Monday, January 31, 2022

A Comic Interlude



A classic … may be a repeat from years ago.



STAND UP FOR WILLIAM CLAUDE DUKENFIELD!


Information Armlock




Not satisfied with sneaking Critical Race Theory into many school caricula, the National Federation of Teachers is now further constricting the information flow online … installing “fact checkers” on students’ computers to keep them on the straight and very narrow … see: AFN story.


More and more it becomes evident that George Orwell was a prescient genius.


STAND UP AGAINST BIG BROTHER!


Obvious Truth



Fraudsters hide behind the complexity which they themselves have purposely created. — Fletcher



STAND UP FOR OCCAM’S RAZOR!


Tyrantranny



Apple’s new pregnant man emoji …



STAND UP FOR REALITY!


Headlines

 


North Korea tests longest range missile since 2017

Big swings in the market are more normal than investors might expect, but things could  get worse

Report: McCarthy turns to Newt Gingrich for 2022 midterm strategy

Kansas man traveled to DC to kill ‘antichrist’ Biden

Trump suggests he might pardon some Jan 6 defendants

Confusion reigns after conflicting reports that Super Bowl champion Tom Brady is retiring

Ukraine president Zelensky says country has lost $500 million due to Biden war hype

Thousands protest COVID mandates, restrictions in Ottawa … Trudeau moved to secret location …

Ukrainian forces brace for ultimate test

UK expected to boost its NATO offer with major military deployment to Europe’s borders amid rising Russian aggression

Biden says he’ll move troops to Eastern Europe and NATO countries soon

Russian buildup includes blood supplies …


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!


Sunday, January 30, 2022

Garbage In, Garbage Out



A Twitter tweet I found … derived  from a taken-down Facebook entry … claims the following:


“115,252 registered voters have been on the rolls for over 100 years in Wisconsin.  Biden won in 2020 by 20,682.”


And, of course, it was immediently debunked … see: Politifact entry. (After all, that’s its job.)


Now pilgrim, there is obviously even more to this real story.  Let us assume that everything that Politifact claims is true.  But this still means that there are some 120,000 records in the Wisconsin voter registration database that have not been touched in perhaps 15 years.


This tells me two things: 1) Wisconsin is rather lax and sloppy in maintaining its voter registration database, and 2) over 15 years, a great many … perhaps most all of these records are for voters who have moved or died … and no longer are valid. (Note that phantom voters seldom show up for in-person voting.)


Now using this stale database to send out oodles of unsolicited mail-in ballots to these likely phantom voters is … and was … a recipe for voter fraud on a massive scale. The validity and integrity of such a election system rests entirely on the quality of the voter registration database. And the exigencies of the current pandemic did not permit such upgrades to take place.


Ergo — every reason to believe that the 2020 election was invalid in Wisconsin … and in any other state which had not maintained its voter registration database (Arizona, for instance.)


STAND UP FOR ‘GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT!


Carnac



The Answer: comeuppence 


The Question: What was Trump’s VP’s denouement?


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!


Headlines

 


Iran nuclear talks enter ‘final stage’

Pentagon leaders warn of a horrific aftermath if Russia invades Ukraine

Soros pours $125 million into superPAC to help Democrats in 2022 midterms

Blizzard 2022 … Boston biggest snow ever?

Why ‘imminent’ pisses Zelensky off

The latest COVID variant is 1.5 times more contagious than omicron and already in half of U.S. states

Vulnerable Democrats shun Biden as poll numbers continue dropping

Scotland Yard accused of massive ‘cover-up’ to save Boris Johnson’s job

Biden promotes his plan to repair bridges after dramatic collapse in Pennsylvania

Fed key inflation gauge rises 4.9% from a year ago, fastest gain since 1983

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania strikes down unconstitutional ‘no-excuse mail-in voting’ law

Don’t create panic, Zelensky tells West …


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!


Saturday, January 29, 2022

Snow Job



I get the sneaking feeling that Mother Nature is trying to out-do Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden and Anthony Fauci …



STAND UP FOR SHOVELING!


