Happy New Year!

Ready or not, here comes 2018:

All of us on the blogging team here at Always On Watch wish you a happy and healthy 2018.

Now it's your turn. Answer one or more.

"The Narrative"?

Is the term the narrative actually a euphemism for the latest political lie harped upon ad nauseam?

Pick any "narrative." Is that narrative aligned by political party or is that narrative not aligned by political party?

Recent narratives...

Democrats: "The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 will hit the middle class hard and panders to the rich."

Republicans: "The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 gives tax breaks to the middle class, and the tax breaks for the rich will stimulate the economy."

Is not one of the above so-called narratives an outright lie?  Hmmmmm?

WHAT IS TRUTH?

Additional reading and worth your time: Trump's Tax Plan and How It Would Affect You.

A Christmas Visitor

Posted by Warren

(Originally posted on "Longrange" for Christmas 2004)

4:00 am 12/24/04

There was a knock on my front door which startled me awake. My dogs were barking which required my dire threats to quieten them as I answered the door.

Maybe you have heard of our weather and the unusually cold temperatures and large amount of snow that has fallen in the last 24 hours. I live just south of Interstate 64 in Southern Indiana and you may have seen the news about the closed Interstate and stranded motorists on the national news.

A man in his early fifties, about my own age, stood at the door. He was wearing tennis shoes, jeans, a field jacket and sock hat. His glasses were frosted and his pale white hands and reddened knuckles gave witness that he wore no gloves.

He told me he was lost and asked for directions to a certain address. I told him that he missed his mark by a mile and a half and asked him where his car was. He said he was walking.

I invited him in and sat a chair for him by the warm air from the furnace vent. He was shivering uncontrollably and a faint whiff of alcohol was on his breath. I asked if I could fix him something to eat but he refused and accepted a hot cup of coffee.

My wife talked to him as he warmed himself and I could hear him speaking as I prepared his fresh coffee.

My son heard his voice and came into the living room to sit and listen, and to watch, just in case.

His story unfolded.

Musical Interlude

How about some easy listening?  Here is The Dean Martin Christmas Album in its entirety (Reprise Records, 1966; reissued, Sony Music CMG CD, 2017):


All the tracks in order: "White Christmas," "Jingle Bells," "I’ll Be Home for Christmas," "Blue Christmas," "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", "Marshmallow World," "Silver Bells," "Winter Wonderland," "The Things We Did Last Summer," and "Silent Night."  Of these selections, "Silver Bells" is my personal favorite.

About this album from the blog I Love Dino Martin, a blog site to which I occasionally contribute as a guest blogger.

Bill Whittle on The Narrative: The origins of Political Correctness

There are several ongoing narratives. In the 2012 video below, Bill Whittle explains the Marxist background behind the ongoing narratives pushing the world to the Left:


Note that, since this video was first posted, how some of the mentioned narratives are now accepted as infallible truths — even by those who pride themselves on not falling for false narratives.

Musical Interlude: Advent 2017

Enjoy!

[about "I Saw Three Ships"]

More About The Swamp

(Two posts today, and they are related.  Please scroll down)

It's not a swamp. It's a cesspool!

In spite of their length, please watch these two videos from December 13, 2017 hearings in the House of Representatives:

and

Is it any wonder that so many Americans have lost faith in our so-called public servants?

Related reading: DOJ provides Congress with hundreds of texts between ex-Mueller team agent Peter Strzok and alleged mistress Lisa Page.

The Trump Effect On The Enemedia

The Enemedia being held to account is a wonderful thing!

First:

Leaked Tape from ABC News Shows Trump Has Media on the Ropes.

Then:

.@DaveWeigel @WashingtonPost put out a phony photo of an empty arena hours before I arrived @ the venue, w/ thousands of people outside, on their way in. Real photos now shown as I spoke. Packed house, many people unable to get in. Demand apology & retraction from FAKE NEWS WaPo! pic.twitter.com/XAblFGh1ob

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 9, 2017

Additional reading for both Trumpers and NeverTrumpers to peruse: President Donald Trump's Accomplishment List.

A Dose Of Honesty

Spew alert!

