Hooked on Anarchy Show

Hulu is a pretty good place for shows and movies, sometimes.   I recently got hooked on a show called Sons of Anarchy, about a motorcycle gang.  Lots of the guys look almost as old as me, and they still wear their colors everywhere they go.  It's kind of strange to think plenty of grown men actually do that.  No different than the current trend in which Republicans and Democrats in DC all wear red and blue ties, respectively.   What a bunch of garbage.  Just like the Crips and Bloods, except with the repubs and dems gangs I know which color goes with which gang.

So, if I were to wear a tie and it happened to be red or blue I guess some people would draw a political significance from the color.  First the rainbow gets highjacked, now red and blue ties.  Now that I think of it, I like the motorcycle gang colors better, because even though they call it wearing their colors, it is really a logo, so they aren't highjacking some normal facet of aesthetic life like rainbows or an entire color.   I never did like all the red state blue state crap.   Logos take a bit more creativity and originality.   

Back to Sons of Anarchy.  First off, the show is pretty good.  They seem to mess up almost everything they touch, and they regularly have the wrong picture in their internal battles.  I want to tell the younger guy that the older guy did not burn down his porn studio.   No way to do it so I guess hijinx will ensue.  Many of the people in this show are very much like people I've known who were loosely connected or otherwise to the wilder side of the biker world. 

Generally I hate motorcycle gangs because of some of the harassment, rape and torture committed by Hells Angels and Outlaws in Florida and the Carolinas many years ago.  What they did was inexcusable, and I plotted ways to wipe out large portions of them but never did. 

Any group with a cool name like Sons of Anarchy gets my attention.  I wish I'd thought of that name for a band.  Fits me well.  Since it has been done I could not now use the name for a group.   No originality in that.  

The SOA don't harass innocent bystanders from what I've seen.  They mostly battle with other gangs and government agencies.  They also have tenuous alliances with other gangs and government agencies.  Maybe that is what I like; they portray the various government players as the gangsters they are.   

It's a great show.  I think it is on FX if you have cable or other modern media access, which I don't.  I'd watch far too much if I did.  

What drives me crazy is now I have to wait about a week for the next episode to show up on hulu.

 That's my review.  

Mr Hospitality

It has come to my attention just how crazy I either am or have been.   For years I could not manage having company, regardless of the hovel in which I dwelled.  It is hard to escape the thought that it had crossed a line into the realm of mental disorder.  I'm not quite sure what I was thinking, but I never felt quite ready to be a host, even in the most minimal of ways.  There were a few times when someone may have actually come in and sat down, but not for long and it was not something I enjoyed.

Since I packed up and moved west, I've had more than one person actually enter my dwelling and maybe even spend and hour or two, and I did not freak out, develop a nervous rash, or otherwise melt down.

Company is coming and I'm looking forward to it.  That is amazing.  I still have little vague concerns, but that is OK.  At the very least it does demonstrate a change in my psyche which I count as a measure of positive improvement.  One of my goals was to quit being so anti social, especially in circumstances where it made no sense.  

This is going to be a fun time.  I've been careful to leave my car and house dirty so that my guest will have something productive to do.  I'm generous like that.  Maybe I'll stock up on cleaning supplies for a welcome to my cottage gift.   I bet that will go over well.

Yep, the way to a woman's heart is a mess to clean up.  Good thing I know this secret.    

The Back and Forth of Infidelia

Infidel (according to dictionary.com)

–noun

1.	Religion.           a. a person who does not accept a particular faith, esp. Christianity. b. (in Christian use) an unbeliever, esp. a Muslim. c. (in Muslim use) a person who does not accept the Islamic faith; kaffir.

2.	a person who has no religious faith; unbeliever.

3.	(loosely) a person who disbelieves or doubts a particular theory, belief, creed, etc.; skeptic.

Generally, I use definition number three, often jokingly, in addressing my doubting and befuddled friends.  Due to the current social climate of the world and particularly this country, people attach the word to what we believe Muslims call non-muslims.  pbuh.  I think they call us "whores", "thugs" "crackers" and "milquetoasts" in private conversation.  I can't prove it, but that's what I think.  

