Bill the Butcher

  When 11-year-old Kamryn Balfour learned about the devastating floods that killed 135 people in Central Texas while she was safely at a nearby summer camp, she was determined to help. "I was there at camp like them, too. That could have been me," said Kamryn. "I felt very, very sad that those innocent girls got flooded out." The Mighty Girl from League City, Texas formulated a plan to restart her baking business, Kamryn's Kravings, with a new mission: raising funds specifically to help animals affected by the floods. What started with a modest goal of $500 has exploded into over $4,600 in donations, with Kamryn baking approximately 40 batches of her "top-secret" family chocolate chip cookie recipe. Her mother, Kelly Balfour, has been amazed by the community's response: "I didn't have any idea it would take off like this, and all of a sudden, we couldn't even keep up." Selling bags of five cookies for $5 each, many customers have ...

  Sanka changed the history of the world. Let me explain. When I was a young lad I came upon a cook book circa 1892 in some book store down on Rancier Avenue in Killeen Texas. Decrepit old thing, but the binding was good, and as I thumbed through the yellowed pages the recipes were quite interesting. The use of ancient spices, like salt was most enlightening, but what intrigued me the most was the coffee recipe. It started with coffee beans. After firing up the oven, wood FYI, you placed the green beans on a cookie sheet and you baked them until they were a succulent golden brown. Not light golden, succulent ie brittle! From there you took them and placing them into a coffee grinder, you turned this handle with abandon until said beans quieted somewhat. Then you had to look at the result to identify the grind. From there you boiled water on the stove and put an amount of the prepared beans into the water. When the water became your preferred color, you removed the pot from the sto...

      Last night I attended an online lecture about the process of death and another on the psychological effect of revenge. I know, I know . . . too many big words for a Sunday morning but work with me on this. The lecture on death and dying was hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson and included Venki Ramakrisnan, Nobel Prize Winner as his guest. Now deGrasse is a renowned physicist who stares at the universe and theorizes that it came from Walmart, but I like his style and while he’s just talking about atoms and ants we generally agree. Mr Ramakrisnan ventured into the study of understanding why we eventually die and wrote a book explaining that is somehow linked to getting old and the scientific community cried, “Eureka!” and gave him the scientific Golden Globe Award. (You can’t make this stuff up, folks!) Little refresher here. I’ve told you, God made man, man made theology, and theology made religion. And never the three shall meet. Attempts at understanding God is like put...

  First Grade Shreveport LA 1956   As you may have noticed, I say very little about Witt & Wittier Films. In the spirit of transparency, I am one of the founders/partners of the group, occasionally an executive producer, writer and been told lately, an actor. Hold the applause, please. There are many others, Rusty Joiner (Ya’ll Google him) Ashley Seal, and many other actors and actresses who have thrown in with us, not counting technical crews and support from the Austin community that makes our efforts possible. When you have time after one of our movies just read the credits. We are a Faith Based organization ie we believe in God, specifically Jesus, with all the bells and whistles. One of the main ideas in the formation of our group was the continuation of various levels of the devaluation of the Christian faith among the population particularly among young people. The product of this is revealed when you have such devastation as we saw with the recent floods here in Te...

  It’s really been a turn down week. You know, you take it all in stride, you digest, you analyze, and then you try to move on. Psychologists tell us that’s the thing to do. No matter what, garbage in, garbage out. But there’s just something about little girls getting washed out of their beds at 3 AM and the rush to find their bodies before they are lost forever. And then the psychologists call it closure. First, we unalive all the psychologists! Some doors never close. Some things you just can’t get over. People are not supposed to survive their children. During this time, I did a bit of self examination. At first I, like many of you thought yes, it’s bad, but bad things happen to good people. But the faces kept coming. And the news services kept trying to push the story behind other stories, but the girls just kept coming back. Then the funerals with entire towns lining the streets to say goodbye to one more little princess. Little girl who days before would be canoeing in the ve...

  When Witt and Wittier Films began we had a mission statement. To bring understanding and healing to the generation of kids awash in a world ruled by the Prince of darkness. To counteract the hedonism of the world fostered by those following the words of Aleister Crowley to  Do what thou wilt.  To lead developing young minds down the trail of darkness to an Uncloudy Day of truth and salvation. To do this we had to walk with the devil. We knew him well. He’s not bad if you laugh at his jokes, believe the convoluted logic and ignore the consequences. But in the end, just like Anton Levey the truth is revealed and on that day it’s all over and it sure is Monday. Only this Monday lasts forever! How do we convey this to the Tik Tok generation? Two songwriters who walked the streets of Austin trying to get a break in a business that had ruined so many. A business where the prophets drank themselves to death in the back of a Cadillac. A place where sin is glorified. A place w...

  That was the move. Quiet. Sharp. Irreversible. One family friend described Megan Kerrigan Byron’s reaction — after Andy Byron getting caught with both hands in the cookie jar... Megan Kerrigan Byron didn’t release a statement. She didn’t grant an interview. But she made one change — cold and calculated — and in doing so, delivered the most heartbreaking message of all: she was done waiting for the truth to be respected. Andy Byron had already apologized. Already played victim. Already tried to quote Coldplay to explain away what the whole country had witnessed. But Megan’s move? That was personal detachment, with the volume turned all the way down. And it hit harder than any apology could’ve. Friends stopped defending him. Family stopped guessing. And what came next — the ring, the records, the contact forms — was the shocking revelation no one inside their circle wanted confirmed. She didn’t slam a door. She opened one — for herself. And what she exactly did Megan Kerrigan do? W...

