All so the rich can get richer and the poor can pay; no news in that. But it does give us something to complain about, which is good as now that Ammon Bundy and his buddies are mainly in the slammer we’ll need more than just the Republican Circus with which to amuse ourselves. Standing, upstanding, standing up, standing down…misunderstanding. They even had a “patriot” standing at the entrance to the Malheur Refuge who called himself “Captain Moroni”…seems about right; ‘riot’ is definitely part of their patriot bit. And they always append an “i” to moron, though given their delusional ideologies it would be better served up front, as in “I, moron.”

Much as I disavow the current militarization of the police the fact that four of these bozonis are still cluttering up public property in Harney County might justify bringing in some serious iron to counter the artillery the very government they object to has so generously allowed them…

On the other hand, with the Bundy fussbudgets out of the news it’s hard to better Elon Musk’s cancellation [in reaction to an “insulting email’] of Stewart Alsop’s order for a truly lame, or in Berk-speak “otherly-abled”, vehicle, the X-car.  Mr. Alsop should be thankful he was spared the embarrassment of owning one without having to cancel it himself, although, if you’re nuts and rich enough to acquire such a turkey you’ll probably acquire someone to trail lovingly behind you in their Subaru carrying a battery charger and all that gear you can’t put on the roof.

Why silicon valley dweebs can’t come up with something cooler than the commingling of a DeLorean and a mini-van If they really need a coal-powered SUV is a mystery to me, anyway. The untapped alternatives are myriad;

In another world, safely away from all that, the mystic mists have been pretty scenic..

…so stayed in to get a dozen years of watercolors sorted, signed and dated.

Still dunno how many there are, though…

…nor of these little things;

Sunday to Berkeley for a concert, rare Corvair sighting, companionable dinner and early return.

Sunny Monday to the jetty…

Sunny lunch, too.

Not all days start thusly…but some, at least, brighten later;

So it goes; winter lights…ten o’clock news all about Stupor Bore City and Stupor Bore 50 and So Much Security Everywhere [SO much you can’t even SEE they say – so don’t even think about it!] as naturally befits the world’s most hated nation’s #1 Event. Go Broncos! Go Panzers! …er, panthers; well, same thing.

Our mornings may vary from all that, and do…

…afternoons, too;

…and mornings…

Meanwhile San Francisco’s non-franchise restaurants eagerly await the tide of crapola-consumers to ebb when SBC, which cuts off major transportation downtown and across the Embarcadero, folds so they can begin recovering lost revenues from Mr. Lee’s big score, as do the vendors, numerous and various, of lower Market as well as the homeless forcibly swept to the outlying neighborhoods…not to mention the inhabitants of those outlying neighborhoods to which they’ve been swept.  After SB Sunday things should begin to relax towards normalcy, though it will take another week to dismantle the City and its abundant logos before normal normalcy returns.  Wotta scam, wotta lotta scams.  Benefiting the Big Guys, as always…apparently it’s the same story in Santa Clara; the street closures and occupying armies [as adulated on TV] of “security” forces are just obscene…and the mayor, not a fan, gave away his comp tickets to some lucky member of the vocal majority who was.

We’re all just following orders down here, stayin’ outa trouble.

Go Panzers! Go Broncos!  May the most $$$$ win!

M