October 16, 2026 · 4:53 pm

FLASHBACK: ALIEN AND DUNE FRANCHISES AS ALLEGORIES FOR AMERICA RIGHT NOW

Balladeer’s Blog

These were originally posted in 2020.

“We’re a world of 7 billion people, 10 billion blogs and 20 billion political poses” is always the opening line of Balladeer’s Blog’s pieces like this. So, let’s have some fun framing American politics as part of the Alien and Dune franchises. Both political parties are bashed.

Ellen RipleyRIPLEY and the other humans in the Alien films are American VOTERS. As we struggle to survive in this dangerous setting we need to stand together against the common threats. And that applies whether a voter considers themselves Independent or Democrat or Republican. Political labels have become meaningless for US as the Neo-Feudalists view all of us as peasants and cannon fodder, anyway.   Continue reading →

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October 16, 2026 · 3:13 am

NEWS ROUNDUP FOR OCTOBER SIXTEENTH

A week-ending current events roundup from Independent Voter Site Balladeer’s Blog.

FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL MOCKS DEMOCRAT MEDIA OUTLET MSNOW OVER ITS PROVEN-FAKE REPORT SAYING HE WAS IN RUSSIA WHEN HE WAS REALLY IN VIRGINIA. More literally Fake News.

IRAN-CONTROLLED HOUTHIS ATTACK SAUDI ARABIAN BUSINESS AND HOLY SITES. More HERE. Iran’s regime is at least as bad as Putin’s Russia but we’re told fighting Iran is a “bad war” but the Ukraine conflict is a “good war.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP AT ARIZONA RALLY WITH FLOYD MAYWEATHER. 

DEMOCRAT MEDIA OUTLET THE WASHINGTON POST’S EDITORIAL BOARD COMES OUT AGAINST MEDICARE FOR ALL.

CORRUPT JACK SMITH’S HIT LIST EXPOSED. He’s an authoritarian menace.

SOMALILAND IN SECOND DAY OF CELEBRATIONS PRAISING PRESIDENT TRUMP VIA AMERICAN FLAGS AND FIREWORKS.

PATRICIA MCCARTHY ON THE UNHINGED DEMOCRAT LEFTISTS.

PRESIDENT TRUMP’S “TRUMP BUMP” FOR SOCIAL SECURITY RECIPIENTS IN 2027 GIVES THEM THE BIGGEST COST OF LIVING INCREASE IN A VERY LONG TIME. I will point out again that Trump is the greatest president for the working class and the poor during my lifetime. Continue reading →

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October 15, 2026 · 5:03 pm

ABSOLUTE EVIL (1918) HALLOWEEN WEREWOLF STORY

ABSOLUTE EVIL (1918) – This longish short story was written by Julian Hawthorne, son of Nathaniel. The tale features Julian’s tragically overlooked supernatural adventuress Martha Klemm.

For those not familiar with her, she’s the wealthy descendant of Salem witches and, though in her twenties, proudly calls herself “a spinster” because she has no desire to marry any of her throng of suitors. Martha is independent, iconoclastic, athletic and a sure shot with her pistol. Ms. Klemm is like a proto-flapper, though not “proto” by much obviously, given the year. She appeared in two other stories by Julian Hawthorne.

Absolute Evil deals with a werewolf at large on a sandy island near Hatteras. Martha Klemm is among the well-to-do guests on a large yacht owned by the Pleasances, rich Quakers from Philadelphia. The couple and their guests head for Thirteen-Mile Beach, the aforementioned island where they plan to stay a few days and nights.

This collection of the idyl rich spends their time in the expected ways with the bonus activity of seeing if the island really is haunted by a long-ago murderer like the legends say.    Continue reading →

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October 15, 2026 · 4:19 am

THE BLACK PIRATE (1926) SILENT DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS CLASSIC

THE BLACK PIRATE (1926) – Fairbanks starred as the Duke of Arnoldo aka the Black Pirate in this high seas adventure that captured the feel of Rafael Sabatini’s novels and the look of Howard Pyle’s artwork of the Golden Age of Piracy. The seizing, plundering and destruction of treasure-laden ships has rarely looked so stunning.

While pursuing his career of piracy, our hero is simultaneously looking for revenge on the pirate captain who killed his father. The Black Pirate features some of Doug’s best action set pieces since his 1920 classic The Mark of Zorro – all manner of sword fights, including with two swords at once, swinging from the ship’s ropes, seizing a prize ship literally single handed and more. Continue reading →

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October 14, 2026 · 3:58 pm

B-MOVIE HOST DR. SCAR (1962-1980)

Halloween Month continues with this look at another horror host of the past.

DR. SCAR – This Movie Host was played by Jack Jacobson and hosted TWO shows at once on KGUN-TV Channel 9 in Tucson, Arizona. He hosted Big 9 Chiller on Saturday nights at 10:30 pm from 1962-1977 and Science Fiction Theater on Sunday nights at 9 or 10pm from 1965-1980.

Jack Jacobson was an 8-year-old supporting cast member on radio’s Uncle Bob Pierce & Company in 1929. At age 18 he started doing comedy at nightclubs in New York City and in 1942 enlisted in the Army Air Corps. As World War Two went on, Jack and fellow servicemen formed the entertainer troupe called The Sky Blazers.

After the war, Jacobson worked at various radio and television stations in the U.S. In 1962 he was hired as Program and Promotions Manager by Tucson’s KGUN-TV. Joining the Movie Host bandwagon that other tv stations across America had been running for several years, he personally played the mad scientist “kindly and loveable” Dr. Scar on KGUN’s Big 9 Chiller on Saturday nights. Continue reading →

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October 14, 2026 · 3:11 am

OCTOBER FOURTEENTH NEWS ROUNDUP

Independent Voter Site Balladeer’s Blog has a current events roundup.

