Happy Feet Friday

The boogie woogie is alive and well, and thriving in particularly good health in the UK and other countries in Europe. Here's one of my favorite contemporary boogie pianists, England's Henri Herbert, with a solo called “Sidetracking”.



Bonus video! Here's Henri Herbert on the keyboard with an old school rock-and-roll revival band called The Cadillac Kings (I'm really diggin' Gary Potts on the harmonica).

Just plain dumb

But it's Biden, so no surprise: "Biden Taps Chris 'Waitress Sandwich' Dodd To Vet Women Running-Mate Candidates".

Why pick Dodd at all? He’s been out of Congress for nearly a decade, and presently works as a Hollywood lobbyist. Dodd is a Beltway barnacle, having inherited the Senate seat from Connecticut from his father, the kind of establishment insider that populists loathe. Even without the #MeToo hangover, Biden’s pick of Dodd puts his campaign into nostalgia mode, perhaps even for a pre-Barack Obama Democratic Party — where the Clintons and the Kennedys rode herd.

That pales in comparison to Dodd’s history with Ted Kennedy, however.

Read on.

H/T: Ace

Tall, dark and disgraceful

I watch a lot of crime shows on the ID network, and, while that hardly qualifies me as an expert on the criminal mind, it isn't difficult to note certain patterns that emerge over time. For example, a large number of people charged with murder start bragging about their deeds to other inmates in short order (and, incidentally, the other inmates rat them out, practically every time).

So, add idiotic bragging to James Comey's list of criminal traits: "Devastating clip of cocky Comey admitting he broke protocol to set-up Flynn interview reemerges".

One of the most important reasons to reelect Trump

A Democrat victory in November would effectively spell the end of the investigations into the corruption afflicting the FBI and other organs of the Deep State, with all that entails in connection with the continuing abridgment of our individual rights and the rapidly diminishing transparency of the democratic process in our elections.

And, once again, why is Christopher Wray still FBI Director?

Update The Durham investigation is starting to get very interesting (hope he gets to finish it): "Former FBI General Counsel James Baker Has Flipped and There’s a Mole Inside the FBI".

Working-with-your-hands Wednesday

And with your arms and legs and back. This guy is an absolute workhorse.

This idiot

Justin Amash is a NeverTrumper who looks likely to lose his congressional seat next election.

So, naturally, the thing to do is run for president.

More on the Battle of Long Tan

Here's an interesting article on the Australian troops who fought off a superior force of Viet Cong in 1966 (follow-up to the post I did a while back on the movie, Danger Close).

Update Gregory, in the comments, reminds me that ANZAC Day was this week (April 25th, to be precise). A belated salute to the Australian armed forces, our brave comrades in arms for over a hundred years.

What's next, Cuban-style block captains?

Snitch outs the Ms. Big of the Texas underworld: "Sting Operation to Stop Black Market Manicures".

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Unfortunately, this legal ruling will probably have a shelf life shorter than that of ground beef

"A federal judge in California blocked the state’s ammunition purchase law on Thursday, temporarily allowing residents to purchase ammunition without a background check."

I imagine a higher court will probably overrule U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez before too long, although I'll keep a good thought.

Frightening, if true

Watch the video in this post at Conservative Tree House. Sounds like a house of horrors. I'd much rather take my chances at home.

Haw!

I see that several folks on the intertubes have taken to calling North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-undead. According to the linked article, Japanese sources (some of them, anyway), think Fat Boy is probably just fine.

Here's a thought: maybe Joe Biden, in order to burnish his foreign policy bona fides, should go over there on a fact-finding mission; you know, just sort of wander into the DMZ in his glad-handing fashion and try to sort things out.



"C'mon, man! You can't all be named Kim!"

Update BTW, Nancy, "personification" doesn't mean "opposite": "Nancy Pelosi Endorses Joe Biden: ‘The Personification of Integrity’".

Sunday funnies

Have you groomed your fox today? (H/T: David Thompson)


Important safety tip: never leave your sub-machine gun lying around where your pet gorilla can get hold of it.


