Mama should like this

OK, tripped over this piece, thanks to a very provocative headline.

So, is there a tidal wave of deaths from The Shot coming at us? Many would say it's already here. And, if so, is this a good or bad thing?

Since many of the Left got The Shot because they were told to do so and many on the Right were castigated for refusing on the grounds they'd read the not so fine print on what was going on. The fact that Big Left (Pharma, Gov, Media, Guy) was making tons of money on more and more boosters for more and more variants and Fake News was telling us how the stuff that really worked was no good simply served top reinforce the idea we were being had.

So we are left with several philosophical questions.

First, as I noted above, is this a good or bad thing? I take WWII as a cue on this because, in defeating Fascism, we unleashed (and strengthened) something even worse, Communism. Being careful of that for which we wish has always been good advice and is so here. Is depopulating the world and the country of Lefties automatically a good thing? The Christian ideal that every life is worthwhile would say, "No", but the pollution of the world with an ideology, as Napoleon Solo once so deftly put it, "believes in the 2 party system - tha masters and the slaves", is a lousy alternative.

There's also the fact that such a die-up would play into the hands of the Davos crowd, which can't wait to rid the world of about 7B or so otherwise useless (in their eyes) lives

Second, a lot of otherwise good people had to take The Shot. if they wanted to keep their jobs or go to school. Are they just collateral casualties (and there were plenty of those in WWII) or should something be done to save them (which, of course, the Lefties would demand be used on them, too)? The business of the ants and the grasshopper enters the picture.

Then there's the issue the Demos either hope will save them this Fall or will be used as the blind when they steal (or try to) the election as I think happened in several contests in '22. Brandon has been thumping the tub for the right to abortion so far this year, even though most polls seem to indicate its popularity has ben sliding for a couple of decades. Is this their just deserts, after all the lying and name-calling and murder, and should we feel sorry for them since Conservatives seem to be making good little Trumplicans like it was going out of style? Or do we rejoice because demography is destiny?

Finally, assume there is a big die-up a-comin' and suddenly the Right is in charge and whomever on the Left is left is in a position to get what's been coming ever since the '64 election. Is it justice or retribution? Think Nuremburg.

Stalin never paid for the 53 million he murdered. The Nips never paid the way they should have. And, of course, Mao never paid for the 67 million he murdered.

Robert Taft disparaged Nuremburg because it was the victors persecuting the vanquished (ansd ex post facto, at that). Who put the 8th Air Force and RAF Bomber Command on trial? Or Winnie Churchill for Dresden?

On Dim Bulbs & Hot Pots

 

More Tom Jones, at his finest:

 Tom Jones - I Won't Crumble With You If You Fall - Live @ o2 Shepherd's Bush Empire London (youtube.com)

On Gestures & Acts Intended to Intimidate, Threaten, Degrade & Derail

 

On Bubbles & Bills

 

Remembering OJ Simpson

The final days of OJ

Peek a Honey Boo Boo!

We were ready for the solar eclipse today! We even got the glasses!

It was pretty cool. You could see the whole thing with the glasses that we bought last week. 

Fun.

What the Hell was that!!!!

Did somebody just fart?

And from our You Know You're In Trouble When... file

If you know his work, this says it all.

On Dominion & Ziti

 A while back I mentioned the book Dominion written by Tom Holland, a non-Christian presenting his historical perspective on the way Christianity transformed culture.  Today I was surprised (after following a link on Drudge of all places) to find that book mentioned again in the following from a story entitled, "Christianity’s decline has unleashed terrible new gods" by Madeline Grant: 

"New Atheism assumed that, as people abandoned Christianity they would embrace a sort of enlightened, secular position… New Atheism was mistaken in its diagnosis of what would follow religion’s decline. The rational world we were promised hasn’t materialized and a nastier, less reasonable one is supplanting what was there before.

