Republican math

Bored senseless Kadizzle decided to go shopping.  There really was nothing needed, but it was time to change out the twenty year old underwear.  Kadizzle found the underwear he liked but it was priced higher than Target was selling it for.  Then Kadizzle noticed the sign said if you bought two packs the second pack was half price.  That would bring the cost per pair of underwear down to $2.25.  That was better than Targets price, but there was a problem.  The store only had one pack.  Being cheaper than dirt Kadizzle thought up a scheme to get the reduced price with just one pack.  In the front of the store Kadizzle explained to the store manager that he wanted the sale price, but could not get it because there was no second pack for half price.  After some mental fumbling the manager said " Ok you can have that pack for the sale price ".  The math of two packs with one pack at half price comes out to $2.25 per pair.  Half price for one pack comes out to $1.33 per pair. The manager told the clerk to give Kadizzle half off the package of six. So Kadizzle got new undies for $1.33.

Now back to the math.  As Kadizzle walked out the door so did the manager. He got in his car with a Trump sticker.  The math was relatively simple, but the manager did not grasp it.  Trump gave 85% of his tax breaks to the rich.  Trump and the Republicans gave the working class some crumbs.  All the dingers know is they got something.  Trump's gang did it one better.  The working class tax cuts expire, but those he gave the corporations go on forever.  All the dingers know is they got a free sandwich.

Basic math is something dingers just have no grasp of.  If Mexico is going to pay for the wall, you should not have to pay anything.  So last night Trump explained to the idiots that the Democrats would not fund the free wall.  How does that work?  Dingers, you just say what you want to the dingers and they cannot do the most simple math.

Republicans know education just confuses people.  Math and Hoopleheads just don't mix.  On Kadizzles favorite Hooplehead radio station the Hooplehead are told median income went up.  The median went up, but the average did not do so well for working people. Hoopleheads don't know the difference between average, median, and the basic concept of statistics.   Statistics say you will loose at the Indian casino, but the Hoopleheads are sure they will win.  A con man knows how to fool simple minded people.  So on KFYR radio the sponsor sells pillows for $100.  The audience is ripe for gold scams and magic pillows.  How about some identity protection?  How much trust are you going to put in a radio station that thrives by selling adds to crooked vendors?  Well it works great in North Dakota. 

Here we go

You are walking among them. The people  you pass do not see what you see.  You see one thing, they see Fox News.  An amazing ability people have is to not see.  The people in the south did not see slaves a people.  They walked around every day thinking slavery was normalcy.  They walked around thinking buying and selling of humans was normal.  That is what humans can do. The can watch Fox News and believe Fox News. They can watch Donald Trump and believe Donald Trump.

In a couple of days Kadizzle will return to his home town of Wheeling, West Virginia.  A shameful act took place there last night.  The con man Donald Trump was in Wheeling doing his imitation of Hitler.  Sadly the people in the town Kadizzle grew up in ate every bit of the lying stew he cooked. One of the highlights of the speech was Trump giving a shout out to David McKinley.   David was in my older sisters class, and Kadizzle was in the boy scouts with him.  David had that Kavanaugh attitude of privilege which he has parlayed into Republican right wing politics. " On my honor.." Those were the words in the scout pledge.  What honor to be a suck up to Trump?  West Virginia has been in  a state of decline for decades.  The coal barons, and the Republicans have turned West Virginia into a colony.  Kadizzle now lives in North Dakota, another state being raped by the energy industry with the help of the Republicans.  It is the same tune played in West Virginia.  Buy the government, it is cheap, rob the resources, leave nothing behind.

In another month Kadizzle will be in Arizona.  What will he see?  He will see the multi million dollar homes of the people who struck it rich in North Dakota oil.  The money left, and the teachers in North Dakota are some of the poorest paid in the country, just like West Virginia.

Those people you walk among.  Those people who say Brett Kavanaugh was just a boy doing what boys always do.  Those people who love children, but don't mind a little rape.  Those people who you think see what you see, no they are beside you, but they don't see the same world.  They see every unfortunate person as a welfare cheat.  Why couldn't everyone be born to a rich mommy and daddy?

I am a self made man.  I made the interstate that got me to college, I made the school that taught me how to read,  I made the police department that protected me.  I did it all by myself.  No one helped.  So why can't all those poor welfare cheats do like I did and grow up in a nice neighborhood, go to a good school, and get the good jobs white kids get?  Donald Trump came up from nothing.  All he had was a rich daddy and a  few million his dad gave him to buy lunch. Now look, by lying, cheating, and misusing women he is a self made man that gives us all inspiration to see what dishonesty can do for you.

The dog obituary

Someday aliens will land and dogs will be running the planet.  What a species. Dog have trained humans to be their servants. Dogs do their part they provide some services. Cats are just worthless welfare cheats.  Poor old Shiny is having a hard time since her dog went to see the dog Jesus.  Shiny has decided to publish an obituary in the local paper for Rennee.

