Tag Archives: opinion

DEC TWENTY-SIXTH ROUNDUP OF NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS

Time for another current events roundup from Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog.

CAREER CRIMINAL JOE BIDEN RELEASES CONVICTED MURDERERS WHO KILLED ENTIRE FAMILIES INCLUDING CHILDREN. More HERE. And remember, we’ve been told Biden is mentally unfit to stand trial for his crimes, yet he’s somehow fit to continue to wield presidential powers regarding pardons, clemency and commutations.

ROSS’s TOP TWENTY SCANDALS REVEALED IN THE CONGRESSIONAL REPORT ON HOW THE BIDEN REGIME WEAPONIZED GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AGAINST THEIR POLITICAL OPPONENTS.

CBS POLL: SIXTY-PERCENT SAY TRUMP’S RETURN MAKES THEM OPTIMISTIC FOR 2025. Understandable, but we still have to see what America’s corrupt political establishment may throw at Trump between now and his inauguration.

HEAD OF THE TEAMSTERS REVEALS THE POMPOSITY AND CLUELESSNESS OF KAMALA HARRIS TOWARD THE ORGANIZATION. No wonder they refused to endorse her.

OUTGOING ILLEGITIMATE BIDEN REGIME REVEALS EVEN MORE JOB STATISTICS THEY LIED ABOUT TO MAKE THEMSELVES LOOK BETTER. More HERE. Was any aspect of the Biden-Harris Regime honest?

ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE EMERGES OF CAREER CRIMINAL JOE BIDEN AND HIS UNDERBOSS HUNTER BIDEN MEETING WITH THE CHINESE OFFICIALS WHO BOUGHT THEM. More HERE. Continue reading

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ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS CAROL MOVIE: “INSPIRED” BY CRAFTS INSPIRE ME

Balladeer’s Blog’s Fifteenth Annual Christmas Carol-a-Thon speeds toward its conclusion! For today’s installment I’m grateful to my fellow blogger at Crafts Inspire Me for suggesting this in one of her comments here. Her blog is very enjoyable and holidayish!   

ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS CAROL MOVIE (2024) – As mentioned above, C.I.M.’s author inquired about my ultimate cast for a film adaptation of A Christmas Carol. If I could pluck actors and actresses from any production of the Carol out of the time stream I would cast the following

NOTE: I’m listing the cast from least prominent up to most prominent. 

kath soucieWAITRESS AT THE INN/ TAVERN: KATH SOUCIE – The waitress who served Scrooge his dinner at the inn/ tavern he stopped at on his way home after parting company with Bob Cratchit on Christmas Eve. She is in the Dickens novel but has no dialogue and is omitted from most versions of A Christmas Carol

   An exception is the 1997 animated version, which used the waitress as a great way to add another female character without going outside the source material. Souci as the waitress even got a song!

ghostly hearse driverGHOSTLY HEARSE DRIVER: ROY EVANS – This phantasmal character from the Dickens novel was rarely featured in screen adaptations of the Carol. Shortly after Scrooge sees Jacob Marley’s face in his door knocker, he gets a brief glimpse of this coachman driving a horsedrawn hearse.

   Roy Evans played this ghost in the 1970 Scrooge musical and actually got a line of dialogue! By default that makes him THE choice for this particular role in my opinion. Continue reading

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NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS ROUNDUP: DEC TWENTY-THIRD

biden criminal enterpriseIndependent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog does a current events roundup from an America where the full scope of the coverup over career criminal Joe Biden’s failings continues to trickle out.

That graft-grabbing, mentally unfit creature did immeasurable damage to the working class and the poor while enriching the Biden Crime Family.

MONUMENTAL EXPOSE ABOUT HOW THE BIDEN REGIME WEAPONIZED THE GOVERNMENT AGAINST THEIR POLITICAL OPPONENTS. More HERE. And HERE. Joe and his ilk were and are utter filth.