This dude tells DeBlasio and Cuomo off! BEST video I have seen all day! #Manhattan #NY pic.twitter.com/qc8Lq59yOF

— Kambree Kawahine Koa (@KamVTV) December 12, 2017

Pastorius commented as follows when he posted the above at Infidel Bloggers Alliance in a blog post entitled "A New Yorker Expresses Real Man-On-The-Stree Outrage At Yesterday's Jihad Attack":

Our Changing Society

Thanks to the Duke of Pedalonia, who left this comment at this blog post by FreeThinke — and thereby called to the attention of readers at that thread just how drastically our pop culture has changed and is still changing.

Read the Real Clear Life essay to which the Duke of Pedalonia linked: Should Classic Films Be Judged By Today’s Cultural Standards? We can no longer "thank heaven" for little girls. Excerpt:

...Let’s put aside the fact that in an era when women don’t cotton to the term girls, we really are discussing female juveniles: our daughters, or perhaps our past selves. In fact, as we watch Chevalier stroll through the sumptuous sets of the Bois de Boulogne, the Alan Jay Lerner lyrics are even worse than I remember: “Each time I see a little girl; Of five or six or seven; I can’t resist a joyous urge; To smile and say; Thank heaven for little girls.” Just wow – and how can this guy sing and smile at the same time? Pedophilia has never looked, well, so gleefully appealing.

Because let’s face it, the musical, based on the Colette novella, centers on the unsettling practice of grooming....

Read the rest HERE.

Before commenting, please pause for a moment to consider this about the film Gigi:

A 1958 musical film version, starring Leslie Caron in the title role, with a screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner and a score by Lerner and Frederick Loewe won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Read many more details about the film HERE.

Consider again the essay to which the Duke of Pedalonia linked at FreeThinke's blog....

Should classic cinema productions of yesteryear be judged by today's "more modern and more enlightened standards" and, therefore, become films, parsed to that point that these films can no longer be enjoyed?

Additional reading: Is Song of the South too racist to screen?

Also see: Song of the South and NAACP: Is 'Song of the South' unavailable on video in America because of NAACP threats? at Snopes.

Note: Song of the South received numerous accolades — including two Oscars, one of which was for the song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah."

Musical Interlude: Advent 2017

(For politics, please scroll down)

For this second Sunday in Advent 2017, enjoy "O come, O come, Emmanuel" as performed on cello and piano by The Piano Guys:

Christmas version of the above:

Lyrics below the fold.

Open Thread

So, what's on your mind?

Please opine on the topic of your choice according to the parameters below:


We welcome civil dialogue at Always on Watch. Comments that include any of the following are subject to deletion:
1. Any use of profanity or abusive language
2. Off topic comments and spam
3. Use of personal invective
Note: comments consisting of blog gossip or promoting blog feuds will be deleted as soon as an administrator of this blog becomes aware of such comments.

Recommended Reading

See Puerto Rico gives out Christmas bonuses after asking for $94 billion in hurricane relief at the Washington Times.  Excerpt:

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello last month asked federal taxpayers to shell out $94 billion to pay for the territory’s recovery from Hurricane Maria — then turned around and paid out about $100 million in Christmas bonuses to government employees on the island.

[...]

“Puerto Rico has demonstrated time and time again that its government is incapable of responsibly handling its finances. This is yet another such instance,” said Rep. Tom McClintock, California Republican and a member of the House committee with oversight on Puerto Rico.

Read the rest HERE.

Now, there is no doubt that Puerto Rico suffered massive hurricane damage this year.  But for the Puerto Rican government to take a rake-off at this time is the very definition of government corruption, which deserves not to be assisted in any way, shape, or form.

What's more....

Trump

Self-Deception

Psychobabble?

Musical Interlude: Advent 2017

(For politics, please scroll down)

For this first Sunday in Advent 2017, enjoy the 13th Century plainsong "Of the Father's Love Begotten," a version with the lyrics onscreen:


 Another version:


[about Of the Father's Love Begotten]

North Korea: Now What? With Addendum

This....North Korea nuclear war MAPPED: Terrifying map shows staggering MISSILE RANGE of Kim Jong (dated November 28, 2017):

ADDENDUM

I see that my friend Pastorius of Infidel Bloggers Alliance has an interesting post about the topic of this blog post here at AOW. Excerpt:

Sen. Graham: N. Korea ‘Miscalculating President Trump,’ Will Destroy N. Korea If Necessary

I am very ambivalent about our leaders making these kinds of statements.

On one hand, I would like us to rain fire on Kim.

On the other hand, the people of North Korea do not deserve to be punished for their leaders insanity. And the people of South Korea, and the people of Japan would likely suffer very terribly also.

