It’s Friday, October 13th, 2017…but before we begin, review the following meme:

Then consider the ignorance of the facts which lead to its creation: (1) The FACT troops not on guard duty at Ft. Hood were PROHIBITED from carrying weapons; (2) the FACT those on guard duty were NOT ALLOWED to carry their weapons locked and loaded, i.e., in a non-lethal condition; (3) the FACT Major Hassan was only able to perpetrate his act of terrorism inside the crowded classroom because the Army’s policy preventing troops from carrying sidearms assured him he was shooting unarmed targets; and, (4) the FACT the Obama Administration refused to describe his dastardly deed as the act of Islamist terror which it was, instead inexcusably terming it “workplace violence”, as if a postal worker had suddenly realized the uselessness of his existence.

Conclusion: Dimocrats, at every level of government, aren’t on our side!!!

Now, here’s The Gouge!

We lead off the Friday the 13th edition with the latest from Kyle Smith writing at NRO, as he details…

The Hollywood Conspiracy of Silence

It’s nearly impossible to believe the big stars who say they didn’t know about Harvey Weinstein’s revolting acts.

“Accepting the 2005 Oscar he won for gaining a few pounds and being tortured in Syriana, George Clooney made the case for Hollywood as America’s moral conscience:

You know, we are a little bit out of touch in Hollywood every once in a while, I think. It’s probably a good thing. We’re the ones who talked about AIDS when it was just being whispered, and we talked about civil rights when it wasn’t really popular. And we, you know, we bring up subjects, we are the ones — this Academy, this group of people gave Hattie McDaniel an Oscar in 1939 when blacks were still sitting in the backs of theaters. I’m proud to be a part of this Academy, proud to be part of this community, and proud to be out of touch. And I thank you so much for this.

Leaving aside that, on the night she won her Oscar for Gone with the Wind, McDaniel was in fact made to sit away from her colleagues at a table against a far wall, where was Clooney’s moral conscience for the 20 years he was silent about the serial sexual predator who was running amok in his own industry? How can Clooney, Meryl Streep, and their peers continue to claim America’s moral high ground when they simply shrugged at what was going on with their pal Harvey Weinstein?

Their excuse — “We didn’t know” — doesn’t cut it. Clooney’s Ocean’s Eleven-Twelve-Thirteen costar Brad Pitt knew very well what Harvey Weinstein was up to. Pitt had once threatened to give Weinstein a “Missouri whooping” after the producer sexually harassed his then-girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow in the 1990s. All of those months the pair spent on sets together, they never thought to compare notes on Weinstein’s behavior? Another Ocean’s buddy, Matt Damon, personally called up Sharon Waxman, then a New York Times reporter, to intercede against a story that would have been unflattering to Weinstein. Was Damon also not curious about what was going on with his producer-mentor? Did Damon also never talk to Pitt on the set of the Ocean’s movies? Or on the set of The Departed, which Pitt produced and Damon starred in? Or maybe in between takes on Happy Feet 2, in which Pitt and Damon played a zany pair of gay crustaceans?

Note the curiously limited wording of the denials from Damon and Clooney, though. Entertainment reporters, tending to be both a) in awe of their subjects and b) unschooled in Washington-style spot-the-loophole weasel talk, haven’t quite nailed down what either of them knew. “We know this stuff goes on in the world,” Damon said. “I did five or six movies with Harvey. I never saw this. I think a lot of actors have come out and said, everybody’s saying we all knew. That’s not true. This type of predation happens behind closed doors, and out of public view.” “I’ve never seen any of this behavior — ever,” Clooney told The Daily Beast.

Of course Damon and Clooney never saw the misbehavior. When Weinstein wants a tête-à-tête with Ashley Judd in his bathrobe, Damon and Clooney aren’t going to be invited along. The question is, did they know what Weinstein was up to? Clooney insists, “I had no idea that it had gone to the level of having to pay off eight women for their silence, and that these women were threatened and victimized.” The comment seems to be limited to “these women” — the eight who were paid off. Like a politician, Clooney is answering a question nobody asked. Did he know Weinstein was inviting actresses to business meetings that turned into bedroom meetings that turned into sexual overtures with career implications? Weinstein has been, for more than two decades, one of the most-talked-about figures in Hollywood. Could news of such revolting acts really never have reached Clooney’s ears? It seems more likely that Clooney was part of a conspiracy of silence.

