Comments or suggestions: Gerard Van der Leun

Citizens

"And your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams" -- Acts 2:17

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From Men of the West: "I certainly do not have all the answers, and look forward to your thoughts in the comments, but here are some things that these young men could start doing to get back on the right path – the path of a Man of the West.

  1. Learn that feminism is evil. Eschew it completely. Women should be women, and that means having babies and caring for the home. It is your job to support and protect them. Figure that out.
  2. Stop with the sissy crap. Learn how to be a man. Playing with cartoons is not manly. It is a child’s past time. I am not saying you can’t play video games or such things, but realize what they are. If your main hobby is playing with anime/manga cards, then you need to grow up. Get a gun and cigar, and learn how to use both.
  3. Wear some clothes that are fitting for a man. If you own skinny jeans, burn them. I am serious. Do not throw them away. Make them cease to exist. That crap does not belong on a man’s body. Wear clothes that project a manly persona.
  4. Get in shape. Most young men are either fat or skinny/weak. Both suck. You need to lift weights (see our Beast Life articles on this site for help). Get strong and muscled.
  5. Learn to fight. Look, hopefully, you never need to do this, but there is a real possibility that you may need to use these skills. So be ready. Watch this video. (Note that the aggressor has the ‘excessively bushy beard’, mentioned above). Listen to the whining tone from the assaulted young man. He is about to cry. If that fat piece of crap tried to hit me, they would be scraping him off the walls. I am not normally a violent man, and neither are the other folks here. But by God, if we, or our loved ones are threatened, we are all capable of bringing hellfire down upon you. That is what men do.
  6. Quit accepting whatever you are told as being truth. Most of these young men get their info from comedy shows, college professors, and/or the fake news on Main Stream Media. Look, none of those sources are unbiased. They have an agenda, even when they try to hide it. Ferret out the truth for yourself. Learn to think for yourself. Men do not just blindly accept information. They weigh it, test it, and hold to what is good and true, and reject what is not. Learn to do that.
  7. If you cannot grown a manly beard, then shave. That trimmed, decorated crap is not manly. It is an abomination. Now, there are several of us here at Men of the West that have facial hair, and it is good and manly, if done properly. Here is a test: if you “sculpt” or “pluck” anything, you are doing it wrong. Either shave it all off, or let it grow like a man.
  8. Learn to deal with things. If someone hurts your feelings, suck it up. No one cares. The world is a hard place, and it is the very height of idiocy to think that your feelings matter at all to others. No one gives a tinker’s damn. So someone stepped on your twinkle toes -whoopedy doo. I can guarandamntee you that every single one of the writers and editors here at Men of the West have said far worse to the others. We call each other names, make fun of idiosyncrasies, and ridicule one another. We either let it run off our backs, or we make changes, if needed. That is how men respond.
  9. Lose the political correctness. It is anathema to a Man of the West. Here is a head’s up: it is on the way out anyway. The liberal elite may not have figured this out, but that is because they are idiots. The world has shifted back towards reality. Do not be afraid to call things for what they are. If someone is stupid, then it is ok to call them stupid. Here is example: in recent days, we have seen schools remove Twain’s Huckleberry Finn from reading lists because of its racial terms. Are you kidding me? Have you read the book? Jim, the runaway slave, is the hero! To argue that this is a racist book is asinine.
  10. Stop with the climate change garbage. Look, anyone who espouses a Christian worldview hopes to be a good steward of the resources that God provides. That is one reason we argue that most big charities are scams. Giving to the Red Cross is a waste of your money. As a Christian, I would feel dirty giving money to them. It is not a good use of those resources. Likewise, we are fine with using our planet responsibly, but it is a false dichotomy that to say that if you do not adhere to the climate change religion, then you are a planet hater. I would argue the opposite. Those people are insane. It is pure hubris to believe that driving your car will ruin the planet. Recognize this for what it is – it is a money making scheme. You really think Al Gore cares about the planet? He is making money, my friends, pure and simple. That is why every single thing he has spewed out for the past 20 years has failed to come to pass, and yet people are still plunking down money to listen to his moronic drivel. He is laughing all the way to the bank.

Fine. That is enough to start with. Do yourself a favor and learn to be a man. Stop with the sissy, effeminate nonsense. Be a warrior – a Man of the West.

Manly Men – Men Of The West
Posted by gerardvanderleun at Feb 5, 2017 12:39 AM |  Comments (14)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Trump's New Tailor: Martin Greenfield, Holocaust Survivor, "I was liberated by Eisenhower."

With Obama, at first he wanted me to copy a suit. I don't copy other's suits. They copy my suit. So, if he wants me to make something I have to measure. Next day he sends an email, "It will be a pleasure to meet you."

Greenfield was born on August 9, 1928 to a Jewish family in Pavlovo, a small village in what was then Czechoslovakia. At age 14, Greenfield was rounded up along with his father, mother, two sisters, brother and grandparents. All were brought to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Near the end of World War II, Greenfield was moved along with other Auschwitz prisoners to the Buchenwald concentration camp. In April 1945, the American army stormed the camp, and liberated its prisoners. As the troops passed through the camp, Greenfield stopped a young rabbi who was serving as a U.S. Army chaplain and asked him, "where was God?". The rabbi, Hershel Schaecter, later told Greenfield that he had never forgotten the question.[2] Later, General Dwight D. Eisenhower arrived to supervise the liberation, and Greenfield shook his hand; coincidentally, standing next to Greenfield at the time was Elie Wiesel, who would later become famous writing about his time in the concentration camps.

Soon after the liberation, Greenfield and another teenage survivor set out to kill the wife of the mayor, who had previously had Greenfield beaten for trying to eat food intended for her pet rabbits. When they found her, she was carrying her newborn baby, and Greenfield relented; he has described that moment as when he "became human again".
Greenfield spent the next two years in Europe, looking for his remaining immediate family, who unbeknownst to him had all been killed. His father was killed one week before his camp was liberated. In 1947, at the age of 19, he boarded a ship to the United States, and stayed with wealthy relatives in Baltimore. Soon afterward, he moved to New York City, where an aunt of his lived.

In 1947, a fellow Czech immigrant guided him to GGG Clothing, a clothing manufacturer in the East Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, where he was hired as a "floor boy".[2] Over the next decade, his tailoring skills and reputation grew. His first major client, in the early 1950s, was General Eisenhower, then preparing to run for the presidency.In 1977, Greenfield bought GGG Clothing, and renamed it to Martin Greenfield Clothiers. The company would grow from six employees at the time to 117 by 2010.

Among Greenfield's list of clients are U.S. presidents Eisenhower, Bill Clinton, Gerald Ford and Barack Obama; General Colin Powell, actor Paul Newman, Cardinal Edward Egan, athlete Patrick Ewing and New York City political figures Michael Bloomberg and Ray Kelly. -- - - La Wik


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jan 2, 2017 8:37 AM |  Comments (11)  | QuickLink: Permalink
UPDATE: Tumblr shuts Happy Acres down.

Yesterday: "Suddenly one of my favorite tumblers, Happy Acres, appears to have vanished. If anybody (Dave? Dave?) knows what's happened I'd be pleased to find out here or via email. Thanks."

Today, Leslie forwards this from Twitter.

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This while hundreds of thousands of the worst sorts of raw porn Tumblrs grind on and on and on with no let up.


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Dec 21, 2016 3:54 PM |  Comments (42)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Bill Whittle Speaks (As Usual) for Me

"We are going to have to reintroduce Americans to America."

[I'm a member of BillWhittle.com. You should be too.]


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Nov 9, 2016 6:50 PM |  Comments (4)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Got Mine. Get Yours.

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Posted by gerardvanderleun at Nov 8, 2016 9:18 AM |  Comments (12)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Make Rome Great Again

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Posted by gerardvanderleun at Nov 1, 2016 9:39 PM |  Comments (2)  | QuickLink: Permalink
The Ballad of Lucille Mulhall, America's Original Cowgirl

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Lucille Mulhall was known as the first—or original—cowgirl. She introduced countless audiences to the idea that a woman could rope and ride better than men. "Although she weighs only 90 pounds she can break a broncho, lasso and brand a steer and shoot a coyote at 500 yards," wrote one reporter. Mulhall became a symbol of the Old West as it ebbed away with the turn of the century. With her ranching background and daring rodeo performances, Mulhall linked herself to open spaces and the freedom found riding astride in a divided skirt and Western saddle. T | Atlas Obscura


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Sep 29, 2016 2:50 PM |  Comments (3)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Black Lives Don't Seem to Matter to "Black Lives Matter"

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Louisianan calls out BLM, Black Panther hypocrites: Where are you, if Black Lives Matter?

“I ain’t seen one Black Panther boat or one Black Lives Matter boat,” he said from his flood-ravaged hometown. “All I see are our own people from our own city.”

“With all the drama that was going on with the Alton Sterling killing,” he said, “they came out with guns and ready to go to war.”’

And now?

“All these people flooded out and truly in need of some help, and you can’t find one of them.”

Continued...
Posted by gerardvanderleun at Aug 19, 2016 2:35 PM |  Comments (11)  | QuickLink: Permalink
17 Minutes with Citizen Laura Ingrahm

If you didn't see it, you need to see it.


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jul 20, 2016 6:00 PM |  Comments (11)  | QuickLink: Permalink
George W. Bush Speaks at Dallas

Miss-Me-Yet.jpg Today the nation grieves. But those of us who love Dallas and call it home have had five deaths in the family.

Laura and I see members of law enforcement every day. We count them as our friends. And we know, like for every other American, that their courage is our protection and shield. We are proud of the men we mourn – and of the community that has rallied to honor them and support the wounded. Our mayor, our police chief, and our police department have been mighty inspirations to the rest of the nation. These slain officers were the best among us.

Lorne Ahrens, beloved husband to Detective Katrina Ahrens and father of two.

Michael Krol, caring son, brother, uncle, nephew, and friend.

Michael Smith, U.S. Army veteran, devoted husband, and father of two.

Brent Thompson, Marine Corps vet, recently married.

