Life On A B-I7

May 5th

Happy Sink-Hole de My-Ohhh!

You may be wondering what that means. I did too when it came to me. After a bit of absent minded reflection, I came up with the following.

When you’re out wondering around in your truck, or possibly hiking or mountain biking, and you hit a sink-hole, also known as a pot hole, the best you can do is shrug it off. Perhaps, if you need to exclaim something out loud in frustration, it’s probably best to simply let out a loud “My-Ohhh” and keep going.

Overland Cat

He’s an excellent companion on the road. He sleeps on the seat next to me and occasionally crawls onto my lap for a bit of attention. When we are offroad he’s very engaged in where we are going. He will stand on my lap with his front paws on the window, carefully observing the terrain. He doesn’t seem to mind the bouncing.

Happy Birthday

A Happy Birthday to all of you born on May 3rd. You know who you are, and by the way, thank you for being a part of my life (those of you I have met).

I look forward to many more wonderful years sharing this journey with you (both of you).

School Busses

If School Busses are passing you on the right, you are in the wrong lane. Yes, naturally there is a story behind that, but there is no need to share that here…

May Day

Today I’m going to celebrate the labor movement, a.k.a. International Workers’ Day. If that’s not your deal, then perhaps celebrating the ancient spring agricultural festival is more to your liking, both are traditional May Day activities. I’m also choosing to avoid writing anything political today because the digital panopticon is coming, when it arrives, sooner than we would like it to, I want the AI subversive identification filters to find one page on this site that it can’t use as the basis for a criminal indictment against me… assuming indictments are still needed…

Yes. That is political…

A Piece Of Wisdom

“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”

(Shakespeare actually stole that from Seneca.)

I know I’m a fool. Name me a bunch of people that think themselves wise and I’ll give you an “Administration.”

Knowledge

It is important to acquire knowledge, but it is more important to acquire knowledge around knowledge (sometimes referred to as wisdom).

We are living in an age where some knowledge is enough for a few to make them think they know everything.

Tired

I’m tired of tyrant talk. Every preachy word seems calculated to win a vote from some group of voters. I have yet to hear a cogent explanation reinforcing a policy decision. It’s clear, at least to me that there is no policy behind the policy decisions. Correction: The policy behind the policy decision is the aggrandizement of power and wealth and political control.

I Live In Fear

I live in fear that Trump will find a way to serve beyond the constitutional limit of two terms.

I saw a bumper sticker that said, “don’t blame me, I voted for Trump.” I live in fear that person will never understand their culpability.

I live in fear I will have to live with my children. I love them, but they don’t deserve that.

I live in fear America as I know it, as I was taught it, as I have experienced it, is gone. I live in fear my children won’t the same experience I have had.

All I see around me is greed and self interest, by the highest, most privileged people in our country. It feels like there is nothing I can do to change that.

My hope is that, in my lifetime, I can live again without fearing what the future holds for us.

The Path

You haven’t experienced Nirvana (or as close as we can get to it musically) until you’ve heard Joe Robinson’s rendition of “Europa,” (Earth’s cry, Heaven’s Smile).

When I listen, I feel the wonder of the universe, the potential for beauty that we all possess. My wish is that everyone could experience the joy, the amazement, the hope, that this song brings to me.

I’m a bit up in years, still this song gives me hope that the world has more to offer all of us than what we are being told to expect. The messages we receive daily from the people that presume themselves to be our leaders are off the mark. Listen to this song and you will know the true path forward.

Note: Carlos Santana wrote “Europa” and performed it beautifully, as did Gato Barbieri, but Joe Robinson’s virtuoso guitar is really the best. Take a listen on Spotify: Europa.

On Shoring

I think I understand why Trump is bent on tariffs. As difficult as it is to admit this, I think he is motivated by the desire to onshore, a desire to bring manufacturing back to the United States. I’m also certain that is not his only desire, but I won’t delve into his other motivations here.

