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]