Author Archives: balladeer

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About balladeer

I am passionately interested in college sports, ancient Greek comedies, bad/weird movies, mythology, the American Revolution, Puck Magazine, World War I, U.S. Presidential history, silent movies, the English Civil War, epic, lyric and comic poetry, U.S. Supreme Court history, the Revolutions of 1848, the Philippine War and old pulp heroes like The Moon Man, Pilot G8, Silver John and The Rio Kid.

NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS ROUNDUP: OCTOBER SEVENTH

hurricane heleneFrom Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog:

HARRIS-BIDEN REGIME ANNOUNCES FEMA DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH MONEY FOR HURRICANE SEASON AFTER OUTRAGEOUS AMOUNTS SPENT ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. Not to mention that the U.S. has spent outrageous amounts on Zelensky. Further proof that Kamala Harris’ constituents are bloated rich pigs, NOT American citizens. More HERE. And HERE. And HERE.

HARRIS-BIDEN REGIME WANTS AMERICAN CITIZENS TO CONTRIBUTE EXTRA MONEY TO MAKE UP FOR THE REGIME’S SHORTFALL. But Zelensky got ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE BILLION DOLLARS of U.S. taxpayer money.  Meanwhile, Trump’s compassion stands out.

CAREER CRIMINAL JOE BIDEN ONCE AGAIN AFFIRMS KAMALA HARRIS’ “MAJOR” ROLE IN THE REGIME’S DISASTERS.

HARRIS-BIDEN REGIME SLOW-WALKS THE AID TO HURRICANE VICTIMS IN AREAS WHICH HISTORICALLY VOTED FOR TRUMP. More HERE.   Axelrod even gloats that conditions there may not be restored enough for the citizens to be able to vote in the election in November.

           Wow. Democrats have become so callous to human suffering that they even view a humanitarian disaster through the lens of their political hatred. Unreal.

FURTHER CRITICISM OF THE HARRIS-BIDEN REGIME’S FAILURES WITH HURRICANE RELIEF EFFORTS. More HERE.

HARRIS-BIDEN DOJ SUING TO KEEP INELIGIBLE VOTERS ON THE VOTER ROLLS. But Democrats still pretend those ineligible voters haven’t been voting in U.S. elections. So why do they want them on the rolls? I think we all know why.

DEMOCRATS IN ST. LOUIS CAUGHT TRYING TO REGISTER EVEN MORE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TO VOTE

cackling kamalaHARRIS AND BIDEN STILL CLUELESS ABOUT THE AMERICANS HELD HOSTAGE SINCE OCTOBER 7th, 2023.

HARRIS-BIDEN FCC AIDING THE OVERSEAS FINANCIAL TAKEOVER OF 220 MORE U.S. RADIO STATIONS, BYPASSING THE LAW LIMITING OUTSIDE INTERESTS’ HOLDING IN AMERICAN STATIONS. If only the U.S. had a competent opposition party that could effectively fight this.

KAMALA HARRIS STILL HASN’T ACCOUNTED FOR WHERE THE FUNDS WENT IN THE 42.5 BILLION DOLLAR “PROGRAM” SHE WAS PUT IN CHARGE OF. Life under the Harris-Biden kleptocracy. Continue reading

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BALLADEER’S BLOG: COLLEGE FOOTBALL OCTOBER SIXTH

HEADLINES

DOWN GOES NUMBER TWO – In the NAIA the CONCORDIA (NE) BULLDOGS visited the number 2 team in the nation – the NORTHWESTERN (IA) COLLEGE RED RAIDERS. A 7-0 1st Quarter lead for the Red Raiders turned into a 7-7 tie by Halftime. From there the Bulldogs outscored Northwestern College 22-10 to win this Upset 29-17.

