Conan, what is best in life?

Conan, what is best in life?

"Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women."

One party works that way.
The other party loses.
Fact!

We've seen Cavanaugh's women weeping.

Thoughts On What Kavanaugh Is Accused Of

 Everything below is the absolute truth, according to my best, most possible recollection. I swear it, before God. The names have been changed (and some names not named) for reasons I just think best, since a couple of those involved I still have contact with.



1981.
It was Fourth Of July weekend, and I was headed on a band trip (I was in Youth Band back then... Parades, Field Shows, Concerts... similar to high school bands but not limited to the students within a particular school.)

The band was housed at the local high school, within the auditorium, with free access to the school grounds, locker rooms, and even the swimming pool.
Upon arrival Friday afternoon (this would be July 3rd), we settled in and got acclimated to our new surroundings.
Some played cards, enjoyed the pool, tossed footballs and frisbees, the snare drums wandered off to make noise til it got dark, when things quieted down. Then the weed came out while some (not all) had a little smoke time while looking at the stars
We were headlining the local parade in the morning, and doing a field show soon after. A hangover was not a good thing when you had several hours in the hot sun the next day, so the alcohol largely stayed under wraps the first night.

The next day was the Fourth Of July. We did our performances. The mood was festive, and it was time to enjoy the fireworks and the rest of the evening before we headed back home in the morning. The alcohol came out, and more was procured from the liquor store about a block away.

Charlene and Christine had joined the band just a couple weeks before the trip. They both had just turned 14 (as in, within the past week). 14 was the minimal age to join the band, but others were allowed in, so long as they didn't do any official band things, like competing in a parade, etc...I didn't know their ages at the time. I didn't even know their names yet as I was in the percussion section and we didn't normally mix with the band section during rehersals. I assumed they were a year older or more, because we didn't usually get 14 year olds in the band unless they had an older sibling who was already in it.

I had been drinking beer, but not a lot, slowly nursing a sixer of some cheap stuff.  I had a very low, relaxing buzz that I was maintaining. I was not in any way drunk, and I had not touched any weed that night. I was just relaxing...beer, and cigarettes... a level of chill... ya know?... I found a happy place, and I was happy there...

I was chilling in a court yard with a few others. Maybe tween 4-8 of us were there. I don't remember. Mostly girls, but again, I don't remember for sure....when Charlene walked up, complaining about feeling sick.
I approached her with one of the girls and it was clear that she was drunk. She was looking for a spot to lay down.
We led her over into a corner, where a few girls (2-4, I can't remember) tended to her while she threw up for the next several hours (maybe only 90 minutes, I don't remember for sure, but it seemed like hours at the time.

A couple minutes later Christine walked up,  made a beeline right towards me, wrapped her arms around my neck and collapsed into my arms. She was babbling and giddy. Great! another drunk. And she was really drunk. Couldn't hold herself up.
I still didn't know this girl's name, and now here she is, cuddling up under a tree with me in the courtyard. She was very affectionate, very cuddly, and drunk out of her mind. She didn't know who I was, but she knew she needed my arms on her.

We couldn't let the two girls out of our care.
So, the girls tended to sick and barfie  Charlene, while I tried to settle down Christine, who had let her top down, exposing herself while she cuddled (which, I immediately pulled back up...she was a wearing a one-piece bathing suit type thing, with a pair of shorts).
The other boy (or two that I was chilling with, I cant remember, but I might be able to name one of them. Again, 'might' is not 'can') had fled the scene to less dramatic parts. He was also heavily stoned. (That's why I think I can name him.)

What led up to this?
Hard liquor was produced, and my buddy, Mike, and another boy, Chico, found a hideaway under the bleachers with some other kids, who soon left, leaving Mike and Chico with the company of Charlene and Christine. Making out and heavy petting ensued, whereas both girls lost at least their tops.
Mike and Chico were a bit buzzed, but not drunk. At one point, Mike's alarm bells went off, and asked Chico how much these girls drank.
"Dude, they killed that whole bottle."
Mike said to Chico, something along the lines of, these girls are too drunk,  too young...
Chico agreed.

Soon after,  both girls were in that courtyard, where I was.

Christine remembered going to the bleachers to party with the others, and nothing else after the bottle touched her lips, except for the fact that I played a significant role in her evening.
She didn't remember Mike, or Chico, or Charlene being there.
She knew that I was.
But, I wasn't.

It would have been easy to name me as one of those under the bleachers, because on most such occasions, I would have been there. I had a reputation.
But, that time, I wasn't.
When Christine woke up the next morning she honestly believed that the boy she made out with under the bleachers was the same boy she cuddled with in the courtyard.
Mike was 6'3", athletic, high school basketball player
I was 5'9".