Patrick Zamarripa, US Navy Reserve combat veteran, proud father, and loyal Texas Rangers fan.


With their deaths, we have lost so much. We are grief-stricken, heartbroken, and forever grateful.

Every officer has accepted a calling that sets them apart. Most of us imagine, if the moment called for it, that we would risk our lives to protect a spouse or a child. Those wearing the uniform assume that risk for the safety of strangers. They and their families share the unspoken knowledge that each new day can bring new dangers. But none of us were prepared – or could be prepared – for an ambush by hatred and malice. The shock of this evil still has not faded.

At times, it seems like the forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together. Argument turns too easily into animosity. Disagreement escalates too quickly into dehumanization. Too often we judge other groups by their worst examples, while judging ourselves by our best intentions. (Applause.) And this has strained our bonds of understanding and common purpose.

But Americans, I think, have a great advantage. To renew our unity, we only need to remember our values. We have never been held together by blood or background. We are bound by things of the spirit – by shared commitments to common ideals.

At our best, we practice empathy, imagining ourselves in the lives and circumstances of others. This is the bridge across our nation’s deepest divisions. And it is not merely a matter of tolerance, but of learning from the struggles and stories of our fellow citizens, and finding our better selves in the process.

At our best, we honor the image of God we see in one another. We recognize that we are brothers and sisters, sharing the same brief moment on earth, and owing each other the loyalty of our shared humanity.

At our best, we know we have one country, one future, one destiny. We do not want the unity of grief. Nor do we want the unity of fear. We want the unity of hope, affection, and high purpose.

We know that the kind of just, humane country we want to build – that we have seen in our best dreams – is made possible when men and women in uniform stand guard. At their best, when they are trained and trusted and accountable, they free us from fear.

The Apostle Paul said, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of strength and love and self-control.” Those are the best responses to fear in the life of our country. And they are the code of the peace officer.

Today, all of us feel a sense of loss – but not equally. I’d like to conclude with a word to the families, the spouses, and especially the children of the fallen. Your loved one’s time with you was too short, and they did not get the chance to properly say goodbye. But they went where duty called. They defended us, even to the end. They finished well. We will not forget what they did for us.

Your loss is unfair. We cannot explain it. We can stand beside you and share your grief. And we can pray that God will comfort you with a hope deeper than sorrow and stronger than death.

May God bless you. READ: Full transcript of Former President Bush's speech at memorial service | WFAA.com


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jul 13, 2016 6:47 PM |  Comments (10)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Prayers for the Champ

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"I handcuffed lightning, throwed thunder in jail."

Continued...
Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jun 4, 2016 8:36 PM |  Comments (28)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Bob Dylan is 75. "How does it feeeeeeeeeeeeeel?"

If you are going to have a life, have a big, big life.

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Posted by gerardvanderleun at May 24, 2016 9:51 AM |  Comments (14)  | QuickLink: Permalink
"I don't care who the candidate is.... Ask what you can do for the candidate." Andrew Brietbart @ CPAC 2012

"If you’re not in that bunker because you’re not satisfied with a certain candidate, more than shame on you! You’re on the other side!"

Continued...
Posted by gerardvanderleun at Apr 29, 2016 2:17 PM |  Comments (4)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Making Matzo in the Lower East Side

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Last year, Streit's closed its 90-year-old matzo factory on the Lower East Side of New York City. The Rivington Street location that produced unleavened bread for the Passover holiday had been a hallmark of the one-time Jewish enclave, alongside mainstays like Russ & Daughters and Katz's Deli.

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A woman packages Streit’s matzo to be sent to Berlin during World War II. According to the company, only two-thirds of each box was filled with matzo, the rest was secretly filled with bullets for the resistance movement.

19 more photos at Streit's Matzo on the Lower East Side - The Atlantic


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Apr 25, 2016 10:59 AM |  Comments (1)  | QuickLink: Permalink
My Mom, the 101-Year-Old Activist

So I settle in with a nice cup of coffee, open my local paper today, Sunday, and turn to the lead editorial and I read....

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Chico resident Lois Van der Leun is 101 years old. In a century of living, she never felt a need to get up and speak at a Chico City Council meeting — until Thursday.

She has been a Chico resident (and E-R subscriber) since 1963. When the council started talking about massive changes to The Esplanade, she wrote a letter to the editor last month urging citizens to rally against changing “our beautiful, gorgeous boulevard.”

She showed up at the council meeting earlier this month, ready to share her opinion, but when the meeting ran late into the night, she left, like many people that night.

Undeterred, she was there for part two of the meeting Thursday night.

She was easily recognizable. She was the one in the bright green T-shirt with three words on the front: “Save The Esplanade.”

She had four of them made and gave the others to friends. The saying caught on. Another one of Thursday’s speakers echoed her words — “Save The Esplanade” — at the podium and got a round of applause.

When Van der Leun’s name was called to speak, somebody offered to bring her the microphone so she wouldn’t have to walk to the podium. She would have none of that.

She made her points, then added, “I had some more to say but I can’t remember it all — because I’m old, I guess.”

And then: “As you can see, I’m not for changing anything on The Esplanade. See my T-shirt? ... I’m hoping nothing happens to it. OK?”

With that she walked back up to her seat as the audience applauded.

Full disclosure: I’ve known Van der Leun for a decade. A retired teacher, she was a volunteer at my kids’ school, the beloved “Grandma Lois.” She somehow still remembers their names. I want to be like her when I grow up.

There were a lot of people like her at the meeting Thursday — longtime Chico residents who don’t normally show up at meetings, but felt they had to for this topic. The vast majority of speakers were older residents with fond memories and a sense of history. The “Don’t mess with The Esplanade” crowd made a strong showing.

They didn’t want changes. They wanted police to enforce the law on running red lights. They wanted bicyclists to use designated bike routes like Oleander Avenue. They wanted Chico High School to improve drop-off and pick-up zones to address the congestion it creates. They wanted pedestrians to stop being oblivious.

There were a lot of ways to fix The Esplanade without tearing it apart, they said.

Then the council tore it apart.

Most of the changes were no big deal. Increasing the crosswalk time for pedestrians, creating pedestrian refuges in the median of The Esplanade and building a two-lane bike path in the old railroad right-of-way were all easy options to approve.

Putting two roundabouts on The Esplanade near Chico High will be the decision that haunts the four councilors who voted for it because it changes the historic nature of the street much more than a bike path or a crosswalk.

Longtime resident Nancy’s Lindahl’s letter in Thursday’s newspaper hit home with me. “If The Esplanade was a natural phenomenon like, say, Bidwell Park, we would teach our children to respect it, preserve it, go around it, adapt to it and not disturb it. We would consider it part of our unique heritage, which it is.”

For a little while longer anyway.

I called Van der Leun the next morning. She was visiting with a friend, talking about the council’s decision. I told her I was stunned. She said she wasn’t.

“I knew it would play out that way,” she said. “The minute they hire a consultant to make all those drawings, they’ve already decided.”

I couldn’t argue with that.

“Personally,” she said, “I think it should go to the ballot. Citizens should be able to vote on something so important, but I don’t know if anybody will go to the trouble of challenging it.

“I know I don’t have the energy,” she said.

David Little: Longtime residents can’t make the save on The Esplanade


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Apr 17, 2016 8:43 PM |  Comments (18)  | QuickLink: Permalink
So long Merle. See you a little further down the road.
Continued...
Posted by gerardvanderleun at Apr 6, 2016 11:57 AM |  Comments (5)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Freedom's Safest Place: Charlie Daniels Explains It All to You


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Mar 30, 2016 2:49 AM |  Comments (5)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Whatever Happened to Little Richard?

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Little Richard, now eighty-two years old, has reportedly been living the last several years in a penthouse suite at the Hilton hotel in downtown Nashville (the Hilton will neither confirm nor deny that they have a guest named Mr. Penniman).

Most Nashvillians I’ve talked to have no idea, although a local country singer told me he once happened to spot Richard sitting in the passenger seat of his black stretch Cadillac Escalade, the window cracked. He shouted out Little Richard’s name and Richard rolled down the window to say, “God bless you,” and hand him a book of prayers.
Richard doesn’t get out on the town much. He has been confined to a wheelchair since hip surgery in 2009 that he says went awry. Here’s how he explained it last summer in a rare public appearance, at Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon, where he was honored at a luncheon hosted by the National Museum of African American Music: “I came to Nashville to see my sister. I bought a home for me and her here in the hills. And I went in for surgery on my hip. I was walking on my way in but I couldn’t walk out. The hip surgery was really bad for me. I haven’t walked since. I’m in pain twenty-four hours a day. I have never seen nothing like it.”
I knew someone who knew someone who had Little Richard’s cell phone number, and in June, I cold-called him. To my surprise, he picked up. He was kind but adamant about not doing an interview. He told me about his hip, about how much pain he was in. “People have been calling me from all over the world,” he said. “But I haven’t been doing any interviews, I’ve been refusing all of them. I’ll be eighty-three on December 5. The Lord has blessed me to still be alive.”
Read it all at Prayers for Richard

Continued...
Posted by gerardvanderleun at Dec 14, 2015 11:57 AM |  Comments (11)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Suffer not the old King under any name!: “I am not here as a serf or vassal. I am not begging my lords for mercy."

“I am not here as a serf or vassal. I am not begging my lords for mercy. I’m a born free American woman, wife, mother and citizen. And I’m telling my government that you’ve forgotten your place. It’s not your responsibility to look out for my well-being, and to monitor my speech. It’s not your right to assert an agenda. Your post, the post that you occupy, exists to preserve American liberty. You’ve sworn to perform that duty. And you have faltered.” -- Becky Gerritson

Howso' great their clamour, whatsoe'er their claim,
Suffer not the old King under any name!

Here is naught unproven—here is naught to learn.
It is written what shall fall if the King return.

He shall mark our goings, question whence we came,
Set his guards about us, as in Freedom's name.

He shall take a tribute, toll of all our ware;
He shall change our gold for arms—arms we may not bear.

He shall break his judges if they cross his word;
He shall rule above the Law calling on the Lord.

