Etymology of Words and Phrases, Part 6

Entertainment, History, Humor, Mysteries 6 Minutes

TURN A BLIND EYE – The phrase “turn a blind eye”—often used to refer to a willful refusal to acknowledge a particular reality—dates back to a legendary chapter in the career of the British naval hero Horatio Nelson. During 1801’s Battle of Copenhagen, Nelson’s ships were pitted against a large Danish-Norwegian fleet. When his more conservative superior officer flagged for him to withdraw, the one-eyed Nelson supposedly brought his telescope to his bad eye and blithely proclaimed, “I really do not see the signal.” He went on to score a decisive victory. Some historians have since dismissed Nelson’s famous quip as merely a battlefield myth, but the phrase “turn a blind eye” persists to this day.

Admiral Horatio Nelson

WHITE ELEPHANT – White elephants were once considered highly sacred creatures in Thailand—the animal even graced the national flag until 1917—but they were also wielded as a subtle form of punishment. According to legend, if an underling or rival angered a Siamese king, the royal might present the unfortunate man with the gift of a white elephant. While ostensibly a reward, the creatures were tremendously expensive to feed and house, and caring for one often drove the recipient into financial ruin. Whether any specific rulers actually bestowed such a passive-aggressive gift is uncertain, but the term has since come to refer to any burdensome possession—pachyderm or otherwise.

CROCODILE TEARS – Modern English speakers use the phrase “crocodile tears” to describe a display of superficial or false sorrow, but the saying actually derives from a medieval belief that crocodiles shed tears of sadness while they killed and consumed their prey. The myth dates back as far as the 14th century and comes from a book called “The Travels of Sir John Mandeville.” Wildly popular upon its release, the tome recounts a brave knight’s adventures during his supposed travels through Asia. Among its many fabrications, the book includes a description of crocodiles that notes, “These serpents sley men, and eate them weeping, and they have no tongue.” While factually inaccurate, Mandeville’s account of weeping reptiles later found its way into the works of Shakespeare, and “crocodile tears” became an idiom as early as the 16th century.

DIEHARD – While it typically refers to someone with a strong dedication to a particular set of beliefs, the term “diehard” originally had a series of much more literal meanings. In its earliest incarnation in the 1700s, the expression described condemned men who struggled the longest when they were executed by hanging. The phrase later became even more popular after 1811’s Battle of Albuera during the Napoleonic Wars. In the midst of the fight, a wounded British officer named William Inglis supposedly urged his unit forward by bellowing “Stand your ground and die hard … make the enemy pay dear for each of us!” Inglis’ 57th Regiment suffered 75 percent casualties during the battle, and went on to earn the nickname “the Die Hards.”

57th Regiment

RESTING ON YOUR LAURELS: The idea of resting on your laurels dates back to leaders and athletic stars of ancient Greece. In Hellenic times, laurel leaves were closely tied to Apollo, the god of music, prophecy and poetry. Apollo was usually depicted with a crown of laurel leaves, and the plant eventually became a symbol of status and achievement. Victorious athletes at the ancient Pythian Games received wreaths made of laurel branches, and the Romans later adopted the practice and presented wreaths to generals who won important battles. Venerable Greeks and Romans, or “laureates,” were thus able to “rest on their laurels” by basking in the glory of past achievements. Only later did the phrase take on a negative connotation, and since the 1800s it has been used for those who are overly satisfied with past triumphs.

READ THE RIOT ACT – These days, angry parents might threaten to “read the riot act” to their unruly children. But in 18th-century England, the Riot Act was a very real document, and it was often recited aloud to angry mobs. Instituted in 1715, the Riot Act gave the British government the authority to label any group of more than 12 people a threat to the peace. In these circumstances, a public official would read a small portion of the Riot Act and order the people to “disperse themselves, and peaceably depart to their habitations.” Anyone that remained after one hour was subject to arrest or removal by force. The law was later put to the test in 1819 during the infamous Peterloo Massacre, in which a cavalry unit attacked a large group of protestors after they appeared to ignore a reading of the Riot Act.

1819 Peterloo Massacre

PAINT THE TOWN RED – The phrase “paint the town red” most likely owes its origin to one legendary night of drunkenness. In 1837, the Marquis of Waterford—a known lush and mischief maker—led a group of friends on a night of drinking through the English town of Melton Mowbray. The bender culminated in vandalism after Waterford and his fellow revelers knocked over flowerpots, pulled knockers off of doors and broke the windows of some of the town’s buildings. To top it all off, the mob literally painted a tollgate, the doors of several homes and a swan statue with red paint. The marquis and his pranksters later compensated Melton for the damages, but their drunken escapade is likely the reason that “paint the town red” became shorthand for a wild night out. Still yet another theory suggests the phrase was actually born out of the brothels of the American West, and referred to men behaving as though their whole town were a red-light district.

