Watching CNN today, all the news is about terrorism. It must be time for our (the US) Quarterly terrorism scare. Everything is terrorism. "Al-Qaeda" is spoken over and over. Airport security tightens up so everyone is inconvenienced and is aware. The end result ; between the media and the government spin, the populace is terrorized.
Doesn't anybody else think it's curious that these wizards of destruction, "Al Qaeda", can't even blow themselves up a good portion of the time, yet are still given credit for dropping two 110 story skyscrapers perfectly in their own footprints.......with airplanes? C'mon Man!
The whole sham is beginning to really bother me. When I hear these "terrorism" reports I realize the general populace of the United States now lives in a make believe world, in a lie, where we are the "good guys", righteously pursuing "bad guys", everywhere in the real world they might hide. A story line manifested from the dropping of the WTC on 9/11, and the beginning of the endless war. The problem is ....C'mon Man!
Our troops traipse all over the world searching for the elusive evil do-er "Al-Qaeda".. In their wake we occupy countries and build permanent outposts, set up western style governments with Pro-western leaders, and, of course, train their armies to defend them . We make special deals on natural resources and transporting, etc. We dictate to the indigenous people how it will be and what their cut is. C'mon Man, Imperialism is what it's called.
If it is "all good" then why does it have to be based on a lie? Enforced with an Army? And how long does the lie go on? Like the wars, endlessly? Will we lie our way into Yemen and Somalia next?
The tragedy is: For almost a decade our country's Foreign policy, Military actions, Patiotism, and Fortune has all been based and exploited on a lie,....that those planes brought down the WTC, that it is necessary for America to attack others to prevent being attacked.
The other tragedy; The American people refuse , yes refuse, to look at the facts. There is overwhelming hard evidence available that those towers were blown, yet the majority of Americans have not seen it. Won't look. Refuse to believe. Refuse to see the truth. So as a nation of sheep we live a lie.
I can hardly stand to think of the ten year anniversary of 9/11. As a country, our ten year goal should be bringing the true perpetrators of 9/11 to justice , not continuing to propagate the lie. The first step; realize the Towers were blown, imploded by explosives. Once you realize there is no way possible those planes brought down the buildings, Revelation. Yet...
The wars go on. They're expanded. The next necesary battleground is identified. There is a terrorist attack originating from that area. An army is moved because a Nigerian boy is caught with explosives in his underwear and the media spin it. And the beat goes on. C'mon Man , the kid couldn't blow his balls off!
Just once, take yourself to the base of any BIG building thirty stories or taller and look up and ask yourself the obvious, "If a plane flew into this building, would the building turn to dust and fall into it's own footprint?" Hell no it wouldn't, and the WTC didn't either. Those Towers were Blown.
Just do it and see!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
A Lot of Stuff
Yesterday the news is existing home sales are up 7%. Today the news is new home sales plunged 11%. The lower end is still being re-acquired. Empty houses don't produce new home buyers when they're sold.
Gold dropped 200 bucks an ounce. Health insurance stock is skyrocketing. You don't have to own gold, but you legally will have to be insured. Good for business. And no Government option competing to screw up profits. I have no idea why gold dropped in value...unless the dollar strengthed a little on the international market.....Gold was only rising in price if you were buying in dollars. Tell you something?
Al Qaeda is now threatening the world in Yemen. It may be necessary to go to Yemen to fight Al Qaeda now. Somalia is next door to Yemen so we can expect to go there after Yemen, I suppose. It astounds me that the endless war goes on still. Furthermore, when I think of all the hard evidence there is to prove that those two planes did NOT bring down the WTC, ...and that the American people just don't get it, I am dumbfounded.
The brilliance of the sham. One puppet President after another, And the beat goes on. By the way, the latest " terror threat level " is bankruptcy. .
If a man works fifty years, and makes fifty thousand dollars a year, He'll make two and a half million dollars in his lifetime. If that man pays 30% of his income to the Government in taxes it will amount to approximately 800,000 dollars. Two men just worked their entire lives so the government could spend a million and a half dollars on studying the sex habits of rats on hard drugs. At twenty five thousand a year it took four men's taxes. I'm not gonna go there on the sex habits of rats on hard drugs.
There was a Blackberry Blackout. Then there was another one. If all this talk about 2012, and the poles reversing, and the world ending as we know it, is true, it's going to be exciting, isn't it ? And to think it might have all started with a Blackberry Blackout.
Balloon Boy's dad got ninety days. He should have put the kid in the balloon. Dummy.
Oh, and high tech computer camera's are having trouble tracking minorities for video . The final insult, or, ..... are you kidding?
Just kidding
Gold dropped 200 bucks an ounce. Health insurance stock is skyrocketing. You don't have to own gold, but you legally will have to be insured. Good for business. And no Government option competing to screw up profits. I have no idea why gold dropped in value...unless the dollar strengthed a little on the international market.....Gold was only rising in price if you were buying in dollars. Tell you something?
Al Qaeda is now threatening the world in Yemen. It may be necessary to go to Yemen to fight Al Qaeda now. Somalia is next door to Yemen so we can expect to go there after Yemen, I suppose. It astounds me that the endless war goes on still. Furthermore, when I think of all the hard evidence there is to prove that those two planes did NOT bring down the WTC, ...and that the American people just don't get it, I am dumbfounded.
The brilliance of the sham. One puppet President after another, And the beat goes on. By the way, the latest " terror threat level " is bankruptcy. .
If a man works fifty years, and makes fifty thousand dollars a year, He'll make two and a half million dollars in his lifetime. If that man pays 30% of his income to the Government in taxes it will amount to approximately 800,000 dollars. Two men just worked their entire lives so the government could spend a million and a half dollars on studying the sex habits of rats on hard drugs. At twenty five thousand a year it took four men's taxes. I'm not gonna go there on the sex habits of rats on hard drugs.
There was a Blackberry Blackout. Then there was another one. If all this talk about 2012, and the poles reversing, and the world ending as we know it, is true, it's going to be exciting, isn't it ? And to think it might have all started with a Blackberry Blackout.
Balloon Boy's dad got ninety days. He should have put the kid in the balloon. Dummy.
Oh, and high tech computer camera's are having trouble tracking minorities for video . The final insult, or, ..... are you kidding?
Just kidding
Monday, December 14, 2009
Blue Jays
The stray cat is quickly becoming my partner cat. Grey, with an extra heavy coat, and big light green eyes, one can look at him and see he is not tame. Except when he lets me scratch his ears. Or at feeding time. Which for him, like the dog, seems to be every time I pass by. The Cat still sleeps outside, and isn't friendly with other people or Shep, but he doesn't bother to get up from my motorcycle seat when I drive up now either. Friends.The blue jays recognize my whistle . When they hear my special screech the trees in front of the shack become a waiting ground for hungry birds. I like to throw a couple of pieces of broken bread down for them, then go behind the long mirrored window in the Octoberfest room to watch the show. After that it's on.
The Bluejays come in cautiously at first, swooping down from the oak trees, to the shoulders of the wooden people in front of the shack, to the ground and sour dough love. Once the first, and bravest birds, successfully grab bread and fly, the rout is on and birds approach from everywhere. Free Bread Birdie!
Winter. I have other things to do then talk to the animals. Returned from down south last Thursday. When I arrived the cabin looked like a Swiss chalet. The windows were frosted, resembling store window decorations, but the ice was real. Uh-oh. The five days I was gone temperatures were well below freezing. The plastic plumbing in the house froze. All the pipe split. The Toilet froze and exploded. The faucet on the kitchen sink broke. Five days of plumbing later I'm still trouble shooting leaks and replacing pipe. I don't know if the water heater has to be replaced. I may have a shower tonight, it may not be an option.
No water damage luckily, the pipes are exposed on the inside walls and everything was frozen solid.... I just swept up the ice and turned the main off before I lit the fire. Next time I leave in winter I'll take precautionary measures. The crisis gave me something to do anyway. Good training my brother said. Life is wonderful, Every miserable moment.
Happy Holidays
Happy Holidays
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
The War Tax
I am totally outraged. Start the Revolution.
Remember way back when folk singers would refuse to pay the portion of their taxes that were spent on war? Well we can call Joan Baez and tell her it's time to rebel; The Obama administration is proposing a " War tax" to finance the war in Afghanistan . Won't that make it easy to know what taxes NOT to pay? How about the next trillion to ... " finish the job ".
What are you getting for your Trillion dollars, America ? Is " finishing the job", whatever that line of crap means regarding Afghanistan, more important than America's infrastructure, health care, or securing our own border with Mexico ?
Another trillion dollars and a war tax for Afghanistan, while America's currency, property, and standard of living all decline in value and quality? Is Obama crazy, or are we stupid enough to allow it? What are you getting for your trillion dollars America..........reamed!
I expressed my view on this " finish the job" line of crap previously, (Here's the Deal, 02AUG09)
if the Obama administration continues the same Imperialistic policies of the Bush administration, which I might remind you are based on lies and a Zeitgeist, then he is just another puppet, and one puppet is the same as another, no better.
Thirty thousand more troops in Afghanistan ,.... for what? Finish the Job.
What job? Catch Osama? ...............No, the job is to clear the TAPI * pipeline route. Nobody's looking for Osama. Money wants to start the project in 2010.
TIME TO SCREAM NO ! SCREAM BECAUSE THE BASTARDS CONTINUE TO REFUSE TO LISTEN TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE !
LET OBAMA KNOW -----MORE TROOPS EQUAL ONE TERM ----BRING THE TROOPS NOW !
*The Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline (TAP or TAPI) is a proposed natural gas pipeline being developed by the Asian Development Bank. The pipeline will transport Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India. Proponents of the project see it as a modern continuation of the Silk Road. The Afghan government is expected to receive 8% of the project's revenue.
PS KNOW WHY THE ADMINISTRATION CAN'T TELL YOU THEIR "CLEAR CUT PLAN" FOR AFGHANISTAN ? BECAUSE THEY CAN'T BE HONEST AND THERE IS NO ACCEPTABLE LIE FOR THEIR ACTIONS . THEY WANT TO BUILD A PIPELINE. FORGET THE BULLSHIT ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS, THE AMERICAN WAR MACHINE RUNS FOR MONEY. PERIOD. NOBODY IS WEARING A WHITE COWBOY HAT ON THIS TRIP
Remember way back when folk singers would refuse to pay the portion of their taxes that were spent on war? Well we can call Joan Baez and tell her it's time to rebel; The Obama administration is proposing a " War tax" to finance the war in Afghanistan . Won't that make it easy to know what taxes NOT to pay? How about the next trillion to ... " finish the job ".
What are you getting for your Trillion dollars, America ? Is " finishing the job", whatever that line of crap means regarding Afghanistan, more important than America's infrastructure, health care, or securing our own border with Mexico ?
Another trillion dollars and a war tax for Afghanistan, while America's currency, property, and standard of living all decline in value and quality? Is Obama crazy, or are we stupid enough to allow it? What are you getting for your trillion dollars America..........reamed!
I expressed my view on this " finish the job" line of crap previously, (Here's the Deal, 02AUG09)
if the Obama administration continues the same Imperialistic policies of the Bush administration, which I might remind you are based on lies and a Zeitgeist, then he is just another puppet, and one puppet is the same as another, no better.
Thirty thousand more troops in Afghanistan ,.... for what? Finish the Job.
What job? Catch Osama? ...............No, the job is to clear the TAPI * pipeline route. Nobody's looking for Osama. Money wants to start the project in 2010.
TIME TO SCREAM NO ! SCREAM BECAUSE THE BASTARDS CONTINUE TO REFUSE TO LISTEN TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE !
LET OBAMA KNOW -----MORE TROOPS EQUAL ONE TERM ----BRING THE TROOPS NOW !
*The Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline (TAP or TAPI) is a proposed natural gas pipeline being developed by the Asian Development Bank. The pipeline will transport Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India. Proponents of the project see it as a modern continuation of the Silk Road. The Afghan government is expected to receive 8% of the project's revenue.
