thread. This week, he'll be sub-letting (or is it sub-sub-letting?) the thread out to MP4, whose movie review of an old classic will be getting us into the spirit of Halloween early.
As always, the chess/dress pr0n thread is an open thread, so there is no such thing as an off-topic comment.
Beginner Problem - White To Play (Chess #3544)
Yeah, I know this position looks kind of weird. How did White's king get all the way up there behind the black pawns? I didn't notice this until it was too late to pick a better probem.
Goal: White can force mate in 2 moves
Hint: One of those knights is kind of in the way
3K1Rn1/3p2p1/1pp1k3/4pN1R/2P1NP2/4np1b/B2b4/6q1 w - - 0 1
Mildly amusing. Sort of NSFW for language. (h/t 'MesterJeger')'
Intermediate Problem - Black To Play (1053)
Goal: Black can force mate in 6 moves
Hint: Draw White's king even further out by sac'ing a piece
1rb1k1nr/p1qpppbp/6p1/8/2N1P3/2PK1BN1/P2P1PPP/R1BQ3R b k - 0 1
Advanced Problem - White To Play (1054)
How does White play this position? Again, once you think you've found a good first move for White, try to find Black's best defense.
Hint: Find a way to quickly bring the rook into play
rn1q1k1r/pb1n2pp/1p1P4/8/2Bp4/8/PPP1Q1PP/R1B3K1 w - - 0 1
Dress Pr0n For the 'Ettes:
Shredded nerves after a day full of conflict (dyslexic son, difficult schooling, budget cuts, say no more). Still, the sun has set, the day is done & tomorrow is another story. A twist of blurry blue floral silk will salve a tired brain, ‘Compeigne’ 1954, collection? @Diorpic.twitter.com/kBYunQM3rH
Note: that cryptic line of letters and numbers you see underneath each board diagram is a representation of the position in what is known as "Forsyth-Edwards Notation", or F.E.N. It's actually readable by humans. Most computer applications nowadays can read FEN, so those of you who may want to study the position, you can copy the line of FEN and paste into your chess app and it should automatically recreate the position on its display board. Or, Windows users can just "triple click" on it and the entire line will be highlighted so you can copy and paste it into your chess app.
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So that about wraps it up for this week. Chess thread tips, suggestions, bribes, rumors, threats, and insults may be sent to my yahoo address: OregonMuse little-a-in-a-circle yahoo dott com.
The little boy seemed to accept Belker’s transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker’s Death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that dogs’ lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, ”I know why.”
Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I’d never heard a more comforting explanation. It has changed the way I try and live.
He said, ”People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life — like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?” The six-year-old continued,
”Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay for as long as we do.”
A 14-year-old Fox Terrier was reunited with her owner on Friday after she went missing 12 years ago from Florida and was found Tuesday over 1,000 miles away in Pennsylvania shivering under a shed.
Humane Animal Rescue in Pittsburgh facilitated the reunion of the dog named Duchess with her owner Katheryn Strang.
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MEET THE PETMORONS
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Well, lookee here! Levon the Terrible is a year old. 13 months now actually. He is just a big lovable goof, (large for an English Setter at this age) but has to be the weirdest dog we have ever had. When he awakes in the morning (often too early) he makes a continuous noise like an air raid siren until he is let out of his crate. A couple months back, we made the mistake of leaving him the van with 48 rolls of toilet paper. We hope he grows out of it. Hard to stay mad at this face though. -Thomas
Even when they are terrors, nothing is better than a Setter. OK, I'm biased. What a beautiful trouble maker. Thanks for sharing.
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MisHum,
See if anyone can identify this dog breed.
Eromero
OK, I'll venture a guess. Could it be a Border Collie Kangaroo? So let us know exactly what we have here Eromero.
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Greetings once again,
Our canine overlord, The Countess Etta Hildegaard von Dusseldorf, Ruler of Upper Schnauzernia, was featured several months ago and in the interim, we have further complicated our lives by introducing 'the twins' to the Royal Menagerie.
These two brothers are The Baron Wilhelm Reinhardt von Meowsensturm, Ruler of Middle Felinenbrau (the grey and white short-hair) and The Archduke Johann Heinrich von Schwartzenschnitzel, Ruler of Lower Raubkatzenbruk (the black fur ball).
Neither lacks for attention or love from our daughters and both are infinitely patient with the questionable actions of their Relentlessly Adorable Toddler Subject.
Long may their odoriforous litter box activities bless this kingdom! - Brian
These photos are precious. Every child should have a pet in their life, you have provided in an abundance. Thanks so much for sharing your family with us today.
