“We do not believe any group of men adequate enough or wise enough to operate without scrutiny or without criticism. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it, that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. We know that in secrecy error undetected will flourish and subvert.” –J. Robert Oppenheimer
This man, making Christmas calls from the White House, believes the world is a sphere. And he has even flown around it! So has our beautiful FLOTUS, who happens to be his wife!
Truth and common sense must be valued by us, as individuals, in order to lastingly disempower the authoritarian fake news media. This includes the perniciously smarmy science media, which never answers for its errors and lies. I believe that the media has been responsible not only for leftist pathologies like scientism, medical fascism, and radical gender ideology, but also for reactionary movements like modern flat Earth, rejection of all medicine, and Biblical geological literalism.
Just as Wheatie’s Stormwatch Monday Open Thread was created as a place for people to openly express their thoughts and opinions, so, too, is this Thank God Thursday Open Thread, where honest but civil discussion of all topics is encouraged. This thread is also to be known as Theistic Evolution Thursdays, due to the author’s expected “pontification” about his scientific, religious, and political opinions. You are welcome to pontificate back! Free speech matters!
Please label all AI-generated content as being such, unless it is patently obvious (e.g., humorous AI images). It is important that we as individuals not begin to pretend that socially derived artificial intelligence is actually our own, as this form of stealthy social information averaging and feedback would be one more pretense and deception between people, in service of stupid Marxist socialism, and of those who wish to substitute their communally protected lies for actual truth.
The source of alleged truth matters, not for the truth itself, but for validation.
And yes, it’s THURSDAY…again.
And that’s it. We’re done stealing from Wheatie.
OK – maybe her rules need to be posted.
No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.
Other rules may be derivable from these, and that conjecture is left for discussion.
If there is nothing beyond the “W” below, then this is a placeholder. For health reasons, I can’t always post a timely opinion before each Thursday, but I will try. Otherwise, you have this placeholder post, where YOU provide the content. Enjoy!
W
Christmas is approaching! Get in the spirit!
(1) Another hymn by this bunch. I find this very listenable.
(2) MOAR CHESS. Get in the spirit of giving! Watch these two top players give each other gift moves, until the one who gives the earliest gifts WINS. Otherwise known as a stupid, bad game, won by the biggest troll.
(3) OK – time to get serious for a moment.
GATTACA is coming, thanks to CRISPR. We were warned!
Title: “OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and His Husband Are Funding the Creation of Genetically Engineered Babies”
Subtitle: “The rebirth of Frankenstein in the era of CRISPR and AI”
Joe Biden never won. This is our Real President – 45, 46, 47.
AND our beautiful REALFLOTUS.
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
Our various sister sites, listed in the Blogroll in the sidebar
Our beloved country is under Occupation by hostile forces.
Daily outrage and epic phuckery abound.
We can give in to despair…or we can be defiant and fight back in any way that we can.
Joe Biden didn’t win.
And we will keep saying Joe Biden didn’t win until we get His Fraudulency out of our White House.
Wolfie’s Wheatie’s Word of the Week:
reciprocornous
adjective
having horns that turn backward and then forward
having horns like those of a ram
Used in a sentence
The animal may be reciprocornous yet not rambunctious.
Shown in a picture
Shades of Olive Green
Shown in a video
MUSIC!
Time for some very old HORNS!
Now let’s try a Cyber Monday song! (Yeah, it’s bad.)
Let’s try better…..
OK, I give up – let’s just do Manic Monday!
Gotta say – when the 80s seems like the 50s, you know it’s at least the next 20s. Anyway, enjoy some Bangles history – with another phony “BOMBSHELL!” clickbait AI thumbnail.
THE STUFF
Japanese lady kick-boxer who actually favors kicks.
AI mediocre narration, AI bogus thumbnail, but real fights.
Recently, I accidentally discovered that a long-held belief of mine was very likely untrue! As I sure you all can identify with, this was somewhat disconcerting. Who likes to be wrong? But I am a researcher, and accepting what one finds when researching is imperative. I thought I would share what I found out with you all, since it is Christmas, and that is crux of the matter.
I thought for many years that Jesus was not really born on Christmas Day. That day was chosen, I believed, because pagan cultures already celebrated on that day, and Christianity wanted to include (subsume, some would say) those religions. This is called the “History of Religions” theory.
There was Saturnalia, for example, celebrated originally on December 17, and later from the 17th through the 23rd; and the December 25 holiday Sol Invictus (the Unconquered or Invincible Sun). The earliest reference I had seen to the celebration of Jesus birth on December 25 was in 354 AD. It is from Depositio Martirum of the Chronography of 354, and reads:
‘December 25, Christ is born in Bethlehem of Judea.’
However, I was to find that this is NOT the earliest that such a thing was suggested, by a long shot!
I stumbled across this reference to Hippolytus, who in his day attempted to date every Passover all the way back to the date of the Creation, and the first Passover full moon (he believed God created the moon in the “full” phase). To do this, Hippolytus created a “lunar table.” A statue of him was discovered in Rome in 1551 AD and now sits in front of the Vatican Library. On the right side of the statue is a carving of this lunar table, taken from Hippolytus’ Canon, written in 222 AD.