KNOCKING OFF NUMBER FOUR – Over in NCAA Division Two the UNIVERSITY OF SIOUX FALLS COUGARS took it on the road against the 4th ranked MINNESOTA STATE MAVERICKS. At the Half the Cougars led 23-9, but the Mavericks cut that to a 30-23 edge in the 3rd Quarter. USF finalized the Upset in the 4th 40-36.    Continue reading

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DECEMBER 2022: LOOKING BACK

FOR PART ONE (2016) OF THIS RETROSPECTIVE FROM INDEPENDENT VOTER SITE BALLADEER’S BLOG CLICK HERE.  

the regime laughsCALLOUS AND UNCARING JOE BIDEN CALLED OUT FOR PARTYING IN SAINT CROIX WHILE STORM DESTRUCTION RAGED. And here we are two years later and Kamala Harris and Joe Biden are once again callously failing those suffering from a natural disaster.

FACEBOOK WHISTLEBLOWER STATES THAT FACEBOOK’S SCANDALS WOULD OVERSHADOW TWITTER’S. Big Tech’s political interference and blatant partisanship is beyond disgusting.

AND YET ANOTHER STATE SUPREME COURT – DELAWARE THIS TIME – STRIKES DOWN VOTE BY MAIL (Cheat by Mail). Also strikes down election day registration. (And remember, Vote by Mail is NOT the same thing as absentee voting.)biden is not legit

           At any rate, even more of those unconstitutional mail in ballots should never have been counted. The 2020 presidential election was as corrupt and tainted as the ones in 1876 and 2000.

BIDEN REGIME FAILS TO PROPERLY HANDLE WINTER STORM, LEAVING MANY DEAD AND MILLIONS WITHOUT POWER. More HERE. Callously failing suffering Americans has been the hallmark of the Kamala Harris-Joe Biden Regime.

biden fbi electionsBIDEN AND HARRIS REGIME, TO THE BENEFIT OF HUMAN TRAFFICKERS AND DRUG DEALERS, UNDO ARIZONA’s STEPS TO SECURE THE BORDER. Biden and Harris’ hostile occupation of the U.S. continues.

THE FBI (FUGGEDDA BOUT INTEGRITY, FUHRER BIDEN’S INQUISITORS) REFUSE TO NAME OTHER BIG TECH OUTFITS THAT THEY PAY OFF. Social media outlets have been and still are partisan tools.

BIDEN HAS HELD FEWER INTERVIEWS THAN ANY OTHER PRESIDENT AT THIS POINT IN THEIR TERM. This is just an extension of the way that the unfit white-collar criminal hid away during his non-campaign in 2020 in order to minimize exposure regarding his obvious dementia. 

democrat media outletsTWITTER FILES REVEAL THAT THE PREVIOUS REGIME AT TWITTER COOPERATED WITH THE U.S. MILITARY ON PSYOPS AND OTHER EFFORTS. Joe Biden’s corporate fascist kleptocracy and its functionaries are the worst of the worst. The election interference was just the tip of the iceberg.

FURTHER REVELATIONS ABOUT HOW THE FBI (Fuggedda Bout Integrity), the CIA AND OTHER GESTAPO-LIKE ORGANIZATIONS USED SOCIAL MEDIA TO CENSOR THE REST OF US. More HERE. And HERE. Continue reading

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WNBA SEMIFINALS RESULTS FROM OCTOBER FOURTH

ACES VS LIBERTY: GAME THREE – This series moved back to Sin City as the two-time defending national champions, the LAS VEGAS ACES welcomed the NEW YORK LIBERTY.

