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Its Swingin' Monday and we have Deuce Spriggins - Who Broke The Lock On The Hen House Door (1945). THE WESTERNER https://thewesterner.blogspot.com/

The question begs to be asked: Why is the person who came forward with a story about President Trump and a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky still being referred to as a whistleblower? Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, Michael Atkinson, is a Trump appointee. Allegedly he found a reason to go forward with a complaint lodged against President Trump stemming from a conversation with Zelensky in July. The anonymous “whistleblower,” as it turns out, is not, in fact, a whistleblower. The complainant is essentially a gossipmonger. The person admits no direct knowledge of the conversation. Doesn’t...

China already lost in the trade war with the U.S. Although you will never hear Chinese authorities, especially President Xi Jinping, admit it as such, the evidence is everywhere and only becoming more compelling by the day. Reuters recently reported that based on the Chinese government's own data, China's economic slowdown has worsened in August, with "growth in industrial production is at its weakest in 17-1/2 years amid spreading pain from a trade war with the United States and softening domestic demand. Retail sales and investment gauges worsened too." Despite such poor readings, Premier Li Keqiang insists that China is...

WikiLeaks founder’s custody will be extended after current prison terms comes to end Julian Assange will stay in prison after the custody period on his current jail term ends because of his “history of absconding”. As home secretary, Sajid Javid signed an order in June allowing Assange’s extradition to the US over hacking allegations. A 50-week jail term was imposed in the UK after he had jumped previous bail by going into hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. The WikiLeaks founder would have been released from HMP Belmarsh on 22 September, Westminster magistrates court heard on Friday, but he...

Our grandfathers built a low-cost reliable decentralized electricity supply for all states of Australia based mainly on black and brown coalfields — Blair Athol, Callide, Ipswich, Sydney/Newcastle, Yallourn, Leigh Creek, and Collie. Then our fathers built the mighty Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric scheme, which provided water to irrigate the inland while generating electricity to help pay for it. In the years up to 1980, huge new coal-fired power plants were constructed in each state. We discovered oil and gas in Roma, Bass Strait, Barrow Island, Timor Sea, and in coal and shale in many places. Coal and hydro gave Australia reliable...

There is a movement afoot to liberate female breasts and it goes by the name “Free the Nipples.” Apparently, our breasts want out. Out of our clothing, that is. That’s right. There is a spectre haunting America -- of clothes -- and women have nothing to lose but their shirts. So whadaya say? Knockers of the world, unite! Out with yesterday’s bra-burners (they’re so last century, anyway) and in with the Nipple Warriors! Let’s face it, our girls just can't take the oppression and discrimination anymore: the frustrating bra shopping, the annual breast exams, the painful mammograms, the perpetual fear...

Today's Quotefall Puzzle features a quote by Patrick Henry. Click puzzle (or click here) for full size rendition, then use your browser's print command to print puzzle. Patrick Henry was an American attorney, planter, and orator best known for his declaration to the Second Virginia Convention: "Give me liberty, or give me death!" He served as Virginia's first post-colonial governor. All hints, along with the answer, are provided in the first reply comment below, using filtered font to prevent accidental spoilers. Please refrain from disclosing the full answer in comments to prevent spoilers.To solve the puzzle: Enter the letters in the top...

Posted on September 22, 2019September 22, 2019 by Msgr. Charles Pope On the Connection Between Sound Doctrine and Civility A key theme of St. Paul’s Letters to Timothy and Titus, bishops he appointed to oversee the churches of Ephesus and Crete respectively, is their insistence on sound doctrine. He writes to Titus, “As for you, speak the things that are consistent with sound doctrine …” (Titus 2:1). He tells Timothy that if he passes on this doctrine to others, he “… will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished by the words of faith and sound doctrine that...

Fans who expected Sylvester Stallone's returns as John Rambo to dominate the box office are in for a surprise. Rambo: Last Blood opens in third place. Instead, the Downton Abbey movie makes a surprise debut in the top spot with a record-setting opening for studio Focus Features. James Gray’s sci-fi film Ad Astra will take the second-place spot. Downton Abbey earned $13.8 million on Friday. The film will earn $30.5 million in its opening weekend. The movie is a continuation of the popular television drama about a noble British family in the early 20th century and their servants. Creator Julian...

When the Bronze Age hit ancient Israel, the copper-rich region was able to quickly source seven of the eight ingredients needed to produce the alloy at Timna and other mines. But where tin -- another one-eighth of the metal's recipe -- came from has been a lingering mystery for scholars. A new paper from an international team of researchers proposes a surprisingly faraway source -- Cornwall. In a paper published in June on the open-access, peer-reviewed scientific journal PLOS One, the authors analyze 27 tin ingots, or blocks, from five sites bordering the eastern Mediterranean Sea. For decades, researchers have...

