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January 31, 2017
For yearz eye culd knot spel stewdent. Nowt eye r won.
The desire to whip the oddities of English spelling into some kind of more logical order can be traced back to the 16th and 17th centuries, and gathered particular pace in the late 19th century with the efforts, for example, of the American Philological Society who, in 1876, recommended the adoption of eleven reformed spellings for immediate use — are→ar, give→giv, have→hav, live→liv, though→tho, through→thru, guard→gard, catalogue→catalog, (in)definite→(in)definit, wished→wisht. One major American newspaper, the Chicago Tribune — whose editor and owner, Joseph Medill, sat on the Council of the Spelling Reform Association — actually began to use these new spellings. The Pioneer ov Simplified Speling, Vol. 1, No. 1 (1912) | The Public Domain Review
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 10:04 AM | Your Say (5)
A New Type of 3 AM Phone Call
Rrrrrrrrrrrr-ing.
Good Morning, Trump Hysteria Hotline, may I help you?
“This man… who is not my president… is driving me crazy!”
I see. Let me ask you a few questions so that I may direct you to a counselor with the proper credentials. Do you admit that Donald Trump is the President of the United States?
(Sigh.) “Yes. He is president.”
Are you an American citizen?
(Angerly) “Yes… I am a citizen.”
So, intellectually you realize that he is your president?
(Exasperated) “Yessssss.”
See, we’re making progress. Now, are you a Republican, Democrat or Independent? The level of service you require is determined by your answer.
“Democrat”
Let me transfer you…
Rrrrrrrrrrrrr-ing!
Suicide Prevention Hotline, please hold, all of our operators are busy right now…
- - Ricochet
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 9:07 AM | Your Say (0)
"I ain't no ways tired. I come too far."
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 7:34 AM | Your Say (0)
Look, over there… no, wait,… over there… here, huh.. wha? Has it really only been a week since it was “muh Russians”?…. sheesh.
Trump-time moves so fast, they don’t have time to roll out the traditional coordinated talking points. President Trump is one person, yet he has them surrounded.Swamp peeps nerves are frayed, they’re desperate for President Trump to take a day off… but he never stops. My God, he-just-never-stops. Today, the swamp passed around the word “crisis”, but it didn’t phase him; he drove right through it. Abandon the airports, he just fired the AG, head to the courthouse…. EPA did what? Oh, SCOTUS?…. gotcha! -- The Last Refuge
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 7:19 AM | Your Say (8)
It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time
The device was basically a thick ceramic pot whose inner sides were plated with radioactive material. The device was to be filled with water and left overnight so that the water would absorb a significant amount of radium.
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 7:07 AM | Your Say (5)
The Left, has we have come to know it, has been not quite so much a movement as a tired retread narrative.
Should be easy to capture it by now, let me give it a shot.Let’s see…Young, idealistic and energetic revolutionaries are rebelling against the reality that an entrenched aristocracy consisting of rich old people and clergy are hoarding all of the wealth and the power for themselves. The egalitarian future boldly confronts the stagnated & halcyon past, and prevails. Along the way, we’re all called upon to embrace certain irreconcilable contradictions, like: We’re all going to be a lot better off when limited resources are redirected to enrich people who don’t even value material things. And, these young idealistic crusaders are ably represented by increasingly geriatric has-been hippies who haven’t had a single new idea amongst the whole lot of ’em in the better part of a century. And, the economy runs much moar-better when there are higher taxes. We’ve got to become a more color-blind society, and the best way to do that is to pay close attention to color when we think about hiring, promoting, contracting with & educating people. House of Eratosthenes
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 6:24 AM | Your Say (3)
January 30, 2017
Sojourners for Satan
Wow… that’s quite a list there. Anything else you want to accuse white America of?
Lets go through that list… we rejected refugees? That’s already dealt with. We take more than anyone. What’s next? Refused to aid immigrants? The US? We not only aid immigrants more than any other nation on the planet… we even aid illegal immigrants more than other nations aid their legal ones. And what’s this “cut social services to the poor” garbage? Who? When? What did Obama do in the last 8 years that cut social services to the poor? And diminished help to the sick? Obamacare was specifically designed to help the sick among the poor. The rest are not even worth addressing, as they are nothing but the standard leftist lists of bullshit boogeymen. So far all we have is appeal to emotion. Guilt specifically. - – Men Of The West
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 5:16 PM | Your Say (0)
Camel Jockey Still Riding After a Century and a Half
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 11:30 AM | Your Say (0)
If you try sometimes you just might find you get what you need.
If you are looking for the tells that this dangerous situation is developing, notice how excited/happy the Trump critics seem to b
e – while angry at the same time – that Trump’s immigration ban fits their belief system. If you see people who are simply afraid of Trump, they are probably harmless. But the people who are excited about any Hitler-analogy-behavior by Trump might be leading the country to a police state without knowing it. So watch for that. Be Careful What You Wish For (especially if it is... | Scott Adams' Blog
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 8:12 AM | Your Say (4)
Perhaps the greatest cautionary tale of overreaching brotherhood
comes from the sad fate of the modern Western university, which has become anything but inclusive in its mad career to include all.
Through the operation of "diversity" policies administrators have built a simulacrum of a borderless society. The result is a travesty of its original vision. Conflicts did not go away but were rather driven underground or resolved by promoting one faction to dominance over the rest. The outcome was a sham harmony, tragedy as farce, rife with tensions and filled with ironic hatred which is the result of mandatory love and peace in lieu of the real thing. Every wall must have a gate. Every gate needs a wall.
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 7:20 AM | Your Say (1)
Days of Rage
Forget the presidential assassination attempt. Forget the mass shooting in the Congressional chamber. Just look at the FALN stuff: a years-long bombing campaign in multiple American cities, by perpetrators trained and initiated by a foreign power. A terrorist organization that parasitized a church so effectively, it got the church infrastructure to act on its behalf. A stunning escape from custody almost too astounding to believe. Why is this not a movie? Why is this not two or three movies? This story is amazing! And it's just totally memory-holed. Here's how memory-holed it is: I didn't even know that, in 1999, seeking Puerto Rican voter support in New York for HRC's senate run, President Clinton offered clemency to 16 imprisoned FALN. 14 accepted. Congress condemned it at the time. But people remember the Mark Rich pardon. Not FALN. = = | Status 451
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 7:15 AM | Your Say (5)
January 29, 2017
Diamond vise turns hydrogen into a metal, potentially ending 80-year quest
Word got around, and the next morning there was a line. Throughout the day, hundreds filed in to peer through a benchtop microscope at a reddish silver dot trapped between two diamond tips. Silvera finally closed shop at 6 p.m. to go home. "It took weeks for the excitement to die down," Silvera says. That excitement swirled because by squeezing hydrogen to pressures well beyond those in the center of Earth, Silvera and his postdoc Ranga Dias had seen a hint that it had morphed into a solid metal, capable of conducting electricity. "If it's true it would be fantastic," says Reinhard Boehler, a physicist at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C. "This is something we as a community have been pushing to see for decades." | Science | AAAS
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 8:46 PM | Your Say (0)
Today is the past’s dream of the future.
What is a reactionary? He is to be distinguished from a “conservative” or “liberal” or “progressive.”
All three of those are trapped in the time series. So am I, as a matter of fact, physically compelled to ride along in a world where time’s arrow does not meander or take coffee breaks. And on a planet that rotates at an inconvenient speed, to those who wish the days were longer. And hurtles through space on a revolutionary course, round and round getting nowhere, indifferent to the passage of asteroids.The reactionary accepts this. He accepts the facts of change — birth, life, death, et cetera. When in good mood he doesn’t bother to whine. His criteria for what is good, true, and beautiful are however timeless: he actually seeks such criteria in the welter of our world. He does not judge something to be better, or worse, because of its place in the time series, assuming it is “better” because it comes later, or came before. Nor can he place any hope in “progress” for, as Don Colacho dryly notes, today is the past’s dream of the future.
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 6:27 PM | Your Say (9)
Greatest Invention in the Last 100 Years [Bumped]
Use the Bacon Express to easily cook up to 6-strips of regular or thick cut bacon in just minutes – no need to flip! Simply adjust the illuminated dial timer to your desired cooking preference, and allow the unique vertical cooking method to drain away fat and grease for fast, healthy cooking. Cool touch handles make it easy to open the doors and view the cooking process. When done cooking, the non-stick cooking plate and insulated door liners remove for easy cleanup. Bacon Express, A Toaster That Can Vertically Cook Up to Six Strips of Bacon
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 6:08 PM | Your Say (13)
Never Look a Gay Mexican in the Mouth
Ahh well, que sera sera. If Trump decides Mexico isn’t really offering us anything more than millions of uninvited Mexicans, he may just accept Guajardo’s offer to leave the luxury trading box right here and now. That would mean higher tequila prices for us, and Venezuela for them. Once the wall gets built that’s a trade I can contemplate with calm composure. | The Kakistocracy
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 5:32 PM | Your Say (2)
How are those of us who oppose left-wing nihilism
- - there is no other word for an ideology that holds Western civilization and America's core values in contempt -- supposed to unite with "educators" who instruct elementary school teachers to cease calling their students "boys" and "girls" because that implies gender identity?With English departments that don't require reading Shakespeare in order to receive a degree in English? With those who regard virtually every war America has fought as imperialist and immoral? With those who regard the free market as a form of oppression? With those who want the state to control as much of American life as possible? With those who repeatedly tell America and its black minority that the greatest problems afflicting black Americans are caused by white racism, "white privilege" and "systemic racism"? With those who think that the nuclear family ideal is inherently misogynistic and homophobic? With those who hold that Israel is the villain in the Middle East? With those who claim that the term "Islamic terrorist" is an expression of religious bigotry? America's Second Civil War | RealClearPolitics
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 3:56 PM | Your Say (5)
Trump doesn’t have to go to war with the press corps. All he has to do is make it irrelevant.