This lunar table was designed to calculate the dates of past and future Passover full moons, by determining the date of the full moon occurring on the Vernal Equinox. The date of this Equinox was fixed on March 25 in the Julian Calendar. This turned out to be more difficult than Hippolytus thought, and his calculations went awry within just three years of calculating the dates.
However, that is not the point of discussion here. The point is, Hippolytus noted two things in his Canon; one, that the Passion of Jesus occurred on Friday, March 25, 29 AD. The second is, he wrote that the “genesis” of Christ occurred on April 2, 2 B.C. The word for “genesis” here is γένεσις. There is debate on whether this word means conception or birth, but given what I have read in the last week, I am strongly inclined to the former meaning. Researcher Thomas C. Schmidt has done a fantastic study of this. You can read the research here; I highly recommend it:
This was my starting point, but I branched out when I realized there were others who believed early on that Jesus was conceived on or about March 25. In 221, Julius Africanus, the Roman Christian historian, wrote that Jesus was conceived on March 25, the anniversary of the day Africanus believed God created the Earth. This would logically, given a nine-month gestation period, put Jesus’ birth on December 25.
So, there are now two sources who believed Jesus was born on December 25, as early as 221 AD. Is there an even earlier source? Turns out, it looks like there is!
Clement of Alexandria calculated Jesus birth backwards (what a way to figure, but whatever) from the death of the Emperor Commodus, thusly:
From the birth of Christ, therefore, to the death of Commodus are, altogether, 194 years, 1 month, 13 days.
This would put Jesus’ birth on January 6. It is still celebrated on that date by the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Clement continues:
“And there are those who have determined our Savior’s genesis not only the year, but even the day, which they say took place in the twenty-eighth year of Augustus on the 25th of Pachon…
And treating of his passion, with very great accuracy, some say that it took place in the sixteenth year of Tiberius, on the 25th of Phamenoth, but others the 25th of Pharmuthi and others say on the 19th of Pharmuthi the Savior suffered.
Indeed, others say that he came to be on the 24th or 25th of Pharmuthi.”
The important word in there is “genesis,” most likely meaning conception. The translation of “genesis” as conception is consistent with Clement’s usage of this word in other contexts, for example:
“It is not therefore frequent intercourse by the parents, but the reception of it [the seed] in the womb which corresponds with genesis.” (Clement of Alexandria Stromata 3.12.83.2)
The 25th of Pharmuthi coincides with the Vernal Equinox in the Egyptian calendar and also matches one of the possible dates which Clement gives for the Passover of Jesus’ crucifixion.
This shows that in the time Clement wrote his Stromata, between 198 and 203 AD, where this information appears, there were already people who believed that Jesus was conceived on or about March 20-21, or on the Vernal Equinox.
What we know about the pagan holiday Saturnalia is, it was originally a one-day celebration on December 17. It was later extended to December 17-23. This is one celebration that has been suggested as a reason why Christians decided to put Jesus’ nativity on December 25, but this holiday never fell on that date.
A December 25th holiday, Sol Invictus, was instituted in 274 AD by the Emperor Aurelian, who made this the primary god of Rome.
“The festival of Sol Invictus on the 25th December in the later Roman empire combined the festivals of both the old sun god (Sol Indiges) and the new official sun god (Deus Sol Invictus). The Circus Maximus had been dedicated to Sol Indiges since ancient times, and then was dedicated to Sol Invictus. The Roman emperor Aurelian created the cult of Sol Invictus during his reign in AD 270-275 (in the 3rd century) and, on his coins, Sol was described as ‘Dominus Imperii Romani’, the official deity of the Roman empire.”
It has been suggested over the centuries that the “chosen” date of December 25 as the birth of Jesus was in response to the imposition of Sol Invictus. However, given that we know that 75-50 years PRIOR to Sol Invictus being instituted, Christian leaders believed Jesus was born on December 25, it is just as likely that Aurelian instituted the holiday against the Christian belief! This is actually more likely in my opinion, given the facts that: a) Romans were inclined to incorporate the gods of conquered cultures into their belief systems and had done so for centuries; and b) by the time of Jesus, Jews had been admonished against the practice of including foreign gods in their culture for literally thousands of years. This was almost the entire background cause of sin in the Old Testament.
This theory, that Jesus’ birth date was not chosen to subsume another religion’s holiday, but was instead “calculated” by early Church leaders from the Creation of the world, or from the dates of Passover full moons, is called the “Calculation Theory.”
This theory does not prove that Jesus was actually born on December 25, but rather it does strongly suggest, at least to me, that the date of his birth was NOT chosen in response to a foreign religion, but in accordance with the beliefs and dates spelled out in God’s Word, the Old Testament. Hippolytus used the dates in the Old Testament to calculate the years from the Creation to the birth of Jesus, as did Clement of Alexandria.
