Back in the old days, people found it interesting to read my drivel. Now, not so much.
I think it is the volume combined with the rants about the state of currents events. We've all been done to death with it and no one figures they have any power over it anyway. Actually the implied point in most of what I had to say is that real life is better than the collective conformity of responding to extortionists and liars who control various matters legal and financial.
Then I realized that my real life is largely uneventful and makes for no good stories, yet. That is merely a temporary issue. I'm working on putting a little more life into life.
K, the guitar player figured out how to record with his computer. He has a decent set up, and it would also work on my computer. Tonight I got a last minute call to lay down a harmonica track on a thing he's working on. He'll be up all night fooling with it. Like a kid at Christmas.
For much of the tune you hardly realize I'm in there, but that is as it should be. Pull it and you could tell the difference, but in the main you don't think, "oh there's a bunch of blues harp". The art of being a tasty side man, if I say so myself. People have often not understood that desire for blend, and just a hint of the instrument in there. Fortunately K got it.
Depends on what you're doing whether that's the ticket or not. What he has so far is pretty good. Once the3 others put their parts in, it is going to be alright.
Found out most of my Memphis friends did not get flooded, however one person's car did get flooded--total loss I think.
I only wrote this to force myself to write something. Write enough and eventually you will produce the Gettysburg Address.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
My Manana Friend and The Madness Not Believed
Raul made it back from the hooplah. We haven't discussed the views of laws and borders. I doubt we will. However, I have discussed these things with a woman who is from a South American country, a naturalized citizen with friends in Mexico, and illegal friends here.
In the world of Raul, Monday, changed to Tuesday, and Tuesday is now Thursday. I am a bit of a manana guy myself so I can handle it. I just hope all this insanity hasn't given him a case of gringo hate.
The news has done a great job of convincing people of things not based in fact. I also credit various groups for that. Scare people and they are vulnerable to believing any lie you want to spread. This is happening to a degree on more than one side of the question. But how many people look at what is the real problem?
The big danger of not looking at the tax system, the way services are handled and the corruption all up and down the system is that the cure ends up being more painful than people think. Already there are those who want to use national ID to make all better. No thanks. The potential level of control and the potential clamp on legitimate dissent is not good. Not to mention that if one were to get into the databases and corrupt them, it would make the stupidity of using a single number like social security for all things look safe and brilliant.
So, while we freak out because of the fact that people enter the country illegally, then get used by power seeking groups looking for power, those who created the problem are scheming yet more measures which screw citizens. There are better ways, but it would require overhauling the tax system and reserving many services to citizens. At the same time, I think the honest yet desperate workers who cross back and forth every day could have an easier go of it should these things be implemented.
As it is, we have a government which has been strangely complicit in the commerce done by gangs and cartels. They have left border communities out in the cold. The issue is not a racial one. It is an issue of corruption in our government, the Mexican government, and groups, some with non profit and lobby status, which are out for money and power.
Every news blurb I heard described the AZ law as one which required police to demand papers from anyone suspected of being illegally here. That is patently false. The fact that the person had to have been detained for a crime or infraction first, is left out. I still don't think the law is the best way to go, but I'd rather people oppose it based on truth rather than hype.
They should also look at why many in Arizona felt something had to be done. The law mirrors and refers to federal law. The national government has ignored the problems, the violent drug people, and in many cases punished agents who defended themselves against these elements in the course of doing their jobs. That is a huge scandal which has been covered up.
The dumb ass cities that pass resolutions for boycott or other measures regarding Arizona are in no position to tell anyone else how to run their government. Bankrupt California cities can't even get their own insanity under control. Once again they don't appear to have read the law. If even 10% of those demonstrating and boycotting had read and tried to objectively analyze it, I would be surprised.
The same people who are upset about this are fine with treating everyone as guilty and harassing citizens under the excuse of drug war or the war on terror. Or the goddamed environment. It is very difficult to buy the sincerity of either of those in light of how the borders are handled. And in light of how they treated agents who made life less easy for violent smugglers.
In the mean time the people who have been tacitly encouraged to work here without documentation are caught in the middle, convinced the evil white people hate them, and all sorts of things that aren't true. People who have no contact with sincere workers, who just do what their peers do by slipping in and finding day work and that sort of thing, tend to think some of the blanket characterizations are real.
It's a mess, like everything being put in public discussion lately. Nothing but propaganda all around.
Look how disappointed many in the news were that it wasn't a disgruntled white guy who tried to blow up New York? Some went so far as to theorize that the guy was a "right wing militiaman" upset with the healthcare bill. They did it on the air as if they had some inside knowledge. Totally made up. And why is right wing always linked with militia and bigots? Left wing are the ones who see everything first in terms of race and ethnicity, and last or never in terms of principle. Never in terms of real freedom.
In talking to people it becomes clear that they refuse to look at things in terms of reality, right and wrong, true and false. They are for anything that promotes their group, even if that promotion has elements to it that aren't moral, as in at the expense of others who owe them nothing. The trouble is, that kind of thing can turn so that it applies to some other group at your group's expense.
Few bother to examine the immigration policies of other countries in this mess. Mexico will kick your ass if you jump borders or do any number of things; like not have your documentation on hand. They can stop you and demand to see it any time. That goes for local cops and national military alike. Penalties are harsh. You pretty much have to buy your way into a place like new Zealand. They particularly don't want old foreigners trying locate there. Money tends to do a lot there, but even then it has to be just right.
Unbelievable how the totalitarians in this country are so nuts. They use illegals hoping to get them the vote, while smearing citizens who do not want a nanny state or one that bleeds them dry while limiting opportunities. The whole thing is too bad. The rift between black, white and everything else that has been promoted over the last few years is not constructive. People view everyone unlike themselves with more suspicion than they did just a few years ago. This is going the wrong direction. It was supposed to improve, not get worse.
So many tales of victimization and the resulting exploitation of same would lose much if truth were really allowed to surface. So, the charlatans continue to twist and fabricate.
Little note to la raza: if Mexico were to get California, and all the other states you claim were taken from you, then you'd have to give much of it back to the Aztecs, and much to other tribes. Up here would not be part of the Aztec territory. Then, because the Aztecs took much from other groups, they'd have to give that territory back, then those may have to give it back to whomever was there when they showed up. Before long, if the whole world goes by your reasoning toward the USA, not much will be left. I guess we'll all whittle it down to wherever Paradise is.
That's why I hate demonstrations and power seeking groups based upon ethnicity. Mine or anyone else's. They inevitably lose the truth and become run by people whose motives are less than pure, less than reasonable. I noticed that with demonstrations of the late sixties, union-when I was unfortunately a member, and many crowd and mob actions. Sometimes assemblies have good purpose, but I avoid it whenever possible. Doesn't mean I cooperate with the status quo, governmentally or otherwise. I often don't.
I think the illegal immigrant population are pawns and the real threat is found in our government and many of the groups which push class hatred.
I'm of the mind that the oil rig explosion was not accidental or due to bad design and negligence. When they claimed they were sending SWAT teams, I assumed they'd decided it was a case of criminal activity or terrorists or maybe Hugo Chavez.
Now, the stories are different. Nonsensical in most cases.
