Author: Kim du Toit

The Last Appeal

Patronage

I know that everybody loves free ice cream, and certainly the past has proved that more than a few people enjoy the flavor of my ice cream to the point where they have made a financial contribution to the running of this place.  I cannot express my gratitude adequately for this generosity.

Nevertheless, the reality I face is that at some point, New Wife will have to retire from her job.  She is already well past the “official” age of retirement, and only her nigh-indispensable skill and dedication to her employer has enabled her to keep working there.  But that is going to end at some point in the near future, for the simple fact that she’s finding it harder and harder to cope.  I won’t go into details, but she is after all a cancer survivor, with all that that horrible condition entails.

This means that we would have to depend completely on my Social Security, which is not enough for us to keep going.  My family have all indicated that they are willing to support us as much as they are able, but there is a limit to that because none of them are that well off, and they have their own families to support as well.

I don’t have to tell anyone how difficult it is for senior citizens, even qualified ones like us, to get a job — any job — in today’s America.  But that’s what we face.  (When I’ve looked for work, incidentally, I’ve been greeted with incredulity by the dozen or so people I’ve spoken to so far — even though I’m physically fit not just for my age but for any prospective employee.)  And the ones that would accept me, for example as a carer for the elderly and infirm, don’t pay enough to make a difference to the situation, especially when the resultant reduction in my already-inadequate SocSec is taken into account, as it would.

I’m not the only one in this predicament, of course, but quite frankly I’m the only one I care about at this point.  Survival makes one selfish.

So I’m going to be exploring several avenues by which I can derive some kind of income from my writing — not the frenzied rants, hate speech and febrile diatribes which you all know and love, but actual writing of the intellectual / literary ilk.  The details are not yet finalized but are well in motion.

All this will, however, take some time to reach fruition, so I’m going to have one last fundraiser here over the next month,  because the funds are desperately needed, as always.

To start the ball rolling and to show my seriousness, I’m going to have a fire sale of almost all my guns, keeping only a couple for absolute self-defense needs.  (The hell with fun shooting;  even at the discounted range rate, that’s going to have to stop completely.)  If you’re interested, email me ([email protected]) for details.  (For obvious reasons, I’m not going to publish a list here.)  Even this treasure is going to go:


…in (of course) .45-70 Govt.

We are both proud people, New Wife and I, which makes it harder yet for me to do this.

But here we go.  Over the next month, please make whatever contribution you see fit via the usual conduits:

As I stated above, I’m hoping that this will be the very last time I’m going to be doing this, so please be as generous as you can afford to be.

And as always, many many thanks for all your support, both now and over the past couple decades.

P.S.  And please don’t read anything deeper or ominous in the above.  This website isn’t going to disappear, for starters.

Classic Beauty: Grace Kelly

Classic Beauty

So much has been written about Princess Grace of Monaco a.k.a. Grace Kelly that I’m not going to bother with any kind of commentary.  Let’s just feast our eyes, shall we?

And in glorious Technicolor:

Still the best example of classy beauty, after all these years.

Wasted Money

Bureaucracy, Foreign Affairs, Good Stuff, Trumpism

I see that the Department of Labor, not to be outdone by other federal departments in Extreme Chainsaw Activity, has done The Right Thing:

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has canceled nearly $600 million in grants to foreign countries in another round of major funding cuts.

John Clark, a DOL official appointed by President Donald Trump, directed the department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) to axe all 69 of its active grant programs on Wednesday due to a “lack of alignment with agency priorities and national interest.”

Quite what the Department of Labor was doing in giving money to furriners in the first place… well, we all know the answer to that one.  [humming the tune to “The Internationale”]

And seeing as the U.S. is no longer part of the international socialist collective — or at least we’re heading in that direction, at long last — there’s no reason for us to fund the wellbeing of foreign workers anyway.

One particular item did catch my attention, though:

“$3 million for ‘safe and inclusive work environments’ in Lesotho”

I’ve been to Lesotho several times, know the place quite well in fact, and for three million bucks you could probably buy the country’s entire industrial infrastructure, pay the workers a fat cash bonus and still have some money left over to  gamble  invest in a couple of their casinos.

Of “$3 million to ‘enhance social security access and worker protections for internal migrant workers’ in Bangladesh”, we will not speak.  (It’s a Muslim country;  let the fucking Arabs pay for it.)

Similar arguments can be made for all the other useless items.  Read the article for the full flavor of the wastage, and if you have specific knowledge of the circumstances of any of them, feel free to comment.

In the meantime:

Chopped Liver

Africa, Foreign Affairs

I see that POTUS has made his nomination for the position of U.S. Ambassador to South Africa:  Brent Bozell.

Now just one cotton-pickin’ minute here, Boss.

I have long been an admirer of the redoubtable Brent, who did such sterling work during the Dark Times (circa the various Obama Administrations), but nowhere in his curriculum vitae  have I seen any experience in terms of Africa in general, and South Africa in particular.

I’m sure his intentions are good, mind you, but I think the U.S. is going to need someone with better credentials than Bozell’s to deal with this bunch of “former” terrorists in proper fashion.

I would therefore ask the Senate to vote Bozell down, and force POTUS to nominate someone more experienced.  But who?

Well, I have family there, still have extensive business contacts as well, and even met the current Prime Minister some time back.  Furthermore, my loathing for apartheid should provide all the credentials that  this bunch of homicidal Marxist thugs  the South African government might require.

And the Ambassador’s residence / U.S. Embassy happen to be located in a very pretty part of the country, too.

I wouldn’t be too worried about my personal safety, either.  Quite apart from my [ahem]  own resources, I’m pretty sure that the USMC would be up to the task.

Just a thought.

Be Still, My Beating Heart

Anarchist thugs, Good Stuff, Law and Order

From the Trump Administration:

Attorney General Pam Bondi warned against committing acts of vandalism or terrorism against Tesla products or other Elon Musk-owned properties.

Bondi said those committing those acts would face the full brunt of federal law enforcement without the possibility of plea agreements.

That thumping noise you hear is that of my heart, having burst right out of my ribcage, doing a

around the house.