May 29, 2025 · 8:20 am

MAY TWENTY-NINTH ROUNDUP OF NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS

Another current events roundup from Independent Voter Site Balladeer’s Blog. 

*** NEW TODAY – APPEALS COURT REINSTATES THE TRUMP TARIFFS. And the fighting goes on …

LATEST REVELATIONS IN THE DEMOCRAT SCANDAL OVER WHO WAS USING THE AUTOPEN TO SIGN WHATEVER THEY WANTED TO PRETEND JOE BIDEN HAD SIGNED. More HERE. A monumental scandal for which the Party deserves no forgiveness considering their incessant bluster about “democracy.”

FURTHER SCANDALS ABOUT WHO WAS REALLY RUNNING THE GOVERNMENT FOR THE BIDEN CRIME FAMILY.

OUTGOING SENATE DEMOCRAT MICHAEL BENNET CALLS OUT THE PARTY FOR ITS “RECORD LOW POPULARITY NOW.” He also stated “I don’t think nationally the Democratic brand helps very much anyway…anywhere.”

ICE ARRESTS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ON CHILD SEX CRIMES, DRUGS AND GUN CHARGES. No wonder AOC is calling to abolish ICE. Democrats are the Party of child sex crimes especially. More HERE.

YET ANOTHER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT RAPIST ARRESTED IN DEMOCRAT “SANCTUARY” MARYLAND. Are Democrats accomplices to these crimes?

DEMOCRAT MEDIA OUTLETS CONTINUE TO GET HUMILIATED OVER THEIR COVERUP OF JOE BIDEN’S UNFITNESS. Anyone paying attention knew he was unfit during his 2020 “hide away” political campaign.

POLL: RECORD HIGH NUMBER OF PEOPLE BELIEVE THE U.S. IS ON THE RIGHT TRACK. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION JUST ENDED EVEN MORE OF THE CRUEL GOVERNMENT ANIMAL EXPERIMENTS.

CONGRESSWOMAN MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE COURAGEOUSLY SPEAKS OUT ON THE DEEP STATE’S LATEST ANTICS AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP. Continue reading →

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May 28, 2025 · 10:04 pm

CAPTAIN MORS THE AIR PIRATE (1908-1911) STORIES THIRTY-SIX TO FORTY

For Balladeer’s Blog’s overview of the entire Kapitan Mors der Luftpirat series click HERE.

JOURNEY WITH DEATH – Talimbo, one of the Indian members of the Luftschiff’s crew, has died. His widow Siva is devastated and asks to travel on the spaceship Meteor‘s next journey. Kapitan Mors okays the request little dreaming that the widow blames Machinist Mate Schrecken for stopping her from immolating herself in mourning and wants to kill him for revenge.

Mors pilots the Meteor toward the Northern Lights to observe them from space. Siva makes her move, endangering the entire crew and forcing desperate maneuvering of the spaceship to avoid being sucked through a gauntlet of vortices and destruction at the hands of what may be living organisms in space. Continue reading →

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May 28, 2025 · 1:09 pm

MERCHANT SHIPS (424-421 B.C.) ANCIENT GREEK COMEDY

Balladeer’s Blog presents another examination of an ancient Greek political satire. In this case it is one of those works of Aristophanes which have survived only in very fragmentary condition.

MERCHANT SHIPS

Merchant Ships was written and publicly staged in approximately 424 B.C. to 421 B.C. according to the available data. It was another of Aristophanes’ comedies protesting the pointlessness of the Greek city-states warring among themselves instead of uniting against the encroachments of the Persian Empire.

Aristophanes’ most popular surviving comedy about this topic is of course, Lysistrata, in which the women of Athens and Sparta unite to withhold sex from their men until those men agree to end the war. Merchant Ships has more in common with another of Aristophanes’ Peace Plays – The Acharnians, in which a separate peace with Sparta is made by an Athenian man named Dikaiopolis. (I always picture Rowan Atkinson in full Blackadder Goes Fourth mode playing him.)

In the case of Merchant Ships it’s more than just one person establishing a personal peace treaty with Sparta.  