He shall peep and mutter; and the night shall bring
Watchers 'neath our window, lest we mock the King—

Hate and all division; hosts of hurrying spies;
Money poured in secret, carrion breeding flies.

Strangers of his counsel, hirelings of his pay,
These shall deal our Justice: sell—deny—delay.

-- Kipling, The Old Issue


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jul 29, 2015 12:38 PM |  Comments (6)  | QuickLink: Permalink
David Gelernter on American culture, computer science, and art

Around and after 32:10

Let me say, there are such people who enjoy calling themselves transhumanists and are looking forward essentially to abolishing the human race by liberally implanting chips in addition to messing with the genetics of unborn infants.
So you can, you know, buy 10 extra IQ points for your first kid, and technologies always improving so with the same amount to money you can get 15 for your next kid, and your first kid will be obsolete and you can, you know, send him to a big parking lot in the desert for obsolete children. And meanwhile you’re building human beings whose IQ is, you can build them. A person with an IQ of 500, why not build one with an IQ of 10,000?....

But there’s the darker side of that which says let’s improve. Human beings are not such a great design, why should we live to 100 when we can live to 1,000? Why should we have an IQ of 100 when we can have an IQ of 1,000. We’re moving there, and that’s the end of mankind. You know, what are we to a group of people whose IQ is 10,000? Houseplants. This is a real issue.
Bill Kristol / David Gelernter Transcript

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Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jul 22, 2015 1:59 PM |  Comments (9)  | QuickLink: Permalink
PS: We totally suck at taking time off...

If you don't visit Hope n' Change Cartoons at least twice a week, Mother is going to be very disappointed in you.

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If Hope n' Change wasn't on the last day of our imaginary vacation,

we'd certainly be commenting on one or more of the issues mentioned above. Probably in language which would frighten men, make women faint, and turn livestock barren.
And if we weren't enjoying a well deserved day off, we might write an entire editorial about how a lot of seemingly unrelated recent news stories all seem to be pieces of the same big puzzle. One that, when assembled, paints a pretty frightening picture for America's future.....


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jul 9, 2015 10:29 PM |  Comments (3)  | QuickLink: Permalink
An Essential American Archetype: Burt of Burt's Bees: Ingram Berg Shavitz (May 15, 1935 – July 5, 2015)

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Burt's Bees Founder Dies at 80 Despite Having the Lips of a Ten-Year-Old - The Rumford Meteor

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Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jul 6, 2015 1:46 PM |  Comments (3)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Something Someone Wonderful: "So now we have about 500 different sodas."

You just have to love John Nese and spend 12 great minutes with a great American businessman. As Chow.comtells it:

John Nese is the proprietor of Galcos Soda Pop Stop in LA. His father ran it as a grocery store, and when the time came for John to take charge, he decided to convert it into the ultimate soda-lovers destination. About 500 pops line the shelves, sourced lovingly by John from around the world. John has made it his mission to keep small soda-makers afloat and help them find their consumers. Galcos also acts as a distributor for restaurants and bars along the West Coast, spreading the gospel of soda made with cane sugar (no high-fructose corn syrup if John can avoid it).
No high-fructose corn syrup? Yes, yes, and yes! High-fructose corn syrup is perhaps the single most invidious ingredient in super-market foods. When I scan ingredients and see it on the list that item goes back on the shelf. It's not only calories consumed to no purpose, it's calories that taste crummy.

I've been dining out lately on the incredible difference between Mexican Coke (sane cane sugar) and the swill passed off as American coke (high-fructose corn crapola). It's true and you can taste and feel the difference with one sip. As a result I am very pleased to listen to this high-priest of boutique sodas, a man who knows what he's talking about.

Here's a few choice quotes pulled from the video:

Corn syrup is totally unnecessary. Why would you use corn as the sweetener? Once a year Coca Cola makes a kosher Coke. It's got a yellow cap. Try it side by side with the regular Coke. The one with the cane sugar just goes pop! And it explodes and it's delicious., The one with the corn just goes fzzzzt.....

"Energy drinks? UGH! Energy drinks just taste bad."
"Big business loves big government. It just uses it to take over the market and then jack up prices."
"What I always wanted to do was to do business with other businesses my size."
"People still come in looking for RC Draft which was a soft cola. Very smooth."
"Coke and Pepsi love recycling. It gets them out of ever have to wash a bottle. If we really cared about the environment you'd have 're-use' and not 'recycling.'"

Re-use rather than recycling. I guess he's hip to the ever expanding glass mountains accruing at municipal garbage dumps around the nation since, surprise, it's cheaper to make glass from sand that to recycle it. Men like Nese should be in government rather than the substandard toads, right and left, that currently infest it. But then again, no. If he did we'd be out one really great soda store and that is just not worth it.

[UPDATE: Yes, Nese's Galcos Soda Pop Shop lets you buy on line for shipping to your parched home address. Check out Galco's Soda Pop Stop for details. ]

Continued...
Posted by Vanderleun at Jun 5, 2015 1:22 PM |  Comments (11)  | QuickLink: Permalink
"You want to talk about 'gay rights'?" Cruz Crushes MSM Moron

Awesome Ted - Maggie's Farm

Ted Cruz made a campaign stop in Beaumont, TX on Tuesday, May 19. He was asked repeatedly by Kevin Steele from KMBT-TV about the issue of gay marriage, to which Cruz responds by turning the tables. The man is too smart to be president and conveys too much aggression, too little seduction.
To dominate, Conservatives need good cheer and optimism, a strong Libertarian/freedom streak, and less hawkishness about places that Americans do not give a damn about. To my Repub friends: Americans do not give a darn about Ukraine, Syria, Somalia, Guatemala, Mexico, etc. as long as you keep those people out of the USA. Americans do not want to run the world and are sick of the Middle East insanity. End of rant. Gone Fishin with my good gal. Newport this summer, as it happens.

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Posted by gerardvanderleun at May 22, 2015 11:17 PM |  Comments (17)  | QuickLink: Permalink
"A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house." Thomas Sowell in 1997

"BIOLOGISTS EXPLAIN how organisms adapt to their physical environment, but ideologues also adapt to their social environment. The most fundamental fact about the ideas of the political left is that they do not work. Therefore we should not be surprised to find the left concentrated in institutions where ideas do not have to work in order to survive.

"The academic world is the natural habitat of half-baked ideas, except for those fields in which there are decisive tests, such as science, mathematics, engineering, medicine;and athletics. In all these fields, in their differing ways, there comes a time when you must either put up or shut up. It should not be surprising that all of these fields are notable exceptions to the complete domination by the left on campuses across the country....

"Academia is only one of the places where wholly subjective criteria rule;and where leftists predominate. Endowed institutions such as foundations and museums likewise often face no test other than what like-minded people find “exciting” and what enables those who run these institutions to get the heady feeling that they are “making a difference.” The same is true of cultural institutions supported involuntarily by the taxpayers, such as the Smithsonian or the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities.

"Taxpayer-supported “public” radio and television are similarly insulated from reality and similarly dominated by the left, not only in the United States but in other countries as well. All the nostrums of the left that have brought hunger to millions in countries which used to have surplus food to export, all the pretty words and ugly realities that have caused millions more to flee the lands of their birth, these nostrums live on in public television;much like old classic movies with familiar lines that the audience of aficionados can recite along with the characters on the screen."

The survival of the left - Forbes


Posted by gerardvanderleun at May 18, 2015 8:48 AM |  Comments (2)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Great Unsung Americans: Conrad and The Steamplant

"I fear for the things that I cherish being threatened."

From Vimeo "Conrad Milster, Pratt Institute’s chief engineer, has worked in the Brooklyn power plant nearly his entire adult life.

Starting as a mechanic in 1958, he later became one of only four chief engineers in the plant’s 127-year history, taking over the official duties in 1965. He’s been there ever since. For the last six decades, Milster (now 79 years old) has lovingly maintained the nineteenth century steam engines that provide heat and hot water to Pratt’s campus. “We have our hands full,” says Milster. “If the plant stops in the winter, Pratt stops.” In addition, Conrad is the person behind the infamous “Pratt Cats,” responsible for the 12-14 felines that wander the campus and call the steam plant home.
An important figure in Pratt’s history, Milster has extended his impact on the Pratt community through a generous gift—the Phyllis and Conrad Milster Endowed Scholarship—that provides scholarships in perpetuity to students in Pratt’s Industrial Design program. The scholarship is named for Milster and his late wife, Phyllis, who passed away in 2011."


Posted by gerardvanderleun at May 16, 2015 10:44 AM |  Comments (7)  | QuickLink: Permalink
The Big Life of Captain Donald Alexander Malcolm Jr., 60: Not the Years in Your Life but the Life in Your Years

don-malcolm.jpgTaking the award for Obituary of the Decade has got to be this one of €“ Donald Alexander Malcolm Jr. from March 25 in the Homer Tribune



Captain Donald Alexander Malcolm Jr., 60, died Feb. 28, 2015, nestled in the bosom of his family, while smoking, drinking whiskey and telling lies. He died from complications resulting from being stubborn, refusing to go to the doctor, and raising hell for six decades. Stomach cancer also played a minor role in his demise.

Don cherished family above all else, and was a beloved husband, father and grandfather. He met his future wife, Maureen (Moe) Belisle Malcolm, after months at sea, crab fishing. He found her in his bed and decided to keep her.

Their daughter Melissa was born “early” six months later. They decided to have a boy a couple years later, and ended up with another daughter, Megan.

He taught his girls how to hold their liquor, filet a fish and change a tire. He took pride in his daughters, but his greatest joy in life was the birth of his grandson Marley, a child to whom he could impart all of his wisdom that his daughters ignored.

After spending his formative years in Kirkland, Wash. with a fishing pole in hand, Don decided his life’s calling was to yell at deckhands on commercial fishing boats in Alaska. As a strapping young man of 19, he moved to Dutch Harbor to fulfill this dream.

