May 30, 2022 · 12:10 am

MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS FROM THE BOXER “REBELLION” EXPEDITION

titusHAVE A RESPECTFUL MEMORIAL DAY! Balladeer’s Blog once again takes a look at a currently neglected conflict and some of the military personnel who served in it. Last year I examined the American troops who served on Russian soil from 1918-1920, this year I look at some of the Congressional Medal of Honor recipients from the Relief Expedition during the Boxer Massacres in China (1900).

corporal titusCALVIN P. TITUS

Branch of Service: Army

Rank: Standard Bearer/ Musician

Citation: “For gallant and daring conduct in the presence of his colonel and other officers and enlisted men of his regiment on 14 August 1900, while serving with Company E, 14th Infantry, at Peking, China. Musician Titus was first to scale the wall of the city.” He raised the American Flag from the top of that wall. (Pictured above.) NOTE: Titus previously served in the Philippine War (1899-1902) and subsequently in the Mexican Expedition (1916-1917) and Occupied Germany after World War One. 

Peter StewartPETER STEWART

Branch of Service: Marine Corps

Rank: Gunnery Sergeant

Citation: “For extraordinary heroism while serving with the Marine Guard, Captain Newt Hall’s Marine Detachment, 1st Regiment (Marines), U.S.S. Newark in action with the relief expedition of the Allied forces in China during the battles of 13, 20, 21, and 22 June 1900. Throughout this period and in the presence of the enemy, Stewart distinguished himself by meritorious conduct.”   Continue reading →

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May 29, 2022 · 2:45 pm

TWENTY COLD WAR ERA ATTACKS ON AIRCRAFT

Mascot new look With Memorial Day coming up tomorrow Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at some servicemembers who died in assorted neglected Cold War clashes.

APRIL 8th, 1950 – A U.S. Navy Privateer Electronic Intelligence aircraft was shot down by Soviet Union fighter planes over the Baltic Sea. All 10 crew members were either killed or captured by the Soviets with no further information ever becoming available.

NOVEMBER 6th, 1951 – A U.S. Navy Neptune patrol aircraft was fired upon by Soviet fighters off the coast of Siberia. The plane disappeared along with all 10 crew members.

JUNE 13th, 1952 – A U.S. Air Force Superfortress on a reconnaissance mission was reportedly attacked by Soviet fighters over the Sea of Japan and disappeared without a trace along with all 12 crew members.

SuperfortressOCTOBER 7th, 1952 – Another U.S. Air Force Superfortress encountered Soviet fighters off the coast of Japan and was presumed to have been shot down with 8 crewmen losing their lives.

NOVEMBER 29th, 1952 – A U.S. cargo plane was shot down over northeast China. Two crewmen died in the crash and were buried near the craft. The surviving pair – John Downey and Richard Fectau – were captured and imprisoned. Fectau was not returned to the U.S. until 1971 and Downey in 1973.

JANUARY 18th, 1953 – A U.S. Navy Neptune plane was shot down by Chinese anti-aircraft guns over the Formosa Strait off Swatow, China. It ditched, with 2 crew members presumed captured by the Chinese and 5 presumed dead. A U.S. Coast Guard “flying boat” crashed during the search for the downed crew, leaving 4 more men dead.    Continue reading →

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May 28, 2022 · 10:50 am

IRON MAN: 1970s CLASSICS 9 – THE CRIMSON DYNAMO, MODOK AND THE BLACK LAMA

For Part One of these Iron Man 1970s classics click HERE.

im 73IRON MAN Vol 1 #73 (March 1975)

Title: Turnabout: A Most Foul Play

Villains: The Crimson Dynamo and Kuon Set

Synopsis: This issue picks up a week or so after the end of our previous story. Tony Stark is back in Manila at the Stark International Regional Headquarters in the Philippines. He is conferring with Pepper Potts-Hogan and her husband Happy, his Executive Assistant and his Security Chief respectively. Pepper has been informed that Tony is really Iron Man, so now both she and Happy know the secret.

Amid this relaxed setting Tony discusses Stark International’s new food processing plant in Manila, part of Tony’s ongoing reorganization of his company to leave his days as a weapons manufacturer behind him.

black lama standingThe married couple ask their boss about his recent trip to San Diego, and Tony tells them about his battle with Whiplash, the Melter and the Man-Bull as part of the Black Lama’s (at right) unfolding War of the Supervillains. Our hero also mentions returning to Stark International’s Headquarters on Long Island for a few days and his eyewitness account of seeing the Man-Thing in action.

NOTE: That refers to Tony Stark’s guest appearance as himself – NOT Iron Man – in Giant-Size Man-Thing #2.

Next, Tony shows Pepper for the first time how he dons his Iron Man armor which he carries around with him in segments in his briefcase. In a comic book coincidence, shortly after Tony becomes Iron Man an explosion rocks his Manila buildings.

