"If you can't dazzle 'em with your brilliance, baffle 'em with your bullshit!" W.C.Fields 

 Seems t'be a credo for Barack Hussein Obama who, often touted as 'brilliant' demonstrated in the first debate that he was more clever (not a compliment) than brilliant.

And now, it appears that he probably cheated in the following debates by wearing a wireless hearing device.  

I'm ready to believe that he's a cheater because he demonstrates all the characteristics of a street hustler, an actor with his practiced smile and gestures, reciting his memorized lines, a puppet, if you will, dancing on the strings of an invisible puppeteer!  

It could be George Soros pulling Obama's strings…I don't know but a lot of people do believe it.  Could be true.  What I do know, however, is  that without a teleprompter, Obama couldn't hold a candle to Romney in their first debate and in their second and third  debate, Obama's words came not with his usual smooth delivery but in bits 'n pieces with pauses between phrases as though he were collecting his thoughts (or listening to instructions). 

And in other venues, where he's spoken without benefit of 'the teleprompter', he's been darn near as inarticulate as Caroline Kennedy, stumbling 'n stuttering 'n repeating himself.  

Without benefit of the teleprompter, he sounds very much like a junior college professor pontificating in front of an inattentive class. 

He lies with all the aplomb of an actor also, as if nobody was actually listening and keeping a record of what he says.  He is a monumental, self-serving egregious liar with a me-first attitude and the voters don't seem to care.  It is truly amazing.  

Romney is a truthful man, bound by the tenets of his religion to speak truthfully and Obama is a noted and conspicuous liar, yet Obama calls Romney a liar and the voters believe Obama. Incredible!

But the voters have spoken.  The results are clear and specific.  And so it ends.  This dream.  This grand experiment.  This land of the free…Two hundred and thirty-six years from birth to death.  

This land of the Pilgrim's pride wasn't brought down by a foreign power nor from barbarians hammering at the gate.  Rather, it was destroyed from within.  By Americans!

Whether you believe the hypothesis about the takers versus makers or not, it is the American electorate that dictates the course of the country and they have charted, what for many of us, seems to be a perilous journey away from the ideas so carefully crafted and fostered by our founders…

"You c'n fool some of the people all of the time,

'n all of the people some of the time, 

but you can't fool all of the people all of the time."  A. Lincoln

  "It's a poor sort of mem'ry that only works backwards."  Lewis Carroll   

'Way back in my long ago time, I use'ta wander the hills 'n the riverbank a lot…I wuzn't alone, of course, all my friends did pretty much the same thing…there wudn't any tee-vee back then…we had radio but it wudn't anything at all like radio t'day…

back then, radio had soap operas during most of the daytime…I imagine they might have had some news breaks but kids didn't pay any attention to that stuff…that hasn't really changed all that much, I guess…in the evenings, they had mysteries 'n music 'n game shows…

Anyway, we didn't have video games…..Heck!  we barely had comic books 'n they only cost about a dime back then…'course, you needed to have a dime to buy one 'n dimes were scarce 'n hard to come by…

I don't really think we missed out on anything…the kids t'day don't seem t'be having any more fun than we did…what they may have gained in material things, they don't come anywhere near having the kind of freedom that kids had back in 'the good ole daze'…..

We c'd leave the house in the morning, wander the hills 'n the riverbank all day long just as long as we got home for supper…

T'days kids don't have supper….if they have a family meal in the evening, it's called dinner 'n that's if they have a family meal at all…mostly, t'days kids seem to eat on a catch as catch can basis….pizza, sandwiches, microwave whatevers eaten standing up or watching teevee….I'm not saying that what we had back then wuz somehow better….y'know, times change 'n there ain't a thing you c'n do about it 'cept go with the flow….

"I can't go back to yesterday ~ because I was a different person then."  Lewis Carroll

I may be a flip-flopper but I'm old 'n don't care.....