If we were to rain fire on North Korea, obviously this could lead to a wider war, maybe involving China and Russia.

Do we want that?...

Read the rest HERE.

We Don't Know What We Don't Know

Please watch this short video about one of Roy Moore's accusers, and read the accompanying article "New Court Docs Blow Massive Hole in Moore Accuser’s Story." Excerpt from the latter (emphasis mine):

...One of Moore’s accusers, Leigh Corfman, claims that almost 40 years ago, Moore tried to initiate a sexual relationship with her while she was still a teenager.

Her accusations hinge on two points: First, that she was left alone with the then-32-year-old attorney Roy Moore during a family court case… and second, that she lived with her mother in Gadsden, Alabama, when Moore allegedly harassed her.

Both of those points have now been called into question....

[,,,]

Let’s be extremely clear: We don’t know with certainty whether the claims against Roy Moore are true or not. Neither does anyone else, except the people directly involved.

That is the point: When an accusation is made, the first rule of our society and our laws is that the accused are innocent until proven guilty.

What we do know is that the timing of these accusations is extremely odd. After decades of Moore in the public light, these claims emerged with only weeks left in a key election that the candidate seemed to be winning.

Read the rest HERE at the Conservative Tribune.

In America, nobody should be tried in the media. Period. Full stop.

Judge Roy Moore is being tried in the media.

The media in all their various manifestations — more precisely the Enemedia — are engaging in media malpractice.

In a special election to be held in Alabama on December 12, 2017, it is up to the people of Alabama to decide whether or not Judge Moore will serve as a United States Senator.  Regardless of the voters' decision, that decision is not adjudication.  We must keep in mind that, thus far, the allegations levied against Judge Moore are just that — allegations, not charges.

Do we really want America to be a nation that accepts allegations as facts without adjudication?

Additional reading, with thanks to FJ: Power, Sex, and Politics.

Musical Interlude

With thanks to FreeThinke:

Another performer of the same piece:

Both of the above in honor of our kitten Minxy!

Happy Thanksgiving 2017

(A great big "Thank you!" to Stogie, who, at my request, designed the graphic in this post ub 2012. CLICK HERE to see the Thanksgiving graphic that Stogie created for his own site in 2011)



As most who frequent this blog know, I do a lot of moaning and groaning about the present condition of our nation.

Nevertheless, despite all of the negative things that we bloggers opine about, we Americans have so much to be thankful for! I am ever aware of that fact.

Holy Shades of Science Fiction!

Posted by Warren

 

Biohackers are using CRISPR on their DNA and we can’t stop it!

I didn't realize that genetic modification had become so advanced that it is now possible to change your own DNA.

This could be a boon to those suffering from genetic diseases but will it become possible for the freaks that think they're a man trapped in a woman's body to actually become a woman? 

What about unintended consequences and mistakes that have the potential to, literally, create monsters? Would it be possible to eliminate or alter the gene(s) that cause the dreaded mental disease known as "Progressivism"?  

 😜

France: Yesterday & Today

Eurabia rising!

🆘‼️😬🔥The strongest video! France between yesterday and today. By wrong policy in the downfall. Decide if you want that for your country! pic.twitter.com/kqeP7sOXzR

— Onlinemagazin (@OnlineMagazin) June 24, 2017

and

WARNING PARENTS! DO NOT bring your LITTLE GIRLS to Islamic France...

Due to the escalation of Jihadists raping children in France,

Sharia France is debating dropping the Minimum Legal Age for SEXUAL consent to 13 years-old so they can legalize Pedophilia! pic.twitter.com/bxJqGbjVoq

— Amy Mek (@AmyMek) November 14, 2017

Related: Paris cancels Christmas market; holds special Ramadan party every year (dated November 11, 2017).

First paragraph:

The Champs-Élysées Christmas market in Paris has been cancelled by City Hall councillors. It is considered the city’s main Christmas market and welcomes 15 million visitors every year.

Read the rest HERE.

Apparently, Paris as a Western city is determined to commit cultural suicide.

Musical Interlude

[For politics, please scroll down]

Music for the end of autumn and the start of winter:


[about the pianist]

[about Chopin's waltzes]

Video: Harvey Weinstein, Eminem, and why the left can't stop losing

From Candace Owens's vlog series The Myth of the "Coon":


Here's another, this one about the NFL:


Quite a refreshing dose of politically incorrectness!

