Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Trump Versus Biden Debate

 So, as I understand Biden agreed to debate Trump on, of all venues, the Howard Stern Show. If that is true then I hope Trump agrees and arranges it. Then, the first thing Trump should do is pull out two wide spectrum drug test urine cups, hand one to Biden, then have a rep from each opposing party witness each candidate pee in the pre-labelled cups - secure them - and transfer them under chain of custody to a company to do the tests. Biden would lose the debate after the fact if not before if that was done, as I see it, because I have no doubt he will be hyped up on drugs for a debate. 
 
 Let's face it - he appeared Dondi eyed (pupils dilated), at least to me, at the SOTU address and he was pretty sharp which is something that had not been seen in his previous performances almost every one of them during his presidency to date. So, my guess is, and that of many others seems to be, is that he was hyped up on some type of drug like amphetamine during the SOTU address. My guess is also that he will be for a debate against Trump.

I am willing to bet that if Trump were to spring this as a surprise on Biden, his handlers would pull him off of the stage pronto and there would be no debate thus leaving Trump alone on stage but also as the winner without having to debate a single issue.

All the best,
Glenn B

Knucklehead's Vet Visits

 When I tsrated writing this yesterday, I had brought my new dog, a stray I found & rescued, to the veterinarian's office three times already since I found him on April 3rd. This Wednesday will mark four weeks that I have had him. My main concerns when I brought him to the vet were that he get any required shots and my suspicion that he had some form of parasites. He was very thin when I found him and he drank water and ate food like a vacuum cleaner sucks up dust bunnies. Over the time I've had him, he has eaten twice the amount of my other dog Skye and that is measured feedings. Skye weights about 56 pounds. Knucklehead weighed 43.5 pounds when weighed at his last visit. During his first vet visit he weighed 40 pounds. During our first visit to the vet, Knucklehead was examined by the vet who owns the business (although the receipt says by another doc, but the receipt is wrong). There are three other vets working there as far as I am aware and he was examined by a different vet on the other two visits (same doc those two times). He also was seen by two different vet techs over the course of the three visits. 
 
During the first visit, on April 5 (two days after I rescued Knucklehead)  I was assured they did a fecal float exam which indicated he was parasite free. I had to wonder since he was so skinny, ate like a horse (or maybe more like an elephant), drank the water in two full water bowls a day and that he was passing yellowish to yellow soft plops of poop. The doctor/vet told me it was all due to diet because I was feeding him grain free food and that all the additives used to replace the grain were causing this. He then recommended I feed him one of three foods with the emphasis being that Hills Science was the best choice. He in sum & substance said he had absolutely no financial interest in recommending any of the three foods. The vet visit included three vaccinations, a fecal float exam, a nail trim (which it was obvious they did not do) and a Simparica Trio tablet. When I went to the front desk to square the $81.00 bill, I noticed most of, or at least a lot of, one wall covered by a rack or racks containing - wait for it - Hills Science Diet dog food! No financial interest - yeah right!!!
 
I had to wonder, doesn't the doctor realize that grain is what is used by commercial dog food manufacturers as fill in order to make higher profit on what they sell. Let's face it, no dog (at least none I have ever heard of) is running around in the wild stalking & hunting wheat, rye, rice or barley with which to sate their ravenous & carnivorous appetites. I have heard from old timers and this was decades ago, that many dog maladies of the that time were not found in dogs in the 1920s and 1930s; they attributed the problems of later years to grain being added to commercial dog food. I read an article by a vet years ago in which the vet essentially claimed the same thing. Regardless I tried a diet change, Knucklehead started having abdominal spasms and puking so I went back to Purina True Instinct Turkey & Venison (grain free) but I am getting ahead of myself. Of course as the vets pointed out, there are other fillers in grain free dog food besides grain like peas, potatoes and other stuff. I do not feed my dogs regularly with anything containing peas, in fact it is rare they get some canned food with peas in the ingredients, due the claims they cause heart disease in dogs who eat food containing peas regularly.
 
