TAX CUTS-CIVIL WAR MEMORIES-SOCIAL BOTS-AND NATURAL BEAUTY

SHADOWS OVER THE GLOBE

       150 years after our own awful history, civil war rages in north Africa and the middle east.  We can't know the implication of regime change in these strategic regions, but we know there will be legacy affects.

        The opening salvo of our conflict will be remembered today with somber music, and an explosive re-enactment of the Confederate bombardment of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.

        Remembering history is crucial to a republic and while reenactment helps demonstrate and can bring maps and moments of military battle to life, nothing can approximate the extraordinary pain in the loss of 600 thousand lives over the course of our 4 year struggle.  Nor can it heal.  With our memories comes residual resentment. Shadows still.

      The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center has analyzed the House Republican budget proposal

and reports the plan to cut corporate taxes and to lower the rates on high earners will result in a revenue loss of $ 2.9 Trillion.  By the way, if the GOP plan succeeds the tax rate on the wealthiest Americans will be the lowest since 1931. Is this how to recover from a recession that was created by the greed of wealthy investment bankers and corporations who pay little or no taxes already?  Sorry-this all seems like foggy logic.

ARE YOUR "FRIENDS" REAL?

INTO SOCIAL NETWORKS? DO YOU HAVE "CURIOUS' FOLLOWERS OR FRIENDS? THEY MAY BE MORE CURIOUS THAN YOU HAVE IMAGINED. LINK HERE FOR AN EYE OPENER FROM THE ATLANTIC

DAY BOOK

ECHIUM AND FRIENDS

 See you down the trail.

GETTING OUT OF WAR

A DAMNED HAZY VIEW

       A couple of thoughts have emerged from the political fog, and I believe there is a confluence.  (For those who come to the blog for the photographs and lighter musings, please excuse my rancor. There are photos and mirth below.)
              We are in an historic budget jam and the Pentagon is now fudging on our intended departure date from Iraq.  So I wonder why do members of the house and senate not draw the connection between the astronomical costs of making war(s) and our budget misery?
              And, why are they so blind as to not cite the cost of the financial bail out as a contributor to our economic sadness?  And why is the White House also clueless?  Where in the budget deal and all of the exuberant hiss, steam and froth from politicians and pundits have those lines of connection been made?  Yes, I know there were a couple of columnists who tried to illuminate, but most of the discussion has been about politics, who gains, who looses, and where do we put the decimal point.
              There are basic and fundamental forces at work.  War costs like hell.  We have 2 or maybe 3 fronts open. Investment bankers are paying bonuses, again!  Companies like GE are opting out of paying taxes?  And the best our elected representatives can do is battle over peripheral spending??? 
              The so called "Ryan Budget" has provoked some earnest response.  Someplace between those who want to implant into him a heart, and those who would follow him like lemmings is an opportunity to examine not only how much we spend, but how and why we spend.  And this "Dear Brutus" takes us into a hall of mirrors where we could and should examine how it is that both the House and Senate work.  Who really does the thinking and decision making?  What about those characters over there in the shadows with the $800.00 pair of shoes and tailored suits, and PAC contributions?  Those hired mouths and hands from K street who prove that turning tricks can still earn you a big pay check. They who whisper in the ear of our elected officials, or help "draft" the legislation,  or "educate" key staff members if not the politicians themselves.
              OK-you've heard and read rants like this from others.  If however, we reduced the amount spent on elections and reduced the length of the campaigns, a lot of that K street influence would slink back to the swamp, or they might just stay in the house or senate from whence many of them slithered, or better yet those "sorts" might not even enter politics.  
              Today governance is the inconvenient after math of electoral politics. Government is a byproduct of the business and industry of campaigns, elections and politics.  And it is full of egos, boneheads, crooks and the sexually frustrated. Yes, I know there are some decent men and women still on Capitol Hill, but we had better surround them with a protective grace because the idiots are driving the bus.
              Take big money out of politics and you'll have politicians/public servants, even, who are more devout about using the public money and trust to better ends.
              How else can you explain why the big targets like WAR and the FINANCIAL BAIL OUT TO THOSE WHO CREATED THE CRISIS some how have disappeared from the moronic discussions about how much are we going spend/cut?  Oh, and there is the hand wringing about what happens in Iraq after we leave.  Well who were the geniuses that bombed them from modernity with a single madman in control to a tribal shootout in a busted, broken, limping nation presided over by holy hellions, zealots and other salivating wackos? How many innocent victims become spectres to visit the conscience of America? And how much did that little perversion of truth cost us?  And which American companies have made how much off of the adventure?  You figure they pay taxes on that war profit? You figure they have any paid influence on Capitol Hill?

YEA, I'M CURIOUS TOO

But I'm also too cool to sweat it.

So enough already.

SOMETHING NEW FROM SOMETHING OLD

The beautiful old Cambria Grammar School is a case in point.

Instead of being trashed when the new schools was

constructed, this proud lady now houses

an Art Gallery, Community Theater and

School Board Offices.

