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Is anyone close to where the flooding hit or knows a lot about the area? I’m trying to get a sense whether this flooding was predictable or completely anomalous. The pictures make it look as if the rise in level of the river was unprecedented. Was it an area that floods like this frequently or was this a 500 year event?
Thanks.
The mighty wizards of tech-wonder have restored my laptop to full power. I can once again perform miracles of tech-tacular blunder. And yesterday provided a fitting completion to my purgatorial labors. Now I can provide content (such as it is) to the site and its readers.
Now all I have to do is think of something interesting to pontificate about.
Hmmm.
Well, I better start thinking.
Another very long day. Nothing left in the tank. Here’s a Colter Wall tune.
Probably the most eloquent and witty voice on the Dissident Right is no more. Reports on X by authoritative sources say that the ZMan passed away last night of “natural causes.”
Of course, his most skeptical fans will wonder if the cause was completely natural. But I will certainly miss his writing and podcasts. He had one of the greatest speaking voices on the conservative side of the aisle (or “great divide” as he called it). And his knowledge of political and sociological affairs was impressive.
Although I differed from him on some of the conclusions he drew from his facts I had to admit he was well versed on the mechanisms that had created the dysfunction that he reported on in his posts.
He has a legion of devoted readers who commented religiously on his site and who will be hard pressed to find a new home to replace his haven.
Rest in peace ZMan.
Update:
Comment by ArthurinCali:
Sad news, especially how sudden it was. Zman was one of the inspirations to me to try my hand at writing. His analysis and podcast will be greatly missed by many of us.
Dunwich is a strange place. Although most humans here appear to be sentient, they’re not. Many of them continue to breath and move and even talk without even the tiniest shred of gray matter.
First Selectman Cthulhu called a town meeting last night and tried to explain why they should finally vote to accept the 2025/2026 budget during this third referendum. But regardless of how many citizens he ate, they would not agree to a budget. Finally after he was developing acid reflux, he asked them why they would not agree. Their spokeswoman was a vapid forty-something who stood her ground and said, “Why do we need a budget?”
Cthulhu was so flabbergasted by this lack of understanding that he dropped the six Whatleys he was about to swallow and just broke down and wept. Finally he composed himself and just walked off right through the south wall of town hall and hasn’t been seen since.
In his absence I took it upon myself to explain to this rube just how government worked. I explained that a budget allowed us a framework for stealing the public’s money and also provide a basis for increasing this theft on a yearly basis. This actually worked and she thanked me for the clarity of my explanation.
Seriously, this question was actually raised at a town meeting, “Why do we need a budget?” I think the millennials have reached that point where maintaining a viable civilization is very doubtful
I’ve been trying to figure out how to end my book. Today I’ve been reading the last third of the book to see if I can force an exit strategy into the story. The good news is I’m enjoying the narrative. It’s almost as if someone else wrote it. So that’s good. The bad news it’s taking a while to figure out a satisfying ending that leaves all the major characters with a satisfying “landing.”
But I’m glad I’ve re-engaged with the writing on a more robust schedule. I think the story is well written so it gives me motivation to get the darned thing out there. Onward and upward.
So, has Trump really ended the Iran/Israeli War? Well, here’s hoping.
Today is the first day of the new OCF editorial regime. I’ve noticed over the last year that the quality of my posts has been inconsistent. And I believe the reason for this problem is that sometimes I’m covering old ground again. I’ve said about all there is to say about some of the political issues of the day and I’m just banging the drum, so to speak.
And this is not a good thing to be doing. In addition, I really need to finish my book and get it published and see if fiction writing is something I want to do. So these two separate situations point me to a change in the way I run my website. I’ll continue to post the photo and quote of the day, same as always. As far as a daily post, I’ll put something up but if I don’t have a topic that’s truly crying out to be covered then I’ll put something else up. Maybe some photos that I like or a link to a song or a video that caught my attention. This will free up more of my time for fiction writing and it will prevent me repeating myself and boring the readers.
I think this is a good idea and I expect it to improve the site significantly. Anyway, I’ll give it a try and see how it goes.
The same people who gave us the George Floyd Summer of Thugs have returned with the Vance Boelter False Flag Insurrection. There is something seriously wrong with the people living in Minnesota. This guy Boelter previously served on Minnesota’s Governor’s Workforce Development Board, appointed by Governor Mark Dayton in 2016 and reappointed by Tim Walz in 2019. There are even claims that Boelter’s wife, Jennifer Boelter, worked as an intern for Tim Walz in 2010 when he was a Congressman.
Either this guy Boelter is trying to start a civil war or the people in Minnesota are just so randomly crazy that anyone is just as likely to be an advisor to the governor or a homicidal maniac or both. By tomorrow we’ll probably find out that Boelter has come out in favor of Palestine and the people of Minnesota have made him governor by acclamation.
So, somehow this guy gets access to a look-alike unmarked police cruiser, a police uniform and equipment (gun, taser, body armor) and goes on a killing spree; whacking high-ranking legislators and their families on a whim? I’m sorry. Minnesotans are just too crazy and stupid to be allowed to walk around loose. The whole state should be turned into a low-temperature nut house where Somalis and Scandinavians can torture each other in adjoining padded rooms between bouts of shock therapy and whole-body ice water immersion.
But none of this is a surprise. Tim Walz is a weird creepy man who should never have been elected dog catcher never mind the governor of a state. Every time he talks in front of an audience every other sentence is a misstatement or gibberish. The fact that Kamala Harris chose him as her vice-presidential running mate is proof that he’s a drooling idiot. She didn’t dare pick anyone with even normal intelligence for fear of making herself appear even stupider.