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Then again, some of them don't call those not of the faith anything.  I've been told, and tend to believe it possible, that some mind their own business and do not seek world or community domination.   Like many subsets of society, organizations and self proclaimed leaders who suggest they speak for all of that subset cause others to believe the whole bunch are of one mind.  I've not seen as much evidence to counter the tone of the apparent leaders, but I don't get out much.

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It's another word which has been hijacked.  This time it is a case of hijacking based upon religion rather than sexual proclivity.  Rainbows, the words, "queer", "gay", etc., have been restricted to meanings that have nothing to do with their original intent.  

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Mostly I'm upset that rainbows are now a flag relating to sexual politics rather than the old deal in which they were just considered pretty and, to many, a symbol of hope.  If I paint a rainbow on my mailbox it would be interpreted as a statement to the effect that women need not apply.   I won't be painting my mailbox any time soon.

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Considering case #3 in the definition, I'd apply it to most of those who have power over our lives and money these days.  They do not believe in the ideas of personal freedom, private property, right to free speech and dissent, or choice in too many categories to list.  Infidels!!!

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What leads to that word being most fitting is the fact that they are sworn to protect the laws which were designed to limit their ability to interfere with the peaceful conduct of free people.   The fact that slavery ever co-existed with this document is probably a greater factor in modern day reluctance to consider and adhere to the principles it represented than any other single thing.  

It is the number one mistake ever made in the USA.  That resulted in a large segment of the population believing it was entirely about class domination and that the law meant nothing, means nothing. 

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That is truly a tragedy.  The very groups who stand to benefit the most should these principles ever be enforced are used to keep those in power whose goal is apparently nothing but more power--no matter who suffers.   The result of this bizarre game has been to isolate and destroy the stability of large groups within the country.  All in the name of doing just the opposite.  The insanity on both sides of the debates along the way is sickening.  

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Now we have a country whose citizens are, in the main, completely ignorant of the structure of their government, and the reasons for that structure.  This allows gross abuse of power, distribution of tax money to specific private concerns in almost every industry, and subtle punishment of those who seek to build enterprises which are outside of the tax supported world which would employ people and provide support for themselves and others.

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We live in a country in which anonymous acts of charity and goodwill are discouraged because, unless you report your contributions to the government, and those contributions fit their approval, you do not receive the reward of a tax break.  I don't think you get a break for taking an addict into your home, helping him straighten out and get on his feet.  

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Not that it is their business to begin with,  It is because the tax system is an oppressive, tyrannical mistake.  An aberration.  There are less intrusive ways, and that is precisely the reason you do not hear republicans or democrats insisting on changing that system.  It is a threat to both groups.  Few elected officials of either party are really willing to let go of that kind of public control.  

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That is the second biggest mistake in our history; the income tax.  They had to wrangle a change to the constitution to pull it off.  There is no way we were to settle into freedom for all after that.  Just a matter of time to get where we now are.  A bill actually passed the house which would fine and possibly jail a person who does not buy a product specified by government?  

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Of course if you can't afford it, according to their assessment of whether you can or not, you can surrender yourself to their care and get it done for you.  That means you then must seek their approval for your financial choices, and approach your health care as specified by Big Brother.  Some of us do not welcome this sort of oversight.

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I'd rather just keep a signed form on my person stating that if I can't pay for whatever care I need then go ahead and leave me to die.  People are suckered into thinking that those who now get free treatment from hospitals would somehow cease to be a burden if they sign up for government assistance in this matter.  The only difference I see is that several more middlemen and agencies wil get paid from the taxpaying private citizen world than is now happening.

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It occurred to me that if the insurance companies wanted this new system, it behooves them to pretend they don't and to play the fall guy.  How can they loose if everyone is required to buy their product and if competition is still limited to a set number which varies from state to state?   I believe this is a multi-faceted scam.  Unfortunately I do not know where, if anywhere, I can go to obtain a copy of this bill in order to catalog all the irrelevant earmarks which are merely bribes to various entities.

