Chamblee54

Chamblee54 is normally a profanity free blog. However, for this piece, certain cuss words are essential to the free flow of information. In other words, IF YOU DON’T LIKE CUSS WORDS, YOU DO NOT NEED TO READ THE TEXT.
Once, when his blog was active, a radio whiner referred to a study, that said that one third of all people were not qualified to have opinions. This was said before a commercial break, without saying why this percentage should be without opinions. Possible reasons would be lack of education, inability to think critically, or a disturbing tendency to disagree with the person doing the study.
Opinion is derived from “opīniōn- (stem of opīniō), derivative of opīnārī to opine.” Opinion rhymes with rack and pinion, dominion, and virginian. The anagram of opinion is onion pi. The Power Thesaurus has 1,326 synonyms for opinion. Many are notoriously anal, like assumption. Or the sister of suppository, supposition.
“Opinions are like assholes, everybody’s got theirs.” The truth is, opinions have more in common with the waste that comes out of the anal sphincter, than the port of exit. Feces (thesis) is the product of food fed into the digestive system. Opinions are the result of information (and misinformation) fed into the thought system. Doodoo is influenced by the digestive system, like opinions are influenced by the attitudes, and thought patterns, of the individual. They all stink.
“Four Jews, Five opinions” is another crowd pleaser, like “You are entitled to your opinion.” The latter is usually said when you disagree with what you have just heard. When a Court of Law issues a ruling, it is called an opinion. Sometimes, a justice will write a dissenting opinion. When getting a provider to pay for a procedure, you often need to get a second opinion.
Opinions are frequently more valued by the giver than by the receiver. Some opinions are best kept to the owner. You should be wary of someone who feels that his shit does not stink, because he will usually feel the same about his opinions. You don’t have to have an opinion about everything. Many things are beyond or control, or do not interest you. Also, you should be wary of those who try to “fire up” your opinions. Often these people do not have the best of motives.
Opinions are seldom humble, no matter what the owner of the opinion might say. In fact, the act of holding an opinion is often self aggrandizing, and contrary to humility. Opinions are seen as a way of asserting ones individuality. Many people have lives of quiet desperation, full of struggle and turmoil. There are many situations where what the individual thinks is simply useless to the powers that be. In times like this, having opinions can restore a sense of self worth to the individual. I am somebody. I have my opinion. This does not mean that anyone is listening.
This is a repost with pictures from The Library of Congress. Edward H. Hart was the photographer, working for Detroit Publishing Co. “U.S.S. Brooklyn, after supper” The pictures, taken between 1896 and 1899, are more reliable than the text.

This is part three of my visitation with Fear & Loathing in the New Jerusalem, a podcast series about Israel and Palestine. FLNJ covers the time between 1890 and 1948, and was created by Darryl Cooper aka @MartyrMade. Other episodes are available: 041525 041825 042625 … Disclaimer This post is a greatly simplified view of what happened. For more information, you can listen to FLNJ, or google one of the many histories of this era.
April 19, 2025 I listened to FLNJ-5 on the morning walk without incident. This listening thing needs to go at a slower pace. Burnout is creeping in. The FLNJ story makes me think too much. So much of it corresponds to current events, controversies over historic events, and conflicts from my own life. I have eight hours to go on FLNJ.
There are several whatifs here. One involves the Ottoman Empire. Why did the OE ally with Germany in World War 1? If the OE had stayed neutral, or sided with the British and French, it would have changed a lot of things. When you deal with wikipedia level history, it simply seems like the Germans made the Turks a better deal than the British. See disclaimer above.