PS KNOW WHY THE ADMINISTRATION CAN'T TELL YOU THEIR "CLEAR CUT PLAN" FOR AFGHANISTAN ? BECAUSE THEY CAN'T BE HONEST AND THERE IS NO ACCEPTABLE LIE FOR THEIR ACTIONS . THEY WANT TO BUILD A PIPELINE. FORGET THE BULLSHIT ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS, THE AMERICAN WAR MACHINE RUNS FOR MONEY. PERIOD. NOBODY IS WEARING A WHITE COWBOY HAT ON THIS TRIP
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
When Grey Consumes All
.............and leaves paint their seasonal masterpiece daily until Winter when grey consumes all. ( Shorter days 30AUG09)
The leaves have all hit the ground. In the end their bright colors desert them and they fall in the rain brown like the earth from which they grew. The grey of winter takes over Happy Camp road this time of year. No longer passable through the mountains and into California, traffic consists of visitors to the snow park eleven miles up the road whom return in grey cars covered with road spray, and my few neighbors.
Grey clouds cover the sky. The Sun don't shine, the birds don't fly. Blue is not a color now but an emotion.
Fog obliterates the view until only the closest trees stand distinct in their grey outlines. The surrounding ridges, furthest first, nearest last, have been swallowed .
On the north side of the ridge, at Bradland, direct sunlight will only reach the cabin for three hours a day, from Mid-November to Mid-February. The Grey of the shade.
Soon, grey snow will creep down from the higher altitudes to make it's seasonal two week appearance , and then retreat with the winter solstice and longer days. Winter's grey will be most dominant then; Colorless, Cabin fevered, lonely, secluded, Greeeeeey. Soon, but not now , Now it's Thanksgiving and time to be grateful for another year and rewards reaped with it.
I'm grateful the truck still runs, the house is built, the toilet is working, I'm healthy and maybe fit, my new teeth fit, that the world is still spinning, that the money goes to the bank, that the Chinese are still underwriting us, and I can still speak Chinese. I'm grateful for a whole bunch of other shit that I don't need to publicly acknowledge. AND... I'm most grateful that the miracle of life is still being enjoyed by all of you. HAPPY THANKSGIVING
The leaves have all hit the ground. In the end their bright colors desert them and they fall in the rain brown like the earth from which they grew. The grey of winter takes over Happy Camp road this time of year. No longer passable through the mountains and into California, traffic consists of visitors to the snow park eleven miles up the road whom return in grey cars covered with road spray, and my few neighbors.
Grey clouds cover the sky. The Sun don't shine, the birds don't fly. Blue is not a color now but an emotion.
Fog obliterates the view until only the closest trees stand distinct in their grey outlines. The surrounding ridges, furthest first, nearest last, have been swallowed .
On the north side of the ridge, at Bradland, direct sunlight will only reach the cabin for three hours a day, from Mid-November to Mid-February. The Grey of the shade.
Soon, grey snow will creep down from the higher altitudes to make it's seasonal two week appearance , and then retreat with the winter solstice and longer days. Winter's grey will be most dominant then; Colorless, Cabin fevered, lonely, secluded, Greeeeeey. Soon, but not now , Now it's Thanksgiving and time to be grateful for another year and rewards reaped with it.
I'm grateful the truck still runs, the house is built, the toilet is working, I'm healthy and maybe fit, my new teeth fit, that the world is still spinning, that the money goes to the bank, that the Chinese are still underwriting us, and I can still speak Chinese. I'm grateful for a whole bunch of other shit that I don't need to publicly acknowledge. AND... I'm most grateful that the miracle of life is still being enjoyed by all of you. HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Sunday, November 15, 2009
The Long Run
Life of course is a long run that passes in an instant. Insignificant in comparison to the cycles of the universe called time, yet powerful in what can be accomplished in the blink, Life is fragile, precious, insignificant and all that matters. Algae in the pond and all that should be revered, both. At your age it's the "long run" part that should be emphasized. Looking behind yourselves you should understand about "in an instant".
Two thirds of a moment ago you were babies in my arms, staring into my eyes as I fed you a bottle. One third of a moment ago children and teenagers. Now as you enter the Summer of your lives, and I into Fall, remember that the "long run" is far too short not to be happy, far too fragile to live for tomorrow, far too unpredictable to be afraid, far to precious to squander, and far too ridiculous to take seriously. Stay healthy and live. He whom lives Longest and Happiest is the winner. Most of being the winner, of being happy is up to you; Consciousness is all we really have, when it is gone .... pick your ending now and go where you want because it's already over. Meanwhile, learn from your past, and live forward and happy. In each of our individual moments one can live several lives, learn from each, and be happier as the succession progresses.
Never be desperate. You always have my love and support. I will always hide you if necessary.
Two thirds of a moment ago you were babies in my arms, staring into my eyes as I fed you a bottle. One third of a moment ago children and teenagers. Now as you enter the Summer of your lives, and I into Fall, remember that the "long run" is far too short not to be happy, far too fragile to live for tomorrow, far too unpredictable to be afraid, far to precious to squander, and far too ridiculous to take seriously. Stay healthy and live. He whom lives Longest and Happiest is the winner. Most of being the winner, of being happy is up to you; Consciousness is all we really have, when it is gone .... pick your ending now and go where you want because it's already over. Meanwhile, learn from your past, and live forward and happy. In each of our individual moments one can live several lives, learn from each, and be happier as the succession progresses.
Never be desperate. You always have my love and support. I will always hide you if necessary.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Three Plus Three
A friend died in August. I didn't know until my E recently was returned. Car Accident. A wonderful person. Unfortunately, my friend sometimes would forget how wonderful life is. I tried to be encouraging. Their passing saddens me. It is a shame we aren't all happy. Have I over enjoyed the ride. I wish everyone could be happy. Can they?That of course set me to thinking of how wonderful life is, and how important it is to be enlightened to being happy. This is all we get. Enjoy all that lives in between your ears, and throw the rest out. Be happy. Remember "Life is wonderful, every miserable moment." and life will be wonderful.
I got to thinking about Life. And death. Then I got to thinking about near death experiences .....I mean, ..Why doesn't anybody ever die and feel their skin burn and see the devil poking their ass with a pitch-fork and , ......Whew that was a close one, .. guess I better tell people I saw Stars and glowing people holding their hands out. Hell, you can hit anysonbitch in the head with a bar and they'll see stars. Heaven above but nobody seems to see themselves roasting to death. Well, at least not those that die and return.
The beauty of the day compells me to write. Living on the California-Oregon border, I often watch storms split on the same border. It can be California sunshine or the Pacific Northwest. Raining here today. Sunny also. The border. There are black clouds with silver linings and silver clouds with black linings; Holes of clear blue sky and trails of rain; There are rainbows that stop at your doorstep, big bands of color so close one looks for a leprechaun and is sure they're in Oz. At times the leaves blow by the windows in gusts of a suspense thriller, and at other times all is silent. The weather channel informs me it's a blizzard up north in the Pacific Northwest. The ridge across from me is half orange, half green in no particular fashion., but very Halloweenish in accordance with landscaping done by the force of nature and the cycle of life. I can feel the valleys isolation , seclusion, and safety, as the onslaught of winter prepares to announce itself to the comfortable, serene, Fall of the West coast. Oh,...and 2012 is closer everyday.
The Octoberfest room is complete, furnished , comfortable. Firewood is stocked and the house is too warm. A wild cat has adopted the space underneath the house and we (the dog and I) feed it occasionally. My rodent guard. I don't overfeeeeed it. I hope it's a mountain lion cub. My mountain lion cub. When it eats Shep the partner dog I'll know, and feed it more. Paw, the partner Cat!
It's all good. I was looking for some ....cat to live under the house. I've been approached three times in the last two weeks to sell. The property next door has been sold and the new owners need my water. Decent people. I feel bad that they need my water and I've been advised not to give it up. "Whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting ", the father of the new owner quoted, attributing the remark to W. C. Fields. When I corrected him, noting it was Samuel Clemens, he remarked " Well it must have been W.C.fields that made it famous." Only Mark knows. I guess nobody has heard of Mr. Twain. Anyway, only Sam knows, and he's given credit though it can't be verified. Don't say a damn word about W.C. Fields, though he might have drank with Mr. Clemens, I admit, I don't care. It's all good, I like being right, and owning the water, and thinking I can roll if I like.
There is no place like the State of Jefferson. Freedom and privacy as it should be in America. No place like home and a toilet to sit on. Nothing like a warm house and all the comforts. I might shower today. It's an option. Can you hear the softness in my voice? 1100 days later, Life is different in the mountains of Southwest Oregon. Slower , Quieter, less stressful, comfortable. Hard to return from one life to the other. The border is glowing more now than burning.
I can understand property values continuing to rise and more interest in Bradland; There are a bunch of people in California whom want to escape taxes and each other, and still enjoy West coast climate. Where ya' gonna hide? West and South of I-5
Three years and three days into the deal..... I'm not inclined to leave . At least not without a Profit. Is money worth holding anymore? Are Big Mac's and fish filet's 20% smaller but the same price ? The box is smaller too. Never fall in Love with an investment. Problem is,...it's all good and I got no where to go that's as much fun as
BRADLAND
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Home on the Mountain
Monday, September 21, 2009
Caddyshack
We're watching old movies today. Old movies because we don't have any movies to watch other than what basic Dish TV is showing, and old is what is on. Frequently shown and old. We watched CitySlickers four times yesterday. Today started with Star Wars, and presently Caddyshack is the diversion. Bill Murray hunting gophers at night with a rifle and a flashlight reminds me of a couple of other nut-cases back in Sacramento : Our ex-next door neighbor Darryl and myself. Between hunting squirrels in the walnut trees and rats in the eves, Darryl and I were always hunting some kinda rodent. The damn squirrels would eat every walnut the trees could produce if you let them, and their mess was atrocious. The rats were rats. I remember the neighbors had mixed feelings about us shooting the squirrels. Actually their reactions were mixed between approval, and disapproval and calling the cops. I remember one Summer Darryl had 105 tick marks before the police came out, twice, and threatened to arrest him if he was caught killing squirrels a third time. There still wasn't a shortage of squirrels stealing walnuts and making a mess. I couldn't understand the fuss. About the time Darryl would be forced to back off in the war of the nuts, well, that's about when I'd take over. Hey, those squirrels were wraskly little bastards, I enjoyed the hell out of hunting them. I remember disguising my actions by backing the motorhome under the trees and opening the vents on top all the way. When the screw up lids were up you could shoot from inside the motorhome into the tree without being seen from the outside. One day I dropped a fat squirrel at the feet of an old chinese woman walking up the sidewalk. I wasn't sure how she was going to react but she looked up and smiled. She either didn't like squirrels, or she did and thought it was lunch, but obviously dead squirrel met with her approval. It was a shame the day the SWAT team came out and put an end to my fun. I can't be sure but it was my guess they were actually disappointed when I set my pellet rifle down and stepped away from it upon their arrival . Damn squirrels were uncontrollable after they started receiving police protection. I sold the house shortly thereafter and Darryl died that winter. Squirrels are running the place now. Goddamn Government. Funny how things work out. I might not be an outlaw now if society hadn't ostracized me over some damn rodents. We got squirrels here but no walnut trees. They can live 'til they start stealing from me, after that it's on ! Anyway, no matter where you're at, there you are. Here's where I'll be for a while longer. Set the new stereo up today. It's almost time to rock and roll. Tuesday is the Autumnal eqinox . Slipping into darkness ..............
