Oh No, Not Another Blog Post

Recently I fell into a slump. I'm not sure what happened. I didn't exercise enough, writing became a chore, life was odd. I don't really know why. Sure, I hurt my knee, technically, my knee hurt itself, the doctor said it was tendinitis, I think he just didn't want to say "you're getting old and you weigh too much."

Also, I have spent way too much time reading about the current administration, and the "reality television" approach to diplomacy. Honestly, I worry that we are only a few foolish miscalculations from the war to end all wars, the war to end all humanity. And, if anybody is liable to make a foolish miscalculation and stumble into a nuclear exchange Trump seems as likely as any, ever. I watched the way he acted with our "allies" and our "enemies" and it made me recoil in horror. Here is a man with the theatrical sense of a professional wrestler in charge of the nuclear weapons.

I'm not really sure how much control the president has over targeting decisions, very little, I hope, it is not too difficult to imagine our president wanting to bring "fire and fury" down upon Canada for their aggressive trade imbalance. After all, between my wife and I we have had at least three cars, American cars, mind you, Chevy, Chrysler, those kind of things, that were assembled in Canada. That takes a lot of damned gall. Further, on Sunday, my wife and I stopped at Tim Horton's (a notoriously Canadian company) and had breakfast, I feel like such a traitor.

Plus, one of the guys I work with quit and moved down south to start a small, organic farm, one of those field to table kind of things, and the decision was made not to replace him. Which does lead to additional work for those of us who didn't quit, the survivors. I don't blame the quitter, not too much anyway.

Here I am toiling away.

Truth be told, I have quit a lot of jobs, (I was an awful job hopper) and I would have probably quit this job a long time ago if my wife hadn't threaten to kill me in my sleep if she missed another vacation. Now, I am so old and feeble (see paragraph 1) that I am probably lucky to have a job at all. So, we are stuck with each other, me and the company for whom I work, until that golden age when my wife can retire with her civil servant pension and I become a kept man. What a lucky girl.

So, life has been hectic, and I am pretty sure the current administration is going to drive us over the edge in a foolish, suicidal act of ignorant nationalism (see WWII for example), but until then you are not going to get rid of me that easily. Yes, that's right, declining health, extra work, toil, labor and paranoia will not deter me, it will take the destruction of mankind to stop me from having my say.

Rampaging Chickens.

According to a report in Sioux Falls Argus Leader, "Residents will need a license to own more than six chickens in the city limit."  This article was directly above the help wanted ad for "Municipal Chicken Counters, no experience necessary."

It may be a reform that is long past due.  Perhaps the city of Sioux Falls is about to be buried alive under domestic chickens.  There are so many good reasons for this sort of legislation.

Often, though, these laws, good intentioned though they may be, have unforeseen consequences.  What is going to happen to the 7th and 8th chickens in the yard of the Smiths on 9th street?  Here is a picture taken outside of a convenience store.  Clearly, this is not what the cautious and careful members of the Sioux Falls City Council had in mind while considering this law. 


But, the chicken is out of the bag now, and a terrified nation can only hope that it gets straightened out before tourist season is completely ruined.

Please, elected officials, legislate with care, the trusting citizens of this nation depend on your Solomon like wisdom.

Another Budget Saving Idea

On the radio this morning they said the White House is going to give operational and tactical control of the drone program to the military. It makes sense for the Executive Branch of the Federal Government to distance itself from the day to day running of such a time consuming division of the United States Military Conglomerate (suggested motto, "Look At Our Stuff, It Is So Cool").

In light of the current budget impasse and the inability of the elected officials to agree on anything that might offer any kind of solution, at all, it might make more sense to allow a commercial enterprise take over.

They could sell the rights to drone strikes to the highest bidder, "Pizza Hut, the home of the $10.00 pizza deal, and a proud sponsor of predator drone stikes in the mountains of Afghanistan, north of Charikar, and south of Fayzabad." They could even name food items after key components of the weapon systems. "Don't forget to order your Spicy Hot Hellfire Wings, to go with your pizza today."

It has worked so well for the NCAA Bowl system, and trust me college football programs know a little about budget excess, why not let the Feds get a piece of the pie, or pizza, as the case may be.