Monthly Archives: June 2013

Chaos in the US Congress

Posted on June 6, 2013 by | 1 comment

the US Congress 2013

The neighbor up the hill tells me the US Congress is in a state of chaos.  Says they want to impeach the mirror-image of themselves currently occupying the White House.  Says the IRS is corrupt, which no doubt it is, and no doubt comes as no surprise to anyone with the intelligence of a duckbill platypus.

Says one of the part-time paramours of former US President Bill Clinton, his wife, I think, is dancing a jig to keep from having to testify to some Congressional committee where she’d have to lie more to keep from going to jail.

Says some other high official or other took the 5th to keep from having to go to jail.  Says the US Attorney General is charged with contempt of C0ngress.

Well, what the hell?  What is there in any of this to raise any eyebrows?  And what’s the thing with having a contempt for Congress being a crime?  How could a person with any sense NOT have contempt for Congress?

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Posted in Government, Politics

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How’d we get here from there? Was it Chopstickson?

Posted on June 6, 2013 by | 3 comments

Chopstixon2

If you are like me you probably sometimes wonder how we got where we are today.  All of us so petty, venal, unimaginative, lazy, shallow, wasteful, ethnocentric, egocentric, polarized, gullible, compromised.  How did we get here, I asks myself and the cats.

Who was responsible?  Was it Chopstickson?

No, I sagely answers myself.  It wasn’t.  Chopstickson was just one of our elected leaders.  The reason he was elected was that he was a mirror-image of the majority of US citizens.  He was what we were and we were him.  And Chopstickson was a lowlife scum.

Same as LBJ when he went for re-election when his term ended after having JFK shot.  Same as JFK and his brothers were.  Ad infinitum with all of them except Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, since then.

The reason elected chief executives and other elected politicians are scum is that the electorate elects itself into office to run this country, and the electorate is all the things we’ve come to be.  All we have ever been.

As with all peasants, serfs, slaves, we love aristocrats and elect them, their families, their progeny to office to do what we’d like to do if we were aristocrats.  Namely get richer.  With representative democracy the main difference is we elect the ones most like ourselves.

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Posted in Government, History, Politics

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A couple of clarifications

Posted on June 6, 2013 by | 12 comments

running for president2

When I posted somewhere a while back that [paraphrasing myself] “This president is just a Multi-National Bank CEO with a full body tattoo and heavy investments in the weaponry and chemical/pharmaceutical industries,” I didn’t intend to imply the full bod tattoo thing was a recipe for success for other, future politicians. 

I wasn’t spamming for the suntan machine industry, as some of you apparently thought I was doing.  I was just offering up my own unique view of the politics in this great land and the opinion that some things work better than other things when it comes to politics.  Having a few million invested in the right industries or being willing to sell your soul to have those investments is a sure road to success. 

If a person with a heavy suntan or full body tattoo wasn’t willing to sell his soul I doubt the pigment would help him much.

I hope that clears things up.

 

12 Comments

Posted in America, Government, Politics

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From Jeanne: It’s a blog!

Posted on June 5, 2013 by | 7 comments

Img_8684Jeanne Kasten Studio

Thanks to everyone who has shown interest in my drawings. I will continue to update the categories that I’ve started, and anticipate posting there about once a week. Your comments are welcome!

 

 

7 Comments

Posted in Adventure

The Lost Adams Diggings Revisited

Posted on June 5, 2013 by | 4 comments

Lost Adams Diggings Number 2297

I probably shouldn’t be telling you this because some of you might still think I have good sense.  But I’m going to anyway because I’m the kind of guy who doesn’t care whether you do or not.

What you are seeing in that Google map is the Lost Adams Diggings.  The line wandering along the lower right corner is the continental divide.  The areas with snow on the surface are shaded part of the day so’s not to have melted yet, the dark areas are lower, now in shadow.  The tiny short lines all over the place are deadfall left by a forest fire that swept the area in the 1990s.

Elevation’s around 9000 feet, the trails are all blocked with deadfall from the fire, but even back in the day the area never saw much human traffic.  It’s one of the more remote, tougher places to get to in the continental US.

Which is the reason those three dark lines you see running diagonally in the upper center have no business whatever being there.  Those are artifacts of human activity.  Those, and the lower left-of-center dark spot resembling an arrow.  The dark lines at the top, unless I miss my guess as I’ve done frequently before, are what is known in legend as ‘The Zig Zag Trail”.

