Category: Opinion

Everybody has one, this is my $.02

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Much Prayer Needed for President Obama’s Safety

I spotted this car yesterday with this big sign taped on it. Not something you see everyday. Certainly, the sentiment was thought provoking. As we sat at the light in front of Trader Joe’s, I snapped this from my cell phone camera. The sign is a bit hard to read here, but is plain enough in person. As we waited for the light to change, I wondered why the driver felt so compelled.
ObamaSafety

Every president is endangered. Obama more so than others, for reasons we don’t need to go into here. I see in the news today, the Obamas are in Europe. On reflection, I find I share the driver’s unexpected concern, and extend my prayers to members of his security team as well. It’s a shame this is so, but it can’t be ignored. Godspeed Geo Metro driver, and know your prayers are echoed.

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Iranians fight the power.

My heart goes out to the people of Iran today. Their struggle doesn’t seem to be in the news as much as it should be. It’s never easy to fight against tyranny, but it has to be done. When people fill the streets against the wishes of their rulers, it is a powerful thing to behold. I offer my best and most heartfelt wishes for peaceful change without bloodshed for the Iranian people.
Get up stand up

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A tale of two empires.

I’m not a doomer. Well, not exactly. But I occasionally read some of the doomer stuff, and one of the more interesting authors I have come across online is Dimitry Orlov. He was a citizen of both the US and the former Soviet Union during the period of the old USSR’s collapse, and traveled between the two. He has a really unique perspective. He sees parallels between our two empires that citizens of only the US might not have considered. In his opinion, we have much more in common with the old Soviet Union than we usually think. And because of our relative wealth, a greater distance to fall….

Anyway this video goes on for quite a while, but I found it worth a watch. Dimitry has that dry Russian style that can be so endearing and so disturbing all at once. His ideas are quite thought provoking. Whether or not you agree with his conclusions, you can learn from his experience. It’s hosted by Stewart Brand, who is a very interesting character himself. If you have the time, take a look:

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Baby Black Phoebe has no safety net

We hope you join us today, and pause to remember those who sacrificed all for freedom.

We remember those who sacrificed all

I have a shot of a fledgling Black Phoebe from the nest under my shed’s eave.
Baby bird
The baby’s parents work all day, from sunup to sundown. They have no Social Security, or insurance, or police. No bailouts or or safety nets of any kind. Underneath the nest, neighborhood cats wander by and pretend to be casual. It’s a poignant lesson in self-reliance and family.
Baby bird
Baby bird parent
Baby bird parent
Baby bird parent
Baby bird parent flies
Baby bird parent flies
Baby bird parent flies
Cheshire cat

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H1N1 Flu coming soon to a neighborhood near you (probably)

Old photo of flu patients
I don’t have any better insight into this subject than you do, but I have been watching the CDC website. The numbers make it look pretty inevitable that flu is headed our way. At this point there are no reported cases in Shasta County. I wonder how long that will last? When it does hit I imagine there may be a bit of a panic. I hope everyone stays safe in these upcoming, potentially trying times.

Progression of flu patients

The chart above was much shorter just yesterday. So. I need a plan. I figure I’m going to get it. Probably you are too. I’ve had the flu before, and lived to tell the tale. And I expect to do so again this time. Bravado perhaps. Not looking forward to it though. From reading the information available online, the flu virus has a nasty habit of mutating rapidly and into things we cannot predict. Obviously, some preparation is in order. You may want to get some Hand Sanitizer ready for the season, and stock up on other supplies as well in case anything happens. It could also be worthwhile wearing things like face masks in order to limit the spread of germs and viruses to those around us, check them out here – https://stringking.com/ppe/face-masks/3-layer-kids-face-mask/. I think I’m going to make some chicken soup. Enough to freeze until we need it, and I won’t feel like cooking much. In addition, it would be a good idea to think about the symptoms that come along with the flu and make sure that you are stocked up on the relevant pain relief treatments. For example, I will be making sure I have plenty of lozenges from places like Quantum Health (https://quantumhealth.com/shop/product/cough-relief-bagged-lozenges) for more natural remedies to treat a sore throat. The key is preparedness for this flu season. What are you doing? The CDC site has some suggestions:
Preparation logo

Pandemic. That sounds serious. When we feel like these things are serious hopefully that means our community can come back together and work to help us through it all and keep healthy. I hope the chicken soup helps! Best wishes to all.

