SNL is funny again? Who knew? youtube.com/watch?v=_3QMSVD_…

Amerigo Vespucci and the Naming of America In the late 1490s, a sharp-witted Florentine merchant named Amerigo Vespucci left the ledgers of the Medici bank for the decks of ships bound across the Atlantic. Born in Florence in 1454, he had the education of a Renaissance man—geography, astronomy, and the practical sense of someone who had handled money and maps for powerful families. When news of Columbus’s voyages reached Europe, Vespucci saw opportunity. He joined expeditions that pushed farther south than Columbus had gone, along the coast of what we now call South America. On those voyages, something clicked for him that had not yet fully registered for others. Columbus still believed he had reached the outer edges of Asia. Vespucci, watching the coastline stretch endlessly southward, noting the stars, the people, and the sheer scale of the land, reached a different conclusion. In letters he wrote around 1502–1504 (especially the famous Mundus Novus letter), he described these lands as a novus mundus—a New World. Not islands off Asia, but a vast, previously unknown continent. Those letters traveled fast. They were vivid, confident, and easy to copy. Printers in Europe turned them into pamphlets that ordinary readers could buy. One of the people who read them was a young German cartographer and scholar named Martin Waldseemüller, working in the town of Saint-Dié in Lorraine. In 1507, Waldseemüller and his collaborator Matthias Ringmann published a slim book called Cosmographiae Introductio (“Introduction to Cosmography”), accompanied by a large wall map of the world. In the text, they made a bold suggestion. Because Vespucci had so clearly recognized and described the new lands as a separate continent, they proposed naming it after him. They Latinized his first name—Amerigo—into the feminine form America, following the tradition of naming continents after women (Europa, Asia, Africa). On the map itself, the name “America” appeared across the southern portion of the newly drawn landmass. It was not an official decree from any king or pope. It was the idea of a mapmaker who liked Vespucci’s writing and thought the name fit. But maps have power. Once the name was printed and the maps began circulating, “America” stuck. Within a few decades it was being used for the entire double continent, not just the southern part. By the time Vespucci died in Seville in 1512, the name he had never claimed for himself was already spreading across Europe. The irony is that Vespucci was neither the first European to reach those shores nor the most famous explorer of his day. Columbus had arrived earlier and received the greater glory in his lifetime. Yet it was Vespucci’s clear-eyed realization—and the letters that carried that realization—that convinced a cartographer in a small French town to put a version of Amerigo’s name on the map. From a merchant’s observations and a printer’s decision in 1507, the Western Hemisphere acquired the name it still carries.

In two weeks, TDS will likely transition into GOPDS (Grand Old Party Derangement Syndrome). I'm getting pretty wound up about this upcoming vote! Will the Democrats get shit stomped? I "surely" hope so!

Look at this ad made for the Steve Hilton (@SteveHiltonx ) campaign to get him elected as Governor of California and let me know if you smiled through it, too. rumble.com/v7h2x42-steve-hil…

If you've ever wondered what "Star Wars V - The Empire Strikes Back" would look like with a $20 dollar budget, here's your answer...and yes, it's hilarious! youtube.com/watch?v=SS1M7Sce…

The true-to-life movie "Rudy (1993)" was not as true-to-life as the movie led us to believe. I KNEW IT! I've played organized football, and something smelled fishy when I watched this movie! It's nice to once again been proven correct in my instincts about pop culture. Even NFL Hall of Fame inductee Joe Montana has discredited the climax of the film. He was there, after all! Poor Dan Devine. A true-to-life great coach who Hollywood turned into a villain for us to despise. How pathetic! intelligentfly.news/rudy-mov…

Let's go citizens of Alberta, Canada! Show the Canadian communists how serious you are today!