I used to be all for the kind of people who are in power now getting their way. I figured it would screw up things so bad that people would rise up and demand a free society with minimal oversight. Now I realize that the screw up is as suspected, but the reaction of the majority is not. Even those who object to how it is evolving rarely want real freedom. They compromise far too much and can't resist certain policies that really should not be part of this country.
So, we do the best we can, keep a tent handy in case we have to live as health care fugitives in the wilderness somewhere, and keep an eye out for hot chicks--just because.
In the world of Raul, Monday, changed to Tuesday, and Tuesday is now Thursday. I am a bit of a manana guy myself so I can handle it. I just hope all this insanity hasn't given him a case of gringo hate.
The news has done a great job of convincing people of things not based in fact. I also credit various groups for that. Scare people and they are vulnerable to believing any lie you want to spread. This is happening to a degree on more than one side of the question. But how many people look at what is the real problem?
The big danger of not looking at the tax system, the way services are handled and the corruption all up and down the system is that the cure ends up being more painful than people think. Already there are those who want to use national ID to make all better. No thanks. The potential level of control and the potential clamp on legitimate dissent is not good. Not to mention that if one were to get into the databases and corrupt them, it would make the stupidity of using a single number like social security for all things look safe and brilliant.
So, while we freak out because of the fact that people enter the country illegally, then get used by power seeking groups looking for power, those who created the problem are scheming yet more measures which screw citizens. There are better ways, but it would require overhauling the tax system and reserving many services to citizens. At the same time, I think the honest yet desperate workers who cross back and forth every day could have an easier go of it should these things be implemented.
As it is, we have a government which has been strangely complicit in the commerce done by gangs and cartels. They have left border communities out in the cold. The issue is not a racial one. It is an issue of corruption in our government, the Mexican government, and groups, some with non profit and lobby status, which are out for money and power.
Every news blurb I heard described the AZ law as one which required police to demand papers from anyone suspected of being illegally here. That is patently false. The fact that the person had to have been detained for a crime or infraction first, is left out. I still don't think the law is the best way to go, but I'd rather people oppose it based on truth rather than hype.
They should also look at why many in Arizona felt something had to be done. The law mirrors and refers to federal law. The national government has ignored the problems, the violent drug people, and in many cases punished agents who defended themselves against these elements in the course of doing their jobs. That is a huge scandal which has been covered up.
The dumb ass cities that pass resolutions for boycott or other measures regarding Arizona are in no position to tell anyone else how to run their government. Bankrupt California cities can't even get their own insanity under control. Once again they don't appear to have read the law. If even 10% of those demonstrating and boycotting had read and tried to objectively analyze it, I would be surprised.
The same people who are upset about this are fine with treating everyone as guilty and harassing citizens under the excuse of drug war or the war on terror. Or the goddamed environment. It is very difficult to buy the sincerity of either of those in light of how the borders are handled. And in light of how they treated agents who made life less easy for violent smugglers.
In the mean time the people who have been tacitly encouraged to work here without documentation are caught in the middle, convinced the evil white people hate them, and all sorts of things that aren't true. People who have no contact with sincere workers, who just do what their peers do by slipping in and finding day work and that sort of thing, tend to think some of the blanket characterizations are real.
It's a mess, like everything being put in public discussion lately. Nothing but propaganda all around.
Look how disappointed many in the news were that it wasn't a disgruntled white guy who tried to blow up New York? Some went so far as to theorize that the guy was a "right wing militiaman" upset with the healthcare bill. They did it on the air as if they had some inside knowledge. Totally made up. And why is right wing always linked with militia and bigots? Left wing are the ones who see everything first in terms of race and ethnicity, and last or never in terms of principle. Never in terms of real freedom.
In talking to people it becomes clear that they refuse to look at things in terms of reality, right and wrong, true and false. They are for anything that promotes their group, even if that promotion has elements to it that aren't moral, as in at the expense of others who owe them nothing. The trouble is, that kind of thing can turn so that it applies to some other group at your group's expense.
Few bother to examine the immigration policies of other countries in this mess. Mexico will kick your ass if you jump borders or do any number of things; like not have your documentation on hand. They can stop you and demand to see it any time. That goes for local cops and national military alike. Penalties are harsh. You pretty much have to buy your way into a place like new Zealand. They particularly don't want old foreigners trying locate there. Money tends to do a lot there, but even then it has to be just right.
Unbelievable how the totalitarians in this country are so nuts. They use illegals hoping to get them the vote, while smearing citizens who do not want a nanny state or one that bleeds them dry while limiting opportunities. The whole thing is too bad. The rift between black, white and everything else that has been promoted over the last few years is not constructive. People view everyone unlike themselves with more suspicion than they did just a few years ago. This is going the wrong direction. It was supposed to improve, not get worse.
So many tales of victimization and the resulting exploitation of same would lose much if truth were really allowed to surface. So, the charlatans continue to twist and fabricate.
Little note to la raza: if Mexico were to get California, and all the other states you claim were taken from you, then you'd have to give much of it back to the Aztecs, and much to other tribes. Up here would not be part of the Aztec territory. Then, because the Aztecs took much from other groups, they'd have to give that territory back, then those may have to give it back to whomever was there when they showed up. Before long, if the whole world goes by your reasoning toward the USA, not much will be left. I guess we'll all whittle it down to wherever Paradise is.
That's why I hate demonstrations and power seeking groups based upon ethnicity. Mine or anyone else's. They inevitably lose the truth and become run by people whose motives are less than pure, less than reasonable. I noticed that with demonstrations of the late sixties, union-when I was unfortunately a member, and many crowd and mob actions. Sometimes assemblies have good purpose, but I avoid it whenever possible. Doesn't mean I cooperate with the status quo, governmentally or otherwise. I often don't.
I think the illegal immigrant population are pawns and the real threat is found in our government and many of the groups which push class hatred.
I'm of the mind that the oil rig explosion was not accidental or due to bad design and negligence. When they claimed they were sending SWAT teams, I assumed they'd decided it was a case of criminal activity or terrorists or maybe Hugo Chavez.
Now, the stories are different. Nonsensical in most cases.
I used to be all for the kind of people who are in power now getting their way. I figured it would screw up things so bad that people would rise up and demand a free society with minimal oversight. Now I realize that the screw up is as suspected, but the reaction of the majority is not. Even those who object to how it is evolving rarely want real freedom. They compromise far too much and can't resist certain policies that really should not be part of this country.
So, we do the best we can, keep a tent handy in case we have to live as health care fugitives in the wilderness somewhere, and keep an eye out for hot chicks--just because.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Politics Slowing the Raul Saga?
No clear evidence that the world of current events and the skullduggery of The MAN are at play, but I suspect so.
Raul left an early morning message which I didn't receive until later in the day. The reception is so sketchy on ballistic mountain, that I often get messages from the night before or the morning only when I drive down the hill.
So, Raul said he's going to Arizona this weekend. Hmmm. With all the hooplah I wonder if he's going there to join the protest. I also wonder if he, or any of his colleagues, have read the law with an open mind. Have they tried to understand what made people of AZ react in this way? Can they not see the side that feels the negligence of the federal government in enforcing its laws and preventing drug cartel and gang spill over has forced them to find better ways to protect life, limb, property, and tranquility?
It is a real tragedy that people have made something out to be an indictment of Mexicans in general. Anyone who knows me probably knows I am extraordinarily fond of Mexico, Mexicans, their culture, etc. This stuff breaks my heart a little.
