So you want THIS change?

It was Dostoyevsky in The Possessed who identified what is now known as Shigalyovism, a socialist utopia. He writes, "The thirst for education is already an aristocratic thirst. As soon as there is a family or love, there is a desire for property. We shall throttle that desire: we shall unleash drunkenness, scandal, denunciations; we shall unleash unprecedented debauchery; we shall extinguish every genius in his infancy. Everything must be reduced to the common denominator, total equality."

The abolition of private property, religion and the family is the ideal. The demand for equality, the destruction of the hierarchy into which society in the U.S. has arranged itself is the goal. This is so radical that it leads to a negation of existence of any genuine differences between individuals. Equality is turned into equivalence. Each belongs to all and all belong to each and all are slaves and equal in slavery. Our founding fathers in the U.S. promised its citizens equality at birth but not equality of results. So now we'll just sweep everything away? Because that is where we are headed.

Solzhenitsyn writes in From Under The Rubble, "socialism so overestimates the role and dominion of material property that it wants to destroy everything that cannot become the possession and private property of the masses; it wants to eliminate talent by force."

No Change

It was back in the 1960's on the Senate floor. Out of control spending was the issue of the day. Senator Everett Dirkson said, "A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money." But it was Ronald Reagan who said it best when discussing the government. "If it moves, tax it; if it keeps moving, regulate; if it stops moving, subsidize it." Nothings changed in politics, has it.

Retirement

My friend Paul sent me this photo of a retired navy officer with the hobby he acquired and built. It holds two people, is 30 feet long and is powered by a 15 horsepower outboard motor under the rear gun turret. It goes about 15 knots. So here is retirement for this gentleman. Have you swabbed the decks and polished the brass? "Yes, sir. And when nobody was looking, I took out my binoculars and swept the horizon!"

Macbeth and politics

Macbeth: If we should fail?

Lady: But screw your courage to the sticking place and we'll not fail.

So what does this really mean? In my view, Lady Macbeth is saying we don't have to be merely subject to the stars. We are not victims of them unless we choose to be. So why does Macbeth take a fatalisitic point of view? Perhaps like us today he wonders about evil. He is struggling with doing evil for his own gain. Isn't there always a justification for evil? Don't all the prisoners in Florence, CO claim to be innocent? They've all been framed. Even Ted Kaczynski, the unibomber had a reason. Right?

Macbeth has moral sensitivity. He has the problem of a guilty ambition that preys on his conscience. Sounds like politics today, and the outcome is the same too. However, like Macbeth our politicians today ultimately see an end to their moral perturbation. They have hardness of heart. The murder of Mcduff's child is a further outrage, but nothing seems to matter anymore. Like liberal politics today, nothing seems to matter to them anymore.

Rockies get another

Where's my broom? One more win and we sweep the Red Sox tonight! In spite of a poor showing by Ubaldo, the Rockies finally found some bigger bats, winning 8-6. Jason Giambi hit a two run homer off of Papelbon in the bottom of the ninth to save the day. Doing this to Papelbon was especially sweet.

Bridezilla

Nancy and I went with Pat and Carolyn to a mystery theater last Saturday night called Bridezilla. It's a murder mystery. It's held at the Lumber Baron Inn and Gardens every weekend. And of course I was singled out. Singled out by the groom pictured below. His bride wasn't exactly gay - you'd call her a near miss. We watched the wedding before dinner and I think they tossed a coin to see which one would wear the gown!

I used to think that the most embarrassment one could have is to look through a key hole with one eye and see another eye looking back. Try it with a room full of 50 people! You know it's big time embarrassment when your friends tell you later, "you were a good sport." The audience saw me under unfortunate circumstances. The seats faced the stage! We did have a fun time though and they managed to involve a few other people in the audience too.

Hiking in the Bluff

Here is one more photo of Bluff, UT. We found some very nice rock art along these cliffs. There are seven people in this photo if you can find them all. I wasn't worried about walking on this narrow ledge. Ninety percent of accidents occur in the kitchen! And Nancy is very careful at times like this. She's so careful she put a safety mat in the bird bath.