"Pope Says Priests Should Deny Communion To People Who Drive SUVs".


Jack Benny and Groucho (1955).




From Powerline's "The Week in Pictures".

How awful

"Coronavirus patients admitted to Queens nursing home — with body bags".

The first coronavirus patients admitted to a Queens nursing home under a controversial state mandate arrived along with some grim accessories — a supply of body bags, The Post has learned.

An executive at the facility — which was previously free of the deadly disease — said the bags were in the shipment of personal protective equipment received the same day the home was forced to begin treating two people discharged from hospitals with COVID-19.

“My colleague noticed that one of the boxes was extremely heavy. Curious as to what could possibly be making that particular box so much heavier than the rest, he opened it,” the exec told The Post Thursday.

Why would you force a nursing home to take in people with the coronavirus? I watched a little of the video at the top of the article in which Governor Cuomo attempts to defend this action, and his "reasoning" strikes me as sheer nonsense.

There's chuztpah...

...and there is total, unbridled, in-your-face gall: "Soros-Linked Groups, Koch-Funded FreedomWorks Apply for Small Business Coronavirus Loans".

You know what bothers me the most about our pandemicized society?

It isn't the shortage of toilet paper and hand soap and chicken-noodle soup, it isn't the masks and the gloves, it isn't even the prospect of actually getting sick. It's the damned TV commercials: the treacly-sad background music, the fiction that we're "alone together", companies patting themselves on the back because they're such good Samaritans, the notion that spending even more time than usual wallowing in the mud of social media is somehow beneficial - gag a maggot, just get off it. As good excuse as any to relax with a good book.

At some point, Michael Flynn's original lawyers ought to be disbarred

They're not a patch on the stockings of Flynn's current attorney, Sidney Powell, who is fighting like a tigress to pry exculpatory information out of the hands of our corrupt FBI.

BTW, why is Christopher Wray still head of the FBI? Trump's biggest failure, in my opinion, is his inability to get a handle on the personnel challenges that faced him from day one. I know how difficult that can be when you're talking about thousands of bureaucrats, but, however hard the task, it's something that Trump should have made a priority even before he was sworn in as president.

Ride her out of town on a rail, while you're at it

"Michigan lawmakers want to strip Gov. Whitmer of her powers".

Michigan lawmakers plan to strip Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of some of her powers on Friday, with her decision to extend the state’s stay-at-home order until May 15 sparking armed protests outside her home.

These Micro-Mussolinis need to be brought to heel, and pronto.

Happy Feet Friday

The Four Step Brothers were another of those very talented dancing groups from the 1940s. Here they are – Maceo Anderson, Al Williams, Red Walker and Sherman Robertson - in a number from the 1943 movie, It Ain't Hay.

Trump has his work cut out for him

Donald Trump weathered the massive bias, mendacity and smears of the Democratic Party, the media, Hollywood celebrities, the academy, and the Deep State in his campaign for the presidency and his first three years in the chief executive position. It remains to be seen whether he will ultimately be done in by the coronavirus pandemic and the ramifications of our response at the national, state and local levels (in conjunction, of course, with the continuing bias, mendacity and smears of the Democratic Party, etc.)

But, here's the thing: I cannot even imagine a Biden administration. It's like the concept of living forever or surviving on a vegan diet or residing in San Francisco, just something I am totally unable to wrap my head around. I'm not at all suggesting that any of these things are impossible; I simply can't "see" them, if you follow me.

And I can't bring myself to see my country electing Joe Biden. Perhaps this is willful blindness on my part, or a form of wishful thinking. One thing I know for sure, though; such an outcome would be so grotesque, so inimical to the things that have made this country great, that it would be hard not to see it as the death knell of America. Biden is, as Stephen Green says, "Unfit to Serve by Any and Every Measure". Which, unfortunately, does not mean that he is, in fact, unelectable.

