Now I'm A Baseball Fan

On the way home from work, I've been catching the end of ball games on the radio. It appears San Diego Padres are off to a great start. Isn't a Padre a Catholic priest? I knew Cubans could play baseball and box, but I never thought about priests being good players. Not sure what this has to do with Cubans. The mind is a many splintered thing.

Whatever the deal, I guess the Padres from this town can play. Maybe it is because their social life is limited. I know, the limited social life of a priest is a dubious stereotype. What do I know? I've only met a few priests. Most were witty characters. One was pure evil, and that's that. That was the one at immigration hearings, years ago in Miami, who wanted all the federal money sent down there for immigrants to go through him. Long story but the guy had nerve. He gave me the creeps like I've never experienced just from being in proximity to someone.

It does seem that everyone likes this city a lot. Some places are like that.

Latest road merchandise, let's see, a drive shaft, of course a ladder, landscape bags (?)--must be bags of dirt--seems like something else that would be useful but I can't remember it. Maybe it was a stove or something like that. Other than that all I have to report is a rash of people driving into buildings. Someone drove into the dentist's office, another crashed into a restaurant, and some else drove into some kind of business. It must be all the rage.

OK. No days off until I'm done with project J. If project O was free of people this week I would include it, too. They are likely to be in the way for a week or two so I guess I'll have to take time off when J is complete. I love the environment there. It is like going to work in the Garden of Eden every day. I'm one of the few workers there for which Spanish is not the first language.

They are hurting for cash in this state. As the rhetoric has increased on the subject, I noticed the prevalence of speed traps has too. I heard the city actually shortened the yellow lights so the cameras would catch more people, bring in more money. I believe they got caught and some group nailed them in court. The cams are a money loser and prevent no accidents. Nice piece of technology though, if you only consider intrinsic value and not what it is for.

Contempt Prior to Investigation

I forget who the guy was that listed that as a principle which is guaranteed to result in everlasting ignorance. A corollary to that would be acceptance prior to investigation. Many cases of contempt and acceptance prior to investigation are flooding the culture these days. Most of it is on purpose, and people, being human and not wanting to be odd man out spotlighted for ridicule, go along.

Have you noticed how mainstream comedians and people like Letterman pick up the political ball lately? He's become unwatchable, but I catch bits here and there that all sound as if scripted by the same hack. One example was when Rom said Rush Limbaugh was the new face of the Republican Party, implying that he pretty much called the shots.

I find Rush a bit hard to take due to the back patting ego, but I do not find him mean or hateful as portrayed. Letterman and others took the hint and went to town trying to label him the same way Rom did. I'm no fan of either party because both got us to this place, hitting from different angles but heading to the same place. But I have listened enough to know that it was a purposeful bit of propaganda to say he is the face of the party.

Rev. Wright is not the face of the Democratic party. All these personalities get in the way of the truth. I've never seen this country so blindly splintered. I know people who absolutely go hostile at the mention of a Republican. Usually critics I know just shake their heads when someone is outed as a democrat. In today's environment, it is far safer to be a dem. It is less safe than ever to be a Libertarian or leaning that way. They got you on a list with terrorists. I blame republicans and democrats for that.

Back when the 911 report came out I could see both parties hard at work setting up things to undermine individual sovereignty, and of course by-passing state and local authority. To hell with any steenkeeng constitution. The whole purpose of that is to limit power of government.

The phrase "a nation of laws" was originally meant a government limited in scope by laws. Lines drawn to keep it in check. That flipflopped so that now "a nation of laws" means a nation with so many damned laws that a person can't sneeze without breaking one. The people are now limited and the ones who have to have permission to act. The plan was to have a government that needed permission.

Anyway. I've seen very blatant examples of dissent being twisted, mis-reported and painted as insanity lately. Further investigation paints another picture. People accept much of what is being done economically because we are told it is OK, and there are crises to avert. Maybe yes, maybe no. Investigation and following the dominos back to the point when they were all standing is not easy, but yields another view.

So many statistics get spouted without evidence or source. Often when the true numbers are obtainable, they vary greatly from those quoted by our elected officials and their sales puppets in the news. The actual influence of US guns in Mexico is one example. Apparently they've inflated that for some reason to become clear soon. It sounds like an excuse to once again inconvenience non-trouble makers.

I have to say, as one who is loathe to apologize for being a citizen or for much else internationally, I am a bit put off that Obama is taking the blame for Mexico's problems and those of the rest of the world, on behalf of the US. It is a bit laughable to be claiming we are arrogant with a great many Brits and French in the crowd. But even when I was furious at Bush, that bit about being ashamed to be American, and the guilt I was supposed to feel toward the gold diggers overseas never quite touched me.

I'm beyond the point of being mad at Obama or Bush or even Hilary. It's too sad. I'm wondering if some of the fiction I read was actually a vision sent by God. The people and events are jumping off of Orwell's, Huxley's and Rand's pages.

They can do or say what they like, and the people can find their religion in some unknown goal of the state (there are definitely religious overtones in all the mischief), as long as I have duct tape, WD-40, channel locks and my lucky Leatherman tool, I'm ahead of the game.

My first instinct many years ago about Arnold was correct. He is an ego maniac and a nincompoop. One of those people just smart enough to get by but not bright enough to know he is not that bright. He absolutely does not get it. For awhile I thought he understood the USA. Clearly he doesn't. He understands fascism and thinks it is OK because he considers his brand benevolent.

Who would have guessed that we'd come to a point at which "the Rich" are considered greedy devils, and the best security is not to own anything? OK. Maybe some us did guess it. Still, I really never believed they'd be compiling lists of enemies based not on substantial history but on whether you disagree with those in power. !!Bien Venidos a Habana!!