If Mike had done anything that crossed 'that line' with her, I would have been the first one she named. Luckily for her,  Mike was the type of boy who had a sense of honor, and I wasn't forced to defend myself.

The other girls in the courtyard filled Christine in on what happened the night before. How I had looked after her properly, and kept her from further harming herself.
She had little memory of it, except for my presence.
Christine and I became close platonic friends soon after.

1981 was 37 years ago. I was slightly buzzed, and nowhere near drunk on the night I speak of.
A few things I remember vividly. (among them: the smell of Charlene's vomit on the walkway, Christine's brief display of nipples under the moonlight)
Many other memories are fill-in-blank.
Google Earthing the high school we stayed at: The bleachers are not exactly where I remember them. The swimming pool is nowhere near where I remember it being. The courtyard is still exactly as I remember it, with the same pattern of trees/grass/surrounding class rooms. The liquor store is not as far down the road as I remember. And these are things I had full experience with while sober.

A point:
Christine knew that I was the boy under the bleachers. If she had lost her flower that night, it would have been on me. Any polygraph she took would place me as her rapist.

I'm posting this just to illustrate that I don't know/cant honestly or accurately remember everything, or even most things, of what happened on a night that may have scarred at least two drunk 14 year old girls, and likely some others as well.
And I was not drunk that day.

But I do know where I wasn't, on a night when it would be easily credible  for anyone to claim that I was, especially 37 years later.

The Media's Favorite Republican

He would rather oppose his own than oppose his opposition...
This is not a Hero.
He's a punk, and made a career out of being the punk that he was.

The Witch is dead. The Wicked Witch is dead...
Ding Dong.

Plus Ça Change...

With the retirement of Kennedy from the Supreme Court, and the optimum chance presented to President Trump to truly change the court's direction for decades to come,  has been talk of what threat this poses to Roe V Wade.

As a opponent of Roe V Wade, we appear to be on the verge of a moment I never thought I would see in my lifetime.
Let us not forget that Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 85 yrs old, battling a cancer (pancreatic) that almost always wins, and she is not likely to be awake when the next Democrat sits in the Oval Office.

What will this mean?
Immediately, it's hard to say.
We may have riots in the street, or at least another demonstration of angry 'women' (provided the current batch of shrillies hasn't sat down by then.)

All the left really has in the way of debate anymore is anger, rage, name calling and threats of violence (oh, and the enhanced-titted porn star who serves as their 'Mother Teresa'... a real feminist hero there).
I'm going to predict there will be demonstrations up to the moment the new Justice (who will no doubt be a racist, homophobe, nazi mysogonist) is seated.

I think the real riots will wait until that glorious day when Roe is properly overturned, if it ever happens. I have my doubts. I think the best we will see is a weakening of Roe along the edges. Maybe limitations on abortion providers, waiting periods... but not much else.

As much as some people might say that they want a total ban on abortions, I'm aware that Virtue Signaling happens on both sides.
It's easy to come out in favor of a policy when you know there is no real chance you will have to abide by it.
I don't believe enough of them mean it.
Too many people have gotten used to having the 'Out', even if they would never use it, to want to get rid of it. Some Genies can't be put back into the bottle. This is one of them, though I see it more as a Pandora's Box.
Even states that currently have laws banning abortion will not be able to enforce them, or will have to radically alter them.

The fight for Life, and it's sanctity, can only happen person to person, heart to heart, one sacred life at a time. We must change the culture, and laws cannot do that.
Intellectual persuasion, when allowed to bloom, can play a strong role in that slow moving process.
Combine that with a loving heart, and the odds increase ten-fold.
I'm no intellectual.
But I do know what love is.
This will continue to be my role in the struggle going forward...
Person to person,
Heart to heart,
One sacred life at a time.

Plus c'est la même chose.

The Longer Game

Caveat: It's still early stages, and far too soon to see how this will play out.

Kim, despite his reported unpredictability, is actually fairly predictable. Just because somebody behaves in a way that you think he should not, doesn't make him unpredictable. It just tends to make you look stupid when he acts according to form.

Papa Trump is not unpredictable, either. One thing we know about Trump is that his words eventually will result in something. A tower. A Casino. A deal. It's the mold he was cut from and he knows no other way.
Unlike the typical American President, he is a man of action. Not words.
He will do, or say, what needs to be done or said, to get his end result.
He builds towers.
Tangible things.
He's not selling 'pie in the sky' dreams, and he never has.