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Lurker, here, when I post, it’s as “Reine”.
I absolutely love the pet thread, and I’ve sent in photos of my pets. These two belong to my daughter, and they are watching as Le Roi fixes a plate of food. What you see here is pure, unadulterated HOPE that a scrap will come their way. Alas, it was not to be. The light colored pup on the right is Sam, about 9 years old with a few age-related issues creeping in. He’s been with my daughter since her college days and she could not have asked for a more loyal and protective buddy. The black pup on the left is Rosie, a foundling, about a year old. She is a pit bull, and as best we have been able to determine, she was abandoned after having a litter of puppies. We are thankful she seems not to have been used as a bait dog; she is as sweet a dog as it’s possible to be. She had to be treated for an infection and for heartworms, but it’s all behind us now and she is healthy.
So you have a pair of barkkuum cleaners, how adorable!!!! It appears that Sam and Rosie are best buds as well as kitchen supervisors. We are happy to hear that you love the Pet Thread. Thank you.
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Hi Ace:
Recreant here. I've previously shared pictures and described the antics of Saki, our rice wine kitteh. This is Clipper. She and her brother came to our place this past April. Her left ear shows that she was a feral cat who was neutered (hence the name Clipper, duh). A friend who does TNR work and fosters abandoned kittens told us its not unusual for a feral cat to become domesticated, if they're caught while young or if they find a home where they're fed, cuddled and have a warm, dry place to sleep. Every feral cat has an ancestor who was domesticated. Cats are hard wired to be our companions, even though they can be standoffish at times.
The Horde have big hearts and it was quite obvious that you Recreant. Cute kitteh, here's hoping for a long and happy life as a lap cat. Thanks for sharing.
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This is Whiskey. We got him at the rescue society. We were told he was around eighteen months old. He seems to be part chow. He's very affable. He goes nuts, running in circles around the yard -- run, run, run, LEEEEEAAAAP!
He loves his squeaky toys, and he enjoys dropping them at my feet so I'll toss them for him to chase. When he's done with that game, he'll pile them all in one place and guard them. In the photo, he's lying on his hoard: you can see the dragon and part of the goose. He's got a plushy bone, a duck, and an amorphous plushy thing underneath him. He also really enjoys disemboweling the toys. The goose, the duck, and the dragon have long since gone to that squeaky toy heaven...
From long time lurker, Lee Also.
Whisky sure has puppy eyes. He sure seems like a happy puppeh. We don't think that he has enough toys. You probably should get him some more. We appreciate your submission.
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MH -
Mrs. OCiS and I sent to Acadia National Park a couple weekends ago with our Flat-coat Retriever mix Fenway. This was taken around Ship Harbor which is on the southeastern portion of Mount Desert Island. As you can see, she had an opportunity to enjoy the ocean water here. Fenway, even at 9 years old, absolutely loves climbing on rocks and boulders. Wish my knees and ankles did.
For dog lovers out there, Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor are VERY dog friendly. We stayed in a cabin at a campground that allows dogs. Many restaurants in Bar Harbor allow you to eat outside and have your (well behaved) dog at your side. The public shuttles that transport you from campgrounds to inside the park also allow dogs. The lakes and ponds within the national park don't allow dogs to swim in them as they are a public water supply. So off to the beach trails like we did.
There is lots of hiking trails for all abilities. Many many miles of carriage trails which is basically crushed stone roads that are great for bicycling, horseback riding, and walking. The Rockefeller family purchased over 1,000 acres that abuts Acadia National Park. Many trails are cross from one to the other. Best part is the Rockefeller family will allow you to walk your dog off leash on their land. Once you are back on Acadia National Park, you have to leash up.
If any 'rons want more info on Acadia, recommendations for accomodations, etc., feel free to email me at ourcountryisscrewed at the gmail dot com.
Thanks MH for keeping this much anticipated weekend post alive on Ace of Spades.
--Our Country is Screwed
OCIS, I appreciate your kind words. Wow, what a gorgeous setting for Fenway's
photo. Acadia National Park sounds like a beautiful place. And a place you love. Awesome.
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What a great group of PetMorons, Morons & Lurkers. Thanks for taking the time to submit your pet photos and stories. Also the links were great as usual. Keep up the good work.
If you have something to share you can reach us at petmorons at gmail dot com.
Hello, Gardeners, Putterers and those who just like to observe their handiwork! It's getting fall-ish where I am. How about where you are? Today, we've got a few landscapes as we move into fall. There are still a few critters out there, too. Expecting some more fall foliage photos to come in from The Horde. Love the landscape above from Larro. It's from Bar Harbor, Acadia National Park.
