Pride precedes perdition and persists in ruins. Jet set accuses bike get for being reactionary because they’d rather let nature reset as they propel fuel free. It’s just the opposite: Cycling should be seen as progressive compared to motoring, more like space age titanium nanotech versus steel stinkers stuck in traffic and waiting weeks for service. Adding electrical motors onto human powered carbon frames, now down to less than one pound, seems planet’s peak of technological advancement for getting around. If not for supply chain woes, reluctance to use public transportation during latest pandemic would have resulted in biggest bike boom ever, even among those who’d consider cycling too scary or strenuous.
Global disruption due to major conflict, resource depletion, or system collapse would grind auto drivers and petroleum burners to a halt, whereas, with diversified existing bike building enterprise, lucky cities wouldn’t revert to stone age. Unlike motorists, all bicyclists need to keep moving are bowls of grain, decent gear, empty streets, local bike shops, and single track paths through forests.
Decent people don’t endanger public, don’t seek fame, fortune or retribution, don’t swindle people using despicable ruses; they’re satisfied to feed family by serving society without undue stress; they forget that criminals, monsters and traitors threaten their existence unless they arrest, indict, prosecute, and send them to prisons. However, human nature abhors cloud server vacuums and races to fill with trivialities, while offenders who complain continually they are being persecuted get a pass on their criminalities. Only debate over The Big Lie is troll bait that tests your patience and wastes your time. Beware of those who’d reinterpret not only archeological artifacts but even recent events to grasp at evidence that vainly promises to overturn consensus and purge guilt.
Americans are too tolerant of executive licenses, greedy crimes, and gun violence, yet intolerant of personal preferences, sanctioned freedoms, and sensible disagreements assured by laws. This grants licenses to outrageous ambition. Saying forgiveness starts with self is self serving crap for sociopaths, who don’t deserve decency, kindness or understanding. Doing the right thing means never having to say you’re sorry, puts you in a position to forgive; otherwise, your passive response is tacit support. Kindness is not for combatants, criminals, or corrupt officials in positions of power to be bestowed only to those who can be trusted.
To paraphrase late culture vulture Frank Zappa, “What’s the ugliest part of your body” of laws? It’s that they’re “badly written, randomly enforced,” and somehow conveniently exempt seditionists and terrorists, suspiciously suggesting high level conspiracies. Stock Act, already passed to limit advantage congressmen have to profit off insider trading, has no teeth and impedes no lawmaker laughing as they pad war chests and personally profit. Nobody indicts officeholders, Proud Boys, or public enemies. Loud Minority spreads their pathetic Let’s Go Brandon, Make America Great Again, and similar empty slogans for slowwitted suckers. Fact checking showed that Dolt 45 signed two hundred legislative bills (among least in nation’s history), but only one of any consequence, a backbreaking tax break for billionaires, while writing nearly as many executive orders to bypass representative legislation that interfered with his own authoritarian agenda. Since defeat, his obsequious praise of Putin can only be explained by his hope to flee to Moscow once charges are filed.
Felonies for which DJT, with no executive privilege or exempt status, could be charged include:
Aiding enemy nations
Committing perjury
Conspiring crimes with those convicted
Defaulting on hundreds of millions in loans
Defrauding citizens and government
Destroying evidence and official documents
Evading taxes
Extorting individuals and officials
Inciting riots and sedition
Laundering money
Obstructing due process
Racketeering
Receiving stolen merchandise
Running a phony charity
Seizing illegally
Selling pardons
Selling state secrets
Stealing public heirlooms
Suborning espionage
Taking bribes
Tampering with voting
Violating multiple oaths of office
Selling pardons
Selling state secrets
Stealing public heirlooms
Suborning espionage
Taking bribes
Tampering with voting
Violating multiple oaths of office
Witness tampering
If convicted, any would carry a remaining life sentence; given mid-70’s shape he’s in, he won’t age 20 more years. Collective concurrent minimums would ensure it; some carry a maximum death penalty. Plea bargain to implicate colluding senators might mitigate sentence. Bad taste acts like arranging illegal immigrations, charging security details a half a billion in fees at his own resorts, lying to public which resulted in massive pandemic deaths, sacrificing lives for political power, urging fraudulent and illegal acts to start WWIII, and waging the greatest misinformation campaign in history against Americans would be harder to prosecute amidst such a systematic war against autonomy and democracy. Rule of law supposedly protects against attempts at tyrany. So why does DOJ drag its feet before prosecuting?
