NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS ROUNDUP: AUGUST 8th

don ricklesMore current events in this latest roundup from Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog, here in an America where Tim Walz continues refusing to discuss his time on CPO Sharkey & calls voters “hockey pucks” for wanting answers. 

tim don rickles walzKAMALA’S RUNNING MATE TIM WALZ ALL IN ON FLOODING U.S. WITH ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS – “I’LL INVEST IN A LADDER FACTORY” TO HELP ILLEGALS CLIMB ANY BORDER WALL NO MATTER HOW HIGH. Unstable candidate claims we won’t have Thanksgiving dinners anymore without illegal immigrants. Utterly insane. 

HARRIS RUNNING MATE MADE MINNESOTA A STATE WHERE CHILDREN CAN GET TRANSGENDER SURGERY. They can’t get permanent tattoos, but transgender surgery? Tim Walz loves it!

biden criminal enterpriseUNDER TIM WALZ, OVER FIVE HUNDRED FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS IN RELIEF AID STOLEN. He’s a perfect fit for Harris and the Biden Crime Family.

HARRIS-BIDEN REGIME LETS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CAUGHT BREAKING INTO QUANTICO MARINE BASE GO FREE ON BAIL. Democrat priorities in action.

DEMOCRAT D.A. COURAGEOUSLY BLAMES THE REGIME’S POOR BORDER SECURITY DISASTER FOR THE DEATH OF JOCELYN NUNGARY.

KAMALA HARRIS RUNNING MATE CALLS FOR A CARBON TAX ON AMERICANS. The working class and the poor will suffer, one percenters won’t. 

Continue reading

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FIST OF FEAR, TOUCH OF DEATH (1980) – BAD MOVIE REVIEW

fist of fear touch of deathFIST OF FEAR, TOUCH OF DEATH (1980) – It’s the review FOURTEEN YEARS in the making! Yep, Fist of Fear, Touch of Death is yet another one of those classically bad films that I had planned on reviewing here on Balladeer’s Blog back in 2010 but it always fell by the wayside. At long last this review can stand alongside my examinations of other Bruceploitation flicks like The Clones of Bruce Lee and The Dragon Lives Again.

A fictional Karate Tournament being held in Madison Square Garden is hyped as a battle to be the successor to Bruce Lee. That’s just an excuse to feature a conspiracy theory about Bruce having been murdered and mix it in with stock footage from the Master’s interviews, movies, and tv appearances.

another poster for fist of fear touch of deathAlso stretching out this jumbled mess to feature length are scenes from several 1970s and 1960s Chop Socky movies which are supposed to be footage chronicling Bruce’s ancestor, who is called a samurai even though samurai are Japanese, not Chinese. Other forced connections with Lee pollute this sewage.    

Where to start with this Psychotronic gem? Well, for starters, it’s obvious that the late Bruce Lee couldn’t do anything about the footage of himself in this low-class bomb, but Fred Williamson and, of all people – ADOLPH CAESAR – chose to participate in this dreck PLAYING THEMSELVES!

Okay, blaxploitation legend Williamson has his fair share of schlock among his screen credits, but Adolph Caesar was one of the greatest stage actors of all time and his performance in A Soldier’s Story (1984) helped make it the powerful movie that it still is.

If you need a Psychotronic connection to justify Caesar’s presence in this travesty, his very memorable voice narrated film trailers for several grindhouse flicks and horror films over the years. Mr. Caesar is a total boss in this movie, making it clear that he knows it’s sheer garbage and smirking sardonically throughout his screen time.

adolph caesarHe’s being himself, Adolph Caesar, as if he is doing sports commentary for the Madison Square Garden tournament for network television. The bizarre tone of this film is set within the first five minutes, as Caesar’s play by play of a karate tussle we’re seeing in the ring includes the words “suddenly, he grabs for the eyes and twists violently, ripping them out from the sockets and in a dazzling piece of showmanship tossing them to the crowd.”

A dazzling piece of showmanship. To toss your opponent’s torn-out eyes into the crowd. All said in the legendary voice of Adolph Caesar. It’s a true “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore, Toto” moment for viewers who are used to more conventional fare. Continue reading

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ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION: THE ALERIEL NOVELS (1874-1893)

the authorA VOICE FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1874) – Written by W.S. Lach-Szyrma. The 1874 date marks when a selection of stories that Lach-Szyrma had written beginning at some point around 1865 in untraced magazines were finally collected in novel form. The author penned more novels in the series as the years went by.

Aleriel, an alien from Venus, has come to Earth by piloting a vessel into space, then hitching a ride on a comet he attached it to. He is winged and, like other Venusians, has a lifespan of thousands of years. To better move around on Earth while observing humans, Aleriel tucks his wings under his shirt in a bulge that lets him pass for a hunchback. He uses the alias Dr. Posela. 

aleriel coverEventually during his years traveling among human beings, “Dr. Posela” rescues a friendly Englishman who is among those trapped in the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. The Earthling gets returned to England, and is delighted with Dr. Posela and his philosophical observations about humanity and his theories that life certainly exists on many other planets.