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Shorter Days
Summer slowly is drawing to it's close here at Bradland. There are cloudy skies today with a chance of rain. An occasional occurance in Summer, soon it will be the rule. Nighttime temperatures are dropping a couple of degrees with each succeeding week, and the leaves on the deciduous trees are beginning to yellow. The Octoberfest room's exterior is now complete and the insulation work and interior walls will soon be started. Firewood, at least three more cord, needs to be ordered , paid for, and stacked out of the weather. The pipe on the wood-burning stove needs to be replaced before this years fire begins to burn. The pipe for the outside faucet needs insulation. Time for the chores of Autumn.
Autumn, of course, is the most beautiful time of the year here.. The evergreen covered mountains become the canvas for the red and yellow leaves of the less predominant oaks and madrone trees that paint the landscape. Clouds begin to appear above the mountainous horizon to the north daily on their travels eastward as the stormtrack slides south with the season. Upon the blue and green canvas of the forest and sky, the clouds and leaves paint their seasonal masterpiece daily until winter when grey consumes all.
'tis the season; mild, beautiful, serene. The Quail pair are now a covey, The small deer are bigger and losing their spots, Bears get drunk on berries fermenting in their stomachs and, like all drunks, become bothersome and too friendly with people's homes and livestock. Farmers all over the valley are making preparations for the Fall harvest; the Blueberries are in, the Blackberries ripe. Winter straw lies in circular bundles awaiting rhe barn.
Campers will abound from now until the end of Labor day and the close of Summer. The Fall hunters will be fewer in numbers but louder. Hunters need to be careful in the woods of southern Oregon in the Fall, they might find something they are not looking for and a helluva lot more dangerous than Bigfoot; Mexican nationals, or worse, local boys . "Get caught, get shot" is what one local put on a plywood billboard . Careful out there, and don't be a trespassin' ......
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Keeping America's Old Alive
Now that it's time for some serious baby-boomer retirement, now that Social Security is about to reach the point of liability and cost more than it produces, and now that greater numbers of people are going to reach old age and live longer, all at once, it's a good time to hurry through legislation that provides adequate preventive health care for the young while letting the old and less rich die.
Let me put it another way...
If you had contracted a fleet of cabs and, according to contract, you had to insure, maintain, store and fuel the cabs as long as they ran, and the cabs had become old and were a liability, would you maintain the fleet until each cab could no longer be fixed and only then sent to the junkpile, losing money all the while, or send the cabs to the junkpile as soon as they broke down, immediately ending the losses on that individual cab?? Every cab to the boneyard would save you money. And really, why spend a bunch of money saving old cabs that cost you money only as long as you save them?
A friend of mine recently underwent open heart surgery, quadrupal bypass or something. He's recovering slowly. He's eighty something. He can afford the little extra time he has bought. A lot of us couldn't, and neither can the Government afford to buy us, all of us, that extra time either. Consider what they're getting for their money; ...future expenses. Besides, with every cab that dies they get to keep the money we paid to them for years
Guess what? Time marches on. The cycle of human life is short. Too short to worry about the last few years, but also making those years precious and worth elongnating. Especially as individuals. However, heritage, and the choices we've made in life will determine longevity for the greater number of us. Count on that and not the Government for your health care. Obviously if you are reading this you're still in the game. Why worry? We've made it this far.
Timewise... we have less to lose each day we live. Yet, in our daily circles, are we risking more because life is more precious as it diminishes in time, or less because there is less to lose? In the miracle of life is the miracle of death. Health care or not, religious beliefs aside, no mortals are surviving life, and your government can't change that.
That said, be realists: in a capitalist country, where money and greed are part of the system, keeping a large mass of old people alive so they can live a Lonnnnnnng, relaxed, retired life before they die, is a bad investment. Period. There ! All those people screaming about the end of Capitalism can relax and die in peace at their own expense. No long illnesses in my life.
We live by the sword of Capitalism. We will die on the edge of that very same sword. Time to sacrifice for the better-ment of American corporations and the ultra-rich. They run Health care, and Money is not going to keep a bunch of old people alive to die. Everybody wants to live forever. True believers fear not the next portal. I fear missing something.
And No Bitching ! America, and the British, and every other Empire that could get away with it has exploited others for the enrichment of "their's" throughout history. In the case of the American people and Health care, TARP, Bailout for banks, etc., the government is exploiting its own citizens. It was ok when we benefited.
It's a lot more personal when it's happening to you. How much richer and more powerful has our government, and those involved with it, gotten recently while the country goes broke? Did the government stop the fleecing of people's retirement funds? Why do they care if you live or die? A retiree dying saves them money.
Knowing the boomers are a bad investment at this point, look for a bill of preventative medicine for the young and lots of red tape for the old and inevitable. It's our lot. The American Way. Be thankful you 're facing old age and how to live longer.
Let me put it another way...
If you had contracted a fleet of cabs and, according to contract, you had to insure, maintain, store and fuel the cabs as long as they ran, and the cabs had become old and were a liability, would you maintain the fleet until each cab could no longer be fixed and only then sent to the junkpile, losing money all the while, or send the cabs to the junkpile as soon as they broke down, immediately ending the losses on that individual cab?? Every cab to the boneyard would save you money. And really, why spend a bunch of money saving old cabs that cost you money only as long as you save them?
A friend of mine recently underwent open heart surgery, quadrupal bypass or something. He's recovering slowly. He's eighty something. He can afford the little extra time he has bought. A lot of us couldn't, and neither can the Government afford to buy us, all of us, that extra time either. Consider what they're getting for their money; ...future expenses. Besides, with every cab that dies they get to keep the money we paid to them for years
Guess what? Time marches on. The cycle of human life is short. Too short to worry about the last few years, but also making those years precious and worth elongnating. Especially as individuals. However, heritage, and the choices we've made in life will determine longevity for the greater number of us. Count on that and not the Government for your health care. Obviously if you are reading this you're still in the game. Why worry? We've made it this far.
Timewise... we have less to lose each day we live. Yet, in our daily circles, are we risking more because life is more precious as it diminishes in time, or less because there is less to lose? In the miracle of life is the miracle of death. Health care or not, religious beliefs aside, no mortals are surviving life, and your government can't change that.
That said, be realists: in a capitalist country, where money and greed are part of the system, keeping a large mass of old people alive so they can live a Lonnnnnnng, relaxed, retired life before they die, is a bad investment. Period. There ! All those people screaming about the end of Capitalism can relax and die in peace at their own expense. No long illnesses in my life.
We live by the sword of Capitalism. We will die on the edge of that very same sword. Time to sacrifice for the better-ment of American corporations and the ultra-rich. They run Health care, and Money is not going to keep a bunch of old people alive to die. Everybody wants to live forever. True believers fear not the next portal. I fear missing something.
And No Bitching ! America, and the British, and every other Empire that could get away with it has exploited others for the enrichment of "their's" throughout history. In the case of the American people and Health care, TARP, Bailout for banks, etc., the government is exploiting its own citizens. It was ok when we benefited.
It's a lot more personal when it's happening to you. How much richer and more powerful has our government, and those involved with it, gotten recently while the country goes broke? Did the government stop the fleecing of people's retirement funds? Why do they care if you live or die? A retiree dying saves them money.
Knowing the boomers are a bad investment at this point, look for a bill of preventative medicine for the young and lots of red tape for the old and inevitable. It's our lot. The American Way. Be thankful you 're facing old age and how to live longer.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Here's the Deal
"Life is good", as my buddy Gary would say. Gary's been there and done that. He used to ride shotgun with 40 cal.'s in Viet Nam. He used to watch the Shell tankers within firing range of the enemy never get fired on. He knows about wars for money. Money controls both sides .
Gary's life is good. His life, like most of yours', is damn good by 'World Standards'. Gary has earned his good life, like most of you have, with work and perserverance .
"My life is good", is what Gary called to tell me. Not as good as his (he didn't mention that), but good enough, and he didn't want me to forget that large fact in my rantings about 'Bama and the boys... give the guy a chance. He's still better than Bush and Cheney. Except... if the Obama administration continues the same Imperialistic policies of the Bush administration, which I might remind you are based on lies and a Zeitgeist, then he is just another puppet, and one puppet is the same as another, no better.
Thirty thousand more troops in Afghanistan... for what? Finish the Job.
What job? Catch Osama? ...No, the job is to clear the TAPI* pipeline route. Nobody's looking for Osama. Money wants to start the project in 2010.
Troops might be clearing poppy fields, but I have the feeling their efforts are a drop in the bucket. I mean, why is Heroin as cheap as a six pack of beer in the Northeast USA?
Our troops might be fighting bad guys but for what? There are bad guys all over the world and not everybody thinks we're the good guys, so why are we losing lives, taking lives, and destroying worlds we have no business even being in ...except for profit? Profits from Oil, War, and control of the Opium market. I can't agree with a war for these profits. I damn sure wouldn't want my sons risking their lives for these objectives. I don't want other American sons lost for profit either.
I don't think continuing to give the people of Afghanistan a deal they can't refuse is necessary for American Safety or the American Standard of Living. Our good standard of living. But do I really care? Do you?
What the hell do you care if you can have whatever you want for lunch? Everyday. Every American good day. In every American good life. Especially mine.
How can we relate to people living on grass soup in Afghanistan, when we can't decide to take advantage of cash for clunkers and buy a new jeep? They live in a different world. Their everyday life is like watching an episode of 'Survivorman'. Americans relate better to the world of Star Wars.
If a Supreme being was to appear from the heavens, see me in my New Jeep Wrangler Rubicon chewing on fast food chicken with ranch style dressing and Pepsi to wash it down, and was to judge me, would the supreme being judge me strong and good, a survivor at the top of the top of the food chain? Rr would judgement be of my compassion? My world citizenship? Is it- God helps those whom help themselves, or be thy brother's keeper?
I can have what I want for lunch. Everyday. I could cut back to two meals a day, too, if I wanted. I don't own a Ferrari, a boat, a vacation home. I'm still buying the property I Iive on. I don't own anything I haven't earned through my own laborious life. I don't begrudge others what they have earned either, but I think it's time the average man came to the conclusion that those with the most could live on a lot less if it meant the end of wars for profit.
My personal belief is mankind is nothing more than algae in the pond, and the only real signifigance of life is life, or the miracle thereof. Therefore, it seems to me a great crime to deny others their life so that we might have a better one. As a nation it works the same. That doesn't mean we shouldn't enjoy our good life. No, we should celebrate every lucky moment. What we shouldn't do is force the consequences of our lifestyle on others.
I do not agree with the Imperialistic ideal that profit and progress gives the modern world eminent domain over those who don't agree with a deal they can't refuse.
Now, I can't see what the harm is in the TAPI pipeline. It's progress American style, for a profit, and seemingly benefits the countries involved. There might be great benefits to the Afghanistan people too, but it is not my country, it is theirs, and they don't seem to want us there any more than they did the Russians (whom we helped them fight). How fast the pendelum of righteousness swings, huh?
So the question is... if it makes US more comfortable (as the top of the top of the food chain) do we care about those who stand in the way of our Comforts? Our Oil, Our Blood Diamonds. Our Seal Skin Fur coats, our Ivory Tusk piano keys, our Whales? Our profits?
Bring the Troops Home Now! It is not their job to deliver deals the world can't refuse, and that is all the world has seen from America in the last eight years.
Bradman
*The Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline (TAP or TAPI) is a proposed natural gas pipeline being developed by the Asian Development Bank. The pipeline will transport Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India. Proponents of the project see it as a modern continuation of the Silk Road. The Afghan government is expected to receive 8% of the project's revenue.
Gary's life is good. His life, like most of yours', is damn good by 'World Standards'. Gary has earned his good life, like most of you have, with work and perserverance .
"My life is good", is what Gary called to tell me. Not as good as his (he didn't mention that), but good enough, and he didn't want me to forget that large fact in my rantings about 'Bama and the boys... give the guy a chance. He's still better than Bush and Cheney. Except... if the Obama administration continues the same Imperialistic policies of the Bush administration, which I might remind you are based on lies and a Zeitgeist, then he is just another puppet, and one puppet is the same as another, no better.
