Down in the Forest

For no known reason Kadizzle got tired of the old bike routes and decided to take the ebike down Boulder Trail.  Kadizzle encountered a problem. Logs blocked the trail in two places. One log was less than half the size of the other, but the smaller log turned out to be more of a problem. Using a handsaw, and a block and tackle Kadizzle defeated the small log. That was one days work. Yesterday Kadizzle returned to cut the bigger log. That log was rotten and much easier to cut and remove. Kadizzle hoped a hiker would come along and assist, but none showed up. 

Now for the grand disappointment. Kadizzle thought he could extend the bikeable part of the trail by cutting the logs, but he never checked to see how much good trail was left after the logs. Whoops, the answer was very little. So the work did not benefit the ebiker much, but at least it will make life better for the hikers. 

Over on the National Association blog you can read about Bondi the bitch. https://naftaoh.blogspot.com/

One more time the sun is coming up

The Town of Haves, Have-Nots, and the Hopelessly Unaware

Here we are again in the little town of the haves and the have-nots — and today, the battleground is a swimming pool.

Kadizzle woke up early, coffee in hand, and went straight to the letters to the editor. It was a good morning for common sense: the “normal people” made their case loud and clear. They understand that a new pool isn’t a luxury — it’s an investment in kids, families, and community.

But the MAGA dogs were barking too. The three stooges — Otto, Bell, and Ferris — have learned the old trick: appeal to the crowd that’s been left behind, stir up resentment, and sell fear instead of hope. They tell the struggling folks that a pool is just for “the rich,” as if kids from broken-down neighborhoods don’t need to learn to swim.

Then there’s the third group — maybe the most dangerous of all — the ones who just don’t care. These are the people who sleep through elections and wonder later how the Tea Party crowd took over their town council. While Fox News preaches about “the deep state,” the stooges follow the Trump playbook chapter and verse: distract, divide, and deceive.

Now the vote is near. Payson has no functioning pool, and the bond measure will show what kind of town this really is. Will the zombies of apathy rise again, or will the sane citizens of Payson finally say enough — and choose progress over paranoia?  A different spin over on the National Association blog.   https://naftaoh.blogspot.com/

Heritage - 'Working Man'

Old Kadizzle started his career as an underground coal miner. Have the utmost respect for coal miners. This song brings it out. 

Awake

Monday Morning Ignition

Kadizzle is awake. The ritual begins: coffee as starting fluid. One cup to get the mind humming, another to get the gears meshing, and by the third, the engine starts to sputter out a few thoughts. The New York Times provides the spark — a depressing reminder that democracy, like an old dragline at a coal mine, needs constant maintenance or the whole thing starts to slide back into the pit.

That image stuck this morning — the spoils slide. Back when Kadizzle worked at a surface mine, he watched how gravity never quits. Pile the overburden too high, and slowly, quietly, the dirt creeps back over what you worked so hard to uncover. That’s what’s happening to our freedom under Trump’s creeping dictatorship — a slow-motion disaster, inch by inch, while most people sip their coffee and don’t notice the ground moving beneath them.

Now it’s Monday, and the national erosion mirrors the local one. Two battles define the week in Payson:
the fight for a pool and the fight for power.

The MAGA three — Otto, Bell, and Ferris — are working overtime to hand over the Town Council’s authority to the city manager. It’s a power grab dressed up as “efficiency,” but it smells like Trump’s playbook — weaken the checks, centralize control, and make sure the lapdog barks on command. A local version of a national disease.

And then there’s the pool. The same stooges who scream “freedom” are doing their best to block the one thing this town’s kids desperately need — a place to swim. They’ve turned civic progress into a partisan war.

So yes, it’s Monday. Coffee’s gone cold, democracy’s still sliding, and Wednesday’s Town Council meeting will be one hell of a show. The question is: will the normal folks of Payson stand up and stop the slide before we’re all buried in the spoils?

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Help Find Red

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Looking for Red

Kadizzle met Red under some unusual circumstances—details classified until we meet in person. But here’s what matters: Red is a good guy, one of those people life has hit hard but who keeps pushing forward anyway. Like too many others, he’s been chewed up by the same system that props up Trump-style “bootstrap” fantasies—the kind that say, “If you’re struggling, it’s your fault,” while billionaires fly overhead in private jets.

Red’s trying to make an honest living. He’s got an electric bike, a small trailer, and a chainsaw. With that, he does fire-wising—clearing brush and trees around homes to reduce wildfire risk. Think about that: the guy’s out there helping protect our town from California-style infernos, one yard at a time, running on batteries and grit.

Kadizzle told Red he’d help him find a better gig. And believe it or not, it worked—fast. A kind local contractor, heading up a major fire-protection project south of town, said he’d be happy to bring Red on board.

But here’s the snag: the phone number Red gave doesn’t work. No answer, no voicemail, nothing. So now it’s a bit of a mission.

