The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Rolf Stoll

 

This is a painting by Rolf Stoll (1892-1978). Stoll was a German American artist who was a major figure in the Cleveland School in the twenties through the forties. It is a large work, 40 x 44".

I sold this painting eleven years ago, to a woman in Santa Barbara, for a good sum of money. I think it is one of the most powerful paintings I have ever sold. 

Why? There are several reasons. There are various narratives at work here; there is a master servant relationship, notice the patrician figure with the pearls being served by a dark skinned maidservant with a fertility symbol on the necklace around her neck and a bowl of fruit that suggests fecundity. Let's call this the classist dyad. There is also an obvious underlying racial and miscegenation component that leads one to wonder about the fact that they are both naked and the possibility of a sapphic sexual relationship that might exist between the two figures of varying shades.

All of these dueling narratives create a lot of dynamic tension yet the piece is rendered in a classical, renaissance manner that softens it and makes it extremely charming to me.

Stoll did some very provocative work but this might be his best, or at least it is to my eye. Reminds me of George Tooker a bit. Tooker meets Caravaggio.

In any case, the woman is downsizing and wants to sell it back and I agreed instantly. 

I love the canvas and always wanted to see it again.

I talked to a major curator about the painting last week and he was hesitant. And also talked to a big shot art wheeler dealer today who also was nervous about it. Why, I asked? The first man said the painting was very loaded, whatever that means.

What the man said today floored me. He said that museums might be reluctant to have the painting because a possibly straight man painted a canvas depicting a pair of nude women who might be gay and that is deemed appropriation by today's standards.

Seriously? Has it come to that? Are we in an age where only women can now paint nude women? Has the woken generation fixed its perfect millennial eye on the artistic masters of the past and will Picasso and Lautrec now be forever banished to the locker room for their sins and perfidy?

I have a client who is interested in the work, I am not really sweating it. I just find the colloquy quite disheartening and grotesque. Perhaps I should have seen it coming.

I predict that a very strong person will end up with this painting. It would not be a good fit for the intellectually weak psyche.

A brief bio on Stoll from AskArt courtesy of Spanierman Gallery LLC:

Rolf Stoll was born in Heidelberg, Germany, in 1892.  As a boy, he attended a military academy, during which time he developed an interest in art. He received his early formal training at the Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart.  He emigrated to the United States in 1912, settling in New York City.  A decade later, after studying at the school of the National Academy of Design and supporting himself by working as a commercial artist, Stoll decided to leave New York. Upon the recommendation of Warren Pryor, one of his teachers, he decided to move to Cleveland, Ohio.

After arriving in Cleveland, Rolf Stoll continued to work as a commercial artist.  However, in 1926, he joined the faculty of the Cleveland School of Art, where he taught drawing.  Two years later Stoll was appointed head of the school's portrait painting department.  A talented portraitist, Stoll's sitters included industrialists, community leaders and many prominent members of Cleveland and Ohio society, as well as over twenty faculty members from Case Western Reserve University.  Stoll also gave portrait classes at the John Huntington Polytechnic Institute from 1926 to 1953.  In his male portraits especially, he was admired for his ability to convey the dignity of his sitter's professional position without sacrificing individuality.  As noted by one contemporary reviewer, Stoll was a "master of rich color, a searching student of human types, a forceful portrayer of all that the face reveals of the mind and the soul." [1]

In addition to his activity as a portraitist, Rolf Stoll painted figure subjects and floral still lifes.  He was also known for his views of the Ohio countryside and Canada.  Stoll also painted views of Spain and depictions of Spanish peasants, inspired by an extended trip to that country (1926), during which time he was entertained by the famous Spanish portrait painter, Ignacio Zuloaga.  Moving easily between oil and watercolor, Stoll worked in an direct realist style, combining his characteristic firm draftsmanship with the use of simplified forms and decorative color.

Rolph Stoll was a member of the Cleveland Society of Artists, the Cleveland Print Club and the Kokoon Art Club.  He exhibited his work widely throughout the United States and was the recipient of numerous awards and prizes.  Stoll also had important solo exhibitions at the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts (1928) and at the Cleveland School of Art (1927, 1936, 1943).  Following his retirement from the Cleveland School of Art in 1957, Stoll moved to Lake Worth, Florida, where he painted depictions of flowers and fruit until his eyesight failed.  He died there on 19 November 1978.