BY AND LARGE – Many everyday phrases are nautical in origin— “taken aback,” “loose cannon” and “high and dry” all originated at sea—but perhaps the most surprising example is the common saying “by and large.” As far back as the 16th century, the word “large” was used to mean that a ship was sailing with the wind at its back. Meanwhile, the much less desirable “by,” or “full and by,” meant the vessel was traveling into the wind. Thus, for mariners, “by and large” referred to trawling the seas in any and all directions relative to the wind. Today, sailors and landlubbers alike now use the phrase as a synonym for “all things considered” or “for the most part.”

16th Century Spanish Galleon

THE THIRD DEGREE – There are several tales about the origin of “the third degree,” a saying commonly used for long or arduous interrogations. One theory argues the phrase relates to the various degrees of murder in the criminal code; yet another credits it to Thomas F. Byrnes, a 19th-century New York City policeman who used the pun “Third Degree Byrnes” when describing his hardnosed questioning style. In truth, the saying is most likely derived from the Freemasons, a centuries-old fraternal organization whose members undergo rigorous questioning and examinations before becoming “third degree” members, or “master masons.

Thomas F. Byrnes
You will need to enlarge this to see details.
This one doesn’t provide any detail but the overall picture should give you an idea.

SPILL THE BEANS –

One explanation dates back to ancient Greece when people would use beans to vote anonymously. White beans were used for positive votes, and for negative votes, black beans or other dark-colored beans were used. These votes were cast in secret, so if someone knocked over the beans in the jar—whether by accident or intentionally—they “spilled the beans” and revealed the results of the votes prematurely. Eventually, in modern times, the phrase “spill the beans” came to mean “upset a previously stable situation by talking out of turn.”

DIME A DOZEN – After the dime was made in 1796, people started advertising goods for “a dime a dozen.” This meant you were getting a good deal on products, such as a dozen eggs. Over time, the idiom evolved to mean the opposite. Instead of something being a good deal, it became a phrase to describe something that’s not valuable and easily available. The first known use of it in this context is believed to have occurred in 1930. From there, people picked up on the phrase’s new meaning and started using it in that context.

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Published by NebraskaFilly

Army veteran (1976-1979), retired with entirely too much time on my hands

Published

162 thoughts on “Etymology of Words and Phrases, Part 6”

        1. No, I just got up! I’ll be going later – close to noon, when it will hopefully be a least a little bit warmer. My digital thermometer has a button I can push that gives me the highest/lowest temps – generally, it is at the lowest about the time I get up.

          Liked by 1 person

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  15. from tcth

    Citizen 817
    Citizen 817
    December 20, 2022 12:26 am

    @realDonaldTrump

    6h
    Think of it! The Radical Left Democrats (Communists), SPIED on my campaign, lied to the FISA COURT, lied to CONGRESS, allowed an INVASION of our COUNTRY on the Southern Border, EMBARRASSED us in Afghanistan, gave away our Energy Independence, killed us on job losing Regulations, wouldn’t use the 10,000 plus soldiers I recommended for Jan 6th, refused to look into Election Fraud-the reason for Jan 6th, Rigged & Stole the 2020 Election, allowed Ballot Stuffing, FBI/Facebook/Twitter & Biden CRIME!

    … And I’m the one that the Corrupt and Partisan Unselect Committee goes after. A two tiered “Justice” System … And, by the way, what ever happened with the Massive number of CRIMES committed by JOE & HUNTER BIDEN? They’re right there, documented and 100% certain. Also,where is the prosecutor from Delaware? What happened to him? Is he friends with the Ukrainian Prosecutor who didn’t prosecute after Biden held up the $BILLION PAYMENT to Ukraine? I DID NOTHING WRONG!

    Liked by 1 person

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  19. BREAKING: SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily pauses lifting Title 42 immigration restrictions 🔥

    — Julia 🇺🇸 (@Jules31415) December 19, 2022

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday paused the scheduled lifting of an emergency health order the federal government has used for more than two years to quickly turn away Illegal Aliens.

    The order comes after an Arizona-led coalition of 19 states, which included Texas, asked the Supreme Court on Monday to halt the lifting of the health order known as Title 42, which was set to expire this Wednesday.

    The Supreme Court gave Biden until 5 p.m. eastern time Tuesday to respond to its order.

    KJP caught lying about Title 42 today…

    KJP: We have no choice, a court order says we have to lift Title 42 in the middle of a border crisis!

    REPORTER: “But the administration sought to lift it.”

    KJP: “But it’s a court order.”

    REPORTER: “Started by you guys.”

    ☠️☠️☠️ pic.twitter.com/sFKPukeHB8

    — Jason Howerton (@jason_howerton) December 19, 2022

    Attorneys general argued their states would sustain irreparable harm if Title 42 ends due to a surge in already high levels of illegal alien encounters at the US-Mexico border.

    AZ AG @GeneralBrnovich: “Unlawful crossings are estimated to surge from 7k per day to as many as 18k.”