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The entire thing, I suspect, is a big money making and power grabbing venture which has little to do with compassion or any of the hooks they have put up as justification.   We are like the rabbit entering the box, which is propped up by a stick, to get the juicy carrot.   That string is about to be pulled and the box come down to trap us big time.  It will be safe and secure, and less hazardous than ranging out in the field according to our whims.   

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It would not bother me as much if that buy or die part was not in there.  People make calculated choices which often involve a degree of risk.  Turn left on a busy street.  Life is that way.  It may be that one's priorities compel him to do X before he feels good about doing Y.   For the alleged aggregate to so closely dictate the conduct of the individual's life is totally at odds with any idea of all being equal under the law and free to choose their own path.  It is no improvement over the dreaded feudal system or class preference/slave states of ancient history.

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We have a strange mix of purely government generated feudal tactics, and corporations who pretend to be private companies, but due to the partnership with government and the bastardization of the union concept, are mini fiefdoms.  Infidels, all.  It is borne of a lack of belief in the sanctity of life, the birthright of every person to be his own director; to have the right to do as he can to build his life as he/she chooses. 

In the name of these ideals we've seen more regulation, yet the ideals have been lost in the process as the opposite is the result.  

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Still, people demand more of the same thinking this time it will be better.  It is complicated, for sure, and few things can be done overnight without bad result.  First move, go to a fair tax, or just abolish the IRS and worry about it later.  Second, limit terms for the House and senate to three for the house and two for the senate.  Require sitting out another three terms before they can hold a seat in either branch of the legislature again.

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These family dynasties and the existence of career politicians has robbed us of our civilization and our freedom.  Not to mention our wealth.  Absolutely strip those positions of the perks like health insurance, pensions, personal cars and other transportation not germane to the conduct of the job  paid by citizens.  Let them fund their own transportation for the most part.  

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Infidels when it comes to the belief that the natural, best condition of mankind is to be free.  Obviously that doesn't mean free to curb the rights of his neighbors.  People seem to have trouble understanding how that can be done, and don't want it.  It is more fun to support laws and measures which interfere in the business and conduct of others.  Isn't it great to make that smoker's habit your business, even if it is not actually affecting you?  Or to cast judgement on the possible gas milage your neighbor's car achieves?  Or to feel it best to require restaurants to be responsible for how fat people are, rather than leave it to the choice of the customer to eat their food or not?   

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No way to give up that fun, because we are infidels when it comes to the principles which led millions of people who believed in unalienable rights to spill their blood throughout history.  That's the spelling in the preamble to the Declaration of Independence.

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Personally, I think the writers if the Constitution compromised too much with big government proponents, but compared to where it went by the onset of the 20th century, they were damned near anarchists.  

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It is interesting that no continent has ever housed a significant and sizable, truly free state.   Cuba was the last place in our neck of the woods to abolish slavery.  Now they are all slaves to "The Revolution", much to the delight of Fidel, Sean Penn, and many misguided souls.  Fidel was supposed to bring fidelity to the disregarded constitution that island had adopted in the 1940's.  Fidel, the infidel. Clever. Parts of Africa and Asia have yet to stamp out involuntary servitude.  Why is that not a high priority of such illustrious bodies as the UN?  Infidels--they believe in no principle except power and theft.   Nowhere has fully cast off subjugation which places monarchs or other authorities above other individuals in worth and attendant rights.

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Citing mistaken behavior and conduct as argument against the authors of documents which contain universal principles which ensure that one can be his own master and move from the most meager of circumstance to the most abundant, according to his/her will and ability, is a self defeating mistake.   The concept I urge here is known as placing principles above personalities.

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I may despise the weaselly neighbor who informs me that the house is on fire, but that won't change the truth.  ignoring that would result in a rather toasty demise.  It doesn't matter what he's done or even if he's a famous arsonist.  Either the house is burning or not

Good Thought, Bad Thought

In keeping with my new found fascination with the ads below the posts I do (over at http://ballistictour.keepconnectedlive.com), I hit one of the links.  It was "free, life changing, bla bla bla" (paraphrasing there, even though it is in quotes).  As it turns out it was a video which was mostly audio.  Just text on the screen which went along with the audio to some degree.