Today’s Poser

 


Did AOC or DeBlasio show up at yesterday police hero’s funeral?





STAND UP TOR OFFICER JASON RIVERA!


Powerline Pic





STAND UP FOR VAN GO FUCK YOURSELF!


reddit Pic



1948 Cadillac Sedanette Custom



STAND UP FOR CAR MAVENS!



Headlines

 


A suicide hotline’s use of data echoes Silicon Valley’s privacy databases

One positive trend emerges in earning’s season so far. Dividend investing is back

Biden pledges to nominate black woman to SCOTUS by end of February

Florida sees highest 7-day COVID death average since October …

NYC mayor blasts Palin for dining while infected with COVID-19

Apple CEO Tim Cook: ‘Everybody’s seeing inflationary pressure’

DHS’ Mayorkas admits border situation ‘The worst in 20 years — if not ever’ in leaked audio

Artic chill Miami … East Coast braces for billizard bomb …

Fannie Mae urges more flood disclosures for homebuyers

CNBC survey: 81% of adults with student loans say they have had to delay key life milestones

Sweden won’t recommend jabs for kids …


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!

  

Friday, January 28, 2022

The New Normal

 


The Wuhan-Fauci pandemic, social media and the Trump backlash have redefined what is now acceptable behavior not just in the U.S., but mostly everywhere. What was once up is now down and what was once red is now green.


Here are a few of the topsy-turvies:


- It is OK to burn down big businesses because they have insurance.

- Government is not allowed … it allows.

- Politicians are expected to get insanely rich by using their elected office as leverage.

- Elections are won not by the popular will but by who is more clever at rigging the vote count.

- Gender is not a biological absolute but a state of mind.

- Laws are an inconvenience to authorities’ imposing their will.

- Historical transgressions must all be remedied in the present.

- Science must be obeyed … it is never wrong.

- Borders are to be ignored.

- Children are being used as sex objects.

- Carbon is evil and must disappear.

- Imperfect or inconvenient babies can be discarded.

- Virtual reality is preferable.

- It is illegal to try to protect oneself, one’s family or one’s property with a firearm.

- Skin color is determanitive of character.

- Profit is more important than patriotism.

- Terrorism justifies terrorism.

- Insulting someone electronically is not impolite.



I don’t know about you Pilgrim, but I kinda liked the old norms better.



STAND UP FOR THE OLD NORMS!


Quotable Quote

 


Patriotism needs be the first requirement for national office … either elected or appointed. Honesty is a close second … and intelligence and resolve also help. — Fletcher


Afterward: Unfortunately, we keep electing and appointing people who only have resolve!



STAND UP FOR AMERICA!


Woodsterman Pic



Or that the HR department is there to help employees …



STAND UP FOR ENLIGHTENMENT!


Headlines

 


Austin pushes to fast-track hypersonic missiles as Russia, China make gains

Kremlin offers frosty response to Blinkin letter as world waits for Putin’s next move

Report: Justice Stephen Breyer to retire from SCOTUS

Denmark returns to ‘life as we knew it’ … off with the masks!

Biden to talk gun violence with Adams in visit to NYC

‘The Fed got the memo.’ Here’s what you can do to prepare for the coming rate hike

Bombshell documents debunk Dr. Fauci’s narrative on COVID origin

Trade deficit tops $1 trillion first time EVER …

Judge orders Eastman to speed efforts get documents to Jan. 6 committee

‘Lack of understanding’: Trump’s former energy Secretary slams Biden’s efforts to divert gas to Europe

Murders rose 44% in 2021 compared to 2019

Debt up $2 trillion in 1 year of Biden …


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!


Thursday, January 27, 2022

Reader Contribution


Seedless oranges too?


Some more interesting factoids:


Glass     takes one million years to decompose, which means it never wears out and can be recycled an infinite amount of times!

 

Gold     is the only metal that doesn't rust, even if it's buried in the ground for thousands of years.

 

When a person dies     hearing is the last sense to go. The first sense lost is sight.

 

Your tongue     is the only muscle in your body that is attached at only one end.