The White House press corps is an outmoded institution.There’s no need to crowd a small number of media elites into a limited space. Or any space at all. We live in a world of instantaneous communications. Every smartphone is capable of doing more than the laptops that reporters were laboring over in the Clinton years. Any of the men and women in that room can email or text their questions. The briefings serve no useful function except as political theater by a privileged class. President Trump has vowed to drain the swamp. A good place to start is the smarmy swamp of privilege over the White House indoor pool. The small club of the press corps is the embodiment of the old establishment and its corrupt gatekeepers that he has vowed to get rid of. Instead of sparring with them in briefings, it’s time to eliminate their special status and strip them of their privileges. Sultan Knish: End the Media
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 11:04 AM | Your Say (1)
From Hospital Gowns to Paper Couture: The Unlikely Origins of â60s Disposable Dresses
Beyond cost, paper dresses faced several other issues preventing them from becoming more than a novelty. “Women who remember wearing paper dresses have told me they were stiff and uncomfortable and scratchy,” Walford says. “They also tended to catch the wind, so if you sat down, your dress might billow out. And if you wore one to an office party, like at Christmas, you had every guy intentionally spilling drinks on your paper. So they went out of fashion for a few different reasons, but durability wasn’t really the problem.” | Collectors Weekly
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 9:00 AM | Your Say (0)
The once mighty NYT now no longer makes any pretense at all, none, of being a newspaper.
Its "news" stories are full of words such as "lies," "bizarre," "crazy," when referring to President Trump and his policies.
They are stunned, stunned, I tell you, that the man is actually doing exactly what he said he would. They call him a liar for saying that illegal aliens voted in the last election; they say there's no proof . . . and then go ape when he says, fine, let's investigate. No! There's no need! WE are telling you, WE are assuring you that there is no evidence! I can't stop laughing. The DiploMad 2.0
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 6:51 AM | Your Say (1)
Put the rioters in a city jail for a couple of years and this comes to an end.
I’ve long argued that public protests are anti-democratic, anti-liberal and an assault on civilized order.They are unnecessary in a social democracy. We have elections where the issues of the day can be debated. There’s simply no need to be out in the streets causing trouble. These people yesterday were not there to raise awareness. They were there to intimidate and frighten people. While we cannot ban such things, the punishments handed out for causing trouble should be draconian. Put the rioters in a city jail for a couple of years and this comes to an end. Playing With Fire | The Z Blog
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 2:40 AM | Your Say (1)
January 28, 2017
The Unanswered Question
Unless you have a serious mental illness, you have to see that the Left is nothing but identity politics now and they are winning.
Just turn on the TV. Just look at the best seller list. The people of the New Religion hate white people, particularly white men and they will not be talked out of it. The question that faces every man is not “what sort of society do I want for myself and my children?” That’s a lie and it has always been a lie. The question is “What are my choices and how do I achieve my preferred option?” The choice pushed by our betters is a world run by Black Lives Matters and women dressed as vaginas. If the other option is white pride, white nationalism and white supremacy, it is not hard to see how this is going to go. | The Z Blog
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 10:04 AM | Your Say (6)
January 27, 2017
How about we part out the politicians into garbage bags and bury them IN the swamp?
Please, no more calls to "drain the swamp." It's an insult to swamps.It is clear, then, that swamps do not deserve their reputation as useless ecosystems, nor do they deserve to be co-opted as a lazy, inept political metaphor. In fact, it would serve us well to conserve and actually expand swamp lands in many areas. The next time you hear a politician or pundit talk about âdraining the swamp,â remember that swamps can be sources of resource abundance and protection from natural disasters, which are exactly some of the functions a responsible government should promote.
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 9:36 AM | Your Say (3)
Nowhere to Go but Up
GDP shows economy slows to 1.9% growth - MarketWatchPosted by gerardvanderleun at 8:22 AM | Your Say (2)
January 26, 2017
Did Donald Trump Carry Minnesota?
Voter fraud is concentrated among same-day registrants, and nearly all illegal ballots are cast for Democrats.Hillary Clinton reportedly won Minnesota by around 45,000 votes. This means that if 10% of those who same-day registered also voted illegally (non-citizens, convicted felons, already voted in another state, etc.), Donald Trump probably carried the state. But the result can’t be changed because Minnesota doesn’t have provisional voting. The votes of the 500,000 to 600,000 people who registered on election day have been counted. Do I think it is likely that Trump carried Minnesota? No. But we probably will never know, and we certainly don’t know now. Trump’s investigation into voter fraud is long overdue. | Power Line
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 9:27 PM | Your Say (5)
State Department: did they resign or were they pushed?*
As far as I can see, we still don’t know the sequence of events. We also still don’t know whether this matters or will have a positive or negative effect on State Department business. My guess? Positive. neo-neocon
My guess?A man gets home, runs into his house, slams the door and shouts: “Honey, pack your bags. I won the lottery.”The wife says: “Wow! That’s great! Should I pack for the ocean, or should I pack for the mountains?
He says: “I don’t care. Just get the fuck out.”
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 5:49 PM | Your Say (5)
America to Mexico: Pay Up
Sean Spicer Reveals How Mexico Will Pay For "The Wall""When you look at the plan that's taking shape now, using comprehensive tax reform as a means to tax imports from countries that we have a trade deficit from, like Mexico. If you tax that $50 billion at 20 percent of imports — which is by the way a practice that 160 other countries do — right now our country's policy is to tax exports and let imports flow freely in, which is ridiculous. By doing it that we can do $10 billion a year and easily pay for the wall just through that mechanism alone. That's really going to provide the funding."Seems to me that once the folks that import into the US start feeling the burn we can look for them to insist that all Mexico pay. Result: Mo' money, mo' money, mo' money.
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 12:57 PM | Your Say (4)
[Bumped] Dear Democrats, JUST. KEEP. TALKING. LIKE. THIS. PLEASE.
Democrats must provide “training” that focuses in part on teaching Americans “how to be sensitive and how to shut their mouths if they are white,” urged the executive director of Idaho’s Democratic Party, Sally Boynton Brown, who is white.
“It makes me sad that we’re even having that conversation and that tells me that white leaders in our party have failed,” Brown said. “I’m a white woman, I don’t get it. … My job is to listen and be a voice and shut other white people down when they want to interrupt.” “This is life and death” she emphasized. “I am a human being trying to do good work and I can’t do it without y’all. So please, please, please, get ahold of me. Sally at we-the-dnc.org. I need schooling so I can go school the other white people.” DNC Chair Candidates Bash White People in Racially-Charged Forum :: Grabien News
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 10:59 AM | Your Say (16)
American Digest's Sign Painter on Sign Painters
"Sign painters were notorious for being scary drunks. Also body shop guys, too. The rumor was all the paint fumes compelled them to reach for the bottle. I met some major sign drunks back when I started in 1972. They're all dead now. But I'm still doing it. And it's possible still to do the hand-made stuff if you live in a unique and expensive town like Santa Fe. Other places would be Telluride, Aspen, Eureka, Madison, Jackson Hole... all over New England... anywhere the hustle is slower and people expect to see organic quality. Check out my website." -- Tom Hyland Tom Hyland Santa Fe Sign Maker
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 10:18 AM | Your Say (4)
The Ultimate Empty Threat
Bourbons of the Press, Believed by But 15%, Straggle on in DefeatEven at this late date, Mr. Trump’s reflexive opposition has no idea of the force and proportions of its crushing defeat. It was encapsulated in the raunchy entertainer and talented showman Madonna’s two noteworthy contributions to the election process: her offer to give oral sex to any man who voted for Hillary Clinton, which caused a full-point decline in Mrs. Clinton’s position in the polls, and Madonna’s words of enticement to the Women’s Marchers (ostensibly against Trump but for no clear reason) in Washington on Saturday, that she had considered “blowing up the White House.” Apart from being overreaction and a rather unsportsmanlike acknowledgement of the election outcome, it was, given that White House security is ensured by the U.S. Marines, the ultimate empty threat.
