"The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object."---Thomas Jefferson
Time for another one of my rants. If you agree, tell someone, if you disagree, tell me. I believe anyone can disagree here, as long as they show some decent manners when commenting.
During the past few months that we have been afflicted with the presidential campaigns, I keep hearing a common note from both campaigns; they both claim to bring "leadership" to the American people. A politician's job is not to be a leader, but to represent his constituents. You want to know what a leader is for? It is for these types here:
Just remember, the only reason a shepherd leads his sheep is to shear them on a regular basis, and cull them when they are of no more use.
Both The Coot and Golden Messiah-Boy claim they have what it takes to lead us. Newsflash: I don't want to be led, because I'm not lost. I want someone who takes orders from the folks who pay him, namely WE THE PEOPLE. If you want a representative, vote in the elections for someone to represent you; if all you want to do is play Follow-the-Leader, join a cult.
Just my opinion.
****************************************************** Tamara sounds off about the candidates; she says it a lot better than I could.
One side is offering me politicians acting like politicians, which is to say power-hungry, callous, and scheming; the other side is trying to offer me politicians acting like missionaries, and that scares the crap out of me. Given a choice between the devil I know and the devil I don't, I'm going to stick with the one I know. Especially if the one I don't is offering me milk and cookies.
If you feel like she strikes a familiar note, read the whole thing.
A motley mix of music today; the top ten shows it. Any favorites?
"Born to Be Blue" by Grant Green/Ike Quebec "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line" by Waylon Jennings "Dizzy Fingers" by Benny Goodman "Dancin' in the Ruins" by Blue Öyster Cult "Baby, Won't You Come Out Tonight" by Buddy Holly "All Over The World" by Electric Light Orchestra "The Shadow of Your Smile" by Henry Mancini "The Great Gate at Kiev" by Moussourgsky "For Ladies Only" by Steppenwolf "Moondance" by Van Morrison
Just starting to feel like posting; I've been doing a bit of commenting, and exchanging email with my brother, but haven't really been up to much else. I've spent the last week with some sort of miserable bug that has my sinuses packed up tight, my lungs coughing out nasty stuff (reminded me of walking pneumonia, but I don't have a fever), and every joint in my body hurting like hell. The doctor gave me some stuff for my nose, some steroids for my lungs, a bunch of antibiotics, and they are all finally starting to make me feel like something a little bit better than hammered dogshit. Hell, I haven't even shaved my face or head in a week now; my beard and what's left of my hair (I normally shave the sparse amount on my cranium) are all fuzzy now; they're mostly silver these days, so I look funny and shiny when the light shines on my head. If I get doing better, I may be able to post my random blitherings more often.
I've pretty well quit reading anything about the elections, a person can only take in so much bullshit before choking, and there's no shortage of that in the news. Anything I watch on television I record on DVR these days, rather than watching live; that way I can zap all the phony-ass political lies, accusations, and mud-slinging that is so ubiquitous from both sides.
This picture was one I took a few weeks ago at my niece's place. No real reason for posting it, other than I thought the (overweight)cat was sort of cool looking.
Felt like more mellow stuff today; not a real lot of bangin' and twangin' in this bunch. Any favorites here? Anyone who recognizes more than half of them?
"In The Groove" by The String of Pearls Orchestra "Eternity Road" by The Moody Blues "Long Haired Country Boy" by The Charlie Daniels Band "Cold, Cold Heart" by Norah Jones "Friend of the Devil" by The Grateful Dead "Stealing Rosemary" by The Bangles "Fresh Garbage" by Spirit "It's My Life" by Talk Talk "Perfect" by Sara Evans "Cruisin' With the Duece" by Quarterflash
Excuse my rant. Election day can't come too soon for me; I am getting real tired of the media bullshit. It doesn't help that the mainstream media seems to be taking sides. It used to be that journalists tried to just report the news, these days they are trying to shape the news. I guess journalism classes quit teaching the difference between objective and subjective, probably about the time they dropped the concept of ethics from their curriculum. Personally, I don't really like either side, but I am getting real sick and tired of the left-wing trying to make everything about race. I keep hearing about "code words" that imply race. I have a suggestion for you: pull your heads out of your asses. This may come as a shock to some of you, but white people do not lie awake all night just trying to think up ways to mess with non-whites. Most of us don't care. It sounds more like there are too many people who are up late at night trying to find a hidden "racist" meaning in anything they hear that they don't like. Here is a revelation for you: I have better things to worry about than whether someone has a better suntan than I do. Seems like any time anyone disagrees with somebody, some dingbat jumps up and starts yelling "Racist!" That card is getting a bit worn and old.
"Why am I going to hate someone based solely on the color of their skin when if I get to know them I can find 1,000 other reasons to think they're an asshole?" -George Carlin
I've heard my share of "code words". Without leaving the continental US, I've been called a lot of things, some derogatory, some not so much. How many of you are familiar with all of these? I have had someone call me every one of these (among other things) at one time or another. So what?