I keep hearing the news characterize the law as one which mandates that cops request papers from anyone they think might be here illegally. That is not what the law says. It says they do that only if they have stopped or detained a person for some other offense. Even though I am not for requiring police to ask any more than they currently do, I can see that the law does not give wholesale excuse to harass a certain group.
The problem is that bad elements are running rampant in some places and it is because our government has been complicit in enabling drug cartels and the resultant criminal elements to do business and mischief in the US. They are cloaking that issue in the smokescreen of those who are hard working and desperate to escape the poverty which the Mexican government furthers with its policies and corruption.
Whatever Raul is up to, I hope he has a safe trip and doesn't get too wound up in the racial war aspect which so many are promoting. Believe me, bad cops harass based on perceived power, not race. And cities in which the white devil is in the minority are rampant with discrimination against every group but their own. Open discrimination. It was not remotely hidden in Miami, or even memphis. Except in Miami they did not generally play victim. "Just the way it is" was more their motto.
I experienced some real strange things in Miami due to that sort of tribalism, but did not overly resent it. In the most clear cut case, it was not on racial but based on gender. What shocked me most and somehow pleased me was that the people who came out of the woodwork to back me up openly were black. If anyone thinks white devils will protect their own from such things, he is sadly mistaken. Leave the Klan out of it. They represent no one. The people who started and promoted that were all democrats.
Mostly I wish people in the US would simply be Americans and get over the idea that specific group based on genetics and sexual orientation, or even which sex you are, ought to somehow be a political thing. If you run things on principle and equal status under the law then those things are irrelevant.
I wish both sides of this immigration thing would look at reality, that the Mexican government would shut up since they preach one thing then do another, and that our own national government would quit allowing and creating hate and chaos to further their political power.
Freedom ought to be taught, understood, and worked toward. That is not what is happening.
I wish Raul the best and I am glad he's here. Maybe he's legal, maybe not. I don't care. he is not a burden to society, and I have selfish reasons for wanting him to be here, healthy, happy, and back in town soon.
Raul left an early morning message which I didn't receive until later in the day. The reception is so sketchy on ballistic mountain, that I often get messages from the night before or the morning only when I drive down the hill.
So, Raul said he's going to Arizona this weekend. Hmmm. With all the hooplah I wonder if he's going there to join the protest. I also wonder if he, or any of his colleagues, have read the law with an open mind. Have they tried to understand what made people of AZ react in this way? Can they not see the side that feels the negligence of the federal government in enforcing its laws and preventing drug cartel and gang spill over has forced them to find better ways to protect life, limb, property, and tranquility?
It is a real tragedy that people have made something out to be an indictment of Mexicans in general. Anyone who knows me probably knows I am extraordinarily fond of Mexico, Mexicans, their culture, etc. This stuff breaks my heart a little.
I keep hearing the news characterize the law as one which mandates that cops request papers from anyone they think might be here illegally. That is not what the law says. It says they do that only if they have stopped or detained a person for some other offense. Even though I am not for requiring police to ask any more than they currently do, I can see that the law does not give wholesale excuse to harass a certain group.
The problem is that bad elements are running rampant in some places and it is because our government has been complicit in enabling drug cartels and the resultant criminal elements to do business and mischief in the US. They are cloaking that issue in the smokescreen of those who are hard working and desperate to escape the poverty which the Mexican government furthers with its policies and corruption.
Whatever Raul is up to, I hope he has a safe trip and doesn't get too wound up in the racial war aspect which so many are promoting. Believe me, bad cops harass based on perceived power, not race. And cities in which the white devil is in the minority are rampant with discrimination against every group but their own. Open discrimination. It was not remotely hidden in Miami, or even memphis. Except in Miami they did not generally play victim. "Just the way it is" was more their motto.
I experienced some real strange things in Miami due to that sort of tribalism, but did not overly resent it. In the most clear cut case, it was not on racial but based on gender. What shocked me most and somehow pleased me was that the people who came out of the woodwork to back me up openly were black. If anyone thinks white devils will protect their own from such things, he is sadly mistaken. Leave the Klan out of it. They represent no one. The people who started and promoted that were all democrats.
Mostly I wish people in the US would simply be Americans and get over the idea that specific group based on genetics and sexual orientation, or even which sex you are, ought to somehow be a political thing. If you run things on principle and equal status under the law then those things are irrelevant.
I wish both sides of this immigration thing would look at reality, that the Mexican government would shut up since they preach one thing then do another, and that our own national government would quit allowing and creating hate and chaos to further their political power.
Freedom ought to be taught, understood, and worked toward. That is not what is happening.
I wish Raul the best and I am glad he's here. Maybe he's legal, maybe not. I don't care. he is not a burden to society, and I have selfish reasons for wanting him to be here, healthy, happy, and back in town soon.
On Hold and Baseball
Raul did call this morning. He couldn't make it today but thinks he can Monday. He has assured me that once he tests his super secret stuff, he'll let me know everything I have to do. The fact that he called shows he's willing to help me turn this bad situation to good, so the stress of it has dissipated some.
Things that stress people vary in nature. Feeling like I had done something really stupid which left a problem I did not know how to fix stressed me more than injuries I've had and many other things that ought to bother me more. I'm not sure how that works.
Anyway, my guitar player/singer friend called and said he won ball game tickets from a radio station this morning. It turns out he knew that that new merit badge the Boy Scouts can earn is for playing video games. That is bizarre no matter how you slice it.
Padres vs Brewers. The seats were a couple of sections up just left of home plate. Apparently the uppity section. The people were not the type to cheer or even clap more than an occasional golf clap.
The sections to either side and way up high were much more animated. No worry about people spilling beer or getting rowdy where we were. Very good seats, for sure. But it was kind of interesting. The wave was going all around the stands but when it came to our area everyone just sat stone faced. I made a slight gesture with my hands. In this group that was rowdy.
Padres won. Shut them out, but only scored maybe 3? I should know. One home run was hit.
That is the only major league baseball game I've ever attended. At least I think so. There are a few years in the past when anything may have happened but that period is a blur at best.
It was a great time. K, the guitar player is a funny guy. At one point we were doing sort of a Thurston Howell routine discussing the family of certain players and it somehow cracked me up. Then I realized how we were acting like kids, and we are far from that. Way far. I may not have grown up yet.
Maybe this is real life; even stopped and visited my coastal friends before the game. I ate all their snacks then we left. It must be the relief of knowing I;ll learn how to make that job right. Before I found out what was on there I was at a loss because no one knew what was up and I'd run totally out of go-to people and resources. In my relief I think I was bouncing around like a pogo stick, eating snacks laughing and discussing the lineage of the Hedley fellow slumming it with the team.
It was a good enough, long day. I had some work early this morning which at least put a dollar or two in the bank. Nothing which required any substance process or thought.
Plenty of perplexity in certain areas, but what the heck, I often prefer obvious euphemisms rather than going hard core with expletives. It gives a different tone and timbre.
Things that stress people vary in nature. Feeling like I had done something really stupid which left a problem I did not know how to fix stressed me more than injuries I've had and many other things that ought to bother me more. I'm not sure how that works.
Anyway, my guitar player/singer friend called and said he won ball game tickets from a radio station this morning. It turns out he knew that that new merit badge the Boy Scouts can earn is for playing video games. That is bizarre no matter how you slice it.