I spent much of saturday afternoon editing photographs, and listening to FLNJ-5. I don’t have a lot of product to show for it. Every few minutes, I would hear something the piqued my interest, and go looking for a transcript of it. A good example is this: 2:27:36 “Hitler never left those trenches you can see a few old pictures of Adolf Hitler sporting a normal mustache in the early days of the war the shortened mustache tucked under his nose that was a modification made in order to allow a soldier’s gas mask to seal against his skin during an attack”
Later, at 2:34:17, there was a long quote from Winston Churchill. “Just a month before Hitler was discharged from the German Army, in March 1920, Winston Churchill had published that editorial … called Zionism Vs Bolshevism … ‘the international Jews were engaged in quote a worldwide conspiracy for the overthrow of civilization. There is no need to exaggerate the part played in the creation of Bolshevism and in the actual bringing about of the Russian Revolution by these International and for the most part atheistical Jews.’
FWIW, Winston Churchill … who Darryl Cooper famously called the real villain of World War II … was a staunch supporter of Zionism. “… as colonial secretary in the 1920s, Churchill took steps that enabled 300,000 Jews to emigrate to Palestine … As prime minister, in 1941, he proclaimed that “I was one of the authors” of Zionist policy. Indeed, among the lengthy catalogue of criticisms of Churchill was that “He was too fond of Jews.”
April 20, 2025 I come in from my morning walk shaking with rage. FLNJ-5 is at 4:43:00. Israel has declared Independence, the British are leaving, and the Nakba is going strong. Darryl tells some confirmed stories of Israeli atrocities, during the ethnic cleansing of the Arab population.
I HAVE F$$$ED UP. I am not listening to FLNJ-5, but FLNJ-6. I should have looked closer at the screen. Apparently, when I switched from youtube to mp3, I started back with the wrong file. I suspected that something was up last night. At one point, there was a gap. First, we were at Hitler’s rise to power, which had obvious implications for the Zionist project. Next, it was 1946, and the Irgun terrorist movement was in full flower. After realizing my mistake, I think I understand why. I will find where I was in FLNJ-5, and start over. Unfortunately, when I get to the Nakba in FLNJ-6, I will have to listen a second time.
April 21, 2025 I am now 8 days into this project, one day longer than it would have taken Douglas Murray to record it. I am at 3:52:23 of FLNJ-5, and burnout is setting in. Files from other podcasts that I enjoy are piling up.
Monday morning means a new episode of “Blocked and Reported.” This week features Episode 257, Faux POC Poetry. I am part of a poetry community that is run by POC. This should be entertaining.
April 22, 2025 When I got back from my morning walk, I was at 5:21:11 of FLNJ-5. The various situations are not improving. Germany is lurching towards war, and the “final solution.” British Mandate Palestine is descending into chaos, with the elimination of Arabs on the horizon.
There are many, many things to learn from FLNJ-5. The Mandatory British Administration of Palestine is a disaster for the Arabs. An Arab revolt was suppressed by the British and Zionists, with the trademark cruelty of all anti-insurgencies. Torture, collective punishment, and limitless “collateral damage” are all present. An estimated 10% of the Arab population in Palestine died. The British Army is forcing Arab prisoners to ride on the hood of trucks, as human shields against land mines. The rhetoric of this era could have been spoken today.
In the early nineties, I read A Child of the Century by Ben Hecht, a journalist, screenwriter, and piece of work. During the last days of the Mandatory Government, Mr. Hecht became involved with the Irgun … a notorious para-military outfit in Palestine. Mr. Hecht proudly used the term “terrorists” to describe the Irgun. I read this during a time when Israeli propaganda made “terrorist” synonymous with Palestinians. The evening news was full of leaders saying the name Yassir Arafat, pause, terrorist. Using the t-word to describe a Zionist force struck me as highly ironic. FWIW, the term “terroriste” was coined in 1794, during the French Revolution.
April 23, 2025 This is #nationalpoetrymonth. Every day in April, I post a picture poem from my archives. Today it is In Jerusalem. The text is based on Ecclesiastes 1, and the pictures are “added value” shots of the American flag.
Whirleth about continually dim, Preacher was King over Israel’s fate, Have been before me in Jerusalem, That which is crooked cannot be made straight, I gave my heart to know how wisdom sings, Generation passeth away below, There is no remembrance to former things, Increaseth knowledge Increaseth sorrow.