Trump apparently made it very clear to his 'good friend' Xi (of China) that a nuked up Nork was not acceptable, and wouldn't be acceptable to Xi as well. (I suspect Papa read my blog.)

Kim wants to be somebody big.
Huge.
Worthy of the adulation he inherited.
This week, he accomplished something neither his Father nor Grandfather never could have dreamed of: to share the stage as an equal to the President of The United States. 
One of only Two.
(Remember...  when his father insisted, and failed, to be included as one of seven? or was it five? does the difference matter at this point?)
Jon-Un did even better than that...
One to One.
Followed up with possible invitations to The White House, and maybe even Mar-a-Lago!
(Personally, I find the image of Kim playing golf in the Florida humidity while wearing his long-sleeved grey Mao suit rather humorous. I soooo want to see that.)

If this process continues, Kim will be de-nuked; and his bitter and brutal regime will continue without fear of United States aggression...
for a while...
His regime will have to open up, because it will no longer be able to use United States aggression as an excuse to exist in it's current form.
Remember: Papa Trump has offered to help build NK into a prosperous nation; the equal of it's southern neighbor.
This will not happen without some 'opening up'.
As his nation begins opens up, the lie will be exposed, and the people will revolt.

<<
Hello! Nicolae Ceausescu.
Elena, too.
(or should I say 'Goodbye?')

Remember (I do) just a few days prior, he was celebrated in their parliament with the cry of "Rumania! Communism! Ceausescu!"
He was so in charge...


Forget the high praise and the kind words that Trump is offering Kim right now, and most likely will continue to offer for the distant future.

If you want to know how Papa really feels toward the Kim regime, go ahead and You Tube his State of the Union speech...
...and remember how often Papa has said that Otto Wormbier's death has not in vain.  Say what you want about his ego. Papa's heart is just as big. (He stay's in touch with Otto's family.)

The path Trump has laid out for Kim will lead directly to his fall.
I do believe that Trump knows this.
May that fall be brutal as fuck.

Viva Trump!

Per The Washington Press Corps

After comity had been killed off, comedy had to be next.

Getting Deeper

Today, the Inspector General issues another part of his report, and along with it a criminal referal of Andrew McCabe for lying to the FBI, no less than four times.

If we are to have an honest rule of law in this country, or a semblance of it, McCabe will be indicted soon.

Same day, the DOJ finally felt enough heat to release the James Comey memos. One thing that we can know for near certainty, according to Comey's own, hand written words, is that the only honest player in this matter has been the Papa himself, and Comey is the bold-faced, corrupt liar... as he does his book tour declaring that Papa is unfit due his dishonesty. Oh, the irony...

Comey himself should also come indictment in due time.

Will Rod Rosenstein, the real Attorney General, every bit a part of this tag team of corruption out to destroy an election, throw his buddies under the bus to save himself?
Consider the level of character currently displayed at the highest levels of the DOJ, the answer is yes! Yes, he will.

If justice is served, these men will go to jail.

Which brings up another question: How many of those who involved themselves in the promotion of the Clinton Machine have gone to jail so far?
Now add these two, and it may not even be over yet...
While Bill and Hillary carry on in their merry ways.

Swamp Font

Born to the highest level of privilege...

Her husband, similarly born,  opened the doors to 'doing business' with China's communist dictatorship.
Together, they promoted that relationship to last into the future...
that's right: they promoted a Communist  Dictatorship... let that sink in for a moment or two..


Her man also refused to follow up on  Ronald Reagan's plan to enforce the border in exchange for the 1986 amnesty... flooding the nation with cheap labor designed to undercut the wages of the American working class, along with those of law-abiding immigrants.

Story short: her husband undercut the Rule Of Law in this country at it's most basic and defined point: our borders.

Moving forward,
 ..her husband's policies were furthered by Bill Clinton, a man whom she would come to regard as 'another son'...

To be followed into power by her own seed, the fruit of her womb, who never passed up a chance to admonish the American working class for not working as cheaply as their favored Mexican, foreign-born, illegally-obtained labor force...

In addition to that, her other sons were heavily involved and connected with transnational banking corporations... becoming ever more wealthy at the expense of her own citizens...

Until another of her seed stepped forth to finish the job her husband and first son started...

Jeb! was pounded into the dirt by Papa in their first debate. (Viva Papa!)

She never forgave Papa for that... for his defense of America's working class.
In her eyes, a real leader for America was supposed to sell out Americans, while speaking in the words of the Ivy League (ya know...like her Hubby and Sons did... lies, all of it)

" By their fruits you shall know them."

 Satan is a deceiver, as the Bible tells us...

Satan does not always appear in the form of a goat, walking like a man, fire from his nostrils...