Dr. Posela’s theories are enthusiastically embraced by the young Brit and he impresses his Oxford professors by including them in his own essays. 
Continue reading

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KAMALA KRASH 2024: THE STOCK MARKET CRASHES ALMOST AS BADLY AS THE BORDER

As so many have pointed out, Kamala Harris owns the failures and disasters of her and Joe Biden’s regime. Biden is fleeing in defeat, and Kamala flees accountability. 

please stand byTHE KAMALA HARRIS STOCK MARKET CRASH READIES THE RECESSION AND CAUSES OUTAGES AT CHARLES SCHWAB, FIDELITY, VANGUARD AND OTHERS

ON THE KAMALA KRASH AND RECESSION.

kamala crazy laughBORDER CZAR KAMALA HARRIS BLASTED AGAIN FOR RELEASING NEARLY A HUNDRED TERRORISTS ON THE TERROR WATCH LIST INTO THE U.S. More HERE. Unreal. 

DE FACTO THIRD PARTY PRESIDENT TRUMP WARNED THIS WAS COMING, BUT KAMALA HARRIS AND JOE BIDEN CLAIMED THAT IT WASN’T

POLL: PRESIDENT TRUMP SOUNDLY DEFEATS KAMALA HARRIS AMONG VOTERS REGARDING WHO WOULD DO A BETTER JOB ON THE ECONOMY. Sound thinking considering how he saved the economy during his first term.

trump photoECONOMIC EXPERT SAYS “IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR PAYCHECK, VOTE FOR TRUMP.” Years of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden warring on the working class and the poor have left them reeling. 

KAMALA CRASH CAUSES JAPANESE STOCKS TO LOSE MORE POINTS THAN THEY DID ON BLACK MONDAY IN 1987. Harris again makes history in a wrong, ugly, devastating way. Continue reading

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BALLADEER’S BLOG’S 2024 COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON KICKS OFF ON AUGUST 22nd

The divisions of college football covered here at Balladeer’s Blog always kick off their regular season earlier than the bigger divisions do.

AUGUST 22nd

Division: NJCAA

The teams: The COLLEGE OF DUPAGE CHAPARRALS will host the ELLSWORTH COLLEGE PANTHERS in this Thursday night game at 8:00PM Eastern Time. 

AUGUST 24th

Division: NAIA

The teams: The COLLEGE OF IDAHO COYOTES will host the LINCOLN UNIVERSITY (CA) OAKLANDERS in this Saturday night game at 7:00PM Eastern Time. Continue reading

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AUGUST 5th ROUNDUP OF NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS

Time for another current events roundup from Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog, here in an America where no matter how insane 2024 has been, NOBODY had “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confesses to dumping a dead bear in Central Park” on their Bingo cards.

kangaroo judge for a kangaroo courtCONGRESS’ INVESTIGATION ONGOING IN THE EXPOSED LINK BETWEEN KAMALA HARRIS AND “JUDGE” MERCHAN, THE PARTISAN ANTI-TRUMP PERSECUTOR. Hey, just a candidate from the current administration being involved in kangaroo court proceedings against the other political party’s candidate.

JIM JORDAN DEMANDS DOCUMENTS ON JUDGE MERCHAN’S DAUGHTER’S LAW FIRM HELPING PARTISAN DEMOCRATS PUSHING THE POLITICAL PERSECUTION OF OPPOSITION LEADER TRUMP.

joe biden and harrisASSORTED REPUBLICANS FRETTING THAT TRUMP AND VANCE SHOULD BACK AWAY FROM SIMPLY POINTING OUT THE RACEBAITING GAMES PLAYED BY KAMALA HARRIS. Can you imagine the Democrats being told they should “back away” from pushing “Trans” issues to small children, or supporting Hamas, or “sanctuary cities,” or benefitting illegal immigrants with taxpayer money, or eliminating student debt for selected borrowers even though the Supreme Court has struck it down, or any of their other issues? Those issues are just as “divisive” and “off-putting” as anything the opposition party has had to say. 

           For the umpteenth time I will point out that the Republicans still have no idea how to use their media outlets or increase them. The U.S. needs an opposition party to the insanity pushed by Democrats and too few elected Republicans seem interested in that role. They’d rather let the other side dictate what topics are acceptable during political campaigns.

democrat rat symbol

Democrat Party

DEMOCRATS IN MASSASCHUSETTS PASS BILL TO REMOVE THE “GENDERED” WORDS MOTHER AND FATHER FROM BIRTH CERTIFICATES. Divisive enough to maybe conjure up a fraction of the outrage directed at the populist Donald Trump and his supposedly “weird” running mate?

