Aunty (anti) FOX

watched Bill Maher, you gotta see this new one. He is at the top of his form, and makes the conservatives look even MORE stupid, if that is possible. One of the lines has to do with the 'birther' idiots who claim Obama was born in Kenya, even though both Hawaiian newspapers of the day have his birth announcement. Maher says, 'if he wasn't born here, it is typical to bring in a foreiner to clean up a mess, AND, I'll show you Obama's birth certificate when you show me Sarah Palin's high school diploma.' I dare you! Watch it. The best one ever....

It's that weekend, in what has become a tradition, to head up to Keystone, to hear some great music and sample some of the best microbrews around. Is always fun to try and find the 'best' brew at the festival. Also, I'm a sucker for the BBQ turkey wings. The tradition includes dinner at the local Mexican restaurant, and riding the many bike paths along the river, lake and ski resort. Just one of the many percs, of living in Colorado. Later, mi amigos... P.S. Was looking for an image for festival, Googled it, and got this pic from the public domain, off Laura's blog, from last year. A couple of 'Bad Girls', (note Kari looking really mean) who got 'tattoos', last year. Was kinda funny when they came up on Google...

Yesterday, when it was 105 in Seattle, at 5 in the afternoon, it was 55, here, and got down into the 40's at night, on July 29th. Not sure what's going on, but I like it.

but was having a rocking chair moment, and thinking about some of my favorite outdoor experiences, and found a theme. One of the largest, most beautiful trout, I ever caught, was a big brown, on the Blue River, near Kremmling. 'Twas early in the morning, and I saw him working a beaver pond, rising to every large bug that landed. It took a LONG time. to work my way into position, find a place to cast, and to put a fly in the right spot. He took it, and after a long fight, I landed him. At first I thought, 'All right, breakfast"! But, he was SO pretty, and the moment so right, I released him. And have been so glad, ever since. Another time, I was pheasant hunting, north of Broomfield, and saw a huge rooster, with a hen, in the ditch. I slowly drove up, and stepped out, ready to shoot. We looked at each other, and I finally got him to fly. Then I watched him fly away. Too pretty to shoot. More than once, when elk hunting, with a cow license, I scoped in on a large cow, wi...

It's been a long time since I've posted anything. Actually I have posted some stuff, late at night, then deleted it in the morning. Bottom line, I still have the same attitude toward the long term damage that Bush and his cronies did to us. Totally unprecedented. BUT, it's old news, although we will continue to feel the effects for MANY years as the economy has been hurt in such a way, that it will take many more years to recover. The Repubs are spinning the news to make it seem like it's Obabma's fault, because he can't fix it overnight. SO obvious, if you look at the truth, BUT, FOX and the Repubs have a whole different agenda...

The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed on from generation to generation, says that, 'When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount.' However, in government, more advanced strategies are often employed, such as: 1. Buying a stronger whip. 2. Changing riders. 3. Appointing a committee to study the horse. 4. Arranging to visit other countries to see how other cultures ride dead horses. 5. Lowering the standards so that dead horses can be included. 6. Reclassifying the dead horse as living impaired. 7. Hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse. 8. Harnessing several dead horses together to increase speed. 9. Providing additional funding and/or training to increase dead horse's performance. 10. Doing a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the dead horse' s performance. 11. Declaring that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less costly, carries lower overhead and therefore contributes su...

of Walter Cronkite, THEN looked at FOX News website, I wonder what he thought about someone like Rupert Murdoch, being able to buy a 'news outlet'. There was a time when news was just truth, No longer. The Repubs own their own 'spin machine', and, there are people out there who actually believe the crap they put out there. Unbelievable, but true. I'm sure Walter had some thoughts on it...

the historical footage of Walter Cronkite's life, the memories came flooding back. One of them, was how he changed public opinion, coming out against the Viet Nam War. He later said he wished someone had stood up against Bush, when he was lying about Iraq. The main memory was JFK's assassinataion. If you actually believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, THEN, Jack Ruby, as a patriot, shot him, acting alone, THEN, Ruby died before he could talk, you are SO naive/gullible that I can't relate to you. Bottom line? You ain't alone, BUT, you don't have a clue. Just my humble opinion.

from today's paper. Like cats that have lost their whiskers, the Republicans seem off balance now that they have lost their talent for hypocrisy. Who can forget the glory years, when the Gipper invoked God but never went to church? When Newt Gingrich and other conservatives indulged in affairs with young Washington peaches as they pushed to impeach Bill Clinton? No one had more flair than W. and Cheney, crowing about making us safe as they made the world more dangerous, and bragging about fiscal restraint while they spent us into oblivion. Now when Republicans get caught flouting the principles they dictate, they are not able to practice hypocrisy with such impunity. Not that they don't try.

BUT, after 3 rounds of the British Open, one of the 4 golf majors, Tom Watson, 2 months from being 60 years old, is leading. NOT the Senior division, but the entire tourney. 'Tis great for us old guys, to see that a gray-beard like Tom still has it in him. Golf is the only game I know of, that oldsters have a chance at that age. Would love to see him win it, tomorrow. Was also great to hear Rick do the color commentary on ABC. Reilly has some amazing insights, AND humor. Played w/Randy Hayne yesterday, who shot an even par against us, from the blues, a few months after total knee replacement. Golf, a great way to get out of the house, get some exercise, and have some great competition w/your buddies.

with this recession, other than the world-wide aspect of it, is the fact that, in the past, the Fed has been able to get the economy moving by cutting interest rates. The Bush administration cut the discount rate to ZERO, over the last couple of years, just to prevent a total meltdown before he slithered out. Bottom line, the Feds' best weapon has no bullets left, and we're looking at uncharted territory. Since the Great Depression, that is. The MAIN job creation force of the economy, home construction, is dead in the water, and there is such lag time there, that even if builders wanted to start building, it takes a long time for a house to get approved and built. Other highlights include MANY more ARMS readjusting to higher interest rates, as home values continue to drop, and MANY unemployment benefits run out, while MANY more are relying gov't assistance, the tax dollars that support it are drying up. Many choose to ignore the obvious. Sorry, but I can't. It IS gonna ...