From Hippolytus Chronicon:
(§686) . . . from Adam until the transmigration into Babylon under Jeconiah, 57 generations, 4,842 years, 9 months. (§687) And after the transmigration into Babylon until the generation [generatio] of Christ, there were 14 generations, 660 years, and from the generation [generatio] of Christ until the Passion there were 30 years and from the Passion up until this year which is year 13 of the Emperor Alexander, there are 206 years. (§688) Therefore all the years from Adam up until year 13 of the Emperor Alexander make 5,738 years. Chronicon §686-688
It is quite notable to me that there is a “9 months” period stated in this calculation, the span of human gestation. From Schmidt:
“Hippolytus only gives extraneous months on two occasions, once in §654 where he adds six months to David’s reign, and in §675 where he states that Jehoahaz reigned three months.”
So it is a rare case in his calculations to include months at all. The possible reasons for the nine month addition, how the translation of one word [generatio] affects the interpretation of it, and much more is found in Thomas C. Schmidt’s excellent research linked up above, if you want to read it.
I still don’t know for certain that Jesus was actually born on December 25. But I DO know that early Christians, based on their calculations of when God created the Earth, and when Passover full moons occurred and their dates, almost certainly believed that He was. And for now, that is good enough for me!
Joe Biden never won. This is our Real President – 45, 46, 47.
AND our beautiful REALFLOTUS.
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
Our various sister sites, listed in the Blogroll in the sidebar
Our beloved country is under Occupation by hostile forces.
Daily outrage and epic phuckery abound.
We can give in to despair…or we can be defiant and fight back in any way that we can.
Joe Biden didn’t win.
And we will keep saying Joe Biden didn’t win until we get His Fraudulency out of our White House.
Wolfie’s Wheatie’s Word of the Week:
vicegerent
noun
acting in place of another
having delegated authority
not the same as a viceregent, although similar
Used in a sentence
A viceregent is a ruler acting in place of a monarch, while a vicegerent is an appointed representative of a higher authority, often with broader administrative duties.
Now I seem to recall Rand Paul’s name associated with Festivus, and I never quite got it, until this news report. Stay with it for at least a minute. LMAO!!!
Well, DOGE-GONE, it’s BARBIE!
I’m sorry, but Festivus has me in the mood to play my favorite song!
In case you’re wondering what a “ferrocell” is, there’s a fascinating paper describing how one works.
The beauty of this song – other than simply being well-done, is that in some pleasing ways, the actual science of sunlight shining on the orbiting moon, blocked by its own orbiting mass, corresponds with, and maybe even transforms through the “crackpot matrix” to, the dithering of Mr. (at)witsit about ferrocells and whatnot.
Between “real” science and “pseudo” science, I’m falling in love with the crazy beauty of this universe!
Good night, good morning, good day, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
Please forgive us, Wheatie, we did not know That you had left us with armor in tow We had no idea with what you dealt We did not know the pain you felt And now we can only imagine With you what really did happen Cause rarely did you complain And/or share your personal pain Of one thing we are most certain You are flying high behind the curtain Watching over us above the crowds Our Warrior Angel above the clouds Thank You, Wheatie, for caring for us While you were here among the fuss We miss you dear you have no idea Since time began in the pangaea With you there was no time In your wisdom you would chime To clarify and magnify The what where how and why We did not question when you left We were not slightly bereft But over time we wondered why You did not at least stop by Now we know where you have gone With the break of this new dawn We could be angry but are not Tho with an arrow we’ve been shot Rest peacefully Warrior Angel dear Send us a sign that you are near A butterfly a flower a kiss of rain From your love do not refrain God sends Angels to watch over us And now we have an Angel Plus A Warrior Angel of Magnificence From today and forward hence
Boilerplate, more or less, but worth reading again and again, if only for the minor changes, and to stay out of moderation.
MINOR CHANGE NUMBER 1
Never talk about committing violence in a reply to Wolf or in response to anything Wolf has said, or you may get put into moderation so that your comments can be screened. This is ONLY because DHS is now playing door-knock Gestapo with people who have spoken at school board meetings, made public comments, etc. DHS regime jackboots are knocking on doors of school board mama bears and stupidly insinuating potential violence from things people say or don’t say on social media. A guy in Ohio pointed his FINGER at the school board, and they went after him, armed with pictures of the pointing, and screen captures of online comments. Yeah.
SO – give the Nazis ZERO ammo. Keep any mention of violence, even joking, away from Wolf, so that he doesn’t have to “explain” humor to humorless jackboots who pretend not to know things.
As for discussion of “violent humor” among yourselves (e.g., “#TeamHeadsOnPikes”), just use whatever discretion you think is appropriate for yourselves. I will only put you in moderation if your comments create problems for ME or THIS SITE, but not if they only impact you.
YOU are responsible for your own comments, if they come knocking. YOUR choice. Just remember this…..
OTHER THAN THAT…….
The bottom line is Free Speech. Theories and ideas you don’t agree with must be WELCOME here, and you must be part of that welcoming. But you do NOT need to be part of any agreement.