  Killing satire CBS cancels The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, claiming it was "purely a financial decision" Ann Telnaes Jul 18 The timing of the cancellation is suspect since Colbert publicly criticized the network’s parent company, Paramount, just a few days ago for settling a $16 million lawsuit with Trump while also looking to get approval from the FCC for a merger worth $8.4 billion. As Colbert described during his monologue, a “big, fat bribe”. Paramount is just another media company looking to keep on Trump’s good side in order to benefit their bottom line. As any other autocrat, Trump has a very thin skin and doesn’t like getting ridiculed so expect more of this. Not a good sign for satirists or editorial cartoonists…or free speech in general. Sandy McReynolds 

  A Mafia Godfather finds out that his bookkeeper, Guido, has cheated him out of $10,000,000. His bookkeeper is deaf and dumb. That was the reason he got the job in the first place. It was assumed that Guido would hear nothing so he would never have to testify in court. When the Godfather goes to confront Guido about his missing $10 million, he takes along his lawyer who knows sign language. The Godfather tells the lawyer, "Ask him where the money is!" The lawyer, using sign language, asks Guido, Where's the money? Guido signs back, "I don't know what you are talking about." The lawyer tells the Godfather, "He says he doesn't know what you're talking about." The Godfather pulls out a pistol, puts it to Guido's head and says, "Ask him again or I'll kill him!" The lawyer signs to Guido, "He'll kill you if you don't tell him." Guido trembles and signs, "OK! You win! The money is in a brown briefcase, bu...

  The Democrats have undergone a religious experience. Ever since somebody noticed Trump’s ankles were swollen they been praying that motherfucker would die! Nope. Contingency plans have already been laid. Ya’ll all noticed that there’s something different about Barron, and you were right. He’s a clone! Melania is too. That’s why she never seems to age. And she speaks all them languages.  Democrats never learn. All these years and they run Harris for president, forgetting the Clinton fiasco. Monica could have swallowed at any time. Hey! Harris giggled so much I thought for sure she knew how to party.  And they’re worried to death about the Epstein list. Is Trump on it? Why hell yes he’s on it. You know who wasn’t on it! Biden. Girls were all too old for him. One thing you can’t accuse Biden of is coming out of the closet.  Trump is so American he scares the communist out of the Democrats. He’s such a great president Texas forgot to secede. Ellen Degenerate left the c...

      The recent events in Hunt, especially at Camp Mystic have affected me deeply. As the weeks drag on, and the bodies become harder and harder to find the grim realities of a flash flood become oh so clear. Nobody should have had to endure that, and especially little ladies at summer camp. Can you imagine the water rushing in where just a few hours before they were screaming, laughing, and playing? At three in the morning the screams became louder. And then they were gone. I started cross posting the missing. Then the found. Then the funerals. Now those that couldn’t be found. But God knows where they are. Fine little girls. Texas’ best. Future doctors, lawyers and mothers. Political activists fighting for women’s rights. And maybe end up being a grandmother looking after the next generation. But this won’t happen. When grandchildren are born, they will be told stories about the Great Flood of 2025. And they will imagine the girls at Camp Mystic looking like other gran...

  💔 The River Didn’t Take Them — But It Changed Them Forever Clara and Nolan Shelton, 14-year-old twins from Waco, are safe. But “safe” doesn’t mean untouched. Not after what they’ve seen. Not after what they lived through. Clara was at Camp Mystic. Nolan was across the river at the boys’ camp. When the water came, it came fast. And both believed the other might be gone. “I thought she died,” Nolan whispered. Clara said, “He was the only person on my mind.” In the middle of chaos, they became protectors. Nolan carried smaller boys through the flood. Clara rushed to help the injured when the infirmary was overwhelmed. They were just kids. But they chose courage over fear. Their mother, Suzanne, didn’t sleep until they were in her arms again. And though her family is whole, her heart aches for those who never got that chance. These twins made it out. But they’ll carry this with them forever. 🙏 What would you say to two young souls who walked through fear and still chose to help oth...

  🕊️ Honoring the life of Camp Mystic counselor Katherine Ferruzzo 🕊️  Her obituary is beautifully written. A link to donate to her legacy foundation is in the comments.  Although the youngest in the family, Katherine was mighty. From the very beginning, she had a larger-than-life personality and a voice that demanded to be heard — even before she had the words to express it. At two years old, she invented her own language — a unique form of baby talk entirely her own. Later, Katherine attended The Parish School to address her speech issues, where she not only found her voice but also discovered her calling. It was there that her deep compassion for others took root, especially for those with special needs and learning differences. This experience inspired her lifelong dedication to the field of Special Education. In May, Katherine graduated from Memorial High School in Houston. There, Katherine embraced all aspects of high school life, and she stood out as a student an...