Former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld, who is challenging President Trump for the Republican nomination next year, on Monday accused him of “treason” for pressing the leader of Ukraine to investigate former vice president Joe Biden and his son. Weld’s comments came in response to reports that Trump repeatedly brought up investigating Biden, who is seeking the 2020 Democratic nomination, and his younger son, Hunter, in a July call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “Talk about pressuring a foreign country to interfere with and control a U.S. election,” Weld said during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “It couldn’t be clearer,...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a top ally of President Donald Trump, said that the Department of Justice (DOJ) should look into what happened with former Vice President Joe Biden and Ukraine. Biden in March 2016 pressured Ukraine to fire a prosecutor who was looking into alleged wrongdoing by Burisma, a company for which Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, was a board member. The 2020 presidential candidate denied talking to his son about business dealings in Ukraine. His son previously said he did discuss the dealings with his father once. Biden also said no evidence has connected him to any wrongdoing.

Sunday night’s hostless Emmys on Fox was likely hoping to emulate the Oscars ratings success in cutting out an emcee. However, according to preliminary Nielsen figures, the 2019 Emmys have gone the way of seemingly all awards shows in declining year on year. Fox’s broadcast posted a 5.7 rating and a 10 share in the overnight metered market ratings, which is down 23% on last year’s Monday night show on NBC and 30% below the preliminary rating for the 2017 ceremony which also aired on a Sunday night on CBS. The total viewership for TV’s big night, as well as...

Tech moguls Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos all scored on the bottom half of the scale for trustworthiness, according to analysis conducted by global brand consultancy Landor. The CEOs of major tech companies face an interesting and challenging public perception. They can sometimes seem like celebrities, generating a certain buzz and excitement among people. But business scandals and other issues can prompt that same public to see them as untrustworthy. A study by consultancy group Landor looks at some top tech moguls and their companies to learn how consumers view them. . . . Among the tech moguls...

This week marks Climate Week 2019. Climate change affects all of us, and each of us can make a difference in our own way, big or small. To show how we can take Climate Action into our own hands, a poster has been hung on the cafeteria wall. Each student and staff member can show commitment to combatting climate change by writing on the poster something they did that day or week to make a positive difference for our planet. We are aiming for 100% participation by the XYZ High School Community. Thank you for your support, and let’s make...

CHICAGO -- At least 26 people were shot, five of them fatally, in citywide gun violence over the weekend. Saturday, a man wanted for shooting a woman in the Fulton River District earlier in the week was shot by police during a prolonged manhunt that began after he shot a Chicago police officer in Englewood on the South Side. Michael Blackman, 45, was shot about 3:35 p.m. following an "armed encounter" with officers near 64th Street and Bell Avenue, Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a tweet. Blackman was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - After failing to secure a clear election victory twice in six months, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister now seems to be calculating that he can stay in power only by sharing it.Following a deadlocked parliamentary election last week, a weakened Netanyahu reissued an offer on Monday to his centrist rival Benny Gantz for a unity government, saying that neither had enough support from respective allies for a majority of 61 seats in the 120-member parliament. There was no sign Gantz, head of the Blue and White Party, would agree to a coalition with Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud. Gantz cited...

Are There As Many Stars as Sand Grains? September 22, 2019 | David F. Coppedge A video clip from Illustra Media attempts to answer a common question: How many stars are there? Lord willing, the Editor will soon be back from travel and speaking. Till then, enjoy this amazing video from Illustra Media! HOW MANY STARS? The question is timeless. Pondered, throughout history, by human beings of every culture, age, and nationality: how many stars are there in the universe? This fascinating film explores worlds gigantic and microscopic to reveal answers that challenge our perceptions of creation. Travel with us...

Because practically no one watches them or their POS network MSNBC, morning anchors and hubby-wife duo Mika Brzezinski and “Morning Joe” Scarborough have to do and say outrageous things to get noticed. Like practically beg Obama’s second secretary of state, John Kerry, to jump into the 2020 Democratic presidential race. Because, apparently, even clown ‘journalists’ recognize a train wreck when they see one, and that perfectly sums up the class of idiots running for the 2020 Donkey Party crown.

Nasty Mitt Romney continues to take his lead from the lying mainstream media. The liberal media this week attacked President Trump in screaming headlines for a conversation he had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The media claimed Trump pressured the Ukrainian government to investigate the Biden Crime family.