Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Rose Williams Slave Narrative

"Slaveholders depended on slaves to reproduce their labor force. While most masters were content to let nature take its course and allow slaves to choose their own partners, a few intervened to promote relationships they believed would be most remunerative to them, pairing men and women as they might pair breeding stock. Such meddling created powerful dilemmas for slaves, particularly for young women. Rose Williams was little more than a child at age sixteen when her owner forced her into a relationship with an unwanted partner. ("Remembering Slavery," 1998)


excerpt from book "The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom, 1750-1925"

Herbert G. Gutman, 1976

Chapter 2: Because She Was My Cousin


Blind and over ninety when interviewed, Rose Williams still hated her former owner and the slave "husband" imposed upon her. She and her parents had been sold from one Texan to another. Her new owner, Hall Hawkins, had kept her family together and did not "force 'em to work too hard," but she never forgave him for forcing upon her a "husband":


Dere am one thing Masa Hawkins does to me what I can't shunt from my mind. I knows he don't do i for meanness, but I allus holds it 'gainst him. What he done am force me to live with dat nigger, Rufus, 'gainst my wants.

After I been at he place 'bout a year, de massa come to me and say, "You gwine live with Rufus in dat cabin over yonder. Go fix it for livin'." I's 'bout sixteen year old and has no larnin', and I's jus' igno'mus chile. I's thought dat him mean for me to tend de cabin for Rufus and some other niggers. Well, dat am start de pestigation for me.

I's took charge of de cabin after work am done and fixes supper. Now, I don't like dat Rufus, 'cause he a bully. He am big and 'cause he so, he think everybody do what him say. We'uns has supper, den I goes here and dere talkin', till I's ready for sleep and den I gits in de bunk. After I's in, dat niggeer come and crawl in de bunk with me 'fore I knows it. I says, "What you means, you fool nigger?" He says for me to hush de mouth. "Dis my bunk, too," he say.

"You's teched in de head. Git out," I's told him, and I puts de feet 'gainst him and give him a shove and out he go on de floor 'fore he knew what I's doin'. Dat nigger jump up and he mad. He look like de wild bear. Hetarts for de bunk and I jumps quick for de poker. It am 'bout three feet long and when he comes at me I lets him have it over de head. Did dat nigger stop in he tracks? I's say he did. He looks at me steady for a minute and you could tell he thinkin' hard. Den he go and set on de benchg and say, "Jus' wait. You thinks it am smart, but you's am foolish in de head. Dey's gwine larn you somethin'."

"Hush you big mouth and stay 'way from dis nigger, dat all I wants," I say, and jus' sets and hold dat poker in de hand. He jus' sets, lookin' like de bull. Dere we'uns sets and sets for 'bout an hour and den he go out and I bars de door. 

De nex' day I goes to de missy and tells her what Rufus wants and missy say dat am de massa's wishes. She say, "Yous am de portly gal and Rufus am de portly man. De massa wants yu-uns fer to bring forth portly chillen.

I's thinkin' 'bout what de missy say, but say to myse'f, "I's not gwine live with dat Rufus." Dat night when he come in de cabin, I grabs de poker and sits on de bench and says, "Git 'way from me, nigger, 'fore I busts yous brains out and stomp on dem." He say nothing and git out.

De nex' day de massa call me and tell me, "Woman, I's pay big money for you and I's done dat for de cause I wants yous to raise me chillens. I's put yous to live with Rufus for dat purpose. Now, if you doesn't want whippin' at de stake, yous do what I wants.

I thinks 'bout massa buyin' me offen de block and savin' me from bein' sep'rated from my folks and 'bout being' whipped at de stake. Dere it am. What am I's to do? So I 'cides to do de massa wish and so I yields.

When we'uns am given freedom, Massa Hawkins tells us we can stay and work for wages or share crop de land. Some stays and some goes. My folks and me stays. We works de land on shares for three years, den moved to other land near by. I stays with my folks till they dies.