Thirty thousand more troops in Afghanistan... for what? Finish the Job.
What job? Catch Osama? ...No, the job is to clear the TAPI* pipeline route. Nobody's looking for Osama. Money wants to start the project in 2010.
Troops might be clearing poppy fields, but I have the feeling their efforts are a drop in the bucket. I mean, why is Heroin as cheap as a six pack of beer in the Northeast USA?
Our troops might be fighting bad guys but for what? There are bad guys all over the world and not everybody thinks we're the good guys, so why are we losing lives, taking lives, and destroying worlds we have no business even being in ...except for profit? Profits from Oil, War, and control of the Opium market. I can't agree with a war for these profits. I damn sure wouldn't want my sons risking their lives for these objectives. I don't want other American sons lost for profit either.
I don't think continuing to give the people of Afghanistan a deal they can't refuse is necessary for American Safety or the American Standard of Living. Our good standard of living. But do I really care? Do you?
What the hell do you care if you can have whatever you want for lunch? Everyday. Every American good day. In every American good life. Especially mine.
How can we relate to people living on grass soup in Afghanistan, when we can't decide to take advantage of cash for clunkers and buy a new jeep? They live in a different world. Their everyday life is like watching an episode of 'Survivorman'. Americans relate better to the world of Star Wars.
If a Supreme being was to appear from the heavens, see me in my New Jeep Wrangler Rubicon chewing on fast food chicken with ranch style dressing and Pepsi to wash it down, and was to judge me, would the supreme being judge me strong and good, a survivor at the top of the top of the food chain? Rr would judgement be of my compassion? My world citizenship? Is it- God helps those whom help themselves, or be thy brother's keeper?
I can have what I want for lunch. Everyday. I could cut back to two meals a day, too, if I wanted. I don't own a Ferrari, a boat, a vacation home. I'm still buying the property I Iive on. I don't own anything I haven't earned through my own laborious life. I don't begrudge others what they have earned either, but I think it's time the average man came to the conclusion that those with the most could live on a lot less if it meant the end of wars for profit.
My personal belief is mankind is nothing more than algae in the pond, and the only real signifigance of life is life, or the miracle thereof. Therefore, it seems to me a great crime to deny others their life so that we might have a better one. As a nation it works the same. That doesn't mean we shouldn't enjoy our good life. No, we should celebrate every lucky moment. What we shouldn't do is force the consequences of our lifestyle on others.
I do not agree with the Imperialistic ideal that profit and progress gives the modern world eminent domain over those who don't agree with a deal they can't refuse.
Now, I can't see what the harm is in the TAPI pipeline. It's progress American style, for a profit, and seemingly benefits the countries involved. There might be great benefits to the Afghanistan people too, but it is not my country, it is theirs, and they don't seem to want us there any more than they did the Russians (whom we helped them fight). How fast the pendelum of righteousness swings, huh?
So the question is... if it makes US more comfortable (as the top of the top of the food chain) do we care about those who stand in the way of our Comforts? Our Oil, Our Blood Diamonds. Our Seal Skin Fur coats, our Ivory Tusk piano keys, our Whales? Our profits?
Bring the Troops Home Now! It is not their job to deliver deals the world can't refuse, and that is all the world has seen from America in the last eight years.
Bradman
*The Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline (TAP or TAPI) is a proposed natural gas pipeline being developed by the Asian Development Bank. The pipeline will transport Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India. Proponents of the project see it as a modern continuation of the Silk Road. The Afghan government is expected to receive 8% of the project's revenue.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Cash for Clunkers
I wanted to get in on the Cash for clunker program but my Jeep only has 255,000 miles on it I hate to give it up prematurely. It has, for the money I paid for it ( $1750.00), been the best vehicle I have ever owned. It's a runner,....but 4500 dollars credit is 2 and a half times what I paid for it. Almost a deal I can't refuse. In case you're a European, or a citizen from someplace other than the USA, the cash for clunker program was a billion dollar give-away by the federal government to stimulate the auto industry. Consumers were given between 3,500 and 4,500 dollars credit on new cars for trading in their clunkers. Details are irrelevant at this point because the money only lasted one week. In one week 250,000 cars sold, the money was exhausted , and the car dealers are crying they need more "clunker cash". I say, "Let the federal government buy everybody a new car". Why not? The federal give-away has included banks , Insurance companies, the auto industry, the unemployed, the hungry, disaster victims, foreign governments, foreign disaster victims, foreign intelligence agencies, foreign dictators, pig shit research, screwing habits of rabbitts, and a myriad of other handouts that you can finish listing at your own convenience. Save 'em all. The point is: As long as the government is giving the country away today, and asking others to pay for it later, the average man ought to get a bigger cut . If 1 billion paid 25% of the cost of 250,000 cars, then 4 billion would buy 250,000 cars. 40 billion would buy 2,500,000 new cars. Thats a new car for 2 1\2 million Americans. 800 billion would buy 50,000,000 new cars. New jeeps for everybody. Bradman says, " Americans would have preferred a new Jeep to bailing out AIG." New jeep, or not, American patience is running short with Obama's bullshit. The new liars are still paying bonuses with taxpayers dollars to banking executives that robbed the country blind. Our new liars haven't brought anybody to justice for the biggest robbery in history. The new liars are the same as the old liars, they've just shuffled the chairs. The New Liar covers the old thieve's tracks with the same repetitious statement. "lets look forward not back". Obama Bullshit. How do you learn from your mistakes if you don't examine them? What deterrant is there to future thieves when today's robbers go unpunished with no fear of being investigated.? Absolute Horseshit. How many Bernie's made off with the cash while Obama covered their tracks? It is the same with the crimes of the Bush administration. With 9\11. With Cheney and the CIA. Let's look forward,........to the next lie and crime! It is maddening watching today's leaders trying to decieve us. It is infuriating watching these puppets tell us one thing and do exactly what they want contrary to their words. When the next act of terrorism occurs it will be the American people's own fault that the perpetrators believe they can succeed. What we can get away with if nobody investigates. How blind are we going to be? JUST LOOK FORWARD !. and it's working. The bliss. I want to scream obscenities in my frustration with the blindness. Why are we still in Afghanistan? What is our objective? Who the hell are we chasing now? The time has come for mass demonstrations, for righteous indignation, for a revolution of common sense. My great x15 grandfather, Thomas Pate, American circa 1699., would not have stood for the monster the country now supports, Why shouild the American people 300 years later give up their common sense? Bring the troops home now, Stop the Bullshit, The only difference between Viet Nam and our present endeavors in imperialism is that the communists are now Taliban, and corporate America seems to have a stronger grip on the government. When your Common Sense is offended on a daily basis by your Government it is time for revolution. Let people know you aren't happy and Obama's lies are no more convincing then Bush's. Bring the troops home now. Love your country , trust your senses, Let People, everybody you're acquainted with , know; We are tired of the lies and we want action NOW.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
The Caterpillar
A hummingbird flew into the Octoberfest room today and couldn't find it's way out. The room, now three sided with a roof and floor, and the long window opposite the one open wall, gives the impression to the butterflies and hummingbirds they can fly right throught it. When they hit the window all is confusion. They will climb the window over and over never realizing they only need turn and fly backwards a little to escape. This morning I had to rescue the exhausted bird by catching it on a small board on its way down the glass and carrying it to the other side of the room to freedom. I consider this to be a good Omen, Befriending the Hummingbird.Indian Mythology:
To many of the Pueblo the hummingbird is a tobacco bird. In one myth
Hummingbird gets smoke from Caterpillar, the guardian of the tobacco plant.
Hummingbird brings smoke to the shamans so they can purify the earth.
Cool huh? Catching the hummingbird was like christening the room. Never underestimate the Caterpillar or a bald man. Bradman
Monday, July 27, 2009
Hot in the Pacific Northwest
Global warming? The people in the Northeast USA might argue that they haven't seen Summer this year, but it has been, and continues to be, HOT in the west. Last week I went south on I-5 and found it necessary to travel after dark; it is too hot at 100 plus degrees to travel on the motorcycle during the day. The air is like a body size hair-blower, 105 degress at 80 miles per hour. Add the heat of the sun reflected off the asphalt, or worse, the white concrete of the road, and the heat off the engine, and you have all the ingredients for broiled Brad. In the 350 miles between Grants Pass and Sactown you can lose a hat size under your helmet.
Normally the Pacific Northwest doesn't suffer these 100 plus degree temperatures. I am three miles from the California border so Bradland endures some heat every year but people in Portland and Seattle are usually a lot cooler. I have decided to add an air conditioner to the new room. It's about time I suffered a little comfort while others are miserable. As a matter of fact I've been considering a central heat and air unit for the Octoberfest room. Right after I get the toilet hooked to the septic tank and have a place to shit that flushes. You prissy mothers.
Constuction continues. The exterior is complete on one side, half done on the other, unstarted on the third; right on schedule. I work on the place before noon and after five. As the sun chases the shade around the building I move from place to place until it's so hot there is no place to work without melting. Then it's time to eat and take a nap. Just kidding. Nobody can sleep in this heat. At least not without climate control.
I was in Grants Pass earlier and the thermometer read 107 at the bank.103 at another. The bank in Cave Junction read 99 at 7:30 this evening. Every swimming hole on the 28 mile drive was packed with people trying to beat the heat . I think it's time to retrieve the kayak from the valley and become a river rat again. Anyway there's the weather report from this side of the world.
Normally the Pacific Northwest doesn't suffer these 100 plus degree temperatures. I am three miles from the California border so Bradland endures some heat every year but people in Portland and Seattle are usually a lot cooler. I have decided to add an air conditioner to the new room. It's about time I suffered a little comfort while others are miserable. As a matter of fact I've been considering a central heat and air unit for the Octoberfest room. Right after I get the toilet hooked to the septic tank and have a place to shit that flushes. You prissy mothers.
Constuction continues. The exterior is complete on one side, half done on the other, unstarted on the third; right on schedule. I work on the place before noon and after five. As the sun chases the shade around the building I move from place to place until it's so hot there is no place to work without melting. Then it's time to eat and take a nap. Just kidding. Nobody can sleep in this heat. At least not without climate control.
I was in Grants Pass earlier and the thermometer read 107 at the bank.103 at another. The bank in Cave Junction read 99 at 7:30 this evening. Every swimming hole on the 28 mile drive was packed with people trying to beat the heat . I think it's time to retrieve the kayak from the valley and become a river rat again. Anyway there's the weather report from this side of the world.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Busy in the Summer
I'd like to pass off my lack of communication with the outside world recently as being a result of having a life and being to busy to sit down and write; The truth is ......( Whenever the "truth" is proclaimed one has to be very careful, especially if they are the proclaimee. The truth changes with new knowledge all the time. When it comes to truths about oneself , we often can't see the forest for the trees, and are myopic to our personal shortcomings.) ........I've been depressed. Well, kinda.......Every time I think this property is going to actually SELL, and the next adventure is about to begin, the deal dies and so does the excitement of a new road. My Aunt says I don't seem unhappy on the old road. The truth is.... ( there it is again) the old road gets better every day and in todays economic climate that's nothing to complain about.
Mostly I get impatient; I get tired of inching ahead, I want to leap forward. I don't like waiting for the next check and the materials it will buy to continue building the Octoberfest room, I want to Build it now! I want production and accomplishment at a rate I can't financially sustain. I want the world and I want it NOW.
When construction stops due to lack of funds, ...I'll spend the food money on materials. Diet. Once the food money is being negotiated for materials it's only a matter of time before all aspects of my financial life start to feel the squeeze. Is there gas money? What if something breaks down? Can I afford a trip to the city and Love? When I'm tapped out will there be weed to smoke while I play spider Solitaire? All for a shack I want to sell. Damned when I do, Bored when I don't. Busy is better.
Anyway, I was just thinking what if China wanted to build a pipeline to Mexico through Southern Oregon and the locals had to become Taliban to resist the foreign profiteers? Ridiculous huh?
