Profiles in Toxic Masculinity, Part 14 – James Butler Hickok
Appearances Can Be Deceiving
See the fellow to the right? He looks like a bit of a dandy, an old-timey sort who you might find running a dry-goods store or travelling from town-to-town peddling Dr. Orpheum’s Kickapoo Elixir and Cure-All. But he wasn’t. The fellow in the fancy hat and string tie is James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok, soldier, scout, lawman, gambler, one of the deadliest gunslingers of the Old West and the subject of this Profile in Toxic Masculinity.
His Maculate Origin
Wild Bill was born in Homer (now Troy Grove) Illinois on May 27, 1837, to William Alonzo Hickok and Polly Butler. The senior Hickok was a farmer; the Hickoks were staunch abolitionists who reportedly had an Underground Railroad stop on their farm.
The young Hickok quickly gained a reputation as a crack shot. When he was eighteen, he was involved in a scrap (unarmed) with a local named Charles Hudson, which fight was resolved when both young men tumbled into a canal. Surfacing separately and presumably out of sight of each other, both young men assumed the other had drowned. Wishing to avoid prosecution. Hudson left for parts unknown and history tells us no more about him, but young Hickok went to the Kansas Territory and began using his late brother’s name, William.
His Adventurous Career
Hickok arrived in Leavenworth, Kansas in 1855. Having inherited his parents’ abolitionist leanings, he fell in with Jim Lanes Jayhawkers, formally then known as the “Free State Army” and took part in the group’s vigilante campaigns in what became known as the “Bloody Kansas” uprisings. During this time Hickok picked up the nickname “Duck Bill,” due to his long nose and jutting upper lip. He detested the nickname and, in 1861, grew a long mustache to cover the lip and began calling himself “Wild Bill.” The name stuck.
Them in 1858, having presumably grown bored of nightriding with the Jayhawkers, Hickok turned up in the Utah Territory, where he served as a scout for the U.S. Army engaged in the Mormon Rebellion.
It’s not impossible to imagine that, during this dust-up, the young Hickok may have encountered a Mormon gunsmith named Jonathan Browning and maybe even his three-year-old son John, but if this fanciful event happened there’s no record of it.
At some point after the Mormon Rebellion, Hickok returned to Kansas, eventually claiming a large farm in Johnson County. In 1858 he began his career as a lawman when he was elected one of four constables of Monticello Township. In 1859, however, he gave this up to join the freight company that would later become the Pony Express, and began hauling freight on the Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico Territory run. The following year, Hickok was on the westbound run when he encountered a large cinnamon bear with cubs; Hickok fired a shot that bounced off the bear’s skull, provoking (understandably) an attack. The bear tore into Hickok’s arm and landed full-on him, injuring his chest, but the intrepid freighter managed to get to his knife and slashed at the bear’s throat, killing it.
This was one of the first overt displays of Wild Bill’s steadfastness, but it wouldn’t be the last.
After his recovery from the bear, Hickok discovered that the War of the Northern Aggression was under way, and so proceeded to Sedalia, Missouri, where the Union Army enlisted him as a teamster. He was discharged in 1862 for unknown reasons but managed to join up again with the Kansas Brigade, where he served until late 1863. At that time, he went on to serve with the Provost Marshal’s office in southwest Missouri, and then later as a scout working for General John B. Sanborn, which duty he was engaged in at war’s end.
Following the surrender of the last Confederate troops, Wild Bill found himself at loose ends.
His One-Man War
In the summer of 1865, Hickok surfaced in Springfield, Missouri, where he was involved in the killing of one Dave Tutt. Tutt claimed Hickok owed him a gambling debt, gambling being one of Hickok’s vices. Tutt took a gold watch highly prized by Hickok as payment, at least until Hickok could cough up the cash. Hickok agreed to this, on the condition that Tutt not flaunt the watch in the open.
The Shootout.
The next day, Tutt was wearing the watch and encountered Hickok in the Springfield town square. One thing led to another and both men drew revolvers and opened fire; Tutt was killed. Hickok was tried and acquitted on the grounds of self-defense, but this began Hickok’s notoriety as a gunslinger.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Wild Bill took the art of shooting seriously, reportedly practicing for an hour or more on most days. He also took the art of gambling seriously, which passion would lead to his downfall. His favored arms were a pair of 1851 Navy Colts, and we have already examined the virtues of that landmark sixgun in other articles.
As we saw in the chronicles of one John Garrison Johnston, an earlier Profile in Toxic Masculinity, in the Old West it wasn’t uncommon for a one-time ne’er-do-well to suddenly emerge as a champion of Law and Order. Wild Bill performed this lateral arabesque in 1867, when he was appointed as a U.S. Deputy Marshall in Fort Riley, Kansas. He later served as Sheriff of Ellis County, Kansas (1869) and, in 1871, was made Marshal of Abilene, Kansas.
