Miracle in the hellish landscape.

A miracle has happened. We managed to get to our property and our home, that we were told is gone forever, is still standing. In this hellish landscape “standing” is relative, but smoke and other damage is not like the utter destruction around us. The view from our deck area: pic.twitter.com/JZU2kTJC52

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) January 10, 2025

Counting blessings, running short.

10 hours ago:

We were blessed to have LA fire and police depts doing their jobs so well. We are safe and out. There are several elementary schools in our neighborhood and there was an enormous community effort to evacuate the children safely. Can not speak more highly of the LA fire and LAPD. pic.twitter.com/bdsSJmvQel

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) January 7, 2025

 

13 minutes ago:

Priorities stated in her bio below.

Refilling the water reservoirs would have been a welcome priority, too, but I guess she had too much on her plate promoting diversity. pic.twitter.com/7GXgBR3RO2

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) January 8, 2025

"That's the old saying — right? — if you're going to shoot at the king you better not miss."

Said the NYT White House correspondent Peter Baker on yesterday's episode of "The Daily." Context:

[Biden is] saying, in essence, you can't have this debate anymore because this debate, it undermines my chances exactly, and therefore I want you to shut up. This question is over. Knock it off move on. And I think he's daring them. He's daring his doubters and naysayers to come after him or to shut up. You want to take me on? Take me on. Right? That's the old saying — right? — if you're going to shoot at the king you better not miss. So all eyes right now are on Congressional Democrats to see where they fall this week. Do the floodgates open and they end up abandoning him in large numbers or do they decide to give up on that notion?

First, the "old saying" is in fact a famous quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: "When you strike at a king, you must kill him." I wrote about it back in 2019:

Vulgarity.

This post embedded what is now a deleted tweet. James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) responded to someone who was unfollowing him because of his language.

Woods wrote:

I’m sure you’re not expecting a response, but I am willing to address your concerns. And you may be further surprised that I hear your point. Vulgarity is beneath all of us, if we truly wish to “hear” the “other side.”

Unfortunately for you, I don’t.

So blow me.

Caitlyn Jenner's campaign ad — complete with images of Bruce Jenner winning the Decathlon and the ancient voice-over "He wants the world record."

Here's how I ran into the ad:

Whoever created this stunning breakout campaign commercial just made Caitlyn Jenner a viable candidate for governor of California. I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or a Republican, it’s hard to disagree with a single sentiment in this video: https://t.co/nzYKT5YjE1 via @YouTube

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) May 4, 2021

Here's a screen shot I made:

That's not a fleeting glimpse of the past. There are repeated images from the stellar 1976 Olympic performance and of Caitlyn today looking feelingly at the gold medal. 

We hear Jenner's voice: California needs "new leaders... who are unafraid to challenge"  —  pause — "and to change" — pause — "the status quo." At that first pause, right before "and to change" — we see 2 magazine covers, side by side, one with Bruce Jenner celebrating winning the gold and one showing Caitlyn Jenner. That is, Jenner is "unafraid to challenge and to change the status quo," as demonstrated by breaking the world record in the Decathlon and then — in a second bodily achievement — coming out as transgender. 

I wonder how hard it was to decide whether to elevate or obscure the Jenner of the 1970s.

"Democrats aways talked about things getting better. Republicans did whatever they could to make them better."

This romantic moonlit scene in RUDY: THE RUDY GIULIANI STORY absolutely murdered me. I am dead. pic.twitter.com/eRZuxM0iMI

— Marie Bardi (@mariebardi) November 24, 2020

That's trending on Twitter. 

The quoted line has a powerful sexual effect on the woman that is truly hilarious — whatever your political predilections. The movie is from 2003 and the female character, played by Penelope Ann Miller, is Donna Hanover, who was married to Giuliani from 1984 to 2001.

Trump talks up drug treatments... calls his contracting of the disease a "blessing in disguise."

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT! pic.twitter.com/uhLIcknAjT

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2020

ADDED: On the subject of divine intervention:

The smug chuckle after she says “I just think COVID is God’s gift to the Left.” pic.twitter.com/0NvAAJjKnL

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) October 7, 2020

What? You believed me??!! — It was a debate.