    — Julia 🇺🇸 (@Jules31415) December 19, 2022

    https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/supreme-court-blocks-removal-of-title-42/

    Liked by 1 person

      1. they are overloading the system so even if the gov’t decides to shut the border–finding them all and sending them back will be an overwhelmingly expensive venture, and congress will just say oh let them all stay…

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Yep – that’s always the excuse! “But they have jobs, they are settled here now….they’re Americans now!” And the “dreamers” crap…they’ve had how long now to get themselves legal? For those who have done that and are providing for themselves, who truly love the US and what we stand for, those I welcome with open arms. It is true that they didn’t have a choice when they were brought here but what they did once they WERE here is what matters. JMO

          Liked by 1 person

          1. anyone who breaks the law—needs to return to their country of origin (or their parents–sorry if your father steals a million bucks you do NOT get to keep it!) and APPLY for citizenship. you will be on the list. wait your turn!!!!!

            Liked by 1 person

            1. Well, this is where I equivocate a little bit. There are some who have paid their own way, got themselves educated, paid for instruction on our Constitution, and taken their oath, are working and supporting themselves, not on welfare of any kind. Those who were brought here as babies or very young children who have been here for the majority of their lives, have exactly zero knowledge about their birth country, who have proven they truly are American at heart…they did try to rectify their situation and they did it themselves. They deserve it, IMO – they’ve proven they are good citizens. That’s kind of like saying let’s punish the babies of crack whores and welfare junkies whose parents were POS’s – it wasn’t their fault – they had no say in the matter.

              Liked by 1 person

              1. this is where we disagree….
                if that father or mother stole $$ and bought the kid a car–he doesn’t get to keep the car.
                benefiting from crime is still wrong.
                maybe make the process a little different for them, but they don’t get to cut in line.
                you reward crime, it just continues

                Like

              2. IMO, you cannot equate the two subjects – one is an item, the other is a life – nowhere near equal. As I said, when they have done all they should and jumped thru all the hoops, on their OWN dime, and truly love the US – waving the American flag instead of the flag of their birth country. Again, IMO, they deserve to stay.

                Liked by 1 person

              3. you’re trying to justify benefiting from an illegal act…twice! obama created daca which by law he wasn’t allowed to do, but no one challenged it. wrong is wrong. go back to go, do not collect $200.
                two wrongs don’t make a right.

                Like

              5. still trying to make 2 wrongs a right.
                all those people who are trying to enter our country legally are getting penalized by EVERY illegal here…our resources–taxpayer resources are being given to illegals (which includes daca) so our countrymen are being penalized–because there’s not enough housing and $$ to go around–
                every one that you allow to remain here and benefit from breaking the law (whether it’s a parent or them) you encourage MORE to come…because maybe they too will be “forgiven”.

                Like

  21. very long article (sorry) about how the executive branch snooped into the legislative branch (Nunes and others) during REALPOTUS’S term to discover in real time what they were finding out about the fbi et al fisa/russia crap
    entire article

    In an extraordinary intrusion on congressional oversight, the Justice Department used grand jury subpoenas to secretly obtain the personal email and phone data of at least two top House Intelligence Committee investigators back in November 2017 just as they and their boss, then-Chairman Devin Nunes, were assembling bombshell evidence of FBI abuses in the Russia collusion probe, Just the News has learned.

    The subpoenas, obtained by Just the News, show the DOJ demanded that Google turn over personal email and phone data from the two senior staffers on Nov. 20, 2017 and that responsive materials were to be returned to DOJ by Dec. 5, 2017.

    The subpoenas were delivered during a critical time frame in the committee’s effort to expose the Donald Trump-Russia collusion investigation as having been driven by an uncorroborated political opposition dossier funded by Hillary Clinton. Nunes’ committee was locked at the time in a bitter struggle to force the FBI and DOJ to turn over records to the committee.

    The DOJ subpoenas came to light in the last few days when the former committee staffers were informed by Google that their records had been taken, consistent with the Big Tech company’s policy of alerting customers five years after law enforcement takes such actions.

    One of the subpoenaed staffers, former Intelligence Committee senior counsel Kash Patel, told Just the News that the DOJ’s subpoenas were an extraordinary intrusion on congressional oversight and raised serious concerns about the separation of executive and legislative branch powers guaranteed in the Constitution.

    “It’s so shocking,” Patel told the Just the News, Not Noise television show Monday night. “Because a co-equal branch of government, we as congressional investigators and Devin Nunes, his staff on House Intel were conducting constitutional demanded oversight of the fraudulent acts at the FBI and DOJ which we now know happened.”

    The other House Intelligence staffer whose records were subpoenaed by DOJ confirmed to Just the News he was notified last week by Google. He said he had worked extensively on investigating the FBI’s Russia collusion conduct, including drafting the committee’s report criticizing the FBI, reviewing sensitive documents and fighting with DOJ to gain access to the records.

    Nunes said the subpoenas gave the DOJ and FBI unprecedented potential to learn in real-time what his investigation was learning about misconduct in the Russia probe. He called on the new Republican Congress to probe the subpoenas aggressively.

    “The FBI and DOJ spied on a presidential campaign, and when Congress began exposing what they were doing, they spied on us to find out what we knew and how we knew it,” Nunes told Just the News. “It’s an egregious abuse of power that the next Congress must investigate so these agencies can be held accountable and reformed.”