During his tenure as a lawman, several men sought to gain fame by killing Wild Bill. Hickok stood them off, one after the other, but while later accounts of his life greatly exaggerate the number of men Wild Bill killed on one gunfight or another, the number according to Hickok biographer Joseph Rosa was probably six, possibly seven – hardly the great score that was claimed of him in many dime novels.
Two of those dead men, however, would lead to another turning point in Wild Bill’s life.
On October 5th, 1871, Hickok was trying to calm a violent crowd on the streets of Abilene. While the reasons for the crowd’s anger is unclear, what is known is that during the disturbance, one Phil Coe, a saloonkeeper, fired two shots. Hickok tried to arrest Coe, but Coe turned his guns on Wild Bill – a mistake, as Hickok’s habit of practice paid off. He drew and fired before Coe could draw a bead and shot Coe through the heart, killing him instantly. Unfortunately, Hickok noticed another man approaching him quickly from the side and fired again, killing Special Deputy Marshal Mike Williams. This led to Hickok’s discharge from the position of Marshal.
At odds again, Hickok traveled, gambling and appearing sporadically alongside Buffalo Bill Cody in a traveling Wild West show. 1876 found him in Wyoming, where he met and married a woman named Agnes Thatcher Lake and moved with her to Deadwood, South Dakota.
On August 2nd of that year, Wild Bill was playing poker in Nuttal & Mann’s Saloon, and was seated, unwisely as it turned out, with his back to the door.
One of Wild Bill’s Navy Colts.
Into the saloon came one Jack McCall, who saw Hickok, approached him from behind, and fired one shot into the back of Wild Bill’s head, killing him instantly. Wild Bill was reportedly holding a hand of aces and eights, which combination was to become famous as the “dead man’s hand.”
It’s not known why McCall took it in his head to assassinate Wild Bill. He may have been simply seeking notoriety, and in that he was certainly successful. On his arrest – taken into custody by no less than Wild Bill’s friend Martha “Calamity” Jane Cannary – he claimed to be avenging his brother, killed by Hickok, although there’s no record of that. McCall was initially acquitted but, Dakota Territory not yet being fully a part of the U.S., was later arrested again and found guilty. He was hanged for the murder in March of 1877.
Thus, ended the career of James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok, soldier, scout, lawman, gunslinger, gambler, almost certainly a scoundrel but absolutely a colorful one.
His Golden Years
Following his untimely end, Wild Bill himself obviously enjoyed no happy golden years. His legacy, however, did continue, and as time brought forth the film industry, Hickok’s fame only grew. He has been portrayed on stage and screen by such worthies as:
- Gary Cooper, The Plainsman (1936)
- Bill Elliot, The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1938)
- Guy Madison, Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (TV, 1951-1958)
- Charles Bronson, White Buffalo (1977)
- Jeff Bridges, Wild Bill (1995)
- Keith Carradine, Deadwood (TV, 2004-2006)
Wild Bill Hickok’s story certainly resonates with many Americans. His life story has been exaggerated, often wildly, by novelists and movie and television screenwriters. But even told straight out, his tale is a colorful one, adventurous, courageous, and quintessentially American.
Great article.
No Buffalo Bill? I am named after the guy.
The Wild West Show came through Manifest, LA, sometime around the turn of the century and Bill Cody was a guest in my Great Grandmother’s house. She named a son after him and the name passed down to me three generations later. There is even a four as I passed it down to my son.
Speculate as you will.
Sure it wasn’t Barnacle Bill?
Always good stuff, Thanks again Animal!
I really like these. This was an especially good one.
Wow! Modernity is soft.
Exactly, I complained I had to crawl through my attic to run speaker wire. Good times create weak men indeed and I know I am one of them.
My grandfather lived through the depression and stifling poverty and learned how to hunt to feed himself and his siblings. He was appalled that I didn’t know anything about guns or hunting. As a kid, I thought we would never have a food shortage because the grocery store was always packed with food. Being a bit older now and learning how fragile our world is especially with our supply chains, I should have heeded his warning.
It would be interesting to know just how prosperous the late Roman Empire was, for prosperity does seem to breed complacence and weakness in society.
Wooden shoes going up. Silk slippers going down.
Well, almost by definition, the late Empire was not very prosperous. The early and middle Empire is where the prosperity was. I’d even say the early Empire was on the cusp of the industrial revolution (the ancients knew of steam power, but thought of it only as a toy).
Nice! My peoples come from Springfield, though I don’t think they were living there yet in 1865. My own great-grandfather was involved in a shooting in Springfield for which he was acquitted on self-defense.
My Great Grandmother’s single barrel Steven’s was in my possession until about two weeks ago. I gave it to my brother.
About 100 years ago she awoke to the sound of someone rummaging around her barn. Apparently the guy was stealing tools. She let off a round of #4 and the rummaging stopped. The next day she went to the Sheriff and told him why had happened.
