I am speaking for myself when I say EVERYONE LOVES A PARADE…
There is something passionate, visceral, emotional in a parade, any parade. As a cub scout and as a boy scout I marched in small-town parades, and found the experience to be uplifting. I recall a sense of euphoria.
In the very early 60s, as a small child at the 4th of July parade in Knoxville, Iowa, I recall being introduced to a very old man. I was told that he was a Civil War veteran. I remember being told “you won’t ever meet another one”.
Much later in my life I became a Rose Bowl Parade junkie. I had an apartment 2blocks off Colorado Blvd for a number of years. The Rose Bowl Parade, as it preps to march on New Years morning, offers the best street party I have ever experienced. https://nativeiowan.com/2015/01/01/mikes-bikes-gotta-luv-a-parade/
I feel sad for the folks that can’t find joy in a parade.
By nature, parades are martial, organised, lined up, marching in time. The marching band(s) fill the air with melodies that make your feet move in time. As a spectator you unconsciously start marching along. Swaying to the beat.
I know I say this a lot but…
I am lucky enough to hold citizenship to three countries. I feel patriotism and affinity with all three of the Nations I hold allegiance to.
BUT… there is only one country, one place that is my Home Land.
Lets start with the various “peaceful” demonstrations in the USofA… I could discuss “the riots in LA” but the fun n games that started in LA were far too good, far too much entertainment, far too lucrative for just LA/ California to keep to themselves.
I am serious when I say “lucrative”.
All that we see, have seen for quite a while, is well financed and very well organised. Many NGOs and non-profit orgs make all this happen. Behind the scenes, in nondescript offices, liberal-loony-do-gooders are paid to plot and plan and receive and distribute resources… masks, water, weapons, bull horns, scarves, uniforms (make mine black please), instructions and strategy.
One good strategy I saw was the use of driverless cars… call a driverless taxi or three to a location and set them on fire. Create a toxic zone where the fumes and chemicals of the vehicle’s batteries prevent anyone not carrying a Mexican flag from entering. Of course, the amount of nasty gases released do not bother these save-the-whales-type protesters. No, screw the environmental damage! We’re fighting Fascism!!!!
Now we have the “No King” demonstrations being organised, so I hear, in 1500 locations. Simply too much fun and entertainment looting and civil unrest to keep to one’s self… lets franchise it out….
There is soooo much hypocrisy that a humble commentator like myself struggles to find a starting point. Why, how, for what? Give me a reason, please. A reason why destroying private and public property anywhere, any time makes sense. Again! It didn’t make sense the last time we did this. Why take this path again?
I come from an era where civil disobedience was a “thing”. It was, in those days “peaceful protest”…
Remember this one?
Or are you too young? Or simply too unlearned?
I am thinking of two people close to me. One young, one old…
My dear young friend (a young adult, a teenager) gets very stressed when told “No”. There are rivers of words and arguments and tears if, ever, the answer “no” is received. The term “hysteria” is applicable herein because after exhausting the words and the arguments and the tears, the last emotional resort is rage, hysteria, unreasoned energetic acting out. Screaming, condemning, blaspheming…
My other friend is as old as I, has shared many of the footsteps my life has been fortunate enough to experience. We stood side by side in the 70s protesting against the war, against nukes, against a lot of things. We wore hemp clothing, smoked dope, did a bit of acid, and considered ourselves ultimately aware and coooool… My dear old friend is still, to this day, attending every protest and rally and coool, enlightening event available. Occupy Democrats, BLM, Defund the Police, and now he is assisting folks organise for the No King protests tomorrow. I must add a proviso here in that my old friend is nonviolent so his time involvement is (still) limited to hand writing posters, not preparing projectiles.
I very much sympathise with the average citizen trying to simply live within this maelstrom of malicious intent. I too have lived through civil unrest and civil war and civil meltdown. It is not fun, it’s not nice, it’s not something I would wish upon anyone…
From one of the numerous “peaceful protests”, er riots in my homeland, Solomon Islands…
And, as a back drop to the incineration we see of American cities, Israel has attacked Iran, and Iran has retaliated. Its is going on as I type… bombs, destruction, death, mayhem and loss.
I blame what is going on, both in the USA and world wide, on the fickle and self serving leadership the USofA has experienced for most, if not all of this century… Just recently we had a brain-dead President, with a kleptocratic DNC ,and an inept RNC spending more time enriching themselves than being domestic managers and international diplomats. It’s been a pay-to-play game in DC for way too long.
Both parties, both sides of the equation are responsible for where we are.
At this moment only party is trying to make things better…
Have been busy, lots going on, lots to do… as the rains stall and the ground dries up. Lots to do…
I am very much remiss, I let this week slip past… June 11 is my father’s birthday… The Old Dawg’s birthday…
He would have been 101 this year.
His was the last of the hardened, tempered, unbreakable generations. Born in 1924, by the time he was 10 the Great Depression was ripping the guts out of the agricultural midwest. He was raised when “times were tough” (his words).
Our depression-era parents learned from their past and endeavoured to “never again”… never again be hungry, be cold, be doing it tough. So they worked hard, very hard. And raised huge families.
