Insectarium

The gang took Evie, and new baby Quinn to the insectarium.  Inside were bugs of all sorts, giant cockroaches, trurantualas, and an entire room of butterflies.  Evie could hold the tarantula or a walking stick.  The ride too and from the insectorium was through massive neighborhoods of row houses.  The deterioration of our cities is alarming.  When you read the statistic that a typical family could not handle a $400 financial hit, you see where these people live.  We have a big problem in this country driven by the greed Trump promotes.  All morning Kadizzle has been discussing political philosophy with his son  in law and daughter.  Both are a little more conservative than old Kadizzle, but then they are doing well and that is how it works.

So we are having fun enjoying our young grandchildren.  Starting to miss the peacefulness of the desert.  You can have the big city life.  We have been using Uber to get around.  The service is amazing.  Within minutes of calling a car shows up.  One could do fine in a city without a car.  Parking is a real headache.  A loudly singing purple tutu princess just went by.  Like our own children the grandchild is going through the dancer phase and spends the whole day in the ballet costume.

The pricing here is terrible.  A large two liter bottle of coke cost 99 cents in Globe, Arizona.  Here it is $3.20.  A muffin in Hazen is a dollar, here four dollars.  Life in the city is not cheap.

The Lap of Luxery

Out in the desert we have no TV.  Here in Philadelphia TVs grow on the walls.  Every room has a huge TV.  Last night the Kadizzles laid in bed to watch Peaky Blinders.  The internet works all the time at six times the speed.  Huge bed, plenty of bathrooms with luxurious showers.  Ah, all the amenities.

Now the downside.  Insane drivers who could care less if they kill someone.  Sidewalks in disrepair, and the despair of peasants trying to make it in the Trump greed economy.   Noise, total idiots who enjoy disturbing everyone with loud noise machines.  In the desert look out for a rare rattlesnake.  Here the snakes are everywhere.

Battleship New Jersey

Kadizzle just returned from the Battleship New Jersey in Philadelphia.  Here are some impressions.  First it is big.  The inside is a maze of passageways.  Most important sleeping on that ship would be impossible.  Tiny little bunks scattered all over the place, not much better than a submarine.  How the United States poured money into war, but will refuse to battle healthcare and poverty.  Complicated, that ship must have been extremely complicated to sail, maneuver, maintain, and live on.  The guy in charge must have been very intelligent.  Running that thing must have been much harder than what the CEO of Coca Cola does.  Yet, surely he got paid nowhere near as much.  Of course the CEO could not get torpedoed or blown out of the water.  The complexity of the ship does set one back.  Doing what they did with the technology of that day was a feat.  Life on one of those ships must have been miserable.  To be confined to that ship would drive this man crazy.  It took 79 people to operate on of the big guns that fired a shell that weighed as much as a VW.  The shell could be shot 70 miles.  Imagine firing a VW seventy miles.  The mileage would have been good.

Chaos

Two mornings in a row Kadizzle has driven with Cheech to take Evie to school.  Philadelphia is like every other American city, a complete mess.  Infrastructure has been ignored while we shovel money to the rich who live in the suburbs.  The peasants are trying to get around. It is like London two hundred years ago.  Public transportation is a shambles.  No wonder people are on drugs.  The wealthy don't have to put up with the mess they created.  There is no planning.  Just let things happen.  Who cares about the future, just survive.  Were number one, what a joke.  Number two and three must really be terrible. Kadizzle gets depressed every time he goes to a big city and sees the lack of progress. Republican vermin are to blame.  Once they quit paying their share the game went to hell.  Remember the old days when projects like the interstate existed.  Not now, now just let it fall apart.  The wealthy don't use public transportation so let it rust.  The wealthy don't live in the densely packed cities so let them fall apart.  We need a revolution to overthrow the stable genius and his gang.

Life in Philidephia

Thinking of Philadelphia Kadizzle always thinks of W.C. Fields.  On his tombstone it says " I would rather be in Philadelphia.  Just finished shopping with Cheech in a snazzy local little grocery store.  It is so nice to have an unusual selection of all sorts of foods.  Megan is having a great time with our new grandson.  Winky is also doing the grandma thing.  Grandpa is having fun with Evie.  Evie insist on showing grandpa everything.  The plan today was to go tour the battleship New Jersey, but that got put on hold and maybe tomorrow.  Kadizzle had to call Shanika because his brother served on the Missouri.  Kadizzle was confused and thought maybe Daryl had served on the New Jersey.  At one time Kadizzle helped the deceased Daryl deliver milk.  Daryl was a baker on the ship during the Korean War. 

You can see a whole lot just by watching, also you can find out a lot by talking to people.  Kadizzle loves to engage people in conversation.  At the grocery store they had a basement with an excellent selection of beer and wine.  Speaking to the clerk Kadizzle found out he was an actor in the local version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  One nice aspect of visiting the big town is seeing things you will never see in nature.  The creativity of humans is endless and endless entertainment.

Have not seen Ben Franklin

Here we are in Philadelphia, no sign of Ben Franklin.  Popping from the middle of the desert to the middle of Philadelphia is a transition.  Took Evie to school.  A different world.  When Kadizzle was a kid the school was just down the street.  Now, M

egan drives many blocks away.  People in the city have no idea there is another part of this planet without ten billion cars, dirt, crime, and the silly hustle. 

The attack is on.  Republican will now go full bore on demonizing socialism.  The typical Hooplehead could not tell socialism from a snake bite.  A major part of the problem is people do not understand what democratic socialism is.  Low information voters will be the bane of our democracy.  Trump knows how to manipulate the Hoopleheads.  Fear is your best bet with a Hooplehead.  Scare the Hooplehead with anything and it works.  Confusing a Hooplehead is very simple. Always play in the emotions of Hoopleheads.  Never try math or logic with a Hooplehead.  Trump has been a con man for his entire life.  Trump knows how to lie and manipulate the trusting.  In the old days the Hoopleheads wore a straw hat with a big brim. Now the Hoopleheads wear red hats.

Two wise people going to adore the new child

It is so early in the morning they have not started the clocks yet.  The Kadizzles are up with coffee about to depart for Philadelphia. The goal is to see the new grandchild Quinn.  Quinn is Megan's second gift to the clan.  Getting this world in shape for Quinn, Evie, and Sylvie is a major task. First we have to remove a dictator, then repair the climate, and that is just the start.  Now you can see why we had to get up early.  From the warm desert we will head to rain.  From the quiet and peaceful life of few people and no hustle we will join the airport, freeway insanity. 

Here we go

A mission for today.  A new friend wants to do what the Kadizzles do, is trying to get on as a volunteer for The National Forest Service.  Kadizzle is going to try to help him.  Over the years the Kadizzles have worked with a lot of very talented volunteers.  In this case the job seeker has extensive computer skills, is a pilot, repairs aircraft, and knows a great deal about electronics.  In our volunteer group already we have a machinist, welders, a diesel mechanic, and other people with great educational credentials.  The Forest Service gets for free talent that would go on the open market anywhere from fifty dollars and hour to a hundred dollars an hour.  For the Kadizzles it is great.  If we have a problem we can draw on the knowledge of some very talented people.