Over the next 40 years, Don was a boat cook, mechanic, deckhand, captain and boat owner. Although Don worked nearly every fishery in the Pacific Northwest at one time or another, his main hunting ground was the Bering Sea. He cut his teeth crabbing; kept his family fed by longlining halibut and black cod; then retired as a salmon gillnetter in Southeast Alaska.

Don had a life-time love affair with Patsy Cline, Rainier beer, iceberg lettuce salads and the History Channel (which allowed him to call his wife and daughters everyday in order to relay the latest WWII facts he learned).

He excelled at attempting home improvement projects, outsmarting rabbits, annoying the women in his life and reading every book he could get his hands on.

He thought everyone could, and should, live on a strict diet of salmon, canned peas and rice pilaf, and took extreme pride in the fact that he had a freezer stocked full of wild game and seafood.

His life goal was to beat his wife at Scrabble, and although he never succeeded, his dream lives on in the family he left behind.

Don is survived not only by his wife, daughters and grandson, but by his father, Donald Malcolm Sr; brothers Howard and Mike Malcolm; sisters Lisa Shumaker, Nicki White, Melinda Borg and Patsi Solano.

He also has many nieces, nephews, aunts and cousins who love him dearly, and deckhands who knew him.

He will be having an extended family reunion with his mother, Winifred Thorton; foster parents Marvel and Dutch Roth, brothers Larry and Steve Malcolm, sister Doodie Cake, and other assorted family and friends who died too young.


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Mar 27, 2015 9:35 AM |  Comments (8)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Breitbart

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Michelle Obama's Mirror: Missing Breitbart – Still

Three years after his death, and we’re still missing Breitbart. Why? Many reasons: because he was so good at exposing lies, half-truths and obfuscation, because nobody has stepped in to fill the void. Butt mostly because he was such a symbol of what we inherently know we need to beat back our generation’s evil empires, both foreign and domestic: a fighter, a no-holds-barred, take no prisoners sort of warrior.

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Posted by gerardvanderleun at Mar 1, 2015 8:56 AM |  Comments (1)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Live Long and Prosper: Leonard Nimoy Passes


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Feb 27, 2015 11:13 AM |  Comments (4)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Johnny Cash Would Be 83 Today

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"And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder:
One of the four beasts saying: "Come and see." And I saw.
And behold, a white horse."

"The Man Comes Around" is a song that I wrote, it's my song of the apocalypse, and I got the idea from a dream that I had — I dreamed I saw Queen Elizabeth. I dreamed I went in to Buckingham Palace, and there she sat on the floor. And she looked up at me and said, "Johnny Cash, you're like a thorn tree in a whirlwind." And I woke up, of course, and I thought, what could a dream like this mean? Thorn tree in a whirlwind? Well, I forgot about it for two or three years, but it kept haunting me, this dream. I kept thinking about it, how vivid it was, and then I thought, Maybe it's biblical. So I found it. Something about whirlwinds and thorn trees in the Bible. So from that, my song started and..." -- Johnny Cash
Continued...
Posted by gerardvanderleun at Feb 27, 2015 9:06 AM |  Comments (2)  | QuickLink: Permalink
A Case for Jefferson by Robert Frost

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Harrison loves my country too,
But wants it all made over new.
He’s Freudian Viennese by night.
By day he’s Marxian Muscovite.
It isn’t because he’s Russian Jew.
He’s Puritan Yankee through and through.
He dotes on Saturday pork and beans.
But his mind is hardly out of his teens:
With him the love of country means
Blowing it all to smithereens
And having it all made over new.

- - 1947


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jan 18, 2015 10:26 PM |  Comments (7)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Made in America

See "The Burning Hellcat" above

My old man's that old man,
Spent his life livin' off the land,
Dirty hands, and a clean soul.
It breaks his heart seein' foreign cars,
Filled with fuel that isn't ours
And wearin' cotton we didn't grow

He's got the red, white, and blue flyin' high on the farm
Semper Fi tattooed on his left arm
Spend a little more in the store for a tag in the back that says ‘USA’
He won't buy nothin' that he can't fix,
With WD40 and a Craftsman wrench
He ain't prejudiced, he's just made in America

He loves his wife and she’s that wife
That decorates on the Fourth of July
But says 'Every day's Independence Day'
She's golden rule, teaches school,
Some folks say it isn't cool
But she says the Pledge of Allegiance anyway.

He's got the red, white, and blue flyin' high on the farm
Semper Fi tattooed on his left arm
Spend a little more in the store for a tag in the back that says ‘USA’
He won't buy nothin' that he can't fix,
With WD40 and a Craftsman wrench
He ain't prejudiced, he's just made in America

Born in the Heartland, raised up a family
Of King James and Uncle Sam

He's got the red, white, and blue flyin' high on the farm
Semper Fi tattooed on his left arm
Spend a little more in the store for a tag in the back that says ‘USA’
He won't buy nothin' that he can't fix,
With WD40 and a Craftsman wrench
He ain't prejudiced, he's just made in America
Made in America
Made in America

My old man's that old man,
He's made in America.

[HT: Chasmatic & Ol' Remus]


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Sep 1, 2014 9:58 AM |  Comments (3)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Something Wonderful: 39 Seconds of Get! Down!


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jul 23, 2014 11:44 AM |  Comments (1)  | QuickLink: Permalink
The Persistence of Memory

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Lloyd Brown, a 104-year-old World War I veteran takes a moment to pause as he remembers being in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard with his ship the day WW I ended, at his home in Charlotte Hall, Maryland, on November 9, 2005.

Brown remembered Armistice Day in 1918 as few, ever so few, veterans can. "For the servicemen there were lots of hugs and kisses," he recalls Brown, a teenage seaman aboard the battleship USS New Hampshire when the fighting stopped. "We were so happy that the war was over." Brown added, "There's not too many of us around any more." An estimated 2 million Americans served in Europe after the U.S. entered the war in 1917. Lloyd Brown passed away in April of 2007, at the age of 105. World War I in Photos: A Century Later - The Atlantic

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Archeologists in the city of Arras in northern France discovered the intact remains of 24 British servicemen who were buried in 1917 during World War I.

The discovery of the skeletons, which lay side by side with their army boots still intact had evidence they were from the same town. They were unearthed during the excavations for a new BMW plant at the end of May 2001. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission who took possession of the remains, identified 20 of the soldiers who were buried together to be from the 10th Lincoln Battalion. Three others, found in a nearby shell hole, were from the Marine Infantry and one other was found buried alone.

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Varlet farm owner Charlotte Cardoen-Descamps points out different types of World War I shells that were found on her farm in just a single season in Poelkapelle, Belgium, on May 4, 2007.

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Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jul 22, 2014 10:47 AM |  Comments (6)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Requiem for a Once Great City: Chicago by Carl Sandburg

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        Hog Butcher for the World,
        Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,

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        Player with Railroads and the Nation’s Freight
            Handler;

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        Stormy, husky, brawling,
        City of the Big Shoulders:

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They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I
    have seen your painted women under the gas lamps
    luring the farm boys.
And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it
    is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to
    kill again.
And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the
    faces of women and children I have seen the marks
    of wanton hunger.
And having answered so I turn once more to those who
    sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer
    and say to them:
Come and show me another city with lifted head singing
    so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cun–
    ning.
Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on
    job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the
    little soft cities;
Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning
    as a savage pitted against the wilderness,
            Bareheaded,
            Shoveling,
            Wrecking,
            Planning,
            Building, breaking, rebuilding,
Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with
    white teeth,
Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young
    man laughs,
Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has
    never lost a battle,
Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse.
    and under his ribs the heart of the people,
                        Laughing!
Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of
    Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog
    Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with
    Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.



Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jul 22, 2014 2:33 AM |  Comments (1)  | QuickLink: Permalink
"If I were Ted Cruz..." Based upon a speech by the invaluable Trevor Loudon.

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From Doug Ross @ Journal who wants to know: "Could you support a ticket like that? Let me know in the comments."


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jul 6, 2014 9:49 PM |  Comments (46)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Resilience
Continued...
Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jul 4, 2014 3:41 PM |  Comments (1)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Bono Speech at Georgetown - Keeping Faith with the Idea of America

Now, now, let him speak.


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jul 3, 2014 12:04 PM |  Comments (17)  | QuickLink: Permalink
The People Yes by Carl Sandburg

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The people yes
The people will live on.
The learning and blundering people will live on.
They will be tricked and sold and again sold
And go back to the nourishing earth for rootholds,
The people so peculiar in renewal and comeback,
You can't laugh off their capacity to take it.
The mammoth rests between his cyclonic dramas.

The people so often sleepy, weary, enigmatic,
is a vast huddle with many units saying:
"I earn my living.
I make enough to get by
and it takes all my time.
If I had more time
I could do more for myself
and maybe for others.
I could read and study
and talk things over
and find out about things.
It takes time.
I wish I had the time."

The people is a tragic and comic two-face: hero and hoodlum:
phantom and gorilla twisting to moan with a gargoyle mouth:
"They buy me and sell me...it's a game...sometime I'll
break loose..."

Once having marched
Over the margins of animal necessity,
Over the grim line of sheer subsistence
Then man came
To the deeper rituals of his bones,
To the lights lighter than any bones,
To the time for thinking things over,
To the dance, the song, the story,
Or the hours given over to dreaming,
Once having so marched.

Between the finite limitations of the five senses
and the endless yearnings of man for the beyond
the people hold to the humdrum bidding of work and food
while reaching out when it comes their way
for lights beyond the prison of the five senses,
for keepsakes lasting beyond any hunger or death.
This reaching is alive.
The panderers and liars have violated and smutted it.
Yet this reaching is alive yet
for lights and keepsakes.

The people know the salt of the sea
and the strength of the winds
lashing the corners of the earth.
The people take the earth
as a tomb of rest and a cradle of hope.
Who else speaks for the Family of Man?
They are in tune and step
with constellations of universal law.
The people is a polychrome,
a spectrum and a prism
held in a moving monolith,
a console organ of changing themes,
a clavilux of color poems
wherein the sea offers fog
and the fog moves off in rain
and the labrador sunset shortens
to a nocturne of clear stars
serene over the shot spray
of northern lights.