In this comedy the captains of two separate merchant ships – one from Athens and one from their foe Sparta – have grown weary of the pointless conflict and make a separate peace with each other. They and their crew members get to spend the play enjoying the food and drink from their cargoes and living out a metaphorical return to the prosperous days before the Peloponnesian War when peace reigned among the various Greek city-states. 

Franchises aka Merchant Ships

If enough of Merchant Ships had survived to be staged, in a modern-day adaptation (as opposed to a straight translation) the situation could be depicted by having a Chick Fil-A restaurant right next to a Starbucks coffee shop. The managers and employees of these stereotypically Republican (Chick Fil-A) and stereotypically Democrat (Starbucks) establishments could grow tired of the political feuding, especially since both political parties often call for boycotts of the opposing business.

The managers and employees of the two franchises (in fact Franchises would be an ideal title) would make a truce separate from their home offices. Continue reading →

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May 27, 2025 · 5:44 pm

FRONTIER CIRCUS (1961-1962) FORGOTTEN TELEVISION

FRONTIER CIRCUS (1961-1962) – The traveling Thompson & Travis Circus roams the 1880s American West performing for audiences and having adventures.

Chill Wills, the voice of Francis the Talking Mule, starred as Colonel Casey Thompson while John Derek (Bo’s husband) portrayed his circus partner Ben Travis. Richard Jaeckel played associate Tony Gentry.

Frontier Circus ran for 26 one-hour episodes in black & white. It’s a nice change of pace among westerns, much like the series Riverboat was.

THE EPISODES:

DEPTHS OF FEAR (1st episode) – Ben Travis signs a formerly great Lion Tamer (Aldo Ray) who has become a town drunk. Ben coaches the man back to performing status despite the attempts to derail him made by a jealous bully. Guest stars Vito Scotti, James Gregory and Bethel Leslie.

THE SMALLEST TARGET – The land that the circus has leased for a week’s worth of perfomances turns out to be owned by the estranged husband (Brian Keith) of female sharpshooter Bonnie Stevens (Barbara Rush), the circus’ star attraction. Tensions between her and her ex and their son cause trouble. Continue reading →

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May 27, 2025 · 12:01 am

ROUNDUP OF NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS: MAY TWENTY-SEVENTH

Independent Voter Site Balladeer’s Blog presents another current events roundup from an America where anti-Trump loons still pretend he’s “a dictator” and “a strong man” just so they can pretend that their hysterical hatred of him is courageous.

BIDEN CRIME FAMILY: CORRUPT JOE BIDEN’S NINETY-THREE BILLION DOLLAR THEFT DURING HIS FINAL MONTHS IN OFFICE. The RICO Enterprise that was the Biden-Harris Regime needs investigated down to their molecules.

OBAMA AIDE ADMITS TRUMP ATTRACTED THE DEMOCRAT PARTY’S FORMER BASE AMONG THE WORKING CLASS, THE POOR AND MINORITIES. The Democrats showed them nothing but contempt, so naturally they gravitated to President Trump.

U.S. CONSUMER CONFIDENCE SEES BIGGEST BOOST IN FOUR YEARS.

ED MARTIN WITH MORE ABOUT THE INVALID NATURE OF JOE BIDEN’S LAST-MINUTE PARDONS PER WHISTLEBLOWER.

OBAMA AIDE JOINS THE LIST OF DEMOCRATS ADMITTING THEY KNEW JOE BIDEN WAS UNFIT BUT LIED TO THE PUBLIC ANYWAY. The Party needs to keep answering for this for the next several decades at least.

NEW YORK’S DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR COMPLAINS THAT SHE MAY HAVE TO CUT BENEFITS AND SERVICES FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. Even now, “Illegal immigrants uber alles” is the Democrat slogan. Democrats, are there ANY citizens you care about?

DEMOCRAT RAHM EMANUEL DECLARES THE PARTY “TOXIC, WEAK AND WOKE.”

TRUMP’S POLL NUMBERS STILL RISING. Ignorant, uninformed and emotionally unstable people outraged.