    The subpoenas demanded a broad swath of records from Google, including “all customer and subscriber account information” for Patel and the other staffer, “addresses (including mailing addresses, residential addresses, business adresses, and e-mail addresses,” user names, “screen names,” “local and long distance telephone connection records” and even the “means and source of payment for such service (including any credit card or bank account number) and billing records.”

    The subpoena does not specify which component of the DOJ was leading the investigation, but included a numbering system suggesting it was being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington D.C. At the time, DOJ had Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigating Russia collusion, the department’s inspector general was probing FBI misconduct related to the Russia case, and several agencies were investigating leaks, including one traced to a former Senate Intelligence Committee staffer.

    Spokesmen for the Justice Department and U.S. Attorney’s Office did not respond to requests Monday for comment.

    Former DOJ officials said since a legal dispute in 2007 over a DOJ raid of former Rep. William Jefferson’s office, the department ordinarily would require subpoenas of congressmen or their staff to include approval from the attorney general as well as some form of notification to congressional leadership. It is unclear whether those procedures were followed in the 2017 matter.

    In the Russia collusion case, then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein assumed the attorney general’s powers when Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself. Rosenstein did not respond to a request by email and phone to his office for comment on Monday. Former House Speaker Paul Ryan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Nunes and Patel said they have long suspected the FBI or DOJ might be monitoring their communications, especially after Rosenstein made a threat during a January 2018 meeting to subpoena committee members or staff.

    ““In this one meeting, in particular, Rod Rosenstein, who’s known for losing his temper, had done so before and in this meeting, screamed at the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and myself. And he literally said verbatim, if you’re going to continue this investigation, I’m going to subpoena you and your records, looking at the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and looking at his senior counsel and chief investigator on the Russiagate,” Patel recalled. 

    Harvard University law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz told Just the News that while more information needs to be learned that the subpoenas raised serious concerns about separation of powers between Congress and the executive branch.

    “It’s a violation of the separation of powers. Look, our Framers specifically separated legislative, executive and judicial powers. And that was saying — all kinds of efforts to overcome them — that Congress is independent and has the right to investigate.

    “And the Justice Department shouldn’t be investigating the investigators unless there is fairly substantial proof of, of criminal conduct. So we don’t know the whole story yet. But I’m very suspicious of subpoenas being issued by the grand jury,” he added.

    Just weeks before the staffers’ emails were subpoenaed, Nunes’ committee issued a series of its own congressional subpoenas demanding the FBI, DOJ and CIA turn over evidence that would eventually show the FBI knew that Christopher Steele’s dossier had been funded by the Clinton campaign and had been portrayed to the FISA court as credible when in fact agents had determined it contained debunked or unverified claims.

    The two staffers whose emails were targeted had both been allowed in a classified environment to read the FBI’s then-secret FISA warrants targeting the Trump campaign and its adviser Carter Page and had begun pressing the federal agencies on what the FBI failed to tell the FISA court before it obtained four extraordinary intelligence warrants.

    By February 2018, the committee’s investigative work resulted in a lengthy report known as the “Nunes memo” that provided the first proof that the FBI’s investigation was seriously flawed. Eventually, Mueller would conclude that there wasn’t evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to hijack the 2016 election as Steele had alleged.

    Subsequent investigations found widespread failures and abuses by the FBI in the probe, including failing to disclose exculpatory evidence to the FISA court and doctoring evidence. One former FBI lawyer pleaded guilty to wrongdoing.

    The DOJ subpoena for the House staffers came in the middle of a tumultuous battle in fall 2017 in which congressional leadership sought to compel the FBI and CIA to turn over evidence sought by the House Intelligence Committee. That fight included the following sequence of events:

    Aug 24, 2017: House Intelligence issues subpoenas to FBI Director Chris Wray and Rosenstein for all documents related to Christopher Steele and the Steele dossier, and anything indicating whether Steele dossier info was used in FISA warrants or otherwise in the special counsel’s Russia collusion investigation.
    Sept. 1, 2017: Nunes sends a letter to Sessions blasting DOJ and FBI for not complying with the Aug. 24 subpoena.
    Oct 24, 2017: Washington Post reports lawyers for the Clinton campaign are going to confirm to the House Intelligence Committee that the campaign helped fund the Steele dossier.
    Oct 28, 2017: Fusion GPS, the opposition research firm hired by the Clinton campaign, agrees to settle litigation against a House Intelligence Committee subpoena that allows Nunes to have access to banking records showing who funded the dossier.
    Dec 2, 2017: FBI announces that FBI agent Peter Strzok, who led the Russia probe early on, was removed from Mueller’s team due to anti-Trump text messages. Nunes issues press release accusing FBI and DOJ of obstructing his investigation by refusing to comply with Aug. 24 subpoena. Nunes threatens to file contempt of Congress resolution against Rosenstein and Wray unless they comply.
    Dec. 7, 2017: House Ethics Committee clears Nunes of charges filed by Democrats.
    Jan. 10, 2018: Rosenstein threatened to subpoena House Intelligence Committee over leaks.
    Feb 2, 2018: Nunes memo released to public raising first official substantive concerns with FBI probe of Trump-Russia collusion.

    https://justthenews.com/accountability/russia-and-ukraine-scandals/doj-spied-house-intelligence-committee-investigators

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Really interesting to read the details – thanks, Pat! IIRC, Tucker had a segment last night about that. Then again, it could have been somewhere else I saw it – I read/watch so much, I can’t remember what I read, where or when! Hmmmm….I think I’m trying to do too much at one time. Aw, hell, what else is new??? I want to do it ALL!!!!