One reason the new applicant wants the job is the peaceful tranquil location we have.  We sit in what is essentially an abandoned campground.  The volunteers exclusively use this campground.  Between each volunteer camping spot are acres of empty camping slots.  The area is scenic, quiet, and a pleasant place to be.  In addition we have free electric, water, and sewer.  Of course the deluxe executive suite is included.  The Forest Service is a nice organization to volunteer for.  First and foremost they treat everyone as adults that are self directed.  The Forest Service relies on the good conscience of the volunteers to do what is right in a day's work.  Many times volunteers go beyond the call of duty and pay for parts and services that the taxpayer should.  Last year Ken bought saw blades out of his own pocket. 

The Forest Service is good to volunteers. They try to make life pleasant and comfortable.  We have access to a vast supply of tools and supplies.  Additionally we have several group get togethers per year to celebrate our coming and going, plus Christmas.

Everyone seems to win with the volunteers.  The taxpayer gets a hell of of good deal.  The volunteer gets a pretty good deal,  and somehow the work gets done. 

Down the Mountain

Long ago and far away Kadizzle was in Canada.  He was young and he was hitch hiking  across highway one in Canada.  Up early to catch the first ride Kadizzle stood by the highway in Revelstoke,  in the middle of the Canadian Rockies.  It was a warm summer morning when the red Volkswagen Bus pulled up.  Since this was the late sixties the bus was full of hippie looking characters.  Kadizzle go into the van and soon discovered it was an excellent ride. Kadizzle needed to get to Wheeling, West Virginia.  Home was hundreds of miles away and these degenerates were going to Columbus, Ohio, which was pretty close.  Then Kadizzle started to get that feeling you get when Trump is president.  We were going downhill and fast.  Yes, the driver of the van was high on something and was going down the steep mountain grades at a rate that was scaring the hell out of Kadizzle.  It would be difficult to give up a ride that would damn near get Kadizzle home, so Kadizzle suggested to the driver that Kadizzle drive.  Strangely the driver quickly agreed.  So Kadizzle drove, and drove.  Somewhere along the line our crew picked up another hitch hiker.  The guy was pretty annoying and Kadizzle wanted to get rid of him.  Since most of the passengers in the van seemed to be in another world of drug induced stupor Kadizzle told the newcomer the destination was the next town down the road.  Kadizzle had noticed it was a town with a business bypass. This meant Kadizzle could let the guy off on highway one, drive through town and get back on highway one.  This worked and the bus was on its way. 

In the middle of the night the big excitement came.  Kadizzle had been driving all day and late into the night.   At about one in the morning the bunch of people in the box were about to cross the border into the United States.  These were not the kind of people you wanted to do a border crossing with.  With the border crossing a few hundred yards ahead someone in the van said " I sure hope they don't find the drugs".   Never has Kadizzle just about had a heart attack.  Kadizzle was driving someone else's van which was about to get searched for drugs, and the van did have drugs in it somewhere. 

Kadizzle could imagine himself explaining to the border inspectores that he was just a htich hiker.  Ya, sure, ya betcha.  Kadizzle's brain was on fire thinking about court, and jail.  The border patrol people made everyone get out of the van and they searched the van.  Kadizzle had a large back pack with camping equipment.  The border patrol agent told Kadizzle to unscrew the lid on the can of fuel he carried for the stove.  The agent used a flashlight to look into the container.  Oh, my god, if they are going to search like this, they will find the drugs, Kadizzle thought.  After sweating out about sixty pounds the guards at the border waved us across the border.  Still driving Kadizzle asked the head degenerate, " Where did you hide the drugs?".   Mr.  High on something informed Kadizzle the drugs had been placed behind the headlights.  The part of the experience that brought this all to mind this morning was the thought of going down the mountain.  That is the feeling with a total mentally ill president running the country.  If only someone else will drive.

A letter to the Bismark Tribune

Is there such a thing as fake news?  A few years back the Bismarck Tribune published a series of letters from my daughters dog whom she loved dearly.  Toni J. Sprinkleton has passed away and this letter is a tribute to Toni. The Bismarck Tribune limits letter writers to two letters per month.  Since I used my limit I inquired with Toni if he would like to comment on anything. Tony agreed and I typed the letters for him and sent them to the Tribune.  Believing in free speech even for dogs the Tribune published the letters. People suspected the letters submitted with the name Tony J. Sprinkleton resembled mine.  The editor at the time called me and asked if I had anything to do with the letters. I admitted I wrote the letters on Toni’s behalf. The editor declared they would no longer accept letters from dogs.  Tony was disappointed, but he was honored to be the only dog in North Dakota who was able to express his feeling in a letter to the editor. Now people need to think of Tony, and the Russians. If Tony can have his opinion published surely it is not difficult for the Russians to support Trump by merely having some sympathizer type their letters. 

I just did not notice

Russia has implanted a virus with the help of Donald Trump.  The virus attacks mostly people with weak IQ's.  The first symptoms of the virus are the desire to wear a red hat and watch fake news shows.  The infected cannot see a man surrounded by criminals as anything but a saint.  Victims of the infection will feel like they are being trickeled on by rich people, when in reality they can barely pay for their tattoos.  The virus is contagious when one ignorant person simply talks to another ignorant person.  There is no known cure for the virus.  The virus is not affected by facts, reality, science, or common sense.  The chance of recovering from a severe case of stupidity is small.  Most of the infected will become addicted to mindless thinking and vote for Trump.  Those infected are incapable of noticing they have no health care, their share of taxes is going up, and the rich keep taking more.   Even Trump cannot pardon their stupidity.  People have tried turning off Fox News, or KFYR radio to protect loved ones, but the simple mindedness still rages.  Quaranteen is the best hope. If an infected idiot can be kept from the local coffee shop there is some hope.

A Hike to the water fall

Up at five A.M. Kadizzle is going to go with the trail crew up Sycamore Creek.  One of the nicest waterfalls around is up that creek.  Hopefully the water is running at a decent rate.  On the way up the creek there is a peculiar spot where some of the locals love to build rock cairns.  At times there are hundreds of these rocks piled as high as people can pile them.  The rule is each rock has to be piled on a singular rock.  There are two schools of thought on rock piling.  Some think it is an abomination to nature.  Others think it is art.  Kadizzle kinda likes to see how skillful some of the people are piling rocks several feet high.  Since this little art system sits in a creek bed it gets destroyed periodically by floods so it is not permanent damage to the natural area.

Solar victory

As the nice campground we stay in for the winter deteriorates facilities slowly fail to work.  Below our campground is another campground that has been abandoned.  When these campgrounds were built they were a showcase for solar power.  In the abandoned campground Kadizzle found a solar powered light that was used to light up a bulletin board.  Kadizzle recovered the solar light and got it working.  Now at the Kadizzle campsite we have the best lighted executive suite in the county.

These solar units were well built and have a unique controller.  The controller charges the batter and also automatically figures out when to turn the lights on and off.  The solar system senses when the sun rises and sets.  Additionally the system can be set to automatically turn the light on for a certain period of time after sunset and before sun rise.

A lot of energy could be saved using solar power.  The weak part of solar power systems is the battery.  Batteries are expensive and may have a limited life span.  On the other hand solar systems required no power lines leading to them.  Running power lines to remote locations is very expensive.

There has been a lot of innovation with solar power.  Recently some friends moved in close to us for a few days. They rely entirely on solar for power to their camper.  Two solar panels provide all the power they need.  The Kadizzles found the same thing.  With prudent use of solar we could camp in our fifth wheel camper with just two panels. 

Russian Radio in Kansas

Russian radio in Kansas City has some people in a kerfuffle.  The Russians have shown they want to spread confusion, misinformation, and divisiveness in our country.  It is odd that the Russians feel it is necessary to have their own radio station in Kansas City to accomplish their goals.  The people of North Dakota can watch Fox News, and listen to our local right wing radio station and get the same confusing distortions and lies the Russians want to put on the airwaves in Kansas. President Trump just gave the medal of freedom to Rush Limbaugh for doing exactly what the Russians think will destroy our democracy.  Propaganda works best with poorly informed people driven by emotion. Trump and the Republican party have shown there are an abundance of poorly informed people willing to stand idly by while Trump shreds the constitution, pardons his rich criminal friends, and fabricates his version of reality. Russia has realized how economical it is to use their Republican allies to destroy our country.  Who needs nuclear weapons when we have nuclear liars. 

What do rats smell like?

Kadizzle was in New Zealand in the town of Nelson.  Nelson had a terrific exhibit about the moon.  Part of the exhibit featured moon rocks you could smell. Now believe it or not, and check it out if you do not believe it, but the moon rocks smelled like cheese.  What is the point? Kadizzle does not have the best sense of smell, but he can smell some things.  Today as the headlines feature Trump pardoning his crooked buddies Kadizzle smells a rat.  Now the question is if Kadizzle can smell a crooked rat in Washington D.C.  how is it that Republicans have no sense of smell.  If anyone surrounded themselves with felons, and pardoned felons, and encouraged people to lie they would have to be an unprincipled rat.  Unfortunately with Trump handing out get out of jail free cards more people want to join his mafia.  The Hooplehead who could not smell a skunk just don't notice King Rat is the most crooked and blatant violator of the law that every breathed.  God chose Trump, so God must like rats.  God bless all the Republican Rats.

The litter Trumper

Kelly Armstrong had the good fortune of having a daddy with oil wells.  His daddy bought him a job being a mini Trump.  Little Kelly is like John Hoeven a little rich boy born on third base who thinks he hit a triple.  The simple minded in North Dakota allow the Republicans to own every inch of the elected officials in North Dakota.  You have to ask yourself how stupid can some busted flat idiot be to still believe in trickle down?  Then you have Kevin Cramer.  The rich oil man Harold Hamm bought a spot for Kevin Cramer.   These guys are working for nothing but tax cuts for the wealthy.  It is not hard to figure out.  However, if you want to get elected in North Dakota it is just the guns, gay, and God game.  Kelly Armstrong is playing the same old cards. In the last few days Kelly promised the idiots the would protect their guns.   Of course the idiots cheer and line up to get robbed.  Can we be this stupid, yes.

Wage Slavery

What is wage slavery?  No problem, just go to Walmart or McDonalds to see it first hand.  In the old days you had to beat the slaves, capture them, and do a host of things wage slavery has eliminated.  In the good old plantation days slaves did not get paid.  Now, they get paid, but remember in the old days the slaves got room and board.  Walmart doesn't have that problem.  Walmart slaves often get food stamps from the government.   Ah Walmart slaves can escape, but then what.  If a Walmart slave escapes they will have even less.  Can you have a better plantation than Walmart. The Walmart slaves show up by themselves.  No need for ships or purchases.  If a Walmart slave escapes another one will just show up, you cannot beat that.   Modern slavery is fantastic compared to the old stuff.  Look at the plantation owners, now they are worth billions.  It was a quick transition from the good old slavery to share cropping, and now Walmart slavery.

A Walk Through the Woods

For the second weekend in a row our crew drove up into the forest.  In the mountains on the other side of the lake huge forest cover hundreds of square miles.  We found another amazing path.  Walking in the mountains is a entirely different world from down here in the desert.  Some of the trees up there are hundreds of years old.  The National Forest Service has areas designated wilderness.  Once you get into the wilderness you see the nomaker is justified.  The path we took lead into a heavenly valley with a mountain stream.  Some lucky person had a cabin in the midst of all this.  The day was perfect, with the sky cloudless and the temperature just right.  The air in a pine forest cannot be improved upon. 

As we first started the hike Kadizzle noticed a piece of pipe sticking out from the ground.  It seemed like it might be a part of some water system.  About a few hundred yards farther there appeared a cement box with a steel lid.  It was too heavy to open, so we went on.  Next we came across another box with a steel lid and Ken and Kadizzle managed to open it.  Here was a strange discovery.   A very well made concrete bunker lay underground.  Rebar was cast into the concrete for a ladder.  It was a deep and very large vault.  At one time it may have been a cistern, but now was empty.  The box like vault was very big.  This concoction in the woods would make the ideal hiding place or survival place in the next nuclear war Trump causes.  Someday Kadizzle will have to go back and go down into the thing.  As an old coal miner and safety guy Kadizzle knows going into any underground space can be dangerous.  Although the air might seem to be good it could be toxic.  Before entering some testing should be done and ventilation should be available.  It would be a great spot to build a cabin over.  You could have a secret trap door that know one would ever know there was a huge underground bunker under your floor.

Distressing

Winky is sitting over there enjoying her coffee and the nice cinnamon rolls Rita brought by.  Here we are in a terrific setting. So what is there to be distressed about?  In 1990 The Salt River Authority spent about 40 million dollars to build the recreation facilities that are our winter home.  What happens when you dump that much money into a facility?  Well you end up with some very nice facilities and a whole lot of them.  The Kadizzles have traveled the southwest for twenty years.  No place has the facilities this place does.  1990 was a time for a big solar push, so everything here was solar.  The campground was supposed to be free from outside power.  The showers are solar powered, all the lights are, and so on.  When this project was conceived the designers thought people would flock here from Phoenix.  Well, people don't move away from their computers and televisions anymore.  The net result is hundreds of wonderful campsites sit empty.  Wonderful trails, boat ramps, and even an airport go unused.  Adding to all this is the problem of Republicans trying to starve the government.  While military helicopters and jest fly over pissing millions out the exhaust, there is no money to maintain this place.  Our country has become insane.  No plane or ship is too expensive, but our bridges fall down, our parks deteriorate, and the teachers starve. 

Praying

Praying is not working.  If you go to a Hazen City Commission meeting the commissioners pray before the meeting and ask God for guidance.  God is doing a very poor job.  The commission cannot seem to enforce the city ordinances.  For seven years Kadizzle has asked the Hazen City Commission to do something about the junkyard up the street.  A nest of slummers moved in and has accumulated boats, cars, and pickup trucks which are strewn all over the yard.  Even with God's help the commissioners cannot muster the courage to enforce the law. 

Honest Omar has been sending Kadizzle his subscription to Freedom From Religion.  This is an organization that fights to keep religion out of government.  If God does not do a better job of guiding the Hazen City Commission Kadizzle is going to ask the Hazen City Commission to quit calling on God for help. Another approach might be to insist that Kadizzle gets to say the prayer. 

Here is the prayer:

Oh lord in the name of Donald Trump who you chose to be president I invoke thee to give the Hazen City Commission the strength and courage to enforce the ordinances in the City of Hazen.  Please forgive any commissioners that voted for Donald Trump.  Apparently some of our city commissioners have adopted your chosen presidents methods of lying, deceiving, and misleading.  In the name of God and King Donald I beseech thee to remove the Republican curse from our city commission. 

Amen.

Squeal

Rolling Stone magazine had a good article about the current Roger Stone mess.  Kadizzle loved a quote from the article. " Roger Stone would squeal like a rat in a blender".  Yup that is Trump's fear.  Kadizzle cannot comprehend how a man chosen by God is surrounded by people in jail or on their way.  The blindness of Trump followers is difficult to comprehend.  Trump's crooked behavior is so out in the open it must take a special idiot not to notice.  Trump takes joy in violating the law and flaunting his immunity granted by the Republicans.

Rattlesnake where are you?

A morning ritual is going down to the executive suite.  We are fortunate because the Forest Service campground where we stay provides us with a very nice executive suite that has flush toilets, a sink, and is very nicely built to include a his and her office space.  We even get free toilet paper with Trump's picture on it.  Now to the main topic.  There are rattlesnakes around here.  What keeps them at bay in the winter is the cold.  As it starts to warm up the blasted venom worms will become active.  One thing rattlesnakes like to do is seek out warmth.  In the evening you might find one on the asphalt trying to warm up before bed.  The bathrooms here are built out of concrete and cinder block.  Unfortunately both elements hold heat well.  This means the rattlers like our bathrooms.  Bill was working in the pipe chase at the large shower house and stepped right over a rattlesnake without realizing it.  Fortunately the snake was cold and pretty inactive.  To the point.  Every morning when Kadizzle goes down to the executive suite he has to remember not to just open the door and walk in.  The correct procedure is to open the door peek in and check all the corners.  One would not want to sit on the throne and realize one was staring at a snake in the corner.  Another precaution at night is to check before you go out for the little vipers.

It looks like it will be a very nice day.  The stars were so bright last night.  Your assignment for today.  Call Republican National headquarters.  Tell them normally you are a big donor.  Explain to them you have had enough lying and cheating.  Ask them to take you off the donor list.  You might try asking them what Trump has accomplished.  More than likely they will say " He gets things done" .  Ask them exactly what Trump has got done.  There will be no answer.  Fox News just says " He gets things done".

The C130 is circling

Right before the sun went down Kadizzle saw a C 130 fly over going west.  It seemed like the guy was just passing through, but now it appears they are going to drop people in the lake tonight.  The sun is down and Kadizzle can hear the plane circling around.  It is not a good night to jump in water. It is cold and windy.  Might have to go outside and see what is up.  They seem to be low.   Cannot hear any helicopters so that is strange.  Sometimes they drop the men then the helicopters come later to pick them up.  Will have to go out and check, be right back. No helicopters.  Not a night for jumping.  The night is overcast, and it is windy.  Seems like a night when someone could end up on a cactus.  Good luck military guys.

Quinn Albert welcome to our world

Well old Kadizzle is happy to welcome a boy to the gang.  Quinn Albert will be Evie's little brother.  So far we have had nothing but geniuses, and Kadizzle is sure this is one more . Cheech had a struggle with Quinn.  Poor Cheech was recovering from the flu when Quinn decided to pop out.  Winky is going wild wanting to fly to see the new grandchild.  So happy to have everyone healthy and done with a long process of baking another beauty.  Hopefully Kadizzle can get the world straightened out for the newborn.  There is a lot to work on and all help will be appreciated.

He Gets things Done

Often Kadizzle tells Sylvie how television can turn your brain to mush or oatmeal.  Fox News is magic in that regard.  The new Republican rationalization for the Trump insanity is " He gets things done".  Yesterday Kadizzle was making some of his calls to the Republican National Committee to complain about their cheating.  Kadizzle asked the simple minded young man who answered the phone why he like Trump.  Kadizzle got the Fox News anser " He gets things done".  Kadizzle asked what did he get done. The dolt was baffled.  He had no answer.  Exactly what has Trump got done? Well he has destroyed the department of education,  he is trying to wreck healthcare and social security, he has torn the constitution to shreds, and on it goes.  I defy anyone to name one positive thing Trump has done. 

If getting things done is the only criteria, good or bad, then Hitler got things done, most mafia bosses got things done, Al Capone got things done.  The depth of stupidity the Republicans have cursed our society is incomprehensible.  The atomic bomb gets things done.  The new virus will get things done.  Fox News is the opium of idiocy.

Welcome to my world

Quinn came into the world last night.  Cheech delivered Grandpa a nice little baby boy named Quinn.  This means everyone has to fight harder to make the world a better place.  Now we have Sylvie, Evie, and Quinn to carry on the gene pool.  Winky has been a nervous wreck and can't wait to fly to Philadelphia to see the offspring.

The arrival of a healthy baby is a big relief to the old codgers.  Quinn will be ten when Kadizzle is 80.  Kadizzle has waited a long time for a boy to play with, but can the old goat Kadizzle stay healthy enough or just plain alive?  It was not an easy delivery for the poor Cheech.  She had a bad case of the flu just a couple days ago and was really worn down.

Do something

Imagine a tsunami of stupidity washing over the shores of our country.  That is what is happening.  Trump has hit the motherload of ignorance.  If you can convince people a trial without witnesses is normal you are on the way to a complete dictatorship.  Trump is now proposing the destruction of social security and medicare.  The Hoopleheads just didn't notice.  Winky and Kadizzle are sitting here in the Earth Module watching PBS News Hour.  The commentator says the people in New Hampshire love Trump because he gets things done.  Ask a Hooplehead what he got done? They will stare at you with a blank stare.  This is the level we have reached.  Republicans can tell the simple minded " He gets things done".  No need to explain.  That is how you talk to idiots.  Somebody tell me what Trump got done.  Trump shoveled money to the rich.  Trump tripled the deficit. Trump set new records for being crooked and lawless.  Trump has done his best to destroy the environment, education, health care, and science.  What positive has the King accomplished?  Factual information, the truth, and reality have gone out the window.  Strike up the band on the Titanic. 

A proud Grandpa

Sylvie, Grandpa's prize ten year granddaughter was accepted to the Denver School for the Arts yesterday.  Her parents rigged up a surprize announcement for her which Grandpa engineered.  They printed out the notice an put it in an envelope addressed to Sylvie.  When Sylvie came home from school they handed it to her nonchalantly.  Secretly they videoed Sylvie opening it.  When Sylvie figured it out she exploded with joy, screamed, and jumped into her mother's arms.  Getting into the school was far more difficult than applying for college.  Sylvie had to go through two intense tryouts, and submit her own resume.

Sylvie loves acting.  Grandpa used to play the role of a customer in the basement.  Sylvie was either operating a hair style shop or a restaurant.  Grandpa had to be the customer.  When we were doing the hair shop routine.  Sylvie would keep sending Grandpa to a different hair shop where she appeared as a different character.  One hair shop was the Wow shop.  In the other shop the lady had a strong British accent. 

Sylvie's career took off when she starred as Mary Poppins. 

Rain in the desert

Good morning Kadizzlites.  It rained all night. The big drops hitting the Earth Module sounded great.  The news has been featuring some information about Trump's budget.  The lying rat intends to cut social security, and all the safety nets that keep the Hoopleheads alive.  Of course the Hoopleheads are clueless, Fox News will not mention this.  The Hooples are special.  Someone has to buy the 19.95 items on TV.  Someone has to give the TV preachers money.  Someone has to keep all the scams going.  Thankfully we have the Hoopleheads to vote for Trump and keep the scam economy going.  Stupidity is the life blood of the Republican Party.  Imagine people accepting trials without witnesses as if it was just snow falling from the sky.  You can sell the Hoopleheads any silly paranoid theory.  Here is a silly idea for the Hoopleheads.  The Russians have implanted a stupid virus.  The virus is activated by watching NASCAR or attending a Trump rally.   The rays from Fox News can activate the virus.  The virus attacks the IQ center of the brain.  If the virus detects a low IQ it secrets stupidity with replances any common sense a Hooplehead might have.  A total infection will give the Hooplehead an extreme desire to wear a Red Hat declaring they are infected.  A sure sign of a serious infection is the inability to tell the truth from a Trump lie.  If you are not infected the best protection is to read a good source of news,  and sharpen your math skills.  Do not associate with fundamentalist religious people.  They are the most contagious. 

Call about the Fake Census of the Republicans.

The Republicans are sending out a fake census form to fool the simple minded.  If you want to do your civic duty call the Republican Rats.  Call 800-445-5768.  Tell them you are a big Republican donor and you no longer want to be associated with the cheap tricks they are pulling.  Tell them you were proud to be a Republican until Trump started lying and cheating.  Tell them you will no longer be part of the fraud.  Sure you might be committing a little fraud, but that is how you fight fire, you use fire.

Roads through the wilderness

A lot of people would be too frightened to take the trip we did yesterday.  In a truck that is too large for the back roads we took off on Forest Service road 49.  The road is a dead end at a couple of tanks.  Around here ranchers call the small stock ponds tanks.   Up until a couple weeks ago the road was impossible for even the motorcycle, but the Forest Service road crew used the bulldozer to make a passable road.  After a few rains the road will be back to the state of useless.  It is amazing how big the wilderness is when you can actually get back into it on some of these Forest Service Roads. 

Matt and Winky had never made the trip from the visitor center over the mountains to Apache Lake so Kadizzle showed them the trip he has made on the motorcycle many times.  Again the road is not for the weak.  If Kadizzle had to choose the most treacherous road in the Tonto National Forest the part of the road that goes down to Lake Apache might be the winner.  The road crew made it passable for a pickup, but prior to their work it was treacherous.  About a week ago before the road was fixed Kadizzle went down it on the motorcycle.  He was with another rider and we feared we might get down away and be able to go either up or down.  We made it down, but it did involve a minor crash for Kadizzle.  The problem is the road is extremely steep.  Now imaging sprinkling tiny bb like pebbles on a very steep road.  Now you have a steep downhill road that does not allow you to stop even if you put the brakes on.  This also creates another problem with a motorcycle.  If the engine is in a low gear the back wheel will lock up and that is even more fun.   Matt was driving for the first time down the gravel covered sliding board.  Although the bulldozer had fixed the road Matt's exhaust was puckering going down.  Well we made it.  Winky says she does not need to make the trip again. 

The road is a great test of motorcycle skill.  If you make the entire trip on the motorcycle without going down once you get an A.   Kadizzle has made it a couple times, but the majority of the trips involved going down.  A lesson Kadizzle has had a hard time learning is don't make the trip alone.  The biggest problem traveling along is having the motorcycle fall to the downhill side.  Getting the cycle upright on a steep hill in this condition is not for a 70 year old goat. 

There are a whole lot more roads to explore.  If you have a good dirt bike and want to give it a try, come on down.  Young men preferred who can do the lifting.  Kadizzle did come up with a plan.  Al is younger than Kadizzle.  On a trip up in the mountains Kadizzle just stopped and had Al ride his Yamaha across the tuff part.  That worked pretty well.

Excitement for idiots

Winky and Kadizzle just came back from some pizza at a local spot.  The waitresses and the owner were all excited that they might get to see Trump.  Perhaps he is coming to Phoenix.   Imagine busted flat waitresses in a hopeless financial mess supporting Trump.  Trump and his buddy Mitch are trying to cut the very social security that is the very lifeline of these woman who stand outside to smoke. Seems incredible that the slaves on the plantation love the plantation owner and the slave driver.  Well after all the plantation owner gave them jobs and tells them that the welfare cheats are the problem.  This country is upside down.  Yesterday Kadizzle drove through a large are of slum settlement near Tonto Basin he had no idea existed.  The number of people living on the edge in slum shacks is amazing.  These people are hanging on by a thread.  That thread is social security.  These idiots are supporting people that are trying to eradicate them.  The level of stupidity in this country is rising faster than the oceans and the CO2 level.  Stupidity will kill us long before anything else.  Trump is a master of firing up idiots.  Trump is like the clever preacher that bilkes the fools and old ladies.  Kadizzle recently went into two casinos.   Kadizzle goes into the casinos to pick up his free ten or twenty dollars.  All casinos will give you ten or twenty bucks to play their machines.  You get your money and every time you win you cash out. Usually you will be able to walk out with some amount right around what they gave you. This is just an explanation of why Kadizzle was in a casino.  There is no better way to tax stupidity than gambling.  Now to the point.  When Kadizzle went in both casinos there were hundreds of people playing bingo.  Imagine all those people slowly giving their money away.   Kadizzle will bet that 90 percent of the fools were Trump supporters.  These people live on illusions.  Social security enables these dolts to play bingo and Trump is trying to take away their bingo money.  These people do not understand simple math, statistics or reality, yet they vote. 

Find Rush Limbaugh

As mentioned before, how low can Trump and the Republicans go?  Trump has taken all honor out of the concept honor. 

How low can you go

Little sister sent Kadizzle a fake census form the Republicans are circulating.  Patty was pissed about how the Republicans are trying to deceive the old people .  What first got Patty's attention was the note on the envelope that said " Official document do not destroy".  In the simplest terms the survey is the old classic push survey.  The so called survey ask loaded questions.  It seems the deviousness of the Republican party has no bottom.  Trump had to put icing on his idiocy by firing Vindman and Sondland.  A rat the magnitude of Trump is amazing. The moor crooked and childlike he is the better the Hoopleheads like him.  Who can cheat the best seems to be the new norm. 

Mother of all rides

Up, up and up Kadizzle went to the top of a new set of mountains.  Kadizzle rode the Yamaha about 70 miles yesterday.  A good forty of those miles were through the mountains.  The size of the wilderness here just keeps getting bigger.  For years we have explored the Tonto National Forest, but always every new road proves the forest to be bigger than thought.  Kadizzle had a wonderful ride along a forested road for mile after mile.  The fear began to crop in his head that he would run out of gas.  This would be a hell of a mess way, way back in nowhere.  The gas held up well, but there was one strange problem.  Somehow a piece of granite got into the chain and just about tore the chain from the rear sprocket.  After some tinkering Kadizzle got the rock out, but had to retension the chain.

The trip turned out to be huge loop that encompassed about seventy miles.  There were so many side roads that need to be explored.

Cannot find the tablets

Kadizzle went up the mountain yesterday.  No tablets found, but there must have been a lot of them.  The bushes were not burning, the bushes had already been burnt.   The fire last fall burnt up every bush on the mountain.  God could not set a bush alight, so Kadizzle got no tablets. We need a new set of tablets. Trump busted up the old set so badly.   Lying is OK,  a little adultery now and then does not hurt,  we have a false idol for president.  What would the new tablets suggest.

Thou shalt lie if it is convenient or profitable.

Put no other God before you unless you have a red hat on.

Grabbing and adultery in moderation may help you get elected.

Keep the sabbath holy and use the simple minded fundamentalist as fools.

Honor thy father, he was a racist, and you should be one too.

Thy shall not kill except on Fifth Avenue to prove you can get away with it.

Thy shall not steal anything but elections and then only with the help of another country.

Thy shall not bear false witness,  Oh what the hell thy shall have no witnesses.

Don't just covet thy neighbor's wife move on her like Trump explains.

Covet thy neighbor's goods,  get thy neighbor in the scheme then go bankrupt.

I love Russia more than Trump

Kadizzle just checked the stats.  Wow, Russians are tuning in to the blog at a ratio of 2 to 1 Americans.  Over one thousand Russian views have now showed up.  Can one thousand Russians read and understand poorly written English?  Please, please some Russian send me an email and let me know why you would ever want to read this crap.  Email dakotaquinn@gmail.com.  If you email me I will tell you how to manipulate Trump.  I will tell you how to make Kevin Cramer, and John Hoeven dance.  I will help you hack the Republicans.  You brought us Trump.  I want Bernie.  Now if you damn Russians will work with me we can get Bernie elected.  Just think what it would be like to have a socialist president.   OK, even if you don't work with me I still want verification from a Russian.  I think a Russian hacker was disguising themself as a person in Dickinson. 

Now a survey for you Russians.  Tell me what you like on this blog, tell me what you don't like.  Tell me about Putin.  Tell me what it is like to be a Russian hacker.  Does it pay well, do you believe in what you are doing.  Now as a bonus if you send me any videos of Trump with a Russian hooker I will will buy you the vodka of your choice.  Also if you Russian hackers will agree to hack Kevin Cramer, Hoeven, and Armstrong there could be a mixed drink for you.  Surely you drink Moscow mules.  Well send me the goods and drink up.  If any of you Russians want to come over and meet with me I will give you free food and lodging.  It would really be interesting to know how this all works.  The best thing is I cannot get in trouble for communicating with you guys. Trump showed even the FBI, and CIA could not touch him.  If it looks like I might get in trouble I will just become a Republican.  With our new trial system without witnesses this will all be do da.  I am to lazy to look up how to say have a good day in Russian,  so have a good day and stay tuned to the Kadizzle Blog it is great having you. Boing,  Kadizzle just got an idea.  This blog make me no money. If Kadizzle monetizes the blog will he get credit for Russian viewers?  Are you Russians interested in a youtube video? Could you send me two of those Russian nesting dolls.  One I will give to Sylvie, and the other one I will use to demonstrate how Cramer and Hoeven fit into Trump and Armstrong fits into Cramer and Hoeven.

Even a blind hog will root

There are a few sayings that will get you through life.  An old favorite is " Even a blind hog will root".   Kadizzle at one time worked for an old southern buzz cackler, Hubert Myers.  Kadizzle's office was right next to Huber's office who was in charge of the mining operations in North Dakota.  Because his door was open Kadizzle could overhear his conversations.  Art went into his office.  Art was a bull of a man. Art was a great big guy in charge of maintenance.  There had been some dispute about how to repair a large piece of equipment.  Hubert and Art got into a shouting match and in the end it turned out Art had been correct in his diagnoses.  Hubert ended the conversation by saying to Art " Even a blind hog will root".    Kadizzle had never heard that saying before, but looked into it.  The meaning is anyone can accidently find an acorn or even be right by accident. 

Well Kadizzle and Winky have adopted the saying.  Often when a dispute occurs and one of us is proven wrong we might have to admit we were wrong.  There is nothing worse than admitting you are wrong.  There is a simple way out.  All you have to do is say to the person who happened to be correct " Even a blind hog will root".   Unfortunately in our country you can vote blind hogs into office.  Trump says all the economic good news is due to him.  There is an apple tree in our yard.  Kadizzle claims he has provided all the apples.  No the guy who planted the tree provided the apples.  We just harvest them.  Obama planted the apples Trump is harvesting, but " Even a blind hog will root".

What happened to the Undertaker

Yesterday Kadizzle was wandering up the road to help Cliff cut and clean up some brush in our camping area.  Over on the hill something strange was it looked like something moving strangely in the wind.  Looking closer it appeared two people were over on the hill at a camping site.  Yes it was two people and it must have been the Undertaker and his wife because it was their dog.  What was that strange blue thing going up and down and waving?  It stopped then started again.  Kadizzle thought maybe they were in distress and trying to signal him so he pedaled the ebike over there.  As he got closer he could see the Undertaker laying on the picnic table with his knees up.  Oh no, Kadizzle thought the Undertaker has had a heart attack.  As Kadizzle pulled up the Undertaker sat up.  He smiled and seemed fine.  It turned out he was exercising on the picnic table.  The blue Kadizzle had seen waving around was his legs.  The Undertaker was fine.

We met the Undertaker years ago.  With his wife he has been coming to Windy Hill every winter for years.  He likes to hunt quail.  Back in Montana he was the Undertaker.  Praise be unto Jesus the Undertaker is a good liberal.  In the sun we launched into our tirades on the new King Trump.  Both Kadizzle and the Undertaker are distressed as we enter the dictatorship.  Somehow we got on the topic of Romney and Mormons.  Kadizzle brought up the sacred garments Mormons wear.  The Undertaker said he was familiar with Mormon customs since there were a lot of Mormons in his area.  Undertaker told Kadizzle that it was the custom in the Mormon Church that the local church president dress the deceased before they were buried.  Kadizzle had never heard of this before, but it makes sense that you don't want to show up in heaven poorly dressed. 

I wonder what the King is doing tonight

What could the King be doing tonight?  Remember that old song from Camelot? Maybe the King is with Stormy Daniels, Maybe he is tweeting some insults, maybe he is grabbing some genitals or perhaps he is cheating on his taxes.  Ah to be King and make the little kingdoms help you cheat in elections. It is good to be king.  There is a burger king, and our king might be a cheeseburger king.  The King can dispose of his wives like Henry the Eighth.  The King is infallible.  The King will build walls to protect us from invaders.  The King can have big parades, the King can knight court jesters like Rush, and Rudy.  The King can have royal wipers like Kevin and John.  How nice to be King.

Camelot: I Wonder What the King Is Doing Tonight

Photo mystery

Kadizzle was set to spend the day burning some brush, but Helen messaged Kadizzle and asked if he wanted to search for the missing spot one more time.  Sure, that would be more fun than burning brush.  What is the missing spot?  The Forest Service has some strange research project where they take a picture in exactly the same spot every so many years.  It is easy to find the spot if you have the GPS coordinates, but without them it is a puzzle.  The reason for this is so the vegetation from 1995 can be compared to the vegetation in 2020.  How do you find the spot without the coordinates?  What you do is take the photos from 1995 and try to figure out where the person stood when they took the pictures.  With good pictures this might not be too hard, but with poorly reproduced pictures it is no easy task.  The last time we tried we had to give up. 

At eight we set out this morning to try again.  In the jeep we traveled way back into the mountains in the area the map did give us clues to.  Someone marked a spot on a topographic map 25 years ago.  The trick would be to get everything to line up.  That meant standing in a spot where two mountain peaks lined up and just a small smidgen of the lake showed.  The spot on the topographic map was way off.  After wandering around we began to get things adjusted.  To make more of the lake disappear we needed to go lower.  To line up the mountains we needed to go farther east.  There were some other clues in the photos including an old dead tree.  Kadizzle was about five hundred yards too far East when Helen called out over the radio she found the spot.  The spot was marked with a piece of rebar.  Kadizzle had been thinking from the pictures it was a fence post.

Once you discover the spot new pictures need to be taken from the exact same position as the originals.  With our mission accomplished we headed back to the ranch.  The whole process is kind of fun. It is like looking for a treasure.

A Chilling Feeling

Awaking this morning and reading about Trump's speech last night leaves Kadizzle with a chilling feeling our democracy is over.  The fact that Republicans are shamelessly 100% greedy rats means we are well on our way to a Hitler style country.  The cult has succeeded.  When Trump puts The Medal of Freedom on Rush Limbaugh and Republicans nod in agreement we are done.  Rats praising rats a sad sight.  We have clearly reached the state where our government is of the rich, for the rich, by the rich.  The saddest thing in this whole affair is finding out about friends who have swallowed the poison.  The other day a lady made a comment to Kadizzle that mirrored his own observation.  Trump has shown us how many truly ignorant people there are.  Everyone knew we had simple minded people, but few knew how far up into our society the rot went.  Trump mined the vast pool of ignorance and hit the motherload.  Trump knew exactly the right bait to hook the idiots.   Fear, paranoid lies, and greed brought the cult all he needed. 

Think about this.  The hard core stupid make up about 27% of our country. That hard core group of idiots belongs to Trump.  All Trump has to do is suck in a few more people driven by greed and he has a lead that cannot be overcome.  Idiocy is the currency of the realm,  and Trump has a pile of idiots.

Can you judge character

This morning Kadizzle did his usual reading of the Bismarck Tribune letters.  A person Kadizzle knows well had a letter in the Tribune.  The letter praised a fellow legislator, Jeff Delzer.  Jeff Delzer is a Trump style rat.  How did Kadizzle come to this conclusion?  Years ago Kadizzle ran for the board of directors of the local cooperative phone company.  At the annual meeting the election was held.  The Republicans used every dirty trick in the book to defeat Kadizzle.  Jeff Delzer went through the crowd telling people to vote against Kadizzle.  It was a moment that Kadizzle cherishes because of what happened.  Delzer the rat went up to an old dear neighbor who happened to be a hard core Republican and also sat in the legislature.  Delzer said to Pat,  " You need to vote against Kadizzle".  Pat responded by saying " You can go to hell, no one is going to tell me who to vote for".   Pat made Kadizzle so proud of him.  Kadizzle and Pat had many political arguments, but this sealed our friendship.  Pat had what every Republican lacks a sense of morality. 

Now this brings Kadizzle to his theme for the next letter to the Bismarck Tribune.  Donald Trump is like a black light.  If you ever used a black light you know it will reveal things you didn't think were there.  A black light will reveal blood, urine, and semen, along with many other things.  Trump is the black light. You think you know a person who is normal, honest, and a good person, but their support for Trump shows you the ditris in their mind.

Forgive me for I have sinned

Winky and Kadizzle went to a huge grocery store in Mesa today.  Of course Winky loves grocery stores so that left Kadizzle with nothing to do while she shopped.  Kadizzle decided to troll Trump goofs. That is what happens when you leave him unattended.  Kadizzle roamed the store pretending to talk on the phone while loudly saying what a worthless rat Trump is.  A red hat went by but Kadizzle did not catch him quick enough.  Finally Kadizzle tired and sat on one of the benches in front of the store and did some trolling.  Kadizzle sat by a lady and pretended to be speaking to someone.  The nasty talk about Trump shot out all over the place.  Just like yesterday the woman smiled and agreed.  Just like yesterday Kadizzle asked where the lady was from.  Kadizzle knows a native redneck would never disrespect Trump.  Sure enough the woman was from Wisconsin and had as little use for Trump as Kadizzle.  Yesterday the lady was from New York.  She said the people of New York have known for a long time what con man Trump is. 

As Kadizzle waited for Winky a real red hat with his wife were in the checkout line. Kadizzle could not resist. Quickly go in line and did the fake phone call.  Kadizzle was close to Mrs Red Hat and he bellowed out all the nasty stuff he could think of about Trump.  Mrs Red Hat could not take it.  She turned to Kadizzle and said are you going to buy anything or are you just going to talk on the phone. Kadizzle explained that he was just looking over the breath mints that he wanted to buy.  What could she do?  Mr Red Hat wiggled the red hat and said something.  Once they moved forward to grab the groceries.  Kadizzle said to the clerk what a menace Republicans were and she needed to help rid the country of them.  One final good shot at the Red Hat gang.  If you hear of a political killing in the Phoenix area you will no why this blog ended.  Kadizzle wants to go down in service for his country.  Not sure if Kadizzle will get a purple heart, or a lead filled heart.

Another Big Find

The fire that went through the Tonto Basin Forest made a lot of things more visible. Kadizzle took off for a motorcycle ride he had done through the mountains before, but this time he noticed something he had not seen.  It was the sign of human habitation.  On the top of a knoll there appeared to rocks in an orderly fashion.  As Kadizzle got close he found his first pot shard, the sure sign it was a dwelling.  Kadizzle's eyes about popped out as he realized the scope of the site.  It was the perfect location the former inhabitants had a commanding view of the area.   It was a very large site.  Always a question when these sites are found is where are they getting water.  Off in the distance a little way Kadizzle could see water running down the mountain.  There was a nice valley and with the water they could have farmed.  The more you explore here in the Tonto Basin the more you realize the extent of the civilization that was here.  There could have been a few thousand people living here.  The question arises what happened to these people?  Did they overwhelm their environment?  Did some other tribes drive them out?  It seems to be the common thought that these people disappeared suddenly. Could it have been disease? 

Americans know wealth inequality is a problem, but what does it look like?

Up in the mountains

Our band of four took off for the big mountains, the Sierra Ancha mountains.  Hiking in the tall pines was a nice change from the lower elevations.  Little patches of snow were around, but the day could not be more perfect.  The drive to the trailhead was tricky.  Fortunately someone had been there before and cut a path through the felled trees on the road.  After four slow miles of tricky driving the road was block for the last three hundred feet by a tree that had fallen over the stream we had to cross with the truck.  It seemed possible we might be able to drive under the tree, but better judgement prevailed.  Turning the truck around on a narrow mountain road was no easy task, but we managed.

Ken and Kadizzle stopped frequently to just soak in the scenery.  One topic was the people who never get to see the amazing parts of this country. The United States has a remarkable landscape.  There is so much to see.  The Southwest alone has kept us hiking for twenty years.  Kadizzle has chosen Utah as the ultimate state.  Arizona has a lot, but no state can beat Utah for sheer variety.

When we got as far as one day would allow we realized by looking at the map how close we were to major Indian ruins.   This realization meant they must have come the same way we were hiking.  We were in their backyard.  Kadizzle always wonders on these paths if they are original Indian trails or more recent trails made by the white man.  This trail seemed to be an ancient pathway.  There are certain gaps in the mountains that had to be used by game, and people for centuries.

The Most AMAZING commercial ever!!! - Coleman Sweeney

Clay Jenkinson summarizes

Four things happened on the last day of January 2020.

1. We crossed the Rubicon - The United States was envisioned as a republic. In a republic, the protection the people have against tyranny is our system of checks and balances. The judiciary checks the legislative branch when it passes unconstitutional laws. The executive has the power to veto Congressional legislation, but the legislative branch can over-ride that veto with a super-majority. When the President overreaches in a fundamentally dangerous way, Congress and the courts can check his or her will to power. On January 31, 2020, the Senate of the United States abdicated its Constitutional responsibility to conduct a thorough trial after the House of Representatives sent a bill of impeachment against a sitting President. The President's attorneys argued that what he did, if he did it, does not rise to the level of impeachment; that there is virtually no act that this President could commit that would deserve impeachment; that the President has essentially unlimited authority to behave in any way he wishes, including pressuring foreign governments to announce an investigation against his principal political rival. In this situation, Congress was the people's last guardrail against Presidential excess, and the Senate decided to kick down that guardrail. In doing so, the US Senate greatly diminished its constitutional authority. We now have what amounts to an elective monarchy in the United States. Tennessee's Lamar Alexander at least had the honesty to acknowledge that what the President did was irresponsible, unacceptable, and a violation of the trust we put in our chief executives. The Senate has now signaled to this President that if he uses other nefarious maneuvers to win re-election in November 2020, he will not be held responsible by the primary branch of the US government, the Congress.

We have crossed a Rubicon. The tragedy is that tens of millions of American people either don't know what just happened to the very foundation of our republic, or they don't care because they are caught up in the cult of this darkly charismatic individual. Or perhaps just the Super Bowl.

It may sound over-dramatic to say that January 31, 2020, marked the death of the American republic, but as a scholar of Thomas Jefferson and the Constitution I believe that is precisely what has happened. We will, of course, continue to be a rich and powerful nation. The Walmarts will continue to be full. The gas pumps will continue to deliver fuel. The Kardashians will continue to entertain us. But the republic, as republic, is now dead.

R.I.P. American Republic.

2. On the question of the impeachment trial alone, the allegation was that the President pressured a foreign government to announce an investigation of his chief rival, by withholding desperately needed military aid to a nation that has been invaded by Russia. The President's attorneys argued countless times that no evidence links the President directly to the shakedown scheme. When a material witness of unimpeachable integrity--a uncompromising lifelong Republican partisan and insider--came forward to announce that he had direct evidence of the President's complicity based on actual and unambiguous conversations he had with that President--the Senate voted not to hear what he had to say under oath. In what sense can this be called a thorough or fair trial when the United States Senate refused to listen to someone who could speak directly to the validity of the charges leveled at the President? It defies all logic, violates the fundamental principles of jurisprudence, and ensures that no rational observer can ever conclude that the President has actually been exonerated. He has been protected by a slim majority in the Senate, but he has not been exonerated, because the most material witness in the whole affair was not permitted to tell his story under oath. When the history of this sad episode is written, there will always be a ring of illegitimacy and even Senate coverup in the Impeachment of Donald Trump. Put it another way: if the President is innocent, what does his administrative have to fear from a material eyewitness?

3. Trump supporters will celebrate his acquittal, but they are also unknowingly celebrating the death of Constitutional restraint, due process, accountability, Congressional oversight, checks and balances, the separation of powers doctrine, and the guardrails and backstop of the US Constitution. This story is no longer about Donald Trump, who will leave office at some point. But the damage done to the Constitution and the Idea of a Republic will outlast this and many future Presidents, perhaps all of them. Will it have been worth it to protect this one individual, this President who can serve no more than eight years at most, at the expense of the foundational principles of American life established in 1787 and preserved as inviolable for 233 years? The principal result of this impeachment episode is to render the Constitution's impeachment clause a nullity, which means that future Presidents will be able to violate their oaths with impunity.

4. The conclusion of the Trump impeachment drama is also the final death of Thomas Jefferson's vision of America: that in a republic the people are sovereign; that the people guard their liberties, rights, and prerogatives with stern vigilance; that they restrain and rebuke their President whenever he breaks faith with the people and exceeds his authority as outlined in Article II of the Constitution; that they err on the side of liberty rather than power. Jefferson believed that the people of the United States would be sufficiently well-educated and well-informed to know what was at stake in the way their government acted and that they would vindicate his belief in their civic understanding in times of political and constitutional crisis. If in this situation the American people stepped back to analyze what it means for the US Senate to curtail an impeachment trial before all the material facts were brought to light--particularly when the most material witness is denied his opportunity to clarify the very allegation at the heart of the impeachment--they would see that they have crossed a Rubicon, in this case an apparently invisible Rubicon, from which it will be exceedingly difficult to return to due process, checks and balances, and constitutional order. In his famous Kentucky Resolutions (1798) Jefferson wrote, "In questions of power, then, let no more be said of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution." We have failed to bind President Trump "down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution."

Jefferson thought we were up to it. If he could see what we have done, I believe he would say one of two things: either that Adams was right and we are not really up to the grave challenge of protecting our rights and liberties; or that we must double and then double again civics education, so that the people understand what a dangerous threshold we have now crossed, perhaps forever.

I repeat: this crisis is no longer about Donald Trump. Whatever you think about Mr. Trump is now immaterial, because what has been on trial is the capacity of a republic to self-correct before it is too late. In a strange and ironic sense, Donald Trump is now the least of our worries.

When historians look back at the decline and fall of the American republic, Friday, January 31, 2020, will now inevitably be one of the most significant, if not the most significant dates.

I know that what I have written here will be regarded by Mr. Trump's partisans as an attack on the President they revere. That will only prove that they do not see what is actually at stake here.

The die has been cast.

Clay Jenkinson