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 10:10 AM | Your Say (4)
Eunuchs on Parade: Men's Fashion in the New York Times
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 8:19 AM | Your Say (7)
New Mary Tyler Moore Failing Before She Begins
"Fox News's Tucker Carlson is nearly doubling the ratings of his predecessor, Megyn Kelly, when compared to the same time period last year, according to Nielsen Media Research," reports The Hill.... Kelly's decision to leave was supposed to weaken Fox News and bolster its competitors. But so far it appears to have saved Rupert Murdoch a ton of money (he was offering her a reported $100 million to stay) while eliminating a growing problem: a star, more popular with chattering-class pundits than conservative viewers, who was increasingly showboating at the expense of the network.
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 7:56 AM | Your Say (12)
It is impossible for anyone who is regularly on social media to have a balanced and accurate understanding of what is happening in the world.
To follow a minute-by-minute cycle of news is to be constantly threatened by illusion.So I’m not just staying off Twitter, I’m cutting back on the news sites in my RSS feed, and deleting browser bookmarks to newspapers. Instead, I am turning more of my attention to monthly magazines, quarterly journals, and books. I’m trying to get a somewhat longer view of things — trying to start thinking about issues one when some of the basic facts about them have been sorted out. Taking the short view has burned me far too many times; I’m going to try to prevent that from happening ever again (even if I will sometimes fail). And if once in a while I end up fighting a battle in a war that has already ended … I can live with that. recency illusions - Text Patterns
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 7:53 AM | Your Say (0)
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
When asked if Trump would be participating personally at the event, Spicer said that people will just have to wait to find out whether it’s a “greeting of some sort or a call.”
He confirmed once again that Kellyanne Conway, the highest-ranking woman in President-elect Trump's administration and the first woman from either major party to lead a presidential candidate to victory in the general election, will be speaking at the event. BREAKING: Trump White House promises ‘heavy Administration presence’ at March for Life
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 7:44 AM | Your Say (1)
January 25, 2017
Day 1
While Trump and Pence are at St. John's Episcopal Church, Black Lives Matter will be howling abuse at D.C.’s black police officers at Metropolitan Police Headquarters.As Trump takes his oath of office, the Future is Feminist Counterinaugural Action will try to disrupt the event with their “bodies.” As Trump speaks to unify America, leftist protesters plan to smoke pot on the National Mall. They can’t stop what’s coming. And they know it. The crying Obama staffers loading boxes into their cars and the Marxists biting their lips as they color in their signs on the steps of the Jefferson Memorial feel it. The pundits of the Post, the non-profit parasites and the entire cocktail party circuit can sense it. Sultan Knish:
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 12:21 PM | Your Say (0)
Men's March
The Men's March Against Fascism didn't have nearly as many signs. pic.twitter.com/Kb6jRGGPgS
— Andy Swan (@AndySwan) January 23, 2017
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 11:20 AM | Your Say (12)
Like all of the sites in the cuck-o-sphere, Red State has seen its traffic collapse over the last year.
That’s because they were never expressly conservative.
They were always just to the right of the Official Left. As progressives rocketed off into identity politics, all of these guys tagged along behind them, convinced that being a little less enthusiastic for the latest liberal fads was enough to make them “conservative” and keep the good times rolling. As a result, they claim anyone not falling for their act is a Nazi. Red State becoming Pink State is no surprise as it was never expressly right wing, rather it was just a marketing vehicle for the people who started it. Pink State | The Z Blog
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 11:08 AM | Your Say (0)
Okay, here's the plan....
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 8:17 AM | Your Say (2)
January 24, 2017
who’ve put in anywhere from 15 to 40 plus years in the industry, are so excited that young people are interested in learning their trade that they’re actually inviting them in. That was not the case at the height of the industry: People were very protective of their tricks of the trade because everyone else was competition. Being a sign painter was like being a plumber—you had to hustle. Artisanal Advertising: Reviving the Tradition of Hand-Painted Signs
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 11:59 PM | Your Say (14)
Time to Revoke "The Heckler's Veto"
Milo Yabadabadoopolis keeps having his events cancelled because the authorities worry about potential violence. Given that a guy was shot at his last event, it is not an unreasonable fear. It’s the extreme version of the heckler’s veto. Instead of shouting down the person on stage, the heckler opens fire on the audience.Playing With Fire | The Z BlogPosted by gerardvanderleun at 10:43 PM | Your Say (4)
Dollar Store Town: Inside the World's Biggest Wholesale Market
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 7:42 PM | Your Say (4)
Who Says There's No Good News?
Exclusive: Trump expected to sign executive orders on immigration U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to sign several executive orders on Wednesdayrestricting immigration from Syria and six other Middle Eastern or African countries, according to several congressional aides and immigration experts briefed on the matter. In addition to Syria, Trump's orders are expected to temporarily restrict access to the United States for most refugees. Another order will block visas from being issued to Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, said the aides and experts, who asked not to be identified.
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 4:49 PM | Your Say (4)
In fact, the most startling thing about the 1970s-era underground is how thoroughly it has been forgotten.
Imagine if this happened today: Hundreds of young Americans — white, black, and Hispanic — disappear from their everyday lives and secretly form urban guerrilla groups.Dedicated to confronting the government and righting society’s wrongs, they smuggle bombs into skyscrapers and federal buildings and detonate them from coast to coast. They strike inside the Pentagon, inside the U.S. Capitol, at a courthouse in Boston, at dozens of multinational corporations, at a Wall Street restaurant packed with lunchtime diners. People die. They rob banks, dozens of them, launch raids on National Guard arsenals, and assassinate policemen, in New York, in San Francisco, in Atlanta. There are deadly shoot-outs and daring jailbreaks, illegal government break-ins and a scandal in Washington…. recency illusions - Text Patterns - The New Atlantis
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 2:53 PM | Your Say (0)
They think their display of fervent belief will somehow scare us or convince us. It does scare us, but not the way they expect.
What I don’t know is how to deprogram so many people who grew up in the progressivist cult. I don’t know how to stop them from p*ssing off the people they demonize so much that they end up killed. It’s not Trump they should be afraid of. He’s in the end a rather conventional soft-left man. But they should be wary of pushing the rest of us. Surviving the Cult | According To HoytPosted by gerardvanderleun at 12:48 PM | Your Say (2)
Translation: 'We're going to lay a lot of pipe in a lot of lines and we're going to lay them with our own pipe. So put that in your pipe and smoke it.'
Trump signs five more orders on pipelines, steel and environmentPosted by gerardvanderleun at 11:45 AM | Your Say (2)
The recent hysteria about the bogeyman of racism, for example, is almost all coming from suburban white women,
who live in all white neighborhoods. They don’t really care about blacks in a practical sense. Their real concern is the specter of bad whites holding opinions the good whites find unacceptable. It’s what caused them to go bonkers over Bush and then force the ridiculous Barak Obama on us. The bad whites needed to be taught a lesson and put in their place, which is at the bottom of the social order.The Long Civil War | The Z Blog
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 11:34 AM | Your Say (2)
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 10:50 AM | Your Say (1)
Betting against Donald Trump is like betting against the Road Runner.
As for the heavy lifting of daily governance, the man has run a corporation for 45 years. He is not some community organizer plucked from Chicagoby the Democratic Party to front eight years of socialism and the corruption that goes with it. - - Don SurberPosted by gerardvanderleun at 9:32 AM | Your Say (0)
January 23, 2017
I took an oath as did all of my brothers and sisters in uniform to defend this country against all enemies foreign AND domestic.
I will always protect your rights to free speech and expression through lawful and civil protest whether or not your cause is something I believe in
. However, you seem to believe revolution and violence are the answer now, and that makes you a domestic enemy of the United States I protect and serve. Do it and I’ll teach you how we make the fuckin’ green grass grow. You keep saying you want a revolution, secession, a new Civil War and the election of “Racist/sexist/ homophobic/Republican/Nazi/ xenophobic/ dictator/Islamophobic/ rich guy asshole” Donald Trump is the catalyst for you to take action and destroy every evil you perceive this country to stand for… Well… We’re waiting. Shit or get off the pot. A Message to the Angry Leftists from an American Infantryman - Gruntworks11b
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 8:14 AM | Your Say (2)
“Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities,
rusted out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation, an education system flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge and the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential. This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.”
These very well could end up being some of the most powerful words in American history. Because they represent a reality check. Honest reflection. Straightforward words. A wake-up alarm; a clarion call for change. -- | Joel D. Hirst's Blog
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 8:06 AM | Your Say (3)
Dear Mainstream, Shut Up
Donald Trump took out America's two most powerful political dynasties of the last 30 years: the Bushes and the Clintons. If you didn't see that coming, there's no reason anyone should pay any heed to anything you say about Trump from now on. A New Dawn, A New Don :: SteynOnline
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 7:46 AM | Your Say (0)
January 22, 2017
Dear God, we are grateful and thankful you have returned to our civic life,.
“And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the windswept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky, they fill their heart with the same dreams and they are infused with the breath of life by the same Almighty Creator.” -- President TrumpMOTUS A.D.: “The Time for Empty Talk is Over. Now Arrives the Hour of Action.”Posted by gerardvanderleun at 10:27 AM | Your Say (5)
“The Time for Empty Talk is Over. Now Arrives the Hour of Action.”
