deluded dispatch

Dear President George W. Bush

2008-08-12T13:49:00.000-07:00

Eating Meat Is Worse Than Driving a Truck ... for the Climate

2008-08-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

Reducing our meat consumption may not be popular, but we need to view our love affair with burgers in the same frame as gas-guzzling SUVs.

I just had to share the good news.

2008-06-27T16:06:00.000-07:00

Good news for vegetarians, we're not contributing to this cruelty!

" A new undercover investigation by The Humane Society of the United States reveals that sick and crippled dairy cows continue to be abused in the livestock industry, even in the wake of high-profile exposes that should have put auction managers and other animal-handling personnel on their best behavior."

" Details of the new undercover HSUS investigation include:

* downed cows repeatedly shocked in an attempt to get them to rise
* calves and cows with broken legs and laminitis
* a downed cow being dragged by a chain around one leg, pulled by a Bobcat tractor, with the animals' leg severely hyper-extended
* a calf being kicked repeatedly in the head
* a blind cow being shocked and struck and other cows with serious and grotesque eye injuries/diseases
* a downed cow forced to crawl on her front knees by workers who repeatedly shocked her"

Because It's Important

2008-03-24T12:19:00.000-07:00

NC Congressman McHenry is a dick

2007-08-07T09:23:00.001-07:00

Oh, I cannot make this stuff up. Yes, the American people have heard this. Their answer to our fuel crisis, the crisis at the pumps, is: Ride a bike.

I sent the Congressman an email:

Dear Mr. McHenry,

I would like to share with you my little human interest story.javascript:void(0)
Publish Post
I am originally from Cashiers, North Carolina and now live in Nevada City, CA. My wife and I rent a small apartment in town and walk to dinner, movies, coffee, the bank, etc. It's a wonderful life that we live.

I work in Grass Valley, CA, a mere 4 hilly miles away. Over a year ago I sold my pickup and commute by bicycle. Throughout the year I ride my bike to work. Riding my bike to work and on errands makes me very happy. It keeps me in shape, it keeps my weight down, it keeps my cholesterol down, my health costs down, my transportation costs down, it reduces local traffic and it is a great solution to my transportation dilemma.

It is very unfortunate that you view the bicycle as a 19th century solution to 21st century problem.

Sir, it is your kind of jaded disposition and lack of creativity and understanding that is degrading our country. And to think, you are one of our elected leaders who is supposed to be looking out for the greater good of the United States.
You really should be ashamed of yourself.

Think about it. How is the obesity problem in North Carolina? How about the poverty rate and it’s association with transportation costs? Air quality from pollution generated by automobiles?

I’ll be in North Carolina on Labor Day weekend and would be happy to take you on a leisurely ride to remind you how easy it is to ride a bike.

Thanks,

Hyland Fisher

So, what now?

2007-02-23T08:05:00.000-08:00

Well, politics have slowed down a bit, Finx and I are less pissed at the administration since they keep shooting themselves in the collective foot. So,how about something interesting and personal?
It snowed yesterday. The first snow we've had all year, we've been in a drought. Since it was snowing I decided to arrive at work late and take the long way into work. After and hour and a half I arrived at work with frozen hands and a feeling of accomplishment. The bike did great on the roads, much better than the cars were doing.

A view of town just minutes before I started out on my exploratory ride.

Heading up Banner Mountain Trail, a road that goes by the gun club, starts as pavement and turns to gravel.

I set the bike down for a few minutes to take a look at the map and snap a few pictures. It didn't take long for the bike to get covered in snow.

This is one of the pictures I took. This is a pacific yew, a relatively rare tree in these parts.

I found some new, albeit short, sections of trail on the route.

As I was coming down a road into town all the cars had stopped. I rode past them and came across this cluster-fuck. So, I snapped a picture and road right through it as they struggled to straighten their hulks of metal. Feels good to be on the bike.

So Tired...

2007-01-08T16:36:00.000-08:00

Well, here I am, back for a post-election post. For me, this blog has been like one of those things that you need when you're low and when you swing back high again, you seem to forget all about. So, this time I ain't feelin' too shabby politically but after a long hard weekend of work, I'm sure tired enough to feel at bit of the "lows". Why not use it to post right?

Anyway, it seems that with the stunning victory of the "left" the country has found a way to regain some semblance of sanity for the time being. Hopefully the din of yelping from the fundies has died down enough to let us all think straight again and not preoccupy ourselves with such pointless debates as: "Are frozen soon-to-be-thrown-out embryos able to get the proper abstinence-only sex ed if their 1 in 10,000 chance of actually becoming a fully formed human ever comes to pass?" Things like this are really not that pressing when the blood on the streets of Baghdad is still flowing freely.

It would seem to me that the Dems really have their work cut out with this win. They must do more than pass pretty sounding resolutions. They must fight back the callousness of the folks in Washington that no longer respect the reason of why they work there for us. They must battle the idea that having real hope is considered quaint or meaningless. I say this because ever since Barak Obama has stepped up to the plate I've heard nothing but shallow comments like: "He's a vessel that people pour whatever they want into." Come on people, he's a good man, and preaching promise shouldn't mean you're vapid. He has goals, yes. He is shrewd, yes. But he represents something almost lost to us like Kennedy did, hope. Flaws are present in all of us, that's why a person like him is relatable. His dreams may not be totally formed yet, but neither are most of ours in the real world.

We can get there together though. We can rest up after this last battle for a bit, but then we must come out strong. Ready to do the really hard work of dreaming big.

VOTE!

2006-11-07T08:36:00.000-08:00

Well, my friends, this is it. In the mere two years since I started blogging to keep myself from a random killing spree, we have a true shot at redeeming ourselves here in the US of A. And make no mistake, when I say "this is it", I really mean it. Things must change. Our country can no longer bear the idiocy and incompetence that has oozed it's way into our body politic because of the knee-jerk voting habits of the ultra-religious (and hyper hypocritical) "base" of the right. Reasoned people are running for office this year. Good people that found that rising to the challenge of governance meant doing so out of the desire to see true change, not as an opportunity to become part of the Washington meat grinder that churns out a new corrupt lobbyist every time someone is leaving political office. No, there is no way to overstate this, things must change.

I will vote today, and in doing so, I bring with me a belief system just like many of the people I vehemently disagree with, but what I'd like to think is that my beliefs are second to my desire to see our government finally act out of the desire to help all of the people that reside here, not just the ones who look at life in the same way as I do. To me, the single issue voter is a loaded gun. A narrow-minded tactical weapon used to sway elections away from issues that will effect more than the people on their block. The "morality" based wedge-issue is their fuse, and what's been interesting in this election cycle is how little prominence the press has been giving them this year (aside from Iraq of course). I'm not saying I would wish to suppress the votes of the so-called "values voters", but what I would like is that if you belong to any group who chooses to demonize others for their behavior while ignoring the hypocrisies your leaders, I would prefer that these folks would stay home until such time as they have educated themselves on more than one issue dictated to them by their pastor by simply reading their states voting guide.

We have a right to vote. All of us do. It is our fundamental right and duty in this country. Don't let apathy or intimidation or any other such force imposed upon you deter you from what you need to do today. Most of all though, vote with a well informed conscience. It's your vote cast and yours alone. No one will know what you've said to the country in doing so, it's private. So say what you will to us today with a clear mind. As far as what you say, well, that's up to you. Good luck.

I'm still here

2006-08-21T07:54:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure no one is reading this blog anymore, but if they are, just read the title. Most of the reason I've halted major operations on this site have to do with being physically unable to sustain the necessary amount of rage needed to write a really good and informed post. Politics, bahh! You see, in the intervening time, I've found it much more helpful to release my need to pursue truth and justice in the broader world we live in and focus on something much more pointed and urgent. I've become a capitalist. It's a wonderful thing. You should all try it some time.

Gone are the days when Mid East struggles boiled my blood and forced me into a mad tail chasing effort to eviscerated all who caused the world I once loved to tumble into chaos. No, now I just plan how much more I can get for the rental on my next job or how fat the business account is getting due to my rapid succession of 16 hours days. Yep, I'm sellin' out, I want the world to know, I've got to let it show!

Screaming "Money Fucking Rocks!" from every roof top in glamorous Sherman Oaks might mitigate some of the stress I've accumulated along with the rising pile of cash.... aaaahh crap. Who am I kidding here, I'm still broke. I'm just trying to believe some of my own hype right now so I don't freak out and run screaming from this little all consuming vortex of a business I've started.