Representative examples of Stoll's work can be found in major public and private collections throughout the Midwest, including the Cleveland Museum of Art; the Dayton Art Institute; the Toledo Museum of Art; the Nebraska Arts Association; and the Columbus Museum.  Stoll also produced a number of murals including a WPA (Works Progress Administration) for the United States Post Office in East Palestine, Ohio.

Cowboy Junkies - Anniversary Song

Chugging along...

Things are moving forward a little bit in my world. McDaniels sold their maintenance unit, the new guys just mowed my fields. All good. A good house painter just came and applied some much needed to paint to a few places where it was sorely lacking. Taxes are paid for another year, yuck, but we did it. Leslie has a new mini fridge in her shop. Cars have had needed maintenance.

We are making some progress towards normalcy, not quite there yet but have to give ourselves a pat on the back.

We're coming up on our thirtieth anniversary of marriage on the fifteenth, quite a few of you attended. 

Can you believe that it has been that long?

Happy to have made it this far, very happy to be married to my wife. Marriage isn't easy, especially when there is illness and financial difficulty.

Yet we have stuck it out and I am glad. Easier to quit. But we love each other.

We are going to our favorite restaurant for our anniversary, Pampelmousse in Del Mar, after an afternoon whale watching.

They have been seeing all kinds of whales off the coast, including a blue whale on April 6th.

I look forward to getting out on the water.

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Loved this story, chimps and herbs.

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Ancient typeface rides again.

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Donald's Story

Not so woke

I fall into that funny little gray area between woke and asleep. Or so I like to think anyway. Those that live on either fringe have a way of pissing me off.

Look at this headline on Huffington Post today.

Mean old rich white guy is standing in the way of a historic black candidate, or so the headline intimates. I hate to sound like an asshole but is this what we have come to; forget about merit and let's just give it to the candidate because she is a black woman? Is that all the criteria that is required here?

I don't know either of these individuals, reading the article they both seem quite capable. My problem is with how the article is spun and the narrative is framed. Is there a liberal thumb on the scales here or what?

I believe that this is why the Democrats are losing such a wide swath of support across our country. Things should matter beyond their income, the color of their skin or their gender. White males are not inherently evil and should not have to pay reparations of any kind.

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Last night Hamas operatives fired 14 rockets and mortars at Kerem Shalom, a checkpoint that was allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza, killing three Israeli soldiers and wounding others. 

Will the progressive demonstrators at colleges throughout our land now celebrate the deaths of these horrible Zionist occupiers and will they decry the shutting down of the aid checkpoint as more proof of Israeli inhumanity?

Yes and yes.

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And then there is this.

A student group from Columbia Law reportedly declared that no Jew is "safe" or "free" until Palestine is free.

In an email allegedly sent by Columbia Law’s National Lawyers Guild organization on Friday, the group condemned the school’s administration and the NYPD for clearing out Hamilton Hall after it was occupied by anti-Israel protesters.

Responding to Jewish critics, the group insisted that they did not speak for "all Jews" and argued Jewish safety cannot be assured until Palestine is "free."

Robert's Chicken Piccata

I made chicken piccata last night. 

Our parents loved piccata, marsala, scallopine and dishes like this and so do we.

My wife said that it was one of the best things I have ever made but she says things like that so that I will feel good. 

In any case it is a simple dish and easy to make and I thought that I would share my version with you.

As you can see, I served this with pappardelle. 

One of the toughest things for me as a new chef who came to cooking late in life is timing dishes and side dishes.

You hate waiting for something to cook while other things get cold.

 I often misjudge.

In order to improve my timing, I had everything assembled mise en place, ready to go when called upon.

Four cloves garlic minced, four tablespoons butter diced into smaller cubes, one tablespoon capers coarsely chopped. Half a lemon cut and squeezed into a small bowl.