Donald Trump’s inauguration ratings were the second-highest in 36 years, according to Nielsen. The swearing-in of the 45th president was seen by 30.6 million viewers across 12 networks. The only inauguration over the last three decades that tops Trump’s number in the linear ratings? Barack Obama’s first inauguration back in 2009, which had a record-setting 37.8 million viewers. So Trump was down from the last new president to take office. But before that, to get an Inauguration Day number this high, you’d have to go all the way back to Ronald Reagan in 1981, who was seen by 41.8 million viewers (Nielsen released tracking for inauguration ratings back to 1969).
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 10:18 AM | Your Say (4)
Beneath Paris
At the Gare du Nord one would not know what country one was in, except that such a mélange could not occur anywhere but in a few major Western cities.
There are more French in Kensington (London) than in the Gare du Nord. This is not true cosmopolitanism, it is the reduction of everyone to the lowest common denominator, namely something akin to American ghetto culture. One’s sense of security is not heightened by observing how many of the young men jump the ticket barriers, quite openly and with a sense of entitlement on their faces, secure in the knowledge that no one will say, let alone do, anything about it. One is not surprised occasionally to observe a crime committed there; one is surprised that there are not many more. - Taki's Magazine
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 9:26 AM | Your Say (2)
The Austin Magic Pistol
The firing mechanism was calcium carbide, loaded into the back of the pistol and activated with a few drops of water. It also shoots flames. The largely smoke-free reaction nevertheless caused much more than a ping pong ball to come out of the gun. And because toys weren't constructed with the best methods back in the day, the reaction usually meant sparks flew out of the back, too, where there was nothing more than a flimsy screw-top sealing the back. Retro Fails: 10 Most Dangerous Toys for Children - Urban Ghosts
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 8:20 AM | Your Say (9)
Big John
November 1942. "Pittsburgh (vicinity). Montour No. 4 mine of the Pittsburgh Coal Company. Coal miner waiting to go underground." Medium-format nitrate negative by John Collier for the Office of War Information. Big John: 1942 | Shorpy
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 6:50 AM | Your Say (2)
January 21, 2017
Jade Egg
harness the power of energy work, crystal healing, and a Kegel-like physical practice. Jade eggs’ power to cleanse and clear make them ideal for detox, too. “This particular jade, nephrite jade, has incredible clearing, cleansing powers,” says Shiva Rose; “It’s a dark, deep green and heavy—it’s a great stone for taking away negativity—and it’s definitely the one to start with.” (Read the whole story—plus a Q&A with Shiva Rose herself—here.) Fans say regular use increases chi, orgasms, vaginal muscle tone, hormonal balance, and feminine energy in general. - - Shiva Rose Goop
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 7:27 PM | Your Say (7)
Already, Islamic terrorism produces scenes that are horrible, and for that reason intriguing to the common man.
Sooner or later the marketing people discover the sales opportunities.
Indeed, through the medium of cable television, they already have found a way to monetize it. And like the pornographers, the newscasters come to realize that by posting “warnings” they can not only exculpate themselves, with characteristic hypocrisy, but also attract a larger crowd. My point here is that by each “transvaluation,” or inversion, of the ancient received moral order, we do not get the new one we expect. We get developments beyond anything that anyone could have expected, as the various forgotten evils that lurk in the human breast come to engage with each other. Crooked timber chronicles : Essays in Idleness
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 8:41 AM | Your Say (3)
January 20, 2017
It’s an Honor to Dress a First Lady—Regardless of Her Husband’s Politics
As Herrera astutely noted to Business of Fashion, the convictions of fashion’s anti-Trump crowd are likely to fadeonce the Trumps are in the White House and the power and glamor of having access to the First Family increases: “I think that in two or three months they’ll reach out, because it’s fashion,” she said of her fellow designers. “You’ll see everyone dressing Melania. She’s representing the United States.” - Acculturated
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 9:35 AM | Your Say (8)
You all have your reasons for hating America and whether or not I agree isn’t even relevant.
I took an oath as did all of my brothers and sisters in uniform to defend this country against all enemies foreign AND domestic.
I will always protect your rights to free speech and expression through lawful and civil protest whether or not your cause is something I believe in. However, you seem to believe revolution and violence are the answer now, and that makes you a domestic enemy of the United States I protect and serve. Do it and I’ll teach you how we make the fuckin’ green grass grow. You keep saying you want a revolution, secession, a new Civil War and the election of “Racist/sexist/homophobic/Republican/Nazi/xenophobic/dictator/Islamophobic/rich guy asshole” Donald Trump is the catalyst for you to take action and destroy every evil you perceive this country to stand for…
Well… We’re waiting. A Message to the Angry Leftists from an American Infantryman - Gruntworks11b
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 9:32 AM | Your Say (2)
Retro Fails: 10 Most Dangerous Toys for Children
It was one of a handful of toys that the National Commission on Product Safety recommended be banned completely, mostly because of the heat it put off. The oven racks would heat up to 600F (315C), which is hotter than most real-life, grown-up ovens ever need to be. - Urban Ghosts
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 8:21 AM | Your Say (7)
January 19, 2017
If Barack Obama knew how to slink,
he would slink out of the Oval Office and completely offstage, bowed and beaten by his record of scandal and failure,as much or even more of a pariah among an American majority than Jimmy Carter was in the early 1980s. Instead, he’ll try to stick around as a constant presence, lecturing us and hectoring us and insisting that we don’t live up to his exacting standards. The best thing we can do is ignore him — and go about our business of rebuilding, purposely oblivious to his irrelevant fulminations.Saul Alinsky Leaves the White House | The American Spectator
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 3:35 PM | Your Say (10)
"But Och! I backward cast my e'e, / On prospects drear! / An' forward, tho' I canna see, / I guess an' fear!"
Wee, sleekit, cowran, tim'rous beastie,
O, what a panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi' bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee,
Wi' murd'ring pattle!
I'm truly sorry Man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union,
An' justifies that ill opinion,
Which makes thee startle,
At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,
An' fellow-mortal!
I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen-icker in a thrave 'S a sma' request:
I'll get a blessin wi' the lave,
An' never miss't!
Thy wee-bit housie, too, in ruin!
It's silly wa's the win's are strewin!
An' naething, now, to big a new ane,
O' foggage green!
An' bleak December's winds ensuin,
Baith snell an' keen!
Thou saw the fields laid bare an' wast,
An' weary Winter comin fast,
An' cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell,
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro' thy cell.
That wee-bit heap o' leaves an' stibble,
Has cost thee monie a weary nibble!
Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble,
But house or hald.
To thole the Winter's sleety dribble,
An' cranreuch cauld!
But Mousie, thou are no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men,
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!
Still, thou art blest, compar'd wi' me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But Och! I backward cast my e'e,
On prospects drear!
An' forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear!
Robert Burns Poem -"To a Mouse"
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 3:05 PM | Your Say (3)
A well-regarded actress commented on the post, “He’s scaring the kids! Disgusting.”
And a New York fashion designer added, “My daughter asked me if Trump could have me killed because I protested.”
These lunatics scare the hell out of their children by telling them that Trump is going to murder them and their parents, and then they use their kids’ nightmares as “proof” that Trump is dangerous. No, cretins, your kids aren’t scared because Trump is Hitler. Your kids are scared because you keep telling them they’re going to be killed. Your little ones aren’t responding to Trump; they’re responding to you. It’s amazing that these dumbasses can remain oblivious to their role in this farce.Dave of the Locust
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 8:03 AM | Your Say (3)
The Day At The DMV
I spotted a Muslim women in a trash bag shuffling up to one of the counters. Two swarthy men were hovering around her.They guarded her virtue as she exposed her head for the license photo. From what I saw, they have no fears of rival males carrying her off. Everyone in the place was intently watching the scene, even the surly functionaries. For a minute, all of us were plugged into the collective consciousness, wondering why our rulers are doing this to us. This is an example of why open borders will end in disaster. In a world without government, people will sort themselves out, one way or another. In the custodial state, everyone is dealing with the state. That means the interface has to accommodate all comers. In a world where the picture ID is critical, a people who think photos steal their soul or make Allah angry with their women is doomed to failure. The DMV can handle Mexican fruit pickers, it cannot adapt to Bronze Age barbarians. - - | The Z Blog
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 7:52 AM | Your Say (1)
January 18, 2017
The Angry Man is not, and never will be, a victim.
Then, he went back in to rescue those who needed help or were too stupid to help themselves in the first place. He was selfless in this, just as often a civilian as a police officer, a National Guard soldier or a volunteer firefighter. Victimhood syndrome buzzwords; “disenfranchised,” “marginalized” "safe spaces" and “voiceless” don’t resonate with The Angry Man. “Press ‘one’ for English” is a curse-word to him. His last name, his race and his religion don’t matter. His ancestry might be Italian, English, African, Polish, German, Slavic, Irish, Russian, Hispanic or any of a hundred others. What does matter, is that he considers himself in every way to be an American. He is proud of this country and thinks that if you aren’t, you are whole-heartedly encouraged to find one that suits you and move there. Free North Carolina: THE ANGRY MAN
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 11:00 PM | Your Say (3)
"The days dwindle down / To a precious two..."