Bring the troops home now. Investigate and pursue the illegal actions of the previous administration. Bring our own countries criminals (Bush, Cheney etc.) to justice . Get busy. It's Summer.
Bradman
Ps - A room with a view
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Boys With Money
Wednesday:
I had some boys with money from the Portland area down for a visit yesterday. Individuals living in the suburbs, bored and comfortable, existing in the customary fashion of the retired and affluent in America. I imagine.
They were going to Grants Pass to a Hot Rod shop to acquire parts for one of their toys, and, being that close , they came the forty miles down the Redwood highway to see Bradland. Not that they wanted to, but, they didn't want to come that close to Bradland and offend me by not stopping either. They'd like an invitation to my Octoberfest party.
They were impressed They especially liked my yard art. They suggested I add some new members to the family. They stayed about twenty minutes. Paradise.
Aaaaahhhh ...........these guys are soft. I'm sure they would drive the ten miles to town before they shit in a bucket. They need to get mountainfied. This is still a frontier. This ain't the eastern Sierra; This is the wilderness. This ain't no ranchette outside of Portland. It's dark here after the sun goes down. Large cats sharpen their claws on trees eight feet up the trunk. The bears get drunk on over ripe black-berries and come to dinner. On Sunday a grizzly knocked over my neighbors fence at 1200 Happy Camp rd and he was afraid to go outside and lock up the chicken coup. He had to call the State police. I'm going to drive down later and give him my number. Next time he can call me. I just got a bigger caliber rifle out of the safe. No wonder the neighbor's dog been barking. Yeah....Everybody ought to come to Bradland ....get a new perspective on what you got.
Tues:
I was in the city the last three days. Arrived home to an "offer'' for Bradland. After three days in the city I'm not so froggy to jump.( 105, 102,.105.101,...the high temperatures on the days I was there). The buyers are local boys whom have looked in Josephine county and realize there is not much land for sale at the price of Bradland. I like Josephine county. They think they can make it work. I admire their spirit. I hope they come up with a solid offer and the 60k down in the next ten days......
People keep asking me what will I do if I sell this property? Go to Italy. Go to China. Be nineteen. Become a hundred millionaire. Play jazz harmonica. Be Happy. Get old and nice. Alice and Brad lost in their lands. Anyway, another year older and it was a good one.
While I was celebrating did the world stop? Is the Iranian revolution for freedom over ? Did Ed McMahon and Farrah Fawcett come back to life? Every news broadcast I've seen is All about Michael Jackson . There's a memorial at the Apollo theatre; Everybody's Attorney, There's Joe Jackson sounding like a car salesman; And there is that microphone sucking Al Sharpton . Let the sensationalism start! Of course, he's really no worse than all the other players, dance contests, talent shows, reverends, etc whom will commercialize Michaels death into a three ring circus. Reminds me of the story of the Colonel opening a meeting after Elvis's death by flatly stating, " This changes nothing".
You could call into to the entertainment shows to cast your vote today, " Who was the best entertainer, Michael, Elvis, or the Beatles?" (Longevity will be in the music, not the dance, I believe).
Just one of the sick questions, viewers of various shows can express an opinion on. You would think some of this is a little premature though. Couldn't we at least wait for the guy to be buried before the real circus begins? I personally think they're going to keep the concert dates and Michael is going to make his greatest comeback ever during the Thriller segment......
I had some boys with money from the Portland area down for a visit yesterday. Individuals living in the suburbs, bored and comfortable, existing in the customary fashion of the retired and affluent in America. I imagine.
They were going to Grants Pass to a Hot Rod shop to acquire parts for one of their toys, and, being that close , they came the forty miles down the Redwood highway to see Bradland. Not that they wanted to, but, they didn't want to come that close to Bradland and offend me by not stopping either. They'd like an invitation to my Octoberfest party.
They were impressed They especially liked my yard art. They suggested I add some new members to the family. They stayed about twenty minutes. Paradise.
Aaaaahhhh ...........these guys are soft. I'm sure they would drive the ten miles to town before they shit in a bucket. They need to get mountainfied. This is still a frontier. This ain't the eastern Sierra; This is the wilderness. This ain't no ranchette outside of Portland. It's dark here after the sun goes down. Large cats sharpen their claws on trees eight feet up the trunk. The bears get drunk on over ripe black-berries and come to dinner. On Sunday a grizzly knocked over my neighbors fence at 1200 Happy Camp rd and he was afraid to go outside and lock up the chicken coup. He had to call the State police. I'm going to drive down later and give him my number. Next time he can call me. I just got a bigger caliber rifle out of the safe. No wonder the neighbor's dog been barking. Yeah....Everybody ought to come to Bradland ....get a new perspective on what you got.
Tues:
I was in the city the last three days. Arrived home to an "offer'' for Bradland. After three days in the city I'm not so froggy to jump.( 105, 102,.105.101,...the high temperatures on the days I was there). The buyers are local boys whom have looked in Josephine county and realize there is not much land for sale at the price of Bradland. I like Josephine county. They think they can make it work. I admire their spirit. I hope they come up with a solid offer and the 60k down in the next ten days......
People keep asking me what will I do if I sell this property? Go to Italy. Go to China. Be nineteen. Become a hundred millionaire. Play jazz harmonica. Be Happy. Get old and nice. Alice and Brad lost in their lands. Anyway, another year older and it was a good one.
While I was celebrating did the world stop? Is the Iranian revolution for freedom over ? Did Ed McMahon and Farrah Fawcett come back to life? Every news broadcast I've seen is All about Michael Jackson . There's a memorial at the Apollo theatre; Everybody's Attorney, There's Joe Jackson sounding like a car salesman; And there is that microphone sucking Al Sharpton . Let the sensationalism start! Of course, he's really no worse than all the other players, dance contests, talent shows, reverends, etc whom will commercialize Michaels death into a three ring circus. Reminds me of the story of the Colonel opening a meeting after Elvis's death by flatly stating, " This changes nothing".
You could call into to the entertainment shows to cast your vote today, " Who was the best entertainer, Michael, Elvis, or the Beatles?" (Longevity will be in the music, not the dance, I believe).
Just one of the sick questions, viewers of various shows can express an opinion on. You would think some of this is a little premature though. Couldn't we at least wait for the guy to be buried before the real circus begins? I personally think they're going to keep the concert dates and Michael is going to make his greatest comeback ever during the Thriller segment......
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The Past
There are many failures in my life. If one is to judge their life as being goal oriented and productive, or not; Mature or not; Revolutionary, enlightening, dedicated, committed, or not, I was a dismal failure. I was self and over indulged. I was blind, drugged, ignorant, selfish, stupid, addicted to stimulation and lost. I was bliss and narcissistic. Now, for the most part, I have to look behind me to see that demon ridden corpse, and more than I realize he should have never lived my life , I know he never will again.Life is lived forward, and there is the triumph; I have thrown demons upon myself and carried them until I knew them, indulged them, paid the price for their association and divorced them. In the end of our relationship, I knew what we were all about, and I would not be consumed. At least not further. I've been there and done that, and pay a price for the experience. In some way or another, I pay the price for the experience every day.
The sum total of my knowledge:
If there is a Heaven it is in one's smile. Hell can be anywhere. If you have survived it and are stronger, look forward. Your failures become your triumphs when you overcome them.
There are those in the world whom willingly remind you of past failures.. They use what was as a means to control and manipulate. They use one's failures as a means to judge and oppress long after the mistake has been committed. Once an individual has triumphed over their mistakes, matured and changed, there is little reason to allow this oppression. The triumph includes understanding life is lived forward and mistakes in the past must be understood for reference and knowledge, then left in the past as not to handicap the future.
Life and Time will weaken and discourage some, others it will strengthen and make more determined. The path we choose and it's evaluation is all about perception. Other's perception is important to help us set our parameters, but only our own perception should determine how we feel about our path and where it has traveled. For all the lowlife, ugly, stimulating, depressing, crazy, wild life I've seen; For all the years I worked a rut; For all of life, I can not now be sorry for having been there, just as I'm not sorry for not living a life that was driven, motivated, religious, righteous or more acceptable to the judgmental.
The mistakes I've made, were made knowingly. I chose to do things. I chose how to live my life. The price I pay for bad choices is extracted every day, but, I owe the past nothing and take all of it forward only as reference. My failures are now my triumphs, for at almost 53, still breathing, I am only stronger from the battles with myself. Obviously they didn't kill me. Why would I let others now kill me over choices in the past I cannot change? How can I be sorry for living any moment when there are so precious few to spend.? Every breath we get is a small triumph over the inevitable day that's coming, so breath deep and enjoy the ride . Avoid the ruts. Make amends where necessary. Live forward, Enjoy, and know that whom you have been has everything to do with whom you will be, or whom you will not be, but the choice is yours and life is lived now and in the future.
Happiness is mostly perception and if there is a Heaven it is in your smile.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
It Was A Bad Day
I was restless the night before my Uncle's funeral. Uncle Harold had died Monday of the previous week and today, eleven days later, the memorial was held in Anderson California. I was supposed to be there. I intended to be there. It was a bad day.Tired , unable to get my normal three and a half hours of uninterrupted sleep between trips to the urination bowl, I rose at four thirty and hurried to begin my journey to Anderson 220 miles away. It would take three and a half hours minimum to get there from Bradland and I needed an early start to make my Uncle's memorial at ten AM. The night before I had packed a suitcase, planning to take the dog and the jeep. I polished and packed dress shoes, unworn for two years. I dusted off the shoulders of a semi-ironed white dress shirt suitable for a funeral. I brought out slacks unworn for more then two years and tried them on to make sure they still fit, then packed them and the shirt. I trimmed my beard and wished I had given myself a shave before the sun went down the night before. The sun shines into the shower during the day, I can see better for work with a blade.
In the morning I changed my mind. I was feeling broke because I had to buy a new cell phone last week, and construction expenses have been adding up on the Octoberfest (living) room for the shack. I decided to take the motorcycle. My jeep has 254,000 miles on it now and would use twice the gas of the motorcycle. I worry about the jeep. The dog couldn't go, but it was probably going to be too hot for him to hang in the jeep anyway. I didn't want to explain bringing my dog to the funeral either, though those that know, know he's my significant other 99% of the time.
I had worried all night about taking the jeep. The motorcycle had a bald rear tire. Now I worried about taking it too. In the end I decided to race down to Anderson, attend the memorial, and return home on the motorcycle. Save gas money. Do the seven hour round-trip ride and grit it out. No change of clothes. No slacks, dress shirt, or polished shoes. Just Bradman with some love for my Aunt. The important thing was to be there. That was the plan.
Normally a motorcycle ride on the Road-Monster is a more pleasant thing . However, I had ridden down the valley the previous week for six hours going, and returning, and I was plain tired of road tripping. Nevertheless I was rolling down I-5 at seventy miles in hour at six thirty in the morning, 80 miles from home and right between Grants Pass and Medford, when my rear tire blew .
I've been riding Honda Goldwings for 28 years now. I bought my first one in Texas in 1981, and have owned and ridden six others in the interim. In twenty eight years of riding I have never been broken down on the road. I was lost. I felt like a Harley Davidson. I decided to ride the flat tire to the next off ramp. A mile and a half later I wound up in the Rogue Valley rest area. It was there that I flagged a Oregon State Policeman. He called me a tow truck , and the rest of this story is about a string of expenses that depleted my savings account and destroyed all hope for a new jeep anytime soon.
It was a bad day and I hope things are good there, All my sympathy to You and the Girls and the Family .