A 26-23 Aces edge in the 1st Quarter became 52-49 by Halftime. After the break Las Vegas outscored the Liberty 43-32 for a 95-81 victory, making the series 2 games to 1 in favor of New York. Jackie Young put up 24 points to lead the Aces, while her teammate A’ja Wilson notched a Double Double of 19 points and 14 rebounds.    Continue reading

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SWAMP THING: HALLOWEENISH COVERS

This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog will look at some of DC’s Swamp Thing covers that fit the Halloween Season. 

st 3SWAMP THING Vol 1 #3 (March 1973)

Title: The Patchwork Man

Villains: Dr. Anton Arcane and his Patchwork Man

NOTE: Scientist Alec Holland developed a bio-restorative chemical formula to help plant and animal life survive under hostile environmental conditions. A group of villains called the Conclave wanted the formula for their own purposes and murdered Alec and his wife Linda when they would not sell them that formula.

        part of st 1 coverAlec’s body was dumped in the swamp, where the bio-restorative chemicals his body had been soaked in interacted with his own anatomy, the mud and the plant life in the swamp, letting him rise from the dead as a murk-monster. The Swamp Thing retained Alec Holland’s intelligence but could not speak for the first several issues.

Synopsis: The Swamp Thing was searching through the laboratory of his foe, Anton Arcane, genetic engineer and sorcerer combined. He winds up battling another of Arcane’s macabre creations, the Patchwork Man, one of the villain’s Un-Men.  Continue reading

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MEXICAN MOVIE MONSTERS I’D LOVE TO SEE GET NEW FILMS

Halloween Month at Balladeer’s Blog continues with this look at Mexican horror figures who haven’t had a truly striking movie in decades. Well, outside of La Llorona, who still gets featured every few years.

Instead of doing nothing but sequels and remakes for the same handful of American slasher stories over and over again, how about 2020s treatments of these south-of-the-border monsters that people like me love almost as much as the classic Universal Monsters? 

DOCTOR M

First Appearance: The Black Pit of Dr. M (1958)

Lore: Dr. Masali, a less than ethical psychiatrist at a Mexican insane asylum in the early 1900s, gets a visit from the ghost of his late colleague Dr. Aldama. The spirit explains to Dr. M the unholy procedure for returning from the afterlife in a different body, which has been Masali’s obsession for years.

The ghost then warns Dr. M not to ever use the process. However, after being hanged for a murder he didn’t commit, Dr. M does indeed return to the flesh. As Heavenly punishment for violating God’s Will his soul is trapped in the body of his asylum’s hideously deformed and homicidally violent resident, Elmer.

The image of the returned Dr. M in his hideous new body playing a mournful tune on a violin to prove his identity to a friend is a scene worthy of the greatest Gothic horror films. Even better would have been a scene of him later playing the same tune over his own grave. Continue reading

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OCTOBER THIRD ROUNDUP OF NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS

From Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog:

KAMALA HARRIS EMBRACES THE PORT WORKERS STRIKE DESPITE THE BLOW IT WILL DELIVER TO THE ECONOMY. But Harris and Biden and their fellow one-percenters will be just fine. 

OVER TWO HUNDRED RETIRED GENERALS AND ADMIRALS ENDORSE TRUMP. This doesn’t impress ME, but I’m posting it because of the way Democrats always pretend it means something when military figures endorse their candidates.

THE TALIBAN HAS BEEN NULLIFYING THE DIVORCES OF TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CHILD BRIDES AND DRAGGING THEM BACK TO THEIR FORMER SPOUSES. But not a peep from privileged white Democrat women who pretend to be bold and daring by indulging in Handmaid’s Tale cosplay. But then, Democrats are big fans of sexually abusing children. Especially Democrat “teachers” (LMAO).

ROBERT F. KENNEDY ONCE AGAIN EXPOSES THE IGNORANCE OF ANTI-TRUMP LOONS BY FOOLING THEM INTO THINKING A QUOTE FROM JFK WAS REALLY FROM A TRUMP SUPPORTER.

AND YET ANOTHER ANTI-TRUMPER REALIZES THEY WERE WRONG. AMBASSADOR GORDON SONDLAND SAYS HE’S VOTING FOR TRUMP“I’ll tell you why. I’ve lived four years under the Biden-Harris policies, and I have to say those policies are not only becoming an existential threat to our country’s way of life but to our allies as well.”

DEMOCRATS CELEBRATING THE DEATH AND DESTRUCTION THAT HURRICANE HELENE DID TO WHAT DEMOCRATS CONSIDER “RED STATES.” Democrats love to “other” and dehumanize anyone they even THINK disagrees with their opinions.

