Saturday Emmylou Blogging

Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt

Thank you, GainControlAgain.

A grunt's-eye view of Afghanistan

Let's just say these Jarheads don't work for the State Dept. Heh. They make an interesting discovery at about 4:50.

Did I act like this in my day? You betcha! Some things never change...

Note: these guys talk like grunts. May not be work safe depending on where you work. OK for automotive and motorcycle shops.

Thanks, passivemode. I think.

Smoke This Recession

Mark Morford with today's 'must read'.

Translation: Money's tight, baby. City's in trouble. State's deep in the hole. Nation's broke.

Solution? Upend the system. Think differently. Get creative. Demolish Ye Olde Ways. And maybe get a really nice buzz on while you're at it.

Really now, could there be a better time to decriminalize/fully legalize pot? Or, more fully, to decriminalize pot, and then spread respectable pot shops and vending machines and dispensaries far and wide, instill quality control and decent oversight and then tax the living hell out of the glorious, stress-reducing goodness, as we stop wasting billions fighting its grand ubiquity and instead sink into profitable pools of warm, hazy progress? Don't you already know the answer?

It's difficult to imagine that some intrepid legislator hasn't already walked into Arnie "Pot is not a drug" Schwarzenegger's office and said, "Governator, now is the time. Light it up. Inhale the new reality. Pot is, by a huge margin, the single largest cash crop in the state unless you count porn stars and celebrity rehab. It rakes in upwards of $14 billion a year -- maybe a lot more than that -- and that's just from five clever hippies and a couple intrepid grandmas in Ukiah. Imagine what we could do if we went all-in."

Please, please, please read the rest!

Cheney and the Goat Devil

MoDo

I was dubious about Will Ferrell doing his Bush impersonation one more time on Broadway.

As we lurch through the disasters bequeathed by W. — the economy tanking, 17,000 more troops going to Afghanistan, Chrysler pleading for a total of $9 billion — would audiences still laugh at Ferrell’s lovable fool of a president?

I was wrong. The audience for the Sunday matinee of “You’re Welcome America. A Final Night with George W Bush” howled in delight.

In the show, the former president dismisses waterboarding as a spa treatment at Bliss, and reveals that he did walk in on Cheney once in the basement of the White House locked in the amorous arms of a giant goat devil in a room full of pentagrams.

“He looked at me with solid silver glowing orb-like eyes, and his breath had a strong ammonia scent to it,” Ferrell’s W. said. “And he told me in a language that I knew in my heart hadn’t been spoken in a thousand years ‘Pariff Go Lanerff!’ And I just ran.”

In my opinion, there is nothing even remotely likable or sympathetic about that son of a bitch Bush. If he had stood on his own two feet like a man just for a few minutes, all the destruction we are suffering today could have been avoided. But nooooo...that would be too much like work, and would not have benefited the neocons and his family's friends.

I'm glad Ferrell's show is going over well. I don't have much use for him either.

I hope Bush ends up as sloppy seconds for Cheney's goat devil.

Our Afghan War for Pipeline & Poppy Fields

This may be tinfoil hat shit. Then again, it may not. Whatever, it bears bringing up once in a while.

Professor Smartass, links to all his important points.

"There is only one thing in this world, and that is to keep acquiring money and more money, power and more power. All the rest is meaningless."

Napoleon Bonaparte

Instead, it is more likely we are in Afghanistan because someone thinks they can make a lot of money there, from the Trans Afghanistan Pipeline and so Wall Street can continue to collect the income from the Heroin poppies, just as the British did when they tried to force Afghan opium on the Chinese way back in the Opium War, and just as Bush was trying to force oil laws favorable to oil companies on Iraq, so they could collect up to 88% of the income from Iraq's tens of trillion of dollars worth of oil.

Energy companies courted the Taliban for a pipeline from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan to take natural gas to India ended shortly before 9/11. In 2006, India was concerned about continuing the project until America gave assurances that we would protect the pipeline.

Plenty more.

I never put anything past capitalists and their politicians. Particularly the Bush family & friends.

Just when you think things can't get any more batshit crazy...

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Update:

Uzbeks allow transit to Afghanistan

And by the way ...

29 years ago today, I raised my right hand and swore to "defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic."

Off to work ...

North Dakota ...

Can we sell it to Canada? Would they want it?

MonKKKey 'toon

Go see how the cartoon should have looked.

And this.

Thought of the day

Since last Friday, I have cleared my driveway of snow 6 days in a row. I am thinking of marrying my goddam driveway so I won't have to blow it anymore.

Also, everybody, and especially you mechanics, should go see Badtux's Bad Joke. Heh.

Suicide Is Painless

The Political Carnival on RNC Chairman Steele. References also to the M*A*S*H theme song. Heh.