JOE BIDEN UNCONSTITUTIONALLY CANCELS STUDENT LOAN DEBTS FOR FIFTY-FIVE THOUSAND MORE PUBLIC SERVICE DEMOCRATS. More HERE. And HERE. The Supreme Court ruled long ago that a president cannot do this, but the clueless elected Republicans still do nothing. 

          But then they can’t even keep track of congressional rep Kay Granger, who was secretly in assisted living and hadn’t voted on bills in months

SCRANTON OFFICIALS WANT JOE BIDEN’S NAME REMOVED FROM LANDMARK OVER HIS GROTESQUE PARDON OF CORRUPT FEDERAL JUDGE. Countless lives ruined over his actions. Was Joe Biden getting his usual “ten percent for the Big Guy” out of the judge’s haul?   

CONFIRMED: JOE BIDEN MET WITH HIS UNDERBOSS HUNTER BIDEN’S INFLUENCE PEDDLING CUSTOMERS MORE OFTEN THAN HE DID WITH HIS OWN CABINET. Try to picture how Biden’s defenders would be talking about such a fact if it pertained to Trump instead. Joe Biden was always unfit and illegit.

BRANDON TATUM IS CONFIDENT ABOUT PRESIDENT TRUMP’S SECOND TERM.

DONALD TRUMP IS STILL DOING MORE FOR HURRICANE VICTIMS THAN JOE BIDEN’S ILLEGITIMATE REGIME

REPORTER AT DEMOCRAT MEDIA OUTLET CNN CONFESSES AND APOLOGIZES FOR FAILING TO ACCURATELY COVER JOE BIDEN’S UNFITNESS. Does anyone still wonder why only brainless zealots believe corporate media?

DON’T EVER LET THE DEMOCRATS’ PROPAGANDA OUTLETS FORGET HOW THEY LIED AND COVERED UP TO INSTALL JOE BIDEN AND PROP HIM UP. Coin a term for all this and make it stick to Democrat media outlets for several decades at least, similar to the way “-gate” is still added to political scandals. Continue reading

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BEST OF AUGUST 2024

Balladeer’s Blog’s annual end-of-year retrospective continues with August’s best. 

THE BIONIC BOY (1977) – BAD MOVIE REVIEW – I reviewed this Asian film about a boy who survives a car accident thanks to bionic replacements for some of his body parts. He seeks revenge on the gangsters who killed his parents. Read it HERE.

ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION – THE AIR WAR: A VISION OF THE FUTURE (1859) – Astonishingly ahead of its time, this daring, controversial tale was set in 6900 A.D. when people of color run the planet and white people are slaves. A global war breaks out between black people who want to end slavery for all time and black people who want to keep white people in chains.

           This novel never goes where you think it’s going to. Click HERE.

BUFFALO SOLDIERS – A Frontierado celebration of the famed African-American soldiers of the 1800s west. Click HERE.

CITIZEN SOLDIER (1956-1957) – This Forgotten Television item depicted actual heroes of World War Two action playing themselves in reenactments of their battlefield heroics. You can find it HERE.

RUDOLPH VALENTINO’S SILENT FILMS – I reviewed the movies of the big screen’s 1920s heart-throb and the man Susanna Hoffs sang about “kissing by a crystal-blue Italian stream.” Click HERE.

1790: THE FIRST AMERICAN SHIP TO CIRCUMNAVIGATE THE GLOBE – Read about it HERE.

ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION: IN THE DEEP OF TIME (1897) – A very imaginative look at life in 2190 A.D. There are “Sun Telephones”, tripod-like vehicles for personal travel, all manner of futuristic technology for everyday life and much, much more. This work deserves far more fame. Click HERE.

TONY ORLANDO & DAWN: THEIR TELEVISION SERIES (1974-1976) – I reviewed the singing trio’s variety show which featured plenty of guest stars. Click HERE.

THE MICRONAUTS – A look at several of their 1980s crossover stories with Marvel characters like Nick Fury & S.H.I.E.L.D., the Fantastic Four, Ant-Man and others. Plus Baron Karza returns. Click HERE.