 

The tooth     is the only part of the human body that cannot heal itself.

 

If you stop getting thirsty,   you need to drink more water. When a human body is dehydrated, its thirst mechanism shuts off.

 

Zero      is the only number that    cannot be represented by    Roman numerals.

 

Kites     were used in the American Civil War to deliver letters and newspapers.

 

The song Auld Lang Syne     is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year.

 

Drinking water after eating    reduces the acid in your mouth by 61 percent. Drinking a glass of water before you eat may help digestion and curb appetite.

 

Peanut oil     is used for cooking in submarines because it doesn't smoke unless it's heated above 450F.

 

The roar     that we hear when we place a seashell next to our ear is not the ocean, but rather the sound of blood surging through the veins in the ear.

 

Nine out of every 10     living things live in the ocean.

 

  The banana     cannot reproduce itself. It can be propagated only by the hand of man.

 

  Airports at higher altitudes    require a longer airstrip due to lower air density.

 

  The University of Alaska     spans four time zones.

 

  In ancient Greece , tossing an apple to a girl was a traditional proposal of marriage. Catching it meant she accepted.

 

  Warner Communications     paid 28 million for the copyright to the song Happy Birthday, which was written in 1935!

 

  Intelligent people     have more zinc and copper in their hair.

 

  A comet's tail     always points away from the sun.

 

  Caffeine     increases the power of aspirin and other painkillers, that is why it is found in some medicines.

 

  The military salute     is a motion that evolved from medieval times, when knights in armor raised their visors to reveal their identity.

 

  If you get into the bottom of a well or a tall chimney and look up,     you can see stars, even in the middle of the day.

 

  In ancient times      strangers shook hands to show that they were unarmed.

 

  Strawberries and cashews      are the only fruits whose seeds grow on the outside.

 

  Avocados      have the highest calories of any fruit at 167 calories per hundred grams.

 

  The moon      moves about two inches away from the Earth each year.

 

  The Earth     gets 100 tons heavier every day due to falling space dust.

 

  Due to earth's gravity     it is impossible for mountains to be higher than 15,000 meters.

 

  Mickey Mouse     is known as "Topolino" in Italy.

 

  Soldiers      do not march in step when going across bridges because they could set up a vibration which could be sufficient to knock the bridge down.

 

  Everything     weighs one percent less at the equator.

 

  For every extra kilogram    carried on a space flight, 530 kg of excess fuel are needed at lift-off.

 

  The letter J     does not appear anywhere on the periodic table of the elements.



Thanks, John B.




STAND UP FOR FACTOIDS!



Quotable Quote

 


“And malt does more than Milton can to justify God's ways to man.” — A.E. Houseman



STAND UP FOR BEER!


Headlines

 


Hawkish Fed puts pressure on Europe

Mortgage refinance demand plunges 13% as interest rates climb toward two-year high

Footage reveals Biden admin’s  mass release of single adult illegals into U.S.

UK holds breath as it awaits “partygate’ report …

House China bill has aggressive trade provisions

Bentley to invest $3.4 billion to exclusively offer EVs by 2030

OSHA continues to pursue COVID vax mandate dispute loss at SCOTUS

More Musk junk: SpaceX rocket to crash into moon …

Macron, Putin to discuss Ukraine tensions on Friday

COVID vaccine skepticism may be fueling ‘worrisome’ rise in wider anti-vax sentiment, doctors say

Peter Schweizer: Chinese global energy company linked to Chinese Intelligence operation sent nearly $6 million to Hunter Biden in 2017

Omicron deaths in USA exceed delta peak …


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!


Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Interesting Factoid

 


History rhyming?


Russia invaded Georgia during the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008.



STAND UP FOR HISTORY!



Quotable. Quote



I would rather be ruled by a moral but sanctimonious religious zealot than by an immoral gregarious secularist.. —  Fletcher


STAND UP FOR MORALITY!



Confession

 


After a weekend of four of the most exciting playoff football games that I can remember … with incredibly talented players of all ethnicities …  are you with me Pilgrim … waxing nostalgic for Colin Kaepernick and his showing America what abject racists we really are?