Padres vs Brewers. The seats were a couple of sections up just left of home plate. Apparently the uppity section. The people were not the type to cheer or even clap more than an occasional golf clap.
The sections to either side and way up high were much more animated. No worry about people spilling beer or getting rowdy where we were. Very good seats, for sure. But it was kind of interesting. The wave was going all around the stands but when it came to our area everyone just sat stone faced. I made a slight gesture with my hands. In this group that was rowdy.
Padres won. Shut them out, but only scored maybe 3? I should know. One home run was hit.
That is the only major league baseball game I've ever attended. At least I think so. There are a few years in the past when anything may have happened but that period is a blur at best.
It was a great time. K, the guitar player is a funny guy. At one point we were doing sort of a Thurston Howell routine discussing the family of certain players and it somehow cracked me up. Then I realized how we were acting like kids, and we are far from that. Way far. I may not have grown up yet.
Maybe this is real life; even stopped and visited my coastal friends before the game. I ate all their snacks then we left. It must be the relief of knowing I;ll learn how to make that job right. Before I found out what was on there I was at a loss because no one knew what was up and I'd run totally out of go-to people and resources. In my relief I think I was bouncing around like a pogo stick, eating snacks laughing and discussing the lineage of the Hedley fellow slumming it with the team.
It was a good enough, long day. I had some work early this morning which at least put a dollar or two in the bank. Nothing which required any substance process or thought.
Plenty of perplexity in certain areas, but what the heck, I often prefer obvious euphemisms rather than going hard core with expletives. It gives a different tone and timbre.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Praying Raul Shows Up
Due to a bit of misinformation and disastrous result on a job, I find myself depending on the mysterious Raul to walk me through a particular process whcih may yet make this mess right. He showed once so he'll probably show again. I just know I need him more than he needs me in this instance.
I'd rather not describe it all in detail. No matter what I was told, I should have known better. There was nagging doubt. There wwas what my eyes told me, but no, they said, blablabla. When will I learn to obey that little hunch? It has happened before when I thought, "Maybe they know something I don't, but it doesn't quite make sense". Then I go ahead, and since I do the thing, I am responsible. Drat!
This time it may mean a job which would have paid rent rent ends up costing me more than I want to estimate.
At first the problem was all that was clear. What was there orginally, and how to fix it was a mystery. It is a stroke of luck, a miracle that through persistent inquiry we discovered that Raul was the guy who worked his specialized, secret process magic on this project. The real miracle is that he was actually located and met us at the scene of the crime. I felt he took pity on me as he assured me he'd help me out of this fix. I'd made it clear if I could do some or all the work to defray expense it would be a life saver.
He could have been insulting and uncooperative. Fortunately he seemed a good soul. He recognized my sincere respect for his work and interest in how to make this right.
I didn't think the project was that necessary to begin with. Had anyone known the real deal, Bringing it back to a better state would have been a simple thing. A maintenance process which ought to be done yearly. It has been four or five years.
This makes for early morning because I need to get some things done at fatcat house #1 and be in the area when Raul can get there. Could be I need to seriously find another line of work. Could be I'll learn something very good which can be applied to a range of items.
Boy did I sweat this out when the mystery phase was in full swing; hours of research, inquiries to every source I could find on the subject. Research did put me on the right track but I couldn't be sure of details. Inquiries to various outfits in the area yielded absolutely nothing.
Please, wood finishing gods, make sure Raul shows up and is in a benevolent mood. He holds the cards. Still, I need to recognize the stroke of good fortune that got me to this point, knowing some of what I'm dealing with and who is the master of such things. For that I do feel rather fortunate.
Another incident which reinforces what coworkers said about me long ago--for an unlucky guy, I'm the luckiest guy around.
This is less than a third of the overall deal.
It dried to a less hideous aspect than what you see here. Not that it was supposed to look good at this point. Had to do with ---never mind. It is what it is.
Yes, I know. I can be as big an idiot and nincompoop as anyone I ever called out for such buffoonery.
I've not slept all that well for a couple of nights. Maybe I could be a politician. You don't have to do anything right and when you screw up you just do things to make it worse then blame someone else.
I'd rather not describe it all in detail. No matter what I was told, I should have known better. There was nagging doubt. There wwas what my eyes told me, but no, they said, blablabla. When will I learn to obey that little hunch? It has happened before when I thought, "Maybe they know something I don't, but it doesn't quite make sense". Then I go ahead, and since I do the thing, I am responsible. Drat!
This time it may mean a job which would have paid rent rent ends up costing me more than I want to estimate.
At first the problem was all that was clear. What was there orginally, and how to fix it was a mystery. It is a stroke of luck, a miracle that through persistent inquiry we discovered that Raul was the guy who worked his specialized, secret process magic on this project. The real miracle is that he was actually located and met us at the scene of the crime. I felt he took pity on me as he assured me he'd help me out of this fix. I'd made it clear if I could do some or all the work to defray expense it would be a life saver.
He could have been insulting and uncooperative. Fortunately he seemed a good soul. He recognized my sincere respect for his work and interest in how to make this right.
I didn't think the project was that necessary to begin with. Had anyone known the real deal, Bringing it back to a better state would have been a simple thing. A maintenance process which ought to be done yearly. It has been four or five years.
This makes for early morning because I need to get some things done at fatcat house #1 and be in the area when Raul can get there. Could be I need to seriously find another line of work. Could be I'll learn something very good which can be applied to a range of items.
Boy did I sweat this out when the mystery phase was in full swing; hours of research, inquiries to every source I could find on the subject. Research did put me on the right track but I couldn't be sure of details. Inquiries to various outfits in the area yielded absolutely nothing.
Please, wood finishing gods, make sure Raul shows up and is in a benevolent mood. He holds the cards. Still, I need to recognize the stroke of good fortune that got me to this point, knowing some of what I'm dealing with and who is the master of such things. For that I do feel rather fortunate.
Another incident which reinforces what coworkers said about me long ago--for an unlucky guy, I'm the luckiest guy around.
This is less than a third of the overall deal.
It dried to a less hideous aspect than what you see here. Not that it was supposed to look good at this point. Had to do with ---never mind. It is what it is.
Yes, I know. I can be as big an idiot and nincompoop as anyone I ever called out for such buffoonery.
I've not slept all that well for a couple of nights. Maybe I could be a politician. You don't have to do anything right and when you screw up you just do things to make it worse then blame someone else.
Appealing to Emotion in Lieu of Reason
No way to escape all the heat over AZ making a law in response to the failure of the feds to manage immigration in an organized manner. The emotions run high with people who find their own farms and ranches to be unsafe, and those who feel crime against citizens result. Emotions also run high among people who want to be here, are here, and often have some family ties.
Then you get organizations which promote a little more fear and hatred than is warranted. They have their own agenda and it has far more to do with power than compassion. I'm sorry but I do not give credence to organizations based solely on the politics of race, rather than true freedom and equal treatment under the law. We are ending up with class hatred and racial polarization in the name of things which cloak themselves in half truths and which turn a blind eye to reality.
Finally I located the entire text of the AZ law. At least it is short enough that maybe those voting on it actually read it, unlike many federal laws. It is mostly full of things that one would think are standard operating procedure to begin with, however I can see some danger in it.
