Perfect Quotes

Anything that is too stupid to be spoken is sung. --Voltaire

A multitude of laws in a country is like a great number of physicians, a sign of weakness and malady. --Voltaire

A witty saying proves nothing--Voltaire

There are other from the Voltmeister, but I am not sure he actually said them, or that they aren't somewhat paraphrased, etc. There appears to be some evidence of that. That is what set me on the quest that unearthed other quotes.

"The first priest was the first rogue who met the first fool."
Now, that one is a classic which, to this day, could get one stoned to death or prevent one from being elected to a public post like president or mayor.

"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh." [Voltaire]

That crazy Frenchman certainly provided some gems.

GOP C C in Pictures-2; Who'd have guessed?

In a dramatic and surprising turn of events, the nominees for President and Vice President of these 57 or so United States are...



Top Democratic National Committee advisers pay close attention as they plan their campaign strategy to combat these formidable challengers.


Such excitement is in the air. Who will be the next to be labeled a racist? Who will say the most idiotic thing for no good reason?
I can't wait for more drama to unfold.

Will Chris Matthews figure a way to at least get to first base with Barack Obama?

Will Ron Paul supporters finally give up on procedure and just beat up the establishment jackboots in a vicious brawl on the convention floor?

*****JUST IN!!!! A politician from deep South Florida, in a startling turn of events, gave Obama an enthusiastic endorsement, accompanied by a leader from the Northeast.

GOP Convention Coverage in Pictures

Mitt and Ryan arrive into town for the convention


Hey, why don't we change the rules so we don't have any pesky disagreements?



Internal RNC battle ensues.



Order restored

This is so exciting. I can't wait for the next chapter in this thrilling example of the two party system. I think the key word here is "party".

Just an aside; is Chris Matthews insane? Or is he so absolutely infatuated and in love with Obama that his passion has fooled him into not realizing that Barack is never going to have sex with him. I think Photo-Lady has that same delusion.

According to Chris Matthews the term birth certificate is racist, and any mention of food stamps is racist. Actually any hint of questioning anything Obama, his imaginary love master, says or does is racist. Also Chris knows what "African-Americans are thinking". I'm afraid Chris' over the top infatuation, coupled with his own racist notion that he needs to protect Black people, has pushed him dangerously close to a chronic state of delusional psychosis.

Damage Report; libertarian inside extortion lobbyist retreat

So, the good news is: they didn't stuff entire rolls of toilet paper in the toilets or break any lavatory fixtures this time.
They only broke one tray which was a part of a teak lounge chair. No apology or mention of such discrepancies is ever offered. These things are just left for others to discover and deal with. Cool. That's how Chicago insiders roll.

Only one table suffered from the massive spillage of unknown liquid which dried like lacquer, and also dripped, and dried, on six chair cushions. It was clear not even slight effort was made to wipe up the mess whenever it happened.

The big blotches of sunscreen or whatever it is on the lounge cushions is bound to come out with some kind of solvent, yet to be determined.

Just another episode in the lives of those benevolent people who are fighting for you poor peons. A lobbyist in the Jesse organization.

Obama's pals.

Oh well, I guess the best way to have reliable, conscientious caretakers is for them to hire the dirty capitalist, freedom seeking enemies. Who else is fool enough to trade without looking for an angle to suck it out of a government entity of some kind?

Reasons Not To Tweet; or tweet is for twits

Fidel Castro questioning a Cuban farmer who was later executed. Fidel betrayed the real revolution, he and Che did not carry out what the people actually supported. They still put people in prison for dissent, and even execute them. According to Ed Asner, in an interview awhile back, it is all the fault of the USA and Bush. Castro attracts useful idiots like dog droppings attract flies

Samuel L. Jackson on Monday tweeted
"Unfair s---,
"GOP spared by Isaac! NOLA prolly f----- again!"

NOLA means New Orleans, Louisiana.
Good God. People are nuts. And they still get rich. It's unfair. waah waah wah whine whine whine.
Critical thinking is a lost art altogether. Geez, Sam, do you really think NOLA folks are big victims, and it somehow is tied in with the republicans? Get a grip, man. You sound like an angry moron.