I am sure someone in The Family knows the “real number”, but I am guessing his genes live on in over 100 “Hemmers”.
A sunny, cold day here. I just turned the central heat on here in the house for the first time, ever. Either its chillier than ever before, or Im getting soft…
When I wrote the piece in 2019, I was recovering from shoulder surgery. I had a lot of time on my hands so I went through what I found in the manifests. I guess as I healed I ceased my investigation herein. Its interesting and timely to return to this topic.
This article tells us that DJT is found in the flight logs between 1993 and 1997, noting the files I posted are only dated between 1999 and 2002, so I cant confirm DJT’s presence on any flight.
If you take the time to go through the flight logs carefully you will see a lot of familiar and famous names.
Of course being in the log books does not condemn but it certainly does pose questions.
A lot of famous folks are in the logs, are known to be associated with Epstein. We can be pretty sure Epstein was a pimp, making money off trafficking young ladies for sex.
In my simple mind I think that the reason to be associating with a pimp is simple, and noting the depth and breadth of Epstein’s activities… well hell, guilt by association comes easy.
Its another one of those mornings… One of those mornings where I get the call telling of a death in the universal family…
My old buddy, Peter Pabulu, known to all as “Patu”, has passed across the great void to the “other side”.
Patu and I built things. Anything, everything we needed built was built by Patu and I… Throughout the 90s Patu and I did a lot of building. All up we built, in chronological order… The Rosewood house on Gizo Hill, the Mbumburu house renovations, the Gizo Depot refurb in 1994 (a very big job), the Tasahe compound was a 2year project where we built 7 houses. Plus lots and lots and lots of little projects on the side.
For the Rosewood house we first built a large workshop, then went out buying trees and milling timber. It was a good workshop with great machines, We rough sawed the large lumps of timber into planks, then machined them to dimension. That part took a couple years.
In all of this Patu built boats. Worked for others, built the Gizo Hotel’s big leaf houses. He was a master joiner and taught me how to do dovetailed joints.
One funny thing about Patu was his “sticky fingers”… he’d laugh about it and agree that, yes, he had a habit of “borrowing” tools. When ever we got a big project I would buy all the tools required and “give” them to Patu, the tools were his, when the project was complete… There would be a dozen hammers, shovels, chisels, nail guns, drill drivers, etc, etc… All were Patu’s, when the project was complete.
And we never lost a tool.
If the tools were “Mike’s”, it’d be a different story. The workshop we built to build the Gizo house was his after the project was complete. We built the shop on his land.
Patu was half wild… he was a skinny, slight built guy that could climb like a possum. He could lead a crew of 20 carpenters, keep them busy and happy and productive. Very highly skilled in many ways. Very good at figuring things out.
Been a few years since we’ve seen each other. After stroke a few years back Patu lived in a wheel chair. I am told he recently got sick, contracted pneumonia and passed last night.
Here’s a tale from one of our trips into the Morocco Lagoon where Patu’s home was…
A grey, chilled Sunday morn. A blood sport Sunday, so we’re happy. The rains have stopped. We ended the Month of May with about 200mm of precipitation. A good result after April’s 400+mm.
The ground is soggy.
I am still reading nonsensical memes online about the lying, conniving, evil, corrupt nature of DJTrump and his administration.
I’ll start here…
I very much like the idea that an octogenarian, socialist-millionaire schools us about oligarchy…
Bernie Sanders’ net worth: How much money does the ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ Senator have? While he rages against billionaires, the outspoken Democratic Socialist and political icon is actually a part of “the 1%.” https://www.thestreet.com/lifestyle/bernie-sanders-net-worth-14678955
“The Bern” has been in elected office since 1981. His net worth is in the Millions. He did a back-room deal with the Clintons/ The DNC in 2016 to allow Hillary to run. Bernie had a lot of support and could have split the ticket. He accepted a seat at the High-Table in exchange for his support of the Clinton ticket.
Bernie became part of the DNC Oligarchy at that time…
Lets recall the 2016 election: Named the “dirtiest election in history”, we saw a long list of corrupt practices taking place within the DNC back-office…
So now, in 2024, The Bern is out preaching to the masses. He and MsAOC are publicising, marketing the DNC platform. Yet after the mega-buck, by private jet campaign, I remain no smarter in regards to what they are selling… I know they think we are fools for NOT believing the Biden/ Harris rhetoric. I know they think we are idiots for wanting a stable constitutional administration.
Sure, sure… The Biden Administration was great, did amazing things, saw growth and development across all classes of society…. NOT!
We knew the Emperor had no clothes…. While the sycophant Legacy News Channels waved their pompoms and preached to us idiots how wrong we are for not seeing the growth and gains and successes that were never there. Brought to us by a “sharp, decisive, intense, probing” Joe Biden.
Even as the elites in the DNC community start to sell their “tell-all” books, confirming that they lied and cheated and prevaricated and acted very undemocratically, they continue to scream “Trump bad, Trump evil, Trump lies, Trump steals”…
Of course, being honest with ourselves, the DNC is headless, rudderless, aimless… Their rhetoric is rising and rising and rising. They appear to have nothing more to offer than bile and negativity.