In my view AZ has the right to make laws instructing law enforcement to enforce laws. Even so, I am skeptical of long term value of the measure.
It is quite clear in reading this that AZ has a problem, and that problem is lack of support from the feds who are not doing their job in protecting borders. The big trouble is that many who cross the border illegally are committing crimes and burdening the social services of the border towns and beyond.
Federal entities have shown a lack of concern, at best, and even support, at worst, for the gang and criminal activity which relies on illegal crossing of the border. That makes it tough for those who are actually looking to do work where work is. The non-violent illegals will be dealt with more harshly due to the riffraff. If not for the crime and abuse of services, there would not be much worry about the others.
The worst of it is that what all this is being used to do is to enlarge another voter block based on race, fueled by appeal to emotion rather than reason. That appears to be at least one motive for some of the insane reactions such as sanctuary cities and such. Those things open a door to the undesirable elements who are taking advantage of a system that increasingly punishes citizens while ignoring threats.
I would more allow the officers to determine legality when a stop is made rather than put them under a requirement. There are a lot of times when it would be better for them to let the guy go. It's a case by case thing. They check for a license anyway and that serves as enough documentation under the law. You get caught just floating around in the country without any legal status, then you run into some trouble. Isn't that already the deal?
Given the probability that a lot of the law enforcement personnel is Hispanic, just like the border patrol, I can't see this as a racially biased measure. If I got stopped with no ID and had the aspect of someone from Russia or even Ireland, I would be in the same boat as anyone else. In reality most people entering the country illegally into Arizona are from Mexico. That does not make race an issue. The issue is illegal entry, expense of those taking advantage of tax paid social services and crime, more than anything else.
Somehow the overall treatment of thing has not been working or there would not be people getting murdered on their ranches, setting up camp on private property, violence scaring the people, etc.
When the Mexican government complains, there is something way wrong. Just see how easy it is to gather a bunch of undocumented people there to protest in Mexico city. See how Guatemalans are treated sneaking across the southern border of Mexico. Their laws are far more strict and unyielding than ours. They are not nearly as nice to those who enter illegally. They have no right to say a thing, and it is insane that we give them the slightest credibility. They need to run their own country in a decent way so people aren't so desperate to escape, and so it is not so dicey for Americans to visit.
It looks like this thing has blown into a gigantic cloud of lies which provide fertile ground for demagogues and self serving groups to jockey for more power as they foment unwarranted hate and fear. It is not a sanctioned roundup of everyone of Mexican heritage, and it may be a slight door opener which may have other consequences. Mostly it only reiterates federal law but requires cops to enforce it.
If someone has committed some sort of infraction, he's always going to be scrutinized by cops. If this was a racial thing, I could see the fear of police creating excuses for stopping people to remain within the bounds of the law while actually harassing people. I've been subjected to that in Miami back in the old days and I have no faith in the benevolence of law enforcement in the long run.
That is the main danger of this law and many others; it could come back to bite innocent people minding their own business, down the road. And it won't be the ones who are now rioting and throwing rocks. Just like homeland security has managed to place innocents under more harassment in response to threats from others. Much like the war on drugs measures which suspended probable cause and the practice of setting up roadblocks making everyone show ID and prove innocence.
There must be a way to untie the hands of local authorities in communities which suffer from the spill over of violent gang and drug cartel activity without having race baiters incite riots and threaten citizens. Hatred of arrogant freeloaders and criminals is somewhat common. Hatred of people from Mexico and others of Mexican descent is far less prevalent. Hatred of gringos is becoming encouraged and widespread, simply by falsely convincing Hispanics that they are victims and under threat.
I still wonder how anyone can believe homeland security is actually concerned about keeping terrorists out when they do so little to keep criminal elements out. It does add to the confusion that many illegals are not really criminally motivated. Just a case in which they heard the thing to do if you can't wait out the red tape is cross over, make some money and live better. Plenty of second and third generation American citizens who find themselves in dire straits wish they had such a clear cut way to salvation.
I don't know. The law most reiterates what is already in federal law, and cites such. Not worth the flap. They do have a right to try to keep their community safe and their hospitals and schools affordable.
No other country I know of has as much leniency toward immigrants, legal or illegal. Mexico certainly doesn't.
Although I don't think the law will promote the rounding up of everyone who looks Hispanic, if some encouragement by law admin is put in place along the lines of traffic ticket quotas, it could be abused. I just find it hard to believe that in light of the problems caused by massive illegal entry, which are undeniable, that people support measures which make it impossible to combat, and that the feds totally play politics rather than curtail the problem.
Many people would rather get in an emotional frenzy rather that look at the truth, and then there are those who salivate at any chance to make an issue racial which isn't.
Then you get organizations which promote a little more fear and hatred than is warranted. They have their own agenda and it has far more to do with power than compassion. I'm sorry but I do not give credence to organizations based solely on the politics of race, rather than true freedom and equal treatment under the law. We are ending up with class hatred and racial polarization in the name of things which cloak themselves in half truths and which turn a blind eye to reality.
Finally I located the entire text of the AZ law. At least it is short enough that maybe those voting on it actually read it, unlike many federal laws. It is mostly full of things that one would think are standard operating procedure to begin with, however I can see some danger in it.
In my view AZ has the right to make laws instructing law enforcement to enforce laws. Even so, I am skeptical of long term value of the measure.
It is quite clear in reading this that AZ has a problem, and that problem is lack of support from the feds who are not doing their job in protecting borders. The big trouble is that many who cross the border illegally are committing crimes and burdening the social services of the border towns and beyond.
Federal entities have shown a lack of concern, at best, and even support, at worst, for the gang and criminal activity which relies on illegal crossing of the border. That makes it tough for those who are actually looking to do work where work is. The non-violent illegals will be dealt with more harshly due to the riffraff. If not for the crime and abuse of services, there would not be much worry about the others.
The worst of it is that what all this is being used to do is to enlarge another voter block based on race, fueled by appeal to emotion rather than reason. That appears to be at least one motive for some of the insane reactions such as sanctuary cities and such. Those things open a door to the undesirable elements who are taking advantage of a system that increasingly punishes citizens while ignoring threats.
I would more allow the officers to determine legality when a stop is made rather than put them under a requirement. There are a lot of times when it would be better for them to let the guy go. It's a case by case thing. They check for a license anyway and that serves as enough documentation under the law. You get caught just floating around in the country without any legal status, then you run into some trouble. Isn't that already the deal?
Given the probability that a lot of the law enforcement personnel is Hispanic, just like the border patrol, I can't see this as a racially biased measure. If I got stopped with no ID and had the aspect of someone from Russia or even Ireland, I would be in the same boat as anyone else. In reality most people entering the country illegally into Arizona are from Mexico. That does not make race an issue. The issue is illegal entry, expense of those taking advantage of tax paid social services and crime, more than anything else.
Somehow the overall treatment of thing has not been working or there would not be people getting murdered on their ranches, setting up camp on private property, violence scaring the people, etc.
When the Mexican government complains, there is something way wrong. Just see how easy it is to gather a bunch of undocumented people there to protest in Mexico city. See how Guatemalans are treated sneaking across the southern border of Mexico. Their laws are far more strict and unyielding than ours. They are not nearly as nice to those who enter illegally. They have no right to say a thing, and it is insane that we give them the slightest credibility. They need to run their own country in a decent way so people aren't so desperate to escape, and so it is not so dicey for Americans to visit.