"It is by the goodness of God that in our country, we have those three unspeakably precious things; freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, 'n the prudence never to practice any of 'em."  Mark Twain

Growing up, I considered myself to be a Democrat. The first time I voted was for Adlai Stevenson against Dwight Eisenhower. Eisenhower was a big hero of WWII.   There were only 48 states back then and 'I like Ike' was extremely popular, even among Democrats. Adlai was photographed with a big hole in the sole of his shoe, I suppose to make him more identifiable with us common folk.  I voted for him 'cuz I was a Democrat but Eisenhower won in a landslide.

The next Presidential election was 1960 and I voted for JFK.  Contrary to what a lot of people might believe today, it was a close election.  JFK joked about his father buying the election for him but didn't want to buy any more votes than was absolutely necessary.

A close re-reading of history might show there was a lot of truth in that joke.

I remained a Democrat, however, until the election of 2000, when I felt that I couldn't with any conscience, continue to support the Democrat Party and changed my registration to Republican.  

I would have registered as a Libertarian but wanted to continue to vote in the primaries here in California.

I am still a registered Republican, but with strong Libertarian leanings and, in normal times, cast my vote for the person that I feel is best suited for the job regardless of party affiliation.

But these don't seem t'be normal times and the Democrat Party has become so corrupt, at least in my eyes, that I find myself unable to cast a vote for anyone who identifies as a Democrat.

There may not be such a thing as 'normal' times but I've been around a very long time now and I've never seen such blatant division in the populace of this country.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (also known as the USSR or Soviet Union for short) consisted of Russia and surrounding countries that today make up Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

The USSR was founded in 1922, five years after the Russian Revolution overthrew the monarchy of the czar, and was dissolved in late 1991.

The Commonwealth of Independent States was a somewhat unsuccessful effort by Russia to keep the USSR together in an economic alliance.

Of the fifteen constituent republics of the USSR, three of these countries declared and were granted independence a few months preceding the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The remaining twelve did not become independent until the USSR fell completely on December 26, 1991.

I see the European Union coming apart at the seams, with Belgium, Italy and Spain on the verge of breaking up into smaller countries much as the Soviet Union and I must confess that I fear a re-play of 1860 in the United States.

I've had many people tell me that such a thing could not happen here, not in this day and age but I'm reminded of that old aphorism that 'the only constant is change.'

"It ain't best that we should all think alike; it's the difference of opinion that makes horse races."  Mark Twain

"Twinkle, twinkle, little bat, how I wonder where you're at……"  L. Carroll

Belfry….a bell tower or steeple housing bells…

bats in the (or one's) belfry…from the olde French meaning just what you think it means…'cept, of course, I don't have a belfry…nor any tower atall…..I got an upstairs, more or less, sort of a converted attic really….three rooms 'n a bath (unfinished bath at that)….and evidently, a house guest of sorts….a squirrel(s) is my eddicated guess, who sounds as tho' he (or she, or they) may be remodeling….

Mostly, I tend to take a live 'n let live attitude to all God's critters…not a Buddhist, mind you, altho' I think that's a fairly noble attitude for them to take….s'long as it's them that's taking it, it's okay with me…if you recall, earlier this year I had a minor bone of contention with some pesky yellowjackets…I had left them alone until they got it in their minds that I wuz the trespasser 'n they attacked 'n stung me several times at which point, I took umbrage 'n proceeded to dispossess them….

Now, I don't spend a lot of time upstairs ( hardly ever) 'n pretty much adopted the live 'n let live attitude to my uninvited house guests but I'm a quiet man, a peaceful man….I enjoy the peace 'n quiet of my easy chair after a day spent pursuing the various 'n sundry things that come up in the course of the day 'n whatever the remodeling project that my guests were pursuing quickly became a source of exasperation necessitating drastic action involving poisonous pellets 'n peanut butter….

"Sentence first, verdict afterwards!"  L. Carroll

Ol Scudder Moon......