“Sit right here and I’ll be right back” he said.
They only had one doc in those days so the Sheriff went down to his office. When he came back he said “Yep. You peppered his ass pretty good. Dont worry, I dont think he will bother you anymore. The Doc dry shaved him before picking the shot out.”
Lucky her! My great-grandfather had to go to trial & everything. He shot a kid from a hoity-toity family that was vandalizing his jewelry store with some of his friends.
Unrelated but I have to mention: That Doc, Doctor Webb, made house calls on horseback. People still joke about every family in those hills having one child that looked just like him.
So you’re saying I need to dry fire more.
A thousand rounds per week.
Just sayin’.
I don’t remember if it was Wild Bill or some other frontier gunman, but I remember hearing a story along those lines. Every morning before breakfast, he would head out to the edge of town and draw and fire five times with revolver #1, clean and reload it, then repeat with revolver #2.
Not only was he getting some daily practice, but more importantly he was insuring that if he had to use his gun for real, it would be clean and loaded with fresh charges.
Recency is important.
My brother, my father, all of my friends have moved away to other states. I dont have anyone to shoot with anymore. I carry daily but I haven’t fired a round in months.
At the top of my game I used to shoot clays with a pistol. I guess I could do fair to middlin’ now but I am not what I used to be.
I suppose I need to start a little practice.
Recency is important.
Can confirm, as the .45 showed up at the range with a broken part after not having been fired in way too long. No idea how it could have broken unless I somehow did it while field stripping before taking to the range.
I agree. Practice never makes perfect; only perfect practice does that. Practice just makes you better.
Im certainly no NBA fan, for for every 3-pointer LeBron or whomever shoots during a game, Id bet they’ve thrown hundreds or thousands before that.
Dude, always use lotion. Dry firing is just going to lead to a lot of chafing and walking strangely.
Yes.
“He detested the nickname and, in 1861, grew a long mustache to cover the lip and began calling himself “Wild Bill.” The name stuck.”
So it’s permissible to give yourself a cool nickname? How does “Wild Kevin” sound?
You dont need a nickname. We already know what you are made of.
“The Magnificent Kevin”?
It’s got a catchy theme!
I’m surprised you didn’t go with this.
Well i do imagine Porn stars come up with their own stage names, so sure.
+1000 Roller Girl
Random thought:
Aren’t porn stars the true attention whores?
That would seem to be an exception, maybe the only exception, to the ‘You Can’t Give Yourself a Cool Nickname’ rule.
I guess if you’re that good of a shot, and have that kind of reputation, there are few people who would take issue with it. To your face, at least.
Two Gun Kevin?
At least its not One Pump Chump Kevin
Single Shot Derringer Kevin would be a really bad nickname.
Bad Aim Kevin is also out.
“T-bone.”
Two Sheds Kevin?
Forgot the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CA8xTGP_M8g&t=84s
Thanks Animal!
Good stuff.
I’ve used the situation of Wild Bill capping his own deputy in some of my shooting classes, as an example of A.) Why target identification is so important, and B.) Why running headlong into an uncertain situation with a gun in your hand is a bad idea.
Speaking of toxic masculinity, I looked up the lamentable Bradley Beychok from Brooks‘s last post on the dead thread. He’s apparently a 3rd generation political grifter from Louisiana, and a disciple of James [Skeletor] Carville. Is it possible to be born more deplorable than that, at least without being a Kennedy or Bush?
You could be a Sununu.
The Clinton’s aren’t done yet either.
“Cuomo”
Cuomo Arigato, Mr. Roboto!
Great story, Thanks, Animal!
Truth. Reconciliation. Healing.
Who arrests Trump if he refuses to concede?
Who drags him out?
Pepper spray? Cuffs?
A knee on his neck, cutting off his oxygen?
Does he wheeze “I can’t breathe.”
Just whale away on him like a piñata?
Rodney King style?
The thug who has destroyed the country. What does he deserve?
You, Alec Baldwin. You should arrest him.
I can’t help but hear his name in Kim’s voice from Team America.
Battle of the Loudmouth Geezers!
This is the crowd about to be in power.
Keep your powder dry people. Keep it dry.
They are going to be so mad when Trump leaves the White House voluntarily.
Of course, the goal posts will move and we will be told what a crime it is to not formally concede. That will be just as bad as if he had boarded himself up in the Oval Office.
I’d laugh if Trump skips the Inauguration ceremony and golds in Florida that day.
Will he be swimming in his golds?
With his (((son-in-law)))?
Scrooge McDuck style.
*golfs
I like how in their minds Trump (and by extension the GOP) is the cause of police brutality in NYC, Minneapolis and LA
All of history has been rewritten. The existence of conservative Democrats, the skyrocketing crime rates of the 1960s and 1970s, the actual reasons for so-called “White Flight”, the cross-party political renaissance of the 1980s and 1990s, the explosive growth in government under George W. Bush in the name of “compassion”, indeed everything that happened before the Lightbringer took office in 2008 (and really, quite a bit during his term as well) has been adjusted to be a reverse projection of the most self-serving interpretation of politics as it exists in the present day.
