Jack the Artist at the Bunkhouse

After we returned from the pheasant hunt this year Kadizzle suggested to his friend the journalist she do an article on Jack who stayed at the bunkhouse we hunted from.

A small town in the Old West.

Our little encampment along the Salt River is like a small old western town. Wagons come rolling in and randomly they roll out. This morning we were awakened to a home made rig chugging into the parking lot. Looking at the various home made, and modified desert schooners is fun. The one that just rolled in is a truck camper mounted on the back of a two ton truck.

Tucked here and there is an ATV, a motorcycle, and several solar panels. In the southwest everyone likes to harvest the sun. A lot of the modern day drifters are obsessed with tinkering. Each guy has to have as many little inventions sprouting from his outfit as possible.

Suddenly our campground seems to be filling up. We hope it is just the weekend, but it will probably last thru the week. The guy that just pulled in said he was gone for 16 days to meet the requirement of the Forest Service. This year they seem to have a new sneaky policy. To keep hard core bums out there is a requirement you leave after 14 days. You can apply for a 28 day extension after your 14 days is up. It seems the way this really works is if they don't like you, you are voted off the island. If you have been a gruff, noisy, rude, inconsiderate neighbor, your permit is not renewed. This is good in several ways. One problems with these encampments is people who move in and accumulate crap.

Wilderness Adventure

Lord Kadizzle, and Jasper Littlebottom, AKA, The Commander took off yesterday on an off trail hike. After the Kadizzlites know an area pretty well we often like to strike out on our own into unexplored territory away from the trails.

Our choice was up a creek bed toward the Superstition Mountains. Obviously going back the way we came is the simple solution, but it is no fun. As usual the two people who can never agree on anything cannot decide how to bush whack our way back.

The Commander insist she knows a simple short way back. Kadizzle had a different plan in mind. Navigating is fun in the desert and if you play your cards right it is almost a certainty you can get to a known trail. One big if is the unknown factor of hitting a canyon or cliff you cannot cross.

As often happens when two stubborn mules butt heads each of the Kadizzlites struck off in different directions for a brief period. Fortunately The Commanders route did no yield any good prospects very quickly for the direction we needed to go. We needed to go NW, but Kadizzle's stream bed seemed to head NE. Kadizzle thought the stream bed would bend to the NW, but was not sure. Either by luck or good navigating Kadizzle turned out to be correct and the route back was not too difficult. However, The Commander insist that given a little more effort her route was much quicker.

The argument has not been settled by official documentation, but Kadizzle realized as the crew hiked back that we would have got back eventually on The Commanders route, but it would have been a long hard arduous hike.

The Commander likes to hike in shorts, and she tried to persuade Kadizzle to hike bare legged. Back at the Earth Module The Commander's legs looked as if she had been clawed by a mountain lion from the cactus scratches. Had the crew taken The Commanders route we could have used her legs for hamburger.

It is always an adventure. Make sure you take a GPS, some matches, a flashlight, and a beacon. It would also be very wise to let someone know what you are up to and when you should be back. Someday Kadizzle suspects The Commander and Kadizzle will spend a cold night huddled under a space blanket, because of an adventure gone aery.

One last important word of advice. Most of the time we start hiking about 9 O'Clock. Kadizzles rule is to turn around and head back between one and two in the afternoon. Many times The Commander insist we keep going, but that rule has worked well for us. Running out of daylight and being lost is not good. On occasions when it looked as if we were in a bind, we started hiking faster to get back before dare. This leads to several bad possibilities. Going too fast leads to injuries, and if you are going in the wrong direction, you are going the wrong way faster.

Small community of content people

Yesterday the Earth Module settled into an old familiar spot. Luck was on our side and we got our favorite place. Our backyard is the vast desert and no one is near us. The old regulars are here. Bud is over in the other corner. Probably will see him out dumpster diving for cans this morning. A morning ritual is going over and standing by Bud's fire to warm up in the morning. The regular camp host are here. The executive suite ( Vault Toilets) has been freshly painted and is spit shinned fit for a king.

For some strange reason the place is devoid of campers. Johnny from Canada is here waiting for his wife to join him, and the guy that travels around fixing RV's has his big outfit off to the North. The wild horses went through yesterday. Down along the river Kadizzle heard a strange noise while taking a walk. Thought it was a horse, but turned out to be a heron. The river is way down.

The plan is to take a hike today. Old Kadizzle has not stretched his legs for awhile, so it may be hard getting the engine going.

The Sun Also rises

A coyote just wandered down the road in front of the Earth Module. Sunshine is spilling over the Superstition mountains.

After breakfast the Earth Module will head down the mountain to the Salt River campground. Kadizzle and The Commander made a prelanding check yesterday. The old gang is there and the place is practically empty. Being weaned from electricity will be difficult. All power will not come from God, but from the Honda 2,000 generator. God will provide sunshine and other amenities.

Temperatures could be improved, but 60 in AZ beats 12 in Hazen, ND. The Earth Module wine cellar was stocked at bargain prices yesterday, along with other supplies, so this morning it is just a matter of filling the water tank and hooking up.

Although usually a fairly shy person The Commander quickly becomes super Commander when she wants to see another camper layout. Yesterday she cajoled some people with a small camper into a tour. RV people are like sailors, always checking out all the options on other models. The camper The Commander spotted was an Oliver, this is a rare bird. First one either of us has ever seen. The Oliver is a copy of the classic Casita. The Oliver stole most of the Casita ideas and improved on them. A very well built and nice little camper, but very expensive. The Oliver has plenty of ground clearance and would be perfect for going way back in the boonies. Time for the second cup of coffee in the sunshine north of Mesa.

Muppets turn out to be Communist.

Just when you think it cannot get worse Fox News informs us the Muppets are communist. After the Christian fundamentalist told us the Tele Tubies were gay, it did not seem there could be any bad news. Fox now says the Occupy Wall Street movement was caused by Muppets turning our kids into communist.

Kadizzle has always feared sharing could lead to communism. It is just like drugs. You start out with something mild and next you are hooked on cocaine. The evil Muppets, and I am sure Mr. Rogers was in on it, suggest kids share. Well sharing is nothing but socialism. How far is it from socialism to communism? Yup, you see how the Muppets, and Mr. Rogers suck the kids in. What we need are cartoons that show greedy little kids who want it all. Thank God Fox has exposed PBS and what they are up to. We would not have a Kenyan president if Fox had been listened to.

The high price of recycled trash.

Don't ask why, but Kadizzle and company shopped all the thrift stores in Cottonwood yesterday. One cannot help but be amazed at the market for junk. The Commander picked up five license plates that Erin is going to use in some goofy project for one dollar per plate. Of course the junkyard would give them to you for ten cents. Railroad spikes were going for $3. You can walk down any rail line and get all you want for free. Telephone pole insulators took the cake, $25, are you kidding. One exclusive junk store had everything marked at three times what an idiot would pay for it.

There is no doubt you could go to the dump in Hazen, fill a tractor trailer with trash and sell it in Cottonwood for a nice profit.

On interesting thing about the Cottonwood stores was the smell. The thrift store in Hazen, and in all North Dakota thrift stores smell like pickle canning took place or too much sausage was fried around the clothes. In Cottonwood the store have a better smell that my sister says is desert dust mixed with sweat.

It is always interesting that things given away elsewhere are sold in thrift stores. All the silly cups, pill boxes, and other advertising give away items are sold to idiots to dumb to go next door and ask for one for free.