The silver lining, if you’re unrepentantly positive, is that such threats underscore needs for being duly diligent and proactive, recognizing enemies despite deception, and staying strong in every way: armed, determined, physical, skilled, and wise. Solutions to problems never entail destroying sustaining systems, since worse problems result.
Making sure neocons aren’t allowed to stay in office after midterm elections ought to be among your New Year’s resolutions. Lifestyle columnist Jen Murphy (Wall Street Journal, Jan. 1, 2022) wants you to invest in your workout to help you stick to a routine, “Investing in pricey gear, like new running shoes or a tricked out road bike, can also be an incentive.” Yeah? Clever but not wise, no bonfires or milkshakes for Brigid on Imbolc, by Groundhog Day resolutions have been forgotten. No need to stimulate sales during history’s best economy. Have seen many bikes gather dust and rust, because owners just couldn’t trust easy exercise, good sense, and mood boost from this legitimate alternative, though snow covered potholes inspire no wanderlust. Plus finding what best suits you can be both bewildering and costly. [More on this next time.]
Costs are up for all sorts of consumer items, particularly food and gas. Not many consumers connect price uptick with labor shortages and pandemic deaths of an irreplaceable million fellow countrymen. Despite viral furloughs and vital statistics, by February of 2022 nation’s workforce had grown from 160 million to a record 164 million, but many who worked menial jobs refused to resume at minimum wages that hadn’t risen in decades. Amidst a national crisis, heartless tycoons cried bitterly they couldn’t maximize personal gain, while paying far less than their fair share of taxes, if at all. Real inflation would have resulted in increased deposit and mortgage interest. Instead of conserving resources and tightening belts, people amuse themselves by wantonly burning fuel to escape cabin fever and winter blahs. Satré said, “If you are lonely when you are alone, you’re in bad company,” With a countless blogs, books and digital content readily available, are you ever alone except by choice?
Although many stayed home, traffic accidents and fatalities have risen from a 30 year low in 2009, The Year of The Bicycle, to a 50 year high in 2021. Analysts suggest that coronavirus stress and personal distance led to social disengagement with increasing disrespect for life. Concurrently, car crashes, opioid addiction, suicides, and violent crimes have all increased by 10% or more. Collectively, these causes killed as many as coronavirus over same period.
God laughs when smart alecks set themselves up as judges over society, it’s said. But decline of democracy worldwide, naked aggression and national threats from communist countries, and new invasions into sovereign lands by fascist despots tilt toward apocalypse, unless cooler heads and conscientious diplomacy prevail, but when has that ever happened? Clock is ticking down last few seconds to midnight, while movies reflect cusp of despair.
American Babylon (Robert Stone, dir., 2000) documents a month in the life of Vice Squad officer Jeff Fauntleroy, who raised himself out of Atlantic City’s devil's dungeon by becoming a cop, patrolling Monopoly streets, and studying human dereliction in the shadow of temples to greed and sin, while ghetto dwellers circle on bicycles in every other scene. Decades before Trump divested himself of casinos in this city, citizens picketed against his cruel practices, as depicted above. It's little wonder he lost New Jersey in both elections.
Cold Moon (Griff Furst, dir., 2016) casts a pall over a small town when Margaret Larkin (Sara Catherine Bellamy) goes missing. A search finds her murdered and thrown into a nearby creek tied to her own bicycle. Meanwhile, killer in their midst, greedy banker named Nathan Redfield (Josh Stewart), picks off entire family in his quest to take over their oil rich property, only to get his supernatural comeuppance in penultimate scene. Horror genre could be considered light amusement compared to news heard daily.
Book of Love (Bill Purple, dir., 2017) has blithe bicyclist Penelope (Jessica Biel) urging her staid architect husband Henry (Jason Sudekis) to, “Be Bold.” She also makes him promise to help cycling teen Millie (Maisie Williams), an abandoned waif rummaging through neighborhood’s garbage for wood. Lives intersect after Penelope crashes her car; last person she sees before she dies is Millie. Henry honors his promise by hesitantly helping reluctant Millie, who only wants to build a raft to cross Atlantic Ocean to the Azores and escape her abusive uncle and find her father. Convinced all is lost anyway, Henry joins her impossible quest.
