Tag Archives: opinion

December 3, 2024 · 11:07 pm

THE MARVELOUS LAND OF OZ (1904) BOOK REVIEW

THE MARVELOUS LAND OF OZ (1904) – We’ve all been exposed to countless variations of the adventures of Dorothy Gale and company in Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). Therefore I’m starting my reviews of the Oz books with the second in the series – The Marvelous Land of Oz.

A little boy named Tip lives with the mean-spirited witch Mombi as his adult “guardian.” One day Tip mischievously plans a bit of revenge on Mombi by building a pumpkin-headed figure made of wood, branches and old clothes. He then positions the figure – named Jack Pumpkinhead – to scare the evil witch when she arrives home.

The nasty old witch is unfazed and further proves she’s not scared by sprinkling the pumpkin-headed figure with a magical Powder of Life. The powder brings Jack Pumpkinhead to life but he’s very naive and ignorant.

When Mombi threatens to turn Tip into a marble statue as revenge for trying to scare her, the boy steals some of her Powder of Life and runs away with Jack Pumpkinhead as a traveling companion. Tip sprinkles some of the powder on a sawhorse, bringing it to life as a mount for Jack, who is still unsteady on his legs.

Thus begins another adventure throughout the bizarre Land of Oz. Among the other characters encountered by Tip, Jack and the Sawhorse: Continue reading →

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December 2, 2024 · 6:00 pm

BEST OF JANUARY 2024

Balladeer’s Blog’s annual end of year retrospective begins with this look at January’s Best.

DICK TURPIN (1925) – My review of this silent movie which starred American cowboy star Tom Mix trading in his rifle and six-guns for a sword and pistols in an exciting film about England’s real-life outlaw Dick Turpin. It’s HERE.

SAM SPADE – I take a look at Dashiell Hammett’s four overlooked 1932 short stories about his hard-boiled detective from The Maltese Falcon. Read it HERE.

SCARFOLK: LIKE MY MILWAUKEE CROSSED WITH LOCAL 58 TV – Richard Littler’s eerie, dark-humored presentations of the lore behind his fictional English town of Scarfolk has been presented as a website and then as a few books. Experience 1984 and Twin Peaks wrapped into one HERE.

SHIRLEY TEMPLE’S STORYBOOK (1958-1961) – This bit of Forgotten Television featured Temple starring alongside some of the biggest celebrities of the day in child-safe dramatizations of classics from children’s literature. Click HERE.

BRITISH-MADE SUPERHEROES OF THE 1940s – My look at forgotten characters like Streamline, Electro-Girl, Captain Magnet, Acromaid, Tiger-Man and over twenty more HERE.

DESERT CRUSADER (1968-1969) – A French tv series about Thibaud (tee-bow), a French knight who has adventures along the road to the Holy Land in between the 1st and 2nd Crusades. My review is HERE.

THE FLASHING BLADE (1967) – A similar French tv series. Dumas meets Sabatini in this swashbuckling tale of Francois, Chevalier de Recci, from 1628-1631. HERE.

ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION: ADVENTURES OF JAMES MASSEY (1714) – A novel about the title character finding an island of giant-sized birds, odd plant-life, bear-sized beavers and strange human beings, both “normal” and ape-like. It’s HERE. Continue reading →

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December 2, 2024 · 4:30 am

DEC 2nd ROUNDUP OF NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS

Here is another current events roundup from Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHY PEOPLE ARE ACTING SO SURPRISED THAT JOE BIDEN, HEAD OF THE BIDEN CRIME FAMILY, LIED ABOUT NOT PARDONING HIS UNDERBOSS HUNTER BIDEN. For years I’ve stated that part of why Hunter deserves so much contempt is because we all know he’ll be pardoned. The country has gone through this type of thing since at least 40 or 50 years ago.

Outgoing presidents unleash a flurry of clearly unethical pardons during their last few months in office. It’s disgusting, yes, but it’s hardly a surprise that the Biden Regime, a Banana Republic level of a political sewer, would pursue the same strategy to protect its capos and its Underboss.