Sister Patty came very close to buying a framed poster with Cowboy sayings. The best and my favorite was " Don't get mad at people who are smarter than you, it is not their fault". There should be a sign in these thrift stores " It is any wonder you are in here broke, if you have been buying junk at these prices your entire life".

Functionless junk seems to market very well. There are hundreds of broken and worn out things you can buy at a dear price to just sit in your house and take up space. One good deal are the 19.95 items sold on TV. They are usually marked down to half price.

Dog VS Helicopter in Cottonwood, AZ

The World reduced to a penny jar.

At my sister Patty's house last night a crisis arose. The last bottle of St. Pauly Girl beer was empty. Patty instructed Lord Kadizzle to run to the local refreshment establishment and replenish the supply. As Kadizzle paid for the beer he noticed the little jar that held pennies for customers short a penny or two. On the jar were the rules as follow:

1. If you need a penny, take a penny

2. If you need two pennies, take two.

3. If you need three pennies, get a job.

Being a socialist Kadizzle would add number four. Don't take more pennies than you need, or leave enough pennies for those who really need them.

Only the Super Rich can Save US

In the cozy den of the large but modest house in Omaha where he has lived since he started on his first billion, Warren Buffett watched the horrors of Hurricane Katrina unfold on television in early September 2005. . . . On the fourth day, he beheld in disbelief the paralysis of local, state, and federal authorities unable to commence basic operations of rescue and sustenance, not just in New Orleans, but in towns and villages all along the Gulf Coast. . . He knew exactly what he had to do. . ."

So begins the vivid fictional account by political activist and bestselling author Ralph Nader that answers the question, "What if?" What if a cadre of superrich individuals tried to become a driving force in America to organize and institutionalize the interests of the citizens of this troubled nation? What if some of America's most powerful individuals decided it was time to fix our government and return the power to the people? What if they focused their power on unionizing Wal-Mart? What if a national political party were formed with the sole purpose of advancing clean elections? What if these seventeen superrich individuals decided to galvanize a movement for alternative forms of energy that will effectively clean up the environment? What if together they took on corporate goliaths and Congress to provide the necessities of life and advance the solutions so long left on the shelf by an avaricious oligarchy? What could happen?

At the foot of the mountains.

Daughter Erin recently had knee surgery, so Mr. and Mrs. Kadizzle have been playing, granny, grandpa, and nurse. Hopefully the wagon train will leave for New Mexico on Tuesday.

Erin has temporarily moved into a nice neighborhood in Longmont, Colorado. The community has been well planned and the bike paths and playgrounds make it a nice place to live.

Granddaughter Sylvie is so much fun. She has an incredible vocabulary and a great sense of humor. Her favorite thing is to wear her Tu Tu all day. Her ability to remember things is astounding. At two and a half she can already count to twenty. That was the West Virginia test for high school graduation.

Too Lazy to get Rich

Some may say Kadizzle is bragging, but so be it. Over the years Kadizzle has had a variety of ideas that he never took the time to promote. Later Kadizzle saw the idea brought to reality.

Yesterday Kadizzle read an article about a man in England developing a system that would allow people to board high speed trains without the high speed train stopping. Kadizzle had this idea about ten years ago. Now, it looks like it may actually happen. Someday you will be able to board a mini train and make the transfer to a high speed train passing through your town.

One of the applications you can now get on your Iphone is Redlaser. Redlaser allows you to read and create bar codes. Kadizzle came up with the idea yesterday of inventing a ball cape with your barcode right on the front where the writing normally is. If someone wants to get your information the simply ask if they can snap your hat with their Iphone. The invention will be called "The Snaphat". You can bar code what ever you want onto your hat. You could put your phone number, your website, or anything else you want. Once it is read by someone's Iphone the information will be in that person's Iphone.

This is not a great leap for Redlaser because basically this was the intent of how it was to be used. Now you are seeing codes with adds in magazines, and on billboards. Some people already have adapted the codes for business cards. I predict within a short time you will see people with the equivalent of bar codes on their clothing.

In the future you will go to a party and walk up to someone. Your device will read there bar code. Their bar code will let you know any information they want made public. It may simply be "Hi my name is Fred", or it might be their resume, and a host of other information. Kadizzle predicts that within a year you will go to a convention and see bar codes have replaced name tags or will be on the name tag.

The Pirate with a Tu Tu

The history of pirates is interesting. One key to their success was they usually had far more people on their ship than the ship they attacked. Pirates deliberately sought to create the impression they were mean, crazy, and dangerous. Being a bit of a pirate himself Kadizzle would naturally have a granddaughter that was a pirate. Last night in pirate pajamas grandpa read some pirate stories to Sylvie. Like so many her age she gets obsessed with a certain outfit. In this case it is always wearing a Tu Tu. So this morning the pirate with a Tu Tu was singing "heave ho, blow the man down"

The Screaming of the diesel taught me how to cry.

The Commander and Lord Kadizzle just set up camp by the railroad track in Wheatland, Wyoming. It was a pleasant drive halfway to Denver from Hazen.

Kadizzle likes being by a good railroad. A train just went by. There was an old depression era song "The freight train blues".

If you play the video below you can hear the original version. Every time Kadizzle hears a train he thinks of this song.



The shear volume of coal being shipped out of Wyoming means a train load goes by about every fifteen minutes on the main line. We are on a side line, so things should not be that noisy.

Very funny, very true, share with a friend

Maybe People are waking up.

Perhaps there is some hope. This morning the Republican greed machine has taken some serious hits. In Arizona they got rid of a right wing rat that was preying on the fear of Mexicans. In Ohio the voters defeated another attempt by the Republicans to drive working people into the ground with union busting. In Mississippi the voters did not fall for the abortion crap the Republican party loves to hand out. So now maybe people are beginning to see who the real villains are. As the Republicans economically drive the middle class out of existence perhaps people have turned from sports to reality. Perhaps people see that because Fox says it, it is not true. There is hope.

How to poisen yourself for eight dollars.

On the recent great hunting trip Kadizzle managed to lose an eight dollar cigar. Since it was just not right, Kadizzle went to the cigar store yesterday and bought the same cigar. The Commander had left instructions that when she returns from Denver the yard is to be free of leaves. The death penalty was threatened. So Kadizzle merrily went about cleaning the yard with the eight dollar cigar puffing away. Somewhere near the end of the job the nicotine poisoning struck. For awhile Kadizzle though it might be the last day of his life. Kadizzle considered leaving word with The Commander that if she came home and found his cigar smelling body in a heap it was the cigar that did it. After a brief puking session, and a series of cold sweats the sickness went away. Kadizzle decided to check the toxicology of nicotine. Children can be killed by chewing nicotine gum. Nicotine is used in insecticides to kill insects. One giant refrigerator bug was just about killed at our house with it. This is not the first time old Kadizzle has experienced the fine feeling of a little nicotine poison. In College Kadizzle's body was simultaneously trying to evacuate some nicotine from chewing tobacco. That was the last attempt at that. After yesterdays lesson, it may be a long time before Kadizzle tries another cigar. Old hillbilly farmers used to tell Kadizzle a wad of chewing tobacco would rid a horse of worms. So there is a good side to my spell yesterday.

Occupy Bismarck

An absolute, must watch, funny, on the test video

If you can verify that you showed this to a right winger I will send you ten dollars. It knocks it out of the park.

Steve Jobs Blast Fox News, and does a damn good job of it.