NOT!


STAND UP FOR SPORTSMANSHIP!


Headlines

 


Trump conquered Ohio. Now his followers want the governorship.

The Fed is likely to signal a March interest rate hike and that further tightening is coming

Afghanistan 2.0? Psaki admits White House has no plan to evacuate Americans from Ukraine if Russia invades

Markets have never plunged 10%  this fast to start year …

Alabama’s new congressional map blocked by judges

Investors fear ‘crypto’s winter’ is coming as Bitcoin falls 50% from record highs

Putin discloses ‘strategic partnership’ with Cuban leader amid fears of military threat …

‘Stupid son of a bitch’ — Biden loses it when asked about inflation by Peter Doocy

Texas primary showdown bursts open after FBI raid

‘Double down’ on defense because stocks will plunge another 10%, Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson warns

Of course: Bill Gates praises China’s response to COvID

Netanyahu rejects plea deal that would ban him from politics …


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!


Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Woodsterman Pic

 



Are you a dog?



STAND UP FOR CATS & DOGS!


Obvious Truth

 


The sophisticated set conspires to discredit conspiracies as unsophisticated. — Fletcher



STAND UP FOR CONSPIRACIES!


reddit Pic

 



One of the best moon-tree shots …



STAND UP FOR NATURE!



Headlines

 


Taliban talks in Norway spark new debate about recognition

$130 billion wiped off cryptos in 24 hours as Bitcoin, ether drop to multi-month lows

Poll: 60% of voters wouldn’t back Biden if 2024 election were held today

Brady’s last game? Not Super Bowl-found …

Disney shock Sundance movie features cannibalism …

Former Attorney General William Barr has spoken to Jan. 6 panel, chair says

Fast-food value meals return to menus, but the deals aren’t as cheap

U.S. sends tactical security teams to Ukrainian embassy

Omicron spreads in New Zealand, spoiling prime minister’s wedding plans

Global conditions perfect for new COVID variants to emerge, WHO’s Tedros says

China flies dozens of warplanes near Taiwan

Quakes shake Israel …


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!


Monday, January 24, 2022

Russian Capitulations

 


In the twelve short months Biden has been in office he has capitulated to Putin at least five times:


1) Backed off asking Turkey’s permission to allow American warships in the Black Sea to counter Russia’s presence: The BLNews..

2) After Colonial pipeline hack and shutdown, allows Russia to set cybersecurity terms: National Review

3) START treaty unconditional restart: Carnegie Endowment article

4) Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline restart: CNN story

5) Biden’s “minor incursion” comments regarding Russia into Ukraine: NBC News story


And this is a continuation of the Obama/Biden administration’s “Bend Over for the Soap” policy toward Russia: Hudson Institute recap



STAND UP TO RUSSIA!


Quotable Quote



It would seem that, at some point, Democrats … to hide their embarrassment for having elected Joe Biden … would fall back on the excuse that the 2020 presidential election was, in fact, a well-coordinated anti-Trump larceny.  — Fletcher


STAND UP FOR FAIR ELECTIONS!


Conservative Treehouse Pic



You want something, cowboy?



STAND UP FOR AUDACITY!


reddit Pic

 



Hong Kong population density …



STAND UP FOR OPEN SPACE!


Headlines

 


New Jersey leads nation in on-line sports betting. Here comes New York

Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet went on a buying spree in 2021 despite D.C.’ vow to take on Big Tech

California Gov. apologizes  for referring to gangs as gangs

USA to begin Ukraine evacuation

Britain says Russia trying to replace Ukraine government

Arizona Democrats censure Sen. Kyrsten  Sinema for blocking voting rights bill

Taliban receives $32 million gift from U.N.

39% Americans boosted …

Biden names former Stacey Abrams lawyer for campaign finance watchdog

Pfizer CEO says an annual COVID vaccine is preferable to periodic boosters

Biden admin spends $200 million to protect Ukraine borders while neglecting our own

China brings back anal swab …


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!


Sunday, January 23, 2022

Bite My Tongue!