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4-20 Time to consider legalization and taxation of Marijuana

Bee on Lupine
The time has come to consider legalizing and taxing Marijuana. Sure, it’s easier to ignore this problem and go along with the status quo, than to come out for change. But it’s my blog and I can say what I want. There are already a lot of states that have made it totally legal and medically legal. there are medical dispensaries in texas, medical marijuana texas is doing good work and no one is getting hurt. If you would like to try marijuana then you can by getting a ohio cannabis card, it may help for medicinal purposes but it may not. A lot of consumers that are looking to purchase a more raw product, would head to an online retailer like rocky mountain dispensary, but not use it entirely for the medicinal values others would.
Since what we are doing is costly and doesn’t appear to be working AT ALL, I think it makes sense to try another way. I imagine public figures everywhere struggling with this idea. It’s better to get along and go along. But that doesn’t make it the right thing to do. I sense a rising momentum for this idea from the blogosphere, but that may be all there is to it. Still, major newspapers are printing articles like this:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/currents/43237522.html
which actually expresses my ideas about the subject better than I can. Even our own local newspaper has hinted at the idea. Which is something at least. It’s time to stop enabling organized crime in Mexico, and making criminals out of local potheads and medicinal users. The hypocrisy of allowing some intoxicants to be legal, and others out-of-fashion to be made illegal, harms our society more than the drugs. Sure the tax revenue would be fine, but the real good would be to reduce the damage to our civil liberties and societal fabric. I don’t advocate drug use, but I fear drunk drivers more than addled potheads, and this foolishness must end. We are harmed by the illicit grow operations in our forests, and by the costly criminalization and imprisonment of the people whose only crime is to themselves. Our current failed drug policy is turning the border into a narco-state. It has come to a point where the law is creating more problems than the subject of the law. California State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano wants to change the law. If you agree, you should tell our local Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa that you are open minded to new ideas to attack this old issue. But then, it’s always easier to go along and get along….

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Where the rubber meets the track on Kool April Nites

Jet car
Hope to see you at Kool April Drags this evening, and over the rest of the weekend. The weather is supposed to be perfect.
car
I’m only a casual fan, but I run their website. This event is their biggest of the year, and with dueling jet cars after dark, no less. Definitely worth coming out. They’ve made a lot of track improvements.
car
This is oldest continuously operating dragstrip in the US. A longtime Redding tradition.

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Jon Stewart rips CNBC (and Wall Street) a new one.

How did it happen that a comedy show slices deeply to the heart of the financial system’s kleptocracy, while what passes for serious business “reporting” has become nothing more than a hollow sham?

They say we get the government we deserve. So too, the press, apparently. Comedy Central is now the only real news in the mainstream.

There are occasional good articles like this one at Time Magazine, A BIT LATE THOUGH:

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1877351_1877350,00.html

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Apology for yesterday’s Record Searchlight expose’

Sorry readers. Turns out my “discovery” yesterday that RS has been running and re-running the comic strip of the long dead Charles Schulz for years was not any kind of scoop at all. Several of you informed me that it was a well known fact, and is done intentionally. Of course, that’s even sadder. Like the movie Groundhog Day, except it’s neither funny nor poignant. Maybe surrealist. Anyway the good news is that while researching the post, I discovered a couple of interesting comics by actual living artists. One actually plays on the comic in question:
WeaponBrown
Done more in the style of the underground comix I remember from my misspent youth, they imagine a post apocalypse Chuck Brown, exploring the classic male adolescent themes of revenge and heavy weaponry.
WeaponBrownandSnoopy
Folks, you can’t make this stuff up.

I also discovered Garfield minus Garfield:
Garfield minus Garfield
Finally, a reason to read Garfield. And a new way to see the strip as an art project. Brilliant really. Click on either image to go the the artist website. Warning, you will never view a Garfield strip the same again. OK, maybe that’s a good thing.

Five years in the future, will we see the RS still running dead artist work, over and over, caught in a deathspiral timewarp? Look how easy it is to find better material. Meanwhile, vibrant living art and culture move on, sadly leaving the RS behind….

(Edit) Well I guess we know the answer to that question. 5 years and beyond…

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A Black Swan event in Anderson

Gaia hotel
Thursday’s Chamber of Commerce Greeters was held at the beautiful Gaia Hotel. It’s a lovely property, built with the deliberate use of environmentally conscious materials.
Greeters at Gaia hotel
Great turnout, and the food was terrific. The staff was first rate. These movers and shakers of the local business community remain upbeat in the face of the economic downturn. It seemed to me that there was more of an air of grim determination than I had noticed before.
Swans at Gaia hotel
These are 2 of the hotel’s 4 swans. A Black Swan is a metaphor for something that seemingly cannot exist, and then suddenly, it does.

1. Event has appeared by complete surprise.

2. Event has a major impact.

3. Event, after it has appeared, is ‘explained’ by human hindsight.

“The problem Taleb identified with banks and trading firms was that they were very vulnerable to Black Swans and were exposed to huge losses beyond what their defective models projected.”

Greetings from a world where Black Swans do exist.