During the second visit, on April 11, I think Knucklehead was about 2 pounds heavier at 42 lbs. He was wolfing down food not like a gray wolf (measured at least twice as much as Skye) but more like what I imagine a dire wolf or saber toothed tiger might do. The vet tech told me he could not have parasites because he had gained weight. They did another fecal float and told me Knucklehead was definitely parasite free. When I asked if they do fecal smears or other types of exams for parasites they told me only if they suspect giardia. They did not do a fecal smear when I asked them if they would do one. I brought him in on that visit because he had developed abdominal spasms in addition to continuing to pass yellowish very soft poops or unformed plops of poop. They gave him something called Cerenia Injectable and Endosorb Suspension. That vet visit cost an additional $117.17.

Then, I brought Knucklehead in again on April 25, he weighed in at 43.5 pounds. I am guessing most of those weight gains were due to water weight. He drank so much when I found him that my guess was he was quite dehydrated. During that last visit to the moment I am typing, I told the doc about how he drinks to excess, still was having the loose or very soft formed poops yellow or yellowish in color, had thrown up two or three times since the previous visit and was having abdominal spasms just about nightly. I asked the doc again about other types of exams for parasites. He said they would do something else and when he returned to the exam room, he told me that Knucklehead was "completely parasite free". Yet, for some unknown reason he gave me five plastic baggies containing Panacur - a dewormer. He also gave me Cerenia 60 mg tablets x 4 (as I recall an anti nausea medication) and Tylosin 350mg capsules (I believe a probiotic if I recall correctly). I used the last of the Cerenia two days ago and the last of the Panacur yesterday. I have several of the other one left.

Three days ago, Knucklehead passed a partial plop combined with a lot of very thick liquid. When I bent over to scoop it up in a plastic bag (I routinely clean up when they poop), I noticed that the liquid part seems to have little bubbles coming up to the surface after which appeared a hole that went down into the liquid a few fractions of an inch as if something was causing an eddy and there definitely was movement in the liquid. I wondered could it be gas, then though no because what I at first thought were bubbles seemed to be more like something in the liquid coming to just below the surface causing an outward protruding bump and then going back down, those small vortex like holes left behind. He passed only plops or formed but soft poops after that one and in one of those I noticed thin plastic like white strips of something that I figured were just part of something he chewed up in my apartment. He is apparently teething and loves to chew, luckily mostly only his toys and dog chews.

Then yesterday he passed a formed but still soft & yellowish poop. On it were two of those little whites strips, at most an inch long, probably less. Low & behold one of them was moving. I did not need to be a vet nor a biologist to realize they were some sort of flatworm. I checked the Internet and found out, that they appear to be: Heterobilharzia americana. These flat worms breed in fresh water, live in snails for a while then get sucked in when a dog drinks water containing the adults and maybe the eggs too (not sure about the eggs). They are endemic to Texas and some other southern states and are also now found in CA and I think Utah. They can be very difficult to eradicate and they are known to cause fatalities in dogs, up to just above 17% in treated dogs.
 
 
 So, off we went to the vet again yesterday. I was seen by yet a third vet/doc. She was very pleasant and very easy on the eyes. She agreed with me he has parasites - it was about time that some vet, any vet at that animal hospital agreed with me on that. Now to find out what type they were and to administer the medication needed to wipe em out. The vet was not sure by looking at them what species they were but they certainly look like Heterobilharzia americana to me. The vet said I could try just continuing treatment with Panacur, which I noted then obviously was not killing the parasites and probably would not work on Heterobilharzia americana. So, she also said she could add Praziquantel - that is also used to eradicate them flatworms/liver flukes usually in combination with Panacur. Neither is a guaranteed as a cure alone or combined and as I said this parasite has caused just above 17% fatalities in dogs (in at least one study). Then she said a full treatment with Praziquantel would cost around $700 and asked if I anted to try it. I said I'd take both it and the mech less expensive additional Panacur. So she recommended only 3 days of the Praziquantel in the event the worms are not H. americna; then if the test is positive she'd add more to the regimen and if not then I would not have the added expense (good thinking on her part). The test for sample she sent to Texas A&M to check for H. Americana was about $85.00, the  five days of Panacur she gave me was about $39.00, the remainder was for the Praziquantel and maybea small amount of that for one other test and it all added up to $444. At least the office visit was comped.