If Trump were the thug this claims, Alec Baldwin would be disappeared already.
Thinking is hard.
Remember all those press members that Trump…oh, wait that was in the before before times where the US Government actually went after press members.
Fear not, they have been unpersoned. Only those who parrot the party line get protection, but as long as they parrot the party line, they can do whatever they want (see: Dan Rather, Gawker’s former staff, etc.).
These are great Animal and I think serve as a great leaping point to highlight to my three teens that masculinity is a good thing when properly applied in life. It also has its downfalls, like every other trait of the human experience.
Mother Nature is one mean ass bitch. She always wins in the end. The best you can do is lose on your feet with your chin up and your fists balled up.
Damned right masculinity is a good thing. It is the only reason we are still here.
I have worked it backwards with my boys, explaining how these men and women of our family heritage that came before us is why we are here. They made it here because they didn’t plop down and let life control them. They took life by horns and wrestled with it daily. Sometimes they’d win, other times they’d lose. However, after life kicked them down, they didn’t just throw up their hands and scream at the sky. They buckled down, tightened their boots and went after it again and again and again.
Thanks, Animal! Reading about guys like this puts a (temporary) lid on my whining about the “hardships” of modern life. For about a week.
Your children’s future taxes at work.
What does that mean? Citizens who were born to illegal immigrants? People who don’t even live in the country? Other illegal immigrants themselves?
If they are citizens, they had to have been eligible the first time, and would be eligible the second time without any special dispensation, regardless of their parents.
I can only assume this is obfuscatory language for sending checks to illegals.
900 billion dollars just given away to keep pitchforks away from the ruling class after they willfully destroyed the economy. That is nearly a trillion dollars. Dollars worth less than the paper they are printed on.
Invest in rope companies. It is coming, I guarantee it.
An angry Armenian mob beat the hell out of their Speaker in Parliament last month.
And lynched him apparently. But didn’t kill him.
Oh, i’ve seen this one. He comes back for them, under commission from a ruthless, no-mercy Judge, to bring them to justice.
+1 smoking hot widow
No mention of his run in with the fearsome Apple Dumpling Gang at Ft Concho?
A good breakdown of how Azerbaijan beat the hell out of Armenia. Hint: (relatively) cheap drones.
But other countries aren’t supposed to have those!!
I hope Taiwan is figuring out how to counteract drone threats.
Meanwhile we attempt to figure out how to make drones more expensive and less disposable for our military.
That’s what they have spent the last 20 years doing with absolutely every piece of military gear.
It’s like the DoD believes that the Manhattan Project BY ITSELF was what won WWII.
They believe the JSF by itself is what made so many generals and admirals rich beyond their wildest dreams.
No worries. Biden is nominating a member of Raytheon’s Board. I’m sure he’ll cut down on all that.
https://twitter.com/davidmweissman/status/1341082408846815232
I’m interested in the logic in your world. Do you have such things as Contrapositives?
‘R’ next to your name = bad.
‘D’ next to your name = good.
Wolf Blitzer remembers.
99% of Twitter just makes me hate humans even more than I thought possible.
I thought this thing was only $900B.
Who knows? You have to pass it to find out.
I think all and all, with the continuing resolutions, its 2 1/2 trillion dollar coins.
Strong take.
Derp, meant to post at bottom.
We have to pass it to see what’s in it
Damn your nimble fingers, Drake!
Nimble? It was 13 minutes ago he posted that….
I am slow on the refresh and I type with my forehead.
A douche that is aptly named.
“You know, Joe … a lot of sunshine in, I guess, our system health. Despite all of this, and you’ve said this many times on this show, and hats off to the authors of our Madisonian democracy that even when a fascist shows up like this and even when 50 percent of this country still is somehow behind him, our system holds,” Deutsch outlined. “And that is something we can all take a deep breath and say, ‘Yay. The good guys do win in the end.’ Joe, when people want to throw out what we have, which is democracy. It means they’re basically unhappy, and they’re willing to kind of stand by and watch anything go. And I’m just going to say again — this is what we have to be honest about. I think it’s race. I do. It’s not his policies about China. And it’s not his policies. It’s certainly not his COVID response, and it’s certainly not his nonresponse to giving out relief to people.”
“I just think this country, and this is what has to be dealt with, and this is something that is not an easy solution is that what is it that’s — what nerve did he hit by saying Muslim ban, by saying about the Mexicans,” he continued. “But that’s where no president, no politician has ever gone before in any substantial office, at least not in the last 40 or 50 years. What is it going on in the country now? What is it that’s so terrifying for white people? And that’s what this is about, that people of color are threatening them so deeply they’re willing to dismiss Democratic tenets? And I’m just repeating what I said earlier because I have no other explanation, Joe. There’s nothing else there. We could put the 10 smartest scholars in the room. That’s it. You know I am saying the quiet part out loud. There is no other explanation, and that’s what we have to deal with as a country right now. We are a divided country, and it’s about race. I don’t care what anybody else says.”