I think President Obama cud testify that "it ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble, it's what you know for sure that just ain't so." stolen from Mark Twain

There's a big ol Scudder moon t'nite….when I wuz a boy, at this time of year, there'd be bonfires on the ridgetops….not all of 'em, mind you, but from the ridge overlooking Beattyville, you could look out 'n see 'em scattered thru the hills…..well Heck, it wuz that time of year…y'know what I'm talking about…Hallowe'en with all the ghosts 'n goblins, the kind of chilly nights that saw the Banshee's fly 'n bonfires wuz a  necessary thing…'n a comforting thing too….'n you knew without ever chasing back thru the hills that wherever there wuz a bonfire, there wuz celebrants….

Times have changed, of course, as they are wont t'do….(I'm minded of that old aphorism that, 'the only thing constant is change')….nowadaze people celebrate Hallowe'en with lawn decorations 'n spooky parties…seems like ever'where you look, there's a Pumpkin Patch or a corn maze 'n Trick or Treating, that's a really big deal t'day…it's organized!  Modern people love to organize….they'll gather and/or march (or protest) for durn near anything…stores sell bags 'n bags of candies, mostly small candy bars that are made 'specially for trick or treating…when I wuz a boy, only the little kids went trick or treating 'n they only went to a few homes where more'n likely, they got a piece of home-made candy or fruit 'n not much of that…t'daze kids carry pillowcases 'n if they don't fill 'em up, they're disappointed…

The bigger kids went out but didn't ask for treats…they were out for…'n let's be kind 'n call it mischief….'n of course, for the even bigger kidz, it wuz just a time for boys 'n girls t'get together 'n hang out at night….anyway, it wuz a more innocent time altogether….

Usually, there'd be a Hallowe'en Dance at the high school where everyone showed up for various games 'n such….I doubt that there's many people that actually remember 'bobbing for apples' but that wuz a Hallowe'en staple…

T'day, mainly because of political correctness run amok, schools (if they celebrate it at all) call it a 'Harvest Dance' 'n carefully edit out any religious aspect….I got to say that I think that most people are genuinely tired of PC..it's a bore 'n only really boring people are really concerned with being politically correct anymore…..

"All generalizations are false, including this one."  Mark Twain

Let rainy day dogs lie….

Sumtimes, a dogs life ain't so bad…

Still, they have a lot to put up with dealing with us unpredictable human type mammals…I b'leeve they ain't all that given to deep thoughts but given the somewhat quizzical looks they send my way ever' now 'n then, my guess 'ud be that they're just trying figure out what in the H E double L our human is doing now….

"He generally gave himself good advice tho' he very seldom followed it."  L. Carroll

"Water, taken in moderation, can't hurt anyone." Mark Twain

"George Washington, as a boy, wuz ignorant of the commonest accomplishments of youth.  He cudn't even tell a lie."  Mark Twain

Woke at 4:30 in the a.m. t'the sound of the never-ending rain…it ain't really never-ending, of course but come December when the rain stops 'n the fog rolls in, it'll have felt like it…

Over the long, hot, dry summer, L'il Willie must'a forgot all about rain as he seemed positively puzzled by it this morning…he stood on the porch for a long time, looked at me 'n shook his head before proceeding (gingerly…almost never get a chance to use that word in that context) off the porch…'course, once he found out that the raindrops bark wuz worse than their bite, he promptly forgot about the whole thing 'n proceeded as tho' the sun wuz still shining here in Ol Fair Oaks….

Rain or shine, we still gotta go for 'The Stroll'….Willie went gamboling (a word you don't often hear) happily thru the puddles, while the older, wiser Poodle-Dogger looked before he leaped, stepping somewhat daintily around the pools…at first, anyway, but when we discovered that roosters tend to congregate in dry doorways, the natural desire to chase chickens became far too strong to resist, sort of Damn the puddles, full speed ahead…I c'd almost hear 'The games afoot' as they charged into the first group of feral fowl….

Great fun!  And irresistible as we discovered more birds huddled in more doorways…

But when we got home 'n they both looked like castoff ragamuffins 'n I had to sit on the porch 'n towel both of 'em into a reasonable dryness before Millyrose 'ud let us back in the house….ahhh well, fun is where you find it…..

"Soap 'n education ain't as sudden as a massacre, but more deadly in the long run."  Mark Twain