Howdy!

Been awhile! I started Town Hall Citizen (THC). Proud of the work I did there, but one man - or at least this man - isn't going to change a nation. I'll be bringing the THC content into here. I'll be posting here from now on out.

Here's a clip from an email I sent to friends today.

I like to talk to people. Renee and I were in Aspen this weekend for our 30th anniversary. I talked to a couple with a 2nd (or 3rd) home in Aspen. The woman said to me, "We feel like we have a target on our back". I asked why. She started complaining about the taxes they pay, said, "We feel like we're being penalized just because our homes in Los Angeles and Aspen are worth more than $5m (Aspen has a transfer tax that funds workforce housing. I guess CA has a transfer tax too)". She went on, "We don't use the school systems here, why should we have to pay into them"? She complained about the traffic, the new cause celebre in Aspen. "The traffic is terrible now. It takes 40 minutes just to get out of Aspen"! I asked about their politics. Both said they were on the left but staunchly against the "socialist" (which is really just FDR's Economic Bill of Rights) Democrats. They both were for corporate Democrats - the same crowd that led us here.

Of course this couple was clueless that the most of the people in Aspen who serve them (service workers, public service, etc) are subsidized in some way, which is socialism. It wasn't even in their radar that the traffic up and down Highway 82 - personal trainers, gurus, influencers, construction workers, service workers, personal chefs - are because of them.

This is America. The zombie apocalypse is here. Idiocracy is here. This couple was anecdotal proof that wealth doesn't equate to intelligence.

Things are probably gonna get much worse - up here and elsewhere. When the reckoning happens, which I think will be soon, will it be a new dawn, a bright and prosperous future? Or will it mark the beginning of the end? I remain a half-full guy, I believe it's the former. But like I say, it could go either way. For me it's comforting. Because at least soon we'll know.

This clip from Dirty Harry - "I gots to know":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38mE6ba3qj8