I know I am a conspiracy nut … but the fact that the U.S. is withdrawing Americans from Ukraine has me putting the puzzle pieces together. Has Biden been blackmailed by Putin (remember the $3.5 million wire transfer to Hunter from the wife of the former mayor of Moscow?) into allowing Russia to annex the eastern part of Ukraine? Biden’s gaffe at his press conference suggests just that (“a minor incursion”).


President Biden’s foggy brain frequently confuses reality with ruse … remember his confession about the election fraud operation? So, kind readers, my conspiracy bell is ringing again … and, if Putin first takes a nibble off of Ukraine before gobbling up the whole country, don’t say that I wasn’t prescient.


The real problem is, of course, that this conspiracy could deepen rapidly with China making a move on Taiwan … and Russia also annexing Belarus. Bingo! … then all hell could break lose everywhere … including our sending troops … or worse …  all because of the crack-addled son of our president.


Bite my tongue!


STAND UP FOR MY TONGUE!


Today’s Poser



Is a severely proscribed freedom really a freedom?


Afterward: One could make an easy argument that all the draconian gun laws in places like Chicago, LA and New York do nothing to keep guns out of the hands of the bad guys … and only make it nearly impossible for the good guys to exercise their Constitutional rights.



STAND UP FOR 2ND AMENDMENT!


Headlines

 


Adams calls on Feds to crackdown on guns after NYPD officer killed

Markets are expected to remain on edge as Fed meets in the week ahead

‘The president’s authority is not that broad’ — District judge blocks Biden’s Federal worker vax mandate

End of market super bubble?

Giuliani associate gets year in prison in foreign donor case

Nasdaq tumbles 2% Friday, notches worst week since 2020 and falls deeper into correction territory

49th annual March for Life takes place as SCOTUS considers future of Roe v. Wade

Australia records deadliest day …

Baltic states step up in arming Ukraine against potential Russian invasion

NYPD officer killed, another in critical condition after Harlem shooting, police say

Museum of Natural History removes Theodore Rosevelt statue

Knives out for Klain …


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!


Saturday, January 22, 2022

Powerline Pic



Could be Welsh too.



STAND UP FOR WORDLE!

Today’s Poser


If our government can waste hundreds of billion dollars, why can’t our elected leaders siphon off a few of these billions for themselves?



STAND UP FOR FAIRNESS!


Headlines



Democrats slim down ambitions after back-to-back failures

Cryptocurrencies tumble, with Bitcoin falling 7% and ether down 8% in last 24 hours

Rand Paul: It’s dangerous to the country for Biden to be talking in public

Fed may issue digital currency

U.S. charges Belarus with air piracy in reporter’s arrest

Intel plans $20 billion chip manufacturing site in Ohio

Ukrainian President to Biden, ‘There are no minor incursions’

Israel world #1 in daily cases per capita …

Oathkeeper charged with overseeing Jan. 6 weapons stockpile jailed pending trial

Meat Loaf, rocker and ‘Bat out of Hell’ singer, dies at 74

Senate Judiciary Committee votes 16-6 to advance major tech antitrust bill

Update: Daily glass of wine NOT good for you …


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!


Friday, January 21, 2022

Reader Contribution



Life Wisdom from Robert Frost, “America’s Rural Sage”


Some poets embellish the glamor and bustle of cities, the intersections of the many lives being lived in busy streets. Poet Robert Frost (1874-1963) took the opposite tack, staying simple and close to home: His poems are recognized for their sparse, straightforward tone and their depiction of everyday life against the backdrop of his beloved home in rural New England.


Frost was born in California but spent the majority of his life in New England, and the Massachusetts and New Hampshire landscapes had a deep influence on his writing. One of his most widely quoted poems is “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” which depicts a solitary winter evening in the forest: "The woods are lovely, dark and deep, / But I have promises to keep, / And miles to go before I sleep." Frost also worked as a teacher and a farmer to make ends meet, and this familiarity with the realities of country life often seeped into his poetry.