Landscapes
This is a photo of a professional landscape, taken by The Invisible Hand during the summer. A Japanese garden. Lovely. We're all pulling for you, by the way.
This photo is from the backyard of Admirale's Mate. Looks relaxing. The daylilies fit the setting.
Plant/Insect Identification Challenge
Two vines/scramblers and an insect today. Remember Hank Curmudgeon's excellent Moron's Guide To Identifying Insects last week for the butterfly.
From Le Vieux Garde. Down by the lake, near a fig tree. Photos were taken a while ago. Maybe we can get him to describe the seed heads that developed from the flowers now.
Numbers are rebounding some. Good news. Have you seen any this year?
Other Critters
Weasel sent in this great photo of a Tractor Spider! Notice the color coordination. I asked if the web was nice and orderly. He said,
Yes, but it seemed a lot thicker right under the spider.
Recognize that spider?
I'm not sure I can recommend a mouse village for the average gardener. But certain mice are kind of cute.
Simon Dell, a wildlife photographer from Sheffield, United Kingdom, was taking pictures of birds in his garden, when he spotted a cute little house mouse standing on the grassy ground. He knew he couldn't miss the opportunity, so he came up with the brightest idea. With the intent of protecting the mouse from neighboring cats, and providing wonderful backdrops for his new subjects, Simon fashioned a house for the small mouse, that he named George. He built him a nice and functional house made from piles of logs, old fruits, and vegetables. It didn't take long for George to notice the lovely house Simon made, and he was more than happy to move there with his fellow mice That Simon named Mildred and Mini. Take a look at Simon's wonderful photographs of George and his little family, while having the time of their lives in their cozy, new home.
Halloween approaches
Today, a couple more photos of that remarkable corpse flower sent in by Moron Robbie,
Not only smells like a corpse, kind of starts to look like it could accompany a corpse.
Moron Robbie didn't mention seeing this guy at the botanical garden:
Got any other garden-related costume ideas?
The Edible Garden
We have been discussing paste tomatoes in the comments. I wish they would think of another name for "paste tomatoes". Anyway, 40 miles north sent in this:
Those San Marzano tomato vines in the picture below have produced a lot of great tomatos. However, those two vines as well as another one were stripped of nearly every leaf by two tomato worms. However, the two caterpillars responsible for all the damage will never become hawk moths. I feel better now.
Got a tomato recipe to share?
Looking for a vacation idea? You can sign on for tours to go foraging in Sweden. Especially for mushrooms and berries.
The Right of Public Access . . . is a unique principle, dating back to the Middle Ages and protected by law, which allows everyone to roam pretty much anywhere in the countryside (except for private residences, cultivated land or within 70 meters of a house). Whether you fancy kayaking or swimming in a lake, fishing on the coast, camping in a beautiful meadow or foraging in the forest, being at one with nature is positively encouraged. The only caveats? Don't disturb and don't destroy.
"According to the government, only four percent of all berries in Sweden are picked each year," says Marcus Eldh, founder of WildSweden, who often incorporates foraging into his wildlife adventure tours. One of the most abundant - and packed with antioxidants - is the Nordic blueberry (or bilberry), which can be found on low-to-the-ground shrubs that grow everywhere from the roadside to deep in the forest. Another staple of the Swedish diet - and also known for their health benefits - are arctic cloudberries (similar to raspberries but smaller and orange) and lingonberries (often served up alongside meatballs), both of which are ripe for picking during the summer.
Gardens of The Horde
40 Miles North also sent in this lovely photo of a Phoenicia Azalea:
If you would like to send information and/or photos for the Saturday Gardening Thread, the address is:
ktinthegarden
at g mail dot com
Include your nic unless you want to remain a lurker.
Well, yesterday we learned that Hillary Clinton believes that Donald Trump plans to stay in office forever, that she has secret information that Tulsi Gabbard and Jill Stein are Russian assets and that ten year olds are responsible for her election loss. For some reason, after I learned all this, Emperor Norton, who reigned for 20 years in San Francisco, popped into my head.
At age 41, three years after losing everything, Norton christened himself Emperor of the United States. When France's Napoleon III invaded Mexico in 1861, Norton added "Protector of Mexico" to his imperial title.
It's been about three years since Hillary lost the Big One. Is it time for a novel new occupation for her?
Emperor Norton's life history at the link above is interesting. The NPR-type progressive posturing is a little annoying, but perhaps Norton IS the ideal symbol of San Francisco in some ways.
Not much is known about Emperor Norton's early life, according to John Lumea, president of the Emperor's Bridge Campaign, which focuses on researching Norton's life and sharing it with the public.
Here's what we do know.