There is also this:

Article (Newsbusters): Weinstein Dropped $100K at 2017 Planned Parenthood Gala. The pledge, however, went unfulfilled.

Recommended Reading

See Leftist Propaganda and Modern Society, a fine essay by my good friend Mustang.  In his final sentence, Mustang states the following:

This crusade is so pervasive and so successful that I do not believe it is possible to return to a time when America was a great place to raise a family.

Grim but, in my view, realistic.

Please take a few moments to read Mustang's entire essay.

Veterans Day 2017

Related reading with video: Veterans Day - November 11th 2017

More Photos Of Minxy

(For politics, please scroll down)

Blogging is taking a back seat at the moment.  We have a kitten in the household!

Minxy is about two months old in the photos below:

Just like Cameo, Minxy owns the recliner!

After playing, Minxy falls asleep in my arms.

"Look at me!  I'm gorgeous!"

Minxy is so happy here that she's laughing (yawning)!  Photo taken at Mr. AOW's side as he's napping.

What of Amber? She's already accepted Minxy as a member of the family. Maybe because we lost Cameo and Mysti within the last seven months.  The obvious fact that Amber has accepted Minxy: last night Amber deliberately left two pieces of kibble for Minxy. Cameo used to do the same for Amber.

When Minxy sleeps with me, like Mysti she grooms my hair.

More photos to come as Mr. AOW and I enjoy Minxy's kittenhood. I'm taking photos like a madwoman, and last night, I upgraded my iCloud storage for my iPhone!

Note: all links in this blog post go to posts at AOWS Photos and feature the kitty whose name is hyperlinked in this blog post.

Recommended Reading

See “ONE more thing….”, written by my friend Z and published on October 30, 2017, at the blog GeeeZ.

For your convenience, the complete blog post is copied and pasted below the fold. Worth your time!

We Interrupt This Program...

...to bring you 8-week-old Minxy, who has arrived to her forever home!

[For politics, please scroll down]

Minxy on Mr. AOW's iPad.

Notice how Minxy spreads her toes.

Relaxing on the $1800 lift-recliner.

Amber has moved from overtly hostile to curious with a tinge of hostility.

No Justice For Staff Sgt. Mark Allen?

In the search for Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl, who walked away without a weapon from the field of battle, Staff Sgt. Mark Allen suffered a grievous head wound and was left unable to speak and is paralyzed over much of his body.

Read more HERE.

Those wounded in searching for deserter Bowe Bergdahl got this lame apology from said deserter as the defense opened their case in court.

Staff Sgt. Mark Allen before he was wounded

Staff Sgt. Mark Allen with one of his therapists

The Allen Family

What might some form of justice be for Staff Sgt. Mark Allen?  My opinion below the fold.

The Collective Shrug — Not For Me

A young girl reacts as police officers secure an area following a shooting incident in New York on October 31, 2017. (Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images)

From At site of NYC terror attack, the school bell rang — then hell broke out:

Halloween turned truly terrifying for students and parents Tuesday when a driver went on a deadly rampage in front of several lower Manhattan schools — right as the afternoon bell rang.

Kids ran screaming down the sidewalk after the killer plowed his van into pedestrians and then emerged waving guns and shouting “Allahu Akbar.”

“Two women and a group of children — maybe 10 children — they’re running towards me. I hear one girls screaming, ‘Someone has a gun!'” said witness John Williams.

Frantic parents feared the worst as they waited to pick youngsters up from Independence Primary School.

[...]

Students from Stuyvesant High School and Borough of Manhattan Community College made it out of class in time to witness the carnage — bodies laying lifeless in the bike lane and victims were trapped inside a mangled school bus....

Read the rest HERE.

Over the next few days, we will, once again, see the same pattern: mourning with prayer vigils with candles, the placement of flowers, balloons, and teddy bears — and whatever else.

And, of course, the intoning of "Islam is a religion of peace."

Advice to accept the new normal and the mantra, "If you see something, say something."

In other words, after a few days or maybe a week, a collective shrug.

But I, for one, cannot become inured to all this.

I refuse to become inured to all this.

I must not become inured to all this!

Because, if I do, I surrender my heritage as a Westerner.