A person wanting a closer look would have to go in on foot, crawling over deadfall.  Or a person 70 years old would probably have to have a donkey or pack goat or three.

I decided over the years this is the place after I’d already published the Lost Adams Diggings book because of various pieces of information acquired after the book was published. 

Soooooo.

I just happened to notice on Coleen’s Workers on Wheels Newsletter:

NM: Seasonal Camp Hosting and Mini Storage
by Mountain Spirits RV Park – Mimbres, New Mexico 88049
(Work Camping with Stipend in the Historic Mimbres Valley)

Mountain Spirits RV Park in Mimbres, New Mexico, needs camp host couples for the 2013/14 season. Our campground consists of 20 RV sites and 52 self storage units.

The park is located 25 miles east of Silver City, New Mexico, at an elevation of 5800 feet. We are in the historic Mimbres Valley, which is the gateway to the Gila Wilderness.

Couples share duties for this position. They include cleaning and maintaining a neat appearance of the office and two modern restrooms, waiting on customers and residents during 8-5 business hours, and checking in guests. Yard work includes weeding and watering of landscaping and yard areas.

Couples will work the same three days and same shift.

We offer a 30amp space, free WiFi, and $100.00 a month credit towards electric and propane use. We also offer a $100.00 cash stipend per month to help with expenses.

We would appreciate at least a three month commitment, if possible.

The nearest shopping is in Silver City.

Cell phone coverage is either Verizon or TracPhone.

If interested in camp hosting with us, please call 575-574-7000 or email coveroadnm@yahoo.com. Be sure to let us know that you saw our Help Wanted ad on Coleen’s Workers On Wheels website when you contact us about this campground job. Bill and Wanda, Managers. Mountain Spirits RV Park – Mimbres, New Mexico 88049. Posted June 2013.

Any of you who think you might be interested in being the other half of a couple to apply for that, I’d be obliged if you contact me.  josephusminimus@hotmail.com and we can discuss it.  I’d hope if you’re the other half of a couple with me you’ll look after my cats on my days off while I go trekking up into the high canyons.

4 Comments

Posted in Adventure, History, New Mexico, Prospecting

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Mongolian Yahooan Wildfire Treasures

Posted on June 5, 2013 by | 5 comments

Okala

Now that Yahoo’s decided to protect us by making us agree to let them read, store, and use all of our emails any way they want to there’s not much point going over there.  Except to find out whether the sky’s going to drop some moisture.  But when a person finishes looking at drawings of clouds on maps it’s difficult not to peek at what’s going on in Mongolia, or Bongobongoland.

For what it’s worth, things appear to be okay in Mongolia.

But there’s a huge fire or two raging in upstate New Mexico.  As nearly as I can figure the Jemez Mountains might be getting another round of flames.  They mentioned Valle Caldera and some ancient sites threatened, which might mean it’s threatening the western end of Frijole Canyon upstream from Bandera National Somethingorother. 

That old guy in Santa Fe, wossname, Fenn, who hid a box worth some money if he’s to be believed, probably has those mountains crawling with people who believe him.  From Santa Fe north to Alaska.  The ones who know it’s in Colorado and New Mexico should be able to accidently start a few fires for their troubles.

If I find the time I might swing up that way and pluck the box right out from under them just to keep the townies out of the mountains for their own good.  I was going to have Jeanne’s kids swing by where it’s hidden and snag it when they go that way this summer, but it’s looking as though they mightn’t make the trip.

I can’t swear to it, but I’m fearful I’ve drifted a bit from my original intent with this post, whatever that might have been.

5 Comments

Posted in Adventure, Human Behavior, Los Alamos, Native American, Native Americans, New Mexico, NM, Outdoors

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Fire ants and fawns

Posted on June 5, 2013 by | 7 comments

concrete illusions

A few years ago while Jeanne was visiting me here a fawn was born under the cabin porch.  She made a fun video of it and posted it somewhere, here, or on Facebook.

During the years since the deer have usually dropped a fawn or two somewhere within sight of the cabin.  This year, though, there have been three within 30-40 yards.  Maybe they feel safe because I’m not at war with them over chicken feed the way I was previous years.  We’ve settled down to mostly ignoring one another with them going after apple cores I throw out, or one will occasionally come onto the porch to make a try for the cat food.

But the last doe to drop a fawn left it out in the meadow for a while and I noticed it lying out there.  I wasn’t much concerned because a doe will do that, fawn stays until she returns, nobody any worse for the wear.  But after a couple or three hours it was still there, so I walked out for a look.