Now I am treating him and waiting for the test results. I never had a thought that taking in Knucklehead would cost me almost a thousand dollars in the course of less than 4 weeks (it will have been four weeks since I found him tomorrow). That grand includes dog food, dog treats, dog chews and chew toys plus the four vet bills to date with the medication being the biggest bite. Once I took him in and had him for the past few weeks, there is no way I could not be responsible for him he is just that lovable even if he is a pain in my arse (pain in my right hip & lower back and believe me that pain literally spreads to my arse), and is also a pain in the pocket book. He may cause me to live up to my New year resolution of not buying any more guns for the remainder of the year if he keeps costing me like that. 

All the best,
Glenn B
 

 
 

Sunday, April 28, 2024

Was It That Long Ago...

 ...48 years ago this past Thursday, when a professional athlete had the courage and love of our country to do the right and patriotic thing regarding our flag? I am talking about Rick Monday with his spectacular save of an American flag a split second before two dirtbags people were apparently about to set it afire.
 

Here is a link to a great article, written 40 years later: https://www.mlb.com/news/rick-monday-saving-american-flag-resonates-c174266502
 All I can say about his flag grab is: What a play, maybe the best ever in baseball history!
 
 All the best,
Glenn B



Friday, April 26, 2024

I AmNot One To Choose Going To The Beach...

 ...as my kind of leisure activity but I must admit, I could spend hours at this beach with this view.

All the best,
GB

Meet Knucklehead

For at least two years, maybe three, I have been calling my dog Skye by her name and by the nickname of Skye Knucklehead or just plain old Knucklehead. I never realized how much she associated herself with that moniker. Well, there we were Wednesday, three weeks and a day ago as I type at this moment, walking through Spring Lake Park in Texarkana, TX when we walked past a stray at peace pooch lounging in the grass, apparently enjoying the warmth of a beautiful fully sunny day. That is he was at peace until he saw us when he began to toss several woofs at us along with a few growls. We walked on. About 20 minutes later while we headed back the same way, we came across him in the exact same spot. This time he barked, growled a bit and we walked over toward him. Suddenly he sat up and held his left paw limply above the grass. We got close enough to wish him good morning and he just kept barking but still sat in place paw held up. Skye got close and they greeted one another and he got up and the sniffing of arse ceremonies commenced betwixt them and lasted but brief interlude of a minute or so. I talked to him with what proved to be soothing effect and petted him a little. Then we walked on with my sincere apologies that I had to enjoin him not to join our small group. Of course, he did not understand a word I said and he followed us tail wagging. We had but a half to three quarters of a mile walk back to my vehicle in the dog park parking lot but he kept pace with us, not usually a difficult trek for what I figured to be a 4 to 6 month old puppy but that left front paw must have been hurting because he limped all the way to my Corolla. Well let me correct that - he limped all but the last 15 to 20 yards, then walked just fine. I surmised he either worked out a strain or pulled muscle during the walk or that he is one heck of a good thespian.

While walking, I figured I'd let him follow, get him a clean drink at one of the fountains in the dog park and feed him thinking I had a can of dog food in the Toyota. All went well except there was no dog food. He was so skinny, I felt pity and took a chance. I had him get in the car and drove him home. I could have left him in the dog park and called animal control to come get him but like a well meaning idiot I took him home. At home I fed him and allowed him more water. He ate like he had not eaten in at least a couple or even a few days. He drank as if he had a vortex in his throat that was sucking an ocean down to his stomach. I called animal control on the Texas side, I live across the border in AR. I told them I found him and brought him home to' the AR side. The guy asked me for my address and I told him I preferred not to give it at which point he snapped at me and said something very much like 'that's it for me I am hanging up' and it seemed the line went dead at which point I exclaimed "what an asshole" thinking he had hung upon me. Suddenly I heard him say "It takes one to know one" something a 5 year old might use for a reply. He then told me he needed my address because I had transported a dog across state lines and did so with vehemence and that bureaucratic bravado of a low level government employee who thinks he is in charge and has power. Wow, I thought, it he sounds so authoritative that transporting a dog across state lines must almost certainly be a sooper dooper felonious form of mopery in the first degree. I hung up.