Bottom line – respect other people’s FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS.
Our only additional requirement is that you do so NICELY. Or at least try to make some effort in that direction.
SO….. [ENGAGE BOILERPLATE…..]
We must endeavor to persevere to love our frenemies – even here.
Those who cannot deal with this easy requirement will be forced to jump the hoops of moderation, so that specific comments impugning other posters and violating the minimal rules can be sorted out and tossed in the trash.
In Wheatie’s words, “We’re on the same side here so let’s not engage in friendly fire.”
That includes the life skill of just ignoring certain other posters.
We do have a site – The U Tree – where civility is not a requirement. Interestingly, people don’t really go there much. Nevertheless, if you find yourself in an “argument” that can’t really stay civil, please feel free to “take it to the U Tree”. The U Tree is also a good place to report any technical difficulties, if you’re unable to report them here. Please post your comment there on one of Wolf’s posts, or in reply to one of Wolf’s comments, to make sure he sees it (though it may take a few hours).
We also have a backup site, called The Q Tree as well, which is really The Q Tree 579486807. You might call it “Second Tree”. The URL for that site is https://theqtree579486807.wordpress.com/. If this site (theqtree.com) ever goes down, please reassemble at the Second Tree.
If the Second Tree goes down, please go to The U Tree, or to our Gab Group, which is located at https://gab.com/groups/4178.
We also have some “old rules” and important guidelines, outlined here, in a very early post, on our first New Year’s Day, in 2019. The main point is not to make violent threats against people, which then have to be taken seriously by law enforcement, and which can be used as a PRETEXT by enemies of this site.
In the words of Wheatie, “Let’s not give the odious Internet Censors a reason to shut down this precious haven that Wolf has created for us.”
A Moment of Prayer
Our policy on extreme religious freedom on this site is discussed HERE. Please feel free to pray and praise God anytime and anywhere.
Thus, please pray for our real President, the one who actually won the election.
You may also pray for our nation, our world, and even our enemies.
Contemporary cubist art for sale. Contemporary abstract music paintings for sale.
Musical Interlude
In honor of dear Wheatie, we now present some music to soothe, inspire, invigorate, or relax.
Let’s try for some REAL variety today.
This almost isn’t music, but SO appropriate!
Get ready for the SUMMER SOLSTICE. It’s coming!
How about a child’s recital that just went up a few hours before I wrote this?
Swinging quickly to the opposite, some very current NEO-PUNK.
Some more Beths, just because I needed a fix!
Check out the interesting New Zealand plants and animals.
But now let’s get into some music history, which you may want to skip over, right into the subject thereof, and then come back. But if you want to nerd out first, here you go!
And here it is. Succumb to the TRUMP GRAVITY!!! ENJOY THE RIDE!!!
Call To Battle
Our beloved country is under Occupation by hostile forces.
Thank you to @LeaderMcConnell and the @SenateGOP for giving Americans a hiking trail named after Michelle Obama as well as a federal building named after Nancy Pelosi!
Spooks infiltrate Silicon Valley: Facebook is riddled with ex-CIA agents – including President's briefer who now runs 'harmful content' team – so many ex-FBI work at Twitter they have Slack channel and Google is rife with ex-CIAhttps://t.co/ZbudoyrRll
We can fight back against the satanic forces running the world.
My interview with @rosemcgowan has now had an article written about it not by me. I’d encourage you to listen to the entire interview yourself. https://t.co/0gVyDjlokN
And we will keep saying Joe Biden didn’t win until we get His Fraudulency out of our White House.
Wolfie’s Wheatie’s Word of the DayYear Week:
fluorescence
noun
The emission of electromagnetic radiation, especially of visible light, stimulated in a substance by the absorption of incident radiation and persisting only as long as the stimulating radiation is continued.
The property of emitting such radiation.
The radiation so emitted.
to be distinguished from:
phosphorescence
noun
Persistent emission of light following exposure to and removal of incident radiation.
Emission of light without appreciable heat, as from chemiluminescence of phosphorus or bioluminescence of living organisms.
The state or character of being phosphorescent; the property which certain bodies possess of becoming luminous without undergoing combustion.
both being cases of a larger class of emissions known as:
luminescence
noun
The emission of light that does not derive energy from the temperature of the emitting body, as in phosphorescence, fluorescence, and bioluminescence. Luminescence is caused by chemical, biochemical, or crystallographic changes, the motions of subatomic particles, or radiation-induced excitation of an atomic system.
The light so emitted.
of which there is a subset:
chemiluminescence
noun
Emission of light as a result of a chemical reaction.
Luminescence associated with chemical changes in the luminous substance and probably due to those changes. See luminescence.
Chemically caused luminescence, including bioluminescence.