      Liked by 1 person

        1. Oh, my yes – you didn’t happen to see the video I posted the link to yesterday of Rand Paul’s speech about the additional $40B for Ukraine? Outstanding speech about Constitutional governance! I probably posted it at M’s after you signed off. Well worth listening to. If you like, I can find it for you.

          Liked by 1 person

  22. Amish farmer in PA who sells raw beef and milk will not be spending Christmas in jail! There a long way to go here for the farmer, but this is really good news!
    entire article
    In what feels like a Christmas Miracle, a major food freedom case took a turn for the best.

    The Amish typically shy away from publicity, as a part of their humble religion, but Pennsylvania farmer Amos Miller decided the USDA’s war against him and other small, organic farmers is the hill he will die on and is prepared to take his battle all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary.

    The USDA (aka Big Ag) has been harassing Miller for years – first for his sale of raw milk, and now for his sale of truly raw meat.

    Many of us have become aware of the difference between raw, grass-fed milk straight from the farm, and the pasteurized garbage approved by the FDA… but not many of us realize that the expensive, grass-fed, “raw” beef we are buying at the grocery store isn’t really raw.

    If it’s USDA-approved, it’s been treated with antibiotic chemicals, which are not accurately labeled as such.

    “The USDA processing plants require the meat to be treated with a chemical cocktail of citric acid, lactic acid and peracetic acid,” Miller’s spokeswoman Anke Meyn told us on a phone call last April. “It’s not citric acid from oranges or lactic acid from sauerkraut. It’s all created in a lab. It’s a synthetic sterilizer that causes many health problems.”

    Ironically, because Miller does NOT use antibacterial chemicals to sterilize his meat, the USDA considers it “adulterated,” and convinced a federal judge to force him stop selling it several months ago.

    The judge also sentenced him to jail for “contempt of court,” starting December 16, and was going to shut down his farm if he did not immediately pay over $300,000 in fines.

    But thanks to mainstream media coverage (shortly after we picked up the story), and public outcry, Miller has been able to raise enough money for a high-profile lawyer, who’s already striking home-runs in the U.S. Court of Appeals!

    “Amos Miller will not spending Christmas in jail and is no longer facing imminent bankruptcy,” said his attorney, Robert Barnes, in a video interview.    

    Barnes also negotiated away a $300,000 judgement that was due immediately, leaving $55,000 in fines due over the next six months. Miller’s “contempt of court” hearing has been cancelled, and the case has been put in stay and abeyance,

    Barnes convinced the court to allow Miller to sell meat that’s been locked up in his freezers in the meantime, “so his farm can survive economically while a longer-term solution is negotiated.”

    “The long-term solution is to enact a ‘custom exception plan’ that allows people to get the food they want, and farmers to make it the way they want, without the government overseeing it.”

    “Here you have a case of people saying ‘I don’t want food the way the USDA wants it,’ and ‘they’re saying nope, you can’t have it that way,’” Barnes said in an earlier interview.

    “If you’re shopping at Miller’s farm, you’re not doing it by accident,” Barnes noted about the members of Miller’s private, farm-share-buying-club. “Amos Miller doesn’t sell food to anyone who doesn’t want it exactly how he’s making it.”

    “The USDA wants to take what was supposed to be an interstate labeling law, and use it to regulate what foods you can and cannot put into your own body.”

    “Look at any study of the Amish and you will find by almost any health metric, they are healthier than the people living off USDA-approved food,” he noted. “And the USDA, you know what they thing is healthy? Bill Gates’ synthetic corn … his fake beef.”

    “This is about the USDA’s attempt to monopolize our food supply, and they targeted an Amish farmer to set the precedent.”

    You can help Amos continue to fight the good fight for food and health freedom by donating here or here. If he loses, we all lose.

    https://returntonow.net/2022/12/20/amish-farmer-amos-miller-wins-battle-in-war-for-food-freedom-in-us-appeals-court/

    Liked by 1 person

  23. weinstein gets 18 more years for rape
    FTA
    A Los Angeles County jury found disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein guilty Monday of three sex crimes related to his rape of a Russian-Italian model, which could add at least 18 more years to the 23 years he’s already serving for his New York convictions.