STILL, I IMAGINE PEOPLE WANT LINKS TO THE ARTICLES EXPRESSING OUTRAGE, SO I’M PROVIDING SOME HERE. And HERE. And HERE. And HERE.

ANOTHER ARTICLE ABOUT THE DAMAGE TO DEMOCRACY BEING DONE BY LETTING CALIFORNIA’S LATE-COUNT MADNESS CONTINUE. It’s like my frequent joke about a Democrat slogan – “The campaign never ends. And neither will our discovery of ‘uncounted’ votes for our candidates.”

CANADA’S BLACKFACE PERFORMER AND POLITICIAN JUSTIN TRUDEAU CRAWLS TO MAR-A-LAGO.

FURTHER REPORTS OF JOE BIDEN’S REGIME PLOTTING TO GIVE ZELENSKY NUCLEAR WEAPONS BACK. Joe Biden would apparently prefer mushroom clouds to his crime family’s atrocities in Ukraine getting exposed. Continue reading →

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Tagged as Anti-Donald Trump hysteria, Democrat fascism, Democrat intolerance, Independent Voters, Neglected history, news, opinion, politics, WE NEED THIRD PARTIES

November 29, 2024 · 9:37 am

NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS ROUNDUP: NOV 29th

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

POLISH OFFICIAL CONFIRMS THAT DEMOCRAT SCAM WITH ZELENSKY FUNNELED HALF OF U.S. AID BACK TO BIDEN REGIME AND OTHER CORRUPT POLITICIANS. And the Biden Crime Organization just gave twenty-four BILLION more to their coconspirator Zelensky. Bigger than the Teapot Dome and Credit Mobilier Scandals combined.

CALIFORNIA’S ONGOING LONG COUNT OF ELECTION RESULTS HAS ALREADY FLIPPED TWO MORE HOUSE SEATS BACK TO DEMOCRATS. Since at least 2018 these long counts this far after election day have done this. It may go back even further, but 2018 was when it first caught my attention.

DESANTIS ADDS HIS VOICE TO THE CRITICISM OF CALIFORNIA’S ABSURD ONGOING FARCE WITH FINDING “UNCOUNTED” VOTES FOR THEIR CANDIDATES THIS LONG AFTER ELECTION DAY.

LEGAL FIGHT AGAINST CALIFORNIA’S TRANSPARENT LATE COUNT CHICANERY. It’s about time!

DONALD TRUMP ONCE AGAIN NOMINATED FOR THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE, THIS TIME BY A UKRAINIAN OFFICIAL. More HERE.

CORRUPT BIDEN REGIME OPENLY SABOTAGING INCOMING TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ON THEIR WAY OUT THE DOOR.

FAMILIES OF AMERICAN HOSTAGES STILL BEING HELD BY HAMAS LOOK TO TRUMP FOR HELP SINCE THE BIDEN REGIME FAILED THEM. Continue reading →

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Tagged as Anti-Donald Trump hysteria, Democrat intolerance, Independent Voters, Neglected history, news, opinion, politics, WE NEED THIRD PARTIES

November 28, 2024 · 11:00 am

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2024!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Enjoy this holiday and the hope for peaceful coexistence represented by the possibly mythic meal that it commemorates. The kind of self-righteous killjoys who bash Thanksgiving are the type of sanctimonious idiots that are fun to laugh at since they have no identity outside of their ephemeral political concerns.

Whether you consider the tale of the first Thanksgiving to be literal or aspirational, enjoy yourselves! Be thankful that you’re not one of those heartless people who try to pollute every happy gathering with divisiveness and turn it into a showcase for the simple-minded, ankle-biting political remarks that those people laughably think are Really Deep.

How sad is it that every year they circulate those articles about which brainless talking points they should use to harass the adults at the Thanksgiving Day table?

PREVIOUS THANKSGIVING DAY POSTS:

A THANKSGIVING STORY FROM THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR HERE. Continue reading →

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November 27, 2024 · 10:12 am

NOV 27th ROUNDUP OF NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS

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

BE FURTHER THANKFUL THAT TRUMP WON – BIDEN REGIME POLICIES CAUSED THANKSGIVING COSTS TO GO UP 24%. Americans look with hope to less inflation next year.