The first thing I did was to pound approx. 2 lbs. of chicken filets between wax paper with a wooden mallet. I cut them into manageable portions. I then took one of my nice new old restaurant platters and salted and peppered both sides of the chicken. I drizzled olive oil on the filets, worked it around with my hands and then dredged them in a seasoned flour mixture, coating both sides.

We started the water for the noodles. The pappardelle should take approximately twenty minutes and if everything went to plan, it all would be ready in a perfectly syncopated crescendo.

I pulled out my largest calaphon saucepan and put two tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom, swirling it around on medium high heat. I seared half my chicken in the olive oil for two minutes and then turned it for thirty seconds on the other side and then removed them to a waiting plate. 

I repeated with the remaining chicken. For some reason the second batch always browns better than the first batch, not sure why. I cheated and added a cube of butter to the oil and added a little more oil too to finish the bird.

After all my poultry was removed to the clean plate I added my garlic and another splash of oil and reducing the heat, allowed it to cook for about two minutes and golden up a little. My god, does this dish smell good.

I then added a third of a cup of white dry cooking wine that we keep for such an occasion and a third of a cup of chicken broth (my secret ingredient). 

I deglazed the pan, using the beautiful new acacia spatula that I had bought for just such an occasion to loosen up the flavorful bits on the bottom.

I let the liquid cook down and evaporate to practically nil for about two minutes and then added a half cup of water and my butter, swirling it around and mixing aggressively so that the butter would meld with the water into a thick emulsion. 

This took about a minute.

I put the chicken back in the pan and made sure to both cover the filets with liquid but also to turn them after a minute.

My sauce looked a bit thin. So I added about a quarter cup of half and half into the sauce to thicken it, removed it from the heat and mixed in my approximately two tablespoons of lemon juice. Some recipes call for whole cream, some omit it entirely, I thought it needed it.

I checked it for salt and taste and actually it didn't require anything.

I plated our dinner, scooping sauce over the now cooked pappardelle noodles and added parsley that Leslie had chopped on top. Bon appetito!

Voila. It was perfect.

We paired it with a 2015 bottle of Tuscan wine that Leslie had put away for just such an occasion, a Casone a Toscana. 

Dessert was a haagen daz bar.

I have now made chicken piccata on numerous occasions, sole piccata and veal piccata.

If my wife says this was the best dish yet I will take her word for it. 

The chicken was perfectly cooked, juicy and flavorful.

We can't wait for leftovers tonight. 

We are going to add mushrooms and give it a little twist.

Sweet shade tree

A few years go we were visiting our friend's Bob and Shela at their lovely home in Encinitas and became enchanted with a tree in their yard.

Not only did it have lovely leaves and foliage but it possessed the most beautiful, plumeria like fragrance.

We knew that we had to buy one.

We ended up finding one and planting it between our home and the towering redwood in our back yard.

I guess that it has been in the ground for about three years now.

We know that, in a brief matter of time, the lovely scent will be wafting right up into our upstairs kitchen window.

Bob mentioned that it can get rangy so we also know that we will have to trim it a bit from time to time.

But it is a welcome addition to our garden.

The sweet shade (Hymenosporum flavum) is a native of Australia, principally Queensland and New South Wales. 

But it also can be found in New Guinea, in the rainforests.

It was introduced to California in 1900 by the Italian botanist Dr. Franceschi, in Santa Barbara, where many magnificent specimens are still found. 

It can get about forty feet tall and half as wide.

Other common names include Hawaiian Wedding Tree and Queensland Frangipani.

Neat tree!

You might want to pick one up. 

One smell of its blossoms and you will be hooked.

Show Biz Kids

Rick Derringer on slide guitar.

N. Dixon Fish

My friend Dixon Fish has been creating the window displays at the Fallbrook Art Center since day one. The long time Fallbrook resident is a painter, a set designer, a master printer and a long time teacher of art.

He really doesn't get enough credit for his artistic contributions at the Art Center but they are always wonderful!

I love the piece that he created as an advertisement for the current sculpture show.

Revolving on an armature base, it is the perfect assemblage of shapes and colors, all made out of found objects. Not an easy thing to do and pull off so well. 

But it is perfect, geometrically, from every angle and vantage.