    The mixed verdict fell far short of a wholesale victory for prosecutors: Jurors acquitted him of another crime and deadlocked on the remaining three.

    https://lawandcrime.com/celebrity/disgraced-hollywood-producer-harvey-weinstein-has-been-found-guilty-of-raping-model-now-stands-convicted-from-coast-to-coast/

    Liked by 1 person

  24. Looks like we might be getting into a routine…as soon as I pulled the afghan over and opened the blind, LM was at the door. And I’ve discovered he’s a drooler – some male cats will do that. It’s a sign of love and contentment – my Mom, who always loved Morris cats, had one that would lay across her shoulders all day, if she’d let him, and the drool would trickle down her sleeve. This is the first cat I’ve “had” that does that. Now I’m wondering if not being gelded has something to do with it but IDK if her cat was cut or not. Hmmm…I’ll have to look that up. It’s way too cold for me to stay out there long – he wanted more petting/rubbing but my face was getting numb.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. OK, apparently it can be a medical problem if it is severe but occasional drooling does mean they are happy and content. Since I’ve only seen him drool when I am petting him, that’s my conclusion.

      “Some cats drool when they are afraid or when they are upset, but it’s more likely that they are drooling because they are relaxed. Cats will produce copious quantities of saliva for all kinds of reasons.”

      “If your cat is drooling when you pet him, it might just be because he’s happy. In some cases, drooling can be a sign of a medical problem in cats, including toxicity to certain plants, feline herpes, halitosis and various upper respiratory infections.”

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Hmmm…..could it be exacerbated by the ear mites, too? Nope, nothing about ear mites. Yep, he’s happy – that’s why. Apparently, not just male cates….

      “A It depends. Many cats drool while purring. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve stood up, after one of my cats lay purring on my lap while I pet her, to find my slacks soaked with cat saliva.”

      Liked by 1 person

  25. Holy chit, mon! With the wind coming, they are predicting a possible -45 wind chill later this week!!!! I’ll be opening the cabinets under the sinks, and keeping the faucets dripping in kitchen and both bathrooms. I’m also going to bring in some wood later and get my fireplace going; may even set up the portable propane heater in my master bathroom.

    Liked by 1 person

  26. SunnyFlower5
    December 20, 2022 9:25 am

    TRUTH
    Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump

    I see where the Unselect Committee, using the Democrats favorite weapon, DISINFORMATION, is trying to make the case that I didn’t really believe I won the Election. This is a total LIE. I never thought, for even a moment, that the Presidential Election of 2020 was not Rigged & Stolen, and my conviction became even stronger as time went by. Now, with all of the massive evidence that has come to light, including recently with the FBI suppression of Election changing information, I was 100% RIGHT!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. SunnyFlower5
      SunnyFlower5
      December 20, 2022 9:23 am

      TRUTH
      Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump

      Files CONCLUSIVELY reveal that the FBI totally discredited damming factual information from Hunter Biden’s Laptop From Hell to top Twitter executives prior to the 2020 Presidential Election. “Do not use this,” they said, “it is Russian Disinformation.” Also spread the word to other Big Tech & Media Companies. It was not a request, but a demand. Whether they believed it or not, they had an excuse not to use it against Biden, who would have lost millions of votes and the RIGGED & STOLEN Election!

      Liked by 1 person

  27. ROFLMAO – Robert DeNiro’s townhouse was broken into in NYC – the woman charged has a very long rap sheet! Shanice Aviles: 2021-2022 – 17 burglary arrests, with the last being December 13. Suck it, DeNiro!!!! How do you like NYC policies now??!!??

    Liked by 1 person

  28. big quake in CA

    kalbokalbs(@kalbokalbs)Online
    Coyote
    December 20, 2022 09:54

    Notable quake, preliminary info: M 6.4 – 12km WSW of Ferndale, CA https://t.co/PxdJCcDwFH

    — USGS Earthquakes (@USGS_Quakes) December 20, 2022

    That was a big one. Power is now out in #ferndaleca. House is a mess. #earthquake pic.twitter.com/YEmcv1Urhp

    — Caroline Titus (@caroline95536) December 20, 2022

    https://www.breitbart.com/environment/2022/12/20/magnitude-6-4-earthquake-shakes-northern-california-coast/

    Liked by 1 person

  29. “As you can imagine, I didn’t stay long!”

    “Five stars! Would definitely poop here again…”

    “Today, this just seems normal!” [NF: well, no…..nothing about this is “normal!”]

    “Yellow alert – Threat level elevated!”

    “Bobby finds out that he is really a girl!”

    Liked by 1 person

  36. bflyjesusgrl 🍊 😎MEGA MAGA GAME ON😎
    bflyjesusgrl 🍊 😎MEGA MAGA GAME ON😎(@bflyjesusgrl)Online
    Coyote
    December 20, 2022 11:12

    Warroom AmFest – Kash Patel dropping bombs. For Dodge to subpoena Google(and probably others, still TBD) for his and probably 8-10 other’s records, including Nunes, all from the Majority House Intel Committee, they would have had to notify his superior, which was Paul Ryan. So RIANO 1)knew about the Steele dossier, 2)tried to hinder Nunes’ investigations by not granting subpoenas, AND 3) let RosenCreep spy on Devin and his staff to look for blackmail material to use to shutdown the Congressional investigation.

    They’re gathering evidence now, but both Devin and Kash WILL be filing lawsuits.