Kadizzle is bumbling around Hazen waiting to take off for home.  Home is Wheeling, West Virginia.  Trump will be in Wheeling tonight.  Many presidents have visited Wheeling, but never such a worthless rat like Trump. If anyone in Wheeling has the courage to stand up to the rat please honor the place by doing it.  West Virginia used to be such a bastion of Democrats.  How did it slip into a southern redneck state.  A guy I was in the scouts with is a Republican rat in West Virginia.  Many times I have wanted to contact him and ask what the hell? He is a legislator and has been quoted in the NYT.   Worst of all is my own brother.  Trump and his gang have been using my nephew in a money laundering scheme.  West Virginia has been beat down so badly by out of state robbers that now the people grasp at any lie.  Trump is there to fill the lie basket.  Kadizzle grew up on the tail end of decline.  As a ten year old the steel mills were still going.  The Ohio Valley was buzzing.  Now it is an industrial wasteland.  Kadizzle always remembers the time he called his little sister.  Kadizzle asked her " How is the economy doing back there?".  " Just fine" she said " We sell each other hamburgers".  Well Trump loves cheeseburgers so the economy should get a boost.

Mind Boggling

Kadizzle never understood religion.  To be religious you have to abandon all rational thought and just believe.  You believe what makes you comfortable.  You believe in a prize.  The Republican Party has become a religion. You just believe.  You believe someday you will be rich or you are rich.  Your prize is your cash.  Someone is out to get your prize.  That somebody is a poor person or a Democrat.  So you just believe. Your satan is taxes.  You just should not have to pay to help anyone but you.  This is what you want to believe.  Now all you need is someone to tell you the righteousness of your belief. No problem, along comes Donald and the gang.  You want to believe so bad you can overlook his con game.

The greed driven agenda of the Republicans takes it's toll on our society, but now it is doing it in a different way.  Look at the countries where women are hidden like ugly furniture.  That mentality is what the Republican Party has now made mainline with the blindness to the supreme court.  Republican politicians know you can make the Hoopleheads dance with abortion, guns, and the promise they will not have to pay taxes when they win the lottery.  Kadizzle has two daughters.  Republicans will sacrifice the freedom and safety of every woman in the country to get tax breaks for the rich.  My daughters and granddaughters mean more to me than a tax break. 

The saddest thing in this whole saga are the simple minded fundamentalist women who believe they are chattel.  Somehow Republican women just don't believe in themselves.  Praise be unto Jeeesus my girls don't buy that crap.  You don't step on Kadizzle's girls unless you want to get danced on by their boots.

Sadly Kadizzle awakens in a world run by old white goats driven wild by greed.  Look at their leader Donald Trump.  Trump the pussy grabber tells you all you need to know about how low Republicans can go. If the grabber gets them a tax break so what if he lacks an once of morality.

Preacher Jack - Boogie Woogie

A good laugh for the morning.

The Clown show

Watching Trump at his news conference drew Kadizzle in.  Trump as usual lied at random.  Seeing the con man call others con men took the cake.  If you listen to Trump for any period of time he will contradict himself constantly. First he loves China, then they are cheats.  Anyone who praises Trump is wonderful.  Anyone who disagrees with Trump is a loser and a low life. Trump first says the New York Times is going broke, then tells everybody how successful the NYT is because of the news buzz Trump creates.  The man is crazy, simply mentally ill.  How do adults looks at this performing clown and fail to see it? Watching Trump you realize he is incapable of any deep thinking process.  It seems Trump doesn't even know what he will say next.  At one point he said he deals with the world leaders who like him, and he has his staff take care of the ones that don't.   The man is simply insane.

A small tragedy

Reney went on to the dog Jesus.  Shiny's little dog died.  Kadizzle had stopped by Shiny's house and did not get the usual greeting by Reney, a lot of barking from a little dog.  Like a lot of older people Shiny was extremely attached to Reney.  It was like a marriage that worked.  Ray had a tiny dog he carried around in his coat all the time.  Jerry had Lizzie that was with him every moment.  There is something special between older people and dogs.  Jerry has a new dog Maggie.  Of course Maggie is with Jerry every moment.  These dogs are always treated like humans and the owners have no doubt they can interpret every word the dog says.

Dogs have a soothing effect.  A sad thing are the people who mistreat dogs.  There are slummers in Hazen who have dogs chained up in a cage.  Then there are some other slummers on the other extreme.  Kadizzle visited some slummers where the dogs were up on the cabinets and counters just like they were part of the landscape.  Kadizzle has no use for cats.  Sorry cat people.  Cats are useless and show no loyalty whatsoever.  Dogs usually stay on the floor, and that is fine, but when cats lick their butts then the butter Kadizzle looses his appetite.

