The Coyote Chronicles

Hopelessly behind schedule out here on the farm, thanks, in part, to this ridiculous weather pattern. That said, I feel compelled to chime in on a few totally random issues:

A handful of local bloggers expressed their shock and revulsion to the practice of drugging immigrant detainees prior to removing them from this country. This is the kind of thing that happens when too many voices remain still while xenophobes and Nativists repeatedly portrayed these people as “less than” us. There will be more horrors, there will be more indifference.

It appears Christian from NiT compiled a list of divisive phrases that a couple of local bloggers employed while voicing support for their candidates. I’ll be honest, I stopped reading Egalia long ago. I’ve met her, and found her to be smart and confident, but I feel that her approach to this process has been myopic at best, and downright dangerous at its worst. There is no other other word I can use to describe her relentless attempts to paint Obama as a wife-beater except shrill. Christian’s decision to shine a light on her blog was spot on.

Not so much with Braisted.

One of the things I like about Sean is that he has well thought-out opinions on all forms of politics, local, State-wide, and National. Yes, he really dislikes Clinton, and, like Egalia, I feel that he set himself up to be marginalized had his candidate not won. (or, soon will win) But the level vitriol isn’t close to the same. Personally, I wouldn’t use some of the language he uses to describe a fellow Democrat, (especially one as committed and hard-working as Hillary) but thats his call. At the risk of sounding condescending…he is young.

I read this when I got up this morning. I ain’t buyin. Even if it is entirely accurate, I don’t care. My bitch with the the Big Three is that instead of embracing the idea that a few skinny years following a massive re-tool would be followed by a unique position in the market, they instead opted to buy our elected leaders so that they could push their products on a gullible American public. They have been aware of this change in the market for at least a decade, and probably longer. By now, they could be producing a car that meets today’s needs, without the insane practice of rebates and corporate underwritten financial bribes. (zero percent interest! Buy our trucks!)

Nicely timed, Mr. Edwards. Can you get Mrs. Edwards on board?

Just as I was getting on a roll, my partner in this project has just walked through the door, and he is ready to get to work…so, more later. Enjoy your day.

Oh! I forgot. Heartbreak Town, you are turning into one of my favorite bloggers. Really. And I don’t even care much for Country music.

Man. It truly seems like a week ago I was lamenting here about the annual T.A.P. Conference, which Aunt B and i attended together. Turns out, its been a year, and Nell and her crew are fixin to do it all again. I was very happy to see her come on the thread and offer a rebuttal in the comments. I was a bit harsh, and she made some great points. Still, i wish they would “discover” how effective an active blog could be for their organization. That said, I have always thought the idea of a mass meeting of Progressives, Liberals and assorted Lefties was a good one. Perhaps now more than ever it is crucial for like minded people and organizations to network.

For those of us concerned about the steady erosion of our rights as citizens, and, equally important, the outright denial of basic human rights to people around the planet, the next several months are of critical importance. There is much at stake in the next election. The people who attend the T.A.P. Conference year in and year out are committed, engaged, and knowledgeable.

The Tennessee Alliance For Progress always offers a stellar keynote speaker, and i have seen more than a few outstanding documentaries in years past.

One of the concerns i have about the immediate future of volunteer organizations is, from reports i get from friends, contributions are down. Way down. This makes sense to me, after all, people in almost every tax bracket are stretched pretty thin Even large corporate donors are cutting back in this economy. Ok, so, (here comes my call for collectivism again) shouldn’t these organizations be looking for ways to share ideas, and talent? Maybe one has a kick ass office infrastructure, maybe another has I.T. savvy volunteers to offer. Perhaps there is some wisdom in the idea of motor pools. Shared office space. In fact, I’m pretty sure we had a workshop devoted to ideas like this 2 years back. Always ahead of our time, it seems.

Anyway, if you care about one or more issues of the day, you would be well served to attend the conference this year. If your funds are sketchy, or, you are a student, they offer scholarships to attend for little or no money. Don’t let money be an obstacle for you. Take a friend or two, and carpool.

NOTE TO STATE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES: Go there. Make your case. Meet potential volunteers or contributors. Bring buttons and bumper stickers. This is like shooting fish in a barrel. You can bet Chris Lugo will be there.

In the movie “48 hours”, a guy goes to get a car he has had garaged in a public parking lot, and when he presents his ticket, the garage employee says “This car has been here for three years!” The guy gets irritated and yells back “Yea, I’ve been BUSY.”

That makes me laugh every time I see it.

Anyway, I have been under the gun with this addition on the house, but actually got it framed up and dried in in less than three days. That, my friends, is an accomplishment, given the massive structure that it is.

Sorry I haven’t posted much, but PLEASE go take a look at what is posted over at Hispanic Nashville.

Sometimes, I’m embarrassed for this country.

This is the kind of leadership I’d like to see more of from Head Coaches at every level of this game I love so much.  Telling our young men that the ability to throw, run or tackle better than most does not preclude them from acting like good citizens.  Bravo, Coach Miles.  I’ll be rooting for LSU next year.

I believe I’ll go buy an LSU cap today.

Single most important piece of bad news I’ve read in a while.  I’m left wondering if Cerberus is looking for it’s own private army, or, if they see enormous returns ahead in the form of fat, no bid contracts.

Dear Democratic Party.  If we manage to elect a Democrat for President, and his/her first order of business isn’t putting this company out of business, you’ve lost me forever.   Period.

Yesterday, as part of a larger post, I linked here, to a story about the Ewert brothers, who converted their family’s Prius so that it gets 100 mpg, on about 35 cents worth of electricity.  This morning, they were interviewed on CNN, and the anchor asked them if they had been contacted by any major car companies.