Although she had two children by him, Rose Williams quit her "husband." "I never marries," she explained, " 'cause one 'sperience am 'nough for this nigger. After what I done for de massa, I's never wants no truck with any man. De lawd forgive dis cullud woman, but he have to 'scuse me and look for some others for to 'plenish de earth." Another ex-slave, her daughter, then pregnant, had made a different decision. "I used to have one [baby] every Christmas," she explained to the Yankee schoolteacher Lucy Chase, "but when I had six, I put a stop to it, and had only one every other year." "I think they have too many children here," she said of the refugee Virginia slave women in 1863, adding wryly that "the business better kind uh dry up till things is more settled."

Such evidence shows that slaves made limited but highly significant choices affecting their social and sexual being. 


The oral history of a formerly enslaved woman named Rose Williams was recorded in 1937 as part of the Federal Writers' Project (FWP)
. She was a Texas native who, as an elderly woman, reflected on her experience of being separated from her parents as a child and her life in bondage. Her narrative is part of the extensive "Born in Slavery" collection at the Library of Congress. 
Overview of Rose Williams's narrative
  • Early separation from family: Williams was born in Chatfield, Texas, around 1847. In her interview, she recalls being stripped naked and sold on an auction block while she was still nursing. The sale separated her from her mother, whom she never saw again. Her mother's new owner reportedly sold her "way south," while her father was whipped to death.
  • Enslavement in Bell County, Texas: At about 12 years old, Williams and her parents were purchased by Hall Hawkins of Bell County in 1860. The narrative includes her account of being forced to have children with a man named Rufus when she was 16.
  • Emancipation: In her interview, Williams recalled the moment of emancipation. "Some stays, and some goes," she noted, referencing how some formerly enslaved people remained with their old owners while others scattered. She married Ike Williams after the war, though their initial marriage was not legally recognized. After their legal marriage, Ike died, and their only child passed away in infancy.
  • A difficult freedom: Williams's freedom was difficult, and she faced poverty and hardship. After the war, she and her husband spent a winter hungry because they didn't know how to save money. She concluded her narrative by saying she had no living relatives that she knew of. 
The WPA Slave Narratives project
Rose Williams's narrative is part of the larger Slave Narrative Collection recorded by the FWP and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1936 and 1938. 
  • This New Deal program employed writers to interview over 2,300 formerly enslaved people in 17 states.
  • The narratives provide a crucial first-person perspective on the lives of those who experienced slavery, describing the brutality of the system and the challenges of freedom.
  • The collection, now digitized by the Library of Congress, includes the transcripts of these interviews and was groundbreaking for providing an invaluable "history from the bottom up".

‘Some stays, and some goes’: The story of Rose Williams, a Bell County slave freed on Juneteenth | News | kdhnews.com




Sunday, October 26, 2025

Mario Savio Speech

 
 

Yesterday I was given a copy of this speech given in Berkeley, California atop an automobile on December 2, 1964. The old, Grey Revolutionary/activist who gave it to me was there when Mario Savio delivered this historic call to action. 

Greys around the country have been re-activated and reanimated thanks to the Trump administration. He hopes young people today are as inspired by this speech as he continues to be. He strongly encourages everyone, young and old, to take part in protesting to prevent injustice by those in power.

I dedicate this post to all those Greys who are still coming out to lead and fight the good fight against injustice everywhere. We Salute You!

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7


Friday, October 24, 2025

Warriors sss!


Only two games into this NBA season and I'm already thinking Championship for the Golden State Warriors. Main reason being their depth and resilience. 

Dictionary

noun
  1. 1.
    the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
    "the remarkable resilience of so many institutions"
  2. 2.
    the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity.
    "nylon is excellent in wearability and resilience"

Last night's overtime win over the Denver Nuggets saw the Warriors overcome a 50-pt outburst by Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, who I believe set some type of record in going 11 for 13 on three-point shooting.

The Warriors coming off a takedown of the L.A. Lakers Tuesday night, started the game on a 10-0 run. But Denver seemed to easily and quickly come back to tie then commandingly take the lead. It looked to me throughout almost three quarters that the Nuggets were just a step ahead of the Warriors in shooting and defense. They held Steph Curry to something like 7-pts in the first half which ended with the Warriors trailing 71-59.

