Republican view of Jesus

A man was arrested by authorities, sent to trial, and sentenced to death—his name was Jesus. Many claim he’s an innocent man, but the facts speak for themselves:

Jesus was a thug, a homeless wanderer prone to substance abuse (he had a prior record of producing wine). Jesus caused riots wherever he went. He was a gangbanger with a long history of crime, but that’s not surprising considering his upbringing.

Jesus was inherently violent and a danger to society.  Even though he spoke eloquently, given his status, how could anybody take his message seriously as long as he continued to protest and use disruptive methods like overturning tables and disturbing the peace?

Besides, people like Jesus are naturally lazy. Don’t they have better things to do, like get a job and work? I wish I had time to rest, “pray,” and hang out in gardens. If only they worked harder, then they could succeed. Talk of oppression and injustice is just an excuse for bad behavior. I personally know of many Jewish people, like Jesus, but who are successful. In fact, one of my best friends is Jewish, and he agrees that race and systemic oppression aren’t issues.

All that talk of oppression? People need to stop living in the past and come to grips with reality. You can’t use history as an excuse for everything, forever. There is such a thing as personal responsibility. Everyone’s family lineage has a history of pain, suffering and loss; the rest of the world overcame these obstacles, so why can’t you?

I wish I had time to rest, “pray,” and hang out in gardens.

The Romans raised taxes on me last year, so I know what it’s like living under authoritarian rule. But you don’t see me going around and instigating fights, complaining, and demanding that people worship someone other than Caesar, do you?

I’m being racist? I’m not racist. How could I be? I have many friends who are minorities, and I would never judge people by their race, ethnicity, or skin color. It doesn’t matter that Jesus was Jewish, because I see all humans as the same and treat everyone equally. I hate it when people pull out the race card. Why does it always have to be about race? Can’t people just admit that Jesus broke the law and did something wrong? The authorities were following protocol. They didn’t do anything illegal, and despite the liberal agenda being pushed by the media, political radicals, and religious fanatics, the soldiers did everything by the book.

If Jesus had done what the soldiers asked instead of trying to resist, perhaps things would have ended better for him. Most Roman soldiers are good people, and although there are a few “bad apples,” they do a decent job of keeping the peace. They have stressful responsibilities, constantly serving our communities, and putting their lives in danger, so why does Jesus think he can just do whatever he wants and not obey their commands? Roman soldiers’ lives matter, too!

We live in a post-oppression era, blessed to have the best justice system in the entire world, and our society is the most civilized in existence. I wish people would stop complaining about the authorities—we may not be perfect, but ours is the most democratic of any empire. And if you don’t like it you can go live with the Barbarians.

Also, if you’re in the Garden of Gethsemane during that hour of the day, you’re obviously up to no good. Jesus was practically a terrorist. He was caught with an armed party that would like nothing more than to commit crimes and kill innocent people.

So those claiming Jesus was innocent didn’t see all of the evidence. Were they there? Did they attend the trial? No? Exactly. Let’s give the law the benefit of the doubt instead of buying into these rumors and conspiracy theories being spread by Jesus’ friends.

I know it’s hard for some people to admit, but the Romans did the right thing. Jesus was guilty and deserved to die. The way I see it, justice was served.

Stephen Mattson is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute and is currently on staff at the University of Northwestern, St. Paul. You can follow him on Twitter @mikta.

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How does prayer work?

Up early Kadizzle discovered on the Facebook there is or was a fire in Beulah, the next town down the line.  It came to Kadizzles attention because someone wanted people to fire out some prayers for Beulah.  Praying just makes no sense.  It seems to be based on the idea that you can ask god for a favor. You have a friend dying from cancer so you pray for them.  God please don't kill my friend.  Now this brings up the obvious question. Why did god want to kill your friend in the first place?  Well maybe he did not, or she did not if god is a woman.  OK, maybe god did not know your friend had cancer and you just wanted to let him know.  Now if you are asking god to do something to prevent suffering it clearly implies god can prevent suffering.  If someone was beating a dog you should not have to ask them to quit. If they were a good person they would not be beating the dog.  So this is the problem either god can stop things or he cannot. Why do you have to ask god to stop evil if he can do it without you asking?  Makes absolutely no sense.  No if it is just a matter of bringing something to god's attention then it should work every time.  Maybe god has a plan that includes burning down Beulah, and you just know about the plan.  So you are asking god to change his plan.  This must mean god is not a very good planner.  None of this makes a bit of sense.  When you think about god things get strange.  God apparently likes statues, large crosses, and best of all huge churches.  God seems a lot like a Republican that can never get enough.  The Mormons always try to build a better temple for god.  The radio preachers always say god needs more money.  Football teams pray.  Apparently god is a football fan and you can get him to help your team.  God surely has his reasons for doing things. Maybe he gets pissed off and lets us elect Donald Trump.  Of course there is the old saying be careful what you pray for you may get it.  Kadizzle does not do much praying.  Seems to Kadizzle god knows what he wants to do and he ain't going to listen to Kadizzle.  Maybe god likes Kadizzle because he is not always bugging him.  God has not been too bad to Kadizzle, so Kadizzle will just keep on letting god do his god stuff, and Kadizzle will keep on being a sinner.  Now the one nice thing god did come up with was the forgiveness thing.  It is like a lifetime warranty.  You can be the meanest nastiest person that ever lived and if at the last moment you repent you get a free ride.  Now that is a deal.  What car company would say you could be the hell out of your car, and they would replace it free?  So the world is a strange place.  God is up there at the switchboard answering calls.  Most of them he ignores.  Sometimes god must get pissed and let us elect a Trump or a Kevin Cramer.  On the other hand God might say" I have had enough of Kadizzle.  There is Kadizzle out on his sailboat,  here Kadizzle try a little lightening".  Puff, fried Kadizzle, no more blasphemy.

Wind power destroyed our sailing trip.

Mrs Kadizzle and Old Kadizzle took off down the lake for the weekend.  On Friday there was little or no wind.  Now why was this the case.  The answer is simple.  The wind towers are draining the wind supply.  Someone must have shut down the towers and the wind was up and down as we sailed toward Butcher Bay.  Then on Sunday there was a pretty good wind most of the day and we had a nice sail back.  Obviously the kite industry is in peril if North Dakota continues to build wind towers.  North of Hazen a large wind farm is planned.  Now what is a wind farm?  It implies you grow wind, but experience has clearly shown these so called farms actually suck the wind out of the air.  So here we sit with a drought and people wonder why. Wind is what moves the clouds.  With no wind the clouds cannot move the rain.  So we have no rain.  Who is behind the destruction of the wind? We all know it is the liberals and their environmental nonsense.

The same liberals are promoting solar power.  Of course this is a scheme to suck up the sunshine. Once the liberals have their way and solar panels are everywhere the days will become bleak without sunshine.  These panels will draw the power from the sun.  What happens when you draw on a battery too much?  You deplete it.  Given enough solar power the sun will more than likely dim.  No more tan, no more nice blue skies, a duller moon.

How did Kadizzle figure all this out?  First Kadizzle was home schooled and learned real science with a good dose of creationism mixed in.  Kadizzle avoided college.  This helped keep him from getting confused by the ideas liberals spread at colleges.  Freed from traditional learning and public schools Kadizzle has been free to explore the real science of the Bible.  The Bible clearly has a different science where virgins can give birth, people can rise from the dead, and even walk on water.  Good education must embrace biblical science.   Liberals don't want us to know they are stealing the wind and the sun, so they fight god all the time and try to keep him out of the school system.  It is all very simple if you watch Fox and listen to Rush you will understand what is being said.

Kadizzle weighs 23 slugs

Weight and mass are not the same thing.  Kadizzle has been trying to learn the difference. The easiest way to get it into his thick head is to go to the moon.  On the moon Kadizzle would have the same mass, but weigh one sixth what he weighs on Earth.  In the course of getting smarter about this Kadizzle came to learn that in the English weight and measurement system the mass is measured in slugs.  So the mass of Kadizzle is 23 slugs. That explains why life seems so sluggish, especially in the morning.