Click on this and read what Steve Jobs told Ruport Murdock the evil scrooge behind Fox News. Jobs tells Murdock how destructive to society Fox's lying is. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Strippers in Williston, Strippers in Hazen

Years ago when the boom was going full bore in Hazen the Bar at the Crossroads had strippers. An old friend asked Kadizzle and a bunch of other men to help tear down an old building. After the work was done all the men went to the Crossroads for a drink. It was late in the afternoon on a Saturday. The place had a big crowd watching the stripper. This stripper did a routine where she put baby powder in her G string. When she snapped the G string it appeared smoke came out. Most of the crowd was half drunk and rowdy. The wife of the bar owner had a buggy whip she used to keep drunks away from the stage. The highlight of the show was a drunk native American who called himself "Quofum Puffum". Quofum Puffum would get up pull down his pants and moon everyone in the crowd while doing a war dance. Everyone would cheer and the night went on.

This morning CNN featured a story about the strippers in Williston making 2k per night. It must be just like the old days at the Crossroads. If you drive by the Crossroads where 200A turns north from 200 you might see a small barn like building beside the house that used to be the bar. The Rumor was that the strippers did some work on the side to pick up extra cash in that little barn like building. Nothing like an oil boom to stir the economy.

Shooting up Dingers

Kadizzle was walking along a fence line by the lake hunting pheasants when his phone rang. Someone wanted to take him up on his bet. Kadizzle had bet the dingers on the Bismarck Tribune blog cite $500 that 15 out of 20 Canadians would prefer their health care to the American system. It turned out to be Big Jake. Big Jake is another Hooplehead buster that fights the right wing Hooples. Big Jake was just pulling Kadizzles leg, he knew it was a suckers bet. The Hoopleheads would never actually put their money on the lies of Rush Limbaugh and Fox News. Recently Kadizzle spent eight days in Canada and talked to twenty Canadians. Every one of them said they were well satisfied with their health care and could not believe the way Americans lied about their system.

This was the first conversation Kadizzle had with Big Jake. Big Jake does a good job of hitting the Hooples with facts and blows a lot of them out of the water. The conversation went on for a long time and The Commander wondered what happened to the hunt. It is always fun to talk to another fighter in the war against misinformation. So far Kadizzle has talked to two other blog addicted fools. It turned out Honest Omar is a boater, and Kadizzle has spent many hours with Honest Omar BSing, sharing articles and drinking wine.

Kadizzle has only spoken with one right wing dinger. It was a polite and good discussion. Someday for fun Kadizzle might invite all the blogg fighters left and right to breakfast in Bismarck. It would be fun to meet all the people who think you can reason with those on the other side of the universe.

Big Jake has an addiction equal to Kadizzle. Big Jake told a good story about how his grandson figured out that the guy who writes under the name Big Jake was his grandfather.

Kadizzle believes if you believe something, you should be able to support your belief with facts, and you should be able to express in writing what you believe. Our country is plagued with people who accept too much at face value. That is what brought Hitler to power, people unwilling to question what someone told them. Our country is in an economic crises and it is time for people to wake up.

What don't you get about this?

Childhood home featuted in movie

Recently a movie called "Doughboy" was filmed in my home town of Wheeling, West Virginia. The set they used for the home scenes were done in the house where Kadizzle grew up. The picture above was made in what was our living room. The current owners use it as a dinning room. The house was built around 1914 by a man that owned a brewery. The door you see on the left side of the picture was never opened in Kadizzles whole life. The door was behind an upright piano and there was no way to get to it. If you click on the picture it will get larger. As you look through one door you see a second door that leads to the basement. Kadizzle's mother could not bear to throw out a good mayonnaise jar, and the little shelf beside the steps always was lined with jars.

Sailboats have multiplied like weeds.

Yesterday as the crew of the Sovereign pulled into the winter storage yard for the boats Kadizzle and The Commander both remarked how the sail boats had taken over. Being a sailor for 25 years old Kadizzle has seen it go both ways. Sailboats had their first surge when the energy crises started. People saw it as a way to beat the game. High fuel prices don't affect the wind much. As usual this summer most of the expensive power boats sat at the dock, floating cabins. Every year a few more sailors have been joining the ranks. Looking around the boat yard there was only one power boat of any consequence. In defense of the piston heads it must be said they now mostly store there boats indoors in Riverdale. There is something about luxury that is counter productive. In a few minutes I will have to walk to the end of the driveway to get the paper. There was a time it was right outside the door. Now, the inconvenience forced me to take a little walk and smell the morning air. Sailing works the same way. On a sailboat you sit outside and enjoy the planet with no noisy motor. Sure a sailboat is inconvenient by power boat standards, but what is the point of looking out the window of your power boat while you push buttons, isn't that what you do when you watch television. People are waking up to the pleasures of inconvenience, it might be gardening, or it might be hiking, but doing things the old way has it's rewards. Who is enjoying the scenery the most? The guy driving down the road at 70mph or the guy pedaling at 8mph? At the end of the day who has a sense of accomplishment?

Riding the Surely Pugsley.

While doing some touring in Alaska a woman pulled up to the overlook on a Surely Pugsley bike. The tires on the bike were huge and my immediate reaction was, boy would that be hard to pedal. So Lord Kadizzle wandered over to the older woman and asked how the bike performed. The kind lady said hop on and try it. The bike had huge flotation tires like the airplanes in Alaska do. Very quickly Kadizzle realized the bike performed very well. The Pugsley is designed to go anywhere you want. Through the woods, over sand or snow, and a lot of places the current bike would never think of. If you are wondering what to get me for Christmas this is the answer.

The Only Newspaper

Every Morning old Lord Kadizzle reads the New York Times. This morning there is an article by Kristoff about the economic mess we are in. If you really want an honest view of what is going on in the world you can read Tom Friedman, Paul Krugman, and a host of other real thinkers and writers. These are people who win Noble Prizes for their skills.

On the flip side of the coin you can stick to local papers like the Bismarck Tribune and read about the quilting bee. If Jesus appeared in Bismarck and declared he was a Democrat the Bismarck Tribune would do a story on the leaves falling from the trees on the front page. Then there is the Fox News, Rush Limbaugh crowd who loves to be told what they like to be told. We all like to be told there is a Santa Clause, so Rush and Fox tell everyone there is a Santa Clause but Obama will not let him come to America.

400 Families now have as much wealth as the bottom 150,000,000 Americans. This is an economic disaster you can read about in Kristoff's article today. It is not something someone made up like they do on Fox, it is a fact gathered from real data.
On Fox Glenn Beck said God talked to him. No reporter I ever read in the New York Times claimed their information came from God.

Found the Keys

After a two and a half mile hike up the mountain the car keys were not at the top. The car keys were not where we thought. However on the way down with a careful search Lord Kadizzle found the Keys. Two hours of looking paid off, but now we are sore from two mountain hikes in a row.

Open this up and open your mind to the truth

How to painfully lose keys

During yesterdays forced march number two with The Commander the keys to the car were lost on the trail. This means today we will start at day break and rehike the two and one half mile steep trail. Lord Kadizzle suspects the keys fell out when he pulled the flip camera from his pocket while making a video of a grouse. Fortunately the hike is in one of the most scenic places in the U.S. on the Seward Highway. Hiking yesterday we got to see a bore tide. Only sixty places on earth have such a tide. A single wave rushes up the estuary. It is a sight to behold. The tide is predictable and it is a matter of being there on time. Tomorrow the expedition to Alaska ends. The timing seems perfect we have hit an incredible run of excellent weather.

How did they do it?