If you see Red—riding that electric bike with the little trailer and a chainsaw strapped on—tell him Mike’s looking for him. There’s a job waiting.

Maybe, just maybe, you can help close the loop on a small-town good deed.

Over on the National Association for the Advancement of Humanity blog:  A summary of a good presentation at the Donut meeting yesterday.   https://naftaoh.blogspot.com/

How to be a real manly man

“The Manhood Starter Pack” You ever notice how being a real man these days requires an accessories department?

First up — the truck.
Not just any truck — it has to sound like a collapsing oil rig every time you start it. If your exhaust isn’t rattling windows two counties over, sorry bro, you’re still in the beta version of manhood.

Then come the tattoos.
Nothing says “I’m comfortable in my own skin” like covering every square inch of it with flaming skulls and badly drawn eagles. Bonus points if your tattoo artist was also your probation officer.

Still not feeling tough enough? No problem.
Get a gun. Because nothing screams confidence like needing a weapon to pick up a rotisserie chicken at Safeway.

But wait, the kit’s not complete — you need a girlfriend.
Preferably one with matching tats, ripped jeans, and a PhD in eye-rolling. Her job is to sit on the back of your Harley while you rev the engine at red lights like a bull elk trying to impress a Prius.

And the truck — oh, you thought we were done with the truck?
Jack that thing up until you need a stepladder to get in. Those wheels should be visible from space. And don’t forget the giant American flag flapping off the tailgate — because nothing honors the flag like dragging it through the dust at 60 miles per hour while blasting Kid Rock.

Then it’s time to parade through town — exhaust roaring, testosterone leaking — because apparently the best way to prove you’re a man is to sound like your muffler’s having an emotional breakdown.

Congratulations, champ. You did it. You’ve achieved peak masculinity — king of the Applebee’s parking lot.
Now, if you’ll excuse us, the rest of the world’s going to quietly go about being men without needing a sound system, a weapon, or a sponsorship from Monster Energy.

Over on the other blog a good satire of Trump's lying about military recruiting.   https://naftaoh.blogspot.com/

The Whistledick erased my sign

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The Pool, the Stooges, and the Dingers

Payson desperately needs a new swimming pool. Everyone knows it. But the MAGA Three Stooges—Steve Otto, Jim Ferris, and Charlie Bell—would rather rile up the Tea Party crowd than do something good for the kids.

Their base? Folks living busted flat in ramshackle houses, forever convinced someone else is to blame for their problems. Funny how it’s never the casino vacuuming up their Social Security checks while the poor dog behind the chain-link fence goes hungry.

Kadizzle is for the pool. The dingers are against it. Simple.

So down at the park, Kadizzle set up a little whiteboard that read: Vote YES for the Pool. Nothing fancy, just leaning against a post. He went back to the car to watch. Sure enough, along comes a MAGA dinger, sporting the universal IQ test failure badge: an NRA hat.

Thinking no one was watching, the dinger started erasing the sign. That’s when Kadizzle strolled over.

“What are you doing?”

“You’re not allowed to put signs in the park,” the dinger huffed.

Kadizzle explained that, unless the town itself objected, it wasn’t his job to enforce sign policy. After all, the Jehovah’s Witnesses pitch their pamphlets there every day without incident. And the pool isn’t partisan—it’s not Republican or Democrat. It’s about whether kids get to swim in something cleaner than a mud puddle.

The argument cooled. Kadizzle asked the man if he was a grandfather. He was—nine grandkids.

“Then why,” Kadizzle asked, “would you oppose a pool for them?”

The dinger couldn’t quite say. He never admitted he was against the pool. He just felt obligated to erase the sign, like it was his sacred MAGA duty. Because in their world, opposing progress isn’t a choice—it’s a reflex. 

Over on the Association blog read about the macho men leading our country.   https://naftaoh.blogspot.com/

Get Over to the other blog.

Wow, a very good video on The National Association for Humanity blog . A good historian talks about comparing Trump to Hitler.  https://naftaoh.blogspot.com/

Hymn for the Crossing Listen to the words

Where is Red?

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Looking for Red

The sun came up once again, promising a day with near-perfect weather. The question is always the same: what to do with it?

For Kadizzle, today comes with a mission—and a bit of a mystery. Where is Red?

Red is one of those characters who lives on the edge. He does firewising around Payson with nothing more than an electric bike and a chainsaw. That’s his whole operation. He needs work, and Kadizzle managed to line up a job for him. The problem is finding him.

Red gave Kadizzle a phone number, but like so many things in his world, it doesn’t work anymore. Most likely the bill went unpaid. That’s the struggle of being essentially homeless, trying to keep yourself afloat with odd jobs and grit.

So maybe today’s task isn’t just another day under a perfect sky. Maybe today’s job is finding Red.

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