He may very well  come to us as an old grey mare, speaking lovingly, pearls round her neck...

I've seen the fruit of her womb, and have suffered under it.
I mourn not.

Go to hell, Bitch.. you've already lived in Heaven...at the expense of those others who never mattered to you.

Ride Or Die

A year ago, it clearly looked as if the Trump Presidency was in grave danger. Not that Papa did anything wrong. There was never any evidence of that.
It was about the forces arrayed against him.

As Upchuck Schumer himself said, (and I paraphrase) the Intelligence Community has several ways til Sunday to fuck you.

Home Truth: the Deep State calls the shots, and you'd better not be standing on the wrong end of the shooting range.

This has changed,  and quickly so...

With the Inspector General Report coming out at the same time as Comey's embarassingly silly (and stupid) bodice ripper; while McCabe resorts to that online fundraising thing, GoFundMe, to provide his legal defense...
(begging yet another question: if you did nothing wrong... why would you need a GoFundMe when you haven't been charged with doing anything?
GoFundWhat?
You are innocent of everything.
A high ranking FBI agent.
An Untouchable, as they say.
Nothing there.
You said so.
Unless, of course, you are lacking candor?
Again?
Tell me it ain't so)

It's looking more and more to me, that the shots being taken against Papa are actually shats in the shorts of those who are taking the shots
It's becoming ever more evident.
My Trump hating 'news feed' is getting freakishly quiet...

Today, Papa gave Scooter Libby a pardon.
Scooter. Libby.
Yes, that one... the swamp creature of the Marc Rich pardon.
This is waaay  beyond the first three levels of WhatTheFuck?!

Now, I've mentioned my opinion of Scooter Libby before.  I do believe that the nation, maybe even the whole world, would be a better place if he and his homies were not a part of it.
That said, his homies wield much power within the swamp, and he serves as a sort of martyr to them.
Truth: he is a martyr.
I don't need to explain the story. If you are reading this blog, you already know it.

So what, pray tell, is going on?

First off, we now have a press corps reporting that an Independent Counsel can be biased, dishonest, self-serving and corrupt... it's called 'setting the stage' for what comes next.
So, what is coming next?
Let me tell you...

What this pardon does is score points among the swamp things who's support Papa will need going forward, while also sending a message to those in Papa's army who may/will be martyred in the bitter struggle to take him down: Papa holds the power, the ultimate power. He's got your back if you are willing to 'ride or die'.
(Side note: W left the homie out to dry. Who's the better man, now?)

A brilliant move.

Papa is on offense.
The enemy is on it's heels.

The tide is turning

The 15:17 To Paris

Wow... It's been 10 days since my last post. Sorry... I got busy... kinda

We all remember that incident that took place in France, when three young American men took down a terrorist on a train? Yeah... That's what this is about.

It's kind of a risky venture for Clint Eastwood to put together. Seriously, how do you produce a full length feature about an incident that only lasted a few minutes? It's a recipe for suck.

Or is it?

15:17 To Paris isn't so much about those fateful few minutes that brought these young men to fame. It's about normal, everyday friends, three young people, finding their way in the world... their failures and successes along the way... and what brought them to 'be there' when that moment arrived.

It's a lesson that we can learn, and most likely, many of us have... because it's been demonstrated already...

Every American knows about Flight #whatever, on 9/11, when the passengers stepped up...
This is the same story, with a different ending...
But the story is still the same.
It is, and will be, a lesson and inspiration to every American (and some non-Americans)... to 'step up'...
seize that moment...
do not cower... 
act!.

It's about finding heroism in everyday people.
The film itself isn't boring, but not that engaging either...
Til the 'moment' occurs...
And that moment is messy, complicated, and gripping.
It is depicted as it happened.

Three American dudes... being American dudes...meeting their moment... and matching it.
They made America proud... just because they were who they were. Americans! We are like that.. they didnt come from Canada... right?
Canada is a pussy nation.
Manliness is frowned upon.. that why they elected Justin as their leader...

Clint Eastwood took a huge gamble by casting the real life people to play themselves (Anthony
Sadler, Alek Skarletos, Spencer Stone.)
They are not actors, and it shows. If you are looking for 'actor' type performances, it's not here.
But maybe you can respect three young, American men portraying themselves as three, young American men?... there is a real-world realism here. They are not actors. They are not acting.
I appreciated that.
It works here.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, I strongly recommend it.
It is unique, from a movie-craft sense...
and it is unique in it's depiction of normal people doing hero-type stuff, not because they wanted to, ...they did it  because they were there...
 being who they are.
We can all be heroes, if we do what is right.

