A SMAC in the Face #120:  The Unholy Trinity

By Dean McCleland in Jokes 1 Comment

Trump has no shame and no boundaries.  On 13 April he posted a dramatic AI drawing of himself as Jesus healing a sick man against a patriotic martial background and surrounded by his flock (his MAGA base).  This caused an immediate uproar from most Christians.

Although drowning in his declining mental capacity, he still has his showman instincts much like a dog will instinctively attempt to chase a cat till the day it dies.  Instead of apologizing, he attempted to create a new narrative by saying that he thought that it showed him as a doctor.  Really?  Ag Pleez!

Some saner heads advised Trump to pull the ad but the message from his executive was deflection.  JD adVanced the theory that Trump was just joking.  (Perhaps the J in Trump’s initials should rather stand for Joker.)  Sorry JD, but you’re just digging the hole deeper if not wider.  Your stupidity should disqualify you from being Vice President.  Oops, my mistake.  It seems as if stupidity actually is a bonus feature for the executive team.

To redeem himself further, particularly after his personal attacks on Pope Leo, he turned to dishonesty in portraying himself as a God-fearing Christian by getting his team, led by himself, to each read a few verses from each chapter of the Bible on TV. (So much for the separation of church and state.)

Ever since he started his drive to become president in 2016, he has co-opted Christianity and, somehow, they fell for it although he has routinely broken about 8 of the 10 commandments and the only God he worships is Himself.   (Oops, and money, and women, and …)   Hence SMAC thinks that the Fraud’s Prayer is appropriate.

The Fraud’s Prayer

Our Author of the Art of the Steal,

Bigly be thy fame.

Thy third term come,

Thy will be done

In America as it is in MAGA-Lago.

Give us this day your daily gripe,

And pardon us our sins

As you indict all those who hate you,

And proceed without hesitation

To deliver us from DEI.

For thine is the autocracy,

The power and the Old Glory,

For ever and ever,

MAGA!

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Pioneering Naval Ambitions

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Perhaps it was because the English speakers were strangers in a new land, that their entrepreneurial talents were unleased, but whatever it was, they displayed it in their many endeavours.  One little known fact was the attempt to establish its own maritime defence. In this case , the explanation could plausibly have been the naval attack on the settlement in 1799 by the French which highlighted the colony’s vulnerability.

Main picture: Firefight involving the La Preneuse

Continue reading

Port Elizabeth of Yore: David Doit-The Legendary Malay Whaler

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Better known as Darby, the Whaler, David Doit only appeared on the local whaling scene in the latter half of the 19th Century after having spent time in Grahamstown after his birth circa 1838. Doit obtained employment with the P.E. Boating Company as an oarsman and later promoted as a coxswain, a position that he held for nearly 30 years. It was during his extended stint as a crewmember of James Searle’s boat that his sailing skills were finely-honed.  

Competition between rival firms was keen in those days and the crews used to spend hours on the Donkin watching for a whale to ‘blow’ in the Bay. As soon as one was spotted, there was a race to the beach in order to launch their boats and the first crew to harpoon a whale were handsomely paid by the owners.

Main picture: Painting by Thomas Baines of a surfboat being launched through the breakers

Continue reading

Port Elizabeth of Yore: James Searle and the Union Boating Company

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

According to the book Port Elizabeth: A Social Chronicle to the End of 1945, the Union Boating Company was formed in February 1865. The chairman and directors were Joseph Simpson, J.H. Clark, G.C. Smith, C.T. Jones and F.S. Fairbridge and the Superintendent was James Searle. The company purchased the stock of E.B. Wheatland and leased the building used by him, and others adjoining and being built behind, between Commerce and North Union Streets.

Main picture: James Searle

Continue reading

Military Record of my Uncle – Redvers Percival Dix-Peek

By Dean McCleland in Other Family Histories 2 Comments

Like his  three brothers, Fred, Milton and Harry, Redvers volunteered for military service during WW2. As the last of these volunteers has passed on, nobody can listen to first hand accounts of their experiences during the war. All that remains are the shards of their experiences as related to disinterested children. Even piecing together these pieces, it provides no more than a smidgen of those experiences.

Main picture: Redvers Percival Dix-Peek in military uniform

Continue reading

Port Elizabeth of Yore: How the Chinese made a Living

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 1 Comment


Like all immigrants internationally, their initial priority was to make a living. For most waves of immigration to South Africa this was the least of their concerns as they were part of an organised importation scheme; the Indians in Natal to the sugar cane fields, the Chinese to the underground gold mines on the Witwatersrand and the English Settlers to the Eastern Cape border regions. The Chinese in Port Elizabeth were an exception to that rule. Being overwhelmingly single and without a family they probably initially relied upon the settled Chinese to survive. In a strange land with little understanding of English, they resorted to the time honoured tradition in order to overcome communication barriers viz sign language

Main picture: Chinese general dealers store in Dassiekraal circa 1920

Continue reading

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Birth and Demise of Beach Segregation

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Historically South Africa has always experienced segregation except that with the accession to power of the National Party in 1948 separation in all facets of one’s life was now governed by its own separate and restrictive legislation.  Amongst the avalanche of legislation in the early years of Nationalist rule was one law that mandated the separation of beaches by the local councils.

This is the story of the ascendance of beach segregation and its ultimate demise.

Main picture: Map of segregated beaches along Port Elizabeth’s coast

Continue reading

Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Quintessential Chinese Vices

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

All societies consist of their fair share of ne’er-do-wells, addicts, cheats and liars. Others with no  such character flaws become engulfed in such destructive behaviours due to not overcoming life’s challenges.  The calamities that befall them comprise the kaleidoscope of events such as the loss of a child, serious injury or collapse of one’s business. In all probability the Chinese of Port Elizabeth were no more or less guilty of engaging  in such destructive behaviours. For the most part, the bulk of the Chinese population was law abiding and industrious citizens to boot.

Continue reading