Often one sees words differently when you find out some of the different meanings.  Slug must have something to do with slog.  A favorite word of Kadizzle is lickspittle.  In our current political climate the word lickspittle is so apt.  No one ever created so many lickspittles as Trump.  A good definition of lickspittle is " a fawning toadie".   Everyone has come across a lickspittle.  The old teacher's pet is a classic example.  In North Dakota we have Congressman Kevin Cramer.  No matter what idiotic thing the old Trumpster does Cramer tries to glorify it.  Each lickspittle has their own lickspittles behind them. Cramer has KFYR radio, and Rob Port.  KFYR and Port are so enamoured with Cramer because he knows how to use them.  They act like personal friends, and have Cramer on their media every day.

Organizations run on the lickspittle concept are doomed.  There is no creativity in the lickspittle world.  When the supreme leader says something is a good ideal, there is no challange. The lickspittles just sing the same song the fearless leader does.

Some people love the role of lickspittle.  Being a fan, a follower, or a lackey gives the lickspittle some kid of joy.  I am no body, but I know somebody who is somebody.  Wow, what a life.

Fat man rides to lake, Who reads this nonsense?

There it is the sun.  Like so many days it came up again. Kadizzle returned yesterday from a solo sail to Moose Bay. It was relaxing and the wind God's cooperated both ways.  Realizing he is a tub of lard Kadizzle plans to ride up to the lake once more today on the pedal machine.  Simple minded dinger will go by in cars.  The simple minded ones will refuse to move over and give Kadizzle some breathing room. There are people who think the lines in the middle of the road are a brick wall they cannot cross. So the dinger miss you by inches and someday Kadizzle will get killed or smacked by a rear view mirror because of a dinger.

Every once in a while Kadizzle is surprised to find out who is reading this nonsense.  A woman in Florida reads this sometimes.  I think her name might be Nancy.   A guy out in the country here in Hazen is a follower.  Glad to have you aboard.  This blog is like Seinfeld.  It is about nothing.  Random thoughts come into the attic on this body.  With little thought they go out.  Now keep in mind this elucidation is written quickly and with no plan.  Coffee serving number two is beside men and the only time this old mind even half functions is early in the morning and at three in the middle of the night.  Last night like so many nights Kadizzle awoke at three A.M.   Perhaps Mrs. Kadizzle kicked him. At any rate the mind became so active Kadizzle struggled to go back to sleep.  He should have stayed awake he ran a truck over a cliff in the dream.  At three in the morning the mind wants to contemplate the nature of the universe.

So now the decrepit body is awake.  Like every morning Kadizzle get up to date.   On the update list is always The New York Times.  Republicans hate the New York Times and that is why every thinking person should read it.  Paul Krugman is a columnist.  Mr Krugman cuts through the right wing economic lies with a sharp knife.  Unlike so many news outlets the New York Times hires the best writers and actually spends money for research.  If you want to experience realty The New York Times and NPR are your best bets.  On the other hand if you like the world of fog and fantasy give Fox News a try.  Fox will support any right wing goofy idea you might want to grow.  As they say the truth has a liberal bias.

Well if Kadizzle can get his ass in gear the lake adventure will start.  If you hear about a man smacked by a car and getting the socialist crap knocked out of him that will be Kadizzle.  You will see a greasy spot on the road caused by the slippery ideas that got squeezed from his head by a guy that just could not move over.

A different world

Kadizzle needed sailboat crew yesterday.  Kadizzle recruited a young guy to go with him.  The young guy fits the profile of a lot of typical people in the age group from 20 to 28.  My first mate had his fling with drugs.  Kadizzle asked him how he got into the drug scene.  It seemed adults had a lot to do with it. First mate reeled off the names of several parents and the pain killer drugs they had. It appeared the parents were providing the drugs for teens.

This all leads to an interesting story first mate related.  Apparently he was seriously addicted to prescription drugs.  Someone or somebody got him onto a plane headed to Las Vegas and an addiction treatment center.  To calm him down on the plane trip they gave him some sort of drug that made him sleep.  So in a complete stupor the drug addicted fellow gets from point A to Las Vegas semi conscious.  When he comes out of his stupor he finds himself in a luxurious surrounding with green grass and palm trees.  Beside him is a nice looking girl.  Suddenly it appears to him that drugs have indeed fulfilled all his needs.  Gradually he realizes he is in a new very expensive facility to treat addicts. According to first mate it is a very expensive facility with hotel like rooms and the best of everything. The cost is $1,000 per day.  In no time at all he gets kicked out for drinking.  Currently he is in a much cheaper addiction treatment program.

Our country is in a crises of drugs.  Strangely it is not Mexico or Mexicans that are the problem.  It is American drug companies, and doctors.  The absolute worst drug dealers in the United States are the pharmaceutical companies.  In Kadizzles home state of West Virginia 9 million Oxycontin pills were sold.  Only three million people live there.  Surely big pharma must have noticed that they sold enough pills in West Virginia to give every one three.  No problem.

So the other day when Kadizzle had his little chat with Congressman Cramer.  The most worthless lickspittle one could elect.  Cramer said we needed to build a 21 billion dollar wall to protect us from Mexican drugs.  Kadizzle said what about the American drug companies.  Good old mister Trump junior just brush that off like no problem.  After all the drug companies are big donors to the Republicans.   So our kids are being poisoned by prescription drugs with the help of doctors.  This is the for profit American health care at it's worst.  So let us just live in the dream world of Donald Trump and Fox News and forget about the unpleasantness of reality.

If you are so smart why aren't you rich?

Americans love to equate rich with smart, but it doesn't always work out that way.  Albert Einstein was far from rich.  Donald Trump claims he is rich, but it is obvious he is mentally ill. People can accidently get rich in a variety of ways.  A lot of idiots inherited money. The only smart thing they did was recognize they were idiots and let someone else manage the money.  A lot of people happened to have a daddy that homesteaded over a pool of oil.  Of course there are those who hit the lottery.  Then there is another entire group that was immoral or dishonest.  One of the surest ways to get rich is fooling the ignorant.  Stump preachers have made vast fortunes selling god to dolts. Pat Robertson made millions bilking old ladies.  The number of pyramid schemes operating in our country shows the endless pool of idiots.  How about good old Bernie Madoff?  This man bilked all the so called smart rich people out of billions. The moral of the story is don't confuse rich with intelligent.

The Donald has put himself on display to show people you can be rich and dumb as a brick.  Still people insist that The Donald can lead us to prosperity. The Donald is the most famous con man of our time.  As an unabashed liar he has deluded the gullible his entire life. The Donald knows how to appeal to white trash, and those who want a simple answer to complex questions.  This will get all your clothes white.  That is what people want, a simple product that can do everything. That is what they see in The Donald. Remember The Donald said he would defeat ISIS in 30 days.  There should have been a money back guarantee. Well after the dolts paid shipping and handling the stain of ISIS is still here.  The Donald said he would destroy Obama Care.  It is still here.  Like all the phony advertisements on TV they guy selling the non stick pan makes the money and the dolts lose.  What does it take to give up on the con man? The hard core will never admit they got taken.  They will swear the cloths are clean except for that one stain, and you cannot expect everything to work 100%.  So now we have a con man with mental problems holding our lives in peril because the con man we elected has his fingers on the nuclear button.  After all this there are those who still firmly believe that rich and smart are the same thing.  Those people need to remember you can be rich and dead.

Addle Brained

An old Republican friend called me addle brained.  The poor fellow does not consider Kadizzle his friend, but Kadizzle never gives up on people just because they have succumbed to mental illness, drunkenness, or a variety of conditions they cannot control.  Kadizzle cannot get the thought out of the empty space between his ears.  Here is an adult male in his seventies who did everything in his power to bring about George Bush, and now Trump, and this man has the audacity to call his Lordship Kadizzle addle brained. Now, don't get old Kadizzle wrong.  Kadizzle has done many, many, stupid things, and has engaged in his favorite sport Dare to be Stupid on far too many occasions.  But when the dust settles how do you decide who is addle brained and who is not. Several criteria might be used. Are you living under a bridge?  Are you happy living under a bridge.