The second half saw Warriors defense and an overall synchronicity take hold of the team as they battled and were defensively able to compete with the Nuggets. Then with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, Steph makes the first two of his fifteen points in the quarter to get the game to overtime. And it was at this moment, the end of the fourth quarter, every Warriors fan in Chase Arena as well as us watching at home knew our team has recaptured the fire and passion that has seen them become a championship dynasty. 

It took an all-around cast playing clutch, championship style basketball down the stretch to put this surging Denver Nuggets team to bed. Steph Curry (42pts) makes ridiculous clutch shots, always has. But when you see the likes of other Warriors stepping up their games in crunch time, it sends a huge message to the league as well as fans watching. 

Jimmy Butler
Al Horford
Jonathan Kuminga
Draymond Green
Buddy Hield
Will Richard *(upcoming rookie)

The message says they're hungry and will battle until the final game buzzer goes off. It says they are never out of a game regardless of the opponent, as long as they band together as a team, knowing that their biggest nemesis is a breakdown in trust, communication and commitment toward one another. It says their back to being Warriors and have their eyes on the 2025-26 prize.

Can You Dig It!!!!

Nuggets 131
Warriors 137

Stephen Curry Scores 42 Points, Willing Warriors to Overtime Win in Thrilling Home Opener


Monday, October 20, 2025

Luang Prabang, Laos


At the break of dawn every morning, a truly captivating phenomenon takes place all across the streets of Luang Prabang. Clad in saffron-tinged robes and with collection bowls strapped around the shoulder, hundreds of monks line up to collect morning alms from local Buddhists. This enlightening ceremony, known as Tak Bat (or Sai Bat), is conducted in total silence as a form of meditation.


Just as significant to Tak Bat as the monks are the local almsgivers. It should be noted that offering daily sustenance is not the same as charity, as a westerner would view it – but rather religious dedication. And to the faithful, giving alms is a form of cleansing the soul through spiritual redemption.



Theravada - Wikipedia

Fascinating Facts about the Land of a Million Elephants

Friday, October 10, 2025

"No-No Boy" by John Okada : Book Review

What had happened to him and the others who faced the judge and said: You can't make me go in the army because I'm not an American or you wouldn't have plucked me and mine from a life that was good and real and meaningful and fenced me in the desert like they do the Jews in Germany and it is a puzzle why you haven't started to liquidate us though you might as well since everything else has been destroyed.

And some said: You, Mr. Judge, who supposedly represent justice, was it a just thing to ruin a hundred thousand lives and homes and farms and businesses and dreams and hopes because the hundred thousand were a hundred thousand Japanese and you couldn't have loyal Japanese when Japan is the country you're fighting and, if so, how about the Germans and Italians that must be just as questionable as the Japanese or we wouldn't be fighting Germany and Italy? Round them up. Take away their homes and cars and beer and spaghetti and throw them in a camp and what do you think they'll say when you try to draft them into your army of the country that is for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?

If you think we're the same kind  of rotten Japanese that dropped the bombs on Pearl Harbor, and it's plain that you do or I wouldn't be here having to explain to you why it is that I won't go and protect sons-of-bitches like you, I say you're right and banzai three times and we'll sit the war out in a nice cell, thank you. 
pgs. 31-32 (excerpt from No-No Boy by John Okada)


I must say, after a somewhat depressing start, the 1957 novel "No-No Boy" by John Okada drew me into the peoples, places, and recovering/reconstruction era that was post-WWII Seattle. It took time to allow this story about the different effects detention center internment had on two separate generations of Japanese (Issei and Nisei) to unfold. The author did a wonderful job in putting together the main character, Ichiro, and all that he sees, feels and experiences throughout the book. 

Ichiro is a young American-born Japanese (Nisei), who after being released from serving a two-year prison term for refusing to fight for America against Japan during WWII, has matured to question everything about culture, war, nationalism, and society as a whole. He was interned at an American internment camp for Japanese two years prior to his conviction as a "traitor." But we see him after his release struggling with the shame and ostracism of returning home as a "No-No Boy." To be shunned not just by white Americans but also Japanese-Americans he grew up around in Seattle. 

The complexity of what he did and why, leaves him broken, trying to put together a reasonable understanding of it all. He tries but is unable to relate to or get answers from his parents who are Japanese Immigrants (Issei), struggling with their own misconceptions and challenges. Ichiro is a young man on the verge of losing all hope in life, a dangerous place for any young, angry and confused individual to find oneself.