Lets talk “cause and effect”… I believe the DNC has perverted, twisted, and lied so much for so long that they have fudged their energetic future for the foreseeable future. You cant live and breath negativity without becoming negative. I dont see much positive coming from the DNC/ left-leaning side of things.
Social engineering is not what we elect our leaders for. It do appear as though this is all they have to offer…
We cease to educate our children, then, as they become illiterate, we change the rules to claim they have achieved literacy… In 2021, Oregon dropped the state’s “Assessment of Essential Skills” graduation requirement due to Senate Bill 744. This requirement, which mandated students pass a standardized test demonstrating proficiency in basic skills, was initially suspended for the classes of 2022, 2023, and 2024. The suspension was later extended through the graduation of the Class of 2027, with a further extension through the Class of 2028.
We support perverts claiming they are not pedophiles but rather “child attracted persons”… Pedophile, Child Lover, or Minor-Attracted Person? Attitudes Toward Labels Among People Who are Sexually Attracted to Children… https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9663395/
We invite perverts into our classrooms. I know, I’m being harsh but… BUT… “DRAG” is a sexual thing. Cross dressing is a sexual thing. Explain to me how anything blatantly, and intent-fully sexual belongs in a child’s classroom…
I’m waiting. Change my view point…
Are drag queens appropriate for children? That depends on the show. As a general-case statement, no, they’re not appropriate for kids. Drag shows, typically, are a niche variation of burlesque. And while burlesque is quite entertaining for adults…that’s what makes in inappropriate for children.
This tells us we need to educate our children about “gender fluidity”. I ask why… Why does any child need to be educated about anything sexual. They are children and shall learn soon enough about things sexual… Boys have a penis and girls have vagina. Enough for any prepubescent kid, me thinks.
Or should we discuss intercourse with a child? Vaginal and-or anal intercourse… any sexual act… should we be discussing such with a child, and if so why? What are we aiming to educate the child for? I can’t see why are we “preparing” these young kids for anything sex related. I call it GROOMING, to introduce sex and sexuality to children.
I call it GROOMING and I dont like it.
Shall we talk about the mutilation of children? I dont get it at all. Why, how could anyone advocate that a youngster should seek self multination? I see nothing but mental illness.
Again, why are we even discussing sex with a child if we are not intending a reuslt, if we are not GROOMING… By all means, an adult can make their own decisions… Decide to be a leader in society, or decide to be a drunk, a drug addict. You are an adult and as sad as your decision may be, it’s yours and I support you. Go cut your junk off. See if a sex-change really really makes you happy. I’m cool with that
But not so with children?
Are not the children being infected with the metal illness of the adult, when and wherever an adult counsels a child to undergo a sex change?
I hear the cries… Homophobe, antiTrans, Boomer, Old While Guy… Conservative!… And you are wrong. Im not anti anything. I’m very much a live-and-let-live kinda a guy.
But leave your hands off the children!!!!
A dick in a dress is not a chick… Nope, never will be, never has been. A dick has no place in a girls bathroom. Sorry for being so old fashioned…
My old friend, Dave, started cross dressing in Iowa in the mid 70s. I thought he was brave, amazing even… to follow his heart and put on makeup, and dress fluffy-life… In Iowa, in the 70s… took a lot of courage. Booby, Debbie, Diane, and others from my past were openly gay in the 70s. One guy I knew had 2 wives under the same roof.
Alternative lifestyles are not new, not unacceptable. I am not a prude.
Just leave the children alone.
The DNC has made a big push to be the guardians of the 20% issues… the issues that only 20% of the electorate care about. Screw the middle class. Dont worry about the male portion of the electorate. Dont worry about the church going voters, or the old fashioned conservative types that prefer their children to be literate… Nope, dont need them…
This TDS bullshit where justifying any action, because Trump is EVIL, needs to stop, needs to be called what it really is… Metal Illness. Capital M, capital I.
We now see that a large percentage of those infected with TDS believe violence is acceptable, appropriate…
A new report from our group, the Network Contagion Research Institute, provides answers. Our research, based on nationally representative surveys and analyses of online activity, demonstrates the existence of online subcultures that support the murder of public figures like Trump and Musk. This “assassination culture,” incubated on social media, has migrated from the margins of public life into the mainstream.https://www.city-journal.org/article/progressives-political-violence-donald-trump-assassination-attempt
The DNC Heros of the day are sick folks that believe murder is acceptable.
What does this tell us about out the state of the DNC?
Damn the month has plashed past. Damn, damn… damn!
Did I say damn?
A chilly, drizzly, grey Saturday here in my valley.
My ears are cold, I should go get a wooly cap.
Achievements this past May… My bitches are breeding. Finished and posted off 2 sticks to WE and his bride MsE. More snake skins in the shed. Only about 100mm of rain fall… been a kinda. dry month…
I am sitting in my big chilly house on a chilly Saturday morning ruminating upon the blewz, the newz of the past week. My mind goes in several directions noting this past week offered us more mindless violence, with the expected insane affirmations from the loony liberal left side of the spectrum… yea right, the cold blooded gunning down of a young jewish couple in DC was, as I heard reported, “The greatest antZionist statement”.