    AmFest has been FANTABULOUS!!! Lots of great speakers. Matt Walsh was GREAT, so was Byron Donalds.
    Watch here…..
    AmericaFest 2022 Full Speeches | Turning Point USA (tpusanow.com)

    Like

    1. 87 BILLION MORE for ukraine

      bflyjesusgrl 🍊 😎MEGA MAGA GAME ON😎(@bflyjesusgrl)Online
      Coyote
      December 20, 2022 11:22

      🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨

      TODAY IS THE DAY!!!

      They dropped the $1.7Trillion Omnibus Bill overnight. Another $87B for effin Ukraine, plus more ROT.

      EVERYONE, BURN DOWN SENATE PHONE LINES!!!!

      202-224-3121 202-225-3121

      May want to wait a while, Warroom is melting the lines right now. Calls going straight to VM. You want to talk to someone. Email works too. They have to officially log all calls and emails.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I figured it was safe to take the gravel road by now….wasn’t bad but wherever there were trees to shield the sun, there were patches of packed down slick spots, some for quite a distance. When I saw them coming, I gunned it, then let off the gas and coasted. Worked perfectly but it got a little tense when I was going up a long hill…but I made it.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. that;s the problem here too…the sun doesn’t hit the upper part of the driveway at all (which is the steepest part) but hits the lower part which is flatter.

          Liked by 1 person

  39. heads up! don’t know if this is true or not, but dang…they are circumventing the constitution aren’t they?

    JimWVa
    JimWVa
    December 20, 2022 12:42 pm

    At PDF pages 1934 to 1968 of the Senate “Omnibus” Appropriations Act distributed today, is a new Congressional action titled: “Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022”. Besides expressly extending the time period of an “election day” in the States and declaring that the President of the Senate’s Jan. 6 duties are “ministerial”, the text of the Bill under the Presidential Transition Administration allows a bureaucrat to make a definitive determination of the “Apparent Successful Candidate” for the office of President during the time period between the date of the Election and the date of the Inauguration. Never heard any of this discussed during the Jan 6 Select Committee hearings. Seemingly, though, the bill is “greased to go.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. SunnyFlower5
      December 20, 2022 2:09 pm

      Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump
      I don’t care whether they change The Electoral Count Act or not, probably better to leave it the way it is so that it can be adjusted in case of Fraud, but what I don’t like are the lies and “disinformation” put out by the Democrats and RINOS. They said the Vice President has “absolutely no choice,” it was carved in “steel,” but if he has no choice, why are they changing the law saying he has no choice?
      …Simply put, it is because the Vice President did have a choice, and looking back at it now, the 2020 Voting Fraud was far greater than anyone thought possible, with even our Government, through the FBI, changing the results of the Election by millions and millions of votes.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. SunnyFlower5
        December 20, 2022 2:10 pm

        Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump
        In other words, John Eastman and others were correct in stating that the Vice President of the United States had the right to do what should have been done. The only reason this change is being promulgated is to reform The Electoral Count Act so that the VP cannot do what they powerfully said he couldn’t do, but if it couldn’t be done, why are they making this law change? The whole thing is one big Scam!

        Rand Paul endorses Electoral Count Act reformhttps://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3781781-rand-paul-endorses-electoral-court-act-reform/

        Liked by 1 person

  41. oh he’s funny now…

    SunnyFlower5
    December 20, 2022 2:11 pm

    Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump
    I assume that Special “Prosecutor” Jack Smith, a disciple of Obama, Biden, Eric Holder, Lisa Monaco, Andrew Weissmann, and all other Trump haters, is looking to prosecute the fraudulent, but highly successful effort made by the FBI in illegally changing the results of the 2020 Presidential Election?

    Liked by 1 person

  42. for the love of mike! rather than trying to copy one by one here’s a list of things Rep Dan Bishop found in the egregious funding bill SO FAR
    FTA
    Wow! All this sounds great! It has funding for all the things! Or at least all the things Democrats want. And don’t worry about where the funding is actually going to come from. Trust them: it’ll all have been worth it in the end. You’ll see!

    It all sounds great. Until you actually read the damn thing.

    Congress is about to vote on a 4,155-page, $1.7 trillion omnibus appropriations bill

    has a single member of Congress or Senator read it?

    — Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) December 20, 2022

    It’s a safe bet that most of them have read it. But there’s at least one congressman who’s currently making his way through it. North Carolina GOP Rep. Dan Bishop and his team are doing their best to navigate this monstrosity in order to understand what sort of stuff is contained within its 4,000-plus pages. And you’ll no doubt be shocked to discover that there’s some pretty terrible stuff in there.

    My team and I are reading through the omnibus bill today – all $1.7 trillion and 4,155 pages of it.

    Follow along for some of the most egregious provisions in the bill ⬇️

    — Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) December 20, 2022

    Trending

    GOP Rep. Dan Bishop reveals ‘some of the most egregious provisions’ in Dems’ massive omnibus bill
    Dr. Leana Wen drops a bombshell about natural immunity vs. the COVID vaccine

    Read it and weep. Or, rather, fume. Bishop kicks things off with a bang:

    It expressly prohibits CBP funding from being used to improve border security. pic.twitter.com/g2F4o1zl2D

    — Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) December 20, 2022

    Sorry … what?!

