Monthly Archives: February 2020

JACK BREWER CALLS TRUMP “THE FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT” PLUS MORE

Jack Brewer 3As Black History Month 2020 comes to a close, here are some of the recent highlights.

Former NFL star Jack Brewer, a prominent Democrat who has praised de facto Third Party President Donald Trump’s many accomplishments for the African American Community, called Trump “the First Black President” at the Black History Month Roundtable at the White House on Thursday.

Brewer’s remark was a light-hearted variation on the way Bill Clinton was often called the first black president, but given President Trump’s incredible and unprecedented economic achievements for African Americans, the truth behind Brewer’s levity shone through.

Trump Black History MonthTrump’s rapport with so many African American voters seems to be part of the reason that Republican trash like George W Bush, Mitt Romney and the National Review crowd oppose him.

“I’ve been a Democrat all my life but I’m not a Democrat now,” Brewer said. “You’ve changed me. You touched me. And you made my work go to another level. You inspire me. And every time I go into those prisons and I ask my guys how many of them had their sentences reduced and they raise their hands, I know I’m doing God’s work and I thank you for that.” (Note from Balladeer: A reference to President Trump’s prison reform policies.)

big MAGA hatBrewer also noted that President Trump had ignited “a tremendous awakening in the country” among black Americans. “Donald Trump will get over 20% of the black vote,” Jack said . “That is what’s going to win the election. Why? Because there hasn’t been a Republican to even try to go in and talk to the black community. They don’t go there. They don’t even try. I think he’s trying, finally.” (Note from Balladeer: History is being made, that’s for sure.)

Brewer continued by criticizing the failed policies of Barack Obama – “it left a bad taste in my mouth,” he said . “And then I really started being awakening [sic] to what was happening with the Democratic Party — making so many promises but then abandoning the community that I worked so hard in.” (Note from Balladeer: The Democrats do that to all of the working class and the poor, unfortunately.)

“I said enough was enough, and I really started putting aside what my parents and my grandparents taught me about sticking to the Democratic Party because they were the party for African Americans,” Brewer said. “You know all that rhetoric sounded good back in the ’60s, but the facts are that the (Democrats’) policies just don’t help our families.”  Continue reading

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Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion

LEAP DAY MILESTONES

Charles “The Bearded Badass” Darwin

Some things happen only once every four years – things like Democrat Joe Biden having a coherent thought and Republican Mitt Romney prying his head out of his ass. Another one of those things would be February 29th: Leap Day. Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at some of the milestone events that got cheated out of a yearly anniversary by happening on this date.

1704 – French provocateurs and Native Americans attack Deerfield, MA and kill roughly 50 inhabitants while abducting 100. Ronald Reagan’s ancestor recommends selling arms to Persia to secure the release of the abductees. Elizabeth Warren’s ancestor recommends killing all the Native Americans and then claiming to BE part Native American when it’s monetarily or politically convenient.

1712 – In Sweden February 29th is followed by February 30th to help usher in the new calendar system … and because Al Sharpton’s ancestor demanded an extra day in February to make Black History Month a little bit longer.  

1720 – Back to Sweden, where Queen Ulrica Eleonora resigns following general public ridicule of her name “Ulrica”. I’m kidding! But she did resign.

1784 – In France, the Marquis de Sade is transferred from the fortress of Vincennes to the Bastille in exchange for 3 other sadists and a masochist to be named later.

1832 – Charles Darwin explores the Brazilian jungle and gets a great idea for how he can screw with religious nuts even long after he’s dead.

1836 – In Paris, Meyerbeers’ opera Les Huguenots premieres. Nobody cared back then either. Continue reading

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NCCAA COLLEGE BASKETBALL REGIONALS

The 2020 postseason continues in the divisions of college basketball covered here at Balladeer’s Blog.

NCCAA  

Johnson (TN) RoyalsMIDEAST REGION – The 2 seeds – the JOHNSON UNIVERSITY (FL) ROYALS – knocked off the 7th seeded BOYCE COLLEGE BULLDOGS 75-62 in this 1st Round game. (The 1 seed has a Bye in this round.)   ###   Meanwhile the (3) GREAT LAKES CHRISTIAN COLLEGE CRUSADERS edged the (6) WELCH COLLEGE FLAMES in a 72-71 Instant Classic   ###   And the (4) SIMMONS COLLEGE OF KENTUCKY FALCONS defeated the (5) CU-HARRODSBURG TIGERS 69-65.

