Ben Blake
@benblakeauthor.bsky.social
Husband, father, Fantasy author. Usually tired or asleep. Debut novel The Scholar's War out now from Divertir Publishing. Read a free sample on Amazon or Divertir website.
Not rep'd yet. I ignore DM's.
Not rep'd yet. I ignore DM's.
Getting in my own way.
December 3, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Getting in my own way.
www.amazon.com/scholars-war...
Click on 'Read Sample' under the cover image and you can even read the opening part of the book for free! Well worth the time.
Click on 'Read Sample' under the cover image and you can even read the opening part of the book for free! Well worth the time.
The Scholar's War
The Scholar's War [Blake, Ben] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Scholar's War
www.amazon.com
December 3, 2025 at 8:36 PM
www.amazon.com/scholars-war...
Click on 'Read Sample' under the cover image and you can even read the opening part of the book for free! Well worth the time.
Click on 'Read Sample' under the cover image and you can even read the opening part of the book for free! Well worth the time.
And just as a practical point, America can't win a war on drugs/terror/whatever, in Venezuela. Fighters will hide in villages, slums, and jungles; it will be Vietnam again.
November 30, 2025 at 12:44 PM
And just as a practical point, America can't win a war on drugs/terror/whatever, in Venezuela. Fighters will hide in villages, slums, and jungles; it will be Vietnam again.
Patience?
I could've sworn... I'm nearly certain... that some orange buffoon or other promised to improve the economy on day one.
Didn't he?
I could've sworn... I'm nearly certain... that some orange buffoon or other promised to improve the economy on day one.
Didn't he?
November 26, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Patience?
I could've sworn... I'm nearly certain... that some orange buffoon or other promised to improve the economy on day one.
Didn't he?
I could've sworn... I'm nearly certain... that some orange buffoon or other promised to improve the economy on day one.
Didn't he?
Wow, the excitement never starts.
November 25, 2025 at 11:58 PM
Wow, the excitement never starts.
Perhaps. The human spirit is wonderful, and most of us have been surprised by it before.
But large social movements, once begun, rarely stop. They simply run their course, to disaster or dissolution, as it may be. The widespread distrust of authority, of vaccines, of the State, is hard to overcome.
But large social movements, once begun, rarely stop. They simply run their course, to disaster or dissolution, as it may be. The widespread distrust of authority, of vaccines, of the State, is hard to overcome.
November 24, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Perhaps. The human spirit is wonderful, and most of us have been surprised by it before.
But large social movements, once begun, rarely stop. They simply run their course, to disaster or dissolution, as it may be. The widespread distrust of authority, of vaccines, of the State, is hard to overcome.
But large social movements, once begun, rarely stop. They simply run their course, to disaster or dissolution, as it may be. The widespread distrust of authority, of vaccines, of the State, is hard to overcome.
Heh, I have injuries to my right knee, right ankle, and lower back. I wear support straps, bandages, insoles, and sometimes a back brace, just to get through the working day.
I expect to need a wheelchair one day... but not today.
I expect to need a wheelchair one day... but not today.
November 24, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Heh, I have injuries to my right knee, right ankle, and lower back. I wear support straps, bandages, insoles, and sometimes a back brace, just to get through the working day.
I expect to need a wheelchair one day... but not today.
I expect to need a wheelchair one day... but not today.
Yeah... shock story of the week, there.
November 24, 2025 at 10:57 AM
Yeah... shock story of the week, there.
Hope is a wonderful, necessary thing. I do have to admit, I'm afraid, that I doubt recovery is possible. America is horribly divided now, and getting worse. Most likely is "soft secession" in the short term, and the division of the country sometime later this century.
November 24, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Hope is a wonderful, necessary thing. I do have to admit, I'm afraid, that I doubt recovery is possible. America is horribly divided now, and getting worse. Most likely is "soft secession" in the short term, and the division of the country sometime later this century.
Yes. I miss America as we thought it was.
I doubt we'll ever see it again.
I doubt we'll ever see it again.
November 24, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Yes. I miss America as we thought it was.
I doubt we'll ever see it again.
I doubt we'll ever see it again.
Absolutely - unless the vote is cancelled. Would not surprise me to see Trump trigger a war (Venezuela, Nigeria), and then say that like Ukraine, America won't vote during conflict. Ridiculous, but when has that ever stopped him?
November 22, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Absolutely - unless the vote is cancelled. Would not surprise me to see Trump trigger a war (Venezuela, Nigeria), and then say that like Ukraine, America won't vote during conflict. Ridiculous, but when has that ever stopped him?
Wonder if she knows something. Maybe her sudden realisation comes from her knowing the castle is about to fall?
November 17, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Wonder if she knows something. Maybe her sudden realisation comes from her knowing the castle is about to fall?
The gun laws, first of all. Also the habit of spending a large part of earnings on health insurance.
America started down a strange dark road a long time ago.