Why do we encourage Americans to do this rather than vote? What is it about the fable of the American entrepreneur that seems to draw in millions more good hard working people rather than local city council elections? Why aren't I doing more to help the world rather than... well, making more money I can't seem to hold onto. The only reason I can come up with goes back to a daydream I had this morning.

Somehow, (either by Lotto or Gates Foundation grant) I had become unimaginably wealthy and imagined myself using every dime I had to buy CNN. Instantly, people such as Joe Scarborough and Nancy Grace were "put on notice", and I clearly let them know if they didn't start to practice real journalism, their heads were gonna roll. I was a tough boss and even though some hated me, they still respected what I was doing.

Then came the grand daddy of all fantasies. One day (as I believe truly happens) an administration official, someone of a Roveian stature, comes to visit me in my office. This official sits across from me and informs me that the president is unhappy with the recent left-leaning slant my network was taken. I sit and listen to a very long and veiled threat about regulations and tax breaks that will never come to pass if I play ball. It is at this point that I smile as I rise from my non-leather clad chair and inform him that everything he has just said has been tapped by a hidden camera crew and this meeting would lead this evenings news. Impeachments soon follow somehow.

I don't think the fantasy holds much water when it comes to the finer legal points or my ability to wrangle a couple billion dollars, but the point is still the same, money equals power. For now, this is the over ridding equation. So maybe this is why I've chosen the dizzyingly complex world of micro-finance, it's just one way to feel some pull in the world run by the shadow democracy of money. Too bad it'll keep me fixated on making more money instead of on the real matters of import. Weird thing is though, I'm enjoying it. CNN here I come!

Your vegan positive news article of the day:

2006-07-24T16:37:00.000-07:00

A fisherman was recovering from surgery after he was speared in the chest and knocked into the Atlantic Ocean by a blue marlin during a fishing competition off Bermuda's coast.

Auto Lament

2006-03-22T09:15:00.000-08:00

Last night at the Pharmacy while getting my EpiPen prescription (I hate bees!) the pharmacist told me not to leave the EpiPen in the glove box. I whimpered to him I don't have a car.
It's actually not true, I still have my vehicle but am selling it in about a month.
I think I sounded sad when I said I didn't have a car, but upon reflection, I think I am just in the mourning process of leaving the auto lifestyle. I think I have almost completed the grieving since I completely forgot I still have an auto.
I went outside in the 40 degree weather and had a great ride home.

Spring begins in less than a week...

2006-03-14T09:12:00.000-08:00

It just continues to snow. We drove up the road about 10 miles on Sunday to ski. There was 3' on the ground, makes the cycling difficult.

Debtors Prison = Gitmo?

2006-03-07T08:47:00.000-08:00

This is a long time coming I realize. I was just sharing with vuduvgn that I wasn't mad enough to post anything lately, then I read some blogs...

They paid down some debt. The balance on their JCPenney Platinum MasterCard had gotten to an unhealthy level. So they sent in a large payment, a check for $6,522.

And an alarm went off. A red flag went up. The Soehnges' behavior was found questionable.

Read the whole thing to realize how totally effed up our country is right now. Just think about how many freedoms we've lost since Bush took office. Just list them one at a time. Then maybe you'll get really mad again, like me.

Bush hates fish and fat kids will rule the world

2006-03-06T13:47:00.000-08:00

``The federal government has done absolutely nothing to help, and fishermen are angry,'' said Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations. ``It's almost like they created this Klamath situation to make them look competent on Katrina.''

The number of overweight children worldwide will increase significantly by the end of the decade, and scientists expect profound impacts on everything from public health care to economies, a study published Monday said.

Snow in Nevada City - Edit

2006-03-02T08:28:00.000-08:00

We woke up to snow again in Nevada City. Not much, only about 3 or so inches, but still purdy.

Looking up Commercial St. from the office window.

Looking down Commercial St.

View over the next building to the trees beyond. Click for larger version.

Update: This is later on in the day.

From the office window

Biking as a Lenten practice

2006-03-01T13:36:00.000-08:00

[Peter] Dula was ashen when he addressed us with his typed speech. His voice and his words conveyed the bitterness of the present-day situation in the Middle East, the Iraqi hatred for Americans, and his powerlessness to distinguish himself from the occupying military forces and contractors. He told us how he had recently been evacuated to Jordan after a rash of expatriate kidnappings, leaving behind new friends whose futures were unknown. Everything about Dula spoke to us of the horrors of seeing one's neighbors' children kidnapped, of walking with fear along a deserted street, of seeing churches exploding in the night.

By the end, our ethics class sat in stunned silence. The least we could hope for was some way to respond. Should we go to Iraq and do the same? Is it time to picket the White House? Write letters? What do we do? Dula's answer was clear and emphatic.

"Ride your bike."

He repeated this short phrase twice but the second time it sounded more like a plea than a suggestion. Then he walked from the lectern and left a befuddled crowd to ponder his words and, hopefully, to act upon them.

This Is What I Want...

2005-12-01T08:49:00.000-08:00

In recent months, I've spent a great deal of time reading post after post, and article after article voicing dissent, anger and frustration about the myriad of mishandled issues of this administration. Most of the vigorous debate (and even the debate about the debate) has circled around the war. Some have suggested such debate is improper in a time such as this. So above all things, about this, let's be clear. It is in fact a right of the people to voice these criticisms without fear of retribution or harm. I believe the only way any democracy can function is to have these voices be heard and answered by the elected leadership.

Now, if said leaders are only willing to repeat falsehoods and offer nothing new to the exchange (such as the timeless "Stay the course" message of the recently released 35 page "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq") then it is, in my opinion, the duty of the dissenters to offer the alternate strategy that the people require to make an informed choice.

My point is this. If all the folks in D.C. who have cold feet about the war that they voted for want to simply criticize, fine. But where's the alternate plan? While I think it is important to debate and investigate the justifications of our entering into this quagmire, it's not the end of the debate by any means. We need informed solutions, real alternatives. I am no longer willing to take the advice of four-star generals who are too politically fearful to publicly disagree with the civilian leaders who keep throwing their subordinates in harms way just to keep from looking like they screwed up from the outset.

So, this is what I'm asking for: Give us ("us" being whosoever dares disagree with the status quo) access to the on the ground military leadership. Let us talk with them. Let them give us what they see as options (considering they're there everyday). We need someone to do the heavy lifting now. To hear the good and the bad. We need to make informed decision based on fact and reality, not behind the scenes gripes and ass-covering. That's how we got here.

No one, and I mean on one, made a truly informed decision to take us into war. No one had the same access to materials and personnel to do so. Apart from the argument that this was done because of some nefarious pre-formed plan or whether everyone was just truly misinformed, it matters not. There were only a select group of ears that heard the unfiltered advice and counsel of those that were proved to be wrong. You can't tell me that if some good old fashioned dissent was thrown into the mix back then, that we'd be in the same place now.

No three people should ever decide to take us into war. We should all bear the terrible burden of that weight. It keeps us from from having motive to prove that the few were right or wrong. It keeps us focused on our goals. There can be no singular finger pointing when we are all equally informed.

I feel that this is the only way to get us out of this mess that we are very much in. It's time to share everything. It's time to put it all on the table. Let's finally have knowledge behind us when deciding to risk our lives and the lives of our fellow man.

He writes for Outside magazine, figures.

2005-11-30T11:46:00.000-08:00

Wimp. Noble, but still a wimp.

West Coasters don't know what they are talking about.

2005-11-09T13:58:00.000-08:00

These are fall colors.

IRS doesn't like God's involvement in politics

2005-11-08T09:14:00.000-08:00

I read this today in the Sacramento Bee.
The Internal Revenue Service has warned the All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California, that it may be losing its tax exemption, citing a sermon by the Rev. George F. Regas, on Oct. 31, 2004...According to the story, he did not take sides or tell parishioners who to vote for, but he did criticize the war in Iraq, stating that Jesus would have called Bush's pre-emptive war "a failed doctrine," and that "Forcibly changing the regime of an enemy that posed no imminent threat has led to disaster."

Finx, do you think this has any bearing on the Republican's Justice Sunday?

UPDATE (11/8/05 9:38 am PST) by FINX:

Well, if yer askin'. I'm not sure how this all gets decided, but I'd bet dollars to donuts someone's playing fast and loose with the rules yet again. For example, how is it that the James Dobsons of the world can claim to be "men of God" and yet cheat the American tax code by using their spiritual institutions to do the bidding of politicians? His Focus on the Family group was at one time part of a powerful far-right lobbying group called The Family Research Council (FRC). This relationship was troubling to folks in D.C. because the ties were a little too close for comfort, so the IRS applied pressure and the FRC severed it's "official" ties to Dobson's group in 1992 (by the way, this was the second time they had to do this). However, Dobson stayed on the board long after the official split and claimed the two organizations were "spiritually one".