TAMPON TIM WALZ, THE LARGEMOUTH BASS THAT WALKS LIKE A MAN, IS GETTING DESERVEDLY RIDICULED FOR HIS BOAST ABOUT BEING FRIENDS WITH SCHOOL SHOOTERS. More HERE. Also during the event, he called himself a “knucklehead,” a nickname he truly deserves.

WALZ ALSO LIED THAT TRUMP HASN’T PAID TAXES IN FIFTEEN YEARS. Anti-Trumpers are so thoroughly sleazy – REMEMBER WHEN TRUMP DISCLOSED SEVERAL YEARS’ WORTH OF TAX RETURNS BECAUSE DEMOCRATS WERE OBSESSING OVER THEM – AND NOTHING WRONG WAS FOUND! Democrats can’t even keep their anti-Trump hoaxes straight. Continue reading

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FORGOTTEN TELEVISION: HAWKINS (1973-1974)

hawkinsHAWKINS (1973-1974) – Before Matlock, there was Hawkins! The iconic Jimmy Stewart starred as Billy Jim Hawkins, an aw-shucks country lawyer who was really shrewd and calculating behind his stammering, Good Ol’ Boy facade.

Billy Jim wound up acting as a detective for his clients as much as their lawyer as he solved mysteries to prove his clients’ innocence. Hawkins was part of a CBS attempt to establish their own set of rotating 90-minute detective shows in the tradition of Columbo, McMillan and Wife, Banacek, The Snoop Sisters, and so many others on competing networks.

billy jim and strother martinHawkins rotated with Shaft, which starred Richard Roundtree reprising his big screen role as private detective John Shaft (but a John Shaft who couldn’t be as violent or profane as he was in the movies, of course).

Strother Martin co-starred with Stewart as his private investigator cousin R.J. Hawkins. The pair, despite being based in West Virginia, were hired by big-name, big money clients from around the country. AND despite the fact that not all lawyers are credentialed to practice law in all other states. This was made for TV lawyerin’, bubba!   

THE EPISODES: Continue reading

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WNBA PLAYOFF RESULTS FROM OCTOBER FIRST

The two best-of-five semifinal series continued.

LIBERTY VS ACES: GAME TWO – The NEW YORK LIBERTY took the court against the visiting two-time defending WNBA champions, the LAS VEGAS ACES.

The 1st Quarter ended with Las Vegas up 27-22 but by Halftime the Liberty were out in front 46-40. New York led the Aces 69-62 in the 3rd Quarter before winning the game 88-84 in the 4th. Twenty-four points from Sabrina Ionescu led the Liberty to victory as they took a 2 games to none advantage in this series. Continue reading

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FOUR HALLOWEEN FILMS FROM DAN CURTIS

Halloween Month rolls along with this look at four of Dan “Dark Shadows” Curtis’ made for tv movies. 

Jack Palance and THE Billie Whitelaw in Dan Curtis' Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

Jack Palance and THE Billie Whitelaw in Dan Curtis’ Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

Dan Curtis was well-known for his Dark Shadows tv series, the original Night Stalker telefilm and its sequel The Night Strangler. Throw in The Norliss Tapes, Trilogy of Terror and about a dozen more made-for-tv exercises in the macabre.  

In keeping with Balladeer’s Blog’s overall theme here’s a look at four of Curtis’ overlooked horror productions, ranging from excellent to laughable.

Dr Jekyll and Mr HydeDR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE (1968) – Believe it or not Jack Palance does a decent job as the dual title figure in this made for tv movie which also starred Denholm Elliott, Oskar Homolka and BILLIE WHITELAW, who was introduced in this production. 

This rendition of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is top quality for a 1968 television effort and reflects the best elements of Curtis’ then-current Dark Shadows but without the frequent on-air gaffes that plagued that live broadcast.   Continue reading

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