As with any good fictional character in a novel, it is the impact and influence of change that brings about their thoughts and actions moving forward. To follow Ichiro through this story as it develops, plays out and concludes is to witness a post-WWII Japanese-American citizen returning to find his place in society, four years after being stripped of all freedoms and rights as a citizen.

Ichiro is no different from anyone, fictional or real. He must decide who he wants to be, where he wants to be and how he wants to live his life moving forward. His dilemma is in what his country will or won't allow him to be based on his race and being branded a "No-No Boy;" a good for nothing traitor jap. Can he make the adjustment within himself to live free.

I was surprised at not only how much I learned about the mental and emotional effects internment had on Japanese Americans, but also the divisiveness it had on Japanese-American communities. I come away from this book with great admiration and appreciation for all that author John Okada put into making this story come alive. It truly ranks as an American historical document in my eyes. It's a shame Mr. Okada, God bless his soul, died believing that Asian America had rejected his work.

The Bright Future and Long Shadow of John Okada’s No-No Boy – Asian American Writers' Workshop


Thursday, October 02, 2025

Alabama Penal Code 1865-66






 57.    Living in adultery or fornication.
    If any man and woman live together in adultery, or fornication, each of them must, on the first conviction of the offense, be fined not less than one hundred dollars and may also be imprisoned in the county jail, or sentenced to hard labor for the county, for not more than six month; on the second conviction for the offense, with the same person, the offender must be fined not less than three hundred dollars, and may be imprisoned in the county jail, or sentenced to hard labor for the county, for not more than twelve months; and on a third, or any subsequent conviction, with the same person, must be imprisoned in the penitentiary, or sentenced to hard labor for the county, for two years.

58.    Bigamy.
    If any person, having a former wife or husband living, marries another, or continues to cohabit with such second husband or wife in this State, he or she must, on conviction, be imprisoned in the penitentiary, or sentenced to hard labor for the county, for not less than two, nor more than five years.

59.    Same; exception.
    The provisions of the last preceding section do not apply to any person, who, prior to such second marriage, had procured a decree, from a court of competent jurisdiction, dissolving his or her former marriage, and allowing him or her the privilege of marrying again; nor to any person who, at the time of such second marriage, did not know that his or her former husband or wife was living, and whose former husband or wife had remained absent from him or her for the last five years preceding such second marriage.

60.    Incest.
    If any man and woman, being within the degree of consanguinity of relationship within which marriages are declared by law to be incestuous and void, and knowing of such consanguinity or relationship, intermarry, or live together in adultery, each of them must, on conviction, be imprisoned in the penitentiary, or sentenced to hard labor for the county, for not less than two, nor more than seven years.

61.    Marriages between white persons and negroes.
    If any white person and any negro, or the descendant of any negro, to the third generation inclusive, though one ancestor of each generation was a white person, intermarry, or live in adultery or fornication with each other, each of them must on conviction, be imprisoned in the penitentiary, or sentenced to hard labor for the county, for not less than two, nor more than seven years.

62.    Same; officer issuing license or performing marriage ceremony.
    Any probate judge, who issues a license for the marriage of any persons who are prohibited by the last preceding section from intermarrying, knowing that they are within the provisions of that section; and any justice of the peace, minister of the gospel, or other person by law authorized to solemnize the rites of matrimony, who performs a marriage ceremony for such persons, knowing that they are within the provisions of said section, must, each on conviction, be fined not less than one hundred, nor more than one thousand dollars; and may also be imprisoned in the county jail, or sentenced to hard labor for the county, for not more than six months.

63.    Crime against nature.
    Any person who commits the crime against nature, either with mankind, or with any beast, must, on conviction, be imprisoned in the penitentiary, or sentenced to hard labor for the county, for not less than two, nor more than ten years.

64.    Attempts to procure abortion.
Any person who willfully administers to any pregnant woman any drug or substance, or uses or employs any instrument or other means to procure her miscarriage, unless the same is necessary to preserve her life, and done for that purpose, must, on conviction, be fined not more than five hundred dollars, and may also be imprisoned in the county jail, or sentenced  to hard labor for the county, for not less than three, nor more than twelve months.