CHARLTON ALLEN: A LIST OF DEMOCRAT LIES REGARDING BIDEN AND MORE. Continue reading →

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May 26, 2025 · 10:32 am

THE MICHIGAN BRIGADE: U.S. CIVIL WAR

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY! Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at the Union Army’s Michigan Brigade of Volunteers – nicknamed the Wolverines – from the U.S. Civil War. I’m focusing on them because, though not unknown, increasing numbers of people have taken to ignoring their contributions to the Union victory just because of the post-Civil War career of the Brigade’s commander – General George Armstrong Custer. 

I’m no Custer fan myself, but the men who served under him in the Civil War don’t deserve to be thrown a figurative cold shoulder because of the ugliness later associated with the man leading them. The soldiers of the 1st, 5th, 6th and 7th Michigan Cavalry plus Artillery Battery M, the units in the  Michigan Brigade, were crucial to victory.

The brigade was first being formed in December, 1862 and on June 29th, 1863 newly promoted General Custer assumed command.

BATTLE OF HANOVER – On June 30th the Michigan Brigade took part in this battle set in Hanover, PA. It was part of the leadup to the Battle of Gettysburg. The Union thwarted Confederate Cavalry General J.E.B. Stuart’s attempt to link up with the main Confederate Army under Robert E. Lee.   

HUNTERSTOWN – With the Battle of Gettysburg having started the previous day, the Brigade fought in this July 2nd, 1863 clash along Beaverdam Creek near Hunterstown, PA. They forced Confederate General Wade Hampton’s cavalry to withdraw. Continue reading →

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May 25, 2025 · 10:45 pm

MEMORIAL DAY POSTS FROM BALLADEER’S BLOG

Balladeer’s Blog hopes all of you are having a respectful Memorial Day weekend. I’ll have a brand new Memorial Day blog post tomorrow, but for another seasonal post here are some of my Memorial Day offerings from years past.

I’ve always looked at neglected conflicts or battles. The military members who died in those actions are sometimes overlooked in the big picture.

2012 – THE TOP FOUR FORGOTTEN CONFLICTS IN U.S. HISTORY – A look at the forgotten Revolutionary War battles after Yorktown (1781-1782), the Mexican War (1846-1848), the Nicaraguan Conflict (1926-1928), and the Philippine War (1899-1902).

2013 – FORGOTTEN U.S. NAVAL BATTLES OF WORLD WAR ONE – There were clashes between German U-Boats and the U.S. Navy ships transporting the American Expeditionary Force to Europe, the years-long underwater mining campaign, the German attack on Orleans, MA, the attack on Austria-Hungary’s naval base at Durazzo, Albania and much more.

2013 – THE TOP FOUR FORGOTTEN MILITARY UNITS FROM AMERICAN WARS – Looking at the Oneida Indians First Allies Unit from the Revolutionary War, Doniphan’s Thousand from the Mexican War, the “Yankee Samurai” (Nissei Battalion of 2,000 Japanese-Americans) from World War 2, and the racially integrated 1st Rhode Island Regiment from the Revolutionary War. 

2014 – SOME MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS FROM THE PHILIPPINE WAR OF 1899-1902 – Servicemen from various branches of the armed forces were honored for their heroism during this conflict, including some from Young’s Scouts. Medals were issued for actions at the Sohotan River, Samar, Bayong, San Ysidro, Loac and Catubig. Continue reading →

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May 25, 2025 · 2:25 pm

ELEVEN MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS FROM WORLD WAR ONE

Medal of HonorBalladeer’s Blog offers up a Memorial Day weekend post. In keeping with World War One’s “Eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” tradition that spawned Veterans Day in November, here are eleven WW1 figures who were awarded the Medal of Honor.

J. HUNTER WICKERSHAM

Rank: 2nd Lieutenant, US Army

Site: Limey, France on September 12th, 1918

Citation: Advancing with his platoon during the St. Mihiel offensive, he was severely wounded in 4 places by the bursting of a high-explosive shell. Before receiving any aid for himself he dressed the wounds of his orderly, who was wounded at the same time.