           This type of thing should be brought up EVERY TIME Democrats huff and puff over Kamala’s race games, or Trump correctly pointing out that illegal immigrants take jobs from black people. (Which was what the “black jobs” comment was referring to, as in illegal immigration took “black jobs.”)   

kamala cacklingVICTIMS OF KAMALA AND HER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS – ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD GIRL RAPED AND MURDEREDSEXUAL ASSAULT ON FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD GIRL 

NEW YORK CITY PROSECUTOR WILLIAM KEMP-NEAL RESIGNS AFTER BEING CAUGHT WITH THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD BOY. Democrats, can you please leave children alone?  Continue reading

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ANNA AND THE KING (1972) – YUL BRYNNER’S SHORT-LIVED TELEVISION VERSION OF THE KING AND I

anna and the kingANNA AND THE KING (1972) – It’s a shame that so few people remember this 13-episode attempt to make a television series of Margaret Landon’s classic novel Anna and the King of Siam. The producers even scored the coup of signing screen legend Yul Brynner himself to reprise his role as the King of Siam from the novel’s revered musical adaptation The King and I.

king annaSamantha Eggar was cast as Anna Leonowens, the British governess brought to Siam in 1862 by King Mongkut to provide a more cosmopolitan element to the education of his children, including 12-year-old son and heir Prince Chulalongkorn, played by Brian Tochi.

The clash of cultures that the novel and musical depicted would be played out via shorter, much more succinct installments in this 30-minute … sitcom?  Continue reading

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JUNE 2022: LOOKING BACK

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

HOW DEMOCRATS LOST THE WORKING CLASS. I quote former fellow Democrats and even Britain’s Guardian. Some excerpts: “The Democratic party once represented the working class. But over the last three decades the party has been taken over by Washington-based fundraisers, bundlers, analysts, and pollsters who have focused instead on raising campaign money from corporate and Wall Street executives and getting votes from upper middle-class households in “swing” suburbs.” 

“I think there needs to be a profound change in the way the Democratic Party does business. It is not good enough to have a liberal elite. I come from the white working class, and I am deeply humiliated that the Democratic Party cannot talk to the people where I came from.” (Links HERE and HERE

Donald Trump won because the corporate media and the political establishment don’t understand there are tens of millions of people who are not racists, who are not sexists, they’re hurting.

“ … there is an interlocking elite that has melded business, media and politics in a way we could never before imagine. And many of these people also hold a false belief that they understand a society with which they have very little contact.

POLITICAL CARTOON ROUNDUP: JUNE 27th. Including a good one about how obviously unfit Joe Biden was mentally.

DONALD TRUMP SCARES AMERICA’S CORRUPT POLITICAL ESTABLISHMENT LIKE EUGENE DEBS ONCE DID.

JUNE 13th NEWS ROUNDUP. Continue reading

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WNBA CHAMPIONS YEAR BY YEAR

The WNBA season resumes on August 15th, so to avoid losing the enthusiasm of those readers who were supporting these posts here’s a look at every WNBA Champion and Runner-Up since their very first season.

houston comets logo1997 CHAMPIONS – HOUSTON COMETS

Runners-Up – New York Liberty

Comment: The Comets downed the Charlotte Sting in the Semifinals before facing New York in the Championship Game.

NOTE: With only 8 teams in the league for this debut season, doing playoffs by an Eastern Conference and Western Conference was not the format used. No “best of” series until the 1998 season, either, just a 1-game clash each step of the way to the title tilt.    Continue reading

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CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND CAPTAIN AMERICA VS THE RED SKULL

This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog follows up on the Captain Britain post from a few weeks ago. That post is HERE.

cb 16CAPTAIN BRITAIN Vol 1 #16 (January 26th, 1977)

NOTE: Originally Captain Britain was only published in the United Kingdom via Marvel UK. The series was published weekly instead of monthly. 

Title: A Hero Unmasked

Villain: The Red Skull

Synopsis: Picking up from the previous issue, Chief Inspector Dai Thomas (from Chris Claremont’s Blade stories) still mistakenly thinks Captain Britain is a villain. He has several other policemen hold Cap while he starts to peel off the hero’s mask, which would expose him as Thames University physics student Brian Braddock (brother of Betsy Braddock aka Psylocke from the X-Men).

cb over caReluctantly, Captain Britain uses some of his super-strength and agility to break free of the cops before they can unmask him. The other police on hand start shooting at C.B. when – out of nowhere – Captain America intervenes. He’s used to authorities in the U.S. often being wrong about superheroes so he offers to fight off the cops while Captain Britain escapes.

Brian knows his force-field leaves him in no danger from the police bullets anyway and feels it will hurt his public image more if he runs off while a Yank roughs up London bobbies. The two Captains fight it out for a time before reconciling. C.A. explains to C.B. and the cops that he’s there with the okay of HMG and could use Captain Britain’s help against a world-threatening menace.

Watching all this on a viewscreen is the menace that C.A. is referring to – the Red Skull.  Continue reading

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