Tuesday, September 30, 2025

The Attack - Book Review


I came to this book by Algerian author Yasmina Khadra (Mohammed Moulessehoul) after setting aside two other books featuring the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. One was a fictional account written from a biased perspective, and the other was a well-written but lengthy journalist memoir of his days covering the conflict. So, it's no wonder how my third choice turned out to be a charm. It is a well told fictional story about a Palestinian-Israeli surgeon who is a naturalized citizen, whose wife's remains are identified as the suicide bomber that blew up a cafe during a children's party in Tel Aviv. 

The story follows the unbelieving and devastated doctor as he battles through discovering who, what, where, when, and how his humble, homemaker wife could possibly have done what authorities accuse her of doing. It is painful traveling along with the good yet broken doctor as he slowly tries piecing together the puzzle of his beautiful wife's alleged ties to a terrorist attack. As a reader sharing in the doctor's numbing pain and shocking loss, you almost feel him justified in wanting to drown himself in depression. It would take withstanding more shock and pain, along with newly added doses of anger and hatred, before the good doctor embarks on a perilous journey toward discovery of the worse kind.

Captain Moshe: "I, too, was married to a beautiful woman, Dr. Jaafari. She was the pride of my life. It took me seven years to discover that she was hiding from me the most important information a man should have about his wife's fidelity." 

Dr. Jaafari: "My wife had no reason to deceive me."

(excerpt from The Attack by Yasmina Khadra - page 41)

I enjoyed how the author skillfully paints every character you encounter with just enough coloring so you know the type of person being presented. Whether they be relative or stranger, friend or foe, the persons you meet in the book are exactly who they appear to be. It is only one person, the doctor's wife Sihem, whose character alludes you. We never meet her face to face but others, mostly the doctor himself, share their impressions of who she was and who she might have become.

The author gives a taste of poetic writing with descriptions of the mediterranean weather, evening skies, desert winds and such. He paints a sweeping canvas with authentic landscapes to match the peoples and their land. The doctor's memories of an idyllic childhood, running through orchards and along hills on his grandfather's land, showcase examples of the author's descriptive writing skills. 

The flip side of such beautiful writing includes descriptions of prejudice, oppression, dispossession, and a military occupation that destroys the homes and hopes of a native community. Descriptions of children maneuvering around and through war-torn rubble, avoiding snipers and other deadly instruments of war.

The story shares the beauty of family heritage and tradition while trying desperately to survive the ugliness and devastation of war. There is a message in some of the madness depicted. Without preaching, the story shows what can drive an oppressed people to adopt a "by any means necessary" approach to resistance. 

As readers are driven to question just how well the good doctor knew his wife Sihem, another question comes to mind. How much of his own dignity and heritage had the good doctor sacrificed to become a naturalized Israeli citizen and successful surgeon in Tel Aviv. What is the price of acceptance one pays to live, work, and mingle amongst those who might abhor your naturalized presence and success.  And what price must you pay to return to your homeland and see the devastation and hopelessness, then look your peoples in the eye with a shame that cuts deeper than any scalpel. These are some of the thoughts this brutally honest and insightful story left me with. And I am better informed because of it.


I recommend this novel to anyone looking for a suspenseful, literary read with a poetic touch and brutally, eye-opening revelation. There are children on both sides of this conflict whose lives are blown to bits. We who have survived childhood must make sure all children following us have a chance. 

Give Peace a Chance!



 




Monday, September 29, 2025

Der Fuehrer Book - A Warning!

 

Der Fuehrer (The Fuhrer)
published January 1944

I once owned this book, but I recall its writing being a bit stifling in a somewhat older style. So, I passed it on. Now, my being older and more familiar with history and politics, I would like to give it another chance. The importance of learning from past mistakes of others is partly why. The other reason being the authoritarian politics we are seeing in our current times.

Below is a book review I came across by David Drury. It is a lesson in recognizing the methods used by one of the most atrocious, politically evil, authoritarian dictators to cross the pages of history. The Internet Archive link I've provided at the bottom of this post is where you can find the book for free, in print form as well as read-a-long audio. 