Leonard Cohen - Everybody Knows (Live in Dublin - edited)

Fortunate Grandpa

Old Grandpa Kadizzle is a lucky man.  Kadizzle has two wonderful daughters with great husbands.  Does it get any better?  Yup, they both have nice girls.  Sylvie is a fun genius, and there is not doubt Evie will also be. Evie is just reaching the most fun age of two.  Sylvie is too close to teenage for comfort.  Erin pictured above complains that facial recognition identifies her as her dad.  Too bad kid.  Erin's gang is in Denver, and Cheech's gang is in Philadelphia.  Erin does public relations for a huge children's hospital in Denver, and Megan is a fashion designer for Anthropology.  Both of them were good students all along.  Of course they had some bumps growing up.  Erin suffered a very serious injury in high school while playing basketball that almost killed her. After losing a kidney in her accident she went on to help the track team win one more of many state championships. Megan lead the dance team to victory.  Usually at Thanksgiving we all get together somewhere in Arizona and have some good hiking.  Coming from a family of nine it seems strange to have these small families as offspring, but quality not quantity is our new goal.  Strangely both or maybe not both Sam and Fran work from home doing computer spaghetti all day. Fran does research for Microsoft and some other big companies.  Sam is an independent computer programmer.  Both are good dads and love their little girls.  Kadizzle will head to Philadelphia next week to see Meg, Sylvie, and Sam.  They are excited to move into their new townhouse.

Leonard Cohen - Dance Me to the End Of Love

John Prine - "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness" (Live)

Blaze Foley - Let me ride in your big Cadillac (The Dawg Years) sweet Jesus

Are you a democratic socialist?

What in the hell is socialism?  Hoopleheads confuse socialism with a lot of things.  Hoopleheads do not realize you can have democratic socialism.  Today the NYT ran a good article that allows you to determine if you are a democratic socialist.  Turns out that is what Kadizzle is.  Republicans insist socialism of any sort is communism.  Getting the Hoopeleads to believe that socialism and communism are the same thing has been a great success for the Republicans. If you get into a conversation with a Hooplehead they will turn out to be clueless about successful socialist countries.  If you present a Hooplehead with the facts it spins their mind.  The other day Kadizzle was talking to a Hoople about economic mobility.  The Hooplehead said there was no upward mobility in a socialist country.  Unfortunately the facts so do not support his claim.  There is more upward mobility in socialist countries than in our country.   Republicans know the best way to get Hoopleheads confused is to get them to believe that countries like Cuba or Venezuela are socialist countries.  The Republicans always point to the failures, never to the successes.  If it were humanly possible to get a Hooplehead to so some research the Hooplehead would find democratic socialist countries have better health care, education, life expectancy, and general happiness of the population.  Hoopleheads do not travel a lot so they have never visited a country that embraces sharing.  So the picture in their mind and the reality are vastly different. 

Now for the amazing part.  No state is more socialist than North Dakota.  North Dakota has a state owned bank, and elevator.  North Dakota has more cooperatives than you shake a stick at.   What is more socialistic than a cooperative?   Socialism is everywhere in North Dakota, yet the Hoopleheads think it is terrible. Socialism grew out of the depression. People realized the rich were taking them to the cleaners and realized they could subvert the capitalist who were exploiting them.  Remember the robber barons? Republicans greatest feat has been convincing people that sharing leads to evil.  This is contrary to the basic way humans came to exist.  Humans cooperated to hunt, to grow grain, and to protect themselves.  When humans share they thrive.   Socialism is nothing but sharing under a regulated system.  What happens when Republicans successfully defeat sharing. One percent of the population ends up with everything.

John Prine - Pretty Good

Traveling

Kadizzle usually does not do complicated travel, but here we go.  Bismarck to Chicago, to Pittsburgh, to Wheeling, back to Pittsburgh hop on the train to Philadelphia, then to Richmond back to Chicago and Bismarck.  Reservations, change reservations, get a car, which train station.  Make a reservation, cancel a reservation, change a reservation.  Now add Jasper Littlebottom mixing up your mind while you try to listen to menu choices on the phone.  So here Kadizzle sits on Friday morning with his head spinning.  Soon the coffee will kick in and off we go.

Now to the coffee.  Kadizzle ran across a youtube video that says coffee must be freshly roasted to get the best buzz.  Coffee is the second largest traded commodity in the world next to oil. 

Stopped and had a nice long conversation with the motorhead yesterday.  Motor said no facts will ever phase him.  Motor seems intelligent, but mystifying.  Kadizzle offered data and facts to Motor, but he said he likes his version of the world and will not change.  It is like speaking to a cult member.  The leader of the cult is an absurd man named Trump. The believers believe and that is all that matters.  We got into the deal with the supreme court judge.  Motor said boys will be boys.  Kadizzle like girls, but never remembers treating them like the judge supposedly did.  Kadizzle had six sisters.  Wonder if the judge had sisters.  Somehow it seems like if you had a sister you would never put your hand over a woman's mouth and grope her.  When you have six sisters with five of them older chances are you have whopped a few times by a sister and some respect has been driven into you for women.

Trump to Robert Mueller: 'It Wasn't Me' (w/ Shaggy) YOU ARE COMMANDED to WATCH

What next?