All of this leads Kadizzle to recall an incident when he took a temporary job as the safety director on a concrete construction site.  One of the carpenters who built concrete forms on the job was lacking in social skill, and just plain good sense. To top it off the man refused to obey some of the basic safety requirements. One day old Kadizzle was wandering about the construction site looking for potential hazards.  Kadizzle happened to walk by a deep hole full of mud.  Down in the hole was his arch nemesis the carpenter who disliked Kadizzle.  The carpenter yelled up at Kadizzle " Your a fucking idiot".  Kadizzle paused and replied to the carpenter " Lets figure this out".  " You Mr. Carpenter, are down in a hole up to your ass in mud.  I am up here clean dry and doing nothing.  I am up here being paid $40 per hour, you are down there in misery being paid $25 an hour.  Now who is the fucking idiot?"

Back to the fellow who called Kadizzle addle brained.  That poor fellow is in a hole.  The man is in his late seventies and the hole he is in is his basement. The man in his seventies has to run his business out of his basement because he failed to save, he failed to stay sober, and he failed to plan for his life.  Now, he is living under the administration of the worst president in history which he worked his entire life to elect and the basement dweller calls me addle brained.  

Gathering of the entire tribe

Trickling in from the far corners of the universe are the offspring and their offspring. Snoocher Bear and Ticklepinch showed up first from Denver.  Next Sam and Cheech came in from Philadelphia. Fran will be her late tonight.  Kadizzle just finished trying to teach Sam how to ride the Yamaha steed. Sam was catching on pretty well but seems a bit intimidated.

If the weather would ever cooperate we could get the whole gang on the good ship.  Sylvie, Kadizzle and Stoupini went out for a sail and Stroupini insisted on singing the Cheetos song with Sylvie. Sylvie was brave enough to get in the cool water behind the ship.

So here we sit in the little kingdom waiting for Trump to blast out his next tweet.  When you think the president can be no more mentally ill he out does himself.

Why did you yell at that man?

Kadizzle's granddaughter Sylvie is visiting.  When we get together we have to make a bumble bar.  A bumble bar is a swing you can do tricks from.  It conssist of some rope or what ever you have and something you can scrounge up.  Out in the backyard the process was underway to put the bumble bar in place. Kadizzle was on the ladder trying to get the rope over the tree.

Sylvie out of the clear blue asked Grandpa " Why did you yell at that man?".  Puzzled Kadizzle finally figured it out.  Sylvie was asking why Grandpa yelled at the congressman.  Now how do you explain such a thing to an eight year old?  Grandpa explained that a woman had a baby.  The baby was born with many serious problems.  Crying the woman asked the congressman what he would do to make sure her baby was taken care of during the life of her baby.  This congressman did not care about the woman.  He did not care about the baby.  What the congressman cared about was pleasing the people who get him elected.  The poor woman was so distraught that she could hardly stop crying long enough to speak. The congressman gave the crying young mother a silly Republican answer.  Kadizzle knew what this congressman really wanted to do. The congressman wanted to destroy healthcare for poor people.  Destroying healthcare and taking away protection for the poor woman's baby wouuld mean rich people could have an 800 billion dollar tax break.  Kadizzle explained to Sylvie that it angered him so much that the congressman would lie about his motives.  The congressman said it was not a tax break he was giving to the rich. The congressman said the rich had the money before they were forced to help the poor, so it was simply putting the rich back to where they were before they helped the poor.  Such an absurd argument angered Kadizzle and that is why he yelled at the congressman.

Sylvie said " So it was like Robinhood?".   Well it was just the opposite of Robinhood Kadizzle explained to Sylvie.  The congressman is trying to rob the poor to give money to the rich.

How does religion work?

You go to church on Sunday and get all psyched up about Jesus. Then on Monday you and your buddies have coffee and talk about how great Trump is. Trump and the Republicans try to pound the poor into oblivion.  Republicans do everything in their power to shovel tax breaks to the rich and screw the damn welfare cheats.  Sure doesn't sound like Jesus does it?  Old Jesus was all about those who have the goodies sharing them with those who do not.  The question is how can you go to church for years and not get the message?  Now the amazing part is who put Trump and his greedy buddies into office.  Strangely it was the most hard core followers of Jesus. Exactly who gets hurt when the Jesus gang attacks the "welfare cheats"?  What so many cannot get into their heads is that welfare cheats have children.  Welfare cheats are young mothers with no man to support them.

 Now the next thing to examine might be are they really cheats.  The people who get help are the people who are doing menial jobs at Walmart, McDonnells, and perhaps doing your lawn.  When you check the reality of how many people are actually doing nothing and getting paid you are talking about a very small number.

Now here is the bomb.  All the so called welfare cheats at best make up about 20% of our society.  If you want to call the bottom 20% welfare cheats, which Republicans do, then that is who you are talking about.  That group of people only use or get 2% of everything there is to use or get.  That is what the actual figures show.  So in reality the welfare cheats take very little from society.

Now there is another group of welfare cheats that should be looked at. What about the people who never really do anything to contribute to society?  What about the people who inherit millions, and never work in their entire life?  Of course that is fine with the Republicans.  If you get your welfare check because uncle Willy left you ten million, then you are not a welfare cheat, but a fine upstanding citizen.  The so called welfare cheat did not do a damn thing to get his check, neither did the guy who inherited from uncle Willy.  However, the guy who inherited from uncle Willy has three houses, a yacht, and a jet.  The rich welfare cheat takes way more from society than the poor welfare cheat.  Republican say the nephew of Uncle Willy creates jobs.  Sadly that just does not hold up in reality.

Now back to Jesus and religion.  Republican think it is fine for Uncle Willie's nephew to waste and despoil the planet, but the new Jesus doesn't give a damn about the poor kid who is the victim of the system.  The new Republican Jesus loves uncle Willie's nephew, but could care less about the single mother or the kid of the single mother struggling with two jobs to make life work.

So we end up with two people old Kadizzle knows.  Each goes to church and soaks up the joy of Jesus, and each voted for Donald Trump.  The Donald has broken every commandment of the bible so many times you cannot remember all his lies and wives. How do they do it?  How do they listen for twenty years to someone talking about the virtues of Christianity and totally miss the point?

Wind on the prarie

Darch with his two bears is headed west. Something possessed Darch to buy two bears down at the thrift store. He named them Mike and Beatrice.  So with the bears in the front seat beside him for company Darch is headed to Crows Nest where we have a mutual travelling friend.  If all works out Darch has invited the Kadizzles to sail with him in the Northwest around Vancouver.  The Kadizzle will try their best to join a fellow sailor there.

The damn wind blew so hard we gave up on trying to sail yesterday. Three boats apparently fought it out and made it to Moose Bay.  Mrs Kadizzle has a broken wrist so old Kadizzle needs crew to get the ship under sail.  The Snoocher Bear is on her way with Sylvie from Denver, and Cheech will be bringing her bumpkin on Thursday so the game is on. Both of our grandchildren with the the grandparents will be united.

The pockets book is empty but the bathroom is done.  Mrs. Kadizzle focuses on imperfections, but old Kadizzle just says praise Jesus the project is finished.

Summer is plowing on and will be over in a flash. The southwest is burning to the ground and no one can believe we are cooking the planet.  Waking up this morning it seemed hard to believe that we are now led by Trump.  Our population has actually elected this insane greedy man.  Time Magazine had a big article on how Trump is scamming the game.  Trump's hotel in Washington is raking in the cash by allowing people to basically bribe Trump by simply staying at his hotel and paying insane prices for everything. Trump has set the mark for a crooked president that will be hard to believe.  Just amazed when someone confesses they voted for him.