Make up your mind, Francis

Are you the Pope, Vicar of Christ and head of the Roman Catholic Church, or the High Druid of the Temple of Gaia?

Human beings have despoiled the earth, sinned against the earth, and “its response will be very ugly,” Pope Francis said Wednesday in a message for Earth Day 2020.

We have “failed to care for the earth,” we have “sinned against the earth,” the pope said during his Wednesday audience. “And how does the earth react?”

“There is a Spanish saying that is very clear about this. It goes: ‘God always forgives; we humans sometimes forgive, and sometimes not; the earth never forgives,’” he warned, departing from his prepared text. “The earth does not forgive: if we have despoiled the earth, its response will be very ugly.”

Dear Benedict: Please come back.

Another pagan holiday is upon us

Happy Earth Day! Don't forget to fire up the coals and throw some ivory-billed woodpecker wings on the grill.

What? Coonman Northam is a hypocrite?

Why, you could have knocked me down with a feather: "Virginia Governor Blackface-KKK Northam Forces Virginians into Lockdown Then Spends His Weekends at His North Carolina Beach House".

Working-with-your-hands Wednesday

Watch this artisan turn an old hawthorn root into an amazing lamp.

If it hadn't been for her family's political influence and wealth...

...I could envision Nancy Pelosi becoming the bitchiest member of a tony, suburban Maryland realty firm. She just so looks and acts the part.

Unfortunately, she's the Speaker of the House, and speaking lies and nonsense on a daily basis. BTW, here's another example of how stupid Pelosi really is: "Let them eat ice cream". Seriously, how do you NOT see that this is giving your enemies substantial ammo to use against you?

Speaking of other intellectual mediocrities who pretty much just stumbled into successful political careers, I'm just Biden my time.

Update stevew in the comments: "She has no enemies, in number large enough to matter, among the people that elect her to office."

Absolutely correct. What I should have said is that Pelosi's stupidity plays into the hands of Republicans, who can use her as a club against the Democrats, in general.

She certainly doesn't, as stevew points out, have to worry about any natural political predators. She's as safe as can be. In fact, I wrote many years ago (I believe it was when McCain was running, or rather, pretending to run, for president), that Pelosi could burn down an abortion clinic owned by half a dozen gay doctors while wearing a Sarah Palin t-shirt and not have to worry about losing her seat.

What a real rat race looks like

I saw the movie, The Death of Stalin, last night on Netflix, and highly recommend it. The movie takes a satirical look at the chaotic jockeying for power among Stalin's ministers after "The Boss" succumbs to a stroke, and it is shot through with the kind of dark humor that does a better job of blowing away the pretensions of the Soviet state than many far more serious films. There are wonderful performances by Steve Buscemi as Nikita Khrushchev, Jeffrey Tambor as Georgy Malenkov, Michael Palin as Vyacheslav Molotov, and Simon Russell Beale in a remarkable turn as Stalin's diabolically clever and diabolically evil NKVD chief Lavrentiy Beria. Just to give you a taste of the superb black humor: there is a scene in which Beria is walking briskly through a hallway somewhere in the dungeon of the Lubyanka, his attention completely focused on a conversation with one of his underlings, and he is not only completely oblivious to pistol shots and muzzle flashes occurring in the cells as they pass by, as prisoners are being liquidated, but even to a body that comes rolling down some stairs behind him. This evil was Beria's "normal", and his complacent acceptance, and, indeed, authorship, of it are as horrible as the lethal deeds, themselves.

The film was written by Armando Iannucci, David Schneider, Ian Martin and Peter Fellows, but it is the kind of thing that puts me very much in mind of the works of the Russian novelist and short-story writer Vladimir Voinovich, author of one of the greatest comic novels of the 20th century, The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin. Among other themes, The Death of Stalin reveals how illusory power can be, and that dictators can go from being omnipotent one minute to (literally) something for the dust bin the next.

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Freedom

It just has a way of continuing to break out: "The Government Filled a SoCal Skate Park with Sand, So the Skaters Turned it Into a Dirt Bike Track".

