Aw, Adam Hill Doesn't Like Los Osos Either, Does He?

So the Shredder sticks pins in what he calls the Los Osos Sewer Nuts.  Now New Times reports that on Oct 11th, Linde Owen came to the microphone to object to "what she said was a lax county investigation into a relationship between Public Works Director Paavo Ogren and former Los Osos Community Services District director Maria Kelly" and County Supervisor Adam Hill shut her down, claimed he wouldn't allow "slanderous" statements at public comment time.  So Hill cut off Owen's microphone and whistled up the sherrif's deputy who escorted Owens from the lecturn.

The following week Linde and others came back to the microphone to condemn Hill for cutting off Owen's 3 minutes and violating various public comment statutes and etc.  Then Erick Greening, The Most Amazing Civic Minded Person In The Room, Always, stood up and, according to the New Times article, said:

"I'm a grateful user of the First Amendment.  Whenever I hear speakers that I agree with I'm grateful for the First Amendment.  When I hear speakers I disagree with I'm grateful for the First Amendment.  When I hear people presenting illuminating information I"m grateful for the First Amendment.  When I hear people presenting what I think is misinformation I'm grateful for the First Amendment.  And when I get up there and correct what I think is misinformation I'm grateful for the First Amendment.  And I hope everyone in this room always treasures the First Amedment on that basis and we all have a chance to use it."

THAT's why I call Eric The Most Amazing Civic Minded Person In The Room, Always.

Apparently, our Mr. Hill didn't make a peep and, I'm sure, didn't hear a word Eric had to say. Poor Mr. Hill.  He hasn't quite figured out that it's impossible to get the public out of public comment.  I fear he's in over his head, has risen to his level of incompetence and just hasn't mastered the art all Supervisors need to master:  The art of the Snile -- you know it well, the just-slightly insincere smile crossed with a barely perceptible sneer, a deliciously subtle fake (but deniable) smirk that communicates the following perfectly: Thank you for sharing now shut the f--k up and go away thank you.

Instead, Hill panics and turns bully-boy and that never works out well. Not with Bearish folks from Los Osos. 

Somebody Get These Guys A Calculator?  An Abacus?  Some Fingers and Toes?  

Are you still here?  The world was supposed to end yesterday.  Yep, the Oakland-based Family Radio International, the folks who brought you the Rapture last May that didn't rapt, said their 90-year-old leader, Harold Camping, was at it again.  Sez the good reverend, "Thus we can be sure that the whold world, with the exception of those who are presently saved (the elect) are under the judgment of God, and will be annihilated together with the whole physical world on Oct 21."

Well, bless Harold's little heart.  Here it is the 22nd and I'm staring at the computer screen and the dogs are snoozing on their beds and the sun is about to come upjust like it has for the past, oh, I don't know, gazillion years and will continue to do so for another gazillion.  Well, DANG! 

OH, Don't Worry, Take A Pill.  That's What We Do Here In  Toxic Nation

This from a Nation Roundup in the Trib:  "About 1 in 25 adolescents in the United States is taking an anti-depressant, according to a new government study billed as the first to offer such statistics on that age group. "  The ages studies were from 12 to 17 and was based on surveys and depression screenings of about 12,000 U.S. adolescents and adults, 2005 through 2008. 

The study also found that about 1 in 10 adults are taking antidepressants as well.

Wait, it gets better: From the L.A. Times:  A new report from the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund, a leading health policy foundation, found that "The U.S. health care system is lagging further and further behind other industrialized countries on major measures of quality, efficiency and access to care." 

Even better, is this conclusion: "Despite the problems with access and quality, the U.S. continues to spend far more than other industrialized nations on health care, with per capital spending now topping $8,000 a year, more than twice what most other industrialized countries spend."

In short, we pay more for crappier health care and have poorer health outcomes than other countries.  Someone seeing that might conclude that Americans are stupid.  In our case, it would be more accurate to say we're overweight and sick and stupid-- fools just asking to be fleeced. 

No wonder we and our children are depressed. That's what living in a sick, fleeced, toxic culture can do to you if you're dumb enough to keep clinging to the status quo. So, eat up those Big Macs and keep shoving tranqs down your kids gullets. And whatever you do, be sure to vote for politiciams who will dismantle Obamacare and Medicare/Medicade, public health programs, and will remove all government regulatons on the health care industry as a whole.  After all, the free marketplace will solve all our health care problems.  True, a reformed and improved, innovative  Medicare for All type national health care program might be able to actually deliver better health outcomes for less money to everyone in our very, very sick nation, but that would be "socialized medicine" and in Toxic America, we can't have that. 