    Democrats aren’t just negligent about border security. They’re working to keep the border unsecured. https://t.co/UbnPTXDKlI

    — Sunny McSunnyface (@sunnyright) December 20, 2022

    Reassuring, isn’t it?

    …but at the same time, allocates $410 million towards border security for Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, and Oman.

    America Last in action. pic.twitter.com/KSkgtTEtmL

    — Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) December 20, 2022

    Doesn’t make much sense, does it?

    None of this stuff makes any sense.

    And, of course, $1,438,000,000 for membership in global multilateral organizations, including the UN. pic.twitter.com/LHjDYXG2Us

    — Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) December 20, 2022

    The word “salmon” appears 48 times in the bill. pic.twitter.com/kMg9oThIUf

    — Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) December 20, 2022

    $65 million for salmon?

    Seems fishy. pic.twitter.com/JSdjpuffGq

    — Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) December 20, 2022

    Don’t get us wrong: we like salmon as much as anyone else, but $65 million is a whole lot of money. As far as we know, salmon will spawn free of charge.

    🐝 $3 million for bee-friendly highways, & another $5 million for the salmon.

    Talk about a buzzkill. pic.twitter.com/PWH3Z5Cn0x

    — Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) December 20, 2022

    Again, bees are a vital part of our ecosystem. But “Pollinator-Friendly” roads and highways? What does that even mean?

    And lest the other fish feel left out of the spending spree, here’s $65.7 million for international fisheries commissions.

    Perhaps President Bush was onto something when he said “I know the human being and the fish can coexist peacefully.” pic.twitter.com/2P7CkeI5pe

    — Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) December 20, 2022

    For what it’s worth, apparently the Democrats aren’t quite sure that the human being and the fish can coexist peacefully. Or that anything can coexist peacefully with human beings:

    On a more sinister note, here’s at least $575 million for “family planning” in areas where population growth “threatens biodiversity.”

    Malthusianism is a disturbing, anti-human ideology that should have ZERO place in any federal program. pic.twitter.com/7EfFx2pq0M

    — Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) December 20, 2022

    Well, that’s disturbing.

    $65 million in two programs for Senator Leahy, and a federal building named for Nancy Pelosi.

    Swamp gonna Swamp. pic.twitter.com/NCEv8NtvdY

    — Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) December 20, 2022

    And Swamp and Swamp and Swamp.

    Here are just a handful of the many earmarks in the bill, including $3.6 million for the “Michelle Obama Trail.” pic.twitter.com/OdZnlWSqLV

    — Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) December 20, 2022

    A few more earmarks:

    $477k for “antiracist” training from the Equity Institute

    $3 million for the LGBTQ+ museum in NYC

    $1.2 million in “services for DACA recipients”

    $4.1 million in various career programs for one of the richest counties in the US (Fairfax) pic.twitter.com/pPTxuTwGfQ

    — Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) December 20, 2022

    If an additional $47 billion in Ukraine funding isn’t enough for you, the bill also authorizes a “Ukrainian Independence Park” right here in DC. pic.twitter.com/vDoAcT7INZ

    — Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) December 20, 2022

    Also, monuments for journalists and service animals… pic.twitter.com/QWencgXZDs

    — Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) December 20, 2022

    The bill also renames 25 post offices, in addition to the dozens we’ve already renamed this session.

    I’m amazed that we haven’t run out of post offices to rename yet. It’s bound to happen eventually. pic.twitter.com/fqfJOcaxqm

    — Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) December 20, 2022

    Our tax dollars at work!

    Needless to say, Sen. Rand Paul should have plenty of grievances this Festivus.

    https://twitchy.com/sarahd-313035/2022/12/20/gop-rep-dan-bishop-reveals-some-of-the-most-egregious-provisions-in-dems-massive-omnibus-bill/

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Liked by 1 person

  43. Liked by 1 person

  45. Like

  46. Liked by 1 person

  50. not on twitter, but this might be worthwhile to try

    Sunrei
    December 20, 2022 4:28 pm

    “Insight Into How Forum Schills Are Paid” —–Here’s how it works with one lawyer who is also a forum troll:

    https://www.ar15.com/forums/General/Insight-into-how-leftist-forum-shills-are-paid/5-2152110/#

    “This may not apply to all, or even most, but I can say it applies to at least one leftist shill who trolls on the internet.

    The troll is a lawyer working in regulatory for a large corporation.

    I saw he had two personal laptops in his office over which he kept fussing. I asked an admin what he was doing.

    She told me:
    He posts on dozens of forums (news; political; etc.) and gets paid to get the “liberal message out”. He is not paid by his post, and this is important. He is paid by a formula that looks at the number of responses to his posts, multiplied by the overall number of views. I have no idea how this would work in a thread with hundreds of responses, so there must be some kind of limit, but it does make a certain kind of sense.

    . . . If this is common, do not engage the trolls, put them on ignore, and cut off their paycheck. “

    ———————————

    Worth a test? See if we can convince trolls CTH is a desert financially for them by ceasing to engage with them?

    Liked by 1 person

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