Mind boggling.
The level of angst and uncontrolled emotions in the USofA, worldwide, is at a fevered pitch. I feel, see, hear the fear that people have.
I believe it’s The Fear Of The Trolls sorta thing. A fear unfounded and unreal but still forcing young Mike to run with all his might over a bridge… To lie in bed, worrying over tomorrow, and the Troll under the bridge.
When I was a kid I believed that there was something malevolent under bridges and in drains. My child’s mind called them “trolls”. Pictured them a loathsome, flesh eating, vile beasts. I couldn’t cross a bridge without breaking into a sweat. Could not go near a big drain for fear of the Troll.
Today I know a troll to be something different… … “a troll is a person who says and does deliberately offensive or provocative things, or who antagonises others to create disruption, profit and amusement for themselves”.
1st: Real or perceived, Fear is real.
2nd: Once you figure your Fear out, come to terms with your Fear, its no longer a “thing”.
So why are we afraid of The Trolls?
Not all are malevolent. Some are just playful. Most die in the light of day. Like a good rumour, when you shine a light on it, well it just aint that frightening anymore.
But when the lights are dim and the shadows are long… it do all get scary pretty quick.
I consider DJTrump to be a master Troll. He has the ability to make people lose sleep over him. To very much make people hysterical, insensible. I have written about folks near and dear to me who lose control of their intellect when DJTrump’s name is mentioned… I mentioned a dear old friend who, just recently called me for a chat. I like and welcome old friends calling me. I routinely spend a couple hours a week having long talks about nothing.
So my buddy rings and in the very early part of the conversation says “… YOUR guy Trump in the US is sure fucking things up…”.
I answer by asking if the past 4years under Biden were better, and if so, how were they better?
“No, No, No… no politics please…” is the reply I get. We talk for over an hour and every so often he says something about the US/Trump, and when I try to rebut, offer my opinion, I get the “no politics” by-line.
So I delve deeper. Patiently lie in wait, like the Troll… When my buddy (a life long conservationist/ activist) goes into the glow-ball warming dance act, starts discussing the end of the world as we know it “soon”, I double down. I note the fact that the big Green Hydrogen thing here in Aus was a massive scam where mega-bucks of public funds got divvied up by crooks in green’s clothing. And after over a decade of waste and misuse of public funds, we are no closer to an alternative to the nasty, deadly CO2 fuels that keep the lights on.
World wide I perceive the Glow-Ball warming scam losing its heat.
My buddy and I share a rather prominent old friend from those long ago “pre Phd” days… our mutual buddy is a modern day GLOW-BALL WARMING guru. He jets around the world. Is some sort of ambassador for the Greens. Goes to Davos, makes mega bucks, and in my mind is corrupt as sin. I believe he sold out. Plain n simple. He accepts payment for purveying a party line. Kind’a makes him a prostitute in my books.
Our mutual friend has not spoken to me for a long time, we lost touch with each other a long time ago, but my buddy on the phone is still close with our highflying, world saving old friend, and does not like me disagreeing with him when he says “he’s doing a great job, is a great guy”… I can only almost agree on half of that statement.
So I troll a bit deeper…
But I cant go too deep. My buddy on the phone is fragile, has his limitations. He has well deserved reputation for getting angry. I dont want that. Its not a discussion if we get angry. So I probe gently… compassionately.
I speak of what I read and understand. I offered one of my articles to clarify a point (he didn’t look at it) and we carry on.
I learn that there is very little foundation for my buddy’s fears, he is speaking of his fears of something unseen, but he clings to them like a life raft in a storm. I can’t help him, troll him too much.
Ruminating on this fine Sunday afternoon. The sun is shining, the dogs are being lazy, the air is chilly. No rain for maybe 30hours. Gotta be some kind of record!
Have had family hanging around. Making noise, Being a nuisance. Filling the place with laughter… Sorry, no tears this weekend. We’ll try harder next time…
I’m going to have a good-rant about the folks out there that are so constipated on TrumpDerangementSyndrome that they cease making real sense. Those folks, we all know some, that cant say “Trump” without spitting, and sputtering, and frothing at the mouth.
I started this by thinking I’d write about 3 near-and-dears, but I thought of a 4th…
#4: FUCKINGDUMFUCKERSTUMBLEBUMBDISHITRICHBOYPERVERTEDNAZI… I have just exposed too much. If you know my friend, what I just wrote will make perfect sense to you.
#3: I dont watch the news, I dont pay attention, the news makes you stupid, I don’t even own a TV, dont have time for all the nonsense, did you hear what Trump did, the new jet will belong to him, Trump and Musk are stealing all OUR money, Trump is deporting US citizens…
#2: Trump is evil, Trump is Satan, Trump is evil, Trump is Satan, Trump is evil, Trump is Satan, Trump is evil, Trump is Satan, Trump is evil, Trump is Satan, Trump is evil, Trump is Satan, Trump is evil, Trump is Satan…
#1: You see what fucking Trump is doing? No one to pick veggies and collect eggs, so everything is going to be more costly. And those fucking tariffs, how can we live without cheap Chinese goods? Trump plays golf everyday, he’s spending a billion dollars on parade, I’d rather spend money on Sesame Street…
Each of these individuals resist or blatantly refuse to discuss anything, ANYTHING, that may be contrary to their delusion.