The steel mill sky is alive.
The fire breaks white and zigzag
shot on a gun-metal gloaming.
Man is a long time coming.
Man will yet win.
Brother may yet line up with brother:

This old anvil laughs at many broken hammers.
There are men who can't be bought.
The fireborn are at home in fire.
The stars make no noise,
You can't hinder the wind from blowing.
Time is a great teacher.
Who can live without hope?

In the darkness with a great bundle of grief
the people march.
In the night, and overhead a shovel of stars for keeps, the people
march:
"Where to? what next?"



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Sandburg sized himself up in the preface to Complete Poems:
All my life I have been trying to learn to read, to see and hear, and to write. At sixty-five I began my first novel, and the five years lacking a month I took to finish it, I was still traveling, still a seeker. . . . It could be, in the grace of God, I shall live to be eighty-nine, as did [the Japanese poet] Hokusai, and speaking my farewell to earthly scenes, I might paraphrase: "If God had let me live five years longer I should have been a writer."

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Connemara, Sandburg's rural estate in Flat Rock, North Carolina. [Photo: Vanderleun]


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jul 2, 2014 8:09 PM |  Comments (5)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Screaming Eagle at 93: Pee Wee Martin of the 101st Airborne

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70 years later, D-Day vet Jim 'Pee Wee' Martin jumps again: Martin was part of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division that parachuted down over Utah Beach in their bid to retake France and, eventually, the rest of Europe from Nazi Germany. They actually touched down in enemy-controlled territory a night before what's referred to as D-Day. His jump Thursday in the same area was different and -- despite his being 93 years old now -- a whole lot easier.
"It didn't (compare)," Martin said, "because there wasn't anybody shooting at me today."

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Type: Airborne
Role: Air assault Infantry
Size: Division
HQ Fort Campbell, Kentucky
Nickname "Screaming Eagles" (special designation)
Motto "Rendezvous With Destiny"
Mascot Bald Eagle a.k.a. "Old Abe"


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jun 5, 2014 11:29 PM |  Comments (6)  | QuickLink: Permalink
De oppresso liber: The Gun Maker

De oppresso liber is the motto of the United States Army Special Forces.

Continued...
Posted by gerardvanderleun at May 9, 2014 11:49 AM |  Comments (4)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Mickey Rooney: Moving On at 93

If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber’d here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend:
If you pardon, we will mend.
And, as I’m an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to ’scape the serpent’s tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call:
So, good night unto you all.

From A Midsummer Night's Dream - 1935 (End Scene) made when he was 15. [HT: Neoneocon, who has more.]


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Apr 7, 2014 8:51 AM |  Comments (6)  | QuickLink: Permalink
‘Bigger, stronger and faster than Barney.’

Neo-neocon drops by the place where George W. Bush exhibits his paintings | George W. Bush:

“As you know, our dear dog Barney, who had a special place in my heart — Putin dissed him and said, ‘You call it a dog?’” Bush recalled. “A year later, your mom and I go to visit and Vladimir says, ‘Would you like to meet my dog?’ Out bounds this huge hound, obviously much bigger than a Scottish terrier, and Putin looks at me and says, ‘Bigger, stronger and faster than Barney.’ I just took it in. I didn’t react,” Bush continued. “I just said, ‘Wow. Anybody who thinks ‘my dog is bigger than your dog’ is an interesting character.’ And that painting kind of reflects that.”
Here's a close-up of Bush'€™s portrait of Putin (the NBC logo is not part of the painting), which I think is quite fine, as well as revealing of Putin'€™s character:"
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Bush: I looked in his eyes and saw his soul.

Bush told Putin he had warned him that the Georgian leader, President Mikhail Saakashvili, was “hot-blooded.”

“I’m hot-blooded too,” Putin said.

“I stared back at him,” Bush writes in his book. “‘No Vladimir,’ I said. ‘You’re cold-blooded.”


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Apr 4, 2014 10:27 PM |  Comments (7)  | QuickLink: Permalink
The Bunny in Winter

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Headshots, taken at the Former Playboy Bunny Reunion in Las Vegas by photographer Robyn Twomey

Continued...
Posted by gerardvanderleun at Apr 4, 2014 3:58 PM |  Comments (18)  | QuickLink: Permalink
"Why can’t you be nicer to your brother?"

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Elinor Carucci's Beautiful, Unflinching Images of Motherhood | "NYC-based photographer Elinor Carucci‘s Mother is an intimate and powerful document of her transition from pregnancy to motherhood, begun almost a decade ago when she was pregnant with her now nine-year-old twins. Turning the camera on both herself and her children, Carucci bares it all in rich and dramatic images that depict a myriad of emotions and realities—the highs and lows, the pure joy and equal difficulty of raising kids."


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Apr 4, 2014 2:12 PM |  Comments (5)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Remembering The Alamo

Because it is vital to push the myths.

On February 23, 1836 Santa Anna and 1,500 troops surrounded the Alamo.

A siege began and only small skirmishes were reported with zero casualties on both sides. In that time, William Travis sent a letter to ask for reinforcements. In the truest sense of courage and honor, and in the American spirit he wrote:
“If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself for as long as possible, and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor and that of his country – Victory or Death.”
It was not until the last 24 hours, after 13 days of siege, that a real battle ensued. In the battle, the Alamo defenders fought valiantly and nearly all were killed including Travis, Bowie, and Crockett. | Truth Revolt

Continued...
Posted by gerardvanderleun at Mar 6, 2014 8:53 PM |  Comments (13)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Something Wonderful: How Diana Nyad (and 35 Helpers) Swam from Cuba to Florida

On August 31st, 2013, Nyad jumped into the shark-friendly waters of Cuba and swam some 110-odd miles—without the protection of a shark cage—to eventually reach the shores of Key West, Florida, some 53 hours later. At age 64. Unprecedented.


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Feb 19, 2014 2:36 PM |  Comments (3)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Sean Lowe: The Virgin Bachelor


"It's unnatural to date 25 women at one time. It felt wrong."

"They labeled him the virgin bachelor for starring in the often scandalous reality television show "The Bachelor" with a rare commitment to purity.

The show featured revealing wardrobes, a fantasy suite, and all the innuendo you can fit into primetime. His stint on the show made Sean Lowe's love life the hottest topic in entertainment news. But can you truly find love on reality television? Can he stay strong in the midst of tabloid rumors and public scrutiny? His story and his struggle tell of the unique influence a man of faith can have on a nation's infatuation with love and romance."


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Feb 18, 2014 11:45 AM | QuickLink: Permalink
"The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."

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Fondly do we hope — fervently do we pray — that this mighty scourge may speedily pass away.

Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, "The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether." Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address - Wikisource, the free online library

Continued...
Posted by gerardvanderleun at Feb 17, 2014 12:46 PM |  Comments (19)  | QuickLink: Permalink
"First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen."

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By 1794, as he contemplated retirement, Washington began organizing his affairs so that in his will he could free all the slaves whom he owned outright.

.... At the time of Washington's death in 1799, 317 slaves lived at Mount Vernon: 123 were owned by Washington himself, 154 were held by his wife as "dower slaves", and 40 others were rented from a neighbor. Washington's will provided for all of his slaves to be freed upon the death of his widow, but she chose to free them about 12 months after his death. The will also provided for the training of the younger former-slaves in useful skills and for the creation of an old-age pension fund for the older ones. - - George Washington


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Feb 17, 2014 12:40 PM | QuickLink: Permalink
Little Pete: 1921 | Pete Seeger Passes 2014

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May 23, 1921. Washington, D.C. "Professor Charles Louis Seeger and family." Charles Seeger, wife Constance de Clyver Edson and their 2-year-old son Pete, of future folkie fame.

Neo-neocon Pete Seeger: dead at 94 -- My feelings about Seeger are mixed, to say the least. First, the bad: he was an activist Communist, and even a Stalinist back in the day. Let’s not whitewash that....

"Seeger was a member of the Communist Party from the 1930s through the 1950s. He left the party but never gave up the faith. He told the Washington Post in 1995 “I am still a communist.” Like his comrades and fellow travelers Seeger twisted and turned with every pronouncement from Moscow…Seeger’s sycophancy for murderous communist tyrants didn’t end with Stalin. During the Cold War he praised Ho Chi Minh and provided a hearty jacket endorsement for Tomas Borges’ the brutal Sandinista thug’s book…To be fair Seeger did eventually get around to realizing the horrors of Stalinism, albeit 50 years too late…"

Continued...
Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jan 28, 2014 12:26 PM |  Comments (11)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Bundle up, America! Naked Cowboy keeps on truckin' through snowstorm

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Robert Burck, the original 'Naked Cowboy', performs in a snowstorm in New York's Times Square on Tuesday. Burck, who started performing in Times Square in 1998, claims to make up to $150,000 a year in tips alone. Via PhotoBlog


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jan 22, 2014 7:18 PM |  Comments (3)  | QuickLink: Permalink
"Peter Freuchen, six foot seven, lived inside the cave of his breath. "

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"That's Peter Freuchen and his wife Dagmar Freuchen-Gale, in a photo taken by Irving Penn. Freuchen is a top candidate for the Most Interesting Man in the World.

Standing six feet seven inches, Freuchen was an arctic explorer, journalist, author, and anthropologist. He participated in several arctic journeys (including a 1000-mile dogsled trip across Greenland), starred in an Oscar-winning film, wrote more than a dozen books (novels and nonfiction, including his Famous Book of the Eskimos), had a peg leg (he lost his leg to frostbite in 1926; he amputated his gangrenous toes himself), was involved in the Danish resistance against Germany, was imprisoned and sentenced to death by the Nazis before escaping to Sweden, studied to be a doctor at university, his first wife was Inuit and his second was a Danish margarine heiress, became friends with Jean Harlow and Mae West, once escaped from a blizzard shelter by cutting his way out of it with a knife fashioned from his own feces, and, last but certainly not least, won $64,000 on The $64,000 Question. -- Kottke, Peter Freuchen
It was so cold that even inside his cabin, even with the small coal stove, the moisture in his breath condensed into ice on the walls and ceiling. He kept breathing. The house got smaller and smaller. Early on, he wrote, two men could not pass without brushing elbows. Eventually after he was alone and the coal—“the one factor that had kept the house from growing in upon me”—was gone, he threw out the stove to make more room inside. (He still had a spirit lamp for light and boiling water.) Before winter and his task ended and relief came, he was living inside an ice cave made of his own breath that hardly left him room to stretch out to sleep. Peter Freuchen, six foot seven, lived inside the cave of his breath. In the Borderlands: The Danish-Jewish explorer Peter Freuchen was...