I called the pound on the AR side and told them likewise when they asked for my address but at least the woman to whom I spoke told me they needed my address to come pick up the poor innocent & possibly abandoned mongrel. I told them I'd deliver it to them in 10 minutes and then the woman got that same quality in her voice as the guy from the TX side pound. She forbade me to bring it to them and said in sum & substance: 'YOU MUST FOLLOW PROTOCOL and protocol demanded they come to pick it up at my house. I said thanks and goodbye and hung up. Meanwhile somewhere in there Knucklehead peed and shit on my floor. Happy was I that I have all vinyl floors, no carpeting; unhappy was I that I had to clean it up. Later on I contacted a coupe of supposed no kill shelters, none got back to me. I also contacted the rescue where I got Skye back in 2019. The owner there told me she had 73 dogs at that moment and could take no more. She told me she could not get any volunteers to help her. When I said thank goodness that her husband helps her on his weekends when off from work, she said not anymore because they recently got divorced. Imagine the amount of work with the world of 73 dogs on your shoulders and your shoulders alone and I am guessing she is in her young seventies or at least mid sixties.

Of course, I also posted a notice online about a found puppy. I put it up on Paw Boost. A gal I know at the dog park also put it on a local lost & found for pets. It's been three weeks and a day plus 44 minutes , as I type, and no one has come forth to claim him. In the past three weeks he has been to the vet three times, first for a check-up and shots. Then two more vet visits because he has really loose or formed but very soft yellow stools up to five times a day and because this past weekend he started throwing up yellow fluid. he also has abdominal spasms on nights he does not puke. My vet said he is parasite free but I wonder. This morning he finally gave him some meds, three things: a de-wormer (but no metronidazol for protozoan parasites), a probiotic and something else for th vomiting. Today's visit was about $150, the other to about $200 for both not each. He eats almost exactly, if not somewhat more, than twice the amount of food as Skye and he has only gained about 3 pounds since I found him; Skye would have easily put on about 8 pounds in that time eating that much, maybe ten.

Lest I neglect to do so altogether, I should mention I named him Knucklehead. My first inclination was to call him Bozo but Knucklehead seemed to fit him perfectly. I admit, it has been confusing to Sky when I call him because she comes too. So much for using nicknames for a dog. She is coming round though to the realization that he is Knucklehead and she is plain old Skye again.

As it stands now, the major negative about Knucklehead is how much he pulls. he is very strong. He is about the same height as Skye, a bit longer but his legs are 1.25 to 1.5 times as thick as Skye's and taller than hers. He is a power house and I am guessing he will increase in weight from about 44 pounds to maybe 60 to 80 pounds. Big paws, thick & tall legs kind of, sort of, almost definitely indicate such growth is in store for him when an adult. He already has almost pulled me over several times now, I need to be really careful. Got a Gentle Leader muzzle which a few folks have told me works like a charm to get a dog to stop pulling. He wears it starting later this morning. If I can train him not to pull, he will make a grand pet. He barks and growls at people we walk by but if they come over or if he gets to them he just licks them. He tries to go after passing cars too as we walk. He is either being protective or is afraid of things or both. He is great with other dogs and people in the dog park. He also is very energetic which makes for lots of play fighting with the other dogs at the park. He is okay with young children but I use a lot of caution because kids are kids and big strong puppies are still excitable puppies and things can get out of hand quickly. My neighbor's three year old son was maybe about to get a playful bite the other day when they first met, but I restrained Knucklehead, next day he was much gentler with her three children. Older kids less of a concern, in fact my neighbors 9 year old daughter handles him like a pro, the five year old daughter is a bit afraid of him because he gets right in her face friendly but that will pass.