The first few pages read like the "Book of Revelation" warning of things to come. After witnessing all our current 47th president has said and done since taking office earlier the year, it makes you wonder whether he is following the blueprint laid out by this most evil of authoritarian dictators. After all, Hitler emulated Joseph Stalin's revolutionary ruthlessness in eliminating opponents, particularly the old elite.



What it all shows is authoritarian dictators can and do borrow the methods of other dictators, possibly their enemies, regardless of how cruel, barbaric and heinous the crime. And evil is what evil does!




5.0 out of 5 stars
Fertile Soil for Nazi Seed
Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2016
It has become an internet truism that as an online discussion proceeds forward the probability of someone comparing their opponents to Nazi's or Hitler approaches 1 (Godwin's Rule).

This adage of course gives birth to another (I'll call it
Viam Dimittere Godwin's Rule)... that after the mention of Godwin's Rule in an online discussion, the likelihood of all participants dismissing the comparison as over-reaction also approaches 1 at an ever faster pace than it approached Godwin's Rule.

Thus we are at risk of repeating history by not learning it, which is another truism that people roll their eyes at, thus becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

One of the best experiences for me about 8 years ago in learning about Nazism and Hitler was by reading "Der Fuehrer" which is a first person perspective, published in 1944, of someone who saw Hitler's rise to power. Through this book I learned so very much about:

1) How branding was used (nearly 100 years ago now) to create an iconography and identity for those without it
2) How Hitler used the mistakes of others to gain advantage, ever pragmatic. The rise to power is perhaps more interesting to me than all the other work on Nazism after they were in power, in part because it receives less attention, and also because it informs our ability to not repeat history.
3) How Hitler's movement worked around his weaknesses, and leveraged his strengths, energizing a movement.
4) How so many Germans were complicit in this movement, not fully aware of the depths of depravity they were heading towards, as the frog warmed in the kettle slowly for two decades.
5) How much innuendo and double-speak was used, including denials and misdirection on the treatment of Jews, whereby nothing overtly "scary" to the broader public was offered, and instead the "systematic stuff" was done behind the scenes, only doing just enough to terrify others but make the majority feel safe and powerful.
6) How economic motivators, of those marginalized by global economic forces out of their control, are almost all that is needed to motivate a mob to become a movement. The everyday people (volk) are never more motivated than by the fact that they are poorer this year than last year, or this decade than last decade, or that their children might be poorer than they are now. Simply put,
7) I learned how much of this was just politics. It wasn't like the movies or documentaries... it was just everyday politics in Germany. It was more like watching Meet the Press than Indiana Jones.
8) I also learned how many people thought that Hitler was a bit of a joke--that they were embarrassed by him--and the typical reaction of opponents was not to attack him but to dismiss him. This gave him the room to operate, and in a sense by being dismissed he was always underestimated (inside the Nazi party at first, then inside Germany, then in Europe, then around the world), right up until Nazi Troops took Paris if you think about it.
8) Also, I think that there are parallels between all kinds of other political forces (sometimes over-used as in Godwin's Law), but one I thought of recently when reading The Atlantic Monthly's piece on the "weaponization of social media" was the parallel to ISIS, which did much of the above... In a functional way, ISIS has more parallels to Naziism than other Radical Islam groups, in my opinion.

There are other excellent works on Hitler out there but this one is my personal favorite as it is sort of "stuck in time" on what it was like in Germany in the 20s and 30s. Today, rather than analyzing, myself, on PEOPLE that are "like Hitler" I instead tend to focus much on what Konrad Heiden focused on: the conditions that were present and the way in which they were leveraged to birth a movement that changed the world (for the worse) more quickly than almost any movement in history. Germany in the 20s and 30s was fertile soil for the horrid Nazi seed, and Hitler was the sower.


This is the demon who speaks out of the book.

‘We shall talk with the people on the streets and squares,’ says the demon, ‘and teach them to take the view of political questions which at the moment we require. For what the ruler says to the people spreads through the whole country like wildfire, the voice of the people carries it to all four winds.