Musical Interlude For Halloween

(For politics, please scroll down)

Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns (1938-1921):

About Danse Macabre:
<--more>

The composition is based upon a poem by Henri Cazalis, on an old French superstition:

Zig, zig, zig, Death in a cadence,
Striking with his heel a tomb,
Death at midnight plays a dance-tune,
Zig, zig, zig, on his violin.
The winter wind blows and the night is dark;
Moans are heard in the linden trees.
Through the gloom, white skeletons pass,
Running and leaping in their shrouds.
Zig, zig, zig, each one is frisking,
The bones of the dancers are heard to crack—
But hist! of a sudden they quit the round,
They push forward, they fly; the cock has crowed.

According to the ancient superstition, "Death" appears at midnight every year on Halloween. Death has the power to call forth the dead from their graves to dance for him while he plays his fiddle (represented by a solo violin with its E-string tuned to an E-flat in an example of scordatura tuning). His skeletons dance for him until the first break of dawn, when they must return to their graves until the next year.

Musical Musings cautions:

The Danse Macabre (French for Dance Of Death) became a cultural symbol in late Medieval Europe. Artists painted scenes of the dead escorting the living to the grave with a final dance of death. The reality of a sudden and painful death were all too vivid after the horrors of the bubonic plague, the 'Black Death' epidemics of the 14th century. It is estimated that 40 to 50 percent of the total population of Europe perished in a four-year period.

The notion that death was the fate of all, as stated in the Latin motto that accompanied many of the artworks depicting the Dance of Death, Momento Mori (remember you will die) expresses the sentiment that no matter a person's position in society or station in life, our fate is the same. While the notion of death has been romanticized to a certain degree over the years and even trivialized in cartoons and videos, the Dance of Death was very real to people of earlier times.

President Trump Being "Presidential"

Please watch this complete video recording of President Donald Trump's October 25, 2017 interview with Lou Dobbs on October 25, 2017:


President Donald J. Trump should show this side of his personality more often!

Meanwhile, we have this (short video of 39 seconds):


Their candidate for the office of President of the United States lost. Pathetic.  These tantrum throwers suffer from arrested development and need to get over themselves!

Musical Interlude

(For politics, please scroll down)

Enjoy these images and the pop standard "Autumn Leaves" as performed by Pianist to the Presidents Roger Williams and orchestra, first recorded by Williams in 1955. "Autumn Leaves" stands as the greatest selling piano recording of all time, with more than 2 million sold.


The home page for Roger Williams.

About the above piece and pianist Roger Williams (1924-2011):

In 1955 Williams recorded "Autumn Leaves", the only piano instrumental to reach #1 on Billboard's popular music chart. It sold over two million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. It was the fourth #1 song of the "rock era," which unofficially began with the ascension of "(We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets into the top spot.  In 1966 he had another Top Ten hit with the song "Born Free" from the motion picture soundtrack. His other hits include "Near You", "Till", "The Impossible Dream", "Yellow Bird", "Maria", and "The Theme from Somewhere in Time". Billboard magazine ranks him as the top selling piano recording artist in history with 18 gold and platinum albums to his credit. Williams was known as the "Pianist to the Presidents", having played for nine US Presidential administrations, beginning with Harry S. Truman.  His last White House performance was in November 2008 for a luncheon hosted by First Lady Laura Bush.

On his 75th birthday, Williams performed his first 12-hour piano marathon. He performed the marathon at Steinway Hall in New York City and the Nixon, Carter and Reagan Presidential Libraries. His Steinway & Sons "Gold Steinway" grand piano was on tour for public display and entertainment during 2007–2008. In 2010, Roger Williams was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

Read the rest HERE.

Lyrics below the fold.

FBI Informant To Speak To Congress On Alleged Clinton Uranium One Corruption

With a hat tip to Infidel Bloggers Alliance:

.@MarkSteynOnline: "Everyone is colluding with Russia except Trump." https://t.co/GK7wxQdXpW | #Tucker pic.twitter.com/U0KybuRhTb

— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 26, 2017

Money quote: "[Trump] says wacky things from time to time, as we all know. But nothing is as wacky as the truth....Everyone is colluding with Russia except Trump."

And, then, there's this, about the Fusion GPS dossier: Congress Probes Whether Obama DOJ Used The ‘Trump Dossier’ Before Surveillance Court (dated October 18, 2017).

Washington isn't a swamp. It's a cesspool!