Grab the moment.

Viva Trump!

So, Mueller  has decided to indict 13 Russians for 'meddling' in our democracy.

What's new here? The Kremlin has been meddling in American politics since the 1950's and probably sooner than that.
It's not even open for debate.

This is a fig-leaf. Mueller is trying to provide cover for his lack of manhood.
Everybody knows that none of these indicted will ever see a courtroom.

Meanwhile, it's already known that real collusion with foreign forces happened with the Clinton campaign.

It is also known, that real meddling in our democracy was performed by the Obama administration in concert with the FBI and the Clinton campaign.
There won't be any indictments there, though.
The FBI isn't about justice.
It's about politics.

And...Mueller is nothing more than a low-level Cuck.. but as long as he's getting a paycheck... what difference does it make?

Thoughts On The Week

-It's been an interesting week. I don't want to talk too much about that school shooting in Florida. Much has already been said, and too much will still be said as partisans point fingers at each other...
And nothing will change.

-One thing I do know, is that things like this touch you more when it touches your family.
My cousin's daughter was in that school as the shit was going down, and the perp was captured 1/2 block from my cousin's house. We talked last night. He's a bit shook up, of course, but grateful his daughter was now home and safe after spending a couple hours hiding in a closet.

-And, now it comes out that the FBI was tipped to this shooter guy, and they couldn't find him? This is bullshit. The FBI can find anybody they want. I can find almost anybody I want, with 1/10th of their resources. They did not want to. Maybe they were too busy trying frame President Trump?

-We've been told since 9/11. "If you see something, say something." It isn't 'we' who are guilty.  The Feds could have stopped this guy. They did not. It wasn't a failure on their part. It was lack of will.

-You've all seen the official portrait of President Obama. Did you laugh out loud, too?
Portrait-wise, the artist did a good good job. It looks like him, but those hands are just too big.

Add, that the artist inserted his trademark sperm cell onto The President's forehead... against the backdrop of Wrigley Field (I thought he was a White Sox fan...)... and the whole thing just seems kinda silly. It's not dignified. Not at all.

Worse thing yet, President Obama chose this artist.
His final act as President.
How fitting that he, alone, got the 'happy ending' .






-That Michelle Obama portrait?
It doesn't look like her at all. That face is lacking in personal detail, and could easily represent 50% of the Black female population. (Maybe the artist thinks that they all look alike?)

I've seen faces on toast that look more like Michelle than this.

The arms,hands and fingers look like they came from an orangutan. Seriously. Look again?

I believe Michelle chose her portrait painter, as well.
But, hey... at least she doesn't have sperm on her forehead. She kept her dignity, if it's really her.






-I saw Twelve Alone. It's a good movie, really well put-together without too much suspension of belief. That's about all I can say about it. There wasn't much acting involved. Not much of a 'story'. Played like a documentary more times than not. Not much to critique when not much is offered. Go see it. It is worth well the ticket price,


-Donald Trump spent many years promoting himself as a Playboy billionaire. We all know this.
Did he bang the porn star? Who cares? It's a porn star. It's what they do.
It's not like he used his status to take advantage of/abuse a starry-eyed intern, or the White House secretary pool.

-Both of you may have noticed... I'm making an attempt to blog more often. Fact is, after all I've been through, and still going through... I sought some guidance from an expert.
He's a cool dude, more like me than I am like him.
We click, and... I recently used my expertise to unite him with his long-lost younger brother...that he spent 11 plus years looking for.

-"You can do this?" ... watch me work....

-Yeah... he thinks I'm kinda cool right now.

He advised me to resume blogging, to keep my mind straight... a discipline... take the time to do something that does not benefit anybody else. Take the time, to be you, for you.

"You have spent too much time being what others needed you to be... for them. You see the issue here?"

-He's asking questions that I do not want to answer.  He's also providing answers to questions that I didn't realize were there.

- I take care of my own yard, and change my own oil. Most people pay others to do the most basic things of life for them. They might look down upon me for talking to somebody... but, at least I'm capable, and willing, to change my oil and take care of my yard, without hired help.

-most of all... I'm willing to admit that I sought help/guidance in times of trouble... I didn't pay somebody to make shit right in other peoples' eyes. I'm paying somebody to help me be right with myself. My life, and my eyes, are all that matters to me. I don't give a fuck what you think. I never should have.