Kadizzle has a little change in his pocket from selling the sailboat.  What next? How about an adventure bike?  Wouldn't it be fun to buzz down the road and go where you want?  Take a tent, and a few other goodies, go up a dirt road to the top of a mountain the easy way.  Kadizzle is pushing 70 and the bucket list is burning. 

Well back to reality.  Read the NYT today.  A long detailed article on how Putin worked out election and brought us the dolt.  Looks like a rainy day, what do you do in Hazen ND on a rainy day.  Maybe straighten up the engine room.  In a week or two the Kadizzles will buzz East to hillbilly land.  We will get to see Cheech and her magic monkey. 

November is booming down on us.  Will the idiots prevail?  In North Dakota the prospect of the Hoopleheads remaining stupid is pretty certain.  Trump can steal their paycheck and health care and the Hoopleheads just yawn and vote for his gang again.  If the young and minorities would light a fire under their ass they could vote and restore our country.   With everyone's face plastered to a phone this is unlikely.

Fall is about to fall all over the place.  Littlebottom will become obsessed with leaves falling in the yard like they are land mines.  There is talk of frost and snow already.  Littlebottom has been putting the garden to bed.  The potatoes were huge, bigly, the biggest potatoes ever. 

Half an inch of water and you think you are going to drown

I know a man who's got a lot to lose
A pretty nice fella, kinda confused
Got muscles in his head that've never been used
He thinks he owns half of this town
He goes out drinkin' gets a big red nose
Beats his old lady with a rubber hose
Then he takes her out to dinner Buys her new clothes
That's the way that the world goes 'round

That's the way that the world goes 'round
You're up one day, the next you're down
It's a half-an-inch of water and you think you're gonna drown
That's the way that the world goes 'round

I was sittin' in the bathtub just countin' my toes
When the radiator broke, water all froze
I was stuck in the ice without my clothes
Naked as the eyes of a clown
I was cryin' ice cubes, hopin' I'd croak
When the sun came through the window, the ice all broke
I stood up and laughed, I thought it was a joke
That's the way that the world goes 'round

That's the way that the world goes 'round
You're up one day, the next you're down
It's a half-an-inch of water and you think you're gonna drown
That's the way that the world goes 'round

That's the way that the world goes 'round
You're up one day, the next you're down
It's a half-an-inch of water and you think you're gonna drown
That's the way that the world goes 'round

Songwriters: John Prine

A good group

Nothing creates unity and perhaps friendship like a common cause.  Last night all the sailors got together for the annual pirates party.  Nice to see everyone.  Kadizzle and Littlebottom have made a lot of good friends over the years by sailing. When a group of people go out on the water together they depend on each other.  If you call for help you want someone to respond.  Sailing takes cooperation, not just on the boat, but on shore.  People work together to build the fire,  tie the boats to shore, anchor, and even navigate.  When a mechanical problem crops up all the expertise is brought to bear.  There is something special about sailing and sailors.  No matter where you are when you meet another sailor a common bond comes up.  Storms are great equalizers.  When everyone is in a big blow the weather gods don't care how much money you have or how big your boat is. It is the same wind for everyone.  We are all in this together, that is the common bond.

You can't run from trouble in a sailboat.  In a power boat when things get bad you run home, you don't have to hunker down with your friends.  Sailors go out and explore, they go out and sail.  Kadizzle has sailed for many years, and rarely do the big power boats get far from the dock.  A sailor has a different mentality.  A sailor overcomes problems with skill not money.  A sailor has to cooperate with nature, not overcome it.

The Sovereign is gone

Today will be like sending a kid off to college. The good ship Kadizzle has sailed on Lake Sakakawea for the last time.  The boat is on the trailer two guys brought from California.  Today the mast will come down and the ship will take off by land for the Pacific.  Kadizzle sold the boat way to cheap, but made a strange deal.  Kadizzle had told Stroupini he could have the boat for free if he moved it to the Northwest.  The new owner intends to do that.  First the boat will go to California where the new owner will work on it all winter and put it in tip top shape. Then it will be moved hopefully to Port Townsend.  That is perfect for Kadizzle since Stroupini has a boat there.  The boat deal entitles Kadizzle to use the Sovereign in the Northwest, plus Kadizzle will be able to use the new owners other boat in the Channel Islands off California.  So up to the lake and down with the mast.

Next summer the Kadizzles will embark on a new lifestyle.  More than likely it will be traveling with the camper and getting more exercise.  Jasper Littlebottom is back from her 256 mile hike. There is not much left of her she is down to skin and bones.  Kadizzle likes her a little more quilted.  With Littlebottom back Kadizzle now has adult supervision. 