Corruption — On Steroids, Part 2

Lifted verbatim from Pastorius's October 22, 2017 post at Infidel Bloggers Alliance:

HUD Audit Finds Unheard of $500 Billion in Accounting Errors

Ben Carson is the Secretary General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

I told you Donald Trump was focused on cutting corruption in Government. I have been writing here that the reason for the overwhelming bi-partisan hatred of Trump is precisely because he is focused on destroying the moneystreams our leaders have set up for themselves under the guise of "Government".

From HUD [click to enlarge]:

HUD reissued its fiscal years 2016 and 2015 (restated) consolidated financial statements due to pervasive material errors that we identified.

The total amounts of errors corrected in HUD’s notes and consolidated financial statements were $516.4 billion and $3.4 billion, respectively.

There were several other unresolved audit matters, which restricted our ability to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to express an opinion.

These unresolved audit matters relate to (1) the Office of General Counsel’s refusal to sign the management representation letter, (2) HUD’s improper use of cumulative and first-in, first-out budgetary accounting methods of disbursing community planning and development program funds, (3) the $4.2 billion in nonpooled loan assets from Ginnie Mae’s stand-alone financial statements that we could not audit due to inadequate support, (4) the improper accounting for certain HUD assets and liabilities, and (5) material differences between HUD’s subledger and general ledger accounts. This audit report contains 11 material weaknesses, 7 significant deficiencies, and 5 instances of noncompliance with applicable laws and regulations.

***************************************************

I ask the same question that my father always asked: "Who's getting the rake-off?"

Others might flatly state: "Welcome to the United States of America Banana Republic."

Flashback to 2013:

Additional YouTube results for "obama not banana republic."

Frankly, when I heard BHO say the above time and time again in his scolding, preachy, moral-high-horse way, I said: "America, then, must already be a banana republic — or well on her way to becoming one!"

Now For Something Completely Different...

(For politics, please scroll down)

NAME THE KITTEN!

At one-week old.

At one-month old.

Need-to-know information....I paid my first visit to the kitten we're planning to adopt and will be visiting her again next weekend.

She is the biggest female in the litter and obviously the alpha. In fact, she hissed at me and arched her back! None of the other kittens did so.  In fact, they did the opposite and crawled all over me.  She sat back and observed — and finally warmed up to me.  On her terms.

We haven't "officially" named her yet — although Mr. AOW and I are leaning toward Minxy — based on the definition of minx, of course. But we're open to other suggestions.

Corruption — On Steroids

With thanks to Silverfiddle for the two links below:

1.  FBI uncovered Russian bribery plot before Obama administration approved controversial nuclear deal with Moscow

2.  Senate Judiciary opens probe into Obama-era Russian nuclear bribery case

Important reminder:

Who Rules You?

How many ways do we muzzle ourselves so as not to offend someone else and in ways that go far beyond one-on-one interactions, guidance for which is found in the words [A]s ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise (Luke 6:31)?

Musical Interlude

(For politics, please scroll down)

Enjoy Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Minor - First Movement, performed by the incomparable violinist Julia Fischer:

Calexit?

photo credit

Apparently, the secession of California from the United States remains a serious proposal — well, as serious a proposal as is possible from the California fringe. I thought that the idea Calexit was over and done with upon the departure of the Yes California leader, who went to Russia to live.

Now we read that the idea of Calexit continues.

From California secessionists think their path to independence is easier than Catalonia’s (dated October 12, 2017):

Mental Infirmity?

With a hat tip to Rick Well's post Pelosi Brain Drained – Freezes Up, Can’t Babble, Words Just Won’t Come Out for this video:


Read Rick Wells's entire post HERE.

Some have spoken of the need for San Fran Nan to go. See Call for Pelosi to ‘pass the torch’ — from fellow Democratic congresswoman.

In fact, suggestions to that effect have been ongoing since at least June.

The Democratic Party may be stuck, however, in that none of the fresher-faced candidates who are obviously angling for White House loom particularly large. Furthermore, Barack Hussein Obama and Joe Biden do not seem ready to step aside — particularly in the minds of members of the Cult of Obama.  As for Elizabeth Warren:

Another problem is that early efforts to gather momentum for new candidates, may already be losing steam. The right has begun investing in damaging storylines around Elizabeth Warren, for instance, attacks that closely resemble portrayals of Clinton as, for instance, hypocritical and untrustworthy.

On top of the above, we read in the October 6, 2017 edition of the Washington Post: Trump is on track to win reelection. For those who do not have a subscription to the Washington Post, the entire article is copied and pasted below the fold and worth your time (emphases mine).