Iron Man flies to the boiler room and manages to bring things under control before an even more destructive explosion can occur. Leaving Pepper and Happy to deal with the aftermath of this industrial accident, our hero tells them he is flying off to Vietnam to investigate Roxie Gilbert’s disappearance a few installments back. Continue reading →

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May 27, 2022 · 2:04 pm

FIRST PONY EXPRESS RIDERS

pony expressBalladeer’s Blog always marks the holiday called Frontierado, which is observed every year on the firstrichardson, fry, cliff brothers charlie and gus Friday in August. This year that will be August 5th. Frontierado is about the myth of the old west, not the grinding reality.

A topic I haven’t covered in the past is the legendary Pony Express, which operated from April 3rd, 1860 to October 26th, 1861. Prior to the spread of telegraph wires all the way across the continent, the Pony Express was the fastest way of getting messages – and mail – from Missouri to California and vice versa.

Their riders, officially titled Expressmen, faced perils from nature, bandits and hostile Native Americans depending on circumstances at any given moment. Everything boiled down to speed, so to save on weight on the horses Expressmen were only permitted to carry one pistol after a few riders were caught carrying two pistols and a rifle or more.

richardson and fryI will cover many of the other riders as we get closer to the actual date of Frontierado, but for today here is a brief look at the first Pony Express riders to depart from Saint Joseph, MO headed west and from Sacramento, CA headed east. There is still some dispute about which men officially count as the first riders, with two men put forth for both routes.

WEST FROM ST. JOSEPH – The first potential riders from St. Joseph, MO were, alphabetically, Johnny Fry and “Sailor Billy” Richardson. After ceremonial speeches by politicians and businessmen, a cannon shot inaugurated the first ride westward around 7:15PM on April 3rd, 1860. 

johnny fryJOHNNY FRY was born in Bourbon County, Kentucky in 1840 (exact date unknown) and in 1857 his family moved to Missouri. After the firing of the cannon, whoever the first rider was, Fry or Richardson, they galloped to the ferry Denver waiting at the landing on Jules Street. The Denver carried the rider across the Missouri River to Elwood, KS where that first ride resumed. Continue reading →

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May 26, 2022 · 12:05 pm

DEMOCRATS: THE WORST OF BOTH WORLDS NOW

democrat snob

Democrat snob

Here at Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog I used to point out how Democrats had politicized the adjective “intellectual” to apply ONLY to those people who agreed with every single one of their political views, while Republicans had politicized the adjective “patriotic” to apply ONLY to those people who agreed with every single one of their political views.

Now in 2022 the Democrats have become the worst of both worlds, pretending that a person is only intellectual AND/OR patriotic if that person agrees with every single one of their political views. The nauseating way Democrats STILL drone on and on about the nonexistent “insurrection” (LMAO) and pretend they care about the “sanctity” of the Capitol building is absurd.

The foolish Chelsea Clinton even referred to the doddering career criminal Joe Biden by saying it was good to go back to having a president who was “proud to be an American.” Uh. Yeah. That remark came after years of Democrats pretending that de facto Third Party President Donald Trump’s frequent praise of America represented dangerous nationalism.

Democrat rat

DEMOCRAT PARTY

And Democrats are now as mindlessly jingoistic as Republicans used to be and condemn people as unpatriotic or worse if they don’t fanatically hate Russia like Democrats do. Look how Democrats are even doing things like removing the works of famous Russian composers from concert performances and famous Russian authors from literature classes. There was a time when you could reasonably assume Republicans were the ones taking such narrow-minded positions. Not anymore.

As I wrote a while back “By the time most people are out of their 20s they shrug off the immature and insecure preoccupation with how ‘intellectual’ they supposedly are. America’s Democrats are perpetual children so they never outgrow that pompous, boorish pose.” Continue reading →

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May 25, 2022 · 7:18 am

ED MCMAHON AND THE MANDELA EFFECT

ed mcmahon and afpHere at Balladeer’s Blog I enjoy writing about all aspects of mythology and folklore and the way that a popular misconception can be spread. Once again the false claim that Ed McMahon (at left) was affiliated with Publishers Clearing House instead of American Family Publishers is making the rounds. Every few years this story resurfaces and is often cited as an example of the Mandela Effect.

If you need a refresher on the Mandela Effect, it refers to the way that information can become jumbled in the public consciousness, resulting in a mass sharing of false memories. This name for the phenomenon comes from a 2009 story about the large numbers of people who incorrectly believed that Nelson Mandela had died in prison in the 1980s.

In large measure that misconception has been attributed to the fact that in 1987 Denzel Washington starred in the movie Cry Freedom, a film based on the real-life Steve Biko. Washington portrayed Biko, a black anti-Apartheid activist in South Africa, just like Nelson Mandela had been. Biko, like Mandela, was imprisoned for his activities, but Biko – unlike Mandela – died in prison in 1977. Continue reading →

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May 24, 2022 · 7:42 am

CAPTAIN GARDINER OF THE INTERNATIONAL POLICE (1916) – ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION

captain-gardinerCAPTAIN GARDINER OF THE INTERNATIONAL POLICE (1916) – Robert Allen Dodd wrote this story over one hundred years ago under the name Robert Allen. Narration informs us that the story is set 60 years after the conclusion of the then-raging World War. Since we know it ended in 1918 we can look forward to visiting the “far-off future” of 1978.