So, it would seems that the rules are being selectively applied in this instance to send a message. Is that really any surpise to anyone in these days of the Christian-Right/Republican mafia tactics we see being employed day in and day out. Just ask Republican uber-lobbyists Jack Abramoff and Michael Scanlon about the rules of the game:

"The wackos get their information through the Christian right, Christian radio, mail, the internet and telephone trees," Scanlon wrote in the memo, which was read into the public record at a hearing of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. "Simply put, we want to bring out the wackos to vote against something and make sure the rest of the public lets the whole thing slip past them."

Awesome.

To me, the most appalling things about all of these people is that they act as though they own God. The "Family Research Council" is a corporation after all. One who's work is dedicated to such noble causes as the quest to eliminate hate crime legislation. God knows Jesus would be out there beating the shit of gay men every chance he could, right?

A Victory? - A Finx Rant

2005-10-28T13:05:00.000-07:00

Well, hello again my friends. I feel like I should start by saying how sorry I am that I haven't kept up my end of the blogging bargain here at the Dispatch, but I think that I've come back just at the right time. As I'm sure you all know by now, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff, has been indicted by a Federal grand jury on five separate counts and has subsequently resigned. Yahoo! It's Miller Time!... Or is it?

You see, this is the least possible damage the White House could sustain considering both Karl Rove and Dick Cheney have had their grubby little fingerprints discovered all over this whole affair. I mean, who's ever really heard about this "Scooter" fellow anyway? Well, maybe most of the people reading this, but certainly not millions of other Americans who've allowed far bigger crooks to be re-elected year after year. No, I'm afraid what has happened here is that the sloppiest of the criminals in this administration have been nabbed, but by no means the worst.

There is still hope given the open-endedness of Fitzgerald's investigation, but I fear unless Scooter rolls on some of the most powerful and vicious people in the world, this thing is a dead duck that lays solely on Libby's doorstep. The real crime of pre-war deception can only be found and prosecuted by the people via it's Congress. God and the blogosphere knows if these were the days of Clinton... well, you know where I'm going with that one, heads on pikes, etc. etc.

It would seem the Teflon Don's of the White House have gotten themselves pretty well insulated... for now. After all, there is this little nagging question of what might happen in '06. It seems a foregone conclusion that the Senate would get involved in some serious digging if the Democrats found their way into the majority position again. But they will truly have to fight for it because these Reds are a formidable foe. "Time to take the gloves off", as the minions of their torture squads say. It seems a good time to expose the real motives of these people. A time to really speak to the subtext of all of the political wrangling. What if something like this (link) ran as a campaign ad? Would people see it as too much? Leftist propaganda?

The only thing a could ask in responce is, why? Why is it too hard to imagine that these people really don't care about you? Just look at what they did to Joe and Valerie Wilson and tell me that they care. Look at how they knowingly lied to us and tell me that they really considered breaching your trust. They didn't. We mean nothing to these people. None of this is about us. It's about profit taking and exploitation. It's about saying and doing whatever it takes to keep from getting caught in their lies. Even if it means throwing your friend on a grenade.

Poor Scooter. Let's hope he does us all a service and returns the favor to his "friends".

Otherwise, it'll be up to the Democratic Congress in the winter of '06 to sort this all out. Sleep tight Karl. Sweet dreams Dick. Man this stuff gets me goin'!

Bike Commuting - Corporate Style

2005-10-27T19:53:00.000-07:00

There was a good article in the Sacramento Bee last week about bike commuting and how companies support such activities.

Off to the Bay area for the weekend and Veloswap on Saturday. An orgy of bike parts and bike people, i'm psyched!

Oregon Pics

2005-10-14T18:01:00.000-07:00

Finx, you add some text, eh? I'm tired of these things not being posted.

Finx: Okay sparky, keep your pants on! Funny, I feel like I had to say that a lot while sharing a tent with vudu, hmm.
I've added some more text, since Finx wasn't present for many of the miles we rode. He was there in spirit though, we cursed him often.

Notice that vudu's calves are the same size.
Left to right: vuduvgn, finx, Troy, Eddie, Adam. We are about to start our 7 hour drive to Roseburg, Oregon. We only started 2 hours late. We got to a camping spot just outside Roseburg about 3 am, got up at 8 and then rode the North Umpqua Trail.

Finx on a very nice section of the N. Umpqua Trail.

Finx telling vudu he's number one.
Note: This is Finx's fourth time on a bike in many, many months.

It was at this point that Finx barfed at the mere thought of this trail.
The rest of us, also including Debra and Amy, who had joined us that morning, rode the lower 16 miles of the N. Umpqua Trail. It was smart for Finx to avoid this section. Much love to him, but we doubt he would have survived it.

Debra descending a very nice piece of loamy and lush singletrack.

A very Tim Burtony moment.
Adam climbing up to Bob's Butte, I was pushing this long, switchback loaded section. Note to others: singlespeeds are not the ideal trail bike.

Sorry about the blurry pic. This is me on a log at the very end of the trail.

This is the start of one of the longest singletrack decents I've ever had the pleasure of riding.

You'll notice that Finx is in none of these group shots because he was busy gasping for air miles behind. Boy that was a fun day!
The group ended up ascending the 7000 feet and 22 +/- miles of fire road in about five hours.

Waiting to see if Finx is still alive. Then they got bored and left.
It's true. We did leave some arrows and notes in the road out of cedar bark though. We hoped the best for him.

Willammette valley beyond. Left to right: Jesse, Troy, vuduvgn, Adam, Amy, Eddie.

Down down down...

Singletrack heaven.
This was up on Saddle Blanket Mountain. This was an addition to the Alpine loop.

Adam leaving Sourgrass Mountain.

Debra descending the Alpine trail. It is rare that you wonder if the descent is going to end, then you ask yourself the same question in another 15 minutes, and again in another 15 minutes, and again...

Fun with anaphylactic shock! Okay, now notice how vudu's legs don't quite match.
Bees suck.

Finx and vudu's bikes are tree-huggers, like their owners.

Adam battles beer-breath.
Adam drank alot the previous night, it was his birthday. I knocked his beer over and failed to rinse out the dirt and rocks before I filled it back up. Adam is a forgiving fella.

All tuckered out after 100+ miles and several 1000 feet of climbing!
We are clean for the drive back. The day we left is the only day we showered :o

High gas prices are good for the U.S. of A.

2005-10-14T17:58:00.000-07:00

"A sharp decline in SUV sales and a late-summer surge in bicycle sales..."

Jobbering

2005-10-10T16:48:00.000-07:00

I tried to post this last week but The Union hid the article for some reason. Anyway, have you met my boss?

One rung at a time

2005-10-07T06:57:00.000-07:00

I had my three month review and pay negotiation yesterday. It went better than I had feared, so that is good. I got me some benefits now!
I have a meeting with a client this morning at 7:30 am. Another meeting over a 40k change order on the job i'm working on at 8:30 am. That 8:30 meeting, I have a feeling, will be rather contentious. Gotta make sure i'm nice and caffeinated.

I see that New York is under high alert, supposed to be a terrorist attack. Wonder what Bush Co. did to need such a large distraction...

Rode alot this week. Finally mostly over my cold and am putting in the miles. Finally dragging my friends up the hill instead of them waiting for me. Feels good. I'm hoping to do a high sierra ride this Sunday with Bradley from Organic Athlete.

Two steps forward...

2005-09-29T22:01:00.000-07:00

Hmm. Well this old laptop just ate the post I had started, the one I had promised FINX about 6 months ago. Mmmmm, technology, such a demon. Funny thing about motivation and inspiration, it can so easily be squashed.
Some good news this week, some bad. I would have to put Delay's indictment and Frist's investigation by the SEC into the good category. I doubt it is more of the sea change that some believe Cindy Sheehan started, but it would be good to take down these hypocritical oafs. Of the bad, I see two big ones this week. One would be the hemorrhoid of a man by the name of Pombo. Republican congressman Pombo from Tracy, California has proposed a very large revamp to the Endangered Species Act. A biological deficit to be paid off by future generations, much like the national debt created by GW. Based on what I've recently learned of this man he is a huge ass wound that, well, must be removed. The second bad is the confirmation of Roberts today. It's not the nomination that is necessarily so bad, he was smart enough to not divulge any information that could lead anyone to form an opinion. The bad thing here is the failure of the Democrats to find any sort of alliance. The Democrats continue to fail, to work alone and continue to be weak.
Upside? Peace and happiness in one's own personal life. However, if you are connected to the outside world, give a damn about family, friends and other living beings, if you are a compassionate person, it is hard to not feel a certain amount of melancholy about all the bad that is done in the world by awful people in power.
Cycling is good because it allows me to think about myself and MY life. It gives me strength, takes weakness and lets me challenge myself. One more mountain bike race coming up in October and cyclocross season has started. I may have a taste of that...