JOE BIDEN’S LACKEYS SURRENDER AND CALL OFF LAWFARE AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP, DROPPING THEIR PURELY POLITICAL PERSECUTION OF HIM. More HERE. We all knew that these cases were absolute nonsense. Only Trump-haters pretended they were legit. More HERE. We also knew the appeals courts would strike down these cases.

THE DEMOCRATS IN CALIFORNIA AND OREGON ARE STILL FINDING VOTES. And literally 2 million more “uncounted” votes for Kamala have been found. It’s possible the goal is to pretend Kamala won the popular vote or at least argue that Trump does not have a mandate.

Voter integrity groups need to fight this absurdity – the election was weeks ago and Democrats are still engaging in their practice of “finding” votes for their candidates long after the country stops paying attention.

THE TRUMP EFFECT: MEXICO’S PRESIDENT NOW SAYS THE LATEST MOB OF ILLEGALS WON’T BE ALLOWED TO REACH THE U.S. BORDER. As adults knew, Trump’s tariff talk was your typical bargaining stratagem. Anti-Trump fanatics are apparently still going to pretend his every move is a call for hysteria.

REPUBLICAN JOHN BOLTON, A CHRONIC FAILURE, FLAILING AGAINST TULSI GABBARD. It’s silly for Bolton of all people to pretend someone else is unqualified. Continue reading →

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Tagged as Democrat intolerance, Independent Voters, Neglected history, news, opinion, politics, WE NEED THIRD PARTIES

November 25, 2024 · 8:05 am

NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOON ROUNDUP: NOV 25th

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

INTOLERANT AND FANATICAL DEMOCRATS CRAZILY ATTACKING COURAGEOUS TULSI GABBARD BECAUSE SHE LEFT BEHIND THEIR UNHINGED PARTY.

MORE REMINDERS OF THE WAY THAT THE HARRIS-BIDEN REGIME USED THE DOJ TO TARGET THEIR POLITICAL OPPONENTS. A regime by and for human filth.

CAREER CRIMINAL JOE BIDEN TRYING TO CANCEL FOUR POINT FIVE BILLION DOLLARS OF UKRAINE’S DEBT ON HIS WAY OUT OF OFFICE. We’re all used to the way that corrupt presidents pardon their unsavory cohorts in the closing days of their administration, but Joe Biden is adding outright theft from taxpayers AND a push for World War III. He’s still unfit and illegit.

CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS ARE STILL FINDING “UNCOUNTED” VOTES ALMOST THREE WEEKS AFTER ELECTION DAY. And inattentive Republicans lose a few more offices they celebrated winning. All of India can get its votes counted in one day, but California continues their late-counting larceny. More HERE.

ANOTHER DEMOCRAT BRAVELY CALLS OUT THE PARTY’S POMPOUS SNOBBERY AND INTOLERANCE. Among her remarks: “I have observed that elites increasingly talk only to each other and come to believe that because there is consensus among them that that consensus is shared broadly and there are not enough voices that are confident enough to disagree and to present alternatives.”

KURT SCHLICHTER GETS IT RIGHT ABOUT THE TIMID, FLIMSY, NEARLY NON-EXISTENT “MAJORITY” THAT REPUBLICANS HAVE LEFT IN THE HOUSE. Continue reading →

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Tagged as Anti-Donald Trump hysteria, Democrat fascism, Independent Voters, Neglected history, news, opinion, politics, WE NEED THIRD PARTIES

November 22, 2024 · 1:34 am

NOV 22nd ROUNDUP OF NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS

The latest current events roundup from Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog.

JOE BIDEN STILL TRYING TO MAKE PEACE BETWEEN UKRAINE AND RUSSIA IMPOSSIBLE ON HIS WAY OUT THE DOOR. Joe is garbage. And remember, he’s been declared incompetent to stand trial for his many crimes, yet he’s supposedly competent enough to sit in the Oval Office.

PRIVILEGED WHITE ONE PERCENTER NANCY PELOSI BEING HELD TO ACCOUNT FOR HER MANY DISASTERS. That includes the way she caused the Democrats to lose the House of Representatives TWICE under her “speakership.” More HERE.