Goodbye, Mysti (June 20,1999-October 9, 2017)

(For politics, please scroll down)

Mysti in her prime

Mr. AOW and I will miss our beloved Mysti, whose mother disappeared when the litter was one day old. All the kittens in the litter were found by an animal rescue group and had to be bottle fed.

But Mysti's rough start didn't end there.  A few days after she arrived here as a young kitten in September 1997, she had a terrible case of coccidiosis, which stunted her growh and left her with digestive difficulties.  Several veterinarians didn't expect her to live past the age of ten.  Mysti had other plans and fooled us all!

Until aging interfered, Mysti, a dilute tortie, was our mighty huntress. She was probably proudest of one particular accomplishment: catching and killing a juvenile black rat snake in our basement back in November 2011.  Of course, she brought her catch upstairs to display what she had snagged.

Mysti had been coping with chronic renal failure for over two years and, although frail, was holding her own until the last few days, when she started refusing food.  She even refused tuna!  It wasn't the kidney disease that sealed Mysti's fate, however — it was oral cancer, the same affliction that stole our beloved Cameo from us on Easter Sunday 2017, less than six months ago.

Mr. AOW and I consulted the veterinarian today and decided to do the kind thing — the last thing that we could do for Mysti.

Mysti as a senior citizen (March 17, 2016)

Mysti on my teacup pillowcase, January 27, 2016

Two photos from 1997, when Mysti was a kitten, below the fold.

Conversations — Ad Nauseam

Image credit

"We need to have a conversation about..."

"We need to open a dialog about..."

Or any one of the numerous variations on the above.

I've come to despise this meme, now a cliché.

The latest "conversation we need to have" is that about gun control, specifically, banning bump stocks — in reaction, of course, to the horrific slaughter perpetrated by Stephen Paddock in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017.

I admit that I haven't been reading or watching the news much the past few weeks.  But I have managed to to devote some time to keeping up with current events.  My reaction:

The above said, here is a point about which I haven't noticed much coverage in the ceaseless droning and screeching of the 24/7/365 news cycle (aka the Curse of Cable News), with a hat tip to Zero Hedge, via Bunkerville:

Murder map Looks strangely similar to the electoral map.

51% Of Murders Come From Just 2% Of The Counties https://t.co/GnJmPT7ASN pic.twitter.com/WOsXy1ydyG

— Steph (@steph93065) October 4, 2017

...This is [the comparison that] Steph means. Pretty darn close. I thought the same thing when I first saw it. pic.twitter.com/ZO6EGpv0aO

— Jellenne 🌵⚾️🐍🌞 (@jellen805) October 4, 2017

What is your opinion regarding banning bump stocks, which, in effect and if I understand correctly, convert a one-pull-one-round rifle into a rapid-fire machine gun?

Keep your eye on Senator Grassley

** Silverfiddle Dispatch **

Senator Grassley, in partnership with Democrat Senator Diane Feinstein, has been doggedly attempting to get to the bottom of the Russian Dossier and the Obama Administration's surveillance of Candidate Donald Trump's campaign. Byron York has been following the story.

The allegations of official malfeasance are not far-fetched. Remember when the criminal bunglers in the CIA were caught spying on congress a few years back?

What in the world is a US Ambassador to the UN doing unmasking people and consuming raw intelligence?

Why was Obama's National Security Advisor wading through raw intelligence? She has whole armies of intelligence analysts at her service.

The whole thing stinks, and it may be slowly unraveling, albeit slow enough for the Obamaites to control the narrative, with willing aid and abetting from The Establishment and the Infotainment Media Complex.

Lawsuits swirling around the golden shower prostitutes Russian Dossier are also peeling back the layers and endangering the anti-Trump narrative.

The Justice Department and FBI have been stonewalling Grassley and Feinstein's Judicial Committee's request for documents and testimony. They have just issued another subpoena., and Justice continues their slow roll.

A Question that goes to the Crux of the Matter:

Grassley sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday asking if the bureau had given "defensive briefings" or otherwise alerted Trump officials about "potential connections between campaign officials and the Russian government."

"If the FBI did provide a defensive briefing or similar warning to the campaign, then that would raise important questions about how the Trump campaign responded," wrote Grassley, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

 If the FBI didn't brief the campaign, Grassley wants to know why not and who was involved in the discussions and if a controversial opposition research dossier — which has been a frequent target of Grassley's — impacted the decision.