I was going to give him away thinking no way I could walk both dogs at once and with my bum hips, individual walks, meaning double the distance, for both are not happening. One guy from the dog park seemed like he'd take him but that fell through. No other interest as far as adopting him except from one other guy - you probably have guessed by now that guy is me. If I get him to stop pulling I will keep him; if not, I will keep looking for someone to adopt him. He is a good looking pooch, looks exactly like a Manchester Terrier and I mean exactly except for the fact he is two times the weight of a standard Manchester and even bigger than a toy Manchester.

This is Knucklehead:
Knucklehead April 2024.jpg

This is a Manchester Terrier:
 manchester terrier.jpg

Back To Knucklehead:
20240411_175424[1].jpg

 20240411_175404[1].jpg
 
Either I have a super sized Manchester or a mixed breed that looks exactly like one. Regardless of his breed(s), I love the new addition to the family. So does Skye; he and Skye get along great and much to my surprise it is like she has new found energy when she play fights with him. If I have to get rid of him, I think it would affect Skye badly. I hope I can get him over pulling because that will make him a keeper. 
 
Other than pulling he has few faults. He is about 95% house broken, usually barks to let me know he has to go. Oh yeah, one other kind of negative, if I keep him he is going to cost me for for two dogs when it comes to food now and when he gets bigger maybe will cost me for three or four dogs worth of dog food and he will double regular vet bills and other pet related costs. He is a glutton right now and is eating up my gun & ammo budget but that will likely change either naturally or by way of me implementing strict dietary restraint. That's all okay, I love him enough so that I'll buy a couple less guns a year and that my friends must be true love!
 
All the best,
Glenn B

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

You've Already Proved It Hundreds Of Times Joe...

 ...if not proven it thousands of times that you and your democrats cannot be trusted; so, why bother asking!
 
 
All the best,
Glenn B

Monday, April 22, 2024

Happy Pesach

 Passover or Pesach begins just after sunset this evening and runs through the 30th as I understand. In these troubled times for way too many of the Jewish faith, I wish a happy and peaceful Passover to all who celebrate it. Enjoy the Seders tonight and tomorrow evening. More about Pesach at the source.
 
All the best,
Glenn B 

Friday, April 19, 2024

What Are Your Plans If Biden Lives...

 ...long enough to actually make it to election day and winds up having enough dead people, illegal aliens, fictional characters, RINOs, Never Trumpers, dumbocrats (who vote multiple times each), libturd democrats once again elect him as president.
 
My guess is he will die of a reported stroke before then but it seems that the democrats have no one to replace him who is ready to go unless it is the laughing Hyena Harris (heavens forbid). So, maybe my prediction of his demise before election day is all wrong, then again maybe not. Just in case he wins though, what are your plans. I doubt many if any of my readers will be fleeing these United States of America as many Hollyweird type entertainers say they will do (but will not) if Donald J.Trump wins. So what to do. Do you join local protests that undoubtedly would spring up nationwide because you have enough of a brain to realize there is no legitimate way that Mr. Mashed Potato Head could even receive enough legitimate votes to win? Or do you. join the masses whom I expect will march on Washington, DC to protest. I think if that happens again, then they who march will not be as nice nor as polite as they were on January 6 the last time around. In fact, I predict an armed revolution will take place (not a mere unarmed mob causing a minor riot of sorts).
 
I think that if he is reelected I will consider very strongly joining any protest march on our nation's capital if the evidence again points to a stolen election and convinces me of such. I'd hate to see it come to a violent protest or an actual violent revolution with Americans against Americans but truth be told the scum that support this criminal tyrant Biden are worthless to this country as I see them. And yes, Biden is a criminal beyond any doubt at all in my mind; that if merely for him taking classified documents that he was not authorized to take before he was president- that is felony but of course he was deemed to mentally unfit to stand trial but somehow fit to lead the country (if those findings do not reek of corruption nothing does). Of course, I believe he is also an American hating tyrant who tramples of the rights of We The people, that without any doubt at all in my estimation. While I have never marched on the nation's capital, I joined in on two protests marches to the state capital in Albany, NY to protest the passage of the SAFE Act in NY - an anti-gun act passed without due process by another man I believe was no more than a tyrant, then governor Cuomo. Those protests in NY remained peaceful but tensions were high among the thousands of us who participated. 
 