Kadizzle in his uniform for the Crazy Club annual meeting

Act like nothings wrong

Kadizzle has a song in his collection titled " Act like nothings wrong".   The planet is cooking, but Republicans act like nothing is wrong.  How's that working?  Texas gets blasted, Puerto Rico gets blasted, now the East coast.  Act like nothing is wrong.  Blame it on volcanos or maybe Hillary.  Burn some more coal.  Drive some bigger cars and pickup trucks.  Act like nothing is wrong.  How many times has that worked for you?  Don't go to see the doctor, act like nothing is wrong.  Vote for Donald Trump, then act like nothing is wrong.  Go to church then vote Republican, act like nothing is wrong.  Keep in mind when you act like nothing is wrong you are fooling two people, yourself and someone else.  Rarely does the act like nothings wrong approach work.  Kadizzle remembers when his daughter came home and said the car was steering funny.  She was trying the act like nothing is wrong solution.  The front right tire was flat.  Plane crashes have been caused by act like nothings wrong.  Now we have a country with Trump as president and we are acting like nothing is wrong.

Read Thomas Friedman in NYT Today

Kadizzle reads parts of the New York Times every day.  No other newspaper compares.  The NYT does real research, hires real journalist, and does real fact checks.  The NYT is the extreme opposite of Fox News.  The truth is a nuisance to Fox News.  If you want to be stupid there is one sure way to do it.  Just read and watch things you agree with.  If you start to get information that changes your mind quick quit reading. 

At some point when you get a new fribble or electronic kadidalator you may be forced to read the instructions.  You do it because you do not understand.  What good would it do to read instructions that told you everything you were doing wrong was right?   That is Fox News in nutshell.

One simple thing that Kadizzle has done in life is watch intelligent people and see how they conduct their life.  Intelligent people don't watch Fox News.  Many people confuse intelligence with memory.  You can have a good memory and be a doctor, a lawyer and a host of other things, but that is not intelligence, that is the ability to repeat.   Real intelligence stems from logic.  If you are incapable of logic you have a serious problem.  Here is a simple case of logic.  Some dinger is on the radio or television and they are going to sell you gold.  The tell you gold will appreciate quicker than cash.  So why would they sell you the gold to get cash?  It is pretty simple, they don't believe what they are saying.  No one possessing logic would fail to see Donald Trump is mentally ill, or at best a scoundrel and a liar, yet the same people buying the gold vote for Trump.

"Even a blind hog will root".  Because you see stupid people who have been successful that means nothing.  If a flock of ducks flies over and your gun goes off accidentally and you shoot one that does not mean you are a good shot.  The Fox News crowd cannot understand the concept of cause and effect.  Trump and his gang of mafia members knows how to exploit the gullibility of the crowd.  Trump keeps saying " I am the biggest, I am the greatest, I can do everything biggly" . His lying is endless, and his followers never question it.  Trump capitalizes on taking credit for things he never did.  The dolts eat it up.

3,000 people died in Puerto  Rico and Trump said it was a great success.  Trump gave the rich 85% of the tax breaks and told the busted flat blue collar workers it was a success.  Now back to the NYT read Thomas Friedman's article today.  Friedman talks about heating the house by burning the furniture.  That is Trump, but the dingers are warm and happy.

The Russians left

Kadizzle just checked the statistics on this blog.  Sadly it appears most of the Russians left.  Kadizzle is down to just 7 Russians following the blog.  Even the Russians hiding under the "Unknown" category have dwindled.  What did Kadizzle do to make you Russians mad?  Kadizzle knows you like the Trumpster, and Kadizzle doesn't but that is no reason to leave.  So you Russians that are still with me tell the other guys Kadizzle is sorry and to come on back.  To make up for the sins Kadizzle is inviting all Russians to come to North Dakota and stay at our house free.  If you Russians are going to mess with our Hoopleheads you should come see them. They are nice people, but you can make them dance with simple minded propaganda.  Once you get to see the Hoopleheads and see how they love KFYR radio, and Fox News you will see how easy your job of manipulating them is.  Come to Hazen we got real NRA dupes, we got Trump idiots everywhere.  You can meet the people you are playing for fools and Kadizzle will feed you while you get to see first hand what a country bumkin looks like.  It will be so much fun when you tell the Hoopleheads in a Russian accent you are not interfering with our democracy.  Since Trump loves Putin, you can be assured you will have a warm welcome.  The Hoopleheads believe anything Trump says, and if Trump says he likes a good dictatorship so do the Hoopleheads.  You can tell the Hoopleheads you are here to see how our country is recovering from Hillary and Obama.  Hoopleheads are like little children, they are so easy to fool. Maybe you can go to a Trump rally or a Cramer town hall and see idiocy in action.  Maybe we can send some Hoopleheads to Russia you can experiment on.  You can tell them lies and see how easy it is to get them to believe the lies.  Trump told the Hoopleheads they would get a tax break. He gave them a dime and the rest went to his rich buddies.  It worked.  Trump said he would build a wall, there is not even a chicken wire fence, but the Hoopleheads believe the Democrats are the ones who stopped his wall that Mexico was going to pay for.  If Trump can fool the Hoopleheads surely you can.  So have fun with our next election.  You sure ruined the last one.

