The BREWSKIS are coming, The BREWSKIS are coming

This minor modification of that old warning of Paul Revere who was known to "do his thing" not far from here on the mainland of Massachusetts. It is the 4th of July on Nantucket, and there is a spring-break atmosphere on Main Street. People who had just turned 21 or had identification to "prove" their age waited outside Murray's Beverage Store for them to open at noon so they could buy ammunition in the fight against sobriety. Many wore the uniforms of the armies to whom they were conscripted. One wore a shirt that said "Minuteman," and I was tempted to ask his girlfriend if that was a good thing. Since they were obviously on the cusp of having a good time on the beach watching fireworks it seemed appropriate to reflect on our nation's fight for independence that took place almost 250 years ago and ask ourselves "What the Hell happened?"

We still have brave men and women in uniform fighting in the armed forces but I don't see anyone in politics that even vaguely reminds me of Thomas Jefferson or George Washington. The Jeffersons of "Movin' on Up" fame. sure, but not good old TJ the patriot. It would be interesting to get into a time-machine and travel back to the early days of our republic to see if our congress was populated by buffoons the way it is today. I kinda doubt it.

ARIZONA, protecting our country proudly, AGAIN

When Pearl Harbor was attached in 1941, the USS ARIZONA was sunk along with many valiant crew members. This regal battleship sits at the bottom and has been made into a national memorial to the ship and to the brave men and women who defend this country against all enemies foreign and domestic. Now our country is once again under attack and it is ARIZONA, the state, that is stepping up to the plate to defend our country. Once again, the cowards in Washington have made it easy for a foreign power to attack us in our own home...but this time, instead of Hawaii, it is our great south west. And what does our president do? He empowers his administration to fight ARIZONA's defense of our country. It would be as if president Roosevelt withdrew our troops from the Pacific so as to not offend the Emperor of JAPAN.

The president of Mexico, Juan Valdez, or whatever, came to OUR COUNTRY and criticized Arizona for passing a law that did what the federal government should have already been doing...finding out who really belongs here or who is a criminal that violated the sovereignty of our borders? Who now lives here working without paying taxes and sucking our cities and states dry of their fiscal resources? You have to show ID if you drive, cash a check, or take a plane flight yet these criminals don't want to be inconvenienced because it is "racial profiling" as if Sven the Swede is sneaking onto our country and dropping an anchor baby. Those a-holes in OUR CONGRESS gave a standing ovation to the Mexican President as he meddled in the affairs of the great state of ARIZONA.

Remember on election day, that if you want safe borders where terrorists can't blend in and cross with the illegals from Mexico, then VOTE EVERYONE OUT. DO NOT REELECT ANYONE. None of them has done anything to prevent this disaster, and half of them think it is a good idea and applauded the Leader of the country that sent us 12 million criminals. Try sneaking into Mexico as an American and see what kind of ID they ask you for as you get locked in a rat-infested border town JAIL until someone pays a huge bribe to get you out, Gringo.

Soon Come

Nantucket was a little hot today, but still ice-box cool compared to Florida. The crowds in downtown were spring-breakish in their number, but that is because of the July 4th weekend. Though I am a semi-local by now, I consulted the real locals who assured me that the throngs will be gone by mid week. The oracle looks forward to the arrival of this attractive couple who are presently celebrating our nation's birthday in Sarasota.

TV or not TV, That is the Question

I waited around yesterday afternoon at our apartment for the "Cable Guy" to show up. We have had 4 channels for the past month...ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS. As a result, we have mostly used the "Box" to watch DVDs...and I have reported on the movie choices we made. Because of some transcendental need "to know what is going on in the world" we opted to install COMCAST. We now have lots of TV channels, including some which are not complete bullshit. I accept that at night having more choices including HBO is a good thing. Some of our DVD choices were "dogs" and I welcome some of the summer specials.

This morning I turned on FOX News "to know what is going on in the world" and this guy, Karl Rove, popped up like Freddy F'ing Kruger. I have not seen this SOB for the past month because we did not have the channel he haunts. Sure he was Deputy Chief of Staff under President Bush and has huge political credentials, but there is something about him that makes you want to put your head in the toilet and pull the lever. I don't know if it is the subject matter, politics, which by its very definition is "icky" or the pomposity of this guy. Rove was deeply ingrained in the abomination that was the Bush administration (for the record I usually vote Republican) and obviously complicit in their "spend like a drunken sailor" and "invade people who piss us off" policies. That administration was so awful that people voted against Bush even though he served two terms and could not run again. Americans voted for a complete incompetent because Mother Teresa could have been on the ballot for the Republicans and all everyone could see was Bush. Rove was part of those 8 years of incompetence that set the stage for the present (possible) 8 years of greater incompetence.

So after a brief exchange of words about the newly acquired 500 channels of "God knows what," I vowed never to "bust my groove" of Nantucket induced tranquility by turning this a-hole and his cohorts on ever again. Speaking of electronically induced coma, that goes for e-mails as well. Any e-mail I get that begins "You're not going to believe what Obama said..." or pretty much anything other than "Topless beaches of France" or "Funny jokes with no subliminal political message" gets instantly dragged to the trash.