A multi-national entity called the International Federation is one of the major world powers along with the Chinese-Japanese Alliance and the Muslim Confederation. The International Police have been the Federation’s military and intelligence service but after decades of peace there is emerging pressure to disband the I.P. Amid the ongoing political and bureaucratic wrangling over that prospect our hero Captain Gardiner and his colleague Major Wilkie undertake a dangerous mission. Continue reading →

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May 23, 2022 · 12:01 pm

DEMOCRATS VS THE REST OF US: MAY 23rd

democrat platform hatredAs I often point out here at Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog, there is no reason to belong to either the Democrats or Republicans. Keep your vote and your integrity by freeing up your options. All readers are welcome here, no matter who you voted for, but let’s face it – there is NO Democrat site which welcomes you if you voted for someone they hate. And they hate more and more people by the day.

HILLARY CLINTON’S GROTESQUE “RUSSIAN COLLUSION” FRAUD AGAINST DE FACTO THIRD PARTY PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP IS BEING THOROUGHLY EXPOSED IN COURT.  More HERE. And HERE. And HERE. And HERE. And HERE. And HERE.

ANTIFA (REALLY KLAN-TIFA) BROWNSHIRT FOR THE DEMOCRATS CONVICTED OF FOUR COUNTS OF ATTEMPTED MANSLAUGHTER FOR HIS SHOOTING SPREE GETS NO PRISON TIME FROM ELECTED JUDGE IN DEMOCRAT-CONTROLLED COLORADO. Antifa thugs really are the Democrats’ violent mobs.

biden bloodAND EVEN MORE CHILDREN HOSPITALIZED OVER JOE BIDEN’S BABY FORMULA DEBACLE. Joe Biden is a callous monster.

UNFIT AND ILLEGIT JOE BIDEN SHOWS OFF HIS SENILITY AND/OR DEMENTIA ON HIS KOREAN TRIP. Incident after incident for the career criminal. LOTS OF VIDEOS.

AND YET ANOTHER INVESTIGATION INTO VOTE FRAUD IS LAUNCHED. Have I mentioned that the 2020 presidential election was as tainted and corrupt as those in 1876 and 2000? I thought so.

#WALKAWAY FOUNDER BRANDON STRAKA HOLDS MOST RECENT RALLY. Join so many of us former Democrats in walking away from that intolerant party of fascists. Continue reading →

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May 22, 2022 · 1:24 am

IF FOOTMEN TIRE YOU, WHAT WILL HORSES DO? (1971) – BAD MOVIE

I’ve gotten e-mails asking that I review this movie but I already did in 2010. It’s been on my Bad Movie page here: https://glitternight.com/bad-movies/

If Footmen Tire youIF FOOTMEN TIRE YOU, WHAT WILL HORSES DO? (1971) – Category: A neglected bad movie classic that deserves a Plan 9-sized cult following.    

No, it’s not about Quentin Tarantino and pre-Castro Havana nightclubs (Thank you, I’m here all week!) it’s really a Cold War-era warning about what would happen if Communists took over the United States. It’s from Ron Ormond, best known for the bad movie classic Mesa Of Lost Women before he found religion and hooked up with the Reverend Estus W Pirkle for films like this one.

If Footmen Tire you 2Pirkle serves as the narrator of this quirky little mess, ranting on and on in his over-the-top way about how the USA has turned away from the Bible and will suffer the consequences. He’s like a combination of Criswell in Plan 9 From Outer Space and the sermonizing narrator from Blood Freak (qv).

In one of his enjoyably bizarre tangents before he gets to the Soviet conquest of America he also speaks out on the “evils” of dancing, which he calls ”The front door to adultery! What starts on the dance floor is expected to be finished later.” He even says dancing is “as immoral as it has always been”. Continue reading →

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May 21, 2022 · 12:01 am

IRON MAN: 1970s CLASSICS 8 – THE BLACK LAMA, WHIPLASH, MELTER AND THE MAN-BULL

For Part One of these Iron Man 1970s classics click HERE.

im 72IRON MAN Vol 1 #71 (November 1974)

Title: Tooth and Yellow Claw

Villains: Black Lama and the Yellow Claw

Synopsis: This issue picks up right where the previous one left off. With Ultimo defeated, Iron Man flies toward the Mandarin’s former castle, now occupied by the Yellow Claw, who is exulting over having killed the Mandarin through trickery last time around. 

NOTE: Naturally the Mandarin is not really dead and in 1977 will return in time for Iron Man # 95-100.

robert downey jr iron manThe Yellow Claw seized the Mandarin’s castle and killed his rival supervillain as the opening battles in the War of the Supervillains which has been set in motion by Iron Man’s old foe the Black Lama. The latter villain is offering his Golden Globe of Power as the world-conquering prize to whichever Marvel supervillain wins this deadly war.   

Iron Man bursts through one of the castle walls, suprising the Yellow Claw. The Claw sics one of his biological constructs – a mutated “blob”-like creature – on our hero. After Tony defeats the cyborg creature, the Yellow Claw unleashes a swarm of his robots on Iron Man, robots which explode upon being defeated. Tony overcomes them, too, and survives a death-trap they maneuver him into. Continue reading →

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