A better form than 90% of what is passed off as modern art these days.

I hope someone brings it home one day and that it doesn't end up in a dustbin. It is pretty awesome!

Thank you, Dixon.

The Mint Cafe

I've been a little frantic getting ready for the upcoming Grass Valley Old West Show.

Grass Valley is a long way away, not really looking forward to the drive.

About ten hours.

 Usually takes me a day and a half to set up, I get three hours at this one.

Going to have to try to throw it together. Might not even put paper or lights up.

I will give it my best shot, as always. Been spending money like a fool, need to get some back in the coffers.

I drove to Los Angeles the other day to pick up silver I bought from auction, paintings, western items for Grass Valley and make a couple more stops. Spent eleven hours or so driving, hit all the nice L.A. traffic. 

But I think it will be worth it.

One of the cool items I picked up was this menu from Juarez, from the Mint Cafe. 

I believe that it dates from the 1920's. 

The Mint was a rather celebrated and notorious saloon and eating establishment, second perhaps to only the Tivoli.

I found a 1929 photo of it online.

Harry Mitchell was apparently the proprietor, along with a man named E. Fernandez. "Home of the special fizz."

The reason that I find this fascinating is that I lived near Juarez from 1963 to the beginning of 1969, both in Las Cruces and El Paso.

While I don't remember the Mint, which was no longer around, my family used to frequent an establishment called the Alcazar in Juarez for special occasions and it was perhaps the coolest bar I have ever been in. 

I was just a kid but my memories are vivid.

Wine poured out of bota bags and through the air on to spoons in your mouth from six feet away, filet mignons wrapped in bacon, the place was off the charts. Beyond festive.

And it was cheap. 

Here is a look at the menu, from about the time we were there.

Also take a look at the menu for the Mint.

Hare, not just duck but also mallard duck, goose liver, black bass (totauva), sand dabs (in Chihuahua?), Lobster Newburg, tongue, eggs scrambled in brains, caviar. The place must have been incredible. In fact, I don't know a restaurant in America today that could rival this menu for sheer variety.

How did they source all this food? I was interested to see jelly omelets on the menu, my dad made them for us when we were kids.

And look at the Whiskeys and Sherrys. Amazing. All highballs made with imported ginger ale. My kind of place.

I did a little more research. Places like the Mint flourished when Texas banned alcohol in 1918 and the bars moved to Mexico. Good article here.

High rollers in fancy clothes sashay between several elegant gambling spots and smart restaurants.

Las Vegas? No.

The scene is Juárez during the “Golden Era” of the 1920s.

Waiters in their net white jackets and black bow ties knew exactly how many inches a linen tablecloth should drape above the floor.

Bartenders rarely served lowly beer. They made lavish mixed drinks for high-class patrons who savored the taste and aroma of the liquor.

Harry Mitchell

After prohibition ended in 1933 Mitchell moved back to El Paso and opened a brewery, his golden vaca now completely milked.

I don't wax nostalgically too much for my time in El Paso, but these places in Juarez were pretty cool. 

Avo Rehash

Fallbrook is a fairly evenly divided community politically. 

At one time it was much more conservative but for the last decade or so it has tended to split more down the middle. 

I am a down the center guy and lately feel pretty much party less, not happy with the machinations of right or left, but that is a story for another post.

Most of us have friends across the ideological spectrum, I surely do. Viva la difference. 

Many of my best friends are arch conservatives, hey, at least they have an opinion. 

I have shared laughs and conversation with the Fallbrook Republican Women's Club as well as the most left wing progressive folks you could imagine.

Honest political discourse is good. 

Parking a truck in front of your business with a "Fuck Joe Biden and the people who voted for him" banner is not. At least in a small community like Fallbrook.

Point of the story: I was out of town during the last Fallbrook Avocado Festival, somehow I have managed to miss the last twenty or so. But I received several texts that told me that the first thing you saw when approaching the festival from the south on Main Avenue was a big MAGA booth in front of Ace Hardware.

Now we have always had Fallbrook Democratic Club booths and Fallbrook Republican booths and even an occasional John Birch booth or float at these sorts of things. All well and good. But MAGA? Why not just say, welcome to the Klan meeting? 