When gently confronted with facts, yes those pesky facts that always get in the way of a good delusion, #1 yelled at me “Idontwannatalkaboutthat”. #4 refused to engage when I asked a) if the Biden era was better, and b) if an extra 20million illegal aliens was a positive. #3 laughs almost gleefully when describing how fucked up and chaotic the world will be after “Trump has his way”.
Very sad. And I remain perplexed how smart, engaged folks can so quickly slip into derangement on certain topics.
It is late in the year 1980. Northern Iowa is cold, dry, not frozen yet. My teenaged brother and our young nephew are out in the back yard playing football.
My brother, I always called him The Rooster, is 16/17, our nephew, Andy, is 8, maybe 9.
Andy decided he wanted to take on both of us, him against the uncles. Andy has always been a tough, determined sorta kid.
So we are out in the yard, the midget vs 2big-guys. And the midget is trying hard. He’s picking the ball up and running straight into us. We let him break away, run a bit, then we’d trip him, pick him up and drill him, we are playing rough. We always play rough.
A song out on the airwaves at that time had a refrain, “another one bites the dust”… Bump, bump, bump, bump, another one bites the dust…
Rooster and I were laughing and joking and singing, “another one bites the dust”, each time young Andy got hit, slammed, banged, dropped.
Andy was getting mad. Crying a bit. Angry and frustrated. He kept coming on, and on. He is a determined sorta guy.
The ground is cold, we’re getting kinda dirty.
Andy, remember he’s just a little kid, has snot running down his top lip.
Rooster tells him to do a farmer nose blow… block one nostril and blow the slime out of the other one. Classic move the kid doesn’t know. So Rooster shows him.
The kid follows suit, blows and blows and blows until he has several inches of slime hanging from his nose, he’s bent over a bit, and unsure what comes next.
What now, the kid asks… Rooster says “shake your head…
Mom’s are great things. They always tend to arrive, show up, appear just as they are either really needed, or just when you’re doing things that will make them very angry..
Andy’s mom, our sister, walked out the back door just as Andy follows Rooster’s instructions and shakes his head.
The viscous thread of snot that was hanging from Andy’s nose wraps itself neatly around his head. I’m roaring with laughter, thinking I wont get in too much trouble, I didn’t do anything… why would I get in trouble…
Well hell… Our elder sister, Andy’s mother, was none too impressed.
My mother was a huge fan of “All Star” Wrestling, “Pro” Wrestling, WWF/ WWE…
How many of the stars pictured below can you name?
Mom was fanatical… had her favorites, her despised. The white-hats, the heels… Knew all about them…
In the way-back days of the 60s and B-W television, I was weaned on it all, on the local TV stations broadcasting from Cedar Rapids and Waterloo. Ronny Etcheson, Danny Little Bear, the Viking, Bob Brown, the British Bull Dog. Andre the Giant came to town a couple times a year.
There was a group of us kids that were very much “into” The Rassling scene.
Every once in a long while, one of our dads would take us to “the city”, Waterloo or Cedar Rapids, to see a live show. I have seen Andre more than once, and patted him on his sweaty back a time or two.
Why am I thinking about, writing about Pro Wrestling, I hear you ask…
My mother never ever ever ever ever believed the wrestling she watched, the rassling she watched, was not 100% “real”. Even after some Stars wrote books, told all, even after TV grew and we got cable and reality shows, Mom never believed IT WAS NOT true and factual. She’d argue you into submission.
Even when we spoke openly, discussed facts like “a 300pound man jumping from a 4foot height, landing on another man’s sternum would crush the chest, drive the sternum through the spine”, and make a huge mess…
Mom never bought it. Ever…
We (the large extended family) made fun of mom and her die-hard belief in Rassling… A good present for her would be an Andre action figure. Jake-the-Snake Roberts was her most favourite. She had a few actions figure that were “Her’s”. She even had a mask she’d gotten somewhere. She’d put it on and make growling sounds and make us laugh.
My brother once bought mom ringside seats to see Jake, and his snake. It made her very happy and gave her something to talk about for a year or more.
I now see that my Mother’s inability to NOT see the truth about ProRassling, as a mental illness. A self delusion, a self inflicted wound of sorts, refusing to see the reality, preferring instead to see her chosen reality. I’ll call it a ProRassling derangement. She was delusional when it came to rassliing…
So many folks I know, so many folks close to me, dear to me, so, so many folks all round are suffering from a mental affliction called “Trump Derangement Syndrome”.
Seriously, sadly… It’s not healthy.
Mom believing that rassling was real did no harm. Not so with the TDS afflicted…
All the nasty never never ever Trump memes are insidious, infectious, dangerous. You are carrying a message from the dark side of mass derangement. It aint healthy…
We listen to millionaire socialists that rail against the rich, but are happy to be dining at the high-table. We believe the talking-heads that lie to us daily. We sit back as our elected officials convince us Trump is evil and bad… as they stick their hands in your pockets.