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jan 22, 2014 4:53 AM |  Comments (5)  | QuickLink: Permalink
The Turners

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Posted by gerardvanderleun at Dec 2, 2013 8:44 PM |  Comments (6)  | QuickLink: Permalink
What John Adams Knew [Emphasis Added]

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1787: "Suppose a nation, rich and poor, high and low, ten millions in number, all assembled together; not more than one or two millions will have lands, houses, or any personal property; if we take into the account the women and children, or even if we leave them out of the question, a great majority of every nation is wholly destitute of property, except a small quantity of clothes, and a few trifles of other movables.

Would Mr. Nedham be responsible that, if all were to be decided by a vote of the majority, the eight or nine millions who have no property, would not think of usurping over the rights of the one or two millions who have?

Property is surely a right of mankind as really as liberty. Perhaps, at first, prejudice, habit, shame or fear, principle or religion, would restrain the poor from attacking the rich, and the idle from usurping on the industrious; but the time would not be long before courage and enterprise would come, and pretexts be invented by degrees, to countenance the majority in dividing all the property among them, or at least, in sharing it equally with its present possessors.

Debts would be abolished first; taxes laid heavy on the rich, and not at all on the others; and at last a downright equal division of every thing be demanded, and voted. What would be the consequence of this? The idle, the vicious, the intemperate, would rush into the utmost extravagance of debauchery, sell and spend all their share, and then demand a new division of those who purchased from them. The moment the idea is admitted into society, that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If "Thou shalt not covet," and "Thou shalt not steal," were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society, before it can be civilized or made free. - - On Property: John Adams, Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Sep 20, 2013 9:37 AM |  Comments (5)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Mr. Rogers Knows

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HT: Moe Lane


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Apr 15, 2013 4:52 PM |  Comments (9)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Someone Wonderful: It's Mr Rogers' 85th Birthday

As Miss Cellania @ Neatorama notes

If TV host Fred Rogers hadn't died ten years ago, he would have been 85 today. In honor of the occasion, mental_floss presents 35 Facts About Mr. Fred Rogers. I honestly did not think I could sit through so many facts, because a) I never watched the show and b) I've read lists of facts about him many times. However, this is full of stories about Mr. Rogers that you probably haven't heard before.

As for myself, I'm praying that this will make God forgive me for the video just below this one, but as Mr. Rogers always said, "God loves you just the way you are."


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Mar 20, 2013 7:53 PM |  Comments (4)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Where the Jobs Are: North Dakota's Oil Boom

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Roughneck Brian Waldner

Underlying northwestern North Dakota is a massive rock formation, referred to as the Bakken shale,

which holds an estimated 18 billion barrels of crude oil. When this resource was first discovered in 1951, recovering it was financially unfeasible because the oil was embedded in the stone. Then, around 2008, everything changed, and North Dakota boomed. New drilling technology called hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," became widespread, and oil production took off. As of 2013, there are more than 200 active oil rigs in North Dakota, producing about 20 million barrels of oil every month -- nearly 60 percent of it shipped by rail, rather than pipeline. -- In Focus - The Atlantic [30 photos]

Continued...
Posted by gerardvanderleun at Mar 13, 2013 11:02 AM |  Comments (9)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Something Wonderful [Updated]: The Guy with the Train in his Basement
Continued...
Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jan 14, 2013 2:42 PM |  Comments (8)  | QuickLink: Permalink
The Makers: Damascus steel knife making by John Neeman

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Steel and fire. Hammer and anvil. Fold and file. Tang and spine. Edge and tip. Quench and temper. Shave and shape. Grind and hone. Heel and handle. Sheath and strop.

Sippican Cottage says, "Make Something If You Can. Own Something Someone Made In Turn I've lived a fair bit now. Long enough to see simple commodities that everyone thought were consigned to the ministrations of machines alone on a factory floor being made by hand again."

See it made....

Continued...
Posted by gerardvanderleun at Dec 26, 2012 9:52 AM |  Comments (6)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Something Wonderful: Kids, start your wishlists.

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This morning my email brings the list above and this note:

I'm a long-time reader and very occasional commenter at AD. I thought you might enjoy the Christmas wish list my seven year-old son handed me last night.

A very merry Christmas season to you

I don't know about you, but the "Model Unicorn Painting Set" is something I wouldn't mind getting or giving. It would come in handy over the years to come. That and the fifty bucks.

Later: Rob DeWitt adds this in the comments. I can't disagree.

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Posted by gerardvanderleun at Nov 30, 2012 10:40 AM |  Comments (9)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Something Wonderful: It's not over until the fat king sings

From Elvis live in Rapid City, 21st June 1977. He'd be dead within two months.

Continued...
Posted by gerardvanderleun at Nov 11, 2012 10:42 AM |  Comments (10)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Sandy Daze Sees The Future: "They will move faster now.... They are not bound by any law."

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From the film "Speed"

[Commenter Sandy Daze reacts to Occulus Dissents @ AMERICAN DIGEST ]

9 November 2012

When this administration was sworn in I was comforting myself with belief that there are laws to prevent the most gross outrages. Then came GM bailout, offshore drilling ban, Obamacare pass by reconciliation. With the 2010 win of the House, I was hopeful that the spending would be slowed or stopped, and that house investigations will at least give the gangsters a pause. That worked out well, too.

They will move faster now because our side is shellshocked and completely underestimate their intentions and tactics. The sky won't fall tomorrow but each day will be a little harder, little darker, little more hopeless. This is not to say we need to give up; just the opposite, but know this, yesterday's rules no longer apply.

1. Obama and his minions will spend the next four years undermining, if not destroying, the potential for another fair election.

2. Obama and his minions will spend the next four years institutionalizing graft, corruption, and cronyism to a point where people will be afraid to cross them. Businesses who either will not, or cannot financially demonstrate their loyalty to the proper officials and party will be taxed and regulated out of existence.

3. Obama and his minions will put in place the policies and conditions by which more of America receive some or all of their income through government handouts, ensuring that people will be forced to vote from fear and envy, rather than ideals.

4. Obama and his minions will solidify their hold on the education system, to make sure that subsequent generations see things through a collectivist lens.

5. The Constitution, US Code, tradition, morality and common sense will be ignored when inconvenient, dissent will be ridiculed or crushed, and the court systems will be packed to ensure that there will be no successful legal challenge. Republican "leadership" will be nothing more than a speedbump initially, and eventually cave completely in order to maintain a place at the table, because that's what really matters to them.

We must stick together and help each other. There will be challenges as never before. Between ourselves and on several on-line forums there are enough brilliant and experienced people from all walks of life to out-think, outwit and find ways to go around lots if not most of what is going to hit us. I would rather spend my mental energies in other ways, but this is a new reality and we better deal with cold facts.

Hope is not a sound basis for planning. Wishful thinking is a certain road to ruin.

The sooner we realize that they are not bound by any law that is inconvenient to them the better we will be able to resist. And resist we must, even if is only reorganizing our lives toward black market. We cannot sacrifice principles to pandering. I agree -- strongly -- with these sentiments from another correspondent who wrote, in part:

... We have to hit bottom FAST.

Continued...
Posted by gerardvanderleun at Nov 9, 2012 8:35 AM |  Comments (48)  | QuickLink: Permalink
"The Common Sense Resistance" -- Tonight was the Night That Freed America

A New Beginning... Bill Whittle on the Virtuous Citizens and How to Ignore the Parasites.

This is a fascinating and inspiring off the top of the head rap by Bill Whittle. Yes, it is almost one and a half hours long. Yes, I listened to all of it. And, yes, if you can't you will really miss out of beginning to figure out where free men and women go from here. Too bad. But like Whittle says, "We're not going to waste another second of our time with these people."

You say you are looking for a path forward? Here's 90 minutes of insights and plans. Do you have to agree with all of it? No. It's open source.

Some excerpts and notes:

I'm tired of looking backward.

If 5 million put in $9.95 a month for three years....

We have to build parallel structures.

Now you start getting into things that nobody talks about. But I'm going to talk about them.

What is going to come after this age of giant government.

The public changes and then the politics follows.

When you have a horizontally dispersed economy, you will -- and you must have -- have a horizontally dispersed government.

It's time to stop thinking about winning elections. It's time to stop thinking about Republicans and Democrats and liberals and conservatives. It's time to stop putting money and energy into the government because the government is not the country and the government has never been the country. Ever. This country was founded on the principle of being opposed to a government. So if Barack Obama won control of the government it does not mean he won control of America. He won control of what is preventing us from being America.

The Common-Sense Resistance is a self selecting group of people who understand that hard work should be rewarded, that nothing is free, and that solutions are available and obvious.

I'm tired of looking backward. I'm tired of complaining about media bias. They don't get another gram of our energy. They don't get a penny past what we owe them.

We're not going to waste another second of our time with these people.

The Republican brand is permanently tarnished. The word "conservative" is in many ways not indicative of the way many of us think.

The world breaks down into people who are "problem solvers" and those people who are problems.

Barack Obama was just elected to be the captain of the Titanic.

These people have inherited ashes.