If you’ve never have food poisoning, it’s roughly like this... pic.twitter.com/KEUZpvQmk9

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) August 14, 2020

"World’s saddest looter..."

Play on mute if you don't want to hear "Oh, shit!"

World’s saddest looter... pic.twitter.com/bAu1pFoZMB

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) May 30, 2020

Health experts.

[Embedded video removed. You can see it here. Explanation in the update below.]

IN THE COMMENTS: Chanie said, "Shouldn't the tag be 'A Michael Moore'?" Ah, yes! It's not the Michael Moore. Tag removed. I'll give you a real celebrity making the same point:

Not the greatest optic to have your Health Director moonlight as a Walking Dead extra... pic.twitter.com/dBZSVgezbl

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) May 15, 2020

UPDATE: I put up this post because I believed it was from the filmmaker Michael Moore, whom I follow on Twitter. But it was from someone I've never heard of who tweets under the same name. It appeared in my Twitter feed because someone else that I follow had retweeted him. The gist of the tweet, like James Woods's tweet, was that there's something wrong or funny about an unhealthy-looking person serving as a health adviser. But, in fact, an unhealthy person could be a great expert! Health problems might lead a person into the field. And, certainly, anybody at any point in any career could develop a health problem, and it has nothing to do with whether they have expertise. And then there's the problem of simply looking unhealthy, whether you are unhealthy or not. It would be ridiculous, stupid, and unfair to pick your health expert based on whether they look healthy. Image means something in politics, and an expert needs to inspire confidence, but we're trying to ground ourselves in science and rational policy, and it's a mistake to judge expertise by looks and to assume that an unhealthy person lacks expertise.

Do you think Trump will be better off not having to run against a woman this time?

That's my first question, upon reading "BUCHANAN: Could be down to 3 white guys by end of month..." (at Drudge). The link goes to a column by Patrick Buchanan at WND.*

If Klobuchar runs fifth in Iowa and third, fourth or fifth in New Hampshire, in what state does she win her first primary? And as her fundraising has never matched that of the front-runners, where does she get the money to match Sanders or Bloomberg on Super Tuesday, now just three weeks off?...

As for Warren, in her battle with Sanders to emerge as the champion of the progressive wing of the party, her third-place finish in Iowa, and her expected third-place finish in New Hampshire, at best, would seem to settle that issue for this election.... I[n] what state does Elizabeth Warren beat her progressive rival?...

It's bad for the Democrats to lose their female candidates, but that does seem to be where things are going. They've already lost all their black candidates (at least the ones strong enough to have gotten on the debate stage (there's still Deval Patrick)). So it will, in all likelihood, be a white male against Trump. Is that better for him? I could argue both ways, so I give the question to you for now.
________________

* WND? Is that a disreputable website? I see it also has: "James Woods sprung from 'Twitter jail,' gets instantly political/Sarcastically asks: 'How's Jeffrey Epstein doing?'"

After being held captive in "Twitter jail" for nearly a year, essentially locked out of his own social-media account and precluded from posting any messages, actor James Woods triumphantly returned to the site Thursday night....

His first tweet:

I’ve tried so hard this past year to live without the wealth of knowledge available on Twitter, but this kind of blazing insight can be found nowhere else, so... I’m back! #AOCStillAMoron pic.twitter.com/kB0oDXmArB

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) February 7, 2020

If you were following Woods before his banishment, check to see if you still are. I was and am.

ADDED: From Wikipedia: "WorldNetDaily (WND) is an American news and opinion website and online news aggregator which has been described as 'fringe' and far right as well as politically conservative. The website is known for promoting falsehoods and conspiracy theories."

"When you strike at a king, you must kill him," said Ralph Waldo Emerson, famously.

I think Emerson was talking to Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., and Holmes was attacking Plato, hence the riposte. The physical attack was metaphorical. Holmes and Emerson were jousting in the world of words, and Emerson got off a bon mot for the ages.