Fawn was covered with fire ants.  I stood a while deciding whether to try to brush them off but it’s a tough call.  The fawn might run away where the doe couldn’t find it, or the smell of a human might keep the doe from recognizing the fawn when she returned.

But I’ve seen fire ants kill a fawn in similar situations, completely disappear it in 24 hours, not even leaving any hair, teeth or eyeballs.

I finally just decided to let it be and hope the doe would come back to lick off the ants.

Anyone thinks Mama Nature ain’t a cruel lady hasn’t been around her much.

 

7 Comments

Posted in America, Animals, Solitude, Survival, Wildlife

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The joys of patriotism

Posted on June 4, 2013 by | 11 comments

hero patriot2

Being the staunch patriot that I am, I love seeing those pictures of some brave good American boy marine, or seabee, or special forces hero crawl out of a hideyhole and blow the head off some anonymous coward on a cliff half-mile away.

I love it when some good brave American hero technician punches a button in Kabul to launch a drone and blows the arms and legs off a village full of anonymous people all the way over in Pakistan who should have been more careful where they lived.

I love it that good American hero soldier boys can hide inside a tank that a nuclear weapon couldn’t penetrate and blow up anything that offends their sensibilities in some godforsaken country where the people don’t value human life the way we do.

We’re paying a million, or a billion dollars a day into keeping our good brave troops over there all over places nobody ever heard of for reasons nobody can fathom.  But at least we’re getting something worthwhile for our money.  We can look at those pictures of bodies falling off cliffs and blood and guts of kids, women and even the occasional man, and know our heroes are defending our country and our freedom.

 

11 Comments

Posted in America, Military

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Positive and Upbeat

Posted on June 4, 2013 by | 7 comments

Oil reserves

Eagle Ford Shale Formation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Ford_Formation

We all need to stay positive and upbeat.  With the discovery of the Eagle Ford Shale Formation oil reserves the US now his more oil reserves than the rest of the world combined.

Now’s the time to nationalize US oil reserves and production, sell gasoline to US drivers for 25 cents a gallon, and make a deal with the other oil producing countries of the world.  Run the price of oil up to $1000 per barrel and bleed them dry.  Squeeze every country that doesn’t have any oil until they are walking or riding bicycles, heating their bath water on wood fires, plowing their fields behind mules and oxen.

We’ve been patient with the rest of the world up until now, and look at the good it’s done.  Do they love us?  No.  They don’t even agree with us on a lot of things.

But now we can set them straight, finally. Put those Japanese back up to their knees in the rice paddies where they belong.  Sell toasters and rubber monster toys to the Chinese if they can find any money to buy them.

We can bring back the good old days of everyone having a good job without anyone having to go to work.  Hire Mexicans to do it all.

Thumb our noses at Arab Sheiks and Shaws who used to have more oil than us.

Positive and upbeat with good old American know-how to keep the home fires burning.

7 Comments

Posted in Government, Human Behavior

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Learning handy skills while defending the US

Posted on June 4, 2013 by | 11 comments

1stcav2

When I joined the US Army in 1961 it had a lot of attractions for a young man of 17.  First off, it didn’t involve going to work in a moly mine in Questa, New Mexico.  Secondly, it was the Berlin Crisis of 1961 and I naturally hoped I’d get an opportunity to kill me some young Russians to defend this country.  Thirdly, the recruiter promised they’d teach me some skills I’d find useful in civilian life.

Eventually I learned that moly mine mightn’t have been a bad idea.  Never got to kill me any Russians, neither.  Never defended this country worth nuthun.  And thirdly, the only skill I learned that might have helped me as a civilian was how to kill a man by hitting him in the face with an entrenching tool.  A lot of years have passed since then, but I’m still hoping to put that entrenching tool thing to use.

Fact is, that like the US troops who served in WWI, the Spanish American War, the Mexican War, and all the US Army who fought the Apache, the Comanche, the Cheyenne along with dozens of other tribes, we were not ‘defending’ this country.  Until WWII a person would have to go back to the Civil War and include the soldiers fighting for the Confederacy to locate someone defending his country.

Well, I suppose you could say the Mexican soldiers who fought against the US in the Mexican War were defending their country.  And the Apache was defending his, and so on.

But those serving in the US Army were doing something else, entirely.

Care to guess what it was?

11 Comments

Posted in 1940's, 1950's, 1960's, America, History, Human Behavior, Military, Native American, Native Americans

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