Capitalism on the Run Today I saw that a friend who is part of my motorcycle group and who declares as a conservative Republican put a post on Facebook that was intended to denigrate socialism and stand up for capitalism. He quoted Winston Churchill as saying, “Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.” I found it necessary to…
A Chill in the Air Today I am wearing two long-sleeved shirts, the one underneath a mock turtleneck with the MOA logo on the neck (that would be Motorcycle Owners of America) and on top I have a RESIST t-shirt. Someone asked me what I was resisting and all I could think to say (since I thought it demanded a rapid answer as it was such a bold and simple statement of intent) was “everything.”…
It’s All Debatable I have a friend, Gary, who reads this blog with regularity and who more or less shares the same political outlook I have. He was just out visiting the last few weeks and we got into mud wrestling more than once about which direction thing would likely go in the 2020 election. I am an avowed optimist and let’s just say that Gary is not so much. I usually attribute less than…
Harvey the Rabbit I have heard for years about the famous Pulitzer Prize play by Mary Chase that was made into a movie starring Jimmy Stewart. The play was written in 1945 and the movie was made in 1950. What brings it to mind is a combination of issues starting with the image of Harvey Weinstein dragging his sorry ass into the NYC courthouse every day using a walker with two high-viz yellow tennis balls…
The Rincon Mystery Whenever I ride my motorcycle to the mountains or the desert, I go through the town of Valley Center, which sits between where I live and the country I find so beautiful to drive through. The ride through Valley Center isn’t a bad ride either, with enough nice twisty roads and little enough traffic to make it a perfectly pleasant ride even though its not the wide open spaces up on Palomar…
Feeling the Bern The results of the Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire Primary are in and the Democratic candidates are off to Nevada and South Carolina for the next round of delegate gathering in their long march to the DNC Convention. Just to recap, this month there are the Nevada Caucuses and the South Carolina Primary followed by the March 3rd so-called Super Tuesday with primaries in Virginia, Vermont, Utah, Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, North…
A Bear in the China Shop Right now there is an area of central China that is quarantined with its residents “blocked” from exiting and all entrances and goods for it are closely monitored to and from the province of Hubei and specifically the large cities of Wuhan and Huanggang. Over twenty million people are inside the quarantined zone. To put that into perspective, that is more than the population of the entire country of…
Fox and Friends It’s happening in Miami, but you can only watch the Super Bowl on Fox Sports. Twenty years ago I dated a woman who worked at Fox Sports and I don’t recall having my skin crawl at the mention of Fox, but things are different now. I don’t think it was Bombshell or even The Loudest Voice in the Room that did it to me, but they certainly helped to lock in…
Going Slow Today I turn sixty-six years old. According to the Social Security Administration, I am now eligible for full retirement. I’m waiting until March to start my monthly check for the silly reason that the monthly amount will then click over the maximum amount for someone my age of $3,011. If I waited until age seventy to claim (four years from now), I could claim $3,790 per month. That means I am choosing…
Best Seat in the House When the dust settles on the Impeachment of Donald J. Trump, regardless of the outcome, I feel Rep. Adam Schiff deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I’m not so sure Donald Trump will feel up to bestowing it, but I hope whomever is next to sit at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office will set the record straight. Schiff, who has represented the San Gabriel Valley (think Pasadena and…