Even after the majority who voted said they wanted Trump over the DNC, even after Trump takes office and the world does not end, Whoopee Goldberg is not arrested, Social Security still going… we carry on with the toxic rhetoric.
Kinda scary… so many smart folks delusional. By choice.
730am Sunday this side of the planet. It’s chilly out. I am wrapped in a granny-blanket, with a thick wool sweater on. The day is muted, dull, grey, dreary, damp… A fine drizzly mist is falling straight down. No breeze interrupts gravity’s influence.
Gracie feeds a couple resident kookaburras, but today she’s unwilling to got out. The birds sit on the balcony looking forlorn.
The deer feed within a stone-throw from where I sit.
The dogs are curled up in their beds.
I talk to people around the world, very old friends, family, newer acquaintances. Those that know me know I like to talk. I dont think there is a topic that is off limits. Everyone has an interest. Everyone has a topic they luv to chew on. Motorcycles, fishing, fast cars, big tits, guns, airplanes, rockets, robots… Just a few topics chewed on with friends…
I was busy this past week catching up with old friends for the wrong reason… I shall explain:
I like FaceBook for the simple reason that it has kept me in touch with soooo many folks from past lives, past times. We may not interact much, but a number of old friends are in touch because of FB. We know what each other are doing, where we are, how we are. Just last week a birthday reminder popped up for my dear, dear, and dead friend, Mary Pat Lawlor.
MP, as she was known, passed a bit over a year ago. When here husband, Joe, contacted me with he sad news, I turned to my keyboard and told my MP tale.
Joe commented then that she had almost made her “next” birthday.
So this past week, MP’s bday reminder pops up and three old friends send MP birthday greetings.
I guess they dont know, haven’t heard of MP’s passing.
So I pass the news, and get a lovely chance to communicate with these old friends. A sad reason to be interacting, indeed, but a worthy and good reason.
Life’s rich pageant marches on…
Just had a 3hour talk with my longest serving “friend”… RW and I met in 5thgrade, St Johns Elementary School, Independence, Iowa. A number of years ago I got a FB message saying “is that you”. We would not be in contact if not for FB.
We dont talk often, but when we do it is very a much “catch up”. I’ll am happy n high from the talk. Very good to catch up, to be back on the same cloud.
My thoughts this morning are going in an interesting direction…
Bernie Saunders:
Bern’s bio gives us: – Mayor of Burlington, Vermont (1981–1989) – U.S. House of Representatives (1991–2007) – U.S. Senate (2007–present)
So…
May I – ask a couple questions and make a couple comments:
Comments: – Bern is a career politician. Holding elected office since 1981, thats over 40 years, as an elected functionary. – Bern is a sworn Socialist. – Bern is a registered Independent that runs under the Democrat Banner. – Bern has gone unnoticed for most of his career, coming to prominence as The Democrat Party diminished in meaningfulness.
Questions: – What is a Socialist? Socialism is a broad political and economic ideology that advocates for social ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange, typically by the state or government. It’s based on the idea that shared ownership leads to a more equitable and just society.
Intentionally keeping this uncharacteristically short…
None of us ever heard about The Bern before he almost beat Hillary for there DNC nomination in 2016.
In my opinion a deal was cut then that gave Bern more of the limelight, more acceptability by the DNC elite. Bern was basically given a seat at the table.
And now, as the DNC founders, as the DNC Elite lose their credibility… enter Bernie…
Sure… “a living wage”, free medical, free education, free day care for children, free jobs with the government… All sounds great… All sounds like socialism to me.
Last question: – Do you really think government control of everything – Socialism – is a great idea?
I am amazed how much the world has changed in my life time.
Used to be opposed to Communists… Now we pay them to fly around the country preaching to us about our bad habits.
I just listened to Bernie justify flying around the place in private jets… What a wanker!
Exchanging words with a good friend. We see eye-to-eye seldom, when it comes to politics.
He recently sent me this saying: Take the time to watch this please!
So I watch…
Discussions with my old friend:
Your suggested utube link: Not sure what that was other than 26 minutes of mud slinging. I do not know who Senator Murphy is. His opinions, even if backed up by visuals, are opinions, predictions. “The sky is falling” is all I hear… checked and see him be another career politician from a liberal state: Christopher Scott Murphy is an American lawyer, author, and politician serving as the junior United States senator from the state of Connecticut since 2013.
Not an endorsement in my world…
Of course he has no love for Trump. His gravey train has been hijacked. I’d think he’s frightened for his past dealings that may well be doge’d.
All DC rats, right or left, are looking over their shoulders…
When you have a side you will be always and all ways looking for affirmation that your side, your choice, is right, true, good, worthy. This drawn out prophecy from the Liberal Left of course finds an audience.
It does not resonate with me. I dont have a team when it comes to politics. I kinda like to think Im on the team of common sense. And they are all stoooopid, right left up down, in one way or another.
And when I say this, you will quickly start to say that it’s “because I like Trump”, but that is not true.
We dont have to be disrespectful to have a political discussion. At least not with me. I like hearing your thoughts and view points. I value them. But far too often it becomes too tense, too stressful, too argumentative. Debate and discussion is not argument. No one is right. No one wins when everyone is losing. Only time will tell where we are, how well this administration performs its duties. I say firmly that the past Admin under Biden was sad, pathetic and kleptocratic.
