DoctorD's Observations

Believe in hope

Book_of_eli_character_poster_mila_kunis_ign_01

I have seen two post-apocalytic movies lately, The Road and The Book of Eli.  I liked the latter better.  They make the end of the world interesting at least, assuming of course that you are extremely hardy and lucky.  You've got to watch out for the cannibals, though.

Strange VOX problem!

I have been unable to create new VOX pages on my main computer.  Instead, it switches automatically to a "neighborhood" page.

This I am able to write on a portable, a different computer.  It seems okay.

Hmmmmmmm.

'The Rise of the New Right'

A Chris Matthews MSNBC documentary on Wednesday PM.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2010/05/28/new_msnbc_documentary_rise_of_the_new_right.html

But shouldn't it be called the "Rise of the New Reich?"  That is what is going on.  That is what they hope to accomplish.  It is Fascism, folks--the real thing, right here in America, gaining power very steadily since the voters had the nerve, the nerve, to elect in 1980 a black man to the white house.

Now they want to get "their" country back from "them."

I-want-my-country-back

What I want, in contrast, is to get back to my country!  This land, remember, belongs to you and me.

GrandCanGrp600

I think we will be leaving on a road trip on Sunday.  Best time to start out, by far less traffic.

"I hope he fails"

Rush Limbaugh's famous words (from January 2009, the time of the inauguration of a new president) became the rallying crying for the oppositional Republicans. those who had lost the election but still held onto a good many legislative seats.  The strategy was to try to defeat every presidential or Democratic initiative in every area; if they couldn't defeat it outright, to weaken it greatly, and if some major bill happened to pass, then to seek to get it repealed.

Let's think about that right now. in the context of the oil crisis in the Gulf.  What does "I hope he fails" mean?

--It means, I hope that BP and the government are unable to shut off the massive flow of oil.

--It means, I hope that efforts to keep oil from reaching the beaches of the Gulf towns and the swamps that protect the land and wildlife don't succeed, that the beaches become covered with oil and the fisheries ruined.

--It means, I hope that the thousands of people who are losing their livelihoods and homes never recover, never get "their lives back."

--It means, I hope that the Bush-Cheney created regime of unregulated oil exploration and drilling continues unabated, producing inevitably more spills and more damage in the future.

--It means, I hope that increasingly portions of the U.S. become simply unlivable, which is okay with me, as long as Big Oil continues to be extremely profitable.

Those are among the things that Rush Limbaugh wants.  Those are things that Republicans want, following the lead of their titular head.  Those are the things that the "small government, less government" Tea Party movement people want, too.

What they all want is for the U.S. to sink into catastrophe.

Probably there were those who wanted the President to fail during the Great Depression.  There were those who wanted the President to fail when we were fighting the Nazi's during World War II.

Back then, we might be have called them traitors and treason.  What is wanting to bring destruction in the United States now?  They claim that wanting the President to fail is somehow "patriotic," that it shows they love their country.

Hmmm.  

What do you think?

A great gathering

My wife had a dinner party tonight for five of her childhood friends, people who attended high school together.  I think that is pretty darn good--considering that her high school was a small Catholic one in New Jersey, and we live in Illinois.  They were all very glad to see each other.  For some, I imagine it may be for the last time ever, as they are all 71 years old.

It was a great thing for her to organize.  I, myself, have no such group that I am in touch with, not from high school or even from college.

Here is a travel tip

If you want to stay in one of the great old National Park lodges, make a reservation many months ahead.  When we checked today on the Crater Lake Lodge, in Oregon, there were only two dates available.  One disappeared before our eyes!

Certainly it is the same story at Yellowstone.

I don't really like that level of detailed planning, but if you want to stay in the parks, it is essential.

"Big Government"

A TV documentary titled "Whiskey Made America," which is about the history and importance of the beverage in our national development, particularly described the system for distribution in Virginia (and apparently 17 other states):  alcohol is sold only by state-run liquor stores.

That is, the narrator said, is the "greatest" level of governmental involvement that could exist.  And it was explained as a source of profit, a kind of tax revenue, to support public services (which obviously is not the correct explanation historically).

But it also isn't the greatest possible level of governmental involvement.  The greatest level would be if the government actually made (brewed, manufactured) the whiskey.  Going even one step more, what if the necessary grains were grown only on governmental farms?  Actually, historically anyhow, sometimes the government has owned practically all the land?  (Even here, quite a bit of land is public land).

We have so little imagination!  I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if some wines in some countries are actually produced by some governments on governmentally-operated vineyards.  

Anyhow, it isn't creeping socialism.  

And it wouldn't surprise me if the liquor-makers are very active politically, and get paid a darn good price.  Just saying.

I should add, though, that the show is extremely interesting, extremely well-done.  Worth a view, if you get the chance.

Torn in the morning

I arise in the morning 

Torn between a desire to improve the world 

and a desire to enjoy the world. 

This makes it hard to plan the day. 

E. B. White 

Subaru at sunset

Solo adventures

Jeep in cornfield

On one of my first trips after my wife died in 2003, I headed south to central Illinois.  Mostly I kept trying to go straight, following the section lines.  That doesn't work, though, when you come to a river.  And it only sort of works when you come across an area (as shown above) where the road has barely been cut through.

I got there, though, and was able to visit with my slightly-older cousin, a retired trucker driving a big motor home cross country.

A quiet roamer

Wandering_monk

In ancient Asia, there were many who retired from a life of governmental service to become wandering monks or poets.  I feel a strong kinship with them.  There comes a point when you have to quit "trying so hard" and instead just "let it be."