PS I thought I was going to ride those tires all summer. I had no idea the rear one was showing cord. It must have worn out very quickly in the last hundred miles . And to think I got a ticket last week doing 87 miles per hour.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Traveling
How's the trip to OZ? Justin called and said that he and I are lagging in the world travel department. The two of us need a little catching up with You and Brad. When this property sells or is paid off, I think it'll be time for the world tour. Meanwhile we are forced to positions of envy waiting for a someday that may never come. Someday, when pigs fly and I grow hair again. On my head. Justin isn't forced to my position, he's going to Chicago to watch some Ball games. meanwhile it's time to add a "living room" to the shack for me. A room where " we" , we being the local boys that have forsworn the common path, or been asked to leave, can lounge around on a sectional with a coffee table for the bong and watch the NBA. Maybe that swimmer\smoker can come up and hang with us.We cool. We are the counter-culture, black market, earth news, mother earth, got dredlocks, Barter? Whom blew the towers?, Bradland , Bradman, Bradlaw, Peter Pan culture that rocks in Na Na NaNaNaNa live for today land of OZ everryone wants to balloon to. Australia is probably different too.
Santana jams while I start to put the foundation in; A couple of pieces of eye beam I'll cement into the ground vertically shouldn't rust away in my lifetime. Then a 2x12 crosspiece to support the floor joist running off the house, lay some 2x8 floor joist, then some inch and a quarter tongue and groove plywood and we'll be drinking and waving to tourists from the new deck next week. Haul out the Barbecue, and the stereo, because these mountains rock.
Walls will go up in July. Lots more mirrored windows. And of course I'll adhere to that custom look that says, No carpenter experience and No permits throughout. Everybody will love it , the tourists will stop and take pictures, like they do now, and we'll print postcards and send them out With the caption, " IT COULD BE WORSE" .
And of course it could. We could have nothing to look forward to. Thats the trick of course, to have something to work towards: A trip to Australia, a cubs game in the city of the Bulls , a big room for Octoberfest, better Gumbo. Life is soooooooooooo wonderful. Aren't you glad we were never afraid? Now just be smarter than I was. Intelligence does encompass apprehension too.
Here's hoping Dorothy is giving you the tour of the Yellow Brick road and the wicked witch of the south is a mistress in black, jand not a widow.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Letters from my third son - Letter Four
The FlatOrders are being shouted out over glass breaking in a busy Italian restaurant. Erin sits across from me and tells me her story. At some point in the conversation I see a waiter and think to myself. How did he get to this point in his life? He’s clearly in his forties and the many lines on his face want to tell me the stories of how they got there. I sit and wonder what was his drug of choice. Did he ever kick it and if he did when was the last time he had to fight the demon. Was it over a woman, the lost job, or the simple yearning that he has carried all these years that just caught him at the right time. Erin poses a question to me but I was off in my world again. I say something silly then blame it on jetlag. My responses to all her questions are in this fashion and it starts to come off as charm.
A light stroll by the Beautiful Darling Harbor leads us getting into a more personal conversation. I soon realize I could take the turn here and set myself up for some sort of intimate encounter. I think to myself, I didn’t come across the globe to hook up with a girl from San Diego and if I did it would be with this girl? Sure she had a nice body but other things about her just didn’t fall into place for me. Now do I do it just for the story sake? At this point I figure I will just leave it be. I also like to look as if I don’t care about what she has to offer. She seems the type that likes to test a guy's patience- aka a cock tease. Our walk leads us back to my hostel. She informs me that she lives one building over. Then she tells me she has seven flat mates to a two-bedroom apartment. I have got to see how this works
The Door Swings open to the flat that is small but modern in look. It looks just like a hotel room. On one of the pleather blue couches sits Fabian, a 24-year-old French guy from Cannes. Fabian has a crew cut and a brow that makes him look almost wolfish. If he gains another 5 lb the wolfish look could end up looking piggish. Sitting next to him is a Korean girl named Sky. Sky could be the mascot for blind happiness. I say that because she doesn’t ever speak, only smiles, and runs around the flat handing out hi fives all day for no reason. I can see her doing this during the apocalypse. Just across from her is a French guy also named Fabian. This Fabian is the type that would come to the states and clean up. A bedroom door opens and two fools pop out. Brian, a 30-year–old dude from San Diego that happens to be Erin’s brother. Next to him is a dark guy name Mattose, from Brazil, that only talks threw his top front teeth. Oh, did I say talk? I meant yell, because a yell is the only volume he talks in. In the kitchen is a girl with dirty blonde hair and black thick-rimmed glasses From Sweden. I forget her name because she ducked out before I really got to meet her. Also in the kitchen is Reynaldo, making drinks for everyone. Reynaldo came from Brazil just like Mattose, but he is polar opposite from him. Erin asks me if I want a drink. I respond no but for some reason I have one in my hand before I even finish my response. I have wanted a drink for the past 2-3 weeks and it’s the one drink I wanted too. A Jack and Coke... light on the Coke. I hold it in my hand and think is this how day one in Sydney is gong to go? You bet your ass!!!!!!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Letters from my third son - Letter Three
New FriendI’m ushered into a car I have no idea the make of. It looks like a typical middle class get you to point A to B. We drive off into the city and I stare at this new landscape from the car window, I size it up like an ex’s new mate. Sydney is gloomy this Wednesday morning and I can’t wait for the rain to return. The city smells like sidewalk that has been freshly hit drenched in liquid sunshine. It takes me back to my days of walking to school in the rain. On the walk I would daydream of being back in bed and listening to the music the rain created outside. I jump out of my memory when lissett announces to me that we are at my hostel
Slamming the car door shut I make my way across the street to my hostel. I check in, get my key, and hear the run down. I quickly step out on to George Street and light my last cigarette. I walk about 20 minute in all four directions just so I have a decent feel for the land. I take a look at endless shop signs that I will have to remember just as well as the street names. When traveling it’s just as important to know where you have been, along with where you are, and where you are going. Traveling is way different than a vacation. When one travels they must be alert at all times. You must know your surroundings, remember conversations, recognize places, and constantly analyze everyone. The mental part of traveling is just as taxing as the physical part. It starts to rain harder and makes this gorgeous city even more so. The city is painted with rainwater and the streets now look like they are paved in marble. I head back toward my hostel to meet up with a friend I meet through a co-worker. As soon as I walk threw the doors she is there to greet me.
The first thing anybody will notice about our new friend is that she will have a lot of back problems when she gets older. These things are ridiculous and to top it off she has a small waist that accentuates her upper torso. Now in most cases a good upper half means the back yard doesn’t have enough room to run a full court game. Now, I said most cases, but not this one. The only thing about her is that she is 5’3 and 24, so I know that that waist will fill out and her coke bottle figure will turn into a 2 liter, but as it stands now... it’s time to play ball. “Hello I’m Erin.”
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Letters from my third son - Letter Two
Flight QYou Never Know who you are going to end up next to on a flight. You could get that talker who really has absolutely nothing to say. They talk of people that they know and think are interesting but are really aren’t, along with a sense of humor that would creep out a priest. I can just see it, he leaves the confessional ‘Thank you Father” the priest takes a moment then lets out a breath and says “Ehh Now there’s a kid I wouldn’t touch”. I totally forget about this part of the trip, it doesn’t hit me until after I take the walk down the corridor. I see my seat and there is no one in the row so far. There are three seats so this means I could very well get the talker and the person who never put soap to skin. Now I play the waiting game.
Your flight partner will determine the type of flight you have. Knowing this fact scares the shit out of me. I’m looking at a 14-hour stint inside this economy-sized coffin. I start to size up every person coming down the aisle. A big guy is headed my way and all I could think is find your seat soon PLEASE! With every aisle he passes I start to accept my fate of an uncomfortable flight. Now he is standing right next to me and pauses. In my mind I let out a NOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Like we all did after we found out sex and the city was in its final season. I’m in for a flight of pasty ass forearm brushing up against me every time he tries to dig himself into a slumber, not to mention the heavy mouth-breathing that is currently occupying the whole left side of my face as he stands next to me. Luckily he was just waiting for someone to put away something in the overhead compartment. A sai of relief comes flowing from my rib cage. I was a new man! We the jury fined Carlos rodriguez… not guilty, he shoots he scores, goooaaaaalll!!!! Oh by the way just a side note this flight has four of the ugliest babies on it. It’s like a reverse baby pageant on this plane. One ugly baby is ok but four at the same place at the same time just aint right. This plane is doomed. Well the flights damn near packed and no partners on this trip. I dig into my pocket for my ipod and that’s when I hear a voice. “Excuse me I’m the window seat over there.”
Before I even get a chance to see the mug shot of the perp that just hijacked my perfect flight. One of the ugly babies lets out a hell cry. It catches my attention as I get up to let the passenger get their window seat. I can hear the beast from a far. I come up on the horizon of the seat in front of me like some rescue chopper coming to the aide of a forest fire that’s way out of control. It’s eyes where on the sides of its gigantic head. The slobber seeping threw the gaps of its half set of teeth. Everything fell silent I stood in fear I stare at the kid and this type of ugly makes the world move in slow motion for me. It lets out this devil like deep roar. It felt like I was in some kind of bad dream. I thought a bear was going to walk on the plane and announce that he will be our captain for this flight, then jump into a seat and turn into a case of beer. Not to disturb the baby beast any further, I slowly eased my way out of its view. The same way you would when you see a dog on a street at night. Back in my seat and upset by what I just witnessed, I try not to look at my new flight mate. My luck they would be the person that has a fear of flying and tell me all about it before take off. Like I need that right now. Just as I get my head straight my thoughts are interrupted by an introduction “Hi I’m Lissett.”
She held out her hand and I stared at it for a bit, still shaken up I mutter out my name. I reach out for her hand. It was so soft that I don’t feel it on contact for the first second or so. She gives me a gentle smile and goes on to ask me the simple inflight questions. I ponder giving her all lies and then living them out right there in my seat. I decide not to for some reason. The moment I realized I liked lissett is when I asked how old she was. She responded just like a teenager would who is about to lie to the opposite sex about their age. “How old are YOU!!!” Lisset was a slender woman with a pecan complexion and rich dark hair. She had a very pleasant beauty to her face, you can tell she never really had any use for make-up. I find out lissett is a Puerto Rican from Lancaster PA, who has been going to school in Sydney for the past 3 years. I explain to her how I’m dreading to see who is going to sit with us. Now we both play the waiting game on edge. We sit cheering every time we see someone find a seat that is not next to us. She tells me when we get to Sydney she and her flat mates will give me a ride to my hostel. As soon as I start to thank her we hear the captain speak. “Everybody. Prepare for take off.”
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Letters from my third son - Letter One
SFO 5:30pmMy stomach is full of some food that came out of a bag with a symbol on it. I can’t remember what it was but wherever it came from its still the same as all the others. I sit here in an airport seat waiting to get my boarding pass to make it to the next spot for the hurry up and wait part of traveling. I stop to think are these shoes even ready for what is about to happen to them? They don’t even know what they are in for. I’m about to let them live like a young car thief lets his latest vehicle live. Taking’em to their limits, hitting corners hard, and running wild all over parts unknown. Just thinking about it brings a shit eating grim to my face. My Ipod Shuffle jumps from a serene track to a hard hitting deep cut from an album I once listen to over and over again in Paris.
I arrive a day late after a detour I took due to me being a new traveler (but that’s another story). Jumping off the train I laid my black & white shelltoes on the Gare De Noir pavement. The dank air of the station clings to me like a girls perfume after a deep hug. The Song is booming in my headphones, I try finding out which direction the way out to the street is. The track gets to that point in the song where is just vocal and one string. I walk closer to the train station door to get my first glimpse at this city I‘ve heard so much about. The morning sun is blaring threw every window I couldn’t even make out any part of what was outside. I make my way closer and the track starts in with that lone drum build up they always have. Every time the rubber from my shoes touches the ground the song gets more intense, as soon as I get to the door and feel the morning air. The track lets loose with and avalanche of instruments raining down along with a hard yell from the lead vocal. My vision of Paris was equally matched, a cavalcade of people coming and going in all direction, buildings big and wide that seem to go on forever in every way. It felt like being in one of those movies where a guy wakes up in the future and everything is alive and moving. I stared for a bit and then I took THE NEXT STEP.