It looks like this thing has blown into a gigantic cloud of lies which provide fertile ground for demagogues and self serving groups to jockey for more power as they foment unwarranted hate and fear. It is not a sanctioned roundup of everyone of Mexican heritage, and it may be a slight door opener which may have other consequences. Mostly it only reiterates federal law but requires cops to enforce it.
If someone has committed some sort of infraction, he's always going to be scrutinized by cops. If this was a racial thing, I could see the fear of police creating excuses for stopping people to remain within the bounds of the law while actually harassing people. I've been subjected to that in Miami back in the old days and I have no faith in the benevolence of law enforcement in the long run.
That is the main danger of this law and many others; it could come back to bite innocent people minding their own business, down the road. And it won't be the ones who are now rioting and throwing rocks. Just like homeland security has managed to place innocents under more harassment in response to threats from others. Much like the war on drugs measures which suspended probable cause and the practice of setting up roadblocks making everyone show ID and prove innocence.
There must be a way to untie the hands of local authorities in communities which suffer from the spill over of violent gang and drug cartel activity without having race baiters incite riots and threaten citizens. Hatred of arrogant freeloaders and criminals is somewhat common. Hatred of people from Mexico and others of Mexican descent is far less prevalent. Hatred of gringos is becoming encouraged and widespread, simply by falsely convincing Hispanics that they are victims and under threat.
I still wonder how anyone can believe homeland security is actually concerned about keeping terrorists out when they do so little to keep criminal elements out. It does add to the confusion that many illegals are not really criminally motivated. Just a case in which they heard the thing to do if you can't wait out the red tape is cross over, make some money and live better. Plenty of second and third generation American citizens who find themselves in dire straits wish they had such a clear cut way to salvation.
I don't know. The law most reiterates what is already in federal law, and cites such. Not worth the flap. They do have a right to try to keep their community safe and their hospitals and schools affordable.
No other country I know of has as much leniency toward immigrants, legal or illegal. Mexico certainly doesn't.
Although I don't think the law will promote the rounding up of everyone who looks Hispanic, if some encouragement by law admin is put in place along the lines of traffic ticket quotas, it could be abused. I just find it hard to believe that in light of the problems caused by massive illegal entry, which are undeniable, that people support measures which make it impossible to combat, and that the feds totally play politics rather than curtail the problem.
Many people would rather get in an emotional frenzy rather that look at the truth, and then there are those who salivate at any chance to make an issue racial which isn't.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Self Hypnosis
I AM A NON SMOKER. I HAVE NEVER ENJOYED TOBACCO.
MY LUNGS ARE CLEAN, PINK AND FREE OF OBSTRUCTIONS.
I'VE NEVER SMOKED. I AM A NON SMOKER. I'VE ALWAYS
BEEN A NON SMOKER. I WAS BORN A NON SMOKER.
I HAVE AN AVERSION TO INHALING SMOKE. IT IS NATURAL TO
RESIST INHALING SMOKE. I AM NATURALLY SMOKE FREE.
I AM A NON SMOKER.
I HAVE NO COMPULSION TO SMOKE CIGARETTES
I'M COMFORTABLE BEING SMOKE FREE.
I'M HAPPY I AM SMOKE FREE, AND HAVE NO DESIRE WHATSOEVER TO SMOKE
I'M TOO SEXY FOR MY SHIRT,
TOO SEXY FOR MY SHIRT,
ETC.
ETC.
MY LUNGS ARE CLEAN, PINK AND FREE OF OBSTRUCTIONS.
I'VE NEVER SMOKED. I AM A NON SMOKER. I'VE ALWAYS
BEEN A NON SMOKER. I WAS BORN A NON SMOKER.
I HAVE AN AVERSION TO INHALING SMOKE. IT IS NATURAL TO
RESIST INHALING SMOKE. I AM NATURALLY SMOKE FREE.
I AM A NON SMOKER.
I HAVE NO COMPULSION TO SMOKE CIGARETTES
I'M COMFORTABLE BEING SMOKE FREE.
I'M HAPPY I AM SMOKE FREE, AND HAVE NO DESIRE WHATSOEVER TO SMOKE
I'M TOO SEXY FOR MY SHIRT,
TOO SEXY FOR MY SHIRT,
ETC.
ETC.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
I Don't Get Earth Day
Really, I don't.
It only makes economic sense when you can re-use things, or if various products degrade easily once used. It costs money to deal with trash that doesn't go away. Lots of things can be incorporated into other materials used for building or whatever. It is nothing new.
The general tone of earth day seems to be self righteous sacrifice which is often meaningless. That is not to say things that can supply heat or power without buying consumable material like oil aren't desirable. But I do not sit in awe of those who have sworn off toilet paper or who want to use taxes to change behavior and skew the market.
The logical progression of things is toward methods and designs that get more use out of a unit of fuel and such as that.
I still can't help but remember when people who wanted to produce their own power by water power off the creek out back and by other means were once characterized and right wing militia types and forbidden from dong those things. Mills which once used a waterwheel to power the looms, then later used the wheel to power a generator were forbidden from doing so. They were required to buy the power from the utility companies.
Keeping those examples in mind, it could be said that government involvement and support of one group or company over another has actually slowed the progress of the development of renewable cheap energy. Why, now, would I want people who can't design anything to control the progress of such art? It has become an emotional movement which gets passionate and militant, often using half baked studies and dubious conclusions in a campaign against technology in almost any form.
The aspect to the day which induces goody-goody wannabes to behave in that "look at me and praise me, I'm picking up trash and not using toilet paper much", leaves me cold. Then again, most intentionally conspicuous "service" does that.
I saw a Mexican man in Alpine walking toward the corner where they gather in case someone wants to hire labor. Maybe illegal, maybe not. His garb, hat, and genral body characteristics left now doubt as to nationality. He was cool.
As he was walking, he would stop, wait for a clearing in traffic then go into the street and pick up trash he saw there. he also picked up plastic bottles and fast food bags off the sidewalk. There were no trash bags so he bundled it together and put in sort of off the sidewalk in a neat clump where it could be picked up by whoever might have a bag or something. It was an improvement.
I found it interesting that he did this as he went on his way. No sign suggesting everyone look at him. No group effort. No in your face approach looking for a pat on the back. Just a reasonable effort because he must have found the idea of trash in street aesthetically offensive. Now that kind of guy elicits more respect from me than those who try to tell everyone else how to live.
Information is good and I guess some use the earth day thing to disseminate some good knowledge. It is the political aspect that turns me off. And the self martyrdom for attention. There is a line that is usually politically incorrect to point out which often gets crossed "for a good cause", or "for the greater good". It always involves minding the business of others, or some sort of pushy tactics that suspend respect for personal territory, and usually promote more rules and regs.
I'm all for cheap energy, maximization of resources through better design and invention, but not through force of government which ends up promoting one person, group or company over another.
Anyway, I am usually suspicious of large groups and crowds pushing anything. I wonder if they'd get together and roll cars powered by a V8 or other huge power plant. That would be fun.
I saw a banner on a site asking what you will do for earth day. One example was not print out anything on paper. Geez. It must be like Lent. Later in the week that person will print out what did not get printed today, but it sure felt good and warm to refrain today.