Traveling where trappers and miners explored the Yukon and Alaska Kadizzle has to ask, "How did they do it?". How could a person have enough supplies to travel into the wild? The task these people undertook seems surmountable. Until you see how vast and rugged the terrain is you cannot imagine what they accomplished. Winters must have been an endurance contest that few could win.

Back to Civilization

Eight days of driving, and the Kadizzles have landed in Anchorage. No more hotel rooms. Fresh seafood every night.

Into the Yukon

Lunch in the Yukon

The Bear Truth

The Commander demands correctness in approaching bears. Driving at 70 mph and suddenly seeing a bear by the road makes it hard to sneak up on the guy in the black suit. However we finally found an older more experienced fellow that was apparently used to the tourist trade. Mr. Bear kept eating his lunch right beside the car.

On to Jaspar

As usual with The Commander a short hike turns into an exercise the Marines would be proud of. After we did our tour at the wonderful Banff Hotel the Kadizzles headed to Lake Moraine. Like the nearby Lake Louise it was that incredible blue. After gaining a couple thousand feet above the lake we reached the larch trees that were changing color. The views were spectacular. As the day progressed the amazing sites never quit. The first grizzly appeared along the road and Lord Kadizzle began to believe that perhaps The Commander was justified in buying the bear spray. The trip from Banff to Jasper would be hard to beat for scenery per mile.

Kadizzle In Canada, on the way to Alaska

Day two of the big trip. Tonight we stay at a nice bed and breakfast in the Canadian Rockies. Friends we met in AZ are putting us up and Glenn gave us a nice tour of the area. The trees are turning and the area is in it's high glory of fall.

Kadizzle has been interviewing Canadians all day about their health care. They love it. The total bullshit in the U.S about Canadian health care is hard to believe when you actually talk to Canadians. Why the United States does not just simply adopt the Canadian system is hard to understand. This morning at the Comfort Inn in Medicine Hat Kadizzle talked to five Canadians. Every one of them said they love their health care and there is no way they would put up with the American crap. If you ever go to Canada see what they really think. How the right wing has lied really hits you when you talk to Canadians.

Coming upon an Elk unexpectedly

This morning the huge elk showed up again. He has some sort of tracking collar on him. After he left the first time we thought he was gone for the day. Later Cissie took Sylvie over to play in the stream by Erin's house at the water fall. I went farther up stream to sit at the little camp fire spot by the stream. Just as I got there I accidentally surprised the big elk as he was drinking from the stream. The elk took off running downstream toward Cissie and Sylvie. I was afraid he would run right into them. I yelled at them to let them know he was coming. Luckily the elk ran up the side of the mountain. Waiting for Cissie and Sylvie to return I spotted him again up above us.

If your not good at thinking don't do a lot of it

A good quote is always a pleasure. Yesterday Kadizzle heard another one. A commentator was talking about the rise of Rick Perry the governor of Texas and he said. "Perry is like a monkey climbing a tree, the higher he gets the uglier it looks". My old boss in the coal business was a good old southern fellow and he could pull out a saying at the right time. One day another manager came in his office and was arguing to buy a new expensive piece of equipment. Hubert heard his presentation and then rubbed his chin and said " It's nice to have a girlfriend if you can afford it". You never knew for sure what these things meant, but Kadizzle took it to mean some things are nice but unnecessary. Another favorite of Hubert's was "Even a blind hog will root". Apparently that means even an idiot will stumble upon a good idea once in awhile. An all time favorite is "Busier than a one legged man in an ass kicking contest". Country wisdom has it's own charm.

A good bum story

Listen to this whole story and see how this guy got the FBI to plant his garden

Warren Buffett says "Stop Coddling the Rich"

Warren Buffett is a rich person with a conscience. Read his article Stop Coddling the Rich This is a great article to share with right wing dingers that buy the trickle down nonsense. How can they argue with Warren Buffett? They cannot call him stupid. They cannot say he doesn't understand business. This is a terrific way to open the eyes of a right winger that things you can have prosperity without taxing the rich.

Erin Wants to live at the Airport

Daughter Erin took the Kadizzlites on a grand tour of the housing development at the old Stapleton Airport. A little strange to see the control tower sticking up in the middle of suburbia, but the old airport has been converted to yuppie paradise. Strangely the trend is to go back to the old neighborhood design Kadizzle grew up in. The front porch has become the in thing. Garages behind the house are back in style. However, open space is shared and at a premium. The curse of modern life is transportation. Cars are the bane of society. Once the love affair with cars comes to and end and some kind of sensible transportation is developed space will be freed up for people. There are no streets in front of the houses, which works out nicely. Instead there is a nice little green space shared by the neighborhood. There are huge green space areas nearby with trails, creeks, swimming pools and even a sled riding hill. Other than the control tower you would never know it was an airport.

Anyone can hit a rock, it just takes concentration

About a week ago the Kadizzles were pulling out of a bay under sail. Through a series of errors and inattention the good ship hit a rock hard. Luckily the good ship was moving very slowly. Lake Sakakawea has very few places where you can ram a good hard rock while sailing. However, a good captain can do it. This was not the first time the captain discovered new land. The keel had been patched in the magic spot where the rock finder is located last year. The Commander did not look too joyful when the loud bank indicated we had discovered solid ground. For dramatic effect most of the patch from last year floated to the surface. Now, for the fun part. The Commander seemed in a panic, but Kadizzle is not allowed to say that. The Commanders perception was more like we hit an ice berg with the Titanic. Feeling sure we were taking on water The Commander went below and turned on the sump pump. Gushing water was the first thing she heard. The sound of the water made it clear the boat was sinking at an unbelievable rate, so The Commander quickly hailed the other boats in our fleet to stand by for rescue. Kadizzle thought it highly unlikely hitting a rock with the keel would sink the boat. The only real way to know was to pick up the floor board and actually see what was happening. Things are never what the seem. After the floor board was out of the the way it became apparent coincidence had played a bad trick on us. The hose had come off the sump pump. The pump was doing a spectacular job of pumping water in a circle making a noise like a fountain. The boat was in no real danger. Keels were put on sail boats to make them idiot proof. The keel of a boat is like the bumper on a car, when it makes a loud noise the car slows down quickly and that is your indication you did something wrong. Sailboats just don't go that fast, so they are almost completely idiot proof. Of course Kadizzle needs a hobby that is idiot proof.

What a day on the Lake

Some Damn Good advice for Obama

The Flying drunk Dinger

It was a dark and rainy night when a drunken dinger flew down our street and became airborne. The God of drunks was watching over him, a few more feet and the dinger express would have done a nice nose dive into the creek by our house. The moral of the story is don't drink and fly. At the end of our street is the perfect ramp to launch a car into the creek if you hit it at about forty.

Rush Limbaugh bombed, you have to watch

Mind Boggling Stupidity

This morning I ordered medicine from Canada. Speaking to the Canadian lady during the order we discussed Canadian health care and how misinformed Americans are about Canada's system. The lady talks to a lot of Americans about the Canadian system. She told me how Americans believe the lies Fox News spreads about Canadian health care. She told me there is no way in hell she would change for our system. It is a simple test. Call up a Canadian and ask them how they like their health care. I bet one hundred dollars that if you you make a random call to Canada and ask a Canadian if they would switch to the American disaster you will get a resounding no. The Canadian woman told me " If our system was so bad, wouldn't we be fighting it?". Makes sense to me. Americans have become so ignorant and obsessed with right wing lying it is hopeless. As Americans we pay three times what any other civilized country does for health care and get worse results. Sure our system is great if you are rich, but God have mercy upon you if you are not. How can we be so stupid?