Update Another nice catch from Gateway Pundit: did you know that, per the Right Reverend Al Sharpton, Trump is "pouring salt on open wombs [sic]"? Must sting!

In spite of all the lies, all the bias, all the hypocrisy spewed by innumerable MSNBC talking heads the last few years, I didn't need to witness any of it to know that the network was not a serious outlet for news and analysis. MSNBC forfeited all credibility the day they hired this semi-literate, buffoonish con-man back in 2011 (actually, the loss of credibility happened well before that singular event, but bringing Sharpton on board certainly sealed the network's fate as a media clown car).

Some choice refuse...

...from our garbage media.

So much for the notion that, with freedom, comes responsibility. I remember reading somewhere, decades ago, the comment of a wag who said that freedom of the press exists only for those who own one.

A "new normal"? No way!

Kurt Schlichter says it's about time to get our ass back in gear.

The pols slobbering at the chance to boss us around into 2021 or 2022 better get their heads right. There is no “new normal.” There’s just “normal,” and that’s what we need to go back to. We’re not permanently avoiding each other (literally) like the plague, or wearing those dumb masks forever, or never again gathering in groups of more than five.

Open carry or concealed?

Well-known competition shooter Jerry Miculek talks about the two modes of carrying firearms (with his usual dose of good humor).

Mrs. Lumpkin saves the day

A 65-year-old woman with the delightful name of Melody Lumpkin took down a 19-year-old home invader who...seriously miscalculated his chances.

In Canada, on the other hand, where gun control laws are pretty restrictive, a man goes on a rampage and kills ten people (including, I believe, himself).

Sunday funnies

(Courtesy of Savage Chickens).

Parent texting...






Old time movie bloopers (language alert; some actors really hate blowing their lines!) H/T: David Thompson.


Boys and girls (H/T: Ditto).


Interesting cover (H/T: Yet again, David Thompson)....




Back in the day, when SNL was funny...




"China Impressed By Michigan Governor's Totalitarian Policies".


Dante's Inferno (new and improved edition).


From Powerline's "The Week in Pictures".

The tiresomeness of the beta male in the public forum

When I first saw a reference to this Tweet, I thought our friends at the Babylon Bee had scored again. But no, this is something that the roly-poly Mr. Stelter actually typed for the world to see.

I crawled in bed and cried for our pre-pandemic lives. Tears that had been waiting a month to escape.

I wanted to share because it feels freeing to do so. Now is not a time for faux-invincibility. Journos are living this, hating this, like everyone else.

Yes, but "journos" like you still have paying jobs, for some reason, unlike millions of more deserving Americans who are facing extreme financial difficulties, at least partly because of the panic that "journos" like you have whipped into a suffocating froth of national paranoia that has shuttered thousands of businesses and led to massive unemployment.

So, Tubby McChrome-Dome, you just keep kidding yourself that you and your fellows are the modern equivalent of Ernie Pyle, and we'll keep writing you off as the worthless attention junkies you are.

Movie recommendation

Mrs. Paco and I are watching For Greater Glory on Netflix, a film starring Andy Garcia, Eva Longaria and featuring (briefly) Peter O'Toole. The movie is about the armed Catholic resistance to the radical anti-clerical policies of the Mexican government in the 1920's. It is a timely film that underscores the value of freedom and the price we must sometimes pay to maintain it.

It also demonstrates that the assault on our liberty is often part of an incremental process - if you know what I mean.

Bill Tilghman, Chris Madsen, John Barclay Armstrong, Bass Reeves

Four outstanding American lawmen.

And then there's Sheriff Chad Chronister, of Hillsborough County, Florida. Ah, the old days are gone forever. "Florida sheriff who arrested pastor released criminals … and one is now accused of murder".


Bill Tilghman: "So, that's what y'all call a lawman, eh? Mm-mm-mm.."

When satire becomes the stone, cold fact

(H/T: The Morning Rant, Ace of Spades).