Maranatha Baptist Logo bigNORTH REGION – The 5th seeded MARANATHA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY SABERCATS toppled the 4 seeds – Canada’s PROVIDENCE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE PILOTS by a score of 94-82   ###   The (6) TRINITY BIBLE COLLEGE LIONS kept the Upsets coming with a 108-103 Overtime win over the (3) CENTRAL CHRISTIAN COLLEGE OF THE BIBLE SAINTS   ###   And the (2) CALVARY UNIVERSITY WARRIORS crushed the (7) OAK HILLS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE WOLFPACK 87-49.   Continue reading

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SON OF INDIANA JONES

Chris PrattWith the news that Steven Spielberg will no longer be directing the bizarre film project Indiana Jones 5, a few readers asked me for Balladeer’s Blog’s take.

In the past I’ve mentioned how foolish it is to think that Harrison Ford MUST play Indy in all the movies. James Bond and Tarzan are just two recurring heroes that have survived multiple casting changes over the years.

The obvious move long ago would have been to cast a younger actor – say, Chris Pratt – as Indiana Jones and detail some of his earlier adventures. I love the Roaring Twenties so I think it would have been great to see Dr Jones’ activities in that decade.

Since it would be before Raiders of the Lost Ark even Belloq (maybe Gary Oldman) could appear in a few installments. I can’t possibly be alone in wanting to see some of those “many stimulating encounters” that Belloq referred to having with Indy in Raiders.

Belloq was French, so do a story with Dr Jones searching for a lost relic in 1920s Vietnam. Belloq’s hoity-toity family could be among the French plantation owners there, helping to set up a clash with our hero. Or have the two vying with each other to recover ancient Russian artifacts from violent factions of Red and White Russians in the years after the Russian Civil War. Any number of things.

Mascot sword and pistolOne of the main things I hate about keeping Harrison Ford as Indy is the fact that Ford’s age requires the setting to be the 1950s or 1960s. Those decades are far too late for the “homage to 1930s pulp and serial heroes” charm of the original Indiana Jones trilogy.

Back in 2008, instead of the awful Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls, they could have made Son of Indiana Jones. Chris Pratt – or anyone else NOT named Shia Lebouf, who is shia venny talent – could have been the son of Indy and Marion, named Gemini Jones or Mercury Jones or something similar. Continue reading

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THE MASKED MAN: STORY TWO – HIS CRIMELORD ARCHENEMY

Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of B.C. Boyer’s neglected 1980s superhero the Masked Man. For Part One click HERE 

Eclipse 8ECLIPSE MAGAZINE Vol 1 #8 (January 1983)

Title: Frankie

Villain: Frankie the crimelord.

Synopsis: Once again the underrated B.C. Boyer writes and illustrates a tale that toys with narrative structure and with superhero themes in a way that puts the reader in mind of Will Eisner’s iconic creation The Spirit. Or in mind of the brilliant and innovative work of Ethan Van Sciver, Richard C Meyer and Jon Malin today. 

In this second story featuring the Masked Man (Dick Carstairs), his newspaper reporter friend Barney McAlister is still serving as the hero’s Doctor Watson – publicizing the figure’s adventures like Watson did with Sherlock Holmes. The masked crimefighter has been adding to his reputation by clobbering and corraling many of the city’s most violent criminals.

Masked Man pic 2Like an old west gunfighter, the Masked Man’s fame has motivated plenty of would-be tough guys in the criminal ranks to try making a name for themselves by killing him. Even a few random wackos try their hand at bumping off our hero, convinced that it will bring them notoriety and a fortune when they sell the book and movie rights to their story.   Continue reading

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TOP 5 COMPANIES LEADING THE SPACE TOURISM INITIATIVE

NASA on UnsplashOften referred to as commercial spaceflight for humans, flying to space is a dream that almost every super wealthy individual will be able to realize in the next few years. Till now, it was only RSA (Russian Space Agency) that used to offer such space tourism services in the early 2000’s at a cost of around $ 200 million per trip. However, they stopped such commercial space tourism back in 2010. 