‘We’ — the demon always says ‘We’ — ‘shall create unrest, struggle, and hate in the whole of Europe and thence in other continents. We shall at all times be in a position to call forth new disturbances at will, or to restore the old order.

‘Unremittingly we shall poison the relations between the peoples and States of all countries. By envy and hatred, by struggle and warfare, even by spreading hunger, destitution, and plagues, we shall bring all peoples to such a pass that their only escape will lie in total Submission to our domination.

‘We shall stultify, seduce, ruin the youth.

‘We shall not stick at bribery, treachery, treason, as long as they serve the realization of our plans. Our watchword is: force and hypocrisy!

‘In our arsenal we carry a boundless ambition, burning avidity, a ruthless thirst for revenge, relentless hatred. From us emanates the specter of fear, all-embracing terror.’ (from Der Fuehrer page 2)

Wednesday, September 24, 2025

Brazilian President's United Nations Address

 

Pres. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Delivers in U.N. Speech


As much as I would like to proudly include a link to our President of the United States' United Nations Address, I cannot. The U.S. saw its Big Beautiful EmBarrassment perform a rendition of the reality tv show he was fired from for making derogatory statements about Mexican Immigrants in 2015. Not only was his fifty-seven-minute U.N. rant appalling, but it was also full of misinformation, lies, ally-bashing and simply downright crazy. Trump's behavior characterized the exact derogatory remark he recently called Jimmy Kimmel, "A Nut Job!" 

'Your countries are going to hell': Trump bashes United Nations, world leaders in speech - ABC News

The United Nations and entire world got a front row seat to the narcissistic, self-aggrandizing, muddle-minded leader of America. And if they didn't understand what Citizens of the United States have been dealing with since inauguration 2025, they do now. 

The proof in that U.N. address makes it perfectly clear; the leader of the free world is unfit to lead, much less host a primetime reality tv show. At least he was forced to leave television to the professionals. Welcome back Jimmy Kimmel! 

Americans ask the world to join us in rejecting authoritarian leadership worldwide, while strengthening our democratic societies against tyranny and corruption. When a leader's number one directive is to teardown democratic institutions, shakedown countries and/or corporations and go all-out "retribution" against those he views as enemies (real or imagined), there lies the threat to national security. A threat from within.

The world needs more leaders like Brazil's democratic President Lula Da Silva. Leaders who stand up to tyranny with courage, regardless of the size or influence of an opponent. We need those elected representatives who still believe in truth and democracy to stand up for it like their homes and families depend on it. When the house is on fire and there's no fireman on site, do your best to be a fireman! 

"In a place where there are no men, strive to be a man!" - Rabbi Hillel

The last king to rule over America, though he never set foot on her shores, was King George III of England. American patriots ended that reign in 1783. They were courageous men fighting against all odds. And yet they endured through sacrifice and loyalty to "bring forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."

No Kings




Sunday, September 21, 2025

Raiders Offense? OFFENSIVE!

It is now 27-10 midway through the third quarter. The Commanders are smothering Geno Smith and the Raiders offense like barbecue sauce on some ribs. Coach Pete Carroll tossed his signature chewing gum just before half-time, as if to get the bad taste out of his mouth. And here we are in the second half with the taste getting worse. It ain't pretty.

Where is the running game? Where is any semblance of a blocking offensive line? Where are the tight end targets? What happened to making adjustments to take advantage of blitzing defenders? Who is running the offense at this point, it can't be the mastermind Chip Kelly can it?

Yes Raider Nation. Unfortunately, last Monday Night's loss to the Chargers was no fluke. It was actually a premiere of things to come. And here we are, hopeless in a season that seems all but over before it has really begun. Maybe chalk it up to rebuilding, with a team trying to get in synch with its parts. Sure the defense is decent, but we know how ineffective a tired defense being on the field too much can lead to.

I love my Raiders. Love'em like a favorite child. But damn it gets extremely hard watching them go through what is hopefully just growing pangs. 

In the time it took to write the above paragraphs the Commanders have added a touchdown to their lead. The NFL Redzone has become my broadcast of choice as I refuse to watch one more silver and black blunder today. It's so damn hard being a Raiders fan.

Win, Lose or Tie!



Score (end of 3rd Qtr)
Raiders 10
Commanders 34