The message was how to influence your subconscious by not letting yourself tell it bad stuff, like how stupid and doomed you are. The premise is that whatever you feed the subconscious, it believes, and when it believes something it influences your body accordingly.  That's why a person under hypnosis might think something cold is hot, and can be used as a scaffolding plank if you are short of wooden ones.  I refer to the typical thing where the hypnotist places the stiffened subject between two chairs then stands on her/and/or him.

The guy narrating has the ever popular English accent, which adds credibility.  Since moving to far south CA, I've noticed that the somewhat British accent is in vogue for various advertisements and such.  Maybe they find it a sound you can trust out here.  I guess I find it reassuring on a one on one basis, causing me to be relieved that the other person is literate and capable of reason.  Certain experiences taught me that this is not always so.  In the end I approach the Limey with that sense of being disarmed by assumed intelligence, and a healthy dose of suspicion.  The two things cancel out.   

What this guy suggests is that most self help confidence building courses and theories are bunk and don't work.  But his system works, of course.  Actually, I know his system probably does work well enough.  Anything that causes one to examine a self generated thought which predicts doom, or suggests the host organism is deficient and vile, is worthwhile.  Shooting down detrimental blanket assertions  before they get a chance to seed in the subconscious, is a productive practice.  Otherwise you constantly experience the bodily reactions of fear, and it makes it hard to think and act.  Exercise probably helps people do that because it requires enough effort that suspends idle thought for a time.  

It does make sense that a sustained belief in positive possibility probably increases the likelihood of bringing such things to fruition in one's life.  For some of us it is constant inner war.  That's because we indulged heavily in self loathing and internal criticism, without critical thinking, for long periods of time. That information became internalized to the point of habit.  Habits do not go away peacefully.   This explains why it was believed you could sail off the edge of the earth for so many centuries.   Despite little clues to the contrary that was the only sane view according to THEM.

I kept wondering, so how is this guy making money off of this?   It seems there are other videos and they will send you emails and all that, so I guess eventually they sell you something, maybe confidence building enlargement pills.  That does not change the validity of the assertion that you can at least guide your thoughts or temper their power.  

Mostly it is a matter of assessing validity, and benefit.  What good does it do to tell yourself you will never lose weight if losing weight is what you want to do?  Believe me, you can lose weight and there are those who actually wish to gain a little bulk.  Some things require a belief in possibility.  Most things have, at least in principle, been done by some other human; people successfully bring ideas to market, lose weight, escape poverty and depression, etc.  Things do happen like that, which adds credibility to the idea that it is possible for you, if you have the desire and few working tools at your disposal.  I keep trying to believe that for myself, anyway.

The main thing to realize is that skepticism is fine, but no one is saying that you can magically improve just by viewing videos or thinking and thinking without actually doing.  The idea is to cast away the thoughts that inhibit the action.  In the end the results come from some sort of effort and action.   When anyone promises shortcut magic which precludes real change or effort, then skepticism is prudent.  What is not prudent is to insist in your mind that any action you can dream up to achieve the presumed better condition you desire is doomed from the start and won't work.  That thought pattern guarantees you won't change anything because you talk yourself out of it before you start.  I hate it when that happens. 

It is very easy for old school American types to be discouraged these days.  We feel like we are in the grips of a giant boa constrictor which applies a little more pressure with every breath, making it harder and harder to breathe easy.  All the rules and controls which seem to do anything but protect our right to free choice, leave us believing directing our own recovery from hard times, and writing our own script for the kind of person we choose to be from now on, is prohibited at gunpoint.  Those who are presently comfortable and more secure often view our angst as unnecessary paranoia or crazy, radical rebellion.

That whole thing is a trap, even though there is plenty of good reason to feel the squeeze.  That does not mean the field can't be navigated and all opportunity is gone.   It may be a bad time to move to Michigan thinking you are going to get a great auto worker job and be secure from now on.  By allowing one's self to feel that one can no longer harbor personal dreams, you are feeding the snake.  Can't let that happen.  That is a slave mentality.  The ability to be the director of your own life, and maintain a personal code, is not yet impossible.  