Summer is Chugging along

Sailing season is finally underway. Last weekend the good ship had three nice nights on the lake. Sleeping on the water is hard to beat when there is no wind. The lake looks so different at it's record high. To sail over islands that used to stick ten feet out of the water is amazing.

400 Families have more income than 150,000,000

Last night Kadizzle saw his hero Bernie Sanders the socialist on the new Keith Olberman show. According to Bernie the top 400 families in the United States now have more income than the bottom 150 million people in this country, and simple minded right wing dingers wonder why our economy is in trouble? Anyone who cannot see the income disparity problem and it's implications is just watching too much Fox News. It is absolutely amazing that with Republican greed at its current level the right wing wants even more tax cuts for the rich. Meanwhile they want to destroy any hope for affordable health care, cut social security, and destroy medicare. These soulless greed driven scum are blinded by selfishness.

Reality test

Last week Kadizzle spoke with a young intelligent young computer programmer. He did not know that rich people pay no social security tax on any dollar they make over 106K. Very few people know those making over $106,000 do not pay social security tax on each dollar over that they earn. It is a wonderful tax break for the rich no one knows about. The implications of this break for the rich are very interesting. The young in our country are being hammered by Republican greed. To understand this game read The New York Times article advocating raising what people get in social security.

A June to Forget

So far this has been one of the most uneventful June's in history. Nothing happened except the flood on the Missouri. The Missouri flooded because it rained day and night all month. That translates into a lot of internet, TV watchin, and general time wasting. Not that Kadizzle ain't a good time waster, but even that gets old.

In Coal Country we do it differently.

Most weddings involve a dance at city hall in Hazen. Since we are in heavy mining country this is often the transportation of choice.

Republican Map of the World

Click on Map to enlarge and make readable

Throw the grenade back. Remember the Death Panel?

The sorrowful, greedy, Republicans are whinning because they got burnt on the Paul Ryan medicare plan. The poor Republicans are crying foul. The Democrats turned the table on the right wing greed machine. Remember the Death Panel lie the Republicans used to destroy health care reform. They made up that shit and it spread, now they claim the Democrats are spreading falsehoods about Paul Ryans voucher system to reform medicare. The throw granny off the cliff story is working for the Democrats. It is waking granny up to what rotten greedy scum Newt and his gang are, so the Rush gang is crying and screaming foul. What's good for the goose, is apparently not good for the gander.

Could people be getting smarter?

Rush Limbaugh is losing his audience, as are other right wing story tellers. Could people be getting smarter. After the Republicans voted to give 21 billion to the oil companies even the simplest Hooplehead must be confused. The Republicans have painted themselves into a corner. The dumbest old goat Republican knows it makes no sense to cut medicare while you give billions in tax cuts to Bush's buddies. Glenn Beck showed that when you keep getting goofier and goofier even Fox will pitch you out the window. Even the hard core stupid have limits. Fox knew that and got rid of Beck. Hopefully people finally got tired of Rush's message of hate, and greed.

Lets push Granny off the cliff

This is a good add to hit the Republican greed machine with. If you listen to the entire thing you will notice in the discussion, the Fox guy will not allow the woman to make an obvious point. You give the rich 700 Billion in tax cuts and then you say you cannot afford to take care of people with affordable health care. The real clincher is Fox was such a big player in the Death Panel lie, now this sorrowful guy has the balls to call this add unacceptable. Classic right wing nonsense. When you use their own tactics against them they go nuts.

The World will start to end on Saturday.

As my sister pointed out, the world will not actually end on the 21, but will start to end, it will take until October to get it all done. We just planted the garden so it was a big disappointment having the world end. Now, it looks like we can get a crop in. Having the world end in October creates a lot of confusion. Should I diet? Should we keep making payments? There are just so many decisions to make with the world ending. Since the start of the end will be on television we are glad we just got a new flat screen. Actually we have been preparing for the end a long time. We have not changed the oil on the car, we have let so many things go the world ending is going to save us a lot of money. In late October we will drink everything in the liquor cabinet. I just put new tires on the truck, boy was that a mistake, I could have made it to the end of the world with the old ones. The Commander is going to buy me blue jeans today. It might be a waste of money, but I want to look nice for the end. Budgeting is a lot easier with the end in site. We can live like kings. The bad news is every vacation spot will be crowded as everyone is going to want to vacation before the world ends. We are going to do a lot of looting. The righteous, which will not be us will get drawn up early, so that means all their stuff will be available. Maybe a righteous person has a nice sailboat we can get. The righteous should be selling stuff dirt cheap tomorrow. There are just too many things you have to think about with the world ending. It takes so much worry out of decisions.

John Stewart cooks O'Rielly.

Watch the implosion.

The last two weeks have seen the Republicans imploding. One after another their little delusional world is blowing up. Tax breaks for oil companies, would you want to have to spin that one? The killing of Bin Laden made Republicans heads spin, there goes that game. Trump blew up and went away. Newt, the little rat is running. Michelle Backmann is crazier than ever. Ensign blew up like a toxic bomb with his sexual abuse scandal and he is taking the fake religious gang down with him. The Catholic church has called out the Republican speaker of the house for being the greedy bastard he is. Huckabee is showing what a complete religious nut he is with his racist cartoons. Mitt is flip flopping on health care like a fish out of water. It is better than a circus watching Republican clowns shoot their feet off.

The worlds worst rat wants Obama to fail

Listen to the mother of all pigs

Lets take America Back. From who?

Danger, Toxic, Do not watch if you vote Republican

Bush reports his version of Bin Ladin death

President Bush Reacts to Osama Bin Laden's Death with Will Ferrell from Will Ferrell

May You Live in Interesting Times

"May you live in interesting times". Supposedly this is an old Chinese curse, but our nation may be under that curse. When 46% of Republicans say they would vote for Donald Trump, a man who is completely deranged and willing to demonstrate it daily, we are surely in "interesting times". At a time when the rich are paying the lowest taxes they have paid in history, and asking for more tax breaks, we are living "in interesting times". When people will watch Fox News spew lies and propaganda, and think they are really watching news, we are "living in interesting times". Perhaps the China that we now owe 900 billion dollars has successfully put a curse on us. We are living on a Chinese credit card. The Chinese are famous for being patient. The Chinese have been patient enough to lend us the money we need to destroy ourselves. We borrowed 700 billion from our Chinese friends so we could give the rich the Bush tax breaks they deserve. Indeed we are living in "interesting times".

Save money, and leave the crooks behind with your telephone

After years of fighting the crooked management of West River Telecommunications Lord Kadzzle has thrown in the towel and given up on his land line. Now for the same price Kadizzle gets internet service on his phone where ever he goes. This is how you do it, it is free. You port you land line number to your cell phone, or just give up your land line. Now, when you call Kadizzle at 701-748-6111 you will be calling his new Iphone. The money that used to pay for the CEO at West River Telecommunications winter vacations, now pays for the internet service on the Iphone. Rural Telephone cooperatives are one of the biggest abusers of government subsidies that ever existed. The whole concept of rural phone coops is outdated. With cell phones they are a relic of the past that is unneeded. It used to be farmers could not get phone service, but now they can call from the cell phone in the tractor. The sad part of this story is that small towns could be served by digital phone service are kept from doing so by the clever maneuvering of the rural phone coops. Rural phone coops have found a way to funnel the subsidies they get from the federal government directly to the customer. The whole thing violates every principle of a free market Republicans love to harp about. However, West River Telecommunications is run by Republicans. The crooked board and CEO have used the phone company for years to promote the candidacy of District 33's, Randy Christmann. If you are still a member of WRT you can request a ballot and vote the scoundrels out. It is time to change this nest of thieves.