…New Atheism assumed that, as people abandoned Christianity they would embrace a sort of enlightened, secular position. The death of Christian Scotland shows this was wrong. Faith there has been replaced by derangement and the birthplace of the Scottish enlightenment – which rose out of Christian principles – now worships intolerant new gods

… the thesis of Tom Holland’s book Dominion seems to be winning out, via a growing recognition that the ethics we hold as natural and universal are, in fact, anything but. Much of what atheists ascribed to vague concepts of “reason” emerged out of the faith which informed the West’s intellectual, moral, and, yes, scientific life – a cultural oxygen we breathe but never see. 

I am reminded of Levin’s epiphany at the end of Anna Karenina. Throughout the novel, Levin, a dissatisfied religious sceptic, is plagued with doubt over the purpose of existence. Yet he finally comes to a stark realization about the real roots of his belief, and the limits of a “rational” life."  

Grant closes with a line from this by Tolstoy in Chapter 12: 

"He had lived (without being aware of it) on those spiritual truths that he had sucked in with his mother's milk, but he had thought, not merely without recognition of these truths, but studiously ignoring them.

Now it was clear to him that he could only live by virtue of the beliefs in which he had been brought up.

"What should I have been, and how should I have spent my life, if I had not had these beliefs, if I had not known that I must live for God and not for my own desires? I should have robbed and lied and killed. Nothing of what makes the chief happiness of my life would have existed for me." And with the utmost stretch of imagination he could not conceive the brutal creature he would have been himself, if he had not known what he was living for.

"I looked for an answer to my question. And thought could not give an answer to my question--it is incommensurable with my question. The answer has been given me by life itself, in my knowledge of what is right and what is wrong. And that knowledge I did not arrive at in any way, it was given to me as to all men, GIVEN, because I could not have got it from anywhere.

"Where could I have got it? By reason could I have arrived at knowing that I must love my neighbor and not oppress him? I was told that in my childhood, and I believed it gladly, for they told me what was already in my soul. But who discovered it? Not reason. Reason discovered the struggle for existence, and the law that requires us to oppress all who hinder the satisfaction of our desires. That is the deduction of reason. But loving one's neighbor reason could never discover, because it's irrational."

On Committed & Devout

 

You should never meet your hero's feet.

So we did a lot of landmarks and touristy shit when we went to California. The Hollywood Sign. Beverly Hills. Grauman's Chinses Theatre.

I wanted to find the John Wayne Plaque. You know what is about there right? They put concrete out and the star puts his feet or his hands and signs it with a message to the guy who owned the joint. I looked and I looked but I couldn't find it.

On Visible and Risible

 

Just Dropped In - Tom Jones

I just don't know......what condition am I in?

I have an important announcement.

 

I have long been a committed Catholic. I used to go to church every Sunday. Until this new pope came in and abandoned the Faith for socialist tripe. Traditional priests and cardinals have been fired and homosexual enthusiasts have been empowered to fill the churches with kid touchers.

Enough is enough.

I have decided to become a Muslim. It has a lot of things going for it. I don't have to shave or bathe. My wife and mother-in-law have to shut up and walk three feet behind me. I can protest and disrupt the Mass without any repercussions. I can discriminate against the homo's and the Karens of this world won't say shit.

So why not go with the winning side. 

Allahu Akbar!

It's time for breakfast!

This was the breakfast I had every morning on vacation at the Hilton. Bacon, egg, salt, pepper, and ketchup on a toasted bagel. A shitpot full of breakfast sausages and potatoes. Coffee.

I hit the buffet every morning, The wife couldn't do that because she had to be gluten-free. But we did what we always do and made friends with the people working there. I called the waiter over and introduced myself. He said his name was Aurelio and I said, "Hey that's the name of one of the greatest third basemen of all time." He knew of Aurelio Rodriquez of the Tigers who he was named after, and we hit it off.

I said to him, "I see that you have gluten-free bread on the menu so maybe the Chef can make my wife gluten-free French Toast." He said, "Don't worry Jim I will take care of it." He came out with some beautiful gluten-free French toast with berries on the side. She had that every day.

Rebirth, Renewal, Hope.....

 Spring has sprung as the first evidence of the changing of the seasons had started to sprout.

I had replanted these flowers one Easter about three years ago and they decided to sprout this year.

It is a sign of hope/ Rebirth. Renewal. 

Happy Easter to all of youse.