Used in an abstract:
We have been able to produce chemiluminescence in firefly luciferin without utilizing the enzyme luciferase. Following the analogous mechanism of the chemiluminescence of luminol in the organic solvent dimethyl sulfoxide, we have prepared synthetically the methyl ester of luciferin, the phosphate ester of luciferin and luciferyl adenylate by condensation in dimethyl sulfoxide with Khorana’s reagent, dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and diazomethane, phosphoric acid, and adenylic acid respectively. These compounds in dimethyl sulfoxide in the presence of base emit a bright chemiluminescence. Like in vitro enzymatic bioluminescence, the luciferyl adenylate chemiluminescence emission spectrum is dependent upon pH.
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
And yes, it’s Monday…again.
But we WILL get through it – using our ingenuity and agility!
Please forgive us, Wheatie, we did not know That you had left us with armor in tow We had no idea with what you dealt We did not know the pain you felt And now we can only imagine With you what really did happen Cause rarely did you complain And/or share your personal pain Of one thing we are most certain You are flying high behind the curtain Watching over us above the crowds Our Warrior Angel above the clouds Thank You, Wheatie, for caring for us While you were here among the fuss We miss you dear you have no idea Since time began in the pangaea With you there was no time In your wisdom you would chime To clarify and magnify The what where how and why We did not question when you left We were not slightly bereft But over time we wondered why You did not at least stop by Now we know where you have gone With the break of this new dawn We could be angry but are not Tho with an arrow we’ve been shot Rest peacefully Warrior Angel dear Send us a sign that you are near A butterfly a flower a kiss of rain From your love do not refrain God sends Angels to watch over us And now we have an Angel Plus A Warrior Angel of Magnificence From today and forward hence
(You are feeling sleepy. You want to dream about the rules. Your eyelids are getting heavy.)
TL;DR –
Wheatie’s Rules:
No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.
Boilerplate, more or less, but worth reading again and again, if only for the minor changes, and to stay out of moderation.
MINOR CHANGE NUMBER 1
Never talk about committing violence in a reply to Wolf or in response to anything Wolf has said, or you may get put into moderation so that your comments can be screened. This is ONLY because DHS is now playing door-knock Gestapo with people who have spoken at school board meetings, made public comments, etc. DHS regime jackboots are knocking on doors of school board mama bears and stupidly insinuating potential violence from things people say or don’t say on social media. A guy in Ohio pointed his FINGER at the school board, and they went after him, armed with pictures of the pointing, and screen captures of online comments. Yeah.
SO – give the Nazis ZERO ammo. Keep any mention of violence, even joking, away from Wolf, so that he doesn’t have to “explain” humor to humorless jackboots who pretend not to know things.
As for discussion of “violent humor” among yourselves (e.g., “#TeamHeadsOnPikes”), just use whatever discretion you think is appropriate for yourselves. I will only put you in moderation if your comments create problems for ME or THIS SITE, but not if they only impact you.
YOU are responsible for your own comments, if they come knocking. YOUR choice. Just remember this…..
OTHER THAN THAT…….
The bottom line is Free Speech. Theories and ideas you don’t agree with must be WELCOME here, and you must be part of that welcoming. But you do NOT need to be part of any agreement.
Bottom line – respect other people’s FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS.
Our only additional requirement is that you do so NICELY. Or at least try to make some effort in that direction.
SO….. [ENGAGE BOILERPLATE…..]
We must endeavor to persevere to love our frenemies – even here.
Those who cannot deal with this easy requirement will be forced to jump the hoops of moderation, so that specific comments impugning other posters and violating the minimal rules can be sorted out and tossed in the trash.
In Wheatie’s words, “We’re on the same side here so let’s not engage in friendly fire.”
That includes the life skill of just ignoring certain other posters.
We do have a site – The U Tree – where civility is not a requirement. Interestingly, people don’t really go there much. Nevertheless, if you find yourself in an “argument” that can’t really stay civil, please feel free to “take it to the U Tree”. The U Tree is also a good place to report any technical difficulties, if you’re unable to report them here. Please post your comment there on one of Wolf’s posts, or in reply to one of Wolf’s comments, to make sure he sees it (though it may take a few hours).
We also have a backup site, called The Q Tree as well, which is really The Q Tree 579486807. You might call it “Second Tree”. The URL for that site is https://theqtree579486807.wordpress.com/. If this site (theqtree.com) ever goes down, please reassemble at the Second Tree.
If the Second Tree goes down, please go to The U Tree, or to our Gab Group, which is located at https://gab.com/groups/4178.
We also have some “old rules” and important guidelines, outlined here, in a very early post, on our first New Year’s Day, in 2019. The main point is not to make violent threats against people, which then have to be taken seriously by law enforcement, and which can be used as a PRETEXT by enemies of this site.
In the words of Wheatie, “Let’s not give the odious Internet Censors a reason to shut down this precious haven that Wolf has created for us.”
A Moment of Prayer
Our policy on extreme religious freedom on this site is discussed HERE. Please feel free to pray and praise God anytime and anywhere.
Thus, please pray for our real President, the one who actually won the election.
You may also pray for our nation, our world, and even our enemies.
Musical Interlude
In honor of dear Wheatie, we now present some music to soothe, inspire, invigorate, or relax.
