There are plenty of news stories that are still unfolding right now but need another few days for the figurative and literal smoke to clear. I will definitely be covering them in the days ahead. For today plenty of readers have been asking about my view of the continuing U.K. grooming gangs scandal.
I covered that story here at Balladeer’s Blog extensively beginning in 2014 and it is tragic and heartbreaking that the atrocities STILL go on. My opinions years ago sadly fit just as well here in 2025.
ROTHERHAM REPORT OPINION (September 2nd, 2014) – “Females as young as ELEVEN were being systematically raped and groomed for further abuse by Pakistani Muslims in the U.K for years. Over FOURTEEN HUNDRED VICTIMS (Note: that was the 2014 estimate) have been referred to in just the Rotherham Report with countless other areas of the U.K. weighing in with similar accounts.”
“Another common thread uniting the cases is the cowardly way in which LAW ENFORCEMENT AND GOVERNMENTAL OFFICIALS IGNORED AND/OR COVERED UP THE INCIDENTS OUT OF FEAR OF BEING LABELED “ISLAMOPHOBIC”.
“I DIDN’T WANT TO BE ACCUSED OF BEING ISLAMOPHOBIC” IS THE NEW “I WAS ONLY FOLLOWING ORDERS.” (September 22nd, 2014) – “The atrocities were enabled by U.K. bureaucrats, many of whom willfully ignored the complaints of the rape victims because the assailants were Muslim. Some of the bureaucrats have tried to excuse their actions (or rather their inaction) by plaintively whining that they ‘didn’t want to be accused of Islamophobia.’
“Incredible state the western world is in. It’s easier to turn a blind eye to multiple rapes of girls as young as 11 than it is to speak out on the issue and be dubbed ‘Islamophobic’. Some of the testimony from the few brave souls who DID speak out detailed how punishment came swift and sure”.
“That being said, ‘I didn’t want to be accused of Islamophobia’ truly has become the 21st Century equivalent of ‘I was only following orders’. Both lines are used to excuse one’s gutless and/or unreasoning compliance with a system in which atrocities become permissible. Even routine. And both lines basically translate as ‘I didn’t want to get in trouble by speaking out against the horrors I saw unfolding.” Continue reading
As an appreciative shoutout to James Woods, one of the wildfire victims in California, here’s a Balladeer’s Blog look at 8 of his films. 
VIDEODROME (1983) 
EVA THE ADVENTURESS – This was the second of the novels that Nellie Bly (Elizabeth J. Cochrane) wrote between 1889 and 1895. They were considered lost until being rediscovered in 2021. 
Here’s the 2025 edition of what will apparently be an annual post for as long as 
On January 6th, 2021, a “mostly peaceful protest” (as Democrats described the MONTHS-LONG Antifa riots which terrorized the country) at the Capitol turned into a chaotic mass-trespassing incident with the Democrats of the Capitol Police even killing an unarmed woman. Suddenly, Democrat pretensions that they revered the Capitol poured from the mouths of the demagogues of the Democrat Party. 
Anyway, Democrats felt that their OWN storming of the Capitol was fine back on 
In May 2020 when the White House was violently attacked for about 24 hours and many secret service agents were seriously injured, Biden and other Democrats said Trump “used tear gas against peaceful protestors” even though it’s been proven that he DIDN’T use tear gas on those “peaceful protestors.” Listen to those Democrat hypocrites today and the draconian measures they now recommend against civil disobedience!
Another roundup here at 
Greene, Thomas Massie and Lauren Boebert are among the few demanding names of the offenders be made public since taxpayer funds were used. This is just one of the reasons why Greene and Boebert in particular get subjected to so much trashing and ridicule by their colleagues, especially through dubious leaks against them. 
SANTA CLAUS (1925) – This 28 minute and 44 second movie was directed by Frank Kleinschmidt, the famous explorer and documentary filmmaker. Santa Claus has an irresistible charm and with its short running time might be the ideal way of introducing silent films to modern day viewers who are unfamiliar with them. 
Santa Claus opens with Saint Nick himself welcoming us with arms spread wide. The story proper gets underway as we join two children – a brother and sister – who sneak out of their beds overnight to wait for Santa in their living room. 
Balladeer's Blog 