Dust off those reading glasses of yours...

2005-09-27T23:23:00.000-07:00

Like that Herpes of yours, i'm back. Lizzy and I located her long lost laptop and now we have innerweb access at home. I'll see if'n I can get this party started again. If I need another excuse I can tell myself it's cold outside and I'd rather be in here tapping on keys than tapping on the pedals to take me to the top of another steep hill. Finx and I went to Oregon to drink beer, we rode bikes some. Maybe we can find some pictures to post.

Mountain Man (aka Unibomber)

2005-07-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

So, it would seem gigi isn't the only one around here with a side project. It has come to my attention that we also have a wiener in our midst (spelling intentional). Apparently vuduvgn (man, I really want to capitalize their names, but they just won't let me... slackers) has been going around Northern California and cleaning up at a ton of mountain bike races. For all of the press coverage go here and here. Now mind you, these articles don't even included the one win I personally witnessed in Napa at the Napa Valley My Suspension Is More Expensive Than Yours Classic where after whippin' some yuppie (and rabid Christian) tail, vuduvgn sailed past the finish line, rode over to me for about a ten word exchange, and then b-lined straight to his truck to slam a frosty beer. Nothin' like having a solid post-race regime.

Now, the reason I'm bringing you this news and not vudu is because our resident champ has taken a new job where he has finally, and woefully realized that screwing around on the computer all day doesn't a good worker make. I have not learned this lesson as of yet so, I'll be the water-bearer for now.

Given all of the congratulatory verbiage above, I'd like to be clear that my celebration of vudu is not totally unselfish. In fact, my dream is to someday start the Deluded Destroyers, a team of devastatingly powerful uber-cyclists that will someday crush all others in small cycling competitions around the US and then use their spoils of victory to leverage my takeover of regional cycling competitions around the globe, and thereby become supreme overlord of the mountain biking universe! ...Oh yeah, AND THEN THE WORLD!! (Which we would promptly give back once all of the Reds were sent to live on the moon)

The biggest problem with that plan thus far is they usually only give away t-shirts and tires if you win. Can you take over the world with untold numbers of over-sized tees and ten tons of Panaracers? I honestly don't know, I'm asking?

Anyway, good job my friend. I hope our plans for world domination aren't thwarted by your lack of a new Giant Reign with 6" of front and rear travel, 'cause that would be a real shame. Think of the children E. Sorry, inside joke.

Steppin Out...

2005-07-24T23:03:00.000-07:00

So, it would seem that our beloved gigi has decided to add to the most important blog on the internet again... her own. Yes, it's true, I have no sway with this one. Oh well.

It's always refreshing to hear someone's voice you know well, come from a safe place. Enjoy!

Some Insight

2005-07-15T09:35:00.000-07:00

I'd never come across this piece about Rove before, but it is one of the most compelling accounts of the way this man and the White House works. It's a bit long, but it's truly frightening and well worth the read. Here's a snippet to get you going:

...Rove was talking to an aide about some political stratagem in some state that had gone awry and a political operative who had displeased him. I paid it no mind and reviewed a jotted list of questions I hoped to ask. But after a moment, it was like ignoring a tornado flinging parked cars. "We will fuck him. Do you hear me? We will fuck him. We will ruin him. Like no one has ever fucked him!" As a reporter, you get around-curse words, anger, passionate intensity are not notable events-but the ferocity, the bellicosity, the violent imputations were, well, shocking. This went on without a break for a minute or two.

This guy is so feared in Washington that few ever speak about him on the record. After reading this piece and seeing the current story developing I'm now convinced, this guy is mentally ill. God help us.

We Got 'Em!... ?

2005-07-14T11:44:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Sorry to let down our five readers out there by not posting for a while, but due to illness, work, and just plain distraction, I haven't been able to keep up my semi-regular job here. However, there's no better time to have a place to rant than now.

By now, I'm sure most of you have already heard of this whole Valerie Plame thing brewing in D.C.. If not there is plenty of stuff out there for you peruse to get you up to speed (like this Salon.com article, it's well worth sitting through the ad for a day pass for this one). The long story short is, Rove and Co. are screwed. Just how screwed you might ask? Well, being a visual guy, I always like to go right to the video tape... watch this first.

Now, as much fun as it is too see that chubby little weasel get pummeled by the press, it's even better when put in an historical context. You remember what he said, right? "Can't prejudice blah, blah, blah..." "Ongoing grand jury blah, blah...", right? Step into the time machine now for this video treasure (this one will take a while to load, be patient).

Holy smoke! That was awfully close wasn't it? Just get this fact neatly nestled in your brains folks, this is as big as Watergate. Don't let the Neo-Cons and Reds fool you. Avoid any and all media laziness. Stock up on the truth. Know the facts.

That is all-

Good Quality Video

2005-06-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

Follow this link for a good quality video of a whale being exploded in Lane County, Oregon, circa 1970. Warning: large file and lots of bloody whale fat flying through the sky.

White Custer

2005-06-24T13:32:00.000-07:00

I have a new favorite thing.
I'm sure all of us have seen the yellow magnetic ribbons on trucks, SUV's and other vehicles around our towns. They started showing up a year or so ago, they pretty much replaced the American flag that was in the window and ended up on the freeway somewhere.
Have you noticed that many of these ribbons are no longer yellow? They have faded, faded to a very pale yellow, almost white. The blue text remains, but surrounded by a field of white. A white flag typically represents peace or surrender, right?
We have a few ways to interpret this.
1) People are tired of the war, our troops dying or becoming tragically injured and want peace.
2) They are terribly distraught by the war and want to just give up and have their loved ones home.
3) Finally, they never really gave a damn in the first place and can't pony up the few bucks it costs to buy a magnet made in Communist China.

I don't have any interest in judging people that have these white ribbons on their vehicles. It's just a thought that came to mind when the vehicles come pretty close to me when I'm riding my bike to and from work. It also appears that Bush's approval ratings have been dropping because of not only the Iraq war but also because of domestic issues.
Is there a relationship between the white ribbons and what Americans think of their President?

Holy Holga!

2005-06-20T16:44:00.000-07:00

I know I usually spend my time here railing against the "Reds" and the Man in general, but since I haven't been able to get a post out in a while (my last one was eaten by my unplugged computer dying of batteryitis) I figured I'd break form and show you something else.

With all of the Tech that swirls around my life, I've found a new love for all things simple and messy. With that in mind I share with you some photos I took with a camera I bought that can only be described as "cheap". Not cheap in the sense of "Oh, I could've gone for the leather interior, but opted for vinyl" type cheap. No, we're talkin "I coulda rode the bus, but opted to tie a rope to it's bumper and drag myself there instead". I bring you... the Holga. This thing looks like it came out of a crackerjack box. It's made of cheap plastic, it has light leaks like you wouldn't believe, and the shutter springs with the least satisfying noise I've ever heard from a camera... ever. I love it.

I love it because unlike digital photos, what comes out looks like nothing you could've seen with your naked eye. It's almost always half photochemistry and half magic (with some luck thrown in for good measure).

The Exploritorium in San Francisco is one of my all time favorite buildings.

The Holga is the best way to do weird double exposures.

So, for now I'm going to embrace my photographic imperfections. The rest of my imperfections will just have to wait.

Giro Crash

2005-06-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

We were talking at work today about bike racing, crashing etc. I found this video clip from stage 4 of this years Giro D'Italia. Not to be missed.

Long time gone...

2005-06-14T11:47:00.000-07:00

I've been incredibly busy and Finx is just lazy and fat, there, that should motivate him to type something!

I've been racing. I won my Napa race. Third time I've raced it and never did too well. It was a small field, only 12 of us, but I got first. Love that race.

I've been doing the Prairie City Series, we've raced 7 of 10 races so far. I'm in first place by 20 points, you can usually only accumulate 10 points per race. Our team, Xtreme Outfitters is in first place for the team competition. That's cool for us.

Tonight we start riding the Spaulding Lake Trail. It could be painful, it will be fun.

I start a new job in about two weeks. Little scared, little excited. Not sure how that will effect my free time and therefore time to post, I guess we'll see together.

Still looking at places to get hitched. Lots of options, all very expensive and not what we are looking for, not yet.

