Free market myths

Being a native Californian I have had the opportunity to see firsthand the bullshit that happens when the free market morons get to deregulate a functioning system and steal billions of dollars. The republican policy of privatization has failed every time it is allowed to be implemented. We have seen what happens when you let the industry write the regulations, unbreathable air, fish so poluted with heavy metals that it negates the benefits of omega threes to eat them and real living standards falling like a rock for the middle class. My question for republicans is can you show me one example where your free market policies have solved a problem just one? I have a list as long as my arem of its failures just show me one instance that you can back up with facts where the free market has solved any social problem.

Cold, wet soreand disgusted

Winter seems to have arrived with a vengeance or maybe I have become a major pussy in my sleep. The rain and fog cut into my joints like rusty nails when I rode yesterday and I am groaning mightily this AM. The cold weather is not the only thing getting me down these days but it is enough. The politics of this nation have again become a major buzz kill. I watched the dancing monkeys of the Democratic Party shuck and jive to the moronic questions at the CNN debate from Nevada. I don’t know why the folks that own that network hate immigrants so much, it could be they are just the most convenient scapegoat or maybe they just don’t like the sound of Spanish? Does it really matter to that many people I don’t know? I am not worried that the guy that picks the grapes or the motel maid is sneaking a bomb over the border in a backpack. As a human being I am offended that we let American corporations go to the Latin American nations and destroy their economies pollute their farm lands and ensure that they can no longer grow their own food, (Monsanto and others actually produce crops that cannot be used as seed to control foreign economies) and then we want to build a fence and say starve. With the coming changes in climate the day may come that our Canadian neighbors to the north may build their own fence and tell us to go fuck ourselves when it gets to be 120 in the shade in Texas in December. Wtf at least my arthritis won’t be aching

Has anyone seen my sense of humor?

Spent the day on another long ride and for some reason instead of the usual calm i got a bit pissed. if I were a better writer maybe I could convey my feeling to you in print but instead I decided a little video rage was in order.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k83TkJJ4Gyw

Wasted day

The web site for the secretary of state has rules for recalling a us senator but they are apparently bullshit as I went to the election commission to get the specific state codes and there aren't any. Turns out you have to impeach them so I wasted a lot of time and the war criminal Feinstein is beyond the reach of the law. One can only hope that in the future when the war crimes trials are held she can stand in the dock with Bush and the other torturers.
For science fans out there tonight's Nova on PBS is about the Intelligent design Vs science argument in the courts of Kansas hope you can catch it. Got in a short ride today as the weather was clear but anger ate my energy so I will get back to training tomorrow.

Unnatural selection or Why do smart people believe such ridiculous ideas

The weather has turned cold and wet so the training has gotten a bit miserable. I am racking up the miles and trying to do as many hills as I can find but I am doing laps instead of long trips as I like to be close to home if it starts to pour. I am hoping for a break in the weather next week so I can test the sealed seams of the tent.

I was listening to a podcast from point of inquiry while I rode yesterday that got me thinking about ideas and how some highly educated people can buy into some very fallacious concepts. The discussion was on intelligent design, a concept that has no chance of being correct in a scientific sense. the proponent was arguing that Darwinism or evolution could not explain the complexity of certain systems so there must be a designer. This is idiotic on its face as the designer had to come from somewhere and is by necessity much more complex than anything they try to explain with it. more god in the gaps of our knowledge and untestable. I don't wish to rehash the debate but to ponder why anyone with a science education would argue for it. the speaker a man named Behe is a college professor at an accredited institution so he has a PhD from somewhere in biology yet he argues that because Darwin's theory and subsequent studies do not have the exact explanation for every possible protein in living organisms there has to be a designer. He puts forth no evidence to support his claim other than the appearance of design is evidence for a designer. this is the type of nonsense one gets from the Panda's Thumb and other texts that try to justify the religious point of view. There is no logic that can make this circular argument so my question is how can an educated man think it is plausible? What is it about the human animal that it will accept utter nonsense rather than abandon religion?

"To study philosophy is to learn to die"

The search for meaning goes on, as does the training. After the ride back from the beach I was whipped and had to rest up on Sunday. Today has been errand running and work on a few bits of equipment. Replaced the broken water bottle cage and rode some hills. Then I set up the tent and sealed the seams. The salesperson told me that it was factory waterproofed but I got a little damp from condensation so a quick perusal of the instructions pointed out that it was the floor that was sealed but the other seams were not so that is now taken care of. I am planning to go out again Wednesday if there is not too much rain in the forecast.
I have been reading more on consciousness and free will but the more I read the less satisfied I become with the answers. Are we nothing but bags of parasites and random electrical discharges? Can we make our own decisions? It would appear not. I find nothing in my readings that gives any evidence for us being able to control outcomes and so I find no path to responsibility. Why do I do what I do? It would seem I have no ability to do otherwise. I don’t care for this answer but the universe doesn’t give a flying fuck if I like it or not so what’s a Radmul to do?
The title is from the roman thinker Cicero.

Clam beach clam bake

Spent the weekend on the first real long ride of the training. Rode up to Moonstone and camped at clam beach. Lots of hills and a great ride. here is some video from the road.