I take the fun out of everything.
I snatched this off of an earthday site. These are comments in which people boast about their wonderful efforts to Save the Earth. I'm sorry. What these people should be worshiping is not the earth but the people who invent better ways of dealing with it. Without them, humans would have a much shorter life span and a far more painful existence. Of course many people use good invention to promote pain and worse. I credit the worship of government and its resistance to performing its proper functions for much of that
Here you go:
TAKE ACTION
View all
I'll use my outdoor clothes line from spring to fall and set up an indoor one in the basement for winter.
When I walk along trails, beaches, rivers, lakes, or parks - I pick up trash others have left, and I yell at smokers who throw their butts on the ground or in sewers.
I will use a reusable water bottle ...
stop banging so many girls :D
gathered greens from the flower shop I work at and composted them
It only makes economic sense when you can re-use things, or if various products degrade easily once used. It costs money to deal with trash that doesn't go away. Lots of things can be incorporated into other materials used for building or whatever. It is nothing new.
The general tone of earth day seems to be self righteous sacrifice which is often meaningless. That is not to say things that can supply heat or power without buying consumable material like oil aren't desirable. But I do not sit in awe of those who have sworn off toilet paper or who want to use taxes to change behavior and skew the market.
The logical progression of things is toward methods and designs that get more use out of a unit of fuel and such as that.
I still can't help but remember when people who wanted to produce their own power by water power off the creek out back and by other means were once characterized and right wing militia types and forbidden from dong those things. Mills which once used a waterwheel to power the looms, then later used the wheel to power a generator were forbidden from doing so. They were required to buy the power from the utility companies.
Keeping those examples in mind, it could be said that government involvement and support of one group or company over another has actually slowed the progress of the development of renewable cheap energy. Why, now, would I want people who can't design anything to control the progress of such art? It has become an emotional movement which gets passionate and militant, often using half baked studies and dubious conclusions in a campaign against technology in almost any form.
The aspect to the day which induces goody-goody wannabes to behave in that "look at me and praise me, I'm picking up trash and not using toilet paper much", leaves me cold. Then again, most intentionally conspicuous "service" does that.
I saw a Mexican man in Alpine walking toward the corner where they gather in case someone wants to hire labor. Maybe illegal, maybe not. His garb, hat, and genral body characteristics left now doubt as to nationality. He was cool.
As he was walking, he would stop, wait for a clearing in traffic then go into the street and pick up trash he saw there. he also picked up plastic bottles and fast food bags off the sidewalk. There were no trash bags so he bundled it together and put in sort of off the sidewalk in a neat clump where it could be picked up by whoever might have a bag or something. It was an improvement.
I found it interesting that he did this as he went on his way. No sign suggesting everyone look at him. No group effort. No in your face approach looking for a pat on the back. Just a reasonable effort because he must have found the idea of trash in street aesthetically offensive. Now that kind of guy elicits more respect from me than those who try to tell everyone else how to live.
Information is good and I guess some use the earth day thing to disseminate some good knowledge. It is the political aspect that turns me off. And the self martyrdom for attention. There is a line that is usually politically incorrect to point out which often gets crossed "for a good cause", or "for the greater good". It always involves minding the business of others, or some sort of pushy tactics that suspend respect for personal territory, and usually promote more rules and regs.
I'm all for cheap energy, maximization of resources through better design and invention, but not through force of government which ends up promoting one person, group or company over another.
Anyway, I am usually suspicious of large groups and crowds pushing anything. I wonder if they'd get together and roll cars powered by a V8 or other huge power plant. That would be fun.
I saw a banner on a site asking what you will do for earth day. One example was not print out anything on paper. Geez. It must be like Lent. Later in the week that person will print out what did not get printed today, but it sure felt good and warm to refrain today.
I take the fun out of everything.
I snatched this off of an earthday site. These are comments in which people boast about their wonderful efforts to Save the Earth. I'm sorry. What these people should be worshiping is not the earth but the people who invent better ways of dealing with it. Without them, humans would have a much shorter life span and a far more painful existence. Of course many people use good invention to promote pain and worse. I credit the worship of government and its resistance to performing its proper functions for much of that
Here you go:
TAKE ACTION
View all
I'll use my outdoor clothes line from spring to fall and set up an indoor one in the basement for winter.
When I walk along trails, beaches, rivers, lakes, or parks - I pick up trash others have left, and I yell at smokers who throw their butts on the ground or in sewers.
I will use a reusable water bottle ...
stop banging so many girls :D
gathered greens from the flower shop I work at and composted them
Saturday Benefit Gig
Bands do benefits primarily because they aren't booked elsewhere, and to see if a crowd who is otherwise occupied will receive them well. Then there is the matter of actually wanting to contribute to whatever effort the event is promoting. The motivation is generally ranked in that order.
All those acts you see in various high profile benefits are primarily there for the recognition. That is not bad, but it is fun to watch them pretend altruism. I'm not positive there actually is such a thing as altruism. You may feel it is the right thing, and the right thing satisfies a desire which is based on some form of reward; eternal life, parental approval, self esteem, something positive that involves the individual.
I play whatever the band wants to play. I'd be hesitant to play a political rally and unlikely to play a particular candidate's picnic, although if the person was as radically inclined as I am, I would consider it.
The gig Saturday is a benefit for a type of cancer and specifically to raise money to help a young person afflicted in that town. These are horse people and the festivities include an equestrian event. I'm predisposed to a fondness for horse people and ranchers. My great uncles were ranchers and I've found something in that culture to be uplifting and honorable. It feels like a lost part of me even though I don't care to eat cows and I have rarely ridden horses.
I just hope that by the time we play the horses are secured where the harmonica won't freak them out. I'd hate to be responsible for a thrown rider, stallions and mares all of a sudden finding themselves driven to mate in uncontrollable frenzy, or other inconvenient behavior. Then again, maybe some of that would be cool. If the humans were so affected, I'd have done my job quite well.
'
Perhaps I can get some of it on video. The trouble is I have yet to find anyone who doesn't get bored or confused to the point of poor result when filming. Either the visual is primarily of the sky or the ground, or the sound is bad because they park themselves off to the side or behind the speakers so all you hear is them talking on the phone or conversing with passers by.
This little group has become better, I think. We are sort of countryish folkish. I used to not like folk at all but I've found some is good and allows for interesting back up playing. It has been quite a challenge to adjust and not go the wrong way when anticipating chord changes. It is a diferent way of playing than rock/blues, and I am sure it has expanded my scope.
The fun thing for me is that we are now doing a song I wrote for the Memphis band, but we do it as an instrumental. Mostly I just play a long and unusual solo with guitars trying to manage the rhythm. They've been doing well with it and I appreciate how they have found good parts to put in. They wanted to come up with something that allowed me to get as crazy as I want. Finally, I have a chance to let go in a minor key and play whatever I want. I'm never overly happy with what I do but it seems to go over well.
Otherwise the group is vocally oriented. The other three have good voices and make interesting harmony. The singing is rather good. I also like their guitar work and the girl's use of shakers and tambourine to create good rhythm help. I'm too erratic to make a shaker sound right. She's got it down. I get to play background and accent--my preferred role. Being a front man has not been my goal unless I was the guy doing the crowd chatter between songs. That has rarely happened, but it should have.
