Balladeer’s Blog strikes again, giving a shoutout to a group of musicians before they’re ALL dead. This shoutout goes to the Smithereens and their song Behind the Wall of Sleep:
Category Archives: opinion
NON-DILLINGER: QUICK TAKES ON OTHER GANGSTERS OF HIS ERA
With John Dillinger folklore given WAY too much attention, Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at some of the legends versus the ugly reality regarding some of his contemporary gangsters.
TWO-GUN CROWLEY
Real Name: Francis Crowley
Birth – Death: October 31st, 1912 – January 21st, 1932
Lore: Crowley was supposedly born out of wedlock to a German-American woman and a New York police officer who refused to marry Crowley’s mother. This supposedly accounts for his intense hatred of the police.
Reality: Such shallow, Pulp Magazine thinking doesn’t seem likely. The young man was adopted by a family in which Francis grew up alongside a cop-killing older brother named John Crowley. John himself would be killed in a battle with police.
This background seems a more likely explanation for Francis’ issues than some mythical hatred of an unknown father who abandoned him and his mother.
Criminal Career: By age 19, Crowley had a reputation as a competent holdup man and hit & run armed robber who never slipped up enough for a conviction. He might have escaped suspicion entirely if not for his excessively belligerent attitude when questioned by authorities.
On February 21st, 1931 Crowley, packing the omnipresent pair of hand-guns that earned him his nickname, crashed an American Legion dance in the Bronx. Two-Gun was accompanied by a pair of male accomplices, one of whom was believed to be frequent associate Rudolph “Fats” Durringer.
When the Legionnaires attempted to expel the uninvited trio Crowley whipped out his pair of firearms and opened fire, wounding at least two innocent men before fleeing. With charges of attempted murder now hanging over his head, Two-Gun was about to enter the busiest period of his career. Continue reading
Filed under Neglected History, opinion
HEROIC JOURNALIST SHARYL ATTKISSON CONTINUES THE FIGHT TO EXPOSE EVEN MORE OF OBAMA’S CRIMES
Sharyl Attkisson, the Ida Tarbell of the 21st Century, is virtually the only journalist left in the United States. She courageously continues her lawsuit demanding full disclosure of Barack Obama’s illegal targeting of her for electronic surveillance. (So many other reporters were just Democrat publicists happy to write Obama Fan Fiction, meaning there was no need to harass them like Obama harassed Attkisson.)
In addition to that she has been at the forefront of detailed reporting on Obama and Hillary’s illegal collusion with Russia and their total corruption of America’s “Intelligence Agencies” (LMAO) in whitewashing investigations of Hillary while conducting plots to destroy the incoming Trump Administration.
Clearly, Obama and Hillary paniced when Crooked Hillary lost to President Trump and it became clear that all of these scandals would come to the surface without Hillary in office to cover them up. Deciding the best defense is a good offense, Hillary and other Trump foes have been playing their ridiculous game pretending the president colluded with Russians.
For people who still have trouble following all the misdeeds of Obama and Hillary and the assorted thugs who did their bidding here is a link to one of Attkisson’s items providing a handy guide. CLICK HERE
Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion
GREEN DAY: BASKET CASE
Yes, it’s another installment of Give Them A Shoutout Before They’re Dead. This shoutout goes to Green Day and their song Basket Case.
Filed under opinion
DEMOCRAT ATROCITY ROUNDUP: FEBRUARY 28th
Because it is ALWAYS fun to puncture the pomposity of Democrat asses who think that only Republican asses are disgusting:
*** ANOTHER OBAMA CROOK PLEADS GUILTY – In what seems like the 999,897,789th scandal from what Obama and the Democrat media try to pretend was his “scandal-free” (LMAO) administration, YET ANOTHER Obama Gang Soldier goes down.
Raphael A Sanchez, Obama’s top attorney for I.C.E. in Seattle, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Sanchez proved that Democrats – especially from the Obama Administration – never run out of ways of exploiting the illegal immigration problem. Sanchez admitted forging documents with info obtained through his access to I.C.E. resources and used those documents for stealing identities to open credit card and bank accounts.
I guess Obama’s motto was really “Yes we CAN exploit illegal immigrants for more than just vote fraud!” You can find more on the Sanchez story wherever you like. But seriously, though, “The Sanchez Method” may be the wave of the future in Democrat Fund Raising Efforts!
*** AND SPEAKING OF VOTE FRAUD, the Best Friend of Democrat Politicians everywhere, around ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND MORE non-citizens have been found on the voter rolls, this time in Pennsylvania. Talk about “election interference!”
Funny how it’s only Democrats who keep saying this is not an issue that should be pursued. Continue reading
Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion
LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES: AMAZING PARALLELS
Welcome back to Balladeer’s Blog! Like other adults here in the U.S. my own views are a mix of “liberal” and “conservative” attitudes, that’s why the rest of us find dogmatic Liberals and dogmatic Conservatives (with capitalized L’s and C’s) to be so outdated and laughably partisan.
Liberals think they’re fit to lecture the rest of us about “diversity”. / Conservatives think they’re fit to lecture the rest of us about “family values”.
Liberals are pretentious fools who actually think they’re the country’s official “intellectuals”. / Conservatives are nationalist fools who actually think they’re the country’s official “patriots”.
Liberals mindlessly take sides against their own country no matter what the circumstances. / Conservatives mindlessly side with their own country no matter what the circumstances.
