Bernie the Baptist

Hilary thought she could zipline from Wall Street to the White House.

Like her husband.

But it wasn't Putin or Trump that did her in.   It was Bernie.

I told him a thousand times, while he was grooving to a Carol King tune:

"Is it too late baby?"  "Is it too late?"

He said, no way man.  I'm like John the Baptist.   The voice crying in the wilderness trying to make way for the first socialist king:  if its Corey Booker.  Or queen: if its Elizabeth Warren.  Just a little ahead of my time. A little out of synch but my voice is still pure and true.

Yea, whatever.   You mobilized a base that went in a direction your proto-socialist ass didn't anticipate.   All the Jaigh Lowder's of the world.   And Haystack Calhoun's.  And Marshall Hoekel's. I could continue ad nauseum.  But I have a word limit here.  

Then he continued that he thought I was Turkish.   Wow, I went from being German to English, and now I'm Turkish.   And I think they are going to come and carry me away.  Like that Russian Ambassador.   That ambassador didn't mean anything after all.  Just following orders.  Like Goering. Let there be songs to fill the air.  Waiting for the tide to roll.  Ripple in still water.  Reach out your hand if your cup be empty.

Now for a brief diversion.   The plug for Obama.   All of you dissing Obama for the U.S. abstaining on that U.N. resolution condemning Israel for the settlements.   Get over it.   We need to seriously pivot to Asia and get out of the middle east.   Its a no win situation.  Not that Israel isn't a beacon for humanity, but seriously, they need to lighten up.  So Obama did the correct thing by distancing himself from them until they do.   Kudos to you Barack.  And a scandal free eight years.  And that Iran deal.  And health care.  Anyway.....

Bernie, Bernie, lately I've been feeling your pain.  My heart is wide open.  But I'm sitting here in Limbo.  Waiting for the dice to roll.  Got some time to search my soul.  And the soul of our country.   Did you know that our entire economy is based on the various forms of self-medication?

I can't sleep now.  I found that I'm too exciting.

Hunter Gatherer vs. Farmer

Reality has several advantages over fiction.  If you are cold, blankets are available. If you are not concerned about the cold, follow the blood arroyo to the place where the snake lays its eggs.   You can make that feeling go away if you want.

Well then, what is it that you want?   Do you think there may be something wrong with this world? Something hiding underneath?  I remember when I first started here.  Everything seemed so lifelike. Not anymore.

What if I told you that no choice you ever made was your own.   What if I told you I was here to set you free.  Indeed, I can take you to America--the land of the free.  In America, you can live any life you want.   Using that freedom, most people work in low paying demeaning jobs.

Are you still cold?   Take this.  It has kept me warm over many cold nights.  It can even give you a sense of purpose.

If you are so concerned about my well being, why don't you give me what I really want?  Real answers.

Hmmm.   Maybe, but there is something I'd like you to try first.  Its a game, a secret.  The goal is to find its center.

The Hunter:  I know how to hunt, to fish, to build a shelter, and I'm armed.  I'm free.   What do I need with you?  Don't tell me what to do.  You can make that feeling go away if you want.

The Farmer:  Mine is the God of Vengeance.   God may not always give us rain when we want, but he will punish your hubris my friend.  You can't trust the natural world, you must defend it.  Defend your property.  Defend your women.  You cannot make the feeling go away.  Not now, not ever.

Here we are at the blood arroyo.  Plenty of snakes, but I don't see any eggs.  I used to believe there was a path for everyone.  Even for the electoral college.  Even when you go to the Turkish art exhibit and the man in the dark suit pulls out the gun.  We all thought it was a theatrical flourish.   We were wrong.   I used to believe there was a path for everyone.

Blockchain Hallucinations

The smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted up to the already acute olfactory senses of the talking cat.

"Susie, this has to be the best coffee I have ever encountered.  But do we know where it came from?  How do we know it doesn't have the mold?  Is it from a single source?  Are the beans grown in the shade and transported by the burro?  I'm developing a social conscious in case you haven't noticed.   I want all my hard earned money to benefit only the most environmentally friendly operations."

We'll to begin with,  its my hard earned money my feline friend.   The last time I checked you had nine lives, but not discernible source of income.

"A minor detail to be sure.  Have I ever told you best thing about you is your waist?  Wait until you see the statues in my bathroom."

Now you are talking like a soft boy.  I have something for that.  Why don't you chew on this flowery like substance for awhile.  Its called Trillium.  I obtained it from a medicine man in a clinical trial in Medellin.  It will expand your (cough) consciousness.

(the cat chews the white flower that looks something like a lotus blossom)

"Oh my God.   Its all so interconnected.   The coffee, you, me, Sergio, the guy who makes the coffee, the burro (whose name is Pedro), the details of transaction are automatically coded into blocks of data that are cryptographically linked together with other transactions and secured over a network.   The linked chain of data blocks have formed an incorruptible record of all the transactions that can be replicated on every computer that uses the network.   On this blockchain that I see before me, you can see not only debits and credits of the transaction, but other information such as history of ownership and location, title, contracts, real world objects, each individual coffee bean—and even personal information."

Don't look for it Taylor, you might not like what you find.

"Start the weekend off right with tasty treats out in the Cortex food truck meetup from 11am--1pm.  Due to the rain today, DJ's Gul-licious Backyard BBQ treats will not be with us this week.  But you can still find them at your favorite grocery store.  My neighbor has irritable bowel syndrome.   While he is away, I suggest we break into his house and steal it and hide it in a place he'll never find.  What if social media is just something that drives human societies insane?  What if the negative externalities outweigh the total use value?"

Taylor, I told you not to go into the forbidden zone.

"If fake news actually influences reality, it takes all the fun away from satire, and Jean Paul Sarte.  By the way, I think I'm having an existential crisis over here, what was in that flower?"

I'm going to take you home and give you the Languedoc.

"Did it come from a single source?  Here, give it to me now and I will check its Blockchain distribution."