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 10:06 PM | Your Say (3)
Africa Wins Again
Teenager rushed to hospital after circumcising himself with MACHETE in ZimbabwePosted by gerardvanderleun at 7:30 PM | Your Say (0)
The Unimportance of Being Earnest
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 5:56 PM | Your Say (2)
"Pssst, pass it on!" The Secrets of Facebook
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 9:18 AM | Your Say (8)
It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time
List of inventors killed by their own inventionsPosted by gerardvanderleun at 8:36 AM | Your Say (0)
The 1930s Ice Cream Parlor Tucked Away in Cincinnati's Union Terminal
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 8:22 AM | Your Say (1)
California Megaflood, 1861: Lessons from a Forgotten Catastrophe
The series of warm storms swelled the rivers in the Sierra Nevada range so that they became raging torrents, sweeping away entire communities and mining settlements in the foothills—California’s famous “Gold Country.” A January 15, 1862, report from the Nelson Point Correspondence described the scene: “On Friday last, we were visited by the most destructive and devastating flood that has ever been the lot of ‘white’ men to see in this part of the country. Feather River reached the height of 9 feet more than was ever known by the ‘oldest inhabitant,’ carrying away bridges, camps, stores, saloon, restaurant, and much real-estate.” Drowning deaths occurred every day on the Feather, Yuba and American rivers. In one tragic account, an entire settlement of Chinese miners was drowned by floods on the Yuba River. - - Scientific American
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 6:45 AM | Your Say (0)
Trump voters are plentiful and they’re everywhere. You’ve encountered them without knowing it.
They know how you think. You don’t know how they think.
Keep that in mind snowflake, you’re surrounded by people you constantly berate. They know you’ve equated their vote with murder. They know you consider them evil (though not full beheading evil). They know you would “defeat them or wait for them to die”. They move around you, past you, next to you, talk to you, interact with you, and yet every moment of that interaction they know you’re a fuse ready to be lit. They assess your level of crazy and exhibit greater self control than you can imagine. I Love America; Including The Americans | Adaptive Curmudgeon
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 6:36 AM | Your Say (2)
January 17, 2017
The Cult of Ugliness [Bumped]
Then she said, “Personally, I prefer the old works. Much of the modern art is ugly, and I doubt I am the only one here to share that view. However, we must not blame the artists. As you will see, in any age, art is a merely a reflection of the culture and times. And we are living in ugly times.” -- The Thinking Housewife / The Woman at the Museum
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 4:40 PM | Your Say (50)
New ABC / WaPo Poll Shows Drop In Trump Favorability Courtesy Of Aggressive "Oversamples"
In the month leaded up to the election on November 8th, we repeatedly demonstrated how the mainstream media polls from the likes of ABC/Washington Post, CNN and Reuters repeatedly manipulated their poll samples to engineer their desired results, namely a large Hillary Clinton lead (see "New Podesta Email Exposes Playbook For Rigging Polls Through 'Oversamples'" and "ABC/Wapo Effectively Admit To Poll Tampering As Hillary's "Lead" Shrinks To 2-Points"). In fact, just 16 days prior to the election an ABC/Wapo poll showed a 12-point lead for Hillary, a result that obviously turned out to be embarrassingly wrong for the pollsters. But, proving they still got it, ABC/Washington Post and CNN are out with a pair of polls on Trump's favorability this morning that sport some of the most egregious "oversamples" we've seen. The ABC/Wapo poll showed an 8-point sampling margin for Democrats with only 23% of the results taken from Republicans ...while the CNN poll showed a similar 8-point advantage for Democrats with only 24% of respondents identifying as Republicans."A total of 1,000 adults were interviewed by telephone nationwide by live interviewers calling both landline and cell phones. Among the entire sample, 32% described themselves as Democrats, 24% described themselves as Republicans, and 44% described themselves as independents or members of another party. | Zero Hedge
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 10:42 AM | Your Say (5)
Who Says There's No Good News? Reality Bites.
They are some of the biggest names in the Republican national security firmament, veterans of past GOP administrations who say, if called upon by President-elect Donald Trump, they stand ready to serve their country again. But their phones aren’t ringing. Their entreaties to Trump Tower in New York have mostly gone unanswered. In Trump world, these establishment all-stars say they are “PNG” — personae non gratae. Their transgression was signing one or both of two public “Never Trump” letters during the campaign, declaring they would not vote for Trump and calling his candidacy a danger to the nation.
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 7:32 AM | Your Say (8)
"I have a dream...."
10 Killed, 29 Wounded In MLK Day Weekend Shootings:About 1:10 a.m., 36-year-old Marlon Pollard was standing outside in the 2200 block of West Chicago in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood when someone in a black SUV opened fire, striking him in the abdomen, face and left leg. The Evanston resident died in less than an hour at Stroger, authorities said.
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 7:09 AM | Your Say (2)
January 16, 2017
Wasn't Jesus supposed to save us from this bullshit?
From what? Well, for starters, from mountains of bullshit. Before the transition, my mind was a vast and fertile field for the cultivation of bullshit. Matters were only made worse by an extensive education, for The learned fool has a wider field to practice his folly, and He who understands the least is he who insists on understanding more than what can be understood (NGD). One Cʘsmos: Lord Save Us From the Bullshit
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 6:09 PM | Your Say (2)
On Martin Luther King Day
As for the more problematic aspects of his life—well, I think they can be summed up by saying that King was a flawed human being.
In other words, a human being. Perhaps MLK himself would be the first to agree; he was a preacher, after all, and he knew a lot about human sin and error. It’s pretty much certain he was a philanderer as well as a plagiarist, and in later life he seemed to veer ever more leftward (some think that’s a feature, not a bug). Does that diminish his achievement? I don’t think so. I’ve always been more interested in real human beings who accomplish great things despite their own weaknesses than I am in a pretended (and mostly unachievable) perfection. - - neo-neocon
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 5:57 PM | Your Say (4)
Why the Left, Particularly the Hollywood Left, is Losing It Over Trump
There is a new faith rising on the right, not an explicit religious faith like old-school Christianity, but a wicked kind of counterculture movement. We laughed at the hippies in 1968, but by 1978 they were teaching in classrooms and sitting behind school administrator desks.Where will the hippies of 2016 be sitting after eight years of Trump? How many of the shitposting Twitter bad boys will start up alternative media outlets, until one of them becomes the new Saturday Night Live?Never Yet Melted ｻ
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 9:19 AM | Your Say (1)
Donald Trump Inhabited Body of Hillary Aide
He searched eBay for a 2005 Donald J. Trump signature collection watch, which he purchased for $175. He experimented with a self-tanning lotion on his face. Before prep sessions, Reines began suiting up with velcro knee pads (to keep his legs straight), a posture enhancer (to keep his arms back), and dress shoes with three-inch lifts (to match Trump’s 6’1 frame). His longtime tailor fit him for a loose-fitting suit with large cuffs. His goal was not a “Saturday Night Live”-style caricature of Trump, so he didn’t try to replicate Trump’s famous mane. But he wanted to approximate his physicality so that Clinton would grow accustomed to Trump’s looming presence when she saw Reines in her peripheral vision. Politico/ Newsbusters
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 8:01 AM | Your Say (0)
The moonbeam left has traded in God for Global Warming as its universal answer to everything.
"California is currently in the grips of an extreme drought with record low precipitation," it gloomily began. Then the Sacramento River flooded, the downtown rainfall record was broken and copies of the report came in handy as makeshift umbrellas by scurrying staffers. So there was nothing left to do but blame Global Warming. If the rain doesn’t fall, that’s Global Warming. If it does fall, that too is Global Warming. The moonbeam left has traded in God for Global Warming as its universal answer to everything.
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 7:04 AM | Your Say (2)
I am deeply touched by the sudden progressive concern for the security of the United States.
Most of the same people now screaming "RUSSIA!" and accusing President-elect Trump of being the Siberian Candidate, historically have opposed a strong US military, opposed efforts to fight Soviet Communism, laughed at "a Red under every bed" paranoia, derided the CIA as murderers and coup-plotters, wanted immediate US nuclear disarmament, made fun of Romney's concerns about Russia, defended Hillary's use of an insecure server, etc. Lots more, you can fill it in. The DiploMad 2.0: On Russia, AgainPosted by gerardvanderleun at 6:57 AM | Your Say (2)
Power corrupts. And America’s political class has so much power that it is hard not to let the corruption consume everything.