In recent years, there are some space tourism companies which are going all out to make it the new travel frontier for the wealthy of the world, once again. NASA made an announcement last year that starting 2020 there will open up International Space Station for space tourism. Piloted by Boeing’s Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, civilians will be able to get the space experience at a reasonable cost. Five companies which are leading in this space are detailed below:  Continue reading

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COLLEGE BASKETBALL POSTSEASON DAY TWO RESULTS

RIVER STATES CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT

ius_logoNUMBER ONE COMES BACK – The (1West) INDIANA UNIVERSITY SOUTHEAST GRENADIERS took on the (4East) OHIO CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY TRAILBLAZERS. The Grenadiers were chasing the Trailblazers 41-36 at Halftime but came roaring back after the break for a 93-78 victory. Twenty-seven points from David Burton led IUS.   

Indiana East Red WolvesEAST OVER WEST – In the RSC’s unique tourney format the (2East) INDIANA UNIVERSITY EAST RED WOLVES faced the (3West) MIDWAY UNIVERSITY EAGLES (should be the Admirals). The Red Wolves were on top 45-39 at the midpoint, then floored it from there for a 97-78 win. Bishop Smith scored 29 points to lead IUE while teammate Jehu Lafeuillee notched a Double-Double of 21 points and 19 rebounds. 

CROSSROADS LEAGUE TOURNAMENT

bethel pilots NEWUPSET OF THE NIGHT – The 7 seeds – the BETHEL (IN) PILOTS (Riverboat Pilots) – tackled the 2nd seeded MARIAN UNIVERSITY KNIGHTS yesterday. The Pilots had the Knights faithful worried with their 35-33 Halftime edge, then consummated the Upset with an 85-77 triumph. TreVion Crews’ 26 points led Bethel U.  Continue reading

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FOOL KILLER THIRTY-THREE: FEBRUARY OF 1910

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

Fool Killer timelessPART THIRTY-THREE: This latest look at the Fool Killer centers on the February of 1910 issue of James Larkin Pearson’s Fool-Killer. That month’s targets of the Fool Killer (I prefer no hyphen) included:

*** Crooked businessman Charles Wyman Morse, infamous for assorted financial crimes including fraud and corrupt business practices. The previous month Morse had begun his prison term in the Atlanta penitentiary, where one of his fellow prisoners was THE Charles Ponzi, originator of Ponzi Schemes.

*** Three fools in Swain County, NC who used a radiator in the courthouse building to “thaw” a stick of dynamite for blast-fishing. The dynamite “thawed” so well it exploded, destroying the courthouse.

*** News outlets in the pockets of the wealthy, who used those outlets to downplay their plutocratic abuses. (Some things never change.) 

*** People who were pushing locations in Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina as “the official birth-place of Daniel Boone.”

*** The people involved in high-stakes card games in Saint Louis. Continue reading

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DEMOCRAT ANDREW YANG ON HOW DEMOCRATS HAVE BETRAYED THE WORKING CLASS

Andrew YangAndrew Yang, former candidate for president, has joined the chorus of voices pointing out how the Democrats have abandoned and driven away the working class and the poor of all colors.

Yang pointed out that the Democrats’ snobbery and contempt for working class voters was why he entered the presidential race in the first place, to try to bring the party back to its long-abandoned base.

“This is why I ran. When I went around to Democrats – actually, no, not Democrats – working-class Americans across the country, if you have a ‘D’ next your name, it’s like a Scarlet Letter. Like they do not [let] Democrats speak to them,” Yang explained. “I was talking to truck drivers and waitresses and I was like, theoretically, aren’t you who the Democratic Party should be speaking to and standing up for? But they thought the Democratic Party wanted nothing to do with them. And that, to me, is a real problem with the Democratic Party.” Continue reading

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2020 COLLEGE BASKETBALL POSTSEASON IS UNDER WAY

In the divisions of college basketball covered here at Balladeer’s Blog the 2020 postseason is under way! Last night the NAIA’s Sun Conference Tournament tipped off.

THE SUN CONFERENCE

ave maria university gyrenesROUND ONE, GAME ONE – The 4th seeded AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY GYRENES hosted the 5 seeds – the WARNER UNIVERSITY ROYALS. By Halftime the Gyrenes were in complete control with a 50-25 lead over the Royals. After the break Ave Maria University kept up the pressure, ultimately winning by a final tally of 89-67. Leo Behrend led the Gyrenes with a Double-Double of 26 points and 12 rebounds. Continue reading

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