Wonderful testimonial to what a complete scum Donald Trump is

The Donald sets a new standard for how low a person can go to promote himself.

View from the office

Did not get the picture I wanted, but this gives you an idea. This deer was directly in front of Erin's desk, perhaps three feet away. What an office, you get to see deer, elk, and an occasional fox walk right by.

This is not a choice, you have to watch this

If you watch this, and still have an once of respect for Rush Limbaugh, you need to seek professional help.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Franklin Graham, the Junior Rat of Billy Graham

Franklin Graham came down today on the side of Donald Trump. If you examine the life of his daddy the lickspittle preacher, you would see daddy was a racist, of the worst sort. Now, the junior Rat has come out and said Obama has the "Seed of Islam" in him. Franklin sure learned from Daddy.

My first experience with old Billy was when he was bilking my mother. My mother sent Billy money. One day I wrote Billy and complained about Billy bilking my mother. I made up a figure out of thin air about how much the Graham crooks were getting from my mother. The Billy Graham scammers wrote back and told me to the cent how much they had bilked from my mother. Billy had a typical preachers sucker list. Billy knew what strings to pull to get the most out of a sucker. Was it starving children, Africans, or Indians. Like so many crooked preachers most people never looked closely at what old Billy was up to. Check out the actual recordings between Graham and Richard Nixon and the anti Semitic crap they were both spewing. Franklin supporting Trump? Does Franklin not have a clue about the immoral Rat Trump is?

Donald Trump, The Litmus Test for Stupidity.

Charles Blow has written such a good article on Donald Trump, in The New York Times today, I beg you to read it. Donald Trump in one human being represents all that is wrong with the Republican party and our country. Trump believes money is everything and anyone who doesn't worship it is a heathen. The fact that 46% of Republicans would vote for this hopeless idiot is so dismaying. Where did the minds of those people go? Do they read anything. It turns out the ex wife of The Donald testified in court that The Donald kept a book of Hitlers speeches beside his bed. The Donald apparently really liked the speech "The big lie".

The Stump Preachers.

When Kadizzle was a kid and his head was filling with nonsense, he used to like to listen to the crooked stump preachers on the local radio station WWVA. The term stump preacher comes from the old days in the hills when some goof would stand on a stump and preach to the other goofs. WWVA was the second radio station in the nation. Late in the evening the radio station had an amusing array of stump preachers that whipped the idiots into a frenzy and robbed them blind. One of the all time favorites one of these crooked preacher uses was this " Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Stop Everything! Someone out there in radio land has just been inspired by God to send me a check for $100, come over and put you hand on the radio to get your blessing right now". You could just see dozens of simple minded idiots yelling to their grand children "Quick, get me the check book". Today we still have the crooked stump preachers like Pat Robertson, Billy Grahm, and so on. However, there is a new breed. Now we have Glenn Beck, Hanity, and a whole new bunch that have taken stump preaching to a new level. Then new breed makes up simple minded explanations and conspiracy theories for everything, then they sell you a book full of lies and propaganda. The idea of a stump preacher is to be a good story teller. A good story teller will get you scared or excited. Fox News perfected taking stump preaching out of the realm of religion and putting to use in politics. The birther nonsense is classic. 67% percent of Republican think Obama may not have been born in this country. As you can see there is a vast supply of idiots to be harvested by the stump preachers, and you can see how easy it is to whup the dingers into a frenzy.

Donald Trump caught in multiple lies, Don't watch this if you are a delusional right winger.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Donald is a complete catastrophe. Someone tell me how 26% of Republicans could be so stupid as to consider voting for this complete dinger?

The Nasty Bitch the Republicans love.

Ann Rand is like Donald Trump, if you let someone else tell you about them, they sound great, but if you look for yourself you will see what hopeless conniving pigs they are. Ann Rand is an atheist, there is nothing wrong with that, but do the silly fundamentalist know it, of course not. Just like right wingers don't really know Donald Trump. Trump like Newt has had more wives than a Mormon, but the right wing moralist who support them are clueless. Ann Rand is the hero of the selfish. Listen to what she says about herself. Most right wingers never look into the reality, they just follow the Fox buzz. So here she is watch the whole thing and you will see a bitch every bit as bad as Ann Coulter.

Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1% Society: vanityfair.com

Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1% Society: vanityfair.com
Ignorant by Choice. Read the article in the link above, or you can go in the other room turn on the television, tune it to Fox and hear anything you need to reinforce your right wing ideas. The information is there, you have to be careful to avoid it. What is the difference between information and opinion? Information uses facts, Fox News is nothing but right wing opinion that avoids facts. Kadizzle was thinking of sending this article to a right wing friend in Bismarck. The agreement with the right winger is that we will not discuss politics. My friend knows his ideology will not stand up to reality, so he just avoids it. My friend would not consider reading this article because it does not agree with what he already believes. My friend is the bread and butter of Fox News. He loves to have Fox reinforce his fantasy. He loves to have Fox scare him about the Negro president. My friend is not stupid, he is ignorant by choice.

Another Winner

How can I get you to listen to this?

People want a quick simple explanation for everything. That is how Fox News works. Very few people will take the time to listen to this man, but if you do I promise it will be rewarding. Particularly toward the end when he explains the Christian right, you will find it enlightening. He is no fan of Obama. I am sorry to say I agree very much with his assessment of Obama as a sell out.

The Best Summary of Republican ideals ever

28% Hard Core Stupid

The same number seems to always pop up. The number is approximately 28%. When you come up with a goofy simple minded idea you can always count on 28% of the people to believe it. The birther crap is a good example. The death panel crap is another example, and now Donald Trump. The sad thing about the hard core stupid is the right wing always gets them. That inherently means the right wing always has a 28% lead. The right wing owns the gun nuts, the abortion nuts, the easily scared, the paranoid, and of course the ill informed. Now, give the 28% a nudge in the direction of stupidity with Fox, Rush, and Glenn Beck and it is pretty scary. So things for progress look pretty grim.

You have to be kidding?

Donald Trump is the favorite Republican candidate? This man and the Birther nonsense alone proves what a dinger Trump is. 26% of Republicans support this mental case? Newt, Trump, both may as well be Mormons with the number of wives they have had. It is just beyond imagination the absolute most obvious loser is the Republican favorite. When they had the little fling with Palin, did they learn nothing about running idiots?

The Rats destroy Medicare

What is happening? What happened to Change?

Back in the Dakota's

Patches of snow are still trying to turn into water in this land of the midnight sun. Some trees are making an attempt to bud. Jasper Littlebottom is getting the gardening bug. Hazen had a terrible winter. Wandering around town talking to the survivors would make anyone glad they were not here. Most of the residents look like ground hogs that just came out to see their shadow. Jasper is driving the city bus as a part time job to pay for her vast art collection. Kadazzle is trying to get his posterior in gear and get a few simple projects done. Soon it will be sailing season and that means the regular polishing and painting. The lake will have plenty of water and it will be great to have a gentle breeze wisk the Kadizzles to a secluded bay.
The guy in the picture and his wife moved into the neighborhood. Some people are bitching about the noise they make, but Kadizzle loves the hoot of an owl at night. The other day two cock pheasants had a boxing match right on the street. A third rooster stood by like the referee. The fact that the wildlife is coming to life is a good sign.