Happy Feet Friday

Trumpet greats Roy “Little Jazz” Eldridge and Charlie Shavers face off in this wide open jam session from 1952. They are more than ably assisted by Benny Carter (alto sax); Flip Phillips and Lester Young (tenor sax); Oscar Peterson (piano); Barney Kessel (guitar); Ray Brown (bass); and Buddy Rich (drums).

I think hard copies of the Washington Post gain new importance...

...as toilet paper supplies continue to be tight.

Seriously, what better use for one of the main propaganda outlets of the Democratic Party? Certainly, the paper's value as an objective news source is practically nil, as evidenced by yet another hatchet job against a Republican figure: "ANOTHER DISHONEST SMEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST".

A WWII hero who deserves to be better known

"Dutch Jew who rescued 100s in Vichy France finally recognized — 80 years later".

BOLO

More phony "conservatives".

Few have heard of the “eco-Right” — so-called conservatives who support the Left’s global warming policies — but it’s arguably the biggest threat to the future of the conservative movement. These groups may call themselves “free market” environmentalists, but they preach the religion of manmade global warming with the same fervor as the left-wing faithful.

So, who's funding these people? Need you ask?

Disturbingly, many of these groups are heavily funded by liberal foundations—raking in millions of dollars from mega-donors like the Hewlett Foundation and billionaire George Soros—to push destructive policies.

The Hewlett Foundation, incidentally, is another creature of the billionaire Left, having been started by William Hewlett, a co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, and his wife Flora, more than 50 years ago. It has always been a teat for progressives on the make, including birth control ghouls and enviro-wackos. This is the reason I never bought Hewlett-Packard products.

A taste of the totalitarian temptation close to home

Raleigh police: protests are a non-essential activity.

Ominous. One wonders what future crisis may be used to render the First Amendment irrelevant.

Elsewhere, Gauleiter Whitmer continues to pick and choose among products she thinks her constituents ought to be able to buy: "Crackpot Michigan Governor Whitmer Bans Motor Boats and Jet Skis But Not Canoes and Sailboats… Just Because".

Some guys got the fire in the belly....

...some guys ain't.

Work with your hands Wednesday

Bleg

A question for ck, JeffS, and any other self-loaders out there: do you think it's worth it? I don't know that, ultimately, it would be any cheaper for me, since I'd probably never live long enough to recapture the initial capital investment on the equipment through savings on the cartridges, but I'm not sure that's the main point (and I'm not sure I'm right about that, anyway; shipping costs for ammo bought online can be a killer). The thing that most appeals to me is the possibility of a more reliable supply. I'd be obliged to hear your views on the subject.

Haw!

Now that Biden's all alone behind the wheel of the Democratic Presidential Clown Car (and, no doubt, driving very slow and in the wrong lane), Barack Obama is suddenly proud to endorse his "close friend".

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Dear diary: Today was a little different from most days...

"Panicked man accidentally ejects himself from fighter jet at 2,500 feet".

Update R-man, in the comments:

The right stuff, they say. In this case, the stuff was what they had to clean out of his flight suit afterwards.

Leave it to the French to make it easy to eject from their fighter jets.

The view from quarantine

More here.

Maybe a good kick in the pants will get this clown's attention

Sooner rather than later, I believe Dr. Fauci needs to be shown the door. It appears that he's trying to cover up some of his own mistakes by attributing inaction to others, most notably, the president.

To whom he reports, I believe.

Governor Half-Whitmer

Some wag bestowed the above appellation on Gretchen Whitmer; unfortunately, I can't remember where I saw it.

In any event, it certainly fits, since she is arguably "The Worst Governor in America".

"Absentee ballots remain the largest source of potential voter fraud", says...Jimmy Carter?

That's right. The Commission on Federal Election Reform - chaired by Jimmy Carter - published that conclusion in its 2005 report. It's still valid today (more so, actually, as Democrats get increasingly desperate).

You know what needs to be done, don't you?

