December 18, 2022

100k Winter Solstice Ride today.

Temp 33 and felt like 28 (if you were standing still)and snow, snow mixed with rain for most of the ride. One of those, "been there done that bought the T-shirt rides."

And I was slow 4:30 moving time, 5:15 clock time (it's an official event).

Nice ride though. 2022 Winter Solstice Populaire.

December 4, 2022

Elon Musk vs. Bond villains.

My son and I were talking about Elon yesterday and realized that he's not even a very good villain. Most Bond villains had a plan and that plan almost worked, with Musk it's hard if not impossible to tell if there's a plan. Sure he's got the money and if he bought a boiler suit and got a cat he'd be able to pull of the look, but Blofeld was clearly a better strategist. It's like he's trying to play the minion and the mastermind at the same time and can't manage either one.

July 1, 2022

More of that history rhyming stuff.

I read this article about Trump leading the invasion of the Capital. What I was struck by was an episode at the beginning of the English Civil War were Charles I enters parliament with the intent of arresting MPs who are getting on his nerves. The actual objects of his wrath got news of the invasion and left, forcing Charles to observe "The birds have flown."

What struck me was that in both cases it's a current leader of the government deciding that violating the traditions of the government is somehow their right. To be fair to Charles, England wasn't the constitutional monarchy it would become and he was definitely a divine right king kind of person so he at least had that on his side. It still led to a civil war where people including Charles wound up dead.

Breaking with our peaceful change of government, or the traditions of governance no matter how regressive those traditions may be should not be taken lightly. We've had 6 years of "conservatives" throwing our traditions out because they didn't get their way, or they wanted to insert their own justices into the Supreme Court. I'm nervous about Democrats and liberals following suit, we've already had 6 years of chaos, how do we undo the damage caused by the GOP without further increasing the instability.

I don't have an answer, but maybe we take a play from Trumps play book and go for a Mulligan. Pretend his presidency didn't happen, remove Gorsuch, Kav, and Coney Baret because they were appointed by a non-traditional president and in violation of longstanding Senate traditions. Conservatives like to talk about that traditions and history, but only when it works to their advantage.

June 24, 2022

So Bret presented this chestnut.

Kavanaugh highlights Loving and other important substantive due process in assuring the public that today’s majority decision in Dobbs leaves them untouched. “I emphasize what the Court today states: Overruling Roe does not mean the overruling of those precedents, and does not threaten or cast doubt on those precedents,” Kavanaugh wrote.

Maybe a smart person can explain to me why Mr. Kavanaugh should be taken at his word?

April 11, 2022

An interesting article from John Pavlovits

A Funeral for My Christianity

I’ve been saying something like this for several years now, often to be met with fury by those who identify as Christians. In essence the current state is similar to the situation following the conference of Nicaea, what had been Christian is now heresy, and those of you who have considered yourselves Christian and liberal are now cast out. The Emperor Donald has declared the new orthodoxy, and “You ain’t it.”

I’m not going to discuss actual doctrine, or “the real Christ/Jesus,” because in the common parlance those finer points don’t signify. The media, center, right and far right universally use Christian as code for white nationalist. Even if that wasn’t the intent that is what it has become.

I’m sorry folks but you’re not Christian anymore. The question is no longer, “They can’t define themselves as the one true Christians,” because they didn’t the rest of society did it with them. The question is can we truly have a separation of church and state when one party is the Christian party in a Christian nation, and if we do should those of us who are “non-believers” be forced to subsidize our own subjugation.

April 8, 2022

Got in my 100k ride for April yesterday.

Freak good weather in Puget Sound area yesterday, but I put it to full advantage.

Great day, but a couple road closures made things slower and stranger.

Two Lakes Loop RUSA #3502

August 30, 2021

Anyone else doing the Zwift Academy?

Just interested. Did the Baseline (Group C) this AM. Not totally thrilled with my results, but not unhappy either.

February 27, 2021

We've been applying a model based on evidence, cause and effect.

We've scoffed at the denigration of the reality based community, but Carl Rove was correct. That's not the way a huge slice of the American populace works or think anymore. They didn't think the FBI would find them because in their universe the election was stolen, there was massive fraud and once they broke into the Capitol and "Stopped the steal(TM)" the FBI would be rounding us up.

Their worldview is consistent and closed, how long you can go denying facts is a good question. The moment is pretty scary because the ones who are getting dragged in are saying "we were mislead, etc." I think the judges are correct in denying bail. It is harsh, but as long as they can "get away with it" the more their worldview is reinforced. Simultaneously, members of a pluralistic democracy look at that and say, "but we're suppressing their rights." That may be true, but their rhetoric has consistently said they'll do more than suppress our rights if allowed to.

We say this is a cult, and it's true, but when a cult has this many members and is this keen on using violence to get their own way, society has to decide if it wants to protect itself or allow the cult to replace it. Rightwing rhetoric is so happy to talk about sharia law replacing our laws, but as with many of their bugbears it's a projection of what they'd do if they could.

January 20, 2021

Great piece by Josh Marshall

Where do we go from here.

I'm reminded that we need to be resilient, the Winston Churchill reference is telling in my opinion.

This is not the end, or the beginning of the end, but it is perhaps the end of the beginning.

November 10, 2020

Why we are asked to understand our opponents.

This will be TLDNR, so just ignore me now.

We are asked to show consideration and understanding of our opponents when we win because those are our ideals. Honesty, integrity, fair play things that every liberal and Democrat will say we should be doing. We are asked to live up to our ideals.

When our opponents win they aren't asked to live up to our ideals, nor are they asked to live up to their ideals. This is because their ideals are best kept in plain brown wrappers. Not something to be proud of.

The right can be counted on to live their ideals when they win, and we've seen those ideals in action for the last 4 years. I too am offended by the blatant double standard but I think we need to accept that it is the way it is. The party of "Personal Responsibility" has never been about responsibility but punishment of the other. The party of "Christian Values" has always been the party of Ken Copeland and Jerry Falwell Jr.

It's hard to live up to your ideals after abuse, but that is when you have to struggle to do so. It's hard, but we have to see it for what it is, an acknowledgement that the GOP is at this point utterly devoid of basic human decency. If we desire a return to "normal," it will be on our shoulders because the current GOP can't, even if they wanted to.