The problem is that on shoring is extremely complicated. It can’t be achieved by making the cost of foreign goods more expensive. That is an idiotic notion. Making the United States the word leader in manufacturing requires more than the stroke of a pen. It will take decades of work. Building infrastructure, hard and soft. Hard: facilities. Soft: Education and training. Tariffs can’t accomplish those things. Needless to say, government would have to play a very active role in both of those arenas. Not something that can be accomplished in a “cost cutting” environment.

There is another complication. I believe the goal of on shoring antithetical to interests of the monied class in America. On shoring would likely bring about a restructuring of wealth in America. Outsourcing has created wealth in America for an influential few. That would naturally impact those few if manufacturing were brought back on shore. I find it hard to believe the newly created money class in America that relies on the “investment driven” money that outsourcing creates would be willing to get behind a transformation that would mean less wealth for themselves.

Why This?

This is a hand-rolled, ad-free, AI-free, algorithm-free website. This bit of written consciousness allows me to share my enthusiasm about the things rolling around in my head. Once I release those things to these pages, I can let them go, confident that they can grow on their own (or not) with no further guidance from me.

Reading this is totally optional and not even necessary. If you do, please recognize that you do so at your own risk. Shalom.

What Can You Do In 90 Days Or Less?

Inflict severe damage to:

• The Economy,
• Scientific research,
• Civil Liberties,
• Health Care,
• The Civil Service.

Quite the stunning list of achievements if it can be pulled off. wait a minute, I think that might be old news.

Truth

Truth is a restraint on power. Therefore, the first thing a would-be tyrant must do is perfect the art of lying.

A Suggestion For The Tech Bros In America

Take a moment out of your busy day, busy destroying America, to ask your beloved ChatGTP this question: “Is President Trump breaking the law?”

Read carefully the answer. Apart from Ed Martin’s vocal defense of Jan 6 rioters, (a hand picked Trump appointee) the answer given does an excellent job of revealing what little regard Trump has for the law.

It’s unclear to me why this hasn’t opened your eyes to the sort of man you are cozying up to. Is making money so important to you?

Take A Second Look

According to research, we resist change for some very deep rooted reasons:

1. We prefer boredom over surprise.
2. Change causes stress and we are wired to avoid stress.
3. We can’t look ahead. We focus on the here and now. (Not a problem for me.)
4. We don’t like throwing ideas out and replacing them with new ones.

To make matters worse, it’s now recognized that behavioral patterns can be genetically encoded and passed from generation to generation. This is referred to as epigenetic coding.

Where am I going with this? If you are watching the news and what you see seems unbelievable to you, it’s likely because of these innate predispositions working against you. Now that you know how your brain is reacting when it takes in the daily news cycle, take a moment to remind yourself that you are predisposed to looking the other way, and take a second look with fresh eyes.

The Best Is Behind Us

It’s been 80 years since World War II ended. Those 80 years will go down in American history as the best years America has put together. We’re now launching into a new era, an era of degradation and decline. Led by Donald Trump, the world will be changing dramatically and not for the better. Trump has placed tariffs on almost every country, except Russia. Why is that? It’s not just because he loves Putin, I think he has bigger plans in mind. It sounds crazy, but I think he’s planning a new alliance with Putin, a merger if you will between the United States and Russia. I’m not sure what the objective is other than simply to jointly rule the world. If extremists on the right can cook up conspiracy theories then so can I. It wouldn’t surprise me if Trump and Putin have been planning this for the last four years. If it happens, it’s going to make Trump voters look very, very stupid. Sadly, that will be small consolation. If it doesn’t happen, I’m happy to take my lumps for getting overly excited. It seems to me there are not enough people getting excited today about the path that is being set for us.

A Simple Game Of Catch

I’d like to play catch with someone. A baseball glove and a ball. What a joy that would be. Some of my best childhood memories are playing catch, mostly with friends. In the driveway, in a vacant lot, anywhere we could. I would ask my dad to play catch with me but that wasn’t his deal. If I didn’t hit him in the chest he would get annoyed with me. I’m not sure what part of “practice” he didn’t understand. That’s okay, I had friends to play with. The problem is, today I don’t know anyone with a desire to pull out the leather and toss a few.