FIST OF FEAR, TOUCH OF DEATH (1980) – One of the most hilariously bad kung fu movies ever made. Believe it or not, the great black actor ADOLPH CAESAR co-starred. Click HERE. Continue reading

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A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1914) – ANOTHER SILENT FILM VERSION

Christmas Carol-a-Thon 2024 continues here at Balladeer’s Blog with another all-new review.

christmas carol 1914A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1914) – This British production was directed by Harold M. Shaw and runs a bit over 22 minutes. Charles Rock starred as Ebenezer Scrooge and he delivered a very good performance, diminished only by the brief running time.

Though longer than the 1901 and 1910 silent film versions of the Carol, this 1914 movie is still a big step backward from the 1913 big-screen version which ran roughly 40 minutes. One of the very few Carols to overcome being limited to just twenty-some minutes was the 1971 animated production, and Harold Shaw’s effort falls far short of that one. 

Still, there are bright spots in the 1914 version. Let’s take a look. Continue reading

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DEC TWENTIETH ROUNDUP OF NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS

From Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog it’s time for another current events roundup.

democrat republican or awakeCOUNTER-PROPOSAL TO THE ABSURD, BLOATED 1,547-PAGE SPENDING ITEM ALSO GETS DEFEATED IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. THIRD ATTEMPT BEGINS.

*** QUICK NOTE FOR OVERSEAS READERS – THE INITIALS “C.R.” IN SO MANY STORIES ABOUT THE SPENDING NEGOTIATIONS STAND FOR CONTINUING RESOLUTION. Long before Trump came along, Democrats and Republicans spent decades playing games of chicken over trying to avoid “government shutdowns” ultimately blaming each other for any temporary shutdowns that resulted.

          profiles in corruptionLong years ago things were always slapped together right before a shutdown while the corrupt political establishment acted like an apocalypse had been averted. But eventually, arrangements started falling through and we got “government shutdowns” (which were NEVER truly government shutdowns) that resulted in Continuing Resolutions, etc. and our white-collar criminals in office switched to hyping up the repeated “showdowns” over the C.R.s, like is going on now.   

           HOWEVER, THIS TIME IS EVEN MORE REPULSIVE BECAUSE MEMBERS OF THE OUTGOING, LAME-DUCK CONGRESS ARE SABOTAGING ATTEMPTS AT COMPROMISE BY INCLUDING DEAL-BREAKING ITEMS. This is setting an ugly trend for the future – Congress members who were just VOTED OUT OF OFFICE in November are free to play scorched earth games with the entire country on their way out the door. Specific members from BOTH parties are guilty.

CONFIDENCE IN TRUMP LEADS TO FIRST RISE IN LEADING ECONOMIC INDICATORS IN YEARS. He fixed the economy before, hopefully he can do it again.

Crazy Nancy Pelosi

Nancy Pelosi, whose policies harm the working class and the poor.

DEMOCRATS NANCY AND PAUL PELOSI CASHED IN ON FEDERAL BAILOUT MONEY. All this on top of Nancy’s insider trading scandals.

CAREER CRIMINAL JOE BIDEN FREES MEN WHOSE VICTIMS NUMBER ROUGHLY A MILLION. Those same men scammed over five billion dollars.

OREGON DEMOCRAT ELECTION OFFICIAL RESIGNS OVER SCANDAL ABOUT NON-CITIZENS BEING ALLOWED ON THE VOTER ROLLS. Ignore elected figures who say voters should stop looking into vote fraud. It’s important to keep fighting it.

#walkawayAND YET ANOTHER COURAGEOUS WOMAN WALKS AWAY FROM THE INCREASINGLY DERANGED DEMOCRAT PARTY.  

AND ANOTHER APPEALS COURT – AS ALL REASONABLE PEOPLE KNEW IT WOULD – SETS RIGHT YET ANOTHER DEMOCRAT LAWFARE ABOMINATION AGAINST TRUMP. More HERE. Fani Willis goes down in flames. Trump responds HERE. Continue reading

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GEORGE C. SCOTT CHRISTMAS CAROL (1984)

Balladeer’s Blog’s Fifteenth Annual Christmas Carol-a-Thon continues with that old classic that starred George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge. 