He then ordered and accompanied the further advance of his platoon, although weakened by the loss of blood. His right hand and arm being disabled by wounds, he continued to fire his revolver with his left hand until, exhausted by loss of blood, he fell and died from his wounds before aid could be administered.

Jake AllexJAKE ALLEX

Rank: Corporal, US Army

Site: Chipilly Ridge, France on August 9th, 1918

Citation: At a critical point in the action, when all the officers with his platoon had become casualties, Cpl. Allex took command of the platoon and led it forward until the advance was stopped by fire from a machinegun nest.

He then advanced alone for about 30 yards in the face of intense fire and attacked the nest. With his bayonet he killed 5 of the enemy, and when it was broken, used the butt of his rifle, capturing 15 prisoners.

FRANK MONROE UPTON

Rank: Quartermaster – US Navy

Site: The USS Florence H. on April 17th, 1918 Continue reading →

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May 24, 2025 · 8:07 pm

TRUNK TO CAIRO (1966) ON THE TEXAS 27 FILM VAULT

Randy (right) and Richard way down on Level 31 hosting The Texas 27 Film Vault

Balladeer’s Blog continues its marking of the FORTIETH year anniversary of the sadly neglected cult program The Texas 27 Film Vault. Thanks to my endless research through VERY old newspapers and other sources here’s a look at the very first bad movie offered up and mocked by Randy and Richard, our machine-gun wielding Film Vault Technicians First Class (EO6).

ORIGINAL BROADCAST DATE: Saturday February 9th, 1985 from 10:30pm to 1:00am. Broadcast throughout Texas and Oklahoma.

SERIAL: There was no serial due to the length of the movie plus the Host Segments with Randy and Richard.

MOVIE: Trunk to Cairo (1966). If the only bad movie show you know is MST3K think of:  Operation Double 007, Danger: Death Ray and Secret Agent Superdragon. 

Audie Murphy, America’s most decorated soldier of World War Two, was okay in westerns or military films but he is laughable as a pseudo-suave James Bond wannabe in this flick. For starters his voice is so mild and his mannerisms so meek that he comes across like Ned Flanders: Licensed to Kill!

Menahem Golan (as in Golan-Globus Productions) directed and produced this flick that was distributed stateside by American International Pictures, so this was a royal wedding of sorts in terms of psychotronic cinema. 

Murphy plays Mike Merrick, a CIA agent who is assigned to work with Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad in order to infiltrate an Egyptian base. A Nazi war criminal scientist played by the very British George Sanders is working with the Egyptians to build rockets capable of wiping out Israel, Europe and the United States. Marianne Koch portrays Helga Schlieben, the scientist’s (Sanders) daughter. Continue reading →

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May 24, 2025 · 12:01 am

WHEN JIM RHODES WAS IRON MAN (1980s)

This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at the period during the 1980s when Tony Stark’s latest bout with alcoholism prompted him to let his pilot Jim Rhodes take over as Iron Man. 

IRON MAN Vol 1 #169 (Apr 1983)

Title: Blackout

Villains: Magma and Obadiah Stane

Synopsis: Iron Man (Tony Stark) is very drunk but is recklessly flying around New York City. His lapse back into heavy drinking was triggered by a combination of being dumped by his latest love interest Indries Moomji and corporate rival Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges in the movies) outmaneuvering Stark in several business deals recently.

Tony faces trouble from the mayor over minor damage caused by his “employee” Iron Man. NOTE: This was back when Tony kept it a secret that he was Iron Man and claimed the hero was just his high-tech bodyguard to explain why they both often showed up at the same locations at the same time.

At a board meeting, Stark gets more pressure regarding his careless spending and mountains of debt he has run up. Obadiah Stane is trying to talk the angry creditors of Stark International into letting him buy and assume the debts, which would give him very serious leverage over Tony’s business.

Tony’s personal pilot and friend Jim “Rhodey” Rhodes, who had been a supporting character in the series for years at this point, catches Tony drinking even more after the meeting. Iron Man’s old supervillain foe Magma, his tank and troops attack Stark’s Long Island HQ. 

When Tony proves too drunk to handle his Iron Man armor, Jim Rhodes dons it instead and flies out to face Magma and company. Continue reading →

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