Honkie, anglo, bilagáana, gringo, gije, cracker, whitey, yank, goy, damnyankee (yes, that is one word), gaijin, gentile, taibo, redneck, wingnut, hippy, nasrani, and kafir.
*********************************************
Went out and visited my mom a few days ago; wanted to help her get some stuff squared away for winter. Did some pruning, hammered a few nails, did a bit of fixing.
This guy kept an eye on me.
*********************************************
Looks like it is time to shut down the garden. Sunday we woke up to some snow.
My zucchini plant has looked better.
Still some snow on my vehicle at noon.
The Wasatch Mountains on the east side of the valley.
The Oquirrh Mountains on the west side of the valley.
*********************************************
Top ten of a random pick; I don't seem to see any pattern here, really. Any favorites here?
"How the West Was Won" Movie Soundtrack "Don't Walk Away" by Electric Light Orchestra "C'est What" by Bud Shank "Takin' Care of Business" by Bachman-Turner Overdrive "Guinnevere" by Crosby, Stills and Nash "No More Words" by Berlin "I Only Want to Be With You" by Dusty Springfield "Me and the Devil Blues" by Eric Clapton "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot "Moon River" by Henry Mancini
Skipped the VP debates. From what I have read since then, it turned out pretty much the way I thought it would. Whatever leaning a person had going in, they usually claimed their candidate won at the end. It reminds me sort of like a dog show. The contestants (the dogs, of course) are trained and groomed to look good in front of the judges; someone trots them out and runs them through a few tricks, and then people judge which looked best. It has nothing to do with what the dog is like; the dignified-looking Irish Setter may have a problem with chewing everything in sight; the perky, smiling Yorkie may be a vicious little menace around small children. All we see is the face that their handlers want you to see. I've seen people speak in public to good effect who I knew were unreliable jackasses. I've also seen others who didn't look so good, but were the ones to rely on during a crunch. As I've said before politicians lie. If I want to know whether to trust someone, I look to what they've done before they put on their dog-and-pony show, when they thought no one was watching them that close. No matter what any politician says, they are running for their benefit, not yours. The best you can hope for is that there is an overlap.
***********************************************
With the bailout final, we now get to see just how much good it will do. Personally, I'm not too optimistic. We have the same bunch of people running things that contributed to this mess who are now handed more money and told to fix it. Sort of like the guy in Las Vegas who goes broke and asks for a loan to try and win it all back. Anybody want to pull their wallet out for him? I think what is more likely to happen is that a few companies will get their chestnuts pulled out of the fire, and a whole lot of politicians will funnel it into their favorite pork projects, and before long someone will be asking for more money to save the economy. Some of the politicians are trying to help, but there are a lot who look at it the same way as seeing someone fainting on the sidewalk. They'll stop and act like they're helping, but in actuality it's just a ruse to go through the person's pockets for loot.
***********************************************
Been a wee bit chilly today, drizzle and cold rain since this morning. As soon as I woke up I could tell; every joint in my body was telling me not to get up. It won't be too long before we get a frost, I'm thinking. Hopefully the garden will be able to hold out a little longer; I miss fresh tomatoes during the winter. We're supposed to get some snow in the hills this weekend, down to about 6000 feet. That may seem high to some parts of the country, but here where I live we're at about 4500 feet, so the snow is usually quite visible from here. Maybe the weather and the effects on me is why I seem to have such a foul disposition today. Or maybe I'm just old enough to be cynical of anyone who says they're trying to help me by taking my money.
***********************************************
Some of these may be familiar, depending on your age.
"Washington Square" by The Village Stompers "Burnin' for You" by Blue Öyster Cult "Greenfields" by The Brothers Four "Glory Days" by Bruce Springsteen "Ride the Wild Surf" by Jan & Dean "Me and Bobby McGee" by Kris Kristofferson "See You in September" by The Happenings "Mojo" by Mindi Abair "Lawyers, Guns and Money" by Warren Zevon "More Than a Feeling" by Boston
Here is one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite groups. Always good to listen to when you want to feel mellow.
"The Actor"
The curtain rises on the scene With someone shouting to be free The play unfolds before my eyes There stands the actor who is me
The sleeping hours takes this part Through traffic, telephones and fear Put out your problems with the cat Escape until a bell you hear
Our reasons are the same But there's no-one we can blame For there's nowhere we need go And the only truth we know comes so easily
The sound I have heard in your hello Oh, oh, darling, you're almost part of me Oh, oh, darling, you're all I'll ever see Ah, ah, ah
It's such a rainy afternoon No point in going anywhere The sounds just drift across my room I wish this feeling I could share
It's such a rainy afternoon She sits and gazes from her window Her mind tries to recall his face The feeling deep inside her grows
Our reasons are the same But there's no-one we can blame For there's nowhere we need go And the only truth we know comes so easily
The sound I have heard in your hello Oh, oh, darling, you're almost part of me Oh, oh, darling, you're all I'll ever see The sound I have heard in your hello Oh, oh, darling, you're all I'll ever see Oh, oh, darling, you're almost part of me Ah, ah, ah