As a writer, Frost is remembered as somewhat of a maverick, in more ways than one. He shunned the popular Romantic writing style of the time, breaking away from its strict conventions and benevolent view of nature for a more honest and stark depiction of landscape he knew. He also reached success later in life than many of his contemporaries: Though he began writing in high school, his first book wasn’t published until he was nearly 40. It was 10 years after that, as Frost was entering his fifties, that his collection “New Hampshire” received the Pulitzer Prize. He went on to become the only poet to win four Pulitzers, as well as several other national honors.


Frost’s work is now a staple of the American poetic tradition, valued for its way down-to-earth renderings of everyday life and honest emotions. Here are 17 quotes from the poems, public interviews, and letters of America’s “rural sage,” on everything from persistence and nature to creativity and love.


So dawn goes down to day. / Nothing gold can stay.


Nature is always hinting at us. It hints over and over again. And suddenly we take the hint.


Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — / I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference.


People… will tell you that freedom lies in being cautious. Freedom lies in being bold.


Earth's the right place for love: / I don't know where it's likely to go better.


The most creative thing in us is to believe in a thing.


Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.


My aim in life has always been to hold my own with whatever's going. Not against: with.


Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.


The best way out is through.


Ah, when to the heart of man / Was it ever less than a treason / To go with the drift of things, / To yield with a grace to reason, / And bow and accept the end / Of a love or a season?


Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length.


The way a crow / Shook down on me / The dust of snow / From a hemlock tree / Has given my heart / A change of mood / And saved some part / Of a day I had rued.


Every poem is a momentary stay against the confusion of the world.


What is done is done for the love of it — or not really done at all.


Our very life depends on everythings' recurring til we answer from within.


In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on.





Thanks John B.


STAND UP FOR POETS!


Quotable Quote

 


Whatever Jen Psaki makes, she certainly earns it every day. — Mrs. Fletcher



STAND UP FOR WALK-BACKS!


R.I.P.

 




STAND UP FOR MARVIN LEE ADAY!


Walk Back


The amount of walk back involved when President Biden answers questions or comments off his Teleprompter is usually painful and substantial. Good reason why he has had so few interactions with the media to date … and reason to have fewer



STAND UP FOR CLEAN-UP!


Triage


There are three types of leaders:


Xi Jinping

Tyrants



Donald Trump

Managers



Bill DeBlasio

Slackers



STAND UP FOR MANAGERS!


Fractured Definition

 


Scarcity — Chicago, IL


STAND UP TO LORI LIGHTFOOT!


Headlines

 


NCAA adopts a new policy for transgender athletes

Senate Republicans block voting rights bill, join with two Democrats to prevent filibuster change

Biden: 2022 midterms ‘could easily be illegitimate’

MRNA boosters do NOT block omicron, study shows

U.S. foe or specific weapon not behind sustained global campaign causing ‘Havana syndrome,’  CIA finds

Amazon is opening a real-world clothing store with high-tech fitting rooms

Biden’s FCC commissioner nominee wants right-wing broadcasters off the air

Pig kidneys transplanted into brain-dead man as patients face organ shortages …

McCarty raises $9.5 million at major Washington fundraiser

Antibiotic-resistant infections are a ‘major global health threat’ that’s killing millions, scientists say

Biden is winning on one front: judicial nominees

Supremes reject Trump  bid to block Jan 6 records …


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!


Thursday, January 20, 2022

Another False Narrative



I’ve always felt uncomfortable about the media narrative surrounding Ashli Babbitt’s murder … that she was climbing through a broken window when shot by a “frightened” Capitol police officer.. I can’t believe that any sane person would risk her life in such a meaningless jesture. In the below referenced video, watch Officer Byrd shoot her from almost point-blank range … while she was in a clearly comprised position.


Now newly uncovered video shows quite the opposite … she is seen quietly talking to Capitol police officers and apparently trying to de-escalate matters … see: 90 Miles from Tyranny post.


There are thousands of hours of Capitol surveillance video of this event which has not been released to the public … or even for defendant viewing. Perhaps we have just discovered the reason?


Even more justification to read: Remember Her!



STAND UP FOR ASHLI BABBITT!