It remains to be seen just how close the relationship is between Walz and Boelter. If it turns out there’s a close connection then God help Walz. He’ll be fed to the wolves by his own party. They’ll probably impeach him and boot him out of the governor’s mansion.
And you know what? It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. After how he fanned the fires of the Geroge Floyd riots and caused untold damage to the people caught up in the violence and all the damage done afterward by the coddling of criminals, it would be poetic justice if he was kicked to the curb by his own people.
And even if he survives, the dysfunctional politics of Minnesota will continue to plague the people who vote for the race baiters and hypocrites there and lead to the psychopaths like Boelter who go slowly crazy in the cold and then erupt into madness and wipe out the very people they depend on for political favors and perks. Well, bad things come in threes. First LA erupts into chaos. Now Minnesota unleashes a mass murderer. What’s next? New York City sinks into the ocean? Stay tuned.
The stoic Epictetus is supposed to have said, “Freedom is the only worthy goal in life. It is won by disregarding things that lie beyond our control.” When I read up on what Epictetus thought was within our control it’s pretty small. All that’s under our control is our thoughts and opinions. Even our actions are constrained by the external world. So, this freedom he speaks of is internal.
It doesn’t seem to be much. But I guess if you live in a world where there is one Nero and a hundred million Romans without any real freedom you have to take what’s available. And who knows, some of the good emperors were stoics. At least Marcus Aurelius has been presented to us through his writings as one. Maybe he was.
Then what about our world? We brag that we are a free people. And compared to the Roman Empire I guess we are freer. But when I think of the direction, we are headed it’s not that much better and in fact because of the efficiency of our technology maybe eventually we will be more thoroughly enslaved than my ancient forebears on the Italian peninsula. In that case maybe I should consider the wisdom of Epictetus and his world view.
This all came up because I saw a quote that said something like, “Hopelessness is freedom.” I took it to mean that hoping for things that won’t happen is wasting your life. That the better way is to take the situation as you find it and work around it to accomplish what is possible.
This makes sense to me. I waited decades for things to go the way I wanted them to go and it only ever got worse. That’s because I thought that other people believed what I did. I thought that George W. Bush was a “conservative.” Well, maybe he was, by his definition. But reality wasn’t the same for him and me.
Now, Donald Trump seems more like what I hoped for. But Donald Trump isn’t the Emperor of America. He’s not even the boss. He’s just someone trying hard to fix things. I wouldn’t exactly equate him to Marcus Aurelius. I don’t think anyone who spent any time with Stormy Daniels could be considered a stoic. I don’t think he’d even qualify as an epicurean. He’s a well-meaning man trying to fix things by plugging holes in a collapsing dam. Will he succeed, even temporarily? It’s really hard to say.
Stretching the Roman Empire analogy way beyond recognition, the Goths are already over the Rhine and the legions are undermanned and poorly trained. So, things look pretty bad.
Maybe it is time to start looking within to see what can be done to make the best of a bad situation. The stoic viewpoint was an important part of the Christian philosophy that allowed something to survive the wreck of the Western Roman Empire. The Christians couldn’t become legionnaires and defeat the barbarians. But they could become monks and form a nucleus of knowledge and civilization to help the common people survive the chaos of the dark ages.
Maybe we will see something similar. Any help that is going to come in the future might have to come from ourselves. I’m not sure I’d express it as, “Hopelessness is freedom.” Maybe a better way to say it is. “The truth shall set you free.” Facing reality is the best way to make progress. See things for how they really are and you are less likely to be disappointed in how things turn out. Do I feel freer now? Maybe.
Ah, the whiplash sting of rejection. My manuscript has been rejected by Ark Press (see bold text below).
Thank you for submitting to Ark Press.
The Ark editorial team has reviewed your work and given it careful consideration. We appreciate the opportunity to review your treatment and manuscript, however, The Sniper isn’t right for us.
We would, however, love to see another project from you. The writing was quite good and the story kept us engaged. Please do keep us in mind in the future
Best of luck with your writing,
If I were a drinking man I’d probably go on a two-week bender and drown my sorrow in 180 proof rum. But the show must go on! I will gather up the jagged shards of my dreams and limp off stage to nurse my wounded pride and super-glue my shattered dreams of literary glory back together somehow.
I told Camera Girl of this crushing defeat. She told me to suck it up and stop whining. Not the sympathetic shoulder I was hoping for. In another age maybe I would have run off and joined the French Foreign Legion but I don’t think they allow enough free time for macrophotography and right-wing punditry in the Legion. Vive la France!
Well, it wasn’t all bad. They did say the writing was pretty good. I mean, maybe they were just saying that to soften the blow but I’ll take a positive spin on that and continue to work on finishing the book and then either get it published or self-publish it on Amazon.
Honestly, I was very glad that they got back to me. And I liked the polite and professional remarks they sent. I think a lot of publishers don’t even bother to send rejection letters anymore. So, an honest rejection is actually kind of comforting. But still, there is a disappointment when you don’t win the prize. But we know that what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. At least that’s what that crazy atheist said back a hundred and some odd years ago. And he should know because he went crazy and died!
So, the show must go on and all sadness and chagrin must be pushed aside and efforts must be redoubled. I intend to memorize a hundred new adjectives every week, take up MMA fighting and try my luck at swordfishing to increase my relatability with the reading audience. After all Hemingway did some of that stuff and he was very relatable. I wonder how good Camera Girl is at MMA fighting? She’s pretty strong and agile so maybe she would be a good sparring partner. But she is kinda mean and I can’t afford to be injured too badly before I get into the octagon with my real opponents. Maybe she’ll agree to fighting me blindfolded and with one arm tied behind her back. That seems reasonable. But just to be sure, maybe I’ll also tie her ankles together. Yeah, that would be good. I could definitely take her then. Alright, I love it when a plan comes together.