Meanwhile the Mayor of NO LA suggested people in that parish just hunker down in place, while many surrounding parishes attempt to order mandatory evacuations. Will the people there pay attention and decide for themselves whether they need to high tail it? Or will they glumly crawl up on the roof as the water rises, bitching because no one forced them to get out?

Maybe nothing will happen. My guess is that there will be some wet houses and people. New mayor, different results? I am also guessing no one could be as incompetent as their previous mayor, Nagin.

Those people sure do place a lot of faith in levees. If I were below sea level, depending upon government built levees, I'd get out if a storm surge and massive rainfall were imminent. I've been of minimal means like many of them allegedly are, but had no phone and such. I'd just go up the road a piece and sleep in the car or something. If I did not have a car, I'd look around for stuff that floats and keep it handy.

This place may be a tinder box, but it is just as pretty as can be, driving from Alpine home about 20 minutes before the sun sets. You can have New Orleans, and Memphis. I confess that I do miss Miami whenever I hear of a hurricane near Florida. Crazy but true.

Oh, Come on!!! Clear the Smoke and Shut Up

It would be great if I could just ignore anything in politics for a few years. At one time I could because nothing went on which was pressing in a way that would directly affect me. Even though I had my views of what I thought was wrong or misguided, I was able to just ignore almost all of it for a number of years.

Those days are gone. You can't just be left alone. Especially in California. If I never paid attention I could have done something awful and illegal like smoke in a public park or by the beach or never mind--I still have no idea how to get rid of things like spent battery booster packs and the like.

Perhaps it is because of the many traumas to the head I've experienced over the years, or perhaps it is born of a higher spiritual awareness. Whatever the reason, I do have big fear of totalitarianism in any form, whether it be a tyranny of the majority or unbridled bullying from the minority or some kind of official authority. The thought of others having big power over me in ways that prevent free choice and mobility is one that gives me the creeps.

I'll count to three, and you better show me your health insurance policy by then or..Adios you capitalist pig!

So, I pay attention here and there, actually research the text of various bills that get big press but very little actual disclosure. The usual hype on such things from politicians generally begins with, "What this bill will do....", or "By opposing this bill, the opposition is... [condemning some group or groups to death or similar vile terrible things}". The actual straight content is not disclosed. One reason may be because they'll hide little things in there like taxes, grants, mone for someone's farm to become a landmark, bridge to the moon, etc.

I am convinced that the philosophy and intent of the Obama administration is very much at odds with my own views. I see that crowd as Hugo Chavez type socialists. I'm not on board with that set up. I'm aware the republican machine is also thuggish. They just diddled with the convention rules to disenfranchise delegates and supporters of Ron Paul, and to silence other strongly supported groups who may want to have some influence and say. Dumb move.

This surprised me; I heard a Romney quote that I could agree with, to a point. He said the abortion issue comes up every election and that it is a matter for the courts to decide, and that they already had ruled on it. I don't even think it is for the courts but anything to just get it off the front page.

We've got a ten year war in Afghanistan going and it is tough to find out what the objective actually is. If it is about oil, they sure fooled me. Where's the oil? If we want oil, the USA has plenty of ways to get it here, or from Canada. Apparently that is not the objective of this government.

There are way more important matters. In many ways I agree, economically with the rhetoric of some republicans. I agree most with those who would abolish the tax system as we know it, and the irs as it now operates. Ron Paul is on board with that, not sure who else.

So, we have this total nonsense about birth control and abortion. Both are legal, and both are obtainable without a lot of effort, so what's the deal. Approve or disapprove, no one forces you one way or the other. But people get in your face about it no matter what you think.

My view is that you are more than welcome to partake in either of those endeavors--get an abortion or get some kind of birth control. You want it free means you want everyone to pay whether they like it or not. I don't go with that, but nothing is stopping people from organizing free clinics to do whatever. It is not a government issue. I even convinced my very conservative anti-abortion mother, years ago, that it was in the best interest of freedom loving people to let it go whether they approve or not.

