The Village Hemorrhoid: January 2025

Friday, January 31, 2025

Random Political Social Media Posts

Friday Rides - The Good - The Bad - And The Ugly

Rare Rides: The 1970 Dodge Coronet R/T Hemi Convertible

The model line that ultimately culminated in this beast of a muscle car has its genesis back in the post-war auto-manufacturing boom and had two-distinct periods comprised of seven generations of designs.
Coronet translates to “Little Crown.” It was first introduced as a full-sized model in 1949.
For the 1970 model year, the Coronet’s front end was bequeathed a new look on all trim levels. The new design consisted of twin oval grilles colloquially known as “Bumblebee Wings” that encompassed the quad-headlights. The restyle resulted in what modern collectors and enthusiasts consider to be the most-iconic version of the Coronet.
The R/T was the choicest high-performance trim level, with the aforementioned raised-block 440 Magnum, 4-barrel V8 as the base engine. The 390hp 440 Six-Pack V8 (with three 2-barrel carbs) and 426 Elephant were also optional motors.
Power was transmitted to the rear via a standard-equipment three-speed 727 Torqueflite automatic with the shift lever located on the column or on the floor in an optional console. The A-833 four-speed manual was available as a “no-charge” option as well.

440 cars with the TorqueFlite came with an 8 3/4-inch axle assembly with a 2.94 or optional 3.23 final drive. Hemi automatics came standard with the 3.23. Four-speed versions received a larger 9 3/4-inch Sure-Grip with a 3.54:1 ratio.
Suspension on the R/T consisted of the heavy-duty Torsion-Aire package with a thicker front torsion and anti-roll bar than lesser trims, and beefed up leafs in the rear. One-inch hydraulic shock absorbers made their home at all four corners.
Dodge engineers blessed these powerhouse Coronets with a standard hydraulic drum brake system with 11×3-inch fronts and 11×2.5-inch rears. Power-assisted drums were optional as were vented front discs with 11-inch rotors.
Wheels consisted of stamped-steel, 14-inch units with “dog-dish” hubcaps wrapped in F70 whitewall or red stripe tires on 440 cars. Hemi-equipped Coronets received 15-inch wheels with F70 red stripe tires. All R/Ts could be outfitted with optional Magnum 500 wheels.
The R/T received additional external adornments including dummy rear-fender scoops with R/T badging. It was also repeated on the car’s nose and in-between the twin, segmented taillights. A contrasting “Bumblebee” stripe also circled the car’s rear deck and trailing end of the rear quarter panels. A power bulge hood was standard on 440 cars. Hemi cars commanded Ramcharger-style twin-scoop induction.
The R/T came standard with vinyl bucket seats up front, color-keyed interior carpeting, and a horizontal 150 mph speedometer.
The Rarest Of The Rare:
Despite all of these options, R/T’s did not fly off showroom floors. This can be attributed to the controversially styled front end and declining consumer interest in the Coronet in general. Only 2,615 Coronet R/Ts were produced for the entire model year. Of those, only 296 cars were convertibles, and shockingly only two were Hemi-equipped, making the 1970 Dodge Coronet R/T Hemi Convertible possibly the rarest muscle car ever made.
The other car was dressed in the unusual and rare FT6 Dark Tan Metallic paint with a white Bumblebee stripe, a matching dark tan interior, and a white convertible top.
This 4-speed car also had the Ramcharger hood with Hemi call-outs and pins, and was outfitted with the 15-inch Rallye wheels, Super Track Pack, chrome passenger-side mirror, power windows, power steering, woodgrain floor console with Hurst pistol grip shifter, vinyl front bucket seats, power front disc brakes, clock with “tic-toc” tach, and an AM radio with 8-track player.
The 4-speed car was subjected to a ground-up restoration for the owner by Mark Worman. It was extensively documented on his show Graveyard Carz. If you’re a fan of the show and Mark’s work, you know the car was brought back to a 100-point factory-correct condition.
While the 1970 Coronet was less than a hit at the time of its release, Dodge’s pain has been transformed in the past-50 years into a modern enthusiast’s gain. The two R/T Hemi convertibles are now considered amongst the most desirable muscle cars of the era, possibly of all time. Their estimated value of $1.5 million each certainly establishes them at the top of the heap of exclusive rare rides.