Emperor Norton was born Joshua Abraham Norton in 1818 to Jewish parents in present-day London. At age 2, he moved with his parents to South Africa, where his dad set up a successful ship supplies business.
After some reversals in fortune and after becoming Emperor by simply publishing a declaration in a newspaper, Norton lived an active life in San Francisco:
For lunch, Norton could go to almost any tavern in town and for the price of a drink, no more than 25 cents, get access to a full lunch spread of salmon, roast beef, tomatoes and more.
"He really makes himself part of the life of the city," Lumea says. "He goes to political meetings. He goes to the theater. He goes to the saloons. He makes himself a public presence. He's in the streets."
Could Hillary find a little waterfront somewhere to live a life kind of like this? Maybe with an ankle monitor? The local police could be ordered to salute her when she passed. Perhaps the mayor could order that people call her "your majesty" (or another preferred pronoun), on pain of a large fine. Preferred pronouns are important.
Many of the "decrees" attributed to Norton I were fakes; written in jest by newspaper editors at the time for amusement, or for political purposes.
Fake news is not new!
Those "decrees" listed here were, we believe, actually issued by Norton.
A few of Norton's decrees:
July 16, 1860 - Decree from Norton I dissolved the United States of America.
October 1, 1860 - Decree from Norton I barred Congress from meeting in Washington, D.C.
August 12. 1869 - Decree from Norton I dissolved and abolished the Democratic and Republican parties because of party strife now existing within
December 16, 1869 - Decree by Norton I demanded that Sacramento clean its muddy streets and place gaslights on streets leading to the capitol.
March 23, 1872 - Decree by Norton I that a suspension bridge be built as soon as convenient between Oakland Point and Goat Island, and then on to San Francisco.
Best update on Hillary's interview yesterday?
This made the sidebar, too. Can you find a better one?
Scott Johnson was prompted to study punctuation when he read, for fun, an essay by Montaigne and learned that the original didn't even have paragraph separations. Here is the secret history of the exclamation point. And part 2.
Seems appropriate to the times. I think some people in Montaigne's day must have had powers of concentration superior to ours. The long sentences common in the 19th century can sometimes be a challenge to me. What would I do without paragraphs?
Enjoy these stories or something else that trips your trigger in this open thread. Remember the rules are simple, don't run with sharp objects and be kind to one another. Have a great weekend!!
He's a 31 handicap and he doesn’t even count all his strokes. He wears CrossFit gear but does water aerobics. He owns a Porsche but won’t drive it more than 59 miles per hour. He starts laughing before he tells a joke because he knows he can't deliver but is trying to get you to play along. He pretends to know the words to Metallica and Guns N’'Roses and the Violent Femmes while playing air guitar on his Bobolat racket, but his iPod is loaded with Barry Manilow and Celine Dion.
A guy with so much cringe who thinks he’s boffo: Cowardice camouflaged in smugness.
In other words, a fraud. A phony. And, because losing presidential candidates never die, they just relocate to another state and run for the U.S. Senate, the American people must now tolerate the national version of the Mitt Romney We All Know In Real Life.
Etymologies:hussy and gussy Hussy was just originally a slurred/shortened version of housewife, that meant only that. But, you know, all words for women are eventually given some venom and vinegar. My guess is that insults like "dirty hussy" and "cheap hussy" were tossed around so much that the word just lost its original neutral meaning and now was only thought of in a derogatory way. Gussy, as in "gussied up," is a recent invention, and either comes from 40s schoolyard slang for "overly dressed" which in turn might come from "gussie," meaning effeminate man or "foppish dandy,", starting around 1901 in Australia. Apparently "jessie" is still used in Australia and England to mean "effeminate man.
Mitt Romney, who is America's number one geopolitical foe, claims Turkey is a "small country" Kyle Sheideler responds that he is anti-Turkey and doesn't wish them to be a part of NATO, but Mitt Romney should stick to giving gay kids haircut rapes, because Turkey has the second largest army in all of NATO, after only the US. If that's "small," what would "big" be? When I was in Beirut, I was surprised to learn that Arabs felt insecure because there was not a single Arab great power capable of doing much more than defend its own borders (if even that). No Arab powers-- not even in the Middle East? No, I was told by a professor. There are three great powers in the Middle East, but not a single one of them is Arab. One is Israel -- obviously not Arab. One is Iran. They're Persians. And one is Turkey, who are not Arabs but Turks. Anyway, it's strange to hear Mitt Romney, America's Number One Geopolitical Foe, get something so absurdly wrong as to call Turkey, one of the three Great Powers of the Middle East, a "small country" that we don't need to pay no mind to.
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