DEMOCRAT SETH MOULTON IS THE LATEST TO ADMIT THAT THE PARTY HAS LOST TOUCH WITH AMERICANS. Among his remarks: “Well, obviously, we’ve lost touch with the majority of Americans. Democrats have a habit of preaching down to people and telling them that if they don’t 100% agree with our orthodox view, often defined by the far left, then they’re just bad people. They’re morally wrong. And that’s not going to win us any elections.”

EXCELLENT ARTICLE ABOUT ALL THE CAREER POLITICIAN/ CAREER CRIMINALS THAT TRUMP HAS BEATEN OR IS STILL CLASHING WITH. Grifting and graft-grabbing members of both major parties have fallen to Trump the reformer. Continue reading →

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Tagged as Anti-Donald Trump hysteria, Democrat intolerance, Independent Voters, Neglected history, news, opinion, WE NEED THIRD PARTIES

November 18, 2024 · 12:04 am

NOVEMBER EIGHTEENTH ROUNDUP OF NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS

Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog takes another look at current events from an America where terrific institutions like HOLTERMANN’S BAKERY are still in operation. HOLTERMANN’S BAKERY is a storied enterprise and is pure Americana. I wish them continued success.

BIDEN TRYING TO RUIN ANY CHANCE FOR PEACE BY AUTHORIZING UKRAINE TO USE AMERICAN-SUPPLIED WEAPONS FOR DEEP STRIKES AS ZELENSKY ALSO PUBLICLY TOYS WITH NUCLEAR OPTIONS. Is Biden’s attitude that he’d prefer mushroom clouds rather than have the Biden Crime Family’s Ukraine corruption be exposed?

ANTI-TRUMP MOBS CAUSE HOMAN AND HIS FAMILY TO BE RELOCATED FOR THEIR OWN SAFETY. Democrats are the fascists they accuse everyone else of being.

SECRET SERVICE AGENT EXPOSED AS SELF-IDENTIFYING “ANARCHO-COMMUNIST” AND ANTIFA MEMBER. Still wonder why so many people suspect the Secret Service of being in on the attempts to assassinate Trump?

BIDEN REGIME BRAGS ABOUT HOW IT HAS ALLOWED OVER FOUR MILLION, EIGHT-HUNDRED THOUSAND SELECT GOVERNMENT WORKERS AND REGIME FAVORITES TO HAVE THEIR STUDENT LOANS FORGIVEN TO THE TUNE OF ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE BILLION DOLLARS. The Supreme Court ruled multiple times that no president has the authority to do this but Biden ignores the rule of law as usual.

CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS JUST ROBBED THE REPUBLICANS OF ANOTHER SEAT THEY WON ON ELECTION DAY BY STILL FINDING “UNCOUNTED” BALLOTS NEARLY TWO WEEKS AFTER THE ELECTION. The Republican “majority” just got even more slender. Since at least 2018 California’s districts have flipped lost Democrat seats back to them by their “count until we can claim we won” approach. The Stupid Party (Republicans) once again stopped fighting on Election Day and once again loses seats they celebrated winning on Election Night.

RELATED: PENNSYLVANIA DEMOCRATS MAY WELL SUCCEED IN KEEPING BOB CASEY’S SENATE SEAT BY CONTINUING TO COUNT ILLEGAL BALLOTS IN DEFIANCE OF PA SUPREME COURT DECISION. More HERE. Can Republicans stop celebrating and pay attention to the fact that they aren’t really going to have the level of Senate and House majorities they thought they had won? Same ol’ same ol. There is no curing the Stupid Party.

IRONICALLY, THE DEMOCRATS AT THE WASHINGTON POST COURAGEOUSLY CALL OUT BOB CASEY’S UGLY MANEUVERS. Hopefully somebody from the incoming administration will do the same.

DEMOCRAT J. WALSH GOES ON BRITISH NEWS AND SAYS AMERICA’S ALLIES SHOULD WITHHOLD INFORMATION FROM THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. Tell the Republican fools to stop picking out their Inauguration wardrobes and pretending that all their cabinet picks will be confirmed AND START PAYING ATTENTION. Continue reading →