This is so tired, Pheidippides thinks it should be given a rest.
There is no other explanation
It is so very convenient that you get to devise your enemies’ motives for them, and then get to denounce them because of it. Because you (currently) hold the heights of cultural power, your enemies are not afforded the same luxury. Because, frankly, there is an equally (if not more so) uncharitable interpretation of your own motives which, were you subject to constantly hearing other people tell you what you “really” believe, you would not be so happy to hear.
I think that a lot of it boils down to the typical progressive lack of empathy. They simply can’t envision anyone not wanting to participate in their happy little urban multicultural centrally-managed ecotopia. Nah, it must be that those deplorables are threatened by black people…
Sympathy without empathy.
A very dangerous combination.
But enough about FDR and his legacy.
^^^ This. Take a history course of the measures taken by Britain and America during WW2 and then think about how the war is always cast as “Democracy” defends Fascisim. By which all the democracy’s became fascist states to take down the German Fascist state.
Alternative:
White People are the boogy man of our time! Now why are white people afraid of people who think like me taking power?
“…it’s about race. I don’t care what anybody else says.”
Keep telling yourself that.
Sticking your fingers in your ears and refusing to hear the other side is a sure sign that you have full confidence in your own correctness.
Not a week ago a relative told me that ” no matter what you say, no matter how many facts you have I will never believe that OMB is not evil”
I responded with ” So you admit you cant be reasoned with. Ok. ”
I got stuttering in response to that. She was speechless. Cognitive dissonance is a hell ov’ a drug and TDS is exponentially more powerful.
Faces…. punchable
But that’s where no president, no politician has ever gone before in any substantial office, at least not in the last 40 or 50 years.
That’s an interesting way to say “I’m retarded”.
This thing that has clearly happened before, has never happened before, ever. At least not in the last 10 min!
I bet $5I dont have in my pocket that he can’t properly define ‘fascism’.
“…even when a fascist shows up like this…”
Fascist = Someone I don’t like
Easy-peasy
You mean increasing the restrictions that were initially put in place by the Obama administration? The one where the countries were picked by the Obama administration? The one where the numerical majority of Muslims worldwide were unaffected? That Muslim ban?
2000-2008 were wrought with fear and death. Nothing of significance happened between 2008-2016. All hell broke loose since Jan 2017 until next year Jan 2021.
No reasonable prosecutor…
Attorney General William Barr says he has “not seen a reason to appoint a special counsel” to investigate Hunter Biden, and has “no plan to do so” before he steps down
Trump might have tried appointing an AG that wasn’t a ringer.
Also, Vicki and Sammy Weaver = “good shoots”
Yeah. Him and Janet Reno go in the list of illustrious “AG’s” to have graced our government.
Lon Horiuchi is the furthest thing from a role model there could ever be. Which is why I will never buy from HS Precision.
?
Too bad. I actually looooooooved the idea of a special counsel.
And also to investigate election fraud.
I’d love to see Trump set loose a Special Counsel who did nothing but go around the country ringing up anyone who helped with election fraud.
Those worker bees wouldn’t even – for the most part – be important enough to matter so they could be safely prosecuted. It would help prevent people signing up in 2022 or 2024 to harvest ballots or perform other shit.
Go after all those people who registered in Nevada but also voted in California. Anyone who shook down a retirement home for their ballots. Just rack up thousands of convictions so that everyone knew at least one person who got wrapped around the axle for vote fraud.
Right now all that shady crap is like driving 59 in a 55 zone. Everyone knows it is going on, but they also know that no one will get cited for it.
Yes. That’s the idea I love most.
We all saw how much immense power to investigate people these counsels had. I want ever single stupid thing with our elections investigated to the hilt.
Civil liberties would suddenly be rediscovered, but only and exactly for as long as necessary as to stymie the effort.
It would be en vogue to once again plead the fifth and be a hero.
Is it up to AG Barr?
Or is it one of those deals where Trump theoretically could order Barr to appoint the special prosecutor, but Barr would just ignore it? Because nothing says Rule of Law like ignoring the person who is supposedly in charge just because you and your friends think the boss is icky.
I don’t know if he could order it. Although Barr is gonna to be gone shortly and there will be a temporary guy who seems very open to… suggestion.
Yeah, but Barr has now said this, and so then if one get’s appointed it gives Biden cover to fire the guy when he takes office because “EVEN Trumps Wingman Barr said their was no reason for this”.
That’s absolutely fine.
Fire the guy. I wanna see Biden fire the guy hired to investigate election fraud.