OK – let’s start with a song for Hanukkah! Yeah, it’s PBS. Yeah, it’s the woke military. Yeah, it’s a bit cringe. But it’s still somehow enjoyable. Some good voices. Have a listen.
Now, how about some “steampunk” Christmas music? This whole video contains several pieces, but I’ve started on a good one late in the video. Can you catch the X Files moments? Stay tuned for the fascinating techno-archaic artsy version of Silent Night afterwards.
OK – how about some Country Christmas Music by the great Loretta Lynn? YEE-HAH! I love it!
Well, that’s all fine, but when I heard this stuff by Celtic Woman, I just had to finish with some traditional Christmas carols! Enjoy!
Call To Battle
Our beloved country is under Occupation by hostile forces.
I strongly disagree. Forcing your pronouns upon others when they didn’t ask, and implicitly ostracizing those who don’t, is neither good nor kind to anyone.
As for Fauci, he lied to Congress and funded gain-of-function research that killed millions of people. Not awesome imo.
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
And yes, it’s Monday…again.
But we WILL get through it – even if only by workarounds!
We will start our mornings with Wheaties and Winnamins!
Please forgive us, Wheatie, we did not know That you had left us with armor in tow We had no idea with what you dealt We did not know the pain you felt And now we can only imagine With you what really did happen Cause rarely did you complain And/or share your personal pain Of one thing we are most certain You are flying high behind the curtain Watching over us above the crowds Our Warrior Angel above the clouds Thank You, Wheatie, for caring for us While you were here among the fuss We miss you dear you have no idea Since time began in the pangaea With you there was no time In your wisdom you would chime To clarify and magnify The what where how and why We did not question when you left We were not slightly bereft But over time we wondered why You did not at least stop by Now we know where you have gone With the break of this new dawn We could be angry but are not Tho with an arrow we’ve been shot Rest peacefully Warrior Angel dear Send us a sign that you are near A butterfly a flower a kiss of rain From your love do not refrain God sends Angels to watch over us And now we have an Angel Plus A Warrior Angel of Magnificence From today and forward hence
(Not true, but I thought this GIF was too cute to pass up!)
TL;DR –
Wheatie’s Rules:
No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.
Boilerplate, more or less, but worth reading again and again, if only for the minor changes, and to stay out of moderation.
MINOR CHANGE NUMBER 1
Never talk about committing violence in a reply to Wolf or in response to anything Wolf has said, or you may get put into moderation so that your comments can be screened. This is ONLY because DHS is now playing door-knock Gestapo with people who have spoken at school board meetings, made public comments, etc. DHS regime jackboots are knocking on doors of school board mama bears and stupidly insinuating potential violence from things people say or don’t say on social media. A guy in Ohio pointed his FINGER at the school board, and they went after him, armed with pictures of the pointing, and screen captures of online comments. Yeah.
SO – give the Nazis ZERO ammo. Keep any mention of violence, even joking, away from Wolf, so that he doesn’t have to “explain” humor to humorless jackboots who pretend not to know things.
As for discussion of “violent humor” among yourselves (e.g., “#TeamHeadsOnPikes”), just use whatever discretion you think is appropriate for yourselves. I will only put you in moderation if your comments create problems for ME or THIS SITE, but not if they only impact you.
YOU are responsible for your own comments, if they come knocking. YOUR choice. Just remember this…..
OTHER THAN THAT…….
The bottom line is Free Speech. Theories and ideas you don’t agree with must be WELCOME here, and you must be part of that welcoming. But you do NOT need to be part of any agreement.
Bottom line – respect other people’s FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS.
Our only additional requirement is that you do so NICELY. Or at least try to make some effort in that direction.
SO….. [ENGAGE BOILERPLATE…..]
We must endeavor to persevere to love our frenemies – even here.
Those who cannot deal with this easy requirement will be forced to jump the hoops of moderation, so that specific comments impugning other posters and violating the minimal rules can be sorted out and tossed in the trash.
In Wheatie’s words, “We’re on the same side here so let’s not engage in friendly fire.”
That includes the life skill of just ignoring certain other posters.
We do have a site – The U Tree – where civility is not a requirement. Interestingly, people don’t really go there much. Nevertheless, if you find yourself in an “argument” that can’t really stay civil, please feel free to “take it to the U Tree”. The U Tree is also a good place to report any technical difficulties, if you’re unable to report them here. Please post your comment there on one of Wolf’s posts, or in reply to one of Wolf’s comments, to make sure he sees it (though it may take a few hours).
We also have a backup site, called The Q Tree as well, which is really The Q Tree 579486807. You might call it “Second Tree”. The URL for that site is https://theqtree579486807.wordpress.com/. If this site (theqtree.com) ever goes down, please reassemble at the Second Tree.
If the Second Tree goes down, please go to The U Tree, or to our Gab Group, which is located at https://gab.com/groups/4178.
We also have some “old rules” and important guidelines, outlined here, in a very early post, on our first New Year’s Day, in 2019. The main point is not to make violent threats against people, which then have to be taken seriously by law enforcement, and which can be used as a PRETEXT by enemies of this site.