That’s too bad. You’re never too old for a game of catch.

Quakers

A relatively unknown religion from most peoples perspective. I recently learned that adherents don’t really think of it as a religion. A good percentage don’t even believe in a god, or only loosely believe. There are Christian Quakers, Hindu Quakers, Buddhist Quakers, and many other “denominations.” A part of me wishes I had stumbled into their belief system when I was younger.

“We favor queries over strictures because of a concept known as ‘continuing revelation,’ or the idea that we cannot know all there is to know, and we will always later realize that we were wrong. The principle has helped me cultivate humility and compassion for myself after missteps. Because there can be no one best way…” -Gail Cornwall

The world could do with a lot more humility and compassion, that much is clear…

Tesla

Do you own a Tesla? If you do, you should think carefully about trading it in…

The best way for you to get rid of it would be to simply burn it, that’s what’s happening to Tesla stock. If you really love your vehicle and you don’t want to get rid of it, you can wait till the revolution comes. When it does, someone will burn it for you…

Blues Songs

I’m finding it easier to listen to blues songs. Partially because of the stress we are all under these days, it just seems to be a good fit. I know I’ve become more emotional, I sometimes cry when I listen to a good blues song. I told my doctor that and she said, “that just means you’re human.” I hope she’s right, but what does that mean for people that don’t listen to blues music?

Darkness Is Falling On America

When you read the title, I suppose your first thought was, “oh, he’s being melodramatic.” You’re wrong, I’m prescient. It would be good if I were wrong, but all signs indicate that I’m not.

Trump has signed an Executive Order stating that the Executive has broad authority over the management, “the integrity,” of federal elections. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Constitution grants Congress limited authority over the place, time and manner of federal elections and nothing more. There is no stated role for the Executive under the Constitution. Trump is weaving from whole cloth a new role for the executive, one never asserted before, one ensuring his chances for himself and his party to remain in office basically forever. Trump has told us he would seek a third term and he told us there “were ways.” Now we see exactly what he has in mind.

One thing is clear about the Supreme Court, they are afraid to call anything unconstitutional. We’ll see what Roberts does with this one when it reaches him.

A Toast To The Bride

My apologies to my daughter. You know how much I love you. This toast probably made your mother crazy too. I will always remember your wedding. It was a beautiful day and a wonderful experience.

As father of the bride,
Who adores his daughter,
Let me just say…

A few words about Scott.

Scott has a creative mind
And is very talented.
He’s also an accomplished
Skier and climber.

An accomplished skier…
For a guy that skies on broken bindings
And misshapen skis,
But don’t try and follow him down Mid-Cirque
Unless you know what you are doing.

I’ve hung out with Scott enough
To say without reservation
That he is a terrific guy.
I couldn’t ask for a better son-in-law.

Least I fail to mention…
You’re pretty cool too Kelsey,

And a wonderful daughter.

So to you both, let me say:

May your love guide you.
May your love sustain you,
May your love fulfill you
For all the days of your lives!

Quacking Democrats

Democrats quacked up by running Joe Biden on the ticket in 2020. He (and the party) are directly responsible for the ascendancy of the Trump oligarchy. They failed to take Trump and his degenerate allies seriously.

Trump had a lot of help between 2016 and 2020. Putin and Orban along with others. It’s also very possible that Trump conned the American Heritage Foundation. I find it hard to believe the AHF wants to end Democracy. As self-serving as the AHF is, I suspect they failed to fully appreciate Trump’s ambitions. You have to hand it to the man, as stupid as he appears to most of us, he has a plan. That is his brilliance. He recognized that political power comes from the people most in need of political support, and he used them to get what he wanted. Which is simply, leader of the largest autocracy in the world. He has taken the first steps and so far is proceeding according to his plan.

Save America

We can no long afford to be “Republicans” or a “Democrats”. Those designations have lost all meaning.

We are now either for American Democracy or we are against American Democracy.

There is no other way to frame it.