It's Spreading! More than 150 schools in Northern Ireland have receive “Islamist” bomb threat Wow...are we still going to call these uprisings "riots"? It looks like Ireland is about to "explode". endtimeheadlines.org/2026/10…

Horrible Tragedy in Ecuador During Catholic Mass in Guayaquil (Viewer Discretion Is Advised) Father Patricio Alfredo Sánchez Molinari, C.Ss.R. (also referred to as Patricio Sánchez), a 52-year-old Redemptorist priest, died on Saturday, October 17, 2026, after a large wooden crucifix fell on him during a livestreamed Mass at the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro / Perpetuo Socorro) in Guayaquil, Ecuador. He was the parish priest there (Central Vicariate of the Archdiocese of Guayaquil) and a member of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists, CSsR.), an order founded in 1732 by St. Alphonsus Liguori. Born November 6, 1973 (in Cuenca, according to some reports), he made his religious profession in 2000 and was ordained on October 15, 2005. His ministry included service in Loja, Durán, Vinces (where he was a pioneer of the Redemptorist mission and longtime parish priest of San Lorenzo, working in rural areas), Manta, and finally Guayaquil. Colleagues and others remembered him as a simple, calm, fraternal priest who was close to young people, involved with educational institutions, attentive to the sick, and a promoter of Eucharistic adoration. During the evening Mass (around the 27-minute mark of the livestream, broadcast on social media), a heavy wooden crucifix mounted on the wall behind the altar detached, fell forward, and struck him on the head while he faced the congregation. He collapsed; parishioners can be heard shouting for help and an ambulance in the footage He died from the injuries. The exact cause of the detachment is not publicly established; authorities and the church have not issued a detailed explanation. In a notable coincidence, his homily shortly before the accident reflected on the fleeting nature of life. He urged the congregation not to waste time on phones or trivial matters but to prioritize time with God and loved ones, noting that “one day, all of us here will also die.” The incident occurred around the time of the anniversary of his ordination (the archdiocese had marked it the day before). Cardinal Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera (Archbishop of Guayaquil) and the Archdiocese confirmed the death, expressing condolences; a memorial Eucharist was held on Sunday. The Redemptorist order also issued a statement of sorrow. (This video is not ghosted and shows the horrible tragedy unfold. NSFW...not appropriate for children...Viewer Discretion Is Advised)

These two Ninja products are not available here in Ecuador. 😒

I am registered to vote for this 2026 general election in Escambia County, Florida and my address is within the city limits of Pensacola. Currently, I'm hanging out in Ecuador, so in order to vote from here, I have to FAX my vote into the Supervisor of Elections. Per the instructions, since I'm faxing my vote in, my vote is no longer considered secret, so I've gone ahead and scanned in the images of my ballot, and the section of instructions that informed me of my vote no longer being secret. I lift this ballot up to God with a prayer that many people follow my lead and refuse to vote for Democrats...even in races where party affiliation is not listed. (There are several races like that on this particular ballot...so I had to do some digging to find the Democrats.) Remember, even though the GOP has sucked and thrown their base under the bus (especially recently), they are probably not DSA lunatics.

One of my favorite movies of all time is "When Worlds Collide" (1951). But it's missing a key scene and thanks to AI, that scene can now be better imagined.

This link loads the first article released after the landfall of Hurricane Isaias from Yale Climate Connections extreme storm experts, Masters and Henson....and my response to it. yaleclimateconnections.org/2… my posted comment to this article: "It was a bad idea to release this particular blog entry on this particular day...just a mere 14-hours after the official landfall Hurricane Isaias. Elements that were a part of this hurricane are still affecting a broad swath of the continental USA. There could still be unfortunate outcomes in the coming hours. We don't know. This article places blame on humans for making Isaias "severe". It's a "how we did it" piece. A thoughtful article should have been crafted that archives all the interesting graphics, videos and readings from the hurricane; along with aftermath imagery with locations so we can see where this storm did its worse. Instead, here's an article that BLAMES YOU for the reason this hurricane spun up like it did. YOU...specifically...are to blame. So my question is what are YOU going to do about it? The scientists have judged you guilty. What's your response to them? Are you going to keep burning gas? Are you going to keep buying things made of plastic? Are you going to stop buying phones, computers, cars, and food? These are serious questions. Is there anyone here who can seriously answer them, or is this Disqus forum nothing but an echo chamber of people too afraid to do what's PERSONALLY NECESSARY to save this planet from a terrible fate they believe is staring them in the face?"

If you're interested in THE BEST forecast for Hurricane Isaias, here it is. TROPICAL TIDBITS (Dr. Levi Cowen) - RELEASED AT 11:00 AM CST youtube.com/watch?v=RFMp7rCn…

Wow. Hurricane Isaias at sunrise was putting on a show!

Hurricane Isaias is beating the odds! Should be declared a major storm by the NHC in their next update.