In the words of Wheatie, “Let’s not give the odious Internet Censors a reason to shut down this precious haven that Wolf has created for us.”
Praying in the Spint.jpeg
A Moment of Prayer
Our policy on extreme religious freedom on this site is discussed HERE. Please feel free to pray and praise God anytime and anywhere.
Thus, please pray for our real President, the one who actually won the election.
You may also pray for our nation, our world, and even our enemies.
Musical Interlude
In honor of dear Wheatie, we now present some music to soothe, inspire, invigorate, or relax.
On quick notice, some STEAMPUNK EPIC ORCHESTRAL music!
Let’s add some Christmas music (but yeah, a bit modern!)
And if that’s not enough, let’s try 11 and 1/2 hours of Christmas music in one video!
That should hold you over!
Call To Battle
Our beloved country is under Occupation by hostile forces.
Daily outrage and epic phuckery abound.
Dr. Fauci is a national hero who will be remembered for generations to come for his innate goodness & many contributions to public health
Despite your business success, you will be remembered most for fueling public hate & divisions.
We can give in to despair…or we can be defiant and fight back in any way that we can.
Dr. Fauci killed countless Americans, destroyed countless businesses, destroyed the education and daily lives of countless children, and lied repeatedly to accomplish all of that. No wonder an America-hating communist piece of garbage like @JohnBrennan thinks he’s a hero. https://t.co/pqkf4yxUf1
— Nick Searcy, Actor/Director/Producer/Author (@yesnicksearcy) December 11, 2022
No, Fauci will be remembered for his demented obsession with Gain of Function research which drove him to evade Obama & Trump administration rules to commission the reckless experiments in Wuhan that are the most likely origin of the pandemic that killed millions of people. https://t.co/htS5JblHpG
And we will keep saying Joe Biden didn’t win until we get His Fraudulency out of our White House.
Wolfie’s Wheatie’s Word of the DayYear Week:
pulchritude
noun
Great physical beauty and appeal
Beauty; comeliness; handsomeness
That quality of appearance which pleases the eye; beauty; comeliness; grace; loveliness
Attractive moral excellence; moral beauty
Used in a sentence or two:
When I was a kid, and more specifically a pesky brat, who loved to gossip with my no-good buddies about which girls were rumored to STRIP for the boys, I thought pulchritude meant something more like voluptuousness, curvaceousness, or ample breasts, and that it was typically the quality of an adult woman with WGTT (see below) or an “hourglass figure”. Obviously, my exposure to borrowed, stolen, and otherwise laundered issues of Playboy magazine was not exactly teaching me proper word definitions, let alone pulchritude of character.
Used in a better sentence:
By the pulchritude of their souls make up what is wanting in the beauty of their bodies.
Thanks to TradeBait’s recent story centered on Elvis Presley, I was actually in an Elvis mood when my wife – an Elvis fan long before we met – decided that “we” were going to see the new Elvis movie at the earliest opportunity.
Not having been to very many movies recently, I’m pretty much immune to most of the propaganda, in part because it jumps out at me AS propaganda. During “trailer time” they were laying it on THICK. I think that EVERY single message had AT LEAST some propagandistic edge – and MOST were straight-up PC messaging.
The political correctness effects of BlackRock, DIE (diversity, inclusion, equity), ESG (environment, social, governance), and “The Black List” (Marxist filter on financial backing through POC puppets) are all extremely visible in everything – product ads – trailers – public service messages.
It’s not like I’m “opposed” to some of these ideas, but the heavy-handed, communistic, “struggle session” nature of the messaging is just CRINGE CITY.
I mean, good grief. I thought that Dove Soap was going to commit hara-kiri for having utterly failed black America in some way that I still don’t grasp. PUHLEASE. You sold soap, for crying out loud. And you sold it to everybody! Black people too! Give yourselves a pat on the back and GO HOME. You’re ridiculous!
(I can’t find a video of what I saw, but this is just a hint of it.)
So anyway, I was primed for all kinds of cultural Marxism when the Elvis show began.
The opening sequence did NOT disappoint in that respect. A Tom Hanks dream sequence, filled with occult and pedophile symbolism, just had me shaking my head.
Flying spaghetti monster squids with the boy love symbol?
Snow globes heavily veering into crystal ball territory?
The movie had no place to go but up.
AND IT DID.
It’s hard for me to describe what this movie is, but I can say that it grew on me, until I felt very satisfied at the end.
It’s more like a work of ART trying to explain the SOUL of Elvis Presley, than anything else. And oddly – uniquely – this movie does so through the eyes of a rather brilliant CON-MAN manager, who used that same deep understanding of Elvis to first “own” and then manipulate him.
Elvis loved what he did. He loved music. He loved the crowd. He loved performing. He loved his parents – forcing himself into an unending vow to “take care of them”, no matter the costs.
Elvis Presley was one of those brilliantly over-performing co-dependents – no bones about it – and the movie shows it.