Since Kadizzle has delved into politics a review might be in order.  As many know Kadizzle had a kerfuffle with Congressman Kevin Cramer.  It has been an amazing experience to see how the media, or fake news as Donald says treats things.  Ken called Kadizzle very excited to tell Kadizzle the Drudge Report was featuring his so called attack on Cramer.  Reading the report Kadizzle could not believe someone has now added the element to the story that Kadizzle shoved "Fake Money" down the shirt of the lickspittle.  Now who came up with that?  Apparently Kadizzle must carry a wad of "Fake Money" around.  Why would someone just make that up and add it to the story.  The implication in the story is a vast conspiracy of left wing insane guys is around just waiting to shove fake money at Trumps minions.  Of course people like Ken eat the right wing spin up like pancakes.

Shack Rousting called off.

The door came open as if the wind had managed to loosen it, but much to my surprise it was Darch. I thought he was down the basement sleeping, but the old fart had been out running for an hour at six in the morning.  So here we sit. Darch never heard of John Prine, so he is getting the full nine yards.

Darch also is fascinated with shack rousting.  As one reading this might know we have had problems with getting Jeff the tile man to come to work. Twice Kadizzle has gone to Jeff's house early in the morning to shack roust him.  Now things have changed. It turns out Jeff has a brother serving life in prison for two murders.  One of the people killed by Jeff's brother was a policeman.  So if Jeff even has a small genetic component of murder in his system we have decided not to take a chance.  Jeff did show up and do a little work yesterday.

Review

Life goes on, the sun came up again today.  Yesterday Jeff called to warn Kadizzle there would be no more shack rousting.  Kadizzle had to shack roust Jeff two days in a row.  Jeff is the guy who cannot seem to get to work two days in a row. Jeff is doing the tile work in our new bathroom and just cannot seem to get the work done. What is shack rousting?  Shack rousting is what you do when someone will not get out of bed and go to work.  You take a ball bat and go to their house.  They will not answer the door so you beat on their house until they get up.  Kadizzle had to pull his car into Jeff's yard and honk the horn.  Jeffs wife finally came out in a rage saying she did not know where Jeff was.  Apparently she was unaware what the man's name was that was in bed beside her .  So Jeff said in about thirty minutes he will be here.  It would be just as likely Jesus might show up.  Shack rousting was a mean system employed in coal camps and other harsh labor environments mostly in the south.  In the old days Kadizzle used to have to shack roust his children.  Usually if the kids would not get up it just took some good tickling.  Tickling Jeff in the morning does not seem practical.

Yesterday Darch went on the Remedigus with Kadizzle.  That is the bike ride around town to get up to date on local insanity.  Darch attended the morning meeting at the Crazy Club and we had a good time.  Darch got to see the new hospital, the library, the Hazen Star, and even the music at the pocket park. It was a full day that included searching for artifacts at the Indian Village in Stanton.

So now we have Thursday laid out before us.

Flaring

Mrs Kadizzle has a habit of awaking and immediately getting up to date on her iphone.  The light from the phone is all it takes to wake up Kadizzle.  So before five the game was on.  Kadizzle of course may as well do his update.  An article caught his attention.  Flaring waste enough gas to heat five million homes.  Yup we are just burning senselessly enough natural gas to heat five million homes.  Imagine the waste. Only about 700,000 people live in North Dakota, so enough gas is being burnt in waste to heat at least five North Dakotas.  Wow, imagine the waste.  This is all done because of greed.  Imagine people so greedy they would waste such a valuable resource.  Who are these people?

These people are called Republicans. They do not believe in climate change even though the southwest is melting. They do not believe in anything but a good life for those on top. The same Republicans are about to destroy healthcare for the poor.  The same Republicans just destroyed the improving relations with Cuba. The Same Republican voted for the totally insane idiot now president of our country.  Me, me, me, is the Republican motto.  Nothing has been learned from history.  History has taught those willing to read it that  when you have unbridled greed you have collapse.  The French Revolution was all about the people on the bottom taking back from the people on top. Again in Russia, China, and even our country those who were oppressed said the hell with a few taking everything with total disregard for everyone.  Now we have the me, me, me Republicans seeking tax breaks for the rich. A pig and a man with no morality is leading the country.  The greedy salivate at the prospect he will give them the tax breaks they yearn for.  They never have enough.

Darch Called in

Thankya Jesus Darch called from Devil's Pass which he is just about to cross with his bike and gear. Darch is finding out the Maah Daah Hey Trail is much more than he thought.  His three day trip will easily turn to five.  Next Darch can relax and sail with us. For an athlete one has to admire Darch.  Setting off with sixty pounds of gear Darch is a brave man to take on that trail.

North Dakota off the list

Al somehow found me on the internet and asked my help for his mission. Al wants to sail in every state in the United States. Thursday we headed toward Mallard Island to enabler Al to knock off North Dakota.  At breakfast this morning Kadizzle told Al he admired people who have the guts just to ask. So much can be accomplished by simply asking.  Al has asked sailors in every state to give him a sail, and they have complied.  How many people go through life too shy or with too much fear to simply ask?

When you are outgoing things happen. Years ago we met Darch in a campground in Arizona. Darch is the most active 72 year old you will find. Darch can ride a mountain bike on trails most twenty year olds would not brave.  So today we helped Darch get going on the Ma Da Hey trail.  That trail in the North Dakota Badlands is a rugged and tough trail. Years ago Kadizzle took a writer for the New York times and a couple of his buddies out there to ride the trail. They thought they could do it in a straight 24 hour period.  Well only one made it, and one ended up in the hospital.  Old Darch has probably settled in for the night. He is doing it alone, which Kadizzle frankly thinks is unwise.  In a few day we will know how Darch did when he comes out of the wilderness. Hopefully Darch will be in shape to take a restful sail on the good ship.

How am I going to protect myself

Sitting on the back porch with some right wingers the topic briefly turned to guns.  The woman chasing seventy said " How am I going to protect myself?".   Old Kadizzle is sixty eight.  As we look at life it would seem we would come to understand things.  At sixty eight I have never been hit by a meteor. Never even had one hit nearby.  So it seem like not much of a problem.  All the gun insanity in this country somehow fails to figure the reality that you will need a gun to save yourself.  Most policemen have guns, yet a lot of them get shot and killed.  So even if you have a gun it assures you of nothing. Now remember that the actual statistics show that when someone does kill someone with a gun, it is usually someone in the family or someone they know.  If someone knows you they know when to kill you. That means you need a gun in the shower.  Of course you need a gun by your bed.  As any good hit man knows it is simple to just walk up behind someone and blow them away.   So even if you are armed to the teeth, the gun does not guarantee you will stay alive when the shooter comes, but remember you are approaching seventy and the shooter never has come.  On the other hand you drive your car every day.  Your chances of getting killed driving are hundreds of times higher than getting shot.  So if you are bound and determined to live, then walk.  The notion of living a life of fear based on news reports is a bit insane.  Terrorist are behind every tree, and shooters are everywhere. People get killed by snake bites, but it is rare.  We do not quit walking in snake country because we know it is very unlikely to happen.  However, if the news media pumped up the idea be assured a lot of people would start wearing snake protection and stay home.  Fear sells.  Watch little kids, they love to be scared. The brain likes stimulation. Once we were primitive people, are brains are still primitive.  Fear used to be our friend, it kept us alert.  The sabre toothed tiger could pounce on us at any time, so we lived in fear. Our brains are geared to feed on fear.  Fear is like candy to those addicted to Fox News, and Rush Limbaugh. Someone or something is out to get you or your money.  Be on guard.

The problem with fear is it puts you in a prison.  You are afraid to climb a mountain, you are afraid to go in a boat, planes make you nervous.  What do you do? Nothing.   You stay home and watch all the people getting shot and killed on TV.  Now your fear is even worse.  You convince yourself the world is a dangerous place. You walk through life thinking everyone is a potential robber, or killer.  You have imprisoned yourself with fear.  People play on your fear.  They sell you guns, security equipment, gated communities, attack dogs, pepper spray, and on it goes.  Fear sells.  Someone is going to come get your gun, I will protect you and your gun send me ten bucks.  By the way do you need ammunition.  How about some emergency food for the revolution?