On What a Mess & What's Next

 

A tale of two cities.... Us vs them.

 

Most of the conservative media has been highlighting the difference between what Trump and Biden did yesterday. Trump went to the wake of the slain police officer and Biden was lifting his skirt to get some money for his campaign. The left-wing corporate media has rabidly defended Biden because of the horrible optics. They cite the Capital Police and the fact that Trump did not go to the funeral of the cop who died after January 6th. Which sort of points to a dilemma that I have with law enforcement.

Just Dropped in...

I was not familiar with Lynda Kay until I saw her singing in Season Three of Goliath.

Now I am a fan. I have set up a Pandora account and I am really enjoying her stuff. Very heavy on the Roy Orbison covers which is all to the best.

Highly reccomended. 

Just when you thought...

it was safe to take the train to Baltimore along comes a whole slew of people telling us, "Remember Vegas".

From Lara Logan….one of the very few actual reporters left. I’m told it was removed from social media, but here is one perspective on the Francis Scott Key Bridge disaster, in her own words:

Multiple intel sources:

Baltimore bridge collapse was an “absolutely brilliant strategic attack” on US critical infrastructure – most likely cyber – & our intel agencies know it. In information warfare terms, they just divided the US along the Mason Dixon line exactly like the Civil War.

Second busiest strategic roadway in the nation for hazardous material now down for 4-5 years – which is how long they say it will take to recover. Bridge was built specifically to move hazardous material – fuel, diesel, propane gas, nitrogen, highly flammable materials, chemicals and oversized cargo that cannot fit in the tunnels – that supply chain now crippled.

Make no mistake: this was an extraordinary attack in terms of planning, timing & execution.

The two critical components on that bridge are the two load-bearing pylons on each end, closest to the shore. They are bigger, thicker and deeper than anything else. These are the anchor points and they knew that hitting either one one of them would be a fatal wound to the integrity of the bridge.

Half a mile of bridge went in the river – likely you will have to build a new one. Also caused so much damage to the structural integrity of the bottom concrete part that you cannot see & won’t know until they take the wreckage apart. Structural destruction likely absolute.

Attack perfectly targeted.

        

And she is not the only one. Maria Bartiromo and Michael Flynn have said the same thing. Even the NTSB admits 2 minutes are missing from the black box. Jeffrey Epstein, can you hear me?

The best part is Fake News has already jumped on these commentators calling them conspiracy theorists.

I for one don't know what's right and what's Wolkenkuckucksheim, but, after Vegas, Epstein, the election(s), the shot, and Brandon's waiving a competency test because he doesn't need one, I just know that everytime the Liberals, going back to the 50s, said what Conservatives believed was just paranoia turned out to be true.

The Schlob's shadow army has begun its campaign, it would seem.

Twenty Dollars an hour for fast food workers?

I see where Cali has passed a law to give a twenty dollar an hour minimum wage to fast food workers. We went to few fast-food joints to my chagrin but my brother-in-law was in charge so what can you do.

One was place called Tender Greens and it wasn't too bad. You picked a protein, salad and a vegetable and they make you a plate. They give you a stick with a number on it and you sit down and the runner brings you your food. There is no waiter per se. There were a lot of workers but I bet half of them get laid off if this law stays in force. 

I kept seeing pizza joints advertising "New York Pizza" so I decided to give one a shot.

We were in a tv show and we didn't even know it....

 We ate out almost every night which is very unusual for us these days.  I mean I cooked a couple of times and the Cali people enjoyed a good old-fashioned Italian feast now and again. They were very good about driving us around but one night they were all busy so we were on our own and decided to go out to eat.

Now the first day we were there we went to this hipster place called Misfits. Mainly because in our research we found that they had a lot of gluten-free stuff. It was similar to the shit you get in Brooklyn. Lots of young people. Fancy overpriced cocktails. Weird shit on the menu. But it was acceptable, I guess.

Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio....

I haven't been around for a while, and I apologize. 

I have been busy writing and trying to get some of my work published. Hopefully, I will have news soon on that front.  In the meantime, we have been living our life as best we can. I had my pacemaker replaced in June and it was a slow recovery, but I am back to snuff. So much so that we were able to take a short vacation. To California of all things!