George C Scott CarolThis is one of the perennial staples of Christmastime viewing for many people. Readers are often surprised that it took me so long to review this one even though it’s one of my favorites. No special reason, it’s just that so many excellent reviews have already covered this Carol that I wanted to hit the more obscure versions first.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1984) – Let me kick off this review with my old, overused joke about wanting to hear George C. Scott holler “Dickens, you magnificent bastard … I READ YER BOOOOOOOOK!”

My only complaints about this undeniable classic would be 1) the way it’s one of those Carols which unnecessarily add extra tension to the relationship between Scrooge and his father and 2) unnecessary magnification of why the poor and unemployed are sad at Christmas. Dickens put it poetically. This adaptation belabors it.

Moving on to the performances:

SCROOGE – Be thankful that George C. Scott toned down his George C. Scottishness for this role. If you’ve seen him as Fagin in the 1982 adaptation of Oliver Twist you know what a bullet this Christmas Carol dodged. (“When you put your hand into a pile of goo that a minute ago was the Artful Dodger’s face … You’ll know what to do.” That’s the last time I’ll do that. I promise.)  Continue reading

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NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS ROUNDUP FOR DEC EIGHTEENTH

herschel walkerAnother current events roundup from Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog.

HERSCHEL WALKER NAMED TO AN AMBASSADOR POSITION BY PRESIDENT TRUMP.

DEMOCRAT ERIC ADAMS COURAGEOUSLY DENOUNCES THE WAY HIS POLITICAL PARTY ABUSED THE COURT SYSTEM IN THEIR POLITICAL PERSECUTION OF TRUMP.

CAREER CRIMINAL JOE BIDEN MOVES TO PROTECT BIG PHARMA FROM LEGAL LIABILITY THROUGH 2029. But remember, he’s been pronounced mentally unfit to stand trial.

trump newSOFTBANK PLEDGES ONE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS IN U.S. INVESMENTS AS A SHOW OF CONFIDENCE IN THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. Career criminal Joe Biden would have gotten them to invest that money in China or Iraq … while getting his usual “Ten percent for the big guy” graft.

TRUMP THE DEAL-MASTER ON GETTING SOFTBANK’S ONE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS IN U.S. INVESTMENT UP TO TWO HUNDRED BILLION.

trump thumbs upHUNGARY’S DEPUTY FINANCE MINISTER CONFIDENT THAT TRUMP’S RETURN WILL USHER IN A RETURN TO “PEACE, PROSPERITY AND PARTNERSHIP.”

THE WHITE-COLLAR CRIMINALS OF CONGRESS SLIP A STEALTH PAYRAISE FOR THEMSELVES IN SPENDING ITEM. Have I mentioned lately what a cesspool of corruption America’s political establishment is? And it will be the usual game of slowly learning what else was snuck through in the 1,547-page spending package, like pro-censorship funding. Trump’s 2nd Term beginning on January 20th, 2025 can’t get here fast enough.   *** LATEST – Another hidden item – a provision to block the investigation of the corrupt and unconstitutional J6 Committee

pro hezbollahPRO-HEZBOLLAH DEMOCRATS IN NEW YORK CITY VOW SUPPORT FOR THE TERRORIST ORGANIZATION. Among their remarks: “Our fingers, our pens, our rifles will be pointed at the U.S. government, the Zionist entity, and nobody else.”   

           In response, one journalist opined “The day will come when these Palestine ‘activists’ inevitably execute a massive terror attack in NYC. And once they do, don’t say we didn’t warn you.”  Dr. Victor Davis Hanson has previously pointed out how such “activism” has “fused with the leftwing DEI industry.”

REPUBLICAN LIZ CHENEY ACCUSED OF WITNESS TAMPERING. The repulsive trash from a repulsive political family back in the news.

Tulsi Gabbard pictureMORE DEBUNKING OF DEMOCRAT CLAIMS THAT TULSI GABBARD IS A “RUSSIAN ASSET.” Democrats need new material.