Finn is blogged out

2005-05-11T13:17:00.000-07:00

He just linked me this and won't post it, so I have to. It's about 3 mintues of video showing how shitty the Army is. Lying to kids and threatening them. The push is on to get more poor kids to fight the rich mans wars.

Proof

2005-05-11T12:20:00.000-07:00

The Reds get caught red handed screwing with the minds of frightened Americans. A handy graphic that lays out their strategery (no, that wasn't a spelling error, just trying to keep it real). If there's any doubt in you now that they played us like banjos because we were so high strung, then you're a moron.

Sorry, but it's true.

Cowards Beget Cowards - A Dispatch From A Not Too Distant Future

2005-05-10T13:16:00.000-07:00

If there's one thing you can count on in this "post 9/11" world, it's that using fear as a tool to gently manipulate people is the best way to accomplish whatever deviant little plan you can come up with. Just try and remember to always wrap your ideas in the cloak of "security". I mean, there's virtually no end to the possibilities of what you can accomplish. Even that which would totally contradict the rational persons sense safety and privacy becomes commons place the second you deftly apply the "terror deterrent" brand.

Yes, countermand years of paranoid tales of control and domination faster than you can say "Nineteen Eighty-Four". Case in point: The mere thought of your Aunties being blown to bits will make the even the most intrusive high powered lens pointed at you seem somehow reassuring, and therefore totally worth the inconvenience.

But, if your intended populous seems somewhat resistant to your constant harping about this bad person and that, then simply do what ever good over-seer does and simply force change down their throats. I'm sure they'll all thank you in the end. However, if they don't, make sure to only use level 5 on their shock collars, as level six and above may result in them losing any memory of what they did wrong in the first place.

Little Wanker Updated

2005-05-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

So it would seem that the British PM took a beating politically in the election yesterday. I guess supporting an illegal war against poor people somehow proved distasteful for the British people as a whole. Too bad that kind of thinking man's approach to politics never crosses the pond.

PRI had this great piece on The World about the elections in Great Brittan (Listen here) and it started to make me think this old American version of "Democracy" could benefit from some old world Parliamentary banter. GW and the Reds wouldn't have run off with the the last one if the real voices of the people were heard, not just the interest groups like the Swifties.

Speaking of Public Radio (well, at least public for now), there was another piece that got my thinking about the state of the union. This report focused on the latest trend to create religious law schools around the country. I'll say it again... religious law schools.

They're the ones calling it a culture wars folks, not the progressives. So if it's war they want... well, you get the idea.

UPDATE- My good buddy vuduvgn linked to this hard hitting news piece that does an excellent job illustrating my first point, though I really wish he would stop trying to alleviate my crushing sense of doom with giggles all the time.

Beer & Passion

2005-05-05T10:51:00.000-07:00

I came across these TV spots that New Belgium Brewing has made. It's nice when you see moving images and get so moved you are ready to pack up and go do what you see in the commercial. These are great! Music, except the Jousting one, is by Devandra Banhart.

Bert and Ernie Are Dead

2005-05-05T07:20:00.000-07:00

I realize it's been far too long since I've done my duty to this here blog, but it seems that either my life was too busy, or my blood wasn't boiling enough to give you faithful readers a piece of my mind. Well, that's all about to change.

It's like I've been reborn today. Yes, reborn with a giant ten-foot-long stick up my butt. Sorry to be so crass, but I'm haven't fumed this much since the last time I ordered double beans with my Chimichanga (different fumes, I know). What's gotten me so damn angry is, well, what always gets me angry... the Red takeover.

It was obvious after this last election that these guys were going to be playing for keeps, trying to establish "a permanent Republican majority" and what not, but what wasn't so obvious was how far these zealots were willing to go. Now, setting up franchises in media outlets across the country to spin your personal brand of lies as truth is a well worn trick of the old "Reds" and it would seem the new Reds are quite willing to emulate that technique by consolidating media outlets run by right wing mouthpieces. No surprise there. But was is surprising and what has failed to raise the ire of the last bastions of people wanting unbiased news based on fact, is the fact that the Reds are now making big moves to co-opt the CPB. That's right The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the same guys who taught most of us to count simply by bouncing neon puppets around while singing. The guys who actually spend the time to vet all the stories on their newscasts to banish any appearance of bias. These are the guys who actually care about us because they are us, the public.

Or at least, they were.

It seemed like I was always getting those emails from friends and family members that said that PBS' budget was under fire once again from the right. If you actually read the news now and then you'd realize that this was not the case, it was simply an urban legend to rile up some libs. But what's interesting to me is how pissed people were that this institution might be messed with in any way, shape or form. It's what's really happened that has left many dazed and confused.

In a move that shows how shameless these people really are about spreading their views at the expense of all others, the CPB will soon become the new FOX News (sort of). But the best part is, 48% of the country will end up footing the bill for something that would enrage them, had an email been sent to them asking them to sign a petition. Their killing us with our own swords people! And the truth bending is only going to get worse.

So, if you thought what happened when Buster traveled to Vermont was bad, just wait until those puppets start signing about how great it is to join the Army and Bert and Ernie are put out to pasture because they don't "represent traditional family values." The thought police are hard at work folks. It's time to stop being ashamed of being progressive and "liberal" and start freakin' out and screaming about this stuff before it's too late.

Leave the emails at home and go buy the biggest megaphone you can find!!!

Bike to Work

2005-05-02T09:38:00.000-07:00

I know that riding your bike to work is not possible for everyone, but definitely viable for some. I encourage those who can to do it. My commute is only 3.5 miles each way with one hill in between. Not bad. Riding is a very invigorating way to start the day. Myself and some others are going to try to put on a Bike to Work day in Nevada County. The national day for Bike to Work is Friday, May 20th, 2005. You can learn more at Bike to Work. I started a to put out the word and encourage locals to ride, check it out here.

Come the Rapture, can I have your car.

2005-04-26T11:15:00.000-07:00

Cause i'll be here. To quote Karen from Will and Grace, "it's funny because it is blasphemous."

"These are perilous times for people of faith," she said, "not in the sense that we are going to lose our lives, but in the sense that it will cost you something if you are a person of faith who stands up for what you believe in and say those things out loud."

We have diversity of color but no diversity whatsoever of faith or policy. I guess Bush is now supporting Delay now too. Drunk with power I say, drunk with power. They will get their comeuppance when all is said and done. Do away with the filibuster, eh? Sure, that may be good for you now, but when the tides turn, what then? We'll put judges in that outlaw marriages between men and women, lower the drinking age to 5, raze the suburbs and burn the cars...

I started racing again. I raced last Wednesday afternoon, got 4th out of 16 or so finishers. 38 minutes of pain, average heart rate was 188, max was 197. I'm good for another round this week, bring the pain. Erin and I rode the Chico Mildflower on Sunday. 62 miles, 2000ft of climbing, 4 hours, 40 minutes. Erin rode like a champ, steady climbing, some attacking, it was awesome. We had a faster overall speed this year than last year, and last year was all flat. Yea Erin!

I'm kinda bored with politics right now, it's warm, i'm commuting on the bike to work, flowers are out, beers must be drunk.

No deaths!? Little death...

2005-04-07T10:51:00.000-07:00

After the deaths of Terry Schiavo and the Pope it seems like there is nothing in the news to scream about.
This is regarding the memo that circulated around our Congressional Republicans to address the Schiavo case: "Martinez, R-Florida, said in a written statement that he discovered Wednesday that the memo had been written by an aide in his office.
"It is with profound disappointment and regret that I learned today that a senior member of my staff was unilaterally responsible for this document," Martinez said.
He said he accepted the resignation of the staffer who drafted and circulated the memo. "This type of behavior and sentiment will not be tolerated in my office," he said."
Anyone want to join me in calling BULLSHIT!!!
I got back on the singlespeed this week. It's been a month since I rode it last. Cleaned up the bottom bracket and adjusted the fork, rode to work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. A whopping 3.5 miles each way! I did ride it Tuesday and Wednesday night though for about 2 hours each night, 20 some miles, 2k of climbing, etc. I forgot how frigging tired that thing can make ya. Punishing. It's an awesome descender, but climbing is hell. Hell, I tell you, hell. I might have to spin on the trainer tonight to flush some of the poisons I built up over the past few days.
Sea Otter may not happen for me, no same day registration for Sunday...