I imagine if Biden is reelected he will need those F-15s (sic) that he said the brave right wing supporters would need to fight the government (and remember his is a tyrannical government). Why would he say right wing folks would need F-15s (sic) - I think that could only be because he plans to use weapons of war as strong as or stronger against the citizenry if it attempts to overthrow his tyranny. What unmitigated gall for a U.S. president to have said such a thing but then he is a tyrant as I see him and is the scum of the earth. Yes this time around, I think that should the election somehow fall in his favor they who march will likely be armed and if he orders his F-15s (sic) or any in the military or law enforcement to attack the protestors, my guess is most will refuse those orders and some few actually may fire at or bomb the White House to destroy the reign of tyranny created by Biden - the commander in chief who gave orders to attack U.S. citizens. My guess is many would be more than willing to abolish the tyrannical government by which he oppressed the rights of The People. So, maybe We The People will have what he said is the needed firepower. 
 
I do not condone nor promote violence from either side one against the other, citizen against citizen; nor do I condone an armed & violent revolution against a legitimate government. However, if he is reelected I believe an armed revolution will be an inevitable outcome and believe it will be a terrible trial for us all but also will have the potential of being a wonderful transformational time that will return us to living in a land of freedom wherein we will be at liberty to enjoy our rights as granted to us by The Constitution of the United States of America. I  firmly believe it is the right of The People to overthrow a tyrannical government and I stand by our nation's founding document when I say so because folks, I think it definitely has become necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them (us) with another:

In Congress, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.


Georgia

Button Gwinnett

Lyman Hall

George Walton

 

North Carolina

William Hooper

Joseph Hewes

John Penn

 

South Carolina

Edward Rutledge

Thomas Heyward, Jr.

Thomas Lynch, Jr.

Arthur Middleton

 

Massachusetts

John Hancock

 

Maryland

Samuel Chase

William Paca

Thomas Stone

Charles Carroll of Carrollton

 

Virginia

George Wythe

Richard Henry Lee

Thomas Jefferson

Benjamin Harrison

Thomas Nelson, Jr.

Francis Lightfoot Lee

Carter Braxton

 

Pennsylvania

Robert Morris

Benjamin Rush

Benjamin Franklin

John Morton

George Clymer

James Smith

George Taylor

James Wilson

George Ross

 

Delaware

Caesar Rodney

George Read

Thomas McKean

 

New York

William Floyd

Philip Livingston

Francis Lewis

Lewis Morris

 

New Jersey

Richard Stockton

John Witherspoon

Francis Hopkinson

John Hart

Abraham Clark

 

New Hampshire

Josiah Bartlett

William Whipple

 

Massachusetts

Samuel Adams

John Adams

Robert Treat Paine

Elbridge Gerry

 

Rhode Island

Stephen Hopkins

William Ellery

 

Connecticut

Roger Sherman

Samuel Huntington

William Williams

Oliver Wolcott

 

New Hampshire

Matthew Thornton

 

Oh The Burn...

 ...it hurts so much. At least it probably didn't get caught in between them for long.
 
 

All the best,
GB

The Man I Wanna Be

 

 It would be difficult to match this character's arsenal or mindset but I can try; then again, my mindset is already mostly there - I think. Of course, I would not mind being as slim as either Burt Gummer or the guy looking into the mirror. That would be harder at this point in life than matching Burt's attitude or the amount of guns in his arsenal.
 
Hat tip to my son for the image, I love it.

 
All the best,
Glenn B

Friday, April 12, 2024

 In the entire United States of America, there were an estimated 582,462 homeless folks in January 2022 (more at the source).
 
Today, It is estimated that the state of insanity California cannot say how  $24,000,000,000 (24 billion dollars) of money that was spent over 5 years caring for the homeless (more at the source) did much if anything to solve the problem.
 
The amount of money for which CA cannot account as having done much to end the crisis if divided by the entire homeless population in the USA in January 2022 equals $41,204.40 per person, That means everyone of those homeless folks, the entire January 2022 population of the homeless in the USA, could have been given over 40K on which to survive instead of CA using it ineffectively and keeping them living in squalor on the streets of cities like San Francisco. Imagine though how much more it could have meant for the homeless in just a single state.

