December 18, 2022

100k Winter Solstice Ride today.

Temp 33 and felt like 28 (if you were standing still)and snow, snow mixed with rain for most of the ride. One of those, "been there done that bought the T-shirt rides."

And I was slow 4:30 moving time, 5:15 clock time (it's an official event).

Nice ride though. 2022 Winter Solstice Populaire.

December 4, 2022

Elon Musk vs. Bond villains.

My son and I were talking about Elon yesterday and realized that he's not even a very good villain. Most Bond villains had a plan and that plan almost worked, with Musk it's hard if not impossible to tell if there's a plan. Sure he's got the money and if he bought a boiler suit and got a cat he'd be able to pull of the look, but Blofeld was clearly a better strategist. It's like he's trying to play the minion and the mastermind at the same time and can't manage either one.

July 1, 2022

More of that history rhyming stuff.

I read this article about Trump leading the invasion of the Capital. What I was struck by was an episode at the beginning of the English Civil War were Charles I enters parliament with the intent of arresting MPs who are getting on his nerves. The actual objects of his wrath got news of the invasion and left, forcing Charles to observe "The birds have flown."

What struck me was that in both cases it's a current leader of the government deciding that violating the traditions of the government is somehow their right. To be fair to Charles, England wasn't the constitutional monarchy it would become and he was definitely a divine right king kind of person so he at least had that on his side. It still led to a civil war where people including Charles wound up dead.

Breaking with our peaceful change of government, or the traditions of governance no matter how regressive those traditions may be should not be taken lightly. We've had 6 years of "conservatives" throwing our traditions out because they didn't get their way, or they wanted to insert their own justices into the Supreme Court. I'm nervous about Democrats and liberals following suit, we've already had 6 years of chaos, how do we undo the damage caused by the GOP without further increasing the instability.

I don't have an answer, but maybe we take a play from Trumps play book and go for a Mulligan. Pretend his presidency didn't happen, remove Gorsuch, Kav, and Coney Baret because they were appointed by a non-traditional president and in violation of longstanding Senate traditions. Conservatives like to talk about that traditions and history, but only when it works to their advantage.

June 24, 2022

So Bret presented this chestnut.

Kavanaugh highlights Loving and other important substantive due process in assuring the public that today’s majority decision in Dobbs leaves them untouched. “I emphasize what the Court today states: Overruling Roe does not mean the overruling of those precedents, and does not threaten or cast doubt on those precedents,” Kavanaugh wrote.

Maybe a smart person can explain to me why Mr. Kavanaugh should be taken at his word?

April 11, 2022

An interesting article from John Pavlovits

A Funeral for My Christianity

I’ve been saying something like this for several years now, often to be met with fury by those who identify as Christians. In essence the current state is similar to the situation following the conference of Nicaea, what had been Christian is now heresy, and those of you who have considered yourselves Christian and liberal are now cast out. The Emperor Donald has declared the new orthodoxy, and “You ain’t it.”

I’m not going to discuss actual doctrine, or “the real Christ/Jesus,” because in the common parlance those finer points don’t signify. The media, center, right and far right universally use Christian as code for white nationalist. Even if that wasn’t the intent that is what it has become.

I’m sorry folks but you’re not Christian anymore. The question is no longer, “They can’t define themselves as the one true Christians,” because they didn’t the rest of society did it with them. The question is can we truly have a separation of church and state when one party is the Christian party in a Christian nation, and if we do should those of us who are “non-believers” be forced to subsidize our own subjugation.

April 8, 2022

Got in my 100k ride for April yesterday.

Freak good weather in Puget Sound area yesterday, but I put it to full advantage.

Great day, but a couple road closures made things slower and stranger.

Two Lakes Loop RUSA #3502