Yeah, but at least Biden will be forced to fire a Special Prosecutor.
Just like Trump should tell the fucking Generals he wants EVERYONE out of Afghanstan (even if it means leaving a ton of equipment there) now. Make Biden send them back in.
Exactly.
We have the same brain today.
I feel bad for you.
To expand, I think a big part of politics is laying traps like this.
They were absolutely hoping Trump would fire Mueller.
Let Trump withdraw troops from Afghanistan and make a woke and peace-loving Democrat send them back in. Fantastic. I eagerly await this show.
Just go off into the sunset already and enjoy playing the bagpipes while Rome burns you fat fuck.
I don’t know what anyone expected differently from Barr. He was a company man and said so many times.
I expected no better of the pudgy bastard but I’m still going to shit on him every chance I get.
Antifa Christmas.
Cloyd Dixon Rauch, a militant antifa in Portland who promised to stab me, is actually a middle class family man who is giving away Christmas postcards of him in black bloc w/his partner Casey Rauch & child. Both husband & wife have radical beliefs they conceal behind wealthy life
Or do they conceal their wealth behind radical beliefs?
“They’ll shoot me last!”
Complete with country kitsch decor. Definitely shootable.
Partner or wife?
So that’s what became of Pajama Boy.
According to my calculations, over 1 in 10 Americans will be immune to Covid by the end of the month.
I should say next month.
The authors are against lockdowns even without available vaccines.
How to End Lockdowns Next Month
I am too.
But by the end of February we will have 70 million Americans with at least very high immunity to Covid.
How the fuck can you justify any lockdown after that?
FYTH
It will be pushed that you aren’t immune-immune in a normal sense and that the only way to be sure is to continue on our current path.
There’s no way to prove that you are actually immune given the parameters of research, but I mean come on here. All the science backs up that spread rate would be astronomically low.
In a sane logical world I would stand by what you just said. We haven’t seen a sane and logical world peek its head out all year.
You talk of science when they are saying the power of SCIENCE! compels you!
NeW stRaIN!!!!!
Some undetermined number of Americans have been functionally immune to it the whole time. That’s essentially what “asymptomatic” means.
Oh just wait til Webster-Merriam gets a hold of that one…
Oregon State Police finally find a protest to nip in the bud. Bonus points for actually being peaceful and the against citizens petitioning for the redress of grievances at the state Capitol. Every state trooper at the scene should be arrested and prosecuted.
https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/politics/2020/12/21/protesters-gather-oregon-legislature-starts-special-session/3993102001/
What a fucking clown show.
Interesting though is Oregon is more or a republic than Nevada. At least their legislature is “voting” on those items. Our legislature was all too happy to allow Sisolak full control of a State.
Hah. The session is just to extend the rental evictions and a few other things. Everything else is by governor’s orders. Not to worry. Those only have a limited duration. Which she renews every 90 days.
Go fuck yourself, commie grifter. She is the shining example of the worthless pieces of shit running this state with zero experience. This state is dominated by leftist cuntes and it shows.
They hate being third fiddle to WA and CA politicians.
All cops are criminals. They may be nice people, they may be friendly. They are still criminals, enforcing criminal laws, and supporting their criminal profession, protecting sociopaths inside their ranks.
Disagree. Bob is ok.
Bob the Builder?
I don’t know.
Maybe?
well i never saw his general contractors liscense, so he may be a criminal too!
Strange women distributing dark sabers seems like a poor basis for any system of government.
Also, dark saber wielding prowess determining hierarchical advantage seems problematic from both a gender and race standpoint.
Thanks, Animal. Great article!
Trump issues stunning new EO! New Federal Buildings no longer brutalist, but classical!
I know there have been some here who have been Down on Trump as a do nothing yawn of a nobody, but now can they argue that he isn’t the most influential president ever!?!
An interesting aside, I just discovered that American Rail Gauge (the distance between the rails) is derived from the English Rail Gauge, as British expats built the early American railroads, and that measurement is derived from the standard width of the wheel base of a horsecart/buggy of the day. Which is further derived from the necessity to match the the ruts left by Roman War chariots, lest they break an axle or get high centered on the road.
I thought it was a neat random factoid.
This is a famous urban legend.
Also note: chariots were obsolete by the time of the Roman Empire.
I thought that might be the case. *sad trombone*
I remember it well because I’d heard it before and though it was a cool story. *sigh*
Not gonna let anybody else have that cool story either. Urthona, Rainer Of Parades.
There’s a fairly standard wheel width for any animal-drawn cart, wagon etc. Just wider than the animal, because of how they were hitched, but not much wider than that to minimize problems on narrow roads, etc.
Kamala Harris says it’s un-American to not say DOCTOR Jill Biden
I think people are missing the original point which is making fun of how that dimwit herself insisted on being called doctor. If you want to call her doctor, go right the fuck ahead.