America's Wisest Wise Man

Victor Davis Hanson calls out the entire Republican establishment, playing St. Peter at the Pearly Gates reading off their list of sins.
*Link*

And then takes a hard shot at George W Bush:

George W. Bush, a good man without malice, nonetheless last week illustrated why Donald Trump is president.
While in Dubai, Bush criticized the Trump Administration’s lack of progress on immigration reform. Then he weirdly noted, “Americans don’t want to pick cotton at 105 degrees, but there are people who want to put food on their family’s tables and are willing to do that.”

Where to start when Republican elites confirm their own stereotypes?
First, Republicans should agree with Churchill’s dictum about the inadvisability of criticizing one’s government while in a foreign country: “When I am abroad I always make it a rule never to criticize or attack the Government of my own country. I make up for lost time when I come home.” Bush repeatedly followed that guidance when he insisted that he would not attack Barack Obama—even at home. But not now.

Second, Bush is far more critical of Trump’s efforts to reach a compromise on DACA and border security than he was of Barack Obama’s illegal and politically expedient 2012 pre-reelection executive order nullifying immigration law and enforcement. Whether he intended it or not, Bush’s “woke” emergence as a megaphone after eight years of hibernation, confirms the impression that Republican elites were always much closer in spirit to their Democratic counterparts than they were to their own so-called grassroots conservative base. Translated, they mildly were displeased with the Obama agenda, but loathe Trump’s.

Third, how incoherent were Bush’s cotton-picking riffs! (He may not have realized it, but Bush put a 21st-century spin on 19th-century plantation owners’ pleas that they needed imported chattel African labor because American workers were neither acclimatized to heat nor inexpensive enough to pick cotton in scorching Southern temperatures). Bush substantiated the stereotype of crass corporate concern (note the inadvertent contempt in “willing to do that”) that trumps both the law and the idea of promoting the wages of U.S. entry-level workers—as well as general popular cluelessness about illegal immigration in general.

I disagree that Bush was a man without malice.
His policies toward illegal immigration inflicted a lot of malice upon my class of people, and furthermore, he saw fit to insult us when we complained about it.
But the rest is spot on. This Hanson guy... seems to be the only one who 'gets' anything at all sometimes.

But he didn't stop there. He correctly calls out the NeverTrumpers as hypocrites:

The Trump catharsis has shown that about 10 percent of the Republican Party, the NeverTrumpers, was largely apolitical. That is, former cornerstone positions of deregulation and tax reform, oil and gas production, charter schools, deterrent foreign policy, restoring friendship with Israel and moving the embassy to Jerusalem were apparently always secondary to the more important criterion of offering a mild, sober and judicious frown to progressivism, through discerning losers like George H.W. Bush, John McCain, or Mitt Romney.

Such a Republican elite was so embedded within American establishment institutions as to be both immune from the economic stagnation of an Obama neo-socialist revolution (remember income inequality soared under Obama) and in no real need of a Reagan revolution or Trump’s often messy radical push-back against progressivism.

Its creed was not really, as advertised, the ethics of “losing nobly is better than winning ugly,” but rather the snobbery of “losing a cultural image is worse than winning a political agenda.” Put more bluntly, it is better to put up with a socialist with a “perfectly creased pant” than a prairie-fire conservative in rumpled Walmart slacks.

 Victor Davis Hanson may never be allowed to write for National Review again after these remarks.

Read the whole thing. There's a lot there.

Den Of Thieves

It is common for Hollywood to insert local Los Angeles scenes, landmarks and various other references to the local region in their projects. It was always the other side of Los Angeles, though. The side that was never a part of my Los Angeles existence.. minus the occasional gangster/ghetto flick set in Compton/South Central.
As a matter of fact, the 'local' news networks never covered anything that was local to me. We basically didn't much exist.
Out of sight, out mind, as they say.

And that is basically how the people at the business end of Los Angeles' wealth and glitter scene viewed  anything south of the wretched Imperial Highway Corridor. In actuality, once you survive passing through that corridor, things get a little cleaner... and much cleaner as you pass further toward the Palos Verdes Peninsula, with it's 2-3 million dollar homes.

The Imperial Highway Corridor intersects with what is known as the Harbor Gateway Corridor, along I-110 (known as The Harbor Freeway), ending at the Port of Los Angeles.

The region trapped against the coast by these two corridors of suckage is called The South Bay. It's a different scene, a different mix of cultures, creating a separate identity due it's cultural isolation from what most people think of as Los Angeles. Part of The South Bay also includes a few localities more culturally and politically associated with what is called South Los Angeles. The communities of South Los Angeles contain a lot of suckage.
It is in this world where I grew up, in the City of Gardena, that straddled the  nicer South Bay and less so, Harbor Gateway to the east and Imperial Corridor to the north.
On the map to the right >>> My home was located where the 'n' and the 'a' meet in 'Gardena'. (Clicking on the map makes it bigger.)