Judging from my own memories of history, the movie “got it right”, too, although I think the movie played some things (like infidelity, overweight, and drug use) more metaphorically than factually, while still admitting them unflinchingly. There was a lot of “compression”
The movie did NOT show the “Rat Ranch” – but it showed the same thing differently and in several ways. Names and locations were chosen to fluff and protect the legend just a bit.
Things WERE highlighted or magnified in focus to show why Elvis always crossed racial barriers in his appeal.
Like I said – it’s ART – not a documentary.
One thing which is actually cool is Tom Hanks’ disturbing accent, which was intentionally over-done in order to make viewers realize that “something was amiss” with Presley’s manager, Col. Tom Parker. In reality, people sometimes took a while to pick up on Parker’s accent, which sounded “regional Southern” yet somehow “off”. The accent betrays a secret which was in some ways part of the downfall of both Elvis and Parker, but I won’t spoil the movie by going into the specifics. Just know that Hanks was asked not to do his subject’s actual subtle accent, but rather to “push it” so that listeners would pick up the clue. See THIS LINK.
There are other breaks with reality which – well – I’m less willing to defend, except to call them artistic license.
Just watch this trailer. You only need to see about a minute of it. Look for what is best described as the “pink scene” around 50 seconds in.
If the “pink Elvis” bothers you, trust me – the movie is far more blatant, and even pushes the “trans” stuff into the narration. You could say that there is an “appeal to gay revisionism”.
I may be mistaken about this point, but I’m pretty sure I’m not. It is my distinct impression that “Elvis the Pelvis” was a lot more about “manly macho” than about “tranny pink” and “girly make-up”. There is a distinct “LGBTQCIA” nature to the retelling that just does not comport with the reality of Elvis Presley.
Likewise, there seems to be much more “ESG” in this Elvis, than in the one I remember. Yeah, Elvis was no bigot, and he had a very subtle way of not dignifying the bigots who hated him, but there seems to be an effort here to turn Elvis into a fist-raised civil rights icon, which I somehow missed. The Elvis I remember was perhaps the most successful “can’t we all just get along” type who never even had to say it. I say we should give him credit for being the KING of that approach, because I’m pretty sure that’s gonna be fashionable again, and in a big way.
And there’s more, in the way of classic cultural Marxism. There is an extended sequence which pivots on “out-of-style traditional Christmas entertainment” as the boring cultural bad guy of the plot, threatening to undo poor Elvis, and that negativity is just SO typical of H-wood’s subtle communist psychological programming.
On the other hand, some of this stuff is actually a reasonable part of the artistic compression – such as highlighting that MLKJ was already speaking on the negative side of rock and roll culture for kids.
Complicated business.
So YEAH – there’s a good bit of lefty psy-op under the hood. Be AWARE of that to defuse it, or just don’t even bother seeing the movie, if Hollywood politicking crosses your red lines.
BUT – like I said – it’s art. It tells us as much about THIS time, as it does about THAT time.
Technically, the movie does a lot of things right. The women’s costuming and hairstyling is fantastic – watch for a few Oscar nominations. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen so many women in a film showing the actual beauty of women in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
Austin Butler as Elvis Presley is VERY GOOD. He won me over to the point where the real Elvis footage at the end served as a “high five” for a job well done.
The Presley family felt the same way – they got “carried away” by the performance, just like I did. Same with my wife – the “real” Elvis fan. She loved it.
I had some fun watching this next video after the movie, because all the actors are so much more “2022” in reality, than they were in the flick. The differences are striking. They’re all modern Hollywood dweebs in “reality”, but in the movie, they do seem far more “real”, as part of the past. Or is that just me? (*sigh*)
Compare the lady playing young Priscilla, above, to her transformation in the film, shown below.
I know that picture on the right probably makes the movie look like it’s all a bunch of grins and giggles – well, just think of that same gal throwing a mean fist of pill bottles across a Vegas penthouse, after Elvis shoots up the place, before she walks out.
There’s no whitewash – BUT there was also some extremely convincing romance and love shown – even when it all falls apart. I feel like I really gained some needed insight into the relationship of Elvis and Priscilla. I feel like something healed.
So there you have it. An interesting movie. Glad I saw it. Consider a viewing yourself – especially of you love his music. There’s a LOT of good music in this movie.
W
“Go for the art, not the history or the politics. Stay for the music.”
While our beloved REAL bartender takes a needed break of unknown duration, we continue to ENDEAVOR TO PERSEVERE.
Christmas Spirit
I just ran into this as the totally WRONG result on a search, but it was just what I needed for the Christmas spirit portion of our presentation!
And now, the rules of the pub.
HOUSE RULES
God bless us, every one! Tiny Tim had such a beautiful soul. He hadn’t a mean bone in his body…unlike most of us. But in keeping with Christmas, we promise to honor Wolf’s rules and keep Scrooge at bay. The Utree is where the Ghost of Christmas Present will conduct you should you need to rattle some chains. Another option, should all hell break loose is here.