Id like to give Trump a chance to see if he can make some positive gains. Thats the system. You win the vote you call the shots. I’m not going to live with my knickers in a knot complaining about the way the last election turned out…
Labor just won a majority here. I think Labor and the Albo mob are dangerous. Like classic liberals they are being very liberal with the public purse. The aim of course is to line their pockets.
Every never-Trump person I know, I ask this simple question… Was Biden better? The Biden we now know was shittign his pants for the past 4 years? The Biden everyone n their poodle was claiming was sharp, better than ever? Was that better? Did the USofA come out better than before Biden?
The echo chamber is on high volume. Lots of screaming and gnashing of teeth.
A chilly, damp Sunday morning here. Have Blood Sport happening today. The broadcast comes to us from Des Moines, Iowa. Some very good bouts coming.
Sun is shining. Dogs are happy. Coffee smells great… what could go wrong?
Today, too, is the day-after Federal election time here in Aus. It was very anti-climactic from my point of view…
The Australian Labor Party (ALP) well and truly routed their opposition. The Liberal National Party (LNP) got soundly rejected, to the point where the party head, Peter Dutton, lost his own seat.
Labor has a large majority, does not need help forming government. It appears to be the case where the LNP was rejected north, south, east and west.
I dont have an answer per how this all came about, noting well the campaign ran by Dutton and the LNP was pretty shallow. As was Labor’s campaigning. Their campaigning in my mind was nothing more than a long competition of which party could promise more.
I heard very little practical problem solving during the campaign. I heard very little articulation of the social, economic and global problems being faced by Australia.
I do believe the Australian Electorate is asleep. Sound asleep. Or simply not interested in the BS that is politics. Or too busy simply working, paying for their lives. Which is very sad.
Both Labor and the Liberals are lacking in vision and forward planning.
Like all 2Party systems, there is a siamese twin syndrome where whatever one says the other has to raise the ante. Both parties are locked in step with the other. I have heard little articulation of the real “problems” facing Australia. I have heard a lot of “20milliion for child care”, “100million for first home owners”, “freeeee moneeey if you voooteee for meeeeee”…
I have discussed the difference, as I see it, between being liberal and conservative… Liberals (here in Aus) are liberal with the public purse. They give money away, waste money, are frivolous with the money. The Public Money.
As near as I can tell, all the Parties here in Aus are very liberal. I have not seen or really dont know of a government here that has been truly conservative with the public purse.
Description: This image shows the current number of members in the House of Representatives from each party: Labor Party – 77 members. Liberal Party – 53 members. Minor parties – 6 members. Independents – 13 members
Time will tell but I have been saying that such Liberal tendencies can only lead one direction…
Bankruptcy.
I believe that Australia has fallen prey to the “green dream”, the “nut zero” BS that turns a very wealthy land into a debtors prison. Australians have been living too large for too long. I fear we just gave the Nanny-State a big shot in the arm. Taxes and power and fuel and groceries and, well everything, are going to get more expensive.
I have written (a lot) about the democratic system here in Aus, vs the democratic system of the USA, and the system of the Solomon Islands. There are numerous differences.
My favourite variance is the fact that it is illegal to NOT v vote here in Aus. “…under federal electoral law, it is compulsory for all eligible Australian citizens to enrol and vote in federal elections, by-elections and referendums.” https://www.aec.gov.au/faqs/
This morning I have been in a conversation with a good, smart, well read, old compadre. We were talking for about an hour yesterday. My dear old friend suffers severe Trump Derangement Syndrome. I fear it may be terminal with him.
Most of our conversation was a laundry list of complaints about “Fucking Trump”, “fucking idiots in Congress”, “fucking useless electoral system”, and more… on and on. A long and drawn out verbal diarrhea session where all the ills and all the wrongs and all that is bad and uncool is because of… Trump, fucking Trump, the fucking system, the fucking secretaries, the fucking system…
Of course there is little introspection, critical thought given to much that isn’t a slogan or a bumper sticker or a meme… I could almost hear the sad, loser liberal media in his words.
I very much enjoy conversations like this. I like listening to what folks think. I like trying to understand their angst. I often end up working as a therapist. There is so much anger and aggression and misinformation. I like being the centrist. Because I dont like Trump and I dont like the other side I dont have a position to defend. I can talk about his position, working to discuss and direct and research the foundational facts, required, aiming to help alleviate the misinformation and mental illness that is part and parcel of TDS…
Like the US Electoral College. My friend simply does not understand it. Historical or contextually.
According to my friend California should be allowed to decide who is in charge. They have the largest economy, the largest population, pay the most taxes in the US so…
He points to the system where Congressional districts are defined by population yet each state is only given 2 Senatorial seats. California should have 52 congressmen and 52 Senators. Wyoming should only get 1 of each. According to my friend.
I sent couple visuals to help our conversation…
From a blue v red perspective, from a DNC v RNC perspective, this shows the 2024 electoral college results. Without the electoral college the heavily populated, heavily liberal, very elite coastal states would forever control the highest offices.
