June 22, 2019

Yesteryear
One year ago today: June 22, 2018, more hotdog news.
Five years ago today: June 22, 2014, struck by lightning.
Nine years ago today: June 22, 2010, 3.6 million “resisters”.
Random years ago today: June 22, 2009, messing with CE burners.

           Here’s the exhibit we quickly dubbed “the marble”. It’s a war veteran memorial and depicts many of the world’s obscure locations that became vital to American interests. Virtually overnight, the way some pesky islands are wont to do. It appears to be floating on a base of water, turning slowly. There is no apparent mechanism causing the turn and the direction can be slowly changed by pressing against the surface. This is located next door to the museum. It’s part of a much larger plaza containing historical descriptions arranged in a timeline.

           Most of the exhibit is based on the military, but the timeline includes a lot of events surrounding politics, invention, and discovery. This contributes to the feeling that America had it all until 1963. That was the turning point our fall. Something changed in America that year that turned us from the right path of democracy. The tendency was there before, but it was 1963 when a minority began to exert enough pressure to change the system and the age of the career politician began. Prior to that, our presidents had been farmers, soldiers, and others who had contributed to the American system in real terms. And they were ashamed when they made mistakes.

           It’s not lost to voters that the party in power is against term limits and the other party if for them. That’s a strong argument to get rid of the two party system. One way would be to ensure no single party could occupy more than, say, 40% of any political body, but I haven’t thought that one through. At the last moment, Trump delayed the start of the deportations, which the liberal left claim as a victory. It isn’t. But I wonder what the true motive is. I wonder if it was the possibility of armed resistance. It’s one risk the media are not even mentioning. Nor have they said a word about facial recognition.
           That is a hot topic all over the western world. Automatic Facial Reccognition is the turning of cameras on crowds in public spaces, defending the practice by claiming they are after people who are dangerous or have outstanding warrants. While that sounds noble, the product is used quite differently, and it is only a matter of time until it is intentionally turned on the public at large. For the usual reasons, the courts see AFR as different that fingerprinting and DNA, which generally require the subjects consent. While I believe facial recognition has its uses, I absolutely do not believe any police force or the state are trustworthy custodians of that kind of power. They simply cannot be trusted with it.

           I’ve decided to leave tomorrow, [therefore] wait for an interruptionin blogging. With the potental of this new group, I’ll be back soon enough. I’m now in almost daily communication with their attorney/manager, I’d say expect something at least from that direction. Here’s a museum shot of yet another guitar played by Elvis. That’s a bit of a misnomer since he played guitar about as much as I do. Oops, that was a repeat, so here’s a different picture instead. If it’s still a repeat, tough luck. This is a blog, not an encyclopedia. Although the difference is sometimes vague.
          

As for us, we’ve been playing old tunes we had from years ago, top of that list is always Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots”. There is a impetus toward playing at least one full set so we can do what we yooster. You know how the odd itinerant singer can stand in for a few tunes? We are able to take over a 45-minute set, giving the other band a chance for a decent break. When you do it for a living, it counts to know somebody like us. It also means learning some of the newer music she likes, which is always welcome for me. I would not touch most of it otherwise.

           We had planned on going to the Shoreline (a local Karaoke) but by the time we got the pets fed and the cats rounded up, well. Plus, the way things are arranged, I can’t pack up and leave in an hour. Pets, these in particular, are not carefree and this trip I had to leave my favorite fleece blanket behind. Nobody could decide if it was the blanket or my “essence”. Since I wash it in detergent, I say it is the fleece. Further evidence provided because the cats like it, too.

ADDENDUM
           Today 78 years ago, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. We are taught this was an unprovoked attacked designed to exterminate the Slavs as a stepping stone to world conquest. Nope, the most ambitious German plan was to stop at the Ural Mountains, the natural boundary between Europe and Asia. It should not be forgotten that Russia had invaded a ring of “satellite countries” around its border with Western Europe which the history books of today called self-protections, but to Europe, including Germany, it looked like the first step of an armed takeover by communist Russia.
           Nor should it be forgotten than Russia had long since made known its intention to spread communism by force, and had fomented rebellion and riots in German streets until Hitler was elected to put a stop to it. The violence associated with political meetings was often in response to communist agitators who infiltrated the crowds. We are taught Hitler invaded Russia, but not that immense Russian armies were poised ready to strike with more tanks and aircraft than the rest of the world combined the moment Stalin determined the west was fatally weakened. The huge Red Army losses of the early Barbarossa campaign took place in Poland, the Baltic States, Moldavia, and the Ukraine, not in Russia.

           Yet, the version taught to schoolchildren all across the western world is the one that must be parroted to pass the exams. You might be interested to know that the version of the war taught in our schools contains the only portion of world history that has ever been enforced by law, but I’ll let you look that one up on your own. Hint, even down to modern times, people have been extradited and imprisoned for merely questioning the validity of the “official” accounts.
           For the record, you might want to learn how it is that both Stalin and Hitler lived in Vienna at the same time before the first war. For that matter, so did Trotsky and Freud, again same time. Downtown Vienna is not that big and I have little doubt they all passed each other on the sidewalks. That’s were the hotels were. But Hitler was born nearby—what were the Russians doing there? I know, but I don’t want to be seen as questioning any validities, you understand.

Last Laugh