You Cannot afford to go to Bluff, Utah

Kadizzle loves Bluff, Utah, and hopes too many people don't discover it. With Ruth and Rodger, and The Commander we had a great time there on the San Juan River. However, you don't simply go to Bluff and have some of the best hiking in the world, or just sit and enjoy the sun. The danger in Bluff is a bunch of secret artist. Passing through most people would not even know they were there. Do not let your love partner wander in Bluff by herself. The last two times The Commander got loose it cost Kadizzle big Ka Ching.

On a day off from the normal forced march, the commander begged Kadizzle to go to Bluff to do some art browsing. Kadizzle needed some rest and wanted to take it easy. Big mistake. Kadizzle had feared The Commander might take her love to town (That is her Indian art love) and come back with something expensive, but when she returned with a double dose of stick art, and the smell of burnt credit cards Kadizzle knew it was over. Poor old Kadizzle had been thinking about buying himself one of those fancy smart phones, but when he saw the back of the pickup loaded with woven sticks he knew he would be lucky to get pencil and paper to communicate.

Waking up in the Goulag

The Earth Module pulled into the driveway in Hazen yesterday. After waking up every morning to sunshine in the southwest Kadizzle feels like he has been sentenced to a Russian prison camp. Someday the sun will shine in Hazen, but today is dreary with just enough snow sitting around to make one question his sanity. As Old Black Joes said "All the world is dark and dreary everywhere I go". That seemed to be the feeling around Hazen with everyone we met. Spring cannot get here quick enough. North Dakota has a high suicide rate which would be considerably lower if people would make it a point to escape in the winter for a couple weeks.

I have to buy a new scale

I haven't stepped on a scale for some time. One reason I don't bother is because scales cannot be trusted. I know I am a handsome man in good shape, but when I step on a scale I am disappointed about how many scales are defective. Until I find a scale that confirms what I know to be true, I will avoid stepping on any.

So many times I have run into this phenomenon with people of the right wing persuasion. No matter what data Kadizzle offers them, the data is always wrong because it does not confirm their belief. As soon as they detect a difference between what the data shows and their belief they refuse to even read the data or dismiss it because it came from NPR, The New York Times, or some other highly suspect source. If The New York Times quoted the Bible, the Bible itself would have no credibility according to these people. Now, for the amazing part. Almost without exception when Kadizzle gets in a discussion with the right wing, the right winger will say they have data to contradict Kadizzles facts. However, when you ask them to point you to the data, or show it to you all they say is "It is there, I just don't have time to find it".

If you gave one of these people an article titled "Rice is good for you", and they believed it wasn't, they would not read the article. The title is all they need to know. They already know rice is not good for you, so why should they read an article that says it is not? Fox News clearly understands this phenomenon. Fox knows there is an audience of people that wants someone to confirm everything they believe. There is a market for someone who will say Obama was not born in this country, there is a market for someone who will deny Global warming. The beauty of the Fox system is Fox doesn't have to back up anything they say with facts or common sense. When Fox reran Michele Backmann's lie that Obama's trip to India cost 200 million a day. Fox never bother to check the facts, Fox knows it's followers only want fun urban legends, in this case generated by a blogger in India.

Now back to the scale I want. Somewhere there must be a scale that will tell me I weight 187 pound. The same company probably makes a mirror that will provide the correct image also. If only Fox was in the business of making scales and selling mirrors. Who knows they may read this and branch out into beauty lying.

Toxic Material do not read if you watch Fox News

The Charts in this article (It's the inequality Stupid) from Mother Jones prove the old point about a picture being worth a thousand words. The facts are irrefutable. If you have someone who buys the Republican spin ask them to read this article and have fun watching them stutter. The United States is approaching the status of a third world country with all the money concentrated in the hands of a few at the top. This is never what our country was meant to be. While other countries fight to throw off dictators, the Republicans are doing all they can to bring aristocracy back to our country.

Llamas and Armadillos

Kadizzle made it full circle back to the hot tub in Evergreen, Colorado. Kadizzle gave his granddaughter Sylvie the pet Armadillo he captured while hiking, and later took a walk with Sylvie to see the Llamas a neighbor has up in the mountains nearby.

This too will Pass,

Yesterday was the big bust over the great divide. This is always occasion for great consternation. If you had been present during the negotiations you would have thought it was a moon shot. Pulling a camper over a pass when winter weather is still possible is always a lottery. There were three choices, go over Route 70, go over Wolf Creek Pass, or go all the way down to the Raton Pass. The Raton pass is the lowest and only four hours and 250 miles out of the way. Kadizzle lobbied long and hard for Wolf Creek Pass.

After a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth, the group reluctantly set out for the divide at Wolf Creek pass. On the way the brain storm hit Kadizzle to call the nearest human habitation to the pass they could find. It turned out to be a ski lodge right at the pass. The lodge said the pass would be fine. Kadizzle had predicted by noon the road would be dry. As the pickup trucks labored to pull the campers over the pass, by God's grace it did turn out to be sunny and dry. Coming down off the mountain we felt like Moses with the commandments. Every year the last great adventure is going over the Rockies. Timing has to be impeccable, and you may need to wait close by for the window of opportunity. The great southwest trip of 2011 was a great success with many new discoveries, many new friends, and far more good weather than anyone deserves. Next year the goal is to get some exploring done in the Escalante area.

Why not really know something

Today while reading the NYT Kadizzle stumbled across a wonderful article about data. With a down day for hiking and exploring Kadizzle explored the neat data system. It is a very clever invention called Gapminder World. The system allows you to plot 120,000 data points about the human condition. In College we all learned how to support what we say with data. However, most people don't let reality interfere with what they believe, instead they just repeat the party line, or what seems to be popular at the coffee shop. Most of what people believe is simply not true. The data shows it, however most people don't want to be bothered with the truth. Know the truth and the truth shall set you free. Take some time and play with this thing it is fum. Google Gapminder World to run the data engine.

The strangest flying rock, a mixture of truth and lies.

Today the Kadizzlites made a trek into Mule Canyon. Mule Canyon is one of the fine areas in Cedar Mesa with famous ruins. As Kadizzle made his way up the canyon past many wonderful ruins with Ruth, Rodger, and The Commander he noticed one of the strangest natural phenomenon he has ever seen. At the age of 62, and with thousands of miles of hiking under his belt Kadizzle has never run across anything like this. Walking up the canyon there was a strange grove across the trail. Kadizzle's first thought was what could have caused this? Closer examination showed a rock had rolled across the trail and fallen over about ten feet to the right of the trail. Puzzled, Kadizzle looked to the left to the trail and saw about six feet of grove made by the rock. How did a rock get up and roll 15ft? Then the real clincher jumped into view. A small tree was freshly smashed where the rock had apparently landed before it rolled to its resting place. Something like this could happen, but the laws of physics are laws. Kadizzle was down in a canyon, the rock could have rolled off the side of the canyon, jumped in the air and came down on the bush then rolled. The problem was things did not add up when you examined the area. The rock would have needed to be launched from a ski jump to make it as far out into the canyon as is did. Examining the trees it was evident the rock came almost straight down. The condition of the breaks in the tree indicated it had happened recently, the freshness of the moisture in the grove indicated it may have happened earlier today.