DEMOCRATS INTRODUCE BILL TO ABOLISH ICE AND THE BORDER PATROL. 

HILTON ON CALIFORNIA’S DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM BEING UNABLE TO ACCOUNT FOR TWENTY-FOUR BILLION (WITH A B) DOLLARS MEANT FOR THE HOMELESS. Governor Newsom even vetoed an audit to try finding where the money went. This kind of brazen corruption is what you get in a one-party state.

FORMER STAFFER OF ABDUL EL-SAYED EXPOSES HIM.

PRESIDENT TRUMP STILL PERMITS ZELENSKY ACCESS TO U.S. INTEL AGAINST PUTIN’S RUSSIA.

COURAGEOUS DEMOCRAT STEPHEN A. SMITH TELLS HIS PARTY TO ACCEPT THE NEED FOR VOTER I.D. Countless countries around the world have long required I.D. to vote. America is far behind. 

EVEN THE WASHINGTON POST’S TEST SHOWED THAT GROK SHOWED FAR LESS POLITICAL BIAS THAN CHATGPT OR CLAUDE.  

PRO-HAMAS AND PRO-HEZBOLLAH DEMOCRATS AT THEIR TERROR CAMP HERE IN THE U.S. Continue reading →

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October 13, 2026 · 4:12 pm

FORGOTTEN TELEVISION: TENAFLY (1973-1974)

TENAFLY (1973-1974) – The same television season that Richard Roundtree’s Shaft was adapted as a small-screen series, another black detective show titled Tenafly debuted.  

James McEachin starred as Harry Tenafly, a private detective with the high-end detective agency Hightower Investigations, Inc. Harry was a former Los Angeles police detective who left the force for a higher salary with Hightower.

Richard Levinson and William Link, the creators of Columbo, also created Tenafly and like Columbo, Tenafly was one of the 90-minute detective shows that rotated appearances on NBC’s Mystery Movies series. 

Harry Tenafly was a devoted husband to his wife Ruth (Lillian Lehman) and loving father to their two sons. His regulation contact on the police force was Lt. Sam Church, played by the ubiquitous David Huddleston.

THE EPISODES: Continue reading →

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October 13, 2026 · 9:11 am

THE VIDEO DEAD (1987) HALLOWEEN MOVIE REVIEW

THE VIDEO DEAD (1987) – This gory low-budget zombie movie plays like an unused segment of Creepshow expanded to feature length. Long before The Ring, this production presented creepy zombies from an old black & white horror flick climbing out of a tv set and slaughtering anyone and everyone.

The Video Dead was made by a circle of friends and acquaintances on weekends over the course of a year. Monday through Friday were spent at their “real” jobs. The makeup effects for the zombies defy the movie’s low budget nature.

The cast are mostly unknowns with a couple of actors who worked in other films before and after this one. Among the latter were Michael St. Michaels, and Jennifer Mirro from the punk band called the Nuns.

As a courtesy to readers who don’t like gory and ultra-violent movies here is a WARNING to not click “Continue reading.” Continue reading →

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October 12, 2026 · 9:03 pm

FOOL KILLER PART SEVENTY-NINE: NOVEMBER 1915

Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the many facets of Fool Killer lore. FOR PART ONE, INCLUDING THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT IN THE 1850s, CLICK HERE.

PART 79 – As always, it’s fascinating to read the over 100-year-old opinions of James Larkin Pearson (and by extension his Fool Killer), including the opinions that one doesn’t agree with. Here are some of the Fool Killer’s targets in November 1915.

*** Christians who called for America to enter the World War on the side of the Allied Powers, depicting them as pious hypocrites who wanted to go to war for the benefit of the wealthy and powerful.

*** President Woodrow Wilson, depicting him as neglecting all national problems while paying far more attention to his romance with Edith Bolling Galt, like himself widowed. The two would marry in December 1915.

*** Tycoon – or plutocrat as Pearson and his Fool Killer called the wealthy – John D. Rockefeller II, who assumed the reins of his father’s corporate empire. “Johndee the 2nd” was depicted using phony charm in contrast to the open contempt that his father had shown to the working class. They especially targeted John II’s P.R. stunt of visiting miners for some photo opportunities.

*** Imperial Japan for intimidating and browbeating China.

*** People who opposed voting rights for women.

*** The Anglo-French Committee, who came to America wanting a Half-Billion-Dollar loan to keep fighting the war. Continue reading →

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October 12, 2026 · 6:33 am

NEWS ROUNDUP FOR OCTOBER TWELFTH

Monday brings another current events roundup from Independent Voter Site Balladeer’s Blog.

DEMOCRAT SENATE CANDIDATE EL-SAYED STILL LYING ABOUT BEING A DOCTOR. With increasingly unhinged Democrats it’s possible they feel someone can choose to “identify” as a doctor.

FLORIDA LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER SAVES ELDERLY MAN FROM PREDATOR-FILLED WATERS. Remember, you will NEVER see anti-police “activists” risk their lives to save another human being like this.

NEW YORK DEMOCRATS PASS LAW TO REPLACE THE WORDS “MOTHER” AND “FATHER” WITH “GESTATING PARENT.”

ANTIFA TERRORISTS IN OREGON ATTACK ICE AGENTS WITH BASEBALL BATS.

NEW YORK MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI CALLED OUT FOR HIDING NEARLY FIFTEEN THOUSAND ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WANTED FOR VIOLENT CRIMES.

MIKE MCDANIEL ON GAS PRICES. Continue reading →

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