And if you have to give the Let's go Brandon folks a booth, why not in the middle of a row, why the first thing you see upon approach? 

Many people already equate Fallbrook with the late Tom Metzger and white supremacy. His presence will certainly never be forgotten here. The positioning of a fringe right group at the entrance to the festival reinforces a false notion about the character of our town. It is needlessly divisive and polarizing. 

Who really knows if the ultimate positioning of the MAGA booth was a random or intentional act? I know for a fact that it made some people feel uncomfortable, who knows if they will come back? How would conservatives feel if there was a NAMBLA or Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence booth? I can only guess.

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I asked Lila at the Chamber about this yesterday and she said that she had heard similar complaints from others. She said that it was not her decision, she contracts the logistics of the festival to a company called Kennedy that does Street Fairs in the area and it was their call. But she didn't sound real happy with it either.

I hope that people show better sense in the future.

Roxy Music - Out Of The Blue

Hits and misses

I guess I will cool down on the politics and talk about food. Politics upsets my stomach. 

I usually talk about fabulous food, let me talk about some disappointing meals first. People told me about this great new restaurant in Bonsall, the Backdraft. 

I went over there with Alex Evans, marginal, pedestrian at best. I had a greasy burger, burgers are far better at Main Street Cafe or Greek Chicken. Nothing redeeming, whatsoever.

No need to go back.

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I drove up to Asian Seafood Buffet one day after a medical appointment in Murrieta.

The sushi was great, especially the salmon. The custard cups were tasteless, the rest of the meal sort of blah.

I don't know why but I usually leave this place feeling not so great. I think I will be a bit more discriminating next time I go, but it will be a little while. Maybe just stick to sushi, which is really good.

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I had heard about the taco truck in front of the old Pizza Hut. I went down there for a birria taco and some other things.

Not impressed.

Richie's was not great. Looking forward to great birria tacos at the end of the month when I am back in Torrance, Tacos El Goloso.

I wanted to like it.

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We have had some good meals too.

Leslie and I went back to Todo par la Cruda in the barrio. Thy were out of posole, I had birria. Didn't know it was so loaded with onions.

It is funny, hated onions most of my life but I can tolerate them now. Leslie can't.

I really like this place - the food, vibe and ambience.

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We went back to the Northern Thai Mae Sai place in Temecula with Jim and Stacy the other night.

It was great. 

We had Khao Soi, thai sausage, a pork noodle dish and a papaya salad.

I showed him my blog and he was so happy he gifted us Mango sticky rice with purple rice .

Really delicious!

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I can't think of much more, beyond Rosa's, my mainstay, of course.

And my own baking.

Leslie asked for scones with cherry and chocolate.

I made them, per her request, with walnuts. Simple, but what she wanted.

We used dried bing cherries. I was okay with the final result, she said best ever.

You see, my wife is a chocoholic. I thought the chocolate was overwhelming for the fruit. To each his or her own.

Two nights ago I made a blueberry, cherry, cranberry scone with hazelnuts, walnuts and dried ginger. 

Everything but the kitchen sink. 

More like a fruitcake. 

I am pushing the confectionary envelope here.

Because I can.

Not my best effort but I liked it.

Tell you the truth, can't wait for fresh peaches again. I think my peach scones still rule!

Jerry Portnoy

More of the same

To paraphrase Walt Kelly and Pogo, they have met the enemy and he is us.*

U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar recently made it clear that she doesn't want to eradicate all the Jews. In fact she cares about them, honestly she really cares, no matter if they are pro-genocide or not.

"We should not have to tolerate antisemitism or bigotry for all Jewish students whether they are pro-genocide or anti-genocide."

I love her equanimity here. She is dividing them up into two distinct classes but graciously extending her love towards all.

Still, I am a little confused. I admit that I live in a rather sheltered and distant backwater but I have yet to meet a Jew who was "pro-genocide."

I have, however, seen evidence that many of the Gaza supporters and citizenry believe that killing baby Zionists before they become adult Zionists is an admirable act.  