Needless to say, I, like most from Gardena, preferred to look westward when it came time to leave the house. I spent most of my life after age 15 (when I acquired motorized transportation) in the land that lay west. (you would have, also).

Never have I seen a movie that was scripted, set, and filmed almost entirely in the isolated land that I had spent the first half of my life stomping through. And this is where Den Of Thieves got my attention, in the very first scene, showing the Gardena Memorial Hospital and the Hustler Casino... both of which are 4-5 blocks from my childhood home, that my mom still occupies.

Enough background... on to the film...
Gerard Butler plays Detective Nick o'brian, who leads of rough and tough crew of street detectives monitoring a crew of well-organised and clever thieves who have been robbing banks.
They set their sights on a grand prize, the local Federal Reserve... the bank to the banks.

Several of the plot twists along the way, as some of the characters are developed, might leave one scratching their head... but all come together toward the end, as the thieves and detectives attempt to outwit each other, ending in a shootout worthy of  "Heat" while stuck in that all-to-familiar South bay phenomenom: a traffic jam where you least expect it!

Props to the creator of this film, Christian Gudegast, for making this so real. All the references to the local scene are here, from South Bay only slang terms, tattoo styles, the mix of ethnics (yes, Samoans are a real presence here), a vague reference (simply 'Harbor') to the county hospital/trauma center (where you go after you been shot), even a remark about the ethnic make-up of a high school football team vs another (from a school where I had a lot of friends from).

Go see it. It's a good movie.

"All Babies Are Gerber Babies"

At least they are, now...

When we were expecting our kids we voluntarily had what ever neo-natal screening was available. I know they checked for Spina Bifida. They probably screened for Downs, too.

Our intent was to be fully prepared for whatever special needs the Lord was going to be blessing us with.

Unfortunately, too many people don't think like we did... and those who test positive were, and still are, aborted.

As it stands today, somewhere over 90% of American babies with Downs are aborted.

Thank you Gerber, for making Downs babies our babies, again.
More at the link.

Hostiles

Hey, look... It's another movie critique!
What the??
Yeah, I know...
It's been a while since I offered one up.
Why?...
Because...
It's been a while since I'd seen a movie.
A couple years, I think. Maybe longer. I just didn't like all the comic book type fare Hollywood was producing and I decided to boycott.

After years of slumber, I looked up to find...
Wow!, the creative class has started creating again.
There are some good films out there at the moment.

Had a much needed 'Mom date' today, and took the old lady to the movies. She likes Westerns. Okay, enough of about me..
On to what matters...

Hostiles is a story based upon a soon-retiring Calvary officer (a decades-long, seasoned and bloodied veteran of the Indian Wars) being ordered to safely return an aging and dying Chief (a personal nemesis), to spend his last moments in his ancestral lands.

This is not a match made on earth. Both  men hate each other. For very honest reasons. And this is where the honesty of the story ends.

80% of what happens next, is total, fucking, bull shit.

Along the way. they encounter hostiles of their own, they fight against them... yadda yadda,
The aged, murderous Indian (who is presented as gentle and brave) is wiser and more sincere than his hateful, bigotted White enemy... more yadda...

NOW you can see where the Hollywood crowd totally loves this movie.

In a latter scene, this group of noble Indian prisoners ally with their 'woke' White captors... to fend off a crew of Indian hating White men... and this is where the film totally lost me.
As a former bondsman, I have received some small amount of training as to how to react/defend when facing a hostile man, or four... It's called Tactical Training.

I'm sitting there... like... what the fuck are you doing???? You're all gonna die... you're asking for it!

Keep in mind... this band of now-brothers is led by a seasoned Indian war chief, and a highly successful and bloodied, 25 year veteran Calvary Officer... these are not combat stooges.
Yet, there they are... totally stooged out.
The movie ended for me in that moment.
Yeah, the film rolled for another 15-20 minutes or so... but I wasn't even in the room anymore. Could no longer suspend belief for the sake of  escapism...Not emotionally/intellectually, anyway.

I'm talkin... 'Bondsman 101' here..., pretty basic stuff ...

Until this moment, I was willing to forgive some of of the plot induced 'head scratchers' (what was that? i'm not sure... yeah, those moments)

"The best western since 'Unforgiven' " Hollywood tells us... I guess nobody in Hollywood saw '3:10 To Yuma', which I have favorably reviewed on these same blog pages.

On to performances...

Christian Bale was pretty awesome here. He is a real actor. . I thought he delivered his complex character pretty well... but toward the end... would have been nice if his facial expression changed somewhat. I don't blame him. He's an employee, following his director's  direction. The Director failed him. Myself... I would totally enjoy being who he was here...