Which according to some articles I have read she insisted on obtaining the doctorate so she had an honorary title on their mail like Ol’ Joe gets to have.
This is true yes.
I’m not sure if that’s worse than Michelle Obama getting paid 6 figures by a non-profit hospital while she campaigned with her husband. It’s close.
She is no different when our congress-critters sit in their committee hearings demanding they be provided their proper title by the plebes.
Political Honorifics should expire when the office holder is no longer in office. I seem to remember having a revolution of some sort that was, at least partially, for removing aristocrats from government.
Don’t worry, anyone and everyone that served for the last 4 years will get that honor (rightly so), but the practice of tongue bathing will begin anew in Jan 2021.
My big sister has a doctorate in nursing. She would never allow you to call her “doctor”. There is a big difference between people who quietly do their job and people who loudly do nothing but want all the recognition. Unfortunately the second type is in charge now.
Okay Kamala
They should set up a committee in the House to investigate these unamericans who refuse to call her Dr.
Good read as always. I grew up in Lenexa, just a few blocks from Hickoks Johnson County land claim. The land he claimed has been developed into neighborhoods and a park named after him. He was sheriff of Monticello which was just northwest of Lenexa. Monticello was later annexed by Shawnee. They literally built a dump on the Eastern side of Monticello.
*Sensible chuckle*
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EpsFJtwXYAMHyrx?format=jpg&name=medium
That’s one of those life is beautiful moments, isn’t it?
Yes.
I want it to be real and not photoshop.
For $10 bucks you can get one of those made at your local print n’ mail shops. Though I suspect putting it anywhere would lead to a 3am no-knock raid on your house.
Reminded me of Sean
Fact check: False. Too much bread and the coffee isn’t black.
Wrong type of bread.
Three eggs.
The bacon is too crispy. Needs to be thick and limp… I’ll leave that for the impending comments.
You are dead to me right now.
I am a thick and limp kinda guy also, with the fat melting in your mouth on each bite. Take that euphemism for whatever it is.
It’s neither the size nor the crispness. It’s what you do with it.
LJW is right, Praise be upon him.
False: Sean would have the pistol turned the other way so it was easier to grab.
No cheese?
And only one egg, if we’re getting into details.
More American
https://dennys.id/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/slams-grand-slam-slugger-768×432.jpg
Drop the pancakes and double the hash-browns and I am game.
The beauty of build your own.
According to the news media for the past two-weeks, that is too libertarian and is what is ruining our country.
Has libertarianism ever not been the boogeyman? From Hoover being FDR-lite in actuality but getting portrayed as a do-nothing villain of vain small government purity, to the “madman” Goldwater who was going to plunge us into war (?) unlike LBJ, to Reagan being slightly to the right of Carter but having ruined our economy by deregulating it, to the “Constitution is not a suicide pact” of Bush and Cheney, to the present day “freedom = death” message, I think we can say two weeks is understating things.
On the other hand, the ideal is still celebrated in the cultural zeitgeist; make of that what one will.
The subtext and nuance was always there I agree. Now its being laid bare and parroted in print/internet/media as much as possible. I think a couple factors is that people that just are in the middle that don’t want to be engaged in politics look at what is happening and maybe some are thinking, wow, our governments have too much power over our lives!
Cue up the propaganda machine and make it the “libertarian leanings” that is causing us to wield this power!
/tin foil hat off….OR IS IT?
Yeah, when I was a kid, I loved pancakes, but now I can’t stand those gobs of tastelss batter. I would add some toast with either butter or jam to replace the gobs.
Apparently our old friend Dr. Neil “2.2 Million Americans dead” Ferguson has overcome his banishment for breaking quarantine to bugger his married girlfriend and was a key figure in the government’s “guidance” on the new COVID mutation.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9073767/Professor-Neil-Ferguson-key-role-Boris-Johnsons-dramatic-U-turn-Christmas.html
What the hell does a guy like this have to do no longer be credible enough for these sorts of jobs?
Because he says the things the government wants to use as justification? Why would we listen to Fauci? Brix? Same reason. They provide the SCIENCE! background they need.
Support Trump.
Professor Neil Ferguson quit SAGE after being caught breaking lockdown rules
But he has now returned to work on the government’s advisory body Nervtag
Group found new coronavirus variant was 70 per cent more transmissible
The findings were instrumental in Boris Johnson’s U-turn over Christmas plans
The authorities in South Australia had a more credible reason to proclaim the emergence of a new virus mutation based on one guy’s lie about a pizza than the Brits.
Robby the Fire made a really valid point that the COVID Creeps at NYT walked right into. If the claim is that we still need to have the masks and lockdowns after the vaccine, because you could still spread the disease even if you’ve been vaccinated, then the _only_ reason to get the vaccine is if you are worried about getting sick, since it won’t provide the “herd immunity” effects that you are supposed to get from having a lot of people vaccinated.