So, Karl, if you are reading this, go away and bring all your talking heads with you. From the LEFT or from the RIGHT, I refuse to test my gag reflex watching the likes of anyone who has or will have, ever, anything to do with politics. If I feel the need to lower my IQ, there are so many other options on TV and now, thanks to COMCAST's menu, they don't have to include Karl Rove.

Political UPDATE

Because of plummeting poll numbers over his abject lack of leadership ability and his mishandling of...everything, Obama has reconnected with his message of change. For the 2012 election he will run as a White man whose black father abandoned him as a child. Oprah has already picked up on this and has invited him to appear on her show every day in 2011. He has also announced a new (nuevo) strategy to appeal to Latino voters.

Al Gore has decided to return to politics and become Obama's vice presidential candidate, replacing the outgoing Joe Biden who could not find the White House in time to file for reelection. Rumor has it that Joe is on a train, somewhere between DC and Baltimore doing standup.

Jeb Bush, sensing a vacuum in politics has decided to "Jump Into" the presidential race as the prospective Republican candidate. It seems that he is the only viable Bush that has not been president. Neil is busy trying to form another bank scandal. Barbara is almost done with the Afghan she is knitting, making her the most informed about that region of the world among her family. Laura is busy reading "Itsy Bitsy Spider" to "W." and Jenna said that she would wait until the next cycle so she can run against Chelsea Clinton.

We have not run out of Kennedys and Shrivers to seek the high office or become cabinet members. Murray Kennedy Rabinowitz, 4th cousin twice removed of Patrick DUI Kennedy and son of Kathleen Kennedy Shriver Cabot Lodge and Goldman Sachs CEO Sol Kennedy Rabinowitz hopes to become "Secretary of not watching over our finances and letting Wall Street do....whatever." He follows in the footsteps of other Secretaries who came from the same firm on Wall Street to DC to reinvent the derivative and randomly raise and lower interest rates.

Kristin Davis has also expressed interest in running as she is tired of just laying around. She lists among her credentials that she has served directly under N. Y. Governor Eliot Spitzer.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

Yesterday marked the 1 month anniversary of our arrival in Nantucket, and the end of a month of blogging (about 90 posts). I have enjoyed the process and received a lot of feedback, personally and by e-mail. It seems that most people, even those who read the Blog regularly, like to remain anonymous. Anyway, I remain encouraged to keep this up because it helps me to focus on those things during the day that are unique and exciting or memorable. It is that snapshot of a moment I wrote about, posted in cyberspace.

It's ELECTRIFYING

What a wonderful world it is with iPhones, PDAs, and the ability to keep 10,000 songs on a chip the size of a dime. Years ago, in the Jurassic period when I was born, we had mechanical things and motors and light bulbs and other primitive Ben Franklin spin-offs. We had very little high-technology. I remember my first transistor radio and hand held calculator. I paid $135 for a calculator that could add , subtract, multiply and divide, do square roots, and had memory. That would be about$1000 in todays dollars for something you get in a Happy Meal at McDonalds, only not as good. We had people who could repair your toaster or tune your car without replacing any parts. Today, we have to either throw the whole damn thing away or replace the "mother board." Some robot made this elaborate part with printed circuits, more silicon than Pam Anderson, and swoosh, out it goes into the landfill and you pop in a new one. And talk about planned obsolescence. You buy a digital gizmo today and it's out of date tomorrow. Back "in the day" your radio lasted your entire high school career. Like your virginity.

There is a dark side to all this technology, other than "to keep up you have to take a second mortgage" if you can find one. The basic construction of just about everything is just not as good. Take Hybrid cars for example (and take them far away, please.) Not only do they not save you any money because of the window sticker far exceeding a non-hybrid car and no amount of fuel savings will approach this number, but they take a tremendous environmental toll to manufacture. The batteries alone... and all that Lithium. One Prius could keep a million manic-depressives hooked up for a year. In order to keep these vehicles from weighing 3 tons, they thin out and cheapen the entire car and substitute plastic wherever they can. So, when you are in an accident, it crumples like a ball of aluminum foil, beyond the safe controlled crumpling that is designed into modern cars. The battery weighs so much it makes the car difficult to stop and negatively affects the handling. EMTs who have to cut you out of the car in the event of an accident can get the shock of their lives. And lastly, when the battery goes dead, what landfill do we throw it into? The one where we put all our CFL mercury containing light bulbs? Oh, and did I mention they are uglier than an Obama supreme court nominee?

And finally, a thought that enters my mind everyday as I look around for the correct receptacle to throw my used plastic water bottle, "I feel like a schmuck working so hard to save the planet one Aquafina at a time and there are a million gallons of crude oil spilling into the Gulf. Talk about peeing into the ocean and expecting it to get saltier.