Another satisfying thing about that song is that I heard the old band is still doing it. In their case I doubt it is much of a harmonica based lead situation. No doubt the guitar carries it and now that they have a keyboard, he probably rocks it. I'd like to hear their current take on it. The bass player filled me in on the info that they have done it lately to great crowd response. If they were making any real money from it I'd be demanding a cut.
The picture up top is off of an equestrian place in Ramona. Maybe that is where we'll play. It will be something similar. It has to be because Ramona is not a huge place.
I'll bet they have had some snow the past couple of days. I'm hoping the weather service is right that it will be sunny by Saturday.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Where Not Seeing the forest for the Trees Strips Freedom
Just to get one point out of the way, I am all for anyone who does a good job and upholds their induction oath for serving in the military. I do not think race should be an issue. I don't care if you are gay. Those things should not be used as an issue by the individual or the institution.
Reality is, we once drafted people for something they did not want to do. In the current climate that could happen and the gays fighting the present set up are removing the exemption for the many gays who wouldn't want to go. I do not really care. It is an interesting twist and I hope those same people will fight against a draft if it comes up.
That all relates to being a subject of the state as opposed to a free citizen to whom the state is accountable. The reason for a constitution is to limit powers of the the government, leaving most power to the individual and to localities--theoretically in the US.
Issues like marriage and abortion fool people into subjugation without seeing it. Rather than fight for gay marriage, I'd fight to keep the state out of marriage altogether. The only reason they are involved is for tax purposes and the tax system is insane, unintelligible, abusive and wrong. There are better, simpler ways which both bring in the dollars and leave people alone. It is about control over people. Someone makes money and secures power that way, but it is a corrupt setup.
That control is what allows a state to dictate those things. Otherwise people would work it out with various churches or whatever. The purpose of marriage was probably to make sure you didn't run off and leave the other and/or offspring in a lurch. Like most things involving big governments, it got more screwed up the more it became under the auspices of the tax man and his pals. There is nothing in the way our constitution was written which indicates there is any point in the feds being involved in it.
Republicans pretend to think parents should have control of their children, and the state should not seek ownership of them, as many current programs effectively seek to do. Yet they generally tend to think the state should take responsibility from conception by opposing leaving the choice of termination to the mother. Why they get so wound up, I am not sure. Until it is out and breathing, let her do what she wants, right or wrong. Anything else opens the door to micro management down the road of your children. It simply is not a case in which strangers, or the state ought to interfere. Have agencies offering alternatives if you like, but forget forcing and intimidating people. Have your own damned babies.
Democrats tend to think it is up to them to dictate how to raise children once they are here. From conception on there are political people who want to decide the fate of your brat. Now they want to decide what you feed the kid. I've noticed that what is pushed in the world of diet changes regularly.
When I was a kid, if the same sort of people had their way who like to dictate things now, I'd have been put in child services for not eating meat, not much milk, and rarely, white bread. Now they want to force the kids to eat pretty much how I was fed.
I find these things bizarre. I guess the reason state interference in marriage and birth is not fought is because people fear freedom. That accounts for a lot. The motivation behind that gets more complicated and tangled in egos as well as deep dark corruption. The useful puppets see narrow benefit from the intrusion on various rights depending upon their position. Economic or social freedom. Some people see a separation and think you can have one and not the other.
I see no real mass movement which actually is not afraid of freedom. They draw the line somewhere; abortion, interference abroad, generosity with the wealth of others, truly having no racial preference or barrier, you name it.
We've developed laws which favor one industry over another, certain groups over others, etc. Equal protection, equality under the law lost meaning. Maximum freedom requires it.
The fact that so much is going on and I know the information blasted out is largely false traps me as well. Just that I would sit here trying to put what I think I know in words regarding all these causes and oppression of the majority and of the government, implies that I am not seeing what is free and spending my time on that. There is real life and I'm falling into the trap of not getting the most out of it. That makes me a useful puppet as well. That is no good.
Besides it is like banging my head against a wall. I should talk about women and coyotes and what's for dinner.
Reality is, we once drafted people for something they did not want to do. In the current climate that could happen and the gays fighting the present set up are removing the exemption for the many gays who wouldn't want to go. I do not really care. It is an interesting twist and I hope those same people will fight against a draft if it comes up.
That all relates to being a subject of the state as opposed to a free citizen to whom the state is accountable. The reason for a constitution is to limit powers of the the government, leaving most power to the individual and to localities--theoretically in the US.
Issues like marriage and abortion fool people into subjugation without seeing it. Rather than fight for gay marriage, I'd fight to keep the state out of marriage altogether. The only reason they are involved is for tax purposes and the tax system is insane, unintelligible, abusive and wrong. There are better, simpler ways which both bring in the dollars and leave people alone. It is about control over people. Someone makes money and secures power that way, but it is a corrupt setup.
That control is what allows a state to dictate those things. Otherwise people would work it out with various churches or whatever. The purpose of marriage was probably to make sure you didn't run off and leave the other and/or offspring in a lurch. Like most things involving big governments, it got more screwed up the more it became under the auspices of the tax man and his pals. There is nothing in the way our constitution was written which indicates there is any point in the feds being involved in it.
Republicans pretend to think parents should have control of their children, and the state should not seek ownership of them, as many current programs effectively seek to do. Yet they generally tend to think the state should take responsibility from conception by opposing leaving the choice of termination to the mother. Why they get so wound up, I am not sure. Until it is out and breathing, let her do what she wants, right or wrong. Anything else opens the door to micro management down the road of your children. It simply is not a case in which strangers, or the state ought to interfere. Have agencies offering alternatives if you like, but forget forcing and intimidating people. Have your own damned babies.
Democrats tend to think it is up to them to dictate how to raise children once they are here. From conception on there are political people who want to decide the fate of your brat. Now they want to decide what you feed the kid. I've noticed that what is pushed in the world of diet changes regularly.
When I was a kid, if the same sort of people had their way who like to dictate things now, I'd have been put in child services for not eating meat, not much milk, and rarely, white bread. Now they want to force the kids to eat pretty much how I was fed.
I find these things bizarre. I guess the reason state interference in marriage and birth is not fought is because people fear freedom. That accounts for a lot. The motivation behind that gets more complicated and tangled in egos as well as deep dark corruption. The useful puppets see narrow benefit from the intrusion on various rights depending upon their position. Economic or social freedom. Some people see a separation and think you can have one and not the other.
I see no real mass movement which actually is not afraid of freedom. They draw the line somewhere; abortion, interference abroad, generosity with the wealth of others, truly having no racial preference or barrier, you name it.
We've developed laws which favor one industry over another, certain groups over others, etc. Equal protection, equality under the law lost meaning. Maximum freedom requires it.
The fact that so much is going on and I know the information blasted out is largely false traps me as well. Just that I would sit here trying to put what I think I know in words regarding all these causes and oppression of the majority and of the government, implies that I am not seeing what is free and spending my time on that. There is real life and I'm falling into the trap of not getting the most out of it. That makes me a useful puppet as well. That is no good.
Besides it is like banging my head against a wall. I should talk about women and coyotes and what's for dinner.
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About Me
- John0 Juanderlust
- Ballistic Mountain, CA, United States
- Like spring on a summer's day