Movie Clooney is very interested in exposing the pernicious actions of oil companies (Syriana), chemical companies (Michael Clayton), TV hucksters (Money Monster), McCarthyism (Good Night, and Good Luck), and the masterminds of the first Gulf War (Three Kings). Real-life Clooney plugs his ears when people in Hollywood gossip about a subject that has evidently been a hot topic of conversation since Pauly Shore was considered a movie star. Weinstein’s habits were such an open secret they were joked about on 30 Rock and the Oscar telecast.

As for Streep, she no doubt believed she was speaking truth to power when, upon receipt of a career honor at the Golden Globes ceremony this year, she spent her entire speech heaving broadsides at President Trump. Does Trump constitute power in her world, though? It isn’t like Trump can do much of anything in response except send a couple of grumpy tweets. Power, to Streep, is someone like Weinstein, someone who could cast her or not cast her, possibly even influence the hiring decisions of others. And Weinstein’s skill in campaigning for Oscars is unparalleled. He was widely credited for winning her a third Oscar for The Iron Lady, notably by Streep herself, who said in her acceptance speech, “I want to thank God — Harvey Weinstein.”…”

This is directly akin to Joe Paterno’s silence in the face of Jerry Sandusky’s debauchery.  As for Streep, Damon, Pitt, Clooney and the rest of Hollywood whose only claim to fame is their “supposedly” brilliant acting ability, akin to John Wilkes Booth, we say…

In a related item, we present the purported conscience of Progressivism urging women to..

Not to mention participate in his Juggy Talent Contest:

And we’re to value his input on healthcare…or any other policy imposing monumental impacts on the rest of the country?!?

Yeah,…

Since were on the subject of conspiracies, in his latest offering at Townhall.com, Stephen Moore instructs us…

Why Sports and Politics Do Not Mix

“…One of the most amazing revelations about the shameful and unpatriotic antics of NFL players who are taking the knee (or even lying on the ground stretching) during the national anthem has been the near-universal approval by sports journalists. The left has infiltrated the locker room, and sports commentators now all think they are social reformers and muckrakers.

Exhibit A is the recent Sports Illustrated cover story “A Nation Divided, Sports United,” which glorified the insulting behavior of the NFL players and their blatant disrespect to those millions of heroes — black and white — who have served our country in the military. Apparently, Colin Kaepernick and his fellow kneelers are modern-day Jackie Robinsons.

The issue is a celebration of professional athletes who insult the fans who pay their munificent salaries. The tone of nearly the entire issue, as stated in its first story: “Stick to sports? Not possible when the passions stoked by protests and the president threaten to subsume the games themselves.” It is the protesters, not Donald Trump, who stoked these fires months ago, and it’s the acts of protest that are subsuming the games.

This is nothing new from Sports Illustrated. Nearly every issue since November 2016 has taken gratuitous shots at Donald Trump.

Even worse has been the swift decline into the liberal sewer of the USA Today sports page. Once upon a time, you had to get USA Today for the sports section. Now the sports page barely has room to give you sports news — you know, box scores or game summaries — because the editors have to make room for left-wing social commentary.

The two lead features writers are Nancy Armour and Christine Brennan. Armour regularly writes about the sins of capitalism and how it is “intertwined with racism.” She recently excoriated Tom Brady, sermonizing that he “no longer gets a pass on his friendship with Donald Trump.” Why? Because, Armour tells us, “the country is boiling over in rage and indignation at Trump’s decision to turn America’s back on refugees.”

Actually, I don’t remember the country boiling over in rage. But this is a woman who tells us that the Trump campaign was “steeped in racism, bigotry, and misogyny.” We get it, Armour: You don’t like Donald Trump. But the election is over. Your candidate lost. Get over it.

What does any of this have to do with sports, for goodness’ sakes? These opinions belong on the op-ed page, not the sports page.

This is the ruination of sports entertainment. Sports offer an escape (Or at least they once did!), a respite from the politics and problems of the world. I think I speak for millions of sports fans: I don’t want to turn to the sports page and get lectured about race relations. And I don’t care about Brittney Griner’s sexual orientation or with whom she’s sleeping. I just want to find out if the Cubs won last night. I guess that makes me a bigot.

If Sports Illustrated, ESPN and NFL linebackers want to protest what an unjust and sexist society America is, they have every right to go to the public square and express themselves until the cows come home. All we can do as fans is exercise our freedom to turn them off — as millions of Americans (ourselves included) are doing. After 40 years, I finally canceled my subscription to Sports Illustrated.