I recently read a blog by Robert Reich, laying out the strategy for “civic resistance” as if he was a college student in Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela.It was comical, coming from a former Cabinet Secretary; it was a little pathetic, reading his final point ‘sit down with your family at your table and come up with your own resistance’, as if the majority of the country were not celebrating so great a change; and it was refreshing. Because if somebody who was at the top of American power is reduced to conspiring over a bowl of cheerios at their kitchen table as a result of the decision of a bunch of ordinary folks on a brisk November morning, then there is hope for America yet!On Destroying New Nobilities | Joel D. Hirst's Blog
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 6:49 AM | Your Say (2)
Send home the clowns.
Its last performance will be May 21 at the Nassau Coliseum. The show stoppers included high operating costs, declining attendance and changing public tastes. Not to mention a long and costly legal battle with animal rights advocates, which ended with its hugest stars — the elephants — being pink slipped. New York Post
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 6:36 AM | Your Say (4)
Obamacare
Speculation on what’s fair begs the main question: how did my health concerns become your problem?If my kids get sick, why is it your obligation to pay? If I get AIDS, why do you have to pay for the expensive drug cocktail needed to keep me alive? And ironically, that cocktail was discovered through the expenditure of tax money, some of which you paid, and now its discovery lays on you the obligation to buy it for me. Why? Where did you get this obligation to save me? You didn’t have that obligation until you paid for its discovery; now my life depends on it, I can’t pay for it, so you must buy it for me; and if you don’t, well, the tax collector can call armed men, and you better not resist them. Or you could join with others to lay the obligation on the rich; all the same to me so long as I get my drug cocktail.Of course few AIDS victims think this way and none talk this way, but that’s how entitlements work: you’re obligated to pay for them, and you’ve no choice in the matter. You got the obligation because lawmakers say you have it, and none of this nonsense about religion, either. You have it because we say you have it, and we’ll hire people to make you pay, don’t doubt that. - – Jerry Pournelle
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 6:21 AM | Your Say (1)
Revised George Carlin: "It's a very small club and you ain't in it."
STARK INEQUALITY: OXFAM SAYS 8 MEN AS RICH AS HALF THE WORLDOxfam used Forbes' billionaires list that was last published in March 2016 to make its headline claim. According to the Forbes list, Microsoft founder Gates is the richest individual with a net worth of $75 billion. The others, in order of ranking, are Amancio Ortega, the Spanish founder of fashion house Inditex, financier Warren Buffett, Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim Helu, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle's Larry Ellison and Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 5:53 AM | Your Say (5)
January 15, 2017
Let’s plan a party
There should be a complete cleansing of the White House … with fire.All the feces and urine soaked rugs, drapes, whatever dragged out and turned into a bonfire. Hose down and scrub the exterior with a surgical disinfectant, rip out the grass and shrubs and plant afresh. Turn that arugula garden into an oil stained parking lot reserved for the military who serve the new President. All day long play John Philip Sousa marches at an ear splitting volume and shoot fire works into the sky while Air Force and Navy jets practice strafing runs on DNC headquarters. The military aircraft will also jettison air-born canisters filled with recruitment notices for a full time Marine firing squad whose sole purpose will be to execute traitors. – - IOTW Report
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 2:31 PM | Your Say (8)
Can Peter Thiel Save California?
Hollywood is a ghost of itself and, frankly, everybody in the Bay Area to down here in Lalalandis living out the umpteenth lifestyle rerun of old Doors and Jefferson Airplane albums fifty, or is it sixty, years later. Hell, we’ve got the same governor we always did for what seems like a hundred years (actually a record 13 years in two sessions) -- His Grooviness Zen Jerry who was supposed to be this great original, this innovator. But can anyone tell me what he has innovated, other than an unbuilt bullet train the Japanese had in 1962 (true -- look it up) and nobody wants anymore? So what if grass is legal. Was it ever really illegal? | Roger L. Simon
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 9:02 AM | Your Say (2)
January 14, 2017
David Brock's "creepy letter" to Bernie Sanders craving forgiveness in exchange for a job.
Give me a job and I'll say anything.
In this hope of employment Brock joins thousands of progressives who find there's "a vastly smaller job market for their skills" in 2017. The job market is about to get even more crowded for Washington Democrats, as thousands of Obama appointees join the hundreds of Clinton campaign staffers looking for employment. There’s rarely been less demand for their services. The End of the Malevolent Familiar
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 8:21 AM | Your Say (6)
Russian "Hacking:" The Early Years
The Russian Spy Who Convinced America to Take ESP Seriously |He told them that the Soviet government actively encouraged such study, and name-checked prominent Russians (from astrophysicists to philosophers) who supported parapsychological inquiry. He described studies in which subjects had been able to perceive images from over a distance of nearly 2,000 miles.
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 7:38 AM | Your Say (5)
January 13, 2017
Musso and Frank Grill
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 7:01 PM | Your Say (9)
I don't write the headlines. I just report them.
Left Wing Vegan Denied Swiss Passport Because She's 'Too Annoying'Posted by gerardvanderleun at 3:15 PM | Your Say (0)
Japanese rock band destroyed a concert venue with a bulldozer as a part of their performance<
when Eye drove a smallbulldozer through the back wall of the venue and onto the stage.The act shocked both the audience and the unwitting owners of the venue. The concert hall suffered significant damage, and the police stormed the venue. Eye was arrested and spent several months in prison, and he also had to cover theexpenses for the repair of the venue, as well as paying a considerable fine. -- Vintage News
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 1:31 PM | Your Say (3)
There’s so much being written, by so many people, that it’s also difficult for great minds to be ‘found’.
Not in the same way as for Solzhenitsyn; an impenetrable insurmountable obstacle between himself and the free word.Today it’s more like Murkwood forest of J.R.R. Tolkien’s imagination. The darkness of irrationality in our post-truth world; the swamp of “celebrity” like a sort of toxic sponge sucking up pages and word counts and column inches; the spiders’ webs of political correctness where our fearlessness gets snagged and sucked dry – our new censors all. Solzhenitsyn, Writing and Our New ‘Curtain’ | Joel D. Hirst's Blog
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 1:14 PM | Your Say (0)
He was always the smiling black guy on the brochure. [Bumped]
That’s something the liberal media will skip over as they write their re-imagined histories of the Obama years. The other thing they will skip is the very superficial appeal of Obama. He was always just a black guy. Liberal whites and blacks supported him because he was a black guy, not because of anything he said or proposed to do as President. It’s why no one ever quotes an Obama speech. He was always the smiling black guy on the brochure. His efforts to promote Democratic candidates failed because that narrow charm is never transferable.
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 10:20 AM | Your Say (16)
Best opening sentence of the year, so far
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 10:13 AM | Your Say (1)
Mystakes Wur Maid
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 9:44 AM | Your Say (3)
If that won't immanentize the Eschaton, what will?
The sporting editors had also given me $300 in cash, most of which was already spent on extremely dangerous drugs. The trunk of the car looked like a mobile police narcotics lab. We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers and also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls. - - Text Patterns - The New Atlantis
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 9:40 AM | Your Say (5)
January 12, 2017
Call it Information Laundering:
Each step along the way, the dirty, unverifiable information is cleaned up just slightly enough to get the next laundromat in line to pretend to clean it up just a little bit more. Easy-peasy: If you can't verify the story itself, report the rumors of the story -- see, the part that this is "rumored" is verifiable. If you've heard it, it is, inarguably, a rumor that's going around. So just shift the narrative frame of the story from "These are the facts" to "The fact is, people are spreading this rumor, which is very important, if true." Always throw that rhetorical hedge in there: if true. You can add a smiley-face-wink emoji to indicate "And man, you better believe this is true, baby!!!" Ace of Spades HQ
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 7:43 PM | Your Say (3)
Why Oreos Taste Worse Today Than You Remember Them Tasting In the Past
In 1994, Nabisco embarked on a nearly three year revamping process of the filling to take the lard out. In charge of this was Nabisco’s principal scientist Sam Porcello, otherwise known as “Mr. Oreo.” By that point, Porcello was already a cookie legend, holding five Oreo related patents, including Oreos encased in white and dark chocolate. By December 1997, the Oreo cookie was lard-free, but there was another problem – the lard had been replaced by partially hydrogenated vegetable oil; yes, the very much not good for you trans fats. As the Chicago Tribune put it, “Later, research showed that trans fat was even worse for the heart than lard.” Finally, in January 2006, healthier (and more expensive) non-hydrogenated vegetable oil was put into Oreos instead. Today’s filing is additionally made with loads of sugar and vanilla extract creating a cookie that still is delicious, but slightly better for you. Or, perhaps more aptly, less bad for you. - - The Origin of the Oreo Cookie
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 12:21 PM | Your Say (10)
PigLife: Amazon's Bezos buys largest house in DC
where the public will be able to see examples and displays of Actual Reporters researching a Story unlike today when the Press gets its stories off the internet. Most interesting is the Fourth Estate room showing how Reporters once did not Care about being Invited to Parties at the White House , but actually Worked for the People, and sometimes actually walked around outside and asked folks questions, and were Proud to be Members of the Fourth Estate, and kept an close eye on Everyone in Washington not just those that disagreed with them. Those were the days when News Reporters did not make a Million dollars a year to be on TV. Unfortunatly if you want to see an actual Journalist , the only place to find one will be in this Museum. Most interesting is the Woodward Bernstein display showing how two reports actually Reseached a Story for years, rather than just reporting it First, in less than two minutes. - - taosnow • | TheHill
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 11:41 AM | Your Say (1)
When a company that appears to doing real work hires a powerskirt to bring diversity to the firm,
it means the insiders have cashed out and no longer think the firm is a good bet. Yahoo made that clear when they hired Marrisa Mayer to diversify the company. She immediately went berserk and started firing men and turning the place into an estrogen circus. Diversity and Reality
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 8:32 AM | Your Say (6)
As Barack Obama gives his farewell speech in Chicago and Donald Trump gets ready to assume office,
it may be useful to reflect on the oath the incoming president will take.