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Nov 7, 2012 1:53 PM |  Comments (57)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Sultan Knish: Game Called on Account of Darkness

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"Every time people ask me why the left has such a grip on this country, my answer is because they worked for it. It's the answer that most people don't want to hear, but it's true. The left has been planning this for a while. They have been playing the long game, building the infrastructure and indoctrinating generations. And to beat them, we will have to do the same thing.
The right is 40 years behind the left and it remains a disorganized collection of potentials seeking a compass point. The "right" that got behind Mitt Romney consists of millionaires who want fewer regulations and easier imports from China, of social conservatives who are mainly ignored, except when voter turnout becomes an issue, libertarians who want more freedoms, and the non-ideological small business middle class and the struggling working class sensing their country and way of life slipping away from them.
-- Read it all and begin to understand the concept of The Long March @ Sultan Knish: Game Called on Account of Darkness
Posted by gerardvanderleun at Nov 6, 2012 10:28 PM |  Comments (8)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Something Wonderful: And Suddenly It Occurred To Us To Put A Microphone In Front Of The Nine-Year-Old. Oh, Boy!

What's gotten into some kids these days? Suddenly they're decent, talented, and entertaining.

The little one is haunted. He listened to the song once, then sat down and played it just like that, and when we put a microphone in front of him on a lark, he immediately sang the Crickets part without hesitation. The video is not only more or less the first take of the song, but it's the first time he ever sang anything. And he can sing and play at the same time, effortlessly. Some people never get the hang of that. I always found it deuced difficult. The really sad part for people like me is that he's thinking of playing Minecraft the whole time.

If you didn't enjoy this, you're dead. Be sure to click through to Sippican Cottage and donate to the band fund and your future


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Nov 5, 2012 8:06 AM |  Comments (6)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Coolidge: The Last President of the Republic of 1789

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Silent Cal was modest in six languages. He was the last President of the Republic of 1789.

"…About the Declaration there is a finality that is exceedingly restful. It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary. Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers….” -- James Wilson quoting in Side-Lines: Calvin Coolidge for President

FULLTEXT: Speech on the Occasion of the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence by Calvin Coolidge


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Nov 1, 2012 11:56 AM |  Comments (4)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Something Wonderful: There Are Two Paths

At 15,584 views. Worth millions.


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Oct 10, 2012 11:55 AM |  Comments (2)  | QuickLink: Permalink
The Life of Neil Armstrong: "Those slopes are steep, the rocks are very large....

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The Boilermaker, Neil Armstrong by Brokenmouse

Continued...
Posted by gerardvanderleun at Aug 26, 2012 12:44 PM |  Comments (6)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Neil Armstrong Passes: The American Who Will Be Remembered.... For As Long As the Human Race Exists
Continued...
Posted by gerardvanderleun at Aug 25, 2012 2:28 PM |  Comments (19)  | QuickLink: Permalink
An American: Muhammad Ali / U.S. Olympic Team Tribute


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Aug 1, 2012 8:24 AM |  Comments (3)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Something Wonderful: There Is A City....

"Once a year on August 1st, the people of Warsaw pay hommage to the fallen heroes that fought for freedom in 1944 during the Warsaw Uprising. The biggest rebellion against German Nazi occupation during WWII cost over 200 000 lives and destruction of the capital. "


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Aug 1, 2012 1:19 AM |  Comments (7)  | QuickLink: Permalink
An American: Application, Discipline, Focus Or "The America Would Have Happened to Me"

Henry Rollins: The One Decision that Changed My Life Forever

Rollins describes the seminal moment when he decided to leave his job as manager of Haagen Dazs to become the lead singer of Black Flag.


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jul 30, 2012 6:56 PM |  Comments (8)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Something Wonderful: Moving the Ghirardi Compton Oak

"The Ghirardi Compton Oak has been a piece of League City's history for over 100 years. The tree stands 56 feet tall, has a canopy that is over 100 feet wide, and is 135 inches around. It also weighs an incredible 518,000 pounds. A county road widening project put the future of the Ghirardi Oak in jeopardy. Council voted to use park dedication funds to hire Hess Landscaping Construction to move the majestic oak. A project that took them just under a month to complete. Watch the incredible process from start to finish in this video."

Question:

What do you get when you combine Italian immigrants, a bag of Louisiana acorns, some determined folk in a historically-minded Texas town and a California native who (along with his crew) moves trees with all the pride and competence you'd expect from an ex-Marine?

Answer:

A feel-good story of the first order. Read on @ Follow the Muddy Dirt Road ォ The Task at Hand


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jul 6, 2012 6:03 AM |  Comments (8)  | QuickLink: Permalink
I'm Farming and I Grow It

When I'm up at seven, the sunrise gives me a glimpse of heaven
I get right to work, a farmer's life can be a little berserk yeah
This is how I roll, I feed the cattle till their stomachs are full
Treat em right, that's my belief,
What's for dinner? I say beef!

Gotta feed Everybody
Gotta Feed Everybody
Gotta Feed Everybody
(Uh-Huh) I work out (side!)

When I step to the bunk (yeah)
This is what I see (Uh-huh)
All the hungry cattle are staring at me

I got passion for my plants and I ain't afraid to show it show it show it show it
I'm farming and I grow it

When I'm in my tractor, I got more power than an arc reactor
And when I'm in the field, I try to raise crops to maximum yield
This is how I roll, without me the world would be outta control
The hours I work, there is no equal
Gotta feed the mouths of hungry people

Gotta Feed Everybody
Gotta Feed Everybody
Gotta Feed Everybody
(Uh-Huh) I work out (side!)

When I step to the bunk (yeah)
This is what I see (Uh-huh)
All the hungry cattle are staring at me

I got passion for my plants and I ain't afraid to show it show it show it show it

I'm farming and I grow it

Water, water, water, water, water
Water, water, water, water, water
Water, water, water, water, water


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Jun 26, 2012 6:14 PM |  Comments (7)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Levon Helm (May 26, 1940 -- April 19, 2012): "Virgil Caine is the name and I served on the Danville train" [Bumped]

"You boys come a long way.
What you lookin' for?"

"Wisdom."

Continued...
Posted by gerardvanderleun at Apr 19, 2012 4:40 PM |  Comments (23)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Citizen Andrew Breitbart (February 1, 1969 – March 1, 2012)

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"He was the spiritual leader of the modern conservative, libertarian cause. He was immersed in pop culture and wished to drag the right into the modern world - knowing this is how America speaks to the world. He was the heart of the matter. The fighter. Losing him is like a fiery planet going dark." -- Greg Gutfeld

"Breitbart died unexpectedly from natural causes Los Angeles. He was 43 years old. A bystander saw him collapse while out on a walk in Brentwood shortly after midnight and called paramedics, who rushed him to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center where he was declared dead."

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From Stilton @ Hope n' Change Cartoons: Andrew Breitbart


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Mar 1, 2012 8:51 AM |  Comments (28)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Whitney: Didn't We Almost Have It All? (1987)
Continued...
Posted by gerardvanderleun at Feb 11, 2012 6:04 PM |  Comments (12)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Mila Kunis @ The Marine Corps Ball

The Proposal -- Accepted Back in June:

The Promise Kept:
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Sgt. Scott Moore and his guest, actress Mila Kunis stand during the National Anthem at the 236th Marine Corps birthday ball for 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division in Greenville, N.C., on Friday Nov. 18, 2011. -- Daily scoreboard ォ Don Surber


Posted by gerardvanderleun at Nov 20, 2011 4:22 PM |  Comments (4)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Miss Him Yet?

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Military veterans US Army Sgt. (Ret.) Dan Nevins, left, and North Carolina National Guard SSgt. (Ret.) Dale Beatty, look on as former President George W. Bush tees off during a practice round in the two-day Warrior Open tournament at Las Colinas Country Club, in Irving, Texas on Sunday, Oct. 9.

Former President George Bush hosted the Warrior Open golf tournament this past Sunday in Irving, Tex.

The competition for wounded veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, gave Bush the opportunity to interact with soldiers. While Bush has had few public appearances since leaving office, showing his support of the U.S troops has been one of his priorities. In April, he hosted Warrior 100, a similar event where he biked 62 miles (100 kilometers) with injured servicemen. -- PhotoBlog - Bush tees off with wounded veterans

Scratch what I said about trying to become more cynical below. This is a man who knows how to be an inspiring leader.


Posted by Vanderleun at Oct 11, 2011 11:01 AM |  Comments (7)  | QuickLink: Permalink
"A Duty Beyond Memory:" George W. Bush Flight 93 Memorial Speech


Posted by Vanderleun at Sep 11, 2011 12:49 AM |  Comments (3)  | QuickLink: Permalink
A Still Small Voice Says, "Are Your Kidding Me?"

Daphne says, "I love this guy." I'm with her.


Posted by Vanderleun at Jul 27, 2011 9:40 PM |  Comments (10)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Mila Kunis Scores Big This Week in 3 Ways

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1) She's going to attend a Marine Ball with a real Marine. (Yes, contrary to malicious rumors she's going to be there.)

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2) She's exposed (in passing) the unremitting failures of Communism:

GQ: Your new movie is called Friends with Benefits. Ever been in one of those relationships?
Mila Kunis: Oy. I haven’t, but I can give you my stance on it: It’s like communism—good in theory, in execution it fails. Friends of mine have done it, and it never ends well. Why do people put themselves through that torture?
Having been born under Communism she probably has, through her family at least, some understanding of how awful it is.

3) Her forthright and patriotic actions give me an excuse to post more hot pictures of her.

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Posted by Vanderleun at Jul 14, 2011 1:42 PM |  Comments (8)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Something Wonderful: Mila Kunis Says Yes to Marine in Afghanistan
Continued...
Posted by Vanderleun at Jul 11, 2011 5:20 PM |  Comments (12)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Coming Attractions: July 15 for Sure. November 2012?
Continued...
Posted by Vanderleun at Jul 7, 2011 7:12 PM |  Comments (5)  | QuickLink: Permalink
CIA 'John:' Is this a photo of the man who really got Bin Laden?

Cryptome thinks so.

