Throughout history, we have seen Nations triumph or be crushed by authoritarianism and it all comes down to the strength of the Leader at the helm.
But strength when exercised through fear and strength exercised through Patriotism and love are two entirely different matters.
Hitler was strong but he ruled with fear. Xi Jinping is much the same. Pol Pot. Idi Amin.
Read more: King Haakan VII of Norway - the King's Choice in the face of fear
Imagining the worlds of an 11, 14, or 16-year-old in one of my classes over the last three years strikes me with grief at times. Suddenly, with the flip of a switch, everything these children held onto in the world outside their immediate homes ended.
Friends they laughed and gathered with each day in middle school went away; teachers who greeted them or hugged them in high school or posted their artwork or essays in the classroom disappeared; the Dungeons and Dragons club they attended every Friday night with dozens of high school friends stopped; the young musicians they played with each day at school were ordered to stay home; soccer practice and games stopped; church youth groups did not meet.
What we need right now is a bull in the China Shop. Someone who can sort the buggers out.
No wonder the Left hates Trump and wanted him gone. They threw everything they had at getting him out of power and were not worried about breaking every cup, saucer, jug or plate if that meant that he and his Presidency was over.
For decades, the Bull in the China shop has signified a rampaging beast who storms through the door and smashes everything to pieces.
People who live lives that are out of the ordinary run the risk of being hailed by succeeding generations as legends, and of having the most intimate details of their lives scrutinized. All of us leave public records that may in the future be used to piece together our lives for better or for worse, though at the time we never consider that possibility. Big Brother and others have tabs on us even in death. Hannah Glennon, ‘Red Jack’ of horse breaking, droving and bush racing fame, would no doubt be totally perplexed by the interest shown in her today, as she never sought fame. She would also be horrified by the public airing of her dirty linen (she was a laundress at one stage) gleaned through official records; such, however, is the price of fame.
The crown of America sits in a gutter begging someone to pick it up before the nation collapses— Auron MacIntyre, The Blaze
In an interview with Fox News’s Bret Baier last Tuesday, FBI Director Chris Wray said, “The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan.” Like so much else in America’s tortured, distractable life these days, the meaning larded into that that utterance went clear over the collective heads of just about everybody.
Read more: Nurse Nice Day - a story of good intentions, facing reality and Yaks
I am not going to start with the obligatory " some of my best friends are gay , but... " statement, because they are not.
I have only known a few people who chose a different path on which to travel their lives and, while I do not judge, I am not that fussed one way or the other about which side of the sexual fence they choose to sit or lie. All I have ever asked is that they keep their private lives in their homes.
Instead, we are under a constant barrage of Gay Pride marches and Drag races. leading us to a demolition derby against normal human behaviour.
The downfall of Irishman Oscar Wilde is an object lesson to all of those who would sue for defamation –be it for slander orally,or for libel in writing. A defamatory statement will be forgotten sooner or later, but any skeletons which any plaintiff suing for defamation might have hidden in the closet, will be exposed for all to see. This will apply even if the plaintiff should succeed. A case in point is that of Oscar Wilde.
Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin Ireland in 1854 to a distinguished and influential family. That was during the time when all of Ireland was under the parliamentary control of Great Britain.
Read more: The famous and infamous Irishman Oscar Wilde -- a man with skeletons in his closet
I have some family friends who are in their 70’s and, some time ago, they lost their old dog to the big puppy club in Heaven.
After some years, the wife decided that they should get a new pup. A terrier cross. Anyone who has had a Jack Russell or any kind of terrier will know that they eat energizer batteries for breakfast and only have two speeds: fast and really fast. Terriers are a mix of Formula 1 and Demolition Derby.
A few months in, hubby is unhappy and complaining that the little fella is a handful, too energetic, too demanding and too tiring. All I could say was “ at least it’s not a woman. “
At the beginning of March, 2023, I join Monty in celebrating Irish month.
There are many men and women who hail from Ireland and have made lives in other countries over the decades.
Today, I celebrate one woman of Irish heritage and the men who made her life notorious.The woman who was Ned Kelly's mother. I can think of no more fitting person to start our journey.
Read more: Ned Kelly's Mother - a story of a tough life and a tough woman
Away back in the good old days
when men could find a job;
When money was as good as gold
and tax was just two bob;
When men would work and say with pride
that they weren’t on the dole;
In a fast-changing Australia, where new cultures and identities weave fresh threads into our ever…
124 hits
“Every tyrant must begin by claiming to have what his victims respect and to give…
223 hits
At nine years old, I felt the silence of the lambs, long before I knew…
208 hits
While the new aces argue about the runway, the old crew still knows how to…
252 hits
Howling into the Abyss of Settler-Colonial Absurdism A Decolonial Reading of "The Werewolves of Dusty…
222 hits
RATTY NEWS SPECIAL INVESTIGATION THE WEREWOLVES OF DUSTY GULCH Project Howl, the Hacked Rolling Pin,…
281 hits
The Ghost Returns The first thing he noticed was the silence. Not the silence of…
279 hits
A Dream Needs a Driver: Sir William Hamilton, the Jet Boat, and the Men Who…
311 hits
When I tell people I’m a beek, inevitably the first thing they say is, “Yes,…
328 hits
He stood on top of the world - literally. But Sir Edmund Hillary never saw…
314 hits
The Basement at Yekaterinburg When People Become Symbols, History Takes a Dark Turn On the…
339 hits
In many Western countries today, we often speak of multiculturalism as though traditions no longer…
326 hits
RATTY NEWS EXCLUSIVE THE DUCKS WHO KNEW TOO MUCH How the Mysterious Death of the…
302 hits
In a world that seems determined to teach us to hate our countries, I remember…
377 hits
When the Bush Is No Longer Enough Just days after Sam Neill's passing on 13…
400 hits
Why Churchill Still Matters in Australia: Blunt Voices, Shared Goals, and the Fight for a…
394 hits
Bastille Day, Artificial Intelligence, and the New Reign of Terror The guillotine has gone digital.…
384 hits
How a turned head, a washing machine, and a handful of extraordinary coincidences made me…
367 hits
RATTY NEWS FILM REVIEW Dracula the Emu No Stakes... No Steaks... No Hope. Reviewed by…
409 hits
A 94-year-old’s heartfelt plea about cruelty to animals, the neglect of children and the elderly,…
379 hits
No, Sire. It Is a Revolution. It's easy to forget, but revolutions don't just fall…
378 hits
RATTY NEWS EXCLUSIVE The Great Sausage Tax Scandal and the Return of Laughing Jack McKooka…
407 hits
When ideology excuses everything and responsibility belongs to no one. I recently picked up Crime…
435 hits
By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble, Investigative Laundrologist - “Warning: The following article is satire and uses exaggeration…
415 hits
Paul Revere’s Ride: Not the Birth of Independence, But the Moment Duty Called The American…
442 hits
When Truth Hung on the Washing Line They say history repeats. But sometimes, it just…
427 hits
Before the Road Trains: The Long Walk South - Cattle, Drovers and the Spirit of…
434 hits
Dusty Gulch Grand Throwdown: Thunderdome, Cattle, Cake and the Honklander III By Roderick McNibble, Chief…
452 hits
We're still building memorials. But we're burying the values they were built to honour. Without…
457 hits
In the Name of God, Go! A marriage can survive many things. It can survive…
493 hits
Roderick’s Reality Crisis When an American member of our small community doubted the Chiko Roll,…
508 hits