If you are of my generation, you know, that he was THE voice of the news, for many decades, on TV. You also may realize, that if there was anyone who disliked George W Bush more than me, it was Walter Cronkite, who said Bush had, 'exceptional arrogance'. He made his living in the news, and he was one of the first, and loudest, to proclaim W's illegal invasion in Iraq, was based on lies. I just hope that this part of his life comes out, with all the coverage his death will get. Gonna miss his honest assessment of the news...

who you believe? There are MANY news sources out there. A few of them, like FOX, are merely the voice of a political party, and I gotta admit, MSNBC, also has a definite political agenda. HOWEVER, most news agencies merely report the news. The mainstream media, counting overseas outlets, mostly has it right. My point? If you want to believe FOX, do it at your own risk. Admit that is is totally biased, AND, if that is what you WANT to believe, just do it. Bottom line, just don't confuse it with the truth.

when I get kinda upset, when I can't find my golf ball. Today, at the British Open, Tiger hit into the rough, and over 100 people couldn't find his ball. It just supports my theory. There are times when the ball just disintegrates. Has happened to me several times...

I really think that most people don't realize the slippery slope that W and the Repubs put us on. Michigan unemployment is officially over 15%, which means the REAL number is near 30%. Over 15 states are over 10%, which means 20% in reality, and the numbers are growing at a geometrical pace. I think MOST people don't understand the extent of this disaster. This is HUGE! Our way of life is slipping away, like a snowball going downhill. Bush wrecked our economy to a point that only the historians will be able to truly document. There is NOTHING the current politicians can do, to halt the slide. Slow it, MAYBE, hopefully. We are faring better than most, here in Colorado, as jobs dry up elsewhere, and we will remain a destination point. Bottom line, hunker down, and get ready for survival mode. Sorry to be the messenger, but please, show me where I'm wrong. This is something we have never seen before, but our parents did, during the Great Depression. IS gonna be interesting, th...

The evening news, tonight, says that 22% of US homeowners are 'under water', that is, they owe more than their home is worth. This is a HUGE snowball rolling downhill, and gaining momentum. There is nothing like the housing industry, to create jobs, and that industry is dead in the water. Even around here, where the values are holding up, there is no new construction. The stimulus package is based on road building, and, compared to home building, that is NOTHING, as for creating new jobs. I just don't see an end in sight. Pretty scary....

by Lee Child, that the library finally notified me to pick up, I realize that he is one of my favorite authors. With this one, I will have read all of his books. The same goes for Nelson DeMille, John Grisham, and Stephen White, whose books take place in and around Boulder. I have read most of Stuart Woods' works, (and that's a lot), as well as Robert Ludlum and James Michener (LONG books), plus, most of Stephen King, including the Dark Tower series. In between I read best sellers like, 'The Shack' and 'The Story of Edgar Sawtelle'. Bottom line, I am looking for a new author. I am in the process of reading all of Michael Connelly, and have his new one on reserve at the library. If any, or either, of y'all are familiar with the genre I that I enjoy, go ahead and recommend a new author. The gift that keeps on giving.

'Gone Tomorrow', by Lee Child, has a reference to Ronald Reagan sending Donald Rumsfeld to Baghdad, in 1983, to present Saddam Hussein with a pair of solid gold spurs, as a symbol of his support. Just wanted to see if was for real. It is. The Reagan administration installed Saddam, with our $, turned him loose, and he turned into a monster against the Iraqi people. To make up for it, W unleashed his 'Oops, bad information, 'Shock and Awe', war on them, which killed and wounded hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians, and took out the water and electrical grids in a desert climate. No wonder the US is so popular in Iraq. Damned Republicans. After Viet Nam you'd think they would have learned something. Nah.. What they learned is that there is 'Big Money' in war, if you are in the right place. Sure worked for W and his Big Oil contributors...

that I would take the time and energy to go see, battling rush hour crowds in Denver, then trying to find a parking place around Denver Botanic Gardens, (where there aren't any) BUT, William Topley is one. His album, 'Mixed Blessing', is one of my all-time favorites, and have listened to it on many long hiways, and lonely nights away from home. He's an Englishman, but writes about New Orleans and sailing in the Caribbean. The intimate setting at the gardens, where you can bring your own picnic, was the perfect venue for his acoustic show. He played the old favorites, and introduced a couple new songs, that fit right into his special sound. All in all, a fantastic evening. Thanks, Matt.

as we met, with Kari and Ted, up at Nate and Laura's, to see the new little girl. What a sweetheart. Laura's gradually getting her strength back, as Nate does his best to take care of everyone. Were in the middle of a great lightning/thunder/rain storm, which is real special at that altitude. Duke made a memory for the us, as he caught and killed a chipmunk in front of everyone. Can't blame a dog for being a dog, and at least the end was quick. All in all, a wonderful time was had by all. AND, just got a call from Matt, who has tickets to William Topley, tonight, outdoors at the Botanical Garden. Life is good.