If going beyond cutting-edge means political suicide, he's dead-on (no puns intended).

“We missed the mark in the past, which is why we are in the crapper now,” he said.

Who could resist a charm offensive like that?

Note to Chairman Steele: Save us all a lot of time and trouble, willya Tom? Spare us the bullshit and just reach up and flush the damn thing and get it over with.

The cartoon ...

You all know which one. All I'll say is they can make up any excuse they want, but I grew up in a time where black folks were regularly referred to as monkeys. This* sends only one message, the obvious one. No excuses will suffice.

*And no, I'm not posting, nor linking to, the damn thing. It's easy enough to find it on your own if you want.

Hey ...

We already had an actor in the White House.

But ...

America is a conservative nation! Waaahhhhhhh!!!!

Seems like the maiden voyage of Titanic was an unqualified success compared to the Republicans lately. Heh ...

Thanks to Athenae for the link.

I knew it was a mistake ...

To go down the road of giving the automakers money:

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp said on Tuesday it could need a total of up to $30 billion in U.S. government aid -- more than doubling its original aid -- and would run out of cash as soon as March without new federal funding.

The request for additional aid from the top U.S. automaker came in a restructuring plan GM submitted to U.S. officials on Tuesday.

...

That's just GM. How much is Chrysler gonna ask for? This is what I wrote last October:

...

Didn't we just hand the U.S. majors $25 bln last month [August 2008 - F.] so they "could modernize in order to be competitive"? Fuck them. Sorry you decent, hard working folks who work for GM, I feel for you, but enough is enough. GM and the other major U.S. auto houses have made one bad business decision after another since 1978 and I'm tired of bailing them out.

...

And what will Ford want down the line?

I'm sorry, but if they want more, the CEOs and boards of directors should resign. I don't give a fuck who runs 'em but the current crop of idiots have to go. A case can be made for bailing out the banks, but I draw the line at pouring money into a car company that builds crap (and has been for a long time) and whose management is so myopic that the Future comes up and bites them in the ass on a regular basis. It just ain't worth it.

Fuck them.

Great thanks to Oliver Willis for the link.

Harley-Davidson Tries to Rejuvenate Its Business

Good article in Time about how Harley-Davidson is trying to attract younger riders to boost flagging sales due to the economy.

Yer intrepid reporter on the H-D 'Splinter' board tracker

It's been a grueling few weeks for American companies, but particularly so for Harley-Davidson, purveyor of bikes that easily top $30,000. Last month, the company reported that its fourth-quarter global sales fell 13.1%. Last year, its profit sank nearly 30%. And it's been a wipeout for investors: Harley-Davidson's stock price has plunged nearly 70%, to $11.96 a share in mid-February, from $37.34 a share one year ago. Americans haven't lost reverence for Harley-Davidson. But a key problem is that people are simply less willing to spend money on luxury items: Overall motorbike sales fell 7.2% last year, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council, an Irvine, Calif., trade group. (See pictures of the world's most expensive motorcycles.)

I have never thought of motorcycles as a 'luxury item', but then I've been a dyed-in-the-wool motorcyclist for over fifty years. Bikes are as necessary to my well-being as air. I own two Harley-Davidsons, the oldest is 77 years old, the newest, 26 years old. I would sell these first if I had to.

[...] But by the 1970s, motorcycling had become a marginalized sport. Its renaissance came in the late-1980s, driven largely by Baby Boomers' new affluence. Between 1992 and 2007, new bike sales soared from 278,000 to 1.1 million annually. Harley-Davidson rode much of that wave, chiefly with touring bikes like the brawny Ultra Classic Electra Glide (starting price: $35,499, with a "110" Screamin' Eagle Engine, and a 6-speed transmission). Its patrons grew older and wealthier, but its efforts to cultivate a large base of female and younger riders have been marginally successful.

Just as an aside, 'Screamin' Eagle' is Harley-Davidson's own line of Taiwan aftermarket performance parts. I call 'em 'Death From Above' parts because "Screaming Eagles" is the nickname of the 101st Airborne Division, whom the Vietnamese called 'rooster men' because they had never seen a bald eagle like the one on the shoulder patch. Heh. Fits the newer Harley-Davidson riders to a T.

"Marginally successful." Here's why: These sleds are too expensive for young folks with no houses to re-fi, and they're stodgy, even Sportsters, which were stone powerhouses when they were introduced fifty-two years ago. The kids want things unavailable from Harley-Davidson, such things as speed, razor-edge handling, space-age looks, and a price tag they can live with. 'Twas ever thus. Most old folks ride slow and want to look sharp and get an ego boost. Kids wanta slick their hair back and gas it! Generally speaking, the bikes from Japan do the trick.

Here's H-D's sales pitch:

"About six bucks a day. Cheaper than your smokes, a six pack, a lap dance, a bar tab, another tattoo, a parking ticket..."