DEMOCRAT SENATORS AGAIN SUPPORT PUSHING TRANSGENDERISM ON STUDENTS FROM KINDERGARTEN ONWARD. Democrats, can you please leave children alone? Continue reading

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BEST OF JUNE 2024

Balladeer’s Blog’s annual end-of-year retrospective continues with June’s best. 

THE SWAMP FOX (1959-1961) – The forgotten television series about a young Leslie Nielsen portraying Francis Marion, the guerrilla leader known as the Swamp Fox during the Revolutionary War. Click HERE.

BALLADEER’S BLOG’S FAVORITE RUM BRANDS – I presented a pair of lesser-known rum brands. Click HERE.

ANNA MARIA LANE (left) AND SALLY ST. CLAIR (far left): REVOLUTIONARY WAR HEROINES – A look at two heroines from the American Revolution. Click HERE.

BLACKE’S MAGIC (1986) – A Father’s Day look at the series which featured Hal Linden and Harry Morgan as a father-son team of stage magicians who solved seemingly impossible murders and other crimes on the side. Click HERE.

BAD MOVIE REVIEW: TELEVISION SPY (1939) – I examined this forgotten sci-fi film regarding the hilariously overstated potential of television for espionage purposes. Starring Anthony Quinn and Richard Denning (The Governor from Hawaii 5-0). Click HERE.

THE BLACK COAT – My look at this comic book series about a costumed Revolutionary War hero. Click HERE.

ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION: THE FEARSOME ISLAND (1896) – The discovery of a Caribbean Island on which an exiled mad scientist from Spain enslaved the population and made them erect his castle full of futuristic devices. Click HERE

NEGLECTED REVOLUTIONARY WAR BATTLES IN FEBRUARY 1777 – Often overlooked actions. Click HERE. Continue reading

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DEC SIXTEENTH ROUNDUP OF NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS

From Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog it’s another current events roundup from an America still reeking of the repulsive Biden Regime’s stench.

*** NEW – WRIGHT PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE SHUT DOWN DUE TO DRONE ACTIVITY. While the Biden Regime remains impotent since there’s no way to grab graft money from the situation.

NBC NEWS ADMITS THAT PRESIDENT TRUMP’S STRONG WORDS FOR HAMAS HAVE FORCED THEM TO MAKE CONCESSIONS REGARDING HOSTAGES.

SISTER OF HAMAS HOSTAGE STATES SHE “FEELS BETTER” ABOUT THE SITUATION WITH TRUMP SPEAKING OUT ON IT. Joe Biden, a clump of bacteria sculpted into human form, has utterly failed the Americans held hostage.  

DNC MEMBER CALLS OUT THE BIDENS AND KAMALA HARRIS FOR LYING ABOUT JOE BIDEN’S UNFITNESS FOR OFFICE. Those of us who paid attention realized Joe was unfit back in 2020.

INTERNATIONAL LONGSHOREMEN’S ASSOCIATION VP HAILS PRESIDENT TRUMP FOR “TAKING UP THE MANTLE FOR WORKING CLASS PEOPLE.” Trump did so in his first term, too.

DISGUST WITH CORRUPT, DOUBLE-DEALING PELOSI: ADAM MCKAY, DIRECTOR OF VICE AND THE BIG SHORT, URGES DEMOCRATS TO LEAVE THE PARTY AND FORM A NEW ONE. Nancy Pelosi, Queen of Insider Trading Scandals and other corruption, should have been called out for her selfish maneuvering long ago.

Democrat Party

EVEN DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR HOCHUL DEMANDS THAT THE BIDEN REGIME DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE DRONE SITUATION AFTER DRONES SHUT DOWN RUNWAYS OF A NEW YORK AIRPORT. Everyone associated with the Biden Regime is worthless, criminally negligent garbage.

GEORGIA SPECIAL COUNSEL ADMITS THAT THE LEGAL PERSECUTION OF TRUMP WAS COORDINATED WITH THE BIDEN REGIME. Have I mentioned what filth Joe Biden and his ilk are? Continue reading

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