Pope Snow

2005-04-04T17:00:00.000-07:00

It looks like it's been about 2 weeks since I last posted.
Some things have happened since then. I raced the Cool mountain bike race. I got 9th out of 19 starters in the 30-39 sport class. I was 2 1/2 hours behind second place. My excuse? The critical error was when I moved my saddle back about 5mm the day before the race. During the second lap I had the feeling of a muscle being pulled, the sensation ran from my left "love handle" down my ass to just above my knee. Live and learn.
Terry Schiavo died in that time. During the 14 days between when her feeding tube was pulled and the day she died, 12 US soldiers died in Iraq and Afghanistan. We didn't hear much about those fellas did we? This "culture of life" propaganda is such hypocritical horseshit. It's not a culture of life. Sure abortions are bad and the GOP doesn't want abortions, but it really seems like they could care less about the rest of us. And, the only reason they gave a damn, or rather appeared to give a damn, about Terry Schiavo is because they thought it may be a good political move. They were wrong, but the media has already forgiven them for it.
The Pope died. Doesn't mean much unless you are Catholic. He thought war was bad and so is birth control...
We saw Kinsey, the movie, last night. Highly recommended. It was a very interesting delve into American sexuality and in general our perceptions of sex, what is right, wrong, fun, absurd and how our sexuality affects our social and emotional life. The movie answered age old questions like: "Is it normal for my boyfriend to want to touch my anus while we are having sex?" For me, on of the parts of the movie that really hit me was the story of a lesbian woman. She started off with a husband, kids, etc. Got a job and slowly fell in love with a co-worker. She didn't know how to deal with it and no one to talk to about it. She "took up drinking," her husband left her, she alienated her children and her life basically fell apart. She effectively ruined her life because of love. It was a very sad and incredibly powerful story that was put in the movie to validate Kinsey's life work. Go see it with someone young and someone old.

We went skiing. Took a Monday off to celebrate my birthday and went up to do an Angora Lake ski tour. Great weather, about 12" of fresh snow and high avalanche danger.

We woke up Monday morning with 6" of fresh snow in town.

We spent about two hours breaking trail in 12" of fresh snow.

We were rewarded with great views when we got to Angora Lookout.

We continued West on Angora Ridge.

We dropped down the the basin just shy of Angora Lake, then switchbacked our way up to Angora Lake with a nice view of Angora Peak.

Coming back down that section we had switchbacked proved a little difficult for our skill level.

It cleared up quite a bit for our return trip over Angora Ridge. Click here for a panoramic view.

community in the time of technology

2005-03-31T06:40:00.000-08:00

I've been wondering for some time what my first post would be. Scanning the news of the day for atrocities against which I could rally, policy strategies and decisions over which I could rage in disbelief, anything of the abundance I feel is available to me right now to be furious about. I think I felt absolutely overwhelmed by my limitless choices. However, then I discovered (as I sometimes do) something that was a bit more inspiring to me that I wanted share. Something that provided a sense of soothing instead of boiling. That something was an article devoted to one of my favorite websites. A website started 10 years ago in San Francisco now spanning something like 19 cities on which an individual in Bangalore can find an abode in Chicago, where a person wanting a job with a soulful nonprofit can find a way to make a difference. The site offers just about anything for anyone and the great part is that it simply was started and exists today for the sole purpose of building a community of connection using this fantastic tool called the internet. Imagine that. Evidently, Craig Newmark, the founder of craigslist, repeatedly turns away buyout offers and refuses to include advertising on the site because he wants to remain true to his belief "in the community-building potential of the internet". I assume that EVERYONE knows about craigslist, and maybe they do, but it felt better to me today to pass on information that was about being successful while also being helpful and (gasp) ungreedy. It felt better to me because that's the kind of stuff, however great or small, that I want to focus on. By making what I believe in bigger, breathing oxygen into it, the fires burning in our world become smaller. At least for me. At least for the moment.

Picking Up The Slack Updated

2005-03-29T19:56:00.000-08:00

My little blogging buddies are a bit busy with life and all of it's wonders right now, so I figure I'll do my best to rage against the machine for them.

This week has seen the system work, and for that, I can't be as angry at the world as usual. Darn!

The courts have upheld the Republic by letting painful family matters stay just that, painful family matters, not political ping-pong balls. Though the fall out from this will be felt in some form I'm sure. What form that is is totally up in the air. If I had my way, it would be one more thing that further erodes this falsehood that the Reds occupy the moral high ground alone and unchallenged.

I heard this great thing on NPR tonight as I was driving to my accountant to file my taxes (Godspeed war-mongers, here's a few bucks less to kill the poor with!). A Christian evangelist was talking about how back in the sane old days of our founders, religious leaders in our country begged the framers to stay out of the churches legislatively, and how now the current crop of Bible thumpers are begging the courts, legislators, etc. to allow the icons of Christianity to seep into the halls of our capitol and dictate our laws and freedoms.

The point this man made that I hadn't realized was that the church defines blasphemy as "to make secular that which is sacred". So, that would mean that every single Bible toting yahoo out there yelling about our Godless Government is once again violating the core tenants of their faith. Do these morons even go to church? Or they only good for photo-ops, yelling at distressed family members of brain-dead women and threatening sixteen-year-old girls getting an abortion because their church-going, redneck, family member raped them and got them pregnant?

I just wish we could go back to the good old days when people let the government do governmental stuff and the church do churchy stuff and never the twain did meet. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not in favor of a Godless world, but faith is a deeply personal process that isn't easily broadcast to a diverse populous. For that reason alone it makes sense to leave any tenants of a specific faith outside of the bodies that represent "the people". That means no more Ten Commandments in our courthouses, no more Bibles in our jury deliberation rooms. I mean, come on people, leave God alone. Doesn't anyone ever think that God needs a break from us screwing up our lives and then begging for absolution in the next breath. It's a full time job, and one that doesn't need any armchair quarterbacking from the unwashed.

Oh well, I guess until the mid-term elections I'm going to always be a bit pissy thinking about the Reds calling the shots. At least the whole Social Security thing has died a very public death. I guess there's always hope.

UPDATE- Well, I may have spoke too soon once again. Let's just hope the courts don't do anything stupid. For the record, I say that not because I favor one side or the other, I just think it would be a mistake for the courts to do anything different they what they've already done. We need some judicial consistency right now.

Welcome gigi

2005-03-23T22:00:00.000-08:00

I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome the first female member of the Deluded family... gigi. She's a highly educated mental health professional from Chicago, so don't even try to mess with her head ya'll. I don't expect her voice will be the last one of the fairer sex to be added. I figure vuduvgn won't be far behind this move to bring some harmony and wisdom to our testosterone fueled raging.

Anyway, in this place, and from this day forth, let us not be judged by our sex, but by our willingness to advance the cause of freedom (and by the number of links to really obscure articles about Norway).

As always, please feel free to leave your comments for our authors. Feedback is always welcomed when putting our hearts out there at great peril of getting trampled, or worse, ignored. Was what guilt inducing enough for ya?

Holy Fking St!!! - A Finx Cautionary Rant Updated

2005-03-21T09:20:00.000-08:00

Okay, so this weekend I had intended to write an entry about all of the slimy and questionable abuses of the majority that the current Red regime is guilty of, and then this happens.

Where does it end? When do these people feel like they need to stop and leave us alone to live our lives according to our own beliefs and decision making processes. Not to mention that "Republicans" used to support states rights and the separation of powers. So what's happened to dissolve all of that? Why the sudden change in the way our legislative and judicial branches interact?

Because folks, this is a Christian Jihad. These people want to draft legislation, nominate judges, and enforce laws that support their narrow view of how you should live and die. Culture of life my ass. How about the newspapers ending their censorship and publishing photos of all of the dead babies caused by collateral damage during the Iraq war that all these "Christian soldiers" in Congress supported. The hypocrisy is so thick that if the citizens of this country can't see that this is the beginning of the end of the way our democracy has functioned for over 200 years, then they don't deserve the liberties that true Americans fought and died to protect.

Excuse the force and tenor of my words, but it is a dangerous time for us all in this country. The day when our liberties can be curtailed because the Reds feel they've found a great campaign issue, is the day that the thinly veiled premise that these people serve us, gets torn asunder because they feel they now feel they've established a strangle-hold on our Democracy.

This is not a banana Republic, this is not a rubberstamp form of democracy, this is not a one party state, this used to be the "United" "States" of America. Between their plans to rid themselves of filibuster blocks and their fervent support to re-sign the "Patriot" Act permanently into law, we are at risk of losing all hope of having a balanced system.

Make no mistake, they want a one party system, they want to allow corporations and Churches to decide what's good for your health and well being, they want to appoint judges to create what they think is a Christian paradise. They don't want anyone to get in their way. They are abusing our system, distorting it's liberties, to create a more controlled an enslaved public.