So much for 'you meet the nicest people on a ...'! Back to the old tried and true! Do we still have enough juvenile delinquents to make a viable customer base? Heh.

I think the big appeal of Harley-Davidsons is their retro looks and outlaw image, all Made In America. Step right up and buy an outfit and you can be an instant old-fashioned outlaw patriot too. Visa, MasterCard, and cash-out re-fis accepted.

Don't get me wrong - a lot of older riders want a good turn of speed and handling. They have more money than the kids and turn to some truly fabulous bikes produced in Italy, Austria, Germany, and England. I'm sure that some younger riders are attracted to these as well, and probably go amazingly into hock to have one. As the old saying goes, "If ya keep spendin' money on food, clothes, and other non-essentials, ya ain't never gonna have a new bike."

I know enough about motorcycles that I'm not dazzled by them any more. Yes, of course there are machines I lust after, but to want a $10 or $20,000+ bike enough to actually buy one is probably not in the cards unless I hit the Lotto. Then, I'll need a bigger garage.

I wish Harley-Davidson well, but I'm not doing them much good. I don't give a shit what folks think I look like as I pass them on my bike, and I'm happier'n a pig in shit on my old-fashioned slow $3500 Made In India Royal Enfield, thank you very much.

Also see the evolution of Harley-Davidson in pictures.

The Alternate Brain crew prepares to go to D.C. and clean things up

Halfway there, we discover some weed, whites, wine, and chicks. The mission evolves...

Dear California ...

Answer me this. What was the point of recalling Gray Davis? Just asking.

Regards,

Fixer

You own it now ...

Ever since we've been pretty sure Barry would be our President, Gordon and I have been warning about getting too deeply involved in Afghanistan. And I hate to speak for my friend but I'm pretty sure, like me, he wants us out of there instead. Digby has a thoughtful post up today going over many of the arguments we've made over the past few months.

...

I hear a lot of people talking about how more troops are necessary because, until now, airstrikes have papered over the lack of boots on the ground and led to an uncomfortable increase in the civilian death toll, which is unsustainable. The first response to this is that 17,000 extra troops and personnel in a country the size of Texas isn't likely to change that, especially when the airstrike targets are often in inaccessible areas. The second is to look back at recent history. We "surged" in Iraq with an increase in forces and airstrikes surged, mainly to protect the new influx of boots on the ground, which American policymakers see as more precious resources than Afghans or Iraqis. It is not consistent to suggest that more troops=less airstrikes. That never happens. Escalation is escalation. [my em]

...

Though she left out an important one. The ability to resupply. You cannot keep up the tempo of operations if your troops ain't fed and they got no bullets or gasoline. It hasn't been a story here, but on CNN International (I wish we could get it in the States) I learned the Kyrgyzstan government is throwing us out of the base we have there. So now we're in negotiations with the Russians to use bases in Russia to stage in and out of. To an old Cold Warrior, this strikes me as unwise. Maybe I'm biased but experience tells me not to trust them with something this vital. At the least, they'll try to shake us down for every ruble they can. Why are we fretting about the Kyrgyz and Russian bases? Because our main supply line, through Pakistan, is vulnerable to attack and disruption.

So now we're putting more troops into a place where our supply line is tenuous. On one end, it's susceptible to destruction, on the other, we'll be wasting more money than we have to (for security and bribes), a lot more. Mr. Obama, take it from a couple old enlisted guys who've been around and who've learned the lessons of history. To quote Digby again, Aghanistan is:

... The Graveyard Of Empires

Once this new round of troops sets foot in the Hindu Kush, you own this war, Mr. Obama. Regardless of the neglect and contempt George Bush showed for it, anything that goes wrong over there now will be hung around your neck. I'm glad you're lowering expectations but you still own every casualty, every civilian and combat death from here on out. You'll be thinking about that as we make our exit in a similar fashion to the Soviets and the British.

Tuesday traveling music blogging ...

I've been everywhere:

My laptop. Click to make really big.

Johnny Cash - I've Been Everywhere

What, no Jesus?

Heh ... I love the French:

PARIS, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Authorities in France say a civil union designed a decade ago for gay couples has become increasingly popular with heterosexual couples.

Heterosexual men and women see the Civil Solidarity Pact as halfway between living together and marriage, The Washington Post (NYSE:WPO) reported Saturday.

...

Hey, some people don't want god in their lives. When the Mrs. and I got married, a rabbi officiated though it wasn't a sanctioned Hebrew ceremony because of ... well ... heh ... me. We had the rabbi for my mother-in-law's benefit. Next year, we'll be married 20 years and it's gonna be a shindig with us retaking our vows before the Master of an ocean liner at sea. Nobody's god is getting an invitation.

Great thanks to Shakes for the link.