If CA truly cannot say how spending that money improved the homeless situation, after apparently wasting 24 billion dollars of tax payer money to combat the homeless crisis, an amount that would have given over 40K to over half a million people, then in my opinion the governor of that state and its entire legislative body should be impeached and criminally prosecuted. 
 
How do liberals keep on electing incompetent boobs like them.  Are liberals just that stupid? And yes I know the answer to my own question, it is a resounding "Yes they are that stupid and they even may be stupider than that because you can bet they will votevagainst Donald Trump". If only CA produced a few more leaders like Ronald Reagan or a Donal Trump or two instead of Giveitaway Newsoms, the problem might be solved.

All the best,
Glenn B


 
 

Thursday, April 11, 2024

If His Last Words Were:...

 ...I did it, then I might hold the tiniest bit of respect for whom I consider a piece of trash at best. I am writing about my opinion of O.J. Simpson (more at the source). After his acquital he had the abject gall to write or claim to have written the book: "If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer" a tell all about how he or someone supposedly would have mudered the two folks he had been accused of slaughtering, as I understand it (more on the book here) So, I have no feelings for him other than utter disgust. After that,  I believed him to be despicable at his best.

All the best
Glenn B

Tuesday, April 9, 2024

The Viewership of The View...

 ...might surprise you, it surely surprised me. It has been reported that in January it had over 2.5 million viewers. That was the highest amount of morons monthly viewers who watched said show in the last two years (more at the source). That is way down from from its all time high of over 6 million viewers in a single month, that month being November 2008 (more at the source). I was dismayed at first but now am hopeful that the fall in viewership since its all time high might mean that once liberal Americans may be smartening up, at least a bit. 
 
I will readily admit, I do not watch it. While I have watched a few times for a few minutes at most each time - I can say without a doubt that I believe mostly liberals & idiots (redundant - isn't it) watch it, maybe along with bored housewives or househusbands as the domestic situation may stand nowadays. I firmly believe that people who watch it either fared very poorly in school, or if they did well in school their lives are almost purely academic and based upon leftist teachings and that most of the viewers lack common sense and any practical experience in virtually all of the subjects discussed on the show.
 
In fact, I am convinced enough to be of the opinion that the hosts of the show (the women who make up the regular recurring discussion panel and the men too, if there are any) are truly unintelligent and or ignorant when it comes to the issues they discuss, to their evident emotion driven talking points and to the ideals which they profess. Take for example one of the latest claims by one of their panelists  - Sunny Hostin. Let me tell you, I think the sun shines at best only very dimly on Sunny when it comes to intelligence & knowledge. I truly have to ask: Is the show and the things the hosts talk about and what they actually say and believe all totally scripted? 
 
I mean really now, can anyone be so ignorant of things that have been in the news lately and that have been going on for eons. At least two of three and maybe also the third one, that Sunny commented on (earthquakes, eclipses and cicada breeding cycles) have been taking place for longer than mankind has walked the earth without any connection to the liberal mindset and agenda, well maybe until now as per Sunny. Can anyone else on the face of the planet be stupid enough to have been brainwashed by the likes of  politicians like Biden, Harris and Kerry and by an activist by who, in my opinion, is by way of her seemingly hissy fit performances nothing more, at least in my opinion, than a spoiled brat of a prissy twit - and yes I mean Greta Thunberg - to actually suggest that these naturally occurring phenomenon are somehow related to climate change. I ask because that is most certainly, as I understood it, what Sunny appeared to try blame on climate change (the term the libs changed to when global warming was questioned). 
 