Now when we are a psyched up over fear, and don't want to go out and exercise because we will get raped by Mexicans we sit home and eat a few cookies.  As the fat accumulates the real killer obesity works on a slow death for us.  Maybe a few puffs of tobacco will calm our fears about being shot and mugged.  So we end up dead.  Not from the guy who was going to break into our house and murder us, but from the anxiety induced heart attack that blew our fat body to shreds.  So what should we worry about today?

The sun came up

It happened once more. The sun came up.  That means two cups of coffee.  That means another day, and another day of problems and solutions.  Another day of money coming in and money going out.  Another day of people angry and people happy. Another day when a shooter shoots some innocent people.  Another day of congressmen doing nothing.  Another day of he said she said.  Another day of dirty dishes.  It is just one more day.

One day the sun will not rise. The air will not go in and out of the lungs. The heart will not pump blood. So our days are numbered.  Everyone wakes up each morning to see if they are still alive.  How many days get wasted? Can you waste a day? Time takes it's toll. The knees start to go. The vision needs help. The hearing is going.  Like an old tree we grow but cannot get water to the leaves way out on the end of the branches.  The little trees from our seeds grow all around.

So here we sit on a planet spinning around the sun.  How many trips around the fireball do we get to make?  There is something symbolic about circles.  You seem like your are going somewhere, but you always get back to the same place. One of the greatest discoveries ever was that you could go East and end up in the West.  So the globe will spin today and the planet will circle.

Just as Kadizzle ended this nonsense John Prine started singing Fish and Whistle.  It speaks to our dilemma. So click on the video and listen.

Apples and Trees

There is an old saying " The apple does not fall far from the tree".  Kadizzle was sort of going by this maxim, when he got a surprize.  A young guy 24 called Kadizzle and asked for advice about salvaging an abandoned sailboat.  One thing led to another and soon Kadizzle asked the guy if he wanted to crew on the Sovereign.  The young fellow took up the offer and asked if he could bring his younger brother Max.  Now Kadizzle had a preformed apple and tree notion of Austin the would be sailor.  Kadizzle figured since his father was a conservative sort of person the son would be.  Austin and Max come from a family of 11 and they have both been home schooled.  So as Kadizzle readied the boat with the help of Stroupini, here come Austin and Max.   Well Austin was on the opposite end of the spectrum from his dad.  Austin's Dad always dresses like a soldier in his uniform.  Austin was a nice looking kid, but it was apparent his head was slowly becoming a pin cushion.  Piercings emanated from various parts of his head including his eyebrows and lips.  His ears were being elongated like an African tribesman and fake diamonds also sprouted from his ears.  Little brother Max age 12 looked very normal, neat and clean.

Austin amazingly picked up all the little phrases of his father.  So it was strange to realize how one becomes imbued with the language quirks of our parents.  With a strong wind out of the west the boat took off for Mallard Island.  Max turned out to be a child prodigy for steering.  With little instruction Max who had never steered a large boat did an excellent job.  Among other body adornments Austin had a large colorful tattoo on his arm.  Kadizzle could not help but ask Austin about his father's reaction when he saw the tattoo.  There was a bit of an explosion as one might expect.

After spending the night at Mallard Island we returned the next day.  Once the boat was put away Kadizzle went to examine the boat Austin was considering restoring.  The boat appeared to be home built, but well built.  Someone had just gone off and left the boat at the state park.  As curiosity got the best of Kadizzle when he got home he tried to figure out what the boat was.  It seems to have been a boat designed by Paul Garfield called a Jessie.  The boat has a good reputation, but need some serious repair.

A wood worker might have fun putting it back in shape.  Kadizzle concluded it was too much of a task for Austin, but Kadizzle is trying to work a deal to get Austin a boat.  We need more young sailors so when enthusiasm crops up it should be met with help from the old timers.

MInd Boggling Stupidity

No matter what you say or do or tell me I will not change my mind.  Recently Kadizzle has had some conversations with people who still believe in Donald Trump.  Last night a friend who some might mistake for intelligent asked Kadizzle to point out a lie of Donald Trump.  Really?  It was mind boggling to think this person did not notice the vast sea of lies promoted by Trump.  Somehow he forgot the original lie about Obama being born in Kenya.

Most amazing about these people is they feel they are "Good" Christians.  Before Obama was elected for the second time an old neighbor who is a hard core right winger told Kadizzle " I could never vote for a black man".  Kadizzle was shocked that this man who faithfully goes to a fundamentalist church every Sunday was such a racist.

Sadly Kadizzle has to say the most close minded, and racist people Kadizzle knows fly under the flag of Christianity.  It is mind boggling that the bible thumping crowd elected the most dishonest greedy president totally lacking any morality.

How, how can people look and listen to a man who has admitted he is a liar believe in the man. Trump said that Obama was born in Kenya, then Trump said Obama was not born in Kenya.  Now that obviously means Trump called himself a liar.

Kadizzle has been stunned by the ignorance, and willingness of so many people in this country to believe total nonsense and bullshit.  The whole trickle down economics game of the Republicans has clearly been proven wrong, yet the Republicans sell it, and the Hoopleheads buy it.  On it goes.  The shear mass of ignorant people in the our country is astounding.  Making it so much worse are the people who actually believe "Education just confuses people".  My old right wing friend in so many words explained to me how young people go to college and get " Confused".   This all comes full circle to alternative facts, and fake news.  Once the Republicans established the idea that there are alternative facts the game was on.  Once you believe that you can add two numbers and come up with several different answers you have successfully moved into a different world.

Now lets go to our insane president.  Trump says " You better hope there are no tapes".  This puts the idiot Trump in a mess.  If there are tapes then Trump should produce them.  If Trump produces a tape it proves what a scoundrel and deceitful rat he is.  Trump can say an do the most idiotic things imaginable and his followers take it as a sign of his strength.   The most amazing thing about Trump and his supporters is that Trump's policies stomp on the people who love him.  In North Dakota all of a sudden farmers are realizing Trump is going to quash their welfare game.   The poor dolts in West Virginia are beginning to realize Trump will snatch any hope for healthcare the hillbillies have.  Trump is proposing a scheme to privatize roads and bridges.  So someday you will pay a toll to move anywhere in the country.   When Trump privatizes the roads who will get hurt.  The poor will pay exactly the same toll the rich do to drive to work.  Simple minded is the only way to describe anyone who is caught in the Trump illusion.  People make mistakes.  The people who voted for Trump need to have the courage or whatever it takes to admit they made one hell of a mistake.  Drunk on stupidity is the only way to describe Trump supporters.  The first step is to quit drinking.  Quit watching Fox, quit listening to Rush. quit getting your news at the coffee shop.  Read something intelligent. Listen to someone intelligent.  Read and listen to change not stay the same.  We have become a nation of idiots, led by an idiot.

This reminds Kadizzle of a highschool friend.  A record on his turntable was skipping.  My friend pushed the needle into the record as hard as he could and gave it a good scratch.  He declared " That will teach it a lesson".   That is the mindset of a typical Trump supporter.  They just want to teach liberals a lesson, even if it ruins their record.

Just Waiting

If you don't listen to John Prine, you should.  Prine has so many good songs.  Prine was once a mailman and composed songs while he delivered mail. 

Old Farmer

Advice from An Old Farmer

Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.
Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.
Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
Words that soak into your ears are whispered… not yelled.
Meanness don’t jes’ happen overnight.
Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.
Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.
You cannot unsay a cruel word.
Every path has a few puddles.
When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
The best sermons are lived, not preached.
Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway.
Don’t judge folks by their relatives.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
Live a good, honorable life… Then when you get older and think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time.
Don ‘t interfere with somethin’ that ain’t bothering you none.
Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance.
If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.
Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin’.
Always drink upstream from the herd.
Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.
Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.
If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around..
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.
Most times, it just gets down to common sense.