I do not approve of facial tattoos but I wouldn't make it illegal. Not a good analogy. I'm heartless. I believe abortion should be legal up until the 33rd month after conception. As a species, it is suicidal to insist on forcing the aberrant to live and multiply. Quite often, those people would abort if no one interfered. It ain't my child, and I'm not in the business of performing the procedure. No one should be forced to do it or not. The fewer matters government can deal with, the better. The culture can better evolve and change without direct control from those with the guns and cages. What a smokescreen issue designed to appeal to emotion while the citizenry is being robbed and pillaged.

If you'll notice, the more that government has grown in scope, the less value based the general population has become. Everyone, almost, feels the need to lock their doors and scrutinize single uncles. I grew up in S. Miami and never owned a house key. Now you aren't even secure with surveillance and a fancy alarm system there.

So, you have to realize that these ridiculous efforts to make the election about abortion and birth control, or other irrelevant things is by someone's design. Both sides are running with it. To me, it is suicide for republicans to get all evangelical and busy body on such matters. Their out is that it has been ruled on(even though the federal government has no business being involved in the issue. I think no government ought be involved, but I don't see value in as many functions of the gov't as most people do) and other things are more pressing.

But no, people who make some fiscal sense have to babble on with incredibly stupid rationalizations about their view of something they'll never do anyway. And that makes people uncomfortable so they vote for outright collectivist tyranny. Makes me wonder if it isn't all an act from the get go. Are some of those people really that nuts? I know, why ask.

It is a sign that republicans will do some idiotic things, again, and let this group of totalitarianists continue the process of massive control using division tactics based on race sex and any other non-philosophical way of separating people and pitting them against one another. Once again, all you have to do is convince brown eyed, green eyed, left handed, bald people, or short people that they are victims and you're home free. Everyone responds to being a victim.

I guess, right now, I'm willing to support lunatics rather than support more of what is going on. I wish I could say my views align with someone who has a chance in hell of ever getting the job, but they do not.

The effort, on every side, to cloud the truth, and silence those who may actually have their number, or who espouse a philosophy which would really limit their continual power grab, is obvious. The lies are blowing around like leaves in autumn. So many you can't count them all.

Sadly, many of my relatives, friends and acquaintances are well meaning neo-bolsheviks. They always assume that since I want Obama, Pelosi, Feinstein, Harry, and many others out of office that it means I am all for whatever it is republicans are for. I consider republicans just a less aggressive vehicle toward a totalitarian state. Right now, I prefer the ones who may be slower in destroying the hope of a free country. That is actually how I view it.

(how did so many family members, near and far, become such marxist dupes? Of course they all have good jobs or pensions and no motive to see anything wrong with what's gone on for fifty years or more. Alone in a pink genetic sea)

The big tell, believe it or not, is not to do with abortion or health care. It is to do with the IRS. You don't hear front runners on either side loudly demanding doing away with that awful institution. That is the big tool both sides use to harass the enemy, to keep people fooled and thinking in terms of class, and to squelch dissent when necessary. It really is. This administration has given them more power by making them the enforcers and punishers in this misnamed healthcare initiative. It is about power and control. If the overall level of care improves, and I don't go to jail, then I'll concede that I was wrong.

Last time, since Paul was off the final ballot, I voted for whoever was either libertarian or constitution party--don't recall. I refused to vote McCain or Obama. This time, I am so convinced that our current president should not serve another term that I will likely vote for Romney. I honestly do not think all birth control will suddenly be illegal or that abortion will be relegated to witches with coat hangers in back alleys. I wonder if anyone will make sense of this trend to fight wars with unclear goals. And I wonder if anyone will quit pretending the humungous stimulus packages are not merely enriching a very few while punishing those who don't support the party in power.

Right now I'd vote for anyone on an abolish IRS ticket, or kill the healthcare scam platform. I still wonder why you can't buy insurance across state lines. I see no untangling the big picture and the web of outright corruption and, possibly, evil. Whatever slows it down. That is why I do not consider "gridlock" a dirty word. I love it.

Who to Blame

It is once again time for the mayor of New Orleans to high tail it to Vegas. But first be sure not to follow the disaster plans in place. The governor can also, once again, hide under the bed.

The trouble this time is that, if much damage occurs, they can't blame Bush, and Spike Lee may have to find another great insight other than the one about it all being a plot to kill Black people. Maybe he can spin it as a secret CIA plot which was done without Obama's knowledge. One thing for sure, it will be a grandstanding opportunity for politicians near and far.