It is a strange thing, living within the structure of civilization, but the alternative may be equally strange and uncomfortable.  I guess many homeless by choice people can attest to that.  There are some drop outs who are bright and capable but just couldn't hack the system any more.   In my own way, I suppose I am a drop out.  I keep believing I can avoid dropping out altogether, though.  There are too many good people and good things that can be done to buy the lie that the restrictions represent the character of all other humans.  

My goal is to prove by example that one can successfully create a niche which does not feed and/or depend on what I see as a macabre monster; the world of intrusive authority which was once a government based on a few pages designed to limit its power.   Obviously it did not do its job or it would not be possible for people to argue that freedom breeds oppression.  I reject that notion, and I am in the minority.   That stated goal is actually secondary.  The primary object is to push my limits of capability more, hoping to become immersed and enthused in the process of developing whatever project into being, and hopefully become moved to happily find myself in a state of ongoing effort toward well defined purposes, never again to feel like an aimless leaf in the wind.

There is no way to discuss it

Recent events, and the way they are treated by the press and the alleged government, are so bizarre that knowing where to start or why elude me.  Since it is likely that much of the country or a large enough portion to be dangerous, do not find the reactions surreal, and eerily frightening, I'd be wasting my time by trying to express myself in detail.  I may be wasting my time in the majority of cases which motivate me to spout off, I know that.

It is far too sad.  That is compounded by the mentality evident in what I've heard, and in what I've not heard, from media creatures and officials. 

If You Know What You Want, You are lucky

Picturing exactly how you want your life to be is not really as easy as it sounds.  Some people say they know but on closer scrutiny, they don't.  Really lucky people don't have to consciously picture anything because they are living it, and realize that they are.   

The feeling that real life is over there flowing along,  and someday maybe you too will be immersed in it haunts some of us.  The truth is that whatever is going on, it is real life.  Maybe many of us have some shade of autism in our makeup which makes it difficult or impossible to meaningfully understand the ways of civilization and the rhetoric used to define it. 

Phrases like "you just have to go out there and do it" can be very vague and confusing.  Go out where and do what?   Out there is a tough one.   I guess it means outside but I'm not clear on where.  How do you know when you are out there, and if you get out there, then what?   Maybe when you mange to do whatever living your life means, it will be evident.  I don't know. 

I've been in that flow a couple of times and it felt very strange.  Not bad, just different.  I ended up back on the bank every time through lack of a mystery quality or ingredient.  Maybe it was that picture of the ideal; what I want, how I think life should be,  and what I ought to be doing.

That last bit is another snafu; what I ought to do.  It is usually right in front of me, but jumping into the obvious action is not natural to me.  It takes fighting some part inside that would rather float on some imaginary cloud dreaming whatever dreams float through.   Not a good recipe for lasting relationships or putting food on the table.

If one is fortunate, there will be people around who insist on pulling him down to earth, or at least not let him fly away so far that he gets lost entirely.  That's a curious phenomenon when it happens.  Maybe the key to arriving in such circumstances is having a bit of purity of heart or at least a desire for a pure heart.  I can't think of any other reason that sort of good fortune would be in place.   

I know I've not always had the same simplicity of heart and degree of empathy that I have now.  Some of the misguided emotion, disregard for feelings, and general wrong conduct in days gone by troubles me at times.  I assumed that what I knew was right was wrong, and that things worked in some dark mysterious way that made no sense.  If you listen to the wrong things you think that way.   

What I see around me may make no sense and there may be a whole slew of false premises loudly broadcast which rationalize it, but that doesn't make a thing right or true.  It is better to feel alone and not human than to defer to that which is at odds with the inner compass just because that is what "everyone else" does or thinks.

Is The Economy a Separate Entity From Normal Life, like the weather?

Never mind.  I deleted the spiel.   Life is life and trying to control the interactions of humans or grab a share of their trades, just because, leads to problems and imbalance.  Simple as that.