A month after October 7, I was working on another poem, Cha Cha Part Two. One of the lines was “Ecclesiastical Abomination,” which rhymes with “Cultural Appropriation.” … FWIW, the poem was a celebration of white people who like to dance. … I was working on the pictures, and glanced at twitter. I saw a video of PM Netanyahu saying, there is a time for war. I began crying, and could not stop. By then, the exponential over-retaliation of Israel was all full display, for those who could see. This was truly an Ecclesiastical Abomination.
The FLNJ series runs 22:54:47. (FLNJ-1 – 2:21:05, FLNJ-2 – 3:18:52, FLNJ-3 – 1:44:03, FLNJ-4 – 4:25:58, FLNJ-5 – 5:35:43, FLNJ-6 – 5:30:07) Mileage may vary. Today’s pictures are from The Library of Congress. Russell Lee took the facebook picture in April 1941. “Saturday night in barroom. Southside of Chicago, Illinois” · selah

99invisible posted a show, The Bathtubs or the Boiler Room. It seems as though an NPR reporter likes to go places she is not supposed to be in. In the basement of the US Capitol, she found a bathtub, carved out of a chunk of Italian marble.
“The bathtubs were installed around 1860 during the expansion of the Capitol. DC is known for its swampy summers, and legend has it that senators could be banished from the chamber if they were too smelly. But lawmakers—like most Americans at the time—didn’t have indoor plumbing at home. They needed a place where they could wash up. So, the Architect of the Capitol ordered six marble bath tubs, each three by seven feet and carved by hand in Italy, to be installed in the Capitol basement—three on the House side, three on the senate.”
The tubs were imported from Italy, and sent to the port of Baltimore. They arrived just in time for the War Between The States. They were quite a luxurious item. Today, they are forgotten, surrounded by HVAC machines, with one covered with plywood and file cabinets.
Pictures are from The Library of Congress. John Vachon took the featured photograph in November 1937. “Pool Hall, Newport News, Virginia.” This is a repost.

This is a repost from February 2008. That was the year Barack Hussein Obama was elected POTUS. The middle name was frequently heard, mostly by people making subtle digs about the President. BHO was followed by Donald John Trump. Commode/man-who-pays-for-prostitutes is a poetic commentary on this controversial figure. The middle name of Joseph Robinette Biden did not inspire anything or anybody. … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Arthur Rothstein took the featured photograph in 1942. “Queens, New York Nursery school at the Queensbridge housing project. Child washing before lunch.” Research for this post used Wikipedia.
With the current controversy about the Middle name of Barack Hussein Obama, perhaps it is time for a look at the lessons of history. George Washington did not have a middle name. Nor the rest of the early Presidents. The first one to have a middle name is John Quincy Adams. J.Q. Adams is the first son of a president to hold the office. Many current observers wish he were still the only one.
Abraham Lincoln did not have a middle name. Ulysses S. Grant was born Hiram Ulysses Grant. Moving into the twentieth century, William Howard Taft was referred to by all three names. Herbert Hoover’s middle name was Clark. Perhaps that was the reason for the depression.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the first president of the modern age. For some reason, his middle name was frequently used, and the initials FDR became popular. Presidential initials did not become popular again until JFK and LBJ. After FDR went to the fireside chat in the sky, Harry S Truman became president. “S” stood for nothing.
The next president whose middle name was frequently used was John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Could this be a subtle dig at his Irish background, much as the current noise about BHO? As for Baines and Milhous, those both seemed to fit the personality of the man in the oval office.
After Tricky Dick was helicoptered out of the White House, the use of Presidential middle names went into decline. Gerald Rudolph Ford would be a good trivia question. George H.W. Bush downplayed his quadruple initials, perhaps knowing that many people don’t trust a man with two middle names. George W. Bush is frequently referred to by his middle initial. Some even refer to the current “War on Terror” as “World War W”.