This is important. In a world of straight-up responsible government, if official government agencies detect foreign influence or attempted suborning of American citizens who are part of government or conducting a national campaign, the appropriate agency brings in the targets and gives them a secret counter-intelligence "defensive briefing" on what's going on and what the threats are so they can adjust their behavior and be aware of such attempts to compromise them.

Bottom line:

A responsible government treats them like loyal Americans, not criminal suspects. The Obama Administration actions were predicated on the premise that Donald J. Trump and/or members of his campaign were willing traitors, enemy spies working for a foreign government and against the United States.  

This predicate provided legal cover for all the Obama government police state spying directed at Donald Trump and his campaign. Manafort's "Russian connections" were a bonus, even though the Podesta's were actively doing business with Russia during the campaign (which isn't against the law anyway).

Keep your eye on Senator Grassley.

All of Your Internets are belonging to Me!

[Note from AOW: for those who wish to discuss yesterday's mass slaughter in Las Vegas, please see my blog post today at Infidel Bloggers Alliance. At the time of this posting, what happened in Las Vegas does not appear to be Islamic terrorism]

  *** WARNING: Silverfiddle Dispatch ***

In the wake of the latest “New Normal” Islamic terror attack in London, shameless blame-shifter Theresa May issued an ultimatum to social media and blamed them for the spread of Islamic terror. You can go read the article yourself, but I’d like to turn her words back on her and her fellow failed “world leaders” who aided and abetted this crisis by inviting in Islamic extremists, giving them wide latitude, and making apologies for them.

If only We the People could issues such stern threats to the slimy, criminally incompetent fumblers who run our governments...

Western “Leaders,” listen up!

Theresa, Mutti Merkel, Donald, Chuck and Nancy, you have only a month to make progress. If you don’t, the People will sue you and make YOU liable for extremist content on western soil. Delay in eradicating extremists will trigger huge fines that you must personally pay.

We The People call on the Western government “giants” to develop technology to block terrorists before they kill, not arrest them afterwards.

Any extremists detected would have to be imprisoned or removed from Western Civilization within two hours at most.

In the linked article, Mrs May said: ‘We need a fundamental shift in the scale and nature of our response – both from industry and governments – if we are to match the evolving nature of terrorists’ use of the internet.’

Bravo! I agree. 

But blaming the internet is like blaming oxygen for fires... 

Look in the mirror, Theresa old girl. Your feckless, brainless official malfeasance has caused this. Sure, you, Barack, and the other slimeball political operators of your generation didn’t start this fire, but you ignored it and shamed anyone who pointed out the smoke and flames and the Muslims fingering the gas cans and matches.

But anyhoo, back to our statement:

Western “leaders:” This threat is designed to put pressure on the all-powerful governments to use their technological prowess to counter sophisticated efforts by Islamic State and other terror groups to radicalise impressionable youngsters and spread DIY terror.

Your police state spying apparatus can be put in motion to surveille and attempt to destroy a political enemy’s presidential campaign, while exonerating the Establishment candidate. Your brilliant espionage brains can confect kompromat involving chorus lines of urinating hookers, but you cannot protect us and our way of life from invaders attacking us from the inside.

Here is the one statement from Madame Prime Minister we can all agree on:

‘When I think of the hundreds of thousands of victims of terrorism in countries across the world, I think of their friends, their families, their communities, devastated by this evil. And I say enough is enough.’

Yes. Enough is enough, so get off your dead ass, stable your high-horse, call this threat what it really is, roll up your sleeves and start eradicating it from the West.

Kinda Related:
Oops! Russia Didn't Hack our Elections
CNN: Russia Hacked Black Lives Matter
False Facebook Meme: National Anthem & NFL 2009

Musical Interlude

(For politics, please scroll down)

Enjoy Claude Debussy's Trois Nocturnes, consisting of three movements: "Nuages" ("Clouds") @ 0:00, "Fêtes" ("Festivals") @ 7:28, and "Sirènes" ("Sirens") @ 13:44, at the last two of which a change in image will occur:


About the above piece: Debussy's Trois Nocturnes was inspired by a series of impressionist paintings, also entitled "Nocturnes", by James Abbott McNeill Whistler, of Whistler's Mother fame. The version above is that of noted pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy conducting the Cleveland Orchestra:

More information about the above piece: