From Nil Doctrine

I like this guy.

Foreign Affair

One more from Mr Waits

San Diego Serenade

From Tom Waits

Lacrosse Backstop Update

Regarding my attempted project (see Lacrosse Backstop), it stood for a tad bit over one month before getting totally trashed - not by the kids, as would normally be the case.  The thing was fine one evening; Irene says she remembers looking straight at it when she got home, and the next morning it was mangled.  My theory is that a deer (or three) got tangled up and in the thrashing scramble for freedom, the backstop took the ultimate hit.

I don't know why I didn't get some pictures, but there ya go.  We're trying to figure out if a Plan B is even possible.  We'll be working on it and I'll let ya know.

Debtors Prison And The Prison Of Debt

I think it's interesting that some law makers and think tankers are fretting over the problem of people "walking away from their financial obligations", "refusing to be held accountable".  The power-holders get all worked up and blame a sense of entitlement that they say is rampant in American society.  They sit there and scratch their heads and wonder why everybody thinks it's OK to screw the poor little old entrepreneurial bankers who're are just trying to make a few bucks helping us realize the American Dream.

A couple of things:
1) most people have every intention of holding up their end of the bargain.
2) most people by now have seen more than a few instances where mover-shakers have either weaseled out of their responsibilities, or actively cheated the consumer.

In spite of our treasured myth of the Rugged Individual, most Americans are followers just like everybody else in the world.  We emulate the examples set for us by the people who are presented to us as leaders.  And since we've heard practically nothing but a steady stream of "all government is incompetent and corrupt, only the private sector works right", our real leaders are the few guys who run the corporations.  And we see those guys going to extraordinary lengths to avoid fulfilling even the basic commitments to the social contract - tax evasion schemes, off-shoring jobs, short-cutting workplace safety, ignoring environmental law and and and - all in the name of preserving capital, cutting costs and boosting profits.  Don't get me wrong; all that preserving and cutting and boosting is a good thing, but not when it comes at the expense of the system that makes the enterprise itself possible.

So anyway, I'm a little off track.  To get back to the point, now we see a lot of "regular people" walking away, saying "fuck the rules and fuck everybody else, I'm gonna do what's best for me and mine right now".  There's no honor in the system we've developed.  One guy's promise is only as good as the other guy's lawyer's ability to hold him to it.

Our "leaders" have shown us the way.  The system is eating itself.

I suspect we'll see more of this kind of thing.

Couldn't Stay Away

Two things came together for me that make me think we're swinging in a weird direction - actually it's very much in keeping with my belief that we're headed back to a system of EconoGovernment that was all the rage in the 18th century.  Everything is owned by a relatively few rich families, and everybody else has to suck up to the power and fight over the crumbs.

First, in January, the Roberts court affirmed the Rights Of Monied Interests in the Citizens United decision.  Now with the primary win of Sharron Angle in Nevada, where most of her support came from out-of-state AstroTurf organizations, we get a look at what happens when we apply Efficient Markets principles to the election of our delegations to Congress.  Suddenly, Dick Armey can raise lots of money and spend it any way and anywhere he wants to make it more probable that we "elect" somebody who'll be sympathetic to the interests of his clients - whoever the fuck they happen to be; while the opinions of people who actually live and sweat and bleed and die as citizens of Nevada are reduced in proportion.

Another side of this is the fact that "Big Union" contributed mightily to an attempt to beat Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas - the attempt failed, but it was way close for a while.  As the forces get more organized, and experienced, we can expect to see more elections being manipulated by remote control.

So here's the payoff:  Welcome to the era of Representation Without Taxation.

BTW) this fits nicely with the way politicians use a selling technique known as the Turn Around.  Repubs, at least most blatantly, are the main offenders.  You have only to consider Palin's recent attempted Turn Around: The BP spill happened because the treehuggers forced Big Oil to drill farther offshore.  It's lame and crude and clumsy, but guess what - the rubes eat that shit up.

Gettin' Back In The Game

It's taking way too long to find a decent job.  Time to get really serious about it and start working harder on my packaging.  So, in order to shape up and look more presentable, I'll have to devote a lot more time to sweating and a lot less to reading and blogging.  Things must change.  I'm not callin it quits, but I have to concentrate.  See ya

The Only Etta James We've Got

Sometimes, it's not until they've been put thru the mill - overzealous producers and handlers and agents who just want a piece of something they can only dream of creating; maybe that's just what it takes for some artists to get home. I wish it could be other.

A New One For Me

Never saw this guy before. The sax style sounds familiar but I can't place the name.

I Wouldn't Want To Be Like You

From the I Robot album.  A personal anthem from way back.