The military on Tuesday published a recording of a Hamas terrorist who took part in the October 7 onslaught in southern Israel bragging to his parents of slaughtering Jews, as Israel continues to put out further details from the murderous assault earlier this month.

In the call, the man can be heard excitedly telling his parents that he is in Mefalsim, a kibbutz near the Gaza border, and that he alone killed 10 Jews.

“Look how many I killed with my own hands! Your son killed Jews!” he says, according to an English translation.

“Mom, your son is a hero,” he later adds.

His parents are heard praising him during the call. Identified by his father as Mahmoud, the terrorist says he is calling his family from the phone of a Jewish woman he’s just murdered, and implores them to check his WhatsApp messages for further documentation.

“I wish I was with you,” the mother says.

Khymani James

And echoed by people like Columbia protest leader Khymani James.

“Zionists — they are Nazis. They’re Nazis. They’re fascists. They’re supporters of genocide. Why would we want people who are supporters of genocide to live? I’m confused. “Zionists along with all white supremacists need to not exist because they actively kill and harm vulnerable people. They stop the world from progressing. And so be glad, be grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists,” he said. “I’ve never murdered anyone in my life and I hope to keep it that way. I genuinely hope to keep it that way.“But when you have a whole bunch of Zionists and white supremacists and Nazis and fascists threatening your physical safety, one feels the need to remind them that one is not afraid two reach that point. And we know what that point is.”

Well thank you for that Khymani. Zionists and White Supremacists need to not exist. 

Okay, then.

Hamas has, of course, long called for the eradication of Jews. 

Hamas official, Hamad Al-Regeb in an April 2023 sermon: He prayed for “annihilation” and “paralysis” of the Jews whom he described as filthy animals: “[Allah] transformed them into filthy, ugly animals like apes and pigs because of the injustice and evil they had brought about.” Al-Regeb also prayed for the ability to “get to the necks of the Jews.” 

I could go on and on citing similar statements but will spare you. Clear words of genocide are written into the Hamas Charter. I suggest that you believe them.

The hour of judgment shall not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them, so that the Jews hide behind trees and stones, and each tree and stone will say: 'Oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him,' except for the Gharqad tree, for it is the tree of the Jews. (Hamas Charter, Article 7). 

When I hear people like Representative Sara Jacobs equivocate and defend anti-semitic speech I get very angry. 

"I do not believe that anti-Zionism is inherently antisemitism. I support Israel’s right to exist, but I also know many people who question whether Israel should exist as a Jewish state who are deeply connected to their Judaism." Rep. Sarah Jacobs

She is cutting a little too fine a line here, if you ask me. Jacobs voted in the minority against just such a bill yesterday, on Wednesday, May 1, that is called the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023.  She said the measure “would stifle and restrict free speech in an effort to combat the rise of antisemitism.” The measure passed the House by a vote 320-91.

She is not alone of course. Many young and some older Jews that I know are donning kaffiyehs and trumpeting slogans about the right of Gazans to violently resist the Zionist occupation. They rightfully anguish about innocent deaths in Gaza but totally forget about the initial atrocity in the Negev. Because those people obviously have it coming.

I have long noted my antipathy for Netanyahu and for Israel's failure to enter into a good faith two state solution. His lack of empathy for the killing of innocent Palestinians and aid workers in Gaza in order to achieve his "victory" is horrific and lamentable.

But anyone, and especially any Jewish person who fails to see that Israel's right to exist and to defend itself is in jeopardy here is deluding themselves and has been completely co-opted. The birth of Israel did not occur in a vacuum, it occurred while the stench of the ovens at Auschwitz still rose thick into the air. The Jews of Europe and those who faced the Mufti's persecution in the Middle East had nowhere else to go.

My grandfather fled Poland in the early 1920's and came to Palestine, the land of my father's birth. My grandfather was a founding member of the Histadrut and built the first electrical grid in what was to become Israel. The great majority of my father's family in Wyszkow were not so lucky and perished in 1945. I am lucky to be alive.

Partitions and two state solutions were rejected on numerous occasions by an Arab population who preferred on at least three occasions to try to annihilate Israel by force.