I hope someone suggests to those in that city, who waited last time for public transportation to come get them out of areas about to flood rather than get to high ground and shelter any way they could, to find a way out as if it were their responsibility to do so; like it is your job to zip and unzip your trousers.

I remember seeing a lady complaining that the government didn't come and get people when evacuation was being suggested. Spin it any way you want, but there is a serious safety issue when people are conditioned to believe that the state controls weather and is there to keep you from putting your hand on a hot stove, getting fat, or sitting on your front porch waiting for someone to get you out of a hurricane. "I knew it was coming, so I waited for 12 hours for someone from the city or whatever to come get me. Then I had to wait on the roof because the water came." victims of the world unite. International Association of Victims Union.

This is the political crisis moment they've been praying for. If the damage is not all that bad, the mayor and the governor don't refuse to do the right thing, then the president can take credit for handing it all better than his predecessor. I was not a big Bush fan, but the hurricane discussion has been hugely twisted, and filled with embellishments and omissions which create a fictitious story.

After all the tornadoes and floods and incredible disasters that have hit so many areas, with so little press and complaint, it causes one to wonder if New Orleans wasn't peopled by far too many criminals and outright idiots. It could be that the press only interviewed and showed criminals and idiots. I don't make light of the devastation. I do think the victim mentality and politics involved were shameful. Their own cops caught on video looting WalMart. People shooting at relief and rescue helicopters. I would hate to live there.

If this one does the city in, maybe they should rebuild somewhere above ground. It is sad when the main reason I don't want it to hit there is because of all the BS that we'll hear for the next billion years as if everyone else did this to poor New Orleans.

Oh no, it will be a bonanza for Hollywood celebrities seeking the limelight. I can't wait to hear the first one show such public sympathy and tell us how righteous she/he is. I'll bet Sean Penn will check to see if the drain plug is in the boat before he does any aquatic grandstanding this time. That was classic how he had a camera crew to document him going to rescue people in a boat driven by someone else, and the damn thing started to sink because the drain plug was not in.

Something must have erased my normal PC and patience with bolshevik idiots filter.

I also worry about people in Mississippi because I know and like them. Not because they will become useful political props.

This must mean I am cold hearted. Memphis set up relief places after Katrina so people from N.O. could come have food and shelter and help getting back on their feet. Bad as it already was in Memphis, crime spiked and car jackings must have quadrupled with the influx of Katrina "victims". When you use the word victim referring to people who experienced an act of nature, I think the stage is set for a strange mental attitude.

I was in hurricane Andrew. I was not a victim of it. Those who claim to be were mostly the victims of corrupt contractors and county officials and building inspectors who allowed stupid buildings to be built in stupid ways and not even to the stupid code.

Nature is a bitch. That is why I do not worship it. Too often it is not our friend.

Anyway, if you live where the Mississippi meets the Gulf of Mexico and there is a minus sign in front of your elevation statistic, get the hell out, preferable to high ground in a building made of something better than cardboard.

I have no idea who you can blame this time, though. Someone has got to be blamed. My guess is that there will be renewed blaming of Bush. Or maybe that Missouri guy who must have been paid by the other side to remain in the senate race. It might be better if politicians just take multiple choice tests on every issue and never say anything off the cuff or even written for them. It is so embarrassing. 57 states, women's bodies can reject pregnancy if they are forced, and on and on.

And you wonder why I think lots of government is big trouble and why I believe it to be one of the major vehicles for most evil. Look who runs it, what they say, how they live, who their friends are, and how many of their own rules include exemptions for themselves. People still play because they get paid to do it, one way or another. Or they think they get paid. In the long run they get stung. It is such a con.

Let's see how it goes down. I'm going to probably vomit the first time I see a picture of some politician "surveying the damage" from a helicopter. As if they accomplish anything other than a photo op and satisfaction of morbid curiosity. How can people sit still for such pandering, insulting play acting? Oh. I guess if they believe people like Spike Lee, they'll believe anything. Just tell them they are victims and the sale is as good as made.