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." It is an oath not to an Arc of History, the Planet or some progressive vision of the future. It's not an oath to Mexico or Europe or the Liberal world order. The text of the oath is a declaration of allegiance to permanent interests of the United States and the people who live in it, as determined by the Constitution and the laws of the land -- or it is nothing. The End of the Hyphen
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 7:38 AM | Your Say (4)
January 10, 2017
“The characteristic of the hour is that the commonplace mind,
knowing itself to be commonplace, has the assurance to proclaim the rights of the commonplace and to impose them wherever it will.As they say in the United States: “to be different is to be indecent.” The mass crushes beneath it everything that is different, everything that is excellent, individual, qualified and select. Anybody who is not like everybody, who does not think like everybody, runs the risk of being eliminated.” - - 3 Bits Of Wisdom From The Philosophy Of José Ortega y Gasset
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 7:38 PM | Your Say (5)
Shrinkflation
Discouraged workers who stop looking for work are no longer classified as unemployed but instead become economically inactive, but clearly many of these people really should be counted as unemployed. Similarly, while government statistical agencies record inflation rates of between one and two percent, measures that use methodologies used in the past (such as John Williams’ Shadowstats measures) show consumer prices rising at annual rates of 6 to 8 percent. In addition, many people have noticed what has been termed ‘shrinkflation’, where prices remain the same even as package sizes shrink. A common example is bacon, which used to be sold by the pound but which is now commonly sold in 12 ounce slabs - - Hypernormalisation
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 11:46 AM | Your Say (13)
The FBI pays computer repair shops to dig around your stuff and report you to the Feds.
The tactic is very old school, but the concept is very modern. The combining of our corporate overlords with our government overlords is a handy way around our remaining constitutional protections. How long before your Alexa gets a guilty conscience and reports your drug taking to the Feds? How long before your copy of Quicken starts talking to the IRS about your cash deposits? - - The Future Stinks|Posted by gerardvanderleun at 9:55 AM | Your Say (5)
January 9, 2017
For one thing, pickles are one of the most calorie-light foods that you can buy in the store.
The brine doesn’t add any calories, but it does add a lot of sodium, which makes it a bit of a wash as a healthy nutrition source. (On the other hand, some athletic trainers swear by pickle juice as a way to prevent cramps, so it has that going for it.) The biggest barrier to enjoying pickles might be the vacuum seal on the jars. That seal creates a high amount of pressure, which means you have to work to twist extra hard. But it can be dealt with. This video helps to explain the science behind the problem, while this clip offers an overview of the various jar-opening techniques out there. The Long, Unusual History of the Pickled Cucumber | Atlas Obscura
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 9:19 PM | Your Say (9)
Advice to Save Your Life: What not to do under gunfire
In almost any shooting situation, you have to run like Jesse Owens out of there. Run away and do not stop until you are behind friendly guns (cops). You may respond that no one can outrun a bullet. That's true, but running away does two things: first, it removes you from the area of anger, of course, but second, it reduces your attractiveness as a target to the shooter. They do not shoot distant people. They just don't, especially with a handgun and even if a shooter does he will very likely miss. - - Many more elements @ Sense of Events
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 4:08 PM | Your Say (19)
Must See TV?
A movie star who became a successful politician in his first bid for office and who then became an actor again after being a politician has now become the star of a reality TV show whose first star has now become a successful politician in his first bid for office. Have I got that right?
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 3:42 PM | Your Say (2)
Is Meryl Streep Persuasive?
Via @GodfreyElfwick: "Meryl Streep openly expressing a mainstream media-approved political opinion is literally the bravest thing a woman has ever done" -- Vote @ Scott Adams' BlogPosted by gerardvanderleun at 10:31 AM | Your Say (5)
Reason #1 Why Americans Don’t Ride Transit:Transit Is Slow
Taken as a whole, urban transit averages 14.1 mph, less than half the speed of driving in most cities (and slower than many cyclists). This doesn’t count the time spent getting to and from transit stops, waiting for transit vehicles, or transferring from one to another, all of which make transit even slower. - - The AntiplannerPosted by gerardvanderleun at 8:16 AM | Your Say (3)
People naturally think the surveillance state will be Orwellian.
No, it will be run by Google and Apple, sold as a market solution to public safety. After all, when it comes to your safety, we can’t let things like freedom, pleasure and privacy get in the way. You’re too important to us! - - CarsPosted by gerardvanderleun at 7:08 AM | Your Say (3)
January 7, 2017
Don't Ask, Don't Tell: The Last Look Back at 2018 You'll Ever Want to Read
What Did We Get Stuck In Our Rectums Last Year?WINE CORK WRAPPED IN PAPER TOWELS, ELECTRICAL TAPE & A CONDOM 10 BROKEN CRAYONS FLASHLIGHTAmong others.
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 9:08 PM | Your Say (8)
January 6, 2017
Across the USA by Train for Just $213
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 11:26 AM | Your Say (30)
We are supposed to understand....
Somehow from all of this we are supposed to understandthat there is something especially unusual, new, and nefarious about what the Russians did this time (as opposed, by the way, to Obama administration attempts to unseat Netanyahu in the Israeli election). We are supposed to understand that the Russian action caused Trump to be elected, which may not have happened otherwise. We are supposed to understand that Trump is in league with our enemies the Russians, now that Russia really is our number one geopolitical enemy. We are supposed to understand that anonymous CIA leaks are fine in this case, and that the WaPo is just trying to inform us of the truth and not trying to influence anything. neo-neocon ｻ Blog Archive ｻ Russian hackers, CIA leakers
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 9:54 AM | Your Say (9)
January 5, 2017
Gramma fuckin' lezzon. Pay fuckin' tenshun.
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 5:58 PM | Your Say (15)
The Kerastase Hair Coach (£160) has been created by Withings, L'Oreal's Technology Incubator,
and Kerastase to help people understand their hair more.By including a microphone that listens to the sound of brushing hair to identify patterns, providing insights into manageability, frizziness, dryness, split ends and breakage, sensors that measures the force, movement, and wetness, and even an accelerometer and gyroscope, the companies hope to help people who really care about these things, measure the quality of hair and the effects of different hair care routines have. Crazy and wacky gadgets of CES 2017: Connected beds, robots, and more - Pocket-lint
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 8:17 AM | Your Say (2)
Seattle gives voters $100 of their own money back in "democracy vouchers"
Let’s recap this process, shall we?Seattle politicians raised property taxes and converted part of the funds into city scrip that can only be spent on … Seattle politicians. And if voters don’t spend it on Seattle politicians, then the money ends up in the hands of … Seattle politicians. Even critics have to be impressed with a scam designed that efficiently. « Hot Air
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 8:06 AM | Your Say (4)
January 4, 2017
The End of Anti-Racism
It’s natural to think that our current taboos are immutable, but think about the things that used to be off-limits that are now common.In my youth, men used to be sent to prison for making or distributing pornographic films. Now, TV is filled with what my parents would have considered to be pornography. The big New Year story was how Mariah Carey had some sort of screw up during her performance. No one noticed that this portly, middle aged mother of two was half naked, wiggling her goodies around on stage. | The Z Blog
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 6:04 PM | Your Say (2)
Barack Obama, the well-dressed, polished, articulate, empty suit,
His divisive rhetoric and actions over the last eight years created the atmosphere for the acrimonious election and the violent protests that followed. His failure to quell the Soros funded Black Lives Matter terrorist organization has resulted in the slaughter of police across the country. Meanwhile, his hometown of Chicago has seen 800 homicides and over 4,400 shootings in 2016 – with over 90% blacks killing blacks. His legacy is one of complete and utter failure, but his hubris knows no bounds, and he actually believes his eight year reign of error was a resounding success. Facts be damned.A BIASED 2017 FORECAST (PART TWO) – The Burning Platform
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 5:43 PM | Your Say (5)
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 5:37 PM | Your Say (21)
Why the Media was 2016's biggest loser
Riffing off Ross Douthat's infamous tweet of Sept. 2015 -- "The entire commentariat is going to feel a little silly when Marco Rubio wins every Republican primary" -- writer Zach Schonfeld notes:
At best, it’s just a dopey prediction—we’ve all made some of those. At worst, it’s an enduring avatar of the cartoonish arrogance and mass-scale humiliation that overtook the pundit class in 2016. It’s a microcosm of the biggest media trend of the year: total humiliation. -- Pajamas Media
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 4:49 PM | Your Say (0)
Make It So
“I want it reported that I drowned in moonlight, strangled by my own bra.“ ~ Carrie Fisher (1956 - 2016)
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 3:01 PM | Your Say (0)
As 2017 begins, the general mood in the so-called mainstream media is a bewildered despond,
captured wellin the opening of a year-end New York Times editorial:Let’s pretend we’re in some cosmic therapist’s office, in a counseling session with the year 2016. We are asked to face the year and say something nice about it. Just one or two things.The mind balks. Fingers tighten around the Kleenex as a cascade of horribles wells up in memory: You were a terrible year. We hate you. We’ll be so glad never to see you again. The silence echoes as we grope for a reply.We said captured well, not written well. A cascade moves downward, not upward. Here’s an example of the correct usage: The tears of unfathomable sadness welled up in the editorialist’s eyes. She clutched a Kleenex as she prepared for them to cascade down her face. Finale - WSJ
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 8:28 AM | Your Say (3)
James Taranto Says Goodbye to "The Best of the Web"
There is something to be said for going out on a high note, and 2016 was a great year for this column. We don’t claim to have gotten the election right—we were surprised, if only mildly, by Donald Trump’s victory—but most journalists were so spectacularly wrong that simply taking Trump and his supporters seriously was enough to put us at least in the top decile, maybe the 98th percentile, of journalistic sagacity. (In the 99th percentile we’d place cartoonist Scott Adams, reporter Salena Zito and, oddly enough, left-wing propagandist Michael Moore.)