I'm talking about that this morning because James Woods got kicked off Twitter:

James Woods, one of the few conservative stars in Hollywood, has been locked out of his Twitter account for over a week now for “abusive behavior,” once again demonstrating the double standard the tech giant holds when it comes to enforcing rules.

Twitter suspended Woods for a tweet that read, “‘If you try to kill the King, you best not miss’ #HangThemAll,” according to his girlfriend Sara Miller....

The tweet was apparently in reference to the Mueller report, which found no conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia. The quote is from Ralph Waldo Emerson and has been used in various forms in movies and TV shows like The Wire....

"You best not miss" is the form of words used on "The Wire" (video here), and on "The Wire" the physical attack is not metaphorical, but with a real gun with bullets. But Woods was using the physical attack metaphorically. The idea — which deserves to be expressed — is — I think — that there was a coup attempt on Trump and it didn't work, therefore those who attempted it are in desperate trouble.

This isn't a true threat, just rough political discourse. It's not much like Emerson, because Emerson was speaking in a context where it was clear that only ideas were at stake. Holmes couldn't physically threaten the long-dead Plato. I think it's also clear that Woods was talking about political power and legal troubles, though the legal troubles are bad enough that they could lead to a physical impact on a human being — that is, a prison term. But there is a problem with Twitter's clipped language and vast dissemination. Among the thousands or millions of readers of a post like "If you try to kill the King, you best not miss’ #HangThemAll" are confused, paranoid, angry people who might hear a message to go out and kill somebody.

I'm checking the #HangThemAll at Twitter, and I see this:

James woods was banned for saying #HangThemAll about treasonous leaders on the left and was banned from Twitter, but @kathygriffin isn't banned for this: pic.twitter.com/tT1x4eeVnJ

— The JP McGlone (@JPMcGlone) May 4, 2019

Yes, and that's the problem. Twitter needs to apply its standard from a neutral viewpoint.

Isn't the evidence a little too good?

My single favorite thing in this video is the ski mask on the counter with the cardboard still in it. The eye cutouts and the mouth. Honestly this whole deal should be the next season of Fargo. 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/QeqMTBvUub

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) February 21, 2019

ADDED: In case you don't know what's going on here — from "Jussie Smollett arrested and faces a felony charge for allegedly filing false police report" (CNN):

While [police] did not provide specifics on the developments, surveillance video from January 28 obtained from a Chicago-area beauty supply store appears to show the men connected to the incident purchasing a ski mask, sunglasses, a red hat and other items the day before the alleged assault. They paid for the items in cash, according to the owner, who did not want to be identified.

The two men questioned by police -- identified as brothers Olabinjo Osundairo and Abimbola Osundairo -- were initially arrested February 13 but released without charges after police cited the discovery of "new evidence." They've met with police and prosecutors at a Chicago courthouse, police spokesman Tom Ahern said. The two are no longer suspects at this time, Chicago police have said...

In a joint statement issued to CNN affiliate WBBM, the men said: "We are not racist. We are not homophobic, and we are not anti-Trump. We were born and raised in Chicago and are American citizens."

"Conservative actor James Woods tweeted a hoax meme in July. Twitter just locked him out of his account."

WaPo reports.

An account belonging to a woman named Sara Miller, who identified herself as Woods’s girlfriend, first tweeted the news early Friday morning with images of the email Woods received from Twitter. The email stated the July tweet “includes text and imagery that has the potential to be misleading in a way that could impact an election,” and instructed Woods to delete the tweet before he can use his account again, according to Miller’s tweet....

The meme that Twitter appears to have taken issue with is a photo of three men with exaggerated smiles alongside the text, “We’re making a Woman’s Vote Worth more by staying home.” It also used the hashtags #LetWomenDecide and #NoMenMidterm. In his tweet, Woods wrote, “Pretty scary there is a distinct possibility this could be real,” referencing the meme. “Not likely, but in this day and age of absolute liberal insanity, it is at least possible…”

This gets the "Era of That's Not Funny" tag.

Twitter murders humor. But Twitter without humor is dead.