Random Political Memes/Cartoons Dump

NPR, PBS, And Voice Of America Eyed For Defunding, Reform

Politicians and those who have worked in the public broadcasting industry have criticized NPR, PBS, and VOA, claiming that they promote leftist propaganda on the taxpayer’s dime.
On Inauguration Day, PBS News posted on X a video clip of Telsa CEO Elon Musk with the caption, “Billionaire Elon Musk gave what appeared to be a fascist salute Monday while making a speech at the post-inauguration celebration for President Donald Trump at the Capital One Arena."
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., shared the PBS News post on X the same day, responding, “As the Chairwoman of the Oversight Subcommittee on DOGE, I look forward to PBS @NewsHour coming before my committee and explaining why lying and spreading propaganda to serve the Democrat party and attack Republicans is a good use of taxpayer funds. We will be in touch soon.”
On Jan. 21st, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted on X, “Free people aren’t forced to pay for state-funded media. Stop making Americans fund leftist propaganda. Defund PBS & NPR.”

PBS has a longer history of being criticized for biased coverage.
Michael Pack, president of Manifold Productions, Inc., told Just the News on Jan. 14th that his Iraq War documentary, The Last 600 Meters, was principally funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The corporation provides funding to both PBS and NPR. However, after initially accepting the documentary for air, PBS declined to air it for being “too pro-military,” Pack said.
The documentary just shows the Najaf and Fallujah “battles from the soldiers’ point of view,” he explained. “I was really shocked.”
Pack, who was CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media during Trump’s first term, asked again last fall if PBS would air the documentary for the 20th anniversary of the battles, but they “still didn’t want to.”

Last April, Uri Berliner, an NPR senior editor, resigned following a five-day suspension from the outlet he had worked at for 25 years. The suspension came after Berliner authored an essay that was critical of the news outlet's liberal bias. He blasted NPR’s coverage of the Russia collusion hoax and ignoring the Hunter Biden laptop.
“In October 2020, the New York Post published the explosive report about the laptop Hunter Biden abandoned at a Delaware computer shop containing emails about his sordid business dealings. With the election only weeks away, NPR turned a blind eye,” Berliner wrote.
“When the essential facts of the Post’s reporting were confirmed and the emails verified independently about a year and a half later, we could have fessed up to our misjudgment. But, like Russia collusion, we didn’t make the hard choice of transparency.”
The essay also reopened broader criticism of the organization, including criticism against the network’s CEO Katherine Maher, who has made controversial posts on social media. She has described Trump as “racist,” and appeared to downplay protests after the death of George Floyd in 2020.
Trump also called for defunding NPR last April.

A bill was introduced in Congress last April that would have defunded NPR. However, it did not make it out of committee.

Likewise, VOA has also had alleged issues of bias. Only days after Hamas’ murderous attack on Israel in October 2023, VOA issued guidance to reporters and editors that said the assault could be referred to as a terrorist attack, but to “avoid calling Hamas and its members terrorists, except in quotes,” according to internal emails.
Years earlier, as Trump began his first term in the White House, VOA reporters and employees shared social media posts that were politically biased against him and obscene.

Read much more at:
https://justthenews.com/accountability/media/public-funding-stake-npr-pbs-voa-eyed-defunding-reform-amid-alleged-reporting

Bills Vs Chiefs

I don't pay that much attention to Pro-ball anymore. I usually watch some of the playoff games and the Superbowl. The controversy over the Buffalo / Kansas City game has really gotten intense. I do post on Fecesbook and the battle of the memes and accusations has overtaken the timeline. I didn't pick a team to root for until right before the game and I picked Kansas City due to its location. It's NOT New York.

I'm glad KC won BUT I do think it's obvious some seriously controversial calls were made by the refs.

Random GIF Dump

I have a similar problem but it's not related to my horns ...

There's a saying that I'm sure all of you have heard. 'Stupidity should be painful.' In this case, it almost was.

Your lack of awareness is disturbing.

I knew it, everybody loves bubbles.

What did I tell you about hanging out on my corner, PIG.

They were sooo close to a frigid bath ... lucky, lucky.

If I were that redhead I would have been pointing and laughing.

I would snatch that weapon away from him and walk back to my vehicle and leave. No more lessons for you. You shouldn't be allowed to own a weapon. His shirt does say "CAUTION"

That is one wet ...uhhmm ... never mind.

Kitten stage ... one of the reason my wife has had more cats during our marriage than I can count. She is a cat lover.

Senate Confirmation Hearing For RFK Jr.

Half-time show brought to you by Pfizer and the LGBTQ? Dance Club.

https://x.com/BigFish3000/status/1884664877928616418

I'm Not Sure That I Want A 14 Year Old Guy Working On My Roof

Because you can tell if it's either a 14 y/o boy or a 30 y/o guy with a 14 y/o ideology. Make sure your 16 year old daughter isn't home during the repairs. (Could possibly be an altered photo?)