In the 2008 election, we had a dark skinned man, with a Muslim middle name. We have a white haired republican, with the middle name of Sidney. Another frequent flyer candidate was a married woman, using her maiden name as a middle name. Her original middle name is Diane. In 2012, the losing candidate was Willard Mitt Romney. And so it goes.

Andy Warhol is quoted as saying that “in the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes.” This has become a popular saying. If a celebrity is getting tiresome, people will wonder when their fifteen minutes will be up. After hearing about fifteen minutes his entire life, PG began to wonder if Drella really said that. If you can’t be cynical about Andy Warhol … This is a repost.
Wikipedia is a good place to start. “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes” … appeared in the program for a 1968 exhibition of his work at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Sweden. Photographer Nat Finkelstein claimed credit for the expression, stating that he was photographing Warhol in 1966 for a proposed book. A crowd gathered trying to get into the pictures and Warhol supposedly remarked that everyone wants to be famous, to which Finkelstein replied, “Yeah, for about fifteen minutes, Andy.” Nat Finkelstein was a sketchy character, in the Warhol tradition. His version is suspect. The Swedish museum part is real.
“Andy Warhol’s first European museum solo show took place at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm from February through March 1968. Pontus Hultén curated the exhibition together with Olle Granath. The exhibition came with a catalogue that was, like the show, named ‘Andy Warhol’. Kasper König, who worked for the Moderna Museet as an intern of sorts in New York, developed a basic concept for the book. … After Warhol had given his approval to this first proposal, König proceeded to create a dummy. … When König returned his dummy to the Factory, Warhol scrutinized it carefully but made only a small number of changes. Contrary to what Warhol wanted to be popular belief, those who produced input at the Factory were carefully monitored. … The final edits on the dummy were made in Stockholm by Olle Granath. He compiled a small selection of Warhol quotes and aphorisms from a stack of books and clippings collected by Hultén and placed them in the book as an introduction before the image sections.”
“Sometime in the autumn of 1967, Pontus Hultén called and asked me if I (Olle Granath) could help him and the Moderna Museet to organize an Andy Warhol exhibition that was due to open in February…. An important part of the exhibition was the production of a book. It was not supposed to be an analytical catalog of Warhol’s work, but a book that conveyed his aesthetics without heavy texts. … One day, Pontus brought me a box, almost the size of a Brillo box, and told me that it contained everything written by and about Andy Warhol (today the equivalent would probably be two truck loads). My job was to read it all and present a proposal for a manuscript with Swedish translations. After a couple of nights of reading and taking notes I delivered a script to Pontus and awaited his reaction with great anticipation. ‘Excellent,’ Pontus said when he called me, ‘but there is a quotation missing.’ ‘Which one?’ I said. ‘In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes,’ Pontus replied. ‘If it is in the material I would have spotted it,’ I told him. The line went quiet for a moment, and then I heard Pontus say, ‘If he didn’t say it, he could very well have said it. Let’s put it in.’ So we did, and thus Warhol’s perhaps most famous quotation became a fact.”
“The exhibition in Stockholm attracted a relatively small number of visitors, due to the extremely cold winter, but also to the fact that leftist radicalization increasingly drove the Museets public to mistrust anything American or consumerist. There was no space yet for a more complex reading of Warhol’s relation to consumption. The book, however, became very popular: its enormous edition allowed it to be distributed in nightclubs and record stores, not only museums. A timeless update on the latest from New York, it first became a cult object, then a collectors item.”
Did Andy say that? Probably, but not definitely. Andy was shot by Valerie Jean Solanas on June 3, 1968, a few months after the show in Sweden. Andy survived, and had fifteen more minutes. Pictures today are from Pictures are from The Library of Congress. The 1927 pictures were taken at “California Beauty Week, Mark Hopkins Hotel, July 28 to Aug. 2, auspices of San Francisco Chronicle.”