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Caption: [Note the unusually tall man at rear with tie pattern .... This photo is taken in the principal space of the Situation Room complex.] President Barack Obama talks with members of the national security team at the conclusion of one in a series of meetings discussing the mission against Osama bin Laden, in the Situation Room of the White House, May 1, 2011. Gen. James Cartwright, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is seen on the screen. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

CIA John Who Hunted Osama bin Laden Photos

CIA John was at Alec Station for many years, maybe for all its existence. Then after Alec Station was allegedly dissolved in 2006, he probably moved to the CTC and on to the NCTC, chasing OBL with a bevy of cohorts. There may still be a hidden remnant of Alex Station at Gloucester (or the nearby Stafford building) -- the CIA never fully joins with the other natsec players, just pretends to do so, keeping its hardcore CTC going in contempt of PR-driven NCTC.

HT: Iconic Photos


Posted by Vanderleun at Jul 7, 2011 11:15 AM |  Comments (8)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Something Wonderful: Bill Whittle on Oikophobia

It's the electorate, stupid. Easily the most educational 10 minutes you will have today. With an opportunity to do something about it as well

.Oikophobia -- fear and hatred of one's own culture and people. It has brought down civilizations since there have been civilizations. And now we're infected, too.

Find out how the negativity and self-loathing of modern Hollywood is just a small gear in the machine that brings down entire nations. What can we do about it? Well, we can walk right into the heart of Mordor and destroy the Ring of Power.


Posted by Vanderleun at Jul 5, 2011 7:52 PM | QuickLink: Permalink
“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future

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Ann Barnhardt:

"The Obama regime continues to illegally impose “laws”, edicts and executive fiats that are in direct violation of the Constitution and of fundamental human rights, and they have declared their intention to impose more of these intrinsically invalid laws, such as disarmament laws. And it isn’t just the Obama regime. These sorts of tyrannical “laws” are being passed all throughout the land. Valedictorians are forbidden from praying or mentioning God in their speeches. A National Cemetery has forbidden the utterance of the word “God” during FUNERALS. The good people of Chicago are forbidden from arming and protecting themselves and their families. A police chief has been fired for refusing to attend a musloid “worship service”. A bank is forced by regulators to remove all Christmas decorations. The federal government through “Obamacare” intends to tax human beings on their EXISTENCE by demanding that they either buy a specific service commodity or pay a penalty tax.
"I don’t marvel at the actions of these Marxist usurpers. They are entirely predictable. What I marvel at is the unending parade of Americans who simply roll over and comply with these violations of their human rights. People, you don’t have to comply with laws that are intrinsically in violation of your human rights. I don’t care what the superintendant says, if you want to give glory to God and witness to His love and His centrality in your life in your graduation speech, then Kid, YOU DO IT. And if they cut your mike, well then you just SHOUT IT AT THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS. Make them physically drag you off the stage if that is what they want to do, and then put it on YouTube. If you want your Dad to have a Christian burial at the National Cemetery, then YOU DO IT. Make them arrest you, your family and the clergyman for daring to utter the word, “God”. -- Barnhardt.biz - Commodity Brokerage


Posted by Vanderleun at Jul 4, 2011 4:11 PM |  Comments (16)  | QuickLink: Permalink
"I'm phobia-phobic:" Mark Steyn on Free Speech

Mark Steyn on Free Speech at the IPA from Institute of Public Affairs on Vimeo.



Posted by Vanderleun at Jun 22, 2011 7:41 AM |  Comments (11)  | QuickLink: Permalink
SAVE THE TUMOR! Ann Barnhardt on the Raw Truth About Social Security & Medicare


If you didn't like the Health Insurance videos, you'll hate these. The truth hurts sometimes.



Posted by Vanderleun at Jun 22, 2011 5:18 AM |  Comments (7)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Ann Barnhardt On Health Care and Health Insurance in America Now (Updated with Full Transcript)

More sense about health insurance in 15 minutes than you've heard from politicians of all parties in the last 15 years.

Barnhardt from the prologue: "I would like to restate for the record how disgusting it is that I am the person apparently who has to be the voice of logic and reason and obvious common sense for a nation of 310 million people....

"Who the hell am I? I am not well educated. I have an undergraduate degree in Animal Husbandry which I consider to be nothing more than a formality. My real education consists first and foremost of real life experience and the responsibilities and performance demanded therein, which is nothing rare, along with an Amazon.com Prime account.

Continued...
Posted by Vanderleun at Jun 13, 2011 4:15 PM |  Comments (14)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Rant O' the Week: You know what I can’t stand to hear about anymore? That we Americans are addicted to oil.

[Bumped due to popular demand]
marko2_s.jpg"I'm not addicted to oil.

I'm addicted to being able to drive into town on my own schedule. I'm addicted to being able to haul home a week's worth of groceries with two little kids in tow without having to wait for the fucking bus with eighty pounds of filled plastic bags in my hands. (That's disregarding the fact that I live out in the sticks, and the nearest bus stop is four miles away, which is one hell of a hike with the aforementioned two little kids and week's worth of groceries.)
"I don't give a shit what kind of substance I have to put in the tank of the minivan to feed that particular addiction. I don't care about oil. If my minivan ran on distilled cow piss, I'd fill up with distilled cow piss. If they ever come up with an electric minivan that goes the speed limit on the Interstate, accelerates to highway speeds in less time than a geologic epoch, and doesn't need to be recharged every fifty miles with electricity that comes from a coal-powered plant anyway, I'll gladly buy one of those and deep-six the old combustion engine. -- Marko @ the always entertaining and often correct munchkin wrangler.


Posted by Vanderleun at Jun 12, 2011 3:33 PM |  Comments (47)  | QuickLink: Permalink
"WORD. The West, This Nation, Are All Built on a Man's Word. His Oath, His Honor, His Character."

The always brilliant but today luminous Chris Muir explains the deeper meaning of the latest sex scandal at Day by Day Cartoon by Chris Muir. Like Sarah Palin's letter this is well worth sending around.


Continued...
Posted by Vanderleun at Jun 12, 2011 9:51 AM |  Comments (2)  | QuickLink: Permalink
F.L. Lucas: The destiny of mankind is not governed wholly by its “stars.”

It is unlikely that many of us will be famous...

Continued...
Posted by Vanderleun at Jun 8, 2011 8:54 AM |  Comments (5)  | QuickLink: Permalink
On Courage: "I don't want your son to end up laying on some city street with his legs blown off by a Marxist-Islamist-Obamaist RPG bleeding to death because he had to shoulder my personal failure in courage."

D-DAY, JUNE 6

d-dayomaha.jpg

"Good will always prevail, but there is no limit to the amount of suffering that will be required for that victory to occur. If men stand up early on, the suffering will be minimized because it will be spread over many people. The worst that might happen is that some folks go to bed scared for a while, but widespread bravery will allow good to prevail without much suffering. If, however, there is a decided lack of courage displayed by a large group or society early on in an advance by the powers of evil, that aggregated courage requirement will be borne by a relative few at a later time. The longer this goes on, the worse it will be for the few who have to bear the weight of the cowardice of the broad society." -- Ann Barnhardt

"Full victory - nothing else." On D-Day, 67 years ago, this was what was done...

Continued...
Posted by Vanderleun at Jun 5, 2011 8:15 PM |  Comments (1)  | QuickLink: Permalink
"Here I Stand. I Can Do No Other:" Geert Wilders' Final Remarks at The Amsterdam Trial - English Subtitles

Geert Wilders (Dutch pronunciation:born September 6, 1963) is a Dutch politician and leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV), the third-largest political party in the Netherlands.

Background: Trial of Geert Wilders

As the spectacle of a man being tried for speaking the truth about Islam comes to its end in the Netherlands, the accused continues to assert that the accusations of “hate speech” that have been made against him are baseless — the problem is that Islam is an ideology of hatred.

Geert Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV), has been on trial in Amsterdam on the accusation that he was “inciting hatred and discrimination” against Muslims. It appears, however, that not even prosecutors believe Wilders to be guilty of the charges against him. -- Trial of Geert Wilders Nears Verdict

Speech with Sub-titltes. Text in the continued section. HT: Ann Barnhardt.

Continued...
Posted by Vanderleun at Jun 3, 2011 4:56 PM |  Comments (6)  | QuickLink: Permalink
"Not for Hire:" Sarah Palin's Ride Photographed This Evening in Portsmouth, NH

"Every day you'll see the dust (Too much, the Magic Bus)
As I drive my baby in my Magic Bus (Too much, the Magic Bus)
I want it, i want it, I want it, I want it ..."

sarahpalinsridenotforhire.jpg
(Click all images to enlarge)

It was a darkening and stormy night in New Hampshire. As I was leaving dinner in Portsmouth this evening, I drove down a street and there it was, Palin's Ride. It was, as they say, hard to miss and I took the opportunity to pull over, get out, and take some close-up pictures to share with my readers.

Palin, as it turned out, was off somewhere on the New Hampshire seacoast at a New England clam bake -- or so it was rumored. In the meantime, her bus was sending out her message loud and clear: "One nation. Under God. With Liberty and justice for all."

This would be in stark contrast to the current message being broadcast from the White House: "Many diverse groups pretending to be one. Under someone who has no divinity but a lot of gall. With liberty and justice for a few favored groups and individuals."

I'd be proud to ride in Palin's bus.

Continued...
Posted by Vanderleun at Jun 2, 2011 6:32 PM |  Comments (10)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Something Wonderful: "Twenty five days before my father died, on my birthday exactly six years ago, he gave me a present.
Continued...
Posted by Vanderleun at Jun 1, 2011 7:09 PM |  Comments (4)  | QuickLink: Permalink
Ann Barnhardt: The Boston Speech.

annbarnhardt.jpg

Hello, my name is Ann Barnhardt and I am the person who says the things that everyone else is too terrified to say.

This is the speech that I was going to deliver in Boston today, May 15, 2011 had a facility been available to me. Unfortunately, no facilities were willing to host my speech, sponsored by Rabbi Jon Hausmann, because I was deemed to be “hateful”, “bigoted” and “potentially violent”. Well, we’ll see about that.

In this speech we are going to cover a lot of intellectual and theological ground. I tend to set my goals extremely high, and this speech is no exception.

Continued...
Posted by Vanderleun at May 15, 2011 11:11 PM |  Comments (28)  | QuickLink: Permalink
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