Early in the Morning

This is how it was early this morning looking north off the back deck of Ballistic Cabin. Maybe something to do with the marine layer they often mention in SoCal. The thick white cloud looks like a foamy ocean. I think the peak in the distance to the right is Cuyamaca, 6200 ft according to an unreliable source.

On my way down the dirt road, heading toward civilization, I drove through, then under, the cloud. Much of my life I've been accused of having my head in the clouds (better than up my...). I guess they weren't always wrong.

Whether it is the slightly cooler temperatures or something else, my mood is stranger than it has been in some time. It may be that sadness thing, but I'm not sure. I am too calm, and too resigned in a way that defies definition. Like a man a peace with himself and the world as he climbs the 13 steps up to the gallows. Bizarre.

Songs and Lyrics

Lately, I've done some experiments at Valley Music on Saturday nights. I'll take a song that I haven't been able to get get guitar players to work out, yet, and try to sing it, giving the bass player there a rough idea of a lead in line. I pretty much do know the key at least.

Then, I finish the singing and go off on the harp, and last time it worked into a bit of a jam. Still, I'd love to get the words fitted to a better melody, in most cases.

They decided to do an originals night on wednesday which prompted me to write something new. I have yet to try to present that. It did make me curious about what I have in the lyrics file, though.

After years of losing what I write, or throwing it away, I decided to type things on the computer and save them. Many are from many years ago.

I was surprised at the number of songs in there that are not too bad. There are some that need to be worked further, but they do have promise. Or I think they do. I'd forgotten most of them entirely.

When I was in Memphis, I'd email lyrics to the band, but I gave that up for two reasons. One was that I could not get G1 to shutup and try to catch the idea of melody I had in mind, and the other reason was that he'd try to jazz up the words. One of the tunes I found tonight was one he'd tampered with, then sent back, apparently. It was immediately obvious what he'd written; awful cliches which I'd never ever put under my name. Pretty funny. But it reinforced my choice to quit sending anything out.

The stuff is not as dark as I remember. Or maybe the music I hear now to go with it eases the impact. Lots of wimmin songs. One is called You Ain't My Baby, and one is called Baby, Don't Come Back. The last one is kind of funny. Most of the material does not have words like ain't and isn't filled with double negatives. Those two are probably exceptions.

I really like the one called Dream Lady. I totally forgot writing it. It is sappy in a way, but I'm a sap--in case I never mentioned that. I can see that one being a very pretty tune. Maybe even include a flute or one of these nice wooden flutish instruments I have sitting around. Nothing may ever come of it, but the one song that got halfway completed with the Memphis Snake Doctors, even though I was never completely at ease with the entire melody line, is their biggest crowd pleaser. They definitely do it differently than I would but it is still satisfying to know. It lends itself to singing, screaming guitar and free running instrumental.

I discovered that I reworked the lyrics of that tune and added several verses. I like it. One new bit goes like this:

they say the light of heaven
is for the pure of heart
and I know a moment
can be a work of art

some say my motives
were not pure and true
I say they're wrong
'cause I purely wanted you

Tough to figure that out with no context but that is the way it goes. I'm not going to put it all down here. It's a rocking song in Cminor. Almost an Aztec or Indian tom tom sort of beat. In my mind. What happens when it plays, who knows. When we had two guitar players in the Memphis band, the best instrumental they ever did was on that song. I loved the bass line and what those guys did. We should have worked on it more.

I will give a hint--one line in the song is kind of suggestive, depending on how it is taken. Again, there is context which may temper it a bit;
felt my body rising
like the flame of a fire

Hey, I didn't say stuff like "we knocked boots in my MPV", or any number of other equally odd phrases which have permeated the musical airwaves over the years.

One of the songs ends with, a good woman's worth a (blank) one's weight in gold. Haven't filled in the blank yet. There was a word, but I fear it would bruise feelings and make a few people uncomfortable. So, I'll replace that word with something else that works without causing such injury.

Most of the songs on Wednesday were face value and either somewhat comical in intent or about how my girlfriend left me, didn't like how I dressed, hurt my feelings, made me jealous, etc. They sounded like police reports describing the details of everyday, he-said-she-said life. One, somewhat comical tune was a good song I thought. Cliff wrote that. He has some great material.