And now, mere months after launching a cowardly attack on unarmed kids at a rock concert in the Negev that killed over 1200 innocent victims, they are asking to be rewarded for the vile behavior promulgated by the Hamas leaders they duly elected in Gaza.

The Palestinians actually get paid to kill jews. Even jews as young as 14.

On April 12, less than a month ago, 14-year-old Binyamin Achimeir was brutally murdered and his body mutilated by a Palestinian terrorist in the Binyamin region north of Jerusalem. Achimeir was a shepherd, and was set upon and killed while out with his flock. 

Ten days later, Ahmed Dawabsha, 21, was arrested and admitted to slaying the Jewish youth. Dawabsha will likely face life in prison (though who knows if he’ll one day be released in a Western-compelled “goodwill gesture” by Israel), but he’ll be paid handsomely for his trouble.

According to a calculation by Palestinian Media Watch, which has extensively documented the Palestinian Authority’s “pay-for-slay” policy, Dawabsha stands to receive over 5.6 million shekels ($1.5 million) by the time he’s 75 as a prize for killing Achimeir.

Jailed Palestinian terrorists are paid on a weighted scale based on the duration of their incarceration.

Over the first 15 years of his prison sentence, Dawabsha will receive nearly 700,000 shekels ($187,000).

The next 15 years will net him a cool 1.5 million shekels ($400,000).

At that point he reaches the highest tier in the pay-for-slay scheme, which is a monthly salary of 12,000 shekels ($3,200). That’s about an average monthly salary in Israel, and an absolute fortune in the Palestinian Authority.

This is all paid by Foreign Aid. Ain't it beautiful? Where is the censure from the progressives about pay to kill?

Such useful idiots on the left, especially the Jewish progressives at J Street or Voice of Peace who know little of the history of the region and don't understand that they would not even be alive if the opposition had their way and the roles were reversed, can protest at the colleges and wear their kaffiyehs like fashion statements de jour. 

They can blindly parrot the hate speech of Tlaib and Omar and Khymani James. 

Discuss the fine line between hating Jews and Israelis. 

Make a list of the good jews and bad jews for future reference. Hey, it's been done before, right?

Later they can plead ignorance for their stupidity and willingness to join the ranks of Islamic Jihad. But by then it will probably be too late.

And if you are the sort of Jewish kapo that believes in the right of violent resistance against young Israeli children as a way to further Palestinian aims, well, we will remember that too.

Pick your friends wisely.

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A play on words, Steve, not verbatim...

Love this...

 

motorhead - let it rock

Tuesday afternoon

 When all the English had tails.

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Ricardo sent this - Storytelling and PsyOps. I read Cordwainer Smith when I was a young man. A bit too real and prescient.

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Lena sends word of the Blue Rock Thrush up in Oregon.

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Cruella and Kristi - Petri

Thanks, Mel!

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A Nuanced view of Israel - Yair Lapid

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A Doctor at Cigna Said Her Bosses Pressured Her to Review Patients' Cases Too Quickly. Cigna Threatened to Fire Her. - Pro Publica

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Revealed: Tyson Foods dumps millions of pounds of toxic pollutants into US rivers and lakes.

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A couple thanked me today for turning them on to Renegade Nell on the Disney Channel. Leslie and I watched the last episode the other night and really hope that there is another season.

Historical fantasy is not everybody's bag but it does float our boat on occasion. This series is set in 1705 Tottenham England.

Disney + also has a great series on Octopus right now, check it out!

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This woke busybody babysitter was fired after telling the kids she was watching that their native American Halloween costumes were cultural appropriation.

Sad state of affairs when kids can't even play cowboys and Indians without some self righteous millennial spoiling all the fun.

Sounds mean but I am glad she lost her job. Next time m.y.o.b.

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Speaking of minding your own business. Kansas voters overwhelmingly voted for abortion rights but the GOP won't stop interfering in their decisions. 

Under the newly signed HB2749, abortion seekers will now have to answer a series of personal questions before undergoing the procedure, including questions asking them if they have been raped, if they have an abusive partner, and if the pregnancy is the result of incest. Reproductive rights advocates say the survey is overly intrusive and potentially traumatizing. 

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Columbia protesters demand juice and snacks.

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