Nope.

Then the anchor asked them “why not start your own business?”  They basically said that they did this because they didn’t like what was happening with oil throughout the world, but they hoped some larger company, with more resources, could do this on a massive scale.

It took them two years…one full year of research, then a year of installing and tweaking it until they got it right.  2 years, and roughly 3000 dollars.  100 mpg.

You cannot convince me that there is no market for these cars.  Why is it that this story is getting such little attention?  This seems to me to be a perfect opportunity for our beloved free market to do it’s thing.

I don’t even see that much buzz about this on blogs.  100 mpg.  Cut that in half, and its a god-send to millions of working families.  Not to mention the jobs!

Where the hell is the excitement?

First, I seem to have inadvertently dropped all of my google Talk fellow googlers off of my handy IGoogle widget thingie.  They are always there, these (I’m about to coin a phrase, i think) Frooglers (friends who have Igoogle) letting me know what their status is, should i feel compelled to send them a quick note.  Now, I don’t know fer sure if Ivy is still bat-shit crazy, if Rachel is “workity-workin”, (which, btw, makes her sound like that neighbor from the Simpsons) or if Ginger is, in fact, on a conference call.

I kinda miss them.

Also, thanks to whoever it was that posted how to turn off that whole “related posts” thing.

I’d like to know if anyone could beat Powers Boothe in an “over the top” contest.  Pacino doesn’t even come close.  Boothe makes Keannu Reeves look positively Burtonesque.

Who is this Miley Cyrus person all over the news?

I’m thinking about throwing some kind of bash here at the farm before it gets too hot.  Volleyball, kickball, sack races, shrimp boil, you know, fun stuff.  Anyone interested?  Should we invite Conservative people, and then pick them last when selecting teammates?  I’d like this shin-dig to be kid friendly, I mean, do you have any idea how fun it is to have kids turn around and around on a baseball bat, then try to run in a straight line?

Also, a fellow blogger is moving soon, and if a bunch of us pitch in, we can make this less stressful on his family.  I think he said he would spring for gas, food, and condoms.  I have two trucks, so I’ll need an extra driver.  Let me know.

A guy came out today to give me a bid on something, he was from the Montreal area.  Said it took him three years to get his Green Card, because of all the “9/11″ stuff.  3 years.  Let me tell you, that is lightning fast.  Had he been from Cuernavaca, it would have been closer to twenty.

I think I’ve been pretty clear about this over the years:  High gas prices are here to stay.  If you don’t know how this affects you and your family by now, I think I could make a pretty good argument for “thinning the herd.”

Some of my friends and acquaintances are complaining to me right now because they are having a tough time making ends meet.  I always feel so powerless upon hearing them, I know its hard out there, but I’m compelled to point out the fact that they don’t seem to be doing much to help themselves.

Most of these people have not curtailed their leisure driving one bit.  I know it isn’t easy relocating to be closer to work, but there are certain  logistical considerations at play when planning the rest of your life.  If you live 15 miles from work, you drive a minimum of 30 miles a day.  If your car gets 15 miles a gallon, it costs you roughly 7 dollars a day, times twenty, to just get to work.  Thats 140 bucks, minimum. ANY LEISURE DRIVING BEYOND THAT MUST BE FACTORED INTO YOUR MONTHLY BUDGET.

In addition, plan to increase your monthly budget for utilities and food by at least 20%.  Then re-figure your budget again.  Eat less, or drive less, but the increased fuel prices will force you to make that choice, among others.  We have so many tools at our disposal for keeping in touch with friends, email, video-phones, cell phones, etc, why not use these instead of the car once in awhile?

Most of use grew up during a time when Americans didn’t have to think about the cost of travel.  The rest of the world did, and they built they built passenger railroads, bus-lines, and subways.  We built suburbs, and highways.  Until we make the inevitable transition to more accessible public transportation, we must protect ourselves by planning ahead in our own lives, and adjusting our habits.

I keep hoping that these higher fuel prices will bring about some positive changes in how we live.  Perhaps neighborhoods will be rejuvenated by doing business closer to home…perhaps small mom/pop operations will flourish since traveling to big-box stores will be cost-prohibitive…perhaps theres a couple of guys tinkering in their garage, who will figure out a way tweak a car so it gets 100 mpg.

Believe me, I know that those of us with children are forced to do more driving than we like.  I’m not making judgments about the driving choices people make, I’m saying that if you don’t factor in the almost 2oo percent increase we’ve had in less than 5 years, you are sticking your head in the sand, and something will surely bite your ass.

If you own a large truck or SUV and it is your primary vehicle….unload it now.  UNLOAD IT NOW.  I’ve never seen a weirder car market than what I am seeing now.  Large vehicle’s values are plummeting.  Older, fuel efficient cars are fetching ridiculous prices, but they are still worth the money, if you can trade.  There are things you can do, even if you are carrying negative equity on your current vehicle.

Good luck.

* Someone on another blog called me Chicken Little today.  I’m cool with that.  If I’m wrong, whats the downside for me?  If I’m right…whats the downside for you?

I worked on this for three hours, finally enlisting the aid of my very own computer geeks, Peanut Fanatic and Supermousey.  They think this looks like me, only I’m way handsomer…

2000 B.C.- “Here, eat this root.”

1000AD- “Roots are heathen, here, say this prayer.”

1850A.D.-”That prayer is superstition, here, drink this potion.”

1940A.D.-”That potion is snake-oil, here, take this pill.”

1985A.D.-”That pill is ineffective, here, take this antibiotic.”

2000A.D.-”That antibiotic is not covered by your HMO, here, eat this root.”

H/T:  The Primary Wife