Doctor Day

Old people need constant repair.  Like old cars the brakes go, you burn oil and gases leak everywhere.  So today is doctor day.  Kadizzle has to see if the prostate cancer is at bay.  Mrs. Kadizzle may need major repair on her arm now that she fell and broke her wrist.  Coming back from Bismarck we will either be in better shape or need more repair.  Every six months you have to get the oil changed on the old beaters.

For some reason your body quits it's own repair.  It would be nice if cars at some stage of their life would repair themselves.  Just like a car you wonder if every squeak or pain is serious or just a minor problem.

Repairing and keeping old goats is a major business in every big city.  Goat repair is a major industry in our country.  When Kadizzle walks in to get his blood drawn there will be old goats like him everywhere waiting to get poked and probed.  In a state with small population odds are good you will see people you know.  What do you have?  Once you realize you are in an age group that is falling apart it is not a joyful acknowledgement.  Well Mrs Kadizzle just ate her cereal and now we need to jump in the car and run to Bismarck to find out how much longer the cars may run.  You can completely rebuild an old car, but old goats can only be tweaked with the hope a few more miles can be milked out of the engine.

Blow up your TV

She was a level-headed dancer on the road to alcohol
And I was just a soldier on my way to Montreal
Well she pressed her chest against me
About the time the juke box broke
Yeah, she gave me a peck on the back of the neck
And these are the words she spoke

[Chorus:]
Blow up your TV throw away your paper
Go to the country, build you a home
Plant a little garden, eat a lot of peaches
Try an find Jesus on your own

Well, I sat there at the table and I acted real naive
For I knew that topless lady had something up her sleeve
Well, she danced around the bar room and she did the hoochy-coo
Yeah she sang her song all night long, tellin' me what to do

[Chorus]

Well, I was young and hungry and about to leave that place
When just as I was leavin', well she looked me in the face
I said "You must know the answer."
"She said, "No but I'll give it a try."
And to this very day we've been livin' our way
And here is the reason why

We blew up our TV threw away our paper
Went to the country, built us a home
Had a lot of children, fed 'em on peaches
They all found Jesus on their own

Play "Spanish Pipedream (

The Spin

An old right wing friend sat on my porch last night. As usual politics came up in the discussion.  At some point my friend noted that colleges are what cause liberals.  Next my friend explained that Montana State University had donkeys in the classroom while students took their test to calm the students down.  We all know how the combination of donkeys and college can produce liberal.  The whole thing sounded like the classic right wing bullshit spin to Kadizzle.  So this morning Kadizzle decided to research the nonsense.  Sure enough there was a donkey present at MSU during exam week, but it was not in the classroom. The College basically had nothing to do with it, and once Kadizzle saw what really happened, and the right wing spin it was enlightening.

If you want to see the actual, factual story go to Google and type in MSU students make use of  de-stressing donkey.  You will see a whole different story than what is being circulated in right wing emails.  On several occasions Kadizzle has tracked down the true story when he has been confronted with spin bull shit.

Not long ago a local law enforcement person who Kadizzle knew made the assertion on Facebook that Warren Buffett was paying pipeline protesters to protest.  Kadizzle confronted the guy who claimed he was in a bank and saw a pipeline protester cashing a check from BNSF railroad.  Kadizzle asked the deputy sheriff to tell him where, what bank, how much the check was for and other details.  Of course since the whole story was fabricated there were no facts.  The lying law enforcement person got angry and cut off the conversation.  However, local right wing radio like KFYR loves these kind of stories and repeats them with no fact checking.  It is the classic case of Donald Trump saying " I hear people are saying".  Facts just don't matter when you want to believe something.  There are no facts whatsoever to prove wearing a copper bracelet has any health benefit, but you will see people everyday following the old hill billy health remedy.  Ask someone what causes the Northern Lights.  A whole lot of people will tell you it is the sun reflecting off the ice at the North Pole.  Of course it is not, but the people believe it.  They never bother to check.  Bubba told them that is the cause, and Bubba grows pretty good corn, so why doubt Bubba?

Now this morning old Kadizzle will confront Mr. Right wing Trump supporter with the factual Donkey story.  Will it change his mind? No.  Will he continue to believe every convoluted story circulated by the right wing on the internet? Yes.  So here we are in a world of information, but people never check anything.  Kadizzle as a last resort was going to call the University of Montana and check this story out.  Now from the get go, Kadizzle thought the story sounded like a classic right wing propaganda deal. Sure enough it is, but keep in mind to a right wing person wanting to believe it is proof that liberals can be made by sending kids to college where they have donkey's in the classroom during test.  How can a functioning brain get so confused?

Confirmation Bias

Words and phrases fly around the Kadizzle household like dust.  The concept under current discussion is confirmation bias. What in the hell is that? You want to believe something, so you look for evidence that what you believe is true.  You want to believe Trump is great.  So you look for evidence he is. Fox News will give you just the evidence you want.  The way it works is you listen to Rush, KFYR, and read what supports your ideas.  You do not read the NYT, or watch MSNBC.

How does this work in the real world?  What if you were a judge?  What if you sort of thought the guy was guilty?  You might tend to favor the evidence that pointed toward his guilt.  So what do you do? First you recognize that you mind can play tricks on you.  You mind can say " Ah, ha, I told you so". This can get you in a lot of trouble.  Dogs can sense what you think.  If you think a dog is mean it will be afraid of you because you are afraid of it.  If you think a dog is nice, you will relax, the dog will relax and you can pet the dog.

One must be aware that one approaches every situation with a bias.  When you go to the doctor and the doctor shows you a needle, you think this will hurt.  Sometimes shots don't hurt at all.  What is the best way to approach a person or a situation.  Put your brain in neutral.  Don't imagine the person will be mean, kind, helpful or anything else.  Let the future unfold.  Watch yourself, and judge yourself. Get a mirror and look at yourself.  Are you guilty of confirmation bias.  Are you misjudging situations because of a bias?

The most common form of confirmation bias is racial.  People think gypsies steal.  So they think if something got stolen it was a gypsy.  The problem is confirmation bias will quickly get you going the wrong way.  If a dog is barking and it is driving you nuts you might get up mad and run to the neighbor who has the dog that barks all the time.  You pull in his driveway and honk your horn at 3 A.M.   Your horn wakes up everyone.  It turns the neighbor is not home.  He left on vacation and took his dog.  Your preconceived notion led you to the wrong conclusion.  Now all the neighbors are mad at you.

Down the Lake

Finally Stroupini and Kadizzle headed to the lake with some grub to get us to the next day. Six eggs, a little butter, two pre made hamburgers, some buns ands lots of diet coke.  Almost forgot one bottle of wine.   A nice breeze was waiting to take us to the promised land.  Stoupine grabbed some stuff from his boat and just as we cleared the breakwater Kadizzle unfurled the headsail.  The good ship took off and headed North.  When we changed the heading to West the boat took off nicely.  Soon we were doing hull speed and Kadizzle was pleased.  The cheetos were opened and the music was playing.  A nice sail took us straight to Moose Bay.  We sailed in and dropped the mainsail.  After a poor attempt to tie to shore we anchored.  Soon the hamburgers were cooked.  The music never stopped and the ship was prepared for the night.  Kadizzle explained to Stroupini that if the wind changed the good ship would be blown ashore, but that was unlikely.  Sleep took over, but Kadizzle had extreme fire belly and no fire belly pills.  Finally morning came and something just didn't sound right with the waves hitting the boat.  Stroupini peeked out the window and declared the boat was aground.  The wind did shift to the north, the worst possible outcome.  No big deal we soon had the ship free at five in the morning and anchored in a better place.  After coffee and some egg slammers we headed out to sea.  A wonderful morning and sail awaited. Again the wind gods slowly gave us our wish.  The ship had a fairly good point of sail home.  As we boomed into the harbor Kadizzle notices a red pickup truck intently watching our arrival.  When we pulled in to empty the holding tank a grandpa and his grandson came down to the dock to watch us come in.  Later the two were walking the north dock.  Kadizzle whistled at grandpa and motioned for him to come over to the ship.  The grandson with grandpa stood beside us on the dock.  Kadizzle invited the young nine year old for a tour of the boat. Taking pictures he got a big grin and enjoyed seeing how the ship worked.  A nice end to a great sail.