He is risen

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Best wishes to all for a joyful Easter, and may the Lord deliver us from our present distress and grant us courage and wisdom.

Sunday funnies

You know how it is with hedgehogs: they can't just eat one potato chip (H/T: David Thompson).


Something to do while you're cooped up at home: the transparent jigsaw puzzle (H/T: Ditto).





From Powerline's "The Week in Pictures".

Assortment

#MeToo, #ExceptWhenItComesToBiden: "Kavanaugh nemesis Alyssa Milano goes mum on sexual assault allegation against Biden".

We'll see if he bites, as well as barks: "AG Barr Calls Russia Probe ‘Travesty,’ Will Prosecute Anyone Who Broke the Law".

Interesting, and instructive, to see how easily some people and institutions slip into the police state mentality when all the talk is about the (non-contextualized) "greater good". And, yes, I'm also looking at you, Gauleiter Whitmer of Michigan.


Linda Tripp, RIP.




Why, yes, Jim, there's plenty of evidence of voter fraud.

There are experts, and then there is Imperial College of London epidemiologist and professor of mathematical biology Neil Ferguson, whose batting average isn't even as good as the weatherman's.

Yet another attempt to translate one's own personal neuroses into an academic discipline: "The Pandemic is the Perfect Time to Abolish the Family".

Bill de Blasio: Just call me Pete.

National Review...

The wraith of a magazine that hasn't yet figured out it is dead.

Update More from Ace on the same subject. It is positively risible that various NeverTrumpers consider themselves "thought leaders", and have actually said so out loud. The concept of leadership necessarily suggests followers, and the NeverTrumpers are somewhat deficient in that commodity. I can think of no more appropriate comment than that offered by conservative philosopher Archie Bunker when he once told someone, "You could rub liver on your behind, and cats wouldn't follow you!"

Absolutely true, and it's scandalous that this was not grasped long before now

"Rep. Liz Cheney (R., Wyo.) said Chinese control of the pharmaceutical supply chain was a national security threat and that the United States must use its military to confront China around the world."

Learning about guns

A lot of people are getting an education on gun laws and gun safety out there.

We tried to look at just who the new firearm purchasers were and we believe that more than 60% of these individuals were first time buyers. I can’t describe the amount of fear in my staff as we had the buyers show proof of safe handling as part of the purchase process as required by law. You have never seen so many barrels pointed at sales staff and other customers (Haw! - P]. It was truly frightening. We had to keep stopping the process to give quick safety lessons.

Happy Feet Friday

Things are a little fuzzy, but Louis Jordan hears that he had a wonderful time last night.

Benedict, Pope Emeritus, has a lot to answer for

Namely, leaving a vacancy that was filled by Pope Francis, who continues to say things that are...not wise.

Oh, put a sock in it, Francis.

Pope Francis is certainly not letting a planetary crisis go to waste. He is trying to piggyback the religion of climate change on the back of the coronavirus pandemic.

"'We did not respond to the partial catastrophes. Who now speaks of the fires in Australia, or remembers that 18 months ago a boat could cross the North Pole because the glaciers had all melted? Who speaks now of the floods?' the Pope said.'I don't know if these are the revenge of nature, but they are certainly nature's responses,' he added."

Joe Biden now using a one-handed sign language interpreter

Paco World News Daily (PWND) captured Joe Biden's latest television address on the coronavirus pandemic.

Working with your hands

One skill I regret never acquiring is woodworking. Watch how this artisan turns a chunk of wood into a wedding goblet.

Bern out

Bernie Sanders, perhaps fatally mortified by his inability to pull in front of babbling doofus Joe Biden, has dropped out of the presidential race.

Update Looks like the situation is a little more complicated than I thought. Sanders is suspending his campaign, but staying on the ballot in upcoming primaries, and he hopes to pick up additional delegates. Perhaps he thinks he can play a spoiler role in connection with Sloppy Joe's campaign, maybe keep him from taking enough delegates to win on the first ballot, thereby creating a path for the Party to replace Biden with someone else. On the other hand, if that were mathematically feasible, why wouldn't he keep his campaign officially open and hope that he would be the replacement candidate?

