Memorial Day 2018

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them." - Laurence Binyon,  from "For the Fallen"

Thank you for your sacrifice!

Weekend Reading

For some good reading to start the long weekend, visit Let’s Review 80: Old Cars and One-Liners at American Digest and Lefty Anti-Semitism is a Serious Problem With a Long History at Sultan Knish.

Happy Birthday, Brooklyn Bridge!

This wonder of the world opened to the public on May 24, 1883 and is still standing strong! National Review offers some nostalgic old photographs worth seeing.

Lots 'o Links - With Music

I have not been able to get this lively music out of my head since I heard it this afternoon. It's 

Mountain King:Dance of the Shepherdess, by Hugo Alfven.

Settle in with some interesting reading at Maggie's Farm, Larwyn's Linx, and Betsy's Page!

I'm not sure where I saw this item:  “'It’s like the AIDS crisis; we’ve had people dying for a decade and nobody cared.'”  — Joe Cressy, a member of the Toronto City Council who advocates supervised injection sites to save the lives of heroin users. New York is considering opening up to four such centers."  You're right -- I don't care. I just don't care about people's reckless behavior, lack of personal responsibility, and preventable consequences. 

The Four Freedoms

Last night, Turner Classic Movies aired films that represented themes described in Franklin Roosevelt's Four Freedoms, and painted so wonderfully by Norman Rockwell. The four are freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. I saw two of the movies, "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Casablanca."

The New-York Historical Society Museum & Library will display the paintings on tour between May 25 and September 2, 2018, and the tour will include Normandy, France. Take a look at the information on their website.

California Schemin'

This is really outrageous, even for California: "For Democrats, succoring illegals and doling out nationalized 'free' health care are signature issues.  What better way to enact that agenda than to offer California's abundant illegal aliens free state health care?"  

I wonder what other Californians are thinking now, those who are citizens, and who work and pay for their healthcare?

Tom Wolfe:The Write Stuff

The title of this Chris Queen appreciation of Tom Wolfe is perfect: "Tom Wolfe: Readers and Lovers of the Written Word Will Always Be Grateful for You."

My favorite Tom Wolfe books were The Right Stuff and The Bonfire of the Vanities.

The Santa Fe Terrorist

Let's stop mincing words. This latest mass murderer is a terrorist. He's not a child, he's not a youth, he's not mentally ill. He's evil, and he's methodical, to have planned and carried out such an attack. Besides the shootings, he used explosives.  Instead of blaming every massacre on guns, or on mental illness (both of which excuse the killer himself), how about the media call these scum what they really are: terrorists. Maybe then, something can be done to prevent the next attack.

Israel or Bust!

Here's a must-read by Daniel Greenfield at Sultan Knish: Attacking Israel for $100, Defending it for $13.

Also, I do love a U.S. Ambassador with spine! "After the ambassador had finished condemning Hamas for the violence on the Gaza-Israel border this week and Palestinian Ambassador Riyad H. Mansour instead began condemning Israeli forces, she got up and left."

Cartoon from the Dry Bones Blog.

Lots 'o Links

There's so much to read this week, thanks to Betsy's Page, Larwyn's Linx, Maggie's Farm, and Hot Mic.

A Disingenuous Headline

Today was the opening and dedication of the United States Embassy in Jerusalem, and the UK Guardian had a typical headline: "Israeli forces kill dozens of Palestinians in protests as US embassy opens in Jerusalem."

Yes, for no reason the IDF killed peaceful admirers of Israel while they were just standing around on the border congratulating the Israeli people. Spare me.

FBI & Campaign Spy

Here's a provocative headline from Kimberley A. Strassel: "About That FBI ‘Source’: Did the bureau engage in outright spying against the 2016 Trump campaign?" This is the Wall Street Journal, not the Star or National Enquirer, and if it turns out to be true, this story truly will be worse than Watergate, and this time the president involved will be Obama, not Nixon. Unfortunately, the media now is not like the media then, and it won't get the attention and investigation it deserves.

You can read more of Strassel's column via the Fox News website.

Defining Deviancy Down at a Coffee Shop & Library Near You

It's bad enough to hear that Starbucks is going to become a haven for the homeless, but I was even more appalled to see in Reader's Digest that librarians are being trained to use Narcan on "patrons" who have drug overdoses! Is any place going to be safe again for ordinary citizens who only want to quietly have a cup of coffee and check out a book?

Lots 'o Links

A very eventful week is summarized nicely over at Larwyn's Linx, Maggie's Farm, and Betsy's Page.

Earlier I came across these before-and-after photos of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.  It's fascinating to see, but before you get too excited, remember that smiling officials shook Hitler's hand, too.

Excusing Bad Behavior

I'm often very sorry I read some of the articles on the internet, because I come across stories like this:
"STDs in L.A. County are skyrocketing. Officials think racism and stigma may be to blame." Of course! It's always someone else's or something else's fault.  Here's a similar story from 2 years ago:
“I’m a slut, and I have herpes. I still am a person who deserves respect,” blogger Ella Dawson tweeted as part of her campaign to remove the 'cultural stigma' surrounding sexually transmitted diseases."  If anything, we need MORE stigma, not less!

John Kerry, Saboteur

From Powerline: Kerry Working To Undermine Trump On Iran Deal as a "shadow diplomat."  As Lou Dobbs said tonight, "Who the hell does he think he is?"

Lots 'o Links

Happy Friday, and good reading with the roundups at Maggie's Farm, Larwyn's Linx, Betsy's Page, and Hot Mic.

Non-apology Apologies

I accept Abbas' apology with as much enthusiasm as I accepted the apology of Trayon White, who blamed Jews for the bad weather. These are unrepentent antisemites who think an insincere apology after a statement like that will just make you forget the insult. Not in the least!

Abbas Explains The Holocaust

Harold Ticktin ought to write about the word momzer in his Yiddish Vinkyl column, and simply show a photograph of that contemptible antisemite Mahmoud Abbas, who "said that the Holocaust was not caused by anti-Semitism, but by the 'social behavior' of the Jews, including money-lending."

(Illustration from YiddishWit.com)

Appeasers

Just look at this headline: "Trump, Pompeo, Praise Netanyahu’s Findings while Left Struggles to Discredit Accusations."  Are the Democrats so desperate to protect Obama's deal that they'd attack Netanyahu rather than the Iranians?  I don't get this line of thinking at all, but Neville Chamberlain would understand it perfectly.