America started down a strange dark road a long time ago.
November 15, 2025 at 10:42 PM
The gun laws, first of all. Also the habit of spending a large part of earnings on health insurance.
America started down a strange dark road a long time ago.
America started down a strange dark road a long time ago.
Should get it ASAP, usually don't.
Don't try to put this on what I've done. I'm one of millions who are suffering with cost of living, low wages: it's not about me, it's about the leaders - Tory and Labour - who have done this to us. That's a desperate effort to shift blame, and I see through it.
Don't try to put this on what I've done. I'm one of millions who are suffering with cost of living, low wages: it's not about me, it's about the leaders - Tory and Labour - who have done this to us. That's a desperate effort to shift blame, and I see through it.
November 15, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Should get it ASAP, usually don't.
Don't try to put this on what I've done. I'm one of millions who are suffering with cost of living, low wages: it's not about me, it's about the leaders - Tory and Labour - who have done this to us. That's a desperate effort to shift blame, and I see through it.
Don't try to put this on what I've done. I'm one of millions who are suffering with cost of living, low wages: it's not about me, it's about the leaders - Tory and Labour - who have done this to us. That's a desperate effort to shift blame, and I see through it.
My pay's gone up so little that this month, I'm due back pay to take me above minimum wage for the period since April. Unison is floating the possibility of strike action to address the issue.
Btw, "the government is working towards" has never buttered a parsnip. Just words until it's achieved.
Btw, "the government is working towards" has never buttered a parsnip. Just words until it's achieved.
November 15, 2025 at 7:14 PM
My pay's gone up so little that this month, I'm due back pay to take me above minimum wage for the period since April. Unison is floating the possibility of strike action to address the issue.
Btw, "the government is working towards" has never buttered a parsnip. Just words until it's achieved.
Btw, "the government is working towards" has never buttered a parsnip. Just words until it's achieved.
Yeah... I work in the NHS, and my pay has not gone up by 29%. I don't know a single person, from doctor to cleaner, whose pay has gone up 29%.
My kids are in primary school, and not one cost - for dinners, or anything else - has gone down, or become free.
You're just spewing party propaganda.
My kids are in primary school, and not one cost - for dinners, or anything else - has gone down, or become free.
You're just spewing party propaganda.
November 14, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Yeah... I work in the NHS, and my pay has not gone up by 29%. I don't know a single person, from doctor to cleaner, whose pay has gone up 29%.
My kids are in primary school, and not one cost - for dinners, or anything else - has gone down, or become free.
You're just spewing party propaganda.
My kids are in primary school, and not one cost - for dinners, or anything else - has gone down, or become free.
You're just spewing party propaganda.
It does seem to be true, though. Starmer has won power but doesn't seem to have a philosophy of what to do with it. Hence the stumble from crisis to betrayal to crisis, hence the dribble of U-turns.
I'm no friend of Reform, and Farage is a wiseacre, but Starmer and Labour offer nothing.
I'm no friend of Reform, and Farage is a wiseacre, but Starmer and Labour offer nothing.
November 13, 2025 at 11:15 PM
It does seem to be true, though. Starmer has won power but doesn't seem to have a philosophy of what to do with it. Hence the stumble from crisis to betrayal to crisis, hence the dribble of U-turns.
I'm no friend of Reform, and Farage is a wiseacre, but Starmer and Labour offer nothing.
I'm no friend of Reform, and Farage is a wiseacre, but Starmer and Labour offer nothing.
Why is this an issue? The first Craig film took Bond back to when he first became a double-O agent. Just do that again, start over. Clean sheet of paper.
November 12, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Why is this an issue? The first Craig film took Bond back to when he first became a double-O agent. Just do that again, start over. Clean sheet of paper.
Yeah, won't be a surprise, will it?
November 12, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Yeah, won't be a surprise, will it?
I'd say the NFC Championship game, myself.
November 12, 2025 at 8:49 PM
I'd say the NFC Championship game, myself.
THE 4TH LARGEST CANKLES!! 🤣🤣🤣
November 12, 2025 at 8:48 PM
THE 4TH LARGEST CANKLES!! 🤣🤣🤣
Exactly right. The political mainstream has failed across the Western world, from the USA to Germany to Italy. It has enriched the few and abandoned the many. What did the elites think that would lead to?
November 11, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Exactly right. The political mainstream has failed across the Western world, from the USA to Germany to Italy. It has enriched the few and abandoned the many. What did the elites think that would lead to?
Yes - but recall the backlash when Obama broke the mould in 2008. The next few years saw GOP extremism bloom, giving you the Tea Party, III% movement, and Trump. Be ready for even more radical insanity from the right.
November 5, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Yes - but recall the backlash when Obama broke the mould in 2008. The next few years saw GOP extremism bloom, giving you the Tea Party, III% movement, and Trump. Be ready for even more radical insanity from the right.