Think I'm crazy? So would I if I had read this five years ago. Take what you want from this, but do me the favor of doing some reading on these issues. I believe any thinking person will find some disturbing trends, no matter what your beliefs are.

UPDATE- After some further reading on this subject I've found this little tidbit (the actual wording of the law is here for review) that shows just how full of shit George W Bush is, and how dispassionate the new brand of "conseravtives" are. As long as you're not poor, you deserve life.
MORE

News clippings

2005-03-15T15:01:00.000-08:00

Been a little too busy lately to post here, hopefully after the race this Sunday i'll have more time. I found a few things in the paper that I though were worth posting here.

If you think hunting with a gun is considered cheating, check out these brave souls.

"We don't believe anyone should be taking unilateral steps or make unilateral changes that increases tensions." -Whitehouse Spokesperson Scott McClellan.
You gotta be fucking kidding me. I think Scott forgot the critical "except of course, for us, the USA." Fuck you Scott.

Sweet God, it's good to hear some good news. Looks like the first step of allowing gay marriages in California has been taken. It's about time someone's rights were taken into account and people were given the freedoms they deserve.

I love the headline on this one "GOP stays firm on education cuts." No beating around the Bush, the GOP doesn't give a damn about your kids. Better get those vouchers warmed up, cause your public school kiddie ain't going to amount to much. It's funny that they are cutting programs, effectively making a generation of unskilled laborers. But because of NAFTA and GAT, all the jobs these people would have are being sent overseas because labor is cheaper. Well, they could always enlist into the military and fight the wars for the rich. And, if they make it back in one piece they will have some money to play with, they can either buy a new car or pay for two years of college. Doesn't seem like a winning situation for the poor, does it?

It's Not All Bad, Right?

2005-03-08T13:07:00.000-08:00

In a nod to the subtitle of my old (and somewhat short-lived) blog, I'm using the above title to denote the fact that every once in a while, something good does happen on this troubled little planet of ours.

Take for example that yesterday my good friends Shelton and Carmalita Johnson became the proud parents of Miles Shelton Johnson, who apparently came out eyes wide open and didn't cry for a second. I'm telling you, this is one brave kid. If I were being born into this world all over again, I'd do the same thing I did the first time... put it off as long as I could.

I think this kid knows something. He's feeling good about things for some unknown reason. Maybe we've got ourselves a future President on our hands? Who knows. What I do know is that I think I'd like to learn from this kid in his one day of life on this planet. I want to be fearless like him and face the changes of this world with eyes wide open.

Good luck Miles, I'm right behind you little guy.

Santorum / Epic

2005-03-07T10:50:00.000-08:00

NEWSFLASH: SANTORUM NOT PURE EVIL.
Looks like this fag-basher has a spot in his heart for the poor. He even criticized Bush's budget plan. Read about it here. (Sorry about the login.)

Yesterday instead of skiing I went for a bike ride. The Cool race is coming up in two weeks and I have needed to put some long days in. Yesterday ended up being 6 hours, 43 miles with 5880 of climbing.
I wasn't commited to such a long ride from the start, I gave myself the choice to do a big ride or a smaller ride. At one and a half hours I felt pretty good still, no sweating, no big ouputs of work and my legs didn't complain one bit, so I went for the big ride. From Nevada City, Round Mountain, South Yuba, Malakoff Diggins, Missouri Bar, South Yuba again, Round Mountain again, and back to Nevada City, all very beautiful.
The daffodils were blooming in Lake City, right in front of the metal daffodil sculpture. There was a great view of Grouse Ridge from near Malakoff Diggins.
I feel pretty rough today, but better than I should feel. Hopefully this has helped me. I've been overtraining a bit and am trying to mix it up so that I have time to recover. So far this year I have put in more miles than this time last year. I hope all this translates into good results at the races.

Technophobic at last

2005-03-03T11:15:00.000-08:00

For years I've been on the cutting edge of this thing called technology. Every time there's some new fangled gadget or gizmo, I'm there within a month or so, snatching it up with eager hands. And over the years, I've noticed that the pace at which these little wonders are unleashed on the world is accelerating. Not to mention the fact that once you own one of them, the newer, better one isn't far behind. It's a pace that shows no sign of slowing. In fact, it seems that the whole approach to modern life these days is about the next thing being better than what you just bought. The endless void of the "ownership society".

I've recently had a first hand encounter with the annoying reality that technology, nay, tech companies, over-promise what they can do to simplify my life. In their world, I (the consumer), buy their product and happily accept whatever mishaps go along with buying something so new that their own engineers probably just finished testing it the day before it was released. But in my world, I have to spend all of my time, and a great deal of money, trying to keep said product from deleting all of my settings and info at slightest hint of a solar flare.

What's even better is that some products offer ways for you to "backup" your data on one of their servers so that when your device inevitably fails, you will be able to reset it with your data, safe and sound. What's not said though is how all of your data is ripe for the picking of any industrious hacker with a grudge and a whole lot of spare time. Take the recent ChoicePoint unpleasantness, or how about the Paris Hilton snafu? Do these things inspire confidence in consumers everywhere?

But for some reason we just keep buying. Even as the quality and service of the products we purchase goes into the crapper, we don't seem to mind. Even as we are increasingly restricted on how we are allowed to use things we bought with our hard earned money, we keep downloading.

As with may things in this country I ask "Where's the outrage?". You'd figure if people in the US are stereotyped as mindless consumers that don't care for politics because they're too busy buying stuff, they might finally revolt if the stuff they buy is nothing but half-baked shit, right? Where are the boycotts? Where are the slews of class action lawsuits meant to keep corporations in line? If lawmakers have their way, we will all be enslaved to corporate copyright laws, with no legal recourse if any version of "tort reform" passes or mandatory digital rights management goes into effect.

These wondrous gizmos are supposed to help capture and enrich our lives, not steal away our time and money, while leaving us open to theft from others. I love the idea of technology, I just don't care for the current implementation, in any form.

On a personal note, I have to single these folks out and say, don't buy the palmOne Treo 650 unless you want to receive the free ulcer that comes with it.

Who said avalanche?

2005-02-25T10:30:00.000-08:00

Your fearless leader.

There was an avalanche up here last weekend. A lady died. What did I learn from that? Be careful, stay off those Northern to Eastern slopes that are greater than 30%. I almost lead us up one last night that was about 45%, but then I saw the breaks and slides higher up and thought better of it.
Last night was the monthly full moon snowshoe hike that I lead. Can you believe it? People are naive enough to follow me around in the woods, at night!
We started with six of us, including a 13 year old girl. We cruised up Bowman Lake road, off to Fuller Lake and out to an overlook where we could see Signal Peak, Hwy 80 and the valley around Spaulding Lake.

Here is a pic of a few of the folks that joined me last night. They include Dave, Erin and Adam.

Commuting / Communion

2005-02-23T12:18:00.000-08:00

I'm exhausted.
Erin and I skied about 10 miles on Monday. I rode to work Tuesday and then rode about three hours that night. I rode to work again today. That was borderline "a chore." Coming up Red Dog Road was incredible strenuous today.
My commute to work goes along the Cascade Canal, a dirt double track that runs almost flat for 5 miles. At one point there is a great view of Nevada City, the hills West of that and then, about 90 miles across the valley to the snow covered mountains near Clearlake. A great view, a great way to start the day.

There is a great article in the new DirtRag about Wilderness. It's an arguement on how Congress did not intend to exclude bicycles, it's just they were not around when the Wilderness act was created. Check it out.
"Over the last decade, mountain bikers have become some of the nation's most sophisticated and savvy outdoors advocates, forming organizations that represent the interests of 45 million cyclists through more that 450 local advocacy organizations. Think of all of the energy currently harnessed to limit the impact of Wilderness on cycling if it could be used to fight for expanding Wilderness areas. The natural alliance between mountain bikers and groups like the Sierra Club and Wilderness Society would open up a whole new realm of lobbying for Wilderness support. It would be a new ball game and Team Wilderness would be stronger than ever."

And now for the Communion thing. Just when I was starting to like the Pope again... he was saying stuff like war is wrong, we need peace, etc. Good stuff man, good stuff. You go Pope! Then he went and said that gay marriage is evil.
I'm sure to not vote for him again.

George W Bush - A Worse Wimp Than His Dad

2005-02-20T11:23:00.000-08:00

So, I'm not quite sure what to make of all this yet but some opinions are forming and I'd like to air them. I just read this article on the New York Times site about a friend of GW's recording his conversations prior to his election in 2000. What's so freakin amazing to me is that Bush comes off as a somewhat level headed guy about social issues. In one conversation he even says "I think it is bad for Republicans to be kicking gays."