“Those who can make you believe in absurdities, can make you commit atrocities” Voltaire

Honest Omar weighed in with a nice quote that sums up the Republican Party.  "Those who can make you believe absurdities...."  The absurdity that you can give the rich money and it will make you money.  The absurdity that Trump tells the truth.  The absurdity that Russians are meeting with our president and he admires Putin.  On it goes.  Republicans believe these absurdities and the atrocities have been committed. The tax break for the rich has bankrupted our country.  Trump has divided the county much to the delight of the Russians.  Health care and social security are being destroyed.

Ignorance has been weaponized.  Ignorance runs deep in our country and mining it is no problem for KFYR radio, Fox News, and the Republican Party.  Blue collar workers are ripe for exploration.  They know they are being cheated out of the work they do, but they don't know who to blame.  Republicans accuse the poor of being the enemy of the working class. This is an absurdity.  When you look for the guy who robbed the bank do you think he is living under a bridge?  That is absurd, but that is the Republican line, and the working people who voted for Trump and Cramer bought it. When you vote against your own self interest it is an atrocity, when Trump destroys the economy, the environment, and the future it is an atrocity. 

The Neighbor

Do you remember the remedigus? That is almost a daily routine for Kadizzle.  Kadizzle hops on his bike, the electric bike, or maybe even the car. Walking just does not get it.  One guy on the remedigus is a motor head.  They guy did not go to college, but he reads a lot.  Not sure he reads the right stuff. He told Kadizzle to read a book called Origins.  Now the book is by the guy who rote the Da Vinci Code.  Kadizzle has undertaken the task figuring it could add to the discussions with the motor head. The book centers around the question is who are we, where did we come from, and so on.

Last night Kadizzle told Jasper he was reading the book. First Jasper Littlebottom was amazed Kadizzle was even reading a book, but then she chided him for reading such a cheap trashy book. She may be right. The book is just a book that plays on easy thought.

Anyway Kadizzle is reading the book to see if there is some hint of a philosophical implication in it he can discuss with Mr. Motor.  Mr. Motor is a puzzle.  He seems very intelligent, but seems like he could have done well with a good education.  The saddest thing is Mr. Motor is both a Republican and a Trump supporter.  So the puzzle is how can a person with a good brain do such a thing.  Mr. Motor outright informed Kadizzle that he was immune to facts.  Mr. Motor is fun to talk to and we have some good conversations we both enjoy. Both of us are on complete opposite sides of the political world, but that is what makes it fun.  Mr. Motor's son just cannot understand how people can have such opposite views and be such friends.  Motor junior cannot tolerate Kadizzle's views.  Motor junior feels if you disagree with someone you are calling them stupid.  Stupid is not a good word.  Kadizzle prefers the term ill informed.  Now you can be informed by Fox News or some of the other right wing propaganda.  Indeed there is left wing propaganda.  In the end numbers don't lie, but the numbers can certainly be polished and manipulated, but in the end there is data.  The question is what does the data mean?   Scientist analyze data and come to conclusions based on the data.  Left or right once you depart from reality the game is over. Once you refuse to look at data or if you prefer facts the train is off the track. Now this is he puzzle.  How can a person who is a very good mechanic, which means he is analytical, how can that person be so boneheaded as to refuse to see the evidence clearly in front of him.  This gets us to religion.  Religion as it is commonly practiced makes no sense, yet sensible people follow it.  Why?   Reality often is not comforting, fantasy is.  Sylvie has a teddy bear named Chip. Chip is just a stuffed bear, but Chip brings Sylvie a lot of comfort.  Republicans bring the ill informed comfort. If you buy the Republican line, you get comfort knowing there are others. If you are a blue collar person you know you got a raw deal.  If someone comes along and make you feel they are with you, you like it, and you will believe.  Makes no difference if hat someone lies, you like the lies.  Makes no difference if the person is illogical he is poking the people you don't like in the face.  You don't like intellectuals.  You don't like the government. 

So a couple times a week we go back and forth.  Kadizzle gave motor man a well researched article written by 12 historians.  Each historian was assigned several presidents to analyze how crooked they were.  The conclusion was Trump is far and away the most crooked, lying president ever.  Now Kadizzle has not seen Motor man since he gave him the article.  Mr. Motor is different, he will read the article.  Most hard core conservatives would simply refuse to read anything that might penetrate the concrete surrounding their mind.  The usual response is "That is from the New York Times, I will not read it".  These are the people who found a round Earth a big problem. Kadizzle wants to hear Motor's reaction, but it is predictable.  The research was done by educated people, and you know we cannot trust them, they are all liberals.  Even if Trump is nuts, a mental midget, and the worst president of all time,  he is making the right people mad, so lets support him as he destroys the world.