Meh, who knows how the minds (so to speak) of Democrats work?

Update II Haw! The Babylon Bee, of course: "Bernie Tests Negative For President".

Who?

Oh, yeah, that guy.

"Howard Dean told MSNBC he won’t go on their shows until they stop broadcasting President Trump’s coronavirus briefings".

Step two: take away his microphone

"Joe Biden Says He is Locked in the Basement".

And now, a word from our sponsor

Haw!

"Tragic: Bill Gates Had A Cure For Coronavirus But It Was Erased By A Windows Virus".

Al Kaline, RIP

Detroit Tiger legend Al Kaline is dead at 85.

Particularly sad news for me, since I'm a lifelong fan of the Tigers, and of Al Kaline, himself, who started with the team in 1955, and played his whole career with the organization.

Virginia Governor asks citizens to wear masks

"Virginia Gov. Ralph 'Coonman' Northam on Friday urged all residents to wear a cloth mask if they must leave their home." [I might have added his nickname].

Is this one ok, Governor?

Joe Biden is becoming the Max Headroom of the 2020 presidential race

Although he's replacing artificial intelligence with genuine imbecility; maybe Max Headroom's dumb brother.

"Joe Biden Suggests Democrat Convention May Be Held Virtually, Over the Internet".

A virtual convention which will probably wind up nominating a virtual candidate. If you could poll the founding fathers, I think they'd all profess themselves relieved to be dead.

China vs.Tim Blair

Not even close.

Great naval battles of the 21st century

"Venezuelan navy boat tried to ram a cruise ship but sunk itself instead".

Update Good thread over at Twitchy.

Well, here's a feelgood story

"Hezbollah commander assassinated in southern Lebanon".

Sunday funnies

We have liftoff!


Dare to dream.


Something to try while you're stuck at home (H/T: David Thompson).


What the...?!? (H/T: ditto).


"Everyone Jumps Off Bridge After New Government Order Telling Everyone To Jump Off Bridge".


Barbecuing with Tim Allen.




Sure, pin it on the dog: "Man tells cops he was teaching dog how to drive after leading them on 100+ mph chase".


From Powerline's "The Week in Pictures".

Once again...

...wake me when the indictments are handed down: "John Durham investigation intensifies focus on John Brennan".

I grow weary of reading about mere investigations. I want to hear the gallows trapdoor banging open (figuratively speaking, of course).

God forgive me...

...but I am really starting to hate this woman: "Pelosi Announces 'Bipartisan' Committee to Investigate Federal Response to Coronavirus".

Good movie

Or at least we thought so. Mrs. Paco and I watched Danger Close on Amazon Prime, last night. It's a movie about Australian and New Zealand troops and the 1966 Battle of Long Tan in Vietnam. Good action, and (it seemed to me) an unapologetic commemoration of the courage and commitment of our antipodal allies.

Happy Feet Friday

Virginia O'Brien sings “Take It Easy” (1944).

Tragedy in Texas

"Truck hauling toilet paper catches fire on Texas interstate".

H/T: Mrs. Paco

So, how are you all holding up out there?

Governor Cooper of North Carolina has issued his pandemic edict, which mostly just encourages people to stay home, except for trips to the grocery store, the doctor, and for jobs deemed essential (there are many of these, everything from accounting to construction to trucking and so forth). Full disclosure: Mrs. Paco and I are generally a couple of sticks-in-the-mud anyway, so the new rules don't have much of an effect on our routine. I still plan on going to the firing range, where "social distancing" comes pretty naturally to those of us who like to shoot (plus, I'm pretty sure that gun smoke kills coronavirus germs).

Meanwhile, if anybody breaks into our house and manages to get past us to steal our toilet paper, they're going to be in for a letdown.



Update An oldie but a goodie, particularly for these trying times: Rudyard Kipling's poem, If (H/T: friend and commenter, JeffS).