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 8:23 AM | Your Say (0)
January 3, 2017
Thomas Sowell
A disciplined and unexciteable controversialist, he rose closest to exhibiting passion when discussing, for instance, the destruction of the black family by the Great Society of Lyndon Baines Johnson — how it arrested the social and economic advancement blacks had been making by their own efforts to overcome the monstrous history of slavery. By its “helping hand” the government rewarded unwed motherhood, punished enterprise, and promoted crime. In addition to family, it undermined religion, and finally helped instal the abortion mills which disproportionally reduce the black population. And all of this by legislation drumrolled from the start with pseudo-Christian moral posturing. : Essays in Idleness
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 4:19 PM | Your Say (5)
IGNORANT MASSES SHOCKED BY PHILLY BEVERAGE TAX IMPACT
The tax, which went into effect on Sunday, is the first one of its kind in a major city in the United States. While the tax is technically 1.5 cents per ounce, which doesn’t sound too terrible, when buying a 10-pack of 20 oz bottles those numbers climb pretty quickly. In this case, a 10-pack of Propel flavored water that originally retailed for $5.99 had an additional three dollars tacked on to it in taxes. Chuck Andrews picked up a $1.77 gallon jug of tea, got home and looked at his receipt. “When I read the receipt I’m like, ‘Wait a minute. I paid more in tax than I did for the product,'” Andrews said. The tax on the $1.77 gallon of tea was $1.92 cents. == – The Burning Platform
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 10:39 AM | Your Say (11)
The Get-Home Cache
I have found that buried with six inches of soil over the top, it can be driven over without damage. While PVC pipes with screw tops are popular, they can be difficult to re-locate, and they take a long time to place, comparatively speaking. A semi-buried cache might be an extra field tile drain next to a real one or two along side a field’s ditch. A tree stump placed among a few others is easily overlooked. One of the roots is used as leverage to raise and access the cache. by The Feral Farmer – SurvivalBlog.com
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 9:59 AM | Your Say (5)
So if mainstream Americans seem not to handle personal street violence well,
it’s because the only people the cameras catch crying and weeping before the thug beats them are(1) the ones who have no situational awareness or (2) the ones who don’t appreciate how dangerous strangers can be to each other. The rest either beat feet out the AO beforehand, avoided that AO to begin with, or are carrying firearms in a pack of friends who also are carrying firearms. And, we don’t believe street violence is legitimate. We don’t very much like all of our laws, but we do very much like for them to be obeyed (hence our impatience with, say, armed robbery over a purse or wallet). So it is quite correct to say mainstream Americans have three speeds: Silence; Peaceful Protest; and Total War. We are very Roman in that latter aspect. From A Reader | Western Rifle Shooters Association
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 9:48 AM | Your Say (0)
the biggest factor in why our clothes aren’t clean and our dishes are dirty.
The government forced soap manufacturers to remove from soap the thing that makes them work for these purposes: phosphates. Phosphates, used in soap from the middle ages until the 1980s, break down the soap after it has done its work and allow the water to wash it away along with the dirt and oil it scrubbed out of the clothes. Now, soaps lack this crucial ingredient. In order to add it back in, you have to go to the paint section of the hardware store and buy it in a box (TSP, the real stuff, not the artificial kind). Add a quarter cup to your wash. You would be amazed at the difference it makes. Things actually get more-or-less clean. Your Shower Is Lame, Your Dishwasher Doesn’t Work, and Your Clothes are Dirty | Foundation for Economic Education [Note: Works for me.]
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 8:59 AM | Your Say (8)
Banished Words List - 2017
You, Sir - Hails from a more civilized era when duels were the likely outcome of disagreements. Today, we suffer on-line trolls and Internet shaming. Focus - Good word, but overused when concentrate or look at would work fine. See 1983's banishment of, We Must Focus Our Attention. Bête Noire - After consulting a listing of synonyms, we gather this to be a bugbear, pet peeve, bug-boo, pain, or pest to our nominators. Town Hall Meeting - Candidates seldom debate in town halls anymore. Needs to be shown the door along with "soccer mom(s)" and "Joe Sixpack" (banned in 1997). Post-Truth - To paraphrase the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, we are entitled to our own opinions but not to our own facts.More at More at the "Listicle " of Lake Superior State University
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 8:34 AM | Your Say (3)
The Woodpile's Ready for Your Fire
I see 'em as the modern version of using the Coliseum as a quarry for building materials, the original is not improved and the pieces don't really fit elsewhere. But hallelujah. No more gawking at dead movie stars whose works are current only at secondhand stores with a VHS bin. Nevermind those under the age of fifty need the bios to find out who they were , and the rest were surprised they were still around. And notice the sweepstakes element: whoever dies closest to December thirtieth gets the most coverage. --- More homespun horse sense at the Woodpile Report
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 8:26 AM | Your Say (0)
January 2, 2017
Traffic is the Price California Pays for Socialism
Californians already pay the most in taxes in nearly every form and facet.
Sales tax, gas tax, income tax, fees, tolls, you name it. Additionally, with more regulation than anywhere else in the country, they pay more for housing, transportation, insurance, and other living expenses, paying essentially a "regulation tax" which further erodes their purchasing power. When you point out this insanity, trying to explain to them that $3,000 for a San Francisco one bedroom apartment is insane, they are quick to explain the ingenious solution Californians have come up with to deal with these rapish-levels of taxation. They simply dismiss it all away and say, "You can't beat the weather!" (Though Bay area residents usually claim "The restaurants are great!") - - Captain Capitalism
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 7:42 AM | Your Say (7)
January 1, 2017
Sorry, But Our Fight Against Liberal Fascism Has Only Just Begun
Understand that they will not stop. They will not change. We must therefore defeat them, because otherwise there will be no peace.As with so much in life, Dolph Lundgren shows us the way, though in this case liberals are less a macho, tough prizefighter named “Rocky” than a 23 year-old gender-fluid Oberlin grad named “Fussy” who lives in Brooklyn off of his/her/xes dad’s money while trying to be a non-rhyming poet.We must keep fighting. We must never give an inch, never back down, never give up. We must respond to every attack upon us, large or small, with overwhelming firepower. But defense is not enough – we must go on offense, seize the initiative, and aggressively destroy anything that will aid liberals in their long-term goal of rendering us silenced and subservient.
The Democratic Party? Smash it.
The mainstream media? Crush it.
Academia? Nuke it ‘til it glows, preferably from orbit.
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 3:11 PM | Your Say (3)
Burning the Old Year
by Naomi Shihab Nye
Letters swallow themselves in seconds.
Notes friends tied to the doorknob,
transparent scarlet paper,
sizzle like moth wings,
marry the air.
So much of any year is flammable,
lists of vegetables, partial poems.
Orange swirling flame of days,
so little is a stone.
Where there was something and suddenly isn’t,
an absence shouts, celebrates, leaves a space.
I begin again with the smallest numbers.
Quick dance, shuffle of losses and leaves,
only the things I didn’t do
crackle after the blazing dies.
"I am happy for her that she wrote that. Last night, friends and I scribbled wishes on wispy sheets of paper. Gossamer parchments. We lit them and they rose up as they burned, the ash falling slowly back down so it could be caught, carefully, and the wish could be made real."Moar Poetree | New West Havens
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 1:27 PM | Your Say (2)
This year will be the year we finally get
Posted by gerardvanderleun at 10:12 AM | Your Say (9)