Don't Trust the weather guys

Hopefully when marijuana is legalized in North Dakota the weather forecast will be better.  Kadizzle took off by himself west on the lake yesterday.  It was supposed to be a strong wind from the East.  Ya sure ya betcha.  It turned out to be a light wind that hardly moved the boat at any speed.  With another boat Kadizzle anchored in Moose Bay.   All the winds were predicted to come from the East, but of course the wind came from every direction and meant bobbing on the anchor would be a problem.  The first place Kadizzle chose to anchor he should have stuck with.  Nope.  Kadizzle was a little concerned about how close he was to the other boat that chose to tie up to shore.  Kadizzle moved the Sovereign which turned out to be grounding number one.  The wind switched and another move was in order.  With total darkness one more move and one more grounding.  The wind came out of the North.  The final anchor set  worked almost all night with one slight need to turn the motor on.  Falling asleep just did not seem to occur.  So here we sit with a very strong wind coming from what seems to be due East. The weather guys promised South.  All this means it is going to be a tough slog going back to the marina.  If the wind would only go South as they promised it would be a sleigh ride.  Such is sailing.  This will be made worse by single handing the good ship. Just getting the anchor up with no help will be fun.

Wow

Any person with a reasonably functioning brain can see Donald Trump has serious mental problems.  It is amazing the people who are blind to his acts of insanity, his lying, and his conniving.  Then there are those who say " What the hell he still makes good pancakes".   The recent revelations that their are some courageous people protecting us from his insanity in the White House is both shocking and comforting.  Kadizzle's first thought on hear about all this is what about the possibility the nut case we have for president starts a nuclear war.  The man clearly has the mind of a sixth grader.  Would you trust a nuclear bomb or a thousand nuclear bombs to a sixth grader.  Sadly Trump is dumber than most sixth graders.  Making excuses for the idiot just does not get it. 

The whole thing reminds Kadizzle so much of one of his favorite stories.  Back in Hillbilly land an old hillbilly had the habit of going out in the yard every morning and acting like a chicken.  He would flap his arms and act like he was laying eggs.  The neighbor complained to the man's wife.  Mrs. Hillbilly explained to the the neighbor " He is harmless, and besides we could use the eggs".  This so much is how Republicans react to Trump's  insanity.

A walking man

Kadizzle drove north yesterday to check the good ship.  On the way he saw a bearded bedraggled fellow walking south.  Since Kadizzle owed the universe for his good luck hitch hiking on Orcas Island he thought he might be able to repay the universe by giving the bum walker a ride.  Tobby said he did not hitch hike, but he accepted rides.  Kadizzle explained he would come by in about an hour and the bum walker should take 1806 because it was the shortest route.

On the way home there was the bum walker up ahead.  Strangely he was walking away from the road on some mission.  As Kadizzle pulled up Tobby was excited about the horse radish he found by the road.  When providing people with a ride it is best to figure out how insane they are so the first step is the FBI interview.  This consist of a series of questions to determine how far from reality the passenger is.  Earlier in the first encounter there had been some Jesus talk by Tobby.  Too much Jesus is never good.  After some conversation it was determined Tobby had his own version of religion which was a mix an match and involved a lot of confusion.  Off to Hazen we headed.  The gauge that determines how crazy or dangerous someone is kept moving about.  On the way to Hazen we talked philosophy.  Kadizzle of course made sure Tobby was not infected with any kind of Republican ideas or a Trump supporter.  Tobby seemed to be safe enough to take home and feed.  Kadizzle told Tobby he could graze in the garden.  Tobby picked beans, peppers, dug up some potatoes, and pulled some chives.  Provided with a frying pan, cutting board, and olive oil, Tobby cooked up a nice combination of vegetables on the grill.  Kadizzle debated how hospitable he should be with Tobby in his mind.  As we sat in the shade Tobby talked about flouride, and chemtrails, both bizarre topics of people out of touch with reality.  Tobby had already explained earlier how he could not work because workers were all slaves.  Now this is true, but everyone has to eat, even slaves.  At one point Tobby pulled a bunch of stuff out of his pocket he had found along the road.  Strangely he gave Kadizzle a headlamp for camping that Kadizzle had been wanting, along with a bunch of new fishing lures that Kadizzle would give to the fishing kid.  We agreed that our meeting was more than chance and that some power in the universe had brought us together.  Kadizzle seemed to have some success dissuading Tobby that his paranoid ideas were a little too far out.  Like so many who take the easy way out Tobby blamed some strange group that controls the world for all problems.  Smart people exploiting stupid people is all you need to know Kadizzle explained to Tobby.  Some progress seemed to be made getting Tobby on a better mental path.  After we had our garden vegetables Kadizzle took Tobby to the thrift store for him to pick out a winter bum suite.  Kadizzle offered to let Tobby sleep in the back yard in his tent.  The house has to be kept pristine because it is for sale.  Tobby declined and said he would walk to Beulah and stay in the park.  His short term goal was to walk to Billings.  So one bum parted with another and life goes on.

Back on a different planet.