I think it was one of the most idiotic statements I have heard in relation to both nature & so called climate change; I think little angry Greta may have nothing on Sunny when it comes to emotional & ignorant drivel. In brief, Miss Hostin reportedly said that the anticipated concurrent hatch & breeding cycles of two species of cicadas, the eclipse of April 8th and recent earthquake(s) are somehow related to climate change in a cause and effect manner, at least if I understood her correctly. It seems her co-hosts believed likewise. Please go to the source to read and hear more about it. The thing is, I would bet that almost 100% of their viewership would have believed that such a cause and effect condition existed, between climate change and those three events, if only another two of the show's hosts had not debunked Sunny's idea. Another thing is, how bad is it when what I and many see as your loony leftist co-hosts are the ones to put down your even loonier & further far left statements! 
 
Honestly folks I cannot understand how over two million people watched said show this past January. I think they would have viewed a more intelligent show and possibly learned something real had they just watched Gilligan's Island reruns. News articles that I have read about the claims they make on The View truly scare me in as much as so many people who vote are apparently ignorant enough and evidently gullible enough to swallow every word they say hook, line & sinker. Of course there is hope because while the January ratings are the highest for The View in two years, they are nowhere nearly as high as the all time viewership in a single month nor even close to their average rating of 3.5 million viewers per show in their tenth season (more at the source). As they are now in their 27th season (same source as the last one) one can see that the amount of monthly viewers has dropped remarkably. My guess is that it picked up in January only because we have entered the election year which I figure just probably means more kooks have crawled out from under the stairs to watch them. I have high hopes though that the seeming downward trend, over all since their highest rating in November 2008, means that more and more so called woke liberal leftists of the Democrat party are actually waking up to what seems to me (an independent voter not affiliated with any political party) to be the apparent reality that: The Democrat party and all those who fervently & unquestionably support it and their goals are totally out of their minds; and thus the folks who have awakened need to support Donald J. Trump in this years election.

All the best,
Glenn B

Sunday, April 7, 2024

Another Nice GIF


 All the best,
Glenn B

Almost, Kind Of, Sort Of, Another Bridge Catastrophe

 Well there we almost went again as another huge cargo ship lost power in U.S. waters and came to a stop somewhat close to a major bridge. This time it happened in NY waters when the ship, the APL Qingdao, lost power. 
 
The NY Post reports: "A massive container ship lost propulsion power in the waters around New York City and was brought to a rest near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge Friday night — less than two weeks after failure on another massive cargo vessel caused it to smash into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.". Much more at the source.
 
Judging by the image size of the vessel as compared to that of the bridge, in the photo that is in the NY Post article, it appears to me the ship did not really get close but thank goodness it had three tugs escorting it and another three arrived to get it stopped because who knows what may have happened had it hit the bridge supports. That bridge has a good amount of traffic on it 24/7.
 
If it happens again soon, maybe I'll start to believe the conspiracy theories.

All the best,
Glenn B

Tuesday, April 2, 2024

I Ordered A Pair...

 ...of eclipse glasses at about $38.00 including shipping. They are plastic framed not paper framed. The thing is all the paper ones I could find still available were almost just as expensive (some were more) with shipping and some said the earliest delivery date was April 11th, a lot of good that would not do. Mine are supposedly being shipped with one day delivery via FedEx and the vendor said I still had three days and many hours left to order and get them on time. I hate FedEx but what is a guy gonna do.
 
Anyway, now that I paid for them, with my luck, it will pour out on April 8th in Texarkana and I will have bought this glasses for naught. I hope though that the hard to come by kind of luck, that being good luck, will be with me (and with everyone who wants to watch) that day and I get to see it. Of course, if not for bad luck, I'd have almost no luck at all but one can hope. 
 
I know, I saw a solar eclipse once, at least a partial, but don't recall when, probably when I was a kid or a teen or maybe even in my young twenties, so I'd really like to see this total eclipse. I had been planning on not watching but for some reason unknown to me the bug bit me early this morning and I decided - why not watch it - my guess is I will not get another chance in my lifetime to see another one.
 
Edited to add: So does the weatherman predict good weather in Texarkana on the 8th?
 
 
I guess I should have checked the weather first. The forecast for Texarkana on the 8th is some sun in the morning and increasing cloudiness in the after noon. Rats!

All the best,
Glenn B

One Of My Favorite GIFs

 

Need I say anything as to why it is a favorite?

All the best,
Glenn B