Things will always be curbed and influenced.  Perhaps it is a matter of degree which is the crucial point.  I'm sure there is a mathematical way to find the point at which control and interference multiply problems rather than contains their proliferation.  Sort of an offshoot of the point of diminishing returns concept.

How to discern between good and bad economy

That holds in many areas of life.   A case was brought to my attention which demonstrated to me how people seek instability and insecurity.   These people aren't hurting for money, don't worry how next month's rent will get paid, so they manage to create other issues which are equally troubling.  At least from my point of view.  I'd rather live in a campsite than endure the confusing powerplays and tangled web that they are weaving. 

That caused me to wonder if people find difficulty letting go of unpleasant drama in their lives.  They may overcome the financial or job worries only to replace them with other personal stress.   It took me awhile to get used to the reduced drama and stress the ballistictour yielded.  I consciously wanted to free myself of the stuff but it felt weird at first to realize I had accomplished just that.  It takes effort to maintain a lack of drama, but it does become the new habit.  

So now, when I get rich, I plan to take pains not to tangle myself up in some way that offsets the relief that will bring.  Rich, of course, is a relative term.  Rich for me is not all that much, but why put a limit on it?

I think the point is that reducing drama and painful angst is a choice and a hard earned skill.  That is one striking thing about my best friends out here; they are very drama free and don't suffer dramatists gladly.  I have not always been so aware of these things.    Some people think when I am joking and feigning pretend drama that I am serious.   I have to watch that.  If they believe, then I might buy my own act if I'm not careful.

Back to THE ECONOMY.   If my own economy is OK, then the economy is fine.  If I have a roof overhead, can keep my beloved Subaru in fuel and oil, and put food on the table (in that order) then the economy is minimally OK.  The rest is manipulation by elitists and misguided hoodoos.  Hopefully we can curb their efforts enough through non support and dirty looks to keep the world of opportunity alive, if not as free and open as once it was.

----They advertise studies on the radio and sometimes they sound so good I want to participate even though I don't have the problem they are addressing.  I guess they wouldn't be fooled.  

If CA DMV IS Example, Run Away From Gov Healthcare Control

No doubt about it, the governmental partnership with those who own politicians leads to some troubling results in the marketplace.  

However, the usual reaction of "we need more regulation!!" is a big trap.  That results in policies which further favor very specialized, powerful interests, at the expense of private citizens.  It often results in more of what we used to associate with third world underdeveloped countries; long lines, maddening red tape and paperwork, and the feeling that one must walk on eggshells and be careful not to annoy bureaucrats if one is to get what is his logical right to begin with.

CA DMV is an outfit which is inefficient, incompetent, and largely lacking in communication skills, or methods.   

Recently, I registered a car, and obtained a driver's license.  Unlike many states, you don't get a temporary plate, or the real thing on the spot.  If you buy from a dealer you have to ride around with the dealer's advertising plate with temp registration taped in the corner of the windshield until the real plate arrives in the mail.   That takes a couple of month's.  So, like it or not you ride with Joe's Hooplah Auto Emporium!! plates until the other arrives.  

Driver's licenses work in a similar fashion.  Rather than just printing it out on the spot after you spend a day in the DMV filling out forms, supply proper credentials, etc., they give you a slip of paper and you wait for the mail.  

Their much touted web site has forms for changing name, address and other things, but no provision for correcting the problem of a clerk entering your birth date incorrectly.  For this you have to call the 800 number five times hoping the automated system doesn't hang up before you get a person on the line.  Once you get the person, you are told to go to a DMV office and wait in line with proper credentials.  Of course the battery of automated messages include the days they are not open due to "the current financial crisis".  

Since they have my name right on the title, I've opted to put off correcting the misspelled middle name on the registration.  That could be more of a can of worms than it is worth.  

These are not the people I want deciding what health concerns and drugs are approved or denied.  Actually these aren't people I want to have the slightest power over my life.  

If current regulations against fraud, theft, and violating true rights of others were enforced, rather than clouded by feel good legislation with bills named to pique emotions, the problems would be fewer and more adequately addressed.   