So, how does he reconcile that with the current climate in our country. The Reds have gone crazy on this issue. They're trying to erase all evidence that gays even exist (one more link here). The times article even provides some interesting political background (that I had forgotten about) on the time that the these conversations took place.

The first of the taped conversations Mr. Wead disclosed took place in the summer of 1998, when Mr. Bush was running for his second term as Texas governor. At the time, Mr. Bush was considered a political moderate who worked well with Democrats and was widely admired by Texans of both parties.

So, what happened?

Well, as far as I can see, the answer is in who the Prez was talking to during those taped conversations. As a former Assemblies of God minister, Doug Wead had been a liaison to evangelical Protestants for the president's father, and was helping GW to form his bridge to the Christian right. I guess since that bridge proved so successful the first time around, in 2004 they just knocked the thing down and stayed cozy on the right bank.

My whole point is this: If you say you're not going to play politics by picking popular sides because to do that shows weakness (as he hinted time and time again to knock Kerry's endlessly changing positions), how does it look when you violate your own beliefs just to win an election. Not only has Bush let himself down by his choice to abandon the middle, but he's thrown this country into the dark ages just to cling to power. He easily folded under pressure from the radical Christians. What a wimp.

The Reds aren't the only faithful folks in the world George. Look around and you'll see a growing division that some part of you knew would be morally wrong. At least when your dad was called a wimp, it was because he was pulling out of a war in Iraq, not stubbornly letting Americans die for a country that doesn't even protect all of it citizens anymore.

Oh well, who am I kidding, he ain't reading this. Well the good news is at least everyone will forget about this in a couple days.

The "Reds" Are Coming- A Finx Rant

2005-02-16T07:03:00.000-08:00

Remember back in the good old commie hatin' days of the latter twentieth century when the real tough guys in the US would light up a stogie and talk about "gettin' those damn Red bastards"? How we all had someone clear to hate and fear? It seemed those were the days of clarity. A time when you knew exactly who might come and try to steal your babies away to be converted into Godless socialist monsters. Eventually, it lead to commissions being formed to weed out the subversives in our midst that were looking to change the American way of life into something heinous, or worse... equal.

So, thank God for those soulless commies bastard giving us something good to fight and demean. I mean, we won, right? No one's worried about the Reds showing up on their doorstep one day and telling them what to think and do, or what God they can or can't worship, right? Right?

I guess I would have to say I see it differently. You see, to me the threats have become far more subversive than some duck and cover cartoon of fear mongering, and the real problems of those societies are still alive and well today. Besides, communisim was never the real issue, control was.

No clear ideology can be blamed for the world's ills anymore. So, one might hope that without superpowers duking it out, the world would be focused on finding some way to get along on this tiny planet with out killing each other. But, not everyone is content with that idea. They're the ones are who always had the black and white of "us versus them" (commie vs. freedom lover) to fall back on when the shit hit the fan. The complexities of today's global environment are still lost on them. So, when someone acted out and took a swipe at "us", and there was no clear "them" to go after, what did they do?

They made a new "them".

The "thems" of the 21st century are now becoming clearer: The Non-Reds. Ever since the 2004 elections, one group as had an interesting color to rally around. They are the conservative Christians, the "red staters", and they allegedlly have the majority of power in the US right now (if you ignore exit polling data and at least 48% of the country). So, it's easy for them to deicide who the new "thems" are.

The funny thing is, most times there's no rhyme or reason to who they pick. Most times it's whatever they have on their agenda for the week. Maybe you're gay, or Muslim, or maybe even just an anti-war Christian, it doesn't matter, you're now counted among the ranks of evil-doers such as Saddam and... um, you know, that guy with the beard and the kidney problem we can't seem to track down? Anyway, my point is that if you're not towing the party line, you're now one of "them", and will be treated as the villain that you are.

Just reflect on all of the stories that you've read about people's civil liberties being trampled because their "actions" (read: "beliefs") were deemed threatening. Or, how about detaining and torturing people for no other reason than suspicion of intent to perpetrate a crime that hasn't yet happened with no charges filed in any federal court?

What I'm driving at here is, don't these tactics sound familiar to you? Well, they should, because those very same "Reds" of old are now role models for the new American government and it policies, which I'd aptly title: the "Red" States of America!

What's even stranger to me is how in bed we are with China, one of our most influential trading partners. If we Americans and our leaders are such freedom lovers and pious Christians, why would we condone such a country, known to repeatedly violate its people's human rights and freedoms (like freedom of religion)? My only guess is that it's because they are worshiping the God of capitalism. How can you fear and loathe those "Reds", if you're one of them?

So, I propose we take a page from the good book of progressives everywhere (who brilliantly labeled Christian extremists like Pat Robertson as "Mullahs" to shine a light on their lack of grasping irony) and refer to those on the radical right as the "Reds". No one likes to have their ugly skeletons drug from their closets for all to see. It seems appropriate that we label "them" as they have labeled so many others who chose simply to disagree with whatever Dogma suited them at the time.

Jesus, that was quite a post! I think I almost wrote a novel. Let's keep the irony up kids, the "Reds" won't know what hit 'em. If you're not exhausted please read vuduvgn's post below, it's a good one!

2005-02-15T11:25:00.000-08:00

The daughter of conservative Republican Alan Keyes referred to herself Monday as a "liberal queer" and urged support for gay and lesbian young people who have been deserted by their families.
Nice, huh. A little poison in the blood of the red house. Politics are great as long as they don't involve family, well, besides declaring your family members' lifestyle as a sin and accepting their eternal damnation. If you decided your family member was damned, then, would that mean that the love for yourself and or the love of your god is stronger than the love for your family member?

A little closer to home.

I saw this dude on tv, he's, a little younger than me, tall, thin, well groomed and highly energetic. He's convinced that gays are living a sinful life and need to change their ways. He says they are sinners and has been displaying signs that have a picture of two guys kissing with the red circle and strike through it.

It's odd, I felt sympathy for him. Certainly no sympathy for his cause, but for him, for his humanity. It's clear that he thinks he is doing right by him and his God. He thinks he is helping people and contributing to the greater good. But, he's not. He is creating more division, calling people out for being different than him and judging them. I find that terrible. It's confusing. One one side, I want to console him and educate him, on the other side, I wish him harm. Clearly the correct choice is education and offering of goodwill, but it just so frustrating when people act like this.

Placerville has declared itself discrimination-free and a hate-free zone. It's kinda scary, we were thinking of moving there. I'm glad we didn't. I get pretty darn fired up about that kind of intolerance and ignorance. Jeez, I thought just the ignorant fuckers I grew up with were like this, sadly they are everywhere.

Welcome To Our World

2005-02-09T19:21:00.000-08:00

Finx: You're probably here because we told you to be, but we hope it doesn't stop there. Think of this place as a way station in a giant red sea. We need you, you need us. We're talking to you because the people we used to talk to (certain family members, certain friends, etc.) just don't wanna listen anymore.
vuduvgn: We were always fans of the cartoon Underdog. And now, we are he, the underdog. Not the Revenge of the Nerds type, the Falling Down type. The country we have lived in and loved has been co-opted by the corporation and those that say they represent Christianity.
Finx: You see, we're all pissed. We all wanted things to be different. But here we are.
vuduvgn: We don't agree with those that are in control, but we can learn from them. We can call them out. We can remind them, and our friends, and our family, what America is supposed to be, what it was, what it should and, By God, shall be.
Finx: Damn right! So keep coming back. We're not gonna be the only loonies spilling our guts, we're gonna add some cooler heads and wiser folk than us to help give this melting pot some real news and views it can use... wow, that rhymed! I sound like some after school G.I. Joe lesson, right?
vuduvgn: But wait, there's more. Act right now and we will throw in some cultural commentary, unrelated to politics. Music reviews, vegetarian diatribe and backyard excursions. That's right, you can have all this for the modest fee of internet service and your valuable personal time (or, if you are smart, the valuable billable time of your boss).
Finx: So... uhhhh... damn bro, I got nothin'.
vuduvgn: Eh, is alright. We're the MTV generation. We have had our attention span and focus stolen from us. But, it's ok, because people don't expect much out of us. So, let us return to our Googling of obscure and obscene words.
Finx: Yes, let's do that. So, just read this crap so we don't get our feelings hurt anymore, okay?
vuduvgn: Oh yea, and reply to our posts so that we know you've been here.
Finx: So peace, love, and gobs of money to you, right vudu?
vuduvgn: Right, peace, love, tofu, beer, sex and singlespeeds to one and all.