Syfy comedy series Resident Alien (Season 2, Episode 1. Robert Duncan McNeill, dir. 2022) shows alien whose name is unpronounceable (Alan Tudyk) posing as Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle, who he killed and stole from an identity as town's medical examiner. When Harry arrives at his lakeside cabin, he’s greeted by a BMX and a helmet, which he respectively tosses and punts. He’s angry with biking teen and mayor’s son Max Hawthorne (Judah Prehn), who messed up his escape by causing him to crash his spaceship. In next scene D’Arcy Bloom (Alice Wetterlund) comes by riding “The Beast”, a garishly bedecked tandem bike, tempting Asta Twelvetrees (Sara Tomko) to take a spin with her to the lake. Like Max, Asta can see Harry in his alien form. Asta is a Ute first nation direct descendent, so isn’t fooled by Harry’s shapeshifting. Harry grows fond of her, though his mission on Earth is to arrange for a mass extermination of all of humans... before residents do it to themselves through climate mismanagement and internecine conflict.
Doom and gloom accompany all mortal lives, but heroes destroy them and enjoy journey. Majority knows only radical losers don’t want systems that sustain to succeed, and realizes history records countless catastrophes mankind has survived with humor. Defusing psychopaths is democracy’s principal duty.
If convicted, any would carry a remaining life sentence; given mid-70’s shape he’s in, he won’t age 20 more years. Collective concurrent minimums would ensure it; some carry a maximum death penalty. Plea bargain to implicate colluding senators might mitigate sentence. Bad taste acts like arranging illegal immigrations, charging security details a half a billion in fees at his own resorts, lying to public which resulted in massive pandemic deaths, sacrificing lives for political power, urging fraudulent and illegal acts to start WWIII, and waging the greatest misinformation campaign in history against Americans would be harder to prosecute amidst such a systematic war against autonomy and democracy. Rule of law supposedly protects against attempts at tyrany. So why does DOJ drag its feet before prosecuting?
The silver lining, if you’re unrepentantly positive, is that such threats underscore needs for being duly diligent and proactive, recognizing enemies despite deception, and staying strong in every way: armed, determined, physical, skilled, and wise. Solutions to problems never entail destroying sustaining systems, since worse problems result.
Making sure neocons aren’t allowed to stay in office after midterm elections ought to be among your New Year’s resolutions. Lifestyle columnist Jen Murphy (Wall Street Journal, Jan. 1, 2022) wants you to invest in your workout to help you stick to a routine, “Investing in pricey gear, like new running shoes or a tricked out road bike, can also be an incentive.” Yeah? Clever but not wise, no bonfires or milkshakes for Brigid on Imbolc, by Groundhog Day resolutions have been forgotten. No need to stimulate sales during history’s best economy. Have seen many bikes gather dust and rust, because owners just couldn’t trust easy exercise, good sense, and mood boost from this legitimate alternative, though snow covered potholes inspire no wanderlust. Plus finding what best suits you can be both bewildering and costly. [More on this next time.]
Costs are up for all sorts of consumer items, particularly food and gas. Not many consumers connect price uptick with labor shortages and pandemic deaths of an irreplaceable million fellow countrymen. Despite viral furloughs and vital statistics, by February of 2022 nation’s workforce had grown from 160 million to a record 164 million, but many who worked menial jobs refused to resume at minimum wages that hadn’t risen in decades. Amidst a national crisis, heartless tycoons cried bitterly they couldn’t maximize personal gain, while paying far less than their fair share of taxes, if at all. Real inflation would have resulted in increased deposit and mortgage interest. Instead of conserving resources and tightening belts, people amuse themselves by wantonly burning fuel to escape cabin fever and winter blahs. Satré said, “If you are lonely when you are alone, you’re in bad company,” With a countless blogs, books and digital content readily available, are you ever alone except by choice?
Although many stayed home, traffic accidents and fatalities have risen from a 30 year low in 2009, The Year of The Bicycle, to a 50 year high in 2021. Analysts suggest that coronavirus stress and personal distance led to social disengagement with increasing disrespect for life. Concurrently, car crashes, opioid addiction, suicides, and violent crimes have all increased by 10% or more. Collectively, these causes killed as many as coronavirus over same period.
God laughs when smart alecks set themselves up as judges over society, it’s said. But decline of democracy worldwide, naked aggression and national threats from communist countries, and new invasions into sovereign lands by fascist despots tilt toward apocalypse, unless cooler heads and conscientious diplomacy prevail, but when has that ever happened? Clock is ticking down last few seconds to midnight, while movies reflect cusp of despair.
Doom and gloom accompany all mortal lives, but heroes destroy them and enjoy journey. Majority knows only radical losers don’t want systems that sustain to succeed, and realizes history records countless catastrophes mankind has survived with humor. Defusing psychopaths is democracy’s principal duty.