From the summit

From the summit of Chief Mountain we had a very nice view of Mt. Evans. Jim had a pair of binoculars and could see cars going up the road on the mountain. Notice the road angling across the face. It's actually a frightening road and you wouldn't want to go over the edge. Plus, you have to watch out for children on the road. They're terrible drivers!

Two mountains in one day

Nancy and I climbed Chief Mountain and Squaw Mountain yesterday with friends from Church. Below is a photo of Nancy and Kay on the summit of Chief Mountain. We had a beautiful 360 degree view from the top and the weather was perfect.

I stopped to take this photo of a bristlecone pine. According to some experts they are thought to live as long as 5,000 years! There's a simple secret to long life - get to be a hundred and then be careful! You know you're getting old when your idea of an early bird dinner is lunch.

After we climbed Chief Mountain, we walked over to Squaw Mountain and hiked up to the old forest service lookout on top. Some people were remodeling the facility in hopes of renting it out later this year or next for $90 a night.

Politics

I've been taking a little abuse from my Democrat friends for my pokes at President Obama. "The President is doing the best he can." was one comment from a friend, and that should be enough to scare you. I really don't care what anyone thinks. In the words of Harry Truman, "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog." To hunt, fish, drive, or own even own a dog, you need a license. But anybody who wants to can run for President!

Pictographs and petroglyphs

One of the benefits of finding Southwest pictographs and petroglyphs is that they date back as far as 800 to 1,000 years. These children's hands we made by putting paint in the mouth and blowing it over the hand. It reminded me of one of my early report cards which indicated that I was absent a great deal, paid no attention to my studies in class, brought in no homework, and talked at every opportunity. However , my teacher concluded, forced to find something nice to say, that my handwriting was good. Hmmm... Can you imagine a 21st century art teacher having the kids put paint in their mouths and then blowing it all over the living room wall? Maybe life was pretty good for a kid back then.

Cooking on vacation

On our last trip, Paul and I did some of the cooking. I brought some salmon to cook out on the grill. I warned Paul though. I told him I cook a lot at home and Nancy has to keep Mylanta on tap! Okay, so I overdo it with the spices a little.

Here is breakfast cooking the next day. Paul is actually a retired professional chef. All of his recipes are terrific. And, everything was great except for my coffee. Paul said the Indians came down from the reservation to dip their arrows in it! But he said he liked it that way.

Columbine in Arizona

On our trip to the desert we found this nice ruin on the Navajo reservation. When we hiked up to it, columbine was growing all around. I took this photo of Craig, Paul, and Cathy in front of some. What's interesting is, these plants are covered by the overhanging rock. How do they get water? Anyway, all this reminded me of the immortal words of Eve, who said, "Don't forget - I wear the plants in this family!"

Durango Diner

One of our favorite places to eat breakfast is the Durango Diner in Durango, CO. As you can see, the restaurant is long and narrow and nearly everyone sits at the bar. They serve their famous green chili (sold in grocery stores all over CO) and you can put it on anything you want. What's amazing is that everything is so fresh. They grate the potatoes right over the stove for your hash browns which come with onions, cheese, green chili, and who knows what. And you can get them mixed with your eggs, sausage, and more green chili which is called "The Cure." Of course the real cure after this is the handy appliance in the trunk of my car - the fire extinguisher! We were just there a few weeks ago. This place gets 5 stars! Don't miss out.

Rockies win!

Nancy and I went to the Rockies baseball game last night, in spite of the rain. When we left the house it was coming down hard enough to call the game. When we got to Coors field, it was starting to clear and there was even some blue sky!

The Rockies won the game against the Toronto Blue Jays 10-3, scoring 4 runs in the first inning and batting around. We were also rewarded with a home run by Carlos Gonzalez (pictured below), and two home runs by Ryan Spilborghs. The only downside was the pure Colorado water. A ballpark Coke! No wait, it was the vendor who got fired yesterday. They found him heating the franks!

Dolores

On our way to Bluff we stopped in Dolores, CO and stayed in this little cabin on the Dolores River. It had electricity and a few beds, but that was about it. It was nice to hear the rushing water all night and I didn't have to clean off my shoes before going in.

In the mornings we would get up and I'd make coffee on the picnic table outside. Coffee is a pretty powerful stimulant. I had a friend who drank four pots a day at work. He died last month, but a week later he was still mingling in the company lounge. Anyway, we would sit out here in the mornings for a while and watch the rafters and kayaks go by.