Traveling about each section of the country seems like a different planet.  Back here in Trump land things are quiet.  People in our area are scared about the lignite coal industry going down the tube. Although Trump promised coal jobs it just ain't happening. The layoffs in Mercer county have begun and may get worse. Reality has a way of sneaking in.  The Kadizzles are stuck here the house will not sell, no one is interested. The silly Trumpites keep believing in the cult leader.  Trump can bring back the horse and buggy, and we can make buggies again.  Our area is built on lignite coal. Lignite coal is about the worst coal in the world. Only peat is worse.  We like to believe Jesus is coming back, and you can burn lignite in some magic way that works without pollution.  Now we do have one minor problem. It is called natural gas.  This terrible stuff is coming out of the ground almost by itself. Guess what? It burns far cleaner and more efficiently than coal, but lets not admit that, lets just pretend life can go on as always and Jeeesus will help us burn coal.  Dreams are what North Dakota runs on.  The great boondoggle of ethanol goes on.  Why not turn corn into gasoline.?  This idea is about as dumb as the clean coal dream. We could heat the house by burning my dirty socks.  Why not?   All we have to do is produce enough dirty socks.  You can sell the Hoopleheads on any goofy idea.  KFYR radio will broadcast any simple minded idea to the faithful until they believe it.  Trump does not lie, and he is Jesus answer to sin.  Just join the cult and get it over with. Yesterday Kadizzle was with an old alcoholic.  The ex drinker was belittling people still addicted to something as the a cigarette smoked from the mouth.  "Aren't you addicted to cigarettes " Kadizzle asked?  " All old drunks smoke" was the reply.   So just drink the cool aid and enjoy.

Sixty miles to go.

Jasper Littlebottom has sixty miles left to complete her 220 mile hike on the John Muir Trail.  Littlebottom seems to be doing well when she phoned in a report today.   Kadizzle will get home and get some exercise on the electric bike.  Seems like cheating.  Electric bikes are catching on even in Bismarck.  A few friends have them there and love them.  Here in Denver Kadizzle got to see a lot of electric scooters in action.  Almost rented one.

Amazing Performance

A good day in Denver.  Kadizzle and his daughter Erin served beer at the "Taste of Colorado" festival.  It was for a good cause, mothers against gun violence.  The highlight of the stay was last nights performance of the Broadway hit Hamilton.   The whole play was put on in Erin's living room.  Sylvie and Erin did an amazing performance.  Sylvie knows every word, and completely knows how to dance the entire thing.  If you saw ten year old Sylvie do her act you would know as Kadizzle does she is a genius.  It was just stunning to see Sylvie jump up on a chair and do a solo.  The two offspring were amazing.  What a way to learn History.  Sylvie does not want old Grandpa to go back to Hazen on the plane today, but such is life. 

Denver was abuzz with people yesterday.  There was some sort of Comic Con convention and throngs of weirdly dressed people were running about town in bizarre costumes.  Walking down the street had the feeling of being on another planet.

When the rodent dies

Niggifiddles

Niggifiddles come in various  sizes and degrees of severity.  Your classic niggifiddle has an obsessive, compulsive disorder, or some other mental problem that makes them dwell on some insane thing.  A good niggifiddle will always be worrying about something.  Most niggifiddles have to have everything spotless all the time and are obsessed with dirt, crumbs, little strands of hair or anything out of place. Having everything in exactly the right place is one thing niggies love.  A good niggie will notice a crumb on the floor from fifty feet away.  Some niggifiddles love pending disasters.  What about an earth quake? Why not worry about an earthquake?

Kadizzle gets nervous around niggifiddles.  If a crumb were to drop from his slovenly eating it could cause a niggiefiddle untold distress.  Kadizzle's mother in law was a niggiefiddle. Kadizzle would sit down with a glass of water or something to drink.  If he was not beside it for and instant the niggiefiddle would take the water glass quickly back to the kitchen. A niggiefiddle could never go to bed with dishes in the sink.  Jasper Littlebottom has some niggiefiddle disorders.  Kadizzle likes to keep the garage door open when he is working about the yard.  Jasper cannot stand to have the door open, so the door is going up and down all day. 

Every niggiefiddle is different.  Niggiefiddles love a life of order. That means every day you get up read the paper, turn on the TV and try to make the day just like the one you had yesterday.  Anything out of order is a crisis. If the garbage man does not show up on time life is just not the same.

One amazing quality of Niggiefiddles is they can imagine dirt.  A niggie imagines dirt everywhere.  Guarding against dirt is often the most important thing in a niggies life.  There is always dirt, or germs hiding somewhere waiting to get you. Just as niggies make slobs nervous, so do slobs make niggies nervous.  When a slovenly person comes into a niggies house the niggiefiddle is constantly on edge. What will the slob do?  Will the slob take off his shoes? Will the slob put a glass down on the table without a napkin?  Niggies can smell things.  Recently a niggie said her husband smelled. Kadizzle notices nothing, but the niggie said she could detect a bad odor from her husband at some distance.  Strangely her husband is a neat, well dressed man, but according to her he smells.  Niggiefiddles are always paranoid about the air. There is usually something wrong with the air.  One must always be on guard for bad air.

A good niggie is constantly on the look out for that magic thing out of place.  Stoupini came in the house with a leaf that fell from his shoe.  An ordinary person would not have noticed it for days, but the niggie was right on it.

Something is not right or something is going to get me.  If we could only stay in our cocoon life would be so much better. There is always a wolf at the door.