For two weeks (not nearly enough time) I don’t have to worry about deadlines, my keys, Bombing, getting there, problems, Talking, gas, answering questions, perception, the future, expectations, trash day, staying sober, the past, how many licks it takes, the clock, them, my car, meetings, The snooze button, you, and the rest of the shit I left behind on the drive here to SFO. FUCK IT!!!! One last drag off this Newport before I head back inside and get ready for ANOTHER STEP
Friday, May 22, 2009
Cheney For President??
Is the former Vice-President preparing to make a run for the White House? Shouldn't the current term be his? I mean, usually the vice-president will run for president upon the heels of the incumbent president. Dick Cheney had his chance and as we all remember, the Republican Party didn't even want the guy at the convention. Dick Cheney drew nothing but negative reaction from the American people five months ago. Cheney didn't even attempt the nomination he was so unpopular, so why does he feel the American people now want to hear his opinion, and why is the media giving the last administration's crys of fear airtime?
Never before can I remember the "last'" administration working so hard against the new one. Dick Cheney isn't running for the White House, so he must be running from something else. I believe he's running from the fear of discovery. Discovery of a thread that unwinds the true story of 9\11 and the War on Terror. He's five months late for the electio , so why the public rebuttal justifying the war on terror? Reinforcing the scare words "Al Qaeda", "9 \ 11", "Terrorists", repeatedly, Cheney's speech was really to remind us of our fears, and to keep those key words with all their gory images in our minds. What will we do when we find out Cheney is the terrorist? Somebody must be stitching together the truth of those towers falling, and the false pretense that the War on Terror has been predicated on.
That or Dick is the new voice of the republican party, supplanting Rush Limbaugh as the voice of the religious right and conservative fright. Take your pick Bible-belt America, whom speaks for you, the sweating drug addict, or the well dressed neo-Nazi?
Doesn't everybody feel like I do and just want Cheney to disappear? Go home Dick, the hijacking of a nation is over, and the shaping of policy by secret agendas and skull and bones will have to be done secretly again.
Fearmonger. As you listen to Dick, realize he is still propagating a lie that he helped to create, and you must believe, if he is to escape investigation.
Bring the troops home now.
Never before can I remember the "last'" administration working so hard against the new one. Dick Cheney isn't running for the White House, so he must be running from something else. I believe he's running from the fear of discovery. Discovery of a thread that unwinds the true story of 9\11 and the War on Terror. He's five months late for the electio , so why the public rebuttal justifying the war on terror? Reinforcing the scare words "Al Qaeda", "9 \ 11", "Terrorists", repeatedly, Cheney's speech was really to remind us of our fears, and to keep those key words with all their gory images in our minds. What will we do when we find out Cheney is the terrorist? Somebody must be stitching together the truth of those towers falling, and the false pretense that the War on Terror has been predicated on.
That or Dick is the new voice of the republican party, supplanting Rush Limbaugh as the voice of the religious right and conservative fright. Take your pick Bible-belt America, whom speaks for you, the sweating drug addict, or the well dressed neo-Nazi?
Doesn't everybody feel like I do and just want Cheney to disappear? Go home Dick, the hijacking of a nation is over, and the shaping of policy by secret agendas and skull and bones will have to be done secretly again.
Fearmonger. As you listen to Dick, realize he is still propagating a lie that he helped to create, and you must believe, if he is to escape investigation.
Bring the troops home now.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
The Road To Happy Camp
The road to Happy Camp is open. Strange cars pass by I don't normally see from my upstairs window. Some of them belong to residents of Happy Camp. Happy Camp is closer to Cave Junction than it is to Yreka, and during the warm months of the year the road is open between here and there.. Oregon has no sales tax, so Happy Campers will drive here to shop. Other's are tourists. People whom might point or stop and take pictures of the shack. They go home and say, "Look how poor people in Oregon live".
Inching along, every day is a small progression of throwing good money after bad, and hoping the world will improve sooooo much it will save me. I hope all those doomsday pessimists convincing us the party is over are wrong, I just today invested another 23 dollars in pipe for this property that will never be worth what I paid for it. Years of living in Real Estate markets where you could be comatose and make money, where "property will always appreciate", made us feel smart. Dumb.
I wasn't smart, I was lucky. A lot of other people's luck has expired. Mine? Maybe. Luck is a funny.thing. Sometimes you got it going though you think you don't. ie. I was going to buy a house. A good buy. The owner got smart, backed out , sold to someone else after raising the price. That winter the place burned down. Lucky? I didn't think so initially, but the fire changed my mind. Sour grapes turn sweet sometimes. Normally, though, it's like the Chinese say," Expensive isn't expensive, Cheap isn't cheap".
No I didn't burn the place down.
It has been a very depressing week. The property was sold, or at least we thought , then not. This economic recession \ real estate depression is bullshit when it adversely affects me. Damn personal. I'm still hoping I can liquidate here, and take advantage of the depression elsewhere, before it's over. Cash is King and I speak Chinese, you wouldn't think there could be a problem.
Or maybe I'm really lucky this property won't sell, at least for a profit, and I won't realize it for a while longer. That of course would mean California had gone to hell, fallen into the sea or something, and everybody that survived had to move to Oregon. I don't know if I can wish that on the world for the little bit of money I have invested here.
There we have it; Be careful what you wish for; You never know; and I guess this is more of a ramble than a rant because I ain't mad; it is as it is.
Inching along, every day is a small progression of throwing good money after bad, and hoping the world will improve sooooo much it will save me. I hope all those doomsday pessimists convincing us the party is over are wrong, I just today invested another 23 dollars in pipe for this property that will never be worth what I paid for it. Years of living in Real Estate markets where you could be comatose and make money, where "property will always appreciate", made us feel smart. Dumb.
I wasn't smart, I was lucky. A lot of other people's luck has expired. Mine? Maybe. Luck is a funny.thing. Sometimes you got it going though you think you don't. ie. I was going to buy a house. A good buy. The owner got smart, backed out , sold to someone else after raising the price. That winter the place burned down. Lucky? I didn't think so initially, but the fire changed my mind. Sour grapes turn sweet sometimes. Normally, though, it's like the Chinese say," Expensive isn't expensive, Cheap isn't cheap".
No I didn't burn the place down.
It has been a very depressing week. The property was sold, or at least we thought , then not. This economic recession \ real estate depression is bullshit when it adversely affects me. Damn personal. I'm still hoping I can liquidate here, and take advantage of the depression elsewhere, before it's over. Cash is King and I speak Chinese, you wouldn't think there could be a problem.
Or maybe I'm really lucky this property won't sell, at least for a profit, and I won't realize it for a while longer. That of course would mean California had gone to hell, fallen into the sea or something, and everybody that survived had to move to Oregon. I don't know if I can wish that on the world for the little bit of money I have invested here.
There we have it; Be careful what you wish for; You never know; and I guess this is more of a ramble than a rant because I ain't mad; it is as it is.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
The Space Station
Spring arrived in Southern Oregon for about a week in April. May has brought rain it's first three days. I'm making chicken stew. The creeks are running again and the pond has found new life. The frogs are happy. I was ready for sunny and warm. The satellite view shows a lonnnng stream of cloud that tails off the California-Oregon coast all the way across the Pacific to China ; Prognosis, rain for days to come. Good UFO weather, they like the cloud cover, and the mountains of southern Oregon. There's even a space station up the road .
No,...You didn't know that?
Google southern Oregon UFO and see all about it. Well, not the space station, that's a local secret. The more I look at the pacific satellite view , the more I'm moved to doomsday predictions: The snowpack is heavy, this is a warm spring storm, the reservoirs are full in NoCal; the conditions are ripe for flooding down in the valleys. Watch out river towns, you may have to move a few tent cities.
Anyway, up the road a half mile there is a three hundred acre parcel that was developed by a man believing that aliens were going to land there. He flattened a mountaintop for a landing zone and erected a metal building that looks like a dorm. Supposedly it was going to be a welcome center. The space station. Judging from UFO sightings in Southern Oregon the aliens are still looking for it. Nowadays, I think they rent out rooms in the welcome center on a monthly basis. I don't know if the occupants are aliens from another planet, but some of them look pretty alien. Backwoods folk. Beverly Hillbillish...... without the money.
Remember the days of the flower-child, hippies, peace, love, dope, .....maaannnnn... they never ended in this area, and some of the inhabitants of Takilma look like they walked right out of 1969. Others have incorporated success into the look. Still others look like all that was bad about the era too. However, if there is a living spirit of that era, having migrated north up the California coast to Oregon , it now lives in Takilma.
Takilma, named after the local indians, is a mispronunciation of the local indian's name. They are the DaGilma, which translated is "Big Family". Not by coincidence, big family in Chinese-Mandarin is pronounced very similarily. ( DaJia).
This place is slow today. The driving rain keeps the Bluejays from hawking for bread crumbs. The grey winged buzzards aren't circling. The grey squirrels aren't running up and down the trees. We're all staying home and out of the rain. It's cozy, but when you're ready for warm and sunny, hot choclate is not what you want.
Three days later it's still raining. Went to the dentist today and had seven teeth pulled. My nose is still numb. I wish I could make in an hour what that dentist makes; 1365 dollars and he pulled those teeth in about ten minutes. I'm ready for a nap , depressing to think about the money spent.
No,...You didn't know that?
Google southern Oregon UFO and see all about it. Well, not the space station, that's a local secret. The more I look at the pacific satellite view , the more I'm moved to doomsday predictions: The snowpack is heavy, this is a warm spring storm, the reservoirs are full in NoCal; the conditions are ripe for flooding down in the valleys. Watch out river towns, you may have to move a few tent cities.
Anyway, up the road a half mile there is a three hundred acre parcel that was developed by a man believing that aliens were going to land there. He flattened a mountaintop for a landing zone and erected a metal building that looks like a dorm. Supposedly it was going to be a welcome center. The space station. Judging from UFO sightings in Southern Oregon the aliens are still looking for it. Nowadays, I think they rent out rooms in the welcome center on a monthly basis. I don't know if the occupants are aliens from another planet, but some of them look pretty alien. Backwoods folk. Beverly Hillbillish...... without the money.
Remember the days of the flower-child, hippies, peace, love, dope, .....maaannnnn... they never ended in this area, and some of the inhabitants of Takilma look like they walked right out of 1969. Others have incorporated success into the look. Still others look like all that was bad about the era too. However, if there is a living spirit of that era, having migrated north up the California coast to Oregon , it now lives in Takilma.
Takilma, named after the local indians, is a mispronunciation of the local indian's name. They are the DaGilma, which translated is "Big Family". Not by coincidence, big family in Chinese-Mandarin is pronounced very similarily. ( DaJia).
This place is slow today. The driving rain keeps the Bluejays from hawking for bread crumbs. The grey winged buzzards aren't circling. The grey squirrels aren't running up and down the trees. We're all staying home and out of the rain. It's cozy, but when you're ready for warm and sunny, hot choclate is not what you want.
Three days later it's still raining. Went to the dentist today and had seven teeth pulled. My nose is still numb. I wish I could make in an hour what that dentist makes; 1365 dollars and he pulled those teeth in about ten minutes. I'm ready for a nap , depressing to think about the money spent.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Swine Flu
What's up with the Swine Flu, and What's really going on? To quote one of the Flu's victims in Texas, " it's the flu". He was sick and is recovering. Like you do with the flu. Obviously this isn't the Bubonic plague, so why is the media treating this strain of flu as a world threatening pandemic? I don't know yet, we all have to wait for the next episode, but without doubt, there is something fueling this story other than Swine Flu.
36000 people a year die of the flu in the United States. That's an average of 100 flu related deaths a day. Less than 150 have died in Mexico since the outbreak of swine flu there, No one has died in the US yet. Not exactly crushing numbers, BUT,...