If someone starts a politics-free sports magazine — that entertains and informs us about, well, sports — it will make millions of dollars.

Here’s the juice: between the Nuts Who Say Knee…

…and the NFL Head, Neck and Spine Committee’s Protocols Regarding Diagnosis and Management of Concussion, we predict professional football as we know it is out of business within 20 years.

And though we’d never thought we’d say this…until now…good riddance to bad rubbish!

Speaking of the blind leading the blind, courtesy of Tom Bakke, American Military News relates how a…

Former West Point professor’s letter exposes corruption, cheating and failing standards

Robert Heffington’s letter comes after weeks of controversy at the military academy.

“The following letter was written by retired LTC Robert M. Heffington as an open letter. Heffington was an assistant professor at West Point for several years, until this past August. The letter has been circulating for a few days in private among the military. Heffington confirmed to American Military News on Wednesday that he did write the letter, and he sent a signed copy.

He wrote the letter in light of recent media coverage of 2nd Lt. Spenser Rapone, a West Point graduate and infantry officer who recently came under fire for his public advocacy and support of socialism and communism, and being an “official socialist organizer” of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

The broader conversation that has been taking place in the military community now is what exactly went on – and goes on – at West Point that a graduate such as Rapone would feel so strongly empowered to apparently be a socialist and/or communist and spread these doctrines.

Heffington says the Military Academy turned a blind eye to Rapone’s behavior and his “very public hatred” of West Point. While this doesn’t mean leaders at West Point defend Rapone’s views, it means that West Point’s senior leaders “are infected with apathy: they simply do not want to deal with any problem, regardless of how grievous a violation of standards and/or discipline it may be,” Heffington writes…”

The letter can be accessed through the link at the headline above.  But even if LTC Heffington’s account is only half true, it paints a very sad and scary picture…though one which really doesn’t surprise us after eight years of the influence of Obama and his sycophants in the senior military.

Heaven help us if we have to fight a real war!!!

And in the Environmental Moment, courtesy of Jeff Foutch, Breitbart.com informs us how…

Renewable Energy Is Bigger ‘Scam’ than Bernie Madoff and Enron

“The greatest scam being perpetrated against taxpayers and consumers is renewable energy, according to a new analysis published by the Australian, greater even than Ponzi, Madoff and Enron.

While sinking enormous financial resources into propping up renewable energy prospectors, national governments are providing no perceptible benefits to their citizens, writes Judith Sloan, a renowned Australian economist who has served on the Australian government’s Productivity Commission.

“With very few exceptions, governments all over the world have fallen into the trap of paying renewable energy scammers on the basis that it is necessary, at least politically, to be seen to be doing something about climate change,” Sloan writes, before providing readers with an avalanche of economic data to back up her assertion.

…According to Forbes, on a total dollar basis, wind and solar together get more from the federal government than all other energy sources combined, despite the fact that neither is anywhere close to self-supporting. Wind has received the greatest amount of federal subsidies. Solar is second. Based on production (subsidies per kWh of electricity produced), however, solar energy “has gotten over ten times the subsidies of all other forms of energy sources combined, including wind,” writes energy expert and planetary geologist Dr. James Conca.

…One of the more pernicious side-effects of the enormous government subsidies for renewable energy, Conca found, is that they actually increase the cost of energy. This cost, however, is transferred from the energy consumer to the taxpayer, “and so goes unnoticed by most Americans,” he stated.

While during the period between 2010 and 2014 nuclear energy cost about 4¢ and 5¢ per kWh to produce, solar energy cost between 80¢ and 100¢ per kWh, or 20 times as much to produce. This despite the fact that nuclear energy is “as renewable as wind” but doesn’t enjoy the same star status among environmental activists…”

Which brings us, appropriately enough, to The Lighter Side:

Then there’s this series of humorous signs, courtesy of our sister-in-law Amy:

Finally, we’ll call it a week with the If You Lay Down With Dogs, You Get Up With Fleas segment, courtesy of an unfortunate 79-year-old dementia sufferer whose senior facility was evidently far too lax on security and way too close to water: 

Woman who swam in crocodile-infested creek feared dead

This headline brought to mind the meat-scented zebra outfit we bought TLJ to wear around the camps at night on our trip to Africa:

Bon appetit, Simba!

Magoo