Vespro, City, Urban Development, Compost and Raised Garden Bed

There was a restraint on my part, or so it seemed as we  settled in at table. We ordered two glasses of wine.

As we sipped, I said what will we talk about? Existentialism? But we both agreed we didn’t know what the word meant or how many bakers there are in a dozen. So I said: ” well, the U.S. , as usual, has the wrong end of the stick.” I was referring to Egypt. ” All on Twitter.”

My colleague is an ardent even chauvinistic Brit, and of course, this got his goat because the British drew up that crazy map in the Middle East, and frankly he is going to pay for my services dearly because he thinks because ,as a newly minted American, he can play both sides of the street just because he wears that big belt buckle with a long horned steer.

He said: “that’s because you don’t  understand geopolitics.”

As a veteran of these many lunches, I hung my head and allowed this was so. But then perked up.  “The U.S. is an aging athlete that peaked with Roger Banister.”

But in the shower the next day, I pondered the policy and realized perhaps this is not a geopolitical question at all,  but , roughly, a problem of atomic physics or what is known as the loss of an unstable  carbon isotope.

But don’t get me started on that.Сайт знакомств

For what its worth, Vespro root barriers, raised beds and composters are manufactured by us in the San Francisco Bay Area from certified all American recycled plastic garbage! It is a matter of pride to us if not profit, that a product which could be made at the drop of a hat in China is still manufactured here and even more strangely, on occasion, exported   –    to China. Go figure.Знакомства

Apparently, the only reason that the ex VeeP has delayed for so long in having a heart replacement has been the lengthy audition process.  Candidate hearts must be small, cold and completely loyal to the cause.  Any sign of compassion, empathy or sympathy would lead to instant rejection.  We understand that several hearts have been harvested and are being kept beating at a  secure underground location where they are bombarded with sob stories and sad scenarios by a top secret Halliburton psychological operations unit.  We are informed that the VP pokes and prods each one daily to test for hardness. According to sources, a final decision will not be taken until the chosen heart is strong enough to withstand a complete Sara Palin speech without missing a beat. Could be a while yet.

Living deep in the back country, off the grid, we would occasionally hear neighbors say – “Obama better not come for my guns”.  We would say, “Where on earth do you get the idea that he might?” If one thing has been made clear in the past couple of years, surely it is that even sensible gun regulation has been taken ‘off the table’.

Meanwhile gunslinger talk and metaphor has infused political and pundit speak. Eight years of a ‘windshield cowboy’ president and ever loosening ownership and carry laws have transported the nation back into the mind set of the mid 1800′s.  Our shoot first international policies and bizarre belief that a well armed populace is somehow safer from: – what? (The British?the UN?) keeps us from crossing that promised bridge to a more civilized 21st century which looked so close in 1999.

Don’t get me wrong,  I’m not gun shy. On a ranch or in the backwoods, a gun is a tool, an entertainment, even something of a comfort. It has no place however in the hand of an untrained citizen on a city street, in a bar or public meeting place.  Even in the wild days of the 60′s and 70′s in the Philippines, when every one seemed to be ‘packing’, they at least had the sense to demand that guns be surrendered before you entered a bar or club (or airplane!).

In the recent tragedy in Arizona, matters were nearly made a whole lot worse when a pistol packing bystander who happened by, was on the verge of drawing on the person who had disarmed the gunman and was holding the empty weapon. A weapon by the way, with a 31 shot magazine! What legitimate civilian use is there for such firepower? Nature, for all its rawness in tooth and claw will not attack you 31 strong. The only group who might do that is the ATF and you must know that would not end well!

So please – by all means keep it clean, keep it safe, but don’t take your gun to town.

No new legislation without a corresponding cut in existing services to pay for it. No tax increases. All proposed legislation available for debate and amendment.  Certainly sounds like a plan, not a very flexible or thoughtful plan, but a plan.

Let’s check day one:  Extend tax cuts – no corresponding savings!

Repeal health care overhaul: – No amendments allowed! loss of predicted savings attributable to the overhaul? no corresponding cuts!

The rationale? the government accounting office which calculated the savings is entitled to their ‘opinion’, we don’t agree, therefore their calculations are wrong.  Isn’t this an echo of  “we don’t agree with climate scientists”, therefore they are wrong and “we don’t agree with evolution science” therefore that is wrong. It is the same as Bill O’Reilly saying “the tides go in and out every day”, I don’t know why, therefore there is God.

The fundamentalist has no need of accountants, science or  indeed logic. ‘Evidence’ has no more force than ‘opinion’ and we are in the hands of the fundamentalists. I say to the rest of the world – Please don’t laugh at us, this is really really scary!

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When is that guy going to emerge from that cylinder or the composter.  Either get in or get out. Or boil the guy. We hope someone  says grace.