Here we can see congressional districts and electoral college votes per state…
I like this visual because it shows us the changes afoot… six states lost population/ congressional seats. six states gained population/ congressional seats.
So I end up with my electoral system for dumbasses v2.0.
Without the forethoughtful and original thought process of the founding framers of the US system I believe the elite would rule us all.
And the day continues in its soft, cozy, comfortable manner.
Still early, still chilly, still wrapped in a granny-blanket waiting for blood sports to start. It is a calm and sunny morning. After all the rain the sun feels good.
Steam rising from damp dog rugs makes a nice visual…
With April passing and May arriving we should -SHOULD- be heading into some dry weather. Could use some dry weather.
Here is recorded rainfall for April:
ALL up, I count in excess of 400mm/ 16inches/ almost half a meter of wet… in the last 27 days…
I was talking to a good friend living in Adelaide, South Australia… he said hey have not had 10mm/ half an inch of rain since late last year. Which is worse? Drought or flood?
My neighbour came to talk yesterday. He recently installed a new septic system. He’s a do-it yourself kinda guy, borrowed my tractor to back fill the hole. Yesterday he said the plastic tank he’d installed had “popped out of the ground”. The tank being pretty much empty, the heavy rains of the last couple days filled the hole with water, and the tank floated up and out. He has a big hassle to contend with. Thats the problem with do-it yourself.
A side note: I have seen tanks buried in the ground float up and out. I have seen a cement swimming pool pop out. Never a positive.
Being “rural”, living “country” one must learn to be rather self sufficient. You cant always choose to put things off. A water-line leak, a fence down, live stock, weeds, pests, snakes and rodents all turn a do-it-yourself guy into a farmer. My neighbour is new at farming but he’s got all the skills required to be a good one.
Speaking of snakes… I have posted this but it is worthy of a monthly round up…
I am cleaning in my much neglected workshop. This shop is my “dirty” shop where I cut and work wood. Maintain and store machines and tools. Stack and store all the paints and herbicides and insecticides a farmer needs. I have spools of fencing wire, ropes, plumbing fittings, cables, cords and fence posts galore. Piles of old wood I’ve harvested from the floods. Barrels and buckets and tables and benches… all covered in a thick detritus of dust, rat shit, toad turds, and snake skins.
I found a small skin on the floor just a couple weeks ago. Nothing really new. Every once in a while I’ll hear/ find a snake behind a pile of plywood or under a neglected tarp. Most common is that the snakes run n hide and stay away, if you make enough noise. Or such is the theory…
I have yet to really come face to face with a poisonous snake.
… Cleaning a corner of my shed that has not been cleaned for quite some time… I have a small table set up where all my chargers and batteries live. I’ve been pushing stuff under and around the table for a long time… a couple unused wheels, a incomplete steel table, a couple spools of stainless cable, a pile of rope…
I am down on a knee, fishing stuff out from under the table, when I see it…
I jumped and screamed…. eeeee…. before I realised what I was looking at…
Life is good when you know your old heart can take such a jolt.
Another wet, wet, wet day/ night… Ive not yet gone outside to check the rain gauge. I am guessing when I say we got the better part of 70mm/ 3inch in the last 24hours. Things are wet.
Im still happily wrapped up in a granny-blanket. I’ll wait a bit before I get moving, active, productive. No sunshine today. I’ll head to my workshop and carve on my sticks… Wood, not War…
I see things, as I wander and read, that make me scratch my head in wonder… I wonder why folks dont turn their brains on, use their mental capacity to be aware, to puzzle simple things out…
This post got my attention:
I very much understand the misguided intent behind the words. It does not have to be factual, make sense or even add up, if we’re attacking the nasty orange devil man.
I “saw” this without really thinking about it, giving it much thought, but my dyslexic mind fixated on the numbers… My mind knows that 3million divided by 10thousand is 3hundred… 3,000,000 / 10,000 =300. I dont have to think about it, I do mental arithmetic and by simply dropping the zeros the answer of “300” pops up without much thought power. I can see the answer without framing the equation. I am dyslexic.
So, a smart, worthy, experienced old friend posts this meme… the meme states that “1 golf trip for 1 old man” can feed over 10,000 elderly, in need citizens… and no one does the math. That simple. We just go along with something utterly and blatantly wrong. Because we dont turn our brains on? Because we have been dumbed-down? Maybe we forgot where the on-switch is? If we believe that $300.00 can feed a person for a year.
Saddens me greatly.
I have one old and dear friend from my childhood that suffers from Alzheimer’s. We talk about our shared past. He says I help him not lose all his memories. This guy is Phd level genius. A magnificent musician. He does amazing things developing bionic prosthetics. But he has little memory. It is hard, sad, trying to be so, so smart, and not remember your wife.
My point: This intentional dumbing down, accepting stupid bullshit, reposting and propagating the sheer ignorance of it all… Its sadder than my old buddy that has an organic reason for his mental losses.
Description: This image shows the current number of members in the House of Representatives from each party: Labor Party – 77 members. Liberal Party – 53 members. Minor parties – 6 members. Independents – 13 members
The Native Iowan 
thoughts and opinions