What was the point of this post? I forgot. It must be another secret I am keeping from myself.

------
that reminds me, Valley really needs a business plan. If I could think of one, I could probably raise the capital to implement it. They are strapped---no significant inventory and no dough to get any, but not in debt. If I knew what woud sell right away, I might work something out. They've been in business 60 years, but between some robberies and such and just being asleep at the wheel, I suspect, they've fallen out of rhythm with the times. No way to compete with guitar center but they have lots of connections in the musician world and the open mic thing is getting better and better. The space is ample, they do give guitar lessons and such, but rent is becoming tough for them to cover. If only I had the vision of what would turn it around, I know I could put it into play and the owner would gladly work with me.

It is one of those times when I think, what would Mitt do? He's the only one I can think of that I hear has turned a company or two around. Joe would apply for a grant. Jesse would sue. Who is famous that could honestly, without tangling with government, turn such a company around? I know I can't think like Mitt. That might freak me out. Who then? Maybe that WalMart guy from yesteryear.

Part 3; another union anecdote

When I worked for the airline, living in Memphis, the teamsters made a big push to get voted in by the agents. That was when I worked for Fawlty Airways. Agents there worked upstairs as well as on the ramp, although we tended to keep some exclusively upstairs and others exclusively ramp. Everyone was cross trained, but I assure you, you do not want some people anywhere near an aircraft being pushed out of the gate, or involved in loading your bags on the plane. And you don't want people whose scowling face would scare children, and whose vocabulary consisted primarily of expletives, checking you in.

I was considered to be in management so I couldn't vote one way or the other. The agents most invested in promoting the union believed that they would be in heaven and never have any more difficulties if the teamsters prevailed. Reminds me of the woman who thought Obama would pay her mortgage and put gas her in car if he was elected. Somehow I doubt her hopes and dreams came to pass. Who knows, maybe he bought her house.

Fawlty, itself, was asking for it in my opinion. I forget most of the details but their management was awful. Other than the chief financial officer, I don't think any of them attained their positions based on ability and brains. Scum bags. The CFO, though was a person I considered brilliant. He also had a clever wit and sense of humor--something the others sorely lacked.

What many agents did not realize is that if the union won, many of the rules which now could be tempered by common sense would have to be followed by the letter. Since I was rather generous in giving benefit of the doubt, my group would have suffered a lot.

The good thing about this threat was that someone in corporate figured out that it was to their benefit to make some changes that any sane person would have put in place from day one. The union lost, changes were made, and Fawlty improved ever so slightly. Unfortunately the lying worms who permeated the managerial staff remained.

But, the moral of the story is that the agents were better off without the union, but because of the union, things got better. Why people are so steeped in the feudal mentality that they have to have a gun to their head to somewhat treat people in certain industries as possessing just a tad bit of value and humanity is beyond me. My way of dealing with it is to walk away. Because most people don't do that, the method of choice is to unionize.

I guess unions are the reason that everyone who has been in a job the same period of time gets paid the same. At least in many companies. Probably those that have government contracts in the closet. In the case of the airline I had about four agents worth X dollars per hour, ten worth X/4, and maybe seven worth X/3, the remainder were worth X/7. But they got paid the same, based on seniority. I'm being generous in the relative values. Some were only useful because you need to place a warm body in certain places at certain times. If we could have got by with a mannequin we'd have been better off, even if we paid it more.

Those worth X, were paid about half their worth. The others were paid more than their worth to the operation.

That is where the labor/management model we have falls way short. It wasn't that X/3 was doing his or her best. They were just devoid of that quality which causes some people to care if your bag makes the flight, if you make the flight, if your wheelchair gets destroyed, etc. The lack of empathy in the general workforce, both in Memphis and Greensboro, in that world, shocked me. At the same time, the inner drive of the A team to do a thing right, as long as they were going to do it, was impressive. Some people have pride in their work despite management's best efforts to kill it. And believe me, management in many companies does punish the responsible employees while rewarding the slackers by keeping them around.

So, I have cited an example in which a union was useful---even though they broke rule after rule in their efforts to cajole the employees to instate them.