Is there a lesson here?

DAY BOOK

POPPIES AND FRIENDS

WAITING

AND AFTER THE SUN

And exotic green

Thanks for putting up with the rant.

See you down the trail.

               

THE WEEKENDER :) HAPPY

LOOKING FOR SMILES

What puts the wind in your sails?  If you look carefully you can see a 

solo sailor out on the horizon line. This is a rough patch of the Pacific, known for shoals and wrecks.  This intrepid sailor is out there, catching the wind

and must be smiling large at what they see.

THE HAPPIEST PLACE

A Few months ago San Luis Obispo, just 30 minutes down the coast and our

"big town" connection, was named the happiest place in the US.

Happy is one of the first things we noticed when we began encountering SLO after

our move 4 years ago.  We love SLO and think it is probably one of the 

most desirable cities in the world.  Small as big cities go, 46,000, it is

indeed a happy place to be. 

HERE'S THE USA LINK TO A DESTINATIONS STORY. IT'S A NICE PIECE AND I'VE HAD FRIENDS ALL OVER SEND ME A LINK. SO I'M RETURNING THE SMILES HERE. THIS IS A FUN READ.

Maybe it is, in part, the words people here carry with them, share and use. 

WORDS MATTER. HERE IS A CASE IN POINT

Enjoy your weekend.

See you down the trail.

WE'VE GOT BEES, BLOOMS AND BIG SUR

AND BEE KEEPERS

       Katherine and her mom, Lana, have become bee keepers.  In 24 hours we added to our household by a thousand or so.  

The bees are Italian

        Katherine worked with bees while at the Regenerative Design Institute, near Pt. Reyes and decided the Italian variety would be best for here and our purposes.  

        They arrived in a box, via UPS and that is a funny little story.  I was working in my study, when I heard the door bell.  I opened the door to find a box. As I picked it up I realized, it was alive and making a noise. I put it down, quickly.

         After 24 hours it was time to move them to the hive that Lana and Katherine constructed, but first, there were steps of preparation.

       Frames, interior sections of the hive, were put in place.  It is here where the bees will lay eggs, and build combs where they will deposit their honey.

        Once the hives were readied, they removed the queen in her chamber, surrounded by attentive "guards."

       They chose not to wear the suggested protective gloves, because, according to Katherine, the gloves are clumsy making it easier to injure a bee. When that happens

they release pheromones which become a kind of warning signal that can put the other bees into an attack mode.

        So they handled the queens cluster with great care.  Katherine spoke to them reassuringly. My daughter has become a bee whisperer.

       They  removed a plug that had protected the queen from the colony during the move. Then they inserted a sweet, that the colony would chew on as they work to release the queen.  This is all cosmic, natural order stuff.  Apparently during the process of eating the piece of candy, working their way into the queen's chamber, they accomplish a kind of bonding process. 

        The idea is to allow the queen to get established in a new chamber in the hive, while the "guard" bees and "protectors" set up.  The others, eventually get acquainted with their new hive and then begin to wonder out and do the work of gathering pollen and making honey. As you may know, there is a fascinating bee culture, with very specific roles. Some of the bees simply serve as scouts.

       In moving some of the colony, there was a need to use a smoker, which pacifies them.

        Our colony of Italian bees are ensconced on their new new hill side perch.  Our cats are very dubious.  I wish I could catch a shot of them as they walk below looking up at their new hill mates.  The looks say a great deal.  I've tried to convince them both if they lay quietly near the hive they may hear great Italian arias.  It ain't working.  I am eager for the honey to begin arriving, but Katherine assures that will be a while.

Stay tuned.

LATEST FROM BIG SUR

Photo Courtesy of CalTrans

CAMBRIA REPORTER KATHE TANNER HAS THE LATEST ON EFFORTS TO REOPEN HIGHWAY 1. WE CAN NOW GET BACK TO LIME KILN AND BIG SUR. LINK HERE.

DAY BOOK

A FEW MORE BLOOMS

AND VIEWS

See you down the trail.

SPRING SCENES-OTHER THAN BUDGET BATTLES

CALIFORNIA APRIL

       When spring broke in the midwest we'd take every opportunity to get outside and enjoy the blue sky and sunshine.  Each friday I'd take my news management team to lunch and in the good weather we'd opt for a place that featured outdoor dining. I can recall a couple of early spring days, emerging from the back of our studio onto the parking lot and being struck by the beauty of day. "This is what every day is like in California" I'd say.

        Now that we've been here four years, I recall how fleeting those nice days were back then and how this is the "land of continual springtime."  Seems as though there is always something in bloom.  Here's a look at some early April beauty.

BTW-the "geode" stone is a transplant from southern Indiana.

It will probably confuse a geologist someday. Might even lead to a

new theory eh?

DAY BOOK

THE ECHIUM UPDATE

       The echium bushes were "buzzing" as I shot these images.  They are bee magnets and continue to grow.

Look at the variance in color between these above and the bush below.

See you down the trail.