Watching the news today one would have thought people were dropping in the street at the first sign of the bug. The mayor of New York held a news conference on swine flu. CNN was dedicated to the story. CDC officials are reporting "bold " steps to track the virus. Workers in Alabama were asked to wear face masks to obstruct germs, and there haven't even been any infections there yet .
The amount of attention, and the efforts made to control this outbreak of infectious disease that hasn't killed anyone in the US, yet, just seems way over the top. Reports of cases are being tracked all over the world So why is the media preparing the general public for an "epidemic'' of infectious disease? That's the scary part, because "Swine Flu" is not a Bubonic plague, it is just being treated like one.
That is what is perplexing ; Is it true medical concern driving the story ? or , Could Swine Flu be a red flag operation for future germ warfare on the world's population?
Remember the Georgia Guidestones ? The first line is ," Maintain Humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature". That's about 5% of the current world population.
Remember the Bush family is developing a compound in Paraguay. A sweet spot with fresh water , natural gas reserves, and a tropical growing season.
Do you think that the elite of the world are actually planning the demise of the common man?
Maybe I'm getting a little far-fetched now, but obviously, the Swine Flu frenzy is not about the Swine Flu, so what's your guess?
36000 people a year die of the flu in the United States. That's an average of 100 flu related deaths a day. Less than 150 have died in Mexico since the outbreak of swine flu there, No one has died in the US yet. Not exactly crushing numbers, BUT,...
Watching the news today one would have thought people were dropping in the street at the first sign of the bug. The mayor of New York held a news conference on swine flu. CNN was dedicated to the story. CDC officials are reporting "bold " steps to track the virus. Workers in Alabama were asked to wear face masks to obstruct germs, and there haven't even been any infections there yet .
The amount of attention, and the efforts made to control this outbreak of infectious disease that hasn't killed anyone in the US, yet, just seems way over the top. Reports of cases are being tracked all over the world So why is the media preparing the general public for an "epidemic'' of infectious disease? That's the scary part, because "Swine Flu" is not a Bubonic plague, it is just being treated like one.
That is what is perplexing ; Is it true medical concern driving the story ? or , Could Swine Flu be a red flag operation for future germ warfare on the world's population?
Remember the Georgia Guidestones ? The first line is ," Maintain Humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature". That's about 5% of the current world population.
Remember the Bush family is developing a compound in Paraguay. A sweet spot with fresh water , natural gas reserves, and a tropical growing season.
Do you think that the elite of the world are actually planning the demise of the common man?
Maybe I'm getting a little far-fetched now, but obviously, the Swine Flu frenzy is not about the Swine Flu, so what's your guess?
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Smile At The Camera
The question of the day is: Why is the captured Somali Pirate smiling on his way in to court?
Stardom.
Obviously, he was wondering how many FBI, NYPD, and hidden in the woodwork agents it took to safely escort him .
As the flash of the cameras lit his face, the Pirate was experiencing his moment; the thrill of more attention than he could imagine; He is half way around the world, in another hemisphere, in New York, and he's a celebrity. How could anybody suppress a smile under those circumstances? Didn't Bernie smile a little as he was paraded through the cameras? Maybe the pirate could stay in Bernie's penthouse while things are worked out?
Or maybe the Pirate's thinking, "Wow, if I only had a tenth ot the money these people are going to spend on me, I wouldn't a been jacking ships". Smiling at the fools that will spend millions on him. Millions.
Consider the cost of sending three naval warships over to the Pirate's neighborhood to play. Then fly a Navy SEAL team in because three naval warships don't have three qualified snipers on them.? ( I guess an in emergency the ships use the big guns.) ( Those SEALS flew in on the first night, that's when the pirates fate was sealed.) Hang around for a few days. Get the minor off the boat, don't want to kill children. Three shots . Done deal except the aforementioned Pirate.
COST: Millions
And if todays media coverage is any indicator, it will be millions more by the time the boy pirate is set free. Thats right, set free !
Attorneys are lining up to plead the pirates case in a dream team fantasy of publicity and making names for themselves. The Pirate will at least get defence representation on a par with Mother's that lose their children. His story is that big. Where's Nancy Grace on this one?
The reason the poor child was there in the first place was he was Shang Hai'd , naive, under duress. His family has already stepped up to plead the boy is really a victim of the pirates, and not one of them. The father claims the pirate is only fifteen. Court costs. Defence fees. Incarceration until he's freed. In the end, it will all be a big mistake , the US will have committed an error by acting without authority. The Pirate will go home to his mother. He'll probably parlay his celebrity into a seat in the Somali government and later write a book denouncing America .
Millions of dollars spent on a damn pirate when the answer was there for all to read.
Pirates Walk the Plank
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Letters Between A Father and Son
a Son's letter -Pa,
It's an acquired taste, but read his lasted blog post. Jon is a fundamental libertarian with a really good knowledge of history. He understands the context of what he's writing in both a modern and a historical sense.
Sometimes social values merge. Sometimes they clash. Historically, when there is tolerance in both societies, cultures tend to merge. Would you mind if everyone became Muslim if it meant that everyone also adopted democracy?
Culture, commerce, etc. It's all an exchange. When it's not an even exchange, then it's called imperialism. Most of the topics that you seem to be writing on your blog are observations of American imperialism. I'm not saying that you agree or disagree with that imperialism; just that you seem to recognize that it exists, where most Americans don't.
So I guess the question that you have to ask yourself is, "Are you an imperialist?"
a Father's response-
Son,
I am an American. I am a Patriot. I am a veteran of the US army.
Patriotism can be blinding. That's why the Patriotism card is played, "My country right or wrong", "Love it or Leave it." etc. Allow a Pearl harbor, create a 9\11, and you have the power of the moment, and obviously, those whom play political emotions understand this. The will of a nation can be formed in a moment, in a Zeitgeist.
I never condemn the Country. I condemn political action for profit, and without conscience, at the expense of mankind, or the common man. Empire should advance with mutual benefit, not exploitation. Imperialism is exploitative. Americans don't believe in Emperors, Royalty, Dictators, or Imperialism, therefore we should not be guilty of these transgressions on the common man. Americans believe we're fair and wear the white hat. Undoubtedly an illusion of reality, but still whom we want to be.
America has marched in the streets to stop wars for profit or empire. As a people, we are not, or are no longer, Imperialists at heart. That is the shame of the Bush years; America was hijacked to the will of greed and profit without conscience, under manipulated circumstance. A very telling statement about the moral fiber of the Bush clan and their associations, but America was hijacked nonetheless and, truth be known, would have acted differently except for the Bush Zeitgeist of fear. American Imperialism during this era did not represent the will of the people, and has been achieved without their blessing, occurring under false pretense and Illusion to the common man, while profit was the underlying motive.
America is the greatest experiment in freedom in world history. Inherent in that Freedom is Fairness. Equality. Honesty. Shamefully, in recent history, the purity of that freedom has been polluted by greed, lies, corruption, and various forms of calculated manipulation to create a path derived of avarice and the imperialistic goals of a few, at the expense of the many. America is not a nation of Imperialists at heart, despite what the reality is.
On that note: there is no such thing as inherent good or evil. Good and evil are taught. Man is, what man is taught. He is empty at birth, excepting the knowledge already learned in the womb, and is programmed from that point on. Which brings us to the Islamic revolution, and merging cultures; Islam and the west. How can America merge with a culture that has taught three generations of students "America is the Great Satan"? How do you merge Freedom with a culture that doesn't allow women to move freely in society? That marries eight year olds to old men? That blinds young women so they can't educate themselves, and as a deterrent to other women to go to school ? How do you merge modern progressive thinking with stone age Theocracy rooted in the power of the sugar plum fairy?
How do you merge with a culture that, "....declare their hostility to any social order and ideologies which does not subscribe to the existence of a supernatural being having the attributes of Allah, the God"? Sounds like their way or No Way to me. And there is the underlying truth... there is no reconciliation between Islam and the non-Muslim world.
Where Empires grind, people die, and so it is with the Islamic Revolution. When Barack Obama goes to the middle east and declares America is not at war with Islam, I must ask the flip side of that question, " Is Islam at war with America?
a Son's response-
Pa,
At the root of Islamic belief is peace and charity. The Islamic faith has five pillars upon which it is based; adherence to the will of God and the acknowledgment of God's prophets, ritual prayer, alms giving, fasting during Ramadan, and the Hajj (the journey to Mecca). It is difficult to see how these tenets (in themselves) would promote the aggression that you allude to when you write to me about the pan 'Islamic Revolution' that threatens secular security (or its values).
Not since the Turks invaded Hungary in the 16th century has Islam actually been a direct military threat to the 'Christian' world. Most of the Muslims that I've met are largely as ignorant as Christians seem to be when it comes to the history of conflict between the two faiths. They certainly have not been 'educated' that it is their duty to convert or destroy as many Christians or secularists in their lifetime as possible. It is my understanding that the active practice of Islam among Muslims has diminished widely across the Islamic world, in the same way that most Christians do not read the Bible regularly or even attend church with any regularity. And, like 'Christendom', I believe that the extent to which most Muslims enjoy Islam's influence in their societies is predominantly for its rich socio-cultural contribution.
I think another point worth addressing is that Islam, like Christianity, has many denominations and (if and where Islam is actively practiced) its practice differs widely between each of these groups; Sunni, Shi'ite, Sufi, Wahadi, Khajites, etc are but a few. I also think that it's important to recognize that the laws and cultural values of each 'Muslim' country differ greatly depending on the strain of Islam practiced, that country's history, etc. You made some points about the extremity of what you considered 'Islamic' law across 'Islamic counties'. However, I can tell you (at the very least) that the overwhelming majority of 'Muslim' countries in the world practice religious tolerance and operate on principles of equality.
It is lazy to promote a view of Islam by citing the extreme practices of a few countries that adhere to a stricter version of Sharia (Islamic law). There is social injustice all over the globe. For example, the US has the highest number of people incarcerated per capita in the world. There are more people incarcerated in the United States than incarcerated in Central and South America and Europe combined. In view of this one might consider the United States one of the most repressive, violent and socially unjust countries in the world.
In my opinion, it is the religion of 'consumer empire', rather than Islamic expansion, that is the greatest threat to western stability. It is the western culture of disproportionate consumption that has put a large strain on the relations between the (largely) secular 'West' and its Islamic neighbours. Western governments have supported repressive, dictatorial monarchies and despots and undermined legitimate grass root democracies across the Islamic world for almost a century in the interest of maintaining control over North African and Middle Eastern oil and gas. Both to fuel our economies and to thwart the economic expansion of our adversaries.
The anger and the frustration that this has created in some 'Islamic' countries has given birth to increasingly less moderate responses with each successive generation. And, as it is my belief that the resources of a country belong to its people, I have little to say in the way of condemning what I see as a legitimate response to American imperialism. It is (sometimes) an unfortunate bi product of this 'stand against imperialism' that recruitment has come under the banner of pan-Islam. However, it is one of the few shared attributes among a vast diversity of people that have found themselves exploited by the interests of western consumerism. But in their ability to unify their interests, they empower themselves and add strength and awareness to their campaign. And it is fortunate to western society that the intention of the overwhelmingly majority of these people seems to be to raise global awareness by peaceful means.
Furthermore, ironically, it is in our apathy that we endanger ourselves, for it greatly increases the frustrations of those exploited. As practicing democracies it is the responsibility of all of us to ensure that our governments, and the corporations that operate in our markets, adhere to international law. We alone have this unique privilege. The extent of the corruption that our government and these conglomerates create abroad is a direct result of our negligence to hold them accountable. This in turn, as you acknowledged, leads to greater corruption and social manipulation within our own societies, by our governments and businesses.
So, in short, I do not spend my days worried by the threat of Islam and its (as you say) increasingly expansionist ambitions. I am, however, greatly concerned by the Patriot Act.
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