This guy in the dory waved as he floated by. "Stop in for some coffee next time." I yelled. He said something but was long gone. I've never floated a river on a dory, but I think it might be fun.

Keeping things in perspective

In 1973, Reagan referred to the state of the American economy. He said, "Do you remember back in the days when you thought that nothing could replace the dollar? Today it practically has." I wonder what he would say now?

A bear!

I went hiking early this morning with Bruce and Sharon a few miles from our house at Roxborough Park. We climbed Carpenter Peak. However, we weren't 15 minutes from the car and there was a rather large black bear! And then another one! Yikes, we're in bear country!

We slowly moved down the dirt road toward the start of the trail but one of them circled around to our right and the other one just stayed on the road in front of us. After a few photos and Sharon urging us to "get out of here," the one in front slowly moved down the road and was gone. The one on the right kept circling, grunted and stood up, looking right at us! Not a happy critter. We finally went by him and got down the road about 200 yards. We looked back and there he was, following us! We yelled at him and he took off.

It reminded me of the bear who approached the trapper in the woods and asked what he was looking for. The trapper said he was looking for a nice fur coat and then asked, "How about you?" "I'd like a nice breakfast. I tell you what, let's go to my cave and discuss it." They went to the bears cave and everything worked out. In about a half hour the bear had his breakfast and the trapper was in a nice fur coat!

Sign in Arizona

In the words of Will Rogers, "The more you read and observe about this politics thing, you've got to admit that each party is worse than the other." Wait a minute! Isn't this a bi-partisan issue?

Dancing in Southern Colorado

The Cortez Cultural Center in Cortez, CO was quite the site. They took a very plain looking building, painted some murals on the outside, put in a round dancing arena and it's quite a site. I decided to climb the ladder painted on the side of the building but the going was a little difficult.

The Roach family dancers from Gallup were terrific. At the end of the dancing we were asked to participate in a round dance in the arena. They also provided fry bread with honey.

The Lopez family dancers appeared on another night and did a great job. She looked like an eagle flying up from the ground. I'll post a video on some of this later.

Rock art and ruins

I'm back from vacation in Bluff and Southwest Colorado. We toured Canyons of the Ancients, saw several native American dances in the evening in Colorado and then went to Bluff to see the ruins and the rock art, and attended the Indian Arts and Culture Festival. Below my friends Craig, Paul, and Cathy, visiting 16 room ruin on the Navajo reservation. Only half a mile from Bluff but a good 35 minute drive to get there around the San Juan River, it was worth the trip. I thought it was a very unusual sight because it's North facing. Maybe they liked the view, or maybe it was fancy summer home? You have any theories?

Nancy and I brought up some food for dinner, so we all cooked out the first night. It was a little intimidating cooking with Paul, since he was a professional chef. I cast my bread upon the water that night. Of course, my wife said it was soup! I'm such a bad cook, I can't even bring her to a boil. I warned Paul that where there's smoke, I'm cooking!

On one of our hikes we found some great rock art above the town of Bluff, UT. The trick with 1,000 year old art is to figure out what the artist meant, and what was he saying. Maybe a fun thing to do in a future blog would be to show all the rock art I've seen and do an interpretation! Like, "This artist used a strange medium. He painted everything on an empty stomach!" So anyway, we would stand around, look at the rock art, and try to understand the meaning.

A good artist draws the line somewhere. So what do you think it is? I have my theory.

Friday night we climbed up to the top of Comb Ridge and I took this photo of the bluff next to Bluff and in the background you'll see Ute Mountain. The trees in front of the bluff are around the San Juan River. Other than the no-see-ums and their vicious bites, we had a great time. More to come on this trip later!

Nashville flooding

I found it odd that no one was no looting during the awful floods in Nashville, TN last month. Are people in Nashville simply better people? I guess honesty pays, but some people (like the one's below) aren't sure it's enough. My friend Paul from Nashville sent me this photo. You see I think honesty comes from training, background, and fear of getting caught!

"Running" for President

When he was asked in 1980 to consider running for President again, Mo Udall replied, "If nominated, I will run to Mexico; if elected, I will fight extradition." Maybe we need more Mexican politicians?