What people ignore is the fact that specific, complicated regulations are designed to serve those who keep professional politicians afloat while actually providing the few a path around the nominal purpose of such legislation.   I've seen specific cases first hand, and you can find this general practice without too much effort.  Very often the high profile firms who cry the loudest are the most firmly in bed with the legislators and regulations they decry.  It is an old trick and it has worked well for a long time. 

The more people are willing to allow these additional regulatory measures, thinking they are being administered by benevolent "leaders", the more they are supporting their own rape.  It is a shame but it is the way it is.   I'm shocked at how many intellectuals are sucked in.  Of course many of them depend on grants so they are basically in the same bed as the corporations they claim are evil.   It is an orgy including politicians, companies seeking government enforced monopoly, and the smarmy sycophants who find status in separation from independent entrepreneurs, and who scrap like crazy for the sustenance provided by their orgy bedfellows. 

Anyone who thinks these attempts to further screw with the healthcare world are not backed by the "evil" companies which are held up as the demons is sadly naive and mistaken.   Congress is not going to hold themselves to the same system they want to foist on us.  Why is it that the main people vehemently pushing this are not average Americans, or the working poor?

These people are rich, powerful and use public money for transportation, pensions, salary and more, and they basically write their own ticket.  It is nuts.   The motive has nothing to do with health or care.  

The main players have never been on a hand to mouth budget, and in most cases they have no experience in truly private business.   At best, most have been in so-called private companies that feed off of government money.  They have no clue what they are talking about when they make blanket statements beginning with the phrase, "what the American people want...".  

How many people want what I want?  I have no idea.  How can such blanket statements be made?   People I know mostly want to live their lives as they choose without having to ask permission for every action they take or don't take.

Too bad there are more people who remember when lines were a rare thing in this country.  There were few reasons to have to stand in a government line to obtain some "privilege".  Even DMV was not an all day, by appointment, or else, affair. 

Sad use of technology when you find yourself on hod for 30 minutes or more. and then you talk to someone who doesn't handle English well and can't solve the problem.   Technology is supposed to make life easier, not more tedious.  It is a poor application of the art if it generates inconvenience.  Much of the reason is the fact that many agencies and companies apply a technology or system before considering the consequences, side effects and bugs.  

You track most of that to the increasing possibility that companies can use government to further their ends.   If the government did not have the power it has, they could not be so used.  Those who cry for more regulation and power are only opening the door to more of this misuse and abuse of the dwindling numbers of private individuals who do not choose to partner with tax supported tyrants and con men.   

Every dealing I have with government agencies of any kind tends to make me crazy.  My path doesn't tend to cross with those who may be helping people.  I don't qualify for that need.  

I cannot even imagine the result if the feds gain more control over energy resources and methods and health care options.  Hopefully I am just nuts and stupid, and those who think those who don't go for this stuff are all ignorant and inbred are right.  So far I do not tend to see the value in this kind of authoritarian parent with guns. 

I Heart My WetSaw

It is wet, and it works well on rocks of the West.  It is portable, and easy to set up.  The photo shown here may cause it to appear as large as a person,  It actually is not.

[thanks Class Factotum.  Yes, it is that very same unit of which I speak]

Mystery Brows of Senior Advisor Axelrod

How does he do it?   David Axelrod, who may or may not be paid (I guess the pres can call someone an advisor and pay him out of public money)  to speak as if he is the last word on the domestic and foreign policies of the USA, has the ability to move his eyebrows at least six inches above their at rest position.  They seem to make this journey on their own, independent of one another, and without apparent reason or stimulus.  

The eyebrows also look to be interchangeable with the mustache.  Interchangeable parts.   

What is most remarkable is that his eyebrows can move down below his eyes.   Yes, he can move his eyebrows down so that he can peek over them, and he does this when explaining the unexplainable to that nitwit Bob Scheiffer. 

I think there was a muppet with similarly mobile, autonomous eyebrows.  I'm not sure. I know I've seen the arrangement before, and on a puppet.   It is a new twist to see such facial gymnastics on the puppeteer.