WTF???

So, I wake up and The Mighty Finn McCool's whining.  He wants to go out to pee.  The faintest hint of light is in the eastern sky. The stars are still overhead.  Some clouds have moved in and it looks like it'll be overcast, at least part of the day. The earth still smells sweet after the rain and I can hear the soft roar of the far away surf in the morning silence.

The world, in all it's miraculous glory. . . is still here.  WTF???  According to dear Reverend Camping (who, Mother Jones Magazine reports, has amassed $75 million from his faithful followers (WHAT?? $75 million???  Clearly, I'm in the wrong business.), the world was supposed to end today.  Absolutely, positively.  Bible and The Rev Camping's numerology said so. 

Yet here it still is, world without end, amen,  in all its wonderous stubborn persistent glory.  

So, you might as well have a nice day. 

Aw, Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Aw, Decisions, Decisions, Decisions


According to Harold Camping of the Family Radio Broadcasting Network, using numerology of his own making, the Rapture will occur on Saturday May 21st (or maybe 12:01 Friday May 20th?). At that moment, the Rapture will sweep up the faithful, the rest of us will face five months of natural disasters and much suffering, then God will destroy the entire universe. Ka-Boom! Gone. Poof.

Naturally, some wags have started a website (www.http://eternal-earthbound-pets.com/ ) which, for a fee, will promise to look after your pets (no horses or camels at this point; their kenneling space is limited). And, of course, there’s sure to be a brisk sale in the bumper-sticker trade: “When the Rapture Comes, Can I Have Your Mercedes?”

I’m also facing a quandary. I took The Mighty Finn McCool back to Dr. Szabo for a follow-up chiropractic treatment for his kinked neck. Since Dr. Szabo’s going to be gone for two weeks, starting Friday the 20th, we’re going to watch Finn carefully, then if he’s doing well, schedule the next follow up as close to Friday as possible so his treatment will buy as much time as possible while she’s gone.

But, there it is: Decisions, decisions, decisions. Take Finn in on Friday and by midnight I’ll be heading up to heaven thinking, “Oh, Crap! I coulda save myself forty-smackaroonies.” Or save a few bucks on treatment and figure Finn can just look out for himself. Or call the eternal-earthbound-pets organization and send them a large chunk of change. The only problem is they probably wouldn’t get Finn back in for his follow-up and the poor guy would have to suffer with a kinked neck while I’m floating around in heaven not giving a fig about his suffering.

Oh, what would Jesus do?

I know, I’m mocking dear sweet Mr. Camping and his followers, but c’mon, people have been predicting the ending of the world almost from the day the world started. Which is really such a fascinating phenomenon to me.

For example, what is it about Christianity that has, at its core, a hatred/fear/distain/disgust with corporeal existence? It’s that old Manichean Heresy in all its manifestations. Instead of cherishing God’s creation and loving and blessing and caring and being grateful for all of his splendors, a powerful strain of Christianity believes the world to be a wicked manifestation of the Devil, evil temptations all ‘round, a state of being devoutly wished to be exited from as quickly as possible. At the same time as it despises all that is worldly, Christianity strictly forbids makes exiting this awful place by suicide verboten. Which then sets up the odd religious notion that God must want humans to suffer in a hellish world, which lands us back into Manicheanism, which was also declared a “heresy” by the Catholic Church. Jeesh, would somebody make up their minds?

The end result of this core hatred of life is a religion that isn’t healthy for children and other living things. I mean, if you loved and cherished the world as an outward manifestation of God’s creation, why would you keep dreaming up and lovingly, droolingly, obscenely focusing on all the horrible ways it and all its creatures will suffer and die in sadistically awful ways? Except you, of course. That’s the ego-ridden mentality of somebody who pulls wings off flies while dreaming up even more elaborate ways to make the fly suffer. In short, that’s a mentality that profoundly DOESN’T LIKE God’s creation very much.

Well, I’m sure Mr. Camping will wake up Saturday morning profoundly disappointed to find himself still here in this terrible, awful, hideous, sinfully tempting place. (Chocolate! Mangoes! Sex! A baby’s smile!) Then he’ll go back and re-do his self-invented numerology and announce the NEXT rapture.

Then spend the precious moments of his life totally missing every splendid manifestation of God that’s all around him; splendor in a grain of sand, beauty in a bat’s wing, awe in the thunderstorm, all of which, every second of every day allotted to us demands a cry from the heart: Hallelujah! Hallelujah!