Ride

Stoupini and Kadizzle took a long ride to the lake on the motor cycles.  Back roads took us through fields and up and down section lines.  The wind was insane.  A pheasant here and there and the roads were dry. At last we got to the lake and the boats.  The lake was whipped into a fury by the wind, and it was a good day not to be on the lake.  On the way back we stopped by Rita's the sewing lady.  Rita did not seem to be around, but we did get to see her miniature horses.  The big ones were only the size of a big dog and the young ones were tiny.

I Hit The Wall, you better listen

I Hit the Wall  Click on it you fool. Willy always gets it right

Wake Up Tired

What happened to the days when you could jump out of bed?  What happened to the body that could pedal a bike up a steep hill in West Virginia?  What happened to the eyes that could read without glasses, the ears that could hear?  Like leaves in the fall old age is raining down on Kadizzle. The joints are stiff and failing.  Bed time is early.  Cars get old, goats get old, age is unstoppable.  The Earth keeps going around the sun and the clock keeps ticking.  The air comes into the lungs and goes out.  Simple task become great obstacles. What is the lesson?

Old means you get to see the world differently.  Slow seems better and better.  Things that used to matter don't.  Like a tree in the forest you see the other trees around you become devastated by beetles, wind, erosion, and age.  The people you know, the people you worked with get picked off one by one. Old so and so gets drawn up to Jesus.  Are you next?  What is the schedule?  Will you go in a puff or will you fall apart inch by inch?   Hope I cheered everyone up.

Well the sun is shining and the wind is not too strong, so maybe old Kadizzle should run up to the boat and hoist a sail. Let the wind take him where it will.

Life in the Vast Lane

Here we sit in the vast open spaces of North Dakota.  Although the sailboat is chomping at the bit ready to go it has only made two brief forays into the vast inland sea of Lake Sakakawea.  The wind gods have uncooperative.  High winds and cool weather have damped the desire, and add to that a Mrs Kadizzle with a broken wrist.

Kadizzle was delighted to find he was named one of the top ten writers on the Weelunk Blog. Weelunk is a local blog back home in West Virginia.  Viewing the blog has been a lot of fun seeing the old sites of home and exploring the local history.  The Blog has stories and remembrances of people who live there and those who have moved away. Wheeling is a very old city on the Ohio River.  The river city brims with history.  George Washington visited very early and claimed a lot of land for himself.  Washington's relatives are buried on the top of Wheeling Hill.

Not far south of Wheeling is the Mason Dixon line.  As a kid Kadizzle crossed it almost every weekend going to our hillbilly hideout farther south in the state.  So maybe a trip to the lake today.  May the sun keep shining.

A bunch of jabroni's

Old Kadizzle grew up in Wheeling, West as they say "by God" Virginia.  Wheeling had a lot of different ethnicities.  With Italians, Poles, Syrians, Orthodox Greeks,  and every other brand of human there were many words that floated around.  One of those words was jaboni.  It must have been Italian. As a kid I heard the word.  Never knew what it meant, but figured it was not good.  Looking up the work the common use is to call someone a jabroni and you are calling them a loser.

Wonderful Crazy Club Day

Yesterday was a bummer and a day of cheer was badly needed.  Yesterday poor Mrs. Kadizzle broke her wrist.  So the day was a total disaster. Late in the day Shanika called and said he was sponsoring breakfast at the Crazy Club on Thursday.  Well Thursday turned out to be a brighter day. Mrs Kadizzle got to sit in the sun and recoup.  Kadizzle went to the Crazy Club for breakfast.  Shiny with her dog was there, Shanika had already arrived, and the word from Shiny was the owner of the meeting hall would show up.

It all came together.  Kadizzle was the only member present not born in the hamlet of Hazen. It was nice to have the owner present.  After the invocation stories were shared about growing up. The topic evolved around childhood scuffles.  Kadizzle seemed to have a more destructive and violent childhood to relate than the locals. After a good round of stories, and the quiche Shanika brought .  Shanika, Stoupini and Kadizzle took off for a long day of adventure.

The goal was to explore the Northern part of the badlands.  So in Shaniks SUV we headed west.  Eventually we got past Grassy Butt.  On a little past the North Unit Park and onto a dirt road. We headed out into the vast nowhere beside the Little Missouri.  The goal was  some nirvana valley Shanika wanted to show us.  We could not find a trail that was not blocked by a stream and never made the goal, but indeed we got to see some of the most wonderful country in the country.  The Badlands are little known or appreciated. Kadizzle has traveled the whole country and the Badlands are as good as it gets.  Of course now the badlands have oil wells sprouting like the weeds in your yard. Thankya Jesus the oil game has slowed down. The sheer amount of oil field equipment sitting idle is amazing. Stores built for the boom are running at one third capacity. The overbuilding of everything is amazing.  Somebody has lost a vast sum buying and storing things that are not being used.

To Kadizzle's surprise Shanika nor Stoupini had ever taken the road along the Little Missouri from the Long X bridge back to Killdeer.  So off we headed through some wonderful country polluted with oil wells, but still full of good scenery.  In the course of the trip road work was encountered.  A young college student stopped us with the traditional hand held stop sign. We had to wait for two motor graders working.  Kadizzle was bored and thought he would cause some ornery conversation.  Kadizzle asked the young college student how to get to New York from here.  A little stunned in the absolute middle of nowhere the college student asked where we were from. Kadizzle lying through his teeth said New York. Kadizzle explained that someone in Dickenson had told him to go north and we ended up in the oilfield.  A little amazed the student told us to go down the road and turn left.  Stoupini and Shanika quickly caught on and went on with the charade.  After a little fun with an incredible BS story we confessed we were from Hazen.  The flagman admitted he thought our story was suspect.

We traveled through Indian country and up by the lake.  Kadizzle had not been in some parts of this country for many years.  Seeing the change brought on by oil was interesting.  Every rancher that struck prosperity put up  a big gate entrance to his property declaring who he was.  Pumping money out of the ground changes everything above ground. Some for good, and some not so good. Killdeer has an indoor pool and a wellness center.  Empty housing for oil workers sits everywhere. Building built with great anticipation the boom would never end sit idle.  Although people dream the boom will not come back.  Oil has been found once more in great abundance in Texas.  North Dakota can scratch and sniff, but it cannot compete with the new West Texas find in the Wolf Camp shale.  So history repeats itself. The history of boom and bust is the history of the West.  It might be uranium, it might be gold, copper, or oil, but the story is always the same.

Orthodox Athiest and his pastor

A knock on the door and there was the reverend.  The pastor occasionally has a glass of wine with Kadizzle.  It was early in the day, but the good man of god was not going to turn down the wine.  So out to the back deck and the discussion ensued.  Kadizzle is perplexed.  What should be the most conservative pastor of the most conservative church seems to be a closet liberal.  So the political talk and Kadizzle's recent adventure with the congressman were discussed.

Reverend wants to get some hiking done in Colorado.  Kadizzle tries to explain that at the high altitude hiking will be hard.  He is from Colorado and does not think it will be a problem, but he forgets he is a lot older.

For some strange reason the reverend alway shows up at just about the time he is needed.  Perhaps the lord does work in strange ways.

Launching Boats

Kadizzle is sure he holds the record for launching sailboats on Lake Sakakawea.  Today another boat will be baptized.  Launching sailboats is not so bad, but getting the beast back on the trailer is a nightmare.  The problem with sailboats is the keel.  Some larger boats need to be in eight feet of water to get the boat off the trailer.  This means the an extension has to be used.