You can’t possibly think reasoning with these people is going to have even the slightest amount of effectiveness? We’ve been in the FYTW zone since April. We’re under the Fauci model: “do what you’re told.”
We could just re-code all COVID deaths as any of the usually multiple other possible causes they have and declare this pandemic over regardless. We are at the point where the numbers for people under the age of 70 are on par with what is generally the case for respiratory illnesses, and the numbers for those over the age of 70, while still statistically exceptional, are nevertheless confounded by age and comorbidities. Continuing this charade is a choice, and it is a choice based on fear not data.
No shit. I’ve said it before, but my dad’s death was a COVID statistic…never mind his stage 4 cancer and renal failure but they get their 1-more-death they can chalk up to ratchet that fear.
Sorry to hear about your dad.
I think it’s wrong to use a person’s death, which they (apart from suicide) cannot control, and over which they have no say once they’re gone, to bolster an argument, even if only “statistically”. The religious fervor has gotten to such a pitch that anyone who dissents, or disobeys, or even expresses some level of skepticism, is labeled a killer.
Those two thoughts had a connection in my head. That connection being, that you can’t question this rhetorical tactic.
Yep I got ya!
I’m still trying to parse my bosses politics on the matter, he seems anti-vaccine and pro more government stimulus. Seems an odd mix to me.
“Don’t tell me what to do, just send me $”
He doesn’t like being inconvenienced, but does like free stuff?
So says we all *distant chants of >50% of Americans*
At least he isn’t going on about how the vaccine is made from dead babies that they knew the exact number of that they had to have, so of course abortions were abortionists are in on the vaccine and Joe Biden never got sick because he was already vaccinated with the dead baby vaccine! like my mom and her boyfriend were droning on about at our family Christmas. It feels like there is no one sane left (present company included).
I was glad my Dad tested negative. Instead he goes into the totally ignored Rhinovirus death statistic. You know, ignoring the late stage alzheimers and the pneumonia.
In some cases, they aren’t overcounting the covid deaths, my Dad’s lists rhinovirus the 3rd cause down. So its proper to have it on the page. Except for the gunshot or car accident cases, then its freaking fraud.
My dad had MS and died of a UTI…county coroner (elected official in our county) initially listed his COD as Muscular Dystrophy (which he did not have). It’s people like that making these calls all the way down.
Yeah I am all in favor having SARS-cov-2 related pneumonia on his DC, it was a factor somewhere and maybe escalated his conditions, but not the cause. I am just speculating that the state of California though jumped right over those first two major factors and used the last.
Or they just don’t care about the other two because there are no politics to win with it.
@Tejicano, you are probably not here in the middle of the day in God’s Chosen Time, but you might have a taker on that forklifting in Japan business. Her eyes lit up like the fourth of July.
Sounds kinkey.
Her eyes lit up like the fourth of July.
War on Christmas continues.
When I lived in Europe I saw lots of ads for waitressing opportunities for young ladies in Japan. This sounds even more suspicious.
Still working through the morning links…
I thought it was funny that they used the term ” making donuts.”
Were they ‘doing pot’ while ‘making donuts’ too?
More importantly, was it Time To Make The Donuts?
RIP Fred the Baker
He died in a tragic street racing accident, too, didn’t he?
I’m watching the video, linked by one of you fine folk earlier, about the Armenia/Azerbaijan war and the astounding advantage afforded by lots and lots of cheap UAVs. This is big and could send armored cavalry the way of the battleship; like the rise of the attack helicopter, but much, much bigger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDmDi_QN3kE&feature=emb_logo
Thanks for the direct link, new ways of War, who knew?
If there is only one thing we can say about Man, is that we are very creative in thinking up ways to kill each other.
like the rise of the attack helicopter, but much, much bigger.
or, well, smaller.
BMW trying a new social engagement campaign.
BMW USA
Dec 9
Tell us you drive a BMW without telling us you drive a BMW.
WatchJRGo
Every light on the dash is on, planned rod bearing failure, complete cooling system replacement.
6:25 AM · Dec 11, 2020·
Winner comment from Jalopnik:
“To be fair, not every light on the BMW’s dash is illuminated. The turn signals have never lit up. “
It’s funny because it’s true.
Good article. Lots of new stuff to find even in what one used to think of as an old story “everyone” knows.
What a tragedy that Indiana has been pumping guns into the mostly peaceful state of Illinois for over 150 years! Those Flatlanders never had a chance once the Illinois streets were flooded with sentient firearms.
That time the Dodgers Brawled with the Cubs Fans
I’ve been watching this guys reviews. Great Stuff, always 3-5 min so not a long time commitment, and just the right amount of Sarcasm but you can still tell that he loves the game.
OMG! I’m dyin’. I’m not really a fan of sports in general, so when a sport related thing comes along and sucks me in, I get excited about it.
https://youtu.be/HGC2qc24OWQ