Wes Studi was splendid playing the role of Wes Studi. This dude has one role in Hollywood, and he nailed his one role perfectly... for the umpteenth time... 'Mailing it in' is easy to do when it's the only letter you write.

Everybody else could have been played by... anybody else... This is a not a deep film.

Two weeks ago, I saw a direct-to-video Western on HBO.
"In A Valley Of Violence" is a fine Western of the old school, with good acting from Ethan Hawke and (surprise!) John Travolta.
Look that one up.
You'll thank me

State Of The Union, Some Thoughts...

I haven't sat through a SOTU since the Reagan years, and that's a long time for somebody who tries to keep abreast of things. I just find them all to be dog and pony shows, layered with pomp and bullshit.

On to my thoughts...

-I find it curious that all those DREAMERs chose to sat on their hands throughout the speech. A nice gesture of respect for the country you say owes you something, and the only President who's going to give it to you.

-Luis Guiterez, Congressman from Mexico El Norte, got triggered near the end, when the chamber was shouting U-S-A! U-S-A!... and had to get up and leave. Talk about disrespect. Love it, or leave it, you foreign fuck.

-Nancy Pelosi needs some Polident.

-Can somebody buy Chuck Schumer a lunch, because Trump just ate his.

-I thought it amusing seeing the Black Caucus draping themselves in garb from a shithole culture  they don't want to live in. What was their point again?

-Lot's of 'we' in this address, and not many 'I'. I like that about a leader.

-The Democrats clearly don't approve of standing for the National Anthem. I'm sure they would have roared at mention of Himno Nacional Mexicano.  They'd be horrified by it's lyrics, if they knew them:

 (Gird, Oh Fatherland!, your temples with olive
by the peace of the Divine Archangel,
for in heaven your eternal destiny
was written by the finger of God.)

But they'll get to that when it's more politically convenient.

-Five Democrat responses!!!
 Five!!!!! 
What? It takes five of your best coached and most telegenic hacks to equal the One Real Donald Trump?


-I admit it. I teared up when President Trump mentioned MS13, and those four parents stood up. Did you look at their faces? The pain was real. Terrible thing to lose a child. Worse still, to lose one because of governmental outlawness. I'm willing to bet Pelosi, Schumer, and Guiterez do not have the balls to look those parents in the eye. I'll bet W and Jeb! don't have the balls, either.


- What the fuck was that 'official' Democratic response? At a time when that party is in dire need of fresh blood and ideas, they trot out somebody named Joseph Kennedy, sporting the 'right' hairdo? I'm like... did they really just do that? America is over the Kennedy's. There's a recent movie about that family's corruption, put out by Hollywood, even!
Let me help you out. 'Camelot' , a three year media construct, ended 54 yrs ago,  (hat tip: Lee Harvey).
Your migrant/DREAMER voters have no memory of the 'Camelot' construct. They weren't here back then. That's what 'migrant' means, ok?

-Your royal family/entitlement jig is up, fucker... get off the stage.
But you can't... you were born with a free lunch,... and now you think that you're presence among us is the 'bag of chips and a soda' that we were looking for.

-And whats with that 'garage theme' with the broken car? Is that what Democrats promise us? Broken
cars we can't afford to fix? Adds a different meaning to the phrase 'a car in every garage'.

-Less Carmex, and fewer studio lights... so you don't look like you're drooling three minutes into you're made-for-TV charade.

-and again... maybe they were intending to appeal to millenials... you know, those losers with a college degree (and debt)  with no marketable skills, unwilling to do real work for a living... residing in their parent's garages, with cars they cant afford to fix...

-and again, if you want Americans to identify with you, do not speak in a foreign language while trying to woo them. Unless, of course, you had no intention of wooing us.

-this is why you lost us, among other reasons.

-keep doing it. It tell us who you are.

-the more you speak Spanish, and wave Mexico flags, the more we vote for Trump.

-that Korean guy, with crutches... WOW... he was not an American... he doesn't want to be one. He is a Korean, being the best Korean that he can be... an inspiration to all people, everywhere.

-The President was right to bring up the horrors of the North Koreans, and criticize the previous Presidents who kicked the can down the road. I believe Rocket Man's days are numbered, and he will not survive the Trump presidency. I don't know how he will go down, I just believe that Trump ain't playing.

-It was good to see my social media feed go strangely quiet for the night. It's still quiet today. I guess it's hard to speak up when the President kicks you in the nuts.

-Viva Trump! This is the President I voted for. God bless him, for all days.