Liberals have hopelessly politicized the educational system, then feign outrage when people prefer home-schooling, even though it’s exactly what they would do if their children were being force-fed Conservative dogma. / Conservatives have hopelessly politicized religion, then feign outrage when people avoid church because they don’t need clueless clergy members telling them what their political views should be.
Liberals want us to treat Christians like they’re less than human. / Conservatives want us to treat homosexuals like they’re less than human.
Liberals pompously think they’re fit to decide who is “racist.” / Conservatives pompously think they’re fit to decide who is “unpatriotic.”
Liberals want to teach only the negative aspects of American history while ignoring the positive aspects. / Conservatives want to teach only the positive aspects of American history while ignoring the negative aspects.
Liberals grandly admonish against “demonizing” and “dehumanizing” people even though they spend all their time demonizing and dehumanizing American Conservatives. / Conservatives endlessly congratulate themselves for their alleged “Christian compassion” but loathe the thought of tax money aiding their fellow human beings in any way. Continue reading
Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, opinion
PRINCE: I COULD NEVER TAKE THE PLACE OF YOUR MAN
Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog may remember that Prince’s passing a few years ago was what prompted me to start my recurring bit Give Them A Shoutout Before They’re Dead.
Adam Ant was the first artist I gave a shout-out to way back then, but since Prince himself was left out let’s ignore the “dead” part and give him an overdue shout-out anyway. From Sign O’ The Times in 1987 it’s I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man:
Filed under opinion
MOCK HEADLINES ARE BACK: FEBRUARY 25th
MURKY MUELLER INSISTS IT’S HIS RIGHT TO KEEP HIS PHONY INVESTIGATION GOING LONG ENOUGH TO LEAK UNSUBSTANTIATED INFO SO AS TO INFLUENCE THE MID-TERM ELECTIONS
JIMMY KIMMEL DEMANDS THAT VICTIMS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT VIOLENCE SHOULD BE DEPORTED, NOT THE ILLEGALS WHO ASSAULTED THEM
MCMASTERS VOWS TO HOLD ALL FUTURE PRESS CONFERENCES FROM A SEATED POSITION WHILE STROKING A WHITE CAT
FBI CLAIMS IT WAS TOO BUSY WITH ITS ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES TO STOP THE FLORIDA SHOOTER DESPITE MULTIPLE WARNINGS ABOUT HIM
FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP, WIFE OF UNITED STATES PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, STILL SPEAKS MORE LANGUAGES THAN BOTH OBAMAS COMBINED
DEMOCRATS CLAIM EXPERTS HAVE PROVEN THAT THEY ARE THE ONLY DECENT AND CARING PEOPLE IN THE WORLD AND ANYONE DISAGREEING WITH THEM IS GUILTY OF HATE SPEECH
A TEARY-EYED NANCY PELOSI DECLARES BARACK OBAMA TO BE “AS WRONGLY SUSPECTED OF ILLEGALITIES AS JOHN GOTTI WAS!”
GOTTI FAMILY ANNOUNCES LAWSUIT OVER PELOSI COMPARING THE LATE MAFIA DON TO THE SLEAZY, SLIMY CROOK OBAMA
CNN CLAIMS NO CHILD’S PETS WOULD EVER DIE IF NOT FOR TRUMP
ROGER GOODELL BOASTS ABOUT HOW EASY IT WAS TO DISTRACT MEDIA WORMS FROM TALKING ABOUT ALL THE RAPISTS AND WOMAN-BEATERS IN THE NFL
JARED KUSHNER STILL A BUFFOON, EXPERTS SAY
DEMOCRATS CALL FOR IT TO BE A HATE CRIME TO PUBLICLY MOURN THE VICTIMS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WHO COMMIT MURDER
CALIFORNIA INTRODUCES NEW COURTROOM PROCEDURE IN WHICH ANYONE ACCUSED OF ANY CRIME WILL BE PARDONED AND SET FREE AS LONG AS THEY MAKE A PUBLIC STATEMENT AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP. Speaking fees, book deals and glowing appearances on all Democrat talk shows add allure to the deal Continue reading
Filed under humor, LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, opinion
FLASHMAN: LINKS TO MY TOP FIVE
WOW! Reaction to my Top Five Harry Flashman Novels blog post continues to amaze me! I’m always glad to share my odd enthusiasms with others so it’s been great to bring The Flashman Papers to the attention of new readers. Here in one convenient post are the links to my individual reviews of the Top Five and to my brief look at Flashman’s encounter with young Abraham Lincoln in Flash for Freedom.
5. FLASHMAN ON THE MARCH (2005) – Setting: Abyssinian Military Expedition of 1867-1868 CLICK HERE
4. FLASHMAN AND THE DRAGON (1985) – Setting: Anglo-French Military Expedition to Peking in 1860 CLICK HERE
3. FLASHMAN’S LADY (1977) – Setting: Campaign against the Borneo Pirates and captivity by Queen Ranavalona of Madagascar, 1844-1845 CLICK HERE
2. FLASHMAN IN THE GREAT GAME (1975) – Setting: The Great Mutiny in India, 1857-1858 CLICK HERE
AND 1. FLASHMAN AT THE CHARGE (1973) – Setting: The Crimean War, 1853-1856 CLICK HERE
*** FOR MY BRIEF TAKE ON HARRY FLASHMAN’S ENCOUNTERS WITH ABRAHAM LINCOLN IN FLASH FOR FREEDOM (1971) – CLICK HERE
*** FOR MY LOOK AT THE TOP SEVEN ROBERT LUDLUM NOVELS CLICK HERE
Filed under opinion
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