Lisa's brother lives in Cali so we went to visit him in Santa Monica where he lives near the beach. I took advantage to sit by the hotel pool for a while to soak up the rays. It was too cold to go to the beach, but we visited a lot of places. We went to the Santa Moncia Pier. Malibu. The Hollywood Sign. Beverly Hills. Grauman's Chinese theatre. Even California Pizza Kitchen. I kid you not.

There are a lot of homeless people that scared my sister-in-law but we are from Brooklyn so nothing really phased us. We just gave off our normal don't fuck with us vibes and we had no problem. We were lucky and didn't run into any truly crazy ones so it was all good.

To sum it up, California is a great place to visit but I could never live there. 

I will post more about it at Trooper York as I don't want to clutter up Lem's spot with my personal life.

On Lipstick & Leftover Red Lines

 

On Carnage & Safety; Threats & Bloodbaths

 

Bloodbath:

1. a ruthless slaughter of a great number of people; massacre.

2. Informal. a period of disastrous loss or reversal:

On Climbing the Podium & Cheering for Convenience

 

On Cocooning, Doublespeak & Dictator Wannabees

 

On Deceitful Bleats & Explosions

 

I Think Somebody Just Won The Internet

 

On Dreams, Reality, Maydays & Fewer Chips

 

On Foolishness & Captivation

 

                                     

                                   Foolishness: lack of good sense or judgment; stupidity.

On Dead Seriousness & Party Games

 

On Fiery Dreams & Maydays

 

Oddly enough, I had a vivid dream just before waking on the morning of the SOTU address. It involved a huge airliner flying overhead, alarmingly low to the ground, with someone in the cockpit shouting "Mayday, Mayday" loud enough for me to hear.  I was standing in a field below watching it pass and thinking it was going to crash, when the plane suddenly veered left and piled nose down straight into the ground creating a huge ball of fire and dense black smoke.  The dream was so strong and intense, and the Mayday so clear, I didn't know what to make of it, but told MrM about it, in case it had come as a prediction or warning of something adverse about to happen in our lives or elsewhere.  

Then, after hearing how "fiery" and darkly lie-filled the SOTU delivery turned out to be, I wondered if what took place there be one way to look at or interpret whatever fears, imaginations, or premonitions might have fueled that dream?  Those thoughts were followed by seeing this Ramirez cartoon come up today, depicting a similar but different vision of overall wreckage and destruction.  

Even though it would be impossible in real life to hear, over the roar of jet engines, a voice shouting Mayday from on high, what came through loud and clear in the dream was the internationally recognized signal of distress.  Who or what is in need of help is up for interpretation.  

"Owing to the difficulty of distinguishing the letter "S" by telephone, the international distress signal "S.O.S." will give place to the words "May-day", the phonetic equivalent of "M'aidez", the French for "Help me."
—"New Air Distress Signal," The Times [London], 2 Feb. 1923"

Remember Harry Reid?

Way back when Harry Reid crossed Cocaine Mitch once too often. It was over the Court and McConnell got his revenge, thatnks to a man named Donald Trump.

Now we're a ways from the '24 elections and the Demos are trying to figure how they can steal them. The number of people whose ox has been gored seems to be too many to overcome, so they may try to do it at the Congressional level, as I think they did 2 years ago when supposedly vast throngs of wxmyn came out to flip many a race (if you think Michael DeWidiot won honestly or Ohioans changed their minds 2 months after saying, "no", on abortion I have a bridge in Brooklyn for you). 

Until then acceptance was dropping like a stone.

Now, by the time you read this, you'll see how Brandon threatened the Supremes. Between now and November, some pivotal cases will come up. I want to see if Zippy's line about Idiot (his biggest enemy is his mouth) comes back to bite him.

On Nowhere Land & Corn Pop Goes the Weasel

 

On the Oxymoron 1500 & Zero Sense

 

On Commanders, Bites & Adding Corruption to the List

 

On This & Not That

 

On Empty Heads & the Abyss

 

On Shrinkage & Conflation