The normal process it to take the boat and trailer down to the edge of the water, unhook the whole mess, and add the extension.  A favorite memory of this process gone wrong was years ago.  Andrew wanted Kadizzle to help launch his craft.  In the confusion Kadizzle thought Andrew had locked down the hitch and Andrew thought Kadizzle had done the task. Nope, the trailer was not secured to the truck.  This was not a problem until the trailer with the boat started down the ramp.  Kadizzle tapped the brake for a moment.  Andrew was up on his boat the Jenny Rose.  The sudden little application of brake pulled the trailer hitch up in the air off the ball. There was enough slack in the rusty safety chains to let the trailer get a little momentum without the truck.  The old rusty safety chains snapped the welds with no problem.  Down the ramp the boat and Andrew went.  What could you do? Nothing.  Andrew's eyes were the size of two moons.  As the boat went on its way sailing with no wind or water it picked up momentum.  All is well that ends well.  The boat with Andrew aboard launched itself with precision and no problem.

Observing this was old Captain Kit.  There was a minor problem with this procedure.  Now the trailer unhooked to anything was out in the lake by itself under water.  Andrew seemed a bit concerned, but Kadizzle assured him it was no problem.  Kadizzle took a small anchor he happened to have in his truck and tossed it into the water hoping to snag the trailer.  To his amazement the first cast was good. Captain Kit panicked and had the park rangers rushing to the scene.  When the rangers arrived the trailer was emerging from the water hooked onto the anchor rope.  Rushing to the edge of the water the park ranger said " Is there a problem?".   Kadizzle said with a big hidden grin " No, we do it this way all the time".

The Deceitful Bird

Old Kadizzle thought he might go for a motorcycle ride so he hopped on his one cylinder steed and took off.  A visit to Stroppini seemed in order.  A good way to get to the East end of Hazen without going through traffic is to take the route along the railroad track.  Follow the alley down behind the hospital until you come to a little bridge that goes under the railroad track.  Here you will find a little path that leads along the track and back out to the highway.

On this little excursion Kadizzle stirred up some sort of bird.  The bird did what birds do. The bird pretended to be hurt.  The idea in the birds mind was to draw Kadizzle away from the nest.  To Kadizzles amazement the deceitful little bird hobbled right down the path. Kadizzle followed the bird wondering when the bird would give up the charade and return to take care of the baby birds.  Finally after leading Kadizzle a couple hundred feet away the bird turned back to take care of the young.  This was a bird with a bird brain.

Now we live in an age where adults are fooled by birds with bird brains.  Our politicians have learned the art of deceit from the little bird.  Draw the attention away is what the bird does. Draw the attention away from the nest.  For Republicans the nest is the tax breaks.  Republicans only want to live without paying taxes. That seems pretty selfish, so the goal is to draw the bird brains attention away from the real issue.  The Republican bird seeks to confuse.  The Republican bird wants to draw the easily fooled man down the path.  A bird that appears to be crippled is a good meal for a Fox.  The Fox thinks he is smart. The Fox follows the bird down the path little knowing that he just passed up an easy meal.  Back at the nest the Fox just ran away from are delicious baby birds that could be eaten so easily.  However, the Fox with a much bigger brain than the bird has been fooled.  There is an easy solution to our problems, we have the resources for everyone to live a decent life, but if we are going to allow a few to take too much, and ask the rest to do without the easy life is not in reach.  In the end are we going to be diverted by the decietful bird drawing us in the wrong direction? Trump seems to have proved it is a very simple matter. Trump has a bird brain, but he has fooled a lot of people who should know better.  What is really going on?  Is the bird really hurt? Are the Mexicans really pouring across the border? Diversion works for the bird.  We must be the dumbest Foxes that every walked by a meal fooled by a birdbrain.

The Sing

Voices turned into music as the summer sing got off to a good start.  For many years young men which are now old men have joined together to sing.  Normally The Stan Rodgers Glee Club meets in the top of Harvey's barn.  Too much cold caused a relocation. So at the lake house the old men gathered to sing the traditional sailing songs.  Leave her Johnny Leave Her,  The Northwest Passage, Rolling down to old Maui, and many other sea shanties were belted out.  Kieth has a wonderful voice, an excellent memory, and can play a couple instruments.  Thankya Jesus.  Shanika is also good on the guitar, knows the words and was once a performer at Madora. Too many desserts were put on the table, there were some excellent whistle beans, and there was some kind of strange blueberry bratwurst.  As usual some stories were mixed in with the singing.  Kadizzle was give grief about his recent attempt to shove money down the shirt of a congressman.  A couple people pointed out that is against the rules.

The night moved on and the crowd thinned out.  The bottles of wine, port and beer got emptied.  Everyone enjoyed themselves and a second sing may be scheduled.  A couple years ago Kadizzle introduced the sont "The Parting Glass".  The song has become part of the tradition, and Kadizzle wants it sung at his funeral.
The sun is climbing in the sky and the day will go on no matter what.  Shanika spent the night at Kadizzle's house.  Scheduling problems mean the Crazy Club meeting will be held today, so after breakfast the meeting will commence. Stoupini is out on the west coast so we might have to have a phone conference with him.

Dreary Day

Up early, and the first cup of coffee is finished. The Earth has rotated once more, and has made it around the sun to the point we call summer.  Our planet is less significant than a grain of sand on the beach, yet we all seem to thing we are the center of the universe.  This brings to mind the old story of the mosquito floating down the river with an erection yelling " Raise the drawbridge".  Often Kadizzle tries to fall asleep at night imagining his place in the universe.  When you think you are something just put yourself a few thousand light years from Earth and see how important you are.  This brings us to another favorite saying " Most men lead lives of quiet desperation".    Hope springs eternal, and spring gives everyone hope.  We should have the hope Trump implodes and the country can move on.  Pence would be little better.  What needs to happen is a rewind.  The election should be held over.  Most games have some provision for fairness.  After you find out the election was a fraud and the president is a mentally ill incompetent idiot don't we have the right to a fresh start? So here we go, nothing's getting done in the country, some may say that is great, but we need roads, schools, and there are a lot of problems to fix.  Can we afford to just watch Trump jump from one crisis to the next?  The bumbling of Trump is like nothing ever seen in the White House before.  Sure Clinton got a blow job and that was a great story, but few feared Clinton would arbitrarily start a nuclear war.  Trump is a special kind of crazy.  Many now speculate he has a mental condition.  If you ever read one of his speeches as it is written using his exact words you will not doubt he is nuts.

The Prisoner

Yesterday an old friend left a note on my doorstep.  The man who is now somewhere near fifty I first met as a municipal judge when he was a teenager.  As a young man he discovered the art of getting into trouble. He did not learn anything from his sessions in court with me as the judge, and he went on to the big house on drug charges.  In prison he met a local man who murdered his wife.  The local man is doing life in prison. So my old friend and I had a phone conversation.  From the man doing murder he told me he learned a lot. I guess he did. I realized that the man who had done prison time had much more respect for humanity than so many of the people who should be in prison.  This man cares. He grew up.  It may have taken three times the allotted time, but he finally grew up.  One thing we discussed was the phony Christians.  As it happened the man had been in the same church as Congressman Cramer.  Congressman Cramer is willing to take health care away from poor people so the rich can enjoy tax breaks.  This is simply wrong and against every Christian principle, but Cramer goes around with the fake Christian badge on his shirt. Cramer is against abortion, but has no problem of taking food away from a living breathing child.  So in my book the ex prison inmate is far more moral than Cramer.

Cramer said he had no problem with working until he is 72.  Kadizzle explained to Cramer that works fine for a politician, but no so well for a coal miner, a truck driver, or a carpenter.  Cramer is willing to raise the retirement age to protect the rich from paying taxes.  What a wonderful man Cramer is.  The Bible is full of instances where Jesus ask people to protect the rich.