When Kadizzle ran across this strange rock, The Commander, Rodger and Ruth were hiking higher in the canyon searching for ruins. The temptation was too great to resist telling a whooper. On the way back down the trail Kadizzle showed the site of the mystical rock to The Commander. Earlier The Commander could not grasp what Kadizzle was talking about, but after seeing the evidence The Commander understood what had taken place. To spice things up Kadizzle told the Commander all of this had taken place fifteen feet in front of him on the trail. Kadizzle heard a great whoosh, the tree splinter and the rock roll in front of him. Nearly struck and killed by the rock Kadizzled was dazed, when a voice from nowhere said "Be nice to The Commander". Although The Commander bought the part of the story that Kadizzle had seen the event, she did not buy the voice part. After a few minutes it became necessary to tell The Commander Kadizzle had not seen the event. Ruth and Rodger were good accomplices for the untruthful part. Both of them had seen the area earlier and new the truth. There are a million ways to die, but had Kadizzle been hit by that rock it would have been a clear message from someone.
Now, for the rest of the story. The picture above is The Commander's version of a famous photo called "House on Fire". Ruth saw the picture and decided she wanted to make an attempt to capture the ruin in a similar picture. So, the crew got up early because the ideal time to take the picture was at 10:00 A.M. according to photo folk lure. We got into the canyon early, but it took the sun until well after eleven to light up the ruin properly. Just as the light seemed to do it's magic clouds appeared. As we sat patiently waiting for the proper lighting for two hours photographers started to show up like ants. Apparently a lot of people had the same idea today. Getting the picture was the main purpose of the hike today. The Commander actually did a pretty good job of duplicating the famous shot. As luck would have it an older professional photographer woman was there. We had a great conversation and she had the same camera as The Commander. The pro of course had a much more expensive camera also. The professional's camera batter was dead, so The Commander lent her the one from our camera. In exchange The Commander got some photo lessons. It looks like they paid off.

Even Mistakes are nice

Yesterday the Kadizzlites set out to find a new route. Even after carefully studying the route with computer software it was impossible to find the way. High stream levels may have played a role. Yet, getting lost did have it's benefits. We found a nice secluded cove, and stumbled across an Indian ruin. All of a sudden Kadizzle realized the rocks in front of him were stacked. The rocks formed the foundation for a square dwelling. The fact that pictographs were nearby was a good indication that this site could have had a dwelling.

Later in the day a new route was found that connected two previous explorations. Next year the group will be able to do a circumnavigation of the area we have been exploring for years.

Busting Out to points East

After a hike today the women are doing laundry, and the men are preparing to pull up camp. In the morning we will head East to Page AZ. Who knows where we will spend the night, but somewhere in the region of Medicine Hat, AZ is likely.

The essence of Kadizzle

(Please note the data in this article is from the IRS, and Duke University)

CLICK ON DATA FOR BETTER VIEW
Sadly our country is slipping into third world status. Our country is being divided into two classes, the haves and the have nots. Income inequality is at the root of this problem. Bob Herbert has written an excellent column in the New York Times that perfectly sums up my beliefs. Until we are willing to face this problem head on the future of our children is doomed. Republican tax cuts for the richest among us are at the heart of this problem and as long as we ignore this issue things will only get worse. There was a time in our country when mothers could stay home and raise children, when each generation had a better income than the last. Ronald Reagan ushered in the era when the common man no longer mattered. You simply cannot refute the data. Extending the recent Bush Tax Cuts gave each of the richest 120,000 Americans 3 million dollars. While the average American's wages are going backwards, while 40 million Americans have no health insurance, while we have the worst unemployment since the depression, at a time when CEO's make 350 times what an assembly line worker makes, the right wing continues to shovel money to those who don't need it. This is why I fight the greedy right wing lunatics every day, because I care about the future of my children and want them to enjoy the America I did.

Op-Ed Columnist
Losing Our Way
By BOB HERBERT
Published: March 25, 2011


So here we are pouring shiploads of cash into yet another war, this time in Libya, while simultaneously demolishing school budgets, closing libraries, laying off teachers and police officers, and generally letting the bottom fall out of the quality of life here at home.


Welcome to America in the second decade of the 21st century. An army of long-term unemployed workers is spread across the land, the human fallout from the Great Recession and long years of misguided economic policies. Optimism is in short supply. The few jobs now being created too often pay a pittance, not nearly enough to pry open the doors to a middle-class standard of living.

Arthur Miller, echoing the poet Archibald MacLeish, liked to say that the essence of America was its promises. That was a long time ago. Limitless greed, unrestrained corporate power and a ferocious addiction to foreign oil have led us to an era of perpetual war and economic decline. Young people today are staring at a future in which they will be less well off than their elders, a reversal of fortune that should send a shudder through everyone.

The U.S. has not just misplaced its priorities. When the most powerful country ever to inhabit the earth finds it so easy to plunge into the horror of warfare but almost impossible to find adequate work for its people or to properly educate its young, it has lost its way entirely.

Nearly 14 million Americans are jobless and the outlook for many of them is grim. Since there is just one job available for every five individuals looking for work, four of the five are out of luck. Instead of a land of opportunity, the U.S. is increasingly becoming a place of limited expectations. A college professor in Washington told me this week that graduates from his program were finding jobs, but they were not making very much money, certainly not enough to think about raising a family.

There is plenty of economic activity in the U.S., and plenty of wealth. But like greedy children, the folks at the top are seizing virtually all the marbles. Income and wealth inequality in the U.S. have reached stages that would make the third world blush. As the Economic Policy Institute has reported, the richest 10 percent of Americans received an unconscionable 100 percent of the average income growth in the years 2000 to 2007, the most recent extended period of economic expansion.

Americans behave as if this is somehow normal or acceptable. It shouldn’t be, and didn’t used to be. Through much of the post-World War II era, income distribution was far more equitable, with the top 10 percent of families accounting for just a third of average income growth, and the bottom 90 percent receiving two-thirds. That seems like ancient history now.

The current maldistribution of wealth is also scandalous. In 2009, the richest 5 percent claimed 63.5 percent of the nation’s wealth. The overwhelming majority, the bottom 80 percent, collectively held just 12.8 percent.

This inequality, in which an enormous segment of the population struggles while the fortunate few ride the gravy train, is a world-class recipe for social unrest. Downward mobility is an ever-shortening fuse leading to profound consequences.

A stark example of the fundamental unfairness that is now so widespread was in The New York Times on Friday under the headline: “G.E.’s Strategies Let It Avoid Taxes Altogether.” Despite profits of $14.2 billion — $5.1 billion from its operations in the United States — General Electric did not have to pay any U.S. taxes last year.

As The Times’s David Kocieniewski reported, “Its extraordinary success is based on an aggressive strategy that mixes fierce lobbying for tax breaks and innovative accounting that enables it to concentrate its profits offshore.”

G.E. is the nation’s largest corporation. Its chief executive, Jeffrey Immelt, is the leader of President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. You can understand how ordinary workers might look at this cozy corporate-government arrangement and conclude that it is not fully committed to the best interests of working people.

Overwhelming imbalances in wealth and income inevitably result in enormous imbalances of political power. So the corporations and the very wealthy continue to do well. The employment crisis never gets addressed. The wars never end. And nation-building never gets a foothold here at home.

New ideas and new leadership have seldom been more urgently needed.

Lets look at the data on the chart below. Currently the top 0.01% of our population has an income of $27,342,2125
The top 0.01 to 0.1 % has an average income of $3,238,386
The average income of the top 1% is 1,137,684
The average income of those from 1% to 10% is $164,647
THE AVERAGE INCOME FOR THE BOTTOM 90% of the population is $31,244

If you don't see what has happened, you never will.


What do people think is happening? What is really the case?

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